§11ἔτι τοίνυν σκέψασθε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί· οὑτοσὶ γάρ μοι δοκεῖ ὑπὸ ῥᾳθυμίας καὶ μαλακίας οὐδʼ εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον ἀναβεβηκέναι.
Consider further, gentlemen of the jury; for this man seems to me, through laziness and weakness, not even to have gone up to the Areopagus.
πάντες γὰρ ἐπίστασθε ὅτι ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ, ὅταν τὰς τοῦ φόνου δίκας δικάζωνται, οὐ διὰ τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος τὰς διωμοσίας ποιοῦνται, ἀλλὰ διʼ οὗπερ ἐγὼ κακῶς ἀκήκοα· ὁ μὲν γὰρ διώκων ὡς ἔκτεινε διόμνυται, ὁ δὲ φεύγων ὡς οὐκ ἔκτεινεν.
For you all know that in that place, when they try cases of homicide, they do not make their oaths using this name, but using the very words for which I have been slandered; for the prosecutor swears that he killed, and the defendant that he did not kill.
§12οὐκ οὖν ἄτοπον ἂν εἴη τὸν δράσαντʼ ἀφεῖναι φάσκοντα ἀνδροφόνον εἶναι, ὅτι ὁ διώκων, ὡς ἔκτεινε, τὸν φεύγοντα διωμόσατο;
Would it not, then, be absurd to release the doer who admits that he is a murderer, because the prosecutor swore against the defendant that he "killed"?
τί γὰρ ταῦτα, ὧν οὗτος ἐρεῖ, διαφέρει;
For how does this differ from the things this man will say?
καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν Λυσιθέῳ κακηγορίας ἐδικάσω εἰπόντι σε ἐρριφέναι τὴν ἀσπίδα.
And you yourself prosecuted Lysitheus for slander when he said you had thrown away your shield.
καίτοι περὶ μὲν τοῦ ῥῖψαι οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ εἴρηται, ἐὰν δέ τις εἴπῃ ἀποβεβληκέναι τὴν ἀσπίδα, πεντακοσίας δραχμὰς ὀφείλειν κελεύει.
And yet, concerning throwing away, nothing is said in the law; but if anyone says that someone has "lost" his shield, it orders him to owe five hundred drachmas.
§13οὐκ οὖν δεινόν, εἰ ὅταν μὲν δέῃ σὲ κακῶς ἀκούσαντα τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τιμωρεῖσθαι, οὕτω τοὺς νόμους ὥσπερ ἐγὼ νῦν λαμβάνεις, ὅταν δʼ ἕτερον παρὰ τοὺς νόμους εἴπῃς κακῶς, οὐκ ἀξιοῖς δοῦναι δίκην;
Is it not, then, terrible if, when you need to punish your enemies after being slandered, you take the laws in this way as I do now, but when you slander another contrary to the laws, you do not think you ought to pay the penalty?
πότερον οὕτως σὺ δεινὸς εἶ ὥστε, ὅπως ἂν βούλῃ, οἷός τʼ εἶ χρῆσθαι τοῖς νόμοις, ἢ τοσοῦτον δύνασαι ὥστε οὐδέποτε οἴει τοὺς ἀδικουμένους ὑπὸ σοῦ τιμωρίας τεύξεσθαι;
Are you so clever that you are able to use the laws as you wish, or are you so powerful that you think those wronged by you will never obtain vengeance?
εἶτʼ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ οὕτως ἀνοήτως διακείμενος, §14ὥστε οὐκ ἐξ ὧν εὖ πεποίηκας τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ὧν ἀδικῶν οὐ δέδωκας δίκην, οἴει δεῖν πλεονεκτεῖν;
Then are you not ashamed to be so foolishly disposed, that you think you ought to take advantage not from the good things you have done for the city, but from the wrongs for which you have not paid the penalty?
καί μοι ἀνάγνωθι τὸν νόμον.
Read me the law.
§15Νόμος
ἐγὼ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὑμᾶς μὲν πάντας εἰδέναι ἡγοῦμαι ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν ὀρθῶς λέγω, τοῦτον δὲ οὕτω σκαιὸν εἶναι ὥστε οὐ δύνασθαι μαθεῖν τὰ λεγόμενα.
Law Now, gentlemen of the jury, I think you all know that I speak correctly, and that this man is so clumsy that he cannot understand what is being said.
βούλομαι οὖν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρων νόμων περὶ τούτων διδάξαι, ἐάν πως ἀλλὰ νῦν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος παιδευθῇ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἡμῖν μὴ παρέχῃ πράγματα.
I want, therefore, to instruct him on these matters from other laws as well, if perhaps even now on the speaker's platform he may be educated and not cause us trouble in the future.
καί μοι ἀνάγνωθι τούτους τοὺς νόμους τοὺς Σόλωνος τοὺς παλαιούς.
Read me these ancient laws of Solon.
