advantageously employed by us in legislation.

We may illustrate our proposal by an example. The laws relating to
marriage naturally come first, and therefore we may begin with them. The
simple law would be as follows:--A man shall marry between the ages of
thirty and thirty-five; if he do not, he shall be fined or deprived of
certain privileges. The double law would add the reason why: Forasmuch as
man desires immortality, which he attains by the procreation of children,
no one should deprive himself of his share in this good. He who obeys the
law is blameless, but he who disobeys must not be a gainer by his
celibacy; and therefore he shall pay a yearly fine, and shall not be
allowed to receive honour from the young. That is an example of what I
call the double law, which may enable us to judge how far the addition of
persuasion to threats is desirable. 'Lacedaemonians in general, Stranger,
are in favour of brevity; in this case, however, I prefer length. But
Cleinias is the real lawgiver, and he ought to be first consulted.' 'Thank
you, Megillus.' Whether words are to be many or few, is a foolish
question:--the best and not the shortest forms are always to be approved.
And legislators have never thought of the advantages which they might gain
by using persuasion as well as force, but trust to force only. And I have
something else to say about the matter. Here have we been from early dawn
until noon, discoursing about laws, and all that we have been saying is
only the preamble of the laws which we are about to give. I tell you this,
because I want you to observe that songs and strains have all of them
preludes, but that laws, though called by the same name (nomoi), have
never any prelude. Now I am disposed to give preludes to laws, dividing
them into two parts--one containing the despotic command, which I
described under the image of the slave doctor--the other the persuasive
part, which I term the preamble. The legislator should give preludes or
preambles to his laws. 'That shall be the way in my colony.' I am glad