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The Double Indictment or Trials by Jury

§22-25

Pleasure's Victory and the Remaining Philosophic Suits

The trial between Epicurus and the Stoa ends in favor of Pleasure, though the Stoa appeals to Zeus. Subsequent cases involving other philosophers are either postponed, disrupted by the flight of the accuser, or decided in absentia, leading up to the highly anticipated trial of the Syrian speech-writer by Rhetoric.

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§22

Στοά μηδαμῶς, ἀλλʼ ὀλίγα μοι συνερωτῆσαι ἐπιτρέψατε. Ἐπίκουρος Ἐρώτησον· ἀποκρινοῦμαι γάρ. Στοά κακὸν ἡγῇ τὸν πόνον; Ἐπίκουρος ναί. Στοά τὴν ἡδονὴν δὲ ἀγαθόν; Ἐπίκουρος πάνυ μὲν οὖν. Στοά τί δέ; οἶσθα τί διάφορον καὶ ἀδιάφορον καὶ προηγμένον καὶ ἀποπροηγμένον; Ἐπίκουρος μάλιστα. Ἑρμῆς οὔ φασιν, ὦ Στοά, συνιέναι οἱ δικασταὶ τὰ δισύλλαβα1 ταῦτα ἐρωτήματα· ὥστε ἡσυχίαν ἄγετε. ψηφοφοροῦσι γάρ. Στοά καὶ μὴν ἐκράτησα ἄν, εἰ συνηρώτησα ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ τῶν ἀναποδείκτων σχήματι.2 Δίκη τίς ὑπερέσχεν; Ἑρμῆς πάσαις ἡ Ἡδονή. Στοά ἐφίημι ἐπὶ τὸν Δία. Δίκη τύχῃ τῇ ἀγαθῇ. σὺ δὲ ἄλλους κάλει.

​Stoa: By no means; but permit me to ask a few questions. Epicurus: Ask; for I shall answer. Stoa: Do you consider labor to be evil? Epicurus: Yes. Stoa: And pleasure to be good? Epicurus: Quite so, indeed. Stoa: What then? Do you know what is different and indifferent, and promoted and demoted? Epicurus: Assuredly. Hermes: They say, Stoa, that the jury does not understand these two-syllabled questions; so keep quiet. For they are casting their votes. Stoa: And yet I would have won, if I had completed my questions in the third figure of the indemonstrables. Justice: Who has prevailed? Hermes: Pleasure, by all votes. Stoa: I appeal to Zeus. Justice: With good fortune. And you, call the others.

§23

Ἑρμῆς περὶ Ἀριστίππου Ἀρετὴ καὶ Τρυφή, καὶ Ἀρίστιππος δὲ αὐτὸς παρέστω. Ἀρετή προτέραν ἐμὲ χρὴ τὴν Ἀρετὴν λέγειν· ἐμὸς γάρ ἐστιν Ἀρίστιππος, ὡς δηλοῦσιν οἱ λόγοι καὶ τὰ ἔργα. Τρυφή οὐ μὲν οὖν, ἀλλʼ ἐμὲ τὴν Τρυφήν· ἐμὸς γὰρ ὁ ἀνήρ, ὡς ἔστιν ὁρᾶν ἀπὸ τῶν στεφάνων καὶ τῆς πορφυρίδος καὶ τῶν μύρων. Δίκη μὴ φιλονεικεῖτε· ὑπερκείσεται γὰρ καὶ αὕτη ἡ δίκη ἔστʼ ἂν ὁ Ζεὺς δικάσῃ περὶ τοῦ Διονυσίου· παραπλήσιον γάρ τι καὶ τοῦτο ἔοικεν εἶναι. ὥστʼ ἐὰν μὲν ἡ Ἡδονὴ κρατήσῃ, καὶ τὸν Ἀρίστιππον ἕξει ἡ Τρυφή· νικώσης δὲ αὖ τῆς Στοᾶς, καὶ οὗτος ἔσται τῆς Ἀρετῆς κεκριμένος. ὥστε ἄλλοι παρέστωσαν. τὸ δεῖνα3 μέντοι, μὴ λαμβανέτωσαν οὗτοι τὸ δικαστικόν· ἀδίκαστος γὰρ ἡ δίκη μεμένηκεν αὐτοῖς. Ἑρμῆς μάτην οὖν ἀνεληλυθότες ὦσι γέροντες ἄνδρες οὕτω μακρὰν τὴν ἀνάβασιν; Δίκη ἱκανόν, εἰ τριτημόριον λάβοιεν. ἄπιτε, μὴ ἀγανακτεῖτε, αὖθις δικάσετε.

​Hermes: It is time for Virtue and Luxury to appear concerning Aristippus; and let Aristippus himself also be present. Virtue: I, Virtue, must speak first; for Aristippus is mine, as his words and deeds show. Luxury: By no means, but rather I, Luxury; for the man is mine, as is clear to see from his garlands, his purple robe, and his perfumes. Justice: Do not quarrel; for this suit also shall be postponed until Zeus gives judgment concerning Dionysius; for this too seems to be something very similar. So, if Pleasure wins, Luxury will also have Aristippus; but if the Stoa wins in turn, he too will be judged to belong to Virtue. Therefore let others appear. Mind you, however, do not let these men receive their judicial fee; for their trial has remained undecided. Hermes: Have these old men, then, climbed so long an ascent in vain? Justice: It is enough if they receive a third part. Depart, do not be angry; you shall judge another time.

