of Konon and Ktesias makes more sense if Ariston on his first encounter with Ktesias had done or said something (he and Phanostratos outnum bered Ktesias) to provoke the attack. Ariston may not be quite the innocent he would have us believe. There may be some truth in Konon’s presentation of Ariston and Ktesias as members of rival gangs. CASE VII: ISOKRATES 20 – AGAINST LOCHITES The present case concerns an alleged assault. As in Dem. 54 (Case VI) we have here the private action (dike aikeias); this is clear both from the opening, where the emphasis on the first to strike reflects the definition of the offence in the wording of the law, and the reference in §19 to what appears to be assessment of damages to be paid to the victim, which suggests the private suit. If this is a real speech, and not a rhetorical exercise in argumentation, it is incomplete; what survives is the proof section, the narrative being omitted. The speech postdates the restoration of the democracy. The rhetorical use made of experiences under the Thirty suggests that events are relatively recent; but memories were long; Aischines (2.78, not in this volume) could still capitalize on his father’s loyalty to the democratic cause sixty years after the restoration. . . . [1] The fact that Lochites struck me, and was the one who began the violence, has been attested to you by all who were present. You should not regard this offence as on a par with others, nor should the penalties for crimes against the person and those against property be the same. For you know that physical safety is of personal concern to all mankind and that it is with this end in view that we have made our laws, we fight for freedom, desire democracy, and carry out all the other activities in our lives. So it is reasonable for you to impose the most severe penalty on people who commit offences in an area which you consider of the utmost importance. [2] You will find that our lawmakers also took physical safety especially seriously. First of all, this is the only offence for which they made both private and public actions exempt from the court deposit, so that each of us would be able to secure the punishment of wrongdoers to the best of his ability and according to his wish. Secondly, in the case of other suits the offender is liable to prosecution only by the victim in person, while in the matter of outrage, because the act is of public concern, it is open to any citizen to enter an