Now we, believing that for men like ourselves and you democracy is a
								grievous form of government, and convinced that the commons would
								never become friendly to the Lacedaemonians, our preservers, while
								the aristocrats would continue ever faithful to them, for these
								reasons are establishing, with the approval of the Lacedaemonians,
								the present form of government. And if we find anyone opposed to the oligarchy, so far as we have the
								power we put him out of the way; but in particular we consider it to
								be right that, if any one of our own number is harming this order of
								things, he should be punished. Now in fact we find this man
								Theramenes trying, by what means he can, to destroy both ourselves
								and you. As proof that this is true you will discover, if you
								consider the matter, that no one finds more 404
									B.C. fault with the present proceedings than
								Theramenes here, or offers more opposition when we wish to put some
								demagogue out of the way. Now if he had held these views from the
								beginning, he was, to be sure, an enemy, but nevertheless he would
								not justly be deemed a scoundrel. In fact, however, he was the very man who took the initiative in the
								policy of establishing a cordial understanding with the
								Lacedaemonians; he was the very man who began the overthrow of the
								democracy, and who urged you most to inflict punishment upon those
								who were first brought before you for trial; but now, when you and
								we have manifestly become hateful to the democrats, he no longer
								approves of what is going on,—just so that he may get on the safe
								side again, and that we may be punished for what has been done. Therefore he ought to be punished, not merely as an enemy, but also
								as a traitor both to you and to ourselves. And treason is a far more
								dreadful thing than war, inasmuch as it is harder to take precaution
								against the hidden than against the open danger, and a far more
								hateful thing, inasmuch as men make peace with enemies and become
								their trustful friends again, but if they catch a man playing the
								traitor, they never in any case make peace with that man or trust
								him thereafter.