§1μαρτύρων μὲν οὐκ ἀπορίαν μοι ἔσεσθαι δοκῶ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί·
I do not think, gentlemen of the jury, that I shall lack witnesses.
πολλοὺς γὰρ ὑμῶν ὁρῶ δικάζοντας τῶν τότε παρόντων, ὅτε Λυσίθεος Θεόμνηστον εἰσήγγελλε τὰ ὅπλα ἀποβεβληκότα, οὐκ ἐξὸν αὐτῷ, δημηγορεῖν·
For I see many of you who are now acting as judges who were present then, when Lysitheus prosecuted Theomnestus for speaking in the Assembly when it was not permitted to him because he had thrown away his weapons.
ἐν ἐκείνῳ γὰρ τῷ ἀγῶνι τὸν πατέρα μʼ ἔφασκεν ἀπεκτονέναι τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ.
For in that trial he claimed that I had killed my own father.
ἐγὼ δʼ, §2εἰ μὲν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ με ἀπεκτονέναι ᾐτιᾶτο, συγγνώμην ἂν εἶχον αὐτῷ τῶν εἰρημένων (φαῦλον γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄξιον ἡγούμην)· οὐδʼ εἴ τι ἄλλο τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἤκουσα, οὐκ ἂν ἐπεξῆλθον αὐτῷ (ἀνελευθέρου γὰρ καὶ λίαν φιλοδίκου εἶναι νομίζω κακηγορίας δικάζεσθαι)· §3νυνὶ δὲ αἰσχρόν μοι εἶναι δοκεῖ τοῦ πατρός, οὕτω πολλοῦ ἀξίου γεγενημένου καὶ ὑμῖν καὶ τῇ πόλει, μὴ τιμωρήσασθαι τὸν ταῦτʼ εἰρηκότα, καὶ παρʼ ὑμῶν εἰδέναι βούλομαι πότερον δώσει δίκην, ἢ τούτῳ μόνῳ Ἀθηναίων ἐξαίρετόν ἐστι καὶ ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν παρὰ τοὺς νόμους ὅ τι ἂν βούληται.
But I, if he had accused me of killing his own father, I would have forgiven him for his words (for I considered him worthless and of no account); nor, if I had heard any other of the forbidden things, would I have proceeded against him (for I think it is the mark of an illiberal and excessively litigious man to go to law for slander); but now, it seems to me shameful for the sake of my father, who was of such great value both to you and to the city, not to take vengeance on the one who said these things, and I want to know from you whether he will pay the penalty, or whether to him alone of the Athenians it is granted as a privilege both to do and to say contrary to the laws whatever he wishes.
§4ἐμοὶ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ἔτη ἐστὶ δύο καὶ τριάκοντα, ἐξ ὅτου δʼ ὑμεῖς κατεληλύθατε, εἰκοστὸν τουτί.
For I, gentlemen of the jury, am thirty-two years old, and this is the twentieth year since you returned.
φαίνομαι οὖν τρισκαιδεκέτης ὢν ὅτε ὁ πατὴρ ὑπὸ τῶν τριάκοντα ἀπέθνησκε.
It is clear, therefore, that I was thirteen years old when my father was killed by the Thirty.
ταύτην δὲ ἔχων τὴν ἡλικίαν οὔτε τί ἔστιν ὀλιγαρχία ἠπιστάμην, οὔτε ἂν ἐκείνῳ ἀδικουμένῳ ἐδυνάμην βοηθῆσαι.
Having this age, I neither understood what an oligarchy was, nor would I have been able to help him when he was being wronged.
§5καὶ μὲν δὴ οὐκ ὀρθῶς τῶν χρημάτων ἕνεκα ἐπεβούλευσα ἂν αὐτῷ· ὁ γὰρ πρεσβύτερος ἀδελφὸς Πανταλέων ἅπαντα παρέλαβε, καὶ ἐπιτροπεύσας ἡμᾶς τῶν πατρῴων ἀπεστέρησεν, ὥστε πολλῶν ἕνεκα, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, προσήκει μοι αὐτὸν βούλεσθαι ζῆν.
And indeed, I would not have plotted against him rightly for the sake of money; for my older brother Pantaleon took over everything, and having become our guardian, deprived us of our patrimony, so that for many reasons, gentlemen of the jury, it was proper for me to wish him to live.
ἀνάγκη μὲν οὖν περὶ αὐτῶν μνησθῆναι, οὐδὲν δὲ δεῖ πολλῶν λόγων· σχεδὸν γὰρ ἐπίστασθε ἅπαντες ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω.
It is necessary, therefore, to mention these things, but there is no need for many words; for you almost all know that I speak the truth.
ὅμως δὲ μάρτυρας αὐτῶν παρέξομαι.
Nevertheless, I will present witnesses of these things.
