by Demosthenes
[212] βούλομαι τοίνυν ὑμῖν κἀκεῖνο διηγήσασθαι, ὅ φασί ποτ᾽ εἰπεῖν Σόλωνα κατηγοροῦντα νόμον τινὸς οὐκ ἐπιτήδειον θέντος. λέγεται γὰρ τοῖς δικασταῖς αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν, ἐπειδὴ τἄλλα κατηγόρησεν, ὅτι νόμος ἐστὶν ἁπάσαις, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, ταῖς πόλεσιν, ἐάν τις τὸ νόμισμα διαφθείρῃ, θάνατον τὴν ζημίαν εἶναι. ἐπερωτήσας δ᾽ εἰ δίκαιος αὐτοῖς καὶ καλῶς ἔχων ὁ νόμος φαίνεται,
[212] I would also like to repeat to you a saying attributed to Solon, when he was prosecuting a man who had carried an undesirable law. We are told that, after stating his other charges, he observed that in all, or nearly all, states there is a law that the penalty for any man who debases the currency is death. He proceeded to ask the jury whether they thought that a just and good law;
[213] ἐπειδὴ φῆσαι τοὺς δικαστάς, εἰπεῖν ὅτι αὐτὸς ἡγεῖται ἀργύριον μὲν νόμισμ᾽ εἶναι τῶν ἰδίων συναλλαγμάτων εἵνεκα τοῖς ἰδιώταις εὑρημένον, τοὺς δὲ νόμους ἡγοῖτο νόμισμα τῆς πόλεως εἶναι. δεῖν δὴ τοὺς δικαστὰς πολλῷ μᾶλλον, εἴ τις ὃ τῆς πόλεώς ἐστι νόμισμα, τοῦτο διαφθείρει καὶ παράσημον εἰσφέρει, μισεῖν καὶ κολάζειν, ἢ εἴ τις ἐκεῖν᾽ ὃ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἐστιν.
[213] and when the jury replied that they did, he said that in his opinion money had been invented by private persons for private transactions, but laws were the currency of the State; and therefore if a man debased that currency, and introduced counterfeit, the jury had graver reason to abhor and punish that man than one who debased the currency of private citizens.
[214] προσθεῖναι δὲ τεκμήριον τοῦ καὶ μεῖζον εἶναι τἀδίκημα, τὸ τοὺς νόμους διαφθείρειν ἢ τὸ ἀργύριον, ὅτι ἀργυρίῳ μὲν πολλαὶ τῶν πόλεων καὶ φανερῶς πρὸς χαλκὸν καὶ μόλυβδον κεκραμένῳ χρώμεναι σῴζονται καὶ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν παρὰ τοῦτο πάσχουσιν, νόμοις δὲ πονηροῖς χρώμενοι καὶ διαφθείρεσθαι τοὺς ὄντας ἐῶντες οὐδένες πώποτ᾽ ἐσώθησαν. ταύτῃ μέντοι τῇ κατηγορίᾳ Τιμοκράτης ἔνοχος καθέστηκε νυνί, καὶ δικαίως ἂν ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν τοῦ προσήκοντος τύχοι τιμήματος.
[214] By way of proof that it is a more heinous crime to debase laws than silver coinage, he added that many states that use without concealment silver alloyed with copper and lead are safe and sound and suffer no harm thereby; but that no nation that uses bad laws or permits the debasement of existing laws has ever escaped the consequence. Now that is the accusation to which Timocrates stands open today, and he may justly receive from you the punishment that is adequate to his guilt.
[215] χρὴ μὲν οὖν πᾶσιν ὀργίλως ἔχειν, ὅσοι τιθέασι νόμους αἰσχροὺς καὶ πονηρούς, μάλιστα δὲ τούτοις οἳ τοὺς τοιούτους τῶν νόμων διαφθείρουσι δι᾽ ὧν ἔστιν ἢ μικρὰν ἢ μεγάλην εἶναι τὴν πόλιν. εἰσὶ δ᾽ οὗτοι τίνες; οἵ τε τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας τιμωρούμενοι καὶ ὅσοι τοῖς ἐπιεικέσι τιμάς τινας διδόασιν.
[215] While, therefore, you should be indignant with every man who brings in shameful and wicked laws, your indignation ought chiefly to be directed against those who vitiate the laws upon which depends the greatness, or the weakness, of the commonwealth. And what are they? The laws that avenge you upon evil-doers, and all the laws that confer certain honors on the well-conducted.
