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| δυσκόλου δ’ ὄντος φύσει καὶ χαλεποῦ τοῦ βουλεύεσθαι, ἔτι πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον ὑμεῖς αὐτὸ πεποιήκατ’, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι πάντες ἄνθρωποι πρὸ τῶν πραγμάτων εἰώθασι χρῆσθαι τῷ βουλεύεσθαι, ὑμεῖς δὲ μετὰ τὰ πράγματα |
| While decision-making is difficult by its very nature, you have made it even more difficult, Athenians. Whereas others are used to deliberate before the events, you deliberate afterwards. |
| Demosthenes On the Peace 5.2 (11) |
| τοῦτο δὲ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ πτάρνυταί τις |
| While he was saying this, somebody sneezed |
| Xenophon Anabasis 3.2.9 (61) |
| οὕτω δ’ ἐχόντων εἰκὸς τοῖς μὲν πολεμίοις ἐναντίους εἶναι τοὺς θεούς, ἡμῖν δὲ συμμάχους οἵπερ ἱκανοί εἰσι καὶ τοὺς μεγάλους ταχὺ μικροὺς ποιεῖν καὶ τοὺς μικροὺς κἂν ἐν δεινοῖς ὦσι σῴζειν εὐπετῶς, ὅταν βούλωνται |
| Given that this is the case, it is reasonable to think that the gods will be opposed to our enemies, and on our side. The gods are capable of making the mighty weak, and of protecting the weak even if they are in danger whenever they want. |
| Xenophon Anabasis 3.2.10 (64) |
| ἃ δ’ εἶπον εἰς ἅπαντας οὐκ ἀρνήσομαι, Τροίας ἁλούσης ἀνδρὶ τῷ πρώτῳ στρατοῦ σὴν παῖδα δοῦναι σφάγιον ἐξαιτουμένῳ. |
| I will not deny what I said in front of everybody, that once Troy was captured I would give your child to the first of the army who asked for him as a sacrifice victim. |
| Euripides Hecuba 303-4 (75) |
| πυθόμενος γὰρ ὅτι τὸ μειράκιον ἦν παρ’ ἐμοί, ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν ἐμὴν νύκτωρ μεθύων, ἐκκόψας τὰς θύρας εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν, ἔνδον οὐσῶν τῆς τε ἀδελφῆς τῆς ἐμῆς καὶ τῶν ἀδελφιδῶν, αἳ οὕτω κοσμίως βεβιώκασιν ὥστε καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ὁρώμεναι αἰσχύνεσθαι. |
| When he found out that the boy was staying with me, he came to my house drunk one night, broke down the doors and went into the women's quarters, where my sister and nieces were. They lived such proper lives that they were ashamed even to be seen by servants. |
| Lysias Speeches 3.6 (99) |
| δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ἐγγύς που τοῦ λιμένος εἰκὸς ἦν τοῦτο γίγνεσθαι, τοῦτο μὲν μεθύοντος τοῦ ἀνδρός, τοῦτο δὲ νύκτωρ ἐκβάντος ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου· |
| For it is clear that this must have happened somewhere near the harbour, since the man was drunk and had left the ship at night. |
| Antiphon On the Murder of Herodes 5.27 (126) |
| προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἧκον μὲν ἀπροσδοκήτως ἐξ ἀγροῦ, μετὰ δὲ τὸ δεῖπνον τὸ παιδίον ἐβόα καὶ ἐδυσκόλαινεν ὑπὸ τῆς θεραπαίνης ἐπίτηδες λυπούμενον, ἵνα ταῦτα ποιῇ· |
| Time went on, gentlemen, and I came back unexpectedly from the fields. After dinner, the child was screaming and fretting because it was being annoyed on purpose by the maidservant to do that. |
| Lysias Speeches 1.11 (153) |
| μελλόντων δὲ τῶν Ἰώνων λύειν καὶ ποιέειν τὰ κελευόμενα, Κώης ὁ Ἐρξάνδρου στρατηγὸς ἐὼν Μυτιληναίων ἔλεξε Δαρείῳ τάδε, πυθόμενος πρότερον εἰ οἱ φίλον εἴη γνώμην ἀποδέκεσθαι παρὰ τοῦ βουλομένου ἀποδείκνυσθαι· |
| While the Ionians were on the point of destruction and carrying out their orders, Coes the son of Erxander, the general of the Mytilenians, after first finding out whether he would be keen to accept an opinion from someone who wanted to give it, said the following to Darius. |
| Herodotus Histories 4.97 (207) |
| συνεπαινεσάντων δὲ πάντων καὶ οὐδενὸς εἰπόντος ἐναντίον οὐδέν, οὐκ εἶπον μὲν ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔγραψα δέ, οὐδ’ ἔγραψα μέν, οὐκ ἐπρέσβευσα δέ, οὐδ’ ἐπρέσβευσα μέν, οὐκ ἔπεισα δὲ Θηβαίους, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἄχρι τῆς τελευτῆς διεξῆλθον, καὶ ἔδωκ’ ἐμαυτὸν ὑμῖν ἁπλῶς εἰς τοὺς περιεστηκότας τῇ πόλει κινδύνους. |
| Everyone applauded and no-one said anything in opposition. And it was not the case that I said this but did not call a vote, it was not the case that I called a vote but did not act as ambassador, it was not the case that I acted as ambassador but did not persuade the Thebans - instead I carried it out from beginning to end and completely surrendered myself to the dangers surrounding the city. |
