Demosthenes
XLIV
ΠΡΟΣ ΛΕΩΧΑΡΗ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΑΡΧΙΑΔΟΥ ΚΛΗΡΟΥ
Αἴτιος μέν ἐστι Λεωχάρης οὑτοσί, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς κρίνεσθαι καὶ ἐμὲ νεώτερον ὄντα λέγειν ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀξιῶν κληρονομεῖν ὧν οὐ προσῆκεν αὐτῷ, καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων ψευδῆ διαμαρτυρίαν 2πρὸς τῷ ἄρχοντι ποιησάμενος. ἡμῖν μὲν ]1081]γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον ἦν, τοῦ νόμου τὰς ἀγχιστείας τοῖς ἐγγυτάτω γένους ἀποδιδόντος, οὖσιν οἰκείοις Ἀρχιάδου τοῦ ἐξ ἀρχῆς καταλιπόντος τὸν κλῆρον, μήτε τὸν οἶκον ἐξερημωθέντα τὸν ἐκείνου περιϊδεῖν, μήτε τῆς οὐσίας ἑτέρους κληρονομήσαντας, οἷς οὐδ᾿ ὁτιοῦν προσήκει· οὗτος δ᾿ οὔτε γένει τοῦ τετελευτηκότος υἱὸς ὤν, οὔτ᾿ εἰσποιηθεὶς κατὰ τοὺς νόμους, ὡς ἐγὼ δείξω, διαμεμαρτύρηκεν οὕτω τὰ ψευδῆ προπετῶς, ἀφαιρούμενος ἡμῶν τὴν 3κληρονομίαν. δέομαι δ᾿ ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, βοηθῆσαι τῷ τε πατρὶ τουτῳὶ καὶ ἐμοί, ἐὰν λέγωμεν τὰ δίκαια, καὶ μὴ περιϊδεῖν πένητας ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἀσθενεῖς καταστασιασθέντας ὑπὸ παρατάξεως ἀδίκου. ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ἀληθείαις πιστεύοντες εἰσεληλύθαμεν, καὶ ἀγαπῶντες, ἄν τις ἡμᾶς ἐᾷ τῶν νόμων τυγχάνειν· οὗτοι δὲ τῇ παρασκευῇ καὶ
Against Leochares
XLIV
Aristodemus Against Leochares Regarding the Estate of Archiades
It is the fault of Leochares, the defendant, men of the jury, that he is himself being brought to trial, and that I, despite my youth, am addressing you, for he claims the right to inherit what does not belong to him, and has made a false affidavit of objections before 2 the archon in support of his claim. It was incumbent upon us—since the law grants the right of succession to those nearest of kin, and we are relatives of Archiades, who originally left the estate—not to suffer his house to become extinct, and others, who had no right whatever to it, to inherit his property; while the defendant, who was neither a son by blood of the deceased nor a son adopted according to your laws, as I shall show, has thus recklessly made a false affidavit, and is seeking to rob me of the inheritance. 3 I beg you, men of the jury, to come to the aid of my father and myself, if our pleading shall seem just, and not suffer men who are poor and without influence to be crushed by the lawless men marshalled against us. For we have come before you relying upon the truth, well content if we are permitted to obtain our legal rights; while our adversaries have from the first