hyp. After the disaster of Chaeronea the Athenian people passed a decree forbidding persons to leave the city or to remove their wives or children. Now a certain Leocrates left the city and, after going to Rhodes and later Megara, returned to Athens. He made no secret of his story and so was accused of treason by Lycurgus. The case must be classified as an instance of contradictory definition, since Leocrates admits that he left the city but denies that he betrayed it. Others class it as an instance of conjecture as to intention, since it is admitted that the accused left the city, while his purpose in leaving it is doubtful: did he wish to be a traitor or only to trade? Others think it an instance of counterplea, since he claims that he left the city not with treasonable intentions but for commerce. The subject matter resembles that of the speech against Autolycus.
hyp. μετὰ τὰ ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ δεινὰ ψήφισμα ποιεῖ ὁ τῶν Ἀθηναίω δῆμος, ὥστε μήτε τινὰ ἔξω γενέσθαι τῆς πόλεως, μήτε μὴν ἐκθέσθαι παῖδας καὶ γυναῖκας. Λεωκράτης οὖν τις ἐξελθὼν τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἀφικόμενος ἐν Ῥόδῳ καὶ πάλιν ἐν Μεγάροις, ἦλθεν ἐν Ἀθήναις· καὶ παρρησιαζομένου αὐτοῦ κατηγορίαν ποιεῖται ὁ Λυκοῦργος αὐτοῦ ὡς προδότου. ἡ δὲ στάσις ὅρος ἀντονομάζων· ὁμολογεῖ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Λεωκράτης ἀπολιπεῖν τὴν πόλιν οὐ μέντοι προδιδόναι. ἄλλοι στοχασμὸν ἀπὸ γνώμης, ὡς τοῦ μὲν ἐξελθεῖν ὁμολογουμένου, ἀμφιβαλλομένης δὲ τῆς προαιρέσεως, ποίᾳ γνώμῃ ἐξῆλθεν, εἴτʼ ἐπὶ προδοσίᾳ εἴτʼ ἐπὶ ἐμπορίᾳ. ἄλλοι δὲ ἀντίστασιν· λέγει γὰρ οὐκ ἐπὶ προδοσίᾳ τῆς πόλεως ἐξελθεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ ἐμπορίᾳ. ἔοικε δὲ ἡ τοῦ λόγου ὑπόθεσις τῇ τοῦ κατὰ Αὐτολύκου.
1. Justice towards you, Athenians, and reverence for the gods, shall mark the opening of my speech against Leocrates, now here on trial; so may Athena and those other gods and heroes whose statues are erected in our city and the country round receive this prayer. If I have done justly to prosecute Leocrates, if he whom I now bring to trial has been a traitor to their temples, shrines and precincts, a traitor to the honors which your laws ordain and the sacrificial rituals which your ancestors have handed down, may they make me on this day, in the interest of the city and its people, a worthy accuser of his crimes; and may you, who in your deliberation now are defending your fathers, wives and children, your country and your temples, who hold at the mercy of your vote one who has betrayed all these things, be inexorable judges, now and in future, towards all who break the laws on such a scale as this.
1. δικαίαν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ εὐσεβῆ καὶ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν θεῶν τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς κατηγορίας Λεωκράτους τοῦ κρινομένου ποιήσομαι. εὔχομαι γὰρ τῇ Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις θεοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἥρωσι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν χώραν ἱδρυμένοις, εἰ μὲν εἰσήγγελκα Λεωκράτη δικαίως καὶ κρίνω τὸν προδόντʼ αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς νεὼς καὶ τὰ ἕδη καὶ τὰ τεμένη καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς νόμοις τιμὰς καὶ θυσίας τὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ὑμετέρων προγόνων παραδεδομένας, ἐμὲ μὲν ἄξιον ἐν τῇ τήμερον ἡμέρᾳ τῶν Λεωκράτους ἀδικημάτων κατήγορον ποιῆσαι, ὃ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ καὶ τῇ πόλει συμφέρει, ὑμᾶς δʼ ὡς ὑπὲρ πατέρων καὶ παίδων καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ πατρίδος καὶ ἱερῶν βουλευομένους, καὶ ἔχοντας ὑπὸ τῇ ψήφῳ τὸν προδότην ἁπάντων τούτων, ἀπαραιτήτους δικαστὰς καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον γενέσθαι τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα παρανομοῦσιν·
2. But if the man whom I am now bringing to trial neither betrayed his country nor forsook his city and its temples, I pray that he may be saved from danger by the gods and you, the members of the jury.
2. εἰ δὲ μήτε τὸν προδόντα τὴν πατρίδα μήτε τὸν ἐγκαταλιπόντα τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ εἰς τουτονὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα καθίστημι, σωθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ κινδύνου καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν θεῶν καὶ ὑφʼ ὑμῶν τῶν δικαστῶν.
3. Gentlemen, it is a privilege for the city to have within it those who prosecute transgressors of the law, and I could wish to find among the public an appropriate sense of gratitude. In fact the opposite is true, and anyone who takes the personal risk of unpopularity for our common good is actually regarded as an interferer rather than a patriot, which makes neither for justice nor the state’s advantage. For the things which in the main uphold our democracy and preserve the city’s prosperity are three in number:
3. ἐβουλόμην δʼ ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ὥσπερ ὠφέλιμόν ἐστι τῇ πόλει εἶναι τοὺς κρίνοντας ἐν ταύτῃ τοὺς παρανομοῦντας, οὕτω καὶ φιλάνθρωπον αὐτὸ παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς ὑπειλῆφθαι· νῦν δὲ περιέστηκεν εἰς τοῦτο, ὥστε τὸν ἰδίᾳ κινδυνεύοντα καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν ἀπεχθανόμενον οὐ φιλόπολιν ἀλλὰ φιλοπράγμονα δοκεῖν εἶναι, οὐ δικαίως οὐδὲ συμφερόντως τῇ πόλει. τρία γάρ ἐστι τὰ μέγιστα ἃ διαφυλάττει καὶ διασῴζει τὴν δημοκρατίαν καὶ τὴν τῆς πόλεως εὐδαιμονίαν, πρῶτον μὲν ἡ τῶν νόμων τάξις, δεύτερον δʼ ἡ τῶν δικαστῶν ψῆφος, τρίτον δʼ ἡ τούτοις τἀδικήματα παραδιδοῦσα κρίσις.
4. first the system of law, second the vote of the jury, and third the method of prosecution by which the crimes are handed over to them. The law exists to lay down what must not be done, the accuser to report those liable to penalties under the law, and the juryman to punish all whom these two agencies have brought to his attention. And thus both law and jury’s vote are powerless without an accuser who will hand transgressors over to them.
4. ὁ μὲν γὰρ νόμος πέφυκε προλέγειν ἃ μὴ δεῖ πράττειν, ὁ δὲ κατήγορος μηνύειν τοὺς ἐνόχους τοῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων ἐπιτιμίοις καθεστῶτας, ὁ δὲ δικαστὴς κολάζειν τοὺς ὑπʼ ἀμφοτέρων τούτων ἀποδειχθέντας αὐτῷ, ὥστʼ οὔθʼ ὁ νόμος οὔθʼ ἡ τῶν δικαστῶν ψῆφος ἄνευ τοῦ παραδώσοντος αὐτοῖς τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἰσχύει.
5. I myself, Athenians, knew that Leocrates avoided the dangers to which his country called him and deserted his fellow citizens. I knew that he had utterly disregarded your authority and was chargeable with all the articles of the indictment. Therefore I instituted these proceedings. It was not out of hatred in the least nor with the slightest wish to be contentious that I undertook this trial; but I thought it monstrous to allow this man to push into the market place and share the public sacrifices, when he had been a disgrace to his country and to you all.
5. ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰδὼς Λεωκράτην φυγόντα μὲν τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος κινδύνους, ἐγκαταλιπόντα δὲ τοὺς αὑτοῦ πολίτας, προδεδωκότα δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑμετέραν δύναμιν, ἅπασι δὲ τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἔνοχον ὄντα, ταύτην τὴν εἰσαγγελίαν ἐποιησάμην, οὔτε διʼ ἔχθραν οὐδεμίαν οὔτε διὰ φιλονικίαν οὐδʼ ἡντινοῦν τοῦτον τὸν ἀγῶνα προελόμενος, ἀλλʼ αἰσχρὸν εἶναι νομίσας τοῦτον περιορᾶν εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐμβάλλοντα καὶ τῶν κοινῶν ἱερῶν μετέχοντα, τῆς τε πατρίδος ὄνειδος καὶ πάντων ὑμῶν γεγενημένον.
6. A just citizen will not let private enmity induce him to start a public prosecution against one who does the state no harm. On the contrary, it is those who break his country’s laws whom he will look on as his personal enemies; crimes which affect the public will, in his eyes, offer public grounds for enmity towards the criminals.
