--- title: "Against Conon · Κατὰ Κόνωνος αἰκείας" author: "Demosthenes" translator: "Augustus Taber Murray" languages: [grc, en] shelf: "Classical Greek" section: 1 of 1 url: https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-conon/1/ cite: "Demosthenes, tr. Augustus Taber Murray, Against Conon · Κατὰ Κόνωνος αἰκείας, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-conon/1/" --- # Against Conon · Κατὰ Κόνωνος αἰκείας *Demosthenes, tr. Augustus Taber Murray* A young man beaten up by drunken neighbours and their father: a vivid picture of Athenian street life. > Greek: ed. William Rennie, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0014.tlg054, CC BY-SA 4.0). > English: Augustus Taber Murray, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0014.tlg054.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 1–44 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-conon/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/demosthenes-against-conon/1/#p-N [¶0] 1. With gross outrage I have met, men of the jury, at the hands of the defendant, Conon, and have suffered such bodily injury that for a very long time neither my relatives nor any of the attending physicians thought that I should survive. Contrary to expectation, however, I did recover and regain my strength, and I then brought against him this action for the assault. All my friends and relatives, whose advice I asked, declared that for what he had done the defendant was liable to summary seizure as a highwayman, or to public indictments for criminal outrage; but they urged and advised me not to take upon myself matters which I should not be able to carry, or to appear to be bringing suit for the maltreatment I had received in a manner too ambitious for one so young. I took this course, therefore, and, in deference to their advice, have instituted a private suit, although I should have been very glad, men of Athens, to prosecute the defendant on a capital charge. > Greek: 1. ὑβρισθείς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ παθὼν ὑπὸ Κόνωνος τουτουὶ τοιαῦτα, ὥστε πολὺν χρόνον πάνυ μήτε τοὺς οἰκείους μήτε τῶν ἰατρῶν μηδένα προσδοκᾶν περιφεύξεσθαί με, ὑγιάνας καὶ σωθεὶς ἀπροσδοκήτως ἔλαχον αὐτῷ τὴν δίκην τῆς αἰκείας ταυτηνί. πάντων δὲ τῶν φίλων καὶ τῶν οἰκείων, οἷς συνεβουλευόμην, ἔνοχον μὲν φασκόντων αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν πεπραγμένων εἶναι καὶ τῇ τῶν λωποδυτῶν ἀπαγωγῇ καὶ ταῖς τῆς ὕβρεως γραφαῖς, συμβουλευόντων δέ μοι καὶ παραινούντων μὴ μείζω πράγματʼ ἢ δυνήσομαι φέρειν ἐπάγεσθαι, μηδʼ ὑπὲρ τὴν ἡλικίαν ⟨περὶ⟩ ὧν ἐπεπόνθειν ἐγκαλοῦντα φαίνεσθαι, οὕτως ἐποίησα καὶ διʼ ἐκείνους ἰδίαν ἔλαχον δίκην, ἥδιστʼ ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, θανάτου κρίνας τουτονί. [¶1] 2. And for this you will all pardon me, I am sure, when you hear what I have suffered. For, grievous as was the injury which at that time fell to my lot, it was no more so than the subsequent insults of the defendant. I ask as my right, therefore, and implore you all without distinction, to listen with goodwill, while I tell you what I have suffered, and then, if you think that I have been the victim of wrongful and lawless acts, to render me the aid which is my due. I shall state to you from the beginning each incident as it occurred in the fewest words I can. > Greek: 2. καὶ τούτου συγγνώμην ἕξετε, εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι, πάντες, ἐπειδὰν ἃ πέπονθʼ ἀκούσητε· δεινῆς γὰρ οὔσης τῆς τότε συμβάσης ὕβρεως οὐκ ἐλάττων ἡ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἀσέλγειʼ ἐστὶ τουτουί. ἀξιῶ δὴ καὶ δέομαι πάντων ὁμοίως ὑμῶν πρῶτον μὲν εὐνοϊκῶς ἀκοῦσαί μου περὶ ὧν πέπονθα λέγοντος, εἶτα, ἐὰν ἠδικῆσθαι καὶ παρανενομῆσθαι δοκῶ, βοηθῆσαί μοι τὰ δίκαια. ἐξ ἀρχῆς δʼ ὡς ἕκαστα πέπρακται διηγήσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὡς ἂν οἷός τʼ ὦ διὰ βραχυτάτων. [¶2] 3. Two years ago I went out to Panactum, where we had been ordered to do garrison duty. The sons of the defendant, Conon, encamped near us, as I would to heaven they had not done; for our original enmity and our quarrels began in fact just there. How these came about, you shall hear. These men used always to spend the entire day after luncheon in drinking, and they kept this up continually as long as we were in the garrison. We, on our part, conducted ourselves while in the country just as we were wont to do here. > Greek: 3. ἐξῆλθον ἔτος τουτὶ τρίτον εἰς Πάνακτον φρουρᾶς ἡμῖν προγραφείσης. ἐσκήνωσαν οὖν οἱ υἱεῖς οἱ Κόνωνος τουτουὶ ἐγγὺς ἡμῶν, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἐβουλόμην· ἡ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔχθρα καὶ τὰ προσκρούματʼ ἐκεῖθεν ἡμῖν συνέβη· ἐξ ὧν δέ, ἀκούσεσθε. ἔπινον ἑκάστοθʼ οὗτοι τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστʼ ἀριστήσαιεν, ὅλην, καὶ τοῦθʼ, ἕως περ ἦμεν ἐν τῇ φρουρᾷ, διετέλουν ποιοῦντες. ἡμεῖς δʼ ὥσπερ ἐνθάδʼ εἰώθειμεν, οὕτω διήγομεν καὶ ἔξω. [¶3] 4. Well, at whatever time the others might be having their dinner, these men were already drunk and abusive, at first toward our body-slaves, but in the end toward ourselves. For, alleging that the slaves annoyed them with smoke while getting dinner, or were impudent toward them, or whatever else they pleased, they used to beat them and empty their chamber-pots over them, or befoul them with urine; there was nothing in the way of brutality and outrage in which they did not indulge. When we saw this, we were annoyed and at first expostulated with them, but they mocked at us, and would not desist, and so our whole mess in a body—not I alone apart from the rest—went to the general and told him what was going on. > Greek: 4. ἣν οὖν δειπνοποιεῖσθαι τοῖς ἄλλοις ὥραν συμβαίνοι, ταύτην ἂν ἤδη ἐπαρῴνουν οὗτοι, τὰ μὲν πόλλʼ εἰς τοὺς παῖδας ἡμῶν τοὺς ἀκολούθους, τελευτῶντες δὲ καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτούς. φήσαντες γὰρ καπνίζειν αὑτοὺς ὀψοποιουμένους τοὺς παῖδας ἢ κακῶς λέγειν, ὅ τι τύχοιεν, ἔτυπτον καὶ τὰς ἀμίδας κατεσκεδάννυον καὶ προσεούρουν, καὶ ἀσελγείας καὶ ὕβρεως οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἀπέλειπον. ὁρῶντες δʼ ἡμεῖς ταῦτα καὶ λυπούμενοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀπεπεμψάμεθα, ὡς δʼ ἐχλεύαζον ἡμᾶς καὶ οὐκ ἐπαύοντο, τῷ στρατηγῷ τὸ πρᾶγμʼ εἴπομεν κοινῇ πάντες οἱ σύσσιτοι προσελθόντες, οὐκ ἐγὼ τῶν ἄλλων ἔξω. [¶4] 5. He rebuked them with stern words, not only for their brutal treatment of us, but for their whole behavior in camp; yet so far from desisting, or being ashamed of their acts, they burst in upon us that very evening as soon as it grew dark, and, beginning with abusive language, they proceeded to beat me, and they made such a clamor and tumult about the tent, that both the general and the taxiarchs came and some of the other soldiers, by whose coming we were prevented