by Demosthenes
[12] εἰ τοίνυν δεῖ μηδὲ τοῦτο παραλιπεῖν, εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐληλύθατε πλεονεξίας ὥστε πρότερον μὲν ἐνεκαλεῖτέ μοι τὰ προειρημένα μόνον, τὰ δ᾽ ὑπογυιότατα Πεπαρηθίων φασκόντων δεινὰ πεπονθέναι προσετάξατε τῷ στρατηγῷ δίκην παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ λαβεῖν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων, οὓς ἐγὼ μὲν ἐτιμωρησάμην ἐνδεεστέρως ἢ προσῆκεν, ἐκεῖνοι δ᾽ εἰρήνης οὔσης καταλαβόντες Ἁλόννησον οὔτε τὸ χωρίον οὔτε τοὺς φρουροὺς ἀπεδίδοσαν πέμψαντος ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐμοῦ πολλάκις.
[12] The following affront also should not be passed over. Though formerly you confined yourselves to the charges I have mentioned, your arrogance is now such that, when the people of Peparethus complained of the latest “outrage,” you instructed your general to demand redress from me on their behalf. I actually punished them less rigorously than they deserved, for they seized Halonnesus in time of peace and refused to restore either the fortress or the garrison in spite of my repeated remonstrances.
[13] ὑμεῖς δ᾽ ὧν μὲν ἠδίκησαν ἐμὲ Πεπαρήθιοι, τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἐπεσκέψασθε, τὴν δὲ τιμωρίαν, ἀκριβῶς εἰδότες. καίτοι τὴν νῆσον οὔτ᾽ ἐκείνους οὔθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἀφειλόμην, ἀλλὰ τὸν λῃστὴν Σώστρατον. εἰ μὲν οὖν αὐτοί φατε παραδοῦναι Σωστράτῳ, λῃστὰς ὁμολογεῖτε καταπέμπειν: εἰ δ᾽ ἀκόντων ὑμῶν ἐκεῖνος ἐκράτει, τί δεινὸν πεπόνθατε λαβόντος ἐμοῦ καὶ τὸν τόπον τοῖς πλέουσιν ἀσφαλῆ παρέχοντος;
[13] But you, with full knowledge of the facts, ignored their offences against me, and only considered their punishment. Yet I robbed neither them nor you of the island, but only the pirate chief, Sostratus. Now, if you say that you handed it over to Sostratus, you admit that you employ pirates; if he captured it against your wishes, why this indignation against me for taking it and making the district safe for traders?
[14] τοσαύτην δέ μου ποιουμένου πρόνοιαν τῆς ὑμετέρας πόλεως, καὶ διδόντος αὐτῇ τὴν νῆσον, οἱ ῥήτορες λαμβάνειν μὲν οὐκ εἴων, ἀπολαβεῖν δὲ συνεβούλευον, ὅπως ὑπομείνας μὲν τὸ προσταττόμενον τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν ἔχειν ὁμολογῶ, μὴ προέμενος δὲ τὸ χωρίον ὕποπτος γένωμαι τῷ πλήθει. γνοὺς ἐγὼ ταῦτα προὐκαλούμην κριθῆναι περὶ τούτων πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἵν᾽ ἐὰν μὲν ἐμὴ γνωσθῇ, παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ δοθῇ τὸ χωρίον ὑμῖν, ἐὰν δ᾽ ὑμετέρα κριθῇ, τότ᾽ ἀποδῶ τῷ δήμῳ.
[14] In my regard for the interests of your city, I offered you the island, but your statesmen urged you to refuse it as a gift and demand it as an act of restitution, in order that, if I submit to their dictation, I may thereby confess that I have no right to the place, but if I do not give it up, I may arouse the suspicions of your democracy. Conscious of this, I challenged you to submit our claims to arbitration, so that if the island was adjudged to be mine, I might give it to you; if yours, then I might restore it to your people.
[15] ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐμοῦ πολλάκις ἀξιοῦντος, ὑμεῖς μὲν οὐ προσείχετε, Πεπαρήθιοι δὲ τὴν νῆσον κατέλαβον. τί οὖν ἐχρῆν με ποιεῖν; οὐ δίκην λαβεῖν παρὰ τῶν ὑπερβεβηκότων τοὺς ὅρκους; οὐ τιμωρήσασθαι τοὺς οὕτως ὑπερηφάνως ἀσελγαίνοντας; καὶ γὰρ εἰ Πεπαρηθίων ἦν ἡ νῆσος, τί προσῆκεν ἀπαιτεῖν Ἀθηναίους; εἰ δ᾽ ὑμετέρα, πῶς οὐκ ἐκείνοις ὀργίζεσθε καταλαβοῦσι τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν;
[15] I repeatedly demanded a trial, but you paid me no attention, and the Peparethians occupied the island. What, then, was I to do? Was I not to punish those who had violated their oaths? Was I not to take vengeance for such a wanton outrage? For if the island belonged to the Peparethians, what right had the Athenians to demand it back? If it was yours, why are you not angry with the Peparethians for seizing the territory of others?
