202. For I hear that he will tell you that I participated in all the acts I am denouncing, that I approved of them, and co-operated with him, and now have suddenly changed my mind and become his accuser. That is no honest and decent defence against specific charges; it is, however, an accusation against me; for if I acted as he says, I am a worthless person; but that is far from making his actions a whit better.
202. ἀκούω γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐρεῖν ὡς ἄρʼ ἐγὼ πάντων ὧν κατηγορῶ κοινωνὸς γέγονα, καὶ συνήρεσκε ταῦτά μοι καὶ συνέπραττον αὐτῷ, ἔπειτʼ ἐξαίφνης μεταβέβλημαι καὶ κατηγορῶ. ἔστι δʼ ὑπὲρ μὲν τῶν πεπραγμένων οὔτε δικαία οὔτε προσήκουσʼ ἡ τοιαύτη ἀπολογία, ἐμοῦ μέντοι τις κατηγορία· ἐγὼ μὲν γάρ, εἰ ταῦτα πεποίηκα, φαῦλός εἰμʼ ἄνθρωπος, τὰ δὲ πράγματʼ οὐδὲν βελτίω διὰ τοῦτο, οὐδὲ πολλοῦ δεῖ.
203. However, it is incumbent on me, I suppose, first, to satisfy you that the allegation, if he makes it, will be false, and secondly, to show you what is an honest defence. Now it is an honest and straightforward defence to prove either that the acts alleged were never committed, or that, if committed, they were for the advantage of the state. But he cannot make good either of these positions.
203. οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἔγωγʼ οἶμαί μοι προσήκειν ἀμφότερʼ ὑμῖν ἐπιδεῖξαι, καὶ ὅτι ψεύσεται, ταῦτʼ ἐὰν λέγῃ, καὶ τὴν δικαίαν ἥτις ἐστὶν ἀπολογία. ἡ μὲν τοίνυν δικαία καὶ ἁπλῆ, ἢ ὡς οὐ πέπρακται τὰ κατηγορημένα δεῖξαι, ἢ ὡς πεπραγμένα συμφέρει τῇ πόλει. τούτων δʼ οὐδέτερον δύναιτʼ ἂν οὗτος ποιῆσαι.
204. He cannot claim as advantages the destruction of the Phocians, or Philip’s occupation of Thermopylae, or the aggrandizement of Thebes, or the invasion of Euboea, or the designs against Megara, or the unratified peace; for he reported himself that exactly the opposite was going to happen and would be to your advantage. Neither can he convince you, against the evidence of your own eyes and your own knowledge, that these disasters are fabulous.
204. οὔτε γὰρ ὡς συμφέρει δήπου Φωκέας ἀπολωλέναι καὶ Πύλας Φίλιππον ἔχειν καὶ Θηβαίους ἰσχύειν καὶ ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ στρατιώτας εἶναι καὶ Μεγάροις ἐπιβουλεύειν καὶ ἀνώμοτον εἶναι τὴν εἰρήνην, ἔνεστι λέγειν αὐτῷ, οἷς τότʼ ἐναντίʼ ἀπήγγειλε πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὡς συμφέροντα καὶ γενησόμενα· οὔθʼ ὡς οὐ πέπρακται ταῦτα, δυνήσεται πεῖσαι τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἑορακότας ὑμᾶς καὶ εὖ εἰδότας.
205. My remaining duty is to prove that I had no partnership with these men in any of their doings. Is it your wish that I should put aside the rest of the story,—how I spoke against them in Assembly, how I fell out with them on the journey, how from first to last I persistently opposed them,—and should produce these men themselves as my witnesses to testify that my conduct and theirs has been utterly at variance, that they accepted money to thwart you, and that I refused it? Then observe.
205. οὐκοῦν ὡς οὐ κεκοινώνηκα τούτοις οὐδενός, λοιπόν μοι δεῖξαι. βούλεσθʼ οὖν ὑμῖν, πάντα τἄλλʼ ἀφείς, ἃ παρʼ ὑμῖν ἀντεῖπον, ἃ ἐν τῇ ἀποδημίᾳ προσέκρουον, ὡς ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον ἠναντίωμαι, αὐτοὺς παράσχωμαι μάρτυρας τούτους ὅτι πάντα τἀναντίʼ ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτοις πέπρακται, καὶ χρήμαθʼ οὗτοι μὲν ἔχουσιν ἐφʼ ὑμῖν, ἐγὼ δʼ οὐκ ἠθέλησα λαβεῖν; θεάσασθε δή.
206. Whom would you call the most detestable person in all Athens, and the most swollen with impudence and superciliousness? No one, I am sure, would name, even by a slip of the tongue, anyone but Philocrates. Who is the most vehement speaker, the man who can express himself most emphatically with the aid of his big voice? Undoubtedly Aeschines. Whom do these men call timid and faint-hearted, or, as I should say, diffident, in addressing a crowd? Me; for I never worried you; I have never tried to dragoon you against your inclinations.
206. τίνα τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει φήσαιτʼ ἂν βδελυρώτατον εἶναι καὶ πλείστης ἀναιδείας καὶ ὀλιγωρίας μεστόν; οὐδεὶς οὐδʼ ἂν ἁμαρτὼν ὑμῶν ἄλλον εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι φήσειεν ἢ Φιλοκράτην. τίνα δὲ φθέγγεσθαι μέγιστον ἁπάντων καὶ σαφέστατʼ ἂν εἰπεῖν ὅ τι βούλοιτο τῇ φωνῇ; Αἰσχίνην οἶδʼ ὅτι τουτονί. τίνα δʼ οὗτοι μὲν ἄτολμον καὶ δειλὸν πρὸς τοὺς ὄχλους φασὶν εἶναι, ἐγὼ δʼ εὐλαβῆ; ἐμέ· οὐδὲν γὰρ πώποτʼ οὔτʼ ἠνώχλησα οὔτε μὴ βουλομένους ὑμᾶς βεβίασμαι.
207. Well, at every Assembly, whenever there is any discussion of this business, you hear me denouncing and incriminating these men, and declaring roundly that they have taken bribes and made traffic of all the interests of the commonwealth; and no one of them ever contradicts me, or opens his mouth, or lets himself be seen.
207. οὐκοῦν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις, ὁσάκις λόγος γέγονεν περὶ τούτων, καὶ κατηγοροῦντος ἀκούετέ μου καὶ ἐλέγχοντος ἀεὶ τούτους καὶ λέγοντος ἄντικρυς ὅτι χρήματʼ εἰλήφασι καὶ πάντα πεπράκασι τὰ πράγματα τῆς πόλεως. καὶ τούτων οὐδεὶς πώποτʼ ἀκούων ταῦτʼ ἀντεῖπεν οὐδὲ διῆρε τὸ στόμα, οὐδʼ ἔδειξεν ἑαυτόν.
208. How comes it then that the most impudent men in Athens, and the loudest speakers, are overborne by me, the nervous man, who can speak no louder than another? Because truth is strong, and consciousness of corruption weak. Conscience paralyses their audacity; conscience cripples their tongues, closes their lips, stifles them, puts them to silence.
208. τί ποτʼ οὖν ἐστι τὸ αἴτιον ὅτι οἱ βδελυρώτατοι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ μέγιστον φθεγγόμενοι τοῦ καὶ ἀτολμοτάτου πάντων ἐμοῦ καὶ οὐδενὸς μεῖζον φθεγγομένου τοσοῦτον ἡττῶνται; ὅτι τἀληθὲς ἰσχυρόν, καὶ τοὐναντίον ἀσθενὲς τὸ συνειδέναι πεπρακόσιν αὑτοῖς τὰ πράγματα. τοῦτο παραιρεῖται τὴν θρασύτητα τὴν τούτων, τοῦτʼ ἀποστρέφει τὴν γλῶτταν, ἐμφράττει τὸ στόμα, ἄγχει, σιωπᾶν ποιεῖ.
209. You remember the most recent occasion, at Peiraeus only the other day, when you refused to appoint Aeschines to an embassy, how he bellowed at me: “I will impeach you,—I will indict you,—aha! aha!” And yet a threat of impeachment involves endless speeches and litigation; but here are just two or three simple words that a slave bought yesterday could deliver: “Men of Athens, here is a strange thing! This man accuses me of offences in which he himself took part. He says that I have taken bribes, when he took them, or shared them, himself.”
