--- title: "Against Boeotus I · Πρὸς Βοιωτὸν περὶ τοῦ Ὀνόματος" author: "Demosthenes" translator: "Augustus Taber Murray" languages: [grc, en] shelf: "Classical Greek" section: 1 of 1 url: https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-boeotus-1/1/ cite: "Demosthenes, tr. Augustus Taber Murray, Against Boeotus I · Πρὸς Βοιωτὸν περὶ τοῦ Ὀνόματος, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-boeotus-1/1/" --- # Against Boeotus I · Πρὸς Βοιωτὸν περὶ τοῦ Ὀνόματος *Demosthenes, tr. Augustus Taber Murray* Two half-brothers both called Mantitheus: who has the right to the name? > Greek: ed. William Rennie, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0014.tlg039, CC BY-SA 4.0). > English: Augustus Taber Murray, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0014.tlg039.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. ## 1. Sections 1–41 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-boeotus-1/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-boeotus-1/1/#p-N [¶0] 1. It was not from any love of litigation I protest by the gods, men of the jury, that I brought this suit against Boeotus, nor was I unaware that it will seem strange to many people that I should bring suit because somebody thought right to have the same name as myself; but it was necessary to have the matter decided in your court, in view of the consequences that must result if I do not get this matter righted. > Greek: 1. οὐδεμιᾷ φιλοπραγμοσύνῃ μὰ τοὺς θεούς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὴν δίκην ταύτην ἔλαχον Βοιωτῷ, οὐδʼ ἠγνόουν ὅτι πολλοῖς ἄτοπον δόξει τὸ δίκην ἐμὲ λαγχάνειν, εἴ τις ἐμοὶ ταὐτὸν ὄνομʼ οἴεται δεῖν ἔχειν· ἀλλʼ ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἐκ τῶν συμβησομένων, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο διορθώσομαι, ἐν ὑμῖν κριθῆναι. [¶1] 2. If the defendant declared himself the son of another father and not of my own, I should naturally have seemed meddlesome in caring by what name he chose to call himself; but, as it is, he brought suit against my father, and having got up a gang of blackmailers to support him—Mnesicles, whom you all probably know, and that Menecles who secured the conviction of Ninus, and others of the same sort—he went into court, alleging that he was my father’s son by the daughter of Pamphilus, and that he was being outrageously treated, and robbed of his civic rights. > Greek: 2. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἑτέρου τινὸς οὗτος ἔφη πατρὸς εἶναι καὶ μὴ τοῦ ἐμοῦ, περίεργος ἂν εἰκότως ἐδόκουν εἶναι φροντίζων ὅ τι βούλεται καλεῖν οὗτος ἑαυτόν. νῦν δὲ λαχὼν δίκην τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ καὶ μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ κατασκευάσας ἐργαστήριον συκοφαντῶν, Μνησικλέα τε, ὃν ἴσως γιγνώσκετε πάντες, καὶ Μενεκλέα τὸν τὴν Νῖνον ἑλόντʼ ἐκεῖνον, καὶ τοιούτους τινάς, ἐδικάζεθʼ υἱὸς εἶναι φάσκων ἐκ τῆς Παμφίλου θυγατρὸς καὶ δεινὰ πάσχειν καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀποστερεῖσθαι. [¶2] 3. My father (for the whole truth shall be told you, men of the jury) feared to come into court lest someone, on the ground of having elsewhere received some injury from him in his public life, should confront him here; and at the same time he was deceived by this man’s mother. For she had sworn that if he should tender her an oath in this matter, she would refuse it, and that, when this had been done, all relations between them would be at an end; and she had also had money deposited in the hands of a third party on her behalf;—on these conditions, then, my father tendered her the oath. > Greek: 3. ὁ πατὴρ δέ (πᾶσα γὰρ εἰρήσεται ἡ ἀλήθειʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί) ἅμα μὲν φοβούμενος εἰς δικαστήριον εἰσιέναι, μή τις, οἷʼ ὑπὸ πολιτευομένου, ἑτέρωθί που λελυπημένος ἐνταυθοῖ ἀπαντήσειεν αὐτῷ, ἅμα δʼ ἐξαπατηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς τουτουὶ μητρός, ὀμοσάσης αὐτῆς ἦ μήν, ἐὰν ὅρκον αὐτῇ διδῷ περὶ τούτων, μὴ ὀμεῖσθαι, τούτων δὲ πραχθέντων οὐδὲν ἔτʼ ἔσεσθαι αὐτοῖς, καὶ μεσεγγυησαμένης ἀργύριον, ἐπὶ τούτοις δίδωσι τὸν ὅρκον. [¶3] 4. But she accepted it, and swore that not only the defendant, but his brother too, her other son, was my father’s child. When she had done this it was necessary to enter them among the clansmen, and there was no excuse left. My father did enter them; he adopted them as his children and (to cut short the intervening matters) he enrolled the defendant at the Apaturia as Boeotus on the list of the clansmen, and the other as Pamphilus. But I had already been enrolled as Mantitheus. > Greek: 4. ἡ δὲ δεξαμένη, οὐ μόνον τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἕτερον πρὸς τούτῳ κατωμόσατʼ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι τοῦ ἐμοῦ. ὡς δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐποίησεν, εἰσάγειν εἰς τοὺς φράτερας ἦν ἀνάγκη τούτους καὶ λόγος οὐδεὶς ὑπελείπετο. εἰσήγαγεν, ἐποιήσατο, ἵνα τἀν μέσῳ συντέμω, ἐγγράφει τοῖς Ἀπατουρίοις τουτονὶ μὲν Βοιωτὸν εἰς τοὺς φράτερας, τὸν δʼ ἕτερον Πάμφιλον· Μαντίθεος δʼ ἐνεγεγράμμην ἐγώ. [¶4] 5. My father’s death happened before the entries were made on the register of the demesmen, but the defendant went and enrolled himself on the register as Mantitheus, instead of Boeotus. How great a wrong he did in this—to me, in the first place, but also to you—I shall show, as soon as I have brought forward witnesses to prove my assertions. The Witnesses You have heard from the witnesses the manner in which our father enrolled us; I shall now show to you that, as the defendant did not choose to abide by this enrollment, it was both just and necessary for me to bring suit. > Greek: 5. συμβάσης δὲ τῷ πατρὶ τῆς τελευτῆς πρὶν τὰς εἰς τοὺς δημότας ἐγγραφὰς γενέσθαι, ἐλθὼν εἰς τοὺς δημότας οὑτοσὶ ἀντὶ Βοιωτοῦ Μαντίθεον ἐνέγραψεν ἑαυτόν. τοῦτο δʼ ὅσα βλάπτει ποιῶν πρῶτον μὲν ἐμέ, εἶτα δὲ καὶ ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ διδάξω, ἐπειδὰν ὧν λέγω παράσχωμαι μάρτυρας. