§18οἳ τὰ ἐκ τῶν κύρβεων μόνον ἔθυον.
who offered only what was prescribed on the cyrbes.
καίτοι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, περὶ εὐσεβείας οὐ παρὰ Νικομάχου χρὴ μανθάνειν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν γεγενημένων σκοπεῖν.
And yet, gentlemen of the jury, we ought not to learn about piety from Nicomachus, but to judge from what has actually happened.
οἱ τοίνυν πρόγονοι τὰ ἐκ τῶν κύρβεων θύοντες μεγίστην καὶ εὐδαιμονεστάτην τῶν Ἑλληνίδων τὴν πόλιν παρέδοσαν, ὥστε ἄξιον ἡμῖν τὰς αὐτὰς ἐκείνοις θυσίας ποιεῖσθαι, καὶ εἰ μηδὲν διʼ ἄλλο, τῆς τύχης ἕνεκα τῆς ἐξ ἐκείνων τῶν ἱερῶν γεγενημένης.
For our ancestors, by offering the sacrifices prescribed on the cyrbes, handed down to us a city that was the greatest and most prosperous in Greece; so that it is proper for us to offer the same sacrifices as they did, if for no other reason, for the sake of the good fortune that resulted from those rites.
§19πῶς δʼ ἄν τις εὐσεβέστερος γένοιτο ἐμοῦ, ὅστις ἀξιῶ πρῶτον μὲν κατὰ τὰ πάτρια θύειν, ἔπειτα ἃ μᾶλλον συμφέρει τῇ πόλει, ἔτι δὲ ἃ ὁ δῆμος ἐψηφίσατο καὶ δυνησόμεθα δαπανᾶν ἐκ τῶν προσιόντων χρημάτων;
And how could anyone be more pious than I am, since I demand, first, that we offer sacrifices according to our ancestral customs; secondly, those which are more advantageous to the city; and further, those which the people decreed and which we shall be able to afford out of our incoming revenues?
σὺ δέ, ὦ Νικόμαχε, τούτων τἀναντία πεποίηκας· ἀναγράψας γὰρ πλείω τῶν προσταχθέντων αἴτιος γεγένησαι τὰ προσιόντα χρήματα εἰς ταῦτα μὲν ἀναλίσκεσθαι, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πατρίοις θυσίαις ἐπιλείπειν.
But you, Nicomachus, have done the opposite of this; for by transcribing more than was commanded, you have become the cause of our incoming revenues being spent on these, while falling short for our ancestral sacrifices.
§20αὐτίκα πέρυσιν ἱερὰ ἄθυτα τριῶν ταλάντων γεγένηται τῶν ἐν ταῖς κύρβεσι γεγραμμένων.
For instance, last year, sacrifices amounting to three talents, which were written in the cyrbes, went unoffered.
καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε εἰπεῖν ὡς οὐχ ἱκανὰ ἦν ἃ προσῆλθε τῇ πόλει· εἰ γὰρ οὗτος μὴ πλείω ἀνέγραψεν ἓξ ταλάντοις, εἴς τε τὰς θυσίας τὰς πατρίους ἂν ἐξήρκεσε καὶ τρία τάλαντα ἂν περιεγένετο τῇ πόλει.
And it is impossible to say that the revenues coming into the city were insufficient; for if this man had not transcribed six talents more than was prescribed, there would have been enough for the ancestral sacrifices, and three talents would have remained as a surplus for the city.
περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ μάρτυρας ὑμῖν παρέξομαι.
And concerning what I have said, I will present witnesses to you.
§21Μάρτυρες
ἐνθυμεῖσθε τοίνυν, ὧ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι, ὅταν μὲν κατὰ τὰς συγγραφὰς ποιῶμεν, ἅπαντα τὰ πάτρια θύεται, ἐπειδὰν δὲ κατὰ τὰς στήλας ἃς οὗτος ἀνέγραψε, πολλὰ τῶν ἱερῶν καταλύεται.
[Witnesses] Bear in mind then, gentlemen of the jury, that whenever we act according to the agreements, all ancestral sacrifices are offered, but when we act according to the stelai which this man transcribed, many of the rites are abolished.
