163. For if you care to inquire why a man would rather live under democracy than under oligarchy, you will find that the most obvious reason is that under democracy things are done more considerately. I will not insist that the conduct of these men was more outrageous and intolerable than under any oligarchy, no matter where. But take our own city: at what time was the greatest severity practised here? I am sure you will all reply, in the days of the Thirty Tyrants.
163. εἰ γὰρ θέλετʼ ἐξετάσαι τίνος εἵνεκα μᾶλλον ἄν τις ἕλοιτʼ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ ζῆν ἢ ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ, τοῦτʼ ἂν εὕροιτε προχειρότατον, ὅτι πάντα πραότερʼ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ. ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν τῆς ὅπου βούλεσθʼ ὀλιγαρχίας πολλῷ ἀσελγέστερα καὶ δεινότερʼ ἐποίουν οὗτοι, παραλείψω. ἀλλὰ παρʼ ἡμῖν πότε πώποτε δεινότατʼ ἐν τῇ πόλει γέγονεν;
164. And yet, even at that time, as we are told, no man who had concealed himself in his own house was deprived of his security; indeed, the particular charge brought against the Thirty is that they wrongfully carried men to jail from the market-place. But these men carried their atrocity to far greater lengths than that, insomuch that, under democratic government, they made every man’s house his prison, bringing the police into our very homes.
164. εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι ἐπὶ τῶν τριάκοντα ἅπαντες ἂν εἴποιτε. τότε τοίνυν, ὡς ἔστιν ἀκούειν, οὐδεὶς ἔστιν ὅστις ἀπεστερεῖτο τοῦ σωθῆναι, ὅστις ἑαυτὸν οἴκοι κρύψειεν, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτο κατηγοροῦσι τῶν τριάκοντα, ὅτι τοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἀδίκως ἀπῆγον. οὗτοι τοίνυν τοσαύτην ὑπερβολὴν ἐποιήσαντʼ ἐκείνων τῆς αὑτῶν πονηρίας ὥστʼ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ πολιτευόμενοι τὴν ἰδίαν οἰκίαν ἑκάστῳ δεσμωτήριον καθίστασαν, τοὺς ἕνδεκʼ ἄγοντες ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκίας.
165. What do you think of this, men of Athens? A poor man, or, for the matter of that, a rich man, who had spent a great deal and was, perhaps, in a certain sense short of money, was not only afraid to show himself in the market-place, but found it unsafe even to stay at home. And to think that Androtion was responsible for those fears,—Androtion, whose past life and conduct disqualify him for seeking satisfaction at law even for himself, much more for imposing Property-taxes for the State.
165. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τί οἴεσθʼ ὁπότʼ ἄνθρωπος πένης ἢ καὶ πλούσιος, πολλὰ δʼ ἀνηλωκὼς καί τινʼ ἴσως τρόπον εἰκότως οὐκ εὐπορῶν ἀργυρίου, μὴ μόνον εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν φοβοῖτʼ ἐμβαλεῖν, ἀλλὰ μηδʼ οἴκοι μένειν ἀσφαλὲς ἡγοῖτο, ὁ δὲ τούτων αἴτιος Ἀνδροτίων εἴη, ὃν οὐδʼ ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ δίκην ἐᾷ λαβεῖν τὰ πεπραγμένα καὶ βεβιωμένα, μή τί γʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως [εἰσπράττειν εἰσφοράς];
166. If anyone asked him,—or asked you, Timocrates, the apologist and abettor of that gang,—whether our property or our persons are amenable to taxation, you would reply, if you chose to tell the truth, our property, because it is from our property that we pay. Then why, you unparalleled scoundrels, instead of confiscating estates and houses, and putting them on the schedule, did you imprison and maltreat men who were full citizens, as well as those unhappy aliens, whom you treated more outrageously than your own domestic slaves?
166. καίτοι εἴ τις ἔροιτʼ αὐτὸν ἢ σέ, ὦ Τιμόκρατες, τὸν ἐπαινέτην τούτων καὶ συνεργόν, τὰς εἰσφορὰς πότερον τὰ κτήματʼ ἢ τὰ σώματʼ ὀφείλει, τὰ κτήματα φήσαιτʼ ἄν, εἴπερ ἀληθῆ λέγειν βούλοισθε· ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτων εἰσφέρομεν. τίνος οὖν ἕνεκʼ, ὦ κάκιστοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων, ἀφέντες τὸ τὰ χωρία δημεύειν καὶ τὰς οἰκίας καὶ ταῦτʼ ἀπογράφειν, ἐδεῖτε καὶ ὑβρίζετε πολίτας ἀνθρώπους καὶ τοὺς ταλαιπώρους μετοίκους, οἷς ὑβριστικώτερον ὑμεῖς ἢ τοῖς οἰκέταις τοῖς ὑμετέροις αὐτῶν ἐχρῆσθε;
167. If, gentlemen of the jury, you will turn over in your minds the question what is the difference between being a slave and being a free man, you will find that the biggest difference is that the body of a slave is made responsible for all his misdeeds, whereas corporal punishment is the last penalty to inflict on a free man. These men reversed that principle, and applied punishment to the bodies of their victims, as though they were bondservants.
167. καὶ μὴν εἰ θέλετε σκέψασθαι παρʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τί δοῦλον ἢ ἐλεύθερον εἶναι διαφέρει, τοῦτο μέγιστον ἂν εὕροιτε, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν δούλοις τὸ σῶμα τῶν ἀδικημάτων ἁπάντων ὑπεύθυνόν ἐστιν, τοῖς δʼ ἐλευθέροις ὕστατον τοῦτο προσήκει κολάζειν. οἱ δὲ τοὐναντίον εἰς τὰ σώματα, ὥσπερ ἀνδραπόδοις, ἐποιήσαντο τὰς τιμωρίας.
168. Androtion’s behavior towards you was so unfair and so greedy that, whilst approving the conduct of his own father, who had been confined in jail for a debt to the State and made his escape without payment or trial, he thought it quite proper that any other citizen, who was unable to pay out of his own resources, should be dragged by him from his home to the jail and there imprisoned.
168. οὕτω δʼ ἀνίσως καὶ πλεονεκτικῶς ἔσχε πρὸς ὑμᾶς Ἀνδροτίων ὥστε τὸν μὲν αὑτοῦ πατέρʼ ᾤετο δεῖν, δημοσίᾳ δεθέντʼ ἐπὶ χρήμασιν ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ, μήτʼ ἀποδόντα ταῦτα μήτε κριθέντʼ ἀποδρᾶναι, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων πολιτῶν τὸν μὴ δυνάμενον τὰ ἑαυτοῦ θεῖναι οἴκοθεν εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀχθένθʼ ὑφʼ ἑαυτοῦ δεδέσθαι.
169. And Timocrates, at the time when he was levying double payment, would never have consented to accept bail, I do not say till the ninth presidency, but even for a single day, from any of us common people; we must either pay down the money or incontinently be lodged in prison. He used to hand over to the police even a man who had never been condemned in any court. Yet today he has dared, taking full responsibility, to introduce a law to enable persons on whom you have passed sentence, to go where they will in freedom.
169. καὶ Τιμοκράτης τῶν μὲν πολλῶν ἡμῶν τότε, ὅτε τὴν διπλασίαν εἰσέπραττεν, οὐδʼ ἂν παρʼ ἑνὸς λαβεῖν ἠθέλησεν ἐγγυητάς, μὴ ⟨ὅτι⟩ μέχρι τῆς ἐνάτης πρυτανείας, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ μιᾶς ἡμέρας, ἀλλʼ ἢ διπλᾶ τὰ χρήματʼ ἔδει καταβάλλειν ἢ παραχρῆμα δεδέσθαι· παρεδίδου δʼ οὗτος τοῖς ἕνδεκα τὸν οὐκ ὠφληκότʼ ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ. νῦν δʼ ὅπως ὧν ἂν ὑμεῖς καταγνῶτʼ ἄδετοι περιίασιν, ὑπεύθυνον αὑτὸν ποιήσας νόμον εἰσενεγκεῖν ἐτόλμησεν.
170. Nevertheless they will allege that both then and now they were acting in your interests. Will you then accept their exploits as due to zeal in your interests? Or will you indulgently tolerate the handiwork of their audacity and wickedness? No, men of Athens; you ought to abhor such men rather than liberate them. He who claims your indulgence as having acted for the good of the commonwealth must be shown to possess the spirit of the common wealth.
170. ἀλλʼ ὅμως κἀκεῖνα καὶ τάδε φήσουσʼ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πράττειν. εἶτα ταῦθʼ ὑμεῖς ἀναδέξεσθʼ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πεπρᾶχθαι, καὶ τὰ τῆς τούτων θρασύτητος καὶ πονηρίας ἔργα πράως οἴσετε; ἀλλὰ μισεῖν ὀφείλετε τοὺς τοιούτους, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μᾶλλον ἢ σῴζειν. τὸν γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως πράττοντά τι καὶ πράων ὑμῶν τευξόμενον τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἦθος ἔχοντα δεῖ φαίνεσθαι.
