In the second place, our citizens should have separate houses dulyordered, and this will be the order proper for men like them. Thereshall be twelve hamlets, one in the middle of each twelfth portion,and in each hamlet they shall first set apart a market-place, andthe temples of the Gods, and of their attendant demigods; and if therebe any local deities of the Magnetes, or holy seats of other ancientdeities, whose memory has been preserved, to these let them paytheir ancient honours. But Hestia, and Zeus, and Athene will havetemples everywhere together with the God who presides in each of thetwelve districts. And the first erection of houses shall be aroundthese temples, where the ground is highest, in order to provide thesafest and most defensible place of retreat for the guards. All therest of the country they shall settle in the following manner:-Theyshall make thirteen divisions of the craftsmen; one of them they shallestablish in the city, and this, again, they shall subdivide intotwelve lesser divisions, among the twelve districts of the city, andthe remainder shall be distributed in the country round about; andin each village they shall settle various classes of craftsmen, with aview to the convenience of the husbandmen. And the chief officers ofthe wardens of the country shall superintend all these matters, andsee how many of them, and which class of them, each place requires;and fix them where they are likely to be least troublesome, and mostuseful to the husbandman. And the wardens of the city shall see tosimilar matters in the city.
Now the wardens of the agora ought to see to the details of theagora. Their first care, after the temples which are in the agora havebeen seen to, should be to prevent any one from doing any indealings between man and man; in the second; place, as beinginspectors of temperance and violence, they should chastise him whorequires chastisement. Touching articles of gale, they should firstsee whether the articles which the citizens are under regulations tosell to strangers are sold to them, as the law ordains. And let thelaw be as follows:-on the first day of the month, the persons incharge, whoever they are, whether strangers or slaves, who have thecharge on behalf of the citizens, shall produce to the strangers theportion which falls to them, in the first place, a twelfth portionof the corn;-the stranger shall purchase corn for the whole month, andother cereals, on the first market day; and on the tenth day of themonth the one party shall sell, and the other buy, liquidssufficient to last during the whole month; and on the twenty-third daythere shall be a sale of animals by those who are willing to sell tothe people who want to buy, and of implements and other things whichhusbandmen sell (such as skins and all kinds of clothing, either wovenor made of felt and other goods of the same sort), and which strangersare compelled to buy and purchase of others. As to the retail trade inthese things, whether of barley or wheat set apart for meal and flour,or any other kind of food, no one shall sell them to citizens or theirslaves, nor shall any one buy of a citizen; but let the strangersell them in the market of strangers, to artisans and their slaves,making an exchange of wine and food, which is commonly called retailtrade. And butchers shall offer for sale parts of dismemberedanimals to the strangers, and artisans, and their servants. Let anystranger who likes buy fuel from day to day wholesale, from thosewho have the care of it in the country, and let him sell to thestrangers as much he pleases and when he pleases. As to other goodsand implements which are likely to be wanted, they shall sell themin common market, at any place which the guardians of the law andthe wardens of the market and city, choosing according to theirjudgment, shall determine; at such places they shall exchange moneyfor goods, and goods for money, neither party giving credit to theother; and he who gives credit must be satisfied, whether he obtainhis money not, for in such exchanges he will not be protected bylaw. But whenever property has been bought or sold, greater inquantity or value than is allowed by the law, which has determinedwithin what limited a man may increase and diminish his possessions,let the excess be registered in the books of the guardians of the law;in case of diminution, let there be an erasure made. And let thesame rule be observed about the registration of the property of themetics. Any one who likes may come and be a metic on certainconditions; a foreigner, if he likes, and is able to settle, may dwellin the land, but he must practise an art, and not abide more thantwenty years from the time at which he has registered himself; andhe shall pay no sojourner"s tax, however small, except good conduct,nor any other tax for buying and selling. But when the twenty yearshave expired, he shall take his property with him and depart. And ifin the course of these years he should chance to distinguish himselfby any considerable benefit which he confers on the state, and hethinks that he can persuade the council and assembly, either togrant him delay in leaving the country, or to allow him to remainfor the whole of his life, let him go and persuade the city, andwhatever they assent to at his instance shall take effect. For thechildren of the metics, being artisans, and of fifteen years of age,let the time of their sojourn commence after their fifteenth year; andlet them remain for twenty years, and then go where they like; but anyof them who wishes to remain, may do so, if he can persuade thecouncil and assembly. And if he depart, let him erase all theentries which have been made by him in the register kept by themagistrates.
