by Demosthenes
[202] For I hear that he will tell you that I participated in all the acts I am denouncing, that I approved of them, and co-operated with him, and now have suddenly changed my mind and become his accuser. That is no honest and decent defence against specific charges; it is, however, an accusation against me; for if I acted as he says, I am a worthless person; but that is far from making his actions a whit better.
[203] οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἔγωγ᾽ οἶμαί μοι προσήκειν ἀμφότερ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐπιδεῖξαι, καὶ ὅτι ψεύσεται, ταῦτ᾽ ἐὰν λέγῃ, καὶ τὴν δικαίαν ἥτις ἐστὶν ἀπολογία. ἡ μὲν τοίνυν δικαία καὶ ἁπλῆ, ἢ ὡς οὐ πέπρακται τὰ κατηγορημένα δεῖξαι, ἢ ὡς πεπραγμένα συμφέρει τῇ πόλει. τούτων δ᾽ οὐδέτερον δύναιτ᾽ ἂν οὗτος ποιῆσαι.
[203] However, it is incumbent on me, I suppose, first, to satisfy you that the allegation, if he makes it, will be false, and secondly, to show you what is an honest defence. Now it is an honest and straightforward defence to prove either that the acts alleged were never committed, or that, if committed, they were for the advantage of the state. But he cannot make good either of these positions.
[204] οὔτε γὰρ ὡς συμφέρει δήπου Φωκέας ἀπολωλέναι καὶ Πύλας Φίλιππον ἔχειν καὶ Θηβαίους ἰσχύειν καὶ ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ στρατιώτας εἶναι καὶ Μεγάροις ἐπιβουλεύειν καὶ ἀνώμοτον εἶναι τὴν εἰρήνην, ἔνεστι λέγειν αὐτῷ, οἷς τότ᾽ ἐναντί᾽ ἀπήγγειλε πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὡς συμφέροντα καὶ γενησόμενα: οὔθ᾽ ὡς οὐ πέπρακται ταῦτα, δυνήσεται πεῖσαι τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἑορακότας ὑμᾶς καὶ εὖ εἰδότας.
[204] He cannot claim as advantages the destruction of the Phocians, or Philip’s occupation of Thermopylae, or the aggrandizement of Thebes, or the invasion of Euboea, or the designs against Megara, or the unratified peace; for he reported himself that exactly the opposite was going to happen and would be to your advantage. Neither can he convince you, against the evidence of your own eyes and your own knowledge, that these disasters are fabulous.
[205] οὐκοῦν ὡς οὐ κεκοινώνηκα τούτοις οὐδενός, λοιπόν μοι δεῖξαι. βούλεσθ᾽ οὖν ὑμῖν, πάντα τἄλλ᾽ ἀφείς, ἃ παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἀντεῖπον, ἃ ἐν τῇ ἀποδημίᾳ προσέκρουον, ὡς ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον ἠναντίωμαι, αὐτοὺς παράσχωμαι μάρτυρας τούτους ὅτι πάντα τἀναντί᾽ ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτοις πέπρακται, καὶ χρήμαθ᾽ οὗτοι μὲν ἔχουσιν ἐφ᾽ ὑμῖν, ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὐκ ἠθέλησα λαβεῖν; θεάσασθε δή.
[205] My remaining duty is to prove that I had no partnership with these men in any of their doings. Is it your wish that I should put aside the rest of the story, — how I spoke against them in Assembly, how I fell out with them on the journey, how from first to last I persistently opposed them, — and should produce these men themselves as my witnesses to testify that my conduct and theirs has been utterly at variance, that they accepted money to thwart you, and that I refused it? Then observe.
[206] τίνα τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει φήσαιτ᾽ ἂν βδελυρώτατον εἶναι καὶ πλείστης ἀναιδείας καὶ ὀλιγωρίας μεστόν; οὐδεὶς οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἁμαρτὼν ὑμῶν ἄλλον εὖ οἶδ᾽ ὅτι φήσειεν ἢ Φιλοκράτην. τίνα δὲ φθέγγεσθαι μέγιστον ἁπάντων καὶ σαφέστατ᾽ ἂν εἰπεῖν ὅ τι βούλοιτο τῇ φωνῇ; Αἰσχίνην οἶδ᾽ ὅτι τουτονί. τίνα δ᾽ οὗτοι μὲν ἄτολμον καὶ δειλὸν πρὸς τοὺς ὄχλους φασὶν εἶναι, ἐγὼ δ᾽ εὐλαβῆ; ἐμέ: οὐδὲν γὰρ πώποτ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἠνώχλησα οὔτε μὴ βουλομένους ὑμᾶς βεβίασμαι.