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ. [¶5] 6. For I am surely not so stupid nor unreasonable a person as to have agreed to take only a third of my father’s estate (though the whole of it was coming to me), seeing that my father had adopted these men, and to be content with that, and then to engage in a quarrel with my kin about a name, were it not that for me to change mine would bring great dishonor and a reputation for cowardice, while for my opponent to have the same name as myself was on many accounts impossible. > Greek: 6. ὃν μὲν τοίνυν τρόπον ἡμᾶς ἐνέγραψεν ὁ πατήρ, ἀκηκόατε τῶν μαρτύρων· ὅτι δʼ οὐκ οἰομένου τούτου δεῖν ἐμμένειν, δικαίως καὶ ἀναγκαίως ἔλαχον τὴν δίκην, τοῦτʼ ἤδη δείξω. ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐχ οὕτω δήπου σκαιός εἰμʼ ἄνθρωπος οὐδʼ ἀλόγιστος, ὥστε τῶν μὲν πατρῴων, ἃ πάντʼ ἐμὰ ἐγίγνετο, ἐπειδήπερ ἐποιήσατο τούτους ὁ πατήρ, συγκεχωρηκέναι τὸ τρίτον νείμασθαι μέρος καὶ στέργειν ἐπὶ τούτῳ, περὶ δʼ ὀνόματος ζυγομαχεῖν, εἰ μὴ τὸ μὲν ἡμᾶς μεταθέσθαι μεγάλην ἀτιμίαν ἔφερε καὶ ἀνανδρίαν, τὸ δὲ ταὐτὸν ἔχειν τοῦτον ἡμῖν ὄνομα διὰ πόλλʼ ἀδύνατον ἦν. [¶6] 7. To begin with (assuming that it is best to mention public matters before private), in what way will the state give its command to us, if any duty is to be performed? The members of the tribe will, of course, nominate us in the same way as they nominate other people. Well then; they will bring forward the name of Mantitheus, son of Mantias, of Thoricus if they are nominating one for choregus or gymnasiarch or feaster of the tribe or for any other office. By what, then, will it be made clear whether they are nominating you or me? > Greek: 7. πρῶτον μὲν γάρ, εἰ δεῖ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν ἰδίων εἰπεῖν πρότερον, τίνʼ ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις ἐπιτάξει τρόπον, ἄν τι δέῃ ποιεῖν; οἴσουσι νὴ Δίʼ οἱ φυλέται τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους. οὐκοῦν Μαντίθεον Μαντίου Θορίκιον οἴσουσιν, ἐὰν χορηγὸν ἢ γυμνασίαρχον ἢ ἑστιάτορʼ ἢ ἐάν τι τῶν ἄλλων φέρωσιν. τῷ δῆλον οὖν ἔσται πότερον σὲ φέρουσιν ἢ ἐμέ; σὺ μὲν γὰρ φήσεις ἐμέ, ἐγὼ δὲ σέ. [¶7] 8. You will say it is I; I shall say it is you. Well, suppose that after this the Archon summons us, or any other magistrate, before whom the case is called. We do not obey the summons; we do not undertake the service. Which of us is liable to the penalties provided by law? And in what manner will the generals enter our names, if they are listing names for a tax-company? or if they are appointing a trierarch? Or, if there be a military expedition, how will it be made clear which of us is on the muster-roll? > Greek: 8. καὶ δὴ καλεῖ μετὰ τοῦθʼ ὁ ἄρχων ἢ πρὸς ὅντινʼ ἂν ᾖ ἡ δίκη. οὐχ ὑπακούομεν, οὐ λῃτουργοῦμεν. πότερος ταῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων ἔσται ζημίαις ἔνοχος; τίνα δʼ οἱ στρατηγοὶ τρόπον ἐγγράψουσιν, ἂν εἰς συμμορίαν ἐγγράφωσιν, ἢ ἂν τριήραρχον καθιστῶσιν; ἢ ἂν στρατεία τις ᾖ, τῷ δῆλον ἔσται πότερός ἐσθʼ ὁ κατειλεγμένος; [¶8] 9. Or again, if any other magistrate, the Archon, the King-Archon, the Stewards of the Games, makes an appointment for some public service, what sign will there be to indicate which one of us they are appointing? Are they in heaven’s name to add the designation “son of Plangon,” if they are entering your name, or add the name of my mother if they are entering mine? But who ever heard of such a thing? or by what law could this special designation be appended, or anything else, except the name of the father and the deme? And seeing that both of these are the same great confusion must result. > Greek: 9. τί δʼ, ἂν ἄλλη τις ἀρχὴ καθιστῇ λῃτουργεῖν, οἷον ἄρχων, βασιλεύς, ἀθλοθέται, τί σημεῖον ἔσται πότερον καθιστᾶσιν; προσπαραγράψουσι νὴ Δία τὸν ἐκ Πλαγγόνος, ἂν σὲ ἐγγράφωσιν, ἂν δʼ ἐμέ, τῆς ἐμῆς μητρὸς τοὔνομα. καὶ τίς ἤκουσε πώποτε, ἢ κατὰ ποῖον νόμον προσπαραγράφοιτʼ ἂν τοῦτο τὸ παράγραμμα ἢ ἄλλο τι πλὴν ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ δῆμος; ὧν ὄντων ἀμφοῖν τῶν αὐτῶν πολλὴ ταραχὴ συμβαίνει. [¶9] 10. Again, suppose Mantitheus, son of Mantias, of Thoricus should be summoned as judge, what should we do? Should we go, both of us? For how is it to be clear whether he has summoned you or me? Or, by Zeus, suppose the state is appointing to any office by lot, for example that of Senator, that of Thesmothet, or any of the rest; how will it be clear which one of us has been appointed?—unless some mark shall be attached to the tablet, as there might be to anything else; and even then people will not know to which of us two it belongs. Well then, he will say that he has been appointed, and I shall say that I have. > Greek: 10. φέρε, εἰ δὲ κριτὴς καλοῖτο Μαντίθεος Μαντίου Θορίκιος, τί ἂν ποιοῖμεν; ἢ βαδίζοιμεν ἂν ἄμφω; τῷ γὰρ ἔσται δῆλον πότερον σὲ κέκληκεν ἢ ἐμέ; πρὸς Διός, ἂν δʼ ἀρχὴν ἡντινοῦν ἡ πόλις κληροῖ, οἷον βουλῆς, θεσμοθέτου, τῶν ἄλλων, τῷ δῆλος ὁ λαχὼν ἡμῶν ἔσται; πλὴν εἰ σημεῖον, ὥσπερ ⟨ἂν⟩ ἄλλῳ τινί, τῷ χαλκίῳ προσέσται· καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦθʼ ὁποτέρου ἐστὶν οἱ πολλοὶ γνώσονται. οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν ἑαυτόν, ἐγὼ δʼ ἐμαυτὸν φήσω τὸν εἰληχότʼ εἶναι. [¶10] 11. The only course left is for us to go into court. So the city will order a court to be set up for each of the cases; and we shall be cheated of the fair and equal right, that the one chosen by lot shall hold office. Then we shall