from suffering, or ourselves doing, some damage that could not be repaired, being victims as we were of their drunken violence. > Greek: 5. λοιδορηθέντος δʼ αὐτοῖς ἐκείνου καὶ κακίσαντος αὐτοὺς οὐ μόνον περὶ ὧν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἠσέλγαινον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ὧν ὅλως ἐποίουν ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ, τοσούτου ἐδέησαν παύσασθαι ἢ αἰσχυνθῆναι, ὥστʼ ἐπειδὴ θᾶττον συνεσκότασεν, εὐθὺς ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰσεπήδησαν ταύτῃ τῇ ἑσπέρᾳ, καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον κακῶς ἔλεγον, τελευτῶντες δὲ καὶ πληγὰς ἐνέτειναν ἐμοί, καὶ τοσαύτην κραυγὴν καὶ θόρυβον περὶ τὴν σκηνὴν ἐποίησαν ὥστε καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν καὶ τοὺς ταξιάρχους ἐλθεῖν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων στρατιωτῶν τινάς, οἵπερ ἐκώλυσαν μηδὲν ἡμᾶς ἀνήκεστον παθεῖν μηδʼ αὐτοὺς ποιῆσαι παροινουμένους ὑπὸ τουτωνί. [¶5] 6. When matters had gone thus far, it was natural that after our return home there should exist between us feelings of anger and hatred. However, on my own part I swear by the gods I never saw fit to bring an action against them, or to pay any attention to what had happened. I simply made this resolve—in future to be on my guard, and to take care to have nothing to do with people of that sort. I wish in the first place to bring before you depositions proving these statements, and then to show what I have suffered at the hands of the defendant himself, in order that you may see that Conon, who should have dealt rigorously with the first offences, has himself added to these far more outrageous acts of his own doing. The Depositions These, then, are the acts of which I thought proper to take no account. > Greek: 6. τοῦ δὲ πράγματος εἰς τοῦτο προελθόντος, ὡς δεῦρʼ ἐπανήλθομεν, ἦν ἡμῖν, οἷον εἰκός, ἐκ τούτων ὀργὴ καὶ ἔχθρα πρὸς ἀλλήλους. μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς οὐ μὴν ἔγωγʼ ᾠόμην δεῖν οὔτε δίκην λαχεῖν αὐτοῖς οὔτε λόγον ποιεῖσθαι τῶν συμβάντων οὐδένα, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἁπλῶς ἐγνώκειν τὸ λοιπὸν εὐλαβεῖσθαι καὶ φυλάττεσθαι μὴ πλησιάζειν τοῖς τοιούτοις. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν τούτων ὧν εἴρηκα βούλομαι τὰς μαρτυρίας παρασχόμενος, μετὰ ταῦθʼ οἷʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τούτου πέπονθʼ ἐπιδεῖξαι, ἵνʼ εἰδῆθʼ ὅτι ᾧ προσῆκεν τοῖς τὸ πρῶτον ἁμαρτηθεῖσιν ἐπιτιμᾶν, οὗτος αὐτὸς πρότερος πολλῷ δεινότερʼ εἴργασται. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. [¶6] 7. Not long after this, however, one evening, when I was taking a walk, as my custom was, in the agora with Phanostratus of Cephisia, a man of my own age, Ctesias, the son of the defendant, passed by me in a drunken state opposite the Leocorion, near the house of Pythodorus. At sight of us he uttered a yell, and, saying something to himself, as a drunken man does, in an unintelligible fashion, passed on up, toward Melitê. Gathered together there for a drinking bout, as we afterwards learned, at the house of Pamphilus the fuller, were the defendant Conon, a certain Theotimus, Archeblades, Spintharus, son of Eubulus, Theogenes, son of Andromenes, and a number of others. Ctesias made them all get up, and proceeded to the agora. > Greek: 7. ὧν μὲν τοίνυν οὐδένʼ ᾤμην δεῖν λόγον ποιεῖσθαι, ταῦτʼ ἐστίν. χρόνῳ δʼ ὕστερον οὐ πολλῷ περιπατοῦντος, ὥσπερ εἰώθειν, ἑσπέρας ἐν ἀγορᾷ μου μετὰ Φανοστράτου τοῦ Κηφισιέως, τῶν ἡλικιωτῶν τινός, παρέρχεται Κτησίας ὁ υἱὸς ὁ τούτου, μεθύων, κατὰ τὸ Λεωκόριον, ἐγγὺς τῶν Πυθοδώρου. κατιδὼν δʼ ἡμᾶς καὶ κραυγάσας, καὶ διαλεχθείς τι πρὸς αὑτὸν οὕτως ὡς ἂν μεθύων, ὥστε μὴ μαθεῖν ὅ τι λέγοι, παρῆλθε πρὸς Μελίτην ἄνω. ἔπινον δʼ ἄρʼ ἐνταῦθα (ταῦτα γὰρ ὕστερον ἐπυθόμεθα) παρὰ Παμφίλῳ τῷ γναφεῖ Κόνων οὑτοσί, Θεότιμός τις, Ἀρχεβιάδης, Σπίνθαρος ὁ Εὐβούλου, Θεογένης ὁ Ἀνδρομένους, πολλοί τινες, οὓς ἐξαναστήσας ὁ Κτησίας ἐπορεύετʼ εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν. [¶7] 8. It happened that we were turning back from the temple of Persephonê, and on our walk were again about opposite the Leocorion when we met them. When we got close to them one of them, I don’t know which, fell upon Phanostratus and pinned him, while the defendant Conon together with his son and the son of Andromenes threw themselves upon me. They first stripped me of my cloak, and then, tripping me up they thrust me into the mud and leapt upon me and beat me with such violence that my lip was split open and my eyes closed; and they left me in such a state that I could neither get up nor utter a sound. As I lay there I heard them utter much outrageous language, a great deal of which was such foul abuse that I should shrink from repeating some of it in your presence. > Greek: 8. καὶ ἡμῖν συμβαίνει ἀναστρέφουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ Φερρεφαττίου καὶ περιπατοῦσιν πάλιν κατʼ αὐτό πως τὸ Λεωκόριον εἶναι, καὶ τούτοις περιτυγχάνομεν. ὡς δʼ ἀνεμείχθημεν, εἷς μὲν αὐτῶν, ἀγνώς τις, Φανοστράτῳ προσπίπτει καὶ κατεῖχεν ἐκεῖνον, Κόνων δʼ οὑτοσὶ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Ἀνδρομένους υἱὸς ἐμοὶ προσπεσόντες τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐξέδυσαν, εἶθʼ ὑποσκελίσαντες καὶ ῥάξαντες εἰς τὸν βόρβορον οὕτω διέθηκαν ἐναλλόμενοι καὶ ὑβρίζοντες, ὥστε τὸ μὲν χεῖλος διακόψαι, τοὺς δʼ ὀφθαλμοὺς συγκλεῖσαι· οὕτω δὲ κακῶς ἔχοντα κατέλιπον, ὥστε μήτʼ ἀναστῆναι μήτε φθέγξασθαι δύνασθαι. κείμενος δʼ αὐτῶν ἤκουον πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ λεγόντων. [¶8] 9. One thing, however, which is an indication of the fellow’s insolence and a proof that the whole affair has been of his doing, I will tell you. He began to crow, mimicking fighting cocks that have won a battle and his fellows bade him flap his elbows against his sides like wings. After this some people who happened to pass took me home stripped as I was, for these men had gone off taking my cloak with them. When my bearers got to my door, my mother and the women servants began shrieking and wailing, and it was with difficulty that I was at length carried to a bath. There I was thoroughly bathed, and shown to the surgeons. To prove that these statements of mine are true, I shall call before you the witnesses who attest them. The Witnesses It happened, men of the jury, that Euxitheus of Cholleidae, who is here in court and is a relative of mine, and with him Meidias, on their way back from a dinner somewhere, came up to me, when I was now near my home, followed after me as I was borne to the bath, and were present when men brought the surgeon. > Greek: 9. