§63ὃ καὶ θαυμάσιόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ζῶντες ἐκ τοῦ συκοφαντεῖν οὔ φασι λαμβάνειν ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως· καὶ πρὶν προσελθεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ἔχοντες, νῦν εὐποροῦντες οὐδὲ χάριν ὑμῖν ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ περιιόντες λέγουσιν ὡς ἀβέβαιός ἐστιν ὁ δῆμος, ὡς δυσχερής, ὡς ἀχάριστος, ὥσπερ ὑμᾶς διὰ τούτους εὐποροῦντας, οὐ τούτους διὰ τὸν δῆμον.
And what is indeed amazing is that, although they live off slandering, they say they receive nothing from the city; and having had nothing before coming before you, but being wealthy now, they do not even show you gratitude, but go around saying that the people are unstable, difficult, and ungrateful, as if you were wealthy because of them, and not they because of the people.
ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἰκότως ταῦθʼ οὗτοι λέγουσιν, ὁρῶντες τὴν ὑμετέραν ῥᾳθυμίαν.
But indeed, they say these things with good reason, seeing your slackness.
οὐδένα γὰρ ἀξίως αὐτῶν τῆς πονηρίας τετιμώρησθε, ἀλλʼ ὑπομένετε λεγόντων αὐτῶν ὡς ἡ τοῦ δήμου σωτηρία διὰ τῶν γραφομένων καὶ συκοφαντούντων ἐστίν· ὧν γένος ἐξωλέστερον οὐδέν ἐστιν.
For you have punished no one in a manner worthy of their wickedness, but you tolerate them saying that the safety of the people depends on those who bring indictments and slanderers; than whose race nothing is more destructive.
§64τί γὰρ ἄν τις τούτους εὕροι χρησίμους ὄντας τῇ πόλει;
For how could anyone find these men to be useful to the city?
τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας νὴ Δίʼ οὗτοι κολάζουσιν, καὶ διὰ τούτους ἐλάττους εἰσὶν ἐκεῖνοι. οὐ δῆτα, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλείους·
'By Zeus, they punish those who do wrong, and because of them those wrongdoers are fewer.' Not so, gentlemen of the jury, but even more.
εἰδότες γὰρ οἱ κακόν τι βουλόμενοι πράττειν ὅτι τούτοις ἐστὶν ἀπὸ τῶν λημμάτων τὸ μέρος δοτέον, ἐξ ἀνάγκης μείζω προαιροῦνται παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἁρπάζειν, ἵνα μὴ μόνον αὑτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτοις ἔχωσιν ἀναλίσκειν.
For those who wish to do something bad, knowing that a share of their gains must be given to these men, of necessity choose to plunder more from others, so that they may have enough to spend not only for themselves but also for these men.
§65καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ὅσοι κακουργοῦντες βλάπτουσί τι τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας, τοὺς μὲν τῶν οἴκοι φυλακὴν καταστήσαντας, τοὺς δʼ ἔνδον μένοντας τῆς νυκτὸς, τοὺς δʼ ἑνί γέ τῳ τρόπῳ φυλαξαμένους ἔνεστι διώσασθαι τὴν τῶν κακόν τι ποιεῖν βουλομένων ἐπιβουλήν· τοὺς δὲ τοιουτουσὶ συκοφάντας, ποῖ χρὴ πορευθέντας ἀδείας παρὰ τούτων τυχεῖν;
And while as for all the other wrongdoers who harm those they meet, it is possible for some by setting a guard on their houses, for others by staying indoors at night, and for others by protecting themselves in some way or another to ward off the plot of those who wish to do some harm; but as for such slanderers as these, where must one go to find safety from them?
αἱ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων ἀδικημάτων καταφυγαὶ τούτοις εἰσὶν ἐργασίαι, νόμοι, δικαστήρια, μάρτυρες, ἀγοραί· ἐν οἷς τὰς αὑτῶν ῥώμας ἐπιδείκνυνται, φίλους μὲν τοὺς διδόντας νομίζοντες, ἐχθροὺς δὲ τοὺς ἀπράγμονας καὶ πλουσίους.
For the refuges from other wrongdoings are for these men their trade—laws, courts, witnesses, marketplaces; in which they display their own strengths, considering those who give to them to be friends, and those who are quiet and rich to be enemies.
