1. I find myself greatly embarrassed by this trial, gentlemen of the jury, when I consider that if I fail to speak with effect today not only I but my father besides will be held to be guilty, and I shall be deprived of the whole of my possessions. It is necessary therefore, even if I have no natural aptitude for the task, to defend my father and myself as best I can.
1. πολλήν μοι ἀπορίαν παρέχει ὁ ἀγὼν οὑτοσί, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅταν ἐνθυμηθῶ ὅτι, ἐὰν ἐγὼ μὲν μὴ νῦν εὖ εἴπω, οὐ μόνον ἐγὼ ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ δόξει ἄδικος εἶναι, καὶ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων στερήσομαι. ἀνάγκη οὖν, εἰ καὶ μὴ δεινὸς πρὸς ταῦτα πέφυκα, βοηθεῖν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ἐμαυτῷ οὕτως ὅπως ἂν δύνωμαι.
2. You see, of course, the artifice and the alacrity of my enemies; of these there is no need to speak; whereas everyone who knows me is aware of my inexperience. I shall therefore beg of you the just and easy favor of hearing us with the same absence of anger as when you listened to our accusers.
2. τὴν μὲν οὖν παρασκευὴν καὶ ⟨τὴν⟩ προθυμίαν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὁρᾶτε, καὶ οὐδὲν δεῖ περὶ τούτων λέγειν· τὴν δʼ ἐμὴν ἀπειρίαν πάντες ἴσασιν, ὅσοι ἐμὲ γιγνώσκουσιν. αἰτήσομαι οὖν ὑμᾶς δίκαια καὶ ῥᾴδια χαρίσασθαι, ἄνευ ὀργῆς καὶ ἡμῶν ἀκοῦσαι, ὥσπερ ⟨καὶ⟩ τῶν κατηγόρων.
3. For the man who speaks in his defence, even if you give him an impartial hearing, must needs be at a disadvantage: those people have laid their schemes long before, and without any danger to themselves have delivered their accusation; whereas we are contending amid fear and slander and the gravest danger. It is reasonable, therefore, that you should feel more kindness for those who are making their defence.
3. ἀνάγκη γὰρ τὸν ἀπολογούμενον, κἂν ἐξ ἴσου ἀκροᾶσθε, ἔλαττον ἔχειν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου ἐπιβουλεύοντες, αὐτοὶ ἄνευ κινδύνων ὄντες, τὴν κατηγορίαν ἐποιήσαντο, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀγωνιζόμεθα μετὰ δέους καὶ διαβολῆς καὶ κινδύνου ⟨τοῦ⟩ μεγίστου. εἰκὸς οὖν ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν πλείω ἔχειν τοῖς ἀπολογουμένοις.
4. For I think you all know that there have been many cases in the past of men bringing forward a number of formidable accusations, who have been convicted then and there of lying on such clear evidence that they left the court detested by all who had been present; while others again, after bearing false witness and causing people to be unjustly put to death, have been condemned too late for it to be of any use to their victims.
4. οἶμαι γὰρ πάντας ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ὅτι πολλοὶ ἤδη πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ κατηγορήσαντες παραχρῆμα ἐξηλέγχθησαν ψευδόμενοι οὕτω φανερῶς, ὥστε ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν παραγενομένων μισηθέντες ἀπελθεῖν· οἱ δʼ αὖ μαρτυρήσαντες τὰ ψευδῆ καὶ ἀδίκως ἀπολέσαντες ἀνθρώπους ἑάλωσαν, ἡνίκα οὐδὲν ἦν πλέον τοῖς πεπονθόσιν.
5. So, when many cases of this sort have occurred, as I am told, it is reasonable that you, gentlemen, should wait till we have had our say before you accept the statements of our. accusers as trustworthy. I myself am told, and I think most of you know also, that slander is the most dangerous thing on earth.
5. ὅτʼ οὖν τοιαῦτα πολλὰ γεγένηται, ὡς ἐγὼ ἀκούω, εἰκὸς ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, μήπω τοὺς τῶν κατηγόρων λόγους ἡγεῖσθαι πιστούς, πρὶν ἂν καὶ ἡμεῖς εἴπωμεν. ἀκούω γὰρ ἔγωγε, καὶ ὑμῶν δὲ τοὺς πολλοὺς οἶμαι εἰδέναι, ὅτι πάντων δεινότατόν ἐστι διαβολή.
6. This is especially to be observed when a number of persons are brought to trial on the same charge. For, as a rule, the last to be judged are let off, since your anger has then ceased, and as you listen to them you willingly admit their disproofs.
6. μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο ἔχοι ἄν τις ἰδεῖν, ὅταν πολλοὶ ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτῇ αἰτίᾳ εἰς ἀγῶνα καταστῶσιν. ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ οἱ τελευταῖοι κρινόμενοι σῴζονται· πεπαυμένοι γὰρ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτῶν ἀκροᾶσθε, καὶ τοὺς ἐλέγχους ἤδη ἐθέλοντες ἀποδέχεσθε.
7. Reflect therefore that Nicophemus and Aristophanes were put to death without trial, before anyone could come to their aid as the proof of their guilt was being made out. For nobody even saw them again after their arrest, since their bodies were not even delivered for burial: so awful has their calamity been that, in addition to the rest, they have suffered this privation also.
7. ἐνθυμεῖσθε οὖν ὅτι Νικόφημος καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ἄκριτοι ἀπέθανον, πρὶν παραγενέσθαι τινὰ αὐτοῖς ἐλεγχομένοις ὡς ἠδίκουν. οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὐδʼ εἶδεν ἐκείνους μετὰ τὴν σύλληψιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ θάψαι τὰ σώματʼ αὐτῶν ἀπέδοσαν, ἀλλʼ οὕτω δεινὴ ⟨ἡ⟩ συμφορὰ γεγένηται ὥστε πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ τούτου ἐστέρηνται.
8. But from that business I will now pass, as I can do no good there. Far more miserable, in my opinion, are the children of Aristophanes: for, having done no wrong to anyone in either private or public affairs, not only have they been bereft of their patrimony in violation of your laws, but their one remaining hope, of being reared with the means of their grandfather, has been placed in this serious predicament.
8. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐάσω· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἂν περαίνοιμι· πολὺ δὲ ἀθλιώτεροι δοκοῦσί μοι οἱ παῖδες οἱ Ἀριστοφάνους· οὐδένα γὰρ οὔτʼ ἰδίᾳ οὔτε δημοσίᾳ ἠδικηκότες οὐ μόνον τὰ πατρῷα ἀπολωλέκασι παρὰ τοὺς νόμους τοὺς ὑμετέρους, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἣ ὑπόλοιπος ἐλπὶς ἦν, ἀπὸ ⟨τῶν⟩ τοῦ πάππου ἐκτραφῆναι, ἐν οὕτω δεινῶ καθέστηκεν. ἔτι δʼ ἡμεῖς ἐστερημένοι μὲν κηδεστῶν, ἐστερημένοι δὲ τῆς προικός, παιδάρια δὲ τρία ἠναγκασμένοι τρέφειν, προσέτι συκοφαντούμεθα καὶ κινδυνεύομεν περὶ ὧν οἱ πρόγονοι ἡμῖν κατέλιπον κτησάμενοι ἐκ τοῦ δικαίου.
9. Moreover we, bereft of our kinsfolk, bereft of the dowry, and compelled to rear three small children, are attacked besides by base informers, and are in danger of losing what our ancestors bequeathed to us after they had acquired it by honest means. Yet, gentlemen, my father in all his life spent more on the State than on himself and his family,—twice the amount that we have now, as he often reckoned in my presence.
9. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὁ ἐμὸς πατὴρ ἐν ἅπαντι τῷ βίῳ πλείω εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀνήλωσεν ἢ εἰς αὑτὸν καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους, διπλάσια δὲ ἢ νῦν ἔστιν ἡμῖν, ὡς ἐγὼ λογιζομένῳ αὐτῷ πολλάκις παρεγενόμην.
10. So you must not rashly convict of guilt the man who spent little on himself, but a great deal on you each year; you ought rather to condemn all those persons who have made a habit of squandering both their patrimony and whatever they can get from elsewhere on the most disgraceful pleasures.
10. μὴ οὖν προκαταγιγνώσκετε ἀδικίαν τοῦ εἰς αὑτὸν μὲν μικρὰ δαπανῶντος, ὑμῖν δὲ πολλὰ καθʼ ἕκαστον τὸν ἐνιαυτόν, ἀλλʼ ὅσοι καὶ τὰ πατρῷα καὶ ἐάν τί ποθεν λάβωσιν, εἰς τὰς αἰσχίστας ἡδονὰς εἰθισμένοι εἰσὶν ἀναλίσκειν.
11. It is difficult indeed, gentlemen, to defend oneself against an impression which some people have received of the property of Nicophemus, and in face of a scarcity of money that is now felt in the city, and when our contention is against the Treasury. Nevertheless, even in these circumstances, you will easily perceive that the accusations are not true; and I request you with all the insistence in my power to give us a kindly hearing to the end, and to deliver the verdict that you may esteem best for you and most agreeable to your oaths.
11. χαλεπὸν μὲν οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἀπολογεῖσθαι πρὸς δόξαν ἣν ἔνιοι ἔχουσι περὶ τῆς Νικοφήμου οὐσίας, καὶ σπάνιν ἀργυρίου ἣ νῦν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ τοῦ ἀγῶνος πρὸς τὸ δημόσιον ὄντος· ὅμως δὲ καὶ τούτων ὑπαρχόντων ῥᾳδίως γνώσεσθε ὅτι οὐκ ἀληθῆ ἐστι τὰ κατηγορημένα. δέομαι δʼ ὑμῶν πάσῃ τέχνῃ καὶ μηχανῇ μετʼ εὐνοίας ἀκροασαμένους ἡμῶν διὰ τέλους ὅ τι ἂν ὑμῖν ἄριστον καὶ εὐορκότατον νομίζητε εἶναι, τοῦτο ψηφίσασθαι.
12. Now I will inform you, in the first place, of the way in which they became connected with us. Conon, who was in command of operations around the Peloponnese, and who had formed a friendship long before with my father when he equipped a warship, requested him to bestow my sister on her suitor, the son of Nicophemus.
12. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν, ᾧ τρόπῳ κηδεσταὶ ἡμῖν ἐγένοντο, διδάξω ὑμᾶς. στρατηγῶν γὰρ Κόνων περὶ Πελοπόννησον, τριηραρχήσαντι τῷ ἐμῷ πατρὶ πάλαι φίλος γεγενημένος, ἐδεήθη δοῦναι τὴν ⟨ἐμὴν⟩ ἀδελφὴν αἰτοῦντι τῷ ὑεῖ τῷ Νικοφήμου.
13. My father, finding that these people had been accredited by Conon, and were of proved respectability and—at that time at least —in the good graces of the city, was persuaded to bestow her: he did not know the slander that was to follow. It was a time when anyone among you would have deemed it desirable to be connected with them; for it was not done for the sake of money, as you may readily judge from my father’s whole life and conduct.
13. ὁ δὲ ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς ὑπʼ ἐκείνου τε πεπιστευμένους γεγονότας τε ἐπιεικεῖς τῇ ⟨τε⟩ πόλει ἔν γε τῷ τότε χρόνῳ ἀρέσκοντας, ἐπείσθη δοῦναι, οὐκ εἰδὼς τὴν ἐσομένην διαβολήν, ἀλλʼ ὅτε καὶ ὑμῶν ὁστισοῦν ἂν ἐκείνοις ἠξίωσε κηδεστὴς γενέσθαι, ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε οὐ χρημάτων ἕνεκα, ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι ἐκ τοῦ βίου παντὸς καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν τοῦ πατρός.
14. When he was of age, he had the chance of marrying another woman with a great fortune; but he took my mother without a portion, merely because she was a daughter of Xenophon, son of Euripides, a man not only known for his private virtues but also deemed worthy by you of holding high command, so I am told.
14. ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ὅτʼ ἦν ἐν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ, παρὸν μετὰ πολλῶν χρημάτων γῆμαι ἄλλην, τὴν ἐμὴν μητέρα ἔλαβεν οὐδὲν ἐπιφερομένην, ὅτι δὲ Ξενοφῶντος ἦν θυγάτηρ τοῦ Εὐριπίδου ὑέος, ὃς οὐ μόνον ἰδίᾳ χρηστὸς ἐδόκει εἶναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ στρατηγεῖν αὐτὸν ἠξιώσατε, ὡς ἐγὼ ἀκούω.
15. Again, my sisters he refused to certain very wealthy men who were willing to take them without dowries, because he judged them to be of inferior birth: he preferred to bestow one upon Philomelus of Paeania, whom most men regard as an honorable rather than a wealthy man, and the other upon a man who was reduced to poverty by no misdemeanor,—his nephew, Phaedrus of Myrrhinous, —and with her a dowry of forty minae; and he later gave her to Aristophanes with the same sum.
15. τὰς τοίνυν ἐμὰς ἀδελφὰς ἐθελόντων τινῶν λαβεῖν ἀπροίκους πάνυ πλουσίων οὐκ ἔδωκεν, ὅτι ἐδόκουν κάκιον γεγονέναι, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν Φιλομήλῳ τῷ Παιανιεῖ, ὃν οἱ πολλοὶ βελτίω ἡγοῦνται εἶναι ἢ πλουσιώτερον, τὴν δὲ πένητι γεγενημένῳ οὐ διὰ κακίαν, ἀδελφιδῷ δὲ ὄντι Φαίδρῳ ⟨τῷ⟩ Μυρρινουσίῳ, ἐπιδοὺς τετταράκοντα μνᾶς, κᾆτʼ Ἀριστοφάνει τὸ ἴσον.
16. Besides doing this, when I could have obtained a great fortune he advised me to take a lesser one, so long as I felt sure of allying myself with people of an orderly and self-respecting character. So now I am married to the daughter of Critodemus of Alopece, who was killed by the Lacedaemonians after the sea-fight at the Hellespont.
16. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐμοὶ πολλὴν ἐξὸν πάνυ προῖκα λαβεῖν ἐλάττω συνεβούλευσεν, ὥστε εὖ εἰδέναι ὅτι κηδεσταῖς χρησοίμην κοσμίοις καὶ σώφροσι. καὶ νῦν ἔχω γυναῖκα τὴν Κριτοδήμου θυγατέρα τοῦ Ἀλωπεκῆθεν, ὃς ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἀπέθανεν, ὅτε ἡ ναυμαχία ἐγένετο ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ.
17. Now I submit, gentlemen of the jury, that a man who has himself married a portionless woman, who has bestowed large sums with his two daughters, and who has accepted a small dowry for his son, ought surely in reason to be credited with allying himself to these people without a thought of money.
17. καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅστις αὐτός τε ἄνευ χρημάτων ἔγημε τοῖν τε θυγατέροιν πολὺ ἀργύριον ἐπέδωκε τῷ τε ὑεῖ ὀλίγην προῖκα ἔλαβε, πῶς οὐκ εἰκὸς περὶ τούτου πιστεύειν ὡς οὐχ ἕνεκα χρημάτων τούτοις κηδεστὴς ἐγένετο;
18. Nay, more, Aristophanes, although he was now married, must have preferred to be intimate with many people rather than my father, as may readily be conceived. For there was a great difference both in his age and still more in his nature. It was my father’s way to mind his own business; whereas Aristophanes sought to concern himself not only with private but also with public affairs, and whatever money he had he spent in the pursuit of glory.
18. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅ γε Ἀριστοφάνης ἤδη ἔχων τὴν γυναῖκα ὅτι πολλοῖς ἂν μᾶλλον ἐχρῆτο ἢ τῷ ἐμῷ πατρί, ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι. ἥ τε γὰρ ἡλικία πολὺ διάφορος, ἥ τε φύσις ἔτι πλέον· ἐκείνου μὲν γὰρ ἦν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ πράττειν, Ἀριστοφάνης δὲ οὐ μόνον τῶν ἰδίων ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν κοινῶν ἐβούλετο ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, καὶ εἴ τι ἦν αὐτῷ ἀργύριον, ἀνήλωσεν ἐπιθυμῶν τιμᾶσθαι.
19. You will perceive the truth of what I say from his actual conduct. First, when Conon wanted to send someone to Sicily, he offered himself and went off with Eunomus, who was a friend and guest of Dionysius, and who had rendered a great many services to your people, as I have been told by those who were with him at the Peiraeus.
19. γνώσεσθε δὲ ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω ἐξ αὐτῶν ὧν ἐκεῖνος ἔπραττε. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ βουλομένου Κόνωνος πέμπειν τινὰ εἰς Σικελίαν, ᾤχετο ὑποστὰς μετὰ Εὐνόμου, Διονυσίου φίλου ὄντος καὶ ξένου, τὸ πλῆθος τὸ ὑμέτερον πλεῖστα ἀγαθὰ πεποιηκότος, ὡς ἐγὼ ἀκήκοα τῶν ἐν Πειραιεῖ παραγενομένων.
20. The voyage was undertaken in hopes of persuading Dionysius to connect himself by marriage with Evagoras, and to become an enemy of the Lacedaemonians and a friend and ally of your city. This they set out to do amid many dangers arising from the sea and from the enemy, and they prevailed on Dionysius not to send some warships which he had then prepared for the Lacedaemonians.
20. ἦσαν δʼ ἐλπίδες τοῦ πλοῦ πεῖσαι Διονύσιον κηδεστὴν μὲν γενέσθαι Εὐαγόρᾳ, πολέμιον δὲ Λακεδαιμονίοις, φίλον δὲ καὶ σύμμαχον τῇ πόλει τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ. καὶ ταῦτʼ ἔπραττον πολλῶν κινδύνων ὑπαρχόντων πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, καὶ ἔπεισαν Διονύσιον μὴ πέμψαι τριήρεις ἃς τότε παρεσκευάσατο Λακεδαιμονίοις.
21. Next, when the envoys had arrived from Cyprus to procure our assistance, his ardent energy knew no bounds. You had granted them ten warships, and had voted all the material, but they were in need of money for the dispatch of the fleet. They had brought but scanty funds with them, and they required a great deal more: for they had to hire not only men to work the ships but light infantry also, and to purchase arms.
21. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπειδὴ οἱ πρέσβεις ἧκον ἐκ Κύπρου ἐπὶ τὴν βοήθειαν, οὐδὲν ἐνέλιπε προθυμίας σπεύδων. ὑμεῖς δὲ ⟨δέκα⟩ τριήρεις αὐτοῖς ἔδοτε καὶ τἆλλα ἐψηφίσασθε, ἀργυρίου δʼ εἰς τὸν ἀπόστολον ἠπόρουν. ὀλίγα μὲν γὰρ ἦλθον ἔχοντες χρήματα, πολλῶν δὲ προσεδεήθησαν· οὐ γὰρ μόνον εἰς τὰς ναῦς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πελταστὰς ἐμισθώσαντο καὶ ὅπλα ἐπρίαντο.
22. Well, it was Aristophanes who personally supplied most of their funds: as he had not enough, he persuaded his friends with entreaties and guarantees, and he took forty minae which he had in deposit at his house for his brother on the father’s side, and applied the money to that purpose. The day before he put to sea, he called on my father and pressed him for the loan of such money as he had; for some more was required, he said, to pay the light infantry. We had seven minae in the house: he took these and applied them also.
22. Ἀριστοφάνης [δʼ] οὖν τῶν χρημάτων τὰ μὲν πλεῖστα αὐτὸς παρέσχεν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐχ ἱκανὰ ἦν, τοὺς φίλους ἔπειθε δεόμενος καὶ ἐγγυώμενος, καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ ὁμοπατρίου ἀποκειμένας παρʼ αὐτῷ τετταράκοντα μνᾶς λαβὼν κατεχρήσατο. τῇ δὲ προτεραίᾳ ᾗ ἀνήγετο, εἰσελθὼν ὡς τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμὸν ἐκέλευσε χρῆσαι ὅ τι εἴη ἀργύριον. προσδεῖν γὰρ ἔφη πρὸς τὸν μισθὸν τοῖς πελτασταῖς. ἦσαν δʼ ἡμῖν ἔνδον ἑπτὰ μναῖ· ὁ δὲ καὶ ταύτας λαβὼν κατεχρήσατο.
23. What man, think you, who was ambitious of glory, and was receiving letters from his father that told him he would lack for nothing in Cyprus, and had been elected ambassador and was about to sail to Evagoras, would have left behind anything that he possessed, and not have rather gratified that ruler by supplying everything that he could, with a view to a handsome return? Now, to show the truth of all this, please call Eunomus. Testimony Please call the other witnesses also.
23. τίνα γὰρ οἴεσθε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, φιλότιμον μὲν ὄντα, ἐπιστολῶν δʼ αὐτῷ ἡκουσῶν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς μηδενὸς ἀπορήσειν ἐν Κύπρῳ, ᾑρημένον δὲ πρεσβευτὴν καὶ μέλλοντα πλεῖν ὡς Εὐαγόραν, ὑπολιπέσθαι ἄν τι τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ἃ ἦν δυνατὸς πάντα παρασχόντα χαρίσασθαι ἐκείνῳ τε καὶ κομίσασθαι μὴ ἐλάττω; ὡς τοίνυν ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ, κάλει μοι Εὔνομον. Μαρτυρία ⟨κάλει μοι καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους μάρτυρας.⟩
24. Witnesses You hear them testify, not only that they lent the money at his request, but also that they have been repaid; for it was conveyed to them in the warship. Well now, it is easily concluded from my argument that in such emergencies he was not likely to spare his own resources. But the strongest evidence is this:
24. ⟨Μάρτυρες⟩ τῶν μὲν μαρτύρων ἀκούετε, οὐ μόνον ὅτι ἔχρησαν τὸ ⟨ἀργύριον⟩ ἐκείνου δεηθέντος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅτι ἀπειλήφασιν· ἐκομίσθη γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς τριήρους. ῥᾴδιον μὲν οὖν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων γνῶναι ὅτι τοιούτων καιρῶν συμπεσόντων οὐδενὸς ἂν ἐφείσατο τῶν ἑαυτοῦ·
25. Demus, son of Pyrilampes, who was equipping a warship for Cyprus, requested me to go to Aristophanes; he said he had received a gold cup as a credential from the Great King, and would give it to Aristophanes in pledge for sixteen minae, so as to have means for equipping his warship; when he got to Cyprus, he would redeem it with a payment of twenty minae, since on the strength of that credential he would then obtain plenty of goods and also money all over the continent.
25. ὃ δὲ μέγιστον τεκμήριον· δῆμος γὰρ ὁ Πυριλάμπους, τριηραρχῶν εἰς Κύπρον, ἐδεήθη μου προσελθεῖν αὐτῷ, λέγων ὅτι ἔλαβε ⟨μὲν⟩ σύμβολον παρὰ βασιλέως τοῦ μεγάλου φιάλην χρυσῆν, δώσει δʼ Ἀριστοφάνει, λαβὼν ἑκκαίδεκα μνᾶς ἐπʼ αὐτῇ, ἵνʼ ἔχοι ἀναλίσκειν εἰς τὴν τριηραρχίαν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς Κύπρον ἀφίκοιτο, λύσεσθαι ἀποδοὺς εἴκοσι μνᾶς· πολλῶν γὰρ ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἄλλων χρημάτων εὐπορήσειν διὰ τὸ σύμβολον ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ἠπείρῳ.
