and it happened that the first lot favoured Caesar’s passion for being
first. This made him triumphant and prouder than before. But the effect on
Alexander was that he almost withdrew from the competition, had not mighty
Heracles encouraged him and prevented him from leaving. Alexander drew the
lot to speak second, but the lots of those who came next coincided with
the order in which they had lived. Caesar then began as follows: “It was
my fortune, O Zeus and ye other gods, to be born, following a number of
great men, in a city so illustrious that she rules more subjects than any
other city has ever ruled; and indeed other cities are well pleased to
rank as second to her.(614) What other city, I ask, began with three
thousand citizens and in less than six centuries carried her victorious
arms to the ends of the earth? What other nations ever produced so many
brave and warlike men or such lawgivers? What nation ever honoured the
gods as they did? Observe then that, though I was born in a city so
powerful and so illustrious, my achievements not only surpassed the men of
my own day, but all the heroes who ever lived. As for my fellow‐citizens I
am confident that there is none who will challenge my superiority. But if
Alexander here is so presumptuous, which of his deeds does he pretend to
compare with mine? His Persian conquests, perhaps, as though he had never
seen all those trophies that I gathered when I defeated Pompey! And pray,
who was the more skilful general, Darius or Pompey? Which of them led the
bravest troops? Pompey had in his army the most martial of the nations
formerly subject to Darius,(615) but he reckoned them no better than
Carians,(616) for he led also those European forces which had often
repulsed all Asia when she invaded Europe, aye and he had the bravest of
them all, Italians, Illyrians, and Celts. And since I have mentioned the
Celts, shall we compare the exploits of Alexander against the Getae with
my conquest of Gaul? He crossed the Danube once, I crossed the Rhine
twice. The German conquest again is all my doing. No one opposed
Alexander, but I had to contend against Ariovistus. I was the first Roman
who ventured to sail the outer sea.(617) Perhaps this achievement was not
so wonderful, though it was a daring deed that may well command your
admiration; but a more glorious action of mine was when I leapt ashore
from my ship before all the others.(618) Of the Helvetians and Iberians I
say nothing. And still I have said not a word about my campaigns in Gaul,
when I conquered more than three hundred cities and no less than two
million men! But great as were these achievements of mine, that which
followed was still greater and more daring. For I had to contend against
my fellow citizens themselves, and to subdue the invincible, the
unconquerable Romans. Again, if we are judged by the number of our
battles, I fought three times as many as Alexander, even reckoning by the
boasts of those who embellish his exploits. If one counts the cities
captured, I reduced the greatest number, not only in Asia but in Europe as
well. Alexander only visited Egypt as a sight‐seer, but I conquered her
while I was arranging drinking‐parties. Are you pleased to inquire which
of us showed more clemency after victory? I forgave even my enemies, and
for what I suffered in consequence at their hands Justice has taken
vengeance. But Alexander did not even spare his friends, much less his
enemies. And are you still capable of disputing the first prize with me?
Then since you will not, like the others, yield place to me, you compel me
to say that whereas I was humane towards the Helvetians you treated the
Thebans cruelly. You burned their cities to the ground, but I restored the
cities that had been burned by their own inhabitants. And indeed it was
not at all the same thing to subdue ten thousand Greeks, and to withstand
the onset of a hundred and fifty thousand men. Much more could I add both
about myself and Alexander, but I have not had leisure to practise public
speaking. Wherefore you ought to pardon me, but from what I have said and
with regard to what I have not said, you ought, forming that decision
which equity and justice require, to award me the first prize.”)
