by Demosthenes
[50] I fancy, men of the jury, that, when he is at a loss for anything else to say, he will undertake to speak evil of me, and will try to bring me into disrepute, rehearsing at length how I was reared and educated and married in my father’s house, while he had no share in any of these advantages. But I bid you bear in mind that my mother died leaving me a child, so that the interest of her marriage-portion was sufficient to rear and educate me;
[51] ἡ δὲ τούτων μήτηρ Πλαγγών, τρέφουσα μεθ᾽ αὑτῆς τούτους καὶ θεραπαίνας συχνὰς καὶ αὐτὴ πολυτελῶς ζῶσα, καὶ εἰς ταῦτα τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμὸν χορηγὸν ἑαυτῇ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἔχουσα καὶ πολλὰ δαπανᾶν ἀναγκάζουσα, οὐκ ἴσα δήπου τῆς ἐκείνου οὐσίας ἐμοὶ ἀνήλωκεν, ὥστε πολὺ μᾶλλον προσήκει ἐμὲ τούτοις ἐγκαλεῖν ἢ αὐτὸν ἐγκλήματ᾽ ἔχειν ὑπὸ τούτων.
[51] whereas Plangon, the mother of these men, maintained them and a host of female servants in her own house, and herself lived lavishly, having my father ready, because of his passion for her, to supply the funds for all this, and forcing him to heavy expenditures. She therefore spent far more of his property than I did, so that I might with far better reason bring charges against them than they against me.
[52] ὃς πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις εἴκοσι μὲν μνᾶς δανεισάμενος μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς παρὰ Βλεπαίου τοῦ τραπεζίτου εἰς ὠνήν τινα μετάλλων, ἐπειδὴ ὁ πατὴρ ἐτελεύτησεν, τὰ μὲν μέταλλα πρὸς τούτους ἐνειμάμην, τὸ δάνειον δ᾽ αὐτὸς εἰσεπράχθην, ἑτέρας δὲ χιλίας εἰς τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ταφὴν παρὰ Λυσιστράτου Θορικίου δανεισάμενος ἰδίᾳ ἐκτέτεικα. ὡς δ᾽ ἀληθῆ καὶ ταῦτα λέγω, ἐκ τούτων τῶν μαρτυριῶν εἴσεσθε.”Μαρτυρίαι”
[52] For, besides all the rest, in connection with my father I borrowed twenty minae from Blepaeus the banker, for the purchase of some mining properties, and after my father’s death I shared the mines with these men, but had to pay the loan myself. I also borrowed another thousand drachmae from Lysistratus of Thoricus for my father’s funeral, and have personally paid the debt.
That I am speaking the truth on these matters also you will learn from these depositions.” Depositions”
[53] τοσαῦτα τοίνυν ἐμοῦ ἐλαττουμένου φανερῶς, οὑτοσὶ νῦν σχετλιάζων καὶ δεινοπαθῶν καὶ τὴν προῖκά με τῆς μητρὸς ἀποστερήσει; ἀλλ᾽ ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πρὸς Διὸς καὶ θεῶν, μὴ καταπλαγῆτε ὑπὸ τῆς κραυγῆς τῆς τούτου: πολὺς γάρ, πολὺς καὶ τολμηρός ἐστιν ἅνθρωπος, καὶ οὕτως κακοῦργος, ὥστε περὶ ὧν ἂν μὴ ἔχῃ μαρτυρίας παρασχέσθαι, ταῦτα φήσει ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὃ πάντες ποιοῦσιν οἱ μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγοντες.
[53] When I am thus so clearly at a disadvantage in so many respects, shall this man now by making a great to-do and outcry about his wrongs, rob me also of my mother’s marriage-portion? But do not, men of the jury, I beg you by Zeus and the Gods, do not be overwhelmed by the noise he makes. He is a violent fellow, violent and ready to go to all lengths; and he is so unscrupulous that, if he has no witnesses to prove a fact, he will say that it is well known to you, men of the jury, — a trick to which all those have recourse who have no just argument to advance.
