1. So then, concerning the team of horses —that my father was in possession of them, not by having taken them away from Teisias, but by having purchased them from the Argive state—you have heard both the Argive ambassadors and the others conversant with the facts testify. But in just this same fashion all are accustomed maliciously to accuse me.
1. … περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ ζεύγους τῶν ἵππων, ὡς οὐκ ἀφελόμενος ὁ πατὴρ Τεισίαν εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ πριάμενος παρὰ τῆς πόλεως τῆς Ἀργείων, τῶν τε πρέσβεων τῶν ἐκεῖθεν ἡκόντων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν εἰδότων ἀκηκόατε μαρτυρούντων· τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον ἅπαντές εἰσιν εἰθισμένοι με συκοφαντεῖν.
2. For they obtain leave to bring actions against me on private complaints, but make their accusations on behalf of the interests of the state, and they spend more time in slandering my father than they do in informing you with respect to their sworn charges; and so great is their contempt of the law that they claim personal satisfaction from me for the wrongs which, as they say, you suffered at my father’s hands.
2. τὰς μὲν γὰρ δίκας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἰδίων ἐγκλημάτων λαγχάνουσι, τὰς δὲ κατηγορίας ὑπὲρ τῶν τῆς πόλεως πραγμάτων ποιοῦνται, καὶ πλείω χρόνον διατρίβουσι τὸν πατέρα μου διαβάλλοντες ἢ περὶ ὧν ἀντώμοσαν διδάσκοντες, καὶ τοσοῦτον καταφρονοῦσι τῶν νόμων ὥστε περὶ ὧν ὑμᾶς ὑπʼ ἐκείνου φασὶν ἠδικῆσθαι, τούτων αὐτοὶ δίκην παρʼ ἐμοῦ λαβεῖν ἀξιοῦσιν.
3. But it is my opinion that charges involving the public interest have nothing to do with private suits; but as Teisias often reproaches me with my father’s banishment, and is more zealous concerning your affairs than he is regarding his own, I must address my defense to these matters. Certainly I should be ashamed, if I were to seem to any of my fellow-citizens to have less concern for my father’s good name than for my own peril.
3. ἐγὼ δʼ ἡγοῦμαι μὲν οὐδὲν προσήκειν τὰς κοινὰς αἰτίας τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀγῶσιν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ Τεισίας πολλάκις ὀνειδίζει μοι τὴν φυγὴν τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ τῶν ὑμετέρων ἢ τῶν αὑτοῦ σπουδάζει πραγμάτων, ἀνάγκη πρὸς ταῦτα τὴν ἀπολογίαν ποιεῖσθαι· καὶ γὰρ ἂν αἰσχυνοίμην, εἴ τῳ δόξαιμι τῶν πολιτῶν ἧττον φροντίζειν τῆς ἐκείνου δόξης ἢ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ κινδύνων.
4. Now so far as the older men are concerned, a brief statement could have sufficed: for they all know that the same men were responsible for the destruction of the democracy and for my father’s exile; but for the benefit of the younger men, who have lived after the events and have often heard the slanderers, I will begin my exposition from an earlier time.
4. πρὸς μὲν οὖν τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους βραχὺς ἂν ἐξήρκει λόγος· ἅπαντες γὰρ ἴσασιν ὅτι διὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἄνδρας ἥ τε δημοκρατία κατελύθη κἀκεῖνος ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξέπεσεν· τῶν δὲ νεωτέρων ἕνεκα, οἳ τῶν μὲν πραγμάτων ὕστεροι γεγόνασι τῶν δὲ διαβαλλόντων πολλάκις ἀκηκόασι, πορρωτέρωθεν ἄρξομαι διδάσκειν.
5. Now the persons who first plotted against the democracy and established the Four Hundred, inasmuch as my father, although he was repeatedly invited to join them would not do so, seeing that he was a vigorous opponent of their activities and a loyal supporter of the people, judged that they were powerless to upset the established order until he was removed out of their way.
5. οἱ γὰρ τὸ πρῶτον ἐπιβουλεύσαντες τῷ δήμῳ καὶ καταστήσαντες τοὺς τετρακοσίους, ἐπειδὴ παρακαλούμενος ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἤθελε γενέσθαι μετʼ αὐτῶν, ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς τὰς πράξεις ἐρρωμένως ἔχοντα καὶ πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος πιστῶς διακείμενον, οὐχ ἡγοῦντʼ οὐδὲν οἷοί τʼ εἶναι κινεῖν τῶν καθεστώτων, πρὶν ἐκποδὼν ἐκεῖνος αὐτοῖς γένοιτο.
6. And since they knew that in matters pertaining to the gods the city would be most enraged if any man should be shown to be violating the Mysteries, and that in other matters if any man should dare to attempt the overthrow of the democracy, they combined both these charges and tried to bring an action of impeachment before the senate. They asserted that my father was holding meetings of his political club with a view to revolution, and that these members of the club, when dining together in the house of Pulytion, had given a performance of the Mysteries.
6. εἰδότες δὲ τὴν πόλιν τῶν μὲν περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς μάλιστʼ ἂν ὀργισθεῖσαν, εἴ τις εἰς τὰ μυστήρια φαίνοιτʼ ἐξαμαρτάνων, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων εἴ τις τὴν δημοκρατίαν τολμῴη καταλύειν, ἀμφοτέρας ταύτας συνθέντες τὰς αἰτίας εἰσήγγελλον εἰς τὴν βουλήν, λέγοντες ὡς ὁ πατὴρ μὲν συνάγοι τὴν ἑταιρείαν ἐπὶ νεωτέροις πράγμασιν, οὗτοι δʼ ἐν τῇ Πουλυτίωνος οἰκίᾳ συνδειπνοῦντες τὰ μυστήρια ποιήσειαν.
7. The city was greatly excited by reason of the gravity of the charges, and a meeting of the Assembly was hastily called at which my father so clearly proved that the accusers were lying that the people would have been glad to punish them, and furthermore elected him general for the Sicilian expedition. Thereupon he sailed away, judging that he had been already cleared of their calumnies; but his accusers, having united the Council and having made the public speakers subservient to themselves, again revived the matter and suborned informers.
7. ὀρθῆς δὲ τῆς πόλεως γενομένης διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν αἰτιῶν καὶ διὰ ταχέων συλλεγείσης ἐκκλησίας οὕτω σαφῶς ἐπέδειξεν αὐτοὺς ψευδομένους, ὥστε παρὰ μὲν τῶν κατηγόρων ἡδέως ἂν ὁ δῆμος δίκην ἔλαβε, τὸν δʼ εἰς Σικελίαν στρατηγὸν ἐχειροτόνησεν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦθʼ ὁ μὲν ἐξέπλευσεν ὡς ἀπηλλαγμένος ἤδη τῆς διαβολῆς, οἱ δὲ συστήσαντες τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τοὺς ῥήτορας ὑφʼ αὑτοῖς ποιησάμενοι πάλιν ἤγειρον τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ μηνυτὰς εἰσέπεμπον.
