§13ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν οὐ μετρίας τινὰς καὶ φαύλας λαβὼν πληγάς, ἀλλʼ εἰς πᾶν ἐλθὼν διὰ τὴν ὕβριν καὶ τὴν ἀσέλγειαν τὴν τούτων πολὺ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐλάττω δίκην εἴληχα, πολλαχόθεν νομίζω δῆλον ὑμῖν γεγενῆσθαι.
Therefore, that I received no moderate and slight blows, but came to every extremity because of the insolence and the brutality of these men, and have brought an action for far less than is fitting, I think has become clear to you from many things.
οἴομαι δʼ ὑμῶν ἐνίους θαυμάζειν, τί ποτʼ ἐστὶν ἃ πρὸς ταῦτα τολμήσει Κόνων λέγειν.
And I think some of you wonder what in the world Conon will dare to say against these things.
βούλομαι δὴ προειπεῖν ὑμῖν ἁγὼ πέπυσμαι λέγειν αὐτὸν παρεσκευάσθαι, ἀπὸ τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων τὸ πρᾶγμʼ ἄγοντʼ εἰς γέλωτα καὶ σκώμματʼ ἐμβαλεῖν πειράσεσθαι, §14καὶ ἐρεῖν ὡς εἰσὶν ἐν τῇ πόλει πολλοί, καλῶν κἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν υἱεῖς, οἳ παίζοντες οἷʼ ἄνθρωποι νέοι σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπωνυμίας πεποίηνται, καὶ καλοῦσι τοὺς μὲν ἰθυφάλλους, τοὺς δʼ αὐτοληκύθους, ἐρῶσι δʼ ἐκ τούτων ἑταιρῶν τινές, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ εἶναι τούτων ἕνα, καὶ πολλάκις περὶ ἑταίρας καὶ εἰληφέναι καὶ δεδωκέναι πληγάς, καὶ ταῦτʼ εἶναι νέων ἀνθρώπων.
I wish, indeed, to tell you beforehand what I have heard he has prepared himself to say: that by leading the matter away from the insolence and what was done, he will try to turn it into a laugh and cast it into jokes, and to say that there are many in the city, sons of good and noble men, who, playing as young men do, have made nicknames for themselves, and call some 'Ithyphalloi' and others 'Autolekythoi', and some of them love courtesans, and indeed his own son is one of these, and has often both received and given blows for a courtesan, and these are the ways of young men.
ἡμᾶς δὲ πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς παροίνους μέν τινας καὶ ὑβριστὰς κατασκευάσει, ἀγνώμονας δὲ καὶ πικρούς.
As for us, all the brothers, he will paint us as drunkards and insolent men, but unreasonable and bitter.
§15ἐγὼ δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, χαλεπῶς ἐφʼ οἷς πέπονθα ἐνηνοχώς, οὐχ ἧττον τοῦτʼ ἀγανακτήσαιμʼ ἂν καὶ ὑβρίσθαι νομίσαιμι, εἰ οἷόν τʼ εἰπεῖν, εἰ ταῦτʼ ἀληθῆ δόξει Κόνων οὑτοσὶ λέγειν περὶ ἡμῶν, καὶ τοσαύτη τις ἄγνοια παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐστιν, ὥσθʼ, ὁποῖος ἄν τις ἕκαστος εἶναι φῇ ἢ ὁ πλησίον αὐτὸν αἰτιάσηται, τοιοῦτος νομισθήσεται, τοῦ δὲ καθʼ ἡμέραν βίου καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων μηδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἔσται τοῖς μετρίοις ὄφελος.
But I, gentlemen of the jury, having borne with difficulty what I suffered, would be no less indignant at this and think myself insulted—if it is possible to say so—if this Conon here should seem to speak the truth about us, and there is such ignorance among you that, whatever sort of person each one says he is or his neighbor accuses him of being, he will be thought to be such, and there will be no benefit at all to decent men from their daily life and habits.
§16ἡμεῖς γὰρ οὔτε παροινοῦντες οὔθʼ ὑβρίζοντες ὑπʼ οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων ἑωράμεθα, οὐδʼ ἄγνωμον οὐδὲν ἡγούμεθα ποιεῖν, εἰ περὶ ὧν ἠδικήμεθʼ ἀξιοῦμεν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους δίκην λαβεῖν.
For we have never been seen by any man either drinking in excess or behaving insolently, nor do we think we are doing anything unreasonable if we demand to obtain justice according to the laws for what we have been wronged.
ἰθυφάλλοις δὲ καὶ αὐτοληκύθοις συγχωροῦμεν εἶναι τοῖς υἱέσι τοῖς τούτου, καὶ ἔγωγʼ εὔχομαι τοῖς θεοῖς εἰς Κόνωνα καὶ τοὺς υἱεῖς τοὺς τούτου καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦθʼ ἅπαντα τρέπεσθαι.
But we concede that his sons are Ithyphalloi and Autolekythoi, and for my part, I pray to the gods that these things and all such things may turn upon Conon and his sons.
