§35ἐπεὶ ἔγωγʼ οὐδʼ εἰ τὰ μάλισθʼ ὁ πατὴρ ὄντα σʼ ἑαυτοῦ μὴ ἐποιεῖτʼ ἀδικῶ.
For I am doing no wrong even if my father, though you were in fact his own son, had not made you his child to the highest degree.
οὐ γὰρ ἐμοὶ προσῆκεν εἰδέναι, τίνες εἰσὶν υἱεῖς ἐκείνου, ἀλλʼ ἐκείνῳ δεῖξαι, τίνʼ ἐμοὶ νομιστέον ἔστʼ ἀδελφόν.
For it was not my duty to know who his sons were, but his duty to show me whom I must consider as a brother.
ὃν μὲν τοίνυν οὐκ ἐποιεῖτό σε χρόνον, οὐδʼ ἐγὼ προσήκονθʼ ἡγούμην, ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἐποιήσατο, κἀγὼ νομίζω.
Therefore, during the time he did not make you his child, I too did not think of you as a relative; but since he did make you so, I also recognize you.
τί τούτου σημεῖον;
What is the proof of this?
τῶν πατρῴων ἔχεις τὸ μέρος μετὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς τελευτήν· ἱερῶν, ὁσίων μετέχεις· ἀπάγει σʼ οὐδεὶς ἀπὸ τούτων.
You have your share of our father's estate after his death; you participate in religious and public rites; no one drives you away from these.
τί βούλει;
What do you want?
ἂν δὲ φῇ δεινὰ πάσχειν καὶ κλάῃ καὶ ὀδύρηται καὶ κατηγορῇ ἐμοῦ, ἃ μὲν ἂν λέγῃ, μὴ πιστεύετε (οὐ γὰρ δίκαιον μὴ περὶ τούτων ὄντος τοῦ λόγου νυνί), ἐκεῖνο δʼ ὑπολαμβάνετε, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἔστʼ αὐτῷ ἧττον δίκην λαμβάνειν Βοιωτῷ κληθέντι. §36τί οὖν φιλονικεῖς;
And if he claims to suffer terribly and cries and laments and accuses me, do not believe what he says (for it is not just to do so, since our discussion is not about these matters now), but understand this: that there is nothing to prevent him from obtaining justice just as much when called Boeotus. Why then are you so contentious?
μηδαμῶς· μὴ ἔχʼ οὕτω πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐθελέχθρως·
By no means do so; do not have such a hostile attitude toward us, for neither do I toward you.
οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐγὼ πρὸς σέ, ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν, ἵνα μηδὲ τοῦτο λάθῃ σε, ὑπὲρ σοῦ λέγω μᾶλλον, ἀξιῶν μὴ ταὐτὸν ἔχειν ὄνομʼ ἡμᾶς.
For even now, so that this may not escape your notice, I speak rather for your sake in claiming that we should not have the same name.
εἰ γὰρ μηδὲν ἄλλο, ἀνάγκη τὸν ἀκούσαντʼ ἐρέσθαι πότερος, δύʼ ἂν ὦσιν Μαντίθεοι Μαντίου.
For if nothing else, anyone who hears is bound to ask which of us it is, if there are two Mantitheuses, sons of Mantias.
οὐκοῦν, ὃν ἠναγκάσθη ποιήσασθαι, σὲ ἂν λέγῃ, ἐρεῖ. τί οὖν ἐπιθυμεῖς τούτων;
Consequently, if he speaks of you, he will say: "The one whom he was forced to adopt." Why then do you desire this?
ἀνάγνωθι δέ μοι λαβὼν δύο ταυτασὶ μαρτυρίας, ὡς ἐμοὶ Μαντίθεον καὶ τούτῳ Βοιωτὸν ὁ πατὴρ ὄνομʼ ἔθετο. ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. §37λοιπὸν ἡγοῦμαι τοῦθʼ ὑμῖν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὡς οὐ μόνον εὐορκήσετε, ἂν ἁγὼ λέγω ψηφίσησθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς οὗτος αὑτοῦ κατέγνω Βοιωτόν, ἀλλʼ οὐ Μαντίθεον ὄνομα δικαίως ἂν ἔχειν.
Take and read to me these two testimonies, showing that my father gave me the name Mantitheus and to this man the name Boeotus.ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. It remains, I think, for me to show you, men of Athens, not only that you will keep your oaths if you vote for what I say, but also that this man himself condemned himself that he should justly have the name Boeotus, but not Mantitheus.
λαχόντος γὰρ ἐμοῦ τὴν δίκην ταύτην Βοιωτῷ Μαντίου Θορικίῳ, ἐξ ἀρχῆς τʼ ἠντεδίκει καὶ ὑπώμνυθʼ ὡς ὢν Βοιωτός, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτʼ ἐνῆν αὐτῷ διακρούσασθαι, ἐρήμην ἐάσας καταδιαιτῆσαι, σκέψασθε πρὸς θεῶν τί ἐποίησεν· §38ἀντιλαγχάνει μοι τὴν μὴ οὖσαν Βοιωτὸν αὑτὸν προσαγορεύσας.