[206] Whom would you call the most detestable person in all Athens, and the most swollen with impudence and superciliousness? No one, I am sure, would name, even by a slip of the tongue, anyone but Philocrates. Who is the most vehement speaker, the man who can express himself most emphatically with the aid of his big voice? Undoubtedly Aeschines. Whom do these men call timid and faint-hearted, or, as I should say, diffident, in addressing a crowd? Me; for I never worried you; I have never tried to dragoon you against your inclinations.
[207] οὐκοῦν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις, ὁσάκις λόγος γέγονεν περὶ τούτων, καὶ κατηγοροῦντος ἀκούετέ μου καὶ ἐλέγχοντος ἀεὶ τούτους καὶ λέγοντος ἄντικρυς ὅτι χρήματ᾽ εἰλήφασι καὶ πάντα πεπράκασι τὰ πράγματα τῆς πόλεως. καὶ τούτων οὐδεὶς πώποτ᾽ ἀκούων ταῦτ᾽ ἀντεῖπεν οὐδὲ διῆρε τὸ στόμα, οὐδ᾽ ἔδειξεν ἑαυτόν.
[207] Well, at every Assembly, whenever there is any discussion of this business, you hear me denouncing and incriminating these men, and declaring roundly that they have taken bribes and made traffic of all the interests of the commonwealth; and no one of them ever contradicts me, or opens his mouth, or lets himself be seen.
[208] τί ποτ᾽ οὖν ἐστι τὸ αἴτιον ὅτι οἱ βδελυρώτατοι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ μέγιστον φθεγγόμενοι τοῦ καὶ ἀτολμοτάτου πάντων ἐμοῦ καὶ οὐδενὸς μεῖζον φθεγγομένου τοσοῦτον ἡττῶνται; ὅτι τἀληθὲς ἰσχυρόν, καὶ τοὐναντίον ἀσθενὲς τὸ συνειδέναι πεπρακόσιν αὑτοῖς τὰ πράγματα. τοῦτο παραιρεῖται τὴν θρασύτητα τὴν τούτων, τοῦτ᾽ ἀποστρέφει τὴν γλῶτταν, ἐμφράττει τὸ στόμα, ἄγχει, σιωπᾶν ποιεῖ.
[208] How comes it then that the most impudent men in Athens, and the loudest speakers, are overborne by me, the nervous man, who can speak no louder than another? Because truth is strong, and consciousness of corruption weak. Conscience paralyses their audacity; conscience cripples their tongues, closes their lips, stifles them, puts them to silence.
[209] τὸ τοίνυν τελευταῖον ἴστε δήπου πρώην ἐν Πειραιεῖ, ὅτ᾽ αὐτὸν οὐκ εἰᾶτε πρεσβεύειν, βοῶνθ᾽ ὡς εἰσαγγελεῖ με καὶ γράψεται καὶ ἰοὺ ἰού. καίτοι ταῦτα μέν ἐστι μακρῶν καὶ πολλῶν ἀγώνων καὶ λόγων ἀρχή, ἐκεῖνα δ᾽ ἁπλᾶ καὶ δύ᾽ ἢ τρί᾽ ἴσως ῥήματα, ἃ κἂν ἐχθὲς ἐωνημένος ἄνθρωπος εἰπεῖν ἠδυνήθη, ‘ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τουτὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα πάνδεινόν ἐστιν: οὑτοσὶ κατηγορεῖ ταῦτ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὧν αὐτὸς κοινωνὸς γέγονε, καὶ χρήματ᾽ εἰληφέναι φησὶν ἐμέ, αὐτὸς εἰληφὼς ἢ μετειληφώς.’
[209] You remember the most recent occasion, at Peiraeus only the other day, when you refused to appoint Aeschines to an embassy, how he bellowed at me: “I will impeach you, — I will indict you, — aha! aha!” And yet a threat of impeachment involves endless speeches and litigation; but here are just two or three simple words that a slave bought yesterday could deliver: “Men of Athens, here is a strange thing! This man accuses me of offences in which he himself took part. He says that I have taken bribes, when he took them, or shared them, himself.”
[210] τούτων μὲν τοίνυν οὐδὲν εἶπεν οὐδ᾽ �
��φθέγξατο, οὐδ᾽ ἤκουσεν ὑμῶν οὐδείς, ἄλλα δ᾽ ἠπείλει. διὰ τί; ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν αὑτῷ συνῄδει πεπραγμένα, καὶ δοῦλος ἦν τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων. οὔκουν προσῄει πρὸς ταῦθ᾽ ἡ διάνοια, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνεδύετο: ἐπελαμβάνετο γὰρ αὐτῆς τὸ συνειδέναι. λοιδορεῖσθαι δ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ βλασφημεῖν.