6. πολίτου γάρ ἐστι δικαίου μὴ διὰ τὰς ἰδίας ἔχθρας εἰς τὰς κοινὰς κρίσεις καθιστάναι τοὺς τὴν πόλιν μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς εἰς τὴν πατρίδα τι παρανομοῦντας ἰδίους ἐχθροὺς εἶναι νομίζειν, καὶ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν ἀδικημάτων κοινὰς καὶ τὰς προφάσεις ἔχειν τῆς πρὸς αὐτοὺς διαφορᾶς.
7. All public trials should therefore rank as important, but particularly this present one, in which you are about to cast your vote. For when you give a verdict on a charge of illegal proposals you merely rectify one single error, and in preventing the intended measure your scope depends upon the extent to which the decree in question will harm the city. But the present case is not concerned with some trifling constitutional issue, nor yet with a moment of time; our city’s whole life is at stake, and this trial will leave a verdict to posterity to be remembered for all time.
7. ἅπαντας μὲν οὖν χρὴ νομίζειν μεγάλους εἶναι τοὺς δημοσίους ἀγῶνας, μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτον ὑπὲρ οὗ νῦν μέλλετε τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν. ὅταν μὲν γὰρ τὰς τῶν παρανόμων γραφὰς δικάζητε, τοῦτο μόνον ἐπανορθοῦτε καὶ ταύτην τὴν πρᾶξιν κωλύετε, καθʼ ὅσον ἂν τὸ ψήφισμα μέλλῃ βλάπτειν τὴν πόλιν· ὁ δὲ νῦν ἐνεστηκὼς ἀγὼν οὐ μικρόν τι μέρος συνέχει τῶν τῆς πόλεως οὐδʼ ἐπʼ ὀλίγον χρόνον, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ ὅλης τῆς πατρίδος καὶ κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος ἀείμνηστον καταλείψει τοῖς ἐπιγιγνομένοις τὴν κρίσιν.
8. So dangerous is the wrong which has been done and so far-reaching that no indictment adequate could be devised, nor have the laws defined a punishment for the crimes. What punishment would suit a man who left his country and refused to guard the temples of his fathers, who abandoned the graves of his ancestors and surrendered the whole country into the hands of the enemy? The greatest and final penalty, death, though the maximum punishment allowed by law, is too small for the crimes of Leocrates.
8. οὕτω γάρ ἐστι δεινὸν τὸ γεγενημένον ἀδίκημα καὶ τηλικοῦτον ἔχει τὸ μέγεθος, ὥστε μήτε κατηγορίαν [μήτε τιμωρίαν] ἐνδέχεσθαι εὑρεῖν ἀξίαν μήτʼ ἐν τοῖς νόμοις ὡρίσθαι τιμωρίαν [ἀξίαν] τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. τί γὰρ χρὴ παθεῖν τὸν ἐκλιπόντα μὲν τὴν πατρίδα, μὴ βοηθήσαντα δὲ τοῖς πατρῴοις ἱεροῖς, ἐγκαταλιπόντα δὲ τὰς τῶν προγόνων θήκας, ἅπασαν δὲ τὴν χώραν ὑποχείριον τοῖς πολεμίοις παραδόντα; τὸ μὲν γὰρ μέγιστον καὶ ἔσχατον τῶν τιμημάτων, θάνατος, ἀναγκαῖον μὲν ἐκ τῶν νόμων ἐπιτίμιον, ἔλαττον δὲ τῶν Λεωκράτους ἀδικημάτων καθέστηκε.
9. The reason why the penalty for such offences, gentlemen, has never been recorded is not that the legislators of the past were neglectful; it is that such things had not happened hitherto and were not expected to happen in the future. It is therefore most essential that you should be not merely judges of this present case but lawmakers besides. For where a crime has been defined by some law, it is easy, with that as a standard, to punish the offender. But where different offences are not specifically included in the law, being covered by a single designation, and where a man has committed crimes worse than these and is equally chargeable with them all, your verdict must be left as a precedent for your successors.
9. παρεῖσθαι δὲ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων τιμωρίαν συμβέβηκεν, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὐ διὰ ῥᾳθυμίαν τῶν τότε νομοθετούντων, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ μήτʼ ἐν τοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις γεγενῆσθαι τοιοῦτον μηδὲν μήτʼ ἐν τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἐπίδοξον εἶναι γενήσεσθαι. διὸ καὶ μάλιστʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες, δεῖ ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι μὴ μόνον τοῦ νῦν ἀδικήματος δικαστάς, ἀλλὰ καὶ νομοθέτας. ὅσα μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀδικημάτων νόμος τις διώρικε, ῥᾴδιον τούτῳ κανόνι χρωμένους κολάζειν τοὺς παρανομοῦντας· ὅσα δὲ μὴ σφόδρα περιείληφεν, ἑνὶ ὀνόματι προσαγορεύσας, μείζω δὲ τούτων τις ἠδίκηκεν, ἅπασι δʼ ὁμοίως ἔνοχός ἐστιν, ἀναγκαῖον τὴν ὑμετέραν κρίσιν καταλείπεσθαι παράδειγμα τοῖς ἐπιγιγνομένοις.
10. I assure you, gentlemen, that if you condemn this man you will do more than merely punish him; you will be giving all younger men an incentive to right conduct. For there are two influences at work in the education of the young: the punishments suffered by wrongdoers and the reward available to the virtuous. With these alternatives before their eyes they are deterred by fear from the one and attracted by desire for honor to the other. You must therefore give your minds to the trial on hand and let your first consideration be justice.
10. εὖ δʼ ἴστε, ὦ ἄνδρες, ὅτι οὐ μόνον τοῦτον νῦν κολάσετε κατεψηφισμένοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς νεωτέρους ἅπαντας ἐπʼ ἀρετὴν προτρέψετε. δύο γάρ ἐστι τὰ παιδεύοντα τοὺς νέους, ἥ τε τῶν ἀδικούντων τιμωρία, καὶ ἡ τοῖς ἀνδράσι τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς διδομένη δωρεά· πρὸς ἑκάτερον δὲ τούτων ἀποβλέποντες τὴν μὲν διὰ τὸν φόβον φεύγουσι, τῆς δὲ διὰ τὴν δόξαν ἐπιθυμοῦσι. διὸ δεῖ, ὦ ἄνδρες, προσέχειν τούτῳ τῷ ἀγῶνι καὶ μηδὲν περὶ πλείονος ποιήσασθαι τοῦ δικαίου.
11. In my speech also justice shall come first; on no occasion will I have recourse to falsehoods or irrelevance. Most of the speakers who come before you behave in the strangest possible manner, either giving you advice from the platform on public affairs or wasting their charges and calumnies on any subject except the one on which you are going to vote. Either course is easy, whether they choose to express an opinion on questions about which you are not deliberating or else to invent a charge to which no one is going to reply.
11. ποιήσομαι δὲ κἀγὼ τὴν κατηγορίαν δικαίαν, οὔτε ψευδόμενος οὐδέν, οὔτʼ ἔξω τοῦ πράγματος λέγων. οἱ μὲν γὰρ πλεῖστοι τῶν εἰς ὑμᾶς εἰσιόντων πάντων ἀτοπώτατον ποιοῦσιν· ἢ γὰρ συμβουλεύουσιν ἐνταῦθα περὶ τῶν κοινῶν πραγμάτων ἢ κατηγοροῦσι καὶ διαβάλλουσι πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ περὶ οὗ μέλλετε τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν. ἔστι δʼ οὐδέτερον τούτων χαλεπόν, οὔθʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν μὴ βουλεύεσθε γνώμην ἀποφήνασθαι, οὔθʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν μηδεὶς ἀπολογήσεται κατηγορίαν εὑρεῖν.
12. But it is wrong that they should ask for justice from you when you give your vote and yet be unjust themselves in handling the prosecution. And yet the blame for this is yours, gentlemen; for you have granted this freedom to speakers appearing before you, although you have, in the council of the Areopagus, the finest model in Greece: a court so superior to others that even the men convicted in it admit that its judgements are just.
12. ἀλλʼ οὐ δίκαιον ὑμᾶς μὲν ἀξιοῦν δικαίαν τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν, αὐτοὺς δὲ μὴ δικαίαν τὴν κατηγορίαν ποιεῖσθαι. τούτων δʼ αἴτιοι ὑμεῖς ἐστε, ὦ ἄνδρες· τὴν γὰρ ἐξουσίαν ταύτην δεδώκατε τοῖς ἐνθάδʼ εἰσιοῦσι, καὶ ταῦτα κάλλιστον ἔχοντες τῶν Ἑλλήνων παράδειγμα τὸ ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ συνέδριον, ὃ τοσοῦτον διαφέρει τῶν ἄλλων δικαστηρίων ὥστε καὶ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὁμολογεῖσθαι τοῖς ἁλισκομένοις δικαίαν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν κρίσιν.
