by Demosthenes
[95] τὸ μὲν οὖν νουθετεῖν τοῦτον μανία: ὃς γὰρ οἷς ὁ δῆμος ἅπας τοὺς ἐνοχλοῦντας ἑαυτὸν νουθετεῖ θορύβοις μηδεπώποθ᾽ ὑπεῖξε μηδὲ διετράπη, ταχύ γ᾽ ἂν φροντίσειέ τι τοῦ παρ᾽ ἑνὸς λόγου. ἀνίατον, ἀνίατον, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἔστι τὸ τούτου. δεῖ δὴ πάντας, ὥσπερ οἱ ἰατροί, ὅταν καρκίνον ἢ φαγέδαιναν ἢ τῶν ἀνιάτων τι κακῶν ἴδωσιν, ἀπέκαυσαν ἢ ὅλως ἀπέκοψαν, οὕτω τοῦτο τὸ θηρίον ὑμᾶς ἐξορίσαι, ῥῖψαι ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ἀνελεῖν, μὴ περιμείναντάς τι παθεῖν, ὃ μήτ᾽ ἰδίᾳ μήτε δημοσίᾳ γένοιτο, ἀλλὰ προευλαβηθέντας.
[95] Surely, then, to admonish such a fellow is madness. A man who never yielded or shrank before the storm of protest with which the whole Assembly admonishes those who offend it, would readily heed the protest of an individual! His case is incurable, men of Athens, quite incurable. Just as physicians, when they detect a cancer or an ulcer or some other incurable growth, cauterize it or cut it away, so you ought all to unite in exterminating this monster. Cast him out of your city; destroy him. Take your precautions in time and do not wait for the evil consequences, which I pray may never fall either on individuals or on the community.
[96] ὡδὶ γὰρ ὁρᾶτε. οὐδένα πώποτ᾽ ἴσως ὑμῶν ἔχις ἔδακεν οὐδὲ φαλάγγιον, μηδὲ δάκοι: ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἐπὰν ἴδητε, ἀποκτείνετε. τὸν αὐτὸν τοίνυν τρόπον, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ὅταν συκοφάντην καὶ πικρὸν καὶ ἔχιν τὴν φύσιν ἄνθρωπον ἴδητε, μὴ πόθ᾽ ἕκαστον ὑμῶν δήξεται περιμένετε, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ προστυχὼν ἀεὶ τιμωρησάσθω.
[96] Let me put it in this way. Perhaps none of you has ever been bitten by an adder or a tarantula, and I hope he never may be. All the same, whenever you see such creatures, you promptly kill them all. In just the same way, men of Athens, whenever you see a false accuser, a man with the venom of a viper in his nature, do not wait for him to bite one of you, but always let the man who comes across him exact punishment.
[97] Λυκοῦργος μὲν οὖν τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ἐμαρτύρετο καὶ τὴν μητέρα τῶν θεῶν, καὶ καλῶς ἐποίει. ἐγὼ δὲ τοὺς προγόνους τοὺς ὑμετέρους καὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς τὰς ἐκείνων ἀνακαλῶ, ὧν οὐδ᾽ ὁ χρόνος τὴν μνήμην ἠφάνικεν, εἰκότως: ἐπολιτεύοντο γὰρ οὐχὶ τοῖς πονηροτάτοις καὶ συκοφάνταις συνεργεῖν διδόντες ἑαυτούς, οὐδὲ τὸν ἐντὸς τείχους φθόνον ἀσκοῦντες ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων καὶ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν τοὺς μὲν σώφρονας καὶ χρηστοὺς τιμῶντες, τοὺς δὲ πονηροὺς καὶ θρασεῖς μισοῦντες καὶ κολάζοντες. ἐξ ὧν πάντες ἀθληταὶ τῶν καλῶν ἔργων ἐγένοντο.
[97] Lycurgus did well to call Athena and the Mother of the gods to witness. But I will invoke your ancestors and the virtues of your ancestors, whose memory time has not effaced. It is right that I should do so; for their policy was not to lend themselves to cooperation with the worst of rascals and false accusers, not to foster the mutual jealousy that lurks within doors, but to honor those public and private men who were wise and good, and to loathe and chastise those who were wicked and unscrupulous; and that was how they all became competitors in the rivalry of noble deeds.
