32. But that this arrangement was made by your father’s grant and solemn injunction may not only be seen from the will, men of Athens, but you yourself, Apollodorus, are a witness to the fact. For when you claimed the right to distribute your mother’s estate share by share—and she had left children by the defendant, Phormio—you then acknowledged that your father had given her with full right, and that she had been married in accordance with the laws. For if Phormio had taken her to wife wrongfully, and no one had given her—then the children were not heirs, and if they were not heirs they had no right of sharing in the property. To prove that I am speaking the truth in this evidence has been submitted showing that he received a fourth share and gave a release from all claims.
32. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι γε δόντος καὶ ἐπισκήψαντος τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸς ταῦτʼ ἐπράχθη, οὐ μόνον ἐκ τῆς διαθήκης ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ μάρτυς αὐτὸς γέγονας. ὅτε γὰρ τὰ μητρῷα πρὸς μέρος ἠξίους νέμεσθαι, ὄντων παίδων ἐκ τῆς γυναικὸς Φορμίωνι τουτῳί, τόθʼ ὡμολόγεις κυρίως δόντος τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ σοῦ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους αὐτὴν γεγαμῆσθαι. εἰ γὰρ αὐτὴν εἶχε λαβὼν ἀδίκως ὅδε μηδενὸς δόντος, οὐκ ἦσαν οἱ παῖδες κληρονόμοι, τοῖς δὲ μὴ κληρονόμοις οὐκ ἦν μετουσία τῶν ὄντων. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, μεμαρτύρηται τὸ τέταρτον μέρος λαβεῖν καὶ ἀφεῖναι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἁπάντων.
33. Having, then, on no single point, men of Athens, any just claim to advance, he had the audacity to make before the arbitrator the most shameless assertions which it is best that you should hear in advance: first that no will was made at all, but that this is a fiction and forgery from beginning to end; and, secondly, that the reason why he had made all these concessions up to now, and had abstained from going to law, was because Phormio was willing to pay him a large rent, and promised that he would do so. But since he does not do this, now, he says, I go to law.
33. κατʼ οὐδὲν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δίκαιον οὐδὲν ἔχων εἰπεῖν, ἀναιδεστάτους λόγους ἐτόλμα λέγειν πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ, περὶ ὧν προακηκοέναι βέλτιόν ἐσθʼ ὑμᾶς, ἕνα μὲν τὸ παράπαν μὴ γενέσθαι διαθήκην, ἀλλʼ εἶναι τοῦτο πλάσμα καὶ σκευώρημʼ ὅλον, ἕτερον δʼ ἕνεκα τούτου πάντα ταῦτα συγχωρεῖν τὸν πρὸ τοῦ χρόνον καὶ οὐχὶ δικάζεσθαι, ὅτι μίσθωσιν ἤθελεν αὐτῷ φέρειν Φορμίων πολλὴν καὶ ὑπισχνεῖτʼ οἴσειν· ἐπειδὴ δʼ οὐ ποιεῖ ταῦτα, τηνικαῦτα, φησίν, δικάζομαι.
34. But that both of these statements, if he makes them, will be false and inconsistent with his own conduct, pray observe from the following considerations. When he denies the will, ask him this, how it came that he received the lodging-house under the will as being the elder. He surely will not claim that all the clauses which his father wrote in the will in his favor are valid, and the others invalid.
34. ὅτι δὲ ταῦτʼ ἀμφότερʼ, ἐὰν λέγῃ, ψεύσεται καὶ τοῖς ὑφʼ ἑαυτοῦ πεπραγμένοις ἐναντίʼ ἐρεῖ, σκοπεῖτʼ ἐκ τωνδί. ὅταν μὲν τοίνυν τὴν διαθήκην ἀρνῆται, ἐκ τίνος τρόπου πρεσβεῖα λαβὼν τὴν συνοικίαν κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην ἔχει, τοῦτʼ ἐρωτᾶτʼ αὐτόν. οὐ γὰρ ἐκεῖνό γʼ ἐρεῖ, ὡς ἃ μὲν πλεονεκτεῖν τόνδʼ ἔγραψεν ὁ πατήρ, κύριʼ ἐστὶν τῆς διαθήκης, τὰ δʼ ἄλλʼ ἄκυρα.
35. And when he says that he was misled by the defendant’s promises, remember that we have brought before you as witnesses those who for a long time, after Phormio had given it up, became lessees under the two brothers of the bank and the shield-factory. And yet it was when he granted the lease to these men, that he should at once have made his charges against the defendant if there were any truth in the claims, for which he then gave a release, but for which he now brings suit against him. To prove that I am speaking the truth that he took the lodging-house under the terms of the will as being the elder, and that he not only thought it right to make no claims against the defendant, but on the contrary praised his conduct, take the deposition. The Deposition That you may know, men of Athens, what large sums he has received from the rents and from the debts —he, who will presently wail as though he were destitute and had lost everything—hear a brief account from me.
