by Demosthenes
[8] It happened that we were turning back from the temple of Persephonê, and on our walk were again about opposite the Leocorion when we met them. When we got close to them one of them, I don’t know which, fell upon Phanostratus and pinned him, while the defendant Conon together with his son and the son of Andromenes threw themselves upon me. They first stripped me of my cloak, and then, tripping me up they thrust me into the mud and leapt upon me and beat me with such violence that my lip was split open and my eyes closed; and they left me in such a state that I could neither get up nor utter a sound. As I lay there I heard them utter much outrageous language,
[9] καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καὶ βλασφημίαν ἔχει τινὰ καὶ ὀνομάζειν ὀκνήσαιμ᾽ ἂν ἐν ὑμῖν ἔνια, ὃ δὲ τῆς ὕβρεώς ἐστι τῆς τούτου σημεῖον καὶ τεκμήριον τοῦ πᾶν τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ὑπὸ τούτου γεγενῆσθαι, τοῦθ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐρῶ: ᾖδε γὰρ τοὺς ἀλεκτρυόνας μιμούμενος τοὺς νενικηκότας, οἱ δὲ κροτεῖν τοῖς ἀγκῶσιν αὐτὸν ἠξίουν ἀντὶ πτερύγων τὰς πλευράς. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐγὼ μὲν ἀπεκομίσθην ὑπὸ τῶν παρατυχόντων γυμνός, οὗτοι δ᾽ ᾤχοντο θοἰμάτιον λαβόντες μου. ὡς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν ἦλθον, κραυγὴ καὶ βοὴ τῆς μητρὸς καὶ τῶν θεραπαινίδων ἦν, καὶ μόγις ποτ᾽ εἰς βαλανεῖον ἐνεγκόντες με καὶ περιπλύναντες ἔδειξαν τοῖς ἰατροῖς. ὡς οὖν ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τούτων ὑμῖν τοὺς μάρτυρας παρέξομαι.”Μάρτυρες”
[9] a great deal of which was such foul abuse that I should shrink from repeating some of it in your presence. One thing, however, which is an indication of the fellow’s insolence and a proof that the whole affair has been of his doing, I will tell you. He began to crow, mimicking fighting cocks that have won a battle and his fellows bade him flap his elbows against his sides like wings. After this some people who happened to pass took me home stripped as I was, for these men had gone off taking my cloak with them. When my bearers got to my door, my mother and the women servants began shrieking and wailing, and it was with difficulty that I was at length carried to a bath. There I was thoroughly bathed, and shown to the surgeons.
To prove that these statements of mine are true, I shall call before you the witnesses who attest them.” Witnesses”
[10] συνέβη τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ Εὐξίθεον τουτονὶ τὸν Χολλῄδην, ὄνθ᾽ ἡμῖν συγγενῆ, καὶ Μειδίαν μετὰ τούτου ἀπὸ δείπνου ποθὲν ἀπιόντας περιτυχεῖν πλησίον ὄντι μοι τῆς οἰκίας ἤδη, καὶ εἴς τε τὸ βαλανεῖον φερομένῳ παρακολουθῆσαι, καὶ ἰατρὸν ἄγουσιν παραγενέσθαι. οὕτω δ᾽ εἶχον ἀσθενῶς ὥστε, ἵνα μὴ μακρὰν φεροίμην οἴκαδ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ βαλανείου, ἐδόκει τοῖς παροῦσιν ὡς τὸν Μειδίαν ἐκείνην τὴν ἑσπέραν κομίσαι, καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτω. λάβ᾽ οὖν καὶ τὰς τούτων μαρτυρίας, ἵν᾽ εἰδῆθ᾽ ὅτι πολλοὶ συνίσασιν ὡς ὑπὸ τούτων ὑβρίσθην.”Μαρτυρίαι”
λαβὲ δὴ καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἰατροῦ μαρτυρίαν.”Μαρτυρία”
[10] It happened, men of the jury, that Euxitheus of Cholleidae, who is here in court and is a relative of mine, and with him Meidias, on their way back from a dinner somewhere, came up to me, when I was now near my home, followed after me as I was borne to the bath, and were present when men brought the surgeon. I was so weak, that, as it was far for me to be carried from the bath to my home, those who were with me decided to carry me to the house of Meidias for that night; and so they did.
