§1οὐδεμιᾷ φιλοπραγμοσύνῃ μὰ τοὺς θεούς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὴν δίκην ταύτην ἔλαχον Βοιωτῷ, οὐδʼ ἠγνόουν ὅτι πολλοῖς ἄτοπον δόξει τὸ δίκην ἐμὲ λαγχάνειν, εἴ τις ἐμοὶ ταὐτὸν ὄνομʼ οἴεται δεῖν ἔχειν·
By the gods, men of the jury, it was from no love of meddling that I brought this suit against Boeotus, nor was I unaware that it will seem strange to many that I am bringing a suit against someone because he thinks he ought to have the same name as I.
ἀλλʼ ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἐκ τῶν συμβησομένων, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο διορθώσομαι, ἐν ὑμῖν κριθῆναι.
But it was necessary, in view of the consequences if I do not correct this, that the matter should be decided among you.
§2εἰ μὲν οὖν ἑτέρου τινὸς οὗτος ἔφη πατρὸς εἶναι καὶ μὴ τοῦ ἐμοῦ, περίεργος ἂν εἰκότως ἐδόκουν εἶναι φροντίζων ὅ τι βούλεται καλεῖν οὗτος ἑαυτόν.
Now, if this man claimed to be the son of some other father and not of mine, I should naturally have seemed busybody-like in caring what he chose to call himself.
νῦν δὲ λαχὼν δίκην τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ καὶ μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ κατασκευάσας ἐργαστήριον συκοφαντῶν, Μνησικλέα τε, ὃν ἴσως γιγνώσκετε πάντες, καὶ Μενεκλέα τὸν τὴν Νῖνον ἑλόντʼ ἐκεῖνον, καὶ τοιούτους τινάς, ἐδικάζεθʼ υἱὸς εἶναι φάσκων ἐκ τῆς Παμφίλου θυγατρὸς καὶ δεινὰ πάσχειν καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀποστερεῖσθαι.
But as it is, having brought a suit against my father, and having organized with himself a gang of sycophants—including Mnesicles, whom perhaps you all know, and that Menecles who convicted Ninus, and others of that sort—he went to law, asserting that he was his son by the daughter of Pamphilus, and that he was suffering shameful treatment and being deprived of his civic rights.
§3ὁ πατὴρ δέ (πᾶσα γὰρ εἰρήσεται ἡ ἀλήθειʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί) ἅμα μὲν φοβούμενος εἰς δικαστήριον εἰσιέναι, μή τις, οἷʼ ὑπὸ πολιτευομένου, ἑτέρωθί που λελυπημένος ἐνταυθοῖ ἀπαντήσειεν αὐτῷ, ἅμα δʼ ἐξαπατηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς τουτουὶ μητρός, ὀμοσάσης αὐτῆς ἦ μήν, ἐὰν ὅρκον αὐτῇ διδῷ περὶ τούτων, μὴ ὀμεῖσθαι, τούτων δὲ πραχθέντων οὐδὲν ἔτʼ ἔσεσθαι αὐτοῖς, καὶ μεσεγγυησαμένης ἀργύριον, ἐπὶ τούτοις δίδωσι τὸν ὅρκον.
My father—for the whole truth shall be told, men of the jury—partly because he feared to go into court, lest someone who had been aggrieved elsewhere by him in his political career should confront him here, and partly because he was deceived by this man's mother, who swore indeed that, if he would tender her the oath concerning these matters, she would not take it, and that once this was done there would be no further trouble between them, and who also deposited money in escrow—on these conditions, my father tendered her the oath.
§4ἡ δὲ δεξαμένη, οὐ μόνον τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἕτερον πρὸς τούτῳ κατωμόσατʼ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι τοῦ ἐμοῦ.
But she, having accepted it, swore that not only this man but also the other brother besides him was my father’s son.
ὡς δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐποίησεν, εἰσάγειν εἰς τοὺς φράτερας ἦν ἀνάγκη τούτους καὶ λόγος οὐδεὶς ὑπελείπετο.
When she had done this, it was necessary to introduce them to the clansmen, and no excuse was left.
εἰσήγαγεν, ἐποιήσατο, ἵνα τἀν μέσῳ συντέμω, ἐγγράφει τοῖς Ἀπατουρίοις τουτονὶ μὲν Βοιωτὸν εἰς τοὺς φράτερας, τὸν δʼ ἕτερον Πάμφιλον· Μαντίθεος δʼ ἐνεγεγράμμην ἐγώ.
He introduced them, he adopted them, and, to cut the story short, he registered this man as Boeotus and the other as Pamphilus into the clansmen at the Apaturia; and I had been registered as Mantitheus.
