Aphareus also wrote a few orations, both judicial and deliberative; as also tragedies to the number of thirty-seven, of which two are contested. He began to make his works public in the year of Lysistratus, and continued it to the year of Sosigenes, that is, eight and twenty years. In these years he exhibited dramas six times at the city Dionysiac festivals, and twice went away with the prize through the actor Dionysius; he also gained two other victories at the Lenaean festival through other actors.
ἦν δʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ γραπτὴ εἰκὼν ἐν τῷ Πομπείῳ. ὁ δʼ Ἀφαρεὺς συνέγραψε μὲν λόγους οὐ πολλοὺς δέ, δικανικούς τε καὶ συμβουλευτικούς· ἐποίησε δὲ καὶ τραγῳδίας περὶ ἑπτὰ καὶ τριάκοντα, ὧν ἀντιλέγονται δύο. ἀρξάμενος δʼ ἀπὸ Λυσιστράτου διδάσκειν ἄχρι Σωσιγένους ἐν ἔτεσιν εἰκοσιοκτὼ διδασκαλίας ἀστικὰς καθῆκεν ἓξ καὶ δὶς ἐνίκησε διὰ Διονυσίου, καθεὶς καὶ διʼ ἑτέρων ἑτέρας δύο Ληναϊκάς.
There were to be seen in the Citadel the statues of the mother of Isocrates, of Theodorus, and of Anaco his mother’s sister. That of the mother is placed just by the image of Health, the inscription being changed; that of Anaco is no longer there. [Anaco] had two sons, Alexander by Coenes, and Lysicles by Lysias.
τῆς δὲ μητρὸς αὐτῶν Ἰσοκράτους καὶ Θεοδώρου καὶ τῆς ταύτης ἀδελφῆς Ἀνακοῦς εἰκόνες ἀνέκειντο ἐν ἀκροπόλει· ὧν ἡ τῆς μητρὸς παρὰ τὴν Ὑγίειαν νῦν κεῖται μετεπιγεγραμμένη, ἡ δʼ Ἀνακοῦς οὐ σῴζεται. ἔσχε δὲ δύο υἱούς, Ἀλέξανδρον μὲν ἐκ Κοινοῦς Σωσικλέα δʼ ἐκ Λυσίου.
5. ISAEUS was born in Chalcis. When he came to Athens, he read Lysias’s works, whom he imitated so well, both in his style and in his skill in managing causes, that he who was not very well acquainted with their manner of writing could not tell which of the two was author of many of their orations. He flourished after the Peloponnesian war, as we may conjecture from his orations, and was in repute till the reign of Philip. He taught Demosthenes—not at his school, but privately—who gave him ten thousand drachms, by which business he became very famous. Some say that he composed orations for Demosthenes, which he pronounced in opposition to his guardians. He left behind him sixty-four orations, of which fifty are his own; as likewise some peculiar institutions of rhetoric. He was the first that used to speak or write figuratively, and that addicted himself to civil matters; which Demosthenes chiefly followed. Theopompus the comedian makes mention of him in his Theseus.
5. Ἰσαῖος Χαλκιδεὺς; μὲν ἦν τὸ γένος, παραγενόμενος δʼ εἰς Ἀθήνας, καὶ σχολάσας·ʼ Λυσίᾳ κατά τε τὴν τῶν ὀνομάτων ἁρμονίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι δεινότητα, ὥστʼ εἰ μή τις ἔμπειρος πάνυ τοῦ χαρακτῆρος τῶν ἀνδρῶν εἴη, οὐκ ἂν, διαγνοίη πολλοὺς τῶν λόγων ῥᾳδίως ὁποτέρου τῶν ῥητόρων εἰσίν. ἤκμασε δὲ μετὰ τὸν Πελοποννησιακὸν πόλεμον, ὡς ἔστι τεκμήρασθαι ἐκ λόγων αὐτοῦ, καὶ μέχρι τῆς Φιλίππου ἀρχῆς παρέτεινε. καθηγήσατο δὲ Δημοσθένους, ἀποστὰς τῆς σχολῆς, ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς μυρίαις· διὸ καὶ μάλιστα ἐπιφανὴς ἐγένετο. αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιτροπικοὺς λόγους συνέταττε τῷ Δημοσθένει, ὥς τινες εἶπον. καταλέλοιπε δὲ λόγους ἑξήκοντα τέσσαρας, ὧν εἰσι γνήσιοι πεντήκοντα, καὶ ἰδίας τέχνας. πρῶτος δὲ καὶ σχηματίζειν ἤρξατο καὶ τρέπειν ἐπὶ τὸ πολιτικὸν τὴν διάνοιαν· ὃ μάλιστα μεμίμηται Δημοσθένης μνημονεύει δʼ αὐτοῦ Θεόπομπος ὁ κωμικὸς ἐν τῷ Θησεῖ.
6. HE was the son of Atrometus—who, being banished by the Thirty Tyrants, was thereby a means of reducing the commonwealth to the government of the people—and of his wife Glaucothea; by birth a Cothocidian. He was neither nobly born nor rich; but in his youth, being strong and well set, he addicted himself to all sorts of bodily exercises; and afterwards, having a very clear voice, he took to playing of tragedies, and if we may credit Demosthenes, he was a petty clerk, and also served Aristodemus as a player of third parts at the Bacchanalian festivals, in his times of leisure rehearsing the ancient tragedies. When he was but a boy, he was assisting to his father in teaching little children their letters, and when he was grown up, he listed himself a private soldier. Some think he was brought up under Socrates and Plato; but Caecilius will have it that Leodamas was his master. Being concerned in the affairs of the commonwealth, he openly acted in opposition to Demosthenes and his faction; and was employed in several embassies, and especially in one to Philip, to treat about articles of peace. For which Demosthenes accused him for being the cause of the overthrow and ruin of the Phocians, and the inflamer of war; which part he would have him thought to have acted when the Amphictyons chose him one of their deputies to the Amphissians who were building up the harbor [of Crissa]. On which the Amphictyons put themselves under Philip’s protection, who, being assisted by Aeschines, took the affair in hand, and soon conquered all Phocis. But Aeschines, notwithstanding all that Demosthenes could do, being favored by Eubulus the son of Spintharus, a Probalisian, who pleaded in his behalf, carried his cause by thirty voices, and so was cleared. Though some tell us, that there were orations prepared by the orators, but the news of the conquest of Chaeronea put a stop to the present proceedings, and so the suit fell. Some time after this, Philip being dead, and his son Alexander marching into Asia, Aeschines impeached Ctesiphon for acting against the laws, in passing a decree in favor of Demosthenes. But he having not the fifth part of the voices of the judges on his side, was forced to go in exile to Rhodes, because he would not pay his mulct of a thousand drachms. Others say, that he incurred disfranchisement also, because he would not depart the city, and that he went to Alexander at Ephesus. But upon the death of Alexander, when a tumult had been excited, he went to Rhodes, and there opened a school and taught. And on a time pronouncing the oration which he had formerly made against Ctesiphon, to pleasure the Rhodians, he did it with that grace, that they wondered how he could fail of carrying his cause if he pleaded so well for himself. But ye would not wonder, said he, that I was overthrown, if ye had heard Demosthenes pleading against me. He left a school behind him at Rhodes, which was afterwards called the Rhodian school. Thence he sailed to Samos, and there in a short time died. He had a very good voice, as both Demosthenes and Demochares testified of him. Four orations bear his name, one of which was against Timarchus, another concerning false embassage, and a third against Ctesiphon, which three are really his own; but the fourth called Deliaca, is none of his; for though he was named to plead the cause of the temple at Delos, yet Demosthenes tells us that Hyperides was chosen in his stead. He says himself, that he had two brothers, Aphobetus and Philochares. He was the first that brought the Athenians the news of the victory obtained at Tamynae, for which he was crowned for the second time. Some report that Aeschines was never any man’s scholar, but having passed his time chiefly in courts of justice, he raised himself from the office of clerk to that of orator. His first public appearance was in a speech against Philip; with which the people being pleased, he was immediately chosen to go ambassador to the Arcadians; and being come thither, he excited the Ten Thousand against Philip. He indicted Timarchus for profligacy; who, fearing the issue, deserted his cause and hanged himself, as Demosthenes somewhere informs us. Being employed with Ctesiphon and Demosthenes in an embassage to Philip to treat of peace, he appeared the most accomplished of the three. Another time also he was one of ten men sent in embassage to conclude a peace; and being afterwards called to answer for it, he was acquitted, as we said.
