§1νέος μὲν καὶ ἄπειρος δικῶν ἔγωγε ἔτι, δεινῶς δὲ καὶ ἀπόρως ἔχει μοι περὶ τοῦ πράγματος, ὦ ἄνδρες, τοῦτο μὲν εἰ ἐπισκήψαντος τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπεξελθεῖν τοῖς αὑτοῦ φονεῦσι μὴ ἐπέξειμι, τοῦτο δὲ εἰ ἐπεξιόντι ἀναγκαίως ἔχει οἷς ἥκιστα ἐχρῆν ἐν διαφορᾷ καταστῆναι, ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοπατρίοις καὶ μητρὶ ἀδελφῶν.
I am still young and inexperienced in lawsuits, gentlemen, yet this matter is a source of dread and perplexity to me: on the one hand, if I do not prosecute my father's murderers when he charged me to do so; on the other hand, if I do prosecute them, I must necessarily enter into conflict with those with whom it was least proper to do so, namely, my paternal half-brothers and their mother.
§2ἡ γὰρ τύχη καὶ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι ἠνάγκασαν ἐμοὶ πρὸς τούτους αὐτοὺς τὸν ἀγῶνα καταστῆναι, οὓς εἰκὸς ἦν τῷ μὲν τεθνεῶτι τιμωροὺς γενέσθαι, τῷ δʼ ἐπεξιόντι βοηθούς.
For fortune and these very persons have forced me to enter into this contest against none other than themselves, who ought reasonably to have been the avengers of the deceased and the helpers of the prosecutor.
νῦν δὲ τούτων τἀναντία γεγένηται· αὐτοὶ γὰρ οὗτοι καθεστᾶσιν ἀντίδικοι καὶ φονῆς, ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ καὶ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει.
But now the very opposite of this has happened; for they themselves have stood up as opponents and murderers, as both I and the indictment declare.
§3δέομαι δʼ ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἐὰν ἐπιδείξω ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς καὶ προβουλῆς τὴν τούτων μητέρα φονέα οὖσαν τοῦ ἡμετέρου πατρός, καὶ μὴ ἅπαξ ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις ἤδη ληφθεῖσαν τὸν θάνατον τὸν ἐκείνου ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ μηχανωμένην, τιμωρῆσαι πρῶτον μὲν τοῖς νόμοις τοῖς ὑμετέροις, οὓς παρὰ τῶν θεῶν καὶ τῶν προγόνων διαδεξάμενοι κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐκείνοις περὶ τῆς καταψηφίσεως δικάζετε, δεύτερον δʼ ἐκείνῳ τῷ τεθνηκότι, καὶ ἅμα ἐμοὶ μόνῳ ἀπολελειμμένῳ βοηθῆσαι.
And I entreat you, gentlemen, if I demonstrate that their mother is the murderer of our father by design and premeditation, and that she has been caught not once but already many times in the very act of plotting his death, that you will, in the first place, avenge your laws, which you have inherited from the gods and your ancestors and according to which you pass judgment just as they did; and in the second place, avenge that deceased man, and at the same time bring aid to me who am left entirely alone.
§4ὑμεῖς γάρ μοι ἀναγκαῖοι.
For you are my only refuge.
οὓς γὰρ ἐχρῆν τῷ μὲν τεθνεῶτι τιμωροὺς γενέσθαι, ἐμοὶ δὲ βοηθούς, οὗτοι τοῦ μὲν τεθνεῶτος φονῆς γεγένηνται, ἐμοὶ δʼ ἀντίδικοι καθεστᾶσι.
For those who ought to have been the avengers of the deceased and my helpers, have themselves become the murderers of the deceased and stand established as my adversaries.
πρὸς τίνας οὖν ἔλθῃ τις βοηθούς, ἢ ποῖ τὴν καταφυγὴν ποιήσεται ἄλλοθι ἢ πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ τὸ δίκαιον;
To whom then should one go for help, or where else can one find a refuge, if not with you and justice?
§5θαυμάζω δʼ ἔγωγε καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, ἥντινά ποτε γνώμην ἔχων ἀντίδικος καθέστηκε πρὸς ἐμέ, καὶ εἰ νομίζει τοῦτο εὐσέβειαν εἶναι, τὸ τὴν μητέρα μὴ προδοῦναι.