[16] εἰς τοῦτο δὲ προβεβήκαμεν ἔχθρας ὥστε βουλόμενος ταῖς ναυσὶν εἰς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον παραβαλεῖν ἠναγκάσθην αὐτὰς παραπέμψαι διὰ Χερρονήσου τῇ στρατιᾷ, τῶν μὲν κληρούχων κατὰ τὸ Πολυκράτους δόγμα πολεμούντων ἡμῖν, ὑμῶν δὲ τοιαῦτα ψηφιζομένων, τοῦ δὲ στρατηγοῦ Βυζαντίους τε παρακαλοῦντος καὶ διαγγέλλοντος πρὸς ἅπαντας ὅτι πολεμεῖν αὐτῷ προστάττετε, ἂν καιρὸν λάβῃ. τοιαῦτα δὲ πάσχων ὅμως τῆς πόλεως καὶ τῶν τριήρων καὶ τῆς χώρας ἀπεσχόμην, ἱκανὸς ὢν τὰ πλεῖστα λαβεῖν ἢ πάντα, καὶ διατετέλεκα προκαλούμενος ὑμᾶς εἰς κρίσιν ἐλθεῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν αἰτιώμεθ᾽ ἀλλήλους.
[16] Our mutual hostility has become so acute that, when I wanted to convey my fleet to the Hellespont, I was compelled to escort it with my army through the Chersonese, because your settlers there were at war with us in accordance with the decree of Polycrates, backed up by your resolutions, and your general was inciting the Byzantines and publicly announcing that your orders were to make war on me, if he got the chance. In spite of this provocation, I kept my hands off the fleets and the territory of your state, though I was strong enough to seize most, if not all, of these, and I have not ceased to appeal to you to have the points in dispute between us settled by arbitration.
[17] καίτοι σκοπεῖσθε πότερον κάλλιόν ἐστιν ὅπλοις ἢ λόγοις διακρίνεσθαι, καὶ πότερον αὐτοὺς εἶναι βραβευτὰς ἢ πεῖσαί τινας ἑτέρους: καὶ λογίζεσθ᾽ ὡς ἄλογόν ἐστιν Ἀθηναίους Θασίους μὲν καὶ Μαρωνίτας ἀναγκάσαι περὶ Στρύμης διακριθῆναι λόγοις, αὐτοὺς δὲ πρὸς ἐμὲ μὴ διαλύσασθαι περὶ ὧν ἀμφισβητοῦμεν τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον, ἄλλως τε καὶ γιγνώσκοντας ὅτι νικηθέντες μὲν οὐδὲν ἀποβαλεῖτε, κρατήσαντες δὲ λήψεσθε τὰ νῦν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῖν ὄντα.
[17] Yet consider which is the more honorable — to settle the dispute by arms or by arguments, to be yourselves the umpires or to win the verdict from others. Also reflect how unreasonable it is that Athenians should force Thasians and Maronites to submit to arbitration about Stryme, but should not themselves in this way settle with me the points on which we are at variance, especially when you realize that, if you lose the verdict, you will sacrifice nothing, and if you win it, you will gain territory which is now in my possession.
[18] πάντων δέ μοι δοκεῖ παραλογώτατον εἶναι, διότι πέμψαντος ἐμοῦ πρέσβεις ἀπὸ τῆς συμμαχίας πάσης, ἵν᾽ ὦσι μάρτυρες, καὶ βουλομένου ποιήσασθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς δικαίας ὁμολογίας ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, οὐδὲ τοὺς περὶ τούτων λόγους ἐδέξασθε παρὰ τῶν πρεσβευόντων, ἐξὸν ὑμῖν ἢ τῶν κινδύνων ἀπαλλάξαι το�
�ς δυσχερὲς ὑποπτεύοντάς τι καθ᾽ ἡμῶν, ἢ φανερῶς ἐξελέγξαι με φαυλότατον ὄντα τῶν ἁπάντων.
[18] But the crowning absurdity, I think, is that, though I sent ambassadors from all my allies to attend as witnesses, and was willing to come to a just agreement with you in the interests of the Greek world, you turned a deaf ear to the representations of the ambassadors, when you might perfectly well have relieved the fears of those who attributed sinister motives to me, or else have proved me beyond all doubt the most worthless of mankind.
