31. Hence this is the beginning of the complaint: “Demosthenes makes the following charges against Aphobus. Aphobus has in his possession moneys of mine, received by him in his capacity as guardian, as follows: eighty minae, which he received as the marriage-portion of my mother in accordance with the terms of my father’s will.” This is the first of the sums of which I claim to have been defrauded. Now what was the declaration of the witnesses? “That they were present before the arbitrator, Notharchus, when Aphobus admitted that Milyas was a freeman, having been emancipated by the father of Demosthenes.”
31. ἔστιν οὖν τοῦ μὲν ἐγκλήματος ἀρχή τάδʼ ἐγκαλεῖ Δημοσθένης Ἀφόβῳ· ἔχει μου χρήματʼ Ἄφοβος ἀπʼ ἐπιτροπῆς ἐχόμενα, ὀγδοήκοντα μὲν μνᾶς, ἣν ἔλαβεν προῖκα τῆς μητρὸς κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην τοῦ πατρός. τοῦτο πρῶτόν ἐστιν τῶν χρημάτων ὧν ἀπεστερῆσθαί φημι. τοῖς δὲ μάρτυσιν τί μεμαρτύρηται; μαρτυροῦσιν παραγενέσθαι πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ Νοθάρχῳ, ὅτε Ἄφοβος ὡμολόγει Μιλύαν ἐλεύθερον εἶναι, ἀφεθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ Δημοσθένους πατρός.
32. Consider now for yourselves whether in your judgement there could be an orator, or sophist or magician so wondrously clever in speaking as by means of this testimony to convince any man on earth that Aphobus is in possession of the marriage-portion of the speaker’s mother. What in heaven’s name would he say? “Aphobus has admitted that Milyas is a freeman.” And why on that account is he any the more in possession of the marriage-portion? The statement would surely not seem to prove it.
32. σκοπεῖτε τοίνυν παρʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, εἴ τις ἂν ὑμῖν ἢ ῥήτωρ ἢ σοφιστὴς ἢ γόης οὕτω θαυμάσιος δοκεῖ γενέσθαι καὶ λέγειν δεινός, ὥστʼ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς μαρτυρίας διδάξαι τινʼ ἀνθρώπων, ὡς ἔχει τὴν προῖκʼ Ἄφοβος τῆς μητρὸς τῆς ἑαυτοῦ. καὶ τί λέγων, ὦ πρὸς Διός; ὡμολόγησεν εἶναι Μιλύαν ἐλεύθερον; καὶ τί μᾶλλον ἔχων τὴν προῖκα; οὐδὲν ἂν δήπου διὰ τοῦτό γε δόξειεν.
33. But how was it proved? In the first place, Therippides, his co-trustee, testified that he had given him the money. Secondly, Demo, his uncle, and the rest of the witnesses who were present, testified that he agreed to supply my mother with maintenance, as being in possession of her portion. Against these men he has lodged no charges, plainly because he knew that their testimony was true. Besides this, my mother was ready to call to her side my sister and myself, and swear with imprecations on our heads, if she spoke falsely, that Aphobus had received her marriage-portion according to the terms of my father’s will.
33. ἀλλὰ πόθεν τοῦτʼ ἐπεδείχθη; πρῶτον μὲν Θηριππίδης ὢν αὐτῷ συνεπίτροπος κατεμαρτύρησε δοῦναι· δεύτερον δὲ Δήμων θεῖος ὢν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων οἱ παρόντες ἐμαρτύρησαν σῖτον τῇ μητρὶ δώσειν ὁμολογεῖν τοῦτον ὡς ἔχοντα τὴν προῖκα. καὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἐπεσκήψατο, δῆλον ὅτι τἀληθῆ μεμαρτυρηκότας εἰδώς. ἔτι τοίνυν ἡ μήτηρ πίστιν ἠθέλησεν ἐπιθεῖναι κατʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς παραστησαμένη, λαβεῖν τὴν προῖκα τοῦτον τὴν ἑαυτῆς κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς διαθήκην.
34. Shall we, then, say, or shall we not, that he has possession of these eighty minae? And was it on the evidence of these witnesses here or of those that he was convicted? I think it was on the evidence of truth. He has enjoyed the interest on this sum for ten years, and even though judgement has been given against him, cannot bring himself to pay it back. Despite this, he declares that he has been outrageously treated and that he lost the suit by reason of these witnesses. Yet not one of them testified that he had received the marriage-portion.
34. ταύτας τὰς ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς πότερʼ αὐτὸν ἔχειν φῶμεν ἢ μή; καὶ πότερον διὰ τούσδʼ ὀφλεῖν τοὺς μάρτυρας ἢ διὰ τούσδε; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οἶμαι διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν. ταύτας τοίνυν δέκʼ ἔτη κεκαρπωμένος, καὶ οὐδὲ δίκην ὀφλὼν ἀποδοῦναι τετολμηκώς, δεινὰ πεπονθέναι φησὶν καὶ διὰ τούσδε τοὺς μάρτυρας ὠφληκέναι. καίτοι τούτων γʼ οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἔχειν ταύτην ἐμαρτύρησεν.
