§1τοῖς τοιούτοις τῶν ἀγώνων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τοὺς διαγνωσομένους προσήκει μάλιστα προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν.
To such trials as these, men of the jury, it is especially fitting that those who are to decide should pay the closest attention.
οὐ γὰρ ἐμὸς καὶ Πολυκλέους ἴδιός ἐστιν ὁ ἀγὼν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς πόλεως κοινός.
For this trial is not private to Polycles and me alone, but is also public, concerning the state.
ὧν γὰρ τὰ μὲν ἐγκλήματα ἴδιά ἐστιν, αἱ δὲ βλάβαι κοιναί, πῶς οὐχ ὑπὲρ τούτων εἰκός ἐστιν ἀκούσαντας ὑμᾶς ὀρθῶς διαγνῶναι;
For when the complaints are private but the damages are public, how is it not reasonable that you, after hearing us, should decide correctly on behalf of these interests?
εἰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ ἄλλου τινὸς συμβολαίου ἐγὼ διαφερόμενος πρὸς Πολυκλέα εἰσῄειν εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἐμὸς ἂν ἦν καὶ Πολυκλέους ὁ ἀγών· νῦν δὲ περί τε διαδοχῆς νεώς ἐστιν ὁ λόγος καὶ ἐπιτριηραρχήματος πέντε μηνῶν καὶ ἓξ ἡμερῶν ἀνηλωμένου, καὶ περὶ τῶν νόμων, πότερα κύριοί εἰσιν ἢ οὔ.
For if I had entered your court disputing with Polycles about some other contract, the trial would have been between Polycles and me; but as it is, the discussion is about the succession to a ship, and about an over-trierarchy lasting five months and six days during which expenses were incurred, and about the laws, whether they are valid or not.
§2ἀναγκαῖον δή μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι ἅπαντα ἐξ ἀρχῆς διηγήσασθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
It seems to me, therefore, to be necessary to relate the whole story to you from the beginning.
καὶ πρὸς θεῶν, ἄνδρες δικασταί, δέομαι ὑμῶν, μή με ἡγήσησθε ἀδολεσχεῖν, ἐὰν διὰ μακροτέρων διηγῶμαι τά τε ἀναλώματα καὶ τὰς πράξεις, ὡς ἐν καιρῷ τε ἕκασται καὶ χρήσιμοι τῇ πόλει ἐδιακονήθησαν.
And by the gods, men of the jury, I beg of you not to think that I am babbling, if I narrate at somewhat greater length both the expenses and the actions, to show how each of them was performed opportunely and usefully for the state.
εἰ μὲν γάρ τις ἔχει με ἐπιδεῖξαι ὡς ψεύδομαι, ἀναστὰς ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ ὕδατι ἐξελεγξάτω, ὅ τι ἂν μὴ φῇ με ἀληθῆ λέγειν πρὸς ὑμᾶς· εἰ δʼ ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ καὶ μηδεὶς ἄν μοι ἀντείποι ἄλλος ἢ οὗτος, δέομαι ὑμῶν ἁπάντων δικαίαν δέησιν· §3ὅσοι μὲν τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἐστε καὶ παρῆτε ἐκεῖ, αὐτοί τε ἀναμνήσθητε καὶ τοῖς παρακαθημένοις φράζετε τήν τʼ ἐμὴν προθυμίαν καὶ τὰ συμβάντα ἐν τῷ τότε καιρῷ τῇ πόλει πράγματα καὶ τὰς ἀπορίας, ἵνα ἐκ τούτων εἰδῆτε ὁποῖός τίς εἰμι περὶ ἃ ἂν προστάξητε ὑμεῖς· ὅσοι δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπεδημεῖτε, σιγῇ μου ἀκοῦσαι διηγουμένου ἅπαντα πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων ἑκάστῳ, οἷς ἂν λέγω, τούς τε νόμους παρεχομένου καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα, τά τε τῆς βουλῆς καὶ τὰ τοῦ δήμου, καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας.
For if anyone is able to prove that I am lying, let him stand up in my water-time and refute whatever he claims I am not telling the truth about to you; but if they are true, and no one would contradict me except this man, I make a just request of you all: those of you who were soldiers and were present there, both remember it yourselves and tell those sitting next to you of my zeal and of the events and difficulties that befell the state at that crisis, so that from these things they may know what kind of person I am regarding whatever you command; and those of you who remained at home, listen in silence to my narration of everything to you, while for each of these details, as I speak, I present the laws, the decrees—both of the Council and of the Assembly—and the testimonies.
§4ἑβδόμῃ γὰρ φθίνοντος μεταγειτνιῶνος μηνὸς ἐπὶ Μόλωνος ἄρχοντος, ἐκκλησίας γενομένης καὶ εἰσαγγελθέντων ὑμῖν πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων πραγμάτων, ἐψηφίσασθε τὰς ναῦς καθέλκειν τοὺς τριηράρχους· ὧν καὶ ἐγὼ ἦν.
For on the twenty-fourth day of the month Metageitnion in the archonship of Molon, an assembly having been held and many grave matters having been reported to you, you decreed that the trierarchs should launch their ships; of whom I was one.