§6Μάρτυρες
ἴσως τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, περὶ τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἀπολογήσεται, ἐρεῖ δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἅπερ ἐτόλμα λέγειν καὶ πρὸς τὸν διαιτητήν, ὡς οὐκ ἔστι τῶν ἀπορρήτων, ἐάν τις εἴπῃ τὸν πατέρα ἀπεκτονέναι· τὸν γὰρ νόμον οὐ ταῦτʼ ἀπαγορεύειν, ἀλλʼ ἀνδροφόνον οὐκ ἐᾶν λέγειν. §7ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὐ περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων διαφέρεσθαι ἀλλὰ τῆς τούτων διανοίας, καὶ πάντας εἰδέναι, ὅτι ὅσοι ἀπεκτόνασί τινας, καὶ ἀνδροφόνοι εἰσί, καὶ ὅσοι ἀνδροφόνοι εἰσί, καὶ ἀπεκτόνασί τινας.
Witnesses Perhaps, therefore, gentlemen of the jury, he will make no defense regarding these matters, but will say to you what he dared to say also before the arbitrator, that it is not one of the forbidden things if someone says that he killed his father; for the law does not forbid this, but does not allow one to say "murderer." But I think, gentlemen of the jury, that you do not dispute about words but about their meaning, and that everyone knows that all who have killed someone are murderers, and all who are murderers have killed someone.
πολὺ γὰρ ἔργον ἦν τῷ νομοθέτῃ ἅπαντα τὰ ὀνόματα γράφειν ὅσα τὴν αὐτὴν δύναμιν ἔχει· ἀλλὰ περὶ ἑνὸς εἰπὼν περὶ πάντων ἐδήλωσεν.
For it would have been a great task for the lawgiver to write all the words that have the same power; but by speaking of one, he made it clear concerning all.
§8οὐ γὰρ δήπου, ὦ Θεόμνηστε, εἰ μέν τίς σε εἴποι πατραλοίαν ἢ μητραλοίαν, ἠξίους ἂν αὐτὸν ὀφλεῖν σοι δίκην, εἰ δέ τις εἴποι ὡς τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἢ τὸν φύσαντα ἔτυπτες, ᾤου ἂν αὐτὸν ἀζήμιον δεῖν εἶναι ὡς οὐδὲν τῶν ἀπορρήτων εἰρηκότα.
For surely, Theomnestus, if someone should call you a patricide or a matricide, you would expect him to be condemned to pay you a penalty; but if someone should say that you struck her who bore you or him who begot you, would you think he ought to go unpunished because he had said none of the forbidden things?
§9ἡδέως γὰρ ἄν σου πυθοίμην (περὶ τοῦτο γὰρ δεινὸς εἶ καὶ μεμελέτηκας καὶ ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν)· εἴ τίς σε εἴποι ῥῖψαι τὴν ἀσπίδα (ἐν δὲ τῷ νόμῳ εἴρηται,
ἐάν τις φάσκῃ ἀποβεβληκέναι, ὑπόδικον εἶναι
), οὐκ ἂν ἐδικάζου αὐτῷ ἀλλʼ ἐξήρκει ἄν σοι ἐρριφέναι τὴν ἀσπίδα λέγοντι οὐδέν σοι μέλειν;
For I would gladly learn from you (for in this you are clever and have practiced both to do and to say): if someone should say that you threw away your shield (and in the law it is said that if anyone claims that someone has thrown it away, he is liable to prosecution), would you not go to law with him, or would it satisfy you if he said that he had thrown away his shield and that it was no concern of yours?
§10οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ αὐτό ἐστι ῥῖψαι καὶ ἀποβεβληκέναι·
For indeed, throwing away and having thrown away are not the same thing.
ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἂν τῶν ἕνδεκα γενόμενος ἀποδέξαιο, εἴ τις ἀπάγοι τινὰ φάσκων θοἰμάτιον ἀποδεδύσθαι ἢ τὸν χιτωνίσκον ἐκδεδύσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἀφείης ἂν τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ὅτι οὐ λωποδύτης ὀνομάζεται.
But not even if you became one of the Eleven would you accept it if someone brought in someone claiming that he had been stripped of his cloak or stripped of his tunic, but would you release him in the same way because he is not named a clothes-stealer?
οὐδʼ εἴ τις παῖδα ἐξαγαγὼν ληφθείη, οὐκ ἂν φάσκοις αὐτὸν ἀνδραποδιστὴν εἶναι, εἴπερ μαχεῖ τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοῖς ἔργοις τὸν νοῦν προσέξεις, ὧν ἕνεκα τὰ ὀνόματα πάντες τίθενται.
Nor if someone should be caught after carrying off a child, would you deny that he is a kidnapper, if you are going to fight about words but will not pay attention to the deeds, for the sake of which all set names?