by Demosthenes
[176] Well, Athenians, what had Euandrus done to deserve your condemnation? He had won a commercial suit against Menippus, but being, as he alleged, unable to catch him sooner, he had arrested him while he was staying here for the Mysteries. You condemned him for that alone, and there were no aggravating circumstances. When he came before the court, you were inclined to punish him with death, and when his accuser was induced to relent, you compelled Euandrus to refund the damages, amounting to two talents, which he had won in the former action, and you also made him compensate the fellow for the loss that he had sustained, on his own calculation, by staying here in deference to your preliminary verdict.
[177] εἷς μὲν οὗτος ἐξ ἰδίου πράγματος, οὐδεμιᾶς ὕβρεως προσούσης, ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τοῦ παραβῆναι τὸν νόμον τοσαύτην ἔδωκε δίκην. εἰκότως: τοῦτο γάρ ἐσθ᾽ ὃ φυλάττειν ὑμᾶς δεῖ, τοὺς νόμους, τὸν ὅρκον: ταῦτ᾽ ἔχεθ᾽ ὑμεῖς οἱ δικάζοντες ἀεὶ παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων ὡσπερεὶ παρακαταθήκην, ἣν ἅπασιν, ὅσοι μετὰ τοῦ δικαίου πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἔρχονται, σῶν ὑπάρχειν δεῖ.
[177] There you have one case of a man, in a merely private matter, with no added circumstances of insolence, paying so heavy a penalty for a breach of the law. With good reason; because that is what you are here to guard — the laws and your oath. That is what you who serve on any jury hold as a trust from the rest of the citizens, a trust which must be maintained inviolate in the interests of all who appeal to you with justice on their side.
[178] ἕτερος ἀδικεῖν ποτ᾽ ἔδοξεν ὑμῖν περὶ τὰ Διονύσια, καὶ κατεχειροτονήσατ᾽ αὐτοῦ παρεδρεύοντος ἄρχοντι τῷ υἱεῖ, ὅτι θέαν τινὸς καταλαμβάνοντος ἥψατο, ἐξείργων ἐκ τοῦ θεάτρου: ἦν δ᾽ οὗτος ὁ τοῦ βελτίστου πατὴρ Χαρικλείδου, τοῦ ἄρξαντος.
[178] There was another man who in your opinion had profaned the Dionysia, and although he was actually sitting as assessor to his son, who was Archon, you condemned him, because in ejecting from the theater a man who was taking a wrong seat, he laid a hand on him. That man was the father of the highly respected Charicleides, at that time archon.
[179] καὶ μέγα γ᾽ ὑμῖν τοῦτ᾽ ἐδόκει δίκαιον ἔχειν ὁ προβαλλόμενος λέγειν, ‘εἰ κατελάμβανον, ἄνθρωπε, θέαν, εἰ μὴ τοῖς κηρύγμασιν, ὡς σύ με φῄς, ἐπειθόμην, τίνος ἐκ τῶν νόμων εἶ κύριος, καὶ ὁ ἄρχων αὐτός; τοῖς ὑπηρέταις ἐξείργειν εἰπεῖν, οὐκ αὐτὸς τύπτειν. οὐδ᾽ οὕτω πείθομαι: ἐπιβολὴν ἐπιβαλεῖν, πάντα μᾶλλον πλὴν αὐτὸς ἅψασθαι τῇ χειρί: πολλὰ γὰρ πρὸ τοῦ μὴ τὸ σῶμ᾽ ἕκαστον ὑβρίζεσθαι πεποιήκασιν οἱ νόμοι.’ ταῦτ᾽ ἔλεγεν μὲν ἐκεῖνος, ἐχειροτονήσατε δ᾽ ὑμεῖς: οὐ μὴν εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον οὗτος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐτελεύτησεν πρότερον.
[179] Yes, and you thought that his accuser had a strong case when he said, “If I was taking a wrong seat, fellow, if as you assert I was disregarding the notices, what authority do the laws confer on you or even on the archon himself? The authority to bid the attendants remove me, but not to strike me yourself. If I still refuse to go, you may impose a fine; anything rather than touch me with your own hand; for the laws have taken every precaution to save a citizen from being insulted in his own person.” That was his argument. You gave your votes, but the accuser died before he could bring the case before a jury.
[180] ἑτέρου τοίνυν ὅ τε δῆμος ἅπας κατεχειροτόνησ᾽ ἀδικεῖν περὶ τὴν ἑορτήν, καὶ ὑμεῖς εἰσελθόντ᾽ ἀπεκτείνατε τοῦτον, Κτησικλέα, ὅτι σκῦτος ἔχων ἐπόμπευε, καὶ τούτῳ μεθύων ἐπάταξέ τιν᾽ ἐχθρὸν ὑπάρχονθ᾽ ἑαυτῷ: ἐδόκει γὰρ ὕβρει καὶ οὐκ οἴνῳ τύπτειν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς πομπῆς καὶ τοῦ μεθύειν πρόφασιν λαβὼν ἀδικεῖν, ὡς δούλοις χρώμενος τοῖς ἐλευθέροις.