berate each other, and he who shall prevail by his words will hold office. And in which case should we be better off—by trying to rid ourselves of our existing resentments, or by arousing fresh animosities and recriminations? For these must of necessity result, when we wrangle with one another about an office or anything else. > Greek: 11. λοιπὸν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον [ἡμᾶς] εἰσιέναι. οὐκοῦν ἐφʼ ἑκάστῳ τούτων δικαστήριον ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις καθιεῖ, καὶ τοῦ μὲν κοινοῦ καὶ ἴσου, τοῦ τὸν λαχόντʼ ἄρχειν, ἀποστερησόμεθα, ἀλλήλους δὲ πλυνοῦμεν, καὶ ὁ τῷ λόγῳ κρατήσας ἄρξει. καὶ πότερʼ ἂν βελτίους εἴημεν τῶν ὑπαρχουσῶν δυσκολιῶν ἀπαλλαττόμενοι, ἢ καινὰς ἔχθρας καὶ βλασφημίας ποιούμενοι; ἃς πᾶσʼ ἀνάγκη συμβαίνειν, ὅταν ἀρχῆς ἤ τινος ἄλλου πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀμφισβητῶμεν. [¶11] 12. But suppose again (for we must examine every phase of the matter), one or the other of us persuades the other, in case he is chosen, to yield the office to him, and so obtains the appointment? What is this but one man drawing lots with two tablets? Shall it, then, be permitted us to do with impunity a thing for which the law appoints the penalty of death? “Why, certainly, for we should not do it,” you may say. I know that, at least so far as I am concerned; but it is not right that some persons should even be liable to this penalty, when they need not be. > Greek: 12. τί δʼ, ἂν ἄρα (δεῖ γὰρ ἅπαντα [ἡμᾶς] ἐξετάσαι) ἅτερος ἡμῶν πείσας τὸν ἕτερον, ἐὰν λάχῃ, παραδοῦναι αὑτῷ τὴν ἀρχήν, οὕτω κληρῶται, τὸ δυοῖν πινακίοιν τὸν ἕνα κληροῦσθαι τί ἄλλʼ ἐστίν; εἶτʼ ἐφʼ ᾧ θάνατον ζημίαν ὁ νόμος λέγει, τοῦθʼ ἡμῖν ἀδεῶς ἐξέσται πράττειν; πάνυ γε· οὐ γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸ ποιήσαιμεν. οἶδα κἀγώ, τὸ γοῦν κατʼ ἐμέ· ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ αἰτίαν τοιαύτης ζημίας ἐνίους ἔχειν καλόν, ἐξὸν μή. [¶12] 13. Very well; but in these cases it is the state that is injured: what harm does it do me individually? Observe in what serious ways I am harmed, and consider if there be anything in what I say. Indeed the wrong done to me is far more grievous than what you have heard. You all know, for instance, that he was intimate with Menecles during his lifetime, and with his crowd, and that he now associates with others no better than Menecles, and that he has cherished the same ambitions, and desires to be thought a clever fellow; and, by Zeus, I dare say he is. > Greek: 13. εἶεν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἡ πόλις βλάπτεται· ἐγὼ δʼ ἰδίᾳ τί; θεάσασθʼ ἡλίκα, καὶ σκοπεῖτʼ ἄν τι δοκῶ λέγειν· πολὺ γὰρ χαλεπώτερα ταῦθʼ ὧν ἀκηκόατʼ ἐστίν. ὁρᾶτε μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντες αὐτὸν χρώμενον, ἕως μὲν ἔζη, Μενεκλεῖ καὶ τοῖς περὶ ἐκεῖνον ἀνθρώποις, νῦν δʼ ἑτέροις ἐκείνου βελτίοσιν οὐδέν, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτʼ ἐζηλωκότα καὶ δεινὸν δοκεῖν εἶναι βουλόμενον· καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ἴσως ἔστιν. [¶13] 14. Now, if, as time goes on, he undertakes to set on foot any of the same practices as these men (these are indictments, presentments for contraband, informations, arrests) and on the basis of one of these he is condemned to pay a fine to the state (for there are many vicissitudes in mortal affairs, and you know well how to keep in due bounds even the most clever people on any occasion when they overreach themselves), why will his name be entered on the record any more than mine? > Greek: 14. ἂν οὖν προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου τῶν αὐτῶν τι ποιεῖν τούτοις ἐπιχειρῇ (ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα γραφαί, φάσεις, ἐνδείξεις, ἀπαγωγαί), εἶτʼ ἐπὶ τούτων τινί (πολλὰ γάρ ἐστι τἀνθρώπινα, καὶ τοὺς πάνυ δεινοὺς ἑκάστοτε, ὅταν πλεονάζωσιν, ἐπίστασθʼ ὑμεῖς κοσμίους ποιεῖν) ὄφλῃ τῷ δημοσίῳ, τί μᾶλλον οὗτος ἐγγεγραμμένος ἔσται ἐμοῦ; [¶14] 15. “Because,” it may be said, “everybody will know which of us two was fined.” Very good; but suppose (what might very well happen) that time passes and the debt is not paid; why is there any greater likelihood that the defendant’s children will be entered on the list of state debtors any more than my own when the name of the father and the tribe, and all else are identical? Suppose, now, somebody should bring a suit for ejectment against him, and should state that he had nothing to do with me, but, having had the writ registered, should enter the name, why will the name he has entered be that of my opponent any more than my own? What if he fails to pay any of the property-taxes? > Greek: 15. ὅτι νὴ Δίʼ εἴσονται πάντες πότερός ποτʼ ὦφλεν. καλῶς. ἂν δέ, ὃ τυχὸν γένοιτʼ ἄν, χρόνος διέλθῃ καὶ μὴ ἐκτεισθῇ τὸ ὄφλημα, τί μᾶλλον οἱ τούτου παῖδες ἔσονται τῶν ἐμῶν ἐγγεγραμμένοι, ὅταν τοὔνομα καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἡ φυλὴ καὶ πάντʼ ᾖ ταὐτά; τί δʼ, εἴ τις δίκην ἐξούλης αὐτῷ λαχὼν μηδὲν ἐμοὶ φαίη πρὸς αὑτὸν εἶναι, κυρίαν δὲ ποιησάμενος ἐγγράψαι, τί μᾶλλον ἂν εἴη τοῦτον ἢ ἔμʼ ἐγγεγραφώς; τί δʼ, εἴ τινας εἰσφορὰς μὴ θείη; [¶15] 16. What if the name be involved in the filing of any other suit, or, in general, in any unpleasant scandal? Who, among people at large, will know which of the two it is, when there are two Mantitheuses having the same father? Suppose, again, that he should be prosecuted for evasion of military service, and should be serving as chorister when he ought to be abroad with the army—as, a while ago, when the rest went over to Tamynae, he was left behind here keeping the feast of Pitchers, and remained here and served in the chorus at the Dionysia, as all of you who were at home saw; > Greek: 16. τί δʼ, εἴ τις