by Demosthenes
[96] καὶ ταῦτα πέπονθ᾽ ὑπὸ Μειδίου καὶ τοῦ Μειδίου πλούτου καὶ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας παρὰ τὴν πενίαν καὶ ἐρημίαν καὶ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν εἷς εἶναι. καὶ εἰ μὲν παραβὰς τοὺς νόμους ἔλαβεν τὰς πεντήκοντα δραχμὰς παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν δίκην ἣν κατεδιῄτησεν ἀποδεδιῃτημένην ἀπέφηνεν, ἐπίτιμος ἂν ἦν καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχων κακὸν τῶν ἴσων μετεῖχε τοῖς ἄλλοις ἡμῖν: ἐπειδὴ δὲ παρεῖδε πρὸς τὰ δίκαια Μειδίαν, καὶ τοὺς νόμους μᾶλλον ἔδεισε τῶν ἀπειλῶν τῶν τούτου, τηνικαῦτα τηλικαύτῃ καὶ τοιαύτῃ συμφορᾷ περιπέπτωκεν ὑπὸ τούτου.
[96] All this he has endured at the hands of Meidias, and from the wealth and pride of Meidias, because he himself is poor and friendless and just one of the multitude. If in violation of the laws he had accepted the fifty drachmas and changed his verdict from a condemnation to an acquittal, he would now be a full citizen, untouched by harm and sharing with the rest of us in our common rights; but because he disregarded Meidias in comparison with justice and feared the laws more than his threats, therefore he has met with this great and terrible misfortune through the act of this man.
[97] εἶθ᾽ ὑμεῖς τὸν οὕτως ὠμόν, τὸν οὕτως ἀγνώμονα, τὸν τηλικαύτας δίκας λαμβάνονθ᾽ ὧν αὐτὸς ἠδικῆσθαι φησὶ μόνον （οὐ γὰρ ἠδίκητό γε）, τοῦτον ὑβρίζοντα λαβόντες εἴς τινα τῶν πολιτῶν ἀφήσετε, καὶ μήθ᾽ ἑορτῆς μήθ᾽ ἱερῶν μήτε νόμου μήτ᾽ ἄλλου μηδενὸς πρόνοιαν ποιούμενον, οὐ καταψηφιεῖσθε;
[97] And then this same man, so cruel, so heartless, who has taken such dire vengeance for his wrongs — you have only his word for them, for he really suffered none — will you acquit him when you have detected him in a wanton outrage on one of the citizens? [If he regards neither festivals nor temples nor law nor anything else, will you not condemn him? Will you not make an example of him?]
[98] οὐ παράδειγμα ποιήσετε; καὶ τί φήσετ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί; καὶ τίν᾽, ὢ πρὸς τῶν θεῶν, ἕξετ᾽ εἰπεῖν πρόφασιν δικαίαν ἢ καλήν; ὅτι νὴ Δί᾽ ἀσελγής ἐστι καὶ βδελυρός: ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι τἀληθῆ: ἀλλὰ μισεῖν ὀφείλετ᾽, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δήπου τοὺς τοιούτους μᾶλλον ἢ σῴζειν. ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι πλούσιός ἐστιν: ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε τῆς ὕβρεως αὐτοῦ σχεδὸν αἴτιον εὑρήσετ᾽ ὄν, ὥστ᾽ ἀφελεῖν τὴν ἀφορμήν, δι᾽ ἣν ὑβρίζει, προσήκει μᾶλλον ἢ σῶσαι διὰ ταύτην: τὸ γὰρ χρημάτων πολλῶν θρασὺν καὶ βδελυρὸν καὶ τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον ἐᾶν εἶναι κύριον, ἀφορμήν ἐστιν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς δεδωκέναι.
