906d. Is not this the account given by the man who asserts that the gods are open to bribes?
906d. καθάπερ κυσὶν λύκοι τῶν ἁρπασμάτων σμικρὰ ἀπονέμοιεν, οἱ δὲ ἡμερούμενοι τοῖς δώροις συγχωροῖεν τὰ ποίμνια διαρπάζειν. ἆρʼ οὐχ οὗτος ὁ λόγος ὁ τῶν φασκόντων παραιτητοὺς εἶναι θεούς;
Clin. It is.
ΚΛ. οὗτος μὲν οὖν.
Ath. To which of the guardians aforementioned might a man liken the gods without incurring ridicule? Is it to pilots, who, when warped themselves by wine’sflow and flavor,overturn both ships and sailors?
ΑΘ. τίσιν οὖν δὴ τῶν προρρηθέντων ἀπεικάζων ὁμοίους φύλακας εἶναι θεοὺς οὐκ ἂν καταγέλαστος γίγνοιτο ἀνθρώπων ὁστισοῦν;
906e. Clin. By no means.Ath. And surely not to drivers ranged up for a race and seduced by a gift to lose it in favor of other teams?Clin. If that was the account you gave of them, it would indeed be a horrible comparison.Ath. Nor, surely, to generals or physicians or farmers or herdsmen; nor yet to dogs charmed by wolves? Clin. Hush! That is quite impossible.
906e. πότερον κυβερνήταις, λοιβῇ τε οἴνου κνίσῃ τε παρατρεπομένοις αὐτοῖς, ἀνατρέπουσι δὲ ναῦς τε καὶ ναύτας;ΚΛ. μηδαμῶς.ΑΘ. ἀλλʼ οὔτι μὴν ἡνιόχοισί γε ἐν ἁμίλλῃ συντεταγμένοις, πεισθεῖσιν ὑπὸ δωρεᾶς ἑτέροισι τὴν νίκην ζεύγεσι προδοῦναι.ΚΛ. δεινὴν γὰρ εἰκόνα λέγοις ἂν λέγων τὸν λόγον τοῦτον.ΑΘ. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ στρατηγοῖς γε οὐδʼ ἰατροῖς οὐδὲ γεωργοῖς, οὐδὲ νομεῦσιν μὴν οὐδέ τισι κυσὶν κεκηλημένοις ὑπὸ λύκων.
907a. Ath. Are not all gods the greatest of all guardians, and over the greatest things?Clin. Yes, by far.Ath. Shall we say that those who watch over the fairest things, and who are themselves eminently good at keeping watch, are inferior to dogs and ordinary men, who would never betray justice for the sake of gifts impiously offered by unjust men?
907a. ΚΛ. εὐφήμει· πῶς γὰρ ἄν;ΑΘ. ἀλλʼ οὐ πάντων φυλάκων εἰσὶ μέγιστοι καὶ περὶ τὰ μέγιστα ἡμῖν οἱ πάντες θεοί;ΚΛ. πολύ γε.ΑΘ. τοὺς δὴ κάλλιστά τε πράγματα φυλάττοντας, διαφέροντάς τε αὐτοὺς φυλακῇ πρὸς ἀρετήν, κυνῶν χείρους καὶ ἀνθρώπων μέσων εἶναι φήσομεν, οἳ τὸ δίκαιον οὐκ ἄν ποτε προδοῖεν ἕνεκα δώρων παρὰ ἀδίκων ἀνδρῶν ἀνοσίως διδομένων;
907b. Clin. By no means; it is an intolerable thing to say, and whoever embraces such an opinion would most justly be adjudged the worst and most impious of all the impious men who practice impiety in all its forms.
907b. ΚΛ. οὐδαμῶς· οὔτε ἀνεκτὸς λόγων, τῶν τε περὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν ὄντων κινδυνεύει πᾶς ὁ ταύτης τῆς δόξης ἀντεχόμενος πάντων ἂν τῶν ἀσεβῶν κεκρίσθαι δικαιότατα κάκιστός τε εἶναι καὶ ἀσεβέστατος.
Ath. May we now say that we have fully proved our three propositions,—namely, that the gods exist, and that they are careful, and that they are wholly incapable of being seduced to transgress justice?
ΑΘ. τὰ μὲν δὴ προτεθέντα τρία, θεοί τε ὡς εἰσίν, καὶ ὡς ἐπιμελεῖς, καὶ παρὰ τὸ δίκαιον ὡς παντάπασιν ἀπαραίτητοι, φῶμεν ἱκανῶς ἀποδεδεῖχθαί που;
Clin. Certainly we may; and in these statements you have our support.
ΚΛ. πῶς γὰρ οὔ; καὶ σύμψηφοί γε τούτοις τοῖς λόγοις ἐσμέν.
Ath. And truly they have been made in somewhat vehement terms, in our desire for victory over those wicked men; and our desire for victory was due to our fear lest haply, if they gained the mastery in argument, they should suppose they had gained the right to act as they chose—those men who wickedly hold all those false notions about the gods.
ΑΘ. καὶ μὴν εἴρηνταί γέ πως σφοδρότερον διὰ φιλονικίαν τῶν κακῶν ἀνθρώπων·
907c. On this account we have been zealous to speak with special honor; and if we have produced any good effect, however small, in the way of persuading the men to hate themselves and to feel some love for an opposite kind of character, then our prelude to the laws respecting impiety will not have been spoken amiss.
907c. τούτου γε μὴν ἕνεκα, ὦ φίλε Κλεινία, πεφιλονίκηνται, μή ποτε λόγοις ἡγῶνται κρατοῦντες ἐξουσίαν εἶναι σφίσιν ἃ βούλονται πράττειν οἱ κακοί, ἃ δὴ καὶ ὅσα καὶ οἷα περὶ θεοὺς διανοοῦνται. προθυμία μὲν δὴ διὰ ταῦτα νεωτέρως εἰπεῖν ἡμῖν γέγονεν· εἰ δέ τι καὶ βραχὺ προὔργου πεποιήκαμεν εἰς τὸ πείθειν πῃ τοὺς ἄνδρας ἑαυτοὺς μὲν μισῆσαι, τὰ δʼ ἐναντία πως ἤθη στέρξαι, καλῶς ἡμῖν εἰρημένον ἂν εἴη τὸ προοίμιον ἀσεβείας πέρι νόμων.
907d. Clin. Well, there is hope; and if not, at any rate no fault will be found with the lawgiver in respect of the nature of the argument.Ath. After the prelude it will be proper for us to have a statement of a kind suitable to serve as the laws’ interpreter, forewarning all the impious to quit their ways for those of piety. For those who disobey, this shall be the law concerning impiety:—If anyone commits impiety either by word or deed, he that meets with him shall defend the law by informing the magistrates, and the first magistrates who hear of it shall bring the man up before the court appointed to decide such cases as the laws direct; and if any magistrate on hearing of the matter fail to do this, he himself shall be liable to a charge of impiety at the hands of him who wishes to punish him on behalf of the laws. Ath. And if a man be convicted, the court shall assess one penalty for each separate act of impiety.
907d. ΚΛ. ἀλλὰ ἐλπίς· εἰ δὲ μή, τό γε τοῦ λόγου γένος οὐκ αἰτιάσεται τὸν νομοθέτην.ΑΘ. μετὰ τὸ προοίμιον τοίνυν λόγος οἷος ἂν τῶν νόμων ἑρμηνεὺς ὀρθῶς γίγνοιτο ἡμῖν, προαγορεύων ἐξίστασθαι πᾶσι τοῖς ἀσεβέσι τρόπων τῶν αὑτῶν εἰς τοὺς εὐσεβεῖς. τοῖς δὲ μὴ πειθομένοις ἀσεβείας ὅδε ἔστω πέρι νόμος· ἐάν τις ἀσεβῇ λόγοις εἴτʼ ἔργοις, ὁ παρατυγχάνων ἀμυνέτω σημαίνων πρὸς ἄρχοντας, τῶν δὲ ἀρχόντων οἱ πρῶτοι πυθόμενοι πρὸς τὸ περὶ τούτων ἀποδεδειγμένον κρίνειν δικαστήριον εἰσαγαγόντων κατὰ τοὺς νόμους· ἐὰν δέ τις ἀκούσασα ἀρχὴ μὴ δρᾷ ταῦτα, αὐτὴ ἀσεβείας ὑπόδικος γιγνέσθω τῷ ἐθέλοντι τιμωρεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν νόμων. ἐὰν δέ τις ὄφλῃ, τιμάτω τὸ δικαστήριον ἓν ἑκάστῳ τῶν καθʼ ἓν ἀσεβούντων τίμημα.
908a. Imprisonment shall be imposed in every case; and since there are three prisons in the State (namely, one public prison near the market for most cases, to secure the persons of the average criminals; a second, situated near the assembly-room of the officials who hold nightly assemblies, and named the “reformatory”; and a third, situated in the middle of the country, in the wildest and loneliest spot possible, and named after “retribution” ), and since men are involved in impiety from the three causes which we have described, and from each such cause two forms of impiety result—consequently those who sin in respect of religion fall into six classes which require to be distinguished, as needing penalties that are neither equal nor similar.