ἄλλη περὶ τοὔνομα γίγνοιτʼ ἢ λῆξις δίκης ἢ δόξʼ ὅλως ἀηδής; τίς εἴσεται τῶν πολλῶν πότερός ποθʼ οὗτός ἐστιν, δυοῖν Μαντιθέοιν ταὐτοῦ πατρὸς ὄντοιν; φέρε, εἰ δὲ δίκην ἀστρατείας φεύγοι, χορεύοι δʼ ὅταν στρατεύεσθαι δέῃ; καὶ γὰρ νῦν, ὅτʼ εἰς Ταμύνας παρῆλθον οἱ ἄλλοι, ἐνθάδε τοὺς Χοᾶς ἄγων ἀπελείφθη καὶ τοῖς Διονυσίοις καταμείνας ἐχόρευεν, ὡς ἅπαντες ἑωρᾶθʼ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες. [¶16] 17. then, after the soldiers had come back from Euboea, he was summoned on a charge of desertion, and I, as taxiarch of our tribe, was compelled to receive the summons, since it was against my name, that of my father being added; and if pay had been available for the juries, I should certainly have had to bring the case into court. If this had not occurred after the boxes had already been sealed, I should have brought you witnesses to prove it. > Greek: 17. ἀπελθόντων δʼ ἐξ Εὐβοίας τῶν στρατιωτῶν λιποταξίου προσεκλήθη, κἀγὼ ταξιαρχῶν τῆς φυλῆς ἠναγκαζόμην κατὰ τοὐνόματος τοῦ ἐμαυτοῦ πατρόθεν δέχεσθαι τὴν λῆξιν· καὶ εἰ μισθὸς ἐπορίσθη τοῖς δικαστηρίοις, εἰσῆγον ἂν δῆλον ὅτι. ταῦτα δʼ εἰ μὴ σεσημασμένων ἤδη συνέβη τῶν ἐχίνων, κἂν μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρεσχόμην. [¶17] 18. Well then; suppose he were summoned on the charge of being an alien. And he does make himself obnoxious to many, and the way in which my father was compelled to adopt him is no secret. You, on your part, while my father was refusing to acknowledge him, believed that his mother was telling the truth; but when, with his parentage thus established, he makes himself odious, you will some day on the contrary conclude that my father’s story was true. Again, what if my opponent, in the expectation of being convicted of perjury for the services which he freely grants his associates, should allow the suit to go by default? Do you think it would be a slight injury that I should be my whole life long a sharer of his reputation and his doings? > Greek: 18. εἶεν. εἰ δὲ ξενίας προσκληθείη; πολλοῖς δὲ προσκρούει, καὶ ὃν ἠναγκάσθη τρόπον ὁ πατὴρ ποιήσασθαι αὐτόν, οὐ λέληθεν. ὑμεῖς δʼ, ὅτε μὲν τοῦτον οὐκ ἐποιεῖθʼ ὁ πατήρ, τὴν μητέρʼ ἀληθῆ λέγειν ἡγεῖσθʼ αὐτοῦ· ἐπειδὰν δʼ οὕτως γεγονὼς οὗτος ὀχληρὸς ᾖ, πάλιν ὑμῖν ποτὲ δόξει ʼκεῖνος ἀληθῆ λέγειν. τί δʼ, εἰ ψευδομαρτυρίων ἁλώσεσθαι προσδοκῶν ἐφʼ οἷς ἐρανίζει τούτοις τοῖς περὶ αὑτόν, ἐρήμην ἐάσειεν τελεσθῆναι τὴν δίκην; ἆρά γε μικρὰν ἡγεῖσθε βλάβην, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐν κοινωνίᾳ τὸν ἅπαντα βίον τῆς τούτου δόξης καὶ τῶν ἔργων εἶναι; [¶18] 19. Pray observe that my fear regarding the things I have set forth to you is not a vain one. He has already, men of Athens, been defendant in certain suits, in which, although I have been wholly innocent, odium has attached to my name as well as his; and he has laid claim to the office to which you had elected me; and many unpleasant things have happened to me because of the name; regarding each one of which I will produce witnesses to inform you fully. The Witnesses You see, men of Athens, what keeps happening and the annoyance resulting from the matter. > Greek: 19. ὅτι τοίνυν οὐδʼ ἃ διεξελήλυθʼ ὑμῖν μάτην φοβοῦμαι, θεωρήσατε. οὗτος γὰρ ἤδη καὶ γραφάς τινας, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πέφευγεν, ἐφʼ αἷς οὐδὲν αἴτιος ὢν ἐγὼ συνδιαβάλλομαι, καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἠμφεσβήτει, ἣν ὑμεῖς ἔμʼ ἐχειροτονήσατε, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ δυσχερῆ διὰ τοὔνομα συμβέβηκεν ἡμῖν, ὧν, ἵνʼ εἰδῆτε, ἑκάστων μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ. [¶19] 20. But even if there were no annoying results, and if it were not absolutely impossible for us both to have the same name, it surely is not fair for him to have his share of my property by virtue of the adoption which my father made under compulsion, and for me to be robbed of the name which that father gave me of his own free will and under constraint from no one. I, certainly, think it is not. Now, to show you that my father not only made the entry in the list of the clansmen in the manner which has been testified to you, but that he gave me this name when he kept the tenth day after my birth, please take this deposition. The Deposition You hear then, men of Athens, that I have always been in possession of the name Mantitheus; but that my father, when he was compelled to enter him, entered the defendant in the list of clansmen as Boeotus. > Greek: 20. ὁρᾶτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὰ συμβαίνοντα, καὶ τὴν ἀηδίαν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πράγματος. εἰ τοίνυν μηδὲν ἀηδὲς ἦν ἐκ τούτων, μηδʼ ὅλως ἀδύνατον ταὐτὸν ἔχειν ὄνομʼ ἡμῖν συνέβαινεν, οὐ δήπου τοῦτον μὲν δίκαιον τὸ μέρος τῶν [ἐμῶν] χρημάτων ἔχειν κατὰ τὴν ποίησιν, ἣν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτὸν ἀναγκασθεὶς ἐποιήσατο, ἐμὲ δʼ ἀφαιρεθῆναι τοὔνομα, ὃ βουλόμενος καὶ οὐδʼ ὑφʼ ἑνὸς βιασθεὶς ἔθετο. οὐκ ἔγωγʼ ἡγοῦμαι. ἵνα τοίνυν εἰδῆτε, ὅτι οὐ μόνον εἰς τοὺς φράτερας οὕτως, ὡς μεμαρτύρηται, ὁ πατὴρ τὴν ἐγγραφὴν ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν δεκάτην ἐμοὶ ποιῶν τοὔνομα τοῦτʼ ἔθετο, λαβέ μοι καὶ ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ. [¶20] 21. I should be glad, then, to ask him in your presence, “If my father had not died, what would you have done in the presence of your demesman? Would you not have allowed yourself to be registered as Boeotus?” But it would have been absurd to bring suit to force this and then afterwards to seek to prevent it. And yet, if you had allowed him, my father would have enrolled you in the register of demesmen by the same name as he did in that of the clansmen. Then, O Earth and the Gods, it