39. Others lent aid when your ancestors were persuaded to take the field by Cephalus, who proposed the decree and who, undaunted by the might of Sparta and regardless of the risks either of military or political action, moved that the Athenians should march out to help the exiles who had taken Thebes. Your fathers did march out and in a few days the commander of the Spartan garrison was expelled, the Thebans had been freed and your city had acted worthily of your ancestors. They were counsellors, Athenians, they were leaders such as yourselves and the state deserve. How different from rogues like this who neither have done nor will do the city any service but watch over their own safety and treat everything as a source of income. They have made the city more infamous than themselves, and now, convicted of taking bribes against you, they deceive you and presume, after conduct such as this, to talk to you about their own aggrandizement. They ought, by the terms of their own decree, to have been put to death long ago for doing such things.
39. καὶ ἐξελθόντων ἐκεῖσε τῶν ὑμετέρων πατέρων ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις ἐξεβλήθη ὁ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων φρούραρχος, ἠλευθέρωντο Θηβαῖοι, διεπέπρακτο ἡ πόλις ἡ ὑμετέρα ἄξια τῶν προγόνων. ἐκεῖνοι ἦσαν, ἐκεῖνοι, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἄξιοι σύμβουλοι καὶ ἡγεμόνες ὑμῶν καὶ τοῦ δήμου· μὰ Δίʼ οὐ τὰ τοιαῦτα κινάδη, οἳ πεποιήκασι μὲν οὐδὲν οὐδὲ πράξουσιν ἀγαθὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως, τὴν δὲ αὑτῶν ἀσφάλειαν τηροῦντες καὶ πανταχόθεν ἀργυριζόμενοι καὶ πεποιηκότες τὴν πόλιν ἀδοξοτέραν ἑαυτῶν, καὶ νῦν εἰλημμένοι δῶρα καθʼ ὑμῶν εἰληφότες, παρακρούονται ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἀξιοῦσι τοιοῦτοι γεγενημένοι περὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν πλεονεξίας παραγγέλλειν. οὓς χρῆν τεθνάναι πάλαι κατὰ τὸ ἑαυτῶν ψήφισμα, τοιαῦτα διαπεπραγμένους.
41. Are you not ashamed, Athenians, that you should think our speeches the only evidence you have on which to determine the punishment of Demosthenes? Do you not know yourselves that this man is open to bribes and is both a robber and a traitor to his friends that neither he nor the fortune which has gone with him is fit for the city? Are there any decrees or any laws which have not brought him money?
41. οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθε, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὴν κατὰ Δημοσθένους τιμωρίαν ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων μόνων ἡγούμενοι δεῖν κρίνειν; οὐκ ἴστε τοῦτον αὐτοὶ δωροδόκον ὄντα καὶ κλέπτην καὶ προδότην τῶν φίλων, καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀνάξιον καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν περὶ τοῦτον τύχην γεγενημένην; ἀπὸ ποίων ψηφισμάτων οὗτος ἢ ποίων νόμων οὐκ εἴληφεν ἀργύριον;
42. Are there any people in the court who were among those included in the three hundred when Demosthenes brought in his law concerning the trierarchs? Then tell your neighbors that he accepted three talents and used to alter and re-draft the law for every sitting of the Assembly, in some cases taking money over points for which he had been paid already, in others failing to honor the sales which he had made.
42. εἰσί τινες ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ τῶν ἐν τοῖς τριακοσίοις γεγενημένων, ὅθʼ οὗτος ἐτίθει τὸν περὶ τῶν τριηράρχων νόμον; οὐ φράσετε τοῖς πλησίον ὅτι τρία τάλαντα λαβὼν μετέγραφε καὶ μετεσκεύαζε τὸν νόμον καθʼ ἑκάστην ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐπώλει ὧν εἰλήφει τὴν τιμήν, τὰ δʼ ἀποδόμενος οὐκ ἐβεβαίου;
43. Really, gentlemen, tell me: do you think he got nothing for proposing that Diphilus should have meals at the Prytaneum or for that statue to be put up in the market? Nothing for conferring Athenian citizenship on Chaerephilus, Phidon, Pamphilus, and Phidippus, or again on Epigenes and Conon the bankers? Nothing for putting up in the market bronze statues of Berisades, Satyrus and Gorgippus the tyrants from the Pontus, from whom he receives a thousand medimni of wheat a year—this man who will presently tell you that there is nowhere for him to take refuge.
43. εἴπατέ μοι πρὸς Διός, ὦ ἄνδρες, προῖκα τοῦτον οἴεσθε γράψαι Διφίλῳ τὴν ἐν πρυτανείῳ σίτησιν, καὶ τὴν εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἀνατεθησομένην εἰκόνα; ἢ τὸ ποιῆσαι πολίτας ὑμετέρους Χαιρέφιλον καὶ Φείδωνα καὶ Πάμφιλον καὶ Φείδιππον, ἢ πάλιν Ἐπιγένην καὶ Κόνωνα τοὺς τραπεζίτας; ἢ τὸ χαλκοῦς ἐν ἀγορᾷ στῆσαι Βηρισάδην καὶ Σάτυρον καὶ Γόργιππον τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου τυράννους, παρʼ ὧν αὐτῷ χίλιοι μέδιμνοι τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ πυρῶν ἀποστέλλονται τῷ οὐδʼ ὅποι καταφύγῃ αὐτίκα φήσοντι εἶναι;
44. Did he get nothing for proposing that Taurosthenes should become an Athenian, though he had enslaved his fellow citizens and, with his brother Callias, betrayed the whole of Euboea to Philip? Taurosthenes whom the laws forbid to set foot on Athenian soil, providing that if he does so he shall be liable to the same penalties as an exile who returns after being sentenced by the Areopagus. This was the man who Demosthenes the democrat proposed should be your fellow citizen.