Now let the clerk take the depositions establishing these facts, that you may understand that a host of people know what outrage I suffered at the hands of these men.” Depositions”
Take now the deposition of the surgeon also.” Deposition”
[11] τότε μὲν τοίνυν παραχρῆμ᾽ ὑπὸ τῶν πληγῶν ἃς ἔλαβον καὶ τῆς ὕβρεως οὕτω διετέθην, ὡς ἀκούετε καὶ μεμαρτύρηται παρὰ πάντων ὑμῖν τῶν εὐθὺς ἰδόντων. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῶν μὲν οἰδημάτων τῶν ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ καὶ τῶν ἑλκῶν οὐδὲν ἔφη φοβεῖσθαι λίαν ὁ ἰατρός, πυρετοὶ δὲ παρηκολούθουν μοι συνεχεῖς καὶ ἀλγήματα, ὅλου μὲν τοῦ σώματος πάνυ σφοδρὰ καὶ δεινά, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν πλευρῶν καὶ τοῦ ἤτρου, καὶ τῶν σιτίων ἀπεκεκλείμην.
[11] At that time, then, as the immediate result of the blows and the maltreatment I received, I was brought into this condition, as you hear from my own lips, and as all the witnesses who saw me at the time have testified. Afterwards, although the swellings on my face and the bruises, my physician said, did not give him great concern, continuous attacks of fever ensued and violent and acute pains throughout all my body, but especially in my sides and the pit of my stomach, and I was unable to take my food.
[12] καὶ ὡς μὲν ὁ ἰατρὸς ἔφη, εἰ μὴ κάθαρσις αἵματος αὐτομάτη μοι πάνυ πολλὴ συνέβη περιωδύνῳ ὄντι καὶ ἀπορουμένῳ ἤδη, κἂν ἔμπυος γενόμενος διεφθάρην: νῦν δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἔσῳσεν τὸ αἷμ᾽ ἀποχωρῆσαν. ὡς οὖν καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, καὶ παρηκολούθησέ μοι τοιαύτη νόσος ἐξ ἧς εἰς τοὔσχατον ἦλθον, ἐξ ὧν ὑπὸ τούτων ἔλαβον πληγῶν, λέγε τὴν τοῦ ἰατροῦ μαρτυρίαν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐπισκοπούντων.”Μαρτυρίαι”
[12] Indeed, the surgeon said that, if a copious hemorrhage had not spontaneously occurred, while my agony was extreme and my attendants were at their wits’ end, I should have died of internal suppuration; but as it was, this loss of blood saved me.
To prove now that these statements of mine are true, and that from the blows which these men dealt me there resulted an illness so severe that it brought me to the point of death. Read the depositions of the surgeon and of those who came to see me.” Depositions”
[13] ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν οὐ μετρίας τινὰς καὶ φαύλας λαβὼν πληγάς, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς πᾶν ἐλθὼν διὰ τὴν ὕβριν καὶ τὴν ἀσέλγειαν τὴν τούτων πολὺ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐλάττω δίκην εἴληχα, πολλαχόθεν νομίζω δῆλον ὑμῖν γεγενῆσθαι. οἴομαι δ᾽ ὑμῶν ἐνίους θαυμάζειν, τί ποτ᾽ ἐστὶν ἃ πρὸς ταῦτα τολμήσει Κόνων λέγειν. βούλομαι δὴ προειπεῖν ὑμῖν ἁγὼ πέπυσμαι λέγειν αὐτὸν παρεσκευάσθαι, ἀπὸ τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἄγοντ᾽ εἰς γέλωτα καὶ σκώμματ᾽ ἐμβαλεῖν πειράσεσθαι,
[13] That the wounds I received, then, were not slight or trifling, but that I was brought near to death by the outrage and brutality of these men, and that the action which I have entered is far more lenient than the case deserves, has been made clear to you, I think, on many grounds. I fancy, however, that some of you are wondering what in the world there can be that Conon will have the audacity to say in reply to these charges. I wish, therefore, to tell you in advance the defence which I hear he is
prepared to make. He will try to divert your attention from the outrage and the actual facts, and will seek to turn the whole matter into mere jest and ridicule.
