Written laws are like spider’s webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful.
Anacharsis (fl. 6th C BC) Scythian traveler and philosopher
In Plutarch’s Parallel Lives “Solon” bk. 5, sec. 2.
Alt trans.: "These decrees of yours are no different from spiders' webs. They'll restrain anyone weak and insignificant who gets caught in them, but they'll be torn to shreds by people with power and wealth." [tr. by R. Waterfield, Plutarch's Greek Lives (1998)]
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