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§§ 1—3. Stephanus has made a long reply to my former speech, and, as I suspected, has had a good deal to say in defence of his evidence. A cunning rogue himself, and well primed by Phormion's numerous advisers, he has attempted to mislead you into the notion that he is not responsible for all the details of his deposition. He has not brought a single witness to prove, either (1) that he was present when my father made the alleged will, or (2) that he ever saw it opened after my father's death; and yet he has actually deposed that the copy set forth in his deposition is a transcript of the ‘will.’ By so doing he is palpably convicted of having given false testimony. παράγων—ὑπενόουν Apollodorus had already, in his former speech, thrown out his suspicions that Stephanus would have recourse to this line of defence. See Or. 45 §§ 44 and 87. οἱ γράφοντες...ὑπὲρ Φορμίωνος e.g. Demosthenes himself. την ἀπολογίαν ..μελετᾶν ‘prepared their defence.’ μελετᾶν, like meditari, with which it is etymologically connected, is often used of ‘rehearsing a part,’ ‘conning over a task,’ ‘practising for a performance.’
Select Private Orations of Demosthenes, Part II. J. E. Sandys, Litt. D., and F. A. Paley, M.A., LL.D. 1910. Cambridge University Press.
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