第56章 BOOK VI(7)

The wardens and the overseers of the country,while on their two years service,shall have common meals at their several stations,and shall all live together;and he who is absent from the common meal,or sleeps out,if only for one day or night,unless by order of his commanders,or by reason of absolute necessity,if the five denounce him and inscribe his name the agora as not having kept his guard,let him be deemed to have betrayed the city,as far as lay in his power,and let him be disgraced and beaten with impunity by any one who meets him and is willing to punish him.If any of the commanders is guilty of such an irregularity,the whole company of sixty shall see to it,and he who is cognizant of the offence,and does not bring the offender to trial,shall be amenable to the same laws as the younger offender himself,and shall pay a heavier fine,and be incapable of ever commanding the young.The guardians of the law are to be careful inspectors of these matters,and shall either prevent or punish offenders.Every man should remember the universal rule,that he who is not a good servant will not be a good master;a man should pride himself more upon serving well than upon commanding well:first upon serving the laws,which is also the service of the Gods;in the second place,upon having.served ancient and honourable men in the days of his youth.Furthermore,during the two years in which any one is a warden of the country,his daily food ought to be of a simple and humble kind.When the twelve have been chosen,let them and the five meet together,and determine that they will be their own servants,and,like servants,will not have other slaves and servants for their own use,neither will they use those of the villagers and husbandmen for their private advantage,but for the public service only;and in general they should make up their minds to live independently by themselves,servants of each other and of themselves.Further,at all seasons of the year,summer and winter alike,let them be under arms and survey minutely the whole country;thus they will at once keep guard,and at the same time acquire a perfect knowledge of every locality.There can be no more important kind of information than the exact knowledge of a man's own country;and for this as well as for more general reasons of pleasure and advantage,hunting with dogs and other kinds of sports should be pursued by the young.The service to whom this is committed may be called the secret police,or wardens of the country;the name does not much signify,but every one who has the safety of the state at heart will use his utmost diligence in this service.

After the wardens of the country,we have to speak of the election of wardens of the agora and of the city.The wardens of the country were sixty in number,and the wardens of the city will be three,and will divide the twelve parts of the city into three;like the former,they shall have care of the ways,and of the different high roads which lead out of the country into the city,and of the buildings,that they may be all made according to law;-also of the waters,which the guardians of the supply preserve and convey to them,care being taken that they may reach the fountains pure and abundant,and be both an ornament and a benefit to the city.These also should be men of influence,and at leisure to take care of the public interest.Let every man propose as warden of the city any one whom he likes out of the highest class,and when the vote has been given on them,and the number is reduced to the six who have the greatest number of votes,let the electing officers choose by lot three out of the six,and when they have undergone a scrutiny let them hold office according to the laws laid down for them.Next,let the wardens of the agora be elected in like manner,out of the first and second class,five in number:ten are to be first elected,and out of the ten five are to be chosen by lot,as in the election of the wardens of the city:-these when they have undergone a scrutiny are to be declared magistrates.Every one shall vote for every one,and he who will not vote,if he be informed against before the magistrates,shall be fined fifty drachmae,and shall also be deemed a bad citizen.

Let any one who likes go to the assembly and to the general council;it shall be compulsory to go on citizens of the first and second class,and they shall pay a fine of ten drachmae if they be found not answering to their names at the assembly.the third and fourth class shall be under no compulsion,and shall be let off without a fine,unless the magistrates have commanded all to be present,in consequence of some urgent necessity.The wardens of the agora shall observe the order appointed by law for the agora,and shall have the charge of the temples and fountains which are in the agora;and they shall see that no one injures anything,and punish him who does,with stripes and bonds,if he be a slave or stranger;but if he be a citizen who misbehaves in this way,they shall have the power themselves of inflicting a fine upon him to the amount of a hundred drachmae,or with the consent of the wardens of the city up to double that amount.And let the wardens of the city have a similar power of imposing punishments and fines in their own department;and let them impose fines by their own department;and let them impose fines by their own authority,up to a mina,or up to two minae with the consent of the wardens of the agora.