26. Then Aristophanes, on hearing this proposal from Demus and a request from me,—although he was to have the gold cup in his hands and receive four minae as interest,— said that it was impossible, and he swore that he had already gone elsewhere to borrow more for these foreigners; since, but for that, nobody alive, he declared, would have been more delighted than he to take that credential forthwith and to comply with our request.
26. Ἀριστοφάνης τοίνυν ἀκούων μὲν ταῦτα Δήμου, δεομένου δʼ ἐμοῦ, μέλλων δʼ ἄξειν ⟨τὸ⟩ χρυσίον, τέτταρας δὲ μνᾶς τόκον λήψεσθαι, οὐκ ἔφη εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ὤμνυε καὶ προσδεδανεῖσθαι τοῖς ξένοις ἄλλοθεν, ἐπειδὴ ἥδιστʼ ⟨ἂν⟩ ἀνθρώπων ἄγειν τε εὐθὺς ἐκεῖνο τὸ σύμβολον καὶ χαρίσασθαι ἡμῖν ἃ ἐδεόμεθα.
27. To show the truth of this, I will produce to you witnesses. Witnesses So then, that Aristophanes did not leave any silver or gold is easily concluded from what I have stated and from these testimonies. Of fine bronze plate he possessed but little: when he was entertaining the envoys of Evagoras, he had to use what he could borrow. The list of the pieces that he left shall be read to you.
27. Μάρτυρες ὡς δὲ ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ, μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι. ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν οὐ κατέλιπεν Ἀριστοφάνης ἀργύριον οὐδὲ χρυσίον, ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ μεμαρτυρημένων· χαλκώματα δὲ σύμμεικτα οὐ πολλὰ ἐκέκτητο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅθʼ εἱστία τοὺς παρʼ Εὐαγόρου πρεσβεύοντας, αἰτησάμενος ἐχρήσατο. ἃ δὲ κατέλιπεν, ἀναγνώσεται ὑμῖν.
28. Inventory of Bronze Plate Perhaps to some of you, gentlemen of the jury, they appear few: but bear in mind the fact that before Conon won his victory at sea, Aristophanes had no land except a small plot at Rhamnus. Now the sea-fight occurred in the archonship of Eubulides;
28. Ἀπογραφὴ Χαλκωμάτων ἴσως ἐνίοις ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, δοκεῖ ὀλίγα εἶναι· ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο ἐνθυμεῖσθε, ὅτι ⟨αὐτῷ⟩ [πρὶν Νικοφήμῳ ἢ καὶ Ἀριστοφάνει] πρὶν τὴν ναυμαχίαν νικῆσαι ⟨Κόνωνα⟩ γῆ μὲν οὐκ ἦν ἀλλʼ ἢ χωρίδιον μικρὸν Ῥαμνοῦντι. ἐγένετο δʼ ⟨ἡ⟩ ναυμαχία ἐπʼ Εὐβουλίδου ἄρχοντος.
29. and in four or five years it was a difficult thing, gentlemen, when he had no wealth to start with, to be twice a producer of tragedies, on his father’s account as well as his own; to equip a warship for three years in succession; to have been a contributor to special levies on many occasions; to purchase a house for fifty minae; and to acquire more than three hundred plethra of land. Do you suppose that, besides doing all this, he must have left many personal effects?
29. ἐν οὖν τέτταρσιν ἢ πέντε ἔτεσι, πρότερον μὴ ὑπαρχούσης οὐσίας, χαλεπόν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τραγῳδοῖς τε δὶς χορηγῆσαι, ὑπὲρ τε καὶ τοῦ πατρός, καὶ τρία ἔτη συνεχῶς τριηραρχῆσαι, εἰσφοράς τε πολλάς εἰσενηνοχέναι, οἰκίαν τε πεντήκοντα μνῶν πρίασθαι, γῆς τε πλέον ἢ τριακόσια πλέθρα κτήσασθαι· ἔτι δὲ πρὸς τούτοις οἴεσθε χρῆναι ἔπιπλα πολλὰ καταλελοιπέναι;
30. Why, even people credited with long-established wealth may fail to produce any that are of value: for at times, however much one may desire it, one cannot buy things of the sort that, once acquired, will be a permanent source of pleasure.
30. ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ οἱ πάλαι πλούσιοι δοκοῦντες εἶναι ἄξια λόγου ἔχοιεν ἂν ἐξενεγκεῖν· ἐνίοτε γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδʼ ἐάν τις πάνυ ἐπιθυμῇ, πρίασθαι τοιαῦτα ⟨ἃ⟩ κτησαμένῳ εἰς τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον ἡδονὴν ἂν παρέχοι.
31. Again, consider this: in all other cases where you have confiscated the property, not merely have you had no sale of furniture, but even the doors were torn away from the apartments; whereas we, as soon as the confiscation was declared and my sister had left the place, posted a guard in the deserted house, in order that neither door-timber nor utensils nor anything else might be lost. Personal effects were realized to the value of over a thousand drachmae, —more than you had received in any previous instance.
31. ἀλλὰ τόδε σκοπεῖτε· τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσων ἐδημεύσατε ⟨τὰ⟩ χρήματα, οὐχ ὅπως σκεύη ἀπέδοσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ θύραι ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκημάτων ἀφηρπάσθησαν· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἤδη δεδημευμένων καὶ ἐξεληλυθυίας τῆς ἐμῆς ἀδελφῆς φύλακα κατεστήσαμεν ⟨ἐν⟩ τῇ ἐρήμῃ οἰκίᾳ, ἵνα μήτε θυρώματα μήτε ἀγγεῖα μήτε ἄλλο μηδὲν ἀπόλοιτο. ἔπιπλα δὲ ἀπεφαίνετο πλεῖν ἢ χιλίων δραχμῶν, ὅσα οὐδενὸς πώποτʼ ἐλάβετε.
32. Moreover, we now repeat our former offer to pledge ourselves to the Commissioners, in the most binding terms available to man, that we hold no part of Aristophanes’ estate, but are owed from it the dowry of my sister and seven minae which he got from my father at his departure.
32. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ πρότερον πρὸς τοὺς συνδίκους καὶ νῦν ἐθέλομεν πίστιν δοῦναι, ἥτις ἐστὶ μεγίστη τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, μηδὲν ἔχειν τῶν Ἀριστοφάνους χρημάτων, ἐνοφείλεσθαι δὲ τὴν προῖκα τῆς ἀδελφῆς καὶ ἑπτὰ μνᾶς ἃς ᾤχετο λαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ.
33. Could human beings have a more miserable fate than to lose their own property, and then to be supposed to hold that of the mulcted party? And the greatest hardship of all for us will be that, having taken charge of my sister and her many children, we must rear them with no means available even for ourselves, if you deprive us of what we now have.
33. πῶς ἂν οὖν εἶεν ἄνθρωποι ἀθλιώτεροι, ἢ εἰ τὰ σφέτερʼ αὐτῶν ἀπολωλεκότες δοκοῖεν τἀκείνων ἔχειν; ὅ δὲ πάντων δεινότατον, τὴν ἀδελφὴν ὑποδέξασθαι παιδία ἔχουσαν πολλά, καὶ ταῦτα τρέφειν, μηδʼ αὐτοὺς ἔχοντας μηδέν, ἐὰν ὑμεῖς τὰ ὄντʼ ἀφέλησθε.
