ΑΘ. παντὸς γὰρ δὴ φυτοῦ ἡ πρώτη βλάστη καλῶς ὁρμηθεῖσα, πρὸς ἀρετὴν τῆς αὑτοῦ φύσεως κυριωτάτη τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι τὸ πρόσφορον, τῶν τε ἄλλων φυτῶν καὶ τῶν ζῴων ἡμέρων καὶ ἀγρίων καὶ ἀνθρώπων· ἄνθρωπος δέ, ὥς φαμεν, ἥμερον, ὅμως μὴν παιδείας μὲν ὀρθῆς τυχὸν καὶ φύσεως εὐτυχοῦς, θειότατον ἡμερώτατόν τε ζῷον γίγνεσθαι φιλεῖ, μὴ ἱκανῶς δὲ ἢ μὴ καλῶς τραφὲν ἀγριώτατον, ὁπόσα φύει γῆ. ὧν ἕνεκα οὐ δεύτερον οὐδὲ πάρεργον δεῖ τὴν παίδων τροφὴν τὸν νομοθέτην ἐᾶν γίγνεσθαι, πρῶτον δὲ ἄρξασθαι χρεὼν τὸν μέλλοντα αὐτῶν ἐπιμελήσεσθαι καλῶς αἱρεθῆναι, τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ὃς ἂν ἄριστος εἰς πάντα ᾖ, τοῦτον κατὰ δύναμιν ὅτι μάλιστα αὐτοῖς καθιστάντα προστάττειν ἐπιμελητήν. αἱ πᾶσαι τοίνυν ἀρχαὶ πλὴν βουλῆς καὶ πρυτάνεων εἰς τὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερὸν ἐλθοῦσαι φερόντων ψῆφον κρύβδην, τῶν νομοφυλάκων ὅντινʼ ἂν ἕκαστος ἡγῆται κάλλιστʼ ἂν τῶν περὶ παιδείαν ἄρξαι γενομένων· ᾧ δʼ ἂν πλεῖσται ψῆφοι συμβῶσιν, δοκιμασθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἀρχόντων τῶν ἑλομένων, πλὴν νομοφυλάκων, ἀρχέτω ἔτη πέντε, ἕκτῳ δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἄλλον ἐπὶ ταύτην τὴν ἀρχὴν αἱρεῖσθαι.ἐὰν δέ τις δημοσίαν ἀρχὴν ἄρχων ἀποθάνῃ πρὶν ἐξήκειν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀρχὴν πλεῖον ἢ τριάκοντα ἐπιδεομένην ἡμερῶν, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἄλλον καθιστάναι οἷς ἦν τοῦτο προσηκόντως μέλον. καὶ ἐὰν ὀρφανῶν ἐπίτροπος τελευτήσῃ τις, οἱ προσήκοντες καὶ ἐπιδημοῦντες πρὸς πατρὸς καὶ μητρὸς μέχρι ἀνεψιῶν παίδων ἄλλον καθιστάντων ἐντὸς δέκα ἡμερῶν, ἢ ζημιούσθων ἕκαστος δραχμῇ τῆς ἡμέρας, μέχριπερ ἂν τοῖς παισὶν καταστήσωσι τὸν ἐπίτροπον.πᾶσα δὲ δήπου πόλις ἄπολις ἂν γίγνοιτο, ἐν ᾗ δικαστήρια μὴ καθεστῶτα εἴη κατὰ τρόπον· ἄφωνος δʼ αὖ δικαστὴς ἡμῖν καὶ μὴ πλείω τῶν ἀντιδίκων ἐν ταῖς ἀνακρίσεσι φθεγγόμενος, καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς διαίταις, οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἱκανὸς γένοιτο περὶ τὴν τῶν δικαίων κρίσιν· ὧν ἕνεκα οὔτε πολλοὺς ὄντας ῥᾴδιον εὖ δικάζειν οὔτε ὀλίγους φαύλους. σαφὲς δὲ ἀεὶ τὸ ἀμφισβητούμενον χρεὼν γίγνεσθαι παρʼ ἑκατέρων, ὁ δὲ χρόνος ἅμα καὶ τὸ βραδὺ τό τε πολλάκις ἀνακρίνειν πρὸς τὸ φανερὰν γίγνεσθαι τὴν ἀμφισβήτησιν σύμφορον.
