Delphi Complete Works of Demosthenes, page 462
[65] Because you condemned his father to death and sold his mother when she was found guilty of defrauding her emancipator, do you suppose that that makes him well-disposed to you? By Zeus and all the gods, that is absurd. For if he is well-disposed towards father and mother, and so observes the great law of nature, which is laid down alike for man and beast, that all should love their parents,
[66] κακόνους ἐστὶ τοῖς ἐκείνους ἀπολωλεκόσιν δῆλον ὅτι καὶ νόμοις καὶ πολιτείᾳ τῇ τούτων: εἰ δὲ μηδένα τούτων ὑπόλογον ποιεῖται, ἡδέως ἂν εἰδείην τίς ἐστιν ὁ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς γονέας εὔνοιαν ὁρῶν προδεδωκότα τοῦτον, ἣν πρὸς τὸν δῆμον νῦν ἔχειν ὑπισχνεῖται, πιστεύων: ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἄπιστον καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθρόν, οὐ μόνον ἀνθρώποις, ὑπολαμβάνω τὸν τῶν γονέων ἀμελοῦντα.
[66] then he must clearly be ill-disposed to those who have destroyed them and to their laws and their constitution. But if he has no regard for these things, I should like to know who that sees how he has renounced all affection for his parents, can believe in his pretended zeal for the people; for the man who neglects his parents I regard as unworthy of trust and hateful alike to gods and men.
[67] ἀλλὰ νὴ Δί᾽ ὅτι τὰς ἐνδείξεις αὐτοῦ κατεψηφίσασθε, καὶ δὶς εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον κατέθεσθε καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ τὸν ἀδελφόν, διὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὑμῖν εὔνους ἐστίν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἄτοπον. ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἣν ἔλαχεν ἄρχειν ἀπεδοκιμάσατε;
[67] But I shall be told it is because you condemned him on information laid and twice put him and his brother into prison; it is for this reason that he is your well-wisher. But that too is ridiculous. Or because you disqualified him for the office to which he had been allotted? Or because you found him guilty of a breach of the constitution? Or because you fined him ten talents? Or because you habitually point the finger of scorn at him as the vilest of all men in the world?
[68] ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι παρανόμων αὐτοῦ κατέγνωτε; ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι πέντε ταλάντων πρὸς ἐτιμήσατε; ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι δακτυλοδεικτεῖτ᾽ ἐπὶ τῷ πονηρότατον τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων δεικνύναι; ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι τῶν ὑπαρχόντων νόμων καὶ πολιτείας μενόντων οὐκ ἔνι τῶν αἰσχρῶν αὐτῷ τούτων ἀπαλλαγῆναι; ἀλλὰ διὰ τί ὑμῖν οὗτος εὔνους ἐστίν; ὅτι, φησίν, ἀναιδής ἐστιν. ὁ δ᾽ ἀναιδὴς ἐκ τίνος ὠνομάσθη τῶν ἄλλων ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ὅταν τὰ μήτ᾽ ὄντα μήτ᾽ ἂν γενόμενα, ταῦτα τολμᾷ λέγειν δι᾽ ἀναισχυντίαν, ὅπερ οὗτος ποιεῖ;
[68] Or because, as long as the present laws and constitution stand, he cannot clear himself of these reproaches? Then why is he well-disposed to you? It is because, in his own words, he is impudent. Why is the impudent man so called save because, being lost to a sense of shame, he dares to state what is not, and never will be, true? And that is precisely what the defendant does.
[69] ἡγοῦμαι τοίνυν καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐνδείξεως, ἅ μοι παραλείπειν ἔδοξε Λυκοῦργος, βέλτιον εἶναι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν. ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶμαι δεῖν ὑμᾶς, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ χρέος ἐσκοπεῖτ᾽ ἴδιον, οὕτως ἐξετάσαι τοῦτον καὶ τὰ τουτουὶ τοῦ ἀγῶνος δίκαια. εἰ τοίνυν τις ὀφείλειν τιν᾽ ᾐτιᾶτο χρήματα, ὁ δ᾽ ἠρνεῖτο, εἰ μὲν ἐφαίνονθ᾽ αἵ τε συνθῆκαι καθ᾽ ἃς ἐδανείσατο κείμεναι καὶ οἱ τεθέντες ὅροι ἑστηκότες, τὸν ἀρνούμενον ἡγεῖσθ᾽ ἂν ἀναιδῆ δηλονότι, εἰ δ᾽ ἀνῃρημένα ταῦτα, τὸν ἐγκαλοῦντα: οὕτω ταῦτα πέφυκεν.
