by Demosthenes
[157] Men of Athens, this law, so dishonorable, so unsound, so suggestive of envy and spite and — I spare you the rest. Those are the sort of things that the framer of the law seems to favor, but you must not imitate them nor display sentiments unworthy of yourselves. I ask you in Heaven’s name, what should we all most earnestly deprecate? What do all our laws most carefully guard against? What but those vengeful murders against which our specially appointed protector is the Council of the Areopagus?
[158] ἐν τοίνυν τοῖς περὶ τούτων νόμοις ὁ Δράκων φοβερὸν κατασκευάζων καὶ δεινὸν τό τιν᾽ αὐτόχειρ᾽ ἄλλον ἄλλου γίγνεσθαι, καὶ γράφων χέρνιβος εἴργεσθαι τὸν ἀνδροφόνον, σπονδῶν, κρατήρων, ἱερῶν, ἀγορᾶς, πάντα τἄλλα διελθὼν οἷς μάλιστ᾽ ἄν τινας ᾤετ᾽ ἐπισχεῖν τοῦ τοιοῦτόν τι ποιεῖν, ὅμως οὐκ ἀφείλετο τὴν τοῦ δικαίου τάξιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔθηκεν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐξεῖναι ἀποκτιννύναι, κἂν οὕτω τις δράσῃ, καθαρὸν διώρισεν εἶναι. εἶτ᾽ ἀποκτεῖναι μὲν δικαίως ἔν γε τοῖς παρ᾽ ὑμῖν νόμοις ἐξέσται, χάριν δ᾽ ἀπαιτεῖν οὔτε δικαίως οὔθ᾽ ὁπωσοῦν διὰ τὸν τούτου νόμον;
[158] Now Draco, in this group of laws, marked the terrible wickedness of homicide by banning the offender from the lustral water, the libations, the loving-cup, the sacrifices and the market-place; he enumerated everything that he thought likely to deter the offender; but he never robbed him of his claim to justice; he defined the circumstances that make homicide justifiable and proclaimed the accused in such case free from taint. If, then, your laws can justify homicide, is this fellow’s law to forbid any claim, even a just one, to recompense? Not so, men of Athens!
[159] μηδαμῶς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι: μὴ βούλεσθε δοκεῖν πλείω πεποιῆσθαι σπουδὴν ὅπως μηδενὶ τῶν εὖ τι ποιούντων ὑμᾶς χάριν ἐξέσται κομίσασθαι ἢ ὅπως μηδεὶς φόνος ἐν τῇ πόλει γενήσεται: ἀλλ᾽ ἀναμνησθέντες τῶν καιρῶν, παρ᾽ οὓς εὖ πεπονθότες εὖ πεποιήκατε τοὺς εὑρομένους, καὶ τῆς Δημοφάντου στήλης περὶ ἧς εἶπε Φορμίων, ἐν ᾗ γέγραπται καὶ ὀμώμοται, ἄν τις ἀμύνων τι πάθῃ τῇ δημοκρατίᾳ, τὰς αὐτὰς δώσειν δωρειὰς ἅσπερ Ἁρμοδίῳ καὶ Ἀριστογείτονι, καταψηφίσασθε τοῦ νόμου. οὐ γὰρ ἔνεστ᾽ εὐορκεῖν, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ποιήσετε.
[159] Do not let it appear that you have been more diligent to prevent any of your benefactors from winning a recompense than to suppress murder in your city. Rather, recalling the occasions on which you have repaid the services rendered you, and remembering the inscription of Demophantus, already referred to by Phormio, on which it stands written and confirmed by oath that whoso shall suffer in defence of the democracy shall receive the same reward as Harmodius and Aristogiton, vote for the repeal of this law; for if you do not, it is impossible for you to observe your oaths.
[160] παρὰ πάντα δὲ ταῦτ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἀκούσατέ μου. οὐκ ἔνι τοῦτον ἔχειν καλῶς τὸν νόμον, ὃς περὶ τῶν παρεληλυθότων καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ταὐτὰ λέγει. ‘μηδέν᾽ εἶναί’ φησιν ‘ἀτελῆ πλὴν τῶν ἀφ᾽ Ἁρμοδίου καὶ Ἀριστογείτονος.’ καλῶς. ‘μηδὲ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐξεῖναι δοῦναι.’ μηδ᾽ ἂν τοιοῦτοί τινες γένωνται, Λεπτίνη; εἰ τὰ πρὸ τοῦ κατεμέμφου, τί;μὴ καὶ τὰ μέλλοντ᾽ ᾔδεις;
[160] And besides all this, observe a further point. That law cannot be a sound one which deals with the past and the future in the same way. “None,” says this law, “shall be immune save and except the descendants of Harmodius and Aristogiton.” Good! “Nor shall anyone in future be granted immunity.” What! not even if other such benefactors arise, Leptines? If you found fault with the past, can it be that you also foresaw the future?