Ath. For in the case of every creature—plant or animal, tame and wild alike—it is the first shoot, if it sprouts out well, that is most effective in bringing to its proper development the essential excellence of the creature in question. Man, as we affirm, is a tame creature: none the less, while he is wont to become an animal most godlike and tame when he happens to possess a happy nature combined with right education, if his training be deficient or bad, he turns out the wildest of all earth’s creatures. Wherefore the lawgiver must not permit them to treat the education of children as a matter of secondary or casual importance; but, inasmuch as the presiding official must be well selected, he must begin first by charging them to appoint as president, to the best of their power, that one of the citizens who is in every way the most excellent. Therefore all the officials—excepting the Council and the prytaneis—shall go to the temple of Apollo, and shall each cast his vote for whichever one of the Law-wardens he deems likely best to control educational affairs. He who gains most votes, after passing a scrutiny held by the selecting officials, other than the Law-wardens, shall hold office for five years: in the sixth year they shall elect another man for this office in a similar manner. If anyone holding a public office dies more than thirty days before his office terminates, those whose proper duty it is must appoint a substitute in the same manner. If a guardian of orphans dies, the relations, who are residents, on both the father’s and mother’s side, as far as cousin’s children, shall appoint a substitute within ten days, failing which they shall each be fined one drachma per diem until they have appointed the guardian for the children. A State, indeed, would be no State if it had no law-courts properly established; but a judge who was dumb and who said as little as litigants at a preliminary inquiry, as do arbitrators, would never prove efficient in deciding questions of justice; consequently it is not easy for a large body of men to judge well, nor yet for a small one, if of poor ability. The matter in dispute on either side must always be made clear, and for elucidating the point at issue, lapse of time, deliberation and frequent questionings are of advantage.
