e next degree, he who
tells a falsehood in the presence of his superiors. Now better men are
the superiors of worse men, and in general elders are the superiors of
the young; wherefore also parents are the superiors of their offspring,
and men of women and children, and rulers of their subjects; for all
men ought to reverence any one who is in any position of authority, and
especially those who are in state offices. And this is the reason why
I have spoken of these matters. For every one who is guilty of
adulteration in the agora tells a falsehood, and deceives, and when he
invokes the Gods, according to the customs and cautions of the wardens
of the agora, he does but swear without any respect for God or man.
Certainly, it is an excellent rule not lightly to defile the names of
the Gods, after the fashion of men in general, who care little about
piety and purity in their religious actions. But if a man will not
conform to this rule, let the law be as follows: He who sells anything
in the agora shall not ask two prices for that which he sells, but he
shall ask one price, and if he do not obtain this, he shall take away
his goods; and on that day he shall not value them either at more or
less; and there shall be no praising of any goods, or oath taken about
them. If a person disobeys this command, any citizen who is present, not
being less than thirty years of age, may with impunity chastise and beat
the swearer, but if instead of obeying the laws he takes no heed, he
shall be liable to the charge of having betrayed them. If a man sells
any adulterated goods and will not obey these regulations, he who
knows and can prove the fact, and does prove it in the presence of the
magistrates, if he be a slave or a metic, shall have the adulterated
goods; but if he be a citizen, and do not pursue the charge, he shall be
called a rogue, and deemed to have robbed the Gods of the agora; or if
he proves the charge, he shall dedicate the goods to the Gods of the
agora. He who is proved to have sold any adulterated goods, in addition
to losing the goods themselves, shall be beaten with stripes--a stripe
for a drachma, according to the price of the goods; and the herald shall
proclaim in the agora the offence for which he is going to be beaten.
The wardens of the agora and the guardians of the law shall obtain
information from experienced persons about the rogueries and
adulterations of the sellers, and shall write up what the seller ought