1. You see, fellow citizens, how certain persons have been making their preparations for this case: how they have mustered their forces, and how they have gone begging up and down the market place, in the attempt to prevent the fair and orderly course of justice in the state. But I have come trusting first in the gods, then in the laws and in you, believing that with you no scheming preparation can override law and justice.
1. τὴν μὲν παρασκευὴν ὁρᾶτε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τὴν παράταξιν ὅση γεγένηται, καὶ τὰς κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν δεήσεις, αἷς κέχρηνταί τινες ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὰ μέτρια καὶ συνήθη μὴ γίγνεσθαι ἐν τῇ πόλει· ἐγὼ δὲ πεπιστευκὼς ἥκω πρῶτον μὲν τοῖς θεοῖς, ἔπειτα τοῖς νόμοις καὶ ὑμῖν, ἡγούμενος οὐδεμίαν παρασκευὴν μεῖζον ἰσχύειν παρʼ ὑμῖν τῶν νόμων καὶ τῶν δικαίων.
2. I could wish, indeed, fellow citizens, that the Senate of Five Hundred and the assemblies of the people were properly conducted by those who preside over them, and the laws enforced which Solon enacted to secure orderly conduct on the part of public speakers; for then it would be permitted to the oldest citizen, as the law prescribes, to come forward to the platform first, with dignity, and, uninterrupted by shouting and tumult, out of his experience to advise for the good of the state and it would then be permitted to all other citizens who wished, one by one in turn, in order of age, to express their opinion on every question; for so, I think, the state would be best governed, and least litigation would arise.
2. ἐβουλόμην μὲν οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τὴν βουλὴν τοὺς πεντακοσίους καὶ τὰς ἐκκλησίας ὑπὸ τῶν ἐφεστηκότων ὀρθῶς διοικεῖσθαι, καὶ τοὺς νόμους οὓς ἐνομοθέτησεν ὁ Σόλων περὶ τῆς τῶν ῥητόρων εὐκοσμίας ἰσχύειν, ἵνα ἐξῆν πρῶτον μὲν τῷ πρεσβυτάτῳ τῶν πολιτῶν, ὥσπερ οἱ νόμοι προστάττουσι, σωφρόνως ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα παρελθόντι ἄνευ θορύβου καὶ ταραχῆς ἐξ ἐμπειρίας τὰ βέλτιστα τῇ πόλει συμβουλεύειν, δεύτερον δʼ ἤδη καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν τὸν βουλόμενον καθʼ ἡλικίαν χωρὶς καὶ ἐν μέρει περὶ ἑκάστου γνώμην ἀποφαίνεσθαι· οὕτω γὰρ ἄν μοι δοκεῖ ἥ τε πόλις ἄριστα διοικεῖσθαι, αἵ τε κρίσεις ἐλάχισται γίγνεσθαι.
3. But now all our standards of orderly procedure have been set aside; there are men who do not hesitate to make illegal motions, and other men who are ready to put these motions to the vote—not men who have been chosen by right and lawful allotment to preside, but men who hold the position by trickery; and if any other senator does actually obtain the presidency by lot, and does honestly declare your votes, he is threatened with impeachment by men who no longer regard citizenship as a common right, but as their own private perquisite; men who are making slaves of the common people, and arrogating lordship to themselves;
3. ἐπειδὴ δὲ πάντα τὰ πρότερον ὡμολογημένα καλῶς ἔχειν νυνὶ καταλέλυται, καὶ γράφουσί τε τινὲς ῥᾳδίως παρανόμους γνώμας, καὶ ταύτας ἕτεροι τινες ἐπιψηφίζουσιν, οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ δικαιοτάτου τρόπου λαχόντες προεδρεύειν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ παρασκευῆς καθεζόμενοι, ἂν δέ τις τῶν ἄλλων βουλευτῶν ὄντως λάχῃ προεδρεύειν, καὶ τὰς ὑμετέρας χειροτονίας ὀρθῶς ἀναγορεύῃ, τοῦτον οἱ τὴν πολιτείαν οὐκέτι κοινήν, ἀλλʼ ἰδίαν αὑτῶν ἡγούμενοι, ἀπειλοῦσιν εἰσαγγελεῖν, καταδουλούμενοι τοὺς ἰδιώτας καὶ δυναστείας ἑαυτοῖς περιποιούμενοι, καὶ τὰς κρίσεις τὰς μὲν ἐκ τῶν νόμων καταλελύκασι, τὰς δʼ ἐκ τῶν ψηφισμάτων μετʼ ὀργῆς κρίνουσιν, σεσίγηται μὲν τὸ κάλλιστον καὶ σωφρονέστατον κήρυγμα τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει·
4. men who have set aside the lawful processes of the courts, and carry their verdicts in the assembly by appeal to passion. The result of all this is that we have ceased to hear that wisest and most judicious of all the proclamations to which the city was once accustomed, “Who of the men above fifty years of age wishes to address the people,” and then who of the other Athenians in turn. The disorder of the public men can no longer be controlled by the laws, nor by the prytanes, nor by the presiding officers, nor by the presiding tribe, the tenth part of the city.
4. τίς ἀγορεύειν βούλεται τῶν ὑπὲρ πεντήκοντα ἔτη γεγονότων; καὶ πάλιν ἐν μέρει τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων. τῆς δὲ τῶν ῥητόρων ἀκοσμίας οὐκέτι κρατεῖν δύνανται οὔθʼ οἱ πρυτάνεις οὔθʼ οἱ πρόεδροι οὔθʼ ἡ προεδρεύουσα φυλή, τὸ δέκατον μέρος τῆς πόλεως.
5. Under such circumstances, and in a political situation the gravity of which you yourselves understand, only one part of the constitution is left to us—if I too may lay claim to some discernment—the suits against illegal motions. But if you shall annul these also, or give way to those who are trying to annul them, I warn you that before you know it you will step by step have surrendered your rights to a faction.
5. τούτων δʼ ἐχόντων οὕτως, καὶ τῶν καιρῶν ὄντων τῇ πόλει τοιούτων ὁποίους τινὰς αὐτοὺς ὑμεῖς ὑπολαμβάνετε εἶναι, ἓν ὑπολείπεται μέρος τῆς πολιτείας, εἴ τι κἀγὼ τυγχάνω γιγνώσκων, αἱ τῶν παρανόμων γραφαί. εἰ δὲ καὶ ταύτας καταλύσετε ἢ τοῖς καταλύουσιν ἐπιτρέψετε, προλέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι λήσετε κατὰ μικρὸν μικρὸν τῆς πολιτείας τισὶ παραχωρήσαντες.
6. There are, as you know, fellow-citizens, three forms of government in the world tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. Tyrannies and oligarchies are administered according to the tempers of their lords, but democratic states according to their own established laws. Let no man among you forget this, but let each bear distinctly in mind that when he enters a court-room to sit as juror in a suit against an illegal motion, on that day he is to cast his vote for or against his own freedom of speech. This is why the lawgiver placed first in the jurors’ oath these words, “I will vote according to the laws.” For he well knew that if the laws are faithfully upheld for the state, the democracy also is preserved.
6. εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶ πολιτεῖαι παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, τυραννὶς καὶ ὀλιγαρχία καὶ δημοκρατία· διοικοῦνται δʼ αἱ μὲν τυραννίδες καὶ ὀλιγαρχίαι τοῖς τρόποις τῶν ἐφεστηκότων, αἱ δὲ πόλεις αἱ δημοκρατούμεναι τοῖς νόμοις τοῖς κειμένοις. μηδεὶς οὖν ὑμῶν τοῦτʼ ἀγνοείτω, ἀλλὰ σαφῶς ἕκαστος ἐπιστάσθω, ὅτι ὅταν εἰσίῃ εἰς δικαστήριον γραφὴν παρανόμων δικάσων, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἡμέρα μέλλει τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν περὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ παρρησίας. διόπερ καὶ ὁ νομοθέτης τοῦτο πρῶτον ἔταξεν ἐν τῷ τῶν δικαστῶν ὅρκῳ, ψηφιοῦμαι κατὰ τοὺς νόμους, ἐκεῖνό γε εὖ εἰδώς, ὅτι ἂν διατηρηθῶσιν οἱ νόμοι τῇ πόλει, σῴζεται καὶ ἡ δημοκρατία.
7. This you ought always to remember, and to hate those who make illegal motions, and to hold no such offence as trivial, but every one as serious indeed. And you ought to let no man rob you of this right of yours, whether through the intercession of the generals, who by their cooperation with certain public men have this long time been outraging the constitution, or through petitions of foreigners, whom some bring in here, and so escape the courts, when their whole political career has been in defiance of the laws. But as each man of you would be ashamed to desert the post to which he had been assigned in war, so now you should be ashamed to desert the post to which the laws have called you, sentinels, guarding the democracy this day.