8. Why need I say more? They did not cease until they had recalled my father from the expedition and had put to death some of his friends and had banished others from the city. But when he had learned the power of his enemies and the misfortunes of his friends, although he was of opinion that he was being grossly wronged because they would not try him when he was in Athens but were for condemning him in his absence, not even in these circumstances did my father see fit to desert to the enemy;
8. καὶ τί δεῖ μακρολογεῖν; οὐ γὰρ πρότερον ἐπαύσαντο, πρὶν τόν τε πατέρʼ ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου μετεπέμψαντο, καὶ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ τοὺς μὲν ἀπέκτειναν, τοὺς δʼ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξέβαλον. πυθόμενος δὲ τήν τε τῶν ἐχθρῶν δύναμιν καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων συμφοράς, καὶ νομίζων δεινὰ πάσχειν ὅτι παρόντα μὲν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔκρινον, ἀπόντος δὲ κατεγίγνωσκον, οὐδʼ ὣς ἀπελθεῖν ἠξίωσεν εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους·
9. on the contrary, even in exile he was so scrupulous to avoid injuring his city that he went to Argos and remained quietly there. But his enemies reached such a pitch of insolence that they persuaded you to banish him from Greece entirely, to inscribe his name on a column as a traitor, and to send envoys to demand his surrender by the Argives. And he, being at a loss to know what to do in the misfortunes which encompassed him and everywhere hemmed him in, as he saw no other means of safety, was compelled at last to take refuge with the Lacedaemonians.
9. ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνος μὲν τοσαύτην πρόνοιαν ἔσχεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲ φεύγων μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτεῖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὥστʼ εἰς Ἄργος ἐλθὼν ἡσυχίαν εἶχεν, οἱ δʼ εἰς τοσοῦτον ὕβρεως ἦλθον, ὥστʼ ἔπεισαν ὑμᾶς ἐλαύνειν αὐτὸν ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ στηλίτην ἀναγράφειν καὶ πρέσβεις πέμποντας ἐξαιτεῖν παρʼ Ἀργείων. ἀπορῶν δʼ ὅ τι χρήσαιτο τοῖς παροῦσι κακοῖς καὶ πανταχόθεν εἰργόμενος καὶ σωτηρίας οὐδεμιᾶς ἄλλης αὐτῷ φαινομένης τελευτῶν ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους ἠναγκάσθη καταφυγεῖν.
10. These are the actual facts; but such an excess of insolence have my father’s enemies that they accuse him, who was exiled in so illegal a manner as if he had committed outrageous crimes, and try to ruin his reputation by saying that he caused the fortification of Decelea, and the revolt of the islands, and that he became the enemy’s counsellor.
10. καὶ τὰ μὲν γενόμενα ταῦτʼ ἐστίν· τοσοῦτον δὲ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τῆς ὕβρεως περίεστιν, ὥσθʼ οὕτως ἀνόμως τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπεσόντος ὡς δεινὰ δεδρακότος αὐτοῦ κατηγοροῦσι, καὶ διαβάλλειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν ὡς Δεκέλειάν τʼ ἐπετείχισε καὶ τὰς νήσους ἀπέστησε καὶ τῶν πολεμίων διδάσκαλος κατέστη.
11. And sometimes they pretend to despise him, saying that in no respect did he excel his contemporaries; yet at the present time they blame him for all that has happened and say that the Lacedaemonians have learned from him the art of war—they who can teach the rest of the world this accomplishment! As for me, if I had sufficient time, I could easily prove that some of those things he did justly, but that others are unjustly imputed to him. Yet the most shocking thing that could happen would be this—if, while after his exile my father was recompensed, I, because he was exiled, should be penalized.
11. καὶ ἐνίοτε μὲν αὐτοῦ προσποιοῦνται καταφρονεῖν, λέγοντες ὡς οὐδὲν διέφερε τῶν ἄλλων, νυνὶ δʼ ἁπάντων αὐτὸν τῶν γεγενημένων αἰτιῶνται καί φασι παρʼ ἐκείνου μαθεῖν Λακεδαιμονίους ὡς χρὴ πολεμεῖν, οἳ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους διδάσκειν τέχνην ἔχουσιν. ἐγὼ δʼ εἴ μοι χρόνος ἱκανὸς γένοιτο, ῥᾳδίως ἂν αὐτὸν ἐπιδείξαιμι τὰ μὲν δικαίως πράξαντα, τῶν δʼ ἀδίκως αἰτίαν ἔχοντα. πάντων δʼ ἂν εἴη δεινότατον, εἰ τοῦ πατρὸς μετὰ τὴν φυγὴν δωρεὰν λαβόντος ἐγὼ διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου φυγὴν ζημιωθείην.
12. I think, however, that in justice he should obtain from you a full pardon; for you, when banished by the Thirty Tyrants, experienced the same misfortunes as he. Wherefore you should reflect how each of you was affected, what thoughts you each had, and what peril each would not have undergone so as to bring his own banishment to an end and to return to his native land, and to be avenged on those who banished him.
12. ἡγοῦμαι δʼ αὐτὸν παρʼ ὑμῶν δικαίως ἂν πλείστης συγγνώμης τυγχάνειν· ὑπὸ γὰρ τῶν τριάκοντʼ ἐκπεσόντες ταῖς αὐταῖς ἐκείνῳ συμφοραῖς ἐχρήσασθε. ἐξ ὧν ἐνθυμεῖσθαι χρή, πῶς ἕκαστος ὑμῶν διέκειτο καὶ τίνα γνώμην εἶχε καὶ ποῖον κίνδυνον οὐκ ἂν ὑπέμεινεν ὥστε παύσασθαι μὲν μετοικῶν, κατελθεῖν δʼ εἰς τὴν πατρίδα, τιμωρήσασθαι δὲ τοὺς ἐκβαλόντας.
13. To what city, or friend, or stranger did you not apply, to entreat them to help you to get back to your country? From what effort did you abstain in your endeavors to be restored? Did you not seize the Piraeus and destroy the crops in the fields and harry the land and set fire to the suburbs and finally assault the walls?
