45. Moreover, consider this too, whether you would suffer me in your presence to take the document and add to it. Of course you would not. Well, then, neither is it fitting to suffer him to strike out any of its contents. For who will ever be convicted of giving false testimony, if he is to depose to what he pleases, and be accountable only for what he pleases? No, the law does not thus make a distinction in these matters, and you ought not to listen to such a thing either. The straightforward and honest course is this: “What stands written? To what have you deposed? Show that this is true. For you have written in your plea in answer to the complaint these words, ‘I have given true testimony in testifying to what is contained in the deposition’—not ‘to this or that in the deposition.’”
45. ἔπειτα καὶ τόδε σκοπεῖτε, εἰ ἐάσαιτʼ ἂν ἐναντίον ὑμῶν ἐμὲ προσγράψαι τι λαβόντα τὸ γραμματεῖον. οὐ δήπου. οὔκουν οὐδὲ τοῦτον ἀφαιρεῖν τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐᾶν προσήκει. τίς γὰρ ἁλώσεταί ποτε ψευδομαρτυρίων, εἰ μαρτυρήσει θʼ ἃ βούλεται, καὶ λόγον ὧν βούλεται δώσει; ἀλλʼ οὐχ οὕτω ταῦτʼ οὔθʼ ὁ νόμος διεῖλεν οὔθʼ ὑμῖν ἀκούειν προσήκει· ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἁπλοῦν καὶ δίκαιον. τί γέγραπται; τί μεμαρτύρηκας; ταῦθʼ ὡς ἀληθῆ δείκνυε. καὶ γὰρ ἀντιγέγραψαι ταῦτα ἀληθῆ μεμαρτύρηκα, μαρτυρήσας τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα, οὐ τὸ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ.
46. (To the clerk.) To prove that this is so, take, please, the plea itself. Read it. The Complaint and Counter-Plea Apollodorus, son of Pasio, of Acharnae, sues Stephanus, son of Menecles, of Acharnae, for false testimony; damages one talent. Stephanus gave false testimony against me in testifying to that which is contained in the record. I gave true testimony in testifying to that which is contained in the record. This is the plea which the defendant himself has entered. You must keep it in mind, and not regard the deceitful language which will soon be addressed to you as being more worthy of credence than the laws and what the defendant has written in his own plea.
46. ὅτι δʼ οὕτω ταῦτʼ ἔχει, λαβὲ τὴν ἀντιγραφὴν αὐτήν μοι. λέγε. ΑΝΤΙΓΡΑΦΗ. Ἀπολλόδωρος Πασίωνος Ἀχαρνεὺς Στεφάνῳ Μενεκλέους Ἀχαρνεῖ ψευδομαρτυρίων, τίμημα τάλαντον. τὰ ψευδῆ μου κατεμαρτύρησε Στέφανος μαρτυρήσας τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα. ⟨Στέφανος Μενεκλέους Ἀχαρνεὺς⟩ τἀληθῆ ἐμαρτύρησα μαρτυρήσας τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα. ταῦθʼ οὗτος ἀντεγράψατο, ἃ χρὴ μνημονεύειν ὑμᾶς, καὶ μὴ τοὺς ἐπʼ ἐξαπάτῃ νῦν λόγους ὑπὸ τούτου ῥηθησομένους πιστοτέρους ποιεῖσθαι τῶν νόμων καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τούτου γραφέντων εἰς τὴν ἀντιγραφήν.
47. I learn that they are going to speak about my original suit and to denounce it as baseless and malicious. But I on my part have already mentioned to you and explained in detail the manner in which Phormio concocted the lease, in order to get into his possession the banking-stock, and I should be unable to speak of these other matters and at the same time convict these men of giving false testimony; for the amount of water allotted me is not sufficient.
47. πυνθάνομαι τοίνυν αὐτοὺς καὶ περὶ ὧν ἔλαχον τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς δίκην, ἐρεῖν καὶ κατηγορήσειν, ὡς συκοφαντήματʼ ἦν. ἐγὼ δʼ ὃν μὲν τρόπον ἐσκευωρήσατο τὴν μίσθωσιν, ὅπως τὴν ἀφορμὴν τῆς τραπέζης κατάσχοι, εἶπον καὶ διεξῆλθον ὑμῖν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων οὐκ ἂν οἷός τʼ εἴην λέγειν ἅμα καὶ τούτους ἐλέγχειν περὶ τῆς μαρτυρίας· οὐ γὰρ ἱκανόν μοι τὸ ὕδωρ ἐστίν.
48. And that you yourselves could not in fairness be willing to listen to them in regard to these matters you will see at once, if you reflect that it is no difficult matter to speak now about subjects concerning which no charge is made, just as it was no difficult matter for Phormio to get himself acquitted by reading false depositions. However, no man would say that either of these courses is right, but that course rather which I am about to propose.
48. ὅτι δʼ οὐδʼ ὑμεῖς ἐθέλοιτʼ ἂν εἰκότως ἀκούειν περὶ τούτων αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖθεν εἴσεσθε, ἂν λογίσησθε πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, ὅτι οὔτε νῦν ἐστιν χαλεπὸν περὶ ὧν μὴ κατηγόρηται λέγειν, οὔτε ⟨τότε⟩ ψευδεῖς ἀναγνόντα μαρτυρίας ἀποφεύγειν. ἀλλʼ οὐδέτερόν γε δίκαιον τούτων οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς φήσειεν εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ὃ ἐγὼ προκαλοῦμαι νῦν. σκοπεῖτε δʼ ἀκούσαντες.
49. Listen, and judge. I demand that they do not now seek for the proofs regarding my charges, proofs which should have been mentioned at the former trial, but of which they deprived me; but that they prove that the testimony by which they deprived me of them was true. If, when I bring in my suit, they are to demand that I refute their testimony, and, when I proceed against that, they are to bid me speak regarding my original charges, what they propose will be neither right nor in your interest.
49. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀξιῶ, οὓς μὲν ἀφείλοντό μʼ ἐλέγχους περὶ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων, οὓς προσῆκον ἦν ῥηθῆναι, μὴ ζητεῖν αὐτοὺς νῦν, αἷς δʼ ἀφείλοντο μαρτυρίαις, ὡς εἰσὶν ἀληθεῖς, δεικνύναι. εἰ δʼ ὅταν μὲν τὴν δίκην εἰσίω, τὰς μαρτυρίας μʼ ἐλέγχειν ἀξιώσουσιν, ὅταν δὲ ταύταις ἐπεξίω, περὶ τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγκλημάτων λέγειν με κελεύσουσιν, οὔτε δίκαιʼ οὔθʼ ὑμῖν συμφέροντʼ ἐροῦσιν.
50. For you have sworn to give a verdict, not in regard to matters upon which the defendant asks your decision, but in regard to those only which are raised by the prosecution. The cause of action must be made clear by the complaint of the prosecutor, and this in my case is a suit against this man for false testimony. Let him not, then, leave this and talk about matters regarding which I am not suing him; and do you, if he is so shameless, refuse to permit it.