171. That spirit is a spirit of compassion for the helpless, and of resistance to the intimidation of the strong and powerful; it does not inspire brutal treatment of the populace, and subservience to the potentates of the day.—And such is your conduct, Timocrates; and therefore the jury will have better reason to refuse you a hearing and condemn you to death than to acquit you for the sake of Androtion.
171. τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ τί; τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς ἐλεεῖν, τοῖς ἰσχυροῖς καὶ δυναμένοις μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν ὑβρίζειν, οὐ τοὺς μὲν πολλοὺς ὠμῶς μεταχειρίζεσθαι, κολακεύειν δὲ τὸν ἀεί τι δύνασθαι δοκοῦντα. ὃ σὺ ποιεῖς, ὦ Τιμόκρατες· διʼ ἃ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἂν εἰκότως μὴ θελήσαντες ἀκοῦσαι σοῦ θάνατον καταψηφίσαινθʼ οὗτοι ἢ διʼ Ἀνδροτίωνʼ ἀφείησαν.
172. However, I will make it quite clear to you without more ado that they did not carry out those exactions for your benefit. If they were asked whether, in their opinion, the greater injury is done to the commonwealth by tillers of the soil, who live frugally, but, because of the cost of maintaining their children, or of household expenses, or of other public burdens, are behindhand with their taxes, or by people who plunder and squander the money of willing taxpayers and the revenue that comes from our allies, I am sure that, for all their hardihood, they would never have the audacity to reply that those who fail to contribute their own money are worse transgressors than those who embezzle public money.
172. ὅτι τοίνυν οὐδὲ τὴν εἴσπραξιν αὐτὴν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πεποίηνται, καὶ τοῦτʼ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλʼ ὑμῖν δῆλον ποιήσω. εἰ γάρ τις ἔροιτʼ αὐτοὺς πότερʼ αὐτοῖς δοκοῦσʼ ἀδικεῖν μᾶλλον τὴν πόλιν οἱ γεωργοῦντες καὶ φειδόμενοι, διὰ παιδοτροφίας δὲ καὶ οἰκεῖʼ ἀναλώματα καὶ λῃτουργίας ἑτέρας ἐλλελοιπότες εἰσφοράν, ἢ οἱ τὰ τῶν ἐθελησάντων εἰσενεγκεῖν χρήματα καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῶν συμμάχων κλέπτοντες καὶ ἀπολλύντες, οὐκ ἂν εἰς τοῦτο δήπου τόλμης, καίπερ ὄντες ἀναιδεῖς, ἔλθοιεν, ὥστε φῆσαι τοὺς τὰ ἑαυτῶν μὴ εἰσφέροντας μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖν ἢ τοὺς τὰ κοίνʼ ὑφαιρουμένους.
173. —What then is the reason, Timocrates and Androtion, that, though one of you has taken part in public life for more than thirty years, though during that time many commanders have defrauded the commonwealth, and many politicians as well, who have been tried in this court, and though some of them have suffered death for their crimes, and others have condemned themselves by slipping away and disappearing altogether, neither of you ever once appeared as prosecutor of those offenders, or expressed any indignation at the wrongs of the city, but made your first exhibition of anxiety for our welfare in an affair which involved harsh treatment of a great many people?
173. τίνος οὖν ἕνεκʼ, ὦ Τιμόκρατες καὶ Ἀνδροτίων, ἐτῶν ὄντων πλειόνων ἢ τριάκοντʼ ἀφʼ οὗ ὅ γʼ ἕτερος ὑμῶν πολιτεύεται, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ πολλῶν μὲν στρατηγῶν ἠδικηκότων τὴν πόλιν, πολλῶν δὲ ῥητόρων, οἳ παρὰ τουτοισὶ κέκρινται, ὧν οἱ μὲν τεθνᾶσιν ἐφʼ οἷς ἠδίκουν, οἱ δʼ ὑποχωρήσαντες ᾤχοντο καταγνόντες αὑτῶν, οὐδενὸς πώποτε τούτων ἐξητάσθη κατήγορος ὑμῶν οὐδέτερος, οὐδʼ ἀγανακτῶν ὤφθη ὑπὲρ ὧν ἡ πόλις πάσχει, ἀλλʼ ἐνταῦθʼ ἐφάνηθʼ ἡμῶν κηδόμενοι οὗ πολλοὺς ἔδει κακῶς ποιῆσαι;
174. —Do you wish me to tell you the reason, men of Athens? These men share in the frauds that certain persons practise on you, and they also get their pickings from the collection of revenue. In their insatiable greed they reap a double harvest from the State. For it is not an easier matter to make enemies of a multitude of petty offenders than of a few big offenders; neither of course is it a more popular thing to have an eye for the sins of the many than for the sins of the few.
174. βούλεσθʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ τούτων αἴτιον ἐγὼ ὑμῖν εἴπω; ὅτι τούτων μὲν μετέχουσιν ὧν ἀδικοῦσιν ὑμᾶς τινες, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν εἰσπραττομένων ὑφαιροῦνται· διʼ ἀπληστίαν δὲ τρόπων διχόθεν καρποῦνται τὴν πόλιν. οὔτε γὰρ ῥᾷον πολλοῖς καὶ τὰ μίκρʼ ἀδικοῦσιν ἀπεχθάνεσθαι ἢ ὀλίγοις καὶ μεγάλα, οὔτε δημοτικώτερον δήπου τὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἀδικήμαθʼ ὁρᾶν ἢ τὰ τῶν ὀλίγων.
175. However, the reason is what I am telling you. You must, therefore, take these facts into account, and, bearing in mind their several misdeeds, punish every one of them as soon as you have caught him. Never mind how long ago the offence was committed; consider only whether they committed it. If you are indulgent today to crimes that aroused your indignation then, it will look as though you sentenced them to repay the money because you were angry, not because you suffered any wrong. For to do something spiteful on the spur of the moment to the man who has hurt you is a symptom of anger; if you are really aggrieved, you wait till you have the malefactor at your mercy, and then punish him. You must not let it be inferred from your placability today that you disregarded your oaths and gratified an unjust passion then. You ought to detest them; you ought to be impatient of the sound of the voice of either of those two men, whose public conduct has been what I describe.
175. ἀλλὰ τοῦτʼ αἴτιον οὑγὼ λέγω. δεῖ τοίνυν ὑμᾶς ταῦτα λογιζομένους, καὶ μεμνημένους ὧν ἂν ἕκαστος ἁμάρτῃ, κολάζειν, ὅταν λάβητέ τινα, καὶ μὴ τὸν χρόνον εἰ πολύς ἐστʼ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου σκοπεῖν, ἀλλʼ εἰ ταῦτʼ ἐποίουν. ὡς εἰ νῦν πράως οἴσετʼ ἐφʼ οἷς τότʼ ἠγανακτεῖτε, δόξετʼ ὀργιζόμενοι κατεγνωκέναι τὰ χρήματα τούτων, οὐκ ἀδικούμενοι. τῶν μὲν γὰρ ὀργιζομένων ἐστὶν ὀξέως τι κακὸν τὸν λελυπηκότʼ ἐργάσασθαι, τῶν δʼ ἀδικουμένων, ὅταν ποθʼ ὑφʼ αὑτοῖς λάβωσι τὸν ἠδικηκότα, τότε τιμωρήσασθαι. οὔκουν δεῖ δοκεῖν, νῦν μαλακισθέντας, τότε τῶν ὀμωμοσμένων ὅρκων ἀμελήσαντας ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς χαρίσασθαι παρὰ τὸ δίκαιον, ἀλλὰ μισεῖν καὶ μηδʼ ἀνέχεσθαι φωνὴν μήτε τούτου μήτʼ ἐκείνου, τοιαῦτα πεπολιτευμένων.
176. Yes, but, in spite of those public delinquencies, there was, it may be said, other business which they managed with credit. On the contrary, in every respect their behavior towards their fellow-citizens has been such that the story you have heard is the least of the reasons you have for hating them. What do you wish me to mention? How they repaired the processional ornaments? How they broke up the crowns? Their success as manufacturers of saucers?
176. ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία ταῦτα μὲν τοιοῦτοι γεγόνασιν ἐν οἷς πεπολίτευνται, ἄλλα δʼ ἔσθʼ ἃ καλῶς διῳκήκασιν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τἄλλʼ οὕτω προσεληλύθασι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὥσθʼ ἥκιστʼ ἐν οἷς ἀκηκόατʼ ἄξιόν ἐστι μισεῖν αὐτούς. τί γὰρ βούλεσθʼ εἴπω; τὰ πομπεῖʼ ὡς ἐπεσκευάκασι, καὶ τὴν τῶν στεφάνων καθαίρεσιν, ἢ τὴν τῶν φιαλῶν ποίησιν τὴν καλήν;
177. Why, for those performances alone, though they had committed no other fraud on the City, it seems to me that they deserve not one but three sentences of death; for they are guilty of sacrilege, of impiety, of embezzlement, of every monstrous crime. The greater part, then, of the speech by which Androtion threw dust in your eyes I will leave unnoticed; but, by alleging that the leaves of the crowns were rotten with age and falling off,—as though they were violet-leaves or rose-leaves, not leaves made of gold—he persuaded you to melt them down. Being appointed to perform that operation, he chose as his assistant Timocrates, the constant partner of his misdeeds.
177. ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις γε, εἰ μηδὲν ἄλλʼ ἠδίκουν τὴν πόλιν, τρίς, οὐχ ἅπαξ τεθνάναι δικαίως ἄν μοι δοκοῦσιν· καὶ γὰρ ἱεροσυλίᾳ καὶ ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ κλοπῇ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς δεινοτάτοις εἴσʼ ἔνοχοι. τὰ μὲν οὖν πόλλʼ ὧν λέγων ἐφενάκιζεν ὑμᾶς Ἀνδροτίων, παραλείψω· φήσας δʼ ἀπορρεῖν τὰ φύλλα τῶν στεφάνων καὶ σαπροὺς εἶναι διὰ τὸν χρόνον, ὥσπερ ἴων ἢ ῥόδων ὄντας, ἀλλʼ οὐ χρυσίου, συγχωνεύειν ἔπεισεν. αἱρεθεὶς δʼ ἐπὶ ταῦτα προσείλετο τοῦτον τὸν πάντων τῶν κακῶν κοινωνόν.
178. And then, in providing for the collection of taxes, he had put in a clause that the public accountant should attend. That was very honest of him; only every taxpayer was certain to check the accounts. But in dealing with the crowns that he was to break up, he left out that very proper regulation; he was himself orator, goldsmith, business-manager, and auditor of accounts.
178. κᾆτʼ ἐπὶ μὲν ταῖς εἰσφοραῖς τὸν δημόσιον παρεῖναι προσέγραψεν ὡς δὴ δίκαιος ὤν, ὧν ἕκαστος ἀντιγραφεὺς ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι τῶν εἰσενεγκόντων· ἐπὶ τοῖς στεφάνοις δʼ οὓς κατέκοπτεν οὐχὶ προσήγαγεν ταὐτὸ δίκαιον τοῦτο, ἀλλʼ αὑτὸς ῥήτωρ, χρυσοχόος, ταμίας, ἀντιγραφεὺς γέγονεν.
179. —Now if you, sir, had claimed our entire confidence in all your public business, your dishonesty would not have been equally manifest; but, seeing that in the matter of the taxes you laid down the just principle that the City must trust, not you, but her own servants, and then, when you took up another job, and were tampering with the consecrated plate, some of it dedicated before we were born, you forgot to provide the precaution that was taken at your own instance in respect of the tax-collection, is it not perfectly clear what you were aiming at? Of course it is.
179. καὶ μὴν εἰ μὲν ἅπαντʼ ἠξίους, ὅσα πράττεις τῇ πόλει, σαυτῷ πιστεύειν, οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως κλέπτης ὢν ἐφωρῶ· νῦν δʼ ἐπὶ ταῖς εἰσφοραῖς ὃ δίκαιόν ἐσθʼ ὁρίσας, μὴ σοὶ πιστεύειν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς αὑτῆς δούλοις τὴν πόλιν, ὁπότʼ ἄλλο τι πράττων καὶ χρήματα κινῶν ἱερά, ὧν ἔνιʼ οὐδʼ ἐπὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας γενεᾶς ἀνετέθη, μὴ προσγραψάμενος τὴν αὐτὴν φυλακὴν ἥνπερ ἐπὶ τῶν εἰσφορῶν φαίνει, οὐκ ἤδη δῆλον διʼ ὃ τοῦτʼ ἐποίησας; ἐγὼ μὲν οἶμαι.
180. Again, men of Athens, consider those glorious and much-admired inscriptions that he has obliterated for all time, and the strange and blasphemous inscriptions that he has written in their stead. You all, I suppose, used to see the words written under the circlets of the crowns: “The Allies crowned the People for valor and righteousness,” or “The Allies dedicated to the Goddess of Athens a prize of victory”; or, from the several states of the Alliance, “Such-and-such a city crowned the People by whom they were delivered,” or “The liberated Euboeans,” for example, “crowned the People,” or again “Conon from the sea-fight with the Lacedaemonians,” “Chabrias from the sea-fight off Naxos.”
180. καὶ μήν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου σκέψασθʼ ὡς καλὰ καὶ ζηλώτʼ ἐπιγράμματα τῆς πόλεως ἀνελὼν ὡς ἀσεβῆ καὶ δείνʼ ἀντεπέγραψεν. οἶμαι γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἅπαντας ὁρᾶν ὑπὸ τῶν στεφάνων ταῖς χοινικίσιν κάτωθεν γεγραμμένα οἱ σύμμαχοι τὸν δῆμον ἀνδραγαθίας εἵνεκα [ἐστεφάνωσαν] καὶ δικαιοσύνης, ἢ οἱ σύμμαχοι ἀριστεῖον τῇ Ἀθηναίᾳ [ἀνέθεσαν], ἢ κατὰ πόλεις οἱ δεῖνες τὸν δῆμον [ἐστεφάνωσαν] σωθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, οἷον Εὐβοεῖς ἐλευθερωθέντες ἐστεφάνωσαν τὸν δῆμον [ἐπεγέγραπτό που], πάλιν Κόνων ἀπὸ τῆς ναυμαχίας τῆς πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους, Χαβρίας ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Νάξῳ ναυμαχίας· τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἦν τὰ τῶν στεφάνων ἐπιγράμματα.
181. Such, I say, were the inscriptions on the crowns. They were tokens of emulation and honorable ambition; but now they have vanished with the destruction of the crowns, and the saucers which that lewd fellow has had made in their place bear the inscription “Made by direction of Androtion.” And so our temples contain gold plate marked with the name of a man whom the laws forbid to enter those temples in person because of his filthy life. Just like the old inscriptions,—Is it not?—and the same incentive to your ambitions!
181. ταῦτα μὲν τοίνυν, ἃ [πρότερον] ζῆλον πολὺν εἶχε καὶ φιλοτιμίαν ὑμῖν, ἠφάνισται καθαιρεθέντων τῶν στεφάνων· ἐπὶ ταῖς φιάλαις δʼ ἃς ἀντʼ ἐκείνων ἐποιήσαθʼ ὑμῖν ὁ πόρνος οὗτος, Ἀνδροτίωνος ἐπιμελουμένου ἐπιγέγραπται, καὶ οὗ τὸ σῶμʼ ἡταιρηκότος οὐκ ἐῶσιν οἱ νόμοι εἰς τὰ ἱέρʼ εἰσιέναι, τούτου τοὔνομʼ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἐπὶ τῶν φιαλῶν γεγραμμένον ἐστίν. ὅμοιόν γε, οὐ γάρ; τοῦτο τοῖς προτέροις ἐπιγράμμασιν, ἢ φιλοτιμίαν ἴσην ἔχον ὑμῖν.
182. You may, then, mark three scandalous crimes committed by these persons. They have robbed the Goddess of her crowns. They have extinguished in the City that spirit of emulation that sprang from the achievements which the crowns, while in being, commemorated. They have deprived the donors of a great honor,—the credit of gratitude for benefits received. And after this long series of evil deeds they have grown so callous and so audacious that one of them expects you to acquit him for the sake of the other, and the other sits by his side and does not sink into the ground for shame at his conduct.
182. τρία τοίνυν ἐκ τούτου τὰ δεινότατʼ ἄν τις ἴδοι πεπραγμένʼ αὐτοῖς. τὴν μὲν γὰρ θεὸν τοὺς στεφάνους σεσυλήκασιν· τῆς πόλεως δὲ τὸν ζῆλον ἠφανίκασιν τὸν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων, ὧν ὑπόμνημʼ ἦσαν ὄντες οἱ στέφανοι· τοὺς δʼ ἀναθέντας δόξαν οὐ μικρὰν ἀφῄρηνται, τὸ δοκεῖν ὧν ἂν εὖ πάθωσʼ ἐθέλειν μεμνῆσθαι. καὶ τοιαῦτα καὶ τοσαῦτα τὸ πλῆθος κάκʼ εἰργασμένοι εἰς τοῦτʼ ἀναισθησίας καὶ τόλμης προεληλύθασιν, ὥσθʼ ὁ μὲν οἴεται διʼ ἐκεῖνον ὑφʼ ὑμῶν σωθήσεσθαι, ὁ δὲ παρακάθηται καὶ οὐ καταδύεται τοῖς πεπραγμένοις.
183. Not only is he lost to shame when money is in question, but he is so dull-witted that he cannot see that crowns are a symbol of merit, but saucers and the like only of wealth; that every crown, however small, implies the same regard for honor as if it were large; that drinking-cups and censers and such possessions, if very numerous, attach to their owners a sort of reputation for wealth; but, if a man takes pride in trifles, instead of winning some honor by them, he is disdained as a man of vulgar tastes. This man, then, after destroying the possessions of honor, has made the possessions of wealth mean and unworthy of your dignity.
