ΑΘ. πᾶς δὴ νοῦν ἔχων φοβεῖται καὶ τιμᾷ γονέων εὐχάς, εἰδὼς πολλοῖς καὶ πολλάκις ἐπιτελεῖς γενομένας· τούτων οὖν οὕτω φύσει διατεταγμένων, τοῖς μὲν ἀγαθοῖς ἕρμαιον πρόγονοι γηραιοί, ζῶντες μέχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων τοῦ βίου, καὶ ἀπιόντες νέοι σφόδρα ποθεινοί, τοῖς δὲ κακοῖς εὖ μάλα φοβεροί. πᾶς δὴ τιμάτω πάσαις τιμαῖς ταῖς ἐννόμοις τοὺς αὑτοῦ γεννήτορας τοῖς νῦν πεισθεὶς λόγοις· εἰ δʼ οὖν τινα κατέχοι φήμη κωφὴ τῶν τοιούτων προοιμίων, νόμος ὅδε ἐπὶ τούτοις ὀρθῶς κείμενος ἂν εἴη· ἐάν τις ἐν τῇδε τῇ πόλει γονέων ἀμελέστερον ἔχῃ τοῦ δέοντος, καὶ μὴ τῶν ὑέων καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐκγόνων αὑτοῦ καὶ ἑαυτοῦ μειζόνως εἰς ἅπαντα ἐπιτρέπων καὶ ἀποπληρῶν ᾖ τὰς βουλήσεις, ἐξαγγελλέτω μὲν ὁ πάσχων τι τοιοῦτον, εἴτε αὐτὸς εἴτε τινὰ πέμπων, πρὸς τρεῖς μὲν τῶν νομοφυλάκων τοὺς πρεσβυτάτους, τρεῖς δʼ αὖ τῶν περὶ γάμους γυναικῶν ἐπιμελουμένων· οἱ δʼ ἐπιμελείσθωσαν, κολάζοντες τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας νέους μὲν ὄντας ἔτι πληγαῖς καὶ δεσμοῖς, μέχριπερ ἂν ἐτῶν ἄνδρες μὲν τυγχάνωσιν ὄντες τριάκοντα, γυναῖκες δὲ δέκα πλείοσιν ἔτεσιν κολαζέσθωσαν ταῖς αὐταῖς κολάσεσιν. ἐὰν δὲ πορρωτέρω τούτων τῶν ἐτῶν ὄντες τῶν αὐτῶν ἀμελειῶν περὶ γονέας μὴ ἀφιστῶνται, κακῶσι δέ τινάς τινες, εἰς δικαστήριον εἰσαγόντων αὐτοὺς εἰς ἕνα καὶ ἑκατὸν τῶν πολιτῶν, οἵτινες ἂν ὦσι πρεσβύτατοι ἁπάντων· ἂν δέ τις ὄφλῃ, τιμάτω τὸ δικαστήριον ὅτι χρὴ τίνειν ἢ πάσχειν, ἀπόρρητον μηδὲν ποιούμενοι ὅσων δυνατὸς ἄνθρωπος πάσχειν ἢ τίνειν. ἐὰν δέ τις ἀδυνατῇ κακούμενος φράζειν, ὁ πυθόμενος τῶν ἐλευθέρων ἐξαγγελλέτω τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἢ κακὸς ἔστω καὶ ὑπόδικος τῷ ἐθέλοντι βλάβης. ἐὰν δὲ δοῦλος μηνύσῃ, ἐλεύθερος ἔστω, καὶ ἐὰν μὲν τῶν κακούντων ἢ κακουμένων δοῦλος, ὑπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀφείσθω, ἐὰν δέ τινος ἄλλου τῶν πολιτῶν, τὸ δημόσιον ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τιμὴν τῷ κεκτημένῳ καταβαλλέτω· τοῖς ἄρχουσιν δὲ ἐπιμελὲς ἔστω μή τις ἀδικῇ τὸν τοιοῦτον τιμωρούμενος τῆς μηνύσεως ἕνεκα. ὅσα τις ἄλλος ἄλλον πημαίνει φαρμάκοις, τὰ μὲν θανάσιμα αὐτῶν διείρηται, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων πέρι βλάψεων, εἴτε τις ἄρα πώμασιν ἢ καὶ βρώμασιν ἢ ἀλείμμασιν ἑκὼν ἐκ προνοίας πημαίνει, τούτων οὐδέν πω διερρήθη. διτταὶ γὰρ δὴ φαρμακεῖαι κατὰ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὖσαι γένος ἐπίσχουσιν τὴν διάρρησιν.
