20
You should remember this and not trust too hastily the assertions of the accuser nor hear the defendant in uproar and anger.Athenian juries not infrequently made noisy demonstrations of their prejudices. See Plat. Apol. 30c; Aristoph. Wasps 624. Ours is a shameful state of inconsistency; for while it is acknowledged that in our life in general we are the most mercifulThe Athenians appear to have worshipped Ἔλεος, Goddess of Pity. See Schol. to Soph. OC 261. and gentle of all the Hellenes, yet in the conduct of our trials here we manifestly give the lie to this reputation.
21
In other states, when they try a man for his life, they cast a portion of the votes for the defendant,The reference seems to be to some custom somewhere by which in capital cases a number of the votes of the jury were at the outset of the trial given by grace to the defendant. No such custom is, so far as I know, mentioned anywhere else. but with us the accused has not even an equal chance with the sycophants;Isocrates, like Socrates (Plat. Apol. 37a-b), complains that defendants on a capital charge in other states were given a better chance. nay, while we take our solemn oath at the beginning of each year that we will hear impartially both accusers and accused,