| Demosthenes 18.179 (232) |
| εἰρομένου δέ μευ τοὺς ἱρέας εἰ μάταιον λόγον λέγουσι οἱ Ἕλληνες τὰ περὶ Ἴλιον γενέσθαι ἢ οὔ, ἔφασαν πρὸς ταῦτα τάδε |
| When I asked the priests whether the Greeks' account of what happened at Troy was credible or not, they gave me the following answer. |
| Herodotus Histories 2.118 (267) |
| χρόνου δὲ οὐ πολλοῦ διελθόντος (χρῆν γὰρ Κανδαύλῃ γενέσθαι κακῶς) ἔλεγε πρὸς τὸν Γύγην τοιάδε. |
| Not long afterwards (Candaules was fated to turn out badly), he told him the following. |
| Herodotus Histories 1.8 (318) |
| καὶ δᾷδας λαβόντες ἐκ τοῦ ἐγγύτατα καπηλείου εἰσερχόμεθα, ἀνεῳγμένης τῆς θύρας καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνθρώπου παρεσκευασμένης. |
| Then we got torches from the nearest shop, and went in; the door was open, as the girl had it in readiness. |
| Lysias Speeches 1.24 (331) |
| ἢ τὸ πλοῖον ἀφῖκται ἐκ Δήλου, οὗ δεῖ ἀφικομένου τεθνάναι με; |
| Has the ship come from Delos, at the arrival of which I am to die? |
| Plato Crito 43a (357) |
| οὐ γὰρ πείσονται οἱ πολλοὶ ὡς σὺ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἠθέλησας ἀπιέναι ἐνθένδε ἡμῶν προθυμουμένων. |
| For most people will not believe that we were eager to help you to go away from here, but you refused. |
| Plato Crito 44c (359) |
| σκόπει δὴ οὖν καὶ σὺ εὖ μάλα πότερον κοινωνεῖς καὶ συνδοκεῖ σοι καὶ ἀρχώμεθα ἐντεῦθεν βουλευόμενοι, ὡς οὐδέποτε ὀρθῶς ἔχοντος οὔτε τοῦ ἀδικεῖν οὔτε τοῦ ἀνταδικεῖν οὔτε κακῶς πάσχοντα ἀμύνεσθαι ἀντιδρῶντα κακῶς, ἢ ἀφίστασαι καὶ οὐ κοινωνεῖς τῆς ἀρχῆς; |
| Do you therefore consider very carefully whether you agree and share in this opinion, and let us take as the the starting point of our discussion the assumption that it is never right to do wrong or to requite wrong with wrong, or when we suffer evil to defend ourselves by doing evil in return. |
| Plato Crito 49d (415) |
| μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, ὦ ἄνδρες, χρόνου μεταξὺ διαγενομένου καὶ ἐμοῦ πολὺ ἀπολελειμμένου τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ κακῶν, προσέρχεταί μοί τις πρεσβῦτις ἄνθρωπος, ὑπὸ γυναικὸς ὑποπεμφθεῖσα ἣν ἐκεῖνος ἐμοίχευεν, ὡς ἐγὼ ὕστερον ἤκουον· |
| After this, sirs, an interval occurred in which I was left quite unaware of my own injuries; I was then accosted by a certain old female, who was secretly sent by a woman with whom that man was having an intrigue, as I heard later. |
| Lysias Speeches 1.15 (429) |
| Σωκράτης: οὐκοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων τοῦτο σκεπτέον, πότερον δίκαιον ἐμὲ ἐνθένδε πειρᾶσθαι ἐξιέναι μὴ ἀφιέντων Ἀθηναίων ἢ οὐ δίκαιον· |
| Socrates: Then we agree that the question is whether it is right for me to try to escape from here without the permission of the Athenians, or not right. |
| Plato Crito 48c (434) |
| οὕτω σφόδρα ἡμᾶς ᾑροῦ καὶ ὡμολόγεις καθ’ ἡμᾶς πολιτεύσεσθαι, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ παῖδας ἐν αὐτῇ ἐποιήσω, ὡς ἀρεσκούσης σοι τῆς πόλεως. |
| So strongly did you prefer us and agree to live in accordance with us; and besides, you begat children in the city, showing that it pleased you. |
| Plato Crito 52c (451) |
| ἔτι τοίνυν ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ δίκῃ ἐξῆν σοι φυγῆς τιμήσασθαι εἰ ἐβούλου, καὶ ὅπερ νῦν ἀκούσης τῆς πόλεως ἐπιχειρεῖς, τότε ἑκούσης ποιῆσαι. |
| And moreover even at your trial you might have offered exile as your penalty, if you wished, and might have done with the state's consent what you are now undertaking to do without it. |
| Plato Crito 52c (452) |
| ἀλλ’ ἐς τοσοῦτον ἥκεθ’ ὥστ’ ὀρθουμένης εὐνῆς γυναῖκες πάντ’ ἔχειν νομίζετε |
| You women are so far gone that you think that you have everything as long as everything is all right in the bedroom. |
| Euripides Medea 569-570 (487) |
| Μήδεια: πρὸς θεῶν, ἄπαις γὰρ δεῦρ’ ἀεὶ τείνεις βίον; Αἰγεύς: ἄπαιδές ἐσμεν δαίμονός τινος τύχῃ. Μήδεια: δάμαρτος οὔσης ἢ λέχους ἄπειρος ὤν; |
| Medea: By the gods are you still now dragging out your life without children? Aegeus: We have no children at the whim of some god. Medea: Do you have a wife or do you have no experience of marriage? |
| Euripides Medea 670-672 (495) |