Ath. Every right-minded man fears and respects the prayers of parents, knowing that many times in many cases they have proved effective. And since this is the ordinance of nature, to good men aged forefathers are a heavenly treasure while they live, up to the very last hours of life, and when they depart they are sorely regretted; but to the bad are truly fearsome. Therefore let every man, in obedience to these counsels, honor his own parents with all the due legal honors. If however, “report convicts” any of deafness to such preludes, the following law will be enacted rightly to deal with them:—If any person in this State be unduly neglectful of his parents, and fail to consider them in all things more than his sons or any of his offspring, or even himself, and to fulfil their wishes, let the parent who suffers any such neglect report it, either in person or by a messenger, to the three eldest Law-wardens, and to three of the women in charge of marriage; and these shall take the matter in hand, and shall punish the wrongdoers with stripes and imprisonment if they are still young—up to the age of thirty if they are men, while if they are women they shall suffer similar punishment up to the age of forty. And if, when they have passed these limits of age, they do not desist from the same acts of neglect towards their parents, but in some cases maltreat them, they shall be summoned before a court of 101 citizens, who shall be the oldest citizens all; and if a man be convicted, the court shall assess what his fine or punishment must be, regarding no penalty as excluded which man can suffer or pay. If any parent when maltreated is unable to report the fact, that free man who hears of it shall inform the magistrate, failing which he shall be esteemed base, and shall be liable to an action for damage at the hands of anyone who chooses. If a slave gives information he shall be set free: he shall be set free by the Board of Magistrates if he be a slave of either the injured party or the injurers; but if he belong to any other citizen, the State Treasury shall pay his owner a price for him; and the magistrates shall take care that no one does injury to such a man in revenge for his giving information. We have already dealt fully with cases where one man injures another by poisons so that death is the result; but we have not as yet dealt fully with any of the minor cases in which willful and deliberate injury is caused by means of potions, foods, and unguents. A division in our treatment of poisoning cases is required by the fact that, following the nature of mankind, they are of two distinct types.
ΑΘ. ἣν μὲν γὰρ τὰ νῦν διαρρήδην εἴπομεν, σώμασι σώματα κακουργοῦσά ἐστιν κατὰ φύσιν· ἄλλη δὲ ἣ μαγγανείαις τέ τισιν καὶ ἐπῳδαῖς καὶ καταδέσεσι λεγομέναις πείθει τοὺς μὲν τολμῶντας βλάπτειν αὐτούς, ὡς δύνανται τὸ τοιοῦτον, τοὺς δʼ ὡς παντὸς μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τούτων δυναμένων γοητεύειν βλάπτονται. ταῦτʼ οὖν καὶ περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα σύμπαντα οὔτε ῥᾴδιον ὅπως ποτὲ πέφυκεν γιγνώσκειν, οὔτʼ εἴ τις γνοίη, πείθειν εὐπετὲς ἑτέρους· ταῖς δὲ ψυχαῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων δυσωπουμένους πρὸς ἀλλήλους περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐκ ἄξιον ἐπιχειρεῖν πείθειν, ἄν ποτε ἄρα ἴδωσί που κήρινα μιμήματα πεπλασμένα, εἴτʼ ἐπὶ θύραις εἴτʼ ἐπὶ τριόδοις εἴτʼ ἐπὶ μνήμασι γονέων αὐτῶν τινες, ὀλιγωρεῖν πάντων τῶν τοιούτων διακελεύεσθαι μὴ σαφὲς ἔχουσι δόγμα περὶ αὐτῶν. διαλαβόντας δὲ διχῇ τὸν τῆς φαρμακείας πέρι νόμον, ὁποτέρως ἄν τις