908a. ΑΘ. δεσμὸς μὲν οὖν ὑπαρχέτω πᾶσιν· δεσμωτηρίων δὲ ὄντων ἐν τῇ πόλει τριῶν, ἑνὸς μὲν κοινοῦ τοῖς πλείστοις περὶ ἀγοράν, σωτηρίας ἕνεκα τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν σωμάτων, ἑνὸς δὲ περὶ τὸν τῶν νύκτωρ συλλεγομένων σύλλογον, σωφρονιστήριον ἐπονομαζόμενον, ἑνὸς δὲ αὖ κατὰ μέσην τὴν χώραν, ὅπῃπερ ἂν ἔρημός τε καὶ ὡς ὅτι μάλιστα ἀγριώτατος ᾖ τόπος, τιμωρίας ἔχων ἐπωνυμίαν φήμην τινά· περὶ ἀσέβειαν δὲ ὄντων αἰτίαις μὲν τρισίν, αἷσπερ καὶ διήλθομεν, δύο δὲ ἐξ ἑκάστης τῆς τοιαύτης αἰτίας γενομένων, ἓξ ἂν γίγνοιντο ἃ καὶ διακρίσεως ἄξια γένη τῶν περὶ τὰ θεῖα ἐξαμαρτανόντων, οὐκ ἴσης οὐδʼ ὁμοίας δίκης δεόμενα.
908b. For while those who, though they utterly disbelieve in the existence of the gods, possess by nature a just character, both hate the evil and, because of their dislike of injustice, are incapable of being induced to commit unjust actions, and flee from unjust men and love the just, on the other hand, those who, besides holding that the world is empty of gods, are afflicted by incontinence in respect of pleasures and pains, and possess also powerful memories and sharp wits—though both these classes share alike in the disease of atheism, yet in respect of the amount of ruin they bring on other people, the latter class would work more and the former less of evil.
908b. ᾧ γὰρ ἂν μὴ νομίζοντι θεοὺς εἶναι τὸ παράπαν ἦθος φύσει προσγένηται δίκαιον, μισοῦντές τε γίγνονται τοὺς κακούς, καὶ τῷ δυσχεραίνειν τὴν ἀδικίαν οὔτε τὰς τοιαύτας πράξεις προσίενται πράττειν, τούς τε μὴ δικαίους τῶν ἀνθρώπων φεύγουσι καὶ τοὺς δικαίους στέργουσιν·
908c. For whereas the one class will be quite frank in its language about the gods and about sacrifices and oaths, and by ridiculing other people will probably convert others to its views, unless it meets with punishment, the other class, while holding the same opinions as the former, yet being specially “gifted by nature” and being full of craft and guile, is the class out of which are manufactured many diviners and experts in all manner of jugglery; and from it, too, there spring sometimes tyrants and demagogues and generals, and those who plot by means of peculiar mystic rites of their own, and the devices of those who are called “sophists.”
908c. οἷς δʼ ἂν πρὸς τῇ δόξῃ τῇ θεῶν ἔρημα εἶναι πάντα ἀκράτειαί τε ἡδονῶν καὶ λυπῶν προσπέσωσι, μνῆμαί τε ἰσχυραὶ καὶ μαθήσεις ὀξεῖαι παρῶσι, τὸ μὲν μὴ νομίζειν θεοὺς ἀμφοῖν ἂν ἐνυπάρχοι κοινὸν πάθος, τῇ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων λώβῃ τὸ μὲν ἐλάττω, τὸ δὲ πλείω κακὰ ἐργάζοιτʼ ἄν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ λόγῳ τε ἂν περὶ θεοὺς παρρησίας εἴη μεστὸς καὶ περὶ θυσίας τε καὶ ὅρκους, καὶ ὡς τῶν ἄλλων καταγελῶν τάχʼ ἂν ἑτέρους τοιούτους ἀπεργάζοιτο, δίκης μὴ τυγχάνων·
908d. Of these there may be many kinds; but those which call for legislation are two, of which the “ironic” kind commits sins that deserve not one death only or two, while the other kind requires both admonition and imprisonment.
908d. ὁ δὲ δὴ δοξάζων μὲν καθάπερ ἅτερος, εὐφυὴς δὲ ἐπικαλούμενος, δόλου δὲ καὶ ἐνέδρας πλήρης, ἐξ ὧν μάντεις τε κατασκευάζονται πολλοὶ καὶ περὶ πᾶσαν τὴν μαγγανείαν κεκινημένοι, γίγνονται δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ τύραννοι καὶ δημηγόροι καὶ στρατηγοί, καὶ τελεταῖς δὲ ἰδίαις ἐπιβεβουλευκότες, σοφιστῶν τε ἐπικαλουμένων μηχαναί. τούτων δὴ πολλὰ μὲν εἴδη γένοιτʼ ἄν, τὰ δὲ νόμων ἄξια θέσεως δύο, ὧν τὸ μὲν εἰρωνικὸν οὐχ ἑνὸς οὐδὲ δυοῖν ἄξια θανάτοιν ἁμαρτάνον, τὸ δὲ νουθετήσεως ἅμα καὶ δεσμῶν δεόμενον.
Ath. Likewise also the belief that the gods are neglectful breeds two other kinds of impiety; and the belief in their being open to bribes, other two. These kinds being thus distinguished, those criminals who suffer from folly, being devoid of evil disposition and character, shall be placed by the judge according to law in the reformatory for a period of not less than five years, during which time no other of the citizens shall hold intercourse with them, save only those who take part in the nocturnal assembly, and they shall company with them to minister to their souls’ salvation by admonition; and when the period of their incarceration has expired, if any of them seems to be reformed, he shall dwell with those who are reformed, but if not, and if he be convicted again on a like charge, he shall be punished by death.
ΑΘ. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ θεοὺς νομίζον ἀμελεῖν δύʼ ἕτερα γεννᾷ, καὶ τὸ παραιτητοὺς ἄλλα δύο. τούτων δὴ ταύτῃ διεστηκότων, τοὺς μὲν ὑπʼ ἀνοίας ἄνευ κάκης ὀργῆς τε καὶ ἤθους γεγενημένους εἰς τὸ σωφρονιστήριον ὁ δικαστὴς τιθέμενος νόμῳ τιθέσθω μηδὲν ἔλαττον ἐτῶν πέντε, ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ μηδεὶς τῶν πολιτῶν αὐτοῖς ἄλλος συγγιγνέσθω πλὴν οἱ τοῦ νυκτερινοῦ συλλόγου κοινωνοῦντες, ἐπὶ νουθετήσει τε καὶ τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς σωτηρίᾳ ὁμιλοῦντες·
909a. But as to all those who have become like ravening beasts, and who, besides holding that the gods are negligent or open to bribes, despise men, charming the souls of many of the living, and claiming that they charm the souls of the dead, and promising to persuade the gods by bewitching them, as it were, with sacrifices, prayers and incantations, and who try thus to wreck utterly not only individuals, but whole families and States for the sake of money,—if any of these men be pronounced guilty, the court shall order him to be imprisoned according to law in the mid-country jail,
909a. ὅταν δʼ ὁ χρόνος αὐτοῖς ἐξέλθῃ τῶν δεσμῶν, ἐὰν μὲν δοκῇ τις σωφρονεῖν αὐτῶν, οἰκείτω μετὰ τῶν σωφρόνων, ἐὰν δὲ μή, ὀφείλῃ δʼ αὖθις τὴν τοιαύτην δίκην, θανάτῳ ζημιούσθω. ὅσοι δʼ ἂν θηριώδεις γένωνται πρὸς τῷ θεοὺς μὴ νομίζειν ἢ ἀμελεῖς ἢ παραιτητοὺς εἶναι, καταφρονοῦντες δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαγωγῶσι μὲν πολλοὺς τῶν ζώντων, τοὺς δὲ τεθνεῶτας φάσκοντες ψυχαγωγεῖν καὶ θεοὺς ὑπισχνούμενοι πείθειν, ὡς θυσίαις τε καὶ εὐχαῖς καὶ ἐπῳδαῖς γοητεύοντες, ἰδιώτας τε καὶ ὅλας οἰκίας καὶ πόλεις χρημάτων χάριν ἐπιχειρῶσιν κατʼ ἄκρας ἐξαιρεῖν, τούτων δὲ ὃς ἂν ὀφλὼν εἶναι δόξῃ, τιμάτω τὸ δικαστήριον αὐτῷ κατὰ
909c. and shall order that no free man shall approach such criminals at any time, and that they shall receive from the servants a ration of food as fixed by the Law-wardens. And he that dies shall be cast outside the borders without burial; and if any free man assist in burying him, he shall be liable to a charge of impiety at the hands of anyone who chooses to prosecute. And if the dead man leaves children fit for citizenship, the guardians of orphans shall take them also under their charge from the day of their father’s conviction, just as much as any other orphans.
909c. νόμον δεδέσθαι μὲν ἐν τῷ τῶν μεσογέων δεσμωτηρίῳ, προσιέναι δὲ αὐτοῖς μηδένα ἐλεύθερον μηδέποτε, τακτὴν δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν νομοφυλάκων αὐτοὺς τροφὴν παρὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν λαμβάνειν. ἀποθανόντα δὲ ἔξω τῶν ὁρίων ἐκβάλλειν ἄταφον· ἐὰν δέ τις ἐλεύθερος συνθάπτῃ, δίκας ἀσεβείας τῷ ἐθέλοντι λαγχάνειν ὑπεχέτω. παῖδας δὲ ἂν μὲν καταλείπῃ τῇ πόλει ἱκανούς, οἱ τῶν ὀρφανῶν ἐπιμελούμενοι καὶ τούτων ὡς ὄντων ὀρφανῶν ἐπιμελείσθων μηδὲν χεῖρον τῶν ἄλλων ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας ἧς ἂν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν ὄφλῃ τὴν δίκην.κοινὸν δʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσιν νόμον κεῖσθαι χρεών, ὃς ἐλάττω τε εἰς θεοὺς αὐτῶν τοὺς πολλοὺς ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ πλημμελεῖν ἂν ποιοῖ, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀνοήτους ἧττον γίγνεσθαι, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐξεῖναι θεοπολεῖν παρὰ νόμον.