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καὶ βλασφημίαν ἔχει τινὰ καὶ ὀνομάζειν ὀκνήσαιμʼ ἂν ἐν ὑμῖν ἔνια, ὃ δὲ τῆς ὕβρεώς ἐστι τῆς τούτου σημεῖον καὶ τεκμήριον τοῦ πᾶν τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ὑπὸ τούτου γεγενῆσθαι, τοῦθʼ ὑμῖν ἐρῶ· ᾖδε γὰρ τοὺς ἀλεκτρυόνας μιμούμενος τοὺς νενικηκότας, οἱ δὲ κροτεῖν τοῖς ἀγκῶσιν αὐτὸν ἠξίουν ἀντὶ πτερύγων τὰς πλευράς. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἐγὼ μὲν ἀπεκομίσθην ὑπὸ τῶν παρατυχόντων γυμνός, οὗτοι δʼ ᾤχοντο θοἰμάτιον λαβόντες μου. ὡς δʼ ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν ἦλθον, κραυγὴ καὶ βοὴ τῆς μητρὸς καὶ τῶν θεραπαινίδων ἦν, καὶ μόγις ποτʼ εἰς βαλανεῖον ἐνεγκόντες με καὶ περιπλύναντες ἔδειξαν τοῖς ἰατροῖς. ὡς οὖν ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τούτων ὑμῖν τοὺς μάρτυρας παρέξομαι. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ. [¶9] 10. I was so weak, that, as it was far for me to be carried from the bath to my home, those who were with me decided to carry me to the house of Meidias for that night; and so they did. Now let the clerk take the depositions establishing these facts, that you may understand that a host of people know what outrage I suffered at the hands of these men. The Depositions (To the clerk.) Take now the deposition of the surgeon also. The Deposition At that time, then, as the immediate result of the blows and the maltreatment I received, I was brought into this condition, as you hear from my own lips, and as all the witnesses who saw me at the time have testified. > Greek: 10. συνέβη τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ Εὐξίθεον τουτονὶ τὸν Χολλῄδην, ὄνθʼ ἡμῖν συγγενῆ, καὶ Μειδίαν μετὰ τούτου ἀπὸ δείπνου ποθὲν ἀπιόντας περιτυχεῖν πλησίον ὄντι μοι τῆς οἰκίας ἤδη, καὶ εἴς τε τὸ βαλανεῖον φερομένῳ παρακολουθῆσαι, καὶ ἰατρὸν ἄγουσιν παραγενέσθαι. οὕτω δʼ εἶχον ἀσθενῶς ὥστε, ἵνα μὴ μακρὰν φεροίμην οἴκαδʼ ἐκ τοῦ βαλανείου, ἐδόκει τοῖς παροῦσιν ὡς τὸν Μειδίαν ἐκείνην τὴν ἑσπέραν κομίσαι, καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτω. λάβʼ οὖν καὶ τὰς τούτων μαρτυρίας, ἵνʼ εἰδῆθʼ ὅτι πολλοὶ συνίσασιν ὡς ὑπὸ τούτων ὑβρίσθην. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. λαβὲ δὴ καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἰατροῦ μαρτυρίαν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ. [¶10] 11. Afterwards, although the swellings on my face and the bruises, my physician said, did not give him great concern, continuous attacks of fever ensued and violent and acute pains throughout all my body, but especially in my sides and the pit of my stomach, and I was unable to take my food. > Greek: 11. τότε μὲν τοίνυν παραχρῆμʼ ὑπὸ τῶν πληγῶν ἃς ἔλαβον καὶ τῆς ὕβρεως οὕτω διετέθην, ὡς ἀκούετε καὶ μεμαρτύρηται παρὰ πάντων ὑμῖν τῶν εὐθὺς ἰδόντων. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῶν μὲν οἰδημάτων τῶν ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ καὶ τῶν ἑλκῶν οὐδὲν ἔφη φοβεῖσθαι λίαν ὁ ἰατρός, πυρετοὶ δὲ παρηκολούθουν μοι συνεχεῖς καὶ ἀλγήματα, ὅλου μὲν τοῦ σώματος πάνυ σφοδρὰ καὶ δεινά, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν πλευρῶν καὶ τοῦ ἤτρου, καὶ τῶν σιτίων ἀπεκεκλείμην. [¶11] 12. Indeed, the surgeon said that, if a copious hemorrhage had not spontaneously occurred, while my agony was extreme and my attendants were at their wits’ end, I should have died of internal suppuration; but as it was, this loss of blood saved me. To prove now that these statements of mine are true, and that from the blows which these men dealt me there resulted an illness so severe that it brought me to the point of death. Read the depositions of the surgeon and of those who came to see me. The Depositions That the wounds I received, then, were not slight or trifling, but that I was brought near to death by the outrage and brutality of these men, and that the action which I have entered is far more lenient than the case deserves, has been made clear to you, I think, on many grounds. > Greek: 12. καὶ ὡς μὲν ὁ ἰατρὸς ἔφη, εἰ μὴ κάθαρσις αἵματος αὐτομάτη μοι πάνυ πολλὴ συνέβη περιωδύνῳ ὄντι καὶ ἀπορουμένῳ ἤδη, κἂν ἔμπυος γενόμενος διεφθάρην· νῦν δὲ τοῦτʼ ἔσῳσεν τὸ αἷμʼ ἀποχωρῆσαν. ὡς οὖν καὶ ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, καὶ παρηκολούθησέ μοι τοιαύτη νόσος ἐξ ἧς εἰς τοὔσχατον ἦλθον, ἐξ ὧν ὑπὸ τούτων ἔλαβον πληγῶν, λέγε τὴν τοῦ ἰατροῦ μαρτυρίαν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐπισκοπούντων. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. [¶12] 13. I fancy, however, that some of you are wondering what in the world there can be that Conon will have the audacity to say in reply to these charges. I wish, therefore, to tell you in advance the defence which I hear he is prepared to make. He will try to divert your attention from the outrage and the actual facts, and will seek to turn the whole matter into mere jest and ridicule. He will tell you that there are many people in the city, sons of respectable persons, who in sport, after the manner of young men, have given themselves nicknames, such as Ithyphalli or Autolecythi, and that some of them are infatuated with mistresses; that his own son is one of these and has often given and received blows on account of some girl; and that things of this sort are natural for young men. As for me and all my brothers, he will make out that we are not only drunken and insolent fellows, but also unfeeling and vindictive. > Greek: 13. ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν οὐ μετρίας τινὰς καὶ φαύλας λαβὼν πληγάς, ἀλλʼ εἰς πᾶν ἐλθὼν διὰ τὴν ὕβριν καὶ τὴν ἀσέλγειαν τὴν τούτων πολὺ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐλάττω δίκην εἴληχα, πολλαχόθεν νομίζω δῆλον ὑμῖν γεγενῆσθαι. οἴομαι δʼ ὑμῶν ἐνίους θαυμάζειν, τί ποτʼ ἐστὶν ἃ πρὸς ταῦτα τολμήσει Κόνων λέγειν. βούλομαι δὴ προειπεῖν ὑμῖν ἁγὼ πέπυσμαι λέγειν αὐτὸν παρεσκευάσθαι, ἀπὸ τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἄγοντʼ εἰς γέλωτα καὶ σκώμματʼ ἐμβαλεῖν πειράσεσθαι, καὶ ἐρεῖν ὡς εἰσὶν ἐν τῇ πόλει πολλοί, καλῶν κἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν υἱεῖς, οἳ παίζοντες οἷʼ ἄνθρωποι νέοι σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπωνυμίας πεποίηνται, καὶ καλοῦσι τοὺς μὲν ἰθυφάλλους, τοὺς δʼ αὐτοληκύθους, ἐρῶσι δʼ ἐκ τούτων ἑταιρῶν τινές, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ εἶναι τούτων ἕνα, καὶ πολλάκις περὶ ἑταίρας καὶ εἰληφέναι καὶ δεδωκέναι πληγάς, καὶ ταῦτʼ εἶναι νέων ἀνθρώπων. ἡμᾶς δὲ πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς παροίνους μέν τινας καὶ ὑβριστὰς κατασκευάσει, ἀγνώμονας δὲ καὶ πικρούς. [¶13] 15. For myself, men of the jury, deeply indignant though I am at what I have suffered, I should feel no less indignation at this, and should count myself the victim of a fresh outrage, if you will pardon the strong expression, if this fellow Conon shall be deemed by you to be speaking the truth about us, and you are to be so misguided as to assume that a man bears the character which he claims for himself or which someone else accuses him of possessing, and respectable people are to derive no benefit from their daily life and conduct. > Greek: 15. ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, χαλεπῶς ἐφʼ οἷς πέπονθα ἐνηνοχώς, οὐχ ἧττον τοῦτʼ ἀγανακτήσαιμʼ ἂν καὶ ὑβρίσθαι νομίσαιμι, εἰ οἷόν τʼ εἰπεῖν, εἰ ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ δόξει Κόνων οὑτοσὶ λέγειν περὶ ἡμῶν, καὶ τοσαύτη τις ἄγνοια παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐστιν, ὥσθʼ, ὁποῖος ἄν τις ἕκαστος εἶναι φῇ ἢ ὁ πλησίον αὐτὸν αἰτιάσηται, τοιοῦτος νομισθήσεται, τοῦ δὲ καθʼ ἡμέραν βίου καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἔσται τοῖς μετρίοις ὄφελος. [¶14] 16. No man in the world has ever seen us drunken or committing outrages, and I hold that I am doing nothing unfeeling in demanding to receive satisfaction according to the law for the wrongs I have suffered. This man’s sons are welcome, so far as I am concerned, to be Ithyphalli and Autolecythi; I only pray the gods that these things and all things like them may recoil upon Conon and his sons; > Greek: 16. ἡμεῖς γὰρ οὔτε παροινοῦντες οὔθʼ ὑβρίζοντες ὑπʼ οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων ἑωράμεθα, οὐδʼ ἄγνωμον οὐδὲν ἡγούμεθα ποιεῖν, εἰ περὶ ὧν ἠδικήμεθʼ ἀξιοῦμεν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους δίκην λαβεῖν. ἰθυφάλλοις δὲ καὶ αὐτοληκύθοις συγχωροῦμεν εἶναι τοῖς υἱέσι τοῖς τούτου, καὶ ἔγωγʼ εὔχομαι τοῖς θεοῖς εἰς Κόνωνα καὶ τοὺς υἱεῖς τοὺς τούτου καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦθʼ ἅπαντα τρέπεσθαι. [¶15] 17. for they are those who initiate one another with the rites of Ithyphallus, and indulge in acts which decent people cannot even speak of without deep disgrace, to say nothing of performing them. But what has all this to do with me? Why, for my part, I am amazed if they have discovered any excuse or pretext which will make it possible in your court for any man, if convicted of assault and battery, to escape punishment. The laws take a far different view, and have provided that even pleas of necessity shall not be pressed too far. For example (you see I have had to inquire into these matters and inform myself about them because of the defendant), there are actions for evil-speaking; > Greek: 17. οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ τελοῦντες ἀλλήλους τῷ ἰθυφάλλῳ, καὶ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦντες ἃ πολλὴν αἰσχύνην ἔχει καὶ λέγειν, μή τί γε δὴ ποιεῖν ἀνθρώπους μετρίους. ἀλλὰ τί ταῦτʼ ἐμοί; θαυμάζω γὰρ ἔγωγε, εἴ τίς ἐστιν πρόφασις παρʼ ὑμῖν ἢ σκῆψις ηὑρημένη διʼ ἥν, ἂν ὑβρίζων τις ἐξελέγχηται καὶ τύπτων, δίκην οὐ δώσει. οἱ μὲν γὰρ νόμοι πολὺ τἀναντία καὶ τὰς ἀναγκαίας προφάσεις, ὅπως μὴ μείζους γίγνωνται, προείδοντο, οἷον (ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ταῦτα καὶ ζητεῖν καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι διὰ τοῦτον γέγονεν) εἰσὶ κακηγορίας δίκαι· [¶16] 18. and I am told that these are instituted for this purpose—that men may not be led on, by using abusive language back and forth, to deal blows to one another. Again, there are actions for battery; and these, I hear, exist for this reason—that a man, finding himself the weaker party, may not defend himself with a stone or anything of that sort, but may await legal redress. Again, there are public prosecutions for wounding, to the end that wounds may not lead to murder. > Greek: 18. φασὶ τοίνυν ταύτας διὰ τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ λοιδορούμενοι τύπτειν ἀλλήλους προάγωνται. πάλιν αἰκείας εἰσί· καὶ ταύτας ἀκούω διὰ τοῦτʼ εἶναι τὰς δίκας, ἵνα μηδείς, ὅταν ἥττων ᾖ, λίθῳ μηδὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἀμύνηται μηδενί, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου δίκην ἀναμένῃ. τραύματος πάλιν εἰσὶν γραφαὶ τοῦ μὴ τιτρωσκομένων τινῶν φόνους γίγνεσθαι. [¶17] 19. The least of these evils, namely abusive language, has, I think, been provided for to prevent the last and most grievous, that murder may not ensue, and that men be not led on step by step from vilification to blows, from blows to wounds, and from wounds to murder, but that in the laws its own penalty should be provided for each of these acts, and that the decision should not be left to the passion or the will of the person concerned. > Greek: 19. τὸ φαυλότατον, οἶμαι, τὸ τῆς λοιδορίας, πρὸ τοῦ τελευταίου καὶ δεινοτάτου προεώραται, τοῦ μὴ φόνον γίγνεσθαι, μηδὲ κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπάγεσθαι ἐκ μὲν λοιδορίας εἰς πληγάς, ἐκ δὲ πληγῶν εἰς τραύματα, ἐκ δὲ τραυμάτων εἰς θάνατον, ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς νόμοις εἶναι τούτων ἑκάστου τὴν δίκην, μὴ τῇ τοῦ προστυχόντος ὀργῇ μηδὲ βουλήσει ταῦτα κρίνεσθαι. [¶18] 20. This, then, is what is ordained in the laws; but if Conon says, “We belong to a club of Ithyphalli, and in our love-affairs we strike and throttle whom we please,” are you, then, going to let him off with a laugh? I think not. No one of you would have been seized with a fit of laughter, if he had happened to be present when I was dragged and stripped and maltreated, when I was borne home on a litter to the house which I had left strong and well, and my mother rushed out, and the women set up such a wailing and screaming (as if someone had died in the house) that some of the neighbors sent to inquire what it was that had happened. > Greek: 20. εἶτʼ ἐν μὲν τοῖς νόμοις οὕτως· ἂν δʼ εἴπῃ Κόνων ἰθύφαλλοί τινές ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς συνειλεγμένοι, καὶ ἐρῶντες οὓς ἂν ἡμῖν δόξῃ παίομεν καὶ ἄγχομεν, εἶτα γελάσαντες ὑμεῖς ἀφήσετε; οὐκ οἴομαί γε. οὐ γὰρ ἂν γέλως ὑμῶν ἔλαβεν οὐδένα, εἰ παρὼν ἐτύγχανεν ἡνίχʼ εἱλκόμην καὶ ἐξεδυόμην καὶ ὑβριζόμην, καὶ ὑγιὴς ἐξελθὼν φοράδην ἦλθον οἴκαδε, ἐξεπεπηδήκει δὲ μετὰ ταῦθʼ ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ κραυγὴ καὶ βοὴ τῶν γυναικῶν τοσαύτη παρʼ ἡμῖν ἦν ὡσπερανεὶ τεθνεῶτός τινος, ὥστε τῶν γειτόνων τινὰς πέμψαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐρησομένους ὅ τι ἐστὶν τὸ συμβεβηκός. [¶19] 21. Speaking broadly, men of the jury, I hold it right that no man should have any excuse or immunity to rely on, when he is brought before you, so valid that he is to be permitted to commit outrage; but if allowance is to be made for anyone, it should be for those only who commit an act of this sort in the folly of youth,—it is for these, I say, that such indulgence should be reserved, and even in their case it should not extend to the remission of the penalty, but to its mitigation. > Greek: 21. ὅλως δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, δίκαιον μὲν οὐδενὶ δήπου σκῆψιν οὐδεμίαν τοιαύτην οὐδʼ ἄδειαν ὑπάρχειν παρʼ ὑμῖν, διʼ ἣν ὑβρίζειν ἐξέσται· εἰ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐστίν τῳ, τοῖς διʼ ἡλικίαν τούτων τι πράττουσιν, τούτοις