§1δίκαια ὑμῶν δεησόμεθα, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἀκοῦσαι ἡμῶν μετʼ εὐνοίας ἐν τῷ μέρει λεγόντων, γνόντας ὅτι ἰδιῶται παντελῶς ἐσμέν, καὶ πολὺν χρόνον εἰς τὸ ὑμέτερον ἐμπόριον εἰσαφικνούμενοι καὶ συμβόλαια πολλοῖς συμβάλλοντες οὐδεμίαν πώποτε δίκην πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰσήλθομεν, οὔτʼ ἐγκαλοῦντες οὔτʼ ἐγκαλούμενοι ὑφʼ ἑτέρων.
We shall make a just request of you, men of the jury, to hear us with goodwill as we speak in our turn, recognizing that we are entirely private citizens, and though we have for a long time frequented your port and entered into contracts with many people, we have never yet entered into any lawsuit before you, neither accusing others nor being accused by them.
§2οὐδʼ ἂν νῦν, ἀκριβῶς ἴστε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ ὑπελαμβάνομεν ἀπολωλέναι τὰ χρήματα ἐπὶ τῆς νεὼς τῆς διαφθαρείσης, ἃ ἐδανείσαμεν Φορμίωνι, οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ ἐλάχομεν τὴν δίκην αὐτῷ· οὐχ οὕτως ἡμεῖς ἀναίσχυντοί ἐσμεν οὐδʼ ἄπειροι τοῦ ζημιοῦσθαι.
You know well, men of Athens, that not even now, if we believed that the money we lent to Phormio had been lost on the destroyed ship, would we ever have brought this suit against him; we are not so shameless, nor so unaccustomed to bearing losses.
πολλῶν δʼ ἡμᾶς κακιζόντων, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν ἐν Βοσπόρῳ ἐπιδημησάντων ἅμα Φορμίωνι, οἵπερ τοῦτον ᾔδεσαν οὐ συναπολέσαντα τὰ χρήματα ἐν τῇ νηί, δεινὸν ἡγούμεθα εἶναι τὸ μὴ βοηθῆσαι ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἀδικουμένοις ὑπὸ τούτου.
But since many people reproach us, and especially those who were staying in Bosporus at the same time as Phormio, who knew that he did not lose the money with the ship, we think it would be a terrible thing not to help ourselves when we are being wronged by him.
§3περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς παραγραφῆς βραχύς ἐστιν ὁ λόγος· καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι οὐ τὸ παράπαν συμβόλαιον ἐξαρνοῦνται μὴ γενέσθαι ἐν τῷ ἐμπορίῳ τῷ ὑμετέρῳ, ἀλλʼ οὐκέτι εἶναί φασι πρὸς αὑτοὺς οὐδὲν συμβόλαιον· πεποιηκέναι γὰρ οὐδὲν ἔξω τῶν ἐν τῇ συγγραφῇ γεγραμμένων.
Now, regarding the special plea, the argument is brief; for even these men do not deny altogether that a contract was made in your port, but they say that there is no longer any contract in force against them, claiming that they have done nothing outside of what was written in the agreement.
§4οἱ μὲν οὖν νόμοι, καθʼ οὓς ὑμεῖς δικασταὶ κάθησθε, οὐχ οὕτως λέγουσιν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ μὲν τῶν μὴ γενομένων ὅλως συμβολαίων Ἀθήνησι μηδʼ εἰς τὸ Ἀθηναίων ἐμπόριον παραγράφεσθαι δεδώκασιν, ἐὰν δέ τις γενέσθαι μὲν ὁμολογῇ, ἀμφισβητῇ δὲ ὡς πάντα πεποίηκεν τὰ συγκείμενα, ἀπολογεῖσθαι κελεύουσιν εὐθυδικίαν εἰσιόντα, οὐ κατηγορεῖν τοῦ διώκοντος.
However, the laws under which you sit as judges do not say so, but they allow a special plea to be entered only concerning contracts that were never made at all in Athens or for the Athenian port; but if someone admits that a contract was made, but disputes on the ground that he has performed all the terms agreed upon, they command him to plead directly in a straight trial, not to accuse the prosecutor.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἔγωγε ἐλπίζω καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πράγματος δείξειν εἰσαγώγιμον τὴν δίκην οὖσαν.
Nevertheless, I expect to show from the facts themselves that this suit is admissible.
