Let the enactment about wounding be in the following terms:-Ifanyone has a purpose and intention to slay another who is not hisenemy, and whom the law does not permit him to slay, and he woundshim, but is unable to kill him, he who had the intent and haswounded him is not to be pitied-he deserves no consideration, butshould be regarded as a murderer and be tried for murder. Still havingrespect to the fortune which has in a manner favoured him, and tothe providence which in pity to him and to the wounded man saved theone from a fatal blow, and the other from an accursed fate andcalamity-as a thank-offering to this deity, and in order not to opposehis will-in such a case the law will remit the punishment of death,and only compel the offender to emigrate to a neighbouring city forthe rest of his life, where he shall remain in the enjoyment of allhis possessions. But if he have injured the wounded man, he shall makesuch compensation for the injury as the court deciding the cause shallassess, and the same judges shall decide who would have decided if theman had died of his wounds. And if a child intentionally wound hisparents, or a servant his master, death shall be the penalty. And if abrother ora sister intentionally wound a brother or a sister, and isfound guilty, death shall be the penalty. And if a husband wound awife, or a wife a husband, with intent to kill, let him or her undergoperpetual exile; if they have sons or daughters who are still young,the guardians shall take care of their property, and have charge ofthe children as orphans. If their sons are grown up, they shall beunder no obligation to support the exiled parent, but they shallpossess the property themselves. And if he who meets with such amisfortune has no children, the kindred of the exiled man to thedegree of sons of cousins, both on the male and female side, shallmeet together, and after taking counsel with the guardians of theand the priests, shall appoint a 5040th citizen to be the heir ofthe house, considering and reasoning that no house of all the 5040belongs to the inhabitant or to the whole family, but is the publicand private property of the state. Now the state should seek to haveits houses as holy and happy as possible. And if any one of the housesbe unfortunate, and stained with impiety, and the owner leave noposterity, but dies unmarried, or married and childless, havingsuffered death as the penalty of murder or some other crimecommitted against the Gods or against his fellow-citizens, of whichdeath is the penalty distinctly laid down in the law; or if any of thecitizens be in perpetual exile, and also childless, that house shallfirst of all be purified and undergo expiation according to law; andthen let the kinsmen of the house, as we were just now saying, and theguardians of the law, meet and consider what family there is in thestate which is of the highest repute for virtue and also for goodfortune, in which there are a number of sons; from that family letthem take one and introduce him to the father and forefathers of thedead man as their son, and, for the sake of the omen, let him becalled so, that he may be the continuer of their family, the keeper oftheir hearth, and the minister of their sacred rites with betterfortune than his father had; and when they have made thissupplication, they shall make him heir according to law, and theoffending person they shall leave nameless and childless andportionless when calamities such as these overtake him.
Now the boundaries of some things do not touch one another, butthere is a borderland which comes in between, preventing them fromtouching. And we were saying that actions done from passion are ofthis nature, and come in between the voluntary and involuntary. If aperson be convicted of having inflicted wounds in a passion, in thefirst place he shall pay twice the amount of the injury, if thewound be curable, or, if incurable, four times the amount of theinjury; or if the wound be curable, and at the same time cause greatand notable disgrace to the wounded person, he shall pay fourfold. Andwhenever any one in wounding another injures not only the sufferer,but also the city, and makes him incapable of defending his countryagainst the enemy, he, besides the other penalties, shall pay apenalty for the loss which the state has incurred. And the penaltyshall be, that in addition to his own times of service, he shall serveon behalf of the disabled person, and shall take his place in war; or,if he refuse, he shall be liable to be convicted by law of refusalto serve. The compensation for the injury, whether to be twofold orthreefold or fourfold, shall be fixed by the judges who convict him.
