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In the next place, dealings between man and man require to be
suitably regulated. The principle of them is very simple:-Thou shalt
not, if thou canst help, touch that which is mine, or remove the least
thing which belongs to me without my consent; and may I be of a
sound mind, and do to others as I would that they should do to me.
First, let us speak of treasure trove:-May I never pray the Gods to
find the hidden treasure, which another has laid up for himself and
his family, he not being one of my ancestors, nor lift, if I should
find, such a treasure. And may I never have any dealings with those
who are called diviners, and who in any way or manner counsel me to
take up the deposit entrusted to the earth, for I should not gain so
much in the increase of my possessions, if I take up the prize, as I
should grow in justice and virtue of soul, if I abstain; and this will
be a better possession to me than the other in a better part of
myself; for the possession of justice in the soul is preferable to the
possession of wealth. And of many things it is well said-"Move not the
immovables," and this may be regarded as one of them. And we shall
do well to believe the common tradition which says that such deeds
prevent a man from having a family. Now as to him who is careless
about having children and regardless of the legislator, taking up that
which neither he deposited, nor any ancestor of his, without the
consent of the depositor, violating the simplest and noblest of laws
which was the enactment of no mean man:-"Take not up that which was
not laid down by thee"-of him, I say, who despises these two
legislators, and takes up, not small matter which he has not
deposited, but perhaps a great heap of treasure, what he ought to
suffer at the hands of the Gods, God only knows; but I would have
the first person who sees him go and tell the wardens of the city,
if the occurrence has taken place in the city, or if the occurrence
has taken place in the agora he shall tell the wardens of the agora,
or if in the country he shall tell the wardens of the country and
their commanders. When information has been received the city shall
send to Delphi, and, whatever the God answers about the money and
the remover of the money, that the city shall do in obedience to the
oracle; the informer, if he be a freeman, shall have the honour of
doing rightly, and he who informs not, the dishonour of doing wrongly;
and if he be a slave who gives information, let him be freed, as he
ought to be, by the state, which shall give his master the price of
him; but if he do not inform he shall be punished with death. Next
in order shall follow a similar law, which shall apply equally to
matters great and small:-If a man happens to leave behind him some
part of his property, whether intentionally or unintentionally, let
him who may come upon the left property suffer it to remain,
reflecting that such things are under the protection of the Goddess of
ways, and are dedicated to her by the law. But if any one defies the
law, and takes the property home with him, let him, if the thing is of
little worth, and the man who takes it a slave, be beaten with many
stripes by him, being a person of not less than thirty years of age.
Or if he be a freeman, in addition to being thought a mean person
and a despiser of the laws, let him pay ten times the value of the
treasure which he has moved to the leaver. And if some one accuses
another of having anything which belongs to him, whether little or
much, and the other admits that he has this thing, but denies that the
property in dispute belongs to other, if the property be registered
with the magistrates according to law, the claimant shall summon the
possessor, who shall bring it before the magistrates; and when it is
brought into court, if it be registered in the public registers, to
which of the litigants it belonged, let him take it and go his way. Or
if the property be registered as belonging to some one who is not
present, whoever will offer sufficient surety on behalf of the
absent person that he will give it up to him, shall take it away as
the representative of the other. But if the property which is
deposited be not registered with the magistrates, let it remain
until the time of trial with three of the eldest of the magistrates;
and if it be an animal which is deposited, then he who loses the
suit shall pay the magistrates for its keep, and they shall
determine the cause within three days.
Any one who is of sound mind may arrest his own slave, and do with
him whatever he will of such things as are lawful; and he may arrest
the runaway slave of any of his friends or kindred with a view to
his safe-keeping. And if any one takes away him who is being carried
off as a slave, intending to liberate him, he who is carrying him
off shall let him go; but he who takes him away shall give three
sufficient sureties; and if he give them, and not without giving them,
he may take him away, but if he take him away after any other manner
he shall be deemed guilty of violence, and being convicted shall pay
as a penalty double the amount of the damages claimed to him who has
been deprived of the slave. Any man may also carry off a freedman,
if he do not pay respect or sufficient respect to him who freed him.
Now the respect shall be, that the freedman go three times in the
month to the hearth of the person who freed him and offer to do
whatever he ought, so far as he can; and he shall agree to make such a
marriage as his former master approves. He shall not be permitted to
have more property than he who gave him liberty, and what more he
has shall belong to his master. The freedman shall not remain in the
state more than twenty years, but like other foreigners shall go away,
taking his entire property with him, unless he has the consent of
the magistrates and of his former master to remain. If a freedman or
any other stranger has a property greater than the census of the third
class, at the expiration. of thirty days from the day on which this
comes to pass, he shall take that which is his and go his way, and
in this case he shall not be allowed to remain any longer by the
magistrates. And if any one disobeys this regulation, and is brought
into court and convicted, he shall be punished with death, his
property shall be confiscated. Suits about these matters shall take
place before the tribes, unless the plaintiff and defendant have got
rid of the accusation either before their neighbours or before
judges chosen by them. If a man lay claim to any animal or anything
else which he declares to be his, let the possessor refer to the
seller or to some honest and trustworthy person, who has given, or
in some legitimate way made over the property to him; if he be a
citizen or a metic, sojourning in the city, within thirty days, or, if
the property have been delivered to him by a stranger, within five
months, of which the middle month shall include the summer solstice.
When goods are exchanged by selling and buying, a man shall deliver
them, and receive the price of them, at a fixed place in the agora,
and have done with the matter; but he shall not buy or sell anywhere
else, nor give credit. And if in any other manner or in any other
place there be an exchange of one thing for another, and the seller
give credit to the man who buys fram him, he must do this on the
understanding that the law gives no protection in cases of things sold
not in accordance with these regulations. Again, as to
contributions, any man who likes may go about collecting contributions
as a friend among friends, but if any difference arises about the
collection, he is to act on the understanding that the law gives no
protection in such cases. He who sells anything above the value of
fifty drachmas shall be required to remain in the city for ten days,
and the purchaser shall be informed of the house of the seller, with a
view to the sort of charges which are apt to arise in such cases,
and the restitutions which the law allows. And let legal restitution
be on this wise:-If a man sells a slave who is in a consumption, or
who has the disease of the stone, or of strangury, or epilepsy, or
some other tedious and incurable disorder of body or mind, which is
not discernible to the ordinary man, if the purchaser be a physician
or trainer, he shall have no right of restitution; nor shall there
be any right of restitution if the seller has told the truth
beforehand to the buyer. But if a skilled person sells to another
who is not skilled, let the buyer appeal for restitution within six
months, except in the case of epilepsy, and then the appeal may be
made within a year. The cause shall be determined by such physicians
as the parties may agree to choose; and the defendant, if he lose
the suit, shall pay double the price at which he sold. If a private
person sell to another private person, he shall have the right of
restitution, and the decision shall be given as before, but the
defendant, if he be cast, shall only pay back the price of the
slave. If a person sells a homicide to another, and they both know
of the fact, let there be no restitution in such a case, but if he
do not know of the fact, there shall be a right of restitution,
whenever the buyer makes the discovery; and the decision shall rest
with the five youngest guardians of the law, and if the decision be
that the seller was cognisant the fact, he shall purify the house of
the purchaser, according to the law of the interpreters, and shall pay
back three times the purchase-money.