6. Αἰσχίνης Ἀτρομήτου, φυγόντος μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν τριάκοντα συγκαταγαγόντος δὲ τὸν δῆμον, καὶ Γλαυκοθέας· τῶν δὲ δήμων Κοθωκίδης, οὔτε κατὰ γένος τῶν ἐπιφανῶν οὔτε κατὰ περιουσίαν χρημάτων. νέος δʼ ὢν καὶ ἐρρωμένος τῷ σώματι περὶ τὰ γυμνάσια ἐπόνει· λαμπρόφωνος δʼ ὢν μετὰ ταῦτα τραγῳδίαν ἤσκησεν ὡς δὲ Δημοσθένης φησίν, ὑπογραμματεύων καὶ τριταγωνιστῶν Ἀριστοδήμῳ ἐν τοῖς Διονυσίοις διετέλει, ἀναλαμβάνων ἐπὶ σχολῆς τὰς παλαιὰς τραγῳδίας καὶ ἔτι παῖς ὢν ἐδίδασκε γράμματα σὺν τῷ πατρί, καὶ μειράκιον ὢν ἐστρατεύετο ἐν τοῖς περιπόλοις. ἀκροατὴς δὲ γενόμενος ὡς μέν τινες λέγουσιν Ἰσοκράτους καὶ Πλάτωνος, ὡς δὲ Καικίλιος Λεωδάμαντος, καὶ πολιτευόμενος; οὐκ ἀφανῶς ἐκ τῆς ἐναντίας μερίδος τοῖς περὶ Δημοσθένη, ἐπρέσβευσεν ἄλλας τε πρεσβείας πολλὰς καὶ πρὸς Φίλιππον ὑπὲρ τῆς εἰρήνης· ἐφʼ κατηγορήθη ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους ὡς ἀνῃρημένου τοῦ Φωκέων ἔθνους, ἔτι δʼ ὡς πόλεμον ἐξάψας, ἡνίκα πυλαγόρας ᾑρέθη Ἀμφικτύοσι πρὸς Ἀμφισσεῖς τοὺς τὸν λιμένα ἐργαζομένους· ἐξ οὗ συνέβη τοὺς Ἀμφικτύονας Φιλίππῳ προσφυγεῖν, τὸν δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ Αἰσχίνου συνεργούμενον ἐπιθέσθαι τοῖς πράγμασι καὶ τὴν Φωκίδα λαβεῖν· ἀλλὰ συνειπόντος αὐτῷ Εὐβούλου τοῦ Σπινθάρου Προβαλλουσίου δημαγωγοῦντος, τριάκοντα ψήφοις ἀπέφυγεν. εἰσὶ δʼ οἵ φασι συγγράψαι μὲν τοὺς ῥήτορας τοὺς λόγους· ἐμποδὼν δὲ γενομένων τῶν περὶ Χαιρώνειαν, μηκέτι τὴν δίκην εἰσελθεῖν. χρόνῳ δʼ ὕστερον, Φιλίππου μὲν τετελευτηκότος Ἀλεξάνδρου δὲ διαβαίνοντος εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν, ἐγράψατο Κτησιφῶντα παρανόμων ἐπὶ ταῖς Δημοσθένους τιμαῖς· οὐ μεταλαβὼν δὲ τὸ πέμπτον μέρος τῶν ψήφων ἔφυγεν εἰς τὴν Ῥόδον, χιλίας δραχμὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἥττης οὐ βουληθεὶς καταθέσθαι. οἱ δʼ ἀτιμίας αὐτῷ προστιμηθῆναι λέγουσιν οὐ θέλοντι ἐξελθεῖν τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἐλθεῖν εἰς Ἔφεσον ὡς Ἀλέξανδρον. τοῦ δὲ τελευτήσαντος, ταραχῆς οὔσης, ἀπάρας εἰς τὴν Ῥόδον ἐνταῦθα σχολὴν καταστησάμενος ἐδίδασκεν. ἀνέγνω τε τοῖς Ῥοδίοις τὸν κατὰ Κτησιφῶντος λόγον ἐπιδεικνύμενος· θαυμαζόντων δὲ πάντων εἰ ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν ἡττήθη οὐκ ἄν ἔφη ἐθαυμάζετε, Ῥόδιοι, εἰ πρὸς ταῦτα Δημοσθένους; λέγοντος ἠκούσατε σχολὴν τʼ ἐκεῖ προσκατέλιπε, τὸ Ῥοδιακὸν διδασκαλεῖον κληθέν. ἔπειτα πλεύσας εἰς Σάμον καὶ διατρίβων ἐπὶ τῆς νήσου ὀλίγον ὕστερον ἐτελεύτησεν. ἐγένετο δʼ εὔφωνος, ὡς δῆλον ἔκ τε ὧν φησι Δημοσθένης καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Δημοχάρους λόγου. φέρονται δʼ αὐτοῦ λόγοι τέσσαρες, ὅ τε κατὰ Τιμάρχου καὶ ὁ τῆς Παραπρεσβείας καὶ ὁ κατὰ Κτησιφῶντος, οἳ καὶ μόνοι εἰσὶ γνήσιοι. ὁ γὰρ ἐπιγραφόμενος Δηλιακὸς οὐκ ἔστιν Αἰσχίνου· ἀπεδείχθη μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν κρίσιν τὴν περὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τοῦ ἐν Δήλῳ συσταθεὶς συνήγορος οὐ μὴν εἶπε τὸν λόγον· ἐχειροτονήθη γὰρ Ὑπερείδης ἀντʼ αὐτοῦ, ὥς φησι Δημοσθένης. ἔσχε δὲ καὶ ἀδελφούς, ὥς φησιν αὐτός, Ἀφόβητον καὶ Φιλοχάρη. ἀπήγγειλε δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐν Ταμύναις νίκην πρῶτος Ἀθηναίοις, ἐφʼ ᾧ καὶ ἐστεφανώθη τὸ δεύτερον. οἱ δʼ εἶπον μηδὲ μαθητεῦσαί τισι τὸν Αἰσχίνην, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῆς ὑπογραμματείας ἀρθῆναι ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις τότε διάγοντα· πρῶτον δʼ εἰπεῖν ἐν τῷ δήμῳ κατὰ Φιλίππου, εὐδοκιμήσαντά τε πρεσβευτὴν χειροτονηθῆναι πρὸς Ἀρκάδας πρὸς οὓς ἀφικόμενον συστῆσαι τοὺς μυρίους ἐπὶ Φίλιππον. ἐγράψατο δὲ καὶ Τίμαρχον ἑταιρήσεως· ὁ δ’ ἐκλιπὼν τὸν ἀγῶνα αὑτὸν ἀνήρτησεν, ὥς πού φησι Δημοσθένης. ἐχειροτονήθη δὲ πρεσβευτὴς ὡς Φίλιππον μετὰ Κτησιφῶντος καὶ Δημοσθένους περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, ἐν ἄμεινον τοῦ Δημοσθένους ἠνέχθη· τὸ δὲ δεύτερον δέκατος ὤν, κυρώσας ὅρκοις τὴν εἰρήνην, κριθεὶς ἀπέφυγεν, ὡς προείρηται.
