by Demosthenes
[45] τὰς μὲν εὐεργεσίας ἀνθ᾽ ὧν εὕρετο τὴν ἀτέλειαν ὁ Ἐπικέρδης ἀκηκόατ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ψηφισμάτων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί. σκοπεῖτε δὲ μὴ τοῦτο, εἰ μνᾶς ἑκατὸν καὶ πάλιν τάλαντον ἔδωκεν （οὐδὲ γὰρ τοὺς λαβόντας ἔγωγ᾽ ἡγοῦμαι τὸ πλῆθος τῶν χρημάτων θαυμάσαι）, ἀλλὰ τὴν προθυμίαν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸν ἐπαγγειλάμενον ποιεῖν καὶ τοὺς καιροὺς ἐν οἷς.
[45] Gentlemen of the jury, you have heard from the decrees what were the services for which Epicerdes obtained his immunity. Do not stop to ask whether he gave you a hundred minae and a talent as well — for I expect that even those who received it were not struck by the amount of his gift — but think of his zeal, his spontaneous act, and the occasion that he chose.
[46] πάντες μὲν γάρ εἰσιν ἴσως ἄξιοι χάριν ἀνταπολαμβάνειν οἱ προϋπάρχοντες τῷ ποιεῖν εὖ, μάλιστα δ᾽ οἱ παρὰ τὰς χρείας, ὧν εἷς οὗτος ἁνὴρ ὢν φαίνεται. εἶτ᾽ οὐκ αἰσχυνόμεθ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοὺς τοῦ τοιούτου παῖδας εἰ μηδεμίαν ποιησάμενοι τούτων μηδενὸς μνείαν ἀφῃρημένοι φανούμεθα τὴν δωρειάν, μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἐγκαλέσαι;
[46] For recompense is due to all alike who are forward to do us service, but in a special degree to those who are friends in time of need; and such an one clearly was Epicerdes. Are we not then ashamed, men of Athens, if it appears that we have retained no memory of these services and have robbed of their reward the sons of such a benefactor, though we can charge them with no fault?
[47] οὐ γὰρ εἰ ἕτεροι μὲν ἦσαν οἱ τότε σωθέντες ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ δόντες τὴν ἀτέλειαν, ἕτεροι δ᾽ ὑμεῖς οἱ νῦν ἀφαιρούμενοι, ἀπολύει τοῦτο τὴν αἰσχύνην, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ δεινόν ἐστιν. εἰ γὰρ οἱ μὲν εἰδότες καὶ παθόντες ἄξια τούτων ἐνόμιζον εὖ πάσχειν, ἡμεῖς δ᾽ οἱ λόγῳ ταῦτ᾽ ἀκούοντες ὡς ἀναξίων ἀφαιρησόμεθα, πῶς οὐχ ὑπέρδεινον ποιήσομεν;
[47] For if those who were then saved by him and who bestowed on him this immunity were a different generation from you who now propose to take it away, yet that does not remove the infamy of the act; nay, it is just there that its atrocity lies. For if those who knew and experienced his generosity felt that it merited this return, while we, who have only heard the story told, shall revoke the gift as undeserved, shall we not be guilty of more than ordinary atrocity?
[48] ὁ αὐτὸς τοίνυν ἐστί μοι λόγος οὗτος καὶ περὶ τῶν τοὺς τετρακοσίους καταλυσάντων, καὶ περὶ τῶν ὅτ᾽ ἔφευγεν ὁ δῆμος χρησίμους αὑτοὺς παρασχόντων: πάντας γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἡγοῦμαι δεινότατ᾽ ἂν παθεῖν, εἴ τι τῶν τότε ψηφισθέντων αὐτοῖς λυθείη.
[48] Now my plea is the same in this case as for those who overthrew the Four Hundred, and for those who proved helpful to the democrats in exile; for I think they would all be atrociously treated if any portion of the rewards then decreed to them should be revoked.
