Men of the jury

However, I shall devote a larger part of my speech to exposing the character of these men than to proving that their testimony is false.

But now I make of you a fair request, both to decide regarding the testimony whether it is true or false, and at the same time to consider the whole case from the beginning.

I, therefore, beg of you hear me with goodwill, while I rehearse all the facts from the beginning, in order that from these you may see the magnitude of the wrongs I have suffered, and know that the jurymen were deceived and that these men have given testimony which is false.

Yet if Theopompus, the father of the defendant, is dead, the laws are not dead, nor is justice, nor are the jurymen with whom the verdict rests.

and whichever of these two shall in your judgement speak most in harmony with justice and the laws, to him, it is plain, you jurymen will give your votes.

for you, men of the jury, will thus more easily follow the course of the whole argument, and these men will be exhibited in their true character, and you will see that they began long ago and still continue to play their tricks, and to think that they may do whatever occurs to them.

I also know that I formerly obeyed you, a lisping child of six years old, and bought you a go-cart at the Diasia, with the first obolus I received from the Heliaea.

The Decision

To prove that I am speaking the truth in this, take the decision setting aside the judgement for non-appearance and this complaint.

When, a man has thus given judgement against himself that he is properly Boeotus, what verdict can he demand that you sworn jurors shall give?

I beg you all, men of the jury, to listen to me with goodwill, while I speak as best I can;

But do not, men of the jury, I beg you by Zeus and the Gods, do not be overwhelmed by the noise he makes.

so do you demand of Boeotus that he prove to you, either that I am not speaking the truth, or that it is not right that I should recover the marriage-portion;

It is worth your while, men of the jury, to hear some remarks also about the other statements made by Callicles.

Do not, then, men of the jury, I beg you in the name of Zeus and the gods, leave me as the prey of these men, when I have done no wrong.

But if, once I have got the water on my property, I am not to be allowed to drain it off either into the road or onto private land, men of the jury, what course in the name of the gods remains for me?

For, grievous as was the injury which at that time fell to my lot, it was no more so than the subsequent insults of the defendant.

With gross outrage I have met, men of the jury, at the hands of the defendant, Conon, and have suffered such bodily injury that for a very long time neither my relatives nor any of the attending physicians thought that I should survive.

But consider, which of us is more deserving of pity, a man who has suffered such treatment as I have at the hands of the defendant, if I am to go forth having met with the further disgrace of losing my suit, or Conon, if he is to be punished?

The Phaselites, men of the jury, are up to no new tricks;

If he can so prove it to you who sit to decide cases of mercantile contracts, I certainly concede that he is the cleverest of men.

but I beg of you, men of the jury, to give me a favorable hearing in regard to this matter and, if I prove to you that he has wronged us, who lent the money, and you as well, to render us the aid that is our due.

All the facts of the case, then, you have heard, men of the jury, all that took place at the first in connection with this inheritance, and all that occurred subsequently, as soon as we commenced our suit.

I beg you, men of the jury, to come to the aid of my father and myself, if our pleading shall seem just, and not suffer men who are poor and without influence to be crushed by the lawless men marshalled against us.

It is the fault of Leochares, the defendant, men of the jury, that he is himself being brought to trial, and that I, despite my youth, am addressing you, for he claims the right to inherit what does not belong to him, and has made a false affidavit of objections before the archon in support of his claim.

I should not be surprised if they try to shed tears and make themselves seem worthy of pity.

You hear the law, men of the jury, expressly stating the several cases in which there shall be no actions.

For there are two of them, and they have entered four suits against us, all for a like amount, each for three thousand drachmae damages;

When the jurors had thus decided, the archon Pythodotus in accordance with the law struck out the claim of the defendant;

and as they had the last word, they induced the jurors to decide that the defendant was absent on account of the trial and not on public service.

The defendant Olympiodorus was the first to plead, and he said whatever he pleased and offered whatever testimony he saw fit, while I, men of the jury, sat in silence on the opposite platform.

and the indignation of the jurymen, who were misled by the plaintiff, found him guilty in the matter upon which they sat in judgement.

I wish to tell you also the means by which he misled the former jury, and convicted Evergus, that you may realize that in this trial also there will be no limit to his impudence and that he will shrink from no falsehoods.

For, while hosts of cases have been tried in Athens, I think it will be shown that no man has ever brought before you one so marked by shamelessness and malice as this, which this fellow has had the audacity to bring into your court.

Declaration

The Declaration

The Declaration

By doing what, men of the jury?

None the less, men of the jury, I beg you to give heed.

Now, note this, men of the jury, note this, I beg of you.

I bid adieu to this fellow and appeal to those to whom my father left me as my helpers and friends—to you, men of the jury.

You must each of you consider what slave he left at home, and then imagine that you have suffered from him the same treatment that I have suffered from Phormio.

If they declare that they have testified, one person that he lived as ward under a will, another that he served as guardian, and another that he has the will in his possession, demand of them, What will?

whether according to the laws of the state, or according to the laws which Phormio enacts for himself.

Even of myself, men of the jury, I could pretty well suspect that this fellow Stephanus would not be at a loss for something to say in defence of his testimony;

For all pieces of evidence which the parties to a suit bring before the court when they tender challenges to one another, they bring in by means of depositions.

That Callippus is able to achieve his ends contrary to the laws and contrary to justice, you have heard, men of the jury, from the deposition.

If you do this, you will have rendered a decision both just and in accordance with the laws, and moreover one that is worthy of yourselves and of my father;

There is no situation harder to deal with, men of the jury, than when a man possessing both reputation and ability to speak is audacious enough to lie and is well provided with witnesses.

—if, I say, you disregard all these tricks, and reach an adverse verdict, you will decide aright.

Nicostratus, whom you see here in court, men of the jury, was a neighbor of mine in the country, and a man of my own age.

Of this you will find convincing proof, men of the jury, in the amount of the valuation, and in my having filed the information in my own name.

In cases where the charges indeed are of a private nature, but the injury is public, it is surely fitting that you should listen and decide aright.

Be assured that it will be no more in my interest than in your own that you will punish Polycles, nor will you be showing concern merely for those who have served as trierarchs in the past;

And by the gods, men of the jury, I beg you not to think that I am talking idly, if I set forth at some length what I have expended and what I have done, to show that my several services were rendered opportunely, and that they were helpful to the state.

These things you all heard in the popular assembly at that time, and you remember how each man of you felt toward him;

All matters, men of the jury, in proof of which I was able to provide witnesses, have been proved to you by witnesses;

Let no one of you think, men of the jury, that it is a thing beyond belief that Timotheus should have owed money to my father and is now being prosecuted by me in this suit.

Both jurisdictions were substantially transferred in the end to the Heliæa, the High Court of Popular Justice, and the functions of the Archons and the Areopagus became either merely ministerial or quite insignificant.