[69] Now there are some facts about the information laid against him which Lycurgus seems to have passed over, but which I had better lay before you; for I think you should examine the defendant and the rights of the present case as carefully as you would scrutinize a private debt. Suppose then that A accused B of owing him money, and B denied it. If the registered terms of the loan were still to be read, or if the pillars which marked the mortgaged property were still standing, you would clearly regard as impudent the man who denied the transaction; but if it was shown that these proofs no longer existed, then you would regard the accuser as impudent. That is natural.
[70] εἰσὶ τοίνυν ὧν Ἀριστογείτων ὀφείλει τῇ πόλει συνθῆκαι μὲν οἱ νόμοι, καθ᾽ οὓς ἐγγράφονται πάντες οἱ ὀφλισκάνοντες, ὅρος δ᾽ ἡ σανὶς ἡ παρὰ τῇ θεῷ κειμένη. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀνῄρηται ταῦτα καὶ ἐξαλήλιπται τὸ ὄφλημα, ἡμεῖς ληροῦμεν, μᾶλλον δὲ ψευδόμεθα: εἰ δ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔστι καὶ ἔσται τέωσπερ ἂν ἐκτείσῃ κείμενα, οὗτος οὐδὲν ἀληθὲς λέγει, ἀλλ᾽ ἀδικεῖ καὶ δεινὰ ποιεῖ τὰ κοινὰ δίκαι᾽ ἀφανίζειν ἐπιχειρῶν.
[70] Well, of Aristogeiton’s debt to the State the terms still exist, namely the laws under which all defaulters are registered; and the pillar is the wooden table of the law deposited in the temple of the Goddess. Now if these have been destroyed and the debt wiped out, we are talking nonsense, or rather telling lies; but if they are still in existence and will remain valid until he pays his debt, then there is no truth in his plea, but he is committing a serious crime in trying to suppress the rights of the State.
[71] οὐ γάρ, εἰ μὴ πᾶν ὅσον ὦφλεν ὀφείλει, νῦν ἡ κρίσις οὐδ᾽ ὁ λόγος, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ ὀφείλει. ἢ δεινά γ᾽ ἂν πάθοιεν οἱ δραχμὴν ἐγγεγραμμένοι μόνην, εἰ, διότι μικρὰ καὶ οὐδὲν ἠδικήκασιν, ἰσχύσει τὸ ὀφείλειν κατ᾽ αὐτῶν: ἐὰν δέ τις μεγάλ᾽ ἠδικηκὼς ᾖ, μίαν θεὶς ἢ δύο καταβολὰς ἐπίτιμος ἔσται. ἔτι τοίνυν τρί᾽ ἐστὶν τὰ ὀφλήμαθ᾽ ἃ ἐγγέγραπται καὶ ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐνδέδεικται. τὰ μὲν δὴ δύ᾽ ἐν ἀπογραφῇ πεποίηται, τὸ δ᾽ ἓν οὐδ᾽ ἀπογέγραπται, ἀλλὰ βουλεύσεως τὸν Ἀλωπεκῆθεν Ἀρίστωνα διώκει.
[71] For the point to be argued and decided is not whether all his debts are unpaid, but whether he is still in debt. Otherwise it would be hard on those who are registered for a debt of one drachma, if their indebtedness is to tell against them, because they have done some trifling wrong or even no wrong at all, whereas if a man has committed serious wrongs, he is to regain his civic rights by paying one or two instalments. Moreover, there are three distinct debts registered and forming the ground of the information. Two Aristogeiton has entered in the register; the third he has not registered, but he is prosecuting Aristo of Alopece for malicious entry.
[72] ναί, φησίν: ἀδίκως γάρ μ᾽ ἐγγέγραφεν. δεῖ δή σε, ὡς ἔοικεν, δίκην λαβεῖν. οὐκοῦν ὑποσχεῖν πρῶτον καὶ μεῖναι ἐν οἷς πέπονθας ἀνάγκη. ἢ τίνος λήψει δίκην; εἰ γὰρ ἔξεστί σοι πάνθ᾽ ἅπερ τοῖς ἄλλοις, τί ἠδίκησαι;
[72] “Yes,” says he, “for he has registered my name as a debtor unjustly.” Of course it is evident that you have a right to satisfaction for this; but then you ought first to give satisfaction and abide by the penalty you have brought on yourself. Or again, for what do you expect to obtain satisfaction? If you are at liberty to do everything that other citizens do, how are you wronged?
