n accordance
with their feelings of right and wrong. He who in any way shares in the
illiberality of retail trades may be indicted for dishonouring his race
by any one who likes, before those who have been judged to be the first
in virtue; and if he appear to throw dirt upon his father's house by an
unworthy occupation, let him be imprisoned for a year and abstain from
that sort of thing; and if he repeat the offence, for two years; and
every time that he is convicted let the length of his imprisonment be
doubled. This shall be the second law: He who engages in retail trade
must be either a metic or a stranger. And a third law shall be: In
order that the retail trader who dwells in our city may be as good or
as little bad as possible, the guardians of the law shall remember
that they are not only guardians of those who may be easily watched and
prevented from becoming lawless or bad, because they are well-born and
bred; but still more should they have a watch over those who are of
another sort, and follow pursuits which have a very strong tendency to
make men bad. And, therefore, in respect of the multifarious occupations
of retail trade, that is to say, in respect of such of them as are
allowed to remain, because they seem to be quite necessary in a
state--about these the guardians of the law should meet and take counsel
with those who have experience of the several kinds of retail trade, as
we before commanded concerning adulteration (which is a matter akin to
this), and when they meet they shall consider what amount of receipts,
after deducting expenses, will produce a moderate gain to the retail
trades, and they shall fix in writing and strictly maintain what they
find to be the right percentage of profit; this shall be seen to by the
wardens of the agora, and by the wardens of the city, and by the wardens
of the country. And so retail trade will benefit every one, and do the
least possible injury to those in the state who practise it.

When a man makes an agreement which he does not fulfil, unless the
agreement be of a nature which the law or a vote of the assembly does
not allow, or which he has made under the influence of some unjust
compulsion, or which he is prevented from fulfilling against his will
by some unexpected chance, the other party may go to law with him in
the courts of the tribes, for not having completed his agreement, if
the parties are not able previously to come to terms before arbiters or
befo