13. Let it be your pattern, and, like it, do not give way to speakers who digress from the point. If you take this advice, defendants will receive an unbiased hearing, accusers will be least able to give false information, and you will best be able to make the verdict in keeping with your oath. For those who have not been rightly informed cannot give their verdict rightly.
13. πρὸς ὃ δεῖ καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀποβλέποντας μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν τοῖς ἔξω τοῦ πράγματος λέγουσιν· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται τοῖς τε κρινομένοις ἄνευ διαβολῆς ὁ ἀγών, καὶ τοῖς διώκουσιν ἥκιστα συκοφαντεῖν, καὶ ὑμῖν εὐορκοτάτην ⟨τὴν⟩ ψῆφον ἐνεγκεῖν. ἀδύνατον γάρ ἐστι [ἄνευ τοῦ λόγου] ⟨τοὺς⟩ μὴ δικαίως δεδιδαγμένους δικαίαν θέσθαι τὴν ψῆφον.
14. A further point for you to notice, gentlemen, is this: the trial of Leocrates is not comparable with that of other ordinary men. For if the defendant were unknown in Greece, your verdict, whether good or bad, would be a matter solely for yourselves to contemplate. But where this man is concerned, whatever judgement you may give will be discussed by every Greek, since it is common knowledge that the conduct of your ancestors was just the opposite of his. He won notoriety by his voyage to Rhodes and the discreditable report of you which he made officially to the Rhodians and to those merchants residing there;
14. δεῖ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες, μηδὲ ταῦτα λαθεῖν ὑμᾶς, ὅτι οὐχ ὅμοιός ἐστιν ὁ ἀγὼν περὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἰδιωτῶν. περὶ μὲν γὰρ ἀγνῶτος ἀνθρώπου τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐν ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ἐδοκεῖτʼ ἂν ἢ καλῶς ἢ καὶ φαύλως ἐψηφίσθαι· περὶ δὲ τούτου ὅ τι ἂν βουλεύσησθε, παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἔσται λόγος, οἳ ἴσασι τὰ τῶν προγόνων τῶν ὑμετέρων ἔργα ἐναντιώτατα τοῖς τούτῳ διαπεπραγμένοις ὄντα. ἐπιφανὴς γάρ ἐστι διὰ τὸν ἔκπλουν τὸν εἰς Ῥόδον καὶ τὴν ἀπαγγελίαν ἣν ἐποιήσατο καθʼ ὑμῶν πρός τε τὴν πόλιν τὴν τῶν Ῥοδίων, καὶ τῶν ἐμπόρων τοῖς ἐπιδημοῦσιν ἐκεῖ, οἳ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην περιπλέοντες διʼ ἐργασίαν ἀπήγγελλον ἅμα περὶ τῆς πόλεως ἃ Λεωκράτους ἠκηκόεσαν.
15. merchants who sailed round the whole Greek world on their business and passed on the news of Athens which they had heard from Leocrates. It is important therefore to reach a correct verdict upon him. For you must realize, Athenians, that you would be held to have neglected the virtues which chiefly distinguish you from the rest of mankind, piety towards the gods, reverence for your ancestors and ambition for your country, if this man were to escape punishment at your hands.
15. ὥστε περὶ πολλοῦ ποιητέον ἐστὶν ὀρθῶς βουλεύσασθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ. εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι ᾧ πλεῖστον διαφέρετε τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων, τῷ πρός τε τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβῶς καὶ πρὸς τοὺς γονέας ὁσίως καὶ πρὸς τὴν πατρίδα φιλοτίμως ἔχειν, τούτου πλεῖστον ἀμελεῖν δόξαιτʼ ἂν εἰ τὴν παρʼ ὑμῶν οὗτος διαφύγοι τιμωρίαν.
16. I am asking you, Athenians, to listen to my accusation to the end and not to be impatient if I begin with the history of Athens at the time under discussion; you may reserve your anger for the men whose fault it is that I am now compelled to recall those happenings. After the battle of Chaeronea you all gathered hastily to the Assembly, and the people decreed that the women and children should be brought from the countryside inside the walls and that the generals should appoint any Athenians or other residents at Athens to defence duties as they thought fit.
16. δέομαι δʼ ὑμῶν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀκοῦσαί μου τῆς κατηγορίας διὰ τέλους καὶ μὴ ἄχθεσθαι ἐὰν ἄρξωμαι ἀπὸ τῶν τῇ πόλει τότε συμβάντων, ἀλλὰ τοῖς αἰτίοις ὀργίζεσθαι διʼ οὓς ἀναγκάζομαι νῦν μεμνῆσθαι περὶ αὐτῶν. γεγενημένης γὰρ τῆς ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ μάχης, καὶ συνδραμόντων ἁπάντων ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἐψηφίσατο ὁ δῆμος παῖδας μὲν καὶ γυναῖκας ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν εἰς τὰ τείχη κατακομίζειν, τοὺς δὲ στρατηγοὺς τάττειν εἰς τὰς φυλακὰς τῶν Ἀθηναίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν οἰκούντων Ἀθήνησι, καθʼ ὅ τι ἂν αὐτοῖς δοκῇ. Λεωκράτης δὲ τούτων οὐδενὸς φροντίσας, συσκευασάμενος ἃ εἶχε χρήματα, μετὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν ἐπὶ τὸν λέμβον κατεκόμισε, τῆς νεὼς ἤδη περὶ τὴν ἀκτὴν ἐξορμούσης, καὶ περὶ δείλην ὀψίαν αὐτὸς μετὰ τῆς ἑταίρας Εἰρηνίδος κατὰ μέσην τὴν ἀκτὴν διὰ τῆς πυλίδος ἐξελθὼν πρὸς τὴν ναῦν προσέπλευσε καὶ ᾤχετο φεύγων, οὔτε τοὺς λιμένας τῆς πόλεως ἐλεῶν ἐξ ὧν ἀνήγετο, οὔτε τὰ τείχη τῆς πατρίδος αἰσχυνόμενος ὧν τὴν φυλακὴν ἔρημον τὸ καθʼ αὑτὸν μέρος κατέλιπεν·
17. Leocrates ignored all these provisions. He collected what belongings he had and with his slaves’ assistance placed them in the ship’s boat, the ship itself being already anchored off the shore. Late in the evening he went out himself with his mistress Irenis through the postern gate on to the open beach and sailed out to the ship. And so he disappeared, a deserter, untouched by pity for the city’s harbors from which he was putting out to sea, and unashamed in face of the walls which, for his own part, he left undefended. Looking back at the Acropolis and the temple of Zeus the Savior and Athena the Protectress, which he had betrayed, he had no fear, though he will presently call upon these gods to save him from danger. He landed and entered Rhodes, where, as if he were bringing good news of great successes for his country, he announced that the main city had been captured when he left it, that the Piraeus was blockaded and that he was the only one who had escaped, feeling no shame at speaking of his country’s ruin as the occasion of his own safety. The Rhodians took his news so seriously that they manned triremes and brought in their merchantmen; and the traders and shipowners who had intended to sail to Athens unloaded their corn and other cargoes there, because of Leocrates.
17. οὐδὲ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς τῆς σωτείρας ἀφορῶν καὶ προδιδοὺς ἐφοβήθη, οὓς αὐτίκα σώσοντας ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων ἐπικαλεῖται. καταχθεὶς δὲ καὶ ἀφικόμενος εἰς Ῥόδον, ὥσπερ τῇ πατρίδι μεγάλας εὐτυχίας εὐαγγελιζόμενος, ἀπήγγειλεν ὡς τὸ μὲν ἄστυ τῆς πόλεως ἑαλωκὸς καταλίποι, τὸν δὲ Πειραιέα πολιορκούμενον, αὐτὸς δὲ μόνος διασωθεὶς ἥκοι· καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνθη τὴν τῆς πατρίδος ἀτυχίαν αὑτοῦ σωτηρίαν προσαγορεύσας. οὕτω δὲ σφόδρα ταῦτʼ ἐπίστευσαν οἱ Ῥόδιοι ὥστε τριήρεις πληρώσαντες τὰ πλοῖα κατῆγον, καὶ τῶν ἐμπόρων καὶ τῶν ναυκλήρων οἱ παρεσκευασμένοι δεῦρο πλεῖν αὐτοῦ τὸν σῖτον ἐξείλοντο καὶ τἆλλα χρήματα διὰ τοῦτον.