If man exchanges either money for money, or anything whatever for
anything else, either with or without life, let him give and receive
them genuine and unadulterated, in accordance with the law. And let us
have a prelude about all this sort of roguery, like the preludes of
our other laws. Every man should regard adulteration as of one and the
same class with falsehood and deceit, concerning which the many are
too fond of saying that at proper times and places the practice may
often be right. But they leave the occasion, and the when, and the
where, undefined and unsettled, and from this want of definiteness
in their language they do a great deal of harm to themselves and to
others. Now a legislator ought not to leave the matter undetermined;
he ought to prescribe some limit, either greater or less. Let this
be the rule prescribed:-No one shall call the Gods to witness, when he
says or does anything false or deceitful or dishonest, unless he would
be the most hateful of mankind to them. And he is most hateful to them
takes a false oath, and pays no heed to the Gods; and in the next
degree, he who tells a falsehood in the presence of his superiors. Now
better men are the superiors of worse men, and in general elders are
the superiors of the young; wherefore also parents are the superiors
of their off spring, and men of women and children, and rulers of
their subjects; for all men ought to reverence any one who is in any
position of authority, and especially those who are in state
offices. And this is the reason why I have spoken of these matters.
For every one who is guilty of adulteration in the agora tells a
falsehood, and deceives, and when he invokes the Gods, according to
the customs and cautions of the wardens of the agora, he does but
swear without any respect for God or man. Certainly, it is an
excellent rule not lightly to defile the names of the Gods, after
the fashion of men in general, who care little about piety and
purity in their religious actions. But if a man will not conform to
this rule, let the law be as follows:-He who sells anything in the
agora shall not ask two prices for that which he sells, but he shall
ask one price, and if he do not obtain this, he shall take away his
goods; and on that day he shall not value them either at more or less;
and there shall be no praising of any goods, or oath taken about them.
If a person disobeys this command, any citizen who is present, not
being less than thirty years of age, may with impunity chastise and
beat the swearer, but if instead of obeying the laws he takes no heed,
he shall be liable to the charge of having betrayed them. If a man
sells any adulterated goods and will not obey these regulations, he
who knows and can prove the fact, and does prove it in the presence of
the magistrates, if he be a slave or a metic, shall have the
adulterated goods; but if he be a citizen, and do not pursue the
charge, he shall be called a rogue, and deemed to have robbed the Gods
of the agora; or if he proves the charge, he shall dedicate the
goods to the Gods of the agora. He who is proved to have sold any
adulterated goods, in addition to losing the goods themselves, shall
be beaten with stripes-a stripe for a drachma, according to the
price of the goods; and the herald shall proclaim in the agora the
offence for which he is going to be beaten. The warden of the agora
and the guardians of the law shall obtain information from experienced
persons about the rogueries and adulterations of the sellers, and
shall write up what the seller ought and ought not to do in each case;
and let them inscribe their laws on a column in front of the court
of the wardens of the agora, that they may be clear instructors of
those who have business in the agora. Enough has been said in what has
preceded about the wardens of the city, and if anything seems to be
wanting, let them communicate with the guardians of the law, and write
down the omission, and place on a column in the court of the wardens
of the city the primary and secondary regulations which are laid
down for them about their office.
After the practices of adulteration naturally follow the practices
of retail trade. Concerning these, we will first of all give a word of
counsel and reason, and the law shall come afterwards. Retail trade in
a city is not by nature intended to do any harm, but quite the
contrary; for is not he a benefactor who reduces the inequalities
and incommensurabilities of goods to equality and common measure?
And this is what the power of money accomplishes, and the merchant may
be said to be appointed for this purpose. The hireling and the
tavern-keeper, and many other occupations, some of them more and
others less seemly-alike have this object;-they seek to satisfy our
needs and equalize our possessions. Let us then endeavour to see
what has brought retail trade into ill-odour, and wherein, lies the
dishonour and unseemliness of it, in order that if not entirely, we
may yet partially, cure the evil by legislation. To effect this is
no easy matter, and requires a great deal of virtue.
Cleinias. What do you mean?
Athenian Stranger. Dear Cleinias, the class of men is small-they
must have been rarely gifted by nature, and trained by
education-who, when assailed by wants and desires, are able to hold
out and observe moderation, and when they might make a great deal of
money are sober in their wishes, and prefer a moderate to a large
gain. But the mass of mankind are the very opposite: their desires are
unbounded, and when they might gain in moderation they prefer gains
without limit; wherefore all that relates to retail trade, and
merchandise, and the keeping of taverns, is denounced and numbered
among dishonourable things. For if what I trust may never be and
will not be, we were to compel, if I may venture to say a ridiculous
thing, the best men everywhere to keep taverns for a time, or carry on
retail trade, or do anything of that sort; or if, in consequence of
some fate or necessity, the best women were compelled to follow
similar callings, then we should know how agreeable and pleasant all
these things are; and if all such occupations were managed on
incorrupt principles, they would be honoured as we honour a mother
or a nurse. But now that a man goes to desert places and builds bouses
which can only be reached be long journeys, for the sake of retail
trade, and receives strangers who are in need at the welcome
resting-place, and gives them peace and calm when they are tossed by
the storm, or cool shade in the heat; and then instead of behaving
to them as friends, and showing the duties of hospitality to his
guests, treats them as enemies and captives who are at his mercy,
and will not release them until they have paid the most unjust,
abominable, and extortionate ransom-these are the sort of practices,
and foul evils they are, which cast a reproach upon the succour of
adversity. And the legislator ought always to be devising a remedy for
evils of this nature. There is an ancient saying, which is also a true
one-"To fight against two opponents is a difficult thing," as is
seen in diseases and in many other cases. And in this case also the
war is against two enemies-wealth and poverty; one of whom corrupts
the soul of man with luxury, while the other drives him by pain into
utter shamelessness. What remedy can a city of sense find against this
disease? In the first place, they must have as few retail traders as
possible; and in the second place, they must assign the occupation
to that class of men whose corruption will be the least injury to
the state; and in the third place, they must devise some way whereby
the followers of these occupations themselves will not readily fall
into habits of unbridled shamelessness and meanness.
