§1πάντων ἐστὶν ἀνιαρότατον, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅταν τις ὀνόματι μὲν ἀδελφὸς προσαγορευθῇ τινῶν, τῷ δʼ ἔργῳ ἐχθροὺς ἔχῃ τούτους, καὶ ἀναγκάζηται πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ παθὼν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν εἰσιέναι εἰς δικαστήριον, ὃ νῦν ἐμοὶ συμβέβηκεν.
It is the most painful of all things, gentlemen of the jury, when one is called a brother to certain people in name, but in reality has them as enemies, and is forced to enter a court of law after suffering many grievous things at their hands, which is what has now happened to me.
§2οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἀτύχημά μοι ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγένετο, διότι Πλαγγὼν ἡ τούτων μήτηρ ἐξαπατήσασα τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ ἐπιορκήσασα φανερῶς, ἠνάγκασεν αὐτὸν ὑπομεῖναι τούτους ποιήσασθαι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ δύο μέρη τῶν πατρῴων ἀπεστερήθην· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τούτοις ἐξελήλαμαι μὲν ἐκ τῆς πατρῴας οἰκίας ὑπὸ τούτων, ἐν ᾗ καὶ ἐγενόμην καὶ ἐτράφην, καὶ εἰς ἣν οὐχ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοὺς ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ τελευτήσαντος ἐκείνου παρεδεξάμην, §3ἀποστεροῦμαι δὲ τὴν προῖκα τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ μητρός, περὶ ἧς νυνὶ δικάζομαι, αὐτὸς μὲν τούτοις δίκας ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐνεκάλουν μοι πάντων δεδωκώς, πλὴν εἴ τινα νῦν ἕνεκα τῆς δίκης ταύτης ἀντειλήχασίν μοι συκοφαντοῦντες, ὡς καὶ ὑμῖν ἔσται καταφανές, παρὰ δὲ τούτων ἐν ἕνδεκα ἔτεσιν οὐ δυνάμενος τυχεῖν τῶν μετρίων, ἀλλὰ νῦν εἰς ὑμᾶς καταπεφευγώς.
For not only did misfortune befall me from the very beginning, because Plangon, the mother of these men, having deceived my father and committed open perjury, forced him to submit to adopting them, and because of this I was deprived of two-thirds of my patrimony; but in addition to this, I have been driven out of my ancestral home by them, in which I was both born and brought up, and into which, after my father's death, it was not he but I who received them, and I am being deprived of my own mother's dowry, concerning which I am now suing, having myself paid them damages for all the things of which they accused me—except for any malicious counter-suits they have now brought against me because of this trial, as will be clear to you also—while from them I have been unable to obtain what is reasonable in eleven years, but have now fled to you for refuge.
§4δέομαι οὖν ἁπάντων ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, μετʼ εὐνοίας τέ μου ἀκοῦσαι οὕτως ὅπως ἂν δύνωμαι λέγοντος, κἂν ὑμῖν δοκῶ δεινὰ πεπονθέναι, συγγνώμην ἔχειν μοι ζητοῦντι κομίσασθαι τἀμαυτοῦ, ἄλλως τε καὶ εἰς θυγατρὸς ἔκδοσιν· συνέβη γάρ μοι δεηθέντος τοῦ πατρὸς ὀκτωκαιδεκέτη γῆμαι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἶναί μοι θυγατέρα ἤδη ἐπίγαμον.
Therefore, I beg of you all, gentlemen of the jury, to listen to me with goodwill in such a manner as I am able to speak, and if I seem to you to have suffered grievous things, to have sympathy for me as I seek to recover my own, especially for the marriage-portion of my daughter; for it happened to me, at my father's request, to marry when I was eighteen years old, and because of this I already have a daughter of marriageable age.
§5ὥστʼ ἐμοὶ μὲν δικαίως ἂν ἀδικουμένῳ διὰ πολλὰ βοηθήσαιτε, τούτοις δὲ εἰκότως ἂν ὀργίζοισθε· οἵτινες, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί, ἐξὸν αὐτοῖς τὰ δίκαια ποιήσασι μὴ εἰσιέναι εἰς δικαστήριον, οὐκ αἰσχύνονται μὲν ἀναμιμνῄσκοντες ὑμᾶς εἴ τι ἢ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν μὴ ὀρθῶς διεπράξατο ἢ οὗτοι εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἥμαρτον, ἀναγκάζουσι δʼ ἐμὲ δικάζεσθαι αὑτοῖς.
So while you would justly help me as one who is wronged for many reasons, you would reasonably be angry with these men; who, O earth and gods, although it was open to them to do what is right and not enter a court, are not ashamed to remind you of anything that our father did not do rightly or that they themselves sinned against him, but force me to go to law with them.
