486 THE OCTAVIUS Oi others,and chieflyby poets,who did no littlemischiefto thetruthby theirauthority; and by fictionsof thisland, and byfalsehoodsofa yetmore attractivenature,themindi of young people are corrupted,and thencetheymiserably grow old in thesebeliefs,although,on theotherhand^ the truthisobvioustothem iftheywillonlyseekafterit. " These fablesand errorswe both learn from ignorant parents,and, what is more seriousstill,we elaboratethem in our very studiesand instructions,especiallyin the verses of the poets,who as much as possiblehave prejudiced1 the truth2by theirauthority. And for thisreason Plato rightlyexpelledfrom the statewhich he had founded in his discourse,the illustriousHomer whom he had praised and crowned.8 For itwas he especiallywho in the Trojan war allowedyour gods,although he made jestsof them, stillto interferein the affairsand doingsof men : he brought them togetherin contest; he wounded Venus ;he bound, wounded, and drove away Mars. He relatesthatJupiterwas setfree by Briareus,soasnot to be bound fastby the restof the gods; and thathe bewailed in showers of blood hisson Sarpedon, becausehe couldnot snatchhim from death;and that,enticed by the girdleof Venus, he lay more eagerlywith his wife Juno than he was accustomed to do with hisadulterousloves. Elsewhere Hercules threw out dung, and Apollo is feed ing cattleforAdmetus. Neptune, however,buildswallsfor Laomedon, and the unfortunatebuilderdid not receivethe wages for hiswork. Then Jupiter'sthunderboltis fabri cated4 on the anvilwith the arms of JEneas, although there were heaven, and thunderbolts,and lightningslong before J upiterwas born in Crete; and neithercould the Cyclops imitate,nor Jupiter himselfhelp fearing,the flames of the realthunderbolt. Why shouldI speak of the detectedadul teryofMars and Venus, and ofthe violenceof Jupiteragainst Ganymede, — a deed consecrated,[as you say,]in heaven? 1 Some read," anditismarvellousLow thesehaveprejudiced,-'etc. 3 Some read,"thetruthitself." * Plat,tieRep.lib.iiL 4 Otherwise," ThenVulcanfabricates,"etc.