251. Let us now turn to his remarks about Solon. By way of censure and reproach of the impetuous style of Timarchus, he alleged that a statue of Solon, with his robe drawn round him and his hand enfolded, had been set up to exemplify the self-restraint of the popular orators of that generation. People who live at Salamis, however, inform us that this statue was erected less than fifty years ago. Now from the age of Solon to the present day about two hundred and forty years have elapsed, so that the sculptor who designed that disposition of drapery had not lived in Solon’s time,—nor even his grand-father.
251. φέρε δὴ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Σόλωνος ὃν εἶπε λόγον σκέψασθε. ἔφη τὸν Σόλωνʼ ἀνακεῖσθαι τῆς τῶν τότε δημηγορούντων σωφροσύνης παράδειγμα, εἴσω τὴν χεῖρʼ ἔχοντʼ ἀναβεβλημένον, ἐπιπλήττων τι καὶ λοιδορούμενος τῇ τοῦ Τιμάρχου προπετείᾳ. καίτοι τὸν μὲν ἀνδριάντα τοῦτον οὔπω πεντήκοντʼ ἔτη φάσʼ ἀνακεῖσθαι Σαλαμίνιοι, ἀπὸ Σόλωνος δʼ ὁμοῦ διακόσιʼ ἐστὶν ἔτη καὶ τετταράκοντʼ εἰς τὸν νυνὶ παρόντα χρόνον, ὥσθʼ ὁ δημιουργὸς ὁ τοῦτο πλάσας τὸ σχῆμα οὐ μόνον οὐκ αὐτὸς ἦν κατʼ ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὁ πάππος αὐτοῦ.
252. He illustrated his remarks by representing to the jury the attitude of the statue; but his mimicry did not include what, politically, would have been much more profitable than an attitude,—a view of Solon’s spirit and purpose, so widely different from his own. When Salamis had revolted, and the Athenian people had forbidden under penalty of death any proposal for its recovery, Solon, accepting the risk of death, composed and recited an elegiac poem, and so retrieved that country for Athens and removed a standing dishonor.
252. τοῦτο μὲν τοίνυν εἶπε τοῖς δικασταῖς καὶ ἐμιμήσατο· ὃ δὲ τοῦ σχήματος ἦν τούτου πολλῷ τῇ πόλει λυσιτελέστερον, τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν Σόλωνος ἰδεῖν καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν, ταύτην οὐκ ἐμιμήσατο, ἀλλὰ πᾶν τοὐναντίον. ἐκεῖνος μέν γʼ ἀφεστηκυίας Σαλαμῖνος Ἀθηναίων καὶ θάνατον ζημίαν ψηφισαμένων, ἄν τις εἴπῃ κομίζεσθαι, τὸν ἴδιον κίνδυνον ὑποθεὶς ἐλεγεῖα ποιήσας ᾖδε, καὶ τὴν μὲν χώραν ⟨ἀν⟩έσωσε τῇ πόλει, τὴν δʼ ὑπάρχουσαν αἰσχύνην ἀπήλλαξεν·
253. Aeschines, on the other hand, gave away and sold Amphipolis, a city which the King of Persia and all Greece recognized as yours, speaking in support of the resolution moved by Philocrates. It was highly becoming in him, was it not to remind us of Solon? Not content with this performance at home, he went to Macedonia, and never mentioned the place with which his mission was concerned. So he stated in his own report, for no doubt you remember how he said “I, too, had something to say about Amphipolis, but I left it out to give Demosthenes a chance of dealing with that subject.”
253. οὗτος δʼ, ἣν βασιλεὺς καὶ πάντες οἱ Ἕλληνες ὑμετέραν ἔγνωσαν, Ἀμφίπολιν, ταύτην ἐξέδωκε καὶ ἀπέδοτο καὶ τῷ ταῦτα γράφοντι συνεῖπε Φιλοκράτει. ἄξιόν γʼ, οὐ γάρ; ἦν Σόλωνος αὐτῷ μεμνῆσθαι. καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐνταῦθα ταῦτʼ ἐποίησεν, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖσʼ ἐλθὼν οὐδὲ τοὔνομʼ ἐφθέγξατο τῆς χώρας ὑπὲρ ἧς ἐπρέσβευεν. καὶ ταῦτʼ αὐτὸς ἀπήγγειλε πρὸς ὑμᾶς· μέμνησθε γὰρ δήπου λέγοντʼ αὐτὸν ὅτι περὶ δʼ Ἀμφιπόλεως εἶχον μὲν κἀγὼ λέγειν· ἵνα δʼ ἐγγένηται Δημοσθένει περὶ αὐτῆς εἰπεῖν, παρέλιπον.
254. I rose and told you that he had never once left to me anything that he wanted to say to Philip: he would sooner give a man a share of his life-blood than a share of his speech. The truth is that, having accepted money, he could hardly confront Philip, who gave him the money on purpose that he might not restore Amphipolis. Now, please, take and read these elegiac verses of Solon, to show the jury how Solon detested people like the defendant.
254. ἐγὼ δὲ παρελθὼν οὐδὲν ἔφην τοῦτον ὧν ἐβούλετʼ εἰπεῖν πρὸς Φίλιππον ἐμοὶ παραλιπεῖν· θᾶττον γὰρ ἂν τοῦ αἵματος ἢ λόγου μεταδοῦναί τινι. ἀλλʼ, οἶμαι, χρήματʼ εἰληφότʼ οὐκ ἦν ἀντιλέγειν πρὸς Φίλιππον τὸν ὑπὲρ τούτου δεδωκότα, ὅπως ἐκείνην μὴ ἀποδῷ. λέγε δή μοι λαβὼν καὶ τὰ τοῦ Σόλωνος ἐλεγεῖα ταυτί, ἵνʼ ἴδηθʼ ὅτι καὶ Σόλων ἐμίσει τοὺς οἵους οὗτος ἀνθρώπους.
255. What we require, Aeschines, is not oratory with enfolded hands, but diplomacy with enfolded hands. But in Macedonia you held out your hands, turned them palm upwards, and brought shame upon your countrymen, and then here at home you talk magniloquently; you practise and declaim some miserable fustian, and think to escape the due penalty of your heinous crimes, if you only don your little skull-cap, take your constitutional, and abuse me. Now read.Solon’s ElegiacsNot by the doom of Zeus, who ruleth all,Not by the curse of Heaven shall Athens fall.Strong in her Sire, above the favored landPallas Athene lifts her guardian hand.No; her own citizens with counsels vainShall work her rain in their quest of gain;Dishonest demagogues her folk misguide,Foredoomed to suffer for their guilty pride.Their reckless greed, insatiate of delight,Knows not to taste the frugal feast aright;Th’ unbridled lust of gold, their only care,Nor public wealth nor wealth divine will spare.Now here, now there, they raven, rob and seize,Heedless of Justice and her stern decrees,Who silently the present and the pastReviews, whose slow revenge o’ertakes at last.On every home the swift contagion falls,Till servitude a free-born race enthralls.Now faction reigns now wakes the sword of strife,And comely youth shall pay its toll of life;We waste our strength in conflict with our kin,And soon our gates shall let the foeman in.Such woes the factious nation shall endure;A fate more hard awaits the hapless poor;For them, enslaved, bound with insulting chains,Captivity in alien lands remains.To every hearth the public curse extends;The courtyard gate no longer safety lends;Death leaps the wall, nor shall he shun the doomWho flies for safety to his inmost room.Ye men of Athens, listen while I showHow many ills from lawless licence flow.Respect for Law shall check your rising lust,Humble the haughty, fetter the unjust,Make the rough places plain, bid envy cease,Wither infatuation’s fell increase,Make crooked judgement straight, the works preventOf insolence and sullen discontent,And quench the fires of strife. In Law we findThe wisdom and perfection of Mankind.
