Clement quotes Plato's Laws on water
Clement, citing Plato's Laws, repeats the rule that a husbandman must dig down to virgin soil in his own ground before taking water from others, and draws a moral about supplying want without supporting laziness.
Passages side by side
“Accordingly in The Laws, the philosopher who learned from the Hebrews, Plato, commands husbandmen not to irrigate or take water from others, until they have first dug down in their own ground to what is called the virgin soil, and found it dry.”
“and there is a scarcity of necessary moisture, then the owner shall dig in his own ground down to the chalk subsoil, and if he fails to find water at this depth, he shall procure from his neighbors just so much as he requires for drinking purposes for all his household; and if his neighbors also are stinted in their supplies, he shall apply for a ration of water from the land-stewards, and fetch it day by day, and so share the water with his neighbors.”