[98] If not, what have you to say, gentlemen of the jury? What fair and honorable excuse, in heaven’s name, can you find for him? Is it because he is a ruffian and a blackguard? That is true enough, but surely, men of Athens, your duty is to hate such creatures, not to screen them. Is it because he is wealthy? But you will find that his wealth was the main cause of his insolence, so that your duty is to cut off the resources from which his insolence springs, rather than spare him for the sake of those resources; for to allow such a reckless and abominable creature to have such wealth at his command is to supply him with resources to use against yourselves.
[99] τί οὖν ὑπόλοιπον; ἐλεῆσαι νὴ Δία: παιδία γὰρ παραστήσεται καὶ κλαήσει καὶ τούτοις αὑτὸν ἐξαιτήσεται: τοῦτο γὰρ λοιπόν. ἀλλ᾽ ἴστε δήπου τοῦθ᾽ ὅτι τοὺς ἀδίκως τι πάσχοντας, ὃ μὴ δυνήσονται φέρειν, ἐλεεῖν προσήκει, οὐ τοὺς ὧν πεποιήκασι δεινῶν δίκην διδόντας. καὶ τίς ἂν ταῦτ᾽ ἐλεήσειε δικαίως, ὁρῶν τὰ τοῦδ᾽ οὐκ ἐλεηθένθ᾽ ὑπὸ τούτου, ἃ τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς συμφορᾷ χωρὶς τῶν ἄλλων κακῶν οὐδ᾽ ἐπικουρίαν ἐνοῦσαν ὁρᾷ. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὄφλημ᾽ ὅ τι χρὴ καταθέντ᾽ ἐπίτιμον γενέσθαι τουτονί, ἀλλ᾽ ἁπλῶς οὕτως ἠτίμωται τῇ ῥύμῃ τῆς ὀργῆς καὶ τῆς ὕβρεως τῆς Μειδίου.
[99] What plea, then, is left? Pity, forsooth! He will group his children round him and weep and beg you to pardon him for their sakes. That is his last move. [But I need not remind you that pity is the due of those who unjustly suffer more than they can endure, not of those who are paying the penalty for the misdeeds they have committed.] And who could justly pity his children, when he sees that Meidias had no pity for Strato’s children, whose distress is enhanced by the reflection that for their father’s calamity no relief is possible? For it is not a question of paying a fixed fine and regaining his civil rights; he has been disfranchised absolutely, at one stroke, by the wanton resentment of Meidias.
[100] τίς οὖν ὑβρίζων παύσεται καὶ δι᾽ ἃ ταῦτα ποιεῖ χρήματ᾽ ἀφαιρεθήσεται, εἰ τοῦτον ὥσπερ δεινὰ πάσχοντ᾽ ἐλεήσετε; εἰ δέ τις πένης μηδὲν ἠδικηκὼς ταῖς ἐσχάταις συμφοραῖς ἀδίκως ὑπὸ τούτου περιπέπτωκε, τούτῳ δ᾽ οὐδὲ συνοργισθήσεσθε; μηδαμῶς: οὐδεὶς γάρ ἐστι δίκαιος τυγχάνειν ἐλέου τῶν μηδέν᾽ ἐλεούντων, οὐδὲ συγγνώμης τῶν ἀσυγγνωμόνων.
[100] [Whose insolence then will be checked, and who will be deprived of the wealth that makes such outrages possible, if you are prepared to pity Meidias as though he were an innocent victim, while, if a poor man, who has done no wrong, has through him become unjustly involved in utmost ruin, you fail even to share in his indignation? It must not be. No one deserves pity who shows no pity; no one deserves pardon who grants no pardon.
