§16καίτοιγε αὐτὸν ἀκούω λέξειν ὡς οὐ περὶ αὐτοῦ μόνον ἡ δοκιμασία ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ περὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν ἄστει μεινάντων, καὶ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τὰς συνθήκας ὑμᾶς ὑπομνήσειν, ὡς ἐκ τούτων προσληψόμενον αὐτὸν δοκιμαστὰς τοὺς ἐν ἄστει μείναντας.
Yet I hear that he will say that the scrutiny is not concerning him alone, but concerning all those who remained in the city, and that he will remind you of the oaths and agreements, as if he intends on the strength of these to enlist those who remained in the city as his scrutinizers.
ἐγὼ δʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ πλήθους βραχέα πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν βούλομαι, ὅτι ὁ δῆμος οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην ἔχει περὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν ἄστει μεινάντων, ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τῶν τοιαῦτα ἐξαμαρτανόντων οἵαν ἐγώ φημι δεῖν,
But on behalf of the multitude, I wish to say a few words to him: namely, that the people do not hold the same opinion about all those who remained in the city, but concerning those who commit such wrongs, they hold such an opinion as I say they ought, and concerning the others, the opposite.
§17περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων τὴν ἐναντίαν. τεκμήριον δέ· οὐ γὰρ ἔλαττον τούτους ἡ πόλις τετίμηκε τῶν ἐπὶ Φυλὴν ἐλθόντων καὶ τὸν Πειραιᾶ καταλαβόντων.
And here is the proof: for the city has honored these men no less than those who went to Phyle and seized the Piraeus.
εἰκότως· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἴσασιν ὁποῖοι τινες ἐν δημοκρατίᾳ μόνῃ γεγένηνται, ὁποῖοι δʼ ἄν τινες ἐν ὀλιγαρχίᾳ γένοιντο, οὔπω πεῖραν εἰλήφασι· παρὰ δὲ τούτων ἑκατέρας τῆς πολιτείας ἱκανὴν βάσανον ἔχουσιν, ὥστʼ εἰκότως πιστεύειν.
Reasonably so; for while they know what sort of men the former have been under democracy alone, they have not yet had experience of what sort they might become under an oligarchy; but from the latter, they have sufficient proof of their conduct under both constitutions, so that they reasonably trust them.
§18καὶ ἡγοῦνταί γε διὰ μὲν τοὺς τοιούτους συλληφθέντας τότε ἀποθανεῖν, διὰ δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐκφυγεῖν, ἐπεὶ εἴ γε τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην ἅπαντες ἔσχον, οὔτʼ ἂν φυγὴ οὔτʼ ἂν κάθοδος οὔτʼ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἂν τῶν γεγενημένων τῇ πόλει συνέβη.
And they believe that it was because of such men as these that those who were arrested at that time perished, but because of the others that they escaped; since, if all had held the same opinion, neither exile, nor return, nor any other of the things that happened to the city would have occurred.
§19ἀλλὰ καὶ ὃ ἄλογον δοκεῖ εἶναι παρά τισιν, ὅπως ποτὲ πολλοὶ ὄντες ὑπʼ ὀλίγων τῶν ἐν Πειραιεῖ ἡττήθησαν, οὐδαμόθεν ἄλλοθεν ἢ ἐκ τῆς τούτων προνοίας γεγένηται· οὗτοι γὰρ εἵλοντο μετὰ τῶν κατελθόντων πολιτεύεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ μετὰ τῶν τριάκοντα Λακεδαιμονίοις δουλεύειν.
And even what seems absurd to some—how on earth, being many, they were defeated by the few in the Piraeus—has arisen from no other source than from the foresight of these men; for they chose to share in the government with those who returned rather than to serve the Lacedaemonians along with the Thirty.
§20τοιγάρτοι ἀντὶ τούτων αὐτοὺς ὁ δῆμος ταῖς μεγίσταις τιμαῖς τετίμηκεν, ἱππαρχεῖν καὶ στρατηγεῖν καὶ πρεσβεύειν ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν αἱρούμενοι· καὶ οὐδέποτε αὐτοῖς μετεμέλησεν.
Therefore, in return for these things, the people have honored them with the greatest honors, choosing them to serve as cavalry commanders, generals, and envoys on their behalf, and they have never regretted it.
καὶ διὰ μέν γε τοὺς πολλὰ ἐξαμαρτόντας τὰς δοκιμασίας εἶναι ἐψηφίσαντο, διὰ δὲ τοὺς μηδὲν τοιοῦτον πράξαντας τὰς συνθήκας ἐποιήσαντο.