50. δικάσειν γὰρ ὀμωμόκαθʼ ὑμεῖς οὐ περὶ ὧν ἂν ὁ φεύγων ἀξιοῖ, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ὧν ἂν ἡ δίωξις ᾖ. ταύτην δʼ ἀνάγκη τῇ τοῦ διώκοντος λήξει δηλοῦσθαι, ἣν ἐγὼ τούτῳ ψευδομαρτυρίων εἴληχα. μὴ δὴ τοῦτʼ ἀφεὶς περὶ ὧν οὐκ ἀγωνίζεται λεγέτω· μηδʼ ὑμεῖς ἐᾶτε, ἂν ἄρʼ οὗτος ἀναισχυντῇ.
51. I imagine that, having no just argument to advance on any point, he will have recourse to this defence also—that it is absurd for me, after having been worsted in the case of the special plea, to sue those who gave evidence of a will; and he will maintain that the jurymen in that trial were led to vote in favor of Phormio, by the evidence of those who testified to the release rather than by that of those who testified to the will. But, men of Athens, I think you all know that it is your habit to examine the facts no less closely than the pleas which men make regarding them; and these men, by giving false testimony against me regarding the facts themselves, weakened my arguments on the special plea.
51. οἴομαι τοίνυν αὐτὸν οὐδὲν οὐδαμῇ δίκαιον ἔχοντα λέγειν ἥξειν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτο, ὡς ἄτοπον ποιῶ, παραγραφὴν ἡττημένος, τοὺς διαθήκην μαρτυρήσαντας διώκων, καὶ τοὺς δικαστὰς τοὺς τότε φήσειν διὰ τοὺς ἀφεῖναι μεμαρτυρηκότας ἀποψηφίσασθαι μᾶλλον ἢ διὰ τοὺς διαθήκην μαρτυρήσαντας. ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, νομίζω πάντας ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, ὅτι οὐχ ἧττον τὰ πεπραγμένʼ εἰώθατε σκοπεῖν ἢ τὰς ὑπὲρ τούτων παραγραφάς· περὶ δὴ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν τὰ ψευδῆ καταμαρτυρήσαντες οὗτοί μου, ἀσθενεῖς τοὺς περὶ τῆς παραγραφῆς ἐποίησαν λόγους.
52. However, besides this, it is absurd, when all have given false evidence, to demonstrate who did the greatest amount of harm, instead of making each one prove that he has himself testified to the truth. It is not by proving that another has done more outrageous things than himself that a witness is to be let off, but by showing that he has himself given testimony that is true.
52. χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἄτοπον, πάντων τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρησάντων, τίς μάλιστʼ ἔβλαψεν ἀποφαίνειν, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς αὐτὸς ἕκαστος ἀληθῆ μεμαρτύρηκε δεικνύναι. οὐ γάρ, ἂν ἕτερον δείξῃ δεινότερʼ εἰργασμένον, ἀποφεύγειν αὐτῷ προσήκει, ἀλλʼ ἂν αὐτὸς ὡς ἀληθῆ μεμαρτύρηκεν ἀποφήνῃ.
53. Now, men of Athens, let me show you the thing for which more than anything else this fellow Stephanus deserves to be put to death. It is an awful thing to bear false witness against anyone whomsoever, but it is a thing more awful by far, and more deserving of indignation, to bear false witness against those of your own blood; for a man of that stamp violates, not the written laws alone, but also the ties of natural relationship. This, then, Stephanus shall be proved to have done.
53. ἐφʼ ᾧ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μάλιστʼ ἀπολωλέναι δίκαιός ἐστιν οὑτοσὶ Στέφανος, τοῦτʼ ἀκούσατέ μου. δεινὸν μὲν γάρ ἐστιν εἰ καὶ καθʼ ὅτου τις οὖν τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖ, πολλῷ δὲ δεινότερον καὶ πλείονος ὀργῆς ἄξιον εἰ κατὰ τῶν συγγενῶν· οὐ γὰρ τοὺς γεγραμμένους νόμους ὁ τοιοῦτος ἄνθρωπος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς φύσεως οἰκεῖʼ ἀναιρεῖ.
54. For his mother and the father of my wife are a brother and sister, so that my wife is his first cousin, and the children born to her and to me are his cousin’s children. Do you think, then, that this man, if he saw his female relatives driven by want to shameful actions, would give them in marriage and add marriage portions out of his own resources—a thing which many a man has done ere now—when he has chosen to give false testimony in order to prevent their getting what belongs to them, and has counted the wealth of Phormio of higher worth than the strong ties of kinship?
54. τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐπιδειχθήσεται πεποιηκὼς οὗτος. ἔστι γὰρ ἡ τούτου μήτηρ καὶ ὁ τῆς ἐμῆς γυναικὸς πατὴρ ἀδελφοί, ὥστε τὴν μὲν γυναῖκα τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνεψιὰν εἶναι τούτῳ, τοὺς δὲ παῖδας τοὺς ἐκείνης καὶ τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἀνεψιαδοῦς. ἆρʼ οὖν δοκεῖ ποτʼ ἂν ὑμῖν οὗτος, εἴ τι διʼ ἔνδειαν εἶδε ποιούσας ὧν οὐ χρὴ τὰς αὑτοῦ συγγενεῖς, ὅπερ ἤδη πολλοὶ πεποιήκασι, παρʼ αὑτοῦ προῖκʼ ἐπιδοὺς ἐκδοῦναι, ὃς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδʼ ἃ προσήκει κομίσασθαι ταύτας τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν ἠθέλησεν, καὶ περὶ πλείονος ἐποιήσατο τὸν Φορμίωνος πλοῦτον ἢ τὰ τῆς συγγενείας ἀναγκαῖα; ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, λαβὲ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τὴν Δεινίου καὶ ἀναγίγνωσκε, καὶ κάλει Δεινίαν.
55. (To the clerk.) However, to prove that I am telling the truth in this, take the deposition of Deinias and read it; and call Deinias. The Deposition “Deinias, son of Theomnestus, of Athmonon, deposes that he gave his daughter to Apollodorus to live with him as his wife according to the laws, and that he was never present when Apollodorus released Phormio from all claims, nor was ever aware that he had done so.”
55. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ. Δεινίας Θεομνήστου Ἀθμονεὺς μαρτυρεῖ τὴν θυγατέρα ⟨τὴν⟩ αὑτοῦ ἐκδοῦναι Ἀπολλοδώρῳ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους γυναῖκα ἔχειν, καὶ μηδεπώποτε παραγενέσθαι μηδὲ αἰσθέσθαι ὅτι Ἀπολλόδωρος ἀφῆκε τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἁπάντων Φορμίωνα.
56. Deinias, men of the jury, is very like Stephanus, is he not?—Deinias, who on account of his relationship, refuses to testify against the defendant even to what is true, and on behalf of his daughter and his daughter’s children, and me, his son-in-law! Not so Stephanus here. He did not hesitate to give false testimony against us; even respect for his own mother, if for no one else, did not keep him from bringing the extremest poverty upon those who through her were his relatives.
56. ὅμοιός γʼ ὁ Δεινίας, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τούτῳ, ὃς ὑπὲρ τῆς θυγατρὸς καὶ τῶν θυγατριδῶν καὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ κηδεστοῦ διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν οὐδὲ τἀληθῆ μαρτυρεῖν ἐθέλει κατὰ τούτου. ἀλλʼ οὐχ οὑτοσὶ Στέφανος, οὐκ ὤκνησε καθʼ ἡμῶν τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν, οὐδʼ, εἰ μηδένα τῶν ἄλλων, τὴν αὑτοῦ μητέρα ᾐσχύνθη τοῖς ἀπʼ ἐκείνης οἰκείοις τῆς ἐσχάτης ἐνδείας αἴτιος γενόμενος.