[161] ὅτι νὴ Δία πόρρω τοῦ τι τοιοῦτον νῦν ἐλπίζειν ἐσμέν. καὶ εἴημέν γ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι: ἀλλὰ χρή γ᾽ ἀνθρώπους ὄντας τοιαῦτα καὶ λέγειν καὶ νομοθετεῖν οἷς μηδεὶς ἂν νεμεσήσαι, καὶ τἀγαθὰ μὲν προσδοκᾶν καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχεσθαι διδόναι, πάντα δ᾽ ἀνθρώπιν᾽ ἡγεῖσθαι. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν Λακεδαιμόνιοί ποτ᾽ ἤλπισαν εἰς τοιαῦτα πράγματ᾽ ἀφίξεσθαι, οὐδέ γ᾽ ἴσως Συρακόσιοι, τὸ πάλαι δημοκρατούμενοι καὶ φόρους Καρχηδονίους πραττόμενοι καὶ πάντων τῶν περὶ αὑτοὺς ἄρχοντες καὶ ναυμαχίᾳ νενικηκότες ἡμᾶς, ὑφ᾽ ἑνὸς γραμματέως, ὃς ὑπηρέτης ἦν, ὥς φασι, τυραννήσεσθαι.
[161] Because, you will say, we are now past such expectation. I pray that we may be, Athenians. But as we are mere mortals, neither our language nor our laws should offend religious sentiment; we may both expect blessings and pray for them, but we must reflect that all things are conditioned by mortality. For the Lacedaemonians never dreamed that they would be brought to their present straits, and perhaps even the Syracusans, once a democracy, who exacted tribute from the Carthaginians and ruled all their neighbors and beat at us at sea, little thought they would fall under the tyranny of a single clerk, if report be true.
[162] οὐδέ γ᾽ ὁ νῦν ὢν Διονύσιος ἤλπισεν ἄν ποτ᾽ ἴσως πλοίῳ στρογγύλῳ καὶ στρατιώταις ὀλίγοις Δίων᾽ ἐλθόντ᾽ ἐφ᾽ αὑτὸν ἐκβαλεῖν τὸν τριήρεις πολλὰς καὶ ξένους καὶ πόλεις κεκτημένον. ἀλλ᾽, οἶμαι, τὸ μέλλον ἄδηλον πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ μικροὶ καιροὶ μεγάλων πραγμάτων αἴτιοι γίγνονται. διὸ δεῖ μετριάζειν ἐν ταῖς εὐπραξίαις καὶ προορωμένους τὸ μέλλον φαίνεσθαι.
[162] Nor again could the present Dionysius ever have exacted that Dion would come against him in a cargo-boat with a handful of soldiers and expel the master of so many warships and mercenaries and cities. But, methinks, the future is hidden from all men, and great events hang on small chances. Therefore we must be modest in the day of prosperity, and must show that we are not blind to the future.
[163] πολλὰ δ᾽ ἄν τις ἔχοι λέγειν ἔτι καὶ διεξιέναι περὶ τοῦ μηδαμῇ μηδὲ καθ᾽ ἓν τοῦτον ἔχειν καλῶς τὸν νόμον μηδὲ συμφέρειν ὑμῖν: ἀλλ᾽ ἵν᾽ ἐν κεφαλαίῳ τοῦτο μάθητε κἀγὼ παύσωμαι λέγων, τάδε ποιήσατε: σκέψασθε παρ᾽ ἄλληλα καὶ λογίσασθε πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς τί συμβήσεται καταψηφισαμένοις ὑμῖν τοῦ νόμου καὶ τί μή: εἶτα φυλάττετε καὶ μέμνησθ᾽ ἃν ὑμῖν ἐξ ἑκατέρου φανῇ, ἵν᾽ ἕλησθε τὰ κρείττω.
[163] There are still many arguments that one might develop at length, showing that this law is in every respect unsound and opposed to your interests; but to sum up and bring my speech to a conclusion, I will ask you to do this. Calculate and compare in your own minds what will happen to you if you repeal this law, and what if you do not; an
d then be careful to remember all the consequences of either step, so that you may make the better choice.
