§1περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ ζεύγους τῶν ἵππων, ὡς οὐκ ἀφελόμενος ὁ πατὴρ Τεισίαν εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ πριάμενος παρὰ τῆς πόλεως τῆς Ἀργείων, τῶν τε πρέσβεων τῶν ἐκεῖθεν ἡκόντων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν εἰδότων ἀκηκόατε μαρτυρούντων· τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον ἅπαντές εἰσιν εἰθισμένοι με συκοφαντεῖν.
Now concerning the team of horses, that my father did not possess them by taking them away from Teisias, but by purchasing them from the city of the Argives, you have heard the testimony of the ambassadors who have come from there and of the others who know the facts; but in the same manner, everyone is accustomed to slander me.
§2τὰς μὲν γὰρ δίκας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἰδίων ἐγκλημάτων λαγχάνουσι, τὰς δὲ κατηγορίας ὑπὲρ τῶν τῆς πόλεως πραγμάτων ποιοῦνται, καὶ πλείω χρόνον διατρίβουσι τὸν πατέρα μου διαβάλλοντες ἢ περὶ ὧν ἀντώμοσαν διδάσκοντες, καὶ τοσοῦτον καταφρονοῦσι τῶν νόμων ὥστε περὶ ὧν ὑμᾶς ὑπʼ ἐκείνου φασὶν ἠδικῆσθαι, τούτων αὐτοὶ δίκην παρʼ ἐμοῦ λαβεῖν ἀξιοῦσιν.
For they bring lawsuits concerning private complaints, but make their accusations concerning the affairs of the city, and they spend more time slandering my father than teaching you about the matters on which they took their oath, and they so despise the laws that they think it right to obtain satisfaction from me for those things in which they say you were wronged by him.
§3ἐγὼ δʼ ἡγοῦμαι μὲν οὐδὲν προσήκειν τὰς κοινὰς αἰτίας τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀγῶσιν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ Τεισίας πολλάκις ὀνειδίζει μοι τὴν φυγὴν τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ τῶν ὑμετέρων ἢ τῶν αὑτοῦ σπουδάζει πραγμάτων, ἀνάγκη πρὸς ταῦτα τὴν ἀπολογίαν ποιεῖσθαι·
I, for my part, believe that public accusations have no place in private suits; but since Teisias frequently reproaches me with the exile of my father and shows more zeal for your affairs than for his own, it is necessary to make my defense against these charges.
καὶ γὰρ ἂν αἰσχυνοίμην, εἴ τῳ δόξαιμι τῶν πολιτῶν ἧττον φροντίζειν τῆς ἐκείνου δόξης ἢ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ κινδύνων.
For indeed, I should be ashamed if I should seem to any of the citizens to care less for my father's reputation than for my own dangers.
§4πρὸς μὲν οὖν τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους βραχὺς ἂν ἐξήρκει λόγος· ἅπαντες γὰρ ἴσασιν ὅτι διὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἄνδρας ἥ τε δημοκρατία κατελύθη κἀκεῖνος ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξέπεσεν·
Now, to the older citizens a brief speech would have sufficed; for they all know that through the same men both the democracy was overthrown and my father was banished from the city.
τῶν δὲ νεωτέρων ἕνεκα, οἳ τῶν μὲν πραγμάτων ὕστεροι γεγόνασι τῶν δὲ διαβαλλόντων πολλάκις ἀκηκόασι, πορρωτέρωθεν ἄρξομαι διδάσκειν.
But for the sake of the younger generation, who have come after these events and have often heard those who slander him, I shall begin my instruction from an earlier point.
§5οἱ γὰρ τὸ πρῶτον ἐπιβουλεύσαντες τῷ δήμῳ καὶ καταστήσαντες τοὺς τετρακοσίους, ἐπειδὴ παρακαλούμενος ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἤθελε γενέσθαι μετʼ αὐτῶν, ὁρῶντες αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς τὰς πράξεις ἐρρωμένως ἔχοντα καὶ πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος πιστῶς διακείμενον, οὐχ ἡγοῦντʼ οὐδὲν οἷοί τʼ εἶναι κινεῖν τῶν καθεστώτων, πρὶν ἐκποδὼν ἐκεῖνος αὐτοῖς γένοιτο.
For those who first plotted against the people and established the Four Hundred, when my father, though invited, refused to join them—seeing that he was both vigorous in action and loyal to the multitude—thought they could move nothing of the established order until he was out of their way.
