by Demosthenes
[58] “ἐπαγγέλλειν δὲ περὶ μὲν τῶν δούλων τῷ δεσπότῃ, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐλευθέρων τοῖς τὰ χρήματ᾽ ἔχουσιν: ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ᾖ χρήματα τῷ ἀποθανόντι, τοῖς προσήκουσι τοῦ ἀποθανόντος ἐπαγγέλλειν. ἐὰν δὲ τοῦ δημάρχου ἐπαγγείλαντος μὴ ἀναιρῶνται οἱ προσήκοντες, ὁ μὲν δήμαρχος ἀπομισθωσάτω ἀνελεῖν καὶ καταθάψαι καὶ καθῆραι τὸν δῆμον αὐθημερόν, ὅπως ἂν δύνηται ὀλιγίστου: ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀπομισθώσῃ, ὀφειλέτω χιλίας δραχμὰς τῷ δημοσίῳ. ὅ τι δ᾽ ἂν ἀναλώσῃ, διπλάσιον πραξάσθω παρὰ τῶν ὀφειλόντων: ἐὰν δὲ μὴ πράξῃ, αὐτὸς ὀφειλέτω τοῖς δημόταις. — τοὺς δὲ μὴ ἀποδιδόντας τὰς μισθώσεις τῶν τεμενῶν τῶν τῆς θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπωνύμων ἀτίμους εἶναι καὶ αὐτοὺς καὶ γένος καὶ κληρονόμους τοὺς τούτων, ἕως ἂν ἀποδῶσιν.”
[58] “In the case of slaves he shall give notice to their masters, and in the case of freemen to those possessing their property; and if the deceased had no property, the Demarch shall give notice to the relatives of the deceased. And if, after the Demarch shall have given notice, the relatives do not take up the body, the Demarch shall contract for the taking up and burial of the body, and for the purification of the deme on the same day at the lowest possible cost. And if he shall not so contract, he shall be bound to pay a thousand drachmae into the public treasury. And whatsoever he shall expend, he shall exact double the amount from those liable; and if he does not exact it he shall himself be under obligation to repay it to the demesmen. And those who do not pay the rents due for the lands of the goddess or of the gods and the eponymous heroes shall be disenfranchised, themselves and their family and their heirs, until they shall make payment.”
[59] ταῦτα πάντα, ὅσα οἱ νόμοι προστάττουσιν τοὺς προσήκοντας ποιεῖν, ἡμῖν προστάττουσιν καὶ ἀναγκάζουσιν ποιεῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί. Μακαρτάτῳ δὲ τουτῳὶ οὐδὲν διαλέγονται οὐδὲ Θεοπόμπῳ τῷ πατρὶ τῷ τούτου: οὐδὲ γάρ εἰσιν ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ Ἁγνίου τὸ παράπαν: πῶς ἂν οὖν τούτοις τι προστάττοιεν;
[59] All these duties which the laws lay upon relatives to perform, they lay upon us, and compel us to perform them, men of the jury. But to Macartatus here they say not a word, nor to Theopompus, his father; for they belong in no sense to the family of Hagnias. Why, then, should the laws lay any duties upon them?
[60] ἀλλ᾽ οὗτος, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πρὸς μὲν τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας, ἃς ἡμεῖς παρεχόμεθα, δίκαιον οὐδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἔχει λέγειν, ἀγανακτεῖ δὲ καὶ δεινά φησι πάσχειν, ὅτι τοῦ πατρὸς τετελευτηκότος ἀγωνίζεται. ἐκεῖνο δ᾽ οὐκ ἐνθυμεῖται Μακάρτατος, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἄνθρωπος ἦν θνητός, καὶ τετελεύτηκεν μετ᾽ ἄλλων πολλῶν καὶ νεωτέρων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων. ἀλλ᾽ εἰ Θεόπομπος τετελεύτηκεν ὁ τουτουὶ πατήρ, οἱ νόμοι οὐ τετελευτήκασιν, οὐδὲ τὸ δίκαιον τετελεύτηκεν, οὐδ᾽ οἱ δικασταὶ οἱ τὴν ψῆφον ἔχοντες.
