24.3

The challenger must be envious of the defendant, since he is a better citizen.

τοίνυν: Lysias often uses the particle to indicate the start of a new thought (νῦν, “now”) which is of particular interest or importance to the addressee (τοί, “to/for you”), which explains its use in combination with a vocative in two of its three instances in this speech.

δῆλός ἐστι φθονῶν: “it is clear that he is envious.” The expression δῆλος + εἰμί frequently includes a supplementary participle (LSJ δῆλος II.2).The challenger is the antecedent to φθονῶν.  

ὅτι: “since…”. The conjunction introduces a causal clause that explains why, according to the speaker, the challenger is envious of his rather unenvious station in life.

κεχρημένος: > χράομαι, nom. masc. sing. perf. mid./pass. participle. Concessive participle, “although having suffered…” The subject is the speaker. The verb is common and carries a wide range of meanings.

τούτου: genitive of comparison with βελτίων. Refers to the challenger.

βελτίων: comparative of ἀγαθός.

τὰ τοῦ σώματος δυστυχήματα: “physical disabilities” (lit.: “the misfortunes of the body”). Here is the first explicit reference by the speaker to his physical disability which is a core issue of the present case. Samama 2016 surveys the Greek vocabulary for disability and observes how the language is often vague, which she understands as an indicator of the integration of people with physical disabilities into Greek society. Lysias uses similarly vague language here to describe the defendant’s disability. Besides later references to a mobility impairment (he uses two canes to help him walk), the defendant does not further relate the specifics or extent of his physical disability. This lack of specificity may reflect the fact that physical disability in this legal context is primarily relevant to the degree that it prevents a citizen from earning a living wage. A physical disability alone would not qualify the defendant for the benefit or legally classify him as “disabled” (οἱ ἀδυνάτοι). For further discussion of disability, see the Introduction.

τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν: “habits of the soul/mind” or “mental qualities” (Todd 2000), i.e. one’s intellectual (and moral?) practices and customs. While the noun is used elsewhere by Plato to refer to the “practice of virtue” (Leg.711b), which Isocrates also calls the “most beautiful way of life” (10.54: κάλλιστον τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων), Lysias’ expression is practically unique and its coinage may evoke (a parody of?) this elevated philosophical discourse.

τὰ τοῦ σώματος δυστυχήματα τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν: Note the measured balance of this phrase as the speaker contrasts the state of his body and mind/soul.

ἰᾶσθαι: atypical use of metaphorical language by Lysias contributes a tone of intellectual refinement and philosophical high-mindedness (Edwards and Usher 1985: 264). Ancient medical thought stressed the importance of the mind-body connection in regards to health.

ἐξ ἴσου τῇ συμφορᾷ: “in proportion to my misfortune.” The phrase should be distributed with each following phrase. If the speaker is to overcome his place in life and distinguish his behavior from that of the challenger, he must assume a mental attitude and approach to life that counteracts and ultimately surpasses the physical limitations imposed on his body.

τὴν διάνοιαν ἕξω: “I will keep my outlook.”

καὶ...καὶ: “both...and.”

βίον διάξω: > βιον διάγειν = “to go through life” (LSJ διάγω ΙΙ.1).

τὸν ἄλλον βίον: the article in combination with ἄλλος = “the rest” (LSJ ἄλλος II.6), here “the rest of my life.”

τί τούτου διοίσω : “how (LSJ τίς I.8e) shall I be different from this man?” διοίσω > διαφέρω, “to be different from” + gen (LSJ διαφέρω III.4). Note the snarl in the dismissive insult of this final rhetorical question, which crystalizes an essential component of the defendant’s argument: the defendant, a struggling working-class Athenian, is a better citizen than his elite challenger.

εἰ...ἕξω...διάξω...διοίσω[: future-most-vivid condition that contributes a heighted emotional tone as Lysias has his speaker close the introduction to his speech. Note how this crescendo of future verbs (Adams 1905) resound with ε, ξ, δ, and ω sounds.