255. οὐ λέγειν εἴσω τὴν χεῖρʼ ἔχοντʼ, Αἰσχίνη, δεῖ, οὔ, ἀλλὰ πρεσβεύειν εἴσω τὴν χεῖρʼ ἔχοντα. σὺ δʼ ἐκεῖ προτείνας καὶ ὑποσχὼν καὶ καταισχύνας τούτους ἐνθάδε σεμνολογεῖ, καὶ λογάρια δύστηνα μελετήσας καὶ φωνασκήσας οὐκ οἴει δίκην δώσειν τηλικούτων καὶ τοσούτων ἀδικημάτων, κἂν πιλίδιον λαβὼν περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν περινοστῇς καὶ ἐμοὶ λοιδορῇ; λέγε σύ. ΕΛΕΓΕΙ͂Α. ἡμετέρη δὲ πόλις κατὰ μὲν Διὸς οὔποτʼ ὀλεῖταιαἶσαν καὶ μακάρων θεῶν φρένας ἀθανάτων·τοίη γὰρ μεγάθυμος ἐπίσκοπος ὀβριμοπάτρηΠαλλὰς Ἀθηναίη χεῖρας ὕπερθεν ἔχει.αὐτοὶ δὲ φθείρειν μεγάλην πόλιν ἀφραδίῃσινἀστοὶ βούλονται, χρήμασι πειθόμενοι,δήμου θʼ ἡγεμόνων ἄδικος νόος, οἷσιν ἑτοῖμονὕβριος ἐκ μεγάλης ἄλγεα πολλὰ παθεῖν.οὐ γὰρ ἐπίστανται κατέχειν κόρον, οὐδὲ παρούσαςεὐφροσύνας κοσμεῖν δαιτὸς ἐν ἡσυχίῃ.…πλουτοῦσιν δʼ ἀδίκοις ἔργμασι πειθόμενοι.…οὔθʼ ἱερῶν κτεάνων οὔτε τι δημοσίωνφειδόμενοι κλέπτουσιν ἐφʼ ἁρπαγῇ ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος,οὐδὲ φυλάσσονται σεμνὰ θέμεθλα Δίκης,ἣ σιγῶσα σύνοιδε τὰ γιγνόμενα πρό τʼ ἐόντα,τῷ δὲ χρόνῳ πάντως ἦλθʼ ἀποτεισομένη.τοῦτʼ ἤδη πάσῃ πόλει ἔρχεται ἕλκος ἄφυκτον,εἰς δὲ κακὴν ταχέως ἤλυθε δουλοσύνην,ἢ στάσιν ἔμφυλον πόλεμόν θʼ εὕδοντʼ ἐπεγείρει,ὃς πολλῶν ἐρατὴν ὤλεσεν ἡλικίην.ἐκ γὰρ δυσμενέων ταχέως πολυήρατον ἄστυτρύχεται ἐν συνόδοις τοῖς ἀδικοῦσι φίλαις.ταῦτα μὲν ἐν δήμῳ στρέφεται κακά· τῶν δὲ πενιχρῶνἱκνοῦνται πολλοὶ γαῖαν ἐς ἀλλοδαπήν,πραθέντες δεσμοῖσί τʼ ἀεικελίοισι δεθέντες.…οὕτω δημόσιον κακὸν ἔρχεται οἴκαδʼ ἑκάστῳ,αὔλειοι δʼ ἔτʼ ἔχειν οὐκ ἐθέλουσι θύραι,ὑψηλὸν δʼ ὑπὲρ ἕρκος ὑπέρθορεν, εὗρε δὲ πάντως,εἰ καί τις φεύγων ἐν μυχῷ ᾖ θαλάμου.ταῦτα διδάξαι θυμὸς Ἀθηναίους με κελεύει,ὡς κακὰ πλεῖστα πόλει δυσνομίη παρέχει,εὐνομίη δʼ εὔκοσμα καὶ ἄρτια πάντʼ ἀποφαίνει,καὶ θαμὰ τοῖς ἀδίκοις ἀμφιτίθησι πέδας,τραχέα λειαίνει, παύει κόρον, ὕβριν ἀμαυροῖ,αὐαίνει δʼ ἄτης ἄνθεα φυόμενα,εὐθύνει δὲ δίκας σκολιάς, ὑπερήφανά τʼ ἔργαπραΰνει, παύει δʼ ἔργα διχοστασίης,παύει δʼ ἀργαλέης ἔριδος χόλον· ἔστι δʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῆςπάντα κατʼ ἀνθρώπους ἄρτια καὶ πινυτά.
256. You have heard, men of Athens, what Solon says of men of such character, and of the gods who protect our city. That saying about the protection of our city by the gods is, as I hope and firmly believe, eternally true; and in a manner I think that even the events of this scrutiny furnish the commonwealth with a new example of the divine favor.
256. ἀκούετʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνθρώπων οἷα Σόλων λέγει, καὶ περὶ τῶν θεῶν, οὕς φησι τὴν πόλιν σῴζειν. ἐγὼ δʼ ἀεὶ μὲν ἀληθῆ τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἡγοῦμαι καὶ βούλομαι, ὡς ἄρʼ οἱ θεοὶ σῴζουσιν ἡμῶν τὴν πόλιν· τρόπον δέ τινʼ ἡγοῦμαι καὶ τὰ νῦν συμβεβηκότα πάντʼ ἐπὶ ταῖς εὐθύναις ταυταισὶ δαιμονίας τινὸς εὐνοίας ἔνδειγμα τῇ πόλει γεγενῆσθαι.
257. For consider this: a man who had scandalously misconducted his embassy, and who had given away whole provinces in which the gods should have been worshipped by you and your allies, disfranchised one who had prosecuted him at duty’s call. And all for what? That he himself may win neither compassion nor indulgence for his own transgressions. Moreover, in accusing him, he went out of his way to speak evil of me, and again at the Assembly he declared he would lay an indictment, with other such threats. And why? In order that you may extend your best indulgence to me when I, who have the most accurate knowledge of his villainies, and have watched him closely throughout, appear as his prosecutor.
257. σκοπεῖτε γάρ. ἄνθρωπος πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ πρεσβεύσας, καὶ χώρας ἐκδεδωκὼς ἐν αἷς τοὺς θεοὺς ὑφʼ ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν συμμάχων τιμᾶσθαι προσῆκεν, ἠτίμωσʼ ὑπακούσαντά τινʼ αὐτοῦ κατήγορον. ἵνα τί; ἵνα μήτʼ ἐλέου μήτε συγγνώμης ἐφʼ οἷς αὐτὸς ἠδίκηκεν τύχῃ. ἀλλὰ καὶ κατηγορῶν ἐκείνου κακῶς λέγειν προείλετʼ ἐμέ, καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ δήμῳ γραφὰς ἀποίσειν καὶ τοιαῦτʼ ἠπείλει. ἵνα τί; ἵνʼ ὡς μετὰ πλείστης συγγνώμης παρʼ ὑμῶν ὁ τὰ τούτου πονηρεύματʼ ἀκριβέστατʼ εἰδὼς ἐγὼ καὶ παρηκολουθηκὼς ἅπασι κατηγορῶ.
258. Again, thanks to his continual evasions, he has at last been brought to trial at the very moment when, for the sake of the future if for no other reason, you cannot possibly, or consistently with your own security, allow a man so steeped in corruption to go scot-free; for, while it is always your duty, men of Athens, to abhor and to chastise traitors and bribe-mongers, a conviction at this crisis will be peculiarly seasonable and profitable to all mankind.
258. ἀλλὰ καὶ διακρουόμενος πάντα τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τοιοῦτον ὑπῆκται καιρὸν ἐν ᾧ τῶν ἐπιόντων ἕνεκα, εἰ μηδενὸς ἄλλου, οὐχ οἷόν τʼ οὐδʼ ἀσφαλὲς ὑμῖν δεδωροδοκηκότα τοῦτον ἀθῷον ἐᾶσαι· ἀεὶ μὲν γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, προσήκει μισεῖν καὶ κολάζειν τοὺς προδότας καὶ δωροδόκους, μάλιστα δὲ νῦν ἐπὶ καιροῦ τοῦτο γένοιτʼ ἂν καὶ πάντας ὠφελήσειεν ἀνθρώπους κοινῇ.
259. A strange and distressing epidemic, men of Athens, has invaded all Greece, calling for extraordinary good fortune, and for the most anxious treatment on your part. The magnates of the several cities, who are entrusted with political authority, are betraying their own independence, unhappy men! They are imposing on themselves a servitude of their own choosing, disguising it by specious names, as the friendship of Philip, fraternity, good-fellowship, and such flummery. The rest of the people, and all the various authorities of the several states, instead of chastising these persons and putting them to death on the spot, as they ought, are filled with admiration and envy, and would all like to be Philip’s friends too.
