ΑΘ. οὗτος δὴ νόμος, εἴτε εἷς εἴτε δύο αὐτοὺς χρὴ προσαγορεύειν, κείσθω περὶ ἀφροδισίων καὶ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐρωτικῶν, ὅσα πρὸς ἀλλήλους διὰ τὰς τοιαύτας ἐπιθυμίας ὁμιλοῦντες ὀρθῶς τε καὶ οὐκ ὀρθῶς πράττομεν.
ΜΕ. καὶ τοίνυν, ὦ ξένε, ἐγὼ μέν σοι σφόδρα δεχοίμην ἂν τοῦτον τὸν νόμον, ὁ δὲ δὴ Κλεινίας αὐτὸς φραζέτω τί ποτε περὶ αὐτῶν διανοεῖται.
ΚΛ. ἔσται ταῦτα, ὦ Μέγιλλε, ὁπόταν γε δή μοι δόξῃ τις παραπεπτωκέναι καιρός· νῦν μὴν ἐῶμεν τὸν ξένον ἔτι εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν προϊέναι τῶν νόμων.
ΜΕ. ὀρθῶς.
ΑΘ. ἀλλὰ μὴν νῦν γε προϊόντες ἤδη σχεδόν ἐσμεν ἐν τῷ κατεσκευάσθαι μὲν συσσίτια—ὅ φαμεν ἄλλοθι μὲν ἂν χαλεπὸν εἶναι, ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ οὐδεὶς ἄλλως ἂν ὑπολάβοι δεῖν γίγνεσθαι—τὸ δὲ τίνα τρόπον, πότερον ὡς ἐνθάδε ἢ καθάπερ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι, ἢ παρὰ ταῦτα ἔστιν τι τρίτον εἶδος συσσιτίων ἀμφοῖν τούτοιν ἄμεινον ἂν ἔχον, τοῦτο οὔτʼ ἐξευρεῖν μοι χαλεπὸν εἶναι δοκεῖ, μέγα τε ἀγαθὸν εὑρεθὲν οὐδὲν ἀπεργάσεσθαι· καὶ γὰρ νῦν ἐμμελῶς ἔχειν κατεσκευασμένα. τούτοις δʼ ἐστὶν ἀκόλουθον ἡ τοῦ βίου κατασκευή, τίνʼ αὐτοῖς ἂν τρόπον ἕποιτο. βίος δὴ ἄλλαις μὲν πόλεσιν παντοδαπῶς ἂν καὶ πολλαχόθεν εἴη, μάλιστα δὲ ἐκ διπλασίων ἢ τούτοις· ἐκ γῆς γὰρ καὶ ἐκ θαλάττης τοῖς πλείστοις τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐστὶ κατεσκευασμένα τὰ περὶ τὴν τροφήν, τούτοις δὲ μόνον ἐκ γῆς. τῷ μὲν οὖν νομοθέτῃ τοῦτο ῥᾷον· οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἡμίσεις αὖ γίγνονται νόμοι μέτριοι, πολὺ δʼ ἐλάττους, ἔτι δʼ ἐλευθέροις ἀνθρώποις μᾶλλον πρέποντες. ναυκληρικῶν μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐμπορικῶν καὶ καπηλευτικῶν καὶ πανδοκεύσεων καὶ τελωνικῶν καὶ μεταλλειῶν καὶ δανεισμῶν καὶ ἐπιτόκων τόκων καὶ ἄλλων μυρίων τοιούτων τὰ πολλὰ ἀπήλλακται, χαίρειν αὐτοῖς εἰπών, ὁ περὶ ταύτην τὴν πόλιν νομοθέτης, γεωργοῖς δὲ καὶ νομεῦσι καὶ μελιττουργοῖς καὶ τοῖς περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα φυλακτηρίοις τε καὶ ἐπιστάταις ὀργάνων νομοθετήσει, τὰ μέγιστα ἤδη νενομοθετηκὼς περὶ γάμους ἅμα καὶ γενέσεις παίδων καὶ τροφάς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ παιδείας ἀρχῶν τε καταστάσεις ἐν τῇ πόλει· νῦν δʼ ἐπὶ τοὺς τὴν τροφὴν καὶ ὅσοι περὶ αὐτὴν ταύτην συνδιαπονοῦσιν ἀναγκαῖον νομοθετοῦντά ἐστιν τρέπεσθαι.πρῶτον δὴ νόμοι ἔστωσαν λεγόμενοι τοὔνομα γεωργικοί.
