Greek Texts & Translations

49.48Now with regard to the one thousand drachmae which he borrowed from Antiphanes in Calaureia to distribute to the Boeotian trierarchs,when he was about to sail home for his trial, and which he paid to Philip the shipowner after he had got them from my father, he maintains that the Boeotian admiral borrowed the money and gave my father some copper as security for it. That this, however, is untrue, I will give you a convincing proof. 49.49In the first place, it is proved that the defendant borrowed the thousand drachmae in Calaureia, and not the Boeotian admiral; secondly, that Philip demanded payment of the thousand drachmae here from Timotheus and not from the Boeotian admiral, and that Timotheus made payment and not the Boeotian admiral; for it was quite proper that the Boeotian admiral should receive from Timotheus the maintenance for the crews of his ships, since the pay for the troops came out of a common contribution, and it was you, Timotheus, who collected all the money from the allies, and you were bound to account for it. 49.50Again, supposing the Boeotian fleet had disbanded and the troops had dispersed to their various homes, the Boeotian admiral was in no danger from the Athenians, nor was any trial impending over him; you, however, were in very great danger, and in your utter terror you thought it would be a great aid to your defence, if the Boeotian triremes should stay with the fleet until your trial should come off. Besides, from what motive of friendship pray, would my father have lent the one thousand drachmae to the Boeotian admiral whom he did not even know? Ah, but he says the admiral pledged some copper as security. How much, then? and from what country was it imported? 49.51And from what source did the Boeotian admiral get the copper? Was it imported by way of trade, or was it obtained from prisoners? Then who were the persons who brought the copper to my father? Were they hired men, or slaves? 49.52And which one of our slaves was it who received it? For, if slaves brought it, he ought to have delivered them up for the torture, but if hired men, he ought to have demanded for the torture the slave of ours who received and weighed the copper; for, I fancy, neither would the one taking the copper in pledge accept it, nor the one offering it give it over, without weighing; nor was my father likely to carry the copper and weigh it himself, since he had slaves who were accustomed to receive the articles given as security for loans. 49.53And I certainly wonder for what possible reason the Boeotian admiral should have given the copper to my father as security, if he owed a thousand drachmae to Philip. Was it that Philip would not have been glad to receive interest, if his money was lent safely and on security? or that Philip had no money? So, what need was there for the Boeotian admiral to ask my father to lend the thousand drachmae and pay Philip, rather than give the copper as security to Philip? 49.54But, men of the jury, the copper was not given as security, nor did the Boeotian admiral borrow the thousand drachmae from my father, but this man Timotheus borrowed them, being in great distress; and the urgent need, to meet which he used the money, I have told you. But instead of evincing gratitude for the confidence shown him and the loan which he received from my father, he thinks it proper to defraud us, if he can, even of the principal.

49.55Now, as to the bowls and the mina of silver, which he borrowed from my father when he sent his bodyservant Aeschrion to my father in the night, I asked him before the arbitrator if Aeschrion was still a slave, and demanded that he be put to the test “in his hide.” ^note He answered that Aeschrion was free, so I desisted from my demand; but I required him to put in a deposition made by Aeschrion as being a free man. 49.56He, however, neither provided a deposition from Aeschrion, as being free, nor would he deliver him up as a slave that proof might be had from his body; for he was afraid that, if he produced a deposition from him as being free, I should bring suit for false testimony, and after proving that Aeschrion had testified falsely, should proceed against Timotheus himself for subornation, as the law provides; and if, again, he should deliver him up for the torture, he was afraid that Aeschrion would state the truth against him. 49.57And yet it was a fine opportunity for him, if he was unable to produce witnesses concerning the other receipts of money, to prove this at any rate by the words of Aeschrion—that the bowls and the mina of silver were not received, and that Aeschrion was not sent by him to my father; and then to use this as evidence to you that I am uttering falsehoods in regard to my other claims upon him, seeing that his slave, whom I declare to have received the bowls and the mina of silver, was proved by the torture not to have received them. 49.58If, then, this would have been a strong piece of evidence for him to use before you, that, namely, he offered to deliver up Aeschrion, whom I declare to have been sent by the defendant and to have received the bowls from my father and to have borrowed the mina of silver, let it also be evidence for me to use before you, that knowing my claims to be true, he does not dare to deliver up Aeschrion for the torture.