--- title: "Against Theomnestus I · Κατὰ θεομνήστου, Α" author: "Lysias" translator: "W. R. M. Lamb" languages: [grc, en] shelf: "Classical Greek" url: https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-against-theomnestus-1/ cite: "Lysias, tr. W. R. M. Lamb, Against Theomnestus I · Κατὰ θεομνήστου, Α. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-against-theomnestus-1/" --- # Against Theomnestus I · Κατὰ θεομνήστου, Α *Lysias, tr. W. R. M. Lamb* A man called his father’s murderer sues for slander, and the court must decide what words the law forbids. > Greek: ed. W.R.M. Lamb, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0540.tlg010, CC BY-SA 4.0). > English: W. R. M. Lamb, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0540.tlg010.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included. > Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence. ## Contents 1. [Sections 1–32](https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-against-theomnestus-1/1.md) ## 1. Sections 1–32 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-against-theomnestus-1/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-against-theomnestus-1/1/#p-N [¶0] 1. I believe that I shall not be at a loss for witnesses, gentlemen of the jury: for I see many of you in this place of judgement who were present at the time when Lysitheus was prosecuting Theomnestus for speaking before the people, since he had lost the right to do so by having cast away his armour. Now it was during that trial that he asserted that I had billed my own father. > Greek: 1. μαρτύρων μὲν οὐκ ἀπορίαν μοι ἔσεσθαι δοκῶ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί· πολλοὺς γὰρ ὑμῶν ὁρῶ δικάζοντας τῶν τότε παρόντων, ὅτε Λυσίθεος Θεόμνηστον εἰσήγγελλε τὰ ὅπλα ἀποβεβληκότα, οὐκ ἐξὸν αὐτῷ, δημηγορεῖν· ἐν ἐκείνῳ γὰρ τῷ ἀγῶνι τὸν πατέρα μʼ ἔφασκεν ἀπεκτονέναι τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ. ἐγὼ δʼ, εἰ μὲν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ με ἀπεκτονέναι ᾐτιᾶτο, συγγνώμην ἂν εἶχον αὐτῷ τῶν εἰρημένων (φαῦλον γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄξιον ἡγούμην)· [¶1] 2. If he accused me of having killed his own, I should forgive him his statement, regarding him as an insignificant and worthless person; nor, if I had heard him apply any other forbidden term to me, should I have taken steps against him, since I consider it a mark of a mean and too litigious person to go to law for slander. > Greek: 2. οὐδʼ εἴ τι ἄλλο τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἤκουσα, οὐκ ἂν ἐπεξῆλθον αὐτῷ (ἀνελευθέρου γὰρ καὶ λίαν φιλοδίκου εἶναι νομίζω κακηγορίας δικάζεσθαι)· [¶2] 3. But in the present case I feel it would be disgraceful, as it concerns my father, who has deserved so highly both of you and of the State,—not to take vengeance on the man who has made that statement; and I wish to know from you whether he will be duly punished, or whether he alone of the Athenians has the privilege of doing and saying whatever he pleases in defiance of the laws. > Greek: 3. νυνὶ δὲ αἰσχρόν μοι εἶναι δοκεῖ τοῦ πατρός, οὕτω πολλοῦ ἀξίου γεγενημένου καὶ ὑμῖν