Τοιαῦτα εἰπόντος τοῦ Καίσαρος καὶ λέγειν ἔτι βουλομένου, μόγις καὶ
πρότερον ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος καρτερῶν οὐκέτι κατέσχεν, ἀλλὰ μετά τινος ταραχῆς
καὶ ἀγωνίας, [B] Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, μέχρι τίνος ἀνέξομαι σιωπῇ
τῆς θρασύτητος τῆς τούτου; πέρας γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστιν, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, οὔτε τῶν εἰς
αὑτὸν ἐπαίνων οὔτε τῶν εἰς ἐμὲ βλασφημιῶν. ἐχρῆν δὲ ἴσως μάλιστα μὲν
ἀμφοῖν φείδεσθαι· καί γὰρ εἶναί πως ἀμφότερα δοκεῖ παραπλησίως ἐπαχθῆ·
πλέον δὲ τοῦ τἀμὰ διασύρειν ἄλλως τε καὶ μιμητὴν αὐτῶν γενόμενον. ὁ δὲ εἰς
τοῦτο ἦλθεν ἀναισχυντίας, [C] ὥστε τολμῆσαι τὰ ἀρχέτυπα κωμῳδεῖν τῶν
ἑαυτοῦ ἔργων. ἐχρῆν δέ, ὦ Καῖσαρ, ὑπομνησθῆναί σε τῶν δακρύων ἐκείνων, ἃ
τότε ἀφῆκας, ἀκροώμενος τῶν ὑπομνημάτων, ὅσα πεποίηται περὶ τῶν ἐμῶν
πράξεων. ἀλλ᾽ ὁ Πομπήιος ἐπῆρέ σε μετὰ τοῦτο, κολακευθεὶς μὲν παρὰ τῶν
πολιτῶν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ, γενόμενος δὲ οὐδεὶς οὐδαμοῦ. [D] τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ Λιβύης
θριαμβεῦσαι, οὐ μέγα ἔργον, ὀνομαστότατον ἐποίησεν ἡ τῶν τότε ὑπάτων
μαλακία. τὸν δουλικὸν δὲ ἐκεῖνον πόλεμον, οὐδὲ πρὸς ἄνδρας γενόμενον, ἀλλὰ
πρὸς τοὺς χειρίστους τῶν οἰκετῶν, ἄλλοι μὲν κατειργάσαντο, Κράσσοι καὶ
Λούκιοι, τοὔνομα δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἔσχε Πομπήιος. Ἀρμενίαν δὲ καὶ τὰ
πρόσοικα ταύτης κατεπολέμησε Λούκουλλος, ἐθριάμβευσε δὲ ἀπὸ τούτων
Πομπήιος. [323] εἶτ᾽ ἐκολάκευσαν αὐτὸν οἱ πολῖται καὶ Μέγαν ὠνόμασαν, ὄντα
τίνος τῶν πρὸ ἑαυτοῦ μείζονα; τί γὰρ ἐκείνῳ τοσοῦτον ἐπράχθη, ἡλίκον Μαρίῳ
ἢ Σκηπίωσι τοῖς δύο ἢ τῷ παρὰ τὸν Κυρῖνον τουτονὶ Φουρίῳ, ὃς μικροῦ
συμπεσοῦσαν τὴν τούτου πόλιν ἀνέστησεν; οὗτοι γὰρ οὐκ ἀλλοτρίοις ἔργοις,
ὥσπερ ἐν πολιτικαῖς οἰκοδομίαις καὶ δαπανήμασιν ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων καταβληθείσαις
[B] καὶ ἐπιτελεσθείσαις ἕτερος ἄρχων ἐπεγράφη μικρὰ κονιάσας τὸν τοῖχον,
οὕτω ταῖς ἀλλοτρίαις ἐπεγράφησαν πράξεσιν· ἀρχιτέκτονες δὲ αὐτοὶ καὶ
δημιουργοὶ γενόμενοι τῶν καλλίστων ἠξιώθησαν ὀνομάτων. οὐδὲν οὖν
θαυμαστόν, εἰ κεκράτηκας Πομπηίου δακτύλῳ κνωμένου καὶ τἆλλα ἀλώπεκος
μᾶλλον ἢ λέοντος. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἡ τύχη προύδωκεν, ἣ τὸν ἔμπροσθεν
χρόνον αὐτῷ παρειστήκει, ταχέως ἐκράτησας μόνου. καὶ ὅτι δεινότητι μὲν
οὐδεμιᾷ κρείττων ἐγένου, [C] φανερόν· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἐνδείᾳ γεγονὼς(619) τῶν
ἐπιτηδείων· ἔστι δὲ οὐ μικρόν, ὡς οἶσθα, τοῦτο ἁμάρτημα στρατηγοῦ· καὶ
μάχῃ συμβαλὼν ἡττήθης. εἰ δὲ Πομπήιος ὑπ᾽ ἀφροσύνης τε καὶ ἀνοίας ἢ τοῦ μὴ
δύνασθαι τῶν πολιτῶν ἄρχειν οὔτε, ἡνίκα ἔδει τρίβειν τὸν πόλεμον,
ὑπερετίθετο τὴν μάχην οὔτε τῇ νίκῃ(620) νικῶν ἐπεξῄει, ὑπὸ τοῖς οἰκείοις
ἁμαρτήμασι [D] καὶ οὐχ ὑπὸ τοῖς σοῖς ἐσφάλη στρατηγήμασι.
(When Caesar had spoken to this effect he still wished to go on talking,
