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to his deserts—death, or bonds, or blows, or degrading places of sitting or
standing, or removal to some temple on the borders of the land; or let him pay
fines, as we said before. In cases of death, let the judges be the guardians of
the law, and a court selected by merit from the last year’s magistrates. But
how the causes are to be brought into to court, how the summonses are to be
served, the like, these things may be left to the younger generation of
legislators to determine; the manner of voting we must determine ourselves.
Let the vote be given openly; but before they come to the vote let the
judges sit in order of seniority over against plaintiff and defendant, and let all
the citizens who can spare time hear and take a serious interest in listening to
such causes. First of all the plaintiff shall make one speech, and then the
defendant shall make another; and after the speeches have been made the
eldest judge shall begin to examine the parties, and proceed to make an
adequate enquiry into what has been said; and after the oldest has spoken, the
rest shall proceed in order to examine either party as to what he finds
defective in the evidence, whether of statement or omission; and he who has
nothing to ask shall hand over the examination to another. And on so much of
what has been said as is to the purpose all the judges shall set their seals, and
place the writings on the altar of Hestia. On the next day they shall meet
again, and in like manner put their questions and go through the cause, and
again set their seals upon the evidence; and when they have three times done
this, and have had witnesses and evidence enough, they shall each of them
give a holy vote, after promising by Hestia that they will decide justly and
truly to the utmost of their power; and so they shall put an end to the suit.
Next, after what relates to the Gods, follows what relates to the dissolution
of the state:—Whoever by promoting a man to power enslaves the laws, and
subjects the city to factions, using violence and stirring up sedition contrary to
law, him we will deem the greatest enemy of the whole state. But he who
takes no part in such proceedings, and, being one of the chief magistrates of
the state, has no knowledge of the treason, or, having knowledge of it, by
reason of cowardice does not interfere on behalf of his country, such an one
we must consider nearly as bad. Every man who is worth anything will
inform the magistrates, and bring the conspirator to trial for making a violent
and illegal attempt to change the government. The judges of such cases shall
be the same as of the robbers of temples; and let the whole proceeding be
carried on in the same way, and the vote of the majority condemn to death.
But let there be a general rule, that the disgrace and punishment of the father
is not to be visited on the children, except in the case of some one whose
father, grandfather, and great–grandfather have successively undergone the
penalty of death. Such persons the city shall send away with all their
possessions to the city and country of their ancestors, retaining only and
1515
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book The Complete Plato"
The Complete Plato
- Title
- The Complete Plato
- Author
- Plato
- Date
- ~347 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 1612
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International