§5συμβάσης δὲ τῷ πατρὶ τῆς τελευτῆς πρὶν τὰς εἰς τοὺς δημότας ἐγγραφὰς γενέσθαι, ἐλθὼν εἰς τοὺς δημότας οὑτοσὶ ἀντὶ Βοιωτοῦ Μαντίθεον ἐνέγραψεν ἑαυτόν.
But when my father’s death occurred before the registration into the demesmen could take place, this man went to the demesmen and registered himself as Mantitheus instead of Boeotus.
τοῦτο δʼ ὅσα βλάπτει ποιῶν πρῶτον μὲν ἐμέ, εἶτα δὲ καὶ ὑμᾶς, ἐγὼ διδάξω, ἐπειδὰν ὧν λέγω παράσχωμαι μάρτυρας.
How much harm he does by doing this, first to me, and secondly also to you, I will show, after I have produced witnesses for what I say.
ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ.
WITNESSES.
§6ὃν μὲν τοίνυν τρόπον ἡμᾶς ἐνέγραψεν ὁ πατήρ, ἀκηκόατε τῶν μαρτύρων· ὅτι δʼ οὐκ οἰομένου τούτου δεῖν ἐμμένειν, δικαίως καὶ ἀναγκαίως ἔλαχον τὴν δίκην, τοῦτʼ ἤδη δείξω.
Now, in what manner our father registered us, you have heard from the witnesses; and that, since he does not think he ought to abide by this, I have justly and necessarily brought the suit, I will now show.
ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐχ οὕτω δήπου σκαιός εἰμʼ ἄνθρωπος οὐδʼ ἀλόγιστος, ὥστε τῶν μὲν πατρῴων, ἃ πάντʼ ἐμὰ ἐγίγνετο, ἐπειδήπερ ἐποιήσατο τούτους ὁ πατήρ, συγκεχωρηκέναι τὸ τρίτον νείμασθαι μέρος καὶ στέργειν ἐπὶ τούτῳ, περὶ δʼ ὀνόματος ζυγομαχεῖν, εἰ μὴ τὸ μὲν ἡμᾶς μεταθέσθαι μεγάλην ἀτιμίαν ἔφερε καὶ ἀνανδρίαν, τὸ δὲ ταὐτὸν ἔχειν τοῦτον ἡμῖν ὄνομα διὰ πόλλʼ ἀδύνατον ἦν.
For I am surely not so stupid a man nor so foolish as to have consented to divide my patrimony into three shares, though it all was becoming mine, since my father adopted these men, and to be content with this, yet to fight about a name, unless the changing of our own name brought great dishonor and unmanliness, and his having the same name as ours was impossible for many reasons.
§7πρῶτον μὲν γάρ, εἰ δεῖ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν ἰδίων εἰπεῖν πρότερον, τίνʼ ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις ἐπιτάξει τρόπον, ἄν τι δέῃ ποιεῖν;
For first, if I must speak of public matters before private ones, in what way will the city give us orders if there is any duty to perform?
οἴσουσι νὴ Δίʼ οἱ φυλέται τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους.
By Zeus, the members of the tribe will present us in the same way as they do the others.
οὐκοῦν Μαντίθεον Μαντίου Θορίκιον οἴσουσιν, ἐὰν χορηγὸν ἢ γυμνασίαρχον ἢ ἑστιάτορʼ ἢ ἐάν τι τῶν ἄλλων φέρωσιν.
Therefore, they will present "Mantitheus, son of Mantias, of Thoricus," if they are presenting a choregus, or a gymnasiarch, or a feaster, or if they are presenting for any of the other duties.
τῷ δῆλον οὖν ἔσται πότερον σὲ φέρουσιν ἢ ἐμέ;
By what, then, will it be clear whether they are presenting you or me?
σὺ μὲν γὰρ φήσεις ἐμέ, ἐγὼ δὲ σέ.
For you will say it is me, and I will say it is you.
§8καὶ δὴ καλεῖ μετὰ τοῦθʼ ὁ ἄρχων ἢ πρὸς ὅντινʼ ἂν ᾖ ἡ δίκη.
And suppose after this the archon summons us, or whoever has jurisdiction over the suit.
οὐχ ὑπακούομεν, οὐ λῃτουργοῦμεν.
We do not obey, we do not perform the liturgy.
πότερος ταῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων ἔσται ζημίαις ἔνοχος;
Which of us will be liable to the penalties prescribed by the laws?
τίνα δʼ οἱ στρατηγοὶ τρόπον ἐγγράψουσιν, ἂν εἰς συμμορίαν ἐγγράφωσιν, ἢ ἂν τριήραρχον καθιστῶσιν;
And in what way will the generals register us, if they register us in a symmory, or if they appoint a trierarch?
ἢ ἂν στρατεία τις ᾖ, τῷ δῆλον ἔσται πότερός ἐσθʼ ὁ κατειλεγμένος;
Or if there is a military campaign, by what will it be clear which of us is the one who has been enrolled?