February 12, 471

The first order of business today was to accuse the slave of stealing in court. The slave, his owner, and I headed to a small basilica. I presented the stolen glass cup and explained how the slave owner and I had witnessed the slave snatch and hide it under his clothing. The slave tried to defend himself, but the judge ruled him guilty with a sentence to lose one hand.
I did not wish to see this happen, so I quickly left and headed to the Tribal Assembly. We were voting on a new law to allow plebeians freedom to buy silk. The majority was a yes! My eldest daughter will be happy about this. She has been creating small glassworks and saving the profits to one day make a new stolae. I'm sure she has quite a lot of money to save, because silk can cost hundreds of denarius.

Dear Journal,