by Demosthenes
[59] τοῦτο μὲν τοίνυν Θασίους τοὺς μετ᾽ Ἐκφάντου πῶς οὐκ ἀδικήσετε, ἐὰν ἀφαιρῆσθε τὴν ἀτέλειαν, οἳ παραδόντες ὑμῖν Θάσον καὶ τὴν Λακεδαιμονίων φρουρὰν μεθ᾽ ὅπλων ἐκβαλόντες καὶ Θρασύβουλον εἰσαγαγόντες καὶ παρασχόντες φίλην ὑμῖν τὴν αὑτῶν πατρίδα αἴτιοι τοῦ γενέσθαι σύμμαχον τὸν περὶ Θρᾴκην τόπον ὑμῖν ἐγένοντο;
[59] In the first place, then, will you not wrong the Thasian supporters of Ecphantus, if you revoke their immunity — I mean the men who handed over Thasos to you by expelling the armed garrison of the Lacedaemonians and admitting Thrasybulus, and thus, by bringing their own country on to your side, were the means of winning for you the alliance of the district bordering on Thrace?
[60] τοῦτο δ᾽ Ἀρχέβιον καὶ Ἡρακλείδην, οἳ Βυζάντιον παραδόντες Θρασυβούλῳ κυρίους ὑμᾶς ἐποίησαν τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου, ὥστε τὴν δεκάτην ἀποδόσθαι καὶ χρημάτων εὐπορήσαντας Λακεδαιμονίους ἀναγκάσαι τοιαύτην, οἵαν ὑμῖν ἐδόκει, ποιήσασθαι τὴν εἰρήνην; ὧν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μετὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐκπεσόντων ἐψηφίσασθ᾽ ἅπερ, οἶμαι, φεύγουσιν εὐεργέταις δι᾽ ὑμᾶς προσῆκε, προξενίαν, εὐεργεσίαν, ἀτέλειαν ἁπάντων. εἶτα τοὺς δι᾽ ὑμᾶς φεύγοντας καὶ δικαίως τι παρ᾽ ὑμῶν εὑρομένους ἐάσωμεν ἀφαιρεθῆναι ταῦτα, μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἐγκαλέσαι; ἀλλ᾽ αἰσχρὸν ἂν εἴη.
[60] In the second place, will you not wrong Archebius and Heraclides, who by putting Byzantium into the hands of Thrasybulus made you masters of the Hellespont, so that you farmed out the toll of ten per cent, and thus being well furnished with money forced the Lacedaemonians to conclude a peace favorable to you? When subsequently they were banished, you, Athenians, passed what I think was a very proper decree in favor of men exiled through devotion to your interests, conferring on them the title of Friends of the State and Benefactors, together with immunity from all taxes. For your sakes they were in exile, from you they received a just recompense; and are we now to let them be robbed of this, though we can charge them with no fault? But that would be scandalous.