[19] τῷ μὲν οὖν δήμῳ ταῦτα συνέφερε, τοῖς δὲ λέγουσιν οὐκ ἐλυσιτέλει. φασὶ γὰρ οἱ τῆς πολιτείας τῆς παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἔμπειροι τὴν μὲν εἰρήνην πόλεμον αὐτοῖς εἶναι, τὸν δὲ πόλεμον εἰρήνην: ἢ γὰρ συναγωνιζομένους τοῖς στρατηγοῖς ἢ συκοφαντοῦντας ἀεί τι λαμβάνειν παρ᾽ αὐτῶν, ἔτι δὲ τῶν πολιτῶν τοῖς γνωριμωτάτοις καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν τοῖς ἐνδοξοτάτοις λοιδορουμένους ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος περιποιεῖσθαι παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους δόξαν ὡς εἰσὶ δημοτικοί.
[19] Such a course was indeed in the interests of your people, but it would not have paid your talkers. For those who have any experience of your constitution say that to the orators peace means war and war means peace; because they always manage to make something out of the generals either by backing them up or by blackmailing them, and also, by abusing from the Public platform your most prominent citizens and the most esteemed of your foreign residents, they win a reputation with the mob for democratic zeal.
[20] ῥᾴδιον μὲν οὖν ἐστί μοι παῦσαι τῆς βλασφημίας αὐτοὺς μικρὰ πάνυ προεμένῳ, καὶ ποιῆσαι λέγειν ἐπαίνους ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. ἀλλ᾽ αἰσχυνοίμην ἄν, εἰ τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν παρὰ τούτων φαινοίμην ὠνούμενος, οἳ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις εἰς τοῦτο τόλμης ἥκουσιν ὥστε καὶ περὶ Ἀμφιπόλεως πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀμφισβητεῖν ἐπιχειροῦσιν, ὑπὲρ ἧς τῶν ἀντιποιουμένων αὐτῆς οἶμαι πολὺ δικαιότερα λέγειν αὐτός.
[20] Now it would be easy for me, at a trifling expense, to stop their abuse and set them singing my praises. But I should be ashamed if I were known to purchase your goodwill from men who, besides their other faults, have reached such a height of impudence that they even venture to dispute with me about Amphipolis, to which I think I can advance a far better claim than my rivals.
[21] εἴτε γὰρ τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς κρατησάντων γίγνεται, πῶς οὐ δικαίως ἡμεῖς αὐτὴν ἔχομεν, Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ προγόνου πρώτου κατασχόντος τὸν τόπον, ὅθεν καὶ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων Μήδων ἀπαρχὴν ἀνδριάντα χρυσοῦν ἀνέστησεν εἰς Δελφούς; εἴτε τούτων μὲν ἀμφισβητήσειέ τις, ἀξιοῖ δὲ γίγνεσθαι τῶν ὕστερον γενομένων κυρίων, ὑπάρχει μοι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ δίκαιον: ἐκπολιορκήσας γὰρ τοὺς ὑμᾶς μὲν ἐκβαλόντας, ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ κατοικισθέντας, ἔλαβον τὸ χωρίον.
[21] For, if it belongs to the original conquerors, have not we a right to hold it? It was my ancestor, Alexander, who first occupied the site, and, as the first-fruits of the Persian captives taken there, set up a golden statue at Delphi. Or if anyone disputes this and claims it for its later owners, here again the right is mine, because I besieged and captured the city, after its inhabitants had expelled you and accepted the Lacedaemonians as their founders.
[22] καίτοι πάντες οἰκοῦμεν τὰς πόλεις ἢ τῶν προγόνων παραδόντων ἢ κατὰ πόλεμον κύριοι καταστάντες. ὑμεῖς δ᾽ οὔτε πρῶτοι λαβόντες οὔτε νῦν ἔχοντες, ἐλάχιστον δὲ χρόνον ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐμμείναντες, ἀντιποιεῖσθε τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ταῦτα πίστιν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν αὐτοὶ βεβαιοτάτην ἐπιθέντες: πολλάκις γὰρ ἐμοῦ γράφοντος ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς, ἐγνώκατε δικαίως ἔχειν ἡμᾶς, τότε μὲν ποιησάμενοι τὴν εἰρήνην ἔχοντος ἐμοῦ τὴν πόλιν, κᾆτα συμμαχίαν ἐπὶ ταῖς αὐταῖς ὁμολογίαις.
[22] Yet we all of us occupy our cities either by inheritance from our ancestors or by right of conquest in war. But you, who were not the first to take Amphipolis, who do not possess it today, and who made the briefest sojourn in that district, now lay claim to the city, and that in spite of your own most solemn assurances in my favour. For I wrote to you again and again on the subject, and you acknowledged that I was in the right by making peace with me at a time when I was in occupation of the city, and subsequently by concluding an alliance with me on the same terms.