[60] But the defendant, men of the jury, while he has no just argument whatever to make against the laws and the depositions which we produce, makes a show of indignation, and says he is being cruelly treated because, his father being dead, it falls to him to be defendant in this suit. But he does not bear in mind, men of the jury, that his father was a mortal man, and has met his end along with many others both younger and older than himself. Yet if Theopompus, the father of the defendant, is dead, the laws are not dead, nor is justice, nor are the jurymen with whom the verdict rests.
[61] ἔστιν δ᾽ ὁ νῦν ἀγὼν καὶ ἡ διαδικασία οὐκ εἴ τις ἕτερος ἑτέρου πρότερος ἢ ὕστερος τετελεύτηκεν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὴ προσήκει ἐξελαθῆναι ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ Ἁγνίου τοὺς οἰκείους τοὺς Ἁγνίου, ἀνεψιοὺς ὄντας καὶ ἀνεψιῶν παῖδας Ἁγνίᾳ πρὸς πατρός, ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Στρατίου οἴκου καὶ μηδὲν προσηκόντων ὥστε κληρονομεῖν τῶν Ἁγνίου, ἀλλὰ γένει ἀπωτέρω ὄντων. περὶ τούτου νῦν ἐσθ᾽ ὁ ἀγών.
[61] The present contest and the present trial are not to decide whether one man has died before or after another, but whether or not it is right that the kinsmen of Hagnias, cousins and children of cousins to Hagnias on his father’s side, should be driven out from the family of Hagnias by persons belonging to the family of Stratius, who have no shadow of right to inherit the estate of Hagnias, but are more remote of kin. This is the question at issue in the present trial.
[62] ἔτι δὲ σαφέστερον γνώσεσθε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ νόμου, ὅτι Σόλων ὁ νομοθέτης σπουδάζει περὶ τοὺς οἰκείους, καὶ οὐ μόνον δίδωσιν τὰ καταλειφθέντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ προστάγματα ποιεῖται τὰ δυσχερῆ ἅπαντα τοῖς προσήκουσι. λέγε τὸν νόμον.”Νόμος
τὸν ἀποθανόντα προτίθεσθαι ἔνδον, ὅπως ἂν βούληται. ἐκφέρειν δὲ τὸν ἀποθανόντα τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ᾗ ἂν προθῶνται, πρὶν ἥλιον ἐξέχειν. βαδίζειν δὲ τοὺς ἄνδρας πρόσθεν, ὅταν ἐκφέρωνται, τὰς δὲ γυναῖκας ὄπισθεν. γυναῖκα δὲ μὴ ἐξεῖναι εἰσιέναι εἰς τὰ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος μηδ᾽ ἀκολουθεῖν ἀποθανόντι, ὅταν εἰς τὰ σήματα ἄγηται, ἐντὸς ἑξήκοντ᾽ ἐτῶν γεγονυῖαν, πλὴν ὅσαι ἐντὸς ἀνεψιαδῶν εἰσι: μηδ᾽ εἰς τὰ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος εἰσιέναι, ἐπειδὰν ἐξενεχθῇ ὁ νέκυς, γυναῖκα μηδεμίαν πλὴν ὅσαι ἐντὸς ἀνεψιαδῶν εἰσίν.”
[62] You will see even more clearly, men of the jury, from the following law, that the lawgiver Solon is very much in earnest in regard to those who are relatives, and not only gives them the property left by the deceased, but also lays upon them all the burdensome obligations.