209. τὸ τοίνυν τελευταῖον ἴστε δήπου πρώην ἐν Πειραιεῖ, ὅτʼ αὐτὸν οὐκ εἰᾶτε πρεσβεύειν, βοῶνθʼ ὡς εἰσαγγελεῖ με καὶ γράψεται καὶ ἰοὺ ἰού. καίτοι ταῦτα μέν ἐστι μακρῶν καὶ πολλῶν ἀγώνων καὶ λόγων ἀρχή, ἐκεῖνα δʼ ἁπλᾶ καὶ δύʼ ἢ τρίʼ ἴσως ῥήματα, ἃ κἂν ἐχθὲς ἐωνημένος ἄνθρωπος εἰπεῖν ἠδυνήθη, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τουτὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα πάνδεινόν ἐστιν· οὑτοσὶ κατηγορεῖ ταῦτʼ ἐμοῦ ὧν αὐτὸς κοινωνὸς γέγονε, καὶ χρήματʼ εἰληφέναι φησὶν ἐμέ, αὐτὸς εἰληφὼς ἢ μετειληφώς.
210. He never spoke, he never uttered a word of that speech; none of you heard it; he only vented idle menaces. The reason is that he was conscious of guilt; he cowered like a slave before those words; his thoughts did not approach them but recoiled from them, arrested by his evil conscience. Mere vague invective and abuse there was no one to stop.
210. τούτων μὲν τοίνυν οὐδὲν εἶπεν οὐδʼ ἐφθέγξατο, οὐδʼ ἤκουσεν ὑμῶν οὐδείς, ἄλλα δʼ ἠπείλει. διὰ τί; ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν αὑτῷ συνῄδει πεπραγμένα, καὶ δοῦλος ἦν τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων. οὔκουν προσῄει πρὸς ταῦθʼ ἡ διάνοια, ἀλλʼ ἀνεδύετο· ἐπελαμβάνετο γὰρ αὐτῆς τὸ συνειδέναι. λοιδορεῖσθαι δʼ ἄλλʼ ἄττʼ οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ βλασφημεῖν.
211. And now comes the strongest possible point—not a matter of assertion but of fact. I wished to do the honest thing, and to give an account of myself twice, because I had been appointed ambassador twice; but Aeschines approached the Court of Scrutiny, taking with him a crowd of witnesses, and forbade them to summon me, on the ground that I had already submitted to scrutiny, and was no longer liable. What was the real meaning of this ludicrous proceeding? Having himself rendered his account of the earlier embassy, with which nobody found fault, he did not wish to come into court in respect of the embassy for which he is now under examination; and that is the embassy that includes all his misdeeds.
211. ὃ τοίνυν μέγιστον ἁπάντων, καὶ οὐ λόγος ἀλλʼ ἔργον· βουλομένου γὰρ ἐμοῦ τὰ δίκαια, ὥσπερ ἐπρέσβευσα δίς, οὕτω καὶ λόγον ὑμῖν δοῦναι δίς, προσελθὼν Αἰσχίνης οὑτοσὶ τοῖς λογισταῖς ἔχων μάρτυρας πολλοὺς ἀπηγόρευε μὴ καλεῖν ἔμʼ εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ὡς δεδωκότʼ εὐθύνας καὶ οὐκ ὄνθʼ ὑπεύθυνον· καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἦν ὑπεργέλοιον. τί οὖν ἦν τοῦτο; τῆς προτέρας ἐκείνης πρεσβείας, ἧς οὐδεὶς κατηγόρει, δοὺς λόγον οὐκέτʼ ἐβούλετʼ αὖθις εἰσιέναι περὶ ταύτης ἧς νῦν εἰσέρχεται, ἐν ᾗ πάντα τἀδικήματʼ ἐνῆν·
212. But, if I came into court twice, he could not avoid a second appearance, and therefore he would not let me be summoned. Yet that act, men of Athens, proves two propositions: first, that Aeschines has pronounced his own condemnation, and therefore you cannot conscientiously acquit him today; and secondly, that he will not have a truthful word to say about me, otherwise he would have spoken out and denounced me then, instead of trying to block my summons.
212. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ δὶς ἔμʼ εἰσελθεῖν ἀνάγκη περιίστατο καὶ τούτῳ πάλιν εἰσιέναι· διὰ ταῦτʼ οὐκ εἴα καλεῖν. καίτοι τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀμφότερʼ ὑμῖν ἐπιδείκνυσι σαφῶς, καὶ κατεγνωκόθʼ ἑαυτοῦ τοῦτον ὥστε μηδενὶ νῦν ὑμῶν εὐσεβῶς ἔχειν ἀποψηφίσασθαι αὐτοῦ, καὶ μηδὲν ἀληθὲς ἐροῦντα περὶ ἐμοῦ· εἰ γὰρ εἶχε, τότʼ ἂν καὶ λέγων καὶ κατηγορῶν ἐξητάζετο, οὐ μὰ Δίʼ οὐκ ἀπηγόρευε καλεῖν.
213. To prove the truth of these statements, please call the witnesses. If, however, he says scurrilous things about me, not pertinent to the question of the embassy, there are many reasons why you should not listen. I am not on my trial today, and I shall have no second opportunity of speaking. It will only mean that he is destitute of honest arguments. No culprit would deliberately choose to prefer accusations, if he had any defence to offer.
213. ὡς τοίνυν ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, κάλει μοι τούτων τοὺς μάρτυρας. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἄν γέ τι ἔξω τῆς πρεσβείας βλασφημῇ περὶ ἐμοῦ, κατὰ πόλλʼ οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἀκούοιτʼ αὐτοῦ. οὐ γὰρ ἐγὼ κρίνομαι τήμερον, οὐδʼ ἐγχεῖ μετὰ ταῦθʼ ὕδωρ οὐδεὶς ἐμοί. τί οὖν ἐστι ταῦτα πλὴν δικαίων λόγων ἀπορία; τίς γὰρ ἂν κατηγορεῖν ἕλοιτο κρινόμενος, ἔχων ὅ τι ἀπολογήσεται;
214. Or again, look at it in this light, gentlemen of the jury. Suppose that I were on trial, with Aeschines for my accuser, and Philip for my judge, and suppose that, being unable to deny my guilt, I were to vilify Aeschines and throw mud at him; do you not think that that is just what would move Philip’s indignation, his own benefactors calumniated before his own tribunal? Do not be less rigorous than Philip, but compel him to address his defence to the real issues of this controversy. Now read the deposition. (The Deposition is read) Thus in my consciousness of innocence I thought it my duty to render my account and accept my full legal liability, while Aeschines did not.
214. ἔτι τοίνυν κἀκεῖνο σκοπεῖτʼ, ἄνδρες δικασταί. εἰ ἐκρινόμην μὲν ἐγώ, κατηγόρει δʼ Αἰσχίνης οὑτοσί, Φίλιππος δʼ ἦν ὁ κρίνων, εἶτʼ ἐγὼ μηδὲν ἔχων εἰπεῖν ὡς οὐκ ἀδικῶ κακῶς ἔλεγον τουτονὶ καὶ προπηλακίζειν ἐπεχείρουν, οὐκ ἂν οἴεσθε καὶ κατʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτʼ ἀγανακτῆσαι τὸν Φίλιππον, εἰ παρʼ ἐκείνῳ τοὺς ἐκείνου τις εὐεργέτας κακῶς λέγει; μὴ τοίνυν ὑμεῖς χείρους γένησθε Φιλίππου, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἀγωνίζεται, περὶ τούτων ἀναγκάζετʼ ἀπολογεῖσθαι. λέγε τὴν μαρτυρίαν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ.
215. Is my conduct then the echo of his? Is it competent for him to lay before this court charges which he has never made before? Assuredly not; and yet he will lay them, for a very good reason. For you know that, ever since mankind and the criminal law first came into being, no culprit has ever been convicted while confessing his guilt. They vapor, they gainsay, they tell lies, they forge excuses,—anything to evade justice.
215. οὐκοῦν ἐγὼ μέν, ἐκ τοῦ μηδὲν ἐμαυτῷ συνειδέναι, καὶ λόγον διδόναι καὶ πάντα τἀκ τῶν νόμων ὑπέχειν ᾤμην δεῖν, οὗτος δὲ τἀναντία. πῶς οὖν ταὔτʼ ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτῳ πέπρακται; ἢ πῶς ἔνεστι τούτῳ ταῦτα πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγειν, ἃ μηδʼ ᾐτίαται πρότερον πώποτε; οὐδαμῶς δήπου. ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἐρεῖ, καὶ νὴ Δίʼ εἰκότως γε. ἴστε γὰρ δήπου τοῦθʼ, ὅτι ἀφʼ οὗ γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι καὶ κρίσεις γίγνονται, οὐδεὶς πώποθʼ ὁμολογῶν ἀδικεῖν ἑάλω, ἀλλʼ ἀναισχυντοῦσιν, ἀρνοῦνται, ψεύδονται, προφάσεις πλάττονται, πάντα ποιοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην.
