by Demosthenes
[34] Ah but, they will say, they are not people of that sort. I am inclined to think, however, that many of you know Diotimus and Archebiades and Chaeretimus, the grey-headed man yonder, men who by day put on sour looks and pretend to play the Spartan and wear short cloaks and single-soled shoes, but when they get together and are by themselves leave no form of wickedness or indecency untried.
[35] καὶ ταῦτα τὰ λαμπρὰ καὶ νεανικά ἐστιν αὐτῶν ‘οὐ γὰρ ἡμεῖς μαρτυρήσομεν ἀλλήλοις; οὐ γὰρ ταῦθ᾽ ἑταίρων ἐστὶ καὶ φίλων; τί δὲ καὶ δεινόν ἐστιν ὧν παρέξεται κατὰ σοῦ; τυπτόμενόν φασί τινες ὁρᾶν; ἡμεῖς δὲ μηδ᾽ ἧφθαι τὸ παράπαν μαρτυρήσομεν. ἐκδεδύσθαι θοἰμάτιον; τοῦτ᾽ ἐκείνους προτέρους πεποιηκέναι ἡμεῖς μαρτυρήσομεν. τὸ χεῖλος ἐρράφθαι; τὴν κεφαλὴν δέ γ᾽ ἡμεῖς ἢ ἕτερόν τι κατεαγέναι φήσομεν.’
[35] And these are their brilliant and vigorous pleas, “What! Are we not to give testimony for one another? Isn’t that the way of comrades and friends? What is there that you really fear in the charges he will bring against you? Do some people say they saw him being beaten? We will testify that he wasn’t even touched by you. That his cloak was stripped off? We will testify that they had done this first to you. That his lip has been sewn up? We will say that your head or something else has been broken.”
[36] ἀλλὰ καὶ μάρτυρας ἰατροὺς παρέχομαι. τοῦτ᾽ οὐκ ἔστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, παρὰ τούτοις: ὅσα γὰρ μὴ δι᾽ αὑτῶν, οὐδενὸς μάρτυρος καθ᾽ ἡμῶν εὐπορήσουσιν. ἡ δ᾽ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἑτοιμότης οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἰπεῖν μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς δυναίμην ὅση καὶ οἵα πρὸς τὸ ποιεῖν ὁτιοῦν ὑπάρχει. ἵνα δ᾽ εἰδῆθ᾽ οἷα καὶ διαπραττόμενοι περιέρχονται, λέγ᾽ αὐτοῖς ταυτασὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας, σὺ δ᾽ ἐπίλαβε τὸ ὕδωρ.”Μαρτυρίαι”
[36] But I bring forward surgeons also as witnesses. This, men of the jury, is not the case with them, but except what is deposed by themselves they will have not a single witness against me. But Heaven knows I could not tell you how great and how reckless a readiness you may expect on their part to perpetrate anything whatever.
Now that you may know what sort of things they do as they go about — read them these depositions, and do you check the flow of the water.” Depositions”
[37] τοίχους τοίνυν διορύττοντες καὶ παίοντες τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας, ἆρ᾽ ἂν ὑμῖν ὀκνῆσαι δοκοῦσιν ἐν γραμματειδίῳ τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν ἀλλήλοις οἱ κεκοινωνηκότες τοσαύτης καὶ τοιαύτης φιλαπεχθημοσύνης καὶ πονηρίας καὶ ἀναιδείας καὶ ὕβρεως; πάντα γὰρ ταῦτ᾽ ἔμοιγ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ὑπὸ τούτων πραττομένοις ἐνεῖναι δοκεῖ. καίτοι καὶ τούτων ἕτερ᾽ ἐστὶν πεπραγμένα τούτοις δεινότερα, ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς οὐχ οἷοί τε γενοίμεθ᾽ ἂν πάντας ἐξευρεῖν τοὺς ἠδικημένους.
[37] Well then, if people break into houses and beat those who come in their way, do you suppose they would scruple to swear falsely on a scrap of paper in the interest of one another — these men who are partners in such great and such reckless malignity and villainy and impudence and outrage? For I certainly think that all these terms fit the deeds they are in the habit of doing. And yet there are other deeds of theirs more dreadful even than these, though I should be unable to find out all who have suffered from them.