is monstrous for him to claim that Mantias is his father, and yet to have the audacity to try to make of none effect what Mantias did in his lifetime. > Greek: 21. ἀκούετʼ, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι ἐγὼ μέν εἰμʼ ἐπὶ τοὐνόματος τούτου πάντα τὸν χρόνον, τουτονὶ δὲ Βοιωτὸν εἰς τοὺς φράτερας, ἡνίκʼ ἠναγκάσθη, ἐνέγραψεν ὁ πατήρ. ἡδέως τοίνυν ἐροίμην ἂν αὐτὸν ἐναντίον ὑμῶν· εἰ μὴ ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ πατήρ, τί ἄν ποτʼ ἐποίεις πρὸς τοῖς δημόταις; οὐκ ἂν εἴας σεαυτὸν ἐγγράφειν Βοιωτόν; ἀλλʼ ἄτοπον δίκην μὲν λαγχάνειν τούτου, κωλύειν δὲ πάλιν. καὶ μὴν εἴ γʼ εἴας αὐτόν, ἐνέγραψεν ἄν σʼ εἰς τοὺς δημότας, ὅπερ εἰς τοὺς φράτερας. οὐκοῦν δεινόν, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί, φάσκειν μὲν ἐκεῖνον αὑτοῦ πατέρʼ εἶναι, τολμᾶν δʼ ἄκυρα ποιεῖν ἁκεῖνος ἔπραξεν ζῶν. [¶21] 22. He had the effrontery, moreover, to make before the arbitrator the most audacious assertions, that my father kept the tenth day after birth for him, just as for me, and gave him the name Mantitheus; and he brought forward as witnesses persons with whom my father was never known to be intimate. But I think that not one of you is unaware that no man would have kept the tenth day for a child which he did not believe was rightly his own; nor, if he had kept the day and shown the affection one would feel for a son, would afterward have dared to deny him. > Greek: 22. ἐτόλμα τοίνυν πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ πρᾶγμʼ ἀναιδέστατον λέγειν, ὡς ὁ πατὴρ αὑτοῦ δεκάτην ἐποίησεν ὥσπερ ἐμοῦ καὶ τοὔνομα τοῦτʼ ἔθετʼ αὐτῷ, καὶ μάρτυράς τινας παρείχετο, οἷς ἐκεῖνος οὐδεπώποτʼ ὤφθη χρώμενος. ἐγὼ δʼ οὐδένʼ ὑμῶν ἀγνοεῖν οἴομαι, ὅτι οὔτʼ ἂν ἐποίησε δεκάτην οὐδεὶς παιδίου μὴ νομίζων αὑτοῦ δικαίως εἶναι, οὔτε ποιήσας καὶ στέρξας, ὡς ἂν υἱόν τις στέρξαι, πάλιν ἔξαρνος ἐτόλμησε γενέσθαι. [¶22] 23. For even if he might have got into some quarrel with the mother of these children, he would not have hated them, if he believed them to be his own. For man and wife are much more apt, in cases where they are at variance with one another, to become reconciled for the sake of their children, than, on the ground of the injuries which they have done one to the other, to hate their common children also. However, it is not from these facts alone that you may see that he will be lying, if he makes these statements; but, before he claimed to be a kinsman of ours, he used to go to the tribe Hippothontis to dance in the chorus of boys. > Greek: 23. οὐδὲ γὰρ εἴ τι τῇ μητρὶ πρὸς ὀργὴν ἦλθεν τῇ τούτων, τούτους ἂν ἐμίσει, νομίζων αὑτοῦ εἶναι· πολὺ γὰρ μᾶλλον εἰώθασιν, ὧν ἂν ἑαυτοῖς διενεχθῶσιν ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή, διὰ τοὺς παῖδας καταλλάττεσθαι ἢ διʼ ἃν ἀδικηθῶσιν ὑφʼ αὑτῶν, τοὺς κοινοὺς παῖδας πρὸς μισεῖν. οὐ τοίνυν ἐκ τούτων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν μόνον ὅτι ψεύσεται, ταῦτʼ ἂν λέγῃ, ἀλλὰ πρὶν ἡμέτερος φάσκειν συγγενὴς εἶναι, εἰς Ἱπποθωντίδʼ ἐφοίτα φυλὴν εἰς παῖδας χορεύσων. [¶23] 24. And yet, who among you imagines that his mother would have sent him to this tribe, if, as she alleges, she had been cruelly treated by my father, and knew that he had kept the tenth day, and afterward denied it? Not one, I am sure. For it would have been just as much your right to go to school to the tribe Acamantis, and then the tribe would have been in manifest agreement with the giving of the name. To prove that I am speaking the truth in this, I shall bring before you as witnesses those who went to school with him, and know the facts. The Witnesses Nevertheless, although it is so plain that by his mother’s oath and the simplicity of him who tendered the oath to her, he has obtained a father and established his birth in the tribe Acamantis, instead of Hippothontis, the defendant Boeotus is not content with this, but has actually entered two or three suits against me for money, in addition to the malicious and baseless actions which he brought against me before. > Greek: 24. καίτοι τίς ἂν ὑμῶν οἴεται τὴν μητέρα πέμψαι τοῦτον εἰς ταύτην τὴν φυλήν, δεινὰ μέν, ὥς φησιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς πεπονθυῖαν, δεκάτην δʼ εἰδυῖαν πεποιηκότʼ ἐκεῖνον καὶ πάλιν ἔξαρνον ὄντα; ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδένʼ ἂν οἶμαι. εἰς γὰρ τὴν Ἀκαμαντίδʼ ὁμοίως ἐξῆν σοι φοιτᾶν, καὶ ἐφαίνετʼ ἂν οὖσʼ ἀκόλουθος ἡ φυλὴ τῇ θέσει τοὐνόματος. ὡς τοίνυν ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τούτων μάρτυρας ὑμῖν τοὺς συμφοιτῶντας καὶ τοὺς εἰδότας παρέξομαι. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ. [¶24] 25. And yet I think you all know what sort of a man of business my father was. I will say nothing about this; but if the mother of these men has sworn truly, it absolutely proves that the fellow is acting as a malicious pettyfogger in these suits. For if my father was so extravagant that after having married my mother in lawful wedlock, he kept another woman, whose children you are, and maintained two establishments, how pray if he were a man of this sort, could he have left any money? > Greek: 25. οὕτω τοίνυν φανερῶς παρὰ τὸν τῆς αὑτοῦ μητρὸς ὅρκον καὶ τὴν τοῦ δόντος ἐκείνῃ τὸν ὅρκον εὐήθειαν πατρὸς τετυχηκὼς καὶ ἀνθʼ Ἱπποθωντίδος ἐν Ἀκαμαντίδι φυλῇ γεγονώς, οὐκ ἀγαπᾷ Βοιωτὸς οὑτοσί, ἀλλὰ καὶ δίκας ἐμοὶ δύʼ ἢ τρεῖς εἴληχεν ἀργυρίου πρὸς αἷς καὶ πρότερόν μʼ ἐσυκοφάντει. καίτοι πάντας οἶμαι τοῦθʼ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, τίς ἦν χρηματιστὴς ὁ πατήρ. ἐγὼ δʼ ἐάσω ταῦτα. ἀλλʼ εἰ δίκαιʼ ὀμώμοκεν ἡ μήτηρ ἡ τούτων, ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ συκοφάντην ἐπιδεικνύει τοῦτον ταῖς δίκαις ταύταις. εἰ γὰρ οὕτω δαπανηρὸς ἦν, ὥστε γάμῳ γεγαμηκὼς τὴν ἐμὴν μητέρα, ἑτέραν εἶχε