216. Do not be duped today by any of these stale tricks. You must pass judgement on the facts, according to your knowledge; you must pay no heed either to my assertions or to his, nor even to the witnesses whom he will have in waiting, with Philip as his paymaster, and you will see how glibly they will testify. You must not notice what a fine loud voice he has, and what a poor voice I have.
216. ὧν οὐδενὶ δεῖ παρακρουσθῆναι τήμερον ὑμᾶς, ἀλλʼ ἀφʼ ὧν ἴστʼ αὐτοὶ τὰ πράγματα κρῖναι, μὴ τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις μηδὲ τοῖς τούτου προσέχειν, μηδέ γε τοῖς μάρτυσιν, οὓς οὗτος ἑτοίμους ἕξει μαρτυρεῖν ὁτιοῦν, Φιλίππῳ χορηγῷ χρώμενος· ὄψεσθε δʼ ὡς ἑτοίμως αὐτῷ μαρτυρήσουσιν· μηδέ γʼ εἰ καλὸν καὶ μέγʼ οὗτος φθέγξεται, μηδʼ εἰ φαῦλον ἐγώ.
217. If you are wise, you must not treat this trial as a competition of forensic eloquence; but in regard to a dishonorable and perilous catastrophe, cast back upon the guilty the dishonor that attaches to it, after reviewing transactions that lie within the knowledge of you all. What, then, are the facts that you know and I need not recount?
217. οὐδὲ γὰρ ῥητόρων οὐδὲ λόγων κρίσιν ὑμᾶς τήμερον, εἴπερ εὖ φρονεῖτε, προσήκει ποιεῖν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ πραγμάτων αἰσχρῶς καὶ δεινῶς ἀπολωλότων τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αἰσχύνην εἰς τοὺς αἰτίους ἀπώσασθε, τὰ πεπραγμένα, ἃ πάντες ἐπίστασθε, ἐξετάσαντες. τί οὖν ἐστι ταῦθʼ ἃ ὑμεῖς ἴστε καὶ οὐ παρʼ ἡμῶν ὑμᾶς ἀκοῦσαι δεῖ;
218. If all the promised results of the peace have come true, if you confess yourselves so effeminate and so cowardly that, with no enemy within your borders, no blockade of your ports, no imperilment of your capital, with corn-prices low and every other condition as favorable as it is today, and with foreknowledge on the assurance of your ambassadors that your allies would be ruined, that the Thebans would gain strength, that Philip would occupy the northern positions, that a basis of attack would be established against you in Euboea, and that everything that has in fact resulted would befall you, you thereupon cheerfully made the peace, by all means acquit Aeschines, and do not crown your other dishonors with the sin of perjury.
218. εἰ μὲν ἅπανθʼ ὅσʼ ὑπέσχονθʼ ὑμῖν ἐκ τῆς εἰρήνης γέγονε, καὶ τοσαύτης ἀνανδρίας καὶ κακίας ὑμεῖς ὁμολογεῖτʼ εἶναι μεστοί, ὥστε μήτʼ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν πολεμίων ὄντων μήτʼ ἐκ θαλάττης πολιορκούμενοι μήτʼ ἐν ἄλλῳ μηδενὶ δεινῷ τῆς πόλεως οὔσης, ἀλλὰ καὶ σῖτον εὔωνον ὠνούμενοι καὶ τἄλλʼ οὐδὲν χεῖρον πράττοντες ἢ νῦν, προειδότες καὶ προακηκοότες παρὰ τούτων καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους ἀπολουμένους καὶ Θηβαίους ἰσχυροὺς γενησομένους καὶ τἀπὶ Θρᾴκης Φίλιππον ληψόμενον καὶ ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ κατασκευασθησόμενʼ ὁρμητήριʼ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς καὶ πάνθʼ ἃ πέπρακται γενησόμενα, εἶτα τὴν εἰρήνην ἐποιήσασθʼ ἀγαπητῶς, ἀποψηφίσασθʼ Αἰσχίνου, καὶ μὴ πρὸς τοσούτοις αἰσχροῖς καὶ ἐπιορκίαν προσκτήσησθε·
219. He has done you no wrong, and I am a madman and a fool to accuse him.
219. οὐδὲν γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἀδικεῖ, ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ μαίνομαι καὶ τετύφωμαι νῦν κατηγορῶν αὐτοῦ.
220. But if the truth is otherwise, if they spoke handsomely of Philip and told you that he was the friend of Athens, that he would deliver the Phocians, that he would curb the arrogance of the Thebans, that he would bestow on you many boons of more value than Amphipolis, and would restore Euboea and Oropus, if only he got his peace,—if, I say, by such assertions and such promises they have deceived and deluded you, and wellnigh stripped you of all Attica, find him guilty, and do not reinforce the outrages, for I can find no better word,—that you have endured, by returning to your homes laden with the curse and the guilt of perjury, for the sake of the bribes that they have pocketed.
220. εἰ δὲ πάντα τἀναντία τούτων καὶ πολλὰ καὶ φιλάνθρωπʼ εἰπόντες, Φίλιππον φιλεῖν τὴν πόλιν, Φωκέας σώσειν, Θηβαίους παύσειν τῆς ὕβρεως, ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις μείζονʼ ἢ κατʼ Ἀμφίπολιν εὖ ποιήσειν ὑμᾶς, ἐὰν τύχῃ τῆς εἰρήνης, Εὔβοιαν, Ὠρωπὸν ἀποδώσειν· εἰ ταῦτʼ εἰπόντες καὶ ὑποσχόμενοι πάντʼ ἐξηπατήκασι καὶ πεφενακίκασι καὶ μόνον οὐ τὴν Ἀττικὴν ὑμῶν περιῄρηνται, καταψηφίσασθε, καὶ μὴ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις οἷς ὕβρισθε (οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγʼ οἶδʼ ὅ τι χρὴ λέγειν ἄλλο) καὶ ὑπὲρ ὧν οὗτοι δεδωροδοκήκασιν ὑμεῖς τὴν ἀρὰν καὶ τὴν ἐπιορκίαν οἴκαδʼ εἰσενέγκησθε.
221. You should further ask yourselves, gentlemen of the jury, why, if they were not guilty, I should have gone out of my way to accuse them. You will find no reason. Is it agreeable to have many enemies? It is hardly safe. Perhaps I had an old standing feud with Aeschines? That is not so. “Well, but you were frightened on your own account, and were coward enough to seek this as a way of escape;” for that, I hear, is one of his suggestions. But, by your own account, Aeschines, there is no crime, and therefore no jeopardy. If he repeats the insinuation, do you, gentlemen, consider this: in a case where I, who did no wrong whatever, was yet afraid lest these men’s conduct should ruin me, what punishment ought they to suffer who were themselves the guilty parties?
221. ἔτι τοίνυν κἀκεῖνο σκοπεῖτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τίνος εἵνεκʼ ἐγὼ μηδὲν ἠδικηκότων τούτων κατηγορεῖν ἂν προειλόμην. οὐ γὰρ εὑρήσετε. ἡδὺ πολλοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἔχειν; οὐδέ γʼ ἀσφαλές. ἀλλʼ ὑπῆρχέ μοι πρὸς τοῦτον ἀπέχθειά τις; οὐδεμία. τί οὖν; ἐφοβοῦ περὶ σαυτοῦ, καὶ διὰ δειλίαν ταύτην ἡγήσω σωτηρίαν· καὶ γὰρ ταῦτʼ ἀκήκοʼ αὐτὸν λέγειν. καίτοι μηδενός γʼ ὄντος, Αἰσχίνη, δεινοῦ μηδʼ ἀδικήματος, ὡς σὺ φῄς, εἰ γὰρ αὖ ταῦτʼ ἐρεῖ, σκοπεῖτʼ, ἄνδρες δικασταί, εἰ ἐφʼ οἷς ὁ μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἀδικῶν ἐφοβούμην ἐγὼ μὴ διὰ τούτους ἀπόλωμαι, τί τούτους προσήκει παθεῖν τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἠδικηκότας; ἀλλʼ οὐ διὰ ταῦτα.
