by Demosthenes
[121] And now please call the witnesses to attest the truth of these statements also.”Witnesses
[We, Lysimachus of Alopece, Demeas of Sunium, Chares of Thoricus, Philemon of Sphetta, Moschus of Paeania, know that at the date when the indictment was presented to the Council charging Aristarchus, the son of Moschus, with the murder of Nicodemus, Meidias, who is now being tried at the suit of Demosthenes, for whom we appear, came before the Council and stated that Aristarchus, and no one else, was the murderer of Nicodemus, and he advised the Council to go to the house of Aristarchus and arrest him. This he said to the Council, having dined on the previous day with Aristarchus in our company. We also know that Meidias, when he came from the Council after making this statement, again entered the house of Aristarchus and shook hands with him and, invoking destruction on his own head, swore that he had said nothing in his disparagement before the Council, and he asked Aristarchus to reconcile Demosthenes to him.]”
[122] τίς οὖν ὑπερβολή, τίς ὁμοία τῇ τούτου γέγον᾽ ἢ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν πονηρία; ὃς ἄνδρ᾽ ἀτυχοῦντα, οὐδὲν αὐτὸν ἠδικηκότα （ἐῶ γὰρ εἰ φίλον）, ἅμα συκοφαντεῖν ᾤετο δεῖν καὶ πρὸς ἔμ᾽ αὑτὸν διαλύειν ἠξίου, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἔπραττε καὶ χρήματ᾽ ἀνήλισκεν ἐπὶ τῷ μετ᾽ ἐκείνου κἀμὲ προσεκβαλεῖν ἀδίκως.
[122] Can anything go beyond that? Has there ever been, or could there ever be, baseness to compare with this of Meidias? He felt justified in informing against that unfortunate man, who had done him no wrong — I waive the fact that he was his friend — and at the same time he was begging him to bring about a reconciliation between himself and me; and not content with this, he spent money on an iniquitous attempt to procure my banishment as well as that of Aristarchus.
[123] τοῦτο μέντοι τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔθος καὶ τὸ κατασκεύασμ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν ἐπεξιοῦσι δικαίως ἔτι πλείω περιιστάναι κακά, οὐκ ἐμοὶ μὲν ἄξιόν ἐστ᾽ ἀγανακτεῖν καὶ βαρέως φέρειν, ὑμῖν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις παριδεῖν, πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ, ἀλλὰ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως ὀργιστέον, ἐκλογιζομένοις καὶ θεωροῦσιν ὅτι τοῦ μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ῥᾳδίως κακῶς παθεῖν ἐγγύταθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰσιν οἱ πενέστατοι καὶ ἀσθενέστατοι, τοῦ δ᾽ ὑβρίσαι καὶ τοῦ ποιήσαντας μὴ δοῦναι δίκην, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀντιπαρέξοντας πράγματα μισθώσασθαι, οἱ βδελυροὶ καὶ χρήματ᾽ ἔχοντές εἰσιν ἐγγυτάτω.
[123] Yet this habit of his, Athenians, this scheme of involving in yet greater calamities all who stand up against him in just defence, is not something that might well rouse indignation and resentment in me, but that the rest of you should overlook. Far from it. All citizens alike should be stirred to anger, when they reflect and observe that it is exactly the poorest and weakest of you that run the greatest risk of being thus wantonly wronged, while it is the rich blackguards that find it easiest to oppress others and escape punishment, and even to hire agents to put obstacles in the path of justice.
[124] οὐ δὴ δεῖ παρορᾶν τὰ τοιαῦτα, οὐδὲ τὸν ἐξείργοντα δέει καὶ φόβῳ τὸ δίκην ὧν ἂν ἡμῶν ἀδικηθῇ τις λαμβάνειν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἄλλο τι χρὴ νομίζειν ποιεῖν ἢ τὰς τῆς ἰσηγορίας καὶ τὰς τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἡμῶν μετουσίας ἀφαιρεῖσθαι. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἴσως διεωσάμην, καὶ ἄλλος τις ἄν, ψευδῆ λόγον καὶ συκοφαντίαν, καὶ οὐκ ἀνήρπασμαι: οἱ δὲ πολλοὶ τί ποιήσετε, ἂν μὴ δημοσίᾳ πᾶσιν φοβερὸν καταστήσητε τὸ εἰς ταῦτ᾽ ἀποχρῆσθαι τῷ πλουτεῖν;
[124] Such conduct must not be overlooked. It must not be supposed that the man who by intimidation tries to debar any citizen from obtaining reparation for his wrongs is doing less than robbing us of our liberties and of our right of free speech. Perhaps I and one or two others may have managed to repel a false and calamitous charge and so have escaped destruction; but what will the vast majority of you do, if you do not by a public example make it a dangerous game for anyone to abuse his wealth for such a purpose?
