§20ἄξιον δʼ ἐνθυμηθῆναι, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἀμφότερα καὶ τῆς γνώμης τῶν ἀντιδίκων καὶ οἵῳ τρόπῳ ἔρχονται ἐπὶ τὰ πράγματα.
And it is worthwhile, gentlemen, to consider both the intention of my opponents and the manner in which they approach these matters.
ἐξ ἀρχῆς γὰρ οὐδὲν ὁμοίως οὗτοί τε πρὸς ἐμὲ πράττουσι καὶ ἐγὼ πρὸς τούτους.
For from the beginning, they have acted toward me and I toward them in no way similarly.
§21ἔλεξε μὲν γὰρ Φιλοκράτης οὑτοσὶ ἀναβὰς εἰς τὴν ἡλιαίαν τὴν τῶν θεσμοθετῶν, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ὁ παῖς ἐξεφέρετο, ὅτι ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀποκτείναιμι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ χορῷ, φάρμακον ἀναγκάσας πιεῖν.
For this Philocrates here, having gone up to the Heliaia of the Thesmothetae on the day when the boy was being carried out, said that I had killed his brother in the chorus by forcing him to drink a drug.
ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὗτος ταῦτʼ ἔλεγεν, ἀναβὰς ἐγὼ εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον τοῖς αὐτοῖς δικασταῖς ἔλεξα ὅτι τὸν μὲν νόμον οὐ δικαίως μου προκαθισταίη Φιλοκράτης κατηγορῶν καὶ διαβάλλων εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, μελλόντων ἔσεσθαί μοι ἀγώνων πρὸς Ἀριστίωνα καὶ Φιλῖνον αὔριον καὶ ἕνῃ, ὧνπερ ἕνεκα τοὺς λόγους τούτους λέγοι· §22ἃ μέντοι αἰτιῷτο καὶ διαβάλλοι, ῥᾳδίως ἐξελεγχθήσοιτο ψευδόμενος.
And when he said these things, I, having gone up to the court before the same judges, said that Philocrates was not setting up the law justly against me by accusing and slandering me in the court, since I had trials coming up against Aristion and Philinus tomorrow and the day after, for the sake of which he was speaking these words; however, as for the things he accused and slandered me of, he would easily be proved to be lying.
εἶεν γὰρ οἱ συνειδότες πολλοί, καὶ ἐλεύθεροι καὶ δοῦλοι, καὶ νεώτεροι καὶ πρεσβύτεροι, σύμπαντες πλείους ἢ πεντήκοντα, οἳ τούς τε λόγους τοὺς λεχθέντας περὶ τῆς πόσεως τοῦ φαρμάκου καὶ τὰ πραχθέντα καὶ τὰ γενόμενα πάντα ἐπίσταιντο.
For there were many who shared the knowledge, both free men and slaves, both younger and older, in all more than fifty, who knew all the words spoken concerning the drinking of the drug, the deeds, and all that happened.
§23καὶ εἶπόν τε ταῦτα ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, καὶ προὐκαλούμην αὐτὸν εὐθὺς τότε, καὶ αὖθις τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς δικασταῖς, καὶ ἰέναι ἐκέλευον λαβόντα μάρτυρας ὁπόσους βούλοιτο ἐπὶ τοὺς παραγενομένους, λέγων αὐτῷ ὀνόματι ἕκαστον, τούτους ἐρωτᾶν καὶ ἐλέγχειν, τοὺς μὲν ἐλευθέρους ὡς χρὴ τοὺς ἐλευθέρους, οἳ σφῶν τʼ αὐτῶν ἕνεκα καὶ τοῦ δικαίου ἔφραζον ἂν τἀληθῆ καὶ τὰ γενόμενα, τοὺς δὲ δούλους, εἰ μὲν αὐτῷ ἐρωτῶντι τἀληθῆ δοκοῖεν λέγειν, εἰ δὲ μή, ἕτοιμος εἴην διδόναι βασανίζειν τούς τε ἐμαυτοῦ πάντας, καὶ εἴ τινας τῶν ἀλλοτρίων κελεύοι, ὡμολόγουν πείσας τὸν δεσπότην παραδώσειν αὐτῷ βασανίζειν τρόπῳ ὁποίῳ βούλοιτο.
And I both said these things in the court, and challenged him immediately then, and again on the next day before the same judges, and urged him to go, taking as many witnesses as he wished, to those who had been present, naming each one to him, to question and examine them—the free men in the manner proper for free men, who for their own sake and for the sake of justice would speak the truth and what happened; and the slaves, if they seemed to speak the truth to him as he questioned them, well and good, but if not, I was ready to surrender all my own slaves to be tortured, and if he demanded any belonging to others, I agreed to persuade their master and hand them over to him to be tortured in whatever way he wished.