35. ὅταν δʼ ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦδʼ ὑποσχέσεων ὑπάγεσθαι φῇ, μέμνησθʼ ὅτι μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρεσχήμεθα, οἳ χρόνον πολὺν τοῦδʼ ἀπηλλαγμένου μισθωταὶ τούτοις ἐγίγνοντο τῆς τραπέζης καὶ τοῦ ἀσπιδοπηγείου. καίτοι τόθʼ, ὁπηνίκʼ ἐμίσθωσεν ἐκείνοις, τῷδʼ ἐγκαλεῖν παραχρῆμʼ ἐχρῆν, εἴπερ ἀληθῆ ἦν ὑπὲρ ὧν τότʼ ἀφεὶς νῦν τούτῳ δικάζεται. ὡς τοίνυν ἀληθῆ λέγω, καὶ πρεσβεῖά τε τὴν συνοικίαν ἔλαβεν κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, καὶ τῷδʼ οὐχ ὅπως ἐγκαλεῖν ᾤετο δεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἐπῄνει, λαβὲ τὴν μαρτυρίαν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ.
36. This man has collected twenty talents in all owing to debts he has recovered from the papers which his father left, and of these sums more than half he keeps in his possession; for in many instances he is defrauding his brother of his share.
36. ἵνα τοίνυν εἰδῆτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅσα χρήματʼ ἔχων ἐκ τῶν μισθώσεων καὶ ἐκ τῶν χρεῶν ὡς ἀπορῶν καὶ πάντʼ ἀπολωλεκὼς ὀδυρεῖται, βραχέʼ ἡμῶν ἀκούσατε. οὗτος γὰρ ἐκ μὲν τῶν χρεῶν ὁμοῦ τάλαντʼ εἴκοσιν εἰσπέπρακται ἐκ τῶν γραμμάτων ὧν ὁ πατὴρ κατέλιπεν, καὶ τούτων ἔχει πλέον ἢ τὰ ἡμίσεα (πολλῶν γὰρ τὰ μέρη τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀποστερεῖ).
37. From the lessee, for the eight years during which Phormio had the bank, he received eighty minae a year, half of the whole rent. These items make ten talents and forty minae. For ten years after that, during which they subsequently leased the bank to Xeno and Euphraeus and Euphro and Callistratus, he received a talent every year.
37. ἐκ δὲ τῶν μισθώσεων, ὀκτὼ μὲν ἐτῶν ἃ Φορμίων εἶχε τὴν τράπεζαν, ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἑκάστου, τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς ὅλης μισθώσεως· καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐστὶ δέκα τάλαντα καὶ τετταράκοντα μναῖ· δέκα δὲ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα, ὧν ἐμίσθωσαν ὕστερον Ξένωνι καὶ Εὐφραίῳ καὶ Εὔφρονι καὶ Καλλιστράτῳ, τάλαντον τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἑκάστου.
38. Besides this he has had for about twenty years the income of the property originally divided, of which he himself had charge, more than thirty minae. If you add all these sums together,—what he got from the distribution, what he recovered from the debts, and what he has collected as rent, it will be plain that he has received more than forty talents, to say nothing of the present Phormio made him, and his inheritance from his mother, and what he has had from the bank and does not pay back—two and one-half talents and six hundred drachmae.
38. χωρὶς δὲ τούτων, ἐτῶν ἴσως εἴκοσι τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς νεμηθείσης οὐσίας, ἧς αὐτὸς ἐπεμελεῖτο, τὰς προσόδους, πλέον ἢ μνᾶς τριάκοντα. ἐὰν δʼ ἅπαντα συνθῆτε, ὅσʼ ἐνείματο, ὅσʼ εἰσεπράξατο, ὅσʼ εἴληφε μίσθωσιν, πλέον ἢ τετταράκοντα τάλαντʼ εἰληφὼς φανήσεται, χωρὶς ὧν οὗτος εὖ πεποίηκεν, καὶ τῶν μητρῴων, καὶ ὧν ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης ἔχων οὐκ ἀποδίδωσι πένθʼ ἡμιταλάντων καὶ ἑξακοσίων δραχμῶν.
39. Ah, but, you will tell us, the state has received these sums, and you have been outrageously treated, having used up your fortune in public services! No; what you expended in public service out of the undivided funds, you and your brother expended jointly; and what you gave after that does not amount to the interest, I will not say on two talents, but even on twenty minae. Do not, then, accuse the state, nor say that the state has received that portion of your patrimony which you have shamefully and wickedly squandered.
39. ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία ταῦθʼ ἡ πόλις εἴληφεν, καὶ δεινὰ πέπονθας πολλὰ καταλελῃτουργηκώς. ἀλλʼ ἃ μὲν ἐκ κοινῶν ἐλῃτούργεις τῶν χρημάτων, σὺ καὶ ἁδελφὸς ἀνηλώσατε· ἃ δʼ ὕστερον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄξια μὴ ὅτι δυοῖν ταλάντοιν προσόδου, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ εἴκοσι μνῶν. μηδὲν οὖν τὴν πόλιν αἰτιῶ, μηδʼ ἃ σὺ τῶν ὄντων αἰσχρῶς καὶ κακῶς ἀνήλωκας, ὡς ἡ πόλις εἴληφεν, λέγε.
