by Demosthenes
[189] Perhaps he will say of me, “This man is an orator.” If an orator is one who offers you such counsel as he thinks expedient for you, yet stops short of pestering or bullying you, then for my part I would neither shun nor disclaim that title. But if by orator he means one of those speakers such as you and I so often see, men who have shamelessly enriched themselves at your expense, I cannot be one, for I have never received a penny from you and I have spent upon you all but a trifle of my fortune. Yet even if I were the most unscrupulous of that gang, I ought rather to be punished according to the laws than insulted in the performance of a public service.
[190] ἔτι τοίνυν οὐδὲ εἷς ἐστιν ὅστις ἐμοὶ τῶν λεγόντων συναγωνίζεται. καὶ οὐδενὶ μέμφομαι: οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτὸς οὐδενὸς εἵνεκα τούτων οὐδὲν ἐν ὑμῖν πώποτ᾽ εἶπον, ἀλλ᾽ ἁπλῶς κατ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν ἔγνων καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν ὅ τι ἂν συμφέρειν ὑμῖν ἡγῶμαι. ἀλλὰ τούτῳ πάντας αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα συνεξεταζομένους τοὺς ῥήτορας ὄψεσθ᾽ ἐφεξῆς. καίτοι πῶς ἐστι δίκαιον, τοὔνομα μὲν τοῦθ᾽ ὡς ὄνειδος προφέρειν ἐμοί, διὰ τούτων δ᾽ αὐτὸν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀξιοῦν σωθῆναι;
[190] Then again, none of these orators supports me in this trial; nor do I blame them, for I have never said a word in public in support of one of them. I make it a fixed rule to take my own line, speaking and acting in whatever way I believe to be for your advantage. But you will see very soon that Meidias has all the orators in turn ranged on his side. Yet is it fair in him to brand me with the reproach of that title and then to depend on these very men to rescue him?
[191] τάχα τοίνυν ἴσως καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐρεῖ, ὡς ἐσκεμμένα καὶ παρεσκευασμένα πάντα λέγω νῦν. ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐσκέφθαι μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, φημὶ καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀρνηθείην, καὶ μεμελετηκέναι γ᾽ ὡς ἐνῆν μάλιστ᾽ ἐμοί: καὶ γὰρ ἂν ἄθλιος ἦν, εἰ τοιαῦτα παθὼν καὶ πάσχων ἠμέλουν ὧν περὶ τούτων ἐρεῖν ἔμελλον πρὸς ὑμᾶς:
[191] Perhaps too he will say something of this sort; that my present speech is all carefully thought out and prepared. I admit, Athenians, that I have thought it out, and I should not dream of denying it; yes, and I have spent all possible care on it. I should be a poor creature if all my wrongs, past and present, left me careless of what I was going to say to you about them. Yet the real composer of my speech is Meidias.
[192] γεγραφέναι μέντοι μοι τὸν λόγον Μειδίαν: ὁ γὰρ τὰ ἔργα παρεσχηκὼς περὶ ὧν εἰσιν οἱ λόγοι δικαιότατ᾽ ἂν ταύτην ἔχοι τὴν αἰτίαν, οὐχ ὁ ἐσκεμμένος οὐδ᾽ ὁ μεριμνήσας τὰ δίκαια λέγειν νῦν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο ποιῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ αὐτὸς ὁμολογῶ: Μειδίαν μέντοι μηδὲν ἐσκέφθαι πώποτ᾽ ἐν παντὶ τῷ βίῳ δίκαιον εἰκός ἐστιν: εἰ γὰρ καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ἐπῄει τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ αὐτῷ σκοπεῖν, οὐκ ἂν τοσοῦτον διημάρτανε τοῦ πράγματος.
[192] The man who has furnished the facts with which the speeches deal ought in strict justice to bear that responsibility, and not the man who has devoted thought and care to lay an honest case before you today. That is what I am doing, men of Athens; to that I plead guilty. As for Meidias, he has probably never in his life troubled himself about honesty, for if it had entered his head even for a moment to consider such a thing, he would not have missed it so completely in practice.
[193] οἶμαι τοίνυν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ τοῦ δήμου κατηγορεῖν ὀκνήσειν οὐδὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀλλ᾽ ἅπερ τότ᾽ ἐτόλμα λέγειν ὅτ᾽ ἦν ἡ προβολή, ταῦτα καὶ νῦν ἐρεῖν, ὡς ὅσοι δέον ἐξιέναι κατέμενον καὶ ὅσοι τὰ φρούρι᾽ ἦσαν ἔρημα λελοιπότες, ἐξεκλησίασαν, καὶ χορευταὶ καὶ ξένοι καὶ τοιοῦτοί τινες ἦσαν οἳ κατεχειροτόνησαν αὐτοῦ.
