§31ἔστιν οὖν τοῦ μὲν ἐγκλήματος ἀρχή
τάδʼ ἐγκαλεῖ Δημοσθένης Ἀφόβῳ· ἔχει μου χρήματʼ Ἄφοβος ἀπʼ ἐπιτροπῆς ἐχόμενα, ὀγδοήκοντα μὲν μνᾶς, ἣν ἔλαβεν προῖκα τῆς μητρὸς κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην τοῦ πατρός
.
Now the beginning of the indictment is this: 'Demosthenes charges Aphobus with these things: Aphobus holds my property derived from the guardianship, namely eighty minae, which he received as my mother’s dowry according to the father’s will.' This is the first of the property of which I say I have been deprived.
τοῦτο πρῶτόν ἐστιν τῶν χρημάτων ὧν ἀπεστερῆσθαί φημι. τοῖς δὲ μάρτυσιν τί μεμαρτύρηται;
But what has been testified by the witnesses?
μαρτυροῦσιν παραγενέσθαι πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ Νοθάρχῳ, ὅτε Ἄφοβος ὡμολόγει Μιλύαν ἐλεύθερον εἶναι, ἀφεθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ Δημοσθένους πατρός.
They testify that they were present before the arbitrator Notharchus when Aphobus admitted that Milyas was free, having been released by Demosthenes’ father.
§32σκοπεῖτε τοίνυν παρʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, εἴ τις ἂν ὑμῖν ἢ ῥήτωρ ἢ σοφιστὴς ἢ γόης οὕτω θαυμάσιος δοκεῖ γενέσθαι καὶ λέγειν δεινός, ὥστʼ ἐκ ταύτης τῆς μαρτυρίας διδάξαι τινʼ ἀνθρώπων, ὡς ἔχει τὴν προῖκʼ Ἄφοβος τῆς μητρὸς τῆς ἑαυτοῦ.
Consider therefore among yourselves, whether any orator or sophist or juggler seems to you to have become so wonderful and clever in speaking, as to show from this testimony to any human being that Aphobus has his own mother’s dowry.
καὶ τί λέγων, ὦ πρὸς Διός;
And by speaking what, in heaven’s name?
ὡμολόγησεν εἶναι Μιλύαν ἐλεύθερον;
That 'he admitted Milyas to be free'?
καὶ τί μᾶλλον ἔχων τὴν προῖκα;
And how does this make it any more likely that he has the dowry?
οὐδὲν ἂν δήπου διὰ τοῦτό γε δόξειεν.
Surely, not a single person would believe it on that account.
§33ἀλλὰ πόθεν τοῦτʼ ἐπεδείχθη;
But from what source was this proved?
πρῶτον μὲν Θηριππίδης ὢν αὐτῷ συνεπίτροπος κατεμαρτύρησε δοῦναι· δεύτερον δὲ Δήμων θεῖος ὢν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων οἱ παρόντες ἐμαρτύρησαν σῖτον τῇ μητρὶ δώσειν ὁμολογεῖν τοῦτον ὡς ἔχοντα τὴν προῖκα.
First, Therippides, being his co-guardian, testified against him that he had given it; second, Demon, who is an uncle, and the others who were present, testified that this man agreed to pay maintenance to my mother on the ground that he held the dowry.
καὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἐπεσκήψατο, δῆλον ὅτι τἀληθῆ μεμαρτυρηκότας εἰδώς.
And he did not bring a charge of false testimony against them, clearly because he knew they had testified the truth.
ἔτι τοίνυν ἡ μήτηρ πίστιν ἠθέλησεν ἐπιθεῖναι κατʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς παραστησαμένη, λαβεῖν τὴν προῖκα τοῦτον τὴν ἑαυτῆς κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς διαθήκην.
Moreover, my mother wished to offer a pledge, standing by me and my sister, that this man had received her own dowry according to my father’s will.
§34ταύτας τὰς ὀγδοήκοντα μνᾶς πότερʼ αὐτὸν ἔχειν φῶμεν ἢ μή;
Are we to say that he has these eighty minae or not?
καὶ πότερον διὰ τούσδʼ ὀφλεῖν τοὺς μάρτυρας ἢ διὰ τούσδε;
And did he lose the case because of these witnesses or because of those?
ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οἶμαι διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν.
For my part, I think because of the truth.
ταύτας τοίνυν δέκʼ ἔτη κεκαρπωμένος, καὶ οὐδὲ δίκην ὀφλὼν ἀποδοῦναι τετολμηκώς, δεινὰ πεπονθέναι φησὶν καὶ διὰ τούσδε τοὺς μάρτυρας ὠφληκέναι.
Having therefore enjoyed the fruits of this money for ten years, and not even having dared to return it after losing the lawsuit, he says he has suffered terrible things and lost the case because of these witnesses.
