§38Φορμίων τοίνυν τούτῳ χρώμενος κοινωνῷ καὶ μάρτυρι οἴεται δεῖν ἀποστερῆσαι τὰ χρήματα ἡμᾶς, οἵ γε σιτηγοῦντες διατετελέκαμεν εἰς τὸ ὑμέτερον ἐμπόριον, καὶ τριῶν ἤδη καιρῶν κατειληφότων τὴν πόλιν, ἐν οἷς ὑμεῖς τοὺς χρησίμους τῷ δήμῳ ἐξητάζετε, οὐδενὸς τούτων ἀπολελείμμεθα, ἀλλʼ ὅτε μὲν εἰς Θήβας Ἀλέξανδρος παρῄει, ἐπεδώκαμεν ὑμῖν τάλαντον ἀργυρίου· §39ὅτε δʼ ὁ σῖτος ἐπετιμήθη τὸ πρότερον καὶ ἐγένετο ἑκκαίδεκα δραχμῶν, εἰσαγαγόντες πλείους ἢ μυρίους μεδίμνους πυρῶν διεμετρήσαμεν ὑμῖν τῆς καθεστηκυίας τιμῆς, πέντε δραχμῶν τὸν μέδιμνον, καὶ ταῦτα πάντες ἴστε ἐν τῷ πομπείῳ διαμετρούμενοι· πέρυσι δὲ εἰς τὴν σιτωνίαν τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ δήμου τάλαντον ὑμῖν ἐπεδώκαμεν ἐγώ τε καὶ ὁ ἀδελφός.
Phormio, then, employing this man as his partner and witness, thinks he ought to rob us of our money—us, who have continually imported grain into your market; and when three critical times have already run over the city, in which you tested those who were useful to the people, we were not left behind in any of these, but when Alexander marched into Thebes, we made you a free gift of a talent of silver; and when grain rose in price on the earlier occasion and went up to sixteen drachmae, we imported more than ten thousand medimnoi of wheat and measured it out to you at the established price, five drachmae a medimnus, and you all know this, as it was measured out in the Pompeion; and last year, I and my brother made you a free gift of a talent for the purchase of grain on behalf of the people.
καί μοι ἀνάγνωθι τούτων τὰς μαρτυρίας. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ.
Read me the depositions for these things.
§40ἀλλὰ μὴν εἴ γε δεῖ καὶ τούτοις τεκμαίρεσθαι, οὐκ εἰκὸς ἦν ἐπιδιδόναι μὲν ἡμᾶς τοσαῦτα χρήματα, ἵνα παρʼ ὑμῖν εὐδοξῶμεν, συκοφαντεῖν δὲ Φορμίωνα, ἵνα καὶ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν ἐπιείκειαν ἀποβάλωμεν.
Indeed, if one must judge by these facts as well, it was not likely that we, who make free gifts of so much money in order to have a good reputation among you, should bring a malicious suit against Phormio in order to lose even our existing respectability.
δικαίως ἂν οὖν βοηθήσαιτε ἡμῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί.
Therefore, you would justly help us, men of the jury.
ἐπέδειξα γὰρ ὑμῖν οὔτʼ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὰ φορτία ἐνθέμενον τοῦτον εἰς τὴν ναῦν ἁπάντων ὧν ἐδανείσατο Ἀθήνηθεν, τῶν τʼ ἐν τῷ Βοσπόρῳ πραθέντων τοὺς τὰ ἑτερόπλοα δανείσαντας μόλις διαλύσαντα, §41ἔτι δʼ οὔτʼ εὐποροῦντα οὔθʼ οὕτως ὄντʼ ἀβέλτερον ὥστʼ ἀντὶ δισχιλίων καὶ ἑξακοσίων δραχμῶν τριάκοντα μνᾶς καὶ ἐννέα ἀποδοῦναι, πρός τε τούτοις, ὅτε ἀποδοῦναί φησιν τὸ χρυσίον τῷ Λάμπιδι, οὔτε τὸν παῖδα παραλαβόντα τὸν ἐμὸν οὔτε τὸν κοινωνὸν ἐπιδημοῦντα ἐν Βοσπόρῳ.
For I have shown you that he did not load onto the ship from the beginning goods corresponding to all that he borrowed from Athens, and that from the sales in Bosporus he barely paid off those who had lent money on the outward voyage, and further, that he was neither wealthy nor so foolish as to pay back thirty-nine minae instead of twenty-six hundred drachmae, and in addition to this, that when he claims to have paid back the gold to Lampis, he took neither my slave nor my partner who was residing in Bosporus to witness it.
ἐμοὶ δὲ Λάμπις αὐτὸς μαρτυρῶν φαίνεται ὡς οὐκ ἀπείληφεν τὸ χρυσίον, πρὶν ὑπὸ τούτου διαφθαρῆναι.
And to me Lampis himself clearly testified that he had not received the gold, before he was corrupted by this man.