13. ἐπὶ τίνα δʼ ἢ πόλιν ἢ φίλον ἢ ξένον οὐκ ἤλθετε δεησόμενοι συγκαταγαγεῖν ὑμᾶς; τίνος δʼ ἀπέσχεσθε πειρώμενοι κατελθεῖν; οὐ καταλαβόντες τὸν Πειραιᾶ καὶ τὸν σῖτον τὸν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ διεφθείρετε καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐτέμνετε καὶ τὰ προάστεια ἐνεπρήσατε καὶ τελευτῶντες τοῖς τείχεσι προσεβάλετε;
14. And so vehemently did you believe that these actions were justifiable that you were more indignant with those of your fellow-exiles who were inactive than with those who had been the authors of your misfortunes. It is not fair, therefore, to censure those who wanted the same things which you desired, nor yet to regard all those men as base who, when they were exiles, sought to return, but much more should you condemn those oligarchs who, remaining in Athens, did deeds which deserved the penalty of exile; nor is it fair that you, in judging what sort of citizen my father was, should begin at the time when he had no art in the city’s affairs;
14. καὶ ταῦθʼ οὕτω σφόδρʼ ἐνομίζετε χρῆναι ποιεῖν, ὥστε τοῖς ἡσυχίαν ἄγουσι τῶν συμφυγάδων μᾶλλον ὠργίζεσθε ἢ τοῖς αἰτίοις τῶν συμφορῶν γεγενημένοις. ὥστʼ οὐκ εἰκὸς ἐπιτιμᾶν τοῖς τῶν αὐτῶν ὑμῖν ἐπιθυμοῦσιν, οὐδὲ κακοὺς ἄνδρας νομίζειν, ὅσοι φεύγοντες κατελθεῖν ἐζήτησαν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον ὅσοι μένοντες φυγῆς ἄξιʼ ἐποίησαν· οὐδʼ ἐντεῦθεν ἀρξαμένους κρίνειν, ὁποῖός τις ἦν ὁ πατὴρ πολίτης, ὅτʼ οὐδὲν αὐτῷ τῆς πόλεως προσῆκεν, ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ ἐκείνου τοῦ χρόνου σκοπεῖν οἷος ἦν πρὶν φυγεῖν περὶ τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ ὅτι διακοσίους ὁπλίτας ἔχων τὰς μεγίστας πόλεις τῶν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ Λακεδαιμονίων μὲν ἀπέστησεν, ὑμῖν δὲ συμμάχους ἐποίησε, καὶ εἰς οἵους κινδύνους αὐτοὺς κατέστησε, καὶ ὡς περὶ Σικελίαν ἐστρατήγησεν.
15. on the contrary, you should look to that earlier time and observe how he served the people before his exile, and call to mind that with two hundred heavy-armed soldiers he caused the most powerful cities in the Peloponnesus to revolt from the Lacedaemonians, and brought them into alliance with you, and in what perils he involved the Lacedaemonians themselves, and how he behaved as general in Sicily. For these services he is deserving of your gratitude; but for that which happened when he was in misfortune it is those who banished him whom you would justly hold responsible. Remember, too, I beg you, the many benefits he conferred upon the city after his return from exile, and, even before that time, the state of affairs here when you received him back: the democracy had been overthrown, the citizens were in a state of civil war, the army was disaffected toward the government established here, and both parties had reached such a state of madness that neither had any hope of salvation.
15. τούτων μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνῳ προσήκει χάριν ὑμᾶς ἔχειν· τῶν δʼ ἐν τῇ συμφορᾷ γενομένων τοὺς ἐκβαλόντας αὐτὸν δικαίως ἂν αἰτίους νομίζοιτε. ἀναμνήσθητε δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, ἐπειδὴ κατῆλθεν, ὡς πόλλʼ ἀγαθὰ τὴν πόλιν ἐποίησεν, ἔτι δὲ πρότερον, ὡς ἐχόντων τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτὸν κατεδέξασθε, καταλελυμένου μὲν τοῦ δήμου, στασιαζόντων δὲ τῶν πολιτῶν, διαφερομένων δὲ τῶν στρατιωτῶν πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς τὰς ἐνθάδε καθεστηκυίας, εἰς τοῦτο δὲ μανίας ἀμφοτέρων ἀφιγμένων ὥστε μηδετέροις μηδεμίαν ἐλπίδʼ εἶναι σωτηρίας·
17. For the one party regarded those who were in possession of the city as greater enemies than the Lacedaemonians and the other were making overtures to the Spartan forces in Decelea, judging that it was preferable to hand over their country to its enemies rather than to give a share in the rights of citizenship to those who were fighting for the city.
17. οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ἔχοντας τὴν πόλιν ἐχθροὺς ἐνόμιζον μᾶλλον ἢ Λακεδαιμονίους, οἱ δὲ τοὺς ἐκ Δεκελείας μετεπέμποντο, ἡγούμενοι κρεῖττον εἶναι τοῖς πολεμίοις τὴν πατρίδα παραδοῦναι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως στρατευομένοις τῆς πολιτείας μεταδοῦναι.
18. Such was the state of mind of the citizens: the enemy was in control of land and sea; your financial resources were exhausted, while the Persian king was supplying them with funds; furthermore, ninety ships had come from Phoenicia to Aspendus and were prepared to aid the Lacedaemonians. By so many misfortunes and such perils was the city beset when the army summoned my father, and he did not treat them with disdain in their plight, nor did he rebuke them for the past, nor did he deliberate about the future; on the contrary, he chose at once to suffer any misfortune with his country rather than to enjoy prosperity with the Lacedaemonians, and he made it manifest to all that he was warring on those who had banished him and not on you, and that his heart was set on a return to Athens and not on her ruin.
18. τοιαύτην μὲν οὖν τῶν πολιτῶν γνώμην ἐχόντων, κρατούντων δὲ τῶν πολεμίων καὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ τῆς θαλάττης, ἔτι δὲ χρημάτων ὑμῖν μὲν οὐκ ὄντων, ἐκείνοις δὲ βασιλέως παρέχοντος, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐνενήκοντα νεῶν ἐκ Φοινίκης εἰς Ἄσπενδον ἡκουσῶν καὶ παρεσκευασμένων Λακεδαιμονίοις βοηθεῖν, ἐν τοσαύταις συμφοραῖς καὶ τοιούτοις κινδύνοις τῆς πόλεως οὔσης, μεταπεμψαμένων αὐτὸν τῶν στρατιωτῶν οὐκ ἐσεμνύνατʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσιν, οὐδʼ ἐμέμψατο περὶ τῶν γεγενημένων, οὐδʼ ἐβουλεύσατο περὶ τῶν μελλόντων, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς εἵλετο μετὰ τῆς πόλεως ὁτιοῦν πάσχειν μᾶλλον ἢ μετὰ Λακεδαιμονίων εὐτυχεῖν, καὶ πᾶσι φανερὸν ἐποίησεν ὅτι τοῖς ἐκβαλοῦσιν ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὑμῖν ἐπολέμει, καὶ ὅτι κατελθεῖν ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀπολέσαι τὴν πόλιν ἐπεθύμει.
20. Having thrown in his lot with you, he persuaded Tissaphernes not to furnish the Lacedaemonians with money, checked the defection of your allies, distributed pay from his own resources to the soldiers, restored political power to the people, reconciled the citizens, and turned back the Phoenician fleet.
20. γενόμενος δὲ μεθʼ ὑμῶν ἔπεισε μὲν Τισσαφέρνην μὴ παρέχειν χρήματα Λακεδαιμονίοις, ἔπαυσε δὲ τοὺς συμμάχους ὑμῶν ἀφισταμένους, διέδωκε δὲ παρʼ αὑτοῦ μισθὸν τοῖς στρατιώταις, ἀπέδωκε δὲ τῷ δήμῳ τὴν πολιτείαν, διήλλαξε δὲ τοὺς πολίτας, ἀπέστρεψε δὲ τὰς ναῦς τὰς Φοινίσσας.
21. As to his later services, it would be an arduous task to enumerate them one by one—all the ships of war that he subsequently captured, or the battles that he won, or the cities he took by storm or by persuasion made your friends. But although innumerable dangers beset the city at that time, never did the enemy erect a trophy of victory over you while my father was your leader.
21. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα καθʼ ἕκαστον μέν, ὅσας τριήρεις ἔλαβεν ἢ μάχας ἐνίκησεν ἢ πόλεις κατὰ κράτος εἷλεν ἢ λόγῳ πείσας φίλας ὑμῖν ἐποίησε, πολὺ ἂν ἔργον εἴη λέγειν· πλείστων δὲ κινδύνων τῇ πόλει κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν γενομένων οὐδεπώποτε τοῦ πατρὸς ἡγουμένου τρόπαιον ὑμῶν ἔστησαν οἱ πολέμιοι.
22. I am aware that I am omitting many of my father’s exploits as your general; I have not recounted them in detail because nearly all of you recall the facts. But my father’s private life they revile with excessive indecency and audacity, and they are not ashamed, now that he is dead, to use a license of speech concerning him which they would have feared to employ while he lived. Nay, they have come to such a pitch of folly that they think they will win repute with both you and with the world at large if they indulge in the wildest possible abuse of him; as if all did not know that it is in the power of the vilest of men to abuse with insulting words, not only the best of men, but even the gods.
22. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐστρατηγημένων οἶδα μὲν ὅτι πολλὰ παραλείπω, διὰ τοῦτο δʼ οὐκ ἀκριβῶς εἴρηκα περὶ αὐτῶν, ὅτι σχεδὸν ἅπαντες μνημονεύετε τὰ πραχθέντα. λοιδοροῦσι δὲ λίαν ἀσελγῶς καὶ θρασέως καὶ τὸν ἄλλον βίον τὸν τοῦ πατρός, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνονται τοιαύτῃ παρρησίᾳ χρώμενοι περὶ τοῦ τεθνεῶτος, ἣν ἔδεισαν ἂν ποιήσασθαι περὶ ζῶντος, ἀλλʼ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀνοίας ἐληλύθασιν, ὥστʼ οἴονται καὶ παρʼ ὑμῖν καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις εὐδοκιμήσειν, ἢν ὡς ἂν δύνωνται πλεῖστα περὶ αὐτοῦ βλασφημήσωσιν, ὥσπερ οὐ πάντας εἰδότας ὅτι καὶ τοῖς φαυλοτάτοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔξεστιν οὐ μόνον περὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἀρίστων ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν θεῶν ὑβριστικοὺς λόγους εἰπεῖν.
24. Perhaps it is foolish for me to take to heart all that has been said; nevertheless, I desire very much to recount to you my father’s private pursuits, going back a little to make mention of his ancestors, that you may know that from early times our standing and services have been the greatest and most honorable among the citizens of Athens.
24. ἴσως μὲν οὖν ἀνόητόν ἐστιν ἁπάντων τῶν εἰρημένων φροντίζειν· ὅμως δʼ οὐχ ἥκιστʼ ἐπιθυμῶ περὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς διελθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, μικρὸν προλαβὼν καὶ τῶν προγόνων ἐπιμνησθείς, ἵνʼ ἐπίστησθʼ ὅτι πόρρωθεν ἡμῖν ὑπάρχει μέγιστα καὶ κάλλιστα τῶν πολιτῶν.
25. My father on the male side belonged to the Eupatrids, whose noble birth is apparent from the very name. On the female side he was of the Alcmeonidae, who left behind a glorious memorial of their wealth; for Alcmeon was the first Athenian to win at Olympia with a team of horses, and the goodwill which they had toward the people they displayed in the time of the tyrants. For they were kinsmen of Pisistratus and before he came to power were closest to him of all the citizens, but they refused to share his tyranny; on the contrary, they preferred exile rather than to see their fellow-citizens enslaved.
25. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ πρὸς μὲν ἀνδρῶν ἦν Εὐπατριδῶν, ὧν τὴν εὐγένειαν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐπωνυμίας ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι, πρὸς γυναικῶν δʼ Ἀλκμεωνιδῶν, οἳ τοῦ μὲν πλούτου μέγιστον μνημεῖον κατέλιπον, ἵππων γὰρ ζεύγει πρῶτος Ἀλκμέων τῶν πολιτῶν Ὀλυμπίασιν ἐνίκησε, τὴν δʼ εὔνοιαν ἣν εἶχον εἰς τὸ πλῆθος, ἐν τοῖς τυραννικοῖς ἐπεδείξαντο· συγγενεῖς γὰρ ὄντες Πεισιστράτου καὶ πρὶν εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν καταστῆναι μάλιστʼ αὐτῷ χρώμενοι τῶν πολιτῶν, οὐκ ἠξίωσαν μετασχεῖν τῆς ἐκείνου τυραννίδος, ἀλλʼ εἵλοντο φυγεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς πολίτας ἰδεῖν δουλεύοντας.
26. And during the forty years of civic discord the Alcmeonidae were hated so much more bitterly than all other Athenians by the tyrants that whenever the tyrants had the upper hand they not only razed their dwellings, but even dug up their tombs; and so completely were the Alcmeonidae trusted by their fellow-exiles that they continued during all that time to be leaders of the people. At last, Alcibiades and Cleisthenes —the former my great-grandfather on my father’s side, the latter my father’s maternal great-grandfather—assuming the leadership of those in exile, restored the people to their country, and drove out the tyrants. And they established that democratic form of government which so effectively trained the citizens in bravery that single-handed they conquered in battle the barbarians who had attacked all Greece and they won so great renown for justice that the Greeks voluntarily put in their hands the dominion of the sea; and they made Athens so great in her power and her other resources that those who allege that she is the capital of Greece and habitually apply to her similar exaggerated expressions appear to be speaking the truth.
26. τετταράκοντα δʼ ἔτη τῆς στάσεως γενομένης ὑπὸ μὲν τῶν τυράννων τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων ἐμισήθησαν, ὥσθʼ ὁπότε τἀκείνων κρατήσειεν, οὐ μόνον τὰς οἰκίας αὐτῶν κατέσκαπτον ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς τάφους ἀνώρυττον, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν συμφυγάδων οὕτω σφόδρʼ ἐπιστεύθησαν, ὥσθʼ ἅπαντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον ἡγούμενοι τοῦ δήμου διετέλεσαν. καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον Ἀλκιβιάδης καὶ Κλεισθένης, ὁ μὲν πρὸς πατρός, ὁ δὲ πρὸς μητρὸς ὢν πρόπαππος τοῦ πατρὸς τοὐμοῦ, στρατηγήσαντες τῆς φυγῆς κατήγαγον τὸν δῆμον καὶ τοὺς τυράννους ἐξέβαλον, καὶ κατέστησαν ἐκείνην τὴν δημοκρατίαν, ἐξ ἧς οἱ πολῖται πρὸς μὲν ἀνδρίαν οὕτως ἐπαιδεύθησαν ὥστε τοὺς βαρβάρους τοὺς ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἐλθόντας τὴν Ἑλλάδα μόνοι νικᾶν μαχόμενοι, περὶ δὲ δικαιοσύνης τοσαύτην δόξαν ἔλαβον ὥσθʼ ἑκόντας αὐτοῖς τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐγχειρίσαι τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς θαλάττης, τὴν δὲ πόλιν τηλικαύτην τὸ μέγεθος ἐποίησαν καὶ τῇ δυνάμει καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις κατασκευαῖς ὥστε τοὺς φάσκοντας αὐτὴν ἄστυ τῆς Ἑλλάδος εἶναι καὶ τοιαύταις ὑπερβολαῖς εἰθισμένους χρῆσθαι δοκεῖν ἀληθῆ λέγειν.