34. I adjure you, by the Olympian gods, gentlemen, just consider it in this way: suppose that one of you had happened to bestow his daughter or his sister on Timotheus, son of Conon, and during his absence abroad Conon was involved in some slander and his estate was confiscated, and the city received from the sale of the whole something less than four talents of silver. Would you think it right that his children and relatives should be ruined merely because the property had turned out to be but a trifling fraction of the amount at which it stood in your estimation?
34. φέρε πρὸς θεῶν Ὀλυμπίων· οὕτω γὰρ σκοπεῖτε, ὦ ⟨ἄνδρες⟩ δικασταί. εἴ τις ὑμῶν ἔτυχε δοὺς Τιμοθέῳ τῷ Κόνωνος τὴν θυγατέρα ἢ τὴν ἀδελφήν, καὶ ἐκείνου ἀποδημήσαντος καὶ ἐν διαβολῇ γενομένου ἐδημεύθη ἡ οὐσία, καὶ μὴ ἐγένετο τῇ πόλει πραθέντων ἁπάντων τέτταρα τάλαντα ἀργυρίου, διὰ τοῦτο ἠξιοῦτε ἂν τοὺς ἐκείνου καὶ τοὺς προσήκοντας ἀπολέσθαι, ὅτι οὐδὲ πολλοστὸν μέρος τῆς δόξης τῆς παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐφάνη τὰ χρήματα;
35. But of course you are all aware that Conon held the command, and Nicophemus carried out his instructions. Now it is probable that Conon allotted to others but a small proportion of his prizes; so that if it be thought that Nicophemus’s gains were great, it must be allowed that Conon’s were more than ten times greater.
35. ἀλλὰ μὴν τοῦτο πάντες ἐπίστασθε Κόνωνα μὲν ἄρχοντα, Νικόφημον δὲ ποιοῦντα ὅ τι ἐκεῖνος προστάττοι. τῶν οὖν ὠφελειῶν Κόνωνα εἰκὸς πολλοστὸν μέρος ἄλλῳ τινὶ μεταδιδόναι, ὥστʼ εἰ οἴονται πολλὰ γενέσθαι Νικοφήμῳ, ὁμολογήσειαν ⟨ἂν⟩ τὰ Κόνωνος εἶναι πλεῖν ἢ δεκαπλάσια.
36. Furthermore, there is no evidence of any dispute having occurred between them; so probably in regard to money they agreed in deciding that each should leave his son with a competence here, while keeping the rest in his own hands. For Conon had a son and a wife in Cyprus, and Nicophemus a wife and a daughter, and they also felt that their property there was just as safe as their property here.
36. ἔτι δὲ φαίνονται οὐδὲν πώποτε διενεχθέντες, ὥστʼ εἰκὸς καὶ περὶ τῶν χρημάτων ταὐτὰ γνῶναι, ἱκανὰ μὲν ἐνθάδε τῷ ὑεῖ ἑκάτερον καταλιπεῖν, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα παρʼ αὑτοῖς ἔχειν· ἦν γὰρ Κόνωνι μὲν ὑὸς ἐν Κύπρῳ καὶ γυνή, Νικοφήμῳ δὲ γυνὴ καὶ θυγάτηρ, ἡγοῦντο δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ ὁμοίως σφίσιν εἶναι σᾶ ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ ἐνθάδε.
37. Besides, you have to consider that, even if a man had distributed among his sons what he had not acquired but inherited from his father, he would have reserved a goodly share for himself; for everyone would rather be courted by his children as a man of means than beg of them as a needy person.
37. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἐνθυμεῖσθε ὅτι καὶ εἴ τις μὴ κτησάμενος ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς παραλαβὼν τοῖς παισὶ διένειμεν, οὐκ ἐλάχιστα ἂν αὑτῷ ὑπέλιπε· βούλονται γὰρ πάντες ὑπὸ τῶν παίδων θεραπεύεσθαι ἔχοντες χρήματα μᾶλλον ἢ ἐκείνων δεῖσθαι ἀποροῦντες.
38. So, in this case, if you should confiscate the property of Timotheus,—which Heaven forbid, unless some great benefit is to accrue to the State,—and you should receive a less amount from it than has been derived from that of Aristophanes, would this give you any good reason for thinking that his relatives should lose what belongs to them? No, it is not reasonable, gentlemen of the jury:
38. νῦν τοίνυν εἰ δημεύσαιτε τὰ τοῦ Τιμοθέου, —— ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, εἰ μή τι μέλλει μέγα ἀγαθὸν ἔσεσθαι τῇ πόλει, —— ἐλάττω δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν λάβοιτʼ ἢ ἃ ἐκ τῶν Ἀριστοφάνους γεγένηται, τούτου ἕνεκα ἠξιοῦτε ἂν τοὺς ἀναγκαίους τοὺς ἐκείνου τὰ σφέτερʼ αὐτῶν ἀπολέσαι; ἀλλʼ οὐκ εἰκός, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί· ὁ γὰρ Κόνωνος θάνατος καὶ αἱ διαθῆκαι, ἃς διέθετο ἐν Κύπρῳ, σαφῶς ἐδήλωσαν ὅτι πολλοστὸν μέρος ἦν τὰ χρήματα ὧν ὑμεῖς προσεδοκᾶτε·
39. for Conon’s death and the dispositions made under his will in Cyprus have clearly shown that his fortune was but a small fraction of what you were expecting. He dedicated five thousand staters in offerings to Athene and to Apollo at Delphi;
39. τῇ μὲν γὰρ Ἀθηναίᾳ καθιέρωσεν εἰς ἀναθήματα καὶ τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι εἰς Δελφοὺς πεντακισχιλίους στατῆρας· τῷ δὲ ἀδελφιδῷ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ, ὃς ἐφύλαττεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐταμίευε πάντα τὰ ἐν Κύπρῳ, ἔδωκεν ὡς μυρίας δραχμάς, τῷ δὲ ἀδελφῷ τρία τάλαντα·
40. to his nephew, who acted as guardian and manager of all his property in Cyprus, he gave about ten thousand drachmae; to his brother three talents; and to his son he left the rest,—seventeen talents. The round total of these sums amounts to about forty talents.
40. τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ τῷ ὑεῖ κατέλιπε, τάλαντα ἑπτακαίδεκα. τούτων δὲ κεφάλαιόν τι γίγνεται περὶ τετταράκοντα τάλαντα.
41. And nobody can say that there was malversation, or that the accounts were not fairly rendered: for he made his dispositions himself in his illness, while his mind was sound. Please call witnesses to this.
41. καὶ οὐδενὶ οἷόν τε εἰπεῖν ὅτι διηρπάσθη ἢ ὡς οὐ δικαίως ἀπεφάνθη· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐν τῇ νόσῳ ὢν εὖ φρονῶν διέθετο. καί μοι κάλει τούτων μάρτυρας.
42. Witnesses Why, surely anyone, gentlemen, before the amounts of the two had been revealed, would have thought that the property of Nicophemus was a mere fraction of that of Conon. Now, Aristophanes had acquired a house with land for more than five talents, had produced dramas on his own account and on his father’s at a cost of five thousand drachmae, and had spent eighty minae on equipping warships;
42. Μάρτυρες ἀλλὰ μὴν ὁστισοῦν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πρὶν ἀμφότερα δῆλα γενέσθαι, πολλοστὸν μέρος τὰ Νικοφήμου τῶν Κόνωνος χρημάτων ᾠήθη ἂν εἶναι. Ἀριστοφάνης τοίνυν γῆν μὲν καὶ οἰκίαν ἐκτήσατο πλεῖν ἢ πέντε ταλάντων, κατεχορήγησε δὲ ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς πεντακισχιλίας δραχμάς, τριηραρχῶν δὲ ἀνήλωσεν ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς.
