- Source
- Polybius. Vols. 1-4. Büttner-Wobst, Theodor, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1893.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0543.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:12.16.1-12.16.14
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-07
The story of a dispute between two young men regarding the interpretation of Zaleucus's law in Locris, and its witty resolution by the elderly Cosmopolis.
νεανίσκων δυεῖν περί τινος οἰκέτου διαφερομένων συνέβαινε παρὰ μὲν τὸν ἕτερον καὶ πλείω χρόνον γεγονέναι τὸν παῖδα, τὸν δʼ ἕτερον ἡμέραις δυσὶ πρότερον εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐλθόντα μὴ παρόντος τοῦ δεσπότου μετὰ βίας εἰς οἶκον ἀπηχέναι τὸν δοῦλον, κἄπειτα τὸν ἕτερον αἰσθόμενον ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ λαβόντʼ ἀπάγειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχήν, καὶ φάναι δεῖν κύριον αὐτὸν εἶναι διδόντα τοὺς ἐγγυητάς·
It happened that, while two young men were disputing over a certain servant, the boy had been with the one for a longer time, and the other, having come to the field two days earlier when the master was not present, had led the slave away by force to his own house. And then, the former, having realized this, went to the house, and taking him, led him away to the magistrates, and said that he himself ought to have custody of him by offering guarantors;
κελεύειν γὰρ τὸν Ζαλεύκου νόμον τοῦτον δεῖν κρατεῖν τῶν ἀμφισβητουμένων ἕως τῆς κρίσεως παρʼ οὗ τὴν ἀγωγὴν1 συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι.
for he said that the law of Zaleucus commanded that, until the trial, the disputed property must remain in the possession of the one from whom the seizure happened to have been made.
τοῦ δʼ ἑτέρου κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν νόμον παρʼ αὑτοῦ φάσκοντος γεγονέναι τὴν ἀγωγήν — ἐκ γὰρ τῆς οἰκίας τῆς ἐκείνου τὸ σῶμα πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἥκειν ἀπαγόμενον —
But when the other, according to the same law, claimed that the seizure had been made from himself—for the person had come to the magistrates being led away from his own house—
τοὺς προκαθημένους ἄρχοντας διαποροῦντας ὑπὲρ τοῦ πράγματος ἐπισπάσασθαι καὶ συμμεταδοῦναι τῷ κοσμοπόλιδι.
the presiding magistrates, being in doubt about the matter, called in the Cosmopolis and shared the difficulty with him.
τὸν δὲ διαστείλασθαι τὸν νόμον, φήσαντα παρὰ τούτων τὴν ἀγωγὴν αἰεὶ γίνεσθαι, παρʼ οἷς ἂν ἔσχατον ἀδήριτον2 ᾖ χρόνον τινὰ γεγονὸς τὸ διαμφισβητούμενον·
And he interpreted the law, saying that the seizure is always deemed to have been made from those in whose possession the disputed property has last been for some time without dispute;
ἐὰν δέ τις ἀφελόμενος βίᾳ παρά τινος ἀπαγάγῃ πρὸς αὑτόν, κἄπειτα παρὰ τούτου τὴν ἀγωγὴν ὁ προϋπάρχων ποιῆται δεσπότης, οὐκ εἶναι ταύτην κυρίαν.
but if someone, having taken it away by force from another, leads it to his own place, and then the original owner makes a seizure from him, this latter seizure is not valid.
τοῦ δὲ νεανίσκου δεινοπαθοῦντος καὶ μὴ φάσκοντος εἶναι τοῦ νομοθέτου ταύτην τὴν προαίρεσιν, προκαλέσασθαί φασι τὸν κοσμόπολιν, εἴ τι βούλεται λέγειν ὑπὲρ τῆς γνώμης κατὰ τὸν Ζαλεύκου νόμον.
And when the young man was indignant and claimed that this was not the intention of the legislator, they say that the Cosmopolis challenged him, if he wished to say anything concerning the meaning of the law, to do so according to the law of Zaleucus.
τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ καθισάντων τῶν χιλίων καὶ βρόχων κρεμασθέντων3 λέγειν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ νομοθέτου γνώμης·
And this is to speak on behalf of the intention of the legislator with the Thousand seated and nooses hanging;
ὁπότερος δʼ ἂν αὐτῶν φανῇ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἐκδεχόμενος, τὸν τοιοῦτον διὰ τῆς ἀγχόνης ἀπόλλυσθαι βλεπόντων τῶν χιλίων.
and whichever of them appears to have understood the intention in the worse sense, this man is put to death by hanging while the Thousand look on.
ταῦτα προτείναντος τοῦ κοσμοπόλιδος, τὸν νεανίσκον εἰπεῖν φασιν ἄνισον εἶναι τὴν συνθήκην· τῷ μὲν γὰρ ἔτη δύʼ ἢ τρία καταλείπεσθαι τοῦ ζῆν·
When the Cosmopolis proposed this, they say that the young man said the agreement was unequal; for to the one, only two or three years of life were left—
συνέβαινε γὰρ εἶναι τὸν κοσμόπολιν οὐ πολὺ λεῖπον τῶν ἐνενήκοντʼ ἐτῶν· αὑτῷ δὲ τοῦ βίου τὸ πλεῖον ἐκ τῶν εὐλόγων ἔτι μένειν.
for it happened that the Cosmopolis was not much short of ninety years of age—but to himself, the greater part of life still remained according to reasonable expectation.
ὁ μὲν οὖν νεανίσκος οὕτως εὐτραπελευσάμενος ἐξέλυσε τὴν σπουδήν, οἱ δʼ ἄρχοντες ἔκριναν τὴν ἀγωγὴν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κοσμοπόλιδος γνώμην.
Thus the young man, by playing the wit, dissolved the seriousness of the situation, and the magistrates decided the seizure according to the opinion of the Cosmopolis.
- 12.16.4τὴν ἀγωγὴν
Here, ἀγωγή refers to the physical 'carrying off' or 'seizure' of a person (the slave), rather than the initiation of a lawsuit. The law of Zaleucus stipulates that temporary custody pending trial belongs to the party from whom the object was seized, and the interpretation of this clause is the central point of dispute.
- 12.16.7ἀδήριτον
An adjective meaning 'uncontested' or 'without dispute.' The Cosmopolis interprets the law (διαστείλασθαι) to mean that the criterion for temporary custody should not simply be the location immediately prior to the forceful removal, but where the property was last held peacefully and without dispute.
- 12.16.10βρόχων κρεμασθέντων
A genitive absolute construction. It describes the harsh practice under Zaleucus's law, where anyone who lost a debate regarding the modification or interpretation of a law was immediately hanged on the spot.