[2,55] ὡς τῶν ἄλλων ταύταις συνεπομένων. οὐ μέντοι μόνον αὐτὸν οἶμαι δεῖν διαφέρειν τὸν βασιλέα πρὸς τὸ ἀνδρεῖον καὶ σεμνόν, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀκούειν μήτ´ αὐλούντων μήτε κιθαριζόντων μήτε ᾀδόντων ἀνειμένα μέλη καὶ τρυφερά, μηδὲ αὖ λόγων διεφθορότων κακοὺς ζήλους παραδέχεσθαι, πρὸς ἡδονὴν τῶν ἀμαθεστάτων γεγονότας, (56) ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα πρῶτον μὲν καὶ μάλιστα ἐκβαλεῖν ὡς πορρωτάτω καὶ ἀποπέμψαι τῆς αὑτοῦ ψυχῆς, ἔπειτα τῆς βασιλευούσης πόλεως, γέλωτάς τε ἀκράτους καὶ τοιούτου γέλωτος ποιητὰς μετὰ σκωμμάτων, ἐμμέτρου τε καὶ ἀμέτρου, ὀρχήσεις τε πρὸς τούτοις {καταλύειν} ἀσελγεῖς καὶ σχήματα ἑταιρικὰ γυναικῶν ἐν ὀρχήσεσιν ἀκολάστοις, αὐλημάτων τε ὀξεῖς καὶ παρανόμους ῥυθμοὺς καὶ κατεαγότα μέλη ἀμούσοις καμπαῖς καὶ πολυφώνων ὀργάνων ποικιλίας. (57) μόνην δὲ ᾠδὴν μὲν ᾄσεται καὶ παραδέξεται τὴν τῷ Ἐνυαλίῳ πρέπουσαν μάλα ἰσχυρὰν καὶ διάτορον, οὐχ ἡδονὴν οὐδὲ ῥᾳθυμίαν φέρουσαν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν, ἀλλ´ ἀμήχανον φόβον καὶ θόρυβον, οἵαν ὅ τε Ἄρης αὐτὸς ἤγειρεν, ὀξὺ κατ´ ἀκροτάτης πόλιος Τρώεσσι κελεύων, ὅ τε Ἀχιλλεὺς ὅτε φθεγξάμενος μόνον, πρὶν ὀφθῆναι, τροπὴν ἐποίησε τῶν Τρώων, καὶ δώδεκα ἀνδράσιν αἴτιος ὑπῆρξεν ὀλέθρου περὶ τοῖς αὐτῶν ἅρμασι καὶ ὅπλοις· (58) καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ ταύτῃ ποιηθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τῶν Μουσῶν τὴν ἐπινίκιον, οἷον ἐκέλευεν Ἀχιλλεὺς, τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς τὸν παιᾶνα {λέγειν} ἅμα τῇ τοῦ Ἕκτορος ἀγωγῇ πρὸς τὰς ναῦς αὐτὸς ἐξάρχων, νῦν δ´ ἄγ´ ἀείδοντες παιήονα κοῦροι Ἀχαιῶν νηυσὶν ἐπὶ γλαφυρῇσι νεώμεθα, τόνδε δ´ ἄγωμεν. ἠράμεθα μέγα κῦδος, ἐπέφνομεν Ἕκτορα δῖον, ᾧ Τρῶες κατὰ ἄστυ θεῷ ὣς εὐχετόωντο. (59) ἔτι δὲ οἶμαι τὴν παρακλητικήν, οἵα ἡ τῶν Λακωνικῶν ἐμβατηρίων, μάλα πρέπουσα τῇ Λυκούργου πολιτείᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἐκείνοις· ἄγετ´, ὦ Σπάρτας εὐάνδρου κοῦροι πατέρων πολιητᾶν, λαιᾷ μὲν ἴτυν προβάλεσθε, δόρυ δ´ εὐτόλμως πάλλοντες, - - - μὴ φειδόμενοι τᾶς ζωᾶς· οὐ γὰρ πάτριον τᾷ Σπάρτᾳ.

[2,55] "However, I do not believe that the king should simply be distinguished in his own person for courage and dignity, but that he should pay no heed to other people either when they play the flute or the harp, or sing wanton and voluptuous songs ; nor should he tolerate the mischievous craze for filthy language that has come into vogue for the delight of fools ; nay, he should cast out all such things and banish them to the uttermost distance from his own soul, first and foremost, and then from the capital of his kingdom—I mean such things as ribald jests and those who compose them, whether in verse or in prose, along with scurrilous gibes—then, in addition, he should do away with indecent dancing and the lascivious posturing of women in licentious dances as well as the shrill and riotous measures played on the flute, syncopated music full of discordant turns, and motley combinations of noisy clanging instruments. One song only will he sing or permit to be sung—the song that comports with the God of War, full of vigour, ringing clear, and stirring in the hearer no feeling of delight or languidness, but rather an overpowering fear and tumult ; in short, such a song as Ares himself awoke, as he 'shrilly yelled, encouraging The men of Troy, as on the city heights He stood.' or as Achilles when, at the mere sound of his voice and before he could be seen, he turned the Trojans to flight and thus caused the destruction of twelve heroes midst their own chariots and arms. Or it might be like the triumphal song composed by the Muses for the celebration of victory, like the pæan which Achilles bade the Achaeans chant as he brought Hector's body to the ships, he himself leading : 'Now then, ye Achaean youth, move on and chant A paean, while, returning to the fleet, We bring great glory with us ; we have slain The noble Hector, whom, throughout their town, The Trojans ever worshipped like a god.' (59) Or, finally, it might be the exhortation to battle such as we find in the Spartan marching songs, its sentiments comporting well with the polity of Lycurgus and the Spartan institutions : 'Up, ye sons of Sparta, Rich in citizen fathers ; Thrust with the left your shields forth, Brandish bravely your spears ; Spare not your lives. That's not custom in Sparta.'