Plato, Laws 927e

ἔτι δὲ νόμους περὶ αὐτῶν τούτων μετρίως διειρημένους εἶχον, εἶχέν τινα λόγον ἂν ἐπιτροπικούς τινας νόμους, ὡς ὄντας ἰδίᾳ διαφέροντας πολύ, τιθέναι, ποικίλλοντας ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἰδίοις τὸν τῶν ὀρφανῶν βίον παρὰ τὸν τῶν μή· νῦν δὲ εἰς μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα σύμπαντα οὐ πολὺ διαφέρον ἡ παρʼ ἡμῖν ὀρφανία κέκτηται τῆς πατρονομικῆς, τιμαῖς δὲ καὶ ἀτιμίαις ἅμα καὶ ἐπιμελείαισιν οὐδαμῶς ἐξισοῦσθαι φιλεῖ.

and if they did not also possess laws regulating these same affairs in detail, then it would have been reasonable enough to lay down laws concerning guardianship, as a peculiar and distinct branch of law, marking out with special regulations of its own the life of the orphan as contrasted with the non-orphan; but, as the matter stands, the condition of orphanhood in all these respects does not differ greatly with us from the condition of parental control, although as a rule in respect of public estimation and of the care bestowed on the children they are on quite a different level.