by Demosthenes
[214] will you, men of Athens, after giving him your full franchise and honoring him with other distinctions, — will you bestow upon him this immunity into the bargain? For what? What ships has he taken for you, to cause the men who have lost them to plot against him? What city has he captured and handed over to you? What perils has he encountered in your defence? When has he chosen your enemies as his own? No man can tell you.
[215] περὶ δὴ τῶν νόμων ὧν παραγεγράμμεθ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, βούλομαι μικρὰ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπὼν καταβαίνειν, ἃ νομίζω μνημονεύοντας ἂν ὑμᾶς ἄμεινον φυλάττειν, ἂν παράγειν καὶ φενακίζειν οὗτοι ζητῶσιν. ὁ πρῶτος νόμος ἄντικρυς εἴρηκεν, ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ, τὴν βουλὴν δικάζειν: ὁ δέ, ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ, εὐθὺς ἔγραψεν ἀγώγιμον εἶναι. τοῦτο φυλάττετε καὶ μέμνησθε, ὅτι πάντων ἐναντιώτατόν ἐστι τῷ κρίνειν τὸ μὴ διδόντα κρίσιν ἔκδοτον ποιεῖν.
[215] Before I leave the tribune, gentlemen of the jury, I wish to add some brief observations upon the statutes that we have adduced. If you will bear them in mind, I think that you will keep a better look-out for any attempts these men may make to cajole and mislead you. The first statute expressly ordains that, if any man slay another, the Areopagus shall take cognizance. Aristocrates proposes that such a manslayer shall be liable to seizure without more ado. Mark that carefully, and remember that to make a man an outlaw without trial is exactly the opposite of trying him.
[216] οὐκ ἐᾷ μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὁ δεύτερος νόμος οὐδὲ τὸν ἑαλωκότ᾽ ἀνδροφόνον λυμαίνεσθαι οὐδὲ χρήματα πράττεσθαι: ὁ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ ποιεῖν ἀγώγιμον πάντα ταῦτα δέδωκεν: ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῖς λαβοῦσιν ἔσται ποιεῖν ὅ τι ἂν βούλωνται. ἀπάγειν ὁ νόμος ὡς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας κελεύει, καὶ τοῦτ᾽, ἂν ἐν τῇ τοῦ πεπονθότος λάβῃ τις πατρίδι: ὁ δ᾽ ἀγώγιμον αὐτῷ τῷ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπενεγκόντι δίδωσιν ὡς αὑτόν, κἂν τῆς ἀλλοτρίας που λάβῃ.
[216] The second statute forbids personal maltreatment or extortion even in the case of a convicted homicide. Aristocrates, by making him liable to seizure, has permitted such misusage; for it will be competent for captors to treat the man as they will. The statute provides that the culprit shall be conveyed to the judges, even though arrested in the country of his victim. He allows the homicide on seizure to be taken to the house of the prosecutor, even though the capture be effected in foreign parts.
[217] ἔστιν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἀδικήμασιν δέδωκεν ἀποκτείνειν ὁ νόμος: ὁ δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὑπειπών, κἂν ἐπὶ τούτοις τις κτείνῃ, δίδωσιν ἔκδοτον τὸν ἀθῷον ἀφειμένον ἐν τοῖς νόμοις. ἄν τις πάθῃ τι τοιοῦτον, δίκας ὁ νόμος κελεύει αἰτεῖν πρῶτον: ὁ δὲ τοὐναντίον οὐδεμίαν κρίσιν οὔτ᾽ αὐτὸς εἰπὼν οὔτε παρ᾽ ὧν ἀξιοῖ λαβεῖν αἰτήσας, ἀγώγιμον εὐθὺς ἔγραψεν, κἄν τις ἀφαιρῆται, παραχρῆμ᾽ ἔκσπονδον.
[217] There are certain injuries for which the statute permits life to be taken. Aristocrates, even though the life be taken in such circumstances, makes no reservation, but permits a man whom the laws release without penalty to be handed over for punishment. When a man has suffered this misfortune, the law enjoins that satisfaction be first claimed. In defiance of this law he proposes no trial, demands no redress from the persons on whom he has such claim, but declares incontinently that the man is liable to seizure, and puts under an immediate ban anyone who tries to rescue him.
