§1.1ὁπόσα μὲν τῶν πραγμάτων ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων ἐπιβουλεύεται, οὐ χαλεπὰ ἐλέγχεσθαί ἐστιν· ἂν δʼ οἱ ἱκανῶς μὲν πεφυκότες, ἔμπειροι δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ὄντες, ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τῆς ἡλικίας καθεστῶτες ἐν ᾧ κράτιστοι φρονεῖν αὑτῶν εἰσι, πράσσωσι, χαλεποὶ καὶ γνωσθῆναι καὶ ἐλεγχθῆναί §1.2εἰσι·
Those of affairs plotted by ordinary people are not difficult to expose; but when men who are sufficiently gifted, experienced in business, and at that time of life in which they are at their own intellectual prime, carry them out, they are difficult both to detect and to convict.
διὰ γὰρ τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ κινδύνου ἐκ πολλοῦ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ὧν ἐπιβουλεύουσι σκοποῦντες, οὐ πρότερον ἐπιχειροῦσιν ἢ πάσης ὑποψίας φυλακὴν ποιήσωνται.
For because of the magnitude of the danger, looking far ahead to the safety of what they plot, they do not make an attempt until they have guarded against all suspicion.
γιγνώσκοντας οὖν ὑμᾶς χρὴ ταῦτα, κἂν ὁτιοῦν εἰκὸς παραλάβητε, σφόδρα πιστεύειν αὐτῷ.
Therefore, you must recognize this, and if you receive any degree of probability, you must believe it strongly.
ἡμεῖς δʼ οἱ ἐπεξερχόμενοι τὸν φόνον οὐ τὸν αἴτιον ἀφέντες τὸν ἀναίτιον διώκομεν·
And we, who are prosecuting the murder, are not letting the guilty go free while pursuing the innocent.
§1.3σαφῶς γὰρ οἴδαμεν ὅτι πάσης τῆς πόλεως μιαινομένης ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν διωχθῇ, τό τʼ ἀσέβημα ἡμέτερον γίγνεται, τῆς θʼ ὑμετέρας ἁμαρτίας ἡ ποινὴ εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς μὴ δικαίως διώκοντας ἀναχωρεῖ.
For we know clearly that, since the whole city is polluted by him until he is prosecuted, the impiety becomes ours, and the punishment for your error reverts upon us who fail to prosecute justly.
ἅπαντος δὲ τοῦ μιάσματος ἀναχωροῦντος εἰς ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἂν δυνώμεθα σαφέστατα ἐξ ὧν γιγνώσκομεν πειρασόμεθα ὑμῖν δηλοῦν ὡς ἀπέκτεινε τὸν ἄνδρα.
Since all the pollution thus reverts upon us, we will endeavor to show you as clearly as we can, from what we know, that he killed the man.
§1.4Οὔτε γὰρ κακούργους εἰκὸς ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἂν τὸν ἔσχατον κίνδυνον περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς κινδυνεύων ἑτοίμην καὶ κατειργασμένην τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἀφῆκεν·
For it is not likely that muggers killed the man; for no one risking his life in the ultimate danger would have abandoned a ready and secured booty.
ἔχοντες γὰρ [ἂν] τὰ ἱμάτια ηὑρέθησαν.
Indeed, they were found with their clothes on.
οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ παροινήσας οὐδεὶς διέφθειρεν αὐτόν· ἐγιγνώσκετο γὰρ ἂν ὑπὸ τῶν συμποτῶν.
Nor, indeed, did anyone kill him in a drunken brawl; for he would have been recognized by his fellow drinkers.
οὐδὲ μὴν οὐδʼ ἐκ λοιδορίας· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν οὐδʼ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ ἐλοιδοροῦντο.
Nor yet from a quarrel; for they would not have brawled late at night or in a deserted place.
οὐδὲ μὴν ἄλλου στοχαζόμενος ἔτυχε τούτου· οὐ γὰρ ἂν σὺν τῷ ἀκολούθῳ διέφθειρεν αὐτόν.
Nor, indeed, did anyone, aiming at someone else, hit this man; for he would not then have killed him along with his attendant.
§1.5ἀπολυομένης δὲ τῆς ὑποψίας ἁπάσης αὐτὸς ὁ θάνατος ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς ἀποθανόντα μηνύει αὐτόν.
With every other suspicion eliminated, the death itself reveals that he was killed by design.
ἐπιθέσθαι δὲ τίνα μᾶλλον εἰκός ἐστιν ἢ τὸν μεγάλα μὲν κακὰ προπεπονθότα, ἔτι δὲ μείζονα ἐπίδοξον ὄντα πάσχειν;
And who is more likely to have attacked him than one who has already suffered great harms, and expects to suffer even greater ones?
ἔστι δʼ ὁ διωκόμενος οὗτος· ἐκ παλαιοῦ γὰρ ἐχθρὸς ὢν αὐτοῦ πολλὰς μὲν καὶ μεγάλας γραφὰς διώξας οὐδεμίαν εἷλεν, §1.6ἔτι δὲ μείζους καὶ πλείους διωχθεὶς οὐδεπώποτʼ ἀποφυγὼν ἱκανὸν μέρος τῶν ὄντων ἀποβέβληκε, τὰ δʼ ἄγχιστα ἱερῶν κλοπῆς δυοῖν ταλάντοιν γεγραμμένος ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, συνειδὼς μὲν αὑτῷ τὸ ἀδίκημα, ἔμπειρος δʼ ὢν τῆς τούτου δυνάμεως, μνησικακῶν δὲ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, εἰκότως μὲν ἐπεβούλευσεν, εἰκότως δʼ ἀμυνόμενος τὴν ἔχθραν ἀπέκτεινε τὸν ἄνδρα.