but Alexander, who had with difficulty restrained himself hitherto, now
lost patience, and with some agitation and combativeness: “But _I_,” said
he, “O Jupiter and ye other gods, how long must I endure in silence the
insolence of this man? There is, as you see, no limit to his praise of
himself or his abuse of me. It would have better become him perhaps to
refrain from both, since both are alike insupportable, but especially from
disparaging my conduct, the more since he imitated it. But he has arrived
at such a pitch of impudence that he dares to ridicule the model of his
own exploits. Nay, Caesar, you ought to have remembered those tears you
shed on hearing of the monuments that had been consecrated to my glorious
deeds.(621) But since then Pompey has inflated you with pride, Pompey who
though he was the idol of his countrymen was in fact wholly insignificant.
Take his African triumph: that was no great exploit, but the feebleness of
the consuls in office made it seem glorious. Then the famous Servile
War(622) was waged not against men but the vilest of slaves, and its
successful issue was due to others, I mean Crassus and Lucius,(623) though
Pompey gained the reputation and the credit for it. Again, Armenia and the
neighbouring provinces were conquered by Lucullus,(624) yet for these also
Pompey triumphed. Then he became the idol of the citizens and they called
him ‘the Great.’ Greater, I ask, than whom of his predecessors? What
achievement of his can be compared with those of Marius(625) or of the two
Scipios or of Furius,(626) who sits over there by Quirinus because he
rebuilt his city when it was almost in ruins? Those men did not make their
reputation at the expense of others, as happens with public buildings
built at the public expense; I mean that one man lays the foundation,
another finishes the work, while the last man who is in office though he
has only whitewashed the walls has his name inscribed on the
building.(627) Not thus, I repeat, did those men gain credit for the deeds
of others. They were themselves the creators and artificers of their
schemes and deserved their illustrious titles. Well then, it is no wonder
that you vanquished Pompey, who used to scratch his head with his finger‐
tip(628) and in all respects was more of a fox than a lion. When he was
deserted by Fortune who had so long favoured him, you easily overcame him,
thus unaided. And it is evident that it was not to any superior ability of
yours that you owed your victory, since after running short of
provisions(629)—no small blunder for a general to make, as I need not tell
you—you fought a battle and were beaten. And if from imprudence or lack of
judgment or inability to control his countrymen Pompey neither postponed a
battle when it was his interest to protract the war, nor followed up a
victory when he had won,(630) it was due to his own errors that he failed,
and not to your strategy.)