καὶ τῇ πόλει, μὴ τιμωρήσασθαι τὸν ταῦτʼ εἰρηκότα, καὶ παρʼ ὑμῶν εἰδέναι βούλομαι πότερον δώσει δίκην, ἢ τούτῳ μόνῳ Ἀθηναίων ἐξαίρετόν ἐστι καὶ ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν παρὰ τοὺς νόμους ὅ τι ἂν βούληται. [¶3] 4. My age, gentlemen, is thirty-two, and your return to the city was nineteen years ago. It will be seen, therefore, that I was thirteen when my father was put to death by the Thirty. At that age I neither knew what an oligarchy was, nor would have been able to rescue him from the wrong that he suffered. > Greek: 4. ἐμοὶ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἔτη ἐστὶ ⟨δύο καὶ⟩ τριάκοντα, ἐξ ὅτου ⟨δʼ⟩ ὑμεῖς κατεληλύθατε, εἰκοστὸν τουτί. φαίνομαι οὖν τρισκαιδεκέτης ὢν ὅτε ὁ πατὴρ ὑπὸ τῶν τριάκοντα ἀπέθνησκε. ταύτην δὲ ἔχων τὴν ἡλικίαν οὔτε τί ἔστιν ὀλιγαρχία ἠπιστάμην, οὔτε ἂν ἐκείνῳ ἀδικουμένῳ ἐδυνάμην βοηθῆσαι. [¶4] 5. Besides, I could have had no true motive in the monetary way for making designs upon him: for my elder brother Pantaleon took over everything, and on becoming our guardian he deprived us of our patrimony; so that I have many good reasons, gentlemen, for wishing my father alive. Now, although it is necessary to mention those reasons, there is no need to dwell on them at length; for you all know well enough that I am speaking the truth. Nevertheless I will produce witnesses to those facts. > Greek: 5. καὶ μὲν δὴ οὐκ ὀρθῶς τῶν χρημάτων ἕνεκα ἐπεβούλευσα ⟨ἂν⟩ αὐτῷ· ὁ γὰρ πρεσβύτερος ἀδελφὸς Πανταλέων ἅπαντα παρέλαβε, καὶ ἐπιτροπεύσας ἡμᾶς τῶν πατρῴων ἀπεστέρησεν, ὥστε πολλῶν ἕνεκα, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, προσήκει μοι αὐτὸν βούλεσθαι ζῆν. ἀνάγκη μὲν οὖν περὶ αὐτῶν μνησθῆναι, οὐδὲν δὲ δεῖ πολλῶν λόγων· σχεδὸν ⟨γὰρ⟩ ἐπίστασθε ἅπαντες ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω. ὅμως δὲ μάρτυρας αὐτῶν παρέξομαι. [¶5] 6. Witnesses Well, it may be, gentlemen, that he will make no defence on these points, but will state again to you what he had the boldness to say before the arbitrator —that it is not a use of a forbidden word to say that someone has killed his father, since the law does not prohibit that, but does disallow the use of the word “murderer.” > Greek: 6. Μάρτυρες ἴσως τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, περὶ τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἀπολογήσεται, ἐρεῖ δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἅπερ ἐτόλμα λέγειν καὶ πρὸς τὸν διαιτητήν, ὡς οὐκ ἔστι τῶν ἀπορρήτων, ἐάν τις εἴπῃ τὸν πατέρα ἀπεκτονέναι· τὸν γὰρ νόμον οὐ ταῦτʼ ἀπαγορεύειν, ἀλλʼ ἀνδροφόνον οὐκ ἐᾶν λέγειν. [¶6] 7. For my part, gentlemen, I hold that your concern is not with mere words but with their meaning, and that you are all aware that those who have killed someone are murderers, and that those who are murderers have killed someone. For it was too much of a task for the lawgiver to write all the words that have the same effect; but by mentioning one he showed his meaning in regard to them all. > Greek: 7. ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὐ περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων διαφέρεσθαι ἀλλὰ τῆς τούτων διανοίας, καὶ πάντας εἰδέναι, ὅτι ὅσοι ⟨ἀπεκτόνασί τινας, καὶ ἀνδροφόνοι εἰσί, καὶ ὅσοι⟩ ἀνδροφόνοι εἰσί, καὶ ἀπεκτόνασί τινας. πολὺ γὰρ ἔργον ἦν τῷ νομοθέτῃ ἅπαντα τὰ ὀνόματα γράφειν ὅσα τὴν αὐτὴν δύναμιν ἔχει· ἀλλὰ περὶ ἑνὸς εἰπὼν περὶ πάντων ἐδήλωσεν. [¶7] 8. For I presume, Theomnestus, you would not go so far, while expecting to get satisfaction from a man who called you a father-beater or a mother-beater, as to consider that he should go unpunished for saying that you struck your male or your female parent because he had spoken no forbidden word! > Greek: 8. οὐ γὰρ δήπου, ὦ Θεόμνηστε, εἰ μέν τίς σε εἴποι πατραλοίαν ἢ μητραλοίαν, ἠξίους ἂν αὐτὸν ὀφλεῖν σοι δίκην, εἰ δέ τις εἴποι ὡς τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἢ τὸν φύσαντα ἔτυπτες, ᾤου ἂν αὐτὸν ἀζήμιον δεῖν εἶναι ὡς οὐδὲν τῶν ἀπορρήτων εἰρηκότα. [¶8] 9. And I should be glad if you would tell me this, since of this affair you are a past master, both in action and in speech: if a man said that you had cast your shield (in the terms of the law it stands,—“if anyone asserts that a man has thrown it away, he shall be liable to penalty”), would you not prosecute him? Would you be content, if someone said you had cast your shield, to make nothing of it, because casting and throwing away are not the same thing? > Greek: 9. ἡδέως γὰρ ἄν σου πυθοίμην (περὶ τοῦτο γὰρ δεινὸς εἶ καὶ μεμελέτηκας καὶ ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν)· εἴ τίς σε εἴποι ῥῖψαι τὴν ἀσπίδα (ἐν δὲ τῷ νόμῳ εἴρηται, ἐάν τις φάσκῃ ἀποβεβληκέναι, ὑπόδικον εἶναι), οὐκ ἂν ἐδικάζου αὐτῷ ἀλλʼ ἐξήρκει ἄν σοι ἐρριφέναι τὴν ἀσπίδα λέγοντι οὐδέν σοι μέλειν; [¶9] 10. Nay, if you were one of the Eleven, you would refuse to accept a prisoner arrested on the charge of having pulled off the accuser’s cloak or stripped him of his shirt: by that same rule, you would rather let him go, because he was not called a clothes-stealer! Or if somebody were seized for the abduction of a child, you would declare him to be no kidnapper, since your contention will be about words, and you will have no thought to spare for deeds,—the objects for which words are everywhere made! > Greek: 10. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ αὐτό ἐστι ῥῖψαι καὶ ἀποβεβληκέναι· ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἂν τῶν ἕνδεκα γενόμενος ἀποδέξαιο, εἴ τις ἀπάγοι τινὰ φάσκων θοἰμάτιον ἀποδεδύσθαι ἢ τὸν χιτωνίσκον ἐκδεδύσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἀφείης ἂν τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ὅτι οὐ λωποδύτης ὀνομάζεται. οὐδʼ εἴ τις παῖδα ἐξαγαγὼν ληφθείη, οὐκ ἂν φάσκοις αὐτὸν ἀνδραποδιστὴν εἶναι, εἴπερ μαχεῖ τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοῖς ἔργοις τὸν νοῦν προσέξεις, ὧν ἕνεκα τὰ ὀνόματα πάντες τίθενται. [¶10] 11. Then, again, consider this, gentlemen,—for I believe that this man, from indolence and enervation, has not even gone up to attend the Areopagus: you all know that in that place, when they try cases of murder, they do not use this term in making the sworn statements, but the one which was used for slandering me; the prosecutor swears that the other party has killed, and the defendant