Delphi Complete Works of Demosthenes

by Demosthenes

  [53] θαυμάζω δ᾽ ἔγωγε καὶ τίνος ἕνεκ᾽ ἄν ποτε ὑπετίθει τὸν χαλκὸν τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ ὁ Βοιώτιος ναύαρχος, Φιλίππῳ ὀφείλων χιλίας δραχμάς. πότερον ὡς Φίλιππος οὐκ ἂν ἡδέως τόκον ἐλάμβανεν, εἴπερ ἀσφαλῶς ἦν αὐτῷ τὸ ἀργύριον δεδανεισμένον καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἐνεχύρῳ; ἢ ὡς οὐκ ἦν τῷ Φιλίππῳ ἀργύριον; ὥστε τι ἔδει τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ δεηθῆναι δανεῖσαι τὰς χιλίας δραχμὰς τὸν Βοιώτιον ναύαρχον καὶ ἀποδοῦναι Φιλίππῳ μᾶλλον ἢ οὐ τὸν χαλκὸν ὑποθεῖναι τῷ Φιλίππῳ;

  [53] And I certainly wonder for what possible reason the Boeotian admiral should have given the copper to my father as security, if he owed a thousand drachmae to Philip. Was it that Philip would not have been glad to receive interest, if his money was lent safely and on security? or that Philip had no money? So, what need was there for the Boeotian admiral to ask my father to lend the thousand drachmae and pay Philip, rather than give the copper as security to Philip?

  [54] ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε ὁ χαλκὸς ὑπετέθη, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὔτε ὁ Βοιώτιος ναύαρχος ἐδανείσατο τὰς χιλίας δραχμὰς παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ, ἀλλὰ Τιμόθεος οὑτοσὶ ἐν ἀπορίᾳ ὢν πολλῇ: τὴν δὲ χρείαν, εἰς ἣν κατεχρήσατο τῷ ἀργυρίῳ, εἴρηκα ὑμῖν. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ χάριν ἀποδοῦναι ὧν ἐπιστεύθη καὶ ἔλαβεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ, οἴεται δεῖν καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα, ἂν δύνηται, ἀποστερῆσαι.

  [54] But, men of the jury, the copper was not given as security, nor did the Boeotian admiral borrow the thousand drachmae from my father, but this man Timotheus borrowed them, being in great distress; and the urgent need, to meet which he used the money, I have told you. But instead of evincing gratitude for the confidence shown him and the loan which he received from my father, he thinks it proper to defraud us, if he can, even of the principal.

  [55] περὶ μὲν τοίνυν τῶν φιαλῶν καὶ τῆς μνᾶς τοῦ ἀργυρίου, ἣν ἐδανείσατο παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς πέμψας τὸν ἀκόλουθον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Αἰσχρίωνα τῆς νυκτὸς ὡς τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμόν, ἠρόμην αὐτὸν πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ εἰ ἔτι δοῦλος εἴη ὁ Αἰσχρίων, καὶ ἠξίουν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ δέρματι τὸν ἔλεγχον διδόναι. ἀποκριναμένου δέ μοι τούτου ὅτι ἐλεύθερος εἴη, τῆς μὲν ἐξαιτήσεως ἐπέσχον, μαρτυρίαν δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἠξίουν ἐμβαλέσθαι τοῦ Αἰσχρίωνος ὡς ἐλευθέρου ὄντος.

  [55] Now, as to the bowls and the mina of silver, which he borrowed from my father when he sent his bodyservant Aeschrion to my father in the night, I asked him before the arbitrator if Aeschrion was still a slave, and demanded that he be put to the test “in his hide.” He answered that Aeschrion was free, so I desisted from my demand; but I required him to put in a deposition made by Aeschrion as being a free man.

