§1.76.1τούτῳ δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ τὰς κρίσεις πάσας συντελεῖν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους, νομίζοντας ἐκ μὲν τοῦ λέγειν τοὺς συνηγόρους πολλὰ τοῖς δικαίοις ἐπισκοτήσειν· καὶ γὰρ τὰς τέχνας τῶν ῥητόρων καὶ τὴν τῆς ὑποκρίσεως γοητείαν καὶ τὰ τῶν κινδυνευόντων δάκρυα πολλοὺς προτρέπεσθαι παρορᾶν τὸ τῶν νόμων ἀπότομον καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀκρίβειαν·
And in this manner, the Egyptians conduct all trials, believing that from the speaking of advocates much darkness would be cast over what is just; for indeed, the skills of rhetoricians, the illusion of acting, and the tears of those in danger prompt many to overlook the severity of the laws and the precision of truth.
§1.76.2θεωρεῖσθαι γοῦν τοὺς ἐπαινουμένους ἐν τῷ κρίνειν πολλάκις ἢ διʼ ἀπάτην ἢ διὰ ψυχαγωγίαν ἢ διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὸν ἔλεον πάθος συνεκφερομένους τῇ δυνάμει τῶν συνηγορούντων· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ γράφειν τὰ δίκαια τοὺς ἀντιδίκους ᾤοντο τὰς κρίσεις ἀκριβεῖς ἔσεσθαι, γυμνῶν τῶν πραγμάτων θεωρουμένων.
At any rate, those who are praised in judging are often seen, either through deception or captivation or the feeling of pity, to be carried away by the power of those pleading; but by the opponents writing down their just claims, they thought that the trials would be accurate, with the facts themselves being observed bare.
§1.76.3οὕτω γὰρ μάλιστα μήτε τοὺς εὐφυεῖς τῶν βραδυτέρων πλεονεκτήσειν μήτε τοὺς ἐνηθληκότας τῶν ἀπείρων μήτε τοὺς ψεύστας καὶ τολμηροὺς τῶν φιλαλήθων καὶ κατεσταλμένων τοῖς ἤθεσι, πάντας δʼ ἐπʼ ἴσης τεύξεσθαι τῶν δικαίων, ἱκανὸν χρόνον ἐκ τῶν νόμων λαμβανόντων τῶν μὲν ἀντιδίκων ἐξετάσαι τὰ παρʼ ἀλλήλων, τῶν δὲ δικαστῶν συγκρῖναι τὰ παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων.
For in this way especially, neither would the clever gain advantage over the slower, nor the experienced over the untried, nor the liars and bold over the lovers of truth and those tempered in their character, but all would obtain justice equally, with the laws allowing sufficient time for the opponents to examine the points of each other, and for the judges to compare the arguments of both.