Ath. So let this law—whether we ought to call it one law or two—be laid down concerning sexual commerce and love affairs in general, as regards right and wrong conduct in our mutual intercourse due to these desires.
Meg. For my own part, Stranger, I should warmly welcome this law; but Clinias must tell us himself what his view is on the matter.
Clin. I shall do so, Megillus, when I deem the occasion suitable; but for the present let us allow the Stranger to proceed still further with his laws.
Meg. You are right.
Ath. Well, now we have arrived at this point in our progress, that common meals have been established—a thing which elsewhere, as we say, would be difficult, but in Crete no one would question its correctness. As concerns the manner of them,—whether we should adopt the Cretan fashion, or the Lacedaemonian, or whether we can find a third fashion that is better than either,—this does not seem to me a difficult problem to decide, nor indeed would its decision prove of much benefit, since these meals are now actually established in a satisfactory way. Next to this comes the question of organizing the food-supply, and how to make this fit in with the meals. In other States this supply would include all kinds of food and come from many sources, certainly from twice as many sources as it will in our State; for most of the Greeks arrange for their food to be derived from both land and sea, but our people will derive it only from the land. This makes the lawgiver’s task easier; for in this case half the number of laws, or less, will suffice, and the laws, too, will be better fitted for free men. For the lawgiver of our State is rid, for the most part, of shipping and merchandise and peddling and inn-keeping and customs and mines and loans and usury, and countless matters of a like kind; he can say good-bye to all such, and legislate for farmers and shepherds and bee-keepers, and concerning the preservation and supervision of the instruments employed in these occupations. This he will do, now that he has already enacted the most important laws, which deal with marriage, and with the birth and nurture and education of the children, and with the appointment of magistrates in the State. For the present he must turn, in his legislating, to the subject of food and of those whose labors contribute to its supply. First, then, let there be a code of laws termed “agricultural.”
ΑΘ. Διὸς ὁρίου μὲν πρῶτος νόμος ὅδε εἰρήσθω· μὴ κινείτω γῆς ὅρια μηδεὶς μήτε οἰκείου πολίτου γείτονος, μήτε ὁμοτέρμονος ἐπʼ ἐσχατιᾶς κεκτημένος ἄλλῳ ξένῳ γειτονῶν, νομίσας τὸ τἀκίνητα κινεῖν ἀληθῶς τοῦτο εἶναι· βουλέσθω δὲ πᾶς πέτρον ἐπιχειρῆσαι κινεῖν τὸν μέγιστον ἄλλον πλὴν ὅρον μᾶλλον ἢ σμικρὸν λίθον ὁρίζοντα φιλίαν τε καὶ ἔχθραν ἔνορκον παρὰ θεῶν. τοῦ μὲν γὰρ ὁμόφυλος Ζεὺς μάρτυς, τοῦ δὲ ξένιος, οἳ μετὰ πολέμων τῶν ἐχθίστων ἐγείρονται. καὶ ὁ μὲν πεισθεὶς τῷ νόμῳ ἀναίσθητος τῶν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ κακῶν γίγνοιτʼ ἄν, καταφρονήσας δὲ διτταῖς δίκαις ἔνοχος ἔστω, μιᾷ μὲν παρὰ θεῶν καὶ πρώτῃ, δευτέρᾳ δὲ ὑπὸ νόμου. μηδεὶς γὰρ ἑκὼν κινείτω γῆς ὅρια γειτόνων· ὃς δʼ ἂν κινήσῃ, μηνυέτω μὲν ὁ βουλόμενος τοῖς γεωργοῖς, οἱ δὲ εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ἀγόντων. ἢν δέ τις ὄφλῃ τὴν τοιαύτην δίκην, ὡς ἀνάδαστον γῆν λάθρᾳ καὶ βίᾳ ποιοῦντος τοῦ ὄφλοντος, τιμάτω τὸ δικαστήριον ὅτι ἂν δέῃ πάσχειν ἢ ἀποτίνειν τὸν ἡττηθέντα.