Release from the Mines and Public Works

“Again, as for those who have been condemned either to the hard labor of the mines or to service on the public works, let them enjoy the sweetness of leisure in place of these long toils. From now on let them lead a far easier life, more in keeping with their hearts’ desire, exchanging the endless hardships of their tasks for quiet rest. And if any have lost the common privilege of liberty, or have unhappily suffered disgrace, let every one of them hurry back to his native country and take up again, with fitting joy, his former place in society, from which he has been cut off, as it were, by a long stay abroad. [a]