42. Surely one would have thought, before both cases were shown, that the property of Nicophemus was a small fraction of that of Conon. Aristophanes purchased land and a house for more than five talents, supplied choruses for himself and his father for five thousand drachmae, and spent eighty minae as Trierarch. 43. And in taxes he contributed for both no less than forty minae, and for the expedition to Sicily he spent a hundred minae. For sending the triremes when the Cyprians came and you gave them ten ships, for pay for the mercenaries and the purchase of arms, he furnished thirty thousand drachmae. The amount of this is a little less than fifteen talents. 44. So you do not charge me with reason, since the property of Aristophanes appears to be more than a third part of that of Conon, which is agreed was rightly reported by himself, though appearing to be much greater. And I do not reckon what Nicophemus had in Cyprus, where were his wife and daughter. 45. I do not believe, gentlemen of the jury, that you will ruin me after my producing such conclusive evidence. For I have heard from my father and other older men that both now and formerly you have been mistaken about the property of many men, and that many while living seem to be wealthy, and after death they turned out very different from what you supposed. 46. For example, every one supposed Ischomachus as long as he lived was worth more than seventy talents, as I hear; but each of his two sons had less than ten at his death. Stephanus, son of Thallus, was said to be worth more than fifty talents, but his property after his death proved to be about eleven talents. 47. The estate of Nicias was expected to be worth not less than a hundred talents, and much of it in ready money; but when Niceratus was dying, he said himself he was not leaving any gold or silver, and the house which he left to his son was not worth more than fourteen talents. 48. Again Callias, son of Hipponicus, at the recent death of his father seemed to have inherited more than any other Greek, but as he says, his grandfather valued (the property) at two hundred talents. His rateable property is really not worth two talents. You all know Cleophon, that for many years he managed all the finances of the state and was supposed to have much from the government; but at his death there was no money, and the relatives and connections whom he left were confessedly poor men. 49. So we are evidently much deceived in regard to men of hereditary wealth and those who have recently become noted. And I think the reason is that one dares to say without sufficient grounds that so-and-so has many talents from the government. And I do not wonder at what they say about the dead (for they cannot be confuted by them), but at their attempt to deceive during their life. 50. For you yourselves lately heard in the assembly that Diotimus had forty talents more than he acknowledged from the ship captains and merchants; and no