ἀποκεῖσθαι προσήκει τὰς τοιαύτας καταφυγάς, κἀκείνοις οὐκ εἰς τὸ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὸ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐλάττω. [¶20] 22. But when a man over fifty years of age in the company of younger men, and these his own sons, not only did not discourage or prevent their wantonness, but has proved himself the leader and the foremost and the vilest of all, what punishment could he suffer that would be commensurate with his deeds? For my part, I think that even death would be too mild. Why, if Conon had committed none of the acts himself, but had merely stood by while his son Ctesias did what he is himself proved to have done, you would regard him with loathing, and rightly. > Greek: 22. ὅστις δʼ ἐτῶν μέν ἐστιν πλειόνων ἢ πεντήκοντα, παρὼν δὲ νεωτέροις ἀνθρώποις καὶ τούτοις υἱέσιν, οὐχ ὅπως ἀπέτρεψεν ἢ διεκώλυσεν, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς ἡγεμὼν καὶ πρῶτος καὶ πάντων βδελυρώτατος γεγένηται, τίνʼ ἂν οὗτος ἀξίαν τῶν πεπραγμένων ὑπόσχοι δίκην; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οὐδʼ ἀποθανόντʼ οἴομαι. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μηδὲν αὐτὸς εἴργαστο τῶν πεπραγμένων, ἀλλʼ εἰ παρεστηκότος τούτου Κτησίας ὁ υἱὸς ὁ τούτου ταὔθʼ ἅπερ νυνὶ πεποιηκὼς ἐφαίνετο, τοῦτον ἐμισεῖτʼ ἂν δικαίως. [¶21] 23. For if he has trained up his sons in such fashion that they feel no fear or shame while committing in his presence crimes for some of which the punishment of death is ordained, what punishment do you think too severe for him? I think these actions are a proof that he has no reverence for his own father; for if he had honored and feared him, he would have exacted honor and fear from his own children. > Greek: 23. εἰ γὰρ οὕτω τοὺς αὑτοῦ προῆκται παῖδας ὥστʼ ἐναντίον ἐξαμαρτάνοντας ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐφʼ ὧν ἐνίοις θάνατος ἡ ζημία κεῖται, μήτε φοβεῖσθαι μήτʼ αἰσχύνεσθαι, τί τοῦτον οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως παθεῖν οἴεσθε; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι ταῦτʼ εἶναι σημεῖα τοῦ μηδὲ τοῦτον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρʼ αἰσχύνεσθαι· εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνον αὐτὸς ἐτίμα καὶ ἐδεδίει, κἂν τούτους αὑτὸν ἠξίου. [¶22] 24. (To the clerk.) Now take the statutes, that concerning assault and that concerning highway robbers. You will see that the defendant is amenable to them both. Read. The Laws By both these statutes, then, the defendant Conon is amenable for what he has done; for he committed both assault and highway robbery. If I on my part have not chosen to proceed against him under these statutes, that should fairly prove that I am a peaceful and inoffensive person, not that he is any the less a villain. > Greek: 24. λαβὲ δή μοι καὶ τοὺς νόμους, τόν τε τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τὸν περὶ τῶν λωποδυτῶν· καὶ γὰρ τούτοις ἀμφοτέροις ἐνόχους τούτους ὄψεσθε. λέγε. ΝΟΜΟΙ. τούτοις τοῖς νόμοις ἀμφοτέροις ἐκ τῶν πεπραγμένων ἔνοχος Κόνων ἐστὶν οὑτοσί· καὶ γὰρ ὕβριζεν καὶ ἐλωποδύτει. εἰ δὲ μὴ κατὰ τούτους προειλόμεθʼ ἡμεῖς δίκην λαμβάνειν, ἡμεῖς μὲν ἀπράγμονες καὶ μέτριοι φαινοίμεθʼ ἂν εἰκότως, οὗτος δʼ ὁμοίως πονηρός. [¶23] 25. And, assuredly, if anything had happened to me, he would have been liable to a charge of murder and the severest of penalties. At any rate the father of the priestess at Brauron, although it was admitted that he had not laid a finger on the deceased, but had merely urged the one who dealt the blow to keep on striking, was banished by the court of the Areopagus. And justly; for, if the bystanders, instead of preventing those who through the influence of drink or anger or any other cause are undertaking to act lawlessly, are themselves to urge them on, there is no hope of safety for one who falls in with lawless rascals; he may be sure that he will be maltreated until they grow weary as was the case with me. > Greek: 25. καὶ μὴν εἰ παθεῖν τί μοι συνέβη, φόνου καὶ τῶν δεινοτάτων ἂν ἦν ὑπόδικος. τὸν γοῦν τῆς Βραυρωνόθεν ἱερείας πατέρʼ ὁμολογουμένως οὐχ ἁψάμενον τοῦ τελευτήσαντος, ὅτι τῷ πατάξαντι τύπτειν παρεκελεύσατο, ἐξέβαλεν ἡ βουλὴ ἡ ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου, δικαίως· εἰ γὰρ οἱ παρόντες ἀντὶ τοῦ κωλύειν τοὺς ἢ διʼ οἶνον ἢ διʼ ὀργὴν ἤ τινʼ ἄλλην αἰτίαν ἐξαμαρτάνειν ἐπιχειροῦντας αὐτοὶ παροξυνοῦσιν, οὐδεμίʼ ἐστὶν ἐλπὶς σωτηρίας τῷ περιπίπτοντι τοῖς ἀσελγαίνουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἕως ἂν ἀπείπωσιν, ὑβρίζεσθαι ὑπάρξει· ὅπερ ἐμοὶ συνέβη. [¶24] 26. I wish now to tell you what they sought to do at the arbitration; for from this you will perceive their utter insolence. They spun out the time till past midnight, refusing to read the depositions or to put in copies; leading to the altar one at a time our witnesses who were present and putting them on oath; writing depositions which had nothing to do with the case (for instance “that Ctesias was the son of Conon by a mistress, and that he had been treated thus and so” )—a course of action, men of the jury, which I assure you by the gods roused resentment and disgust in the mind of every one present; and finally they were disgusted at themselves. > Greek: 26. ἃ τοίνυν, ὅθʼ ἡ δίαιτα ἐγίγνετο, ἐποίουν, βούλομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκ τούτων τὴν ἀσέλγειαν θεάσεσθʼ αὐτῶν. ἐποίησαν μὲν γὰρ ἔξω μέσων νυκτῶν τὴν ὥραν, οὔτε τὰς μαρτυρίας ἀναγιγνώσκειν ἐθέλοντες οὔτʼ ἀντίγραφα διδόναι, τῶν τε παρόντων ἡμῖν καθʼ ἕνʼ οὑτωσὶ πρὸς τὸν λίθον ἄγοντες καὶ ἐξορκοῦντες, καὶ γράφοντες μαρτυρίας οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἑταίρας εἶναι παιδίον αὐτῷ καὶ τοῦτο πεπονθέναι τὰ καὶ τά, ἃ μὰ τοὺς θεούς, ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐκ ἐπετίμα τῶν παρόντων καὶ ἐμίσει, τελευτῶντες δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι ἑαυτούς. [¶25] 27. Be that as it may, when they had had their fill and were tired of acting thus, they put in a challenge with a view to gaining time and preventing the boxes from being sealed, offering to deliver up certain slaves, whose names they wrote down, to be examined as to the assault. And I fancy that their defence will hinge chiefly upon this point. I think, however, that you should all note one thing—that if these men tendered the challenge in order that the inquiry by the torture should take place, and had confidence in this method of proof, they would not have tendered it when the award was now just being announced, when night had fallen and no further pretext was left them; > Greek: 27. ἐπειδὴ δʼ οὖν ποτʼ ἀπεῖπον καὶ ἐνεπλήσθησαν ταῦτα ποιοῦντες, προκαλοῦνται ἐπὶ διακρούσει καὶ τῷ μὴ σημανθῆναι τοὺς ἐχίνους ἐθέλειν ἐκδοῦναι περὶ τῶν πληγῶν παῖδας, ὀνόματα γράψαντες. καὶ νῦν οἶμαι περὶ τοῦτʼ ἔσεσθαι τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν λόγων αὐτοῖς. ἐγὼ δʼ οἶμαι δεῖν πάντας ὑμᾶς ἐκεῖνο σκοπεῖν, ὅτι οὗτοι, εἰ τοῦ γενέσθαι τὴν βάσανον ἕνεκα προὐκαλοῦντο καὶ ἐπίστευον τῷ δικαίῳ τούτῳ, οὐκ ἂν ἤδη τῆς διαίτης ἀποφαινομένης, νυκτός, οὐδεμιᾶς ὑπολοίπου σκήψεως οὔσης, προὐκαλοῦντο, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μὲν πρὸ τοῦ τὴν δίκην ληχθῆναι, ἡνίκʼ ἀσθενῶν ἐγὼ κατεκείμην, καὶ οὐκ εἰδὼς εἰ περιφεύξομαι, πρὸς ἅπαντας τοὺς εἰσιόντας τοῦτον ἀπέφαινον τὸν πρῶτον πατάξαντα καὶ τὰ πλεῖσθʼ ὧν ὑβρίσμην διαπεπραγμένον, τότʼ ἂν εὐθέως ἧκεν ἔχων μάρτυρας πολλοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν, τότʼ ἂν τοὺς οἰκέτας παρεδίδου καὶ τῶν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου τινὰς παρεκάλει· [¶26] 28. no, before the action had been brought, while I was lying ill and not knowing whether I should recover, and was denouncing the defendant to all who came to see me as the one who dealt the first blow and was the perpetrator of most of the maltreatment I received,—it was then, I say, that he would have come to my house without delay, bringing with him a number of witnesses; it was then that he would have offered to deliver up his slaves for the torture, and would have invited some members of the Areopagus to attend; for if I had died, the case would have come before them. But if he was unaware of this situation, and having this proof, as he will now say, made no preparation against so serious a danger, surely when I had left my sick bed and summoned him, he would at our first meeting before the arbitrator have shown himself ready to deliver up the slaves. But he did nothing of the kind. To prove that I am speaking the truth, and that the challenge was tendered merely for the sake of gaining time, read this deposition. It will be clear from this. The Deposition With regard to the examination by the torture, then, bear these facts in mind: the time when the challenge was tendered, his evasive purpose in doing this, and the first occasions, in the course of which he showed that he did not wish this test to be accorded him, and neither proposed it nor demanded it. Since, however, he was convicted on all these points before the arbitrator, just as he is now, and proved manifestly guilty of all the charges against him, he puts into the box a false deposition, and writes at the head of it as witnesses the names of people whom I think you will know well when you hear them— “Diotimus, son of Diotimus, of Icaria, Archebiades, son of Demoteles, of Halae, Chaeretimus, son of Chaerimenes, of Pithus, depose that they were returning from a dinner with Conon, and came upon Ariston and the son of Conon fighting in the agora, and that Conon did not strike Ariston,” > Greek: 28. εἰ γὰρ ἀπέθανον, παρʼ ἐκείνοις ἂν ἦν ἡ δίκη. εἰ δʼ ἄρʼ ἠγνόησε ταῦτα, καὶ τοῦτο τὸ δίκαιον ἔχων, ὡς νῦν φήσει, οὐ παρεσκευάσατʼ ὑπὲρ τηλικούτου κινδύνου, ἐπειδή γʼ ἀνεστηκὼς ἤδη προσεκαλεσάμην αὐτόν, ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ συνόδῳ πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ παραδιδοὺς ἐφαίνετʼ ἄν· ὧν οὐδὲν πέπρακται τούτῳ. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω καὶ διακρούσεως ἕνεχʼ ἡ πρόκλησις ἦν, λέγε ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν· ἔσται γὰρ ἐκ ταύτης φανερόν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ. περὶ μὲν τοίνυν τῆς βασάνου ταῦτα μέμνησθε, τὴν ὥραν ἡνίκα προὐκαλεῖτο, ὧν ἕνεκʼ ἐκκρούων ταῦτʼ ἐποίει, τοὺς χρόνους τοὺς πρώτους, ἐν οἷς οὐδαμοῦ τοῦτο βουληθεὶς τὸ δίκαιον αὑτῷ γενέσθαι φαίνεται, οὐδὲ προκαλεσάμενος, οὐδʼ ἀξιώσας. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ταὐτὰ πάντʼ ἠλέγχεθʼ ἅπερ καὶ νῦν, πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ, καὶ φανερῶς ἐδείκνυτο πᾶσιν ὢν ἔνοχος τοῖς ἐγκεκλημένοις, ἐμβάλλεται μαρτυρίαν ψευδῆ καὶ ἐπιγράφεται μάρτυρας ἀνθρώπους οὓς οὐδʼ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοήσειν οἴομαι, ἐὰν ἀκούσητε, Διότιμος Διοτίμου Ἰκαριεύς, Ἀρχεβιάδης Δημοτέλους Ἁλαιεύς, Χαιρήτιος Χαιριμένους Πιθεὺς μαρτυροῦσιν ἀπιέναι ἀπὸ δείπνου μετὰ Κόνωνος, καὶ προσελθεῖν ἐν ἀγορᾷ μαχομένοις Ἀρίστωνι καὶ τῷ υἱεῖ τῷ Κόνωνος, [¶27] 32. —as though you would believe them off-hand, and would have no regard to the truth of the matter that, to begin with, Lysistratus and Paseas and Niceratus and Diodorus, who have expressly testified that they saw me being beaten by Conon, stripped of my cloak, and suffering all the other forms of brutal outrage I experienced—men, remember, who were unacquainted with me and who happened on the affair by chance—that these men, I say, would never in the world have consented to give testimony which they would have known to be false, if they had not seen the maltreatment which I received; and, secondly, that I myself, if I had not been thus treated by the defendant, should never have let off men who are admitted by my opponents themselves to have struck me, and have chosen to proceed first against the one who never laid a finger on me. > Greek: 32. καὶ μὴ πατάξαι Κόνωνα Ἀρίστωνα, ὡς ὑμᾶς εὐθέως πιστεύσοντας, τὸ δʼ ἀληθὲς οὐ λογιουμένους, ὅτι πρῶτον μὲν οὐδέποτʼ ἂν οὔθʼ ὁ Λυσίστρατος οὔθʼ ὁ Πασέας οὔθʼ ὁ Νικήρατος οὔθʼ ὁ Διόδωρος, οἳ διαρρήδην μεμαρτυρήκασιν ὁρᾶν ὑπὸ Κόνωνος τυπτόμενον ἐμὲ καὶ θοἰμάτιον ἐκδυόμενον καὶ τἄλλʼ ὅσʼ ἔπασχον ὑβριζόμενον, ἀγνῶτες ὄντες κἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου παραγενόμενοι τῷ πράγματι τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν ἠθέλησαν, εἰ μὴ ταῦθʼ ἑώρων πεπονθότα· ἔπειτʼ αὐτὸς ἐγὼ οὐδέποτʼ ἄν, μὴ παθὼν ὑπὸ τούτου ταῦτα, ἀφεὶς τοὺς καὶ παρʼ αὐτῶν τούτων ὁμολογουμένους τύπτειν ἐμὲ πρὸς τὸν οὐδʼ ἁψάμενον πρῶτον εἰσιέναι προειλόμην. [¶28] 33. Why should I? No; the man who was first to strike me and from whom I suffered the greatest indignity, he it is whom I am suing, whom I abhor, and whom I am now prosecuting. My words, then, are all true and are proved to be so, whereas the defendant, if he had not brought forward these witnesses, had, I take it, not an argument to advance, but would have had silently to undergo an immediate conviction. But it stands to reason, that these men, who have been partners in his drinking bouts and have shared in many deeds of this sort, have given false testimony. If matters are to come to this pass, if once certain people shall prove shameless enough to give manifestly false testimony, and there shall be no advantage in the truth, it will be a terrible state of things. > Greek: 33. τί γὰρ ἄν; ἀλλʼ ὑφʼ οὗ γε πρώτου ἐπλήγην καὶ μάλισθʼ ὑβρίσθην, τούτῳ καὶ δικάζομαι καὶ μισῶ καὶ ἐπεξέρχομαι. καὶ τὰ μὲν παρʼ ἐμοῦ πάνθʼ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ καὶ φαίνεται· τούτῳ δὲ μὴ παρασχομένῳ τούτους μάρτυρας ἦν δήπου λόγος οὐδείς, ἀλλʼ ἑαλωκέναι παραχρῆμʼ ὑπῆρχε σιωπῇ. συμπόται δʼ ὄντες τούτου καὶ πολλῶν τοιούτων ἔργων