[216] εἰ γὰρ ἅπαντες προθυμηθεῖεν ποιεῖν ἀγαθόν τι τὸ κοινόν, τὰς τιμὰς καὶ τὰς δωρειὰς τὰς ὑπὲρ τούτων ζηλώσαντες, καὶ πάντες ἀποσταῖεν τοῦ κακουργεῖν ἢ κακόν τι πράττειν, τὰς βλάβας καὶ τὰς ζημίας τὰς ἐπὶ τούτοις κειμένας φοβηθέντες, ἔσθ᾽ ὅ τι κωλύει τὴν πόλιν μεγίστην εἶναι; οὐ τριήρεις ὅσας οὐδεμία πόλις Ἑλληνὶς κέκτηται; οὐχ ὁπλίτας; οὐχ ἱππέας; οὐ προσόδους; οὐ τόπους; οὐ λιμένας; ταῦτα δὲ πάντα τί σῴζει καὶ συνέχει; οἱ νόμοι: κατὰ γὰρ τούτους οὔσης τῆς πολιτείας ἐστὶ ταῦτα χρήσιμα τῷ κοινῷ.
[216] If all men alike were zealous to serve the community, because they had become ambitious of the honors and rewards of such service, and if all were to recoil from noxious acts, through fear of the pains and penalties enacted for malefactors, could anything prevent our commonwealth from becoming very great? Does not Athens possess more war galleys than any other Hellenic city? Is she not rich in infantry and cavalry, in revenue, in military positions, in harbors? And how are those possessions preserved and consolidated? By the laws; for they are profitable to the community only so long as our public conduct conforms to the laws.
[217] εἰ δὲ τοὐναντίον γένοιτο τοῖς χρηστοῖς μὲν μηδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν πλέον, τοῖς δ᾽ ἀδικοῦσιν ἄδει᾽ ὅσην Τιμοκράτης γέγραφεν, πόση ταραχὴ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν εἰκότως; εὖ γὰρ ἴσθ᾽ ὅτι τούτων ὧν διεξῆλθον κτημάτων, οὐδ᾽ εἰ δὶς γένοιθ᾽ ὅσα νῦν ἐστιν, οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἂν ὄφελος εἴη. οὗτος τοίνυν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ νόμῳ φαίνεται κακῶς ἐπιχειρῶν ὑμᾶς ποιεῖν δι᾽ οὗ τοῖς ἀδικεῖν ἐπιχειροῦσίν εἰσιν αἱ τιμωρίαι.
[217] If conditions were reversed, if there were no recompense for the virtuous, if evil-doers were to enjoy all the immunity that Timocrates has sought to enact, what utter confusion would be the natural result! For you may be quite sure that from these possessions that I have enumerated, even if they were twice as great as they now are, you would not then get an atom of advantage. Therefore the defendant is proved to be striving to do you wrong in respect of that law by which punishments are provided for would-be criminals.
[218] πάντων οὖν εἵνεκα τῶν εἰρημένων ἄξιον ὀργισθῆναι καὶ κολάσαι καὶ παράδειγμα ποιῆσαι τοῖς ἄλλοις: ὡς τὸ πράως ἔχειν τοῖς τοιούτοις, καὶ καταψηφίζεσθαι μέν, ὀλίγου δὲ τιμᾶν, ἐθίζειν καὶ προδιδάσκειν ἔστ᾽ ἀδικεῖν ὑμᾶς ὡς πλείστους.
[218] For all the reasons I have set before you, it is incumbent upon you to show your resentment, to chastise these men, and to make them an example to others. To be lenient to such offenders, or to convict them and then inflict a light penalty, is to habituate and train the greatest possible number to do you wrong.
κατὰ Ἀριστογείτονος Α — AGAINST ARISTOGEITON 1
[1] πάλαι καθήμενος, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ κατηγοροῦντος ἀκούων, ὥσπερ ὑμεῖς, Λυκούργου, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καλῶς αὐτὸν ἡγούμην λέγειν, ἓν δὲ τεθαύμακα ὁρῶν ὑπερδιατεινόμενον, εἰ ἀγνοεῖ τοῦθ᾽ ὅτι οὔτε παρὰ τοὺς ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ λόγους εἰρημένους οὔτε παρὰ τοὺς ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ
μέλλοντας ῥηθήσεσθαι τὰ τουτουὶ τοῦ ἀγῶνός ἐστιν δίκαι᾽ ἰσχυρά, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἂν ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἔχῃ πρὸς τὸ δυσχεραίνειν ἢ προσίεσθαι πονηρίαν.
[1] Gentlemen of the jury, as I sat here for a long time and listened with you to the speech of Lycurgus for the prosecution, I thought it in general an excellent speech; but when I observed him unduly exerting himself, I was surprised that he should not realize that the strength of our case does not really depend on the arguments that he has used or that I am going to use, but on the disposition of each juryman either to be indignant at wickedness or to condone it.