[218] τὸ ἀνδρολήψιον, παρ᾽ οἷς ἂν ὁ δράσας ᾖ, ἂν μὴ διδῶσι δίκας, κελεύουσιν οἱ νόμοι μέχρι τριῶν εἶναι: ὁ δέ, ἂν ἀφέληταί τις τὸν ἄγοντα μὴ βουλόμενος πρὸ δίκης ἐκδοῦναι, εὐθὺς ἔκσπονδον ποιεῖ. οὐκ ἐᾷ νόμον, ἂν μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τιθῇ τις, εἰσφέρειν: ὁ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀνδρὶ γράφει ψήφισμ᾽ ἴδιον. οὐκ ἐᾷ ψήφισμ᾽ ὁ νόμος κυριώτερον εἶναι νόμου: ὁ δ᾽ ὑπαρχόντων τοσούτων νόμων ψήφισμα ποιεῖ κύριον τοὺς νόμους ἀναιρῶν.
[218] The statute provides that not more than three hostages may be taken from the people with whom the offender lives, if they refuse to give satisfaction. The defendant puts under ban without more ado whosoever rescues the accused from his captors because he is unwilling to surrender him before judgement. The statute forbids anyone to introduce a new law without making it applicable to all men alike; he composes a special decree in favour of a particular man. The statute does not permit any decree to override the law. The relevant laws are many, but Aristocrates annuls them all and makes a mere decree supreme.
[219] ταῦτα φυλάττετε καὶ μεμνημένοι κάθησθε. καὶ τὰς μὲν παραγωγάς, ἃς οὗτοι ποιήσονται, χαίρειν ἐᾶτε καὶ μὴ ἐπιτρέπετε λέγειν αὐτοῖς, κελεύετε δὲ δεῖξαι ποῦ γέγραφεν κρίσιν, ἢ ποῦ γέγραφεν, ἄν τις ἁλῷ φόνου, κατὰ τούτου τὰς τιμωρίας. εἰ γὰρ ἢ τὸν ἄλλοθί που κριθέντα καὶ ἑαλωκότα ὅτι δεῖ κολάζειν ἔγραψεν, ἢ αὐτὸς ἔγραψεν κρίσιν εἰ πεποίηκεν ἢ οὒ καὶ εἰ δικαίως ἢ ἀδίκως, οὐκ ἂν ἠδίκει.
[219] Bear all this in mind and memory so long as you sit in that box. Dismiss all the fallacious reasons they will allege; do not allow them to be uttered. Tell them to show you the clause in which he has proposed a trial, or the clause that punishes a man duly convicted of murder. If he had provided for the due punishment of a man tried and found guilty elsewhere, or if he had himself proposed a trial to determine whether homicide has been committed or not, and if so whether justifiably or not, he would have done no wrong.
[220] εἰ δὲ τὸ τῆς αἰτίας ὄνομ᾽ αὐτὸ γράψας ‘ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ,’ καὶ ὑπερβὰς τὸ ‘καὶ ἁλῷ φόνου,’ καὶ τὸ ‘δόξῃ ἀπεκτονέναι,’ καὶ τὸ ‘δίκας ὑπεχέτω τοῦ φόνου,’ καὶ τὸ ‘τὰς τιμωρίας εἶναι κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὰς αὐτὰς ἅσπερ ἂν τὸν Ἀθηναῖον κτείνῃ,’ καὶ πάνθ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἐστὶ δίκαι᾽ ὑπερβὰς ἀγώγιμον εἶναι γέγραφεν, μὴ φενακίζεσθε, ἀλλ᾽ εὖ ἴσθ᾽ ὅτι πάντων παρανομώτατ᾽ εἴρηκεν.
[220] But inasmuch as, after a phrase of mere accusation, “if any man kills,” without any such addition as “and is found guilty of murder,” or, “is adjudged to have killed,” or, “he shall submit to judgement for the murder,” or, “he shall be liable to the same penalty as if he had killed an Athenian,” he has omitted every just precaution, and has simply made the man liable to seizure, do not be led astray, but be assured that in this decree the laws have been absolutely contravened.
κατὰ Τιμοκράτους — AGAINST TIMOCRATES
[1] τοῦ μὲν ἀγῶνος, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τοῦ παρόντος οὐδ᾽ ἂν αὐτὸν οἶμαι Τιμοκράτην εἰπεῖν ὡς αἴτιός ἐστιν ἄλλος τις αὐτῷ πλὴν αὐτὸς αὑτῷ. χρημάτων γὰρ οὐκ ὀλ�
�γων ἀποστερῆσαι βουλόμενος τὴν πόλιν, παρὰ πάντας τοὺς νόμους νόμον εἰσήνεγκεν οὔτ᾽ ἐπιτήδειον οὔτε δίκαιον, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί: ὃς τὰ μὲν ἄλλ᾽ ὅσα λυμανεῖται καὶ χεῖρον ἔχειν τὰ κοινὰ ποιήσει, κύριος εἰ γενήσεται, τάχα δὴ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἀκούοντες ἐμοῦ μαθήσεσθε, ἓν δ᾽, ὃ μέγιστον ἔχω καὶ προχειρότατον πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν, οὐκ ἀποτρέψομαι.