And this is the accused; for being his enemy of old, though he brought many major public indictments against him, he never won a single case, and when he himself was prosecuted in even more important and numerous cases, never escaping, he lost a substantial portion of his property; and most recently, having been indicted by him for temple robbery to the value of two talents, being conscious of his own guilt, experienced in the other's power, and bearing a grudge for past events, he naturally plotted, and naturally, in revenging his enmity, killed the man.
§1.7ἥ τε γὰρ ἐπιθυμία τῆς τιμωρίας ἀμνήμονα τῶν κινδύνων καθίστη αὐτόν, ὅ τε φόβος τῶν ἐπιφερομένων κακῶν ἐκπλήσσων θερμότερον ἐπιχειρεῖν ἐπῇρεν.
For his desire for revenge made him unmindful of dangers, and his fear of impending evils, striking him with panic, urged him to attempt the deed more hotly.
ἤλπιζέ τε τάδε μὲν δράσας καὶ λήσειν ἀποκτείνας αὐτὸν καὶ ἀποφεύξεσθαι τὴν γραφήν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπεξιέναι οὐδένα, ἀλλʼ ἐρήμην αὐτὴν ἔσεσθαι·
And he hoped that by doing this and killing him, he would both escape detection and evade the lawsuit; for no one would prosecute, but it would go by default.
§1.8εἴ τε καὶ ἁλοίη, τιμωρησαμένῳ κάλλιον ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ ταῦτα πάσχειν, ἢ ἀνάνδρως μηδὲν ἀντιδράσαντα ὑπὸ τῆς γραφῆς διαφθαρῆναι.
And even if he should be convicted, it seemed better to him to suffer this after having taken revenge, than to be destroyed by the lawsuit like a coward without doing anything in return.
σαφῶς δʼ ᾔδει ἁλωσόμενος αὐτήν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν τόνδε τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐνόμισεν ἀσφαλέστερον εἶναι.
He knew clearly that he would be convicted in that lawsuit; for otherwise he would not have considered this present trial to be safer.
§1.9τὰ μὲν βιασάμενα ταῦτά ἐστιν ἀσεβῆσαι αὐτόν.
These are the factors that compelled him to commit this impiety.
μάρτυρες δʼ εἰ μὲν πολλοὶ παρεγένοντο, πολλοὺς ἂν παρεσχόμεθα· ἑνὸς δὲ τοῦ ἀκολούθου παραγενομένου, οἳ τούτου ἤκουον μαρτυρήσουσιν.
As for witnesses, if many had been present, we would have provided many; but since only one attendant was present, those who heard him will testify.
ἔμπνους γὰρ ἔτι ἀρθείς, ἀνακρινόμενος ὑφʼ ἡμῶν, τοῦτον μόνον ἔφη γνῶναι τῶν παιόντων αὐτούς.
For being picked up while still breathing, when questioned by us, he said that this man alone of those who struck them he recognized.
ἐξελεγχόμενος δʼ ὑπό τε τῶν εἰκότων ὑπό τε τῶν παραγενομένων, οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ οὔτε δικαίως οὔτε συμφερόντως ἀπολύοιτʼ ἂν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν.
Being convicted both by probabilities and by those present, he could in no way be justly or advantageously acquitted by you.
§1.10οἵ τε γὰρ ἐπιβουλεύοντες ἀνεξέλεγκτοι ἂν εἶεν, εἰ μήθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν παραγενομένων μήθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν εἰκότων ἐξελέγχονται· ἀσύμφορόν θʼ ὑμῖν ἐστὶ τόνδε μιαρὸν καὶ ἄναγνον ὄντα εἴς τε τὰ τεμένη τῶν θεῶν εἰσιόντα μιαίνειν τὴν ἁγνείαν αὐτῶν, ἐπί τε τὰς αὐτὰς τραπέζας ἰόντα συγκαταπιμπλάναι τοὺς ἀναιτίους· ἐκ γὰρ τούτων αἵ τʼ ἀφορίαι γίγνονται δυστυχεῖς θʼ αἱ πράξεις καθίστανται.
For those who plot would go unconvicted, if they are not convicted either by those present or by probabilities; and it is disadvantageous for you that this man, being polluted and impure, should enter the precincts of the gods and defile their purity, and going to the same tables should infect the innocent; for from such things arise bad harvests, and undertakings turn out unfortunate.
§1.11οἰκείαν οὖν χρὴ τὴν τιμωρίαν ἡγησαμένους, αὐτῷ τούτῳ τὰ τούτου ἀσεβήματα ἀναθέντας, ἰδίαν μὲν τὴν συμφοράν, καθαρὰν δὲ τὴν πόλιν καταστῆσαι.
Therefore, you must regard the vengeance as your own affair, and by casting his impieties back upon him, leave the misfortune as his private lot, while keeping the city pure.