by Demosthenes
[187] Now perhaps I may be asked for what reason I, who had such exact knowledge of these doings, and had given close attention to some of his misdeeds, let them all pass; why I did not object either when you made him a citizen or when you gave him a vote of thanks; why, in short, I found nothing to say at any time earlier than the passing of this decree. Men of Athens, I will tell you the whole truth. I knew that he was undeserving; I was present when he asked these favours; I made no objection. I admit it.
[188] διὰ τί; ὅτι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πρῶτον μὲν ἀσθενέστερον ἡγούμην ἔσεσθαι πολλῶν ψευδομένων ἑτοίμως περὶ αὐτοῦ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἕνα τἀληθῆ λέγοντ᾽ ἐμαυτόν: ἔπειθ᾽ ὧν μὲν ἐκεῖνος εὑρίσκετ᾽ ἐξαπατῶν ὑμᾶς, μὰ τὸν Δία καὶ θεοὺς πάντας οὐδενὸς εἰσῄει μοι φθονεῖν, κακὸν δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἑώρων ὑπερφυὲς πεισομένους ὑμᾶς, εἴ τιν᾽ ἠδικηκότα πόλλ᾽ ἀφίετε καὶ προὐκαλεῖσθέ τι τοῦ λοιποῦ ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς ἀγαθόν: ἐν γὰρ τῷ πολίτην ποιεῖσθαι καὶ στεφανοῦν ταῦτ᾽ ἐνῆν ἀμφότερα.
[188] What was the reason? In the first place, men of Athens, I imagined that a great many men glibly telling lies about him would overpower one man, namely myself, telling the truth alone. Then as for the favours that he won by misleading you, I solemnly protest that it never entered my head to grudge him any one of them. I could not see that you would buffer any very grievous calamity, if you forgave a man who had done you much wrong, and so encouraged him to do you good service in future. Both these considerations applied to the grant of citizenship and to the grant of a crown.
[189] ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ὁρῶ προσκατασκευαζόμενόν τι τοιοῦτον δι᾽ οὗ, ἂν μόνον εὐτρεπίσηται τοὺς ἐνθάδ᾽ ἐξαπατήσοντας ὑμᾶς ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ, τῶν γ᾽ ἔξω φίλων καὶ βουλομένων ἄν τι ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς ἀγαθὸν κἀκεῖνον κωλύειν ἐναντία πράττειν ὑμῖν, οἷον Ἀθηνόδωρον λέγω, Σίμωνα, Βιάνορα, Ἀρχέβιον τὸν Βυζάντιον, τοὺς Θρᾷκας τοὺς δύο, τοὺς βασιλέας, τούτων μηδενὶ μήτ᾽ ἐναντιωθῆναι μήτε κωλύειν ἐκεῖνον ἐξέσται, τηνικαῦθ᾽ ἥκω καὶ κατηγορῶ.
[189] But now, when I perceive that he is contriving a new plan by which, if only he can provide himself with agents here to mislead you on his behalf, our friends abroad, who are ready to serve you and to stop him from acting against you, — I mean such men as Athenodorus, Simon, Archebius of Byzantium, the two kings of Thrace, — will all find it out of their power to oppose or to thwart him, at such a time I come into court and denounce him.
[190] καὶ νομίζω τὸ μέν, οἷς ἔμελλεν ἐκεῖνος λαβὼν μηδὲν ὑπερμέγεθες τὴν πόλιν βλάψειν, ἀντιλέγειν ἢ κακῶς ἰδίᾳ πεπονθότος ἢ συκοφαντοῦντος εἶναι, τὸ δέ, ἐφ᾽ οἷς μέγα πρᾶγμ᾽ ἀλυσιτελὲς τῇ πόλει κατεσκευάζετο, ἐναντιοῦσθαι χρηστοῦ καὶ φιλοπόλιδος ἀνδρὸς ἔργον εἶναι. διὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνοις οὐδὲν εἰπὼν νῦν λέγω.
[190] I conceive that to speak against grants which he might accept without being likely to do serious injury to the State, is the act of one who has either a private grievance or the spirit of an informer, but that to set myself in opposition to a project by which he was concerting very serious detriment to the commonwealth is the act of an honest man and a patriotic citizen. That is why I was silent then and speak now.
