§1.79.1τοὺς δὲ περὶ τῶν συμβολαίων νόμους Βοκχόριδος εἶναί φασι.
They say that the laws concerning contracts belong to Bocchoris.
προστάττουσι δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἀσύγγραφα δανεισαμένους, ἂν μὴ φάσκωσιν ὀφείλειν, ὀμόσαντας ἀπολύεσθαι τοῦ δανείου, πρῶτον μὲν ὅπως ἐν μεγάλῳ §1.79.2τιθέμενοι τοὺς ὅρκους δεισιδαιμονῶσι· προδήλου γὰρ ὄντος ὅτι τῷ πολλάκις ὀμόσαντι συμβήσεται τὴν πίστιν ἀποβαλεῖν, ἵνα τῆς εὐχρηστίας μὴ στερηθῇ, περὶ πλείστου πᾶς τις ἄξει τὸ μὴ καταντᾶν ἐπὶ τὸν ὅρκον·
And they prescribe that those who have borrowed without a written contract, if they deny that they owe, shall be released from the loan upon taking an oath; first, so that, considering oaths of great importance, they might fear the gods; for since it is obvious that it will happen to one who swears often to lose credit, in order not to be deprived of this usefulness, everyone will value most not resorting to the oath.
ἔπειθʼ ὑπελάμβανεν ὁ νομοθέτης τὴν ὅλην πίστιν ἐν τῇ καλοκἀγαθίᾳ ποιήσας προτρέψεσθαι πάντας σπουδαίους εἶναι τοῖς ἤθεσιν, ἵνα μὴ πίστεως ἀνάξιοι διαβληθῶσι·
Secondly, the legislator conceived that by placing all trust in moral excellence, he would encourage everyone to be noble in their character, so that they might not be slandered as unworthy of trust.
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἄδικον ἔκρινεν εἶναι τοὺς χωρὶς ὅρκου πιστευθέντας περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν συμβολαίων ὀμόσαντας μὴ τυγχάνειν πίστεως.
In addition to these, he judged it to be unjust that those who were trusted without an oath, having sworn concerning the same contracts, should not obtain belief.
τοὺς δὲ μετὰ συγγραφῆς δανείσαντας ἐκώλυε διὰ τοῦ τόκου τὸ κεφάλαιον πλέον ποιεῖν ἢ διπλάσιον.
And those who lent money with a written contract, he prevented from making the principal more than double through interest.
§1.79.3τῶν δὲ ὀφειλόντων τὴν ἔκπραξιν τῶν δανείων ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας μόνον ἐποιήσατο, τὸ δὲ σῶμα κατʼ οὐδένα τρόπον εἴασεν ὑπάρχειν ἀγώγιμον, ἡγούμενος δεῖν εἶναι τὰς μὲν κτήσεις τῶν ἐργασαμένων ἢ παρὰ κυρίου τινὸς ἐν δωρεαῖς λαβόντων, τὰ δὲ σώματα τῶν πόλεων, ἵνα τὰς καθηκούσας λειτουργίας ἔχωσιν αἱ πόλεις καὶ κατὰ πόλεμον καὶ κατʼ εἰρήνην· ἄτοπον γὰρ τὸ στρατιώτην εἰς τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος προϊόντα κίνδυνον, εἰ τύχοι, πρὸς δάνειον ὑπὸ τοῦ πιστεύσαντος ἀπάγεσθαι, καὶ τῆς τῶν ἰδιωτῶν πλεονεξίας ἕνεκα κινδυνεύειν τὴν κοινὴν ἁπάντων σωτηρίαν.
And he made the collection of debts from the debtors' property only, and in no way permitted their body to be subject to seizure, believing that possessions ought to belong to those who worked for them or received them in gifts from some rightful owner, but their bodies to the cities, so that the cities might have their appropriate services performed both in war and in peace; for it is absurd that a soldier, as it might happen, marching out into danger on behalf of his fatherland, should be led away by the creditor on account of a loan, and that for the sake of the greed of private individuals, the common safety of all should be endangered.
§1.79.4δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον τὸν νόμον ὁ Σόλων εἰς τὰς Ἀθήνας μετενεγκεῖν, ὃν ὠνόμασε σεισάχθειαν, ἀπολύσας τοὺς πολίτας ἅπαντας τῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς σώμασι πεπιστευμένων δανείων.
And Solon also seems to have carried this law over to Athens, which he named Seisachtheia, having released all the citizens from the loans secured upon their bodies.
§1.79.5μέμφονται δέ τινες οὐκ ἀλόγως τοῖς πλείστοις τῶν παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι νομοθετῶν, οἵτινες ὅπλα μὲν καὶ ἄροτρον καὶ ἄλλα τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων ἐκώλυσαν ἐνέχυρα λαμβάνεσθαι πρὸς δάνειον, τοὺς δὲ τούτοις χρησομένους συνεχώρησαν ἀγωγίμους εἶναι.
And some blame, not without reason, most of the legislators among the Greeks, who, while preventing weapons and plows and other most necessary things from being taken as pledges for a loan, allowed those who would use these very things to be subject to seizure.