Demosthenes, Against Meidias, James Herbert Vince (Translator), 70

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[70] Now if there is anyone of you, Athenians, whose anger against Meidias falls short of a demand for his death, he is wrong. For it is neither just nor proper that the forbearance of the victim should contribute to the acquittal of a man who has put no check on his insolence. The latter you should punish as if the results of his conduct had been utterly irremediable; to the former you should show your goodwill by favouring his cause.¹

Against Meidias. Demosthenes. James Herbert Vince (Translator). London. 1935.

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Current edition Perseus

Against Meidias (English) (Demosthenes, Vol. III: Orations, XXI-XXVI. Vince, J. H., translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935 (printing).)

Editions (1)

κατὰ Μειδίου περὶ τοῦ Κονδύλου Perseus (Demosthenes. Orationes, Vol. II, Part 1. Butcher, S. H., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) — 70 focus

[70] εἰ τοίνυν τις ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἄλλως πως ἔχει τὴν ὀργὴν ἐπὶ Μειδίαν ἢ ὡς δέον αὐτὸν τεθνάναι, οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἔχει. οὐ γάρ ἐστι δίκαιον οὐδὲ προσῆκον τὴν τοῦ παθόντος εὐλάβειαν τῷ μηδὲν ὑποστειλαμένῳ πρὸς ὕβριν μερίδʼ εἰς σωτηρίαν ὑπάρχειν, ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν ὡς ἁπάντων τῶν ἀνηκέστων αἴτιον κολάζειν προσήκει, τῷ δʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ βοηθεῖν ἀποδιδόναι τὴν χάριν.

Notes on the current edition

Against Meidias

1. The argument is here condensed. Demosthenes imagines a juryman as saying to himself, Demosthenes did not retaliate; therefore the insult was not really intolerable. He replies, That only shows my forebearance. You ought to punish Meidias as severely as you would if I had shown that the insult was intolerable by hitting him back.

Demosthenes Against Meidias 70

James Herbert Vince (Translator)

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