In the next place, dealings between man and man require to besuitably regulated. The principle of them is very simple:-Thou shaltnot, if thou canst help, touch that which is mine, or remove the leastthing which belongs to me without my consent; and may I be of asound mind, and do to others as I would that they should do to me.
First, let us speak of treasure trove:-May I never pray the Gods tofind the hidden treasure, which another has laid up for himself andhis family, he not being one of my ancestors, nor lift, if I shouldfind, such a treasure. And may I never have any dealings with thosewho are called diviners, and who in any way or manner counsel me totake up the deposit entrusted to the earth, for I should not gain somuch in the increase of my possessions, if I take up the prize, as Ishould grow in justice and virtue of soul, if I abstain; and this willbe a better possession to me than the other in a better part ofmyself; for the possession of justice in the soul is preferable to thepossession of wealth. And of many things it is well said-"Move not theimmovables," and this may be regarded as one of them. And we shalldo well to believe the common tradition which says that such deedsprevent a man from having a family. Now as to him who is carelessabout having children and regardless of the legislator, taking up thatwhich neither he deposited, nor any ancestor of his, without theconsent of the depositor, violating the simplest and noblest of lawswhich was the enactment of no mean man:-"Take not up that which wasnot laid down by thee"-of him, I say, who despises these twolegislators, and takes up, not small matter which he has notdeposited, but perhaps a great heap of treasure, what he ought tosuffer at the hands of the Gods, God only knows; but I would havethe first person who sees him go and tell the wardens of the city,if the occurrence has taken place in the city, or if the occurrencehas taken place in the agora he shall tell the wardens of the agora,or if in the country he shall tell the wardens of the country andtheir commanders. When information has been received the city shallsend to Delphi, and, whatever the God answers about the money andthe remover of the money, that the city shall do in obedience to theoracle; the informer, if he be a freeman, shall have the honour ofdoing rightly, and he who informs not, the dishonour of doing wrongly;and if he be a slave who gives information, let him be freed, as heought to be, by the state, which shall give his master the price ofhim; but if he do not inform he shall be punished with death. Nextin order shall follow a similar law, which shall apply equally tomatters great and small:-If a man happens to leave behind him somepart of his property, whether intentionally or unintentionally, lethim who may come upon the left property suffer it to remain,reflecting that such things are under the protection of the Goddess ofways, and are dedicated to her by the law. But if any one defies thelaw, and takes the property home with him, let him, if the thing is oflittle worth, and the man who takes it a slave, be beaten with manystripes by him, being a person of not less than thirty years of age.
Or if he be a freeman, in addition to being thought a mean personand a despiser of the laws, let him pay ten times the value of thetreasure which he has moved to the leaver. And if some one accusesanother of having anything which belongs to him, whether little ormuch, and the other admits that he has this thing, but denies that theproperty in dispute belongs to other, if the property be registeredwith the magistrates according to law, the claimant shall summon thepossessor, who shall bring it before the magistrates; and when it isbrought into court, if it be registered in the public registers, towhich of the litigants it belonged, let him take it and go his way. Orif the property be registered as belonging to some one who is notpresent, whoever will offer sufficient surety on behalf of theabsent person that he will give it up to him, shall take it away asthe representative of the other. But if the property which isdeposited be not registered with the magistrates, let it remainuntil the time of trial with three of the eldest of the magistrates;and if it be an animal which is deposited, then he who loses thesuit shall pay the magistrates for its keep, and they shalldetermine the cause within three days.
Any one who is of sound mind may arrest his own slave, and do withhim whatever he will of such things as are lawful; and he may arrestthe runaway slave of any of his friends or kindred with a view tohis safe-keeping. And if any one takes away him who is being carriedoff as a slave, intending to liberate him, he who is carrying himoff shall let him go; but he who takes him away shall give threesufficient sureties; and if he give them, and not without giving them,he may take him away, but if he take him away after any other mannerhe shall be deemed guilty of violence, and being convicted shall payas a penalty double the amount of the damages claimed to him who hasbeen deprived of the slave. Any man may also carry off a freedman,if he do not pay respect or sufficient respect to him who freed him.