that he has not killed. > Greek: 11. ἔτι τοίνυν σκέψασθε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί· οὑτοσὶ γάρ μοι δοκεῖ ὑπὸ ῥᾳθυμίας καὶ μαλακίας οὐδʼ εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον ἀναβεβηκέναι. πάντες γὰρ ἐπίστασθε ὅτι ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ, ὅταν τὰς τοῦ φόνου δίκας δικάζωνται, οὐ διὰ τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος τὰς διωμοσίας ποιοῦνται, ἀλλὰ διʼ οὗπερ ἐγὼ κακῶς ἀκήκοα· ὁ μὲν γὰρ διώκων ὡς ἔκτεινε διόμνυται, ὁ δὲ φεύγων ὡς οὐκ ἔκτεινεν. [¶11] 12. Well now, it would be absurd to acquit the doer of the deed when he declared he was a murderer, on the ground that the prosecutor deposed on oath that the defendant killed. And is not this the same thing as what this man’s plea will amount to? Why, you have taken proceedings yourself against Lysitheus for slander, because he said that you had cast your shield: yet there is nothing in the terms of the law about casting, whereas, if anyone says, that a man has thrown away his shield, it imposes a penalty of five hundred drachmae. > Greek: 12. οὐκ οὖν ἄτοπον ἂν εἴη τὸν δράσαντʼ ἀφεῖναι φάσκοντα ἀνδροφόνον εἶναι, ὅτι ὁ διώκων, ὡς ἔκτεινε, τὸν φεύγοντα διωμόσατο; τί γὰρ ταῦτα, ὧν οὗτος ἐρεῖ, διαφέρει; καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν Λυσιθέῳ κακηγορίας ἐδικάσω εἰπόντι σε ἐρριφέναι τὴν ἀσπίδα. καίτοι περὶ μὲν τοῦ ῥῖψαι οὐδὲν ⟨ἐν⟩ τῷ νόμῳ εἴρηται, ἐὰν δέ τις εἴπῃ ἀποβεβληκέναι τὴν ἀσπίδα, πεντακοσίας δραχμὰς ὀφείλειν κελεύει. [¶12] 13. How monstrous it is, then, that when you have to avenge yourself on your enemies for slander you take the laws in the sense that I do now, but when you slander another in defiance of the laws you claim to escape punishment! Tell me, are you so clever that you are able to turn the laws about to suit your pleasure, or so powerful that you suppose that the people whom you have wronged will never get their revenge? > Greek: 13. οὐκ οὖν δεινόν, εἰ ὅταν μὲν δέῃ σὲ κακῶς ἀκούσαντα τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τιμωρεῖσθαι, οὕτω τοὺς νόμους ὥσπερ ἐγὼ νῦν λαμβάνεις, ὅταν δʼ ἕτερον παρὰ τοὺς νόμους εἴπῃς κακῶς, οὐκ ἀξιοῖς δοῦναι δίκην; πότερον οὕτως σὺ δεινὸς εἶ ὥστε, ὅπως ἂν βούλῃ, οἷός τʼ εἶ χρῆσθαι τοῖς νόμοις, ἢ τοσοῦτον δύνασαι ὥστε οὐδέποτε οἴει τοὺς ἀδικουμένους ὑπὸ σοῦ τιμωρίας τεύξεσθαι; εἶτʼ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ οὕτως ἀνοήτως διακείμενος, ὥστε οὐκ ἐξ ὧν εὖ πεποίηκας τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ὧν ἀδικῶν οὐ δέδωκας δίκην, οἴει δεῖν πλεονεκτεῖν; [¶13] 14. And then, are you not ashamed of such a senseless vagary as to presume on advantages due to you, not for any services done to the State, but for your unpunished offences? Please read me the law. Law Well, gentlemen, I think you have all perceived that my statement is correct, whereas this man is so stupid that he cannot understand a word that is said. So I would like to avail myself of some other laws for his instruction on these points, in the hope that even now, on the dais, he may learn a lesson, and may henceforward cease from his vexatious proceedings against