35. With regard to the maritime loan, the sofa-makers, and the iron and the ivory that were left me, and my sister’s marriage-portion, at the purloining of which Aphobus connived in order to secure for himself the right to take whatever he pleased of my goods, listen, and see how just was the verdict given against him, and how absurd it would have been to examine Milyas by torture regarding any of these matters.
35. περὶ τοίνυν τῆς ἐκδόσεως καὶ τῶν κλινοποιῶν καὶ τοῦ σιδήρου καὶ τοῦ καταλειφθέντος ἡμῖν ἐλέφαντος καὶ τῆς προικὸς τῆς ἀδελφῆς, ἣν οὗτος καθυφεῖκεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔχειν ὅσα βούλοιτο τῶν ἐμῶν, ἀκούσατε, καὶ σκοπεῖθʼ ὡς δικαίως τʼ ὤφληκεν καὶ οὐδὲν ἦν Μιλύαν περὶ τούτων βασανιστέον.
36. For as regards the purloining of funds at which you connived there is a law which expressly declares that you are responsible for them exactly as if you had them in your own possession. So what has the law to do with the testing of a slave by torture? But in the matter of the maritime loan you made common cause with Xuthus, divided the money with him, and destroyed the contract, and now that you have arranged everything to suit your wish, and have done away with the documentary evidence (as Demo testified against you), you have recourse to trickery, and endeavor to mislead these gentlemen.
36. περὶ μὲν γὰρ ὧν καθυφεῖκας, νόμος ἔστιν, διαρρήδην ὃς κελεύει σʼ ὁμοίως ὀφλισκάνειν ὥσπερ ἂν αὐτὸς ἔχῃς· ὥστε τί τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τῇ βασάνῳ; περὶ δʼ αὖ τῆς ἐκδόσεως, ἐπικοινωνήσαντες τῷ Ξούθῳ καὶ διανειμάμενοι τὰ χρήματα καὶ τὰς συγγραφὰς ἀνελόντες, καὶ πάνθʼ ὃν τρόπον ἐβούλεσθε κατασκευάσαντες, καὶ διαφθείραντες τὰ γράμματα, ὡς ὑμῶν ὁ Δήμων κατεμαρτύρει, φενακίζετε καὶ τουτουσὶ παρακρούσασθαι ζητεῖτε.
37. Regarding the sofa-makers, if you took money, and made large profits for yourself by making loans on security that was mine—you, who should rather have prevented others from doing so—and finally made away with the slaves altogether, what, pray, can the witnesses do in your behalf? These men at any rate have not testified that you admitted lending money on the security of my slaves, and that you appropriated the slaves to yourself. On the contrary, it was you who acknowledged this in your account, and the witnesses testified to the fact against you.
37. περὶ τοίνυν τῶν κλινοποιῶν, εἰ σὺ λαβὼν ἀργύριον καὶ πόλλʼ ἰδίᾳ κερδάνας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς δανείζων, ὃν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους προσῆκε κωλύειν, εἶτʼ ἀφανεῖς πεποίηκας, τί σοι ποιήσωσιν οἱ μάρτυρες; οὐ γὰρ οὗτοί γε μεμαρτυρήκασιν, ὡς ὡμολόγεις ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς δανείζειν καὶ λαβεῖν τἀνδράποδʼ ὡς σαυτόν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦτʼ ἔγραψας σύ, κατεμαρτύρησαν δʼ οἱ μάρτυρες.
38. Now look you, as to the ivory and iron, I have this to say: all the slaves of the household know that the plaintiff used to sell these articles. I am ready now, as I was then, to give over to him any one of these slaves whom he may choose to be examined by torture. If then, he alleges that I refuse to surrender the man who has knowledge of the facts, and offer him others who have no such knowledge, he will but show that he ought all the more to have accepted my offer. For if those whom I offered to him as having knowledge of the facts, declared that he had none of these articles in his possession, he would of course have been acquitted of the charge.
38. ἀλλὰ μὴν περί γε τοῦ ἐλέφαντος καὶ τοῦ σιδήρου, πάντας ἐγώ φημι τοὺς οἰκέτας εἰδέναι τοῦτον πωλοῦντα, καὶ παραδοῦναι καὶ τότε καὶ νῦν ἤθελον αὐτῷ τούτων ὅντινα βούλοιτο λαβὼν βασανίζειν. εἰ τοίνυν φήσει με, τὸν εἰδότʼ οὐκ ἐθέλοντα δοῦναι, τοὺς οὐκ εἰδότας ἐκδιδόναι, πολὺ δὴ μᾶλλον αὐτῷ παραλαβεῖν φανήσεται προσῆκον· εἰ γάρ, οὓς ὡς εἰδότας ἐξεδίδουν ἐγώ, μηδὲν ἔχειν ἔφασαν τούτων αὐτόν, ἀπήλλακτο δήπουθεν ἂν τῆς αἰτίας.
