4
for they know that, if they are convicted of lying, they will suffer nothing worse than their actual lot; while if they succeed in deceiving you they will be rid of their present troubles. Yet surely such men as these, whether accusers or witnesses, should win no credit, when they have a great profit to make for themselves by their statements concerning others; much rather should it be given to those who, to uphold the public weal,Perhaps Callias was employed by the stewards of the sacred treasure of the Parthenon, and was accused of embezzling some of it. involve themselves in danger.
5
The trial, in my opinion, ought to be regarded, not as the personal affair of the accused, but as the common concern of everybody in the city; for theseOthers besides Callias appear to have been involved in the accusation. are not the only people who own servants; they are owned by everyone else, and looking at the fate of the accused will no longer ask themselves by what great service to their masters they might gain their freedom, but by what lying information about them.
