Attica. The very produce of the soil attests the extreme mildness of the seasons, for plants which in many countries will not even blossom, bear fruit there. And the sea which borders our territory rivals the land in the variety of its produce. All the fruits, too, that the bounty of Providence supplies in season, are there the earliest to bloom, the latest to decay. Nor does it excel only in the annual offspring of the soil;5 the land has treasures that never die. Nature has planted there exhaustless quarries of marble, the source of fair temples, fair altars, and exquisite images of the gods; and many a Greek and many a barbarian seeks it. There is also land which yields not fruit when sown; but, if excavated,' feeds many fold more than corn-growing soil: it is surely by destiny that it is richly veined with silver. For, though many are the neighbouring states by land and by sea, not unto one of them does the tiniest vein of silver9 reach. One may reasonably suppose that the city was founded about the centre of Greece, and of the whole civilised world; 10 for, in proportion to our distance from it, is the severity of the winters or the summers we encounter. While all who may propose to travel from one extremity of Greece to the other, in passing Athens either by land or by sea, pass the centre 12 of a circle. Moreover, though it is not encircled by the sea, yet it attracts 13 like an isle by every wind that blows all that it requires, and sends away what it wishes to export; for it has a double seaboard.14 As a part of the continent, too, it receives much merchandise by land. And while most states have troublesome barbarians for their neighbours, on the Attic frontier are states as alien as possible from barbarians. 5 Plants flourishing for a year, and growing old.' ἄφθονος. 7 8 9 11 * Λίθος 1 Ορυσσόμενος. • Υπάργυρος. Ο φλέψ ἀργυριτίδος 10 Πᾶσα ἡ οἰκουμένη. 2 XIX. 4 I will now show that Athens is an extremely agreeable and profitable resort for commerce. In the first place, it undoubtedly possesses the finest and most secure harbours1 for vessels, where in bad weather they can rest at a commodious anchorage. Moreover, in most cities merchants find it necessary to export in exchange for imports,3 because their money is not current abroad; now, in Athens there are a great many commodities for export, in high request;5 and if they are not disposed to trade by barter,3 they make an excellent bargain by the export of silver. For, wherever7 they sell it, they never fail to receive more than its original value. And if any one were to propose to the Board of Trade rewards for the most equitable and speedy decisions of controverted points-thus preventing 10 the detention of merchants anxious to set sail commerce would thereby be rendered more extensive and more agreeable.11 It is also just and right that those merchants and ship-owners, 12 who are apparently useful to the state through the excellence 13 of of their vessels and merchandise, should be distinguished by public honours, 14 and sometimes be invited to entertainments. For, if treated thus, they would, not only for the sake of gain, but for that of honour also, zealously serve us as friends.15 It is also clear, that the amount of imports and exports, of sales, of wages, and of customs, would be proportioned to the number of merchants who might settle among us,16 or reach our shores. To procure, therefore, 1 Ὑποδοχαί. ζεσθαι. 2 Elooppilo, partic. 1 aor. pass. 3 Αντιφορτί 4 For they use coins [voμíoμara] not useful abroad. 5 Which men may need. conjunctive. with infin. agreeably. • Τὸ ἀρχαῖον. 9 Ἡ τοῦ ἐμπορίου ἀρχή. 7 Οπου ἂν, 10 Ως μὴ, 11 More men would through these means trade and more 12 Ναύκληροι. 13 18 Αdj. ἀξιόλογος. 14 Προεδρία. 16 Εἰσοικίζεσθαι, ορί. 15 Επισπεύδειν [opt. with ἂν] ὡς πρὸς φίλους. with åv. such an extension 17 of our revenue, there is no need to spend anything but polite decrees, and personal attentions.18 But with regard to other sources of income which, I think, might 19 be realised, I am aware that some outlay 20 will be required. However, when the funds 20 are procured, it would be highly desirable to build inns 22 for shipowners, in addition to those already existing; and if dwelling-houses and shops 23 were constructed for retail dealers, 24 both in the Piræus, and in the city, it would at once prove an ornament to the state, and realise a considerable profit. It seems to me, too, that it would be advisable to try whether 25 it would be feasible for the state to become a proprietor of merchant vessels,26 as it is of men of war,27 and to let them out for hire 28 on security,29 just as it does with other public property. 17 Αὔξησις. 20 'Αφορμή. 18 Επιμέλεια. 19 "Av, with infin. JELF, § 429. 21 'Oróтe, with opt. JELF, §§ 843, 844. 