And indeed, it was because of those who committed many wrongs that they voted for the scrutinies to exist, but because of those who did no such thing that they made the agreements.
τοσαῦτά σοι ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ δήμου ἀποκρίνομαι.
Such is my reply to you on behalf of the people.
§21ὑμέτερον δὴ ἔργον ἐστίν, ὦ ἄνδρες βουλευταί, σκέψασθαι ποτέρῳ ἂν πιθόμενοι περὶ τῆς δοκιμασίας ταύτης ἄμεινον βουλεύσαισθε, πότερον ἐμοὶ ἢ Θρασυβούλῳ, ὃς αὐτῷ ἀπολογήσεται.
Now, men of the Council, it is your duty to consider by being persuaded by which of us you would deliberate better concerning this scrutiny: whether by me or by Thrasybulus, who will defend him.
περὶ μὲν οὖν ἐμοῦ ἢ τοῦ πατρὸς ἢ τῶν προγόνων οὐδὲν οὗτος εἰπεῖν ἕξει εἰς μισοδημίαν.
Now, concerning me, my father, or my ancestors, this man will have nothing to say to accuse us of hatred toward the democracy.
οὔτε γὰρ ὡς ὀλιγαρχίας μετέσχον (ὕστερον γὰρ τῶν χρόνων τούτων ἀνὴρ εἶναι ἐδοκιμάσθην), οὔθʼ ὡς ὁ πατήρ (πρὸ γὰρ τῶν στάσεων πολὺ ἐν Σικελίᾳ ἄρχων ἐτελεύτησεν)· §22οὐδʼ ὡς οἱ πρόγονοι ὑπὸ τοῖς τυράννοις ἐγένοντο· στασιάζοντες γὰρ πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον διετέλεσαν.
For neither did I take part in the oligarchy (for I was approved as a man after those times), nor did my father (for he died long before the dissensions while commanding in Sicily); nor were my ancestors under the power of the tyrants, for they spent all their time in rebellion against them.
ἀλλὰ μὲν δὴ οὐδὲ τὴν οὐσίαν ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ φήσει κτήσασθαι, εἰς δὲ τὴν πόλιν οὐδὲν ἀνηλωκέναι· πᾶν γὰρ τοὐναντίον, ἐν εἰρήνῃ μὲν ὀγδοηκοντατάλαντος ἡμῶν ὁ οἶκος ἐγένετο, εἰς δὲ τὴν τῆς πόλεως σωτηρίαν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἅπας ἀνηλώθη.
But indeed, he will not say that we acquired our property during the war and spent nothing on the city; for quite the contrary, in peace our estate amounted to eighty talents, but in the war it was entirely spent for the salvation of the city.
§23ἐγὼ δὲ περὶ τούτου τρία ἕξω εἰπεῖν τηλικαῦτα τὸ μέγεθος, ὥστʼ ἄξιον εἶναι ἕκαστον ἔργον θανάτου· πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι τὴν ἐν Βοιωτοῖς πολιτείαν χρήματα λαβὼν μετέστησε καὶ τῆς συμμαχίας ἡμᾶς ταύτης ἀπεστέρησεν, ἔπειτα ὅτι τὰς ναῦς προὔδωκε καὶ τὴν πόλιν περὶ σωτηρίας βουλεύεσθαι πεποίηκεν, §24ἔπειτα ὅτι παρὰ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων, οὓς αὐτὸς ἀπώλεσε, τριάκοντα μνᾶς ἐσυκοφάντησεν, οὐ φάσκων αὐτοὺς λύσεσθαι, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο αὐτῷ παρὰ σφῶν αὐτῶν παράσχοιεν.
But concerning him, I shall have three things to say of such great magnitude that each deed is worthy of death: first, that having received money, he subverted the constitution in Boeotia and deprived us of this alliance; secondly, that he betrayed the ships and forced the city to deliberate concerning its very salvation; thirdly, that from the prisoners, whom he himself had ruined, he extorted thirty minae by claiming that they would not be ransomed unless they provided this money to him from their own resources.
συνειδότες οὖν ἡμῶν ἑκατέρῳ τὸν βίον, πρὸς ταῦτα βουλεύεσθε ὁποτέρῳ χρὴ πιστεύειν περὶ τῆς Εὐάνδρου δοκιμασίας, καὶ οὕτως οὐκ ἐξαμαρτήσεσθε.
Therefore, knowing the life of each of us, deliberate on these grounds which of the two you ought to trust concerning the scrutiny of Evander, and in this way you will not make a mistake.