57. I wish now, men of the jury, to tell you of the most a outrageous thing which has been done to me,—a thing which more than anything else overwhelmed me with dismay in the course of the trial; for you will thus see even more clearly the fellow’s baseness, and I, by venting before you my grief for what has happened, shall find, as it were, a sort of relief. The deposition, which I thought was there, and which afforded the strongest evidence in support of my case, I did not find in the box.
57. ὃ τοίνυν ἔπαθον δεινότατον καὶ ἐφʼ ᾧ μάλιστʼ ἐξεπλάγην ὅτʼ ἠγωνιζόμην, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τοῦθʼ ὑμῖν εἰπεῖν βούλομαι· τήν τε γὰρ τούτου πονηρίαν ἔτι μᾶλλον ὑμεῖς ὄψεσθε, καὶ ἐγὼ τῶν γεγενημένων ἀποδυράμενος τὰ πλεῖστα πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὡσπερεὶ ῥᾴων ἔσομαι. τὴν γὰρ μαρτυρίαν ἣν ᾤμην εἶναι καὶ διʼ ἧς ἦν ὁ πλεῖστος ἔλεγχός μοι, ταύτην οὐχ ηὗρον ἐνοῦσαν ἐν τῷ ἐχίνῳ.
58. At the time, dismayed by this misfortune, I could imagine nothing else than that the magistrate had wronged me and tampered with the box. Now, however, from what I have since learned, I find that the defendant Stephanus had filched the document away in the very presence of the arbitrator, when I had got up to put a witness on his oath. And to prove that I am speaking the truth in this, depositions shall first be offered you from those who were present at the time and saw it; for I do not think they will choose to take an oath of disclaimer.
58. τότε μὲν δὴ τῷ κακῷ πληγεὶς οὐδὲν ἄλλʼ εἶχον ποιῆσαι πλὴν ὑπολαμβάνειν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἠδικηκέναι με καὶ τὸν ἐχῖνον κεκινηκέναι. νῦν δʼ ἀφʼ ὧν ὕστερον πέπυσμαι, πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ διαιτητῇ Στέφανον τουτονὶ αὐτὴν ὑφῃρημένον εὑρίσκω, πρὸς μαρτυρίαν τινʼ ἵνʼ ἐξορκώσαιμι, ἀναστάντος ἐμοῦ. καὶ ὅτι ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, πρῶτον μὲν ὑμῖν μαρτυρήσουσιν τῶν τούτοις παρόντων οἱ ἰδόντες.
59. But if they are shameless enough to do this the clerk shall read you a challenge by which you will catch them in the very act of perjury, and will know all the same that this man did steal the deposition. And yet, men of Athens, a person who would not shrink from being named as one who had stolen what was prejudicial to another—what do you suppose he would do in his own interest?
59. οὐ γὰρ ἐξομνύναι ʼθελήσειν αὐτοὺς οἴομαι. ἐὰν δʼ ἄρα τοῦτο ποιήσωσιν ὑπʼ ἀναιδείας, πρόκλησιν ὑμῖν ἀναγνώσεται, ἐξ ἧς τούτους τʼ ἐπιορκοῦντας ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ λήψεσθε, καὶ τοῦτον ὁμοίως ὑφῃρημένον τὴν μαρτυρίαν εἴσεσθε. καίτοι ὅστις, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κακῶν ἀλλοτρίων κλέπτης ὑπέμεινεν ὀνομασθῆναι, τί ἂν ἡγεῖσθε ποιῆσαι τοῦτον ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ;
60. (To the clerk.) Read the deposition, and then this challenge. The Deposition “The deponents testify that they are friends and associates of Phormio, and that they were present hefore the arbitrator Teisias when the announcement of the award was made in the suit between Apollodorus and Phormio, and that they know that Stephanus filched away the deposition which Apollodorus charges him, with having stolen.” Either depose, or take the oath of disclaimer. The Oath of Disclaimer It was plain enough, men of the jury, that they would do this—take the oath of disclaimer with eagerness.
60. λέγε τὴν μαρτυρίαν [εἶτα τὴν πρόκλησιν ταύτην]. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ. μαρτυροῦσι φίλοι εἶναι καὶ ἐπιτήδειοι Φορμίωνι, καὶ παρεῖναι πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ Τεισίᾳ, ὅτε ἦν ἀπόφασις τῆς διαίτης Ἀπολλοδώρῳ πρὸς Φορμίωνα, καὶ εἰδέναι τὴν μαρτυρίαν ὑφῃρημένον Στέφανον, ἣν αἰτιᾶται αὐτὸν Ἀπολλόδωρος ὑφελέσθαι. ἢ μαρτυρεῖτε, ἢ ἐξομόσασθε. ΕΞΩΜΟΣΙΑ.
61. Well, then, that they may at once be convicted of perjury,(to the clerk) take, please, this deposition and challenge. Read. The Deposition. The Challenge “The deponents testify that they were present when Apollodorus challenged Stephanus to give up his attendant slave to be put to the torture concerning the theft of the document, and Apollodorus was ready to write out the conditions on which the torture was to be administered; and that when Apollodorus tendered this challenge, Stephanus refused to give up the slave, but replied to Apollodorus that he might bring suit, if he chose, if he maintained that he was being in any way wronged by him.”
61. οὐκ ἄδηλον ἦν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι τοῦτʼ ἔμελλον ποιήσειν, προθύμως ἐξομεῖσθαι. ἵνα τοίνυν παραχρῆμʼ ἐξελεγχθῶσιν ἐπιωρκηκότες, λαβέ μοι ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν καὶ τὴν πρόκλησιν. ἀναγίγνωσκε. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ. ΠΡΟΚΛΗΣΙΣ. μαρτυροῦσι παρεῖναι ὅτε Ἀπολλόδωρος προὐκαλεῖτο Στέφανον παραδοῦναι τὸν παῖδα τὸν ἀκόλουθον εἰς βάσανον περὶ τῆς ὑφαιρέσεως τοῦ γραμματείου, καὶ γράμματα ἦν ἕτοιμος γράφειν Ἀπολλόδωρος καθʼ ὅ τι ἔσται ἡ βάσανος. ταῦτα δὲ προκαλουμένου Ἀπολλοδώρου οὐκ ἐθελῆσαι παραδοῦναι Στέφανον, ἀλλʼ ἀποκρίνασθαι Ἀπολλοδώρῳ δικάζεσθαι, εἰ βούλοιτο, εἴ τί φησιν ἀδικεῖσθαι ὑφʼ ἑαυτοῦ.
62. Who is there, men of the jury, who, on a charge like that, if he were sure of his innocence, would not have accepted the torture? Then, by refusing the torture, he is convicted of the theft. Now do you think that a man would be ashamed of the reputation of having borne false witness, who did not shrink from being proved a thief? Or that he would hesitate to give false witness at the request of another, when, at no man’s bidding, he voluntarily committed a fraud?