Πέρσαι δὲ πανταχοῦ καλῶς καὶ φρονίμως παρεσκευασμένοι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν
ἀλκὴν ἐνέδοσαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐ τοὺ πράττειν ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τὰ δίκαια
πράττειν ἄνδρα ἄριστον καὶ βασιλέα προσήκει μεταποιεῖσθαι, ἐγὼ μὲν ὑπὲρ
τῶν Ἑλλήνων τοὺς Πέρσας ἀπῄτησα δίκην, καὶ τοὺς Ἑλληνικοὺς πολέμους
ἐπανειλόμην, οὐχὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα λυπεῖν βουλόμενος, ἀλλὰ τοὺς κωλύοντάς με
διαβαίνειν καὶ δίκας ἀπαιτεῖν τὸν Πέρσην ἐπικόπτων. [324] σὺ δὲ τοὺς
Γερμανοὺς καὶ Γαλάτας κατεπολέμησας, ἐπὶ τὴν πατρίδα τὴν σεαυτοῦ
παρασκευαζόμενος, οὗ τί γένοιτ᾽ ἂν χεῖρον ἢ μιαρώτερον; ἐπεὶ δὲ ὥσπερ
διασύρων τῶν μυρίων ἐμνημόνευσας Γραικῶν, ὅτι μὲν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐντεῦθεν
γεγόνατε καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς Ἰταλίας ὤκησαν οἱ Γραικοί, καίπερ εἰδὼς ὅμως
οὐ παραδέχομαι. τούτων δὲ αὐτῶν ὀλίγον ἔθνος, Αἰτωλοὺς λέγω τοὺς
παροικοῦντας ἡμῖν, [B] οὐ φίλους μὲν ἔχειν καὶ συμμάχους ἐποιήσασθε περὶ
πολλοῦ, πολεμωθέντας δὲ ὑμῖν ὕστερον δι᾽ ἁσδήποτε αἰτίας οὐκ ἀκινδύνως
ὑπακούειν ὑμῖν ἠναγκάσατε; οἱ δὲ πρὸς τὸ γῆρας, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τισ, τῆς
Ἑλλάδος, καὶ οὐδὲ πάσης, ἀλλ᾽ ἔθνους μικροῦ, ἡνίκα ἤκμαζε τὸ Ἑλληνικόν,
οὐδ᾽ ὅτι ἔστι γιγνωσκομένου, μικροῦ δέω φάναι, μόγις ἀρκέσαντες, τίνες ἂν
ἐγένεσθε, [C] εἰ πρὸς ἀκμάζοντας καὶ ὁμονοοῦντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας πολεμεῖν
ὑμᾶς ἐδέησεν; ἐπεὶ καὶ Πύρρου διαβάντος ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἴστε ὅπως ἐπτήξατε. εἰ δὲ
τὸ Περσῶν κρατῆσαι μικρὸν νομίζεις καὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἔργον διασύρεις,
ὀλίγης πάνυ τῆς ὑπὲρ τὸν Τίγρητα ποταμὸν ὑπὸ Παρθυαίων βασιλευομένης
χώρας, ἔτη πλέον ἢ τριακόσια πολεμοῦντες, λέγε μοι, δι᾽ ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ
ἐκρατήσατε; [D] βούλει σοι φράσω; τὰ Περσῶν ὑμᾶς εἶρξε βέλη. φρασάτω δέ
σοι περὶ αὐτῶν Ἀντώνιος(631) ὁ παιδοτριβηθεὶς ἐπὶ στρατηγίᾳ παρὰ σοῦ. ἐγὼ
δὲ ἐν οὐδὲ ὅλοις ἐνιαυτοῖς δέκα πρὸς τούτοις καὶ Ἰνδῶν γέγονα κύριος. εἶτ᾽
ἐμοὶ τολμᾷς ἀμφισβητεῖν, ὃς ἐκ παιδαρίου στρατηγῶν ἔργα ἔπραξα τηλικαῦτα,
ὥστε τὴν μνήμην, καίπερ οὐκ ἀξίως ὑπὸ τῶν συγγραφέων ὑμνηθέντων, ὅμως(632)
συμπαραμένειν τῷ βίῳ. [325] καθάπερ τῶν τοῦ Καλλινίκου, τοὐμοῦ βασιλέως,
οὗ θεράπων ἐγὼ καὶ ζηλωτὴς ἐγενόμην, Ἀχιλλεῖ μὲν ἁμιλλώμενος τῷ προγόνῳ,
Ἡρακλέα δὲ θαυμάζων καὶ ἑπόμενος, ἅτε δὴ κατ᾽ ἴχνος θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος.
