c officers may use annually whichever on
consideration they deem the best, whether they prefer to take a certain
portion of the whole value, or of the annual revenue, after subtracting
what is paid to the common tables.

Touching offerings to the Gods, a moderate man should observe moderation
in what he offers. Now the land and the hearth of the house of all men
is sacred to all Gods; wherefore let no man dedicate them a second time
to the Gods. Gold and silver, whether possessed by private persons or in
temples, are in other cities provocative of envy, and ivory, the product
of a dead body, is not a proper offering; brass and iron, again, are
instruments of war; but of wood let a man bring what offering he likes,
provided it be a single block, and in like manner of stone, to the
public temples; of woven work let him not offer more than one woman can
execute in a month. White is a colour suitable to the Gods, especially
in woven works, but dyes should only be used for the adornments of war.
The most divine of gifts are birds and images, and they should be such
as one painter can execute in a single day. And let all other offerings
follow a similar rule.

Now that the whole city has been divided into parts of which the nature
and number have been described, and laws have been given about all the
most important contracts as far as this was possible, the next thing
will be to have justice done. The first of the courts shall consist of
elected judges, who shall be chosen by the plaintiff and the defendant
in common: these shall be called arbiters rather than judges. And in
the second court there shall be judges of the villages and tribes
corresponding to the twelvefold division of the land, and before these
the litigants shall go to contend for greater damages, if the suit be
not decided before the first judges; the defendant, if he be defeated
the second time, shall pay a fifth more than the damages mentioned in
the indictment; and if he find fault with his judges and would try a
third time, let him carry the suit before the select judges, and if he
be again defeated, let him pay the whole of the damages and half as much
again. And the plaintiff, if when defeated before the first judges he
persist in going on to the second, shall if he wins receive in addition
to the damages a fifth part more, and if defeated he shall pay a like
sum; but if he is not satisfied with the previous decision, and will
insist on proceeding to a