On The Estate of Apollodorus

I should have thought, gentlemen, that there was one class of adoptions which could not be disputed, namely, those which are made by the adopter personally in his lifetime and in full possession of his faculties, after he has led his adopted son to the domestic shrines and presented him to his kindred and inscribed him in the official registers, and himself carried out all the proper formalities. On the other hand, a dispute might well arise when a man, feeling that his end is near, has disposed of his property in favor of another, if anything should happen to him, and putting his wishes in a written document has sealed it up and deposited it in the custody of others. By the former method the adopter sets forth his wishes with perfect clearness, making the whole transaction valid in the manner permitted by the laws; whereas the man who commits his wishes to a sealed-up will makes them secret, with the result that claimants often think fit to contest the succession against adopted sons, alleging that the will is a forgery. It appears, however, that this distinction is of little practical value; for though my adoption was quite openly carried out, yet representatives of Eupolis’s daughter have come forward to contest my right to Apollodorus’s estate. If I observed that you prefer a protestation to a direct action, I should have brought forward witnesses to show that the estate is not liable to adjudication, seeing that Apollodorus adopted me in the proper legal form; but since I am sensible that by the former method the rights of the case cannot fully be made known to you, I have myself come forward to explain the facts so that they may bring no charge against us of being unwilling to submit to such a trial. I shall prove to you, not only that Apollodorus was prevented from leaving his estate to his nearest relatives by the many injuries which he had sustained at their hands, but also that he legally adopted me, his nephew, after having received great benefits from my family. I beg you all, gentlemen, to accord me your goodwill, and, if I can prove that my opponents are laying impudent claim to the estate, to help me to obtain my just rights. I will speak as briefly as I can, relating to you all that has happened from the beginning.