(“The Persians, on the contrary, though on all occasions they were well
and wisely equipped, had to submit to my valour. And since it becomes a
virtuous man and a king to pride himself not merely on his exploits but
also on the justice of those exploits, it was on behalf of the Greeks that
I took vengeance on the Persians, and when I made war on the Greeks it was
not because I wished to injure Greece, but only to chastise those who
tried to prevent me from marching through and from calling the Persians to
account. You, however, while you subdued the Germans and Gauls were
preparing to fight against your fatherland. What could be worse or more
infamous? And since you have alluded as though insultingly to ‘ten
thousand Greeks,’ I am aware that you Romans are yourselves descended from
the Greeks, and that the greater part of Italy was colonised by Greeks;
however on that fact I do not insist. But at any rate did not you Romans
think it very important to have as friends and allies one insignificant
tribe of those very Greeks, I mean the Aetolians, my neighbours? And
later, when you had gone to war with them for whatever reason, did you not
have great trouble in making them obey you? Well then, if in the old age,
as one may say, of Greece, you were barely able to reduce not the whole
nation but an insignificant state which was hardly heard of when Greece
was in her prime, what would have happened to you if you had had to
contend against the Greeks when they were in full vigour and united? You
know how cowed you were when Pyrrhus crossed to invade you. And if you
think the conquest of Persia such a trifle and disparage an achievement so
glorious, tell me why, after a war of more than three hundred years, you
Romans have never conquered a small province beyond the Tigris which is
still governed by the Parthians? Shall I tell you why? It was the arrows
of the Persians that checked you. Ask Antony to give you an account of
them, since he was trained for war by you. I, on the other hand, in less
than ten years conquered not only Persia but India too. After that do you
dare to dispute the prize with me, who from childhood have commanded
armies, whose exploits have been so glorious that the memory of
them—though they have not been worthily recounted by historians—will
nevertheless live for ever, like those of the Invincible Hero,(633) my
king, whose follower I was, on whom I modelled myself? Achilles my
ancestor I strove to rival, but Heracles I ever admired and followed, so
far as a mere man may follow in the footsteps of a god.)
Ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἐχρῆν, ὦ θεοί, πρὸς τοῦτον ἀπολογήσασθαι· καίτοι κρεῖττον ἦν
ὑπεριδεῖν αὐτοῦ· εἴρηται. [B] εἰ δέ τι πικρὸν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπράχθη, οὔτι
παντάπασιν εἰς ἀναιτίους ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ ἢ πολλάκις καὶ ἐπὶ πολλοῖς
προσκρούσαντας ἢ τῷ καιρῷ μὴ καλῶς μηδὲ πρεπόντως χρησαμένους, ἠκολούθησε
γοῦν ἐπὶ μὲν τοῖς διὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαμαρτηθεῖσιν ἡ μεταμέλεια, σώφρων πάνυ
καὶ τῶν ἐξημαρτηκότων σώτειρα δαίμων, [C] τοὺς δὲ ὥσπερ φιλοτιμουμένους
ἐπὶ τῷ πολλάκις ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ προσκρούειν οὐδὲν ᾤμην ἄδικον ποιεῖν
κολάζων.
