CHAP. II. GREECE. 75 



individuals or by companies. It seems very 

 probable that the state had some ancient mines 

 which were let to farm, whilst some of the others 

 had been originally opened by private indivi- 

 duals, with the consent of the community, who 

 had farmed them, and, instead of a fixed rent, 

 received a twenty-fourth part of the proceeds l . 

 By such and other regulations the object of 

 increasing the mineral treasures of the state was 

 attained, and in process of time the whole of the 

 operations in the mines were carried on by pri- 

 vate persons. 



The numbers who possessed mines at the 

 period in which those operations were most ex- 

 tended were very considerable, and even in the 

 time of Demosthenes, though a decline had 

 taken place in that branch of industry, they 

 appear to have been numerous ; for that orator 

 classes the miners in equal ranks with the agri- 

 culturists and the merchants 2 . These persons 

 do not, however, appear to be all actual miners ; 

 but individuals, who by their capitals were en- 

 abled to commence and prosecute such under- 

 takings, were included in their number. The 

 profit of the mines flowed into a variety of chan- 

 nels, because, as the farmers of them carried on 

 the works by means of slaves hired from the 



1 Xenophon de Redit. 



2 Demosth. adv. Aristocratem, t. ii. p. 309. edit. Taylor. 