44. ἢ τὸ γράψαι Ταυροσθένην Ἀθηναῖον εἶναι, ⟨τὸν⟩ τοὺς μὲν αὑτοῦ πολίτας καταδουλωσάμενον, τῆς δʼ Εὐβοίας ὅλης μετὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Καλλίου προδότην Φιλίππῳ γεγενημένον; ὃν οὐκ ἐῶσιν οἱ νόμοι τῆς Ἀθηναίων χώρας ἐπιβαίνειν, εἰ δὲ μή, τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἔνοχον εἶναι κελεύουσιν οἷσπερ ἄν τις τῶν φευγόντων ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου κατίῃ. καὶ τοῦτον οὗτος ὁ δημοτικὸς ὑμέτερον ἔγραψε πολίτην εἶναι.
45. Is there any need then for me to call up witnesses for you so far as these men are concerned or any of the others whom he has proposed as proxeni or citizens? I ask you in Athena's name: do you imagine that when he gladly accepts silver he would refuse twenty talents of gold? Do you think that though he takes money in dribblets, he would not accept as a lump sum so great a fee, or that the Areopagus, which spent six months inquiring over Demosthenes, Demades, and Cephisophon, has been unjust over the reports submitted to you?
45. περὶ τούτων οὖν μάρτυρας ὑμῖν δεῖ καλεῖν, ἢ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσους οὗτος γέγραφε προξένους εἶναι καὶ Ἀθηναίους; ⟨εἶτα⟩, πρὸς τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, οἴεσθʼ αὐτὸν ἀργύριον μὲν χαίρειν λαμβάνοντα, χρυσίου δʼ εἴκοσι τάλαντʼ οὐκ ἂν λαβεῖν; ἢ κατὰ μικρὸν μὲν δωροδοκεῖν, ἁθρόον δʼ οὐκ ἂν προσδέξασθαι τοσοῦτον λῆμμα; ἢ τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλὴν Δημοσθένην καὶ Δημάδην καὶ Κηφισοφῶντα ζητήσασαν ἓξ μῆνας ἀδίκως εἰς ὑμᾶς πεποιῆσθαι τὰς ἀποφάσεις;
46. Gentlemen, you have very many witnesses, as I said before, among citizens and other Greeks, watching to see how you will judge this trial; are you, they wonder, going to bring within the scope of the courts the venal actions of other men, or will there be complete freedom to accept bribes against you? Will the things which so far have been held trustworthy and sure now cease to be so on account of the trial of Demosthenes? On his past record he ought to have been put to death, and he is liable to all the curses known to the city, having broken the oaths he took on the Areopagus, in the names of the holy goddesses and the other deities by whom it is customary to swear there, and making himself accursed at every sitting of the Assembly.
46. πολλοί, ὦ ἄνδρες, πολλοὶ τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων, ὅπερ καὶ πρότερον εἶπον, θεωροῦσιν ὑμᾶς πῶς τοῦτον δικάσετε τὸν ἀγῶνα, καὶ πότερον εἰσαγωγίμους καὶ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων δωροδοκίας ποιήσετε, ἢ ἀνέδην ἐξέσται δῶρα λαμβάνειν καθʼ ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ πρότερον δοκοῦντα πιστὰ καὶ βέβαιʼ εἶναι νῦν ἄπιστα διὰ τὴν Δημοσθένους κρίσιν γενήσεται, ὃν ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων προσῆκεν ἀπολωλέναι τῶν πεπολιτευμένων αὐτῷ, ὃς ἁπάσαις ταῖς ἀραῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ πόλει γιγνομέναις ἔνοχος καθέστηκεν, ἐπιωρκηκὼς μὲν τὰς σεμνὰς θεὰς ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους θεοὺς οὓς ἐκεῖ διόμνυσθαι νόμιμόν ἐστι, κατάρατος δὲ καθʼ ἑκάστην ἐκκλησίαν γιγνόμενος, ἐξεληλεγμένος δῶρα κατὰ τῆς πόλεως εἰληφώς, ἐξηπατηκὼς δὲ καὶ τὸν δῆμον καὶ τὴν βουλὴν παρὰ τὴν ἀράν, καὶ ἕτερα μὲν λέγων ἕτερα δὲ φρονῶν, ἰδίᾳ δὲ συμβεβουλευκὼς Ἀριστάρχῳ δεινὰς καὶ παρανόμους συμβουλάς, ἀνθʼ ὧν — εἴπερ ἐστί που δικαία τιμωρία κατὰ τῶν ἐπιόρκων καὶ πονηρῶν, ὥσπερ ἔστι — δώσει δίκην οὗτος ἐν τῇ τήμερον ἡμέρᾳ.
47. He has been proved to have taken bribes against Athens, has cheated the people and the council in defiance of the curse, professing views he does not hold, and in private has recommended to Aristarchus a course both cruel and unlawful. For these misdeeds, if there is any power to exact a just punishment from perjurers and criminals—as there surely is—this man shall pay today. Gentlemen of the jury, listen to the curse. Curse Despite this, gentlemen of the jury, Demosthenes is so ready with his lies and utterly unsound assertions, so oblivious of shame, exposure, or curse, that he will dare to say of me, I gather, that I too was previously condemned by the council. According to him I am behaving with the utmost inconsistency, because in the past I opposed the council's report and pleaded my own case, whereas I am now serving as its advocate and accusing him over the report before us today.
47. ἀκούσατʼ, ἄνδρες δικασταί, τῆς ἀρᾶς. Ἀρά ἀλλʼ ὅμως, ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὕτω Δημοσθένης τῷ ψεύδεσθαι καὶ μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγειν ἑτοίμως χρῆται, καὶ οὔτʼ αἰσχύνης οὔτʼ ἐλέγχου οὔτʼ ἀρᾶς οὐδὲν αὐτῷ μέλει, ὥστε καὶ περὶ ἐμοῦ τολμήσει λέγειν, ὡς ἀκούω, ὡς ἄρα κἀμοῦ κατέγνω πρότερον ἡ βουλή· καὶ ποιῶ πάντων ἀτοπώτατον, ὡς οὗτός φησι, πρότερον μὲν ἐναντίον τῇ τῆς βουλῆς ἀποφάσει ἀγῶνα ἀπολογούμενος ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ, νυνὶ δὲ συνηγορῶν αὐτῇ, κατηγορῶν τούτου περὶ τῆς γεγενημένης ἀποφάσεως·
49. This is a story of his own invention, not based on fact, and he is impudent enough to lie to you. So to make sure that, if he embarks upon this story, you will pay no attention to him but will realize fully that the council did not report me and was in no danger of doing so,—the truth being that I suffered at the hands of a man of low character who has been convicted before you,—let me explain briefly. Then I will come back to Demosthenes.