us. Please read me those ancient laws of Solon. > Greek: 14. καί μοι ἀνάγνωθι τὸν νόμον. Νόμος ἐγὼ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὑμᾶς μὲν πάντας εἰδέναι ἡγοῦμαι ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν ὀρθῶς λέγω, τοῦτον δὲ οὕτω σκαιὸν εἶναι ὥστε οὐ δύνασθαι μαθεῖν τὰ λεγόμενα. βούλομαι οὖν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρων νόμων περὶ τούτων διδάξαι, ἐάν πως ἀλλὰ νῦν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος παιδευθῇ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἡμῖν μὴ παρέχῃ πράγματα. καί μοι ἀνάγνωθι τούτους τοὺς νόμους τοὺς Σόλωνος τοὺς παλαιούς. [¶14] 16. Law “He shall have his foot confined in the stocks for five days, if the court shall make such addition to the sentence.” The “stocks” there mentioned, Theomnestus, are what we now call “confinement in the wood.” So if a person confined should on his release accuse the Eleven, at their public examination, of having him confined, not in the stocks, but in the wood, they would take him for an idiot, would they not? Read another law. > Greek: 16. Νόμος δεδέσθαι δʼ ἐν τῇ ποδοκάκκῃ ἡμέρας πέντε τὸν πόδα, ἐὰν [μὴ] προστιμήσῃ ἡ ἡλιαία. ἡ ποδοκάκκη αὕτη ἐστίν, ὦ Θεόμνηστε, ὃ νῦν καλεῖται ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ δεδέσθαι. εἰ οὖν ὁ δεθεὶς ἐξελθὼν ἐν ταῖς εὐθύναις τῶν ἕνδεκα κατηγοροίη ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῇ ποδοκάκκῃ ἐδέδετο ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ, οὐκ ἂν ἠλίθιον αὐτὸν νομίζοιεν; λέγε ἕτερον νόμον. [¶15] 17. Law“He shall vow by Apollo and give security. If he dreads the course of justice, let him flee.” Here to “vow” is to “swear,” and “flee” is what we now call “run away.” “Whosoever debars with his door, when the thief is within,”—Here to “debar” is taken to be “shut out”; no dispute, now, on that score! > Greek: 17. Νόμος ἐπεγγυᾶν δʼ ἐπιορκήσαντα τὸν Ἀπόλλω. δεδιότα δὲ δίκης ἕνεκα δρασκάζειν. τοῦτο τὸ ἐπιορκήσαντα ὀμόσαντά ἐστι, τό τε δρασκάζειν, ὃ νῦν ἀποδιδράσκειν ὀνομάζομεν. ὅστις δὲ ἀπίλλει τῇ θύρᾳ, ἔνδον τοῦ κλέπτου ὄντος. τὸ ἀπίλλειν τοῦτο ἀποκλείειν νομίζεται, καὶ μηδὲν διὰ τοῦτο διαφέρου. [¶16] 18. “Money shall be placed out at whatever rate the lender may choose.” “Placed out” here, my fine fellow, is not a case of placing in the balance, but of drawing interest to such amount as one may choose. Once more, read the final clause of this same law. > Greek: 18. τὸ ἀργύριον στάσιμον εἶναι ἐφʼ ὁπόσῳ ἂν βούληται ὁ δανείζων. τὸ στάσιμον τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὦ βέλτιστε, οὐ ζυγῷ ἱστάναι ἀλλὰ τόκον πράττεσθαι ὁπόσον ἂν βούληται. ἔτι δʼ ἀνάγνωθι τουτουὶ τοῦ νόμου τὸ τελευταῖον. [¶17] 19. “All women who ply about overtly,” and “for hurt to a varlet the redress shall be double.” Pay attention: “overtly” is “openly,” “ply about” is “walk about,” and a “varlet” is a “servant.” > Greek: 19. Νόμος ὅσαι δὲ πεφασμένως πολοῦνται, καὶ οἰκῆος [καὶ] βλάβης τὴν διπλὴν εἶναι ὀφείλειν. προσέχετε τὸν νοῦν. τὸ μὲν πεφασμένως ἐστὶ φανερῶς, πολεῖσθαι δὲ βαδίζειν, τὸ δὲ οἰκῆος θεράποντος. [¶18] 20. We have many other instances of the sort, gentlemen. But if he is not