259. νόσημα γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δεινὸν ἐμπέπτωκεν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα, καὶ χαλεπὸν καὶ πολλῆς τινὸς εὐτυχίας καὶ παρʼ ὑμῶν ἐπιμελείας δεόμενον. οἱ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι γνωριμώτατοι καὶ προεστάναι τῶν κοινῶν ἀξιούμενοι, τὴν αὑτῶν προδιδόντες ἐλευθερίαν οἱ δυστυχεῖς, αὐθαίρετον αὑτοῖς ἐπάγονται δουλείαν, Φιλίππῳ ξενίαν καὶ ἑταιρίαν [καὶ φιλίαν] καὶ τοιαῦθʼ ὑποκοριζόμενοι· οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ καὶ τὰ κύριʼ ἅττα ποτʼ ἔστʼ ἐν ἑκάστῃ τῶν πόλεων, οὓς ἔδει τούτους κολάζειν καὶ παραχρῆμʼ ἀποκτιννύναι, τοσοῦτʼ ἀπέχουσι τοῦ τοιοῦτόν τι ποιεῖν ὥστε θαυμάζουσι καὶ ζηλοῦσι καὶ βούλοιντʼ ἂν αὐτὸς ἕκαστος τοιοῦτος εἶναι.
260. Yet this infatuation, this hankering after Philip, men of Athens, until very recently had only destroyed the predominance of the Thessalians and their national prestige, but now it is already sapping their independence, for some of their citadels are actually garrisoned by Macedonians. It has invaded Peloponnesus and caused the massacres at Elis. It infected those unhappy people with such delirious insanity that, to overmaster one another and to gratify Philip, they stained their hands with the blood of their own kindred and fellow-citizens.
260. καίτοι τοῦτο τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ζηλώματα Θετταλῶν μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μέχρι μὲν χθὲς ἢ πρώην τὴν ἡγεμονίαν καὶ τὸ κοινὸν ἀξίωμʼ ἀπωλωλέκει, νῦν δʼ ἤδη καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν παραιρεῖται· τὰς γὰρ ἀκροπόλεις αὐτῶν ἐνίων Μακεδόνες φρουροῦσιν· εἰς Πελοπόννησον δʼ εἰσελθὸν τὰς ἐν Ἤλιδι σφαγὰς πεποίηκε, καὶ τοσαύτης παρανοίας καὶ μανίας ἐνέπλησε τοὺς ταλαιπώρους ἐκείνους ὥσθʼ, ἵνʼ ἀλλήλων ἄρχωσι καὶ Φιλίππῳ χαρίζωνται, συγγενεῖς αὑτῶν καὶ πολίτας μιαιφονεῖν.
261. It has not stopped there. It has entered Arcadia, and turned Arcadian politics upside down; and now many of that nation, who ought to pride themselves as highly as you upon their independence—for you and they are the only indigenous peoples in Greece—admire Philip, set up his effigy in bronze, decorate it with garlands, and, to crown all, have enacted a decree that, if he ever visits Peloponnesus, he shall be made welcome within their walls. The Argives have followed their example.
261. καὶ οὐδʼ ἐνταῦθʼ ἕστηκεν, ἀλλʼ εἰς Ἀρκαδίαν εἰσελθὸν πάντʼ ἄνω καὶ κάτω τἀκεῖ πεποίηκε, καὶ νῦν Ἀρκάδων πολλοί, προσῆκον αὐτοῖς ἐπʼ ἐλευθερίᾳ μέγιστον φρονεῖν ὁμοίως ὑμῖν (μόνοι γὰρ πάντων αὐτόχθονες ὑμεῖς ἐστε κἀκεῖνοι) Φίλιππον θαυμάζουσι καὶ χαλκοῦν ἱστᾶσι καὶ στεφανοῦσι, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον, ἂν εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἴῃ, δέχεσθαι ταῖς πόλεσιν εἰσὶν ἐψηφισμένοι.
262. Holy Mother Earth! if I am to speak as a sane man, we stand in need of the utmost vigilance, when this infection, moving in its circuit, has invaded our own city. Therefore take your precautions now, while we are still secure. Let the men who have brought it here be punished with infamy. If not, beware lest you discern the wisdom of my words too late, when you have lost the power of doing what you ought.
262. ταὐτὰ δὲ ταῦτʼ Ἀργεῖοι. ταῦτα νὴ τὴν Δήμητρα, εἰ δεῖ μὴ ληρεῖν, εὐλαβείας οὐ μικρᾶς δεῖται, ὡς βαδίζον γε κύκλῳ καὶ δεῦρʼ ἐλήλυθεν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ νόσημα τοῦτο. ἕως οὖν ἔτʼ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ, φυλάξασθε καὶ τοὺς πρώτους εἰσαγαγόντας ἀτιμώσατε· εἰ δὲ μή, σκοπεῖθʼ ὅπως μὴ τηνικαῦτʼ εὖ λέγεσθαι δόξει τὰ νῦν εἰρημένα, ὅτʼ οὐδʼ ὅ τι χρὴ ποιεῖν ἕξετε.
263. Do you not see, men of Athens, what a conspicuous and striking example is offered by those miserable Olynthians, who owe their rain, unhappy men, to nothing so much as to such conduct as I have described? You may easily discover the truth by a review of their experience. At the time when their cavalry was only four hundred strong, and their whole force numbered no more than five thousand, for there was then no coalition of all the Chalcidians, they were invaded by the Lacedaemonians with a large force, both naval and military; and you will remember that in those days the Lacedaemonians may be said to have held command both of land and of sea. Yet in spite of the strength of the attacking force, they never lost a town or even an outpost, they won many engagements, they slew three of the enemy commanders, and finally brought the war to an end on their own terms.
263. οὐχ ὁρᾶθʼ ὡς ἐναργές, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ σαφὲς παράδειγμʼ οἱ ταλαίπωροι γεγόνασιν Ὀλύνθιοι; οἳ παρʼ οὐδὲν οὕτως ὡς τὸ τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν ἀπολώλασιν οἱ δείλαιοι. ἔχοιτε δʼ ἂν ἐξετάσαι καθαρῶς ἐκ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτοῖς. ἐκεῖνοι γάρ, ἡνίκα μὲν τετρακοσίους ἱππέας ἐκέκτηντο μόνον καὶ σύμπαντες οὐδὲν ἦσαν πλείους πεντακισχιλίων τὸν ἀριθμόν, οὔπω Χαλκιδέων πάντων εἰς ἓν συνῳκισμένων, Λακεδαιμονίων ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἐλθόντων πολλῇ καὶ πεζῇ καὶ ναυτικῇ δυνάμει (ἴστε γὰρ δήπου τοῦθʼ ὅτι γῆς καὶ θαλάττης ἦρχον ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν Λακεδαιμόνιοι κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους), ἀλλʼ ὅμως τηλικαύτης ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς ἐλθούσης δυνάμεως οὔτε τὴν πόλιν οὔτε φρούριον οὐδὲν ἀπώλεσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μάχας πολλὰς ἐκράτησαν καὶ τρεῖς τῶν πολεμάρχων ἀπέκτειναν καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον, ὅπως ἐβούλοντο, οὕτω τὸν πόλεμον κατέθεντο.
265. But when some of them began to accept bribes, when the populace was so stupid, or, let us say, so unlucky, as to give more credence to those persons than to patriotic speakers, when Lasthenes had roofed his house with timber sent as a present from Macedonia, and Euthycrates was keeping a large herd of cattle for which he had paid nothing to anybody, when one man returned home with a flock of sheep and another with a stud of horses, when the masses, whose interests were endangered, instead of being angry and demanding the punishment of the traitors, stared at them, envied them, honored them, and thought them fine fellows,— when, I say, the business had gone so far as that, and corruption had won the day, then, though they numbered more than ten thousand and had a thousand cavalry, though all their neighbors were in alliance with them, though you came to their aid with ten thousand mercenaries, fifty war-galleys, and four thousand of your citizen-force, nothing could save them.
