24.5

The defendant summarizes the two major accusations made by the challenger: that he displays a degree of physical strength and level of financial security that disqualifies the renewal of the state benefit.

τεκμηρίοις...τῆς μὲν τοῦ σώματος ῥώμης: “as evidence of my bodily strength.” τεκμηρίοις is the dative object of χρῆται.

ὅτι: “the fact that.” The conjunction introduces a clause that functions in apposition to τεκμηρίοις. 

ἐπὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἀναβαίνω: the challenger claims that the ability to ride a horse is clear evidence of physical health, and thus a lack of disability. Is this logic sound?

τῆς δ᾽ ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ εὐπορίας: “prosperity in my trade.” Supply τεκμηρίοις χρῆται. Demonstrated financial need due to a limiting physical disability was a requirement to qualify for the state benefit according to the version of the law recorded by Aristotle (Ath. Pol. 49.4).

συνεῖναι: “to associate with” + dat. (LSJ σύνειμι II.3).

δυναμένοις ἀνθρώποις ἀναλίσκειν: “men who can spend,” i.e. the defendant associates with men that waste away their wealth on gambling and other unsavory activities.

οἷος: supply βίος, “whatever sort of life.”

τυγχάνει: supply ὦν.

πάντας ὑμᾶς οἴμαι γιγνώσκειν: defendants do not normally draw attention to their notoriety, except in instances where their actions benefited the state, e.g. military service or the performance of a public service such as funding a dramatic performance (liturgy). In this case, it appears that the reputation of the defendant precedes him and Lysias has made the tactical decision to cast the defendant as an open book in the hopes of avoiding accusations that he is concealing anything (Edwards and Usher 1985: 264-65).

κἀγὼ: = καὶ ἐγώ (crasis). This form of crasis is quite rare in Lysias, appearing a total of 7 times. The narrative of Euphelitos, the credulous husband of Lysias, accounts for three examples, a cluster which may suggest that Lysias considered the crasis tonally appropriate for direct, plain-spoken speech.

διὰ βραχέων: supply λόγων, “in a few words.” Defendant repeats the promise at the start of Chapter 4 to tell his side of the story quickly and to the point.