55. Fine demanded: fifty talents. Witnesses to summons: Cephisophon, son of Cephisophon, of Rhamnus, Cleon, son of Cleon, of Cothocidae.”
55. τίμημα τάλαντα πεντήκοντα. κλήτορες Κηφισοφῶν Κηφισοφῶντος Ῥαμνούσιος, Κλέων Κλέωνος Κοθωκίδης.
56. These are the clauses of the decree against which this prosecution is directed; but from these very clauses I hope to prove to your satisfaction that I have an honest defence to offer. For I will take the charges one by one in the same order as the prosecutor, without any intentional omission.
56. ἃ μὲν διώκει τοῦ ψηφίσματος, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ταῦτʼ ἐστίν. ἐγὼ δʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν τούτων πρῶτον οἶμαι δῆλον ὑμῖν ποιήσειν ὅτι πάντα δικαίως ἀπολογήσομαι· τὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν τούτῳ ποιησάμενος τῶν γεγραμμένων τάξιν περὶ πάντων ἐρῶ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐφεξῆς καὶ οὐδὲν ἑκὼν παραλείψω.
57. Now take first the clause which recites that in word and deed I have constantly done my best for the common weal, and that I am ever zealous to do all the good in my power, and which commends me on those grounds. Your judgement on that clause must, I take it, depend simply on my public acts, by examining which you will discover whether Ctesiphon has given a true and proper, or a false, description of my conduct.
57. τοῦ μὲν οὖν γράψαι πράττοντα καὶ λέγοντα τὰ βέλτιστά με τῷ δήμῳ διατελεῖν καὶ πρόθυμον εἶναι ποιεῖν ὅ τι ἂν δύνωμαι ἀγαθόν, καὶ ἐπαινεῖν ἐπὶ τούτοις, ἐν τοῖς πεπολιτευμένοις τὴν κρίσιν εἶναι νομίζω· ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτων ἐξεταζομένων εὑρεθήσεται εἴτʼ ἀληθῆ περὶ ἐμοῦ γέγραφε Κτησιφῶν ταῦτα καὶ προσήκοντα εἴτε καὶ ψευδῆ·
58. As for his proposing that a crown should be given to me, and the decoration proclaimed in the Theatre, without adding the words, “provided he shall first have rendered his accounts,” I conceive that that also is related to my public acts, whether I am, or am not, worthy of the crown and of the proclamation before the people; but I have, however, also to cite the statutes that authorize such a proposal. In this way, men of Athens, I am resolved to offer an honest and straightforward defence. I will proceed at once to the history of my own actions;
58. τὸ δὲ μὴ προσγράψαντα ἐπειδὰν τὰς εὐθύνας δῶ στεφανοῦν, καὶ ἀνειπεῖν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ τὸν στέφανον κελεῦσαι, κοινωνεῖν μὲν ἡγοῦμαι καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς πεπολιτευμένοις, εἴτʼ ἄξιός εἰμι τοῦ στεφάνου καὶ τῆς ἀναρρήσεως τῆς ἐν τούτοις εἴτε καὶ μή· ἔτι μέντοι καὶ τοὺς νόμους δεικτέον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, καθʼ οὓς ταῦτα γράφειν ἐξῆν τούτῳ. οὑτωσὶ μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δικαίως καὶ ἁπλῶς τὴν ἀπολογίαν ἔγνωκα ποιεῖσθαι, βαδιοῦμαι δʼ ἐπʼ αὔθʼ ἃ πέπρακταί μοι.
59. and let no one imagine that I am straying from the indictment if I touch upon Hellenic policy and Hellenic questions; for by attacking as mendacious that clause of the decree which alleges that in word and deed I have acted for the common good, it is Aeschines who has made a discussion of the whole of my public life necessary and pertinent to the indictment. Further, out of many spheres of public activity I chose Hellenic affairs as my province, and therefore I am justified in taking Hellenic policy as the basis of my demonstration.
59. καί με μηδεὶς ἀπαρτᾶν ὑπολάβῃ τὸν λόγον τῆς γραφῆς, ἐὰν εἰς Ἑλληνικὰς πράξεις καὶ λόγους ἐμπέσω· ὁ γὰρ διώκων τοῦ ψηφίσματος τὸ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν τὰ ἄριστά με καὶ γεγραμμένος ταῦθʼ ὡς οὐκ ἀληθῆ, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοὺς περὶ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπολιτευμένων λόγους οἰκείους καὶ ἀναγκαίους τῇ γραφῇ πεποιηκώς. εἶτα καὶ πολλῶν προαιρέσεων οὐσῶν τῆς πολιτείας τὴν περὶ τὰς Ἑλληνικὰς πράξεις εἱλόμην ἐγώ, ὥστε καὶ τὰς ἀποδείξεις ἐκ τούτων δίκαιός εἰμι ποιεῖσθαι.
60. Well, I pass by those successes which Philip achieved and maintained before I became a politician and a public speaker, as I do not think that they concern me. I will, however, remind you of enterprises of his which were thwarted after the day on which I entered public life. Of these I will render an account, premising only that Philip started with this enormous advantage.
60. ἃ μὲν οὖν πρὸ τοῦ πολιτεύεσθαι καὶ δημηγορεῖν ἐμὲ προὔλαβε καὶ κατέσχε Φίλιππος, ἐάσω· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι τούτων εἶναι πρὸς ἐμέ· ἃ δʼ ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἐπὶ ταῦτʼ ἐπέστην ἐγὼ διεκωλύθη, ταῦτʼ ἀναμνήσω καὶ τούτων ὑφέξω λόγον, τοσοῦτον ὑπειπών. πλεονέκτημʼ, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μέγʼ ὑπῆρξε Φιλίππῳ.
61. In all the Greek states—not in some but in every one of them—it chanced that there had sprung up the most abundant crop of traitorous, venal, and profligate politicians ever known within the memory of mankind. These persons Philip adopted as his satellites and accomplices. The disposition of Greeks towards one another was already vicious and quarrelsome and he made it worse. Some he cajoled; some he bribed; some he corrupted in every possible way. He split them into many factions, although all had one common interest—to thwart his aggrandizement.
61. παρὰ γὰρ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, οὐ τισίν, ἀλλʼ ἅπασιν ὁμοίως, φορὰν προδοτῶν καὶ δωροδόκων καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθρῶν ἀνθρώπων συνέβη γενέσθαι τοσαύτην ὅσην οὐδείς πω πρότερον μέμνηται γεγονυῖαν· οὓς συναγωνιστὰς καὶ συνεργοὺς λαβὼν καὶ πρότερον κακῶς τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἔχοντας πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς καὶ στασιαστικῶς ἔτι χεῖρον διέθηκε, τοὺς μὲν ἐξαπατῶν, τοῖς δὲ διδούς, τοὺς δὲ πάντα τρόπον διαφθείρων, καὶ διέστησεν εἰς μέρη πολλά, ἑνὸς τοῦ συμφέροντος ἅπασιν ὄντος, κωλύειν ἐκεῖνον μέγαν γίγνεσθαι.
62. Now seeing that all Greece was in such a plight, and still unconscious of a gathering and ever-growing evil, what was the right policy for Athens to adopt, and the right action for her to take? That is the question, men of Athens, which you ought to consider, and that is the issue on which I ought to be called to account; for I was the man who took up a firm position in that department of your public affairs.
62. ἐν τοιαύτῃ δὲ καταστάσει καὶ ἔτʼ ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ συνισταμένου καὶ φυομένου κακοῦ τῶν ἁπάντων Ἑλλήνων ὄντων, δεῖ σκοπεῖν ὑμᾶς, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τί προσῆκον ἦν ἑλέσθαι πράττειν καὶ ποιεῖν τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τούτων λόγον παρʼ ἐμοῦ λαβεῖν· ὁ γὰρ ἐνταῦθʼ ἑαυτὸν τάξας τῆς πολιτείας εἴμʼ ἐγώ.
63. Was it the duty of our city, Aeschines, to abase her pride, to lower her dignity, to rank herself with Thessalians and Dolopians, to help Philip to establish his supremacy over Greece, to annihilate the glories and the prerogatives of our forefathers? Or, if she rejected that truly shameful policy, was she to stand by and permit aggressions which she must have long foreseen, and knew would succeed if none should intervene?
63. πότερον αὐτὴν ἐχρῆν, Αἰσχίνη, τὸ φρόνημʼ ἀφεῖσαν καὶ τὴν ἀξίαν τὴν αὑτῆς ἐν τῇ Θετταλῶν καὶ Δολόπων τάξει συγκατακτᾶσθαι Φιλίππῳ τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀρχὴν καὶ τὰ τῶν προγόνων καλὰ καὶ δίκαιʼ ἀναιρεῖν; ἢ τοῦτο μὲν μὴ ποιεῖν, δεινὸν γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς, ἃ δʼ ἑώρα συμβησόμενα, εἰ μηδεὶς κωλύσει, καὶ προῃσθάνεθʼ, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐκ πολλοῦ, ταῦτα περιιδεῖν γιγνόμενα;
64. I would now like to ask the man who censures our past conduct most severely, what party he would have wished our city to join. The party that shares the guilt of all the disasters and dishonors that have befallen Greece,—the party, as one may say, of the Thessalians and their associates? Or that which permitted those disasters in the hope of selfish gain, the party in which we may include the Arcadians, the Messenians, and the Argives?
