| Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
| <<Dem. 43.1 | Dem. 43.15 (Greek) | >>Dem. 43.25 |
43.11This, then, was what took place at that time. But when this boy was born, and it seemed a fitting time, I, being in no way incensed at what had happened, but considering that the former jurymen had met with a very natural experience, introduced this boy here to the clansmen of Hagnias in the interest of Eubulides, seeing that the boy was the son of his daughter, in order that the family might not become extinct.
43.12For the elder Eubulides, men of the jury, who was next of kin to Hagnias, prayed to the gods above all else that a son might be born to him as a daughter had been, the mother of this boy; but since he failed of this hope and not a single male child was born to him, his next dearest wish was that a son of his daughter should be adopted into his own family and that of Hagnias and should be introduced to the members of his clan; for he thought, men of the jury, that of his surviving relatives this boy was nearest to him, and that in this way their house would best be preserved and kept from extinction.
43.13And I was the one to render him this service, since I was husband to the daughter of Eubulides, she having been adjudged to me as being the nearest of kin, and I introduced this boy to the clansmen of Hagnias and Eubulides, to which fellowship Theopompus, the father of Macartatus here, belonged during his lifetime, and to which Macartatus now belongs.
43.14And the fellow-clansmen of Macartatus here, who knew better than any others the pedigree of the family, seeing that he himself did not choose to risk a contest and did not remove the victim from the altar, as he should have done had the introduction of this boy not been legitimate, but demanded that they commit perjury,6 took the ballot while the victims were still burning, and carried it from the altar of Zeus Phatrius note in the presence of the defendant Macartatus, and gave a just verdict, men of the jury—that this boy was duly and rightfully introduced as the adopted son of Eubulides into the family of Hagnias.
43.15But when the fellow-clansmen of the defendant Macartatus had passed this vote, this boy, as the son of Eubulides, cited the defendant Macartatus for an adjudication of claims for the estate of Hagnias, and had a day appointed by the archon for the hearing, inscribing his brother's name as his guardian; for it was no longer open to me, men of the jury, to stand inscribed as guardian, since I had got the boy adopted into the family of Eubulides. And the citation was made by this boy according to the same laws in accordance with which these men had cited his mother, who had won the former suit in court, and was in possession of the estate of Hagnias.
43.16Please read the law which ordains that citation shall be made of the person possessing the inheritance.
Law
If any person shall claim the inheritance or the heiress after adjudication has been made, let him cite before the archon the person who has obtained the adjudication just as in other suits, and a deposit to cover costs shall be made by the claimant. And if he wins an adjudication without citation, the adjudication of the estate shall be of no effect. And if the person who has had the estate adjudged to him be not living, let the claimant cite in like manner the successor, provided that the period covered by the statute of limitations has not expired. note And the claim upon the possessor shall be that he shall show on what terms the person whose property he holds had it adjudged to him.
43.17You have heard the law, and it is a reasonable request I make of you, men of the jury. If I shall prove to you that this boy Eubulides here and Phylomachê, who is the mother of the boy and the daughter of Eubulides, are nearer of kin to Hagnias than Theopompus, the father of Macartatus, and not only that they are nearest of kin, but that there is absolutely no human being belonging to the house of Hagnias except the mother of this boy and the boy himself,—if I shall prove this, I beg of you, men of the jury, to give your aid to us.
43.18At the first, men of the jury, it was my intention to write on a board all the kinsfolk of Hagnias, and thus to exhibit them to you one by one; but when I saw plainly that not all the jurymen would have an equally good view, but that those sitting at a distance would be at a disadvantage, it is perhaps necessary to instruct you by word of mouth, for thus all will be on the same footing. I, on my part, will endeavor to the best of my ability to inform you regarding the family of Hagnias in the fewest words possible.
43.19Buselus, men of the jury, was a member of the deme Oeon, and to him were born five sons, Hagnias and Eubulides and Stratius and Habron and Cleocritus. And all these sons of Buselus grew up to manhood, and their father Buselus divided his property among them all fairly and equitably, as was fitting. And when they had divided the property among themselves, each of them married a wife according to your laws, and sons and grandsons were born to them all, and there sprang up five households from the single one of Buselus; and they dwelt apart, each one having his own home and begetting his descendants. 43.20Now with regard to three of the brothers, sons of Buselus, and the descendants born to them, why should I trouble you, men of the jury, or myself by going into particulars about each one? For although they are in the same degree of relationship as Theopompus, and are as near of kin to Hagnias, whose estate is in question, not one of them has ever troubled us either at an earlier time or now, nor has made any claim to the estate of Hagnias or to the woman who is the heiress, who was assigned in marriage to me; for they considered that they had no claim whatever to anything belonging to Hagnias.
| Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
| <<Dem. 43.1 | Dem. 43.15 (Greek) | >>Dem. 43.25 |