[54] ὑμεῖς οὖν, ἐάν τι τοιοῦτον τεχνάζῃ, μὴ ἐπιτρέπετε αὐτῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξελέγχετε, καὶ ὅ τι ἂν μὴ ἕκαστος ὑμῶν εἰδῇ, μηδὲ τὸν πλησίον δοκιμαζέτω εἰδέναι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀξιούτω τοῦτον ἀποδεικνύναι σαφῶς ὑπὲρ ὧν ἂν λέγῃ, καὶ μὴ ὑμᾶς φάσκοντα εἰδέναι, περὶ ὧν αὐτὸς οὐδὲν ἕξει εἰπεῖν δίκαιον, ἀποδιδράσκειν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐγώ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πάντων ὑμῶν εἰδότων ὃν τρόπον ἀναγκασθεὶς ὁ πατήρ μου ἐποιήσατο τούτους, οὐδὲν ἧττον δικάζομαι νῦν αὐτοῖς καὶ μάρτυρας ὑποδίκους παρέσχημαι.
[54] If he shall try any such trick, do not tolerate it; expose him. What anyone of you does not know, let his deem that his neighbor does not know either. Let him demand that Boeotus prove clearly whatever statements he may make, and not shirk the truth by declaring that you know things about which he will have no just argument to advance; since I, on my part, men of the jury, although you all know the way in which my father was compelled to adopt these men, am none the less suing them at law, and have brought forward witnesses responsible for their testimony.
[55] καίτοι οὐκ ἴσος γ᾽ ἡμῖν ἐστιν ὁ κίνδυνος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ μέν, ἐὰν ὑμεῖς νυνὶ ὑπὸ τούτων ἐξαπατηθῆτε, οὐκ ἐξέσται ἔτι δικάσασθαι περὶ τῆς προικός: τούτοις δ᾽, εἰ φασὶν ἀδίκως ἀποδιαιτῆσαί μου τὸν διαιτητὴν τὰς δίκας, καὶ τότ᾽ ἐξῆν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐφεῖναι καὶ νῦν ἐγγενήσεται πάλιν, ἐὰν βούλωνται, παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ λαβεῖν ἐν ὑμῖν τὸ δίκαιον.
[55] And yet the risk is not the same for both of us. On my part, if you are now led astray by these men, it will not be open to me to bring suit again for the marriage-portion; but they, if they claim that the arbitrator was wrong in giving his decision in my favor, as at that time they had the right to appeal to your court, so now again will be permitted, if they so wish, to recover their rights from me in your court.
[56] καὶ ἐγὼ μέν, ἐάν, ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, ὑμεῖς με ἐγκαταλίπητε, οὐχ ἕξω ὁπόθεν προῖκα ἐπιδῶ τῇ θυγατρί, ἧς τῇ μὲν φύσει πατήρ εἰμι, τὴν δ᾽ ἡλικίαν αὐτῆς εἰ ἴδοιτε, οὐκ ἂν θυγατέρα μου ἀλλ᾽ ἀδελφὴν εἶναι αὐτὴν νομίσαιτε: οὗτοι δέ, ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μοι βοηθήσητε, οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἀποτείσουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας τὰ ἐμὰ ἐμοὶ ἀποδώσουσιν, ἣν ἐξειλόμεθα μὲν κοινῇ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἔκτεισιν τῆς προικός, οἰκοῦντες δὲ αὐτὴν οὗτοι μόνοι διατελοῦσιν.
[56] I, if you leave me in the lurch, which I pray may not happen, shall have no means of giving a dowry to my daughter, whose own father I am, although, if you see her size, you would deem she was not my daughter but my sister; but these men, if you come to my aid, will pay nothing out of their own property, but will restore to me what is my own from the house which by common agreement we reserved for the settlement of the marriage-portion, but in which these men have been living by themselves.
[57] οὔτε γὰρ ἁρμόττει μοι θυγατέρα ἐπίγαμον ἔχοντι οἰκεῖν μετὰ τοιούτων, οἳ οὐ μόνον αὐτοὶ ἀσελγῶς ζῶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁμοίους αὑτοῖς ἑτέρους πολλοὺς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἰσάγουσιν, οὔτε μὰ τὸν Δία ἀσφαλὲς εἶναί μοι νομίζω συζῆν τούτοις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ: ὅπου γὰρ οὕτω φανερῶς μοι ἐπιβουλεύσαντες εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον ἀγῶνα κατ�
�σκεύασαν, τίνος ἂν οὗτοι ἢ φαρμακείας ἢ ἄλλης κακουργίας τοιαύτης ὑμῖν ἀποσχέσθαι δοκοῦσιν;
[57] For it is not fitting that I, having a daughter of marriageable age, should dwell with men of their sort, who are not only themselves living licentious lives, but who also bring into the house a host of others of like stamp with themselves; nay, by Zeus, I do not deem it safe to live in the same house with them myself. When they have thus openly laid a plot, and got up a charge against me before the Areopagus, do you suppose there is any poisoning or any other such villainy from which they would abstain?