γυναῖκα, ἧς ὑμεῖς ἐστέ, καὶ δύʼ οἰκίας ᾤκει, πῶς ἂν ἀργύριον τοιοῦτος ὢν κατέλιπεν; [¶25] 27. I am well aware, men of Athens, that the defendant, Boeotus, will have no valid argument to advance, but will have recourse to the statements he is always making, that my father was induced by me to treat him with despite; and he claims the right, alleging that he is older than I, to bear the name of his paternal grandfather. As to this, it is better for you to listen to a few statements. I remember seeing him, before he became a relative of mine, casually, as one might see anyone else, and thought him younger than I, and to judge by appearances, much younger; but I will not insist upon this, for it would be silly to do so. > Greek: 27. οὐκ ἀγνοῶ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι Βοιωτὸς οὑτοσὶ δίκαιον μὲν οὐδὲν ἕξει λέγειν, ἥξει δʼ ἐπὶ ταῦθʼ ἅπερ ἀεὶ λέγει, ὡς ἐπηρέαζεν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῷ πειθόμενος ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ, ἀξιοῖ δʼ αὐτὸς ὡς δὴ πρεσβύτερος ὢν τοὔνομʼ ἔχειν τὸ τοῦ πρὸς πατρὸς πάππου. πρὸς δὴ ταῦτʼ ἀκοῦσαι βέλτιον ὑμᾶς βραχέα. ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδα τοῦτον, ὅτʼ οὔπω συγγενὴς ἦν ἐμοί, ὁρῶν ὥσπερ ἂν ἄλλον τινʼ οὑτωσί, νεώτερον ὄντʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ συχνῷ, ὅσʼ ἐξ ὄψεως, οὐ μὴν ἰσχυρίζομαι τούτῳ (καὶ γὰρ εὔηθες)· [¶26] 28. However, suppose one should ask this Boeotus the following questions: “When you thought it right to join the chorus in the tribe Hippothontis before you claimed to be the son of my father, what name would you have set down as rightly belonging to you? For if you should say, Mantitheus, you could not do so on the plea that you are older than I, for since at that time you did not suppose you had any connection even with my tribe, how could you claim to be related to my grandfather?” > Greek: 28. ἀλλʼ εἴ τις ἔροιτο Βοιωτὸν τουτονί, ὅτʼ ἐν Ἱπποθωντίδι φυλῇ ἠξίους χορεύειν, οὔπω τοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι φάσκων τοῦ ἐμοῦ υἱός, τί σαυτὸν ἔχειν δικαίως ἂν θείης ὄνομα; εἰ γὰρ Μαντίθεον, οὐκ ἂν διὰ τοῦτό γε φαίης ὅτι πρεσβύτερος εἶ ἐμοῦ. ὃς γὰρ οὐδὲ τῆς φυλῆς τότε σοι προσήκειν ἡγοῦ τῆς ἐμῆς, πῶς ἂν τοῦ γε πάππου τοῦ ἐμοῦ ἠμφεσβήτεις; [¶27] 29. “Besides, men of Athens, not one of you knows the number of the years, for I shall say that I am the elder, and he will say that he is, but you all understand the just way of reckoning. And what is this? That these men should be considered children of my father from the date when he adopted them. Well then, he entered me on the register of the demesmen as Mantitheus, before he introduced this man to the clansmen. Therefore not by virtue of time only, but also by virtue of justice I have the right to bear this name as a mark of seniority.” > Greek: 29. ἔτι δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸν μὲν τῶν ἐτῶν χρόνον οὐδεὶς οἶδεν ὑμῶν (ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἐμοὶ πλείονα, οὗτος δʼ ἑαυτῷ φήσει), τὸν δὲ τοῦ δικαίου λόγον ἅπαντες ἐπίστασθε. ἔστι δʼ οὗτος τίς; ἀφʼ οὗ παῖδας ἐποιήσατο τούτους ὁ πατήρ, ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ νομίζεσθαι. πρότερον τοίνυν ἔμʼ εἰς τοὺς δημότας ἐνέγραψε Μαντίθεον, πρὶν εἰσαγαγεῖν τοῦτον εἰς τοὺς φράτερας. ὥστʼ οὐ τῷ χρόνῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ πρεσβεῖον ἔχοιμʼ ἂν ἐγὼ τοὔνομα τοῦτʼ εἰκότως. [¶28] 30. Very well. Now, suppose one should ask you this question? “Tell me, Boeotus, how is it that you have now become a member of the tribe Acamantis, and of the deme Thoricus, and a son of Mantias, and have your share in the property left by him?” You could give no other answer than, “Mantias while living acknowledged me, too, as his son.” If one should ask you what proof you had of this or what evidence, you would say, “He introduced me to the clansmen.” But if one asked under what name he enrolled you, you would say, “Boeotus,” for that is the name by which you were introduced. > Greek: 30. εἶεν. εἰ δέ τίς σʼ ἔροιτο, εἰπέ μοι, Βοιωτέ, πόθεν νῦν Ἀκαμαντίδος φυλῆς γέγονας καὶ τῶν δήμων Θορίκιος καὶ υἱὸς Μαντίου, καὶ τὸ μέρος τῶν ὑπʼ ἐκείνου καταλειφθέντων ἔχεις; οὐδὲν ἂν ἄλλʼ ἔχοις εἰπεῖν, πλὴν ὅτι κἀμὲ ζῶν ἐποιήσατο Μαντίας. τί τεκμήριον, εἴ τίς σʼ ἔροιτο, ἢ μαρτύριόν ἐστί σοι τούτου; εἰς τοὺς φράτεράς μʼ εἰσήγαγε, φήσειας ἄν. τί οὖν σʼ ἐνέγραψεν ὄνομα, εἴ τις ἔροιτο, Βοιωτὸν ἂν εἴποις· τοῦτο γὰρ εἰσήχθης. [¶29] 31. It is, then, an outrage that whereas thanks to that name you have a share in the right of citizenship and in the estate left by my father, you should see fit to fling it aside and take another name. Come; suppose my father were to rise from the grave and demand of you either to abide by the name under which he adopted you, or to declare yourself the son of some other father, would his demand not be thought a reasonable one? Well then, I make this same demand of you, either to add to your name that of another father, or to keep the name which Mantias gave you. > Greek: 31. οὐκοῦν δεινὸν εἰ τῆς μὲν πόλεως καὶ τῶν ὑπʼ ἐκείνου καταλειφθέντων διὰ τοὔνομα τοῦτο μέτεστί σοι, τοῦτο δʼ ἀξιοῖς ἀφεὶς ἕτερον μεταθέσθαι σαυτῷ. φέρʼ, εἴ σʼ ὁ πατὴρ ἀξιώσειεν ἀναστάς, ἢ μένειν ἐφʼ οὗ σʼ αὐτὸς ἐποιήσατʼ ὀνόματος, ἢ πατέρʼ ἄλλον σαυτοῦ φάσκειν εἶναι, ἆρʼ οὐκ ἂν μέτριʼ ἀξιοῦν δοκοίη; ταὐτὰ τοίνυν ταῦτʼ ἐγώ σʼ ἀξιῶ, ἢ πατρὸς ἄλλου σεαυτὸν παραγράφειν, ἢ τοὔνομʼ ἔχειν ὃ ʼκεῖνος ἔδωκέ σοι. [¶30] 32. Ah, you may say, but that name was given you by way of derision or insult. No; very often, during the time when my father refused to acknowledge them, these men used to say that the kinsfolk of the defendant’s mother were quite as good as those of my father. Boeotus is the