64. ἀλλὰ νῦν ἔγωγε τὸν μάλιστʼ ἐπιτιμῶντα τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ἡδέως ἂν ἐροίμην, τῆς ποίας μερίδος γενέσθαι τὴν πόλιν ἐβούλετʼ ἄν, πότερον τῆς συναιτίας τῶν συμβεβηκότων τοῖς Ἕλλησι κακῶν καὶ αἰσχρῶν, ἧς ἂν Θετταλοὺς καὶ τοὺς μετὰ τούτων εἴποι τις, ἢ τῆς περιεορακυίας ταῦτα γιγνόμενα ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς ἰδίας πλεονεξίας ἐλπίδι, ἧς ἂν Ἀρκάδας καὶ Μεσσηνίους καὶ Ἀργείους θείημεν.
65. Why, the fate of many, indeed of all, of those nations is worse than ours. For if, after his victory, Philip had at once taken himself off, and relapsed into inactivity, harassing neither his own allies nor any other Greeks, there might have been some reason for finding fault with the opponents of his enterprises; but seeing that, wherever he could, he destroyed the prestige, the authority, the independence, and even the constitution of every city alike, who can deny that you chose the most honor able of all policies when you followed my advice?
65. ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων πολλοί, μᾶλλον δὲ πάντες, χεῖρον ἡμῶν ἀπηλλάχασιν. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὲν ὡς ἐκράτησε Φίλιππος ᾤχετʼ εὐθέως ἀπιὼν καὶ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἦγεν ἡσυχίαν, μήτε τῶν αὑτοῦ συμμάχων μήτε τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων μηδένα μηδὲν λυπήσας, ἦν ἄν τις κατὰ τῶν ἐναντιωθέντων οἷς ἔπραττεν ἐκεῖνος μέμψις καὶ κατηγορία· εἰ δʼ ὁμοίως ἁπάντων τὸ ἀξίωμα, τὴν ἡγεμονίαν, τὴν ἐλευθερίαν περιείλετο, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τὰς πολιτείας, ὅσων ἐδύνατο, πῶς οὐχ ἁπάντων ἐνδοξόταθʼ ὑμεῖς ἐβουλεύσασθʼ ἐμοὶ πεισθέντες;
66. To resume my argument: I ask you, Aeschines, what was the duty of Athens when she perceived that Philip’s purpose was to establish a despotic empire over all Greece? What language, what counsels, were incumbent upon an adviser of the people at Athens, of all places in the world, when I was conscious that, from the dawn of her history to the day when I first ascended the tribune, our country had ever striven for primacy, and honor, and renown, and that to serve an honor able ambition and the common welfare of Greece she had expended her treasure and the lives of her sons far more generously than any other Hellenic state fighting only for itself; and knowing as I did that our antagonist Philip himself, contending for empire and supremacy, had endured the loss of his eye, the fracture of his collar-bone, the mutilation of his hand and his leg, and was ready to sacrifice to the fortune of war any and every part of his body, if only the life of the shattered remnant should be a life of honor and renown?
66. ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖσʼ ἐπανέρχομαι. τί τὴν πόλιν, Αἰσχίνη, προσῆκε ποιεῖν ἀρχὴν καὶ τυραννίδα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὁρῶσαν ἑαυτῷ κατασκευαζόμενον Φίλιππον; ἢ τί τὸν σύμβουλον ἔδει λέγειν ἢ γράφειν τὸν Ἀθήνησιν (καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο πλεῖστον διαφέρει), ὃς συνῄδειν μὲν ἐκ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου μέχρι τῆς ἡμέρας ἀφʼ ἧς αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμʼ ἀνέβην, ἀεὶ περὶ πρωτείων καὶ τιμῆς καὶ δόξης ἀγωνιζομένην τὴν πατρίδα, καὶ πλείω καὶ χρήματα καὶ σώματʼ ἀνηλωκυῖαν ὑπὲρ φιλοτιμίας καὶ τῶν πᾶσι συμφερόντων ἢ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν ἀνηλώκασιν ἕκαστοι, ἑώρων δʼ αὐτὸν τὸν Φίλιππον, πρὸς ὃν ἦν ἡμῖν ὁ ἀγών, ὑπὲρ ἀρχῆς καὶ δυναστείας τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἐκκεκομμένον, τὴν κλεῖν κατεαγότα, τὴν χεῖρα, τὸ σκέλος πεπηρωμένον, πᾶν ὅ τι βουληθείη μέρος ἡ τύχη τοῦ σώματος παρελέσθαι, τοῦτο προϊέμενον, ὥστε τῷ λοιπῷ μετὰ τιμῆς καὶ δόξης ζῆν;
68. Surely no man will dare to call it becoming that in a man reared at Pella, then a mean and insignificant city, such lofty ambition should be innate as to covet the dominion of all Greece, and admit that aspiration to his soul, while you, natives of Athens, observing day by day, in every speech you hear and ill every spectacle you behold, memorials of the high prowess of your forefathers, should sink to such cowardice as by a spontaneous, voluntary act to surrender your liberty to a Philip.
68. καὶ μὴν οὐδὲ τοῦτό γʼ οὐδεὶς ἂν εἰπεῖν τολμήσαι, ὡς τῷ μὲν ἐν Πέλλῃ τραφέντι, χωρίῳ ἀδόξῳ τότε γʼ ὄντι καὶ μικρῷ, τοσαύτην μεγαλοψυχίαν προσῆκεν ἐγγενέσθαι ὥστε τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀρχῆς ἐπιθυμῆσαι καὶ τοῦτʼ εἰς τὸν νοῦν ἐμβαλέσθαι, ὑμῖν δʼ οὖσιν Ἀθηναίοις καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἐν πᾶσι καὶ λόγοις καὶ θεωρήμασι τῆς τῶν προγόνων ἀρετῆς ὑπομνήμαθʼ ὁρῶσι τοσαύτην κακίαν ὑπάρξαι, ὥστε τῆς ἐλευθερίας αὐτεπαγγέλτους ἐθελοντὰς παραχωρῆσαι Φιλίππῳ.
69. No one will make that assertion. The only remaining, and the necessary, policy was to resist with justice all his unjust designs. That policy was adopted by you from the start in a spirit that well became you, and forwarded by me in all my proposals, according to the opportunities of my public life. I admit the charge. Tell me; what ought I to have done? I put the question to you, Aeschines, dismissing for the moment everything else—Amphipolis, Pydna, Potidaea, Halonnesus. I have no recollection of those places.
69. οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς ταῦτα φήσειεν. λοιπὸν τοίνυν ἦν καὶ ἀναγκαῖον ἅμα πᾶσιν οἷς ἐκεῖνος ἔπραττʼ ἀδικῶν ὑμᾶς ἐναντιοῦσθαι δικαίως. τοῦτʼ ἐποιεῖτε μὲν ὑμεῖς ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰκότως καὶ προσηκόντως, ἔγραφον δὲ καὶ συνεβούλευον καὶ ἐγὼ καθʼ οὓς ἐπολιτευόμην χρόνους. ὁμολογῶ. ἀλλὰ τί ἐχρῆν με ποιεῖν; ἤδη γάρ σʼ ἐρωτῶ πάντα τἄλλʼ ἀφείς, Ἀμφίπολιν, Πύδναν, Ποτείδαιαν, Ἁλόννησον· οὐδενὸς τούτων μέμνημαι·
70. Serrium, Doriscus, the sack of Peparethus, and all other injuries of our city—I ignore them utterly. Yet you told us that I entangled the citizens in a quarrel by my talk about those places, though every resolution that concerned them was moved by Eubulus, or Aristophon, or Diopeithes, not by me; only you allege so glibly whatever suits your purpose!
70. Σέρριον δὲ καὶ Δορίσκον καὶ τὴν Πεπαρήθου πόρθησιν καὶ ὅσʼ ἄλλʼ ἡ πόλις ἠδικεῖτο, οὐδʼ εἰ γέγονεν οἶδα. καίτοι σύ γʼ ἔφησθά με ταῦτα λέγοντʼ εἰς ἔχθραν ἐμβαλεῖν τουτουσί, Εὐβούλου καὶ Ἀριστοφῶντος καὶ Διοπείθους τῶν περὶ τούτων ψηφισμάτων ὄντων, οὐκ ἐμῶν, ὦ λέγων εὐχερῶς ὅ τι ἂν βουληθῇς.
71. Even now I will not discuss them. But here was a man annexing Euboea and making it a basis of operations against Attica, attacking Megara, occupying Oreus, demolishing Porthmus, establishing the tyranny of Philistides at Oreus and of Cleitarchus at Eretria, subjugating the Hellespont, besieging Byzantium, destroying some of the Greek cities, reinstating exiled traitors in others: by these acts was he, or was he not, committing injustice, breaking treaty, and violating the terms of peace? Was it, or was it not, right that some man of Grecian race should stand forward to stop those aggressions?
