[271a]
were destroyed, and disappeared in a few days.Younger Socrates
But then, Stranger, how did animals come into existence in those days? How were they begotten of one another?Stranger
It is clear, Socrates, that being begotten of one another was no part of the natural order of that time, but the earth-born race which, according to tradition, once existed, was the race which returned at that time out of the earth; and the memory of it was preserved by our earliest ancestors, who were born in the beginning of our period and therefore were next neighbors to the end of the previous period of the worldÕs revolution,
But then, Stranger, how did animals come into existence in those days? How were they begotten of one another?Stranger
It is clear, Socrates, that being begotten of one another was no part of the natural order of that time, but the earth-born race which, according to tradition, once existed, was the race which returned at that time out of the earth; and the memory of it was preserved by our earliest ancestors, who were born in the beginning of our period and therefore were next neighbors to the end of the previous period of the worldÕs revolution,