7. ἃ χρὴ διαμνημονεύοντας ὑμᾶς μισεῖν τοὺς τὰ παράνομα γράφοντας, καὶ μηδὲν ἡγεῖσθαι μικρὸν εἶναι τῶν τοιούτων ἀδικημάτων, ἀλλʼ ἕκαστον ὑπερμέγεθες, καὶ τοῦθʼ ὑμῶν τὸ δίκαιον μηδένα ἐᾶν ἀνθρώπων ἐξαιρεῖσθαι, μήτε τὰς τῶν στρατηγῶν συνηγορίας, οἳ ἐπὶ πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον συνεργοῦντές τισι τῶν ῥητόρων λυμαίνονται τὴν πολιτείαν, μήτε τὰς τῶν ξένων δεήσεις, οὓς ἀναβιβαζόμενοί τινες ἐκφεύγουσιν ἐκ τῶν δικαστηρίων, παράνομον πολιτείαν πολιτευόμενοι· ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἂν ὑμῶν ἕκαστος αἰσχυνθείη τὴν τάξιν λιπεῖν ἣν ἂν ταχθῇ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, οὕτω καὶ νῦν αἰσχύνθητε ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν τάξιν ἣν τέταχθε ὑπὸ τῶν νόμων φύλακες τῆς δημοκρατίας τήνδε τὴν ἡμέραν.
8. And another thing you have to remember: today your fellow citizens as a body have put the city and the constitution into your hands as a solemn trust. Some of them are present, listening to this case; others are absent, busy with their personal affairs. Respect them therefore, and remember the oaths which you have sworn, and the laws; and if I convict Ctesiphon of having made a motion that is illegal, false, and injurious to the state, annul the illegal motion, fellow citizens; confirm the democratic government for our state; punish those whose policies are opposed to the laws and to your interests. If in this spirit you listen to the words which are about to be spoken, I am sure that your verdict will be just, faithful to your oath, and salutary alike to yourselves and to the commonwealth.
8. κἀκεῖνο δὲ χρὴ διαμνημονεύειν, ὅτι νυνὶ πάντες οἱ πολῖται παρακαταθέμενοι τὴν πόλιν ὑμῖν καὶ τὴν πολιτείαν διαπιστεύσαντες, οἱ μὲν πάρεισι καὶ ἐπακούουσι τῆσδε τῆς κρίσεως, οἱ δὲ ἄπεισιν ἐπὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἔργων· οὓς αἰσχυνόμενοι καὶ τῶν ὅρκων οὓς ὠμόσατε, μεμνημένοι καὶ τῶν νόμων, ἐὰν ἐξελέγξω Κτησιφῶντα καὶ παράνομα γεγραφότα καὶ ψευδῆ καὶ ἀσύμφορα τῆ πόλει, λύετε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὰς παρανόμους γνώμας, βεβαιοῦτε τῇ πόλει τὴν δημοκρατίαν, κολάζετε τοὺς ὑπεναντίως τοῖς νόμοις καὶ τῷ συμφέροντι τῷ ὑμετέρῳ πολιτευομένους. κἂν ταύτην ἔχοντες τὴν διάνοιαν ἀκούητε τῶν μελλόντων ῥηθήσεσθαι λόγων, εὖ οἶδʼ καὶ δίκαια καὶ εὔορκα καὶ συμφέροντα ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ψηφιεῖσθε καὶ πάσῃ τῇ πόλει.
9. I hope now that what I have said is a sufficient introduction to my complaint as a whole but I wish to speak briefly about the laws themselves which govern the rendering of account by public officers, the laws which are in fact violated by Ctesiphon’s resolution. In former times certain men who held the highest offices and administered the revenues—yes, and betrayed their every trust for money—would attach to themselves the public speakers of the senate-house and the assembly, and thus anticipate their day of accounting long in advance, with votes of thanks and with proclamations. The result was that when the time came for them to render their account, those who had charges to prefer fell into very great embarrassment, and this was even more the case with the jurors.
9. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς ὅλης κατηγορίας μετρίως μοι ἐλπίζω προειρῆσθαι· περὶ δὲ αὐτῶν τῶν νόμων οἳ κεῖνται περὶ τῶν ὑπευθύνων, παρʼ οὓς τὸ ψήφισμα τυγχάνει γεγραφὼς Κτησιφῶν, διὰ βραχέων εἰπεῖν βούλομαι. ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις ἄρχοντές τινες τὰς μεγίστας ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς προσόδους διοικοῦντες, καὶ δωροδοκοῦντες περὶ ἕκαστα τούτων, προσλαμβάνοντες τούς τε ἐκ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου ῥήτορας καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ δήμου, πόρρωθεν προκατελάμβανον τὰς εὐθύνας ἐπαίνοις καὶ κηρύγμασιν, ὥστʼ ἐν ταῖς εὐθύναις εἰς τὴν μεγίστην μὲν ἀπορίαν ἀφικνεῖσθαι τοὺς κατηγόρους, πολὺ δὲ ἔτι μᾶλλον τοὺς δικαστάς.
10. For great numbers of those who were subject to audit, though they were caught in the very act of stealing the public funds, went out from the court-room acquitted. And no wonder! For the jurors were ashamed, I imagine, to see the same man in the same city one day proclaimed at the festival as crowned by the people with a golden crown because of his virtue and justice, and then a little later to see the same man come out of the auditors’ court convicted of theft. And so the jurors were forced to render, not the verdict that fitted the actual crime, but one that would avert the shame of the people.
10. πολλοὶ γὰρ πάνυ τῶν ὑπευθύνων, ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ κλέπται τῶν δημοσίων χρημάτων ὄντες ἐξελεγχόμενοι, διεφύγγανον ἐκ τῶν δικαστηρίων, εἰκότως· ᾐσχύνοντο γὰρ οἶμαι οἱ δικασταί, εἰ φανήσεται ὁ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ πόλει, πρώην μέν ποτε ἀναγορευόμενος ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν, ὅτι στεφανοῦται ἀρετῆς ἕνεκα καὶ δικαιοσύνης ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ, ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ μικρὸν ἐπισχὼν ἔξεισιν ἐκ τοῦ δικαστηρίου κλοπῆς ἕνεκα τὰς εὐθύνας ὠφληκώς· ὥστε ἠναγκάζοντο τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν οἱ δικασταί, οὐ περὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀδικήματος, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς αἰσχύνης τοῦ δήμου.
11. Now some statesman who had observed this situation caused a law to be passed—and a most excellent law it is—which expressly forbids crowning men before they have passed their final accounting. And yet in spite of this wise provision of the framer of the law, forms of statement have been invented which circumvent the laws; and unless you are warned of them you will be taken unawares and deceived. For among those men who contrary to the laws crown officers who have not yet submitted their accounts, some, who at heart are orderly citizens—if any one is really orderly who proposes illegal measures—at any rate some do make an attempt to cloak their shame; for they add to their decrees the proviso that the man who is subject to audit shall be crowned “after he shall have rendered account and submitted to audit of his office.”
11. κατιδὼν δή τις ταῦτα νομοθέτης τίθησι νόμον καὶ μάλα καλῶς ἔχοντα, διαρρήδην ἀπαγορεύοντα τοὺς ὑπευθύνους μὴ στεφανοῦν. καὶ ταῦτα οὕτως εὖ προκατειληφότος τοῦ νομοθέτου, εὕρηνται κρείττονες λόγοι τῶν νόμων, οὓς εἰ μή τις ὑμῖν ἐρεῖ, λήσετε ἐξαπατηθέντες. τούτων γὰρ τῶν τοὺς ὑπευθύνους στεφανούντων παρὰ τοὺς νόμους οἱ μὲν φύσει μέτριοί εἰσιν, εἰ δή τις ἐστὶ μέτριος τῶν τὰ παράνομα γραφόντων, ἀλλʼ οὖν προβάλλονταί γέ τι πρὸ τῆς αἰσχύνης. προσγράφουσι γὰρ πρὸς τὰ ψηφίσματα στεφανοῦν τὸν ὑπεύθυνον ἐπειδὰν λόγον καὶ εὐθύνας τῆς ἀρχῆς δῷ.
12. The injury to the state is indeed no less, for the hearings for accounting are prejudiced by previous votes of thanks and crowns; but the man who makes the motion does show to the bearers that while he has made an illegal motion, he is ashamed of the wrong thing that he has done. But Ctesiphon, fellow citizens, overleaping the law that governs those who are subject to audit, and not deigning to resort to the pretext of which I have just spoken, has moved that before the accounting, before the auditing, you crown Demosthenes—in the midst of his term of office.
12. καὶ ἡ μὲν πόλις τὸ ἴσον ἀδίκημα ἀδικεῖται· προκαταλαμβάνονται γὰρ ἐπαίνοις καὶ στεφάνοις αἱ εὔθυναι· ὁ δὲ τὸ ψήφισμα γράφων ἐνδείκνυται τοῖς ἀκούουσιν, ὅτι γέγραφε μὲν παράνομα, αἰσχύνεται δὲ ἐφʼ οἷς ἡμάρτηκε. Κτησιφῶν δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὑπερπηδήσας τὸν νόμον τὸν περὶ τῶν ὑπευθύνων κείμενον, καὶ τὴν πρόφασιν ἣν ἀρτίως προεῖπον ὑμῖν ἀνελών, πρὶν λόγον πρὶν εὐθύνας δοῦναι γέγραφε μεταξὺ Δημοσθένην ἄρχοντα στεφανοῦν.