[191] ἔστιν τοίνυν τις αὐτοῖς τοιοῦτος λόγος δι᾽ οὗ προσδοκῶσι παράξειν ὑμᾶς, ὡς ὁ Κερσοβλέπτης καὶ Χαρίδημος ἴσως ἐναντί᾽ ἔπραττον τῇ πόλει τόθ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἦσαν ἐχθροί, νῦν δὲ φίλοι καὶ χρησίμους παρέχουσιν ἑαυτούς. οὐ δὴ δεῖ μνησικακεῖν: οὐδὲ γὰρ Λακεδαιμονίους ὅτ᾽ ἐσῴζομεν, οὐκ ἀνεμιμνῃσκόμεθ᾽ εἴ τι κακῶς ἐποίησαν ἡμᾶς ὄντες ἐχθροί, οὐδὲ Θηβαίους, οὐδ᾽ Εὐβοέας τὰ τελευταῖα νυνί.
[191] There is another plea of the same sort by which they hope to lead you off the track. “Cersobleptes and Charidemus,” they will say, “did perhaps oppose Athens at a time when they were unfriendly; but now they are our friends, and wish to be useful friends. We really must not be vindictive. When we were rescuing the Lacedaemonians, we dismissed from our minds the injuries they had done to us as enemies; so too with the Thebans, and, quite recently, with the Euboeans.”
[192] ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἡγοῦμαι τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, εἰ μὲν ἔν τινι καιρῷ, βοηθείας γεγραμμένης τῷ Κερσοβλέπτῃ καὶ τῷ Χαριδήμῳ, κωλυόντων ἡμῶν ταύτην, ἔλεγον, ὀρθῶς ἂν λέγεσθαι: εἰ δὲ τοιούτου μὲν μηδενὸς ὄντος μηδὲ γεγραμμένου, βουλόμενοι δὲ μείζω τοῦ δέοντος ποιῆσαι διὰ τοῦ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ἄδειαν λαβεῖν τοὺς ἐκείνου στρατηγούς, δεινὰ ποιεῖν αὐτοὺς ἡγοῦμαι. οὐ γάρ ἐστι δίκαιον, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοὺς τῶν σωθῆναι ζητούντων λόγους πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγειν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅπως ἀδικεῖν αὑτοῖς ἐξέσται πραττόντων.
[192] — But I hold that this plea would have been rightly offered, if they had offered it on some occasion when an expedition in relief of Cersobleptes and Charidemus had been proposed, and we were trying to block it. But, as we have here no such occasion and no such proposal, but only the argument of men trying to make Cersobleptes more powerful than he deserves by means of an immunity received from you by his generals, I regard their action as dangerous. It is not fair, men of Athens, that the pleas of men seeking deliverance should be offered to you in justification of men whose object is the power to do you wrong.
[193] χωρὶς δὲ τούτων, εἰ μὲν ἐχθρὸς ὢν κακῶς ἐποίει, φίλος δὲ φήσας μετεβέβλητο, τάχ᾽ ἂν ταῦτά τις ἤκουεν: ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ οὐ τοιοῦτ᾽ ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ οὗ φίλος εἶναι προσποιεῖται, ἐκ τούτου πλεῖσθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἐξηπάτηκεν, εἰ μὴ καὶ δι᾽ ἐκεῖνα μισεῖν, διά γε ταῦτ᾽ ἀπιστεῖν δήπου προσήκει. καὶ μὴν περὶ τοῦ γε μὴ μνησικακεῖν ἔγωγ᾽ ὡδί πως λέγω: ὁ μὲν εἵνεκα τοῦ κακόν τι ποιεῖν τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐξετάζων μνησικακεῖ, ὁ δ᾽ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ παθεῖν, ἀλλὰ φυλάξασθαι σκοπῶν σωφρονεῖ.
[193] Apart from that, if he had injured you as an enemy, but had been reformed after claiming to be your friend, such an excuse might, perhaps, have been acceptable; but, inasmuch as that is not so, and as most of his deceptions fall after the date of his profession of friendship, you ought to distrust him for his later, if not to dislike him for his earlier, conduct. With regard, however, to not being “vindictive,” I have this to say. The vindictive man is the man who hunts up grievances in order to inflict injury; the man who bears them in mind in order to be on his guard and not suffer injury, is a reasonable man.
[194] ἴσως τοίνυν καὶ τοιαύτην τιν᾽ ἐροῦσ᾽ ὑπόνοιαν, ὡς ὡρμηκότα νῦν τὸν ἄνθρ�
�πον φίλον εἶναι καὶ βουλόμενόν τι ποιεῖν ἀγαθὸν τὴν πόλιν εἰς ἀθυμίαν τρέψομεν, εἰ καταψηφιούμεθα, καὶ ποιήσομεν ὑπόπτως ἔχειν πρὸς ἡμᾶς. ἐγὼ δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, θεάσασθ᾽ ὡς ἔχω. εἰ μετ᾽ ἀληθείας ἁπλῶς ἦν ἡμῖν φίλος καὶ νὴ Δία πάντ᾽ ἀγάθ᾽ ἔμελλεν ἡμᾶς ποιήσειν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν οὕτως ᾤμην δεῖν τοῦτον ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον: οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν νομίζω τοσαῦτ᾽ ἀγαθὰ ποιῆσαι, δι᾽ ὃν ὑμῖν προσήκειν ἐπιορκῆσαι καὶ παρ᾽ ἃ φαίνεται δίκαια τὴν ψῆφον θέσθαι.
