§1πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλʼ ἐψευσμένου πρὸς ὑμᾶς Ἀφόβου, τοῦτʼ αὐτὸν ἐλέγξαι πειράσομαι πρῶτον, ἐφʼ ᾧ μάλιστʼ ἠγανάκτησα τῶν ῥηθέντων.
Since Aphobus has told many great lies to you, I will first attempt to refute him on this very point, which has angered me most of all the things said.
εἶπεν γὰρ ὡς ὁ πάππος ὤφειλε τῷ δημοσίῳ, καὶ διὰ ταῦθʼ ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἐβούλετο μισθωθῆναι τὸν οἶκον, ἵνα μὴ κινδυνεύσῃ.
For he claimed that my grandfather was in debt to the treasury, and for this reason my father did not wish the estate to be leased, in order to avoid danger.
καὶ τὴν μὲν πρόφασιν ποιεῖται ταύτην, ὡς δʼ ὀφείλων ἐτελεύτησεν ἐκεῖνος, οὐδεμίαν παρέσχετο μαρτυρίαν· ἀλλʼ ὡς μὲν ὦφλεν, ἐνεβάλετο τηρήσας τὴν τελευταίαν ἡμέραν, ταύτην δʼ εἰς τὸν ὕστερον λόγον ὑπελίπετο, ὡς διαβαλεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἐξ αὐτῆς δυνησόμενος.
And while he makes this his pretext, he has produced no evidence that my grandfather died in debt; rather, having waited for the last day, he put in evidence that he had been fined, and kept this back for his second speech, as though he would be able to slander the matter on the basis of it.
§2ἐὰν οὖν ἀναγνῷ, προσέχετʼ αὐτῇ τὸν νοῦν· εὑρήσετε γὰρ οὐχ ὡς ὀφείλει μεμαρτυρημένην, ἀλλʼ ὡς ὦφλεν.
Therefore, if he reads it, pay close attention to it; for you will find that it is not testified that he is in debt, but that he was fined.
τοῦτʼ οὖν ἐλέγξαι πειράσομαι πρῶτον, ἐφʼ ᾧ φρονεῖ μάλιστα· ὃ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀμφισβητοῦμεν.
I will first attempt to refute him on this point, of which he is most proud, and which we also dispute.
εἰ μὲν οὖν τότʼ ἐξεγένετο καὶ μὴ τῷ χρόνῳ τοῦτʼ ἐνηδρεύθημεν, παρεσχόμεθʼ ἂν μάρτυρας ὡς ἐξετείσθη τὰ χρήματα καὶ πάντʼ αὐτῷ διελέλυτο τὰ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν· νῦν δὲ τεκμηρίοις μεγάλοις ἐπιδείξομεν ὡς οὔτʼ ὤφειλεν οὔτʼ ἦν κίνδυνος οὐδεὶς ἡμῖν φανερὰ κεκτημένοις τὰ ὄντα.
Now if it had been possible at that time, and we had not been trapped by time, we would have produced witnesses that the money had been paid and all his relations with the city had been settled; but as it is, we shall demonstrate by great proofs that he neither owed anything nor was there any danger to us who possessed our property openly.
§3πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ Δημοχάρης, ἔχων ἀδελφὴν τῆς ἐμῆς μητρός, θυγατέρα δὲ Γύλωνος, οὐκ ἀποκέκρυπται τὴν οὐσίαν, ἀλλὰ χορηγεῖ καὶ τριηραρχεῖ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας λῃτουργίας λῃτουργεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν τοιούτων δέδοικεν.
For first, Demochares, who is married to my mother’s sister, the daughter of Gylon, has not concealed his property, but serves as choregus and trierarch, performs the other liturgies, and fears nothing of the sort.
ἔπειτʼ αὐτὸς ὁ πατὴρ τήν τʼ ἄλλην οὐσίαν καὶ τέτταρα τάλαντα καὶ τρισχιλίας φανερὰς ἐποίησεν, ἃς οὗτοι γραφῆναί τʼ ἐν ταῖς διαθήκαις καὶ λαβεῖν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς κατʼ ἀλλήλων καταμαρτυροῦσιν.
Secondly, my father himself made his other property and four talents and three thousand drachmas open, which these men themselves testify against one another were written in the will and received by them.
§4ἔτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς Ἄφοβος μετὰ τῶν συνεπιτρόπων τῇ πόλει τὸ πλῆθος τῶν καταλειφθέντων χρημάτων ἐμφανὲς ἐποίησεν, ἡγεμόνα με τῆς συμμορίας καταστήσας οὐκ ἐπὶ μικροῖς τιμήμασιν, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τηλικούτοις ὥστε κατὰ τὰς πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι μνᾶς πεντακοσίας εἰσφέρειν.
Furthermore, Aphobus himself, together with his co-guardians, made the amount of the property left behind clear to the city, by appointing me leader of the symmory, not on a small assessment, but on one so large that I paid five hundred drachmas for every twenty-five minae.
καίτοι εἴ τι τούτων ἦν ἀληθές, οὐδὲν ἂν αὐτῶν ἐποίησεν, ἀλλὰ πάντʼ ἂν ηὐλαβήθη.