  [56] ὁ δὲ οὔτε ὡς ἐλευθέρου ὄντος τοῦ Αἰσχρίωνος μαρτυρίαν παρέσχετο, οὔθ᾽ ὡς δοῦλον τὸν Αἰσχρίωνα παραδοὺς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τὸν ἔλεγχον ἠξίου γενέσθαι, φοβούμενος, ἐὰν μὲν μαρτυρίαν παράσχηται ὡς ἐλευθέρου ὄντος, μὴ ἐπισκηψάμενος ἐγὼ τῶν ψευδομαρτυρίων καὶ ἐξελέγξας τὰ ψευδῆ μεμαρτυρηκότα τὸν Αἰσχρίωνα ἐπὶ τόνδε τῶν κακοτεχνιῶν ἔλθοιμι κατὰ τὸν νόμον, εἰ δ᾽ αὖ βασανίζειν παραδώσει, μὴ τὰς ἀληθείας κατείποι ὁ Αἰσχρίων.

  [56] He, however, neither provided a deposition from Aeschrion, as being free, nor would he deliver him up as a slave that proof might be had from his body; for he was afraid that, if he produced a deposition from him as being free, I should bring suit for false testimony, and after proving that Aeschrion had testified falsely, should proceed against Timotheus himself for subornation, as the law provides; and if, again, he should deliver him up for the torture, he was afraid that Aeschrion would state the truth against him.

  [57] καίτοι καλὸν ἦν αὐτῷ, εἰ τῶν ἄλλων λημμάτων τοῦ ἀργυρίου μάρτυρας μὴ εἶχεν παρασχέσθαι, τοῦτό γε ἐξελέγξαι ἐκ τοῦ Αἰσχρίωνος, ὡς οὐκ ἐλήφθησαν αἱ φιάλαι οὐδ᾽ ἡ μνᾶ τοῦ ἀργυρίου, οὐδὲ ἐπέμφθη ὁ Αἰσχρίων ὑπὸ τούτου ὡς τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμόν, καὶ τεκμηρίῳ τούτῳ καταχρήσασθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅτι ἐγὼ καὶ τἄλλα ψεύδομαι περὶ ὧν ἐγκαλῶ αὐτῷ, ὅπου γε ὅν φημι λαβεῖν οἰκέτην ὄντα τούτου τὰς φιάλας καὶ τὴν μνᾶν τοῦ ἀργυρίου, οὗτος βασανιζόμενος οὐ φαίνεται λαβών.

  [57] And yet it was a fine opportunity for him, if he was unable to produce witnesses concerning the other receipts of money, to prove this at any rate by the words of Aeschrion — that the bowls and the mina of silver were not received, and that Aeschrion was not sent by him to my father; and then to use this as evidence to you that I am uttering falsehoods in regard to my other claims upon him, seeing that his slave, whom I declare to have received the bowls and the mina of silver, was proved by the torture not to have received them.

  [58] εἰ τοίνυν τοῦτο ἰσχυρὸν ἦν ἂν τούτῳ πρὸς ὑμᾶς τεκμήριον ὅτι ἐξεδίδου τὸν Αἰσχρίωνα, ὃν πεμφθῆναί φημι ὑπὸ τούτου καὶ λαβεῖν τὰς φιάλας παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ καὶ τὴν μνᾶν τοῦ ἀργυρίου δανείσασθαι, κἀμοὶ γενέσθω τεκμήριον πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅτι συνειδώς με ἀληθῆ ἐγκαλοῦντα οὐ τολμᾷ τὸν Αἰσχρίωνα παραδοῦναι.

  [58] If, then, this would have been a strong piece of evidence for him to use before you, that, namely, he offered to deliver up Aeschrion, whom I declare to have been sent by the defendant and to have received the bowls from my father and to have borrowed the mina of silver, let it also be evidence for me to use before you, that knowing my claims to be true, he does not dare to deliver up Aeschrion for the torture.

