rather distraction;--there should
exist among the citizens neither extreme poverty, nor, again, excess of
wealth, for both are productive of both these evils. Now the legislator
should determine what is to be the limit of poverty or wealth. Let the
limit of poverty be the value of the lot; this ought to be preserved,
and no ruler, nor any one else who aspires after a reputation for
virtue, will allow the lot to be impaired in any case. This the
legislator gives as a measure, and he will permit a man to acquire
double or triple, or as much as four times the amount of this (compare
Arist. Pol.). But if a person have yet greater riches, whether he has
found them, or they have been given to him, or he has made them in
business, or has acquired by any stroke of fortune that which is in
excess of the measure, if he give back the surplus to the state, and to
the Gods who are the patrons of the state, he shall suffer no penalty or
loss of reputation; but if he disobeys this our law, any one who likes
may inform against him and receive half the value of the excess, and the
delinquent shall pay a sum equal to the excess out of his own property,
and the other half of the excess shall belong to the Gods. And let every
possession of every man, with the exception of the lot, be publicly
registered before the magistrates whom the law appoints, so that all
suits about money may be easy and quite simple.

The next thing to be noted is, that the city should be placed as nearly
as possible in the centre of the country; we should choose a place which
possesses what is suitable for a city, and this may easily be imagined
and described. Then we will divide the city into twelve portions, first
founding temples to Hestia, to Zeus and to Athene, in a spot which we
will call the Acropolis, and surround with a circular wall, making the
division of the entire city and country radiate from this point. The
twelve portions shall be equalized by the provision that those which are
of good land shall be smaller, while those of inferior quality shall be
larger. The number of the lots shall be 5040, and each of them shall
be divided into two, and every allotment shall be composed of two such
sections; one of land near the city, the other of land which is at a
distance (compare Arist. Pol.). This arrangement shall be carried out in
the following manner: The section which is near the city shall be added
to that which is on the borders, and form one lot, and