§6εἶτʼ ἐγὼ εἰς τοῦτο ἀπονοίας ἦλθον, ὥστε ἄλλων τε τοσούτων ἀνθρώπων συνακολουθούντων καὶ Διωξίππου καὶ Εὐφραίου τοῦ προσγυμναστοῦ αὐτοῦ, οἳ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὁμολογουμένως ἰσχυρότατοί εἰσιν, οὔτʼ ᾐσχυνόμην τοιούτους λόγους λέγων περὶ γυναικὸς ἐλευθέρας πάντων ἀκουόντων, οὔτʼ ἐδεδίειν μὴ παραχρῆμα ἀπόλωμαι πνιγόμενος;
Then did I reach such a pitch of madness that, although so many other people were following and Dioxippus and Euphraeus, his sparring partner, who are admittedly the strongest of the Greeks, were with us, I was neither ashamed to speak such words about a free woman in the hearing of everyone, nor was I afraid that I should immediately perish by being strangled?
τίς γὰρ ἂν ἠνέσχετο τοιαῦτα περὶ τῆς αὑτοῦ ἀδελφῆς ἀκούων οἷά με οὗτοι αἰτιῶνται εἰρηκέναι καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀπέκτεινε τὸν λέγοντα;
For who would have tolerated hearing such things about his own sister as these men accuse me of having said, and would not have killed the speaker?
§7τὸ δὲ κεφάλαιον ἁπάντων, ὡς καὶ μικρῷ πρότερον εἶπον, εἰς τοῦτο ἀναισθησίας ὁ Χάριππος, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἦλθεν, ὥστε πρότερον μέν, ὥς φασιν, τῆς γυναικὸς προλεγούσης ὅτι συνομωμοκυῖα εἴη πρὸς ἐμέ, πάλιν δὲ ἀκούων ἐμοῦ παρακελευμένου αὐτῇ ὅπως ἐμμείνειεν τοῖς ὅρκοις οἷς ὤμοσεν, ἐλάμβανε τὴν γυναῖκα;
And the chief point of all, as I also said a little earlier: Charippus, as it seems, reached such a pitch of insensibility that, although beforehand, as they say, the woman told him that she had conspired with me, and on the other hand, hearing me exhorting her to remain faithful to the oaths she had sworn, he still took the woman?
καὶ ταῦτα δοκεῖ ἂν ὑμῖν ἢ Ὀρέστης ἐκεῖνος ὁ μαινόμενος ποιῆσαι ἢ Μαργίτης ὁ πάντων ἀβελτερώτατος;
And do you think that either the famous mad Orestes or Margites, the most foolish of all men, would have done this?
§8ἀλλʼ οἶμαι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πολλὰ πλεονεκτοῦσιν ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν οἱ κατήγοροι τῶν φευγόντων·
But I think, gentlemen of the jury, that accusers have many advantages in trials over defendants.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ ἀκίνδυνον αὐτοῖς εἶναι τὸν ἀγῶνα ῥᾳδίως ὅ τι ἂν βούλωνται λέγουσι καὶ καταψεύδονται, οἱ δὲ κρινόμενοι διὰ τὸν φόβον πολλὰ καὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων αὐτοῖς εἰπεῖν ἐπιλανθάνονται.
For the former, because the trial is without danger to them, easily say whatever they wish and make false accusations, while the defendants, because of fear, forget to mention even many of the things that they have actually done.
§9ἔπειτα οἱ μὲν ἐπειδὰν πρότερον λόγον λάβωσιν, οὐ μόνον ἃ ἔχουσιν αὐτοὶ δίκαια περὶ τοῦ πράγματος λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ συσκευάσαντες λοιδορίας ψευδεῖς κατὰ τῶν κρινομένων ἐξιστᾶσιν τῆς ἀπολογίας· ὥστε συμβαίνειν αὐτοῖς δυοῖν τὸ ἕτερον, ἢ περὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν διαβολῶν ἀπολογουμένοις τῆς περὶ τοῦ πράγματος ἀπολογίας ἀπολελεῖφθαι, ἢ μὴ μεμνημένοις τῶν προκατηγορηθέντων, οἴησιν καταλείπειν παρὰ τοῖς δικασταῖς ὅτι ἀληθῆ ἐστιν τὰ εἰρημένα.