[61] μάθοιτε δὲ τοῦτο μάλιστ᾽ ἄν, ἐκείνως εἰ λογίσαισθε πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτούς: εἴ τινες νυνὶ τῶν ἐχόντων Πύδναν ἢ Ποτείδαιαν ἤ τι τῶν ἄλλων χωρίων, ἃ Φιλίππῳ μέν ἐστιν ὑπήκοα, ὑμῖν δ᾽ ἐχθρά, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ ἡ Θάσος ἦν τότε καὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον Λακεδαιμονίοις μὲν οἰκεῖα, ὑμῖν δ᾽ ἀλλότρια, παραδώσειν ταῦτ᾽ ἐπαγγείλαιντο, ἂν αὐτοῖς τὰς αὐτὰς δῶτε δωρειὰς ὥσπερ Ἐκφάντῳ τῷ Θασίῳ καὶ Ἀρχεβίῳ τῷ Βυζαντίῳ, καί τινες τούτων ἀντιλέγοιεν αὐτοῖς ταῦτα λέγοντες,
[61] You will grasp the situation best if you will reason it out for yourselves in this way. Suppose at the present day a party of those in power at Pydna or Potidaea or any of those other places which are subject to Philip and hostile to you —
[62] ὡς δεινὸν εἴ τινες μόνοι τῶν ἄλλων μετοίκων μὴ χορηγοῖεν, πῶς ποτ᾽ ἂν ἔχοιτε πρὸς τοὺς ταῦτα λέγοντας; ἢ δῆλον ὅτι φωνὴν οὐκ ἂν ἀνάσχοισθ᾽ ὡς συκοφαντούντων; οὔκουν αἰσχρὸν εἰ μέλλοντες μὲν εὖ πάσχειν συκοφάντην ἂν τὸν ταῦτα λέγονθ᾽ ἡγοῖσθε, ἐπὶ τῷ δ᾽ ἀφελέσθαι τὰς τῶν προτέρων εὐεργετῶν δωρειὰς ταῦτα λεγόντων ἀκούσεσθε;
[62] just as Thasos and Byzantium then were friendly to the Lacedaemonians and estranged from you — promised to hand them over to you in return for the same rewards that you gave to Ecphantus of Thasos and Archebius of Byzantium; and suppose some of these gentlemen here objected to their proposal on the ground that it would be monstrous if a select few of the resident aliens were to escape the public services; how would you deal with their arguments? Is it not certain that you would refuse to listen to such malignant pettifoggers? If so, then it is disgraceful that you should consider such an objection malignant when you are going to receive a benefit, but should lend an ear to it when it is proposed to revoke your gifts to former benefactors. Now let us pass to another argument.
[63] φέρε δὴ κἀκεῖν᾽ ἐξετάσωμεν. οἱ προδόντες τὴν Πύδναν καὶ τἄλλα χωρία τῷ Φιλίππῳ τῷ ποτ᾽ ἐπαρθέντες ἡμᾶς ἠδίκουν; ἢ πᾶσι πρόδηλον τοῦτο, ὅτι ταῖς παρ᾽ ἐκείνου δωρειαῖς, ἃς διὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἔσεσθαι σφίσιν ἡγοῦντο; πότερον οὖν μᾶλλον ἔδει σ᾽, ὦ Λεπτίνη, τοὺς ἐχθρούς, εἰ δύνασαι, πεῖσαι τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀδικήμασι γιγνομένους ἐκείνων εὐεργέτας μὴ τιμᾶν, ἢ θεῖναι νόμον ἡμῖν ὃς τῶν τοῖς ἡμετέροις εὐεργέταις ὑπαρχουσῶν δωρειῶν ἀφαιρεῖταί τι; ἐγὼ μὲν ἐκεῖν᾽ οἶμαι. ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μὴ πόρρω τοῦ παρόντος γένωμαι, λαβὲ τὰ ψηφίσμαθ᾽ ἃ τοῖς Θασίοις καὶ Βυζαντίοις ἐγράφη. λέγε.”Ψηφίσματα”
[63] The men who betrayed Pydna and the other places to Philip — what prompted them to injure us? Is it not obvious to everyone that it was the reward which they calculated on receiving from Philip for their services? Which, then, ought you to have chosen to do, Leptines? To induce our enemies, if you can, to give up honoring those who become their benefactors on the strength of injuries done to us, or to impose a law on us which takes away some part of the rewards which our own benefactors are enjoying? I fancy the former. But that I may not wander from the present point, take and read the decrees passed in honor of the Thasians and the Byzantines.” Decrees”
[64] ἠκούσατε μὲν τῶν ψηφισμάτων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί. τούτων δ᾽ ἴσως ἔνιοι τῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐκέτ᾽ εἰσίν. ἀλλὰ τὰ ἔργα τὰ πραχθέντ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐπειδήπερ ἅπαξ ἐπράχθη. προσήκει τοίνυν τὰς στήλας ταύτας κυρίας ἐᾶν τὸν πάντα χρόνον, ἵν᾽, ἕως μὲν ἄν τινες ζῶσι, μηδὲν ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν ἀδικῶνται, ἐπειδὰν δὲ τελευτήσωσιν, ἐκεῖναι τοῦ τῆς πόλεως ἤθους μνημεῖον ὦσι, καὶ παραδείγμαθ᾽ ἑστῶσι τοῖς βουλομένοις τι ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς ἀγαθόν, ὅσους εὖ ποιήσαντας ἡ πόλις ἀντ᾽ εὖ πεποίηκεν.