49. πρᾶγμα κατασκευάζων οὐ γεγενημένον, ἀλλὰ ψεύδεσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς τολμῶν. ἵνʼ οὖν, ἐὰν ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἴῃ τὸν λόγον, μὴ ἐπιτρέπητʼ αὐτῷ, ἀλλʼ εἰδῆτʼ ἀκριβῶς ὅτι οὔτε μʼ ἀπέφηνεν ἡ βουλὴ οὔτʼ ἐμέλλησεν, ἠδικήθην δὲ ὑφʼ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου πονηροῦ καὶ δίκην δεδωκότος παρʼ ὑμῖν, ἀκούσατέ μου βραχέα· ἔπειτʼ ἐπὶ τοῦτον πάλιν βαδιοῦμαι.
50. The council of the Areopagus is bound, gentlemen, to follow one of two methods in making all its reports. What are these methods? Its inquiry is made either on its own initiative or in obedience to the people's instructions. Apart from these two, there is no other procedure it could follow. If then you tell us, you abominable brute, that the council followed the people's instructions in making its inquiry and publishing the report on me, show me the decree and tell me who were my accusers after the report was made.
50. ἀνάγκη τὴν βουλήν, ὦ ἄνδρες, τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάλου κατὰ δύο τρόπους ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ἀποφάσεις πάσας. τίνας τούτους; ἤτοι αὐτὴν προελομένην καὶ ζητήσασαν, ἢ τοῦ δήμου προστάξαντος αὐτῇ. χωρὶς τούτων οὐκ ἔστιν ὅντινʼ ἂν τρόπον ποιήσειεν. εἰ μὲν τοίνυν φῄς, ὦ μιαρὸν σὺ θηρίον, τοῦ δήμου προστάξαντος ζητήσασαν τὴν βουλὴν περὶ ἐμοῦ ποιήσασθαι τὴν ἀπόφασιν, δεῖξον τὸ ψήφισμα, καὶ τίνες ἐγένοντο μου κατήγοροι γενομένης τῆς ἀποφάσεως, ὥσπερ νῦν ἀμφότερα γέγονε, καὶ ψήφισμα καθʼ ὃ ἐζήτησεν ἡ βουλή, καὶ κατήγοροι χειροτονήσαντος τοῦ δήμου, παρʼ ὧν νῦν οἱ δικασταὶ τἀδικήματα πυνθάνονται.
51. Compare the present case, where you have both: a decree which authorized the council's inquiry, and accusers, elected by the people, who are now giving the jury an account of the crimes. If your story is true, I am prepared to die. But if you claim that the council took the initiative in reporting me, produce the Areopagites as witnesses, just as I myself shall produce them to show that I was not reported, to show in fact that, after impeaching one rogue and traitor who, like you, had maligned the council and myself, I proved before two thousand five hundred citizens that he had hired himself to Pythocles in making this attack upon me, and so avenged myself with the help of those then serving on the jury. Clerk, please take the deposition. I laid it before the jury previously as evidence and no one questioned its veracity. So I will produce it now. Read the deposition.
51. κἂν ᾖ ταῦτα ἀληθῆ, ἀποθνήσκειν ἕτοιμός εἰμι. εἰ δʼ αὐτὴν προελομένην ἀποφῆναί με φῄς, παράσχου μάρτυρας τοὺς Ἀρεοπαγίτας, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ παρέξομαι ὅτι οὐκ ἀπεφάνθην. καταψευσάμενον μέντοι κἀμοῦ καὶ τῆς βουλῆς ὥσπερ σὺ καὶ πονηρὸν καὶ προδότην ἕνʼ εἰσαγγείλας, καὶ ἐξελέγξας ἐν πεντακοσίοις καὶ δισχιλίοις τῶν πολιτῶν ὅτι μισθώσας αὑτὸν Πυθοκλεῖ κατʼ ἐμοῦ ταῦτʼ ἔπραξεν, ἐτιμωρησάμην μετὰ τῶν τότε δικασάντων. λαβέ μοι σὺ τὴν μαρτυρίαν, ἣν καὶ πρότερον παρεσχόμην μαρτυρουμένην τοῖς δικασταῖς καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπεσκήψατο ὡς ψευδεῖ οὔσῃ, ἣν καὶ νῦν παρέξομαι. λέγε τὴν μαρτυρίαν.
53. Deposition Is it not an anomaly, Athenians, that on that occasion, because one man, Pistias an Areopagite, told lies against the council and myself and said that I was a criminal, falsehood would have prevailed over truth, if through my weakness and isolation at the time the trumped up lies against me had been believed; whereas now, when the fact is admitted by the whole Areopagus that Demosthenes has taken twenty talents of gold against your interests, and is therefore a criminal, and that your popular leader, in whom some men place their hopes, has been caught in the act of taking bribes, the customs of the Areopagus and truth and justice are going to prove weaker than Demosthenes' word?
