§1ἴσως τινὲς ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, διὰ τὸ βούλεσθαί με ἄξιον εἶναί τινος ἡγοῦνται καὶ εἰπεῖν ἂν μᾶλλον ἑτέρου δύνασθαι· ἐγὼ δὲ τοσούτου δέω περὶ τῶν μὴ, προσηκόντων ἱκανὸς εἶναι λέγειν, ὥστε δέδοικα μή, καὶ περὶ ὧν ἀναγκαῖόν μοί ἐστι λέγειν, ἀδύνατος ὦ τὰ δέοντα εἰπεῖν.
Perhaps some of you, gentlemen of the jury, because they wish me to be of some account, believe that I can speak better than another; but I am so far from being capable of speaking on matters that do not concern me, that I fear lest, even on those matters about which it is necessary for me to speak, I may be unable to say what is required.
οἴμαι μὲν οὖν, ἐάν πάντα διηγήσωμαι τὰ πεπραγμένα ἡμῖν πρὸς Ἐράτωνα καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνου παῖδας, ῥαδίως ἐξ αὐτῶν ὑμᾶς εὑρήσειν ἃ προσήκει σκέψασθαι περὶ ταύτης τῆς διαδικασίας.
I think, therefore, that if I relate all that has been done by us in relation to Eraton and his children, you will easily find from these facts what is appropriate to consider regarding this claim.
ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὖν ἀκούσατε.
Listen, then, from the beginning.
§2ἐράτων ὁ Ἐρασιφῶντος πατὴρ ἐδανείσατο παρὰ τοῦ ἐμοῦ πάππου τάλαντα δύο.
Eraton, the father of Erasiphon, borrowed two talents from my grandfather.
ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἔλαβε τἀργύριον καὶ ὡς τοσοῦτόν γε ἐδεήθη δανείσασθαι, ὧν ἐναντίον ἐδόθη, μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι· ἃ δʼ ἐχρήσατο αὐτῷ καὶ ὅσα ὠφελήθη, οἱ μᾶλλόν τε ἐμοῦ εἰδότες καὶ παραγεγενημένοι οἷς ἐκεῖνος ἔπραττε διηγήσονται ὑμῖν καὶ μαρτυρήσουσι.
Now, that he received the money and that he needed to borrow so much, I shall provide you with witnesses in whose presence it was paid; but how he used it and how much he profited, those who know better than I and were present at what he did will relate and testify to you.
καί μοι κάλει μάρτυρας.
Call the witnesses for me.
§3Μάρτυρες
ἕως τοίνυν ὁ Ἐράτων ἔζη, τούς τε τόκους ἀπελαμβάνομεν καὶ τἆλλα τὰ συγκείμενα· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐτελεύτησε καταλιπὼν ὑοὺς τρεῖς, Ἐρασιφῶντα καὶ Ἐράτωνα καὶ Ἐρασίστρατον, οὗτοι οὐδὲν ἔτι ἡμῖν τῶν δικαίων ἐποίουν.
Now as long as Eraton lived, we received the interest and the other agreed terms; but when he died leaving three sons, Erasiphon, Eraton, and Erasistratus, these men no longer performed any of our just dues.
ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ πολέμῳ, διότι οὐκ ἦσαν δίκαι, οὐ δυνατοὶ ἦμεν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἃ ὤφειλον πράξασθαι· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰρήνη ἐγένετο, ὅτε περ πρῶτον αἱ ἀστικαὶ δίκαι ἐδικάζοντο, λαχὼν ὁ πατὴρ παντὸς τοῦ συμβολαίου Ἐρασιστράτῳ, ὅσπερ μόνος τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπεδήμει, κατεδικάσατο ἐπὶ Ξεναινέτου ἄρχοντος.
During the war, because there were no courts, we were unable to exact from them what they owed; but when peace was made, as soon as the city courts first held trials, my father, having brought a suit for the whole contract against Erasistratus, who alone of the brothers was in the country, obtained a judgment against him in the archonship of Xenænetus.
μάρτυρας δὲ καὶ τούτων παρέξομαι ὑμῖν.
I shall provide you with witnesses of these things also.
καί μοι κάλει μάρτυρας.
Call the witnesses for me.
§4Μάρτυρες
ὅτι μὲν τὰ Ἐράτωνος δικαίως ἂν ἡμέτερα εἴη, ἐκ τούτων ῥᾴδιον εἰδέναι, ὅτι δὲ πάντα δημεύεται, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἀπογραφῶν· τρεῖς γὰρ καὶ τέτταρες ἕκαστα ἀπογεγράφασι.
That Eraton's property would justly be ours is easy to know from these facts, but that everything is being confiscated is clear from the registers themselves; for three or four people have registered each item.
καίτοι τοῦτό γε παντὶ εὔγνωστον, ὅτι οὐκ ἂν παρέλιπον, εἴ τι ἄλλο τῶν Ἐράτωνος οἷόν τε ἦν δημεύειν, οἱ πάντα τὰ Ἐράτωνος ἀπογράφοντες καὶ ἃ ἐγὼ πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον κέκτημαι.
Yet this is easy for everyone to understand, that they would not have omitted anything else of Eraton's that was possible to confiscate, those who register all of Eraton's property and what I have already possessed for a long time.
ὡς μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν οὐδʼ ἑτέρωθεν εἰσπράξασθαι οἷόν τε, ἐὰν ὑμεῖς ταῦτα δημεύσητε, §5εὔγνωστόν μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι· ὡς δὲ τὴν ἀμφισβήτησιν ἐποιησάμην πρός τε ὑμᾶς καὶ τοὺς ἰδιώτας, ἔτι ἀκούσατε.
