some was in the house; in short, he had all sorts of accounts to give, except the time and mode of payment.

As to the story of the money being left in the house; this I will clearly show to have been fabricated by him. The insinuation was artfully made. He saw, as you do, that the property was large; and he could not show that he had delivered it up to me. He sought therefore to make out a plausible case against me, as if I were attempting to recover what was already in my hands. But this is quite clear, that, if my father had felt no confidence in these men, he would not have made them trustees at all, and then (supposing he had left money in this way) he would not have mentioned it to them. How then do they know of its existence ? On the other hand, if he believed them trustworthy, surely he would not have placed the bulk of his property under their control, and kept the remainder out of it. Again, he would never have left this fund in the custody of my mother, and yet given her in marriage to Aphobus, one of the guardians; for it is absurd to suppose, that he would endeavour to secure the treasure by her agency, and yet put her as well as the money in the power of one of the persons whom he distrusted. Further, had there been any truth in this story, do you imagine that Aphobus would not have made my mother his wife, in pursuance of my father's will? He took her portion of eighty minas, apparently with an intention of marrying her; but afterwards he made a mercenary match with the daughter of Philonidas of Melita, that he might get another eighty minas from him, in addition to what he had obtained from our family. But had there been four talents in the house, and in her keeping too, (as he represents,) don't you think he would have flown to get both her and them into his possession? Or is it likely that, after so shamefully conspiring with his colleagues to rob me of my visible property, which many of you knew to have been left me, he would miss the opportunity of seizing a fund, which you would know nothing about? Who could believe such a tale? It is impossible, men of the jury; it is impossible. From that hour indeed was my father's property buried, when it came into the hands of these men; and Aphobus, who cannot prove that he has paid me any of it, seeks by this account to represent me as a rich man, and so to deprive me of your sympathy.

Many other charges might I bring against him; but I should not be justified in speaking of my own wrongs, while the witness is in peril of disfranchisement. I will now read you a challenge; from which you will see, that the statements in the deposition were true; that Aphobus, who now says he required to examine Milyas upon all the items in dispute, at first demanded him only on a question of thirty minas; and also that he is not in the least damnified by the evidence. Being anxious to prove him every way in the wrong, and to bring his tricks and artifices in a clear light before you, I asked him, what was the sum, in respect of which, as being within the knowledge of Milyas, he desired to examine him; to this he falsely replied, that it was the whole amount. "Well then," said I, " upon this point you shall question the slave who has the copy of your challenge: and if, after I have sworn that you confessed the man to be free and testified to the same effect against Demon, you will swear to the contrary with imprecations upon your daughter, I release to you the whole sum, in respect of which it shall appear from the examination of the slave that you made your first demand for Milyas; and by that amount I am content that the damages awarded against you shall be reduced, so that you may sustain no injury by the witnesses." This challenge, which many persons saw given, he would not accept. Can you then, who are upon your oaths, conscientiously convict my witnesses at the instance of a man, who refused to give this judgment in his own favour? Can you do otherwise than look upon him as the most impudent of mankind? To prove the truth of my statements, call the witnesses.

[Witnesses.]

Do not suppose that, while I was prepared to take this course, the witnesses were of a different mind. They proposed, in confirmation of their testimony, to take a solemn oath in the presence of their children, and with imprecations on them if they swore falsely. Aphobus did not choose to let the oath be sworn either by them or by me. He rests his case upon an artful speech and witnesses accustomed to perjury; and by their aid thinks he shall easily impose on you. Take and read this deposition to the jury.

[The Deposition.]

1

Is it possible to prove, in a clearer manner than I have done, the malice of this charge, the truth of the evidence against my opponent, and the justice of the verdict which condemned him? I have shown, that he refused to examine, as to the truth of the deposition, the very slave who wrote it down; that his brother Æsius deposed to the very statement which he declares to be false; that Aphobus himself, when called by me as a witness against Demon, his uncle and cotrustee, gave the same testimony as the witnesses whom he sues; that he declined to examine my female servants as to the fact of Milyas being a freeman; that my mother was willing to make oath on the subject, with imprecations on her children; that I tendered for examination all the rest of my servants, who knew every circumstance of the case better than Milyas, and he rejected them all; that he has not sued for false testimony a single one of the witnesses who fixed him with the receipt of money; that he did not produce the will or let the estate, as the laws require; and lastly, that when, by swearing a solemn oath after myself and the witnesses, he might have procured a release to the extent of the sum as to which he required Milyas to be questioned, he did not think proper to swear it. I declare to heaven, I could not devise a surer method of proving my case, than the one I have adopted. And yet Aphobus, clear as it is that he calumniates the witnesses, and sustained no damage by their evidence, and lost the verdict justly, still puts a bold face on the matter. There would be less reason to wonder at the style of his present language, if he had not been condemned in the first instance by his own friends and by the arbitrator. For you must know that, after inducing me to refer the case to Archenaus and Dracontides and Phanus, (the last of whom is defendant in this action,) he revoked their authority, because he heard them say that, if they decided on oath, they should give their award against him; then he went before the official arbitrator, by whom, as he could make no answer to my claim, judgment was pronounced for me. From this he appealed to a jury; who, upon hearing the case, affirmed the decision of his friends and the arbitrator, and assessed the

