--- title: "Against Alcibiades · Κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδου" author: "Andocides" translator: "Kenneth John Maidment" languages: [grc, en] shelf: "Classical Greek" url: https://scriptura.si/works/andocides-against-alcibiades/ cite: "Andocides, tr. Kenneth John Maidment, Against Alcibiades · Κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδου. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/andocides-against-alcibiades/" --- # Against Alcibiades · Κατὰ Ἀλκιβιάδου *Andocides, tr. Kenneth John Maidment* An attack on Alcibiades at the time of an ostracism. > Greek: ed. Kenneth John Maidment, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0027.tlg004, CC BY-SA 4.0). > English: Kenneth John Maidment, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0027.tlg004.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included. > Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence. ## Contents 1. [Sections 1–42](https://scriptura.si/works/andocides-against-alcibiades/1.md) ## 1. Sections 1–42 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/andocides-against-alcibiades/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/andocides-against-alcibiades/1/#p-N [¶0] 1. This is not the first occasion upon which the perils of engaging in politics have come home to me; I regarded it as no less hazardous in the past, before I had concerned myself in any way with affairs of state. Yet I consider it the duty of the good citizen, not to withhold himself from public life for fear of making personal enemies, but to be ready to face danger for the benefit of the community. Those who think only of themselves contribute nothing to a state’s advancement; it is to those who think of the state that its greatness and its independence are due. > Greek: 1. οὐκ ἐν τῷ παρόντι μόνον γιγνώσκω τῶν πολιτικῶν πραγμάτων ὡς σφαλερόν ἐστιν ἅπτεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρότερον χαλεπὸν ἡγούμην, πρὶν τῶν κοινῶν ἐπιμελεῖσθαί τινος. πολίτου δὲ ἀγαθοῦ νομίζω προκινδυνεύειν ἐθέλειν τοῦ πλήθους, καὶ μὴ καταδείσαντα τὰς ἔχθρας τὰς ἰδίας ὑπὲρ τῶν δημοσίων ἔχειν ἡσυχίαν· διὰ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς τῶν ἰδίων ἐπιμελουμένους οὐδὲν αἱ πόλεις μείζους καθίστανται, διὰ δὲ τοὺς τῶν κοινῶν μεγάλαι καὶ ἐλεύθεραι γίγνονται. [¶1] 2. I myself desired to be included in this number: and consequently I now find myself in the utmost peril. True, in yourselves I have an audience actively devoted to the public good, and that circumstance makes for my salvation; but I have innumerable enemies of the most dangerous kind, and by them I am being misrepresented. Nor is the contest in which I am engaged for the winning of a crown; it is to decide whether one who has done the state no wrong is to spend ten years in exile. The competitors for that prize are Alcibiades, Nicias, and myself. Upon one of us the blow must fall. > Greek: 2. ὧν [τῶν ἀγαθῶν] εἷς ἐγὼ βουληθεὶς ἐξετάζεσθαι μεγίστοις περιπέπτωκα κινδύνοις, προθύμων μὲν καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν ὑμῶν τυγχάνων, διʼ ὅπερ σῴζομαι, πλείστοις δὲ καὶ δεινοτάτοις ἐχθροῖς χρώμενος, ὑφʼ ὧν διαβάλλομαι. ὁ μὲν οὖν ἀγὼν ὁ παρὼν οὐ στεφανηφόρος, ἀλλʼ εἰ χρὴ μηδὲν ἀδικήσαντα τὴν πόλιν δέκα ἔτη φεύγειν· οἱ δʼ ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι περὶ τῶν ἄθλων τούτων ἐσμὲν ἐγὼ καὶ Ἀλκιβιάδης καὶ Νικίας, ὧν ἀναγκαῖον ἕνα τῇ συμφορᾷ περιπεσεῖν. [¶2] 3. Now the legislator responsible for this deserves censure; for the law which he framed violates the oath of the People and Council. Under the terms of that oath you swear to exile no one, to imprison no one, to put no one to death, without trial; whereas on this present occasion, when the person ostracized is to be cut off from his country for so long, no accusation has been made, no defence allowed, and the voting is secret. > Greek: 3. ἄξιον δὲ μέμψασθαι τὸν θέντα τὸν νόμον, ὃς ἐναντία τῷ ὅρκῳ τοῦ δήμου καὶ τῆς βουλῆς ἐνομοθέτησεν· ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ὄμνυτε μηδένα μήτε ἐξελᾶν μήτε δήσειν μήτε ἀποκτενεῖν ἄκριτον, ἐν δὲ τῷδε τῷ καιρῷ οὔτε κατηγορίας γενομένης οὔτε ἀπολογίας ἀποδοθείσης [οὔτε] διαψηφισαμένων κρύβδην τὸν ὀστρακισθέντα τοσοῦτον χρόνον δεῖ στερηθῆναι τῆς πόλεως. [¶3] 4. Moreover, at a time like this those who have political associates and confederates have an advantage over the rest, because the judges are not appointed by lot as in courts of law: in the present decision every member of the community has a voice. And not only that: the law appears to me to go both too far and not far enough; for wrongs done to individuals I consider such redress as this excessive: for wrongs done to the state I regard it as an insufficient and useless penalty, when you have the right to punish by fine, imprisonment, or death. > Greek: 4. εἶτα ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις οἱ τοὺς ἑταίρους καὶ συνωμότας κεκτημένοι πλέον φέρονται τῶν ἄλλων· οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις οἱ λαχόντες κρίνουσιν, ἀλλὰ τούτου τοῦ πράγματος ἅπασιν Ἀθηναίοις μέτεστι. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τῷ μὲν ἐλλείπειν τῷ δʼ ὑπερβάλλειν ὁ νόμος μοι δοκεῖ· τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἰδίων ἀδικημάτων μεγάλην τιμωρίαν ταύτην νομίζω, τῶν δὲ δημοσίων μικρὰν καὶ οὐδενὸς ἀξίαν ἡγοῦμαι ζημίαν, ἐξὸν κολάζειν χρήμασι καὶ δεσμῷ καὶ θανάτῳ. [¶4] 5. Furthermore, if a man is exiled because he is a bad citizen, his leaving Athens will not cure him; wherever he lives, he will do this city harm and intrigue against her no less than hitherto—nay more so and with more justification than before his banishment. Today, too, above all days, your friends, I feel, are filled with sorrow and your enemies with joy, because they know that if you unwittingly banish your best citizen, Athens will derive no benefit from him for ten years. > Greek: 5. ἔτι δʼ εἴ τις διὰ τοῦτο μεθίσταται ὅτι ⟨πονηρὸς⟩ πολίτης ἐστίν, οὗτος οὐδʼ ἀπελθὼν ἐνθένδε παύσεται, ἀλλʼ ὅπου ἂν οἰκῇ, ταύτην τὴν πόλιν διαφθερεῖ, καὶ τῇδε οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐπιβουλεύσει, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ⟨καὶ⟩ δικαιότερον ἢ πρὶν ἐκβληθῆναι. οἶμαι δὲ καὶ τοὺς φίλους ὑμῶν