[14] καὶ ἐρεῖν ὡς εἰσὶν ἐν τῇ πόλει πολλοί, καλῶν κἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν υἱεῖς, οἳ παίζοντες οἷ᾽ ἄνθρωποι νέοι σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπωνυμίας πεποίηνται, καὶ καλοῦσι τοὺς μὲν ἰθυφάλλους, τοὺς δ᾽ αὐτοληκύθους, ἐρῶσι δ᾽ ἐκ τούτων ἑταιρῶν τινές, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ εἶναι τούτων ἕνα, καὶ πολλάκις περὶ ἑταίρας καὶ εἰληφέναι καὶ δεδωκέναι πληγάς, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ εἶναι νέων ἀνθρώπων. ἡμᾶς δὲ πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς παροίνους μέν τινας καὶ ὑβριστὰς κατασκευάσει, ἀγνώμονας δὲ καὶ πικρούς.
[14] He will tell you that there are many people in the city, sons of respectable persons, who in sport, after the manner of young men, have given themselves nicknames, such as Ithyphalli or Autolecythi, and that some of them are infatuated with mistresses; that his own son is one of these and has often given and received blows on account of some girl; and that things of this sort are natural for young men. As for me and all my brothers, he will make out that we are not only drunken and insolent fellows, but also unfeeling and vindictive.
[15] ἐγὼ δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, χαλεπῶς ἐφ᾽ οἷς πέπονθα ἐνηνοχώς, οὐχ ἧττον τοῦτ᾽ ἀγανακτήσαιμ᾽ ἂν καὶ ὑβρίσθαι νομίσαιμι, εἰ οἷόν τ᾽ εἰπεῖν, εἰ ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ δόξει Κόνων οὑτοσὶ λέγειν περὶ ἡμῶν, καὶ τοσαύτη τις ἄγνοια παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐστιν, ὥσθ᾽, ὁποῖος ἄν τις ἕκαστος εἶναι φῇ ἢ ὁ πλησίον αὐτὸν αἰτιάσηται, τοιοῦτος νομισθήσεται, τοῦ δὲ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν βίου καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων μηδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἔσται τοῖς μετρίοις ὄφελος.
[15] For myself, men of the jury, deeply indignant though I am at what I have suffered, I should feel no less indignation at this, and should count myself the victim of a fresh outrage, if you will pardon the strong expression, if this fellow Conon shall be deemed by you to be speaking the truth about us, and you are to be so misguided as to assume that a man bears the character which he claims for himself or which someone else accuses him of possessing, and respectable people are to derive no benefit from their daily life and conduct.
[16] ἡμεῖς γὰρ οὔτε παροινοῦντες οὔθ᾽ ὑβρίζοντες ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων ἑωράμεθα, οὐδ᾽ ἄγνωμον οὐδὲν ἡγούμεθα ποιεῖν, εἰ περὶ ὧν ἠδικήμεθ᾽ ἀξιοῦμεν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους δίκην λαβεῖν. ἰθυφάλλοις δὲ καὶ αὐτοληκύθοις συγχωροῦμεν εἶναι τοῖς υἱέσι τοῖς τούτου, καὶ ἔγωγ᾽ εὔχομαι τοῖς θεοῖς εἰς Κόνωνα καὶ τοὺς υἱεῖς τοὺς τούτου καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦθ᾽ ἅπαντα τρέπεσθαι.
[16] No man in the world has ever seen us drunken or committing outrages, and I hold that I am doing nothing unfeeling in demanding to receive satisfaction according to the law for the wrongs I have suffered. This man’s sons are welcome, so far as I am concerned, to be Ithyphalli and Autolecythi; I only pray the gods that these things and all things like them may recoil upon Conon and his sons;
[17] οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ τελοῦντες ἀλλήλους τῷ ἰθυφάλλῳ, καὶ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦντες ἃ πολλὴν αἰσχύνην ἔχει καὶ λέγειν, μή τί γε δὴ ποιεῖν ἀνθρώπους μετρίους. ἀλλὰ τί ταῦτ᾽ ἐμοί; θαυμάζω γὰρ ἔγωγε, εἴ τίς ἐστιν πρόφασις παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἢ σκῆψις ηὑρημένη δι᾽ ἥν, ἂν ὑβρίζων τις ἐξελέγχηται καὶ τύπτων, δίκην οὐ δώσει. οἱ μὲν γὰρ νόμοι πολὺ τἀναντία καὶ τὰς ἀναγκαίας προφάσεις, ὅπως μὴ μείζους γίγνωνται, προείδοντο, οἷον （ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ταῦτα καὶ ζητεῖν καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι διὰ τοῦτον γέγονεν） εἰσὶ κακηγορίας δίκαι:
[17] for they are those who initiate one another with the rites of Ithyphallus, and indulge in acts which decent people cannot even speak of without deep disgrace, to say nothing of performing them.
