There should also be a traders' agora, distinct and
apart from the other, in a situation which is convenient for the
reception of goods both by sea and land.
But in speaking of the magistrates we must not forget another
section of the citizens, viz., the priests, for whom public tables
should likewise be provided in their proper place near the temples.
The magistrates who deal with contracts, indictments, summonses, and
the like, and those who have the care of the agora and of the city,
respectively, ought to be established near an agora and some public
place of meeting; the neighborhood of the traders' agora will be a
suitable spot; the upper agora we devote to the life of leisure, the
other is intended for the necessities of trade.
The same order should prevail in the country, for there too the
magistrates, called by some 'Inspectors of Forests' and by others
'Wardens of the Country,' must have guardhouses and common tables
while they are on duty; temples should also be scattered throughout
the country, dedicated, some to Gods, and some to heroes.
But it would be a waste of time for us to linger over details like
these. The difficulty is not in imagining but in carrying them out. We
may talk about them as much as we like, but the execution of them will
depend upon fortune. Wherefore let us say no more about these
matters for the present.
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