ἐν ταύτῃ μάλιστα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ λυπεῖσθαι καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἥδεσθαι, συνειδότας ὡς ἂν ἀγνοήσαντες ἐξελάσητε τὸν βέλτιστον, δέκα ἐτῶν ἡ πόλις οὐδὲν ἀγαθὸν ὑπὸ τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς πείσεται. [¶5] 6. Then still another fact makes it easy to see that the law is a bad one: we are the only Greeks to observe it, and no other state is prepared to imitate us. Yet it is recognized that the best institutions are those which have proved most suited to democracy and oligarchy alike and which are the most generally favoured. > Greek: 6. ῥᾴδιον δὲ καὶ ἐντεῦθεν γνῶναι τὸν νόμον πονηρὸν ὄντα· μόνοι γὰρ αὐτῷ τῶν Ἑλλήνων χρώμεθα, καὶ οὐδεμία τῶν ἄλλων πόλεων ἐθέλει μιμήσασθαι. καίτοι ταῦτα διέγνωσται ἄριστα τῶν δογμάτων, ἃ καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὀλίγοις ἁρμόττοντα μάλιστα τυγχάνει καὶ πλείστους ἐπιθυμητὰς ἔχει. [¶6] 7. I see no reason for dwelling further on this subject, as, whatever the outcome, I should achieve nothing of immediate advantage. But I do ask you to preside over our speeches in a fair and impartial manner, and one and all to act as Archons. Do not countenance abuse or undue flattery. Show yourselves kindly to him who desires to speak and to listen: show yourselves stern to him who is insolent and disorderly; for you will decide our fate all the better, if each of the cases to be laid before you is given a hearing. > Greek: 7. περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι δεῖ μακρότερα λέγειν· πάντως γὰρ οὐδὲν ἂν πλεῖον εἰς τὸ παρὸν ποιήσαιμεν· δέομαι δʼ ὑμῶν τῶν λόγων ἴσους καὶ κοινοὺς ἡμῖν ἐπιστάτας γενέσθαι, καὶ πάντας ἄρχοντας περὶ τούτων καταστῆναι, καὶ μήτε τοῖς λοιδορουμένοις μήτε τοῖς ὑπὲρ καιρὸν χαριζομένοις ἐπιτρέπειν, ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν θέλοντι λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν εὐμενεῖς εἶναι, τῷ δὲ ἀσελγαίνοντι καὶ θορυβοῦντι χαλεπούς. ἀκούσαντες γὰρ ἕκαστον τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἄμεινον βουλεύσεσθε περὶ ἡμῶν. [¶7] 8. It remains for me to make a brief reference to my hostility to the democracy and my membership of a political faction. Had I never appeared in court, you would have had some reason for listening to my accusers, and it would have been necessary for me to answer them on these points. But since I have been tried and acquitted four times, I do not consider any further discussion of the subject justified. Before a man is tried, it is difficult to know whether the charges made against him are false or true; but after his acquittal or conviction the matter is decided, and it is settled whether they are the one or the other. > Greek: 8. ἔστι δὲ περὶ τῆς μισοδημίας καὶ τῆς στασιωτείας βραχύς μοι λόγος καταλελειμμένος. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἄκριτος ἦν, εἰκότως ἂν τῶν κατηγορούντων ἠκροᾶσθε καὶ ἐμοὶ ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἀπολογεῖσθαι περὶ τούτων· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τετράκις ἀγωνιζόμενος ἀπέφυγον, οὐκέτι δίκαιον ἡγοῦμαι λόγον οὐδένα περὶ τούτου γίγνεσθαι. πρὶν μὲν γὰρ κριθῆναι οὐ ῥᾴδιον [ἦν] εἰδέναι τὰς αἰτίας, οὔτʼ εἰ ψευδεῖς εἰσιν οὔτʼ εἰ ἀληθεῖς· ἀποφυγόντος δὲ ἢ καταγνωσθέντος τέλος ἔχει καὶ διώρισται τούτων ὁπότερόν ἐστιν. [¶8] 9. Hence I cannot but think it strange that while defendants who are convicted by but a single vote are put to death and have their property confiscated by you, those who win their case should have to face the same charges again: that while the court has the power to take away life, it should so clearly lack the authority to save it once and finally, especially as the laws forbid the same charge to be brought twice against the same defendant, and you have sworn to observe those laws. > Greek: 9. ὥστε δεινὸν νομίζω τοὺς μὲν ἁλόντας μιᾷ ψήφῳ μόνον ἀποθνῄσκειν, καὶ τὰ χρήματα δημεύεσθαι αὐτῶν, τοὺς δὲ νικήσαντας πάλιν τὰς αὐτὰς κατηγορίας ὑπομένειν, καὶ τοὺς δικαστὰς ἀπολέσαι μὲν κυρίους εἶναι, σῷσαι δʼ ἀκύρους καὶ ἀτελεῖς φαίνεσθαι, ἄλλως τε καὶ τῶν νόμων ἀπαγορευόντων δὶς περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν μὴ ἐξεῖναι δικάζεσθαι, καὶ ὑμῶν ὀμωμοκότων χρῆσθαι τοῖς νόμοις. [¶9] 10. I shall therefore say nothing of myself. I wish instead to remind you of the past of Alcibiades— although such is the multitude of his misdeeds that I am at a loss where to begin: there is not one of them that does not press for mention. Were I faced with the task of describing at length his career as an adulterer, as a stealer of the wives of others, as a perpetrator of acts of lawless violence in general, the time at my disposal would be all too short, and I should furthermore earn the ill-will of many of my fellows for making public the injuries which they have suffered. Of his conduct towards the state, however, and towards the members of his family and such citizens and foreigners as have crossed his path, I will give you some account. > Greek: 10. ὧν ἕνεκα περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ παραλιπὼν Ἀλκιβιάδου τὸν βίον ἀναμνῆσαι βούλομαι. καίτοι ἀπορῶ γε διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων πόθεν ἄρξωμαι, ἐμποδὼν ἁπάντων ὄντων. περὶ μὲν οὖν μοιχείας καὶ γυναικῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἁρπαγῆς καὶ τῆς ἄλλης βιαιότητος καὶ παρανομίας καθʼ ἕκαστον εἰ δεήσειε λέγειν, οὐκ ἂν ἐξαρκέσειεν ὁ παρὼν χρόνος, ἅμα δὲ καὶ πολλοῖς ἀπεχθοίμην τῶν πολιτῶν, φανερὰς τὰς συμφορὰς ποιῶν αὐτῶν. ἃ δὲ περὶ τὴν πόλιν εἴργασται καὶ τοὺς προσήκοντας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀστῶν καὶ ξένων τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας, ἀποδείξω. [¶10] 11. To begin with, he persuaded you to revise the assessment of the tribute of the subject-states made with the utmost fairness by Aristeides. Chosen with nine others to perform the task, he practically doubled the contribution of each member of the alliance, while by showing how formidable he was and how influential, he made the revenues of the state a means of procuring revenue for himself. Now just consider: when our safety depends entirely upon our allies and those allies are acknowledged to be worse off today than in the past, how could anyone do greater mischief than by doubling the tribute of each? > Greek: 11. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν πείσας ὑμᾶς τὸν φόρον ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τάξαι τὸν ὑπʼ Ἀριστείδου πάντων δικαιότατα τεταγμένον, αἱρεθεὶς ἐπὶ τούτῳ δέκατος αὐτὸς μάλιστα διπλάσιον αὐτὸν ἑκάστοις τῶν συμμάχων ἐποίησεν, ἐπιδείξας δʼ αὑτὸν φοβερὸν καὶ μέγα δυνάμενον ἰδίας ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν προσόδους κατεσκευάσατο. σκέψασθε δὲ πῶς ἄν τις κακὰ μείζω τούτων κατασκευάσειεν, εἰ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῖν πάσης διὰ τῶν συμμάχων οὔσης, ὁμολογουμένως νῦν κάκιον ἢ πρότερον πραττόντων, τὸν φόρον ἑκάστοις διπλασιάσειεν. [¶11] 12. In fact, if you hold that Aristeides was a good Athenian and a just one, you can only regard Alcibiades as a scoundrel, since his policy towards the subject-states is the exact opposite of that of Aristeides. Indeed, because of his behaviour, many are leaving their homes as exiles and going off to settle at Thurii; while the bitter feeling of the allies will manifest itself directly there is a war at sea between Sparta and ourselves. In my own opinion, he is a worthless statesman who considers only the present without also giving thought to the future, who advocates the policy which will best please the people and says nothing of that which their true interests require. > Greek: 12. ὥστʼ εἴπερ ἡγεῖσθε πολίτην ἀγαθὸν Ἀριστείδην καὶ δίκαιον γεγονέναι, τοῦτον προσήκει κάκιστον νομίζειν, ὡς τἀναντία περὶ τῶν πόλεων ἐκείνῳ γιγνώσκοντα. τοιγάρτοι διὰ ταῦτα πολλοὶ τὴν πατρίδα τὴν αὑτῶν ἀπολιπόντες φυγάδες γίγνονται καὶ εἰς Θουρίους οἰκήσοντες ἀπέρχονται. δηλώσει δὲ ἡ τῶν συμμάχων ἔχθρα, ὅταν πρῶτον ἡμῖν καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις γένηται ναυτικὸς πόλεμος. ἐγὼ δὲ νομίζω τὸν τοιοῦτον πονηρὸν εἶναι προστάτην, ὅστις τοῦ παρόντος χρόνου ἐπιμελεῖται, ἀλλὰ μὴ καὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος προνοεῖται, καὶ τὰ ἥδιστα τῷ πλήθει, παραλιπὼν τὰ βέλτιστα, συμβουλεύει. [¶12] 13. I am astonished, furthermore, at those who are persuaded that Alcibiades is a lover of democracy, that form of government which more than any other would seem to make equality its end. They are not using his private life as evidence of his character, in spite of the fact that his greed and his arrogance are plain to them. On his marriage with the sister of Callias he received a dowry of ten talents; yet after Hipponicus had lost his life as one of the generals at Delium, he exacted another ten, on the ground that Hipponicus had agreed to add this further sum as soon as Alcibiades should have a child by his daughter. > Greek: 13. θαυμάζω δὲ τῶν πεπεισμένων Ἀλκιβιάδην δημοκρατίας ἐπιθυμεῖν, τοιαύτης πολιτείας ἣ μάλιστα κοινότητα δοκεῖ ᾑρῆσθαι, οἳ οὐδʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδίων αὐτὸν θεῶνται, ὁρῶντες τὴν πλεονεξίαν καὶ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν, ὃς τὴν Καλλίου γήμας ἀδελφὴν ἐπὶ δέκα ταλάντοις, τελευτήσαντος Ἱππονίκου στρατηγοῦντος ἐπὶ Δηλίῳ ἕτερα τοσαῦτα προσεπράξατο, λέγων ὡς ὡμολόγησεν ἐκεῖνος, ὁπότε παῖς αὐτῷ ἐκ τῆς θυγατρὸς γένοιτο, προσθήσειν ταῦτα. [¶13] 14. Then, after obtaining a dowry such as no Greek had ever obtained before, he behaved in so profligate a fashion, bringing mistresses, slave and free, into the bridal house, that he drove his wife, who was a decent woman, to present herself before the Archon, as she was legally entitled to do, and divorce him. At that he gave conspicuous proof of his power. He called in his friends, and carried off his wife from the Agora by force, showing the whole world his contempt for the magistrates, the laws, and his fellow Athenians in general. Nor was this one outrage enough for him. He went further. > Greek: 14. λαβὼν δὲ τοσαύτην προῖκα ὅσην οὐδεὶς τῶν Ἑλλήνων, οὕτως ὑβριστὴς ἦν, ἐπεισάγων εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν οἰκίαν ἑταίρας, καὶ δούλας καὶ ἐλευθέρας, ὥστʼ ἠνάγκασε τὴν γυναῖκα σωφρονεστάτην οὖσαν ἀπολιπεῖν, ἐλθοῦσαν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα κατὰ τὸν νόμον. οὗ δὴ μάλιστα τὴν αὑτοῦ δύναμιν ἐπεδείξατο· παρακαλέσας γὰρ τοὺς ἑταίρους, ἁρπάσας ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς τὴν γυναῖκα ᾤχετο βίᾳ, καὶ πᾶσιν ἐδήλωσε καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν καταφρονῶν. οὐ τοίνυν ταῦτα μόνον ἐξήρκεσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ λαθραῖον θάνατον ἐπεβούλευσε Καλλίᾳ, ἵνα τὸν οἶκον τὸν Ἱππονίκου κατάσχοι, ὡς ἐναντίον πάντων ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ κατηγόρει· [¶14] 15. In order to possess himself of Hipponicus’ estate, he planned the assassination of Callias. Callias himself accused him of it before you all in the Assembly, and, for fear that his wealth would cost him his life, made over his property to the state in the event of his dying without issue. However, Callias neither lacks friends nor is he an easy victim. Thanks to his riches he can be sure of protection in plenty. None the less, when a man offers violence to his own wife and plots the death of his brother-in-law, how is he to be expected to behave towards such of his fellow-citizens as cross his path? Everyone has more regard for members of his own family than he has for strangers. > Greek: 15. καὶ τὰ χρήματα τῷ δήμῳ ἔδωκεν, εἴ πως τελευτήσειεν ἄπαις, φοβούμενος μὴ διὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἀπόλοιτο. ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδʼ ἔρημος οὐδʼ εὐαδίκητός ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ διὰ τὸν πλοῦτον ἔχει πολλοὺς τοὺς βοηθήσοντας. καίτοι ὅστις ὑβρίζει γυναῖκα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῷ κηδεστῇ θάνατον ἐπιβουλεύει, τί χρὴ προσδοκᾶν τοῦτον περὶ τοὺς ἐντυχόντας τῶν πολιτῶν διαπράττεσθαι; πάντες γὰρ ἄνθρωποι τοὺς οἰκείους τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ποιοῦνται περὶ πλείονος. [¶15] 16. But most monstrous of all is the fact that a man of his character should talk as though he were a friend of the people, and call others oligarchs and foes of the democracy. Yes, although he himself deserves death for behaving as he does, he is chosen by you to proceed against any whose sympathies conflict with yours; and he poses as guardian of the constitution, in spite of the fact that he refuses to be the equal of, or but little superior to, his fellows. So completely, indeed, does he despise you that he spends his time flattering you in a body and insulting you individually. > Greek: 16. ὃ δὲ πάντων δεινότατόν ἐστι, τοιοῦτος ὢν ὡς εὔνους τῷ δήμῳ τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖται, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ὀλιγαρχικοὺς καὶ μισοδήμους ἀποκαλεῖ. καὶ ὃν ἔδει τεθνάναι διὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα, κατήγορος τῶν διαβεβλημένων ὑφʼ ὑμῶν αἱρεῖται, καί φησι φύλαξ εἶναι τῆς πολιτείας, οὐδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων οὔτʼ ὅσον ὀλίγῳ πλέον ἀξιῶν ἔχειν· ἀλλʼ οὕτω σφόδρα καταπεφρόνηκεν ὥστε διατετέλεκεν ἁθρόους μὲν ὑμᾶς κολακεύων, ἕνα δʼ ἕκαστον προπηλακίζων. [¶16] 17. Why, there are no limits to his impudence. He persuaded Agatharchus, the artist, to accompany him home, and then forced him to paint; and when Agatharchus appealed to him, stating with perfect truth that he could not oblige him at the moment because he had other engagements, Alcibiades threatened him with imprisonment, unless he started painting straight away. And he carried out his threat. Agatharchus only made his escape three months later, by slipping past his guards and running away as he might have done from the king of Persia. But so shameless is Alcibiades that he went to Agatharchus and accused him of doing him a wrong; instead of apologizing for his violence, he uttered threats against him for leaving his work unfinished. Democracy, freedom went for nothing: Agatharchus had been put in chains exactly like any acknowledged slave. > Greek: 17. ὃς εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐλήλυθε τόλμης, ὥστε πείσας Ἀγάθαρχον τὸν γραφέα συνεισελθεῖν [οἴκαδε] τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπηνάγκασε γράφειν, δεομένου δὲ καὶ προφάσεις ἀληθεῖς λέγοντος, ὡς οὐκ ἂν δύναιτο ταῦτα πράττειν ἤδη διὰ τὸ συγγραφὰς ἔχειν παρʼ ἑτέρων, προεῖπεν αὐτῷ δήσειν, εἰ μὴ πάνυ ταχέως γράφοι. ὅπερ ἐποίησε· καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀπηλλάγη, πρὶν ἀποδρὰς ᾤχετο τετάρτῳ μηνί, τοὺς φύλακας λαθών, ὥσπερ παρὰ βασιλέως. οὕτω δʼ ἀναίσχυντός ἐστιν, ὥστε προσελθὼν ἐνεκάλει αὐτῷ ὡς ἀδικούμενος, καὶ οὐχ ὧν ἐβιάσατο μετέμελεν αὐτῷ, ἀλλʼ ὅτι κατέλιπε τὸ ἔργον ἠπείλει, καὶ οὔτε τῆς δημοκρατίας οὔτε τῆς ἐλευθερίας οὐδὲν ἦν ὄφελος· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἧττον ἐδεδέκει τῶν ὁμολογουμένων δούλων. [¶17] 18. It makes me angry to think that while you yourselves cannot place even malefactors under arrest without risk, because it is enacted that anyone who fails to gain one-fifth of the votes shall be liable to a fine of a thousand drachmae, Alcibiades, who imprisoned a man for so long and forced him to paint, went unpunished—nay, increased thereby the awe and the fear in which he is held. In our treaties with other states we make it a condition that no free man shall be imprisoned or placed in durance, and a heavy fine is prescribed as the penalty for so doing. Yet when Alcibiades behaved as he did, no one sought satisfaction, whether for himself or for the state. > Greek: 18. ἀγανακτῶ δʼ ἐνθυμούμενος ὑμῖν μὲν οὐδὲ τοὺς κακούργους ἀσφαλὲς εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ὂν ἀπάγειν, διὰ τὸ χιλίας δραχμὰς τετάχθαι ἀποτεῖσαι ὃς ἂν τὸ πέμπτον μέρος μὴ μεταλάβῃ τῶν ψήφων· ὁ δὲ τοσοῦτον χρόνον εἵρξας καὶ ἐπαναγκάζων γράφειν οὐδὲν κακὸν πέπονθεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ ταῦτα σεμνότερος δοκεῖ καὶ φοβερώτερος εἶναι. καὶ πρὸς μὲν τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις ἐν τοῖς συμβόλοις συντιθέμεθα μὴ ἐξεῖναι μήθʼ εἷρξαι μήτε δῆσαι τὸν ἐλεύθερον· ἐὰν δέ τις παραβῇ, μεγάλην ζημίαν ἐπὶ τούτοις, ἔθεμεν· τούτου δὲ τοιαῦτα πράξαντος οὐδεμίαν οὐδεὶς οὔτʼ ἰδίαν οὔτε δημοσίαν τιμωρίαν ποιεῖται. [¶18] 19. Obedience to the magistrates and the laws is to my mind the one safeguard of society; and anyone who sets them at nought is destroying at one blow the surest guarantee of security which the state possesses. It is hard enough to be made to suffer by those who have no conception of right and wrong; but it is far more serious when a man who knows what the public interest requires, acts in defiance of it. He shows clearly, as Alcibiades has done, that instead of holding that he ought himself to conform with the laws of the state, he expects you to conform with his own way of life. > Greek: 19. νομίζω δὲ ταύτην εἶναι σωτηρίαν ἅπασι, πείθεσθαι τοῖς ἄρχουσι καὶ τοῖς νόμοις· ὅστις δὲ ὑπερορᾷ ταῦτα, τὴν μεγίστην φυλακὴν ἀνῄρηκε τῆς πόλεως. δεινὸν μὲν οὖν ἐστι καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγνοούντων τὰ δίκαια πάσχειν κακῶς, πολὺ δὲ χαλεπώτερον, ὅταν τις ἐπιστάμενος τὰ διαφέροντα παραβαίνειν τολμᾷ· φανερῶς γὰρ ἐνδείκνυται, ὥσπερ οὗτος, οὐκ αὐτὸς τοῖς νόμοις τοῖς τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλʼ ὑμᾶς τοῖς αὑτοῦ τρόποις ἀκολουθεῖν ἀξιῶν. [¶19] 20. Then again, remember Taureas who competed against Alcibiades as Choregus of a chorus of boys. The law allows the ejection of any member whatsoever of a competing chorus who is not of Athenian birth, and it is forbidden to resist any attempt at such ejection. Yet in your presence, in the presence of the other Greeks who were looking on, and before all the magistrates in Athens, Alcibiades drove off Taureas with his fists. The spectators showed their sympathy with Taureas and their hatred of Alcibiades by applauding the one chorus and refusing to listen to the other at all. Yet Taureas was none the better off for that. > Greek: 20. ἐνθυμήθητε δὲ Ταυρέαν, ὃς ἀντιχορηγὸς ἦν Ἀλκιβιάδῃ παισί. κελεύοντος δὲ τοῦ νόμου τῶν χορευτῶν ἐξάγειν ὃν ἄν τις βούληται ξένον ἀγωνιζόμενον, οὐκ ἐξὸν ἐπιχειρήσαντα κωλύειν, ἐναντίον ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων τῶν θεωρούντων καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἁπάντων παρόντων ⟨τῶν⟩ ἐν τῇ πόλει τύπτων ἐξήλασεν αὐτόν, καὶ τῶν θεατῶν συμφιλονικούντων ἐκείνῳ καὶ μισούντων τοῦτον, ὥστε τῶν χορῶν τὸν μὲν ἐπαινούντων, τοῦ δʼ ἀκροάσασθαι οὐκ ἐθελόντων, οὐδὲν πλέον ἔπραξεν· [¶20] 21. Partly from