[210] He never spoke, he never uttered a word of that speech; none of you heard it; he only vented idle menaces. The reason is that he was conscious of guilt; he cowered like a slave before those words; his thoughts did not approach them but recoiled from them, arrested by his evil conscience. Mere vague invective and abuse there was no one to stop.
[211] ὃ τοίνυν μέγιστον ἁπάντων, καὶ οὐ λόγος ἀλλ᾽ ἔργον: βουλομένου γὰρ ἐμοῦ τὰ δίκαια, ὥσπερ ἐπρέσβευσα δίς, οὕτω καὶ λόγον ὑμῖν δοῦναι δίς, προσελθὼν Αἰσχίνης οὑτοσὶ τοῖς λογισταῖς ἔχων μάρτυρας πολλοὺς ἀπηγόρευε μὴ καλεῖν ἔμ᾽ εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ὡς δεδωκότ᾽ εὐθύνας καὶ οὐκ ὄνθ᾽ ὑπεύθυνον: καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἦν ὑπεργέλοιον. τί οὖν ἦν τοῦτο; τῆς προτέρας ἐκείνης πρεσβείας, ἧς οὐδεὶς κατηγόρει, δοὺς λόγον οὐκέτ᾽ ἐβούλετ᾽ αὖθις εἰσιέναι περὶ ταύτης ἧς νῦν εἰσέρχεται, ἐν ᾗ πάντα τἀδικήματ᾽ ἐνῆν:
[211] And now comes the strongest possible point — not a matter of assertion but of fact. I wished to do the honest thing, and to give an account of myself twice, because I had been appointed ambassador twice; but Aeschines approached the Court of Scrutiny, taking with him a crowd of witnesses, and forbade them to summon me, on the ground that I had already submitted to scrutiny, and was no longer liable. What was the real meaning of this ludicrous proceeding? Having himself rendered his account of the earlier embassy, with which nobody found fault, he did not wish to come into court in respect of the embassy for which he is now under examination; and that is the embassy that includes all his misdeeds.
[212] ἐκ δὲ τοῦ δὶς ἔμ᾽ εἰσελθεῖν ἀνάγκη περιίστατο καὶ τούτῳ πάλιν εἰσιέναι: διὰ ταῦτ᾽ οὐκ εἴα καλεῖν. καίτοι τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀμφότερ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐπιδείκνυσι σαφῶς, καὶ κατεγνωκόθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ τοῦτον ὥστε μηδενὶ νῦν ὑμῶν εὐσεβῶς ἔχειν ἀποψηφίσασθαι αὐτοῦ, καὶ μηδὲν ἀληθὲς ἐροῦντα περὶ ἐμοῦ: εἰ γὰρ εἶχε, τότ᾽ ἂν καὶ λέγων καὶ κατηγορῶν ἐξητάζετο, οὐ μὰ Δί᾽ οὐκ ἀπηγόρευε καλεῖν.
[212] But, if I came into court twice, he could not avoid a second appearance, and therefore he would not let me be summoned. Yet that act, men of Athens, proves two propositions: first, that Aeschines has pronounced his own condemnation, and therefore you cannot conscientiously acquit him today; and secondly, that he will not have a truthful word to say about me, otherwise he would have spoken out and denounced me then, instead of trying to block my summons.
[213] ὡς τοίνυν ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, κάλει μοι τούτων τοὺς μάρτυρας.
ἀλλὰ μὴν ἄν γέ τι ἔξω τῆς πρεσβείας βλασφημῇ περὶ ἐμοῦ, κατὰ πόλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἀκούοιτ᾽ αὐτοῦ. οὐ γὰρ ἐγὼ κρίνομαι τήμερον, οὐδ᾽ ἐγχεῖ μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὕδωρ οὐδεὶς ἐμοί. τί οὖν ἐστι ταῦτα πλὴν δικαίων λόγων ἀπορία; τίς γὰρ ἂν κατηγορεῖν ἕλοιτο κρινόμενος, ἔχων ὅ τι ἀπολογήσεται;
[213] To prove the truth of these statements, please call the witnesses.
If, however, he says scurrilous things about me, not pertinent to the question of the embassy, there are many reasons why you should not listen. I am not on my trial today, and I shall have no second opportunity of speaking. It will only mean that he is destitute of honest arguments. No culprit would deliberately choose to prefer accusations, if he had any defence to offer.