[2] καὶ ἔγωγ᾽ ὑπολαμβάνω τὴν μὲν κατηγορίαν καὶ τὸ τῶν λόγων πλῆθος ἔθους ἕνεκα καὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀκροάσεως δεῖν ποιήσασθαι, κεκρίσθαι δὲ τοῦτο τὸ πρᾶγμα πάλαι ὑπὸ τῆς ἑκάστου φύσεως οἴκοθεν, καὶ νυνὶ εἰ μέν εἰσιν ὑμῶν οἱ πλείους οἷοι τοὺς πονηροὺς φιλεῖν καὶ σῴζειν, μάτην ἐρραψῳδηκότας ἡμᾶς ἔσεσθαι, εἰ δ᾽ οἷοι μισεῖν, δίκην, ἐὰν θεὸς θέλῃ, τοῦτον δώσειν.
[2] For myself, I admit it was our duty to undertake the prosecution and to deliver full speeches in accordance with custom and for your information; but I feel that the case has been already decided by each one of you in his inmost conscience, and that now, if the majority of you are men disposed to admire and protect rascals, all our declamation will be wasted, but if you are disposed to hate them, then this man, please God! shall pay the penalty.
[3] πολλῶν δὲ λόγων εἰρημένων καὶ πάντων καλῶς, οὐκ ὀκνήσω πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν ἅ γ᾽ ἐμοὶ φαίνεται. ἐμοὶ γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἐοικέναι δοκεῖ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁ παρὼν ἀγών. σκοπεῖτε δ᾽ οὑτωσί. πρὸς ἅπαντ᾽ ἔρχονται τὰ δικαστήρια οἱ μὲν δικασταὶ παρὰ τοῦ κατηγόρου καὶ τοῦ φεύγοντος τὸ πρᾶγμα μαθησόμενοι περὶ οὗ δεήσει τὴν ψῆφον ἐνεγκεῖν αὐτούς, οἱ δ᾽ ἀντίδικοι μεθ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ δείξων ἑκάτερος ὄντα τὰ τῶν νόμων δίκαια.
[3] Though much has been said, and all of it well said, I shall not scruple to put my own views before you, because the present suit seems to me quite different from all others. Just consider. To all our courts the juries come to learn from plaintiff and defendant the facts upon which they are to give their votes, and each litigant comes to prove that the legal right is strong on his side.
[4] τὰ δὲ τούτου τοῦ ἀγῶνος πῶς ἔχει; οἱ μὲν δικάσοντες ὑμεῖς ἥκετε μᾶλλον ἡμῶν τῶν κατηγόρων εἰδότες καὶ ὀφείλοντα τῷ δημοσίῳ τοῦτον καὶ ἐγγεγραμμένον ἐν ἀκροπόλει καὶ οὐκ ἐξὸν αὐτῷ λέγειν: ὥσθ᾽ ἕκαστον ὑμῶν κατηγόρου τάξιν ἔχειν καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ εἰδέναι, μὴ μαθεῖν δεῖσθαι.
[4] But how stands it with the present trial? You who are to give the verdict have come here knowing better than we, the accusers, that this man, since he is a state-debtor and registered as such in the Acropolis, has no right to speak at all; so that each of you is in the position of an accuser, knowing the facts and not needing to be told them.
[5] ὁ δὲ κρινόμενος τῶν μὲν εἰς σωτηρίαν φερόντων ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν πάρεστιν ἔχων, οὐ τοὺς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πράγματος λόγους δικαίους, οὐ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον ἀνθρώπινον, οὐκ ἄλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθόν: δι᾽ ἃ δ᾽ ἂν καὶ μηδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἀδικῶν τις ἔδεισε, διὰ ταῦθ᾽ οὗτος οἴεται σωθήσεσθαι: ἐν γὰρ τῇ τῆς πονηρίας ὑπερβολῇ τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας ἔχει.
[5] But the defendant is here with nothing whatever to support his acquittal, with no sound plea based on the facts, with no past record of a decent life, with not a single point in his favour. He imagines that he may be saved by what would have frightened anyone else, though innocent; for he bases the hope of his acquittal on the enormity of his wickedness.