ΑΘ. ὧν ἕνεκα πρῶτον μὲν εἰς γείτονας ἰέναι χρὴ τοὺς ἐπικαλοῦντας ἀλλήλοις καὶ τοὺς φίλους τε καὶ συνειδότας ὅτι μάλιστα τὰς ἀμφισβητουμένας πράξεις, ἐὰν δʼ ἄρα μὴ ἐν τούτοις τις ἱκανὴν κρίσιν λαμβάνῃ, πρὸς ἄλλο δικαστήριον ἴτω· τὸ δὲ τρίτον, ἂν τὰ δύο δικαστήρια μὴ δύνηται διαλλάξαι, τέλος ἐπιθέτω τῇ δίκῃ.τρόπον δή τινα καὶ τῶν δικαστηρίων αἱ καταστάσεις ἀρχόντων εἰσὶν αἱρέσεις· πάντα μὲν γὰρ ἄρχοντα ἀναγκαῖον καὶ δικαστὴν εἶναί τινων, δικαστὴς δὲ οὐκ ἄρχων καί τινα τρόπον ἄρχων οὐ πάνυ φαῦλος γίγνεται τὴν τόθʼ ἡμέραν ᾗπερ ἂν κρίνων τὴν δίκην ἀποτελῇ. θέντες δὴ καὶ τοὺς δικαστὰς ὡς ἄρχοντας, λέγωμεν τίνες ἂν εἶεν πρέποντες καὶ τίνων ἄρα δικασταὶ καὶ πόσοι ἐφʼ ἕκαστον. κυριώτατον μὲν τοίνυν ἔστω δικαστήριον ὅπερ ἂν αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοῖς ἀποφήνωσιν ἕκαστοι, κοινῇ τινας ἑλόμενοι· δύο δὴ τῶν λοιπῶν ἔστω κριτήρια, τὸ μὲν ὅταν τίς τινα ἰδιώτην ἰδιώτης, ἐπαιτιώμενος ἀδικεῖν αὐτόν, ἄγων εἰς δίκην βούληται διακριθῆναι, τὸ δʼ ὁπόταν τὸ δημόσιον ὑπό τινος τῶν πολιτῶν ἡγῆταί τις ἀδικεῖσθαι καὶ βουληθῇ τῷ κοινῷ βοηθεῖν, λεκτέον ὁποῖοί τʼ εἰσὶν καὶ τίνες οἱ κριταί. πρῶτον δὴ δικαστήριον ἡμῖν γιγνέσθω κοινὸν ἅπασι τοῖς τὸ τρίτον ἀμφισβητοῦσιν ἰδιώταις πρὸς ἀλλήλους, γενόμενον τῇδέ πῃ. πάσας δὴ τὰς ἀρχάς, ὁπόσαι τε κατʼ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ ὁπόσαι πλείω χρόνον ἄρχουσιν, ἐπειδὰν μέλλῃ νέος ἐνιαυτὸς μετὰ θερινὰς τροπὰς τῷ ἐπιόντι μηνὶ γίγνεσθαι, ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας τῇ πρόσθεν πάντας χρὴ τοὺς ἄρχοντας συνελθεῖν εἰς ἓν ἱερὸν καὶ τὸν θεὸν ὀμόσαντας οἷον ἀπάρξασθαι πάσης ἀρχῆς ἕνα δικαστήν, ὃς ἂν ἐν ἀρχῇ ἑκάστῃ ἄριστός τε εἶναι δόξῃ καὶ ἄριστʼ ἂν καὶ ὁσιώτατα τὰς δίκας τοῖς πολίταις αὐτῷ τὸν ἐπιόντα ἐνιαυτὸν φαίνηται διακρίνειν. τούτων δὲ αἱρεθέντων γίγνεσθαι μὲν δοκιμασίαν ἐν τοῖς ἑλομένοις αὐτοῖς, ἐὰν δὲ ἀποδοκιμασθῇ τις, ἕτερον ἀνθαιρεῖσθαι κατὰ ταὐτά, τοὺς δὲ δοκιμασθέντας δικάζειν μὲν τοῖς τἆλλα δικαστήρια φυγοῦσι, τὴν δὲ ψῆφον φανερὰν φέρειν· ἐπηκόους δʼ εἶναι καὶ θεατὰς τούτων τῶν δικῶν ἐξ ἀνάγκης μὲν βουλευτὰς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἄρχοντας τοὺς ἑλομένους αὐτούς, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τὸν βουλόμενον. ἐὰν δέ τις ἐπαιτιᾶταί τινα ἑκόντα ἀδίκως κρῖναι τὴν δίκην, εἰς τοὺς νομοφύλακας ἰὼν κατηγορείτω· ὁ δὲ ὀφλὼν τὴν τοιαύτην δίκην ὑπεχέτω μὲν τοῦ βλάβους τῷ βλαφθέντι τὸ ἥμισυ τίνειν, ἐὰν δὲ μείζονος ἄξιος εἶναι δόξῃ ζημίας, προστιμᾶν τοὺς κρίναντας τὴν δίκην ὅτι χρὴ πρὸς τούτῳ παθεῖν αὐτὸν ἢ ἀποτίνειν τῷ κοινῷ καὶ τῷ τὴν δίκην δικασαμένῳ.