909d. For all these offenders one general law must be laid down, such as will cause the majority of them not only to offend less against the gods by word and deed, but also to become less foolish, through being forbidden to trade in religion illegally. To deal comprehensively with all such cases the following law shall be enacted:—No one shall possess a shrine in his own house: when any one is moved in spirit to do sacrifice, he shall go to the public places to sacrifice, and he shall hand over his oblations to the priests and priestesses to whom belongs the consecration thereof; and he himself, together with any associates he may choose, shall join in the prayers.
909d. ἔστω γὰρ νόμος ὅδε τοῖς σύμπασιν κείμενος ἁπλῶς· Ἱερὰ μηδὲ εἷς ἐν ἰδίαις οἰκίαις ἐκτήσθω· θύειν δʼ ὅταν ἐπὶ νοῦν ἴῃ τινί, πρὸς τὰ δημόσια ἴτω θύσων, καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσί τε καὶ ἱερείαις ἐγχειριζέτω τὰ θύματα, οἷς ἁγνεῖαι τούτων ἐπιμελεῖς. συνευξάσθω δὲ αὐτός τε καὶ ὃν ἂν ἐθέλῃ μετʼ αὐτοῦ συνεύχεσθαι.
910. Ath. This procedure shall be observed for the following reasons—It is no easy task to found temples and gods, and to do this rightly needs much deliberation; yet it is customary for all women especially, and for sick folk everywhere, and those in peril or in distress (whatever the nature of the distress), and conversely for those who have had a slice of good fortune, to dedicate whatever happens to be at hand at the moment, and to vow sacrifices and promise the founding of shrines to gods and demi-gods and children of gods; and through terrors caused by waking visions or by dreams, and in like manner as they recall many visions and try to provide remedies for each of them, they are wont to found altars and shrines, and to fill with them every house and every village, and open places too, and every spot which was the scene of such experiences.
910. ΑΘ.ταῦτα δὲ γιγνόμενα τῶν τοιῶνδε χάριν ἔστω. ἱερὰ καὶ θεοὺς οὐ ῥᾴδιον ἱδρύεσθαι, μεγάλης δὲ διανοίας τινὸς ὀρθῶς δρᾶν τὸ τοιοῦτον, ἔθος τε γυναιξί τε δὴ διαφερόντως πάσαις καὶ τοῖς ἀσθενοῦσι πάντῃ καὶ κινδυνεύουσι καὶ ἀποροῦσιν, ὅπῃ τις ἂν ἀπορῇ, καὶ τοὐναντίον ὅταν εὐπορίας τινὸς λάβωνται, καθιεροῦν τε τὸ παρὸν ἀεὶ καὶ θυσίας εὔχεσθαι καὶ ἱδρύσεις ὑπισχνεῖσθαι θεοῖς καὶ δαίμοσιν καὶ παισὶν θεῶν, ἔν τε φάσμασιν ἐγρηγορότας διὰ φόβους καὶ ἐν ὀνείροις, ὡς δʼ αὕτως ὄψεις πολλὰς ἀπομνημονεύοντας ἑκάσταισί τε αὐτῶν ἄκη ποιουμένους, βωμοὺς καὶ ἱερὰ πάσας μὲν οἰκίας, πάσας δὲ κώμας ἔν τε καθαροῖς ἱδρυομένους ἐμπιμπλάναι καὶ ὅπῃ τις ἔτυχε τῶν τοιούτων.
910a. For all these reasons their action should be governed by the law now stated; and a further reason is this—to prevent impious men from acting fraudulently in regard to these matters also, by setting up shrines and altars in private houses, thinking to propitiate the gods privily by sacrifices and vows, and thus increasing infinitely their own iniquity, whereby they make both themselves and those better men who allow them guilty in the eyes of the gods, so that the whole State reaps the consequences of their impiety in some degree—and deserves to reap them.
910a. ὧν ἕνεκα χρὴ πάντων ποιεῖν κατὰ τὸν νῦν λεγόμενον νόμον· πρὸς τούτοις δὲ ἕνεκα τῶν ἀσεβούντων, ἵνα μὴ καὶ ταῦτα κλέπτοντες ταῖς πράξεσιν, ἱερά τε καὶ βωμοὺς ἐν ἰδίαις οἰκίαις ἱδρυόμενοι, λάθρᾳ τοὺς θεοὺς ἵλεως οἰόμενοι ποιεῖν θυσίαις τε καὶ εὐχαῖς, εἰς ἄπειρον τὴν ἀδικίαν αὐξάνοντες αὑτοῖς τε ἐγκλήματα πρὸς θεῶν ποιῶνται καὶ τοῖς ἐπιτρέπουσιν, οὖσιν αὐτῶν βελτίοσιν, καὶ πᾶσα οὕτως ἡ πόλις ἀπολαύῃ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τρόπον τινὰ δικαίως.
910b. The lawgiver himself, however, will not be blamed by the god; for this shall be the law laid down:—Shrines of the gods no one must possess in a private house; and if anyone is proved to possess and worship at any shrine other than the public shrines—be the possessor man or woman,—and if he is guilty of no serious act of impiety, he that notices the fact shall inform the Law-wardens, and they shall give orders for the private shrines to be removed to the public temples, and if the owner disobeys the order, they shall punish him until he removes them.
910b. τὸν μὲν δὴ νομοθέτην ὁ θεὸς οὐ μέμψεται· κείσθω γὰρ νόμος οὗτος· μὴ κεκτῆσθαι θεῶν ἐν ἰδίαις οἰκίαις ἱερά, τὸν δὲ φανέντα κεκτημένον ἕτερα καὶ ὀργιάζοντα πλὴν τὰ δημόσια, ἐὰν μὲν ἄδικον μηδὲν τῶν μεγάλων καὶ ἀνοσίων εἰργασμένος ἀνὴρ ἢ καὶ γυνὴ κεκτῆταί τις, ὁ μὲν αἰσθανόμενος καὶ εἰσαγγελλέτω τοῖς νομοφύλαξιν, οἱ δὲ προσταττόντων εἰς τὰ δημόσια ἀποφέρειν ἱερὰ τὰ ἴδια, μὴ πείθοντες δὲ ζημιούντων ἕως ἂν ἀπενεχθῇ· ἐὰν δέ τις ἀσεβήσας μὴ παιδίων ἀλλʼ ἀνδρῶν ἀσέβημα ἀνοσίων γένηται φανερός, εἴτε ἐν ἰδίοις ἱδρυσάμενος εἴτʼ ἐν δημοσίοις θύσας ἱερὰ θεοῖς οἱστισινοῦν, ὡς οὐ καθαρὸς ὢν θύων θανάτῳ ζημιούσθω.
910d. And if anyone be proved to have committed an impious act, such as is not the venial offence of children, but the serious irreligion of grown men, whether by setting up a shrine on private ground, or on public ground, by doing sacrifice to any gods whatsoever, for sacrificing in a state of impurity he shall be punished with death. And the Law-wardens shall judge what is a childish or venial offence and what not, and then shall bring the offenders before the court, and shall impose upon them the due penalty for their impiety.
910d. τὸ δὲ παίδειον ἢ μὴ κρίναντες οἱ νομοφύλακες, εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον οὕτως εἰσαγαγόντες, τὴν τῆς ἀσεβείας δίκην τούτοις ἐπιτελούντων.
Ath. In the next place our business transactions one with another will require proper regulation. The following will serve for a comprehensive rule:—as far as possible, no one shall touch my goods nor move them in the slightest degree, if he has in no wise at all got my consent; and I must act in like manner regarding the goods of all other men, keeping prudent mind. As the first of such things let us mention treasure: that which a man has laid by in store for himself and his family (he not being one of my parents), I must never pray to the gods to find, nor, if I do find it, may I move it, nor may I ever tell of it to the soothsayers (so-called), who are certain to counsel me to take up what is laid down in the ground.
ΑΘ. τὸ δὴ μετὰ ταῦτʼ εἴη συμβολαίων ἂν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἡμῖν δεόμενα προσηκούσης τάξεως. ἁπλοῦν δέ γέ ἐστίν που τό γε τοιοῦτον· μήτε οὖν τις τῶν ἐμῶν χρημάτων ἅπτοιτο εἰς δύναμιν, μηδʼ αὖ κινήσειεν μηδὲ τὸ βραχύτατον ἐμὲ μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς πείθων· κατὰ ταὐτὰ δὲ ταῦτα καὶ περὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐγὼ δρῴην, νοῦν ἔχων ἔμφρονα. θησαυρὸν δὴ λέγωμεν πρῶτον τῶν τοιούτων ὅν τις αὑτῷ καὶ τοῖς αὑτοῦ κειμήλιον ἔθετο, μὴ τῶν ἐμῶν ὢν πατέρων· μήθʼ εὑρεῖν ποτε θεοῖς εὐξαίμην μήθʼ εὑρὼν κινήσαιμι, μηδʼ αὖ τοῖς λεγομένοις μάντεσιν ἀνακοινώσαιμι τοῖς ἁμῶς γέ πώς μοι συμβουλεύουσιν ἀνελεῖν τὴν γῇ παρακαταθήκην.
913b. For never should I gain so much pecuniary profit by its removal, as I should win increase in virtue of soul and in justice by not removing it; and by preferring to gain justice in my soul rather than money in my purse, I should be winning a greater in place of a lesser gain, and that too in a better part of me. The rule, “Thou shalt not move the immovable,” is rightly applicable to many cases; and the case before us is one of them.
