§20καὶ οἱ μὲν πρέσβεις αὐτοί, ὧν κατεψεύδετο τὸ ψήφισμα, ὅτʼ ἀπεκρίνεσθε αὐτοῖς ἀναγιγνώσκοντες καὶ ἐπὶ ξένια αὐτοὺς ἐκαλεῖτε, οὐκ ἐτόλμησαν παρελθεῖν, οὐδʼ εἰπεῖν ὅτι
καταψεύδεσθε ἡμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ φατὲ ἡμᾶς εἰρηκέναι ἃ οὐκ εἰρήκαμεν,
ἀλλὰ σιωπῇ ἀπιόντες ᾤχοντο.
And the ambassadors themselves, whom the decree accused of falsehood, when you answered them by reading it and invited them to hospitality, did not dare to come forward, nor to say, "You lie about us, men of Athens, and say we have said what we did not say," but went away in silence.
βούλομαι δʼ ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι (καὶ γὰρ ηὐδοκίμησεν ὁ Πύθων παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ δημηγορίᾳ, ὁ τότε πρεσβεύων), αὐτοὺς τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἔλεγεν ὑπομνῆσαι· οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι μέμνησθε.
And I wish, men of Athens (for Python, who was then ambassador, won high repute among you in his speech), to remind you of the very words he spoke; for I know you remember them.
§21παραπλήσιοι δʼ ἦσαν οἷς καὶ νῦν ἐπέσταλκε Φίλιππος· ἐγκαλῶν γὰρ ἡμῖν τοῖς διαβάλλουσι τὸν Φίλιππον, καὶ ὑμῖν ἐμέμφετο ὅτι ὡρμηκότος αὐτοῦ εὖ ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς καὶ προῃρημένου μάλιστα τῶν Ἑλλήνων φίλους κεκτῆσθαι αὐτοὶ κωλύετε, ἀποδεχόμενοι τοὺς λόγους τῶν συκοφαντούντων καὶ χρήματα ἐκεῖνον αἰτούντων καὶ διαβαλλόντων·
And they were very similar to what Philip has now sent in his letter; for while accusing us who slander Philip, he also blamed you because, though he was eager to do you good and had chosen above all other Greeks to have you as friends, you yourselves prevent it, by accepting the words of those who sycophantize, demand money from him, and slander him.
τοὺς γὰρ τοιούτους λόγους, ὅταν ἀπαγγελλόντων ἀκούῃ, ὅτι κακῶς ἤκουεν, ὑμεῖς δʼ ἀπεδέχεσθε, μεταβάλλειν αὐτοῦ τὴν γνώμην, ὅταν ἄπιστος φαίνηται τούτοις ὧν προῄρηται εὐεργέτης εἶναι.
For he said that when he hears from those who report such words, that he was being ill spoken of and you were accepting it, his mind changes, whenever he appears untrusted by those of whom he has chosen to be a benefactor.
§22ἐκέλευεν οὖν τοὺς λέγοντας ἐν τῷ δήμῳ τῇ μὲν εἰρήνῃ μὴ ἐπιτιμᾶν· οὐ γὰρ ἄξιον εἶναι εἰρήνην λύειν· εἰ δέ τι μὴ καλῶς γέγραπται ἐν τῇ εἰρήνῃ, τοῦτʼ ἐπανορθώσασθαι, ὡς ἅπαντα Φίλιππον ποιήσοντα ὅσʼ ἂν ὑμεῖς ψηφίσησθε.
He urged, then, those who spoke in the Assembly not to find fault with the peace, for it was not right to break the peace; but if anything was not well written in the peace, to amend it, as Philip would do everything that you might decree.
ἂν δὲ διαβάλλωσι μέν, αὐτοὶ δὲ μηδὲν γράφωσι διʼ οὗ ἡ μὲν εἰρήνη ἔσται, παύσεται δʼ ἀπιστούμενος ὁ Φίλιππος, μὴ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀνθρώποις.
But if they merely slandered, while themselves proposing nothing by which the peace would exist and Philip would cease to be distrusted, you should not pay attention to such men.
§23καὶ τούτους τοὺς λόγους ὑμεῖς ἀκούοντες ἀπεδέχεσθε, καὶ δίκαια ἔφατε τὸν Πύθωνα λέγειν· καὶ ἦν δίκαια.
And you, hearing these words, accepted them, and said Python spoke justly; and indeed they were just.
ἔλεγε δὲ τούτους τοὺς λόγους, οὐχ ὅπως λυθείη ἐκ τῆς εἰρήνης ἃ ἦν ἐκείνῳ συμφέροντα καὶ ὧν πολλὰ χρήματα ἀνηλώκει ὥστε γενέσθαι, ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐνθάδε διδασκάλων προδεδιδαγμένος, οἳ οὐκ ᾤοντο εἶναι τὸν γράψοντα ἐναντία τῷ Φιλοκράτους ψηφίσματι, τῷ ἀπολλύντι Ἀμφίπολιν.
