Book 11
18
Then upon all other thefts, which were called not manifest, they imposed a two-fold penalty. XII. Tab. viii. 16. I recall also that I read in the work of the jurist Aristo, Fr. 1, Huschke; ii. 2, p. 393, Bremer. a man of no slight learning, that among the ancient Egyptians, a race of men known to have been ingenious in inventions and keen in getting at the bottom of things, thefts of all kinds were lawful and went unpunished.
18
Among the Lacedaemonians too, those serious and vigorous men (a matter for which the evidence is not so remote as in the case of the Egyptians) many famous writers, who have composed records of their laws and customs, affirm that thieving was lawful and customary, and that it was practised by their young men, not for base gain or to furnish the means for indulgence or amassing wealth, but as an exercise and training in the art of war; for dexterity and practice in thieving made the minds of the youth keen and strong for clever ambuscades, and for endurance in watching, and for the swiftness of surprise.
18
Marcus Cato, however, in the speech which he wrote On Dividing Spoils among the Soldiers, complains in strong and choice language about unpunished thievery and lawlessness. I have quoted his words, since they pleased me greatly: p. 69, 1, Jordan. Those who commit private theft pass their lives in confinement and fetters; plunderers of the public, in purple and gold.