1 He was not strictly a trustee, but, being the father of Demophon, he very likely took a part in the management of the trust, and therefore Demosthenes calls him so.

damages at ten talents. They gave their judgment, not on the ground that he had admitted Milyas to be a freeman, (for this was of no importance ;) but because, an estate of fifteen talents having been left to me, he would not grant a lease of it; and because he and his colleagues managed it for ten years, and he allowed me (then a child) to be assessed to the property tax at one-fifth of the whole value, the same rate at which Timotheus the son of Conon and men of the largest fortunes were assessed; and, after so long managing a property, which he chose to be so highly rated, he delivered to me, as the balance due from himself, not so much as the value of twenty minas, and united with his colleagues to plunder me of my whole substance, the capital as well as the income. For these reasons the jury, allowing interest on the whole amount, not at the rate at which estates are usually let, but at the lowest rate they could, found the loss which I had sustained by the fraud of the guardians to exceed thirty talents altogether; and therefore they assessed the damages against this man at ten talents.

THE ORATION AGAINST ONETOR-I.

THE ARGUMENT.

APHOBUS, after the judgment obtained against him by Demosthenes, made away with almost all of his movable goods, so as to leave little or nothing that could be seized in execution. Demosthenes, proceeding to take possession of a house and a piece of land, encounters the opposition of Onetor, the brother-in-law of Aphobus, who pretends that the land had been mortgaged to him, to secure a sum of money given with his sister as a marriage portion. This money (as he alleges) had become repayable, Aphobus and his wife having separated. The plaintiff, having made entry upon the land in assertion of his right, is turned off by Onetor, against whom he commences an action of ejectment.

The question to be determined in this action is, whether the title of Onetor is a good one. Demosthenes contends that the mortgage is colourable and fictitious; that the marriage portion had never been paid to Aphobus; that his wife had never really been divorced; and that, in fact, the whole scheme had been concocted between Aphobus and Onetor, in order to defeat his execution. To support this charge of fraud, he produces some direct testimony, but relies mainly upon the circumstances and probabilities of the case, and upon admissions and acts of his opponents, inconsistent with their present claim.

As to the law connected with this case, the reader is referred to Appendix IV.

I was most anxious, men of the jury, to avoid my dispute with Aphobus, and also this in which I am engaged with the defendant Onetor, his brother-in-law. I therefore made many fair proposals to both of them; but nothing like reasonable terms could I obtain from either. Indeed I have found this man far more troublesome and more deserving of punishment than the other. I pressed Aphobus (though in vain) to let our disputes be settled among friends, and not to try the experiment of a jury. But this man, when I offered to let him decide his own cause, to avoid the risk of a trial, treated me with the utmost contempt, refused to hold any conversation with me, and in a very insulting manner turned me off the land, which belonged to Aphobus when I recovered judgment against him. Now then, since he unites with his brother-inlaw to deprive me of my property, and has come into court relying on the influence of his friends, the only course left for me is, to seek redress at your hands. I am aware, men of the jury, that I have to contend against ingenious pleading and witnesses prepared to give false evidence. I think however, the justice of my cause will give me such advantage in argument over the defendant, that, if any of you had a good opinion of him before, you will learn from his conduct towards me, that he has all along been (unknown to you) the vilest and basest of mankind. I will show you, that he has not only never paid the marriage portion, for which he says the estate is mortgaged, but has laid a plot from the very beginning to defraud me; and also that the lady, on whose behalf he ejected me from this land, has not been divorced; and that he is now screening Aphobus, and defending this action with a view to defeat my lawful claims. All this I shall prove by such clear and strong evidence, that you will at once see the justice and propriety of the action which I have brought against him. I shall commence with that part of the case, which will best give you an insight into the whole.

It was known, men of the jury, to many of the Athenians, and it did not escape the observation of the defendant, that my guardians were grossly neglecting their duty. The discovery was indeed made very early; numerous meetings and discussions were held on the subject of my affairs, before the Archon as well as other persons. For the value of the property left me was notorious, and it was pretty evident, that