265. ἐπειδὴ δὲ δωροδοκεῖν ἤρξαντό τινες, καὶ διʼ ἀβελτερίαν οἱ πολλοί, μᾶλλον δὲ διὰ δυστυχίαν, τούτους πιστοτέρους ἡγήσαντο τῶν ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν λεγόντων, καὶ Λασθένης μὲν ἤρεψε τὴν οἰκίαν τοῖς ἐκ Μακεδονίας ξύλοις, Εὐθυκράτης δὲ βοῦς ἔτρεφεν πολλὰς τιμὴν οὐδενὶ δούς, ἕτερος δέ τις ἧκεν ἔχων πρόβατα, ἄλλος δέ τις ἵππους, οἱ δὲ πολλοί, [καὶ] καθʼ ὧν ταῦτʼ ἐγίγνετο, οὐχ ὅπως ὠργίζοντο ἢ κολάζειν ἠξίουν τοὺς ταῦτα ποιοῦντας, ἀλλʼ ἀπέβλεπον, ἐζήλουν, ἐτίμων, ἄνδρας ἡγοῦντο·
266. Before the war had lasted a year they had lost every town in Chalcidice through treachery, and Philip could no longer pay any attention to the traitors, and hardly knew what to capture first. He took five hundred horsemen with all their equipment by the treason of their officers—a number beyond all precedent. The perpetrators of that infamy were not put to the blush by the sun that shone on their shame or by the soil of their native land on which they stood, by temples or by sepulchres, by the ignominy that waited on their deeds: such madness, men of Athens, such obliquity, does corruption engender! Therefore it behoves you, you the commonalty of Athens, to keep your senses, to refuse toleration to such practices, and to visit them with public retribution. For indeed it would be monstrous if, after passing so stern a decree of censure upon the men who betrayed the Olynthians, you should have no chastisement for those who repeat their iniquity in your own midst. Read the decree concerning the Olynthians. (The Decree is read) Gentlemen of the jury, by the universal judgement of Greeks and barbarians alike, you acted well and righteously in passing this vote of censure upon traitors and reprobates.
266. ἐπειδὴ ταῦθʼ οὕτω προήγετο καὶ τὸ δωροδοκεῖν ἐκράτησε, χιλίους μὲν ἱππέας κεκτημένοι, πλείους δʼ ὄντες ἢ μύριοι, πάντας δὲ τοὺς περιχώρους ἔχοντες συμμάχους, μυρίοις δὲ ξένοις καὶ τριήρεσι πεντήκονθʼ ὑμῶν βοηθησάντων αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἔτι τῶν πολιτῶν τετρακισχιλίοις, οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς τούτων ἐδυνήθη σῶσαι, ἀλλὰ πρὶν μὲν ἐξελθεῖν ἐνιαυτὸν τοῦ πολέμου τὰς πόλεις ἁπάσας ἀπωλωλέκεσαν τὰς ἐν τῇ Χαλκιδικῇ [προδιδόντες], καὶ Φίλιππος οὐκέτʼ εἶχεν ὑπακούειν τοῖς προδιδοῦσιν, οὐδʼ [εἶχεν] ὅ τι πρῶτον λάβῃ. πεντακοσίους δʼ ἱππέας προδοθέντας ὑπʼ αὐτῶν τῶν ἡγουμένων ἔλαβεν αὐτοῖς ὅπλοις ὁ Φίλιππος, ὅσους οὐδεὶς πώποτʼ ἄλλος ἀνθρώπων. καὶ οὔτε τὸν ἥλιον ᾐσχύνονθʼ οἱ ταῦτα ποιοῦντες οὔτε τὴν γῆν πατρίδʼ οὖσαν, ἐφʼ ἧς ἕστασαν, οὔθʼ ἱερὰ οὔτε τάφους οὔτε τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα γενησομένην αἰσχύνην ἐπὶ τοιούτοις ἔργοις· οὕτως ἔκφρονας, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ παραπλῆγας τὸ δωροδοκεῖν ποιεῖ. ὑμᾶς οὖν, ὑμᾶς εὖ φρονεῖν δεῖ τοὺς πολλούς, καὶ μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἀλλὰ κολάζειν δημοσίᾳ. καὶ γὰρ ἂν καὶ ὑπερφυὲς εἴη, εἰ κατὰ μὲν τῶν Ὀλυνθίους προδόντων πολλὰ καὶ δείνʼ ἐψηφίσασθε, τοὺς δὲ παρʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ἀδικοῦντας μὴ κολάζοντες φαίνοισθε. λέγε τὸ ψήφισμα τὸ περὶ τῶν Ὀλυνθίων. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ.
268. Therefore, inasmuch as bribe-taking is the forerunner of such treasons, and for the sake of bribes men commit them, whenever, men of Athens, you see any man taking bribes, you may be sure that he is also a traitor. If one man betrays opportunities, another negotiations, another soldiery, each one is making havoc of the business he controls, and all alike deserve your reprobation.
268. ταῦθʼ ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὀρθῶς καὶ καλῶς πᾶσιν Ἕλλησι καὶ βαρβάροις δοκεῖτʼ ἐψηφίσθαι κατʼ ἀνδρῶν προδοτῶν καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθρῶν. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ δωροδοκεῖν πρότερον τοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν ἐστι καὶ διʼ ἐκεῖνο καὶ τάδε πράττουσί τινες, ὃν ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δωροδοκοῦντʼ ἴδητε, τοῦτον καὶ προδότην εἶναι νομίζετε. εἰ δʼ ὁ μὲν καιρούς, ὁ δὲ πράγματα, ὁ δὲ στρατιώτας προδίδωσιν, ὧν ἂν ἕκαστος, οἶμαι, κύριος γένηται, ταῦτα διαφθείρει· μισεῖν δʼ ὁμοίως τοὺς τοιούτους πάντας προσήκει.
269. In dealing with them you, men of Athens, and you alone among the nations of the world, can find examples to imitate in your own history, and may emulate in act the forefathers whom you justly commend. For if at the present time you are at peace, and cannot emulate the battles, the campaigns, the hazards of war, in which they won renown, you may at least imitate their sound judgement.
269. ἔστι δʼ ὑμῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, περὶ τούτων μόνοις τῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων οἰκείοις χρῆσθαι παραδείγμασι, καὶ τοὺς προγόνους, οὓς ἐπαινεῖτε δικαίως, ἔργῳ μιμεῖσθαι. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὴ τὰς μάχας μηδὲ τὰς στρατείας μηδὲ τοὺς κινδύνους, ἐν οἷς ἦσαν ἐκεῖνοι λαμπροί, συμβαίνει καιρός, ἀλλʼ ἄγεθʼ ἡσυχίαν ὑμεῖς ἐν τῷ παρόντι, ἀλλὰ τό γʼ εὖ φρονεῖν αὐτῶν μιμεῖσθε.
270. That is wanted in all circumstances; and an honest judgement costs you no more pains and vexation than a vicious judgement. Each of you will sit in this court for just as long a time, whether, by reaching a right decision and giving a right verdict upon this case, he amends the condition of the commonwealth and does credit to his ancestry, or, by a wrong decision, impairs that condition and dishonors that ancestry. What, then, was their judgement in such a case?—Clerk, take this and read it.—For I would have you know that you are treating with indifference offences such as your forefathers once punished with death. (A Public Inscription is read) You hear, men of Athens, the record which declares Arthmius, son of Pythonax, of Zelea, to be enemy and foeman of the Athenian people and their allies, him and all his kindred.
270. τούτου γὰρ πανταχοῦ χρεία, καὶ οὐδέν ἐστι πραγματωδέστερον οὐδʼ ὀχληρότερον τὸ καλῶς φρονεῖν τοῦ κακῶς, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ ἴσῳ χρόνῳ νυνὶ καθήμενος ὑμῶν ἕκαστος, ἂν μὲν ἃ χρὴ γιγνώσκῃ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ ψηφίζηται, βελτίω τὰ κοινὰ ποιήσει τῇ πόλει καὶ ἄξια τῶν προγόνων πράξει, ἂν δʼ ἃ μὴ δεῖ, φαυλότερα, καὶ ἀνάξια τῶν προγόνων ποιήσει. τί οὖν ἐκεῖνοι περὶ τούτων ἐφρόνουν; ταυτὶ λαβὼν ἀνάγνωθι, γραμματεῦ· δεῖ γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἰδεῖν ὅτι ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἔργοις ῥᾳθυμεῖτε, ὧν θάνατον κατεγνώκασιν οἱ πρόγονοι. λέγε. ΣΤΗΛΗ.
271. His offence was conveying gold from barbarians to Greeks. Hence, apparently, we may conclude that your ancestors were anxious to prevent any man, even an alien, taking rewards to do injury to Greece; but you take no thought to discountenance wrongs done by your own citizens to your own city.
271. ἀκούετʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν γραμμάτων λεγόντων Ἄρθμιον τὸν Πυθώνακτος τὸν Ζελείτην ἐχθρὸν εἶναι καὶ πολέμιον τοῦ δήμου τοῦ Ἀθηναίων καὶ τῶν συμμάχων αὐτὸν καὶ γένος πᾶν. διὰ τί; ὅτι τὸν χρυσὸν τὸν ἐκ τῶν βαρβάρων εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἤγαγεν. οὐκοῦν ἔστιν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐκ τούτων ἰδεῖν ὅτι οἱ πρόγονοι μὲν ὑμῶν, ὅπως μηδʼ ἄλλος ἀνθρώπων μηδεὶς ἐπὶ χρήμασι μηδὲν ἐργάσεται κακὸν τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἐφρόντιζον, ὑμεῖς δʼ οὐδὲ τὴν πόλιν αὐτὴν ὅπως μηδεὶς τῶν πολιτῶν ἀδικήσει προορᾶσθε.
