Enough has been said of murders violent and involuntary andcommitted in passion: we have now to speak of voluntary crimes donewith injustice of every kind and with premeditation, through theinfluence of pleasures, and desires, and jealousies.
Cle. Very good.
Ath. Let us first speak, as far as we are able, of their variouskinds. The greatest cause of them is lust, which gets the mastery ofthe soul maddened by desire; and this is most commonly found toexist where the passion reigns which is strongest and most prevalentamong mass of mankind: I mean where the power of wealth breeds endlessdesires of never-to-be-satisfied acquisition, originating in naturaldisposition, and a miserable want of education. Of this want ofeducation, the false praise of wealth which is bruited about bothamong Hellenes and barbarians is the cause; they deem that to be thefirst of goods which in reality is only the third. And in this waythey wrong both posterity and themselves, for nothing can be noblerand better than that the truth about wealth should be spoken in allstates-namely, that riches are for the sake of the body, as the bodyis for the sake of the soul. They are good, and wealth is intendedby nature to be for the sake of them, and is therefore inferior tothem both, and third in order of excellence. This argument teachesus that he who would be happy ought not to seek to be rich, orrather he should seek to be rich justly and temperately, and thenthere would be no murders in states requiring to be purged away byother murders. But now, as I said at first, avarice is the chiefestcause and source of the worst trials for voluntary homicide. Asecond cause is ambition: this creates jealousies, which aretroublesome companions, above all to the jealous man himself, and in aless degree to the chiefs of the state. And a third cause iscowardly and unjust fear, which has been the occasion of many murders.
When a man is doing or has done something which he desires that no oneshould know him to be doing or to have done, he will take the lifeof those who are likely to inform of such things, if he have noother means of getting rid of them. Let this be said as a preludeconcerning crimes of violence in general; and I must not omit tomention a tradition which is firmly believed by many, and has beenreceived by them from those who are learned in the mysteries: they saythat such deeds will be punished in the world below, and also thatwhen the perpetrators return to this world they will pay the naturalpenalty which is due to the sufferer, and end their lives in likemanner by the hand of another. If he who is about to commit murderbelieves this, and is made by the mere prelude to dread such apenalty, there is no need to proceed with the proclamation of the law.
But if he will not listen, let the following law be declared andregistered against him:
Whoever shall wrongfully and of design slay with his own hand any ofhis kinsmen, shall in the first place be deprived of legal privileges;and he shall not pollute the temples, or the agora, or the harbours,or any other place of meeting, whether he is forbidden of men ornot; for the law, which represents the whole state, forbids him, andalways is and will be in the attitude of forbidding him. And if acousin or nearer relative of the deceased, whether on the male orfemale side, does not prosecute the homicide when he ought, and havehim proclaimed an outlaw, he shall in the first place be involved inthe pollution, and incur the hatred of the Gods, even as the curseof the law stirs up the voices of men against him; and in the secondplace he shall be liable to be prosecuted by any one who is willing toinflict retribution on behalf of the dead. And he who would avenge amurder shall observe all the precautionary ceremonies of lavation, andany others which the God commands in cases of this kind. Let himhave proclamation made, and then go forth and compel the perpetratorto suffer the execution of justice according to the law. Now thelegislator may easily show that these things must be accomplished byprayers and sacrifices to certain Gods, who are concerned with theprevention of murders in states. But who these Gods are, and whatshould be the true manner of instituting such trials with due regardto religion, the guardians of the law, aided by the interpreters,and the prophets, and the God, shall determine, and when they havedetermined let them carry on the prosecution at law. The cause shallhave the same judges who are appointed to decide in the case ofthose who plunder temples. Let him who is convicted be punished withdeath, and let him not be buried in the country of the murdered man,for this would be shameless as well as impious. But if he fly and willnot stand his trial, let him fly for ever; or, if he set foot anywhereon any part of the murdered man"s country, let any relation of thedeceased, or any other citizen who may first happen to meet withhim, kill him with impunity, or bind and deliver him to those amongthe judges of the case who are magistrates, that they may put him todeath. And let the prosecutor demand surety of him whom he prosecutes;three sureties sufficient in the opinion of the magistrates who trythe cause shall be provided by him, and they shall undertake toproduce him at the trial. But if he be unwilling or unable toprovide sureties, then the magistrates shall take him and keep himin bonds, and produce him at the day of trial.