62. τίς ἂν οὖν ὑπὲρ τοιαύτης αἰτίας, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, εἴπερ ἐπίστευεν αὑτῷ, οὐκ ἐδέξατο τὴν βάσανον; οὐκοῦν τῷ φεύγειν τὴν βάσανον ὑφῃρημένος ἐξελέγχεται. ἆρʼ οὖν ἂν ὑμῖν αἰσχυνθῆναι δοκεῖ τὴν τοῦ τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν δόξαν ὁ τὴν τοῦ κλέπτης φανῆναι μὴ φυγών; ἢ δεηθέντος ὀκνῆσαι τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν, ὃς ἃ μηδεὶς ἐκέλευεν ἐθελοντὴς πονηρὸς ἦν;
63. Now, men of the jury, while he might justly be made to pay the penalty for all these things, he deserves even more to be punished in your court for the rest of his conduct. Observe the kind of a life he has lived, and judge. For so long as it was the lot of Aristolochus, the banker, to enjoy prosperity, this fellow fawned upon him as he walked beside him, adapting his pace to his, and this is well known to many of you who are present here.
63. δικαίως τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τούτων ἁπάντων δοὺς ἂν δίκην, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἂν εἰκότως διὰ τἄλλα κολασθείη παρʼ ὑμῖν. σκοπεῖτε δέ, τὸν βίον ὃν βεβίωκεν ἐξετάζοντες. οὗτος γάρ, ἡνίκα μὲν συνέβαινεν εὐτυχεῖν Ἀριστολόχῳ τῷ τραπεζίτῃ, ἴσα βαίνων ἐβάδιζεν ὑποπεπτωκὼς ἐκείνῳ, καὶ ταῦτʼ ἴσασι πολλοὶ τῶν ἐνθάδʼ ὄντων ὑμῶν.
64. But when Aristolochus was ruined and lost his property, chiefly through having been plundered by this fellow and others of his stamp, Stephanus never stood by the son of Aristolochus, who was overburdened with lawsuits, nor aided him, but it was Apolexis or Solon or anybody else that helped him rather than he. Then he has courted Phormio and become intimate with him, choosing him out of all the Athenians; and he sailed to Byzantium as agent in his interest, when the Byzantines detained Phormio’s vessels, and he pleaded his cause against the Calchedonians, and he has thus flagrantly given false witness against me.
64. ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἀπώλετʼ ἐκεῖνος καὶ τῶν ὄντων ἐξέστη, οὐχ ἥκισθʼ ὑπὸ τούτου καὶ τῶν τοιούτων διαφορηθείς, τῷ μὲν υἱεῖ τῷ τούτου πολλῶν πραγμάτων ὄντων οὐ παρέστη πώποτε, οὐδʼ ἐβοήθησεν, ἀλλʼ Ἀπόληξις καὶ Σόλων καὶ πάντες ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον βοηθοῦσι· Φορμίωνα δὲ πάλιν ἑόρακεν καὶ τούτῳ γέγονεν οἰκεῖος, ἐξ Ἀθηναίων ἁπάντων τοῦτον ἐκλεξάμενος, καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου πρεσβευτὴς μὲν ᾤχετʼ εἰς Βυζάντιον πλέων, ἡνίκʼ ἐκεῖνοι τὰ πλοῖα τὰ τούτου κατέσχον, τὴν δὲ δίκην ἔλεγεν τὴν πρὸς τοὺς Καλχηδονίους, τὰ ψευδῆ δʼ ἐμοῦ φανερῶς οὕτως καταμεμαρτύρηκεν.
65. A man, then, who is a flatterer of those in prosperity, and who betrays these same men if they fall into adversity; who out of all the host of good and worthy citizens of Athens deals with not a single one on the basis of equality, but willingly fawns upon people like Phormio; who takes no thought whether he is going to injure any of his kinsfolk by these actions, or whether he is going to win an evil reputation in the minds of other men, but thinks only of one thing, how he may enrich himself—ought you not to loathe this man as a common enemy of the whole human race? I certainly think so.
65. εἶθʼ ὃς εὐτυχούντων ἐστὶ κόλαξ, κἂν ἀτυχῶσι, τῶν αὐτῶν τούτων προδότης, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων πολιτῶν πολλῶν καὶ καλῶν κἀγαθῶν ὄντων μηδενὶ μηδʼ ἐξ ἴσου χρῆται, τοῖς δὲ τοιούτοις ἐθελοντὴς ὑποπίπτει, καὶ μήτʼ εἴ τινα τῶν οἰκείων ἀδικήσει μήτʼ εἰ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις φαύλην δόξαν ἕξει ταῦτα ποιῶν μήτʼ ἄλλο μηδὲν σκοπεῖ, πλὴν ὅπως τι πλέον ἕξει, τοῦτον οὐ μισεῖν ὡς κοινὸν ἐχθρὸν τῆς φύσεως ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης προσήκει; ἔγωγʼ ἂν φαίην.
66. This course of action, involving so great disgrace, he has adopted, men of Athens, with a view to evading his duties to the state and to conceal his wealth, that he may make secret profits by means of the bank, and never serve as choregus or trierarch, or perform any other of the public duties which befit his station. And he has accomplished this object. Here is a proof. Although he has so large an estate that he gave his daughter a marriage portion of one hundred minae, he has never been seen by you to perform any public service whatever, even the very slightest. And yet how much more honorable it would have been to be proved a man of public spirit and one zealous in the performance of his duties to the state, than a flatterer and a bearer of false testimony! But the fellow would do anything to get money.
66. ταῦτα μέντοι τὰ τοσαύτην ἔχοντʼ αἰσχύνην, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐπὶ τῷ τὴν πόλιν φεύγειν καὶ τὰ ὄντʼ ἀποκρύπτεσθαι προῄρηται πράττειν, ἵνʼ ἐργασίας ἀφανεῖς διὰ τῆς τραπέζης ποιῆται, καὶ μήτε χορηγῇ μήτε τριηραρχῇ μήτʼ ἄλλο μηδὲν ὧν προσήκει ποιῇ. καὶ κατείργασται τοῦτο. τεκμήριον δέ· ἔχων γὰρ οὐσίαν τοσαύτην ὥσθʼ ἑκατὸν μνᾶς ἐπιδοῦναι τῇ θυγατρί, οὐδʼ ἡντινοῦν ἑώραται λῃτουργίαν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν λῃτουργῶν, οὐδὲ τὴν ἐλαχίστην. καίτοι πόσῳ κάλλιον φιλοτιμούμενον ἐξετάζεσθαι καὶ προθυμούμενον εἰς ἃ δεῖ τῇ πόλει, ἢ κολακεύοντα καὶ τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυροῦντα; ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τῷ κερδαίνειν πᾶν ἂν οὗτος ποιήσειε.
67. Surely, men of Athens, you ought to feel indignation rather toward those who are rascals in wealth than toward those who are such in poverty. In the case of the latter the pressure of their needy state affords them some excuse in the eyes of those who look on the matter with human sympathy, whereas those who, like this fellow, are rascals while possessing abundance, could find no reasonable excuse to offer, but will be shown to act as they do from a spirit of shameful greed and covetousness and insolence, and a resolve to make their own plots stronger than the laws. Not one of these things is to your interest, but rather that the weak, if he suffers wrong, should be able to get redress from the wealthy. And he will be able, if you punish those who are thus manifestly rascals while possessing wealth.
