英文经典阅读
Solon's Reformation
学院：法学院
专业：法学
班级：卓法13-1
姓名：徐莉
学号：[1**********]9
梭伦改革
摘要：梭伦改革是雅典城邦乃至整个古希腊历史上最重要的社会政治改革之一，它为雅典城邦奠定了城邦民主政治的基础。梭伦改革一方面为雅典民主政治奠定了社会基础，另一方面完善了国家制度，促进了雅典社会生活多元化格局的形成，创立了适合民主制发展的社会管理机制，为普通公民参与国家政治活动提供了制度保证。
关键词: 梭伦改革；民主政治；意义。
Abstract: Solon ’s reformation was one of the most important social and political reformation in Athens and even the whole history of ancient Greece. It was the foundation of the political democracy of Athens. On one hand, Solon's reformation laid the social basis for the Athenian democracy; on the other hand, it perfected the system of the state, promoted the formation of social pluralistic pattern, founded the social management mechanism for the development of democratic system, and provided the system guarantee for ordinary citizens to participate in national political activity in Athens.
Keywords: Solon’s reformation; Democracy; Significance.
Solon's Reformation
1. Background
1.1 the condition of the farmers
Before Solon’s reformation, the condition of the farmers was extremely difficult. If they borrowed rich , borrowers who didn’t paid debts completely would be one of the "six one rural". And the riches had the rights to have the farmer who owed the debts and his wife sold as a slave after one year. The farmers didn’t have the same rights as nobles. In a word, “ These nobles enjoyed many advantages over the commom crowd of freemen.”①
1.2 The Draconian Laws
In the reformation of Solon of Athens before exercise, the Draconian Laws were too harsh. For instance, it would be sentenced to death for stealing fruit, lazy fault and so on. It was blamed for not with ink, but with the blood! The people of Athens thought “they could not possibly be put into effect. There would not have been rope enough to hang all the criminals under their new system of jurisprudence which made the stealing of an apple a capital offence.”②
2.The Main Contents of the Reformation
2.1 Economic
2.1.1 The abolition of regarding Athenian citizens as the mortgage all debts, which was banning the using of debt of civilians into a slave and the abolition of the "six one rural" system, this measure was known as "negative order solution".
2.1.2 Some series of the political measures were benefit for the development of industry. Including restrictions on food exports which were used to expand the output of olive oil; a currency reformation was in order to facilitate commercial trade field; rewarding artisan immigrants in Athens was to encourage citizens to learn handicraft technology and so on.
2.1.3 The reformation admitted free private property inheritance, eliminated the clan of residual on ownership.
2.2 Politic
2.2.1 The abolition of the hereditary aristocracy monopoly rights, were no longer by birth but by the number of citizens property division level. According to the totally agricultural income a year, the citizens were divided into 4 grades, the level of political rights depended on the size of its financial resources. The first grade could be responsible for all office; second class of citizens served in addition to treasurer; third grade could be either lower official; fourth class citizens could not hold public office, but had the rights to participate in the assembly of citizens and the people court. And different levels of obligation were difference. For example, in the military obligations, the first and the second level provided the cavalry, self-contained weapons, uniforms and horses. The third level provided heavy infantry, they owned ordnance and uniform, but didn’t need to provide horses. The fourth level was mainly acting as light infantry and sailors, did not bring their own arms with only sticks.
2.2.2 The establishment of four hundred people meeting was the permanent body of citizens of the general assembly and the highest administrative organ. Four hundred people in the meeting were selected by 4 tribes which consisted of 100 people, in addition to the fourth level, other all citizens could be elected.
2.2.3 The establishment of the jury Court, which was as the highest judicial organ. Any citizen had the rights to appeal. All the grades of citizens were elected the jury court jury consists by ballot, which expanded the rights of citizens.
2.2.4 setting up a new code to replace Draconian Laws, which retained there in relating to homicide part, and made the entire Athenian law more humanitarian colors.