[73] φέρε δὴ πρὸς θεῶν κἀκεῖνο σκέψασθε. ἂν ἕλῃ τὸν Ἀρίστωνα τῆς βουλεύσεως, τί ἔσται; ἐξαλειφθήσεται νὴ Δία, ὁ δ᾽ ἀντεγγραφήσεται: ταῦτα γὰρ οἱ νόμοι λέγουσιν. καλῶς. πότερον οὖν ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας ὁδὶ μὲν ὀφειλήσει τῷ δημοσίῳ, ὁ ἐξαλειφθείς, ἐκεῖνος δ᾽ ἐπίτιμος ἔσται, ὁ ἐγγραφείς; ἐκ γὰρ ὧν νῦν ὅδ᾽ ἀξιοῖ, ταῦτα συμβαίνει: εἰ γὰρ ὅτ᾽ ἐγγέγραπται μὴ ὀφείλει, ἐπειδὰν ἐξαλειφθῇ, ὀφειλήσει δηλονότι. ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν ἐξαλειφθῇ, τότ᾽ οὐκ ὀφειλήσει: οὐκοῦν νῦν ὀφείλει.
[73] I beg the jury in Heaven’s name to consider this point also. If he convicts Aristo of malicious intent, what will it mean? His name, of course, will be erased and Aristo’s substituted, because that is the law. Good! Then henceforward will this man, whose name has been erased, be a State-debtor, and will the other man, registered as a debtor, retain his full citizenship? That is what follows from the defendant’s claim, for if he is not a debtor when his name has been registered, then, when his name has been erased, he will obviously be a debtor. But that is absolutely untrue. No; when his name is erased, then he will be no longer a debtor. In that case the defendant is a debtor now.
[74] τί δ᾽; ἂν αὐτὸν ἀποφύγῃ, παρὰ τοῦ κομιεῖται ταῦθ᾽ ἡ πόλις ἃ νῦν οὐκ ἐξὸν οὗτος ποιεῖ; πόθεν δέ, οἷς οὗτος θανάτου τιμᾶται καὶ δεσμοῦ περιιὼν ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, οἱ μὲν τὰς ψυχάς, οἱ δὲ τὸ μὴ δεινὰ πεπονθέναι κομιοῦνται; ᾧ γὰρ οὐδὲ τῶν ἴσων οὐδὲ τῶν ἐγκυκλίων δικαίων μετουσίαν διδόασιν οἱ νόμοι, οὗτος τῶν ἀνηκέστων ἑτέροις αἴτιος γίγνεται, οὐκ ὀρθῶς οὐδὲ πολιτικῶς οὐδ᾽ ὡς συμφέρει γιγνομένων τούτων.
[74] Again; if Aristo is acquitted, to whom is the State to look for compensation for the defendant’s illegal acts? And what about the men whose execution and imprisonment he tries to procure, as he bustles to and fro in the court? How will they recover their lives or escape from the sufferings they have already endured? For this man, to whom the laws refuse a share in our common everyday privileges, is the cause of intolerable wrongs to others by methods that are neither correct nor constitutional nor convenient.
[75] ἀλλ᾽ ἔγωγε ταῦθ᾽ ὁρῶν θαυμάζω, τὸ τἄνω κάτω γεγενῆσθαι τί ποτ᾽ οἴεσθ᾽ εἶναι. ἐὰν ἡ γῆ μὲν ἄνω, τὰ δ᾽ ἄστρα κάτω γένηται; οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο γενέσθαι, μηδὲ γένοιτο. ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν, οἷς ἐκ τῶν νόμων μὴ ἔξεστιν, ἐκ τῶν ὑμετέρων βουλήσεων ἐξῇ, ὅταν ἡ μὲν πονηρία τιμᾶται, τὰ χρηστὰ δ᾽ ἀπορρίπτηται, ὅταν τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὸ συμφέρον ἡττᾶται τοῦ φθόνου, τότ᾽ ἄνω κάτω πάντα χρὴ νομίζειν τετράφθαι.
[75] When I see all this, I wonder what meaning you attach to the phrase “upside down.” Is it for the earth to be up there and the stars down here? That is impossible, and let us hope it always will be. But when those who have no rights enjoy rights at your pleasure, when villainy is honored and virtue spurned, when justice and expediency are sacrificed to personal spite, then we must suppose that the universe has indeed been turned upside down.
[76] ἤδη τοίνυν τινὰς εἶδον τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων οἳ τοῖς πράγμασιν αὐτοῖς ἁλισκόμενοι, καὶ οὐκ ἔχοντες ὡς οὐκ ἀδικοῦσι δεῖξαι, οἱ μὲν εἰς τὴν τοῦ βίου μετριότητα καὶ σωφροσύνην κατέφυγον, οἱ δ᾽ εἰς τὰ τῶν προγόνων ἔργα καὶ λῃτουργίας, οἱ δ᾽ εἰς ἕτερα τοιαῦτα δι᾽ ὧν εἰς ἔλεον καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν τοὺς δικάζοντας ἤγαγον. τούτῳ δ᾽ οὐδέν᾽ ὁρῶ τῶν τόπων τούτων βάσιμον ὄντα, ἀλλὰ πάντ᾽ ἀπόκρημνα, φάραγγας,
[76] I have before now seen men on their trial, who were being convicted by the actual facts and were unable to prove their innocence, taking refuge some of them in the respectability and moderation of their lives, others in the achievements or public services of their ancestors, or in similar pleas, by which they succeeded in moving their judges to compassion and goodwill. But I cannot see that any one of these topics offers an easy path for the defendant; there is nothing before him but precipices, ravines, and gulfs.
