Against Timarchus (76-80)

Does it take a wizard to explain all that? Is it not perfectly plain that the man who makes such demands must himself necessarily be furnishing in return certain pleasures to the men who are spending their money on him? I say furnishing pleasures, because, by the Olympian Zeus, I don’ t know how I can use more euphemistic language than that in referring to your contemptible conduct.

But also look at the case, if you please, with the help of certain illustrations taken from the field of politics, especially matters which you have in hand just now. We have been having revisions of the citizen-lists in the demes, and each one of us has submitted to a vote regarding himself to determine whether he is a genuine citizen or not. Now whenever I am in the court-room listening to the pleas,[*] I see that the same argument always prevails with you: when the prosecutor says

Gentlemen of the jury, the men of the deme have under oath excluded this man on their own personal knowledge, although nobody brought accusation or gave testimony against him, you immediately applaud, assuming that the man who is before the court has no claim to citizenship. For I suppose you are of the opinion that when one knows a thing perfectly of his own knowledge, he does not need argument or testimony in addition.

Come now, in God’ s name! if, as on the question of birth, so on the question of these personal habits, Timarchus had to submit to a vote as to whether he is guilty of the charge or not, and the case were being tried in court and were being brought before you as now, except that it were not permitted by constitution or statute either for me to accuse or for him to defend himself, and if this crier who is now standing at my side were putting the question to you in the formula prescribed by law, The hollow ballot for the juror who believes that Timarchus has been a prostitute, the solid ballot for the juror who does not,[*] what would be your vote? I am absolutely sure that you would decide against him.

Now if one of you should ask me, How do you know that we would vote against him? I should answer, Because you have spoken out and told me. And I will remind you when and where each man of you speaks and tells me: it is every time that Timarchus mounts the platform in the assembly; and the senate spoke out, when last year he was a member of the senate. For every time he used such words as walls or tower that needed repairing, or told how so-and-so had been taken off somewhere, you immediately laughed and shouted, and yourselves spoke the words that belong to those exploits of which he, to your knowledge, is guilty.[*]