Read the law.”Law
The deceased shall be laid out in the house in any way one chooses, and they shall carry out the deceased on the day after that on which they lay him out, before the sun rises. And the men shall walk in front, when they carry him out, and the women behind. And no woman less than sixty years of age shall be permitted to enter the chamber of the deceased, or to follow the deceased when he is carried to the tomb, except those who are within the degree of children of cousins; nor shall any woman be permitted to enter the chamber of the deceased when the body is carried out, except those who are within the degree of children of cousins.”
[63] οὐκ ἐᾷ εἰσιέναι οὗ ἂν ᾖ ὁ τετελευτηκώς, οὐδεμίαν γυναῖκα ἄλλην ἢ τὰς προσηκούσας μέχρι ἀνεψιότητος, καὶ πρὸς τὸ μνῆμα ἀκολουθεῖν τὰς αὐτὰς ταύτας. Φυλομάχη �
�οίνυν ἡ Πολέμωνος ἀδελφὴ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ Ἁγνίου οὐκ ἀνεψιὰ ἦν Ἁγνίᾳ, ἀλλὰ τηθίς: ἀδελφὴ γὰρ ἦν Πολέμωνος τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ Ἁγνίου. Εὐβουλίδης δὲ ὁ υἱὸς ταύτης τῆς γυναικὸς ἀνεψιὸς ἦν πρὸς πατρὸς Ἁγνίᾳ, οὗ ἐστιν ὁ κλῆρος. τοῦ δ᾽ Εὐβουλίδου ἦν θυγάτηρ ἡ τούτου τοῦ παιδὸς μήτηρ.
[63] The law does not allow any woman except female relatives within the degree of cousinship to enter the chamber where the deceased lies, and it permits these same women to follow to the tomb. Now Phylomachê, the sister of Polemon, the father of Hagnias, was not cousin to Hagnias, but aunt; for she was sister to Polemon, the father of Hagnias. But Eubulides, the son of this woman, was cousin on his father’s side to Hagnias, whose inheritance is in question. And the mother of this boy here was the daughter of Eubulides.
[64] ταύτας κελεύει τὰς προσηκούσας καὶ παρεῖναι τῇ προθέσει τοῦ τετελευτηκότος καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμα ἀκολουθεῖν, οὐ τὴν Μακαρτάτου μητέρα οὐδὲ τὴν Θεοπόμπου γυναῖκα: οὐδὲν γὰρ προσήκουσα Ἁγνίᾳ αὕτη, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἑτέρας φυλῆς, Ἀκαμαντίδος, καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρου δήμου, Προσπαλτόθεν, ὥστε τὸ παράπαν οὐδ᾽ ᾔσθετο, ὅτε ἦν τετελευτηκὼς Ἁγνίας.
[64] These female relatives the law commanded to be present at the laying out of the deceased, and to follow to the tomb, not the mother of Macartatus nor the wife of Theopompus; for she was in no way related to Hagnias, but was of another tribe, the Acamantis, and of another deme, that of Prospalta, so that she was not even apprised in any way at the time Hagnias lay dead.
[65] ὑπεραναίσχυντον δὴ οὗτοι κατασκευάζουσι πρᾶγμα, ὡς ἄρα δεῖ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας τὰς ἡμετέρας τοῦ μὲν σώματος τοῦ Ἁγνίου, ὅτε ἐτετελευτήκει, κληρονόμους εἶναι καὶ ποιεῖν ἅπαντα τὰ νομιζόμενα, ὡς προσήκοντας καὶ γένει ὄντας ἐγγυτάτω, τὸν δὲ κλῆρον οἴεσθαι δεῖν ἔχειν τὸν Ἁγνίου τοῦ τετελευτηκότος Μακάρτατον, ἐκ τοῦ Στρατίου οἴκου ὄντα καὶ ἐκ τῆς Ἀπολήξιδος τοῦ Προσπαλτίου θυγατρός, Μακαρτάτου δὲ ἀδελφῆς. ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε δίκαιον οὔθ᾽ ὅσιον τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί.