[1] I do not think, gentlemen of the jury, that even Timocrates can lay the blame of the present prosecution upon anyone else: he has brought it on himself. Moved by desire to deprive the State of a large sum of money, he has most illegally introduced a law which is both inexpedient and iniquitous. You shall presently learn in detail, if you will listen to me, in how many respects this law, if ratified, will be injurious and detrimental to the common weal; but there is one result, the most important and the most obvious that I can name, which I shall not hesitate to put before you.
[2] τὴν γὰρ ὑμετέραν ψῆφον, ἣν ὀμωμοκότες περὶ πάντων φέρετε, λύει καὶ ποιεῖ τοῦ μηδενὸς ἀξίαν ὁ τουτουὶ νόμος, οὐχ ἵνα κοινῇ τι τὴν πόλιν ὠφελήσῃ （πῶς γάρ; ὅς γε, ἃ δοκεῖ συνέχειν τὴν πολιτείαν, τὰ δικαστήρια, ταῦτ᾽ ἄκυρα ποιεῖ τῶν προστιμημάτων τῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀδικήμασιν ἐκ τῶν νόμων ὡρισμένων）, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα τῶν πολὺν χρόνον ὑμᾶς τινες ἐκκεκαρπωμένων καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ὑμετέρων διηρπακότων μηδ᾽ ἃ κλέπτοντες φανερῶς ἐλήφθησαν καταθῶσιν.
[2] For it is the decision that you pronounce on oath on every question which is annulled and made worthless by the law proposed by the defendant; and his object is not any public benefit to the State, — that is impossible, for his law robs those Courts of Justice, which are the pillars of the constitution, of all power to impose the additional penalties attached by the laws to transgressions, — but that certain of those men who have long battened on your substance and pillaged your property may not even refund moneys which they were openly caught in the act of embezzling.
[3] καὶ τοσούτῳ ῥᾷόν ἐστ᾽ ἰδίᾳ τινὰς θεραπεύειν ἢ τῶν ὑμετέρων δικαίων προΐστασθαι, ὥσθ᾽ οὗτος μὲν ἔχει παρ᾽ ἐκείνων ἀργύριον καὶ οὐ πρότερον τοῦτον εἰσήνεγκε ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τὸν νόμον, ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἐν χιλίαις ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ὁ κίνδυνος: τοσοῦτ᾽ ἀπέχω τοῦ λαβεῖν τι παρ᾽ ὑμῶν.
[3] Also it is so much easier to curry favour privately with certain persons than to stand up in defence of your rights that, while Timocrates has their fee in his pocket, and never introduced his law until he got it, I,so far from getting any reward from you, am risking a thousand drachmas in your defence.
[4] εἰώθασιν μὲν οὖν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν πράττειν τι προαιρουμένων τῶν κοινῶν λέγειν ὡς ταῦθ᾽ ὑμῖν σπουδαιότατ᾽ ἐστὶν καὶ μάλιστ᾽ ἄξιον προσέχειν τούτοις, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἂν αὐτοὶ τυγχάνωσι ποιούμενοι τοὺς λόγους. ἐγὼ δ᾽, εἴπερ τινὶ τοῦτο καὶ ἄλλῳ προσηκόντως εἴρηται, νομίζω κἀμοὶ νῦν ἁρμόττειν εἰπεῖν.
[4] Now it is the common practice of those who take up any piece of public business to inform you that the matter on which they happen to be making their speeches is most momentous, and worthy of your best attention. But if that claim has ever been made with propriety, I think that I am entitled to make it now.
[5] τῶν γὰρ ὄντων ἀγαθῶν τῇ πόλει καὶ τοῦ δημοκρατουμένην καὶ ἐλευθέραν εἶναι ὡς ἄλλο τι τῶν νόμων αἰτιώτερόν ἐστιν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἕν᾽ εἰπεῖν οἶμαι. περὶ τοίνυν αὐτοῦ τούτου νῦν ὑμῖν ἐστιν, πότερον δεῖ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους νόμους, οὓς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀδικοῦσι τὴν πόλιν ὑμεῖς ἀνεγράψατε, ἀκύρους εἶναι, τόνδε δὲ κύριον, ἢ τοὐναντίον τοῦτον μὲν λῦσαι, κατὰ χώραν δὲ μένειν τοὺς ἄλλους ἐᾶν. τὸ μὲν οὖν πρᾶγμα περὶ οὗ δεῖ νῦν ὑμᾶς γνῶναι, ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ τις ἂν εἴποι, τοῦτ᾽ ἐστίν.
