such portents(47) as are common gossip when men like yourself have
achieved brilliant and conspicuous success, Cyrus, for instance, and the
founder(48) of our capital, and Alexander, Philip’s son, and the like, I
purposely ignore them. Indeed I feel that poetic license accounts for them
all. And it is foolish even to state that at the hour of your birth all
the circumstances were brilliant and suited to a prince. And now the time
has come for me to speak of your education as a boy. You were of course
bound to have the princely nurture that should train your body to be
strong, muscular, healthy, and handsome, and at the same time duly equip
your soul with courage, justice, temperance, and wisdom. But this cannot
result from that loose indulgence which naturally pampers body and soul,
weakening men’s wills for facing danger and their bodies for work.
Therefore your body required training by suitable gymnastics, while you
adorned your mind by literary studies. But I must speak at greater length
about both branches of your education, since it laid the foundation of
your later career. In your physical training you did not pursue those
exercises that fit one merely for public display. What professional
athletes love to call the pink of condition you thought unsuitable for a
king who must enter for contests that are not make‐believe. Such a one
must put up with very little sleep and scanty food, and that of no precise
quantity or quality or served at regular hours, but such as can be had
when the stress of work allows. And so you thought you ought to train
yourself in athletics with a view to this, and that your exercises must be
military and of many kinds, dancing and running in heavy armour, and
riding. All these you have continued from early youth to practise at the
right time, and in every exercise you have attained to greater perfection
than any other hoplite. Usually a hoplite who is a good infantryman cannot
ride, or, if he is an expert horseman, he shirks marching on foot to
battle. But of you alone it can be said that you can put on the cavalry
uniform and be a match for the best of them, and when changed into a
hoplite show yourself stronger, swifter, and lighter on your feet than all
the rest. Then you practised shooting at a mark, that even your hours of
leisure might not be hours of ease or be found without the exercise of
arms. So by work that was voluntary you trained your body to stand the
exertions that you would be compelled to undertake. Your mind, meanwhile,
was trained by practice in public speaking and other studies suitable to
your years. But it was not to be wholly without the discipline of
experience, nor was it for you to listen merely to lectures on the virtues
as though they were ballads or saga stories, and so wait all that time
without actual acquaintance with brave works and undertakings. Plato, that
noble philosopher, advised(49) that boys should be furnished as it were
with wings for flight by being mounted on horseback, and should then be
taken into battle so that they may be spectators of the warfare in which
they must soon be combatants. This, I make bold to say, was in your
father’s mind when he made you governor and king of the Celtic tribes
while you were still a youth, or rather a mere boy in point of years,
though in intelligence and endurance you could already hold your own with
men of parts. Your father wisely provided that your experience of war
should be free from risks, having arranged that the barbarians should
maintain peace with his subjects. But he instigated them to internal feuds
and civil war, and so taught you strategy at the expense of their lives
and fortunes. This was a safer policy than the wise Plato’s. For, by his
scheme, if the invading army were composed of infantry, the boys could
indeed be spectators of their fathers’ prowess, or, if need arose, could
even take part. But supposing that the enemy won in a cavalry engagement,
then, on the instant, one would have to devise some means to save the
boys, which would be difficult indeed. But to inure the boys to face the
enemy, while the hazard belongs to others, is to take counsel that both
suffices for their need and also secures their safety.)
Ἐν μὲν δὴ τούτοις σοι πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ὑπῆρχε μελέτη. φρονήσεως δὲ ἡ μὲν
φύσις, ἣν εἴληχας, αὐταρκὴς ἡγεμών· παρῆσαν δὲ οἶμαι καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν οἱ
κράτιστοι τὰ πολιτικὰ διδάσκοντες. καὶ [D] παρεῖχον ἠθῶν καὶ νόμων καὶ
ξένων ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐμπειρίαν αἱ πρὸς τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τῶν τῇδε βαρβάρων
ἐντεύξεις. καίτοι τὸν Ὀδυσσέα συνετὸν Ὅμηρος ἐκ παντὸς ἀποφῆναι
προαιρούμενος πολύτροπον εἶναὶ φησι καὶ πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν νοῦν
καταγνῶναι καὶ ἐπελθεῖν τὰς πόλεισ,(50) ἵν᾽ ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐπιλεξάμενος ἔχοι
τὰ κράτιστα καὶ πρὸς παντοδαποὺς ἀνθρώπους ὁμιλεὶν δύναιτο. ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν
ὃς(51) οὐκ ἐβασίλευσε ποικίλων ἠθῶν ἐμπειρίας χρεία· [13] τὸν δὲ πρὸς
τοσαύτην ἡγεμονίαν τρεφόμενον οὐκ ἐν οἰκίσκῳ που χρῆν διδάσκεσθαι οὐδὲ τὴν
βασιλείαν, καθάπερ ὁ Κῦρος, παίζοντα μιμεῚσθαι οὐδὲ χρηματίζειν τοῖς
ἥλιξι, καθάπερ ἐκεῖνον λέγουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔθνεσιν ὁμιλεῖν καὶ δήμοις, καὶ
στρατιωτῶν τάγμασιν ἐπιτάττειν ἁπλῶς τὸ πρακτέον· ὅλως δὲ οὐδενὸς
ἀπολείπεσθαι τούτων, ὧν ἐχρῆν ἄνδρα γενόμενον ἐπ᾽ ἀδείας πράττειν.
