§1ἐνόμιζον μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Αἰγινῆται, οὕτω καλῶς βεβουλεῦσθαι περὶ τῶν αὑτοῦ Θρασύλοχον ὥστε μηδένʼ ἄν ποτʼ ἐλθεῖν ἐναντία πράξοντα ταῖς διαθήκαις αἷς ἐκεῖνος κατέλιπεν·
I used to think, men of Aegina, that Thrasylochus had made such excellent arrangements concerning his property that no one would ever come to act contrary to the will which he left behind.
ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῖς ἀντιδίκοις τοιαύτη γνώμη παρέστηκεν ὥστε καὶ πρὸς οὕτως ἐχούσας αὐτὰς ἀμφισβητεῖν, ἀναγκαίως ἔχει παρʼ ὑμῶν πειρᾶσθαι τῶν δικαίων τυγχάνειν.
But since our opponents have come to such a state of mind as to dispute even a will so clearly drawn, it is necessary for me to try to obtain justice at your hands.
§2τοὐναντίον δὲ πέπονθα τοῖς πλείστοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Indeed, my experience is the opposite of most people's.
τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἄλλους ὁρῶ χαλεπῶς φέροντας, ὅταν ἀδίκως περί τινος κινδυνεύωσιν, ἐγὼ δʼ ὀλίγου δέω χάριν ἔχειν τούτοις, ὅτι μʼ εἰς τουτονὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα κατέστησαν.
For while I see others taking it hard when they are unjustly put in danger of a lawsuit, I am almost grateful to my opponents for having brought me into this trial.
ἀκρίτου μὲν γὰρ ὄντος τοῦ πράγματος οὐκ ἂν ἠπίστασθʼ ὁποῖός τις γεγενημένος περὶ τὸν τετελευτηκότα κληρονόμος εἰμὶ τῶν ἐκείνου· πυθόμενοι δὲ τὰ πραχθέντα πάντες εἴσεσθʼ ὅτι δικαίως ἂν καὶ μείζονος ἢ τοσαύτης δωρεᾶς ἠξιώθην.
For if the matter had remained unjudged, you would not have known what kind of man I proved to be toward the deceased to become the heir of his property; but once you hear what happened, you will all know that I would justly have been thought worthy of even a greater gift than this.
§3χρῆν μέντοι καὶ τὴν ἀμφισβητοῦσαν τῶν χρημάτων μὴ παρʼ ὑμῶν πειρᾶσθαι λαμβάνειν τὴν οὐσίαν, ἣν Θρασύλοχος κατέλιπεν, ἀλλὰ περὶ ἐκεῖνον χρηστὴν οὖσαν οὕτως ἀξιοῦν αὐτῆς ἐπιδικάζεσθαι.
Indeed, she who disputes the property ought not to try to obtain from you the estate which Thrasylochus left, but rather, by showing herself to have been kind toward him, to claim a right to the inheritance on that basis.
νῦν δʼ αὐτῇ τοσούτου δεῖ μεταμέλειν ὧν εἰς ζῶντʼ ἐξήμαρτεν, ὥστε καὶ τεθνεῶτος αὐτοῦ πειρᾶται τήν τε διαθήκην ἄκυρον ἅμα καὶ τὸν οἶκον ἔρημον ποιῆσαι.
As it is, however, she is so far from repenting of the wrongs she committed against him while he was alive, that even now that he is dead, she attempts to invalidate his will and at the same time to leave his house desolate.
§4θαυμάζω δὲ καὶ τῶν πραττόντων ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς, εἰ διὰ τοῦτʼ οἴονται καλὸν εἶναι τὸν κίνδυνον, ὅτι μὴ κατορθώσαντες οὐδὲν μέλλουσιν ἀποτείσειν.
I am also surprised at those who act on her behalf, if they think that this trial is risk-free for them on the ground that, if they fail, they will have to pay nothing.
ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι μεγάλην εἶναι καὶ ταύτην ζημίαν, ἂν ἐξελεγχθέντες ὡς ἀδίκως ἀμφισβητοῦσιν, ἔπειθʼ ὑμῖν δόξωσι χείρους εἶναι.
For I think it is a great penalty in itself if, after being convicted of making an unjust claim, they should thereafter appear to you to be worse men.
τὴν μὲν οὖν τούτων κακίαν ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων γνώσεσθʼ, ἐπειδὰν διὰ τέλους ἀκούσητε τῶν πεπραγμένων· ὅθεν δʼ, οἶμαι, τάχιστʼ ἂν ὑμᾶς μαθεῖν περὶ ὧν ἀμφισβητοῦμεν, ἐντεῦθεν ἄρξομαι διηγεῖσθαι.
You will know their wickedness from their very deeds when you have heard the whole story of what happened; but I will begin my narration from the point where I think you will most quickly understand the matters in dispute.
§5Θράσυλλος γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ τοῦ καταλιπόντος τὴν διαθήκην παρὰ μὲν τῶν προγόνων οὐδεμίαν οὐσίαν παρέλαβεν, ξένος δὲ Πολεμαινέτῳ τῷ μάντει γενόμενος οὕτως οἰκείως διετέθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ὥστʼ ἀποθνῄσκων ἐκεῖνος τάς τε βίβλους τὰς περὶ τῆς μαντικῆς αὐτῷ κατέλιπε καὶ τῆς οὐσίας μέρος τι τῆς νῦν οὔσης ἔδωκεν.
