And such a return does not consist
simply in praising the hall. No doubt it was fitting -
for Homer's island boy
 Telemachus (Odyss. 4, 71): he compares the house of
Menelaus to the palaces of the gods. 
to be astounded at the house
of Menelaus and to compare its ivory and gold to the
beautiful things in heaven because he had never seen
anything else on earth that was beautiful. But to
speak here, to collect an audience of cultured men
and show one’s eloquence is also a form of praise.
It is very delightful, I think, that the fairest of
halls should be flung open for the harbourage of
speech and should be full of praise and laudation;
re-echoing softly like a cavern, following what is
said, drawing out the concluding sounds of the voice
and lingering on the last words; or, to put it better,
committing to memory all that one says, like an
appreciative hearer, and applauding the speaker and
gracefully repeating his phrases. In some such way
the rocks pipe in answer to the piping of the shepherds when the sound comes back again by repercussion and returns upon itself. The untaught think
it is a maid who answers all who sing and shout,



 

abiding somewhere in the heart of the cliffs and
talking from the inside of the crags.

 

To me, at least, it seems that a splendid hall
excites the speaker's fancy and stirs it to speech, as
if he were somehow prompted by what he sees.
No doubt something of beauty flows through the
eyes into the soul, and then fashions into the likeness of itself the words that it sends out. In the
case of Achilles, the sight of his armour enhanced
his anger at the Trojans, and when he put it on to
try it, he was inspired and transported with the lust
of battle. Iliad, 19, 16; 384. 
Then are we to believe that the passion
for speech is not enhanced by beautiful surroundings? Socrates was satisfied with a fine plane-tree
and lush grass and a spring of clear water.not far from
the Ilissus: sitting there, he plied his irony at the
expense of Phaedrus of Myrrhinus, criticised the
speech of Lysias, son of Cephalus, and invoked
the Muses, believing that they would come to a
sequestered spot and take part in the debate on
love, and thinking no shame, old as he was, to invite
maids to join him in amorous ditties.

 Herod. 7, 27. 
May we not
suppose that they would come to a place as beautiful
as this, even without an invitation?