913b. οὐ γάρ ποτε τοσοῦτον εἰς χρημάτων ὠφεληθείην ἂν κτῆσιν ἀνελών, ὅσον εἰς ὄγκον πρὸς ἀρετὴν ψυχῆς καὶ τὸ δίκαιον ἐπιδιδοίην μὴ ἀνελόμενος, κτῆμα ἀντὶ κτήματος ἄμεινον ἐν ἀμείνονι κτησάμενος, δίκην ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ πλούτου προτιμήσας ἐν οὐσίᾳ κεκτῆσθαι πρότερον· ἐπὶ πολλοῖς γὰρ δὴ λεγόμενον εὖ τὸ μὴ κινεῖν τὰ ἀκίνητα καὶ περὶ τούτου λέγοιτʼ ἂν ὡς ἑνὸς ἐκείνων ὄντος.
913c. And men ought also to believe the stories told about these matters,—how that such conduct is injurious to the getting of children. But if any man proves to be both regardless of children and neglectful of the legislator, and, without the consent of the depositor, takes up a treasure which neither he himself nor any of his forefathers has deposited, and thus breaks a law most fair, and that most comprehensive ordinance of the noble man who said, “Take not up what you laid not down,”—the man who despises these two lawgivers and takes up what he has not laid down himself, it being no small thing but sometimes a vast quantity of treasure,—what penalty should such a man suffer?
913c. πείθεσθαι δὲ χρὴ καὶ τοῖς περὶ ταῦτα λεγομένοις μύθοις, ὡς εἰς παίδων γενεὰν οὐ σύμφορα τὰ τοιαῦτα· ὃς δʼ ἂν παίδων τε ἀκηδὴς γένηται καί, τοῦ θέντος τὸν νόμον ἀμελήσας, ἃ μήτε αὐτὸς κατέθετο μήτε αὖ πατέρων τις πατήρ, μὴ πείσας τὸν θέμενον ἀνέληται, κάλλιστον νόμων διαφθείρων, ἁπλούστατον καὶ οὐδαμῇ ἀγεννοῦς ἀνδρὸς νομοθέτημα, ὃς εἶπεν· ἃ μὴ κατέθου, μὴ ἀνέλῃ—τούτοιν τοῖν δυοῖν νομοθέταιν καταφρονήσαντα καὶ ἀνελόμενον, οὔτι σμικρόν, ὃ μὴ κατέθετο αὐτός, πλῆθος δʼ ἔστιν ὅτε θησαυροῦ παμμέγεθες, τί χρὴ πάσχειν;
914. Ath. God knows what, at the hands of gods; but the man that first notices an act of this kind shall report it, if it occur in the city, to the city-stewards, or if in a public market, to the market-stewards; and if it occur in the country outside, he shall declare it to the rural stewards and their officers.
914. ΑΘ. ὑπὸ μὲν δὴ θεῶν, ὁ θεὸς οἶδεν· ὁ δὲ κατιδὼν πρῶτος ἀγγελλέτω, ἐὰν μὲν ἐν ἄστει γίγνηται τὸ τοιοῦτον, τοῖς ἀστυνόμοις, ἐὰν δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἐν ἀγορᾷ που, τοῖσιν ἀγορανόμοις, ἐὰν δὲ τῆς ἄλλης χώρας, ἀγρονόμοις τε καὶ τοῖς τούτων ἄρχουσι δηλωσάτω.
914a. And when such declarations are made, the State shall send to Delphi; and whatever the god pronounces concerning the goods and him that moved them, that the State shall execute, acting as agent on behalf of the oracles of the god. And if the informer be a free man, he shall win a reputation for virtue, but for vice if he fail to inform; and if he be a slave, as a reward for informing it will be right that he should be set free, by the State offering his price to his master, whereas he shall be punished by death if he fail to give information.
914a. δηλωθέντων δέ, ἡ πόλις εἰς Δελφοὺς πεμπέτω· ὅτι δʼ ἂν ὁ θεὸς ἀναιρῇ περί τε τῶν χρημάτων καὶ τοῦ κινήσαντος, τοῦτο ἡ πόλις ὑπηρετοῦσα ταῖς μαντείαις δράτω τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ ἐὰν μὲν ἐλεύθερος ὁ μηνύσας ᾖ, δόξαν ἀρετῆς κεκτήσθω, μὴ μηνύσας δέ, κακίας· δοῦλος δʼ ἐὰν ᾖ, μηνύσας μὲν ἐλεύθερος ὑπὸ τῆς πόλεως ὀρθῶς γίγνοιτʼ ἂν ἀποδιδούσης τῷ δεσπότῃ τὴν τιμήν, μὴ μηνύων δὲ θανάτῳ ζημιούσθω.
914b. Following on this there should come next a similar rule about matters great and small, to reinforce it. If a man, whether willingly or unwillingly, leaves any of his goods behind, he that happens on them shall let them lie, believing that the Goddess of the Wayside guards them, as things dedicated to her divinity by the law. Should anyone transgress this rule and disobediently take such things and carry them home, he being a slave and the article of small value, then the man who meets with him, being over thirty years old, shall scourge him with many stripes;
914b. τούτῳ δʼ ἑπόμενον ἑξῆς ἂν γίγνοιτο τὸ περὶ σμικρὰ καὶ μεγάλα ταὐτὸν τοῦτο νόμιμον συνακολουθεῖν. ἄν τις τῶν αὑτοῦ τι καταλείπῃ που ἑκὼν εἴτʼ ἄκων, ὁ προστυγχάνων ἐάτω κεῖσθαι, νομίζων φυλάττειν ἐνοδίαν δαίμονα τὰ τοιαῦτα ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῇ θεῷ καθιερωμένα. ἂν δὲ παρὰ ταῦτά τις ἀπειθῶν ἀναιρούμενος οἴκαδε φέρῃ, ἂν μὲν σμικρᾶς τιμῆς ἄξιον ὢν δοῦλος, ὑπὸ τοῦ προστυγχάνοντος μὴ ἔλαττον τριακονταέτους πολλὰς πληγὰς μαστιγούσθω·
914c. but if he be a free man, he shall not only be accounted illiberal and a rebel against the laws, but he shall in addition buy back ten times the value of the article moved to the man who left it behind. And if one man charges another with possessing any of his goods, be it great or small, and the man so charged allows that he has the article, but denies that it is the other man’s,—then, if the article in question has been registered with the magistrates according to law, the plaintiff shall summon the man who possesses it before the magistrate, and he shall produce it in court. And the article being thus exhibited, if it be clearly recorded in the records to which of the disputants it belongs, he shall take it and depart; but should it belong to another third party, not then present, whichever of the two claimants produces a sufficient guarantor shall take it away on behalf of the absent party, in pursuance of his right of removal, to hand it over to him.
914c. ἐὰν δέ τις ἐλεύθερος, πρὸς τῷ ἀνελεύθερος εἶναι δοκεῖν καὶ ἀκοινώνητος νόμων, δεκαπλάσιον τῆς τιμῆς τοῦ κινηθέντος ἀποτινέτω τῷ καταλιπόντι. ἐὰν δέ τις ἐπαιτιᾶται τῶν αὑτοῦ χρημάτων ἔχειν τινὰ πλέον ἢ καὶ σμικρότερον, ὁ δὲ ὁμολογῇ μὲν ἔχειν, μὴ τὸ ἐκείνου δέ, ἂν μὲν ἀπογεγραμμένον ᾖ παρὰ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν τὸ κτῆμα κατὰ νόμον, τὸν ἔχοντα καλείσθω πρὸς τὴν ἀρχήν, ὁ δὲ καθιστάτω. γενομένου δὲ ἐμφανοῦς, ἐὰν ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν ἀπογεγραμμένον φαίνηται ποτέρου τῶν ἀμφισβητούντων, ἔχων οὗτος ἀπίτω·
914d. But if the article in dispute be not registered with the magistrates, it will be kept in charge of the three senior magistrates up to the time of the trial; and if the article in pledge be a beast, the man that loses the case concerning it shall pay the magistrates for its keep; and the magistrates shall decide the case within three days.
914d. ἐὰν δέ τινος ἄλλου τῶν μὴ παρόντων, ὁπότερος ἂν παράσχῃ τὸν ἐγγυητὴν ἀξιόχρεων, ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀπόντος ὡς παραδώσων ἐκείνῳ κατὰ τὴν ἐκείνου ἀφαίρεσιν ἀφαιρείσθω. ἐὰν δὲ παρὰ τοῖς ἄρχουσι τὸ ἀμφισβητούμενον μὴ ἀπογεγραμμένον ᾖ, κείσθω μὲν μέχρι δίκης παρὰ τρισὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῖς πρεσβυτάτοις, ἐὰν δὲ τὸ μεσεγγυωθὲν θρέμμα ᾖ, τὸν νικηθέντα περὶ αὐτοῦ δίκῃ τὴν τροφὴν ἐκτίνειν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν·
914e. Any person—provided that he be in his senses—may lay hands, if he wishes, on his own slave, to employ him for any lawful purpose; and on behalf of another man (one of his relatives or friends) he may lay hands on the runaway slave, to secure his safe-keeping. And if a man tries to remove to freedom anyone who is being carried off as a slave, the man who is carrying him off shall let him go, and he that is removing him shall do so on the production of three substantial sureties, but not otherwise;
914e. τὴν δὲ κρίσιν διαδικάζειν ἐντὸς τριῶν ἡμερῶν τοὺς ἄρχοντας.ἀγέτω τὸν ἑαυτοῦ δοῦλον ὁ βουλόμενος, ἐὰν ἔμφρων ᾖ, χρησόμενος ὅτι ἂν ἐθέλῃ τῶν ὁπόσα ὅσια· ἀγέτω δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄλλου τῶν οἰκείων ἢ φίλων τὸν ἀφεστῶτα ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ. ἐὰν δέ τις ἀφαιρῆταί τινα εἰς ἐλευθερίαν ὡς δοῦλον ἀγόμενον, μεθιέτω μὲν ὁ ἄγων, ὁ δὲ ἀφαιρούμενος ἐγγυητὰς τρεῖς ἀξιόχρεως καταστήσας, οὕτως ἀφαιρείσθω κατὰ ταῦτα, ἄλλως δὲ μή·
915. Ath. and if anyone removes a slave contrary to these conditions, he shall be liable for assault, and if convicted he shall pay double his registered due to the man deprived.