39. But nothing of the sort is the truth. It would have been proved past all question that he had sold the goods, and appropriated the profits. Therefore, he passed over those who were admittedly slaves, and demanded that a freeman be examined by torture, whom it would have been a crime for me to surrender; for it was not his purpose that he should sift out the matter, but that he might make a specious argument out of the fact that his demand was refused. Regarding, therefore, all these facts, first the marriage-portion, then his connivance with fraud, then all the rest, there shall be read to you the laws and the depositions, that you may have full knowledge. The Laws. The Depositions Not only from the facts already adduced can you see that Aphobus was not in any respect whatever prejudiced by my refusal to give the man up for torture, but also from a consideration of the matter itself.
39. ἀλλʼ οὐχὶ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ σαφῶς ἂν ἐξηλέγχθη πωλῶν καὶ τὴν τιμὴν κεκομισμένος. διόπερ τοὺς ὁμολογουμένως δούλους παραβὰς τὸν ἐλεύθερον ἠξίου βασανίζειν, ὃν οὐδʼ ὅσιον παραδοῦναι, τὸ πρᾶγμʼ οὐκ ἄγειν εἰς ἔλεγχον ζητῶν, ἀλλὰ μὴ παραλαμβάνων βουλόμενός τι δοκεῖν λέγειν. περὶ τοίνυν πάντων τούτων, πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τῆς προικός, εἶθʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν καθυφεῖκεν, εἶθʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων, ἀναγνώσεται τούς τε νόμους καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας, ἵνʼ εἰδῆτε. ΝΟΜΟΙ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
40. Let us suppose that Milyas is being racked upon the wheel, and consider what Aphobus would most wish him to say. Would it not be that he was not aware that the plaintiff had any of the property in his possession? Well, suppose he says so. Does that prove that the plaintiff has none? Far from it; for I produced men who knew, men who paid him the money, men who were present in person, as witnesses. It is convincing proof, not if one is ignorant that a man has something in his possession (for there might be many such), but if one knows that he has it.
40. οὐ τοίνυν μόνον ἐκ τούτων ἂν γνοίητε, ὅτι δεινὸν οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν πέπονθεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἐκδόντος ἐμοῦ βασανίζειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμʼ αὔτʼ εἰ σκέψαισθε. θῶμεν γὰρ δὴ τὸν Μιλύαν ἐπὶ τοῦ τροχοῦ στρεβλοῦσθαι, καὶ τί μάλιστʼ ἂν αὐτὸν εὔξαιτο λέγειν σκοπῶμεν. οὐχ ὅτι τῶν χρημάτων οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν οἶδεν τοῦτον ἔχοντα; καὶ δὴ λέγει. διὰ τοῦτʼ ἄρʼ οὐκ ἔχει; πολλοῦ γε δεῖ· τοὺς γὰρ εἰδότας καὶ παρόντας μάρτυρας παρεσχόμην ἐγώ. τεκμήριον δὲ καὶ πίστις ἐστίν, οὐκ εἴ τίς τι μὴ οἶδε τοῦτον ἔχοντα (πολλοὶ γὰρ ἂν εἶεν), ἀλλʼ εἴ τις οἶδεν.
41. But of the many witnesses who testified against you, what one have you sued for false testimony? Tell us. But you cannot. Yet you plainly convict yourself, and prove that you lie when you declare that you have been outrageously treated, and that you lost the suit unjustly, because this man was not given up to you—you who made no charge of giving false testimony against the witnesses who testified that you received and had in your possession the property, concerning which you demanded Milyas for torture to prove that it was never left us. If you had really been wronged, it would have been more fitting to proceed against them. But you were not wronged, and are bringing a baseless suit out of malice.
41. καταμαρτυρησάντων τοίνυν τοσούτων σου μαρτύρων, τίνι τῶν ψευδομαρτυρίων ἐπεσκήψω; δεῖξον. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἂν ἔχοις δεῖξαι. καίτοι πῶς οὐ σαφῶς σὺ σαυτὸν ἐξελέγχεις, ὅτι ψεύδει δεινὰ πεπονθέναι φάσκων καὶ τὴν δίκην ἀδίκως ὠφληκέναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐ παραλαβών, ὃς τοὺς ταῦτα μαρτυρήσαντας ἔχειν σε καὶ λαβεῖν, περὶ ὧν ὡς οὐ καταλειφθέντων σὺ τὸν Μιλύαν ἐξῄτεις, ἀφῆκας τῶν ψευδομαρτυρίων; οὓς πολὺ κάλλιον ἦν, εἴπερ ἠδίκησο, διώκειν. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἠδικημένος σὺ συκοφαντεῖς.
42. There are many points from which one may see your rascality, but most of all if one hears how you acted regarding the will. For although my father, men of the jury, wrote a will containing an inventory of all that he left, with instructions for letting the property, this will Aphobus never gave up to me, lest I should learn from it the value of the estate, and admitted possessing only those items which were so well known that he could not deny that he had them.
