by Demosthenes
[39] each one of them omitting to state what had been written in the will by Phormio, — no danger in deposing that one’s father had left him a document with the word “will” written on it, or anything of that sort. But to testify to the existence of a will in which were involved the theft of such vast sums, the corruption of a lady, the marriage of a mistress with her slave, matters which entailed such shame and disgrace — nobody was ready to do this save these men who got up the challenge; and from them it is right to exact the penalty for the whole of this villainous fraud.
[40] ἵνα τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μὴ μόνον ἐξ ὧν ἐγὼ κατηγορῶ καὶ ἐλέγχω, δῆλος ὑμῖν γένηται τὰ ψευδῆ μεμαρτυρηκὼς οὑτοσὶ Στέφανος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ ὧν πεποίηκεν ὁ παρασχόμενος αὐτόν, τὰ πεπραγμέν᾽ ἐκείνῳ βούλομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν. ὅπερ δ᾽ εἶπον ἀρχόμενος τοῦ λόγου, δείξω κατηγόρους γιγνομένους αὐτοὺς ἑαυτῶν. τὴν γὰρ δίκην, ἐν ᾗ ταῦτ᾽ ἐμαρτυρήθη, παρεγράψατο Φορμίων πρὸς ἐμὲ μὴ εἰσαγώγιμον εἶναι, ὡς ἀφέντος ἐμοῦ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων αὐτόν.
[40] Now, men of Athens, that it may be made clear to you that this fellow Stephanus has given false testimony — made clear not merely by my accusations and proofs, but also by the acts of the person who brought him forward as a witness — I wish to tell you what that person has done. As I said at the beginning of my speech, I shall show that they are their own accusers. In the suit in which this testimony was given, Phormio entered a special plea to estop me on the ground that the suit was not admissible, alleging that I had released him from all claims.
[41] τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐγὼ μὲν οἶδα ψεῦδος ὄν, καὶ ἐλέγξω δέ, ὅταν εἰσίω πρὸς τοὺς ταῦτα μεμαρτυρηκότας: τούτῳ δ᾽ οὐχ οἷόν τε τοῦτ᾽ εἰπεῖν. εἰ τοίνυν ἀληθῆ πιστεύσαιτ᾽ εἶναι τὴν ἄφεσιν, οὕτω καὶ μάλιστ᾽ ἂν οὗτος φανείη ψευδῆ μεμαρτυρηκὼς καὶ κατεσκευασμένης διαθήκης μάρτυς γεγονώς. τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἄφρων ὥστ᾽ ἄφεσιν μὲν ἐναντίον μαρτύρων ποιήσασθαι τοῦ βεβαίαν αὑτῷ τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν εἶναι, τὰς δὲ συνθήκας καὶ τὰς διαθήκας καὶ τἄλλα, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐποιεῖτο τὴν ἄφεσιν, σεσημασμέν᾽ ἐᾶσαι καθ᾽ αὑτοῦ κεῖσθαι;
[41] Now I myself know that this is false, and I shall prove it so when I proceed against those who gave this testimony; but Stephanus is not at liberty to say it is false. If, then, you should believe in the genuineness of the release, this, more than anything else, would prove that the fellow has given false testimony, and has deposed to a will that is forged. For who would be so senseless as to give a release in the presence of witnesses, that his discharge might be binding, and yet to suffer the articles of agreement, the will, and the other documents regarding which he gave the release, to remain under seal as evidence against himself?
[42] οὐκοῦν ἐναντία μὲν ἡ παραγραφὴ πᾶσι τοῖς μεμαρτυρημένοις, ἐναντία δ᾽ ἣν ἀνέγνων ὑμῖν ἄρτι μίσθωσιν, τῇδε τῇ διαθήκῃ: οὐδὲν δὲ τῶν πεπραγμένων οὔτ᾽ εὔλογον οὔθ᾽ ἁπλοῦν οὔθ᾽ ὁμολογούμενον αὐτὸ ἑαυτῷ φαίνεται. ἐκ δὲ τούτου τοῦ τρόπου πάντα πεπλασμένα καὶ κατεσκευασμέν᾽ ἐλέγχεται.
[42] The special plea, therefore, contradicts all the evidence, and the lease which I just now read to you contradicts this will; not one of their acts is either reasonable or straightforward or consistent with itself. In this manner their whole story is shown to be a fiction and a fraud.
