Let the citizens at once distribute their land and houses, and nottill the land in common, since a community of goods goes beyondtheir proposed origin, and nurture, and education. But in making thedistribution, let the several possessors feel that their particularlots also belong to the whole city; and seeing that the earth is theirparent, let them tend her more carefully than children do theirmother. For she is a goddess and their queen, and they are hermortal subjects. Such also are the feelings which they ought toentertain to the Gods and demi-gods of the country. And in orderthat the distribution may always remain, they ought to considerfurther that the present number of families should be always retained,and neither increased nor diminished. This may be secured for thewhole city in the following manner:-Let the possessor of a lot leavethe one of his children who is his best beloved, and one only, to bethe heir of his dwelling, and his successor in the duty of ministeringto the Gods, the state and the family, as well the living members ofit as those who are departed when he comes into the inheritance; butof his other children, if he have more than one, he shall give thefemales in marriage according to the law to be hereafter enacted,and the males he shall distribute as sons to those citizens who haveno children and are disposed to receive them; or if there should benone such, and particular individuals have too many children, maleor female, or too few, as in the case of barrenness-in all these caseslet the highest and most honourable magistracy created by us judge anddetermine what is to be done with the redundant or deficient, anddevise a means that the number of 5040 houses shall always remainthe same. There are many ways of regulating numbers; for they inwhom generation is affluent may be made to refrain, and, on theother hand, special care may be taken to increase the number of birthsby rewards and stigmas, or we may meet the evil by the elder mengiving advice and administering rebuke to the younger-in this waythe object may be attained. And if after all there be very greatdifficulty about the equal preservation of the 5040 houses, andthere be an excess of citizens, owing to the too great love of thosewho live together, and we are at our wits" end, there is still the olddevice often mentioned by us of sending out a colony, which willpart friends with us, and be composed of suitable persons. If, onthe other hand, there come a wave bearing a deluge of disease, or aplague of war, and the inhabitants become much fewer than theappointed number by reason of bereavement, we ought not to introducecitizens of spurious birth and education, if this can be avoided;but even God is said not to be able to fight against necessity.
Wherefore let us suppose this "high argument" of ours to addressus in the following terms:-Best of men, cease not to honouraccording to nature similarity and equality and sameness andagreement, as regards number and every good and noble quality. And,above all, observe the aforesaid number 5040 throughout life; in thesecond place, do not disparage the small and modest proportions of theinheritances which you received in the distribution, by buying andselling them to one another. For then neither will the God who gaveyou the lot be your friend, nor will the legislator; and indeed thelaw declares to the disobedient that these are the terms upon which hemay or may not take the lot. In the first place, the earth as he isinformed is sacred to the Gods; and in the next place, priests andpriestesses will offer up prayers over a first, and second, and even athird sacrifice, that he who buys or sells the houses or lands whichhe has received, may suffer the punishment which he deserves; andthese their prayers they shall write down in the temples, on tabletsof cypress-wood, for the instruction of posterity. Moreover theywill set a watch over all these things, that they may be observed;-themagistracy which has the sharpest eyes shall keep watch that anyinfringement of these commands may be discovered and punished asoffences both against the law and the God. How great is the benefit ofsuch an ordinance to all those cities, which obey and are administeredaccordingly, no bad man can ever know, as the old proverb says; butonly a man of experience and good habits. For in such an order ofthings there will not be much opportunity for making money; no maneither ought, or indeed will be allowed, to exercise any ignobleoccupation, of which the vulgarity is a matter of reproach to afreeman, and should never want to acquire riches by any such means.