[101] ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶμαι πάντας ἀνθρώπους φέρειν ἀξιοῦν παρ᾽ ἑαυτῶν εἰς τὸν βίον αὑτοῖς ἔρανον παρὰ πάνθ᾽ ὅσα πράττουσιν: οἷον ἐγώ τις οὑτοσὶ μέτριος πρὸς ἅπαντάς εἰμ᾽, ἐλεήμων, εὖ ποιῶν πολλούς: ἅπασι προσήκει τῷ τοιούτῳ ταὔτ᾽ εἰσφέρειν, ἐάν του καιρὸς ἢ χρεία παραστῇ. ἕτερος οὑτοσί τις βίαιος, οὐδέν᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἐλεῶν οὔθ᾽ ὅλως ἄνθρωπον ἡγούμενος: τούτῳ τὰς ὁμοίας φορὰς παρ᾽ ἑκάστου δίκαιον ὑπάρχειν. σὺ δή, πληρωτὴς τοιούτου γεγονὼς ἐράνου σεαυτῷ, τοῦτον δίκαιος εἶ συλλέξασθαι.
[101] For I think that all men, in all that they do, feel bound to make a contribution out of their own pockets for the benefit of their own life. Here am I, let us suppose; moderate and merciful towards all, and a benefactor of many. To such a man all men ought to make an equivalent return, if occasion offers or need demands. Here again is a very different man; violent, showing no pity to his neighbor, nor even treating him as a fellow-man. Such a man deserves to be paid in his own coin. And such, Meidias, was the contribution that you paid for your own benefit; such is the return that you deserve.]
[102] ἡγοῦμαι μὲν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρ�
�ς Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ εἰ μηδὲν ἔτ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ εἶχον κατηγορεῖν Μειδίου, μηδὲ δεινότερ᾽ ἦν ἃ μέλλω λέγειν ὧν εἴρηκα, δικαίως ἂν ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ καταψηφίσασθαι καὶ τιμᾶν αὐτῷ τῶν ἐσχάτων. οὐ μὴν ἐνταῦθ᾽ ἕστηκε τὸ πρᾶγμα, οὐδ᾽ ἀπορήσειν μοι δοκῶ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα: τοσαύτην ἀφθονίαν οὗτος πεποίηκε κατηγοριῶν.
[102] Therefore, men of Athens, I think that even if I had no other charge to bring against Meidias, and even if what I shall allege hereafter were not more serious than what I have already said, you would be justified, in view of my statements, in condemning him and imposing the utmost penalty of the law. Yet the tale is not complete, and I think I shall not be at a loss what to say next, so lavishly has he furnished me with matter for indictment.
[103] ὅτι μὲν δὴ λιποταξίου γραφὴν κατεσκεύασεν κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ τὸν τοῦτο ποιήσοντ᾽ ἐμισθώσατο, τὸν μιαρὸν καὶ λίαν εὐχερῆ, τὸν κονιορτὸν Εὐκτήμονα, ἐάσω. καὶ γὰρ οὔτ᾽ ἀνεκρίνατο ταύτην ὁ συκοφάντης ἐκεῖνος, οὔθ᾽ οὗτος οὐδενὸς εἵνεκ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐμισθώσατο πλὴν ἵν᾽ ἐκκέοιτο πρὸ τῶν ἐπωνύμων καὶ πάντες ὁρῷεν ‘Εὐκτήμων Λουσιεὺς ἐγράψατο Δημοσθένην Παιανιέα λιποταξίου:’ καί μοι δοκεῖ κἂν προσγράψαι τοῦθ᾽ ἡδέως, εἴ πως ἐνῆν, ὅτι Μειδίου μισθωσαμένου γέγραπται. ἀλλ᾽ ἐῶ τοῦτο: ἐφ᾽ ᾗ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἠτίμωκεν αὑτὸν οὐκ ἐπεξελθών, οὐδεμιᾶς ἔγωγ᾽ ἔτι προσδέομαι δίκης, ἀλλ᾽ ἱκανὴν ἔχω.
