by Demosthenes
[3] A single plea, men of Athens, I bring before you to answer all the arguments of these men, a just one. My father built the wall around this land almost before I was born, while Callippides, the father of these men was still living, and was my father’s neighbor （and of course he knew the facts better than these men do）, and when, moreover, Callicles was already a grown man, and was living at Athens;
[4] ἐν δὲ τούτοις τοῖς ἔτεσιν ἅπασιν οὔτ᾽ ἐγκαλῶν οὐδεὶς πώποτ᾽ ἦλθεν οὔτε μεμφόμενος （καίτοι δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τόθ᾽ ὕδατα πολλάκις ἐγένετο）, οὐδ᾽ ἐκώλυσεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, εἴπερ ἠδίκει τινὰ περιοικοδομῶν ὁ πατὴρ τὸ ἡμέτερον χωρίον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀπηγόρευσεν οὐδὲ διεμαρτύρατο, πλέον μὲν ἢ πεντεκαίδεκ᾽ ἔτη τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιβιόντος, οὐκ ἐλάττω δὲ τοῦ τούτων πατρὸς Καλλιππίδου.
[4] and my father lived on more than fifteen years longer, and their father as many. In all these years no one ever came to object or make complaint （and yet of course it often rained then, just as it does now）; no one made any opposition at the start, as he would have done, if my father by walling in his land had caused injury to anyone; nor did anyone forbid him, or protest against his action.
[5] καίτοι, ὦ Καλλίκλεις, ἐξῆν δήπου τόθ᾽ ὑμῖν, ὁρῶσιν ἀποικοδομουμένην τὴν χαράδραν, ἐλθοῦσιν εὐθὺς ἀγανακτεῖν καὶ λέγειν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ‘Τεισία, τί ταῦτα ποιεῖς; ἀποικοδομεῖς τὴν χαράδραν; εἶτ᾽ ἐμπεσεῖται τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς τὸ χωρίον τὸ ἡμέτερον’, ἵν᾽ εἰ μὲν ἐβούλετο παύσασθαι, μηδὲν ἡμῖν ἦν δυσχερὲς πρὸς ἀλλήλους, εἰ δ᾽ ὠλιγώρησεν καὶ συνέβη τι τοιοῦτον, μάρτυσιν εἶχες τοῖς τότε παραγενομένοις χρῆσθαι.
[5] And yet, Callicles, when you saw that the watercourse was being dammed, you people might, I suppose, have gone at once to my father and complained angrily, and said to him, “Teisias, what is this that you are doing? Are you damming the watercourse? Why, then the water will burst through on to our land.” In that case, if he had seen fit to desist, you and I would be having no quarrel with one another; or, if he paid no heed, and any such mischief resulted, you would have been able to avail yourself of those who were present as witnesses.
[6] καὶ νὴ Δι᾽ ἐπιδεῖξαί γέ σ᾽ ἔδει πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις χαράδραν οὖσαν, ἵνα μὴ λόγῳ μόνον, ὥσπερ νῦν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔργῳ τὸν πατέρ᾽ ἀδικοῦντ᾽ ἀπέφαινες. τούτων τοίνυν οὐδὲν πώποτ᾽ οὐδεὶς ποιεῖν ἠξίωσεν. οὐ γὰρ ἂν οὔτ᾽ ἐρήμην, ὥσπερ ἐμοῦ νῦν,
[6] And, by heaven, you ought to have satisfied all men that there was a watercourse, that you might have shown, not by your mere statement, as is the case now, but on a basis of fact, that my father was guilty of wrongdoing. Yet no one of these men ever thought of doing any such thing. For, had you done this, you would not have got an award for default against me, as you now have, nor would you have gained anything by your malicious charges;
[7] κατεδιῃτήσασθε, οὔτε πλέον ἂν ἦν ὑμῖν συκοφαντοῦσιν οὐδέν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ ἠνέγκατε τότε μάρτυρα καὶ ἐπεμαρτύρασθε, νῦν ἀπέφαινεν ἂν ἐκεῖνος εἰδὼς ἀκριβῶς ὅπως εἶχεν ἕκαστα τούτων, καὶ τοὺς ῥᾳδίως τούτους μαρτυροῦντας ἐξήλεγχεν. ἀνθρώπου δ᾽ οἶμαι τηλικούτου καὶ ἀπείρου τῶν πραγμάτων ἅπαντες καταπεφρονήκατέ μου. ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ πρὸς ἅπαντας τούτους, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὰς αὐτῶν πράξεις ἰσχυροτάτας μαρτυρίας παρέχομαι. διὰ τί γὰρ οὐδεὶς οὔτ᾽ ἐπεμαρτύρατ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἐνεκάλεσεν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐμέμψατο πώποτε, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξήρκει ταῦτ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἠδικημένοις περιορᾶν;
[7] for if you had at that time brought a witness and appealed to his testimony, he would now have proved from his own knowledge precisely how the several matters stood, and would have refuted these men who are so glib with their testimony. But, I fancy, you have all come to despise one so young as I am, and so inexperienced in affairs. But, men of Athens, I adduce their own acts as the strongest evidence against them all; for how is it that not one of them ever protested, or lodged a complaint, or even uttered a word of censure, but they were content to submit to this injury?