[180] Then another man, Ctesicles, was unanimously condemned by the Assembly for profaning the festival, and when he came before you, you sentenced him to death, because he carried a leathern lash in the procession and, being drunk, struck with it a personal enemy of his. It was thought that insolence, not drink, prompted the stroke, and that he seized the excuse of the procession and his own drunkenness to commit the offence of treating freemen like slaves.
[181] ἁπάντων τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τούτων, ὧν ὁ μὲν ὧν εἷλεν ἀποστάς, ὁ δὲ καὶ θανάτῳ ζημιωθεὶς φαίνεται, πολλῷ δεινότερ᾽ εὖ οἶδ᾽ ὅτι πάντες ἂν εἶναι φήσειαν τὰ Μειδίᾳ πεπραγμένα: οὔτε γὰρ πομπεύων οὔτε δίκην ᾑρηκὼς οὔτε παρεδρεύων οὔτ᾽ ἄλλην σκῆψιν ἔχων οὐδεμίαν πλὴν ὕβριν, τοιαῦτα πεποίηκεν οἷ᾽ οὐδεὶς ἐκείνων. καὶ τούτους μὲν ἐάσω.
[181] Now I am certain, men of Athens, that everyone would admit that the offences of Meidias were much more serious than those of any of these men, of whom one, as I have shown, forfeited the damages he had already received, while the other was actually punished with death. For Meidias, not being in a procession, not having won a suit, not acting as assessor, having in fact no other motive than insolence, behaved worse than any of them. About them I will say no more;
[182] ἀλλὰ Πύρρον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸν Ἐτεοβουτάδην, ἐνδειχθέντα δικάζειν ὀφείλοντα τῷ δημοσίῳ, θανάτῳ ζημιῶσαί τινες ὑμῶς ᾤοντο χρῆναι, καὶ τέθνηκεν ἁλοὺς παρ᾽ ὑμῖν: καίτοι τοῦτο τὸ λῆμμα δι᾽ ἔνδειαν, οὐ δι᾽ ὕβριν λαμβάνειν ἐπεχείρησεν ἐκεῖνος. καὶ πολλοὺς ἂν ἑτέρους ἔχοιμι λέγειν, ὧν οἱ μὲν τεθνᾶσιν, οἱ δ᾽ ἠτιμωμένοι διὰ πολλῷ τούτων εἰσὶν ἐλάττω πράγματα. ὑμεῖς δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, Σμίκρῳ δέκα ταλάντων ἐτιμήσατε καὶ Σκίτωνι τοσούτων ἑτέρων, δόξαντι παράνομα γράφειν, καὶ οὔτε παιδί᾽ οὔτε φίλους οὔτε συγγενεῖς οὔθ᾽ ὁντινοῦν ἠλεήσατε τῶν παρόντων ἐκείνοις.
[182] but Pyrrhus, men of Athens, one of the Eteobutadae, who was indicted for serving on a jury when he was in debt to the Treasury, was thought by some of you to deserve capital punishment, and he was convicted in your court and put to death. And yet it was from poverty, not from insolence, that he tried to get the juryman’s fee. And I could mention many others who were put to death or disfranchised for far slighter offences than those of Meidias. You yourselves, Athenians, fined Smicrus ten talents and Sciton a similar sum, because he was adjudged to be proposing unconstitutional measures; you had no pity for their children or friends and relations, or for any of those who supported them in court.
[183] μὴ τοίνυν, ἐὰν μὲν εἴπῃ τις παράνομα, οὕτως ὀργιζόμενοι φαίνεσθε, ἐὰν δὲ ποιῇ, μὴ λέγῃ, πράως διάκεισθε. οὐδὲν γὰρ ῥῆμ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὄνομ᾽ οὕτως ἐστὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς ὑμῶν χαλεπόν,
ὡς ὅσ᾽ ὑβρίζων τις τὸν ἐντυχόνθ᾽ ὑμῶν διαπράττεται. μὴ τοίνυν αὐτοὶ καθ᾽ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν δεῖγμα τοιοῦτον ἐξενέγκητ᾽, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὡς ἄρ᾽ ὑμεῖς, ἂν μὲν τῶν μετρίων τινὰ καὶ δημοτικῶν λάβηθ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἀδικοῦντα, οὔτ᾽ ἐλεήσετ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀφήσετε, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποκτενεῖτ᾽ ἢ ἀτιμώσετε, ἂν δὲ πλούσιος ὤν τις ὑβρίζῃ, συγγνώμην ἕξετε. μὴ δῆτα: οὐ γὰρ δίκαιον: ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πάντων ὁμοίως ὀργιζόμενοι φαίνεσθε.