7. LYCURGUS was the son of Lycophron, and grandson of that Lycurgus whom the Thirty Tyrants put to death, by the procurement of Aristodemus the Batesian, who, also being treasurer of the Greeks, was banished in the time of the popular government. He was a Butadian by birth, and of the line or family of the Eteobutades. He received his first institutions of philosophy from Plato the philosopher. But afterward entering himself a scholar to Isocrates the orator, he employed his study about affairs of the commonwealth. And to his care was committed the disposal and management of the city stock, and so he executed the office of treasurer-general for the space of twelve years; in which time there went through his hands fourteen thousand talents, or (as some will have it) eighteen thousand six hundred and fifty. It was the orator Stratocles that procured him this preferment. At first he was chosen in his own name; but afterwards he nominated one of his friends to the office, while he himself performed the duties; for there was a law just passed, that no man should be chosen treasurer for above the term of four years. But Lycurgus plied his business closely, both summer and winter, in the administration of public affairs. And being entrusted to make provision of all necessaries for the wars, he reformed many abuses that were crept into the commonwealth. He built four hundred galleys for the use of the public, and prepared and fitted a place for public exercises in Lyceum, and planted trees before it; he likewise built a wrestling-court, and being made surveyor of the theatre of Bacchus, he finished this building. He was likewise of so great repute among all sorts, that he was entrusted with two hundred and fifty talents of private citizens. He adorned and beautified the city with gold and silver vessels of state, and golden images of victory. He likewise finished many things that were as yet imperfect, as the dockyards and the arsenal. He built a wall also about the spacious Panathenaic race-course, and made level a piece of uneven ground, given by one Dinias to Lycurgus for the use of the city. The keeping of the city was committed wholly to his care, and power to apprehend malefactors, of whom he cleared the city utterly; so that some sophisters were wont to say, that Lycurgus did not dip his pen in ink, but in blood. And therefore it was, that when Alexander demanded him of the people, they would not deliver him up. When Philip made the second war upon the Athenians, he was employed with Demosthenes and Polyeuctus in an embassy to Peloponnesus and other cities. He was always in great repute and esteem with the Athenians, and looked upon as a man of that justice and integrity, that in the courts of judicature his good word was at all times prevalent on the behalf of those persons for whom he undertook to speak. He was the author of several laws; one of which was, that there should be certain comedies played at the Chytrian solemnities, and whoever of the poets or players should come off victor, he should thereby be invested with the freedom of the city, which before was not lawful; and so he revived a solemnity which for want of encouragement had for some time before been out of request. Another of his laws was, that the city should erect statues to the memory of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; and that their tragedies, being fairly engrossed, should be preserved in the public consistory, and that the public clerks should read these copies as the plays were acted, that nothing might be changed by the players; and that otherwise it should be unlawful to act them. A third law proposed by him was, that no Athenian, nor any person inhabiting in Athens, should be permitted to buy a captive, who was once free, to be a slave, without the consent of his former master. Further, that in the Piraeus there should be at least three circular dances played to Neptune; and that to the victor in the first should be given not less than ten minas; in the second, eight; in the third, six. Also, that no woman should go to Eleusis in a coach, lest the poor should appear more despicable than the rich, and so be dejected and cast down; and that whoever should ride in a coach contrary to this law should be fined six thousand drachms. And when even his own wife was taken in the violation of it, he paid to the discoverers of it a whole talent; for which being afterwards called in question by the people: See therefore, said he, I am called to answer for giving, and not for receiving money.
7. Λυκοῦργος πατρὸς μὲν ἦν Λυκόφρονος τοῦ Λυκοῦργος, ὃν οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι ἀπέκτειναν, αἰτίου αὐτῷ τῆς ἀναιρέσεως γενομένου Ἀριστοδήμου Βατῆθεν, ὃς καὶ ἑλληνοταμίας γενόμενος ἔφυγεν ἐν τῇ δημοκρατίᾳ· τῶν δήμων δὲ Βουτάδης, γένους τοῦ τῶν Ἐτεοβουταδῶν. ἀκροατὴς δὲ γενόμενος Πλάτωνος; τοῦ φιλοσόφου, τὰ πρῶτα ἐφιλοσόφησεν εἶτα καὶ Ἰσοκράτους· τοῦ ῥήτορος γνώριμος γενόμενος ἐπολιτεύσατο ἐπιφανῶς, καὶ λέγων καὶ πράττων καὶ δὴ πιστευσάμενος τὴν διοίκησιν τῶν χρημάτων· ταμίας γὰρ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τρεῖς πενταετηρίδας ταλάντων μυρίων τετρακισχιλίων, ἢ ὥς τινες μυρίων ὀκτακισχιλίων ἑξακοσίων πεντήκοντα, καὶ ὁ τὰς· τιμὰς αὐτῷ ψηφιζόμενος Στρατοκλῆς ὁ ῥήτωρ, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον αἱρεθεὶς αὐτός, ἔπειτα τῶν φίλων ἐπιγραψάμενός τινα, αὐτὸς ἐποιεῖτο τὴν διοίκησιν διὰ τὸ φθάσαι νόμον εἰσενεγκεῖν, μὴ πλείω πέντε ἐτῶν διέπειν τὸν χειροτονηθέντα ἐπὶ τὰ δημόσια χρήματα, ἀεὶ τʼ ἐφεστὼς τοῖς ἔργοις διετέλεσε, καὶ θέρους καὶ χειμῶνος. καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ πολέμου παρασκευὴν χειροτονηθεὶς; πολλὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐπηνώρθωσε, καὶ τριήρεις παρεσκεύασε τῷ δήμῳ τετρακοσίας, καὶ τὸ ἐν Λυκείῳ γυμνάσιον ἐποίησε καὶ ἐφύτευσε καὶ τὴν παλαίστραν ᾠκοδόμησε καὶ τὸ ἐν Διονύσου θέατρον ἐπιστατῶν ἐπετέλεσε. πιστευσάμενος δʼ ἐν παρακαταθήκῃ παρὰ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν διακόσια πεντήκοντα τάλαντα ἐφύλαξε, πομπεῖά τε χρυσᾶ καὶ ἀργυρᾶ τῇ πόλει κατεσκεύασε καὶ Νίκας χρυσᾶς. πολλὰ δʼ ἡμίεργα παραλαβὼν ἐξετέλεσε καὶ νεωσοίκους καὶ τὴν σκευοθήκην· καὶ τῷ σταδίῳ τῷ Παναθηναϊκῷ τὴν κρηπῖδα περιέθηκεν, ἐξεργασάμενος τοῦτό τε καὶ τὴν χαράδραν ὁμαλὴν ποιήσας, Δεινίου τινός, ὃς ἐκέκτητο τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον, ἀνέντος τῇ πόλει, προείπαντος αὐτῷ χαρίσασθαι Λυκούργου. ἔσχε δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἄστεος τὴν φυλακὴν καὶ τῶν κακούργων τὴν σύλληψιν; οὓς ἐξήλασεν· ἅπαντας, ὡς καὶ τῶν σοφιστῶν ἐνίους λέγειν Λυκοῦργον οὐ μέλανι ἀλλὰ θανάτῳ χρίοντα τὸν κάλαμον κατὰ τῶν πονηρῶν, οὕτω συγγράφειν. ὅθεν ἐξαιτηθέντα αὐτὸν ὑπʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ δῆμος οὐ προήκατο. καθʼ ὃν δὲ χρόνον ἐπολέμει Φίλιππος πρὸς Ἀθηναίους τὸν δεύτερον πόλεμον, ἐπρέσβευε μετὰ Πολυεύκτου καὶ Δημοσθένους εἴς τε Πελοπόννησον καί τινας ἑτέρας