Page:History of Greece Vol IV.djvu/436

 418 HISTORY OF GREECE. and Italy, Leontini, Naxos, Zankle", and Rhegium. The laws and the solemn preamble ascribed to him by Diodorus and Stobaeus, belong to a later day, 1 and we are obliged to content ourselves with collecting the brief hints of Aristotle, who tells us that the laws of Charondas descended to great minuteness of distinction and specification, especially in graduating the fine for offences according to the property of the guilty person fined, 2 but that there was nothing in his laws strictly original and pecu- liar, except that he was the first to introduce the solemn indictment against perjured witnesses before justice. The perjured witness, in Grecian ideas, was looked upon as having committed a crime half religious, half civil ; and the indictment raised against him, known by a peculiar name, partook of both characters, approach- ing in some respects to the procedure against a murderer. Such distinct form of indictment against perjured testimony with its appropriate name, 3 which we shall find maintained at Athens 1 Diodorus, xii, 35 ; Stobseus, Serm. xliv. 20-40 ; Cicero de Legg. ii, C. See K. F. Hermann, Lehrbuch dor Griech. Staatsalterth timer, eh. 89 ; Heync, Opuscul. vol. ii, pp. 72-1 G4. Brandis (Geschichte der Rom. Philosophic, ch. xxvi, p. 102) seems to conceive these prologues as genuine. The mistakes and confusion made by ancient writers respecting these lawgivers even by writers earlier than Aristotle (Politic, ii, 9, 5) arc such as we have no means of clearing up. Seneca (Epist. 90) calls both Zaleukus and Charondas disciples of Pythagoras. That the former was so, is not to be believed ; but it is not wholly impossible that the latter may have been so, or at least that he may have been a companion of the earliest Pythagoreans. 8 Aristotel. Politic, ii, 9, 8. XapuvJou <5' Idiov /JLEV ovdev eari TT^IJV al rfkat rtiv ipsv6ofj.aprvpuv Trpwrof yap F.iroir)ae TTJV iTtiaKijipiv rrj 6' uKpi/Beta TUV VOIJLUV tarl -yhaQvpuTepof ical TUV vvv vofio&eruv. To the fulness and pre cision predicated respecting Charondas in the latter part of this passage, I refer the other passage in Politic, iv, 10, 6, which is not to be construed &s if it meant that Charondas had graduated fines on the rich and poor with a distinct view to that political trick (of indirectly eliminating the poor from public duties) which Aristotle had been just adverting to, but mere- ly means that Charondas had been nice and minute in graduating pecuniary penalties generally, having reference to the wealth or poverty of the person entenced. 3 TlpiJTOf y&p l-irotTjae rf)v i TT i OK rj i/ i v (Aristot. Politic.!!, 9, 8). See Har- pokration, v, 'E<recr/o7i/<aro, and Pollux, viii, 33 ; Demosthenes cont. Sto- phanrnn, ii, c. 5; cont. Euerg. et Mnesibul. c. 1. The word imaKijijjif car- ries with it the solettnity of meaning adverted to it ;n the text, and scema