1. Inasmuch as the laws, men of the jury, have granted that a special plea may be entered in cases where a man, after giving a release and discharge, nevertheless brings suit, and as both of these have been given to our father by Nausimachus and Xenopeithes who have commenced suit against us, we have pleaded, as you have just now heard, that their suit is not admissible.
1. δεδωκότων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τῶν νόμων παραγράψασθαι περὶ ὧν ἄν τις ἀφεὶς καὶ ἀπαλλάξας πάλιν δικάζηται, γεγενημένων ἀμφοτέρων τούτων τῷ πατρὶ πρὸς Ναυσίμαχον καὶ Ξενοπείθην τοὺς εἰληχότας ἡμῖν, παρεγραψάμεθα, ὥσπερ ἠκούσατʼ ἀρτίως, μὴ εἰσαγώγιμον εἶναι τὴν δίκην.
2. I shall make of you all a just and reasonable request: first, that you listen to my words with goodwill, and, secondly, that if you think that I am being wronged and made defendant in a suit which has no valid basis, you render me the succor which is my due. The damages claimed in the action are, as you have heard, thirty minae; but the sum for which we are really being sued is four talents. For there are two of them, and they have entered four suits against us, all for a like amount, each for three thousand drachmae damages; and now on a complaint for thirty minae we are brought to trial for so large a sum.
2. δεήσομαι δὲ καὶ δίκαια καὶ μέτριʼ ὑμῶν ἁπάντων, πρῶτον μὲν εὐνοϊκῶς ἀκοῦσαί μου λέγοντος, εἶτʼ, ἐὰν ἀδικεῖσθαι δοκῶ καὶ μὴ προσήκοντος ἐγκλήματος φεύγειν δίκην, βοηθῆσαί μοι τὰ δίκαια. ὃ μὲν γὰρ ὑμεῖς ἐπὶ τῇ δίκῃ τίμημʼ ἀκηκόατε, τριάκοντα μναῖ εἰσιν, ὧν δὲ φεύγομεν χρημάτων, τέτταρα τάλαντα. ὄντες γὰρ δύο τέτταρας εἰλήχασι δίκας ἡμῖν, τῶν αὐτῶν χρημάτων πάσας, τρισχιλίων ἑκάστην, βλάβης· καὶ νυνὶ πρὸς τριάκοντα μνῶν ἐπίγραμμα, ὑπὲρ τοσούτων χρημάτων εἰς ἀγῶνα καθέσταμεν.
3. The malicious actions of these men, and the guile with which they have proceeded against us, you will come to know from the facts themselves. But first the clerk shall read to you the depositions which show that they released our father from the charges which they made on the matter of his guardianship; for it is on this ground that we entered our plea that the action is not maintainable. Please read these depositions. The Depositions That they entered suit, men of the jury, regarding the guardianship; that they dropped those actions; and that they have in their possession the sums of money agreed upon, you hear from the witnesses.
3. τὴν μὲν οὖν συκοφαντίαν τὴν τούτων, καὶ μεθʼ ὅσης ἐπιβουλῆς ἐληλύθασιν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πεπραγμένων εἴσεσθε. ἀναγνώσεται δὲ πρῶτον ὑμῖν τὰς μαρτυρίας, ὡς ἀφεῖσαν τὸν πατέρʼ ἡμῶν ὧν ἐνεκάλεσαν εἰς τὴν ἐπιτροπήν· κατὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ παρεγραψάμεθα μὴ εἰσαγώγιμον εἶναι τὴν δίκην. καί μοι λέγε ταυτασὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
4. That the laws do not allow suit to be entered afresh regarding matters which have been thus settled, I presume you know, even if I say nothing about the matter; nevertheless I want to read you the law itself. Read the law. The Law You hear the law, men of the jury, expressly stating the several cases in which there shall be no actions.
4. ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ δίκας ἔλαχον τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς καὶ ἀφεῖσαν ταύτας καὶ τὰ συγχωρηθέντα χρήματʼ ἔχουσιν, ἀκούετε τῶν μαρτυριῶν. ὅτι δʼ οὐκ ἐῶσιν οἱ νόμοι περὶ τῶν οὕτω πραχθέντων αὖθις δικάζεσθαι, νομίζω μὲν ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, κἂν μηδὲν εἴπω περὶ αὐτῶν ἐγώ, βούλομαι δʼ ὅμως καὶ τὸν νόμον ὑμῖν αὐτὸν ἀναγνῶναι. λέγε τὸν νόμον. ΝΟΜΟΣ.
