[28]
You see,
Athenians, how explicitly the law lays down that none shall be exempt from the
equipment of a war-galley except the nine archons. So those whose wealth falls
short of the qualification for that service will contribute by groups to the
special war-tax, but those who reach that qualification will be available both
for the war-galleys and for the war-tax. Then what relief does your law,
Leptines, afford to the main body of citizens, if from one or two tribes it
provides a single contributor, who, having relieved one other citizen on one
occasion, will thereafter be exempt?1 I can see no relief. On the other hand it
taints the honor and credit of the whole State. Therefore, when the damage it
will inflict is greater than the benefit it confers, ought it not to be repealed
by this court? Such would be my verdict.
1 According to Demosthemes' lowest estimate, there would be 5 or 6 citizens exempt: total 16. This number he is willing to double, making the full total 30 and the total of citizens presumably 10 or 12. If spread over the l0 tribes, the lower estimate would give, roughly, one contributor for 2 tribes; and the higher, one for each tribe.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by C. A. Vince, M. A. and J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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