(“Thus much, ye gods, I was bound to say in my own defence against this
man; though indeed it would have been better to ignore him. And if some
things I did seemed cruel, I never was so to the innocent, but only to
those who had often and in many ways thwarted me and had made no proper or
fitting use of their opportunities. And even my offences against these,
which were due to the emergency of the time, were followed by Remorse,
that very wise and divine preserver of men who have erred. As for those
whose ambition it was to show their enmity continually and to thwart me, I
considered that I was justified in chastising them.”)
Ἐπεὶ δὲ εἴρητο καὶ τούτῳ στρατιωτικώτερον ὁ λόγος, ἐπὶ τὸν Ὀκταβιανὸν τὴν
ὑδρίαν ἔφερεν ὁ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος θεράπων, ἐπιμετρῶν αὐτῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἔλασσον
διὰ τὸν καιρόν, ἄλλως τε καὶ μνησικακῶν αὐτῷ τῆς εἰς τὸν θεὸν ὑπερηφανίας.
[D] καὶ ὃς ἐπειδὴ συνῆκεν ὑπὸ ἀγχινοίας, ἀφεὶς τὸ λέγειν τι περὶ τῶν
ἀλλοτρίων, Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν. ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, τοῦ διασύρειν μὲν τὰ τῶν ἄλλων
ἔργα καὶ μικρὰ ποιεῖν ἀφέξομαι, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ τὸν πάντα ποιήσομαι
λόγον. νέος προύστην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ πόλεως ὥσπερ οὗτος ὁ γενναῖος Ἀλέξανδρος,
κατώρθωσα δὲ Γερμανικοὺς πολέμους ὥσπερ [326] ὁ ἐμὸς πατὴρ οὑτοσὶ Καῖσαρ.
συμπλακεὶς δὲ τοῖς ἐμφυλίοις ἀγῶσιν Αἴγυπτον μὲν περὶ τὸ Ἄκτιον
κατεναυμάχησα, Βροῦτον δὲ καὶ Κάσσιον περὶ τοὺς Φιλίππους κατεπολέμησα,
καὶ τὸν Πομπηίου παῖδα Σέξτον πάρεργον ἐθέμην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ στρατηγίας. οὕτω
δὲ παρέσχον ἐμαυτὸν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ χειροήθη, ὥστε καὶ τῆς Ἀθηνοδώρου
παρρησίας ἠνεσχόμην, οὐκ ἀγανακτῶν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐφραινόμενος ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ, [B] καὶ
τὸν ἄνδρα καθάπερ παιδαγωγὸν ἢ πατέρα μᾶλλον αἰδούμενος. Ἄρειον δὲ καὶ
φίλον καὶ συμβιωτὴν ἐπιγράφομαι, καὶ ὅλως οὐδέν ἐστιν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν
φιλοσοφίαν ἁμαρτηθέν. ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἐμφυλίων στάσεων τὴν Ῥώμην ὁρῶν εἰς
τὸν(634) ἔσχατον ἐλαύνουσαν πολλάκις κίνδυνον οὕτω διεθέμην τὰ περὶ αὐτήν,
ὥστε εἶναι, εἰ μὴ δι᾽ ὑμᾶς, [C] ὦ θεοί, τὸ λοιπὸν ἀδαμαντίνην. οὐ γὰρ ταῖς
ἀμέτροις ἐπιθυμίαις εἴκων ἐπικτᾶσθαι πάντως αὐτῇ διενοήθην, ὅρια δὲ διττά,
ὥσπερ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀποδεδειγμένα,(635) Ἴστρον καὶ Εὐφράτην ποταμοὺς
ἐθέμην. εἶτα ὑποτάξας τὸ Σκυθῶν καὶ Θρᾳκῶν ἔθνος, ἐπιμετρούντων ὑμῶν τῆς
βασιλείας μοι τὸν χρόνον, οὐ πόλεμον ἄλλον ἐξ ἄλλου περιεσκόπουν, ἀλλὰ εἰς
νομοθεσίαν καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου [D] συμφορῶν ἐπανόρθωσιν τὴν σχολὴν
διετιθέμην, οὐδενὸς νομίζων τῶν πρὸ ἐμαυτοῦ χεῖρον βεβουλεῦσθαι, μᾶλλον
δέ, εἰ χρὴ θαρρήσαντα φάναι, κρεῖσσον τῶν πώποτε τηλικαύτας ἡγεμονίας
ἐπιτροπευσάντων. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ταῖς στρατηγίαις ἐναπέθανον, ἐξὸν λοιπὸν
ἡσυχάζειν(636) καὶ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι, πολέμους ἐκ πολέμων ἑαυτοῖς, ὥσπερ οἱ
