On the Property of Aristophanes (56-60)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0540.tlg019.perseus-eng2:56-60

Refs	`{'start': {'reference': '56', 'human_reference': 'None 56'}, 'end': {'reference': '60', 'human_reference': 'None 60'}}`
Ancestors	`[]`
Children	`[]`

plain text • XML

So much let me say regarding myself: as to my father, since he has been treated as guilty in these accusations, forgive me if I mention what he has spent on the city and on his friends; I do this, not for mere vainglory, but to bring in as evidence the fact that the same man cannot both spend a great deal without compulsion and covet some of the public property at the gravest risk.

There are, indeed, persons who spend money in advance, not with that sole object, but to obtain a return of twice the amount from the appointments which you consider them to have earned.[*] Now, not once did my father seek office, but he has discharged every duty in the production of dramas, has equipped a warship seven times, and has made numerous large contributions to special levies. That you on your part may be apprised of this, the record shall be read in detail.

Public Services

You hear, gentlemen of the jury, the whole series. For as many as fifty years my father performed services to the State, both with his purse and with his person. In all that time, with his reputation for ancestral wealth, he is not likely to have shunned any expense. However, I will strengthen the case for you with witnesses.

Witnesses

The sum total of them all is nine talents and two thousand drachmae. In addition, he also joined privately in portioning daughters and sisters of certain needy citizens: there were men whom he ransomed from the enemy, and others for whose funerals he provided money. He acted in this way because he conceived it to be the part of a good man to assist his friends, even if nobody was to know: but at this moment it is fitting that you should hear of it from me. Please call this and that person.

Witnesses

Well then, you have heard the witnesses; and now reflect that, although one might be able to adopt a feigned character for a short time, nobody in the world could keep his baseness secret for seventy years. Now, there are things for which it might perhaps be possible to reproach my father; but on the score of money there is no one, even among his enemies, who has ever dared to do so.