183. οὕτω δʼ οὐ μόνον εἰς χρήματʼ ἀναιδής, ἀλλὰ καὶ σκαιός ἐστιν, ὥστʼ οὐκ οἶδεν ἐκεῖνο, ὅτι στέφανοι μέν εἰσʼ ἀρετῆς σημεῖον, φιάλαι δὲ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πλούτου, καὶ στέφανος μὲν ἅπας, κἂν μικρὸς ᾖ, τὴν ἴσην φιλοτιμίαν ἔχει τῷ μεγάλῳ, ἐκπώματα δʼ ἢ θυμιατήρια ἢ τὰ τοιαῦτα κτήματα, ἐὰν μὲν ὑπερβάλλῃ τῷ πλήθει, πλούτου τινὰ δόξαν προσετρίψατο τοῖς κεκτημένοις, ἐὰν δʼ ἐπὶ μικροῖς σεμνύνηταί τις, τοσοῦτʼ ἀπέχει τοῦ τιμῆς τινος διὰ ταῦτα τυχεῖν ὥστʼ ἀπειρόκαλος πρὸς ἔδοξεν εἶναι. οὗτος τοίνυν ἀνελὼν τὰ τῆς δόξης κτήματα τὰ τοῦ πλούτου πεποίηται μικρὰ καὶ ἀνάξιʼ ὑμῶν.
184. There is another thing that he did not understand, that the Athenian democracy, never eager to acquire riches, coveted glory more than any other possession in the world. Here is the proof: once they possessed greater wealth than any other Hellenic people, but they spent it all for love of honor; they laid their private fortunes under contribution, and recoiled from no peril for glory’s sake. Hence the People inherits possessions that will never die; on the one hand the memory of their achievements, on the other, the beauty of the memorials set up in their honor,—yonder Gate-houses, the Parthenon, the porticoes, the docks—not a couple of jugs, or three or four bits of gold plate, weighing a pound apiece, which you, Timocrates, will propose to melt down again whenever the whim takes you.
184. καὶ οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνʼ εἶδεν, ὅτι πρὸς μὲν χρημάτων κτῆσιν οὐδεπώποθʼ ὁ δῆμος ἐσπούδασεν, πρὸς δὲ δόξης ὡς οὐδὲ πρὸς ἓν τῶν ἄλλων. τεκμήριον δέ· χρήματα μὲν γὰρ πλεῖστα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ποτὲ σχὼν ἅπανθʼ ὑπὲρ φιλοτιμίας ἀνήλωσεν, ὑπὲρ δὲ δόξης εἰσφέρων ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων οὐδένα πώποτε κίνδυνον ἐξέστη. ἀφʼ ὧν κτήματʼ ἀθάνατʼ αὐτῷ περίεστιν, τὰ μὲν τῶν ἔργων ἡ μνήμη, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀναθημάτων τῶν ἐπʼ ἐκείνοις σταθέντων τὸ κάλλος, προπύλαια ταῦτα, ὁ παρθενών, στοαί, νεώσοικοι, οὐκ ἀμφορίσκοι δύο οὐδὲ χρυσίδες τέτταρες ἢ τρεῖς, ἄγουσʼ ἑκάστη μνᾶν, ἅς, ὅταν σοι δοκῇ, πάλιν γράψεις καταχωνεύειν.
185. To dedicate those buildings they did not tithe themselves, nor fulfil the imprecations of their enemies by doubling the income-tax; nor was their policy ever guided by such advisers as you. No, they conquered their enemies, they fulfilled the prayers of every sound-hearted man by establishing concord throughout the city, and so they have bequeathed to us their imperishable glory, and excluded from the marketplace men whose habits of life were what yours have always been.
185. οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς δεκατεύοντες, οὐδʼ ἃν καταράσαινθʼ οἱ ἐχθροὶ ποιοῦντες, διπλᾶς πράττοντες τὰς εἰσφοράς, ταῦτʼ ἀνέθεσαν, οὐδʼ οἵοισπερ σὺ χρώμενοι συμβούλοις ἐπολιτεύοντο, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς κρατοῦντες, καὶ ἃ πᾶς τις ἂν εὖ φρονῶν εὔξαιτο, τὴν πόλιν εἰς ὁμόνοιαν ἄγοντες, ἀθάνατον κλέος αὑτῶν λελοίπασι, τοὺς ἐπιτηδεύοντας οἷά σοι βεβίωται τῆς ἀγορᾶς εἴργοντες.
186. But you, men of Athens, have grown so extremely good-natured and pliable, that, with those examples ever before you, you do not imitate them,—and Androtion is the repairer of your processional plate. Androtion! Gracious Heavens! Do you think impiety could go further than that? I hold that the man who is to enter the holy places, to lay hands on the vessels of lustration and the sacrificial baskets, and to become the director of divine worship, ought not to be pure for a prescribed number of days only his whole life should have been kept pure of the habits that have polluted the life of Androtion.
186. ὑμεῖς δʼ εἰς τοσοῦτον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, προῆχθʼ εὐηθείας καὶ ῥᾳθυμίας ὥστʼ οὐδὲ τοιαῦτʼ ἔχοντες παραδείγματα ταῦτα μιμεῖσθε, ἀλλʼ Ἀνδροτίων ὑμῖν πομπείων ἐπισκευαστής, Ἀνδροτίων, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί. καὶ τοῦτʼ ἀσέβημʼ ἔλαττον τίνος ἡγεῖσθε; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι δεῖν τὸν εἰς ἱέρʼ εἰσιόντα καὶ χερνίβων καὶ κανῶν ἁψόμενον, καὶ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπιμελείας προστάτην ἐσόμενον οὐχὶ τακτὸν ἡμερῶν ἀριθμὸν ἁγνεύειν, ἀλλὰ τὸν βίον ἡγνευκέναι τοιούτων ἐπιτηδευμάτων οἷα τούτῳ βεβίωται.
187. Of Androtion I may speak at greater length hereafter. As for what he will say in support of Timocrates, I have still much more to say, but I will refrain. I am sure that he will not be able to deny that this law is undesirable, that it was introduced unconstitutionally, and that it is iniquitous in every respect; but I understand that he alleges that the money has now been paid in full by Androtion, Glaucetes, and Melanopus, and that he would be most infamously treated if, when the people on whose behalf he is accused of proposing his law have made full restitution, he should nevertheless be convicted.
187. καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτου κατὰ σχολήν· ἃ δὲ Τιμοκράτης νῦν ἐρεῖ, πολλὰ λέγειν ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ἔχων παύσομαι. οἶδα δʼ ὅτι, ὡς μὲν οὐκ ἀσύμφορος ὑμῖν ἐσθʼ ὁ νόμος καὶ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς νόμους εἰσενηνεγμένος καὶ κατὰ πάντʼ ἀδίκως ἔχων, οὐχ ἕξει λέγειν· ἀκούω δʼ αὐτὸν λέγειν ὡς ἐκτέτεισται τὰ χρήματʼ Ἀνδροτίωνι καὶ Γλαυκέτῃ καὶ Μελανώπῳ, καὶ ὅτι δεινότατʼ ἂν πάθοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων, εἰ πεποιηκότων ἐκείνων τὰ δίκαια, ὑπὲρ ὧν [αὐτὸς] αἰτίαν ἔχει θεῖναι τὸν νόμον, μηδὲν ἧττον αὐτὸς ἁλίσκοιτο.
188. In my judgement, it is not open to him to make the slightest use of that plea.—If you, sir, admit that you did bring in your law on behalf of the persons who, as you say, have now done their duty, you must clearly be found guilty on this count,—that statutes still valid distinctly forbid you to introduce a law that does not apply equally to every citizen; and the jury have sworn to give judgement in accordance with those statutes.
188. ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν λόγον ἡγοῦμαι τοῦτον οὐδὲ καθʼ ἓν λέγειν ἐνεῖναι τούτῳ. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὲρ τούτων, οὓς τὰ προσήκοντα φῂς πεποιηκέναι, θεῖναι τὸν νόμον ὁμολογεῖς, κατʼ ἐκεῖνο προσήκει σʼ ἁλίσκεσθαι φανερῶς, ὅτι μὴ τιθέναι νόμον, ἂν μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πολίταις, ἄντικρυς οἱ κύριοι νόμοι λέγουσι, καθʼ οὓς οὗτοι δικάσειν ὀμωμόκασιν.
189. On the other hand, if you say that you legislated for the general good, you must not plead the payment made by these men,—it has nothing to do with your law,—you must prove that the law itself is acceptable and well conceived. That is the motive you allege; that is what I deny, and have therefore indicted you; that is the issue which the jury is to decide.—I should, indeed, have no difficulty in proving that respect for law is by no means the reason why these persons have paid their debt; but as that is not the question on which the jury have to vote, why trouble them by discussing it now?