§6εἰδότες δὲ τὴν πόλιν τῶν μὲν περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς μάλιστʼ ἂν ὀργισθεῖσαν, εἴ τις εἰς τὰ μυστήρια φαίνοιτʼ ἐξαμαρτάνων, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων εἴ τις τὴν δημοκρατίαν τολμῴη καταλύειν, ἀμφοτέρας ταύτας συνθέντες τὰς αἰτίας εἰσήγγελλον εἰς τὴν βουλήν, λέγοντες ὡς ὁ πατὴρ μὲν συνάγοι τὴν ἑταιρείαν ἐπὶ νεωτέροις πράγμασιν, οὗτοι δʼ ἐν τῇ Πουλυτίωνος οἰκίᾳ συνδειπνοῦντες τὰ μυστήρια ποιήσειαν.
And knowing that the city would be most angry in matters concerning the gods if anyone should appear to offend against the mysteries, and in other matters if anyone should dare to overthrow the democracy, they combined both these accusations and brought an impeachment before the Senate, saying that my father was gathering his faction for a revolution, and that these men, dining together in the house of Poulytion, had performed the mysteries.
§7ὀρθῆς δὲ τῆς πόλεως γενομένης διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν αἰτιῶν καὶ διὰ ταχέων συλλεγείσης ἐκκλησίας οὕτω σαφῶς ἐπέδειξεν αὐτοὺς ψευδομένους, ὥστε παρὰ μὲν τῶν κατηγόρων ἡδέως ἂν ὁ δῆμος δίκην ἔλαβε, τὸν δʼ εἰς Σικελίαν στρατηγὸν ἐχειροτόνησεν.
When the city was thrown into excitement on account of the magnitude of the charges and an assembly was quickly gathered, he proved so clearly that they were lying that the people would gladly have punished the accusers, and they elected him general for Sicily.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦθʼ ὁ μὲν ἐξέπλευσεν ὡς ἀπηλλαγμένος ἤδη τῆς διαβολῆς, οἱ δὲ συστήσαντες τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τοὺς ῥήτορας ὑφʼ αὑτοῖς ποιησάμενοι πάλιν ἤγειρον τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ μηνυτὰς εἰσέπεμπον.
After this, he sailed away, as though already cleared of the slander, but those who had organized the Senate and brought the orators under their control revived the matter again and sent in informants.
§8καὶ τί δεῖ μακρολογεῖν;
And why need I speak at length?
οὐ γὰρ πρότερον ἐπαύσαντο, πρὶν τόν τε πατέρʼ ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου μετεπέμψαντο, καὶ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ τοὺς μὲν ἀπέκτειναν, τοὺς δʼ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐξέβαλον.
For they did not stop until they recalled my father from the camp, and of his friends they put some to death and banished others from the city.
πυθόμενος δὲ τήν τε τῶν ἐχθρῶν δύναμιν καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων συμφοράς, καὶ νομίζων δεινὰ πάσχειν ὅτι παρόντα μὲν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔκρινον, ἀπόντος δὲ κατεγίγνωσκον, οὐδʼ ὣς ἀπελθεῖν ἠξίωσεν εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους·
When he learned of the power of his enemies and the misfortunes of his companions, and considering that he was suffering a terrible thing because they did not judge him when present but condemned him when absent, not even so did he think it right to go over to the enemy.
§9ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνος μὲν τοσαύτην πρόνοιαν ἔσχεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲ φεύγων μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτεῖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὥστʼ εἰς Ἄργος ἐλθὼν ἡσυχίαν εἶχεν, οἱ δʼ εἰς τοσοῦτον ὕβρεως ἦλθον, ὥστʼ ἔπεισαν ὑμᾶς ἐλαύνειν αὐτὸν ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ στηλίτην ἀναγράφειν καὶ πρέσβεις πέμποντας ἐξαιτεῖν παρʼ Ἀργείων.
But he had such great foresight to avoid committing any offense against the city even while in exile, that he went to Argos and remained quiet; but they went to such a pitch of insolence that they persuaded you to drive him from the whole of Greece, to record him on a pillar as a traitor, and to send ambassadors to demand his surrender from the Argives.
ἀπορῶν δʼ ὅ τι χρήσαιτο τοῖς παροῦσι κακοῖς καὶ πανταχόθεν εἰργόμενος καὶ σωτηρίας οὐδεμιᾶς ἄλλης αὐτῷ φαινομένης τελευτῶν ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους ἠναγκάσθη καταφυγεῖν.
Being at a loss what to do in his present misfortunes, excluded from everywhere, and seeing no other hope of safety, he was at last compelled to take refuge with the Lacedaemonians.