§46τοῦ μὲν οὖν δανεῖσαι ἡμᾶς τὰ χρήματα αἵ τε συνθῆκαι καὶ αὐτὸς οὗτός ἐστι μάρτυς· τοῦ δʼ ἀποδεδωκέναι οὐδείς ἐστι μάρτυς ἔξω τοῦ Λάμπιδος τοῦ συναδικοῦντος.
Now, of our lending the money, the contract and this man himself are witnesses; but of his having paid it back, there is no witness except Lampis, his partner in wrongdoing.
καὶ οὗτος μὲν εἰς ἐκεῖνον μόνον ἀναφέρει τὴν ἀπόδοσιν, ἐγὼ δʼ εἴς τε τὸν Λάμπιν αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς ἀκούσαντας αὐτοῦ ὅτε οὐκ ἔφη ἀπειληφέναι τὸ χρυσίον.
And while this man refers the payment to him alone, I refer to Lampis himself and to those who heard him when he said he had not received the gold.
τούτῳ μὲν οὖν τοὺς ἐμοὺς μάρτυρας ἔξεστι κρίνειν, εἰ μή φησι τἀληθῆ μαρτυρεῖν αὐτούς· ἐγὼ δʼ οὐκ ἔχω τί χρήσωμαι τοῖς τούτου μάρτυσιν, οἵ φασιν εἰδέναι τὸν Λάμπιν μαρτυροῦντα ἀπειληφέναι τὸ χρυσίον.
Therefore, this man has the right to bring my witnesses to trial, if he says they do not witness the truth; but I do not know how to deal with his witnesses, who say they know that Lampis witnessed that he had received the gold.
εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἡ μαρτυρία ἡ τοῦ Λάμπιδος κατεβάλλετο ἐνταῦθα, ἴσως ἂν ἔφασαν οὗτοι δίκαιον εἶναι ἐπισκήπτεσθαί μʼ ἐκείνῳ· νῦν δʼ οὔτε τὴν μαρτυρίαν ταύτην ἔχω, οὑτοσί τε οἴεται δεῖν ἀθῷος εἶναι οὐδὲν βέβαιον ἐνέχυρον καταλιπὼν ὧν πείθει ὑμᾶς ψηφίζεσθαι.
For if Lampis's deposition were filed here, they would perhaps say that it was just for me to prosecute him; but now I do not have this deposition, and this man thinks he ought to go scot-free, leaving no secure guarantee for the things he is persuading you to vote for.
§47πῶς δʼ οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἄτοπον, εἰ αὐτοῦ Φορμίωνος ὁμολογοῦντος δανείσασθαι, φάσκοντος δὲ ἀποδεδωκέναι, τὸ μὲν ὁμολογούμενον ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τούτου ἄκυρον ποιήσαιτε, τὸ δὲ ἀμφισβητούμενον κύριον ψηφίσαισθε;
And how could it not be absurd, if, while Phormio himself admits that he borrowed the money but claims to have paid it back, you should make what is admitted by this very man invalid, and vote what is disputed to be valid?
καὶ ὁ μὲν Λάμπις, ᾧ οὗτος σκήπτεται μάρτυρι, μαρτυρεῖ ἔξαρνος γενόμενος τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὡς οὐκ ἀπείληφεν τὸ χρυσίον· ὑμεῖς δὲ γνοίητε ὡς ἀπείληφεν ἐκεῖνος, ᾧ οὐκ εἰσὶ μάρτυρες τοῦ πράγματος;
And while Lampis, whom this man puts forward as a witness, testified at the beginning by denying that he had received the gold, would you decide that he had received it, for one who has no witnesses to the fact?
§48καὶ ὅσα μὲν εἶπε μετὰ τῆς ἀληθείας, μὴ χρήσαισθε τεκμηρίῳ, ἃ δʼ ἐψεύσατο ὕστερον, ἐπειδὴ διεφθάρη, πιστότερα ταῦθʼ ὑπολάβοιτε εἶναι;
And would you not use as evidence what he said in accordance with the truth, but assume that what he lied about later, after he was corrupted, is more trustworthy?
καὶ μήν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πολὺ δικαιότερόν ἐστιν τοῖς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ῥηθεῖσι τεκμαίρεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς ὕστερον τεκταινομένοις.
