IX M ON t\ AND PROPERTY 2J9

special word was coined for the man who became ncti through
wrong-doing.1 The petty retailers cheated on even* occasion,
and Hyperboles had grown rich bv selling lamps of
material 2 Among the bad qualities attributed to the un-

initiated into the Eleusiman mysteries these are pre-eminent • —
that he sows the seeds of discord, that he is greedy for personal
gains and that as an official he is open to bribery.3 Bribery
and the embezzlement of public funds, 'wealth from office*,
are mentioned so often, either as a charge or simply as a state-
ment, that, even after allowance has been made for comic
exaggeration and for the license of abuse, a very widespread
corruption of public life must be admitted * The barber who
takes his razor and shaves off the war-tax from underneath the
chin probably represents a demagogue who pocketed part of
this important public revenue.5 It seems to have been of very
little effect that bribery and theft, or breach of promise to lend
money to the State, were punished with the pillory or a written
public denunciation; heavy penalties, if not death, could also
be imposed.® £The thieves are celebrating a festival*, that is
to say, they go unpunished. 7 The Athenians had truly learnt
to adapt themselves to the new mode, thev played no longer
in 'Dorian*, but in *Donodonan* stvle. 8 A saying, which very
likely derives from comedy, sums up the story. "Even on the
point of death an Athenian puts out his hand' — for a tip, of
course.9

Wealth is blind after all. Even the rule of Zeus would
come to an end if Ploutos gained his sight for only a short
time.16 The beautiful theme of the old poet's comedy, though

s, Krates 42
2 C 1065!; but cf p 120, n 3 3 F.s6cf
4 IK Tff$ dcpxf]$» Kratinos 38 P, b, 32, combined by Goossens with Kratinos
1 60. Cf also JfjP LXVI (1945), 120, n. 23. — Eiacaples of bribery; K. 402 f,
438f? 472f, 680-9; Ss4f, i359f, 1369^ C 591, W 675fy Th-936f, F 360$ P!
379,frg ice, 2 1 9S of embezzlement A.5&K 1127!", C 351, W.554, 7i6f, 1117,
B.I 1 1 if, L 49of, Th 8 1 iff, PI 569, frg 40. But La Rae van Hook, Class Jmm
23 (1928), 275$", is right in warning os not to take as literal truth the partly
inconsistent sayings of comedy abont 'Crime and Criminals'.
s Enpolis 278
« Usual punishment K.iG46ff; C 591!", PI 476, 606, Kratinos 1 1 5, Plat 249,
c£ Isaios V, 38. — Otherwise, e.g, the case of PenUes: Thtic. II, 65, 3, Pint.
Per. 35, 4, Pkt Gorg. 516 A,
7 Kratinos 18 D == adesp 662 H £ 985!"
9 Diogeman. Ill, 12 lf PL 124$;