a numskull, I suppose he has realized that things are the same now as they were of old, but that in some cases we do not use the same terms now as we did formerly. And he will show as much, for he will leave the dais and depart in silence. > Greek: 20. πολλὰ δὲ τοιαῦτα καὶ ἄλλα ἐστίν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί. ἀλλʼ εἰ μὴ σιδηροῦς ἐστιν, οἴομαι αὐτὸν ἔννουν γεγονέναι ὅτι τὰ μὲν πράγματα ταὐτά ἐστι νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι, τῶν δὲ ὀνομάτων ἐνίοις οὐ τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρώμεθα νῦν τε καὶ πρότερον. δηλώσει δέ· οἰχήσεται γὰρ ἀπιὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος σιωπῇ. [¶19] 21. If not, I beg you, gentlemen, to vote according to justice, reflecting that it is a far greater slur to be told that one has killed one’s father than that one has thrown away one’s shield. I, for one, would rather have cast any number of shields than entertain such thoughts regarding my father. > Greek: 21. εἰ δὲ μή, δέομαι ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὰ δίκαια ψηφίσασθαι, ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι πολὺ μεῖζον κακόν ἐστιν ἀκοῦσαί τινα τὸν πατέρα ἀπεκτονέναι ἢ τὴν ἀσπίδα ἀποβεβληκέναι. ἐγὼ γοῦν δεξαίμην ἂν πάσας τὰς ἀσπίδας ἐρριφέναι ἢ τοιαύτην γνώμην ἔχειν περὶ τὸν πατέρα. [¶20] 22. Now this man, on a charge which was well-founded, but which involved less disaster to him, obtained not only your pity, but even the disfranchisement of the witness for the prosecution. But I, who have seen him do that which you likewise know, who have saved my own shield, who have been accused of a proceeding thus unholy and monstrous, and whose disaster will be overwhelming if he is acquitted, while his will be inconsiderable if he is convicted of slander,-am I not to obtain satisfaction from him? What imputation have you standing against me? > Greek: 22. οὗτος οὖν ἔνοχος μὲν ὢν τῇ αἰτίᾳ, ἐλάττονος δὲ οὔσης αὐτῷ τῆς συμφορᾶς, οὐ μόνον ὑφʼ ὑμῶν ἠλεήθη, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν μαρτυρήσαντα ἠτίμωσεν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἑωρακὼς μὲν ἐκεῖνο τοῦτον ποιήσαντα ὃ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἴστε, αὐτὸς δὲ σώσας τὴν ἀσπίδα, ἀκηκοὼς δὲ οὕτως ἀνόσιον καὶ δεινὸν πρᾶγμα, μεγίστης δὲ οὔσης μοι τῆς συμφορᾶς, εἰ ἀποφεύξεται, τούτῳ δʼ οὐδενὸς ἀξίας, εἰ κακηγορίας ἁλώσεται, οὐκ ἄρα δίκην παρʼ αὐτοῦ λήψομαι; τίνος ὄντος ἐμοὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐγκλήματος; [¶21] 23. Is it that I have been justly accused? No, not even yourselves can say so. That the defendant is a better man and of better birth than I? No; not he himself can claim this. That having thrown away my arms I am suing for slander a man who saved his? This is not the story that has been disseminated in the city. > Greek: 23. πότερον ὅτι δικαίως ἀκήκοα; ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἂν αὐτοὶ φήσαιτε. ἀλλʼ ὅτι βελτίων καὶ ἐκ βελτιόνων ὁ φεύγων ἐμοῦ; ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἂν αὐτὸς ἀξιώσειεν. ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἀποβεβληκὼς τὰ ὅπλα δικάζομαι κακηγορίας τῷ σώσαντι; ἀλλʼ οὐχ οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἐν τῇ πόλει κατεσκέδασται. [¶22] 24. Remember that there you have presented him with a rich and goodly gift in that respect, who would not pity Dionysius for the disaster that overtook him, after he had proved himself a man of the highest valor in times of danger, who on leaving the court remarked that that was our most calamitous campaign, in which many of us were killed, and those who saved their arms had been condemned for false witness at the suit of those who threw theirs away; and that it had been better for him to be killed on that day than return home to meet with such a fate? > Greek: 24. ἀναμνήσθητε δὲ ὅτι μεγάλην καὶ καλὴν ἐκείνην δωρεὰν αὐτῷ δεδώκατε· ἐν ᾗ τίς οὐκ ἂν ἐλεήσειε Διονύσιον, τοιαύτῃ μὲν συμφορᾷ περιπεπτωκότα, ἄνδρα δὲ ἄριστον ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις γεγενημένον, ἀπιόντα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ δικαστηρίου [καὶ] λέγοντα ὅτι δυστυχεστάτην ἐκείνην εἴημεν στρατείαν ἐστρατευμένοι, ἐν ᾗ πολλοὶ μὲν ἡμῶν ἀπέθανον, οἱ δὲ σώσαντες τὰ ὅπλα ὑπὸ τῶν ἀποβαλόντων ψευδομαρτυρίων ἑαλώκασι, κρεῖττον δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ τότε ἀποθανεῖν ἢ οἴκαδʼ ἐλθόντι τοιαύτῃ τύχῃ χρῆσθαι; [¶23] 26. Do not, then, if you pity Theomnestus for the obloquy that he deserves, forgive him for outrages and expressions whereby he has broken the laws. For what greater misfortune could befall me, after I have had such shameful charges brought against me, and in relation to such a father? > Greek: 26. μὴ τοίνυν ἀκούσαντά ⟨τε⟩ Θεόμνηστον κακῶς τὰ προσήκοντα ἐλεεῖτε, καὶ ὑβρίζοντι καὶ λέγοντι παρὰ τοὺς νόμους συγγνώμην ἔχετε. τίς γὰρ ἂν ἐμοὶ μείζων ταύτης γένοιτο συμφορά, περὶ τοιούτου πατρὸς οὕτως αἰσχρὰς αἰτίας ἀκηκοότι; [¶24] 27. He was general many times, and shared your peril besides in many a conflict; neither did his person fall into the hands of the enemy, nor was he ever convicted by his fellow-citizens at any audit of his service, but at the age of sixty-seven he lost his life under the oligarchy for loyalty to your people. > Greek: 27. ὃς πολλάκις μὲν ἐστρατήγησε, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ ἄλλους κινδύνους μεθʼ ὑμῶν ἐκινδύνευσε· καὶ οὔτε τοῖς πολεμίοις τὸ ἐκείνου σῶμα ὑποχείριον ἐγένετο, οὔτε τοῖς πολίταις οὐδεμίαν πώποτε ὦφλεν εὐθύνην, ἔτη δὲ γεγονὼς ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑξήκοντα ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ διʼ εὔνοιαν τοῦ ὑμετέρου πλήθους ἀπέθανεν. [¶25] 28. Is there not good cause to feel anger against the man who has made such statements, and to defend my father as included in this calumny? For what more distressing fate could overtake him than this,—after being slain by his enemies, to bear the reproach of having been destroyed by his children? Even now, gentlemen, the memorials of his valor are hanging in your temples, while those of this man’s and his father’s baseness are seen in the temples of the enemy, so ingrained is cowardice in their nature. > Greek: 28. ἆρʼ ἄξιον ὀργισθῆναι τῷ ⟨τοιαῦτʼ⟩ εἰρηκότι καὶ βοηθῆσαι τῷ πατρί, ὡς