For Phormio

Phormio’s inexperience in speaking,[*](This is not merely the conventional plea of inexperience (compare Dem. 34.1); Phormio was by now an old man, and further, since he was a manumitted slave, he can have had no training which would equip him for the task, and furthermore, he was, of course, of barbarian birth. His friends, therefore, came to his aid, and one of them speaks in his behalf.) and his utter helplessness, you all see for yourselves, men of Athens. It is necessary for us, his friends, to state and set forth for you the facts, which we know full well from having heard him often relate them; in order that, when you have duly learned from us and have come to know the rights of the case, you may give a verdict that is both just and in harmony with your oaths.

We have put in a special plea in bar of action, not that we may evade the issue and waste time, but that, if the defendant[*](The terms plaintiff and defendant, as used in the translation of this oration, apply to the suit brought against Phormio.) shows that he has committed no wrong whatsoever, he may win in your court an acquittal which will be final. For all that in the minds of other people brings about a firm and lasting settlement without engaging in a trial before you—