Against Aristogiton (16-20)

Like the early lawgivers, Athenians, who made laws to deal with those addressing your ancestors in the Assembly, you too should try, by your behavior as listeners, to make the speakers who come before you better. What was the attitude of the lawgivers to these men? In the first place, at every sitting of the Assembly they publicly proclaimed curses against wrongdoers, calling down destruction on any who, after accepting bribes, made speeches or proposals upon state affairs, and to that class Aristogiton now belongs.

Secondly, they provided in the laws for indictments for bribery, and this is the only offence for which they imposed a payment equal to ten times the assessment of damages,[*]in the belief that one who is ready to be paid for the opinions which he is going to express in the Assembly has at heart, when he is speaking, not the interests of the people but the welfare of those who have paid him. Now the council has reported Aristogiton as guilty of this. Moreover, when choosing a man for public office they used to ask what his personal character was, whether he treated his parents well, whether he had served the city in the field, whether he had an ancestral cult or paid taxes.

Aristogiton could not claim one of these qualifications for himself. So far from treating his parents well this man has ill-treated his own father. When you were all serving in the army he was in prison; and, far from being able to point to any memorial of his father, Athenians, he did not give him a proper funeral even in Eretria where he died.[*] While other Athenians are contributing from their own purses this man has not even paid up all the money to defray the public debts which he incurred.

In fact he has never ceased to contravene all the laws, and his is the one case of those on which the Areopagus has reported where you had inquired yourselves and already knew the answer. For your knowledge that this man is a rogue and a criminal was not gained from the council; you are all very well aware of his wickedness, and hence the statement so often made applies here also, namely that, while you are passing judgement on the defendant, the bystanders and everyone besides are passing judgement on you.

Therefore it is your duty as a sensible jury, Athenians, not to vote against yourselves or the rest of Athens; you should sentence him unanimously to be handed over to the executioners for the death penalty. Do not be traitors and fail to give the honest verdict demanded by your oath. Remember that this man has been convicted by the council of taking bribes against you, convicted of ill-treating him, to use the mildest term, by his father during his life and after his death, condemned by the people's vote and handed over to you for punishment.