Breadcrumbs Section. Click here to navigate to respective pages.
Chapter
Chapter
allowable in your court to speak outside the main issue, please bear this in mind. It was they who entered our home by force; they who pursued; they who tried to drag us by force off the street. [47] Remember this and vote for what is just. Do not allow me to be exiled unjustly from my fatherland, for which I have faced many dangers and performed many public services; I have never been responsible for any harm to it, nor has any of my ancestors, but for much benefit. [48] So in justice I should be pitied by you and other men, not only if any of the things Simon wants were to happen to me but also because I have been forced as a result of events like this to face a trial of this nature. The case arises out of a dispute between two rivals for the affections of a youth named Theodotos. The dispute obviously has a long history. The speaker (§5) traces it back to vindictive jealousy on Simon’s part because the boy preferred the speaker’s kindness to Simon’s abusive treatment. Simon for his part appears to be arguing (§22) that he had a sexual contract with the boy and that the speaker induced the boy to breach this arrangement. The speaker’s evasiveness on the subject suggests that Simon may be telling the truth on this point. The rivalry has erupted into violence, and Simon is prosecuting the speaker for allegedly wounding him. The speaker claims that Simon laid an ambush for the boy and that the speaker and the boy were innocent victims. Simon claims that the speaker came to his house and threatened to kill him. The case for the defence relies heavily on a tapestry of contrasting characterization woven by Lysias. Noteworthy is the use of the preliminary narrative in §§5–10, tracing the prehistory of the dispute, to create a vivid impression of Simon in preparation for the main narrative. Simon emerges as consistently drunken, violent and lawless. In contrast, the speaker is a mild-mannered individual, painfully embarrassed at the strength of his passion, unbecoming in a man of his years, and eager to avoid trouble at all costs. As in Lysias 1 (Case I), the characterization effects an implicit argument: could a man as retiring as the speaker be an aggressor, and could a man as violent as Simon be an innocent victim of aggression? So powerful is this contrast that it is only on reflection that we notice that the speaker is our sole source for this characterization. The speaker also, by emphasizing that similar quarrels have taken place before and stressing the triviality of the cause, and by presenting the fight in question as a confused and slightly comic affair, seeks to present the incident as a petty squabble unworthy of the attention of the Areopagos.
DOI link for allowable in your court to speak outside the main issue, please bear this in mind. It was they who entered our home by force; they who pursued; they who tried to drag us by force off the street. [47] Remember this and vote for what is just. Do not allow me to be exiled unjustly from my fatherland, for which I have faced many dangers and performed many public services; I have never been responsible for any harm to it, nor has any of my ancestors, but for much benefit. [48] So in justice I should be pitied by you and other men, not only if any of the things Simon wants were to happen to me but also because I have been forced as a result of events like this to face a trial of this nature. The case arises out of a dispute between two rivals for the affections of a youth named Theodotos. The dispute obviously has a long history. The speaker (§5) traces it back to vindictive jealousy on Simon’s part because the boy preferred the speaker’s kindness to Simon’s abusive treatment. Simon for his part appears to be arguing (§22) that he had a sexual contract with the boy and that the speaker induced the boy to breach this arrangement. The speaker’s evasiveness on the subject suggests that Simon may be telling the truth on this point. The rivalry has erupted into violence, and Simon is prosecuting the speaker for allegedly wounding him. The speaker claims that Simon laid an ambush for the boy and that the speaker and the boy were innocent victims. Simon claims that the speaker came to his house and threatened to kill him. The case for the defence relies heavily on a tapestry of contrasting characterization woven by Lysias. Noteworthy is the use of the preliminary narrative in §§5–10, tracing the prehistory of the dispute, to create a vivid impression of Simon in preparation for the main narrative. Simon emerges as consistently drunken, violent and lawless. In contrast, the speaker is a mild-mannered individual, painfully embarrassed at the strength of his passion, unbecoming in a man of his years, and eager to avoid trouble at all costs. As in Lysias 1 (Case I), the characterization effects an implicit argument: could a man as retiring as the speaker be an aggressor, and could a man as violent as Simon be an innocent victim of aggression? So powerful is this contrast that it is only on reflection that we notice that the speaker is our sole source for this characterization. The speaker also, by emphasizing that similar quarrels have taken place before and stressing the triviality of the cause, and by presenting the fight in question as a confused and slightly comic affair, seeks to present the incident as a petty squabble unworthy of the attention of the Areopagos.
allowable in your court to speak outside the main issue, please bear this in mind. It was they who entered our home by force; they who pursued; they who tried to drag us by force off the street. [47] Remember this and vote for what is just. Do not allow me to be exiled unjustly from my fatherland, for which I have faced many dangers and performed many public services; I have never been responsible for any harm to it, nor has any of my ancestors, but for much benefit. [48] So in justice I should be pitied by you and other men, not only if any of the things Simon wants were to happen to me but also because I have been forced as a result of events like this to face a trial of this nature. The case arises out of a dispute between two rivals for the affections of a youth named Theodotos. The dispute obviously has a long history. The speaker (§5) traces it back to vindictive jealousy on Simon’s part because the boy preferred the speaker’s kindness to Simon’s abusive treatment. Simon for his part appears to be arguing (§22) that he had a sexual contract with the boy and that the speaker induced the boy to breach this arrangement. The speaker’s evasiveness on the subject suggests that Simon may be telling the truth on this point. The rivalry has erupted into violence, and Simon is prosecuting the speaker for allegedly wounding him. The speaker claims that Simon laid an ambush for the boy and that the speaker and the boy were innocent victims. Simon claims that the speaker came to his house and threatened to kill him. The case for the defence relies heavily on a tapestry of contrasting characterization woven by Lysias. Noteworthy is the use of the preliminary narrative in §§5–10, tracing the prehistory of the dispute, to create a vivid impression of Simon in preparation for the main narrative. Simon emerges as consistently drunken, violent and lawless. In contrast, the speaker is a mild-mannered individual, painfully embarrassed at the strength of his passion, unbecoming in a man of his years, and eager to avoid trouble at all costs. As in Lysias 1 (Case I), the characterization effects an implicit argument: could a man as retiring as the speaker be an aggressor, and could a man as violent as Simon be an innocent victim of aggression? So powerful is this contrast that it is only on reflection that we notice that the speaker is our sole source for this characterization. The speaker also, by emphasizing that similar quarrels have taken place before and stressing the triviality of the cause, and by presenting the fight in question as a confused and slightly comic affair, seeks to present the incident as a petty squabble unworthy of the attention of the Areopagos.
ABSTRACT