Wherefore let every one honour his parents, and if this preamble fails of influencing him, let him hear the law:--If any one does not take sufficient care of his parents, let the aggrieved person inform the three eldest guardians of the law and three of the women who are concerned with marriages.

Women up to forty years of age, and men up to thirty, who thus offend, shall be beaten and imprisoned.

After that age they are to be brought before a court composed of the eldest citizens, who may inflict any punishment upon them which they please.

If the injured party cannot inform, let any freeman who hears of the case inform; a slave who does so shall be set free,--if he be the slave of the one of the parties, by the magistrate,--if owned by another, at the cost of the state; and let the magistrates, take care that he is not wronged by any one out of revenge.
The injuries which one person does to another by the use of poisons are of two kinds;--one affects the body by the employment of drugs and potions; the other works on the mind by the practice of sorcery and magic.

Fatal cases of either sort have been already mentioned; and now we must have a law respecting cases which are not fatal.