5. One of them (and it is as binding as any of the others) is that suit may not be brought in matters for which anyone has given a release and discharge. Yet, although the release was thus given in the presence of numerous witnesses, and although the law manifestly absolves us, these men have come to such a pitch of shamelessness and audacity, that, when fourteen years have elapsed from the time when they gave my father a release, and twenty-two years after they had first indicted him, when my father was now dead, with whom the settlement had been made and also the guardians who after his death had charge of our property, when their own mother, too, was dead, who was well-informed regarding all these matters, and the arbitrators, the witnesses, and almost everybody else, if I may so say, counting our inexperience and necessary ignorance a boon to themselves, they have instituted these suits against us, and have the audacity to make statements which are neither just nor reasonable.
5. ἀκούετʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τοῦ νόμου σαφῶς λέγοντος ἕκαστα, ὧν μὴ εἶναι δίκας· ὧν ἕν ἐστιν, ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις κύριον, περὶ ὧν ἄν τις ἀφῇ καὶ ἀπαλλάξῃ, μὴ δικάζεσθαι. οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ μετὰ πολλῶν μαρτύρων τῆς ἀφέσεως γεγονυίας, καὶ φανερῶς ἀπολύοντος ἡμᾶς τοῦ νόμου, εἰς τοῦτʼ ἐληλύθασιν ἀναισχυντίας οὗτοι καὶ τόλμης, ὥστε τεττάρων μὲν καὶ δέκʼ ἐτῶν γεγενημένων ἀφʼ οὗ τὸν πατέρʼ ἡμῶν ἀφεῖσαν, εἴκοσι δὲ καὶ δυοῖν ἀφʼ οὗ τυγχάνουσιν ἐγγεγραμμένοι, τετελευτηκότος δὲ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἡμετέρου, πρὸς ὃν αὐτοῖς ἐγένονθʼ αἱ διαλλαγαί, καὶ τῶν ἐπιτρόπων, οἳ μετὰ τὸν ἐκείνου θάνατον τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐγένοντο κύριοι, καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν μητρός, ἥτις ἅπαντα ταῦτʼ ᾔδει, καὶ διαιτητῶν καὶ μαρτύρων καὶ πάντων [τῶν πλείστων] ὡς εἰπεῖν, τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀπειρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἄγνοιαν τῶν πεπραγμένων ἕρμαιον νομίσαντες ἑαυτῶν, τὰς δίκας ἡμῖν ἔλαχον ταυτασί, καὶ λόγον οὔτε δίκαιον οὔτʼ ἐπιεικῆ τολμῶσι λέγειν.
7. They declare that they did not sell their father’s estate for the money which they received, nor did they give up the property, but that all that was left them—credits, furniture, and even money—still belongs to them. I, for my part, know by hearsay that Xenopeithes and Nausicrates left their entire property in outstanding debts, and possessed very little tangible property; and that when the debts had been collected and some furniture and slaves had been sold, their guardians purchased the farms and lodging-houses, which our opponents received from them.
7. φασὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀποδόσθαι τὰ πατρῷʼ ὧν ἐκομίζοντο χρημάτων, οὐδʼ ἀποστῆναι τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλʼ ὅσʼ αὐτοῖς κατελείφθη χρέα καὶ σκεύη καὶ ὅλως χρήματα, ταῦθʼ ἑαυτῶν γίγνεσθαι. ἐγὼ δʼ οἶδʼ ἀκούων ὅτι τὴν οὐσίαν Ξενοπείθης καὶ Ναυσικράτης ἅπασαν χρέα κατέλιπον, καὶ φανερὰν ἐκέκτηντο μικράν τινα· εἰσπραχθέντων δὲ τῶν χρεῶν καί τινων σκευῶν πραθέντων, ἔτι δʼ ἀνδραπόδων, καὶ τὰ χωρία καὶ τὰς συνοικίας ἐπρίανθʼ οἱ ἐπίτροποι, ἃ παρέλαβον οὗτοι.
8. If there had been no dispute about these matters before, and no suit had been entered charging maladministration of the property, it would have been another story; but since these men brought suit against our father in the matter of his general conduct as guardian and recovered damages, all these matters were at that time released. For our opponents, I take it, did not bring suit for the mere name “mal-administration in guardianship,” but for the money; nor did the guardians buy off this name with the money which they paid, but they bought off the claims.
8. εἰ μὲν οὖν μηδὲν ἠμφεσβητήθη περὶ τούτων πρότερον, μηδʼ ὡς οὐ καλῶς διῳκημένων εἰς δίκην ἦλθεν, ἄλλος ἂν ἦν λόγος· ἐπειδὴ δʼ ὅλην τὴν ἐπιτροπὴν ἐγκαλέσαντες οὗτοι καὶ δίκας λαχόντες χρήματʼ ἐπράξαντο, πάντα ταῦτʼ ἀφεῖται τότε. οὔτε γὰρ οὗτοι τοὐνόματος δήπου τοῦ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς τὰς δίκας ἐδίωκον, ἀλλὰ τῶν χρημάτων, οὔτʼ ἐκεῖνοι τοὔνομα τοῦτʼ ἐωνοῦνθʼ ὧν ἀπέτεισαν χρημάτων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐγκλήματα.
