On the Estate of Nicostratus (26-27)

Whatever each of you would consider just on his own behalf, let that be your determination in favor of these young men. They have produced before you witnesses to prove, first, that they and Nicostratus are first cousins, the sons of own brothers; secondly, that they never had any quarrel with him; thirdly, that they carried out his burial; and further that Chariades was never a friend of Nicostratus either here in Athens or in the army, and, lastly, that the supposed business association between them, on which Chariades most relies, is a fiction.

Apart from this, gentlemen, it is only right that you should examine the characters of the respective claimants. Thrasippus, the father of Hagnon and Hagnotheus, has before now supported public burdens and paid contributions and otherwise proved himself a worthy citizen. My clients themselves have never quitted this country unless they have been sent somewhere by your orders, and at home they are not unserviceable to the state; they serve in the army, they make contributions and in every other respect perform what is required of them, and, as everyone knows, they behave as law-abiding citizens;