71. οὐδὲ νῦν περὶ τούτων ἐρῶ. ἀλλʼ ὁ τὴν Εὔβοιαν ἐκεῖνος σφετεριζόμενος καὶ κατασκευάζων ἐπιτείχισμʼ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀττικήν, καὶ Μεγάροις ἐπιχειρῶν, καὶ καταλαμβάνων Ὠρεόν, καὶ κατασκάπτων Πορθμόν, καὶ καθιστὰς ἐν μὲν Ὠρεῷ Φιλιστίδην τύραννον, ἐν δʼ Ἐρετρίᾳ Κλείταρχον, καὶ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ὑφʼ αὑτῷ ποιούμενος, καὶ Βυζάντιον πολιορκῶν, καὶ πόλεις Ἑλληνίδας τὰς μὲν ἀναιρῶν, εἰς τὰς δὲ τοὺς φυγάδας κατάγων, πότερον ταῦτα ποιῶν ἠδίκει καὶ παρεσπόνδει καὶ ἔλυε τὴν εἰρήνην ἢ οὔ; καὶ πότερον φανῆναί τινα τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὸν ταῦτα κωλύσοντα [ποιεῖν αὐτὸν] ἐχρῆν, ἢ μή;
72. If it was not right, if Greece was to present the spectacle, as the phrase goes, of the looting of Mysia, while Athenians still lived and breathed, then I am a busybody, because I spoke of those matters, and Athens, too, is a busybody because she listened to me; and let all her misdeeds and blunders be charged to my account! But if it was right that some one should intervene, on whom did the duty fall, if not on the Athenian democracy? That then was my policy. I saw a man enslaving all mankind, and I stood in his way. I never ceased warning you and admonishing you to surrender nothing.
72. εἰ μὲν γὰρ μὴ ἐχρῆν, ἀλλὰ τὴν Μυσῶν λείαν καλουμένην τὴν Ἑλλάδʼ οὖσαν ὀφθῆναι ζώντων καὶ ὄντων Ἀθηναίων, περιείργασμαι μὲν ἐγὼ περὶ τούτων εἰπών, περιείργασται δʼ ἡ πόλις ἡ πεισθεῖσʼ ἐμοί, ἔστω δʼ ἀδικήματα πάνθʼ ἃ πέπρακται καὶ ἁμαρτήματʼ ἐμά. εἰ δʼ ἔδει τινὰ τούτων κωλυτὴν φανῆναι, τίνʼ ἄλλον ἢ τὸν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον προσῆκε γενέσθαι; ταῦτα τοίνυν ἐπολιτευόμην ἐγώ, καὶ ὁρῶν καταδουλούμενον πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἐκεῖνον ἠναντιούμην, καὶ προλέγων καὶ διδάσκων μὴ προΐεσθαι διετέλουν. καὶ μὴν τὴν εἰρήνην γʼ ἐκεῖνος ἔλυσε τὰ πλοῖα λαβών, οὐχ ἡ πόλις, Αἰσχίνη.
73. The peace was broken by Philip, when he seized those merchantmen; not by Athens, Aeschines. Produce the decrees, and Philip’s letter, and read them in their proper order. They will show who was responsible for each several proceeding. (A Decree is read) “In the archonship of Neocles, in the month Boedromion, at an extraordinary meeting of the Assembly convened by the Generals, Eubulus, son of Mnesitheus, of Coprus, proposed that, whereas the generals have announced in the assembly that the admiral Leodamas and the twenty ships under his command, sent to the Hellespont to convoy corn, have been removed to Macedon by Philip’s officer, Amyntas, and are there kept in custody, it shall be the concern of the presidents and of the generals that the Council be convened and ambassadors chosen to go to Philip;”
73. φέρε δʼ αὐτὰ τὰ ψηφίσματα καὶ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τὴν τοῦ Φιλίππου, καὶ λέγʼ ἐφεξῆς· ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτων τίς τίνος αἴτιός ἐστι γενήσεται φανερόν. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ. ἐπὶ ἄρχοντος Νεοκλέους, μηνὸς βοηδρομιῶνος, ἐκκλησία σύγκλητος ὑπὸ στρατηγῶν, Εὔβουλος Μνησιθέου Κόπριος εἶπεν· ἐπειδὴ προσήγγειλαν οἱ στρατηγοὶ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ὡς ἄρα Λεωδάμαντα τὸν ναύαρχον καὶ τὰ μετʼ αὐτοῦ ἀποσταλέντα σκάφη εἴκοσι ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ σίτου παραπομπὴν εἰς Ἑλλήσποντον ὁ παρὰ Φιλίππου στρατηγὸς Ἀμύντας καταγήοχεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ ἔχει, ἐπιμεληθῆναι τοὺς πρυτάνεις καὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς ὅπως ἡ βουλὴ συναχθῇ καὶ αἱρεθῶσι πρέσβεις πρὸς Φίλιππον, οἳ παραγενόμενοι διαλέξονται πρὸς αὐτὸν περὶ τοῦ ἀφεθῆναι τὸν ναύαρχον καὶ τὰ πλοῖα καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας, καὶ εἰ μὲν διʼ ἄγνοιαν ταῦτα πεποίηκεν ὁ Ἀμύντας, ὅτι οὐ μεμψιμοιρεῖ ὁ δῆμος οὐδέν·
74. “that on their arrival they shall confer with him about the seizure of the admiral and the ships and the soldiers, and, if Amyntas acted in ignorance, they shall say that the people attach no blame to him; or, if the admiral was caught exceeding his instructions, that the Athenians will investigate the matter, and punish him as his carelessness shall deserve; if, on the other hand, neither of these suppositions is true, but it was a deliberate affront on the part either of the officer or of his superior, they shall state the same, in order that the people, being apprised of it, may decide what course to take.”
74. εἰ δέ τι πλημμελοῦντα παρὰ τὰ ἐπεσταλμένα λαβών, ὅτι ἐπισκεψάμενοι Ἀθηναῖοι ἐπιτιμήσουσι κατὰ τὴν τῆς ὀλιγωρίας ἀξίαν· εἰ δὲ μηδέτερον τούτων ἐστίν, ἀλλʼ ἰδίᾳ ἀγνωμονοῦσιν ἢ ὁ ἀποστείλας ἢ ὁ ἀπεσταλμένος, καὶ τοῦτο λέγειν, ἵνα αἰσθανόμενος ὁ δῆμος βουλεύσηται τί δεῖ ποιεῖν.
75. This decree was drawn up by Eubulus, not by me; the next in order by Aristophon; then we have Hegesippus, then Aristophon again, then Philocrates, then Cephisophon, and so on. I proposed no decree dealing with these matters. Go on reading. (Another Decree is read) “In the archonship of Neocles, on the thirtieth day of Boedromion, by sanction of the Council, the Presidents and Generals introduced the report of the proceedings in the Assembly, to wit, that the People had resolved that ambassadors be chosen to approach Philip concerning the removal of the vessels, and instructions be given them in accordance with the decrees of the Assembly. The following were chosen: Cephisophon, son of Cleon, of Anaphlystus, Democritus, son of Demophon, of Anagyrus, Polycritus, son of Apemantus, of Cothocidae. In the presidence of the tribe Hippothontis, proposed by Aristophon, of Collytus, a president.”
75. τοῦτο μὲν τοίνυν τὸ ψήφισμʼ Εὔβουλος ἔγραψεν, οὐκ ἐγώ, τὸ δʼ ἐφεξῆς Ἀριστοφῶν, εἶθʼ Ἡγήσιππος, εἶτʼ Ἀριστοφῶν πάλιν, εἶτα Φιλοκράτης, εἶτα Κηφισοφῶν, εἶτα πάντες· ἐγὼ δʼ οὐδὲν περὶ τούτων. λέγε. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑΤΑ. ἐπὶ Νεοκλέους ἄρχοντος, βοηδρομιῶνος ἕνῃ καὶ νέᾳ, βουλῆς γνώμη, πρυτάνεις καὶ στρατηγοὶ ἐχρημάτισαν τὰ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνενεγκόντες, ὅτι ἔδοξε τῷ δήμῳ πρέσβεις ἑλέσθαι πρὸς Φίλιππον περὶ τῆς τῶν πλοίων ἀνακομιδῆς καὶ ἐντολὰς δοῦναι κατὰ τὰ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ψηφίσματα. καὶ εἵλοντο τούσδε, Κηφισοφῶντα Κλέωνος Ἀναφλύστιον, Δημόκριτον Δημοφῶντος Ἀναγυράσιον, Πολύκριτον Ἀπημάντου Κοθωκίδην. πρυτανεία φυλῆς Ἱπποθωντίδος, Ἀριστοφῶν Κολλυτεὺς πρόεδρος εἶπεν.
76. As I cite these decrees, Aeschines, you must cite some decree by proposing which I became responsible for the war. But you cannot cite one; if you could, there is no document which you would have produced more readily just now. Why, even Philip’s letter casts no blame upon me in respect of the war: he imputes it to other men. Read Philip’s actual letter.
