§1οὐδὲν καινὸν διαπράττονται οἱ Φασηλῖται, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἀλλʼ ἅπερ εἰώθασιν.
The Phaselians, gentlemen of the jury, are doing nothing new, but only what they are accustomed to do.
οὗτοι γὰρ δεινότατοι μέν εἰσιν δανείσασθαι χρήματα ἐν τῷ ἐμπορίῳ, ἐπειδὰν δὲ λάβωσιν καὶ συγγραφὴν συγγράψωνται ναυτικήν, εὐθὺς ἐπελάθοντο καὶ τῶν συγγραφῶν καὶ τῶν νόμων καὶ ὅτι δεῖ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτοὺς ἃ ἔλαβον, §2καὶ οἴονται, ἐὰν ἀποδῶσιν, ὥσπερ τῶν ἰδίων τι τῶν ἑαυτῶν ἀπολωλεκέναι, ἀλλʼ ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι σοφίσματα εὑρίσκουσιν καὶ παραγραφὰς καὶ προφάσεις, καὶ εἰσὶν πονηρότατοι ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀδικώτατοι.
For they are most clever at borrowing money in the market, but as soon as they receive it and draw up a maritime agreement, they immediately forget both the agreements and the laws, and the fact that they must repay what they received, and they think, if they repay it, as if they have lost some of their own private property; instead of repaying, they devise subtleties, special pleas, and excuses, and they are the most wicked and unjust of men.
τεκμήριον δὲ τούτου· πολλῶν γὰρ ἀφικνουμένων εἰς τὸ ὑμέτερον ἐμπόριον καὶ Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων, πλείους δίκαι εἰσὶν ἑκάστοτε αὐτῶν τῶν Φασηλιτῶν ἢ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων.
And here is proof of this: although many people, both Greeks and barbarians, resort to your market, there are always more lawsuits involving these Phaselians than all the others combined.
§3οὗτοι μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν· ἐγὼ δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, χρήματα δανείσας Ἀρτέμωνι τῷ τούτου ἀδελφῷ κατὰ τοὺς ἐμπορικοὺς νόμους, εἰς τὸν Πόντον καὶ πάλιν Ἀθήναζε, τελευτήσαντος ἐκείνου πρὶν ἀποδοῦναί μοι τὰ χρήματα, Λακρίτῳ τουτῳὶ εἴληχα τὴν δίκην ταύτην κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς νόμους τούτους καθʼ οὕσπερ τὸ συμβόλαιον ἐποιησάμην, §4ἀδελφῷ ὄντι τούτῳ ἐκείνου καὶ ἔχοντι ἅπαντα τὰ Ἀρτέμωνος, καὶ ὅσα ἐνθάδε κατέλιπεν καὶ ὅσα ἦν αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ Φασήλιδι, καὶ κληρονόμῳ ὄντι τῶν ἐκείνου ἁπάντων, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἔχοντος τούτου δεῖξαι νόμον ὅστις αὐτῷ δίδωσιν ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν μὲν τὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ διῳκηκέναι ὅπως ἐδόκει αὐτῷ, μὴ ἀποδοῦναι δὲ τὰ ἀλλότρια χρήματα, ἀλλὰ λέγειν νῦν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν κληρονόμος, ἀλλʼ ἀφίσταται τῶν ἐκείνου.
These men, then, are of such a character; but I, gentlemen of the jury, having lent money to Artemon, this man's brother, according to the commercial laws, for a voyage to the Pontus and back to Athens, upon his death before he repaid me the money, have brought this suit against Lacritus here, according to these same laws under which I made the contract, since he is the brother of that man and has all the property of Artemon, both what he left behind here and what he had in Phaselis, and is the heir to all his estate, and since this man would not be able to produce any law which gives him the authority to keep his brother's property and administer it as he pleased, but not to repay other people's money, and to say now that he is not the heir, but is renouncing his estate.
§5ἡ μὲν τουτουὶ Λακρίτου πονηρία τοιαύτη ἐστίν· ἐγὼ δʼ ὑμῶν δέομαι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, εὐνοϊκῶς ἀκοῦσαί μου περὶ τοῦ πράγματος τουτουί· κἂν ἐξελέγξω αὐτὸν ἀδικοῦντα ἡμᾶς τε τοὺς δανείσαντας καὶ ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἧττον, βοηθεῖτε ἡμῖν τὰ δίκαια.
Such is the wickedness of this Lacritus here; but I entreat you, gentlemen of the jury, to hear me with goodwill concerning this matter; and if I prove that he is doing wrong to us who lent the money, and no less to you, assist us in what is just.
§6ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, αὐτὸς μὲν οὐδʼ ὁπωστιοῦν ἐγνώριζον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τούτους· Θρασυμήδης δʼ ὁ Διοφάντου υἱός, ἐκείνου τοῦ Σφηττίου, καὶ Μελάνωπος ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἐπιτήδειοί μοί εἰσιν, καὶ χρώμεθα ἀλλήλοις ὡς οἷόν τε μάλιστα.