φιλοπράγμονες δίκας κατασκευάζοντες· [327] οἱ δὲ καὶ πολεμούμενοι τῇ τρυφῇ
προσεῖχον, οὐ μόνον τῆς μετὰ ταῦτα εὐκλείας τὴν αἰσχρὰν τρυφὴν
προτιμῶντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῆς. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα διανοούμενος
οὐκ ἀξιῶ τῆς χείρονος ἐμαυτὸν μερίδος· ὅ, τι δ᾽ ἂν ὑμῖν, ὦ θεοί, φαίνηται,
τοῦτο εἰκός ἐστιν ἐμὲ δήπουθεν στέργειν.
(When Alexander in his turn had made his speech in martial fashion,
Poseidon’s attendant carried the water‐clock to Octavian, but gave him a
smaller allowance of water, partly because time was precious, but still
more because he bore him a grudge for the disrespect he had shown to the
god.(637) Octavian with his usual sagacity understood this, so without
stopping to say anything that did not concern himself, he began: “For my
part, Zeus and ye other gods, I shall not stay to disparage and belittle
the actions of others, but shall speak only of what concerns myself. Like
the noble Alexander here I was but a youth when I was called to govern my
country. Like Caesar yonder, my father,(638) I conducted successful
campaigns against the Germans. When I became involved in civil dissensions
I conquered Egypt in a sea‐fight off Actium; I defeated Brutus and Cassius
at Philippi: the defeat of Sextus, Pompey’s son, was a mere incident in my
campaign. I showed myself so gentle to the guidance of philosophy that I
even put up with the plain speaking of Athenodorus,(639) and instead of
resenting it I was delighted with it and revered the man as my preceptor,
or rather as though he were my own father. Areius(640) I counted my friend
and close companion, and in short I was never guilty of any offence
against philosophy. But since I saw that more than once Rome had been
brought to the verge of ruin by internal quarrels, I so administered her
affairs as to make her strong as adamant for all time, unless indeed, O ye
gods, you will otherwise. For I did not give way to boundless ambition and
aim at enlarging her empire at all costs, but assigned for it two
boundaries defined as it were by nature herself, the Danube and the
Euphrates. Then after conquering the Scythians and Thracians I did not
employ the long reign that you gods vouchsafed me in making projects for
war after war, but devoted my leisure to legislation and to reforming the
evils that war had caused. For in this I thought that I was no less well
advised than my predecessors, or rather, if I may make bold to say so, I
was better advised than any who have ever administered so great an empire.
For some of these, when they might have remained quiet and not taken the
field, kept making one war an excuse for the next, like quarrelsome people
and their lawsuits; and so they perished in their campaigns. Others when
they had a war on their hands gave themselves up to indulgence, and
preferred such base indulgence not only to future glory but even to their
personal safety. When I reflect on all this I do not think myself entitled
to the lowest place. But whatever shall seem good to you, O ye gods, it
surely becomes me to accept with a good grace.”)
