Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/329

 NIKOMACHUS THE SCRjBE. 307 Nikomachus had been named, during tbe democracy anterior to the Thirty, for the purpose of preparing a fair transcript, and of posting up afresh, probably in clearer characters, and in a place more convenient for public view, the old laws of Solon. We can well understand that the renovated democratical feeling, which burjt out after the expulsion of the Four Hundred, and dictated the vehement psephism of Demophantus, might naturally also produce such a commission as this, for which Nikomachus, both as one of ths public scribes, or secretaries, and as an able speaker, 1 was a suitable person. His accuser, for whom Lysias composed his thirtieth oration, now remaining, denounces him as having not only designedly lingered in the business, for the purpose of pro- longing the period of remuneration, but even as having corruptly tampered with the old laws, by new interpolations, as well as by omissions. How far such charges may have been merited, we have no means of judging ; but even assuming Nikomachus to have been both honest and diligent, he would find no small diffi- culty in properly discharging his duty of anagrapheus, 2 or " writer-up" of all the old laws of Athens, from Solon downward. Both the phraseology of these old laws, and the alphabet in which they were written, were in many cases antiquated and obsolete ; 3 while there were doubtless also cases in which one law was at variance, wholly or partially, with another. Now such contradic- tions and archaisms would be likely to prove offensive, if set up in a fresh place, and with clean, new characters ; while Nikoma- chus had no authority to make the smallest alteration, nnd might as having a very restricted meaning, and as only applying to two successive years. And I think we may doubt whether, in practice, it was rigidly ad- nercd to ; though it is possible to suppose that these secretaries alternated, among themselves, from one board or office to another. Their great useful- ness consisted in the fact that they were constantly in the service, and thui kept up the continuous march of the details. 1 Lysias, Or. xxx, cont. Nikomach. sect. 32. ously antigrapheus instead of anagrapheus (IIcllcn.Alterth. vol. ii, ix, p. 269). It seems by Orat. vii, of Lysias (sects. 20, 36, 39) that Nikomachus was at enmity with various persons who employed Lysias as their logograph. of speech-writer.
 * Lysias, Or. xxx, cont. Nikomach. sect. 33. Wachsmuth calls him errone-
 * Lysias, Or. x, cont. Thcomncst. A. sects. 1 6-20.