53. Μαρτυρία εἶτʼ οὐ δεινόν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ, ὅτι μὲν εἷς ἀνὴρ ἔφησε Πιστίας Ἀρεοπαγίτης ὢν ἀδικεῖν με, καταψευδόμενος κἀμοῦ καὶ τῆς βουλῆς, ἴσχυσεν ἂν τὸ ψεῦδος τῆς ἀληθείας μᾶλλον, εἰ διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τὴν τότε καὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπιστεύθησαν αἱ κατʼ ἐμοῦ ψευδεῖς γενόμεναι κατασκευαί· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τἀληθὲς παρὰ πάσης τῆς ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλῆς ὁμολογεῖται, Δημοσθένην εἰληφέναι εἴκοσι τάλαντα χρυσίου καθʼ ὑμῶν καὶ ταῦτα πεποιηκότʼ ἀδικεῖν, καὶ ὁ δημαγωγὸς ὑμῖν, ἐν ᾧ τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχουσί τινες, ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρω χρήματα λαμβάνων εἴληπται, νῦν τὰ νόμιμα τἀκεῖθεν καὶ τὰ δίκαια καὶ τἀληθῆ ἀσθενέστερα γενήσεται τῶν Δημοσθένους λόγων, καὶ ἰσχύσει μᾶλλον τῆς ἀληθείας ἡ παρὰ τούτου ῥηθησομένη κατὰ τοῦ συνεδρίου διαβολή, ὡς ἄρα πολλοὺς ἡ βουλὴ ἀποπέφαγκεν ἀδικεῖν τὸν δῆμον, οἳ ἀποπεφεύγασιν εἰσελθόντες εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, καὶ ἡ βουλὴ ἐπʼ ἐνίων τὸ πέμπτον μέρος οὐ μετείληφε τῶν ψήφων;
54. Truth will be overridden by the slanderous statement he intends to make against the council, namely that many of those reported by it as a menace to the people have, on coming into court, been acquitted, in some cases the council failing to secure a fifth part of the votes. There is an explanation for this which you will easily follow. The council, gentlemen, has its own method of inquiring into the cases which you assign to it and the crimes committed within its own body. Unlike yourselves,—and you need not take offence at this,—who are sometimes apt when judging to give more weight to mercy than to justice, it simply reports anyone who is liable to the charges in question or has broken any traditional rule of conduct believing that if a person is in the habit of committing small offences he will more easily involve himself in serious crimes.
54. τοῦτο δὲ ὃν τρόπον γίγνεται, ῥᾳδίως ἅπαντες μαθήσεσθε. ἡ βουλή, ὦ ἄνδρες, ζητεῖ τὰ προσταχθένθʼ ὑφʼ ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ γεγενημένα παρʼ αὑτοῖς ἀδικήματʼ οὐχ ὡς ὑμεῖς — καί μοι μὴ ὀργισθῆτε — δικάζειν ἐνίοτε εἴθισθε, τῇ σῇ γνώμῃ πλέον ἢ τῷ δικαίῳ ἀπονέμοντες, ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶς τὸν ἔνοχον ὄντα τοῖς ζητουμένοις ⟨ἀποφαίνει⟩ καὶ τὸν ὁποιονοῦν ἠδικηκότα ⟨παρὰ⟩ τὰ πάτρια, νομίζουσα τὸν ἐν τοῖς μικροῖς συνεθιζόμενον ἀδικεῖν τοῦτον τὰ μεγάλα τῶν ἀδικημάτων εὐχερέστερον προσδέξεσθαι.
56. Consequently when one of its number robbed the ferryman of his fare it fined him and reported him to you. Again, when someone claimed the five drachma allowance in the name of an absentee, it reported him also to you. Similarly it fined and expelled the man who presumed to break the rule and sell the Areopagite portion.
56. διόπερ τὸν παρʼ αὑτῶν ἀποστερήσαντα τὸ ναῦλον τὸν πορθμέα ζημιώσασα πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀπέφηνε· πάλιν τὸν τὴν πεντεδραχμίαν ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ μὴ παρόντος ὀνόματι λαβεῖν ἀξιώσαντα, καὶ τοῦτον ὑμῖν ἀπέφηνε, καὶ τὸν τὴν μερίδα τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου τολμήσαντʼ ἀποδόσθαι παρὰ τὰ νόμιμα τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ζημιώσασʼ ἐξέβαλε.
57. You tried these men and acquitted them. You were not thereby convicting the Areopagus of error but you were more concerned with sympathy than justice, and thought the punishment too severe for the offence which the defendants had committed. Do you imagine then, Demosthenes, that the council made a false report? Of course it did not. Nevertheless, gentlemen, you acquitted these men and others like them, though the council reported that they were guilty of breaking its rules.
57. τούτους ὑμεῖς κρίναντες ἀφήκατε, οὐ τῆς ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλῆς καταγιγνώσκοντες ψεύδεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τῇ συγγνώμῃ μᾶλλον ἢ τῷ δικαίῳ προσθέμενοι, καὶ τὴν τιμωρίαν μείζω νομίζοντες εἶναι τῆς ὑπὸ τῶν κρινομένων γεγενημένης ἁμαρτίας. ἦ που ἄρα ἡ βουλή, Δημόσθενες, τὰ ψευδῆ ἀπέφηνεν; οὐ δήπου. τούτους μέντοι, ὦ ἄνδρες, καὶ τοιούτους ἑτέρους ἀδικεῖν παρʼ ἑαυτοῖς ἀποφηνάσης τῆς βουλῆς ὑμεῖς ἀφήκατε.
58. In the case of Polyeuctus of Cydantidae, when the people instructed the council to inquire whether he was accompanying the exiles to Megara and to report back after the investigation, it reported that he was doing so. You chose accusers as the law prescribes: Polyeuctus came into court and you acquitted him, on his admitting that he was going to Megara to Nicophanes who, he said, was married to his mother. So you did not consider that he was doing anything strange or reprehensible in keeping in touch with his mother's husband who was in difficulties, or in assisting him, so far as he could, while he was banished from the country.
58. πολύευκτον δὲ τὸν Κυδαντίδην τοῦ δήμου προστάξαντος ζητῆσαι τὴν βουλήν, εἰ συνέρχεται τοῖς φυγάσιν εἰς Μέγαρα, καὶ ζητήσασαν ἀποφῆναι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἀπέφηνεν ἡ βουλὴ συνιέναι. κατηγόρους εἵλεσθε κατὰ τὸν νόμον, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, ἀπελύσαθʼ ὑμεῖς, ὁμολογοῦντος τοῦ Πολυεύκτου βαδίζειν εἰς Μέγαρʼ ὡς τὸν Νικοφάνην· ἔχειν γὰρ τὴν αὑτοῦ μητέρα τοῦτον. οὐδὲν οὖν ἄτοπον οὐδὲ δεινὸν ἐφαίνεθʼ ὑμῖν ποιεῖν τῷ τῆς μητρὸς ἀνδρὶ διαλεγόμενος ἠτυχηκότι καὶ συνευπορῶν, καθʼ ὅσον δυνατὸς ἦν, ἀπεστερημένῳ τῆς πατρίδος.