272. Does anyone say that this inscription has been set up just anywhere? No; although the whole of our citadel is a holy place, and although its area is so large, the inscription stands at the right hand beside the great brazen Athene which was dedicated by the state as a memorial of victory in the Persian war, at the expense of the Greeks. In those days, therefore, justice was so venerable, and the punishment of these crimes so meritorious, that the retribution of such offenders was honored with the same position as Pallas Athene’s own prize of victory. Today we have instead—mockery, impunity, dishonor, unless you restrain the licence of these men.
272. νὴ Δίʼ, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἔτυχεν ταῦτα τὰ γράμμαθʼ ἕστηκεν. ἀλλʼ ὅλης οὔσης ἱερᾶς τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ταυτησὶ καὶ πολλὴν εὐρυχωρίαν ἐχούσης, παρὰ τὴν χαλκῆν τὴν μεγάλην Ἀθηνᾶν ἐκ δεξιᾶς ἕστηκεν, ἣν ἀριστεῖον ἡ πόλις τοῦ πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους πολέμου, δόντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων τὰ χρήματα ταῦτα, ἀνέθηκεν. τότε μὲν τοίνυν οὕτω σεμνὸν ἦν τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὸ κολάζειν τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦντας ἔντιμον, ὥστε τῆς αὐτῆς ἠξιοῦτο στάσεως τό τʼ ἀριστεῖον τῆς θεοῦ καὶ αἱ κατὰ τῶν τὰ τοιαῦτʼ ἀδικούντων τιμωρίαι· νῦν δὲ γέλως, ἄδεια, εἰ μὴ τὴν ἄγαν ταύτην ἐξουσίαν σχήσετε νῦν ὑμεῖς.
273. In my judgement, men of Athens, you will do well, not to emulate your forefathers in some one respect alone, but to follow their conduct step by step. I am sure you have all heard the story of their treatment of Callias, son of Hipponicus, who negotiated the celebrated peace under which the King of Persia was not to approach within a day’s ride of the coast, nor sail with a ship of war between the Chelidonian islands and the Blue Rocks. At the inquiry into his conduct they came near to putting him to death, and mulcted him in fifty talents, because he was said to have taken bribes on embassy.
273. νομίζω τοίνυν ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, οὐ καθʼ ἕν τι μόνον τοὺς προγόνους μιμουμένους ὀρθῶς ἂν ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ πάνθʼ ὅσʼ ἔπραττον ἐφεξῆς. ἐκεῖνοι τοίνυν, ὡς ἅπαντες εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ἀκηκόατε, Καλλίαν τὸν Ἱππονίκου ταύτην τὴν ὑπὸ πάντων θρυλουμένην εἰρήνην πρεσβεύσαντα, ἵππου μὲν δρόμον ἡμέρας πεζῇ μὴ καταβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν βασιλέα, ἐντὸς δὲ Χελιδονίων καὶ Κυανέων πλοίῳ μακρῷ μὴ πλεῖν, ὅτι δῶρα λαβεῖν ἔδοξε πρεσβεύσας, μικροῦ μὲν ἀπέκτειναν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς εὐθύναις πεντήκοντʼ ἐπράξαντο τάλαντα.
274. Yet no one can cite a more honorable peace made by the city before or since; but that is not what they regarded. They attributed the honorable peace to their own valor and to the high repute of their city, the refusal or acceptance of money to the character of the ambassador; and they expected an honest and incorruptible character in any man who entered the service of the state.
274. καίτοι καλλίω ταύτης εἰρήνην οὔτε πρότερον οὔθʼ ὕστερον οὐδεὶς ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοι πεποιημένην τὴν πόλιν. ἀλλʼ οὐ τοῦτʼ ἐσκόπουν. τούτου μὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦντο τὴν αὑτῶν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν τῆς πόλεως δόξαν αἰτίαν εἶναι, τοῦ δὲ προῖκʼ ἢ μὴ τὸν τρόπον τοῦ πρεσβευτοῦ· τοῦτον οὖν δίκαιον ἠξίουν παρέχεσθαι καὶ ἀδωροδόκητον τὸν προσιόντα τοῖς κοινοῖς.
275. They held the taking of bribes to be too inimical and unprofitable to the state to be tolerated in any transaction or in any person; but you, men of Athens, having before you a peace which at once has pulled down the walls of your allies and is building up the houses of your ambassadors, which robbed the city of her possessions and earned for them wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, instead of putting them to death of your own accord, wait for the appearance of a prosecutor. You are giving them a trial of words with their evil deeds before your eyes.
275. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τοίνυν οὕτως ἐχθρὸν ἡγοῦντο τὸ δωροδοκεῖν καὶ ἀλυσιτελὲς τῇ πόλει, ὥστε μήτʼ ἐπὶ πράξεως μηδεμιᾶς μήτʼ ἐπʼ ἀνδρὸς ἐᾶν γίγνεσθαι· ὑμεῖς δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὴν αὐτὴν εἰρήνην ἑορακότες τὰ μὲν τῶν συμμάχων τῶν ὑμετέρων τείχη καθῃρηκυῖαν, τὰς δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων οἰκίας οἰκοδομοῦσαν, καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς πόλεως κτήματʼ ἀφῃρημένην, τούτοις δʼ ἃ μηδʼ ὄναρ ἤλπισαν πώποτε κτησαμένην, οὐκ αὐτοὶ τούτους ἀπεκτείνατε, ἀλλὰ κατηγόρου προσδεῖσθε, καὶ λόγῳ κρίνεθʼ ὧν ἔργῳ τἀδικήματα πάντες ὁρῶσιν.
276. Yet we need not restrict ourselves to bygone history, or rely upon those ancient precedents in our appeal to retributive justice. Within your own lifetime, in the time of the generation now living, not a few men have been tried and condemned. Passing by other instances, let me recall to your memory one or two men who have been punished by death after an embassy far less mischievous to the city. Please take and read this decree. (The Decree is read) By the terms of this decree, men of Athens, you condemned to death the ambassadors named.
276. οὐ τοίνυν τὰ παλαίʼ ἄν τις ἔχοι μόνον εἰπεῖν καὶ διὰ τούτων τῶν παραδειγμάτων ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τιμωρίαν παρακαλέσαι· ἀλλʼ ἐφʼ ὑμῶν τουτωνὶ τῶν ἔτι ζώντων [ἀνθρώπων] πολλοὶ δίκην δεδώκασιν, ὧν ἐγὼ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους παραλείψω, τῶν δʼ ἐκ πρεσβείας, ἣ πολὺ ταύτης ἐλάττω κακὰ τὴν πόλιν εἴργασται, θανάτῳ ζημιωθέντων ἑνὸς ἢ δυοῖν ἐπιμνησθήσομαι. καί μοι λέγε τουτὶ τὸ ψήφισμα λαβών. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ.
277. One of them was Epicrates, who, as I am informed by persons older than myself, was an honest, useful, and popular politician, and one of the men who marched from Peiraeus and restored the democracy. No such consideration availed him; and that was right, for a man who accepts so important a mission is not to be virtuous by halves. He must not use the public confidence he has earned as an opportunity for knavery; his duty is simply to do you no wilful wrong at all.
277. κατὰ τουτὶ τὸ ψήφισμʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν πρέσβεων ἐκείνων ὑμεῖς θάνατον κατέγνωτε, ὧν εἷς ἦν Ἐπικράτης, ἀνήρ, ὡς ἐγὼ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀκούω, σπουδαῖος καὶ πολλὰ χρήσιμος τῇ πόλει, καὶ τῶν ἐκ Πειραιῶς καταγαγόντων τὸν δῆμον καὶ ἄλλως δημοτικός. ἀλλʼ ὅμως οὐδὲν αὐτὸν ὠφέλησε τούτων, δικαίως· οὐ γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμισείᾳ χρηστὸν εἶναι δεῖ τὸν τὰ τηλικαῦτα διοικεῖν ἀξιοῦντα, οὐδὲ τὸ πιστευθῆναι προλαβόντα παρʼ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ μείζω δύνασθαι κακουργεῖν καταχρῆσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶς μηδὲν ὑμᾶς ἀδικεῖν ἑκόντα.