§17οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ τελοῦντες ἀλλήλους τῷ ἰθυφάλλῳ, καὶ τοιαῦτα ποιοῦντες ἃ πολλὴν αἰσχύνην ἔχει καὶ λέγειν, μή τί γε δὴ ποιεῖν ἀνθρώπους μετρίους.
For these are they who initiate one another into the 'Ithyphallos,' and perform such things as cause great shame even to speak of, let alone for decent men to do.
ἀλλὰ τί ταῦτʼ ἐμοί;
But what are these things to me?
θαυμάζω γὰρ ἔγωγε, εἴ τίς ἐστιν πρόφασις παρʼ ὑμῖν ἢ σκῆψις ηὑρημένη διʼ ἥν, ἂν ὑβρίζων τις ἐξελέγχηται καὶ τύπτων, δίκην οὐ δώσει.
For I, indeed, wonder if there is any excuse or pretext found among you because of which, if someone is convicted of being insolent and striking, he will not pay the penalty.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ νόμοι πολὺ τἀναντία καὶ τὰς ἀναγκαίας προφάσεις, ὅπως μὴ μείζους γίγνωνται, προείδοντο, οἷον (ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ταῦτα καὶ ζητεῖν καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι διὰ τοῦτον γέγονεν) εἰσὶ κακηγορίας δίκαι· §18φασὶ τοίνυν ταύτας διὰ τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ λοιδορούμενοι τύπτειν ἀλλήλους προάγωνται.
For the laws, quite to the contrary, even foresaw necessary excuses so that they might not become greater; for example (for because of this man it has become necessary for me both to search out and to inquire into these things), there are actions for slander; they say, then, that these exist for this reason, so that people may not be led on by being insulted to strike one another.
πάλιν αἰκείας εἰσί· καὶ ταύτας ἀκούω διὰ τοῦτʼ εἶναι τὰς δίκας, ἵνα μηδείς, ὅταν ἥττων ᾖ, λίθῳ μηδὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἀμύνηται μηδενί, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου δίκην ἀναμένῃ.
Again, there are actions for assault; and these actions, I hear, exist for this reason, so that no one, when he is the weaker, may defend himself with a stone or any such thing, but may await the justice from the law.
τραύματος πάλιν εἰσὶν γραφαὶ τοῦ μὴ τιτρωσκομένων τινῶν φόνους γίγνεσθαι.
Again, there are indictments for wounding, so that murders may not occur from some being wounded.
§19τὸ φαυλότατον, οἶμαι, τὸ τῆς λοιδορίας, πρὸ τοῦ τελευταίου καὶ δεινοτάτου προεώραται, τοῦ μὴ φόνον γίγνεσθαι, μηδὲ κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπάγεσθαι ἐκ μὲν λοιδορίας εἰς πληγάς, ἐκ δὲ πληγῶν εἰς τραύματα, ἐκ δὲ τραυμάτων εἰς θάνατον, ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς νόμοις εἶναι τούτων ἑκάστου τὴν δίκην, μὴ τῇ τοῦ προστυχόντος ὀργῇ μηδὲ βουλήσει ταῦτα κρίνεσθαι.
The slightest thing, I think, that of insult, has been foreseen before the last and most terrible, so that murder may not occur, nor should people be led on little by little from insult to blows, and from blows to wounds, and from wounds to death, but that for each of these there should be an action in the laws, so that these things may not be decided by the anger or the will of whoever happens to be there.
§20εἶτʼ ἐν μὲν τοῖς νόμοις οὕτως· ἂν δʼ εἴπῃ Κόνων
ἰθύφαλλοί τινές ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς συνειλεγμένοι, καὶ ἐρῶντες οὓς ἂν ἡμῖν δόξῃ παίομεν καὶ ἄγχομεν
, εἶτα γελάσαντες ὑμεῖς ἀφήσετε;
Is it so, then, in the laws; but if Conon says, 'We are certain Ithyphalloi gathered together, and loving whom we please, we strike and choke them,' will you then laugh and let him go?
οὐκ οἴομαί γε.
I do not think so.
οὐ γὰρ ἂν γέλως ὑμῶν ἔλαβεν οὐδένα, εἰ παρὼν ἐτύγχανεν ἡνίχʼ εἱλκόμην καὶ ἐξεδυόμην καὶ ὑβριζόμην, καὶ ὑγιὴς ἐξελθὼν φοράδην ἦλθον οἴκαδε, ἐξεπεπηδήκει δὲ μετὰ ταῦθʼ ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ κραυγὴ καὶ βοὴ τῶν γυναικῶν τοσαύτη παρʼ ἡμῖν ἦν ὡσπερανεὶ τεθνεῶτός τινος, ὥστε τῶν γειτόνων τινὰς πέμψαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐρησομένους ὅ τι ἐστὶν τὸ συμβεβηκός.
For none of you would have laughed if you had happened to be present when I was being dragged, stripped, and insulted, and having gone out healthy, was brought home on a litter, and after this my mother rushed out, and there was such crying and wailing of women in our house as if someone were dead, so that some of the neighbors sent to us to ask what had happened.