[83]
“If any man die a violent
death,” says the legislator. First, by adding the epithet
“violent,” he has given an indication by which we understand
his meaning to be, “if a man die wrongfully.” “His
kinsmen may take and hold hostages in respect of such death, until they either
submit to trial for bloodguiltiness, or surrender the actual
manslayers.” You will note what an admirable provision this is. He
requires the hostages, in the first instance, to stand trial; and then if they
refuse, he enjoins them to give up the murderers; but, if they decline both
these duties, he adds that the right to hold hostages is limited to three and no
more. The whole of this statute is defied in the wording of the decree.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1939.
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