§45ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀξιῶ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, οὕτω πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα τεκμήρια παρασχομένους ἡμᾶς ἀπολέσθαι ἀδίκως.
Therefore, gentlemen of the jury, I do not think it right that we, who have provided so many and such great proofs, should be unjustly ruined.
ἀκήκοα γὰρ ἔγωγε καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἄλλων πρεσβυτέρων, ὅτι οὐ νῦν μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνῳ πολλῶν ἐψεύσθητε τῆς οὐσίας, οἳ ζῶντες μὲν πλουτεῖν ἐδόκουν, ἀποθανόντες δὲ πολὺ παρὰ τὴν δόξαν τὴν ὑμετέραν ἐφάνησαν.
For I have heard from my father and other older men that not only now but also in former times you were mistaken about the property of many men, who while living were thought to be rich, but when they died were shown to be far different from your expectation.
§46αὐτίκα Ἰσχομάχῳ, ἕως ἔζη, πάντες ᾤοντο εἶναι πλεῖν ἢ ἑβδομήκοντα τάλαντα, ὡς ἐγὼ ἀκούω. ἐνειμάσθην δὲ τὼ ὑεῖ οὐδὲ δέκα τάλαντα ἑκάτερος ἀποθανόντος.
For instance, in the case of Ischomachus, while he lived, everyone thought he had more than seventy talents, as I hear; but when he died, his two sons divided not even ten talents each.
στεφάνῳ δὲ τῷ Θάλλου ἐλέγετο εἶναι πλεῖν ἢ πεντήκοντα τάλαντα, ἀποθανόντος δʼ ἡ οὐσία ἐφάνη περὶ ἕνδεκα τάλαντα.
And Stephanos, the son of Thallus, was said to have more than fifty talents, but when he died, his estate appeared to be about eleven talents.
§47ὁ τοίνυν Νικίου οἶκος προσεδοκᾶτο εἶναι οὐκ ἔλαττον ἢ ἑκατὸν ταλάντων, καὶ τούτων τὰ πολλὰ ἔνδον.
Furthermore, the estate of Nicias was expected to be not less than a hundred talents, and most of this [was thought to be] inside the house.
Νικήρατος δὲ ὅτʼ ἀπέθνῃσκεν, ἀργύριον μὲν ἢ χρυσίον οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ἔφη καταλείπειν οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἣν κατέλιπε τῷ ὑεῖ, οὐ πλείονος ἀξία ἐστὶν ἢ τεττάρων καὶ δέκα ταλάντων.
Yet, when Niceratus was dying, he himself said he was leaving no silver or gold at all, and the property which he did leave to his son is worth not more than fourteen talents.
§48Καλλίας τοίνυν ὁ Ἱππονίκου, ὅτε νεωστὶ ἐτεθνήκει ὁ πατήρ, πλεῖστα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐδόκει κεκτῆσθαι, καὶ ὥς φασι, διακοσίων ταλάντων ἐτιμήσατο τὰ αὑτοῦ ὁ πάππος, τὸ δὲ τούτου νῦν τίμημα οὐδὲ δυοῖν ταλάντοιν ἐστί.
Again, Callias, the son of Hipponicus, when his father had recently died, was thought to possess more than any other of the Greeks, and as they say, his grandfather valued his own property at two hundred talents, but the present valuation of this man's property is not even two talents.
Κλεοφῶντα δὲ πάντες ἴστε, ὅτε, ὅτι πολλὰ ἔτη διεχείρισε τὰ τῆς πόλεως πάντα καὶ προσεδοκᾶτο πάνυ πολλὰ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἔχειν· ἀποθανόντος δʼ αὐτοῦ οὐδαμοῦ δῆλα τὰ χρήματα, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ προσήκοντες καὶ οἱ κηδεσταί, §49παρʼ οἷς ἂν κατέλιπεν, ὁμολογουμένως πένητές εἰσι.
And you all know about Cleophon, that for many years he managed all the affairs of the city and was expected to have very much from his office; but when he died, his money was nowhere to be seen, but both his relatives and his connections by marriage, with whom he would have left it if he had left any, are admittedly poor.
φαινόμεθα δὴ καὶ τῶν ἀρχαιοπλούτων πολὺ ἐψευσμένοι καὶ τῶν νεωστὶ ἐν δόξῃ γεγενημένων.
Thus it is clear that we have been greatly mistaken both in the case of those who were rich of old and of those who have recently gained a reputation.
αἴτιον δέ μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι, ὅτι ῥαδίως τινὲς τολμῶσι λέγειν ὡς ὁ δεῖνα ἔχει τάλαντα πολλὰ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς.
The cause, in my opinion, is that some people easily venture to say that so-and-so has many talents from his office.
καὶ ὅσα μὲν περὶ τεθνεώτων λέγουσιν, οὐ πάνυ θαυμάζω (οὐ γὰρ ὑπό γε ἐκείνων ἐξελεγχθεῖεν ἄν), ἀλλʼ ὅσα ζώντων ἐπιχειροῦσι καταψεύδεσθαι.
And as to what they say about the dead, I do not wonder very much (for they could not be refuted by them), but I do wonder at what they attempt to falsely accuse the living of.
αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἔναγχος ἠκούετε ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, §50ὡς Διότιμος ἔχοι τάλαντα τετταράκοντα πλείω ἢ ὅσα αὐτὸς ὡμολόγει παρὰ τῶν ναυκλήρων καὶ ἐμπόρων· καὶ ταῦτα, ἐπειδὴ ἦλθεν, ἐκείνου ἀπογράφοντος καὶ χαλεπῶς φέροντος ὅτι ἀπὼν διεβάλλετο, οὐδεὶς ἐξήλεγξε, δεομένης μὲν τῆς πόλεως χρημάτων,
Indeed, you yourselves recently heard in the Assembly that Diotimus had forty talents more than what he himself admitted having received from shipowners and merchants; and though the city was in need of money and he was willing to render an account, no one refuted him.
§51ἐθέλοντος δὲ ἐκείνου λογίσασθαι. ἐνθυμεῖσθε τοίνυν οἷον ἂν ἐγένετο, εἰ Ἀθηναίων ἁπάντων ἀκηκοότων ὅτι τετταράκοντα τάλαντα ἔχοι Διότιμος, εἶτα ἔπαθέ τι πρὶν καταπλεῦσαι δεῦρο.
Consider, then, what would have happened if, when all the Athenians had heard that Diotimus had forty talents, he had met with some accident before sailing back here.
εἶτα οἱ προσήκοντες ἂν αὐτοῦ ἐν κινδύνῳ ἦσαν τῷ μεγίστῳ, εἰ ἔδει αὐτοὺς πρὸς τοσαύτην διαβολὴν ἀπολογεῖσθαι, μὴ εἰδότας μηδὲν τῶν πεπραγμένων.
Then his relatives would have been in the greatest danger, if they had to make a defense against such a great slander without knowing anything of what had been done.
αἴτιοι οὖν εἰσι καὶ ὑμῖν πολλῶν ἤδη ψευσθῆναι καὶ δὴ ἀδίκως γέ τινας ἀπολέσθαι οἱ ῥαδίως τολμῶντες ψεύδεσθαι καὶ συκοφαντεῖν ἀνθρώπους ἐπιθυμοῦντες.
Therefore, those who easily venture to lie and desire to slander people are the cause of your having already been mistaken in many cases, and indeed of some being unjustly ruined.
§52ἐπεὶ οἴομαι ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ὅτι Ἀλκιβιάδης τέτταρα ἢ πέντε ἔτη ἐφεξῆς ἐστρατήγει ἐπικρατῶν καὶ νενικηκὼς Λακεδαιμονίους, καὶ διπλάσια ἐκείνῳ ἠξίουν αἱ πόλεις διδόναι ἢ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τῶν στρατηγῶν, ὥστʼ ᾤοντο εἶναί τινες αὐτῷ πλεῖν ἢ ἑκατὸν τάλαντα.
For I think you know that Alcibiades for four or five years in succession was general, in command and victorious over the Lacedaemonians, and the cities thought fit to give him twice as much as to any other of the generals, so that some thought he had more than a hundred talents.
ὁ δʼ ἀποθανὼν ἐδήλωσεν ὅτι οὐκ ἀληθῆ ταῦτα ἦν· ἐλάττω γὰρ οὐσίαν κατέλιπε τοῖς παισὶν ἢ αὐτὸς παρὰ τῶν ἐπιτροπευσάντων παρέλαβεν.
But when he died, he showed that this was not true; for he left a smaller estate to his children than he himself had received from his guardians.
§53ὅτι μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνῳ τοιαῦτα ἐγίγνετο, ῥᾴδιον γνῶναι· φασὶ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀρίστους καὶ σοφωτάτους μάλιστα ἐθέλειν μεταγιγνώσκειν.
That such things happened also in former times, therefore, is easy to learn; and they say that the best and wisest men are most willing to change their minds.
εἰ οὖν δοκοῦμεν εἰκότα λέγειν καὶ ἱκανὰ τεκμήρια παρέχεσθαι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, πάσῃ τέχνῃ καὶ μηχανῇ ἐλεήσατε· ὡς ἡμεῖς τῆς μὲν διαβολῆς οὕτω μεγάλης οὔσης ἀεὶ προσεδοκῶμεν κρατήσειν μετὰ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς· ὑμῶν δὲ μηδενὶ τρόπῳ ἐθελησάντων πεισθῆναι οὐδʼ ἐλπὶς οὐδεμία σωτηρίας ἐδόκει ἡμῖν εἶναι.
If, then, we seem to speak reasonably and to provide sufficient proofs, gentlemen of the jury, by every art and device show us mercy; for we always expected that we would overcome a slander, great as it is, with the truth; but if you should be unwilling to be persuaded by any means, then we thought we had no hope of safety.
§54ἀλλὰ πρὸς θεῶν Ὀλυμπίων, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, βούλεσθε ἡμᾶς δικαίως σῶσαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἀδίκως ἀπολέσαι, καὶ πιστεύετε τούτοις ἀληθῆ λέγειν, οἳ ἂν καὶ σιωπῶντες ἐν ἅπαντι τῷ βίῳ παρέχωσι σώφρονας σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καὶ δικαίους.
But, by the Olympian gods, gentlemen of the jury, wish rather to save us justly than to ruin us unjustly, and believe that those speak the truth who, even while keeping silent throughout their whole life, show themselves to be temperate and just.