After this preface let our law run as follows, and may fortune
favour us:-No landowner among the Magnetes, whose city the God is
restoring and resettling-no one, that is, of the 5040 families,
shall become a retail trader either voluntarily or involuntarily;
neither shall he be a merchant, or do any service for private
persons unless they equally serve him, except for his father or his
mother, and their fathers and mothers; and in general for his elders
who are freemen, and whom he serves as a freeman. Now it is
difficult to determine accurately the things which are worthy or
unworthy of a freeman, but let those who have obtained the prize of
virtue give judgment about them in accordance with their feelings of
right and wrong. He who in any way shares in the illiberality of
retail trades may be indicted for dishonouring his race by any one who
likes, before those who have been judged to be the first in virtue;
and if he appear to throw dirt upon his father's house by an
unworthy occupation, let him be imprisoned for a year and abstain from
that sort of thing; and if he repeat the offence, for two years; and
every time that he is convicted let the length of his imprisonment
be doubled. This shall be the second law:-He who engages in retail
trade must be either a metic or a stranger. And a third law shall
be:-In order that the retail trader who dwells in our city may be as
good or as little bad as possible, the guardians of the law shall
remember that they are not only guardians of those who may be easily
watched and prevented from becoming lawless or bad, because they are
wellborn and bred; but still more should they have a watch over
those who are of another sort, and follow pursuits which have a very
strong tendency to make men bad. And, therefore, in respect of the
multifarious occupations of retail trade, that is to say, in respect
of such of them as are allowed to remain, because they seem to be
quite necessary in a state-about these the guardians of the law should
meet and take counsel with those who have experience of the several
kinds of retail trade, as we before commanded, concerning adulteration
(which is a matter akin to this), and when they meet they shall
consider what amount of receipts, after deducting expenses, will
produce a moderate gain to the retail trades, and they shall fix in
writing and strictly maintain what they find to be the right
percentage of profit; this shall be seen to by the wardens of the
agora, and by the wardens of the city, and by the wardens of the
country. And so retail trade will benefit every one, and do the
least possible injury to those in the state who practise it.
When a man makes an agreement which he does not fulfil, unless the
agreement be of a nature which the law or a vote of the assembly
does not allow, or which he has made under the influence of some
unjust compulsion, or which he is prevented from fulfilling against
his will by some unexpected chance, the other party may go to law with
him in the courts of the tribes, for not having completed his
agreement, if the parties are not able previously to come to terms
before arbiters or before their neighbours. The class of craftsmen who
have furnished human life with the arts is dedicated to Hephaestus and
Athene; and there is a class of craftsmen who preserve the works of
all craftsmen by arts of defence, the votaries of Ares and Athene,
to which divinities they too are rightly dedicated. All these continue
through life serving the country and the people; some of them are
leaders in battle; others make for hire implements and works, and they
ought not to deceive in such matters, out of respect to the Gods who
are their ancestors. If any craftsman through indolence omit to
execute his work in a given time, not reverencing the God who gives
him the means of life, but considering, foolish fellow, that he is his
own God and will let him off easily, in the first place, he shall
suffer at the hands of the God, and in the second place, the law shall
follow in a similar spirit. He shall owe to him who contracted with
him the price of the works which he has failed in performing, and he
shall begin again and execute them gratis in the given time. When a
man undertakes a work, the law gives him the same advice which was
given to the seller, that he should not attempt to raise the price,
but simply ask the value; this the law enjoins also on the contractor;
for the craftsman assuredly knows the value of his work. Wherefore, in
free states the man of art ought not to attempt to impose upon private
individuals by the help of his art, which is by nature a true thing;
and he who is wronged in a matter of this sort, shall have a right
of action against the party who has wronged him. And if any one lets
out work to a craftsman, and does not pay him duly according to the
lawful agreement, disregarding Zeus the guardian of the city and
Athene, who are the partners of the state, and overthrows the
foundations of society for the sake of a little gain, in his case
let the law and the Gods maintain the common bonds of the state. And
let him who, having already received the work in exchange, does not
pay the price in the time agreed, pay double the price; and if a
year has elapsed, although interest is not to be taken on loans, yet
for every drachma which he owes to the contractor let him pay a
monthly interest of an obol. Suits about these matters are to be
decided by the courts of the tribes; and by the way, since we have
mentioned craftsmen at all, we must not forget the other craft of war,
in which generals and tacticians are the craftsmen, who undertake
voluntarily the work of our safety, as other craftsmen undertake other
public works;-if they execute their work well the law will never
tire of praising him who gives them those honours which are the just
rewards of the soldier; but if any one, having already received the
benefit of any noble service in war, does not make the due return of
honour, the law will blame him. Let this then be the law, having an
ingredient of praise, not compelling but advising the great body of
the citizens to honour the brave men who are the saviours of the whole
state, whether by their courage or by their military skill;-they
should honour them, I say, in the second place; for the first and
highest tribute of respect is to be given to those who are able
above other men to honour the words of good legislators.
The greater part of the dealings between man and man have been now
regulated by us with the exception of those that relate to orphans and
the supervision of orphans by their guardians. These follow next in
order, and must be regulated in some way. But to arrive at them we
must begin with the testamentary wishes of the dying and the case of
those who may have happened to die intestate. When I said, Cleinias,
that we must regulate them, I had in my mind the difficulty and
perplexity in which all such matters are involved. You cannot leave
them unregulated, for individuals would make regulations at variance
with one another, and repugnant to the laws and habits of the living
and to their own previous habits, if a person were simply allowed to
make any will which he pleased, and this were to take effect in
whatever state he may have been at the end of his life; for most of us
lose our senses in a manner, and feel crushed when we think that we
are about to die.
Cle. What do you mean, Stranger?
Ath. O Cleinias, a man when he is about to die is an intractable
creature, and is apt to use language which causes a great deal of
anxiety and trouble to the legislator.
Cle. In what way?
Ath. He wants to have the entire control of all his property, and
will use angry words.
Cle. Such as what?