fear, partly from subservience, the judges pronounced Alcibiades the victor, treating him as more important than their oath. And it seems to me only natural that the judges should thus seek favour with Alcibiades, when they could see that Taureas, who had spent so vast a sum, was being subjected to insults, while his rival, who showed such contempt for the law, was all-powerful. The blame lies with you. You refuse to punish insolence; and while you chastise secret wrongdoing, you admire open effrontery. > Greek: 21. ἀλλὰ τῶν κριτῶν οἱ μὲν φοβούμενοι οἱ δὲ χαριζόμενοι νικᾶν ἔκριναν αὐτόν, περὶ ἐλάττονος ποιούμενοι τὸν ὅρκον ἢ τοῦτον. εἰκότως δέ μοι δοκοῦσιν οἱ κριταὶ ὑπέρχεσθαι Ἀλκιβιάδην, ὁρῶντες Ταυρέαν μὲν τοσαῦτα χρήματα ἀναλώσαντα προπηλακιζόμενον, τὸν δὲ τοιαῦτα παρανομοῦντα μέγιστον δυνάμενον. αἴτιοι δʼ ὑμεῖς, οὐ τιμωρούμενοι τοὺς ὑβρίζοντας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν λάθρᾳ ἀδικοῦντας κολάζοντες, τοὺς δὲ φανερῶς ἀσελγαίνοντας θαυμάζοντες. [¶21] 22. That is why the young spend their days in the courts instead of in the gymnasia; that is why our old men fight our battles, while our young men make speeches— they take Alcibiades as their model, Alcibiades who carries his villainy to such unheard-of lengths that, after recommending that the people of Melos be sold into slavery, he purchased a woman from among the prisoners and has since had a son by her, a child whose birth was more unnatural than that of Aegis—thus, since he is sprung from parents who are each other’s deadliest enemies, and of his nearest kin the one has committed and the other has suffered the most terrible of wrongs. > Greek: 22. τοιγάρτοι τῶν νέων αἱ διατριβαὶ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς γυμνασίοις, ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις εἰσί, καὶ στρατεύονται μὲν οἱ πρεσβύτεροι, δημηγοροῦσι δὲ οἱ νεώτεροι, παραδείγματι τούτῳ χρώμενοι, ὃς τηλικαύτας ποιεῖται τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ὑπερβολάς, ὥστε περὶ τῶν Μηλίων γνώμην ἀποφηνάμενος ἐξανδραποδίζεσθαι, πριάμενος γυναῖκα τῶν αἰχμαλώτων υἱὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς πεποίηται, ὃς τοσούτῳ παρανομωτέρως Αἰγίσθου γέγονεν, ὥστʼ ἐκ τῶν ἐχθίστων ἀλλήλοις πέφυκε, καὶ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων ὑπάρχει αὐτῷ τὰ ἔσχατα τοὺς μὲν πεποιηκέναι τοὺς δὲ πεπονθέναι. [¶22] 23. Indeed it would be well to make such shamelessness still plainer. He got himself a child by the very woman whom he had turned from a free citizen into a slave, whose father and kinsfolk he had put to death and whose city he had made a waste, that he might thereby make his son the deadly enemy of himself and of this city; so inevitably is the boy driven to hate both. When you are shown things of this kind on the tragic stage, you regard them with horror; but when you see them taking place in Athens, you remain unmoved—and yet you are uncertain whether the tales of tragedy are founded on the truth or spring merely from the imagination of the poets; whereas you well know that these other lawless outrages, which you accept with indifference, have occurred in fact. > Greek: 23. ἄξιον δὲ τὴν τόλμαν αὐτοῦ σαφέστερον ἔτι διελθεῖν. ἐκ ταύτης γὰρ παιδοποιεῖται τῆς γυναικός, ἣν ἀντʼ ἐλευθέρας δούλην κατέστησε, καὶ ἧς τὸν πατέρα καὶ τοὺς προσήκοντας ἀπέκτεινε, καὶ [ἧς] τὴν πόλιν ἀνάστατον πεποίηκεν, ὡς ἂν μάλιστα τὸν υἱὸν ἐχθρὸν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τῇ πόλει ποιήσειε· τοσαύταις ἀνάγκαις κατείληπται μισεῖν. ἀλλʼ ὑμεῖς ἐν μὲν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις τοιαῦτα θεωροῦντες δεινὰ νομίζετε, γιγνόμενα δʼ ἐν τῇ πόλει ὁρῶντες οὐδὲν φροντίζετε. καίτοι ἐκεῖνα μὲν οὐκ ἐπίστασθε πότερον οὕτω γεγένηται ἢ πέπλασται ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν· ταῦτα δὲ σαφῶς εἰδότες οὕτω παρανόμως πεπραγμένα ῥᾳθύμως φέρετε. [¶23] 24. In addition to all this, some dare to say that the like of Alcibiades has never been before. For my part, I believe that Athens will meet with terrible calamities at his hands, that he will be deemed responsible hereafter for disasters so awful that no one will remember his past misdeeds; for it is only to be expected that one who has begun his life in such a fashion will make its close no less portentous. Men of sense should beware of those of their fellows who grow too great, remembering that it is such as they who set up tyrannies. > Greek: 24. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τολμῶσί τινες περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγειν ὡς οὐδὲ γεγένηται οὐδεὶς πώποτε τοιοῦτος. ἐγὼ δὲ νομίζω μέγιστα κακὰ τὴν πόλιν ὑπὸ τούτου πείσεσθαι, καὶ τηλικούτων πραγμάτων εἰς τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον αἴτιον δόξειν, ὥστε μηδένα τῶν προτέρων ἀδικημάτων μεμνῆσθαι· ἀνέλπιστον γὰρ οὐδέν, τὸν τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ βίου τοιαύτην κατασκευασάμενον καὶ τὴν τελευτὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν ποιήσασθαι. ἔστι δὲ σωφρόνων ἀνδρῶν φυλάττεσθαι τῶν πολιτῶν τοὺς ὑπεραυξανομένους, ἐνθυμουμένους ὑπὸ τῶν τοιούτων τὰς τυραννίδας καθισταμένας. [¶24] 25. I imagine that Alcibiades will make no reply to this, but will talk instead of his victory at Olympia, and that he will seek to defend himself on any grounds rather than those on which he has been charged. But I will use the very facts upon which he relies to prove that he deserves death rather than acquittal. Let me explain. > Greek: 25. ἡγοῦμαι δʼ αὐτὸν πρὸς ταῦτα μὲν οὐδὲν ἀντερεῖν, λέξειν δὲ περὶ τῆς νίκης τῆς Ὀλυμπιάσι, καὶ περὶ πάντων μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν κατηγορηθέντων ἀπολογήσεσθαι. ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ τούτων ἐπιδείξω αὐτὸν ἐπιτηδειότερον τεθνάναι μᾶλλον ἢ σῴζεσθαι. διηγήσομαι δʼ ὑμῖν. [¶25] 26. Diomedes took a chariot-team to Olympia. He was a man of moderate means, but desired to win a garland for Athens and for his family with such resources as he had, since he held that the chariot-races were for the most part decided by chance. Diomedes was no casual competitor, but a citizen of Athens. Yet thanks to his influence with the Masters of the Games at Elis, Alcibiades deprived him of his team and competed with it himself. What would he have done, may we ask, had one of your allies arrived with a team? > Greek: 26. Διομήδης ἦλθε ζεῦγος ἵππων ἄγων Ὀλυμπίαζε, κεκτημένος μὲν οὐσίαν μετρίαν, στεφανῶσαι δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν βουλόμενος, λογιζόμενος τοὺς ἀγῶνας τοὺς ἱππικοὺς τύχῃ τοὺς πλείστους κρινομένους. τοῦτον Ἀλκιβιάδης πολίτην ὄντα καὶ ⟨οὐ⟩ τὸν ἐπιτυχόντα, δυνάμενος παρὰ τοῖς ἀγωνοθέταις τῶν Ἠλείων, ⟨τὸ ζεῦγος⟩ ἀφελόμενος αὐτὸς ἠγωνίζετο. καίτοι τί ἂν ἐποίησεν, εἴ τις τῶν συμμάχων τῶν ὑμετέρων ἀφίκετο ζεῦγος ἵππων ἔχων; [¶26] 27. I imagine he would have been all eagerness to let him compete against himself, considering that he had forcibly ousted an Athenian rival and then had the impudence to contest the race with another man’s horses—after he had, in fact, warned the Greeks in general that they must not be surprised at his offering violence to any of them, seeing that he does not treat his own fellow Athenians as his equals, but robs them, strikes them, throws them into prison, and extorts money from them, yes, shows the democracy to be nothing better than a sham, by talking like a champion of the people and acting like a tyrant, since he has found out that while the word “tyranny” fills you with concern, the thing for which leaves you undisturbed. > Greek: 27. ἦ που ταχέως ἐπέτρεψεν ἂν ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι ἑαυτῷ, ὃς Ἀθηναῖον ἄνδρα βιασάμενος τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐτόλμησεν ἵπποις ἁμιλλᾶσθαι, δηλώσας τοῖς Ἕλλησι μηδὲν θαυμάζειν ἄν τινα αὐτῶν βιάσηται, ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῖς πολίταις οὐκ ἐξ ἴσου χρῆται, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἀφαιρούμενος, τοὺς δὲ τύπτων, τοὺς δὲ εἱργνύων, τοὺς δὲ χρήματα πραττόμενος, οὐδενὸς ἀξίαν τὴν δημοκρατίαν ἀποφαίνει, τοὺς μὲν λόγους δημαγωγοῦ τὰ δʼ ἔργα τυράννου παρέχων, καταμαθὼν ὑμᾶς τοῦ μὲν ὀνόματος φροντίζοντας, τοῦ δὲ πράγματος ἀμελοῦντας. [¶27] 28. Indeed, so different is he from the Spartans that whereas the Spartans accept defeat even at the hands of their allies, when they compete against them, Alcibiades will not endure it even at the hands of his fellow-citizens; in fact, he has openly stated that he will brook no rivals. It is inevitable that such behaviour should cause the states within our confederacy to feel sympathy for our enemies and loathing for us. > Greek: 28. τοσοῦτον δὲ διαφέρει Λακεδαιμονίων, ὥστʼ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν συμμάχων ἀνταγωνιζομένων ἀνέχονται ἡττώμενοι, οὗτος δὲ οὐδʼ ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν, ἀλλὰ φανερῶς εἴρηκεν οὐκ ἐπιτρέψειν τοῖς ἀντεπιθυμοῦσί τινος. εἶτʼ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ἀναγκαῖον τὰς πόλεις τῶν ἡμετέρων πολεμίων ἐπιθυμεῖν, ἡμᾶς δὲ μισεῖν. [¶28] 29. In order to make it clear, however, that he was insulting Athens as a whole in addition to Diomedes, he asked the leaders of the Athenian deputation to lend him the processional vessels, alleging that he intended to use them for a celebration of his victory on the day before the sacrifice; he then abused the trust placed in him and refused to return them, as he wanted to use the golden basins and censers next day before Athens did so. Naturally, when those strangers who did not know that they belonged to us saw the state-procession taking place after that of Alcibiades, they imagined that we were using his vessels: while those who had either heard the truth from the Athenians present or else knew the ways of Alcibiades, laughed at us when they saw one man showing himself superior to our entire community. > Greek: 29. ἵνα δὲ μὴ μόνον Διομήδην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πόλιν ὅλην ὑβρίζων ἐπιδείξειε, τὰ πομπεῖα παρὰ τῶν ἀρχιθεώρων αἰτησάμενος, ὡς εἰς τἀπινίκια τῇ προτεραίᾳ τῆς θυσίας χρησόμενος, ἐξηπάτησε καὶ ἀποδοῦναι οὐκ ἤθελε, βουλόμενος τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ πρότερος τῆς πόλεως χρήσασθαι τοῖς χρυσοῖς χερνιβίοις καὶ θυμιατηρίοις. ὅσοι μὲν οὖν τῶν ξένων μὴ ἐγίγνωσκον ἡμέτερα ὄντα, τὴν πομπὴν τὴν κοινὴν ὁρῶντες ὑστέραν οὖσαν τῆς Ἀλκιβιάδου τοῖς τούτου πομπείοις χρῆσθαι ἐνόμιζον ἡμᾶς· ὅσοι δὲ ἢ παρὰ τῶν πολιτῶν ἤκουον ἢ καὶ ἐπεγίγνωσκον τὰ τούτου, κατεγέλων ἡμῶν, ὁρῶντες ἕνα ἄνδρα μεῖζον ἁπάσης τῆς πόλεως δυνάμενον. [¶29] 30. Then again, look at the arrangements which he made for his stay at Olympia as a whole. For Alcibiades the people of Ephesus erected a Persian pavilion twice as large as that of our official deputation: Chios furnished him with beasts for sacrifice and with fodder for his horses: while he requisitioned wine and everything else necessary for his maintenance from Lesbos. And so lucky is he that although the Greek people at large can testify to his lawlessness and corruption, he has gone unpunished. While those who hold office within a single city have to render account of that office, Alcibiades, whose authority extends over all our allies and who receives monies from them, is not liable to answer for any of his public acts; on the contrary, after behaving as I have described, he was rewarded with free entertainment in the Prytaneum; and not content with that, he is for ever taking credit for his victory, as though he had not so much brought Athens into disgrace as won her a garland of honour. > Greek: 30. σκέψασθε δὲ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἀποδημίαν τὴν εἰς Ὀλυμπίαν ὡς διέθετο. τούτῳ σκηνὴν μὲν Περσικὴν Ἐφέσιοι διπλασίαν τῆς δημοσίας ἔπηξαν, ἱερεῖα δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἵπποις ἐφόδια Χῖοι παρεσκεύασαν, οἶνον δὲ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀναλώματα Λεσβίοις προσέταξε. καὶ οὕτως εὐτυχής ἐστιν, ὥστε τοὺς Ἕλληνας τῆς παρανομίας καὶ τῆς δωροδοκίας μάρτυρας κεκτημένος οὐδεμίαν δέδωκε δίκην, ἀλλὰ ὁπόσοι μὲν ἄρχοντες ἐν μιᾷ πόλει γεγένηνται, ὑπεύθυνοί εἰσιν, ὁ δὲ πάντων τῶν συμμάχων ⟨ἄρχων⟩ καὶ χρήματα λαμβάνων οὐδενὸς τούτων ὑπόδικός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τοιαῦτα διαπεπραγμένος σίτησιν ἐν Πρυτανείῳ ἔλαβε, καὶ προσέτι πολλῇ τῇ νίκῃ χρῆται, ὥσπερ οὐ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἠτιμακὼς ἢ ἐστεφανωκὼς τὴν πόλιν. [¶30] 31. Only reflect, and you will find that men who have given