Ath. Therefore those who challenge each other must go first to the neighbors and friends who know most about the actions in dispute: if a man fails to get an adequate decision from them, he shall repair to another court; and if these two courts are unable to settle the matter, the third court shall put an end to the case. In a sense we may say that the establishment of law-courts coincides with the election of officials; for every official must be also a judge of certain matters, while a judge, even if not an official, may be said to be an official of no little importance on the day when he concludes a suit by pronouncing his judgment. Assuming then that the judges are officials, let us declare who will make suitable judges, and of what matters, and how many shall deal with each case. The most elementary form of court is that which the two parties arrange for themselves, choosing judges by mutual agreement; of the rest, there shall be two forms of trial,—the one when a private person accuses a private person of injuring him and desires to gain a verdict by bringing him to trial, and the other when a person believes that the State is being injured by one of the citizens and desires to succor the common weal. Who and what sort the judges are must now be explained. First, we must have a court common to all private persons who are having their third dispute with one another. It shall be formed in this way. On the day preceding the commencement of a new year of office—which commences with the month next after the summer solstice—all the officials, whether holding office for one year only or longer, shall assemble in the same temple and, after adjuring the god, they shall dedicate, so to say, one judge from each body of officials, namely, that member of each body whom they deem the best man and the most likely to decide the suits for his fellow-citizens during the ensuing year in the best and holiest way. These being chosen, they shall undergo a scrutiny before those who have chosen them; and should any be disqualified, they shall choose a substitute in like manner. Those who pass the scrutiny shall act as judges for those who have escaped the other courts, and they shall cast their votes openly. The Councillors, and all the other officials, who have elected them, shall be obliged to attend these trials, both to hear and to see; and anyone else that wishes may attend. Anyone who accuses a judge of deliberately giving an unjust judgment shall go to the Law-wardens and lay his charge before them: a judge that is convicted on such a charge shall submit to pay double the amount of the damage done to the injured party; and if he be held to deserve a greater penalty, the judges of the case shall estimate what additional punishment must be inflicted, or what payment made to the State and to the person who took proceedings.
ΑΘ. περὶ δὲ τῶν δημοσίων ἐγκλημάτων ἀναγκαῖον πρῶτον μὲν τῷ πλήθει μεταδιδόναι τῆς κρίσεως—οἱ γὰρ ἀδικούμενοι πάντες εἰσίν, ὁπόταν τις τὴν πόλιν ἀδικῇ, καὶ χαλεπῶς ἂν ἐν δίκῃ φέροιεν ἄμοιροι γιγνόμενοι τῶν τοιούτων διακρίσεων—ἀλλʼ ἀρχήν τε εἶναι χρὴ τῆς τοιαύτης δίκης καὶ τελευτὴν εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἀποδιδομένην, τὴν δὲ βάσανον ἐν ταῖς μεγίσταις ἀρχαῖς τρισίν, ἃς ἂν ὅ τε φεύγων καὶ ὁ διώκων συνομολογῆτον· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ δύνησθον κοινωνῆσαι τῆς ὁμολογίας αὐτοί, τὴν βουλὴν ἐπικρίνειν αὐτῶν τὴν αἵρεσιν ἑκατέρου. δεῖ δὲ δὴ καὶ τῶν ἰδίων δικῶν κοινωνεῖν κατὰ δύναμιν ἅπαντας· ὁ γὰρ ἀκοινώνητος ὢν ἐξουσίας τοῦ συνδικάζειν ἡγεῖται τὸ παράπαν τῆς πόλεως οὐ μέτοχος εἶναι. διὰ ταῦτʼ οὖν δὴ καὶ κατὰ φυλὰς ἀναγκαῖον δικαστήριά τε γίγνεσθαι καὶ κλήρῳ δικαστὰς ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ἀδιαφθόρους ταῖς δεήσεσι δικάζειν, τὸ δὲ τέλος κρίνειν πάντων τῶν τοιούτων ἐκεῖνο τὸ δικαστήριον, ὅ φαμεν εἴς γε ἀνθρωπίνην δύναμιν ὡς οἷόν τε ἀδιαφθορώτατα παρεσκευάσθαι τοῖς μὴ δυναμένοις μήτε ἐν τοῖς γείτοσι μήτε ἐν τοῖς φυλετικοῖς δικαστηρίοις ἀπαλλάττεσθαι.