24.18

Might is right, even when one’s actions are socially unacceptable. The weak are restrained in their behavior.

τοῖς μὲν ἰσχυροῖς...τοῖς δὲ ἀσθενέσιν: this lengthy sentence is structured around the opposition between the types of behaviors condoned for the powerful and weak in Athenian society.

ἐγχωρεῖ: “it is allowed,” impersonal verb. The root of this compound verb, χωρέω, has a base sense of “withdraw” or “give room”, which reinforces the underlying idea that the strong and rich in Athenian society are “given room” to assert their power and control.  

μηδὲν αὐτοῖς πάσχουσιν: participial phrase describing τοῖς ἰσχύροις (“the stronger men”), “who suffer no consequences on their own part (αὐτοῖς).” αὐτοῖς is an emphatic ethical dative.

οὓς ἂν βουληθῶσιν: “whomever they should wish.” General relative clause with the modal particle ἄν and the verb in the subjunctive (G. 616).

οὐκ ἔστιν: “it is not possible.” Equivalent to the impersonal use of ἐξέστι(ν). Infinitive subjects of impersonal construction = ἀμύνεσθαι and περιγίγνεσθαι and dative of reference = τοῖς δὲ ἀσθενέσιν.

τοῖς δὲ ἀσθενέσιν…οὔτε ὑβριζομένοις…οὔτε ὑβρίζειν βουλομένοις: the participles stand in apposition to the substantive adjective τοῖς δὲ ἀσθενέσιν. The dative case is dependent on the impersonal οὐκ ἔστιν, “it is not possible for…”

οὐκ…οὔτε…οὔτε: it is fairly common for the negative οὔτε…οὔτε to follow after another negative clause (S. 2942). In these instances it is best to render in English, which avoids the pile-up of negatives, as “either…or.”

τοὺς ὑπάρξαντας: “aggressors.” The participle is often used substantively to describe men who initiate an action (ὑπάρχω = “begin”).

περιγίγνεσθαι τῶν ἀδικουμένων: “to prevail over their victims.”

ὑβρίζειν...ὑβριζομένοις...ὑβρίζειν: the repetition of the verb ὑβρίζω, featuring the alternation in voice from active to passive and back again (polyptoton), highlights the distinction that the speaker seeks to draw between the behaviors (and their outcomes) of the strong and weak: the strong can commit acts of insolence, while the weak are either the victims of insolent behavior or cannot resort to insolent behavior that will successfully counteract the imbalance in structures of social power.

ὥστε...περὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ὕβρεως: a result clause that contextualizes the general claim made above that the strong can act insolently with impunity while the weak are prevented from undertaking or responding to such attacks. 

οὐ σπουδάζων, ἀλλὰ παίζων: “not seriously, but in jest.” The speaker makes the bold claim that the challenger’s entire case is an ill-conceived joke, a troll against the defendant and the entire state. Could the choice of παίζω subtly nod to the challenger’s arrogant youth in contrast to the defendant’s advanced years? The rhetorical decision may also be motivated in part by the fact that the Council can see the speaker’s physical disability as he stands before them (O’Connell 2017: 49).

ὥς εἰμι τοιοῦτος: “that I am this sort of man,” i.e. that I act with hubris.

πεῖσαι: “to persuade (once and for all time)” > aor. act. inf. of πείθω. Since the tense of the infinitive denotes a difference in the aspect rather than the time of an action, here the use of the aorist infinitive puts the emphasis on the completion of the action of the infinitive.

ἐμὲ κωμῳδεῖν: “to ridicule me (now and in the future).” We should consider the theatrical resonances of the verb κωμῳδεῖν (“to represent in a comedy”), which the defendant might employ in order to cast the challenger as attempting to turn the trial before the Council into a comedy. Given the humorous tone taken by the speaker throughout his speech, this rhetorical maneuver is particularly bold.

οὐδ’ ὑμᾶς πεῖσαι βουλόμενος...ἀλλ’ ἐμὲ κωμῳδεῖν βουλόμενος: the repetition of βουλόμενος + complementary infinitive + object effectively highlights the alternative explanations for the challenger’s behavior.

ὥσπερ τι καλὸν ποιῶν: “as if doing a good deed.” The implication is that challenger has possibly presented his objection to the renewal of the defendant’s benefit as an altruistic service to the state, but is he? Rather, his actions more likely have their origins in personal enmity or political ideology.