πόλεις. διετέλεσέ τε τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον εὐδοκιμῶν παρὰ τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις καὶ δίκαιος εἶναι νομιζόμενος, ὥστε καὶ ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις τὸ φῆσαι Λυκοῦργον ἐδόκει βοήθημα εἶναι τῷ συναγορευομένῳ. εἰσήνεγκε δὲ καὶ νόμους·, τὸν μὲν περὶ τῶν κωμῳδῶν, ἀγῶνα τοῖς Χύτροις ἐπιτελεῖν ἐφάμιλλον ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ καὶ τὸν νικήσαντα εἰς ἄστυ καταλέγεσθαι πρότερον οὐκ ἐξόν, ἀναλαμβάνων τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐκλελοιπότα· τὸν δέ, ὡς χαλκᾶς εἰκόνας ἀναθεῖναι τῶν ποιητῶν, Αἰσχύλου Σοφοκλέους Εὐριπίδου, καὶ τὰς τραγῳδίας αὐτῶν ἐν κοινῷ γραψαμένους φυλάττειν καὶ τὸν τῆς πόλεως γραμματέα παραναγινώσκειν τοῖς ὑποκρινομένοις· οὐκ ἐξεῖναι γὰρ παρʼ αὐτὰς ὑποκρίνεσθαι. καὶ τρίτον, μηδενὶ ἐξεῖναι Ἀθηναίων μηδὲ τῶν οἰκούντων Ἀθήνησιν ἐλεύθερον σῶμα πρίασθαι ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ ἐκ τῶν ἁλισκομένων ἄνευ τῆς τοῦ προτέρου δεσπότου γνώμης. ἔτι δέ, ὡς τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἀγῶνα ποιεῖν ἐν Πειραιεῖ, κυκλίων χορῶν οὐκ ἔλαττον τριῶν, καὶ δίδοσθαι μὲν τοῖς νικῶσιν οὐκ ἔλαττον δέκα μνᾶς, τοῖς δὲ δευτέροις ὀκτώ, ἓξ δὲ τοῖς τρίτοις κριθεῖσιν. ἔτι δʼ ἐπὶ ζεύγους μὴ ἀπιέναι γυναῖκα Ἐλευσῖνάδε, ὅπως μὴ ἐλαττῶνται αἱ δημοτικαὶ ὑπὸ τῶν πλουσιῶν εἰ δέ τις φωραθείη, ἀποτίνειν δραχμὰς ἑξακισχιλίας. τῆς δὲ γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ μὴ πεισθείσης, τῶν συκοφαντῶν φωρασάντων, τάλαντον αὐτοῖς ἔδωκε· κατηγορούμενος δʼ ἐν ὑστέρῳ ἐν τῷ δήμῳ, ἔφη ἀλλʼ οὖν ἐγὼ μὲν διδοὺς οὐ λαμβάνων ἑώραμαι τελώνου δὲ ποτʼ ἐπιβαλόντος Ξενοκράτει τῷ φιλοσόφῳ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ πρὸς τὸ μετοίκιον αὐτὸν ἀπάγοντος, ἀπαντήσας ῥάβδῳ τε κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ τελώνου κατήνεγκε, καὶ τὸν μὲν Ξενοκράτην ἀπέλυσε, τὸν δʼ ὡς οὐ τὰ πρέποντα δράσαντα εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον κατέκλεισεν·
As he was walking one day in the streets, he saw an officer lay hand on Xenocrates the philosopher; and when nothing would serve his turn but the philosopher must to prison, because he had not deposited the tribute due from strangers, he with his staff struck the officer on the head for his unmannerly roughness toward a person of that character, and freeing Xenocrates, cast the other into prison in his stead. And not many days after, Xenocrates meeting with the children of Lycurgus said: I have returned thanks unto your father right speedily, my good children, for his friendship towards me, for I hear his kindness commended by all people where I go. He made likewise several decrees, in which he made use of the help of an Olynthian named Euclides, one very expert in such matters. Though he was rich enough, yet he was used to wear the same coat every day, both summer and winter; but he wore shoes only when he was compelled to do it. Because he was not ready to speak extempore, he used to practise and study day and night. And to the end he might not at any time oversleep himself and so lose time from his study, he used to cover himself on his bed only with a sheepskin with the wool on, and to lay a hard bolster under his head. When one reproached him for being in fee with rhetoricians when he studied his orations, he answered, that, if a man would promise to restore his sons better, he would give him not only a thousand drachms, but half what he was worth. He took the liberty of speaking boldly upon all occasions, by reason of his greatness; as when once the Athenians interrupted him in his speaking, he cried out, O thou Corcyraean whip, how many talents art thou worth? And another time, when some would rank Alexander among the Gods, What manner of God, said he, must he be, when all that go out of his temple had need to be dipped in water to purify themselves?
ἐπαινουμένου δʼ ἐπὶ τῇ πράξει, μεθʼ ἡμέρας τινὰς συντυχὼν ὁ Ξενοκράτης τοῖς παισὶ τοῦ Λυκούργου, ἔφη ταχέως γε τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν ἀπέδωκα, ὦ παῖδες, τὴν χάριν· ἐπαινεῖται γὰρ ὑπὸ πολλῶν ἐπὶ τῷ βοηθῆσαί μοι. εἰσήνεγκε δὲ καὶ ψηφίσματα Εὐκλείδῃ τινὶ Ὀλυνθίῳ χρώμενος ἱκανωτάτῳ περὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα. εὔπορος δʼ ὢν ἱμάτιον ἓν καὶ ταὐτὸ ἐφόρει τοῦ χειμῶνος καὶ τοῦ θέρους καὶ ὑπεδέδετο ταῖς ἀναγκαίαις ἡμέραις. ἐμελέτα δὲ καὶ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, οὐκ εὖ πρὸς τὰ αὐτοσχέδια πεφυκώς, κλινιδίου δʼ αὐτῷ ὑποκειμένου, ἐφʼ ᾧ μόνον ἦν κώδιον καὶ προσκεφάλαιον, ὅπως ἐγείροιτο ῥᾳδίως καὶ μελετῴη. ἐγκαλοῦντος δʼ αὐτῷ τινος ὅτι μισθοὺς σοφισταῖς δίδωσι περὶ λόγους διατρίβων, ἀλλʼ εἴ τις γʼ ἐπαγγέλλοιτο, ἔφη, τοὺς υἱοὺς ἀμείνους αὐτῷ ποιήσειν, οὐ χιλίας ἀλλὰ τὰ ἡμίση τῆς οὐσίας προΐεσθαι. ἦν δὲ καὶ παρρησιαστὴς διὰ τὴν εὐγένειαν· Ἀθηναίων γὲ τοί ποτε οὐκ ἀνεχομένων αὐτοῦ δημηγοροῦντος, ἀνέκραγεν ἐκβαλλόμενος ὦ Κερκυραία μάστιξ, ὡς πολλῶν ταλάντων εἶ ἀξία πάλιν δὲ θεὸν ἀναγορευόντων Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ ποδαπὸς ἂν εἴη εἶπεν ὁ θεός, οὗ τὸ ἱερὸν ἐξιόντας δεήσει περιρραίνεσθαι; ἀποθανόντος δʼ αὐτοῦ, παρέδωκαν τοὺς παῖδας τοῖς ἕνδεκα, Μενεσαίχμου μὲν κατηγορήσαντος γραψαμένου δὲ Θρασυκλέους· Δημοσθένους δὲ καθʼ ὃν ἔφευγε χρόνον ἐπιστείλαντος τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, ὡς κακῶς ἀκούοιεν ἐπὶ τοῖς Λυκούργου παιδίοις, μετενόησαν καὶ ἀφῆκαν αὐτούς, Δημοκλέους τοῦ Θεοφράστου μαθητοῦ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀπολογησαμένου.
After his death Menesaechmus accusing and indicting them by virtue of an instrument drawn by Thracycles, his sons were delivered to the eleven executioners of Justice. But Demosthenes, being in exile, wrote to the Athenians, to let them know that they were wrongfully accused, and that therefore they did not well to hear their accusers; upon which they recanted what they had done, and set them at liberty again,—Democles, who was Theophrastus’s scholar, likewise pleading in their defence. Lycurgus and some of his posterity were buried publicly, at or near the temple of Minerva Paeonia, where their monuments stand in the garden of Melanthius the philosopher, on which are inscriptions to Lycurgus and his children, which are yet extant. The greatest thing he did while he lived was his raising the revenue of the commons totally from sixty talents, as he found it, to twelve hundred. When he found he must die, he was by his own appointment carried into the temple of the Mother of the Gods, and into the senate-house, being willing before his death to give an account of his administration. And no man daring to accuse him of any thing except Menesaechmus, having purged himself from those calumnies which he cast upon him, he was carried home again, where in a short time he ended his life. He was always accounted honest; his orations were commended for the eloquence they carried in them; and though he was often accused, yet he never was overthrown in any suit.
