Humanitext Reader

Lysias · Defence Against a Charge of Taking Bribes §11-18

Services in the Sea-Fight and Plea against Deprivation

Passage 2 of 3 · Greek

Summary

The defendant pleads to preserve his property based on his past extensive liturgies and his achievements in the last sea-fight. He emphasizes his exemplary behavior as a citizen and asserts his innocence.

§11Μαρτυρία αἱ μὲν τοίνυν σωθεῖσαι τῶν νεῶν δώδεκα ἦσαν· ἐγὼ δʼ ὑμῖν δύο ἐκόμισα, τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν Ναυσιμάχου τριήρη.
Testimony Now then, the ships that were saved were twelve; but I brought back two for you, my own and the trireme of Nausimachus.
καὶ οὕτω πολλοὺς κινδύνους ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κεκινδυνευκὼς καὶ τοσαῦτα ἀγαθὰ εἰργασμένος τὴν πόλιν, νυνὶ δέομαι οὐ δωρεὰν ὥσπερ ἕτεροι ἀντὶ τούτων παρʼ ὑμῶν λαβεῖν, ἀλλὰ μὴ στερηθῆναι τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ, ἡγούμενος καὶ ὑμῖν αἰσχρὸν εἶναι παρά τε ἑκόντος ἐμοῦ καὶ παρʼ ἄκοντος λαμβάνειν.
And having run so many risks on your behalf and performed such great services for the city, now I ask, not to receive a gift from you in return for these as others do, but not to be deprived of my own property, thinking it is shameful for you to receive from me both when I give willingly and when I am unwilling.
§12καὶ οὐ τοσοῦτόν μοι μέλει εἴ με δεῖ τὰ ὄντα ἀπολέσαι· ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἂν δεξαίμην ὑβρισθῆναι, οὐδὲ παραστῆναι τοῖς διαδυομένοις τὰς λῃτουργίας ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀχάριστα εἶναι τὰ εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀνηλωμένα, ἐκείνους δὲ δοκεῖν ὀρθῶς βεβουλεῦσθαι ὅτι ὑμῖν οὐδὲν προεῖνται τῶν σφετέρων αὐτῶν.
And I do not care so much whether I must lose my possessions; but I would not accept being insulted, nor that it should appear to those who evade public services that what I have spent on you has brought me no gratitude, while they are thought to have planned correctly because they have surrendered nothing of their own to you.
ἐὰν οὖν ἐμοὶ πεισθῆτε, τά τε δίκαια ψηφιεῖσθε καὶ τὰ λυσιτελοῦντα ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς αἱρήσεσθε.
If, therefore, you are persuaded by me, you will both vote for what is just and choose what is advantageous to yourselves.
§13ὁρᾶτε γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὰ προσιόντα τῇ πόλει ὡς ὀλίγα ἐστί, καὶ ταῦτα ὡς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐφεστηκότων ἁρπάζεται· ὥστʼ ἄξιον ταύτην ἡγεῖσθαι πρόσοδον βεβαιοτάτην τῇ πόλει, τὰς οὐσίας τῶν ἐθελόντων λῃτουργεῖν.
For you see, gentlemen of the jury, how small the revenues coming to the city are, and how these are plundered by those in charge; so it is right to regard the estates of those willing to perform public services as the most secure revenue for the city.
ἐὰν οὖν εὖ βουλεύσησθε, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐπιμελήσεσθε τῶν ἡμετέρων χρημάτων ἢ τῶν ἰδίων τῶν ὑμετέρων αὐτῶν, §14εἰδότες ὅτι ἕξετε πᾶσι χρῆσθαι τοῖς ἡμετέροις ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον· οἶμαι δὲ πάντας ὑμᾶς ἐπίστασθαι ὅτι τῶν ἐμῶν ἐγὼ πολὺ βελτίων ὑμῖν ἔσομαι ταμίας τῶν τὰ τῆς πόλεως ὑμῖν ταμιευόντων.
If, therefore, you deliberate well, you will care for our money no less than for your own private property, knowing that you will be able to use all our possessions just as before; and I think you all know that I shall be a much better steward of my own property for you than those who steward the city's funds for you.
ἐὰν δʼ ἐμὲ πένητα ποιήσητε, καὶ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀδικήσετε· ἕτεροι δὲ καὶ ταῦτα διανεμοῦνται, ὥσπερ καὶ τἆλλα.
But if you make me poor, you will also do yourselves an injustice; and others will divide this property too, just as they do the rest.
§15ἄξιον δέ ἐστιν ἐνθυμηθῆναι ὅτι πολὺ μᾶλλον ὑμῖν προσήκει τῶν ὑμετέρων ἐμοὶ διδόναι ἢ τῶν ἐμῶν ἐμοὶ ἀμφισβητῆσαι, καὶ πένητα γενόμενον ἐλεῆσαι μᾶλλον ἢ πλουτοῦντι φθονῆσαι, καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχεσθαι τοὺς ἄλλους εἶναι τοιούτους πολίτας, ἵνα τῶν μὲν ὑμετέρων μὴ ἐπιθυμήσωσι, τὰ δὲ σφέτερα αὐτῶν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀναλίσκωσιν.
And it is worth considering that it is much more fitting for you to give me from your own than to dispute with me over mine, and to pity me if I become poor rather than to envy me while I am rich, and to pray to the gods that the other citizens may be of such a character, so that they may not desire your possessions but spend their own on you.
§16ἡγοῦμαι δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί (καὶ μηδεὶς ὑμῶν ἀχθεσθῇ), πολὺ ἂν δικαιότερον ὑμᾶς ὑπὸ τῶν ζητητῶν ἀπογραφῆναι τὰ ἐμὰ ἔχειν, ἢ ἐμὲ νυνὶ κινδυνεύειν ὡς τοῦ δημοσίου χρήματα ἔχοντα.
And I think, gentlemen of the jury (and let none of you be annoyed), that it would be much more just for you to be registered by the investigators as holding my property, than for me now to be in danger on the ground of holding public money.
τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἐμαυτὸν τῇ πόλει παρέχω, ὥστε ἰδίᾳ μὲν τῶν ὄντων φείδομαι, δημοσίᾳ δὲ λῃτουργῶν ἥδομαι, καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῖς περιοῦσι μέγα φρονῶ, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς ἀνηλωμένοις, §17ἡγούμενος τούτων μὲν αὐτὸς αἴτιος εἶναι, τὴν δʼ οὐσίαν ἑτέρους μοι καταλιπεῖν, καὶ διὰ ταύτην μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀδίκως συκοφαντεῖσθαι, διʼ ἐκεῖνα δὲ ὑφʼ ὑμῶν δικαίως σῴζεσθαι.
For I present myself to the city in such a way that in private I spare my possessions, but in public I enjoy performing services, and I do not pride myself on what is left, but on what has been spent on you, believing that I myself am responsible for the latter, while others left me the estate, and that because of the estate I am unjustly slandered by my enemies, but because of the expenditures I am justly saved by you.
ὥστʼ οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἕτεροί με ἐξῃτήσαντο παρʼ ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴ τις τῶν ἐμῶν φίλων τοιοῦτον ἀγῶνα ἠγωνίζετο, ὑμᾶς ἂν ἠξίουν ἐμοὶ δοῦναι τὴν χάριν, καὶ εἰ παρʼ ἄλλοις ἐκινδύνευον, ὑμᾶς εἶναι τοὺς δεομένους ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.
Therefore, it would not be reasonable for others to plead for me from you, but even if any of my friends were fighting such a case, I would expect you to grant me the favor, and if I were in danger before other courts, you would be the ones pleading on my behalf.
§18οὐ γὰρ ἂν τοῦτό γε εἰπεῖν ἔχοι τις, ὡς πολλὰς ἀρχὰς ἄρξας ἐκ τῶν ὑμετέρων ὠφέλημαι, ἢ ὡς αἰσχρὰς δίκας δεδίκασμαι, ἢ ὡς αἰσχροῦ τινος αἴτιός εἰμι, ἢ ὡς τὰς τῆς πόλεως συμφορὰς ἀσμένως εἶδον· ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων δὲ καὶ τῶν ἰδίων καὶ τῶν δημοσίων οὕτως ἡγοῦμαί μοι πεπολιτεῦσθαι καὶ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι, ὥστε οὐδὲν δεῖν με ἀπολογήσασθαι περὶ αὐτῶν.
For no one could say this, that having held many offices I have profited from your funds, or that I have been prosecuted in shameful lawsuits, or that I am responsible for any shameful deed, or that I gladly saw the disasters of the city; but regarding all things, both private and public, I believe that my conduct as a citizen has been such and that you know it, so that there is no need for me to make any defense concerning them.

