Antiphon, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [word count] [lemma count] [Antiph.]. | ||
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5.22Nor again, as is clear, was I making my voyage to Aenus without good reason. Nor did we put in at this particular spot by prearrangement of any sort; we were forced to do so. And the transhipment after coming to anchor was similarly forced upon us, and not part of any plot or ruse. The boat on which we were passengers had no deck, whereas that on to which we transhipped had one and the rain was the reason for the exchange. I will produce witnesses to satisfy you of this. Mytilene , that is to say, it was upon my suggestion that it was decided to send one,
5.24but when none of the passengers or the personal companions of Herodes volunteered to go, I offered to send my own attendant; and I hardly imagine that I was deliberately proposing to send someone who would inform against me. Finally, when the search had failed to reveal any trace of Herodes either at Mytilene or anywhere else and, with the return of fair sailing-weather, the rest of the boats began standing out to sea, I likewise took my departure. I will produce witnesses to prove these statements to you. Aenus , when Herodes was missing, not a soul accused me, although the prosecution had already heard the news; otherwise I should never have taken my departure. For the moment the true facts of the matter were too much for any charge which they could bring; and, moreover, I was still on the island. It was not until I had resumed my voyage, and the prosecution had conspired to form this plot of theirs upon my life, that they made their accusation.
5.26Their story is that it was on the shore that Herodes was killed, and that I, who did not leave the boat at all, struck him upon the head with a stone. Yet while they have detailed information of this, they cannot give any plausible account of how the man came to disappear. Clearly, the probabilities suggest that the crime was committed somewhere in the neighborhood of the harbor. On the one hand, Herodes was drunk; and on the other hand, it was at night that he left the boat. He probably would not have been in a condition to control his own movements, nor could anyone who wished to take him a long way off by night have found any plausible excuse for doing so.
5.27Yet in spite of a two days' search both in the harbor and at a distance from it, no eyewitness, no bloodstain, and no clue of any other description was found. But I will go further. I accept the prosecution's story. I can indeed produce witnesses to prove that I did not quit the boat. note But suppose as much as you please that I did quit it; it is still utterly improbable that the man should have remained undiscovered after his disappearance, if he did not go very far from the sea.
5.28However, we are told that he was thrown into the sea. From what boat? Clearly, the boat came from the harbor itself; and in that case, why should it not have been identified? For that matter, we should also have expected to find some traces in the boat, seeing that a dead man had been placed in it and thrown overboard in the dark. The prosecution claim, indeed, to have found traces—but only in the boat on board of which he was drinking and which he quitted, the one boat on which they themselves agree that he was not murdered. The boat from which he was thrown into the sea they have not discovered; they have found neither it itself nor any trace of it. I will produce witnesses to prove these statements to you. Aenus and the boat on which Herodes and I had been drinking note had reached Mytilene , the prosecution first of all went on board and conducted a search. On finding the bloodstains, note they claimed that this was where Herodes had met his end. But the suggestion proved an unfortunate one, as the blood turned out to be that of the animals sacrificed. So they abandoned that line, and instead seized the two men and examined them under torture. note
5.30The first, who was tortured there and then, said nothing to damage me. The second was tortured several days later, after being in the prosecution's company throughout the interval. It was he who was induced by them to incriminate me falsely. I will produce witnesses to confirm these facts.
Witnesses5.23After crossing into the other boat, we fell to drinking. Now whereas it is established that Herodes quitted the boat and did not board it again, I did not leave the boat at all that night. Next day, when Herodes was missing, I joined in the search as anxiously as any; if anyone considered the matter serious, I did. Not only was I responsible for the dispatch of a messenger to
Witnesses5.25Those are the facts; now draw the logical conclusions. First, in the interval before I put to sea for
Witnesses5.29After I had departed for
Witnesses5.31You have listened to evidence for the length of the delay before the man's examination under torture; now notice the actual character of that examination. The slave was doubtless promised his freedom: it was certainly to the prosecution alone that he could look for release from his sufferings. Probably both of these considerations induced him to make the false charges against me which he did; he hoped to gain his freedom, and his one immediate wish was to end the torture.
Antiphon, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [word count] [lemma count] [Antiph.]. | ||
<<Antiph. 5.15 | Antiph. 5.26 (Greek) | >>Antiph. 5.36 |
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