40. That you may know, men of Athens, the amount of property which he has received, and the public services which he has assumed, the clerk shall read to you the items one by one. Please take this list and this challenge and these depositions. The List. The Challenge. The Depositions All these monies he has received; he has debts due him to the value of many talents, which he is collecting, some by voluntary payments, some by bringing action.
40. ἵνα δʼ εἰδῆτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τό τε πλῆθος τῶν χρημάτων ὧν εἴληφε, καὶ τὰς λῃτουργίας ἃς λελῃτούργηκεν, ἀναγνώσεται ὑμῖν καθʼ ἓν ἕκαστον. λαβέ μοι τὸ βιβλίον τουτὶ καὶ τὴν πρόκλησιν ταυτηνὶ καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας ταυτασί. ⟨ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝ.⟩ ΠΡΟΚΛΗΣΙΣ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
41. These debts were owing to Pasio—quite apart from the rent of the bank and the other property which he left;—and these the two brothers have recovered. He has expended upon public services merely what you have heard, the smallest fraction of his income, not to say of his capital; and yet he will assume a bragging air, and will talk about his expenditures for trierarchal and choregic services.
41. τοσαῦτα μὲν τοίνυν χρήματʼ εἰληφὼς καὶ χρέα πολλῶν ταλάντων ἔχων, ὧν τὰ μὲν παρʼ ἑκόντων, τὰ δʼ ἐκ τῶν δικῶν εἰσπράττει, ἃ τῆς μισθώσεως ἔξω τῆς τραπέζης καὶ τῆς ἄλλης οὐσίας, ἣν κατέλιπεν Πασίων, ὠφείλετʼ ἐκείνῳ καὶ νῦν παρειλήφασιν οὗτοι, καὶ τοσαῦτʼ ἀνηλωκὼς ὅσʼ ὑμεῖς ἠκούσατε, οὐδὲ πολλοστὸν μέρος τῶν προσόδων, μὴ ὅτι τῶν ἀρχαίων, εἰς τὰς λῃτουργίας, ὅμως ἀλαζονεύσεται καὶ τριηραρχίας ἐρεῖ καὶ χορηγίας.
42. I have shown you that these assertions of his will be false; however, even if they should all prove to be true, I think it more honorable and more just that he should continue to render public service from his own funds, than that you should give him the defendant’s property, and while receiving yourselves but a small portion of the whole, should see the defendant reduced to extreme poverty, and the plaintiff in wanton insolence and spending his money in the manner that has been his wont.
42. ἐγὼ δʼ, ὡς μὲν οὐκ ἀληθῆ ταῦτʼ ἐρεῖ, ἐπέδειξα, οἶμαι μέντοι, κἂν εἰ ταῦτα πάντʼ ἀληθῆ λέγοι, κάλλιον εἶναι καὶ δικαιότερον τόνδʼ ἀπὸ τῶν αὑτοῦ λῃτουργεῖν ὑμῖν ἢ τούτῳ δόντας τὰ τούτου, μικρὰ τῶν πάντων αὐτοὺς μετασχόντας, τόνδε μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἐνδείαις ὁρᾶν, τοῦτον δʼ ὑβρίζοντα καὶ εἰς ἅπερ εἴωθεν ἀναλίσκοντα.
43. With regard now to Phormio’s wealth and his having got it from your father’s estate, and the questions you said you were going to ask as to how Phormio acquired his fortune, you have the least right of any man in the world to speak thus. For Pasio, your father, did not acquire his fortune, any more than Phormio did, by good luck or by inheritance from his father, but he gave proof to the bankers, Antisthenes and Archestratus, who were his masters, that he was a good man and an honest, and so won their confidence.
43. ἀλλὰ μὴν περί γε τῆς εὐπορίας, ὡς ἐκ τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ σοῦ κέκτηται, καὶ ὧν ἐρωτήσειν ἔφησθα, πόθεν τὰ ὄντα κέκτηται Φορμίων, μόνῳ τῶν ὄντων ἀνθρώπων σοὶ τοῦτον οὐκ ἔνεστʼ εἰπεῖν τὸν λόγον. οὐδὲ γὰρ Πασίων ὁ σὸς πατὴρ ἐκτήσαθʼ εὑρὼν οὐδὲ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῷ παραδόντος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῖς αὑτοῦ κυρίοις Ἀντισθένει καὶ Ἀρχεστράτῳ τραπεζιτεύουσι πεῖραν δοὺς ὅτι χρηστός ἐστι καὶ δίκαιος, ἐπιστεύθη.