[43] ὡς μὲν τοίνυν ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ τὰ μεμαρτυρημένα, οὔτ᾽ αὐτὸν τοῦτον οὔτ᾽ ἄλλον ὑπὲρ τούτου δεῖξαι δυνήσεσθαι νομίζω. ἀκούω δ᾽ αὐτὸν τοιοῦτόν τι παρεσκευάσθαι λέγειν, ὡς προκλήσεώς ἐστιν ὑπεύθυνος, οὐχὶ μαρτυρίας, καὶ δυοῖν αὐτῷ προσήκει δοῦναι λόγον, οὐ πάντων τῶν γεγραμμένων, εἴ τε προὐκαλεῖτό με ταῦτα Φορμίων ἢ μή, καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐδεχόμην ἐγώ: ταῦτα μὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς αὐτὸς μεμαρτυρηκέναι φήσει, τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνον προκαλεῖσθαι, εἰ δ᾽ ἐστὶν ἢ μὴ ταῦτα, οὐδὲν προσήκειν αὑτῷ σκοπεῖν.
[43] That the statements in the deposition are true I hold that neither Stephanus himself nor anyone else in his behalf will be able to prove. I hear, however, that he is prepared to make some such statement as this, that he is responsible for a challenge, not for a deposition, and that he should be held to account, not for everything written in it, but for two things only — whether Phormio tendered me this challenge or not, and whether I refused it; these matters and no more, he will say, were included in his deposition; as for the rest, Phormio covered them in his challenge, but whether they were true or not it was not the business of the witness to inquire.
[44] πρὸς δὴ τὸν λόγον τοῦτον καὶ τὴν ἀναίδειαν βέλτιόν ἐστι μικρὰ προειπεῖν ὑμῖν, ἵνα μὴ λάθητ᾽ ἐξαπατηθέντες. πρῶτον μέν, ὅταν ἐγχειρῇ λέγειν τοῦτο, ὡς ἄρ᾽ οὐ πάντων ὑπεύθυνός ἐστιν, ἐνθυμεῖσθ᾽ ὅτι διὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὁ νόμος μαρτυρεῖν ἐν γραμματείῳ κελεύει, ἵνα μήτ᾽ ἀφελεῖν ἐξῇ μήτε προσθεῖναι τοῖς γεγραμμένοις μηδέν. τότ᾽ οὖν αὐτὸν ἔδει ταῦτ᾽ ἀπαλείφειν κελεύειν ἃ νῦν οὐ φήσει μεμαρτυρηκέναι, οὐ νῦν ἐνόντων ἀναισχυντεῖν.
[44] In answer to this argument and to the man’s impudence it is better that I say a few words to you in advance, that you be not taken at unawares and misled. In the first place, when he tries to bring forward the argument that he is not responsible for the entire content of the deposition, bear in mind that the reason why the law requires people to give evidence in written form is that it may not be open to them to strike out any part of what has been written, or add anything to it. He should at the time have demanded the erasure of the statements to which he will now deny having deposed, and not try now to brazen it out, while they stand in the document.
[45] ἔπειτα καὶ τόδε σκοπεῖτε, εἰ ἐάσαιτ᾽ ἂν ἐναντίον ὑμῶν ἐμὲ προσγράψαι τι λαβόντα τὸ γραμματεῖον. οὐ δήπου. οὔκουν οὐδὲ τοῦτον ἀφαιρεῖν τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐᾶν προσήκει. τίς γὰρ ἁλώσεταί ποτε ψευδομαρτυρίων, εἰ μαρτυρήσει θ᾽ ἃ βούλεται, καὶ λόγον ὧν βούλεται δώσει; ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ οὕτω ταῦτ᾽ οὔθ᾽ ὁ νόμος διεῖλεν οὔθ᾽ ὑμῖν ἀκούειν προσήκει: ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἁπλοῦν καὶ δίκαιον. τί γέγραπται; τί μεμαρτύρηκας; ταῦθ᾽ ὡς ἀληθῆ δείκνυε. καὶ γὰρ ἀντιγέγραψαι ταῦτα ‘ἀληθῆ μεμαρτύρηκα, μαρτυρήσας τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα’, οὐ τὸ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ.
[45] Moreover, consider this too, whether you would suffer me in your presence to take the document and add to it. Of cour
se you would not. Well, then, neither is it fitting to suffer him to strike out any of its contents. For who will ever be convicted of giving false testimony, if he is to depose to what he pleases, and be accountable only for what he pleases? No, the law does not thus make a distinction in these matters, and you ought not to listen to such a thing either. The straightforward and honest course is this: “What stands written? To what have you deposed? Show that this is true. For you have written in your plea in answer to the complaint these words, ‘I have given true testiniony in testifying to what is contained in the deposition’ — not ‘to this or that in the deposition.’”