[214] ἔτι τοίνυν κἀκεῖνο σκοπεῖτ᾽, ἄνδρες δικασταί. εἰ ἐκρινόμην μὲν ἐγώ, κατηγόρει δ᾽ Αἰσχίνης οὑτοσί, Φίλιππος δ᾽ ἦν ὁ κρίνων, εἶτ᾽ ἐγὼ μηδὲν ἔχων εἰπεῖν ὡς οὐκ ἀδικῶ κακῶς ἔλεγον τουτονὶ καὶ προπηλακίζειν ἐπεχείρουν, οὐκ ἂν οἴεσθε καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτ᾽ ἀγανακτῆσαι τὸν Φίλιππον, εἰ παρ᾽ ἐκείνῳ τοὺς ἐκείνου τις εὐεργέτας κακῶς λέγει; μὴ τοίνυν ὑμεῖς χείρους γένησθε Φιλίππου, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἀγωνίζεται, περὶ τούτων ἀναγκάζετ᾽ ἀπολογεῖσθαι. λέγε τὴν μαρτυρίαν.”Μαρτυρία”
[214] Or again, look at it in this light, gentlemen of the jury. Suppose that I were on trial, with Aeschines for my accuser, and Philip for my judge, and suppose that, being unable to deny my guilt, I were to vilify Aeschines and throw mud at him; do you not think that that is just what would move Philip’s indignation, his own benefactors calumniated before his own tribunal? Do not be less rigorous than Philip, but compel him to address his defence to the real issues of this controversy. Now read the deposition.” Deposition”
[215] οὐκοῦν ἐγὼ μέν, ἐκ τοῦ μηδὲν ἐμαυτῷ συνειδέναι, καὶ λόγον διδόναι καὶ πάντα τἀκ τῶν νόμων ὑπέχειν ᾤμην δεῖν, οὗτος δὲ τἀναντία. πῶς οὖν ταὔτ᾽ ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτῳ πέπρακται; ἢ πῶς ἔνεστι τούτῳ ταῦτα πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγειν, ἃ μηδ᾽ ᾐτίαται πρότερον πώποτε; οὐδαμῶς δήπου. ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἐρεῖ, καὶ νὴ Δί᾽ εἰκότως γε. ἴστε γὰρ δήπου τοῦθ᾽, ὅτι ἀφ᾽ οὗ γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι καὶ κρίσεις γίγνονται, οὐδεὶς πώποθ᾽ ὁμολογῶν ἀδικεῖν ἑάλω, ἀλλ᾽ ἀναισχυντοῦσιν, ἀρνοῦνται, ψεύδονται, προφάσεις πλάττονται, πάντα ποιοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην.
[215] Thus in my consciousness of innocence I thought it my duty to render my account and accept my full legal liability, while Aeschines did not. Is my conduct then the echo of his? Is it competent for him to lay before this court charges which he has never made before? Assuredly not; and yet he will lay them, for a very good reason. For you know that, ever since mankind and the criminal law first came into being, no culprit has ever been convicted while confessing his guilt. They vapor, they gainsay, they tell lies, they forge excuses, — anything to evade justice.
[216] ὧν οὐδενὶ δεῖ παρακρουσθῆναι τήμερον ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἴστ᾽ αὐτοὶ τὰ πράγματα κρῖναι, μὴ τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις μηδὲ τοῖς τούτου προσέχειν, μηδέ γε τοῖς μάρτυσιν, οὓς οὗτος ἑτοίμους ἕξει μαρτυρεῖν ὁτιοῦν, Φιλίππῳ χορηγῷ χρώμενος: ὄψεσθε δ᾽ ὡς ἑτοίμως αὐτῷ μαρτυρήσουσιν: μηδέ γ᾽ εἰ καλὸν καὶ μέγ᾽ οὗτος φθέγξεται, μηδ᾽ εἰ φαῦλον ἐγώ.
[216] Do not be duped today by any of these stale tricks. You
must pass judgement on the facts, according to your knowledge; you must pay no heed either to my assertions or to his, nor even to the witnesses whom he will have in waiting, with Philip as his paymaster, and you will see how glibly they will testify. You must not notice what a fine loud voice he has, and what a poor voice I have.
[217] οὐδὲ γὰρ ῥητόρων οὐδὲ λόγων κρίσιν ὑμᾶς τήμερον, εἴπερ εὖ φρονεῖτε, προσήκει ποιεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ πραγμάτων αἰσχρῶς καὶ δεινῶς ἀπολωλότων τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αἰσχύνην εἰς τοὺς αἰτίους ἀπώσασθε, τὰ πεπραγμένα, ἃ πάντες ἐπίστασθε, ἐξετάσαντες. τί οὖν ἐστι ταῦθ᾽ ἃ ὑμεῖς ἴστε καὶ οὐ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ὑμᾶς ἀκοῦσαι δεῖ;
[217] If you are wise, you must not treat this trial as a competition of forensic eloquence; but in regard to a dishonorable and perilous catastrophe, cast back upon the guilty the dishonor that attaches to it, after reviewing transactions that lie within the knowledge of you all. What, then, are the facts that you know and I need not recount?