For lesser damages to
the beast the hirer had to pay compensation on a fixed scale. Thus, if
the ox had its eye knocked out during the period of its hire, the man
who hired it had to pay to the owner half its value; while for a broken
horn, the loss of the tail, or a torn muzzle, he paid a quarter of the
value of the beast.
Fines were also levied for carelessness in looking after cattle, though
in cases of damage or injury, where carelessness could not be proved,
the owner of a beast was not held responsible. A bull might go wild at
any time and gore a man, however careful and conscientious the owner
might be, and in these circumstances the injured man could not bring an
action against the owner. But if a bull had already gored a man, and,
although it was known to be vicious, the owner had not blunted its horns
or shut it up, in the event of its goring and killing a free man, he had
to pay half a mana of silver. One-third of a mana was the price paid for
a slave who was killed. A landed proprietor who might hire farmers to
cultivate his fields inflicted severe fines for acts of dishonesty with
regard to the cattle, provender, or seed-corn committed to their charge.
If a man stole the provender for the cattle he had to make it good, and
he was also liable to the punishment of having his hands cut off.
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