44. It is remarkable what a striking thing it is in the eyes of people who are active in commercial life and in banking, when the same man is accounted industrious and is honest. Well; this quality was not imparted to Pasio by his masters; he was himself honest by nature; nor did your father impart it to Phormio. It was yourself, rather than Phormio, whom he would have made honest, if he had had the power. If you do not know that for money-making the best capital of all is trustworthiness, you do not know anything at all. But, apart from all this, Phormio has in many ways shown himself useful to your father and to you, and in general to your affairs. But your insatiate greed and your character, I take it, no one could adequately express.
44. ἔστι δʼ ἐν ἐμπορίῳ καὶ χρήμασιν ἐργαζομένοις ἀνθρώποις φιλεργὸν δόξαι καὶ χρηστὸν εἶναι τὸν αὐτὸν θαυμαστὸν ἡλίκον. οὔτʼ οὖν ἐκείνῳ τοῦθʼ οἱ κύριοι παρέδωκαν, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς ἔφυ χρηστός, οὔτε τῷδʼ ὁ σὸς πατήρ· σὲ γὰρ ἂν πρότερον τοῦδε χρηστὸν ἐποίησεν, εἰ ἦν ἐπʼ ἐκείνῳ. εἰ δὲ τοῦτʼ ἀγνοεῖς, ὅτι πίστις ἀφορμὴ πασῶν ἐστι μεγίστη πρὸς χρηματισμόν, πᾶν ἂν ἀγνοήσειας. χωρὶς δὲ τούτων πολλὰ καὶ τῷ σῷ πατρὶ καὶ σοὶ καὶ ὅλως τοῖς ὑμετέροις πράγμασι Φορμίων γέγονε χρήσιμος. ἀλλʼ οἶμαι τῆς σῆς ἀπληστίας καὶ τοῦ σοῦ τρόπου τίς ἂν δύναιτʼ ἐφικέσθαι.
45. I am surprised that you do not of yourself make this reflection, that Archestratus, to whom your father formerly belonged, has a son here, Antimachus, who fares not at all as he deserves, and who does not go to law with you and say that he is outrageously treated, because you wear a soft mantle, and have redeemed one mistress, and have given another in marriage (all this, while you have a wife of your own), and take three attendant slaves about with you, and live so licentiously that even those who meet you on the street perceive it, while he himself is in great destitution.
45. καὶ δῆτα θαυμάζω πῶς οὐ λογίζει πρὸς σεαυτόν, ὅτι ἔστιν Ἀρχεστράτῳ τῷ ποτὲ τὸν σὸν πατέρα κτησαμένῳ υἱὸς ἐνθάδε, Ἀντίμαχος, πράττων οὐ κατʼ ἀξίαν, ὃς οὐ δικάζεταί σοι, οὐδὲ δεινά φησι πάσχειν, εἰ σὺ μὲν χλανίδα φορεῖς, καὶ τὴν μὲν λέλυσαι, τὴν δʼ ἐκδέδωκας ἑταίραν, καὶ ταῦτα γυναῖκʼ ἔχων ποιεῖς, καὶ τρεῖς παῖδας ἀκολούθους περιάγει, καὶ ζῇς ἀσελγῶς ὥστε καὶ τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας αἰσθάνεσθαι, αὐτὸς δʼ ἐκεῖνος πολλῶν ἐνδεής ἐστιν.
46. Nor does he fail to see Phormio’s condition. And yet if on this ground you think you have a claim on Phormio’s property, because he once belonged to your father, Antimachus has a stronger claim than you have. For your father in his turn belonged to those men, so that both you and Phormio by this argument belong to Antimachus. But you are so lost to all proper feeling, that you yourself compel people to say things which you ought to hate anyone for saying.
46. οὐδὲ τὸν Φορμίωνʼ ἐκεῖνος οὐχ ὁρᾷ. καίτοι εἰ κατὰ τοῦτʼ οἴει σοι προσήκειν τῶν τούτου, ὅτι τοῦ πατρός ποτʼ ἐγένετο τοῦ σοῦ, ἐκείνῳ προσήκει μᾶλλον ἢ σοί· ὁ γὰρ αὖ σὸς πατὴρ ἐκείνων ἐγένετο, ὥστε καὶ σὺ καὶ οὗτος ἐκείνου γίγνεσθʼ ἐκ τούτου τοῦ λόγου. σὺ δʼ εἰς τοῦθʼ ἥκεις ἀγνωμοσύνης ὥσθʼ ἃ προσήκει σοι τοὺς λέγοντας ἐχθροὺς νομίζειν, ταῦτʼ αὐτὸς ποιεῖς ἀνάγκην εἶναι λέγειν.
47. You disgrace yourself and your dead parents, and you cast reproach upon the state, and instead of adorning and cherishing this good fortune which your father, and afterward Phormio have come to enjoy through the kindness of these men, so that it might have appeared as the highest of honors for those who gave it and for you who obtained it, you drag it into public view, you point the finger of scorn at it, you criticize it; you all but taunt the Athenians for admitting to citizenship a person like yourself.
