So if we were trying to describe the Muses in contrast to these other characters, we might think of them as constructively beautiful, rather than destructively so. They make us better by their existence. Because they have songs and dancing and musical talent, so might we if we ask them very politely at the beginning of our creative endeavour. But some people cannot see such generosity without wanting to possess it like Thamyris, defile it like Pyreneus, or overthrow it like the daughters of Pierus. And it is when threatened – in either their bodily integrity or their reputation – that the
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