[65] It is surely a most outrageous result that these men are scheming to bring about, that forsooth we and the women of our family should inherit the body of Hagnias, when he was dead, and should perform all the proper rites, as being relatives and nearest of kin, but that Macartatus should claim the right to possess the estate of the dead Hagnias, though he belongs to the house of Stratius and is descended from Apolexis, daughter of the Prospaltian and sister of Macartatus. But this is neither just nor righteous, men of the jury.
[66] ἀνάγνωθι δέ μοι τὰ ἐκ τῆς μαντείας τῆς ἐκ Δελφῶν κομισθείσης παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα αἴσθησθε ὅτι ταὐτὰ λέγει περὶ τῶν προσηκόντων τοῖς νόμοις τοῖς τοῦ Σόλωνος.”Μαντεία
ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ. ἐπερωτᾷ ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων περὶ τοῦ σημείου τοῦ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ γενομένου, ὅ τι ἂν δρῶσιν Ἀθηναίοις ἢ ὅτῳ θεῷ θύουσιν ἢ εὐχομένοις εἴη ἐπὶ τὸ ἄμεινον ἀπὸ τοῦ σημείου. συμφέρει Ἀθηναίοις περὶ τοῦ σημείου τοῦ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ γενομένου θύοντας καλλιερεῖν Διὶ ὑπάτῳ, Ἀθηνᾷ ὑπάτῃ, Ἡρακλεῖ, Ἀπόλλωνι σωτῆρι, καὶ ἀποπέμπειν Ἀμφιόνεσσι: περὶ τύχας ἀγαθᾶς Ἀπόλλωνι ἀγυιεῖ, Λατοῖ, Ἀρτέμιδι, καὶ τὰς ἀγυιὰς κνισῆν, καὶ κρατῆρας ἱστάμεν καὶ χορούς, καὶ στεφαναφορεῖν καττὰ πάτρια: θεοῖς Ὀλυμπίοις καὶ Ὀλυμπίαις πάντεσσι καὶ πάσαις, δεξιὰς καὶ ἀριστερὰς ἀνίσχοντας, μνασιδωρεῖν καττὰ πάτρια: ἥρῳ ἀρχαγέτᾳ, οὗ ἐπώνυμοί ἐστε, θύειν καὶ δωροτελεῖν καττὰ πάτρια: τοῖς ἀποφθιμένοις ἐν ἱκνουμένᾳ ἁμέρᾳ τελεῖν τοὺς ποθίκοντας καττὰ ἁγημένα.” unknown
[66] Now please read the words of the oracle brought from Delphi, from the shrine of the god, that you may see that it speaks in the same terms concerning relatives as do the laws of Solon. “Oracle
May good fortune attend you. The people of the Athenians make inquiry about the sign which has appeared in the heavens, asking what the Athenians should do, or to what god they should offer sacrifice or make prayer, in order that the issue of the sign may be for their advantage. It will be well for the Athenians with reference to the sign which has appeared in the heavens that they sacrifice with happy auspices to Zeus most high, to Athena most high, to Heracles, to Apollo the deliverer, and that they send due offerings to the Amphiones; that they sacrifice for good fortune to Apollo, god of the ways, to Leto and to Artemis, and that they make the streets steam with the savour of sacrifice; that they set forth bowls of wine and institute choruses and wreathe themselves with garlands after the custom of their fathers, in honor of all the Olympian gods and goddesses, lifting up the right hand and the left, and that they be mindful to bring gifts of thanksgiving after the custom of their fathers. And ye shall offer sacrificial gifts after the custom of your fathers to the hero-founder after whom ye are named; and for the dead their relatives shall make offerings on the appointed day according to established custom.” unknown
[67] ἀκούετε, ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι ταὐτὰ λέγει ὅ τε Σόλων ἐν τοῖς νόμοις καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ μαντείᾳ, κελεύων τοῖς κατοιχομένοις ποιεῖν τοὺς προσήκοντας ἐν ταῖς καθηκούσαις ἡμέραις. ἀλλὰ τούτων οὐδὲν ἔμελεν Θεοπόμπῳ οὐδὲ Μακαρτάτῳ τουτῳί, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μόνον, τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα ἑαυτοῖς ἔχειν, καὶ ἐγκαλεῖν ὅτι πολὺν χρόνον ἐχόντων ἑαυτῶν τὸν κλῆρον νυνὶ ἀγωνίζονται. ἐγὼ δὲ ᾤμην, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, προσήκειν τὸν τἀλλότρια ἀδίκως ἔχοντα οὐκ ἐγκαλεῖν, εἰ πλείω χρόνον εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ χάριν εἰδέναι, μὴ ἡμῖν, ἀλλὰ τῇ τύχῃ, ὅτι πολλαὶ καὶ ἀναγκαῖαι διατριβαὶ ἐγένοντο ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ χρόνῳ, ὥστε νῦν περὶ τούτων ἀγωνίζεσθαι.
