(M566) Finally, it is often laid down that, if either party (especially the seller) shall attempt to bring a suit about the property, the judge shall not hear him, or if he insists, he shall lose the action. Throughout it is clear that the buyer tries to make the seller contract to waive all rights to recover his property, but he holds to certain rights of his own. Thus, in the sale of slaves, a clause is frequently inserted which claims a hundred days within which to set up a claim to repudiate the purchase, on the ground that the slave is afflicted with certain diseases, the _ṣibtu_ and _bennu_, the character of which is not exactly known. Also he bargains that a blemish may be at any time an excuse for annulling the bargain. These really amount to demanding a guarantee from the seller that the slave was free from disease or other undisclosed weakness.(593) (M567) The later Babylonian tablets do not illustrate much that is of great interest. They often record the initial verbal discussion. Thus we find that when A bought of B, some phrase like the following is recorded: A said thus to B: “Give me thy property and I will give thee so much silver.” Then we read that “B listened to him and gave A his property and A gave him so much silver.” It is a curious little touch of verisimilitude. (M568) Sales usually were for the full price, or the agreed price, paid down at once. This is expressly stated. But in the later Babylonian times we have some examples of deferred payment, which may also have been common during earlier periods. Thus, a man sold a slave for fifty shekels and received twenty-five shekels as advance price. The rest was to be paid later.(594) The payment was probably made soon. Thus we find a lady selling four female slaves to a certain man and taking a bond of him to pay four shekels, the balance of the price, on the second of Kislev, a week later.(595) The interval might be two days only;(596) but sometimes a much longer period of grace was allowed—as much as two months and seven days—although the purchase was taken away at once.(597) (M569) It is occasionally stipulated that if the purchase-money is not paid by a certain date, the object purchased shall be returned. Thus S, having sold B some slaves, took a bond of him that, if B did not pay in a week, he would return them.(598) (M570) A long retention of the thing purchased—especially when it was profitable—without payment, was of course a loss to the seller. Hence, we find the seller of a slave taking a bond of the buyer that, if he did not pay on the date fixed, he should return the slave and his _mandattu_, or the income which a slave paid to his master.(599) (M571) A distinct case of fraud occurs(600) in the sale of a slave belonging to A by his brother B without A’s knowledge. To make the matter worse, B had the contract drawn up in A’s name. This was doubtless represented to be a case of agency, but there is no conclusive evidence.