59. The report of the council, Demosthenes, was not proved false; it was quite true, but the jury decided to acquit Polyeuctus. The council was instructed to discover the truth, yet, as I say, the court decided whether it was a case for pardon. Is that any reason for distrusting the council over the present reports in which it has stated that you and your confederates are in possession of the gold? That would be disgraceful.
59. αὕτη, Δημόσθενες, τῆς βουλῆς ἡ ἀπόφασις οὐκ ἐξηλέγχθη ψευδὴς οὖσα, ἀληθινῆς δὲ αὐτῆς οὔσης ἔδοξε τοῖς δικασταῖς ἀφεῖναι τὸν Πολύευκτον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀληθὲς τῇ βουλῇ προσετάχθη ζητεῖν, τὸ δὲ συγγνώμης ἄξιόν φημι τὸ δικαστήριον ἔκρινε. διὰ τοῦτʼ οὐ πιστευτέον τῇ βουλῇ περὶ τῶν γιγνομένων ἀποφάσεων, ἐπειδή σε καὶ τοὺς μετὰ σοῦ τὸ χρυσίον ἔχοντας ἀποπέφαγκε; δεινὸν μέντʼ ἂν εἴη.
60. Convince the jury now, Demosthenes, that any of those crimes ranks with yours and that to take bribes against one's country is a pardonable act which would justify these men in acquitting you. For other pecuniary offences the laws prescribe damages twice as great as the sum involved, but in cases of bribery they have laid down two penalties only: either death, to ensure that by meeting with this punishment the guilty man is an example to others, or a fine for bribery ten times as great as the original bribe, so that men who dare to commit this offence shall not gain by it.
60. δεῖξον γὰρ τοῖς δικασταῖς σύ, Δημόσθενες, νυνὶ ὡς τούτων τι τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ὅμοιόν ἐστι τοῖς σοῖς ἀδικήμασι, καὶ ὡς τὸ δῶρα λαμβάνειν κατὰ τῆς πατρίδος συγγνώμης ἐστὶν ἄξιον, ὥστʼ ἀποφύγοις ἂν παρὰ τούτοις εἰκότως. ἀλλʼ οἱ νόμοι περὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἀδικημάτων τῶν εἰς ἀργυρίου λόγον ἀνηκόντων διπλῆν τὴν βλάβην ὀφλεῖν κελεύουσι, περὶ δὲ τῶν δωροδοκούντων δύο μόνον τιμήματα πεποιήκασιν, ἢ φάνατον, ἵνα ταύτης τυχὼν τῆς ζημίας ὁ λαβὼν παράδειγμα γένηται τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἢ δεκαπλοῦν τοῦ ἐξ ἀρχῆς λήμματος τὸ τίμημα τῶν δώρων, ἵνα μὴ λυσιτελήσῃ τοῖς τοῦτο τολμῶσι ποιεῖν.
61. Perhaps you will not attempt to argue thus, Demosthenes, but will say that of those whom the council has reported up till now the rest have admitted that the penalty which it imposed was deserved, whereas you alone have protested against it. But you alone, of all those ever reported, asked these men of your own accord to be your judges and court of inquiry. You proposed the decree against yourself and made the people witness of the agreement, defining the penalty for yourself as death, if the council should report that you had taken any of the money brought into the country by Harpalus.
61. ἢ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἐπιχειρήσεις λέγειν, ὅτι δὲ τῶν πρότερον ἀποφανθέντων ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς, τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ὡμολογηκέναι συμβέβηκεν ἀξίαν εἶναι τὴν τῆς βουλῆς ζημίαν, σοὶ δὲ μόνῳ τὰ περὶ αὐτῆς ἠναντιῶσθαι. ἀλλὰ μόνος σὺ τῶν πώποτʼ ἀποπεφασμένων ἠξίωσας ἑκὼν σεαυτῷ τούτους κριτὰς καὶ ζητητὰς γενέσθαι, καὶ ἔγραψας κατὰ σαυτοῦ τὸ ψήφισμα, καὶ τὸν δῆμον ἐποιήσω μάρτυρα τῶν ὡμολογημένων, ὁρισάμενος σεαυτῷ ζημίαν εἶναι θάνατον, ἐὰν ἀποφήνῃ ⟨σʼ⟩ ἡ βουλὴ τῶν χρημάτων εἰληφότα τι τῶν εἰς τὴν χώραν ὑφʼ Ἁρπάλου κομισθέντων.
62. And yet in the past, Demosthenes, you proposed that the council of the Areopagus should have power over all these men, and the rest of Athens too, to enforce the laws of the land and punish any who transgressed them. It was you who surrendered the whole city into the hands of this council which you will presently tell us is oligarchic. By the terms of your decree the death sentence has been inflicted on two citizens, a father and a son, who were given over to the executioner.
62. ἀλλὰ μὴν πρότερον ἔγραψας σύ, ὦ Δημόσθενες, κατὰ πάντων τούτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων κυρίαν εἶναι τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλὴν κολάσαι τὸν παρὰ τοὺς νόμους πλημμελοῦντα, χρωμένην τοῖς πατρίοις νόμοις· καὶ παρέδωκας σὺ καὶ ἐνεχείρισας τὴν πόλιν ἅπασαν ταύτῃ, ἣν αὐτίκα φήσεις ὀλιγαρχικὴν εἶναι· καὶ τεθνᾶσι κατὰ τὸ σὸν ψήφισμα δύο τῶν πολιτῶν, πατὴρ καὶ υἱός, παραδοθέντες τῷ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀρύγματι·
63. One of the descendants of Harmodius was imprisoned in pursuance of your order. These gentlemen, acting on the council's report, tortured and killed Antiphon. You expelled Charinus from the city for treason on the strength of the council's reports and punishments. After proposing this treatment for yourself also, are you now overriding the decree of your own accord? Surely that is neither just nor lawful.
