Nor is it permissible to appoint one of the two captains as the sole referee, for he will incline toward his own team and thus become suspect.

Likewise, each captain may choose no more than one contestant at a time, for that is closer to equity and justice: once one captain selects a contestant, the other captain makes the next pick.

A comparable rule is that a litigant who arrives first is not allowed precedence for more than a single claim; were he to say, “Judge two of my cases first, and then two for whoever comes after me,” he would have no right to that. Another parallel is that when lots are drawn among a man’s wives to decide who will have the first night, the one whose name is drawn is not given two consecutive nights (1). The same applies to the seeker of knowledge (2): if he reaches the teacher before others to read, he is not granted two lessons in a row—unless every student regularly reads two lessons at a time (3).

If the two captains disagree over who should make the first choice, they draw lots.

Should one of them say, “Let me choose first and I will provide the stake, or my teammates will,” that is impermissible (4), because the prize is earned only by outstripping the opponent, not by any other means.*