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[1350a]
[1]
he made
proclamation that each should bring him, under pain of death, one-half of what
he had; the remainder of their takings they might keep. On the understanding
that if they brought in half their plunder they would retain the rest in
security, they obeyed. But when Dionysius had got the treasure into his hands,
he commanded them to bring him the other half as well. The people of
Mende used to meet the expenses of administration from harbor and other duties,
but refrained from collecting the imposts on land and on houses. They kept,
however, a register of the owners, and when the state was in need of funds, they
collected the arrears. Meanwhile the owners had the advantage of trafficking
with their whole property undiminished by any payment of percentages.The same city being at war with Olynthus and needing funds, passed a
resolution that all the slaves they possessed, with the exception of one male
and one female apiece, should be sold on behalf of the State, which was thus
enabled to raise a loan from private citizens.1
Callistratus, when in Macedonia, caused
the harbor-dues, which were usually sold for twenty talents, to produce twice as
much. For noticing that only the wealthier men were accustomed to buy them
because the sureties for the twenty talents were obliged to show talent for
talent,
[20]
he issued a proclamation
that anyone might buy the dues on furnishing securities for one-third of the
amount, or as much more as could be procured in each case. Timotheus of
Athens during his campaign
against Olynthus was short of
silver, and issued to his men a copper coinage instead. On their complaining, he
told them that all the merchants and retailers would accept it in lieu of
silver. But the merchants he instructed to buy in turn with the copper they
received such produce of the land as was for sale, as well as any booty brought
to them; such copper as remained on their hands he would exchange for
silver.During the campaign of Corcyra2
this same Timotheus was reduced to sore straits. His men demanded their pay;
refused to obey his orders; and declared they would desert to the enemy.
Accordingly he summoned a meeting and told them that the stormy weather was
delaying the arrival of the silver he expected; meanwhile, as he had on hand
such abundance of provisions, he would charge them nothing for the three months'
ration of grain already advanced.
1 Or: "that citizens should sell to the state what slaves they possessed . . . as the equivalent of a loan from private persons to the city <of the slaves' value>."
2 Apparently in 375 B.C. See the end of Xenophon's fifth Book ofHellenicaXen. Hell. 5.
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