  [59] ἀπολογίαν τοίνυν ποιήσεται ὅτι ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν τοῖς τραπεζιτικοῖς ἐπὶ Ἀλκισθένους ἄρχοντος ἦν ἐγγεγραμμένος τό τε ναῦλον τῶν ξύλων εἰληφὼς καὶ τὴν τιμὴν τῶν φιαλῶν, ὃ ἀπέτεισεν Τιμοσθένει ὑπὲρ τούτου ὁ πατήρ, καὶ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ οὐκ ἐπεδήμει, ἀλλὰ παρὰ βασιλεῖ ἦν. περὶ δὴ τούτου σαφῶς ὑμᾶς βούλομαι διδάξαι, ἵν᾽ ἀκριβῶς εἰδῆτε ὃν τρόπον ἔχει τὰ γράμματα τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης.

  [59] Well, he will make the defence that he was listed in the books of the bank in the archonship of Alcisthenes as having received the freight of the timber and the price of the bowls, which my father paid to Timosthenes on his behalf, and that he was not at that time in the country, but was in the service of the king. About this I wish to give you accurate information, that you may understand c
learly how the books of the bank are kept.

  [60] οὗτος γὰρ ἐν μὲν τῷ θαργηλιῶνι μηνὶ ἐπ᾽ Ἀστείου ἄρχοντος, μέλλων ἀνάγεσθαι ὡς βασιλέα, συνέστησεν τὸν Φιλώνδαν τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ: τοῦ δὲ ὑστέρου ἐνιαυτοῦ, ἐπὶ Ἀλκισθένους ἄρχοντος, ἀφικνεῖται ὁ Φιλώνδας ἄγων τὰ ξύλα ἐκ τῆς Μακεδονίας, καὶ ἔλαβεν τὸ ναῦλον τῶν ξύλων παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ, ἀποδημοῦντος τούτου παρὰ βασιλεῖ. ἐγράψαντο οὖν, ὅτε ἐδίδοσαν τὸ ἀργύριον, ὀφείλοντα τοῦτον, οὐχ ὅτε συνέστησε τὸν Φιλώνδαν τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ ἐπιδημῶν.

  [60] The defendant in the month Thargelion in the archonship of Asteius when he was about to sail to take service with the king, introduced Philondas to my father; and in the following year in the archonship of Alcisthenes, Philondas arrived bringing the timber from Macedonia and received the freight from my father, while Timotheus was abroad in the service of the king. Accordingly they entered the defendant as debtor at the time they paid the money, not at the time when, being in Athens, he had introduced Philondas to my father.

  [61] ὅτε μὲν γὰρ συνέστησεν, οὐδέπω τὰ ξύλα ἧκεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔμελλεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὰ ὁ Φιλώνδας τὴν πορείαν ποιεῖσθαι: ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὰ ξύλα ἄγων, οὗτος μὲν ἀπεδήμει, ὁ δὲ Φιλώνδας ἔλαβεν τὸ ναῦλον τῶν ξύλων καθάπερ οὗτος ἐκέλευσε, καὶ ἀνεκομίσθη εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν ἐν Πειραιεῖ τὴν τούτου τὰ ξύλα. ὅτι δὲ οὐκ εὐπορῶν οὗτος ἐξέπλει ἐνθένδε, ἴστε μὲν καὶ αὐτοὶ ὅσοις αὐτοῦ ἡ οὐσία ὡρισμένη ἦν, οὓς νῦν ἀποστερεῖ: ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι καὶ ἄνευ ἐνεχύρων ὤφειλέ τισι τῶν πολιτῶν, οὐκ ἔχων ὑποθεῖναι τὰ ἄξια, ἀνάγνωθί μοι τὴν μαρτυρίαν.”Μαρτυρία”

  [61] For, when he introduced him, the timber had not yet come, but Philondas was about to make the journey to fetch it; when, however, he came back, bringing the timber, the defendant was abroad, but Philondas received the freight for the timber according to the defendant’s orders, and the timber was delivered to the defendant’s house in Peiraeus. That Timotheus was not well provided with funds when he sailed from Athens is already known to all of you to whom his estate was mortgaged, and whom he is now seeking to defraud.

