If the decree, men of the senate, ordered that the crown should be given to the man having the largest number of advocates, it would have been senseless for me to claim it, for Cephisodotus alone has spoken on my behalf, while a host of pleaders has spoken for my opponents. But the fact is, the people appointed that the treasurer should give the crown to the one who first got his trireme ready for sea; and this I have done; so I declare that it is I who should be crowned. [2] Also I am surprised that my opponents neglected their ships, but took care to get their orators ready; and they seem to me to be mistaken in regard to the whole affair, and to imagine that you are grateful, not to those who do their duty, but to those who say they do it; and they have formed a totally different estimate regarding you from that which I hold. For this very reason it is right that you should feel more kindly disposed toward me; for it is plain that I entertain a higher opinion of you than they do. [3] Surely it would have been right and proper, men of Athens, that those who claim to receive a crown from you, should show that they are worthy of it, and not speak ill of me. But since they leave out the former of these two things and do the latter, I shall show that they are speaking falsely both in their praise of themselves and in their slander of me; and I shall prove this by their own deeds and by mine. [4]

When you had passed a decree and confirmed it, to the effect that whoever did not bring his ship around to the pier before the last day of the month should be placed under arrest and handed over to the court, I brought my ship up to the pier, and for this I received a crown from you, while the others had not even launched their ships; they therefore have made themselves liable to imprisonment. Would it not, then, be the strangest possible act on your part, if you should be seen to confer a crown on people who had suffered themselves to become liable to so grievous a penalty? [5] As to the ship's equipment, moreover, all, that is, which the state is bound to supply to the trierarchs, I purchased it with my own resources and took nothing from the public stores, while these men used equipment of yours and spent none of their own money for this purpose. And surely they cannot say either that they got their ship ready for trial before I did mine; for mine was manned before they had so much as touched theirs, and you all saw the ship being tested. [6] More than this, I secured the very best rowers, giving by far the highest wages. If my opponents had had rowers inferior to mine, it would have been nothing disgraceful, but in fact they have hired rowers of no sort whatever, though they lay claim to larger numbers. And yet, how can it be fair, when they manned their ship later than I did mine, for them now to receive the crown as having been the first to get ready? [7]

I think therefore that even without my saying anything you recognize that you would most justly grant me the crown, but I wish to show you that of all people in the world these men have the least claim to it. How can I prove this most clearly? By what they have themselves done. For they sought out the man who would take their trierarchy on the lowest terms, and have let the service to him. Yet is it not unjust to shrink from making the outlay, and still to demand a share in the honors accruing from it, and while they lay the blame for not bringing their ship up to the pier at that time on the man they hired, to bid you now reward them for good service rendered? [8] You ought, men of Athens, to seek a just course, not only in the light of these considerations, but also in the light of your own previous actions in the case of others who have acted as these men have done. For, when you were worsted in the sea-fight against Alexander,1 you thought that the trierarchs who had let out their trierarchies were chiefly responsible for what had happened, and you gave them over for imprisonment, having decided by show of hands that they had betrayed their ships and deserted their post. [9] The accusation was made by Aristophon, and you were the judges; and, if the anger you felt had been equal to their crime, nothing could have prevented their being put to death. My opponents, although they are aware that they have done just what those others did, instead of shuddering before you at the thought of what they ought to suffer, make speeches attacking others, and demand that they themselves be crowned. And yet, consider what would be thought of your way of reaching decisions, if you are seen to have condemned some persons to death and to have crowned others for the same cause! [10] And you would be thought to be making a mistake, not only if you should do this, but also if you should fail to punish those who do things of this sort, when you have them in your power. For the time to feel indignation is not when you have suffered some of your possessions to be lost, but while they are safe, but you see those placed in charge of them failing through a shameful love of gain to make adequate provision for their safety. Let no one of you condemn my speech because he regards it as bitter; condemn rather those who have committed the crime; for it is because of them that my speech is such as it is. [11] I for my part wonder why in the world these men should imprison and punish those of the sailors who desert their ships—men who receive only thirty drachmae apiece,—while you do not deal in the same manner with those of the trierarchs who do not sail with their ships yet receive thirty minae apiece for so doing; if a poor man through stress of need commits a fault, is he to be liable to the severest penalties, while, if a rich man does the same thing through shameful love of gain, is he to win pardon? Where, then, is equality for all and popular government, if you decide matters in this way? [12] More than this, it seems to me to be absurd that, when a man says anything contrary to law, he should, if he is convicted, be deprived of one third of his personal rights,2 while those guilty not of words but of acts that are illegal should pay no penalty. Surely, men of Athens, you would all say that leniency in regard to such offences merely trains up others to commit them. [13]

I wish, now that I have entered upon this subject, to set forth to you also the consequences which result from such actions. When a man who has taken the trierarchy for hire sets sail, he plunders and pillages everybody; the profits he reaps for himself, but whoever it may chance to be of you citizens pays the damages; and you alone of all people are unable to travel anywhere without a herald's staff of truce because of the acts of these men in seizing hostages and in provoking reprisals; [14] so that, if one looks at the matter frankly, he will find that triremes such as these have sailed forth, not for you, but against you. For a man who serves as trierarch in the interest of Athens ought not to expect to grow rich at the public expense, but ought by means of his own resources to repair the losses of the state, if you are to have the service which you need. But each commander goes out determined to pursue the opposite course, and the losses resulting from their own evil ways are repaired by the damages which fall on you. [15] And this is but natural. For you have suffered those who choose to act dishonestly, if they escape discovery, to keep what they have stolen, and, even if they are caught, to win pardon; those therefore who have no regard for their reputation have acquired licence to do as they please. Men in private life who learn only through suffering we call lacking in foresight; what, then, should we call you, who are not on your guard even after repeated suffering? [16]

It is right that I should say something about those who have spoken as their advocates. Certain people are so convinced that they have the right to do or say whatever they please before you, that some of those who joined with Aristophon3 in preferring his charges, and were bitter against those who let out their trierarchies, now bid you to crown these people here; and they prove one or the other of two things against themselves. Either in the former instance they brought forward charges that were baseless, or they have now been bribed to plead the cause of my opponents; [17] and they bid you grant them a favor, as if the argument were about a gift instead of a prize, or as if you, at the instance of men like them, were seeking to win the favor of those who neglect your interests, and as if it were not rather your duty, at the instance of better men, to show favor to those who serve you as they should. Then again, they care so little for a good reputation, and are so thoroughly of the opinion that everything is of secondary importance compared with gain, that they not only have the audacity to contradict in their public speeches what they said before, but even now their statements do not agree; for they assert that the trireme which is to win the crown should have its proper crew on board, yet they bid you crown the trierarchs who have let their service devolve upon others. [18] And they state that no one got his ship in readiness before my opponents did, yet they bid you crown us jointly, which is not what the decree orders. I am as far from granting this as I am from having let out my trierarchy; I would not submit to the one, nor have I done the other. They pretend to be pleading in the interests of justice, but they show more zeal than any one of you would do without reward, as though their duty was to earn their pay, not to give an opinion. [19] And then, as if they were not members of a free state, in which because of this fact anyone who chooses has the right to speak, but as if they possessed this right as a sort of sacred prerogative of their own, if any man speaks in your midst in defence of what is right, they feel themselves grossly wronged, and say that he is an impudent fellow. And they have gone so far in their senseless folly, that they think that, if they call a man impudent who has spoken but once, they will themselves be thought good and worthy men all their lives. [20] Yet it is because of the public speeches of these men that many matters are going from bad to worse, while it is owing to those who honestly oppose them that not everything is lost. Such are the pleaders, then, that my opponents have engaged to speak on their behalf, and so readily open to attack are they themselves for any who wish to speak any ill of them （as they well know）; yet they have seen fit to contest this matter, and they have had the audacity to speak ill of another, when they should have been well content to keep out of trouble themselves. [21]

For the wrongdoing and insolence of these men nobody is more to blame than yourselves; for you inquire what the character of every man is from the speakers who you know are doing what they do for pay; you do not investigate for yourselves. Yet is it not absurd for you to consider these orators themselves the basest of your citizens, but to regard those whom they praise as worthy men? [22] For they are their own masters in all that they do, and they all but sell the public weal by the voice of the common crier; and they order you to crown, or not to crown, whomsoever they will, setting themselves up as superior to your decrees. I advise you, men of Athens, not to allow the ambitions of those who are ready to lavish their money to be dependent upon the greed of those who serve as pleaders. Otherwise you will teach all to perform the duties imposed by you with the least possible outlay, but to hire the largest number of people possible to utter impudent falsehoods before you in support of their claims.

1 Alexander of Pherae had defeated the Athenian fleet at Peparethus in 361 B.C.

2 Precisely what this partial ἀτιμία （disfranchisement） was, it is impossible to state definitely.

3 This was the celebrated Aristophon of Azenia, who is stated in Aeschin. 3.194 to have averred that he had been acquitted seventy-five times on the charge of introducing bills that were illegal.

There is no situation harder to deal with, men of the jury, than when a man possessing both reputation and ability to speak is audacious enough to lie and is well provided with witnesses. For it becomes necessary for the defendant, no longer to speak merely about the facts of the case, but about the character of the speaker as well, and to show that he ought not to be believed on account of his reputation. [2] If you are to establish the custom, that those who are able speakers and who enjoy a reputation are more to be believed than men of less ability, it will be against yourselves that you will have established this custom. I beg you therefore, if you ever decided any other case upon its merits, without becoming partisans of either side, whether the plaintiff's or the defendant's, but looking to justice alone, to decide the present case upon these principles. And I shall set forth the facts to you from the beginning. [3]

Lycon, the Heracleote,1 men of the jury, of whom the plaintiff himself makes mention, was a customer of my father's bank like the other merchants, a guest friend of Aristonoüs of Decelea2 and Archebiades of Lamptrae,3 and a man of prudence. This Lycon, when he was about to set out on a voyage to Libya, reckoned up his account with my father in the presence of Archebiades and Phrasias, and ordered my father to pay the money which he left （it was sixteen minae forty drachmae, as I shall show you very clearly） to Cephisiades, saying that this Cephisiades was a partner of his, a resident of Scyros,4 but was for the time being abroad on another mercantile enterprise. [4] He instructed Archebiades and Phrasias to point him out and introduce him to my father, when he should return from his journey. It is the custom of all bankers, when a private person deposits money and directs that it be paid to a given person, to write down first the name of the person making the deposit and the amount deposited, and then to write on the margin “to be paid to so-and-so”; and if they know the face of the person to whom payment is to be made, they do merely this, write down whom they are to pay; but, if they do not know it, it is their custom to write on the margin the name also of him who is to introduce and point out the person who is to receive the money. For a grievous misfortune befell this Lycon. [5] No sooner had he set out, and was sailing around the Argolic gulf, than his ship was captured by pirate vessels and his goods taken to Argos, while he himself was shot down by an arrow, and met his death. Immediately after this mischance this man Callippus came to the bank, and asked whether they knew Lycon, the Heracleote. Phormion, who is here present, answered that they knew him. “Was he a customer of yours?” “He was,” said Phormion, “but why do you ask?” “Why?” said he, “I will tell you. He is dead, and, as it happens, I am proxenos5 of the Heracleotes. I demand therefore that you show me your books, that I may know whether he has left any money; for I must of necessity look after the affairs of all the men of Heraclea.” [6] On hearing this, men of the jury, Phormion immediately showed him the books, and, when he had done so, and Callippus （it was he himself, and not another） had read them, and had seen in them the entry, “Lycon, the Heracleote, sixteen hundred and forty drachmae, to be paid to Cephisiades; Archebiades of Lamptrae will identify Cephisiades,” he went off in silence and for more than five months made no mention of the matter. [7] After this Cephisiades, having returned to Athens, came to the bank and demanded the money, and in the presence of Archebiades and Phrasias, men of the jury, the persons whom Lycon had introduced to my father, and had hidden to identify Cephisiades, when he should return and in the presence of other witnesses also, Phormion, who is here in court, counted out and paid him the sixteen minae forty drachmae.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, the clerk shall read you the depositions which bear upon all these facts.“ Depositions ” [8]

That all I have told you is true, men of the jury, you have learned from the depositions. However, a long time after this, the plaintiff Callippus came up to my father in the city, and asked him if Cephisiades, to whom according to the entry in the book the money left by Lycon the Heracleote was to be paid, had returned to Athens. On my father's replying that he thought so, but, if he wanted to go down to the Peiraeus, he would find out the truth, Callippus said to him, “Do you know, Pasion, what it is that I am asking you?”— [9] （and by Zeus and Apollo and Demeter, I shall make no false statement to you, men of the jury, but shall relate to you what I heard from my father）—“You have a chance,” he continued, “to do a good turn to me, and no harm to yourself. It happens that I am proxenos of the Heracleotes, and you would be glad, I should think, to have me get the money rather than an alien who resides in Scyros, and is a man of no account. Matters have turned out like this. Lycon was without children, and has left, as I am informed, no heir in his house. [10] More than this, when he was brought to Argos, wounded, he gave to Strammenus, the Argive proxenos of the Heracleotes, the property which was brought in with him. I, therefore, am likewise in a position to claim the money that is here; for I think it is right that I should have it. Do you, therefore, if Cephisiades has not recovered it, say, if he should come here, that I dispute his claim; and if he has recovered it, say that I came with witnesses and demanded that the money be produced, or the person who has received it; and, if anyone tries to defraud me, let him know that he is defrauding a proxenos.” [11] After he had spoken thus, my father answered, “Callippus, I want to oblige you （I should be mad, if I did not）, but on this condition, that I shall not damage my own reputation, nor suffer any loss through the business; to suggest what you propose to Archebiades and Aristonoüs and to Cephisiades himself, can cause me no trouble; but if they do not choose to do as you say at my suggestion, you must talk to them yourself.” “Be easy in your mind, Pasion,” said he; “if you like, you will force them to do what I want.” [12]

This, men of the jury, is what the plaintiff said to my father, and what my father repeated to Archebiades and Cephisiades at the plaintiff's request and as a favor to him; and from this, little by little, this suit has been got up. I was ready to swear by the most solemn of oaths, that I verily heard these statements from my father. [13] The plaintiff, however, who demands that you believe him as one speaking the truth, waited for three years after my father had spoken for the first time to Archebiades and the other friends of Cephisiades, and after they had refused to pay any attention to Callippus or to what he said; then, when he learned that my father was in poor health, and had difficulty in coming up to the city, and that his sight was failing, [14] he brought an action against him, not indeed an action for money, like the present one, but an action for damages, declaring that my father had wrought him injury by paying to Cephisiades the money which Lycon, the Heracleote, had left in his keeping after having promised not to pay it without the plaintiff's consent. After he had brought suit, he took back the papers from the public arbitrator, and challenged my father to refer the case to Lysitheides, a friend of Callippus himself and of Isocrates and Aphareus,6 and an acquaintance of my father. [15] My father gave his consent, and during his lifetime Lysitheides despite his intimacy with these men did not venture to commit any wrong against us. And yet some of the plaintiff's friends are so lacking in shame, that they had the audacity to depose that Callippus challenged my father to take an oath, and that my father refused to swear before Lysitheides; and they imagine that they can convince you that in that case Lysitheides, a friend of Callippus and the one acting as arbitrator in the case, would have refrained from making an immediate award against my father, especially since my father thus refused to make himself the judge of his own case.7 [16]

That I am telling the truth and that these men are lying, is proved, I claim, by the very fact that Lysitheides would have made the award against my father, and that I should now be defendant in an ejectment suit, and not in an action for money; and, besides this, I shall bring before you as witnesses the persons who were present on the various occasions when I met the plaintiff before Lysitheides.“ Witnesses ” [17]

That he did not challenge my father to an oath at that time, but now maligns him after his death, and brings forward his own intimates who recklessly bear false witness against me, you can easily see from the circumstantial evidence and from the deposition. And that I was ready on my father's behalf to take the oath which the law prescribes when an heir is sued in court on a charge brought against one who is dead,— [18] that, namely, I believed that my father never agreed to pay the plaintiff the money which Lycon left, and that the plaintiff was not introduced to my father by Lycon; and Phormion was ready to swear that in very truth he had himself reckoned up the amount with Lycon in the presence of Archebiades, and that instructions were given him to pay the money to Cephisiades, and that Archebiades had identified Cephisiades for him; [19] also that when Callippus came for the first time to the bank, saying that Lycon was dead and that he, Callippus, claimed the right to inspect the books to see whether the Heracleote had left any money, he, Phormion, had at once shown him the books, and that Callippus, after seeing the entry that payment was to be made to Cephisiades, went away in silence, without filing any counterclaim or making any protest to him about the payment of the money—in proof of all these matters the clerk shall read you the depositions which establish both facts, and also the law.“ Depositions ”“ Law ” [20]

Now, men of the jury, I shall show you that Lycon had no dealings with Callippus; for I think this will be something to confound the impudent assurance of this man, who asserts that this money was given to him by Lycon as a present. Lycon had lent to Megacleides of Eleusis and his brother Thrasyllus the sum of forty minae for a voyage to Acê8 but, when they changed their minds and decided not to risk the voyage to that point, Lycon, after making some complaints against Megacleides regarding the interest, and believing that he had been deceived, quarrelled with him and went to law for the purpose of recovering his loan. [21] The proceedings were prolonged, as so large a sum was at stake, yet Lycon never at any time called in Callippus for consultation; he sought the aid of Archebiades and the friends of Archebiades, and it was Archebiades who brought about a settlement between them.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, I shall bring before you Megacleides himself as a witness to these facts.“ Deposition ” [22]

You see, men of the jury, how intimate Lycon was with Callippus. He neither called him in for consultation about his affairs, nor did he ever put up at the home of Callippus as a guest; and this very fact is the one thing to which the plaintiff's friends have not ventured to depose, that, namely, he ever did put up at his house; for they knew well that, if they told any such lie as this, they would at once be convicted by the slaves when these were put to the torture. [23] But I wish to mention to you a piece of circumstantial evidence so striking, that it will, I think, convince you that Callippus has uttered nothing but a pack of lies. If Lycon, men of the jury, had been as fond of the plaintiff and as intimate with him as the plaintiff claims, and had wished to give him this money as a present in the event of anything happening to himself, [24] would it not have been better to have left the money outright in the custody of Callippus, in which case, if he returned safe, he would have recovered it duly and justly from one who was his friend and his proxenos, and, if anything had happened to him, he would have given the money outright as he purposed? Would this, I ask, not have been better than leaving it in the bank? For my part, I think the former course would have been fairer and more highminded. However, he is seen to have done nothing of the kind, so you must regard this as presumptive evidence; no; he gave written and oral instructions that it was to Cephisiades that the money was to be paid. [25]

I would have you regard the following point also, men of the jury. Callippus was one of your citizens, a man able both to render a service and to do an injury, while Cephisiades was a resident alien and a person without influence; so one cannot suppose that my father would have taken the side of Cephisiades in defiance of justice rather than do what was right for the plaintiff. [26] Ah, but he will say perhaps, that my father got some private profit out of the money, and therefore took sides with Cephisiades rather than with the plaintiff. Then we are to believe, in the first place, that he wronged a man who would be able to do him injury to twice the amount of his gains, and secondly that my father in this instance was a base lover of gain, whereas in regard to special taxes and public services and gifts to the state he was not. [27] And did he, who never wronged a stranger, wrong Callippus? And did the plaintiff, as he alleges, tender an oath to my father as to one who was a worthy man and would tell no falsehood, and yet does he now speak of him as a base fellow, who erases records of deposits? And, if my father refused to take the oath, as the plaintiff claims, or to make payment, how could he have escaped immediate condemnation? Who can believe this, men of the jury? I certainly think no one can. [28] And has Archebiades forsooth sunk to such an extreme of baseness as to testify against Callippus, a fellow-demesman of his own, one in public life, and an official, and to say that I am telling the truth while Callippus is lying, and all this, when he knows that, if Callippus chooses to proceed against him for false testimony, or to do no more than put him on oath, he will be compelled to take whatever oath Callippus may require? [29] And again, can anyone persuade you that Archebiades would perjure himself in order that Cephisiades, a resident alien, might get the money, or Phormion either, a man whom Callippus charges with having expunged some records of deposit? It is not a probable thing, men of the jury. Nor is it right to judge either Archebiades or my father guilty of any act of baseness; you know that my father was too emulous of honor to indulge in any base or shameful practices, and that his relations with Callippus were not such as to lead him through contempt to do him an injury. [30] Callippus indeed does not appear to me to be a man of such slight importance as to be treated with contempt—a man of such influence that last year, after he had instituted this action against me, and had challenged me to refer the matter to Lysitheides for arbitration （and I, although scorned by him, yet took wise counsel in this at any rate—I made the reference in due legal form, and carried the matter before the magistrate）, Callippus, I say, induced the arbitrator, who had been designated according to the laws, to pronounce his award without taking oath, although I protested that he should give it on oath as the laws ordain, his purpose being that he might be able to say before you, that Lysitheides, a good and worthy man, had already given a decision regarding the matters at issue. [31] Lysitheides, men of the jury, so long as my father lived, would probably not have wronged him either with or without an oath, for he had a regard for him; but for me he had no regard, while not upon his oath, although perhaps, if put upon his oath, he would have abstained from wronging me in his own interest. This is why he made the award without taking an oath.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, I shall, in regard to these matters also, bring forward as witnesses those who were present.“ Witnesses ” [32]

That Callippus is able to achieve his ends contrary to the laws and contrary to justice, you have heard, men of the jury, from the deposition. I, on my part, beseech you on my own behalf and on my father's, to bear in mind that, in support of all that I have said, I have produced before you witnesses and circumstantial evidence and laws and sworn statements; and in the case of the plaintiff I have shown that, while, if he had any claim to this money, he might have proceeded against Cephisiades, who admits that he collected the money and has it in his possession, and still take these pledges from me, he does not proceed against him, although he knows that the money is not in our hands—I beseech you to remember all these facts, and to give a verdict in my favor. [33] If you do this, you will have rendered a decision both just and in accordance with the laws, and moreover one that is worthy of yourselves and of my father; since for myself, I should rather let you take everything I have, than pay an unjust claim as the victim of a malicious suit.

1 Heraclea, a colony of the Megarians and Boeotians on the coast of Bithynia, on the Black Sea.

2 Decelea, a deme of the tribe Hippothontis.

3 Lamptrae, a deme of the tribe Erectheïs.

4 Scyros, an island in the Aegean, east of Euboea.

5 The proxenos was sort of consular agent, empowered to act in the interest of his country and his countryman in a foreign state.

6 These were doubtless the famous orator and the tragic poet.

7 By refusing, that is, to take the oath on the basis of which the award would have been made.

8 Acê, a town on the coast of Phoenicia.

I have no desire to bring a baseless and malicious charge; but I have filed this inventory of property because I have suffered wrong and indignity from these men and therefore thought it my duty to avenge myself upon them. Of this you will find convincing proof, men of the jury, in the amount of the valuation, and in my having filed the information in my own name. For, I take it, if I had wished to bring a malicious suit, I should not have listed slaves worth two minae and a half, the sum at which the claimant himself has fixed their value, and myself have run the risk of losing a thousand drachmae, and forfeiting the right ever again to indict anyone on my own behalf. Nor, again, was I so lacking in resources or in friends as to be unable to find some one to file the information; [2] but I thought it the most outrageous thing ever seen among men, that I should myself suffer the wrong, but that another should lend his name on behalf of me, the one wronged; and that this would then serve as presumptive proof to my adversaries that I am lying whenever I speak to you of our enmity; for they would say that no other man would have filed the information, if I were myself the one wronged. It was for this reason that I filed the information. And now that I have done so, if I can prove that the slaves belong to Arethusius, to whom they are stated in the information to belong, I relinquish to the state the three fourths which under the law are given to the private citizen filing the information; for myself it is enough to have taken vengeance. [3] If, now, there were water enough in the water-clock to permit my telling you in detail from the beginning all the benefits I have conferred on them and all the acts they have committed toward me, I am sure that you would feel more lenient toward me for my resentment against them, and would deem these men the most wicked of humankind. As it is, however, even double the amount of water that I now have would be insufficient. I shall therefore relate to you the greatest and most flagrant of their wrongdoings, and those which gave rise to the filing of the information; the bulk of them I shall pass over. [4]

Nicostratus, whom you see here in court, men of the jury, was a neighbor of mine in the country, and a man of my own age. We had long known each other, but after my father's death, when I went to live in the country, where I still live, we had much more to do with one another, since we were neighbors and men of the same age. As time went on we became very intimate; indeed I came to feel on such intimate terms with him that he never failed to win any favor he asked of me; and he, on his part, was useful to me in looking after my affairs and managing them, and whenever I was abroad on public service as trierarch, or on any private business of my own, I used to leave him in charge of everything on the farm. [5] It happened that I was sent as trierarch round the Peloponnesus, and from thence I had to carry to Sicily the ambassadors whom the people had elected. I was forced to set sail in haste, so I wrote to Nicostratus, telling him that I had to put to sea, and that I should not be able to come home for fear of delaying the ambassadors; and I charged him to look after the administration of matters at home, as he had done before. [6]

During my absence three household slaves of Nicostratus ran away from him from his farm, two of those whom I had given him, and one of a number whom he had purchased for himself. He pursued them, but was taken captive by a trireme and brought to Aegina, where he was sold. When I had come home with the ship of which I was in command, Deinon, this man's brother, came to me and told me of his misfortunes, stating that, although Nicostratus had sent him letters, he had not gone in quest of him for want of funds for the journey, and he told me also that he heard that his brother was in a dreadful condition. [7] When I heard this I was touched with compassion for Nicostratus on account of his ill-fortune, and at once sent his brother Deinon to fetch him, giving him three hundred drachmae for his journey. When Nicostratus got home, he came at once to me, embraced me, thanked me for giving his brother money for his journey, bewailed his own unhappy lot, and, while complaining of his own relatives, begged me to succor him, just as in time past I had been a true friend to him. Then he wept, and told me that he had been ransomed for twenty-six minae, and urged me to contribute something toward the cost of his redemption. [8]

On hearing this story, I felt pity for him, and moreover I saw in what wretched plight he was, and he showed me the wounds of the fetters on his calves （he has the scars of them still, but, if you bid him show them to you, he will not wish to do so）; I therefore answered that in time past I had been a true friend to him, and that now I would help him in his distress, that I forgave him the three hundred drachmae which I had given his brother for the expenses of his journey to fetch him, and that I would make a contribution of one thousand drachmae toward his ransom. [9] Nor did I make this promise in words only and fail to perform it in act; but, since I was not well provided with funds in consequence of my quarrel with Phormion and of his depriving me of the estate which my father left me, I took to Theocles, who at that time was carrying on a banking business, some cups and a chaplet of gold, which I happened to have in my house as a part of my ancestral inheritance, and bade him give Nicostratus a thousand drachmae; and that sum I gave him outright as a gift, and I acknowledge that it was a gift. [10] A few days afterwards he came up to me weeping, and told me that the strangers who had lent him the ransom money were demanding payment of the balance, and that it was stipulated in the agreement that he should pay it within thirty days or be indebted for double the amount; that, moreover, no one would either buy or take a mortgage on the farm adjoining mine, because his brother Arethusius, who is the owner of the slaves mentioned in the information, would not suffer anyone to buy it or take it on mortgage, alleging that money was owing him on it already. [11] “Do you, therefore,” he said, “provide for me the amount which is lacking before the thirty days have passed, in order that what I have already paid, the thousand drachmae, may not be lost, and that I myself be not liable to seizure. I shall make a collection from my friends,” he said, “and when I have got rid of the strangers, I shall pay you in full whatever you shall have lent me. You know,” he said, “that the laws enact that a person ransomed from the enemy shall be the property of the ransomer, if he fail to pay the redemption money.” [12]

When I heard these words of Nicostratus, having no idea that he was lying, I answered, as was natural for a young man who was an intimate friend, and who was far from thinking that he would be defrauded, “Nicostratus, in time past I was a true friend to you, and now in your misfortunes I have helped you to the full extent of my power. But since at the moment you are unable to find the whole amount due, I indeed have no funds on hand, nor have I money any more than yourself, but I grant you a loan of whatever part of my property you choose, for you to mortgage for the balance of your debt, and to use the money without interest for a year, and to pay off the strangers. When you have made the collection from your friends, pay off my mortgage, as you yourself propose.” [13] Hearing this, Nicostratus thanked me, and bade me to proceed with the matter with all speed before the expiration of the days in the course of which he said he must pay the ransom. Accordingly I mortgaged my lodging-house for sixteen minae, to Arcesas of Pambotadae,1 whom Nicostratus himself introduced to me, and he lent me the money at the interest rate of eight obols a month for each mina.2 But, when Nicostratus had got the money, so far from showing any gratitude for what I had done for him, he immediately began to lay a plot against me to rob me of my money and become my enemy, in order that I might be at a loss how to deal with the matter, since I was young and without experience in affairs, and might not exact from him the sum for which the lodging-house had been mortgaged, but might forgive him the debt. [14]

Accordingly he first conspired against me with some persons with whom I was at law, and bound himself by an oath to support them; then, after my action against them had commenced, he divulged to them my arguments, with which he was acquainted, and he entered me as a debtor to the public treasury to the amount of six hundred and ten drachmae, as a fine for non-production of property （although no citation had been served upon me）, having got the case brought on through the agency of Lycidas the miller. As witnesses against me to attest the citation, he entered the name of his own brother, this Arethusius to whom these slaves belong, and another person; and they were prepared, in the event of my bringing to a preliminary hearing the suits which I had entered against my relatives3 who were wronging me, to lay an information against me, as being a debtor to the treasury, and throw me into prison. [15] And more than all this, he who had secured a judgement against me for six hundred and ten drachmae, when no citation had been served upon me, and had entered the names of false witnesses to the citation, made a forcible entry into my house and carried off all the furniture to the value of more than twenty minae; he did not leave a thing. I thought it my duty to avenge myself, and after paying the debt to the treasury on hearing of the fine, I was proceeding to indict the one who admitted that he had cited me to appear （that is, Arethusius）, on a charge of false citation, as the law directs. He, however, came to my farm by night, cut off all the choice fruit-grafts that were there, and the tree-vines as well, and broke down the nursery-beds of olive trees set in rows round about, making worse havoc than enemies in war would have done. [16] More than this, as they were neighbors and my farm adjoined theirs, they sent into it in the daytime a young boy who was an Athenian, and put him up to plucking off the flowers from my rose-bed, in order that, if I caught him and in a fit of anger put him in bonds or struck him, assuming him to be a slave, they might bring against me an indictment for assault.

When they failed in this, and I merely called witnesses to observe the wrong done me without committing any offence against them myself, they played against me the most dastardly trick. [17] When I had now brought my indictment of him for false citation to the preliminary examination and was about to bring the case into court, Nicostratus lay in wait for me near the stone quarries, as I was coming back late from Peiraeus, and struck me with his fist and seizing me around the waist was on the point of throwing me into the quarries, had not some people come up and, hearing my cries, run to my assistance. A few days later, I came into court on a day that was divided up among a number of cases, and proving that he had falsely attested the citation and was guilty of all the other crimes which I have mentioned, I won a conviction. [18] When it came to fixing the penalty, the jurymen wished to impose a sentence of death upon him, but I begged them to do nothing like that on a prosecution brought by me, and I agreed to the fine of a talent which these men themselves proposed,—not that I wished to save Arethusius from the death penalty （for he deserved death on account of the wrongs which he had committed against me）, but that I, Pasion's son, made a citizen by a decree of the people, might not be said to have caused the death of any Athenian.

To prove that I have told you the truth, I shall call before you witnesses to all these facts.“ Witnesses ” [19]

The wrongs done to me by these people, men of the jury, which led me to file the information, I have made clear to you. That these slaves are the property of Arethusius, and that I listed them in the inventory because they formed a part of his estate, I shall proceed to show you. Cerdon he reared from early childhood; and to prove that he belonged to Arethusius, I shall bring before you witnesses who know the fact.“ Witnesses ” [20]

I shall also bring before you witnesses to prove that Arethusius got the wages on his account from all the persons with whom Cerdon ever worked, and that he used, as being his master, to receive compensation or give it, whenever Cerdon wrought any damage.“ Witnesses ”

As for Manes: Arethusius lent some money to Archepolis of Peiraeus, and when Archepolis was unable to pay either the interest or the principal in full, he made over to him Manes in settlement.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, I shall bring before you witnesses to establish these statements.“ Witnesses ” [21]

Furthermore, from the following facts also you will see that the men belong to Arethusius. For whenever they bought up the produce of an orchard, or hired themselves out to reap a harvest, or undertook any other piece of farming work, it was Arethusius who made the purchase or paid the wages on their behalf.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, I shall bring before you witnesses to establish these statements also.“ Witnesses ” [22]

All the evidence which I had to offer to prove that the slaves belong to Arethusius, I have laid before you. I wish, however, to speak also about the challenge which these men tendered me, and which I also tendered them. They challenged me at the preliminary hearing, stating that they were ready to deliver up the slaves, that I myself might put them to the torture, their wish being that this offer should serve as a sort of evidence for their side. [23] I answered, however, in the presence of witnesses, that I was ready to go with them to the senate, and in conjunction with the senate or the Eleven4 to receive the slaves for the torture, telling them that, if my suit against them had been a private one, I should have accepted the slaves for the torture, if they had offered them, but that, as it was, both the slaves and the information belonged to the state5; and therefore the examination by the torture should be conducted by a public official. [24] I thought that it was not proper for me as a private individual to put public slaves to the torture; for I was not empowered to conduct the torture, nor was it proper that I should decide on the meaning of the answers given by the men. I thought that the Eleven, or persons chosen by the senate, should have everything written down, and then, having sealed up the evidence extorted by the torture—the answers, that is, given by the men—should produce it in court, that you might hear it, and in the light of this reach whatever verdict you might think right. [25] For if the men had been put to the torture privately by me, everything would have been disputed by these men; but, if publicly, we should have kept quiet, and the officers or those chosen by the senate would have carried on the torture as far as they saw fit. When I made this offer, they declared that they would not deliver up the slaves to the officials, nor would they go with me to the senate.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, call, please, the witnesses to these facts.“ Witnesses ” [26]

Their shameless impudence in laying claim to what is yours appears to me manifest on many grounds, but I shall make their character to appear most clearly by a reference to your laws. For these men, when the jurors wished to impose a sentence of death upon Arethusius, begged the jurors to impose a fine in money, and begged me to give my assent to this; and they agreed to be jointly responsible for the payment. [27] But so far are they from making payment according to their guarantee, that they even lay claim to what is yours. And yet the laws enact that any man's estate shall be confiscated who, after guaranteeing any sum due to the state, does not make good his guarantee; so that, even if the slaves belonged to them, they ought to be state-property, if the laws are of any use. [28] And before Arethusius became a debtor to the state, he was admitted to be the richest of the brothers, but since the laws declare his property to be yours, Arethusius is made out to be a poor man, and his mother lays claim to one part of his property, and his brothers to another. If they had wished to act fairly toward you, they should have disclosed the entire estate of Arethusius, and then have filed a claim, if any of their own property had been included in the inventory. [29] If, then, you reflect that there will be no lack of persons to lay claim to what is yours—for they will either suborn some orphans or heiresses and claim your sympathy, or they will talk about old age and embarrassments and a mother's maintenance, and by dwelling tearfully upon these matters by which they think they can most easily deceive you, they will try to rob the state of what is due her;—if, I say, you disregard all these tricks, and reach an adverse verdict, you will decide aright.