τὸ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο βλάβαι πολλαὶ καὶ σμικραὶ γειτόνων γιγνόμεναι, διὰ τὸ θαμίζειν ἔχθρας ὄγκον μέγαν ἐντίκτουσαι, χαλεπὴν καὶ σφόδρα πικρὰν γειτονίαν ἀπεργάζονται. διὸ χρὴ πάντως εὐλαβεῖσθαι γείτονα γείτονι μηδὲν ποιεῖν διάφορον, τῶν τε ἄλλων πέρι καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐπεργασίας συμπάσης σφόδρʼ ἀεὶ διευλαβούμενον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ βλάπτειν οὐδὲν χαλεπὸν ἀλλʼ ἀνθρώπου παντός, τὸ δʼ ἐπωφελεῖν οὐδαμῇ ἅπαντος. ὃς δʼ ἂν ἐπεργάζηται τὰ τοῦ γείτονος ὑπερβαίνων τοὺς ὅρους, τὸ μὲν βλάβος ἀποτινέτω, τῆς δὲ ἀναιδείας ἅμα καὶ ἀνελευθερίας ἕνεκα ἰατρευόμενος διπλάσιον τοῦ βλάβους ἄλλο ἐκτεισάτω τῷ βλαφθέντι· τούτων δὲ καὶ ἁπάντων τῶν τοιούτων ἐπιγνώμονές τε καὶ δικασταὶ καὶ τιμηταὶ γιγνέσθων ἀγρονόμοι, τῶν μὲν μειζόνων, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν εἴρηται, πᾶσα ἡ τοῦ δωδεκατημορίου τάξις, τῶν ἐλαττόνων δὲ οἱ φρούραρχοι τούτων. καὶ ἐάν τις βοσκήματα ἐπινέμῃ, τὰς βλάβας ὁρῶντες κρινόντων καὶ τιμώντων. καὶ ἐὰν ἐσμοὺς ἀλλοτρίους σφετερίζῃ τις τῇ τῶν μελιττῶν ἡδονῇ συνεπόμενος καὶ κατακρούων οὕτως οἰκειῶται, τινέτω τὴν βλάβην. καὶ ἐὰν πυρεύων τὴν ὕλην μὴ διευλαβηθῇ τῶν τοῦ γείτονος, τὴν δόξασαν ζημίαν τοῖς ἄρχουσι ζημιούσθω.
Ath. The first law—that of Zeus the Boundary-god—shall be stated thus: No man shall move boundary-marks of land, whether they be those of a neighbor who is a native citizen or those of a foreigner (in case he holds adjoining land on a frontier), realizing that to do this is truly to be guilty of “moving the sacrosanct”; sooner let a man try to move the largest rock which is not a boundary-mark than a small stone which forms a boundary, sanctioned by Heaven, between friendly and hostile ground. For of the one kind Zeus the Clansmen’s god is witness, of the other Zeus the Strangers’ god; which gods, when aroused, bring wars most deadly. He that obeys the law shall not suffer the evils which it inflicts; but whoso despises it shall be liable to a double penalty, the first from the hand of Heaven, the second from the law. No one shall voluntarily move the boundary-marks of the land of neighbors: if any man shall move them, whosoever wishes shall report him to the land-holders, and they shall bring him to the law court. And if a man be convicted,—since by such an act the convicted man is secretly and violently merging lands in one,—the court shall estimate what the loser must suffer or pay. Further, many small wrongs are done against neighbors which, owing to their frequent repetition, engender an immense amount of enmity, and make of neighborhood a grievous and bitter thing. Wherefore every neighbor must guard most carefully against doing any unfriendly act to his neighbor, and must above all things take special care always not to encroach in the least degree on his land; for whereas it is an easy thing and open to anyone to do an injury, to do a benefit is by no means open to everyone. Whosoever encroaches on his neighbor’s ground, overstepping the boundaries, shall pay for the damage; and, by way of cure for his shamelessness and incivility, he shall also pay out to the injured party twice the cost of the damage. In all such matters the land-stewards shall act as inspectors, judges and valuers,—the whole staff of the district, as we have said above, in respect of the more important cases, and, in respect of the less important, those of them who are “phrourarchs.” If anyone encroaches on pasture-land, these officials shall inspect the damage, and decide and assess it. And if any, yielding to his taste for bees, secures for himself another man’s swarm by attracting them with the rattling of pans, he shall pay for the damage. And if a man, in burning his own stuff, fails to have a care for that of his neighbor, he shall be fined in a fine fixed by the officials.
