§26ἐὰν μὲν τοίνυν τὰ περὶ τὴν φιάλην γεγονότα ἐν ἀδικήματι ψηφίσησθε εἶναι, τρόπον τινὰ καὶ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν καταγιγνώσκομεν ὡς τὰ ἐκεῖ οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἐπράξαμεν· ἐὰν δʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ γεγενημένου ἐῶμεν, τὰς τραγῳδίας αὐτῆς καὶ τὰς κατηγορίας ἀφῃρηκότες ἐσόμεθα.
If, then, you vote that the events concerning the bowl are an offense, in a way we also condemn ourselves, on the ground that we did not act correctly in the matters there; but if we leave things as they have happened, we will have stripped her of her tragedies and accusations.
οὐ γὰρ δήπου Ὀλυμπιάδι μὲν τὰ Ἀθήνησιν ἱερὰ ἐπικοσμεῖν ἔξεστιν, ἡμῖν δὲ τὰ ἐν Δωδώνῃ οὐκ ἐξέσται, καὶ ταῦτα τοῦ θεοῦ προστάξαντος.
For surely it is not permitted to Olympias to adorn the shrines in Athens, while to us it will not be permitted to adorn those in Dodona, and that too when the god has commanded it.
§27ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔστιν, ὦ Πολύευκτε, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖς, ὅθεν κατηγορίαν οὐκ ἂν ποιήσαιο.
But there is no source, Polyeuctus, as it seems to me, from which you would not make an accusation.
καίτοι σε ἐχρῆν, ἐπείπερ προῄρησαι πολιτεύεσθαι, καὶ νὴ Δία καὶ δύνασαι, μὴ τοὺς ἰδιώτας κρίνειν μηδʼ εἰς τούτους νεανιεύεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τῶν ῥητόρων ἐάν τις ἀδικῇ, τοῦτον κρίνειν, στρατηγὸς ἐάν τις μὴ τὰ δίκαια πράττῃ, τοῦτον εἰσαγγέλλειν· παρὰ γὰρ τούτοις ἐστὶ καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι βλάπτειν τὴν πόλιν, ὅσοι ἂν αὐτῶν προαιρῶνται, οὐ παρʼ Εὐξενίππῳ οὐδὲ τῶν δικαστῶν τούτων οὐδενί.
And yet you ought, since you have chosen to engage in politics, and by Zeus you also have the power, not to prosecute private citizens nor to behave insolently toward them, but if any of the orators does wrong, to prosecute him, and if any general does not act justly, to impeach him; for the power to harm the city lies with them, with whichever of them choose to do so, not with Euxenippus nor with any of these jurymen.
§28καὶ οὐ σὲ μὲν οὕτως οἴομαι δεῖν πράττειν, αὐτὸς δὲ ἄλλον τινὰ τρόπον τῇ πολιτείᾳ κέχρημαι, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ἰδιώτην οὐδένα πώποτε ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἔκρινα, ἤδη δέ τισι καθʼ ὅσον ἐδυνάμην ἐβοήθησα.
And I do not think that you ought to act in this way while I myself have treated political life in some other way, but I myself have never in my life prosecuted any private citizen, but have already helped some to the best of my ability.
τίνας οὖν κέκρικα καὶ εἰς ἀγῶνα καθέστακα;
Whom, then, have I prosecuted and brought to trial?
Ἀριστοφῶντα τὸν Ἁζηνιέα, ὃς ἰσχυρότατος ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ γεγένηται (καὶ οὗτος ἐν τούτῳ τῷ δικαστηρίῳ παρὰ δύο ψήφους ἀπέφυγε)· §29Διοπείθη τὸν Σφήττιον, ὃς δεινότατος ἐδόκει εἶναι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει· Φιλοκράτη τὸν Ἁγνούσιον, ὃς θρασύτατα καὶ ἀσελγέστατα τῇ πολιτείᾳ κέχρηται.
Aristophon of Azenia, who became the most powerful man in politics (and he was acquitted in this very court by only two votes); Diopeithes of Sphettus, who was thought to be the most formidable of those in the city; Philocrates of Hagnus, who conducted his political career in the most insolent and outrageous manner.
τοῦτον εἰσαγγείλας ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ ὧν Φιλίππῳ ὑπηρέτει [αὶ] κατὰ τῆς πόλεως, εἷλον ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, καὶ τὴν εἰσαγγελίαν ἔγραψα δικαίαν καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ νόμος κελεύει,
ῥήτορα ὄντα λέγειν μὴ τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων χρήματα λαμβάνοντα καὶ δωρεὰς παρὰ τῶν τἀναντία πραττόντων τῷ δήμῳ
·
Him I impeached for the services he rendered to Philip against the city, and convicted him in the court, and I wrote the impeachment justly and as the law commands, namely, being an orator, speaking not what is best for the people of Athens, while receiving money and gifts from those who act contrary to the people.
§30καὶ οὐδʼ οὕτως ἀπέχρησέ μοι τὴν εἰσαγγελίαν ἂν δοῦναι, ἀλλʼ ὑποκάτω παρέγραψα· τάδʼ εἶπεν οὐ τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ χρήματα λαβών,
εἶτα τὸ ψήφισμα αὐτοῦ ὑπέγραψα· καὶ πάλιν,
τάδε εἶπεν οὐ τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ χρήματα λαβών,
καὶ τὸ ψήφισμα παρέγραφον.
