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Well, he will presently say that the criminal information has been lodged against him for this purpose, that he may not proceed with the indictment which he preferred against Demosthenes or with that against Thucydides; for he is a clever fellow at lying and at saying what lacks all foundation. I have looked into this matter also, men of the jury, and will show you that the state suffers not the slightest harm, whether the decree of Thucydides is ratified, or whether it is annulled. And yet it is not right to bring up a defence of this sort before men who have sworn to give a verdict according to the laws. You will, however, presently learn from the indictment itself, that it is merely a pretext to offset the criminal information.
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(To the clerk.) Read these indictments.There were two indictments, one against Demosthenes and one against Thucydides.
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The Indictments
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Whether the decrees stand as they are, men of the jury, or are annulled (for it makes no difference to me), what does the state either gain or lose? Nothing, in my opinion. They say that the men of AenosAenos, a town on the south coast of Thrace. pay no heed to our state, and that this has come about because of this fellow Theocrines. For being harassed by the false and malicious charges of this man at the time when some of them were turning to Philip and others to Athens, and learning that the decree which Charinus had previously indicted had again been indicted as illegal,—the decree, that is, which Thucydides proposed and which had to do with their contributionIt appears that the Athenian general Chares had fixed the tribute to be paid by the Athenians at a moderate sum, and that Thucydides had proposed a decree approving this act. This decree was indicted as illegal, first by Charinus and then by Theocrines. The result was that the Aenians revolted and went over to the side of Philip.; and learning furthermore that no conclusion was being reached in the matter,