κοινωνοὶ εἰκότως τὰ ψευδῆ μεμαρτυρήκασιν. εἰ δʼ ἔσται τὸ πρᾶγμα τοιοῦτον, ἐὰν ἅπαξ ἀπαναισχυντήσωσίν τινες καὶ τὰ ψευδῆ φανερῶς τολμήσωσι μαρτυρεῖν, οὐδὲν δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας ὄφελος, πάνδεινον ἔσται πρᾶγμα. [¶29] 34. Ah but, they will say, they are not people of that sort. I am inclined to think, however, that many of you know Diotimus and Archebiades and Chaeretimus, the grey-headed man yonder, men who by day put on sour looks and pretend to play the Spartan and wear short cloaks and single-soled shoes, but when they get together and are by themselves leave no form of wickedness or indecency untried. > Greek: 34. ἀλλὰ νὴ Δίʼ οὐκ εἰσὶ τοιοῦτοι. ἀλλʼ ἴσασιν ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐγὼ νομίζω, πολλοὶ καὶ τὸν Διότιμον καὶ τὸν Ἀρχεβιάδην καὶ τὸν Χαιρήτιον τὸν ἐπιπόλιον τουτονί, οἳ μεθʼ ἡμέραν μὲν ἐσκυθρωπάκασιν καὶ λακωνίζειν φασὶ καὶ τρίβωνας ἔχουσιν καὶ ἁπλᾶς ὑποδέδενται, ἐπειδὰν δὲ συλλεγῶσιν καὶ μετʼ ἀλλήλων γένωνται, κακῶν καὶ αἰσχρῶν οὐδὲν ἐλλείπουσι. [¶30] 35. And these are their brilliant and vigorous pleas, “What! Are we not to give testimony for one another? Isn’t that the way of comrades and friends? What is there that you really fear in the charges he will bring against you? Do some people say they saw him being beaten? We will testify that he wasn’t even touched by you. That his cloak was stripped off? We will testify that they had done this first to you. That his lip has been sewn up? We will say that your head or something else has been broken.” > Greek: 35. καὶ ταῦτα τὰ λαμπρὰ καὶ νεανικά ἐστιν αὐτῶν οὐ γὰρ ἡμεῖς μαρτυρήσομεν ἀλλήλοις; οὐ γὰρ ταῦθʼ ἑταίρων ἐστὶ καὶ φίλων; τί δὲ καὶ δεινόν ἐστιν ὧν παρέξεται κατὰ σοῦ; τυπτόμενόν φασί τινες ὁρᾶν; ἡμεῖς δὲ μηδʼ ἧφθαι τὸ παράπαν μαρτυρήσομεν. ἐκδεδύσθαι θοἰμάτιον; τοῦτʼ ἐκείνους προτέρους πεποιηκέναι ἡμεῖς μαρτυρήσομεν. τὸ χεῖλος ἐρράφθαι; τὴν κεφαλὴν δέ γʼ ἡμεῖς ἢ ἕτερόν τι κατεαγέναι φήσομεν. [¶31] 36. But I bring forward surgeons also as witnesses. This, men of the jury, is not the case with them, but except what is deposed by themselves they will have not a single witness against me. But Heaven knows I could not tell you how great and how reckless a readiness you may expect on their part to perpetrate anything whatever. Now that you may know what sort of things they do as they go about—read them these depositions, and do you check the flow of the water. The Depositions Well then, if people break into houses and beat those who come in their way, do you suppose they would scruple to swear falsely on a scrap of paper in the interest of one another—these men who are partners in such great and such reckless malignity and villainy and impudence and outrage? > Greek: 36. ἀλλὰ καὶ μάρτυρας ἰατροὺς παρέχομαι. τοῦτʼ οὐκ ἔστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, παρὰ τούτοις· ὅσα γὰρ μὴ διʼ αὑτῶν, οὐδενὸς μάρτυρος καθʼ ἡμῶν εὐπορήσουσιν. ἡ δʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἑτοιμότης οὐδʼ ἂν εἰπεῖν μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς δυναίμην ὅση καὶ οἵα πρὸς τὸ ποιεῖν ὁτιοῦν ὑπάρχει. ἵνα δʼ εἰδῆθʼ οἷα καὶ διαπραττόμενοι περιέρχονται, λέγʼ αὐτοῖς ταυτασὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας, σὺ δʼ ἐπίλαβε τὸ ὕδωρ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. [¶32] 37. For I certainly think that all these terms fit the deeds they are in the habit of doing. And yet there are other deeds of theirs more dreadful even than these, though I should be unable to find out all who have suffered from them. The thing, however, which is the most impudent of all that he is going to do, as I hear, I think it better to warn you of in advance. For they say that he will bring his children, and, placing them by his side, will swear by them, imprecating some dread and awful curses of such a nature that a person who heard them and reported them to me was amazed. Now, men of the jury, there is no way of withstanding such audacity; for, I take it, the most honorable men and those who would be the last to tell a falsehood themselves, are most apt to be deceived by such people—not but that they ought to look at their lives and characters before believing them. > Greek: 37. τοίχους τοίνυν διορύττοντες καὶ παίοντες τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας, ἆρʼ ἂν ὑμῖν ὀκνῆσαι δοκοῦσιν ἐν γραμματειδίῳ τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν ἀλλήλοις οἱ κεκοινωνηκότες τοσαύτης καὶ τοιαύτης φιλαπεχθημοσύνης καὶ πονηρίας καὶ ἀναιδείας καὶ ὕβρεως; πάντα γὰρ ταῦτʼ ἔμοιγʼ ἐν τοῖς ὑπὸ τούτων πραττομένοις ἐνεῖναι δοκεῖ. καίτοι καὶ τούτων ἕτερʼ ἐστὶν πεπραγμένα τούτοις δεινότερα, ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς οὐχ οἷοί τε γενοίμεθʼ ἂν πάντας ἐξευρεῖν τοὺς ἠδικημένους. ὃ τοίνυν πάντων ἀναιδέστατον μέλλειν αὐτὸν ἀκούω ποιεῖν, βέλτιον νομίζω προειπεῖν ὑμῖν εἶναι. φασὶ γὰρ παραστησάμενον τοὺς παῖδας αὐτὸν κατὰ τούτων ὀμεῖσθαι, καὶ ἀράς τινας δεινὰς καὶ χαλεπὰς ἐπαράσεσθαι καὶ τοιαύτας οἵας ἀκηκοώς γέ τις θαυμάσας ἀπήγγελλεν ἡμῖν. ἔστι δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἀνυπόστατα μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα τολμήματα· οἱ γὰρ οἶμαι βέλτιστοι καὶ ἥκιστʼ ἂν αὐτοί τι ψευσάμενοι μάλισθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν τοιούτων ἐξαπατῶνται· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ δεῖ πρὸς τὸν βίον καὶ τὸν τρόπον ἀποβλέποντας πιστεύειν. [¶33] 39. The contempt, however, which this fellow feels for all sacred things I must tell you about; for I have been forced to make inquiry. For I hear, then, men of the jury, that a certain Bacchius, who was condemned to death in your court, and Aristocrates, the man with the bad eyes, and certain others of the same stamp, and with them this man Conon, were intimates when they were youths, and bore the nickname Triballi; and that these men used to devour the food set out for Hecatê and to gather up on each occasion for their dinner with one another the testicles of the pigs which are offered for purification when the assembly convenes, and that they thought less of swearing and perjuring themselves than of anything else in the world. > Greek: 39. τὴν δὲ τούτου πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτʼ ὀλιγωρίαν ἐγὼ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐρῶ· πέπυσμαι γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης. ἀκούω γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, Βάκχιόν τέ τινα, ὃς παρʼ ὑμῖν ἀπέθανε, καὶ Ἀριστοκράτην τὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς διεφθαρμένον καὶ τοιούτους ἑτέρους καὶ Κόνωνα τουτονὶ ἑταίρους εἶναι μειράκιʼ ὄντας καὶ Τριβαλλοὺς ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχειν· τούτους τά θʼ Ἑκαταῖα [κατεσθίειν,] καὶ τοὺς ὄρχεις τοὺς ἐκ τῶν χοίρων, οἷς καθαίρουσιν ὅταν εἰσιέναι