[193] Again, I expect that he will not shrink from vilifying the people and the Assembly, but will repeat what he had the effrontery to say when the plaint was first brought in: that the meeting was composed of men who had stayed at home when they ought to have gone to the front and who had left their posts unguarded, and that he was condemned by the votes of chorus-men and aliens and the like.
[194] εἰς γὰρ τοῦτο θράσους καὶ ἀναιδείας τότ᾽ ἀφίκετ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὡς ἴσασιν ὅσοι παρῆσαν ὑμῶν, ὥστε κακῶς λέγων καὶ ἀπειλῶν καὶ βλέπων εἰς τὸν ἀεὶ θορυβοῦντα τόπον τῆς ἐκκλησίας καταπλήξειν ᾤετο τὸν δῆμον ἅπαντα. ᾗ καὶ γελοῖ᾽ εἶναι τὰ νῦν, οἶμαι, δάκρυ᾽ εἰκότως ἂν αὐτοῦ δοκοίη.
[194] As those of you who were present know, gentlemen, he had risen on that occasion to such a height of bravado and impudence that, by abusing and threatening and turning his glance to any quarter of the Assembly that was inclined to be obstreperous, he thought he could browbeat the whole body of citizens. That, I think, must surely make his tears today seem ridiculous. Execrable wretch, what have you to say?
[195] τί λέγεις, ὦ μιαρὰ κεφαλή; σὺ τὰ σαυτοῦ παιδί᾽ ἀξιώσεις ἐλεεῖν ἢ σὲ τούσδε, ἢ σπουδάζειν εἰς τὰ σά, τοὺς ὑπὸ σοῦ δημοσίᾳ προπεπηλακισμένους; σὺ μόνος τῶν ὄντων ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ βίου τοσαύτης ὑπερηφανίας πλήρης ὢν πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἔσει φανερώτατος, ὥστε καὶ πρὸς οὓς μηδέν ἐστί σοι πρᾶγμα, λυπεῖσθαι τὴν σὴν θρασύτητα καὶ φωνὴν καὶ τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τοὺς σοὺς ἀκολούθους καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ ὕβριν θεωροῦντας, ἐν δὲ τῷ κρίνεσθαι παραχρῆμ᾽ ἐλεηθήσει;
[195] Will you claim pity for your children and yourself or a kindly interest in your fortunes from these men whom you have already insulted publicly? Are you alone of living men privileged to be in your daily life so notoriously possessed of the demon of arrogance that even those who have no dealings with you are exasperated by your assurance, your tones and gestures, your parasites, your wealth and your insolence; and then, the instant you are put on your trial are you to be pitied?
[196] μεγάλην μέντἂν ἀρχήν, μᾶλλον δὲ τέχνην, εἴης εὑρηκώς, εἰ δύο τἀναντιώταθ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς ἐν οὕτω βραχεῖ χρόνῳ περὶ σαυτὸν δύναιο ποιεῖσθαι, φθόνον ἐξ ὧν ζῇς, καὶ ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐξαπατᾷς ἔλεον. οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδαμόθεν σοι προσήκων ἔλεος οὐδὲ καθ᾽ ἕν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον μῖσος καὶ φθόνος καὶ ὀργή: τούτων γὰρ ἄξια ποιεῖς. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπάνειμι, ὅτι τοῦ δήμου κατηγορήσει καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας.
[196] It would be indeed a great method that you have devised, or, rather, a great trick, if you could in so short a time make yourself the object of two contradictory sentiments, rousing resentment by your way of life and compassion by your mummeries. You have no conceivable claim to compassion; no, not
for an instant. On the contrary, hatred, resentment and wrath — those are what your conduct calls for. But let me come back to my point, that he intends to arraign the people and the Assembly.
[197] ὅταν οὖν τοῦτο ποιῇ, ἐνθυμεῖσθε παρ᾽ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι οὗτος τῶν μεθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ στρατευσαμένων ἱππέων, ὅτ᾽ εἰς Ὄλυνθον διέβησαν, ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν κατηγόρει. πάλιν νῦν μείνας πρὸς τοὺς ἐξεληλυθότας τοῦ δήμου κατηγορήσει. πότερον οὖν ὑμεῖς, ἐάν τε μένητε ἐάν τ᾽ ἐξίητε, ὁμολογήσετ᾽ εἶναι τοιοῦτοι οἵους Μειδίας ὑμᾶς ἀποφαίνει, ἢ τοὐναντίον τοῦτον ἀεὶ καὶ πανταχοῦ θεοῖς ἐχθρὸν καὶ βδελυρόν; ἐγὼ μὲν οἶμαι τοῦτον τοιοῦτον: ὃν γὰρ οὐχ ἱππεῖς, οὐ συνάρχοντες, οὐ φίλοι δύνανται φέρειν, τί τοῦτον εἴπῃ τις;
[197] Now when he does so, just reflect, gentlemen of the jury, that this same man brought accusations against the cavalry who had served with him, coming into the Assembly after they had sailed for Olynthus; and now once more, having stayed at home, he will address his denunciation of the people to the men who were then away on service. Are you, then, prepared to admit that you, whether at home or on service, are what Meidias proclaims you to be, or on the contrary that he is, and always has been, an unhallowed ruffian? That is my own opinion of him; [for how else are we to describe a creature whom his own troopers, his brother-officers and his friends cannot stomach?