[77] βάραθρα. τί γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐρεῖ; ὧν ὁ πατήρ τι πεποίηκε νὴ Δία. ἀλλὰ κατεγνώκαθ᾽ ὑμεῖς ἐν τουτοισὶ τοῖς δικαστηρίοις αὐτοῦ θάνατον, ὡς πονηροῦ δηλονότι καὶ ἀξίου τεθνάναι. ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία, εἰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐστὶν αὐτῷ δυσχερῆ τὰ περὶ τὸν πατέρα, εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον καταφεύξεται ὡς σώφρονα καὶ μέτριον. ποῖον; ὃν ποῦ βεβίωκεν; ὃν μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντες ὑμεῖς ἑοράκατε, οὐκ ἔστι τοιοῦτος.
[77] What true plea can he find? Something perhaps that his father did? But you yourselves condemned that father to death in these very courts as a detected rascal who deserved his doom. Or perhaps, if there is a difficulty about his father, he will appeal to the sobriety and respectability of his own life. What life? Where has he lived it? For the life that you have all seen him leading is not of that description.
[78] ἀλλ᾽ ὦ τᾶν, εἰς τὰς λῃτουργίας ἀποχωρήσεται. τὰς πότ᾽ ἢ ποῦ γεγονυίας; τὰς τοῦ πατρός; ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ εἰσίν. ἀλλὰ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ; φάσεις, ἀπαγωγάς, ἐνδείξεις, οὐχὶ λῃτουργίας εὑρήσετε. ἀλλὰ νὴ Δία καὶ χωρὶς τούτων συγγενεῖς πολλοὶ καὶ καλοὶ κἀγαθοὶ παραστάντες αὐτὸν ἐξαιτήσονται. ἀλλ᾽ οὔτ᾽ εἰσὶν οὔτ᾽ ἐγένοντο πώποτε: πῶς γὰρ τῷ γε μηδ᾽ ἐλευθέρῳ;
[78] “But, my dear sir, he will rely on public services.” When and where performed? His father’s? Why, there are none. His own? You will find record of delations, arrests, informations — but no services. Or perhaps, putting these aside, his numerous and highly respectable kinsmen will come forward and beg him off. But there are none and never were. How could there be, when he is not even a free-born citizen?
[79] πλὴν ἔστι νὴ Δία, ἔστιν ἀδελφός τις οὗτος αὐτῷ, ὁ παρὼν καὶ τὴν καλὴν δίκην αὐτῷ λαχών. περὶ οὗ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τί δεῖ λέγειν; ἀδελφὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶ τούτου ὁμομήτριος καὶ ὁμοπάτριος καὶ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις κακοῖς δίδυμος. οὑτοσί — τὰ μὲν ἄλλα σιωπῶ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐφ᾽ οἷς ὑμεῖς τὴν μιαρὰν Θεωρίδα, τὴν Λημνίαν, τὴν φαρμακίδα, καὶ αὐτὴν καὶ τὸ γένος ἅπαν ἀπεκτείνατε,
[79] No; I am wrong. He has a brother, who is present here in court and who brought that precious action against him. What need to say anything about him? He is own brother to the defendant, born of the same father and mother, and, to add to his misfortunes, he is his twin. It was this brother — I pass over the other facts — who got possession of the drugs and charms from the servant of Theoris of Lemnos, the filthy sorceress whom you put to death on that account with all her family.
[80] ταῦτα λαβὼν τὰ φάρμακα καὶ τὰς ἐπῳδὰς παρὰ τῆς θεραπαίνης αὐτῆς, ἣ κατ᾽ ἐκείνης τότ᾽ ἐμήνυσεν, ἐξ ἧσπερ ὁ βάσκανος οὗτος πεπαιδοποίηται, μαγγανεύει καὶ φενακίζει καὶ τοὺς ἐπιλήπτους φησὶν ἰᾶσθαι, αὐτὸς ὢν ἐπίληπτος πάσῃ πονηρίᾳ. οὗτος οὖν αὐτὸν ἐξαιρήσεται, ὁ φαρμακός, ὁ λοιμός, ὃν οἰωνίσαιτ᾽ ἄν τις μᾶλλον ἰδὼν ἢ προσειπεῖν βούλοιτο, ὃς αὐτὸς αὑτῷ θανάτου τετίμηκεν ὅτε τοιαύτην δίκην ἔλαχεν.