915. ΑΘ. ἐὰν δὲ παρὰ ταῦτά τις ἀφαιρῆται, τῶν βιαίων ἔνοχος ἔστω, καὶ ἁλοὺς τὴν διπλασίαν τοῦ ἐπιγραφέντος βλάβους τῷ ἀφαιρεθέντι τινέτω.
915a. And a man may arrest also a freedman, if in any case he fails to attend, or to attend sufficiently, on those who have freed him; and such tendance shall consist in the coming of the freedman three times a month to the home of the man that freed him, and there undertaking to do those duties which are both just and feasible, and in regard to marriage also to act as may seem good also to his former master. The freedman shall not be permitted to be more wealthy than the man who freed him;
915a. ἀγέτω δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀπελεύθερον, ἐάν τις μὴ θεραπεύῃ τοὺς ἀπελευθερώσαντας ἢ μὴ ἱκανῶς· θεραπεία δὲ φοιτᾶν τρὶς τοῦ μηνὸς τὸν ἀπελευθερωθέντα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀπελευθερώσαντος ἑστίαν, ἐπαγγελλόμενον ὅτι χρὴ δρᾶν τῶν δικαίων καὶ ἅμα δυνατῶν, καὶ περὶ γάμου ποιεῖν ὅτιπερ ἂν συνδοκῇ τῷ γενομένῳ δεσπότῃ. πλουτεῖν δὲ τοῦ ἀπελευθερώσαντος μὴ ἐξεῖναι μᾶλλον·
915b. and, if he is, the excess shall be made to his master. He that is let go free shall not remain in the country more than twenty years, but shall depart, like all other foreigners, taking with him all the property he owns, unless he gains the consent of the magistrates and also of the man who freed him. And if a freedman, or any other foreigner, acquired property exceeding in amount the third evaluation, within thirty days from the day on which he acquires this excess he shall take his own property and depart, and he shall have no further right to request from the magistrates permission to remain; and if he disobeys these rules and is summoned before the court and convicted, he shall be punished by death, and his goods shall be confiscated.
915b. τὸ δὲ πλέον γιγνέσθω τοῦ δεσπότου. μὴ πλείω δὲ εἴκοσιν ἐτῶν μένειν τὸν ἀφεθέντα, ἀλλὰ καθάπερ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ξένους ἀπιέναι λαβόντα τὴν αὑτοῦ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν, ἐὰν μὴ πείσῃ τούς τε ἄρχοντας καὶ τὸν ἀπελευθερώσαντα. ἐὰν δὲ τῷ ἀπελευθερωθέντι ἢ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῳ ξένων οὐσία πλείων γίγνηται τοῦ τρίτου μεγέθει τιμήματος, ᾗ ἂν τοῦτο ἡμέρᾳ γένηται, τριάκοντα ἡμερῶν ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας λαβὼν ἀπίτω τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ μηδεμία τῆς μονῆς παραίτησις ἔτι τούτῳ παρʼ ἀρχόντων γιγνέσθω·
915c. Such cases shall be tried before the tribal courts, unless the parties first get a settlement of their charges against one another before neighbors or chosen jurors. If anyone claims as his own the beast of any other man, or any other of his chattels, the man who holds it shall refer the matter to the person who, as being its substantial and lawful owner, sold it, or gave it, or made it over to him in some other way; and this he shall do within thirty days, if the reference be made to a citizen or metic in the city, or, in the case of a foreign delivery, within three months, of which the middle month shall be at which includes the summer solstice.
915c. ἐὰν δέ τις ἀπειθῶν τούτοις εἰσαχθεὶς εἰς δικαστήριον ὄφλῃ, θανάτῳ τε ζημιούσθω καὶ τὰ χρήματα αὐτοῦ γιγνέσθω δημόσια. δίκαι δʼ ἔστωσαν τούτων ἐν ταῖς φυλετικαῖσιν δίκαις, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ἐν γείτοσιν ἢ ἐν αἱρετοῖσιν δικασταῖς ἀπαλλάττωνται πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῶν ἐγκλημάτων. ἐὰν δὲ ὡς αὑτοῦ ἐφάπτηται ζῴου καὶ ὁτουοῦν ἤ τινος ἑτέρου τῶν αὑτοῦ χρημάτων, ἀναγέτω μὲν ὁ ἔχων εἰς πρατῆρα ἢ τὸν δόντα ἀξιόχρεών τε καὶ ἔνδικον ἤ τινι τρόπῳ παραδόντα ἄλλῳ κυρίως, εἰς μὲν πολίτην ἢ καὶ μέτοικον τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα, εἰς δὲ ξενικὴν παράδοσιν πέντε μηνῶν, ἧς μέσος ὁ μὴν ἐν ᾧ τρέπεται θερινὸς ἥλιος εἰς τὰ χειμερινά.
915d. And when the man makes an exchange with another by an act buying or selling, the exchange shall be made by transfer of the article in the place appointed therefore in the market, and nowhere else, and by payment the price on the spot, and no purchase or sale shall be made on credit; and if anyone makes an exchange with another otherwise or in other places, trusting the man with whom he is dealing, he shall do so on the understanding that there are no suits by law touching things not sold according to the laws now prescribed.
915d. ὅσα δὲ διά τινος ὠνῆς ἢ καὶ πράσεως ἀλλάττηταί τις ἕτερος ἄλλῳ, διδόντα ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ τεταγμένῃ ἑκάστοις κατʼ ἀγορὰν καὶ δεχόμενον ἐν τῷ παραχρῆμα τιμήν, οὕτως ἀλλάττεσθαι, ἄλλοθι δὲ μηδαμοῦ, μηδʼ ἐπὶ ἀναβολῇ πρᾶσιν μηδὲ ὠνὴν ποιεῖσθαι μηδενός·
915e. As regards club-collections, whoso wishes may collect as a friend among friends; but if any dispute arises concerning the collection, they must act on the understanding that in regard to these matters no legal actions are possible.
915e. ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλως ἢ ἐν ἄλλοις τόποις ὁτιοῦν ἀνθʼ ὁτουοῦν διαμείβηται ἕτερος ἄλλῳ, πιστεύων πρὸς ὃν ἂν ἀλλάττηται, ποιείτω ταῦτα ὡς οὐκ οὐσῶν δικῶν κατὰ νόμον περὶ τῶν μὴ πραθέντων κατὰ τὰ νῦν λεγόμενα. ἐράνων δὲ πέρι, τὸν βουλόμενον ἐρανίζειν φίλον παρὰ φίλοις· ἐὰν δέ τις διαφορὰ γίγνηται περὶ τῆς ἐρανίσεως, οὕτω πράττειν ὡς δικῶν μηδενὶ περὶ τούτων μηδαμῶς ἐσομένων.
916. Ath. If any man receives for the sale of any article a price not less than fifty drachmae, he shall be compelled to remain in the city for ten days, and the seller’s residence shall be made known to the buyer, because of the charges which are commonly brought in connection with such transactions, and because of the acts of restitution permitted by law.
916. ΑΘ. ὃς δʼ ἂν ἀποδόμενος τιμήν του λάβῃ μὴ ἐλάττω δραχμῶν πεντήκοντα, παραμενέτω κατὰ πόλιν ἐξ ἀνάγκης δέκα ἡμέρας, ὁ δὲ πριάμενος ἴστω τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν τοῦ ἀποδομένου, τῶν περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐγκλημάτων εἰωθότων γίγνεσθαι χάριν καὶ τῶν ἀναγωγῶν τῶν κατὰ νόμους εἵνεκα·
916a. Such legal restitution, or non-restitution, shall be on this wise:—If a man sell a slave who is suffering from phthisis or stone or strangury or the “sacred disease” (as it is called), or from any other complaint, mental or physical, which most men would fail to notice, although it be prolonged and hard to cure,—in case the purchaser be a doctor or a trainer, it shall not be possible for him to gain restitution for such a case, nor yet if the seller warned the purchaser of the facts.
916a. ἡ δὲ κατὰ νόμους ἀναγωγὴ καὶ μὴ τῇδε ἔστω. ἐάν τις ἀνδράποδον ἀποδῶται κάμνον φθόῃ ἢ λιθῶν ἢ στραγγουριῶν ἢ τῇ καλουμένῃ ἱερᾷ νόσῳ ἢ καὶ ἑτέρῳ τινὶ ἀδήλῳ τοῖς πολλοῖς νοσήματι μακρῷ καὶ δυσιάτῳ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ἢ κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν, ἐὰν μὲν ἰατρῷ τις ἢ γυμναστῇ, μὴ ἀναγωγῆς ἔστω τούτῳ πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον τυγχάνειν, μηδʼ ἐὰν τἀληθές τις προειπὼν ἀποδῶταί τῳ·
916b. But if any professional person sell any such slave to a lay person, the buyer shall claim restitution within six months, saving only in the case of epilepsy, for which disease he shall be permitted to claim within twelve months. The action shall be tried before a bench of doctors nominated and chosen by both the parties; and the party that loses his case shall pay double the selling price of the slave.