[98] ἓν δ᾽ εἰπὼν ἔτι παύσασθαι βούλομαι. ἔξιτ᾽ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ δικαστηρίου, θεωρήσουσι δ᾽ ὑμᾶς οἱ περιεστηκότες καὶ ξένοι καὶ πολῖται, καὶ κατ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ εἰς ἕκαστον τὸν παριόντα βλέψονται καὶ φυσιογνωμονήσουσι τοὺς ἀπεψηφισμένους. τί οὖν ἐρεῖτ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ προέμενοι τοὺς νόμους ἔξιτε; ποίοις προσώποις ἢ τίσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς πρὸς ἕκαστον τούτων ἀντιβλέψεσθε;
[98] One more thing I have to say before I sit down. You will soon be leaving this court-house, and you will be watched by the bystanders, both aliens and citizens; they will scan each one as he appears, and detect by their looks those who have voted for acquittal. What will you have to say for yourselves, Athenians, if you emerge after betraying the laws? With what expression, with what look will you return their gaze?
[99] πῶς δ᾽ εἰς τὸ μητρῷον βαδιεῖσθε, ἄν τι βούλησθε; οὐ γὰρ δήπου καθ᾽ ἕν᾽ ὑμῶν ἕκαστος ὡς ἐπὶ κυρίους τοὺς νόμους πορεύσεται, εἰ νῦν μὴ βεβαιώσαντες αὐτοὺς ἔξιθ᾽ ἅπαντες κοινῇ. πῶς δὲ ταῖς νουμηνίαις εἰς ἀκρόπολιν ἀναβαίνοντες τἀγαθὰ τῇ πόλει διδόναι καὶ ἕκαστος ἑαυτῷ τοῖς θεοῖς εὔξεσθε, ὅταν ὄντος τούτου ἐκεῖ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ χρηστοῦ τἀναντία τοῖς ὅρκοις καὶ τοῖς ἐκεῖ γράμμασιν ἐγνωκότες ἦτε;
[99] How will you make your way to the Sanctuary of the Mother-goddess, if you wish to do so? For surely you will never go individually to consult the laws as if they were still valid, unless you have now collectively confirmed them before you depart. How on the first of each month will you climb the Acropolis and pray for blessings on the State and on yourselves, when the defendant and his worthy father are registered there, and you have given your verdict clean against your oaths and the documents there preserved?
[100] τί ἐρεῖτ᾽, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τί ἐρεῖτε, ἄν τις ὑμᾶς ἐρωτᾷ γνωρίσας τοὺς ἀπεψηφισμένους; τί φήσετε; ἀρέσκειν τοῦτον ὑμῖν; καὶ τίς ὁ τοῦτο τολμήσων εἰπεῖν; τίς ὁ τῆς τούτου πονηρίας μετ᾽ ἀρᾶς καὶ κακῆς δόξης κληρονομεῖν βουλησόμενος; ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ αὐτὸς ἕκαστος οὐκ ἀποψηφίσασθαι; οὐκοῦν καταράσεσθε τοῖς ἀποψηφισαμένοις, τοῦτο τὸ πιστὸν ἕκαστος διδοὺς ὡς οὐκ αὐτὸς οὗτός ἐστι.
[100] Or what will you say, Athenians, what will you say, if someone detects and questions those of you who have voted for acquittal? What will you answer? That you were satisfied with him? But who will dare to say that? Who will choose to inherit this fellow’s wickedness, with the execration and infamy that it entails? Will each of you deny that he acquitted him? In that case you will have to invoke a curse on the acquitters, as a guarantee from each of you that he was not himself one of them.
[101] καὶ τί δεῖ ταῦτα ποιεῖν, ἐξὸν εὐφημεῖν καὶ ἅπαντας ἅπασι πάντα τἀγάθ᾽ εὔχεσθαι, καὶ ὑμᾶς ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἀθηναίους ἅπαντας ὑμῖν, προσθήσω δὲ καὶ τοὺς ξένους καὶ παῖδας καὶ γυναῖκας; ἐφῖκται γάρ, ἐφῖκται πάντων ἡ τούτου κακοπραγμοσύνη, καὶ πᾶσι βουλομένοις ἐστὶν ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς τούτου πονηρίας καὶ δίκην δεδωκότ᾽ ἰδεῖν.
[101] What need to do this, when you can keep you
r lips undefiled, and can all of you pray for every blessing upon all, both on yourselves and on all other citizens and, I may add, on all aliens and women and children? For the evil influence of the defendant has.extended, yes, extended to all classes, and all alike are anxious to be rid of his wickedness and to see that he has paid the penalty.