[8] ἐγὼ τοίνυν ἱκανὰ μὲν ἡγοῦμαι καὶ ταῦτ᾽ εἶναι πρὸς τὴν τούτων ἀναίδειαν: ἵνα δ᾽ εἰδῆτ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὡς οὔθ᾽ ὁ πατὴρ οὐδὲν ἠδίκει περιοικοδομῶν τὸ χωρίον οὗτοί τε κατεψευσμένοι πάντ᾽ εἰσὶν ἡμῶν, ἔτι σαφέστερον ὑμᾶς πειράσομαι διδάσκειν. τὸ μὲν γὰρ
[8] Well, I think that what I have said is by itself a sufficient answer to their shameless claims; but that you may be assured, men of Athens, on other grounds as well that my father committed no wrong in walling in the land, and that these men have uttered nothing but falsehoods, I shall try to explain to you even more clearly.
[9] χωρίον ὁμολογεῖται καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν τούτων ἡμέτερον ἴδιον εἶναι: τούτου δ᾽ ὑπάρχοντος, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μάλιστα μὲν ᾔδειτ᾽ ἂν ἰδόντες τὸ χωρίον ὅτι συκοφαντοῦμαι. διὸ καὶ τοῖς εἰδόσιν ἐπιτρέπειν ἐβουλόμην ἐγώ, τοῖς ἴσοις. ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ οὗτοι, καθάπερ νυνὶ λέγειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν: δῆλον δ᾽ ὑμῖν καὶ τοῦτ᾽ αὐτίκ᾽ ἔσται πᾶσιν. ἀλλὰ προσέχετ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πρὸς Διὸς καὶ θεῶν τὸν νοῦν.
[9] That the land is our private property is admitted by these men themselves, and this being the case, men of Athens, if you could see the place, you would know at once that their suit is groundless. For this reason I wanted to refer the case to impartial persons who know the locality, but these men refused, although they now try to maintain that they wished it. This, too, will be made clear to you all in a moment; but give close heed, men of Athens, I beg you in the name of Zeus and the gods!
[10] τοῦ γὰρ χωρίου τοῦ τ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ τούτων τὸ μέσον ὁδός ἐστιν, ὄρους δὲ περιέχοντος κύκλῳ τοῖς χωρίοις τὸ καταρρέον ὕδωρ τῇ μὲν εἰς τὴν ὁδόν, τῇ δ᾽ εἰς τὰ χωρία συμβαίνει φέρεσθαι. καὶ δὴ καὶ τούτου τὸ εἰσπῖπτον εἰς τὴν ὁδόν, ᾗ μὲν ἂν εὐοδῇ, φέρεται κάτω κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, ᾗ δ᾽ ἂν ἐνστῇ τι, τηνικαῦτα τοῦτ᾽ εἰς τὰ χωρί᾽ ὑπεραίρειν ἀναγκαῖον ἤδη.
[10] For the space between my property and theirs is a road, and as a hilly country encircles them, unluckily for the farms, the water that flows down runs, as it happens, partly into the road, and partly on to the farms. And in particular, that which pours into the road, whenever it has free course, flows down along the road, but when there is any stoppage, then it of necessity overflows upon the farms.
[11] καὶ δὴ κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ χωρίον, ὦ
ἄνδρες δικασταί, γενομένης ἐπομβρίας συνέβη τὸ ὕδωρ ἐμβαλεῖν: ἀμεληθὲν δ᾽ οὔπω τοῦ πατρὸς ἔχοντος αὐτό, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνθρώπου δυσχεραίνοντος ὅλως τοῖς τόποις καὶ μᾶλλον ἀστικοῦ, δὶς καὶ τρὶς ἐμβαλὸν τὸ ὕδωρ τά τε χωρί᾽ ἐλυμήνατο καὶ μᾶλλον ὡδοποίει. διὸ δὴ ταῦθ᾽ ὁ πατὴρ ὁρῶν, ὡς ἐγὼ τῶν εἰδότων ἀκούω, καὶ τῶν γειτόνων ἐπινεμόντων ἅμα καὶ βαδιζόντων διὰ τοῦ χωρίου, τὴν αἱμασιὰν περιῳκοδόμησεν ταύτην.
