But neither wars nor amusements are the true satisfaction of men, which is to be found only in the society of the Gods, in sacrificing to them and propitiating them.

Like a Christian ascetic, Plato seems to suppose that life should be passed wholly in the enjoyment of divine things.

And after meditating in amazement on the sadness and unreality of the world, he adds, in a sort of parenthesis, 'Be cheerful, Sirs' (Shakespeare, Tempest.) In one of the noblest passages of Plato, he speaks of the relation of the sexes.

Natural relations between members of the same family have been established of old; a 'little word' has put a stop to incestuous connexions.

But unnatural unions of another kind continued to prevail at Crete and Lacedaemon, and were even justified by the example of the Gods.