47. καὶ ὑβρίζεις μὲν σαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς γονέας τεθνεῶτας, προπηλακίζεις δὲ τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἃ τῆς τουτωνὶ φιλανθρωπίας ἀπολαύσας ηὕρεθʼ ὁ σὸς πατὴρ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Φορμίων οὑτοσί, ταῦτʼ ἀντὶ τοῦ κοσμεῖν καὶ περιστέλλειν, ἵνα καὶ τοῖς δοῦσιν ὡς εὐσχημονέστατʼ ἐφαίνετο καὶ τοῖς λαβοῦσιν ὑμῖν, ἄγεις εἰς μέσον, δεικνύεις, ἐλέγχεις, μόνον οὐκ ὀνειδίζεις οἷον ὄντα σʼ ἐποιήσαντʼ Ἀθηναῖον.
48. Indeed you have come to such a pitch of insanity—what other name can one find for it?—as not to see that at this moment we, who claim that, since Phormio has received his freedom, it should not be remembered against him that he once belonged to your father, are speaking in your interest; while you, in insisting that he should never be on a footing of equality with yourself, are speaking against yourself; for the same rule, which you lay down as just for yourself against Phormio, will be advanced against you by those who at the first were the masters of your father. To prove that Pasio also was somebody’s slave, and that he afterwards won his freedom in the same manner in which Phormio won his from you, take, please, these depositions, which show that Pasio belonged to Archestratus. The Depositions The man, then, who at the first saved the family fortune, and rendered himself useful in many ways to this man’s father, the man who has conferred upon Apollodorus himself all the benefits of which you have heard, he it is against whom the plaintiff seeks a judgement with such heavy damages, and thinks proper to cast out in ruin contrary to all right.
48. εἶτʼ εἰς τοῦθʼ ἥκεις μανίας (τί γὰρ ἂν ἄλλο τις εἴποι;) ὥστʼ οὐκ αἰσθάνει ὅτι καὶ νῦν ἡμεῖς μὲν ἀξιοῦντες, ἐπειδήπερ ἀπηλλάγη Φορμίων, μηδὲν ὑπόλογον εἶναι εἴ ποτε τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸς ἐγένετο, ὑπὲρ σοῦ λέγομεν, σὺ δὲ μηδέποτʼ ἐξ ἴσου σοι γενέσθαι τοῦτον ἀξιῶν κατὰ σαυτοῦ λέγεις· ἃ γὰρ ἂν σὺ δίκαια σαυτῷ κατὰ τούτου τάξῃς, ταὐτὰ ταῦθʼ ἥξει κατὰ σοῦ παρὰ τῶν τὸν σὸν πατέρʼ ἐξ ἀρχῆς κτησαμένων. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι κἀκεῖνος ἦν τινῶν, εἶτʼ ἀπηλλάγη τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ οὗτος ἀφʼ ὑμῶν, λαβέ μοι ταυτασὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας, ὡς ἐγένετο Πασίων Ἀρχεστράτου. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
49. For that, Apollodorus, is all that you could possibly accomplish. For, if you look closely at the property, you will see to whom it belongs, in case—which heaven forbid!—these jurymen are misled by you. Do you see Aristolochus, son of Charidemus? Once he possessed some land; now many people own it; for he acquired it while he was in debt to many. And Sosinomus and Timodemus and the other bankers, who, when they had to settle with their creditors, had to give up all their property. But you think it unnecessary to have regard even for the precautions which your father, a far better man than you and a wiser, took to meet all contingencies.
49. εἶτα τὸν σῴσαντα μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὰ πράγματα καὶ πολλὰ χρήσιμον αὑτὸν παρασχόντα τῷ πατρὶ τῷ τούτου, τοσαῦτα δʼ αὐτὸν τοῦτον ἀγάθʼ εἰργασμένον, ὅσʼ ὑμεῖς ἀκηκόατε, τοῦτον οἴεται δεῖν ἑλὼν τηλικαύτην δίκην ἀδίκως ἐκβαλεῖν. οὐ γὰρ ἄλλο γʼ ἔχοις οὐδὲν ἂν ποιῆσαι. εἰς μὲν γὰρ τὰ ὄντʼ εἰ βλέπεις ἀκριβῶς, ταῦθʼ εὑρήσεις ὧν ἔστιν, ἐάν, ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, ἐξαπατηθῶσιν οὗτοι. ὁρᾷ τὸν Ἀριστόλοκον τὸν Καπιδήμου· ποτʼ εἶχεν ἀργόν, εἶτά γε νῦν πολλοῖς γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὀφείλων αὐτὸν ἐκτήσατο. καὶ τὸν Σωσίνομον καὶ τὸν Τιμόδημον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τραπεζίτας, οἵ, ἐπειδὴ διαλύειν ἐδέησεν οἷς ὤφειλον, ἐξέστησαν ἅπαντες τῶν ὄντων. σὺ δʼ οὐδὲν οἴει δεῖν σκοπεῖν οὐδʼ ὧν ὁ πατὴρ σοῦ πολλῷ βελτίων ὢν καὶ ἄμεινον φρονῶν πρὸς ἅπαντʼ ἐβουλεύσατο.
