Harmony, Order, and Unity in Plato’s Laws
Harmony, Order, and Unity in Plato’s Laws

Summary/Abstract: In Book X of Plato’s Laws, the motions of the body are contrasted with the changes of the soul. The latter are categorically different from the former. The soul is oriented in time while the body is oriented in space. Despite their differences, soul and body work in unison. When the senses are informed by λόγος, order is perceived and enacted. The coordination of soul and body is most evident in music and dance. A choral dance is a composition in which body and soul and their analogues, space and time, are unified. A city is an analogous composition. The relation between body and soul parallels the relation between a city on the one hand, and its laws, beliefs, and customs on the other. For these reasons, the highest order of a city is its religious order. The religious life of a city integrates time and space as well as soul and body. Religion serves as a binding power that harmonizes the city and its people.

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