[194] Perhaps they will make a suggestion of this sort: the man has now embarked on a course of friendship, and really wants to do Athens a good turn; if we condemn the decree, we shall be discouraging him, and filling him with mistrust of us. Well, men of Athens, my attitude is this; please consider it. If he were our friend honestly and in all sincerity, if he really did intend to do us all manner of good, even then I should not think this argument worthy of your attention. In my judgement there is no man who could possibly do you so much service that for his sake you ought to perjure yourselves and vote against proven justice.
[195] ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ φενακίζων καὶ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ὑγιὲς πράττων ἐξελέγχεται, δυοῖν ἀγαθοῖν θάτερον ὑμῖν, ἂν καταψηφίσησθε, συμβήσεται: ἢ γὰρ ἐξαπατῶν παύσεται νομίσας οὐκέτι λανθάνειν, ἢ εἴπερ αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἔστιν οἰκείως ἔχειν ὡς ἀληθῶς, ἀγαθόν τι ποιεῖν πειράσεται, γνοὺς ὅτι τῷ φενακίζειν οὐκέθ᾽ ἃ βούλεται πράξει. ὥστε καὶ εἰ μηδὲ δι᾽ ἓν τῶν ἄλλων, διὰ τοῦτο καταψηφίσασθαι συμφέρει.
[195] Seeing that he is convicted of deceit and perpetual dishonesty, — vote against him, and one of two desirable results must follow. Either he will abandon his impostures on the ground that they can no longer escape detection, or else, if it is his desire to be really on good terms with us, he will make a genuine effort to serve us well, having discovered that he can no longer accomplish his purposes by chicanery. For that reason alone, if for no other, you will do well to give your verdict against him.
[196] ἄξιον τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κἀκεῖν᾽ ἐξετάσαι, πῶς ποθ᾽ οἱ πάλαι τὰς τιμὰς ἔνεμον καὶ τὰς δωρειὰς τοῖς ὡς ἀληθῶς εὐεργέταις, καὶ ὅσοι πολῖται τύχοιεν ὄντες καὶ ὅσοι ξένοι. κἂν μὲν ἴδητ᾽ ἐκείνους ἄμεινον ὑμῶν, καλὸν τὸ μιμήσασθαι, ἂν δ᾽ ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, ἐφ᾽ ὑμῖν ἔσται τὸ πράττειν. πρῶτον μὲν τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι Θεμιστοκλέα τὸν τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ναυμαχίαν νικήσαντα καὶ Μιλτιάδην τὸν ἡγούμενον Μαραθῶνι καὶ πολλοὺς ἄλλους, οὐκ ἴσα τοῖς νῦν στρατηγοῖς ἀγάθ᾽ εἰργασμένους, οὐ χαλκοῦς ἵστασαν οὐδ᾽ ὑπερηγάπων.
[196] It is also opportune, men of Athens, to inquire how our forefathers bestowed distinctions and rewards upon genuine benefactors, whether they were citizens or strangers. If you find their practice better than yours, you will do well to follow their example; if you prefer your own, it rests with you to continue it. Take first Themistocles, who won the naval victory at Salamis, Miltiades, who commanded at Marathon, and many others, whose achievements were not on a level with those of our commanders today. Our ancestors did not put up bronze statues of these men, nor did they carry their regard for them to extremes.
[197] οὐκ ἄρα τοῖς ἑαυτοὺς ἀγαθόν τι ποιοῦσιν χάριν εἶχον; σφόδρα γ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ἀπεδίδοσάν γε καὶ αὑτῶν κἀκείνων ἀξίαν: ὄντες γὰρ πολλοῦ πάντες ἄξιοι προὔκρινον ἐκείνους αὑτῶν ἡγεῖσθαι. ἔστι δὲ σώφροσιν ἀνθρώποις καὶ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν βουλομένοις σκοπεῖν πολὺ μείζων τιμὴ τῆς χαλκῆς εἰκόνος τὸ καλῶν κἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν κεκρίσθαι πρώτους.
[197] So they were not grateful to those who had served them well? Yes, men of Athens, they were very grateful; they showed their gratitude in a manner that was equally creditable to themselves and the recipients. They were all men of merit, but they chose those men to lead them; and to men of sobriety, who have a keen eye for realities, being raised to the primacy of a brave and noble people is a far greater distinction than any effigy of bronze.