1 Pambotadae, a deme of the tribe Erectheïs.

2 That is, at the rate of 16 per cent.

3 The reference is to his law-suits with Phormion and Stephanus; see Dem. 36, Dem. 45 and Dem. 46.

4 The board of police commissioners at Athens.

5 Since Arethusius was a state-debtor.

With gross outrage I have met, men of the jury, at the hands of the defendant, Conon, and have suffered such bodily injury that for a very long time neither my relatives nor any of the attending physicians thought that I should survive. Contrary to expectation, however, I did recover and regain my strength, and I then brought against him this action for the assault. All my friends and relatives, whose advice I asked, declared that for what he had done the defendant was liable to summary seizure as a highwayman, or to public indictments for criminal outrage1; but they urged and advised me not to take upon myself matters which I should not be able to carry, or to appear to be bringing suit for the maltreatment I had received in a manner too ambitious for one so young. I took this course, therefore, and, in deference to their advice, have instituted a private suit, although I should have been very glad, men of Athens, to prosecute the defendant on a capital charge. [2] And for this you will all pardon me, I am sure, when you hear what I have suffered. For, grievous as was the injury which at that time fell to my lot, it was no more so than the subsequent insults of the defendant. I ask as my right, therefore, and implore you all without distinction, to listen with goodwill, while I tell you what I have suffered, and then, if you think that I have been the victim of wrongful and lawless acts, to render me the aid which is my due. I shall state to you from the beginning each incident as it occurred in the fewest words I can. [3]

Two years ago I went out to Panactum,2 where we had been ordered to do garrison duty. The sons of the defendant, Conon, encamped near us, as I would to heaven they had not done; for our original enmity and our quarrels began in fact just there. How these came about, you shall hear. These men used always to spend the entire day after luncheon in drinking, and they kept this up continually as long as we were in the garrison. We, on our part, conducted ourselves while in the country just as we were wont to do here. [4] Well, at whatever time the others might be having their dinner, these men were already drunk and abusive, at first toward our body-slaves, but in the end toward ourselves. For, alleging that the slaves annoyed them with smoke while getting dinner, or were impudent toward them, or whatever else they pleased, they used to beat them and empty their chamber-pots over them, or befoul them with urine; there was nothing in the way of brutality and outrage in which they did not indulge. When we saw this, we were annoyed and at first expostulated with them, but they mocked at us, and would not desist, and so our whole mess in a body—not I alone apart from the rest—went to the general and told him what was going on. [5] He rebuked them with stern words, not only for their brutal treatment of us, but for their whole behavior in camp; yet so far from desisting, or being ashamed of their acts, they burst in upon us that very evening as soon as it grew dark, and, beginning with abusive language, they proceeded to beat me, and they made such a clamor and tumult about the tent, that both the general and the taxiarchs3 came and some of the other soldiers, by whose coming we were prevented from suffering, or ourselves doing, some damage that could not be repaired, being victims as we were of their drunken violence. [6] When matters had gone thus far, it was natural that after our return home there should exist between us feelings of anger and hatred. However, on my own part I swear by the gods I never saw fit to bring an action against them, or to pay any attention to what had happened. I simply made this resolve—in future to be on my guard, and to take care to have nothing to do with people of that sort.

I wish in the first place to bring before you depositions proving these statements, and then to show what I have suffered at the hands of the defendant himself, in order that you may see that Conon, who should have dealt rigorously with the first offences, has himself added to these far more outrageous acts of his own doing.“ Depositions ” [7]

These, then, are the acts of which I thought proper to take no account. Not long after this, however, one evening, when I was taking a walk, as my custom was, in the agora with Phanostratus of Cephisia,4 a man of my own age,5 Ctesias, the son of the defendant, passed by me in a drunken state opposite the Leocorion,6 near the house of Pythodorus. At sight of us he uttered a yell, and, saying something to himself, as a drunken man does, in an unintelligible fashion, passed on up, toward Melitê.7 Gathered together there for a drinking bout, as we afterwards learned, at the house of Pamphilus the fuller, were the defendant Conon, a certain Theotimus, Archeblades, Spintharus, son of Eubulus, Theogenes, son of Andromenes, and a number of others. Ctesias made them all get up, and proceeded to the agora. [8] It happened that we were turning back from the temple of Persephonê,8 and on our walk were again about opposite the Leocorion when we met them. When we got close to them one of them, I don't know which, fell upon Phanostratus and pinned him, while the defendant Conon together with his son and the son of Andromenes threw themselves upon me. They first stripped me of my cloak, and then, tripping me up they thrust me into the mud and leapt upon me and beat me with such violence that my lip was split open and my eyes closed; and they left me in such a state that I could neither get up nor utter a sound. As I lay there I heard them utter much outrageous language, [9] a great deal of which was such foul abuse that I should shrink from repeating some of it in your presence. One thing, however, which is an indication of the fellow's insolence and a proof that the whole affair has been of his doing, I will tell you. He began to crow, mimicking fighting cocks that have won a battle and his fellows bade him flap his elbows against his sides like wings. After this some people who happened to pass took me home stripped as I was, for these men had gone off taking my cloak with them. When my bearers got to my door, my mother and the women servants began shrieking and wailing, and it was with difficulty that I was at length carried to a bath. There I was thoroughly bathed, and shown to the surgeons.

To prove that these statements of mine are true, I shall call before you the witnesses who attest them.“ Witnesses ” [10]

It happened, men of the jury, that Euxitheus of Cholleidae,9 who is here in court and is a relative of mine, and with him Meidias, on their way back from a dinner somewhere, came up to me, when I was now near my home, followed after me as I was borne to the bath, and were present when men brought the surgeon. I was so weak, that, as it was far for me to be carried from the bath to my home, those who were with me decided to carry me to the house of Meidias for that night; and so they did.

Now let the clerk take the depositions establishing these facts, that you may understand that a host of people know what outrage I suffered at the hands of these men.“ Depositions ”

Take now the deposition of the surgeon also.“ Deposition ” [11]

At that time, then, as the immediate result of the blows and the maltreatment I received, I was brought into this condition, as you hear from my own lips, and as all the witnesses who saw me at the time have testified. Afterwards, although the swellings on my face and the bruises, my physician said, did not give him great concern, continuous attacks of fever ensued and violent and acute pains throughout all my body, but especially in my sides and the pit of my stomach, and I was unable to take my food. [12] Indeed, the surgeon said that, if a copious hemorrhage had not spontaneously occurred, while my agony was extreme and my attendants were at their wits' end, I should have died of internal suppuration; but as it was, this loss of blood saved me.

To prove now that these statements of mine are true, and that from the blows which these men dealt me there resulted an illness so severe that it brought me to the point of death. Read the depositions of the surgeon and of those who came to see me.“ Depositions ” [13]

That the wounds I received, then, were not slight or trifling, but that I was brought near to death by the outrage and brutality of these men, and that the action which I have entered is far more lenient than the case deserves, has been made clear to you, I think, on many grounds. I fancy, however, that some of you are wondering what in the world there can be that Conon will have the audacity to say in reply to these charges. I wish, therefore, to tell you in advance the defence which I hear he is prepared to make. He will try to divert your attention from the outrage and the actual facts, and will seek to turn the whole matter into mere jest and ridicule. [14] He will tell you that there are many people in the city, sons of respectable persons, who in sport, after the manner of young men, have given themselves nicknames, such as Ithyphalli or Autolecythi,10 and that some of them are infatuated with mistresses; that his own son is one of these and has often given and received blows on account of some girl; and that things of this sort are natural for young men. As for me and all my brothers, he will make out that we are not only drunken and insolent fellows, but also unfeeling and vindictive.11 [15]

For myself, men of the jury, deeply indignant though I am at what I have suffered, I should feel no less indignation at this, and should count myself the victim of a fresh outrage, if you will pardon the strong expression, if this fellow Conon shall be deemed by you to be speaking the truth about us, and you are to be so misguided as to assume that a man bears the character which he claims for himself or which someone else accuses him of possessing, and respectable people are to derive no benefit from their daily life and conduct. [16] No man in the world has ever seen us drunken or committing outrages, and I hold that I am doing nothing unfeeling in demanding to receive satisfaction according to the law for the wrongs I have suffered. This man's sons are welcome, so far as I am concerned, to be Ithyphalli and Autolecythi; I only pray the gods that these things and all things like them may recoil upon Conon and his sons; [17] for they are those who initiate one another with the rites of Ithyphallus, and indulge in acts which decent people cannot even speak of without deep disgrace, to say nothing of performing them.

But what has all this to do with me? Why, for my part, I am amazed if they have discovered any excuse or pretext which will make it possible in your court for any man, if convicted of assault and battery, to escape punishment. The laws take a far different view, and have provided that even pleas of necessity shall not be pressed too far. For example （you see I have had to inquire into these matters and inform myself about them because of the defendant）, [18] there are actions for evil-speaking; and I am told that these are instituted for this purpose—that men may not be led on, by using abusive language back and forth, to deal blows to one another. Again, there are actions for battery; and these, I hear, exist for this reason—that a man, finding himself the weaker party, may not defend himself with a stone or anything of that sort, but may await legal redress. Again, there are public prosecutions for wounding, to the end that wounds may not lead to murder. [19] The least of these evils, namely abusive language, has, I think, been provided for to prevent the last and most grievous, that murder may not ensue, and that men be not led on step by step from vilification to blows, from blows to wounds, and from wounds to murder, but that in the laws its own penalty should be provided for each of these acts, and that the decision should not be left to the passion or the will of the person concerned. [20]

This, then, is what is ordained in the laws; but if Conon says, “We belong to a club of Ithyphalli, and in our love-affairs we strike and throttle whom we please,” are you, then, going to let him off with a laugh? I think not. No one of you would have been seized with a fit of laughter, if he had happened to be present when I was dragged and stripped and maltreated, when I was borne home on a litter to the house which I had left strong and well, and my mother rushed out, and the women set up such a wailing and screaming （as if someone had died in the house） that some of the neighbors sent to inquire what it was that had happened. [21] Speaking broadly, men of the jury, I hold it right that no man should have any excuse or immunity to rely on, when he is brought before you, so valid that he is to be permitted to commit outrage; but if allowance is to be made for anyone, it should be for those only who commit an act of this sort in the folly of youth,—it is for these, I say, that such indulgence should be reserved, and even in their case it should not extend to the remission of the penalty, but to its mitigation. [22] But when a man over fifty years of age in the company of younger men, and these his own sons, not only did not discourage or prevent their wantonness, but has proved himself the leader and the foremost and the vilest of all, what punishment could he suffer that would be commensurate with his deeds? For my part, I think that even death would be too mild. Why, if Conon had committed none of the acts himself, but had merely stood by while his son Ctesias did what he is himself proved to have done, you would regard him with loathing, and rightly. [23] For if he has trained up his sons in such fashion that they feel no fear or shame while committing in his presence crimes for some of which the punishment of death is ordained, what punishment do you think too severe for him? I think these actions are a proof that he has no reverence for his own father; for if he had honored and feared him, he would have exacted honor and fear from his own children. [24]

Now take the statutes, that concerning assault and that concerning highway robbers. You will see that the defendant is amenable to them both. Read.“ Laws ”

By both these statutes, then, the defendant Conon is amenable for what he has done; for he committed both assault and highway robbery. If I on my part have not chosen to proceed against him under these statutes, that should fairly prove that I am a peaceful and inoffensive person, not that he is any the less a villain. [25] And, assuredly, if anything had happened to me,12 he would have been liable to a charge of murder and the severest of penalties. At any rate the father of the priestess at Brauron,13 although it was admitted that he had not laid a finger on the deceased, but had merely urged the one who dealt the blow to keep on striking, was banished by the court of the Areopagus. And justly; for, if the bystanders, instead of preventing those who through the influence of drink or anger or any other cause are undertaking to act lawlessly, are themselves to urge them on, there is no hope of safety for one who falls in with lawless rascals; he may be sure that he will be maltreated until they grow weary as was the case with me. [26]

I wish now to tell you what they sought to do at the arbitration; for from this you will perceive their utter insolence. They spun out the time till past midnight, refusing to read the depositions or to put in copies; leading to the altar one at a time our witnesses who were present and putting them on oath; writing depositions which had nothing to do with the case （for instance “that Ctesias was the son of Conon by a mistress, and that he had been treated thus and so”14）—a course of action, men of the jury, which I assure you by the gods roused resentment and disgust in the mind of every one present; and finally they were disgusted at themselves. [27] Be that as it may, when they had had their fill and were tired of acting thus, they put in a challenge with a view to gaining time and preventing the boxes from being sealed, offering to deliver up certain slaves, whose names they wrote down, to be examined as to the assault. And I fancy that their defence will hinge chiefly upon this point. I think, however, that you should all note one thing—that if these men tendered the challenge in order that the inquiry by the torture should take place, and had confidence in this method of proof, they would not have tendered it when the award was now just being announced, when night had fallen and no further pretext was left them; no, [28] before the action had been brought, while I was lying ill and not knowing whether I should recover, and was denouncing the defendant to all who came to see me as the one who dealt the first blow and was the perpetrator of most of the maltreatment I received,—it was then, I say, that he would have come to my house without delay, bringing with him a number of witnesses; it was then that he would have offered to deliver up his slaves for the torture, and would have invited some members of the Areopagus to attend; for if I had died, the case would have come before them. [29] But if he was unaware of this situation, and having this proof, as he will now say, made no preparation against so serious a danger, surely when I had left my sick bed and summoned him, he would at our first meeting before the arbitrator have shown himself ready to deliver up the slaves. But he did nothing of the kind.

To prove that I am speaking the truth, and that the challenge was tendered merely for the sake of gaining time, read this deposition. It will be clear from this.“ Deposition ” [30]

With regard to the examination by the torture, then, bear these facts in mind: the time when the challenge was tendered, his evasive purpose in doing this, and the first occasions, in the course of which he showed that he did not wish this test to be accorded him, and neither proposed it nor demanded it. Since, however, he was convicted on all these points before the arbitrator, just as he is now, and proved manifestly guilty of all the charges against him, he puts into the box a false deposition, [31] and writes at the head of it as witnesses the names of people whom I think you will know well when you hear them— “Diotimus, son of Diotimus, of Icaria,15 Archebiades, son of Demoteles, of Halae,16 Chaeretimus, son of Chaerimenes, of Pithus,17 depose that they were returning from a dinner with Conon, and came upon Ariston and the son of Conon fighting in the agora, and that Conon did not strike Ariston,” [32] —as though you would believe them off-hand, and would have no regard to the truth of the matter that, to begin with, Lysistratus and Paseas and Niceratus and Diodorus, who have expressly testified that they saw me being beaten by Conon, stripped of my cloak, and suffering all the other forms of brutal outrage I experienced—men, remember, who were unacquainted with me and who happened on the affair by chance—that these men, I say, would never in the world have consented to give testimony which they would have known to be false, if they had not seen the maltreatment which I received; and, secondly, that I myself, if I had not been thus treated by the defendant, should never have let off men who are admitted by my opponents themselves to have struck me, and have chosen to proceed first against the one who never laid a finger on me. [33] Why should I? No; the man who was first to strike me and from whom I suffered the greatest indignity, he it is whom I am suing, whom I abhor, and whom I am now prosecuting. My words, then, are all true and are proved to be so, whereas the defendant, if he had not brought forward these witnesses, had, I take it, not an argument to advance, but would have had silently to undergo an immediate conviction. But it stands to reason, that these men, who have been partners in his drinking bouts and have shared in many deeds of this sort, have given false testimony. If matters are to come to this pass, if once certain people shall prove shameless enough to give manifestly false testimony, and there shall be no advantage in the truth, it will be a terrible state of things. [34]

Ah but, they will say, they are not people of that sort. I am inclined to think, however, that many of you know Diotimus and Archebiades and Chaeretimus, the grey-headed man yonder, men who by day put on sour looks and pretend to play the Spartan18 and wear short cloaks and single-soled shoes, but when they get together and are by themselves leave no form of wickedness or indecency untried. [35] And these are their brilliant and vigorous pleas, “What! Are we not to give testimony for one another? Isn't that the way of comrades and friends? What is there that you really fear in the charges he will bring against you? Do some people say they saw him being beaten? We will testify that he wasn't even touched by you. That his cloak was stripped off? We will testify that they had done this first to you. That his lip has been sewn up? We will say that your head or something else has been broken.” [36] But I bring forward surgeons also as witnesses. This, men of the jury, is not the case with them, but except what is deposed by themselves they will have not a single witness against me. But Heaven knows I could not tell you how great and how reckless a readiness you may expect on their part to perpetrate anything whatever.

Now that you may know what sort of things they do as they go about—read them these depositions, and do you check the flow of the water.“ Depositions ” [37]

Well then, if people break into houses and beat those who come in their way, do you suppose they would scruple to swear falsely on a scrap of paper in the interest of one another—these men who are partners in such great and such reckless malignity and villainy and impudence and outrage? For I certainly think that all these terms fit the deeds they are in the habit of doing. And yet there are other deeds of theirs more dreadful even than these, though I should be unable to find out all who have suffered from them. [38]

The thing, however, which is the most impudent of all that he is going to do, as I hear, I think it better to warn you of in advance. For they say that he will bring his children, and, placing them by his side, will swear by them, imprecating some dread and awful curses of such a nature that a person who heard them and reported them to me was amazed. Now, men of the jury, there is no way of withstanding such audacity; for, I take it, the most honorable men and those who would be the last to tell a falsehood themselves, are most apt to be deceived by such people—not but that they ought to look at their lives and characters before believing them. [39] The contempt, however, which this fellow feels for all sacred things I must tell you about; for I have been forced to make inquiry. For I hear, then, men of the jury, that a certain Bacchius, who was condemned to death in your court, and Aristocrates, the man with the bad eyes, and certain others of the same stamp, and with them this man Conon, were intimates when they were youths, and bore the nickname Triballi19; and that these men used to devour the food set out for Hecatê20 and to gather up on each occasion for their dinner with one another the testicles of the pigs which are offered for purification when the assembly convenes,21 and that they thought less of swearing and perjuring themselves than of anything else in the world. [40] Surely Conon, a man of that sort, is not to be believed on oath; far from it indeed. No; the man who would not swear by any object which your custom does not recognize even an oath which he intended to observe, and would not even think of doing so by the lives of his children, but would suffer anything rather than that; and who, if forced to swear, will take only a customary oath, imprecating destruction upon himself, his race, and his house, is more to be believed than one who swears by his children or is ready to pass through fire.22 I, then, who on every account am more worthy to be believed than you, Conon, offered to take the oath here cited,23 not that through readiness to do anything whatsoever I might avoid paying the penalty for crimes which I had committed, as is the case with you, but in the interest of truth, and in order that I might not be subjected to further outrage, and as one who will not allow his case to be lost through your perjury.

Read the challenge.“ Challenge ” [41]

This oath I was at that time ready to take, and now, to convince you and those who stand gathered about, I swear by all the gods and goddesses that I have in very truth suffered at the hands of Conon this wrong for which I am suing him; that I was beaten by him, and that my lip was cut open so that it had to be sewn up, and that it is because of gross maltreatment that I am prosecuting him. If I swear truly, may many blessings be mine, and may I never again suffer such an outrage; but, if I am forsworn, may I perish utterly, I and all I possess or ever may possess. But I am not forsworn; no, not though Conon should say so till he bursts. [42] Therefore, men of the jury, since I have shown you all the just arguments which I have to present, and have furthermore added an oath, it is but right that you should feel toward Conon on my behalf the same resentment which each one of you, had he been the victim, would have felt toward the one who did the wrong, and not to regard an act of this sort as a private matter which might fall to the lot of any man. No; whoever may be the victim, bear him aid and give him the redress that is his due, and loathe those who in the face of their crimes are bold and reckless, but when they are brought to trial are impudent villains, caring nothing for reputation or character or anything else, provided only they can escape punishment. [43] Of course Conon will entreat you and wail aloud. But consider, which of us is more deserving of pity, a man who has suffered such treatment as I have at the hands of the defendant, if I am to go forth having met with the further disgrace of losing my suit, or Conon, if he is to be punished? Is it to the advantage of each one of you that a man be permitted to indulge in battery and outrage, or that he be not permitted? I certainly think he should not be. Well then, if you let him off, there will be many such; if you punish him, fewer. [44]

I might have much to say, men of the jury, about the services we have rendered you, I, and my father while he lived, both as trierarchs and in the army, and in performing whatever duty was laid upon us, and I could show that neither the defendant nor any of his sons have rendered any service; but the allowance of water is not sufficient nor is it at this time a question of such services. For, if it were indeed our lot to be by common consent regarded as more useless and more base than Conon, we are not, I suppose, to be beaten or maltreated.

I do not know what reason there is why I should say more; for I believe that nothing which I have said has escaped you.24

1 As guilty of highway robbery the defendant had made himself liable to summary arrest （ἀπαγωγή）, and the gravity of his assault would have justified a public indictment for criminal outrage （ὕβρεως γραφή）, for either of which crimes he would, if convicted, have suffered a heavy penalty. The private suit for assault and battery （αἰκείας δίκη） entailed merely a fine to be paid to the plaintiff.

2 Panactum was an Athenian fort on the borders of Boeotia. An expedition to this point in 343 B.C . is mentioned by Demosthenes in Dem. 19.326. However, as we are told by Aristot. Ath. Pol. 42.4, that the ἔφηβοι （young men of military age）, in the second year of their training, patrolled the country and spent their spare time in the forts, it may be that no formal military expedition is meant. In that case the loose discipline is more understandable.

3 The taxiarchs were the commanders of the infantry detachments of the several tribes.

4 Cephisia, a deme of the tribe Erectheïs.

5 This suggests that they were in the same military age-class, and may have been together in camp at Panactum.

6 This was a monument erected in honor of the three daughters of Leos, whom, in obedience to an oracle, their father had sacrificed for the safety of their country.

7 Melitê was a hilly district in the western part of Athens, its entrance from the agora being through the hollow between the extremity of the Areopagus and the Κολωνὸς Ἀγοραῖος.

8 The site of this temple, as that of the Leocorion, remains uncertain.

9 Cholleidae, a deme of the tribe Leontis.

10 These words are best left untranslated （Kennedy, following Auger, renders them “Priapi and Sileni”）. The former suggests gross licentiousness, and the latter, for which various meanings have been proposed, has been plausibly interpreted by Sandys as indicating one who carried his own oil-flask （λήκυθος）. He would thus dispense with the customary slave, and be freed from having even such an one as witness to his wanton doings.

11 Conon, the speaker says, will represent us as being as much addicted to drunkenness and violence as himself and his sons, but surly and vindictive in going to law over such trifling matters!

12 A frequent euphemism for, “if my death had ensued.”

13 Brauron was a district on the eastern coast of Attica, where there was a famous shrine of Artemis. It was to this point that Orestes and Iphigeneia were said to have brought the statue of Artemis from the land of the Taurians. The facts regarding the case alluded to are unknown.

14 If Ctesias were illegitimate, Conon could not be held responsible for his misdoings, and previous mistreatment by the plaintiff is alleged as justification of the assault made upon the latter by Ctesias.

15 Icaria, a deme of the tribe Aegeïs.

16 There were two demes of this name, one on the east coast of Attica and the other on the Saronic Gulf. The former belonged to the tribe Aegeis, the latter to the tribe Cecropis.

17 Pithus, a deme of the tribe Cecropis.

18 Many men in Athens in the days of Plato and Demosthenes, as an indication of their contempt for democracy and a protest against the decay of morals, sought to imitate the Spartan severity in dress and manners. Men such as those whom the writer is here depicting would not unnaturally seek by this means to build up a spurious reputation for austerity.

19 The Triballi were a wild Thracian people. Many parallels for the use of the name to denote a club of lawless youths at Athens might be cited. Sandys refers to the Mohock club of eighteenth century London.

20 The witch-goddess worshipped at cross roads. Portions of victims which had served for purification were set out for her. To take and eat this food might connote extreme poverty, but suggested also an utter disregard for sacred things.

21 Young pigs were sacrificed in a ceremonial purification of the place of meeting before the people entered the ἐκκλησία（the popular assembly）.

22 The speaker is plainly contrasting his own caution in taking an oath with the recklessness shown by the defendant, but the difficulty of the passage is only partially removed by the transposition mentioned in the critical note. As to the concluding phrase, it is doubtful if an ordeal by fire is alluded to, although suggestive parallels are found in Soph. Ant. 264 and Aristoph. Lys.133

23 Cited, that is, in the following challenge.

24 Compare the concluding paragraph in Dem. 36 and Dem. 28.

There is after all, men of Athens, nothing more vexatious than to have a neighbor who is base and covetous; the very thing which has fallen to my lot. For Callicles, having set his heart on my land, has pestered me with malicious and baseless litigation: in the first place he suborned his cousin to claim my property, [2] but the claim was proved manifestly false, and I got the better of that intrigue; then, again, he secured two awards against me for default, one in an action brought in his own name for one thousand drachmae, and another in an action which he persuaded his brother Callicrates, who is here in court, to bring. I beg you all to listen to me, and to give me your attention, not because I am going to show myself an able speaker, but in order that you may learn from the facts themselves, that I am manifestly the victim of a malicious and baseless suit. [3]

A single plea, men of Athens, I bring before you to answer all the arguments of these men, a just one. My father built the wall around this land almost before I was born, while Callippides, the father of these men was still living, and was my father's neighbor （and of course he knew the facts better than these men do）, and when, moreover, Callicles was already a grown man, and was living at Athens; [4] and my father lived on more than fifteen years longer, and their father as many. In all these years no one ever came to object or make complaint （and yet of course it often rained then, just as it does now）; no one made any opposition at the start, as he would have done, if my father by walling in his land had caused injury to anyone; nor did anyone forbid him, or protest against his action. [5] And yet, Callicles, when you saw that the watercourse was being dammed, you people might, I suppose, have gone at once to my father and complained angrily, and said to him, “Teisias, what is this that you are doing? Are you damming the watercourse? Why, then the water will burst through on to our land.” In that case, if he had seen fit to desist, you and I would be having no quarrel with one another; or, if he paid no heed, and any such mischief resulted, you would have been able to avail yourself of those who were present as witnesses. [6] And, by heaven, you ought to have satisfied all men that there was a watercourse, that you might have shown, not by your mere statement, as is the case now, but on a basis of fact, that my father was guilty of wrongdoing. Yet no one of these men ever thought of doing any such thing. For, had you done this, you would not have got an award for default against me, as you now have, nor would you have gained anything by your malicious charges; [7] for if you had at that time brought a witness and appealed to his testimony, he would now have proved from his own knowledge precisely how the several matters stood, and would have refuted these men who are so glib with their testimony. But, I fancy, you have all come to despise one so young as I am, and so inexperienced in affairs. But, men of Athens, I adduce their own acts as the strongest evidence against them all; for how is it that not one of them ever protested, or lodged a complaint, or even uttered a word of censure, but they were content to submit to this injury? [8]

Well, I think that what I have said is by itself a sufficient answer to their shameless claims; but that you may be assured, men of Athens, on other grounds as well that my father committed no wrong in walling in the land, and that these men have uttered nothing but falsehoods, I shall try to explain to you even more clearly. [9] That the land is our private property is admitted by these men themselves, and this being the case, men of Athens, if you could see the place, you would know at once that their suit is groundless. For this reason I wanted to refer the case to impartial persons who know the locality, but these men refused, although they now try to maintain that they wished it. This, too, will be made clear to you all in a moment; but give close heed, men of Athens, I beg you in the name of Zeus and the gods! [10] For the space between my property and theirs is a road, and as a hilly country encircles them, unluckily for the farms, the water that flows down runs, as it happens, partly into the road, and partly on to the farms. And in particular, that which pours into the road, whenever it has free course, flows down along the road, but when there is any stoppage, then it of necessity overflows upon the farms. [11] Now this particular piece of land, as it happened, was inundated after a heavy downpour had occurred. As a result of neglect, when my father was not yet in possession of the land, but a man held it who utterly disliked the neighborhood, and preferred to live in the city, the water overflowed two or three times, wrought damage to the land, and was more and more making itself a path. For this reason my father, when he saw it （so I am informed by those acquainted with the circumstances）, inasmuch as the neighbors also began to encroach upon the property and walk across it, built around it this enclosing wall. [12] To prove that I am speaking the truth in this, I shall bring before you as witnesses those who know the facts, and circumstantial evidence, men of Athens, far stronger than any testimony. Callicles says that I am doing him an injury by having walled off the watercourse; but I shall show that this is private land and no watercourse. [13] If it were not admitted to be our private property, we should perhaps be guilty of this wrongdoing, if we had fenced off a piece of public land; but as it is, they do not dispute this, and on the land there are trees planted, vines and figs. Yet who would think of planting these in a watercourse? Nobody, surely. Again, who would think of burying his own ancestors there? No one, I think, would do this either. [14] Well, both these things have been done. For not only were the trees planted before my father built the wall, but the tombs are old, and were built before we acquired the property. Yet, since this is the case, what stronger argument could there be, men of Athens? The facts afford manifest proof.

Now please take all these depositions, and read them.“ Depositions ” [15]

Men of Athens, you hear the depositions. Do they not appear to you to testify expressly that it is a place full of trees, and that it contains some tombs and other things which are to be found in most private pieces of land? Do they not prove also that the land was walled in during the lifetime of their father without opposition being made by these men or any other of the neighbors? [16]

It is worth your while, men of the jury, to hear some remarks also about the other statements made by Callicles. And first, consider whether any one of you has ever seen or heard of a watercourse existing by the side of a road. I think that in the whole country there is not a single one. For what could induce any man to make a channel through his private lands for water which would otherwise have gone rushing down a public road? [17] And what one of you, whether in the country or the city would allow water passing along the highway to flow into his farm or his house? On the contrary, when it forces its way in, is it not our habit to dam or wall it off? But the plaintiff demands of me that I let the water from the road flow into my land, and, when it has passed beyond his, turn it back again into the road. Well then, the neighbor who farms the land next to his will make complaint; for it is plain that they too will have the same right to protest that the plaintiff has. [18] But surely, if I am afraid to divert the water into the road, I should be a rash man indeed, if I were to turn it into land. For when I am being sued for penalty because the water flowing from the road spread over the plaintiff's land, what treatment in heaven's name must I expect to meet at the hands of those who suffer damage from the water overflowing from my own land? But if, once I have got the water on my property, I am not to be allowed to drain it off either into the road or onto private land, men of the jury, what course in the name of the gods remains for me? I take it, Callicles will not force me to drink it all up! [19] Well then, after suffering these annoyances at their hands and many other grievous ones as well, I must be content, not indeed to win my suit, but to escape paying a further penalty! If, men of the jury, there had been a watercourse below me to receive the water, I should perhaps have been wrong in not letting it in on my land, just as on certain other farms there are recognized watercourses in which the first landowners let the water flow （as they do the gutter-drains from the houses）, and others again receive it from them in like manner. But on the land in question no one gives the water over to me or receives it from me. How, then, can it be a watercourse? [20] An overflow of water has ere now, I imagine, often done damage to many who have not guarded against it, just as it has in this case to the plaintiff. But this is the thing that is most outrageous of all, that Callicles, when the water overflows on his land, brings up huge stones and walls it off, but has brought suit for damages against me on the ground that my father was guilty of wrongdoing, because when the same thing happened to his land, he built an enclosing wall. And yet, if all those who have suffered loss because water has flooded their lands in this region are to bring suit against me, my fortune, even if multiplied many times, would not meet the costs. [21] But these men are so different from the others, that, although they have suffered no damage, as I shall presently make clear to you, while many others have suffered damage in many grievous ways, they alone have had the effrontery to sue me. Yet anyone else would have had better reason to do this than they have; for even if they have suffered damage, it has been through their own fault, though they bring a malicious suit against me; whereas the others, not to speak of anything else, are open to no such imputation.

But that I may not speak confusedly of all matters at once, take, please, the depositions of the neighbors.“ Depositions ” [22]

Is it not, then, an outrageous thing, men of the jury, that, while these people have made no complaint against me, although they suffered such heavy damages, nor has anyone else of those who suffered misfortune, but they have accepted their lot, this man should bring a malicious suit? But that he is himself at fault, first in that he made the road narrower by extending his wall beyond the property line, in order to enclose the trees of the road, and, secondly, in that he threw the rubbish into it, from which actions it resulted that he made the road higher as well as narrower—of this you will presently gain clearer knowledge from the depositions. [23] But I shall now endeavor to show you that he has brought a suit for such heavy damages against me without having suffered any loss or damage worthy of mention. Before they undertook this malicious action against me, my mother and theirs were intimate friends and used to visit one another, as was natural, since both lived in the country and were neighbors, and since, furthermore, their husbands had been friends while they lived. [24] Well, my mother went to see theirs, and the latter told her with weeping what had happened, and showed her the effects; this, men of the jury, is the way in which I learned all the facts. And I am telling you just what I heard from my mother;—as I speak the truth, so may many blessings be mine; if I am lying, may the opposite befall me. She averred that she saw, and heard from their mother, that some of the barley got wet （she saw them drying it）, but not so much as three medimni,1 and about half a medimnus of wheat flour; also, she said, a jar of olive oil had tilted over, but had not been damaged. [25] So trivial, men of the jury, was the loss that befell them, yet for this I am made defendant in a suit with damages fixed at a thousand drachmae! If he repaired an old wall, this surely ought not to be charged against me—a wall moreover which neither fell down nor suffered any damage. So, if I were to concede that I was to blame for everything that occurred, the things that got wet were these. [26] But since in the beginning my father was within his rights in enclosing the land and these people never made any complaint during the lapse of so long a time, and the others who were severely damaged make no complaint any more than they; and since it is the custom of all of you to drain the water from your houses and lands into the road, and not, heaven knows, to let it flow in from the road, what need is there to say more? These facts of themselves make it clear that the suit against me is a baseless and malicious one, since I am guilty of no wrong, and they have not suffered the damage they allege. [27]

However, to prove to you that they have thrown the rubbish into the road, and by advancing the wall have made the road narrower; and furthermore that I tendered an oath to their mother, and challenged them to have my mother swear in the same terms. Take, please, the depositions and the challenge“ Depositions ”“ Challenge ” [28]

Could there, then, be people more shameless than these, or more plainly malicious pettifoggers—men who, after advancing their own wall and raising the level of the road, are suing others for damages, and that too for a fixed sum of a thousand drachmae, when they have themselves lost fifty at most? And yet consider, men of the jury, how many people in the farm-lands have suffered from floods in Eleusis2 and in other places. But, good heavens, I take it each one of these is not going to claim the right to recover damages from his neighbors. [29] And I, who might well be angry at their having made the road narrower and raised its level, keep quiet, while these men have such superabundance of audacity, it seems, that they even bring malicious suits against those whom they have injured! But surely, Callicles, if you have the right to enclose your land, we too had the right to enclose ours. And if my father wronged you by enclosing his, you are now wronging me by thus enclosing yours. [30] For it is evident that, since you have built your obstructing wall with large stones, the water will flow back upon my land, and when it so chances, may with an unlooked-for rush throw down my wall. However, I do not on this account claim damages from these men, but I shall submit to the misfortune, and shall try to protect my own property. For I think the plaintiff is acting wisely in walling in his land, but when he brings suit against me, I hold that he is the basest of men and that some ailment has impaired his wits. [31]

Do not be surprised, men of the jury, at the eagerness of the plaintiff or even at his having dared to bring a false charge against me now. For in a previous instance also, when he induced his cousin to lay claim to my land, he produced an agreement which had never been made. And now he has obtained an award against me for default in a similar suit, entering in the indictment the name of Callarus, one of my slaves. For in addition to their other pieces of rascality they have devised this scheme as well—they bring this same suit against Callarus. [32] And yet what slave would wall in his master's land without orders from his master? But having no other charge to bring against Callarus, they lodge suit against him regarding the wall which my father built more than fifteen years before his death. And if I give up my property, either by selling it to these men or by exchanging it for other land, Callarus is guilty of no wrong, but if I do not choose to give it up to them, then they are being wronged by Callarus in all manner of grievous ways, and they look out for an arbitrator who will adjudge the property to them, or for some sort of compromise by which they will get possession of it! [33]

Now, men of the jury, if those who lay plots against others and bring baseless suits are to have the best of it, all that I have said would prove of no avail; but if you abominate people of that sort, and vote as justice demands, then, as Callicles has suffered no loss and has in no way been wronged either by Callarus or by my father, I do not see what need there is of my saying more. [34]

To prove to you, however, that previously in his designs upon my property he got the help of his cousin, and that he has in his own person obtained an award against Callarus in another such suit—looking upon me with despite because I value the man highly,—and that he has again brought another suit against Callarus,—to prove all these things the clerk shall read you the depositions.“ Depositions ” [35]

Do not, then, men of the jury, I beg you in the name of Zeus and the gods, leave me as the prey of these men, when I have done no wrong. I do not care so much about the penalty, hard as that is on persons of small means; but they are absolutely driving me out of the deme by their persecution and baseless charges. To prove that I have done no wrong, I was ready to submit the matter for settlement to fair and impartial men who knew the facts, and I was ready to swear the customary oath; for I thought that would be the strongest proof I could bring before you, who are yourselves upon oath.