189. εἰ δὲ τοῦ πᾶσι συμφέροντος εἵνεκα ταῦτα νομοθετῆσαι φήσεις, μὴ λέγε τὴν ἔκτισιν τὴν τούτων· οὐδὲν γὰρ κοινωνεῖ τῷ νόμῳ τῷδε· ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐπιτήδειός ἐστιν καὶ καλῶς ἔχων ὁ νόμος, τοῦτο δίδασκε. τοῦτο γάρ ἐσθʼ ὑπὲρ οὗ σὺ μὲν εἰσενεγκεῖν φῄς, ἐγὼ δὲ γέγραμμαι τἀναντία φάσκων, κρῖναι δὲ προσήκει τουτουσί. καίτοι καὶ τοῦτʼ οὐκ ἀπορήσαιμʼ ἂν δεῖξαι, πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους πεποιημένους τὴν ἔκτισιν ἐκείνους τὴν τῶν χρημάτων· ἀλλὰ μὴ περὶ τούτων ὑμῶν οἰσόντων τὴν ψῆφον, τί δεῖ ταῦτα λέγοντʼ ἐνοχλεῖν με νυνί;
190. He will not, I suppose, spare you the argument that it would be very hard on him to be punished for proposing that no Athenian citizen shall be sent to jail; and that it is for the benefit more especially of people without influence that laws should be as merciful and humane as possible. To avoid being led astray, you will do well to listen to a brief rejoinder to that plea.
190. οἶμαι τοίνυν αὐτὸν οὐδʼ ἐκείνων ἀφέξεσθαι τῶν λόγων, ὡς δείνʼ ἂν πάθοι, εἰ γράψας ὅπως Ἀθηναίων μηδεὶς δεθήσεται αὐτὸς πείσεταί τι κακόν, καὶ ὅτι τοὺς νόμους ὡς πραοτάτους καὶ μετριωτάτους εἶναι ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδυνάτων μάλιστʼ ἐστίν. πρὸς δὴ τοὺς τοιούτους λόγους βέλτιον ἀκηκοέναι μικρὰ πάντας ὑμᾶς, ἵνʼ ἧττον ἐξαπατᾶσθε.
191. For when he uses the phrase, “that no Athenian citizen shall be sent to jail,” do not forget that he is lying. That is not his proposal; it is that you jurors shall lose your control over penalties. He is trying to establish the right of appeal against a verdict returned on oath, after argument and trial. Do not let him pick out of his law and read a few phrases that have a benevolent sound to the ear let him produce the whole statute, clause by clause, and allow you to consider its effects. You will find that it is what I describe, not what he pretends.
191. ὅταν μὲν γὰρ λέγῃ, ὅπως μηδεὶς Ἀθηναίων δεθήσεται, μὴ λανθανέτω ψευδόμενος ὑμᾶς. οὐ γὰρ τοῦτο τέθηκεν, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ὑμεῖς ἄκυροι τῶν προστιμημάτων ἔσεσθε· καὶ τὴν μεθʼ ὅρκου καὶ λόγου καὶ κρίσεως ψῆφον ἐνηνεγμένην ἀνάδικον καθίστησιν. μὴ δὴ ταῦθʼ ὑμῖν τῶν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ῥημάτων ἐκλέξας λεγέτω, ἃ φιλανθρωπότατʼ ἐστὶν ἀκοῦσαι· ἀλλʼ ὅλον δεικνύτω τὸν νόμον ἑξῆς, καὶ τὰ συμβαίνοντʼ ἐξ αὐτοῦ σκοπεῖν ἐάτω. εὑρήσετε γὰρ ταῦτʼ ὄνθʼ ἃ ἐγὼ λέγω, καὶ οὐχ ἅ φησιν οὗτος.
192. Again, with regard to the plea that merciful and humane laws are good for the common people, you must consider this. There are two sorts of problems, men of Athens, with which the laws of all nations are concerned. First, what are the principles under which we associate with one another, have dealings with one another, define the obligations of private life, and, in general, order our social relations? Secondly, what are the duties that every man among us owes to the commonwealth, if he chooses to take part in public life and professes any concern for the State?
192. ἀλλὰ μὴν πρός γε τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς συμφέρειν τοὺς νόμους πράους καὶ μετρίους εἶναι τάδε χρὴ σκοπεῖν. ἔστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δύʼ εἴδη περὶ ὧν εἰσιν οἱ νόμοι κατὰ πάσας τὰς πόλεις· ὧν τὸ μέν ἐστιν, διʼ ὧν χρώμεθʼ ἀλλήλοις καὶ συναλλάττομεν καὶ περὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἃ χρὴ ποιεῖν διωρίσμεθα καὶ ζῶμεν ὅλως τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτούς, τὸ δέ, ὃν τρόπον δεῖ τῷ κοινῷ τῆς πόλεως ἕνʼ ἕκαστον ἡμῶν χρῆσθαι, ἂν πολιτεύεσθαι βούληται καὶ φῇ κήδεσθαι τῆς πόλεως.
193. Now it is to the advantage of the common people that laws of the former category, laws of private intercourse, shall be distinguished by clemency and humanity. On the other hand it is to your common advantage that laws of the second class, the laws that govern our relations to the State, shall be trenchant and peremptory, because, if they are so, politicians will not do so much harm to the commonalty. Therefore, when he makes use of this plea, refute it by telling him that he is introducing clemency, not into the laws that benefit you, but into the laws that intimidate politicians.
193. ἐκείνους μὲν τοίνυν τοὺς νόμους τοὺς περὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἠπίως κεῖσθαι καὶ φιλανθρώπως ὑπὲρ τῶν πολλῶν ἐστιν· τούσδε δὲ τοὺς περὶ τῶν πρὸς τὸ δημόσιον τοὐναντίον ἰσχυρῶς καὶ χαλεπῶς ἔχειν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἥκισθʼ οἱ πολιτευόμενοι τοὺς πολλοὺς ὑμᾶς ἀδικοῖεν. ὅταν δὴ τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ χρῆται, ἐπὶ ταῦτʼ ἀπαντᾶτε, ὅτι τοὺς νόμους οὐκ ἐκείνους τοὺς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πράους ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ τούσδʼ οἳ τοῖς πολιτευομένοις φόβον παρέχουσιν.
194. It would take a long speech to prove, point by point, that everything he will say will be intended to hoodwink and mislead you. Most of his topics I will pass over, but I will mention one leading point which you will bear in mind. Watch all his pleas, however various, and see if he will be able to advance one to prove his contention that a legislator may justly make the same ordinance for bygone issues, already determined, as for cases yet to come. Every clause of his law is infamous and outrageous; but that provision is the most outrageous and unconstitutional of all.
194. πολλὰ δʼ ἄν τις ἔχοι λέγειν, εἰ καθʼ ἕκαστον ὧν ἐρεῖ δεικνύναι βούλοιτο φενακισμοῦ καὶ παρακρούσεως εἵνεκα ῥηθησόμενα. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πολλὰ παρήσω, κεφάλαιον δʼ ὑμῖν ὃ μνημονεύσετʼ ἐρῶ. σκοπεῖτʼ ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς λόγοις, ὁπόσους ἂν λέγῃ, εἴ τι δυνήσεται τοιοῦτον εἰπεῖν διʼ οὗ διδάξει ὡς ἔστι δίκαιον τὸν τιθέντα νόμον ταὐτὰ προστάξαι περὶ τῶν παρεληλυθότων καὶ τέλος ἐσχηκότων καὶ περὶ τῶν μελλόντων γενήσεσθαι· πάντων γὰρ ὄντων αἰσχρῶν καὶ δεινῶν τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, τοῦτο δεινότατον καὶ μάλιστα παράνομον γέγραπται.
195. But, if neither the defendant nor any other man can make good that contention, you must clearly recognize that you are being deluded, and you must ask yourselves how it ever occurred to his mind to legislate in this fashion.—You did not bring in your law gratuitously, Timocrates. No, indeed! far from it. You can offer no excuse for daring to introduce such a measure, except that cursed greediness of yours. Not one of these men is your kinsman, or a member of your household, or has any natural claim on you.
195. εἰ δὲ μήθʼ οὗτος μήτʼ ἄλλος μηδεὶς τοῦτο δυνήσεται δεῖξαι, εἰδέναι χρὴ σαφῶς φενακιζομένους, καὶ λογίζεσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τίνος ποτʼ ἐπῆλθε τούτῳ τοιαῦτα νομοθετεῖν. οὐ προῖκʼ, ὦ Τιμόκρατες, πόθεν; οὐδʼ ὀλίγου δεῖ, τοῦτον ἔθηκας τὸν νόμον· οὐδεμίαν γὰρ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοις ἄλλην πρόφασιν διʼ ἣν τοιοῦτον ἐπήρθης εἰσενεγκεῖν νόμον, ἢ τὴν σαυτοῦ θεοῖς ἐχθρὰν αἰσχροκέρδειαν· οὔτε γὰρ συγγενὴς οὔτʼ οἰκεῖος οὔτʼ ἀναγκαῖος ἦν σοι τούτων οὐδείς.