42. πολλαχόθεν μὲν οὖν ἄν τις ἴδοι τὴν σὴν πονηρίαν, μάλιστα δʼ εἰ περὶ τῆς διαθήκης ἀκούσειεν. τοῦ γὰρ πατρός, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὰ καταλειφθέντα πάντʼ ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ γράψαντος, καὶ τὸν οἶκον ὅπως μισθώσουσιν, ταύτην μὲν οὐκ ἀπέδωκεν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ πλῆθος εὕροιμʼ ἐγὼ τῶν χρημάτων ἐξ αὐτῆς, ὡμολόγει δὲ [κεκτῆσθαι] ταῦτα, ἃ μάλιστʼ οὐχ οἷόν τʼ ἦν ἐξάρνῳ γενέσθαι διὰ τὴν περιφάνειαν.
43. The will, according to his statement, contained these provisions: that Demophon should at once receive two talents, and should marry my sister when she should come of age (this would be in ten years); that Aphobus himself should have eighty minae with my mother, and the house to live in; and that Therippides should enjoy the interest on seventy minae until I should reach manhood. All the rest of the property left to me apart from these items, and the clause regarding the letting of the estate, he suppressed from the will, not thinking that it was to his interest that these matters should be made known in your court.
43. ἦν δὲ ταῦθʼ ἃ γεγράφθαι φησὶν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ, δύο μὲν τάλαντα Δημοφῶντα λαβεῖν εὐθύς, τὴν δʼ ἀδελφὴν ὅταν ἡλικίαν ἔχῃ (τοῦτο δʼ ἔμελλεν εἰς ἔτος δέκατον γενήσεσθαι), τοῦτον δʼ ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς καὶ τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν οἰκεῖν, Θηριππίδην δʼ ἑβδομήκοντα μνᾶς λαβόντα καρπώσασθαι, τέως ἀνὴρ ἐγὼ γενοίμην. τὰ δʼ ἄλλʼ ὅσʼ ἐμοὶ χωρὶς τούτων κατελείφθη, καὶ τὸ μισθοῦν τὸν οἶκον ἠφάνιζεν ἐκ τῆς διαθήκης, οὐ συμφέρον αὑτῷ νομίζων ταῦτʼ ἐπιδειχθῆναι παρʼ ὑμῖν.
44. However, since it was admitted by Aphobus himself that my father on his death-bed gave to each of these men such large sums of money, the jurymen at the former trial considered these admissions to be a proof of the size of the estate. For when a man gave out of his estate four talents and three thousand drachmae by way of marriage-portion and legacy, it was plain that he took these sums, not from a small estate, but from one (bequeathed to me) of more than double this amount.
44. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ὡμολόγηθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τούτου τὸν πατέρʼ ἡμῶν τελευτῶντα τοσοῦτον ἀργύριον τούτων ἑκάστῳ δοῦναι, τεκμήριον οἱ δικάζοντες τότε τὰς ὁμολογίας ἐποιήσαντο ταύτας τοῦ πλήθους τῶν χρημάτων· ὅστις γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν ὄντων τέτταρα τάλαντα καὶ τρισχιλίας προῖκα καὶ δωρεὰν ἔδωκεν, φανερὸν ἦν ὅτι οὐκ ἀπὸ μικρᾶς οὐσίας, ἀλλὰ πλέον ἢ διπλασίας ἧς ἐμοὶ κατέλειπεν ταῦτʼ ἀφεῖλεν.
45. For it cannot be supposed that he would wish to leave me, his son, in poverty, and be eager further to enrich these men, who were already wealthy. No; it was because of the size of the estate left to me that he gave to Therippides the interest on seventy minae, and to Demophon that on the two talents—though he was not yet to marry my sister. These moneys it has been proved that Aphobus never gave over to me, nor even an amount slightly less. Part of it he said he had spent, part he had never received, part he knew nothing about, part was in the hands of so-and-so, part was in the house, and of part he could say anything except when and where he had paid it over.
45. οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐδόκει τὸν μὲν υἱὸν ἐμὲ πένητα βούλεσθαι καταστῆσαι, τούτους δὲ πλουσίους ὄντας ἔτι πλουσιωτέρους ποιῆσαι ἐπιθυμεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἕνεκα τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἐμοὶ καταλειπομένων Θηριππίδῃ τε τὰς ἑβδομήκοντα μνᾶς καὶ Δημοφῶντι τὰ δύο τάλαντα, οὔπω μέλλοντι τῇ ἀδελφῇ τῇ ἐμῇ συνοικήσειν, καρποῦσθαι δοῦναι. ταῦτα δὴ τὰ χρήματʼ οὐδαμοῦ παραδοὺς ἐφαίνετο, οὐδʼ ἐλάττω μικροῖς· ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἀνηλωκέναι, τὰ δʼ οὐ λαβεῖν ἔφη, τὰ δʼ οὐκ εἰδέναι, τὰ δὲ τὸν δεῖνʼ ἔχειν, τὰ δʼ ἔνδον εἶναι, τὰ δὲ πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ ὅπου παρέδωκεν εἶχεν λέγειν.
