[49]
But surely, when he says “ lawfully born
and rightfully established according to the statute,” he is quibbling
and defying the laws. For the “ lawfully born” exists, when
it is born of the body; and the law bears testimony to this, when it says,
“ Lawfully born are children of a woman whom her father or brother or
grandfather has given in marriage.” But “ rightfully
established” the lawgiver understood of adoptions, considering that
when a man, being childless and master of his property, adopts a son, this
action ought to be rightful. Well, our opponent says that Archiades had no son
of the body, but in the affidavit he has sworn to the words “ since
there are lawfully born children,” thus making a sworn statement that
is contrary to the truth.
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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