ἐτάφη δʼ αὐτὸς καὶ τῶν ἐκγόνων τινὲς δημοσίᾳ· καὶ ἔστιν αὐτῶν τὰ μνήματα ἀντικρὺ τῆς Παιωνίας Ἀθηνᾶς ἐν τῷ Μελανθίου τοῦ φιλοσόφου κήπῳ, τράπεζαι πεποιημέναι, αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ Λυκούργου καὶ τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ ἐπιγεγραμμέναι καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἔτι σῳζόμεναι. τὸ μέγιστον, χίλια διακόσια τάλαντα προσόδου τῇ πόλει κατέστησε, πρότερον ἑξήκοντα προσιόντων. μέλλων δὲ τελευτήσειν εἰς· τὸ μητρῷον καὶ τὸ βουλευτήριον ἐκέλευσεν αὑτὸν κομισθῆναι, βουλόμενος· εὐθύνας δοῦναι τῶν πεπολιτευμένων οὐδενὸς δὲ κατηγορῆσαι τολμήσαντος πλὴν Μενεσαίχμου, τὰς διαβολὰς ἀπολυσάμενος εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἀπεκομίσθη καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν, ἐπιεικὴς νομισθεὶς; παρὰ πάντα τὸν τοῦ βίου χρόνον καὶ ἐν λόγοις ἐπαινεθείς· καὶ μηδένα ἀγῶνα ἁλούς, καίτοι πολλῶν κατηγορησάντων. ἔσχε δὲ τρεῖς παῖδας ἐκ Καλλιστοῦς τῆς Ἅβρωνος μὲν θυγατρός, Καλλίου δὲ τοῦ Ἅβρωνος Βατῆθεν ἀδελφῆς, τοῦ ταμιεύσαντος στρατιωτικῶν ἐπὶ Χαιρώνδου ἄρχοντος· περὶ δὲ τῆς κηδείας ταύτης λέγει ὁ Δείναρχος ἐν τῷ κατὰ Πιστίου. κατέλιπε δὲ παῖδας Ἅβρωνα Λυκοῦργον Λυκόφρονα· ὧν ὁ Ἅβρων καὶ ὁ Λυκοῦργος ἄπαιδες μετήλλαξαν·
He had three children by Callisto, the daughter of Abron, and sister of Callias, Abron’s son, by descent a Batesian,—I mean, of him who, when Chaerondas was magistrate, was paymaster to the army. Of this affinity Dinarchus speaks in his oration against Pastius. He left behind him three sons, Abron, Lycurgus, and Lycophron; of which, Abron and Lycurgus died without issue, though the first, Abron, did for some time act very acceptably and worthily in affairs of the commonwealth. Lycophron marrying Callistomacha, the daughter of Philip of Aexone, begat Callisto, who married Cleombrotus the son of Dinocrates the Acharnian, to whom she bare Lycophron, who, being adopted by his grandfather, died without issue. He being dead, Socrates married Callisto, of whom he had his son Symmachus. To him was born Aristonymus; to Aristonymus, Charmides, who was the father of Philippe. Of her and Lysander came Medeius, who also was an interpreter, one of the Eumolpids. He begat two children of Timothea, the daughter of Glaucus, viz. Laodamia and Medius, who were priests of Neptune Erechtheus; also Philippe a daughter, who was afterward priestess of Minerva; for before, she was married to Diocles of Melite, to whom she bare a son named Diocles, who was a colonel of a regiment of foot. He married Hediste, the daughter of Abron, and of her begat Philippides and Nicostrata, whom Themistocles the torch-bearer, son of Theophrastus, married, and by her had Theophrastus and Diodes; and he likewise constituted the priesthood of Neptune Erechtheus.
ἀλλʼ ὃ γʼ Ἅβρων καὶ πολιτευσάμενος ἐπιφανῶς μετήλλαξε, Λυκόφρων δὲ γήμας Καλλιστομάχην Φιλίππου Αἰξωνέως ἐγέννησε Καλλιστώ. ταύτην δὲ γήμας Κλεόμβροτος Δεινοκράτους Ἀχαρνεύς, ἐγέννησε Λυκόφρονα· τοῦτον δʼ ὁ πάππος εἰσεποιήσατο Λυκόφρων· οὗτος δʼ ἐτελεύτησεν ἄπαις· μετὰ δὲ τὴν Λυκόφρονος τελευτὴν ἔγημε τὴν Καλλιστὼ Σωκράτης καὶ ἔσχεν υἱὸν Σύμμαχον· τοῦ δʼ ἐγένετο Ἀριστώνυμος, τοῦ δὲ Χαρμίδης τοῦ δὲ Φιλίππη· ταύτης δὲ καὶ Λυσάνδρου Μήδειος, ὁ καὶ ἐξηγητὴς ἐξ Εὐμολπιδῶν γενόμενος· τούτου δὲ καὶ Τιμοθέας τῆς Γλαύκου παῖδες Λαοδάμεια καὶ Μήδειος, ὃς τὴν ἱερωσύνην Ποσειδῶνος Ἐρεχθέως εἶχε, καὶ Φιλίππη, ἥτις ἱεράσατο τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ὕστερον· πρότερον δ’ αὐτὴν γήμας Διοκλῆς ὁ Μελιτεὺς ἐγέννησε Διοκλέα, τὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὁπλίτας στρατηγήσαντα· γήμας δʼ οὗτος Ἡδίστην Ἅβρωνος Φιλιππίδην καὶ Νικοστράτην ἐγέννησε γήμας δὲ τὴν Νικοστράτην Θεμιστοκλῆς ὁ Θεοφράστου ὁ δᾳδοῦχος ἐγέννησε Θεόφραστον καὶ Διοκλέα· διετάξατο δὲ καὶ τὴν ἱερωσύνην τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος Ἐρεχθέως. φέρονται δὲ τοῦ ῥήτορος λόγοι δεκαπέντε. ἐστεφανώθη δʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου πολλάκις καὶ εἰκόνων ἔτυχεν· ἀνάκειται δʼ αὐτοῦ χαλκῆ εἰκὼν ἐν Κεραμεικῷ κατὰ ψήφισμα ἐπʼ Ἀναξικράτους ἄρχοντος·
It is said that he penned fifteen orations. He was often crowned by the people, and had statues dedicated to him. His image in brass was set up in Ceramicus by order of the public, in the year of Anaxicrates; in whose time also it was ordered that he and his eldest son should be provided for with diet in the Prytaneum; but he being dead, Lycophron his eldest son was forced to sue for that donation. This Lycurgus also was used frequently to plead on the account of sacred things; and accused Autolycus the Areopagite, Lysicles the general, Demades the son of Demeas, Menesaechmus, and many others, all whom he caused to be condemned as guilty. Diphilus also was called in question by him, for impairing and diminishing the props of the metal mines, and unjustly making himself rich therefrom; and he caused him to be condemned to die, according to the provision made by the laws in that case. He gave out of his own stock fifty drachms to every citizen, the sum total of which donation amounted to one hundred and sixty talents; but some say he gave a mina of silver to each. He likewise accused Aristogiton, Leocrates, and Autolycus for cowardice. He was called the Ibis: …The ibis to Lycurgus, to Chaerephon the bat.His ancestors derived their pedigree from Erechtheus, the son of the Earth and of Vulcan; but he was nearest to Lycomedes and Lycurgus, whom the people honored with public solemnities. There is a succession of those of the race who were priests of Neptune, in a complete table placed in the Erechtheum, painted by Ismenias the Chalcidian; in the same place stood wooden images of Lycurgus, and of his sons, Abron, Lycurgus, and Lycophron; made by Timarchus and Cephisodotus, the sons of Praxiteles. His son Abron dedicated the table; and coming to the priesthood by right of succession, he resigned to his brother Lycophron, and hence he is painted as giving a trident. But Lycurgus had made a draught of all his actions, and hung it on a column before the wrestling-court built by himself, that all might read that would; and no man could accuse him of any peculation. He likewise proposed to the people to crown Neoptolemus, the son of Anticles, and to dedicate statues to him, because he had promised and undertaken to cover the altar of Apollo in the market with gold, according to the order of the oracle. He decreed honors likewise to Diotimus, the son of Diopithes of Euonymus, in the year when Ctesicles was magistrate.