46. As to his story of money left in the house I shall clearly prove to you that he is lying. This argument he speciously introduced, when it had become clear that the property was large and was unable to show that he had paid it back, in order that it might appear a reasonable inference that I was wrongfully seeking to recover what was already in my possession.
46. περὶ δὲ τοῦ μὴ καταλειφθῆναι τὰ χρήματʼ ἔνδον, βούλομαι σαφῶς ὑμῖν ἐπιδεῖξαι ψευδόμενον. τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν λόγον καθεῖκεν, ἐπειδὴ τὰ χρήματα μὲν πολλὰ πέφηνεν ὄντα, οὐκ ἔχει δʼ ἐπιδεῖξαι ταῦθʼ ὡς ἀποδέδωκεν, ἵνʼ ἐξ εἰκότος οὐδὲν προσῆκον ἡμῖν φανῇ κομίζεσθαι τά γʼ ὄντα παρʼ ἡμῖν.
47. If my father had no confidence in these men it is plain that he would neither have entrusted them with the rest of his property, nor, if he had left this money in the way alleged, would he have told them of it. How, then, do they know about it? But, if he had confidence in them, he would not, I take it, have given into their hands the bulk of his property, and not have put them in charge of the rest. Nor would he have entrusted this remainder to my mother to keep and then have pledged her herself in marriage to this man, who was one of the guardians. For it is not reasonable that he should seek to make the money secure through her, and yet put one of the men whom he distrusted in control both of her and of it.
47. εἰ μὲν τοίνυν ὁ πατὴρ ἠπίστει τούτοις, δῆλον ὅτι οὔτʼ ἂν τἄλλʼ ἐπέτρεπεν, οὔτʼ ἂν ἐκεῖνʼ οὕτω καταλείπων αὐτοῖς ἔφραζεν· ὥστε πόθεν ἴσασιν; εἰ δʼ ἐπίστευεν, οὐκ ἂν δήπου τὰ μὲν πλεῖστʼ αὐτοῖς τῶν χρημάτων ἐνεχείρισεν, τῶν δʼ οὐκ ἂν κυρίους ἐποίησεν. οὐδʼ ἂν τῇ μὲν μητρί μου ταῦτα φυλάττειν παρέδωκεν, αὐτὴν δὲ ταύτην ἑνὶ τῶν ἐπιτρόπων τούτῳ γυναῖκʼ ἠγγύησεν· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει λόγον, σῷσαι μὲν τὰ χρήματα διʼ ἐκείνης ζητεῖν, ἕνα δὲ τῶν ἀπιστουμένων ταύτης κἀκείνων κύριον ποιεῖν.
48. Furthermore, if there were any truth in all this, do you suppose that Aphobus would not have taken my mother to wife, bequeathed to him as she was by my father? He had already taken her marriage-portion—the eighty minae—as though he were going to marry her; but he subsequently married the daughter of Philonides of Melite, from motives of avarice, in order that, in addition to what he had received from us, he might get from him other eighty minae. But, if there had been four talents in the house, and in her custody, as he alleges, don’t you imagine he would have raced to get possession both of her and of them?
48. ἔτι δὲ τοῦτον, εἴ τι τούτων ἀληθὲς ἦν, οἴεσθʼ οὐκ ἂν αὐτὴν λαβεῖν δοθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός; ὃς τὴν μὲν προῖκʼ αὐτῆς ἤδη, τὰς ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς, ἔχων ὡς αὐτῇ συνοικήσων, τὴν Φιλωνίδου τοῦ Μελιτέως θυγατέρʼ ἔγημεν διʼ αἰσχροκερδίαν, ἵνα πρὸς αἷς εἶχεν παρʼ ἡμῶν, ἑτέρας ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς λάβοι παρʼ ἐκείνου· τεττάρων δὲ ταλάντων ἔνδον ὄντων καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐκείνης ἐχούσης, ὡς οὗτός φησιν, οὐκ ἂν ἡγεῖσθʼ αὐτὸν κἂν ἐπιδραμεῖν, ὥστε γενέσθαι μετʼ ἐκείνης αὐτῶν κύριον;
49. Would he have joined with his co-trustees in so shamefully plundering my visible property, which many of you knew had been left me, and have refrained, when he had the chance, from seizing a fund to the existence of which you would not be able to testify? Who can believe this? It is impossible, men of the jury; it is impossible. No; all the money which my father left was indeed buried on the day on which it came into the hands of these men; and the defendant, not being able to tell when and where he paid back any of it, makes use of these arguments, hoping that I may seem to be a rich man, and so meet with no compassion from you.