19. To prove the truth of this account the clerk shall read you the evidence of all concerned: first the testimony of the neighbors and the men living in this district who know that the defendant ran away during the war and sailed from Athens, next that of the people present at Rhodes when Leocrates was delivering this news, and finally the evidence of Phyrcinus, whom most of you know as the accuser of Leocrates in the Assembly for having seriously harmed the two per cent tax in which he had an interest.
19. καὶ ὅτι ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἀναγνώσεται ὑμῖν τὰς μαρτυρίας ἁπάντων, πρῶτον μὲν τὰς τῶν γειτόνων καὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ κατοικούντων, οἳ τοῦτον ἴσασιν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ φυγόντα καὶ ἐκπλεύσαντα Ἀθήνηθεν, ἔπειτα τῶν παραγενομένων εἰς Ῥόδον ὅτε Λεωκράτης ταῦτʼ ἀπήγγελλε, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν Φυρκίνου μαρτυρίαν, ὃν καὶ ὑμῶν ⟨ἴσασιν⟩ οἱ πολλοὶ κατηγοροῦντα ἐν τῷ δήμῳ τούτου, ὡς καὶ μεγάλα καταβεβλαφὼς εἴη τὴν πεντηκοστήν, μετέχων αὐτῆς.
20. But before the witnesses come up I want to say a few words to you. You are well acquainted, gentlemen, with the tricks of defendants and with the requests made by others asking pardon for them. You know too well that desire for bribes and favors induces many witnesses to forget what they know, to fail to appear, or to contrive some other excuse. Ask the witnesses therefore to come up without hesitation and not to put offered favors before your interests and the state. Ask them to pay their country the debt of truth and justice which they owe and not to follow the example of Leocrates by failing in this duty. Otherwise let them swear the oath of disclaimer with their hands on the sacrifice. If they refuse both these alternatives, we will summons them in the interest of yourselves, our laws and our democracy. Read the evidence.
20. πρὸ δὲ τοῦ ἀναβαίνειν τοὺς μάρτυρας βραχέα βούλομαι διαλεχθῆναι ὑμῖν. οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοεῖτε, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὔτε τὰς παρασκευὰς τῶν κρινομένων οὔτε τὰς δεήσεις τῶν ἐξαιτουμένων, ἀλλʼ ἀκριβῶς ἐπίστασθε ὅτι χρημάτων ἕνεκα καὶ χάριτος πολλοὶ ἐπείσθησαν τῶν μαρτύρων ἢ ἀμνημονεῖν ἢ μὴ ἐλθεῖν ἢ ἑτέραν πρόφασιν εὑρεῖν. ἀξιοῦτε οὖν τοὺς μάρτυρας ἀναβαίνειν καὶ μὴ ὀκνεῖν, μηδὲ περὶ πλείονος ποιεῖσθαι τὰς χάριτας ὑμῶν καὶ τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλʼ ἀποδιδόναι τῇ πατρίδι τἀληθῆ καὶ τὰ δίκαια, καὶ μὴ λείπειν τὴν τάξιν ταύτην μηδὲ μιμεῖσθαι Λεωκράτην, ἢ λαβόντας τὰ ἱερὰ κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἐξομόσασθαι. ἐὰν δὲ μηδέτερον τούτων ποιῶσιν, ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῆς δημοκρατίας κλητεύσομεν αὐτούς. λέγε τὰς μαρτυρίας.
21. Evidence To resume then, gentlemen. After this, time passed, merchant ships from Athens continued to arrive at Rhodes, and it was clear that no disaster had overtaken the city. So Leocrates grew alarmed, and embarking again, left Rhodes for Megara. He stayed at Megara for over five years with a Megarian as his patron, unashamed at living on the boundaries of Attica, an alien on the borders of the land that nurtured him.
21. Μαρτυρίαι μετὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἐπειδὴ χρόνος ἐγένετο, καὶ ἀφικνεῖτο Ἀθήνηθεν πλοῖα εἰς τὴν Ῥόδον, καὶ φανερὸν ἦν ὅτι οὐδὲν δεινὸν ἐγεγόνει περὶ τὴν πόλιν, φοβηθεὶς ἐκπλεῖ πάλιν ἐκ τῆς Ῥόδου καὶ ἀφικνεῖται εἰς Μέγαρα· καὶ ᾤκει ἐν Μεγάροις πλείω ἢ πέντε ἔτη προστάτην ἔχων Μεγαρέα, οὐδὲ τὰ ὅρια τῆς χώρας αἰσχυνόμενος, ἀλλʼ ἐν γειτόνων τῆς ἐκθρεψάσης αὐτὸν πατρίδος μετοικῶν.
22. He had condemned himself so finally to a lifetime of exile that he sent for Amyntas, the husband of his elder sister, and Antigenes of Xypete, a friend of his, to come to him from Athens, and asked his brother-in-law to buy his house and slaves from him, selling them to him for a talent. Out of this sum he arranged that his debts should be settled, his loans paid off and the balance restored to him.
22. καὶ οὕτως αὑτοῦ κατεγνώκει ἀίδιον φυγὴν ὥστε μεταπεμψάμενος ἐντεῦθεν Ἀμύνταν τὸν τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἔχοντα αὐτοῦ τὴν πρεσβυτέραν καὶ τῶν φίλων Ἀντιγένην Ξυπεταιόνα, καὶ δεηθεὶς τοῦ κηδεστοῦ πρίασθαι παρʼ αὑτοῦ τἀνδράποδα καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν, ἀποδόσθαι ταλάντου, κἀπὸ τούτου προσέταξε τοῖς τε χρήσταις ἀποδοῦναι τὰ ὀφειλόμενα καὶ τοὺς ἐράνους διενεγκεῖν, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν αὑτῷ ἀποδοῦναι.
23. After concluding all this business Amyntas resold the slaves himself for thirty-five minas to Timochares of Acharnae who had married Leocrates’ younger sister. Timochares had no ready money for the purchase and so drew up an agreement which he lodged with Lysicles and paid Amyntas interest of one mina. To convince you that this is fact, lest you should think it idle talk, the clerk shall read you the evidence relating to these points also. If Amyntas had been still alive I should have produced him in person; since he is not, I am summoning for you the men who know the facts. Please read me this evidence showing that Amyntas bought the slaves and house from Leocrates at Megara.
23. διοικήσας δὲ ταῦτα πάντα ὁ Ἀμύντας αὐτὸς πάλιν ἀποδίδοται τἀνδράποδα πέντε καὶ τριάκοντα μνῶν Τιμοχάρει Ἀχαρνεῖ τῷ τὴν νεωτέραν ἔχοντι τούτου ἀδελφήν· ἀργύριον δὲ οὐκ ἔχων δοῦναι ὁ Τιμοχάρης, συνθήκας ποιησάμενος καὶ θέμενος παρὰ Λυσικλεῖ μίαν μνᾶν τόκον ἔφερε τῷ Ἀμύντα. ἵνα δὲ μὴ λόγον οἴησθε εἶναι ἀλλʼ εἰδῆτε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀναγνώσεται καὶ τούτων ὑμῖν τὰς μαρτυρίας. εἰ μὲν οὖν ζῶν ἐτύγχανεν ὁ Ἀμύντας, ἐκεῖνον ⟨ἂν⟩ αὐτὸν παρειχόμην· νυνὶ δʼ ὑμῖν καλῶ τοὺς συνειδότας. καί μοι λέγε ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν, ὡς ἐπρίατο παρὰ Λεωκράτους ἐν Μεγάροις τὰ ἀνδράποδα Ἀμύντας καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν.
24. Evidence Now hear how Philomelos of Cholargus and Menelaus, once an envoy to the King, received from Amyntas forty minas owed them. Evidence Please take the evidence of Timochares who bought the slaves from Amyntas for thirty-five minas, and also his agreement.
24. Μαρτυρία ἀκούσατε δὲ καὶ ὡς ἀπέλαβε τετταράκοντα μνᾶς παρʼ Ἀμύντου Φιλόμηλος Χολαργεὺς καὶ Μενέλαος ὁ πρεσβεύσας ὡς βασιλέα. Μαρτυρία λαβὲ δέ μοι καὶ τὴν Τιμοχάρους τοῦ πριαμένου τἀνδράποδα παρʼ Ἀμύντου πέντε καὶ τριάκοντα μνῶν, καὶ τὰς συνθήκας.
25. Evidence. Agreement. You have heard the witnesses, gentlemen. What I am now going to say will give you good reason for indignation and hatred of this man Leocrates. For he was not content simply to remove his own person and his goods. There were the sacred images of his family which his forbears established and which, in keeping with your customs and ancestral tradition, they afterwards entrusted to him. These too he had sent to Megara. He took them out of the country without a qualm at the name “ancestral images” or at the thought that he had uprooted them from their country and expected them to share his exile, to leave the temples and the land which they had occupied and be established in a strange and uncongenial place, as aliens to the soil and to the rites traditionally observed in Megara.