νῦν δὴ περὶ μὲν δικαστήρια ἡμῖν—ἃ δή φαμεν οὔθʼ ὡς ἀρχὰς οὔτε ὡς μὴ ῥᾴδιον εἰπόντα ἀναμφισβητήτως εἰρηκέναι—περὶ μὲν ταῦτα οἷον περιγραφή τις ἔξωθεν περιγεγραμμένη τὰ μὲν εἴρηκεν, τὰ δʼ ἀπολείπει σχεδόν· πρὸς γὰρ τέλει νομοθεσίας ἡ δικῶν ἀκριβὴς νόμων θέσις ἅμα καὶ διαίρεσις ὀρθότατα γίγνοιτʼ ἂν μακρῷ. ταύταις μὲν οὖν εἰρήσθω πρὸς τῷ τέλει περιμένειν ἡμᾶς, αἱ δὲ περὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς καταστάσεις σχεδὸν τὴν πλείστην εἰλήφασιν νομοθεσίαν· τὸ δὲ ὅλον καὶ ἀκριβὲς περὶ ἑνός τε καὶ πάντων τῶν κατὰ πόλιν καὶ πολιτικὴν πᾶσαν διοικήσεων οὐκ ἔστιν γενέσθαι σαφές, πρὶν ἂν ἡ διέξοδος ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς τά τε δεύτερα καὶ τὰ μέσα καὶ πάντα μέρη τὰ ἑαυτῆς ἀπολαβοῦσα πρὸς τέλος ἀφίκηται. νῦν μὴν ἐν τῷ παρόντι μέχρι τῆς τῶν ἀρχόντων αἱρέσεως γενομένης τελευτὴ μὲν τῶν ἔμπροσθεν αὕτη γίγνοιτʼ ἂν ἱκανή, νόμων δὲ θέσεως ἀρχὴ καὶ ἀναβολῶν ἅμα καὶ ὄκνων οὐδὲν ἔτι δεομένη.
ΚΛ. πάντως μοι κατὰ νοῦν, ὦ ξένε, τὰ ἔμπροσθεν εἰρηκώς, τὴν ἀρχὴν νῦν τελευτῇ προσάψας περὶ τῶν τε εἰρημένων καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ῥηθήσεσθαι, ταῦτα ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐκείνων εἴρηκας φιλίως.
Ath. In the matter of offences against the State it is necessary, first of all, that a share in the trial should be given to the populace, for when a wrong is done to the State, it is the whole of the people that are wronged, and they would justly be vexed if they had no share in such trials; so, while it is right that both the beginning and the ending of such a suit should be assigned to the people, the examination shall take place before three of the highest officials mutually agreed upon by both defendant and plaintiff: should they be unable by themselves to reach an agreement, the Council must revise the choice of each of them. In private suits also, so far as possible, all the citizens must have a share; for the man that has no share in helping to judge imagines that he has no part or lot in the State at all. Therefore there must also be courts for each tribe, and judges appointed by lot and to meet the sudden occasion must judge the cases, unbiased by appeals; but the final verdict in all such cases must rest with that court which we declare to be organized in the most incorruptible way that is humanly possible, specially for the benefit of those who have failed to obtain a settlement of their case either before the neighbors or in the tribal courts. Thus as concerns the law-courts—which, as we say, cannot easily be called either “offices” or “non-offices” without ambiguity—this outline sketch serves to describe them in part, though there is a good deal it omits; for detailed legislation and definition concerning suits would most properly be placed at the conclusion of the legislative code. So let these matters be directed to wait for us at the conclusion; and I should say that the other official posts have had most of the legislation they require for their establishment. But a full and precise account concerning each and all of the State departments and the whole of the civic organization it is impossible to give clearly until our review has embraced every section of its subject, from the first to the very last, in proper order. So now, at the point where we stand—when our exposition has reached so far as to include the election of the officials—we may find a fit place to terminate our previous subject, and to commence the subject of legislation, which no longer needs any postponements or delays.
Clin. The previous subject, Stranger, you have treated to our entire satisfaction; but we welcome still more heartily the way you have linked up your past statements with your future statements—the end with the beginning.
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