222. However, that was not my reason. Then why am I accusing you? Perhaps as a common informer, to get money out of you? Which course was more profitable for me, to take money from Philip, who offered me a great deal,—as much as he gave them,—and so to make friends both with him and with them,—for indeed I might have had their friendship if I had been their accomplice, and even now there is no vendetta between us, only that I had no part in their malpractices, or to levy blackmail on their takings, and so incur Philip’s enmity and theirs; to spend all my money on the ransom of captives, and then expect to get a trifle back dishonorably and at the cost of their hostility?
222. ἀλλὰ διὰ τί σου κατηγορῶ; συκοφαντῶ νὴ Δία, ἵνʼ ἀργύριον λάβω παρὰ σοῦ. καὶ πότερον κρεῖττον ἦν μοι παρὰ Φιλίππου λαβεῖν, τοῦ διδόντος πολὺ καὶ μηδενὸς τούτων ἔλαττον, καὶ φίλον κἀκεῖνον ἔχειν καὶ τούτους (ἦσαν γὰρ ἄν, ἦσαν φίλοι τῶν αὐτῶν κεκοινωνηκότι· οὐδὲ γὰρ νῦν ἔχθραν πατρικὴν ἔχουσι πρός με, ἀλλʼ ὅτι τῶν πεπραγμένων οὐ μετέσχηκα), ἢ παρὰ τούτων ἀφʼ ὧν εἰλήφασι μεταιτεῖν, κἀκείνῳ τʼ ἐχθρὸν εἶναι καὶ τούτοις; καὶ τοὺς μὲν αἰχμαλώτους ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων τοσούτων χρημάτων λύεσθαι, μικρὰ δʼ ἀξιοῦν παρὰ τούτων αἰσχρῶς μετʼ ἔχθρας λαμβάνειν;
223. The thing is impossible! No; I made honest reports; I kept my hands clean of corruption for the sake of truth and justice and of my future career, believing, as others have believed, that my honesty would be rewarded by your favor, and that my public spirit must never be bartered away for any emolument. I abhor these men because throughout the embassy I found them vicious and ungodly, and because by their corruption I have been robbed of the due reward of my patriotism, through your natural dissatisfaction with the whole business. I now denounce them, and I have attended this scrutiny, because I have a care for the future, and desire a decision recorded in this case and by this court that my conduct has been exactly opposed to theirs.
223. οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, ἀλλʼ ἀπήγγειλα μὲν τἀληθῆ καὶ ἀπεσχόμην τοῦ λαβεῖν τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας εἵνεκα καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ βίου, νομίζων, ὥσπερ ἄλλοι τινὲς παρʼ ὑμῖν, καὶ αὐτὸς ὢν ἐπιεικὴς τιμηθήσεσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἀνταλλακτέον εἶναί μοι τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς φιλοτιμίαν οὐδενὸς κέρδους· μισῶ δὲ τούτους, ὅτι μοχθηροὺς καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθροὺς εἶδον ἐν τῇ πρεσβείᾳ, καὶ ἀπεστέρημαι καὶ τῶν ἰδίων φιλοτιμιῶν διὰ τὴν τούτων δωροδοκίαν πρὸς ὅλην δυσχερῶς ὑμῶν τὴν πρεσβείαν ἐσχηκότων· κατηγορῶ δὲ νυνὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς εὐθύνας ἥκω τὸ μέλλον προορώμενος, καὶ βουλόμενος ἀγῶνι καὶ δικαστηρίῳ μοι διωρίσθαι παρʼ ὑμῖν ὅτι τἀναντίʼ ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτοις πέπρακται.
224. And yet I am afraid,—for all my thoughts shall be laid open to you,—I am afraid that hereafter you may destroy me with them in despite of my innocence, while today you are supine. For indeed, men of Athens, you seem to me to have become altogether slack, idly waiting for the advent of disaster. You see the distresses of others, but take no precaution for yourselves; you have no thought for the steady and alarming deterioration of your commonwealth.
224. καὶ δέδοικα, δέδοικα (εἰρήσεται γὰρ πάνθʼ ἃ φρονῶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς) μὴ τότε μὲν συνεπισπάσησθʼ ἐμὲ τὸν μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἀδικοῦντα, νῦν δʼ ἀναπεπτωκότες ἦτε. παντάπασι γάρ, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐκλελύσθαι μοι δοκεῖτε καὶ παθεῖν ἀναμένειν τὰ δεινά, ἑτέρους δὲ πάσχοντας ὁρῶντες οὐ φυλάττεσθαι, οὐδὲ φροντίζειν τῆς πόλεως πάλαι κατὰ πολλοὺς καὶ δεινοὺς τρόπους διαφθειρομένης.
225. Do you not think this an extremely dangerous symptom? (For though I had decided to say nothing, I am tempted to speak out) Of course you know Pythocles, son of Pythodorus. I was on the most civil terms with him, and there has been no unpleasantness between us to this day. But now, since his visit to Philip, he turns aside whenever he meets me, and if he cannot avoid an encounter, he rushes off as soon as he can for fear he should be seen talking to me, while he will perambulate the whole market-place discussing plans with Aeschines.
225. οὐκ οἴεσθε δεινὸν εἶναι καὶ ὑπερφυές; (καὶ γὰρ εἴ τι σιωπᾶν ἐγνώκειν, λέγειν ἐξάγομαι.) ἴστε δήπου Πυθοκλέα τουτονὶ τὸν Πυθοδώρου. τούτῳ πάνυ φιλανθρώπως ἐκεχρήμην ἐγώ, καὶ ἀηδὲς ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτῳ γέγονεν εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην οὐδέν. οὗτος ἐκτρέπεταί με νῦν ἀπαντῶν, ἀφʼ οὗ πρὸς Φίλιππον ἀφῖκται, κἂν ἀναγκασθῇ που συντυχεῖν, ἀπεπήδησεν εὐθέως, μή τις αὐτὸν ἴδῃ λαλοῦντʼ ἐμοί· μετὰ δʼ Αἰσχίνου περιέρχεται τὴν ἀγορὰν κύκλῳ καὶ βουλεύεται.
226. It is shocking and scandalous, men of Athens, that Philip has such an acute perception of the fidelity or treachery of the men who have made subservience to him their policy, that they all expect that nothing they do even in Athens will escape the master’s eye, as though he stood at their very elbow, and that they must needs choose their private friends and enemies in obedience to his wishes; while those whose lives are devoted to your service, and who covet and have never betrayed the honor that you can bestow, encounter in you such dullness of hearing, such darkness of vision, that here am I today contending on equal terms with these pernicious persons, even in a court well acquainted with the whole history.
226. οὐκοῦν δεινόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ σχέτλιον τοῖς μὲν τὰ Φιλίππου πράγμαθʼ ᾑρημένοις θεραπεύειν οὕτως ἀκριβῆ τὴν παρʼ ἐκείνου πρὸς ἑκάτερʼ αἴσθησιν ὑπάρχειν, ὥσθʼ ἕκαστον, ὥσπερ ἂν παρεστηκότος αὐτοῦ, μηδʼ ὧν ἂν ἐνθαδὶ πράξῃ μηδὲν ἡγεῖσθαι λήσειν, ἀλλὰ φίλους τε νομίζειν οὓς ἂν ἐκείνῳ δοκῇ καὶ μὴ φίλους ὡσαύτως, τοῖς δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ζῶσι καὶ τῆς παρʼ ὑμῶν τιμῆς γλιχομένοις καὶ μὴ προδεδωκόσι ταύτην τοσαύτην κωφότητα καὶ τοσοῦτο σκότος παρʼ ὑμῶν ἀπαντᾶν, ὥστε τοῖς ἀλειτηρίοις τούτοις ἐξ ἴσου νῦν ἔμʼ ἀγωνίζεσθαι, καὶ ταῦτα παρʼ ὑμῖν τοῖς ἅπαντʼ εἰδόσιν.
227. Would you like to know the reason? I will tell you, and I trust that you will not take offence at my candor. Philip, I take it, having one body and one soul loves those who help him and hates those who harm him with his whole heart, whereas no one of you regards the benefactor of the commonwealth as his benefactor, or the enemy of the commonwealth as his enemy.