Ath. O ye Gods, he will say, how monstrous that I am not allowed
to give, or not to give my own to whom I will-less to him who has been
bad to me, and more to him who has been good to me, and whose
badness and goodness have been tested by me in time of sickness or
in old age and in every other sort of fortune!
Cle. Well Stranger, and may he not very fairly say so?
Ath. In my opinion, Cleinias, the ancient legislators were too
good-natured, and made laws without sufficient observation or
consideration of human things.
Cle. What do you mean?
Ath. I mean, my friend that they were afraid of the testator's
reproaches, and so they passed a law to the effect that a man should
be allowed to dispose of his property in all respects as he liked; but
you and I, if I am not mistaken, will have something better to say
to our departing citizens.
Cle. What?
Ath. O my friends, we will say to them, hard is it for you, who
are creatures of a day, to know what is yours-hard too, as the Delphic
oracle says, to know yourselves at this hour. Now I, as the
legislator, regard you and your possessions, not as belonging to
yourselves, but as belonging to your whole family, both past and
future, and yet more do regard both family and possessions as
belonging to the state; wherefore, if some one steals upon you with
flattery, when you are tossed on the sea of disease or old age, and
persuades you to dispose of your property in a way that is not for the
best, I will not, if I can help, allow this; but I will legislate with
a view to the whole, considering what is best both for the state and
for the family, esteeming as I ought the feelings of an individual
at a lower rate; and I hope that you will depart in peace and kindness
towards us, as you are going the way of all mankind; and we will
impartially take care of all your concerns, not neglecting any of
them, if we can possibly help. Let this be our prelude and consolation
to the living and dying, Cleinias, and let the law be as follows:
He who makes a disposition in a testament, if he be the father of
a family, shall first of all inscribe as his heir any one of his
sons whom he may think fit; and if he gives any of his children to
be adopted by another citizen, let the adoption be inscribed. And if
he has a son remaining over and above who has not been adopted upon
any lot, and who may be expected to be sent out to a colony
according to law, to him his father may give as much as he pleases
of the rest of his property, with the exception of the paternal lot
and the fixtures on the lot. And if there are other sons, let him
distribute among them what there is more than the lot in such portions
as he pleases. And if one of the sons has already a house of his
own, he shall not give him of the money, nor shall he give money to
a daughter who has been betrothed, but if she is not betrothed he
may give her money. And if any of the sons or daughters shall be found
to have another lot of land in the country, which has accrued after
the testament has been made, they shall leave the lot which they
have inherited to the heir of the man who has made the will. If the
testator has no sons, but only daughters, let him choose the husband
of any one of his daughters whom he pleases, and leave and inscribe
him as his son and heir. And if a man have lost his son, when he was a
child, and before he could be reckoned among grown-up men, whether his
own or an adopted son, let the testator make mention of the
circumstance and inscribe whom he will to be his second son in hope of
better fortune. If the testator has no children at all, he may
select and give to any one whom he pleases the tenth part of the
property which he has acquired; but let him not be blamed if he
gives all the rest to his adopted son, and makes a friend of him
according to the law. If the sons of a man require guardians, and: the
father when he dies leaves a will appointing guardians, those have
been named by him, whoever they are and whatever their number be, if
they are able and willing to take charge of the children, shall be
recognized according to the provisions of the will. But if he dies and
has made no will, or a will in which he has appointed no guardians,
then the next of kin, two on the father's and two on the mother's
side, and one of the friends of the deceased, shall have the authority
of guardians, whom the guardians of the law shall appoint when the
orphans require guardians. And the fifteen eldest guardians of the law
shall have the whole care and charge of the orphans, divided into
threes according to seniority-a body of three for one year, and then
another body of three for the next year, until the cycle of the five
periods is complete; and this, as far as possible, is to continue
always. If a man dies, having made no will at all, and leaves sons who
require the care of guardians, they shall share in the protection
which is afforded by these laws.
And if a man dying by some unexpected fate leaves daughters behind
him, let him pardon the legislator if he gives them in marriage, he
have a regard only to two out of three conditions-nearness of kin
and the preservation of the lot, and omits the third condition,
which a father would naturally consider, for he would choose out of
all the citizens a son for himself, and a husband for his daughter,
with a view to his character and disposition-the father, say, shall
forgive the legislator if he disregards this, which to him is an
impossible consideration. Let the law about these matters where
practicable be as follows:-If a man dies without making a will, and
leaves behind him daughters, let his brother, being the son of the
same father or of the same mother, having no lot, marry the daughter
and have the lot of the dead man. And if he have no brother, but
only a brother's son, in like manner let them marry, if they be of a
suitable age; and if there be not even a brother's son, but only the
son of a sister, let them do likewise, and so in the fourth degree, if
there be only the testator's father's brother, or in the fifth degree,
his father's brother's son, or in the sixth degree, the child of his
father's sister. Let kindred be always reckoned in this way: if a
person leaves daughters the relationship shall proceed upwards through
brothers and sisters, and brothers' and sisters' children, and first
the males shall come, and after them the females in the same family.
The judge shall consider and determine the suitableness or
unsuitableness of age in marriage; he shall make an inspection of
the males naked, and of the women naked down to the navel. And if
there be a lack of kinsmen in a family extending to grandchildren of a
brother, or to the grandchildren of a grandfather's children, the
maiden may choose with the consent of her guardians any one of the
citizens who is willing and whom she wills, and he shall be the heir
of the dead man, and the husband of his daughter. Circumstances
vary, and there may sometimes be a still greater lack of relations
within the limits of the state; and if any maiden has no kindred
living in the city, and there is some one who has been sent out to a
colony, and she is disposed to make him the heir of her father's
possessions, if he be indeed of her kindred, let him proceed to take
the lot according to the regulation of the law; but if he be not of
her kindred, she having no kinsmen within the city, and he be chosen
by the daughter of the dead man, and empowered to marry by the
guardians, let him return home and take the lot of him who died
intestate. And if a man has no children, either male or female, and
dies without making a will, let the previous law in general hold;
and let a man and a woman go forth from the family and share the
deserted house, and let the lot belong absolutely to them; and let the
heiress in the first degree be a sister, and in a second degree a
daughter of a brother, and in the third, a daughter of a sister, in
the fourth degree the sister of a father, and in the fifth degree
the daughter of a father's brother, and in a sixth degree of a
father's sister; and these shall dwell with their male kinsmen,
according to the degree of relationship and right, as we enacted
before. Now we must not conceal from ourselves that such laws are
apt to be oppressive and that there may sometimes be a hardship in the
lawgiver commanding the kinsman of the dead man to marry his relation;
be may be thought not to have considered the innumerable hindrances
which may arise among men in the execution of such ordinances; for
there may be cases in which the parties refuse to obey, and are
ready to do anything rather than marry, when there is some bodily or
mental malady or defect among those who are bidden to marry or be
married. Persons may fancy that the legislator never thought of
this, but they are mistaken; wherefore let us make a common prelude on
behalf of the lawgiver and of his subjects, the law begging the latter
to forgive the legislator, in that he, having to take care of the
common weal, cannot order at the same time the various circumstances
of individuals, and begging him to pardon them if naturally they are
sometimes unable to fulfil the act which he in his ignorance imposes
upon them.