278. Well, if the present defendants have omitted any single one of the misdeeds for which those persons were sentenced to death, execute me on the spot. Look at the decree: “Whereas the said ambassadors have disobeyed their instructions.” That is the first charge alleged. And did not these men disobey their instructions? Did not the decree say, “for the Athenians and the Allies of the Athenians,” and did not they declare the Phocians to be excluded? Did it not instruct them to swear in the magistrates in the several cities, and did they not swear in only such persons as Philip sent to them? Did not the decree say that they were not to meet Philip alone in any place whatsoever, and did they not continually have private dealings with Philip?
278. εἰ τοίνυν τι τούτοις ἄπρακτόν ἐστι τούτων ἐφʼ οἷς ἐκείνων θάνατος κατέγνωσται, ἔμʼ ἀποκτείνατʼ ἤδη. σκοπεῖτε γάρ. ἐπειδὴ παρὰ τὰ γράμματα φησὶν ἐπρέσβευσαν ἐκεῖνοι. καὶ τοῦτʼ ἔστι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων πρῶτον. οὗτοι δʼ οὐ παρὰ τὰ γράμματα; οὐ τὸ μὲν ψήφισμα Ἀθηναίοις καὶ τοῖς Ἀθηναίων συμμάχοις, οὗτοι δὲ Φωκέας ἐκσπόνδους ἀπέφηναν; οὐ τὸ μὲν ψήφισμα τοὺς ἄρχοντας ὁρκοῦν τοὺς ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν, οὗτοι δʼ, οὓς Φίλιππος αὐτοῖς προσέπεμψε, τούτους ὥρκισαν; οὐ τὸ μὲν ψήφισμα οὐδαμοῦ μόνους ἐντυγχάνειν Φιλίππῳ, οὗτοι δʼ οὐδὲν ἐπαύσαντʼ ἰδίᾳ χρηματίζοντες;
279. “Whereas,” says the old decree, “certain of them are convicted of making untruthful reports to the Council.” Why, these men are convicted of making untruthful reports even to the Assembly. On what evidence?—you remember that brilliant quibble. On the evidence of facts: the report was exactly contradicted by the event. It goes on: “and of sending untruthful dispatches.” So did they. “And of bearing false witness against allies, and of taking bribes.” For “bearing false witness” read “utterly destroying”—a vastly greater injury. But as to their having taken bribes, we should still, if they denied it, have to make the charge good; but since they admit it, surely there should have been a summary arrest and punishment.
279. καὶ ἠλέγχθησάν τινες αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ βουλῇ οὐ τἀληθῆ ἀπαγγέλλοντες. οὗτοι δέ γε κἀν τῷ δήμῳ. καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ; τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ λαμπρόν· ὑπʼ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων· οἷς γὰρ ἀπήγγειλαν οὗτοι, πάντα δήπου γέγονεν τἀναντία. οὐδʼ ἐπιστέλλοντες φησὶ τἀληθῆ. οὐκοῦν οὐδʼ οὗτοι. καὶ καταψευδόμενοι τῶν συμμάχων καὶ δῶρα λαμβάνοντες. ἀντὶ μὲν τοίνυν τοῦ καταψευδόμενοι παντελῶς ἀπολωλεκότες· πολλῷ δὲ δήπου τοῦτο δεινότερον τοῦ καταψεύσασθαι. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὑπέρ γε τοῦ δῶρʼ εἰληφέναι, εἰ μὲν ἠρνοῦντο, ἐλέγχειν λοιπὸν ἂν ἦν, ἐπειδὴ δʼ ὡμολόγουν, ἀπάγειν δήπου προσῆκεν.
280. What follows, men of Athens? Such being the facts, will you, the descendants of these men, some of whom are still living, be content that Epicrates, the champion of democracy, the hero of the march from Peiraeus, should have been degraded and punished; that more recently Thrasybulus, a son of Thrasybulus the great democrat, who restored free government from Phyle, should have paid a fine of ten talents that even a descendant of Harmodius and of the greatest of all your benefactors, the men to whom, in requital of their glorious deeds, you have allotted by statute a share of your libations and drink-offerings in every temple and at every public service, whom, in hymns and in worship, you treat as the equals of gods and demigods,— will you be content that all these men should have been subjected to the inexorable penalty of law; that they should find no succor in mercy or compassion, in weeping children bearing honored names, or in any other plea?
280. τί οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι; τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων, ὑμεῖς ⟨ἐξ⟩ ἐκείνων τῶν ἀνδρῶν ὄντες, οἱ δὲ καὶ τινὲς αὐτῶν ἔτι ζῶντες, ὑπομενεῖτε τὸν μὲν εὐεργέτην τοῦ δήμου καὶ τὸν ἐκ Πειραιῶς, Ἐπικράτην, ἐκπεσεῖν καὶ κολασθῆναι; καὶ πάλιν πρώην Θρασύβουλον ἐκεῖνον τὸν Θρασυβούλου τοῦ δημοτικοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ Φυλῆς καταγαγόντος τὸν δῆμον, τάλαντα δέκʼ ὠφληκέναι, καὶ τὸν ἀφʼ Ἁρμοδίου καὶ τῶν τὰ μέγιστʼ ἀγάθʼ ὑμᾶς εἰργασμένων, οὓς νόμῳ διὰ τὰς εὐεργεσίας ἃς ὑπῆρξαν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἐπὶ ταῖς θυσίαις σπονδῶν καὶ κρατήρων κοινωνοὺς πεποίησθε, καὶ ᾁδετε καὶ τιμᾶτʼ ἐξ ἴσου τοῖς ἥρωσι καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς, τούτους μὲν πάντας τὴν ἐκ τῶν νόμων δίκην ὑπεσχηκέναι, καὶ μήτε συγγνώμην μήτʼ ἔλεον μήτε παιδία κλάονθʼ ὁμώνυμα τῶν εὐεργετῶν μήτʼ ἄλλο μηδὲν αὐτοὺς ὠφεληκέναι·
281. And then, when you have in your power a son of Atrometus the dominie, and of Glaucothea, the fuglewoman of those bacchanalian routs for which another priestess suffered death, will you release the son of such parents, a man who has never been of the slightest use to the commonwealth, neither he, nor his father, nor any member of his precious family?
281. τὸν δʼ Ἀτρομήτου τοῦ γραμματιστοῦ καὶ Γλαυκοθέας τῆς τοὺς θιάσους συναγούσης, ἐφʼ οἷς ἑτέρα τέθνηκεν ἱέρεια, τοῦτον ὑμεῖς λαβόντες, τὸν τῶν τοιούτων, τὸν οὐδὲ καθʼ ἓν χρήσιμον τῇ πόλει, οὐκ αὐτόν, οὐ πατέρα, οὐκ ἄλλον οὐδένα τῶν τούτου, ἀφήσετε;
282. Has the state ever had to thank any one of them in the whole course of his life for so much as a horse, or a war-galley, or a military expedition, or a chorus, or any public service, assessed contribution, or free gift, or for any deed of valor or any benefit whatsoever? Yet even if he could claim credit for all those services, but could not add that he has been an honest and disinterested ambassador, he ought assuredly to suffer death. If he has neither the one claim nor the other, will you not punish him?
282. ποῖος γὰρ ἵππος, ποία τριήρης, ποία στρατεία, τίς χορός, τίς λῃτουργία, τίς εἰσφορά, τίς εὔνοια, ποῖος κίνδυνος, τί τούτων ἐν παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ γέγονεν παρὰ τούτων τῇ πόλει; καίτοι κἂν εἰ ταῦτα πάνθʼ ὑπῆρχεν, ἐκεῖνα δὲ μὴ προσῆν, δικαίως καὶ προῖκα πεπρεσβευκέναι, ἀπολωλέναι δήπου προσῆκεν αὐτῷ. εἰ δὲ μήτε ταῦτα μήτʼ ἐκεῖνα, οὐ τιμωρήσεσθε;
283. Remember what he told you himself when he prosecuted Timarchus,—that there is no merit in a city that is nerveless in its dealings with malefactors, or in a polity where indulgence and importunity are stronger than the laws. You must not, he said, have any pity for Timarchus’s mother, an aged woman, or his children, or anyone else: you must fix your mind on the thought that, if you desert the laws and the constitution, you will find no one to pity you.