25. Μαρτυρία. Συνθῆκαι τῶν μὲν μαρτύρων ἀκηκόατε, ὦ ἄνδρες· ἄξιον δʼ ἐστὶν ἐφʼ οἷς μέλλω λέγειν ἀγανακτῆσαι καὶ μισῆσαι τουτονὶ Λεωκράτην. οὐ γὰρ ἐξήρκεσε τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὰ χρήματα μόνον ὑπεκθέσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ τὰ πατρῷα, ἃ τοῖς ὑμετέροις νομίμοις καὶ πατρίοις ἔθεσιν οἱ πρόγονοι παρέδοσαν αὐτῷ ἱδρυσάμενοι, ταῦτα μετεπέμψατο εἰς Μέγαρα καὶ ἐξήγαγεν ἐκ τῆς χώρας, οὐδὲ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν τῶν πατρῴων ἱερῶν φοβηθείς, ὅτι ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος αὐτὰ κινήσας συμφεύγειν αὑτῷ ἐκλείποντα τοὺς νεὼς καὶ τὴν χώραν ἣν κατεῖχεν, ἠξίωσε, καὶ ἱδρῦσθαι ἐπὶ ξένης καὶ ἀλλοτρίας, καὶ εἶναι ὀθνεῖα τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ τοῖς νομίμοις τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Μεγαρέων πόλιν εἰθισμένοις.
26. Your fathers, honoring Athena as the deity to whom their land had been allotted, called their native city Athens, so that men who revered the goddess should not desert the city which bore her name. By disregarding custom, country, and sacred images Leocrates did all in his power to cause even your divine protection to be exported. Moreover, to have wronged the city on this enormous scale was not enough for him. Living at Megara and using as capital the money which he had withdrawn from Athens he shipped corn, bought from Cleopatra, from Epirus to Leucas and from there to Corinth.
26. καὶ οἱ μὲν πατέρες ὑμῶν †τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ὡς τὴν χώραν εἰληχυῖα† [ὁμώνυμον αὐτῇ] τὴν πατρίδα προσηγόρευον Ἀθήνας, ἵνʼ οἱ τιμῶντες τὴν θεὸν τὴν ὁμώνυμον αὐτῇ πόλιν μὴ ἐγκαταλίπωσι· Λεωκράτης δʼ οὔτε νομίμων οὔτε πατρίδος οὔθʼ ἱερῶν φροντίσας τὸ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν ἐξαγώγιμον ὑμῖν καὶ τὴν παρὰ τῶν θεῶν βοήθειαν ἐποίησε. καὶ οὐκ ἐξήρκεσεν αὐτῷ τοσαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα τὴν πόλιν ἀδικῆσαι, ἀλλʼ οἰκῶν ἐν Μεγάροις, οἷς παρʼ ὑμῶν ἐξεκομίσατο χρήμασιν ἀφορμῇ χρώμενος, ἐκ τῆς Ἠπείρου παρὰ Κλεοπάτρας εἰς Λευκάδα ἐσιτήγει καὶ ἐκεῖθεν εἰς Κόρινθον.
27. And yet, gentlemen, in cases of this sort your laws lay down the most severe penalties if an Athenian transports corn to any place other than your city. When therefore a man has been a traitor in war and has broken the laws in transporting corn, when he has had no regard for sacred things and none for his country or the laws, if you have him at the mercy of your vote, will you not execute him and make an example of him to others? If you do not it will show an apathy and lack of righteous indignation completely without parallel.
27. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες, καὶ περὶ τούτων οἱ ὑμέτεροι νόμοι τὰς ἐσχάτας τιμωρίας ὁρίζουσιν, ἐάν τις Ἀθηναίων ἄλλοσέ ποι σιτηγήσῃ ἢ ὡς ὑμᾶς. ἔπειτα τὸν προδόντα μὲν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, σιτηγήσαντα δὲ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους, μὴ φροντίσαντα δὲ μήτε ἱερῶν μήτε πατρίδος μήτε νόμων, τοῦτον ἔχοντες ἐπὶ τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ ψήφῳ οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖτε καὶ παράδειγμα τοῖς ἄλλοις ποιήσετε; πάντων ἄρʼ ἀνθρώπων ῥᾳθυμότατοι ἔσεσθε, καὶ ἥκιστα ἐπὶ τοῖς δεινοῖς ὀργιζόμενοι.
28. Consider these further proofs that my inquiry into this question has been just; for it is my opinion that in dealing with such serious crimes you must base your vote, not on conjecture, but on certainty; and that witnesses must prove their good faith before, not after, they give their evidence. I submitted to the defence a written challenge on all these points and demanded the slaves of Leocrates for torture, according to the right procedure for making challenges. Please read the challenge.
28. καὶ ταῦτα δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἐμοῦ θεωρήσατε ὡς δικαίαν τὴν ἐξέτασιν ποιουμένου περὶ τούτων. οὐ γὰρ οἶμαι δεῖν ὑμᾶς ὑπὲρ τηλικούτων ἀδικημάτων εἰκάζοντας ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν εἰδότας ψηφίζεσθαι, καὶ τοὺς μάρτυρας μὴ δώσοντας ἔλεγχον μαρτυρεῖν ἀλλὰ δεδωκότας. προὐκαλεσάμην γὰρ αὐτοὺς πρόκλησιν ὑπὲρ τούτων ἁπάντων γράψας καὶ ἀξιῶν βασανίζειν τοὺς τούτου οἰκέτας, ᾗ προκλήσεις προκαλεῖσθαι ἄξιόν ἐστιν. καὶ μοι λέγε ταύτην.
29. Challenge You hear the challenge, gentlemen. By the very act of refusing to accept this Leocrates condemned himself as a traitor to his country. For whoever refuses to allow the testing of those who share his secrets has confessed that the charges of the indictment are true. Every one of you knows that in matters of dispute it is considered by far the justest and most democratic course, when there are male or female slaves, who possess the necessary information, to examine these by torture and so have facts to go upon instead of hearsay, particularly when the case concerns the public and is of vital interest to the state.
29. Πρόκλησις ἀκούετε, ὦ ἄνδρες, τῆς προκλήσεως. ἅμα τοίνυν ταύτην Λεωκράτης οὐκ ἐδέχετο καὶ κατεμαρτύρει αὑτοῦ ὅτι προδότης τῆς πατρίδος ἐστίν· ὁ γὰρ τὸν παρὰ τῶν συνειδότων ἔλεγχον φυγὼν ὡμολόγηκεν ἀληθῆ εἶναι τὰ εἰσηγγελμένα. τίς γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι περὶ τῶν ἀμφισβητουμένων πολὺ δοκεῖ δικαιότατον καὶ δημοτικώτατον εἶναι, ὅταν οἰκέται ἢ θεράπαιναι συνειδῶσιν ἃ δεῖ, τούτους ἐλέγχειν καὶ βασανίζειν, καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς λόγοις πιστεύειν, ἄλλως τε καὶ περὶ πραγμάτων κοινῶν καὶ μεγάλων καὶ συμφερόντων τῇ πόλει;
30. Certainly I cannot be called unjust in my prosecution of Leocrates. I was even willing at my own risk to let the proof rest on the torture of his male and female slaves, but the defendant, realizing his guilt, rejected the offer instead of accepting it. Add yet, gentlemen, the male and female slaves of Leocrates would have been far readier to deny any of the real facts than to invent lies against their master.
30. ἐγὼ τοίνυν τοσοῦτον ἀφέστηκα τοῦ ἀδίκως τὴν εἰσαγγελίαν κατὰ Λεωκράτους ποιήσασθαι, ὅσον ἐγὼ μὲν ἐβουλόμην τοῖς ἰδίοις κινδύνοις ἐν τοῖς Λεωκράτους οἰκέταις καὶ θεραπαίναις βασανισθεῖσι τὸν ἔλεγχον γενέσθαι, οὑτοσὶ δὲ διὰ τὸ συνειδέναι ἑαυτῷ οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν ἀλλʼ ἔφυγε. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες, πολὺ θᾶττον οἱ Λεωκράτους οἰκέται καὶ θεράπαιναι τῶν γενομένων ἄν τι ἠρνήθησαν ἢ τὰ μὴ ὄντα τοῦ αὑτῶν δεσπότου κατεψεύσαντο.
31. Apart from this, Leocrates will presently proclaim that he is a simple citizen and is falling a prey to the cunning of an orator and false informer. But I am sure you all know well the characteristic behavior of those unscrupulous men who try to lay false information; for when they choose their part they look for vantage-points on which to quibble against those on trial, whereas the man whose aims in going to law are honest, who brings proofs to bear against those who come under the herald’s curse, does just the opposite, as I myself am doing.