[38] ὃ τοίνυν πάντων ἀναιδέστατον μέλλειν αὐτὸν ἀκούω ποιεῖν, βέλτιον νομίζω προειπεῖν ὑμῖν εἶναι. φασὶ γὰρ παραστησάμενον τοὺς παῖδας αὐτὸν κατὰ τούτων ὀμεῖσθαι, καὶ ἀράς τινας δεινὰς καὶ χαλεπὰς ἐπαράσεσθαι καὶ τοιαύτας οἵας ἀκηκοώς γέ τις θαυμάσας ἀπήγγελλεν ἡμῖν. ἔστι δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἀνυπόστατα μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα τολμήματα: οἱ γὰρ οἶμαι βέλτιστοι καὶ ἥκιστ᾽ ἂν αὐτοί τι ψευσάμενοι μάλισθ᾽ ὑπὸ τῶν τοιούτων ἐξαπατῶνται: οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ δεῖ πρὸς τὸν βίον καὶ τὸν τρόπον ἀποβλέποντας πιστεύειν.
[38] The thing, however, which is the most impudent of all that he is going to do, as I hear, I think it better to warn you of in advance. For they say that he will bring his children, and, placing them by his side, will swear by them, imprecating some dread and awful curses of such a nature that a person who heard them and reported them to me was amazed. Now, men of the jury, there is no way of withstanding such audacity; for, I take it, the most honorable men and those who would be the last to tell a falsehood themselves, are most apt to be deceived by such people — not but that they ought to look at their lives and characters before believing them.
[39] τὴν δὲ τούτου πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ὀλιγωρίαν ἐγὼ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐρῶ: πέπυσμαι γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης. ἀκούω γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, Βάκχιόν τέ τινα, ὃς παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἀπέθανε, καὶ Ἀριστοκράτην τὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς διεφθαρμένον καὶ τοιούτους ἑτέρους καὶ Κόνωνα τουτονὶ ἑταίρους εἶναι μειράκι᾽ ὄντας καὶ Τριβαλλοὺς ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχειν: τούτους τά θ᾽ Ἑκαταῖα κατεσθίειν, καὶ τοὺς ὄρχεις τοὺς ἐκ τῶν χοίρων, οἷς καθαίρουσιν ὅταν εἰσιέναι μέλλωσιν, συλλέγοντας ἑκάστοτε συνδειπνεῖν ἀλλήλοις, καὶ ῥᾷον ὀμνύναι καὶ ἐπιορκεῖν ἢ ὁτιοῦν.
[39] The contempt, however, which this fellow feels for all sacred things I must tell you about; for I have been forced to make inquiry. For I hear, then, men of the jury, that a certain Bacchius, who was condemned to death in your court, and Aristocrates, the man with the bad eyes, and certain others of the same stamp, and with them this man Conon, were intimates when they were youths, and bore the nickname Triballi; and that these men used to devour the food set out for Hecatê and to gather up on each occasion for their dinner with one another the testicles of the pigs which are offered for purification when the assembly convenes, and that they thought less of swearing and perjuring themselves than of anything else in the world.
[40] οὐ δὴ Κόνων ὁ τοιοῦτος πιστός ἐστιν ὀμνύων, οὐδὲ πολλοῦ δεῖ, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μηδ᾽ εὔορκον ἑκὼν μηδὲν ἂν ὀμόσας, κατὰ δὲ δὴ παίδων ὧν μὴ νομίζετε μηδ᾽ ἂν μελλήσας, ἀλλὰ κἂν ὁτιοῦν παθὼν πρότερον, εἰ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀναγκαῖον, ὀμνύων ὡς νόμιμον, κατ᾽ ἐξωλείας αὑτοῦ καὶ γένους καὶ οἰκίας, ἀξιοπιστότερος τοῦ κατὰ τῶν παίδων ὀμνύοντος καὶ διὰ τοῦ πυρός. ἐγὼ τοίνυν ὁ δικαιότερόν σου πιστευθεὶς ἂν κατὰ πάντ᾽, ὦ Κόνων, ἠθέλησ᾽ ὀμόσαι ταυτί, οὐχ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην ὧν ἠδίκηκα, καὶ ὁτιοῦν ποιῶν, ὥσπερ σύ, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ προσυβρισθῆναι, ὡς οὐ κα
τεπιορκησόμενος τὸ πρᾶγμα. λέγε τὴν πρόκλησιν.”Πρόκλησις”
[40] Surely Conon, a man of that sort, is not to be believed on oath; far from it indeed. No; the man who would not swear by any object which your custom does not recognize even an oath which he intended to observe, and would not even think of doing so by the lives of his children, but would suffer anything rather than that; and who, if forced to swear, will take only a customary oath, imprecating destruction upon himself, his race, and his house, is more to be believed than one who swears by his children or is ready to pass through fire. I, then, who on every account am more worthy to be believed than you, Conon, offered to take the oath here cited, not that through readiness to do anything whatsoever I might avoid paying the penalty for crimes which I had committed, as is the case with you, but in the interest of truth, and in order that I might not be subjected to further outrage, and as one who will not allow his case to be lost through your perjury.