Cle. And how, Stranger, can we act most fairly under the
circumstances?
Ath. There must be arbiters chosen to deal with such laws and the
subjects of them.
Cle. What do you mean?
Ath. I mean to say, that a case may occur in which the nephew,
having a rich father, will be unwilling to marry the daughter of his
uncle; he will have a feeling of pride, and he will wish to look
higher. And there are cases in which the legislator will be imposing
upon him the greatest calamity, and he will be compelled to disobey
the law, if he is required, for example, to take a wife who is mad, or
has some other terrible malady of soul or body, such as makes life
intolerable to the sufferer. Then let what we are saying concerning
these cases be embodied in a law:-If any one finds fault with the
established laws respecting testaments, both as to other matters and
especially in what relates to marriage, and asserts that the
legislator, if he were alive and present, would not compel him to
obey-that is to say, would not compel those who are by our law
required to marry or be given in marriage, to do either-and some
kinsman or guardian dispute this, the reply is that the legislator
left fifteen of the guardians of the law to be arbiters and fathers of
orphans, male or female, and to them let the disputants have recourse,
and by their aid determine any matters of the kind, admitting their
decision to be final. But if any one thinks that too great power is
thus given to the guardians of the law, let him bring his
adversaries into the court of the select judges, and there have the
points in dispute determined. And he who loses the cause shall have
censure and blame from the legislator, which, by a man of sense, is
felt to be a penalty far heavier than a great loss of money.
Thus will orphan children have a second birth. After their first
birth we spoke of their nurture and education, and after their
second birth, when they have lost their parents, we ought to take
measures that the misfortune of orphanhood may be as little sad to
them as possible. In the first place, we say that the guardians of the
law are lawgivers and fathers to them, not inferior to their natural
fathers. Moreover, they shall take charge of them year by year as of
their own kindred; and we have given both to them and to the
children's own guardians a suitable admonition concerning the
nurture of orphans. And we seem to have spoken opportunely in our
former discourse, when we said that the souls of the dead have the
power after death of taking an interest in human affairs, about
which there are many tales and traditions, long indeed, but true;
and seeing that they are so many and so ancient, we must believe them,
and we must also believe the lawgivers, who tell us that these
things are true, if they are not to be regarded as utter fools. But if
these things are really so, in the first place men should have a
fear of the Gods above, who regard the loneliness of the orphans;
and in the second place of the souls of the departed, who by nature
incline to take an especial care of their own children, and are
friendly to those who honour, and unfriendly to those who dishonour
them. Men should also fear the souls of the living who are aged and
high in honour; wherever a city is well ordered and prosperous,
their descendants cherish them, and so live happily; old persons are
quick to see and hear all that relates to them, and are propitious
to those who are just in the fulfilment of such duties, and they
punish those who wrong the orphan and the desolate, considering that
they are the greatest and most sacred of trusts. To all which
matters the guardian and magistrate ought to apply his mind, if he has
any, and take heed of the nurture and education of the orphans,
seeking in every possible way to do them good, for he is making a
contribution to his own good and that of his children. He who obeys
the tale which precedes the law, and does no wrong to an orphan,
will never experience the wrath of the legislator. But he who is
disobedient, and wrongs any one who is bereft of father or mother,
shall pay twice the penalty which he would have paid if he had wronged
one whose parents had been alive. As touching other legislation
concerning guardians in their relation to orphans, or concerning
magistrates and their superintendence of the guardians, if they did
not possess examples of the manner in which children of freemen should
be brought up in the bringing up of their own children, and of the
care of their property in the care of their own, or if they had not
just laws fairly stated about these very things-there would have
been reason in making laws for them, under the idea that they were a
peculiar-class, and we might distinguish and make separate rules for
the life of those who are orphans and of those who are not orphans.
But as the case stands, the condition of orphans with us not different
from the case of those who have father, though in regard to honour and
dishonour, and the attention given to them, the two are not usually
placed upon a level. Wherefore, touching the legislation about
orphans, the law speaks in serious accents, both of persuasion and
threatening, and such a threat as the following will be by no means
out of place:-He who is the guardian of an orphan of either sex, and
he among the guardians of the law to whom the superintendence of
this guardian has been assigned, shall love the unfortunate orphan
as though he were his own child, and he shall be as careful and
diligent in the management of his possessions as he would be if they
were his own, or even more careful and dilligent. Let every one who
has the care of an orphan observe this law. But any one who acts
contrary to the law on these matters, if he be a guardian of the
child, may be fined by a magistrate, or, if he be himself a
magistrate, the guardian may bring him before the court of select
judges, and punish him, if convicted, by exacting a fine of double the
amount of that inflicted by the court. And if a guardian appears to
the relations of the orphan, or to any other citizen, to act
negligently or dishonestly, let them bring him before the same
court, and whatever damages are given against him, let him pay
fourfold, and let half belong to the orphan and half to him who
procured the conviction. If any orphan arrives at years of discretion,
and thinks that he has been ill-used by his guardians, let him
within five years of the expiration of the guardianship be allowed
to bring them to trial; and if any of them be convicted, the court
shall determine what he shall pay or suffer. And if magistrate shall
appear to have wronged the orphan by neglect, and he be convicted, let
the court determine what he shall suffer or pay to the orphan, and
if there be dishonesty in addition to neglect, besides paying the
fine, let him be deposed from his office of guardian of the law, and
let the state appoint another guardian of the law for the city and for
the country in his room.
