Aegineticus

I was of opinion, citizens of Aegina, that Thrasylochus had arranged his affairs so prudently that no one should ever come before a court to bring a suit in opposition to the will which he left. But since my adversaries have determined to contest a testament so purposefully drawn, I am compelled to try to obtain my rights from you.

My feeling is unlike that of most men. For I see that others are indignant when they are unjustly involved in a law-suit, whereas I am almost grateful to my opponents for bringing me into this trial.[*](A commonplace; cf. Lys. 16.1-2; Lys. 24.1.) For if the matter had not been brought before a tribunal you would not have known of my devotion to the deceased, which led to my being made his heir; but when you learn the facts you will all perceive that I might justly have been thought worthy of even a greater reward.

The proper course, however, for the woman who is laying claim to the property would have been, not to try to obtain from you the estate left by Thrasylochus, but to show that she also was devoted to him and on that ground thought fit to bring suit for it. But the truth is, she is so far from repenting of her misconduct towards Thrasylochus in his life-time, that now too that he is dead she is trying to annul his will and to leave the home without heirs.

And I am astonished that those who are acting in her behalf think this action is reputable, just because, if they fail to win, they will need to pay no penalty. For my part, I think that it will be a severe penalty, if, having been convicted of making a wrongful claim, they shall thereafter suffer in your esteem. However, you will know the baseness of these men from their very acts when you have heard to the end what they have done; and I shall begin the recital of them at the point from which, in my opinion, you will be able to learn most quickly the matters at issue.

Thrasyllus, the father of the testator, had inherited nothing from his parents; but having become the guest-friend of Polemaenetus, the soothsayer, he became so intimate with him that Polemaenetus at his death left to him his books on divination and gave him a portion of the property which is now in question.

Thrasyllus, with these books as his capital, practised the art of divination. He became an itinerant soothsayer, lived in many cities, and was intimate with several women, some of whom had children whom he never even recognized as legitimate, and, in particular, during this period he lived with the mother of the complainant.

When he had acquired a large fortune and yearned for his fatherland, he left this woman and the others as well, and debarking at Siphnos married a sister of my father. Thrasyllus himself was indeed the leading citizen in wealth, but he knew that our family was likewise pre-eminent in lineage and in general standing;

and he cherished so warmly my father's affection for him that at the death of his wife, who was without children, he remarried, taking as wife my father's cousin, as he did not wish to dissolve the affinity with us. But after he had lived with her for only a short time, he suffered the same bereavement as his former wife.

After this he married a woman of Seriphos, belonging to a family of greater consequence than might be expected of a native of their island.[*](The insignificance of Seriphos was proverbial; cf. Plat. Rep. 329e.) Of this marriage were born Sopolis, Thrasylochus, and a daughter, who is my wife. These were the only legitimate children left by Thrasyllus and he made these his heirs when he died.

Thrasylochus and I, having inherited from our fathers a friendship the intimacy of which I have recently mentioned, made the bond still closer. For during our childhood we were fonder of each other than of our brothers, and we would perform no sacrifice, make no pilgrimage, and celebrate no festival except in one another's company; and when we reached manhood we never opposed one another in any action undertaken, for we not only shared our private concerns but also held similar sentiments regarding public affairs, and we had the same intimates and guest-friends.

And why need I speak further of our intimacy at home?[*](That is, at Siphnos.) In truth, not even in exile did we care to be apart. Finally, when Thrasylochus was striken with the wasting disease and suffered a long illness—his brother Sopolis had previously died[*](Sopolis died in Lycia (cf. Isoc. 19.40).) and his mother and sister had not arrived[*](At Aegina.)—seeing him so completely destitute of companionship I nursed him with such unremitting care and devotion that he thought he could never repay me with a gratitude adequate to my services;

Nevertheless he left nothing undone to reward me, and when he was in a grievous condition and had given up all hope of life, he summoned witnesses, made me his adoptive son, and gave me his sister and his fortune. Please take the will.

It was in accordance with this law, citizens of Aegina, that Thrasylochus adopted me as his son, for I was his fellow-citizen and friend, in birth inferior to no one of the Siphnians, and had been reared and educated very much as he himself had been. I therefore do not see how he could have acted more consistently with the law, since the law insists that persons of the same status may be adopted. Please take also the law of Ceos,[*](The law of Ceos was valid also in Siphonos.) under which we were living.

If ,therefore, citizens of Aegina, my opponents were refusing to recognize the validity of these laws, but were able to produce in support of their case the law of their own country, their conduct would have been less astonishing. But the truth is that their own law is in agreement with those already read. Please take this document.

What argument is left to them, therefore, since they themselves admit that Thrasylochus left the will and that they can cite no law in their favor, whereas all support my case—first, the law which is valid among you who are to adjudge the case, next, the law of Siphnos, the fatherland of the testator, and finally the law of the country of my opponents? And yet from what illegal act do you think these persons would abstain, inasmuch as they seek to persuade you that you should declare this will valid, although the laws read as you have heard and you have taken oath to cast your votes in conformity with them?

On the issue itself I consider that I have adduced sufficient proof; but that no one may think that my possession of the inheritance rests upon feeble grounds, or that this woman had been kindly in her behavior toward Thrasylochus and is being defrauded of his fortune, I wish also to discuss these matters. For I should be ashamed in behalf of the deceased unless you were all convinced that his actions were strictly in accordance, not only with the law, but also with justice.

And I believe that proof of this is easy. There was, in truth, this great difference between us—that this woman, who bases her contention on the ground of relationship, never ceased to be at variance with the testator and evilly-disposed toward him and toward Sopolis and their mother, whereas I shall be shown to have been the most deserving of all his friends, not only in my relations with Thrasylochus and his brother, but also with regard to the estate in controversy.

It would be a long story to tell of the events of long ago; but when Pasinus[*](An unknown person.) took Paros, it chanced that my friends had the greatest part of their fortune deposited as a pledge with my guest-friends there; for we thought that this island was by far the safest. When they were at their wits' end and believed that their property was lost, I sailed thither by night and got their money out at risk of my life;

for the country was occupied by a garrison, and some of the exiles from our island participated in the seizure of the city, and these, in one day and with their own hands, had slain my father, my uncle, my brother-in-law and, in addition, three cousins. However, I was deterred by none of these risks, but I took ship, thinking I ought to run the risk as much for my friends' sake as for my own.

Afterwards when a general flight from the city[*](Siphnos.) ensued, accompanied by such confusion and fear that some persons were indifferent even to the fate of their own relations, I was not content, even in these misfortunes, merely to be able to save the members of my own household, but knowing that Sopolis was absent and Thrasylochus was in feeble health, I helped him to convey from the country his mother, his sister, and all his fortune. And yet who with greater justice should possess this fortune than the person who then helped to save it and now has received it from its legitimate owners?