28. Now this friendship with the people, which was, as I have shown, so ancient, genuine, and based upon services of the greatest importance, my father inherited from his ancestors. My father himself was left an orphan (for his father died in battle at Coronea ) and became the ward of Pericles, whom all would acknowledge to have been the most moderate, the most just, and the wisest of the citizens. For I count this also among his blessings that, being of such origin, he was fostered, reared, and educated under the guardianship of a man of such character.
28. τὴν μὲν οὖν φιλίαν τὴν πρὸς τὸν δῆμον οὕτω παλαιὰν καὶ γνησίαν καὶ διὰ τὰς μεγίστας εὐεργεσίας γεγενημένην παρὰ τῶν προγόνων παρέλαβεν· αὐτὸς δὲ κατελείφθη μὲν ὀρφανός, ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ μαχόμενος ἐν Κορωνείᾳ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπέθανεν, ἐπετροπεύθη δʼ ὑπὸ Περικλέους, ὃν πάντες ἂν ὁμολογήσειαν καὶ σωφρονέστατον καὶ δικαιότατον καὶ σοφώτατον γενέσθαι τῶν πολιτῶν. ἡγοῦμαι γὰρ καὶ τοῦτʼ εἶναι τῶν καλῶν, ἐκ τοιούτων γενόμενον ὑπὸ τοιούτοις ἤθεσιν ἐπιτροπευθῆναι καὶ τραφῆναι καὶ παιδευθῆναι.
29. When he was admitted to citizenship, he showed himself not inferior to those whom I have mentioned, nor did he think it fitting that he should lead a life of ease, pluming himself upon the brave deeds of his ancestors; on the contrary, from the beginning he was so fired with ambition that he thought that even their great deeds should be held in remembrance through his own. And first of all, when Phormio led a thousand of the flower of Athenian soldiers to Thrace, my father served with this expedition, and so distinguished himself in the perilous actions of the campaign that he was crowned and received a full suit of armour from his general.
29. δοκιμασθεὶς δʼ οὐκ ἐνδεέστερος ἐγένετο τῶν προειρημένων, οὐδʼ ἠξίωσεν αὐτὸς μὲν ῥᾳθύμως ζῆν, σεμνύνεσθαι δʼ ἐπὶ ταῖς τῶν προγόνων ἀρεταῖς, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς οὕτω μέγʼ ἐφρόνησεν, ὥστʼ ᾠήθη δεῖν διʼ αὑτὸν καὶ τἀκείνων ἔργα μνημονεύεσθαι. καὶ πρῶτον μέν, ὅτε Φορμίων ἐξήγαγεν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης χιλίους Ἀθηναίων, ἐπιλεξάμενος τοὺς ἀρίστους, μετὰ τούτων στρατευσάμενος τοιοῦτος ἦν ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις ὥστε στεφανωθῆναι καὶ πανοπλίαν λαβεῖν παρὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ.
30. Really what is required of the man who is thought worthy of the highest praise? Should he not, when serving with the bravest of the citizens, be thought worthy of the prize of valor, and when leading an army against the best of the Greeks in all the battles show his superiority to them? My father, then, in his youth did win that prize of valor and in later life did achieve the latter.
30. καίτοι τί χρὴ τὸν τῶν μεγίστων ἐπαίνων ἄξιον; οὐ μετὰ μὲν τῶν βελτίστων ἐκ τῆς πόλεως στρατευόμενον ἀριστείων ἀξιοῦσθαι, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς κρατίστους τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀντιστρατηγοῦντʼ ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς κινδύνοις αὐτῶν φαίνεσθαι περιγιγνόμενον; ἐκεῖνος τοίνυν τῶν μὲν νέος ὢν ἔτυχε, τὰ δʼ ἐπειδὴ πρεσβύτερος ἦν ἔπραξεν.
31. After this he married my mother; and I believe that in her he also won a glorious prize of valor. For her father was Hipponicus, first in wealth of all the Greeks and second in birth to none of the citizens, most honored and admired of his contemporaries. The richest dowry and fairest reputation went with his daughter’s hand; and although all coveted union with her, and only the greatest thought themselves worthy, it was my father whom Hipponicus chose from among them all and desired to make his son-in-law.
31. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν ἔγημεν· ἡγοῦμαι γὰρ καὶ ταύτην ἀριστεῖον αὐτὸν λαβεῖν. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτῆς Ἱππόνικος, πλούτῳ μὲν πρῶτος ὢν τῶν Ἑλλήνων, γένει δʼ οὐδενὸς ὕστερος τῶν πολιτῶν, τιμώμενος δὲ καὶ θαυμαζόμενος μάλιστα τῶν ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ, μετὰ προικὸς δὲ πλείστης καὶ δόξης μεγίστης ἐκδιδοὺς τὴν θυγατέρα, καὶ τοῦ γάμου τυχεῖν εὐχομένων μὲν ἁπάντων, ἀξιούντων δὲ τῶν πρώτων, τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμὸν ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐκλεξάμενος κηδεστὴν ἐπεθύμησε ποιήσασθαι.
32. About the same time my father, seeing that the festival assembly at Olympia was beloved and admired by the whole world and that in it the Greeks made display of their wealth, strength of body, and training, and that not only the athletes were the objects of envy but that also the cities of the victors became renowned, and believing moreover that while the public services performed in Athens redound to the prestige, in the eyes of his fellow-citizens, of the person who renders them, expenditures in the Olympian Festival, however, enhance the city’s reputation throughout all Greece, reflecting upon these things, I say, although in natural gifts and in strength of body he was inferior to none, he disdained the gymnastic contests, for he knew that some of the athletes were of low birth, inhabitants of petty states, and of mean education, but turned to the breeding of race-horses, which is possible only for those most blest by Fortune and not to be pursued by one of low estate, and not only did he surpass his rivals, but also all who had ever before won the victory.
32. περὶ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ὁρῶν τὴν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πανήγυριν ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀγαπωμένην καὶ θαυμαζομένην, καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐπίδειξιν ἐν αὐτῇ ποιουμένους πλούτου καὶ ῥώμης καὶ παιδεύσεως, καὶ τούς τʼ ἀθλητὰς ζηλουμένους καὶ τὰς πόλεις ὀνομαστὰς γιγνομένας τὰς τῶν νικώντων, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἡγούμενος τὰς μὲν ἐνθάδε λῃτουργίας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἰδίων πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας εἶναι, τὰς δʼ εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν πανήγυριν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως εἰς ἅπασαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα γίγνεσθαι, ταῦτα διανοηθείς, οὐδενὸς ἀφυέστερος οὐδʼ ἀρρωστότερος τῷ σώματι γενόμενος τοὺς μὲν γυμνικοὺς ἀγῶνας ὑπερεῖδεν, εἰδὼς ἐνίους τῶν ἀθλητῶν καὶ κακῶς γεγονότας καὶ μικρὰς πόλεις οἰκοῦντας καὶ ταπεινῶς πεπαιδευμένους, ἱπποτροφεῖν δʼ ἐπιχειρήσας, ὃ τῶν εὐδαιμονεστάτων ἔργον ἐστί, φαῦλος δʼ οὐδεὶς ἂν ποιήσειεν, οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀνταγωνιστὰς ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς πώποτε νικήσαντας ὑπερεβάλετο.
