On the Olive Stump

And you should consider, gentlemen, which side you ought rather to credit, those for whom many have borne witness, or one for whom nobody has ventured to do so; whether it is more likely that this man is lying, as he can without danger,[*](In prosecutions for impiety. and in certain other cases, the accuser was not subject to the rule that he forfeited 1000 drachmae and some of his civic rights if he failed to get a fifth of the votes of the judges.) or that in face of so grave a danger I committed such an act; and whether you think that he is vindicating the cause of the State, or has been playing the slanderer’s trade in his accusation.