283. οὐκ ἀναμνησθήσεσθʼ ὧν κατηγορῶν ἔλεγεν Τιμάρχου, ὡς οὐδέν ἐστʼ ὄφελος πόλεως ἥτις μὴ νεῦρʼ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἔχει, οὐδὲ πολιτείας ἐν ᾗ συγγνώμη καὶ παραγγελία τῶν νόμων μεῖζον ἰσχύουσιν· οὐδʼ ἐλεεῖν ὑμᾶς οὔτε τὴν μητέρα δεῖν τὴν Τιμάρχου, γραῦν γυναῖκα, οὔτε τὰ παιδίʼ οὔτʼ ἄλλον οὐδένα, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ὁρᾶν, ὅτι, εἰ προήσεσθε τὰ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῆς πολιτείας, οὐχ εὑρήσετε τοὺς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐλεήσοντας.
284. The unfortunate Timarchus is still disfranchised because he was a witness of Aeschines’ misdeeds, and why should you allow Aeschines to go scot-free? If he demanded such severity of retribution from men who had transgressed only against himself and his friends, what retribution are you, a legal jury bound by oath, to exact from men who have grievously transgressed against the commonwealth, and of whom he is proved to be one?
284. ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν ταλαίπωρος ἄνθρωπος ἠτιμώσεται, ὅτι τοῦτον εἶδεν ἀδικοῦντα, τούτῳ δʼ ἀθῴῳ δώσετʼ εἶναι; διὰ τί; εἰ γὰρ παρὰ τῶν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἐξαμαρτόντων τηλικαύτην ἠξίωσε δίκην Αἰσχίνης λαβεῖν, παρὰ τῶν εἰς τὰ τῆς πόλεως τηλικαῦθʼ ἡμαρτηκότων, ὧν εἷς οὗτος ὢν ἐξελέγχεται, πηλίκην ὑμᾶς προσήκει λαβεῖν τοὺς ὀμωμοκότας καὶ δικάζοντας;
285. He will say that the trial of Timarchus will improve the morals of our young men. Then this trial will improve the integrity of our statesmen, on whom depend the gravest political hazards; and they also have a claim on your consideration. But let me show you that he did not bring Timarchus to ruin because of his anxious care—Heaven help us! for the modesty of your children. Your children, men of Athens, are already modest; and God forbid that Athens should ever be in such evil case as to require an Aphobetus or an Aeschines to teach young people modesty!
285. νὴ Δίʼ, οἱ νέοι γὰρ ἡμῖν διʼ ἐκεῖνον ἔσονται τὸν ἀγῶνα βελτίους. οὐκοῦν καὶ διὰ τόνδʼ οἱ πολιτευόμενοι, διʼ ὧν τὰ μέγιστα κινδυνεύεται τῇ πόλει· προσήκει δὲ καὶ τούτων φροντίζειν. ἵνα τοίνυν εἰδῆθʼ ὅτι καὶ τοῦτον ἀπώλεσεν, [τὸν Τίμαρχον,] οὐ μὰ Δίʼ οὐχὶ τῶν ὑμετέρων παίδων, ὅπως ἔσονται σώφρονες, προορῶν (εἰσὶ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ νῦν σώφρονες· μὴ γὰρ οὕτω γένοιτο κακῶς τῇ πόλει ὥστʼ Ἀφοβήτου καὶ Αἰσχίνου σωφρονιστῶν δεηθῆναι τοὺς νεωτέρους), ἀλλʼ ὅτι βουλεύων ἔγραψεν, ἄν τις ὡς Φίλιππον ὅπλʼ ἄγων ἁλῷ ἢ σκεύη τριηρικά, θάνατον εἶναι τὴν ζημίαν·
286. He did it because Timarchus had moved in the Council a decree making the conveyance of arms or ships’ tackle to Philip a capital offence. As evidence of that, let me ask how long Timarchus had been a public speaker? A very long time; and during all that time Aeschines was in Athens; yet he never took offence, he never began to think it a shame that a man of such character should make speeches, until he had visited Macedonia and sold himself. Please take and read the actual decree of Timarchus. (The Decree is read) The man who for your sake proposed the prohibition, under penalty of death, of carrying arms to Philip is vilified and disgraced; the man who surrendered to Philip the armaments of our allies is his accuser.
286. σημεῖον δέ· πόσον γὰρ ἐδημηγόρει χρόνον Τίμαρχος; πολύν. οὐκοῦν τοῦτον ἦν Αἰσχίνης ἅπαντʼ ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ οὐδεπώποτʼ ἠγανάκτησεν οὐδὲ δεινὸν ἡγήσατʼ εἶναι τὸ πρᾶγμα, εἰ ὁ τοιοῦτος λέγει, ἕως εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἐλθὼν ἑαυτὸν ἐμίσθωσεν· λέγε δή μοι τὸ ψήφισμα λαβὼν αὐτὸ τὸ τοῦ Τιμάρχου. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ.
287. Immorality—save the mark!—was the theme of his speech, while at his side stood his two brothers-in-law, the very sight of whom is enough to set you in an uproar,—the disgusting Nicias, who went to Egypt as the hireling of Chabrias, and the abominable Cyrebio, the unmasked harlequin of the pageants. But that was nothing: under his eyes sat his brother Aphobetus. In truth, on that day all that declaiming against immorality was like water flowing upstream.
287. ὁ μὲν τοίνυν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν γράψας μὴ ἄγειν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ πρὸς Φίλιππον ὅπλα, εἰ δὲ μή, θανάτῳ ζημιοῦσθαι, ἀπόλωλε καὶ ὕβρισται· ὁ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν ὑμετέρων συμμάχων ὅπλʼ ἐκείνῳ παραδοὺς οὑτοσὶ κατηγόρει, καὶ περὶ πορνείας ἔλεγεν, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί, δυοῖν μὲν κηδεσταῖν παρεστηκότοιν, οὓς ἰδόντες ἂν ὑμεῖς ἀνακράγοιτε, Νικίου τε τοῦ βδελυροῦ, ὃς ἑαυτὸν ἐμίσθωσεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον Χαβρίᾳ, καὶ τοῦ καταράτου Κυρηβίωνος, ὃς ἐν ταῖς πομπαῖς ἄνευ τοῦ προσώπου κωμάζει. καὶ τί ταῦτα; ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὁρῶν Ἀφόβητον. ἀλλὰ δῆτʼ ἄνω ποταμῶν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ πάντες οἱ περὶ πορνείας ἐρρύησαν λόγοι.
288. And now, to illustrate the discredit into which our city has been dragged by this man’s trickery and mendacity, omitting much that I might mention, I will point to a symptom that you have all observed. In former times, men of Athens, all Greece used to watch anxiously for your decisions. Today we prowl the streets wondering what the other communities have resolved, all agog to hear what is the news from Arcadia, what is the news from the Amphictyons, what will be Philip’s next movement, whether he is alive or dead.
288. καὶ μὴν εἰς ὅσην ἀτιμίαν τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν ἡ τούτου πονηρία καὶ ψευδολογία καταστήσασʼ ἔχει, πάντα τἄλλʼ ἀφείς, ὃ πάντες ὑμεῖς ἴστʼ ἐρῶ. πρότερον μὲν γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τί παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐψήφισται, τοῦτʼ ἐπετήρουν οἱ ἄλλοι πάντες Ἕλληνες· νῦν δʼ ἤδη περιερχόμεθʼ ἡμεῖς τί δέδοκται τοῖς ἄλλοις σκοποῦντες, καὶ ὠτακουστοῦντες τί τὰ τῶν Ἀρκάδων, τί τὰ τῶν Ἀμφικτυόνων, ποῖ πάρεισι Φίλιππος, ζῇ ἢ τέθνηκεν.
289. You know that such is our behavior. What alarms me is the thought, not that Philip is alive, but that in Athens the spirit that loathes and punishes evil-doers is dead. Philip does not terrify me, if only your condition is healthy; but if there is to be impunity in this court for men who hunger after Philip’s pay, and if men who have won your confidence, men who have hitherto scorned the imputation of intriguing for Philip, are to appear as their advocates, that does terrify me.— What does this mean, Eubulus?
