The works of Plato (Vol. 1 of 6) : $b A new and literal version chiefly from the text of Stallbaum — Plato — John Shaqi
The works of Plato (Vol. 1 of 6) : $b A new and literal version chiefly from the text of Stallbaum
Plato · en
13. _Socr._ “Consider, then, Socrates,” the laws perhaps might say,
“whether we say truly that in what you are now attempting you are
attempting to do what is not just towards us. For we, having given you
birth, nurtured, instructed you, and having imparted to you and all
other citizens all the good in our power, still proclaim, by giving the
power to every Athenian who pleases, when he has arrived at years of
discretion and become acquainted with the business of the state, and us,
the laws, that any one, who is not satisfied with us, may take his
property and go wherever he pleases. And if any one of you wishes to go
to a colony, if he is not satisfied with us and the city, or to migrate
and settle in another country, none of us, the laws, hinder or forbid
him going whithersoever he pleases, taking with him all his property.
But whoever continues with us after he has seen the manner in which we
administer justice, and in other respects govern the city, we now say,
that he has in fact entered into a compact with us, to do what we order,
and we affirm that he who does not obey is in three respects guilty of
injustice, because he does not obey us who gave him being, and because
he does not obey us who nurtured him, and because, having made a compact
that he would obey us, he neither does so nor does he persuade us if we
do any thing wrongly, though we propose for his consideration, and do
not rigidly command him to do what we order, but leave him the choice of
one of two things, either to persuade us, or to do what we require, and
yet he does neither of these.