καίτοι τούτων γʼ οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἔχειν ταύτην ἐμαρτύρησεν.
And yet, not one of these witnesses testified that he has this money.
§35περὶ τοίνυν τῆς ἐκδόσεως καὶ τῶν κλινοποιῶν καὶ τοῦ σιδήρου καὶ τοῦ καταλειφθέντος ἡμῖν ἐλέφαντος καὶ τῆς προικὸς τῆς ἀδελφῆς, ἣν οὗτος καθυφεῖκεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔχειν ὅσα βούλοιτο τῶν ἐμῶν, ἀκούσατε, καὶ σκοπεῖθʼ ὡς δικαίως τʼ ὤφληκεν καὶ οὐδὲν ἦν Μιλύαν περὶ τούτων βασανιστέον.
Therefore, concerning the investment, the bed-makers, the iron, the ivory left to us, and the sister’s dowry, which this man surrendered in order that he himself might keep as much of my property as he wished, listen, and consider how justly he lost the suit, and that there was no need to torture Milyas concerning these matters.
§36περὶ μὲν γὰρ ὧν καθυφεῖκας, νόμος ἔστιν, διαρρήδην ὃς κελεύει σʼ ὁμοίως ὀφλισκάνειν ὥσπερ ἂν αὐτὸς ἔχῃς· ὥστε τί τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τῇ βασάνῳ;
For concerning the things you surrendered, there is a law which expressly bids you to be liable to payment in the same way as if you held them yourself; so what do the law and the torture have to do with each other?
περὶ δʼ αὖ τῆς ἐκδόσεως, ἐπικοινωνήσαντες τῷ Ξούθῳ καὶ διανειμάμενοι τὰ χρήματα καὶ τὰς συγγραφὰς ἀνελόντες, καὶ πάνθʼ ὃν τρόπον ἐβούλεσθε κατασκευάσαντες, καὶ διαφθείραντες τὰ γράμματα, ὡς ὑμῶν ὁ Δήμων κατεμαρτύρει, φενακίζετε καὶ τουτουσὶ παρακρούσασθαι ζητεῖτε.
On the other hand, concerning the investment, having communicated with Xuthus and divided the money and destroyed the agreements, and having set everything up in whatever way you wished, and having destroyed the documents, as Demon testified against you, you are playing tricks and seeking to deceive these men here.
§37περὶ τοίνυν τῶν κλινοποιῶν, εἰ σὺ λαβὼν ἀργύριον καὶ πόλλʼ ἰδίᾳ κερδάνας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς δανείζων, ὃν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους προσῆκε κωλύειν, εἶτʼ ἀφανεῖς πεποίηκας, τί σοι ποιήσωσιν οἱ μάρτυρες;
Therefore, concerning the bed-makers, if you, having received money and made much private profit by lending on the security of my slaves—you, who ought to have prevented others from doing so—then made them disappear, what can the witnesses do to you?
οὐ γὰρ οὗτοί γε μεμαρτυρήκασιν, ὡς ὡμολόγεις ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς δανείζειν καὶ λαβεῖν τἀνδράποδʼ ὡς σαυτόν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦτʼ ἔγραψας σύ, κατεμαρτύρησαν δʼ οἱ μάρτυρες.
For they did not testify that you agreed to lend on my property and take the slaves as your own, but you yourself wrote this in your account, and the witnesses testified to it.
§38ἀλλὰ μὴν περί γε τοῦ ἐλέφαντος καὶ τοῦ σιδήρου, πάντας ἐγώ φημι τοὺς οἰκέτας εἰδέναι τοῦτον πωλοῦντα, καὶ παραδοῦναι καὶ τότε καὶ νῦν ἤθελον αὐτῷ τούτων ὅντινα βούλοιτο λαβὼν βασανίζειν.
But indeed, concerning the ivory and the iron, I assert that all the house-slaves know that this man was selling them, and I was willing both then and now to deliver up to him whichever of them he wished, for him to take and torture.
εἰ τοίνυν φήσει με, τὸν εἰδότʼ οὐκ ἐθέλοντα δοῦναι, τοὺς οὐκ εἰδότας ἐκδιδόναι, πολὺ δὴ μᾶλλον αὐτῷ παραλαβεῖν φανήσεται προσῆκον· εἰ γάρ, οὓς ὡς εἰδότας ἐξεδίδουν ἐγώ, μηδὲν ἔχειν ἔφασαν τούτων αὐτόν, ἀπήλλακτο δήπουθεν ἂν τῆς αἰτίας.
If, then, he shall say that I was unwilling to give the one who knew, but was surrendering those who did not know, it will appear much more appropriate for him to have accepted them; for if those whom I surrendered as knowing had said that he held none of these things, he would surely have been cleared of the charge.