[64] You have heard the decrees, gentlemen of the jury. Perhaps some of the men named are no longer alive. But their deeds survive, since they were done once for all. It is fitting, therefore, to allow these inscriptions to hold good for all time, that as long as any of the men are alive, they may suffer no wrong at your hands, and when they die, those inscriptions may be a memorial of our national character, and may stand as proofs to all who wish to do us service, declaring how many benefactors our city has benefited in return.
[65] καὶ μὴν μηδ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, λανθανέτω, ὅτι τῶν αἰσχίστων
ἐστὶν πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἰδεῖν καὶ ἀκοῦσαι τὰς μὲν συμφοράς, αἷς δι᾽ ὑμᾶς ἐχρήσανθ᾽ οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι, πάντα τὸν χρόνον κυρίας αὐτοῖς γεγενημένας, τὰς δὲ δωρειάς, ἃς ἀντὶ τούτων ἔλαβον παρ᾽ ὑμῶν, καὶ δὴ λελυμένας.
[65] Nor indeed would I have you forget this, men of Athens, that it is a most disgraceful thing to show and proclaim to all mankind that the misfortunes which these men endured for your sake have been confirmed to them for ever, while the grants which they received from you in recompense have been even now rescinded.
[66] πολὺ γὰρ μᾶλλον ἥρμοττεν τὰ δοθέντ᾽ ἐῶντας τῶν ἀτυχημάτων ἀφαιρεῖν ἢ τούτων μενόντων τὰς δωρειὰς ἀφαιρεῖσθαι. φέρε γὰρ πρὸς Διός, τίς ἔστιν ὅστις εὖ ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς βουλήσεται, μέλλων, ἂν μὲν ἀποτύχῃ, παραχρῆμα δίκην δώσειν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἂν δὲ κατορθώσῃ, τὰς χάριτας παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ἀπίστους ἕξειν;
[66] For it would have been far more fitting to mitigate their distress by letting them keep your gifts, than, while the distress remains, to rob them of your bounty. In Heaven’s name, I ask you, who is there that will choose to do you service with the prospect of instant punishment by your enemies, if he fails, and of a dubious gratitude from you, if he succeeds?
[67] πάνυ τοίνυν ἀχθοίμην ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, εἰ τοῦτο μόνον δόξαιμι δίκαιον κατηγορεῖν τοῦ νόμου, ὅτι πολλοὺς ξένους εὐεργέτας ἀφαιρεῖται τὴν ἀτέλειαν, τῶν δὲ πολιτῶν μηδέν᾽ ἄξιον δοκοίην ἔχειν δεῖξαι τῶν εὑρημένων ταύτην τὴν τιμήν. καὶ γὰρ τἄλλ᾽ ἀγάθ᾽ εὐξαίμην ἂν ἔγωγε παρ᾽ ἡμῖν εἶναι πλεῖστα, καὶ ἄνδρας ἀρίστους καὶ πλείστους εὐεργέτας τῆς πόλεως πολίτας εἶναι.
[67] Now I should be greatly vexed, gentlemen of the jury, if I thought that the only real charge I was bringing against the law was its depriving many of our alien benefactors of the immunity, but should seem unable to point to any deserving recipient of the honor among our own fellow-countrymen. For my prayer would ever be that Athens may abound in all blessings, but especially that the best men and the most numerous benefactors of this city may be her own citizens.