[103] How he trumped up a charge of desertion against me and bribed another to bring the action — a scoundrel ready for any dirty job, the filthy Euctemon — that I shall pass over; for that blackmailer never moved for a trial, nor had Meidias hired him for any other purpose than to have this notice posted up before the Tribal Heroes for all men to read, “Euctemon of the Lusian deme has indicted Demosthenes of the Paeanian deme for desertion of his post.” Indeed I think he would have been delighted, if it had been in order, to add that Meidias had hired him to indict me. But I pass that over, because Euctemon, having disfranchised himself by failing to follow up the charge, has given me all the satisfaction that I require.
[104] ἀλλ᾽ ὃ καὶ δεινόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ σχέτλιον καὶ κοινὸν ἔμοιγ᾽ ἀσέβημα, οὐκ ἀδίκημα μόνον, τούτῳ πεπρᾶχθαι δοκεῖ, τοῦτ᾽ ἐρῶ. τῷ γὰρ ἀθλίῳ καὶ ταλαιπώρῳ κακῆς καὶ χαλεπῆς συμβάσης αἰτίας Ἀριστάρχῳ τῷ Μόσχου, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν περιιὼν ἀσεβεῖς καὶ δεινοὺς λόγους ἐτόλμα περὶ ἐμοῦ λέγειν, ὡς ἐγὼ τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ εἰμὶ τοῦτο δεδρακώς: ὡς δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἤνυε τούτοις, προσελθὼν τοῖς ἐπ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ἄγουσι τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ φόνου, τοῖς τοῦ τετελευτηκότος οἰκείοις, χρήμαθ᾽ ὑπισχνεῖτο δώσειν εἰ τοῦ πράγματος αἰτιῷντ᾽ ἐμέ, καὶ οὔτε θεοὺς οὔθ᾽ ὁσίαν οὔτ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐποιήσατ᾽ ἐμποδὼν τοιούτῳ λόγῳ, οὐδ᾽ ὤκνησεν.
[104] But I will now relate a serious act of cruelty committed by him, men of Athens, which I at least regard as not merely a personal wrong but a public sacrilege. For when a grave criminal charge was hanging over that unlucky wretch, Aristarchus, the son of Moschus, at first, Athenians, Meidias went round the Market-place and ventured to spread impious and atrocious statements about me to the effect that I was the author of the deed; next, when this device failed, he went to the relations of the dead man, who were bringing the charge of murder against Aristarchus, and offered them money if they would accuse me of the crime. He let neither religion nor piety nor any other consideration stand in the way of this wild proposal: he shrank from nothing.
[105] ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ πρὸς οὓς ἔλεγεν αὐτοὺς ᾐσχύνθη, εἰ τοιοῦτο κακὸν καὶ τηλικοῦτον ἀδίκως ἐπάγει τῳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἕν᾽ ὅρον θέμενος παντὶ τρόπῳ μ᾽ ἀνελεῖν, οὐδὲν ἐλλείπειν ᾤετο δεῖν, ὡς δέον, εἴ τις ὑβρισθεὶς ὑπὸ τούτου δίκης ἀξιοῖ τυχεῖν καὶ μὴ σιωπᾷ, τοῦτον ἐξόριστον ἀνῃρῆσθαι καὶ μηδαμῇ παρεθῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ λιποταξίου γραφὴν ἑαλωκέναι καὶ ἐφ᾽ αἵματι φεύγειν καὶ μόνον οὐ προσηλῶσθαι. καίτοι ταῦθ᾽ ὅταν ἐξελεγχθῇ ποιῶν πρὸς οἷς ὕβριζέν με χορηγοῦντα, τίνος συγγνώμης ἢ τίνος ἐλέου δικαίως τεύξεται παρ᾽ ὑμῶν;
[105] Nay, he was not ashamed to look even that audience in the face and bring such a terrible calamity upon an innocent man; but having set one goal before him, to ruin me by every means in his power, he thought himself bound to leave no stone unturned, as if it were only right that when any man, having been insulted by him, claimed redress and refused to keep silence, he should be removed by banishment without a chance of escape, should even find himself convicted of desertion, should defend himself on a capital charge, and should be in imminent danger of crucifixion. Yet when Meidias is proved guilty of all this, as well as of his insults when I was chorus-master, what leniency, what compassion shall he deserve at your hands?
