Delphi Complete Works of Demosthenes

by Demosthenes

  [6] You have heard from the witnesses the manner in which our father enrolled us; I shall now show to you that, as the defendant did not choose to abide by this enrollment, it was both just and necessary for me to bring suit. For I am surely not so stupid nor unreasonable a person as to have agreed to take only a third of my father’s estate （though the whole of it was coming to me）, seeing that my father had adopted these men, and to be content with that, and then to engage in a quarrel with my kin about a name, were it not that for me to change mine would bring great dishonor and a reputation for cowardice, while for my opponent to have the same name as myself was on many accounts impossible.

  [7] πρῶτον μὲν γάρ, εἰ δεῖ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν ἰδίων εἰπεῖν πρότερον, τίν᾽ ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις ἐπιτάξει τρόπον, ἄν τι δέῃ ποιεῖν; οἴσουσι νὴ Δί᾽ οἱ φυλέται τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους. οὐκοῦν Μαντίθεον Μαντίου Θορίκιον οἴσουσιν, ἐὰν χορηγὸν ἢ γυμνασίαρχον ἢ ἑστιάτορ᾽ ἢ ἐάν τι τῶν ἄλλων φέρωσιν. τῷ δῆλον οὖν ἔσται πότερον σὲ φέρουσιν ἢ ἐμέ; σὺ μὲν γὰρ φήσεις ἐμέ, ἐγὼ δὲ σέ.

  [7] To begin with （assuming that it is best to mention public matters before private）, in what way will the state give its command to us, if any duty is to be performed? The members of the tribe will, of course, nominate us in the same way as they nominate other people. Well then; they will bring forward the name of Mantitheus, son of Mantias, of Thoricus if they are nominating one for choregus or gymnasiarch or feaster of the tribe or for any other office. By what, then, will it be made clear whether they are nominating you or me?

  [8] καὶ δὴ καλεῖ μετὰ τοῦθ᾽ ὁ ἄρχων ἢ πρὸς ὅντιν᾽ ἂν ᾖ ἡ δίκη. οὐχ ὑπακούομεν, οὐ λῃτουργοῦμεν. πότερος ταῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων ἔσται ζημίαις ἔνοχος; τίνα δ᾽ οἱ στρατηγοὶ τρόπον ἐγγράψουσιν, ἂν εἰς συμμορίαν ἐγγράφωσιν, ἢ ἂν τριήραρχον καθιστῶσιν; ἢ ἂν στρατεία τις ᾖ, τῷ δῆλον ἔσται πότερός ἐσθ᾽ ὁ κατειλεγμένος;

  [8] You will say it is I; I shall say it is you. Well, suppose that after this the Archon summons us, or any other magistrate, before whom the case is called. We do not obey the summons; we do not undertake the service. Which of us is liable to the penalties provided by law? And in what manner will the generals enter our names, if they are listing names for a tax-company? or if they are appointing a trierarch? Or, if there be a military expedition, how will it be made clear which of us is on the muster-roll?

  [9] τί δ᾽, ἂν ἄλλη τις ἀρχὴ καθιστῇ λῃτουργεῖν, οἷον ἄρχων, βασιλεύς, ἀθλοθέται, τί σημεῖον ἔσται πότερον καθιστᾶσιν; προσπαραγράψουσι νὴ Δία τὸν ἐκ Πλαγγόνος, ἂν σὲ ἐγγράφωσιν, ἂν δ᾽ ἐμέ, τῆς ἐμῆς μητρὸς τοὔνομα. καὶ τίς ἤκουσε πώποτε, ἢ κατὰ ποῖον νόμον προσπαραγράφοιτ᾽ ἂν τοῦτο τὸ παράγραμμα ἢ ἄλλο τι πλὴν ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ δῆμος; ὧν ὄντων ἀμφοῖν τῶν αὐτῶν πολλὴ ταραχὴ συμβαίνει.

  [9] Or again, if any other magistrate, the Archon, the King-Archon, the Stewards of the Games, makes an appointment for some public service, what sign will there be to indicate which one of us they are appointing? Are they in heaven’s name to add the designation “son of Plangon,’’ if they are entering your name, or add the name of my mother if they are entering mine? But who ever heard of such a thing? or by what law could this special designation be appended, or anything else, except the name of the father and the deme? And seeing that both of these are the same great confusion must result.

