§ 50. You dicasts once sentenced to death a person impeached by εἰσαγγελία. The commonly accepted meaning of this term is ‘an impeachment before the senate or the people for all extraordinary crimes committed against the state, and for which there was no special law provided.’ In an excellent and exhaustive article on εἰσαγγελία in the Journal of Philology, IV 74—112, by Dr Herman Hager, an opinion is expressed (p. 94), which might have been fully proved by citing this passage, that ‘an eisangelia was also applicable to offences committed against the commercial laws.’ [The passage is cited in his article in Smith's Dict. Ant. i 709 b ed. 1890. S.]
The condemnation here mentioned is one of the many proofs how little human life was valued by the Athenians when balanced against the letter of the law. There are many startling instances of this in the oration against Midias. See, for instance, § 182.
τὸν ἐπιδεδανεισμένον In the medial sense. See sup. § 6.— οὐ παρασχόντα, § 7.
πατρὸς ἐστρατηγηκότος The Athenians had an extraordinary regard for a στρατηγός, and his character was regarded almost as ‘sacrosanct.’ Hence the crime of Clytemnestra is exaggerated in Aesch. Ag. 1605 ἀνδρὶ στρατηγῷ τόνδ᾽ ἐβούλευσας μόρον. cf. Eum. 434. 595. Soph. El. 1, 694. Timocr. § 135 Ἀρχίνου υἱὸς τοῦ—πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ πεπολιτευμένου καὶ ἐστρατηγηκότος πολλάκις.