51. He—O Zeus and the gods—esteemed Phormio to be so much more valuable than you both to yourself and to him and to your business, that, although you were a man grown, it was to Phormio, not to you, that he left the control of the leases, and gave him his wife in marriage and honored him as long as he lived. And justly too, men of Athens. For other bankers, who had no rent to pay, but carried on their business on their own account, have all come to ruin; while Phormio, who paid a rent of two talents and forty minae, saved the bank for you.
51. ὅς, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, τοσούτῳ τοῦτον ἡγεῖτο σοῦ πλείονος ἄξιον εἶναι καὶ σοὶ καὶ ἑαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς ὑμετέροις πράγμασιν ὥστʼ ἀνδρὸς ὄντος σοῦ τοῦτον, οὐ σὲ τῶν ἡμίσεων κατέλιπεν ἐπίτροπον καὶ τὴν γυναῖκʼ ἔδωκεν καὶ ζῶν αὐτὸν ἐτίμα, δικαίως, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι τραπεζῖται μίσθωσιν οὐ φέροντες, ἀλλʼ αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοῖς ἐργαζόμενοι, πάντες ἀπώλοντο, οὗτος δὲ μίσθωσιν φέρων δύο τάλαντα καὶ τετταράκοντα μνᾶς ὑμῖν ἔσῳσε τὴν τράπεζαν.
52. For this Pasio was grateful to him, but you make no account of it. Nay, in defiance of the will and the imprecations written in it by your father, you harass him, you prosecute him, you calumniate him. My good sir—you can be addressed by this term—will you not desist, and know this—that to be honest profits more than great wealth? In your own case, at any rate, although, if your words are true, you received all this money, it has all been lost, as you say. But, if you had been a man of character, you would not have squandered it.
52. ὧν ἐκεῖνος μὲν χάριν εἶχεν, σὺ δʼ οὐδένα ποιεῖ λόγον, ἀλλʼ ἐναντία τῇ διαθήκῃ καὶ ταῖς ἀπʼ ἐκείνης ἀραῖς, γραφείσαις ὑπὸ τοῦ σοῦ πατρός, ἐλαύνεις συκοφαντεῖς διώκεις. ὦ βέλτιστʼ, εἰ οἷόν τε σὲ τοῦτʼ εἰπεῖν, οὐ παύσει, καὶ γνώσει τοῦθʼ, ὅτι πολλῶν χρημάτων τὸ χρηστὸν εἶναι λυσιτελέστερόν ἐστιν; σοὶ γοῦν, εἴπερ ἀληθῆ λέγεις, χρήματα μὲν τοσαῦτʼ εἰληφότι πάντʼ ἀπόλωλεν, ὡς φής· εἰ δʼ ἦσθʼ ἐπιεικής, οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ αὔτʼ ἀνήλωσας.
53. For my own part, by Zeus and the gods, though I look at the matter from every side, I can see no reason why the jury should be induced by you to give a verdict against the defendant. Why should they? Because you make your charges so soon after the offence? But you make them years and ages later. Ah, but you avoided the trouble of lawsuits all this time? But who does not know of all the cases in which you have been engaged without ceasing, not only prosecuting private suits of no less importance than the present one, but maliciously trumping up public charges, and bringing men to trial? Did you not accuse Timomachus? Did you not accuse Callippus, who is now in Sicily? Or, again, Meno? or Autocles? or Timotheus? or hosts of others?
53. ἀλλʼ ἔγωγε μὰ τὸν Δία καὶ θεοὺς πανταχῇ σκοπῶν οὐδὲν ὁρῶ, διʼ ὅ τι ἂν σοὶ πεισθέντες τουδὶ καταψηφίσαιντο. τί γάρ; ὅτι πλησίον ὄντων τῶν ἀδικημάτων ἐγκαλεῖς; ἀλλʼ ἔτεσι καὶ χρόνοις ὕστερον αἰτιᾷ. ἀλλʼ ὅτι τοῦτον ἀπράγμων ἦσθα τὸν χρόνον; καὶ τίς οὐκ οἶδεν ὅσα πράγματα πράττων οὐ πέπαυσαι, οὐ μόνον δίκας ἰδίας διώκων οὐκ ἐλάττους ταυτησί, ἀλλὰ δημοσίᾳ συκοφαντῶν καὶ κρίνων τίνας οὔ; οὐχὶ Τιμομάχου κατηγόρεις; οὐχὶ Καλλίππου τοῦ νῦν ὄντος ἐν Σικελίᾳ; οὐ πάλιν Μένωνος; οὐκ Αὐτοκλέους; οὐ Τιμοθέου; οὐκ ἄλλων πολλῶν.
54. But is it reasonable to believe that you, who are Apollodorus, would deem it your duty to seek satisfaction for public wrongs, which touched you only in part, sooner than for the private wrongs, concerning which you now bring charges, especially when they were as grave as you now claim? Why, then, did you accuse those men, and leave Phormio alone? You were suffering no wrong, but methinks the charges which you are now bringing are baseless and malicious.