Read the challenge.” Challenge”
[41] ταῦτ᾽ ἐγὼ καὶ τότ᾽ ἠθέλησ᾽ ὀμόσαι, καὶ νῦν ὀμνύω τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ τὰς θεὰς ἅπαντας καὶ πάσας ὑμῶν ἕνεκ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τῶν περιεστηκότων, ἦ μὴν παθὼν ὑπὸ Κόνωνος ταῦθ᾽ ὧν δικάζομαι, καὶ λαβὼν πληγάς, καὶ τὸ χεῖλος διακοπεὶς οὕτως ὥστε καὶ ῥαφῆναι, καὶ ὑβρισθεὶς τὴν δίκην διώκειν. καὶ εἰ μὲν εὐορκῶ, πολλά μοι ἀγαθὰ γένοιτο καὶ μηδέποτ᾽ αὖθις τοιοῦτο μηδὲν πάθοιμι, εἰ δ᾽ ἐπιορκῶ, ἐξώλης ἀπολοίμην αὐτὸς καὶ εἴ τί μοι ἔστιν ἢ μέλλει ἔσεσθαι.
[41] This oath I was at that time ready to take, and now, to convince you and those who stand gathered about, I swear by all the gods and goddesses that I have in very truth suffered at the hands of Conon this wrong for which I am suing him; that I was beaten by him, and that my lip was cut open so that it had to be sewn up, and that it is because of gross maltreatment that I am prosecuting him. If I swear truly, may many blessings be mine, and may I never again suffer such an outrage; but, if I am forsworn, may I perish utterly, I and all I possess or ever may possess. But I am not forsworn; no, not though Conon should say so till he bursts.
[42] ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐπιορκῶ, οὐδ᾽ ἂν Κόνων διαρραγῇ. ἀξιῶ τοίνυν ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πάνθ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἐστὶν δίκαι᾽ ἐπιδείξαντος ἐμοῦ καὶ πίστιν προσθέντος ὑμῖν, ὥσπερ ἂν αὐτὸς ἕκαστος παθὼν τὸν πεποιηκότ᾽ ἐμίσει, οὕτως ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρὸς Κόνωνα τουτονὶ τὴν ὀργὴν ἔχειν, καὶ μὴ νομίζειν ἴδιον τῶν τοιούτων μηδὲν ὃ κἂν ἄλλῳ τυχὸν συμβαίη, ἀλλ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ὅτου ποτ᾽ ἂν συμβῇ, βοηθεῖν καὶ τὰ δίκαι᾽ ἀποδιδόναι, καὶ μισεῖν τοὺς πρὸ μὲν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων θρασεῖς καὶ προπετεῖς, ἐν δὲ τῷ δίκην ὑπέχειν ἀναισχύντους καὶ πονηροὺς καὶ μήτε δόξης μήτ᾽ ἔθους μήτ᾽ ἄλλου μηδενὸς φροντίζοντας πρὸς τὸ μὴ δοῦναι δίκην.
[42] Therefore, men of the jury, since I have shown you all the just arguments which I have to present, and have furthermore added an oath, it is but right that you should feel toward Conon on my behalf the same resentment which each one of you, had he been the victim, would have felt toward the one who did the wrong, and not to regard an act of this sort as a private matter which might fall to the lot of any man. No; whoever may be the victim, bear him aid and give him the redress that is his due, and loathe those who in the face of their crimes are bold and reckless, but when they are brought to trial are impudent villains, caring nothing for reputation or character or anything else, provided only they can escape punishment.
[43] ἀλλὰ δεήσεται Κόνων καὶ κλαήσει. σκοπεῖτε δὴ πότερός ἐστιν ἐλεινότερος, ὁ πεπονθὼς οἷ᾽ ἐγὼ πέπονθ᾽ ὑπὸ τούτου, εἰ προσυβρισθεὶς ἄπειμι καὶ δίκης μὴ τυχών, ἢ Κόνων, εἰ δώσει δίκην; πότερον δ᾽ ὑμῶν ἑκάστῳ συμφέρει ἐξεῖναι τύπτειν καὶ ὑβρίζειν ἢ μή; ἐγὼ μὲν οἴομαι μή. οὐκοῦν, ἂν μὲν ἀφιῆτε, ἔσονται πολλοί, ἐὰν δὲ κολάζητε, ἐλάττους.
