§1ὡς μὲν τοίνυν ἔτυπτέ με Λοχίτης, ἄρχων χειρῶν ἀδίκων, ἅπαντες ὑμῖν οἱ παρόντες μεμαρτυρήκασιν.
That Lochites struck me, thus committing an unprovoked assault, has been testified to you by all who were present.
τὸ δʼ ἁμάρτημα τοῦθʼ οὐχ ὅμοιον δεῖ νομίζειν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐδὲ τὰς τιμωρίας ἴσας ποιεῖσθαι περί τε τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῶν χρημάτων, ἐπισταμένους ὅτι τοῦτο πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις οἰκειότατόν ἐστι, καὶ τούς τε νόμους ἐθέμεθα καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας μαχόμεθα καὶ τῆς δημοκρατίας ἐπιθυμοῦμεν καὶ τἄλλα πάντα τὰ περὶ τὸν βίον ἕνεκα τούτου πράττομεν.
You must not, however, consider this offense to be similar to others, nor make the punishments equal for cases involving bodily harm and those involving property, knowing that the body is the most intimate possession of all human beings, and that it is for its sake that we have established our laws, fight for our freedom, desire democracy, and do everything else in our lives.
ὥστʼ εἰκὸς ὑμᾶς ἐστὶ τοὺς περὶ τοῦτʼ ἐξαμαρτάνοντας, ὃ περὶ πλείστου ποιεῖσθε, τῇ μεγίστῃ ζημίᾳ κολάζειν.
Therefore, it is natural for you to punish with the greatest penalty those who commit offenses against that which you prize most highly.
§2εὑρήσετε δὲ καὶ τοὺς θέντας ἡμῖν τοὺς νόμους ὑπὲρ τῶν σωμάτων μάλιστα σπουδάσαντας.
You will also find that those who laid down our laws were most concerned for our bodies.
πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ περὶ μόνου τούτου τῶν ἀδικημάτων καὶ δίκας καὶ γραφὰς ἄνευ παρακαταβολῆς ἐποίησαν, ἵνʼ ὅπως ἂν ἕκαστος ἡμῶν τυγχάνῃ καὶ δυνάμενος καὶ βουλόμενος, οὕτως ἔχῃ τιμωρεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας.
First, for this offense alone among crimes, they made both private suits and public indictments possible without a deposit, so that in whatever way each of us happens to be both able and willing, he may thus have the power to punish those who do wrong.
ἔπειτα τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἐγκλημάτων αὐτῷ τῷ παθόντι μόνον ὁ δράσας ὑπόδικός ἐστιν· περὶ δὲ τῆς ὕβρεως, ὡς κοινοῦ τοῦ πράγματος ὄντος, ἔξεστι τῷ βουλομένῳ τῶν πολιτῶν γραψαμένῳ πρὸς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας εἰσελθεῖν εἰς ὑμᾶς.
Second, while for other offenses the wrongdoer is liable only to the victim himself, in the case of assault, as it is a matter of common interest, any citizen who wishes may, by filing an indictment with the thesmothetai, bring the case before you.
§3οὕτω δʼ ἡγήσαντο δεινὸν εἶναι τὸ τύπτειν ἀλλήλους, ὥστε καὶ περὶ τῆς κακηγορίας νόμον ἔθεσαν ὃς κελεύει τοὺς λέγοντάς τι τῶν ἀπορρήτων πεντακοσίας δραχμὰς ὀφείλειν.
They considered striking one another to be so terrible that they even enacted a law concerning slander, which orders those who utter any forbidden words to owe five hundred drachmas.
καίτοι πηλίκας τινὰς χρὴ ποιεῖσθαι τὰς τιμωρίας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἔργῳ παθόντων κακῶς, ὅταν ὑπὲρ τῶν λόγῳ μόνον ἀκηκοότων οὕτως ὀργιζόμενοι φαίνησθε;
And yet, how great should you make the punishments for those who have suffered harm in deed, when you clearly show such anger on behalf of those who have only heard abusive words?
§4θαυμαστὸν δʼ εἰ τοὺς μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας ὑβρίσαντας ἀξίους θανάτου νομίζετε, τοὺς δʼ ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ ταὔτʼ ἐκείνοις ἐπιτηδεύοντας ἀζημίους ἀφήσετε.
It would be amazing if, while you consider those who committed outrages under the oligarchy to be worthy of death, you let go unpunished those who practice the same things as they did under the democracy.
καίτοι δικαίως ἂν μείζονος οὗτοι τιμωρίας τυγχάνοιεν· φανερώτερον γὰρ ἐπιδείκνυνται τὴν αὑτῶν πονηρίαν.
And yet, these men would justly receive a greater punishment, for they display their own wickedness more openly.
ὅστις γὰρ νῦν τολμᾷ παρανομεῖν, ὅτʼ οὐκ ἔξεστι, τί ποτʼ ἂν ἐποίησεν, ὅθʼ οἱ κρατοῦντες τῆς πόλεως καὶ χάριν εἶχον τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτʼ ἐξαμαρτάνουσιν;
For he who dares to break the law now, when it is not allowed, what would he have done when the rulers of the city even felt grateful to those who committed such offenses?
§5ἴσως οὖν Λοχίτης ἐπιχειρήσει μικρὸν ποιεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμα, διασύρων τὴν κατηγορίαν καὶ λέγων ὡς οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν πληγῶν κακὸν ἔπαθον, ἀλλὰ μείζους ποιοῦμαι τοὺς λόγους ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν γεγενημένων.