54. καίτοι πῶς ἔχει λόγον σέ, Ἀπολλόδωρον ὄντα, πρότερον τῶν κοινῶν, ὧν μέρος ἠδικοῦ, δίκην ἀξιοῦν λαμβάνειν, ἢ τῶν ἰδίων ὧν νῦν ἐγκαλεῖς, ἄλλως τε καὶ τηλικούτων ὄντων, ὡς σὺ φής; τί ποτʼ οὖν ἐκείνων κατηγορῶν τόνδʼ εἴας; οὐκ ἠδικοῦ, ἀλλʼ οἶμαι συκοφαντεῖς νῦν. ἡγοῦμαι τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πάντων μάλιστʼ εἰς τὸ πρᾶγμʼ εἶναι τούτων μάρτυρας παρασχέσθαι· τὸν γὰρ συκοφαντοῦντʼ ἀεὶ τί χρὴ νομίζειν νῦν ποιεῖν.
55. I think, then, men of Athens, that nothing could be more to the purpose than to bring forward witnesses to these facts. For if one is continually making baseless charges, what can one expect him to do now? In truth, men of Athens, I think that whatever serves as an index of Phormio’s character, and of his uprightness and his generosity, I may rightly bring before you as something quite to the purpose. For one who is dishonest in all matters might perhaps have wronged the plaintiff among others; but a man who has never wronged anybody in anything, but, on the contrary, has voluntarily done good to many, how could he reasonably be thought to have wronged Apollodorus alone of all men? When you have heard these depositions, you will know the character of either. The Depositions Now read those which bear upon the baseness of Apollodorus.
55. καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ἔγωγʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, νομίζω πάνθʼ ὅσα τοῦ τρόπου τοῦ Φορμίωνός ἐστι σημεῖα καὶ τῆς τούτου δικαιοσύνης καὶ φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ ταῦτʼ εἰς τὸ πρᾶγμʼ εἶναι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ περὶ πάντʼ ἄδικος τάχʼ ἄν, εἰ τύχοι, καὶ τοῦτον ἠδίκει· ὁ δὲ μηδένα μηδὲν ἠδικηκώς, πολλοὺς δʼ εὖ πεποιηκὼς ἑκών, ἐκ τίνος εἰκότως ἂν τρόπου τοῦτον μόνον ἠδίκει τῶν πάντων; τούτων τοίνυν τῶν μαρτυριῶν ἀκούσαντες γνώσεσθε τὸν ἑκατέρου τρόπον. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
56. The Depositions Is this fellow of like stamp? Consider. Read on. The Depositions Now read all the services which Phormio has rendered to the state. Depositions Phormio, then, men of Athens, who has in so many ways proved himself of service to the state and to many of you, and has never done harm to anyone either in public or in private, and who is guilty of no wrong toward this man Apollodorus, begs and implores and claims your protection, and we, his friends, join in the same plea to you.
56. ἴθι δὴ καὶ τὰς κατʼ Ἀπολλοδώρου τῆς πονηρίας. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. ἆρʼ οὖν ὅμοιος οὑτοσί; σκοπεῖτε. λέγε. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. ἀνάγνωθι δὴ καὶ ὅσα δημοσίᾳ χρήσιμος τῇ πόλει γέγονεν οὑτοσί. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
57. Of another fact, too, you should be informed. Depositions have been read to you, men of Athens, showing that the defendant has supplied you with funds in excess of the whole amount that he or anybody else possesses; but Phormio has credit with those who know him for so great an amount and for far larger sums, and through this he is of service both to himself and to you.
57. τοσαῦτα τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, Φορμίων χρήσιμος γεγονὼς καὶ τῇ πόλει καὶ πολλοῖς ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐδένʼ οὔτʼ ἰδίᾳ οὔτε δημοσίᾳ κακὸν οὐδὲν εἰργασμένος, οὐδʼ ἀδικῶν Ἀπολλόδωρον τουτονί, δεῖται καὶ ἱκετεύει καὶ ἀξιοῖ σωθῆναι, καὶ ἡμεῖς συνδεόμεθʼ οἱ ἐπιτήδειοι ταῦθʼ ὑμῶν. ἐκεῖνο δʼ ὑμᾶς ἀκοῦσαι δεῖ. τοσαῦτα γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, χρήμαθʼ ὑμῖν ἀνεγνώσθη προσηυπορηκώς, ὅσʼ οὔθʼ οὗτος οὔτʼ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς κέκτηται. πίστις μέντοι Φορμίωνι παρὰ τοῖς εἰδόσι καὶ τοσούτων καὶ πολλῷ πλειόνων χρημάτων, διʼ ἧς καὶ αὐτὸς αὑτῷ καὶ ὑμῖν χρήσιμός ἐστιν.