227. βούλεσθʼ οὖν εἰδέναι καὶ ἀκοῦσαι τὸ τούτων αἴτιον; ἐγὼ δὴ φράσω, ἀξιῶ δὲ μηδένʼ ἄχθεσθαί μοι λέγοντι τἀληθῆ. ὅτι ἐκεῖνος μὲν ἕν, οἶμαι, σῶμʼ ἔχων καὶ ψυχὴν μίαν παντὶ θυμῷ καὶ φιλεῖ τοὺς ἑαυτὸν εὖ ποιοῦντας καὶ μισεῖ τοὺς τἀναντία, ὑμῶν δʼ ἕκαστος πρῶτον μὲν οὔτε τὸν εὖ ποιοῦντα τὴν πόλιν αὑτὸν εὖ ποιεῖν ἡγεῖται, οὔτε τὸν κακῶς ⟨κακῶς⟩, ἀλλʼ ἕτερʼ ἐστὶν ἑκάστῳ προυργιαίτερα, ὑφʼ ὧν παράγεσθε πολλάκις, ἔλεος, φθόνος, ὀργή, χαρίσασθαι τῷ δεηθέντι, ἄλλα μυρία·
228. Each man has other motives, of more importance to him, and thereby you are often led astray,—compassion, jealousy, resentment, good nature, and a thousand more. For even though a man escape every other danger, he can never wholly escape those who do not want such a person as he is to exist. But, little by little, by accumulation of these errors the foundation is sapped, and the integrity of public life collapses.
228. ἂν δʼ ἄρʼ ἅπαντά τις ἐκφύγῃ, ἀλλὰ τούς γʼ οὐδένα βουλομένους εἶναι τοιοῦτον οὐ διαφεύξεται. ἡ δʼ ἐφʼ ἑκάστου τούτων ἁμαρτία κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπορρέουσα ἁθρόος τῇ πόλει βλάβη γίγνεται.
229. Do not, men of Athens, give way to these motives today. Do not acquit the man who has done you such grievous wrong. Think of the story that will be told, if you do acquit him. Once upon a time certain ambassadors went from Athens to see Philip, and their names were Philocrates, Aeschines, Phryno, and Demosthenes. One of them not only made no gain from his mission, but delivered captives at his own expense; but another went about buying harlots and fish with the money for which he had sold his country.
229. ὧν μηδέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πάθητε τήμερον, μηδʼ ἀφῆτε τοῦτον ὃς ὑμᾶς τηλικαῦτʼ ἠδίκηκεν. καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς τίς ἔσται λόγος περὶ ὑμῶν, εἰ τοῦτον ἀφήσετε; Ἀθήνηθεν ἐπρέσβευσάν τινες ὡς Φίλιππον τουτονί, Φιλοκράτης, Αἰσχίνης, Φρύνων, Δημοσθένης. τί οὖν; ὁ μὲν πρὸς τῷ μηδὲν ἐκ τῆς πρεσβείας λαβεῖν τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἐλύσατο· ὁ δʼ ὧν τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράγματα χρημάτων ἀπέδοτο, τούτων πόρνας ἠγόραζε καὶ ἰχθῦς περιιών.
230. One of them, named Phryno, a bold, bad man, sent his son to Philip before he had put him on the list of citizens; but another did not do anything that was unworthy of his country or himself. Though he was still paying for a chorus and a man-of-war, he thought it only right to spend more money of his own free will, to ransom captives, and to allow none of his countrymen to suffer distress through poverty. But another, instead of delivering any of the Athenians who were already in captivity, helped to bring a whole district, and ten thousand of the infantry and about a thousand of the cavalry of the allies into captivity to Philip.
230. καὶ ὁ μὲν τὸν υἱὸν ἔπεμψε Φιλίππῳ, πρὶν εἰς ἄνδρας ἐγγράψαι, ὁ μιαρὸς Φρύνων· ὁ δʼ οὐδὲν ἀνάξιον οὔτε τῆς πόλεως οὔθʼ αὑτοῦ διεπράξατο. καὶ ὁ μὲν χορηγῶν καὶ τριηραρχῶν ἔτι καὶ ταῦτʼ ᾤετο δεῖν ἐθελοντὴς ἀναλίσκειν, [λύεσθαι,] μηδένʼ ἐν συμφορᾷ τῶν πολιτῶν διʼ ἔνδειαν περιορᾶν· ὁ δὲ τοσούτου δεῖ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων τινʼ αἰχμάλωτον σῶσαι, ὥσθʼ ὅλον τόπον καὶ πλεῖν ἢ μυρίους μὲν ὁπλίτας, ὁμοῦ δὲ χιλίους ἱππέας τῶν ὑπαρχόντων συμμάχων ὅπως αἰχμάλωτοι γένωνται Φιλίππῳ, συμπαρεσκεύασεν.
231. The sequel was that the Athenians caught these bad men, for they knew all about it, and—what do you think? They released the men who had taken bribes and had disgraced themselves, the city, and their own children, because they thought that they were very sensible men, and that the city was going on nicely; but they thought that the man who accused them had gone out of his mind, and that he did not understand Athens, and that he did not know even how to fling his money away.
231. τί οὖν μετὰ ταῦτα; Ἀθηναῖοι λαβόντες, ᾔδεσαν μὲν γὰρ πάλαι· τί δέ; τοὺς μὲν χρήματʼ εἰληφότας καὶ δῶρα καὶ καταισχύναντας ἑαυτούς, τὴν πόλιν, τοὺς ἑαυτῶν παῖδας, ἀφεῖσαν καὶ νοῦν ἔχειν ἡγοῦντο καὶ τὴν πόλιν εὐθενεῖσθαι· τὸν δὲ κατηγοροῦντα τί; ἐμβεβροντῆσθαι, τὴν πόλιν ἀγνοεῖν, οὐκ ἔχειν ὅποι τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ῥίπτῃ.
232. With this example before his eyes, who, men of Athens, will ever wish to prove himself an honest man, or to go on embassy for nothing, if he is neither to make money nor to be held more worthy of your confidence than those who have made money? Today you are not merely adjudging this case: you are legislating for all future time, whether every ambassador is basely to serve your enemies for hire, or without fee or bribe to give his best service to you.
232. καὶ τίς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῦτʼ ἰδὼν τὸ παράδειγμα, δίκαιον αὑτὸν παρασχεῖν ἐθελήσει; τίς προῖκα πρεσβεύειν, εἰ μήτε λαβεῖν μήτε τῶν εἰληφότων ἀξιοπιστότερον παρʼ ὑμῖν εἶναι δοκεῖν ὑπάρξει; οὐ μόνον κρίνετε τούτους τήμερον, οὔ, ἀλλὰ καὶ νόμον τίθεσθʼ εἰς ἅπαντα τὸν μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνον, πότερον χρημάτων αἰσχρῶς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν πρεσβεύειν ἅπαντας προσήκει ἢ προῖχʼ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τὰ βέλτιστʼ ἀδωροδοκήτως.
233. On these matters you need no further witness; but to prove that Phryno did send his son to Philip, please call the witnesses. Now Aeschines never prosecuted Phryno for sending his own son to Philip with a dishonorable intention. But if a man in the bloom of his youth was more comely than others, and if, disregarding the suspicion that his personal charm might provoke, he has lived rather recklessly in later years, Aeschines must needs proceed against that man for immorality.
233. ἀλλὰ μὴν περὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων οὐδενὸς προσδεῖσθε μάρτυρος· ὡς δὲ τὸν υἱὸν ἔπεμψεν ὁ Φρύνων, κάλει μοι τούτων τοὺς μάρτυρας. τοῦτον μὲν τοίνυν οὐκ ἔκρινεν Αἰσχίνης, ὅτι τὸν αὑτοῦ παῖδʼ ἐπʼ αἰσχύνῃ πρὸς Φίλιππον ἔπεμψεν. εἰ δέ τις ὢν ἐφʼ ἡλικίας ἑτέρου βελτίων τὴν ἰδέαν, μὴ προϊδόμενος τὴν ἐξ ἐκείνης τῆς ὄψεως ὑποψίαν, ἰταμώτερον τῷ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἐχρήσατο βίῳ, τοῦτον ὡς πεπορνευμένον κέκρικεν.
234. Now let me say a word about my entertainment and my decree. I had nearly forgotten those all-important topics! When I was drafting the provisional resolution of the Council respecting the earlier embassy, and again in addressing the people at the Assemblies that were held to discuss the terms of peace, I followed the usual custom, and included a vote of thanks and an invitation to the public mess-table; for at that time no wrongful word or act of theirs had been disclosed.