Greater differences than there ought to be sometimes arise between
fathers and sons, on the part either of fathers who will be of opinion
that the legislator should enact that they may, if they wish, lawfully
renounce their son by the proclamation of a herald in the face of
the world, or of sons who think that they should be allowed to
indict their fathers on the charge of imbecility when they are
disabled by disease or old age. These things only happen, as a
matter of fact, where the natures of men are utterly bad; for where
only half is bad, as, for example, if the father be not bad, but the
son be bad, or conversely, no great calamity is the result of such
an amount of hatred as this. In another state, a son disowned by his
father would not of necessity cease to be a citizen, but in our state,
of which these are to be the laws, the disinherited must necessarily
emigrate into another country, for no addition can be made even of a
single family to the 5040 households; and, therefore, he who
deserves to suffer these things must be renounced not only by his
father, who is a single person, but by the whole family, and what is
done in these cases must be regulated by some such law as the
following:-He who in the sad disorder of his soul has a mind, justly
or unjustly, to expel from his family a son whom he has begotten and
brought up, shall not lightly or at once execute his purpose; but
first of all he shall collect together his own kinsmen extending to
cousins, and in like manner his son's kinsmen by the mother's side,
and in their presence he shall accuse his son, setting forth that he
deserves at the hands of them all to be dismissed from the family; and
the son shall be allowed to address them in a similar manner, and show
that he does not deserve to suffer any of these things. And if the
father persuades them, and obtains the suffrages of more than half
of his kindred, exclusive of the father and mother and the offender
himself-I say, if he obtains more than half the suffrages of all the
other grown-up members of the family, of both sexes, the father
shall be permitted to put away his son, but not otherwise. And if
any other citizen is willing to adopt the son who is put away, no
law shall hinder him; for the characters of young men are subject to
many changes in the course of their lives. And if he has been put
away, and in a period of ten years no one is willing to adopt him, let
those who have the care of the superabundant population which is
sent out into colonies, see to him, in order that he may be suitably
provided for in the colony. And if disease or age or harshness of
temper, or all these together, makes a man to be more out of his
mind than the rest of the world are-but this is not observable, except
to those who live with him-and he, being master of his property, is
the ruin of the house, and his son doubts and hesitates about
indicting his father for insanity, let the law in that case or, that
he shall first of all go to the eldest guardians of the law and tell
them of his father's misfortune, and they shall duly look into the
matter, and take counsel as to whether he shall indict him or not. And
if they advise him to proceed, they shall be both his witnesses and
his advocates; and if the father is cast, he shall henceforth be
incapable of ordering the least particular of his life; let him be
as a child dwelling in the house for the remainder of his days. And if
a man and his wife have an unfortunate incompatibility of temper,
ten of the guardians of the law, who are impartial, and ten of the
women who regulate marriages, shall look to the matter, and if they
are able to reconcile them they shall be formally reconciled; but if
their souls are too much tossed with passion, they shall endeavour
to find other partners. Now they are not likely to have very gentle
tempers; and, therefore, we must endeavour to associate with them
deeper and softer natures. Those who have no children, or only a
few, at the time of their separation, should choose their new partners
with a view to the procreation of children; but those who have a
sufficient number of children should separate and marry again in order
that they may have some one to grow old with and that the pair may
take care of one another in age. If a woman dies, leaving children,
male or female, the law will advise rather than compel the husband
to bring up the children without introducing into the house a
stepmother. But if he have no children, then he shall be compelled
to marry until he has begotten a sufficient number of sons to his
family and to the state. And if a man dies leaving a sufficient number
of children, the mother of his children shall remain with them and
bring, them up. But if she appears to be too young to live
virtuously without a husband, let her relations communicate with the
women who superintend marriage, and let both together do what they
think best in these matters; if there is a lack of children, let the
choice be made with a view to having them; two children, one of either
sex, shall be deemed sufficient in the eye of the law. When a child is
admitted to be the offspring of certain parents and is acknowledged by
them, but there is need of a decision as to which parent the child
is to follow-in case a female slave have intercourse with a male
slave, or with a freeman or freedman, the offspring shall always
belong to the master of the female slave. Again, if a free woman
have intercourse with a male slave, the offspring shall belong to
the master of the slave; but if a child be born either of a slave by
her master, or of his mistress by a slave-and this be provence
offspring of the woman and its father shall be sent away by the
women who superintend marriage into another country, and the guardians
of the law shall send away the offspring of the man and its mother.
Neither God, nor a man who has understanding, will ever advise any
one to neglect his parents. To a discourse concerning the honour and
dishonour of parents, a prelude such as the following, about the
service of the Gods, will be a suitable introduction:-There are
ancient customs about the Gods which are universal, and they are of
two kinds: some of the Gods we see with our eyes and we honour them,
of others we honour the images, raising statues of them which we
adore; and though they are lifeless, yet we imagine that the living
Gods have a good will and gratitude to us on this account. Now, if a
man has a father or mother, or their fathers or mothers treasured up
in his house stricken in years, let him consider that no statue can be
more potent to grant his requests than they are, who are sitting at
his hearth if only he knows how to show true service to them.
Cle. And what do you call the true mode of service?
Ath. I will tell you, O my friend, for such things are worth
listening to.
Cle. Proceed.
Ath. Oedipus, as tradition says, when dishonoured by his sons,
invoked on them curses which every one declares to have been heard and
ratified by the Gods, and Amyntor in his wrath invoked curses on his
son Phoenix, and Theseus upon Hippolytus, and innumerable others
have also called down wrath upon their children, whence it is clear
that the Gods listen to the imprecations of parents; for the curses of
parents are, as they ought to be, mighty against their children as
no others are. And shall we suppose that the prayers of a father or
mother who is specially dishonoured by his or her children, are
heard by the Gods in accordance with nature; and that if a parent is
honoured by them, and in the gladness of his heart earnestly
entreats the Gods in his prayers to do them good, he is not equally
heard, and that they do not minister to his request? If not, they
would be very unjust ministers of good, and that we affirm to be
contrary to their nature.
Cle. Certainly.
Ath. May we not think, as I was saying just now, that we can possess
no image which is more honoured by the Gods, than that of a father
or grandfather, or of a mother stricken in years? whom when a man
honours, the heart of the God rejoices, and he is ready to answer
their prayers. And, truly, the figure of an ancestor is a wonderful
thing, far higher than that of a lifeless image. For the living,
when they are honoured by us, join in our prayers, and when they are
dishonoured, they utter imprecations against us; but lifeless
objects do neither. And therefore, if a man makes a right use of his
father and grandfather and other aged relations, he will have images
which above all others will win him the favour of the Gods.
Cle. Excellent.