And indeed, men of Athens, it is much more just to judge by what was said at the beginning rather than by what was fabricated later.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἐκ παρασκευῆς, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας ἔλεγεν, τὰ δʼ ὕστερον ψευδόμενος καὶ πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον αὑτῷ.
For the former he said not from preparation, but from the truth, while the latter he said later, lying and for his own advantage.
§49ἀναμνήσθητε δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ὁ Λάμπις ἔξαρνος ἐγένετο ὡς οὐκ εἴη εἰρηκὼς ὅτι οὐκ ἀπείληφεν τὸ χρυσίον, ἀλλʼ εἰπεῖν μὲν ὡμολόγει, οὐ μέντοι γε ἐντὸς ὢν αὑτοῦ εἰπεῖν.
Remember, men of Athens, that not even Lampis himself denied that he had said he had not received the gold, but he admitted that he had said so, though not indeed being in his right mind when he said it.
οὔκουν ἄτοπον, εἰ τῆς ἐκείνου μαρτυρίας τὸ μὲν πρὸς τοῦ ἀποστεροῦντος πιστῶς ἀκούσεσθε, τὸ δʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀποστερουμένων ἄπιστον ἔσται παρʼ ὑμῖν;
Is it not then absurd if, of his testimony, the part which is in favor of the robber you will listen to with trust, but the part which is on behalf of those who are robbed shall be untrustworthy among you?
§50μηδαμῶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί.
By no means, men of the jury.
ὑμεῖς γάρ ἐστε αὐτοὶ οἱ τὸν ἐπιδεδανεισμένον ἐκ τοῦ ἐμπορίου πολλὰ χρήματα καὶ τοῖς δανεισταῖς οὐ παρασχόντα τὰς ὑποθήκας θανάτῳ ζημιώσαντες εἰσαγγελθέντα ἐν τῷ δήμῳ, καὶ ταῦτα πολίτην ὑμέτερον ὄντα καὶ πατρὸς ἐστρατηγηκότος.
For you yourselves are the ones who punished with death the man who borrowed additional money from the market-place and did not provide the securities to the lenders, when he was impeached before the people, and that too though he was your citizen and his father had been a general.
§51ἡγεῖσθε γὰρ τοὺς τοιούτους οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας ἀδικεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κοινῇ βλάπτειν τὸ ἐμπόριον ὑμῶν, εἰκότως.
For you believed that such men not only wrong those who encounter them, but also in common damage your market-place, and naturally so.
αἱ γὰρ εὐπορίαι τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν δανειζομένων, ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῶν δανειζόντων εἰσίν, καὶ οὔτε ναῦν οὔτε ναύκληρον οὔτʼ ἐπιβάτην ἔστʼ ἀναχθῆναι, τὸ τῶν δανειζόντων μέρος ἂν ἀφαιρεθῇ.
For resources for those who trade are not from the borrowers, but from the lenders, and it is impossible for either a ship or a shipowner or a passenger to put to sea, if the share of the lenders is taken away.
§52ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς νόμοις πολλαὶ καὶ καλαὶ βοήθειαί εἰσιν αὐτοῖς· ὑμᾶς δὲ δεῖ συνεπανορθοῦντας φαίνεσθαι καὶ μὴ συγχωροῦντας τοῖς πονηροῖς, ἵνʼ ὑμῖν ὡς πλείστη ὠφέλεια παρὰ τὸ ἐμπόριον ᾖ.
In the laws, therefore, there are many excellent provisions for them; but you must show yourselves as aiding in setting things right and not yielding to the wicked, so that you may have the greatest benefit from the market-place.
ἔσται δέ, ἐὰν διαφυλάττητε τοὺς τὰ ἑαυτῶν προϊεμένους, καὶ μὴ ἐπιτρέπητε ἀδικεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν τοιούτων θηρίων.
And so it will be, if you protect those who risk their own property, and do not permit them to be wronged by such beasts.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ὅσαπερ οἷός τʼ ἦν εἴρηκα· καλῶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν φίλων, ἐὰν κελεύητε.
I, then, have said all that I was able; and I call also one of my friends, if you bid me.