[46] ὅτι δ᾽ οὕτω ταῦτ᾽ ἔχει, λαβὲ τὴν ἀντιγραφὴν αὐτήν μοι. λέγε.”Ἀντιγραφή
Ἀπολλόδωρος Πασίωνος Ἀχαρνεὺς Στεφάνῳ Μενεκλέους Ἀχαρνεῖ ψευδομαρτυρίων, τίμημα τάλαντον. τὰ ψευδῆ μου κατεμαρτύρησε Στέφανος μαρτυρήσας τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα.
Στέφανος Μενεκλέους Ἀχαρνεὺς τἀληθῆ ἐμαρτύρησα μαρτυρήσας τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα.”
ταῦθ᾽ οὗτος ἀντεγράψατο, ἃ χρὴ μνημονεύειν ὑμᾶς, καὶ μὴ τοὺς ἐπ᾽ ἐξαπάτῃ νῦν λόγους ὑπὸ τούτου ῥηθησομένους πιστοτέρους ποιεῖσθαι τῶν νόμων καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τούτου γραφέντων εἰς τὴν ἀντιγραφήν.
[46] To prove that this is so, take, please, the plea itself. Read it.”Complaint and Counter-Plea
Apollodorus, son of Pasio, of Acharnae, sues Stephanus, son of Menecles, of Acharnae, for false testimony; damages one talent. Stephanus gave false testimony against me in testifying to that which is contained in the record.
I gave true testimony in testifying to that which is contained in the record.”
This is the plea which the defendant himself has entered. You must keep it in mind, and not regard the deceitful language which will soon be addressed to you as being more worthy of credence than the laws and what the defendant has written in his own plea.
[47] πυνθάνομαι τοίνυν αὐτοὺς καὶ περὶ ὧν ἔλαχον τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς δίκην, ἐρεῖν καὶ κατηγορήσειν, ὡς συκοφαντήματ᾽ ἦν. ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὃν μὲν τρόπον ἐσκευωρήσατο τὴν μίσθωσιν, ὅπως τὴν ἀφορμὴν τῆς τραπέζης κατάσχοι, εἶπον καὶ διεξῆλθον ὑμῖν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων οὐκ ἂν οἷός τ᾽ εἴην λέγειν ἅμα καὶ τούτους ἐλέγχειν περὶ τῆς μαρτυρίας: οὐ γὰρ ἱκανόν μοι τὸ ὕδωρ ἐστίν.
[47] I learn that they are going to speak about my original suit and to denounce it as baseless and malicious. But I on my part have already mentioned to you and explained in detail the manner in which Phormio concocted the lease, in order to get into his possession the banking-stock, and I should be unable to speak of these other matters and at the same time convict these men of giving false testimony; for the amount of water allotted me is not sufficient.
[48] ὅτι δ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὑμεῖς ἐθέλοιτ᾽ ἂν εἰκότως ἀκούειν περὶ τούτων αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖθεν εἴσεσθε, ἂν λογίσησθε πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, ὅτι οὔτε νῦν ἐστιν χαλεπὸν περὶ ὧν μὴ κατηγόρηται λέγειν, οὔτε τότε ψευδεῖς ἀναγνόντα μαρτυρίας ἀποφεύγειν. ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέτερόν γε δίκαιον τούτων οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς φήσειεν εἶναι, ἀλλ᾽ ὃ ἐγὼ προκαλοῦμαι νῦν. σκοπεῖτε δ᾽ ἀκούσαντες.
[48] And that you yourselves could not in fairness be willing to listen to them in regard to these matters you will see at once, if you reflect that it is no difficult matter to speak now about subjects concerning which no charge is made, just as it was no difficult matter for Phormio to get himself acquitted by reading false depositions. However, no man would say that either of these courses is right, but that course rather which I am about to propose.
[49] ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀξιῶ, οὓς μὲν ἀφείλοντό μ᾽ ἐλέγχους περὶ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων, οὓς προσῆκον ἦν ῥηθῆναι, μὴ ζητεῖν αὐτοὺς νῦν, αἷς δ᾽ ἀφείλοντο μαρτυρίαις, ὡς εἰσὶν ἀληθεῖς, δεικνύναι. εἰ δ᾽ ὅταν μὲν τὴν δίκην εἰσίω, τὰς μαρτυρίας μ᾽ ἐλέγχειν ἀξιώσουσιν, ὅταν δὲ ταύταις ἐπεξίω, περὶ τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγκλημάτων λέγειν με κελεύσουσιν, οὔτε δίκαι᾽ οὔθ᾽ ὑμῖν συμφέροντ᾽ ἐροῦσιν.