9. That, therefore, these men have no right of action against us for the debts which our father collected before the settlement, or, in general, for monies which he received by virtue of his guardianship, seeing that they have given a release for their claims, I think you have all adequately learned from the laws themselves and from the release. Moreover, that it is impossible that the collection of these funds should have been made subsequently (this is the story they are making up to lead you astray), I wish to prove.
9. ὅτι μὲν οὖν ὧν πρὸ τῶν ἀπαλλαγῶν εἰσέπραξεν χρεῶν ὁ πατὴρ ἢ ὅλως ἔλαβεν χρημάτων ἐκ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς, οὐδενός εἰσιν δίκαι τούτοις καθʼ ἡμῶν ἀπηλλαγμένοις, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν νόμων καὶ τῆς ἀφέσεως ἱκανῶς πάντας ἡγοῦμαι ὑμᾶς μεμαθηκέναι. ὅτι δʼ ὕστερον οὐκ ἔνι τὴν κομιδὴν γεγενῆσθαι τούτων τῶν χρημάτων (τοῦτο γὰρ πλάττουσιν οὗτοι καὶ παράγουσιν), τοῦτο βούλομαι δεῖξαι.
10. As for my father, they cannot charge that he received them; for he died three or four months after the settlement was made with them; and that Demaretus, whom our father left as our guardian, could not have received them either (for they have written his name also in their complaint), this, too, I shall show.
10. τὸν μὲν γὰρ πατέρʼ οὐδʼ ἂν αἰτιάσαιντο λαβεῖν (τέτταρσι γὰρ ἢ τρισὶ μησὶν ὕστερον ἢ διελύσατο πρὸς τούτους ἐτελεύτησεν). ὡς δʼ οὐδὲ Δημάρετον τὸν καταλειφθένθʼ ἡμῶν ἐπίτροπον λαβεῖν οἷόν τε (καὶ γὰρ τοῦτον ἔγραψαν εἰς τὸ ἔγκλημα), καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐπιδείξω.
11. These men are themselves our strongest witnesses; for they will be shown never to have brought suit against Demaretus in his lifetime; but, more than that, anyone who examines and studies the case itself will see, not only that he did not receive the money, but that it was impossible that he should have received it. For the debt was in Bosporus, a place which Demaretus never visited; how, then, could he have collected it? Ah, but, they will say, he sent someone to get the money.
11. μέγιστοι μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν εἰσιν οὗτοι μάρτυρες (οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ φανήσονται δίκην εἰληχότες ζῶντι τῷ Δημαρέτῳ)· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἄν τις αὐτὸ σκοπῶν καὶ θεωρῶν ἴδοι οὐ μόνον οὐχὶ λαβόντα, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐνὸν αὐτῷ λαβεῖν. ἦν μὲν γὰρ τὸ χρέως ἐν Βοσπόρῳ, ἀφίκετο δʼ οὐδεπώποτʼ εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦτον ὁ Δημάρετος· πῶς οὖν εἰσέπραξεν; ἔπεμψεν νὴ Δίʼ, εἴποι τις ἄν, τὸν κομιούμενον.
12. But look at the matter in this way. Hermonax owed these men one hundred staters, which he had received from Nausicrates. Aristaechmus was for sixteen years the guardian and caretaker of these men. Therefore, the money which Hermonax paid in his own person after these men had come of age, he had not paid when they were minors; for he certainly did not pay the same debt twice. Now is there any man so silly as voluntarily to pay money to one not entitled to it, who demanded it by letter, when he had for so long a time evaded payment to the rightful owners? For my part, I think there is not.
12. σκοπεῖτε δὴ τοῦθʼ οὑτωσί. ὤφειλεν Ἑρμῶναξ στατῆρας ἑκατὸν παρὰ Ναυσικράτους λαβὼν τούτοις. τούτων Ἀρίσταιχμος ἐπίτροπος καὶ κηδεμὼν ἐγένεθʼ ἑκκαίδεκʼ ἔτη. οὐκοῦν ἅ γε τούτων ἀνδρῶν γεγονότων διʼ ἑαυτοῦ διέλυε χρήμαθʼ ὁ Ἑρμῶναξ, οὐκ ἀπέδωκεν ὅτʼ ἦσαν παῖδες· οὐ γὰρ δίς γε ταὐτὰ κατετίθει. ἔστιν οὖν οὕτω τις ἀνθρώπων ἄτοπος, ὥσθʼ ἃ τοὺς κυρίους διεκρούσατο μὴ καταθεῖναι τοσοῦτον χρόνον, ταῦτα τῷ μὴ κυρίῳ πέμψαντι γράμμαθʼ ἑκὼν ἀποδοῦναι; ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἶμαι.