916b. ἐὰν δέ τις ἰδιώτῃ τι τῶν τοιούτων ἀποδῶται δημιουργός, ὁ πριάμενος ἐντὸς ἑκμήνου ἀναγέτω, πλὴν τῆς ἱερᾶς, ταύτης δʼ ἐντὸς ἐνιαυτοῦ τὴν ἀναγωγὴν ἐξέστω ποιεῖσθαι τῆς νόσου. διαδικαζέσθω δὲ ἔν τισι τῶν ἰατρῶν, οὓς ἂν κοινῇ προβαλόμενοι ἕλωνται· τὸν δὲ ὀφλόντα τὴν δίκην διπλάσιον ἀποτίνειν τῆς τιμῆς ἧς ἂν ἀποδῶται. ἐὰν δὲ ἰδιώτῃ τις ἰδιώτης, ἀναγωγὴν μὲν εἶναι, καθάπερ καὶ τοῖς πρόσθεν ἐρρήθη, καὶ τὴν διαδικασίαν, ὁ δὲ ὀφλὼν τὴν τιμὴν ἁπλῆν ἀποτινέτω.
916c. If a lay person sells to a lay person, there shall be the same right of restitution and trial as in the cases just mentioned; but the losing party shall pay the selling price only. If a man wittingly sells a murderer, if the buyer is aware of the fact, he shall have no claim to restitution for the purchase of such an one; but if the buyer be ignorant, he shall have right of restitution as soon as the fact is perceived, and the trial shall take place before a court of the five youngest Law-wardens, and if it be decided that the seller acted wittingly, he shall purify the houses of the buyer as ordained by the interpreters, and he shall pay three times the selling price to the buyer.
916c. ἐὰν δὲ ἀνδροφόνον ἀποδῶταί τίς τινι εἰδότι μὲν εἰδώς, μὴ τυγχανέτω ἀναγωγῆς τοῦ τοιούτου τῆς πράσεως, μὴ δὲ εἰδότι τὴν μὲν ἀναγωγὴν εἶναι τότε ὅταν τις αἴσθηται τῶν πριαμένων, ἐν πέντε δὲ τῶν νομοφυλάκων τοῖς νεωτάτοις εἶναι τὴν κρίσιν, εἰδὼς δὲ ἂν κριθῇ, τάς τε οἰκίας τοῦ πριαμένου καθηράτω κατὰ τὸν τῶν ἐξηγητῶν νόμον, τῆς τιμῆς τε ἀποδότω τῷ πριαμένῳ τριπλάσιον.ὁ δὲ ἀλλαττόμενος ἢ νόμισμα ἀντὶ νομίσματος, ἢ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ὁτιοῦν ἢ καὶ μὴ ζῴων, ἀκίβδηλον πᾶν διδότω καὶ δεχέσθω τῷ νόμῳ συνεπόμενος·
916d. He that exchanges for money either money or anything else, living or not living, shall give and receive every such article unadulterated, conforming to the law; and touching all knavery of this sort, as in the case of other laws, let us hearken to a prelude. Adulteration should be regarded by every man as coming under the same head as falsehood and fraud—a class of actions concerning which the mob are wont to say, wrongly, that any such action will generally be right if it be done opportunely:
916d. προοίμιον δέ, καθάπερ ἄλλων νόμων, δεξώμεθα καὶ περὶ ὅλης ταύτης τῆς κάκης. κιβδηλείαν δὲ χρὴ πάντα ἄνδρα διανοηθῆναι καὶ ψεῦδος καὶ ἀπάτην ὡς ἕν τι γένος ὄν, τοῦτο ᾧ τὴν φήμην ἐπιφέρειν εἰώθασιν οἱ πολλοί, κακῶς λέγοντες, ὡς ἐν καιρῷ γιγνόμενον ἑκάστοτε τὸ τοιοῦτον πολλάκις ἂν ὀρθῶς ἔχοι, τὸν καιρὸν δὲ καὶ ὅπου καὶ ὁπότε ἀτάκτως καὶ ἀορίστως ἐῶντες, τῇ λέξει ταύτῃ πολλὰ ζημιοῦνταί τε καὶ ζημιοῦσιν ἑτέρους.
916e. but the proper “opportunity,” the when and the where, they leave unprescribed and undefined, so that by this saying they often bring loss both to themselves and to others. But it is not fitting for the lawgiver to leave this matter undefined; he must always declare clearly the limitations, great or small, and this shall now be, done:— Ath. No man, calling the gods to witness, shall commit, either by word or deed, any falsehood, fraud or adulteration, if he does not mean to be most hateful to the gods;
916e. νομοθέτῃ δὲ οὐκ ἐγχωρεῖ τοῦτο ἀόριστον ἐᾶν, ἀλλὰ ἢ μείζους ἢ ἐλάττους ὅρους ἀεὶ δεῖ διασαφεῖν, καὶ δὴ καὶ νῦν ὡρίσθω. ΑΘ. Ψεῦδος μηδεὶς μηδὲν μηδʼ ἀπάτην μηδέ τι κίβδηλον, γένος ἐπικαλούμενος θεῶν, μήτε λόγῳ μήτε ἔργῳ πράξειεν, ὁ μὴ θεομισέστατος ἔσεσθαι μέλλων·
917a. and such an one is he who without regard of the gods swears oaths falsely, and also who lies in the presence of his superiors. Now the better are the superiors of the worse, and the older in general of the younger; wherefore also parents are superior to their offspring, men to women and children, rulers to ruled. And it will be proper for all to revere all these classes of superiors, whether they be in other positions of authority or in offices of State above all; and to enforce this is just the purpose of our present discourse. For everyone who adulterates any market commodity, lies and deceives and, calling Heaven to witness, takes an oath in front of the laws and cautions of the market-stewards, neither regarding men nor revering gods.
917a. οὗτος δʼ ἐστὶν ὃς ἂν ὅρκους ὀμνὺς ψευδεῖς μηδὲν φροντίζῃ θεῶν, δεύτερος δὲ ὃς ἂν ἐναντίον τῶν κρειττόνων αὑτοῦ ψεύδηται. κρείττους δὲ οἱ ἀμείνους τῶν χειρόνων, πρεσβῦταί τε ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν εἰπεῖν τῶν νέων, διὸ καὶ γονῆς κρείττους ἐκγόνων, καὶ ἄνδρες δὴ γυναικῶν καὶ παίδων, ἄρχοντές τε ἀρχομένων· οὓς αἰδεῖσθαι πᾶσιν πάντας πρέπον ἂν εἴη ἐν ἄλλῃ τε ἀρχῇ πάσῃ καὶ ἐν ταῖς πολιτικαῖς δὴ μάλιστα ἀρχαῖς, ὅθεν ὁ νῦν παρὼν ἡμῖν λόγος ἐλήλυθεν. πᾶς γὰρ τῶν κατʼ ἀγορὰν ὁ κιβδηλεύων τι ψεύδεται καὶ ἀπατᾷ καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς παρακαλῶν ἐπόμνυσιν ἐν τοῖς τῶν ἀγορανόμων νόμοισίν τε καὶ φυλακτηρίοις, οὔτε ἀνθρώπους αἰδούμενος οὔτε θεοὺς σεβόμενος.
917b. Certainly it is a good practice to refrain from sullying lightly divine names, and to behave with such purity and holiness as most of us generally exhibit in matters of religion; if however this rule is disobeyed, the law runs thus:—He that sells any article in the market shall never name two prices for what he is selling;
917b. πάντως μὲν δὴ καλὸν ἐπιτήδευμα θεῶν ὀνόματα μὴ χραίνειν ῥᾳδίως, ἔχοντα ὡς ἔχουσιν ἡμῶν ἑκάστοτε τὰ πολλὰ οἱ πλεῖστοι καθαρότητός τε καὶ ἁγνείας τὰ περὶ τοὺς θεούς· εἰ δʼ οὖν μὴ πείθοιτο, ὅδε νόμος· ὁ πωλῶν ὁτιοῦν ἐν ἀγορᾷ μηδέποτε δύο εἴπῃ τιμὰς ὧν ἂν πωλῇ, ἁπλῆν δὲ εἰπών, ἂν μὴ τυγχάνῃ ταύτης, ἀποφέρων ὀρθῶς ἂν ἀποφέροι πάλιν, καὶ ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας μὴ τιμήσῃ πλέονος μηδὲ ἐλάττονος, ἔπαινος δὲ ὅρκος τε περὶ παντὸς τοῦ πωλουμένου ἀπέστω·
917c. he shall name one price only, and if he fails to get this, he will be entitled to take the article away; but he shall not put any other price, greater or less, upon it on that day; and there shall be no puffing or taking of oaths about anything put up for sale. If any man disobeys these rules, any townsman who is present, not being under thirty years of age, shall punish with a beating the seller who swears, and he shall do so with impunity; but if he is disobedient and neglects to do so, he shall be liable to reprobation for betraying the laws. And if a man is selling an adulterated article, and is incapable of obeying our present rules, any person who is present and aware of the fact and able to expose him shall take for himself the adulterated article, if he expose him before a magistrate, he being himself a slave or a metic,—but if he be a citizen, he shall be declared to be wicked, as a robber of the gods, if he fail to expose the guilty man; while if he does expose him, he shall offer the article to the gods who preside over the market.
917c. ἐὰν δέ τις ἀπειθῇ τούτοις, ὁ παρατυγχάνων τῶν ἀστῶν, μὴ ἔλαττον ἢ τριάκοντα γεγονὼς ἔτη, κολάζων μὲν τὸν ὀμνύντα ἀνατὶ τυπτέτω τις, ἀφροντιστῶν δὲ καὶ ἀπειθῶν ἔνοχος ἔστω ψόγῳ προδοσίας τῶν νόμων. τὸν δὲ δὴ κίβδηλόν τι πωλοῦντα, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενον τοῖς νῦν πείθεσθαι λόγοις, ὁ προστυγχάνων τῶν γιγνωσκόντων, δυνατὸς ὢν ἐξελέγχειν, ἐναντίον ἐλέγξας τῶν ἀρχόντων, ὁ μὲν δοῦλος φερέσθω τὸ κιβδηλευθὲν καὶ ὁ μέτοικος, ὁ δὲ πολίτης μὴ ἐλέγχων μὲν ὡς ἀποστερῶν τοὺς θεοὺς κακὸς ἀγορευέσθω, ἐλέγξας δὲ ἀναθέτω τοῖς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἔχουσιν θεοῖς.