196. Nor can you plead that you took compassion on ill-used men, and therefore resolved to help them. That long after date they should restore money belonging to the citizens, reluctantly, unwillingly, and after conviction in three courts of justice,—you certainly never thought that ill-usage. That means ill-conduct, and should rather provoke our indignation than incline us to pity. Nor do you take pity on them because a humane and considerate disposition is a peculiar trait of your character.
196. οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἂν ἔχοις εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἐλεήσας δεινὰ πάσχοντας ἀνθρώπους εἵλου διὰ ταῦτα βοηθεῖν αὐτοῖς· οὔτε γὰρ τὰ τούτων πολλοστῷ χρόνῳ μόλις ἄκοντας, ἐν τρισὶν ἐξελεγχθέντας δικαστηρίοις, κατατιθέναι, τοῦθʼ ἡγήσω [τὸ] δεινὰ πάσχειν εἶναι· ποιεῖν γάρ ἐστι τοῦτό γε δεινά, καὶ παροξύνειεν μᾶλλον ἄν τινα μισεῖν ἢ προτρέψειʼ ἐλεεῖν· οὔτʼ ἄλλως πρᾶος καὶ φιλάνθρωπος σύ τις τῶν ἄλλων διαφόρως ὢν ἐλεεῖς αὐτούς·
197. Compassion for Androtion, Glaucetes, and Melanopus, because they have to repay stolen money, shows a temper quite different from your refusal of compassion to everyone of the many persons here present, and of all the other citizens, whose houses you invaded with police-magistrates, receivers, and clerks at your heels; with demolishing their front-doors, dragging their bed-clothes from under them, and levying distraint on a man’s maidservant, if he was living with her; and that is how you and Androtion were employed for a whole twelve-month.
197. οὐ γάρ ἐστι τῆς αὐτῆς ψυχῆς Ἀνδροτίωνα μὲν καὶ Μελάνωπον καὶ Γλαυκέτην ἐλεεῖν, ἃ κλέψαντες εἶχον εἰ καταθήσουσι, τουτωνὶ δὲ τοσούτων ὄντων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν, ὧν ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκίας ἐβάδιζες σὺ τοὺς ἕνδεκα καὶ τοὺς ἀποδέκτας ἔχων καὶ τοὺς ὑπηρέτας, μηδένα πώποτʼ ἐλεῆσαι, ἀλλὰ θύρας ἀφαιρεῖν καὶ στρώμαθʼ ὑποσπᾶν καὶ διάκονον, εἴ τις ἐχρῆτο, ταύτην ἐνεχυράζειν· ἃ σὺ πάντʼ ἐποίεις ἐνιαυτὸν ὅλον μετʼ Ἀνδροτίωνος.
198. —Yes, it was you citizens who were the more infamously ill-used;—and as for you, you reprobate, you had far more reason to pity your fellow-citizens, who, thanks to you speech-makers, never get a moment’s respite from taxpaying. Even that is not enough they are compelled to pay double, compelled by you and Androtion, who never paid income-tax in your lives.
198. πολλῷ γὰρ δήπου σχετλιώτερʼ ἐπάσχεθʼ ὑμεῖς, καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἂν εἰκότως ἠλέεις τούτους, οἳ διʼ ὑμᾶς, ὦ κατάρατε, τοὺς λέγοντας οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν εἰσφέροντες παύονται. καὶ οὐκ ἀπόχρη τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ διπλᾶ πράττονται, καὶ ταῦθʼ ὑπὸ σοῦ καὶ Ἀνδροτίωνος, οἳ μίαν εἰσφορὰν οὐδεπώποτʼ εἰσενηνόχατε.
199. —And yet this fellow was so self-confident,—as though he could never be brought to justice for his doings,—that, with ten colleagues in office, he alone joined Androtion in making his return. Yes indeed; gratuitously and from purely unselfish motives, Timocrates provokes your hostility, introducing laws that contradict every statute, and that even, to crown all, contradict a statute of his own making! By our Lady, I think that even you must recognize his generosity!
199. τηλικοῦτο τοίνυν ἐφρόνησεν οὗτος, ὡς ἄρʼ οὐδὲ δίκην τούτων οὐδεμίαν δώσων, ὥστε μόνος δέκα τῶν συναρχόντων ὄντων κοινῇ τὸν λόγον ἐγγράψαι μετʼ Ἀνδροτίωνος ἐτόλμησεν. προῖκα γάρ, οὐδὲν ὠφελούμενος, ὑμῖν Τιμοκράτης ἀπεχθάνεται καὶ νόμους εἰσφέρει πᾶσιν ἐναντίους, τὸ τελευταῖον δὲ καὶ αὑτοῦ νόμῳ προτέρῳ, ὃ μὰ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν οὐδʼ ὑμᾶς οἴομαι λανθάνειν.
200. I will now tell you, without any hesitation, something that, in my opinion, deserves your sternest indignation. Men of Athens, while he is doing all this for money, while he has, to tell the truth, deliberately adopted the profession of paid agent, he does not spend his earnings on purposes that might claim the indulgence of anyone who heard of them. What purposes do I mean? Well, gentlemen of the jury, the defendant’s father is in debt to the Treasury. I do not mention that by way of reproach, but because I cannot help it. And this dutiful son allows him to remain in debt!
200. ὃ τοίνυν ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ μάλιστʼ ἄξιον ὀργῆς εἶναι, φράσω καὶ οὐκ ἀποτρέψομαι, ὅτι ταῦτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πράττων ἐπʼ ἀργυρίῳ, καὶ προῃρημένος ὡς ἀληθῶς μισθαρνεῖν, οὐκ εἰς ἃ καὶ συγγνώμην ἀκούσας ἄν τις ἔσχε, ταῦτʼ ἀναλίσκει. ταῦτα δʼ ἐστὶν τί; ὁ πατήρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὁ τούτου τῷ δημοσίῳ ὀφείλει· καὶ οὐκ ὀνειδίζων ἐκείνῳ λέγω, ἀλλʼ ἀναγκαζόμενος· καὶ οὗτος ὁ χρηστὸς περιορᾷ.
201. Here is a man who is going to inherit disfranchisement, if anything happens to his father, and yet does not think proper to pay the debt, but prefers to pocket the profit of his meanness so long as his father lives. Is such a man likely to keep his hands off anything?—For your own father you have no compassion; you do not think him ill-used because, while you are getting your pickings and making your profits out of the taxes you used to collect, out of the decrees you move, out of the laws you introduce, he is losing his citizen-rights for lack of a trifling sum of money. And yet you call yourself a compassionate man!
201. καίτοι ὅστις μέλλων κληρονομήσειν τῆς ἀτιμίας, ἂν ἐκεῖνός τι πάθῃ, μὴ οἴεται δεῖν ἐκτεῖσαι, ἀλλὰ κερδαίνειν, ὃν ἐκεῖνος ζῇ χρόνον, ἀξιοῖ τοῦτο τὸ κέρδος, τίνος ἂν ὑμῖν ἀποσχέσθαι δοκεῖ; καὶ τὸν μὲν πατέρʼ οὔτʼ ἐλεεῖς οὔτε δεινά σοι δοκεῖ πάσχειν, εἰ σοῦ λαμβάνοντος καὶ χρηματιζομένου ἀπὸ τῶν εἰσφορῶν ὧν εἰσέπραττες, ἀπὸ τῶν ψηφισμάτων ὧν γράφεις, ἀφʼ ὧν εἰσφέρεις νόμων, διὰ μικρὸν ἀργύριον μὴ μετέχει τῆς πόλεως, ἑτέρους δʼ ἐλεῆσαί τινας φῄς;
202. —Ah, but he was a good manager for his sister. Why, if he had committed no other crime, he deserves destruction on that account alone. He has not given her in marriage, he has sold her. An enemy of yours from Corcyra, one of the faction now in power there, used to lodge at his house whenever he came here on embassy, and wanted to have his sister,—I will not say on what terms. He took the man’s money, and he has given him the girl; and she is in Corcyra to this day.
202. ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία τὴν ἀδελφὴν καλῶς διῴκηκεν. ἀλλʼ εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἄλλʼ ἠδίκει, κατὰ τοῦτʼ ἄξιός ἐστʼ ἀπολωλέναι· πέπρακε γὰρ αὐτήν, οὐκ ἐκδέδωκεν. τῶν γὰρ ὑμετέρων ἐχθρῶν ἑνί, Κερκυραίῳ τινὶ τῶν νῦν ἐχόντων τὴν πόλιν, καταλύοντι παρʼ αὐτῷ, ὅτε δεῦρο πρεσβεύοι, καὶ βουληθέντι λαβεῖν αὐτήν (ἐξ οὗ δὲ τρόπου, παραλείψω) λαβὼν ἀργύριον δέδωκεν· καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ἐν Κερκύρᾳ.
203. A man who pretends to have given his sister in marriage, but has really sold her for export; a man who supports his father’s old age in the manner you know; a toad-eater who drafts decrees and does political jobs for hire,—now that you have caught him, will you not make an end of him? If not, we shall think, men of Athens, that you like lawsuits and vexations, and that you do not want to be quit of scoundrels.