ἐφʼ οὗ ἔλαβε καὶ σίτησιν ἐν πρυτανείῳ αὐτός τε ὁ Λυκοῦργος καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτατος αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐκγόνων κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ ψήφισμα· ἀποθανόντος τε Λυκούργου, 5 πρεσβύτατος τῶν παίδων Λυκόφρων ἠμφισβήτησε τῆς δωρεᾶς. εἶπε δὲ καὶ περὶ ἱερῶν πολλάκις, γραψάμενος; Αὐτόλυκον τὸν Ἀρεοπαγίτην καὶ Λυσικλέα τὸν στρατηγὸν καὶ Δημάδη τὸν Δημέου καὶ Μενέσαιχμον ἄλλους τε πολλούς, καὶ πάντας εἷλεν. ἔκρινε δὲ καὶ Δίφιλον, ἐκ τῶν ἀργυρείων μετάλλων τοὺς μεσοκρινεῖς, οἳ ἐβάσταζον τὰ ὑπερκείμενα βάρη, ὑφελόντα καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν πεπλουτηκότα παρὰ τοὺς νόμους· καὶ θανάτου ὄντος ἐπιτιμίου ἁλῶναι ἐποίησε, καὶ πεντήκοντα δραχμὰς ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ ἑκάστῳ τῶν πολιτῶν διένειμε, τῶν πάντων συναχθέντων ταλάντων ἑκατὸν ἑξήκοντα·· ἤ, ὥς τινες, μνᾶν. 5 δʼ εὐθύνας Ἀριστογείτονα καὶ Λεωκράτην καὶ Αὐτόλυκον δειλίας. ἐπεκαλεῖτο δʼ ὁ Λυκοῦργος ἶβιςἶβις Λυκούργῳ, Χαιρεφῶντι νυκτερὶςκατῆγον δὲ τὸ γένος ἀπὸ τούτων καὶ Ἐρεχθέως τοῦ Γῆς καὶ Ἡφαίστου· τὰ δʼ ἐγγυτάτω ἀπὸ Λυκομήδους καὶ Λυκούργου, οὓς ὁ δῆμος ταφαῖς ἐτίμησε δημοσίᾳ· καὶ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ καταγωγὴ τοῦ γένους τῶν ἱερασαμένων τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος ἐν πίνακι τελείῳ, ὃς ἀνάκειται ἐν Ἐρεχθείῳ, γεγραμμένος ὑπʼ Ἰσμηνίου τοῦ Χαλκιδέως· καὶ εἰκόνες ξύλιναι τοῦ τε Λυκούργου καὶ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ, Ἅβρωνος Λυκούργου Λυκόφρονος, ἃς εἰργάσαντο Τίμαρχος καὶ Κηφισόδοτος, οἱ Πραξιτέλους υἱεῖς· τὸν δὲ πίνακα ἀνέθηκεν Ἅβρων ὁ παῖς; αὐτοῦ, λαχὼν ἐκ τοῦ γένους τὴν ἱερωσύνην καὶ παραχωρήσας τῷ ἀδελφῷ Λυκόφρονι· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πεποίηται ὁ Ἅβρων προσδιδοὺς αὐτῷ τὴν τρίαιναν. πάντων δʼ ὧν διῴκησεν ἀναγραφὴν ποιησάμενος ἀνέθηκεν ἐν στήλῃ πρὸ τῆς ὑπʼ; αὐτοῦ κατασκευασθείσης παλαίστρας σκοπεῖν τοῖς βουλομένοις· οὐδεὶς μέντοι ἐδυνήθη ἐλέγξαι τὸν ἄνδρα νοσφισμοῦ. ἔγραψε δὲ καὶ Νεοπτόλεμον Ἀντικλέους στεφανῶσαι καὶ εἰκόνα ἀναθεῖναι, ὅτι ἐπηγγείλατο χρυσώσειν τὸν βωμὸν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἐν ἀγορᾷ κατὰ τὴν μαντείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐψηφίσατο δὲ καὶ Διοτίμῳ Διοπείθους Εὐωνυμεῖ τιμὰς ἐπὶ Κτησικλέους ἄρχοντος.
8. DEMOSTHENES, the son of Demosthenes by Cleobule, the daughter of Gylon, was a Paeanian by descent. He was left an orphan by his father, when he was but seven years old, together with a sister of the age of five. Being kept by his mother during his nonage, he went to school to Isocrates, say some; but the generality are of opinion that he was pupil to Isaeus the Chalcidian, who lived in Athens and was Isocrates’s scholar. He imitated Thucydides and Plato, and some affirm that he more especially attended the school of Plato. Hegesias the Magnesian writes, that he entreated his master’s leave to go to hear Callistratus the son of Empaedus, an Amphidnean, a noble orator, and sometime commander of a troop of horse, who had dedicated an altar to Mercury Agoraeos, and was to make an oration to the people. And when he heard him, he became a lover of oratory, and so long as he continued at Athens, remained his disciple.
8. Δημοσθένης Δημοσθένους καὶ Κλεοβούλης τῆς Γύλωνος θυγατρός, τῶν δὲ δήμων Παιανιεύς, καταλειφθεὶς; ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐτῶν ἑπτὰ μετʼ ἀδελφῆς πενταέτιδος τὸν μὲν τῆς ὀρφανίας χρόνον παρὰ τῇ μητρὶ διῆγε, σχολάζων Ἰσοκράτει ὥς τινες ἔφασαν, ὡς δʼ οἱ πλεῖστοι Ἰσαίῳ τῷ Χαλκιδεῖ, ὃς ἦν Ἰσοκράτους μαθητής, διάγοντι ἐν Ἀθήναις, ζηλῶν Θουκυδίδην καὶ Πλάτωνα τὸν φιλόσοφον, ᾧ τινες εἶπον προηγουμένως αὐτὸν σχολάσαι. ὡς δʼ Ἡγησίας ὁ Μάγνης φησίν, ἐδεήθη τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ, ἵνα Καλλιστράτου Ἐμπέδου Ἀφιδναίου, ῥήτορος δοκίμου καὶ ἱππαρχήσαντος καὶ ἀναθέντος τὸν βωμὸν τῷ Ἑρμῇ τῷ ἀγοραίῳ, μέλλοντος ἐν τῷ δήμῳ λέγειν, ἀκούσῃ ἀκούσας δʼ ἐραστὴς ἐγένετο τῶν λόγων.
But Callistratus being soon banished to Thrace, and Demosthenes arrived at some years of maturity, he joined with Isocrates and Plato. After this, he took Isaeus into his house, and for the space of four years labored very hard in imitation of his orations. Though Ctesibius in his book of philosophy affirms that, by the help of Callias the Syracusan, he got the orations of Zoilus the Amphipolite, and by the assistance of Charicles the Carystian those also of Alcidamas, and devoted himself to the imitation of them. When he came to age, in the year of Timocrates he called his tutors and guardians to account for their maladministration, in not allowing him what was fitting and requisite out of his estate. And these tutors or guardians were three, Aphobus, Therippides, and Demophbn (or Demeas), the last of whom, being his uncle, he charged more severely than the other two. He arrested each of them in an action of ten talents, and cast them, but did not exact of them what the law had given him, releasing some for money and others for favor.
καὶ τούτου μὲν ἐπʼ ὀλίγον ἤκουσεν, ἕως ἐπεδήμει. ἐπειδὴ δʼ ὁ μὲν ἔφυγεν εἰς Θρᾴκην ὁ δʼ ἐγεγόνει ἐξ ἐφήβων; τηνικαῦτα παρέβαλεν Ἰσοκράτει καὶ Πλάτωνι· εἶτα καὶ Ἰσαῖον ἀναλαβὼν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τετραετῆ χρόνον αὑτὸν διεπόνησε, μιμούμενος αὐτοῦ τοὺς λόγους. ὡς δὲ Κτησίβιός φησιν ἐν τῷ περὶ φιλοσοφίας, διὰ Καλλίου τοῦ Συρακουσίου πορίσας τοὺς Ζήθου τοῦ Ἀμφιπολίτου λόγους, διὰ δὲ Χαρικλέους τοῦ Καρυστίου τοὺς Ἀλκιδάμαντος, διέλαβεν αὐτούς. τελειωθεὶς δέ, ἐλάττω παρὰ τῶν ἐπιτρόπων παραλαβών, ἔκρινεν αὐτοὺς ἐπιτροπῆς ἐπὶ Τιμοκράτους ἄρχοντος, τρεῖς ὄντας, Ἄφοβον Θηριππίδην Δημοφῶντα ἢ Δημέαν καὶ μάλιστα τούτου κατηγόρησεν ἀδελφοῦ τῆς μητρὸς ὄντος, δέκα τάλαντα τίμημα ἑκάστῃ τῶν δικῶν ἐπιγραψάμενος·
When Aristophon, by reason of his age, could not hold the office any longer, he was chosen choregus, or overseer of the dances. During the execution of which office, Midias the Anagyrasian striking him as he was ordering the dances in the theatre, he sued him upon it, but let fall his suit upon Midias’s paying him three thousand drachms.
