The sun, and earth, and stars, moving in their courses, the recurring seasons, furnish proofs of their existence; and there is the general opinion of mankind.' I fear that the unbelievers--not that I care for their opinion--will despise us.

You are not aware that their impiety proceeds, not from sensuality, but from ignorance taking the garb of wisdom.

'What do you mean ?' At Athens there are tales current both in prose and verse of a kind which are not tolerated in a well-regulated state like yours.
The oldest of them relate the origin of the world, and the birth and life of the Gods.

These narratives have a bad influence on family relations; but as they are old we will let them pass, and consider another kind of tales, invented by the wisdom of a younger generation, who, if any one argues for the existence of the Gods and claims that the stars have a divine being, insist that these are mere earth and stones, which can have no care of human things, and that all theology is a cooking up of words.

Now what course ought we to take?
Shall we suppose some impious man to charge us with assuming the existence of the Gods, and make a defence?
Or shall we leave the preamble and go on to the laws?
'There is no hurry, and we have often said that the shorter and worse method should not be preferred to the longer and better.