[68] πρῶτον μὲν τοίνυν Κόνωνα σκοπεῖτε, εἰ ἄρ᾽ ἄξιον, καταμεμψαμένους ἢ τὸν ἄνδρα ἢ τὰ πεπραγμένα, ἄκυρόν τι ποιῆσαι τῶν ἐκείνῳ δοθέντων. οὗτος γάρ, ὡς ὑμῶν τινῶν ἔστιν ἀκοῦσαι τῶν κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡλικίαν ὄντων, μετὰ τὴν τοῦ δήμου κάθοδον τὴν ἐκ Πειραιῶς ἀσθενοῦς ἡμῶν τῆς πόλεως οὔσης καὶ ναῦν οὐδεμίαν κεκτημένης, στρατηγῶν βασιλεῖ, παρ᾽ ὑμῶν οὐδ᾽ ἡντινοῦν ἀφορμὴν λαβών, κατεναυμάχησεν Λακεδαιμονίους, καὶ πρότερον τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπιτάττοντας εἴθισ᾽ ἀκούειν ὑμῶν, καὶ τοὺς ἁρμοστὰς ἐξήλασεν ἐκ τῶν νήσων, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα δεῦρ᾽ ἐλθὼν ἀνέστησε τὰ τείχη, καὶ πρῶτος πάλιν περὶ τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἐποίησε τῇ πόλει τὸν λόγον πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους εἶναι.
[68] First of all, then, in the case of Conon, ask yourselves whether dissatisfaction with the man or his performances justifies the cancelling of the gifts conferred on him. For, as some of you who are his contemporaries can attest, it was just after the return of the exiled democrats from the Piraeus, when our city was so weak that she had not a single ship, and Conon, who was a general in the Persian service and received no prompting whatever from you, defeated the Lacedaemonians at sea and taught the former dictators of Greece to show you deference; he cleared the islands of their military governors, and coming here he restored our Long Walls; and he was the first to make the hegemony of Greece once more the subject of dispute between Athens and Sparta.
[69] καὶ γάρ τοι μόνῳ τῶν πάντων αὐτῷ τοῦτ᾽ ἐν τῇ στήλῃ γέγραπται: ‘ἐπειδὴ Κόνων’ φησὶν ‘ἠλευθέρωσε τοὺς Ἀθηναίων συμμάχους.’ ἔστιν δὲ τοῦτο τὸ γράμμ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἐκείνῳ μὲν φιλοτιμία πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, ὑμῖν δὲ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας: ὅτου γὰρ ἄν τις παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ἀγαθοῦ τοῖς ἄλλοις αἴτιος γένηται, τούτου τὴν δόξαν τὸ τῆς πόλεως ὄνομα καρποῦται.
[69] For, indeed, he has the unique distinction of being thus mentioned in his inscription; “Whereas Conon,” it runs, “freed the allies of Athens.” That inscription, gentlemen of the jury, is his glory in your estimation, but it is yours in the estimation of all Greece. For whatever boon any one of us confers on the other states, the credit of it is reaped by the fame of our city.