13. But, fellow citizens, in opposition to the statement of the case which I have just presented, they will urge a different argument; for they will say, forsooth, that whatever a man is called on to do under special enactment, this is not an “office,” but a sort of “commission” and “public service” and they will say that “offices” are those to which the Thesmothetae appoint men by lot in the Theseum, and those which are filled by popular election (the offices of general, cavalry commander, and associated offices); but that all others are “employment under special enactment.”
13. λέξουσι δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ἕτερόν τινα λόγον ὑπεναντίον τῷ ἀρτίως εἰρημένῳ, ὡς ἄρα, ὅσα τις αἱρετὸς ὢν πράττει κατὰ ψήφισμα, οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα ἀρχή, ἀλλʼ ἐπιμέλειά τις καὶ διακονία· ἀρχὰς δὲ φήσουσιν ἐκείνας εἶναι ἃς οἱ θεσμοθέται ἀποκληροῦσιν ἐν τῷ Θησείῳ, κἀκείνας ἃς ὁ δῆμος χειροτονεῖ ἐν ἀρχαιρεσίαις, στρατηγοὺς καὶ ἱππάρχους καὶ τὰς μετὰ τούτων ἀρχάς, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα πάντα πραγματείας προστεταγμένας κατὰ ψήφισμα.
14. Well, to their arguments I will oppose your law, a law which you yourselves passed in the expectation of silencing such pretexts; for it expressly says “the elective offices,” including all in a single phrase, calling everything which is filled by popular election an “office,” and specifying “the superintendents of public works.” But Demosthenes is in charge of the construction of walls, superintendent of the greatest of the works; “and all who have charge of any business of the state for more than thirty days, and all to whom is given the presidency of a court”; but every superintendent of public works holds the presidency of a court.
14. ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς λόγους τοὺς τούτων νόμον ὑμέτερον παρέξομαι, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐνομοθετήσατε λύσειν ἡγούμενοι τὰς τοιαύτας προφάσεις, ἐν ᾧ διαρρήδην γέγραπται, τὰς χειροτονητάς, φησίν, ἀρχάς, ἁπάσας ἑνὶ περιλαβὼν ὀνόματι, καὶ προσειπὼν ἀρχὰς ἁπάσας εἶναι ἃς ὁ δῆμος χειροτονεῖ, καὶ τοὺς ἐπιστάτας, φησί, τῶν δημοσίων ἔργων· ἔστι δὲ ὁ Δημοσθένης τειχοποιός, ἐπιστάτης τοῦ μεγίστου τῶν ἔργων· καὶ πάντας ὅσοι διαχειρίζουσί τι τῶν τῆς πόλεως πλέον ἢ τριάκονθʼ ἡμέρας, καὶ ὅσοι λαμβάνουσιν ἡγεμονίας δικαστηρίων· οἱ δὲ τῶν ἔργων ἐπιστάται πάντες ἡγεμονίᾳ χρῶνται δικαστηρίου.
15. What is it that the law commands these men to do? Not to “serve,” but “after approval by the court to hold office” (for even the officers who are selected by lot are not exempt from the scrutiny, but hold their office only after approval); “and to submit their accounts before the clerk and board of auditors,” precisely as other officers are required to do. As proof of the truth of my statement, the laws themselves shall be read to you.
15. τί τούτους κελεύει ποιεῖν; οὐ διακονεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἄρχειν δοκιμασθέντας ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ αἱ κληρωταὶ ἀρχαὶ οὐκ ἀδοκίμαστοι, ἀλλὰ δοκιμασθεῖσαι ἄρχουσι, καὶ λόγον ἐγγράφειν πρὸς τὸν γραμματέα καὶ τοὺς λογιστάς, καθάπερ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχάς. ὅτι δὲ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τοὺς νόμους ὑμῖν αὐτοὺς ἀναγνώσεται.
16. The Laws When, therefore, fellow citizens, what the lawgiver names “offices,” they call “employments” and “commissions,” it is your duty to remember the law, and to set it against their shamelessness, and to remind them that you refuse to accept a rascally sophist, who expects to destroy the laws with phrases; but that when a man has made an illegal motion, the more cleverly he talks, the more angry will he find you. For by right, fellow citizens, the orator and the law ought to speak the same language; but when the law utters one voice and the orator another, you ought to give your vote to the just demand of the law, not to the shamelessness of the speaker.
16. Νόμοι ὅταν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἃς ὁ νομοθέτης ἀρχὰς ὀνομάζει, οὗτοι προσαγορεύωσι πραγματείας καὶ ἐπιμελείας, ὑμέτερον ἔργον ἐστὶν ἀπομνημονεύειν καὶ ἀντιτάττειν τὸν νόμον πρὸς τὴν τούτων ἀναίδειαν, καὶ ὑποβάλλειν αὐτοῖς, ὅτι οὐ προσδέχεσθε κακοῦργον σοφιστήν, οἰόμενον ῥήμασι τοὺς νόμους ἀναιρήσειν, ἀλλʼ ὅσῳ ἄν τις ἄμεινον λέγῃ παράνομα γεγραφώς, τοσούτῳ μείζονος ὀργῆς τεύξεται. χρὴ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ αὐτὸ φθέγγεσθαι τὸν ῥήτορα καὶ τὸν νόμον· ὅταν δὲ ἑτέραν μὲν φωνὴν ἀφιῇ ὁ νόμος, ἑτέραν δὲ ὁ ῥήτωρ, τῷ τοῦ νόμου δικαίῳ χρὴ διδόναι τὴν ψῆφον, οὐ τῇ τοῦ λέγοντος ἀναισχυντίᾳ.
17. But now to “the irrefutable argument,” as Demosthenes calls it, I wish to reply briefly in advance. For he will say, “I am in charge of the construction of walls; I admit it; but I have made a present of a hundred minas to the state, and I have carried out the work on a larger scale than was prescribed; what then is it that you want to audit? unless a man’s patriotism is to be audited!” Now to this pretext hear my answer, true to the facts and beneficial to you. In this city, so ancient and so great, no man is free from the audit who has held any public trust.
17. πρὸς δὲ δὴ τὸν ἄφυκτον λόγον, ὅν φησι Δημοσθένης, βραχέα βούλομαι προειπεῖν. λέξει γὰρ οὗτος· τειχοποιός εἰμι· ὁμολογῶ· ἀλλʼ ἐπιδέδωκα τῇ πόλει μνᾶς ἑκατόν, καὶ τὸ ἔργον μεῖζον ἐξείργασμαι· τίνος οὖν εἰμι ὑπεύθυνος; εἰ μή τις ἐστὶν εὐνοίας εὔθυνα. πρὸς δὴ ταύτην τὴν πρόφασιν ἀκούσατέ μου λέγοντος καὶ δίκαια καὶ ὑμῖν συμφέροντα. ἐν γὰρ ταύτῃ πόλει, οὕτως ἀρχαίᾳ οὔσῃ καὶ τηλικαύτῃ τὸ μέγεθος, οὐδείς ἐστιν ἀνυπεύθυνος τῶν καὶ ὁπωσοῦν πρὸς τὰ κοινὰ προσεληλυθότων.
18. I will first cite cases where this would be least expected. For example, the law directs that priests and priestesses be subject to audit, all collectively, and each severally and individually—persons who receive perquisites only, and whose occupation is to pray to heaven for you; and they are made accountable not only separately, but whole priestly, families together, the Eumolpidae, the Ceryces, and all the rest.
18. διδάξω δʼ ὑμᾶς πρῶτον ἐπὶ τῶν παραδόξων. οἷον τοὺς ἱερέας καὶ τὰς ἱερείας ὑπευθύνους εἶναι κελεύει ὁ νόμος, καὶ συλλήβδην ἅπαντας καὶ χωρὶς ἑκάστους κατὰ σῶμα, τοὺς τὰ γέρα μόνον λαμβάνοντας καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐχομένους, καὶ οὐ μόνον ἰδίᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ κοινῇ τὰ γένη, Εὐμολπίδας καὶ Κήρυκας καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας.
19. Again, the law directs that the trierarchs be subject to audit, though they have had no public funds in their hands, and though they are not men who filch large sums from your treasury and pay out small ones, and not men who claim to be making donations when they are only paying back what is your own, but men who are acknowledged by all to have spent their family fortunes in their ambition to serve you. Furthermore, not the trierarchs alone, but also the highest bodies in the state, come under the verdict of the courts of audit.
19. πάλιν τοὺς τριηράρχους ὑπευθύνους εἶναι κελεύει ὁ νόμος, οὐ τὰ κοινὰ διαχειρίσαντας, οὐδʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑμετέρων πολλὰ μὲν ὑφαιρουμένους, βραχέα δὲ κατατιθέντας, οὐδʼ ἐπιδιδόναι μὲν φάσκοντας, ἀποδιδόντας δὲ ὑμῖν τὰ ὑμέτερα, ἀλλʼ ὁμολογουμένως τὰς πατρῴας οὐσίας εἰς τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀνηλωκότας φιλοτιμίαν. οὐ τοίνυν μόνοι οἱ τριήραρχοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει συνεδρίων ὑπὸ τὴν τῶν δικαστηρίων ἔρχεται ψῆφον.