ΑΘ. καὶ ἐὰν φυτεύων μὴ ἀπολείπῃ τὸ μέτρον τῶν τοῦ γείτονος χωρίων, καθάπερ εἴρηται καὶ πολλοῖς νομοθέταις ἱκανῶς, ὧν τοῖς νόμοις χρὴ προσχρῆσθαι καὶ μὴ πάντα ἀξιοῦν, πολλὰ καὶ σμικρὰ καὶ τοῦ ἐπιτυχόντος νομοθέτου γιγνόμενα, τὸν μείζω πόλεως κοσμητὴν νομοθετεῖν· ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ὑδάτων πέρι γεωργοῖσι παλαιοὶ καὶ καλοὶ νόμοι κείμενοι οὐκ ἄξιοι παροχετεύειν λόγοις, ἀλλʼ ὁ βουληθεὶς ἐπὶ τὸν αὑτοῦ τόπον ἄγειν ὕδωρ ἀγέτω μὲν ἀρχόμενος ἐκ τῶν κοινῶν ναμάτων, μὴ ὑποτέμνων πηγὰς φανερὰς ἰδιώτου μηδενός, ᾗ δʼ ἂν βούληται ἄγειν, πλὴν διʼ οἰκίας ἢ ἱερῶν τινων ἢ καὶ μνημάτων, ἀγέτω, μὴ βλάπτων πλὴν αὐτῆς τῆς ὀχεταγωγίας. ἀυδρία δὲ εἴ τισι τόποις σύμφυτος ἐκ γῆς τὰ ἐκ Διὸς ἰόντα ἀποστέγει νάματα, καὶ ἐλλείπει τῶν ἀναγκαίων πωμάτων, ὀρυττέτω μὲν ἐν τῷ αὑτοῦ χωρίῳ μέχρι τῆς κεραμίδος γῆς, ἐὰν δʼ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ βάθει μηδαμῶς ὕδατι προστυγχάνῃ, παρὰ τῶν γειτόνων ὑδρευέσθω μέχρι τοῦ ἀναγκαίου πώματος ἑκάστοις τῶν οἰκετῶν· ἐὰν δὲ διʼ ἀκριβείας ᾖ καὶ τοῖς γείτοσι, τάξιν τῆς ὑδρείας ταξάμενος παρὰ τοῖς ἀγρονόμοις, ταύτην ἡμέρας ἑκάστης κομιζόμενος, οὕτω κοινωνείτω τοῖς γείτοσιν ὕδατος. ἐὰν δὲ ἐκ Διὸς ὕδατα γιγνόμενα, τὸν ἐπάνω γεωργοῦντα ἢ καὶ ὁμότοιχον οἰκοῦντα τῶν ὑποκάτω βλάπτῃ τις μὴ διδοὺς ἐκροήν, ἢ τοὐναντίον ὁ ἐπάνω μεθιεὶς εἰκῇ τὰ ῥεύματα βλάπτῃ τὸν κάτω, καὶ περὶ ταῦτα μὴ ἐθέλωσιν διὰ ταῦτα κοινωνεῖν ἀλλήλοις, ἐν ἄστει μὲν ἀστυνόμον, ἐν ἀγρῷ δὲ ἀγρονόμον ἐπάγων ὁ βουλόμενος ταξάσθω τί χρὴ ποιεῖν ἑκάτερον· ὁ δὲ μὴ ἐμμένων ἐν τῇ τάξει φθόνου θʼ ἅμα καὶ δυσκόλου ψυχῆς ὑπεχέτω δίκην, καὶ ὀφλὼν διπλάσιον τὸ βλάβος ἀποτινέτω τῷ βλαφθέντι, μὴ ἐθελήσας τοῖς ἄρχουσιν πείθεσθαι.ὀπώρας δὲ δὴ χρὴ κοινωνίαν ποιεῖσθαι πάντας τοιάνδε τινά. διττὰς ἡμῖν δωρεὰς ἡ θεὸς ἔχει χάριτος αὕτη, τὴν μὲν παιδιὰν Διονυσιάδα ἀθησαύριστον, τὴν δʼ εἰς ἀπόθεσιν γενομένην κατὰ φύσιν. ἔστω δὴ περὶ ὀπώρας ὅδε νόμος ταχθείς· ὃς ἂν ἀγροίκου ὀπώρας γεύσηται, βοτρύων εἴτε καὶ σύκων, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὴν ὥραν τὴν τοῦ τρυγᾶν ἀρκτούρῳ σύνδρομον, εἴτʼ ἐν τοῖς αὑτοῦ χωρίοις εἴτε καὶ ἐν ἄλλων, ἱερὰς μὲν πεντήκοντα ὀφειλέτω τῷ Διονύσῳ δραχμάς, ἐὰν ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ δρέπῃ, ἐὰν δʼ ἐκ τῶν γειτόνων, μνᾶν, ἐὰν δʼ ἐξ ἄλλων, δύο μέρη τῆς μνᾶς.