49. ἢ τὴν μὲν φανερὰν οὐσίαν, ἣν καὶ ὑμῶν πολλοὶ συνῄδεσαν ὅτι κατελείφθη, μετὰ τῶν συνεπιτρόπων οὕτως αἰσχρῶς διήρπασεν, ὧν δʼ οὐκ ἐμέλλεθʼ ὑμεῖς ἔσεσθαι μάρτυρες, ἀπέσχετʼ ἂν ἐξὸν αὐτῷ λαβεῖν; καὶ τίς ἂν πιστεύσειεν; οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὐκ ἔστιν· ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν χρήματα, ὅσα κατέλιπεν ὁ πατήρ, ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ κατωρύττετο, ὅτʼ εἰς τὰς τούτων χεῖρας ἦλθεν, οὗτος δʼ οὐκ ἔχων ἂν εἰπεῖν ὅπου τι τούτων ἀπέδωκεν, ἵνʼ εὔπορος εἶναι δοκῶν μηδενὸς τύχω παρʼ ὑμῶν ἐλέου, τούτοις χρῆται τοῖς λόγοις.
50. I have many other charges to make against him, but I have not the right to speak of the injuries I myself have suffered, when the witness is in danger of losing his civic rights. Still I wish to read to you a challenge, for you will know, when you have heard it, that the testimony was true, and that Aphobus, who now declares that he demands Milyas to be examined about all the matters involved in the suit, at first demanded him only in regard to a question of thirty minae; and, furthermore, that he has been put to no disadvantage because of the testimony.
50. πολλὰ μὲν οὖν ἔγωγʼ ἔχω καὶ ἄλλα τούτου κατηγορεῖν· οὐκ ἐνδέχεται δέ μοι, τῷ μάρτυρι τοῦ κινδύνου περὶ τῆς ἐπιτιμίας ὄντος, περὶ ὧν αὐτὸς ἠδίκημαι λέγειν. ἀλλὰ βούλομαι πρόκλησιν ὑμῖν ἀναγνῶναι· γνώσεσθε γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀκούσαντες, τὰ μεμαρτυρημένʼ ὡς ἔστιν ἀληθῆ, καὶ τὸν Μιλύαν ὅτι νῦν μὲν περὶ πάντων φησὶν ἐξαιτεῖν, τὸ δὲ πρῶτον ὑπὲρ τριάκοντα μόνον μνῶν ἐξῄτει, καὶ προσέτι ζημιοῦται κατὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν οὐδέν.
51. For I, in my desire to refute him in every particular, and in my attempt to make clear to you his tricks and his villainies, asked him how large the sum was regarding which he demanded to examine Milyas, as one who had knowledge of the facts. To this he replied falsely, that it was in regard to the whole amount. “Well then,” said I, “as to this I will give up to you for examination by torture the slave who has the copy of your challenge to me.”
51. ἐγὼ γὰρ πανταχῇ τοῦτον ἐλέγξαι βουλόμενος, καὶ τὰς τέχνας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς πανουργίας ἐμφανεῖς ὑμῖν καταστῆσαι πειρώμενος, ἠρόμην αὐτὸν πόσʼ εἴη τὰ χρήματα τὸ πλῆθος, καθʼ ἃ τὸν Μιλύαν ὡς συνειδότʼ ἐξῄτησεν· οὗτος δὲ ψευσάμενος περὶ πάντων ἔφησεν. περὶ μὲν τοίνυν ἔφην ἐγώ τούτου παραδώσω σοι τὸν ἔχοντα τἀντίγραφα ὧν σύ με προὐκαλέσω.
52. “If, when I have given oath that you acknowledged the man to be free, and that you so testified against Demo, you will swear to the contrary with imprecations upon your daughter, I release to you the entire sum, for which you shall be shown by the examination of the slave to have at the first demanded Milyas; and the damages which you were condemned to pay shall be lessened by thus much—that is, by the amount in regard to which you demanded Milyas, to the end that you may be found to have been put to no disadvantage by the witnesses.”
52. προομόσαντος δέ μου τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὡς ὡμολόγησας ἐλεύθερον εἶναι καὶ κατὰ Δήμωνος ἐμαρτύρησας, ἂν ἀπομόσῃς τἀναντία τούτων κατὰ τῆς θυγατρός, ἀφίημί σοι πάνθʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἂν ἐξαιτήσας φανῇς τὸ πρῶτον βασανιζομένου τοῦ παιδός, καὶ τοσούτῳ σοι γενέσθω τὸ τίμημʼ ἔλαττον ὧν ὦφλες, καθʼ ἃ τὸν Μιλύαν ἐξῄτησας, ἵνα μηδὲν ζημιωθῇς παρὰ τοὺς μάρτυρας.
53. This challenge I made to him in the presence of many witnesses; but he said he could not accept it. Yet, if a man refused to give this judgement in his own favor, how can it be right for you, who are upon your oaths, to give credence to his words and convict the witnesses, and not rather to regard this man as the most shameless of humankind? To prove that my words are true, call the witnesses to these facts. The Witnesses Do not suppose that while I was ready to take this course, the witnesses did not hold the same opinion.