ἐπιχειρῇ φαρμάττειν, πρῶτον μὲν δεῖσθαι καὶ παραινεῖν καὶ συμβουλεύειν μὴ δεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν τοιοῦτο δρᾶν μηδὲ καθάπερ παῖδας τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων δειμαίνοντας φοβεῖν, μηδʼ αὖ τὸν νομοθέτην τε καὶ τὸν δικαστὴν ἀναγκάζειν ἐξιᾶσθαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοὺς τοιούτους φόβους, ὡς πρῶτον μὲν τὸν ἐπιχειροῦντα φαρμάττειν οὐκ εἰδότα τί δρᾷ, τά τε κατὰ σώματα, ἐὰν μὴ τυγχάνῃ ἐπιστήμων ὢν ἰατρικῆς, τά τε αὖ περὶ τὰ μαγγανεύματα, ἐὰν μὴ μάντις ἢ τερατοσκόπος ὢν τυγχάνῃ. λεγέσθω δὴ λόγος ὅδε νόμος περὶ φαρμακείας· ὃς ἂν φαρμακεύῃ τινὰ ἐπὶ βλάβῃ μὴ θανασίμῳ μήτε αὐτοῦ μήτε ἀνθρώπων ἐκείνου, βοσκημάτων δὲ ἢ σμηνῶν εἴτʼ ἄλλῃ βλάβῃ εἴτʼ οὖν θανασίμῳ, ἐὰν μὲν ἰατρὸς ὢν τυγχάνῃ καὶ ὄφλῃ δίκην φαρμάκων, θανάτῳ ζημιούσθω, ἐὰν δὲ ἰδιώτης, ὅτι χρὴ παθεῖν ἢ ἀποτεῖσαι, τιμάτω περὶ αὐτοῦ τὸ δικαστήριον. ἐὰν δὲ καταδέσεσιν ἢ ἐπαγωγαῖς ἤ τισιν ἐπῳδαῖς ἢ τῶν τοιούτων φαρμακειῶν ὡντινωνοῦν δόξῃ ὅμοιος εἶναι βλάπτοντι, ἐὰν μὲν μάντις ὢν ἢ τερατοσκόπος, τεθνάτω, ἐὰν δʼ ἄνευ μαντικῆς ὢν τῆς φαρμακείας ὄφλῃ, ταὐτὸν καὶ τούτῳ γιγνέσθω· περὶ γὰρ αὖ καὶ τούτου τιμάτω τὸ δικαστήριον ὅτι ἂν αὐτοῖς δεῖν αὐτὸν δόξῃ πάσχειν ἢ ἀποτίνειν.
Ath. The type that we have now expressly mentioned is that in which injury is done to bodies by bodies according to nature’s laws. Distinct from this is the type which, by means of sorceries and incantations and spells (as they are called), not only convinces those who attempt to cause injury that they really can do so, but convinces also their victims that they certainly are being injured by those who possess the power of bewitchment. In respect of all such matters it is neither easy to perceive what is the real truth, nor, if one does perceive it, is it easy to convince others. And it is futile to approach the souls of men who view one another with dark suspicion if they happen to see images of molded wax at doorways, or at points where three ways meet, or it may be at the tomb of some ancestor, to bid them make light of all such portents, when we ourselves hold no clear opinion concerning them. Consequently, we shall divide the law about poisoning under two heads, according to the modes in which the attempt is made, and, as a preliminary, we shall entreat, exhort, and advise that no one must attempt to commit such an act, or to frighten the mass of men, like children, with bogeys, and so compel the legislator and the judge to cure men of such fears, inasmuch as, first, the man who attempts poisoning knows not what he is doing either in regard to bodies (unless he be a medical expert) or in respect of sorceries (unless he be a prophet or diviner). So this statement shall stand as the law about poisoning:—Whosoever shall poison any person so as to cause an injury not fatal either to the person himself or to his employes, or so as to cause an injury fatal or not fatal to his flocks or to his hives,—if the agent be a doctor, and if he be convicted of poisoning, he shall be punished by death; but if he be a lay person, the court shall assess in his case what he shall suffer or pay. And if it be held that a man is acting like an injurer by the use of spells, incantations, or any such mode of poisoning, if he be a prophet or diviner, he shall be put to death; but if he be ignorant of the prophetic art, he shall be dealt with in the same way as a layman convicted of poisoning,—that is to say, the court shall assess in his case also what shall seem to them right for him to suffer or pay.
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