[43] Of course Conon will entreat you and wail aloud. But consider, which of us is more deserving of pity, a man who has suffered such treatment as I have at the hands of the defendant, if I am to go forth having met with the further disgrace of losing my suit, or Conon, if he is to be punished? Is it to the advantage of each one of you that a man be permitted to indulge in battery and outrage, or that he be not permitted? I certainly think he should not be. Well then, if you let him off, there will be many such; if you punish him, fewer.
[44] πόλλ᾽ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοιμ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ ὡς ἡμεῖς χρήσιμοι, καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ ὁ πατήρ, ἕως ἔζη, καὶ τριηραρχοῦντες καὶ στρατευόμενοι καὶ τὸ προσταττόμενον ποιοῦντες, καὶ ὡς οὐδὲν οὔθ᾽ οὗτος οὔτε τῶν τούτου οὐδείς: ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε τὸ ὕδωρ ἱκανὸν οὔτε νῦν περὶ τούτων ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. εἰ γὰρ δὴ ὁμολογουμένως ἔτι τούτων καὶ ἀχρηστοτέροις καὶ πονηροτέροις ἡμῖν εἶναι συνέβαινεν, οὐ τυπτητέοι, οὐδ᾽ ὑβριστέοι δήπου ἐσμέν.
οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅ τι δεῖ πλείω λέγειν: οἶμαι γὰρ ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν εἰρημένων.
[44] I might have much to say, men of the jury, about the services we have rendered you, I, and my father while he lived, both as trierarchs and in the army, and in performing whatever duty was laid upon us, and I could show that neither the defendant nor any of his sons have rendered any service; but the allowance of water is not sufficient nor is it at this time a question of such services. For, if it were indeed our lot to be by common consent regarded as more useless and more base than Conon, we are not, I suppose, to be beaten or maltreated.
I do not know what reason there is why I should say more; for I believe that nothing which I have said has escaped you.
πρὸς Καλλικλέα Περὶ Χωρίου Βλάβης — AGAINST CALLICLES
[1] οὐκ ἦν ἄρ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, χαλεπώτερον οὐδὲν ἢ γείτονος πονηροῦ καὶ πλεονέκτου τυχεῖν, ὅπερ ἐμοὶ νυνὶ συμβέβηκεν. ἐπιθυμήσας γὰρ τῶν χωρίων μου Καλλικλῆς οὕτω διατέθηκέν με συκοφαντῶν, ὥστε πρῶτον μὲν τὸν ἀνεψιὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ κατεσκεύασεν ἀμφισβητεῖν μοι τῶν χωρίων,
[1] There is after all, men of Athens, nothing more vexatious than to have a neighbor who is base and covetous; the very thing which has fallen to my lot. For Callicles, having set his heart on my land, has pestered me with malicious and baseless litigation: in the first place he suborned his cousin to claim my property,
[2] ἐξελεγχθεὶς δὲ φανερῶς καὶ περιγενομένου μου τῆς τούτων σκευωρίας πάλιν δύο δίκας ἐρήμους μου κατεδιῃτήσατο, τὴν μὲν αὐτὸς χιλίων δραχμῶν, τὴν δὲ τὸν ἀδελφὸν τουτονὶ πείσας Καλλικράτην. δέομ�
�ι δὴ πάντων ὑμῶν ἀκοῦσαί μου καὶ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν, οὐχ ὡς αὐτὸς δυνησόμενος εἰπεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἵν᾽ ὑμεῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων καταμάθητε, ὅτι φανερῶς συκοφαντοῦμαι.
[2] but the claim was proved manifestly false, and I got the better of that intrigue; then, again, he secured two awards against me for default, one in an action brought in his own name for one thousand drachmae, and another in an action which he persuaded his brother Callicrates, who is here in court, to bring. I beg you all to listen to me, and to give me your attention, not because I am going to show myself an able speaker, but in order that you may learn from the facts themselves, that I am manifestly the victim of a malicious and baseless suit.
[3] ἓν μὲν οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πρὸς ἅπαντας τοὺς τούτων λόγους ὑπάρχει μοι δίκαιον. τὸ γὰρ χωρίον τοῦτο περιῳκοδόμησεν ὁ πατὴρ μικροῦ δεῖν πρὶν ἐμὲ γενέσθαι, ζῶντος μὲν ἔτι Καλλιππίδου τοῦ τούτων πατρὸς καὶ γειτνιῶντος, ὃς ἀκριβέστερον ᾔδει δήπου τούτων, ὄντος δὲ Καλλικλέους ἀνδρὸς ἤδη καὶ ἐπιδημοῦντος Ἀθήνησιν.