76. ὥσπερ τοίνυν ἐγὼ ταῦτα δεικνύω τὰ ψηφίσματα, οὕτω καὶ σὺ δεῖξον, Αἰσχίνη, ὁποῖον ἐγὼ γράψας ψήφισμα αἴτιός εἰμι τοῦ πολέμου. ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἂν ἔχοις· εἰ γὰρ εἶχες, οὐδὲν ἂν αὐτοῦ πρότερον νυνὶ παρέσχου. καὶ μὴν οὐδʼ ὁ Φίλιππος οὐδὲν αἰτιᾶται ἔμʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ πολέμου, ἑτέροις ἐγκαλῶν. λέγε δʼ αὐτὴν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τὴν τοῦΦιλίππου. ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ.
77. (Philip’s Letter is read) “Philip, King of Macedonia, to the Council and People of Athens, greeting.—Your ambassadors, Cephisophon and Democritus and Polycritus, visited me and discussed the release of the vessels commanded by Leodamas. Now, speaking generally, it seems to me that you will be very simple people if you imagine that I do not know that the vessels were sent ostensibly to convey corn from the Hellespont to Lemnos, but really to help the Selymbrians, who are being besieged by me and are not included in the articles of friendship mutually agreed upon between us.”
77. Βασιλεὺς Μακεδόνων Φίλιππος Ἀθηναίων τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ χαίρειν. παραγενόμενοι πρὸς ἐμὲ οἱ παρʼ ὑμῶν πρεσβευταί, Κηφισοφῶν καὶ Δημόκριτος καὶ Πολύκριτος, διελέγοντο περὶ τῆς τῶν πλοίων ἀφέσεως ὧν ἐναυάρχει Λεωδάμας. καθʼ ὅλου μὲν οὖν ἔμοιγε φαίνεσθε ἐν μεγάλῃ εὐηθείᾳ ἔσεσθαι, εἰ οἴεσθʼ ἐμὲ λανθάνειν ὅτι ἐξαπεστάλη ταῦτα τὰ πλοῖα πρόφασιν μὲν ὡς τὸν σῖτον παραπέμψοντα ἐκ τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου εἰς Λῆμνον, βοηθήσοντα δὲ Σηλυμβριανοῖς τοῖς ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ μὲν πολιορκουμένοις, οὐ συμπεριειλημμένοις δὲ ἐν ταῖς τῆς φιλίας κοινῇ κειμέναις ἡμῖν συνθήκαις.
78. “These instructions were given to the admiral, without the cognizance of the Athenian People, by certain officials and by others who are now out of office, but who were anxious by every means in their power to change the present friendly attitude of the people towards me to one of open hostility, being indeed much more zealous for this consummation than for the relief of the Selymbrians. They conceive that such a policy will be a source of income to themselves; it does not, however, strike me as profitable either for you or for me. Therefore the vessels now in my harbors I hereby release to you; and for the future, if, instead of permitting your statesmen to pursue this malicious policy, you will be good enough to c ensure them, I too will endeavor to preserve the peace. Farewell.”
78. καὶ ταῦτα συνετάχθη τῷ ναυάρχῳ ἄνευ μὲν τοῦ δήμου τοῦ Ἀθηναίων, ὑπὸ δέ τινων ἀρχόντων καὶ ἑτέρων ἰδιωτῶν μὲν νῦν ὄντων, ἐκ παντὸς δὲ τρόπου βουλομένων τὸν δῆμον ἀντὶ τῆς νῦν ὑπαρχούσης πρὸς ἐμὲ φιλίας τὸν πόλεμον ἀναλαβεῖν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον φιλοτιμουμένων τοῦτο συντετελέσθαι ἢ τοῖς Σηλυμβριανοῖς βοηθῆσαι. καὶ ὑπολαμβάνουσιν αὑτοῖς τὸ τοιοῦτο πρόσοδον ἔσεσθαι· οὐ μέντοι μοι δοκεῖ τοῦτο χρήσιμον ὑπάρχειν οὔθʼ ὑμῖν οὔτʼ ἐμοί. διόπερ τά τε νῦν καταχθέντα πλοῖα πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ, ἐὰν βούλησθε μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν τοῖς προεστηκόσιν ὑμῶν κακοήθως πολιτεύεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἐπιτιμᾶτε, πειράσομαι κἀγὼ διαφυλάττειν τὴν εἰρήνην. εὐτυχεῖτε.
79. In this letter there is no mention of the name of Demosthenes, nor any charge against me. Why does he forget my acts, when he blames others? Because he could not mention me without recalling his own transgressions, on which I fixed my attention, and which I strove to resist. I began by proposing the embassy to Peloponnesus, when first he tried to get a footing there; then the embassy to Euboea, when he was tampering with Euboea; then an expedition— not an embassy—to Oreus, and again to Eretria, when he had set up tyrants in those cities.
79. ἐνταῦθʼ οὐδαμοῦ Δημοσθένην γέγραφεν, οὐδʼ αἰτίαν οὐδεμίαν κατʼ ἐμοῦ. τί ποτʼ οὖν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐγκαλῶν τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπραγμένων οὐχὶ μέμνηται; ὅτι τῶν ἀδικημάτων ἂν ἐμέμνητο τῶν αὑτοῦ[, εἴ τι περὶ ἐμοῦ γέγραφεν]· τούτων γὰρ εἰχόμην ἐγὼ καὶ τούτοις ἠναντιούμην. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν εἰς Πελοπόννησον πρεσβείαν ἔγραψα, ὅτε πρῶτον ἐκεῖνος εἰς Πελοπόννησον παρεδύετο, εἶτα τὴν εἰς Εὔβοιαν, ἡνίκʼ Εὐβοίας ἥπτετο, εἶτα τὴν ἐπʼ Ὠρεὸν ἔξοδον, οὐκέτι πρεσβείαν, καὶ τὴν εἰς Ἐρέτριαν, ἐπειδὴ τυράννους ἐκεῖνος ἐν ταύταις ταῖς πόλεσιν κατέστησεν.
80. Subsequently I dispatched all those squadrons by which the Chersonese was rescued from him, and Byzantium, and all our allies. By this policy you gained much glory, receiving commendations, eulogies, compliments, decorations, and votes of thanks from the recipients of y our favors. Of the nations that suffered aggression, those who followed your advice gained their salvation, while those who scorned it have had many occasions since to remember your warnings, and to acknowledge not only your goodwill but your sagacity and foresight, for everything has turned out as you predicted.
80. μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἅπαντας ἀπέστειλα, καθʼ οὓς Χερρόνησος ἐσώθη καὶ Βυζάντιον καὶ πάντες οἱ σύμμαχοι. ἐξ ὧν ὑμῖν μὲν τὰ κάλλιστα, ἔπαινοι, δόξαι, τιμαί, στέφανοι, χάριτες παρὰ τῶν εὖ πεπονθότων ὑπῆρχον· τῶν δʼ ἀδικουμένων τοῖς μὲν ὑμῖν τότε πεισθεῖσιν ἡ σωτηρία περιεγένετο, τοῖς δʼ ὀλιγωρήσασι τὸ πολλάκις ὧν ὑμεῖς προείπατε μεμνῆσθαι, καὶ νομίζειν ὑμᾶς μὴ μόνον εὔνους ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ φρονίμους ἀνθρώπους καὶ μάντεις εἶναι· πάντα γὰρ ἐκβέβηχʼ ἃ προείπατε.
81. Now that Philistides would have paid a large sum for possession of Oreus, and Cleitarchus for possession of Eretria, and Philip himself to get those advantages of position against you, or to escape conviction in other matters or any inquiry into his wrongdoing in every quarter, is well known to all—and to no one better than to you, Aeschines.
81. καὶ μὴν ὅτι πολλὰ μὲν ἂν χρήματʼ ἔδωκε Φιλιστίδης ὥστʼ ἔχειν Ὠρεόν, πολλὰ δὲ Κλείταρχος ὥστʼ ἔχειν Ἐρέτριαν, πολλὰ δʼ αὐτὸς ὁ Φίλιππος ὥστε ταῦθʼ ὑπάρχειν ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς αὐτῷ, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων μηδὲν ἐξελέγχεσθαι μηδʼ ἃ ποιῶν ἠδίκει μηδένʼ ἐξετάζειν πανταχοῦ, οὐδεὶς ἀγνοεῖ, καὶ πάντων ἥκιστα σύ·
82. For the ambassadors who came here from Cleitarchus and Philistides lodged at your house and you entertained them. The government expelled them as enemies, and as men whose proposals were dishonest and unacceptable; but to you they were friends. Well, no part of their business was successful,—you backbiter, who tell me that I hold my tongue with a fee in my pocket, and cry aloud when I have spent it! That is not your habit; you cry aloud without ceasing, and nothing will ever stop your mouth,—except perhaps a sentence of disfranchisement this very day.
82. οἱ γὰρ παρὰ τοῦ Κλειτάρχου καὶ τοῦ Φιλιστίδου τότε πρέσβεις δεῦρʼ ἀφικνούμενοι παρὰ σοὶ κατέλυον, Αἰσχίνη, καὶ σὺ προὐξένεις αὐτῶν· οὓς ἡ μὲν πόλις ὡς ἐχθροὺς καὶ οὔτε δίκαιʼ οὔτε συμφέροντα λέγοντας ἀπήλασε, σοὶ δʼ ἦσαν φίλοι. οὐ τοίνυν ἐπράχθη τούτων οὐδέν, ὦ βλασφημῶν περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ λέγων ὡς σιωπῶ μὲν λαβών, βοῶ δʼ ἀναλώσας. ἀλλʼ οὐ σύ, ἀλλὰ βοᾷς μὲν ἔχων, παύσει δʼ οὐδέποτʼ ἐὰν μή σʼ οὗτοι παύσωσιν ἀτιμώσαντες τήμερον.