§42καίτοι εἰ καθʼ ἓν ἕκαστον οὕτως ἐδείκνυεν Φορμίων, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἂν ἄλλως ἄμεινον ἀπελογήσατο.
And yet, if Phormio were showing this in regard to each particular, I do not know how he could have made a better defense.
ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ τὴν δίκην εἰσαγώγιμον εἶναι ὁ νόμος αὐτὸς διαμαρτύρεται, κελεύων τὰς δίκας εἶναι τὰς ἐμπορικὰς τῶν συμβολαίων τῶν Ἀθήνησιν καὶ εἰς τὸ Ἀθηναίων ἐμπόριον, καὶ οὐ μόνον τῶν Ἀθήνησιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσα ἂν γένηται ἕνεκα τοῦ πλοῦ τοῦ Ἀθήναζε.
But as to the admissibility of the suit, the law itself bears witness, ordering that commercial suits shall be for contracts made at Athens and for the Athenian market-place, and not only those made at Athens, but also all those which are made for the sake of a voyage to Athens.
λαβὲ δή μοι τοὺς νόμους. ΝΟΜΟΙ.
Take the laws.
§43ὡς μὲν τοίνυν γέγονέ μοι τὸ συμβόλαιον πρὸς Φορμίωνʼ Ἀθήνησιν, οὐδʼ αὐτοὶ ἔξαρνοί εἰσιν, παραγράφονται δὲ ὡς οὐκ εἰσαγώγιμον τὴν δίκην οὖσαν.
Now, that my contract with Phormio was made at Athens, not even they themselves deny, but they plead that the suit is not admissible.
ἀλλʼ εἰς ποῖον δικαστήριον εἰσέλθωμεν, ἄνδρες δικασταί, εἰ μὴ πρὸς ὑμᾶς, οὗπερ τὸ συμβόλαιον ἐποιησάμεθα;
But to what court should we enter, men of the jury, if not to you, where we made the contract?
δεινὸν γὰρ ἂν εἴη, εἰ μὲν ἕνεκα τοῦ πλοῦ τοῦ Ἀθήναζε ἠδικούμην, εἶναι ἄν μοι παρʼ ὑμῖν τὸ δίκαιον λαβεῖν παρὰ Φορμίωνος, ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ συμβόλαιον ἐν τῷ ὑμετέρῳ ἐμπορίῳ γέγονεν, μὴ φάσκειν παρʼ ὑμῖν τούτους ὑφέξειν τὴν δίκην.
For it would be a strange thing if, while in case I was wronged for the sake of the voyage to Athens I should have the right to obtain justice from Phormio before you, yet, when the contract was made in your market-place, these men should say that they will not submit to the trial before you.
§44καὶ ὅτε μὲν Θεοδότῳ τὴν δίαιταν ἐπετρέψαμεν, ὡμολόγησαν εἶναι καθʼ αὑτῶν ἐμοὶ τὴν δίκην εἰσαγώγιμον· νυνὶ δὲ τοὐναντίον λέγουσιν ὧν πρότερον αὐτοὶ συγκεχωρήκασιν, ὡς δέον παρὰ μὲν τῷ Θεοδότῳ τῷ ἰσοτελεῖ ὑποσχεῖν αὐτοὺς δίκην ἄνευ παραγραφῆς, ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὸ Ἀθηναίων δικαστήριον εἰσερχόμεθα, μηκέτʼ εἰσαγώγιμον τὴν δίκην εἶναι.
And when we referred the arbitration to Theodotos, they agreed that the suit against them was admissible for me; but now they say the opposite of what they themselves previously conceded, as though they were bound to submit to the trial before Theodotos, the isoteles, without a plea of inadmissibility, but when we enter the Athenian court, the suit is no longer admissible.
§45ἐνθυμοῦμαι δʼ ἔγωγε, τί ἄν ποτε εἰς τὴν παραγραφὴν ἔγραψεν, εἰ ὁ Θεόδοτος ἀπέγνω τῆς δίκης, ὅπου νῦν γνόντος τοῦ Θεοδότου ἀπιέναι ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον οὔ φησι τὴν δίκην εἶναι εἰσαγώγιμον παρʼ ὑμῖν, πρὸς οὓς ἐκεῖνος ἔγνω ἀπιέναι.
For my part, I wonder what he would ever have written in his plea of inadmissibility if Theodotos had dismissed the suit, seeing that now, when Theodotos has decided that we should go to the court, Phormio says that the suit is not admissible before you, to whom that arbitrator decided we should go.
πάθοιμι μέντἂν δεινότατα, εἰ οἱ μὲν νόμοι τῶν Ἀθήνησι συμβολαίων κελεύουσι τὰς δίκας εἶναι πρὸς τοὺς θεσμοθέτας, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀπογνοίητε τῆς δίκης ὀμωμοκότες κατὰ τοὺς νόμους ψηφιεῖσθαι.
Indeed, I should suffer most terribly if, while the laws order commercial suits for contracts made at Athens to be before the thesmothetai, you who have sworn to vote according to the laws should dismiss the suit.