20. For, first, the Senate of the Areopagus is required by the law to file its accounts with the Board of Auditors and to submit to their examination; yes, even those men, who sit with solemn aspect yonder as the court of highest competence, are brought under your verdict. Shall the Senate of the Areopagus, then, receive no crown? They shall not, for such is not the tradition of our fathers. Have they, then, no love of honor? Indeed they have! They so love honor that they are not satisfied with merely keeping free from guilt, but they punish their members even for mistakes. But your politicians are pampered. Further, the lawgiver has made the Senate of Five Hundred subject to audit.
20. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τὴν βουλὴν τὴν ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ ἐγγράφειν πρὸς τοὺς λογιστὰς ὁ νόμος κελεύει λόγον καὶ εὐθύνας διδόναι, καὶ τὴν ἐκεῖ σκυθρωπὸν καὶ τῶν μεγίστων κυρίαν ἄγει ὑπὸ τὴν ὑμετέραν ψῆφον. οὐκ ἄρα στεφανωθήσεται ἡ βουλὴ ἡ ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου; οὐδὲ γὰρ πάτριον αὐτοῖς. οὐκ ἄρα φιλοτιμοῦνται; πάνυ γε, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀγαπῶσιν, ἐάν τις παρʼ αὐτοῖς μὴ ἀδικῇ, ἀλλʼ ἐάν τις ἐξαμαρτάνῃ, κολάζουσιν· οἱ δὲ ὑμέτεροι ῥήτορες τρυφῶσι. πάλιν τὴν βουλὴν τοὺς πεντακοσίους ὑπεύθυνον πεποίηκεν ὁ νομοθέτης.
21. And so deep is his distrust of those who are subject to audit, that he says at the very beginning of the laws, “The officer who has not yet submitted his accounts shall not leave the country?” “Heracles!” some one may answer, “because I held an office may I not leave the country?” No, for fear you may make profit of the public money or the public acts, and then run away. Furthermore, the man who is subject to audit is not allowed to consecrate his property, or to make a votive offering, or to receive adoption, or to dispose of his property by will and he is under many other prohibitions. In a word, the lawgiver holds under attachment the property of all who are subject to audit, until their accounts shall have been audited.
21. καὶ οὕτως ἰσχυρῶς ἀπιστεῖ τοῖς ὑπευθύνοις, ὥστʼ εὐθὺς ἀρχόμενος τῶν νόμων, ἀρχὴν ὑπεύθυνον, φησί, μὴ ἀποδημεῖν· ὦ Ἡράκλεις, ὑπολάβοι ἄν τις, ὅτι ἦρξα, μὴ ἀποδημήσω; ἵνα γε μὴ προλαβὼν χρήματα τῆς πόλεως ἢ πράξεις δρασμῷ χρήσῃ. πάλιν ὑπεύθυνον οὐκ ἐᾷ τὴν οὐσίαν καθιεροῦν, οὐδὲ ἀνάθημα ἀναθεῖναι, οὐδʼ ἐκποίητον γενέσθαι, οὐδὲ διαθέσθαι τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, οὐδʼ ἄλλα πολλά· ἑνὶ δὲ λόγῳ ἐνεχυράζει τὰς οὐσίας ὁ νομοθέτης τὰς τῶν ὑπενθύνων, ἕως ἂν λόγον ἀποδῶσι τῇ πόλει.
22. “Yes, but there is a man who has received no public funds and spent none, but has simply had something to do with administrative matters.” He too is commanded to render account to the auditors. “And how shall the man who has received nothing and spent nothing render account to the state?” The law itself suggests and teaches what he is to write; for it commands him to file precisely this statement, “I have neither received nor spent any public funds.” There is nothing in all the state that is exempt from audit, investigation, and examination. As proof of what I say, hear the laws themselves.
22. ναί, ἀλλʼ ἔστι τις ἄνθρωπος ὃς οὔτʼ εἴληφεν οὐδὲν τῶν δημοσίων οὔτʼ ἀνήλωκε, προσῆλθε δὲ πρός τι τῶν κοινῶν. καὶ τοῦτον ἀποφέρειν κελεύει λόγον πρὸς τοὺς λογιστάς. καὶ πῶς ὅ γε μηδὲν λαβὼν μηδʼ ἀναλώσας ἀποίσει λόγον τῇ πόλει; αὐτὸς ὑποβάλλει καὶ διδάσκει ὁ νόμος ἃ χρὴ γράφειν· κελεύει γὰρ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐγγράφειν, ὅτι οὔτʼ ἔλαβον οὐδὲν τῶν τῆς πόλεως οὔτʼ ἀνήλωσα. ἀνυπεύθυνον δὲ καὶ ἀζήτητον καὶ ἀνεξέταστον οὐδέν ἐστι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει. ὅτι δὲ ἀληθῆ λέγω, αὐτῶν ἀκούσατε τῶν νόμων.
23. The Laws So when Demosthenes at the height of his impudence shall say that because the money was a gift he is not subject to audit, suggest this to him: was it not, then, your duty, Demosthenes, to allow the herald of the Board of Auditors to make this proclamation, sanctioned by law and custom, “Who wishes to prefer charges?” Let any citizen who wishes have the opportunity to claim that you have given nothing, but that from the large sums under your control you have spent a mere trifle on the repair of the walls, whereas you have received ten talents from the city for this work. Do not grab honor; do not snatch the jurors’ ballots from their hands; do not in your political career go before the laws, but follow them. For so is the democracy upheld.
23. Νόμοι ὅταν τοίνυν μάλιστα θρασύνηται Δημοσθένης, λέγων ὡς διὰ τὴν ἐπίδοσιν οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπεύθυνος, ἐκεῖνο αὐτῷ ὑποβάλλετε· οὐκ οὖν ἐχρῆν σε, ὦ Δημόσθενες, ἐᾶσαι τὸν τῶν λογιστῶν κήρυκα κηρύξαι τὸ πάτριον καὶ ἔννομον κήρυγμα τοῦτο, τίς βούλεται κατηγορεῖν; ἔασον ἀμφισβητῆσαί σοι τὸν βουλόμενον τῶν πολιτῶν, ὡς οὐκ ἐπέδωκας, ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ πολλῶν ὧν ἔχεις εἰς τὴν τῶν τειχῶν οἰκοδομίαν μικρὰ κατέθηκας, δέκα τάλαντα εἰς ταῦτα τῆς πόλεως εἰληφώς. μὴ ἅρπαζε τὴν φιλοτιμίαν, μηδὲ ἐξαιροῦ τῶν δικαστῶν τὰς Ψήφους ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν, μηδʼ ἔμπροσθεν τῶν νόμων, ἀλλʼ ὕστερος πολιτεύου. ταῦτα γὰρ ὀρθοῖ τὴν δημοκρατίαν.
24. As an answer then to the empty pretexts that they will bring forward, let what I have said suffice. But that Demosthenes was in fact subject to audit at the time when the defendant made his motion, since he held the office of Superintendent of the Theoric Fund as well as the office of Commissioner for the Repair of Walls, and at that time bad not rendered to you his account and reckoning for either office, this I will now try to show you from the public records. Read, if you please, in what archonship and in what month and on what day and in what assembly Demosthenes was elected a Superintendent of the Theoric Fund. Enumeration of the Days If now I should prove nothing beyond this, Ctesiphon would be justly convicted, for it is not my complaint that convicts him, but the public records.
24. πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὰς κενὰς προφάσεις ἃς οὗτοι προφασιοῦνται, μέχρι δεῦρο εἰρήσθω μοι· ὅτι δὲ ὄντως ἦν ὑπεύθυνος ὁ Δημοσθένης, ὅθʼ οὗτος εἰσήνεγκε τὸ Ψήφισμα, ἄρχων μὲν τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ θεωρικὸν ἀρχὴν, ἄρχων δὲ τὴν τῶν τειχοποιῶν, οὐδετέρας δέ πω τῶν ἀρχῶν τούτων λόγον ὑμῖν οὐδʼ εὐθύνας δεδωκώς, ταῦτʼ ἤδη πειράσομαι ὑμᾶς διδάσκειν ἐκ τῶν δημοσίων γραμμάτων. καί μοι ἀνάγνωθι, ἐπὶ τίνος ἄρχοντος καὶ ποίου μηνὸς καὶ ἐν τίνι ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἐν ποίᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐχειροτονήθη Δημοσθένης τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ θεωρικόν. Διαλογισμὸς τῶν Ἡμερῶν οὐκοῦν εἰ μηδὲν ἔτι περαιτέρω δείξαιμι, δικαίως ἂν ἁλίσκοιτο Κτησιφῶν· αἱρεῖ γὰρ αὐτὸν οὐχ ἡ κατηγορία ἡ ἐμή, ἀλλὰ τὰ δημόσια γράμματα.
25. In earlier times, fellow citizens, the city used to elect a Comptroller of the Treasury, who every prytany made to the people a report of the revenues. But because of the trust which you placed in Eubulus, those who were elected Superintendents of the Theoric Fund held (until the law of Hegemon was passed) the office of Comptroller of the Treasury and the office of Receiver of Moneys; they also controlled the dockyards, had charge of the naval arsenal that was building, and were Superintendents of Streets; almost the whole administration of the state was in their hands.
