On the Olive Stump

And I feel it is extraordinary that you, whom the city has charged with the perpetual supervision of the sacred olives, have never either punished me for working over the one of them nor brought me to trial for having cleared one away, and that now this man, who, as it happens, is neither farming near me nor has been appointed a supervisor nor is of age to know about such matters, should have indicted me for clearing away a sacred olive from the land.

I beg you, therefore, not to consider such statements more credible than the facts, nor to tolerate such assertions from my enemies about matters of which you are personally cognizant: let your reflections be guided by what I have told you and by the whole tenor of my citizenship.

For I have performed all the duties laid upon me with greater zeal than the State required: alike in equipping a warship, in contributing to war funds, in producing drama, and in the rest of my public services, my munificence was equal to that of any other citizen.