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It is an outrage to “misfortune” that he should use it to cloak his crime, in the hope of concealing his defilement. Neither does he deserve your “pity”1 he did not consult his victim's wishes2 in bringing doom upon him: whereas he did consult his own before exposing himself to danger. We proved in our first speech that he is the murderer; we shall now endeavor to show by examination that his defense was unsound.

1 The ἀτυχία and ἐλεεῖσθαι of course echo the ἐλεήσαντας τὴν ἀτυχίαν μου at the close of the preceding speech for the defense.

2 It is important to distinguish between the various meanings of ἀκούσιος Whereas ἑκούσιος is always “willing” or “voluntary”, ἀκούσιος can mean one of three things; (a)” unwilling,” (b) “accidental” or involuntary,” (c) “non-voluntary.” In (a) I do or suffer something against my will; in (b) I do or suffer something voluntarily, but the consequences are other than I willed them to be; in (c) I do or suffer something unconsciously or in entire ignorance (e.g. I may be hypnotized and unknowingly commit murder, or I may be the unsuspecting victim of sudden death, as here); my will does not enter into the matter at all.

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