Notes

  1. §11παρά τε ἑκόντος ἐμοῦ καὶ παρʼ ἄκοντος λαμβάνειν — The participles ἑκόντος and ἄκοντος contrast voluntary public service with involuntary confiscation of property through a court verdict. The subject of λαμβάνειν refers to the Athenians, pointing out the ethical contradiction in accepting property in both situations.
  2. §12οὐδὲ παραστῆναι τοῖς διαδυομένοις — The intransitive second aorist infinitive παραστῆναι here means 'to occur to the mind' or 'to present itself'. The following accusative with infinitive constructions (ἐμοί... εἶναι, ἐκείνους... δοκεῖν) function as its subject clause, modifying the dative τοῖς διαδυομένοις ('those who evade public services').
  3. §14τῶν ἐμῶν ἐγὼ πολὺ βελτίων ὑμῖν ἔσομαι ταμίας τῶν τὰ τῆς πόλεως ὑμῖν ταμιευόντων — The phrase τῶν ἐμῶν at the beginning is an objective genitive dependent on the noun ταμίας (steward). The genitive of comparison dependent on the comparative βελτίων is the phrase at the end, τῶν τὰ τῆς πόλεως ὑμῖν ταμιευόντων (those who steward the city's funds). The double genitive structure and the hyperbaton emphasize the contrast.
  4. §16ὑμᾶς ὑπὸ τῶν ζητητῶν ἀπογραφῆναι τὰ ἐμὰ ἔχειν — In this accusative and infinitive construction, the subject of ἀπογραφῆναι is ὑμᾶς (you, the citizens). The phrase τὰ ἐμὰ ἔχειν (to hold my property) is supplementary to the passive ἀπογραφῆναι (to be registered/indicted). The speaker paradoxically employs the metaphor of a public inquiry by investigators (ζητηταί) to highlight the absurdity of the state taking over his private property.
  5. §17οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἕτεροί με ἐξῃτήσαντο — The particle ἄν with the aorist indicative (ἐξῃτήσαντο) expresses a past counterfactual condition. It states that, under hypothetical circumstances, 'it would not have been reasonable for others to beg for me from you', contrasting with the speaker's own actual contribution and worthiness.

Cite this passage

Lysias, Defence Against a Charge of Taking Bribes §11-18. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0540.tlg021.humanitext-grc2:11-18

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