[49] εἰ τοίνυν τις ὑμῶν ἐκεῖνο πέπεισται, πολὺ τοῦ δεηθῆναί τινος τοιούτου νῦν ἀπέχειν τὴν πόλιν, ταῦτα μὲν εὐχέσθω τοῖς θεοῖς, κἀγὼ συνεύχομαι, λογιζέσθω δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι περὶ νόμου μέλλει φέρειν τὴν ψῆφον ᾧ μὴ λυθέντι δεήσει χρῆσθαι, δεύτερον δ᾽ ὅτι βλάπτουσιν οἱ πονηροὶ νόμοι καὶ τὰς ἀσφαλῶς οἰκεῖν οἰομένας πόλεις. οὐ γὰρ ἂν μετέπιπτε τὰ πράγματ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀμφότερα, εἰ μὴ τοὺς μὲν ἐν κινδύνῳ καθεστηκότας καὶ πράξεις χρησταὶ καὶ νόμοι καὶ ἄνδρες χρηστοὶ καὶ πάντ᾽ ἐξητασμέν᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον προῆγε, τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν ἁπάσῃ καθεστάναι δοκοῦντας εὐδαιμονίᾳ πάντα ταῦτ᾽ ἀμελούμεν᾽ ὑπέρρει κατὰ μικρόν.
[49] Now if any of you is persuaded that our city is far from needing such a benefactor today, let him pray Heaven it may be so, and I will join in that prayer; but let him also reflect, first, that he is going to give his vote on a law under which, if unrepealed, he will have to live, and secondly, that bad laws can injure even communities which fancy they are dwelling in security. For there would have been no changes for better or for worse in the fortunes of states, had it not been that a nation in peril is guided to safety by good policy, good laws, and good citizens and by the observance of order in all things, but in the case of a nation that seems established in perfect prosperity, all these things, being neglected, slip away from it little by little.
[50] τῶν γὰρ ἀνθρώπων οἱ πλεῖστοι κτῶνται μὲν τἀγαθὰ τῷ καλῶς βουλεύεσθαι καὶ μηδενὸς καταφρονεῖν, φυλάττειν δ᾽ οὐκ ἐθέλουσι τοῖς αὐτοῖς τούτοις. ὃ μὴ πάθητε νῦν ὑμεῖς, μηδ᾽ οἴεσθε νόμον τοιοῦτον θέσθαι δεῖν, ὃς καλῶς τε πράττουσαν τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν πονηρᾶς δόξης ἀναπλήσει, ἐάν τέ τι συμβῇ ποτέ, ἔρημον τῶν ἐθελησόντων ἀγαθόν τι ποιεῖν καταστήσει.
[50] For most men achieve prosperity by planning soundly and by despising nothing; but they do not take the trouble to guard it by the same means. Let not this mistake be yours today, and do not think that you ought to ratify a law which will taint the reputation of our city in the time of her prosperity and, if ever a crisis comes, will leave her destitute of those who would be willing to do her service.
[51] οὐ τοίνυν μόνον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοὺς ἰδίᾳ γνόντας εὖ ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς καὶ παρασχόντας χρησίμους αὑτοὺς ἐπὶ τηλικούτων καὶ τοιούτων καιρῶν, οἵων μικρῷ πρότερον Φορμίων διεξελήλυθε κἀγὼ νῦν εἴρηκα, ἄξιόν ἐστιν εὐλαβηθῆναι ἀδικῆσαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους, οἳ πόλεις ὅλας, τὰς ἑαυτῶν πατρίδας, συμμάχους ὑμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους πολέμου παρέσχον, καὶ λέγοντες ἃ συμφέρει τῇ πόλει τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ καὶ πράττοντες:
[51] Again, Athenians, it is not only the men who, in a private capacity, chose to benefit you and to offer their services on those important occasions that have been described a little while ago by Phormio and mentioned by me just now — it is not only these men that you must be careful not to wrong, but many others also, who drew whole states, their own native cities, into alliance with us in the war against the Lacedaemonians, thus furthering by word and deed the interests of your city;
[52] ὧν ἔνιοι διὰ τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν στέρονται τῆς πατρίδος. ὧν ἐπέρχεταί μοι πρώτους ἐξετάσαι τοὺς ἐκ Κορίνθου φεύγοντας. ἀναγκάζομαι δὲ λέγειν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ταῦθ᾽ ἃ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων αὐτὸς ἀκήκοα. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλ᾽ ὅσα χρησίμους ὑμῖν ἑαυτοὺς ἐκεῖ�
�οι παρέσχον, ἐάσω: ἀλλ᾽ ὅθ᾽ ἡ μεγάλη μάχη πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐγένεθ᾽ ἡ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει βουλευσαμένων μετὰ τὴν μάχην μὴ δέχεσθαι τῷ τείχει τοὺς στρατιώτας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ἐπικηρυκεύεσθαι,
[52] and some of these men through their goodwill to you have no longer a fatherland. The first example that I propose to examine is that of the Corinthian exiles. And here I am obliged to mention facts which I myself have only heard from the lips of the older among you. Some occasions, then, on which they made themselves useful to us, I will pass over; but when the great battle against the Lacedaemonians was fought near Corinth, and when the party in that city determined after the battle not to admit our soldiers within their walls, but to send heralds to greet the Lacedaemonians,
[53] ὁρῶντες ἠτυχηκυῖαν τὴν πόλιν καὶ τῆς παρόδου κρατοῦντας Λακεδαιμονίους, οὐχὶ προὔδωκαν οὐδ᾽ ἐβουλεύσαντ᾽ ἰδίᾳ περὶ τῆς αὑτῶν σωτηρίας, ἀλλὰ πλησίον ὄντων μεθ᾽ ὅπλων ἁπάντων Πελοποννησίων ἀνέῳξαν τὰς πύλας ὑμῖν βίᾳ τῶν πολλῶν, καὶ μᾶλλον εἵλοντο μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν τότε στρατευσαμένων, εἴ τι δέοι, πάσχειν ἢ χωρὶς ὑμῶν ἀκινδύνως σεσῶσθαι, καὶ εἰσέφρουν τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ διέσωσαν καὶ ὑμᾶς καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους.