§24καὶ ταῦτα ἐμοῦ προκαλουμένου καὶ λέγοντος ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, οὗ καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ δικασταὶ καὶ ἕτεροι ἰδιῶται πολλοὶ μάρτυρες παρῆσαν, οὔτε τότε παραχρῆμα οὔτε ὕστερον ἐν παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ οὐδεπώποτε ἠθέλησαν ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ δίκαιον, εὖ εἰδότες ὅτι οὐκ ἂν τούτοις κατʼ ἐμοῦ ἔλεγχος ἐγίγνετο οὗτος, ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ κατὰ τούτων, ὅτι οὐδὲν δίκαιον οὐδʼ ἀληθὲς ᾐτιῶντο.
And although I challenged and said these things in the court, where both the judges themselves and many other private citizens were present as witnesses, they never, either then immediately or afterwards in all that time, wished to proceed to this test, knowing well that this examination would not turn out for them against me, but for me against them, proving that they made no just or true accusation.
§25ἐπίστασθε δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες, ὅτι αἱ ἀνάγκαι αὗται ἰσχυρόταται καὶ μέγισταί εἰσι τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ἔλεγχοι ἐκ τούτων σαφέστατοι καὶ πιστότατοι περὶ τοῦ δικαίου, ὅπου εἶεν μὲν ἐλεύθεροι πολλοὶ οἱ συνειδότες, εἶεν δὲ δοῦλοι, καὶ ἐξείη μὲν τοὺς ἐλευθέρους ὅρκοις καὶ πίστεσιν ἀναγκάζειν, ἃ τοῖς ἐλευθέροις μέγιστα καὶ περὶ πλείστου ἐστίν, ἐξείη δὲ τοὺς δούλους ἑτέραις ἀνάγκαις, ὑφʼ ὧν καὶ ἢν μέλλωσιν ἀποθανεῖσθαι κατειπόντες, ὅμως ἀναγκάζονται τἀληθῆ λέγειν· ἡ γὰρ παροῦσα ἀνάγκη ἑκάστῳ ἰσχυροτέρα ἐστὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἔσεσθαι.
And you know, gentlemen, that these compulsions are the strongest and greatest among men, and examinations from them are the clearest and most trustworthy concerning justice, where there are many free men who share the knowledge, and there are slaves, and it is possible to compel the free men by oaths and pledges, which are greatest and of the highest value to free men, and it is possible to compel the slaves by other compulsions, by which, even if they are likely to die after speaking out, they are nevertheless compelled to speak the truth; for the present compulsion is stronger for each than the one that is to be.
§26εἰς πάντα τοίνυν ἐγὼ ταῦτα προὐκαλεσάμην τούτους, καὶ ἐξ ὧν γε χρὴ ἄνθρωπον ὄντα τἀληθῆ καὶ τὰ δίκαια πυνθάνεσθαι, ἐξῆν αὐτοῖς πυνθάνεσθαι, καὶ πρόφασις οὐδεμία ὑπελείπετο.
Therefore, I challenged them to all these things, and from the very sources from which a human being must learn the truth and what is just, it was possible for them to learn, and no excuse was left.
καὶ ἐγὼ μὲν ὁ τὴν αἰτίαν ἔχων καὶ ἀδικῶν, ὡς οὗτοί φασιν, ἕτοιμος ἦ αὐτοῖς κατʼ ἐμαυτοῦ παρέχειν ἔλεγχον τὸν δικαιότατον· οἱ δʼ αἰτιώμενοι καὶ φάσκοντες ἀδικεῖσθαι αὐτοὶ ἦσαν οἱ οὐκ ἐθέλοντες ἐλέγχειν εἴ τι ἠδικοῦντο.
And I, the one who held the blame and did wrong, as they say, was ready to offer them the most just examination against myself; but they, the ones accusing and claiming to be wronged, were themselves those who did not wish to examine whether they had been wronged at all.
§27καὶ εἰ μὲν ἐγὼ τούτων προκαλουμένων μὴ ἠθέλησα τοὺς παραγενομένους ἀποφῆναι, ἢ θεράποντας ἐξαιτοῦσι μὴ ἤθελον ἐκδιδόναι, ἢ ἄλλην τινὰ πρόκλησιν ἔφευγον, αὐτὰ ἂν ταῦτα μέγιστα τεκμήρια κατʼ ἐμοῦ ἐποιοῦντο ὅτι ἀληθὴς ἦν ἡ αἰτία· ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐμοῦ προκαλουμένου οὗτοι ἦσαν οἱ φεύγοντες τὸν ἔλεγχον, ἐμοὶ δήπου δίκαιον κατὰ τούτων τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τεκμήριον γενέσθαι ὅτι οὐκ ἀληθὴς ἦν ἡ αἰτία ἣν αἰτιῶνται κατʼ ἐμοῦ.
And if, when they challenged me, I had not wished to reveal those who were present, or if, when they demanded my servants, I had not wished to hand them over, or if I had fled any other challenge, they would have made these very things the greatest proofs against me that the accusation was true; but since, when I challenged them, they were the ones who fled the examination, it is surely just that this very same proof should stand for me against them, showing that the accusation they make against me is not true.