Page:History of Greece Vol III.djvu/131

 PERMANENCE OF ATHENIAN MONEY-STANDABD. 1 15 when we reflect how much " Grecian faith " has been degraded by the Roman writers into a byword for duplicity in pecuniary dealings. 1 The democracy of Athens, and, indeed, the cities of Greece generally, both oligarchies and democracies, stands far above the senate of Rome, and far above the modern kin-- ' O doms of France and England, until comparatively recent times, in respect of honest dealing with the coinage : 2 moreover, while 1 '' Gnccu fide mercari." Polybius puts the Greeks greatly below the Romans in point of veracity and good faith (vi, 56) ; in another passage, he speaks not quite so confidently (xviii, 17). Even the testimony of the Roman writers is sometimes given in favor of Attic good faith, not against it " ut semper et in omni re, quicquid sinceri fide gererettir, id Romani, Allied fif-i-i, rra?dicarcnt." (Vellcius Paterc. ii, 23.) The language of Heffter (Athenaische Gerichts Vcrfassung, p. 466), especially, degrades very undeservedly the state of good faith and credit at Athens. The whole tone and argument of the Oration of Demosthenes against Leptines is a remarkable proof of the respect of the Athenian dikastery for vested interest?, even under less obvious forms than that of pecuniary pos- session. We may add a striking passage of Demosthenes cont. Timokrat wherein he denounces the rescinding of past transactions (ri KETrpa.yiJ.eva /..vcai, contrasted with prospective legislation) as an injustice peculiar to an oligarchy, and repugnant to the feelings of a democracy (cont. Timokrat. c. 20, p. 724; c. 36, 747). 2 A similar credit, in respect to monetary probity, may be claimed for the republic of Florence. M. Sismondi says, " An milieu des revolutions mone- taires de tons les pays voisins et tandis que la mauvaise foi dcs gouverne- mens alte'roit le nume'raire d'une cxtrcmite" a 1'autre de 1'Europe, le florin ou sequin de Florence est toujonrs reste le memo : il est du meme poids, dn meme titre: il porte la meme empreinte que celui qui fut hattu en 1252." (Re'publiques Italiennes, vol. iii, ch. 18, p. 176.) M. Bocckh (Public Econ. of Athens, i, 6; iv, 19), while affirming, justly and decidedly, that the Athenian republic always set a high value on main- taining the integrity of their silver money, yet thinks that the gold pieces which were coined in Olymp. 93, 2, (408 B. c.) under the archonship of Anti- genes (out of the golden ornaments in the acropolis, and at a time of public embarrassments) were debased and made to pass for more than their value. The only evidence in support of this position appears to be the passage in Aristophanes (Ran. 719-737) with the Scholia; but this very passage seems to me rather to prove the contrary. " The Athenian people (says Aristo- phanes) deal with their public servants as they do with their coins : they prefer the new and bad to the old and good." If the people were so exceed- ingly, and even extravagantly, desirous of obtaining the new coins, this is a