Yet if there were any truth in these claims, he would have done none of these things, but would have been cautious in everything.
νῦν δὲ καὶ Δημοχάρης καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι φαίνονται φανερὰ ποιοῦντες, καὶ οὐδένα τοιοῦτον κίνδυνον δεδιότες.
But as it is, Demochares, my father, and these very men are seen making their property open, and fearing no such danger.
§5πάντων δʼ ἀτοπώτατόν ἐστιν, λέγοντας ὡς ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ εἴα μισθοῦν τὸν οἶκον, τὴν μὲν διαθήκην μηδαμοῦ ταύτην ἀποφαίνειν, ἐξ ἧς ἦν εἰδέναι τἀκριβές, τηλικαύτην δʼ ἀνελόντας μαρτυρίαν οὕτως οἴεσθαι δεῖν εἰκῇ πιστεύεσθαι παρʼ ὑμῖν.
But the most absurd of all is that, while saying that my father did not allow them to lease the estate, they nowhere produce this will, from which it would be possible to know the exact truth; and having destroyed such important evidence, they think they ought to be believed by you so haphazardly.
ἀλλʼ ἐχρῆν, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστʼ ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ πατήρ, εἰσκαλέσαντας μάρτυρας πολλοὺς παρασημήνασθαι κελεῦσαι τὰς διαθήκας, ἵνʼ εἴ τι ἐγίγνετʼ ἀμφισβητήσιμον, ἦν εἰς τὰ γράμματα ταῦτʼ ἐπανελθεῖν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν πάντων εὑρεῖν.
Rather, they ought, as soon as my father died, to have called in many witnesses and ordered them to seal the will, so that if any dispute arose, it would be possible to refer to these writings and find the truth of all matters.
§6νῦν δʼ ἕτερα μὲν παρασημήνασθαι ἠξίωσαν, ἐν οἷς πολλὰ τῶν καταλειπομένων οὐκ ἐγέγραπτο, ὑπομνήματα δʼ ἦν· αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν διαθήκην, διʼ ἧς τούτων ὧν ἐσημήναντο γραμμάτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων χρημάτων ἐγίγνοντο κύριοι, καὶ τοῦ μὴ μισθοῦν τὸν οἶκον τῆς αἰτίας ἀπελέλυντο, ταύτην δʼ οὐκ ἐσημήναντο, οὐδʼ αὐτὴν ἀπέδοσαν.
But as it is, they saw fit to seal other documents, in which many of the things left behind were not written down, but which were mere memoranda; whereas the will itself, through which they became masters of these written goods and of all the other property, and were released from the blame of not leasing the estate, they did not seal, nor did they deliver it.
ἄξιόν γε πιστεύειν αὐτοῖς ὅ τι ἂν περὶ τούτων λέγωσιν.
It is indeed worth believing whatever they say about these things!
§7ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι τοῦτʼ ἔστιν.
But I do not know what this means.
οὐκ εἴα μισθοῦν τὸν οἶκον οὐδʼ ἐμφανῆ τὰ χρήματα ποιεῖν ὁ πατήρ.
My father did not allow them to lease the estate or to make the property open.
πότερον ἐμοί; ἢ τῇ πόλει;
Was this to me, or to the city?
φαίνεσθε γὰρ τοὐναντίον ἐκείνῃ μὲν φανερὰ ποιήσαντες, ἐμοὶ δὲ παντάπασιν ἀφανῆ πεποιηκότες, καὶ οὐδὲ ταῦτʼ ἀποφαίνοντες ἐξ ὧν τιμησάμενοι τὰς εἰσφορὰς εἰσεφέρετε.
For you appear to have done the opposite, having made it open to the city, but entirely hidden to me, not even showing those documents on the basis of which you made your assessments and paid the taxes.
δείξατε γὰρ ταύτην τὴν οὐσίαν, τίς ἦν καὶ ποῦ παρέδοτέ μοι καὶ τίνος ἐναντίον.
Show then this property, what it was, where you delivered it to me, and in whose presence.
§8τὰ μὲν γὰρ δύο τάλαντα καὶ τὰς ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν τεττάρων ταλάντων καὶ τρισχιλίων ἐλάβετε, ὥστʼ οὐδὲ ταύτας ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ εἰς τὸ δημόσιον ἐτιμήσασθε· ὑμέτεραι γὰρ ἦσαν ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς χρόνοις.
For you took the two talents and eighty minae from the four talents and three thousand drachmas, so that you did not even assess these on my behalf to the treasury; for they were yours at those times.
ἀλλὰ μὴν ἔκ γε τῆς οἰκίας καὶ τῶν τεττάρων καὶ δέκʼ ἀνδραπόδων καὶ τῶν τριάκοντα μνῶν, ἅ μοι παρεδώκατε, τὴν εἰσφορὰν οὐχ οἷόν τε γενέσθαι τοσαύτην ὅσην ὑμεῖς συνετάξασθε πρὸς τὴν συμμορίαν.
However, from the house, the fourteen slaves, and the thirty minae which you delivered to me, it is impossible for the tax to have been as large as that which you agreed upon with the symmory.