234. φέρε δὴ περὶ τῆς ἑστιάσεως καὶ τοῦ ψηφίσματος εἴπω· μικροῦ γʼ, ἃ μάλιστά μʼ ἔδει πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν, παρῆλθεν. τῆς πρώτης ἐκείνης πρεσβείας γράφων τὸ προβούλευμʼ ἐγὼ καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ δήμῳ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις, ἐν αἷς ἐμέλλετε βουλεύεσθαι περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, οὐδενὸς οὔτε λόγου πω παρὰ τούτων οὔτʼ ἀδικήματος ὄντος φανεροῦ, τὸ νόμιμον [ἔθος] ποιῶν, καὶ ἐπῄνεσα τούτους καὶ εἰς πρυτανεῖον ἐκάλεσα.
235. It is also true that I entertained Philip’s ambassadors, and did the thing very handsomely; for, having observed in their own country that they take pride in such hospitality as evidence of wealth and splendor, I thought it my duty to outdo them with a more striking display of munificence. On the strength of these incidents, Aeschines will tell you: “Demosthenes thanked us, and entertained the ambassadors himself”—without marking the distinction of time.
235. καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ἔγωγε καὶ τοὺς παρὰ τοῦ Φιλίππου πρέσβεις ἐξένισα, καὶ πάνυ γʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, λαμπρῶς· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἑώρων αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐκεῖ σεμνυνομένους ὡς εὐδαίμονας καὶ λαμπρούς, εὐθὺς ἡγούμην ἐν τούτοις πρῶτον περιεῖναι δεῖν αὐτῶν καὶ μεγαλοψυχότερος φαίνεσθαι. ταῦτα δὴ παρέξεται νῦν οὗτος λέγων ὡς αὐτὸς ἐπῄνεσεν ἡμᾶς, αὐτὸς εἱστία τοὺς πρέσβεις, τὸ πότʼ οὐ διορίζων.
236. All this took place before the country had suffered wrong, and before it was evident that the envoys had sold themselves, immediately after the first return of the envoys, when the people had still to hear their report, and when it was not yet known that Aeschines would support Philocrates, or that Philocrates would move such a resolution. If he mentions the incidents, bear in mind that the dates were earlier than their offences, and that I have never since had any intimacy or any association with them. Read the deposition. (The Deposition is read) Perhaps he will find a brother to speak for him, Philochares or Aphobetus; to both of whom there is much that you can say with justice.
236. ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα πρὸ τοῦ τὴν πόλιν ἠδικῆσθαί τι καὶ φανεροὺς τούτους πεπρακότας αὑτοὺς γενέσθαι, ὅτʼ ἄρτι μὲν ἧκον οἱ πρέσβεις τὸ πρῶτον, ἔδει δʼ ἀκοῦσαι τὸν δῆμον τί λέγουσιν, οὐδέπω δʼ οὔθʼ οὗτος συνερῶν δῆλος ἦν τῷ Φιλοκράτει οὔτʼ ἐκεῖνος τοιαῦτα γράψων. ἂν δὴ ταῦτα λέγῃ, μέμνησθε τοὺς χρόνους ὅτι τῶν ἀδικημάτων εἰσὶ πρότεροι. μετὰ ταῦτα δʼ οὐδὲν ἐμοὶ πρὸς τούτους οἰκεῖον οὐδὲ κοινὸν γέγονεν.λέγε τὴν μαρτυρίαν. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑ.
237. (One must converse quite frankly, without any reserve.) We, Aphobetus and Philochares, although you, Philochares, were a painter of alabaster boxes and tambourines, and your brothers ordinary people, junior clerks and the like,—respectable occupations, but hardly suitable for commanding officers,—we, I say, dignified you with embassies, commands as generals, and other high distinctions.
237. ἴσως τοίνυν ἀδελφὸς αὐτῷ συνερεῖ Φιλοχάρης καὶ Ἀφόβητος· πρὸς οὓς ἀμφοτέρους ὑμῖν πολλὰ καὶ δίκαιʼ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν. ἀνάγκη δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μετὰ παρρησίας διαλεχθῆναι, μηδὲν ὑποστελλόμενον. ἡμεῖς, Ἀφόβητε καὶ σὺ Φιλόχαρες, σὲ μὲν τὰς ἀλαβαστοθήκας γράφοντα καὶ τὰ τύμπανα, τούτους δʼ ὑπογραμματέας καὶ τοὺς τυχόντας ἀνθρώπους (καὶ οὐδεμιᾶς κακίας ταῦτα, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ στρατηγίας γʼ ἄξια) πρεσβειῶν, στρατηγιῶν, τῶν μεγίστων τιμῶν ἠξιώσαμεν.
238. Even if none of the family had committed any crime, you would have no claim on our gratitude, but we should have a large claim on yours; for we passed over many much more worthy claimants, and glorified you. But if in the actual enjoyment of those dignities one of you has committed a crime, and such a crime as this, do you not all deserve abhorrence much more than deliverance? That is my view. However, they will storm and bluster,—for they have very loud voices and very little modesty,—and will remind you that “it is no sin to help your kin.”
238. εἰ τοίνυν μηδὲν ὑμῶν ἠδίκει μηδείς, οὐχ ἡμεῖς χάριν ὑμῖν οὐδενός, ἀλλʼ ὑμεῖς ἡμῖν δικαίως ἂν ἔχοιτε τούτων· πολλοὺς γὰρ ὑμῶν μᾶλλον ἀξίους τιμᾶσθαι παρέντες ἡμεῖς ὑμᾶς ἐσεμνύνομεν. εἰ δὲ δὴ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἷς ἐτιμᾶσθʼ ἠδίκηκέ τις ὑμῶν, καὶ ταῦτα τοιαῦτα, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἂν μισοῖσθε δικαίως ἢ σῴζοισθε; ἐγὼ μὲν οἶμαι πολλῷ. βιάσονται τοίνυν ἴσως, μεγαλόφωνοι καὶ ἀναιδεῖς ὄντες, καὶ τὸ συγγνώμη ἀδελφῷ βοηθεῖν προσειληφότες.
239. Do not give way to them. It is their business to think of Aeschines; it is your business to think of the laws, of the whole commonwealth, and above all of the oath in virtue of which you sit in that box. If they have besought any of you to deliver him, ask yourselves whether they mean in case he is not, or in case he is, guilty of a crime against the common weal. If they mean in case he is not guilty, I admit the plea; but if they mean, deliver him in any case, they have entreated you to perjure yourselves. For though the vote is secret, it will not escape the eye of Heaven. The legislator wisely discerned herein the essence of secret voting, that no suppliant shall know the name of the juror who has granted his prayer, but the gods and the divine spirit will know him who has cast an unrighteous vote.
239. ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ ἡττᾶσθε, ἐκεῖνʼ ἐνθυμούμενοι, ὅτι τούτοις μὲν τούτου· προσήκει φροντίζειν, ὑμῖν δὲ τῶν νόμων καὶ ὅλης τῆς πόλεως καὶ παρὰ πάντα τῶν ὅρκων, οὓς αὐτοὶ κάθησθʼ ὀμωμοκότες. καὶ γὰρ εἰ τινῶν δεδέηνται τουτονὶ σῴζειν, πότερʼ ἂν μηδὲν ἀδικῶν φαίνηται τὴν πόλιν ἢ κἂν ἀδικῶν, σκοπεῖτε. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἂν μή, κἀγώ φημι δεῖν, εἰ δʼ ὅλως κἂν ὁτιοῦν, ἐπιορκεῖν δεδέηνται. οὐ γὰρ εἰ κρύβδην ἐστὶν ἡ ψῆφος, λήσει τοὺς θεούς, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο καὶ πάντων ἄρισθʼ ὁ τιθεὶς τὸν νόμον εἶδε [τὸ κρύβδην ψηφίζεσθαι], ὅτι τούτων μὲν οὐδεὶς εἴσεται τὸν ἑαυτῷ κεχαρισμένον ὑμῶν, οἱ θεοὶ δʼ εἴσονται καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον τὸν μὴ τὰ δίκαια ψηφισάμενον.
240. Far better for each of you to make good his hopes of the blessing of Heaven for himself and his children, by recording a righteous and a dutiful verdict, than to bestow on these men a secret and unacknowledged favor, and acquit a man convicted by his own testimony. For what more powerful evidence, Aeschines, can I adduce for the many crimes of your embassy than the evidence you have given against yourself? You, who thought it necessary to implicate in so grievous a calamity one who purposed to bring a part of your misconduct to light, must surely have expected a terrible retribution if the jury should learn the true history of your deeds.