Please take the challenge and the remaining depositions.“ Challenge ”“ Depositions ”

1 The medimnus was a standard measure of grain, containing approximately a bushel and a half.

2 Eleusis, a town in Attica, famed as a central point in the worship of Demeter, and the scene of the celebration of the great mysteries.

I am a sharer in this loan, men of the jury. We, who have engaged in the business of overseas trade and put our money in the hands of others, have come to know one thing very clearly: that in all respects the borrower has the best of us. He received the money in cash which was duly acknowledged, and has left us on a scrap of paper1 which he bought for a couple of coppers, his agreement to do the right thing. We on our part do not promise to give the money, we give it outright to the borrower. [2] What, then, do we rely upon, and what security do we get when we risk our money? We rely upon you, men of the jury, and upon your laws, which ordain that all agreements into which a man voluntarily enters with another shall be valid. But in my opinion there is no use in your laws or in any contract, if the one who receives the money is not thoroughly upright in character, and does not either fear you2 or regard the rights of the one making the loan. [3] Now Dionysodorus here does neither the one nor the other, but has come to such a pitch of audacity, that although he borrowed from us three thousand drachmae upon his ship on the condition that it should sail back to Athens, and although we ought to have got back our money in the harvest-season of last year, he took his ship to Rhodes and there unladed his cargo and sold it in defiance of the contract and of your laws3; and from Rhodes again he despatched his ship to Egypt, and from thence back to Rhodes, and to us who lent our money at Athens he has up to this day neither paid back our money nor produced to us our security. [4] Nay, for two years now he has been using our money for his profit, keeping the loan and the trade and the ship that was mortgaged to us, and notwithstanding this he has come into your court, intending plainly to get us fined with the sixth part of the damages,4 and to put us in prison,5 besides robbing us of our money. We therefore, men of Athens, beg and implore you one and all to come to our aid, if you find that we are being wronged. But first I want to explain to you how the loan was contracted; for thus it will be easiest for you also to follow the case. [5]

This Dionysodorus, men of Athens, and his partner Parmeniscus came to us last year in the month Metageitnion,6 and said that they desired to borrow money on their ship on the terms that she should sail to Egypt and from Egypt to Rhodes or Athens, and they agreed to pay the interest for the voyage to either one of these ports. [6] We answered, men of the jury, that we would not lend money for a voyage to any other port than Athens, and so they agreed to return here, and with this understanding they borrowed from us three thousand drachmae on the security of their ship for the voyage out and home; and they entered into a written agreement to these terms. In the contract Pamphilus here was named the lender; but I, although not mentioned, was a sharer in the loan.

And first the clerk shall read to you the agreement.“ Agreement ” [7]

In accordance with this agreement, men of the jury, Dionysodorus here and his partner Parmeniscus, when they had got the money from us, despatched their ship from Athens to Egypt. Parmeniscus sailed in charge of the ship; Dionysodorus remained at Athens. All these men, I would have you know, men of the jury, were underlings and confederates of Cleomenes, the former ruler of Egypt,7 who from the time he received the government did no small harm to your state, or rather to the rest of the Greeks as well, by buying up grain for resale and fixing its price, and in this he had these men as his confederates. [8] Some of them would despatch the stuff from Egypt, others would sail in charge of the shipments, while still others would remain here in Athens and dispose of the consignments. Then those who remained here would send letters to those abroad advising them of the prevailing prices, so that if grain were dear in your market, they might bring it here, and if the price should fall, they might put in to some other port. This was the chief reason, men of the jury, why the price of grain advanced; it was due to such letters and conspiracies. [9] Well then, when these men despatched their ship from Athens, they left the price of grain here pretty high, and for this reason they submitted to have the clause written in the agreement binding them to sail to Athens and to no other port. Afterwards, however, men of the jury, when the ships from Sicily had arrived, and the prices of grain here were falling, and their ship had reached Egypt, the defendant straightway sent a man to Rhodes to inform his partner Parmeniscus of the state of things here, well knowing that his ship would be forced to touch at Rhodes. [10] The outcome was that Parmeniscus, the defendant's partner, when he had received the letter sent by him and had learned the price of grain prevailing here, discharged his cargo of grain at Rhodes and sold it there in defiance of the agreement, men of the jury, and of the penalties to which they had of their own will bound themselves, in case they should commit any breach of the agreement, and in contempt also of your laws which ordain that shipowners and supercargoes shall sail to the port to which they have agreed to sail or else be liable to the severest penalties. [11]

We on our part, as soon as we learned what had taken place, were greatly dismayed at his action, and went to this man, who was the prime mover in the whole plot, complaining angrily, as was natural, that although we had expressedly stipulated in the agreement that the ship should sail to no other port than to Athens, and had lent our money on this condition, he had left us open to suspicion with people who might wish to accuse and say that we also had been partners to the conveyance of the grain to Rhodes; and complaining also that he and his partner, despite their agreement to do so, had not brought the ship back to your port. [12] When, however, we made no headway in talking about the agreement and our rights, we demanded that he at any rate pay us back the amount loaned with the interest as originally agreed upon. But the fellow treated us with such insolence as to declare that he would not pay the interest stipulated in the agreement. “If, however,” he said, “you are willing to accept the interest calculated in proportion to the voyage completed, I will give you,” said he, “the interest as far as Rhodes; but more I will not give.” Thus he made a law for himself and refused to comply with the just terms of the agreement. [13]

When we said that we could not acquiesce in anything like this, considering that, were we to do so, it would be an admission that we too had been engaged in conveying grain to Rhodes, he became even more insistent, and came up to us, bringing a host of witnesses, asserting that he was ready to pay us the principal with interest as far as Rhodes; not that he had any more intention to pay, men of the jury, but suspecting that we should be unwilling to accept the money on account of the charges to which our action might give rise. The result made this clear. [14] For when some of your citizens, men of Athens, who chanced to be present advised to accept what was offered and to sue for the amount under dispute, but not to admit the reckoning of the interest to Rhodes until the case should be settled we agreed to this. We were not unaware, men of the jury, of our rights under the agreement, but we thought it better to suffer some loss and to make a concession, so as not to appear litigious. But when the fellow saw that we were on the point of accepting his offer, he said, “Well, then, cancel the agreement.” “We cancel the agreement? [15] Indeed we will not. However, as far as concerns any money you may pay we will in the presence of the banker agree to annul the agreement; but cancel it in its entirety we will not, until we get a verdict on the matters under dispute. For what just plea shall we have, or on what can we rely when we come to a contest at law, whether we have to appear before an arbitrator or before a court, if we have cancelled the agreement on which we rely for the recovery of our rights?” [16] Such was our answer to him, men of the jury, and we demanded of this fellow Dionysodorus that he should not disturb or annul the agreement which these men themselves admitted to be binding, but that in regard to the amount he should pay us what he himself acknowledged to be due and to leave the settlement of the sum under dispute （with the understanding that the money was available） to the decision of one or more arbitrators, as he might prefer, to be chosen from among the merchants of this port. Dionysodorus, however, would not listen to anything of this sort, but because we refused to accept what he agreed to pay and cancel the agreement altogether, he has for two years kept and made use of our capital; [17] and what is the most outrageous thing of all, men of the jury, the fellow himself gets maritime interest8 from other people from our money, lending it, not at Athens or for a voyage to Athens, but for voyages to Rhodes and Egypt, while to us who lent him money for a voyage to your port he thinks he need do nothing that justice demands

To prove that I am speaking the truth, the clerk shall read you the challenge which I gave Dionysodorus concerning these matters.“ Challenge ” [18]

This challenge, then, we tendered to this Dionysodorus again and again, and we exposed the challenge to public view over a period of many days. He, however, declared that we must be absolute simpletons, if we supposed him to be senseless enough to go before an arbitrator—who would most certainly condemn him to pay the debt—when he might come into court bringing the money with him, and then, if he could hoodwink you he would go back keeping possession of what was another's, and if he could not, he would then pay the money. Thus he showed that he had no confidence in the justice of his case, but that he wished to make trial of you. [19]

You have heard, then, men of the jury, what Dionysodorus has done; and as you have heard I fancy you have long been amazed at his audacity, and have wondered upon what in the world he relies in coming into court. For is it not the height of audacity, when a man who has borrowed money from the port of Athens, [20] and has expressly agreed in writing that his ship shall return to your port, or that, if she does not, he shall pay double the amount, has not brought the ship to the Peiraeus and does not pay his debt to the lenders; and as for the grain, has unladed that and sold it at Rhodes, and then despite all this dares to look into your faces? [21] But hear what he says in reply to this. He alleges that the ship was disabled on the voyage from Egypt, and that for this reason he was obliged to touch at Rhodes and unlade the grain there. And as a proof of this he states that he chartered ships from Rhodes and shipped some of his goods to Athens. This is one part of his defence, and here is another. [22] He claims that some other creditors of his have agreed to accept from him interest as far as Rhodes, and that it would be hard indeed if we should not make the same concession that they have made. And thirdly, besides all this, he declares that the agreement requires him to pay the money if the ship arrives safely, but that the ship has not arrived safely in the Peiraeus. To each of these arguments, men of the jury, hear the just answer that we make. [23]

In the first place, when he says that the ship was disabled, I think it is plain to you all that he is lying. For if his ship had met with this mishap, she would neither have got safely to Rhodes nor have been fit for sailing afterwards. But in fact it is plain that she did get safe to Rhodes and was sent back from thence to Egypt, and that at the present time she is still sailing everywhere except to Athens. And yet is it not outrageous that, when he has to bring his ship back to the port of Athens, he says she was disabled, but when he wants to unlade his grain at Rhodes, then that same ship is seen to be seaworthy? [24]

Why, then, he says, did I charter other ships and tranship my cargo and despatch it here to Athens? Because, men of Athens, neither the defendant nor his partner was owner of the entire cargo, but, I fancy, the supercargoes who were on board despatched their own goods hither, in other bottoms necessarily, seeing that these men had cut short the voyage before the ship reached her destination. As for the goods, however, which were their own, they did not ship these in their entirety to Athens, but sought out what ones had advanced in price. [25] For why, pray, was it that, when you had hired other bottoms, as you say, you did not tranship the entire cargo of your vessel, but left the grain there in Rhodes? Because, men of the jury, it was to their interest to sell the grain in Rhodes; for they heard that the price had fallen here in Athens, but they shipped to you the other goods, from which they hoped to make a profit. When, then, Dionysodorus, you talk about the chartering of the vessels, you give proof, not that your ship was disabled, but that it was to your advantage to do so. [26]

Concerning these matters, then, what I have said is sufficient, but in regard to the creditors, who, they say, consented to accept from them the interest as far as Rhodes, this has nothing to do with us. If any man has remitted to you any part of what was due him, no wrong is suffered by either party to the arrangement. But we have not remitted anything to you, nor have we consented to your voyage to Rhodes, nor in our judgement is anything more binding than the agreement. [27] Now what does the agreement say, and to what port does it require you to sail? From Athens to Egypt and from Egypt to Athens; and in default of your so doing, it requires you to pay double the amount. If you have done this, you have committed no wrong; but if you have not done it, and have not brought your ship back to Athens, it is proper that you should suffer the penalty provided by the agreement; for this requirement was imposed upon you, not by some other person, but by yourself. Show, then, to the jury one or the other of two things—that our agreement is not valid, or that you are not required to do everything in accordance with it. [28] If certain people have remitted anything in your favor, and have been induced on one ground or another to accept interest only as far as Rhodes, does it follow that you are doing no wrong to us, your agreement with whom you have broken in having your ship put into Rhodes? I do not think so. For this jury is not now deciding upon concessions made to you by others, but upon an agreement entered into by you yourself with us. For that the remission of the interest, supposing that it actually took place, as these men allege, was to the advantage of the creditors, is plain to every one of you. [29] For those who lent their money to these men for the outward voyage from Egypt to Athens, when they reached Rhodes and this man put into that port, suffered no loss, I take it, by remitting the interest and receiving the amount of their loan at Rhodes, and then putting the money to work again for a voyage to Egypt. No; this was more to their advantage than to continue the voyage to this port. [30] For voyaging from Rhodes to Egypt is uninterrupted, and they could put the same money to work two or three times, whereas here they would have had to pass the winter and to await the season for sailing. These creditors therefore have reaped an additional profit, and have not remitted anything to these men. With us, however, it is not a question of the interest merely, but we are unable to recover even our principal. [31]

Do not, then, listen to him, when he seeks to hoodwink you, and brings before you his transactions with other creditors, but refer him to the agreement and to the rights growing out of it. It remains for me to interpret this matter for you, and the defendant insists upon this very thing, stating that the agreement requires him to repay the loan only if the ship arrives safe. We also maintain that this should be so. [32] But I should be glad to ask you yourself, Dionysodorus, whether you are speaking of the ship as having been lost, or as having arrived safe. For if the ship has been wrecked and is lost, why do you keep on disputing about the interest and demanding that we accept interest as far as Rhodes? For in that case we have not the right to recover either interest or principal. But if the ship is safe and has not been wrecked, why do you not pay us the money which you agreed to pay? [33] In what way, men of Athens, can you be most convincingly assured that the ship has reached port safe? In the first instance by the mere fact that she is now at sea, and less clearly by the statements made by these men themselves. For they ask us to accept payment of the principal and a certain portion of the interest, thus implying that the ship has reached port safe, but has not completed her entire voyage. [34] Now consider, men of Athens, whether it is we who are abiding by the requirements of the contract, or whether it is these men, who have sailed, not to the port agreed upon, but to Rhodes and Egypt, and who, when the ship has reached port safe and has not been lost, claim to be entitled to an abatement of the interest, although they have broken the agreement, and have themselves made a large profit by the carrying of grain to Rhodes, and by keeping and making use of our money for two years. [35] What they are doing is indeed an unheard-of thing. They offer to pay us the principal of our loan, thus implying that the ship has reached port safe, but they claim the right to rob us of our interest on the ground that she has been wrecked. The agreement, however, does not say one thing about the interest and another about the principal of the loan, but our rights are the same for both and our means of recovery the same. [36]

Please read the agreement again.“Agreement

From Athens to Egypt and from Egypt to Athens.”

You hear, men of Athens. It says “From Athens to Egypt and from Egypt to Athens.”

Read the rest.“Agreement

And if the ship arrives safe at Peiraeus . . .” [37]

Men of Athens, it is a very simple thing for you to reach a decision in this suit, and there is no need of many words. That the ship has reached port safe, and is safe, is admitted by these men themselves; for otherwise they would not be offering to pay the principal of the loan and a portion of the interest. She has not, however, been brought back to the Peiraeus. It is for this reason that we, the creditors, claim that we have been wronged, and regarding this we are bringing suit, that, namely she did not make the return voyage to the port agreed upon. [38] Dionysodorus, however, claims that he is doing no wrong because of this very fact, since he is not bound to pay the interest in its entirety inasmuch as the ship did not complete her voyage to Peiraeus. But what does the agreement say? By Zeus it is not at all what you say, Dionysodorus. No; it declares that if you do not pay both the principal and interest, or if you fail to present the security, plain to see and unimpaired, or if in any other respect you violate the agreement, you are required to pay double the amount.

Read, please, that clause of the agreement.“Statement

And if they shall not produce the security, plain to see and unimpaired, or if in any respect they shall violate the agreement, they shall pay double the amount.” [39]

Have you, then, at any place whatever produced the ship plain to see since the time you received the money from us? And yet you yourself admit that she is safe. Or have you ever since that time brought her back to the port of Athens, though the agreement expressly stipulates that you shall bring your ship back to the Peiraeus, and produce her plain to see before the lenders? [40] This is an important point, men of Athens. Just observe the extravagance of his statement. The ship was disabled, so he says, and for this reason he brought her into the port of Rhodes. Well, then, after that she was repaired and became fit for sea. Why, then, my good fellow, did you send her off to Egypt and to other ports, but have never up to this day sent her back to Athens, to us your creditors, to whom the agreement requires you to produce the ship, plain to see and unimpaired, and that too although we made demand upon you again and again and challenged you to do so? [41] No; you are so bold or rather so impudent, that, while under the agreement you owe us double the amount of our loan, you do not see fit to pay us even the accrued interest, but bid us accept interest as far as Rhodes, as if your command ought to prove of more force than the agreement; and you have the insolence to declare that the vessel did not arrive safe at the Peiraeus; for which you might with justice be condemned to death by the jurors. [42] For who other than this fellow is to blame, men of the jury, if the ship did not arrive safe at the Peiraeus? Are we to blame, who lent our money expressly for a voyage to Egypt and to Athens, or is it the fault of this fellow and his partner, who after borrowing money on these terms, that the vessel should return to Athens, then took her to Rhodes? And that they did this of their own will and not of necessity is clear on many grounds. [43] For if what occurred took place against their will, and the ship was really disabled, afterwards, when they had repaired the ship, they would surely not have let her for a voyage to other ports, but would have despatched her to Athens to make amends for the involuntary accident. As it is, however, they have not only made no amends, but to their original wrongdoings they have added others greater far, and have come here to contest the suit as it were in a spirit of mockery, assuming that it will rest with them, if you give judgement against them, merely to pay the principal and interest. [44] Do not you, then, men of Athens, suffer men of this stamp to have their own way, nor allow them to ride on two anchors, with the hope that, if they are successful, they will retain what belongs to others, and if they are not able to hoodwink you, they will merely pay the bare amount which they owe; but inflict upon them the penalties provided in the agreement. For it would be an outrageous thing, when these men have themselves in writing imposed upon themselves a penalty of double the amount, if they commit any breach of the agreement, that you should be more lenient toward them; especially when you have yourselves been wronged no less than we. [45]

Our claims in the matter, therefore, are few and easy to be remembered. We lent this fellow Dionysodorus and his partner three thousand drachmae for a voyage from Athens to Egypt and from Egypt to Athens; we have not received either principal or interest, but they have kept our money and had the use of it for two years; they have not even to this day brought the ship back to your port, nor produced it plain to see. The agreement, however, declares, that if they fail to deliver up the ship plain to see they shall pay double the amount, and that the money may be recovered from either one or both of them. [46] These are the just claims with which we have come before you demanding to recover our money through your help, since we cannot get it from these men themselves. Such is the statement of our case. These men, however, while they admit that they borrowed the money and have not paid it back, contend that they are not bound to pay the interest stipulated in the agreement, but the interest as far as Rhodes only, which they made no part of their contract, and to which we have not consented. [47] Perhaps, men of Athens, if we were trying the case in a Rhodian court, these men might get the better of us, seeing that they have taken grain to Rhodes and sailed in their ship into that port; as it is, however, since we have come before Athenians and our contract called for a voyage to your port, we hold it right that you should give no advantage to men who have wronged you as well as ourselves. [48]

Besides this, men of Athens, you must not forget that, while you are today deciding one case alone you are fixing a law for the whole port, and that many of those engaged in overseas trade are standing here and watching you to see how you decide this question. For if you hold that contracts and agreements made between man and man are to be binding, and show no leniency towards those who transgress them, lenders will be more ready to risk their money, and the business of your port will be increased. [49] But if shipowners, after engaging in written contracts to sail to Athens, are to be permitted to put their ships into other ports, giving out that they have been disabled, or advancing other pretexts such as these of which Dionysodorus has availed himself, and to reduce the interest in proportion to the length of the voyage which they say they have made instead of paying it according to the agreement, there will be nothing to prevent the voiding of all contracts. [50] For who is going to be willing to risk his money, when he sees that written agreements are of no force, but that arguments such as these prevail and that the claims of wrongdoers take precedence over what is right? Do not permit this, men of the jury, for it is not to the interest of the mass of your people any more than of those engaged in trade, who are a body of men most useful to your public at large and to the individuals who have dealings with them. For this reason you should be careful of their interests.

I, for my part, have said all that I could; but I desire also to have one of my friends speak in my behalf.

Come forward, Demosthenes.

1 That is, of course, papyrus.

2 That is, the jury in the law-courts.

3 Athenian dealers were allowed to ship grain only to Athens, not to foreign ports; cf. Dem. 56.10 infra.

4 For this fine, the ἐπωβελία, imposed upon the plaintiff, he failed to obtain a fifth of the votes, see note on p. 50 of vol. 1.

5 Properly the “lodging.” The same euphemism occurs in Dem. 32.29.

6 The month Metageitnion corresponds to the latter half of August and the prior half of September.

7 After his conquest of Egypt in 331 B.C. Alexander had made Cleomenes collector of revenues for that province.

8 Maritime loans appear to have commanded a higher rate of interest than those secured by real property because of the greater risk involved. In Dem. 50.17 we are told of a maritime loan contracted at 12 1/2%, but the rate of interest varied.

Since Eubulides has brought many false charges against me, and has uttered slanders which are neither becoming nor just, I shall try, men of the jury, to prove by a true and fair statement that I am entitled to citizenship, and that I have been unworthily treated by this fellow. I beg you all, men of the jury, and implore and beseech you, that in view of the great importance of the present trial and the shame and ruin which conviction entails, you will hear me, as you have heard my opponent, in silence; indeed that you will listen to me with greater goodwill, if possible, than you have listened to him （for it is reasonable to suppose that you are more favorably disposed to those who stand in peril）, but, if this cannot be, at least with equal goodwill. [2]

But it so happens, men of the jury, that, although I am of good cheer so far as you are concerned and my right to citizenship and have good hopes of coming through this trial well, yet the occasion alarms me and the temper shown by the state when it has to deal with cases of disfranchisement1; for while many have with justice been expelled from all the demes, we who have been the victims of political rivalry are involved in the prejudice felt toward them and have to combat the charge brought against them, and not merely defend each his own case; so that our alarm is necessarily great. [3] Nevertheless, despite these disadvantages, I shall at once tell you what I hold to be right and just about these very matters. In my opinion it is your duty to treat with severity those who are proved to be aliens, who without having either won your consent or asked for it, have by stealth and violence come to participate in your religious rites and your common privileges, but to bring help and deliverance to those who have met with misfortune and can prove that they are citizens; for you should consider how pitiful above all others would be the plight of us whose rights have been denied, if, when we might properly sit with you as those exacting the penalty, we should be numbered with those who pay it, and should unjustly be condemned along with them because of the passion which the subject arouses. [4]

I should have thought, men of the jury, that it was fitting for Eubulides, and for all those who are now making accusations in cases of disfranchisement, to state only things of which they have accurate knowledge and to bring forward no hearsay evidence in a trial of this sort. Such a procedure has from time immemorial been recognized as so clearly unjust that the laws do not admit the production of hearsay testimony even in the case of the most trifling charges; and with good reason; for when persons who claim to have sure knowledge have ere now been convicted of falsehood, how can it be right to give credence in matters regarding which even the speaker himself has no knowledge? [5] And when it is not permitted a man, even when he makes himself responsible, to harm another by evidence which he declares he has heard, how can it be right for you to give credence to one who speaks without responsibility? Since,then, this fellow, who knows the laws, and knows them all too well, has made his charges with injustice and with a view to selfish advantage, I must first tell you of the outrageous treatment which I received among my fellow-demesmen. [6] I beg of you, men of Athens, not until I have been heard, to take my rejection by the demesmen as a proof that I am not entitled to citizenship, for if you thought that the demesmen would be able to decide all cases with perfect justice, you would not have allowed the appeal to yourselves. As it is, however, because you thought that something of this sort might occur through rivalry and malice and enmity or through some other pretexts, you made your court a place of refuge for those who have been wronged, and through this right action on your part, men of Athens, you have saved all those who have suffered wrong. [7] First, then, I will explain to you how the purging of the list came to be made at the meeting of the demesmen; for I think it is relevant to the case before you if one shows all the wrongs that one has suffered contrary to your decree, when overwhelmed by political rivalry. [8]

This man Eubulides, men of Athens, as many of you know, indicted the sister of Lacedaemonius for impiety, but did not receive a fifth part of the votes.2 It is because in that trial I gave testimony that was true but unfavorable to him that he hates me and makes me the object of his attacks. Being a member of the senate, men of the jury, with power to administer the oath and being custodian of the documents on the basis of which he convened the demesmen, what does he do? [9] In the first place, after the demesmen had assembled, he wasted the whole day in making speeches and in drawing up resolutions. This was not done by accident, but was a part of his plot against me, in order that the vote regarding me might take place as late in the day as possible; and he accomplished this end. Those of us members of the deme who took the oath numbered seventy-three, and we began voting late in the evening, with the result that, when my name was called, it was already dark; [10] for my name was about the sixtieth, and I was the last of all those called on that day, when the older members of the deme had gone back to their farms. For since our deme is distant thirty-five stades3 from the city and most of the demesmen live there, the majority of them had gone home; those who remained were not more than thirty in number; among them, however, were all those suborned by Eubulides. [11] When my name was called, the fellow jumped up and immediately began to vilify me, speaking at great length and with a loud voice, as he did just now. He produced no witnesses in support of his charges, either a member of the deme or one of the citizens at large, but urged the demesmen to pass a vote of expulsion. [12] I demanded that the vote be put off until the following day on account of the lateness of the hour and because I had no one present to speak in my behalf, and because the thing had come upon me so suddenly, and also that Eubulides might have the opportunity of making any charges that he pleased, and of producing any witnesses he might have, while I on my part might be able to defend myself before all my fellow-demesmen and to produce my relatives as witnesses; and I agreed to abide by whatever decision they might reach concerning me. [13] The fellow, however, paid no heed at all to my proposals, but proceeded at once to give ballots to the members of the deme who were present, without allowing me to make any defence or himself giving any convincing proof of his charges. Those who were in league with him then jumped up and gave their votes. It was dark, and they received from him two or three ballots apiece, and put them in the box. Here is a proof of this. Those who voted were not more than thirty in number, but the ballots, when counted, were more than sixty; so that we were all astounded. [14]

To prove that I am stating the truth in this—that the ballots were not given out when all were present and that the ballots outnumbered those who voted—I will bring before you witnesses. It happens that I have at hand no friend of my own or any other Athenian to be my witness regarding these facts since the hour was so late and I had not asked anyone to be present, but I am forced to call as witnesses the very men who have wronged me. I have thereore put in writing for them statements which they will not be able to deny.

Read.“ Deposition ” [15]

Now, men of the jury, if the Halimusians had been deciding on that day the status of all the members of the deme, it would have been reasonable for them to continue voting until late, in order that they might have fulfilled the requirements of your decree before departing to their homes. But, seeing that there were more than twenty of the demesmen left regarding whom they had to vote on the following day, and that the members of the deme had in any case to be convened again, what difficulty was there for Eubulides to order an adjournment until the morrow, and then let the demesmen vote upon my case first? [16] The reason was, men of the jury, that Eubulides knew very well that, if an opportunity of speaking should be granted me and if all the men of the deme should be present to support me and the ballots honestly given out, those who had leagued themselves with him would be nowhere!

How these people came to form their conspiracy against me I will tell you, if you wish to hear it, as soon as I shall have spoken about my parentage. [17] In the meantime what do I hold to be just, and what am I prepared to do, men of the jury? To show you that I am an Athenian on both my father's and my mother's side, and to produce to prove it witnesses whose veracity you will not question, and to break down the calumnies and the charges brought against me. It will rest with you, when you have heard my statements, if you conclude that I am a citizen and the victim of a conspiracy, to come to my rescue; but if you reach a different conclusion, to act in whatever way your regard for your oaths may bid you. I will begin with this proof. [18]

They have maliciously asserted that my father spoke with a foreign accent. But that he was taken prisoner by the enemy in the course of the Decelean war4 and was sold into slavery and taken to Leucas, and that he there fell in with Cleander,5 the actor, and was brought back here to his kinsfolk after a long lapse of time—all this they have omitted to state; but just as though it were right that I should be brought to ruin on account of his misfortunes, they have made his foreign accent the basis of a charge against him. [19] On my part, however, I think that these very facts will more than anything else help me to demonstrate that I am an Athenian.

In the first place, to prove that my father was taken prisoner and was ransomed, I will bring witnesses before you; then, that when he reached home he received from his uncles his share of the property; and furthermore, that neither among the members of the deme nor among those of the clan nor anywhere else did anyone ever accuse him （despite his foreign accent） with being a foreigner.

Please take the depositions.“ Depositions ” [20]

You have heard, then, of my father's being taken prisoner by the enemy and of the good fortune which brought him back here. To prove now that he was your fellow-citizen, men of the jury （for this you may depend upon as being the veritable truth）, I will call as witnesses those of my relatives on my father's side who are still living.

Call first, please, Thucritides and Charisiades; for their father Charisius was brother to my grandfather Thucritides and my grandmother Lysaretê, and uncle to my father （for my father had married his sister born of a different mother）.6 [21] Next, call Niciades; for his father Lysanias was brother to Thucritides and Lysaretê, and uncle to my father. After him, call Nicostratus; for his father Niciades was nephew to my grandfather and my grandmother, and cousin to my father.

Call all these persons, please. And do you check the water.“ Witnesses ” [22]

You have heard, men of Athens, the relatives of my father on the male side both deposing and swearing that my father was an Athenian and their own kinsman. And surely not one of them would commit perjury with imprecations on his own head in the presence of those who would know that he was forswearing himself.

Now take also the depositions of those related to my father on the female side.“ Depositions ” [23]

These persons, then, the surviving relatives of my father, on both the male and the female side, have testified that he was on both sides an Athenian and justly entitled to the rights of citizenship.

Now call, please, the clansmen and thereafter the members of the gens.7“ Witnesses ”

Now take the depositions of the demesmen and the members of the gens in regard to the clansmen, to show that they elected me president of the clan.“ Depositions ” [24]

You have heard, then, the testimony given by my relatives and fellow-clansmen and by the members of the deme and of the gens, who are the proper persons to be called upon to testify. And from this you may learn whether a man who has this support is a citizen or an alien. If we were seeking protection in the testimony of one or two people only, we might be open to the suspicion that we had suborned them; but if it appears that my father in his lifetime and I myself at present have been put to the test before all the groups to which each one of you belongs （I mean those of clan, of kindred, of the deme, and of the gens）, how can it be, how can it possibly be, that all these persons have been suborned to appear, they not being in truth relatives of mine? [25] If it were shown that my father was a man of wealth and had given money to these people to persuade them to assert that they were his relatives, it would have been reasonable for anyone to suspect that he was not a citizen; but if, poor as he was, he both produced these same people as his relatives and proved that they had shared their property with him, is it not perfectly clear that he was indeed related to them? For surely, if he was related to no one of them, they would not have admitted him to a place in the gens and have given him money besides. No; he was related to them, as the facts have shown, and as witnesses have testified to you. And furthermore, he was chosen to offices by lot, and he passed the probationary test, and held office.

Take the deposition, please.“ Deposition ” [26]

Now does any one of you imagine that the demesmen would have suffered the alien and non-citizen to hold office among them, and would not have prosecuted him? Well, not a single man prosecuted him, or brought any charge against him. More than that, the demesmen had of necessity to vote on one another, after binding themselves by solemn oaths, when their voting-register was lost during the administration as prefect of the deme of Antiphilus, the father of Eubulides, and they expelled some of their members; but not a man made any motion about my father or brought any such charges against him. [27] Yet for all men the end of life is death8; and with whatsoever wrongdoings a man may be charged during his lifetime, it is right that for these his children should forever be held accountable; but in matters concerning which no man ever made accusation against him while he lived, is it not outrageous that anyone so wishing should bring his children to trial? If, now, there had been no inquiry into the question, let us grant that the matter has escaped notice; but if inquiry was made and the demesmen reviewed their lists, and no one ever made any accusation, ought I not justly to be regarded as an Athenian so far as my father is concerned, seeing that he died before any dispute regarding his lineage arose?

To prove that these statements of mine are true, I will call witnesses who depose to these facts also.“ Witnesses ” [28]

Furthermore, my father had four sons born of the same mother as myself, and when they died he buried them in our ancestral tomb, which belongs in common to all members of the gens; and no one of these kinsfolk ever made protest or prevented it or brought suit. And yet, who is there who would have permitted persons having no connection with the family to be placed in the ancestral tomb?