31. χωρὶς τοίνυν τούτων Λεωκράτης ἀναβοήσεται αὐτίκα ὡς ἰδιώτης ὤν, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ ῥήτορος καὶ συκοφάντου δεινότητος ἀναρπαζόμενος· ἐγὼ δʼ ἡγοῦμαι πάντας ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ὅτι τῶν μὲν δεινῶν καὶ συκοφαντεῖν ἐπιχειρούντων ἔργον ἐστὶν ἅμα τοῦτο προαιρεῖσθαι καὶ ζητεῖν τὰ χωρία ταῦτα, ἐν οἷς τοὺς παραλογισμοὺς κατὰ τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων ποιήσονται, τῶν δὲ δικαίως τὰς κρίσεις ἐνισταμένων καὶ τοὺς ἐνόχους ταῖς ἀραῖς ἀκριβῶς ἀποδεικνύντων τἀναντία φαίνεσθαι τούτοις ποιοῦντας, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς.
32. Look at the present case yourselves in this way. Which people could not have been misled by cunning or a deceptive argument? The male and female slaves. Naturally, when tortured, they would have told the whole truth about all the offences. But it was just these persons whom Leocrates refused to hand over, though they were his and no one else’s.
32. οὑτωσὶ δὲ διαλογίζεσθε περὶ τούτων παρʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς. τίνας ἀδύνατον ἦν τῇ δεινότητι καὶ ταῖς παρασκευαῖς ταῖς τοῦ λόγου παραγαγεῖν; κατὰ φύσιν τοίνυν βασανιζόμενοι πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν περὶ πάντων τῶν ἀδικημάτων ἔμελλον φράσειν οἱ οἰκέται καὶ αἱ θεράπαιναι. ἀλλὰ τούτους Λεωκράτης παραδοῦναι ἔφυγε, καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἀλλοτρίους ἀλλʼ αὑτοῦ ὄντας.
33. On the other hand which people could he probably impose upon by arguments, appealing to their softer side by his tears and so winning their sympathy? The jury. Leocrates, the betrayer of his country, has come into court with only one fear, namely that the witnesses who by certain proofs expose the criminal will be produced from the same household as the man whom they expose. What was the use of pretexts, pleas, excuses? Justice is plain, the truth easy and the proof brief.
33. τίνας δὲ δυνατὸν εἶναι δοκεῖ τοῖς λόγοις ψυχαγωγῆσαι, καὶ τὴν ὑγρότητα αὐτῶν τοῦ ἤθους τοῖς δακρύοις εἰς ἔλεον προαγαγέσθαι; τοὺς δικαστάς. ἐνταῦθα Λεωκράτης ὁ προδότης τῆς πατρίδος ἐλήλυθεν, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ φοβούμενος μὴ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς οἰκίας οἵ τʼ ἐξελέγχοντες τῷ ἔργῳ καὶ ὁ ἐξελεγχόμενος γένηται. τί γὰρ ἔδει προφάσεων ἢ λόγων ἢ σκήψεως; ἁπλοῦν τὸ δίκαιον, ῥᾴδιον τὸ ἀληθές, βραχὺς ὁ ἔλεγχος.
34. If he admits that the articles of the indictment are true and right, why does he not suffer punishment as the laws require? But if he claims that they are false, why has he not handed over his male and female slaves? When a man is up for treason he should submit his slaves for torture, without evading a single one of the most searching tests.
34. εἰ μὲν ὁμολογεῖ τὰ ἐν τῇ εἰσαγγελίᾳ ἀληθῆ καὶ ὅσια εἶναι, τί οὐ τῆς ἐκ τῶν νόμων τιμωρίας τυγχάνει; εἰ δὲ μή φησι ταῦτα ἀληθῆ εἶναι, τί οὐ παραδέδωκε τοὺς οἰκέτας καὶ τὰς θεραπαίνας; προσήκει γὰρ τὸν ὑπὲρ προδοσίας κινδυνεύοντα καὶ παραδιδόναι βασανίζειν καὶ μηδένα τῶν ἀκριβεστάτων ἐλέγχων φεύγειν.
35. Leocrates did nothing of the sort. Though he has condemned himself as a traitor to his country, a traitor to his gods and to the laws, he will ask you when you vote to contradict his own admissions and his own evidence. How can it be right, when a man has refused a fair offer and in many other ways also has robbed himself of the means of defence, for you to let him mislead your judgement on crimes to which he has confessed?
35. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν τούτων ἔπραξεν. ἀλλὰ καταμεμαρτυρηκὼς ἑαυτοῦ ὅτι προδότης ἐστὶ τῆς πατρίδος καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ τῶν νόμων, ἀξιώσει ὑμᾶς ἐναντία ταῖς αὑτοῦ ὁμολογίαις καὶ μαρτυρίαις ψηφίσασθαι. καὶ πῶς δίκαιόν ἐστι τὸν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῆς ἀπολογίας αὑτοῦ ἐξ ἄλλων τε πολλῶν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ δέξασθαι τὰ δίκαια περιῃρημένον, τοῦτον ἐᾶσαι ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων ἀδικημάτων ἐξαπατῆσαι;
36. So much for the challenge and the crime. I think you have been shown well enough, gentlemen, that that part is beyond dispute. I want now to remind you what emergencies, what great dangers the city was facing when Leocrates turned traitor to it. Please take the decree of Hyperides, clerk, and read it.
36. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς προκλήσεως καὶ τοῦ ἀδικήματος, ὅτι ὁμολογούμενόν ἐστιν, ἱκανῶς ὑμᾶς ἡγοῦμαι, ὦ ἄνδρες, μεμαθηκέναι· ἐν οἷς δὲ καιροῖς καὶ ἡλίκοις κινδύνοις τὴν πόλιν οὖσαν Λεωκράτης προδέδωκεν ἀναμνῆσαι ὑμᾶς βούλομαι. καί μοι λαβὲ τὸ ψήφισμα, γραμματεῦ, τὸ Ὑπερείδου καὶ ἀναγίγνωσκε.
37. Decree You hear the decree, gentlemen. It provided that the Council of Five Hundred should go down to the Piraeus armed, to consult for the protection of that harbor, and that it should hold itself ready to do whatever seemed to be in the people’s interest. And yet, if the men who had been exempted from military service so that they might deliberate upon the city’s affairs were then playing the part of soldiers, do you think that the alarms which had taken hold upon the city were any trivial or ordinary fears?
37. Ψήφισμα ἀκούετε τοῦ ψηφίσματος, ὦ ἄνδρες, ὅτι τὴν βουλὴν τοὺς πεντακοσίους καταβαίνειν εἰς Πειραιᾶ χρηματιοῦσαν περὶ φυλακῆς τοῦ Πειραιέως ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ἔδοξε, καὶ πράττειν διεσκευασμένην ὅ τι ἂν δοκῇ τῷ δήμῳ συμφέρον εἶναι. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες, εἰ οἱ ἀφειμένοι τοῦ στρατεύεσθαι ἕνεκα τοῦ βουλεύεσθαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ἐν τῇ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τάξει διέτριβον, ἆρʼ ὑμῖν δοκοῦσι μικροὶ καὶ οἱ τυχόντες φόβοι τότε τὴν πόλιν κατασχεῖν;
38. Yet it was then that this man Leocrates made off himself—a runaway from the city; it was then that he conveyed to safety his available property and sent back for the sacred images of his family. To such a pitch did he carry his treason that, so far as his decision went, the temples were abandoned, the posts on the wall unmanned and the town and country left deserted.
38. ἐν οἷς Λεωκράτης οὑτοσὶ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἀποδρὰς ᾤχετο, καὶ τὰ χρήματα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα ἐξεκόμισε, καὶ ⟨τὰ⟩ ἱερὰ τὰ πατρῷα μετεπέμψατο, καὶ εἰς τοσοῦτον προδοσίας ἦλθεν ὥστε κατὰ τὴν τούτου προαίρεσιν ἔρημοι μὲν ἦσαν οἱ νεῴ, ἔρημοι δʼ αἱ φυλακαὶ τῶν τειχῶν, ἐξελέλειπτο δʼ ἡ πόλις καὶ ἡ χώρα.
39. And yet in those days, gentlemen, who would not have pitied the city, even though he were not a citizen but only an alien who had lived among us in previous years? Surely there was no one whose hatred of the people or of Athens was so intense that he could have endured to see himself remain outside the army. When the defeat and consequent disaster had been reported to the people and the city was tense with alarm at the news, the people’s hope of safety had come to rest with the men of over fifty. Free women could be seen crouching at the doors in terror inquiring for the safety of their husbands, fathers or brothers, offering a spectacle degrading to themselves and to the city. The men who had outlived their stength and were advanced in life, exempt by law from service in the field, could be seen throughout the city, now on the threshold of the grave, wretchedly scurrying with their cloaks pinned double round them.