[198] καὶ γάρ τοι τῶν ἔργων τῶν τότ᾽, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, οὐδενὸς ἀπεστέρησαν ἑαυτούς, οὐδ᾽ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς ὅστις ἂν εἴποι τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ναυμαχίαν Θεμιστοκλέους, ἀλλ᾽ Ἀθηναίων, οὐδὲ τὴν Μαραθῶνι μάχην Μιλτιάδου, ἀλλὰ τῆς πόλεως. νῦν δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πολλοὶ τοῦτο λέγουσιν, ὡς Κέρκυραν εἷλε Τιμόθεος καὶ τὴν μόραν κατέκοψεν Ἰφικράτης καὶ τὴν περὶ Νάξον ἐνίκα ναυμαχίαν Χαβρίας: δοκεῖτε γὰρ αὐτοὶ τῶν ἔργων τούτων παραχωρεῖν τῶν τιμῶν ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς αἷς δεδώκατ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἑκάστῳ τούτων.
[198] The truth is, gentlemen, that they would not rob themselves of their own share in any of those ancient achievements; and no man would say that the battle of Salamis belonged to Themistocles, — it was the battle of the Athenians; or that the victory at Marathon belonged to Miltiades, — it was the victory of the commonwealth. But today, men of Athens, it is commonly said that Corcyra was captured by Timotheus, that the Spartan battalion was cut to pieces by Iphicrates, that the naval victory off Naxos was won by Chabrias. It really looks as though you disclaimed any merit for those feats of arms by the extravagant favours that you lavish on the several commanders.
[199] τὰς μὲν δὴ πολιτικὰς δωρειὰς οὕτως ἐκεῖνοί τε καλῶς καὶ λυσιτελούντως αὑτοῖς ἐδίδοσαν καὶ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ὀρθῶς: τὰς δὲ τῶν ξένων πῶς; ἐκεῖνοι Μένωνι τῷ Φαρσαλίῳ δώδεκα μὲν τάλαντ᾽ ἀργυρίου δόντι πρὸς τὸν ἐπ᾽ Ἠιόνι τῇ πρὸς Ἀμφιπόλει πόλεμον, τριακοσίοις δ᾽ ἱππεῦσι πενέσταις ἰδίοις βοηθήσαντι, οὐκ ἐψηφίσαντο, αὐτὸν ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ, ἀγώγιμον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ πολιτείαν ἔδοσαν καὶ ταύτην ἱκανὴν ὑπελάμβανον εἶναι τὴν τιμήν.
[199] Thus they distributed rewards within the city righteously and to the public advantage; we do it the wrong way. But what about those bestowed on strangers? When Meno of Pharsalus had given us twelve talents for the war at Eion near Amphipolis, and had reinforced us with three hundred of his own mounted serfs, they did not pass a decree that whoever slew Meno should be liable to seizure; they made him a citizen, and thought that distinction adequate.
[200] καὶ πάλιν Περδίκκᾳ τῷ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βαρβάρου ποτ᾽ ἐπιστρατείαν βασιλεύοντι Μακεδονίας, τοὺς ἀναχωροῦντας ἐκ Πλαταιῶν τῶν βαρβάρων διαφθείραντι καὶ τέλειον τἀτύχημα π�
�ιήσαντι τῷ βασιλεῖ, οὐκ ἐψηφίσαντ᾽ ἀγώγιμον, ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ Περδίκκαν, ᾧ βασιλεὺς ἐχθρὸς δι᾽ ἡμᾶς ἀπεδέδεικτο, ἀλλὰ πολιτείαν ἔδωκαν μόνον. καὶ γάρ τοι τότε μὲν οὕτω τίμιον ἦν πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις τὸ γενέσθαι πολίταις παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ὥσθ᾽ ὑπὲρ τοῦ τυχεῖν τούτου τηλικαῦθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἀγάθ᾽ ἤθελον ποιεῖν, νῦν δ᾽ οὕτως ἄτιμον ὥστε τῶν τετυχηκότων πολλοὶ πλείω κακὰ τῶν φανερῶς ἐχθρῶν εἰσιν ὑμᾶς εἰργασμένοι.
[200] Or take Perdiccas, who was reigning in Macedonia at the time of the Persian invasion, and who destroyed the Persians on their retreat from Plataea, and made the defeat of the King irreparable. They did not resolve that any man should be liable to seizure who killed Perdiccas, the man who for our sake had provoked the enmity of the great King; they gave him our citizenship, and that was all. The truth is that in those days to be made a citizen of Athens was an honor so precious in the eyes of the world that, to earn that favour alone, men were ready to render to you those memorable services. Today it is so worthless that not a few men who have already received it have wrought worse mischief to you than your declared enemies.