To prove that these statements of mine also are true, take the deposition.“ Deposition ” [29]

With regard to my father, then, these are the grounds for my assertion that he was an Athenian; and I have brought forward as witnesses persons whom my opponents themselves have voted to be citizens, and who depose that my father was their own cousin. It is shown that he lived such and such a number of years here in Attica and that he was never in any place brought under scrutiny as being an alien, but that he found a refuge with these persons as his relatives, and that they both received him and gave him a share of their property as being one of themselves. [30] Again, it is shown that he was born in a period when, even if he was an Athenian on one side only, he was entitled to citizenship; for he was born before the archonship of Hucleides.9

With regard to my mother （for they make her too a reproach against me） I will speak, and will call witnesses to support my statements. And yet, men of Athens, in reproaching us with service in the market Eubulides has acted, not only contrary to your decree, but also contrary to the laws which declare that anyone who makes business in the market a reproach against any male or female citizen shall be liable to the penalties for evil-speaking. [31] We on our part acknowledge that we sell ribbons and do not live in the manner we could wish, and if in your eyes, Eubulides, this is a sign that we are not Athenians, I shall prove to you the very opposite—that it is not permitted to any alien to do business in the market.10

Take first the law of Solon and read it, please.“ Law ” [32] Now take also the law of Aristophon; for, men of Athens, Solon was thought to have enacted in this instance so wise and democratic a law that you voted to re-enact it.“ Law ”

It is fitting that you, then, acting in defence of the laws, should hold, not that those who ply a trade are aliens, but that those who bring malicious and baseless suits are scoundrels. For, Eubulides, there is another law too regarding idleness to which you, who denounce us who are traders, are amenable. [33] But we are at the present time involved in a misfortune so great that, whereas it is permitted to this fellow to make slanderous statements which have nothing to do with the case, and to avail himself of every possible means to prevent my obtaining my rights in any particular, you will perhaps rebuke me, if I tell you what sort of a trade this man plies as he goes about the city; and you would do so with good reason, for what need is there for me to tell you what you know? But consider. It seems to me certainly that our carrying on a trade in the market-place is the strongest proof that this fellow is bringing against us charges which are false. [34] He asserts that my mother is a vendor of ribbons and that everybody has seen her. Well then, there ought to be many to testify from knowledge who she is, and not from hearsay only. If she was an alien, they ought to have examined the market-tolls, and have shown whether she paid the alien's tax, and from what country she came; and if she were a slave, then the one who had bought her should by all means have come to give evidence against her, or the one who sold her, or in default of them, someone else to prove that she had lived as a slave or had been set free. But as it is, Eubulides has proved not one of these things; he has merely, in my opinion, indulged in every form of abuse. For this is what a blackmailer is; he makes all manner of charges, but proves nothing. [35]

He has said this too about my mother, that she served as a nurse. We, on our part, do not deny that this was the case in the time of the city's misfortune, when all people were badly off; but in what manner and for what reasons she became a nurse I will tell you plainly. And let no one of you, men of Athens, be prejudiced against us because of this; for you will find today many Athenian women who are serving as nurses; I will mention them by name, if you wish. If we were rich we should not be selling ribbons nor be in want in any way. But what has this to do with our descent? Nothing whatever, in my opinion. [36] Pray, men of Athens, do not scorn the needy （their poverty is misfortune enough）, and scorn still less those who choose to engage in trade and get their living by honest means. No; listen to my words, and if I prove to you that my mother's relatives are such as free-born people ought to be; that they deny upon oath the calumnious charges which this man makes regarding her, and testify that they know her to be of civic birth—they on their part being witnesses whom you yourselves will acknowledge to be worthy of credence—, then, as you are bound to do, cast your votes in my favor. [37]

My grandfather, men of Athens, the father of my mother, was Damostratus of Melitê.11 To him were born four children; by his first wife a daughter and a son Amytheon, and by his second wife Chaerestratê my mother and Timocrates. These also had children. Amytheon had a son Damostratus, who bore the same name as his grandfather, and two others, Callistratus and Dexitheus. Amytheon, my mother's brother, was one of those who served in the campaign in Sicily12 and were killed there, and he lies buried in the public tomb.13 These facts will be proved to you by testimony. [38] To Amytheon's sister, who married Diodorus of Halae,14 was born a son Ctesibius, and he was killed in Abydus15 while serving in the campaign with Thrasybulus. Of these relatives there is living Damostratus, son of Amytheon and nephew of my mother. The sister of my grandmother Chaerestratê was married to Apollodorus of Plotheia.16 They had a son Olympichus, and Olympichus a son Apollodorus, who is still living.

Call these people, please.“ Witnesses ” [39]

These witnesses, then, you have heard giving their testimony and taking their oaths. I will call also one who is our kinsman on both sides, and his sons. For Timocrates, who is my mother's brother, born from the same father and the same mother, had a son Euxitheus, and Euxitheus had three sons. All these persons are still living.

Call, please, those of them who are in the city.“ Witnesses ” [40]

Now take, please, the depositions of the members of the clan belonging to the same gens as my mother, and of the members of the deme, and of those who have the right of burial in the same tombs.“ Depositions ”

As to my mother's lineage, then, I prove to you in this way that she was an Athenian on both the male and the female side. My mother, men of the jury, first married Protomachus, to whom she was given by Timocrates, her brother born of the same father and the same mother17; and she had by him a daughter. Then she married my father and gave birth to me. But how it was that she came to marry my father you must hear; for the charges which my opponent makes regarding Cleinias and my mother's having served as nurse—all this too I will set forth to you clearly. [41] Protomachus was a poor man, but becoming entitled to inherit a large estate by marrying an heiress,18 and wishing to give my mother in marriage, he persuaded my father Thucritus, an acquaintance of his, to take her, and my father received my mother in marriage at the hands of her brother Timocrates of Melitê, in the presence of both his own uncles and other witnesses; and of these as many as are still living shall give testimony before you. [42] Some time after this, when by now two children had been born to her, she was compelled at a time when my father was absent on military service with Thrasybulus and she herself was in hard straits, to take Cleinias, the son of Cleidicus, to nurse. This act of hers was, Heaven knows, none too fortunate with reference to the danger which has now come upon me （for it was from this nursing that all the slander about us has arisen）; but in view of the poverty with which she had to cope she did what was perhaps both necessary and fitting. [43] Now it is plain, men of Athens, that it was not my father who first received my mother in marriage. No; it was Protomachus,and he had by her a son, and a daughter whom he gave in marriage. And he, even though dead, bears testimony by what he did that my mother was an Athenian and of civic birth.

To prove that these statements of mine are true, call first, please, the sons of Protomachus, and next the witnesses who were present when my mother was betrothed to my father, and from the members of the clan the kinsfolk to whom my father gave the marriage-feast in honor of my mother. After them call Eunicus of Cholargus,19 who received my sister in marriage from Protomachus, and then my sister's son. Call them.“ Witnesses ” [44]

Would not my lot, men of Athens, be more piteous than that of any other, if, when all this host of witnesses deposes and swears that they are of my kin, and when no one disputes the citizenship of any one of these, you should vote that I am an alien?

Take, please, also the deposition of Cleinias and that of his relatives; for they, I presume, know who my mother was who once served as his nurse. Their oath requires them to bear witness, not to what I say today, but to what they have always known regarding her who was reputed to be my mother and the nurse of Cleinias. [45] For even if a nurse is a lowly thing, I do not shun the truth. For it is not our being poor that would mark us as wrong-doers, but our not being citizens; and the present trial has to do, not with our fortune or our money, but with our descent. Many are the servile acts which free men are compelled by poverty to perform, and for these they should be pitied, men of Athens, rather than be brought also to utter ruin. For, as I am informed, many women have become nurses and laborers at the loom or in the vineyards owing to the misfortunes of the city in those days, women of civic birth, too; and many who were poor then are now rich. However, I shall speak of these matters by and by.

For the moment, please call the witnesses.“ Witnesses ” [46]

Well then, that I am a citizen on both my mother's and my father's side you have all learned, partly from the testimony which has just been given and partly from that previously given regarding my father. It remains for me to speak to you about myself—and my statement is, I think, the simplest and the most reasonable—, that, since I am of civic birth on the side of both parents and have shared by inheritance both the property and the family, I am a citizen. Nevertheless I will produce witnesses to establish also all the circumstances which befit a citizen—that I was inducted into the clan, that I was enrolled on the register of the demesmen, that by these men themselves I was nominated among the noblest-born to draw lots for the priesthood of Heracles, and that I passed the scrutiny and held offices.

Call them, please.“ Witnesses ” [47]

Is it not an outrage, men of the jury, that, whereas, if I had been chosen by lot as priest, even as I had been nominated, it would have been my duty to offer sacrifice on behalf of these people, and Eubulides would have had to join in the sacrifice with me,—is it not an outrage, I ask, that these same people should not allow me even to share in the sacrifices with them? It is plain, then, men of Athens, that in all previous time I have been acknowledged as a citizen by all those who now accuse me; [48] for surely Eubulides would never have suffered the foreigner or resident alien, as he now calls me, either to hold offices or to draw lots with himself as a nominee for the priesthood; for he too was one of the nominees who drew lots. Nor, men of Athens, seeing that he is an old enemy of mine, would he have waited for the present opportunity, which no one could foresee, if he had known any such facts regarding me. But he did not know them. [49] So, then, although he continued throughout all the past to act as a member of the deme and to draw lots for offices together with me without seeing any of these objections, yet, when the whole city was roused to sharp indignation against those who had recklessly forced their way into the demes, then, and not till then, he laid his plots. The earlier time would have suited one who was convinced of the truth of his charges; but the present suits an enemy and one who will stoop to malicious pettifoggery. [50] For my own part, men of the jury （and I beg you by Zeus and the gods, let no one make an outcry or be vexed at what I am going to say）, I hold myself to be an Athenian on the same grounds on which each one of you holds himself to be one, having from the first regarded as my mother her whom I represent as such to you, and not pretending to be hers while really belonging to another; and in regard to my father the case is the same. [51] Yet, if in the case of those who are proved to have hidden their real parentage and laid claim to a false one, you rightly hold this to be a proof that they are aliens, surely in my case the opposite should prove that I am a citizen. For in claiming the rights of citizenship I should never have inscribed myself as the son of parents who were both foreigners, but, if I had known any such thing, I should have sought out persons to claim as my parents. But I knew nothing of the sort, and so, holding fast to those who are my real parents, I claim Athenian citizenship. [52]

Again, I was left an orphan; and yet they say that I am rich and that some of the witnesses testify that they are my relatives because they receive help from me. They taunt me with my poverty and make my birth a reproach, but at the same time they assert that I am rich enough to buy anything. [53] In which statement, then, is one to believe them? It surely would have been their right, if I had been illegitimate or an alien, to inherit all my property. Do they prefer, then, to take a little and jeopardize themselves by giving false testimony and to commit perjury, rather than to take everything, and that with safety, without having invoked a curse upon their own heads? This is not the case. No; in my opinion, seeing that they are my relatives, they are but doing what is right in aiding one of themselves. [54] And they are not doing this at this time because I have induced them to do so; on the contrary, when I was a child they at once took me to the clansmen, they took me to the temple of Apollo our ancestral god, and to the other sacred places. And yet I presume that as a child I did not induce these men to do this by giving them money. No; my father himself, while he still lived, swore the customary oath and introduced me to the clansmen, knowing that I was an Athenian, born of an Athenian mother, lawfully betrothed to himself; and these facts have been established by testimony. [55]

Am I, then, an alien? Where have I paid the resident alien's tax?20 Or what member of my family has ever paid it? Have I ever gone to the members of another deme and, because I could not induce them to accept me, got myself registered in this one? Have I done any of the things which all those who are not genuine citizens are proved to have done? Certainly not. No; in a word I manifestly have lived as a member of the deme among the same people among whom my father's grandfather, my own grandfather, and my father himself lived. And now, how could anyone prove to you more convincingly than I have done that he is entitled to the rights of citizenship? [56] Let each one of you consider, men of Athens, in what other way he could prove that people are his kinsmen than in the way in which I have proved it—by having them give testimony under oath and showing that they have always been my kinsmen from the beginning.

It is for these reasons that I have confidence in my case and have come to you for protection. For I see, men of Athens, that the decisions of your courts are more valid not only than those of the Halimusians who have expelled me, but more valid even than those of the senate and the popular assembly; and justly so; for in all respects the verdicts of your courts are most just. [57]

Reflect upon this also, all you who belong to the large demes, that you are not wont to deprive any man of his right of accusation and defence. And I invoke many blessings upon the heads of all of you who have dealt fairly with this matter, because you did not deprive of the opportunity to prepare their case those who asked for a delay. By taking this course you exposed the pettifoggers and those who were maliciously scheming against others. [58] You are deserving of praise for this, men of Athens; but those are to be blamed who have misused a procedure that was both admirable and just. In no other of the demes will you find that more outrageous things have been done than in ours. Of brothers born of the same mother and the same father they have expelled some and retained others, and they have expelled elderly men of slender means, while they have left their sons on the list of demesmen; and to prove these things I will call witnesses, if you wish. [59] But you must hear the most outrageous thing which these conspirators have done （and I beg you in the name of Zeus and the gods, let no one of you be offended if I show the rascality of these men who have wronged me. For I hold that in showing what scoundrels they are I am speaking with precise reference to the experience which has befallen me）. For, you must know, men of Athens, that when certain aliens, Anaximenes and Nicostratus, wished to become citizens, these scoundrels admitted them for a sum of money, which they divided among themselves, receiving five drachmae apiece. Eubulides and his clique will not deny on oath that they have knowledge of this; and now in this last revision they did not expel these men. Do you think, then, that there is anything that they would not do in private, seeing that in a public matter they dared this? [60] There are many people indeed, men of the jury, whom Eubulides and his clique have destroyed or have saved for money. For even at an earlier time （and my words shall bear upon the matter in hand, men of Athens） Antiphilus, the father of Eubulides, when he was prefect of the deme, as I have told you, made use of trickery in his desire to get money from certain persons, and asserted that he had lost the public register; and he thereby induced the Halimusians to revise their list of members, denounced ten of their number, and had them expelled; all of whom with one exception the court of justice restored. These facts all the older ones know. [61] It is unlikely indeed that they left on the list any who were not Athenians, when they conspired to expel even men who were citizens, whom the court restored. And although he was a personal enemy of my father at the time, Eubulides not only did not denounce him, but did not even cast his vote that he was not an Athenian. How is this proved? Because my father was declared by all the votes to be a member of the deme. But what need is there to speak of our fathers? Eubulides himself, when I was entered on the register and all the demesmen after taking the oath cast their votes regarding me as the law prescribes, neither denounced me nor cast his vote against me; for in this case again they all voted that I was a member of the deme. And, if they say that I am lying about this, let anyone who wishes give evidence to the contrary in the time allotted to me. [62] If, then, men of Athens, my opponents seem to have a very strong argument in the fact that in the present instance the demesmen have rejected me, I point out to you that on four previous occasions, when they gave their votes in accordance with their oaths without entering into a conspiracy, they voted that both I and my father were their fellow-demesmen—first, when my father passed the scrutiny; secondly, when I did so; then, in the former revision, after these men had made away with the register; and, finally, when they nominated me among the noblest-born and voted that I should draw lots for the priesthood of Heracles. All these facts have been established by testimony. [63]

If it be right for me to speak of my administration as prefect, because of which I incurred the anger of many, and in the course of which I became involved in quarrels because I required some of the demesmen to pay the rents which they owed for sacred lands and to refund other sums which they had embezzled from the public moneys, I should be very glad to have you listen to me; but perhaps you will hold that these matters are foreign to the subject before us. However, I am able to point to this as a positive proof of their conspiracy. For they struck out of the oath the clause that they would vote according to their unbiassed judgement and without favor or malice. [64] This became a matter of general knowledge, as did also the fact that the demesmen from whom I had exacted repayment of the public moneys swore a conspiracy against me, and by a sacrilegious theft stole from the temple the shields which I had dedicated to Athena （for the truth shall be told）, and chiseled out the decree which the demesmen had passed in my honor. And they have come to such a pitch of shamelessness that they went about saying that I had done this for the sake of my defence.21 Yet what man among you, men of the jury, would judge me so utterly insane as to commit an act punishable with death in order to secure so mighty a bit of evidence for my case, and then myself to destroy an inscription which brought me honor? [65] But the most outrageous act of all I fancy they would hardly say that I myself contrived. For hardly had my misfortune come about, when immediately, as if I were already an exile and a ruined man, some of these people went by night to my cottage in the country and attempted to carry off what was there; so utter was their contempt for you and for your laws. If you wish, I will call persons who know the facts. [66]

Many are the other deeds of theirs which I could point out and many the falsehoods which they have told, which I should be glad to enumerate to you; but as you consider these alien to the matter in hand, I will leave them out. Bear in mind, however, the following points, and see how many just arguments I have in coming before you. For, just as you question the Thesmothetae22 in their scrutiny, I will in the same manner question myself before you. [67] “Sir, who was your father?” “My father? Thucritus.” “Do any of your relatives give testimony in his favor?” “Certainly; first, four cousins; then, the son of a cousin; then, those who are married to the female cousins; then, the clansmen; then, those of the gens who worship Apollo, our ancestral god, and Zeus, the god of the household23; then, those who have the right to the same places of burial; then, the members of the deme, who testify that he has often passed the scrutiny and held office, and who are shown themselves to have cast their votes in his favor.” In all that concerns my father, then, how could I prove my case to you more fairly or more convincingly? I will call my relatives before you, if you so wish. [68] Now hear the facts regarding my mother. My mother is Nicaretê, the daughter of Damostratus of Melitê. Who among her relatives give testimony? First, a nephew; then, two sons of her other nephew; then, the son of a cousin; then the sons of Protomachus, who was my mother's former husband; then, Eunicus, of Cholargus, who married my sister, the daughter of Protomachus; then, my sister's son. [69] More than this, the clansmen and the demesmen of her relatives have given this testimony. Of what, then, could you have further need? Yet again, that my father married my mother according to the laws, and that he gave a marriage-feast to the members of the clan, has been proved by testimony. And besides all this, I have shown that I myself have shared in all the privileges which befit free men. On all grounds, therefore, you will act in accordance with your oaths, if you give your verdict in my favour as justice and right demand. [70] Furthermore, men of the jury, when you question the nine archons, you ask whether they act dutifully toward their parents. I for my part am left without a father, but for my mother's sake I beg and beseech you so to settle this trial as to restore to me the right to bury her in our ancestral tomb. Do not deny me this; do not make me a man without a country; do not cut me off from such a host of relatives, and bring me to utter ruin. Rather than abandon them, if it prove impossible for them to save me, I will kill myself, that at least I may be buried by them in my country.

1 It would appear that at the time when this speech was delivered there was much agitation in favor of a strict purge of the lists, and that the people had shown much passion in the procedure.

2 See note a on Dem. 27.67

3 About four miles.

4 The latter period of the Peloponnesian war, 413-404 B.C., is often called the Decelean war, because the Lacedaemonians, who had again invaded Attica, occupied the town of Decelea, not far from Athens, and maintained a garrison there.

5 The modern Leukas, or Santa Maura, off the west coast of Acarnania.

6 Such marriages were permissible under Athenian law.

7 In the early period, before the reforms of Cleisthenes （509 B.C.）, the four tribes into which the Athenians were at that time divided contained each three phratriae, or clans, and these in turn were divided into thirty γένη. Even after Cleisthenes the phratriae and γένη retained a position of religious, if no longer political, significance. To render γένος in this sense we have no better word than the Latin gens.

8 The same phrase occurs in Dem. 18.97, with πέρας for τέλος.

9 In the archonship of Eucleides in 403 B.C., on the motion of Aristophon, an old law of Solon's was revived and put into effect, which declared that, in order to possess full civic rights, a man must be born of parents both of whom were Athenians. The law was naturally not retroactive.

10 That is, without paying a special resident-alien tax, and being registered.

11 Melitê, a deme of the tribe Cecropis.

12 The disastrous expedition to Sicily was sent out in 415 B.C.

13 A cenotaph, of course.

14 For the two demes of this name see note a on p. 336 of vol. ii.

15 A town on Hellespont. The date of this campaign was 388 B.C.

16 Plotheia, a deme of the tribe Aegeïs.

17 In order that a marriage should be legitimate it was necessary that the woman should be given in marriage by a near male relative—generally her father or her brother, or in default of these by someone acting in their stead.

18 A woman could not inherit property but herself passed with the estate to the nearest male heir. He was then entitled, and obliged, to marry her or to give her in marriage. If he chose the former alternative and was alread married, he necessarily divorced his wife or gave her in marriage to another.

19 Cholargus, a deme of the tribe Acamantis.

20 Aliens resident in Athens paid a tax of 12 drachmae annually.

21 That is, by throwing the odium for the act upon his adversaries.

22 See note a on Dem. 33.1

23 Called by this name because his statue stood in the ἕρκος, or enclosure.

Inasmuch as my father, men of the jury, through this man Theocrines was brought to disaster in his relations to the state and condemned to pay a fine of ten talents, and as this fine has been doubled, so that we have not the slightest hope of deliverance, I have thought it my duty to lodge this criminal information with a view to taking vengeance upon the defendant with your aid, without taking into consideration my youth or anything else. [2] For my father, men of the jury, whose wishes have guided me in all that I have done, declared to all his acquaintances what a misfortune it would be if I should let slip the time in which, thanks to his being still alive,1 I have the right to avenge myself on this man, and should make an excuse of my inexperience and my youth, and so look idly on while my father has been deprived of everything, and while Theocrines continues to write indictments contrary to the laws and to harass many citizens with baseless and malicious actions, when he has no right to do so. [3] I, therefore, beg you all, men of Athens, and beseech you to listen to me with goodwill, first, because I am engaging in this contest to help my father and in obedience to his wishes; and secondly, because I am both young and without experience, so that I must count myself fortunate if, because your goodwill is at hand to help me, I shall be able to show what this fellow has done; [4] and in addition to these reasons, since I, men of the jury, have been betrayed （for the truth shall be told you） by persons in whom I trusted because of their enmity to the defendant, men who after hearing the facts and promising to stand by me, have now left me in the lurch,2 and have come to terms with the defendant in this suit of mine; so that I shall have no one even as a fellow-pleader, unless someone from among my own kinsmen shall come to my aid. [5]

This man was liable to many criminal informations, and has transgressed all the laws which bear upon these matters; but the most unheard of among his acts we found to be the denunciation which he lodged concerning the merchant ship; so that my father put this at the head of the criminal information which he gave me. First, then, the clerk shall read to you the law regarding those who lodge denunciations and do not carry them through, but compromise in defiance of the laws. For it is with this, I think, that I ought to begin my speech. Then will follow the denunciation itself which the defendant lodged against Micon.

Read.“ Law ” [6]

This law, men of the jury, expressly prescribes for those who undertake either to prefer indictments or lodge denunciations or do any other of the acts specified in the law, the conditions under which each one of these things is to be done. These are, as you have heard from the law itself, that, if a man prosecutes and does not receive the fifth part of the votes,3 he shall pay a fine of a thousand drachmae, and if he does not prosecute, Theocrines, he shall pay another thousand, to the end that no one may bring forward baseless charges, or with impunity make profit for himself or compromise the interests of the state.

I declare, then, that in accordance with this criminal information Theocrines is liable for having denounced Micon of Cholleidae,4 and then having accepted money and sold the case instead of prosecuting it. [7] I believe that I shall prove this clearly. And yet, men of the jury, Theocrines and his clique have gone to all lengths in tampering with the witnesses, and trying to induce them by threats and by bribes not to give testimony. Nevertheless, if you will give me the aid which you are bound to give, and will bid them, or rather join with me in compelling them, either to testify, or to disclaim knowledge under oath, and will not allow them to talk at random, the truth will be brought to light.

Read, then, first the denunciation and then the depositions.“ Denunciation ” [8]

This denunciation, men of the jury, was lodged by the defendant after he had cited Micon to appear. It was received by Euthyphemus, the secretary of the overseers of the port, and was exposed to public view for a long time in front of the meeting-place of the board, until this fellow was bribed to allow it to be crossed out, just when the magistrates were summoning him for the preliminary hearing.

To prove that these statements of mine are true, call first Euthyphemus, who was secretary of the board.“ Deposition ” [9]

Now read the deposition of those who saw the denunciation exposed to view.“ Deposition ”

Call now also the overseers of the port and Micon himself, against whose ship Theocrines lodged the denunciation; and read their depositions.“ Depositions ” [10]

Therefore, men of the jury, that Theocrines did lodge a denunciation against the ship of Micon, and that the denunciation was exposed for a long time to public view, and again that, when summoned to the preliminary hearing, he did not answer, nor did he prosecute the case, you have heard from witnesses who were in the best position to know the truth. And that he is liable, not to the fine of a thousand drachmae merely, but also to arrest and to the other punishments which the law declares shall be inflicted upon anyone who prefers baseless charges against merchants and ship-owners, you will readily learn from the law itself. [11] For the proposer of this law, in his desire that those of the merchants who were guilty of wrongdoing should not go unpunished, and that those who were innocent should not be annoyed, absolutely forbade a person of this sort to make denunciations unless he were confident that he could prove in your court that the things charged in his denunciation had actually taken place; but that if any one of those who bring baseless charges should transgress this law, he should be liable to criminal information and arrest.

However, read them the law itself; for it will explain the matter more clearly than I can do.“ Law ” [12]

You hear, men of the jury, the penalties which the laws ordain for the one who brings baseless charges. Well then, if Micon has done any of the acts which Theocrines in his denunciation charged him with doing, and Theocrines has compromised the matter and come to terms with the man, he is guilty of a crime against you all, and would justly be fined a thousand drachmae. But if Micon sailed to a port to which he might legitimately sail （let the defendant choose either alternative）, and Theocrines none the less denounces and summons him, he is bringing a baseless charge against the ship-owners, and has violated not only the former law, but also the one just read, and has convicted himself of dishonesty both in his words and in his actions. [13] For what man would have desisted from an honest course of action by which he would have received the share of the money which the law allows, and have rather chosen to make a trifling gain by a compromise and render himself amenable to these laws, when, as I said just now, he might have received half the sum involved in the denunciation? No man in the world would have done so, men of the jury, unless he were conscious that he was bringing baseless and malicious charges. [14]

These are two laws, then, which this man, who indicts others for illegal acts, has himself violated. There is a third law also, which enacts that any one of the citizens who pleases may lodge criminal informations against those who owe money to the treasury, or if any man is indebted to Athena or to any one of the rest of the gods, or of the eponymous heroes.5 In this class the defendant will be shown to belong; for he owes, and has not paid, seven hundred drachmae, which he was condemned at the audit to pay to the eponymus of his tribe.

Read that part of the law.“ Law ” [15]

Stop reading. Do you hear, fellow, what it says?—“or to any one of the eponymous heroes.”

Read the deposition of the members of the tribe.“ Deposition ”

It is likely indeed, men of the jury, that the defendant would have regard for few persons and for those who spend most of their time at sea, as Micon does, when he felt neither fear nor shame in the presence of his tribesmen, in the first place, when administering their public business in such a way that they convicted him of embezzlement, and in the second place, although he had been fined and knew well that the laws forbade him to prefer indictments until he should pay, when defying the laws and holding that, while other state-debtors could exercise no public function, he had the right to be superior to the laws. [16] He will, to be sure, assert that it is his grandfather and not himself who is entered on the register as a debtor to the state, and in regard to this will talk at length to prove that it is he. I myself cannot say with certainty which of the two it is; but supposing it to be as he will claim, I think that you will be under far greater obligation to convict him, if this is the case. [17] For if his grandfather was a state-debtor long ago and the law ordains that he be his grandfather's heir—if, though he long ago lost the right to prefer indictments, he still continued to prefer them; and if he is going to assume that he ought to be acquitted just because he is a scoundrel of the third generation, there will be no justice in his plea, men of the jury.

To prove that it is admitted by Theocrines himself that this debt is his own and that he arranged with the members of the tribe on behalf of his brother and himself for its payment, and that no jury which has regard to its oath could honorably hold that this criminal information is without foundation, take, please, the bill which Scironides introduced in the meeting of the tribe. [18] For this man Theocrines came forward, admitted the debt and in the presence of the members of the tribe promised to pay it, when he saw that we were coming up and were planning to take a copy of what stood written in the register.“ Decree ”

With much better reason, men of Athens, would you commend the members of the tribe Leontis, who compelled Theocrines to pay the seven minae, than this fellow himself. [19]

There is now a fourth law （for I admit that I have looked closely into most of the things which the defendant has done） according to which this Theocrines owes five hundred drachmae, since his father had not paid a fine of that amount to which he had been sentenced for having sought to maintain that the maid-servant of Cephisodorus was a free woman.6 No; he fixed things with Ctesicles, the speech-writer, who was acting in the matter for his opponents, in such a way that he should neither pay the damages nor be listed on the acropolis as a debtor to the state. [20] Despite this fact, I maintain that Theocrines still owes the money according to the law. For if Ctesicles, the resident alien, did make an agreement with this fellow, as one scoundrel with another, that one sentenced to pay the fine in accordance with the law should not be handed over to the collectors, the state should not on that account be robbed of the penalties imposed by the laws. No indeed; it is right for the parties in a suit to make whatever arrangement they may mutually agree upon in private affairs, but in matters which concern the public they must act as the law ordains. [21]

Read, please, the law which declares that anyone who is adjudged to have wrongfully asserted the freedom of a slave shall pay half the sum assessed into the public treasury, and then read also the deposition of Cephisodorus.“ Law ”“ Deposition ”

Now read that law also, which declares that a man shall be regarded as a debtor from the day on which he incurs the fine, whether he has been entered on the public register or not.“ Law ” [22]

In what other way, men of the jury, could an honest prosecutor show that the criminal information has been rightly brought against this Theocrines, and that he is liable, not only to the fine of a thousand drachmae, which forms the basis of the information, but to many other penalties as well? To my mind there is no other way. For surely you cannot expect that Theocrines will himself admit the indebtedness to your treasury and say that the criminal information has been lodged against him with justice. On the contrary, he will say anything rather than this. He will bring forward all manner of charges, alleging that a cabal is working against him, and that he has come into this danger because of the indictments which he has preferred for illegal actions. [23] For this is the last resource of those convicted on the facts of the case—to invent charges and excuses which will make you forget the question before you and give attention to arguments which are alien to the accusation. But I, men of the jury, if I had seen in the laws which have just been read a clause to this effect: “these provisions regarding those who bring malicious charges shall be in force unless Theocrines, a criminal information having been laid against him, shall see fit to denounce Thucydides7 or Demosthenes or any other of the men in public life,” I should have kept quiet; but as it is, I find that no such excuse is taken into consideration in the laws, nor is it new, so that those now hearing it for the first time should pay attention to it; on the contrary it has been used ten thousand times by people on trial. [24] I am also told, men of the jury, by those who are older than I, that it is proper that in no case whatever should pardon be shown to one who transgresses the laws, but if pardon is to be shown, it should not be to those who are habitual offenders or to those who betray the laws for a bribe （surely not that!） but to those who through their own inexperience unintentionally transgress some provision of the law. No man, I take it, would say that Theocrines here belongs to this latter class, but on the contrary that there is no provision of the law with which he is not acquainted. [25]

You must, therefore, watch him, and have regard neither to my words nor to those which will be spoken by his side. For it is not right that those who sit here to defend the laws should pay attention to long speeches and accusations, but only to those which you will all easily follow, and by the help of which you will be thought by all the citizens to have decided this information in a manner worthy of the laws. You should ask in plain terms, “What do you mean, Theocrines, and all you who follow the same pursuits as he does? Do you demand that we who have sworn that we will give our verdict according to the laws shall vote contrary to the laws because of your speeches? [26] Do you demand this, when Micon, against whom Theocrines filed his denunciation but did not proceed with it, has given evidence before us, and has made himself responsible to these jurors?—when the secretary acknowledges that he received the denunciation from the defendant, and has been made responsible by the deposition which was read a little while ago?—when, furthermore, the overseers of the port have, unwillingly, to be sure, yet nevertheless, given the same testimony as the others?-and when, in addition to all this, testimony is given, as you heard a little while ago, by those who saw the denunciation exposed to public view, and who went before the magistrates?” No; men of the jury, that would not be right. [27]

I am sure that the character of the defendant and his manner of life will not lead you to believe that the depositions which have been read are false. On the contrary, his character far more convincingly than the words which have been spoken proves Theocrines to be such as I portray him. For what is there that a scoundrel and a pettifogger would do that he has not done? Was it not because of his evil character that his brother, who held the office of judge8 and who was guided by the defendant's advice, was brought into such bad repute with you, that, when you voted on the question of retaining the magistrates,9 he was not only himself rejected, but caused the rejection of the entire board? And had it not been that through the prayers and entreaties of his fellow-judges and through their promise that Theocrines should never again come near the board you were persuaded to give them back their crowns,10 would they not have incurred the deepest possible disgrace? [28] To prove these facts there is no need of my calling witnesses before you, for you all know that in the archonship of Lyciscus11 the Thesmothetae were deposed from office by vote of the popular assembly because of Theocrines. Remembering this, you ought to assume that he is no different now from what he was then.

Not long after he was removed from office, when his brother died by a violent death, Theocrines showed himself so utterly heartless toward him that, when he had made inquiry concerning those who had done the deed, and had learned who they were, he accepted a bribe, and let the matter drop.12 [29] His brother at the time of his death held the office of sacrificer, and this office Theocrines continued to fill in defiance of the laws, without having been designated by lot to assume the office or to fill the vacancy. He went around bewailing his brother's fate and declaring that he was going to summon Demochares before the Areopagus, until he made terms with those charged with the crime. An honorable man is he indeed, one whom you can trust, a man quite above the appeal of money! Why, even he would not claim that. Men say that whoever means to administer public affairs with justice and moderation should not have so many wants, but should be superior to all those things which lead people to spend on themselves all that they receive. [30]

Such, then, was his conduct where his brother was concerned; but it is worth your while to hear how he has managed affairs since he came forward in public life （for he declares that he loves you next after his own relatives）. I will begin with his conduct toward us. In his accusation against my father, men of the jury, when he was prosecuting the indictment for illegality against him, he stated that a plot had been formed against the boy,13 regarding whom the decree was drawn—the decree, that is, in which my father moved that maintenance in the Prytaneum14 should be granted to Charidemus, son of Ischomachus. [31] For Theocrines asserted that, if the boy should return to his father's house, he would be found to have lost all the estate which Aeschylus, his adoptive father, had given him. This assertion was false, for no such thing, men of the jury, has ever happened to any adopted person. He made the further assertion that Polyeuctus, the husband of the boy's mother, had been responsible for the whole scheme, since he wished to retain possession of the boy's property. The jurymen were incensed at his assertions and held that, while the decree itself and the grant were both legal, the boy would in fact be robbed of his estate; and they fined my father ten talents as being in the scheme with Polyeuctus, and gave credence to Theocrines as having come to the boy's defence. [32] Such, or substantially such, were the proceedings in court. But when this worthy fellow saw that the people were filled with wrath, and that he himself had been believed, as one who was not wholly depraved, he summoned Polyeuctus before the archon and lodged an indictment against him for maltreatment of an orphan, and put the case in the hands of the assessor Mnesarchides.15 When, however, he had received two hundred drachmae from Polyeuctus and had sold for a trifling sum those awful charges for which he had fixed the damages in my father's case at ten talents, he dropped the matter, withdrew the indictment, and left the orphan in the lurch.