3. Significance of the Reformation
3.1 Change
The reformation had changed the noble autocratic situation in a certain extent, and promoted the development of democracy in Athens and commodity economy.
3.2 Influence
Solon's reformation was also an important milepost of Athens in the historical development, it’s a major victory against the struggles of the nobles, and had a profound influence on the development of Athenian history:
First of all, "solution of negative order" which released the civilians from the shackles of debt slavery who enjoyed freedom of rights of the citizens, formed the democratic political essential citizen groups. There are some evidence in his poem and evaluation:
"The mortgage-stones that covered her, by me Removed,- the land that was a slave is free” that some who had been seized for their debts he had brought back from other countries;
"-so far their lot to roam, They had forgot the language of their home； and some he had set at liberty-”
"Who here in shameful servitude were held."③
Secondly, the establishment of property rating system made the property qualifications replace blood qualifications. The industry and Commerce and the slave owners would be to share political rights, and it also made lower civilians obtained a certain civil rights.
Finally, the measures of restructuring of the country's authority broke the monopoly of the state power of the aristocracy and ensured the citizen participation in state affairs in a certain extent.
4. Solon's Reformation Limitations
Even if Solon's reformation was neither the accommodation of nobles, nor favoring civilians, this policy of neutrality failed to resolve social contradictions. Due to the historical condition and the industry and Commerce of slave class position limited, and Solon also expected the improvement on the one hand the civilian economic situation, hand protect the aristocratic political privilege. Such as Hendrik Willem Van Loon said: “Solon gave Athens a set of laws which bore testimony to that wonderful principle of moderation which was part of the Greek character. He tried to improve the condition of the peasant without however destroying the prosperity of the nobles who were (or rather who could be) of such great service to the state as soldiers.”④
Therefore, the result was that the demands of the lower civilians were not well satisfied, nobles because of their own interests and resentment were also hating him.
In conclusion, the reformation did not fundamentally solve the contradiction between the aristocrats and the plebeians.
5. Conclusion
The reformation of Solon is essentially slave class which be in order to consolidate the rule. And we can know that reformation is the strong motive force of social development by Solon's reformation on the fundamental adjustment of the old production relations and superstructure. However, as for the whole world, the evaluations on the reformation of Solon is different.
Some people thought that the reformation was successful due to the development of democracy and commodity economy. Others thought it was a failure because of limited resources of the poor.
But it was a successful reformation for me. There are two main reasons:
First of all, Solon's reformation did not look as the some Chinese ancient reformation in it process. Such as there were many people opposed, even that some reformers were killed because of their reformation. Finally the effect of Solon ’s reformation was remarkable, and didn’t stopping.
Notes
①Hendrik Willem Van Loon, 何志坚主编. （《人类的故事》导读）北京：外文出版社. 2013. 第65页
②Hendrik Willem Van Loon, 何志坚主编. （《人类的故事》导读）北京：外文出版社. 2013. 第66页
③ www.Enbb48.cn/read/culture/xllmmr/86996.html（2014年12月19日22点访问) 普鲁塔克 著，席代岳 译，《希腊罗马名人传》，吉林出版社，2009.
④Hendrik Willem Van Loon, 何志坚主编. （《人类的故事》导读）北京：外文出版社. 2013. 第67页
Bibliography
1. Hendrik Willem Van Loon, 何志坚主编. （《人类的故事》导读）北京：外文出版社. 2013 2. http://BAIKE.baidu.com/link?url=wr_6R7cl_CHHS5QbO9zX2wJYdsyFmubJpsIrpWHNpXMJ9FxPLVG7gXj-7GFVQjV892-9aCN_jjfQFzI1qy6LbK
3. www.Enbb48.cn/read/culture/xllmmr/86996.html
4. 普鲁塔克 著，席代岳 译，《希腊罗马名人传》，吉林出版社，2009.