, the Gods above; secondly,
the souls of the departed, who naturally care for their own descendants;
thirdly, the aged living, who are quick to hear of any neglect of family
duties, especially in the case of orphans. For they are the holiest
and most sacred of all deposits, and the peculiar care of guardians and
magistrates; and those who try to bring them up well will contribute
to their own good and to that of their families. He who listens to the
preamble of the law will never know the severity of the legislator; but
he who disobeys, and injures the orphan, will pay twice the penalty he
would have paid if the parents had been alive. More laws might have been
made about orphans, did we not suppose that the guardians have children
and property of their own which are protected by the laws; and the duty
of the guardian in our state is the same as that of a father, though
his honour or disgrace is greater. A legal admonition and threat may,
however, be of service: the guardian of the orphan and the guardian of
the law who is over him, shall love the orphan as their own children,
and take more care of his or her property than of their own. If the
guardian of the child neglect his duty, the guardian of the law shall
fine him; and the guardian may also have the magistrate tried for
neglect in the court of select judges, and he shall pay, if convicted,
a double penalty. Further, the guardian of the orphan who is careless
or dishonest may be fined on the information of any of the citizens in a
fourfold penalty, half to go to the orphan and half to the prosecutor
of the suit. When the orphan is of age, if he thinks that he has been
ill-used, his guardian may be brought to trial by him within five years,
and the penalty shall be fixed by the court. Or if the magistrate
has neglected the orphan, he shall pay damages to him; but if he have
defrauded him, he shall make compensation and also be deposed from his
office of guardian of the law.

If irremediable differences arise between fathers and sons, the father
may want to renounce his son, or the son may indict his father for
imbecility: such violent separations only take place when the family are
'a bad lot'; if only one of the two parties is bad, the differences do
not grow to so great a height. But here arises a difficulty. Although
in any other state a son who is disinherited does not cease to be a
citizen, in ours he does; for the number of citizens cannot exceed 5040.
And th