For I, gentlemen of the jury, did not know these men at all; but Thrasymedes, the son of Diophantus, of the deme of Sphettus, and Melanopus his brother, are my intimate friends, and we associate with one another as closely as possible.
οὗτοι προσῆλθόν μοι μετὰ Λακρίτου τουτουί, ὁπόθεν δήποτε ἐγνωρισμένοι τούτῳ (οὐ γὰρ οἶδα), §7καὶ ἐδέοντό μου δανεῖσαι χρήματα εἰς τὸν Πόντον Ἀρτέμωνι τῷ τούτου ἀδελφῷ καὶ Ἀπολλοδώρῳ, ὅπως ἂν ἐνεργοὶ ὦσιν, οὐδὲν εἰδώς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὐδʼ ὁ Θρασυμήδης τὴν τούτων πονηρίαν, ἀλλʼ οἰόμενος εἶναι ἐπιεικεῖς ἀνθρώπους καὶ οἷοίπερ προσεποιοῦντο καὶ ἔφασαν εἶναι, καὶ ἡγούμενος ποιήσειν αὐτοὺς πάντα ὅσαπερ ὑπισχνεῖτο καὶ ἀνεδέχετο Λάκριτος οὑτοσί.
These men came to me with Lacritus here, having become acquainted with him from somewhere or other (for I do not know), and begged me to lend money for a voyage to the Pontus to Artemon, this man's brother, and to Apollodorus, so that they might be in business; gentlemen of the jury, neither did Thrasymedes know their wickedness, but thought they were honest men and such as they pretended and claimed to be, and believed they would perform everything that Lacritus here promised and undertook.
§8πλεῖστον δʼ ἄρα ἦν ἐψευσμένος, καὶ οὐδὲν ᾔδει οἵοις θηρίοις ἐπλησίαζε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις.
But he was utterly deceived, as it turned out, and had no idea what kind of beasts in human form he was approaching.
κἀγὼ πεισθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θρασυμήδους καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Λακρίτου τουτουὶ ἀναδεχομένου μοι πάντʼ ἔσεσθαι τὰ δίκαια παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν αὑτοῦ, ἐδάνεισα μετὰ ξένου τινὸς ἡμετέρου Καρυστίου τριάκοντα μνᾶς ἀργυρίου.
And I, persuaded by Thrasymedes and his brother, and with Lacritus here guaranteeing to me that everything would be justly settled by his brothers, lent thirty minae of silver together with a certain foreigner, a friend of ours from Carystus.
§9βούλομαι οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τῆς συγγραφῆς ἀκοῦσαι ὑμᾶς πρῶτον, καθʼ ἣν ἐδανείσαμεν τὰ χρήματα, καὶ τῶν μαρτύρων τῶν παραγενομένων τῷ δανείσματι· ἔπειτα περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιδείξομεν, οἷα ἐτοιχωρύχησαν οὗτοι περὶ τὸ δάνειον.
I wish, therefore, gentlemen of the jury, that you should first hear the agreement under which we lent the money, and the witnesses who were present at the loan; afterwards, we shall demonstrate regarding the other matters, what kind of burglary they committed concerning the loan.
λέγε τὴν συγγραφήν, εἶτα τὰς μαρτυρίας.
Read the agreement, and then the depositions.
ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΗ.
THE AGREEMENT.
§10"ἐδάνεισαν Ἀνδροκλῆς Σφήττιος καὶ Ναυσικράτης Καρύστιος Ἀρτέμωνι καὶ Ἀπολλοδώρῳ Φασηλίταις ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς τρισχιλίας Ἀθήνηθεν εἰς Μένδην ἢ Σκιώνην, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν εἰς Βόσπορον, ἐὰν δὲ βούλωνται, τῆς ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ μέχρι Βορυσθένους, καὶ πάλιν Ἀθήναζε, ἐπὶ διακοσίαις εἴκοσι πέντε τὰς χιλίας, ἐὰν δὲ μετʼ Ἀρκτοῦρον ἐκπλεύσωσιν ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου ἐφʼ Ἱερόν, ἐπὶ τριακοσίαις τὰς χιλίας, ἐπὶ οἴνου κεραμίοις Μενδαίοις τρισχιλίοις, ὃς πλεύσεται ἐκ Μένδης ἢ Σκιώνης ἐν τῇ εἰκοσόρῳ ἣν Ὑβλήσιος ναυκληρεῖ. "
"Androcles of Sphettus and Nausicrates of Carystus lent to Artemon and Apollodorus of Phaselis three thousand drachmae of silver, from Athens to Mende or Scione, and thence to the Bosporus, and if they wish, along the left coast as far as the Borysthenes, and back to Athens, at the rate of two hundred and twenty-five drachmae per thousand; but if they sail out of the Pontus for Hieron after the rising of Arcturus, at the rate of three hundred drachmae per thousand; on the security of three thousand jars of Mendean wine, which shall be carried from Mende or Scione in the twenty-oared ship of which Hyblesius is shipmaster."