§24

Ἑρμῆς Διογένη Σινωπέα παρεῖναι καιρός, καὶ σὺ ἡ Ἀργυραμοιβικὴ λέγε. Διογένης καὶ μὴν ἄν γε μὴ παύσηται ἐνοχλοῦσα, ὦ Δίκη, οὐκέτι δρασμοῦ4 δικάσεταί μοι, ἀλλὰ πολλῶν καὶ βαθέων τραυμάτων· ἐγὼ γὰρ αὐτίκα μάλα πατάξας τῷ ξύλῳ — Δίκη τί τοῦτο; πέφευγεν ἡ Ἀργυραμοιβική, ὁ δὲ διώκει ἐπηρμένος τὸ βάκτρον. οὐ μέτριόν τι κακὸν ἡ ἀθλία ἔοικε λήψεσθαι. τὸν Πύρρωνα κήρυττε.

​Hermes: It is time for Diogenes of Sinope to appear; and you, Money-changing, speak. Diogenes: And indeed, if she does not stop annoying me, Justice, she will no longer sue me for running away, but for many and deep wounds; for I will strike her right now with my staff— Justice: What is this? Money-changing has fled, and he is pursuing her with his staff raised. The miserable woman seems likely to receive no moderate evil. Proclaim Pyrrho.

§25

Ἑρμῆς ἀλλʼ ἡ μὲν Γραφικὴ πάρεστιν, ὦ Δίκη, ὁ Πύρρων δὲ οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνελήλυθεν, καὶ ἐῴκει τοῦτο πράξειν. Δίκη διὰ τί, ὦ Ἑρμῆ; Ἑρμῆς ὅτι οὐδὲν ἡγεῖται κριτήριον ἀληθὲς εἶναι. Δίκη τοιγαροῦν ἐρήμην5 αὐτοῦ καταδικασάτωσαν. τὸν λογογράφον ἤδη κάλει τὸν Σύρον. καίτοι πρῴην ἀπηνέχθησαν κατʼ αὐτοῦ αἱ γραφαί, καὶ οὐδὲν ἤπειγεν ἤδη κεκρίσθαι. πλὴν ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ ἔδοξεν, προτέραν εἰσάγαγε τῆς Ῥητορικῆς τὴν δίκην. βαβαί, ὅσοι συνεληλύθασιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρόασιν. Ἑρμῆς εἰκότως, ὦ Δίκη· τό τε γὰρ μὴ ἕωλον εἶναι τὴν κρίσιν, ἀλλὰ καινὴν καὶ ξένην, χθές, ὥσπερ ἔφης, ἐπηγγελμένην, καὶ τὸ ἐλπίζειν ἀκούσεσθαι Ῥητορικῆς μὲν καὶ Διαλόγου ἐν τῷ μέρει κατηγορούντων, ἀπολογουμένου δὲ πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους τοῦ Σύρου, τοῦτο πολλοὺς ἐπήγαγε τῷ δικαστηρίῳ. πλὴν ἀλλὰ ἄρξαι ποτέ, ὦ Ῥητορική, τῶν λόγων.

​Hermes: But Painting indeed is present, Justice, but Pyrrho has not even ascended at all; and he seemed likely to do this. Justice: Why, Hermes? Hermes: Because he believes that no criterion is true. Justice: Therefore let them condemn him in his absence. Now call the Syrian speech-writer. And yet the indictments against him were brought only the day before yesterday, and there was no urgency for him to be judged now. But since it has been decided, bring in the suit of Rhetoric first. Heavens, how many have gathered for the hearing! Hermes: Naturally, Justice; for the fact that the trial is not stale, but new and strange, announced yesterday, as you said, and the expectation of hearing Rhetoric and Dialogue accusing in turn, and the Syrian defending himself against both, this has drawn many to the court. But start your speech at last, Rhetoric.

Syntax notes5 items
  1. 22τὰ δισύλλαβα

    An adjective meaning "of two syllables." Here it refers to the extremely concise, highly formal logical queries or terminology favored by the Stoics, mockingly characterized as pedantic and incomprehensible to the general jury.

  2. 22τῷ τρίτῳ τῶν ἀναποδείκτων σχήματι

    Refers to the third of the five "indemonstrable" (fundamental) syllogistic schemes in Stoic propositional logic (specifically, of the form: "Not both A and B; but A; therefore not B"). The Stoa uses this technical concept as a proud but futile excuse for her defeat.

  3. 23τὸ δεῖνα

    A colloquial parenthetical expression equivalent to "by the way" or "mind you," used to draw attention. Here, Justice uses it as she suddenly remembers and inserts a new instruction (not to pay the jury fees).

  4. 24δρασμοῦ

    Genitive of δρασμός ("running away"), denoting the charge of the lawsuit. Diogenes plays on this legal term, threatening that if the personified Money-changing continues to pester him, her lawsuit will shift from charging him with escaping (like a runaway slave) to charging him with the "deep wounds" he is about to inflict.

  5. 25ἐρήμην

    The feminine accusative singular of the adjective ἐρῆμος ("deserted, absent"), with the noun δίκην ("suit") omitted. The phrase ἐρήμην καταδικάζω means "to condemn in someone's absence" (default judgment). This refers to the absent Pyrrho, who refused to appear due to his skeptical stance on the existence of any criterion of truth.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
  • 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg026.humanitext-grc2:22-25