[23] καίτοι πῶς ἂν ἑτέρα γένοιτο βεβαιοτέρα ταύτης κτῆσις, τῆς τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς καταλειφθείσης ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τῶν προγόνων, πάλιν δὲ κατὰ πόλεμον ἐμῆς γεγενημένης, τρίτον δὲ συγχωρηθείσης ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν εἰθισμένων ἀμφισβητεῖν καὶ τῶν οὐδὲν ὑμῖν προσηκόντων;
ἃ μὲν οὖν ἐγκαλῶ, ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν: ὡς δὲ προϋπαρχόντων καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν εὐλάβειαν μᾶλλον ἤδη τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐπιτιθεμένων καὶ καθ᾽ ὅσον ἂν δύνησθε κακοποιούντων ὑμῶν, ἀμυνοῦμαι μετὰ τοῦ δικαίου, καὶ μάρτυρας τοὺς θεοὺς ποιησάμενος διαλήψομαι περὶ τῶν καθ᾽ ὑμᾶς.
[23] Yet what stronger title to possession could there be than that the city was originally inherited by me from my ancestors, was again captured by me in war, and thirdly was conceded to me by you, who are in the habit of claiming even that to which you have no shadow of a right?
Such are the complaints I have to make. As you were the aggressors and, thanks to my forbearance, are making still further attacks on my interests and doing me all the harm in your power, I shall defend myself, with justice on my side, and, calling the gods to witness, I shall bring my dispute with you to an issue.
περὶ Συντάξεως — ON ORGANIZATION
[1] περὶ μὲν τοῦ παρόντος ἀργυρίου καὶ ὧν ἕνεκα τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ποιεῖσθ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, οὐδέτερόν μοι δοκεῖ τῶν χαλεπῶν εἶναι, οὔτ᾽ ἐπιτιμήσαντα τοῖς νέμουσι καὶ διδοῦσι τὰ κοινὰ εὐδοκιμῆσαι παρὰ τοῖς βλάπτεσθαι διὰ τούτων ἡγουμένοις τὴν πόλιν, οὔτε συνειπόντα καὶ παραινέσανθ᾽ ὡς δεῖ λαμβάνειν, χαρίσασθαι τοῖς σφόδρ᾽ ἐν χρείᾳ τοῦ λαβεῖν οὖσιν: οὐδέτεροι γὰρ πρὸς τὸ τῇ πόλει συμφέρον σκοποῦντες οὔτ᾽ ἐπαινοῦσιν οὔτε δυσχεραίνουσι τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἑκάτεροι χρείας καὶ περιουσίας ἔχουσιν.
[1] In dealing with the sum of money under discussion and the other matters referred to this Assembly, I see no difficulty, men of Athens, in either of two methods: I may attack the officials who assign and
distribute the public funds and may thus gain credit with those who regard this system as detrimental to the State, or I may approve and commend the right to receive these doles and so gratify those who are especially in need of them. For neither class has the interest of the State in view, when they approve or complain of the system, but they are prompted respectively by their poverty or their affluence.
[2] ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο μὲν οὔτ᾽ ἂν εἰσηγησαίμην, οὔτ᾽ ἂν ἀντείποιμ᾽ ὡς οὐ δεῖ λαμβάνειν: παραινῶ μέντοι σκοπεῖν καὶ λογίζεσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὅτι τἀργύριον μέν ἐστι τοῦθ᾽, ὑπὲρ οὗ βουλεύεσθε, μικρόν, τὸ δ᾽ ἔθος μέγα, ὃ γίγνεται μετὰ τούτου. εἰ μὲν οὖν μετὰ τοῦ πράττειν ἃ προσήκει καὶ τὸ λαμβάνειν κατασκευάσεσθε, οὐ μόνον οὐ βλάψετε, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μέγιστ᾽ ὠφελήσετε τὴν πόλιν καὶ ὑμᾶς αὐτούς: εἰ δὲ τοῦ μὲν λαμβάνειν καὶ ἑορτὴ καὶ πᾶσ᾽ ἀρκέσει πρόφασις, τοῦ δ᾽ ἃ πρὸς τούτοις δεῖ ποιεῖν μηδὲ τοὺς λόγους ἀκούειν ἐθελήσετε, ὁρᾶτε μήποθ᾽, ἃ νῦν ὀρθῶς ἡγεῖσθε πράττειν, σφόδρ᾽ ἡμαρτηκέναι νομίσητε.
[2] I myself would neither propose such a distribution of the doles, nor oppose the right to receive them; but I do urge you to reflect seriously in your own minds that while the sum of money you are discussing is a trifle, the habit of mind that it fosters is a serious matter. Now if you so organize the receipt of money that it is associated with the performance of duties, so far from injuring, you will actually confer on the State and on yourselves the greatest benefit; but if a festival or any other pretext is good enough to justify a dole, and yet you refuse even to listen to the suggestion that there is any obligation attached to it, beware lest you end by acknowledging that what you now consider a proper practice was a grievous error.