43. on account of the two, no less than forty minae have been contributed to special levies; for the Sicilian expedition he spent a hundred minae, and for commissioning the warships, when the Cypriots came and you gave them the ten vessels, he supplied thirty thousand drachmae to pay the light infantry and purchase their arms. The total of all these sums amounts to little short of fifteen talents.
43. εἰσενήνεκται δὲ ὑπὲρ ἀμφοτέρων οὐκ ἔλαττον μνῶν τετταράκοντα. εἰς δὲ τὸν ἐπὶ Σικελίας πλοῦν ἀνήλωσεν ἑκατὸν μνᾶς. εἰς δὲ τὸν ἀπόστολον τῶν τριήρων, ὅτε οἱ Κύπριοι ἦλθον καὶ ἔδοτε αὐτοῖς τὰς δέκα ναῦς, καὶ τῶν πελταστῶν τὴν μίσθωσιν καὶ τῶν ὅπλων τὴν ὠνὴν παρέσχε τρισμυρίας δραχμάς. καὶ τούτων κεφάλαιον πάντων γίγνεται μικροῦ λείποντος πεντεκαίδεκα τάλαντα.
44. Hence you can have no reason to lay blame on us, since the property of Conon, which is admitted to have been fairly accounted for by the owner himself, and was thought to be many times more than that of Aristophanes, is found to be less than thrice the amount of his. And we are omitting from the calculation all that Nicophemus held himself in Cyprus, where he had a wife and a daughter.
44. ὥστε οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἡμᾶς αἰτιῷσθε, ἐπεὶ τῶν Κόνωνος, τῶν ὁμολογουμένων δικαίως ἀποφανθῆναι ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου, πολλαπλασίων δοκούντων πλεῖν ἢ τρίτον μέρος φαίνεται τὰ Ἀριστοφάνους. καὶ οὐ προσλογιζόμεθα ὅσα αὐτὸς ἐν Κύπρῳ ἔσχε Νικόφημος, οὔσης αὐτῷ ἐκεῖ γυναικὸς καὶ θυγατρός.
45. I claim, therefore, gentlemen of the jury, that after having produced such an abundance of weighty proofs we ought not to be unjustly ruined. I have been told by my father and other elderly people that you have had similar experiences in the past of being deceived in the fortunes of many men who were supposed to be wealthy while they lived, but whose death showed your supposition to be wide of the mark.
45. ἐγὼ μὲν ⟨οὖν⟩ οὐκ ἀξιῶ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὕτω πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα τεκμήρια παρασχομένους ἡμᾶς ἀπολέσθαι ἀδίκως. ἀκήκοα γὰρ ἔγωγε καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἄλλων πρεσβυτέρων, ὅτι οὐ νῦν μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνῳ πολλῶν ἐψεύσθητε τῆς οὐσίας, οἳ ζῶντες μὲν πλουτεῖν ἐδόκουν, ἀποθανόντες δὲ πολὺ παρὰ τὴν δόξαν τὴν ὑμετέραν ἐφάνησαν.
46. For example, Ischomachus during his life was considered by everyone to own more than seventy talents, as I am told: his two sons, on his death, had less than ten talents to divide between them. Stephanus, son of Thallus, was reported to own more than fifty talents; but when he died his fortune was found to be about eleven talents.
46. αὐτίκα Ἰσχομάχῳ, ἕως ἔζη, πάντες ᾤοντο εἶναι πλεῖν ἢ ἑβδομήκοντα τάλαντα, ὡς ἐγὼ ἀκούω. ἐνειμάσθην δὲ τὼ ὑεῖ οὐδὲ δέκα τάλαντα ἑκάτερος ἀποθανόντος. στεφάνῳ δὲ τῷ Θάλλου ἐλέγετο εἶναι πλεῖν ἢ πεντήκοντα τάλαντα, ἀποθανόντος δʼ ἡ οὐσία ἐφάνη περὶ ἕνδεκα τάλαντα.
47. Again, the estate of Nicias was expected to be not less than a hundred talents,— most of it in his house; but when Niceratus was dying, he said that he in his turn was not leaving any silver or gold, and the property that he left to his son is worth no more than fourteen talents.
47. ὁ τοίνυν Νικίου οἶκος προσεδοκᾶτο εἶναι οὐκ ἔλαττον ἢ ἑκατὸν ταλάντων, καὶ τούτων τὰ πολλὰ ἔνδον [ἦν]. Νικήρατος δὲ ὅτʼ ἀπέθνῃσκεν, ἀργύριον μὲν ἢ χρυσίον οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ἔφη καταλείπειν οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἣν κατέλιπε τῷ ὑεῖ, οὐ πλείονος ἀξία ἐστὶν ἢ τεττάρων καὶ δέκα ταλάντων.
48. Then Callias, son of Hipponicus, just after his father’s death, was thought to have more in his possession than any other Greek, and the story goes that his grandfather valued his own property at two hundred talents; yet his ratable property stands today at less than two talents. And you all know how Cleophon for many years had all the affairs of the State in his hands, and was expected to have got a great deal by his office; but when he died this money was nowhere to be found, and moreover his relatives both by blood and by marriage, in whose hands he would have left it, are admittedly poor people.
48. Καλλίας τοίνυν ὁ Ἱππονίκου, ὅτε νεωστὶ ἐτεθνήκει ὁ πατήρ, [ὃς] πλεῖστα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐδόκει κεκτῆσθαι, καὶ ὥς φασι, διακοσίων ταλάντων ἐτιμήσατο ⟨τὰ⟩ αὑτοῦ ὁ πάππος, τὸ δὲ τούτου νῦν τίμημα οὐδὲ δυοῖν ταλάντοιν ἐστί. Κλεοφῶντα δὲ πάντες ἴστε, ὅτε, ὅτι πολλὰ ἔτη διεχείρισε τὰ τῆς πόλεως πάντα καὶ προσεδοκᾶτο πάνυ πολλὰ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἔχειν· ἀποθανόντος δʼ αὐτοῦ οὐδαμοῦ δῆλα τὰ χρήματα, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ προσήκοντες καὶ οἱ κηδεσταί, παρʼ οἷς ⟨ἂν⟩ κατέλιπεν, ὁμολογουμένως πένητές εἰσι.
49. So it is evident that we have been greatly deceived both in men of hereditary riches and in those who have recently gained a name for wealth. The cause of this, in my opinion, is that people make light of stating that such an one has got many talents by his office. As to the common statements about dead people, I am not so much surprised, since there is no disproof to fear from them; but what of the lies with which they assail the living?
49. φαινόμεθα δὴ καὶ τῶν ἀρχαιοπλούτων πολὺ ἐψευσμένοι καὶ τῶν νεωστὶ ἐν δόξῃ γεγενημένων. αἴτιον δέ μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι, ὅτι ῥαδίως τινὲς τολμῶσι λέγειν ὡς ὁ δεῖνα ἔχει τάλαντα πολλὰ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς. καὶ ὅσα μὲν περὶ τεθνεώτων λέγουσιν, οὐ πάνυ θαυμάζω (οὐ γὰρ ὑπό γε ἐκείνων ἐξελεγχθεῖεν ἄν), ἀλλʼ ὅσα ζώντων ἐπιχειροῦσι καταψεύδεσθαι. αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἔναγχος ἠκούετε ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ὡς Διότιμος ἔχοι τάλαντα τετταράκοντα πλείω ἢ ὅσα αὐτὸς ὡμολόγει παρὰ τῶν ναυκλήρων καὶ ἐμπόρων·
50. Why, you yourselves were told of late in the Assembly that Diotimus had got forty talents more from the ship-masters and merchants than he himself admitted; and when he rendered an account on his return, and was indignant at being slandered in his absence, nobody put that matter to the proof, although the State was in need of money, and he was ready to show his accounts.