Ath. So too if a man, when planting trees, fail to leave the due space between them and his neighbor’s plot: this has been adequately stated by many lawgivers, whose laws we should make use of, instead of requiring the Chief Organizer of the State to legislate about all the numerous small details which are within the competence of any chance lawgiver. Thus, regarding water-supplies also, there are excellent old laws laid down for farmers, which we, in our exposition, need not draw upon. Let this suffice:—he that desires to bring water to his own land may do so, commencing at the public cisterns, but he must not undercut the exposed wells of any private person: he may lead it by whatever way he wishes, except through a house, temple or tomb, and he must do no damage beyond the actual work of channelling. If, in any spot, the rain-water filters through owing to the natural dryness of the soil, and there is a scarcity of necessary moisture, then the owner shall dig in his own ground down to the chalk subsoil, and if he fails to find water at this depth, he shall procure from his neighbors just so much as he requires for drinking purposes for all his household; and if his neighbors also are stinted in their supplies, he shall apply for a ration of water from the land-stewards, and fetch it day by day, and so share the water with his neighbors. And if, when rain comes, any dweller on lower ground damages the farmer above him, or the adjoining dweller, by preventing its outflow,—or if, conversely, the man on higher ground damages the man below by letting out the floods carelessly,—and if, in consequence, they refuse to accommodate one another in this matter, any person who wishes shall call in a city-steward, if it is in the city, or a land-steward, if in the country, and get an order as to what each party is to do; and the man who does not abide by the order shall be liable to be charged with envy and frowardness, and if convicted he shall pay to the injured party double the damage, for refusing to obey the magistrates. As concerns the fruit-harvest, the rule of sharing for all shall be this—this goddess has bestowed on us two gifts, one the plaything of Dionysus which goes unstored, the other produced by nature for putting in store. So let this law be enacted concerning the fruit-harvest:—whosoever shall taste of the coarse crop of grapes or figs before the season of vintage, which coincides with the rising of Arcturus, whether it be on his own land or on that of others, shall owe fifty sacred drachmae to Dionysus if he has cut them from his own trees, if from his neighbor’s trees, a mina, and if from others, two-thirds of a mina.
