s, or at least a partial depreciation of contracts, no
phenomenon of the same kind ever happened at Athens, during the three
centuries between Solon and the end of the free working of the
democracy, Doubtless there were fraudulent debtors at Athens; while the
administration of private law, though not in any way conniving at their
proceedings, was far too imperfect to repress them as effectually as
might have been wished. But the public sentiment on the point was just
and decided. It may be asserted with confidence that a loan of money at
Athens was quite as secure as it ever was at any time or place of the
ancient world--in spite of the great and important superiority of Rome
with respect to the accumulation of a body of authoritative legal
precedent, the source of what was ultimately shaped into the Roman
jurisprudence. Among the various causes of sedition or mischief in the
Grecian communities, we hear little of the pressure of private debt.

By the measures of relief above described, Solon had accomplished
results surpassing his own best hopes. He had healed the prevailing
discontents; and such was the confidence and gratitude which he had
inspired, that he was now called upon to draw up a constitution and laws
for the better working of the government in future. His constitutional
changes were great and valuable: respecting his laws, what we hear is
rather curious than important.

It has been already stated that, down to the time of Solon, the
classification received in Attica was that of the four Ionic tribes,
comprising in one scale the Phratries and Gentes, and in another scale
the three Trittyes and forty-eight Naucraries--while the Eupatridae,
seemingly a few specially respected gentes, and perhaps a few
distinguished families in all the gentes, had in their hands all the
powers of government. Solon introduced a new principle of
classification--called in Greek the "timocratic principle." He
distributed all the citizens of the tribes, without any reference to
their gentes or phratries, into four classes, according to the amount of
their property, which he caused to be assessed and entered in a public
schedule. Those whose annual income was equal to five hundred medimni of
corn (about seven hundred imperial bushels) and upward--one medimnus
being considered equivalent to one drachma in money--he placed in the
highest class; those who received between three hundred and five hundred
medimni or drachmas formed the s