Call, please, the witnesses who support these statements.“ Witnesses ” [33]

If now my father had been well-to-do, men of the jury, and able to provide a thousand drachmae, he would have got off entirely free from the indictment for illegality; for that was the sum the defendant demanded of him.

Call, please, Philippides of Paeania16 to whom this fellow Theocrines made this statement, and the others who know that he made it.“ Witnesses ” [34]

That Theocrines, men of the jury, if he had been offered the thousand drachmae, would have withdrawn the indictment against my father, I think that you are all convinced, even if no witness had so testified. To prove, however, that he has summoned many other people and preferred indictments against them, and then has compromised the matter, and that he is in the habit of desisting from prosecution on receipt of small bribes, I shall call before you the very persons who paid him, in order that you may not believe him when he declares that it is he who keeps watch over those who propose illegal measures, and that when indictments for illegality are done away with it is the ruin of your democracy. （For it is in this way that all those who sell everything for money are in the habit of talking.） [35]

Call, please, Aristomachus, son of Critodemus, of Alopecê,17 for it is he who paid—or rather in whose house were paid—the mina and a half to this man who cannot be bribed, in the matter of the decree which Antimedon proposed on behalf of the people of Tenedos.18“ Deposition ”

Read also in sequence the other depositions of the same sort, and that of Hypereides19 and Demosthenes. For this goes beyond all else—that the fellow should be most glad, by selling indictments to get money from men, from whom no one else would think of demanding it.20“ Depositions ” [36]

Well, he will presently say that the criminal information has been lodged against him for this purpose, that he may not proceed with the indictment which he preferred against Demosthenes or with that against Thucydides; for he is a clever fellow at lying and at saying what lacks all foundation. I have looked into this matter also, men of the jury, and will show you that the state suffers not the slightest harm, whether the decree of Thucydides is ratified, or whether it is annulled. And yet it is not right to bring up a defence of this sort before men who have sworn to give a verdict according to the laws. You will, however, presently learn from the indictment itself, that it is merely a pretext to offset the criminal information.

Read these indictments.21“ Indictments ” [37]

Whether the decrees stand as they are, men of the jury, or are annulled （for it makes no difference to me）, what does the state either gain or lose? Nothing, in my opinion. They say that the men of Aenos22 pay no heed to our state, and that this has come about because of this fellow Theocrines. For being harassed by the false and malicious charges of this man at the time when some of them were turning to Philip and others to Athens, and learning that the decree which Charinus had previously indicted had again been indicted as illegal,—the decree, that is, which Thucydides proposed and which had to do with their contribution23; and learning furthermore that no conclusion was being reached in the matter, [38] but that, while the people were ready to grant that the Aenians should pay the contribution which they had agreed upon with the general Chares, this abominable fellow had taken upon himself to carry on the same practices as the traitor Charinus—learning all this, I say, they took the course which necessity forced upon them, and chose the least of the evils before them. Yet what must we assume their sufferings at the hands of those who were preferring indictments here to have been, when it seemed to the Aenians preferable to revolt from us, to receive a garrison, and to be subject to barbarians? But you alone, I think, are able to endure the wickedness of these men, you alone, and no one besides among all the Greeks! [39]

That you ought not, then, whether on account of the indictments which have been read, or for any other reason, to acquit Theocrines in defiance of all the laws concerning criminal informations, is reasonably clear from what has been said. I think, however, men of the jury, that you are not aware of the excuses of these men, of their accusations, and their pretended enmities. [40] For you have not infrequently seen them in the court-rooms and on the platform, declaring that they are personal foes to one another, but in private following the same pursuits and sharing the profits; at one time reviling and abusing one another in foulest terms, and a little later associating in family festivals with these same people, and taking part in the same sacrifices. And not one of these things is perhaps to be wondered at. For the men are by nature base, and they see that you accept such excuses; so what is to prevent their using them and trying to deceive you? [41] For my part I hold that it is absolutely your duty, men of the jury, to fix your attention on the matter at issue and on nothing else, and then, if my plea seems to you just and in accordance with law, to give me your support, caring nothing for the fact that it is not Demosthenes who prefers the charges, but a mere stripling. You are bound also to hold that the laws are not more binding when one presents them to you carefully in rhetorical language than when they are recited in the speech of every day. No; they are the same laws; and you should all the more readily give aid to the young and inexperienced, since they are less likely to lead you astray. [42] For that the case is the exact opposite of what my opponent asserts,—that it is not he, but I, who am the victim of a cabal, and that, after certain persons had declared that they would aid me in my suit, I have been betrayed because of the cliques formed by these men,—all this will be made clear to you in the following way. Let the crier here call Demosthenes. He will not come forward. The reason is, not that I have been induced by certain persons to lodge criminal information against this man, but that he and the one just now mentioned have come to terms with one another. To prove that this is true, I will compel to testify both Cleinomachus, who brought them together, and Eubulides, who was with them in Cynosarges24; [43] and I will further produce what you will all acknowledge when you have heard it, to be, not a weaker, but a stronger proof that my statement is true. For Theocrines here, when prosecuting for illegal action this abominable person, as he will presently call him, and the one who is the cause of his present troubles, openly discharged him from the indictment, in which he had fixed the penalty at ten talents. How? By doing nothing startling, but the very thing that others of his stamp have done. When the indictment was called, someone filed an affidavit for postponement, declaring that Demosthenes was ill—Demosthenes, who was going about and abusing Aeschines. This enemy of his, then, this fellow has let off, and he neither at the time filed a counter-affidavit, nor did he subsequently call the case for trial. Are not these men manifestly hoodwinking you, when you entertain the idea that they are personal foes?

Read the depositions.“ Depositions ” [44]

It is not right, then, men of the jury, that you any more than we should listen to those who will declare that they are going to speak in the interest of Theocrines because of their enmity to Demosthenes. No; if they are in truth enemies of Demosthenes, you should bid them bring their indictments against him, and not permit him to propose illegal decrees. These people too are clever, and you are more apt to give them credence. They will not, however, take the course which I mention. For what reason? Because they claim to be at war with one another, although they are not at war. [45]

With reference to the enmity of these people you could give me more exact information than I can give you. I should be glad, however, to ask Theocrines in your presence, if only he would give me an honest answer, what he would have done—he who declares that he has been assigned the duty of putting a stop to the proposers of illegal decrees—if anyone, after speaking to the whole body of citizens in the assembly and winning their assent, had proposed a decree, permitting those who had lost their civic rights and those indebted to the public treasury to indict, denounce, and lodge criminal informations—in a word to do all the things which the law now forbids them to do— [46] would he have indicted for illegality the one who proposed that decree, or would he not? If he says he would not, how can you believe him when he states that he is on the watch for those who propose illegal decrees? And if he would have brought in an indictment, is it not an outrageous thing, that when another proposed the bill, he should prevent its being finally enacted, to the end that all should not have this privilege, and should put a stop to the matter by preferring an indictment, plainly writing by its side the words of the laws; [47] and yet should now, without having won the people's consent or made the matter public, himself continue to prefer indictments, when the laws forbid him to do so? And he will say presently that he is being abominably treated if he is not to be allowed to continue to do this, and will rehearse the penalties provided by the laws, to which he will be liable, if convicted. Is it not an outrage that he should flout the laws, but claim that there has been granted to him by you a privilege so great that no one else has dared even to ask for it? [48]

That in regard to the criminal information, therefore, neither Theocrines nor anyone of those who speak in his behalf will have any just argument to advance, I take it you are all pretty well assured. I fancy, however, that they will try to maintain that criminal informations may not be lodged against those who are not registered on the Acropolis,25 and that it is not right to consider those as debtors whose names no one has given over to the collectors, [49] just as though you were unaware of the law which declares a man a debtor from the day on which the penalty has been imposed or on which he has transgressed the law or the decree; or as if it were not clear to everybody that there are many ways in which people who wish to obey the laws become debtors to the treasury and meet the obligation. This is plain from the law itself.

Take this law again, please.“ Law ”

Do you hear, you abominable beast, what the statute says? “From the day on which the penalty shall be imposed or on which he transgresses the law.” [50]

I hear that they are going to produce also that law which ordains that, in the interest of those who are inscribed on the register, whatever portion of the debt be paid shall be erased, and they will ask how men are to make erasures, when the debt has not even been entered on the register; as if you did not know that this statute has to do with debtors who are registered, while to those who are not registered but owe money that other law applies, which declares that one is a debtor from the day on which the penalty is incurred or on which he transgresses the law or the decree. [51] Why, then, he will ask, do you not indict me for non-insertion in the register, seeing that I am a debtor, and not registered? Because the law ordains that indictments for non-insertion shall be lodged, not against those who are debtors and not registered, but against those who, although they have been registered and have not paid their debt, nevertheless have their names erased.

Take the law, please, and read it.“ Law ” [52]

You hear the law, men of the jury, hear that it expressly declares that, if any one of those indebted to the treasury shall have his name erased without having discharged his debt to the state, an indictment for non-insertion in the register may be brought against him before the Thesmothetae, but not against a debtor who has not been registered. Against persons of this class it ordains that there shall be a criminal information and other legal penalties. But why do you, Theocrines, try to teach me all the ways in which one may avenge oneself upon one's enemies, instead of making a defence in the action in which you have come into court? [53]

Moerocles,26 men of the jury, who proposed the decree against those who injure merchants, and who persuaded, not you alone, but your allies as well, to organize a sort of police to repress the wrongdoers, will not be ashamed presently on behalf of Theocrines to speak in opposition to his own decree. [54] On the contrary, he will have the audacity to advise you that you ought not to punish, but to acquit, the one who has thus manifestly been convicted of lodging false denunciations against the merchants; as if his measures for purging the sea had no other purpose than that voyagers who had come safely through the dangers of the open sea might pay money to these people in the harbor; or as if it were any advantage to the merchants that, after completing a long voyage without mishap, they should fall into the hands of Theocrines. [55] For my part, I think that, while the generals and those in command of your ships of war, and not you, are to blame for mishaps which occur during a voyage, yet for mishaps in the Peiraeus and before the magistrates you are to blame, since you have all these persons under your control. Wherefore it is even more necessary to watch those who transgress the laws here at home than those who fail to abide by your decrees abroad, in order that you may not yourselves be thought to look with complaisance upon what is going on and in a measure to connive at the doings of these men. [56] For surely, Moerocles, we are not now going to exact ten talents from the Melians27 in accordance with the terms of your decree, because they gave harborage to the pirates, and yet suffer this man to go free who has transgressed both your decree and the laws which maintain our state. And shall we prevent from wrongdoing the islanders, against whom we must man our ships in order to hold them to their duty, but you abominable creatures, upon whom these jurymen should inflict the penalty according to the laws, while they sit right here—shall we let you go? You will not, at least if you are wise.

Read the stelê.28“ Stele ” [57]

Regarding the laws, then, and the case before you I do not know what need there is to say more; for, I take it, you have been adequately informed. It is my purpose, after begging justice at your hands for my father and myself, to come down from the platform and trouble you no further. I felt, men of the jury, that it was my duty to come to my father's aid, and I thought that this course was just; so I lodged this criminal information, as I told you at the outset, [58] although I knew well that those who wished to calumniate me would find words which would fling reproach upon my youth, while others would praise me and hold that I was acting wisely in seeking to take vengeance on the enemy of my father. However, I knew that, while the effect on my hearers would be as fortune might determine, I was none the less in duty bound to carry out the command laid upon me by my father, especially as it was a just one. [59] For when, pray, should I come to his aid? Should it not be now, when the opportunity of avenging him in accordance with the laws is open to me, when I myself share in my father's misfortune, and he has been left desolate? This is precisely what has now come about. For, in addition to our other misfortunes, men of the jury, this too has befallen us: everybody urges us on, expresses sympathy for what has happened, says that we have been outrageously treated, and that the defendant is liable to the criminal information; yet no one of those who say these things is willing to cooperate with us or declares his readiness openly to incur the enmity of Theocrines. So true is it that with some people the love of right is not strong enough to lead them to speak out frankly. [60] And, men of the jury, while many misfortunes have befallen us in a short period of time because of this fellow Theocrines, no one of them is more grievous than the present one, that, namely, my father, to whom the wrong was done and who could set forth to you the cruel and illegal acts of Theocrines, must keep silent （for the laws so bid）, and I, who am unequal to all these tasks, must I do the talking; and whereas other youths of my age are aided by their fathers, my father now rests his hopes on me. [61]

Seeing, then, that we are engaged in so unequal a contest, we beg you all to come to our aid and to make it clear to all men that, whether a boy or an old man, or one of any age, comes before you in accordance with the laws, he will obtain complete justice. The honorable course for you, men of the jury, is, not to put the laws or your own selves in the power of those who speak, but to keep the speakers in your power, and to make a distinction between those who speak well and lucidly, and those who speak what is just; for it is concerning justice that you have sworn to cast your votes. [62] For no man surely will persuade you that there will be any lack of politicians like the defendant, or that the state will be less well administered because of that. Indeed the opposite is the case, as I hear from men older than myself. For they tell us that the state fared best when men of moderation and restraint were in public life. Would one find Theocrines and his fellows to be good counsellors? No; they say not a word in the assembly, but get money by indicting those who do speak there. [63] And this is an extraordinary thing: they make their living by pettifoggery, yet they say they get nothing from the state, and, while they possessed nothing before coming to you, now that they are well-to-do they do not even feel grateful to you, but go about saying that the people are fickle and surly and thankless, as if you prospered because of these men, and not they because of the people! But after all it is natural for them to say this, when they see how easy-going you are. For you have never punished any one of them in the way his wickedness deserves, but you put up with their saying that the safety of the democracy comes from those who bring indictments and baseless actions; than whom no more pernicious class exists. [64] For in what could anyone find these people useful to the state? They punish wrongdoers, it will be said, and through them the number of wrongdoers is lessened. Not so, men of the jury; it is even increased; for those who are minded to do evil, knowing that a portion of their gains must be given to these men, of necessity determine to exact more from the rest, that they may have enough to spend, not only upon themselves, but upon these men as well. [65] Against all others who in their wrongdoing work harm upon those who come into contact with them men may protect themselves, some by setting a guard over their household effects, others by staying at home at night, so as to suffer no harm, and again, by taking precautions in one way or another men can guard against the plots of those who wish to work them harm; but against pettifoggers like this man—whither can one go to win security from them? The things which are a means of escape from other crimes are the stock-in-trade of these men—the laws, that is, the courts, witnesses, assemblies. It is here that they show their strength, counting as friends those who offer them money, and the quiet and wealthy people as their foes. [66]

Remember, therefore, men of the jury, the wickedness of these men, and remember also our ancestors, of whom Epichares, my grandfather, was victor in the foot-race for boys at Olympia and won a crown for the city, and enjoyed good report among your ancestors as long as he lived; whereas we, thanks to this god-detested fellow, have been deprived of our citizenship in that state [67] in defence of which Aristocrates, son of Scelius, the uncle of my grandfather Epichares, whose name my brother here bears, performed many glorious deeds, when our country was at war with the Lacedaemonians. He razed to the ground Eetioneia,29 into which Critias30 and his faction were about to receive the Lacedaemonians, destroyed the fortress raised against us, and restored the people to their country, incurring himself dangers not like those which we are incurring, but dangers in which even disaster is glorious; and he put a stop to those who were plotting against you. [68] For his sake, even if we had been like this fellow Theocrines, you would with good right have preserved us; to say nothing of our being better than he and of our pleading a cause which is just.

We will not burden you by constantly repeating these things, for the defendant has brought us into such plight that, as I said at the outset, we have no hope of sharing in that freedom of speech which is granted even to aliens. [69] In order, therefore, that, if we get nothing else, we may at least have the satisfaction of seeing the defendant also reduced to silence, come to our aid; have pity on those of our family who have died for their country; compel Theocrines to make his defence on the questions raised by the indictment itself; and show yourselves as judges of his words such as he showed himself as our accuser. [70] For he, after deceiving the jury, refused to propose any moderate penalty for my father, although I pleaded with him earnestly and clasped his knees in entreaty; but, as if my father had betrayed our country, he fixed the penalty at ten talents. We, therefore, beg and implore you: give us a just verdict.

Come to our aid, anyone who has anything to say, and plead for us. Mount the platform.

1 In the event of the father's death the son would inherit his ἀτιμία, or loss of civic rights, and would be debarred from bringing action.

2 This is commonly believed to be a fling at Demosthenes.

3 The ἐπωβελία（see note a on Dem. 27.67） was exacted also in criminal suits, and the prosecutor who did not receive the fifth part of the votes was also fined a thousand drachmae.

4 Cholleidae, a deme of the tribe Leontis.

5 The legendary figures after whom the various tribes were named. They each had their tribal shrines.

6 In such cases, if the parties could not come to an agreement as to whether the person in question was slave or free, the matter came into court. In the present instance the father of Theocrines had evidently not been able to make good his claim that the servant in question was a free woman, and had been ordered to pay damages to his adversary and a like sum （hence the compound verb, προσῶφλεν） as a fine to the state. See Meier and Schomann, 2. pp. 658 ff.

7 This Thucydides was an orator of the party of Demosthenes.

8 That is, one of the Themosthetae; see note a on Dem. 33.1

9 This was done at the first assembly in each prytany, or ten times a year. （For the prytany see note a on Dem. 47.42）

10 The ten archons wore crowns as a badge of their inviolability.

11 That is, in 343 B.C.

12 That is, he accepted the blood-price instead of bringing the murderers to justice.

13 It appears that the father of the present speaker had proposed a decree granting to Charidemus, son of the general Ischomachus, maintenance in the Prytaneum in recognition of the services rendered to the state by his father. Charidemus had, however, been adopted by Aeschylus, and, if he accepted the honor, would have had to return to his father's family, and in that case he would forfeit all claim to the estate of his adoptive father, which was a large one; though the speaker maintains that there was no likelihood of this result. Theocrines asserted that, in moving the decree, Epichares was acting in collusion with Polyeuctus, who had married the boy's mother, and who wanted to get control of the property for himself. （This is most easily explained on the assumption that the mother was herself a daughter of Aeschylus, and therefore the ἐπίκληρος, or heiress. In that case her husband, as her κύριος, would control the property.） The jury found against the father of Epichares, and he was fined ten talents.

14 This building was situated in or near the agora on the north-west slope of the Acropolis; see Vanderpool in Hesperia 4. （1935）, p. 471, note 4. In it were maintained as guests of the state Olympic victors and any who had rendered extraordinary benefactions to the state.

15 Each of the three chief archons （the Eponymus, the King, and the Polemarch） had two assessors to whom he could delegate the conduct of business for him. This case would belong to the Eponymus.

16 Paeania, a deme of the tribe Pandionis.

17 Alopecê, a deme of the tribe Antiochis.

18 Tenedos, an island in the Aegean, off the west coast of Phrygia.

19 A prominent Athenian orator and statesman.

20 That is, these men were too influential to fear blackmail from a man like Theocrines.

21 There were two indictments, one against Demosthenes and one against Thucydides.

22 Aenos, a town on the south coast of Thrace.

23 It appears that the Athenian general Chares had fixed the tribute to be paid by the Athenians at a moderate sum, and that Thucydides had proposed a decree approving this act. This decree was indicted as illegal, first by Charinus and then by Theocrines. The result was that the Aenians revolted and went over to the side of Philip.

24 A gymnasium in Athens which was a common place of rendezvous.

25 The names of those who were debtors to the state were inscribed on pillars set up in the Acropolis.

26 We know nothing more of Moerocles and his decree than is told in this oration.

27 Melos, an island in the southern Aegean.

28 The marble slab upon which the decree was inscribed.

29 This was one of the forts guarding the Peiraeus. On Aristocrates and his struggle with the oligarchs, see Thuc. 8.88-92.

30 Critias was one of the leaders of the Thirty Tyrants. Epichares is at fault in his chronology.

Many indeed are the reasons, men of Athens, which urged me to prefer this indictment against Neaera, and to come before you. We have suffered grievous wrongs at the hands of Stephanus and have been brought by him into the most extreme peril, I mean my father-in-law, myself, my sister, and my wife; so that I shall enter upon this trial, not as an aggressor, but as one seeking vengeance. For Stephanus was the one who began our quarrel without ever having been wronged by us in word or deed. I wish at the outset to state before you the wrongs which we have suffered at this hands, in order that you may feel more indulgence for me as I seek to defend myself and to show you into what extreme danger we were brought by him of losing our country and our civic rights. [2]

When the people of Athens passed a decree granting the right of citizenship to Pasion1 and his descendants on account of services to the state, my father favored the granting of the people's gift, and himself gave in marriage to Apollodorus, son of Pasion, his own daughter, my sister, and she is the mother of the children of Apollodorus. Inasmuch as Apollodorus acted honorably toward my sister and toward all of us, and considered us in truth his relatives and entitled to share in all that he had, I took to wife his daughter, my own niece. [3] After some time had elapsed Apollodorus was chosen by lot as a member of the senate; and when he had passed the scrutiny and had sworn the customary oath, there came upon the city a war2 and a crisis so grave that, if victors, you would be supreme among the Greek peoples, and would beyond possibility of dispute have recovered your own possessions and have crushed Philip in war; but, if your help arrived too late and you abandoned your allies,3 allowing your army to be disbanded for want of money, you would lose these allies, forfeit the confidence of the rest of the Greeks, and risk the loss of your other possessions, Lemnos and Imbros, and Scyros and the Chersonese.4 [4] You were at that time on the point of sending your entire force to Euboea and Olynthus,5 and Apollodorus, being one of its members, brought forward in the senate a bill, and carried it as a preliminary decree6 to the assembly, proposing that the people should decide whether the funds remaining over from the state's expenditure should be used for military purposes or for public spectacles. For the laws prescribed that, when there was war, the funds remaining over from state expenditures should be devoted to military purposes, and Apollodorus believed that the people ought to have power to do what they pleased with their own; and he had sworn that, as member of the senate, he would act for the best interests of the Athenian people, as you all bore witness at that crisis. [5] For when the division took place there was not a man whose vote opposed the use of these funds for military purposes; and even now, if the matter is anywhere spoken of, it is acknowledged by all that Apollodorus gave the best advice, and was unjustly treated. It is, therefore, upon the one who by his arguments deceived the jurors that your wrath should fall, not upon those who were deceived. [6]

This fellow Stephanus indicted the decree as illegal, and came before a court. He produced false witnesses to substantiate the calumnious charge that Apollodorus had been a debtor to the treasury for twenty-five years, and by making all sorts of accusations that were foreign to the indictment won a verdict against the decree.

So far as this is concerned, if he saw fit to follow this course, we do not take it ill; but when the jurors were casting their votes to fix the penalty, although we begged him to make concessions, he would not listen to us, but fixed the fine at fifteen talents in order to deprive Apollodorus and his children of their civic rights, and to bring my sister and all of us into extremest distress and utter destitution. [7] For the property of Apollodorus did not amount to as much as three talents to enable him to pay in full a fine of such magnitude, yet if it were not paid by the ninth prytany7 the fine would have been doubled and Apollodorus would have been inscribed as owing thirty talents to the treasury, all the property that he has would have been scheduled as belonging to the state, and upon its being sold Apollodorus himself and his children and his wife and all of us would have been reduced to extremest distress. [8] And more than this, his other daughter would never have been given in marriage; for who would ever have taken to wife a portionless girl from a father who was a debtor to the treasury and without resources? Of such magnitude, you see, were the calamities which Stephanus was bringing upon us all without ever having been wronged by us in any respect. To the jurors, therefore, who at that time decided the matter I am deeply grateful for this at least, that they did not suffer Apollodorus to be utterly ruined, but fixed the amount of the fine at one talent, so that he was able to discharge the debt, although with difficulty. With good reason, then, have we undertaken to pay Stephanus back in the same coin. [9]

For not only did Stephanus seek in this way to bring us to ruin, but he even wished to drive Apollodorus from his country. He brought a false charge against him that, having once gone to Aphidna8 in search of a runaway slave of his, he had there struck a woman, and that she had died of the blow; and he suborned some slaves and got them to give out that they were men of Cyren,9 and by public proclamation cited Apollodorus before the court of the Palladium10 on a charge of murder. [10] This fellow Stephanus prosecuted the case, declaring on oath that Apollodorus had killed the woman with his own hand, and he imprecated destruction upon himself and his race and his house, affirming matters which had never taken place, which he had never seen or heard from any human being. However, since he was proved to have committed perjury and to have brought forward a false accusation, and was shown to have been hired by Cephisophon and Apollophanes to procure for pay the banishment or the disfranchisement of Apollodorus, he received but a few votes out of a total of five hundred, and left the court a perjured man and one with the reputation of a scoundrel. [11]

Now, men of the jury, I would have you ask yourselves, considering in your own minds the natural course of events, what I could have done with myself and my wife and my sister, if it had fallen to the lot of Apollodorus to suffer any of the injuries which this fellow Stephanus plotted to inflict upon him in either the former or the latter trial, or how great were the disgrace and the ruin in which I should have been involved. [12] People came to me privately from all sides exhorting me to exact punishment from my opponent for the wrongs he had done us. They flung in my teeth the charge that I was the most cowardly of humankind, if, being so closely related to them, I did not take vengeance for the injuries done my sister, my father-in-law, my sister's children, and my own wife, and if I did not bring before you this woman who is guilty of such flagrant impiety toward the gods, of such outrage toward the commonwealth, and of such contempt for your laws, and by prosecuting her and by my arguments convicting her of crime, to enable you to deal with her as you might see fit. [13] And as Stephanus here sought to deprive me of my relatives contrary to your laws and your decrees, so I too have come before you to prove that Stephanus is living with an alien woman contrary to the law; that he has introduced children not his own to his fellow-clansmen and demesmen; that he has given in marriage the daughters of courtesans as though they were his own; that he is guilty of impiety toward the gods; and that he nullifies the right of your people to bestow its own favors, if it chooses to admit anyone to citizenship; for who will any longer seek to win this reward from you and to undergo heavy expense and much trouble in order to become a citizen, when he can get what he wants from Stephanus at less expense, assuming that the result for him is to be the same? [14]

The injuries, then, which I have suffered at the hands of Stephanus, and which led me to prefer this indictment, I have told you. I must now prove to you that this woman Neaera is an alien, that she is living with this man Stephanus as his wife, and that she has violated the laws of the state in many ways. I make of you, therefore, men of the jury, a request which seems to me a proper one for a young man and one without experience in speaking—that you will permit me to call Apollodorus as advocate to assist me in this trial. [15] For he is older than I and is better acquainted with the laws. He has studied all these matters with the greatest care, and he too has been wronged by this fellow Stephanus so that no one can object to his seeking vengeance upon the one who injured him without provocation. It is your duty, in the light of truth itself, when you have heard the exact nature both of the accusation and the defense, then and not till then to reach a verdict which will be in the interest of the gods of the laws, of justice, and of your own selves. [16]

The wrongs done me by Stephanus, men of Athens, which have led me to come forward to accuse this woman Neaera, have been told you by Theomnestus. And that Neaera is an alien woman and is living as his wife with Stephanus contrary to the laws, I wish to make clear to you. First, the clerk shall read you the law under which Theomnestus preferred this indictment and this case comes before you.“Law

If an alien shall live as husband with an Athenian woman in any way or manner whatsoever, he may be indicted before the Thesmothetae by anyone who chooses to do so from among the Athenians having the right to bring charges. And if he be convicted, he shall be sold, himself and his property, and the third part shall belong to the one securing his conviction. The same principle shall hold also if an alien woman shall live as wife with an Athenian, and the Athenian who lives as husband with the alien woman so convicted shall be fined one thousand drachmae.” [17]

You have heard the law, men of the jury, which forbids the union of an alien woman with an Athenian, or of an Athenian woman with an alien in any way or manner whatsoever, or the procreation of children. And if any persons shall transgress this law, it has provided that there shall be an indictment against them before the Thesmothetae, against both the alien man and the alien woman, and that, if convicted, any such person shall be sold. I wish, therefore, to prove to you convincingly from the very beginning that this woman Neaera is an alien. [18]

There were these seven girls who were purchased while they were small children by Nicaretê, who was the freedwoman of Charisius the Elean11 and the wife of his cook Hippias. She was skilled in recognizing the budding beauty of young girls and knew well how to bring them up and train them artfully; for she made this her profession, and she got her livelihood from the girls. [19] She called them by the name of daughters in order that, by giving out that they were free women, she might exact the largest fees from those who wished to enjoy them. When she had reaped the profit of the youthful prime of each, she sold them, all seven, without omitting one—Anteia and Stratola and Aristocleia and Metaneira and Phila and Isthmias and this Neaera. [20] Who it was who purchased them severally, and how they were set free by those who bought them from Nicaretê, I will tell you in the course of my speech, if you care to hear and if the water in the water-clock holds out. I wish for the moment to return to the defendant Neaera, and prove to you that she belonged to Nicaretê, and that she lived as a prostitute letting out her person for hire to those who wished to enjoy her. [21]

Lysias, the sophist,12 being the lover of Metaneira, wished, in addition to the other expenditures which he lavished upon her, also to initiate her; for he considered that everything else which he expended upon her was being taken by the woman who owned her, but that from whatever he might spend on her behalf for the festival and the initiation the girl herself would profit and be grateful to him. So he asked Nicaretê to come to the mysteries bringing with her Metaneira that she might be initiated, and he promised that he would himself initiate her. [22] When they got here, Lysias did not bring them to his own house, out of regard for his wife, the daughter of Brachyllus and his own niece, and for his own mother, who was elderly and who lived in the same house; but he lodged the two, Metaneira and Nicaretê, with Philostratus of Colonus,13 who was a friend of his and was as yet unmarried. They were accompanied by this woman Neaera, who had already taken up the trade of a prostitute, young as she was; for she was not yet old enough. [23]

To prove the truth of my statements—that the defendant belonged to Nicaretê and followed in her train, and that she prostituted her person to anyone who wished to pay for it—I will call Philostratus as witness to these facts.“Deposition

Philostratus, son of Dionysius, of Colonus, deposes that he knows that Neaera was a slave of Nicaretê, to whom Metaneira also belonged, that they were residents of Corinth, and that they stayed at his house when they came to Athens for the mysteries, and that Lysias the son of Cephalêus, who was an intimate friend of his, established them in his house.” [24]

Again after this, men of Athens, Simus the Thessalian came here with the defendant Neaera for the great Panathenaea.14 Nicaretê came with her, and they lodged with Ctesippus son of Glauconides,of Cydantidae15; and the defendant Neaera drank and dined with them in the presence of many men, as any courtesan would do.

To prove the truth of my statements, I will call witnesses to these facts. [25] Please call Euphiletus, son of Simon, of Aexonê,16 and Aristomachus, son of Critodemus, of Alopecê.17“WitnessesEuphiletus son of Simon, of Aexonê, and Aristomachus son of Critodemus, of Alopecê, depose that they know that Simus the Thessalian came to Athens for the great Panathenaea, and that Nicaretê came with him, and Neaera, the present defendant; and that they lodged with Ctesippus son of Glauconides, and that Neaera drank with them as being a courtesan, while many others were present and joined in the drinking in the house of Ctesippus.” [26]

After this, you must know, she plied her trade openly in Corinth and was quite a celebrity, having among other lovers Xenocleides the poet, and Hipparchus the actor, who kept her on hire. To prove the truth of my statement I cannot bring before you the testimony of Xenocleides, since the laws do not permit him to testify. [27] For when on the advice of Callistratus you undertook to aid the Lacedaemonians,18 he at that time opposed in the assembly the vote to do so, because he had purchased the right to collect the two per cent tax on grain during the peace, and was obliged to deposit his collections in the senate-chamber during each prytany. For this he was entitled to exemption under the laws and did not go out on that expedition; but he was indicted by this man Stephanus for avoidance of military duty, and being slanderously maligned in the latter's speech before the court, was convicted and deprived of his civic rights. [28] And yet do you not count it a monstrous thing that this Stephanus has taken the right of free speech from those who are native-born citizens and are lawful members of our commonwealth, and in defiance of all the laws forces upon you as Athenians those who have no such right? I will, however, call Hipparchus himself and force him either to give testimony or take the oath of disclaimer, or I will subpoena him.19

Please call Hipparchus.“Deposition

Hipparchus of Athmonon20 deposes that Xenocleides and he hired in Corinth Neaera, the present defendant, as a courtesan who prostituted herself for money, and that Neaera used to drink at Corinth in the company of himself and Xenocleides the poet.” [29]

After this, then, she had two lovers, Timanoridas the Corinthian and Eucrates the Leucadian.21 These men seeing that Nicaretê was extravagant in the sums she exacted from them, for she demanded that they should supply the entire daily expenses of the household, paid down to Nicaretê thirty minae as the price of Neaera's person, and purchased the girl outright from her in accordance with the law of the city, to be their slave. [30] And they kept her and made use of her as long a time as they pleased. When, however, they were about to marry, they gave her notice that they did not want to see her, who had been their own mistress, plying her trade in Corinth or living under the control of a brothel-keeper; but that they would be glad to recover from her less than they had paid down, and to see her reaping some advantage for herself. They offered, therefore, to remit one thousand drachmae toward the price of her freedom, five hundred drachmae apiece; and they bade her, when she found the means, to pay them the twenty minae. When she heard this proposal from Eucrates and Timanoridas, she summoned to Corinth among others who had been her lovers Phrynion of Paeania,22 the son of Demon and the brother of Demochares, a man who was living a licentious and extravagant life, as the older ones among you remember. [31] When Phrynion came to her, she told him the proposal which Eucrates and Timanoridas had made to her, and gave him the money which she had collected from her other lovers as a contribution toward the price of her freedom, and added whatever she had gained for herself, and she begged him to advance the balance needed to make up the twenty minae, and to pay it to Eucrates and Timanoridas to secure her freedom. [32] He listened gladly to these words of hers,and taking the money which had been paid in to her by her other lovers added the balance himself and paid the twenty minae as the price of her freedom to Eucrates and Timanoridas on the condition that she should not ply her trade in Corinth.

To prove that these statements of mine are true, I will call as witness to them the man who was present.

Please call Philagrus of Melitê.23“Deposition

Philagrus of Melitê deposes that he was present in Corinth when Phrynion, the brother of Demochares, paid down twenty minae as the price of Neaera, the present defendant, to Timanoridas, the Corinthian, and Eucrates, the Leucadian; and that after paying down the money Phrynion went off to Athens, taking Neaera with him.” [33]

When he came back here, bringing her with him, he treated her without decency or restraint, taking her everywhere with him to dinners where there was drinking and making her a partner in his revels; and he had intercourse with her openly whenever and wherever he wished, making his privilege a display to the onlookers. He took her to many houses to gay parties and among them to that of Chabrias of Aexonê, when, in the archonship of Socratidas,24 he was victor at the Pythian games25 with the four-horse chariot which he had bought from the sons of Mitys, the Argive, and returning from Delphi he gave a feast at Colias,26 to celebrate his victory, and in that place many had intercourse with her when she was drunk, while Phrynion was asleep, among them even the serving-men of Chabrias. [34]

To prove that these statements of mine are true, I will bring before you as witnesses those who were present and saw for themselves.

