ens the greater part is gorged by needy and noisy demagogues, while the dicast has to content himself with a wretched pittance of fivepence a day, and that, in fact, his majesty is kept as poor as a rat by those who profess to be his devoted champions and warmest friends. A new light breaks in upon the chorus, and they supplicate Philocleon to yield to the entreaties of his son, who promises him all kinds of good things, if he will only " purge and live cleanly" for the future. But the ruling pas sion is still too strong; and since to him, as to Dandin, in Racine's comedy, " Les Plaideurs," " Sans jugcr, la vie est un supplier," Bilelycleon proposes that he shall preside over a domestic forum and try causes at home. This jumps with the old man's humor, and he consents to the arrangement, but insists upon a trial taking place im mediately. As luck will have it, the house dog Labes (meaning Laches) has just run off with and devoured a Sicilian cheese, and the culprit is brought before Philocleon. The prosecutor is another dog (Cleon), and the indictment runs thus: — "The dog of Cydathenus doth present Uog Labes of /Exone, for that he Singly, alone, did swallow and devour One whole Sicilian cheese against the peace." The trial commences; speeches are de livered for the prosecution and the defence, and the result is that the old dicast, for the
first time in his life, drops into the box a verdict of acquittal. This completely stag gers him, and he asks pardon of the gods for having been guilty of such an unheard of act of mercy. His son, however, re assures him by telling him that he will take care of him, and so the play ends. The constitution of the courts of law at Athens was radically bad. One of the cry ing evils of the system was the number of dicasts who sat on every trial. Five hun dred seems to have been the smallest num ber of which any tribunal consisted; but frequently several of these sat together, ac cording to the nature of the case to be tried. Even in their best mood the Athenians came to the hearing of a cause with a disposition like that with which they took their places at the theatre to compare the compositions of rival poets. They were swayed by party feelings and private animosities. In crimi nal prosecutions the dicasts had, as has been noticed, a direct interest in the conviction of the defendant; for by the confiscation of his property the State was enriched, and thus they themselves were benefited. The con sequence was that an odious class of men, the common informers, or sycophants, as they were called, were enabled to drive a gainful trade by extorting money from the fears of the wealthy whom they threatened to denounce before the tribunals. — HorTENS1US.
