Note 241 — Chapter XXXIX · LEGES AND EPINOMIS. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Plato, Legg. vii. p. 800 B-E. 801 A: εὐφημία, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ τῆς ᾠδῆς γένος εὔφημον ἡμῖν πάντῃ πάντως ὑπαρχέτω.
This is a remarkable declaration of Plato, condemning the tragic representations at Athens. Compare Gorgias, p. 501; Republic, x. p. 605; also about the effect on the spectators, Ion, p. 535 E.
The idea of εὐφημία is more negative than positive; it is often shown by silence. The δυσφήμιαι (Soph. Phil. 10), or βλασφημία, as Plato calls it, are the positive act or ill-omened manifestation. Plato, Phædon, p. 117: ἐν εὐφημίᾳ χρὴ τελευτᾷν.