[67] You hear, men of the jury, that Solon in the laws and the god in the oracle use the same language, bidding the relatives to perform rites for the departed on the proper days. But neither Theopompus nor the defendant Macartatus cared at all for these things; they cared only for this, that they might retain possession of what does not belong to them, and to complain that after having had the estate for so long, they must now defend their title to it. I should have thought, men of the jury, that one who unjustly keeps in his possession the property of another, should not make complaints if he has kept it in his possession longer than is right, but should be grateful, not to us, but to fortune, that so many unavoidable delays have occurred in the interim, so that he is not brought to trial until now.
[68] οὗτοι μὲν �
�ὖν τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν ἄνθρωποι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ μέλει αὐτοῖς οὐδὲν οὔτε τοῦ οἴκου ἐξερημουμένου τοῦ Ἁγνίου οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα παρανομοῦσιν: οἵτινές γε, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τί ἄν τις λέγοι περὶ τούτων; πολλὰ γὰρ ἂν εἴη λέγειν: ἓν δὲ ὃ παρανομώτατον καὶ μιαρώτατον διαπεπραγμένοι εἰσίν, καὶ μάλιστα ἐνδεικνύμενοι ὅτι οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς μέλει πλὴν τοῦ πλεονεκτεῖν:
[68] Our opponents, then, men of the jury, are men of this stamp; they care nothing either for the extinction of the house of Hagnias, or for all the rest of their lawless deeds; men, who, O Zeus and the gods — but why should one mention the other things relative to them? There would be much indeed to tell of. But one thing which they have brought to pass is the most lawless and the most abominable, and most clearly proves that they care for nothing except their profit.
[69] οὐ γὰρ ἔφθη Θεόπομπος τὴν ἐπιδικασίαν ποιησάμενος τοῦ κλήρου τοῦ Ἁγνίου τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ὃν ὑμεῖς ἀκηκόατε, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐνεδείξατο ὅτι τὰ οὐδὲν προσήκοντα ἑαυτῷ ἔχειν ἐνόμιζεν. ὃ γὰρ ἦν πλείστου ἄξιον ἐν τοῖς χωρίοις τοῖς Ἁγνίου καὶ ἐθαυμάζετο μάλιστα ὑπὸ τῶν προσχώρων καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων, αἱ ἐλᾶαι, ταύτας ἐξώρυττον καὶ ἐξεπρέμνιζον, πλέον ἢ χίλια στελέχη, ὅθεν ἔλαιον πολὺ ἐγίγνετο. ταύτας οὗτοι ἀπέδοντο ἐκπρεμνίσαντες, καὶ ἀργύριον ὑπέρπολυ ἔλαβον. καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐποίουν οὗτοι ἐπιδίκου ὄντος τοῦ κλήρου τοῦ Ἁγνίου κατὰ τὸν νόμον, καθ᾽ ὅνπερ οὗτοι τὴν τουτουὶ μητέρα προσεκαλέσαντο.