Please call Chionides of Xypetê27 and Euthetion of Cydathenaeum.28“Depositions

Chionides of Xypetê and Euthetion of Cydathenaeum depose that they were invited to dinner by Chabrias, when he celebrated with a banquet his victory in the chariot race, and that the banquet was held at Colias; and that they know that Phrynion was present at the banquet, having with him Neaera, the present defendant; that they themselves lay down to sleep, as did Phrynion and Neaera, and that they observed that men got up in the night to go in to Neaera, among them some of the serving-men who were household slaves of Chabrias.” [35]

Since, then, she was treated with wanton outrage by Phrynion, and was not loved as she expected to be, and since her wishes were not granted by him, she packed up his household goods and all the clothing and jewelry with which he had adorned her person, and, taking with her two maid-servants, Thratta and Coccalinêe, ran off to Megara. This was the period when Asteius was archon at Athens,29 at the time you were waging your second war against the Lacedaemonians. [36] She remained at Megara two years, that of the archonship of Asteius and that of Alcisthenes; but the trade of prostitution did not bring in enough money to maintain her establishment—she was lavish in her tastes, and the Megarians were niggardly and illiberal, and there were but few foreigners there on account of the war and because the Megarians favored the Lacedaemonian side, while you were in control of the sea; it was, however, not open to her to return to Corinth, because she had got her freedom from Eucrates and Timanoridas on the condition that she would not ply her trade in Corinth;— [37] so, when peace was made in the archonship of Phrasicleides,30 and the battle was fought at Leuctra31 between the Thebans and the Lacedaemonians, this man Stephanus, having at the time come to Megara and having put up at Neaera's house, as at the house of a courtesan, and having had intercourse with her, she told him all that had taken place and her brutal treatment by Phrynion. She gave him besides all that she had brought away from Phrynion's house, and as she was eager to live at Athens, but was afraid of Phrynion because she had wronged him and he was bitter against her, and she knew he was a man of violent and reckless temper, she took Stephanus here for her patron.32 [38] He on his part encouraged her there in Megara with confident words, boastfully asserting that if Phrynion should lay hands on her he would have cause to rue it, whereas he himself would keep her as his wife and would introduce the sons whom she then had to his clansmen as being his own, and would make them citizens; and he promised that no one in the world should harm her. So he brought her with him from Megara to Athens, and with her her three children, Proxenus and Ariston and a daughter whom they now call Phano. [39] He established her and her children in the cottage which he had near the Whispering Hermes33 between the house of Dorotheus the Eleusinian and that of Cleinomachus—the cottage which Spintharus has now bought from him for seven minae; so the property which Stephanus owned was just this and nothing besides. There were two reasons why he brought her here: first, because he would have a beautiful mistress without cost, and secondly, because her earnings would procure supplies and maintain the house; for he had no other income save what he might get by pettifoggery. [40] Phrynion, however, learned that the woman was in Athens, and was living with Stephanus, and taking some young men with him he came to the house of Stephanus and attempted to carry her off. When Stephanus took her away from him, as the law allowed, declaring her to be a free woman, Phrynion required her to post bonds with the polemarch.34

To prove that this statement is true, I will bring before you as a witness to these facts the man himself who was polemarch at the time.

Please call Aeetes of Ceiriadae.35“Deposition

Aeetes of Ceiriadae deposes that while he was polemarch, Neaera, the present defendant, was required by Phrynion, the brother of Demochares, to post bonds, and that the sureties of Neaera were Stephanus of Eroeadae,36 Glaucetes of Cephisia,37 and Aristocrates of Phalerum.38” [41]

Now that Stephanus had become surety for her, and seeing that she was living at his house, she continued to carry on the same trade no less than before, but she charged higher fees from those who sought her favors as being now a respectable woman living with her husband. Stephanus, on his part, joined with her in extorting blackmail. If he found as a lover of Neaera any young alien rich and without experience, he would lock him up as caught in adultery with her, and would extort a large sum of money from him. [42] And this course was natural enough; for neither Stephanus nor Neaera had any property to supply funds for their daily expenditures, and the expenses of their establishment were large; for they had to support both him and her and three children whom she had brought with her, and two female servants and a male house-servant; and besides Neaera had become accustomed to live comfortably, since heretofore others had provided the cost of her maintenance. [43] This fellow Stephanus was getting nothing worth mentioning from public business, for he was not yet a public speaker, but thus far merely a pettifogger, one of those who stand beside the platform and shout, who prefer indictments and informations for hire, and who let their names be inscribed on motions made by others, up to the day when he became an underling of Callistratus of Aphidna.39 How this came about and for what cause I will tell you in detail regarding this matter also, when I shall have proved regarding this woman Neaera that she is an alien and is guilty of grievous wrongs against you and of impiety towards the gods; [44] for I would have you know that Stephanus himself deserves to pay no less heavy a penalty than Neaera here, but even one far heavier, and that he is far more guilty, seeing that, while professing to be an Athenian, he treats you and your laws and the gods with such utter contempt that he cannot bring himself to keep quiet even for shame at the wrongs he has himself committed, but by bringing baseless charges against me and against others he has caused my colleague to bring against him and against this woman a charge so grievous that it necessitates inquiry being made into her origin, and his own profligacy being brought to light. [45]

So, then, Phrynion brought suit against Stephanus for having taken this woman Neaera from him and asserted her freedom, and for having received the goods which Neaera had brought with her from Phrynion's house. Their friends, however, brought them together and induced them to submit their quarrel to arbitration. On behalf of Phrynion, Satyrus of Alopecê, the brother of Lacedaemonius, sat as arbitrator, and on behalf of Stephanus here, Saurias of Lamptrae40; and they added to their number by common consent Diogeiton of Acharnae.41 [46] These men came together in the temple, and after hearing the facts from both parties and from the woman herself gave their decision, and these men acceded to it. The terms were: that the woman should be free and her own mistress, but that she should give back to Phrynion all that she had taken with her from his house except the clothing and the jewels and the maid-servants; for these had been bought for the use of the woman herself; and that she should live with each of the men on alternate days, and if they should mutually agree upon any other arrangement, that arrangement should be binding; that she should be maintained by the one who for the time had her in his keeping; and that for the future the men should be friends with one another and bear no malice. [47] Such were the terms of the reconciliation effected by the arbitrators between Phrynion and Stephanus in regard to this woman Neaera.

To prove that these statements of mine are true, the clerk shall read you the deposition regarding these matters.

Please call Satyrus of Alopecê, Saurias of Lamptrae, and Aristogeiton of Acharnae.“Deposition

Satyrus of Alopecê, Saurias of Lamptrae, and Diogeiton of Acharnae depose that, having been appointed arbitrators in the matter of Neaera, the present defendant, they brought about a reconciliation between Stephanus and Phrynion, and that the terms on which the reconciliation was brought about were such as Apollodorus produces.”“Terms of Reconciliation

They have reconciled Phrynion and Stephanus on the following terms: that each of them shall keep Neaera at his house and have her at his disposal for an equal number of days in the month, unless they shall themselves agree upon some other arrangement.” [48]

When the reconciliation had been brought about, those who had assisted either party in the arbitration and the whole affair did just what I fancy is always done, especially when the quarrel is about a courtesan. They went to dine at the house of whichever of the two had Neaera in his keeping, and the woman dined and drank with them, as being a courtesan.

To prove that these statements of mine are true, call, please as witnesses those who were present with them, Eubulus of Probalinthus,42 Diopeithes of Melitê, and Cteson of Cerameis.43“Deposition

Eubulus of Probalinthus, Diopeithes of Melitê, and Cteson of Cerameis, depose that after the reconciliation in the matter of Neaera was brought about between Phrynion and Stephanus they frequently dined with them and drank in the company of Neaera, the present defendant, both when Neaera was at the house of Stephanus and when she was at the house of Phrynion.” [49]

I have, then, shown you in my argument, and the testimony of witnesses has proved: that Neaera was originally a slave, that she was twice sold, that she made her living by prostitution as a courtesan; that she ran away from Phrynion to Megara, and that on her return she was forced to give bonds as an alien before the polemarch. I wish now to show you that Stephanus here has himself given evidence against her, proving her to be an alien. [50]

The daughter of this woman Neaera, whom she brought with her as a small child to the house of Stephanus, and whom they then called Strybele, but now call Phano, was given in marriage by this fellow Stephanus as being his own daughter to an Athenian, Phrastor, of Aegilia44; and a marriage portion of thirty minae was given with her. When she came to the house of Phrastor, who was a laboring man and one who had acquired his means by frugal living, she did not know how to adjust herself to his ways, but sought to emulate her mother's habits and the dissolute manner of living in her house, having, I suppose, been brought up in such licentiousness. [51] Phrastor, seeing that she was not a decent woman and that she was not minded to listen to his advice, and, further, having learned now beyond all question that she was the daughter, not of Stephanus, but of Neaera, and that he had been deceived in the first place at the time of the betrothal, when he had received her as the daughter, not of Neaera, but of Stephanus by an Athenian woman, whom he had married before he lived with Neaera—angered at all this and considering that he had been treated with outrage and hoodwinked, he put away the woman after living with her for about a year, she being pregnant at the time, and refused to pay back the marriage portion. [52] Stephanus brought suit for alimony against him in the Odeum45 in accordance with the law which enacts that, if a man puts away his wife, he must pay back the marriage portion or else pay interest on it at the rate of nine obols a month for each mina46; and that on the woman's behalf her guardian may sue him for alimony in the Odeum. Phrastor, on his part, preferred an indictment against Stephanus before the Thesmothetae, charging that he had betrothed to him, being an Athenian, the daughter of an alien woman as though she were his own. This was in accordance with the following law.

Read it, please.“Law

If anyone shall give an alien woman in marriage to an Athenian man, representing her as being related to himself, he shall lose his civic rights and his property shall be confiscated, and a third part of it shall belong to the one who secures his conviction. And anyone entitled to do so may indict such a person before the Thesmothetae, just as in the case of usurpation of citizenship.” [53]

The clerk has read you the law in accordance with which this fellow Stephanus was indicted by Phrastor before the Thesmothetae. Stephanus, then, knowing that, if he were convicted of having given in marriage the daughter of an alien woman, he would be liable to the heaviest penalties, came to terms with Phrastor and relinquished his claim to marriage portion, and withdrew his action for alimony; and Phrastor on his part withdrew indictment from the Thesmothetae.

To prove that my statements are true, I will call before you as witness to these facts Phrastor himself, and will compel him to give testimony as the law commands. [54]

Please call Phrastor of Aegilia.“Deposition

Phrastor of Aegilia deposes that, when he learned that Stephanus had given him in marriage a daughter of Neaera, representing that she was his own daughter, he lodged an indictment against him before the Thesmothetae, as the law provides, and drove the woman from his house, and ceased to live with her any longer; and that after Stephanus had brought suit against him in the Odeum for alimony, he made an arrangement with him on the terms that the indictment before the Thesmothetae should be withdrawn, and also the suit for alimony which Stephanus had brought against me.” [55]

Now let me bring before you another deposition of Phrastor and his clansmen and the members of his gens, which proves that the defendant Neaera is an alien. Not long after Phrastor had sent away the daughter of Neaera, he fell sick. He got into a dreadful condition and became utterly helpless. There was an old quarrel between him and his own relatives, toward whom he cherished anger and hatred; and besides he was childless. Being cajoled, therefore, in his illness by the attentions of Neaera and her daughter— [56] they came while he lay sick and had no one to care for him, bringing him the medicines suited to his case and looking after his needs; and you know of yourselves what value a woman has in the sick-room, when she waits upon a man who is ill—well, he was induced to take back and adopt as his son the child whom the daughter of this woman Neaera had borne after she was sent away from his house in a state of pregnancy, after he had learned that she was the daughter, not of Stephanus, but of Neaera, and was angered at their deceit. [57] His reasoning in the matter was both natural and to be expected. He was in a precarious condition and there was not much hope that he would recover. He did not wish his relatives to get his property nor himself to die childless, so he adopted this boy and received him back into his house. That he would never have done this, if he had been in good health, I will show you by a strong and convincing proof. [58] For no sooner had Phrastor got up from that sickness and recovered his health and was fairly well, than he took to wife according to the laws an Athenian woman, the legitimate daughter of Satyrus, of Melitê, and the sister of Diphilus. Let this, therefore, be a proof to you that he took back the child, not willingly, but forced by his sickness, by his childless condition, by the care shown by these women in nursing him, and by the enmity which he felt toward his own relatives, and his wish that they should not inherit his property, if anything should happen to him. This will be proved to you even more clearly by what followed. [59] For when Phrastor at the time of his illness sought to introduce the boy born of the daughter of Neaera to his clansmen and to the Brytidae, to which gens Phrastor himself belongs, the members of the gens, knowing, I fancy, who the woman was whom Phrastor first took to wife, that, namely, she was the daughter of Neaera, and knowing, too, of his sending the woman away, and that it was because of his illness that Phrastor had been induced to take back the child, refused to recognize the child and would not enter him on their register. [60] Phrastor brought suit against them for refusing to register his son, but the members of the gens challenged him before the arbitrator to swear by full-grown victims that he verily believed the boy to be his own son, born of an Athenian woman and one betrothed to him in accordance with the law. When the members of the gens tendered this challenge to Phrastor before the arbitrator, he refused to take the oath, and did not swear. [61]

To prove that these statements of mine are true, I will bring before you as witnesses the members of the Brytid gens who were present.“Witnesses

Timostratus of Hecalê, Xanthippus of Eroeadae, Evalces of Phalerum, Anytus of Laciadae, Euphranor of Aegilia and Nicippus of Cephalê,47 depose that both they and Phrastor of Aegilia are members of the gens called Brytidae, and that, when Phrastor claimed the right to introduce a son of his into the gens, they, on their part, knowing that Phrastor's son was born of the daughter of Neaera, would not suffer Phrastor to introduce his son.” [62]

I prove to you, therefore, in a manner that leaves no room for doubt that even those most nearly connected with this woman Neaera have given testimony against her, proving that she is an alien—Stephanus here, who now keeps the woman and lives with her, and Phrastor, who took her daughter to wife—Stephanus, since he refused to go on trial on behalf of this daughter when he was indicted by Phrastor before the Thesmothetae on the charge that he had betrothed the daughter of an alien to him who was an Athenian, but had rather relinquished the claim to the marriage portion, and had not recovered it; [63] and Phrastor, since he had put away the daughter of this Neaera after marrying her, when he learned that she was not the daughter of Stephanus, and had refused to return her marriage portion; and when later on he was induced by his illness and his childless condition and his enmity toward his relatives to adopt the child, and when he sought to introduce him to the members of the gens, and they voted to reject the child and challenged him to take an oath, he refused to swear, but chose rather to avoid committing perjury, and subsequently married in accordance with the law another woman who was an Athenian. These facts, about which there is no room for doubt, have afforded you convincing testimony against our opponents, proving that this Neaera is an alien. [64]

Now observe the base love of gain and the villainous character of this fellow Stephanus, in order that from this again you may be convinced that this Neaera is not an Athenian woman. Epaenetus, of Andros,48 an old lover of Neaera, who had spent large sums of money upon her, used to lodge with these people whenever he came to Athens on account of his affection for Neaera. Against him this man Stephanus laid a plot. [65] He sent for him to come to the country under pretence of a sacrifice and then, having surprised him in adultery with the daughter of this Neaera, intimidated him and extorted from him thirty minae. As sureties for this sum he accepted Aristomachus, who had served as Thesmothete, and Nausiphilus, the son of Nausinicus, who had served as archon,49 and then released him under pledge that he would pay the money. [66] Epaenetus, however, when he got out and was again his own master preferred before the Thesmothetae an indictment for unlawful imprisonment against this Stephanus in accordance with the law which enacts that, if a man unlawfully imprisons another on a charge of adultery, the person in question may indict him before the Thesmothetae on a charge of illegal imprisonment; and if he shall convict the one who imprisoned him and prove that he was the victim of an unlawful plot, he shall be let off scot-free, and his sureties shall be released from their engagement; but if it shall appear that he was an adulterer, the law bids his sureties give him over to the one who caught him in the act, and he in the court-room may inflict upon him, as upon one guilty of adultery, whatever treatment he pleases, provided he use no knife. [67] It was in accordance with this law that Epaenetus indicted Stephanus. He admitted having intercourse with the woman, but denied that he was an adulterer; for, he said, she was not the daughter of Stephanus, but of Neaera, and the mother knew that the girl was having intercourse with him, and he had spent large sums of money upon them, and whenever he came to Athens he supported the entire household. In addition to this he brought forward the law which does not permit one to be taken as an adulterer who has to do with women who sit professionally in a brothel or who openly offer themselves for hire; for this, he said, is what the house of Stephanus is, a house of prostitution; this is their trade, and they get their living chiefly by this means. [68] When Epaenetus had made these statements and had preferred the indictment, this Stephanus, knowing that he would be convicted of keeping a brothel and extorting blackmail, submitted his dispute with Epaenetus for arbitration to the very men who were the latter's sureties on the terms that they should be released from their engagement and that Epaenetus should withdraw the indictment. [69] Epaenetus acceded to these terms and withdrew the indictment which he had preferred against Stephanus, and a meeting took place between them at which the sureties sat as arbitrators. Stephanus could say nothing in defense of his action, but he requested Epaenetus to make a contribution toward a dowry for Neaera's daughter, making mention of his own poverty and the misfortune which the girl had formerly met with in her relations with Phrastor, and asserting that he had lost her marriage portion and could not provide another for her. [70] “You,” he said, “have enjoyed the woman's favors, and it is but right that you should do something for her.” He added other words calculated to arouse compassion, such as anyone might use in entreaty to get out of a nasty mess. The arbitrators, after hearing both parties, brought about a reconciliation between them, and induced Epaenetus to contribute one thousand drachmae toward the marriage portion of Neaera's daughter.

To prove the truth of these statements of mine, I will call as witnesses to these facts the very men who were sureties and arbitrators: [71] “Witnesses

Nausiphilus of Cephalê and Aristomachus of Cephalê depose that they became sureties for Epaenetus of Andros, when Stephanus asserted that he had caught Epaenetus in adultery; and that when Epaenetus had got away from the house of Stephanus and had become his own master, he preferred before the Thesmothetae an indictment against Stephanus for illegal imprisonment; that they were themselves appointed as arbitrators, and brought about a reconciliation between Epaenetus and Stephanus, and that the terms of the reconciliation were those which Apollodorus produces.”“Terms of ReconciliationThe arbitrators brought about a reconciliation between Stephanus and Epaenetus on the following terms: they shall bear no malice for what took place regarding the imprisonment; Epaenetus shall give to Phano one thousand drachmae toward her marriage portion, inasmuch as he has frequently enjoyed her favors; and Stephanus shall put Phano at the disposal of Epaenetus whenever he comes to Athens and wishes to enjoy her”. [72]

Although this woman, then, was acknowledged beyond all question to be an alien, and although Stephanus had had the audacity to charge with adultery a man taken with her, these two, Stephanus and Neaera, came to such a pitch of insolence and shamelessness that they were not content with asserting her to be of Athenian birth; but observing that Theogenes, of Cothocidae,50 had been drawn by lot as king,51 a man of good birth, but poor and without experience in affairs, this Stephanus, who had assisted him at his scrutiny and had helped him meet his expenses when he entered upon his office, wormed his way into his favor, and by buying the position from him got himself appointed his assessor.52 He then gave him in marriage this woman, the daughter of Neaera, and betrothed her to him as being his own daughter; so utterly did he scorn you and your laws. [73] And this woman offered on the city's behalf the sacrifices which none may name, and saw what it was not fitting for her to see, being an alien; and despite her character she entered where no other of the whole host of the Athenians enters save the wife of the king only; and she administered the oath to the venerable priestesses53 who preside over the sacrifices, and was given as bride to Dionysus54; and she conducted on the city's behalf the rites which our fathers handed down for the service of the gods, rites many and solemn and not to be named. If it be not permitted that anyone even hear of them, how can it be consonant with piety for a chance-comer to perform them, especially a woman of her character and one who has done what she has done? [74]

I wish, however, to go back farther and explain these matters to you in greater detail, that you may be more careful in regard to the punishment, and may be assured that you are to cast your votes, not only in the interest of your selves and the laws, but also in the interest of reverence towards the gods, by exacting the penalty for acts of impiety, and by punishing those who have done the wrong.

In ancient times, men of Athens, there was sovereignty in our state, and the kingship belonged to those who were from time to time preeminent by reason of their being children of the soil, and the king offered all the sacrifices, and those which were holiest and which none might name his wife performed, as was natural, she being queen. [75] But when Theseus settled the people in one city and established the democracy, and the city became populous, the people none the less continued to elect the king as before, choosing him from among those most distinguished by valor; and they established a law that his wife should be of Athenian birth, and that he should marry a virgin who had never known another man, to the end that after the custom of our fathers the sacred rites that none may name may be celebrated on the city's behalf, and that the approved sacrifices may be made to the gods as piety demands, without omission or innovation. [76] This law they wrote on a pillar of stone, and set it up in the sanctuary of Dionysus by the altar in Limnae55（and this pillar even now stands, showing the inscription in Attic characters, nearly effaced）. Thus the people testified to their own piety toward the god, and left it as a deposit for future generations, showing what type of woman we demand that she shall be who is to be given in marriage to the god, and is to perform the sacrifices. For this reason they set it up in the most ancient and most sacred sanctuary of Dionysus in Limnae, in order that few only might have knowledge of the inscription; for once only in each year is the sanctuary opened, on the twelfth day of the month Anthesterion.56 [77] These sacred and holy rites for the celebration of which your ancestors provided so well and so magnificently, it is your duty, men of Athens, to maintain with devotion, and likewise to punish those who insolently defy your laws and have been guilty of shameless impiety toward the gods; and this for two reasons: first, that they may pay the penalty for their crimes; and, secondly, that others may take warning, and may fear to commit any sin against the gods and against the state. [78]

I wish now to call before you the sacred herald who waits upon the wife of the king, when she administers the oath to the venerable priestesses as they carry their baskets57 in front of the altar before they touch the victims, in order that you may hear the oath and the words that are pronounced, at least as far as it is permitted you to hear them; and that you may understand how august and holy and ancient the rites are.“Oath of the Venerable Priestesses

I live a holy life and am pure and unstained by all else that pollutes and by commerce with man, and I will celebrate the feast of the wine god and the Iobacchic feast58 in honor of Dionysus in accordance with custom and at the appointed times.” [79]

You have heard the oath and the accepted rites handed down by our fathers, as far as it is permitted to speak of them, and how this woman, whom Stephanus betrothed to Theogenes when the latter was king, as his own daughter, performed these rites, and administered the oath to the venerable priestesses; and you know that even the women who behold these rites are not permitted to speak of them to anyone else. Let me now bring before you a piece of evidence which was, to be sure, given in secret, but which I shall show by the facts themselves to be clear and true. [80]

When these rites had been solemnized and the nine archons had gone up on the Areopagus on the appointed days, the council of the Areopagus, which in other matters also is of high worth to the city in what pertains to piety, forthwith undertook an inquiry as to who this wife of Theogenes was and established the truth; and being deeply concerned for the sanctity of the rites, the council was for imposing upon Theogenes the highest fine in its power, but in secret and with due regard for appearances; for they have not the power to punish any of the Athenians as they see fit. [81] Conferences were held, and, seeing that the council of the Areopagus was deeply incensed and was disposed to fine Theogenes for having married a wife of such character and having permitted her to administer on the city's behalf the rites that none may name, Theogenes besought them with prayers and entreaties, declaring that he did not know that she was the daughter of Neaera, but that he had been deceived by Stephanus, and had married her according to law as being the latter's legitimate daughter; and that it was because of his own inexperience in affairs and the guilelessness of his character that he had made Stephanus his assessor to attend to the business of his office; for he considered him a friend, and on that account had become his son-in-law. [82] “And,” he said, “I will show you by a convincing and manifest proof that I am telling the truth. I will send the woman away from my house, since she is the daughter, not of Stephanus, but of Neaera. If I do this, then let my statement that I was deceived be accepted as true; but, if I fail to do it, then punish me as a vile fellow who is guilty of impiety toward the gods.” [83] When Theogenes had made this promise and this plea, the council of the Areopagus, through compassion also for the guilelessness of his character and in the belief that he had really been deceived by Stephanus, refrained from action. And Theogenes immediately on coming down from the Areopagus cast out of his house the woman, the daughter of this Neaera, and expelled this man Stephanus, who had deceived him, from the board of magistrates. Thus it was that the members of the Areopagus desisted from their action against Theogenes and from their anger against him; for they forgave him, because he had been deceived. [84]

To prove the truth of these statements of mine, I will call before you as witness to these facts Theogenes himself, and will compel him to testify.

Call, please, Theogenes of Erchia.59“Deposition

Theogenes of Erchia deposes that when he was king he married Phano, believing her to be the daughter of Stephanus, and that, when he found he had been deceived, he cast the woman away and ceased to live with her, and that he expelled Stephanus from his post of assessor, and no longer allowed him to serve in that capacity.” [85] Now take, please, the law bearing upon these matters, and read it; for I would have you know that a woman of her character, who has done what she has done, ought not only to have kept aloof from these sacred rites, to have abstained from beholding them, from offering sacrifices, and from performing on the city's behalf any of the ancestral rites which usage demands, but that she should have been excluded also from all other religious ceremonials in Athens. For a woman who has been taken in adultery is not permitted to attend any of the public sacrifices, although the laws have given both to the alien woman and the slave the right to attend these, whether to view the spectacle or to offer prayer. [86] No; it is to these women alone that the law denies entrance to our public sacrifices, to these, I mean, who have been taken in adultery; and if they do attend them and defy the law, any person whatsoever may at will inflict upon them any sort of punishment, save only death, and that with impunity; and the law has given the right of punishing these women to any person who happens to meet with them. It is for this reason that the law has declared that such a woman may suffer any outrage short of death without the right of seeking redress before any tribunal whatsoever, that our sanctuaries may be kept free from all pollution and profanation, and that our women may be inspired with a fear sufficient to make them live soberly, and avoid all vice, and, as their duty is, to keep to their household tasks. For it teaches them that, if a woman is guilty of any such sin, she will be an outcast from her husband's home and from the sanctuaries of the city. [87]

That this is so, you will see clearly, when you have heard the law read.

Take it please.“Law Regarding Adultery

When he has caught the adulterer, it shall not be lawful for the one who has caught him to continue living with his wife, and if he does so, he shall lose his civic rights and it shall not be lawful for the woman who is taken in adultery to attend public sacrifices; and if she does attend them, she may be made to suffer any punishment whatsoever, short of death, and that with impunity.” [88]

I wish now, men of Athens, to bring before you the testimony also of the Athenian civic body, to show you how great care they take in regard to these religious rites. For the civic body of Athens, although it has supreme authority over all things in the state, and it is in its power to do whatsoever it pleases, yet regarded the gift of Athenian citizenship as so honorable and so sacred a thing that it enacted in its own restraint laws to which it must conform, when it wishes to create a citizen—laws which now have been dragged through the mire by Stephanus and those who contract marriages of this sort. [89] However, you will be the better for hearing them, and you will know that these people have debased the most honorable and the most sacred gifts, which are granted to the benefactors of the state.

In the first place, there is a law imposed upon the people forbidding them to bestow Athenian citizenship upon any man who does not deserve it because of distinguished services to the Athenian people. In the next place, when the civic body has been thus convinced and bestows the gift, it does not permit the adoption to become valid, unless in the next ensuing assembly more than six thousand Athenians confirm it by a secret ballot. [90] And the law requires the presidents60 to set out the ballotboxes and to give the ballots to the people as they come up before the non-citizens have come in and the barriers61 have been removed, in order that every one of the citizens, being absolutely free from interference, may form his own judgement regarding the one whom he is about to make a citizen, whether the one about to be so adopted is worthy of the gift. Furthermore, after this the law permits to any Athenian who wishes to prefer it an indictment for illegality against the candidate, and he may come into court and prove that the person in question is not worthy of the gift, but has been made a citizen contrary to the laws. [91] And there have been cases ere now when, after the people had bestowed the gift, deceived by the arguments of those who requested it, and an indictment for illegality had been preferred and brought into court, the result was that the person who had received the gift was proved to be unworthy of it, and the court took it back. To review the many cases in ancient times would be a long task; I will mention only those which you all remember: Peitholas the Thessalian, and Apollonides the Olynthian, after having been made citizens by the people, were deprived of the gift by the court. [92] These are not events of long ago of which you might be ignorant.

However, although the laws regarding citizenship and the steps that must be taken before one may become an Athenian are so admirably and so securely established, there is yet another law which has been enacted in addition to all these, and this law is of paramount validity; such great precautions have the people taken in the interest of themselves and of the gods, to the end that the sacrifices on the state's behalf may be offered in conformity with religious usage. For in the case of all those whom the Athenian people may make citizens, the law expressly forbids that they should be eligible to the office of the nine archons or to hold any priesthood; but their descendants are allowed by the people to share in all civic rights, though the proviso is added: if they are born from an Athenian woman who was betrothed according to the law. [93]

That these statements of mine are true, I will prove to you by the clearest and most convincing testimony; but I wish first to go back to the origins of the law and to show how it came to be enacted and who those were whom its provisions covered as being men of worth who had shown themselves staunch friends to the people of Athens. For from all this you will know that the people's gift which is reserved for benefactors is being dragged through the mire, and how great the privileges are which are being taken from your control by this fellow Stephanus and those who have married and begotten children in the manner followed by him. [94]

The Plataeans, men of Athens, alone among the Greeks came to your aid at Marathon62 when Datis, the general of King Dareius, on his return from Eretria63 after subjugating Euboea, landed on our coast with a large force and proceeded to ravage the country. And even to this day the picture in the Painted Stoa64 exhibits the memorial of their valor; for each man is portrayed hastening to your aid with all speed—they are the band wearing Boeotian caps. [95] And again, when Xerxes came against Greece and the Thebans went over to the side of the Medes, the Plataeans refused to withdraw from their alliance with us, but, unsupported by any others of the Boeotians, half of them arrayed themselves in Thermopylae against the advancing barbarian together with the Lacedaemonians and Leonidas, and perished with them; and the remainder embarked on your triremes, since they had no ships of their own, and fought along with you in the naval battles at Artemisium65 and at Salamis. [96] And they fought together with you and the others who were seeking to save the freedom of Greece in the final battle at Plataea against Mardonius, the King's general, and deposited the liberty thus secured as a common prize for all the Greeks. And when Pausanias, the king of the Lacedaemonians, sought to put an insult upon you, and was not content that the Lacedaemonians had been honored by the Greeks with the supreme command, and when your city, which in reality had been the leader in securing liberty for the Greeks, forbore to strive with the Lacedaemonians as rivals for the honor through fear of arousing jealousy among the allies; [97] Pausanias, the king of the Lacedaemonians, puffed up by this, inscribed a distich upon the tripod at Delphi, which the Greeks who had jointly fought in the battle at Plataea and in the sea-fight at Salamis had made in common from the spoils taken from the barbarians, and had set up in honor of Apollo as a memorial of their valor. The distich66 was as follows:“ Pausanias, supreme commander of the Greeks, when he had destroyed the host of the Medes, dedicated to Phoebus this memorial. ”

He wrote thus, as if the achievement and the offering had been his own and not the common work of the allies; [98] and the Greeks were incensed at this, and the Plataeans brought suit on behalf of the allies against the Lacedaemonians before the Amphictyons67 for one thousand talents, and compelled them to erase the distich and to inscribe the names of all the states which had had a part in the work. This act more than any other drew upon the Plataeans the hatred of the Lacedaemonians and their royal house.

For the moment the Lacedaemonians had no means of dealing with them, but about fifty years later Archidamus, son of Zeuxidamus, king of the Lacedaemonians, undertook in time of peace to seize their city. [99] He did this from Thebes, through the agency of Eurymachus, the son of Leontiadas, the Boeotarch,68 and the gates were opened at night by Naucleides and some accomplices of his, who had been won over by bribes. The Plataeans, discovering that the Thebans had got within the gates in the night and that their city had been suddenly seized in time of peace, ran to bear aid and arrayed themselves for battle. When day dawned, and they saw that the Thebans were few in number, and that only their first ranks had entered—a heavy rain which had fallen in the night prevented them from all getting in; for the river Asopus was flowing full and was not easy to cross especially in the night;— [100] so, when the Plataeans saw the Thebans in the city and learned that their whole body was not there, they made an attack, overwhelmed them in battle, and destroyed them before the rest arrived to bear them further aid; and they at once sent a messenger to you, telling of what had been done and of their victory in the battle, and to ask for your help in case the Thebans should ravage their country. The Athenians, when they heard what had taken place, hastened to the aid of the Plataeans; and the Thebans, seeing that the Athenians had come to the Plataeans' aid, returned home. [101] So, when the Thebans had failed in their attempt and the Plataeans had put to death those of their number whom they had taken alive in the battle, the Lacedaemonians, without waiting now for any pretext, marched against Plataea. They ordered all the Peloponnesians with the exception of the Argives to send two-thirds of their armies from their several cities, and they sent word to all the rest of the Boeotians and the Locrians and Phocians and Malians and Oetaeans and Aenians to take the field with their entire forces.69 [102] Then they invested the walls of Plataea with a large force, and made overtures to the Plataeans on terms that, if they would surrender their city to the Lacedaemonians, they should retain their land and enjoy their property, but that they should break off their alliance with the Athenians. The Plataeans refused this offer and made answer that they would do nothing without the Athenians, whereupon the Lacedaemonians besieged them for two years, built a double wall about their city, and made repeated assaults of every conceivable sort. [103] When the Plataeans were quite worn out and were in want of everything, and despaired of safety, they divided themselves by lot into two groups; some of them remained and endured the siege, but the others, waiting for a night when there was rain and a heavy wind, climbed over the wall of circumvallation, unseen of the enemy, cut down the sentinels, and got safely to Athens, but in a desperate plight and beyond all expectation. As for those who remained behind, when the city was taken by storm, all who had reached manhood were killed and the women and children were made slaves—all, that is, save those who, when they saw the Lacedaemonians advancing, got secretly away to Athens.70 [104]

Once more I would have you observe in what way you granted the right to share citizenship with you to men who had thus signally manifested their good will toward your people, and who sacrificed all their possessions and their children and their wives. The decrees which you passed will make the law plain to everybody, and you will know that I am speaking the truth.