name of his mother’s brother; and when my father was compelled to bring them into the clan, when I had already been introduced as Mantitheus, he introduced the defendant as Boeotus, and his brother as Pamphilus. For I challenge you to show me any Athenian who ever gave the same name to two of his sons. If you can, I will grant that my father gave you this name by way of insult. > Greek: 32. νὴ Δίʼ, ἀλλʼ ὕβρει καὶ ἐπηρείᾳ τινὶ τοῦτʼ ἐτέθη σοι. ἀλλὰ πολλάκις μέν, ὅτʼ οὐκ ἐποιεῖθʼ ὁ πατὴρ τούτους, ἔλεγον οὗτοι ὡς οὐδὲν χείρους εἰσὶν οἱ τῆς μητρὸς τῆς τούτου συγγενεῖς τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ. ἔστι δʼ ὁ Βοιωτὸς ἀδελφοῦ τῆς τούτου μητρὸς ὄνομα. ἐπειδὴ δʼ εἰσάγειν ὁ πατὴρ τούτους ἠναγκάζετο, ἐμοῦ προεισηγμένου Μαντιθέου, οὕτω τοῦτον εἰσάγει Βοιωτόν, τὸν ἀδελφὸν δʼ αὐτοῦ Πάμφιλον. ἐπεὶ σὺ δεῖξον, ὅστις Ἀθηναίων ταὐτὸν ὄνομα τοῖς αὑτοῦ παισὶν ἔθετο δυοῖν· κἂν δείξῃς, ἐγὼ συγχωρήσω διʼ ἐπήρειάν σοι τοῦτο τοὔνομα θέσθαι τὸν πατέρα. [¶31] 33. And yet, if your character was such that you could force him to adopt you, but not study how you might please him, you were not what a true son ought to be toward his parents; and, if you were not, you would have deserved, not only to be treated with indignity, but even to be put to death. It would indeed be an outrageous thing, if the laws concerning parents are to be binding upon children whom the father recognizes as his own, but are to be of no effect against those who have forced themselves in and compelled an unwilling adoption. > Greek: 33. καίτοι εἴ γε τοιοῦτος ἦσθα, ὥστε ποιήσασθαι μὲν σαυτὸν ἀναγκάσαι, ἐξ ὅτου δʼ ἀρέσεις ἐκείνῳ τρόπου μὴ σκοπεῖν, οὐκ ἦσθʼ οἷον δεῖ τὸν προσήκοντʼ εἶναι περὶ τοὺς γονέας, οὐκ ὢν δʼ οὐκ ἐπηρεάζου δικαίως ἄν, ἀλλʼ ἀπωλώλεις. ἢ δεινόν γʼ ἂν εἴη, εἰ κατὰ μὲν τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ νομιζομένων παίδων οἱ περὶ τῶν γονέων ἰσχύσουσιν νόμοι, κατὰ δὲ τῶν αὑτοὺς εἰσβιαζομένων ἄκοντας ποιεῖσθαι ἄκυροι γενήσονται. [¶32] 34. You unconscionable Boeotus, do, pray, give up your present ways; but, if indeed you are unwilling to, do, in Heaven’s name, accept advice in this at least; cease to make trouble for yourself, and cease bringing malicious and baseless charges against me; and be content that you have gained citizenship, an estate, a father. No one is trying to dispossess you of these things; certainly not I. Nay, if, as you claim to be a brother, you also act as a brother, people will believe that you are of our blood; but if you go on plotting against me, suing me, evincing malice toward me, slandering me, you will be thought to have intruded yourself into what belonged to others, and then to be treating it as though it were not rightly yours. > Greek: 34. ἀλλʼ, ὦ χαλεπώτατε Βοιωτέ, μάλιστα μὲν ὧν πράττεις πάντων παῦσαι, εἰ δʼ ἄρα μὴ βούλει, ἐκεῖνό γε πρὸς Διὸς πείθου· παῦσαι μὲν σαυτῷ παρέχων πράγματα, παῦσαι δʼ ἐμὲ συκοφαντῶν, ἀγάπα δʼ ὅτι σοι πόλις, οὐσία, πατὴρ γέγονεν. οὐδεὶς ἀπελαύνει σʼ ἀπὸ τούτων, οὔκουν ἔγωγε. ἀλλʼ ἂν μέν, ὥσπερ εἶναι φὴς ἀδελφός, καὶ τὰ ἔργʼ ἀδελφοῦ ποιῇς, δόξεις εἶναι συγγενής, ἂν δʼ ἐπιβουλεύῃς, δικάζῃ, φθονῇς, βλασφημῇς, δόξεις εἰς ἀλλότριʼ ἐμπεσὼν ὡς οὐ προσήκουσιν οὕτω χρῆσθαι. [¶33] 35. I certainly am doing you no wrong, even if it were never so true that my father refused to recognize you, though you were really his son. It was not my part to know who were his sons, but it was his to show me whom I must regard as a brother. Therefore, during the time in which he refused to recognize you, I also counted you as no relative; but ever since he, adopted you, I too regard you as a kinsman. What is the proof of this? You possess your portion of my father’s estate after his death; you share in the religious rites, and civic privileges. No one seeks to exclude you from these. What is it that you would have? But if he says that he is being outrageously treated, if he weeps and wails, and makes charges against me, do not believe what he says. It is not right that you should, since our argument is not now about these matters. But take this attitude—that he can just as well get satisfaction under the name of Boeotus. > Greek: 35. ἐπεὶ ἔγωγʼ οὐδʼ εἰ τὰ μάλισθʼ ὁ πατὴρ ὄντα σʼ ἑαυτοῦ μὴ ἐποιεῖτʼ ἀδικῶ. οὐ γὰρ ἐμοὶ προσῆκεν εἰδέναι, τίνες εἰσὶν υἱεῖς ἐκείνου, ἀλλʼ ἐκείνῳ δεῖξαι, τίνʼ ἐμοὶ νομιστέον ἔστʼ ἀδελφόν. ὃν μὲν τοίνυν οὐκ ἐποιεῖτό σε χρόνον, οὐδʼ ἐγὼ προσήκονθʼ ἡγούμην, ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἐποιήσατο, κἀγὼ νομίζω. τί τούτου σημεῖον; τῶν πατρῴων ἔχεις τὸ μέρος μετὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς τελευτήν· ἱερῶν, ὁσίων μετέχεις· ἀπάγει σʼ οὐδεὶς ἀπὸ τούτων. τί βούλει; ἂν δὲ φῇ δεινὰ πάσχειν καὶ κλάῃ καὶ ὀδύρηται καὶ κατηγορῇ ἐμοῦ, ἃ μὲν ἂν λέγῃ, μὴ πιστεύετε (οὐ γὰρ δίκαιον μὴ περὶ τούτων ὄντος τοῦ λόγου νυνί), ἐκεῖνο δʼ ὑπολαμβάνετε, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἔστʼ αὐτῷ ἧττον δίκην λαμβάνειν Βοιωτῷ κληθέντι. [¶34] 36. Why are you, then, so fond of wrangling? Desist, I beg you; do not be so ready to cherish enmity against me. I am not so minded toward you. For even now—lest the fact escape your notice—I am speaking rather in your interest than in my own, in insisting that we should not have the same name. If there were no other reason, at least anyone hearing it must ask which of us is meant if there are two Mantitheuses, sons of Mantias. Then he will say, “The one whom he was compelled to adopt,” if he means you. How can you desire this? Now take, please, and read these two depositions, proving that my father gave me the name Mantitheus, and him the name Boeotus. The Depositions It remains, I think, to show you, men of Athens, that not only will you be fulfilling your oaths, if you give the verdict for which I ask, but also that the defendant has given judgement against himself, that he should rightly bear the name of Boeotus, and not Mantitheus. > Greek: 36. τί οὖν φιλονικεῖς; μηδαμῶς· μὴ ἔχʼ οὕτω πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐθελέχθρως· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ πρὸς σέ, ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν, ἵνα μηδὲ τοῦτο λάθῃ σε, ὑπὲρ σοῦ λέγω μᾶλλον, ἀξιῶν μὴ ταὐτὸν ἔχειν ὄνομʼ ἡμᾶς. εἰ γὰρ μηδὲν ἄλλο, ἀνάγκη τὸν ἀκούσαντʼ ἐρέσθαι πότερος, δύʼ ἂν ὦσιν Μαντίθεοι Μαντίου. οὐκοῦν, ὃν ἠναγκάσθη ποιήσασθαι, σὲ ἂν λέγῃ, ἐρεῖ. τί οὖν ἐπιθυμεῖς τούτων; ἀνάγνωθι δέ μοι λαβὼν δύο ταυτασὶ μαρτυρίας, ὡς ἐμοὶ Μαντίθεον καὶ τούτῳ Βοιωτὸν ὁ πατὴρ ὄνομʼ ἔθετο. