laws, (6) and concerning the thousand and one
matters affecting the state perpetually occurring, and endless
questions touching the allies; besides the receipt of the tribute, the
superintendence of dockyards and temples, etc. Can, I ask again, any one
find it at all surprising that, with all these affairs on their hands,
they are unequal to doing business with all the world?

(3) See Arist. "Wasps," 661.

(4) This sentence is perhaps a gloss.

(5) Or, "about the war," {peri tou polemou}.

(6) See Thirlwall, ch. xxxii. vol. iv. p. 221, note 3.

But some people tell us that if the applicant will only address himself
to the senate or the People with a fee in his hand he will do a good
stroke of business. And for my part I am free to confess to these
gainsayers that a good many things may be done at Athens by dint of
money; and I will add, that a good many more still might be done, if
the money flowed still more freely and from more pockets. One thing,
however, I know full well, that as to transacting with every one of
these applicants all he wants, the state could not do it, not even if
all the gold and silver in the world were the inducement offered.

Here are some of the cases which have to be decided on. Some one fails
to fit out a ship: judgement must be given. Another puts up a building
on a piece of public land: again judgement must be given. Or, to take
another class of cases: adjudication has to be made between the choragi
for the Dionysia, the Thargelia, the Panathenaea, year after year. ( (7)
And again in behalf of the gymnasiarchs a similar adjudication for the
Panathenaea, the Prometheia, and the Hephaestia, also year after year.)
Also as between the trierarchs, four hundred of whom are appointed each
year, of these, too, any who choose must have their cases adjudicated
on, year after year. But that is not all. There are various magistrates
to examine and approve (8) and decide between; there are orphans (9)
whose status must be examined; and guardians of prisoners to appoint.
These, be it borne in mind, are all matters of yearly occurrence; while
at intervals there are exemptions and abstentions from military service
(10) which call for adjudication, or in connection with some other
extraordinary misdemeanour, some case of outrage and violence of an
exceptional character, or some charge of impiety. A whole string of
others I simply omit; I am content to have named the most important part
with the ex