240. παρʼ ὧν κρεῖττόν ἐστιν ἑκάστῳ τὰς ἀγαθὰς ἐλπίδας τοῖς παισὶ καὶ ἑαυτῷ, τὰ δίκαια γνόντα καὶ τὰ προσήκοντα, περιποιήσασθαι ἢ τὴν ἀφανῆ καὶ ἄδηλον τούτοις χάριν καταθέσθαι, καὶ ἀφεῖναι τοῦτον ὃς αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ καταμεμαρτύρηκεν. τίνα γάρ, Αἰσχίνη, μάρτυρα μείζω παράσχωμαι τοῦ πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ πεπρεσβεῦσθαί σοι ἢ σὲ κατὰ σαυτοῦ; ὃς γὰρ ᾠήθης χρῆναι τὸν φανερόν τι ποιῆσαι βουληθέντα τῶν σοὶ πεπρεσβευμένων τηλικαύτῃ καὶ τοιαύτῃ συμφορᾷ περιβαλεῖν, δῆλον ὅτι δεινὸν ἄν τι παθεῖν σαυτὸν ἤλπιζες, εἰ πύθοινθʼ οὗτοι τὰ πεπραγμένα σοι.
241. If you are wise, that performance of his will now be turned to his disadvantage, not only because it was a powerful indication of his misconduct, but because he employed in his prosecution arguments that are now valid against himself. For surely the principles which you, Aeschines, laid down when you prosecuted Timarchus ought to have equal weight for others against you.
241. τοῦτο τοίνυν, ἄνπερ ὑμεῖς εὖ φρονῆτε, καθʼ αὑτοῦ συμβήσεται τούτῳ πεπρᾶχθαι, οὐ μόνον κατὰ τοῦθʼ ὅτι παμμέγεθες σημεῖόν ἐστι τῶν πεπρεσβευμένων, ἀλλʼ ὅτι καὶ κατηγορῶν ἐκείνους τοὺς λόγους εἶπεν οἳ κατʼ αὐτοῦ νῦν ὑπάρχουσιν· ἃ γὰρ ὡρίσω σὺ δίκαια, ὅτε Τίμαρχον ἔκρινες, ταὐτὰ δήπου ταῦτα καὶ κατὰ σοῦ προσήκει τοῖς ἄλλοις ἰσχύειν.
242. Now on that occasion he observed to the jury: “Demosthenes will conduct this man’s defence, and will denounce my conduct of the embassy; and then, if he leads you astray by his speech, he will go about in his conceited way, and boast: ‘How did I do it? What did I say? Why, I led the jury clean away from the question; filched the whole case from them, and came off triumphant.’” Then do not follow my example: address your defence to the real issue. You had your opportunity of denouncing and saying what you chose when you were the prosecutor.
242. ἔλεγεν τοίνυν τότε πρὸς τοὺς δικαστὰς ὅτι ἀπολογήσεται δὲ Δημοσθένης ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ κατηγορήσει τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπρεσβευμένων· εἶτʼ, ἐὰν ὑμᾶς ἀπαγάγῃ τῷ λόγῳ, νεανιεύσεται καὶ περιιὼν ἐρεῖ· πῶς τι τοὺς δικαστὰς ἀπαγαγὼν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑποθέσεως ᾠχόμην τὸ πρᾶγμʼ αὐτῶν ὑφελόμενος; μὴ σύ γε, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἀγωνίζει, περὶ τούτων ἀπολογοῦ· τότε δʼ, ἡνίκʼ ἐκεῖνον ἔκρινες, ἐξῆν σοι κατηγορεῖν καὶ λέγειν ὅ τι ἐβούλου.
243. Moreover, having no witnesses to produce in support of your accusations, you quoted verses to the jury:Rumor, that many people spread abroad,Dieth not wholly: Rumor is a god.And now, Aeschines, everybody says that you made money out of your embassy; so, of course, as against you, the rumor that many people spread abroad does not wholly die.
243. ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ἔπη τοῖς δικασταῖς ἔλεγες, οὐδένα μάρτυρʼ ἔχων ἐφʼ οἷς ἔκρινες τὸν ἄνθρωπον παρασχέσθαι·φήμη δʼ οὔ τις πάμπαν ἀπόλλυται, ἥντινα λαοὶπολλοὶ φημίξωσι· θεός νύ τίς ἐστι καὶ αὐτή.οὐκοῦν, Αἰσχίνη, καὶ σὲ πάντες οὗτοι χρήματʼ ἐκ τῆς πρεσβείας φασὶν εἰληφέναι, ὥστε καὶ κατὰ σοῦ δήπουθεν φήμη δʼ οὔ τις πάμπαν ἀπόλλυται, ἥντινα λαοὶ πολλοὶ φημίξωσιν.
244. That you may understand how far more numerous are your accusers than those of Timarchus, observe this. He was not known even to all his neighbors; but there is not a man in Greece or in foreign parts who does not aver that you ambassadors made gain of your embassy. If rumor is true, the rumor of the multitude is against you; and for the veracity, and even the divinity, of rumor, and for the wisdom of the poet who composed these verses, we have your own assurance.
244. ὅσῳ γὰρ αὖ σὲ πλείους ἢ ʼκεῖνον αἰτιῶνται, θεώρησον ὡς εἴσει. τὸν μὲν Τίμαρχον οὐδʼ οἱ πρόσχωροι πάντες ἐγίγνωσκον, ὑμᾶς δὲ τοὺς πρέσβεις οὐδεὶς Ἑλλήνων οὐδὲ βαρβάρων ἔσθʼ ὅστις οὔ φησι χρήματʼ ἐκ τῆς πρεσβείας εἰληφέναι. ὥστʼ, εἴπερ ἐστʼ ἀληθὴς ἡ φήμη, καθʼ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἡ παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν, ἣν ὅτι πιστὴν εἶναι δεῖ καὶ θεός νύ τίς ἐστι καὶ αὐτή, καὶ ὅτι σοφὸς ἦν ὁ ποιητὴς ὁ ταῦτα ποιήσας, σὺ διώρισας αὐτός.
245. After these heroics he naturally proceeds to collect and declaim some iambic poetry, for instance:Whoso delights to walk with wicked men,Of him I ask not, for I know him suchAs are the men whose converse pleases him.Then follows the passage about “the man who frequented cockpits, and consorted with Pittalacus,” and so forth; “do you not know what his character is?” Well, Aeschines, your iambics shall now serve my turn for an observation about you. I shall be speaking with the propriety of the Tragic Muse, when I say to the jury: Whoso delights to walk (especially on an embassy) with Philocrates, of him I ask not, for I know him well—to have taken bribes, as Philocrates did, who made confession.
245. ἔτι τοίνυν ἰαμβεῖα δήπου συλλέξας ἐπέραινεν, οἷονὅστις δʼ ὁμιλῶν ἥδεται κακοῖς ἀνήρ,οὐ πώποτʼ ἠρώτησα, γιγνώσκων ὅτιτοιοῦτός ἐσθʼ οἵοισπερ ἥδεται ξυνών.εἶτα τὸν εἰς τοὺς ὄρνεις εἰσιόντα καὶ μετὰ Πιτταλάκου περιιόντα, καὶ τοιαῦτʼ εἰπών, ἀγνοεῖτʼ, ἔφη, ποῖόν τινʼ ἡγεῖσθαι δεῖ; οὐκοῦν, Αἰσχίνη, καὶ κατὰ σοῦ τὰ ἰαμβεῖα ταῦθʼ ἁρμόσει νῦν ἐμοί, κἂν ἐγὼ λέγω πρὸς τούτους, ὀρθῶς καὶ προσηκόντως ἐρῶ· ὅστις δʼ ὁμιλῶν ἥδεται, καὶ ταῦτα πρεσβεύων, Φιλοκράτει, οὐ πώποτʼ ἠρώτησα, γιγνώσκων ὅτι ἀργύριον εἴληφʼ οὗτος, ὥσπερ Φιλοκράτης ὁ ὁμολογῶν.