34. For he entered a larger number of teams in competition than even the mightiest cities had done, and they were of such excellence that he came out first, second, and third. Besides this, his generosity in the sacrifices and in the other expenses connected with the festival was so lavish and magnificent that the public funds of all the others were clearly less than the private means of Alcibiades alone. And when he brought his mission to an end he had caused the successes of his predecessors to seem petty in comparison with his own and those who in his own day had been victors to be no longer objects of emulation, and to future breeders of racing-steeds he left behind no possibility of surpassing him.
34. ζεύγη γὰρ καθῆκε τοσαῦτα μὲν τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὅσοις οὐδʼ αἱ μέγισται τῶν πόλεων ἠγωνίσαντο, τοιαῦτα δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὥστε καὶ πρῶτος καὶ δεύτερος γενέσθαι καὶ τρίτος. χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἐν ταῖς θυσίαις καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ταῖς περὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν δαπάναις οὕτως ἀφειδῶς διέκειτο καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ὥστε φαίνεσθαι τὰ κοινὰ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐλάττω τῶν ἰδίων τῶν ἐκείνου. κατέλυσε δὲ τὴν θεωρίαν, τὰς μὲν τῶν προτέρων εὐτυχίας μικρὰς πρὸς τὰς αὑτοῦ δόξαι ποιήσας, τοὺς δʼ ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ νικήσαντας παύσας ζηλουμένους, τοῖς δὲ μέλλουσιν ἱπποτροφεῖν οὐδεμίαν ὑπερβολὴν καταλιπών.
35. With regard to my father’s services here in Athens as choregus and gymnasiarch and trierarch I am ashamed to speak; for so greatly did he excel in all the other public duties that, although those who have served the state in less splendid fashion sing their own praises therefor, if anyone should on my father’s behalf ask for a vote of thanks even in recognition of services as great as his, he would seem to be talking about petty things.
35. περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐνθάδε χορηγιῶν καὶ γυμνασιαρχιῶν καὶ τριηραρχιῶν αἰσχύνομαι λέγειν· τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις διήνεγκεν, ὥσθʼ οἱ μὲν ἐνδεεστέρως ἐκείνου λῃτουργήσαντες ἐκ τούτων σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐγκωμιάζουσιν, ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου δʼ εἴ τις καὶ τῶν τηλικούτων χάριν ἀπαιτοίη, περὶ μικρῶν ἂν δόξειε τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖσθαι.
36. As regards his behavior as a citizen—for neither should this be passed over in silence—just as he on his part did not neglect his civic duties, but on the contrary, to so great a degree had proved himself a more loyal friend of the people than those who had gained the highest repute, that while, as you will find, the others stirred up sedition for selfish advantage, he was incurring danger on your behalf. For his devotion to the democracy was not that of one who was excluded from the oligarchy, but of one who was invited to join it: indeed, time and again when it was in his power as one of a small group, not only to rule the rest, but even to dominate them, he refused, choosing rather to suffer the city’s unjust penalties rather than to be traitor to our form of government.
36. πρὸς δὲ τὴν πολιτείαν, οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο παραλειπτέον, ὥσπερ οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνος αὐτῆς ἠμέλησεν, ἀλλὰ τοσούτῳ τῶν μάλιστʼ εὐδοκιμησάντων ἀμείνων περὶ τὸν δῆμον γέγονεν, ὅσον τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους εὑρήσεθʼ ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν στασιάσαντας, ἐκεῖνον δʼ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κινδυνεύοντα. οὐ γὰρ ἀπελαυνόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας ἀλλὰ παρακαλούμενος ἦν δημοτικός· καὶ πολλάκις ἐκγενόμενον αὐτῷ μὴ μόνον μετʼ ὀλίγων τῶν ἄλλων ἄρχειν ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων αὐτῶν πλέον ἔχειν, οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, ἀλλʼ εἵλεθʼ ὑπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἀδικηθῆναι μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν πολιτείαν προδοῦναι.
37. Of the truth of these statements no one would have convinced you as long as you still continued to be governed as a democracy; but as it was, the civil conflicts which arose clearly showed who were the democrats and who the oligarchs, as well as those who desired neither rgime, and those who laid claim to a share in both. In these uprisings your enemies twice exiled my father: on the first occasion, no sooner had they got him out of the way than they abolished the democracy; on the second, hardly had they reduced you to servitude than they condemned him to exile before any other citizen;
37. καὶ ταῦθʼ ἕως μὲν συνεχῶς ἐδημοκρατεῖσθʼ οὐδεὶς ἂν ὑμᾶς λέγων ἔπεισεν· νῦν δʼ αἱ στάσεις αἱ γενόμεναι σαφῶς ἐπέδειξαν καὶ τοὺς δημοτικοὺς καὶ τοὺς ὀλιγαρχικοὺς καὶ τοὺς οὐδετέρων ἐπιθυμοῦντας καὶ τοὺς ἀμφοτέρων μετέχειν ἀξιοῦντας. ἐν αἷς δὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῶν ὑμετέρων ἐξέπεσεν· καὶ τὸ μὲν πρότερον, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστʼ ἐκεῖνον ἐκποδὼν ἐποιήσαντο, τὸν δῆμον κατέλυσαν, τὸ δʼ ὕστερον οὐκ ἔφθασαν ὑμᾶς καταδουλωσάμενοι, καὶ πρώτου τῶν πολιτῶν αὐτοῦ φυγὴν κατέγνωσαν· οὕτω σφόδρʼ ἥ τε πόλις τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς κακῶν ἀπέλαυσε κἀκεῖνος τῶν τῆς πόλεως συμφορῶν ἐκοινώνησεν.
38. so exactly did my father’s misfortunes affect the city and he share in her disasters. And yet many of the citizens were ill disposed toward him in the belief that he was plotting a tyranny; they held this opinion, not on the basis of his deeds, but in the thought that all men aspire to this power and that he would have the best chance of attaining it. Wherefore you would justly feel the greater gratitude to him because, while he alone of the citizens was powerful enough to have this charge brought against him, he was of opinion that as regards political power he should be on an equality with his fellow-citizens.