§16Νόμος
δεδέσθαι δʼ ἐν τῇ ποδοκάκκῃ ἡμέρας πέντε τὸν πόδα, ἐὰν
προστιμήσῃ ἡ ἡλιαία. ἡ ποδοκάκκη αὕτη ἐστίν, ὦ Θεόμνηστε, ὃ νῦν καλεῖται ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ δεδέσθαι. εἰ οὖν ὁ δεθεὶς ἐξελθὼν ἐν ταῖς εὐθύναις τῶν ἕνδεκα κατηγοροίη ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῇ ποδοκάκκῃ ἐδέδετο ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ, οὐκ ἂν ἠλίθιον αὐτὸν νομίζοιεν;
Law Law "And his foot shall be bound in the stocks for five days, if the Heliaea should impose an additional penalty." The "stocks" is this, Theomnestus, which is now called "being bound in the wood." If, therefore, the one who had been bound, having gone out, should accuse the Eleven during their examination that he had not been bound in the "stocks" but in the "wood," would they not consider him a fool?
λέγε ἕτερον νόμον.
Read another law.
§17Νόμος
ἐπεγγυᾶν δʼ ἐπιορκήσαντα τὸν Ἀπόλλω.
Law "To demand bail from one who has sworn by Apollo.
δεδιότα δὲ δίκης ἕνεκα δρασκάζειν. τοῦτο τὸ ἐπιορκήσαντα ὀμόσαντά ἐστι, τό τε δρασκάζειν, ὃ νῦν ἀποδιδράσκειν ὀνομάζομεν. ὅστις δὲ ἀπίλλει τῇ θύρᾳ, ἔνδον τοῦ κλέπτου ὄντος. τὸ ἀπίλλειν τοῦτο ἀποκλείειν νομίζεται, καὶ μηδὲν διὰ τοῦτο διαφέρου.
And to flee for fear of a trial." This "having sworn" is "having taken an oath," and "to flee" is what we now name "to run away." "And whoever shuts out by the door, when the thief is inside." This "shutting out" is understood as "locking out," and you differ in no way because of this.
§18τὸ ἀργύριον στάσιμον εἶναι ἐφʼ ὁπόσῳ ἂν βούληται ὁ δανείζων. τὸ στάσιμον τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὦ βέλτιστε, οὐ ζυγῷ ἱστάναι ἀλλὰ τόκον πράττεσθαι ὁπόσον ἂν βούληται.
"Money shall be lent at whatever rate the lender wishes." This "lendable" is, my good sir, not to weigh with a balance, but to exact interest as much as he wishes.
ἔτι δʼ ἀνάγνωθι τουτουὶ τοῦ νόμου τὸ τελευταῖον.
Read further the end of this law.
§19Νόμος
ὅσαι δὲ πεφασμένως πολοῦνται,
καὶ
οἰκῆος βλάβης τὴν διπλὴν
εἶναι ὀφείλειν. προσέχετε τὸν νοῦν.
Law "And for all those who openly go about, and for damage of a house-servant, to owe double." Pay attention.
τὸ μὲν πεφασμένως ἐστὶ φανερῶς, πολεῖσθαι δὲ βαδίζειν, τὸ δὲ οἰκῆος θεράποντος. §20πολλὰ δὲ τοιαῦτα καὶ ἄλλα ἐστίν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί.
"Openly" is "manifestly," "to go about" is "to walk," and "of a house-servant" is "of a servant." And there are many other such things, gentlemen of the jury.
ἀλλʼ εἰ μὴ σιδηροῦς ἐστιν, οἴομαι αὐτὸν ἔννουν γεγονέναι ὅτι τὰ μὲν πράγματα ταὐτά ἐστι νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι, τῶν δὲ ὀνομάτων ἐνίοις οὐ τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρώμεθα νῦν τε καὶ πρότερον.
But if he is not made of iron, I think he has realized that the facts are the same now as of old, but we do not use the same names for some things now and formerly.
δηλώσει δέ· οἰχήσεται γὰρ ἀπιὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος σιωπῇ.
And he will show it; for he will depart from the platform in silence.
§21εἰ δὲ μή, δέομαι ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὰ δίκαια ψηφίσασθαι, ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι πολὺ μεῖζον κακόν ἐστιν ἀκοῦσαί τινα τὸν πατέρα ἀπεκτονέναι ἢ τὴν ἀσπίδα ἀποβεβληκέναι.
But if not, I beg you, gentlemen of the jury, to vote what is just, bearing in mind that it is a much greater evil to hear that one has killed his father than that he has thrown away his shield.
ἐγὼ γοῦν δεξαίμην ἂν πάσας τὰς ἀσπίδας ἐρριφέναι ἢ τοιαύτην γνώμην ἔχειν περὶ τὸν πατέρα.
I, at least, would rather accept having thrown away all my shields than to have such a reputation concerning my father.