246. Well, when he tries to insult other people by calling them speech-makers and charlatans, he shall be shown to be open to the same reproach. For those iambics come from the Phoenix of Euripides. That play was never acted by Theodorus or Aristodemus, for whom Aeschines commonly took the inferior parts; Molon however produced it, and perhaps some other players of the old school. But Sophocles’ Antigone was frequently acted by Theodorus, and also by Aristodemus; and in that play there are some iambic lines, admirably and most instructively composed. That passage Aeschines omitted to quote, though he has often spoken the lines, and knows them by heart;
246. λογογράφους τοίνυν καὶ σοφιστὰς καλῶν τοὺς ἄλλους καὶ ὑβρίζειν πειρώμενος, αὐτὸς ἐξελεγχθήσεται τούτοις ὢν ἔνοχος. ταῦτα μὲν γὰρ τὰ ἰαμβεῖʼ ἐκ Φοίνικός ἐστιν Εὐριπίδου· τοῦτο δὲ τὸ δρᾶμʼ οὐδεπώποτʼ οὔτε Θεόδωρος οὔτʼ Ἀριστόδημος ὑπεκρίναντο, οἷς οὗτος τὰ τρίτα λέγων διετέλεσεν, ἀλλὰ Μόλων ἠγωνίζετο καὶ εἰ δή τις ἄλλος τῶν παλαιῶν ὑποκριτῶν. Ἀντιγόνην δὲ Σοφοκλέους πολλάκις μὲν Θεόδωρος, πολλάκις δʼ Ἀριστόδημος ὑποκέκριται, ἐν ᾗ πεποιημένʼ ἰαμβεῖα καλῶς καὶ συμφερόντως ὑμῖν πολλάκις αὐτὸς εἰρηκὼς καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἐξεπιστάμενος παρέλιπεν.
247. for of course you are aware that, in all tragic dramas, it is the enviable privilege of third-rate actors to come on as tyrants, carrying their royal scepters. Now you shall weigh the merits of the verses which were specially written by the poet for the character of Creon-Aeschines, though he forgot to repeat them to himself in connection with his embassy, and did not quote them to the jury. Read.Iambics from the Antigone of SophoclesWho shall appraise the spirit of a man,His mind, his temper, till he hath been provedIn ministry of laws and government?I hold, and long have held, that man a knaveWho, standing at the helm of state, desertsThe wisest counsel, or in craven fearOf any, sets a curb upon his lips.Who puts his friend above his fatherlandI scorn as nothing worth; and for myself,Witness all-seeing Heaven! I will not holdMy peace when I descry the curse that comesTo sap my citizens’ security;Nor will I count as kin my country’s foes;For well I wot our country is the shipThat saves us all, sailing on even keel:Embarked in her we fear no dearth of friends.
247. ἴστε γὰρ δήπου τοῦθʼ ὅτι ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς δράμασι τοῖς τραγικοῖς ἐξαίρετόν ἐστιν ὥσπερ γέρας τοῖς τριταγωνισταῖς τὸ τοὺς τυράννους καὶ τοὺς τὰ σκῆπτρʼ ἔχοντας εἰσιέναι. ταῦτα τοίνυν ἐν τῷ δράματι τούτῳ σκέψασθʼ ὁ Κρέων Αἰσχίνης οἷα λέγων πεποίηται τῷ ποιητῇ, ἃ οὔτε πρὸς αὑτὸν οὗτος ὑπὲρ τῆς πρεσβείας διελέχθη οὔτε πρὸς τοὺς δικαστὰς εἶπεν. λέγε. ΙΑΜΒΕΙΑ ΣΟΦΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΕΞ ΑΝΤΙΓΟΝΗΣ. ἀμήχανον δὲ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐκμαθεῖνψυχήν τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην, πρὶν ἂνἀρχαῖς τε καὶ νόμοισιν ἐντριβὴς φανῇ.ἐμοὶ γὰρ ὅστις πᾶσαν εὐθύνων πόλινμὴ τῶν ἀρίστων ἅπτεται βουλευμάτων,ἀλλʼ ἐκ φόβου του γλῶσσαν ἐγκλείσας ἔχει,κάκιστος εἶναι νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι δοκεῖ·καὶ μείζονʼ ὅστις ἀντὶ τῆς αὑτοῦ πάτραςφίλον νομίζει, τοῦτον οὐδαμοῦ λέγω.ἐγὼ γάρ, ἴστω Ζεὺς ὁ πάνθʼ ὁρῶν ἀεί,οὔτʼ ἂν σιωπήσαιμι τὴν ἄτην ὁρῶνστείχουσαν ἀστοῖς ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας,οὔτʼ ἂν φίλον ποτʼ ἄνδρα δυσμενῆ χθονὸςθείμην ἐμαυτῷ, τοῦτο γιγνώσκων ὅτιἥδʼ ἐστὶν ἡ σῴζουσα, καὶ ταύτης ἔπιπλέοντες ὀρθῆς τοὺς φίλους ποιούμεθα.
248. Aeschines did not quote any of these lines for his own instruction on his embassy. He put the hospitality and friendship of Philip far above his country,—and found it more profitable. He bade a long farewell to the sage Sophocles; and when he saw the curse that came,—to wit, the army advancing upon the Phocians,—he sounded no warning, sent no timely report; rather he helped both to conceal and to execute the design, and obstructed those who were ready to tell the truth. He forgot the ship that saves; forgot that embarked in her his own mother, performing her rites, scouring her candidates, making her pittance from the substance of her employers, here reared her hopeful brood to greatness. Here, too, his father, who kept an infant-school, lived as best he could,—next door to Heros the physician, as I am told by elderly informants,—anyhow, he lived in this city. The offspring of this pair earned a little money as junior clerks and messengers in the public offices, until, by your favor, they became full-fledged clerks, with free maintenance for two years in the Rotunda. Finally, from this same city Aeschines received his commission as ambassador.
248. τούτων οὐδὲν Αἰσχίνης εἶπε πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐν τῇ πρεσβείᾳ, ἀλλʼ ἀντὶ μὲν τῆς πόλεως τὴν Φιλίππου ξενίαν καὶ φιλίαν πολλῷ μείζονʼ ἡγήσαθʼ αὑτῷ καὶ λυσιτελεστέραν, ἐρρῶσθαι πολλὰ φράσας τῷ σοφῷ Σοφοκλεῖ, τὴν δʼ ἄτην ὁρῶν στείχουσαν ὁμοῦ, τὴν ἐπὶ Φωκέας στρατείαν, οὐ προεῖπεν οὐδὲ προεξήγγειλεν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον συνέκρυψε καὶ συνέπραξε καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους εἰπεῖν διεκώλυσεν, οὐκ ἀναμνησθεὶς ὅτι ἥδʼ ἐστὶν ἡ σῴζουσα καὶ ταύτης ἔπι τελοῦσα μὲν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ καὶ καθαίρουσα καὶ καρπουμένη τὰς τῶν χρωμένων οὐσίας ἐξέθρεψε τοσούτους τουτουσί, διδάσκων δʼ ὁ πατὴρ γράμματα, ὡς ἐγὼ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀκούω, πρὸς τῷ τοῦ ἥρω τοῦ ἰατροῦ, ὅπως ἠδύνατο, ἀλλʼ οὖν ἐν ταύτῃ γʼ ἔζη, ὑπογραμματεύοντες δʼ αὐτοὶ καὶ ὑπηρετοῦντες ἁπάσαις ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ἀργύριον εἰλήφεσαν, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον ὑφʼ ὑμῶν γραμματεῖς χειροτονηθέντες δύʼ ἔτη διετράφησαν ἐν τῇ θόλῳ, πρεσβεύων δʼ ἀπέσταλτο νῦν οὗτος ἐκ ταύτης.
250. He cared for none of these obligations; he took no thought that the ship of state should sail on even keel; he scuttled her and sank her, and so far as in him lay put her at the mercy of her foes. Are not you then a charlatan? Yes, and a vile one too. Are not you a speech-writer? Yes, and an unprincipled one to boot. You passed over the speech that you so often spoke on the stage, and knew by heart; you hunted up rant that in all your career you had never declaimed in character, and revived it for the undoing of your own fellow-citizen.
250. τούτων οὐδὲν ἐσκέψατο, οὐδʼ ὅπως ὀρθὴ πλεύσεται προείδετο, ἀλλʼ ἀνέτρεψε καὶ κατέδυσε καὶ τὸ καθʼ αὑτὸν ὅπως ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἔσται παρεσκεύασεν. εἶτʼ οὐ σὺ σοφιστής; καὶ πονηρός γε. οὐ σὺ λογογράφος; καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθρός γε· ὃς ἃ μὲν πολλάκις ἠγωνίσω καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἐξηπίστασο, ὑπερέβης, ἃ δʼ οὐδεπώποτʼ ἐν τῷ βίῳ ὑπεκρίνω, ταῦτα ζητήσας ἐπὶ τῷ τῶν πολιτῶν βλάψαι τινʼ εἰς μέσον ἤνεγκας.