63. ἐδέθη τῶν ἀφʼ Ἁρμοδίου γεγονότων εἷς κατὰ τὸ σὸν πρόσταγμα· ἐστρέβλωσαν Ἀντιφῶντα καὶ ἀπέκτειναν οὗτοι τῇ τῆς βουλῆς ἀποφάσει πεισθέντες· ἐξέβαλες σὺ Χαρῖνον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ προδοσίᾳ κατὰ τὰς τῆς βουλῆς ἀποφάσεις καὶ τιμωρίας. κατὰ δὲ σαυτοῦ καὶ ταῦτα γράψας αὐτὸς τὸ ψήφισμʼ ἀκυροῖς; καὶ ποῦ ταῦτα δίκαια ἢ νόμιμά ἐστι;
64. I summon as my witnesses, Athenians, the awful goddesses and their abode, the heroes of the land, Athena Polias, and those other gods who have obtained our city and countryside as their home, to show that when the people has consigned to you for punishment one who, against his country's interests, has accepted a part of the imported money, one who has defiled and ruined the city's prosperity and betrayed that country which he claimed to have fortified by his diplomacy, enemies, and those who bear the city ill will, would wish him alive, counting this a disaster for Athens; but all who favor your concerns and hope that with a turn of fortune the city's prospects may improve wish that this man may die and pay the penalty merited by his conduct, and such is the burden of their prayers.
64. μαρτύρομαι τὰς σεμνὰς θεάς, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τὸν τόπον ὃν ἐκεῖναι κατέχουσι, καὶ τοὺς ἥρωας τοὺς ἐγχωρίους, καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὴν Πολιάδα καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους θεοὺς οἳ τὴν χώραν καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν εἰλήχασιν, ὅτι τοῦ δήμου παραδεδωκότος ὑμῖν τιμωρήσασθαι τὸν εἰληφότα τι τῶν … κατὰ τῆς πατρίδος, τὸν λελυμασμένον καὶ ἐφθαρκότα τὴν τῆς πόλεως εὐδαιμονίαν, τὸν περικεχαρακωμένην προδεδωκότα τὴν πατρίδα ταῖς αὑτοῦ συμβουλίαις, [ὃν] οἱ μὲν ἐχθροὶ καὶ κακόνοι τῇ πόλει ζῆν ἂν βούλοιντο, συμφορὰν ἡγούμενοι τῆς πόλεως εἶναι, ὅσοι δὲ εὖνοι τοῖς ὑμετέροις πράγμασι, καὶ μεταπεσούσης τῆς τύχης ἐλπίζουσιν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον ἂν τὰ τῆς πόλεως πράγματʼ ἐλθεῖν, τὴν ἀξίαν δίκην δόντα τῶν πεπραγμένων ἀπολωλέναι βούλονται, καὶ ταῦτʼ εὔχονται τοῖς θεοῖς·
65. I also join in praying the gods to save our country, which I see to be in danger of forfeiting its safety, its women and children, its honor, and every other thing of worth.
65. οὓς κἀγὼ συμπαρακαλῶ σῶσαι τὴν πατρίδα, κινδυνεύουσαν ὁρῶν ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας, ὑπὲρ παίδων, ὑπὲρ γυναικῶν, ὑπὲρ δόξης, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν ἁπάντων.
66. What shall we say to the bystanders, Athenians, when we come out of the court, if you are deceived, as I pray you may not be, by the wizardry of this man? What will be the feelings of you all, when, on your return, you presume to look upon your fathers' hearths, after acquitting the traitor who first brought into his own home the gold of bribery; after convicting as utterly false, in both its inquiry and its conclusion, the body which all men hold in the greatest awe?
66. τί γὰρ ἐροῦμεν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, πρὸς τοὺς περιεστηκότας ἐξελθόντες ἐκ τοῦ δικαστηρίου, ἐάν, ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, παρακρουσθῆτε ὑπὸ τῆς τούτου γοητείας; τίσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν οἴκαδʼ ἀπελθὼν ἰδεῖν τολμήσει, ἀπολελυκότες μὲν τὸν προδότην τὸν πρῶτον εἰς τὸν ἴδιον οἶκον εἰσενεγκάμενον τὸ δεδωροδοκημένον χρυσίον, κατεγνωκότες δὲ μηδὲν ἀληθὲς μήτε ζητεῖν μήθʼ εὑρίσκειν τὸ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις εἶναι σεμνότατον νομιζόμενον συνέδριον;
67. What hopes, Athenians,—picture for yourselves,—what hopes shall we have if some danger overtakes the city, when we have made it a safe thing to take bribes against one's country and have robbed of its status the body which kept watch over the city in such times of crisis?
67. τίνας δʼ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, — σκοπεῖτε γὰρ πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτούς —, τίνας τὰς ἐλπίδας ἕξομεν, ἐὰν κίνδυνός τις καταλάβῃ τὴν πόλιν, τὸ μὲν δῶρα λαμβάνειν κατὰ τῆς πατρίδος ἀσφαλὲς εἶναι πεποιηκότες, τὸ δὲ τὴν φυλακὴν ἔχον συνέδριον τῆς πόλεως ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις κινδύνοις ἀδόκιμον καταστήσαντες;
68. Or again,—let us suppose this to happen,—what if Alexander, in pursuance of Demosthenes' decree, sends and asks us for the gold brought into the country by Harpalus, and, over and above the fact that the council has made a report, sends down here the slaves which have now been returned to him and asks us to find out the truth from them; what in Heaven's name shall we say, gentlemen?
68. τί δʼ ἐάν — τιθῶμεν γὰρ ταῦτα —, ἐὰν κατὰ τὸ ψήφισμα τὸ Δημοσθένους ἀπαιτῇ πέμψας ἡμᾶς Ἀλέξανδρος τὸ χρυσίον τὸ κομισθὲν εἰς τὴν χώραν ὑφʼ Ἁρπάλου, καὶ πρὸς τῷ γεγενῆσθαι τὴν τῆς βουλῆς ἀπόφασιν τοὺς παῖδας καταπέμψῃ πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς νῦν ὡς ἑαυτὸν ἀνακεκομισμένους, καὶ τούτων ἀξιοῖ πυνθάνεσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἡμᾶς, πρὸς θεῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες, τί ἐροῦμεν;
69. Will you propose, Demosthenes, that we go to war, in view of your success with the previous wars? Suppose the rest of Athens decides on this, which is fairer: for your gold to be available for war along with other people's or for others to contribute from their own property, melting down the personal ornaments of their wives, the cups and all the country's store of offerings to the gods, as you said you would suggest, though you yourself paid in fifty drachmas from your houses in Piraeus and the city? That has been your contribution under the last levy though now you have twenty talents.
