§1ὅτι μὲν οὐκ ἀπορήσειν ἔμελλε Στέφανος οὑτοσὶ ὅ τι ἀπολογήσεται περὶ τῆς μαρτυρίας, παράγων τῷ λόγῳ ὡς οὐ πάντα μεμαρτύρηκε τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα, καὶ ἐξαπατῶν ὑμᾶς, καὶ αὐτὸς σχεδόν τι ὑπενόουν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί.
That this Stephanos here was not going to be at a loss as to how to defend himself regarding his testimony, trying to evade it by arguing that he did not testify to everything written in the document, and thus deceiving you, is something that I myself also pretty much suspected, men of the jury.
πανοῦργός τε γάρ ἐστιν, καὶ οἱ γράφοντες καὶ οἱ συμβουλεύοντες ὑπὲρ Φορμίωνος πολλοί· ἅμα τʼ εἰκός ἐστι τοὺς ἐγχειροῦντας τὰ ψευδῆ μαρτυρεῖν καὶ τὴν ἀπολογίαν εὐθέως ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν μελετᾶν.
For he is a rogue, and those who write and advise on behalf of Phormion are many; at the same time, it is only natural that those who undertake to give false testimony should immediately prepare their defense for it.
§2ὅτι δʼ ἐν τοσούτῳ λόγῳ οὐδαμοῦ μάρτυρας παρέσχετο ὑμῖν, ὡς ἢ διατιθεμένῳ τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ παρεγένετό που αὐτὸς ταύτην τὴν διαθήκην, ὥστʼ εἰδέναι ταῦτα ὅτι ἀντίγραφά ἐστιν ὧν ὁ πατήρ μου διέθετο, ἢ ἀνοιχθὲν εἶδε τὸ γραμματεῖον ὅ φασι διαθέμενον ἐκεῖνον καταλιπεῖν, ταῦτα συμμέμνησθέ μοι.
But that in so long a speech he nowhere produced witnesses for you, either to show that he himself was present somewhere when my father made this will, so as to know that these are copies of what my father willed, or that he saw the document opened which they claim he left behind when he died—please keep this in mind with me.
§3ἀλλὰ μὴν ὁπότε μεμαρτύρηκεν ἀντίγραφα εἶναι τῶν διαθηκῶν τῶν Πασίωνος τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα, τὰς δὲ διαθήκας μὴ ἔχει ἐπιδεῖξαι μήθʼ ὡς ὁ πατὴρ διέθετο ἡμῶν μήθʼ ὡς αὐτὸς εἶδεν παραγενόμενος αὐτὰς διατιθεμένου τοῦ πατρός, πῶς οὐ περιφανῶς οὗτος ἐξελέγχεται τὰ ψευδῆ μεμαρτυρηκώς;
Yet, when he has testified that what is written in the document is a copy of Pasion's will, but is unable to produce the will itself, either to show how our father made it, or that he himself saw it when he was present as our father was making it, how is he not clearly convicted of having given false testimony?
§4εἰ τοίνυν πρόκλησίν φησιν εἶναι καὶ μὴ μαρτυρίαν, οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγει.
If, therefore, he says that it is a challenge (proklesis) and not a testimony, he is not speaking the truth.
ἅπαντα γὰρ ὅσα παρέχονται εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον προκαλούμενοι ἀλλήλους οἱ ἀντίδικοι, διὰ μαρτυρίας παρέχονται.
For everything that the opposing parties bring into court by challenging one another is brought in through testimony.
οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἰδείηθʼ ὑμεῖς εἴτʼ ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ εἴτε ψευδῆ ἅ φασιν ἑκάτεροι, εἰ μή τις καὶ τοὺς μάρτυρας παρέχοιτο.
Indeed, you would not know whether what each side says is true or false unless someone also produced witnesses.
ὅταν δὲ παράσχηται, τούτοις πιστεύοντες ὑποδίκοις οὖσιν ψηφίζεσθε ἐκ τῶν λεγομένων καὶ μαρτυρουμένων ἃ ἂν ὑμῖν δοκῇ δίκαια εἶναι.
But when one produces them, you vote, trusting in these witnesses who are liable to prosecution, on the basis of what is said and testified, choosing whatever seems just to you.
§5βούλομαι τοίνυν καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἐξελέγξαι, ὅτι οὐ πρόκλησίς ἐστιν, καὶ ὡς ἔδει μαρτυρεῖν αὐτούς, εἴπερ ἐγίγνετο ἡ πρόκλησις, ὡς οὐκ ἐγίγνετο.
I wish, therefore, to prove both that the testimony is not a challenge, and how they ought to have testified if the challenge had indeed taken place—as it did not.
