| Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
| <<Dem. 43.1 | Dem. 43.9 (Greek) | >>Dem. 43.19 |
43.5And Theopompus, the father of Macartatus here, although he was in town when the herald asked by proclamation whether anyone wished to lay claim to the estate of Hagnias by virtue of kinship or under a will, or to deposit security for the costs of such claim, yet did not venture to make a deposit, but by his own act gave judgement against himself that he had no conceivable claim on the estate of Hagnias.
43.6But, although the mother of this boy here became possessed of the inheritance, since she had prevailed in the suit over all those who disputed her claim, these men are abominable, as you see, and imagine that they need obey neither your laws nor the decisions of your courts, but they are trying by fair means or foul once more to take away from the lady the inheritance which you awarded to her.
43.7A conspiracy was formed, and a written agreement entered into, and deposited with Medeius of Hagnus, note by Theopompus, the father of Macartatus here, and by Glaucon and the Glaucus who was worsted in the former suit; and they added to themselves as a fourth another of their friends (Eupolemus was his name). All these men, having in common formed their plot, cited the lady before the archon for the adjudication of claims to the estate of Hagnias, declaring that the law prescribed that if anyone wished to enter a claim, citation should be made of the one to whom the estate had been adjudged and who had it in his possession.
43.8And when the archon brought the case into court, and the trial was to be held, they had everything cleverly arranged for the trial, and in particular the water which was to measure their speeches was four times as much as that allowed to us. For the archon, men of the jury, was obliged to pour into the water-clock an amphora note of water for each claimant, and three choes note for the reply;
43.9so that I, who acted as pleader for the lady, was not only unable to explain to the jurymen the relationship and other matters as clearly as I could have wished, but could not even defend myself against the smallest fraction of the lies which they told about us; for I had but a fifth part of the water. Their scheme was this: to tell a wholly false story about us, but to back one another up and agree in everything.
43.10So, since they had formed their plot in this way, and each backed up the other's charges against us, when the four ballot-boxes note were set out according to law, the jurymen, naturally enough, as I think, were deceived and could not agree with one another, and being led astray by this trick, they voted each as chance determined. And there were a very few more votes—some three or four—in the box of Theopompus than in that of the lady.
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.
| Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
| <<Dem. 43.1 | Dem. 43.9 (Greek) | >>Dem. 43.19 |