§5σκέψασθε δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅ τι ὁμολογεῖται παρʼ αὐτῶν τούτων καὶ τί ἀντιλέγεται· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἄριστα ἐξετάσαιτε.
Consider, men of Athens, what is admitted by these very men and what is disputed; for in this way you will best examine the matter.
οὐκοῦν δανείσασθαι μὲν τὰ χρήματα ὁμολογοῦσι καὶ συνθήκας ποιήσασθαι τοῦ δανείσματος, φασὶν δʼ ἀποδεδωκέναι τὸ χρυσίον Λάμπιδι τῷ Δίωνος οἰκέτῃ ἐν Βοσπόρῳ.
They admit, then, to having borrowed the money and to having made the contract for the loan, but they claim to have paid back the gold in Bosporus to Lampis, the slave of Dion.
ἡμεῖς τοίνυν οὐ μόνον τοῦτο δείξομεν, ὡς οὐκ ἀπέδωκεν, ἀλλʼ ὡς οὐδʼ ἐνῆν αὐτῷ ἀποδοῦναι.
We, therefore, shall prove not only that he did not pay it back, but that it was not even possible for him to do so.
ἀναγκαῖον δʼ ἐστὶν βραχέα τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς διηγήσασθαι ὑμῖν.
It is necessary for me to narrate to you briefly the facts from the beginning.
§6ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐδάνεισα Φορμίωνι τουτῳὶ εἴκοσι μνᾶς ἀμφοτερόπλουν εἰς τὸν Πόντον ἐπὶ ἑτέρᾳ ὑποθήκῃ, καὶ συγγραφὴν ἐθέμην παρὰ Κίττῳ τῷ τραπεζίτῃ.
For I, men of Athens, lent to this Phormio here twenty minae for a double voyage to the Pontus on alternative security, and deposited the agreement with the banker Cittus.
κελευούσης δὲ τῆς συγγραφῆς ἐνθέσθαι εἰς τὴν ναῦν τετρακισχιλίων φορτία ἄξια, πρᾶγμα ποιεῖ πάντων δεινότατον· εὐθὺς γὰρ ἐν τῷ Πειραιεῖ ἐπιδανείζεται λάθρᾳ ἡμῶν παρὰ μὲν Θεοδώρου τοῦ Φοίνικος τετρακισχιλίας πεντακοσίας δραχμάς, παρὰ δὲ τοῦ ναυκλήρου Λάμπιδος χιλίας δραχμάς.
Though the agreement required him to load on the ship goods worth four thousand drachmae, he did the most outrageous thing of all; for immediately in Piraeus, without our knowledge, he took an additional loan of forty-five hundred drachmae from Theodorus the Phoenician, and one thousand drachmae from the shipowner Lampis.
§7δέον δʼ αὐτὸν καταγοράσαι φορτία Ἀθήνηθεν μνῶν ἑκατὸν δέκα πέντε, εἰ ἔμελλεν τοῖς δανεισταῖς πᾶσι ποιήσειν τὰ ἐν ταῖς συγγραφαῖς γεγραμμένα, οὐ κατηγόρασεν ἀλλʼ ἢ πεντακισχιλίων καὶ πεντακοσίων δραχμῶν, σὺν τῷ ἐπισιτισμῷ· ὀφείλει δὲ ἑβδομήκοντα μνᾶς καὶ πέντε.
Though he was bound to buy cargo from Athens to the value of one hundred and fifteen minae, if he were to fulfill the provisions of the agreements for all his creditors, he bought only fifty-five hundred drachmae's worth, including provisions; and he remains short by seventy-five minae.
ἀρχὴ μὲν οὖν αὕτη ἐγένετο τοῦ ἀδικήματος, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι· οὔτε γὰρ τὴν ὑποθήκην παρέσχεν οὔτε τὰ χρήματʼ ἐνέθετʼ εἰς τὴν ναῦν, κελευούσης τῆς συγγραφῆς ἐπάναγκες ἐντίθεσθαι.
This, men of Athens, was the beginning of his wrongdoing; for he neither provided the security nor loaded the goods onto the ship, although the agreement strictly required him to do so.
καί μοι λαβὲ τὴν συγγραφήν.
Please, take the agreement for me.
ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΗ.
λαβὲ δὴ καὶ τὴν τῶν πεντηκοστολόγων ἀπογραφὴν καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας.
THE AGREEMENT. Now take also the declaration of the collectors of the two-percent tax, and the depositions.
ΑΠΟΓΡΑΦΗ. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
THE DECLARATION. THE DEPOSITIONS.