[5] For I suppose that no man living will attribute the prosperity of Athens, her liberty, her popular government, to anything rather than to the laws. Well, the question for you today is this: shall all the laws that you have enacted for the restraint of evil-doers be invalidated, and this law alone be valid; or shall this law be annulled and the rest allowed to remain? That, to put it in brief summary, is the issue that you have to determine today.
[6] ἵνα δ᾽ ὑμῶν μηδεὶς θαυμάζῃ τί δή ποτ᾽ ἐγὼ μετρίως, ὥς γ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν πείθω, τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον βεβιωκὼς νῦν ἐν ἀγῶσι καὶ γραφαῖς δημοσίαις ἐξετάζομαι, βούλομαι μικρὰ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν: ἔσται δὲ ταῦτ᾽ οὐκ ἄπο τοῦ πράγματος. ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, προσέκρουσ᾽ ἀνθρώπῳ πονηρῷ καὶ φιλαπεχθήμονι καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθρῷ, ᾧ τελευτῶσ᾽ ὅλη προσέκρουσεν ἡ πόλις, Ἀνδροτίωνα λέγω.
[6] But to forestall any surprise you may feel that I, who can claim to have hitherto lived a quiet life, should now be making my appearance in actions at law and public prosecutions, I desire to offer a brief explanation, which will not be irrelevant to the issue. Men of Athens, I once fell out with a worthless, quarrelsome, unprincipled fellow, with whom in the end the whole city also fell out, — I mean Androtion.
[7] καὶ τοσούτῳ δεινότερ᾽ Εὐκτήμονος ἠδικήθην ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ὥσθ᾽ ὁ μὲν Εὐκτήμων εἰς χρήματ᾽ ἔσθ᾽ ἃ κακῶς ἔπαθεν, ἐγὼ δ᾽, εἰ κατώρθωσεν ἐκεῖνος ἣν ἐπ᾽ ἔμ᾽ ἦλθεν ὁδόν, οὐχ ὅτι τῶν ὄντων ἂν ἀπεστερήμην, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἔζων, οὐδ᾽ ὃ κοινὸν ἅπασίν ἐστιν, ἀπαλλαγῆναι τοῦ βίου, ῥᾴδιον ἦν ἄν μοι. αἰτιασάμενος γάρ μ᾽ ἃ καὶ λέγειν ἄν τις ὀκνήσειεν εὖ φρονῶν, τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ πατέρ᾽ ὡς ἀπέκτονα, ἀσεβείας γραφὴν κατασκευάσας εἰς ἀγῶνα κατέστησεν. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τὸ πέμπτον μέρος τῶν ψήφων οὐ μεταλαβὼν ὦφλε χιλίας, ἐγὼ δ᾽, ὥσπερ ἦν δίκαιον, μάλιστα μὲν διὰ τοὺς θεούς, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ διὰ τοὺς δικάζοντας ὑμῶν ἐσώθην,
[7] By this man I was far more grievously wronged than Euctemon, inasmuch as Euctemon suffered the loss of some money, but I, if he had made good his attack upon me, should have lost my life as well as my property; indeed, even the common privilege of an easy exit from life would have been denied me. He accused me of a crime which a man of good feeling would be loath even to mention, — of having killed my own father; he concocted an indictment for impiety, and brought me to trial. At that trial he failed to get a fifth part of the votes of the jury, and was fined a thousand drachmas. I was deservedly acquitted, for which I thank first the gods, and secondly those of you who were on the jury;
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sp; [8] τὸν δ᾽ εἰς τοιαῦτα καταστήσαντά μ᾽ ἀδίκως ἀδιάλλακτον ἐχθρὸν ἡγούμην. ἰδὼν δ᾽ ἠδικηκότα κοινῇ πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν καὶ περὶ τὴν εἴσπραξιν τῶν εἰσφορῶν καὶ περὶ τὴν ποίησιν τῶν πομπείων, καὶ χρήματα πολλὰ τῆς θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐπωνύμων καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἔχοντα καὶ οὐκ ἀποδιδόντα, ἦλθον ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν μετ᾽ Εὐκτήμονος, ἡγούμενος ἁρμόττοντ᾽ εἰληφέναι καιρὸν τοῦ βοηθῆσαί θ᾽ ἅμα τῇ πόλει καὶ τιμωρίαν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐπεπόνθειν λαβεῖν: βουλοίμην δ᾽ ἂν ἐμέ τε τυχεῖν ὧν βούλομαι τοῦτόν τε παθεῖν ὧν ἄξιός ἐστι.