Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὡς φασὶ ταύτῃ.(223) ἐπανάξω δὲ ὅθεν ἐξέβην. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοὺς μύθους προσήκει πρὸς παῖδας ἤτοι τῷ φρονεῖν, [D] κἂν ἄνδρες ὦσιν, ἢ καὶ τοῖς καθ᾽ ἡλικίαν παιδαρίοις ἀπαγγέλλειν, ἐξεταστέον ὅπως μήτε εἰς θεοὺς μήτε εἰς ἀνθρώπους πλημμελὲς ᾿ἤ, καθάπερ ἔναγχος, δυσσεβές τι ῥηθείη· καὶ προσέτι τοῦτο ἐν ἅπασιν ἀκριβῶς βασανιστέον, εἰ πιθανός, εἰ τοῖς πράγμασι προσφυής, εἰ μῦθός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ πλαττόμενος. ἐπεὶ τό γε νῦν ὑπὸ σοῦ πεποιημένον οὐ μῦθός ἐστι σός·(224) καίτοι τοῦτό γε ἐνεανιεύσω· ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν μῦθος ἐστι παλαιός, [227] ἐφήρμοσας δὲ αὐτὸν σὺ πράγμασιν ἑτέροις, ὅπερ οἶμαι ποιεῖν εἰώθασιν οἱ τῇ τροπικῇ χρώμενοι τὼν νοημάτων κατασκευῇ· πολὺς δὲ ἐν τούτοις ὁ Πάριός ἐστι ποιητής. ἔοικας οὖν οὐδὲ πεποιηκὼς μῦθον, ὦ ξυνετώτατε, μάτην νεανιεύεσθαι· καίτοι τοῦτο τίτθης ἔργον ἐστὶν εὐτραπέλου. Πλουτάρχου δὲ εἰ τὰ μυθικὰ διηγήματα τῶν σῶν εἴσω χειρῶν ἀφῖκτο, οὔποτ᾽ ἂν ἐλελήθει σε, τίνι διαφέρει πλάσαι τε ἐξ ἀρχῆς μῦθον καὶ τὸν κείμενον ἐφαρμόσαι πράγμασιν οἰκείοις. [B] ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μή σε τὴν σύντομον ὁδεύοντα βίβλοις ἐυβαλὼν μακραῖς καὶ δυσελίκτοις ἐπίσχω μικρὰ καὶ πεδήσω· σὺ δὲ οὐδὲ τὸν Δημοσθένους ἀκήκοας μῦθον, ὃν ἐποίησεν ὁ Παιανιεὺς πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, ἡνίκα ὁ Μακεδὼν ἐξῄτει τοὺς Ἁθηναίους ῥήτορας. ἐχρῆν οὖν τι τοιοῦτο πλάσαι· ἢ πρὸς τῶν θεῶν ἔργον ἦν εἰπεῖν μυθάριόν τι τοιοῦτον; ἀναγκάσεις δέ με καὶ μυθοποιὸν γενέσθαι. (So much for that, as the saying is.(225) Now to go back to the point at which I digressed.(226) Since, as I was saying, myths ought to be addressed either to those who though grown men are children in intelligence, or to those who in actual years are mere children, we must take pains to utter in them no word that is offensive to gods or men or anything impious, as was done recently. And moreover we must in all cases apply careful tests to see whether the myth is plausible, closely related to the matter discussed and whether what is invented is really a myth. Now what you composed lately is not your own myth though you boasted that it was. Nay, your myth was an old one and you did but adapt it to fresh circumstances, as I believe people are in the habit of doing who use tropes and figures of thought. The poet of Paros(227) for instance is much given to this style. It seems then that you did not even invent your myth, my very clever friend, and that yours was an idle boast. Though in fact the thing is done by any nurse with an inventive turn. And if the mythical tales of Plutarch had ever fallen into your hands you would have failed to observe what a difference there is between inventing a myth from the beginning and adapting to one’s own purpose a myth that already exists. But I must not detain you even for a moment or hinder you on your way along that short cut to wisdom by making you embark on books that are long and hard to read. You have not even heard of the myth by Demosthenes which he of the Paeanian deme addressed to the Athenians when the Macedonian demanded that the Athenian orators be given up.