58. Do not throw this away, nor suffer this abominable fellow to destroy it; do not establish a shameful precedent, that it is permitted by you that rascals and sycophants should take the property of those who are active in business and who lead well-ordered lives. Far greater advantage accrues to you from this wealth while it remains in the possession of the defendant. For you see for yourselves, and you hear from the witnesses, what a friend he shows himself to be to those in need.
58. ἃ μὴ προῆσθε, μηδʼ ἐπιτρέψητʼ ἀνατρέψαι τῷ μιαρῷ τούτῳ ἀνθρώπῳ, μηδὲ ποιήσητʼ αἰσχρὸν παράδειγμα, ὡς τὰ τῶν ἐργαζομένων καὶ μετρίως ἐθελόντων ζῆν τοῖς βδελυροῖς καὶ συκοφάνταις ὑπάρχει παρʼ ὑμῶν λαβεῖν· πολὺ γὰρ χρησιμώτερʼ ὑμῖν παρὰ τῷδʼ ὄνθʼ ὑπάρχει. ὁρᾶτε γὰρ αὐτοὶ καὶ ἀκούετε τῶν μαρτύρων, οἷον ἑαυτὸν τοῖς δεηθεῖσι παρέχει.
59. And not one of these acts has he done with a view to pecuniary advantage, but from generosity and kindliness of disposition. So it is not right, men of Athens, that you should give up such a man to be the prey of Apollodorus. Do not show Phormio pity at a time when it will be of no profit to him, but now when it is in your power to save him; for I see no time in which one could more fittingly come to his aid than now.
59. καὶ τούτων οὐδὲν εἵνεκα τοῦ λυσιτελοῦντος εἰς χρήματα πεποίηκεν, ἀλλὰ φιλανθρωπίᾳ καὶ τρόπου ἐπιεικείᾳ. οὔκουν ἄξιον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸν τοιοῦτον ἄνδρα προέσθαι τούτῳ, οὐδὲ τηνικαῦτʼ ἐλεεῖν ὅτʼ οὐδὲν ἔσται τούτῳ πλέον, ἀλλὰ νῦν ὅτε κύριοι καθέστατε σῷσαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγʼ ὁρῶ καιρὸν ἐν τίνι ἂν μᾶλλον βοηθήσειέ τις αὐτῷ.
60. Most of what Apollodorus will say you must regard as mere talk and baseless calumny. Bid him demonstrate to you, either that his father did not make this will, or that there is another lease than the one which we produce; or that he himself after going over the reckoning did not give Phormio a release from all the claims regarding which his father-in-law made the award with the plaintiff’s own concurrence; or that the laws permit one to bring action regarding matters thus decided. Or bid him try to show anything of that sort.
60. τὰ μὲν οὖν πόλλʼ ὧν Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐρεῖ, νομίζετʼ εἶναι λόγον καὶ συκοφαντίας, κελεύετε δʼ αὐτὸν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ἢ ὡς οὐ διέθετο ταῦθʼ ὁ πατήρ, ἢ ὡς ἔστιν τις ἄλλη μίσθωσις πλὴν ἧς ἡμεῖς δείκνυμεν, ἢ ὡς οὐκ ἀφῆκεν αὐτὸν διαλογισάμενος τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἁπάντων, ἃ ἔγνω ⟨θʼ⟩ ὁ κηδεστὴς ὁ τούτου καὶ οὗτος αὐτὸς συνεχώρησεν, ἢ ὡς διδόασιν οἱ νόμοι δικάζεσθαι τῶν οὕτω πραχθέντων, ἢ τῶν τοιούτων τι δεικνύναι.
61. But if, for want of proofs, he goes on uttering charges and calumnies and abuse, do not heed him, nor let his noisy talk and shamelessness lead you astray. Nay, keep in mind, and remember all that you have heard. If you do this you will be faithful to your oaths, and will save the defendant, as justice bids. By Zeus and all the gods he deserves it.
61. ἐὰν δʼ ἀπορῶν αἰτίας καὶ βλασφημίας λέγῃ καὶ κακολογῇ, μὴ προσέχετε τὸν νοῦν, μηδʼ ὑμᾶς ἡ τούτου κραυγὴ καὶ ἀναίδειʼ ἐξαπατήσῃ, ἀλλὰ φυλάττετε καὶ μέμνησθʼ ὅσʼ ἡμῶν ἀκηκόατε. κἂν ταῦτα ποιῆτε, αὐτοί τʼ εὐορκήσετε καὶ τοῦτον δικαίως σώσετε, ἄξιον ὄντα νὴ τὸν Δία καὶ θεοὺς ἅπαντας.
62. Take, and read them the law and these depositions. The Law. The Depositions I do not know what reason there is why I should say more; for I believe that nothing that I have said has escaped you. Pour out the water.
62. ἀνάγνωθι λαβὼν αὐτοῖς τὸν νόμον καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας τασδί. ΝΟΜΟΣ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι δεῖ πλείω λέγειν. οἶμαι γὰρ ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν εἰρημένων. ἐξέρα τὸ ὕδωρ.