κἀν τούτοις ὁ ἱερόσυλος περιτρέχει, λέγων ὡς εὐσέβειαν ἀλλʼ οὐκ εὐτέλειαν ἀνέγραψε· καὶ εἰ μὴ ταῦτα ὑμῖν ἀρέσκει, ἐξαλείφειν κελεύει, καὶ ἐκ τούτων οἴεται πείθειν ὡς οὐδὲν ἀδικεῖ· ὃς ἐν δυοῖν μὲν ἐτοῖν πλείω ἤδη τοῦ δέοντος δώδεκα ταλάντοις ἀνήλωσε, παρʼ ἕκαστον δὲ τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπεχείρησεν ἓξ ταλάντοις τὴν πόλιν ζημιῶσαι, §22καὶ ταῦτα ὁρῶν αὐτὴν ἀποροῦσαν χρημάτων καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους μὲν ἀπειλοῦντας, ὅταν μὴ ἀποπέμψωμεν αὐτοῖς τὰ χρήματα, Βοιωτοὺς δὲ σύλας ποιουμένους, ὅτι οὐ δυνάμεθα δύο τάλαντα ἀποδοῦναι, τοὺς δὲ νεωσοίκους καὶ τὰ τείχη περικαταρρέοντα, εἰδὼς δὲ ὅτι ἡ βουλὴ ἡ ἀεὶ βουλεύουσα, ὅταν μὲν ἔχῃ ἱκανὰ χρήματα εἰς διοίκησιν, οὐδὲν ἐξαμαρτάνει, ὅταν δὲ εἰς ἀπορίαν καταστῇ, ἀναγκάζεται εἰσαγγελίας δέχεσθαι καὶ δημεύειν τὰ τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων τοῖς τὰ πονηρότατα λέγουσι πείθεσθαι.
And in the midst of this, this temple-robber runs about, saying that he transcribed piety and not parsimony; and if these things do not please you, he bids you erase them, and by this he thinks to persuade you that he does no wrong—he who in two years has already spent twelve talents more than was necessary, and in each year has attempted to penalize the city to the extent of six talents, and this, though he saw that the city was in want of money, and that the Lacedaemonians were threatening us when we did not send them their money, and the Boeotians were making reprisals because we could not repay two talents, and the ship-sheds and the walls were falling into ruin, and though he knew that the Council in office for the time being, as long as it has sufficient money for administration, commits no errors, but when it falls into difficulties, is forced to receive impeachments, to confiscate the property of citizens, and to yield to those of the speakers who say the most unprincipled things.
§23χρὴ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, μὴ τοῖς βουλεύουσιν ἑκάστοτε ὀργίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς εἰς τοιαύτας ἀπορίας καθιστᾶσι τὴν πόλιν.
It is necessary therefore, gentlemen of the jury, not to be angry on each occasion with those who serve on the Council, but with those who bring the city into such difficulties.
προσέχουσι δὲ τὸν νοῦν οἱ βουλόμενοι τὰ κοινὰ κλέπτειν, ὅπως Νικόμαχος ἀγωνιεῖται· οἷς ὑμεῖς, ἐὰν μὴ τοῦτον τιμωρήσησθε, πολλὴν ἄδειαν ποιήσετε· ἐὰν δὲ καταψηφισάμενοι τῶν ἐσχάτων αὐτῶ τιμήσητε, τῇ αὐτῇ ψήφῳ τούς τε ἄλλους βελτίους ποιήσετε καὶ παρὰ τούτου δίκην εἰληφότες ἔσεσθε.
And those who wish to steal the public funds are watching to see how Nicomachus will fare in his trial; to whom, if you do not punish this man, you will grant great impunity; but if you condemn him and sentence him to the extreme penalty, by the same vote you will make the others better and you will have exacted satisfaction from this man.
§24ἐπίστασθε δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, ὅτι παράδειγμα τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔσται μὴ τολμᾶν εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐξαμαρτάνειν οὐχ ὅταν τοὺς ἀδυνάτους εἰπεῖν κολάζητε, ἀλλʼ ὅταν παρὰ τῶν δυναμένων λέγειν δίκην λαμβάνητε.
And you know, gentlemen of the jury, that there will be an example to the others not to dare to wrong you, not when you punish those who are unable to speak, but when you exact punishment from those who are powerful in speech.
τίς οὖν τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐπιτηδειότερος Νικομάχου δοῦναι δίκην;
Who then of those in the city is more suitable to pay the penalty than Nicomachus?
τίς ἐλάττω τὴν πόλιν ἀγαθὰ πεποίηκεν ἢ πλείω ἠδίκηκεν;
Who has done fewer services or more wrongs to the city?
§25ὃς καὶ τῶν ὁσίων καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀναγραφεὺς γενόμενος εἰς ἀμφότερα ταῦτα ἡμάρτηκεν.
who, having become a transcriber of both secular laws and sacred rites, has sinned against both.
ἀναμνήσθητε δὲ ὅτι πολλοὺς ἤδη τῶν πολιτῶν ἐπὶ κλοπῇ χρημάτων ἀπεκτείνατε.
Remember that you have already put many of your citizens to death for theft of money.
καίτοι ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τοσοῦτον μόνον ὑμᾶς ἔβλαψαν ὅσον ἐν τῷ παρόντι, οὗτοι δʼ ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν νόμων ἀναγραφῇ δῶρα λαμβάνοντες εἰς ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον τὴν πόλιν ζημιοῦσι.
And yet those men injured you only for the present moment, whereas these men, by receiving bribes for the transcription of the laws, damage the city for all time.