  However, to prove that he borrowed money from some of our citizens without security, since he had no equivalent security to give, please read the deposition.” Deposition”

  [62] περὶ δὲ τῶν φιαλῶν, ἃς ᾐτήσατο μὲν ἐν τῷ μαιμακτηριῶνι μηνὶ ὁ Αἰσχρίων ὁ ἀκόλουθος ὁ τούτου ἐπ᾽ Ἀστείου ἄρχοντος, ἐπιδημοῦντος τούτου, ὅτε ὑπεδέξατο Ἀλκέτην καὶ Ἰάσονα, γεγραμμένου δὲ τὴν τιμὴν ὀφείλοντος τούτου ἐπὶ Ἀλκισθένους ἄρχοντος, τέως μὲν ᾤετο αὐτὸν ἀποίσειν τὰς φιάλας, ἃς ᾐτήσατο, ὁ πατήρ: ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὗτος μὲν ἀπῆλθε, τὰς δὲ φιάλας οὐκ ἀπενηνόχει, οὐδ᾽ ἦσαν αἱ φιάλαι τοῦ Τιμοσθένους κείμεναι παρὰ τῷ Φορμίωνι, ἥκων δ᾽ ἀπῄτει τὰς φιάλας ὁ θέμενος, ἀπέτεισε τιμὴν τῶν φιαλῶν τῷ Τιμοσθένει, ἐγράψατο δὲ ὁ πατὴρ αὑτῷ τοῦτον ὀφείλοντα πρὸς τὸ ἄλλο χρέως.

  [62] Now regarding the bowls which Aeschrion, the body-servant of the defendant, requested of me in the month Maimacterion in the archonship of Asteius, when Timotheus was in Athens at the time when he entertained Alcetas and Jason, and with the value of which he was debited in the archonship of Alcisthenes — for some time my father supposed he would return the bowls which he had borrowed; but when he went off without having returned them, and the bowls of Timosthenes were no longer in the custody of Phormio, and the one who had deposited them came and demanded their return, my father paid the price of the bowls to Timosthenes, and wrote the defendant down as owing this sum in addition to the rest of his debt.

  [63] ὥστ᾽ ἐὰν ταύτῃ ἀπολογίᾳ καταχρῆται, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπεδήμει ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις ἐν οἷς γέγραπται τὴν τιμὴν τῶν φιαλῶν ὀφείλων, ὑποβάλλετε αὐτῷ ὅτι ‘ἔλαβες μὲν ἐπιδημῶν: ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ ἀπέφερες, ἀπεδήμεις δέ, οὐκ ἦσαν δὲ αἱ φιάλαι ἃς ὁ θέμενος ἀπῄτει, ἐγράφης τὴν τιμὴν αὐτῶν ὀφείλων, ὃ ἀπετείσθη τῶν φιαλῶν.’

  [63] If, then, he makes use of this defence, that he was not in Athens at the time when he was debited with the cost of the bowls, make this reply to him: “You received them, when here, and since you did not return them, and were abroad, and the bowls which the depositor claimed were not there, you were debited with their value, that sum, namely, which was paid for the bowls.”

  [64] ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία, φήσει ἴσως, ἔδει τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμὸν ἀπαιτεῖν αὐτὸν τὰς φιάλας. ἀλλ᾽ ἑώρα σε ὡς ἠποροῦ. κᾆτα περὶ μὲν τοῦ ἄλλου χρέως σοι ἐπίστευεν, καὶ ἡγεῖτο, ἐπειδὰν ἔλθῃς, ἀπολήψεσθαι παρὰ σοῦ εὐπορήσαντος, περὶ δὲ τῶν φιαλῶν σοι ἀπιστήσειν ἔμελλεν; καὶ ὑπέσχετο μὲν δεομένου σου τὸ ναῦλον τῶν ξύλων παρασχήσειν, ὅτε ἀνήγου πρὸς βασιλέα: ἕνεκα δὲ τῶν φιαλῶν, δυοῖν οὐσῶν, ἀπιστήσειν σοι ἔμελλε; καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄλλο χρέως σε οὐκ ἀπῄτει, ἀπορούμενον ὁρῶν, τὰς δὲ φιάλας ἔμελλεν;