[125] δόντα λόγον καὶ ὑποσχόντα κρίσιν περὶ ὧν ἄν τις ἐγκαλῇ, τότ᾽ ἀμύνεσθαι τοὺς ἀδίκως ἐφ᾽ αὑτὸν ἐλθόντας χρή, καὶ τότ᾽, ἂν ἀδικοῦντας ὁρᾷ τις, οὐ προαναρπάζειν, οὐδ᾽ ἐπάγοντ᾽ αἰτίας ψευδεῖς ἄκριτον ζητεῖν ἀποφεύγειν, οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ τῷ διδόναι δίκην ἀσχάλλειν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ποιεῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀσελγὲς μηδέν.
[125] When the accused man has rendered an account of his actions and has stood his trial on the charges brought against him, then he may retaliate upon unjust assailants; but even then he must not try to spirit away some witness of his ill deeds, nor to escape a trial by bringing false charges; he must not count it a grievance to submit to justice, but must avoid all outrageous conduct from the first.
[126] ὅσα μὲν τοίνυν εἴς τε τὴν λῃτουργίαν καὶ τὸ σῶμ᾽ ὑβρίσθην, καὶ πάντ᾽ ἐπιβουλευόμενος τρόπον καὶ πάσχων κακῶς ἐκπέφευγα, ἀκηκόατ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι. καὶ παραλείπω δὲ πολλά: οὐ γὰρ ἴσως ῥᾴδιον πάντ᾽ εἰπεῖν. ἔχει δ᾽ οὕτως. οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ὅτῳ τῶν πεπραγμένων ἐγὼ μόνος ἠδίκημαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῖς εἰς τὸν χορὸν γεγενημένοις ἀδικήμασιν ἡ φυλή, δέκατον μέρος ὑμῶν, συνηδίκηται, ἐπὶ δ᾽ οἷς ἔμ᾽ ὕβρισε καὶ ἐπεβούλευσεν οἱ νόμοι, δι᾽ οὓς εἷς ἕκαστος ὑμῶν σῶς ἐστιν: ἐφ᾽ ἅπασι δὲ τούτοις ὁ θεός, ᾧ χορηγὸς ἐγὼ καθειστήκειν, καὶ τὸ τῆς ὁσίας, ὁτιδήποτ᾽ ἐστί, τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιον συνηδίκηται.
[126] Men of Athens, you have now heard how many outrages I endured, both in my own person and in the performance of my public service, and how many escapes I have had from plots and ill-treatment of every kind. Yet I have omitted much, for it was not easy perhaps to mention everything. But the case is this. By none of his acts was I alone wronged, but in the wrongs inflicted on the chorus my whole tribe, the tenth part of the citizens, shared; by his plots and attacks against me he wronged the laws, to which each of you looks for protection;lastly by all these acts he wronged the god to whose service I had been dedicated and that divine and awful power beyond our ken — the power of Holiness.
[127] δεῖ δὴ τούς γε βουλομένους ὀρθῶς τὴν κατ᾽ ἀξίαν τῶν πεπραγμένων παρὰ τούτου δίκην λαμβάνειν, οὐχ ὡς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ μόνον ὄντος τοῦ λόγου τὴν ὀργὴν ἔχειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐν ταὐτῷ τῶν νόμων, τοῦ θεοῦ, τῆς πόλεως, ὁμοῦ πάντων ἠδικημένων, οὕτω ποιεῖσθαι τὴν τιμωρίαν, καὶ τοὺς βοηθοῦντας καὶ τοὺς συνεξεταζομένους μετὰ τούτου μὴ συνηγόρους μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ δοκιμαστὰς τῶν τούτῳ πεπραγμένων ὑπολαμβάνετ᾽ εἶναι.
[127] Th
ose who would exact from him an adequate punishment for his misdeeds must not let their indignation be checked by the reflection that I alone am concerned, but must base the penalty on the ground that all alike are victims of the same wrong — the laws, the gods, the city of Athens; and they must look upon those who support him and are marshalled in his defence as something more than mere advocates, as men who set the seal of their approval to his acts.