ΑΘ. ὃς δʼ ἂν τὴν γενναίαν νῦν λεγομένην σταφυλὴν ἢ τὰ γενναῖα σῦκα ἐπονομαζόμενα ὀπωρίζειν βούληται, ἐὰν μὲν ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων λαμβάνῃ, ὅπως ἂν ἐθέλῃ καὶ ὁπόταν βούληται καρπούσθω, ἐὰν δʼ ἐξ ἄλλων μὴ πείσας, ἑπομένως τῷ νόμῳ, τῷ μὴ κινεῖν ὅτι μὴ κατέθετο, ἐκείνως ἀεὶ ζημιούσθω· ἐὰν δὲ δὴ δοῦλος μὴ πείσας τὸν δεσπότην τῶν χωρίων ἅπτηταί του τῶν τοιούτων, κατὰ ῥᾶγα βοτρύων καὶ σῦκον συκῆς ἰσαρίθμους πληγὰς τούτοις μαστιγούσθω. μέτοικος δὲ ὠνούμενος τὴν γενναίαν ὀπώραν ὀπωριζέτω, ἐὰν βούληται, ἐὰν δὲ ξένος ἐπιδημήσας ὀπώρας ἐπιθυμῇ φαγεῖν διαπορευόμενος τὰς ὁδούς, τῆς μὲν γενναίας ἁπτέσθω, ἐὰν βούληται, μεθʼ ἑνὸς ἀκολούθου χωρὶς τιμῆς, ξένια δεχόμενος, τῆς δὲ ἀγροίκου λεγομένης καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ὁ νόμος εἰργέτω μὴ κοινωνεῖν ἡμῖν τοὺς ξένους· ἐὰν δέ τις ἀίστωρ ὢν αὐτὸς ἢ δοῦλος ἅψηται, τὸν μὲν δοῦλον πληγαῖς κολάζειν, τὸν δὲ ἐλεύθερον ἀποπέμπειν νουθετήσαντα καὶ διδάξαντα τῆς ἄλλης ὀπώρας ἅπτεσθαι τῆς εἰς ἀπόθεσιν ἀσταφίδος οἴνου τε καὶ ξηρῶν σύκων ἀνεπιτηδείου κεκτῆσθαι. ἀπίων δὲ πέρι καὶ μήλων καὶ ῥοῶν καὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων, αἰσχρὸν μὲν μηδὲν ἔστω λάθρᾳ λαμβάνειν, ὁ δὲ ληφθεὶς ἐντὸς τριάκοντα ἐτῶν γεγονὼς τυπτέσθω καὶ ἀμυνέσθω ἄνευ τραυμάτων, δίκην δʼ εἶναι ἐλευθέρῳ τῶν τοιούτων πληγῶν μηδεμίαν. ξένῳ δὲ καθάπερ ὀπώρας ἐξέστω καὶ τῶν τοιούτων μέτοχον εἶναι· ἐὰν δὲ πρεσβύτερος ὢν ἅπτηται τούτων, φαγὼν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀποφέρων μηδέν, καθάπερ ὁ ξένος ταύτῃ κοινωνείτω τῶν τοιούτων ἁπάντων, μὴ πειθόμενος δὲ τῷ νόμῳ κινδυνευέτω ἀναγώνιστος γίγνεσθαι περὶ ἀρετῆς, ἐὰν εἰς τότε τὰ τοιαῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ τοὺς τότε κριτάς τις ἀναμιμνῄσκῃ.ὕδωρ δὲ πάντων μὲν τὸ περὶ τὰς κηπείας διαφερόντως τρόφιμον, εὐδιάφθαρτον δέ· οὔτε γὰρ γῆν οὔτε ἥλιον οὔτε πνεύματα, τοῖς ὕδασι σύντροφα τῶν ἐκ γῆς ἀναβλαστανόντων, ῥᾴδιον φθείρειν φαρμακεύσεσιν ἢ ἀποτροπαῖς ἢ καὶ κλοπαῖς, περὶ δὲ τὴν ὕδατος φύσιν ἐστὶν τὰ τοιαῦτα σύμπαντα δυνατὰ γίγνεσθαι· διὸ δὴ βοηθοῦ δεῖται νόμου. ἔστω τοίνυν ὅδε περὶ αὐτοῦ· ἄν τις διαφθείρῃ ἑκὼν ὕδωρ ἀλλότριον, εἴτε καὶ πηγαῖον εἴτε καὶ συναγυρτόν, φαρμακείαις ἢ σκάμμασιν ἢ κλοπαῖς, ὁ βλαπτόμενος δικαζέσθω πρὸς τοὺς ἀστυνόμους, τὴν ἀξίαν τῆς βλάβης ἀπογραφόμενος· ἂν δέ τις ὄφλῃ φαρμακείαις τισὶν βλάπτων, πρὸς τῷ τιμήματι καθηράτω τὰς πηγὰς ἢ τἀγγεῖον τοῦ ὕδατος, ὅπῃπερ ἂν οἱ τῶν ἐξηγητῶν νόμοι ἀφηγῶνται δεῖν γίγνεσθαι τὴν κάθαρσιν ἑκάστοτε καὶ ἑκάστοις.
