34
On the first day, the day of the boy’s death, and on the second, when the body was laid out, not even the prosecution themselves thought of accusing me of having played any kind of criminal part in the accident: on the contrary, they avoided neither meeting me nor speaking to me.The force of συνῆσαν καὶ διελέγοντο can be best conveyed by a negative. The implication is, of course, that had the prosecution believed the speaker guilty, they would have avoided all contact with him for fear of being tainted with the μίασμα which rested on him. Cf. Antiph. 2.1.10. It was only on the third day, the day of the boy’s burial, that they yielded to my enemies and set about bringing a charge and proclaiming me to be under the usual disabilities.τὸ εἴργεσθαι τῶν νομίμων was the immediate consequence of a πρόρρησις. A suspected murderer had to withdraw from intercourse with his fellows until his innocence had been established or his guilt expiated. Cf.Herodes, Introduction. Now who was it who instigated them? And what reason had those others for wanting to do such a thing? I must enlighten you on these further points.
35
I was about to prosecute Aristion, Philinus, Ampelinus, and the secretary to the Thesmothetae, with whose embezzlements they had been associated, on charges which I had presented to the Council in the form of an impeachment. As far as the facts of the case were concerned, they had no hope of acquittal: their offences were too serious. On the other hand, could they but induce my accusers here to register a charge and proclaim that I was under the statutory ban, they would, they thought, be safely rid of the whole business.