(It was in this way then that you were first trained in manliness. But as
regards wisdom, that nature with which you were endowed was your self‐
sufficing guide. But also, I think, the wisest citizens were at your
disposal and gave you lessons in statecraft. Moreover, your intercourse
with the barbarian leaders in that region gave you an acquaintance at
first hand with the manners, laws, and usages of foreigners. Indeed, when
Homer set out to prove the consummate wisdom of Odysseus, he called him
“much‐travelled,” and said that he had come to know the minds of many
peoples and visited their cities, so that he might choose what was best in
every one and be able to mix with all sorts and conditions of men. Yes,
even Odysseus, who never ruled an empire, needed experience of the many
and divers minds of men. How much more necessary that one who was being
brought up to guide an empire like this should not fit himself for the
task in some modest dwelling apart; neither should he, like young Cyrus in
his games, play at being emperor, nor give audiences to his playmates, as
they say(52) Cyrus did. Rather he ought to mix with nations and peoples,
and give orders to his troops definitely indicating what is to be done,
and generally he should be found wanting in none of those things which,
when he comes to manhood, he must perform without fear.)
[B] Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ τὰ παρὰ τούτοις ἐδιδάχθης καλῶς, ἐπὶ τὴν ἑτέραν ἤπειρον
μετιὼν τοῖς Παρθυαίων καὶ Μήδων ἔθνεσιν ἀντετάχθης μόνος. ὑποτυφομένου δὲ
ἤδη τοῦ πολέμου καὶ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν μέλλοντος ἀναρριπίζεσθαι, ταχέως καὶ
τούτου κατέγνως τὸν τρόπον, καὶ τὴν τῶν ὅπλων ἰσχὺν ἐμιμήσω, καὶ πρὸς τὴν
ὥραν τοῦ θέρους εἴθισας καρτερεῖν τὸ σῶμα. πυνθάνομαι δὲ Ἀλκιβιάδην μόνον
ἐξ ἁπάντων Ἑλλήνων οὕτως εὐφυῶς μεταβολὰς ἐνεγκεῖν, [C] ὡς καὶ μιμήσασθαι
πρῶτον(53) μὲν τὴν τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐγκράτειαν, ἐπειδὴ Σπαρτιάταις αὑτὸν
ἐδεδώκει, εἶτα Θηβαίους, καὶ Θρᾴκας ὕστερον, καὶ ἐπὶ τέλει τὴν τῶν Περσῶν
τρυφήν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνος μὲν τοῖς χωρίοις συμμεταβάλλων καὶ τὸν τρόπον
ἀνεπίμπλατο πολλῆς δυσχερείας καὶ τὸ πάτριον ἐκινδύνευε παντελῶς
ἀποβαλεῖν, σὺ δὲ τῆς μὲν ἐγκρατοῦς διαίτης ᾤου δεῖν ἔχεσθαι πανταχοῦ, [D]
ἐθίζων δὲ τὸ σῶμα τοῖς πόνοις πρὸς τὰς μεταβολὰς ῥᾷον ἤνεγκας(54) τὴν ἐκ
Γαλατῶν εἰς Παρθυαίους ἄνοδον ἢ(55) τῶν πλουσίων οἱ ταῖς ὥραις τὴν οἴκησιν
συμμεταβάλλοντες, εἰ παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν βιασθεῖεν. καί μοι δοκεῖ θεὸς εὐμενὴς
πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὅλων ἡγεμονίαν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὴν σὴν ἀρετὴν παρασκευάζειν ἐθέλων,
κύκλῳ σε περιαγαγεῖν καὶ ἐπιδεῖξαι τῆς ἀρχῆς ἁπάσης ὅρους καὶ πέρατα καὶ
φύσιν χωρίων [14] καὶ μέγεθος χώρας καὶ δύναμιν ἐθνῶν καὶ πλῆθος πόλεων
καὶ φύσιν δήμων καὶ τὶ κράτιστον αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τὴν περιουσίαν(56) ὧν
οὐδενὸς ἀπολελεῖφθαι χρὴ τὸν πρὸς τοσαύτην ἀρχὴν τρεφόμενον. τὸ μέγιστον
δὲ μικροῦ με διέφυγεν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τούτων ἁπάντων ἄρχειν ἐκ παίδων
διδασκόμενος, ἄρχεσθαι κρεῖττον ἔμαθες, ἀρχῇ τῇ πασῶν ἀρίστῃ καὶ
δικαιοτάτῃ, φύσει τε καὶ νόμῳ, σαυτὸν ὑποτιθείς· πατρὶ γὰρ ὑπήκουες ἅμα
καὶ βασιλεῖ· ὧν εἰ καὶ θάτερον ὑπῆρχεν ἐκείνῳ μόνον, ἄρχειν αὐτῷ πάντως
προσῆκον ἦν. [B] καίτοι τίνα ποτ᾽ ἄν τις ἐξεύροι βασιλικὴν τροφὴν καὶ
παιδείαν ἀμείνω ταύτης πάλαι γενομένην; οὔτε γὰρ Λακεδαιμόνιοι τῶν
Ἑλλήνων, οἵπερ δὴ δοκοῦσιν ἀρίστης ἀρχῆς τῆς τῶν βασιλέων μεταλαβεῖν, οὕτω
