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(1) Androcles loaned money to Artemon, a Phaselite merchant, but when Artemon died without paying him back, Androcles holds his brother Lacritus the sophist responsible for the debt. He accuses him in a probole using two arguments from justice: first, that he loaned Artemon the money in the presence of Lacritus, who agreed to serve as guarantor; and second, that Lacritus is Artemon’s heir. (2) But Lacritus says that he has relinquished his claim to the inheritance, and he brings an indictment against the case for an illegal prosecution, saying that he never had a contract or any other agreement with Androcles. Lacritus totally denies that he agreed to serve as guarantor; for if Lacritus never agreed to this, then Androcles is acting unfairly by demanding that he pay the debt in full. (3) Some incorrectly believed the speech to be spurious, fooled by obscure evidence. For slackness of diction is not inappropriate in private cases; calling on “Lord Zeus” is evidently in keeping with the character of the persona assumed; and his response to the indictment for an illegal prosecution is rather weak, simply because the case is a bad one.

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