Against Andocides

Only consider Andocides’ own life since he committed his impiety, and judge if there is any other man to compare with him. For Andocides, when after his offence he was brought before the court by a summary citation,[*](ἐξ ἐπιβολῆς (if Taylor’s conjecture is correct) must imply as a result of a fine summarily inflicted (by the archons); cf. Lys. 30.3.) committed himself to prison, having assessed[*](A defendant could propose a penalty as an alternative to that proposed by the plaintiff, and the judges had to vote for one or the other penalty.) the penalty at imprisonment if he failed to hand over his attendant:

he knew well that he would not be able to hand him over, since he had been put to death in order to shield this man and his offences from his servant’s denunciation. Now, must it not have been some god that destroyed his reason, when he conceived it to be easier for him to propose imprisonment than a sum of money, with as good a hope in either case?

However, as the result of this proposal he lay for nearly a year in prison, and informed as a prisoner against his own kinsmen and friends, having been granted impunity if his information should be deemed true. What soul do you think was his, when he could descend to the utmost depth of baseness in informing against his own friends, with so little prospect of deliverance?

After that, when he had achieved the death of those whom he professed to value most highly, he was held to have given true information and was released: you then passed a special decree that he was to be barred from the market-place and the temples, so that even if wronged by his enemies he could get no redress.

Why, nobody to this day, throughout the ever-memorable history of Athens, has been disqualified on so grave a charge. And justly; for neither has anyone to this day committed such acts. Should we attribute these results to the gods, or to mere chance?