Furthermore, when they speak first, they not only state the just arguments they have regarding the matter, but by fabricating false slanders against the defendants, they drive them out of their defense; with the result that one of two things happens to them: either, in defending themselves against the irrelevant slanders, they fall short of the defense concerning the actual matter, or, failing to remember the preliminary accusations, they leave the judges with the impression that what was said is true.
§10πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τούς τε μέλλοντας βοηθεῖν τοῖς φεύγουσι προδιαβάλλουσι καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ κρινομένου τὴν ἀπολογίαν διαστρέφουσιν· οἷον καὶ Ἀρίστων οὑτοσὶ ἐνεχείρησε ποιῆσαι ἐν τῇ κατηγορίᾳ, ὃς οὐδʼ ἀπολαύειν δίδωσι τῶν ἀναβαινόντων ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ καὶ συναπολογησομένων.
In addition to this, they prejudicially slander those who are about to assist the defendants, and they distort the defense of the defendant himself; just as this Ariston here attempted to do in his prosecution, who does not even allow me to benefit from those who come up on my behalf and join in my defense.
διὰ τί δʼ οὗτοι μὴ ἀπολογῶνται;
And why should these men not defend?
πότερʼ οὐ δίκαιόν ἐστι τοῖς κρινομένοις τοὺς οἰκείους καὶ τοὺς φίλους βοηθεῖν;
Is it not just for relatives and friends to assist those on trial?
ἢ ἔστιν τι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει τούτου δημοτικώτερον, τοῦ τοὺς δυναμένους εἰπεῖν τοῖς ἀδυνάτοις τῶν πολιτῶν κινδυνεύουσι βοηθεῖν;
Or is there anything in the city more democratic than this: that those who are able to speak should assist fellow citizens who are in danger and unable to do so?
§11σὺ δὲ οὐ μόνον περὶ τῶν συνηγόρων τοὺς λόγους πεποίησαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀπολογίαν τὴν ἐμὴν διατάττεις· καὶ παραγγέλλεις τοῖς δικασταῖς περὶ ὧν δεῖ αὐτοὺς ἀκούειν καὶ κελεύειν με ἀπολογεῖσθαι, καὶ περὶ ὧν μὴ ἐᾶν λέγειν.
But you have not only made speeches about my advocates, you even dictate my defense; and you instruct the judges as to what they ought to listen to and command me to defend myself against, and what they should not allow me to speak about.
καὶ τοῦτο πῶς καλῶς ἔχει, σὲ μὲν ὅπως ἠβούλου τὴν κατηγορίαν ποιήσασθαι, προειδότα δὲ ἃ ἔχω ἐγὼ δίκαια λέγειν πρὸς τὰ παρὰ σοῦ ἐψευσμένα, ὑφαιρεῖσθαί μου τὴν ἀπολογίαν;
And how is this fair, that while you conducted your prosecution in the way you wished, you, knowing beforehand the just arguments I have to speak against your falsehoods, should rob me of my defense?
§12καὶ ἐμὲ μὲν αἰτιᾷ ἐν τῇ εἰσαγγελίᾳ καταλύειν τὸν δῆμον παραβαίνοντα τοὺς νόμους, αὐτὸς δʼ ὑπερπηδήςας ἅπαντας τοὺς νόμους εἰσαγγελίαν δέδωκας ὑπὲρ ὧν γραφαὶ πρὸς τοὺς θεςμοθέτας ἐκ τῶν νόμων εἰσίν, ἵνα πρῶτον μὲν ἀκίνδυνος εἰςίῃς εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα, ἔπειτα ἐξῇ σοι τραγῳδίας γράψαι εἰς τὴν εἰσαγγελίαν οἵαςπερ νῦν γέγραφας, ὅς μʼ αἰτιᾷ ὅτι πολλὰς μὲν γυναῖκας ποιῶ ἀγάμους ἔνδον καταγηράσκειν, πολλὰς δὲ ςυνοικεῖν οἷς οὐ προσήκει παρὰ τοὺς νόμους.
And you accuse me in your impeachment of subverting the democracy by transgressing the laws, while you yourself, bypassing all the laws, have brought an impeachment for matters for which public indictments before the Thesmothetai are provided by the laws, first so that you might enter the trial without danger, and secondly so that you might be permitted to write tragedies in your impeachment, such as you have now written, you who accuse me of causing many women to grow old unmarried inside their homes, and many to cohabit with those they should not, contrary to the laws.