[70] διόπερ οὐ μόνον αὐτῷ τὴν ἀτέλειαν ἔδωκαν οἱ τότε, ἀλλὰ καὶ χαλκῆν εἰκόνα, ὥσπερ Ἁρμοδίου καὶ Ἀριστογείτονος, ἔστησαν πρώτου: ἡγοῦντο γὰρ οὐ μικρὰν τυραννίδα καὶ τοῦτον τὴν Λακεδαιμονίων ἀρχὴν καταλύσαντα πεπαυκέναι. ἵν᾽ οὖν μᾶλλον οἷς λέγω προσέχητε, τὰ ψηφίσμαθ᾽ ὑμῖν αὔτ᾽ ἀναγνώσεται τὰ τότε ψηφισθέντα τῷ Κόνωνι. λέγε.”Ψηφίσματα”
[70] Therefore his contemporaries not only granted him immunity, but also set up his statue in bronze — the first man so honored since Harmodius and Aristogiton. For they felt that he too, in breaking up the empire of the Lacedaemonians, had ended no insignificant tyranny. In order, then, that you may give a closer attention to my words, the clerk shall read the actual decrees which you then passed in favor of Conon. Read them.” Decrees”
[71] οὐ τοίνυν ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν μόνον ὁ Κόνων, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τότ᾽ ἐτιμήθη πράξας ἃ διεξῆλθον ἐγώ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων πολλῶν, οἳ δικαίως ὧν εὐεργέτηντο χάριν ᾤοντο δεῖν ἀποδιδόναι. οὔκουν αἰσχρόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ αἱ μὲν παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις δωρειαὶ βέβαιοι μένουσιν αὐτῷ, τῆς δὲ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν μόνης τοῦτ᾽ ἀφαιρήσεται;
[71] It was not, then, only by you, Athenians, that Conon was honored for the services that I have described, but by many others, who rightly felt bound to show gratitude for the benefits they had received. And so it is to your dishonor, men of Athens, that in other states his rewards hold good, but of your rewards alone he is to lose this part.
[72] καὶ μὴν οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνο καλόν, ζῶντα μὲν αὐτὸν οὕτω τιμᾶν ὥστε τοσούτων ὅσων ἀκηκόατ᾽ ἀξιοῦν, ἐπειδὴ δὲ τετελεύτηκεν, μηδεμίαν ποιησαμένους τούτων μνείαν ἀφελέσθαι τι τῶν δοθέντων τότε. πολλὰ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου πραχθέντων ἄξι᾽ ἐπαίνου, δι᾽ ἃ πάντα προσήκει μὴ λύειν τὰς ἐπὶ τούτοις δοθείσας δωρειάς, κάλλιστον δὲ πάντων ἡ τῶν τε�
�χῶν ἀνάστασις.
[72] Neither is this creditable — to honor him when living, with all the distinctions that have been recited to you, but when he is dead to take back some part of your former gifts. For many of his achievements, men of Athens, deserve praise, and all of them make it improper to revoke the gifts they earned for him, but the noblest deed of all was his restoration of the Long Walls.
[73] γνοίη δ᾽ ἄν τις εἰ παραθείη πῶς Θεμιστοκλῆς, ὁ τῶν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἁπάντων ἀνδρῶν ἐνδοξότατος, ταὐτὸ τοῦτ᾽ ἐποίησεν. λέγεται τοίνυν ἐκεῖνος, τειχίζειν εἰπὼν τοῖς πολίταις, κἂν ἀφικνῆταί τις ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος, κατέχειν κελεύσας, οἴχεσθαι πρεσβεύων αὐτὸς ὡς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους, λόγων δὲ γιγνομένων ἐκεῖ καί τινων ἀπαγγελλόντων ὡς Ἀθηναῖοι τειχίζουσιν, ἀρνεῖσθαι καὶ πρέσβεις πέμπειν σκεψομένους κελεύειν, ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ οὐχ ἧκον οὗτοι, πέμπειν ἑτέρους παραινεῖν. καὶ πάντες ἴσως ἀκηκόαθ᾽ ὃν τρόπον ἐξαπατῆσαι λέγεται.
[73] You will realize this if you compare the way in which Themistocles, the most famous man of his age, accomplished the same result. Now history tells us that Themistocles bade his countrymen get on with the building and detain anyone who came from Sparta, while he went off himself on an embassy to the Lacedaemonians; and while negotiations went on there and the news kept coming that the Athenians were fortifying, he denied it and told them to send envoys to see for themselves, and when these envoys did not return, he urged them to send more. Indeed, I expect you have all heard the story of how he hoodwinked them.