25. πρότερον μὲν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀντιγραφεὺς ἦν χειροτονητὸς τῇ πόλει, ὃς καθʼ ἑκάστην πρυτανείαν ἀπελογίζετο τὰς προσόδους τῷ δήμῳ· διὰ δὲ τὴν πρὸς Εὔβουλον γενομένην πίστιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἐπὶ τὸ θεωρικὸν κεχειροτονημένοι ἦρχον μέν, πρὶν ἢ τὸν Ἡγήμονος νόμον γενέσθαι, τὴν τοῦ ἀντιγραφέως ἀρχήν, ἦρχον δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀποδεκτῶν, καὶ νεωρίων ἦρχον, καὶ σκευοθήκην ᾠκοδόμουν, ἦσαν δὲ καὶ ὁδοποιοί, καὶ σχεδὸν τὴν ὅλην διοίκησιν εἶχον τῆς πόλεως.
26. I say this, not to accuse or blame them, but because I wish to show you this: that while the lawgiver, in case any one is subject to audit for a single office—though it be the least—does not permit him to be crowned until lie has rendered his account and submitted to audit, Ctesiphon did not hesitate to move to crown Demosthenes, who was holding all the offices in Athens at once.
26. καὶ οὐ κατηγορῶν αὐτῶν οὐδʼ ἐπιτιμῶν λέγω, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο ὑμῖν ἐνδείξασθαι βουλόμενος, ὅτι ὁ μὲν νομοθέτης, ἐάν τις μιᾶς ἀρχῆς τῆς ἐλαχίστης ὑπεύθυνος ᾖ, τοῦτον οὐκ ἐᾷ, πρὶν ἂν λόγου καὶ εὐθύνας δῷ, στεφανοῦν, Κτησιφῶν δὲ Δημοσθένην τὸν συλλήβδην ἁπάσας τὰς Ἀθήνησιν ἀρχὰς ἄρχοντα οὐκ ὤκνησε γράψαι στεφανῶσαι.
27. Furthermore I will present to you Demosthenes himself as witness to the fact that at the time when Ctesiphon made his motion, Demosthenes was holding the office of Commissioner for the Repair of Walls, and so was handling public funds, imposing fines like the other magistrates, and privileged to preside in court. For in the archonship of Chaerondas, on the last day but one of Thargelion, Demosthenes made a motion in the assembly that on the second and third days of Skirophorion assemblies of the tribes be held; and he directed in his decree that men be chosen from each tribe as superintendents and treasurers for the work upon the walls; and very properly, that the city might have responsible persons upon whom to call for an accounting of the money spent. Please read the decree.
27. ὡς τοίνυν καὶ τὴν τῶν τειχοποιῶν ἀρχὴν ἦρχεν, ὅθʼ οὗτος τὸ ψήφισμα ἔγραψε, καὶ τὰ δημόσια χρήματα διεχείριζε, καὶ ἐπιβολὰς ἐπέβαλλε, καθάπερ οἱ ἄλλοι ἄρχοντες, καὶ δικαστηρίων ἡγεμονίας ἐλάμβανε, τούτων ὑμῖν αὐτὸν Δημοσθένην μάρτυρα παρέξομαι. ἐπὶ γὰρ Χαιρώνδου ἄρχοντος, Θαργηλιῶνος μηνὸς δευτέρᾳ φθίνοντος, ἐκκλησίας οὔσης ἔγραψε Δημοσθένης ἀγορὰν ποιῆσαι τῶν φυλῶν Ξκιροφοριῶνος δευτέρα ἱσταμένου καὶ τρίτῃ, καὶ ἐπέταξεν ἐν τῷ ψηφίσματι ἑκάστης τῶν φυλῶν ἑλέσθαι τοὺς ἐπιμελησομένους τῶν ἔργων ἐπὶ τὰ τείχη καὶ ταμίας, καὶ μάλα ὀρθῶς, ἵνʼ ἡ πόλις ἔχοι ὑπεύθυνα σώματα παρʼ ὧν ἔμελλε τῶν ἀνηλωμένων λόγον ἀπολήψεσθαι. καί μοι λέγε τὸ ψήφισμα.
28. Decree Yes, but he immediately tries to wriggle out of this by saying that it was not the people who elected him, or appointed him by lot, as Commissioner of Walls. On this point Demosthenes and Ctesiphon will argue at length. But the law is brief and clear and it makes short work of their devices. I wish first to speak to you briefly about this.
28. Ψήφισμα ναί, ἀλλʼ ἀντιδιαπλέκει πρὸς τοῦτο εὐθὺς λέγων ὡς οὔτʼ ἔλαχε τειχοποιὸς οὔτʼ ἐχειροτονήθη ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου. καὶ περὶ τούτου Δημοσθένης μὲν καὶ Κτησιφῶν πολὺν ποιήσονται λόγον· ὁ δέ γε νόμος βραχὺς καὶ σαφὴς καὶ ταχὺ λύων τὰς τούτων τέχνας. μικρὰ δὲ ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν πρῶτον προειπεῖν βούλομαι.
29. There are, fellow citizens, three classes of public officers. The first and most obvious class are all who are appointed by lot or by election; the second class are those who administer some public business for more than thirty days, and the Commissioners of Public Works; but third it stands written in the law that if any others receive presidencies of courts, they also shall “hold office on passing their scrutiny.” Now when you subtract those officials who are chosen by popular election and those appointed by lot, there remain those whom the tribes, the trittyes, and the demes appoint from among their own number to administer public funds. This happens when, as in the present case, some work is assigned to the several tribes, like the digging of trenches or the building of triremes. That what I say is true, you shall learn from the laws themselves.
29. ἔστι γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν περὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς εἴδη τρία, ὧν ἓν μὲν καὶ πᾶσι φανερώτατον οἱ κληρωτοὶ καὶ οἱ χειροτονητοὶ ἄρχοντες, δεύτερον δὲ ὅσοι τι διαχειρίζουσι τῶν τῆς πόλεως ὑπὲρ τριάκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ οἱ τῶν δημοσίων ἔργων ἐπιστάται, τρίτον δʼ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ γέγραπται, καὶ εἴ τινες ἄλλοι τοῦτο δὲ γίγνεται, ὅταν, ὥσπερ νῦν, ἐπιταχθῇ τι ταῖς φυλαῖς, ἢ τάφρους ἐξεργάζεσθαι ἢ τριήρεις ναυπηγεῖσθαι. ὅτι δὲ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν νόμων μαθήσεσθε.
31. The Laws Recall now what has been said: the lawgiver directs that after approval in court those appointed by the tribes shall “hold office”; but the tribe Pandionis appointed Demosthenes an “officer,” a Builder of Walls; and he has received for this work from the general treasury nearly ten talents. Another law forbids crowning an official before he has rendered his accounts, and you have sworn to vote according to the laws; but yonder politician has moved to crown the man who has not yet rendered his accounts, and he has not added “when he shall have rendered account and submitted to audit” and I convict him of the unlawful act, bringing as my witnesses the laws, the decrees, and the defendants. How could one more clearly prove that a man has made an unlawful motion?
31. Νόμοι ἀναμνήσθητε δὴ τοὺς προειρημένους λόγους, ὅτι ὁ μὲν νομοθέτης τοὺς ἐκ τῶν φυλῶν ἄρχειν κελεύει δοκιμασθέντας ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, ἡ δὲ Πανδιονὶς φυλὴ ἄρχοντα καὶ τειχοποιὸν ἀπέδειξε Δημοσθένην, ὃς ἐκ τῆς διοικήσεως εἰς ταῦτα ἔχει μικροῦ δεῖν δέκα τάλαντα, ἕτερος δʼ ἀπαγορεύει νόμος ἀρχὴν ὑπεύθυνον μὴ στεφανοῦν, ὑμεῖς δὲ ὀμωμόκατε κατὰ τοὺς νόμους ψηφιεῖσθαι, ὁ δὲ ῥήτωρ γέγραφε τὸν ὑπεύθυνον στεφανοῦν, οὐ προσθεὶς ἐπειδὰν δῷ λόγον καὶ εὐθύνας, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐξελέγχω τὸ παράνομον μάρτυρας ἅμα τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα καὶ τοὺς ἀντιδίκους παρεχόμενος. πῶς οὖν ἄν τις περιφανέστερον ἐπιδείξειεν ἄνθρωπον παράνομα γεγραφότα;
32. Furthermore, I will show you that the proclamation of the crown, as proposed in his decree, is to be made in an illegal manner. For the law expressly commands that if the Senate confer a crown, the crown shall be proclaimed in the senate-house, and if the people confer it, in the assembly, “and nowhere else.” Read me the law.
32. ὡς τοίνυν καὶ τὴν ἀνάρρησιν τοῦ στεφάνου παρανόμως ἐν τῷ ψηφίσματι κελεύει γίγνεσθαι, καὶ τοῦθʼ ὑμᾶς διδάξω. ὁ γὰρ νόμος διαρρήδην κελεύει, ἐὰν μέν τινα στεφανοῖ ἡ βουλή, ἐν τῷ βουλευτηρίῳ ἀνακηρύττεσθαι, ἐὰν δὲ ὁ δῆμος, ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἄλλοθι δὲ μηδαμοῦ. καί μοι λέγε τὸν νόμον.
33. Law This, fellow citizens, is an excellent law. For it seems that it was the idea of the lawgiver that the public man ought not to be thinking of outsiders as he receives his honors, but to be well content with honor received in the city itself and from the people; and that he ought not to treat such proclamations as a source of revenue. So thought the lawgiver. But Ctesiphon how? Read his decree.
