§56καὶ ἐγὼ μέν, ἐάν, ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, ὑμεῖς με ἐγκαταλίπητε, οὐχ ἕξω ὁπόθεν προῖκα ἐπιδῶ τῇ θυγατρί, ἧς τῇ μὲν φύσει πατήρ εἰμι, τὴν δʼ ἡλικίαν αὐτῆς εἰ ἴδοιτε, οὐκ ἂν θυγατέρα μου ἀλλʼ ἀδελφὴν εἶναι αὐτὴν νομίσαιτε· οὗτοι δέ, ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μοι βοηθήσητε, οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἀποτείσουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας τὰ ἐμὰ ἐμοὶ ἀποδώσουσιν, ἣν ἐξειλόμεθα μὲν κοινῇ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἔκτεισιν τῆς προικός, οἰκοῦντες δὲ αὐτὴν οὗτοι μόνοι διατελοῦσιν.
And I, if—which heaven forbid—you should abandon me, shall have no means from which to give a dowry to my daughter, of whom I am the father by nature, but if you were to see her age, you would not think she was my daughter but my sister; whereas these men, if you help me, will pay nothing out of their own private property, but will restore to me my own out of the house, which we all set apart in common for the payment of the dowry, but in which these men alone continue to reside.
§57οὔτε γὰρ ἁρμόττει μοι θυγατέρα ἐπίγαμον ἔχοντι οἰκεῖν μετὰ τοιούτων, οἳ οὐ μόνον αὐτοὶ ἀσελγῶς ζῶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁμοίους αὑτοῖς ἑτέρους πολλοὺς εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἰσάγουσιν, οὔτε μὰ τὸν Δία ἀσφαλὲς εἶναί μοι νομίζω συζῆν τούτοις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ· ὅπου γὰρ οὕτω φανερῶς μοι ἐπιβουλεύσαντες εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον ἀγῶνα κατεσκεύασαν, τίνος ἂν οὗτοι ἢ φαρμακείας ἢ ἄλλης κακουργίας τοιαύτης ὑμῖν ἀποσχέσθαι δοκοῦσιν;
For it is neither fitting for me, having a daughter of marriageable age, to live with such men, who not only themselves live dissolutely but also introduce many others like themselves into the house, nor, by Zeus, do I think it is safe for me to live with them in the same place; for where they have so openly plotted against me as to get up a trial before the Areopagus, from what poisoning or other such villainy do you think these men would abstain?
§58οἵ γε πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις (ἀρτίως γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο ἀνεμνήσθην) εἰς τοσαύτην ὑπερβολὴν τόλμης ἥκουσιν, ὥστε καὶ Κρίτωνος μαρτυρίαν ἐνεβάλοντο, ὡς ἐώνηται τὸ τρίτον παρʼ ἐμοῦ μέρος τῆς οἰκίας· ἥν, ὅτι ψευδής ἐστι, ῥᾳδίως εἴσεσθε.
They have indeed, in addition to other things (for I have just been reminded of this too), reached such an excess of audacity that they even put in a deposition of Criton, to the effect that he has bought the third part of the house from me; which you will easily know to be false.
πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οὐχ οὕτω μετρίως ζῇ Κρίτων ὥστε παρʼ ἑτέρου οἰκίαν ὠνεῖσθαι, ἀλλʼ οὕτως πολυτελῶς καὶ ἀσώτως ὥστε πρὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀναλίσκειν· ἔπειτα οὐ μαρτυρεῖ τούτῳ νῦν, ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ ἀντιδικεῖ·
For first, Criton does not live so moderately as to buy a house from another, but so expensively and wastefully as to spend not only his own but also the property of others; secondly, he is not testifying for this man now, but is my opponent in the suit.
τίς γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι μάρτυρες μέν εἰσιν οὗτοι, οἷς μὴ μέτεστι τοῦ πράγματος περὶ οὗ ἡ δίκη ἐστίν, ἀντίδικοι δʼ οἱ κοινωνοῦντες τῶν πραγμάτων περὶ ὧν ἂν δικάζηταί τις αὐτοῖς;
For who among you does not know that those are witnesses who have no share in the matter about which the lawsuit is, but those are opponents who share in the matters about which one is at law with them?
ὃ Κρίτωνι συμβέβηκεν.
Which is what has happened to Criton.