203. ὃς οὖν τὴν μὲν ἀδελφὴν ἐπʼ ἐξαγωγῇ, φησὶ μὲν ἐκδοῦναι, πέπρακε δὲ τῷ ἔργῳ. τὸν δʼ αὑτοῦ πατέρʼ οὕτω γηροτροφεῖ, κολακεύει δὲ καὶ μισθοῦ γράφει καὶ πολιτεύεται, τοῦτον ὑμεῖς λαβόντες οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖτε; δόξετʼ ἄρʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κρίσεις βούλεσθαι καὶ πράγματʼ ἔχειν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀπηλλάχθαι τῶν πονηρῶν.
204. I am sure that you would all agree, if asked, that all evil-doers ought to be punished; but I will try to satisfy you that this malefactor in particular deserves punishment for introducing a law detrimental to the common people. A thief, or a cutpurse, or any rogue of that sort, in the first place really injures only the man who encounters him; it is out of his power to strip everybody, or steal everybody’s property; and in the second place, he brings disgrace on no one’s reputation or manner of life but his own.
204. καὶ μὴν ὅτι μὲν προσήκει πάντας κολάζειν τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας, εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι πάντες ἄν, εἴ τις ἔροιτο, φήσαιτε· ὅσῳ δὲ μάλιστα τοῦτον, ὃς νόμον εἰσενήνοχʼ ἐπὶ βλάβῃ τοῦ πλήθους, ἐγὼ πειράσομαι διδάξαι. τῶν μὲν γὰρ κλεπτῶν καὶ λωποδυτῶν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα κακουργούντων ἕκαστος πρῶτον μὲν ὡς ἀληθῶς τὸν ἐντυχόντʼ ἀδικεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἂν οἷός τʼ εἴη πάντας ἐκδύειν οὐδὲ τὰ πάντων ὑφελέσθαι, εἶτα καταισχύνει τὴν αὑτοῦ δόξαν καὶ τὸν βίον μόνον.
205. But if a man introduces a law by which unlimited license and immunity is granted to those who seek to defraud their fellow-citizens, he is guilty in respect of the whole city, and he brings disgrace upon everybody; for an infamous statute, when ratified, is a discredit to the government that enacted it and an injury to everyone who lives under it. Will you not, then, punish, when you have caught him, a man who is doing his utmost to injure you, and to pollute you with infamy? If not, what excuse will you have?
205. εἰ δέ τις εἰσφέρει νόμον ἐξ οὗ τοῖς ὑμᾶς βουλομένοις ἀδικεῖν ἡ πᾶσʼ ἐξουσία καὶ ἄδεια γενήσεται, οὗτος ὅλην ἀδικεῖ τὴν πόλιν καὶ καταισχύνει πάντας· νόμος γὰρ αἰσχρὸς ὅταν κύριος ᾖ, τῆς πόλεως ὄνειδός ἐστι τῆς θεμένης, καὶ βλάπτει πάντας ὅσοι περ ἂν αὐτῷ χρῶνται. τὸν οὖν καὶ βλάπτειν ὑμᾶς καὶ δόξης ἀναπιμπλάναι φαύλης ἐπιχειροῦντα, τοῦτον οὐ τιμωρήσεσθε λαβόντες;
206. The best way to ascertain with what far-reaching designs he has framed his law, and how inimical those designs are to the established constitution, is to reflect that this is just the way that all conspirators begin, when they are trying to overthrow democracy by innovations,—they first of all release all who were formerly by law suffering this penalty for some offence.
206. καὶ τί φήσετε; γνοίη δʼ ἄν τις οὕτω μάλισθʼ ἡλίκα πράγματα συσκευάσας γέγραφʼ αὐτόν, καὶ ταῦθʼ ὡς ὑπεναντία τῇ καθεστώσῃ πολιτείᾳ, εἰ λογίσαιθʼ ὅτι πάντες, ὅταν που καταλύοντες τὸν δῆμον πράγμασιν ἐγχειρῶσι νεωτέροις, τοῦτο ποιοῦσι πρῶτον ἁπάντων· ἔλυσαν τοὺς πρότερον νόμῳ διʼ ἁμαρτίαν τινὰ ταύτην ὑπέχοντας τὴν δίκην.
207. Does not this man, then, deserve, if possible, not one but three sentences of death, because, standing by himself, and of course with no expectation of crushing you, but rather of meeting his own doom in this court, if you do justice as you ought, he nevertheless imitated that crime, and attempted to release men whom the tribunals have imprisoned, by his impudent enactment that if the penalty of imprisonment has already been inflicted, or if you hereafter inflict it, upon any man, that man shall be discharged from prison?
207. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄξιος οὗτος, εἰ δυνατόν, τρίς, οὐχ ἅπαξ ἀπολωλέναι, ὃς εἷς ὢν καὶ οὐ δήπου μέλλων καταλύσειν ὑμᾶς, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον αὐτὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἂν τὰ δίκαια καὶ τὰ προσήκοντα ποιῆτε, ἀπολεῖσθαι, ὅμως ἐμιμήσατο τοῦτο τἀδίκημα, καὶ διὰ τοῦ νόμου λύειν ἠξίωσεν οὓς δέδεκεν τὰ δικαστήρια, γράψας ἀναιδῶς, εἴ τινι προστετίμηται δεσμοῦ κἂν τὸ λοιπόν τινι προστιμήσητε, τοῦτον ἀφεῖσθαι.
208. Suppose that in a moment’s time you were to hear an outcry hard by this court, and suppose that you were told that the jail had been thrown open and that the prisoners were escaping, there is not a man, however old or however apathetic, who would not rally to the rescue to the utmost of his power. And if someone came forward and informed you that the man who had let them out was the defendant, he would be incontinently arrested and executed without a hearing.
208. καὶ μὴν εἰ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα κραυγὴν ἀκούσαιτε πρὸς τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, εἶτʼ εἴποι τις ὡς ἀνέῳκται τὸ δεσμωτήριον, οἱ δὲ δεσμῶται φεύγουσιν, οὐδεὶς οὔτε γέρων οὔτʼ ὀλίγωρος οὕτως ὅστις οὐχὶ βοηθήσειεν ἂν καθʼ ὅσον δύναται. εἰ δὲ δή τις εἴποι παρελθὼν ὡς ὁ τούτους ἀφείς ἐστιν οὑτοσί, οὐδὲ λόγου τυχὼν ἂν εὐθὺς ἀπαχθεὶς θανάτῳ ζημιωθείη.
209. Well, men of Athens, you hold in your power today this man, who has not done that deed in secret, but after beguiling and deceiving you has openly enacted a law that does not merely throw open but demolishes the prison, and that includes in that destruction the courts of justice as well. For of what use are either courts or prisons, if persons sentenced to imprisonment are set free, and if you are to get no benefit from any such sentence henceforward?
209. νῦν τοίνυν ἔχετʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῦτον, ὃς οὐχὶ λάθρα πεποίηκε τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ φενακίσας καὶ παρακρουσάμενος νόμον τέθηκεν φανερῶς ὃς οὐκ ἀνοίγνυσι τὸ δεσμωτήριον, ἀλλὰ καθαιρεῖ, προσπεριείληφε δὲ καὶ τὰ δικαστήρια. τίς γὰρ ἢ τούτων ἢ ἐκείνου χρεία, ὅταν οἷς τετίμηται δεσμοῦ λύωνται, κἂν τὸ λοιπὸν τιμήσητέ τῳ, μηδὲν ὑμῖν ᾖ πλέον;
210. You ought also to consider this point, that many Hellenic nations have often resolved by vote to adopt your laws; and in this you take an honorable pride, naturally; for there seems to me to be truth in an observation once made, as we are told, in this court, that all wise men regard laws as the character of the State. Therefore we should take pains that they be accounted as good as possible, and we should punish those who debase and pervert them; for, if they are impaired by your neglect, you will lose that high distinction, and will create an unfavorable reputation for your city.
210. δεῖ τοίνυν ὑμᾶς κἀκεῖνο σκοπεῖν, ὅτι πολλοὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων πολλάκις εἰσὶν ἐψηφισμένοι τοῖς νόμοις χρῆσθαι τοῖς ὑμετέροις, ἐφʼ ᾧ φιλοτιμεῖσθʼ ὑμεῖς, εἰκότως· ὃ γὰρ εἰπεῖν τινά φασιν ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀληθὲς εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, ὅτι τοὺς νόμους ἅπαντες ὑπειλήφασιν, ὅσοι σωφρονοῦσι, τρόπους τῆς πόλεως. χρὴ τοίνυν σπουδάζειν ὅπως ὡς βέλτιστοι δόξουσιν εἶναι, καὶ τοὺς λυμαινομένους καὶ διαστρέφοντας αὐτοὺς κολάζειν, ὡς εἰ καταρρᾳθυμήσετε, τῆς φιλοτιμίας τε ταύτης ἀποστερήσεσθε καὶ κατὰ τῆς πόλεως δόξαν οὐ χρηστὴν ποιήσετε.