Ath. Every man of any understanding fears and respects the prayers
of parents, knowing well that many times and to many persons they have
been accomplished. Now these things being thus ordered by nature, good
men think it a blessing from heaven if their parents live to old age
and reach the utmost limit of human life, or if taken away before
their time they are deeply regretted by them; but to bad men parents
are always a cause of terror. Wherefore let every man honour with
every sort of lawful honour his own parents, agreeably to what has now
been said. But if this prelude be an unmeaning sound in the cars of
any one, let the law follow, which may be rightly imposed in these
terms:-If any one in this city be not sufficiently careful of his
parents, and do not regard and gratify in every respect their wishes
more than those of his sons and of his other offspring or of
himself-let him who experiences this sort of treatment either come
himself, or send some one to inform the three eldest guardians of
the law, and three of the women who have the care of marriages; and
let them look to the matter and punish youthful evil-doers with
stripes and bonds if they are under thirty years of age, that is to
say, if they be men, or if they be women, let them undergo the same
punishment up to forty years of age. But if, when they are still
more advanced in years, they continue the same neglect of their
parents, and do any hurt to any of them, let them be brought before
a court in which every single one of the eldest citizens shall be
the judges, and if the offender be convicted, let the court
determine what he ought to pay or suffer, and any penalty may be
imposed on him which a man can pay or suffer. If the person who has
been wronged be unable to inform the magistrates, let any freeman
who hears of his case inform, and if he do not, he shall be deemed
base, and shall be liable to have a suit for damage brought against
him by any one who likes. And if a slave inform, he shall receive
freedom; and if he be the slave of the injurer or injured party, he
shall be set free by the magistrates, or if he belong to any other
citizen, the public shall pay a price on his behalf to the owner;
and let the magistrates take heed that no one wrongs him out of
revenge, because he has given information.
Cases in which one man injures another by poisons, and which prove
fatal, have been already discussed; but about other cases in which a
person intentionally and of malice harms another with meats, or
drinks, or ointments, nothing has as yet been determined. For there
are two kinds of poisons used among men, which cannot clearly be
distinguished. There is the kind just now explicitly mentioned,
which injures bodies by the use of other bodies according to a natural
law; there is also another kind which persuades the more daring
class that they can do injury by sorceries, and incantations, and
magic knots, as they are termed, and makes others believe that they
above all persons are injured by the powers of the magician. Now it is
not easy to know the nature of all these things; nor if a man do
know can he readily persuade others to believe him. And when men are
disturbed in their minds at the sight of waxen images fixed either
at their doors, or in a place where three ways meet, or on the
sepulchres of parents, there is no use in trying to persuade them that
they should despise all such things because they have no certain
knowledge about them. But we must have a law in two parts,
concerning poisoning, in whichever of the two ways the attempt is
made, and we must entreat, and exhort, and advise men not to have
recourse to such practices, by which they scare the multitude out of
their wits, as if they were children, compelling the legislator and
the judge to heal the fears which the sorcerer arouses, and to tell
them in the first place, that he who attempts to poison or enchant
others knows not what he is doing, either as regards the body
(unless he has a knowledge of medicine), or as regards his
enchantments (unless he happens to be a prophet or diviner). Let the
law, then, run as follows about poisoning or witchcraft:-He who
employs poison to do any injury, not fatal, to a man himself, or to
his servants, or any injury, whether fatal or not, to his cattle or
his bees, if he be a physician, and be convicted of poisoning, shall
be punished with death; or if he be a private person, the court
shall determine what he is to pay or suffer. But he who seems to be
the sort of man injures others by magic knots, or enchantments, or
incantations, or any of the like practices, if he be a prophet or
diviner, let him die; and if, not being a prophet, he be convicted
of witchcraft, as in the previous case, let the court fix what he
ought to pay or suffer.
When a man does another any injury by theft or violence, for the
greater injury let him pay greater damages to the injured man, and
less for the smaller injury; but in all cases, whatever the injury may
have been, as much as will compensate the loss. And besides the
compensation of the wrong, let a man pay a further penalty for the
chastisement of his offence: he who has done the wrong instigated by
the folly of another, through the lightheartedness of youth or the
like, shall pay a lighter penalty; but he who has injured another
through his own folly, when overcome by pleasure or pain, in
cowardly fear, or lust, or envy, or implacable anger, shall endure a
heavier punishment. Not that he is punished because he did wrong,
for that which is done can never be undone, but in order that in
future times, he, and those who see him corrected, may utterly hate
injustice, or at any rate abate much of their evil-doing. Having an
eye to all these things, the law, like a good archer, should aim at
the right measure of punishment, and in all cases at the deserved
punishment. In the attainment of this the judge shall be a
fellow-worker with the legislator, whenever the law leaves to him to
determine what the offender shall suffer or pay; and the legislator,
like a painter, shall give a rough sketch of the cases in which the
law is to be applied. This is what we must do, Megillus and
Cleinias, in the best and fairest manner that we can, saying what
the punishments are to be of all actions of theft and violence, and
giving laws of such a kind as the Gods and sons of Gods would have
us give.
If a man is mad he shall not be at large in the city, but his
relations shall keep him at home in any way which they can; or if not,
let them pay a penalty-he who is of the highest class shall pay a
penalty of one hundred drachmae, whether he be a slave or a freeman
whom he neglects; and he of the second class shall pay four-fifths
of a mina; and he of the third class three-fifths; and he of the
fourth class two-fifths. Now there are many sorts of madness, some
arising out of disease, which we have already mentioned; and there are
other kinds, which originate in an evil and passionate temperament,
and are increased by bad education; out of a slight quarrel this class
of madmen will often raise a storm of abuse against one another, and
nothing of that sort ought to be allowed to occur in a well-ordered
state. Let this, then, be the law about abuse, which shall relate to
all cases:-No one shall speak evil of another; and when a man disputes
with another he shall teach and learn of the disputant and the
company, but he shall abstain from evilspeaking; for out of the
imprecations which men utter against one another, and the feminine
habit of casting aspersions on one another, and using foul names,
out of words light as air, in very deed the greatest enmities and
hatreds spring up. For the speaker gratifies his anger, which is an
ungracious element of his nature; and nursing up his wrath by the
entertainment of evil thoughts, and exacerbating that part of his soul
which was formerly civilized by education, he lives in a state of
savageness and moroseness, and pays a bitter penalty for his anger.