But what has all this to do with me? Why, for my part, I am amazed if they have discovered any excuse or pretext which will make it possible in your court for any man, if convicted of assault and battery, to escape punishment. The laws take a far different view, and have provided that even pleas of necessity shall not be pressed too far. For example （you see I have had to inquire into these matters and inform myself about them because of the defendant）,
[18] φασὶ τοίνυν ταύτας διὰ τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ λοιδορούμενοι τύπτειν ἀλλήλους προάγωνται. πάλιν αἰκείας εἰσί: καὶ ταύτας ἀκούω διὰ τοῦτ᾽ εἶναι τὰς δίκας, ἵνα μηδείς, ὅταν ἥττων ᾖ, λίθῳ μηδὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἀμύνηται μηδενί, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου δίκην ἀναμένῃ. τραύματος πάλιν εἰσὶν γραφαὶ τοῦ μὴ τιτρωσκομένων τινῶν φόνους γίγνεσθαι.
[18] there are actions for evil-speaking; and I am told that these are instituted for this purpose — that men may not be led on, by using abusive language back and forth, to deal blows to one another. Again, there are actions for battery; and these, I hear, exist for this reason — that a man, finding himself the weaker party, may not defend himself with a stone or anything of that sort, but may await legal redress. Again, there are public prosecutions for wounding, to the end that wounds may not lead to murder.
[19] τὸ φαυλότατον, οἶμαι, τὸ τῆς λοιδορίας, πρὸ τοῦ τελευταίου καὶ δεινοτάτου προεώραται, τοῦ μὴ φόνον γίγνεσθαι, μηδὲ κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπάγεσθαι ἐκ μὲν λοιδορίας εἰς πληγάς, ἐκ δὲ πληγῶν εἰς τραύματα, ἐκ δὲ τραυμάτων εἰς θάνατον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς νόμοις εἶναι τούτων ἑκάστου τὴν δίκην, μὴ τῇ τοῦ προστυχόντος ὀργῇ μηδὲ βουλήσει ταῦτα κρίνεσθαι.
[19] The least of these evils, namely abusive language, has, I think, been provided for to prevent the last and most grievous, that murder may not ensue, and that men be not led on step by step from vilification to blows, from blows to wounds, and from wounds to murder, but that in the laws its own penalty should be provided for each of these acts, and that the decision should not be left to the passion or the will of the person concerned.
[20] εἶτ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς νόμοις οὕτως: ἂν δ᾽ εἴπῃ Κόνων ‘ἰθύφαλλοί τινές ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς συνειλεγμένοι, καὶ ἐρῶντες οὓς ἂν ἡμῖν δόξῃ παίομεν καὶ ἄγχομεν’, εἶτα γελάσαντες ὑμεῖς ἀφήσετε; οὐκ οἴομαί γε. οὐ γὰρ ἂν γέλως ὑμῶν ἔλαβεν οὐδένα, εἰ παρὼν ἐτύγχανεν ἡνίχ᾽ εἱλκόμην καὶ ἐξεδυόμην καὶ ὑβριζόμην, καὶ ὑγιὴς ἐξελθὼν φοράδην ἦλθον οἴκαδε, ἐξεπεπηδήκει δὲ μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ κραυγὴ καὶ βο
ὴ τῶν γυναικῶν τοσαύτη παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἦν ὡσπερανεὶ τεθνεῶτός τινος, ὥστε τῶν γειτόνων τινὰς πέμψαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐρησομένους ὅ τι ἐστὶν τὸ συμβεβηκός.
[20] This, then, is what is ordained in the laws; but if Conon says, “We belong to a club of Ithyphalli, and in our love-affairs we strike and throttle whom we please,” are you, then, going to let him off with a laugh? I think not. No one of you would have been seized with a fit of laughter, if he had happened to be present when I was dragged and stripped and maltreated, when I was borne home on a litter to the house which I had left strong and well, and my mother rushed out, and the women set up such a wailing and screaming （as if someone had died in the house） that some of the neighbors sent to inquire what it was that had happened.