917d. He that is found out in selling any such article, in addition to being deprived of the adulterated article, shall be beaten in the market-place with stripes—one stripe for every drachma in the price he asks for the article— after that the herald has first proclaimed the crimes for which the seller is to be beaten.
917d. ὁ δὲ δὴ φανερὸς γενόμενός τι πωλῶν τοιοῦτον, πρὸς τῷ στερηθῆναι τοῦ κιβδηλευθέντος, ὁπόσης ἂν τιμῆς ἀξιώσῃ τὸ πωλούμενον, κατὰ δραχμὴν ἑκάστην τῇ μάστιγι τυπτέσθω πληγὰς ὑπὸ κήρυκος ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ κηρύξαντος ὧν ἕνεκα μέλλει τύπτεσθαι.
917e. Touching acts of fraud and wrongful acts done by sellers, the market-stewards and the Law-wardens, after making enquiry from experts in each trade, shall write out rules as to what the seller ought to do or avoid doing, and shall post them up on a pillar in front of the stewards office, to serve as written laws and clear instructors for those engaged in business in the market.
917e. τὰ δὲ κιβδηλεύματά τε καὶ κακουργίας τῶν πωλούντων οἵ τε ἀγορανόμοι καὶ οἱ νομοφύλακες, πυθόμενοι τῶν ἐμπείρων περὶ ἕκαστα, ἀναγραψάντων ἅ τε χρὴ ποιεῖν τὸν πωλοῦντα καὶ ἃ μή, καὶ πρόσθε τοῦ ἀγορανομίου θέντων ἐν στήλῃ γράψαντες νόμους εἶναι τοῖς περὶ τὴν τῆς ἀγορᾶς χρείαν μηνυτὰς σαφεῖς.
918. Ath. The duties of the city-stewards have been fully stated already; in case any addition seems to be required, they shall inform the Law-wardens, and write out what seems to be wanting; and they shall post up on the pillar at the city-stewards office both the primary and the secondary regulations pertaining to their office. Following close upon practices of adulteration follow practices of retail trading; concerning which, as a whole, we shall first offer counsel and argument, and then impose on it a law.
918. ΑΘ. τὰ δὲ περὶ τῶν ἀστυνόμων ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἱκανῶς εἴρηται· ἐὰν δέ τι προσδεῖν δοκῇ, νομοφύλαξιν ἐπανακοινώσαντες καὶ γράψαντες τὸ δοκοῦν ἐκλιπεῖν, εἰς ἀστυνόμιον θέντων ἐν στήλῃ τά τε πρῶτα καὶ τὰ δεύτερα τεθέντα αὐτοῖσιν τῆς ἀρχῆς νόμιμα.κιβδήλοις δʼ ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἕπεται κατὰ πόδα καπηλείας ἐπιτηδεύματα· ταύτης δὲ πέρι συμπάσης συμβουλὴν πρῶτον δόντες καὶ λόγον, ἐπʼ αὐτῇ νόμον ὕστερον ἐπιθώμεθα. καπηλεία γὰρ κατὰ πόλιν πᾶσα γέγονεν οὐ βλάβης ἕνεκα τό γε κατὰ φύσιν, πᾶν δὲ τοὐναντίον·
918b. The natural purpose for which all retail trading comes into existence in a State is not loss, but precisely the opposite; for how can any man be anything but a benefactor if he renders even and symmetrical the distribution of any kind of goods which before was unsymmetrical and uneven? And this is, we must say, the effect produced by the power of money, and we must declare that the merchant is ordained for this purpose. And the hireling and the innkeeper and the rest—some more and some less respectable trades,—all have this function, namely, to provide all men with full satisfaction of their needs and with evenness in their properties.
918b. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ εὐεργέτης πᾶς ὃς ἂν οὐσίαν χρημάτων ὡντινωνοῦν, ἀσύμμετρον οὖσαν καὶ ἀνώμαλον, ὁμαλήν τε καὶ σύμμετρον ἀπεργάζηται; τοῦτο ἡμῖν χρὴ φάναι καὶ τὴν τοῦ νομίσματος ἀπεργάζεσθαι δύναμιν, καὶ τὸν ἔμπορον ἐπὶ τούτῳ τετάχθαι δεῖ λέγειν. καὶ μισθωτὸς καὶ πανδοκεὺς καὶ ἄλλα, τὰ μὲν εὐσχημονέστερα, τὰ δὲ ἀσχημονέστερα γιγνόμενα, τοῦτό γε πάντα δύναται, πᾶσιν ἐπικουρίαν ταῖς χρείαις ἐξευπορεῖν καὶ ὁμαλότητα ταῖς οὐσίαις.
918c. Let us see then wherein trade is reputed to be a thing not noble nor even respectable, and what has caused it to be disparaged, in order that we may remedy by law parts of it at least, if not the whole. This is an undertaking, it would seem, of no slight importance, and one that calls for no little virtue.
918c. τί ποτε δὴ τὸ μὴ καλὸν αὐτὸ μηδʼ εὔσχημον δοκεῖν εἶναι, καὶ τί τὸ διαβεβληκὸς τυγχάνει, ἴδωμεν, ἵνα εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸ ὅλον, ἀλλʼ οὖν μέρη γε ἐξιασώμεθα νόμῳ. πρᾶγμʼ ἔσθʼ, ὡς ἔοικεν, οὐ φαῦλον, οὐδὲ σμικρᾶς δεόμενον ἀρετῆς.
Clin. How do you mean?
ΚΛ. πῶς λέγεις;
Ath. My dear Clinias, small is the class of men—rare by nature and trained, too, with a superlative training—who, when they fall into diverse needs and lusts, are able to stand out firmly for moderation, and who, when they have the power of taking much wealth, are sober, and choose what is of due measure rather than what is large.
ΑΘ. ὦ φίλε Κλεινία, σμικρὸν γένος ἀνθρώπων καὶ φύσει ὀλίγον καὶ ἄκρᾳ τροφῇ τεθραμμένον, ὅταν εἰς χρείας τε καὶ ἐπιθυμίας τινῶν ἐμπίπτῃ, καρτερεῖν πρὸς τὸ μέτριον δυνατόν ἐστιν, καὶ ὅταν ἐξῇ χρήματα λαβεῖν πολλά, νήφει καὶ πρότερον αἱρεῖται τοῦ πολλοῦ τὸ τοῦ μέτρου ἐχόμενον·
918d. The disposition of the mass of mankind is exactly the opposite of this; when they desire, they desire without limit, and when they can make moderate gains, they prefer to gain insatiably; and it is because of this that all the classes concerned with retail trade, commerce, and inn-keeping are disparaged and subjected to violent abuse. Now if anyone were to do what never will be done (Heaven forbid!)—but I shall make the supposition, ridiculous though it is— namely, compel the best men everywhere for a certain period to keep inns or to peddle or to carry on any such trade, or even to compel women by some necessity of fate to take part in such a mode of life,—then we should learn how that each of these callings is friendly and desirable; and if all these callings were carried on according to a rule free from corruption, they would be honored with the honor which one pays to a mother or a nurse.
918d. τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πλήθη πᾶν τοὐναντίον ἔχει τούτοις, δεόμενά τε ἀμέτρως δεῖται καὶ ἐξὸν κερδαίνειν τὰ μέτρια, ἀπλήστως αἱρεῖται κερδαίνειν, διὸ πάντα τὰ περὶ τὴν καπηλείαν καὶ ἐμπορίαν καὶ πανδοκείαν γένη διαβέβληταί τε καὶ ἐν αἰσχροῖς γέγονεν ὀνείδεσιν. ἐπεὶ εἴ τις, ὃ μή ποτε γένοιτο οὐδʼ ἔσται, προσαναγκάσειεν—γελοῖον μὲν εἰπεῖν, ὅμως δὲ εἰρήσεται—πανδοκεῦσαι τοὺς πανταχῇ ἀρίστους ἄνδρας ἐπί τινα χρόνον, ἢ καπηλεύειν ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων πράττειν, ἢ καὶ γυναῖκας ἔκ τινος ἀνάγκης εἱμαρμένης τοῦ τοιούτου μετασχεῖν τρόπου, γνοίημεν ἂν ὡς φίλον καὶ ἀγαπητόν ἐστιν ἕκαστον τούτων, καὶ εἰ κατὰ λόγον ἀδιάφθορον γίγνοιτο, ἐν μητρὸς ἂν καὶ τροφοῦ σχήματι τιμῷτο τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα·
Ath. But as things are now, whenever a man has planted his house, with a view to retail trade, in a desert place and with all the roads from it lengthy, if in this welcome lodging he receives travellers in distress, providing tranquillity and calm to those buffeted by fierce storms or restful coolness after torrid heat,—the next thing is that, instead of treating them as comrades and providing friendly gifts as well as entertainment, he holds them ransom, as if they were captive foemen in his hands, demanding very high sums of unjust and unclean ransom-money;
ΑΘ. νῦν δὲ ὁπόταν εἰς ἐρήμους τις καπηλείας ἕνεκα τόπους καὶ πανταχόσε μήκη ἔχοντας ὁδῶν ἱδρυσάμενος οἰκήσεις, ἐν ἀπορίᾳ γιγνομένους καταλύσεσιν ἀγαπηταῖς δεχόμενος ἢ ὑπὸ χειμώνων ἀγρίων βίᾳ ἐλαυνομένους, εὐδιεινὴν γαλήνην παρασχὼν ἢ πνίγεσιν ἀναψυχήν, τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα οὐχ ὡς ἑταίρους δεξάμενος φιλικὰ παράσχῃ ξένια ἑπόμενα ταῖς ὑποδοχαῖς, ὡς δʼ ἐχθροὺς αἰχμαλώτους κεχειρωμένους ἀπολυτρώσῃ τῶν μακροτάτων καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ ἀκαθάρτων
919b. it is criminal practices such as this, in the case of all these trades, that afford grounds of complaint against this way of succoring distress. For these evils, then, the lawgiver must in each case provide a medicine. It is an old and true saying that it is hard to fight against the attack of two foes of opposite quarters, as in the case of diseases and many other things; and indeed our present fight in this matter is against two foes, poverty and plenty, of which the one corrupts the soul of men with luxury, while the other by means of pain plunges it into shamelessness.