[106] ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ αὐτόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, νομίζω αὐτόχειρά μου γεγενῆσθαι τούτοις τοῖς ἔργοις, καὶ τότε μὲν τοῖς Διονυσίοις τὴν παρασκευὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τἀναλώμαθ᾽ ὑβρίζειν, νῦν δὲ τούτοις οἷς ἐποίει καὶ διεπράττετ᾽ ἐκεῖνά τε καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα, τὴν πόλιν, τὸ γένος, τὴν ἐπιτιμίαν, τὰς ἐλπίδας: εἰ γὰρ ἓν ὧν ἐπεβούλευσε κατώρθωσεν, ἁπάντων ἂν ἀπεστερήμην ἐγὼ καὶ μηδὲ ταφῆναι προσυπῆρχεν οἴκοι μοι. διὰ τί, ἄνδρες δικασταί; εἰ γάρ, ἐάν τις παρὰ πάντας τοὺς νόμους ὑβρισθεὶς ὑπὸ Μειδίου βοηθεῖν αὑτῷ πειρᾶται, ταῦτα καὶ τοιαῦθ᾽ ἕτερ᾽ αὐτῷ παθεῖν ὑπάρξει, προσκυνεῖν τοὺς ὑβρίζοντας ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις, οὐκ ἀμύνεσθαι κράτιστον ἔσται.
[106] My own opinion, men of Athens, is that these acts constitute him my murderer; that while at the Dionysia his outrages were confined to my equipment, my person, and my expenditure, his subsequent course of action shows that they were aimed at everything else that is mine, my citizenship, my family, my privileges, my hopes. Had a single one of his machinations succeeded, I should have been robbed of all that I had, even of the right to be buried in the homeland. What does this mean, gentlemen of the jury? It means that if treatment such as I have suffered is to be the fate of any man who tries to right himself when outraged by Meidias in defiance of all the laws, then it will be best for us, as is the way among barbarians, to grovel at the oppressor’s feet and make no attempt at self-defence.
[107] ἀλλὰ μὴν ὡς ἀληθῆ λέγω καὶ προσεξείργασται ταῦτα
τῷ βδελυρῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἀναιδεῖ, κάλει μοι καὶ τούτων τοὺς μάρτυρας.”Μάρτυρες
Διονύσιος Ἀφιδναῖος, Ἀντίφιλος Παιανιεὺς διαφθαρέντος Νικοδήμου τοῦ οἰκείου ἡμῶν βιαίῳ θανάτῳ ὑπὸ Ἀριστάρχου τοῦ Μόσχου ἐπεξῇμεν τοῦ φόνου τὸν Ἀρίσταρχον. αἰσθόμενος δὲ ταῦτα Μειδίας ὁ νῦν κρινόμενος ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους, ᾧ μαρτυροῦμεν, ἔπειθεν ἡμᾶς διδοὺς κέρματα τὸν μὲν Ἀρίσταρχον ἀθῷον ἀφεῖναι, Δημοσθένει δὲ τὴν γραφὴν τοῦ φόνου παραγράψασθαι.”
λαβὲ δή μοι τὸν περὶ τῶν δώρων νόμον.
[107] However, to prove that my statements are true and that these things have actually been perpetrated by this shameless ruffian, please call the witnesses.”Witnesses
[We, Dionysius of Aphidna and Antiphilus of Paeania, when our kinsman Nicodemus had met with a violent death at the hands of Aristarchus, the son of Moschus, prosecuted Aristarchus for murder. Learning this, Meidias, who is now being brought to trial by Demosthenes, for whom we appear, offered us small sums of money to let Aristarchus go unharmed, and to substitute the name of Demosthenes in the indictment for murder.]”