§59ἔτι δὲ τοσούτων ὑμῶν ὄντων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἀθηναίων, ἄλλος μὲν οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ παραγενέσθαι μεμαρτύρηκε, Τιμοκράτης δὲ μόνος, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ μηχανῆς, μαρτυρεῖ μὲν δεκάτην ἑστιᾶσαι τούτῳ τὸν ἐμὸν πατέρα, ἡλικιώτης ὢν τοῦ νυνὶ φεύγοντος τὴν δίκην, φησὶν δὲ πάντα ἁπλῶς εἰδέναι ἃ δὴ τούτοις συμφέρει, μαρτυρεῖ δὲ νυνὶ μόνος Κρίτωνι παρεῖναι, ὅτε παρʼ ἐμοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐωνεῖτο.
Furthermore, O judges, when there are so many of you and of the other Athenians, no one else has testified that he was present, but Timocrates alone, as if from a theatrical machine, testifies that my father celebrated the tenth-day feast for this man—being of the same age as the one who is now defending this suit—and asserts that he knows absolutely everything that is advantageous to them, and now alone testifies that he was present with Criton when he bought the house from me.
ὃ τίς ἂν ὑμῶν πιστεύσειεν;
Who among you would believe this?
ἄλλως τε καὶ ὅτι οὐ περὶ τῆς οἰκίας, πότερα ἐώνηται Κρίτων αὐτὴν ἢ μή, νυνὶ δικάζομαι, ἀλλὰ περὶ προικός, ἣν ἐνεγκαμένης τῆς μητρὸς οἱ νόμοι κελεύουσιν ἐμὲ κομίζεσθαι.
Especially since I am not now suing about the house, whether Criton bought it or not, but about the dowry, which, since my mother brought it, the laws command me to recover.
§60ὥστε καθάπερ ὑμῖν ἐγὼ καὶ ἐκ μαρτύρων πολλῶν καὶ ἐκ τεκμηρίων ἐπέδειξα, ἐπενεγκαμένην μὲν τὴν μητέρα μου τάλαντον προῖκα, οὐ κομισάμενον δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐμὲ ἐκ τῆς πατρῴας οὐσίας, ἐξαίρετον δʼ ἡμῖν γενομένην τὴν οἰκίαν εἰς ταῦτα, οὕτω κελεύετε καὶ τοῦτον ἐπιδεικνύναι ὑμῖν, ἢ ὡς οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἢ ὡς οὐ προσήκει μοι κομίσασθαι τὴν προῖκα· περὶ τούτων γὰρ ὑμεῖς νυνὶ τὴν ψῆφον οἴσετε.
Therefore, just as I have shown to you, both from many witnesses and from proofs, that my mother brought a dowry of a talent, and that I have not recovered this from our father's estate, and that the house was set apart for us for this purpose, so also require this man to show to you, either that I do not speak the truth, or that it is not fitting for me to recover the dowry; for about these things you will now cast your vote.
§61ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἔχων περὶ ὧν φεύγει τὴν δίκην μήτε μάρτυρας ἀξιόχρεως παρασχέσθαι μήτʼ ἄλλο πιστὸν μηδέν, ἑτέρους παρεμβάλλῃ λόγους κακουργῶν, καὶ βοᾷ καὶ σχετλιάζῃ μηδὲν πρὸς τὸ πρᾶγμα, πρὸς Διὸς καὶ θεῶν μὴ ἐπιτρέπετε αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ βοηθεῖτέ μοι τὰ δίκαια, ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν εἰρημένων ἐνθυμούμενοι, ὅτι πολὺ δικαιότερόν ἐστι τὴν τῆς ἐμῆς μητρὸς προῖκα τῇ ἐμῇ θυγατρὶ εἰς ἔκδοσιν ὑμᾶς ψηφίσασθαι, ἢ Πλαγγόνα καὶ τούτους πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν εἰς τὴν προῖκα ἐξαίρετον γενομένην ἀφελέσθαι ἡμᾶς παρὰ πάντα τὰ δίκαια.
But if, having neither trustworthy witnesses to produce nor any other proof regarding the matters for which he is defending the suit, he knavishly introduces other arguments, and clamors and complains about things nothing to the point, do not, by Zeus and the gods, permit him, but help me in what is just, reflecting from all that has been said that it is much more just for you to vote the dowry of my mother to my daughter for her marriage, than to allow Plangon and these men, in addition to everything else, to deprive us of the house which was set apart for the dowry, contrary to all justice.