Greek Texts & Translations

32.20When, therefore, he refused to be put out of possession by Protus, or to sail back to Sicily for an equitable settlement, and when it was proved that he was an accomplice in all the villainy of Hegestratus, the only course left for us, who had lent our money here at Athens and had taken over the grain from the man who had honestly purchased it there in Sicily, was to dispossess the plaintiff. 32.21What else could we have done? Not one of us partners had as yet any idea that you would ever declare the grain to be this man's property—grain which he tried to induce the sailors to abandon, that it might be lost by the sinking of the ship. This fact is the strongest proof that none of it belonged to him; for who would have tried to induce those who were attempting to save it to abandon grain which belonged to himself? Or who would not have accepted the challenge and have sailed to Sicily, where these matters might have been clearly proved? 32.22And surely I was not going to have so poor an opinion of you as to imagine that you would vote to allow this man to enter a suit regarding these goods, whose entry into your port he had sought by every means to prevent,—first when he tried to induce the sailors to abandon them, and again when in Cephallenia he strove to prevent the ship from sailing here. 32.23Would it not be a shameful and outrageous thing, if Cephallenians, in order to save property for Athenians, ordered the ship to be brought here, but you, who are Athenians, should order the property of your citizens to be given up to those who wished to throw it into the sea, and should allow this fellow to enter an action for goods which he schemed to prevent from being brought here at all? Do not do that, I implore you by Zeus and the Gods. Now read, please, the special plea which I entered.Plea

Now please read the law.Law

32.24That my plea that the action is not admissible is in harmony with the laws, has, I think, been sufficiently proved; but you must hear the trick of this clever fellow Aristophon, who has concocted the whole scheme. When they saw that, in the light of the facts, they had absolutely no basis of right, they made overtures to Protus, and induced him to leave the matter wholly in their hands. From the first, as has now become plain to us, they had been working to this end, but had been unable to carry their point. 32.25For Protus, so long as he thought to get a profit for himself from the grain by going, clung to it, and chose rather to make his profit, and to render to us what was our due, than to make common cause with these men, sharing with them the advantage gained and doing us an injury. But when, after he had come back here and was negotiating about these matters, grain fell in price, he straightway changed his mind. 32.26At the same time (for, men of Athens, the whole truth shall be told you), we on our part, who had made the loan, came to a quarrel and felt bitter against him (for the loss on the grain was falling on us), and charged that he had secured for us this pettifogging scoundrel instead of our money. After this, being manifestly none too honest by nature, he went over to their side, and agreed to let judgement go by default in the suit which Zenothemis had brought against him before they had come to an agreement with one another. 32.27For, if he had dropped his suit against Protus, it would have been made clear at once that his action against us was a malicious one, and Protus would not consent to have judgement given against him while he was here present, in order that, if they should do for him what they had agreed—well and good; but, if not, he might have the judgement by default set aside. But why speak of all this? If Protus really did what Zenothemis here has written in his complaint, he justly deserves, as it seems to me at least, not merely to have judgement given against him, but to be put to death. For if in danger and tempest he drank so much wine as to be like a madman, what punishment does he not deserve to suffer?