13. However, to prove that I am speaking the truth,—that our father died immediately after the settlement, that these men never brought suit against Demaretus for this money, and that he absolutely never went to sea, nor visited Bosporus, take the depositions. The Depositions Well then, that our father did not collect the money after the release; that no one would voluntarily have paid the money, if Demaretus had sent someone to get it; and that he himself neither put out to sea nor visited Bosporus, has been made clear to you from the dates and the depositions.
13. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὡς ἀληθῆ λέγω, καὶ ὁ μὲν πατὴρ ἐτελεύτησεν εὐθέως μετὰ τὰς διαλύσεις, τῷ Δημαρέτῳ δʼ οὐδεπώποθʼ οὗτοι τούτων τῶν χρημάτων δίκην ἔλαχον, οὐδʼ ὅλως ἐξέπλευσεν ἐκεῖνος οὐδʼ ἀπεδήμησεν ἐκεῖσε, λαβὲ τὰς μαρτυρίας. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
14. I wish, then, to show you that their whole statement too of the case is absolute falsehood. They have written in the complaint which they are now prosecuting, that we owe the money, inasmuch as our father received it in payment, and passed it over to them as a debt due and payable in his account of his guardianship. Take, and read me, please, the complaint itself. The Complaint You hear it stated in the complaint, “inasmuch as Aristaechmus passed the debt over to me in his account of his guardianship.”
14. ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν οὔθʼ ὁ πατὴρ μετὰ τὴν ἄφεσιν τὰ χρήματʼ εἰσέπραξεν, οὔτʼ ἂν ἔδωκεν ἑκὼν οὐδείς, εἴ τινʼ ἔπεμψεν ὁ Δημάρετος, οὔτʼ ἀνέπλευσεν αὐτὸς οὐδʼ ἀφίκετʼ ἐκεῖσε, δῆλον ἐκ τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν μαρτυριῶν ὑμῖν γέγονεν. βούλομαι τοίνυν καὶ ὅλως ψευδομένους αὐτοὺς ὅλον τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἐπιδεῖξαι. οὗτοι γὰρ γεγράφασιν εἰς ὃ νῦν ἔγκλημα διώκουσιν, ὀφείλειν ἡμᾶς τὸ ἀργύριον κομισαμένου τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ παραδόντος αὐτοῖς τοῦτο τὸ χρέως ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς ὀφειλόμενον. καί μοι λέγʼ αὐτὸ τὸ ἔγκλημα λαβών. ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ.
15. But, when they brought suit against my father in the matter of his guardianship, they wrote the very opposite of this; for they plainly charged him with not rendering an account. Read, please, the complaint itself, which they then brought against my father. The Complaint In what account, pray, Xenopeithes and Nausimachus, do you now charge that he passed the debt over to you?
15. ἀκούετε γεγραμμένον ἐν τῷ ἐγκλήματι παραδόντος ἐμοὶ τοῦ Ἀρισταίχμου τὸ χρέως ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς. ὅτε τοίνυν ἐλάγχανον τῷ πατρὶ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς, τἀναντίʼ ἐγράψαντο τούτων· ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἀποδόντι λόγον τότʼ ἐγκαλοῦντες φαίνονται. λέγʼ αὐτὸ τὸ ἔγκλημα, ὃ τότʼ ἔλαχον τῷ πατρί. ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ.
16. For at one time you brought suit and demanded money on the ground that he rendered no account. But if it is to be permitted you to bring your malicious charge on both grounds, and at one time you collected money because he did not hand something over to you, and at another are suing him on the ground that he did hand it over, there is nothing to prevent your looking for some third ground after this, so as to commence proceedings afresh. But that is not what the laws state: they declare that suit may be brought once only against the same person for the same acts.
16. ἐν ποίῳ δὴ λόγῳ νῦν ἐγκαλεῖθʼ ὡς παρέδωκεν, ὦ Ξενοπείθη καὶ Ναυσίμαχε; τότε μὲν γὰρ ὡς οὐκ ἀποδόντι δίκας ἐλαγχάνετε καὶ χρήματʼ ἐπράττεσθε. εἰ δʼ ἐπʼ ἀμφότερʼ ἔσται συκοφαντεῖν ὑμῖν, καὶ τοτὲ μὲν τοῦ μὴ παραδοῦναι χρήματʼ ἐπράξασθε, τοτὲ δʼ ὡς παραδόντος διώκετε, οὐδὲν κωλύει καὶ τρίτον τι σκοπεῖν μετὰ ταῦτα, ὅτου πάλιν δικάσεσθε. οἱ νόμοι δʼ οὐ ταῦτα λέγουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἅπαξ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι τὰς δίκας.