Tokens

So	1	w	2
much	1	w	6
let	1	w	9
me	1	w	11
say	1	w	14
regarding	1	w	23
myself	1	w	29
as	1	w	32
to	1	w	34
my	2	w	36
father	1	w	42
since	1	w	48
he	2	w	50
has	1	w	53
been	1	w	57
treated	1	w	64
as	3	w	66
guilty	1	w	72
in	3	w	74
these	1	w	79
accusations	1	w	90
forgive	1	w	98
me	2	w	100
if	1	w	102
I	1	w	103
mention	1	w	110
what	1	w	114
he	4	w	116
has	2	w	119
spent	1	w	124
on	3	w	126
the	3	w	129
city	1	w	133
and	1	w	136
on	4	w	138
his	1	w	141
friends	1	w	148
I	2	w	150
do	1	w	152
this	1	w	156
not	1	w	160
for	2	w	163
mere	1	w	167
vainglory	1	w	176
but	1	w	180
to	2	w	182
bring	1	w	187
in	6	w	189
as	5	w	191
evidence	1	w	199
the	4	w	202
fact	1	w	206
that	1	w	210
the	5	w	213
same	1	w	217
man	1	w	220
cannot	1	w	226
both	1	w	230
spend	1	w	235
a	20	w	236
great	1	w	241
deal	1	w	245
without	1	w	252
compulsion	1	w	262
and	2	w	265
covet	1	w	270
some	1	w	274
of	1	w	276
the	6	w	279
public	1	w	285
property	1	w	293
at	7	w	295
the	7	w	298
gravest	1	w	305
risk	1	w	309
There	1	w	315
are	1	w	318
indeed	1	w	325
persons	1	w	333
who	1	w	336
spend	2	w	341
money	1	w	346
in	8	w	348
advance	1	w	355
not	3	w	359
with	2	w	363
that	2	w	367
sole	1	w	371
object	1	w	377
but	2	w	381
to	3	w	383
obtain	1	w	389
a	31	w	390
return	1	w	396
of	2	w	398
twice	1	w	403
the	8	w	406
amount	1	w	412
from	1	w	416
the	9	w	419
appointments	1	w	431
which	1	w	436
you	1	w	439
consider	1	w	447
them	1	w	451
to	4	w	453
have	1	w	457
earned	1	w	463
Some	1	w	468
men	3	w	471
spend	3	w	476
money	2	w	481
to	5	w	483
earn	2	w	487
a	37	w	488
good	1	w	492
name	1	w	496
for	3	w	499
public	2	w	505
spirit	1	w	511
it	5	w	514
is	4	w	516
spent	2	w	521
not	4	w	525
for	4	w	528
that	3	w	532
end	5	w	535
alone	1	w	540
but	3	w	544
as	6	w	546
a	42	w	547
speculation	1	w	558
on	12	w	560
the	11	w	563
prospect	1	w	571
of	3	w	573
gaining	1	w	580
twice	2	w	585
as	7	w	587
much	2	w	591
in	13	w	593
gifts	1	w	598
during	1	w	604
their	1	w	609
tenure	1	w	615
of	4	w	617
the	13	w	620
office	1	w	626
which	2	w	631
they	1	w	635
hope	1	w	639
to	6	w	641
obtain	2	w	647
Now	1	w	651
not	5	w	655
once	1	w	659
did	1	w	662
my	3	w	664
father	2	w	670
seek	1	w	674
office	2	w	680
but	4	w	684
he	19	w	686
has	3	w	689
discharged	1	w	699
every	1	w	704
duty	1	w	708
in	16	w	710
the	16	w	713
production	1	w	723
of	7	w	725
dramas	1	w	731
has	4	w	735
equipped	1	w	743
a	53	w	744
warship	1	w	751
seven	1	w	756
times	1	w	761
and	3	w	765
has	5	w	768
made	1	w	772
numerous	1	w	780
large	1	w	785
contributions	1	w	798
to	7	w	800
special	1	w	807
levies	1	w	813
That	1	w	818
you	2	w	821
on	17	w	823
your	1	w	827
part	1	w	831
may	1	w	834
be	2	w	836
apprised	1	w	844
of	8	w	846
this	2	w	850
the	17	w	854
record	1	w	860
shall	1	w	865
be	3	w	867
read	1	w	871
in	17	w	873
detail	1	w	879
Public	1	w	886
Services	1	w	894
You	1	w	897
hear	1	w	901
gentlemen	1	w	911
of	9	w	913
the	18	w	916
jury	1	w	920
the	19	w	924
whole	1	w	929
series	1	w	935
For	1	w	939
as	12	w	941
many	1	w	945
as	13	w	947
fifty	1	w	952
years	1	w	957
my	4	w	959
father	3	w	965
performed	1	w	974
services	1	w	982
to	8	w	984