[58] οἵ γε πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις （ἀρτίως γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο ἀνεμνήσθην） εἰς τοσαύτην ὑπερβολὴν τόλμης ἥκουσιν, ὥστε καὶ Κρίτωνος μαρτυρίαν ἐνεβάλοντο, ὡς ἐώνηται τὸ τρίτον παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ μέρος τῆς οἰκίας: ἥν, ὅτι ψευδής ἐστι, ῥᾳδίως εἴσεσθε. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οὐχ οὕτω μετρίως ζῇ Κρίτων ὥστε παρ᾽ ἑτέρου οἰκίαν ὠνεῖσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ οὕτως πολυτελῶς καὶ ἀσώτως ὥστε πρὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀναλίσκειν: ἔπειτα οὐ μαρτυρεῖ τούτῳ νῦν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ ἀντιδικεῖ: τίς γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι μάρτυρες μέν εἰσιν οὗτοι, οἷς μὴ μέτεστι τοῦ πράγματος περὶ οὗ ἡ δίκη ἐστίν, ἀντίδικοι δ᾽ οἱ κοινωνοῦντες τῶν πραγμάτων περὶ ὧν ἂν δικάζηταί τις αὐτοῖς; ὃ Κρίτωνι συμβέβηκεν.
[58] Besides all the rest （for this has occurred to me just now）, they have come to such a pitch of audacity as to have put in a deposition of Crito, alleging that he has purchased from me my one-third share in the house. Now that this is false you will easily perceive; for in the first place Crito does not live so economically as to be able to purchase a house from someone else, but so extravagantly and licentiously that he spends the property of others as well as his own. Again, he is not now this man’s witness, but rather my adversary. For who among you is ignorant that witnesses are those who have no interest in the matter at issue in the suit; while adversaries are those who are involved in the matters in regard to which one goes to law with them? The latter is the case with Crito.
[59] ἔτι δὲ τοσούτων ὑμῶν ὄντων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων πολλῶν, ἄλλος μὲν οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ παραγενέσθαι μεμαρτύρηκε, Τιμοκράτης δὲ μόνος, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ μηχανῆς, μαρτυρεῖ μὲν δεκάτην ἑστιᾶσαι τούτῳ τὸν ἐμὸν πατέρα, ἡλικιώτης ὢν τοῦ νυνὶ φεύγοντος τὴν δίκην, φησὶν δὲ πάντα ἁπλῶς εἰδέναι ἃ δὴ τούτοις συμφέρει, μαρτυρεῖ δὲ νυνὶ μόνος Κρίτωνι παρεῖναι, ὅτε παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐωνεῖτο. ὃ τίς ἂν ὑμῶν πιστεύσειεν; ἄλλως τε καὶ ὅτι οὐ περὶ τῆς οἰκίας, πότερα ἐώνηται Κρίτων αὐτὴν ἢ μή, νυνὶ δικάζομαι, ἀλλὰ περὶ προικός, ἣν ἐνεγκαμένης τῆς μητρὸς οἱ νόμοι κελεύουσιν ἐμὲ κομίζεσθαι.
[59] And furthermore, out of all your number, men of the jury, out of all the host of the rest of the Athenians, not a single other person has testified that he was present at this sale; Timocrates alone, like a god from the machine, testified that my father gave a feast to Boeotus on the tenth day （and Timocrates is of the same age as the present defendant!）. Timocrates declares that he has perfect knowledge of all that is for the advantage of these men; and now on his own sole authority he testifies that he was present with Crito when he bought the house from me. Who among you will believe this? Not one, of course; especially since I am not now suing about the house to determine whether Crito bought it or not, but about the marriage-portion which, seeing that my mother brought it with her, the laws declare that I should recover.
[60] ὥστε καθάπερ ὑμῖν ἐγὼ καὶ ἐκ μαρτύρων πολλῶν καὶ ἐκ τεκμηρίων ἐπέδειξα, ἐπενεγκαμένην μὲν τὴν μητέρα μου τάλαντον προῖκα, οὐ κομισάμενον δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἐμὲ ἐκ τῆς πατρῴας οὐσίας, ἐξαίρετον δ᾽ ἡμῖν γενομένην τὴν οἰκίαν εἰς ταῦτα, οὕτω κελεύετε καὶ τοῦτον ἐπιδεικνύναι ὑμῖν, ἢ ὡς οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἢ ὡς οὐ προσήκει μοι κομίσασθαι τὴν προῖκα: περὶ τούτων γὰρ ὑμεῖς νυνὶ τὴν ψῆφον οἴσετε.