33. Νόμος οὗτος ὁ νόμος, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ μάλα καλῶς ἔχει. οὐ γὰρ οἶμαι ᾤετο δεῖν ὁ νομοθέτης τὸν ῥήτορα σεμνύνεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν, ἀλλʼ ἀγαπᾶν ἐν αὐτῇ πόλει τιμώμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, καὶ μὴ ἐργολαβεῖν ἐν τοῖς κηρύγμασιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν νομοθέτης οὕτως· ὁ δὲ Κτησιφῶν πῶς; ἀναγίγνωσκε τὸ ψήφισμα.
34. Decree You hear, fellow citizens, how the lawgiver commands that the man who is crowned by the people be proclaimed among the people, on the Pnyx, at a meeting of the assembly, “and nowhere else”; but Ctesiphon, in the theater—not only overriding the laws but also changing the place; not when the Athenians are in assembly, but when tragedies are being performed; not in the presence of the people, but in the presence of the Hellenes, that they also may know what sort of man we honor.
34. Ψήφισμα ἀκούετε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι ὁ μὲν νομοθέτης κελεύει ἐν τῷ δήμῳ ἐν Πυκνὶ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀνακηρύττειν τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου στεφανούμενον, ἄλλοθι δὲ μηδαμοῦ, Κτησιφῶν δὲ ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ, οὐ τοὺς νόμους μόνον ὑπερβάς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν τόπον μετενεγκών, οὐδὲ ἐκκλησιαζόντων Ἀθηναίων, ἀλλὰ τραγῳδῶν γιγνομένων, οὐδʼ ἐναντίον τοῦ δήμου, ἀλλʼ ἐναντίον τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἵνʼ ἡμῖν συνειδῶσιν οἷον ἄνδρα τιμῶμεν.
35. Having, then, made a motion that is so manifestly illegal, he will call Demosthenes as his ally and bring up the artifices of rhetoric for the assault on the laws. These tricks I will reveal and of these I will forewarn you, lest you be taken unawares and deceived. They will not be able to deny that the laws forbid the man who is crowned by the people to be proclaimed outside the assembly, but they will present for their defence the Dionysiac law, and will use a certain portion of the law, cheating your ears.
35. οὕτω τοίνυν περιφανῶς παράνομα γεγραφώς, παραταχθεὶς μετὰ Δημοσθένους ἐποίσει τέχνας τοῖς νόμοις· ἃς ἐγὼ δηλώσω καὶ προερῶ ὑμῖν, ἵνα μὴ λάθητε ἐξαπατηθέντες. οὗτοι γάρ, ὡς μὲν οὐκ ἀπαγορεύουσιν οἱ νόμοι τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου στεφανούμενον μὴ κηρύττειν ἔξω τῆς ἐκκλησίας, οὐχ ἕξουσι λέγειν, οἴσουσι δὲ εἰς τὴν ἀπολογίαν τὸν Διονυσιακὸν νόμον, καὶ χρήσονται τοῦ νόμου μέρει τινὶ κλέπτοντες τὴν ἀκρόασιν ὑμῶν, καὶ παρέξονται νόμον οὐδὲν προσήκοντα τῇδε τῇ γραφῇ, καὶ λέξουσιν ὡς εἰσὶ τῇ πόλει δύο νόμοι κείμενοι περὶ τῶν κηρυγμάτων, εἷς μέν, ὃν νῦν ἐγὼ παρέχομαι, διαρρήδην ἀπαγορεύων τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου στεφανούμενον μὴ κηρύττεσθαι ἔξω τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἕτερον δʼ εἶναι νόμον φήσουσιν ἐναντίον τούτῳ, τὸν δεδωκότα ἐξουσίαν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀνάρρησιν τοῦ στεφάνου τραγῳδοῖς ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ, ἐὰν Ψηφίσηται ὁ δῆμος·
36. For they will offer a law that has nothing to do with this case, and will say that the city has two laws governing proclamations: one, the law that I now offer in evidence, which expressly forbids the man who is crowned by the people to be proclaimed outside the assembly; but they will say that there is another law, contradictory to this, and that that law has given authority for the proclamation of the crown at the time of the tragedies in the theater, “if the people vote.” And so they will say that it is in accordance with that law that Ctesiphon has made his motion. Now against their tricks I will introduce your own laws as my advocates, as indeed I earnestly try to do throughout this whole prosecution. For if what they say is true, and such a custom has crept into your government that invalid laws stand written among the valid, and that there exist two laws concerning one and the same action, which contradict each other, how could any man longer call this a “government,” if in it the laws command to do and not to do one and the same thing?
36. κατὰ δὴ τοῦτον τὸν νόμον φήσουσι γεγραφέναι τὸν Κτησιφῶντα. ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τὰς τούτων τέχνας παρέξομαι συνηγόρους τοὺς νόμους τοὺς ὑμετέρους, ὅπερ διατελῶ σπουδάζων παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν κατηγορίαν. εἰ γὰρ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές, καὶ τοιοῦτον ἔθος παραδέδυκεν ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν πολιτείαν, ὥστʼ ἀκύρους νόμους ἐν τοῖς κυρίοις ἀναγεγράφθαι, καὶ δύο περὶ μιᾶς πράξεως ὑπεναντίους ἀλλήλοις, τί ἂν ἔτι ταύτην εἴποι τις εἶναι πολιτείαν, ἐν ᾗ ταὐτὰ προστάττουσιν οἱ νόμοι ποιεῖν καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν;
38. But that is not the case. May you never reach the point where your laws are in such disorder as that! Nor was the lawgiver who established the democracy guilty of such neglect; he has expressly laid upon the Thesmothetae the duty of making an annual revision of the laws in the presence of the people, prescribing sharp investigation and examination, in order to determine whether any law stands written which contradicts another law, or an invalid law stands among the valid, or whether more laws than one stand written to govern each action.
38. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔχει ταῦθʼ οὕτως· μήθʼ ὑμεῖς ποτε εἰς τοσαύτην ἀταξίαν τῶν νόμων προβαίητε, οὔτε ἠμέληται περὶ τῶν τοιούτων τῷ νομοθέτῃ τῷ τὴν δημοκρατίαν καταστήσαντι, ἀλλὰ διαρρήδην προστέτακται τοῖς θεσμοθέταις καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν διορθοῦν ἐν τῷ δήμῳ τοὺς νόμους, ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσαντας καὶ σκεψαμένους, εἴ τις ἀναγέγραπται νόμος ἐναντίος ἑτέρῳ νόμῳ, ἢ ἂκυρος ἐν τοῖς κυρίοις, ἢ που εἰσὶ νόμοι πλείους ἑνὸς ἀναγεγραμμένοι περὶ ἑκάστης πράξεως.
39. And if they find such a thing, they are required to write it out and post it on bulletins in front of the Eponymi; and the prytanes are required to call a meeting of the assembly, writing at the head of the call, “For Nomothetae”; and the chairman of the presiding officers must submit to vote the question of the removal of one set of laws and the retention of the other, in order that for each action there may be one law and no more. Please read the laws.
39. κἄν τι τοιοῦτον εὑρίσκωσιν, ἀναγεγραφότας ἐν σανίσιν ἐκτιθέναι κελεύει πρόσθεν τῶν ἐπωνύμων, τοὺς δὲ πρυτάνεις ποιεῖν ἐκκλησίαν ἐπιγράψαντας νομοθέταις, τὸν δʼ ἐπιστάτην τῶν προέδρων διαχειροτονίαν διδόναι τοὺς μὲν ἀναιρεῖν τῶν νόμων, τοὺς δὲ καταλείπειν, ὅπως ἂν εἷς ᾖ νόμος καὶ μὴ πλείους περὶ ἑκάστης πράξεως. καί μοι λέγε τοὺς νόμους.
40. Laws If now, fellow citizens, what they assert were true, and two laws had been in force governing proclamations, I think the Thesmothetae would necessarily have searched them out, and the prytanes would have referred them to the Nomothetae, and one or the other of the two laws would have been repealed, either the law that gave authority for the proclamation, or the law that forbade it. But seeing that no such thing has been done, surely what they say is demonstrated to be, not only false, but absolutely impossible.
40. Νόμοι εἰ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀληθὴς ἦν ὁ παρὰ τούτων λόγος, καὶ ἦσαν δύο κείμενοι νόμοι περὶ τῶν κηρυγμάτων, ἐξ ἀνάγκης οἶμαι τῶν μὲν θεσμοθετῶν ἐξευρόντων, τῶν δὲ πρυτάνεων ἀποδόντων τοῖς νομοθέταις ἀνῄρητʼ ἂν ὁ ἕτερος τῶν νόμων, ἤτοι ὁ τὴν ἐξουσίαν δεδωκὼς ἀνειπεῖν ἢ ὁ ἀπαγορεύων· ὁπότε δὲ μηδὲν τούτων γεγένηται, φανερῶς δή που ἐξελέγχονται οὐ μόνον Ψευδῆ λέγοντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ παντελῶς ἀδύνατα γενέσθαι.