[11] Now this particular piece of land, as it happened, was inundated after a heavy downpour had occurred. As a result of neglect, when my father was not yet in possession of the land, but a man held it who utterly disliked the neighborhood, and preferred to live in the city, the water overflowed two or three times, wrought damage to the land, and was more and more making itself a path. For this reason my father, when he saw it （so I am informed by those acquainted with the circumstances）, inasmuch as the neighbors also began to encroach upon the property and walk across it, built around it this enclosing wall.
[12] καὶ ὡς ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, παρέξομαι μὲν καὶ μάρτυρας ὑμῖν τοὺς εἰδότας, πολὺ δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν μαρτύρων ἰσχυρότερα τεκμήρια. Καλλικλῆς μὲν γάρ φησιν τὴν χαράδραν ἀποικοδομήσαντα βλάπτειν ἔμ᾽ αὑτόν: ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἀποδείξω χωρίον ὂν τοῦτο, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ χαράδραν.
[12] To prove that I am speaking the truth in this, I shall bring before you as witnesses those who know the facts, and circumstantial evidence, men of Athens, far stronger than any testimony. Callicles says that I am doing him an injury by having walled off the watercourse; but I shall show that this is private land and no watercourse.
[13] εἰ μὲν οὖν μὴ συνεχωρεῖθ᾽ ἡμέτερον ἴδιον εἶναι, τάχ᾽ ἂν τοῦτ᾽ ἠδικοῦμεν, εἴ τι τῶν δημοσίων ᾠκοδομοῦμεν: νυνὶ δ᾽ οὔτε τοῦτ᾽ ἀμφισβητοῦσιν, ἔστιν τ᾽ ἐν τῷ χωρίῳ δένδρα πεφυτευμένα, ἄμπελοι καὶ συκαῖ. καίτοι τίς ἂν ἐν χαράδρᾳ ταῦτα φυτεύειν ἀξιώσειεν; οὐδείς γε. τίς δὲ πάλιν τοὺς αὑτοῦ προγόνους θάπτειν;
[13] If it were not admitted to be our private property, we should perhaps be guilty of this wrongdoing, if we had fenced off a piece of public land; but as it is, they do not dispute this, and on the land there are trees planted, vines and figs. Yet who would think of planting these in a watercourse? Nobody, surely. Again, who would think of burying his own ancestors there? No one, I think, would do this either.
[14] οὐδὲ τοῦτ᾽ οἶμαι. ταῦτα τοίνυν ἀμφότερ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, συμβέβηκεν: καὶ γὰρ τὰ δένδρα πεφύτευται πρότερον ἢ τὸν πατέρα περιοικοδομῆσαι τὴν αἱμασιάν, καὶ τὰ μνήματα παλαιὰ καὶ πρὶν ἡμᾶς κτήσασθαι τὸ χωρίον γεγενημέν᾽ ἐστίν. καίτοι τούτων ὑπαρχόντων τίς ἂν ἔτι λόγος ἰσχυρότερος, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, γένοιτο; τὰ γὰρ ἔργα φανερῶς ἐξελέγχει. καί μοι λαβὲ πάσας νυνὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας, καὶ λέγε.”Μαρτυρίαι”
[14] Well, both these things have been done. For not only were the trees planted before my father built the wall, but the tombs are old, and were built before we acquired the property. Yet, since this is the case, what stronger argument could there be, men of Athens? The facts afford manifest proof.
Now please take all these depositions, and read them.” Depositions”
[15] ἀκούετ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν μαρτυριῶν. ἆρ᾽ ὑμῖν δοκοῦσι διαρρήδην μαρτυρεῖν, καὶ χωρίον εἶναι δένδρων μεστὸν καὶ μνήματ᾽ ἔχειν τινὰ καὶ τἄλλ᾽ ἅπερ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις χωρίοις συμβέβηκεν, καὶ πάλιν ὅτι περιῳκοδομήθη τὸ χωρίον ζῶντος μὲν ἔτι τοῦ τούτων πατρός, οὐκ ἀμφισβητούντων δ᾽ οὔτε τούτων οὔτ᾽ ἄλλου τῶν γειτόνων οὐδενός;
[15] Men of Athens, you hear the depositions. Do they not appear to you to testify expressly that it is a place full of trees, and that it contains some tombs and other things which are to be found in most private pieces of land? Do they not prove also that the land was walled in during the lifetime of their father without opposition being made by these men or any other of the neighbors?
