They were too ready to listen to the outcry of a dying man, and hence they were induced to give him an absolute power of bequest.

But I would say to him:--O creature of a day, you know neither what is yours nor yourself: for you and your property are not your own, but belong to your whole family, past and to come, and property and family alike belong to the State.

And therefore I must take out of your hands the charge of what you leave behind you, with a view to the interests of all.

And I hope that you will not quarrel with us, now that you are going the way of all mankind; we will do our best for you and yours when you are no longer here.

Let this be our address to the living and dying, and let the law be as follows:--The father who has sons shall appoint one of them to be the heir of the lot; and if he has given any other son to be adopted by another, the adoption shall also be recorded; and if he has still a son who has no lot, and has a chance of going to a colony, he may give him what he has more than the lot; or if he has more than one son unprovided for, he may divide the money between them.