[49] Listen, and judge. I demand that they do not now seek for the proofs regarding my charges, proofs which should have been mentioned at the former trial, but of which they deprived me; but that they prove that the testimony by which they deprived me of them was true. If, when I bring in my suit, they are to demand that I refute their testimony, and, when I proceed against that, they are to bid me speak regarding my original charges, what they propose will be neither right nor in your interest.
[50] δικάσειν γὰρ ὀμωμόκαθ᾽ ὑμεῖς οὐ περὶ ὧν ἂν ὁ φεύγων ἀξιοῖ, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ὧν ἂν ἡ δίωξις ᾖ. ταύτην δ᾽ ἀνάγκη τῇ τοῦ διώκοντος λήξει δηλοῦσθαι, ἣν ἐγὼ τούτῳ ψευδομαρτυρίων εἴληχα. μὴ δὴ τοῦτ᾽ ἀφεὶς περὶ ὧν οὐκ ἀγωνίζεται λεγέτω: μηδ᾽ ὑμεῖς ἐᾶτε, ἂν ἄρ᾽ οὗτος ἀναισχυντῇ.
[50] For you have sworn to give a verdict, not in regard to matters upon which the defendant asks your decision, but in regard to those only which are raised by the prosecution. The cause of action must be made clear by the complaint of the prosecutor, and this in my case is a suit against this man for false testimony. Let him not, then, leave this and talk about matters regarding which I am not suing him; and do you, if he is so shameless, refuse to permit it.
[51] οἴομαι τοίνυν αὐτὸν οὐδὲν οὐδαμῇ δίκαιον ἔχοντα λέγειν ἥξειν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτο, ὡς ἄτοπον ποιῶ, παραγραφὴν ἡττημένος, τοὺς διαθήκην μαρτυρήσαντας διώκων, καὶ τοὺς δικαστὰς τοὺς τότε φήσειν διὰ τοὺς ἀφεῖναι μεμαρτυρηκότας ἀποψηφίσασθαι μᾶλλον ἢ διὰ τοὺς διαθήκην μαρτυρήσαντας. ἐγὼ δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, νομίζω πάντας ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, ὅτι οὐχ ἧττον τὰ πεπραγμέν᾽ εἰώθατε σκοπεῖν ἢ τὰς ὑπὲρ τούτων παραγραφάς: περὶ δὴ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν τὰ ψευδῆ καταμαρτυρήσαντες οὗτοί μου, ἀσθενεῖς τοὺς περὶ τῆς παραγραφῆς ἐποίησαν λόγους.
[51] I imagine that, having no just argument to advance on any point, he will have recourse to this defence also — that it is absurd for me, after having been worsted in the case of the special plea, to sue those who gave evidence of a will; and he will maintain that the jurymen in that trial were led to vote in favor of Phormio, by the evidence of those who testified to the release rather than by that of those who testified to the will. But, men of Athens, I think you all know that it is your habit to examine the facts no less closely than the pleas which men make regarding them; and these men, by giving false testimony against me regarding the facts themselves, weakened my arguments on the special plea.
[52] χωρὶς δὲ �
�ούτων ἄτοπον, πάντων τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρησάντων, τίς μάλιστ᾽ ἔβλαψεν ἀποφαίνειν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὡς αὐτὸς ἕκαστος ἀληθῆ μεμαρτύρηκε δεικνύναι. οὐ γάρ, ἂν ἕτερον δείξῃ δεινότερ᾽ εἰργασμένον, ἀποφεύγειν αὐτῷ προσήκει, ἀλλ᾽ ἂν αὐτὸς ὡς ἀληθῆ μεμαρτύρηκεν ἀποφήνῃ.
[52] However, besides this, it is absurd, when all have given false evidence, to demonstrate who did the greatest amount of harm, instead of making each one prove that he has himself testified to the truth. It is not by proving that another has done more outrageous things than himself that a witness is to be let off, but by showing that he has himself given testimony that is true.
[53] ἐφ᾽ ᾧ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μάλιστ᾽ ἀπολωλέναι δίκαιός ἐστιν οὑτοσὶ Στέφανος, τοῦτ᾽ ἀκούσατέ μου. δεινὸν μὲν γάρ ἐστιν εἰ καὶ καθ᾽ ὅτου τις οὖν τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖ, πολλῷ δὲ δεινότερον καὶ πλείονος ὀργῆς ἄξιον εἰ κατὰ τῶν συγγενῶν: οὐ γὰρ τοὺς γεγραμμένους νόμους ὁ τοιοῦτος ἄνθρωπος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς φύσεως οἰκεῖ᾽ ἀναιρεῖ.