53. ταῦτʼ ἐμοῦ προκαλεσαμένου πολλῶν παρόντων, οὐκ ἂν ἔφη ποιῆσαι. καίτοι ὅστις αὐτὸς αὑτῷ ταῦτʼ ἔφυγεν δικάσαι, πῶς ὑμᾶς χρὴ τοὺς ὀμωμοκότας τούτῳ πειθομένους καταγνῶναι τῶν μαρτύρων, ἀλλʼ οὐ τοῦτον ἀναισχυντότατον πάντων ἀνθρώπων εἶναι νομίζειν; ἀλλὰ μὴν ὡς ἀληθῆ λέγω, κάλει τούτων τοὺς μάρτυρας. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ.
54. No; they too were ready to place their children by their side, and in confirmation of the testimony they had given, to take an oath with imprecations upon them, if they swore falsely. But Aphobus did not see fit to allow an oath to be given either to them or to me. Instead, he rests his case on arguments subtly planned and on witnesses accustomed to perjury, and thinks thereby easily to mislead you. So take and read to the jury this deposition also. The Deposition How could one prove more clearly than I have proved that we are the object of a malicious charge; that the evidence brought forward against my opponent is true; and that his condemnation was just?
54. οὐ τοίνυν ἐγὼ μὲν ταῦθʼ ἕτοιμος ἦν, οἱ δὲ μάρτυρες οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην ἐμοὶ εἶχον, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνοι παραστησάμενοι τοὺς παῖδας, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐμαρτύρησαν, πίστιν ἐπιθεῖναι ἠθέλησαν κατʼ ἐκείνων. ὁ δʼ οὔτʼ ἐκείνοις οὔτʼ ἐμοὶ δοῦναι τὸν ὅρκον ἠξίωσεν, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ λόγοις μεμηχανημένοις καὶ μάρτυσιν οὐ τἀληθῆ μαρτυρεῖν εἰθισμένοις τὸ πρᾶγμα καταστήσας, ἐλπίζει ῥᾳδίως ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσειν. λάβʼ οὖν αὐτοῖς καὶ ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ.
55. I have shown that he refused to examine by torture the slave who wrote the testimony regarding the very things to which he had testified; that his brother, Aesius, has attested the facts which he on his part declares to be false;
55. πῶς οὖν ἄν τις σαφέστερον ἐξελέγξειεν συκοφαντουμένους ἡμᾶς καὶ καταμεμαρτυρημένα τἀληθῆ καὶ τὴν δίκην δικαίως ὠφλημένην, ἢ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἐπιδεικνύς; οἰκέτην τὸν τὴν μαρτυρίαν γράφοντʼ οὐκ ἐθελήσαντα τοῦτον βασανίζειν περὶ αὐτῶν τῶν μεμαρτυρημένων· αἴσιον τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ταῦτα μεμαρτυρηκότα, ἅ φησιν εἶναι ψευδῆ·
56. that Aphobus himself has, at my summons, given against Demo, his uncle and co-trustee, the same testimony as the witnesses whom he is suing; that he refused to examine my women-servants as to the fact of Milyas being a freeman; that my own mother was ready to give an oath regarding these matters with imprecations upon us; that he refused to accept for examination any one of my other slaves who knew all the circumstances better than Milyas did; that he has not brought a charge of false witness against any one of those who testified that he had the money;
56. τοῦτον αὐτὸν ταὐτὰ τοῖς μάρτυσιν οὓς διώκει μεμαρτυρηκότα μοι κατὰ Δήμωνος, ὄντος αὐτῷ θείου καὶ συνεπιτρόπου· τὰς θεραπαίνας οὐκ ἐθελήσανθʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐλεύθερον εἶναι βασανίζειν· τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ πίστιν περὶ τούτων ἐπιθεῖναι καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐθέλουσαν· τῶν ἄλλων οἰκετῶν οὐκ ἐθέλοντα τοῦτον παραλαμβάνειν οὐδένα, τῶν πάντʼ εἰδότων μᾶλλον ἢ Μιλύας· τῶν μαρτύρων οἳ κατεμαρτύρουν χρήματʼ ἔχειν αὐτόν, οὐδενὶ τῶν ψευδομαρτυρίων ἐπεσκημμένον·
57. that he did not give over the will, nor let the house, although the laws so bade; and finally that he did not see fit to give an oath, after the witnesses and I myself had sworn, whereby he could have secured release to the amount of the sums regarding which he had demanded Milyas for torture. By heaven, I certainly could think of no better way than this to establish these facts. Yet, plain as it is that he falsely attacks the witnesses; that he suffers no damage from the facts adduced; that he was justly condemned; he still tries to brazen it out.
57. τὴν διαθήκην οὐκ ἀποδόντα, οὐδὲ τὸν οἶκον μισθώσαντα τῶν νόμων κελευόντων· πίστιν ἐπιθεῖναι προομνύντος ἐμοῦ καὶ τῶν μαρτύρων, ὥστʼ ἀφεῖσθαι τοῦτον τῶν χρημάτων καθʼ ἃ τὸν Μιλύαν ἐξῄτησεν, οὐκ οἰηθέντα δεῖν; μὰ τοὺς θεούς, ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιμʼ ἐπιδεῖξαι ταῦτʼ ἀκριβέστερον ἢ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον. οὕτω τοίνυν φανερῶς τῶν μαρτύρων καταψευδόμενος καὶ ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων οὐδὲν ζημιούμενος καὶ τὴν δίκην δικαίως ὠφληκώς, ὅμως ἀναισχυντεῖ.