  [10] φέρε, εἰ δὲ κριτὴς καλοῖτο Μαντίθεος Μαντίου Θορίκιος, τί ἂν ποιοῖμεν; ἢ βαδίζοιμεν ἂν ἄμφω; τῷ γὰρ ἔσται δῆλον πότερον σὲ κέκληκεν ἢ ἐμέ; πρὸς Διός, ἂν δ᾽ ἀρχὴν ἡντινοῦν ἡ πόλις κληροῖ, οἷον βουλῆς, θεσμοθέτου, τῶν ἄλλων, τῷ δῆλος ὁ λαχὼν ἡμῶν ἔσται; πλὴν εἰ σημεῖον, ὥσπερ ἂν ἄλλῳ τινί, τῷ χαλκίῳ προσέσται: καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦθ᾽ ὁποτέρου ἐστὶν οἱ πολλοὶ γνώσονται. οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν ἑαυτόν, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν φήσω τὸν εἰληχότ᾽ εἶναι.

  [10] Again, suppose Mantitheus, son of Mantias, of Thoricus should be summoned as judge, what should we do? Should we go, both of us? For how is it to be clear whether he has summoned you or me? Or, by Zeus, suppose the state is appointing to any office by lot, for example that of Senator, that of Thesmothet, or any of the rest; how will it be clear which one of us has been appointed? — unless some mark shall be attached to the tablet, as there might be to anything else; and even then people will not know to which of us two it belongs. Well then, he will say that he has been appointed, and I shall say that I have.

  [11] λοιπὸν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον ἡμᾶς εἰσιέναι. οὐκοῦν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ τούτων δικαστήριον ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις καθιεῖ, καὶ τοῦ μὲν κοινοῦ καὶ ἴσου, τοῦ τὸν λαχόντ᾽ ἄρχειν, ἀποστερησόμεθα, ἀλλήλους δὲ πλυνοῦμεν, καὶ ὁ τῷ λόγῳ κρατήσας ἄρξει. καὶ πότερ᾽ ἂν βελτίους εἴημεν τῶν ὑπαρχουσῶν δυσκολιῶν ἀπαλλαττόμενοι, ἢ καινὰς ἔχθρας καὶ βλασφημίας ποιούμενοι; ἃς πᾶσ᾽ ἀνάγκη συμβαίνειν, ὅταν ἀρχῆς ἤ τινος ἄλλου πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀμφισβητῶμεν.

  [11] The only course left is for us to go into court. So the city will order a court to be set up for each of the cases; and we shall be cheated of the fair and equal right, that the one chosen by lot shall hold office. Then we shall berate each other, and he who shall prevail by his words will hold office. And in which case should we be better off — by trying to rid ourselves of our existing resentments, or by arousing fresh animosities and recriminations? For these must of necessity result, when we wrangle with one another about an office or anything else.

  [12] τί δ᾽, ἂν ἄρα （δεῖ γὰρ ἅπαντα ἡμᾶς ἐξετάσαι） ἅτερος ἡμῶν πείσας τὸν ἕτερον, ἐὰν λάχῃ, παραδοῦναι αὑτῷ τὴν ἀρχήν, οὕτω κληρῶται, τὸ δυοῖν πινακίοιν τὸν ἕνα κληροῦσθαι τί ἄλλ᾽ ἐστίν; εἶτ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ᾧ θάνατον ζημίαν ὁ νόμος λέγει, τοῦθ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀδεῶς ἐξέσται πράττειν; ‘πάνυ γε: οὐ γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸ ποιήσαιμεν.’ οἶδα κἀγώ, τὸ γοῦν κατ᾽ ἐμέ: ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ αἰτίαν τοιαύτης ζημίας ἐνίους ἔχειν καλόν, ἐξὸν μή.

  [12] But suppose again （for we must examine every phase of the matter）, one or the other of us persuades the other, in case he is chosen, to yield the office to him, and so obtains the appointment? What is this but one man drawing lots with two tablets? Shall it, then, be permitted us to do with impunity a thing for which the law appoints the penalty of death? “Why, certainly, for we should not do it,” you may say. I know that, at least so far as I am concerned; but it is not right that some persons should even be liable to this penalty, when they need not be.

  [13] εἶεν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἡ πόλις βλάπτεται: ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἰδίᾳ τί; θ
εάσασθ᾽ ἡλίκα, καὶ σκοπεῖτ᾽ ἄν τι δοκῶ λέγειν: πολὺ γὰρ χαλεπώτερα ταῦθ᾽ ὧν ἀκηκόατ᾽ ἐστίν. ὁρᾶτε μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντες αὐτὸν χρώμενον, ἕως μὲν ἔζη, Μενεκλεῖ καὶ τοῖς περὶ ἐκεῖνον ἀνθρώποις, νῦν δ᾽ ἑτέροις ἐκείνου βελτίοσιν οὐδέν, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐζηλωκότα καὶ δεινὸν δοκεῖν εἶναι βουλόμενον: καὶ νὴ Δί᾽ ἴσως ἔστιν.