211. If you are justified in praising Solon and Draco, although you can credit neither of them with any public service except that they enacted beneficial and well-conceived statutes, it is surely right that you should visit men whose enactments are contrary to the spirit of those lawgivers with indignation and chastisement. But as to Timocrates I know that he brought in this law chiefly for his private advantage, because he felt that many of his political acts in your city deserve imprisonment.
211. καὶ μὴν εἰ Σόλωνα καὶ Δράκοντα δικαίως ἐπαινεῖτε, οὐκ ἂν ἔχοντες εἰπεῖν οὐδετέρου κοινὸν εὐεργέτημʼ οὐδὲν πλὴν ὅτι συμφέροντας ἔθηκαν καὶ καλῶς ἔχοντας νόμους, δίκαιον δήπου καὶ τοῖς ὑπεναντίως τιθεῖσιν ἐκείνοις ὀργίλως ἔχοντας καὶ κολάζοντας φαίνεσθαι. οἶδα δὲ Τιμοκράτην, ὅτι τὸν νόμον εἰσενήνοχε τοῦτον οὐχ ἥκισθʼ ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ· πολλὰ γὰρ ἡγεῖτο πολιτεύεσθαι παρʼ ὑμῖν ἄξια δεσμοῦ.
212. I would also like to repeat to you a saying attributed to Solon, when he was prosecuting a man who had carried an undesirable law. We are told that, after stating his other charges, he observed that in all, or nearly all, states there is a law that the penalty for any man who debases the currency is death. He proceeded to ask the jury whether they thought that a just and good law;
212. βούλομαι τοίνυν ὑμῖν κἀκεῖνο διηγήσασθαι, ὅ φασί ποτʼ εἰπεῖν Σόλωνα κατηγοροῦντα νόμον τινὸς οὐκ ἐπιτήδειον θέντος. λέγεται γὰρ τοῖς δικασταῖς αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν, ἐπειδὴ τἄλλα κατηγόρησεν, ὅτι νόμος ἐστὶν ἁπάσαις, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, ταῖς πόλεσιν, ἐάν τις τὸ νόμισμα διαφθείρῃ, θάνατον τὴν ζημίαν εἶναι. ἐπερωτήσας δʼ εἰ δίκαιος αὐτοῖς καὶ καλῶς ἔχων ὁ νόμος φαίνεται, ἐπειδὴ φῆσαι τοὺς δικαστάς, εἰπεῖν ὅτι αὐτὸς ἡγεῖται ἀργύριον μὲν νόμισμʼ εἶναι τῶν ἰδίων συναλλαγμάτων εἵνεκα τοῖς ἰδιώταις εὑρημένον, τοὺς δὲ νόμους [ἡγοῖτο] νόμισμα τῆς πόλεως εἶναι.
213. and when the jury replied that they did, he said that in his opinion money had been invented by private persons for private transactions, but laws were the currency of the State; and therefore if a man debased that currency, and introduced counterfeit, the jury had graver reason to abhor and punish that man than one who debased the currency of private citizens.
213. δεῖν δὴ τοὺς δικαστὰς πολλῷ μᾶλλον, εἴ τις ὃ τῆς πόλεώς ἐστι νόμισμα, τοῦτο διαφθείρει καὶ παράσημον εἰσφέρει, μισεῖν καὶ κολάζειν, ἢ εἴ τις ἐκεῖνʼ ὃ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἐστιν.
214. By way of proof that it is a more heinous crime to debase laws than silver coinage, he added that many states that use without concealment silver alloyed with copper and lead are safe and sound and suffer no harm thereby; but that no nation that uses bad laws or permits the debasement of existing laws has ever escaped the consequence. Now that is the accusation to which Timocrates stands open today, and he may justly receive from you the punishment that is adequate to his guilt.
214. προσθεῖναι δὲ τεκμήριον τοῦ καὶ μεῖζον εἶναι τἀδίκημα, τὸ τοὺς νόμους διαφθείρειν ἢ τὸ ἀργύριον, ὅτι ἀργυρίῳ μὲν πολλαὶ τῶν πόλεων καὶ φανερῶς πρὸς χαλκὸν καὶ μόλυβδον κεκραμένῳ χρώμεναι σῴζονται καὶ οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν παρὰ τοῦτο πάσχουσιν, νόμοις δὲ πονηροῖς χρώμενοι καὶ διαφθείρεσθαι τοὺς ὄντας ἐῶντες οὐδένες πώποτʼ ἐσώθησαν. ταύτῃ μέντοι τῇ κατηγορίᾳ Τιμοκράτης ἔνοχος καθέστηκε νυνί, καὶ δικαίως ἂν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν τοῦ προσήκοντος τύχοι τιμήματος.
215. While, therefore, you should be indignant with every man who brings in shameful and wicked laws, your indignation ought chiefly to be directed against those who vitiate the laws upon which depends the greatness, or the weakness, of the commonwealth. And what are they? The laws that avenge you upon evil-doers, and all the laws that confer certain honors on the well-conducted.
215. χρὴ μὲν οὖν πᾶσιν ὀργίλως ἔχειν, ὅσοι τιθέασι νόμους αἰσχροὺς καὶ πονηρούς, μάλιστα δὲ τούτοις οἳ τοὺς τοιούτους τῶν νόμων διαφθείρουσι διʼ ὧν ἔστιν ἢ μικρὰν ἢ μεγάλην εἶναι τὴν πόλιν. εἰσὶ δʼ οὗτοι τίνες; οἵ τε τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας τιμωρούμενοι καὶ ὅσοι τοῖς ἐπιεικέσι τιμάς τινας διδόασιν.
216. If all men alike were zealous to serve the community, because they had become ambitious of the honors and rewards of such service, and if all were to recoil from noxious acts, through fear of the pains and penalties enacted for malefactors, could anything prevent our commonwealth from becoming very great? Does not Athens possess more war galleys than any other Hellenic city? Is she not rich in infantry and cavalry, in revenue, in military positions, in harbors? And how are those possessions preserved and consolidated? By the laws; for they are profitable to the community only so long as our public conduct conforms to the laws.
216. εἰ γὰρ ἅπαντες προθυμηθεῖεν ποιεῖν ἀγαθόν τι τὸ κοινόν, τὰς τιμὰς καὶ τὰς δωρειὰς τὰς ὑπὲρ τούτων ζηλώσαντες, καὶ πάντες ἀποσταῖεν τοῦ κακουργεῖν [ἢ κακόν τι πράττειν], τὰς βλάβας καὶ τὰς ζημίας τὰς ἐπὶ τούτοις κειμένας φοβηθέντες, ἔσθʼ ὅ τι κωλύει τὴν πόλιν μεγίστην εἶναι; οὐ τριήρεις ὅσας οὐδεμία πόλις Ἑλληνὶς κέκτηται; οὐχ ὁπλίτας; οὐχ ἱππέας; οὐ προσόδους; οὐ τόπους; οὐ λιμένας; ταῦτα δὲ πάντα τί σῴζει καὶ συνέχει; οἱ νόμοι· κατὰ γὰρ τούτους οὔσης τῆς πολιτείας ἐστὶ ταῦτα χρήσιμα τῷ κοινῷ.
217. If conditions were reversed, if there were no recompense for the virtuous, if evil-doers were to enjoy all the immunity that Timocrates has sought to enact, what utter confusion would be the natural result! For you may be quite sure that from these possessions that I have enumerated, even if they were twice as great as they now are, you would not then get an atom of advantage. Therefore the defendant is proved to be striving to do you wrong in respect of that law by which punishments are provided for would-be criminals.
217. εἰ δὲ τοὐναντίον γένοιτο τοῖς χρηστοῖς μὲν μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν πλέον, τοῖς δʼ ἀδικοῦσιν ἄδειʼ ὅσην Τιμοκράτης γέγραφεν, πόση ταραχὴ γένοιτʼ ἂν εἰκότως; εὖ γὰρ ἴσθʼ ὅτι τούτων ὧν διεξῆλθον κτημάτων, οὐδʼ εἰ δὶς γένοιθʼ ὅσα νῦν ἐστιν, οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἂν ὄφελος εἴη. οὗτος τοίνυν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ νόμῳ φαίνεται κακῶς ἐπιχειρῶν ὑμᾶς ποιεῖν διʼ οὗ τοῖς ἀδικεῖν ἐπιχειροῦσίν εἰσιν αἱ τιμωρίαι.
218. For all the reasons I have set before you, it is incumbent upon you to show your resentment, to chastise these men, and to make them an example to others. To be lenient to such offenders, or to convict them and then inflict a light penalty, is to habituate and train the greatest possible number to do you wrong.
218. πάντων οὖν εἵνεκα τῶν εἰρημένων ἄξιον ὀργισθῆναι καὶ κολάσαι καὶ παράδειγμα ποιῆσαι τοῖς ἄλλοις· ὡς τὸ πράως ἔχειν τοῖς τοιούτοις, καὶ καταψηφίζεσθαι μέν, ὀλίγου δὲ τιμᾶν, ἐθίζειν καὶ προδιδάσκειν ἔστʼ ἀδικεῖν ὑμᾶς ὡς πλείστους.