41. But I will show you where they get this false assertion. First, however, I will tell the reason why the laws governing the proclamations in the theater were enacted. It frequently happened that at the performance of the tragedies in the city proclamations were made without authorization of the people, now that this or that man was crowned by his tribe, now that others were crowned by the men of their deme, while other men by the voice of the herald manumitted their household slaves, and made all Hellas their witness;
41. ὅθεν δὲ τὸ Ψεῦδος τοῦτο ἐπιφέρουσιν, ἐγὼ διδάξω ὑμᾶς, προειπὼν ὧν ἕνεκα οἱ νόμοι ἐτέθησαν οἱ περὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ κηρυγμάτων. γιγνομένων γὰρ τῶν ἐν ἄστει τραγῳδῶν ἀνεκήρυττόν τινες, οὐ πείσαντες τὸν δῆμον, οἱ μὲν ὅτι στεφανοῦνται ὑπὸ τῶν φυλετῶν, ἕτεροι δʼ ὅτι ὑπὸ τῶν δημοτῶν· ἄλλοι δέ τινες ὑποκηρυξάμενοι τοὺς αὑτῶν οἰκέτας ἀφίεσαν ἐλευθέρους, μάρτυρας τοὺς Ἕλληνας ποιούμενοι.
42. and, most invidious of all, certain men who had secured positions as agents of foreign states managed to have proclaimed that they were crowned—it might be by the people of Rhodes, or of Chios, or of some other state—in recognition of their merit and uprightness. And this they did, not like those who were crowned by your senate or by the people, by first obtaining your consent and by your decree, and after establishing large claims upon your gratitude, but themselves reaching out after the honor with no authorization from you.
42. ὃ δʼ ἦν ἐπιφθονώτατον, προξενίας εὑρημένοι τινὲς ἐν ταῖς ἔξω πόλεσι, διεπράττοντο ἀναγορεύεσθαι ὅτι στεφανοῖ αὐτοὺς ὁ δῆμος, εἰ οὕτω τύχοι, ὁ τῶν Ῥοδίων ἢ Χίων ἢ καί τινος ἄλλης πόλεως, ἀρετῆς ἕνεκα καὶ ἀνδραγαθίας. καὶ ταῦτʼ ἔπραττον, οὐχ ὥσπερ οἱ ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς τῆς ὑμετέρας στεφανούμενοι ἢ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, πείσαντες ὑμᾶς καὶ μετὰ Ψηφίσματος, πολλὴν χάριν καταθέμενοι, ἀλλʼ αὐτοὶ προελόμενοι, ἄνευ δόγματος ὑμετέρου.
43. The result of this practice was that the spectators, the choregi, and the actors alike were discommoded, and that those who were crowned in the theater received greater honors than those whom the people crowned. For the latter had a place prescribed where they must receive their crown, the assembly of the people, and proclamation “anywhere else” was forbidden; but the others were proclaimed in the presence of all the Hellenes; the one class with your consent, by your decree; the other, without decree.
43. ἐκ δὲ τούτου τοῦ τρόπου συνέβαινε τοὺς μὲν θεατὰς καὶ τοὺς χορηγοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἀγωνιστὰς ἐνοχλεῖσθαι, τοὺς δὲ ἀνακηρυττομένους ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ μείζοσι τιμαῖς τιμᾶσθαι τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου στεφανουμένων. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀπεδέδεικτο τόπος ἡ ἐκκλησία, ἐν ᾗ χρῆν στεφανοῦσθαι, καὶ ἀπείρητο ἄλλοθι μηδαμοῦ κηρύττεσθαι· οἱ δὲ ἀνηγορεύοντο ἐναντίον ἁπάντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων· κἀκεῖνοι μὲν μετὰ ψηφίσματος, πείσαντες ὑμᾶς, οὗτοι δʼ ἄνευ ψηφίσματος.
44. Now some legislator, seeing this, caused a law to be enacted which has nothing to do with the law concerning those who are crowned by our people, and did not supersede it. For it was not the assembly that was being disturbed, but the theater; and he was not enacting a law contradictory to the previously existing laws, for that may not be done; but a law governing those who, without your decree, are crowned by their tribe or deme, and governing the freeing of slaves, and also the foreign crowns. He expressly forbids the manumission of a slave in the theater, or the proclamation of a crown by the tribe or deme, “or by any one else,” he says, “and the herald who disobeys shall lose his civic rights.”
44. συνιδὼν δή τις ταῦτα νομοθέτης, τίθησι νόμον οὐδὲν ἐπικοινωνοῦντα τῷ περὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου στεφανουμένων νόμῳ, οὔτε λύσας ἐκεῖνον· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ ἐκκλησία ἠνωχλεῖτο, ἀλλὰ τὸ θέατρον· οὔτʼ ἐναντίον τοῖς πρότερον κειμένοις νόμοις τιθείς· οὐ γὰρ ἔξεστιν· ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν ἄνευ ψηφίσματος ὑμετέρου στεφανουμένων ὑπὸ τῶν φυλετῶν καὶ δημοτῶν, καὶ περὶ τῶν τοὺς οἰκέτας ἀπελευθερούντων, καὶ περὶ τῶν ξενικῶν στεφάνων, καὶ διαρρήδην ἀπαγορεύει μήτʼ οἰκέτην ἀπελευθεροῦν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ, μήθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν φυλετῶν ἢ δημοτῶν ἀναγορεύεσθαι στεφανούμενον, μήθʼ ὑπʼ ἄλλου, φησί, μηδενός, ἢ ἄτιμον εἶναι τὸν κήρυκα.
45. When, therefore, the lawgiver designates, for those who are crowned by the senate, the senate-house as the place of proclamation, and, for those who are crowned by the people, the assembly, and when he forbids those who are crowned by the demes or tribes to be proclaimed at the tragedies—that no one may try to get spurious honor by begging crowns and proclamations, and when in the law he further forbids proclamation being made by any one else, senate, people, tribe, and deme being thus eliminated—when one takes these away, what is it that is left except the foreign crowns?
45. ὅταν οὖν ἀποδείξῃ τοῖς μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς στεφανουμένοις τὸ βουλευτήριον ἀναρρηθῆναι, τοῖς δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, τοῖς δʼ ὑπὸ τῶν δημοτῶν καὶ φυλετῶν ἀπείπῃ μὴ κηρύττεσθαι τοῖς τραγῳδοῖς, ἵνα μηδεὶς ἐρανίζων στεφάνους καὶ κηρύγματα ψευδῆ φιλοτιμίαν κτᾶται, προσαπείπῃ δʼ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ μηδʼ ὑπὸ ἄλλου μηδενὸς ἀνακηρύττεσθαι, ἀπούσης βουλῆς καὶ δήμου καὶ φυλετῶν καὶ δημοτῶν,—ὅταν δέ τις ταῦτα ἀφέλῃ, τί τὸ καταλειπόμενόν ἐστι πλὴν οἱ ξενικοὶ στέφανοι;
46. For the truth of my assertion I will show you a strong argument derived from the laws themselves. For the golden crown itself which is proclaimed in the city theater the law takes from the man who is crowned, and commands that it be dedicated to Athena. And yet who among you would dare to charge the Athenian people with such illiberality? For certainly no state, nay, not even a private person—not one—would be so mean as to proclaim a crown and at the same moment demand back the gift which he himself had made. But I think it is because the crown is the gift of foreigners that the dedication is made, lest any one set a higher value upon the gratitude of a foreign state than upon that of his own country, and so become corrupted.
46. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, σημεῖον ὑμῖν μέγα τούτου ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν νόμων ἐπιδείξω. αὐτὸν γὰρ τὸν χρυσοῦν στέφανον, ὃς ἂν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ τῷ ἐν ἄστει ἀναρρηθῇ, ἱερὸν εἶναι τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ὁ νόμος κελεύει, ἀφελόμενος τὸν στεφανούμενον. καίτοι τίς ἂν ὑμῶν τολμήσειε τοσαύτην ἀνελευθερίαν καταγνῶναι τοῦ δήμου τοῦ Ἀθηναίων; μὴ γὰρ ὅτι πόλις, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἂν ἰδιώτης οὐδὲ εἷς οὕτως ἀγεννὴς γένοιτο, ὥστε ὃν αὐτὸς ἔδωκε στέφανον ἅμα ἀνακηρύττειν καὶ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι. ἀλλʼ οἶμαι διὰ τὸ ξενικὸν εἶναι τὸν στέφανον καὶ ἡ καθιέρωσις γίγνεται, ἵνα μηδεὶς ἀλλοτρίαν εὔνοιαν περὶ πλείονος ποιούμενος τῆς πατρίδος χείρων γένηται τὴν ψυχήν.
47. But the other crown, the crown that is proclaimed in the assembly, no one dedicates, but he is permitted to keep it, that not only he, but also his descendants, having the memorial in their house, may never become disloyal to the democracy. And the reason why the lawgiver also forbade the proclamation of the foreign crown in the theater “unless the people vote,” is this: he would have the state that wishes to crown any one of your citizens send ambassadors and ask permission of the people, for so he who is proclaimed will be more grateful to you for permitting the proclamation than to those who confer the crown. But to show that my statements are true, hear the laws themselves.
47. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀναρρηθέντα στέφανον οὐδεὶς καθιεροῖ, ἀλλʼ ἔξεστι κεκτῆσθαι, ἵνα μὴ μόνον αὐτός, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἐξ ἐκείνου, ἔχοντες ἐν τῇ οἰκία τὸ ὑπόμνημα, μηδέποτε κακοὶ τὴν ψυχὴν εἰς τὸν δῆμον γίγνωνται. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προσέθηκεν ὁ νομοθέτης μὴ κηρύττεσθαι τὸν ἀλλότριον στέφανον ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ, ἐὰν μὴ ψηφίσηται ὁ δῆμος, ἵνʼ ἡ πόλις ἡ βουλομένη τινὰ τῶν ὑμετέρων στεφανοῦν πρέσβεις πέμψασα δεηθῇ τοῦ δήμου, καὶ ὁ κηρυττόμενος μείζω χάριν εἰδῇ τῶν στεφανούντων ὑμῖν, ὅτι κηρύξαι ἐπετρέψατε. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τῶν νόμων αὐτῶν ἀκούσατε.
48. Laws When, therefore, they try to deceive you, and say that it is added in the law that the bestowal of the crown is permitted “if the people vote,” do not forget to suggest to them, Yes, if it is another state that is crowning you; but if it is the Athenian people, a place is designated for you where the ceremony must be performed; it is forbidden you to be crowned outside the assembly. For you may spend the whole day in explaining the meaning of the words “and nowhere else”; you will never show that his motion is lawful.
48. Νόμοι ἐπειδὰν τοίνυν ἐξαπατῶντες ὑμᾶς λέγωσιν ὡς προσγέγραπται ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ἐξεῖναι στεφανοῦν, ἐὰν ψηφίσηται ὁ δῆμος, ἀπομνημονεύετε αὐτοῖς ὑποβάλλειν· ναί, εἴ γε σέ τις ἄλλη πόλις στεφανοῖ· εἰ δὲ ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων, ἀποδέδεικταί σοι τόπος ὅπου δεῖ τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι, ἀπείρηταί σοι ἔξω τῆς ἐκκλησίας μὴ κηρύττεσθαι. τὸ γὰρ ἄλλοθι δὲ μηδαμοῦ ὅ τι ἐστίν, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν λέγε· οὐ γὰρ ἀποδείξεις ὡς ἔννομα γέγραφεν.
49. But that part of my accusation remains upon which I lay greatest stress: the pretext upon which he claims that the crown is deserved. It reads thus in his motion: “And the herald shall proclaim in the theater in the presence of the Hellenes that the Athenian people crown him for his merit and uprightness,” and that monstrous assertion, “because he continually speaks and does what is best for the people.”
49. ἔστι δὲ ὑπόλοιπόν μοι μέρος τῆς κατηγορίας ἐφʼ ᾧ μάλιστα σπουδάζω· τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἡ πρόφασις διʼ ἣν αὐτὸν ἀξιοῖ στεφανοῦσθαι. λέγει γὰρ οὕτως ἐν τῷ ψηφίσματι· καὶ τὸν κήρυκα ἀναγορεύειν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ὅτι στεφανοῖ αὐτὸν ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων ἀρετῆς ἕνεκα καὶ ἀνδραγαθίας, καὶ τὸ μέγιστον· ὅτι διατελεῖ καὶ λέγων καὶ πράττων τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ.
50. You see how entirely simple the remainder of our argument becomes, and how easy for you, my hearers, to weigh. For it is obviously incumbent upon me, the complainant, to show this to you, that the praise given to Demosthenes is false, and that he never began to “speak what was best,” nor now “continues to do what is good for the people.” If I show this, then Ctesiphon will doubtless lose his case, and justly; for all the laws forbid inserting falsehoods in the decrees of the people. But the defence must show the opposite of this. And you are to be the judges of our pleas.
50. ἁπλοῦς δὴ παντάπασιν ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα ἡμῖν λόγος γίγνεται, καὶ ὑμῖν ἀκούσασι κρῖναι εὐμαθής· δεῖ γὰρ δή που τὸν μὲν κατηγοροῦντα ἐμὲ τοῦθʼ ὑμῖν ἐπιδεικνύναι, ὡς εἰσὶν οἱ κατὰ Δημοσθένους ἔπαινοι ψευδεῖς, καὶ ὡς οὔτʼ ἤρξατο λέγειν τὰ βέλτιστα, οὔτε νῦν διατελεῖ πράττων τὰ συμφέροντα τῷ δήμῳ. κἂν τοῦτʼ ἐπιδείξω, δικαίως δή που τὴν γραφὴν ἁλώσεται Κτησιφῶν· ἅπαντες γὰρ ἀπαγορεύουσιν οἱ νόμοι μηδένα ψευδῆ γράμματα ἐγγράφειν ἐν τοῖς δημοσίοις ψηφίσμασι. τῷ δʼ ἀπολογουμένῳ τοὐναντίον τούτου δεικτέον ἐστίν. ὑμεῖς δʼ ἡμῖν ἔσεσθε τῶν λόγων κριταί.
51. The case is this: To review the private life of Demosthenes would, in my opinion, demand too long a speech. And why need I tell it all now? the story of what happened to him in the matter of the suit over the wound, when he summoned his own cousin, Demomeles of Paeania, before the Areopagus; and the cut on his head; or the story of the generalship of Cephisodotus, and the naval expedition to the Hellespont, when Demosthenes as one of the trierarchs carried the general on his ship, and shared his table, his sacrifices, and his libations and how after he had been thus honored because the general was an old friend of his father’s, he did not hesitate, when the general was impeached, and was on trial for his life, to become one of his accusers; or, again, that story about Meidias and the blow of the fist that Demosthenes got when he was choregus, in the orchestra, and how for thirty minas he sold both the insult to himself and the vote of censure that the people had passed against Meidias in the theater of Dionysus.
51. ἔχει δʼ οὕτως. ἐγὼ τὸν μὲν ἴδιον βίον τὸν Δημοσθένους ἐξετάζειν μακροτέρου λόγου ἔργον ἡγοῦμαι. τί γὰρ δεῖ νῦν ταῦτα λέγειν, ἢ τὰ περὶ τὴν τοῦ τραύματος γραφὴν αὐτῷ συμβεβηκότα, ὅτʼ ἐγράψατο εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον Δημομέλην τὸν Παιανιέα, ἀνεψιὸν ὄντα ἑαυτῷ, καὶ τὴν τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐπιτομήν· ἢ τὰ περὶ τὴν Κηφισοδότου στρατηγίαν καὶ τὸν τῶν νεῶν ἔκπλουν τὸν εἰς Ἑλλήσποντον, ὅτε εἷς ὢν τῶν τριηράρχων Δημοσθένης, καὶ περιάγων τὸν στρατηγὸν ἐπὶ τῆς νεώς, καὶ συσσιτῶν καὶ συνθύων καὶ συσπένδων, τούτων ἀξιωθεὶς διὰ τὸ πατρικὸς αὐτῷ φίλος εἶναι, οὐκ ὤκνησεν ἀπʼ εἰσαγγελίας αὐτοῦ κρινομένου περὶ θανάτου κατήγορος γενέσθαι· καὶ ταῦτα δὴ τὰ περὶ Μειδίαν καὶ τοὺς κονδύλους, οὓς ἔλαβεν ἐν τῇ ὀρχήστρᾳ χορηγὸς ὤν, καὶ ὡς ἀπέδοτο τριάκοντα μνῶν ἅμα τήν τε εἰς αὑτὸν ὕβριν καὶ τὴν τοῦ δήμου καταχειροτονίαν, ἣν ἐν Διονύσου κατεχειροτόνησε Μειδίου.
53. Now these incidents and all the others like them I think it is best to pass over; not that I would betray you, gentlemen of the jury, or politely yield this case to him, but because I fear that I shall encounter in you the feeling that, while all this is true, it is an old story, admitted by everybody. And yet, Ctesiphon, when a man’s utter shame is so credible to the hearers and so notorious that his accuser seems, not to be speaking what is false, but what is stale, and what everybody admits at the outset, ought that man to be crowned with a golden crown, or ought he to be censured? And you, who had the effrontery to make your false and unlawful motion, ought you to despise the courts, or ought you to give satisfaction to the city?
53. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν μοι δοκῶ καὶ τἆλλα τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια ὑπερβήσεσθαι, οὐ προδιδοὺς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲ τὸν ἀγῶνα καταχαριζόμενος, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο φοβούμενος, μή μοι παρʼ ὑμῶν ἀπαντήσῃ τὸ δοκεῖν ἀληθῆ μὲν λέγειν, ἀρχαῖα δὲ καὶ λίαν ὁμολογούμενα. καίτοι, ὦ Κτησιφῶν, ὅτῳ τὰ μέγιστα τῶν αἰσχρῶν οὕτως ἐστὶ πιστὰ καὶ γνώριμα τοῖς ἀκούουσιν, ὥστε τὸν κατήγορον μὴ δοκεῖν ψευδῆ λέγειν, ἀλλὰ παλαιὰ καὶ λίαν προωμολογημένα, πότερα αὐτὸν δεῖ χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ στεφανωθῆναι, ἢ ψέγεσθαι; καὶ σὲ τὸν ψευδῆ καὶ παράνομα τολμῶντα γράφειν πότερα χρὴ καταφρονεῖν τῶν δικαστηρίων, ἢ δίκην τῇ πόλει δοῦναι;