Ways and Means

Sections

1.1 – 1.3 1.4 – 1.8 2.1 – 2.4 2.5 – 3.1 3.2 – 3.5 3.6 – 3.9 3.10 – 3.14 4.1 – 4.4 4.5 – 4.8 4.9 – 4.13 4.14 – 4.18 4.19 – 4.21 4.22 – 4.24 4.25 – 4.29 4.30 – 4.33 4.34 – 4.39 4.40 – 4.42 4.43 – 4.46 4.47 – 4.50 4.51 – 5.1 5.2 – 5.5 5.6 – 5.10 5.11 – 5.13 6.1 – 6.3

İngilizce Yunanca

4.14 But what may well excite surprise is that the state, being aware that many private individuals are making money out of her, does not imitate them. Those of us who have given thought to the matter have heard long ago, I imagine, that Nicias son of Niceratus, once owned a thousand men in the mines, and let them out to Socias the Thracian, on condition that Sosias paid him an obol a day per man net and filled all vacancies as they occurred.

4.15 Hipponicus, again, had six hundred slaves let out on the same terms and received a rent of a mina a day net. Philemonides had three hundred, and received half a mina. There were others too, owning numbers in proportion, I presume, to their capital.

4.16 But why dwell on the past? At this day there are many men in the mines let out in this way.

4.17 Were my proposals adopted, the only innovation would be, that just as private individuals have built up a permanent income by becoming slave owners, so the state would become possessed of public slaves, until there were three for every citizen.

4.18 Whether my plan is workable, let anyone who chooses judge for himself by examining it in detail.

4.18 So let us take first the cost of the men. Clearly the treasury is in a better position to provide the money than private individuals. Moreover the Council can easily issue a notice inviting all and sundry to bring slaves, and can buy those that are brought to it.