Ath. And if any man wishes to harvest “choice” grapes or “choice” figs (as they are now called), he shall gather them how and when he will if they are from his own trees, but if they are from another man’s, and without his consent, he shall be fined every time, in pursuance of the law, thou shalt not shift what thou hast not set. And if a slave, without the consent of the master of the plots, touches any of such fruit, he shall be beaten with stripes as many as the grapes in the bunch or the figs on the fig-tree. If a resident alien buys a choice crop, he shall harvest it if he wishes. If a foreigner sojourning in the country desires to eat of the crop as he passes along the road, he, with one attendant, shall, if he wishes, take some of the choice fruit with-out price, as a gift of hospitality; but the law shall forbid our foreigners to share in the so-called “coarse” fruit, and the like; and should either a master or a slave touch these, in ignorance, the slave shall be punished with stripes, and the free man shall be sent off with a reproof and be instructed to touch only the other crop, which is unfitted for storing to make raisins for wine or dried figs. As to pears, apples, pomegranates, and all such fruits, it shall be no disgrace to take them privily; but the man that is caught at it, if he be under thirty years of age, shall be beaten and driven off without wounds; and for such blows a free man shall have no right to sue. A foreigner shall be allowed to share in these fruits in the same way as in the grape crop; and if a man above thirty touch them, eating on the spot and not taking any away, he shall have a share in all such fruits, like the foreigner; but if he disobeys the law, he shall be liable to be disqualified in seeking honors, in case anyone brings these facts to the notice of the judges at the time. Water above all else in a garden is nourishing; but it is easy to spoil. For while soil and sun and wind, which jointly with water nourish growing plants, are not easy to spoil by means of sorcery or diverting or theft, all these things may happen to water; hence it requires the assistance of law. Let this, then, be the law concerning it:—if anyone wantonly spoil another man’s water, whether in spring or in pond, by means of sorcery, digging, or theft, the injured party shall sue him before the city-stewards, recording the amount of the damage sustained; and whosoever is convicted of damaging by poisons shall, in addition to the fine, clean out the springs or the basin of the water, in whatever way the laws of the interpreters declare it right for the purification to be made on each occasion and for each plaintiff.
ΑΘ. περὶ δὲ συγκομιδῆς τῶν ὡραίων ἁπάντων, ἐξέστω τῷ βουλομένῳ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ διὰ παντὸς τόπου κομίζεσθαι, ὅπῃπερ ἂν ἢ μηδὲν μηδένα ζημιοῖ ἢ τριπλάσιον αὐτὸς κέρδος τῆς τοῦ γείτονος ζημίας κερδαίνῃ, τούτων δὲ ἐπιγνώμονας τοὺς ἄρχοντας γίγνεσθαι, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ὅσα τις ἂν ἑκὼν ἄκοντα βλάπτῃ βίᾳ ἢ λάθρᾳ, αὐτὸν ἢ τῶν αὐτοῦ τι, διὰ τῶν αὑτοῦ κτημάτων, πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἐπιδεικνὺς τιμωρείσθω, μέχρι τριῶν μνῶν ὄντος τοῦ βλάβους· ἐὰν δʼ ἔγκλημά τῳ μεῖζον ἄλλῳ πρὸς ἄλλον γίγνηται, πρὸς τὰ κοινὰ δικαστήρια φέρων τὴν δίκην τιμωρείσθω τὸν ἀδικοῦντα. ἐὰν δέ τις τῶν ἀρχόντων δοκῇ μετʼ ἀδίκου γνώμης κρίνειν τὰς ζημίας, τῶν διπλασίων ὑπόδικος ἔστω τῷ βλαφθέντι· τὰ δὲ αὖ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἀδικήματα εἰς τὰ κοινὰ δικαστήρια ἐπανάγειν τὸν βουλόμενον ἑκάστων τῶν