ἵνα δὲ ἀκριβῶς εἰδῆτε, ὡς οὐκ ἐγὼ τούτου αἴτιός εἰμι ἀλλʼ οὗτοι, ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑμῖν, ὡς ἂν ἐν βραχυτάτοις δύνωμαι, διηγήσομαι τὰ πραχθέντα.
But so that you may know accurately that I am not the cause of this, but they are, I will relate to you what happened from the beginning, in as few words as I can.
§6ἡ γὰρ μήτηρ ἡ ἐμή, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, θυγάτηρ μὲν ἦν Πολυαράτου Χολαργέως, ἀδελφὴ δὲ Μενεξένου καὶ Βαθύλλου καὶ Περιάνδρου.
For my mother, gentlemen of the jury, was the daughter of Polyaratus of Cholargus, and sister of Menexenus, Bathyllus, and Periander.
ἐκδόντος δὲ αὐτὴν τοῦ πατρὸς Κλεομέδοντι τῷ Κλέωνος υἱεῖ, καὶ προῖκα τάλαντον ἐπιδόντος, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον τούτῳ συνῴκει· γενομένων δʼ αὐτῇ τριῶν μὲν θυγατέρων, υἱοῦ δʼ ἑνὸς Κλέωνος, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῇ τελευτήσαντος, ἀπολιποῦσα τὸν οἶκον καὶ κομισαμένη τὴν προῖκα,
When her father gave her in marriage to Cleomedon, the son of Cleon, and gave a talent as dowry, she lived with him at first; but after three daughters and one son, Cleon, were born to her, and her husband subsequently died, she left the house and recovered her dowry.
§7πάλιν ἐκδόντων αὐτὴν τῶν ἀδελφῶν Μενεξένου καὶ Βαθύλλου (ὁ γὰρ Περίανδρος ἔτι παῖς ἦν) καὶ τὸ τάλαντον ἐπιδόντων, συνῴκησε τῷ ἐμῷ πατρί.
When her brothers Menexenus and Bathyllus (for Periander was still a boy) gave her in marriage again and added the talent as dowry, she lived with my father.
καὶ γίγνομαι αὐτοῖς ἐγώ τε καὶ ἄλλος ἀδελφὸς νεώτερος ἐμοῦ, ὃς ἔτι παῖς ὢν ἐτελεύτησεν.
And I was born to them, as well as another brother younger than me, who died while still a boy.
ὡς δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, περὶ τούτων ὑμῖν πρῶτον τοὺς μάρτυρας παρέξομαι.
To prove that I am telling the truth, I will first present the witnesses to these facts.
ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΣ.
WITNESSES.
§8τὴν μὲν τοίνυν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν οὕτως ὁ πατήρ μου γήμας εἶχε γυναῖκα ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ, ἐμέ τε ἐπαίδευεν καὶ ἠγάπα, ὥσπερ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἅπαντες τοὺς ὑμετέρους παῖδας ἀγαπᾶτε.
Now, my father, having thus married my mother, kept her as his wife in his own house, and educated and loved me, just as you all love your own children.
τῇ δὲ τούτων μητρὶ Πλαγγόνι ἐπλησίασεν ὅντινα δή ποτʼ οὖν τρόπον· οὐ γὰρ ἐμὸν τοῦτο λέγειν ἐστίν.
But he associated with Plangon, the mother of these men, in whatever manner it might be; for it is not my place to speak of this.
§9καὶ οὕτως οὐ πάντα γε ἦν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας κεκρατημένος, ὥστε οὐδὲ τῆς μητρὸς τῆς ἐμῆς ἀποθανούσης ἠξίωσεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν παρʼ ἑαυτὸν εἰσδέξασθαι, οὐδὲ τούτους, ὡς υἱεῖς εἰσιν αὑτοῦ, πεισθῆναι·
And he was not so completely overcome by his desire as to deign to receive her into his house even after my mother's death, nor to be persuaded that these men were his own sons; but for the rest of the time they lived as not being my father's sons, as most of you also know.
ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν ἄλλον χρόνον οὗτοι διῆγον οὐκ ὄντες τοῦ ἐμοῦ πατρός, ὡς καὶ ὑμῶν οἱ πολλοὶ ἴσασιν, ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὗτος αὐξηθεὶς καὶ μεθʼ αὑτοῦ παρασκευασάμενος ἐργαστήριον συκοφαντῶν, ὧν ἡγεμὼν ἦν Μνησικλῆς καὶ Μενεκλῆς ἐκεῖνος ὁ τὴν Νῖνον ἑλών, μεθʼ ὧν οὗτος ἐδικάζετό
But when this man grew up and organized a gang of sycophants around himself, whose leader was Mnesicles and that famous Menecles who convicted Ninos, with whom this man went to law...