For Thrasyllus, the father of the man who left the will, inherited no property from his ancestors, but became so close a friend of Polemaenetus the seer that when the latter died, he left Thrasyllus his books on divination and gave him a portion of the property which we now hold.
§6λαβὼν δὲ Θράσυλλος ταύτας ἀφορμὰς ἐχρῆτο τῇ τέχνῃ·
Having received these starting resources, Thrasyllus practiced the art.
πλάνης δὲ γενόμενος καὶ διαιτηθεὶς ἐν πολλαῖς πόλεσιν ἄλλαις τε γυναιξὶ συνεγένετο, ὧν ἔνιαι καὶ παιδάριʼ ἀπέδειξαν ἃ ʼκεῖνος οὐδὲ πώποτε γνήσιʼ ἐνόμισε, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὴν ταύτης μητέρʼ ἐν τούτοις τοῖς χρόνοις ἔλαβεν.
He became a wanderer and, living in many cities, had relations with various other women, some of whom produced children whom he never recognized as legitimate; and indeed, it was during these times that he took the mother of this woman.
§7ἐπειδὴ δʼ οὐσίαν τε πολλὴν ἐκτήσατο καὶ τὴν πατρίδʼ ἐπόθεσεν, ἐκείνης μὲν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπηλλάγη, καταπλεύσας δʼ εἰς Σίφνον ἔγημεν ἀδελφὴν τοῦ πατρὸς τοὐμοῦ, πλούτῳ μὲν αὐτὸς πρῶτος ὢν τῶν πολιτῶν, γένει δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀξιώμασιν εἰδὼς τὴν ἡμετέραν οἰκίαν προέχουσαν.
When he had acquired a large fortune and felt a longing for his homeland, he rid himself of that woman and the others, and, sailing back to Siphnos, married my father's sister; for although he was the first of the citizens in wealth, he knew that our house excelled in birth and other distinctions.
§8οὕτω δὲ σφόδρʼ ἠγάπησε τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς φιλίαν, ὥστʼ ἀποθανούσης ἐκείνης ἄπαιδος αὖθις ἠγάγετʼ ἀνεψιὰν τοῦ πατρός, οὐ βουλόμενος διαλύσασθαι τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς οἰκειότητα.
And he valued my father's friendship so highly that when she died childless, he married my father's cousin, not wishing to dissolve his connection with us.
οὐ πολὺν δὲ χρόνον συνοικήσας ταῖς αὐταῖς τύχαις ἐχρήσατο καὶ περὶ ταύτην, αἷσπερ καὶ περὶ τὴν προτέραν.
But after living with her for only a short time, he met with the same fortune regarding her as with the former.
§9μετὰ δὲ ταῦτʼ ἔγημεν ἐκ Σερίφου παρʼ ἀνθρώπων πολὺ πλείονος ἀξίων ἢ κατὰ τὴν αὑτῶν πόλιν, ἐξ ἧς ἐγένετο Σώπολις καὶ Θρασύλοχος καὶ θυγάτηρ ἡ νῦν ἐμοὶ συνοικοῦσα.
After this, he married a woman from Seriphos, from a family of far greater worth than was common in their city; from her were born Sopolis, Thrasylochus, and a daughter who is now my wife.
Θράσυλλος μὲν οὖν τούτους μόνους παῖδας γνησίους καταλιπὼν καὶ κληρονόμους τῶν αὑτοῦ καταστήσας τὸν βίον ἐτελεύτησεν.
Thrasyllus, then, having left only these as his legitimate children and having appointed them heirs of his property, ended his life.
§10ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ Θρασύλοχος τοσαύτην φιλίαν παρὰ τῶν πατέρων παραλαβόντες ὅσην ὀλίγῳ πρότερον διηγησάμην, ἔτι μείζω τῆς ὑπαρχούσης αὐτὴν ἐποιήσαμεν.
As for Thrasylochus and myself, having inherited from our fathers a friendship as great as I have just described, we made it even greater than it was before.
ἕως μὲν γὰρ παῖδες ἦμεν, περὶ πλείονος ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἡγούμεθα ἢ τοὺς ἀδελφούς, καὶ οὔτε θυσίαν οὔτε θεωρίαν οὔτʼ ἄλλην ἑορτὴν οὐδεμίαν χωρὶς ἀλλήλων ἤγομεν·
For while we were children, we valued each other more than we did our brothers, and we never attended any sacrifice, religious embassy, or other festival apart from one another.
ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἄνδρες ἐγενόμεθα, οὐδὲν πώποτʼ ἐναντίον ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἐπράξαμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἐκοινωνοῦμεν καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς πόλεως ὁμοίως διεκείμεθα καὶ φίλοις καὶ ξένοις τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐχρώμεθα.
And when we became men, we never did anything opposed to one another, but we shared our private possessions, held the same views on public affairs, and associated with the same friends and guest-friends.