Perhaps, then, Lochites will attempt to make light of the matter, disparaging the accusation and saying that I suffered no serious harm from the blows, but that I am making my speech greater than the worth of what actually happened.
ἐγὼ δʼ εἰ μὲν μηδεμία προσῆν ὕβρις τοῖς πεπραγμένοις, οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ εἰσῆλθον εἰς ὑμᾶς· νῦν δʼ οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἄλλης βλάβης τῆς ἐκ τῶν πληγῶν γενομένης, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς αἰκίας καὶ τῆς ἀτιμίας ἥκω παρʼ αὐτοῦ δίκην ληψόμενος, §6ὑπὲρ ὧν προσήκει τοῖς ἐλευθέροις μάλιστʼ ὀργίζεσθαι καὶ μεγίστης τυγχάνειν τιμωρίας.
But for my part, if there had been no outrage accompanying the deeds done, I would never have come before you; as it is, I have come to obtain justice from him, not for any other damage resulting from the blows, but for the assault and the dishonor, for which it is fitting for free men to be most angry and to obtain the greatest punishment.
ὁρῶ δʼ ὑμᾶς, ὅταν του καταγνῶθʼ ἱεροσυλίαν ἢ κλοπήν, οὐ πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος ὧν ἂν λάβωσι τὴν τίμησιν ποιουμένους, ἀλλʼ ὁμοίως ἁπάντων θάνατον καταγιγνώσκοντας, καὶ νομίζοντας δίκαιον εἶναι τοὺς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἔργοις ἐπιχειροῦντας ταῖς αὐταῖς ζημίαις κολάζεσθαι.
I see that when you convict someone of temple-robbery or theft, you do not make the assessment according to the size of what they have taken, but you condemn them all alike to death, believing it to be just that those who attempt the same deeds should be punished with the same penalties.
§7χρὴ τοίνυν καὶ περὶ τῶν ὑβριζόντων τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην ἔχειν, καὶ μὴ τοῦτο σκοπεῖν, εἰ μὴ σφόδρα συνέκοψαν, ἀλλʼ εἰ τὸν νόμον παρέβησαν, μηδʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ συντυχόντος μόνον ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ ἅπαντος τοῦ τρόπου δίκην παρʼ αὐτῶν λαμβάνειν, §8ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι πολλάκις ἤδη μικραὶ προφάσεις μεγάλων κακῶν αἴτιαι γεγόνασι, καὶ διότι διὰ τοὺς τύπτειν τολμῶντας εἰς τοῦτʼ ἤδη τινὲς ὀργῆς προήχθησαν ὥστʼ εἰς τραύματα καὶ θανάτους καὶ φυγὰς καὶ τὰς μεγίστας συμφορὰς ἐλθεῖν· ὧν οὐδὲν διὰ τὸν φεύγοντα τὴν δίκην ἀγένητόν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ μὲν τὸ τούτου μέρος ἅπαντα πέπρακται, διὰ δὲ τὴν τύχην καὶ τὸν τρόπον τὸν ἐμὸν οὐδὲν τῶν ἀνηκέστων συμβέβηκεν.
Therefore, you must hold the same opinion concerning those who commit assaults, and not consider whether they beat the victim severely, but whether they transgressed the law, and obtain justice from them not just for the accidental result but for their entire behavior, reflecting that already many times small pretexts have been the cause of great evils, and that because of those who dare to strike, some have already been driven to such pitch of anger as to end in wounds, deaths, banishments, and the greatest disasters; none of which remained undone as far as the defendant is concerned, but on his part everything was done, though by fortune and because of my character none of the irreparable consequences has occurred.
§9ἡγοῦμαι δʼ ὑμᾶς οὕτως ἂν ἀξίως ὀργισθῆναι τοῦ πράγματος, εἰ διεξέλθοιτε πρὸς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὅσῳ μεῖζόν ἐστι τοῦτο τῶν ἄλλων ἁμαρτημάτων.
I believe that you would be worthily angered by the matter if you were to go over in your own minds how much greater this is than other offenses.
εὑρήσετε γὰρ τὰς μὲν ἄλλας ἀδικίας μέρος τι τοῦ βίου βλαπτούσας, τὴν δʼ ὕβριν ὅλοις τοῖς πράγμασι λυμαινομένην, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν οἴκους διʼ αὐτὴν διαφθαρέντας, πολλὰς δὲ πόλεις ἀναστάτους γεγενημένας.
For you will find that while other injustices harm only a part of life, assault ruins affairs as a whole, and that many households have been destroyed because of it, and many cities have been laid waste.
§10καὶ τί δεῖ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων συμφορὰς λέγοντα διατρίβειν;
And why must one spend time speaking of the disasters of others?
αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς δὶς ἤδη τὴν δημοκρατίαν ἐπείδομεν καταλυθεῖσαν καὶ δὶς τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀπεστερήθημεν, οὐχ ὑπὸ τῶν ταῖς ἄλλαις πονηρίαις ἐνόχων ὄντων, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοὺς καταφρονοῦντας τῶν νόμων καὶ βουλομένους τοῖς μὲν πολεμίοις δουλεύειν,
For we ourselves have already twice seen the democracy overthrown and have twice been deprived of our freedom, not by those who were guilty of other wickednesses, but because of those who despise the laws and wish to be slaves to the enemies,