67. καὶ μήν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μᾶλλον ἄξιον ὀργίλως ἔχειν τοῖς μετʼ εὐπορίας πονηροῖς ἢ τοῖς μετʼ ἐνδείας. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἡ τῆς χρείας ἀνάγκη φέρει τινὰ συγγνώμην παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνως λογιζομένοις· οἱ δʼ ἐκ περιουσίας, ὥσπερ οὗτος, πονηροὶ οὐδεμίαν πρόφασιν δικαίαν ἔχοιεν ἂν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλʼ αἰσχροκερδίᾳ καὶ πλεονεξίᾳ καὶ ὕβρει καὶ τῷ τὰς αὑτῶν συστάσεις κυριωτέρας τῶν νόμων ἀξιοῦν εἶναι ταῦτα φανήσονται πράττοντες. ὑμῖν δʼ οὐδὲν τούτων συμφέρει, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀσθενῆ παρὰ τοῦ πλουσίου δίκην, ἂν ἀδικῆται, δύνασθαι λαβεῖν. ἔσται δὲ τοῦτο, ἐὰν κολάζητε τοὺς φανερῶς οὕτως ἐξ εὐπορίας πονηρούς.
68. Neither should the airs which the fellow puts on as he walks with sullen face along the walls be properly considered as marks of sobriety, but rather as marks of misanthropy. In my opinion a man whom no misfortune has befallen, and who is in no lack of the necessaries of life, but who none the less habitually maintains this demeanor, has reviewed the matter and reached the conclusion in his own mind, that to those who walk in a simple and natural way and wear a cheerful countenance, men draw near unhesitatingly with requests and proposals, whereas they shrink from drawing near in the first place to affected and sullen characters.
68. οὐ τοίνυν οὐδʼ ἃ πέπλασται οὗτος καὶ βαδίζει παρὰ τοὺς τοίχους ἐσκυθρωπακώς, σωφροσύνης ἄν τις ἡγήσαιτʼ εἰκότως εἶναι σημεῖα, ἀλλὰ μισανθρωπίας. ἐγὼ γάρ, ὅστις αὐτῷ μηδενὸς συμβεβηκότος δεινοῦ, μηδὲ τῶν ἀναγκαίων σπανίζων, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ σχέσει διάγει τὸν βίον, τοῦτον ἡγοῦμαι συνεορακέναι καὶ λελογίσθαι παρʼ αὑτῷ, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ἁπλῶς, ὡς πεφύκασι, βαδίζουσι καὶ φαιδροῖς καὶ προσέλθοι τις ἂν καὶ δεηθείη καὶ ἐπαγγείλειεν οὐδὲν ὀκνῶν, τοῖς δὲ πεπλασμένοις καὶ σκυθρωποῖς ὀκνήσειέ τις ἂν προσελθεῖν πρῶτον.
69. This demeanor, then, is nothing but a cloak to cover his real character, and he shows therein the rudeness and malignity of his temper. Here is a proof. You have been far better off than you deserved, yet to whom among the whole host of Athenians have you ever made a contribution? To whom have you ever lent aid, or to whom done a kindness?
69. οὐδὲν οὖν ἄλλʼ ἢ πρόβλημα τοῦ τρόπου τὸ σχῆμα τοῦτʼ ἔστι, καὶ τὸ τῆς διανοίας ἄγριον καὶ πικρὸν ἐνταῦθα δηλοῖ. σημεῖον δέ· τοσούτων γὰρ ὄντων τὸ πλῆθος Ἀθηναίων, πράττων πολὺ βέλτιον ἢ σὲ προσῆκον ἦν, τῷ πώποτʼ εἰσήνεγκας, ἢ τίνι συμβέβλησαί πω, ἢ τίνʼ εὖ πεποίηκας;
70. You could not name a single one; but while lending money at interest and regarding the misfortunes and necessities of others as your own good fortune, you ejected your own uncle Nicias from the house of his fathers, you have taken from your own mother-in-law the resources upon which she lived, and you have, in so far as it depended upon you, rendered homeless the son of Archedemus. No one ever exacted payment from a defaulter as rigorously as you exact interest from your debtors. A man, then, whom you find to be so brutal and so savage on all occasions, are you going to fail to punish him when you have caught him in the very act of wrongdoing? In that case, men of the jury, you will do what is an outrage and in no sense right.
70. οὐδένʼ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοις· ἀλλὰ τοκίζων καὶ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων συμφορὰς καὶ χρείας εὐτυχήματα σαυτοῦ νομίζων, ἐξέβαλες μὲν τὸν ἀφῄρησαι δὲ τὴν σαυτοῦ πενθερὰν ταῦτʼ ἀφʼ ὧν ἔζη, ἀοίκητον δὲ τὸν Ἀρχεδήμου παῖδα τὸ σαυτοῦ μέρος πεποίηκας. οὐδεὶς δὲ πώποθʼ οὕτω πικρῶς οὐδʼ ὑπερήμερον εἰσέπραξεν ὡς σὺ τοὺς ὀφείλοντας τοὺς τόκους. εἶθʼ ὃν ὁρᾶτʼ ἐπὶ πάντων οὕτως ἄγριον καὶ μιαρόν, τοῦτον ὑμεῖς ἠδικηκότʼ ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ λαβόντες οὐ τιμωρήσεσθε; δείνʼ ἄρʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ποιήσετε καὶ οὐχὶ δίκαια.
71. It is fitting therefore, men of Athens, that you should wax indignant also against Phormio, for bringing this man forward as a witness, when you see the shamelessness of his character and his ingratitude. For I fancy you all know that if, when the fellow was for sale, a cook or an artisan in any other trade had bought him, he would have learned the trade of his master and been far removed from the prosperity which now is his.
71. ἄξιον τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ Φορμίωνι τῷ παρασχομένῳ τουτονὶ νεμεσῆσαι τοῖς πεπραγμένοις, τὴν ἀναίδειαν τοῦ τρόπου καὶ τὴν ἀχαριστίαν ἰδόντας. οἶμαι γὰρ ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, ὅτι τοῦτον, ἡνίκʼ ὤνιος ἦν, εἰ συνέβη μάγειρον ἤ τινος ἄλλης τέχνης δημιουργὸν πρίασθαι, τὴν τοῦ δεσπότου τέχνην ἂν μαθὼν πόρρω τῶν νῦν παρόντων ἦν ἀγαθῶν.
72. But since my father into whose possession he came, was a banker and taught him letters and instructed him in his business and put him in control of large sums of money, he has become wealthy, having found the good luck which brought him into our family the foundation of all his present wealth.
72. ἐπειδὴ δʼ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ ἡμέτερος τραπεζίτης ὢν ἐκτήσατʼ αὐτὸν καὶ γράμματʼ ἐπαίδευσεν καὶ τὴν τέχνην ἐδίδαξεν καὶ χρημάτων ἐποίησε κύριον πολλῶν, εὐδαίμων γέγονεν, τὴν τύχην, ᾗ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀφίκετο, ἀρχὴν λαβὼν πάσης τῆς νῦν παρούσης εὐδαιμονίας.
73. It is outrageous, then, O Earth and the gods, and worse than outrageous, that he should suffer those who made him a Greek instead of a barbarian and a man of note instead of a slave, and who brought him to such great prosperity, to live in dire want while he has means and is rich, and that he should have come to such a pitch of shamelessness that he cannot bring himself to share with us the good fortune which we shared with him.
