When a man makes an agreement which he does not fulfil, unless theagreement be of a nature which the law or a vote of the assemblydoes not allow, or which he has made under the influence of someunjust compulsion, or which he is prevented from fulfilling againsthis will by some unexpected chance, the other party may go to law withhim in the courts of the tribes, for not having completed hisagreement, if the parties are not able previously to come to termsbefore arbiters or before their neighbours. The class of craftsmen whohave furnished human life with the arts is dedicated to Hephaestus andAthene; and there is a class of craftsmen who preserve the works ofall craftsmen by arts of defence, the votaries of Ares and Athene,to which divinities they too are rightly dedicated. All these continuethrough life serving the country and the people; some of them areleaders in battle; others make for hire implements and works, and theyought not to deceive in such matters, out of respect to the Gods whoare their ancestors. If any craftsman through indolence omit toexecute his work in a given time, not reverencing the God who giveshim the means of life, but considering, foolish fellow, that he is hisown God and will let him off easily, in the first place, he shallsuffer at the hands of the God, and in the second place, the law shallfollow in a similar spirit. He shall owe to him who contracted withhim the price of the works which he has failed in performing, and heshall begin again and execute them gratis in the given time. When aman undertakes a work, the law gives him the same advice which wasgiven to the seller, that he should not attempt to raise the price,but simply ask the value; this the law enjoins also on the contractor;for the craftsman assuredly knows the value of his work. Wherefore, infree states the man of art ought not to attempt to impose upon privateindividuals by the help of his art, which is by nature a true thing;and he who is wronged in a matter of this sort, shall have a rightof action against the party who has wronged him. And if any one letsout work to a craftsman, and does not pay him duly according to thelawful agreement, disregarding Zeus the guardian of the city andAthene, who are the partners of the state, and overthrows thefoundations of society for the sake of a little gain, in his caselet the law and the Gods maintain the common bonds of the state. Andlet him who, having already received the work in exchange, does notpay the price in the time agreed, pay double the price; and if ayear has elapsed, although interest is not to be taken on loans, yetfor every drachma which he owes to the contractor let him pay amonthly interest of an obol. Suits about these matters are to bedecided by the courts of the tribes; and by the way, since we havementioned craftsmen at all, we must not forget the other craft of war,in which generals and tacticians are the craftsmen, who undertakevoluntarily the work of our safety, as other craftsmen undertake otherpublic works;-if they execute their work well the law will nevertire of praising him who gives them those honours which are the justrewards of the soldier; but if any one, having already received thebenefit of any noble service in war, does not make the due return ofhonour, the law will blame him. Let this then be the law, having aningredient of praise, not compelling but advising the great body ofthe citizens to honour the brave men who are the saviours of the wholestate, whether by their courage or by their military skill;-theyshould honour them, I say, in the second place; for the first andhighest tribute of respect is to be given to those who are ableabove other men to honour the words of good legislators.
The greater part of the dealings between man and man have been nowregulated by us with the exception of those that relate to orphans andthe supervision of orphans by their guardians. These follow next inorder, and must be regulated in some way. But to arrive at them wemust begin with the testamentary wishes of the dying and the case ofthose who may have happened to die intestate. When I said, Cleinias,that we must regulate them, I had in my mind the difficulty andperplexity in which all such matters are involved. You cannot leavethem unregulated, for individuals would make regulations at variancewith one another, and repugnant to the laws and habits of the livingand to their own previous habits, if a person were simply allowed tomake any will which he pleased, and this were to take effect inwhatever state he may have been at the end of his life; for most of uslose our senses in a manner, and feel crushed when we think that weare about to die.
Cle. What do you mean, Stranger?
Ath. O Cleinias, a man when he is about to die is an intractablecreature, and is apt to use language which causes a great deal ofanxiety and trouble to the legislator.
Cle. In what way?
Ath. He wants to have the entire control of all his property, andwill use angry words.
Cle. Such as what?
Ath. O ye Gods, he will say, how monstrous that I am not allowedto give, or not to give my own to whom I will-less to him who has beenbad to me, and more to him who has been good to me, and whosebadness and goodness have been tested by me in time of sickness orin old age and in every other sort of fortune!
Cle. Well Stranger, and may he not very fairly say so?
Ath. In my opinion, Cleinias, the ancient legislators were toogood-natured, and made laws without sufficient observation orconsideration of human things.
Cle. What do you mean?
Ath. I mean, my friend that they were afraid of the testator"sreproaches, and so they passed a law to the effect that a man shouldbe allowed to dispose of his property in all respects as he liked; butyou and I, if I am not mistaken, will have something better to sayto our departing citizens.
Cle. What?