F. A. Paley, Select Private Orations of Demosthenes

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πλημμελῶν—δικην ‘When he was committing those trespasses for which he has given satisfaction.’ Kennedy. See § 7. This seems an admission that Evergus did exceed his rights in taking possession.

λαβὼν ‘Took a servant from my house, and placed him at his own works to keep guard.’ Kennedy.

πρὸς ἐμὲ That he may so frame the indictment as to render me responsible.

εἰς τὸν κεγχρεῶνα This probably means ‘the granulating mould’ (furnace or pit), i.e. the place into which the silver is run when smelted. It appears to have been dropped into water, which gives it a granulated appearance. (So it is often to be seen in the windows of our bullion-shops, and so, in fact, leaden shot is made.) Hence, probably, ἀργυρίου ψακὰς in Ar. Pac. 121. (In Eur. Phoen. 1316, ἀσπίδος κεγχρώματα seem to be small round eye-holes in the margin of a shield, so-called from their supposed resemblance to milletseed.) Harpocr. κεγχρεών: Δημοσθένης ἐν τῇ πρὸς Πανταίνετον παραγραφῇ, Κἄπειτ᾽ ἔπεισε (sic) τοὺς οἰκέτας τοὺς ἐμοὺς καθέζεσθαι εἰς τὸν κεγχρεῶνα ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰς τὸ καθαριστήριον ὅπου τὴν ἐκ τῶν μετάλλων κέγχρον διέψυχͅον. Photius. κεγχρεών: τόπος Αθήνησιν (he means ‘in Attica’), ἐν ᾧ ἡ ἀργυρῖτις ἐκαθαίρετο κέγχρος (f. ὡς κέγχρος). καὶ ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀργυρείων ἀναφερομένη ἄμμος.

Boeckh, however (p. 638), thinks κέγχρος was a kind of dross or efflorescence, consisting chiefly of glazed lead that was got rid of in the refining furnace, thence called κεγχρεών. He identifies it with spuma argenti or lithargyrus and compares the χαλκοῦ ἄνθος (an efflorescence formed on copper when fused after the smelting) described by Dioscorides as κεγχριοειδὲς τῷ ῥυθμῷ. Publ. Econ. p. 640—6, trans. Lewis (2). ‘The κεγχρεὼν at the silver foundries was in fact the foundry where the silver which had been already fused was refined: the impurity detached in this stage was called κέγχρος, and perhaps chiefly consisted of glazed lead; and here the silver was again cooled with water.’ There seems however little force in his remark (p. 641), ‘it is not at all probable that silver should have been fused in a granulated form,’ since this is certainly the practice now. We see something like it in what is known as ‘frosted silver.’