And even so, it did not satisfy me merely to present the impeachment, but underneath I wrote in detail: "He said these things, not what is best for the people, having received money," and then I appended his decree; and again, "He said these things, not what is best for the people, having received money," and I appended the decree.
καὶ ἔστι μοι πεντάκις ἢ ἑξάκις τοῦτο γεγραμμένον· δίκαιον γὰρ ᾤμην δεῖν τὸν ἀγῶνα καὶ τὴν κρίσιν ποιῆσαι.
And I have this written five or six times; for I thought it necessary to make the trial and the judgment just.
σὺ δʼ ἃ μὲν εἰπεῖν Εὐξένιππον φῂς οὐ τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ, οὐκ εἶχες γράψαι εἰς τὴν εἰσαγγελίαν, ἰδιώτην δʼ ὄντα κρίνεις ἐν τῇ τοῦ ῥήτορος τάξει.
But you were unable to write in the impeachment the things you claim Euxenippus said that were not best for the people, and yet you prosecute him, though he is a private citizen, in the category of an orator.
§31μικρὰ δὲ περὶ τῆς ἀντιγραφῆς εἰπών, ἑτέρας αἰτίας καὶ διαβολὰς ἥκεις φέρων κατʼ αὐτοῦ, λέγων ὡς Φιλοκλεῖ τὴν θυγατέρα ἐδίδου καὶ Δημοτίωνος δίαιταν ἔλαβεν, καὶ ἄλλας τοιαύτας κατηγορίας, ἵνʼ ἐὰν μὲν ἀφέμενοι τῆς εἰσαγγελίας περὶ τῶν ἔξω τοῦ πράγματος κατηγορηθέντων ἀπολογῶνται, ἀπαντῶσιν αὐτοῖς οἱ δικασταί· τί ταῦθʼ ἡμῖν λέγετε; ἐὰν δὲ μηδένα λόγον περὶ αὐτῶν ποιῶνται, ὁ ἀγὼν αὐτοῖς χείρων γίγνηται.
And having said little about the counter-plea, you have come bringing other accusations and slanders against him, saying that he was giving his daughter to Philocles and accepted Demotion's arbitration, and other such accusations, so that if, abandoning the impeachment, they defend themselves against the accusations outside the matter, the jurymen may meet them with: "Why are you telling us this?" but if they make no mention of them, their trial may become worse for them.
τῶν γὰρ κατηγορηθέντων τὸ μὴ λαβὸν ἀπολογίαν ὑπὸ τῇ ὀργῇ τῶν δικαστῶν καταλείπεται.
For whatever among the accusations does not receive a defense is left to the anger of the jurymen.
§32καὶ τὸ πάντων δεινότατον τῶν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ λεγομένων μένων ὑπὸ σοῦ, ὃ σὺ ᾤου λανθάνειν ὧν ἕνεκα λέγεις, οὐ λανθάνων, ὁπότε παραφθέγγοιο ἐν τῷ λόγῳ πολλάκις, ὡς πλούσιός ἐστιν Εὐξένιππος, καὶ πάλιν διαλιπών, ὡς οὐκ ἐκ δικαίου πολλὴν οὐσίαν συνείλεκται· ἃ εἰς μὲν τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον οὐδὲν δήπου ἐστίν, εἴτε πολλὰ οὗτος κέκτηται εἴτε ὀλίγα, τοῦ δὲ λέγοντος κακοηθία καὶ ὑπόληψις εἰς τοὺς δικαστὰς οὐ δικαία, ὡς ἄλλοθί που οὗτοι τὴν γνώμην ἂν σχοίησαν ἢ ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πράγματος, καὶ πότερον ἀδικεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κρινόμενος ἢ οὔ.
And the most terrible of all the things said in your speech, which you thought escaped notice as to why you said it, though it did not escape notice, whenever you slipped into your speech many times the claim that Euxenippus is rich, and again after an interval, that he has amassed a large fortune unjustly; which surely have nothing to do with this trial, whether he possesses many things or few, but they show the malice of the speaker and an unjust assumption regarding the jurymen, as if they would direct their attention somewhere other than to the matter itself, and whether the defendant is doing you wrong or not.
§33κακῶς μοι δοκεῖς εἰδέναι, ὦ Πολύευκτε, ςύ τε καὶ οἱ ταὐτὰ γιγνώσκοντες, ὅτι οὔτε δῆμός ἐστιν οὐδὲ εἷς ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ οὔτε μόναρχος οὔτε ἔθνος μεγαλοψυχότερον τοῦ δήμου τοῦ Ἀθηναίων, τοὺς δὲ συκοφαντουμένους τῶν πολιτῶν ὑπό τινων ἢ καθʼ ἕνα ἢ ἅθρους οὐ προίεται ἀλλὰ βοηθεῖ.
You seem to me to understand poorly, Polyeuctus, both you and those who hold the same opinions, that there is not a single people in the inhabited world, nor monarch, nor nation, more magnanimous than the people of Athens, and that they do not abandon, but help, those of the citizens who are falsely accused by some, whether individually or in groups.