[53] these men, though they saw that Athens had lost the day and that our enemies were holding the pass, refused to betray us or to take steps for their own individual safety, but with the whole armed force of the Peloponnese close upon them, they opened their gates to us in defiance of the majority and chose along with you, who had been engaged in the battle, to suffer whatever might betide, rather than without you to enjoy a safety that involved no danger; and so they admitted the troops and succeeded in saving both you and your allies.
[54] ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ἡ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους εἰρήνη μετὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐγένετο, ἡ ἐπ᾽ Ἀνταλκίδου, ἀντὶ τῶν ἔργων τούτων ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἐξέπεσον. ὑποδεξάμενοι δ᾽ ὑμεῖς αὐτοὺς ἐποιήσατ᾽ ἔργον ἀνθρώπων καλῶν κἀγαθῶν: ἐψηφίσασθε γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἅπανθ᾽ ὧν ἐδέοντο. εἶτα ταῦτα νῦν εἰ χρὴ κύρι᾽ εἶναι σκοποῦμεν; ἀλλ᾽ ὁ λόγος πρῶτον αἰσχρὸς τοῖς σκοπουμένοις, εἴ τις ἀκούσειεν ὡς Ἀθηναῖοι σκοποῦσιν εἰ χρὴ τοὺς εὐεργέτας ἐᾶν τὰ δοθέντ᾽ ἔχειν: πάλαι γὰρ ἐσκέφθαι ταῦτα καὶ ἐγνῶσθαι προσῆκεν. ἀνάγνωθι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ψήφισμ᾽ αὐτοῖς.”Ψήφισμα”
[54] And afterwards, when peace, the peace of Antalcidas, was concluded with the Lacedaemonians, the latter requited their acts with exile. But you, in giving them shelter, acted like good men and true; for you decreed them all that they needed. Yet now are we actually debating whether those decrees should remain valid? No! The bare statement is a disgrace, if it should be reported that Athenians are debating whether they ought to let their benefactors keep what they have given them; for that question ought to have been debated, yes, and decided, long ago.
Read this decree also to the court.” Decree”
[55] ἃ μὲν ἐψηφίσασθε τοῖς φεύγουσιν δι᾽ ὑμᾶς Κορινθίων ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί. ὅρα δέ, εἴ τις ἐκείνους τοὺς καιροὺς εἰδὼς ἢ παρὼν ἤ τινος εἰδότος διεξιόντος ἀκούσας, ἀκούσαι τοῦ νόμου τούτου τὰς τότε δωρειὰς δοθείσας ἀφαιρουμένου, ὅσην ἂν κακίαν τῶν θεμένων τὸν νόμον καταγνοίη, οἳ παρὰ μὲν τὰς χρείας οὕτω φιλάνθρωποι καὶ πάντα ποιοῦντες, ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ἐπράξαμεν πάνθ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἂν εὐξαίμεθα, οὕτως ἀχάριστοι καὶ κακοί, ὥστε τούς τ᾽ ἔχοντας ἀφῃρήμεθα καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν μηδενὶ δοῦναι ταῦτ᾽ ἐξεῖναι νόμον τεθήκαμεν.