38. καίτοι πολλοὶ τῶν πολιτῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν δυσκόλως εἶχον ὡς πρὸς τυραννεῖν ἐπιβουλεύοντα, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων σκοποῦντες, ἀλλʼ ἡγούμενοι τὸ μὲν πρᾶγμʼ ὑπὸ πάντων ζηλοῦσθαι, δύνασθαι δʼ ἂν ἐκεῖνον μάλιστα διαπράξασθαι. διὸ καὶ δικαίως ἂν αὐτῷ πλείω χάριν ἔχοιτε, ὅτι τὴν μὲν αἰτίαν μόνος τῶν πολιτῶν ἄξιος ἦν ταύτην ἔχειν, τῆς δὲ πολιτείας ἴσον ᾤετο δεῖν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις μετεῖναι.
39. Because of the multitude of things that might be said on my father’s behalf I am at a loss which of them it is appropriate to mention on the present occasion and which should be omitted. For always the plea that has not yet been spoken seems to me of greater importance than the arguments which have already been presented to you. And I believe that it is obvious to everyone that he must needs be most devoted to the welfare of the city who has the greatest share in her evil fortunes as well as in her good.
39. διὰ δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐνόντων εἰπεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπορῶ, τίνος ἐν τῷ παρόντι πρέπει μνησθῆναι καὶ ποῖʼ αὐτῶν χρὴ παραλιπεῖν· ἀεὶ γάρ μοι δοκεῖ μεῖζον εἶναι τὸ μήπω πεφρασμένον τῶν ἤδη πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰρημένων. ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦθʼ ἡγοῦμαι πᾶσιν εἶναι φανερὸν ὅτι τοῦτον ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν εὐνούστατον εἶναι ταῖς τῆς πόλεως εὐτυχίαις, ὅτῳ πλεῖστον μέρος καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῶν κακῶν μέτεστιν.
40. Well then, when Athens was prosperous, who of the citizens was more prosperous, more admired, or more envied than my father? And when she suffered ill-fortune, who was deprived of brighter hopes, or of greater wealth, or of fairer repute? Finally, when the Thirty Tyrants established their rule, while the others merely suffered exile from Athens, was he not banished from all Greece? Did not the Lacedaemonians and Lysander exert themselves as much to cause his death as to bring about the downfall of your dominion, in the belief that they could not be sure of the city’s loyalty if they demolished her walls unless they should also destroy the man who could rebuild them?
40. ἐκείνου τοίνυν εὖ μὲν πραττούσης τῆς πόλεως τίς εὐδαιμονέστερος ἢ θαυμαστότερος ἢ ζηλωτότερος ἦν τῶν πολιτῶν, δυστυχησάσης δὲ τίς ἐλπίδων μειζόνων ἢ χρημάτων πλειόνων ἢ δόξης καλλίονος ἐστερήθη; οὐ τὸ τελευταῖον ἐπειδὴ κατέστησαν οἱ τριάκονθʼ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι τὴν πόλιν ἔφυγον, ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐξέπεσεν; οὐ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ Λύσανδρος ὁμοίως ἔργον ἐποιήσαντʼ ἐκεῖνον ἀποκτεῖναι καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν καταλῦσαι δύναμιν, οὐδεμίαν ἡγούμενοι πίστιν ἕξειν παρὰ τῆς πόλεως, εἰ τὰ τείχη καταβάλοιεν, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸν ἀναστῆσαι δυνάμενον ἀπολέσαιεν;
41. Thus it is not only from his services to you, but also from what he suffered on your account, that you may easily recognize his loyalty. For it is self-evident that it was the people he was aiding, that he desired the same form of government as yourselves, that he suffered at the hands of the same persons, that he was unfortunate when the state was unfortunate, that he considered the same persons as you his enemies and friends, that in every way he exposed himself to danger either at your hands, or on your account, or on your behalf, or in partnership with you, being as a citizen quite unlike Charicles, my opponent’s brother-in-law, who chose to be a slave to the enemy, yet claimed the right to rule his fellow-citizens; who, when in exile, was inactive, but on his return was ever injuring the city.
41. ὥστʼ οὐ μόνον ἐξ ὧν ὑμᾶς εὖ πεποίηκεν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ ὧν διʼ ὑμᾶς κακῶς πέπονθε ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι τὴν εὔνοιαν τὴν ἐκείνου. φαίνεται γὰρ τῷ δήμῳ βοηθῶν, τῆς αὐτῆς πολιτείας ὑμῖν ἐπιθυμῶν, ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν κακῶς πάσχων, ἅμα τῇ πόλει δυστυχῶν, τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἐχθροὺς καὶ φίλους ὑμῖν νομίζων, ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου κινδυνεύων τὰ μὲν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν, τὰ δὲ διʼ ὑμᾶς, τὰ δʼ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, τὰ δὲ μεθʼ ὑμῶν, ἀνόμοιος πολίτης Χαρικλεῖ τῷ τούτου κηδεστῇ γεγενημένος, ὃς τοῖς μὲν πολεμίοις δουλεύειν ἐπεθύμει, τῶν δὲ πολιτῶν ἄρχειν ἠξίου, καὶ φεύγων μὲν ἡσυχίαν εἶχε, κατελθὼν δὲ κακῶς ἐποίει τὴν πόλιν.
42. And yet how could one prove himself to be a baser friend or a viler enemy?
42. καίτοι πῶς ἂν γένοιτʼ ἢ φίλος πονηρότερος ἢ ἐχθρὸς ἐλάττονος ἄξιος;
43. And then do you, Teisias, his brother-in-law and a member of the Council in the time of the Thirty Tyrants, have the hardihood to rake up old grudges against those of the other side, and are you not ashamed to be violating the terms of the amnesty which permits you to reside in the city, nor do you even reflect that, whenever the decision shall be made to exact punishment for past crimes, it is you who are menaced by danger more speedy and greater than mine?
43. εἶτα σὺ κηδεστὴς μὲν ὢν ἐκείνου, βεβουλευκὼς δʼ ἐπὶ τῶν τριάκοντα τολμᾷς ἑτέροις μνησικακεῖν, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνει τὰς συνθήκας παραβαίνων διʼ ἃς αὐτὸς οἰκεῖς τὴν πόλιν, οὐδʼ ἐνθυμεῖ διότι, ὁπόταν δόξῃ τῶν παρεληλυθότων τιμωρίαν ποιεῖσθαι, σοὶ καὶ προτέρῳ καὶ μᾶλλον ἢ ʼμοὶ κινδυνεύειν ὑπάρχει;
44. For surely they will not inflict punishment on me for my father’s acts and at the same time pardon you for the crimes you yourself have committed! No, assuredly it will not be found that your pleas in extenuation are anything like his! For you were not banished from your native land, but on the contrary you were a member of the government; you did not act under compulsion, but you were a willing agent; it was not in self-defense, but on our own initiative, that you were wronging your fellow-citizens, so that it is not fitting that you should be permitted by them even to enter a plea in your defense.
44. οὐ γὰρ δήπου παρʼ ἐμοῦ μὲν ὑπὲρ ὧν ὁ πατὴρ ἔπραξε δίκην λήψονται, σοὶ δὲ καὶ ὧν αὐτὸς ἡμάρτηκας συγγνώμην ἕξουσιν. ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδʼ ὁμοίας ἐκείνῳ φανήσει τὰς προφάσεις ἔχων· οὐ γὰρ ἐκπεσὼν ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος ἀλλὰ συμπολιτευόμενος, οὐδʼ ἀναγκασθεὶς ἀλλʼ ἑκών, οὐδʼ ἀμυνόμενος ἀλλʼ ὑπάρχων ἠδίκεις αὐτούς, ὥστʼ οὐδʼ ἀπολογίας σοι προσήκει τυχεῖν παρʼ αὐτῶν.