83. Although at that time you decorated me for my services, although Aristonicus drafted the decree in the very same terms that Ctesiphon has now used, although the decoration was proclaimed in the theatre, so that this is the second proclamation of my name there, Aeschines, who was present, never opposed the decree, nor did he indict the proposer. Take and read the decree in question.
83. στεφανωσάντων τοίνυν ὑμῶν ἔμʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις τότε, καὶ γράψαντος Ἀριστονίκου τὰς αὐτὰς συλλαβὰς ἅσπερ οὑτοσὶ Κτησιφῶν νῦν γέγραφε, καὶ ἀναρρηθέντος ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ τοῦ στεφάνου, καὶ δευτέρου κηρύγματος ἤδη μοι τούτου γιγνομένου, οὔτʼ ἀντεῖπεν Αἰσχίνης παρὼν οὔτε τὸν εἰπόντʼ ἐγράψατο. καί μοι λέγε καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ψήφισμα λαβών. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ.
84. (The Decree is read) “In the archonship of Chaerondas, son of Hegemon, on the twenty-fifth day of Gamelion, the tribe Leontis holding the presidency, Aristonicus of Phrearrii proposed that, whereas Demosthenes, son of Demosthenes, of Paeania, has conferred many great obligations on the People of Athens, and has aided many of the Allies by his decrees both heretofore and upon the present occasion, and has liberated some of the cities of Euboea, and is a constant friend of the Athenian People, and by word and deed does his utmost in the interests of the Athenians themselves as well as of the other Greeks, it be resolved by the Council and People of Athens to commend Demosthenes, son of Demosthenes, of Paeania, and to crown him with a golden crown, and to proclaim the crown in the Theatre at the Dionysia at the performance of the new tragedies, the proclamation of the crown being entrusted to the tribe holding the presidency and to the steward of the festival. Proposed by Aristonicus of Phrearrii.”
84. ἐπὶ Χαιρώνδου Ἡγήμονος ἄρχοντος, γαμηλιῶνος ἕκτῃ ἀπιόντος, φυλῆς πρυτανευούσης Λεοντίδος, Ἀριστόνικος Φρεάρριος εἶπεν· ἐπειδὴ Δημοσθένης Δημοσθένους Παιανιεὺς πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας χρείας παρέσχηται τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων, καὶ πολλοῖς τῶν συμμάχων καὶ πρότερον καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι καιρῷ βεβοήθηκε διὰ τῶν ψηφισμάτων, καί τινας τῶν ἐν τῇ Εὐβοίᾳ πόλεων ἠλευθέρωκε, καὶ διατελεῖ εὔνους ὢν τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων, καὶ λέγει καὶ πράττει ὅ τι ἂν δύνηται ἀγαθὸν ὑπέρ τε αὐτῶν Ἀθηναίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων, δεδόχθαι τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων ἐπαινέσαι Δημοσθένην Δημοσθένους Παιανιέα καὶ στεφανῶσαι χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ, καὶ ἀναγορεῦσαι τὸν στέφανον ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ, Διονυσίοις, τραγῳδοῖς καινοῖς, τῆς δὲ ἀναγορεύσεως τοῦ στεφάνου ἐπιμεληθῆναι τὴν πρυτανεύουσαν φυλὴν καὶ τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην. εἶπεν Ἀριστόνικος Φρεάρριος.
85. Is any one of you aware of any dishonor, contempt, or ridicule that has befallen the city in consequence of that decree, such as he now tells you will follow, if I am crowned? While acts are still recent and notorious, they are requited with gratitude, if good, and with punishment, if evil, and from this decree it appears that I received on that occasion gratitude, not censure nor punishment.
85. ἔστιν οὖν ὅστις ὑμῶν οἶδέ τινʼ αἰσχύνην τῇ πόλει συμβᾶσαν διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ψήφισμα ἢ χλευασμὸν ἢ γέλωτα, ἃ νῦν οὗτος ἔφη συμβήσεσθαι, ἂν ἐγὼ στεφανῶμαι; καὶ μὴν ὅταν ᾖ νέα καὶ γνώριμα πᾶσι τὰ πράγματα, ἐάν τε καλῶς ἔχῃ, χάριτος τυγχάνει, ἐάν θʼ ὡς ἑτέρως, τιμωρίας. φαίνομαι τοίνυν ἐγὼ χάριτος τετυχηκὼς τότε, καὶ οὐ μέμψεως οὐδὲ τιμωρίας.
86. Therefore, up to the date of those transactions it is shown by common consent that my conduct was entirely beneficial to the commonwealth. The proofs are, that my speeches and motions were successful at your deliberations; that my resolutions were carried into effect; that thereby decorations came to the city and to all of you as well as to me; and that for these successes you thanked the gods with sacrifices and processions.
86. οὐκοῦν μέχρι μὲν τῶν χρόνων ἐκείνων, ἐν οἷς ταῦτʼ ἐπράχθη, πάντʼ ἀνωμολόγημαι τὰ ἄριστα πράττειν τῇ πόλει, τῷ νικᾶν, ὅτʼ ἐβουλεύεσθε, λέγων καὶ γράφων, τῷ καταπραχθῆναι τὰ γραφέντα, καὶ στεφάνους ἐξ αὐτῶν τῇ πόλει καὶ ἐμοὶ καὶ πᾶσιν γενέσθαι, τῷ θυσίας τοῖς θεοῖς καὶ προσόδους ὡς ἀγαθῶν τούτων ὄντων ὑμᾶς πεποιῆσθαι.
87. When Philip was driven out of Euboea by your arms, and also,—though these men choke themselves with their denials,—by my policy and my decrees, he cast about for a second plan of attack against Athens; and observing that we consume more imported corn than any other nation, he proposed to get control of the carrying trade in corn. He advanced towards Thrace, and the first thing he did was to claim the help of the Byzantines as his allies in the war against you. When they refused, declaring with entire truth that the terms of alliance included no such obligation, he set up a stockade against their city, planted artillery, and began a siege.
87. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐκ τῆς Εὐβοίας ὁ Φίλιππος ὑφʼ ὑμῶν ἐξηλάθη τοῖς [μὲν] ὅπλοις, τῇ δὲ πολιτείᾳ καὶ τοῖς ψηφίσμασι, κἂν διαρραγῶσί τινες τούτων, ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ, ἕτερον κατὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐπιτειχισμὸν ἐζήτει. ὁρῶν δʼ ὅτι σίτῳ πάντων ἀνθρώπων πλείστῳ χρώμεθʼ ἐπεισάκτῳ, βουλόμενος τῆς σιτοπομπίας κύριος γενέσθαι, παρελθὼν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης Βυζαντίους συμμάχους ὄντας αὑτῷ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἠξίου συμπολεμεῖν τὸν πρὸς ὑμᾶς πόλεμον, ὡς δʼ οὐκ ἤθελον οὐδʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔφασαν τὴν συμμαχίαν πεποιῆσθαι, λέγοντες ἀληθῆ, χάρακα βαλόμενος πρὸς τῇ πόλει καὶ μηχανήματʼ ἐπιστήσας ἐπολιόρκει.
88. I will not further ask what was your proper course in those circumstances,—the answer is too obvious. But who sent reinforcements to the Byzantines and delivered them? Who prevented the estrangement of the Hellespont at that crisis? You, men of Athens; and when I say you, I mean the whole city. Who advised the city, moved the resolutions, took action, devoted himself wholeheartedly and without stint to that business?
88. τούτων δὲ γιγνομένων ὅ τι μὲν προσῆκε ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς, οὐκ ἐπερωτήσω· δῆλον γάρ ἐστιν ἅπασιν. ἀλλὰ τίς ἦν ὁ βοηθήσας τοῖς Βυζαντίοις καὶ σώσας αὐτούς; τίς ὁ κωλύσας τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἀλλοτριωθῆναι κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους; ὑμεῖς, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι. τὸ δʼ ὑμεῖς ὅταν λέγω, τὴν πόλιν λέγω. τίς δʼ ὁ τῇ πόλει λέγων καὶ γράφων καὶ πράττων καὶ ἁπλῶς ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὰ πράγματʼ ἀφειδῶς δούς; ἐγώ.
89. I did; and I need not argue how profitable my policy was, for you know it by experience. The war in which we then engaged, apart from the renown it brought to you, made all the necessaries of life more abundant and cheaper than the peace we now enjoy, the peace which these worthies cherish to the disadvantage of the city, in view of future expectations! May those expectations fail! May they share only the blessings for which you men of honest intent supplicate the gods! And may they never bestow upon you any share in the principles they have chosen! Now read of the crowns of the Byzantines and of the Perinthians, conferred by them upon the city for these services.
89. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἡλίκα ταῦτʼ ὠφέλησεν ἅπαντας, οὐκέτʼ ἐκ τοῦ λόγου δεῖ μαθεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἔργῳ πεπείρασθε· ὁ γὰρ τότʼ ἐνστὰς πόλεμος ἄνευ τοῦ καλὴν δόξαν ἐνεγκεῖν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς κατὰ τὸν βίον ἀφθονωτέροις καὶ εὐωνοτέροις διῆγεν ὑμᾶς τῆς νῦν εἰρήνης, ἣν οὗτοι κατὰ τῆς πατρίδος τηροῦσιν οἱ χρηστοί, ἐπὶ ταῖς μελλούσαις ἐλπίσιν, ὧν διαμάρτοιεν, καὶ μετάσχοιεν ὧν ὑμεῖς οἱ τὰ βέλτιστα βουλόμενοι τοὺς θεοὺς αἰτεῖτε, μὴ μεταδοῖεν ὑμῖν ὧν αὐτοὶ προῄρηνται. λέγε δʼ αὐτοῖς καὶ τοὺς τῶν Βυζαντίων στεφάνους καὶ τοὺς τῶν Περινθίων, οἷς ἐστεφάνουν ἐκ τούτων τὴν πόλιν. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΩΝ.
90. (The Decree of the Byzantines is read) “In the recordership of Bosporichus, Damagetus proposed in the Assembly, with the sanction of the Council, that, whereas the Athenian People in former times have been constant friends of the Byzantines and of their allies and kinsmen the Perinthians, and have conferred many great services upon them, and recently, when Philip of Macedon attacked their land and city to exterminate the Byzantines and Perinthians, burning and devastating the land, they came to our aid with a hundred and twenty ships and provisions and arms and infantry, and extricated us from great dangers, and restored our original constitution and our laws and our sepulchres,”
90. ἐπὶ ἱερομνάμονος Βοσπορίχω Δαμάγητος ἐν τᾷ ἁλίᾳ ἔλεξεν, ἐκ τᾶς βωλᾶς λαβὼν ῥήτραν· ἐπειδὴ ὁ δᾶμος ὁ Ἀθαναίων ἔν τε τοῖς προγενομένοις καιροῖς εὐνοέων διατελεῖ Βυζαντίοις καὶ τοῖς συμμάχοις καὶ συγγενέσι Περινθίοις καὶ πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας χρείας παρέσχηται, ἔν τε τῷ παρεστακότι καιρῷ Φιλίππω τῶ Μακεδόνος ἐπιστρατεύσαντος ἐπὶ τὰν χώραν καὶ τὰν πόλιν ἐπʼ ἀναστάσει Βυζαντίων καὶ Περινθίων καὶ τὰν χώραν δαίοντος καὶ δενδροκοπέοντος, βοαθήσας πλοίοις ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι καὶ σίτῳ καὶ βέλεσι καὶ ὁπλίταις ἐξείλετο ἁμὲ ἐκ τῶν μεγάλων κινδύνων καὶ ἀποκατέστασε τὰν πάτριον πολιτείαν καὶ τὼς νόμως καὶ τὼς τάφως, δεδόχθαι τῷ δάμῳ τῷ Βυζαντίων καὶ Περινθίων Ἀθαναίοις δόμεν ἐπιγαμίαν, πολιτείαν, ἔγκτασιν γᾶς καὶ οἰκιᾶν, προεδρίαν ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσι, πόθοδον ποτὶ τὰν βωλὰν καὶ τὸν δᾶμον πράτοις πεδὰ τὰ ἱερά, καὶ τοῖς κατοικεῖν ἐθέλουσι τὰν πόλιν ἀλειτουργήτοις ἦμεν πασᾶν τᾶν λειτουργιᾶν·
91. “it be resolved by the People of Byzantium and Perinthus to grant to the Athenians rights of intermarriage, citizenship, tenure of land and houses, the seat of honor at the games, access to the Council and the people immediately after the sacrifices, and immunity from all public services for those who wish to settle in our city; also to erect three statues, sixteen cubits in height, in the Bosporeum, representing the People of Athens being crowned by the Peoples of Byzantium and Perinthus; also to send deputations to the Panhellenic gatherings, the Isthmian, Nemean, Olympian, and Pythian games, and there to proclaim the crown wherewith the Athenian People has been crowned by us, that the Greeks may know the merits of the Athenians and the gratitude of the Byzantines and the Perinthians.”
91. στᾶσαι δὲ καὶ εἰκόνας τρεῖς ἑκκαιδεκαπάχεις ἐν τῷ Βοσπορείῳ, στεφανούμενον τὸν δᾶμον τὸν Ἀθαναίων ὑπὸ τῶ δάμω τῶ Βυζαντίων καὶ Περινθίων· ἀποστεῖλαι δὲ καὶ θεαρίας ἐς τὰς ἐν τᾷ Ἑλλάδι παναγύριας, Ἴσθμια καὶ Νέμεα καὶ Ὀλύμπια καὶ Πύθια, καὶ ἀνακαρῦξαι τὼς στεφάνως οἷς ἐστεφάνωται ὁ δᾶμος ὁ Ἀθαναίων ὑφʼ ἁμέων, ὅπως ἐπιστέωνται οἱ Ἕλλανες τάν τε Ἀθαναίων ἀρετὰν καὶ τὰν Βυζαντίων καὶ Περινθίων εὐχαριστίαν.
92. Read also of the crowns awarded by the inhabitants of the Chersonese. (The Decree of the Chersonesites is read.) “The peoples of the Chersonesus inhabiting Sestus, Elaeus, Madytus, and Alopeconnesus, do crown the Council and People of Athens with a golden crown of sixty talents’ value, and erect an altar to Gratitude and to the People of Athens, because they have been a contributory cause of all the greatest blessings to the peoples of the Chersonesus, having rescued them from Philip and restored their fatherland, their laws, their freedom, and their temples; also in all time to come they will not fail to be grateful and to do them every service in their power. This decree was passed in Confederate Council.”
92. λέγε καὶ τοὺς παρὰ τῶν ἐν Χερρονήσῳ στεφάνους. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ ΧΕΡΡΟΝΗΣΙΤΩΝ. Χερρονησιτῶν οἱ κατοικοῦντες Σηστόν, Ἐλαιοῦντα, Μάδυτον, Ἀλωπεκόννησον, στεφανοῦσιν Ἀθηναίων τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τὸν δῆμον χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ ἀπὸ ταλάντων ἑξήκοντα, καὶ Χάριτος βωμὸν ἱδρύονται καὶ Δήμου Ἀθηναίων, ὅτι πάντων ⟨τῶν⟩ μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν παραίτιος γέγονε Χερρονησίταις, ἐξελόμενος ἐκ τῆς Φιλίππου καὶ ἀποδοὺς τὰς πατρίδας, τοὺς νόμους, τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, τὰ ἱερά. καὶ ἐν τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα αἰῶνι παντὶ οὐκ ἐλλείψει εὐχαριστῶν καὶ ποιῶν ὅ τι ἂν δύνηται ἀγαθόν. ταῦτα ἐψηφίσαντο ἐν τῷ κοινῷ βουλευτηρίῳ.
93. Thus my considered policy was not only successful in delivering the Chersonese and Byzantium, in preventing the subjugation of the Hellespont to Philip, and in bringing distinction to the city, but it exhibited to mankind the noble spirit of Athens and the depravity of Philip. For he, the ally of the Byzantines, was besieging them in the sight of all men: could anything be more discreditable and outrageous?
93. οὐκοῦν οὐ μόνον τὸ Χερρόνησον καὶ Βυζάντιον σῶσαι, οὐδὲ τὸ κωλῦσαι τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ὑπὸ Φιλίππῳ γενέσθαι τότε, οὐδὲ τὸ τιμᾶσθαι τὴν πόλιν ἐκ τούτων ἡ προαίρεσις ἡ ἐμὴ καὶ ἡ πολιτεία διεπράξατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσιν ἔδειξεν ἀνθρώποις τήν τε τῆς πόλεως καλοκαγαθίαν καὶ τὴν Φιλίππου κακίαν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ σύμμαχος ὢν τοῖς Βυζαντίοις πολιορκῶν αὐτοὺς ἑωρᾶθʼ ὑπὸ πάντων, οὗ τί γένοιτʼ ἂν αἴσχιον ἢ μιαρώτερον;
94. But you, who might with justice have found fault with them for earlier acts of trespass, so far from being vindictive and deserting them in their distress, appeared as their deliverers, and by that conduct won renown,—the goodwill of the whole world. Moreover all know that you have awarded crowns to many politicians; but no one can name any man—I mean any statesman or orator—except me, by whose exertions the city itself has been crowned.
94. ὑμεῖς δʼ, οἱ καὶ μεμψάμενοι πολλὰ καὶ δίκαιʼ ἂν ἐκείνοις εἰκότως περὶ ὧν ἠγνωμονήκεσαν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις, οὐ μόνον οὐ μνησικακοῦντες οὐδὲ προϊέμενοι τοὺς ἀδικουμένους ἀλλὰ καὶ σῴζοντες ἐφαίνεσθε, ἐξ ὧν δόξαν, εὔνοιαν παρὰ πάντων ἐκτᾶσθε. καὶ μὴν ὅτι μὲν πολλοὺς ἐστεφανώκατʼ ἤδη τῶν πολιτευομένων ἅπαντες ἴσασι· διʼ ὅντινα δʼ ἄλλον ἡ πόλις ἐστεφάνωται, σύμβουλον λέγω καὶ ῥήτορα, πλὴν διʼ ἐμέ, οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς εἰπεῖν ἔχοι.