69. γράψεις σύ, Δημόσθενες, πολεμεῖν ἡμᾶς, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τοὺς πρότερον πολέμους καλῶς διῴκησας; καὶ πότερόν ἐστι δικαιότερον, ἂν ταῦτα δόξῃ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἀθηναίοις, εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ὑπάρχειν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὸ παρὰ σοῦ χρυσίον, ἢ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδίων κτημάτων ἕκαστον εἰσφέρειν, καὶ καταχωνεύειν τὸν ἴδιον κόσμον τῶν γυναικῶν, καὶ τὰ ἐκπώματα, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ἀναθήματα τῶν θεῶν, ὥσπερ ἔφησθα σὺ γράψειν, αὐτὸς εἰσενεγκὼν πεντήκοντα δραχμὰς ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκίας τῆς ἐν Πειραιεῖ, καὶ τῆς ἐν ἄστει; τοσοῦτον γὰρ κατὰ τὴν προτέραν εἰσφορὰν εἰσενηνοχώς, εἴκοσι τάλαντʼ ἔχεις.
70. Perhaps you will not advocate war but advise us to follow out the decree which you proposed and give back to Alexander the gold brought to us? If so, it will be for your sake that the people have to restore it. It is surely neither just nor fair nor democratic that those who work should contribute, while you plunder and steal; that some should make no secret of the property they hold and make contributions proportionate to it, while you who have received more than a hundred and fifty talents, either from the King's money or from your association with Alexander, have no declared property in the city but have fortified yourself against the people as though you had no confidence in your own conduct of affairs.
70. ἢ πολεμεῖν μὲν οὐ γράψεις, ἀποδιδόναι δὲ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον ὑπὸ σοῦ ψήφισμα κελεύσεις Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τὸ κεκομισμένον χρυσίον; οὐκοῦν ὑπὲρ σοῦ τὸν δῆμον ἀποδιδόναι δεήσει. καὶ ποῦ τοῦτʼ ἐστὶ δίκαιον ἢ κοινὸν ἢ δημοτικόν, τοὺς μὲν ἐργαζομένους εἰσφέρειν, σὲ δʼ ἁρπάζειν καὶ κλέπτειν; καὶ τοὺς μὲν φανερὰν κεκτῆσθαι τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ ἀπὸ ταύτης εἰσφέρειν, σὲ δὲ πλείω ἢ πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν τάλαντα, τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν, τὰ δʼ ἐκ τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου πραγμάτων, εἰληφέναι, μηδὲν δὲ φανερὸν ἐν τῇ πόλει κεκτῆσθαι, ἀλλὰ διεσκευάσθαι πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ὡς οὐ πιστεύοντα τοῖς ἑαυτῷ πολιτευομένοις;
71. Is it right, when the laws demand that the orator or general who expects to get the people's confidence shall observe the laws in begetting children, shall own land within our boundaries, shall give all the lawful pledges and only thus lay claim to be the people's leader, that you should have sold the land inherited from your father or be claiming as yours children which are not your own, thus breaking the laws which govern oaths in court, and be ordering others to fight when you deserted the citizens' ranks yourself?
71. καὶ τοὺς μὲν νόμους προλέγειν τῷ ῥήτορι καὶ τῷ στρατηγῷ, ⟨τῷ⟩ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ δήμου πίστιν ἀξιοῦντι λαμβάνειν, παιδοποιεῖσθαι κατὰ τοὺς νόμους, γῆν ἐντὸς ὅρων κεκτῆσθαι, πάσας τὰς δικαίας πίστεις παρακαταθέμενον οὕτως ἀξιοῦν προεστάναι τοῦ δήμου· σὲ δὲ τὴν ⟨μὲν⟩ πατρῴαν γῆν πεπρακέναι, τοὺς δʼ οὐ γεγενημένους υἱεῖς σαυτῷ προσποιεῖσθαι παρὰ τοὺς νόμους τῶν ἐν ταῖς κρίσεσιν ἕνεκα γιγνομένων ὅρκων, ἐπιτάττειν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις στρατεύεσθαι λιπόντʼ αὐτὸν τὴν κοινὴν τάξιν.
72. What do you think it is, Athenians, that makes cities vary between good and evil fortunes? You will find only one cause: the counsellors and leaders. Take Thebes. It was a city; it became supreme. Under what leaders and generals? All the older men, on whose authority I shall give you the story, would admit that it was when Pelopidas, so they have it, led the Sacred Band and Epaminondas and their compeers were in command. It was then that Thebes won the battle of Leuctra, then that they invaded the Spartans' country which, it was thought, could not be ravaged. During that period they accomplished many fine achievements: founded Messene in the four hundredth year after its fall, gave the Arcadians self-government, and won a universal reputation.
72. ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, παρὰ τί οἴεσθε τὰς πόλεις τοτὲ μὲν εὖ τοτὲ δὲ φαύλως πράττειν; οὐδὲν εὑρήσετʼ ἄλλο πλὴν παρὰ τοὺς συμβούλους καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας. ἐπιβλέψατε δʼ ἐπὶ τὴν Θηβαίων πόλιν. ἐγένετο πόλις, ἐγένετο μεγίστη· καὶ τίνων τυχοῦσα ἡγεμόνων καὶ στρατηγῶν; ἅπαντες ἂν ὁμολογήσαιεν ⟨οἱ⟩ πρεσβύτεροι, παρʼ ὧνπερ κἀγὼ τοὺς λόγους ἀκούων ἐρῶ, ὅτε Πελοπίδας, ὥς φασιν, ἡγεῖτο τοῦ ἱεροῦ λόχου καὶ Ἐπαμινώνδας ἐστρατήγει καὶ οἱ μετὰ τούτων, τότε τὴν ἐν Λεύκτροις μάχην ἐνίκησεν ἡ τῶν Θηβαίων πόλις, τότʼ εἰς τὴν ἀπόρθητον νομιζομένην εἶναι Λακεδαιμονίων χώραν εἰσέβαλον, κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ διεπράξαντʼ ἔργα, Μεσσήνην τετρακοσιοστῷ ἔτει κατῴκισαν, Ἀρκάδας αὐτονόμους ἐποίησαν, ἔνδοξοι παρὰ πᾶσιν ἦσαν.