[198] ἐμοὶ μὲν νὴ τὸν Δία καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν （εἰρήσεται γάρ, εἴτ᾽ ἄμεινον εἴτε μή,） ὅθ᾽ οὗτος ὡς ἀπήλλαγμαι περιιὼν ἐλογοποίει, ἔνδηλοί τινες ἦσαν ἀχθόμενοι τῶν πάνυ τούτῳ λαλούντων ἡδέως. καὶ νὴ Δί᾽ αὐτοῖς πολλὴ συγγνώμη: οὐ γάρ ἐστι φορητὸς ἅνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλουτεῖ μόνος καὶ λέγειν δύναται μόνος, καὶ πάντες εἰσὶ τούτῳ καθάρματα καὶ πτωχοὶ καὶ οὐδ᾽ ἄνθρωποι.
[198] I swear solemnly by Zeus, by Apollo, and by Athena — for I will speak out, whatever the result may be — for when this man was going about, trumping up the story that I had abandoned the prosecution, I observed signs of disgust even among his ardent supporters. And by heaven! they had some excuse, for there is no putting up with the fellow; he claims to be the only rich man and the only man who knows how to speak; all others are in his opinion outcasts, beggars, below the rank of men.
[199] τὸν οὖν ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ὄντα, νῦν ἐὰν ἀποφύγῃ, τί ποιήσειν οἴεσθε; ἐξ ὅτου δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν εἰδείητ᾽ ἐγὼ φράσω: εἰ τοῖς μετὰ τὴν χειροτονίαν τεκμηρίοις θεωρήσαιτε. τίς γάρ ἐστιν ὅστις καταχειροτονηθὲν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀσεβεῖν περὶ τὴν ἑορτήν, εἰ καὶ μηδεὶς ἄλλος ἐπῆν ἀγὼν ἔτι μηδὲ κίνδυνος, οὐκ ἂν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ τούτῳ κατέδυ καὶ μέτριον παρέσχεν ἑαυτὸν τόν γε δὴ μέχρι τῆς κρίσεως χρόνον, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντα; οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐκ ἄν.
[199] Since he stands on such an eminence of pride, what do you think he will do, if he escapes now? I will tell you how you may know it; you have only to observe the signs that followed the adverse vote.] For who is there that, if an adverse vote had been recorded, and that on a charge of profaning the feast, even if there had been no further suit pending and no danger ahead, — who is there, I say, that would not have made that a reason for effacing himself and behaving decently, at any rate until the time of the trial, if not for ever after? Anyone else would have acted so. But not Meidias.
[200] ἀλλ᾽ οὐ Μειδίας, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης λέγει, λοιδορεῖται, βοᾷ. χειροτονεῖταί τις: Μειδίας Ἀναγυράσιος προβέβληται. Πλουτάρχου προξενεῖ, τἀπόρρητ᾽ οἶδεν, ἡ πόλις αὐτὸν οὐ χωρεῖ. καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ποιεῖ δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλ᾽ ἐνδεικνύμενος ἢ ὅτι ‘ἐγὼ οὐδὲν πέπονθ᾽ ὑπὸ τῆς καταχειροτονίας, οὐδὲ δέδοικ᾽ οὐδὲ φοβοῦμαι τὸν μέλλοντ᾽ ἀγῶνα.’
[200] From that day onwards he has been talking, railing, and bellowing. Is there an election on? Meidias of Anagyrus is a candidate. He is the accredited agent of Plutarchus; he knows all the secrets; the city cannot hold him. His object in all this is obvious;he wants to proclaim that “I am not a pin the worse for the vote of the people: I have no fears or misgivings about the pending action.”