39. καίτοι κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους, ὦ ἄνδρες, τίς οὐκ ἂν τὴν πόλιν ἠλέησεν, οὐ μόνον πολίτης ἀλλὰ καὶ ξένος ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις ἐπιδεδημηκώς; τίς δʼ ἦν οὕτως ἢ μισόδημος τότʼ ἢ μισαθήναιος, ὅστις ἐδυνήθη ἂν ἄτακτον αὑτὸν ὑπομεῖναι ἰδεῖν; ἡνίκα ἡ μὲν ἧττα καὶ τὸ γεγονὸς πάθος τῷ ⟨δήμῳ⟩ προσήγγελτο, ὀρθὴ δʼ ἦν ἡ πόλις ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν, αἱ δʼ ἐλπίδες τῆς σωτηρίας τῷ δήμῳ ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ πεντήκοντʼ ἔτη γεγονόσι καθειστήκεσαν, ὁρᾶν δʼ ἦν ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν θυρῶν γυναῖκας ἐλευθέρας, περιφόβους κατεπτηχυίας καὶ πυνθανομένας εἰ ζῶσι, τὰς μὲν ὑπὲρ ἀνδρός, τὰς δʼ ὑπὲρ πατρός, τὰς δʼ ὑπὲρ ἀδελφῶν, ἀναξίως αὑτῶν καὶ τῆς πόλεως ὁρωμένας, τῶν δʼ ἀνδρῶν τοὺς τοῖς σώμασιν ἀπειρηκότας καὶ ταῖς ἡλικίαις πρεσβυτέρους καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν νόμων τοῦ στρατεύεσθαι ἀφειμένους ἰδεῖν ἦν καθʼ ὅλην τὴν πόλιν τότʼ ἐπὶ γήρως ὀδῷ περιφθειρομένους, διπλᾶ τὰ ἱμάτια ἐμπεπορπημένους;
41. Many sufferings were being visited upon the city; every citizen had felt misfortune at its worst; but the sight which would most surely have stirred the onlooker and moved him to tears over the sorrows of Athens was to see the people vote that slaves should be released, that aliens should become Athenians and the disfranchised regain their rights: the nation that once proudly claimed to be indigenous and free. The city had suffered a change indeed.
41. πολλῶν δὲ καὶ δεινῶν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν γιγνομένων, καὶ πάντων τῶν πολιτῶν τὰ μέγιστα ἠτυχηκότων, μάλιστʼ ἄν τις ἤλγησε καὶ ἐδάκρυσεν ἐπὶ ταῖς τῆς πόλεως συμφοραῖς, ἡνίχʼ ὁρᾶν ἦν τὸν δῆμον ψηφισάμενον τοὺς μὲν δούλους ἐλευθέρους, τοὺς δὲ ξένους Ἀθηναίους, τοὺς δʼ ἀτίμους ἐπιτίμους· ὃς πρότερον ἐπὶ τῷ αὐτόχθων εἶναι καὶ ἐλεύθερος ἐσεμνύνετο.
42. She who used once to champion the freedom of her fellow Greeks was now content if she could safely meet the dangers that her own defence entailed. In the past she had ruled a wide extent of foreign land; now she was disputing with Macedon for her own. The people whom Lacedaemonians and Peloponnesians, whom the Greeks of Asia used once to summon to their help, were now entreating men of Andros, Ceos, Troezen and Epidaurus to send them aid. Therefore, gentlemen, if at a time of fears like these, a time of such great danger and disgrace, there was a deserter from the city, a mall who neither took up arms in his country’s defence nor submitted his person to the generals for enrollment but ran away and betrayed the safety of the people, what patriotic juryman with any scruples would vote for his acquittal? What advocate summoned into court would help a traitor to his city? He had not even the grace to share our grief at the misfortunes of his country, and he has made no contribution towards the defence of Athens and our democracy.
42. τοσαύτῃ δʼ ἡ πόλις ἐκέχρητο μεταβολῇ ὥστε πρότερον μὲν ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας ἀγωνίζεσθαι, ἐν δὲ τοῖς τότε χρόνοις ἀγαπᾶν, ἐὰν ὑπὲρ τῆς αὑτῶν σωτηρίας ἀσφαλῶς δύνηται διακινδυνεῦσαι, καὶ πρότερον μὲν πολλῆς χώρας τῶν βαρβάρων ἐπάρχειν, τότε δὲ πρὸς Μακεδόνας ὑπὲρ τῆς ἰδίας κινδυνεύειν· καὶ τὸν δῆμον ὃν πρότερον Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ Πελοποννήσιοι καὶ οἱ τὴν Ἀσίαν κατοικοῦντες Ἕλληνες βοηθὸν ἐπεκαλοῦντο, οὗτος ἐδεῖτο τῶν ἐξ Ἄνδρου καὶ Κέω καὶ Τροζῆνος καὶ Ἐπιδαύρου ἐπικουρίαν αὑτῷ μεταπέμψασθαι. ὥστε, ὦ ἄνδρες, τὸν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις φόβοις καὶ τηλικούτοις κινδύνοις καὶ τοσαύτῃ αἰσχύνῃ ἐγκαταλιπόντα τὴν πόλιν, καὶ μήτε ⟨τὰ⟩ ὅπλα θέμενον ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος μήτε τὸ σῶμα παρασχόντα τάξαι τοῖς στρατηγοῖς, ἀλλὰ φυγόντα καὶ προδόντα τὴν τοῦ δήμου σωτηρίαν, τίς ἂν ἢ δικαστὴς φιλόπολις καὶ εὐσεβεῖν βουλόμενος ψήφῳ ἀπολύσειεν, ἢ ῥήτωρ κληθεὶς τῷ προδότῃ τῆς πόλεως βοηθήσειε, τὸν οὐδὲ συμπενθῆσαι τὰς τῆς πατρίδος συμφορὰς τολμήσαντα, οὐδὲ συμβεβλημένον οὐδὲν εἰς τὴν τῆς πόλεως καὶ τοῦ δήμου σωτηρίαν;
44. Yet men of every age offered their services for the city’s defence on that occasion when the land was giving up its trees, the dead their gravestones, and the temples arms. Some set themselves to building walls, others to making ditches and palisades. Not a man in the city was idle. Leocrates did not offer himself to be enrolled for a single one of these tasks.
44. καίτοι κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους οὐκ ἔστιν ἥτις ἡλικία οὐ παρέσχεν ἑαυτὴν εἰς τὴν τῆς πόλεως σωτηρίαν, ὅθʼ ἡ μὲν χώρα τὰ δένδρα συνεβάλλετο, οἱ δὲ τετελευτηκότες τὰς θήκας, οἱ δὲ νεῲ τὰ ὅπλα. ἐπεμελοῦντο γὰρ οἱ μὲν τῆς τῶν τειχῶν κατασκευῆς, οἱ δὲ τῆς τῶν τάφρων, οἱ δὲ τῆς χαρακώσεως· οὐδεὶς δʼ ἦν ἀργὸς τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει. ἐφʼ ὧν οὐδενὸς τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἑαυτοῦ παρέσχε τάξαι Λεωκράτης.
45. You would do well to remember this and punish with death this man who did not even deign to help collect the bodies or attend the funeral of those who at Chaeronea died for freedom and the safety of our people; for had it rested with him those men would be unburied. He was not even ashamed to pass their graves when he greeted their country eight years after.
45. ὧν εἰκὸς ὑμᾶς ἀναμνησθέντας τὸν μηδὲ συνενεγκεῖν μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἐκφορὰν ἐλθεῖν ἀξιώσαντα τῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τοῦ δήμου σωτηρίας ἐν Χαιρωνεία τελευτησάντων θανάτῳ ζημιῶσαι ὡς τὸ ἐπὶ τούτῳ μέρος ἀτάφων ἐκείνων τῶν ἀνδρῶν γεγενημένων· ὧν οὗτος οὐδὲ τὰς θήκας παριὼν ᾐσχύνθη, ὀγδόῳ ἔτει τὴν πατρίδα αὐτῶν προσαγορεύων.
46. I wish to say a few words more about these men, gentlemen, and I ask you to listen and not regard such pleas as out of keeping with public trials. For the praise of brave men provides an unanswerable refutation of all whose conduct is opposed to theirs. And it is fair too that that praise which is to them the only reward for danger should be remembered at the public trials in which the entire city shares, since it was for her safety as a whole that they forfeited their lives.