22 Καταγώγια. 23 Πωλητήρια. 24 'Αγοραίοι. 25 El, followed by verb in opt. with äv. El is here interrogative or deliberative - not conditional or hypothetical. The sentence it belongs to is neither a protasis nor an apodosis, but a principal sentence, which el introduces deliberatively. See JELF, § 877, b. ἐγγυητῶν. 26 Ολκάδες. 27 Τριήρης. XX. 28 Εκμισθοῦν. 29 'ET' Indeed, if1 our silver mines only were well managed, I conceive that very large sums would be paid into the treasury, independently of our other sources of revenue. I am anxious to prove their capabilities to those who are unconscious of them; for when you appreciate them, you will probably devise improved methods of working them. Every one, then, is aware that the works are of great antiquity; indeed, no one even attempts to state at what 1 El, opt. W. Gr. Gr. § 154, c. • Partic. 5 I read τà épya. 5 date they were undertaken. Nor has the silver district by any means contracted its dimensions; on the contrary, it is clear that it is constantly enlarging its area. Indeed, during the period in which the greatest number of men have been employed in the mines, no one has ever been at a loss for work - the work has always beaten the labourers. And at present, not one of the proprietors of slaves therein diminishes their number; on the contrary, he is always endeavouring to increase it as largely as he can. For, when 10 a few only are employed in excavations and in searching for ore, but little treasure, I imagine, is discovered; but when many are employed, manifold is the ore" which is revealed. So that this is the only district which I know of, where no one is jealous of proprietors who increase their stock.12 All landowners, too, can easily tell how many cattle 13 and how many labourers suffice for an estate; 14 and if any one overstocks a farm,15 they reckon it a loss; whereas in the silver mines every one says he is in want of workmen. For it is not like the following cases whenever there is a host of coppersmiths,16 works in copper become cheap,17 and the coppersmiths are thrown out of work,18 and the iron-founders 19 in the like manner; whenever, too, there is a glut 20 of corn and wine, as those articles become cheap, agriculture loses her profit; and many, abandoning the cultivation 21 of land, turn to foreign-traffic 22 and retail-trading,23 and to usury. Whereas, the greater the quantity of silver ore that is disclosed, and the larger the sums made, the more numerous are the labourers who flock to the mines. 6 • Αργυρώδης τόπος. ἐκτείνεσθαι. 12 Επισκευάζεσθαι. ἱκανῶν ἐμβάλλειν. 19 Σιδηρείς. * Εἰς μεῖον συστέλλεσθαι. • Περιήν. 10 "Orav, conjunctive. 13 Ζεύγος. 14 Χωρίον. 16 Χαλκοτύποι. 17 Αξιος. 8 Αεὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖον 11 Αργυρίτις. 15 Επὶ πλεῖον τῶν 18 Καταλύεσθαι. 20 Πολύς. 21 Infinitive with article; épyaoia would be too abstract. 22 Εμπορία. 23 Καπηλεία. XXI. I will next explain by what arrangements the mines may be made most serviceable to the state. Now, I prefer no claim to applause, on the ground of what I am about to say, as if I had made some difficult discovery.3 For of some of my assertions we have all ocular proof, while we listen on equal terms to the lessons of the past. But we have a right to wonder that the state, though it sees many private citizens enriching themselves by the mines, fails to imitate them. For, I presume, we have long ago heard from those interested in such matters, that Nicias formerly had a thousand men in the silver mines, whom he let out to Sosias of Thrace, on condition of his paying a clear obol for each of them every day, and he always maintained the same number. Hipponicus also had, about the same period, six hundred slaves let out for hire,10 and they produced a clear mina daily; and so it was with others, I suppose, in proportion to their several resources. But why recur to former times? For, at this moment, there are many slaves in the mines let out upon these terms. If, however, the plan11 I propose were put into execution, this would be the only novelty, that,13 as private citizens have derived 12 an ever-flowing income from the possession of slaves, the state would in the same way become the proprietor of 13 public slaves, until 14 there were three to each Athenian. Let any man who chooses judge, whether 15 my plan is feasible, by a detailed examination of it. It is clear, then, that the treasury 16 can afford better than in 1 11 3 Opt. with äv. 2's, with partic. perf. JELF, § 701. Δυσεύ 4 Πλουτίζεσθαι. ρετον. JELF, § 867, 2. δεδομένος. JELF, § 368. 7 Ατελής. 11 Gen. abs. 5 6 Εκμισθόω. 'Ep', with infin. 8 Genitive. 9 • Τῆς ἡμέρας. 10 'Ek 12 Karaokevágw, perf. pass. deponent. 14 13 Verb, opt. with ei. 4"Ews, with opt. JELF, § 843. 15 El, with indicative. 10 Τὸ δημόσιον. |