  [64] Ah but, he will perhaps say, my father ought to have demanded the return of the bowls from him. But my father saw in what straits you were, Timotheus. He trusted you in regard to the rest of your debt, and believed that after your return to Athens he would recover his money from you, when you should be better off for funds. Was he, then, going to distrust you in the matter of the bowls? He promised at your request that he would provide the freight for the timber when you were sailing to take service with the king; was he, then, going to distrust you because of a couple of bowls? He did not demand of you that you pay the rest of the debt, because he saw that you were without funds. Was he, then, going to demand the bowls?

  [65] βούλομαι τοίνυν ὑμῖν καὶ περὶ τῆς προκλήσεως τοῦ ὅρκου εἰπεῖν, ἣν ἐγὼ τοῦτον προὐκαλεσάμην καὶ οὗτος ἐμέ. ἐμβαλομένου γὰρ ἐμοῦ ὅρκον εἰς τὸν ἐχῖνον, ἠξίου οὗτος καὶ αὐτὸς ὀμόσας ἀπηλλάχθαι. ἐγὼ δ᾽ εἰ μὲν μὴ περιφανῶς αὐτὸν ᾔδη πολλοὺς καὶ μεγάλους ὅρκους ἐπιωρκηκότα καὶ πόλεσι καὶ ἰδιώταις, ἔδωκα ἂν αὐτῷ τόνδε τὸν ὅρκον: νῦν δέ μοι ἐδόκει, μαρτύρων μὲν ὄντων ἐμοὶ ὡς ἔλαβον τὸ ἀργύριον ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης οἷς οὗτος ἐκέλευσεν δοῦναι, περιφανῶν δὲ τεκμηρίων, δεινὸν εἶναι τὸν ὅρκον δοῦναι τούτῳ, ὃς οὐχ ὅπως εὐορκήσει πρόνοιαν ποιήσεται, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τῶν ἱερῶν α�
�τῶν ἕνεκα τοῦ πλεονεκτήματος ἀπέσχηται.

  [65] I wish now to speak about the challenge to an oath, which I tendered the defendant, and he tendered me. For after I had put an oath in the evidence-box, he thought that, by taking an oath himself, he could be quit of the affair. And, if I had not known that he had flagrantly perjured himself in many solemn oaths both to states and to individuals, I should have allowed him to take the oath; but as it was, seeing that I had witnesses to prove that the persons appointed by him had in fact received the money from the bank, and conclusive circumstantial evidence as well, it seemed to me a monstrous thing to give an oath to one who would not only take no care to swear honestly, but who, when it was a question of gain, has not spared even temples.

  [66] τὰ μὲν οὖν καθ᾽ ἕκαστα πόλλ᾽ ἂν εἴη λέγειν, ὧν ἐπιώρκηκεν οὗτος ῥᾳδίως: οὓς δὲ περιφανέστατα καὶ ὑμεῖς αὐτῷ πάντες σύνιστε ὅρκους ἐπιωρκηκότι, τούτους ἀναμνήσω ὑμᾶς. ἴστε γὰρ τοῦτον ἐν τῷ δήμῳ ὀμόσαντα καὶ ἐπαρασάμενον αὑτῷ ἐξώλειαν, εἰ μὴ γράψοιτο Ἰφικράτην ξενίας, καὶ καθιερώσαντα τὴν οὐσίαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ. ὀμόσας δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ὑποσχόμενος ἐν τῷ δήμῳ, οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ ὕστερον ἕνεκα τοῦ συμφέροντος αὑτῷ ἔδωκεν τῷ υἱεῖ τῷ ἐκείνου τὴν θυγατέρα.