Source edition
Demosthenes. Orationes, Vol. II, Part 2. Rennie, W., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is the second part of the court oration in which the young Demosthenes prosecutes his untrustworthy guardian, Aphobus, for embezzling his inheritance. Demosthenes refutes Aphobus's excuse—that he could not lease the estate due to a public debt supposedly owed by Demosthenes's grandfather—by proving the claim false and pointing out that the defendants have concealed the will. He further demonstrates the guardians' looting of the estate through witness testimonies, recollecting the solemn moment when his dying father entrusted his family and property to them, thereby strongly condemning their betrayal. Finally, Demosthenes explains how he evaded the trap of the property-exchange system (antidosis) devised by his opponents to obstruct the lawsuit, and by appealing to his potential ruin if he loses, he implores the jurors for their sympathy and a just verdict.