[16] ἄξιον δ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὧν εἴρηκε Καλλικλῆς ἀκοῦσαι. καὶ σκέψασθε πρῶτον μέν, εἴ τις ὑμῶν ἑόρακεν ἢ ἀκήκοεν πώποτε παρ᾽ ὁδὸν χαράδραν οὖσαν. οἶμαι γὰρ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ χώρᾳ μηδεμίαν εἶναι: τοῦ γὰρ ἕνεκ᾽ ἄν, ὃ διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς δημοσίας ἔμελλεν βαδιεῖσθαι φερόμενον, τούτῳ διὰ τῶν ἰδίων χωρίων χαράδραν ἐποίησέν τις;
[16] It is worth your while, men of the jury, to hear some remarks also about the other statements made by Callicles. And first, consider whether any one of you has ever seen or heard of a watercourse existing by the side of a road. I think that in the whole country there is not a single one. For what could induce any man to make a channel through his private lands for water which would otherwise have gone rushing down a public road?
[17] ἔπειτα τίς ἂν ὑμῶν εἴτ᾽ ἐν ἀγρῷ νὴ Δί᾽ εἴτ᾽ ἐν ἄστει τὸ διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ ῥέον ὕδωρ εἰς τὸ χωρίον ἢ τὴν οἰκίαν δέξαιτ᾽ ἂν αὑτοῦ; ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ αὐτὸ τοὐναντίον, κἂν βιάσηταί ποτε, ἀποφράττειν ἅπαντες καὶ παροικοδομεῖν εἰώθαμεν; οὗτος τοίνυν ἀξιοῖ μ᾽ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ τὸ ὕδωρ εἰσδεξάμενον εἰς τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ χωρίον, ὅταν τὸ τούτου παραλλάξῃ χωρίον, πάλιν εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ἐξαγαγεῖν. οὐκοῦν πάλιν ὁ μετὰ τοῦτόν μοι γεωργῶν τῶν γειτόνων ἐγκαλεῖ: τὸ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τούτου δίκαιον δῆλον ὅτι κἀκείνοις ὑπάρξει πᾶσι λέγειν.
[17] And what one of you, whether in the country or the city would allow water passing along the highway to flow into his farm or his house? On the contrary, when it forces its way in, is it not our habit to dam or wall it off? But the plaintiff demands of me that I let the water from the road flow into my land, and, when it has passed beyond his, turn it back again into the road. Well then, the neighbor who farms the land next to his will make complaint; for it is plain that they too will have the same right to protest that the plaintiff has.
[18] ἀλλὰ μὴν εἴ γ᾽ εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν ὀκνήσω τὸ ὕδωρ ἐξάγειν, ἦ που σφόδρα θαρρῶν εἰς τὸ τοῦ πλησίον χωρίον ἀφιείην ἄν. ὅπου γὰρ δίκας ἀτιμήτους φεύγω διότι τὸ ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ ῥέον ὕδωρ εἰς τὸ τούτου χωρίον διέπεσεν, τί πείσομαι πρὸς Διὸς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ χωρίου τοὐμοῦ τοῦ ὕδατος εἰσπεσόντος βλαπτομένων; ὅπου δὲ μήτ᾽ εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν μήτ᾽ εἰς τ�
�� χωρί᾽ ἀφιέναι μοι τὸ ὕδωρ ἐξέσται δεξαμένῳ, τί λοιπόν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πρὸς θεῶν; οὐ γὰρ ἐκπιεῖν γε δήπου με Καλλικλῆς αὐτὸ προσαναγκάσει.
[18] But surely, if I am afraid to divert the water into the road, I should be a rash man indeed, if I were to turn it into land. For when I am being sued for penalty because the water flowing from the road spread over the plaintiff’s land, what treatment in heaven’s name must I expect to meet at the hands of those who suffer damage from the water overflowing from my own land? But if, once I have got the water on my property, I am not to be allowed to drain it off either into the road or onto private land, men of the jury, what course in the name of the gods remains for me? I take it, Callicles will not force me to drink it all up!
[19] ταῦτα τοίνυν ἐγὼ πάσχων ὑπὸ τούτων καὶ πόλλ᾽ ἕτερα καὶ δεινά, μὴ ὅτι δίκην λαβών, ἀλλὰ μὴ προσοφλὼν ἀγαπήσαιμ᾽ ἄν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, χαράδρα πάλιν ὑποδεχομένη, τάχ᾽ ἂν ἠδίκουν ἐγὼ μὴ δεχόμενος, ὥσπερ ἀν᾽ ἕτερ᾽ ἄττα τῶν χωρίων εἰσὶν ὁμολογούμεναι χαράδραι: καὶ ταύταις δέχονται μὲν οἱ πρῶτοι, καθάπερ τοὺς ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν χειμάρρους, παρὰ τούτων δ᾽ ἕτεροι παραλαμβάνουσιν ὡσαύτως: ταύτῃ δ᾽ οὔτε παραδίδωσιν οὐδεὶς οὔτε παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ παραλαμβάνει.