46. περὶ ὧν, ὦ ἄνδρες, μικρῷ πλείω βούλομαι διελθεῖν, καὶ ὑμῶν ἀκοῦσαι δέομαι καὶ μὴ νομίζειν ἀλλοτρίους εἶναι τοὺς τοιούτους ⟨λόγους⟩ τῶν δημοσίων ἀγώνων· αἱ γὰρ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν εὐλογίαι τὸν ἔλεγχον σαφῆ κατὰ τῶν τἀναντία ἐπιτηδευόντων ποιοῦσιν. ἔτι δὲ καὶ δίκαιον τὸν ἔπαινον, ὃς μόνος ἆθλον τῶν κινδύνων τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐστί, τοῦτον, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἐκεῖνοι εἰς τὴν κοινὴν σωτηρίαν τῆς πόλεως τὰς ψυχὰς ⟨τὰς⟩ αὑτῶν ἀνήλωσαν, ἐν τοῖς δημοσίοις καὶ κοινοῖς ἀγῶσι τῆς πόλεως μὴ παραλείπειν.
47. Those men encountered the enemy on the borders of Boeotia, to fight for the freedom of Greece. They neither rested their hopes of safety on city walls nor surrendered their lands for the foe to devastate. Believing that their own courage was a surer protection than battlements of stone, they held it a disgrace to see the land that reared them wasted. And they were right. Men do not hold their foster parents so dear as their own fathers, and so towards countries which are not their own but which have been adopted during their lifetime they feel a weaker loyalty.
47. ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπήντησαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὁρίοις τῆς Βοιωτίας ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας μαχούμενοι, οὐκ ἐν τοῖς τείχεσι τὰς ἐλπίδας τῆς σωτηρίας ἔχοντες, οὐδὲ τὴν χώραν κακῶς ποιεῖν προέμενοι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν αὑτῶν ἀνδρείαν ἀσφαλεστέραν φυλακὴν εἶναι νομίζοντες τῶν λιθίνων περιβόλων, τὴν δὲ θρέψασαν αὑτοὺς αἰσχυνόμενοι περιορᾶν πορθουμένην, εἰκότως·
48. In such a spirit did these men bear their share of dangers with a courage unsurpassed; but their prowess was not equalled by their fortune. For they have not lived to reap the enjoyment of their valor; they died and have bequeathed their glory in its stead. Unconquered, they fell at their posts in the defence of freedom, and if I may use a paradox but one which yet conveys the truth, they triumphed in their death.
48. ὥσπερ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς φύσει γεννήσαντας καὶ τοὺς ποιητοὺς τῶν πατέρων οὐχ ὁμοίως ἔχουσιν ἅπαντες ταῖς εὐνοίαις, οὕτω καὶ πρὸς τὰς χώρας τὰς μὴ φύσει προσηκούσας, ἀλλʼ ὕστερον ἐπικτήτους γενομένας καταδεέστερον διάκεινται. τοιαύταις δὲ γνώμαις χρησάμενοι καὶ τοῖς ἀρίστοις ἀνδράσιν ἐξ ἴσου τῶν κινδύνων μετασχόντες, οὐχ ὁμοίως τῆς τύχης ἐκοινώνησαν· τῆς γὰρ ἀρετῆς οὐ ζῶντες ἀπολαύουσιν, ἀλλὰ τελευτήσαντες τὴν δόξαν καταλελοίπασιν, οὐχ ἡττηθέντες, ἀλλʼ ἀποθανόντες ἔνθαπερ ἐτάχθησαν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀμύνοντες.
49. For liberty and courage, the prizes offered to brave men in war, are both in the possession of the dea neither can we say that men have been defeated whose spirits did not flinch at the aggressor’s threat. For it is only those who meet an honorable end in war whom no man justly could call beaten, since by the choosing of a noble death they are escaping slavery. The courage of these men has made this plain. They alone among us all held in their persons the liberty of Greece.
49. εἰ δὲ δεῖ καὶ παραδοξότατον μὲν εἰπεῖν, ἀληθὲς δέ, ἐκεῖνοι νικῶντες ἀπέθανον. ἃ γὰρ ἆθλα τοῦ πολέμου τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐστίν. ἐλευθερία καὶ ἀρετή, ταῦτʼ ἀμφότερα τοῖς τελευτήσασιν ὑπάρχει. ἔπειτα δʼ οὐδʼ οἷόν τʼ ἐστὶν εἰπεῖν ἡττῆσθαι τοὺς ταῖς διανοίαις μὴ πτήξαντας τὸν τῶν ἐπιόντων φόβον. μόνους γὰρ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις καλῶς ἀποθνῄσκοντας οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς ἡττῆσθαι δικαίως φήσειε· τὴν γὰρ δουλείαν φεύγοντες εὐκλεᾶ θάνατον αἱροῦνται. ἐδήλωσε δʼ ἡ τούτων τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀρετή·
50. For at the very moment when they passed away her lot was changed to servitude. With the bodies of these men was buried the freedom of every other Greek, and thus they proved it to the world that they were fighting for no private ends but facing danger for our common liberty. I therefore say without misgiving that their lives have been a laurel wreath for Athens.
50. μόνοι γὰρ τῶν ἁπάντων τὴν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐλευθερίαν ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν σώμασιν εἶχον. ἅμα γὰρ οὗτοί τε τὸν βίον μετήλλαξαν καὶ τὰ τῆς Ἑλλάδος εἰς δουλείαν μετέπεσεν· συνετάφη γὰρ τοῖς τούτων σώμασιν ἡ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερία. ὅθεν καὶ φανερὸν πᾶσιν ἐποίησαν οὐκ ἰδίᾳ πολεμοῦντες ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ κοινῆς ἐλευθερίας προκινδυνεύοντες. ὥστε, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὐκ ⟨ἂν⟩ αἰσχυνθείην εἰπὼν στέφανον τῆς πατρίδος εἶναι τὰς ἐκείνων ψυχάς.
51. They had good reason for their conduct, since you, Athenians, alone among Greeks know how to honor valiant men. In other cities, you will find, it is the athletes who have their statues in the market place, whereas in yours it is victorious generals and the slayers of the tyrants: men whose like it is hard to find though we search the whole of Greece for but a few, whereas the winners of contests for a wreath have come from many places and can easily be seen. It is then only right, since you pay the highest honors to your benefactors, that you should also punish with the utmost rigor those who dishonor and betray their country.
51. καὶ διʼ ἃ οὐκ ἀλόγως ἐπετήδευον ἐπίστασθε, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, μόνοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας τιμᾶν· εὑρήσετε δὲ παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ἀθλητὰς ἀνακειμένους, παρʼ ὑμῖν δὲ στρατηγοὺς ἀγαθοὺς καὶ τοὺς τὸν τύραννον ἀποκτείναντας. καὶ τοιούτους μὲν ἄνδρας οὐδʼ ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὀλίγους εὑρεῖν ῥᾴδιον, τοὺς δὲ τοὺς στεφανίτας ἀγῶνας νενικηκότας εὐπετῶς πολλαχόθεν ἔστι γεγονότας ἰδεῖν. ὥσπερ τοίνυν τοῖς εὐεργέταις μεγίστας τιμὰς ἀπονέμετε, οὕτω δίκαιον καὶ τοὺς τὴν πατρίδα καταισχύνοντας καὶ προδιδόντας ταῖς ἐσχάταις τιμωρίαις κολάζειν.
52. You should bear in mind, gentlemen, that it is not even in your power, unless you go beyond your rights, to acquit this man Leocrates, since his offence has had judgement passed upon it and a vote of condemnation too. For the council of the Areopagus;—(No one need interrupt me. That council was, in my opinion, the greatest bulwark of the city at the time;)—seized and executed men who then had fled from their country and abandoned it to the enemy. You must not think, gentlemen, that these councillors who are so scrupulous in trying other men for homicide would themselves have taken the life of any citizen unlawfully.
52. σκέψασθε δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες, ὅτι οὐδʼ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστιν ἀποψηφίσασθαι Λεωκράτους τουτουί, τὰ δίκαια ποιοῦσι. τὸ γὰρ ἀδίκημα τοῦτο κεκριμένον ἐστὶ καὶ κατεγνωσμένον. ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ βουλή (καὶ μηδείς μοι θορυβήσῃ· ταύτην γὰρ ὑπολαμβάνω μεγίστην τότε γενέσθαι τῇ πόλει σωτηρίαν) τοὺς φυγόντας τὴν πατρίδα καὶ ἐγκαταλιπόντας τότε τοῖς πολεμίοις λαβοῦσα ἀπέκτεινε. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες, μὴ νομίζετε τοὺς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων φονικὰ ἀδικήματα ὁσιώτατα δικάζοντας αὐτοὺς ἂν εἴς τινα τῶν πολιτῶν τοιοῦτόν τι παρανομῆσαι. ἀλλὰ μὴν Αὐτολύκου μὲν ὑμεῖς κατεψηφίσασθε, μείναντος μὲν αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις, ἔχοντος δʼ αἰτίαν τοὺς υἱεῖς καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ὑπεκθέσθαι, καὶ ἐτιμωρήσασθε.