§66ἀναμνησθέντες οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τῆς τούτων πονηρίας καὶ τῶν προγόνων τῶν ἡμετέρων, ὧν Ἐπιχάρης μὲν ὁ πάππος ὁ ἐμὸς Ὀλυμπίασι νικήσας παῖδας στάδιον ἐστεφάνωσε τὴν πόλιν, καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ὑμετέροις προγόνοις ἐπιεικῆ δόξαν ἔχων ἐτελεύτησεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ διὰ τοῦτον τὸν θεοῖς ἐχθρὸν ἀπεστερήμεθα ταύτης τῆς πόλεως, §67ὑπὲρ ἧς Ἀριστοκράτης ὁ Σκελίου, θεῖος ὢν Ἐπιχάρους τοῦ πάππου τοῦ ἐμοῦ, οὗ ἔχει ἁδελφὸς οὑτοσὶ τοὔνομα, πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ διαπραξάμενος ἔργα πολεμούσης τῆς πόλεως Λακεδαιμονίοις, κατασκάψας τὴν Ἠετιώνειαν, εἰς ἣν Λακεδαιμονίους ἔμελλον οἱ περὶ Κριτίαν ὑποδέχεσθαι, καθεῖλε μὲν τὸ ἐπιτείχισμα, κατήγαγε δὲ τὸν δῆμον κινδυνεύων αὐτὸς οὐ τοιούτους κινδύνους, ἀλλʼ ἐν οἷς καὶ παθεῖν τι καλόν ἐστιν, ἔπαυσε δὲ τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντας ὑμῖν.
Remember therefore, gentlemen of the jury, both the wickedness of these men and our ancestors, of whom Epichares, my grandfather, having won the boys' stadium race at Olympia, crowned the city, and died having a good reputation among your ancestors; but we, because of this enemy of the gods, have been deprived of this city, on behalf of which Aristocrates, the son of Scelias, being the uncle of Epichares my grandfather, whose name this brother of mine here holds, having performed many noble deeds when the city was at war with the Lacedaemonians, and having demolished Eetioneia, into which Critias and his faction were about to receive the Lacedaemonians, tore down the fortification and brought back the people, risking himself not in such dangers, but in those in which even to suffer something is noble, and stopped those plotting against you.
§68διʼ ὅν, εἰ Θεοκρίνῃ τουτῳὶ ὅμοιοι ὄντες ἐτυγχάνομεν, εἰκότως ἐσῴζετʼ ἂν ἡμᾶς, μὴ ὅτι βελτίους ὄντας τούτου καὶ δίκαια λέγοντας.
On whose account, if we happened to be like this Theocrines, you would reasonably save us, let alone when we are better than him and speak what is just.
οὐ γὰρ πολλάκις ὑμᾶς ταῦτα λέγοντες ἐνοχλήσομεν· οὕτως γὰρ ἡμᾶς οὗτος διατέθηκεν ὥστε, ὅπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἶπον, μηδʼ ἐλπίδʼ ἡμῖν εἶναι μηδεμίαν τοῦ μετασχεῖν τῆς καὶ τοῖς ξένοις δεδομένης παρρησίας.
For we shall not trouble you often by saying these things; for this man has so disposed us that, as I said from the beginning, we have not even any hope of sharing in the freedom of speech which is given even to foreigners.
§69ἵνʼ οὖν, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἄλλο, ταύτην γε ἔχωμεν παραψυχήν, τὸ καὶ τοῦτον ὁρᾶν ἡσυχίαν ἄγοντα, βοηθήσαθʼ ἡμῖν, ἐλεήσατε τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἡμῶν τετελευτηκότας, ἀναγκάσατʼ αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐνδείξεως ἀπολογεῖσθαι, καὶ τοιοῦτοι γένεσθʼ αὐτῷ δικασταὶ τῶν λεγομένων οἷος ἡμῶν οὗτος ἐγένετο κατήγορος, §70ὃς ἐξαπατήσας τοὺς δικαστὰς οὐκ ἠθέλησε τιμήσασθαι μετρίου τινὸς τιμήματος τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐμῷ, πολλὰ ἐμοῦ δεηθέντος καὶ τοῦτον ἱκετεύσαντος πρὸς τῶν γονάτων, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ τὴν πόλιν προδεδωκότι τῷ πατρὶ δέκα ταλάντων ἐτιμήσατο.
In order therefore, if nothing else, that we may have at least this comfort, to see this man also keeping quiet, help us, pity those who have died on behalf of our country, force him to make his defense concerning the information itself, and become such judges of his words as he was an accuser of us, who, having deceived the judges, was unwilling to assess a moderate penalty for my father, although I begged him much and supplicated him on my knees, but assessed a penalty of ten talents as if my father had betrayed the city.
δεόμεθʼ οὖν ὑμῶν, ἀντιβολοῦμεν, τὰ δίκαια ψηφίζεσθε.
Therefore we beg you, we entreat you, vote what is just.
βοήθησον ἡμῖν ὁ δεῖνα, εἴ τι ἔχεις, καὶ σύνειπε.
So-and-so, help us, if you have any power, and speak with us.
ἀνάβηθι.
Come up.