50. καὶ ταῦτα, ἐπειδὴ ἦλθεν, ἐκείνου ἀπογράφοντος καὶ χαλεπῶς φέροντος ὅτι ἀπὼν διεβάλλετο, οὐδεὶς ἐξήλεγξε, δεομένης μὲν τῆς πόλεως χρημάτων, ἐθέλοντος δὲ ἐκείνου λογίσασθαι.
51. Just imagine what the position would have been if, after all the Athenians had been told that Diotimus had forty talents, something had then happened to him before he reached our shores. His relatives would then have been in the gravest danger, if they had been obliged to defend themselves against that monstrous slander without any knowledge of the facts of the case. So, for your being deceived in many people even now, and indeed for the ruin that some have unjustly incurred, you have to thank those who make light of telling lies and are bent on bringing malicious charges against their fellows.
51. ἐνθυμεῖσθε τοίνυν οἷον ἂν ἐγένετο, εἰ Ἀθηναίων ἁπάντων ἀκηκοότων ὅτι τετταράκοντα τάλαντα ἔχοι Διότιμος, εἶτα ἔπαθέ τι πρὶν καταπλεῦσαι δεῦρο. εἶτα οἱ προσήκοντες ἂν αὐτοῦ ἐν κινδύνῳ ἦσαν τῷ μεγίστῳ, εἰ ἔδει αὐτοὺς πρὸς τοσαύτην διαβολὴν ἀπολογεῖσθαι, μὴ εἰδότας μηδὲν τῶν πεπραγμένων. αἴτιοι οὖν εἰσι καὶ ὑμῖν πολλῶν ἤδη ψευσθῆναι καὶ δὴ ἀδίκως γέ τινας ἀπολέσθαι οἱ ῥαδίως τολμῶντες ψεύδεσθαι καὶ συκοφαντεῖν ἀνθρώπους ἐπιθυμοῦντες.
52. For I suppose you know that Alcibiades held command for four or five years in succession, keeping the upper hand and winning victories over the Lacedaemonians: the cities thought well to give him twice as much as any other commander, so that some people supposed that he had more than a hundred talents. But when he died he left evidence that this was not true: for he bequeathed a smaller fortune to his children than he had inherited himself from his guardians.
52. ἐπεὶ οἴομαι ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ὅτι Ἀλκιβιάδης τέτταρα ἢ πέντε ἔτη ἐφεξῆς ἐστρατήγει ἐπικρατῶν καὶ νενικηκὼς Λακεδαιμονίους, καὶ διπλάσια ἐκείνῳ ἠξίουν αἱ πόλεις διδόναι ἢ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τῶν στρατηγῶν, ὥστʼ ᾤοντο εἶναί τινες αὐτῷ πλεῖν ἢ ἑκατὸν τάλαντα. ὁ δʼ ἀποθανὼν ἐδήλωσεν ὅτι οὐκ ἀληθῆ ταῦτα ἦν· ἐλάττω γὰρ οὐσίαν κατέλιπε τοῖς παισὶν ἢ αὐτὸς παρὰ τῶν ἐπιτροπευσάντων παρέλαβεν.
53. Well now, that such things were common in former times is easily judged. But they say that it is the best and wisest men who are most willing to change their minds. If, therefore, our statements are deemed to be reasonable and the proofs that we have adduced satisfactory, gentlemen of the jury, show your pity by all manner of means. For, grievous as was the weight of this slander, we always expected to conquer with the help of truth: but if you should altogether refuse to entertain our plea, we felt ourselves without a single hope of deliverance.
53. ὅτι μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνῳ τοιαῦτα ἐγίγνετο, ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι· φασὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀρίστους καὶ σοφωτάτους μάλιστα ἐθέλειν μεταγιγνώσκειν. εἰ οὖν δοκοῦμεν εἰκότα λέγειν καὶ ἱκανὰ τεκμήρια παρέχεσθαι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πάσῃ τέχνῃ καὶ μηχανῇ ἐλεήσατε· ὡς ἡμεῖς τῆς μὲν διαβολῆς οὕτω μεγάλης οὔσης ἀεὶ προσεδοκῶμεν κρατήσειν μετὰ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς· ὑμῶν δὲ μηδενὶ τρόπῳ ἐθελησάντων πεισθῆναι οὐδʼ ἐλπὶς οὐδεμία σωτηρίας ἐδόκει ἡμῖν εἶναι.
54. Ah, by the Olympian gods, gentlemen, choose rather to deliver us with justice than to ruin us with injustice; and believe that those men speak the truth who, though keeping silent, show themselves throughout their lives self-respecting and just.
54. ἀλλὰ πρὸς θεῶν Ὀλυμπίων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, βούλεσθε ἡμᾶς δικαίως σῶσαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἀδίκως ἀπολέσαι, καὶ πιστεύετε τούτοις ἀληθῆ λέγειν, οἳ ἂν καὶ σιωπῶντες ἐν ἅπαντι τῷ βίῳ παρέχωσι σώφρονας σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καὶ δικαίους.
55. In regard to the charge itself, and the manner in which they became our kinsmen, and the fact that Aristophanes’ means were not sufficient for the expedition, but were supplemented by loans from others, you have heard our statements and testimonies: I propose next to tell you briefly about myself. I am now thirty years old, and never yet have I either had a dispute with my father or been the subject of a complaint from any citizen; and although I live near the market-place, I have never once been seen in either law-court or council-chamber until I met with this misfortune.
55. περὶ μὲν οὖν αὐτῆς τῆς γραφῆς, καὶ ᾧ τρόπῳ κηδεσταὶ ἡμῖν ἐγένοντο, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἐξήρκει τὰ ἐκείνου εἰς τὸν ἔκπλουν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἄλλοθεν προσεδανείσατο ἀκηκόατε καὶ μεμαρτύρηται ὑμῖν· περὶ δʼ ἐμαυτοῦ βραχέα βούλομαι ὑμῖν εἰπεῖν. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔτη γεγονὼς ἤδη τριάκοντα οὔτε τῷ πατρὶ οὐδὲν πώποτε ἀντεῖπον, οὔτε τῶν πολιτῶν οὐδείς μοι ἐνεκάλεσεν, ἐγγύς τε οἰκῶν τῆς ἀγορᾶς οὔτε πρὸς δικαστηρίῳ οὔτε πρὸς βουλευτηρίῳ ὤφθην οὐδεπώποτε, πρὶν ταύτην τὴν συμφορὰν γενέσθαι. περὶ μὲν οὖν ἐμαυτοῦ τοσαῦτα λέγω, περὶ δὲ τοῦ πατρός, ἐπειδὴ ὥσπερ ἀδικοῦντος αἱ κατηγορίαι γεγένηνται, συγγνώμην ἔχετε, ἐὰν λέγω ἃ ἀνήλωσεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ εἰς τοὺς φίλους·
56. So much let me say regarding myself: as to my father, since he has been treated as guilty in these accusations, forgive me if I mention what he has spent on the city and on his friends; I do this, not for mere vainglory, but to bring in as evidence the fact that the same man cannot both spend a great deal without compulsion and covet some of the public property at the gravest risk.
56. οὐ γὰρ φιλοτιμίας ἕνεκα ἀλλὰ τεκμήριον ποιούμενος ὅτι οὐ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἀνδρὸς ἄνευ ἀνάγκης τε πολλὰ ἀναλίσκειν καὶ μετὰ κινδύνου τοῦ μεγίστου ἐπιθυμῆσαι ἔχειν τι τῶν κοινῶν.
57. There are, indeed, persons who spend money in advance, not with that sole object, but to obtain a return of twice the amount from the appointments which you consider them to have earned. Now, not once did my father seek office, but he has discharged every duty in the production of dramas, has equipped a warship seven times, and has made numerous large contributions to special levies. That you on your part may be apprised of this, the record shall be read in detail.
57. εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἱ προαναλίσκοντες οὐ μόνου τούτου ἕνεκα ἀλλʼ ἵνα ἄρχειν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν ἀξιωθέντες διπλάσια κομίσωνται. ὁ τοίνυν ἐμὸς πατὴρ ἄρχειν μὲν οὐδεπώποτε ἐπεθύμησε, τὰς δὲ χορηγίας ἁπάσας κεχορήγηκε, τετριηράρχηκε δὲ ἑπτάκις, εἰσφορὰς δὲ πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας εἰσενήνοχεν. ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε καὶ ὑμεῖς, καθʼ ἑκάστην ἀναγνώσεται.
58. Public Services You hear, gentlemen of the jury, the whole series. For as many as fifty years my father performed services to the State, both with his purse and with his person. In all that time, with his reputation for ancestral wealth, he is not likely to have shunned any expense. However, I will strengthen the case for you with witnesses.
58. Λειτουργίαι ἀκούετε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὸ πλῆθος. πεντήκοντα γὰρ ἔτη ἐστὶν ὅσα ὁ πατὴρ καὶ τοῖς χρήμασι καὶ τῷ σώματι τῇ πόλει ἐλῃτούργει. ἐν οὖν τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ δοκοῦντά τι ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔχειν οὐδεμίαν εἰκὸς δαπάνην πεφευγέναι. ὅμως δὲ καὶ μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι.
59. Witnesses The sum total of them all is nine talents and two thousand drachmae. In addition, he also joined privately in portioning daughters and sisters of certain needy citizens: there were men whom he ransomed from the enemy, and others for whose funerals he provided money. He acted in this way because he conceived it to be the part of a good man to assist his friends, even if nobody was to know: but at this moment it is fitting that you should hear of it from me. Please call this and that person.
59. Μάρτυρες τούτων συμπάντων κεφάλαιόν ἐστιν ἐννέα τάλαντα καὶ δισχίλιαι δραχμαί. ἔτι τοίνυν καὶ ἰδία τισὶ τῶν πολιτῶν ἀποροῦσι συνεξέδωκε θυγατέρας καὶ ἀδελφάς, τοὺς δʼ ἐλύσατο ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων, τοῖς δʼ εἰς ταφὴν παρεῖχεν ἀργύριον. καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐποίει ἡγούμενος εἶναι ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ ὠφελεῖν τοὺς φίλους, καὶ εἰ μηδεὶς μέλλοι εἴσεσθαι· νῦν δὲ πρέπον ἐστὶ καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀκοῦσαί μου. καί μοι κάλει τὸν καὶ τόν.
60. Witnesses Well then, you have heard the witnesses; and now reflect that, although one might be able to adopt a feigned character for a short time, nobody in the world could keep his baseness secret for seventy years. Now, there are things for which it might perhaps be possible to reproach my father; but on the score of money there is no one, even among his enemies, who has ever dared to do so.
60. Μάρτυρες τῶν μὲν οὖν μαρτύρων ἀκηκόατε· ἐνθυμεῖσθε δὲ ὅτι ὀλίγον μὲν [οὖν] χρόνον δύναιτʼ ἄν τις πλάσασθαι τὸν τρόπον τὸν αὑτοῦ, ἐν ἑβδομήκοντα δὲ ἔτεσιν οὐδʼ ἂν εἶς λάθοι πονηρὸς ὤν. τῷ τοίνυν πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ ἄλλα μὲν ἄν τις ἔχοι ἐπικαλέσαι ἐτόλμησε πώποτε.
61. It is not fair, then, to credit our accusers’ words rather than the deeds that marked his whole life, or than time, which you are to regard as the clearest test of truth. If he had been of another stamp, he would not have left but a small remnant of his estate; for if you should now be utterly deceived by these people, and should confiscate our property, you would receive less than two talents. So not only with a view to repute, but also in respect of money, it is more to your advantage to acquit us; for you will get far more benefit if we keep it.
61. οὔκουν ἄξιον τοῖς τῶν κατηγόρων λόγοις πιστεῦσαι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς ἔργοις, ἃ ἐπράχθη ἐν ἅπαντι τῷ βίῳ, καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ, ὃν ὑμεῖς σαφέστατον ἔλεγχον τοῦ ἀληθοῦς νομίσατε. εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἦν τοιοῦτος, οὐκ ἂν ἐκ πολλῶν ὀλίγα κατέλιπεν, ἐπεὶ εἰ νῦν γε ἐξαπατηθείητε ὑπὸ τούτων καὶ δημεύσαιθʼ ἡμῶν τὴν οὐσίαν, οὐδὲ δύο τάλαντα λάβοιτʼ ἄν. ὥστε οὐ μόνον πρὸς δόξαν ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς χρημάτων λόγον λυσιτελεῖ μᾶλλον ὑμῖν ἀποψηφίσασθαι· πολὺ γὰρ πλείω ὠφεληθήσεσθʼ, ἐὰν ἡμεῖς ἔχωμεν.
62. Consider, as you survey the time that is past, all that is found to have been spent on the city: at this moment, too, I am equipping a warship from the residue; my father was equipping one when he died, and I will try to do what I saw him doing, and raise, by degrees, some little sums for the public services. Thus in reality it continues to be the property of the State, and while I shall not be feeling the wrong of having been deprived of it, you will have in this way more benefits than you would get by its confiscation.
62. σκοπεῖτε δὲ ἐκ τοῦ παρεληλυθότος χρόνου, ὅσα φαίνεται ἀνηλωμένα εἰς τὴν πόλιν· καὶ νῦν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπολοίπων τριηραρχῶ μὲν ἐγώ, τριηραρχῶν δὲ ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέθανεν, πειράσομαι δʼ, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐκεῖνον ἑώρων, ὀλίγα κατὰ μικρὸν παρασκευάσασθαι εἰς τὰς κοινὰς ὠφελείας· ὥστε τῷ γʼ ἔργῳ πάλαι ⟨τῆς πόλεως⟩ ταῦτʼ ἐστι, καὶ οὔτʼ ἐγὼ ἀφῃρημένος ἀδικεῖσθαι οἰήσομαι, ὑμῖν τε πλείους οὕτως αἱ ὠφέλειαι ἢ εἰ δημεύσαιτε.
63. Moreover, you would do well to reflect on the kind of nature that my father possessed. In every single case where he desired to spend beyond what was necessary, it will be found that it was something designed to bring honor to the city also. For instance, when he was in the cavalry, he not only procured handsome mounts, but also won victories with race-horses at the Isthmus and Nemea, so that the city was proclaimed, and he himself was crowned.
63. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἄξιον ἐνθυμηθῆναι οἵαν φύσιν εἶχεν ὁ πατήρ. ὅσα γὰρ ἔξω τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐπεθύμησεν ἀναλίσκειν, πάντα φανήσεται τοιαῦτα ὅθεν καὶ τῇ πόλει τιμὴ ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι. αὐτίκα ὅτε ἵππευεν, οὐ μόνον ἵππους ἐκτήσατο λαμπροὺς ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀθληταῖς ἐνίκησεν Ἰσθμοῖ καὶ Νεμέᾳ, ὥστε τὴν πόλιν κηρυχθῆναι καὶ αὐτὸν στεφανωθῆναι. δέομαι οὖν ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μεμνημένους ἁπάντων τῶν εἰρημένων βοηθεῖν ἡμῖν καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀναιρεθέντας.
64. I therefore beg you, gentlemen of the jury, to remember these things, and also everything else that has been stated, and to support us, and not to suffer us to be annihilated by our enemies. In taking this course you will be voting what is just and also advantageous to yourselves.
64. καὶ ταῦτα ποιοῦντες τά τε δίκαια ψηφιεῖσθε καὶ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς τὰ συμφέροντα.