17. Now, men of the jury, that you may know that they not only have suffered no wrong in the present case, but that they are bringing suit in defiance of all your laws, I wish to cite to you this statute also, which expressly states that, if five years have elapsed and they have brought no suit, it is no longer permitted to orphans to bring suit regarding claims connected with guardianship. The clerk will read you this law. The Law You hear the law, men of the jury, flatly stating that if they do not bring suit within five years, they have no longer the right to sue.
17. ἵνα τοίνυν εἰδῆτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀδικοῦνται νῦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ πάντας ἡμῖν δικάζονται τοὺς νόμους, βούλομαι καὶ τοῦτον ὑμῖν τὸν νόμον εἰπεῖν, ὅστις διαρρήδην λέγει, ἐὰν πέντʼ ἔτη παρέλθῃ καὶ μὴ δικάσωνται, μηκέτʼ εἶναι τοῖς ὀρφανοῖς δίκην περὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς ἐγκλημάτων. καὶ ὑμῖν ἀναγνώσεται τὸν νόμον. ΝΟΜΟΣ.
18. But we did bring suit, they may say. Yes, and you made a settlement, too; so you have no right to bring a fresh suit. Else it would be an outrageous thing, if for original wrongdoings the law does not allow suit to be brought by orphans after five years against guardians who have not been released, but now in the twentieth year you are to maintain an action against us, the children of your guardians, for matters concerning which you did give them a release.
18. ἀκούετʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τοῦ νόμου λέγοντος ἄντικρυς, ἐὰν μὴ πέντʼ ἐτῶν δικάσωνται, μηκέτʼ εἶναι δίκην. οὐκοῦν ἐλάχομεν, φαῖεν ἄν. καὶ διελύσασθέ γε, ὥστʼ οὐκ εἰσὶν αὖθις ὑμῖν δίκαι. ἢ δεινόν γʼ ἂν εἴη, εἰ τῶν μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀδικημάτων οὐ δίδωσιν ἔξω πέντʼ ἐτῶν τὰς δίκας τοῖς ὀρφανοῖς ὁ νόμος κατὰ τῶν οὐκ ἀφειμένων ἐπιτρόπων, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐξ ἐκείνων ἡμᾶς, περὶ ὧν αὐτοὺς ἀφήκατε, εἰκοστῷ νῦν ἔτει δίκην τελέσαισθʼ ὑμεῖς.
19. But I hear that they are going to shun arguments based upon the facts of the case and upon the laws, and are prepared to assert that a large estate was left them and that they were defrauded of it; and that they will advance as a proof of this the large sum asked as damages in their original suit, and they will wail over their orphanhood, and will go through the guardianship accounts. These and such-like points are the ones upon which they have fixed their trust, and by which they hope to beguile you.
19. ἀκούω τοίνυν αὐτοὺς τὰ μὲν περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν νόμων δίκαια φεύξεσθαι, παρεσκευάσθαι δὲ λέγειν ὡς πολλὰ χρήματʼ αὐτοῖς κατελείφθη καὶ ταῦτʼ ἀπεστερήθησαν, καὶ τεκμηρίῳ χρήσεσθαι τούτου τῷ μεγέθει τῶν δικῶν ἃς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔλαχον, καὶ τὴν ὀρφανίαν ὀδυρεῖσθαι, καὶ τὸν τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς λόγον διεξιέναι· καὶ ταῦτʼ εἶναι καὶ τοιαῦθʼ οἷς πεπιστεύκασι καὶ διʼ ὧν ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσειν οἴονται.
20. For my own part, I think that the large sum asked as damages in the suits then brought is a stronger proof for us, that our father was the victim of a malicious action, than for them, that they were being defrauded of a large estate. For if he could prove his claims for eighty talents, no man in the world would have accepted three talents in settlement; whereas anyone, being defendant in a guardianship suit involving such large sums, would have paid three talents to buy off the risk and the advantages with which at that time nature supplied these men. They were orphans and young, and you were ignorant of their real characters; and everyone says that in your courts these things have more weight than strong arguments.
20. ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ μὲν τῶν δικῶν μέγεθος τῶν τότε ληχθεισῶν μεῖζον ἡγοῦμαι τεκμήριον ἡμῖν [εἶναι] ὡς ἐσυκοφαντεῖθʼ ὁ πατήρ, ἢ τούτοις ὡς πόλλʼ ἀπεστεροῦντο. ὀγδοήκοντα μὲν γὰρ τάλαντʼ ἔχων ἐξελέγχειν, οὐδὲ εἷς ἂν τρία λαβὼν ἀπηλλάγη· τοσούτων δὲ χρημάτων ἐπιτροπῆς φεύγων, οὐδεὶς ἔστιν ὅστις οὐκ ἂν ἔδωκεν τρία τάλαντα, τὸν κίνδυνον ὠνούμενος καὶ τὰ φύσει τότε τούτοις πλεονεκτήμαθʼ ὑπάρχοντα. καὶ γὰρ ὀρφανοὶ καὶ νέοι καὶ ὁποῖοί τινές εἰσιν ἀγνῶτες ἦσαν· ταῦτα δὲ πάντες φασὶν μεγάλων δικαίων ἰσχύειν πλέον παρʼ ὑμῖν.
21. Moreover, I think I can also prove that you might with good reason refuse to hear a word from them in regard to the guardianship. For suppose one should grant that they have suffered the greatest possible wrongs, and that everything which they will now allege about these matters is true, this, at least, I presume you would all admit: that it has happened to others ere now to have suffered many wrongs more serious than pecuniary wrongs. For involuntary homicides, outrages on what is sacred, and many other such crimes are committed; yet in all these cases the fact they have yielded to persuasion and given a release is appointed for the parties wronged as a limit and settlement of the dispute.
21. ὅτι τοίνυν οὐδʼ ἀνάσχοισθʼ ἂν αὐτῶν εἰκότως οὐδὲν περὶ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς, καὶ τοῦτʼ οἴομαι δείξειν. εἰ γὰρ ὡς οἷόν τε μέγιστʼ ἠδικῆσθαι δοίη τις αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐρεῖν ἅπαντʼ ἀληθῆ περὶ τούτων νυνί, ἐκεῖνό γʼ οἶμαι πάντας ἂν ὑμᾶς ὁμολογῆσαι, ὅτι πολλὰ συμβέβηκεν ἠδικῆσθαί τισιν ἤδη μείζω τῶν εἰς χρήματα γιγνομένων ἀδικημάτων· καὶ γὰρ ἀκούσιοι φόνοι καὶ ὕβρεις εἰς ἃ μὴ δεῖ καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτʼ ἀδικήματα γίγνεται. ἀλλʼ ὅμως τούτων ἁπάντων ὅρος καὶ λύσις τοῖς παθοῦσιν τέτακται τὸ πεισθέντας ἀφεῖναι.
22. And this just principle is so binding among all men, that, if one, having convicted another of involuntary homicide, and clearly shown him to be polluted, subsequently takes pity upon him, and releases him, he has no longer the right to have the same person driven into exile. If, then, when life and all that is most precious are at stake, a release has this power and validity, shall it be without effect, when money is at stake, or claims of lesser importance? Surely not. For the thing most to be feared is, not that I should fail to obtain justice in your court, but that a just practice, established from the beginning of time, should now be done away with.
22. καὶ τοῦθʼ οὕτω τὸ δίκαιον ἐν πᾶσιν ἰσχύει, ὥστʼ ἐὰν ἑλών τις ἀκουσίου φόνου καὶ φανερῶς ἐπιδείξας μὴ καθαρόν, μετὰ ταῦτʼ αἰδέσηται καὶ ἀφῇ, οὐκέτʼ ἐκβαλεῖν κύριος τὸν αὐτόν ἐστιν. εἶθʼ ὑπὲρ μὲν ψυχῆς καὶ τῶν μεγίστων οὕτως ἰσχύει καὶ μένει τὸ ἀφεῖναι, ὑπὲρ δὲ χρημάτων καὶ ἐλαττόνων ἐγκλημάτων ἄκυρον ἔσται; μηδαμῶς. οὐ γὰρ εἰ μὴ τῶν δικαίων ἐγὼ παρʼ ὑμῖν τεύξομαι, τοῦτʼ ἔστι δεινότατον, ἀλλʼ εἰ πρᾶγμα δίκαιον ὡρισμένον ἐκ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου νῦν καταλυθήσεται.
23. “They did not let our property,” they will perhaps say. No; for your uncle Xenopeithes did not want it let, but, after Nicidas had denounced him for this, induced the jurors to allow him to administer it; and this everybody knows. “They robbed us of huge sums.” Well, for this you have received from them the damages upon which you agreed; and, I take it, you are not entitled to recover it again from me.