73. οὐκοῦν δεινόν, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί, καὶ πέρᾳ δεινοῦ, τοὺς Ἕλληνα μὲν ἀντὶ βαρβάρου ποιήσαντας, γνώριμον δʼ ἀντʼ ἀνδραπόδου, τοσούτων δʼ ἀγαθῶν ἡγεμόνας, τούτους περιορᾶν ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἀπορίαις ὄντας ἔχοντα καὶ πλουτοῦντα, καὶ εἰς τοῦθʼ ἥκειν ἀναιδείας ὥστε, ἧς παρʼ ἡμῶν τύχης μετέσχε, ταύτης ἡμῖν μὴ τολμᾶν μεταδοῦναι.
74. But for himself he has not scrupled to marry his mistress, and he dwells as husband with her who scattered the sweatmeats over him when he was bought as a slave, nor to write a clause giving himself a marriage portion of five talents in addition to the large sums of which he became master, inasmuch as they were in the custody of my mother—for why do you suppose he wrote in the will the clause “and all else which she has I give to Archippê”?—while he looks with indifference on my daughters, who are doomed through poverty to grow old in maidenhood with none to dower them.
74. ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς μὲν οὐκ ὤκνησε τὴν δέσποιναν γῆμαι καὶ ἣ τὰ καταχύσματʼ αὐτοῦ κατέχεε τόθʼ ἡνίκʼ ἐωνήθη, ταύτῃ συνοικεῖν, οὐδὲ προῖκα πέντε τάλανθʼ αὑτῷ γράψαι, χωρὶς ὧν οὔσης τῆς μητρὸς κυρίας οὗτος ἐγκρατὴς γέγονεν πολλῶν χρημάτων (τί γὰρ αὐτὸν οἴεσθʼ εἰς τὰς διαθήκας ἐγγράψαι καὶ τἄλλα, ὅσα ἐστίν, Ἀρχίππῃ δίδωμι;) τὰς δʼ ἡμετέρας θυγατέρας μελλούσας διʼ ἔνδειαν ἀνεκδότους ἔνδον γηράσκειν περιορᾷ.
75. If Phormio had been poor, and it had been our fortune to be wealthy, and if, in the course of nature, anything had happened to me, this fellow’s sons would have claimed my daughters in marriage—the sons of the slave would have claimed the daughters of the master! For they are their uncles, since the man married my mother; but seeing that it is we who are poor, he will not help to portion them off, but he talks and talks, and reckons up the amount of property which I possess.
75. καὶ εἰ μὲν πένης οὗτος ἦν, ἡμεῖς δʼ εὐποροῦντες ἐτυγχάνομεν, καὶ συνέβη τι παθεῖν, οἷα πολλά, ἐμοί, οἱ παῖδες ἂν οἱ τούτου τῶν ἐμῶν θυγατέρων ἐπεδικάζοντο, οἱ τοῦ δούλου τῶν τοῦ δεσπότου· θεῖοι γάρ εἰσιν αὐταῖς διὰ τὸ τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν τοῦτον λαβεῖν· ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἀπόρως ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν, τηνικαῦτʼ οὐ συνεκδώσει ταύτας, ἀλλὰ λέγει καὶ λογίζεται τὸ πλῆθος ὧν ἐγὼ χρημάτων ἔχω.
76. For this is the most absurd thing of all. Up to this day he has never seen fit to render an account of the money of which he has defrauded me, but enters a special plea that my action is not even admissible; yet he charges against me what I have received from the estate of my fathers. Other slaves one may see called to strict account by their masters, but here we see the very opposite: the fellow, though a slave, calls his master to account, thinking thereby to show him forth as a vile fellow and a prodigal.
76. καὶ γὰρ τοῦτʼ ἀτοπώτατον πάντων. ὧν μὲν ἀπεστέρηκεν ἡμᾶς χρημάτων, οὐδέπω καὶ τήμερον ἠθέλησεν ὑποσχεῖν τὸν λόγον, ἀλλὰ μὴ εἰσαγωγίμους εἶναι τὰς δίκας παραγράφεται· ἃ δὲ τῶν πατρῴων ἐνειμάμην ἐγώ, ταῦτα λογίζεται. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἄν τις ἴδοι τοὺς οἰκέτας ὑπὸ τῶν δεσποτῶν ἐξεταζομένους· οὗτος δʼ αὖ τοὐναντίον τὸν δεσπότην ὁ δοῦλος ἐξετάζει, ὡς δῆτα πονηρὸν καὶ ἄσωτον ἐκ τούτων ἐπιδείξων.
77. For myself, men of Athens, in the matter of my outward appearance, my fast walking, and my loud voice, I judge that I am not one of those favored by nature; for in so far as I annoy others without benefiting myself, I am in many respects at a disadvantage; but since I am moderate in all my personal expenses, it will be seen that I live a much more orderly life than Phormio and others who are like him.
77. ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῆς μὲν ὄψεως τῇ φύσει καὶ τῷ ταχέως βαδίζειν καὶ λαλεῖν μέγα, οὐ τῶν εὐτυχῶς πεφυκότων ἐμαυτὸν κρίνω· ἐφʼ οἷς γὰρ οὐδὲν ὠφελούμενος λυπῶ τινας, ἔλαττον ἔχω πολλαχοῦ· τῷ μέντοι μέτριος κατὰ πάσας τὰς εἰς ἐμαυτὸν δαπάνας εἶναι πολὺ τούτου καὶ τοιούτων ἑτέρων εὐτακτότερον ζῶν ἂν φανείην.
78. Whatever concerns the state, however, and all that concerns you, I perform, as you know, as lavishly as I can; for I am well aware that for you who are citizens by birth it is sufficient to perform public services as the laws require; we on the contrary who are created citizens ought to show that we perform them as a grateful payment of a debt. Cease, then, to fling into my teeth matters for which I should properly win commendation.
78. τὰ δʼ εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ὅσʼ εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὡς δύναμαι λαμπρότατα, ὡς ὑμεῖς σύνιστε, ποιῶ· οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοῶ τοῦθʼ ὅτι τοῖς μὲν γένει πολίταις ὑμῖν ἱκανόν ἐστι λῃτουργεῖν ὡς οἱ νόμοι προστάττουσι, τοὺς δὲ ποιητοὺς ἡμᾶς ὡς ἀποδιδόντας χάριν, οὕτω προσήκει φαίνεσθαι λῃτουργοῦντας. μὴ οὖν μοι ταῦτʼ ὀνείδιζε, ἐφʼ οἷς ἐπαίνου τύχοιμʼ ἂν δικαίως.
79. But, Phormio, whom of the citizens have I hired for prostitution, as you have done? Show me. Whom have I deprived of the citizenship of which I was deemed worthy, and of the right of free speech in the city, as you did in the case of the man whom you dishonored? Whose wife have I debauched, as you have the wives of many?—among them her to whom this god-detested fellow built the monument near that of his mistress at a cost of more than two talents. And he did not see that a structure, being of that sort, would be a monument, not of her tomb, but of the wrong which because of him she had done to her husband.
