[20]
You should remember this and not trust too hastily the assertions of the accuser nor hear the defendant in uproar and anger.1 Ours is a shameful state of inconsistency; for while it is acknowledged that in our life in general we are the most merciful2 and gentle of all the Hellenes, yet in the conduct of our trials here we manifestly give the lie to this reputation.
1 Athenian juries not infrequently made noisy demonstrations of their prejudices. See Plat. Apol. 30c; Aristoph. Wasps 624.
2 The Athenians appear to have worshipped Ἔλεος, Goddess of Pity. See Schol. to Soph. OC 261.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
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