23. οὐκ ἐμίσθωσαν ἡμῶν τὸν οἶκον, ἴσως ἐροῦσιν. οὐ γὰρ ἐβούλεθʼ ὁ θεῖος ὑμῶν Ξενοπείθης, ἀλλὰ φήναντος Νικίδου τοὺς δικαστὰς ἔπεισεν ἐᾶσαι αὑτὸν διοικεῖν· καὶ ταῦτʼ ἴσασιν πάντες. πολλὰ διήρπασαν ἡμῶν ἐκεῖνοι. οὐκοῦν ἣν ἐπείσθητέ γε, τούτων δίκην παρʼ αὐτῶν ἔχετε, καὶ οὐ δήπουθεν πάλιν δεῖ λαβεῖν ὑμᾶς παρʼ ἐμοῦ.
24. But, that you may not think there is anything in all this—it is of course not fair (how could it be?) after having come to a settlement with the guilty parties, to accuse persons who know nothing about the case—none the less, Xenopeithes and Nausimachus, if you have the idea that your claims are so marvellously valid, pay back three talents, and go on with your suit. After having exacted so large a sum for not pressing your charges, you are bound to keep silent until you have paid this back—not to make the charges and keep the money; that is the very extreme of unfair dealing.
24. ἵνα δὲ μηδʼ οἴησθʼ εἶναί τι ταῦτα, ἔστι μὲν οὐκ ἴσον (πῶς γάρ;) πρὸς τοὺς πράξαντας διαλυσαμένους τῶν οὐκ εἰδότων κατηγορεῖν, ὅμως μέντοι, ὦ Ξενοπείθη καὶ Ναυσίμαχε, εἰ μεγάλʼ ὑμῖν καὶ θαυμάστʼ εἶναι τὰ δίκαια ταῦθʼ ὑπολαμβάνετε, ἀποδόντες τὰ τρία τάλαντα περαίνετε. ὧν δὲ τοῦ μὴ κατηγορῆσαι τοσαῦτα χρήματʼ ἐπράξασθε, πρὶν ἂν ταῦτʼ ἀποδῶτε, σιωπᾶν ἐστὲ δίκαιοι, καὶ μὴ κατηγορεῖν καὶ ἔχειν· ἔσχατον γὰρ ἤδη πραγμάτων τοῦτό γε.
25. Now it is likely that they will talk about their trierarchies, and say that they have expended their property upon you. That their statements will be false; that they have squandered much of their property upon themselves, while the state has received but a small share; and that they will deem it right to reap from you a gratitude that is not deserved nor due—all this I shall pass over. I myself, men of the jury, deem it right that somewhat of gratitude should be accorded by you to all who bear the public burdens. But to whom should you accord most gratitude? To those who, while in their actions doing what is of service to the state, do not bring to pass what all would call a shame and a reproach.
25. τάχα τοίνυν ἴσως καὶ τριηραρχίας ἐροῦσι, καὶ τὰ ὄνθʼ ὡς ἀνηλώκασιν εἰς ὑμᾶς. ἐγὼ δʼ ὅτι μὲν ψεύσονται, καὶ πόλλʼ ἀπολωλεκότες τῶν ὄντων αὑτοῖς, μικρὰ τῆς πόλεως μετειληφυίας, οὐ δικαίαν οὐδὲ γιγνομένην χάριν ἀξιώσουσι κομίζεσθαι παρʼ ὑμῶν, ἐάσω. ἀξιῶ δὲ καὶ αὐτός, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, εἶναι τοῖς λῃτουργοῦσιν ὑμῖν ἅπασιν χάριν τινʼ ὑπάρχουσαν παρʼ ὑμῶν. τίσιν δὲ μεγίστην; τοῖς ὃ μὲν χρήσιμον τῇ πόλει τοῦ πράγματός ἐστι ποιοῦσιν, ὃ δʼ αἰσχρὸν ἅπαντες ἂν εἶναι φήσαιεν καὶ ὄνειδος, μὴ κατασκευάζουσιν.
26. But those who while performing public services have squandered their own property, bring the state into disrepute instead of rendering her service. For no man ever yet blamed himself; on the contrary, he declares that the state has taken away his property. But those who with ready hearts perform all the duties you lay upon them, and who by the soberness of their lives in other matters preserve their property, rightly have the better of the others in this respect, that they both have been and will be of service, and also because this service accrues to you from them without reproach. We shall be found to be men of this type in our relations to you; as for them, I shall pass them by, that they may not charge that I am speaking evil of them.