καὶ ἐκείνου κακῶς ἀκηκοότος; τί γὰρ ἂν τούτου ἀνιαρότερον γένοιτο αὐτῷ, ἢ τεθνάναι μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, αἰτίαν δʼ ἔχειν ὑπὸ τῶν παίδων ⟨ἀνῃρῆσθαι⟩; οὗ ἔτι καὶ νῦν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τῆς ἀρετῆς τὰ μνημεῖα πρὸς τοῖς ὑμετέροις ⟨ἱεροῖς⟩ ἀνάκειται, τὰ δὲ τούτου καὶ τοῦ τούτου πατρὸς τῆς κακίας πρὸς τοῖς τῶν πολεμίων· οὕτω σύμφυτος αὐτοῖς ἡ δειλία. [¶26] 29. And indeed, gentlemen, the taller and more gallant they are in looks, the more they are deserving of anger. For it is clear that, though strong in their bodies, they are ill in their souls. > Greek: 29. καὶ μὲν δή, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅσῳ μείζους εἰσὶ καὶ νεανίαι τὰς ὄψεις, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ὀργῆς ἄξιοί εἰσι. δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι τοῖς μὲν σώμασι δύνανται, τὰς δὲ ψυχὰς οὐκ ⟨εὖ⟩ ἔχουσιν. [¶27] 30. I hear, gentlemen, that he is resorting to the argument that he has made these statements in a fit of anger at my having borne witness to the same effect as Dionysius. But your reflection on this, gentlemen, must be that the lawgiver grants no indulgence to anger he punishes the speaker, unless he proves the truth of the statements that he has made. I myself have now borne witness twice in regard to this man; for I was not yet aware that you punished the persons who had seen the deed, but pardoned those who had done the throwing away. > Greek: 30. ἀκούω δʼ αὐτόν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἐπὶ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον τρέπεσθαι, ὡς ὀργισθεὶς εἴρηκε ταῦτα ἐμοῦ μαρτυρήσαντος τὴν αὐτὴν μαρτυρίαν Διονυσίῳ. ὑμεῖς δʼ ἐνθυμεῖσθε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι ὁ νομοθέτης οὐδεμίαν ὀργῇ συγγνώμην δίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ ζημιοῖ τὸν λέγοντα, ἐὰν μὴ ἀποφαίνῃ ὡς ἔστιν ἀληθῆ τὰ εἰρημένα. ἐγὼ δὲ δὶς ἤδη περὶ τούτου μεμαρτύρηκα· οὐ γὰρ πω ᾔδη ὅτι ὑμεῖς τοὺς μὲν ἰδόντας τιμωρεῖσθε, τοῖς δὲ ἀποβαλοῦσι συγγνώμην ἔχετε. [¶28] 31. I doubt if on these points there is need to say any more. I request you to condemn Theomnestus, reflecting that no trial could be more serious for me than the present. For although I am now prosecuting for slander, yet at the same casting of your vote I am prosecuted for murdering my father,—I who alone, as soon as I was certified to be of age, indicted the Thirty before the Areopagus. > Greek: 31. περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι δεῖ πλείω λέγειν· ἐγὼ δʼ ὑμῶν δέομαι καταψηφίσασθαι Θεομνήστου, ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο τούτου μείζων ἀγών μοι. νῦν γὰρ διώκω ⟨μὲν⟩ κακηγορίας, τῇ δʼ αὐτῇ ψήφῳ φόνου φεύγω τοῦ πατρός, ὃς μόνος, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα ἐδοκιμάσθην, ἐπεξῆλθον τοῖς τριάκοντα ἐν Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ. [¶29] 32. Remembering these reasons, vindicate me and my father, and also the established laws and the oaths that you have sworn. > Greek: 32. ὧν μεμνημένοι καὶ ἐμοὶ καὶ τῷ πατρὶ βοηθήσατε καὶ τοῖς νόμοις τοῖς κειμένοις καὶ τοῖς ὅρκοις οἷς ὀμωμόκατε.