κατὰ Ἀριστογείτονος Β — AGAINST ARISTOGEITON 2
[1] ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν καὶ ὀφείλει τῷ δημοσίῳ Ἀριστογείτων οὑτοσὶ καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπίτιμος, καὶ οἱ νόμοι διαρρήδην ἀπαγορεύουσιν μὴ ἐξεῖναι λέγειν τοῖς τοιούτοις, φανερῶς ἐπιδέδεικται, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι. δεῖ δ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἅπαντας μὲν ἀπείργειν καὶ κωλύειν τοὺς παρανομοῦντας, πολὺ δὲ μάλιστα τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ὄντας καὶ τοὺς πολιτευομένους:
[1] It has been conclusively proved, men of Athens, that the defendant, Aristogeiton, is a state-debtor and disfranchised, and that the laws expressly forbid all such to address the Assembly. But it is your duty to restrain and check all law-breakers, but especially those who hold office and take part in public affairs,
[2] διὰ γὰρ τούτους τὰ κοινὰ καὶ βλάπτεσθαι πέφυκεν, ἐὰν ὦσι φαῦλοι, καὶ τὰ μέγιστα πάλιν ὠφελεῖσθαι, ἐὰν ὦσιν ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ θέλωσιν ἐμμένειν τοῖς νόμοις. ὡς ἐὰν ἅπαξ δῶτε τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν ἐγχειροῦσί τι πράττειν τὸ παρανομεῖν καὶ καταφρονεῖν τῶν ὡρισμένων δικαίων, ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἅπαντας ἀπολαύειν τοὺς μετέχοντας τῆς πόλεως.
[2] because such men tend to injure the community, if they are unprincipled, and on the other hand to confer the greatest benefit upon it, if they are honest men and willing to abide by the laws. If you once allow those who administer any part of our public affairs to break the laws and override the established principles of justice, everyone who has a stake in the country is bound to suffer from their wickedness.
[3] ὥσπερ γὰρ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἃ συμβαίνει περὶ τοὺς πλοῦς, ὅταν μὲν τῶν ναυτῶν τις ἁμάρτῃ, βραχεῖαν τὴν βλάβην ἤνεγκεν, ὅταν δ᾽ ὁ κυβερνήτης ἀποσφαλῇ, κοινὴν τὴν ἀτυχίαν ἅπασι τοῖς ἐμπλέουσι παρεσκεύασεν, ὡσαύτως τὰ μὲν τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἁμαρτήματα οὐκ εἰς τὸ πλῆθος, εἰς δ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἤνεγκε τὰς βλάβας, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ πολιτευομένων εἰς ἅπαντας ἀφικνεῖται.
[3] For just as on a voyage an error committed by a common sailor causes little damage, but, when the helmsman is at fault, he brings disaster on everyone aboard, so the faults of private persons cause loss not so much to the general public as to themselves, while the faults of rulers and statesmen come home to all citizens alike.
[4] διὸ καὶ τὰς τιμωρίας ὁ Σόλων τοῖς μὲν ἰδιώταις ἐποίησε βραδείας, ταῖς δ᾽ ἀρχαῖς καὶ τοῖς δημαγωγοῖς ταχείας, ὑπολαμβάνων τοῖς μὲν ἐνδέχεσθαι καὶ παρὰ τὸν χρόνον τὸ δίκαιον λαβεῖν, τοῖς δ᾽ οὐκ ἐνεῖναι περιμεῖναι: τὸ γὰρ τιμωρησόμενον οὐχ ὑπέσται τῆς πολιτείας καταλυθείσης. καὶ τούτοις τοῖς δικαίοις οὐδεὶς οὕτως οὔτ᾽ ἀναιδὴς οὔθ᾽ ὑπὲρ ὑμᾶς φρονῶν ἐστὶν ὅστις ἀντιλέγειν ἐπιχειρήσει, πλὴν Ἀριστογείτονος τουτουὶ καὶ τῆς τούτου πονηρίας. ἀλλὰ πάσας καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τοὺς πολιτευομένους εὑρήσομεν, ἐπειδὰν ἅπαξ τι καταγνῶθ᾽ ὑμεῖς, τούτοις ἐμμένοντας.
[4] That was why Solon ordained that the penalties for private citizens should be slow, but for magistrates and political leaders swift, assuming that from the former one can get satisfaction even after some delay, but that one cannot wait for the latter, because there will be no prospect of punishment if the constitution is destroyed. No one will be so impudent or so pretentious that he will attempt to gainsay these principles, except Aristogeiton here with his reckless wickedness. On the contrary we shall find that, when once you have given an adverse verdict, all magistrates and all statesmen accept them.