26. οἱ μὲν τοίνυν μετὰ τοῦ λῃτουργεῖν τὰ σφέτερʼ αὐτῶν διεφθαρκότες τὴν βλασφημίαν ἀντὶ τῆς χρείας τῇ πόλει καταλείπουσιν (οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ κατηγόρησεν πώποτε, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἡ πόλις τὰ ὄντʼ ἀφῄρηται λέγει)· οἱ δʼ ὅσα μὲν προστάττεθʼ ὑμεῖς ποιοῦντες προθύμως, τῇ περὶ τἄλλα δὲ σωφροσύνῃ τὰ ὄντα σῴζοντες, οὐ μόνον κατὰ τοῦτʼ ἐκείνων πλεονεκτοῖεν ἂν εἰκότως, ὅτι καὶ γεγόνασιν χρήσιμοι καὶ ἔσονται, ἀλλʼ ὅτι καὶ χωρὶς ὀνείδους ταῦτα παρʼ αὐτῶν ὑμῖν γίγνεται. ἡμεῖς μὲν τοίνυν τοιοῦτοι εἰς ὑμᾶς ἅπαντες φανούμεθʼ ὄντες· τούτους δʼ ἐάσω, μή με φῶσιν κακῶς αὑτοὺς λέγειν.
27. I should not be surprised if they try to shed tears and make themselves seem worthy of pity. But I deem that, in view of this, you should all remember that it is the part of shameless men, or rather of men with no sense of right, after having squandered their fortune in gluttony and wine-bibbing along with Aristocrates and Diognetus and others of that stamp in shameful and evil fashion, to weep and wail now in the hope of getting what belongs to others. You would have good cause to weep over your former doings. Yet it is not now a time to weep, but to prove that you did not give a release, or that action may be had afresh for the matters released, or that it is legal to bring an action after the lapse of twenty years, when the law has fixed five years as the limit. These are the questions which these gentlemen are to decide.
27. οὐ τοίνυν θαυμάσαιμʼ ἄν, εἰ καὶ δακρύειν καὶ ἐλεινοὺς ἑαυτοὺς πειρῷντο ποιεῖν. ἐγὼ δʼ ἀξιῶ πρὸς ταῦθʼ ὑπολαμβάνειν ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς, ὅτι τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἐστι, μᾶλλον δʼ οὐδὲ δικαίων, τὰ μὲν ὄντα κατεσθίοντας καὶ παροινοῦντας μετʼ Ἀριστοκράτους καὶ Διογνήτου καὶ τοιούτων ἑτέρων αἰσχρῶς καὶ κακῶς ἀνηλωκέναι, τὰ δʼ ἀλλότριʼ ὥστε λαβεῖν, δακρύειν νυνὶ καὶ κλάειν. ἐπʼ ἐκείνοις ἐκλάετʼ ἄν, οἷς ἐποιεῖτε, δικαίως. νῦν δʼ οὐ δεῖ δακρύειν, ἀλλʼ ὡς οὐκ ἀφήκατε δεικνύναι, ἢ ὡς εἰσὶν ὧν ἀφήκατʼ αὖθις ὑμῖν δίκαι, ἢ ὡς εἰκοστῷ λαγχάνειν ἔτει δίκαιόν ἐστι, τοῦ νόμου πέντʼ ἔτη τὴν προθεσμίαν δεδωκότος· ταῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ὑπὲρ ὧν οὗτοι δικάζουσιν.
28. If they are unable to prove these things, as they will be unable, we beg of you all, men of the jury, not to deliver us up as prey to these men, nor to give yet a fourth fortune to those who have mismanaged three others—that which they received from their guardians without compulsion, that which they exacted by compromising their suits, and that which the other day they took from Aesius by a judgement—but to allow us, as is right, to retain what is our own. It is of greater service to you in our hands than in theirs. And surely it is more just that we should have what is our own than that they should have it. I do not know what reason there is why I should say more; for I believe that nothing that I have said has escaped you. Pour out the water.
28. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ δύνωνται ταῦτα δεικνύναι, ὡς οὐ δυνήσονται, ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν ἁπάντων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, δεόμεθα μὴ ἡμᾶς προέσθαι τούτοις, μηδὲ τετάρτην οὐσίαν ἔτι δοῦναι τρεῖς ἑτέρας κακῶς διῳκηκόσιν, ἣν παρʼ ἑκόντων ἔλαβον τῶν ἐπιτρόπων, ἣν ὑπὲρ τῶν δικῶν εἰσεπράξαντο, ἣν πρῴην ἀφείλοντʼ Αἰσίου δίκην ἑλόντες, ἀλλʼ ἡμᾶς τὰ ἡμέτερα, ὥσπερ ἐστὶν δίκαιον, ἐᾶν ἔχειν· ἃ καὶ ὑμῖν ἐστιν ἐν ὠφελείᾳ μείζονι παρʼ ἡμῖν ὄντʼ ἢ παρὰ τούτοις, καὶ δικαιότερον δήπου τὰ ἡμέτερα ἡμᾶς ἐστιν ἔχειν ἢ τούτους. οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι δεῖ πλείω λέγειν· οἶμαι γὰρ ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν εἰρημένων. ἐξέρα τὸ ὕδωρ.