[128] εἰ μὲν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, σώφρονα καὶ μέτριον πρὸς τἄλλα παρεσχηκὼς αὑτὸν Μειδίας καὶ μηδένα τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν ἠδικηκὼς εἰς ἔμ᾽ ἀσελγὴς μόνον οὕτω καὶ βίαιος ἐγεγόνει, πρῶτον μὲν ἔγωγ᾽ ἀτύχημ᾽ ἂν ἐμαυτοῦ τοῦθ᾽ ἡγούμην, ἔπειτ᾽ ἐφοβούμην ἂν μὴ τὸν ἄλλον ἑαυτοῦ βίον οὗτος μέτριον δεικνύων καὶ φιλάνθρωπον διακρούσηται τούτῳ τὸ δίκην ὧν ἔμ᾽ ὕβρικεν δοῦναι.
[128] Now if, men of Athens, Meidias had in other respects behaved with decency and moderation, if he had never injured any other citizen, but had confined his brutality and violence to me, I might, in the first place, consider this a piece of my own bad luck, and, in the second place, I should be afraid lest, by pointing to the moderation and humanity of the rest of his life, he might so evade punishment for his outrage on me.
[129] νυνὶ δὲ τοσαῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ τἄλλ᾽ ἃ πολλοὺς ὑμῶν ἠδίκησεν καὶ τοιαῦτα, ὥστε τούτου μὲν τοῦ δέους ἀπήλλαγμαι, φοβοῦμαι δὲ πάλιν τοὐναντίον μή, ἐπειδὰν πολλὰ καὶ δείν᾽ ἑτέρους ἀκούηθ᾽ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ πεπονθότας, τοιοῦτός τις ὑμῖν λογισμὸς ἐμπέσῃ ‘τί οὖν; σὺ δεινότερ᾽ ἢ τῶν ἄλλων εἷς ἕκαστος πεπονθὼς ἀγανακτεῖς;’ πάντα μὲν δὴ τὰ τούτῳ πεπραγμένα οὔτ᾽ ἂν ἐγὼ δυναίμην πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν, οὔτ᾽ ἂν ὑμεῖς ὑπομείναιτ᾽ ἀκούειν, οὐδ᾽, εἰ τὸ παρ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων ἡμῶν ὕδωρ ὑπάρξειε πρὸς τὸ λοιπόν, πᾶν τό τ᾽ ἐμὸν καὶ τὸ τούτου προστεθέν, οὐκ ἂν ἐξαρκέσειεν: ἃ δ᾽ ἐστὶ μέγιστα καὶ φανερώτατα, ταῦτ᾽ ἐρῶ.
[129] But as it is, the wrongs that he has done to many of you are so many and so great that I am relieved of this apprehension; my fear is now, on the contrary, that when you hear of the terrible wrongs that others have suffered at his hands, some such argument as this may occur to you. “What have you to complain of? Have you suffered more than each of his other victims?” Now all that he has done, I could not relate to you, nor would you have the patience to listen, even if I were allowed for the rest of my speech all the time assigned to both of us: all my time and all his in addition would not suffice. I will confine myself to the most important and clearest examples.
[130] μᾶλλον δ᾽ ἐκεῖνο ποιήσω: ἀναγνώσομαι μὲν ὑμῖν, ὡς ἐμαυτῷ γέγραμμαι, πάντα τὰ ὑπομνήματα, λέξω δ᾽ ὅ τι ἂν πρῶτον ἀκούειν βουλομένοις ὑμῖν ᾖ, τοῦτο πρῶτον, εἶθ᾽ ἕτερον, καὶ τἄλλα τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ἕως ἂν ἀκούειν βούλησθε. ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα παντοδαπά, καὶ ὕβρεις πολλαὶ καὶ περὶ τοὺς οἰκείους κακουργήματα καὶ περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἀσεβήματα, καὶ τόπος οὐδείς ἐστιν ἐν ᾧ τοῦτον οὐ θανάτου πεποιηκότ᾽ ἄξια πόλλ᾽ εὑρήσετε.”Ὑπομνήματα τῶν Μειδίου Ἀδικημάτων”
[130] Or rather, this is what I propose to do. I will read you all my memoranda, just as I wrote them out for my own use. I will take first whatever incident you would like to hear first; next your second choice, and so on, as long as you care to listen. There is no lack of variety; plenty of examples of assault, of kinsmen swindled, and of sacrilege. There is not a single passage where you will not find that he has committed many crimes worthy of death.” Memoranda of the Crimes of Meidias”
[131] ὅσα μὲν τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὸν ἀεὶ προστυχόντ᾽ αὐτῷ πεποίηκεν, ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν. καὶ παραλέλοιφ᾽ ἕτερα: οὐ γὰρ ἂν δύναιτ᾽ οὐδεὶς εἰσάπαξ εἰπεῖν ἃ πολὺν χρόνον οὗτος ὑβρίζων συνεχῶς ἅπαντα τὸν βίον εἴργασται. ἄξιον δ᾽ ἰδεῖν ἐφ᾽ ὅσον φρονήματος ἤδη προελήλυθε τῷ τούτων δίκην μηδενὸς δεδωκέναι. οὐ γὰρ ἡγεῖθ᾽, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, λαμπρὸν οὐδὲ νεανικὸν οὐδ᾽ ἄξιον ἑαυτοῦ ὅ τι ἄν τις πρὸς ἕν᾽ εἷς διαπράττηται, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὴ φυλὴν ὅλην καὶ βουλὴν καὶ ἔθνος προπηλακιεῖ καὶ πολλοὺς ἁθρόους ὑμῶν ἅμ᾽ ἐλᾷ, ἀβίωτον ᾤετ᾽ ἔσεσθαι τὸν βίον αὑτῷ.