For when I brought this suit against Boeotus, son of Mantias of Thoricus, from the beginning he contested it and made a sworn declaration for delay as being Boeotus; and finally, when it was no longer possible for him to slip away, having allowed the arbitrator to decide against him by default, see, by the gods, what he did. He brought a counter-suit against me to set aside the default judgment, styling himself Boeotus.
καίτοι ἐξ ἀρχῆς τʼ ἔδει ἐᾶν αὐτὸν τελέσασθαι τὴν δίκην κατὰ Βοιωτοῦ, εἴπερ μηδὲν προσῆκεν αὐτῷ τοὐνόματος, ὕστερόν τε μὴ αὐτὸν φαίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ ἀντιλαγχάνοντα τὴν μὴ οὖσαν.
And yet, from the beginning he ought to have allowed the judgment to be executed against Boeotus, if he had no concern with the name, and later he ought not to have appeared bringing a counter-suit under this name to set aside the default judgment.
ὃς οὖν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ κατέγνω δικαίως ἂν εἶναι Βοιωτός, τί ὑμᾶς ἀξιώσει τοὺς ὀμωμοκότας ψηφίζεσθαι;
He, therefore, who himself condemned himself that he is justly Boeotus, what will he expect you, who have sworn, to vote?
ὡς δὲ ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, λαβέ μοι τὴν ἀντίληξιν καὶ τὸ ἔγκλημα τουτί. ΑΝΤΙΛΗΞΙΣ. ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ. §39εἰ μὲν τοίνυν οὗτος ἔχει δεῖξαι νόμον ὃς ποιεῖ κυρίους εἶναι τοὺς παῖδας τοῦ ἑαυτῶν ὀνόματος, ἃ λέγει νῦν οὗτος ὀρθῶς ἂν ψηφίζοισθε.
To show that I speak the truth in this, take the counter-suit and this complaint for me.ΑΝΤΙΛΗΞΙΣ. ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ. If, therefore, this man can show a law which makes children masters of their own names, you would vote rightly in what he now says.
εἰ δʼ ὁ μὲν νόμος, ὃν πάντες ἐπίστασθʼ ὁμοίως ἐμοί, τοὺς γονέας ποιεῖ κυρίους οὐ μόνον θέσθαι τοὔνομʼ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀλλὰ κἂν πάλιν ἐξαλεῖψαι βούλωνται καὶ ἀποκηρῦξαι, ἐπέδειξα δʼ ἐγὼ τὸν πατέρα, ὃς κύριος ἦν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου, τούτῳ μὲν Βοιωτόν, ἐμοὶ δὲ Μαντίθεον θέμενον, πῶς ὑμῖν ἔστιν ἄλλο τι πλὴν ἁγὼ λέγω ψηφίσασθαι; §40ἀλλὰ μὴν ὧν γʼ ἂν μὴ ὦσι νόμοι, γνώμῃ τῇ δικαιοτάτῃ δικάσειν ὀμωμόκατε, ὥστʼ εἰ μηδεὶς ἦν περὶ τούτων κείμενος νόμος, κἂν οὕτω δικαίως πρὸς ἐμοῦ τὴν ψῆφον ἔθεσθε.
But if the law, which you all know as well as I do, makes parents masters not only of giving the name in the first place, but also of erasing it again and disowning the child if they wish, and if I have shown that our father, who was master by law, gave him the name Boeotus and me Mantitheus, how can you vote for anything other than what I say? Moreover, concerning matters for which there are no laws, you have sworn to decide according to your most just judgment, so that even if there were no law established about these things, even so you would have cast your vote justly on my side.
τίς γάρ ἐστιν ὑμῶν ὅστις ταὐτὸν ὄνομα τοῖς αὑτοῦ παισὶν τέθειται δυοῖν;
For who among you has given the same name to two of his own children?
τίς δʼ, ᾧ μήπω παῖδες εἰσί, θήσεται; §41οὐδεὶς δήπου.
And who, having as yet no children, will do so? No one, of course.
οὐκοῦν ὃ δίκαιον τῇ γνώμῃ τοῖς ὑμετέροις αὐτῶν παισὶν ὑπειλήφατε, τοῦτο καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν εὐσεβὲς γνῶναι.
Therefore, what you have conceived in your judgment to be just for your own children, it is also a religious duty to decide concerning us.
ὥστε καὶ κατὰ τὴν δικαιοτάτην γνώμην καὶ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους καὶ κατὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ κατὰ τὴν τούτου προσομολογίαν ἐγὼ μὲν μέτριʼ ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δέομαι καὶ δίκαιʼ ἀξιῶ, οὗτος δʼ οὐ μόνον οὐ μέτρια, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ εἰωθότα γίγνεσθαι.
So, both according to the most just judgment, and according to the laws, and according to your oaths, and according to this man's own admission, I, men of Athens, make a moderate and just request of you, while this man makes a request that is not only immoderate, but such as has never even been customary.