[164] ἂν μὲν τοίνυν καταψηφίσησθε, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς κελεύομεν, οἱ μὲν ἄξιοι παρ᾽ ὑμῶν τὰ δίκαι᾽ ἕξουσιν, εἰ δέ τις ἔστ᾽ ἀνάξιος, ὡς ἔστω, πρὸς τῷ τὴν δωρειὰν ἀφαιρεθῆναι δίκην ἣν ἂν ὑμῖν δοκῇ δώσει κατὰ τὸν παρεισενηνεγμένον νόμον: ἡ δὲ πόλις πιστή, δικαία, πρὸς ἅπαντας ἀψευδὴς φανήσεται. ἐὰν δ᾽ ἀποψηφίσησθε, ὃ μὴ ποιήσαιτε, οἱ μὲν χρηστοὶ διὰ τοὺς φαύλους ἀδικήσονται, οἱ δ᾽ ἀνάξιοι συμφορᾶς ἑτέροις αἴτιοι γενήσονται, δίκην δ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἡντινοῦν αὐτοὶ δώσουσιν, ἡ δὲ πόλις τἀναντί᾽ ὧν εἶπον ἀρτίως, δόξει ἄπιστος, φθονερά, φαύλη παρὰ πᾶσιν εἶναι.
[164] Now if, on our advice, you reject it, deserving men will receive their due reward from you, and any undeserving man （assuming that there are such） will not only lose his reward, but will pay whatever penalty you approve, in accordance with our alternative law, while all men will acknowledge the honor, justice and veracity of our city. If, on the other hand, you allow it to pass, as I pray you may not, the good will suffer for the sake of the bad, the undeserving will bring calamity on the rest, but come off scot-free themselves, and the reputation of Athens will be the very reverse of what I have described; all men will regard her as faithless, envious and mean.
[165] οὔκουν ἄξιον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοσαύτην βλασφημίαν ἀντὶ καλῶν καὶ προσηκόντων ὑμῖν ἀγαθῶν ἑλέσθαι. καὶ γὰρ ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἰδίᾳ μεθέξει τῆς δόξης τῶν κοινῇ γνωσθέντων. οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοεῖ τοῦτ᾽ οὐδεὶς οὔτε τῶν περιεστηκότων οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων, ὅτι ἐν μὲν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ Λεπτίνης πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀγωνίζεται, ἐν δὲ τῇ τῶν καθημένων ὑμῶν ἑνὸς ἑκάστου γνώμῃ φιλανθρωπία πρὸς φθόνον καὶ δικαιοσύνη πρὸς κακίαν καὶ πάντα τὰ χρηστὰ πρὸς τὰ πονηρότατ᾽ ἀντιτάττεται.
[165] It is unworthy of you, Athenians, to prefer such a foul reproach to advantages so honorable and so appropriate to you. For each of you will share individually in the credit of your joint decision. For it is known to all standing round us, as to everyone else, that in this court Leptines is contending with us, but within the conscience of each member of the jury humanity is arrayed against envy, justice against malice, and all that is good against all that is most base.
[166] ὧν τοῖς βελτίοσι πειθόμενοι καὶ κατὰ ταὔθ᾽ ἡμῖν θέμενοι τὴν ψῆφον, αὐτοί θ᾽ ἃ προσήκει δόξετ᾽ ἐγνωκέναι, καὶ τῇ πόλει τὰ κράτιστ᾽ ἔσεσθ᾽ ἐψηφισμένοι, κἄν τις ἄρ᾽ ἔλθῃ ποτὲ καιρός, οὐκ ἀπορήσετε τῶν ἐθελησόντων ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κινδυνεύειν. ὑπὲρ οὖν τούτων ἁπάντων οἶμαι δεῖν ὑμᾶς σπουδάζειν καὶ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν, ὅπως μὴ βιασθῆθ᾽ ἁμαρτάνειν. πολλὰ γὰρ ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πολλάκις οὐκ ἐδιδάχθηθ᾽ ὡς ἔστι δίκαια, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφῃρέθηθ᾽ ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν λεγόντων κραυγῆς καὶ βίας καὶ ἀναισχυντίας.
[166] If you yield to the nobler impulse and cast your votes with us, you will win for yourselves the credit, and for the State the benefit, of a righteous verdict, and if ever occasion arises, you will not lack friends willing to encounter risk in your behalf. I ask you, therefore, to take all these considerations seriously to heart and to beware that you are not forced into an error of judgement. For on many occasions, men of Athens, the justice of the case has not been brought home to you, but a verdict has been wrested from you by the clamor, the violence and the shamelessness of the pleaders. Let not that be your case today, for that would be unworthy of you;
[167] ὃ μὴ πάθητε νῦν: οὐ γὰρ ἄξιον. ἀλλ᾽ ἃ δίκαι᾽ ἐγνώκατε, ταῦτα φυλάξατε καὶ μνημονεύετε, ἕως ἂν ψηφίσησθε, ἵν᾽ εὔορκον θῆσθε τὴν ψῆφον κατὰ τῶν τὰ πονηρὰ συμβουλευόντων. θαυμάζω δ᾽ ἔγωγε, εἰ τοῖς μὲν τὸ νόμισμα διαφθείρουσιν θάνατος παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐστιν ἡ ζημία, τοῖς δ᾽ ὅλην τὴν πόλιν κίβδηλον καὶ ἄπιστον ποιοῦσι λόγον δώσετε. οὐ δή πού γ᾽, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί.
οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅ τι δεῖ πλείω λέγειν: οἶμαι γὰρ ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν εἰρημένων.
[167] but hold fast to what you are convinced is just, and bear it in mind until you vote, so that true to your oaths you may cast your votes against the counsels of the wicked. If you punish with death those who debase the coinage, I shall be surprised if you lend an ear to men who render our whole State base and counterfeit. By all the gods, I will not believe it of you.
I think I need say no more, for I believe you understand all my arguments.
κατὰ Μειδίου περὶ τοῦ Κονδύλου — AGAINST MEIDIAS
[1] τὴν μὲν ἀσέλγειαν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τὴν ὕβριν, ᾗ πρὸς ἅπαντας ἀεὶ χρῆται Μειδίας, οὐδέν᾽ οὔθ᾽ ὑμῶν οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν ἀγνοεῖν οἴομαι. ἐγὼ δ᾽, ὅπερ ἂν καὶ ὑμῶν ἕκαστος ὑβρισθεὶς προείλετο πρᾶξαι, τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς ἐποίησα, καὶ προὐβαλόμην ἀδικεῖν τοῦτον περὶ τὴν ἑορτήν, οὐ μόνον πληγὰς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ λαβὼν τοῖς Διονυσίοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ καὶ βίαια παθὼν παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν χορηγίαν.
[1] The brutality and insolence with which Meidias treats everyone alike are, I suppose, as well known to you, gentlemen of the jury, as to all other citizens. For myself, I have simply taken the course which anyone of you would have adopted, had he been the victim of a similar outrage. I lodged a plaint in the Assembly against him as an offender in connection with the festival, not only for his assault on my person at the Dionysia, but for many other acts of violence during the whole period when I served as chorus-master.
[2] ἐπειδὴ δὲ καλῶς καὶ τὰ δίκαια ποιῶν ὁ δῆμος ἅπας οὕτως ὠργίσθη καὶ παρωξύνθη καὶ σφόδρ᾽ ἐσπούδασεν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἠδικημένῳ μοι συνῄδει, ὥστε πάντα ποιοῦντος τούτου καί τινων ἄλλων ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἐπείσθη οὐδ᾽ ἀπέβλεψεν εἰς τὰς οὐσίας τὰς τούτων οὐδὲ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, ἀλλὰ μιᾷ γνώμῃ κατεχειροτόνησεν αὐτοῦ, πολλοί μοι προσιόντες, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ νῦν ὄντων ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν ἠξίουν καὶ παρεκελεύοντ᾽ ἐπεξελθεῖν καὶ παραδοῦναι τοῦτον εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὡς μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, δι᾽ ἀμφότερ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, νὴ τοὺς θεούς, καὶ δεινὰ πεπονθέναι νομίζοντες ἐμὲ καὶ δίκην ἅμα βουλόμενοι λαβεῖν ὧν ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλ
ων ἐτεθέαντο θρασὺν ὄντα καὶ βδελυρὸν καὶ οὐδὲ καθεκτὸν ἔτι.
[2] But when the whole people, acting honorably and rightly, evinced such anger, such exasperation, such deep concern at the wrongs which they knew I had suffered, that, in spite of the frantic efforts of the defendant and a few supporters, they were deaf to their arguments, shut their eyes to their wealth and their promises, and condemned him by an unanimous show of hands, thereupon, gentlemen of the jury, many citizens, including some of you who are here in court, came to me and demanded and even implored that I should take the further step of bringing Meidias under your jurisdiction; and they did so, I think, for two reasons, men of Athens, because, so help me heaven! they thought that my own wrongs were serious, and they also wished to punish Meidias for conduct which they had witnessed on other occasions, as a scoundrel and a ruffian who could no longer be tolerated.
[3] οὕτω δὲ τούτων ἐχόντων, ὅσα μὲν παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ προσῆκε φυλαχθῆναι, πάντα δικαίως ὑμῖν τετήρηται, καὶ κατηγορήσων, ἐπειδή τις εἰσάγει, πάρειμι, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, πολλὰ μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, χρήματα, ἐξόν μοι λαβεῖν ὥστε μὴ κατηγορεῖν, οὐ λαβών, πολλὰς δὲ δεήσεις καὶ χάριτας καὶ νὴ Δί᾽ ἀπειλὰς ὑπομείνας.