[183] Do not, then, display such anger when people make unconstitutional proposals, and such indulgence when not their proposals, but their acts are unconstitutional. For no mere words and terms can be so galling to the great mass of you as the conduct of a man who persistently insults any citizen who crosses his path. Beware, Athenians, of bearing this testimony against yourselves, that if you detect a man of the middle class or a friend of the people committing an offence, you will neither pity nor reprieve him, but will punish him with death or disfranchisement, while you are ready to pardon the insolence of a rich man. Spare us that injustice, and show your indignation impartially against all offenders.
[184] ἃ τοίνυν οὐδενὸς τῶν εἰρημένων ἧττον ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι νομίζω πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν, ταῦτ᾽ εἰπὼν ἔτι καὶ βραχέα περὶ τούτων διαλεχθεὶς καταβήσομαι. ἔστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μεγάλη τοῖς ἀδικοῦσιν ἅπασι μερὶς καὶ πλεονεξία ἡ τῶν ὑμετέρων τρόπων πραότης. ὅτι δὴ ταύτης οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ὑμῖν μεταδοῦναι τούτῳ προσήκει, ταῦτ᾽ ἀκούσατέ μου. ἐγὼ νομίζω πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἐράνους φέρειν παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον αὑτοῖς, οὐχὶ τούσδε μόνους οὓς συλλέγουσί τινες καὶ ὧν πληρωταὶ γίγνονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλους.
[184] There are some other points that I consider no less necessary to mention than those which I have already put before you. I will mention them and discuss them briefly before I sit down. The leniency of your disposition, men of Athens, is a great asset and advantage to all wrongdoers. Give me, then, your attention while I show that you have no right to admit Meidias to the least share in that advantage. My view is that all men during their lives pay contributions to their own fortunes, not only those which are actually collected and paid in, but others also.
[185] οἷον ἔστι μέτριος καὶ φιλάνθρωπός τις ἡμῶν καὶ πολλοὺς ἐλεῶν: τούτῳ ταὐτὸ δίκαιον ὑπάρχειν παρὰ πάντων, ἄν ποτ᾽ εἰς χρείαν καὶ ἀγῶν᾽ ἀφίκηται. ἄλλος οὑτοσί τις ἀναιδὴς καὶ πολλοὺς ὑβρίζων, καὶ τοὺς μὲν πτωχούς, τοὺς δὲ καθάρματα, τοὺς δ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀνθρώπους ὑπολαμβάνων: τούτῳ τὰς αὐτὰς δίκαιον ὑπάρχειν φοράς, ἅσπερ αὐτὸς εἰσενήνοχε τοῖς ἄλλοις. ἂν τοίνυν ὑμῖν ἐπίῃ σκοπεῖν, τούτου πληρωτὴν εὑρήσετε Μειδίαν ὄντα τοῦ ἐράνου, καὶ οὐκ ἐκείνου.
[185] For instance, one of us is moderate, kindly disposed and merciful: he deserves to receive an equivalent return from all, if he ever falls into want or distress. Yonder is another, who is shameless and insulting, treating others as if they were beggars, the scum of the earth, mere nobodies: he deserves to be paid with the same measure that he has meted to others. If you will consent to look at it in a true light, you will find that this, and not the former, is the kind of contribution that Meidias has made.
[186] οἶδα τοίνυν ὅτι τὰ παιδί᾽ ἔχων ὀδυρεῖται, καὶ πολλοὺς λόγους καὶ ταπεινοὺς ἐρεῖ, δακρύων καὶ ὡς ἐλεινότατον ποιῶν ἑαυτόν. ἔστι δ᾽, ὅσῳ περ ἂν αὑτὸν νῦν ταπεινότερον ποιῇ, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἄξιον μισεῖν αὐτόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι. διὰ τί; ὅτι εἰ μὲν μηδαμῶς δυνηθεὶς ταπεινὸς γενέσθαι οὕτως ἀσελγὴς καὶ βίαιος ἦν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρεληλυθότος βίου, τῇ φύσει καὶ τῇ τύχῃ, δι᾽ ἣν τοιοῦτος ἐγένετο, ἄξιον ἦν ἄν τι τῆς ὀργῆς ἀνεῖναι: εἰ δ᾽ ἐπιστάμενος μέτριον παρέχειν αὑτὸν ὅταν βούληται τὸν ἐναντίον ἢ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον εἵλετο ζῆν, εὔδηλον δήπου τοῦθ᾽ ὅτι καὶ νῦν ἂν διακρούσηται, πάλιν αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὃν ὑμεῖς ἴστε γενήσεται.