And I, for my part, wonder also at my brother, whatever opinion he holds that makes him stand as my adversary, and whether he believes it is piety not to betray his mother.
ἐγὼ δʼ ἡγοῦμαι πολὺ ἀνοσιώτερον εἶναι ἀφεῖναι τοῦ τεθνεῶτος τὴν τιμωρίαν, ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἐκ προβουλῆς ἀκουσίως ἀποθανόντος, τῆς δὲ ἑκουσίως ἐκ προνοίας ἀποκτεινάσης.
But I believe it is far more impious to abandon the vengeance of the dead, especially when the one died involuntarily as a result of premeditation, and the other killed him voluntarily with forethought.
§6καὶ οὐ τοῦτό γʼ ἐρεῖ, ὡς εὖ οἶδεν ὅτι οὐκ ἀπέκτεινεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἡμέτερον·
And he will certainly not say this: that he knows well that his mother did not kill our father.
ἐν οἷς μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἦν σαφῶς εἰδέναι παρὰ τῆς βασάνου, οὐκ ἠθέλησεν· ἐν οἷς δʼ οὐκ ἦν πυθέσθαι, τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ προὐθυμήθη.
For in those matters where he had the opportunity to know clearly through the torture of the slaves, he refused to do so; but in matters where it was impossible to find out, in these very things he showed great eagerness.
καίτοι αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐχρῆν, ὃ καὶ ἐγὼ προὐκαλούμην, προθυμηθῆναι, ὅπως τὸ πραχθὲν ᾖ ἀληθῶς ἐπεξελθεῖν.
And yet he ought to have shown eagerness for the very thing which I also proposed, so that we might truly prosecute what was done.
§7μὴ γὰρ ὁμολογούντων τῶν ἀνδραπόδων οὗτός τʼ εὖ εἰδὼς ἂν ἀπελογεῖτο καὶ ἀντέσπευδε πρὸς ἐμέ, καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ ἀπήλλακτο ἂν ταύτης τῆς αἰτίας.
For if the slaves had not confessed, he, knowing it well, would have made his defense and opposed me, and his mother would have been cleared of this accusation.
ὅπου δὲ μὴ ἠθέλησεν ἔλεγχον ποιήσασθαι τῶν πεπραγμένων, πῶς περί γʼ ὧν οὐκ ἠθέλησε πυθέσθαι, ἐγχωρεῖ αὐτῷ περὶ τούτων εἰδέναι; [πῶς οὖν περὶ τούτων, ὦ δικάζοντες, αὐτὸν εἰκὸς εἰδέναι, ὧν γε τὴν ἀλήθειαν οὐκ εἴληφε; ] §8τί ποτε ἀπολογήσεσθαι μέλλει μοι;
But since he was unwilling to have an examination of what had been done, how is it possible for him to have knowledge of those things about which he refused to inquire? [How then, gentlemen of the jury, is it reasonable for him to know about these things, of which he has not obtained the truth?] What defense is he ever going to make to me?
ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τῆς τῶν ἀνδραπόδων βασάνου εὖ ᾔδει ὅτι οὐχ οἷόν τʼ ἦν αὐτῇ σωθῆναι, ἐν δὲ τῷ μὴ βασανισθῆναι ἡγεῖτο τὴν σωτηρίαν εἶναι· τὰ γὰρ γενόμενα ἐν τούτῳ ἀφανισθῆναι ᾠήθησαν.
For from the torture of the slaves he knew well that it was impossible for her to be saved, but in their not being tortured he believed her safety lay; for they thought that what had happened would be concealed by this.
πῶς οὖν εὔορκα ἀντομωμοκὼς ἔσται φάσκων εὖ εἰδέναι, ὃς οὐκ ἠθέλησε σαφῶς πυθέσθαι ἐμοῦ ἐθέλοντος τῇ δικαιοτάτῃ βασάνῳ χρήσασθαι περὶ τούτου τοῦ πράγματος;
How then will he have sworn a true oath in his counter-swearing, claiming to know well, when he refused to find out clearly when I wished to employ the most just torture concerning this matter?