95. I wish to show you that the attack Aeschines made on the Euboeans and the Byzantines by raking up old stories of their disobliging conduct towards you, was mere spiteful calumny,—not only because, as I think you all must know, those stories are false, but because, even if they were entirely true, the merits of my policy are not affected,—by relating, with due brevity, two or three of the noble actions of your own commonwealth; for the public conduct of a state, like the private conduct of a man, should always be guided by its most honor able traditions.
95. ἵνα τοίνυν καὶ τὰς βλασφημίας ἃς κατὰ τῶν Εὐβοέων καὶ τῶν Βυζαντίων ἐποιήσατο, εἴ τι δυσχερὲς αὐτοῖς ἐπέπρακτο πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὑπομιμνῄσκων, συκοφαντίας οὔσας ἐπιδείξω μὴ μόνον τῷ ψευδεῖς εἶναι (τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ὑπάρχειν ὑμᾶς εἰδότας ἡγοῦμαι), ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ, εἰ τὰ μάλιστʼ ἦσαν ἀληθεῖς, οὕτως ὡς ἐγὼ κέχρημαι τοῖς πράγμασι συμφέρειν χρήσασθαι, ἓν ἢ δύο βούλομαι τῶν καθʼ ὑμᾶς πεπραγμένων καλῶν τῇ πόλει διεξελθεῖν, καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐν βραχέσι· καὶ γὰρ ἄνδρʼ ἰδίᾳ καὶ πόλιν κοινῇ πρὸς τὰ κάλλιστα τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἀεὶ δεῖ πειρᾶσθαι τὰ λοιπὰ πράττειν.
96. When the Lacedaemonians, men of Athens, had the supremacy of land and sea, and were holding with governors and garrisons all the frontiers of Attica, Euboea, Tanagra, all Boeotia, Megara, Aegina, Ceos, and the other islands, for at that time Athens had no ships and no walls, you marched out to Haliartus, and again a few days later to Corinth. The Athenians of those days had good reason to bear malice against the Corinthians and the Thebans for their conduct during the Decelean War; but they bore no malice whatever.
96. ὑμεῖς τοίνυν, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, Λακεδαιμονίων γῆς καὶ θαλάττης ἀρχόντων καὶ τὰ κύκλῳ τῆς Ἀττικῆς κατεχόντων ἁρμοσταῖς καὶ φρουραῖς, Εὔβοιαν, Τάναγραν, τὴν Βοιωτίαν ἅπασαν, Μέγαρα, Αἴγιναν, Κέω, τὰς ἄλλας νήσους, οὐ ναῦς, οὐ τείχη τῆς πόλεως τότε κεκτημένης, ἐξήλθετʼ εἰς Ἁλίαρτον καὶ πάλιν οὐ πολλαῖς ἡμέραις ὕστερον εἰς Κόρινθον, τῶν τότʼ Ἀθηναίων πόλλʼ ἂν ἐχόντων μνησικακῆσαι καὶ Κορινθίοις καὶ Θηβαίοις τῶν περὶ τὸν Δεκελεικὸν πόλεμον πραχθέντων· ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐποίουν τοῦτο, οὐδʼ ἐγγύς.
97. Yet in making both these expeditions, Aeschines, they were not requiting benefits received, and they knew they were taking risks. They did not use those pleas as excuses for deserting men who had sought their protection. For the sake of honor and glory they willingly encountered those perils,—a righteous and a noble resolve! For every man death is the goal of life, though he keep himself cloistered in his chamber; but it behoves the brave to set their hands to every noble enterprise, bearing before them the buckler of hope, and to endure gallantly whatever fate God may allot.
97. καίτοι τότε ταῦτʼ ἀμφότερʼ, Αἰσχίνη, οὔθʼ ὑπὲρ εὐεργετῶν ἐποίουν οὔτʼ ἀκίνδυνʼ ἑώρων. ἀλλʼ οὐ διὰ ταῦτα προΐεντο τοὺς καταφεύγοντας ἐφʼ ἑαυτούς, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ εὐδοξίας καὶ τιμῆς ἤθελον τοῖς δεινοῖς αὑτοὺς διδόναι, ὀρθῶς καὶ καλῶς βουλευόμενοι. πέρας μὲν γὰρ ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις ἐστὶ τοῦ βίου θάνατος, κἂν ἐν οἰκίσκῳ τις αὑτὸν καθείρξας τηρῇ· δεῖ δὲ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας ἐγχειρεῖν μὲν ἅπασιν ἀεὶ τοῖς καλοῖς, τὴν ἀγαθὴν προβαλλομένους ἐλπίδα, φέρειν δʼ ἃν ὁ θεὸς διδῷ γενναίως.
98. So your forefathers played their part; so also did the elder among yourselves. The Lacedaemonians were no friends or benefactors of ours; they had done many grievous wrongs to our commonwealth; but when the Thebans, after their victory at Leuctra, threatened to exterminate them, you balked that revenge, without fear of the prowess and high repute of the Thebans, without thought of the past misdeeds of the people for whom you imperilled yourselves.
98. ταῦτʼ ἐποίουν οἱ ὑμέτεροι πρόγονοι, ταῦθʼ ὑμεῖς οἱ πρεσβύτεροι, οἳ Λακεδαιμονίους οὐ φίλους ὄντας οὐδʼ εὐεργέτας, ἀλλὰ πολλὰ τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν ἠδικηκότας καὶ μεγάλα, ἐπειδὴ Θηβαῖοι κρατήσαντες ἐν Λεύκτροις ἀνελεῖν ἐπεχείρουν, διεκωλύσατε, οὐ φοβηθέντες τὴν τότε Θηβαίοις ῥώμην καὶ δόξαν ὑπάρχουσαν, οὐδʼ ὑπὲρ οἷα πεποιηκότων ἀνθρώπων κινδυνεύσετε διαλογισάμενοι.
99. And so you taught to all Greece the lesson that, however gravely a nation may have offended against you, you keep your resentment for proper occasions, but if ever their life or their liberty is endangered, you will not indulge your rancor or take your wrongs into account. Not only towards the Lacedaemonians have you so demeaned yourselves; but when the Thebans were trying to annex Euboea, you were not indifferent; you did not call to mind the injuries you had suffered from Themiso and Theodorus in the matter of Oropus; you carried aid even to them. That was in the early days of the volunteer trierarchs, of whom I was one; but I say nothing of that now.
99. καὶ γάρ τοι πᾶσι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐδείξατʼ ἐκ τούτων ὅτι, κἂν ὁτιοῦν τις εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐξαμάρτῃ, τούτων τὴν ὀργὴν εἰς τἄλλʼ ἔχετε, ἐὰν δʼ ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας ἢ ἐλευθερίας κίνδυνός τις αὐτοὺς καταλαμβάνῃ, οὔτε μνησικακήσετʼ οὔθʼ ὑπολογιεῖσθε. καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτων μόνον οὕτως ἐσχήκατε, ἀλλὰ πάλιν σφετεριζομένων Θηβαίων τὴν Εὔβοιαν οὐ περιείδετε, οὐδʼ ὧν ὑπὸ Θεμίσωνος καὶ Θεοδώρου περὶ Ὠρωπὸν ἠδίκησθʼ ἀνεμνήσθητε, ἀλλʼ ἐβοηθήσατε καὶ τούτοις, τῶν ἐθελοντῶν τότε τριηράρχων πρῶτον γενομένων τῇ πόλει, ὧν εἷς ἦν ἐγώ.
100. Your deliverance of the island was a generous act, but still more generously, when you had their lives and their cities at your mercy, you restored them honestly to men who had sinned against you, forgetting your wrongs where you found yourselves trusted. I pass over ten thousand instances I could cite,—battles by sea, expeditions by land, campaigns of ancient date and of our own times, in all of which Athens engaged herself for the freedom and salvation of Greece.
100. ἀλλʼ οὔπω περὶ τούτων. καὶ καλὸν μὲν ἐποιήσατε καὶ τὸ σῶσαι τὴν νῆσον, πολλῷ δʼ ἔτι τούτου κάλλιον τὸ καταστάντες κύριοι καὶ τῶν σωμάτων καὶ τῶν πόλεων ἀποδοῦναι ταῦτα δικαίως αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἐξημαρτηκόσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς, μηδὲν ὧν ἠδίκησθε ἐν οἷς ἐπιστεύθητε ὑπολογισάμενοι. μυρία τοίνυν ἕτερʼ εἰπεῖν ἔχων παραλείπω, ναυμαχίας, ἐξόδους [πεζάς, στρατείας] καὶ πάλαι γεγονυίας καὶ νῦν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν, ἃς ἁπάσας ἡ πόλις τῆς τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας καὶ σωτηρίας πεποίηται.