79. ἀλλὰ τίνʼ, ὦ Φορμίων, τῶν πολιτῶν ἑταιρεῖν, ὥσπερ σύ, μεμίσθωμαι; δεῖξον. τίνα τῆς πόλεως, ἧς αὐτὸς ἠξιώθην, καὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτῇ παρρησίας ἀπεστέρηκα, ὥσπερ σὺ τοῦτον ὃν κατῄσχυνας; τίνος γυναῖκα διέφθαρκα, ὥσπερ σὺ πρὸς πολλαῖς ἄλλαις ταύτην, ᾗ τὸ μνῆμʼ ᾠκοδόμησεν ὁ θεοῖς ἐχθρὸς οὗτος πλησίον τοῦ τῆς δεσποίνης, ἀνηλωκὼς πλέον ἢ τάλαντα δύο; καὶ οὐκ ᾐσθάνετο, ὅτι οὐχὶ τοῦ τάφου μνημεῖον ἔσται τὸ οἰκοδόμημα τοιοῦτον ὄν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀδικίας ἧς τὸν ἄνδρʼ ἠδίκηκεν ἐκείνη διὰ τοῦτον.
80. Do you, then, who perform acts like these, and who have given such manifest proofs of your outrageous conduct, dare to scrutinize the manner of life of anyone else? By day you act soberly, but the whole night long you indulge in actions for which death is the penalty. He is a knave, men of Athens, a knave and a villain, and has been such from of old, ever since he left the temple of Castor and Pollux. Here is the proof. If he had been honest, he would have managed his master’s business, and remained poor. But as it is, having got control of so large an amount of money that he could steal from it all that he now possesses without detection, he regards what he holds, not as a debt, but as an inherited patrimony.
80. εἶτα τοιαῦτα ποιῶν καὶ τηλικαύτας μαρτυρίας ἐξενηνοχὼς τῆς ὕβρεως τῆς σαυτοῦ σύ, τὸν ἄλλου του βίον ἐξετάζειν τολμᾷς; μεθʼ ἡμέραν εἶ σὺ σώφρων, τὴν δὲ νύκτʼ ἐφʼ οἷς θάνατος ἡ ζημία, ταῦτα ποιεῖς. πονηρός, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πονηρὸς οὗτος ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ Ἀνακείου καὶ ἄδικος. σημεῖον δέ· εἰ γὰρ ἦν δίκαιος, πένης ἂν ἦν τὰ τοῦ δεσπότου διοικήσας. νῦν δὲ τοσούτων χρημάτων τὸ πλῆθος κύριος καταστὰς ὥστε τοσαῦτα λαθεῖν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν κλέψας ὅσα νῦν κέκτηται, οὐκ ὀφείλειν ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ πατρῷʼ ἔχειν ἡγεῖται.
81. And yet, by the gods, if I had led you off to prison as a thief caught in the act, piling upon your back—if this had been in any way possible—the wealth which you now possess, and had then demanded of you, if you denied having got this wealth by thievery, to refer me to the source from which you got it, to whom would you have referred me? Your father did not give it to you; you did not find it; you had not got it from some other source when you come into our family; for you were a barbarian when you were purchased. Have you, then, a man who ought to have been publicly put to death for what you have done, after saving your skin, after securing for yourself a city with our money, and after being allowed to beget children as brothers to your own masters—have you entered a special plea that our action for the sums claimed from you is inadmissible?
81. καίτοι πρὸς θεῶν, εἰ κλέπτην σʼ ἀπῆγον ὡς ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ εἰληφώς, τὴν οὐσίαν ἣν ἔχεις, εἴ πως οἷόν τʼ ἦν, ἐπιθείς σοι, εἶτά σʼ ἠξίουν, εἰ μὴ φὴς ὑφῃρημένος ταῦτʼ ἔχειν, ἀνάγειν ὅθεν εἴληφας, εἰς τίνʼ ἂν αὔτʼ ἀνήγαγες; οὔτε γάρ σοι πατὴρ παρέδωκεν, οὔθʼ ηὗρες, οὔτε λαβών ποθεν ἄλλοθεν ἦλθες ὡς ἡμᾶς· βάρβαρος γὰρ ἐωνήθης. εἶθʼ ᾧ δημοσίᾳ προσῆκεν ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰργασμένοις τεθνάναι, σύ, τὸ σῶμα σεσῳκὼς καὶ πόλιν ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων σαυτῷ κτησάμενος καὶ παῖδας ἀδελφοὺς τοῖς σεαυτοῦ δεσπόταις ἀξιωθεὶς ποιήσασθαι, παρεγράψω μὴ εἰσαγώγιμον εἶναι τὴν δίκην τῶν ἐγκαλουμένων χρημάτων ὑφʼ ἡμῶν;
82. And, then, did you speak evil of me, and inquire what manner of man my father was? Men of Athens, who would not have been indignant at this? For my part, though it beseem me to have less of pride than any of you, yet I judge that I may at least have more than Phormio, while as for him, though there be no one else than whom he should have less, yet he should have less than I; for, assuming that we are the sort of people your words made us out to be, you, Phormio, were none the less our slave.
82. εἶτα κακῶς ἡμᾶς ἔλεγες καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον πατέρʼ ἐξήταζες ὅστις ἦν; ἐφʼ οἷς τίς οὐκ ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, χαλεπῶς ἤνεγκεν; ἐγὼ γάρ, εἰ πάντων τῶν ἄλλων ὑμῶν ἔλαττον προσήκει μοι φρονεῖν, τούτου γε μεῖζον οἶμαι, καὶ τούτῳ γʼ εἰ μηδενὸς τῶν ἄλλων ἔλαττον, ἐμοῦ γʼ ἔλαττον· ὄντων γὰρ ἡμῶν τοιούτων ὁποίους τινὰς ἂν [καὶ] σὺ κατασκευάσῃς τῷ λόγῳ, σὺ δοῦλος ἦσθα.
83. There is perhaps something else which one of them may say: that Pasicles, although he is my brother, makes no charge against Phormio for these same actions. Well, I will speak about Pasicles, too, men of Athens, though I beg and implore you to pardon me, if I am so carried away by indignation at the outrages I have received from my own slaves as to be unable to restrain myself; I will not keep silent, but will declare what until now I pretended not to hear when others said it;— I consider Pasicles to be my brother on my mother’s side, but whether on my father’s side also, I do not know; but I am afraid that the wrongs which Phormio has done us began with Pasicles.
83. τάχα τοίνυν ἂν ἴσως καὶ τοῦτό τις αὐτῶν εἴποι, ὡς ἀδελφὸς ὢν ἐμὸς Πασικλῆς οὐδὲν ἐγκαλεῖ τῶν αὐτῶν τούτῳ πραγμάτων. ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ περὶ Πασικλέους, παραιτησάμενος καὶ δεηθεὶς ὑμῶν συγγνώμην ἔχειν, εἰ προεληλυθὼς εἰς τοῦθʼ ὥσθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ δούλων ὑβρισθεὶς οὐ δύναμαι κατασχεῖν, ἃ τέως οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων λεγόντων ἀκούειν ἐδόκουν, ἐρῶ καὶ οὐ σιωπήσομαι.
84. For when he joins in pleading the cause of the slave and dishonors his brother, when he fawns upon those, and curries the favor of those, who ought to seek his favor, to what suspicion does this naturally give rise? Away, then, with Pasicles, and let him be called your son instead of your master, and my adversary (since he so chooses) instead of my brother.