[60] Therefore, as I have proved to you by an abundance of testimony and of circumstantial evidence that my mother did bring a talent as her dowry; that I have not recovered it from my father’s estate; and that the house was set apart by us to secure its payment; so do you demand of Boeotus that he prove to you, either that I am not speaking the truth, or that it is not right that I should recover the marriage-portion; for these are the questions regarding which you are now going to cast your votes.
[61] ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἔχων περὶ ὧν φεύγει τὴν δίκην μήτε μάρτυρας ἀξιόχρεως παρασχέσθαι μήτ᾽ ἄλλο πιστὸν μηδέν, ἑτέρους παρεμβάλλῃ λόγους κακουργῶν, καὶ βοᾷ καὶ σχετλιάζῃ μηδὲν πρὸς τὸ πρᾶγμα, πρὸς Διὸς καὶ θεῶν μὴ ἐπιτρέπετε αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ βοηθεῖτέ μοι τὰ δίκαια, ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν εἰρημένων ἐνθυμούμενοι, ὅτι πολὺ δικαιότερόν ἐστι τὴν τῆς ἐμῆς μητρὸς προῖκα τῇ ἐμῇ θυγατρὶ εἰς ἔκδοσιν ὑμᾶς ψηφίσασθαι, ἢ Πλαγγόνα καὶ τούτους πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν εἰς τὴν προῖκα ἐξαίρετον γενομένην ἀφελέσθαι ἡμᾶς παρὰ πάντα τὰ δίκαια.
[61] But if, having no trustworthy witnesses, nor any other proofs regarding the matters upon which he is being sued, he shall try unscrupulously to introduce irrelevant arguments, and if he indulges in outcries and protestations which have nothing to do with the matter, I adjure you by Zeus and the Gods, do not tolerate it; nay, render me the help that is my due, remembering in the light of all that I have urged that it is far more just that you should by your verdict give my mother’s portion to my daughter for her dowry, than that Plangon and these men, in addition to all the rest that they have done, should, in utter defiance of justice, rob me also of my house, which was set apart to secure the payment of the marriage-portion.
πρὸς Σπουδίαν ὑπὲρ Προικός — AGAINST SPUDIAS
[1] ἀδελφὰς ἔχομεν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, γυναῖκας ἐγὼ καὶ Σπουδίας οὑτοσί, Πολυεύκτου θυγατέρας. ἄπαιδος δ᾽ ἐκείνου τελευτήσαντος ἀρρένων παίδων, ἀναγκάζομαι πρὸς τουτονὶ περὶ τῶν καταλειφθέντων δικάζεσθαι. καὶ εἰ μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, μὴ πᾶσαν σπουδὴν καὶ προθυμίαν ἐποιησάμην βουλόμενος διαλύεσθαι καὶ τοῖς φίλοις ἐπιτρέπειν, ἐμαυτὸν ἂν ᾐτιώμην, εἰ μᾶλλον ᾑρούμην δίκας καὶ πράγματ᾽ ἔχειν ἢ μίκρ᾽ ἐλαττωθεὶς ἀνέχεσθαι:
[1] This man Spudias and I, men of the jury, are married to two sisters, daughters of Polyeuctus. Polyeuctus having died without
male issue, I am forced to go to law with the defendant in regard to the property which has been left. And if, men of the jury, I had not shown all zeal and eagerness in my desire to find a settlement and to submit the matters at issue to our friends, I should have blamed myself for not choosing to suffer a trifling loss rather than engage in a troublesome lawsuit.
[2] νῦν δ᾽ ὅσῳ πραότερον ἐγὼ καὶ φιλανθρωπότερον τούτῳ διελεγόμην, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλόν μου κατεφρόνει. καὶ νῦν κινδυνεύω μὲν οὐδὲν ὁμοίως τούτῳ πρὸς τουτονὶ τὸν ἀγῶν᾽ ἔχειν, ἀλλ᾽ οὗτος μὲν ῥᾳδίως φέρει πολλάκις εἰθισμένος ἐνταῦθ᾽ εἰς ὑμᾶς παριέναι, ἐγὼ δ᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτο φοβοῦμαι, μὴ διὰ τὴν ἀπειρίαν οὐ δυνηθῶ δηλῶσαι περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ὑμῖν: ὅμως δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, προσέχετε τὸν νοῦν.