[6] οὕτω δ᾽ ἐχόντων τούτων, δοκεῖ μοί τις οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτεῖν εἰπὼν ὅτι νυνὶ κρίνεται μὲν Ἀριστογείτων, δοκιμάζεσθε δὲ καὶ κινδυνεύεθ᾽ ὑμεῖς περὶ δόξης. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὀφθήσεσθ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὕτω φανεροῖς καὶ μεγάλοις ἀδικήμασιν ὀργιζόμενοι καὶ τιμωρούμενοι, δόξετε τοῦθ᾽, ὅπερ ἐστέ, δικασταὶ καὶ φύλακες τῶν νόμων εἰσεληλυθέναι:
[6] This being so, it seems to me that one would not be wrong in saying that, while Aristogeiton is on his trial, it is your character that is being tested, your reputation that is at stake. For if you make it quite clear that you are angry at such patent and gross offences and are determined to punish them, then it will be seen that you have come here to play your true part as judges and guardians of the law.
[7] εἰ δ᾽ ἕτερόν τι περιέσται τούτων, ὃ μηδεὶς μὲν ἂν αὐτὸς πεποιηκέναι φήσειεν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ψήφοις εὑρεθήσεται, δέδοικα μὴ δόξητέ τισιν τὸν ἀεὶ βουλόμενον εἶναι πονηρὸν τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει παιδοτριβεῖν. ἀσθενὴς μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἅπας ὁ πονηρὸς καθ᾽ ἑαυτόν: ᾧ δ᾽ ἂν ὑμεῖς πρόσθησθε, οὗτος ἰσχυρὸς γίγνεται. ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο τῷ μὲν λαβόντι παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ἐργασία καὶ δυναστεία, ὑμῖν δὲ τοῖς δοῦσιν ὄνειδος.
[7] But if some other motive prevails, some motive which none would care to confess, but which your votes will betray, then I am afraid that to some you will appear to be playing the part of trainers of any citizen who has a taste for wickedness. For every bad man is in himself weak; he only becomes strong by your countenance and support. Whoever wins that support finds in it his advantage and his strength; to you who give that support, it is a source of shame.
[8] βουλοίμην δ᾽ ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πρὸ τοῦ περὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἐμὲ τῶν τουτουὶ λέγειν, σπουδάσαντας ὑμᾶς ἐξετάσαι διὰ βραχέων εἰς ὅσην αἰσχύνην καὶ ἀδοξίαν προῆχε τὴν πόλιν δημοσίᾳ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα θηρία, ὧν μέσος καὶ τελευταῖος καὶ πρῶτός ἐστιν οὗτος.
[8] But before I speak of the private affairs of the defendant, men of Athens, I should like you seriously but briefly to calculate how much shame and discredit is brought upon our city by these monsters, of whom the defendant is at once the midmost, the first, and the last.
[9] καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλ᾽ ἐάσω: ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὰς ἐκκλησίας ἀναβαίνουσιν, ἐν αἷς ὑμεῖς γνώμης ἀπόδειξιν, οὐ πονηρίας τοῖς λέγουσι προτίθετε, τόλμαν καὶ κραυγὴν καὶ ψευδεῖς αἰτίας καὶ συκοφαντίαν καὶ ἀναισχυντίαν καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα συνεσκευασμένοι, ὧν οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τις ἐναντιώτερα τῷ βουλεύεσθαι, νομίζω δ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἂν αἰσχίω. καὶ τούτοις τοῖς αἰσχροῖς ἁπάντων τῶν τ
ῆς πόλεως καλῶν περίεισι, τῶν νόμων, τῶν προέδρων, τοῦ προγράμματος, τῆς εὐκοσμίας.
[9] To mention only one matter; they mount the platform in the Assembly, where you look to your orators to explain their policy, not to flaunt their wickedness; they come equipped with a hardened front, a raucous voice, false charges, intimidation, shamelessness, and all such gifts as these, than which one could name no qualities more hostile to the spirit of debate nor, I think — so Heaven help me! — more discreditable. By these vile tricks they gain supremacy over all that is respectable in the State, over the laws, the committees, the course of public business, and the maintenance of order.
[10] εἰ μὲν οὖν ὑμεῖς ταῦτα βούλεσθε καὶ μετὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας γνώμης οὗτοι ταῦτα ποιοῦσιν, ὁδῷ βαδίζει καὶ ἐᾶν δεῖ: εἰ δ᾽ ἐπανορθώσασθαι ταῦτ᾽ ἔτι καὶ νῦν οἴεσθε χρῆναι, καὶ τὰ προειμένα πόρρω καὶ πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον αἰσχρῶς καὶ κακῶς ὑπὸ τούτων διακείμενα βελτίω ποιῆσαι, πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἔθη παριδόντας ὑμᾶς τήμερον ὀρθῶς δεῖ δικάσαι,