μέλλωσιν, συλλέγοντας ἑκάστοτε συνδειπνεῖν ἀλλήλοις, καὶ ῥᾷον ὀμνύναι καὶ ἐπιορκεῖν ἢ ὁτιοῦν. [¶34] 40. Surely Conon, a man of that sort, is not to be believed on oath; far from it indeed. No; the man who would not swear by any object which your custom does not recognize even an oath which he intended to observe, and would not even think of doing so by the lives of his children, but would suffer anything rather than that; and who, if forced to swear, will take only a customary oath, imprecating destruction upon himself, his race, and his house, is more to be believed than one who swears by his children or is ready to pass through fire. I, then, who on every account am more worthy to be believed than you, Conon, offered to take the oath here cited, not that through readiness to do anything whatsoever I might avoid paying the penalty for crimes which I had committed, as is the case with you, but in the interest of truth, and in order that I might not be subjected to further outrage, and as one who will not allow his case to be lost through your perjury. (To the clerk.) Read the challenge. The Challenge This oath I was at that time ready to take, and now, to convince you and those who stand gathered about, I swear by all the gods and goddesses that I have in very truth suffered at the hands of Conon this wrong for which I am suing him; that I was beaten by him, and that my lip was cut open so that it had to be sewn up, and that it is because of gross maltreatment that I am prosecuting him. > Greek: 40. οὐ δὴ Κόνων ὁ τοιοῦτος πιστός ἐστιν ὀμνύων, οὐδὲ πολλοῦ δεῖ, ἀλλʼ ὁ μηδʼ εὔορκον ⟨ἑκὼν⟩ μηδὲν ἂν ὀμόσας, κατὰ δὲ δὴ παίδων ὧν μὴ νομίζετε μηδʼ ἂν μελλήσας, ἀλλὰ κἂν ὁτιοῦν παθὼν πρότερον, εἰ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀναγκαῖον, ὀμνύων ὡς νόμιμον, ⟨κατʼ ἐξωλείας αὑτοῦ καὶ γένους καὶ οἰκίας⟩, ἀξιοπιστότερος τοῦ κατὰ τῶν παίδων ὀμνύοντος καὶ διὰ τοῦ πυρός. ἐγὼ τοίνυν ὁ δικαιότερόν σου πιστευθεὶς ἂν κατὰ πάντʼ, ὦ Κόνων, ἠθέλησʼ ὀμόσαι ταυτί, οὐχ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην ὧν ἠδίκηκα, καὶ ὁτιοῦν ποιῶν, ὥσπερ σύ, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ προσυβρισθῆναι, ὡς οὐ κατεπιορκησόμενος τὸ πρᾶγμα. λέγε τὴν πρόκλησιν. ΠΡΟΚΛΗΣΙΣ. [¶35] 41. If I swear truly, may many blessings be mine, and may I never again suffer such an outrage; but, if I am forsworn, may I perish utterly, I and all I possess or ever may possess. But I am not forsworn; no, not though Conon should say so till he bursts. Therefore, men of the jury, since I have shown you all the just arguments which I have to present, and have furthermore added an oath, it is but right that you should feel toward Conon on my behalf the same resentment which each one of you, had he been the victim, would have felt toward the one who did the wrong, and not to regard an act of this sort as a private matter which might fall to the lot of any man. No; whoever may be the victim, bear him aid and give him the redress that is his due, and loathe those who in the face of their crimes are bold and reckless, but when they are brought to trial are impudent villains, caring nothing for reputation or character or anything else, provided only they can escape punishment. > Greek: 41. ταῦτʼ ἐγὼ καὶ τότʼ ἠθέλησʼ ὀμόσαι, καὶ νῦν ὀμνύω τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ τὰς θεὰς ἅπαντας καὶ πάσας ὑμῶν ἕνεκʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τῶν περιεστηκότων, ἦ μὴν παθὼν ὑπὸ Κόνωνος ταῦθʼ ὧν δικάζομαι, καὶ λαβὼν πληγάς, καὶ τὸ χεῖλος διακοπεὶς οὕτως ὥστε καὶ ῥαφῆναι, καὶ ὑβρισθεὶς τὴν δίκην διώκειν. καὶ εἰ μὲν εὐορκῶ, πολλά μοι ἀγαθὰ γένοιτο καὶ μηδέποτʼ αὖθις τοιοῦτο μηδὲν πάθοιμι, εἰ δʼ ἐπιορκῶ, ἐξώλης ἀπολοίμην αὐτὸς καὶ εἴ τί μοι ἔστιν ἢ μέλλει ἔσεσθαι. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐπιορκῶ, οὐδʼ ἂν Κόνων διαρραγῇ. ἀξιῶ τοίνυν ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πάνθʼ ὅσʼ ἐστὶν δίκαιʼ ἐπιδείξαντος ἐμοῦ καὶ πίστιν προσθέντος ὑμῖν, ὥσπερ ἂν αὐτὸς ἕκαστος παθὼν τὸν πεποιηκότʼ ἐμίσει, οὕτως ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρὸς Κόνωνα τουτονὶ τὴν ὀργὴν ἔχειν, καὶ μὴ νομίζειν ἴδιον τῶν τοιούτων μηδὲν ὃ κἂν ἄλλῳ τυχὸν συμβαίη, ἀλλʼ ἐφʼ ὅτου ποτʼ ἂν συμβῇ, βοηθεῖν καὶ τὰ δίκαιʼ ἀποδιδόναι, καὶ μισεῖν τοὺς πρὸ μὲν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων θρασεῖς καὶ προπετεῖς, ἐν δὲ τῷ δίκην ὑπέχειν ἀναισχύντους καὶ πονηροὺς καὶ μήτε δόξης μήτʼ ἔθους μήτʼ ἄλλου μηδενὸς φροντίζοντας πρὸς τὸ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην. [¶36] 43. Of course Conon will entreat you and wail aloud. But consider, which of us is more deserving of pity, a man who has suffered such treatment as I have at the hands of the defendant, if I am to go forth having met with the further disgrace of losing my suit, or Conon, if he is to be punished? Is it to the advantage of each one of you that a man be permitted to indulge in battery and outrage, or that he be not permitted? I certainly think he should not be. Well then, if you let him off, there will be many such; if you punish him, fewer. > Greek: 43. ἀλλὰ δεήσεται Κόνων καὶ κλαήσει. σκοπεῖτε δὴ πότερός ἐστιν ἐλεινότερος, ὁ πεπονθὼς οἷʼ ἐγὼ πέπονθʼ ὑπὸ τούτου, εἰ προσυβρισθεὶς ἄπειμι καὶ δίκης μὴ τυχών, ἢ Κόνων, εἰ δώσει δίκην; πότερον δʼ ὑμῶν ἑκάστῳ συμφέρει ἐξεῖναι τύπτειν καὶ ὑβρίζειν ἢ μή; ἐγὼ μὲν οἴομαι μή. οὐκοῦν, ἂν μὲν ἀφιῆτε, ἔσονται πολλοί, ἐὰν δὲ κολάζητε, ἐλάττους. [¶37] 44. I might have much to say, men of the jury, about the services we have rendered you, I, and my father while he lived, both as trierarchs and in the army, and in performing whatever duty was laid upon us, and I could show that neither the defendant nor any of his sons have rendered any service; but the allowance of water is not sufficient nor is it at this time a question of such services. For, if it were indeed our lot to be by common consent regarded as more useless and more base than Conon, we are not, I suppose, to be beaten or maltreated. I do not know what reason there is why I should say more; for I believe that nothing which I have said has escaped you. > Greek: 44. πόλλʼ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοιμʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ ὡς ἡμεῖς χρήσιμοι, καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ ὁ πατήρ, ἕως ἔζη, καὶ τριηραρχοῦντες καὶ στρατευόμενοι καὶ τὸ προσταττόμενον ποιοῦντες, καὶ ὡς οὐδὲν οὔθʼ οὗτος οὔτε τῶν τούτου οὐδείς· ἀλλʼ οὔτε τὸ ὕδωρ ἱκανὸν οὔτε νῦν περὶ τούτων ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. εἰ γὰρ δὴ ὁμολογουμένως ἔτι τούτων καὶ ἀχρηστοτέροις καὶ πονηροτέροις ἡμῖν εἶναι συνέβαινεν, οὐ τυπτητέοι, οὐδʼ ὑβριστέοι δήπου ἐσμέν. οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι δεῖ πλείω λέγειν· οἶμαι γὰρ ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν εἰρημένων.