καὶ εἷλεν αὐτούς τῆς δὲ καταδίκης οὐδὲν ἐπράξατο, τοὺς μὲν ἀφεὶς ἀργυρίου τοὺς δὲ καὶ χάριτος. Ἀριστοφῶντος δʼ ἤδη τὴν προστασίαν διὰ γῆρας καταλιπόντος, καὶ χορηγὸς ἐγένετο.
It is reported of him that, while he was a youth, he confined himself to a den or cave, and there studied his orations, and shaved half of his head that he might not be allured to divert himself from it; and that he lay upon a very narrow bed, that he might awake and rise the sooner. And for that he could not very well pronounce the letter R, he accustomed himself very much to that, that he might master it if possible; and using likewise an unseemly motion of his shoulder when he spake at any time, he remedied that by a spit (or, as some say, a sword) stuck in the ceiling just over his shoulder, that the fear of being pricked with it might break him of that indecent gesture. They report of him further that, when he could declaim pretty well, he had a sort of mirror made as big as himself, and used always in declaiming to look in that, to the end that he might see and correct what was amiss. He used likewise at some certain times to go down to the Phalerian shore, to the end that, being accustomed to the surges and noise of the waves, he might not be daunted by the clamors of the people, when he should at any time declaim in public. And being naturally short-winded, he gave Neoptolemus a player ten thousand drachms to teach him to pronounce long sentences in one breath.
Μειδίαν δὲ τὸν Ἀναγυράσιον πλήξαντα αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ χορηγοῦντα εἰς κρίσιν καταστήσας, λαβὼν τρισχιλίας ἀφῆκε τῆς δίκης λέγουσι δʼ αὐτὸν ἔτι νέον ὄντα εἰς σπήλαιον ἀπιέναι κἀκεῖ φιλολογεῖν τὸ ἣμισυ τῆς κεφαλῆς; ξυράμενον, ἵνα μὴ προέρχοιτο· καὶ ἐπὶ στενῆς κλίνης κοιμᾶσθαι, ἵνα διὰ ταχέων ἀνίστηται· τό τε ῥῶ μὴ δυνάμενον λέγειν ἐκπονῆσαι, καὶ τὸν ὦμον ἐν τῷ μελετᾶν κινοῦντα ἀπρεπῶς καταπαῦσαι, παραρτήσαντα ὀβελίσκον ἢ ὥς τινες ξιφίδιον ἐκ τῆς ὀροφῆς, ἵνα φοβούμενος ἠρεμοίη. προβαίνοντα δὲ κατὰ τὴν τῶν λόγων ἰσχὺν ἔσοπτρον ἰσομέγεθες αὑτῷ κατασκευάσαι καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἀφορῶντα μελετᾶν, ἵνʼ ἐπανορθώσηται τὰ ἐλλείποντα· καὶ κατιόντα ἐπὶ τὸ Φαληρικὸν πρὸς τὰς τῶν κυμάτων ἐμβολὰς τὰς σκέψεις ποιεῖσθαι, ἵνʼ, εἴ ποτε θορυβοίη ὁ δῆμος, μὴ ἐκσταίη· τοῦ δὲ πνεύματος αὐτῷ ἐνδέοντος, Νεοπτολέμῳ τῷ ὑποκριτῇ μυρίας δοῦναι, ἵνʼ ὅλας περιόδους ἀπνεύστως λέγῃ.
Afterwards, betaking himself to the affairs of the commonwealth, and finding the people divided into two different factions, one in favor of Philip, and the other standing for the liberty and properties of the people, he took part with them that opposed Philip, and always persuaded the citizens to help those who were in danger and trouble by Philip’s oppression; taking for his companions in council Hyperides, Nausicles, Polyeuctus, and Diotimus; and then he drew the Thebans, Euboeans, Corcyraeans, Corinthians, Boeotians, and many more into a league with the Athenians. Being in the assembly one day and his memory failing him, his oration was hissed; which made him return home very heavy and melancholy; and being met by Eunomus the Thriasian, an old man, by him he was comforted and encouraged. But he was chiefly animated by Andronicus the player, who told him that his orations were excellent, but that he wanted something of action, thereupon rehearsing certain places out of his oration which he had delivered in that same assembly. Unto which Demosthenes gave good ear and credit, and he then betook himself to Andronicus. And therefore, when he was afterwards asked what was the first part of oratory, he answered, “Action;” and which was the second, he replied, “Action;” and which was the third, he still answered, “Action.” Another time, declaiming publicly, and using expressions too youthful for one of his years and gravity, he was laughed at, and ridiculed by the comedians, Antiphanes and Timocles, who in derision used to repeat such phrases as these, as uttered by him:By the earth, by the fountains, by the rivers, by the floods!For having sworn thus in presence of the people, he raised a tumult about him. He likewise used to swear by Asclepius, and accented the second syllable (Ἀσκλήπιος) through some mistake, and yet afterwards defended it; for this Asclepius, he said, was called ἤπιος that is a mild God. This also often caused him to be interrupted. But all these things he reformed in time, being sometime conversant with Eubulides, the Milesian philosopher. Being on a time present at the Olympic games, and hearing Lamachus the Myrrhinaean sound the praises of Philip and of Alexander the Great, his son, and decry the cowardice of the Thebans and Olynthians, he stood up in their defence against him, and from the ancient poets he proclaimed the great and noble achievements of the Thebans and Olynthians; and so elegantly he behaved himself in this affair, that he at once silenced Lamachus, and made him convey himself immediately out of the assembly. And even Philip himself, when he had heard what harangues he made against him, replied, that if he had heard him, he should have chosen him general in the war against himself. He was used to compare Demosthenes’s orations to soldiers, for the force they carried along with them; but the orations of Isocrates to fencers, because of the theatrical delight that accompanied them.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τῷ πολιτεύεσθαι προσῆλθεν, εἰς δύο διῃρημένων τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ τῶν μὲν φιλιππιζόντων τῶν δʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας δημηγορούντων, τὴν τῶν ἀντιπολιτευομένων Φιλίππῳ τάξιν εἵλετο· καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου διετέλεσε συμβουλεύων τοῖς κινδυνεύουσιν ὑπὸ Φιλίππῳ γενέσθαι βοηθεῖν, συμπολιτευόμενος Ὑπερείδῃ Ναυσικλεῖ Πολυεύκτῳ Διοτίμῳ· διὸ καὶ συμμάχους τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἐποίησε Θηβαίους Εὐβοεῖς Κερκυραίους Κορινθίους Βοιωτούς, καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους πρὸς τούτοις. ἐκπεσὼν δὲ ποτʼ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ ἀθυμῶν ἐβάδιζεν οἴκοι· συντυχὼν δʼ αὐτῷ Εὔνομος ὁ Θριάσιος πρεσβύτης ἤδη ὢν προετρέψατο τὸν Δημοσθένη, μάλιστα δʼ ὁ ὑποκριτὴς Ἀνδρόνικος εἰπὼν ὡς οἱ μὲν λόγοι καλῶς ἔχοιεν λείποι δʼ αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς ὑποκρίσεως, ἀπεμνημόνευσέ τε τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ λελεγμένων· καὶ δὴ πιστεύσαντα τὸν Δημοσθένη παραδοῦναι αὑτὸν τῷ Ἀνδρονίκῳ. ὅθεν ἐρομένου αὐτὸν τινος τί πρῶτον ἐν ῥητορικῇ, εἶπεν ὑπόκρισις καὶ τί δεύτερον ὑπόκρισις· καὶ τί τρίτον ὑπόκρισισ. προελθὼν δὲ πάλιν εἰς τὰς ἐκκλησίας, νεωτερικῶς τινα λέγων διεσύρετο, ὡς κωμῳδηθῆναι αὐτὸν ὑπʼ Ἀντιφάνους καὶ Τιμοκλέουςμὰ γῆν μὰ κρήνας μὰ ποταμοὺς μὰ νάματαὀμόσας δὲ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἐν τῷ δήμῳ θόρυβον ἐκίνησεν. ὤμνυε δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἀσκληπιόν, προπαροξύνων Ἀσκλήπιον· καὶ παρεδείκνυεν 1 αὑτὸν ὀρθῶς λέγοντα· εἶναι γὰρ τὸν θεὸν ἤπιον· καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ πολλάκις ἐθορυβήθη. σχολάσας δʼ Εὐβουλίδῃ τῷ διαλεκτικῷ Μιλησίῳ ἐπηνωρθώσατο πάντα. γενόμενος δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ὀλυμπιακῇ πανηγύρει καὶ ἀκούσας Λαμάχου τοῦ Τερειναίου Φιλίππου καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἐγκώμιον ἀναγινώσκοντος Θηβαίων δὲ καὶ Ὀλυνθίων κατατρέχοντος, παραναστὰς ἀρχαίων ποιητῶν μαρτυρίας προηνέγκατο περὶ τῶν Θηβαίοις καὶ Ὀλυνθίοις καλῶς πραχθέντων, ὡς παύσασθαί τε τὸ λοιπὸν τὸν Λάμαχον καὶ φυγεῖν ἐκ τῆς πανηγύρεως Φίλιππον δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀναφέροντας αὐτῷ τὰς κατʼ αὐτοῦ δημηγορίας εἰπεῖν ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἂν ἀκούων λέγοντος Δημοσθένους ἐχειροτόνησα τὸν ἄνδρα πρὸς τὸν κατʼ ἐμοῦ πόλεμον ἐκάλει δὲ τοὺς μὲν αὐτοῦ λόγους ὁμοίους τοῖς στρατιώταις διὰ τὴν πολεμικὴν δύναμιν, τοὺς δʼ Ἰσοκράτους τοῖς ἀθληταῖς· τέρψιν γὰρ παρέχειν αὐτοὺς θεατρικήν. ἑπτὰ δὲ.