[201] ὃς οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ μὲν ὑμᾶς δεδιέναι δοκεῖν αἰσχρὸν ἡγεῖται, τὸ δὲ μηδὲν φροντίζειν ὑμῶν νεανικόν, τοῦτον οὐκ ἀπολωλέναι δεκάκις προσήκει; οὐδὲ γὰρ ἕξειν ὑμᾶς ὅ τι χρήσεσθ᾽ αὐτῷ νομίζει. πλούσιος, θρασύς, μέγα φρονῶν, μέγα φθεγγόμενος, βίαιος, ἀναιδής, — ποῦ ληφθήσεται, νῦν ἐὰν διακρούσηται;
[201] Now a man who thinks it degrading to show any fear of you, Athenians, and a dashing thing to snap his fingers at you, does not such a man deserve death ten times over? [He really believes that you will have no hold over him. Rich, arrogant, haughty, loud-voiced, violent, shameless, where will you catch him if he gives you the slip now?]
[202] ἀλλ᾽ ἔγωγε, εἰ μηδενὸς εἵνεκα τῶν ἄλλων, τῶν γε δημηγοριῶν ὧν ἑκάστοτε δημηγορεῖ, καὶ ἐν οἷς καιροῖς, τὴν μεγίστην ἂν αὐτὸν δικαίως οἶμαι δίκην δοῦναι. ἴστε γὰρ δήπου τοῦθ᾽ ὅτι, ἂν μέν τι τῶν δεόντων ἀπαγγελθῇ τῇ πόλει καὶ τοιοῦτον οἷον εὐφρᾶναι πάντας, οὐδαμοῦ πώποτε Μειδίας τῶν συνηδομένων οὐδὲ τῶν συγχαιρόντων ἐξητάσθη τῷ δήμῳ, ἂν δέ τι φλαῦρον,
[202] But in my opinion, if for nothing else, yet for those harangues that he delivers at every opportunity and for the occasions that he chooses for them, he would deserve the severest penalty. For of course you know that if any welcome news is brought to the city, such as we all rejoice to hear, Meidias has never on any of those occasions been found in the ranks of those who share in the public satisfaction or the public rejoicings;
[203] ὃ μηδεὶς ἂν βούλοιτο τῶν ἄλλων, πρῶτος ἀνέστηκεν εὐθέως καὶ δημηγορεῖ, ἐπεμβαίνων τῷ καιρῷ καὶ τῆς σιωπῆς ἀπολαύων ἣν ἐπὶ τῷ περὶ τῶν συμβεβηκότων ἄχθεσθαι ποιεῖσθ᾽ ὑμεῖς: ‘τοιοῦτοι γάρ ἐστ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι: οὐ γὰρ ἐξέρχεσθε, οὐδ᾽ οἴεσθε δεῖν χρήματ᾽ εἰσφέρειν. εἶτα θαυμάζετ᾽ εἰ κακῶς τὰ πράγμαθ᾽ ὑμῖν ἔχει; ἔμ᾽ οἴεσθ᾽ ὑμῖν εἰσοίσειν, ὑμεῖς δὲ νεμεῖσθαι; ἔμ᾽ οἴεσθε τριηραρχήσειν, ὑμεῖς δ᾽ οὐκ ἐμβήσεσθαι;’
[203] but if it is something untoward, something that no one else would wish to hear, he is the first to jump up at once and harangue the people, making the
utmost of his opportunity and enjoying the silence by which you show your distress at what has happened. “Why, that is the sort of men you Athenians are. You do not serve abroad; you see no need to pay your property-tax. And then do you wonder that your affairs go wrong? Do you think I am going to pay my property-tax and you spend the money? Do you think I am going to fit out war-galleys and you decline to embark in them?”
[204] τοιαῦθ᾽ ὑβρίζων καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς πικρίαν καὶ κακόνοιαν, ἣν κατὰ τῶν πολλῶν ὑμῶν ἔχων ἀφανῆ παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ περιέρχεται, φανερὰν ἐπὶ τοῦ καιροῦ καθιστάς. δεῖ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ὑμᾶς οὕτω νῦν, ὅταν ἐξαπατῶν καὶ φενακίζων ὀδύρηται καὶ κλάῃ καὶ δέηται, ταῦθ᾽ ὑποβάλλειν αὐτῷ: ‘τοιοῦτος γὰρ εἶ, Μειδία: ὑβριστὴς γὰρ εἶ, οὐκ ἐθέλεις ἔχειν παρὰ σεαυτῷ τὼ χεῖρε. εἶτα θαυμάζεις εἰ κακὸς κακῶς ἀπολεῖ; ἀλλὰ νομίζεις ἡμᾶς μὲν ἀνέξεσθαί σου, αὐτὸς δὲ τυπτήσειν; καὶ ἡμᾶς μὲν ἀποψηφιεῖσθαί σου, σὺ δ᾽ οὐ παύσεσθαι;’