289. οὐ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦμεν; ἐγὼ δʼ οὐ δέδοικʼ εἰ Φίλιππος ζῇ, ἀλλʼ εἰ τῆς πόλεως τέθνηκε τὸ τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας μισεῖν καὶ τιμωρεῖσθαι. οὐδὲ φοβεῖ με Φίλιππος, ἂν τὰ παρʼ ὑμῶν ὑγιαίνῃ, ἀλλʼ εἰ παρʼ ὑμῖν ἄδεια γενήσεται τοῖς παρʼ ἐκείνου μισθαρνεῖν βουλομένοις, καὶ συνεροῦσί τινες τούτοις τῶν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν πεπιστευμένων, καὶ πάντα τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον ἀρνούμενοι μὴ πράττειν ὑπὲρ Φιλίππου νῦν ἀναβήσονται, ταῦτα φοβεῖ με.
290. At the trial of your cousin Hegesilaus, and recently at that of Thrasybulus, an uncle of Niceratus, before the first vote of the jury you would not even answer when you were called; on the question of damages you did get up to speak, but you had not a word to say in their favor, and merely asked the jury to excuse you. So you do not mount the tribune for your own kinsmen and for men who have a claim on your services, and will you mount it for Aeschines, who, when Aristophon prosecuted Philonicus, and in denouncing him denounced your own policy, joined in the attack upon you, and so ranged himself with your enemies?
290. τί γὰρ δή ποτʼ, Εὔβουλε, Ἡγησίλεῳ μὲν κρινομένῳ, ὃς ἀνεψιός ἐστί σοι, καὶ Θρασυβούλῳ πρώην, τῷ Νικηράτου θείῳ, ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς πρώτης ψήφου οὐδʼ ὑπακοῦσαι καλούμενος ἤθελες, εἰς δὲ τὸ τίμημʼ ἀναβὰς ὑπὲρ μὲν ἐκείνων οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἔλεγες, ἐδέου δὲ τῶν δικαστῶν συγγνώμην ἔχειν σοί; εἶθʼ ὑπὲρ μὲν συγγενῶν καὶ ἀναγκαίων ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἀναβαίνεις, ὑπὲρ Αἰσχίνου δʼ ἀναβήσει, ὅς, ἡνίκʼ ἔκρινεν Ἀριστοφῶν Φιλόνικονκαὶ διʼ ἐκείνου τῶν σοὶ πεπραγμένων κατηγόρει, συγκατηγόρει μετʼ ἐκείνου σοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῶν σῶν εἷς ἐξητάζετο;
291. After terrifying the people, and telling them that they must go down to Peiraeus at once, pay the war-tax and turn the theatric fund into a war-chest, or else vote for the resolution that was supported by Aeschines and moved by that abominable Philocrates, with the result that we got a discreditable instead of an equitable peace, and after all the ruin that has been wrought by their subsequent misdeeds, are you reconciled with them after that?
291. ἐπειδὴ δὲ σὺ μὲν τουτουσὶ δεδιξάμενος καὶ φήσας καταβαίνειν εἰς Πειραιᾶ δεῖν ἤδη καὶ χρήματʼ εἰσφέρειν καὶ τὰ θεωρικὰ στρατιωτικὰ ποιεῖν, ἢ χειροτονεῖν ἃ συνεῖπε μὲν οὗτος, ἔγραψε δʼ ὁ βδελυρὸς Φιλοκράτης, ἐξ ὧν αἰσχρὰν ἀντʼ ἴσης συνέβη γενέσθαι τὴν εἰρήνην, οὗτοι δὲ τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἀδικήμασι πάντʼ ἀπολωλέκασι, τηνικαῦτα διήλλαξαι;
292. In the Assembly you solemnly cursed Philip; you swore by the head of your children that you desired his utter destruction, and will you now be the defender of Aeschines? How can Philip be utterly destroyed, if you rescue the men who take his bribes?
292. καὶ ἐν μὲν τῷ δήμῳ κατηρῶ [Φιλίππῳ] καὶ κατὰ τῶν παίδων ὤμνυες ἦ μὴν ἀπολωλέναι Φίλιππον ἂν βούλεσθαι· νῦν δὲ βοηθήσεις τούτῳ; πῶς οὖν ἀπολεῖται, ὅταν τοὺς παρʼ ἐκείνου δωροδοκοῦντας σὺ σῴζῃς;
293. Why did you prosecute Moerocles, because he had extorted twenty drachmas apiece from the lessees of the silver-mines; why did you indict Cephisophon for misappropriating sacred funds, because he was three days late in paying seven minas into the bank, if, instead of prosecuting, you now try to rescue men who have confessed, who have been caught in the act, who are convicted of taking bribes for the destruction of our allies?
293. τί γὰρ δήποτε Μοιροκλέα μὲν ἔκρινες, εἰ παρὰ τῶν τὰ μέταλλʼ ἐωνημένων εἴκοσιν ἐξέλεξεν δραχμὰς παρʼ ἑκάστου, καὶ Κηφισοφῶντα γραφὴν ἱερῶν χρημάτων ἐδίωκες, εἰ τρισὶν ὕστερον ἡμέραις ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν ἔθηκεν ἑπτὰ μνᾶς· τοὺς δʼ ἔχοντας, ὁμολογοῦντας, ἐξελεγχομένους ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ ἐπὶ τῷ τῶν συμμάχων ὀλέθρῳ ταῦτα πεποιηκότας, τούτους οὐ κρίνεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ σῴζειν κελεύεις;
294. Yes, these are formidable offences, calling for the utmost vigilance and precaution; while the charges you brought against those two men were comparatively ludicrous, as these considerations will show. Were there any persons in Elis who embezzled public money? In all probability, yes. Did any one of them take part in the recent overthrow of free government there?
294. καὶ μὴν ὅτι ταῦτα μέν ἐστιν φοβερὰ καὶ προνοίας καὶ φυλακῆς πολλῆς δεόμενα, ἐφʼ οἷς δʼ ἐκείνους σὺ ἔκρινες, γέλως, ἐκείνως ὄψεσθε. ἦσαν ἐν Ἤλιδι κλέπτοντες τὰ κοινά τινες; καὶ μάλʼ εἰκός γε. ἔστιν οὖν ὅστις μετέσχεν αὐτόθι νῦν τούτων τοῦ καταλῦσαι τὸν δῆμον; οὐδὲ εἷς. τί δʼ; ἐν Μεγάροις οὐκ οἴεσθʼ εἶναί τινα καὶ κλέπτην καὶ μὲν οἴομαι. ἆρʼ οὖν διὰ τούτους ἀπώλετʼ Ὄλυνθος; οὔ. τί δʼ; ἐν Μεγάροις οὐκ οἴεσθʼ εἶναί τινα καὶ κλέπτην καὶ παρεκλέγοντα τὰ κοινά; ἀνάγκη. καὶ πέφηνέ τις αἴτιος αὐτόθι νῦν τούτων τῶν συμβεβηκότων πραγμάτων; οὐδὲ εἷς.
295. Not one. When there was still such a city as Olynthus, were there any thieves there? I take it there were. Did Olynthus perish through their sins? No. Do you suppose there were no thieves and pilferers of public funds in Megara? There must have been such. Has any one of them been shown to be responsible for the present political troubles there? Not one. Then who are the people who commit these monstrous crimes? Persons who fancy themselves important enough to be called friends of Philip, men itching for military commands and eager for political distinction, men who claim superiority over the common herd. At Megara the other day was not Perillus tried before the Three Hundred on a charge of visiting Philip? And did not Ptoeodorus, the first man in all Megara for wealth, birth, and reputation, come forward and beg him off, and then send him back to Philip? The sequel was that one of the pair returned with an alien army at his back, while the other was hatching the plot at home. Take that as a specimen.
295. ἀλλὰ ποῖοί τινες οἱ τὰ τηλικαῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτʼ ἀδικοῦντες; οἱ νομίζοντες [αὑτοὺς] ἀξιόχρεως εἶναι τοῦ Φιλίππου ξένοι καὶ φίλοι προσαγορεύεσθαι, οἱ στρατηγιῶντες καὶ προστασίας ἀξιούμενοι, οἱ μείζους τῶν πολλῶν οἰόμενοι δεῖν εἶναι. οὐ Πέριλλος ἐκρίνετʼ ἔναγχος ἐν Μεγάροις ἐν τοῖς τριακοσίοις, ὅτι πρὸς Φίλιππον ἀφίκετο, καὶ παρελθὼν Πτοιόδωρος αὐτὸν ἐξῃτήσατο, καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ γένει καὶ δόξῃ πρῶτος Μεγαρέων, καὶ πάλιν ὡς Φίλιππον ἐξέπεμψε, καὶ μετὰ ταῦθʼ ὁ μὲν ἧκεν ἄγων τοὺς ξένους, ὁ δʼ ἔνδον ἐτύρευε; τοιαῦτα.