58. If it were not that he uses his present language after having at the outset been judged to be in the wrong by his own friends and by the arbitrator, there would be less reason to wonder at all this. But the fact is, that after persuading me to refer the matter to Archeneus and Dracontides and Phanus (the last of whom he is now suing on a charge of giving false witness), he rejected them (having heard them say that, if they decided on oath, they would condemn his conduct as guardian), and appeared before the official arbitrator, who, since Aphobus was unable to clear himself from the charges which I brought, gave judgement against him.
58. καὶ εἰ μὲν μὴ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς αὑτοῦ φίλοις καὶ παρὰ τῷ διαιτητῇ προεγνωσμένος ἀδικεῖν τούτους ἐποιεῖτο τοὺς λόγους, ἧττον ἂν ἦν ἄξιον θαυμάζειν· νῦν δʼ ἐπιτρέψαι με πείσας Ἀρχένεῳ καὶ Δρακοντίδῃ καὶ Φάνῳ τουτῳί, τῷ νῦν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ φεύγοντι τῶν ψευδομαρτυρίων, τούτους μὲν ἀφῆκεν ἀκούσας αὐτῶν ὅτι, εἰ μεθʼ ὅρκου ταῦτα διαιτήσουσιν, καταγνώσονται τὴν ἐπιτροπήν, ἐπὶ τὸν κληρωτὸν δὲ διαιτητὴν ἐλθὼν καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχων ἀπολύσασθαι τῶν ἐγκεκλημένων ὦφλεν τὴν δίαιταν.
59. The jury, to whom he then appealed, having heard the case, gave the same decision that his own friends and the arbitrator had given, and fixed the damages at ten talents. This was not, heaven knows, because he had admitted Milyas to be a freeman (for this was nothing to the point), but because, a fortune of fifteen talents having been left me, he had not let the property; because further, he with his co-trustees had the management of the estate for ten years, and agreed on behalf of me, a child, to pay a property-tax at the rate of five minae, the same rate at which Timotheus, son of Conon, and those possessing the largest fortunes were assessed;
59. οἱ δικασταὶ δʼ ἀκούσαντες, εἰς οὓς ἐφῆκεν, ταὐτὰ καὶ τοῖς τούτου φίλοις καὶ τῷ διαιτητῇ περὶ αὐτῶν ἔγνωσαν καὶ δέκα ταλάντων ἐτίμησαν, οὐ μὰ Δίʼ οὐχ ὅτι τὸν Μιλύαν ὡμολόγησεν εἶναι ἐλεύθερον (τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἦν), ἀλλʼ ὅτι πεντεκαίδεκα ταλάντων οὐσίας μοι καταλειφθείσης τὸν μὲν οἶκον οὐκ ἐμίσθωσεν, δέκα δʼ ἔτη μετὰ τῶν συνεπιτρόπων διαχειρίσας πρὸς μὲν τὴν συμμορίαν ὑπὲρ παιδὸς ὄντος ἐμοῦ πέντε μνᾶς συνετάξατʼ εἰσφέρειν, ὅσονπερ Τιμόθεος ὁ Κόνωνος καὶ οἱ τὰ μέγιστα κεκτημένοι τιμήματʼ εἰσέφερον, χρόνον δὲ τοσοῦτον τὰ χρήματα ταῦτʼ ἐπιτροπεύσας, ὑπὲρ ὧν τηλικαύτην αὐτὸς εἰσφορὰν ἠξίου εἰσφέρειν, ἐμοὶ μὲν τὸ καθʼ αὑτὸν οὐδʼ εἴκοσι μνῶν ἄξια παρέδωκεν, μετὰ δʼ ἐκείνων ὅλα τὰ κεφάλαια καὶ τὰς ἐπικαρπίας ἀπεστέρηκεν.
60. and because, after administering for so long an estate, on which he voluntarily chose to pay so high a tax, he turned over to me, as the amount due from him, property not even of the value of twenty minae, having together with those others robbed me of my whole estate, principal as well as interest. The jurymen, therefore, although they allowed interest on the whole property at the lowest rate, and not that at which estates are ordinarily let, found that these men had robbed me of more than thirty talents, and accordingly fixed the damages against Aphobus at ten talents.
60. θέντες οὖν οἱ δικασταὶ τοῖς πᾶσι χρήμασιν οὐκ ἐφʼ ὅσῳ μισθοῦσιν τοὺς οἴκους τόκον, ἀλλʼ ὃς ἦν ἐλάχιστος, ηὗρον τὸ σύμπαν πλέον ἢ τριάκοντα τάλαντʼ αὐτοὺς ἀποστεροῦντας· διὸ τούτῳ τῶν δέκα ταλάντων ἐτίμησαν.