But he spoke these words, not so that those things in the peace might be dissolved which were advantageous to him, and for which he had spent much money to bring them about, but because he had been pre-instructed by his teachers here, who did not think there would be anyone to propose things contrary to the decree of Philocrates, which was losing Amphipolis.
§24ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, παράνομον μὲν οὐδὲν ἐτόλμησα γράψαι, τῷ δὲ Φιλοκράτους ψηφίσματι οὐκ ἦν παράνομον τἀναντία γράφειν, ὡς ἐγὼ ἐπιδείξω· τὸ γὰρ ψήφισμα τὸ Φιλοκράτους, καθʼ ὃ ὑμεῖς ἀπώλλυτε Ἀμφίπολιν, ἐναντίον ἦν τοῖς προτέροις ψηφίσμασι, καθʼ ἃ ὑμεῖς ἐκτήσασθε ταύτην τὴν χώραν.
But I, men of Athens, did not dare to propose anything illegal, and it was not illegal to propose things contrary to the decree of Philocrates, as I will show; for the decree of Philocrates, according to which you lost Amphipolis, was contrary to the former decrees, according to which you acquired this territory.
§25τοῦτο μὲν οὖν παράνομον ἦν τὸ ψήφισμα, τὸ τοῦ Φιλοκράτους, καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τʼ ἦν τὸν τὰ ἔννομα γράφοντα ταὐτὰ τῷ παρανόμῳ ψηφίσματι γράφειν.
This decree, then, that of Philocrates, was illegal, and it was impossible for one who proposes legal things to propose the same as an illegal decree.
ἐκείνοις δὲ τοῖς προτέροις ψηφίσμασι, τοῖς οὖσιν ἐννόμοις καὶ σῴζουσι τὴν ὑμετέραν χώραν, ταὐτὰ γράφων ἔννομά τʼ ἔγραψα καὶ ἐξήλεγχον τὸν Φίλιππον, ὅτι ἐξηπάτα ὑμᾶς καὶ οὐκ ἐπανορθώσασθαι ἐβούλετο τὴν εἰρήνην, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν λέγοντας ἀπίστους καταστῆσαι.
But by proposing the same things as those former decrees, which were legal and preserved your territory, I proposed legal things and exposed Philip, showing that he was deceiving you and did not wish to amend the peace, but to render those who spoke on your behalf untrusted.
§26καὶ ὅτι μὲν δοὺς τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν νῦν ἔξαρνός ἐστιν, ἅπαντες ἴστε.
And that he, having granted the amendment, now denies it, you all know.
φησὶ δʼ Ἀμφίπολιν ἑαυτοῦ εἶναι· ὑμᾶς γὰρ ψηφίσασθαι ἐκείνου εἶναι, ὅτʼ ἐψηφίζεσθε ἔχειν αὐτὸν ἃ εἶχεν.
And he says Amphipolis is his, because you voted it was his when you voted that he should have what he had.
ὑμεῖς δὲ τὸ μὲν ψήφισμα τοῦτʼ ἐψηφίσασθε, οὐ μέντοι γʼ ἐκείνου εἶναι Ἀμφίπολιν· ἔστι γὰρ ἔχειν καὶ τἀλλότρια, καὶ οὐχ ἅπαντες οἱ ἔχοντες τὰ αὑτῶν ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ πολλοὶ καὶ ἀλλότρια κέκτηνται· ὥστε τοῦτό γε τὸ σοφὸν αὐτῷ ἠλίθιόν ἐστιν.
But you voted indeed this decree, but not that Amphipolis was his; for it is possible to hold even what belongs to others, and not all who hold have what is their own, but many possess even what belongs to others; so that this clever point of his is silly.
§27καὶ τοῦ μὲν Φιλοκράτους ψηφίσματος μέμνηται, τῆς δʼ ἐπιστολῆς, ἣν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἔπεμψεν ὅτʼ Ἀμφίπολιν ἐπολιόρκει, ἐπιλέλησται, ἐν ᾗ ὡμολόγει τὴν Ἀμφίπολιν ὑμετέραν εἶναι· ἔφη γὰρ ἐκπολιορκήσας ὑμῖν ἀποδώσειν, ὡς οὖσαν ὑμετέραν καὶ οὐ τῶν ἐχόντων.
And he remembers the decree of Philocrates, but has forgotten the letter which he sent to you when he was besieging Amphipolis, in which he agreed that Amphipolis was yours; for he said that after taking it by siege he would restore it to you, as being yours and not belonging to those who held it.