way even temporarily to any single one of the excesses in which Alcibiades has indulged time and again, have brought ruin upon their houses; yet Alcibiades, whose entire life is devoted to extravagance, has doubled his wealth. > Greek: 31. εἰ δὲ βούλεσθε σκοπεῖν, εὑρήσετε τῶν πολλάκις τούτῳ πεπραγμένων ἕκαστον ὀλίγον χρόνον πράξαντάς τινας ἀναστάτους τοὺς οἴκους ποιήσαντας· οὗτος δʼ ἐπιτηδεύων ἅπαντα πολυτελέστατα διπλασίαν οὐσίαν κέκτηται. [¶31] 32. You regard as misers those who are niggardly and close-fisted; but you are mistaken. It is the spendthrift, with his endless wants, who stoops lowest to fill his pockets. In fact, it will be a public disgrace, if you show tolerance towards a man who has achieved his success only with the help of your money, when in ostracizing Callias, son of Didymius, who won victories at all the great games by his personal prowess, you took no account whatsoever of his achievement, although it was by his own efforts that he brought glory to Athens. > Greek: 32. καίτοι ὑμεῖς γε νομίζετε τοὺς φειδομένους καὶ τοὺς ἀκριβῶς διαιτωμένους φιλοχρημάτους εἶναι, οὐκ ὀρθῶς γιγνώσκοντες· οἱ γὰρ μεγάλα δαπανώμενοι πολλῶν δεόμενοι αἰσχροκερδέστατοί εἰσιν. αἴσχιστον δὲ φανήσεσθε ποιοῦντες, εἰ τοῦτον μὲν ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑμετέρων χρημάτων ταῦτα κατεργασάμενον, Καλλίαν δὲ τὸν Διδυμίου, τῷ σώματι νικήσαντα πάντας τοὺς στεφανηφόρους ἀγῶνας, ἐξωστρακίσατε πρὸς τοῦτο οὐδὲν ἀποβλέψαντες, ὃς ἀπὸ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ πόνων ἐτίμησε τὴν πόλιν. [¶32] 33. Then again, remember how steadfast, how true to their principles your fathers showed themselves, when they ostracized Cimon for breaking the law by taking his own sister to wife; and yet not only was Cimon himself an Olympic victor; his father, Miltiades, had been one likewise. Nevertheless, they took no account of his victories; for it was not by his exploits at the games, but by his manner of life that they judged him. > Greek: 33. ἀναμνήσθητε δὲ καὶ τοὺς προγόνους, ὡς ἀγαθοὶ καὶ σώφρονες ἦσαν, οἵτινες ἐξωστράκισαν Κίμωνα διὰ παρανομίαν, ὅτι τῇ ἀδελφῇ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ συνῴκησε. καίτοι οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς Ὀλυμπιονίκης ἦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ Μιλτιάδης. ἀλλʼ ὅμως οὐδὲν ὑπελογίζοντο τὰς νίκας· οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἀγώνων ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἔκρινον αὐτόν. [¶33] 34. Furthermore, if account is to be taken of our families, I on my side cannot claim any acquaintance with ostracism. No one could show that any kinsman of mine has ever had the misfortune to suffer it. Alcibiades, on the other hand, knows more of it than any other member of the community. His mother’s father, Megacles, and his father’s father, Alcibiades, were both ostracized twice; so it will be neither surprising nor unnatural if he receives the same treatment as his ancestors. Indeed, not even Alcibiades himself would venture to maintain that they, the worst miscreants of their time though they were, did not have more regard for decency and honesty than he himself; for no one in the world could frame an accusation which would do justice to his misdeeds. > Greek: 34. ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰ δεῖ κατὰ γένος σκοπεῖν, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐδαμόθεν προσήκει τούτου τοῦ πράγματος — οὐδὲ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς ὅστις ἂν ἀποδείξειε τῶν ἡμετέρων οὐδένα τῇ συμφορᾷ ταύτῃ χρησάμενον — Ἀλκιβιάδῃ δὲ μάλιστα πάντων Ἀθηναίων. καὶ γὰρ ὁ τῆς μητρὸς πατὴρ Μεγακλῆς καὶ ὁ πάππος Ἀλκιβιάδης ⟨δὶς⟩ ἐξωστρακίσθησαν ἀμφότεροι, ὥστʼ οὐδὲν θαυμαστὸν οὐδʼ ἄτοπον πείσεται τῶν αὐτῶν τοῖς προγόνοις ἀξιούμενος. καὶ μὴν οὐδʼ ἂν αὐτὸς ἐπιχειρήσειεν ἀντειπεῖν, ὡς οὐ τῶν ἄλλων ἐκεῖνοι παρανομώτατοι ὄντες τούτου σωφρονέστεροι καὶ δικαιότεροι ἦσαν, ἐπεὶ τῶν γε τούτῳ πεπραγμένων οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς ἀξίως κατηγορῆσαι δύναιτο. [¶34] 35. Moreover, the legislator who instituted ostracism appears to me to have had the following intention. Observing that whenever members of the community are more powerful than the magistrates and the laws, it is impossible for an individual to obtain redress from them, he arranged that punishment for their misdeeds should be exacted by the state. Now I myself have been publicly tried four times, and have never prevented any private person who so desired from bringing me to justice. On the other hand, Alcibiades, who has worked such mischief, has never yet dared to answer for it in any way whatsoever. > Greek: 35. νομίζω δὲ καὶ τὸν θέντα τὸν νόμον ταύτην τὴν διάνοιαν ἔχειν· ἀποβλέψαντα τῶν πολιτῶν πρὸς τοὺς κρείττους τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ τῶν νόμων, ἐπειδὴ παρὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν ἰδίᾳ δίκην λαβεῖν, δημοσίαν τιμωρίαν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδικουμένων κατασκευάσαι. ἐγὼ ⟨μὲν⟩ τοίνυν ἔν τε τῷ κοινῷ κέκριμαι τετράκις, ἰδίᾳ τε οὐδένα διεκώλυσα δικάζεσθαι βουλόμενον· Ἀλκιβιάδης δὲ τοιαῦτα ἐργασάμενος οὐδεμίαν πώποτε δίκην ὑποσχεῖν ἐτόλμησεν. [¶35] 36. So forbidding is he that instead of punishing him for the wrongs which he has done already, men fear him for what he will do hereafter; and while it pays his victims to suffer in silence, he himself is not satisfied unless he can work his will in the future also. Yet I hardly deserve to be ostracized, gentlemen, if I do not deserve to be put to death; and if I was acquitted when brought to trial, I cannot deserve to be sent into exile when no trial has taken place; nor after vindicating myself so many times in court can I be thought to merit banishment on the same grounds of accusation again. > Greek: 36. οὕτω γὰρ χαλεπός ἐστιν, ὥστε οὐ περὶ τῶν παρεληλυθότων ἀδικημάτων αὐτὸν τιμωροῦνται, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων φοβοῦνται, καὶ τοῖς μὲν πεπονθόσι κακῶς ἀνέχεσθαι λυσιτελεῖ, τούτῳ δὲ οὐκ ἐξαρκεῖ, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ὅ τι ἂν βούληται διαπράξεται. καίτοι οὐ δήπου, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ὀστρακισθῆναι μὲν ἐπιτήδειός εἰμι, τεθνάναι δὲ οὐκ ἄξιος, οὐδὲ κρινόμενος μὲν ἀποφυγεῖν, ἄκριτος δὲ φεύγειν, οὐδὲ τοσαυτάκις ἀγωνιζόμενος [καὶ] νικήσας δικαίως ⟨ἂν⟩ πάλιν δόξαιμι διʼ ἐκεῖνα ἐκπεσεῖν. [¶36] 37. It may be objected that when I was prosecuted, the attack made upon me was a weak one, that my accusers were unimpressive, or that the case was conducted by casual enemies instead of by those who excel both as speakers and as men of action and who, in fact, brought about the death of two of the persons charged with the same offences as myself. I answer that justice requires you to banish, not those whom, after repeated inquiry, you have found to be innocent, but those who refuse to render to the state an account of their past. > Greek: 37. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἴσως μετὰ μικρᾶς διαβολῆς ἢ φαύλων κατηγόρων ἢ διὰ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων ἐχθρῶν ἐκινδύνευον, ἀλλʼ οὐ διὰ τῶν ἐρρωμενεστάτων καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν, οἵ τινες δύο τῶν τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν ἐχόντων ἐμοὶ ἀπέκτειναν. οὔκουν τοὺς τοιούτους δίκαιον ἐκβάλλειν, οὓς πολλάκις ἐλέγχοντες εὑρίσκετε μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὴ θέλοντας ὑποσχεῖν τῇ πόλει περὶ τοῦ βίου λόγον. [¶37] 38. Indeed what seems strange to me is this. If one sought to vindicate persons who have been put to death by showing that they met their end unjustly, such an attempt would not be tolerated. If, on the other hand, those who have been declared innocent should once more be accused on the same charge—is it not only right that you should behave in the case of the living as you would in the case of the dead? > Greek: 38. δεινὸν δέ μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι, εἰ μέν τις ἀπολογεῖσθαι ἀξιώσειεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀποθανόντων ὡς ἀδίκως ἀπολώλασιν, οὐκ ⟨ἂν⟩ ἀνασχέσθαι τῶν ἐπιχειρούντων· εἰ δέ τις τῶν ἀποφυγόντων πάλιν περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς αἰτίας κατηγορεῖ, πῶς οὐ δίκαιον περὶ τοὺς ζῶντας καὶ τοὺς τεθνηκότας τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην ἔχειν; [¶38] 39. It is characteristic of Alcibiades to pay no attention to laws or oaths himself, and to try to teach you to disregard them as well, and while he is ruthless in bringing about the banishment and the death of others, to have recourse to heartrending tears and appeals for mercy on his own account. Nor does such behaviour surprise me—he has done much that calls for tears. But whose goodwill will he gain by his entreaties, I wonder? That of the young, upon whom he has brought the disfavour of the people by his insolence, by his emptying of the gymnasia, and by behaviour which his years do not warrant? Or that of the old, whose ways are the exact opposite of his own, and whose mode of life he has treated with contempt? > Greek: 39. ἔστι μὲν οὖν Ἀλκιβιάδου μήτε αὐτὸν τῶν νόμων καὶ τῶν ὅρκων φροντίζειν, ὑμᾶς τε παραβαίνειν ἐπιχειρεῖν διδάσκειν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἐκβάλλειν καὶ ἀποκτείνειν ἀνηλεῶς, αὐτὸν δὲ ἱκετεύειν καὶ δακρύειν οἰκτρῶς. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οὐ θαυμάζω· πολλῶν γὰρ αὐτῷ κλαυμάτων ἄξια εἴργασται· ἐνθυμοῦμαι δὲ τίνας ποτὲ καὶ πείσει δεόμενος, πότερα τοὺς νεωτέρους, οὓς πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος διαβέβληκεν ἀσελγαίνων καὶ τὰ γυμνάσια καταλύων καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν πράττων, ἢ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους, οἷς οὐδὲν ὁμοίως βεβίωκεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων αὐτῶν καταπεφρόνηκεν; [¶39] 40. However, it is not the mere exaction of punishment from wrongdoers themselves that should be your object; you should seek also to render everyone else more upright and more self-controlled by the sight of that punishment. If, then, you send me into exile, you will strike fear into all men of worth. If, on the other hand, you punish Alcibiades, you will inspire a greater respect for the law in those whose insolence is uncontrolled. > Greek: 40. οὐ μόνον δὲ αὐτῶν ἕνεκα τῶν παρανομούντων, ἵνα δίκην διδῶσιν, ἐπιμελεῖσθαι ἄξιον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅπως τούτους ὁρῶντες δικαιότεροι καὶ σωφρονέστεροι γίγνωνται. ἐμὲ μὲν τοίνυν ἐξελάσαντες τοὺς βελτίστους περιδεεῖς καταστήσετε, τοῦτον δὲ κολάσαντες τοὺς ἀσελγεστάτους νομιμωτέρους ποιήσετε. [¶40] 41. I wish, further, to remind you of what I have done. I have been sent on missions to Thessaly, to Macedonia, to Molossia, to Thesprotia, to Italy, and to Sicily. In the course of them I have reconciled such as had quarrelled with you, others I have won over to friendship, others I have detached from your enemies. If every representative of yours had done the same, you would have few foes, and you would have gained many an ally. > Greek: 41. βούλομαι δʼ ὑμᾶς ἀναμνῆσαι τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπραγμένων. ἐγὼ γὰρ πρεσβεύσας εἰς Θετταλίαν καὶ εἰς Μακεδονίαν καὶ εἰς Μολοσσίαν καὶ εἰς Θεσπρωτίαν καὶ εἰς Ἰταλίαν καὶ εἰς Σικελίαν τοὺς μὲν διαφόρους ὄντας διήλλαξα, τοὺς δʼ ἐπιτηδείους ἐποίησα, τοὺς δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀπέστησα. καίτοι εἰ τῶν πρεσβευόντων ἕκαστος τὰ αὐτὰ ἐποίησεν, ὀλίγους ἂν πολεμίους εἴχετε καὶ πολλοὺς συμμάχους ἐκέκτησθε. [¶41] 42. Of my public services I do not intend to speak. I will say only this: the expenditure required of me I meet, not from monies belonging to the state, but from my own pocket. And yet I have in fact gained victories in the contest of physique, in the torch-race, and at the tragic competitions without striking rival Choregi, and without feeling shame at my possessing less power than the laws. Citizens of this kind, it seems to me, deserve to remain in Athens far more than to be sent into exile. > Greek: 42. περὶ δὲ τῶν λῃτουργιῶν οὐκ ἀξιῶ μεμνῆσθαι, πλὴν κατὰ τοσοῦτον, ὅτι τὰ προσταττόμενα δαπανῶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδίων. καίτοι τυγχάνω νενικηκὼς εὐανδρίᾳ καὶ λαμπάδι καὶ τραγῳδοῖς, οὐ τύπτων τοὺς ἀντιχορηγοῦντας, οὐδʼ αἰσχυνόμενος εἰ τῶν νόμων ἔλαττον δύναμαι. τοὺς οὖν τοιούτους τῶν πολιτῶν πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐπιτηδείους ἡγοῦμαι μένειν ἢ φεύγειν.