[5] τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ὅταν ἀποχειροτονηθῶσι τινες τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς, παραχρῆμα πέπαυνται ἄρχοντες καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους περιῄρηνται: τοῦτο δ᾽ ὅσοις τῶν θεσμοθετῶν εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον οὐχ οἷόν τ᾽ ἐστὶν ἀνελθεῖν, παρέντες τὸ βιάζεσθαι στέργουσιν ταῖς ὑμετέραις γνώσεσι. καὶ τοῦτ᾽ εἰκότως: ὥσπερ γάρ, ὅταν ἄρχωσι, τοὺς ἰδιώτας οἴονται δεῖν αὑτοῖς πειθαρχεῖν, ὡσαύτως, ὅταν αὐτοὶ ἰδιῶται γένωνται πάλιν, τοῖς τῆς πόλεως ἄρχουσι νόμοις δικαίως ἂν ἀκολουθοῖεν.
[5] For on the one hand, whenever any officials have been rejected by vote, they instantly cease to hold office and are stripped of their official crowns; and on the other hand, all the judicial archons who are disqualified for promotion to the Areopagus forbear to force their way in and submit humbly to your decision. And this is only reasonable; for just as they believe that private citizens ought to obey them when they are rulers, so when they in their turn descend to the rank of private citizens, they ought to submit to the laws, which are the real rulers of the State.
[6] ἔτι τοίνυν οἱ πολιτευόμενοι πάντες, ἐκ τῶν παλαιῶν εἰ βούλεσθ᾽ ἀρξάμενοι χρόνων θεωρεῖν, ὡσαύτως φαίνονται εἴκοντες τοῖς ὑμετέροις δικαίοις. Ἀριστείδην μέν γέ φασιν ὑπὸ τῶν προγόνων μετασταθέντ᾽ ἐν Αἰγίνῃ διατρίβειν, ἕως ὁ δῆμος αὐτὸν κατεδέξατο, Μιλτιάδην δὲ καὶ Περικλέα ὀφλόντας, τὸν μὲν τριάκοντα, τὸν δὲ πεντήκοντα τάλαντα, ἐκτείσαντας οὕτω δημηγορεῖν.
[6] Again, all the statesmen, if you will pass them in review from the earliest times, can be proved to have submitted in the same way to your constitutional decrees. It is said that Aristeides was banished by your ancestors and lived in Aegina till the people recalled him, and that Miltiades and Pericles, being fined thirty and fifty talents respectively, did not try to harangue the people until they had paid in full.
[7] ὃ καὶ δεινότατον ἂν εἴη συμβαῖνον, τοὺς μὲν πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ποιήσαντας ὑμᾶς ἀγαθὰ μὴ τυχεῖν ταύτης τῆς δωρειᾶς, ὥστε παρὰ τοὺς νόμους τι τοὺς κειμένους ὑμῖν πρᾶξαι, τὸν δὲ μηδὲν μὲν ἀγαθὸν εἰργασμένον, ὑπερπληθῆ δ᾽ ἐξημαρτηκότα, τοῦτον οὕτω προχείρως φαίνεσθαι καὶ παρὰ τὸ συμφέρον καὶ τὸ δίκαιον ἐξουσίαν παρ᾽ ὑμῶν τοῦ παρανομεῖν εἰληφότα. καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν περὶ τῶν παλαιῶν; ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐφ᾽ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἀναλογίσασθε, εἴ τις οὕτως ἀναιδὴς γέγονεν πώποτε: οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν εὕροιτ�
�, εἰ βουλήσεσθ᾽ ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάζειν.
[7] It would be a most scandalous state of things if, while these men, to whom you were indebted for so many services, were not allowed to do anything contrary to your established laws, this man, who has never done you a single good service, but has committed a prodigious number of offences, should be found to have received at your hands, so readily and so contrary to justice and expediency, the right to transgress the laws. And why appeal to ancient history? Count up the men of your own days and see if anyone has ever been found so shameless. A careful scrutiny will not reveal a single instance.
[8] χωρὶς τοίνυν τούτων, ὅταν τις ψηφίσματος ἢ νόμου γραφὴν ἀπενέγκῃ πρὸς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας, ὁ μὲν νόμος ἢ τὸ ψήφισμ᾽ ἄκυρόν ἐστιν, ὁ δὲ θεὶς ἢ γράψας οὐδὲν ἀναισχυντεῖ βιαζόμενος, ἀλλ᾽ ὅ τι ἂν ὑμεῖς ψηφίσησθε, τούτῳ ἐμμένει, κἂν ᾖ πρῶτος τῷ δύνασθαι λέγειν ἢ πράττειν ἐν ὑμῖν. καίτοι πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον, ἃ μὲν ἅπαντες ὑμεῖς συλλεγέντες ἐψηφίσασθε, διὰ τοὺς νόμους ἄκυρ᾽ εἶναι, τὴν δ᾽ Ἀριστογείτονος βούλησιν εἰς τὸ παρανομεῖν κυριωτέραν οἴεσθαι δεῖν τῶν νόμων αὐτῶν καταστῆσαι;