84. ἐγὼ γὰρ ὁμομήτριον μὲν ἀδελφὸν ἐμαυτοῦ Πασικλέα νομίζω, ὁμοπάτριον δʼ οὐκ οἶδα, δέδοικα μέντοι μὴ τῶν Φορμίωνος ἁμαρτημάτων εἰς ἡμᾶς ἀρχὴ Πασικλῆς ᾖ. ὅταν γὰρ τῷ δούλῳ συνδικῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀτιμῶν, καὶ παραπεπτωκὼς θαυμάζῃ τούτους ὑφʼ ὧν αὐτῷ θαυμάζεσθαι προσῆκεν, τίνʼ ἔχει δικαίαν ταῦθʼ ὑποψίαν; ἄνελʼ οὖν ἐκ μέσου μοι Πασικλέα, καὶ σὸς μὲν υἱὸς ἀντὶ δεσπότου καλείσθω, ἐμὸς δʼ ἀντίδικος (βούλεται γὰρ) ἀντʼ ἀδελφοῦ.
85. I bid adieu to this fellow and appeal to those to whom my father left me as my helpers and friends—to you, men of the jury. And I beg and entreat and implore you, do not suffer my daughters and myself through our poverty to become a source of malicious joy to my own slaves and to his flatterers. My father gave you a thousand shields and made himself serviceable to you in many ways, and five times served as trierarch, voluntarily equipping the ships and manning them at his own expense. I remind you of this, not because I consider that you are under obligation to me—for it is I that am under obligation to you,—but in order that I may not suffer unworthy treatment without your knowing it. For that would not be a credit to you any more than to me.
85. ἐγὼ δὲ τούτῳ μὲν χαίρειν λέγω, οὓς δʼ ὁ πατήρ μοι παρέδωκε βοηθοὺς καὶ φίλους, εἰς τούτους ἥκω, εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί. καὶ δέομαι καὶ ἀντιβολῶ καὶ ἱκετεύω, μὴ ὑπερίδητέ με καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας διʼ ἔνδειαν τοῖς ἐμαυτοῦ δούλοις καὶ τοῖς τούτου κόλαξιν ἐπίχαρτον γενόμενον. οὑμὸς ὑμῖν πατὴρ χιλίας ἔδωκεν ἀσπίδας, καὶ πολλὰ χρήσιμον αὑτὸν παρέσχε, καὶ πέντε τριήρεις ἐθελοντὴς ἐπιδοὺς καὶ παρʼ αὑτοῦ πληρώσας ἐτριηράρχησε τριηραρχίας. καὶ ταῦτα, οὐκ ὀφείλειν ὑμᾶς νομίζων χάριν ἡμῖν, ὑπομιμνῄσκω (ἡμεῖς γὰρ ὀφείλομεν ὑμῖν), ἀλλʼ ἵνα μὴ λάθω τι παθὼν τούτων ἀνάξιον· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑμῖν ἂν γένοιτο καλόν.
86. I have much to say regarding the indignities which I have suffered, but I see that I have not enough water left in the clock. I will tell you, therefore, how I think you will all best come to know the enormity of the wrongs that have been done me. You must each of you consider what slave he left at home, and then imagine that you have suffered from him the same treatment that I have suffered from Phormio. Do not take into consideration that they are severally Syrus or Manes or what not, while this fellow is Phormio. The thing is the same—they are slaves, and he was a slave; you are masters, and I was master.
86. πολλὰ δʼ ἔχων εἰπεῖν περὶ ὧν ὕβρισμαι, οὐχ ἱκανὸν τὸ ὕδωρ ὁρῶ μοι. ὡς οὖν μάλιστʼ ἂν ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς ἡγοῦμαι γνῶναι τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ὧν ἠδικήμεθʼ ἡμεῖς, φράσω· εἰ σκέψαιτο πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τίνʼ οἴκοι κατέλιπεν οἰκέτην, εἶθʼ ὑπὸ τούτου πεπονθόθʼ ἑαυτὸν θείη ταὔθʼ ἅπερ ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ τούτου. μὴ γὰρ εἰ Σύρος ἢ Μάνης ἢ τίς ἕκαστος ἐκείνων, οὗτος δὲ Φορμίων· ἀλλὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα ταὐτό· δοῦλοι μὲν ἐκεῖνοι, δοῦλος δʼ οὗτος ἦν, δεσπόται δʼ ὑμεῖς, δεσπότης δʼ ἦν ἐγώ.
87. Believe, then, that it is fitting now for me to exact the penalty which each one of you would claim; and in the interest of the laws and of the oaths which you have taken as jurors punish the man who has robbed me of a verdict by giving false testimony, and make him an example to others, remembering all that you have heard from me and bearing it in mind, if they attempt to mislead you, and meeting them at every point. If they deny that they have borne witness to all the facts, ask them these questions, “What stands written in the deposition? Why did you not strike it out at the time? What is the counter-plea in the custody of the archons?”
87. ἣν τοίνυν ὑμῶν ἂν ἕκαστος δίκην ἀξιώσειε λαβεῖν, ταύτην νομίζετε κἀμοὶ προσήκειν νῦν· καὶ τὸν ἀφῃρημένον τῷ μαρτυρῆσαι τὰ ψευδῆ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν νόμων καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅρκων οὓς ὀμωμοκότες δικάζετε, τιμωρήσασθε καὶ παράδειγμα ποιήσατε τοῖς ἄλλοις, μνημονεύοντες πάνθʼ ὅσʼ ἀκηκόαθʼ ἡμῶν, καὶ φυλάττοντες, ἐὰν παράγειν ἐπιχειρῶσιν ὑμᾶς, πρὸς ἕκαστον ἀπαντῶντες· ἐὰν μὴ φῶσιν ἅπαντα μεμαρτυρηκέναι, τί οὖν ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γέγραπται; τί οὖν οὐ τότʼ ἀπηλείφου;
88. If they declare that they have testified, one person that he lived as ward under a will, another that he served as guardian, and another that he has the will in his possession, demand of them, “What will? What were the provisions contained in it?” For to the deposition to which these men bore witness no one of the others has given corroborative testimony. But if they try whining tactics, you should consider that the one wronged is more deserving of pity than those about to be punished. If you act in this way, you will succor me, and you will restrain these men from their excessive adulation; and to your own satisfaction you will have rendered a righteous verdict.
88. τίς ἡ παρὰ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἀντιγραφή; ἐὰν μεμαρτυρηκέναι τὸν μὲν ἐπιτροπευθῆναι κατὰ διαθήκας, τὸν δʼ ἐπιτροπεῦσαι, τὸν δʼ ἔχειν, ποίας; ἐν αἷς τί γέγραπται; ταῦτʼ ἐρωτᾶτε· ἃ γὰρ οὗτοι μεμαρτυρήκασιν, οὐδεὶς ἐκείνων προσμεμαρτύρηκεν. ἐὰν δʼ ὀδύρωνται, τὸν πεπονθότʼ ἐλεινότερον τῶν δωσόντων δίκην ἡγεῖσθε. ταῦτα γὰρ ἂν ποιῆτε, ἐμοί τε βοηθήσετε, καὶ τούτους τῆς ἄγαν κολακείας ἐπισχήσετε, καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰ εὔορκʼ ἔσεσθʼ ἐψηφισμένοι.