ἐγκλημάτων. μυρία δὲ ταῦτα ὄντα καὶ σμικρὰ νόμιμα, καθʼ ἃ δεῖ τὰς τιμωρίας γίγνεσθαι, λήξεών τε πέρι δικῶν καὶ προσκλήσεων καὶ κλητήρων, εἴτʼ ἐπὶ δυοῖν εἴτʼ ἐφʼ ὁπόσων δεῖ καλεῖσθαι, καὶ πάντα ὁπόσα τοιαῦτά ἐστιν, οὔτʼ ἀνομοθέτητα οἷόν τʼ εἶναι γέροντός τε οὐκ ἄξια νομοθέτου, νομοθετούντων δʼ αὐτὰ οἱ νέοι πρὸς τὰ τῶν πρόσθεν νομοθετήματα ἀπομιμούμενοι, σμικρὰ πρὸς μεγάλα, καὶ τῆς ἀναγκαίας αὐτῶν χρείας ἐμπείρως ἴσχοντες, μέχριπερ ἂν πάντα ἱκανῶς δόξῃ κεῖσθαι· τότε δὲ ἀκίνητα ποιησάμενοι, ζώντων τούτοις ἤδη χρώμενοι μέτρον ἔχουσι. τὸ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων δημιουργῶν ποιεῖν χρὴ κατὰ τόδε. πρῶτον μὲν ἐπιχώριος μηδεὶς ἔστω τῶν περὶ τὰ δημιουργικὰ τεχνήματα διαπονούντων, μηδὲ οἰκέτης ἀνδρὸς ἐπιχωρίου. τέχνην γὰρ ἱκανήν, πολλῆς ἀσκήσεως ἅμα καὶ μαθημάτων πολλῶν δεομένην, κέκτηται πολίτης ἀνὴρ τὸν κοινὸν τῆς πόλεως κόσμον σῴζων καὶ κτώμενος, οὐκ ἐν παρέργῳ δεόμενον ἐπιτηδεύειν· δύο δὲ ἐπιτηδεύματα ἢ δύο τέχνας ἀκριβῶς διαπονεῖσθαι σχεδὸν οὐδεμία φύσις ἱκανὴ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, οὐδʼ αὖ τὴν μὲν αὐτὸς ἱκανὸς ἀσκεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἄλλον ἀσκοῦντα ἐπιτροπεύειν.
Ath. Touching the bringing home of all crops, whoso wills shall be permitted to fetch his own stuff through any place, provided that either he does no damage or else gains himself three times as much profit as the damage he costs his neighbor; the authority in this matter shall rest with the magistrates, as in all other cases where a man willingly injures an unwilling party either by force or secretly—whether it be the party himself he injures or some of his chattels, by means of his own chattels; in all such cases the plaintiff must report to the magistrates to get redress, where the damage is under three minas; but if a man makes a larger claim than this against another, he shall bring a suit before the public courts and punish the injurer. If any of the magistrates be thought to have given an unjust verdict in deciding the penalties, he shall be liable to pay to the injured party double the amount; and whoso wishes shall bring up the wrong-doings of the magistrates before the public courts in the case of each complaint. And since there are countless petty cases for which penalties must be laid down, concerning written complaints and citations and evidence of citation,—whether the citation requires two or more witnesses,—and all matters of the like kind,—these cases cannot be left without legal regulation, but at the same time they do not deserve the attention of an aged lawgiver; so the young lawgivers shall make laws for these cases, modelling their small rules on the great ones of our earlier enactments, and learning by experience how far they are necessary in practice, until it be decided that they are all adequately laid down; and then, having permanently fixed them, they shall live in the practice of them, now that they are set out in due form. Moreover, for craftsmen we ought to make regulations in this wise. First, no resident citizen shall be numbered among those who engage in technical crafts, nor any servant of a resident. For a citizen possesses a sufficient craft, and one that needs long practice and many studies, in the keeping and conserving of the public system of the State, a task which demands his full attention: and there hardly exists a human being with sufficient capacity to carry on two pursuits or two crafts thoroughly, nor yet to practice one himself and supervise another in practicing a second.
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