  [13] Very well; but in these cases it is the state that is injured: what harm does it do me individually? Observe in what serious ways I am harmed, and consider if there be anything in what I say. Indeed the wrong done to me is far more grievous than what you have heard. You all know, for instance, that he was intimate with Menecles during his lifetime, and with his crowd, and that he now associates with others no better than Menecles, and that he has cherished the same ambitions, and desires to be thought a clever fellow; and, by Zeus, I dare say he is.

  [14] ἂν οὖν προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου τῶν αὐτῶν τι ποιεῖν τούτοις ἐπιχειρῇ （ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα γραφαί, φάσεις, ἐνδείξεις, ἀπαγωγαί）, εἶτ᾽ ἐπὶ τούτων τινί （πολλὰ γάρ ἐστι τἀνθρώπινα, καὶ τοὺς πάνυ δεινοὺς ἑκάστοτε, ὅταν πλεονάζωσιν, ἐπίστασθ᾽ ὑμεῖς κοσμίους ποιεῖν） ὄφλῃ τῷ δημοσίῳ, τί μᾶλλον οὗτος ἐγγεγραμμένος ἔσται ἐμοῦ;

  [14] Now, if, as time goes on, he undertakes to set on foot any of the same practices as these men （these are indictments, presentments for contraband, informations, arrests） and on the basis of one of these he is condemned to pay a fine to the state （for there are many vicissitudes in mortal affairs, and you know well how to keep in due bounds even the most clever people on any occasion when they overreach themselves）, why will his name be entered on the record any more than mine?

  [15] ὅτι νὴ Δί᾽ εἴσονται πάντες πότερός ποτ᾽ ὦφλεν. καλῶς. ἂν δέ, ὃ τυχὸν γένοιτ᾽ ἄν, χρόνος διέλθῃ καὶ μὴ ἐκτεισθῇ τὸ ὄφλημα, τί μᾶλλον οἱ τούτου παῖδες ἔσονται τῶν ἐμῶν ἐγγεγραμμένοι, ὅταν τοὔνομα καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἡ φυλὴ καὶ πάντ᾽ ᾖ ταὐτά; τί δ᾽, εἴ τις δίκην ἐξούλης αὐτῷ λαχὼν μηδὲν ἐμοὶ φαίη πρὸς αὑτὸν εἶναι, κυρίαν δὲ ποιησάμενος ἐγγράψαι, τί μᾶλλον ἂν εἴη τοῦτον ἢ ἔμ᾽ ἐγγεγραφώς; τί δ᾽, εἴ τινας εἰσφορὰς μὴ θείη;

  [15] “Because,” it may be said, “everybody will know which of us two was fined.” Very good; but suppose （what might very well happen） that time passes and the debt is not paid; why is there any greater likelihood that the defendant’s children will be entered on the list of state debtors any more than my own when the name of the father and the tribe, and all else are identical? Suppose, now, somebody should bring a suit for ejectment against him, and should state that he had nothing to do with me, but, having had the writ registered, should enter the name, why will the name he has entered be that of my opponent any more than my own? What if he fails to pay any of the property-taxes?

  [16] τί δ᾽, εἴ τις ἄλλη περὶ τοὔνομα γίγνοιτ᾽ ἢ λῆξις δίκης ἢ δόξ᾽ ὅλως ἀηδής; τίς εἴσεται τῶν πολλῶν πότερός ποθ᾽ οὗτός ἐστιν, δυοῖν Μαντιθέοιν ταὐτοῦ πατρὸς ὄντοιν; φέρε, εἰ δὲ δίκην ἀστρατείας φεύγοι, χορεύοι δ᾽ ὅταν στρατεύεσθαι δέῃ; καὶ γὰρ νῦν, ὅτ᾽ εἰς Ταμύνας παρῆλθον οἱ ἄλλοι, ἐνθάδε τοὺς Χοᾶς ἄγων ἀπελείφθη καὶ τοῖς Διονυσίοις καταμείνας ἐχόρευεν, ὡς ἅπαντες ἑωρᾶθ᾽ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες.

  [16] What if the name be involved in the filing of any other suit, or, in general, in any unpleasant scandal? Who, among people at large, will know which of the two it is, when there are two Mantitheuses having the same father? Suppose, again, that he should be prosecuted for evasion of military service, and should be serving as chorister when he ought to be abroad with the army — as, a while ago, when the rest went over to Tamynae, he was left behind here keeping the feast of Pitchers, and remained here and served in the chorus at the Dionysia, as all of you who were at home saw;

  [17] ἀπελθόντων δ᾽ ἐξ Εὐβοίας τῶν στρατιωτῶν λιποταξίου προσεκλήθη, κἀγὼ ταξιαρχῶν τῆς φυλῆς ἠναγκαζόμην κατὰ τοὐνόματος τοῦ ἐμαυτοῦ πατρόθεν δέχεσθαι τὴν λῆξιν: καὶ εἰ μισθὸς ἐπορίσθη τοῖς δικαστηρίοις, εἰσῆγον ἂν δῆλον ὅτι. ταῦτα δ᾽ εἰ μὴ σεσημασμένων ἤδη συνέβη τῶν ἐχίνων, κἂν μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρεσχόμην.