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. [¶35] 37. For when I had entered this suit against Boeotus, son of Mantias, of Thoricus, at the first he accepted service of the suit, and put in an oath for delay, as being Boeotus; but finally, when there was no longer room for evasion, he allowed the arbitrators to give judgement against him by default, and then, in Heaven’s name, see what he did— he got this judgement for non-appearance set aside, entitling himself Boeotus. > Greek: 37. λοιπὸν ἡγοῦμαι τοῦθʼ ὑμῖν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὡς οὐ μόνον εὐορκήσετε, ἂν ἁγὼ λέγω ψηφίσησθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς οὗτος [αὐτὸς] αὑτοῦ κατέγνω Βοιωτόν, ἀλλʼ οὐ Μαντίθεον ὄνομα δικαίως ἂν ἔχειν. λαχόντος γὰρ ἐμοῦ τὴν δίκην ταύτην Βοιωτῷ Μαντίου Θορικίῳ, ἐξ ἀρχῆς τʼ ἠντεδίκει καὶ ὑπώμνυθʼ ὡς ὢν Βοιωτός, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτʼ ἐνῆν αὐτῷ διακρούσασθαι, ἐρήμην ἐάσας καταδιαιτῆσαι, σκέψασθε πρὸς θεῶν τί ἐποίησεν· [¶36] 38. And yet he ought in the first place to have allowed me to get my suit finished as against Boeotus, if that name did not, in fact, pertain to him at all, and not subsequently be found getting the judgement for non-appearance set aside under this name. When, a man has thus given judgement against himself that he is properly Boeotus, what verdict can he demand that you sworn jurors shall give? To prove that I am speaking the truth in this, take the decision setting aside the judgement for non-appearance and this complaint. The Decision The Complaint If, now, my opponent can point out a law which gives children the right to choose their own names, you would rightly give the verdict for which he asks. > Greek: 38. ἀντιλαγχάνει μοι τὴν μὴ οὖσαν Βοιωτὸν αὑτὸν προσαγορεύσας. καίτοι ἐξ ἀρχῆς τʼ ἔδει ἐᾶν αὐτὸν τελέσασθαι τὴν δίκην κατὰ Βοιωτοῦ, εἴπερ μηδὲν προσῆκεν αὐτῷ τοὐνόματος, ὕστερόν τε μὴ αὐτὸν φαίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ ἀντιλαγχάνοντα τὴν μὴ οὖσαν. ὃς οὖν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ κατέγνω δικαίως ⟨ἂν⟩ εἶναι Βοιωτός, τί ὑμᾶς ἀξιώσει τοὺς ὀμωμοκότας ψηφίζεσθαι; ὡς δὲ ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, λαβέ μοι τὴν ἀντίληξιν καὶ τὸ ἔγκλημα τουτί. ΑΝΤΙΛΗΞΙΣ. ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ. [¶37] 39. But if the law, which you all know as well as I, gives parents the right not only to give the name in the first place, but also to cancel it and renounce it by public declaration, if they please; and if I have shown that my father, who had this authority under the law, gave to the defendant the name Boeotus, and to me the name Mantitheus, how can you render any other verdict than that for which I ask? > Greek: 39. εἰ μὲν τοίνυν οὗτος ἔχει δεῖξαι νόμον ὃς ποιεῖ κυρίους εἶναι τοὺς παῖδας τοῦ ἑαυτῶν ὀνόματος, ἃ λέγει νῦν οὗτος ὀρθῶς ἂν ψηφίζοισθε. εἰ δʼ ὁ μὲν νόμος, ὃν πάντες ἐπίστασθʼ ὁμοίως ἐμοί, τοὺς γονέας ποιεῖ κυρίους οὐ μόνον θέσθαι τοὔνομʼ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀλλὰ κἂν πάλιν ἐξαλεῖψαι βούλωνται καὶ ἀποκηρῦξαι, ἐπέδειξα δʼ ἐγὼ τὸν πατέρα, ὃς κύριος ἦν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου, τούτῳ μὲν Βοιωτόν, ἐμοὶ δὲ Μαντίθεον θέμενον, πῶς ὑμῖν ἔστιν ἄλλο τι πλὴν ἁγὼ λέγω ψηφίσασθαι; [¶38] 40. Nay, more, in cases which are not covered by the laws, you have sworn that you will decide as in your judgement is most just, so that even if there were no law concerning these matters, you would have been bound to cast your votes in my favor. For who is there among you who has given the same name to two of his children? Who, that is as yet childless, will do so? > Greek: 40. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὧν γʼ ἂν μὴ ὦσι νόμοι, γνώμῃ τῇ δικαιοτάτῃ δικάσειν ὀμωμόκατε, ὥστʼ εἰ μηδεὶς ἦν περὶ τούτων κείμενος νόμος, κἂν οὕτω δικαίως πρὸς ἐμοῦ τὴν ψῆφον ἔθεσθε. τίς γάρ ἐστιν ὑμῶν ὅστις ταὐτὸν ὄνομα τοῖς αὑτοῦ παισὶν τέθειται δυοῖν; τίς δʼ, ᾧ μήπω παῖδες εἰσί, θήσεται; [¶39] 41. No one, assuredly. Well then, what in your minds you have decided to be right for your own children, it is your sacred duty to decide also in our case. Therefore on the basis of what you deem most just, on the basis of the laws, your oaths, and the admissions this man has made, my request of you, men of Athens, is reasonable, and my claims just; while my opponent asks what is not only unreasonable, but contrary to established usage. > Greek: 41. οὐδεὶς δήπου. οὐκοῦν ὃ δίκαιον τῇ γνώμῃ τοῖς ὑμετέροις αὐτῶν παισὶν ὑπειλήφατε, τοῦτο καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν εὐσεβὲς γνῶναι. ὥστε καὶ κατὰ τὴν δικαιοτάτην γνώμην καὶ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους καὶ κατὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ κατὰ τὴν τούτου προσομολογίαν ἐγὼ μὲν μέτριʼ ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δέομαι καὶ δίκαιʼ ἀξιῶ, οὗτος δʼ οὐ μόνον οὐ μέτρια, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ εἰωθότα γίγνεσθαι.