45. But on the subject of the political misdeeds of Teisias, very likely some day at his trial I shall have the opportunity of speaking at greater length. But as for you, men of the jury, I beg you not to abandon me to my enemies nor entangle me in the net of irremediable misfortunes. For even now I have had sufficient experience of evils, since at my birth I was left an orphan through my father’s exile and my mother’s death; and I was not yet four years of age when I was brought into peril of my life owing to my father’s exile;
45. ἀλλὰ γὰρ περὶ μὲν τῶν Τεισίᾳ πεπολιτευμένων ἴσως πότʼ ἐν τοῖς τούτου κινδύνοις ἐγγενήσεται καὶ διὰ μακροτέρων εἰπεῖν· ὑμᾶς δʼ ἀξιῶ μὴ προέσθαι με τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μηδʼ ἀνηκέστοις συμφοραῖς περιβαλεῖν. ἱκανῶς γὰρ καὶ νῦν πεπείραμαι κακῶν, ὃς εὐθὺς μὲν γενόμενος ὀρφανὸς κατελείφθην, τοῦ μὲν πατρὸς φυγόντος, τῆς δὲ μητρὸς τελευτησάσης, οὔπω δὲ τέτταρʼ ἔτη γεγονὼς διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς φυγὴν περὶ τοῦ σώματος εἰς κίνδυνον κατέστην, ἔτι δὲ παῖς ὢν ὑπὸ τῶν τριάκοντʼ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξέπεσον.
46. and while still a boy I was banished from the city by the Thirty. And when the men of the Piraeus were restored, and all the rest recovered their possessions, I alone by the influence of my personal enemies was deprived of the of the land which the people gave us as compensation for the confiscated property. And after having already suffered so many misfortunes and having twice lost my property, I am now the defendant in an action involving five talents. And although the complaint involves money, the real issue is my right to continue to enjoy citizenship.
46. κατελθόντων δὲ τῶν ἐκ Πειραιῶς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κομιζομένων τὰς οὐσίας ἐγὼ μόνος τὴν γῆν, ἣν ἡμῖν ἀπέδωκεν ὁ δῆμος ἀντὶ τῶν δημευθέντων χρημάτων, διὰ τὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν δύναμιν ἀπεστερήθην. τοσαῦτα δὲ προδεδυστυχηκὼς καὶ δὶς τὴν οὐσίαν ἀπολωλεκὼς νυνὶ πέντε ταλάντων φεύγω δίκην. καὶ τὸ μὲν ἔγκλημʼ ἐστὶ περὶ χρημάτων, ἀγωνίζομαι δʼ εἰ χρὴ μετεῖναί μοι τῆς πόλεως.
47. For although the same penalties are prescribed for all by our laws, yet the legal risk is not the same for all; on the contrary, the wealthy risk a fine, but those who are in straitened circumstances, as is the case with me, are in danger of disfranchisement, and this is a misfortune greater, in my opinion, than exile; for it is a far more wretched fate to live among one’s fellow-citizens deprived of civic rights than to dwell an alien among foreigners.
47. τῶν γὰρ αὐτῶν τιμημάτων ἐπιγεγραμμένων οὐ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἅπασιν ὁ κίνδυνός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν χρήματα κεκτημένοις περὶ ζημίας, τοῖς δʼ ἀπόρως ὥσπερ ἐγὼ διακειμένοις περὶ ἀτιμίας, ἣν ἐγὼ φυγῆς μείζω συμφορὰν νομίζω· πολὺ γὰρ ἀθλιώτερον παρὰ τοῖς αὑτοῦ πολίταις ἠτιμωμένον οἰκεῖν ἢ παρʼ ἑτέροις μετοικεῖν.
48. I entreat you, therefore, to aid me and not to suffer me to be despitefully treated by my personal enemies, or to be deprived of my fatherland, or to be made notorious by such misfortunes. The facts in the case would of themselves justly win for me your pity, even if I have not the power by my words to evoke it, since pity truly should be felt for those who are unjustly brought to trial, who are fighting for the greatest stakes, whose present condition is not in accordance with their own worth or with that of their ancestors, seeing that they have been deprived of immense wealth and have experienced life’s greatest vicissitudes.
48. δέομαι δʼ οὖν ὑμῶν βοηθῆσαί μοι καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὑβρισθέντα μηδὲ τῆς πατρίδος στερηθέντα μηδʼ ἐπὶ τοιαύταις τύχαις περίβλεπτον γενόμενον. δικαίως δʼ ἂν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων ἐλεηθείην, εἰ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τυγχάνω μὴ δυνάμενος ἐπὶ τοῦθʼ ὑμᾶς ἄγειν, εἴπερ χρὴ τούτους ἐλεεῖν, τοὺς ἀδίκως μὲν κινδυνεύοντας, περὶ δὲ τῶν μεγίστων ἀγωνιζομένους, ἀναξίως δʼ αὑτῶν καὶ τῶν προγόνων πράττοντας, πλείστων δὲ χρημάτων ἀπεστερημένους καὶ μεγίστῃ μεταβολῇ τοῦ βίου κεχρημένους.
49. Although I have many reasons for lamenting my fate, I am especially indignant for these reasons: first, if I must be punished by this man, who should justly be punished by me; second, if I shall lose my civic rights by reason of my father’s victory at Olympia, when I see other men richly rewarded for such a victory; and, in addition, if Teisias, a man who never did the city any good, is to remain powerful in the democracy just as he was in the oligarchy, whereas I, who injured neither party, am to be ill-treated by both; and finally, if, while in all other matters your actions are to be the opposite of those of the Thirty, you shall in regard to me show the same spirit as they, and if I, who then lost my fatherland in company with you, shall now be deprived of it by you.
49. πολλὰ δʼ ἔχων ἐμαυτὸν ὀδύρασθαι μάλιστʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀγανακτῶ, πρῶτον μὲν εἰ τούτῳ δώσω δίκην παρʼ οὗ λαβεῖν μοι προσήκει, δεύτερον δʼ εἰ διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς νίκην τὴν Ὀλυμπίασιν ἀτιμωθήσομαι, διʼ ἣν τοὺς ἄλλους ὁρῶ δωρεὰς λαμβάνοντας, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις εἰ Τεισίας μὲν μηδὲν ἀγαθὸν ποιήσας τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ καὶ ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ μέγα δυνήσεται, ἐγὼ δʼ εἰ μηδετέρους ἀδικήσας ὑπʼ ἀμφοτέρων κακῶς πείσομαι, καὶ περὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων τἀναντία τοῖς τριάκοντα πράξετε, περὶ δʼ ἐμοῦ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνοις γνώμην ἕξετε, καὶ τότε μὲν μεθʼ ὑμῶν, νῦν δʼ ὑφʼ ὑμῶν τῆς πόλεως στερήσομαι.