74. On the other hand when was their achievement despicable and unworthy of their spirit? When Timolaus, the friend of Demosthenes, was corrupted and took bribes from Philip, when the traitor Proxenus commanded the mercenaries enlisted at Amphissa and Theagenes was placed in command of the phalanx, a man of ill luck and, like the defendant here, open to bribes. Then, because of the three men whom I have mentioned, the whole city was destroyed and blotted from the face of Greece. Far from being false it is only too true that leaders are responsible for all the citizens' good fortunes and for the reverse.
74. πότε δʼ αὖ τοὐναντίον ταπεινὰ καὶ τοῦ φρονήματος ἀνάξια διεπράξαντο; ὅτʼ ἐδωροδόκει μὲν λαμβάνων χρήματα παρὰ Φιλίππου Τιμόλαος ὁ τούτου φίλος, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ξένοις τοῖς εἰς Ἄμφισσαν συλλεγεῖσι Πρόξενος ὁ προδότης ἐγένετο, ἡγεμὼν δὲ τῆς φάλαγγος κατέστη Θεαγένης, ἄνθρωπος ἀτυχὴς καὶ δωροδόκος ὥσπερ οὗτος. τότε διὰ τρεῖς γʼ ἀνθρώπους οὓς εἶπον ἅπασʼ ἡ πόλις ἐκ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀπώλετο καὶ διεφθάρη. οὐ γὰρ ψεῦδός ἐστιν ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν ἀληθὲς τὸ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας αἰτίους ἁπάντων γίγνεσθαι καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων τοῖς πολίταις.
75. Think again, this time of Athens, with the same points in mind. Our city was great, renowned in Greece, and worthy of our forbears, apart from the well-known exploits of the past, at the time when Conon triumphed, as our elders tell us, in the naval battle at Cnidus; when Iphicrates destroyed the Spartan company, when Chabrias defeated the Spartan triremes at sea off Naxos, when Timotheus won the sea battle off Corcyra.
75. θεωρήσατε δὴ πάλιν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας πόλεως, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐξετάσαντες. ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν ἦν μεγάλη καὶ ἔνδοξος παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ τῶν προγόνων ἀξία, μετά γε τὰς ἀρχαίας ἐκείνας πράξεις, ὅτε Κόνων, ὡς οἱ πρεσβύτεροι λέγουσιν, ἐνίκησε τὴν ἐν Κνίδῳ ναυμαχίαν, ὅτʼ Ἰφικράτης ἀνεῖλε τὴν Λακεδαιμονίων μόραν, ὅτε Χαβρίας ἐν Νάξῳ κατεναυμάχησε τὰς Λακεδαιμονίων τριήρεις, ὅτε Τιμόθεος τὴν ἐν Κερκύρᾳ ναυμαχίαν ἐνίκησε.
76. That was the time, Athenians, when the Spartans, once famous through the leaders in whose ways they had been schooled, came humbly to our city and begged our ancestors to save them; and the democracy which they had overthrown was made by the counsellors, whom we then had, the first power in Greece again: deservedly, in my belief; for they had found generals of the type I have just mentioned and had as advisers Archinus and Cephalus of Collytus. For the only salvation of a city or a nation is to find brave men to lead it and wise counsellors.
76. τότε, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, τότε οἱ μὲν πρότερον ὄντες λαμπροὶ διὰ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ ὑπὸ τοῖς ἐκείνων ἤθεσι τραφέντες ταπεινοὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν ἧκον, δεόμενοι τῆς παρὰ τῶν προγόνων ἡμῶν σωτηρίας, ὁ δὲ καταλυθεὶς ὑπʼ ἐκείνων δῆμος διὰ τοὺς τότε γενομένους παρʼ ἡμῖν συμβούλους πάλιν ἡγεμὼν ἦν τῶν Ἑλλήνων, δικαίως οἶμαι, στρατηγῶν μὲν τοιούτων τετυχηκὼς οἵων εἶπον ἀρτίως, συμβούλους δʼ ἔχων Ἀρχῖνον καὶ Κέφαλον τὸν Κολλυτέα. μία γὰρ αὕτη σωτηρία καὶ πόλεως καὶ ἔθνους ἐστί, τὸ προστατῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ συμβούλων σπουδαίων τυχεῖν.
77. It follows then, Athenians, that if you fully recognize this fact you should not surely be parties in future to Demosthenes' corruption and ill-luck or rest your hopes of security on him; you need not think that you will lack brave men or wise advisers. Let the anger of your forefathers be yours. Put to death this robber taken in the act, this traitor who does not withhold his hands from the gold brought into Athens but has cast the city into the direst misfortunes, this arch-criminal of Greece. Have his body cast beyond the city's borders, give her fortunes a chance to mend, and then, with this accomplished, expect a happier lot.
77. διόπερ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, δεῖ ταῦθʼ ὑμᾶς ὁρῶντας καὶ λογιζομένους μὴ μὰ Δία τὸν πλείω χρόνον τῆς Δημοσθένους δωροδοκίας καὶ ἀτυχίας κοινωνεῖν, μηδʼ ἐν τούτῳ τὰς ἐλπίδας τῆς σωτηρίας ἔχειν, μηδʼ οἴεσθαι ἀπορήσειν ἀνδρῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ συμβούλων σπουδαίων, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῶν προγόνων λαβόντας ὀργὴν τὸν ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ κλέπτην εἰλημμένον καὶ προδότην, τὸν οὐκ ἀπεχόμενον τῶν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀφικνουμένων χρημάτων, τὸν εἰς τὰς δεινοτάτας ἀτυχίας ἐμβεβληκότα τὴν πόλιν, τὸν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀλιτήριον ἀποκτείναντας ἐξόριστον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ποιῆσαι, καὶ μεταβαλέσθαι τὴν τῆς πόλεως τύχην ἐᾶσαι, καὶ προσδοκῆσαι τούτων γενομένων βέλτιον πράξειν.