μαρτυροῦσι παρεῖναι πρὸς τῷ διαιτητῇ Τεισίᾳ, ὅτε προὐκαλεῖτο Φορμίων Ἀπολλόδωρον ἀνοίγειν τὸ γραμματεῖον, ὃ παρεῖχεν Ἀμφίας ὁ Κηφισοφῶντος κηδεστής, Ἀπολλόδωρον δʼ οὐκ ἐθέλειν ἀνοίγειν. οὕτω μὲν ἂν μαρτυροῦντες ἐδόκουν ἀληθῆ μαρτυρεῖν· ἀντίγραφα δὲ τῶν διαθηκῶν τῶν Πασίωνος μαρτυρεῖν εἶναι τὰ ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ ὃ παρείχετο Φορμίων, μήτε παραγενομένους ἐκείνῳ διατιθεμένῳ μήτʼ εἰδότας εἰ διέθετο, πῶς οὐ περιφανῶς ἀναισχυντία δοκεῖ ὑμῖν εἶναι;
"They testify that they were present before the arbitrator Teisias when Phormion challenged Apollodorus to open the document which Amphias, the brother-in-law of Kephisophon, produced, and that Apollodorus refused to open it." If they had testified in this way, they would have seemed to testify to the truth; but to testify that what was in the document Phormion produced was a copy of Pasion's will, when they were neither present when he made it nor knew whether he had made it, how can this not seem to you to be flagrant impudence?
§6ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰ φησὶ Φορμίωνος λέγοντος πιστεύειν ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ εἶναι, τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀνδρός ἐστιν πιστεύειν τε λέγοντι τούτῳ ταῦτα καὶ κελεύοντι μαρτυρεῖν.
Yet, if he says that he believed these things to be true because Phormion said so, it is characteristic of the very same man to believe this person when he speaks and to testify when he bids him.
οἱ δέ γε νόμοι οὐ ταῦτα λέγουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἃ ἂν εἰδῇ τις καὶ οἷς ἂν παραγένηται πραττομένοις, ταῦτα μαρτυρεῖν κελεύουσιν ἐν γραμματείῳ γεγραμμένα, ἵνα μήτʼ ἀφελεῖν ἐξῇ μηδὲν μήτε προσθεῖναι τοῖς γεγραμμένοις.
But the laws do not say this; rather, they bid one testify to what he knows and what he was present to see being done, after it has been written in a document, so that it may not be permitted to subtract from or add to what has been written.
§7ἀκοὴν δʼ οὐκ ἐῶσι ζῶντος μαρτυρεῖν, ἀλλὰ τεθνεῶτος, τῶν δὲ ἀδυνάτων καὶ ὑπερορίων ἐκμαρτυρίαν γεγραμμένην ἐν τῷ γραμματείῳ· καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπισκήψεως τήν τε μαρτυρίαν καὶ ἐκμαρτυρίαν ἀγωνίζεσθαι ἅμα, ἵνʼ ἐὰν μὲν ἀναδέχηται ὁ ἐκμαρτυρήσας, ἐκεῖνος ὑπόδικος ᾖ τῶν ψευδομαρτυρίων, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀναδέχηται, οἱ μαρτυρήσαντες τὴν ἐκμαρτυρίαν.
And they do not allow hearsay testimony of a living person, but only of one who is dead, and they require an out-of-court deposition (ekmartyria) written in a document for those who are disabled or out of the country; and they require that both the direct testimony and the out-of-court deposition be contested together under the same prosecution, so that if the deponent admits the deposition, he may be liable for false testimony, but if he does not admit it, those who testified to the out-of-court deposition may be liable.
§8στέφανος τοίνυν οὑτοσί, οὔτʼ εἰδὼς διαθήκας καταλιπόντα τὸν πατέρα ἡμῶν, οὔτε παραγενόμενος πώποτε διατιθεμένῳ τῷ πατρὶ ἡμῶν, ἀκούσας δὲ Φορμίωνος, μεμαρτύρηκεν ἀκοὴν τὰ ψευδῆ τε καὶ παρὰ τὸν νόμον.
This Stephanos, therefore, neither knowing that our father left a will, nor ever having been present when our father made it, but having heard it from Phormion, has given false and illegal testimony by hearsay.
καὶ ταῦθʼ ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω, αὐτὸν ὑμῖν τὸν νόμον ἀναγνώσεται.
And to show that I am speaking the truth, he will read you the law itself.
ΝΟΜΟΣ.
"ἀκοὴν εἶναι μαρτυρεῖν τεθνεῶτος, ἐκμαρτυρίαν δὲ ὑπερορίου καὶ ἀδυνάτου.
LAW.
"
"Hearsay testimony shall be admitted only from a deceased person; an out-of-court deposition shall be used for one who is out of the country or disabled."