And in such cases almost all men take to saying something ridiculous
about their opponent, and there is no man who is in the habit of
laughing at another who does not miss virtue and earnestness
altogether, or lose the better half of greatness. Wherefore let no one
utter any taunting word at a temple, or at the public sacrifices, or
at games, or in the agora, or in a court of justice, or in any
public assembly. And let the magistrate who presides on these
occasions chastise an offender, and he shall be blameless; but if he
fails in doing so, he shall not claim the prize of virtue; for he is
one who heeds not the laws, and does not do what the legislator
commands. And if in any other place any one indulges in these sort
of revilings, whether he has begun the quarrel or is only retaliating,
let any elder who is present support the law, and control with blows
those who indulge in passion, which is another great evil; and if he
do not, let him be liable to pay the appointed penalty. And we say
now, that he who deals in reproaches against others cannot reproach
them without attempting to ridicule them; and this, when done in a
moment of anger, is what we make matter of reproach against him. But
then, do we admit into our state the comic writers who are so fond
of making mankind ridiculous, if they attempt in a good-natured manner
to turn the laugh against our citizens? or do we draw the
distinction of jest and earnest, and allow a man to make use of
ridicule in jest and without anger about any thing or person; though
as we were saying, not if he be angry have a set purpose? We forbid
earnest-that is unalterably fixed; but we have still to say who are to
be sanctioned or not to be sanctioned by the law in the employment
of innocent humour. A comic poet, or maker of iambic or satirical
lyric verse, shall not be permitted to ridicule any of the citizens,
either by word or likeness, either in anger or without anger. And if
any one is disobedient, the judges shall either at once expel him from
the country, or he shall pay a fine of three minae, which shall be
dedicated to the God who presides over the contests. Those only who
have received permission shall be allowed to write verses at one
another, but they shall be without anger and in jest; in anger and
in serious earnest they shall not be allowed. The decision of this
matter shall be left to the superintendent of the general education of
the young, and whatever he may license, the writer shall be allowed to
produce, and whatever he rejects let not the poet himself exhibit,
or ever teach anybody else, slave or freeman, under the penalty of
being dishonoured, and held disobedient to the laws.
Now he is not to be pitied who is hungry, or who suffers any
bodily pain, but he who is temperate, or has some other virtue, or
part of a virtue, and at the same time suffers from misfortune; it
would be an extraordinary thing if such an one, whether slave or
freeman, were utterly forsaken and fell into the extremes of poverty
in any tolerably well-ordered city or government. Wherefore the
legislator may safely make a law applicable to such cases in the
following terms:-Let there be no beggars in our state; and if
anybody begs, seeking to pick up a livelihood by unavailing prayers,
let the wardens of the agora turn him out of the agora, and the
wardens of the city out of the city, and the wardens of the country
send him out of any other parts of the land across the border, in
order that the land may be cleared of this sort of animal.
If a slave of either sex injure anything, which is not his or her
own, through inexperience, or some improper practice, and the person
who suffers damage be not himself in part to blame, the master of
the slave who has done the harm shall either make full satisfaction,
or give up the the slave who has done has done the injury. But if
master argue that the charge has arisen by collusion between the
injured party and the injurer, with the view of obtaining the slave,
let him sue the person, who says that he has been injured, for
malpractices. And if he gain a conviction, let him receive double
the value which the court fixes as the price of the slave; and if he
lose his suit, let him make amends for the injury, and give up the
slave. And if a beast of burden, or horse, or dog, or any other
animal, injure the property of a neighbour, the owner shall in like
manner pay for the injury.
If any man refuses to be a witness, he who wants him shall summon
him, and he who is summoned shall come to the trial; and if he knows
and is willing to bear witness, let him bear witness, but if he says
he does not know let him swear by the three divinities Zeus, and
Apollo, and Themis, that he does not, and have no more to do with
the cause. And he who is summoned to give witness and does not
answer to his summoner, shall be liable for the harm which ensues
according to law. And if a person calls up as a witness any one who is
acting as a judge, let him give his witness, but he shall not
afterwards vote in the cause. A free woman may give her witness and
plead, if she be more than forty years of age, and may bring an action
if she have no husband; but if her husband be alive she shall only
be allowed to bear witness. A slave of either sex and a child shall be
allowed to give evidence and to plead, but only in cases of murder;
and they must produce sufficient sureties that they will certainly
remain until the trial, in case they should be charged with false
witness. And either of the parties in a cause may bring an
accusation of perjury against witnesses, touching their evidence in
whole or in part, if he asserts that such evidence has been given; but
the accusation must be brought previous to the final decision of the
cause. The magistrates shall preserve the accusations of false
witness, and have them kept under the seal of both parties, and
produce them on the day when the trial for false witness takes
place. If a man be twice convicted of false witness, he shall not be
required, and if thrice, he shall not be allowed to bear witness;
and if he dare to witness after he has been convicted three times, let
any one who pleases inform against him to the magistrates, and let the
magistrates hand him over to the court, and if he be convicted he
shall be punished with death. And in any case in which the evidence is
rightly found to be false, and yet to have given the victory to him
who wins the suit, and more than half the witnesses are condemned, the
decision which was gained by these means shall be a discussion and a
decision as to whether the suit was determined by that false
evidence or and in whichever way the decision may be given, the
previous suit shall be determined accordingly.
There are many noble things in human life, but to most of them
attach evils which are fated to corrupt and spoil them. Is not justice
noble, which has been the civilizer of humanity? How then can the
advocate of justice be other than noble? And yet upon this
profession which is presented to us under the fair name of art has
come an evil reputation. In the first place; we are told that by
ingenious pleas and the help of an advocate the law enables a man to
win a particular cause, whether just or unjust; and the power of
speech which is thereby imparted, are at the service of him sho is
willing to pay for them. Now in our state this so-called art,
whether really an art or only an experience and practice destitute
of any art, ought if possible never to come into existence, or if
existing among us should litten to the request of the legislator and
go away into another land, and not speak contrary to justice. If the
offenders obey we say no more; but those who disobey, the voice of the
law is as follows:-If anyone thinks that he will pervert the power
of justice in the minds of the judges, and unseasonably litigate or
advocate, let any one who likes indict him for malpractices of law and
dishonest advocacy, and let him be judged in the court of select
judges; and if he be convicted, let the court determine whether he may
be supposed to act from a love of money or from contentiousness. And
if he is supposed to act from contentiousness, the court shall fix a
time during which he shall not be allowed to institute or plead a
cause; and if he is supposed to act as be does from love of money,
in case he be a stranger, he shall leave the country, and never return
under penalty of death; but if he be a citizen, he shall die,
because he is a lover of money, in whatever manner gained; and
equally, if he be judged to have acted more than once from
contentiousness, he shall die.
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