the	21	w	987
State	1	w	992
both	2	w	997
with	3	w	1001
his	4	w	1004
purse	1	w	1009
and	4	w	1012
with	4	w	1016
his	5	w	1019
person	2	w	1025
In	1	w	1028
all	2	w	1031
that	4	w	1035
time	2	w	1039
with	5	w	1044
his	6	w	1047
reputation	1	w	1057
for	6	w	1060
ancestral	1	w	1069
wealth	1	w	1075
he	27	w	1078
is	11	w	1080
not	6	w	1083
likely	1	w	1089
to	9	w	1091
have	2	w	1095
shunned	1	w	1102
any	2	w	1105
expense	1	w	1112
However	1	w	1120
I	4	w	1122
will	1	w	1126
strengthen	1	w	1136
the	23	w	1139
case	1	w	1143
for	7	w	1146
you	4	w	1149
with	6	w	1153
witnesses	1	w	1162
Witnesses	1	w	1172
The	2	w	1175
sum	1	w	1178
total	1	w	1183
of	10	w	1185
them	2	w	1189
all	3	w	1192
is	12	w	1194
nine	1	w	1198
talents	1	w	1205
and	5	w	1208
two	1	w	1211
thousand	1	w	1219
drachmae	1	w	1227
In	2	w	1230
addition	1	w	1238
he	32	w	1241
also	1	w	1245
joined	1	w	1251
privately	1	w	1260
in	20	w	1262
portioning	1	w	1272
daughters	1	w	1281
and	7	w	1284
sisters	1	w	1291
of	11	w	1293
certain	1	w	1300
needy	1	w	1305
citizens	1	w	1313
there	1	w	1319
were	1	w	1323
men	5	w	1326
whom	1	w	1330
he	34	w	1332
ransomed	1	w	1340
from	2	w	1344
the	26	w	1347
enemy	1	w	1352
and	8	w	1356
others	1	w	1362
for	8	w	1365
whose	1	w	1370
funerals	1	w	1378
he	37	w	1380
provided	1	w	1388
money	3	w	1393
He	1	w	1396
acted	1	w	1401
in	23	w	1403
this	3	w	1407
way	1	w	1410
because	1	w	1417
he	38	w	1419
conceived	1	w	1428
it	14	w	1430
to	11	w	1432
be	5	w	1434
the	28	w	1437
part	2	w	1441
of	12	w	1443
a	104	w	1444
good	2	w	1448
man	3	w	1451
to	12	w	1453
assist	1	w	1459
his	8	w	1462
friends	2	w	1469
even	2	w	1474
if	4	w	1476
nobody	1	w	1482
was	1	w	1485
to	13	w	1487
know	1	w	1491
but	6	w	1495
at	18	w	1497
this	4	w	1501
moment	1	w	1507
it	15	w	1509
is	18	w	1511
fitting	1	w	1518
that	5	w	1522
you	5	w	1525
should	1	w	1531
hear	2	w	1535
of	13	w	1537
it	17	w	1539
from	3	w	1543
me	19	w	1545
Please	1	w	1552
call	1	w	1556
this	5	w	1560
and	9	w	1563
that	6	w	1567
person	3	w	1573
Witnesses	2	w	1583
Well	1	w	1587
then	2	w	1591
you	6	w	1595
have	3	w	1599
heard	1	w	1604
the	30	w	1607
witnesses	2	w	1616
and	10	w	1620
now	2	w	1623
reflect	1	w	1630
that	7	w	1634
although	1	w	1643
one	5	w	1646
might	1	w	1651
be	6	w	1653
able	1	w	1657
to	14	w	1659
adopt	1	w	1664
a	122	w	1665
feigned	1	w	1672
character	1	w	1681
for	9	w	1684
a	125	w	1685
short	1	w	1690
time	3	w	1694
nobody	2	w	1701
in	25	w	1703
the	31	w	1706
world	1	w	1711
could	1	w	1716
keep	1	w	1720
his	11	w	1723
baseness	1	w	1731
secret	1	w	1737
for	10	w	1740
seventy	1	w	1747
years	2	w	1752
Now	2	w	1756
there	2	w	1762
are	2	w	1765
things	1	w	1771
for	11	w	1774
which	3	w	1779
it	20	w	1781
might	2	w	1786
perhaps	1	w	1793
be	7	w	1795
possible	1	w	1803
to	15	w	1805
reproach	1	w	1813
my	6	w	1815
father	4	w	1821
but	7	w	1825
on	26	w	1827
the	34	w	1830
score	1	w	1835
of	14	w	1837
money	4	w	1842
there	3	w	1847
is	21	w	1849
no	11	w	1851
one	7	w	1854
even	4	w	1859
among	1	w	1864
his	12	w	1867
enemies	1	w	1874
who	5	w	1878
has	6	w	1881
ever	3	w	1885
dared	1	w	1890
to	16	w	1892
do	3	w	1894
so	8	w	1896