A law is a written 146
contract among citizens, the transgressor of which is punished.
A custom or habit, for there is no difference, is a common
acceptance of a certain thing by many, the deviator from which
is in no wise punished. For example, it is a law not to commit
adultery, and it is a custom with us [Greek: to me demosia
gynaiki mignusthai]. A mythical belief is a tradition 147
regarding things which never took place, but were invented, as
among others, the tales about Cronus, for many are led to
believe them. A dogmatic opinion is the acceptance of something
that seems to be established by a course of reasoning, or by
some proof, as for example, that atoms are elements of things,
and that they are either homogeneous, or infinitesimal, or of
some other description. Now we place each of these things
sometimes in opposition to itself, and sometimes in opposition
to each one of the others. For example, we place a custom in 148
opposition to a custom thus: some of the Ethiopians tattoo
new-born children, but we do not, and the Persians think it is
seemly to have a garment of many colors and reaching to the
feet, but we think it not so. The Indians [Greek: tais gynaixi
deomosia mignyntai] but most of the other nations consider it a
shame. We place a law in opposition to a law in this way: 149
among the Romans he who renounces his paternal inheritance does
not pay his father's debts, but among the Rhodians he pays them
in any case; and among the Tauri in Scythia it was a law to
offer strangers in sacrifice to Artemis, but with us it is
forbidden to kill a man near a temple.
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