Take this decree, please, and read it to the jury.“Decree Regarding the Plataeans

On motion of Hippocrates it is decreed that the Plataeans shall be Athenians from this day, and shall have full rights as citizens, and that they shall share in all the privileges in which the Athenians share, both civil and religious, save any priesthood or religious office which belongs to a particular family, and that they shall not be eligible to the office of the nine archons but their descendants shall be. And the Plataeans shall be distributed among the demes and the tribes; and after they have been so distributed, it shall no longer be lawful for any Plataean to become an Athenian, unless he wins the gift from the people of Athens.” [105]

You see, men of Athens, how well and how justly the orator framed the decree in the interest of the people of Athens by requiring that the Plataeans, after receiving the gift, should first undergo the scrutiny in the court, man by man, in order to show whether each man was a Plataean and one of the friends of the city, so as to avoid the danger that many might use this pretext to acquire Athenian citizenship; and by requiring further71 that the names of those who had passed the scrutiny should be inscribed upon a pillar of marble and should be set up in the Acropolis near the temple of the goddess, to the end that the favor granted to them should be preserved for their descendants and that each one of these might be in a position to prove his relationship to one of those receiving the grant. [106] And he does not suffer anyone to become an Athenian in the later period, unless he be made such at the time and be approved by the court, for fear that numbers of people, by claiming to be Plataeans, might acquire for themselves the right of citizenship. And furthermore, he defined at once in the decree the rule applying to the Plataeans in the interest of the city and of the gods, declaring that it should not be permitted to any of them to be drawn by lot for the office of the nine archons or for any priesthood, but that their descendants might be so drawn, if they were born from mothers who were of Attic birth and were betrothed according to the law. [107]

Is not this a monstrous thing? In the case of those who were neighbors and who had shown themselves of all the Greeks by common consent to have conferred the greatest benefits upon your state, you thus carefully and accurately defined regarding each one the terms on which they should receive the gift of citizenship; are you then thus shamefully and recklessly to let off unpunished a woman who has openly played the harlot throughout the whole of Greece, who treats the city with outrage and the gods with impiety, and who is a citizen neither by birth nor by the gift of the people? [108] Where has this woman not prostituted herself? To what place has she not gone in quest of her daily wage? Has she not been everywhere in the Peloponnesus, in Thessaly and in Magnesia72 in the company of Simus of Larisa73 and Eurydamas son of Medeius, in Chios74 and most of Ionia, following in the train of Sotadas the Cretan, and was she not let out for hire by Nicaretê so long as she belonged to her? What do you suppose a woman does who is subject to men who are not her kinsfolk, and who follows in the train of him who pays her? Does she not serve all the lusts of those who deal with her? Will you, then, declare by your vote that a woman of this stamp, who is known by everybody beyond all question to have plied her trade the whole world over, is an Athenian citizen? [109] What honorable deed will you say that you have done, when people ask you, or with what shame and impiety will you yourselves say that you are not chargeable? For up to the time when this woman was indicted and brought to trial, so that you all learned who she was and what acts of impiety she had committed, the crimes were her own, and the state was merely guilty of neglect; and some of you knew nothing of the matter, and others learning of it expressed their indignation in words but in fact had no means of dealing with her, seeing that nobody brought her to trial or gave an opportunity of casting a vote regarding her. But now that you all know the facts and have got her in your own hands, and have the power to punish her, the sin against the gods becomes your own, if you fail to do so. [110] And when each one of you goes home, what will he find to say to his own wife or his daughter or his mother, if he has acquitted this woman?—when the question is asked you, “Where were you?” and you answer, “We sat as jury.” “Trying whom?” it will at once be asked, “Neaera,” you will say, of course, will you not? “because she, an alien woman, is living as wife with an Athenian contrary to law, and because she gave her daughter, who had lived as a harlot, in marriage to Theogenes, the king, and this daughter performed on the city's behalf the rites that none may name, and was given as wife to Dionysus.” And you will narrate all the other details of the charge, showing how well and accurately and in a manner not easily forgotten the accusation covered each point. [111] And the women, when they have heard, will say, “Well, what did you do?” And you will say, “We acquitted her.” At this point the most virtuous of the women will be angry at you for having deemed it right that this woman should share in like manner with themselves in the public ceremonials and religious rites; and to those who are not women of discretion you point out clearly that they may do as they please, for they have nothing to fear from you or the laws. For if you treat the matter with indifference or toleration, you will yourselves seem to approve of this woman's conduct. [112] It would be far better, therefore, that this trial should never have taken place than that, when it has taken place, you should vote for acquittal; for in that case prostitutes will indeed have liberty to live with whatever men they choose and to name anyone whatever as the father of their children, and your laws will become of no effect, and women of the character of the courtesan will be able to bring to pass whatever they please. Take thought, therefore, also for the women who are citizens, that the daughters of poor men may not fail of marriage. [113] For as things are now, even if a girl be poor, the law provides for her an adequate dowry, if nature has endowed her with even moderate comeliness; but if through the acquittal of this woman you drag the law through the mire and make it of no effect, then the trade of the harlot will absolutely make its way to the daughters of citizens, who through poverty are unable to marry, and the dignity of free-born women will descend to the courtesans, if they be given licence to bear children to whomsoever they please, and still to share in all the rites and ceremonies and honors in the state. [114]

I would, then, have each one of you consider that he is casting his vote, one in the interest of his wife, one of his daughter, one of his mother, and one in the interest of the state and the laws and of religion, in order that these women may not be shown to be held in like esteem with the harlot, and that women who have been brought up by their relatives with great care and in the grace of modesty and have been given in marriage according to the laws may not be seen to be sharing on an equal footing with a creature who in many and obscene ways has bestowed her favors many times a day on all comers, as each one happened to desire. [115] Forget that I, the speaker, am Apollodorus, and that those who will support and plead for the defendant are citizens of Athens; but consider that the laws and Neaera here are contending in a suit regarding the life which she has led. And when you take up the accusation, listen to the laws themselves, which are the foundation of your civic life, and in accordance with which you have sworn to cast your votes, in order that you may hear what they ordain and in what way the defendants have transgressed them; and when you are concerned with the defense, bear in mind the charges which the laws prefer and the proofs offered by the testimony given; and with a glance at the woman's appearance, consider this and this only—whether she, being Neaera, has done these things. [116]

It is worth your while, men of Athens, to consider this also—that you punished Archias, who had been hierophant,75 when he was convicted in court of impiety and of offering sacrifice contrary to the rites handed down by our fathers. Among the charges brought against him was, that at the feast of the harvest76 he sacrificed on the altar in the court at Eleusis a victim brought by the courtesan Sinop, although it was not lawful to offer victims on that day, and the sacrifice was not his to perform, but the priestess'. [117] It is, then, a monstrous thing that a man who was of the race of the Eumolpidae,77 born of honorable ancestors and a citizen of Athens, should be punished for having transgressed one of your established customs; and the pleadings of his relatives and friends did not save him, nor the public services which he and his ancestors had rendered to the city; no, nor yet his office of hierophant; but you punished him, because he was judged to be guilty;—and this Neaera, who has committed acts of sacrilege against this same god, and has transgressed the laws, shall you not punish her—her and her daughter? [118]

I for my part wonder what in the world they will say to you in their defense. Will it be that this woman Neaera is of Athenian birth, and that she lives as his wife with Stephanus in accordance with the laws? But testimony has been offered, showing that she is a courtesan, and has been the slave of Nicaretê. Or will they claim that she is not his wife, but that he keeps her in his house as a concubine? Yet the woman's sons, by having been introduced to the clansmen by Stephanus, and her daughter, by having been given in marriage to an Athenian husband, prove beyond question that he keeps her as his wife. [119] I think, therefore, that neither Stephanus himself nor anyone on his behalf will succeed in proving that the charges and the testimony are false—that, in short, this Neaera is an Athenian woman. But I hear that he is going to set up some such defense as this—that he is keeping her, not as a wife, but as a mistress, and that the children are not hers, but were born to him by another woman, an Athenian and a relative of his, whom he will assert that he married at a earlier date. [120] To meet the impudence of this assertion of his, of the defense which he has concocted, and of the witnesses whom he has suborned to support it, I tendered him a precise and reasonable challenge, by means of which you would have been enabled to know the whole truth: I proposed that he should deliver up for the torture the women-servants, Thratta and Coccalinê, who remained loyally with Neaera when she came to Stephanus from Megara, and those whom she purchased subsequently, while living with him, Xennis and Drosis; [121] for these women know perfectly well that Proxenus, who died, Ariston, who is still living, and Antidorides the runner, and Phano, formerly called Strybel, who married Theogenes, the king, are children of Neaera. And if it should appear from the torture that this man Stephanus had married an Athenian wife and that these children were borne to him, not by Neaera, but by another woman who was an Athenian, I offered to withdraw from the case and to prevent this indictment from coming into court. [122] For this is what living with a woman as one's wife means—to have children by her and to introduce the sons to the members of the clan and of the deme, and to betroth the daughters to husbands as one's own. Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our persons, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to be faithful guardians of our households. If, therefore, Stephanus had previously married an Athenian woman, and these children are hers and not Neaera's, he could have shown it by the most certain evidence, by delivering up these women-servants for the torture. [123]

To prove that I so challenged him, the clerk shall read to you the deposition regarding these matters and the challenge.

Read the deposition and then the challenge.“Deposition

Hippocrates, son of Hippocrates, of Probalinthus,78 Demosthenes, son of Demosthenes, of Paeania, Diophanes, son of Diophanes, of Alopecê, Deinomenes, son of Archelaus, of Cydathenaeum, Deinias, son of Phormides, of Cydantidae, and Lysimachus, son of Lysippus, of Aegilia, depose that they were present in the agora, when Apollodorus challenged Stephanus, demanding that he deliver up the women-servants for the torture in regard to the charges preferred against Stephanus by Apolodorus concerning Neaera; and that Stephanus refused to deliver up the women-servants; and that the challenge was the one which Apollodorus produces.” [124]

Now read the challenge itself which I tendered to this Stephanus.“Challenge

Apollodorus tendered this challenge to Stephanus in connection with the indictment which he preferred against Neaera, charging that she, being an alien, is living as wife with him, a citizen. Apollodorus is ready to receive for examination by the torture the women-servants of Neaera, Thratta and Coccalinê, whom she brought with her from Megara, and those whom she subsequently purchased while living with Stephanus—Xennis, namely, and Drosis—women who have accurate knowledge regarding the children of Neaera, that they are not by Stephanus. These are Proxenus, who died, Ariston, who is now living, Antidorides the runner, and Phano. And if they agreed that these children are Neaera's, I demanded that Neaera be sold as a slave in accordance with the law, and that her children be declared aliens; but if they agreed that the children are not hers but were born of some other woman who was an Athenian, then I offered to withdraw from the action against Neaera, and if the women had been injured in any way as a result of the torture, to pay for the injuries sustained.” [125]

On my tendering this challenge to Stephanus, men of the jury, he refused to accept it. Does it not, then, appear to you, men of the jury, that a verdict has been given by Stephanus here himself that Neaera is guilty under the indictment which I preferred against her, and that I have told you the truth and produced testimony which is true, whereas whatever Stephanus may say to you will be wholly false, and he will himself prove that he has no sound argument to advance, inasmuch as he has refused to deliver up for the torture the women-servants whom I demanded of him? [126]

I therefore, men of the jury, as an avenger of the gods against whom these people have committed sacrilege, and as an avenger of myself, have brought them to trial and submitted them to be judged by you. It is now your duty to render the verdict which justice demands, knowing well that the gods, against whom these people have acted lawlessly, will not be unaware of the vote each one of you shall cast. It is your duty to be avengers in the first place of the gods, but also of your own selves. If you do this, you will be held by all men to have given an honorable and just decision on this indictment which I have preferred against Neaera, charging that she, being an alien, lives as his wife with an Athenian citizen.

1 Pasion, the well-known banker; see the Introduction to Dem. 36

2 Due to Philip's aggressive actions in the Chersonese in 343-340 B.C.

3 That is, especially Byzantium and the states in the Chersonese and in Thrace.

4 Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, all islands in the Aegean. The Chersonese was the peninsula of Gallipoli.

5 Olynthus, an important city in Chalcidicê.

6 The senate could not legislate of itself. Decrees passed by it had to be submitted to the popular assembly.

7 The prytany was a tenth of the year, properly, the period during which each of the tribes held the presidency of the senate. See note a of Dem. 47.42

8 Aphidna, a deme of the tribe Aeantis.

9 An important city in Libya in Northern Africa.

10 For the court of the Palladium, see note b on Dem. 47.70. In the case alluded to an ordinary court of five hundred jurors seems to have sat in the place of the Ephetae （see note a on Dem. 43.57.）.

11 Elis, a state in north-western Peloponnesus.

12 This was the well-known orator.

13 Colonus, a deme of the tribe Aegeïs.

14 The Great Panathenaea was celebrated in Athens every fifth year in the month Hecatombaeon （July）.

15 Cydantidae, a deme of the tribe Aegeïs.

16 Aexonê, a deme of the tribe Cecropis.

17 Alopecê, a deme of the tribe Antiochis.

18 This was in 369, when Epameinondas and the Thebans invaded Laconia.

19 See above p. 295 and vol. 1. p. 97.

20 Athmonon, a deme of the tribe Cecropis.

21 Leucas or Santa Maura, off the west coast of Acarnania.

22 Paeania, a deme of the tribe Pandionis. Demochares is mentioned several times in Dem. 47.22, Dem. 47.28, Dem. 47.32）. The Demon here mentioned was possibly the uncle of Demosthenes.

23 Melitê, a deme of the tribe Cecropis.

24 That is, in 373 B.C.

25 The Pythian games were celebrated at Delphi （Pytho） every four years.

26 The temple of Athena Colias was situated on a point on the Bay of Phalerum.

27 Xypetê, a deme of the tribe Cecropis.

28 Cydathenaeum, a deme of the tribe Pandionis.

29 That is, in 372 B.C.; Alcisthenes was archon the year following.

30 That is, in 371 B.C.

31 Leuctra was a town in Boeotia. In this battle the Thebans under Epameinondas broke the power of Sparta. The date was 371 B.C.

32 Every resident alien in Athens was required to have some citizen as his προστάτης, or patron.

33 We do not know where this statue stood.

34 That is, until her status, as free woman or slave, should be determined.

35 Ceiriadae, a deme of the tribe Hippothontis.

36 Eroeadae, a deme of the tribe Hippothontis.

37 Cephisia, a deme of the tribe Erectheïs.

38 Phalerum, a deme of the tribe Aeantis.

39 A prominent orator and politician, often mentioned by Demosthenes.

40 Lamptrae, a deme of the tribe Erectheïs.

41 Acharnae, a deme of the tribe Oeneïs.

42 Probalinthus, a deme of the tribe Pandionis.

43 Cerameis, a deme of the tribe Acamantis.

44 Aegilia, a deme of the tribe Antiochis.

45 Actions for alimony were carried before a tribunal which sat in the Odeum, a building properly devoted to musical contests

46 That is, at the rate of 18 per cent.

47 Hecalê, a deme of the tribe Leontis, Laciadae of the tribe Oeneïs, and Cephalê of the tribe Acamantis.

48 The large island off the south-eastern end of Euboea.

49 Nausinicus was archon eponymos in 378-377 B.C.

50 Cothocidae, a deme of the tribe Oeneïs. Since in Dem. 59.84 Theogenes is said to be from the deme Erchia, some have thought that in the present passage Κοθωκίδην may be a corruption of a patronymic, and not the name of a deme.

51 That is, as king-archon.

52 See note b on Dem. 58.32.

53 These were women whose duty was to minister at the altars of Dionysus.

54 At the festival of the Anthesteria, in order to symbolize the union of the god with the people, the （presumably） noblest woman in the land—the wife of the king—was given as bride to Dionysus.

55 A district in the southern part of Athens, though topographers differ widely as to its location. It was doubtless originally a swamp （λίμνη）.

56 Anthesterion corresponds to the latter half of February and the prior half of March. It was in this month that the Feast of Flowers （τὰ Ἀνθεστήρια） was celebrated in honor of Dionysus.

57 The baskets contained the salt meal which was sprinkled upon the heads of the victims.

58 These festivals derived their names from epithets applied to the God, and belonged to the ancient worship of Dionysus.

59 Erchia, a deme of the tribe Aegeïs; but see note a on Dem. 59.72.

60 See note a on Dem. 59.7.

61 Movable barriers separated the spectators from the voting members of the assembly.

62 This was in 490 B.C.

63 A town in Euboea across the strait from Attica.

64 See note a on Dem. 45.17.

65 Artemisiun, the northernmost promonotory of Euboea.

66 This distich, said by Paus. 3.8.1, to be the work of Simonides, is quoted also in Thuc. 1.132. According to Hdt. 9.81.4 the monument in question was a golden tripod, set upon a three-headed serpent of bronze. The gold tripod was carried off by the Phocians in the Sacred War （Paus. 10.13.6）, and the supporting pillar, three intertwined serpents of bronze, was taken away by Constantine and set up in the Hippodrome of his new capital at Byzantium （Gibbon, Decline and Fall, Chap. 17, note 48）, where it was rediscovered in 1856. The names of the Greek states which took part in the war are inscribed on the coils of the serpents （see Hicks, Greek Historical Inscriptions, pp. 11-13 and Dittenberger, Syllogê, 1 p. 31）.

67 These were the members of the council of Greek states meeting at Delphi.

68 This title was given to the high officials at Thebes. The story of the attack on Plataea is told in detail in Thuc. 2.2 ff. The date was 428 B.C.

69 All the states mentioned were in central Greece, and belonged to the Peloponnesian confederacy.

70 The account of the siege and fall of Plataea is given in Thuc. 2.71-78, and Thuc. 3.20-24 and Thuc. 3.52-68.

71 The clauses of the decree containing these provisions have plainly been lost.

72 Magnesia, a district on the west coast of northern Greece.

73 Larisa, a town in Thessaly.

74 Chios, a large island off the coast of Ionia.

75 The high-priest of the temple at Eleusis.

76 Literally, the feast of the threshing-floor. This was celebrated in the month Poseideon （the latter half of December and the prior half of January）.

77 The Eumolpidae were descendants of the legendary Eumolpus. Certain sacred functions connected with the worship of Demeter and Dionysus were theirs by ancestral right; for instance, the Hierophant had always to be a Eumolpid, as therefore Archias was.

78 Probalinthus was a deme of the tribe Pandionis, Paeania of the tribe Pandionis, Alopecê of the tribe Antiochis, Cydathenaeum of the tribe Pandionis, Cydantidae of the tribe Aegeïs, and Aegilia of the tribe Antiochis.

After1 the State decreed that those who repose in this tomb, having acquitted themselves as brave men in the war, should have a public funeral, and appointed me to the duty of delivering over them the customary speech, I began straightway to study how they might receive their due tribute of praise; but as I studied and searched my mind the conclusion forced itself upon me that to speak as these dead deserve was one of those things that cannot be done. For, since they scorned the love of life that is inborn in all men and chose rather to die nobly than to live and look upon Greece in misfortune, how can they have failed to leave behind them a record of valor surpassing all power of words to express? Nevertheless I propose to treat the theme in the same vein as those who have previously spoken in this place from time to time. [2]

That the State seriously concerns itself with those who die in battle it is possible to infer both from these rites in general and, in particular, from this law in accordance with which it chooses the speaker at our public funerals. For knowing that among good men the acquisition of wealth and the enjoyment of the pleasures that go with living are scorned,2 and that their whole desire is for virtue and words of praise, the citizens were of the opinion that we ought to honor them with such eulogies as would most certainly secure them in death the glory they had won while living. [3] Now, if it were my view that, of those qualities that constitute virtue, courage alone was their possession, I might praise this and be done with the speaking, but since it fell to their lot also to have been nobly born and strictly brought up and to have lived with lofty ideals, because of all which they had every reason to be good men, I should be ashamed if I were found to have passed over any of these topics.3 I shall begin from the origin of their race.4 [4]

The nobility of birth of these men has been acknowledged from time immemorial by all mankind. For it is possible for them and for each one of their remote ancestors man by man to trace back their being, not only to a physical father, but also to this land of theirs as a whole, a common possession, of which they are acknowledged to be the indigenous children.5 For alone of all mankind they settled the very land from which they were born and handed it down to their descendants, so that justly one may assume that those who came as migrants into their cities and are denominated citizens of the same are comparable to adopted children; but these men are citizens of their native land by right of legitimate birth.6 [5] In my view also the fact that the fruits of the earth by which men live were first manifest among us,7 even apart from their being a superlative boon to all men, constitutes an acknowledged proof that this land is the mother of our ancestors. For all things that bring forth young produce at the same time nutriment out of the organism itself8 for those that are born. This very thing has been done by this land.9 [6]

Such is the pride of birth that belongs to the ancestors of these men throughout the ages. As for Courage and the other elements of virtue, I shrink from rehearsing the whole story, being on my guard for fear an untimely length shall attach to my speech ,10 but such facts as it is worth while even for those who are familiar with them to recall to mind and most profitable for the inexperienced to hear,11 events of great power to inspire and calling for no tedious length of speech, these I shall endeavor to rehearse in summary fashion.12 [7] For the ancestors of this present generation, both their fathers and those who bore the names of these men in time past, by which they are recognized by those of our race, never at any time wronged any man, whether Greek or barbarian, but it was their pride, in addition to all their other good qualities, to be true gentlemen and supremely just, and in defending themselves they accomplished a long list of noble deeds. [8] They so prevailed over the invading host of the Amazons as to expel them beyond the Phasis, and the host of Eumolpus and of many another foeman they drove not only out of their own land but also from the lands of all the other Greeks—invaders whom all those dwelling on our front to the westward neither withstood nor possessed the power to halt.13 Moreover, they were styled the saviors of the sons of Heracles, who himself was the savior of the rest of mankind, when they arrived in this land as suppliants, fleeing before Eurystheus. In addition to all these and many other noble deeds they refused to suffer the lawful rites of the departed to be treated with despite when Creon forbade the burial of “the seven against Thebes.”14 [9]

Now, omitting mention of many exploits that are classed as myths, I have recalled to mind the above-mentioned, each of which affords so many charming themes that our writers of poetry, whether recited or sung,15 and many historians, have made the deeds of those men the subjects of their respective arts; at the present time I shall mention the following deeds, which, though in point of merit they are no whit inferior to the former, still, through being closer in point of time, have not yet found their way into poetry or even been exalted to epic rank. [10] Those men single-handed twice repulsed by land and sea the expedition assembled out of the whole of Asia,16 and at their individual risks established themselves as the authors of the joint salvation of all the Greeks. And though what I shall say next has been said before by many another, still even at this date those dead must not be deprived of their just and excellent praise. For I say that with good reason those men might be judged so far superior to those who campaigned against Troy, that the latter, the foremost princes out of the whole of Greece, with difficulty captured a single stronghold of Asia after besieging it for ten years,17 [11] whereas those men single-handed not only repulsed a host assembled from an entire continent, which had already subdued all other lands, but also inflicted punishment for the wrong done the rest of the Greeks. Furthermore, checking all acts of selfish aggrandisement among the Greeks themselves, assigning themselves to each station where justice was arrayed, they went on bearing the brunt of all dangers that chanced to arise until the lapse of time brings us to the generation now living. [12]

Let no one think I have enumerated this list of achievements because I am at a loss what to say about each of them; for if I were the most helpless of all men in discovering what it becomes me to say, the sheer virtue of those dead reveals what sentiments lie to hand and are easy to rehearse. It is my intention, however, after calling to mind their noble birth and the magnificent things done by their ancestors, with all speed to link my speech with the deeds of these dead, to the end that, just as they were akin in the flesh, so I may make the words of praise spoken over them to apply to both alike. I assume that this would be gratifying not only to the ancestors but, best of all, to both them and these dead, if they should come to share one another's merit not only by virtue of birth but also by reason of our words of praise. [13]

In the meantime it is necessary to interrupt my discourse for a moment, before declaring the deeds of these men, to solicit the goodwill of those born outside this race who have accompanied us to the tomb.18 For if I had been appointed to do honor to this burial through expenditure of money or by providing some different kind of a spectacle consisting of equestrian or gymnastic contests, the greater my zeal and the more lavish my expenditure in preparing such spectacles, the better I should have been thought to have done my duty. Having been chosen, however, to extol these men in a speech, unless I have the sympathy of my hearers, I fear that because of my eagerness I may effect the very opposite of what I ought. [14] For wealth and speed of foot and strength of body and all other such things have their rewards self-assured to their possessors, and in those fields they win who have the luck, even if not one of the others wishes their success. On the other hand, the persuasiveness of words depends upon the goodwill of the hearers, and with the help of this, even if the eloquence be moderate, it reaps glory and gains favor, but lacking this help, even if it be surpassingly good, it is thwarted by those who hear.19 [15]

Now to resume my theme: though many deeds of these men are at hand because of which they will be justly eulogized, I am at a loss what to mention first when I come face to face with the facts. For thronging into my mind as they do, all at one and the same time, it becomes difficult to make a choice among them. I shall endeavor, however, to maintain the same order of topics in my speech as marked the course of the lives of these men. [16] From the beginning these men were outstanding in all the activities that formed their schooling, engaging in the exercises that became each stage of life, causing gratification to all who had claim to it—parents, friends, kinsmen. Therefore, just as if recognizing footprints, the memory of those who were near and dear to them now turns to these men every hour in fond recollection, finding many a reminder of occasions when they knew in their hearts that these were lads of surpassing worth. [17] Arrived at manhood they rendered their innate nobility known, not only to their fellow-citizens, but to all men. For of all virtue, I say, and I repeat it, the beginning is understanding and the fulfillment is courage; by the one it is judged what ought to be done and by the other this is carried to success.20 In both these qualities these men were distinctly superior; [18] for if ever a danger affecting all the Greeks was brewing, these were the first to foresee it, and time and again they challenged the rest to save the situation. This action is a demonstration of sound judgement joined with public spirit. Although, again, there was much folly among the Greeks, not unmixed with slackness,21 a folly which failed to foresee some dangers and feigned not to see others at a time when it was possible to avert these misfortunes without sacrificing safety, nevertheless, when they did hearken and evinced willingness to do their duty,22 these men did not bear a grudge but stepping forward and eagerly offering their all, bodies, money, and allies, they entered upon the ordeal of the contest, in which they were not sparing even of their lives. [19]

Of necessity it happens, when a battle takes place,23 that the one side is beaten and the other victorious; but I should not hesitate to assert that in my judgement the men who die at the post of duty on either side do not share the defeat but are both alike victors. For the mastery among the survivors is decided as the deity disposes, but that which each was in duty bound to contribute to this end, every man who has kept his post in battle has done. But if, as a mortal being, he meets his doom, what he has suffered is an incident caused by chance, but in spirit he remains unconquered by his opponents.24 [20] It is my judgement, therefore, that we have to thank the valor of these men, along with the folly of our opponents, that our enemies did not set foot upon our land; because, every man of them having had proof of their mettle, those who there engaged them on that occasion had no wish to confront in battle a second time the kinsmen of those men, suspecting that, although they would confront men of the same breed, they were not likely to find the fortune of battle so kind.

Not the least reason for believing that this was their state of mind is afforded by the peace that was made; for it is impossible to cite a more plausible or more creditable reason than that the master of our opponents, astounded at the valor of these who died, chose rather to be friendly toward their kinsmen than once more to assume the risk of all his fortunes.25 [21] I believe also that if someone were to ask those in the opposite ranks whether they thought they had won by their own deeds of valor or by a startling and cruel turn of fortune and by the skill and daring of their own commander, not one of them would be so shameless or audacious as to claim credit for what happened. Furthermore, in contests of which the deity, the master of all, has disposed the outcome as it chose, it is necessary of course to acquit all others, being but human, of the charge of cowardice, but when it comes to the means by which the leader of our opponents prevailed over those appointed to the command of our army, no one could justly locate the cause in the rank and file of either the enemy or ourselves. [22] But if, after all, there is any human being who might rightly lay a charge concerning the issue of that battle, he would with good reason advance it against those of the Thebans who were appointed to this command,26 nor could anyone rightly lay blame upon the rank and file of either the Thebans or ourselves. Those men, receiving command of a military force that would neither brook defeat nor make excuse and had an emulous zest for glory, made the right use of none of these. [23] As for the other questions touching this campaign, each individual is at liberty to draw conclusions according to his judgement, but what has become manifest to all living men alike is this—that, in effect, the freedom of the whole Greek world was being preserved in the souls of these men. At any rate, since fate removed them, not one of those remaining has made a stand against the foe. While I desire that my words may be free from offence, it seems to me that if one should declare that the valor of these men was the very life of Greece he would speak the truth; [24] for at one and the same time their spirits were separated from their dear bodies and the self-esteem of Greece was taken from her. We shall therefore seem guilty perhaps of a bold exaggeration, but still it must be uttered: for just as, if the light of day were removed out of this universe of ours,27 all the remnant of life would be harsh and irksome, so, now that these men have been taken from us, all the old-time ambition of the Greeks is sunk in gloom and profound obscurity. [25]

While it stands to reason that many influences helped to make them what they were, not least was their virtue ascribable to our form of government.28 For though absolute governments dominated by a few create fear in their citizens, they fail to awaken the sense of shame. Consequently, when the test of war comes, everyone lightheartedly proceeds to save himself, knowing full well that if only he succeeds in appeasing his masters by presents or any other civility whatsoever, even though he becomes guilty of the most revolting conduct, only slight reproach will attach to him thereafter. [26] Democracies, however, possess many other just and noble features, to which right-minded men should hold fast, and in particular it is impossible to deter freedom of speech, which depends upon speaking the truth, from exposing the truth. For neither is it possible for those who commit a shameful act to appease all the citizens,29 so that even the lone individual, uttering the deserved reproach, makes the guilty wince: for even those who would never speak an accusing word themselves are pleased at hearing the same, provided another utters it. Through fear of such condemnation, all these men, as was to be expected, for shame at the thought of subsequent reproaches,30 manfully faced the threat arising from our foes and chose a noble death in preference to life and disgrace. [27]

The considerations that actuated these men one and all to choose to die nobly have now been enumerated,—birth, education, habituation to high standards of conduct, and the underlying principles of our form of government in general. The incentives that challenged them severally to be valiant men, depending upon the tribes to which they belonged, I shall next relate.31 All the Erechtheidae were well aware that Erechtheus, from whom they have their name, for the salvation of this land gave his own daughters, whom they call Hyacinthides, to certain death, and so extinguished his race. Therefore they regarded it as shameful, after a being born of immortal gods had sacrificed everything for the liberation of his native land, that they themselves should have been found to have placed a higher value upon a mortal body than upon immortal glory.32 [28] Neither were the Aegeidae ignorant that Theseus, the son of Aegeus, for the first time established equality in the State.33 They thought it, therefore, a dreadful thing to be false to the principles of that ancestor, and they preferred to be dead rather than through love of life to survive among the Greeks with this equality lost. The Pandionidae had inherited the tradition of Procne and Philomela, the daughters of Pandion, who took vengeance on Tereus for his crime against themselves.34 Therefore they decided that life was not worth living unless they, akin by race, should have proved themselves to possess equal spirit with those women, when confronted by the outrage they saw being committed against Greece. [29]

The Leontidae had heard the stories related of the daughters of Leo, how they offered themselves to the citizens as a sacrifice for their country's sake. When, therefore, such courage was displayed by those women, they looked upon it as a heinous thing if they, being men, should have proved to possess less of manhood. The Acamantidae did not fail to recall the epics in which Homer says that Acamas sailed for Troy for the sake of his mother Aethra.35 Now, since he braved every danger for the sake of saving his own mother, how were these men not bound to face every danger for the sake of saving their parents one and all at home? [30] It did not escape the Oeneidae that Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, and of her was born one whom it would be sacrilegious to name at this tomb,36 and by him Oeneus was begotten, who was called the founder of their race.37 Since the danger in question was common to both States, on behalf of both they thought themselves bound to endure any Anguish to the end.38 The Cecropidae were well aware that their founder was reputed to have been part dragon, part human, for no other reason than this, that in understanding he was like a man, in strength like a dragon. So they assumed that their duty was to perform feats worthy of both. [31] The Hippothoontidae bore in mind the marriage of Alope, from which Hippothoon was born, and they knew also who their founder was; about these matters—to avoid impropriety on an occasion like this39 I forbear to speak plainly—they thought it was their duty to be seen performing deeds worthy of these ancestors. It did not escape the Aeantidae that Ajax, robbed of the prize of valor, did not consider his own life worth living.40 When, therefore, the god was giving to another the prize of valor, at once they thought they must die trying to repel their foes so as to suffer no disgrace to themselves. The Antiochidae were not unmindful that Antiochus was the son of Heracles.41 They concluded therefore that they must either live worthily of their heritage or die nobly. [32]

Now, though the living kinsmen of these dead deserve our sympathy, bereaved of such brave men and divorced from close and affectionate association, and though the life of our native land is desolate and filled with tears and mourning, nevertheless these dead by a just calculation are happy.42 First of all, bartering little for much, a brief time for all eternity, they leave behind them an ageless fame43 [33] In which the children of these men shall be reared in honor and the parents of these men shall enjoy distinction44 and tender care in their old age, cherishing the fame of these men as an assuagement of their sorrow.45 In the second place, immune from disease of body and beyond the reach of anguish of spirit,46 such as the living must suffer because of the misfortunes which have befallen, they today receive high honor and inspire great emulation while they are accorded the customary obsequies.47 How, then, since the whole country unites in according them a public burial, and they alone receive the words of universal praise, while their kinsmen and fellow-citizens are not alone in mourning them, but every land that has the right to be called Hellas and the greater part of the whole world mourns with them,48 how can we do otherwise than consider them blessed of fortune? [34] With excellent reason one might declare them to be now seated beside the gods below, possessing the same rank as the brave men who have preceded them in the islands of the blest. For though no man has been there to see or brought back this report concerning them, yet those whom the living have assumed to be worthy of honors in the world above, these we believe, basing our surmise on their fame, receive the same honors also in the world beyond.49 [35]

While it is perhaps difficult50 to mitigate the present misfortunes by the spoken word, nevertheless it is our duty to endeavor to turn our minds to comforting thoughts, reflecting that it is a beautiful thing for parents who have begotten men like these, and themselves were born of others like unto them, to be seen enduring their affliction more decorously than the rest of mankind, and, no matter what fortune befalls, to be like them; [36] for to the departed such conduct would seem most becoming in you and honorable to them, and to the whole State and to the living it would bring the greatest glory.51 It is a grievous thing for fathers and mothers to be deprived of their children and in their old age to lack the care of those who are nearest and dearest to them. Yes, but it is a proud privilege to behold them possessors of deathless honors and a memorial of their valor erected by the State, and deemed deserving of sacrifices and games for all future time. [37] It is painful for children to be orphaned of a father. Yes, but it is a beautiful thing to be the heir of a father's fame. And of this pain we shall find the deity to be the cause, to whom mortal creatures must yield, but of the glory and honor the source is found in the choice of those who willed to die nobly.

As for myself, it has not been my concern how I might make a long speech, but how I might speak the truth. And now do you, having spent your grief and done your part as law and custom require, disperse to your homes.

1 In this genre ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοιis unusable because aliens and women were present; there was no salutation for mixed audiences.

2 A commonplace of funeral speeches: Thuc. 2.42.4.

3 Blass censures the author for not following in the sequel a threefold division of his theme, which is here implied and may be found in Plat. Menex. 237 a-b: nobility of birth, upbringing and education, and exploits. These topics are treated, but not consecutively. Peculiar to this speech is the passage on the ten tribes, Dem. 60.27-32.