[186] Now I know that he will set up a wail, with his children grouped about him, and will make a long and humble appeal, weeping and making himself as pitiable a figure as he can. But the more he humiliates himself, Athenians, the more he deserves your hatred. Why so? If in his past life he was so brutal and violent because it was impossible for him to be humble, it would be right to abate some of your anger as a concession to his natural temper and to the destiny that made him the man he is; but if he knows how to behave discreetly when he likes, but has deliberately chosen the opposite line of conduct, it is surely obvious that, if he slips through your fingers now, he will once more prove himself the man you know so well.
[187] οὐ δεῖ δὴ προσέχειν, οὐδὲ τὸν παρόντα καιρόν, ὃν οὗτος ἐξεπίτηδες πλάττεται, κυριώτερον οὐδὲ πιστότερον τοῦ παντός, ὃν αὐτοὶ σύνιστε, χρόνου ποιήσασθαι. ἐμοὶ παιδί᾽ οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἔχοιμι ταῦτα παραστησάμενος κλάειν καὶ δακρύειν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ὑβρίσθην. διὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἄρα τοῦ πεποιηκότος ὁ πεπονθὼς ἔλαττον ἕξω παρ᾽ ὑμῖν;
[187] Pay no attention to him; do not let the present crisis in his affairs, expressly invented by him, carry more weight and influence with you than the whole course of his life, of which you have direct knowledge. I have no children to pose before you, while I weep and wail over them for the insults I have received. For that reason shall I, the victim, be of less account in your court than the perpetrator of the wrong? It must not be.
[188] μὴ δῆτα: ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν οὗτος ἔχων τὰ παιδία τούτοις ἀξιοῖ δοῦναι τὴν ψῆφον ὑμᾶς, τόθ᾽ ὑμεῖς τοὺς νόμους ἔχοντά με πλησίον ἡγεῖσθε παρεστάναι καὶ τὸν ὅρκον ὃν ὀμωμόκατε, τούτοις ἀξιοῦντα καὶ ἀντιβολοῦνθ᾽ ἕκαστον ὑμῶν ψηφίσασθαι. οἷς ὑμεῖς κατὰ πολλὰ δικαιότερον πρόσθοισθ᾽ ἂν ἢ τούτῳ: καὶ γὰρ ὀμωμόκατ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῖς νόμοις πείσεσθαι, καὶ τῶν ἴσων μέτεστιν ὑμῖν διὰ τοὺς νόμους, καὶ πάνθ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἀγάθ᾽ ὑμῖν διὰ τοὺς νόμους ἐστίν, οὐ διὰ Μειδίαν οὐδὲ διὰ τοὺς Μειδίου παῖδας.
[188] When Meidias, with his children round him, calls you to cast your votes for them, then you must imagine that I am standing here with the laws by my side and the oath that you have sworn, demanding and imploring each of you to vote for them. It is in every way more just that you should side with the laws than with this man. The laws, Athenians, you have sworn to obey; through the laws you enjoy your equal rights; to the laws you owe ever
y blessing that is yours — not to Meidias nor to the children of Meidias.
[189] καὶ ‘ῥήτωρ ἐστὶν οὗτος’ ἴσως ἐμὲ φήσει λέγων. ἐγὼ δ᾽, εἰ μὲν ὁ συμβουλεύων ὅ τι ἂν συμφέρειν ὑμῖν ἡγῆται, καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἄχρι τοῦ μηδὲν ὑμῖν ἐνοχλεῖν μηδὲ βιάζεσθαι, ῥήτωρ ἐστίν, οὔτε φύγοιμ᾽ ἂν οὔτ᾽ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τοῦτο τοὔνομα: εἰ μέντοι ῥήτωρ ἐστὶν οἵους ἐνίους τῶν λεγόντων ἐγὼ καὶ ὑμεῖς δ᾽ ὁρᾶτε, ἀναιδεῖς καὶ ἀφ᾽ ὑμῶν πεπλουτηκότας, οὐκ ἂν εἴην οὗτος ἐγώ: εἴληφα μὲν γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν παρ᾽ ὑμῶν, τὰ δ᾽ ὄντ᾽ εἰς ὑμᾶς πλὴν πάνυ μικρῶν ἅπαντ᾽ ἀνήλωκα. καίτοι καὶ εἰ τούτων ἦν πονηρότατος, κατὰ τοὺς νόμους ἔδει παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ δίκην λαμβάνειν, οὐκ ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐλῃτούργουν ὑβρίζειν.