919b. λύτρων, ταῦτά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐν σύμπασιν τοῖς τοιούτοις ὀρθῶς ἁμαρτανόμενα τὰς διαβολὰς τῇ τῆς ἀπορίας ἐπικουρήσει παρεσκευακότα. τούτων οὖν χρὴ φάρμακον ἀεὶ τέμνειν τὸν νομοθέτην. ὀρθὸν μὲν δὴ πάλαι τε εἰρημένον ὡς πρὸς δύο μάχεσθαι καὶ ἐναντία χαλεπόν, καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς νόσοις πολλοῖς τε ἄλλοισιν· καὶ δὴ καὶ νῦν ἡ τούτων καὶ περὶ ταῦτα ἐστὶν πρὸς δύο μάχη, πενίαν καὶ πλοῦτον, τὸν μὲν ψυχὴν διεφθαρκότα τρυφῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τὴν δὲ λύπαις προτετραμμένην εἰς ἀναισχυντίαν αὐτήν.
919c. What remedy, then, is to be found for this disease in a State gifted with understanding? The first is to employ the trading class as little as possible; the second, to assign to that class those men whose corruption would prove no great loss to the State; the third, to find a means whereby the dispositions of those engaged in these callings may not quite so easily become infected by shamelessness and meanness of soul.
919c. τίς οὖν δὴ τῆς νόσου ταύτης ἀρωγὴ γίγνοιτʼ ἂν ἐν νοῦν ἐχούσῃ πόλει; πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι σμικροτάτῳ χρῆσθαι κατὰ δύναμιν τῷ τῶν καπήλων γένει, ἔπειτα τούτοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων προστάττειν ὧν διαφθειρομένων οὐκ ἂν γίγνοιτο μεγάλη λύμη τῇ πόλει, τρίτον δὲ αὐτοῖς τοῖς μετασχοῦσι τούτων τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων εὑρεῖν μηχανὴν ὅπως ἤθη μὴ ἀνέδην ἀναισχυντίας τε καὶ ἀνελευθέρου ψυχῆς μέτοχα συμβήσεται γίγνεσθαι ῥᾳδίως.
919d. After the declarations now made, let our law on these matters (Heaven prosper it!) run in this wise:—Amongst the Magnesians, whom the god is restoring and founding afresh, none of all the landholders who belong to the houses shall, either willingly or unwillingly, become a retail trader or a merchant, or engage in any menial service for private persons who do not make an equal return to himself, save only for his father and mother and those of a still earlier generation, and all that are elder than himself, they being gentlemen and his a gentleman’s service.
919d. μετὰ δὴ τὰ νῦν εἰρημένα, περὶ ταῦτα νόμος ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ τοιόσδε ἡμῖν γιγνέσθω· Μαγνήτων, οὓς ὁ θεὸς ἀνορθῶν πάλιν κατοικίζει, γεωμόροι ὅσοι τῶν τετταράκοντα καὶ πεντακισχιλίων ἑστιῶν εἰσιν, μήτε κάπηλος ἑκὼν μηδʼ ἄκων μηδεὶς γιγνέσθω μηδʼ ἔμπορος μήτε διακονίαν μηδʼ ἥντινα κεκτημένος ἰδιώταις τοῖς μὴ ἐξ ἴσου ἑαυτῷ, πλὴν πατρὶ καὶ μητρὶ καὶ τοῖς ἔτι τούτων εἰς τὸ ἄνω γένεσιν καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς αὑτοῦ πρεσβυτέροις, ὅσοι ἐλεύθεροι ἐλευθέρως.
919e. What is becoming, what unbecoming a gentleman it is not easy to fix by law; it shall, however, be decided by those persons who have achieved public distinction for their aversion to the one and their devotion to the other.
919e. τὸ δʼ ἐλευθερικὸν καὶ ἀνελεύθερον ἀκριβῶς μὲν οὐ ῥᾴδιον νομοθετεῖν, κρινέσθω γε μὴν ὑπὸ τῶν τὰ ἀριστεῖα εἰληφότων τῷ ἐκείνων μίσει τε καὶ ἀσπασμῷ.
920. Ath. If any citizen in any craft engages in ungentlemanly peddling, whoso will shall indict him for shaming his family before a bench of those adjudged to be the first in virtue, and if it be held that he is sullying his paternal hearth by an unworthy calling, he shall be imprisoned for a year and so restrained therefrom;
920. ΑΘ. ὃς δʼ ἂν καπηλείας τῆς ἀνελευθέρου τέχνῃ τινὶ μετάσχῃ, γραφέσθω μὲν αὐτὸν γένους αἰσχύνης ὁ βουλόμενος πρὸς τοὺς ἀρετῇ πρώτους κεκριμένους, ἐὰν δὲ δόξῃ ἀναξίῳ ἐπιτηδεύματι καταρρυπαίνειν τὴν αὑτοῦ πατρῴαν ἑστίαν, δεθεὶς ἐνιαυτὸν ἀποσχέσθω τοῦ τοιούτου, καὶ ἐὰν αὖθις, ἔτη δύο, καὶ ἐφʼ ἑκάστης ἁλώσεως τοὺς δεσμοὺς μὴ παυέσθω διπλασιάζων τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον.
920a. if he repeats the offence, he shall get two years’ imprisonment, and for each subsequent conviction the period of imprisonment shall go on being doubled. Now comes a second law:—Whosoever intends to engage in retail trade must be a resident alien or a foreigner. And thirdly, this third law:—In order that such an one may be as good as possible, or as little as possible bad, he being a resident in our State, the Law-wardens must bear in mind that they are guardians not only of those who, being well-trained both by birth and nurture, are easy to guard from lawless and evil ways, but also of those who are otherwise, and who follow pursuits which greatly to urge them on the road to vice; and these must regard the more.
920a. δεύτερος μὴν νόμος· Μέτοικον εἶναι χρεὼν ἢ ξένον, ὃς ἂν μέλλῃ καπηλεύσειν· τὸ δὲ τρίτον καὶ τρίτος· ὅπως ὡς ἄριστος ἢ καὶ κακὸς ὡς ἥκιστα ὁ τοιοῦτος ἡμῖν ᾖ σύνοικος ἐν τῇ πόλει, τοὺς νομοφύλακας χρὴ νοῆσαι φύλακας εἶναι μὴ μόνον ἐκείνων οὓς φυλάττειν ῥᾴδιον μὴ παρανόμους καὶ κακοὺς γίγνεσθαι, ὅσοι γενέσει καὶ τροφαῖς εὖ πεπαίδευνται, τοὺς δὲ μὴ τοιούτους ἐπιτηδεύματά τε ἐπιτηδεύοντας ἃ ῥοπὴν ἔχει τινὰ ἰσχυρὰν πρὸς τὸ προτρέπειν κακοὺς γίγνεσθαι, φυλακτέον μᾶλλον.
920b. Accordingly, with respect to retail trading, which is a multifarious occupation, embracing many callings of a similar nature,—with respect (I mean) to so many branches as are allowed to exist, as being deemed absolutely necessary to the State, concerning these the procedure shall be the same as that previously described in the case of the kindred matter of adulteration: the Law-wardens must meet in consultation with experts in every branch of retail trade, and at their meetings they must consider what standard of profits and expenses produces a moderate for the trader, and the standard of profits and expenses thus arrived at they must prescribe in writing; and this they must insist on—the market-stewards, the city-stewards, and the rural stewards, each in their own sphere.
920b. ταύτῃ δὴ τὰ περὶ τὴν καπηλείαν πολλὴν οὖσαν καὶ πολλὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τοιαῦτα κεκτημένην, ὅσαπερ ἂν αὐτῶν λειφθῇ δόξαντα ἐκ πολλῆς ἀνάγκης ἐν τῇ πόλει δεῖν εἶναι, συνελθεῖν αὖ χρεὼν περὶ ταῦτα τοὺς νομοφύλακας μετὰ τῶν ἐμπείρων ἑκάστης καπηλείας, καθάπερ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπετάξαμεν τῆς κιβδηλείας πέρι, συγγενοῦς τούτῳ πράγματος, συνελθόντας δὲ ἰδεῖν λῆμμά τε καὶ ἀνάλωμα τί ποτε τῷ καπήλῳ κέρδος ποιεῖ τὸ μέτριον, γράψαντας δὲ θεῖναι τὸ γιγνόμενον ἀνάλωμα καὶ λῆμμα καὶ φυλάττειν, τὰ μὲν ἀγορανόμους, τὰ δὲ ἀστυνόμους, τὰ δὲ ἀγρονόμους·