  [17] then, after the soldiers had come back from Euboea, he was summoned on a charge of desertion, and I, as taxiarch of our tribe, was compelled to receive the summons, since it was against my name, that of my father being added; and if pay had been available for the juries, I should certainly have had to bring the case into court. If this had not occurred after the boxes had already been sealed, I should have brought you witnesses to prove it.

  [18] εἶεν. εἰ δὲ ξενίας προσκληθείη; πολλοῖς δὲ προσκρούει, καὶ ὃν ἠναγκάσθη τρόπον ὁ πατὴρ ποιήσασθαι αὐτόν, οὐ λέληθεν. ὑμεῖς δ᾽, ὅτε μὲν τοῦτον οὐκ ἐποιεῖθ᾽ ὁ πατήρ, τὴν μητέρ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγειν ἡγεῖσθ᾽ αὐτοῦ: ἐπειδὰν δ᾽ οὕτως γεγονὼς οὗτος ὀχληρὸς ᾖ, πάλιν ὑμῖν ποτὲ δόξει ‘κεῖνος ἀληθῆ λέγειν. τί δ᾽, εἰ ψευδομαρτυρίων ἁλώσεσθαι προσδοκῶν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐρανίζει τούτοις τοῖς περὶ αὑτόν, ἐρήμην ἐάσειεν τελεσθῆναι τὴν δίκην; ἆρά γε μικρὰν ἡγεῖσθε βλάβην, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐν κοινωνίᾳ τὸν ἅπαντα βίον τῆς τούτου δόξης καὶ τῶν ἔργων εἶναι;

  [18] Well then; suppose he were summoned on the charge of being an alien. And he does make himself obnoxious to many, and the way in which my father was compelled to adopt him is no secret. You, on your part, while my father was refusing to acknowledge him, believed that his mother was telling the truth; but when, with his parentage thus established, he makes himself odious, you will some day on the contrary conclude that my father’s story was true. Again, what if my opponent, in the expectation of being convicted of perjury for the services which he freely grants his associates, should allow the suit to go by default? Do you think it would be a slight injury that I should be my whole life long a sharer of his reputation and his doings?

  [19] ὅτι τοίνυν οὐδ᾽ ἃ διεξελήλυθ᾽ ὑμῖν μάτην φοβοῦμαι, θεωρήσατε. οὗτος γὰρ ἤδη καὶ γραφάς τινας, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πέφευγεν, ἐφ᾽ αἷς οὐδὲν αἴτιος ὢν ἐγὼ συνδιαβάλλομαι, καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἠμφεσβήτει, ἣν ὑμεῖς ἔμ᾽ ἐχειροτονήσατε, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ δυσχερῆ διὰ τοὔνομα συμβέβηκεν ἡμῖν, ὧν, ἵν᾽ εἰδῆτε, ἑκάστων μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι.”Μάρτυρες”

  [19] Pray observe that my fear regarding the things I have set forth to you is not a vain one. He ha
s already, men of Athens, been defendant in certain suits, in which, although I have been wholly innocent, odium has attached to my name as well as his; and he has laid claim to the office to which you had elected me; and many unpleasant things have happened to me because of the name; regarding each one of which I will produce witnesses to inform you fully.” Witnesses”

  [20] ὁρᾶτ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὰ συμβαίνοντα, καὶ τὴν ἀηδίαν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πράγματος. εἰ τοίνυν μηδὲν ἀηδὲς ἦν ἐκ τούτων, μηδ᾽ ὅλως ἀδύνατον ταὐτὸν ἔχειν ὄνομ᾽ ἡμῖν συνέβαινεν, οὐ δήπου τοῦτον μὲν δίκαιον τὸ μέρος τῶν ἐμῶν χρημάτων ἔχειν κατὰ τὴν ποίησιν, ἣν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτὸν ἀναγκασθεὶς ἐποιήσατο, ἐμὲ δ᾽ ἀφαιρεθῆναι τοὔνομα, ὃ βουλόμενος καὶ οὐδ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἑνὸς βιασθεὶς ἔθετο. οὐκ ἔγωγ᾽ ἡγοῦμαι. ἵνα τοίνυν εἰδῆτε, ὅτι οὐ μόνον εἰς τοὺς φράτερας οὕτως, ὡς μεμαρτύρηται, ὁ πατὴρ τὴν ἐγγραφὴν ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν δεκάτην ἐμοὶ ποιῶν τοὔνομα τοῦτ᾽ ἔθετο, λαβέ μοι καὶ ταύτην τὴν μαρτυρίαν.”Μαρτυρία”