Now, that it is impossible for us to recover it from any other source, if you confiscate these, seems to me to be easy to understand; but how I made my claim both against you and against private individuals, listen further.
ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἡμῖν οἱ Ἐρασιφῶντος οἰκεῖοι τούτων τῶν χρημάτων ἠμφεσβήτουν, ἅπαντα ἠξίουν ἐμὰ εἶναι, διότι ὑπὲρ ἅπαντος τοῦ χρέως ἀντιδικῶν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ὁ Ἐρασίστρατος ἡττήθη· καὶ τὰ μὲν Σφηττοῖ ἤδη τρία ἔτη μεμίσθωκα, τῶν δὲ Κικυννοῖ καὶ τῆς οἰκίας ἐδικαζόμην τοῖς ἔχουσι.
For as long as Eraton's relatives disputed with us over this property, I claimed that all of it was mine, because Erasistratus, contesting against my father for the whole debt, was defeated; and the property at Sphettus I have already leased for three years, and for the property at Cicynna and the house I was bringing suit against those who held them.
πέρυσι μὲν οὖν διεγράψαντό μου τὰς δίκας, ἔμποροι φάσκοντες εἶναι· νυνὶ δὲ λαχόντος ἐν τῷ Γαμηλιῶνι μηνὶ οἱ ναυτοδίκαι οὐκ ἐξεδίκασαν.
Last year indeed they had my suits dismissed, claiming to be merchants; and now, though I brought suit in the month of Gamelion, the maritime judges did not decide the case.
§6ἐπειδὴ δʼ ὑμῖν τὰ Ἐρασιφῶντος δημεύειν ἔδοξεν, ἀφεὶς τῇ πόλει τὼ δύο μέρει τὰ Ἐρασιστράτου ἀξιῶ μοι ψηφισθῆναι, διότι ταῦτά γε ἤδη καὶ πρότερον ἐγνώκατε ἡμέτερα εἶναι.
But when you decided to confiscate the property of Erasiphon, releasing to the city the two shares of Erasistratus, I claim that my share should be voted to me, because you have already previously decided that these indeed are ours.
ὡρισάμην οὖν ἐμαυτῷ τὸ τρίτον μέρος τῆς ἐκείνων οὐσίας οὐ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν ἐπισκεψάμενος, ἀλλὰ πολλῷ πλέον ἢ τὼ δύο μέρει τῷ δημοσίῳ ὑπολιπών.
I therefore marked out for myself the third part of their estate, not having looked for exact precision, but leaving by far more than the two shares to the public treasury.
§7ῥᾴδιον δὲ γνῶναι ἐκ τοῦ τιμήματος τοῦ ἐπιγεγραμμένου τοῖς χρήμασιν.
And it is easy to judge from the valuation written upon the property.
ἅπαντα μὲν γὰρ πλείονος ἢ ταλάντου τετίμηνται, ὧν δʼ ἐγὼ ἀμφισβητῶ τῷ μὲν πέντε μνᾶς τῷ δὲ χιλίας δραχμὰς ἐπεγραψάμην· καὶ εἰ πλείονος ἄξιά ἐστιν ἢ τοσούτου, ἀποκηρυχθέντων τὸ περιττὸν ἡ πόλις λήψεται.
For all of it has been valued at more than a talent, but of the things I claim, I wrote down five minae for one, and a thousand drachmae for the other; and if they are worth more than that, when they are sold by auction, the city will receive the surplus.
§8ἵνα οὖν εἰδῆτε ὅτι ταῦτα ἀληθῆ ἐστι, μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς μεμισθωμένους παρʼ ἐμοῦ τὸ Σφηττοῖ χωρίον, ἔπειτα τοῦ Κικυννοῖ τοὺς γείτονας, οἳ ἴσασιν ἡμᾶς ἤδη τρία ἔτη ἀμφισβητοῦντας, ἔτι δὲ τούς τε πέρυσιν ἄρξαντας, πρὸς οὓς αἱ δίκαι ἐλήχθησαν, καὶ τοὺς νῦν ναυτοδίκας.
So that you may know that these things are true, I shall provide you with witnesses: first, those who have rented from me the land at Sphettus, then the neighbors of the land at Cicynna, who know that we have already been disputing for three years, and further, the officials of last year before whom the suits were brought, and the present maritime judges.
§9ἀναγνωσθήσονται δὲ ὑμῖν καὶ αὗται αἱ ἀπογραφαί· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ μάλιστα γνώσεσθε ὅτι οὔτε νεωστὶ ταῦτα τὰ χρήματα ἀξιοῦμεν ἡμέτερα εἶναι, οὔτε νυνὶ τῷ δημοσίῳ πλειόνων ἀμφισβητοῦμεν ἢ τῷ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνῳ τοῖς ἰδιώταις.
And these registers also shall be read to you; for from these most of all you will know that we do not claim this property as ours only recently, nor do we now contest for more against the public treasury than we did in the past against private individuals.
καί μοι κάλει μάρτυρας.
Call the witnesses for me.
§10Μάρτυρες
ὅτι μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὐ παρὰ τὸ δίκαιον ἀξιῶ μοι ψηφίσασθαι τὸ διαδίκασμα, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς τῇ πόλει πολλὰ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ ἀφεὶς τοῦτο ἀξιῶ μοι ἀποδοθῆναι, ἀποδέδεικται.
That I do not claim, gentlemen of the jury, that you vote the claim to me against justice, but that I myself, having released much of my own to the city, claim that this be restored to me, has been demonstrated.
ἤδη δέ μοι δοκεῖ δίκαιον εἶναι καὶ δεηθῆναι ὑμῶν τε καὶ τῶν συνδίκων ἐναντίον ὑμῶν.
And now it seems to me to be just also to make my petition both to you and to the public advocates in your presence.