[131] That, gentlemen of the jury, is how he has treated everyone that comes across his path. I have omitted other instances, for no one could compress into a single narrative the violent acts that he has spent a lifetime in committing. But it is worth while noticing to what a height of audacity he has advanced in consequence of his never having been punished for any of these acts. He seems to have thought that no act that one man can commit against an individual was brilliant or dashing enough or worth risking his life for, and unless he could affront a whole tribe or the Council or some class of citizens and harass vast multitudes of you at once, he felt that life was really not worth living.
[132] καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα σιωπῶ, μυρί᾽ εἰπεῖν ἔχων, περὶ δὲ τῶν συστρατευσαμένων ἱππέων εἰς Ἄργουραν ἴστε δήπου πάντες οἷ᾽ ἐδημηγόρησε παρ᾽ ὑμῖν, ὅθ᾽ ἧκεν ἐκ Χαλκίδος, κατηγορῶν καὶ φάσκων ὄνειδος ἐξελθεῖν τὴν στρατιὰν ταύτην τῇ πόλει: καὶ τὴν λοιδορίαν ἣν ἐλοιδορήθη Κρατίνῳ περὶ τούτων, τῷ νῦν, ὡς ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, μέλλοντι βοηθεῖν αὐτῷ, μέμνησθε. τὸν δὴ τοσούτοις ἁθρόοις τῶν πολιτῶν ἔχθραν ἐπ᾽ οὐδενὶ τηλικαύτην ἀράμενον πόσῃ πονηρίᾳ καὶ θρασύτητι ταῦτα χρὴ νομίζειν πράττειν;
[132] And as to other instances, innumerable as they are, I say nothing, but as regards the cavalry which was dispatched to Argura, and of which he was one, you all know of course how he harangued you on his return from Chalcis, blaming the troop and saying that its dispatch was a scandal to the city. In connection with that, you remember too the abuse that he heaped on Cratinus, who is, I understand, going to support him in the present case. Now if he provoked such serious but groundless quarrels with so many citizens at once, what degree of wickedness and recklessness may we expect from him now?
[133] καίτοι πότερ᾽ εἰσὶν ὄνειδος, ὦ Μειδία, τῇ πόλει οἱ διαβάντες ἐν τάξει καὶ τὴν σκευὴν ἔχοντες ἣν προσῆκε τοὺς ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἐξιόντας καὶ συμβαλουμένους τοῖς συμμάχοις, ἢ σὺ ὁ μηδὲ λαχεῖν εὐχόμενος τῶν ἐξιόντων ὅτ᾽ ἐκληροῦ, τὸν θώρακα δ᾽ οὐδεπώποτ᾽ ἐνδύς, ἐπ᾽ ἀστράβης δ᾽ ὀχούμενος ἀργυρᾶς τῆς ἐξ Εὐβοίας, χλανίδας δὲ καὶ κυμβία καὶ κά
δους ἔχων, ὧν ἐπελαμβάνονθ᾽ οἱ πεντηκοστολόγοι; ταῦτα γὰρ εἰς τοὺς ὁπλίτας ἡμᾶς ἀπηγγέλλετο: οὐ γὰρ εἰς ταὐτὸν ἡμεῖς τούτοις διέβημεν.
[133] [But I should like to ask you, Meidias, which was the greater scandal to the city — the men who crossed to Chalcis in due order, and with the equipment proper to those who were to take the field against the enemy and to join forces with our allies, or you, who, when lots were drawn for the expedition, prayed that you might draw a blank, who never donned your cuirass, who rode on a saddle with silver trappings, imported from Euboea, taking with you your shawls and goblets and wine-jars, which were confiscated by the customs? We of the infantry learned this by report, for we had not crossed at the same point as the cavalry.