Δίδοται μετὰ τοῦτον τῷ Τραïανῷ τοῦ λέγειν ἐξουσία. ὁ δέ, καίπερ δυνάμενος
λέγειν, ὑπὸ ῥᾳθυμίας· [B] ἐπιτρέπειν γὰρ εἰώθει τὰ πολλὰ τῷ Σούρᾳ γράφειν
ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ· φθεγγόμενος μᾶλλον ἢ λέγων, ἐπεδείκνυεν αὐτοῖς τό τε Γετικὸν
καὶ τὸ Παρθικὸν τρόπαιον. ᾐτιᾶτο δὲ τὸ γῆρας ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτρέψαν αὐτῷ τοῖς
Παρθικοῖς πράγμασιν ἐπεξελθεῖν. καὶ ὁ Σειληνός, Ἀλλ᾽, ὦ μάταιε, ἔφη,
εἴκοσι βεβασίλευκας ἔτη, Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ οὑτοσὶ δώδεκα. τί οὖν ἀφεὶς
αἰτιᾶσθαι τὴν σαυτοῦ τρυφὴν τὴν τοῦ χρόνου μέμφῃ στενότητα; παροξυνθεὶς
οὖν ὑπὸ τοῦ σκώμματος, [C] οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ἔξω τοῦ δύνασθαι ῥητορεύειν, ὑπὸ δὲ
τῆς φιλοποσίας ἀμβλύτερος ἑαυτοῦ πολλάκις ἦν, Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ
θεοί, τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαβὼν ναρκῶσαν ὥσπερ καὶ διαλελυμένην ὑπό τε τῆς οἴκοι
πολὺν χρόνον ἐπικρατησάσης τυραννίδος καὶ τῆς τῶν Γετῶν ὕβρεως, [D] μόνος
ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἴστρον ἐτόλμησα προσλαβεῖν ἔθνη, καὶ τὸ Γετῶν ἔθνος ἐξεῖλον, οἳ
τῶν πώποτε μαχιμώτατοι γεγόνασιν, οὐχ ὑπὸ ἀνδρείας μόνον τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ
καὶ ὧν ἔπεισεν αὐτοὺς ὁ τιμώμενος παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς Ζάμολξις. οὐ γὰρ
ἀποθνήσκειν, ἀλλὰ μετοικίζεσθαι νομίζοντες ἑτοιμότερον αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν ἢ
ἄλλοι(641) τὰς ἀποδημίας ὑπομένουσιν. ἐπράχθη δέ μοι τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο ἐν
ἐνιαυτοῖς ἴσως που πέντε. πάντων δὲ [328] ὅτι τῶν πρὸ ἐμαυτοῦ(642)
γεγονότων αὐτοκρατόρων ὤφθην τοῖς ὑπηκόοις πρᾳότατος καὶ οὔτε Καῖσαρ
οὑτοσὶ περὶ τούτων ἀμφισβητήσειεν ἄν μοι οὔτ᾽ ἄλλος οὐδὲ εἷς, εὔδηλόν ἐστί
που. πρὸς Παρθυαίους δέ, πρὶν μὲν ἀδικεῖσθαι παρ᾽ αὐτῶν, οὐκ ᾤμην δεῖν
χρῆσθαι τοῖς ὅπλοις· ἀδικοῦσι δὲ ἐπεξῆλθον οὐδὲν ὑπὸ τῆς ἡλικίας κωλυθείς,
καίτοι διδόντων μοι τῶν νόμων τὸ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι. τούτων δὴ τοιούτων
ὄντων, [B] ἆρ᾽ οὐχὶ καὶ τιμᾶσθαι πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων εἰμὶ δίκαιος, πρᾷος μὲν
πρὸς τοὺς ὑπηκόους, φοβερὸς δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους διαφερόντως γενόμενος,
αἰδεσθεὶς δὲ καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἔκγονον(643) φιλοσοφίαν; τοιαῦτα ὁ Τραïανὸς
εἰπὼν ἐδόκει τῇ πρᾳότητι πάντων κρατεῖν, καὶ δῆλοί πως ἦσαν οἱ θεοὶ
μάλιστα ἡσθέντες ἐπὶ τούτῳ.