[55] Such, gentlemen of the jury, is the decree passed by you in favor of the Corinthians who were exiled on your account. But think! If one who knew those critical times — whether as an eye-witness or hearing the story from one who knew — if he should hear this law which revokes the gifts that were then bestowed, how he would denounce the baseness of us who made the law — and who were so generous and obliging when our need was pressing, but when we have satisfied all our hopes, are so thankless and churlish that we have robbed men of the rewards they enjoy, and have made a law that hereafter no, such rewards should be bestowed!
[56] νὴ Δί᾽ ἀνάξιοι γάρ τινες τῶν εὑρημένων ταῦτ᾽ ἦσαν: τουτὶ γὰρ παρὰ πάντ᾽ ἔσται τὸν λόγον αὐτοῖς. ἔπειτ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἀγνοεῖν φήσομεν, ὅτι τὴν ἀξίαν, ὅταν διδῶμεν, δεῖ σκοπεῖν, οὐ μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὕστερον χρόνῳ παμπληθεῖ; τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τι μὴ δοῦναι γνώμῃ χρησαμένων ἔργον ἀνθρώπων ἐστί: τὸ δὲ τοὺς ἔχοντας ἀφαιρεῖσθαι φθονούντων, τοῦτο δ᾽ οὐ δεῖ δοκεῖν ὑμᾶς πεπονθέναι.
[56] “Oh but,” we shall be told, “some of those who received these rewards did not deserve them”; for that thought will run through all their argument. In that case shall we confess that we do not know that a man’s deserts should be examined at the time of the reward, and not an indefinitely long time after? For to give no reward in the first instance is an exercise of judgement; to take it away when given shows a grudging spirit, and you must not seem to have been prompted by that.
[57] καὶ μὴν οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ὀκνήσω περὶ τῆς ἀξίας αὐτῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν. ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον νομίζω πόλει τὸν ἄξιον ἐξεταστέον εἶναι καὶ ἰδιώτῃ: οὐδὲ γὰρ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἡ σκέψις. ἰδίᾳ μὲν γὰρ ἕκαστος ἡμῶν σκοπεῖ τίς ἄξιός ἐστιν ἑκάστου κηδεστὴς ἢ τῶν τοιούτων τι γίγνεσθαι, ταῦτα δὲ καὶ νόμοις τισὶ καὶ δόξαις διώρισται: κοινῇ δ᾽ ἡ πόλις καὶ ὁ δῆμος, ὅστις ἂν αὐτὸν εὖ ποιῇ καὶ σῴζῃ, τοῦτο δ᾽ οὐ γένει καὶ δόξῃ κρινόμενον ἴδοι τις ἄν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔργῳ. ὅταν μὲν οὖν εὖ πάσχειν δέῃ, τὸν βουλόμενον εὖ ποιεῖν ἡμᾶς ἐάσομεν, ἐπειδὰν δὲ πάθωμεν, τότε τὴν ἀξίαν τοῦ ποιήσαντος σκεψόμεθα; οὐκ ἄρ᾽ ὀρθῶς βουλευσόμεθα.
[57] Furthermore, on the question of merit I shall not shrink from saying this to you: I for one do not think that merit should be examined by the State in the same way as by an individual, because the examination is not concerned with the same questions. For in private life each of us tries to find who is worthy, say, to marry into our family, or something of that sort, and such questions are determined by convention and opinion; but in public affairs the State and the people try to find who is their benefactor and savior, and that question you will find is best decided by reference not to birth or opinion, but to plain fact. So, whenever we want to receive benefits, are we to allow anyone to confer them, but when we have received the
m, then shall we scrutinize the merits of the benefactor? That will be a topsy-turvy policy.
[58] ἀλλὰ νὴ Δί᾽ οὗτοι μόνοι τοῦτο πείσονται, καὶ περὶ τούτων μόνων ποιοῦμαι λόγον τοσοῦτον. πολλοῦ γε καὶ δέω. ἀλλὰ πάντας μὲν οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐγχειρήσαιμ᾽ ἐξετάζειν ὅσοι πεποιηκότες ὑμᾶς εὖ διὰ τὸν νόμον, εἰ μὴ λυθήσεται, τὰ δοθέντ᾽ ἀφαιρεθήσονται: ἓν δ᾽ ἢ δύο δείξας ἔτι ψηφίσματ᾽ ἀπαλλάττομαι τοῦ περὶ τούτων λέγειν.
[58] But, it may be said, the only sufferers will be those I have mentioned, and all my remarks apply to them alone. That is quite untrue. But I could not even attempt to examine all the instances of men who have benefited you, but who by this law, if it is not repealed, will be robbed of their rewards; by calling your attention to one or two further decrees, I absolve myself from discussing these cases.