THE CONSTITUTIONAL ANTIQUITIES OF SPARTA AND ATHENS.*
Tan first peculiarity of the Attic political system which pre- sents itself to the student, is the excessive multiplication of public offi,ies and officials, which ultimately arose • to such a degree that, in a State whose number of legally qualified citizens never amounted to twenty thousand, it could have been hardly possible for any man, unless remarkably for- tunate, to spend a life of ordinary duration without being compelled to discharge the duties of some public office, generally without remuneration (save by peculation), and always liable to the vexatious Dokimasia (scrutiny) and Euthune (audit), as well as to the prospect of impeachment by some informer by profession. One cause of this was the vanity of the democrat, who, finding birth, wealth, and education ignored as unimportant and even useless, seeks to arrive at consideration by office and title; and this feeling manifests itself strongly in two democratic countries at the present day, where places and decorations are intrigued for, and too often obtained by, unblushing venality. A second cause was the suspicious temper so general in democratic societies, and which seems to have been the besetting sin of the Athenians, each of whom being conscious that he bad but little principle in pecuniary matters, would naturally believe that his neighbour bad none at all. Hence arose that eis-grthe which, though praised by Demosthenes and Sir J, Mackintosh as the only safeguard of liberty, seems to us only calculated to exclude from the public service many men of high character and abilities. Thus the custom obtained of despatching Ambassadors, Generals, and Admirals in triplets, doubtless on the principle that two can keep a secret—let us Bay of bribes from the foreigner—while the third would probably impeach his colleagues of corruption or malversa- tion, and, as was too frequently the case, bring them to exile or the hemlock-bowl. A third cause presents somewhat of a logical aspect ; for if we once accept the principle that every man (slaves and foreigners not being men, or at least of an inferior kind) is entitled to be a legislator, it would seem inconsistent to deny his competency to put into execution the laws he has made.
Doctor Gilbert has given us a learned and copious account of the legislation on the subject of the Athenian slaves, from which we can discern that their condition was preferable to th It of any of their class elsewhere, either in ancient or modern times, their lives and limbs being protected, an asylum open to them in case of unduly severe punishment, and a road to freedom offered to them by volunteering for service in the fleet. A slave too, if dissatisfied with his master, had the legal right of demanding to be sold, and thus had a chance of experiencing a gentler lot; and this right he could exercise three times. Manumission, however, does not appear to have existed at Athens, though it probably did at Sparta, otherwise it would be difficult to account for the class of semi-Spartans called Neodamodes; but nowhere in Hellas do we find the freedmen who became so numerous, wealthy, and influential at Rome, particularly under the Empire. We are unable to accept Doctor Gilbert's view that the Athenian slaves were always of Non-Hellenic race, believing that ample proofs can he adduced that the Hellenic States entertained no scruple against selling into servitude persons of a kindred race when captured in war or by piracy, to which latter employment they were much addicted.
• The Constitutional. Antiquities of Sparta and Athens. By Dostor Gustav
Gilbert. Translated by E. G. Brooks, M.A., and T. Nielclio, M.A. London Sven Sennensehe n and Co.
The " Prosecution for Illegality " has been made known to almost all students by the speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines in the case of Ctesiphon, from which it appears that if the popular assembly passed a resolution it was competent for any citizen to prosecute the mover thereof criminally, the penalty being either a fine or exile. This system in an excitable and frivolous community must neces- sarily have led to violent agitation, and often to gross injustice. Thus an Athenian statesman proposed reforms which he deemed salutary with the rope around his neck ; and it would be an interesting speculation to consider what would be the state of public feeling in our own country if the next General Election should prove unfavourable to the present Government and a few obscure and factious par- tisans had the power of bringing the principal members of the present Cabinet to the bar of an Assize Court.
The important questions of Helotism at Sparta and of the Ostracism at Athens have furnished a species of battle-ground to such scholars as judge of the customs of ancient nations by analogies furnished by very modern times, and to discuss them would transcend our limits ; but it may be observed that Spartan Helotism was free from one of the most painful features of ordinary slavery in not being domestic. The Helots were for the most part predial serfs owned by the State, and therefore protected to a certain extent; but this does not justify Miiller's defence of the cruel and treacherous Krypteia, which he holds to have been merely a species of secret police. The only excuse that can be found for the Ostracism is that it may have sometimes served to check the violence of political contention and barred the road to revolution.
The various mutations in the Athenian Constitution— Sparta changed very little—are well worthy the attention of the political student, but, as we think, rather for avoidance than imitation. Political systems being of human con- trivance, must needs partake of human imperfection; but a sagacious thinker will profit by the lessons of history, and avoid alike the recklessly innovating spirit of Athens, and the narrow, hide-bound conservatism of Sparta. Dr. Gilbert's work furnishes a copious and accurate summary of Hellenic political ideas and enactments, and we only wish that he had expressed some decided opinion on the justice and results of some of them ; but he was probably deterred from this by his wish to preserve judicial impartiality. His critical judgment on the accuracy of historical statements is correct and profound, and his book will be invaluable to those who desire thoroughly to understand the orators of Athens or the statesmen and warriors of Sparta.
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