4 Blass compares Isocrates, Helen16 τὴν μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴν τοῦ λόγου ποιήσομαι τοιαύτην τοῦ γένους αὐτῆς, （Isoc. 10.16）.

5 This topic appears in Plat. Menex. 237 b-c.

6 This topic appears in Hyp. Epitaph. 7.

7 According to tradition the olive was created by the goddess Athena, while the culture of grain, especially wheat and barley, was established by Demeter, whose mysteries were celebrated at Eleusis close to Athens.

8 Or, “by a law of nature herself.”

9 This topic is treated in more detail in Plat. Menex. 237e-238b.

10 Another commonplace: Hyp. 4 expresses a similar fear.

11 Thuc. 2.36.4 may be compared.

12 Hyp. 5 ἐπὶ κεφαλαίου.

13 The female warriors known as Amazons were repelled by Theseus. The Phasis River in Colchis, now the Rion, was the legendary boundary between Europe and Asia. Eumolpus invaded Greece from Thrace but was halted by Erechtheus at Eleusis. The route to all parts of the mainland issued from Athens on the west side.

14 This phrase became proverbial as the title of a drama by Aeschylus. Theseus, king of Athens, gave aid to the suppliant wives of the Argive heroes when Creon, king of Thebes, refused burial to their slain husbands: Eur. Supp.

15 The distinction is between epic and dramatic poetry, which was recited, and odes such as those of Pindar, and dithyrambs, which were sung to musical accompaniment.

16 King Darius of Persia was repulsed at Marathon, 490, and Xerxes at Salamis, 480 B.C. The Persian wars are discussed at length in Plat. Menex. 239d ff.

17 Blass notes this sentiment in Isoc. 4.83. It is found also in Hyp. 35.

18 The welcome extended to aliens at the public funerals is mentioned in Thuc. 2.34.4. Pericles recognizes their presence, Thuc. 36.4.

19 Blass compares Dem. 18.277, but the parallel is not precise.

20 Kennedy cites Cicero Pro Sestio 40.86 “hoc sentire prudentiae est, facere fortitudinis.”

21 By “slackness” is meant the acceptance of Macedonian bribes, mentioned by Hyp. 10; Blass compares Dem. 18.20, where “folly” is used as a euphemism for “slackness.”

22 The attitude of the Greek states toward the aggressions of Philip of Macedon may be compared to that of the small democratic states of Europe toward Germany before the war of 1939-1945. By his Olynthiacs （Dem. 1-3） and Phillippics（Dem. 4, Dem. 6, Dem. 9, Dem. 10） Demosthenes tried to arouse and unite them but with little success, until the year 338 B.C., when he achieved his great diplomatic triumph in uniting Thebes with Athens, ancient rivals.

23 The particular reference is to the battle of Chaeronea, 338 B.C., where the Greeks were defeated by Philip of Macedon.

24 Blass notes this sentiment in Dem. 18.208, and in Isoc. 4.92. It is subsidiary to the recognition of the supremacy of the deity, fate or fortune, Dem. 18.192, Dem. 18.207, Dem. 18.208. To commemorate the valor of the fallen Thebans a monumental seated lion was erected facing in the direction of the enemy. It is still extant.

25 Philip exacted no vengeance after his victory; Attica was not invaded. The Greek states retained the right of self-government and became allies, not subjects, of the victor.

26 Philip seems to have deceived the Athenians by a feigned retreat while throwing his strongest troops against the Thebans. This stratagem broke the line and decided the battle. The Theban general Theagenes and his colleagues seem to have been no more to blame than the rest.

27 Kennedy quotes Cicero De Amic. 13.47 “solem enim e mundo tollere videntur qui amicitiam e vita tollunt.” According to Aristot. Rh. 1.7 and Aristot. 3.10, Pericles had once said in a funeral speech it was “as if the spring had been taken out of the year.”

28 This topic is treated in Plat. Menex. 238b-239d. Blass compares Dem. 20.108, but the similarity is not impressive.

29 Under an oligarchy, the speaker means, it is possible for the wrongdoer to seal the mouths of the small ruling clique by means of bribes, but under a democracy it is impossible to buy the silence of thousands of citizens. The reference is to oligarchic governments set up by the Spartans in subject states. Pericles praised the Athenian form of government as against the Spartan, Thuc. 2.37-39.

30 The fear of exposure as a factor in democratic government is mentioned by Pericles, Thuc. 2.37.3, and by Hyp. 25. Blass compares Dem. 22.31.

31 The list which here begins is our chief authority for the names and order of precedence of the ten Athenian tribes as established by Cleisthenes in 508 B.C. The particular myths that suit the context, however, are for the most part obscure and of relatively recent origin. For example, the older legends speak of but one daughter of Erechtheus as being sacrificed. The later version is known to Cicero Tusc. Disp. 1.48.116.

32 Hyp. 24 reads in part θνητοῦ σώματος ἀθάνατον δόξαν ἐκτήσαντο, “gained immortal glory at the price of a mortal body.”

33 According to Plut. Thes. 25, it was equality between newcomers and natives that Theseus established; the word ἰσονομία usually means equality before the law and is almost a synonym for democracy.

34 Procne is said to have murdered her own son Itys and to have served his flesh to her husband Tereus in revenge for his treachery to herself and his cruelty to Philomela. It is curious that the speaker seems less shocked by this crime than by the innocent tale of Alope, Dem. 60.31, below.

35 Aethra is mentioned in Hom. Il. 3.144, but the rest of the story is not Homeric. This Acamas is unknown to Homer, though he mentions two other individuals of the same name. It was later myths that told of the rescue of Aethra after the fall of Troy by her two grandsons, not sons, Acamas and Demophon.

36 Dionysus, or Bacchus, god of wine, who, as an Olympian, could not associate with death.

37 Two demes in Attica were named Oenoe, which was sufficient to justify the invention of a hero Oeneus, but he is not to be confused with the Homeric hero of this name who was associated with Calydon in Aetolia and with Argos. The word means “wineman,” fromοἶνος. At Athens the anniversary of this hero fell in the month Gamelion, like the Lenaea of Dionysus. It was natural, therefore, to call him the son of the god, but the relationship plays no part in recorded myths.

38 The suggestion is that the Oeneidae would have felt equally bound to fight on behalf of Thebes, of which the founder was Cadmus, and on behalf of Athens, one of whose heroes was Oeneus, great-grandson of Cadmus. This is the weakest link in this series.

39 Alope's son was said to have been twice exposed, and twice rescued and suckled by a mare. The use of mare's milk as a food prevailed among the Scythians, as the Greeks knew well from their colonists in the region of the Black Sea, if not from Hdt. 4.2; Gylon, grandfather of Demosthenes, had lived in the Crimea and was said to have married a Thracian wife. The orator was sometimes twitted by his opponents about his Thracian blood. He may have been sensitive. Consequently the attitude here revealed might be construed as evidence for the genuineness of the speech.

40 Ajax, worsted by Odysseus in a contest for possession of the arms of Achilles, was said to have slain himself: Hom. Od. 11.541-567; the story of his madness and of slaughtering flocks and herds as if they were his enemies is not Homeric: Soph. Aj.

41 The mother of Antiochus was Meda, daughter of Phylas, king of the Dryopes, but the story was unimportant and little known.

42 Compare Hyp. 24 “Are we not to think them fortunate because their valor was proven rather than unfortunate because their lives were lost?”

43 With εὔκλειαν ἀγήρω compare Thuc. 2.43.2 ἀγήρων ἔπαινονand Hyp. 42 εὐδοξίαν ἀγήρατον.

44 This topic is touched upon in Hyp. 27.

45 Thuc. 2.44.4 “and be comforted by the fair fame of these your sons.”

46 In Hyp. 43 may be found ἀπηλλαγμένοι εἰσὶ νόσων καὶ λύπης, as Blass observes.

47 Annual sacrifices were performed at the public sepulchre in Athens. They were followed by athletic contests.

48 Thuc. 2.43.3 “for the whole world is the sepulchre of famous men.”

49 A similar sentiment is found in Hyp. 43.

50 Blass compares Hyp. 41 χαλεπὸν μὲν ἴσως ἐστί.

51 This topic is treated at greater length in Plato Menex. 247d-248c.

Well, since you wish to hear the essay, I shall bring it out and read it aloud; but first you must understand its purpose. The writer's desire is to praise Epicrates,1 whom he thought to be the most charming young man in the city, although there were many fine gentlemen among those of his own age, and to surpass him more in understanding than in beauty of person. Observing also that, generally speaking, most erotic compositions attach shame rather than honor to those about whom they are written, he has taken precautions that this should not happen in his case, and has written only what he says he is convinced of by his judgement, believing that an honest lover would neither do anything shameful nor request it.2 [2] Now, that part of my essay which you may find to be the most erotic, so to speak, is on this topic, but the rest of it in part praises the lad himself and in part counsels about his education and his design for living.3 whole essay is written as one would put it into a book, because discourses intended to be delivered ought to be written simply and just as one might speak offhand, while those of the other kind, which are planned to last longer, are properly composed in the manner of poetry and ornately.4 For it is the function of the former to win converts and of the latter to display one's skill. Accordingly, to avoid spoiling the essay for you or rehearsing my own opinions about these questions, I ask you to lend your attention, since you are immediately going to hear the essay itself, because Epicrates is also at hand, whom I wished to hear it. [3]

Observing that certain of those who are loved and possess their share of good looks make the right use of neither one of these blessings, but put on grand airs because of the comeliness of their appearance and exhibit reluctance to associate with their admirers,5 and so far fail in judging what is best that, because of those who pervert the thing, they assume a surly attitude toward those also who desire to associate with them from pure motives, I concluded that such young men not only defeat their own interests but also engender evil habits in the rest, [4] and that the high-minded should not follow their foolish example, bearing in mind particularly that, since actions are not absolutely either honorable or shameful but for most part vary according to the persons concerned,6 it is unreasonable to adopt the same attitude toward both classes of men, and secondly, that it is the height of absurdity to envy those who have a host of firm friends but to repulse their admirers, who are a separate group and alone feel drawn by nature, not toward all, but only to the beautiful and modest. [5]

Moreover, although those who have never yet seen such a friendship turn out well or have severely condemned themselves on the ground that they would be incapable of associating innocently with casual acquaintances, it is perhaps not unreasonable to entertain this prejudice7; but for those so disposed as yourself, who have not utterly refused to hear how very many benefits accrue through love without shame and have lived the rest of their lives with the utmost circumspection, it is not reasonable to have even a suspicion that they would do anything shameful. [6] Consequently I have felt all the more a moved to write this essay, feeling sure I should not fail to secure two most honorable rewards.8 For when I have described the good qualities you possess, I hope that at one and the same time I shall prove you to be worthy of admiration and myself not senseless if I love you, being what you are; and secondly, in tendering the advice that is most urgently needed I believe I shall present proof of my own goodwill and furnish a basis for our mutual friendship. [7]

And yet it does not escape me that it is difficult to describe your character in keeping with your deserts and that it is more hazardous still to give advice when the adviser is bound to make himself answerable for his advice to the one who accepts it.9 It is my judgement, however, that, while it becomes the recipients of merited eulogies to baffle by the excess of their real virtue the ability of those who praise them, yet in my counsel I shall not miss the mark, being well aware that no advice could be innocently carried out if proffered by men who are senseless and quite ruined by incontinence, not even if they advise supremely well, but that not even the advice that is only moderately pondered can altogether miss the mark if tendered by men who choose to live pure and self disciplined lives. [8]

Cherishing such hopes I enter upon my theme. All men would agree with me, I believe, that it is of the utmost importance for young men of your age to possess beauty in respect of person, self-discipline in respect of soul, and manliness in respect of both, and consistently to possess charm in respect of speech. As for these two kinds of qualities, natural and acquired, Fortune has so generously blessed you with nature's gifts that you consistently enjoy distinction and admiration, and the other kind you are bringing to such perfection through your own diligence that no fair-minded person could have fault to find with you. [9] And yet what ought he to possess who is worthy of the highest eulogies?10 Must he not manifestly be loved by the gods and among men be admired, for some qualities on his own account, for others because of his good fortune? Now the longer list of your virtuous qualities it will perhaps be fitting to describe summarily later on, but the praise I have to utter for each of the gifts of Fortune I shall now try to declare with truthfulness. [10]

I shall begin by praising that quality of yours which all who see you will recognize first, your beauty, and the hue of your flesh, by virtue of which your limbs and your whole body are rendered resplendent. Wondering what fitting comparison for this I may offer, I find none, but it is my privilege to request those who read this essay to see you and contemplate you, so that I may be pardoned for declaring that I have no suitable simile. [11] For to what could anyone liken something mortal which arouses immortal longing in the beholder, the sight of which does not satiate, and when removed from sight lingers in the memory, which in human form possesses a natural beauty worthy of the gods, like a flower in its comeliness, beyond suspicion of imperfections? Furthermore, it is impossible to impute to your person even those blemishes which in the past have marred many another who has shared in beauty. [12] For either through ungainliness of mien they have ruined all their natural comeliness or through some unfortunate mannerism have involved their natural attractions in the same disfavor. By none of these could we find your person afflicted, for whichever of the gods it was that took forethought for your person has so diligently guarded you against all such mishaps as to leave nothing calling for criticism and to render your general appearance superb. [13] Moreover, since the face is the most conspicuous of the parts that are seen, and of the face itself the eyes, even more in these did the god reveal the goodwill that he had toward you. For he not only furnished you with eyes adequate to perform the necessary functions but, although the virtue of some men is not recognized even from their actions, of your character he has placed in a clear light the fine qualities through the evidence of your glance, displaying it as gentle and kind toward those who look at you, dignified and serious toward those who converse with you, manly and proper to all men. [14]

And here is a matter that may be particularly surprising. For while other men are assumed to be mean-spirited because they are gentle and to be arrogant because they are dignified, and are thought overbearing because they are manly, and stupid because they keep quiet, Fortune in your case has taken qualities so mutually contradictory and caused them all to be properly harmonized, as if fulfilling a prayer or wishing to set an example for others, but not framing a mere mortal nature, as was her usual way. [15]

Now if it were possible to do justice to such beauty as yours in words, or if this were the only quality of yours worthy of praise, we should think it necessary to omit praise of none of your good points; but as things are, I am afraid that we may find our bearers refusing to hear praise of your other merits and that we may defeat ourselves by harping on this theme. [16] For how could anyone overdo the verbal description of your appearance, since not even works of art executed by the skill of the best masters could do more than justice to it? Nor is this astonishing; for works of art have a motionless aspect, so that it is uncertain what they would look like if they possessed life, but your personality enhances in your every action the superb comeliness of your body. Only this much, therefore, I have to say in praise of your beauty, omitting a great deal. [17]

As for discreetness of conduct, it is my privilege to pass the finest of compliments, namely, that though such youthfulness readily invites scandal, it has been your lot to be praised instead. For so far from overstepping the mark, you have chosen to live more prudently than is expected of your years. Of this the most convincing evidence is your deportment toward others; for although many make your acquaintance, and reveal characters of every kind and sort, and all seek to entice you into intimacies, you have so managed such people that all are content to feel friendship for you. [18] This is an index of those whose choice it is to live in the esteem and affection of men. And yet some men in the past have been well thought of who have advised against welcoming the company of all comers, as is also true of some who have taken their advice. For they claim that it is necessary either to humor low-minded people and so be maligned among the multitude, or else to be constantly on guard against such reproaches and so incur the dislike of such acquaintances themselves. [19] Personally I think you deserve to be eulogized all the more for this reason, that, while the other lads think it one of the impossible things to please men of every type,11 you have so surpassed these as to have risen superior to all the difficult and troublesome people, allowing the others no reason even for suspecting immoral relations with any and overcoming your annoyance with them by the adaptability of your manners. [20]

Now touching your admirers, if it is right to speak also of these, you seem to me to deport yourself so admirably and sensibly toward them, that, though most of them cannot be patient even with the object of their preference, you succeed in pleasing them all exceedingly. And this is a most unmistakable proof of your goodness; for not one finds himself disappointed of favors from you which it is just and fair to ask, but no one is permitted even to hope for such liberties as lead to shame. So great is the latitude your discreetness permits to those who have the best intentions; so great is the discouragement it presents to those who would fling off restraint. [21] Furthermore, while the majority of men, when young, seek a reputation for prudence by keeping silent, you are so superior to them in natural gifts that you gain men's good opinion of you not less by your speech and demeanor in casual company than by all your other merits; so great is the grace and charm of your words whether in jest or in earnest. For you are ingenuous without doing wrong, clever without being malicious, kindly without sacrifice of independence, and, taking all in all, like a child of Virtue sired by Love.12 [22]

Turning now to courage—for it will not do to omit this either, not because I would intimate that your character does not still admit of great development nor that the future will fail to furnish richer material for eulogy to those who wish to praise you, but rather that words of praise mean most at your age when to do no wrong is the best hope for other lads—your courage a man might extol on many other grounds but especially because of your training for athletic sports, of which you have a multitude of witnesses. [23] And perhaps it is in place first to say that you have done well in choosing this kind of contest. For to judge rightly when one is young what line of action one should pursue13 is the token of an honest soul and of sound judgement alike, and on neither ground would it be right to omit praise of your choice.

You, therefore, being well aware that slaves and aliens share in the other sports but that dismounting is open only to citizens and that the best men aspire it, have eagerly applied yourself to this sport.14 [24] Discerning, moreover, that those who train for the footraces add nothing to their courage nor to their morale either, and that those who practice boxing and the like ruin their minds as well as their bodies, you have singled out the noblest and grandest of competitive exercises and the one most in harmony with your natural gifts, one which approximates to the realities of warfare through the habituation to martial weapons and the laborious effort of running, in the magnificence and majesty of the equipment simulates the might of the gods,15 [25] presents the number and the greatest variety of features and has been deemed worthy of the most valuable prizes. For, apart from those offered, getting the drill and practice in such exercises itself will possess glamor as no paltry prize in the eyes of those who are even moderately ambitious for excellence. The best evidence for this may be found in the poetry of Homer, in which he represents the Greeks and barbarians warring against one another with this equipment.16 I may add that even now it is customary to employ it in contests in Greek cities, and not in the meanest cities but in the greatest.17 [26]

So admirable is your choice of sport and so approved among all men. Believing also, as you do, that it is futile to desire the things most worth while, or yet to be physically endowed for all sorts of feats, unless the soul has been prepared for an ambitious career, at the very outset you exhibited diligence in the training grounds, nor in the real tests were you disappointing, but you gave extraordinary proof of the distinction of your natural gifts and particularly of the courage of your soul in the games. [27] I hesitate to begin treating this topic for fear words may fail me in the description of what took place on that occasion, but nevertheless I shall not pass it over; for it is a shame to refuse a report of what enthralls us as spectators.

Were I to describe all the contests an unseemly length would perhaps accrue to this essay,18 but by recalling a single example in which you especially distinguished yourself I shall demonstrate the same truth and be found to make a more reasonable use of the patience of my hearers. [28] When the teams had been started and some had leaped to the fore and some were being reined in, you, prevailing over both, first one and then the other,19 in proper style, seized the victory, winning that envied crown in such fashion that, glorious as it was to win it, it seemed the more glorious and astounding that you came off safely. For when the chariot of your opponents was bearing down upon you head-on and all thought the momentum of your horses beyond checking, you, aware that some drivers, though no danger should threaten, become overanxious for their own safety, not only did not lose your head or your nerve, but by your courage got control of the impetus of your team and by your speed passed even those contenders whose luck had suffered no setback. [29] What is more, you caused such a revolution in men's minds that, though many keep insisting that nothing in equestrian contests affords such delight as a crash, and seem to speak the truth, in your case all the spectators, on the contrary, were afraid that some such accident might befall you. Such goodwill and eagerness for your success did your personality awaken in them. [30]

They had good reason to feel so, for while it is a splendid thing to become distinguished for some one excellence, it is still more splendid to combine all the qualities of which a man of sense might justly feel proud. From the following examples this will be clear: we shall find that Aeacus and Rhadamanthys were beloved by the gods for their discretion, Heracles, Castor and Pollux for their courage, and Ganymedes, Adonis, and others like them for their beauty, so that I at any rate am not astonished at those who covet your friendship but at those who are not so disposed. For when some, through sharing in one or another of the qualities I have mentioned, have been deemed worthy of the company of the gods, surely to a mere mortal it is the heights of desire to become the friend of one who has become the proud possessor of all good qualities. [31] Certainly your father and mother and the rest of your kinsmen are rightly envied because you so far surpass those of your own age in excellence, but still more enviable are those whom you, who have been deemed worthy of such blessings, select from the whole number to be your friends, judging them worthy of your companionship. And since Fortune has appointed the former to share your affection, but the latter their own fine qualities have recommended in addition, [32] I do not know whether to call these young men admirers or unique for their sound judgement. For, as I think, Fortune, scorning base men and wishing to arouse the minds of the good, at the very outset made your nature beautiful, not for a life of pleasure, to be beguiled thereto, but serviceable for a virtuous life, to have happiness therein.20 [33]

Although I have still much to say in praise of you, I think I shall cease my eulogy at this point, fearing that I may seem to plead your cause in terms exceeding human limitations. For so far, as it seems, does the power of words fall short of that of vision that, while none would think of mistrusting the evidence of his eyes, people think the praise of things men say they have seen, even if it falls short of the truth, to be incredible. [34] Accordingly, I shall leave this topic and now endeavor to counsel you on the means of rendering your life still more worthy of esteem. To the words I am about to utter I would not have you give heed as to a matter of trivial importance, nor to leap to the conclusion that I have, after all, addressed you thus, not for your good, but from a desire to display my skill; otherwise you may miss the truth and, by choosing haphazard counsel in place of the best, fall short of the best in judging your own interests. [35] For we do not reproach men of humble and insignificant natural gifts even when they commit a dishonorable act, but to those who, like yourself, have attained distinction, even a bit of negligence in some matter of high honor brings disgrace.21 Again, those who go astray in other domains fail merely t make the best decision in some single, isolated matter, but those who miss the right advice on the conduct of life, or scorn it, have reminders of their own folly to live with their whole life long. [36]

Now you must not fall into any of these errors but rather seek to discover what is of supreme consequence in human affairs, and what it is that turning out well would do us the most good, but turning out badly would hurt us most along life's pathway. For it requires no proof that upon this factor we must expend the greatest care, which more than anything else possesses the power to tip the scale to one side or the other. [37] Now of the powers residing in human beings we shall find that intelligence leads all the rest and that philosophy alone is capable of educating this rightly and training it. In this study I think you ought to participate, and not balk at or flee from the labors involved in it, reflecting that through idleness and indolence even quite superficial things become difficult, while through persistence and diligence none of the worthwhile things is unattainable, [38] and that of all things the most irrational is to be ambitious for wealth, bodily strength, and such things, and for their sakes to submit to many hardships, all of which prizes are perishable and usually slaves to intelligence, but not to aim at the improvement of the mind, which has supervision over all other powers, abides continually with those who possess it, and guides the whole life.22 [39] And yet, although it is a fine thing to be admired among high-minded people even on account of fortuitous success, it is much finer through care bestowed upon one's self to gain a share in all the accomplishments that are esteemed; for often it has fallen to the lot of vulgar men to share in the former but none have a part in the latter except those who excel in real manliness. [40]

However, touching the subject of philosophy, some future occasion will afford me more suitable opportunities to review carefully the particulars, but the outlines of it nothing will prevent me from running over at once. This one point, therefore, you must grasp clearly at the outset, that all education consists in understanding something and then putting it into practice,23 and this is even more true of philosophy than of any other studies, for the synthesis of learning and practice is likely to be more perfect in proportion as the instructors are more clear on this point. [41] And yet, since intelligence commands the province of speaking and deliberating, and philosophy confers facility in each of these, what reason can there be why we should refuse to get a firm grasp of this study, through which we shall become masters of both alike? Because life may then too be expected to make a great advance for us when we reach out for the things of supreme importance and find ourselves able to secure by rule and precept such as can be taught and the rest by practice and habituation. [42] It certainly is not permissible to make the assertion that it is not through acquired knowledge that we surpass one another in sound judgement; for, speaking generally, all natural ability is improved by the addition of the appropriate education,24 and this is especially true of talents which at the outset are inherently superior to the rest, because the one kind is capable only of improving upon itself while the other may also surpass the rest. [43]

Be well assured also that the facility acquired solely from practical experience is treacherous and useless for subsequent needs of life, but the education secured through the pursuit of philosophy is happily blended in all these needs. There is no denying, of course, that in the past some men who got practical training just by good luck in action have won admiration, but for you the proper thing is to disregard these men and to take yourself seriously in hand. For in matters of the utmost importance you should not be extemporizing instead of really knowing what to do or in emergencies be studying your arguments instead of really knowing how to debate an issue on its merits. [44]

Be convinced too that all philosophical learning confers precious benefits upon those who take advantage of it, but especially is this true of the knowledge that deals with practical affairs and political discussions. No doubt it is disgraceful to be quite ignorant of geometry and other such subjects of study, but to become a topmost contender in this field is too low an ambition for merit like yours.25 In that kind of philosophy, however, not only is it a worthy ambition to excel, but to remain ignorant is altogether ridiculous. [45]

You may infer this to be true on many other grounds and especially by scanning the careers of those who have become eminent before your time. You will hear first that Pericles, who is thought to have far surpassed all men of his age in intellectual grasp, addressed himself to Anaxagoras of Clazomenae and only after being his pupil26 acquired this power of judgement. You will next discover that Alcibiades, though his natural disposition was far inferior in respect to virtue and it was his pleasure to behave himself now arrogantly, now obsequiously,27 now licentiously, yet, as a fruit of his association with Socrates, he made correction of many errors of his life and over the rest drew a veil of oblivion by the greatness of his later achievements. [46] But not to spend our time rehearsing ancient examples while others are available closer to our own times,28 you will discover that Timotheus was deemed worthy of the highest repute and numerous honors, not because of his activities as a younger man, but because of his performances after he had studied with Isocrates.29 You will discover also that Archytas of Tarentum became ruler of his city and managed its affairs so admirably and so considerately as to spread the record of that achievement to all mankind; yet at first he was despised and he owed his remarkable progress to studying with Plato.30 [47] Of these examples not one worked out contrary to reason31; for it would be much stranger if we were obliged to achieve paltry ends through acquiring knowledge and putting it into practice, but were capable of accomplishing the big things without this effort.

Now I do not know what call there is to say more on these topics, for not even at the outset did I introduce them because I assumed you were absolutely ignorant, but because I thought that such exhortations both arouse those who lack knowledge and spur on those who possess it;.32 [48] And do not make any such assumption as this, that in speaking these words I am presumably offering to teach you any of these branches myself, for I should feel no shame in saying that there is still much I need myself to learn, and that I have chosen rather to be a contender in political life than a teacher of the other arts.33 Not that in disavowing these subjects of instruction I am impugning the reputation of those who have chosen the profession of sophist, but my reason is that the truth of the matter happens to be as follows: [49] for I am aware, of course, that many men have risen to eminence from humble and obscure estate through the practice of this art, and that Solon, both living and dead, was deemed worthy of the highest renown. He was not disqualified for the other honors34 but left behind him a memorial of his courage in the trophy of victory over the Megarians, [50] of his astuteness in the recovery of Salamis, and of general sagacity in the laws which the majority of the Greeks continue using to this day. Yet in spite of these great claims to distinction he set his heart upon nothing as much as becoming one of the Seven Sages,35 believing that philosophy was no reproach but that it brought honor to those who pursued it, having been no less wise in this very judgement than in the others in which he showed himself superior. [51]

My own judgement is not different from Solon's and I recommend to you to study philosophy, bearing in mind the advantages you have possessed from the beginning. Indeed it was with this purpose in view I ran through the list of them myself in the first part of my essay,36 not expecting to make a conquest of you by praising your natural gifts, but that I may the better urge you to take up philosophy if you shall escape the error of putting a low value on it, or, through pride in your present advantages, of under-valuing the advantages yet to be gained. [52] Again, even if you are better than the common run of men,37 do not seek to be superior in no respect to the talented remainder, but deem it the highest purpose to be first among all, and that it is more to your advantage to be seen striving for this than merely being foremost among the rank and file. And do not bring shame upon your natural gifts or cause to be cheated of their hopes those who are proud of you, but endeavor by your own ability to surpass the desires of those who have your interests most at heart. [53] And bear in mind that speeches of the other kinds, when they fulfil their purpose, only crown their authors with glory, but that good counsels attach benefit and honor to those who hearken to them; and that the decisions we make about all other matters make plain the power of perception we possess, but that the choices we make of careers put our whole character to the test. And as you pass judgement in these matters, count upon being judged at the same time yourself by all men, and do not forget that I, who have been so ready to praise you, will also be involved in the hazard of the test. [54] The proofs by which you must be judged worthy of my praises must also acquit me of all censure for the friendship I bear you.

I would not be pressing you so urgently to study philosophy38 unless I thought that in this I was making you a most precious contribution as evidence of my goodwill, and unless I observed that our city often makes use of ordinary men for lack of men of the best type, and through their bungling incurs the gravest misfortunes. [55] So, then, in order that our city may enjoy abilities such as yours and you the honors which these abilities deserve, I have urged you with some vehemence. Neither do I think that it will be in your power to live as chance decrees, but that the City will appoint you to be in charge of some department of her business, and in proportion as your natural gifts are the more conspicuous it will judge you worthy of greater responsibilities and will the sooner desire to make trial of you. The wise plan, therefore is to train your mind that you may not fail when that day comes. [56]

Now it has been my part to tell you39 what studies I think it is to your advantage to have pursued, but it is yours to decide concerning them. There is an obligation also on the rest, those who seek to be on intimate terms with you, not to be content with superficial pleasures and pastimes, nor to summon you to these, but to consider diligently how they may render your career most brilliant. By so doing they would bring most credit to themselves and become instruments of the greatest service to you. [57] Neither am I now finding fault with any one of those who keep company with you, for this also seems to me one element of your general good fortune, that you have found no base admirer, but select as friends from the young men of your own age such only as any man would gladly choose. I urge you, however, while being friendly and agreeable to all of these, to heed those of them who have the most sense, so that you may seem even more worthy of respect to this particular group and to the rest of the citizens. Farewell.

1 It was at the house of a certain Epicrates that Lysias was supposed to have delivered his love-speech; Plat. Phaedrus 227b.

2 This topic is treated by Cicero De Amic. 12.

3 The author plainly hints at a threefold partition of his theme: the erotic part, Dem. 61.3-9, eulogy, Dem. 61.10-32, and the protrepticus, Dem. 61.36-55. Blass sees a twofold division only, eulogy and protrepticus. In either case the remaining sections serve as introduction, transition and epilogue. Exhortations to the study of philosophy were called “protreptics.”

4 There is a reference to these two styles in Isoc. 4.11, as Blass notes. The epideictic is akin to poetry in the use of figures of speech （see Dem. 61.11）; the reference of “ornately” is chiefly to rhythm. In both the Funeral Speech （Dem. 60） and the Erotic Essay there is careful avoidance of hiatus; rhythmical clausulae are not infrequent; Gorgianic parallel clausulae occur （Dem. 61.32）.

5 The Greek word means “lover” or “sweetheart,” applied to men as well as women.

6 The same distinction is made in synonymous terms, Isoc. 6.60.

7 He means the prejudice against any compromise with associations that might lead to homosexuality, variously known as boy-love, Greek love or Doric love.

8 The use of the dual savors of poetry.

9 Blass notes a parallel in Dem. 18.189, but it is remote.

10 These identical words are found in Isoc. 16.30.

11 Blass calls attention to this same thought in Dem. L. 3.27, but Theog. 23-26 shows it to be an ancient commonplace.

12 This is the language of poetry as predicted in Dem. 61.2.

13 Blass notes a similarity in the Dem. 60.17; not impressive.

14 The contestants were called “apobates,” desultores, i.e. “dismounters.” The drivers seem to have dismounted at times and raced with the teams. Dion. Halicarn. Roman Antiq. 7.73; E. Norman Gardiner, Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, pp. 237-239.

15 Certain gods were represented as using chariots, particularly Ares and Poseidon.

16 Homeric warriors employed charioteers, dashed recklessly among the foe to spread dismay, and finally dismounted to engage in single combat; Hom. Il. 16.712-867.

17 Athens and Thebes.

18 Blass notes the expression of a similar fear in the Dem. 60.6 and in Isoc. 4.66, but surely it is a commonplace.

19 Blass notes the same phrase in Isoc. 4.72; it may have been technical in the language of ancient sport.

20 This sentence exhibits rhythmical clausulae and Gorgianic parallelism of structure along with assonance of the vowel e. It is suggested that the Greek version be read aloud.

21 See note on Dem. 61.32

22 The oldest of the Greek-letter fraternities in the universities of the U.S. （1776）, ΦΒΚ, took its name from φιλοσοφία βίου κυβερνήτης.

23 This idea recurs in Dem. 61.41 and Dem. 61.47.

24 Blass compares Isoc. 15.189-192, with which may be compared in turn Cicero Pro Archia 7.15.

25 Blass cites Isoc. 15.267, where the statement is made that cultural studies do not directly prepare the candidate for public life but do increase his power to learn.

26 Blass notes the same information in Isoc. 15.235.

27 Isocrates employs the same words of Persian satraps, Isoc. 4.152, as Blass notes.

28 The phrase “closer to our own times” is defined by the mention of Timotheus, who died in 355 B.C., just after Demosthenes entered public life. The author, whether the orator or a forger, belongs to the second half of the fourth century.

29 Timotheus, son of Conon, was called by Cornelius Nepos the last Athenian general worthy of mention. Demosthenes regularly spoke of him with admiration.

30 There is a brief life of Archytas which may be consulted in the Loeb translation. It is not known positively that he was a pupil of Plato, but he was his friend: Plat. L. 7.338c,350a; Plat. L. 13.360c. His adherence was to the school of Pythagoras.

31 With a difference of one word this sentence is found in Isoc. 4.150, as Blass notes. It looks, however, like a commonplace.

32 Writings that urged young men to study philosophy formed a distinct literary genre among the ancients under the name “protreptics.” The Epistle to Menoeceus of Epicurus is an extant example.

33 This self-characterization has been thought by some to point to Androtion as the author, but the grounds seem slight to Blass, p. 407 and note 2.

34 This statement hints at the long contested question, whether practical statesmanship could be combined with philosophical insight.

35 This statement is absurd. The legend of the Seven Sages became current only in the fourth century: Plat. Prot. 343a. In Isoc. 15.235 also Solon is called “one of the seven sophists.” Originally this term suggested no disrespect.

36 Dem. 61.10-32.

37 Isoc. 9.81 begins with similar words, as Blass notes: “nor must you be content if you are already superiors to those who are here present . . .”

38 Blass notes the occurrence of this sentence in Isoc. 6.87, with ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον instead of ἐπὶ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν.

39 Blass notes a similarity in Isoc. 9.80; seemingly a commonplace of the protreptic genre.