Being about the age of seven and thirty, reckoning from Dexitheus to Callimachus, —in whose time the Olynthians sent to beg aid of the Athenians against Philip, who then made war upon them,—he persuaded them to answer the Olynthians’ request; but in the following year, in which Plato died, Philip overthrew and destroyed the Olynthians. Xenophon also, the scholar of Socrates, had some knowledge of Demosthenes, either at his first rise, or at least when he was most famous and flourishing; for he wrote the Acts of the Greeks, as touching what passed at the battle of Mantinea, in the year of Chariclides; our Demosthenes having sometime before overthrown his guardians in a suit he had commenced against them, in the year of Timocrates. When Aeschines, being condemned, fled from Athens, Demosthenes hearing of it took horse and rode after him; which Aeschines understanding, and fearing to be apprehended again, he came out to meet Demosthenes, and fell at his feet, covered his face, and begged his mercy; upon which Demosthenes bid him stand up, be assured of his favor, and as a pledge of it, gave him a talent of silver. He advised the people to maintain a company of mercenary soldiers in Thasos, and thither sailed himself as captain of the galleys. Another time, being entrusted to buy corn, he was accused of defrauding the city, but cleared himself of the accusation and was acquitted. When Philip had seized upon Elatea, Demosthenes with others went to the war of Chaeronea, where he is said to have deserted his colors; and flying away, a bramble caught hold of his vest behind, when turning about in haste, thinking an enemy had overtaken him, he cried out, Save my life, and say what shall be my ransom. On his buckler he had engraven for his motto, To Good Fortune. And it was he that made the oration at the funerals of such as died in that battle.
καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονώς, λογιζομένοις ἀπὸ Δεξιθέου εἰς Καλλίμαχον, ἐφʼ οὗ πρὸς Ὀλυνθίων ἧκε πρεσβεία περὶ τῆς βοηθείας, ἐπεὶ ἐπιέζοντο ὑπὸ Φιλίππου τῷ πολέμῳ, ἔπεισεν ἐκπέμψαι τὴν βοήθειαν· τῷ δʼ ἑξῆς, ἐφʼ οὗ Πλάτων ἐτελεύτησε, Φίλιππος Ὀλυνθίους κατεστρέψατο. ἔγνω δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ Ξενοφῶν ὁ Σωκρατικὸς ἢ ἀρχόμενον ἢ ἀκμάζοντα· τῷ μὲν γὰρ τὰ Ἑλληνικὰ ἐτελεῖτο τὰ περὶ τὴν ἐν Μαντινείᾳ μάχην, ἄρχοντα δὲ Χαρικλείδην ὁ δὲ πρότερον ἐπὶ Τιμοκράτους εἷλε τοὺς ἐπιτρόπους. φεύγοντος δʼ Αἰσχίνου μετὰ τὴν καταδίκην, ἵππῳ κατεδίωξεν αὐτόν· τοῦ δʼ οἰηθέντος αὐτὸν συλλαμβάνεσθαι καὶ προσπεσόντος καὶ συγκαλυψαμένου, ἀναστήσας αὐτὸν παρεμυθήσατο καὶ τάλαντον ἔδωκεν ἀργυρίου. καὶ συνεβούλευσε δὲ τῷ δήμῳ ξενικὸν ἐν Θάσῳ τρέφειν, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τριηράρχης ἐξέπλευσε. σιτώνης δὲ γενόμενος καὶ κατηγορηθεὶς κλοπῆς ἀφείθη. Φιλίππου δʼ Ἐλάτειαν καταλαβομένου καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ μαχεσαμένοις συνεξῆλθεν ὅτε καὶ δοκεῖ τὴν τάξιν λιπεῖν, φεύγοντος δʼ αὐτοῦ βάτον ἐπιλαβέσθαι τῆς χλαμύδος, τὸν δʼ ἐπιστραφέντα εἰπεῖν ζώγρει. εἶχε δὲ καὶ ἐπίσημον ἐπὶ τῆς ἀσπίδος ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ εἶπε μέντοι τὸν ἐπιτάφιον ἐπὶ τοῖς πεσοῦσι. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν ἐπισκευὴν τῆς πόλεως τῇ ἐπιμελείᾳ προσελθὼν καὶ τῶν τειχῶν ἐπιμελητὴς χειροτονηθεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας οὐσίας εἰσήνεγκε τὸ ἀναλωθὲν ἀργύριον, μνᾶς ἑκατόν ἐπέδωκε δὲ καὶ θεωροῖς μυρίας τριήρους τʼ ἐπιβὰς περιέπλευσε τοὺς συμμάχους ἀργυρολογῶν.
After these things, he bent his whole care and study for the reparation of the city and wall; and being chosen commissary for repairing the walls, besides what money he expended out the city stock, he laid out of his own at least a hundred minas. And besides this, he gave ten thousand drachms to the festival fund; and taking ship, he sailed from coast to coast to collect money of the allies; for which he was often by Demotelus, Aristonicus, and Hyperides crowned with golden crowns, and afterwards by Ctesiphon. Which last decree had like to have been retracted, Diodotus and Aeschines endeavoring to prove it to be contrary to the laws; but he defended himself so well against their allegations, that he overcame all difficulties, his enemies not having the fifth part of the votes of the judges.
ἐφʼ οἷς πολλάκις ἐστεφανώθη, πρότερον μὲν ὑπὸ Δημομελοῦς Ἀριστονίκου Ὑπερείδου χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ, τελευταῖον δʼ ὑπὸ Κτησιφῶντος· καὶ γραφέντος τοῦ ψηφίσματος παρανόμων ὑπὸ Διοδότου καὶ Αἰσχίνου, ἀπολογούμενος ἐνίκησεν, ὥστε τὸ πέμπτον μέρος τῶν ψήφων τὸν διώκοντα μὴ μεταλαβεῖν. ὕστερον δʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν στρατευομένου καὶ φυγόντος Ἁρπάλου μετὰ χρημάτων εἰς Ἀθήνας, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐκώλυσεν αὐτὸν εἰσδεχθῆναι· ἐπειδὴ δʼ εἰσέπλευσε, λαβὼν Δαρεικοὺς χιλίους μετετάξατο·