101. Having before my eyes the spectacle of a city in all those great enterprises ready to fight the battles of her neighbors, what advice was I to give and what policy to urge, when her deliberations in some measure concerned herself? To bear malice against men who were seeking deliverance? To search for excuses for deserting the common cause? Should I not have deserved death if even in word I had sought to tarnish our honor able traditions? In word, I say; for the deed you would never have done. Of that I am well assured, for if you so wished, what stood in your way? Was it not in your power? Were not Aeschines and his friends there to advise you?
101. εἶτʼ ἐγὼ τεθεωρηκὼς ἐν τοσούτοις καὶ τοιούτοις τὴν πόλιν ὑπὲρ τῶν τοῖς ἄλλοις συμφερόντων ἐθέλουσαν ἀγωνίζεσθαι, ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τρόπον τινὰ τῆς βουλῆς οὔσης τί ἔμελλον κελεύσειν ἢ τί συμβουλεύσειν αὐτῇ ποιεῖν; μνησικακεῖν νὴ Δία πρὸς τοὺς βουλομένους σῴζεσθαι, καὶ προφάσεις ζητεῖν διʼ ἃς ἅπαντα προησόμεθα. καὶ τίς οὐκ ἂν ἀπέκτεινέν με δικαίως, εἴ τι τῶν ὑπαρχόντων τῇ πόλει καλῶν λόγῳ μόνον καταισχύνειν ἐπεχείρησα; ἐπεὶ τό γʼ ἔργον οὐκ ἂν ἐποιήσαθʼ ὑμεῖς, ἀκριβῶς οἶδʼ ἐγώ· εἰ γὰρ ἐβούλεσθε, τί ἦν ἐμποδών; οὐκ ἐξῆν; οὐχ ὑπῆρχον οἱ ταῦτʼ ἐροῦντες οὗτοι;
102. I will now return to my next ensuing public actions; consider them once again in relation to the best interests of the commonwealth. Observing that the navy was going to pieces, that the wealthy were let off with trifling contributions, while citizens of moderate or small means were losing all they had, and that as a result the government was missing its opportunities, I made a statute under which I compelled the wealthy to take their fair share of expense, stopped the oppression of the poor, and, by a measure of great public benefit, caused your naval preparations to be made in good time.
102. βούλομαι τοίνυν ἐπανελθεῖν ἐφʼ ἃ τούτων ἑξῆς ἐπολιτευόμην· καὶ σκοπεῖτʼ ἐν τούτοις πάλιν αὖ, τί τὸ τῇ πόλει βέλτιστον ἦν. ὁρῶν γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ ναυτικὸν ὑμῶν καταλυόμενον καὶ τοὺς μὲν πλουσίους ἀτελεῖς ἀπὸ μικρῶν ἀναλωμάτων γιγνομένους, τοὺς δὲ μέτριʼ ἢ μικρὰ κεκτημένους τῶν πολιτῶν τὰ ὄντʼ ἀπολλύοντας, ἔτι δʼ ὑστερίζουσαν ἐκ τούτων τὴν πόλιν τῶν καιρῶν, ἔθηκα νόμον καθʼ ὃν τοὺς μὲν τὰ δίκαια ποιεῖν ἠνάγκασα, τοὺς πλουσίους, τοὺς δὲ πένητας ἔπαυσʼ ἀδικουμένους, τῇ πόλει δʼ ὅπερ ἦν χρησιμώτατον, ἐν καιρῷ γίγνεσθαι τὰς παρασκευὰς ἐποίησα.
103. Being indicted for this measure, I stood my trial before this court and was acquitted, the prosecutor not getting the fifth part of the votes. Now how much money do you think the first, second, and third classes of contributors on the Naval Boards offered me not to propose the measure, or, failing that, to put it on the list and then drop it on demurrer?\b It was so large a sum, men of Athens, that I hardly like to name it.
103. καὶ γραφεὶς τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον εἰς ὑμᾶς εἰσῆλθον καὶ ἀπέφυγον, καὶ τὸ μέρος τῶν ψήφων ὁ διώκων οὐκ ἔλαβεν. καίτοι πόσα χρήματα τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τῶν συμμοριῶν ἢ τοὺς δευτέρους καὶ τρίτους οἴεσθέ μοι διδόναι, ὥστε μάλιστα μὲν μὴ θεῖναι τὸν νόμον τοῦτον, εἰ δὲ μή, καταβάλλοντʼ ἐᾶν ἐν ὑπωμοσίᾳ; τοσαῦτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅσʼ ὀκνήσαιμʼ ἂν πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν.
104. It was natural that they should make this attempt. Under the former statutes they might discharge their public services in groups of sixteen, spending little or nothing themselves, but grinding down the needy citizens, whereas by my statute they had to return the full assessment according to their means, and a man who was formerly one of sixteen contributors to a single trireme—for they were dropping the term trierarch and calling themselves contributors-might have to furnish two complete vessels. They offered any amount to get the new rules abrogated and escape their just obligation.
104. καὶ ταῦτʼ εἰκότως ἔπραττον ἐκεῖνοι. ἦν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐκ μὲν τῶν προτέρων νόμων συνεκκαίδεκα λῃτουργεῖν, αὐτοῖς μὲν μικρὰ καὶ οὐδὲν ἀναλίσκουσι, τοὺς δʼ ἀπόρους τῶν πολιτῶν ἐπιτρίβουσιν, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ἐμοῦ νόμου τὸ γιγνόμενον κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἕκαστον τιθέναι, καὶ δυοῖν ἐφάνη τριήραρχος ὁ τῆς μιᾶς ἕκτος καὶ δέκατος πρότερον συντελής· οὐδὲ γὰρ τριηράρχους ἔτʼ ὠνόμαζον ἑαυτούς, ἀλλὰ συντελεῖς. ὥστε δὴ ταῦτα λυθῆναι καὶ μὴ τὰ δίκαια ποιεῖν ἀναγκασθῆναι, οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅ τι οὐκ ἐδίδοσαν.
105. Read first the decree, for which I was indicted and tried, and then the schedules as compiled under the old statute under my statute. (The Decree is read) “In the archonship of Polycles, on the sixteenth of the month Boëdromion, the tribe Hippothontis holding the presidency, Demosthenes, son of Demosthenes, of Paeania, introduced a bill to amend the former law constituting the syndicates for the equipment of triremes. The bill was passed by the Council and the People, and Patrocles of Phlya indicted Demosthenes for a breach of the constitution, and, not obtaining the required proportion of votes, paid the fee of five hundred drachmas.” Now read that fine schedule. (The Old Schedule is read) “The trierarchs to be called up, sixteen for each trireme, from the associations of joint contributors, from the age of twenty-five to that of forty, paying equal contributions to the public service.”
105. καί μοι λέγε πρῶτον μὲν τὸ ψήφισμα καθʼ ὃ εἰσῆλθον τὴν γραφήν, εἶτα τοὺς καταλόγους, τόν τʼ ἐκ τοῦ προτέρου νόμου καὶ τὸν κατὰ τὸν ἐμόν. λέγε. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ. ἐπὶ ἄρχοντος Πολυκλέους, μηνὸς βοηδρομιῶνος ἕκτῃ ἐπὶ δέκα, φυλῆς πρυτανευούσης Ἱπποθωντίδος, Δημοσθένης Δημοσθένους Παιανιεὺς εἰσήνεγκε νόμον [εἰς τὸ] τριηραρχικὸν ἀντὶ τοῦ πρότερον, καθʼ ὃν αἱ συντέλειαι ἦσαν τῶν τριηράρχων· καὶ ἐπεχειροτόνησεν ἡ βουλὴ καὶ ὁ δῆμος· καὶ ἀπήνεγκε παρανόμων Δημοσθένει Πατροκλῆς Φλυεύς, καὶ τὸ μέρος τῶν ψήφων οὐ λαβὼν ἀπέτεισε τὰς πεντακοσίας δραχμάς.
106. Now read for comparison the schedule under my statute. (The New Schedule is read) “The trierarchs to be chosen according to the assessment of their property at ten talents to a trireme; if the property be assessed above that sum, the public service shall be fixed proportionately up to three triremes and a tender. The same proportion shall be observed where those whose property is under ten talents form a syndicate to make up that sum.”
106. φέρε δὴ καὶ τὸν καλὸν κατάλογον. ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ. Τοὺς τριηράρχους καλεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν τριήρη συνεκκαίδεκα ἐκ τῶν ἐν τοῖς λόχοις συντελειῶν, ἀπὸ εἴκοσι καὶ πέντε ἐτῶν εἰς τετταράκοντα, ἐπὶ ἴσον τῇ χορηγίᾳ χρωμένους. Φέρε δὴ παρὰ τοῦτον τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ νόμου κατάλογον. ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ. Τοὺς τριηράρχους αἱρεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν τριήρη ἀπὸ τῆς οὐσίας κατὰ τίμησιν, ἀπὸ ταλάντων δέκα· ἐὰν δὲ πλειόνων ἡ οὐσία ἀποτετιμημένη ᾖ χρημάτων, κατὰ τὸν ἀναλογισμὸν ἕως τριῶν πλοίων καὶ ὑπηρετικοῦ ἡ λειτουργία ἔστω. κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ ἀναλογίαν ἔστω καὶ οἷς ἐλάττων οὐσία ἐστὶ τῶν δέκα ταλάντων, εἰς συντέλειαν συναγομένοις εἰς τὰ δέκα τάλαντα.