καὶ τὸν μὲν καιρὸν τὸν συμβεβηκότα τῇ πόλει τότε οὐκ ἐμὲ δεῖ διεξελθεῖν, ἀλλʼ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀναμνησθῆναι, ὅτι Τῆνος μὲν καταληφθεῖσα ὑπʼ Ἀλεξάνδρου ἐξηνδραποδίσθη, §5Μιλτοκύθης δὲ ἀφειστήκει ἀπὸ Κότυος καὶ πρέσβεις ἐπεπόμφει περὶ συμμαχίας, βοηθεῖν κελεύων καὶ τὴν Χερρόνησον ἀποδιδούς, Προκοννήσιοι δὲ σύμμαχοι ὄντες ἱκέτευον ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ δήμῳ βοηθῆσαι αὑτοῖς, λέγοντες ὅτι ὑπὸ Κυζικηνῶν κατέχονται τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν, καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν ἀπολομένους· §6ὧν ἀκούοντες τότε ὑμεῖς ἐν τῷ δήμῳ αὐτῶν τε λεγόντων καὶ τῶν συναγορευόντων αὐτοῖς, ἔτι δὲ τῶν ἐμπόρων καὶ τῶν ναυκλήρων περὶ ἔκπλουν ὄντων ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου, καὶ Βυζαντίων καὶ Καλχηδονίων καὶ Κυζικηνῶν καταγόντων τὰ πλοῖα ἕνεκα τῆς ἰδίας χρείας τοῦ σίτου, καὶ ὁρῶντες ἐν τῷ Πειραιεῖ τὸν σῖτον ἐπιτιμώμενον καὶ οὐκ ὄντα ἄφθονον ὠνεῖσθαι, ἐψηφίσασθε τάς τε ναῦς καθέλκειν τοὺς τριηράρχους καὶ παρακομίζειν ἐπὶ τὸ χῶμα, καὶ τοὺς βουλευτὰς καὶ τοὺς δημάρχους καταλόγους ποιεῖσθαι τῶν δημοτῶν καὶ ἀποφέρειν ναύτας, καὶ διὰ τάχους τὸν ἀπόστολον ποιεῖσθαι καὶ βοηθεῖν ἑκασταχοῖ.
And the crisis that had then befallen the state does not need to be detailed by me, but you yourselves must remember that Tenos had been captured by Alexander and its inhabitants enslaved, and Miltocythes had revolted from Cotys and had sent envoys concerning an alliance, urging you to bring help and offering to restore the Chersonese, while the Proconnesians, who were your allies, entreated you in the Assembly to bring them aid, saying that they were blockaded by the Cyzicenes by war both by land and by sea, and begging you not to look on while they perished; hearing these things at that time in the Assembly from the envoys themselves and from those who spoke in their support, and furthermore from the merchants and ship-owners who were about to sail out from the Black Sea, that the Byzantines, Chalcedonians, and Cyzicenes were forcing their ships into port for their own need of grain, and seeing that grain in the Piraeus was rising in price and was not abundant to buy, you decreed that the trierarchs should launch their ships and bring them alongside the pier, and that the councilors and the demarchs should make lists of the demesmen and return them as sailors, and that the expedition should be dispatched with speed to bring aid everywhere.
καὶ ἐνίκησε τὸ Ἀριστοφῶντος ψήφισμα τουτί. ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ. §7τοῦ μὲν ψηφίσματος τοίνυν ἀκηκόατε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί.
And this decree of Aristophon was carried. [DECREE] Of the decree, then, you have heard, men of the jury.
ἐγὼ δʼ ἐπειδή μοι οὐκ ἦλθον οἱ ναῦται οἱ καταλεγέντες ὑπὸ τῶν δημοτῶν, ἀλλʼ ἢ ὀλίγοι καὶ οὗτοι ἀδύνατοι, τούτους μὲν ἀφῆκα, ὑποθεὶς δὲ τὴν οὐσίαν τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ δανεισάμενος ἀργύριον πρῶτος ἐπληρωσάμην τὴν ναῦν, μισθωσάμενος ναύτας ὡς οἷόν τʼ ἦν ἀρίστους, δωρεὰς καὶ προδόσεις δοὺς ἑκάστῳ αὐτῶν μεγάλας.
But when the sailors listed by the demesmen did not come to me, except a few and those incapable, I dismissed them, and mortgaging my own property and borrowing money, I was the first to man my ship, hiring the best possible sailors and giving large bounties and advances to each of them.
ἔτι δὲ σκεύεσιν ἰδίοις τὴν ναῦν ἅπασι κατεσκεύασα, καὶ τῶν δημοσίων ἔλαβον οὐδέν, καὶ κόσμῳ ὡς οἷόν τʼ ἦν κάλλιστα καὶ διαπρεπέστατα τῶν τριηράρχων.
Furthermore, I equipped the ship with all my own tackle, taking nothing of the public equipment, and adorned it in the finest and most magnificent manner possible among the trierarchs.
ὑπηρεσίαν τοίνυν ἣν ἐδυνάμην κρατίστην ἐμισθωσάμην.
I also hired the best possible service crew I could.