τοὺς Ἡρακλείδας ἐπαίδευον, οὔτε τῶν βαρβάρων οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι, βασιλευόμενοι
διαφερόντως, τῆς ἀρίστης ἐπιμελείας τὸν ἄρξοντα(57) σφῶν ἠξίουν· ἀλλὰ
πᾶσιν ἦν κοινὰ τὰ παρὰ τῶν νόμων τῆς ἀρετῆς γυμνάσια καὶ τὶ παιδεύματα,
[C] καθάπερ ἀδελφοῖς τοῖς πολίταις ἄρξειν τε καὶ ἀρχθήσεσθαι μέλλουσι, καὶ
οὐδὲν διάφορον προσῆν εἰς παιδείας λόγον τοῖς ἡγεμόσι τῶν ἄλλων. καίτοι
πῶς οὐκ εὔηθες ἀπαιτεῖν μὲν ἀρετῆς μέγεθος ἀνυπέρβλητον παρὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων,
προνοεῖν δὲ μηδέν, ὅπως ἔσονται τῶν πολλῶν διαφέροντες; καὶ τοῖς μὲν
βαρβάροις, ἅπασιν ἐν κοινῷ τῆς ἀρχῆς ταύτης προκειμένης, τὸ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν
τῶν ἠθῶν ὁμοίαν γίγνεσθαι παράσχοι συγγνώμην· τὸν Λυκοῦργον [D] δὲ τοῖς
ἀφ᾽ Ἡρακλέους ἀστυφέλικτον τὴν βασιλείαν διαφυλάττοντα(58) μηδεμίαν
ὑπεροχὴν ἐν ταῖς ἐπιμελείαις τῶν νέων εὑρόντα σφόδρα ἄν τις εἰκότως
μέμψαιτο. οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰ πάντας Λακεδαιμονίους ἀθλητὰς ἀρετῆς καὶ τροφίμους
ᾤετο δεῖν εἶναι, τῆς ἴσης ἀξιοῦν ἐχρῆν τροφῆς καὶ παιδείας τοὺς ἰδιώτας
τοῖς ἄρξουσιν.(59) [15] ἡ γὰρ τοιαύτη κατὰ μικρὸν παραδυομένη(60) συνήθεια
ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐνέτεκεν(61) ὑπεροψίαν τῶν κρειττόνων· ὅλως γὰρ οὐδὲ
κρείττονας νομιστέον τοὺς οὐ δι᾽ ἀρετὴν πρωτεύειν λαχόντας. τοῦτο δὲ οἶμαι
καὶ Σπαρτιάτας χαλεπωτέρους ἀρχθῆναι τοῖς βασιλεῦσι παρεῖχε πολλάκις.
χρήσαιτο δ᾽ ἄν τις σαφεῖ τεκμηρίῳ τῶν [B] ῥηθέντων τῇ Λυσάνδρου πρὸς
Ἀγησίλαον φιλοτιμίᾳ καὶ ἄλλοις πλείοσιν, ἐπιὼν τὰ πεπραγμένα τοῖς
ἀνδράσιν.
(Accordingly, when you had gained a thorough knowledge of the Celts, you
crossed to the other continent and were given sole command against the
Parthians and Medes. There were already signs that a war was smouldering
and would soon burst into flame. You therefore quickly learned how to deal
with it, and, as though you took as model the hardness of your weapons,
steeled yourself to bear the heat of the summer season. I have heard say
that Alcibiades alone, among all the Greeks, was naturally so versatile
that when he cast in his lot with the Spartans he copied the self‐
restraint of the Lacedaemonians, then in turn Theban and Thracian manners,
and finally adopted Persian luxury. But Alcibiades, when he changed his
country changed his character(62) too, and became so tainted with
perversity and so ill‐conditioned that he was likely to lose utterly all
that he was born to. You, however, thought it your duty to maintain your
severity of life wherever you might be, and by hard work inuring your
constitution to change, you easily bore the march inland from Galatia to
Parthia, more easily in fact than a rich man who lives now here, now
there, according to the season, would bear it if he were forced to
encounter unseasonable weather. I think Heaven smiled on you and willed
that you should govern the whole world, and so from the first trained you
in virtue, and was your guide when you journeyed to all points, and showed
you the bounds and limits of the whole empire, the character of each
region, the vastness of your territory, the power of every race, the
number of the cities, the characteristics of the masses, and above all the
vast number of things that one who is bred to so great a kingship cannot
afford to neglect. But I nearly forgot to mention the most important thing
of all. From a boy you were taught to govern this great empire, but a
better thing you learned, to be governed, submitting yourself to the
authority that is the best in the world and the most just, that is to say
nature and law. I mean that both as son and subject you obeyed your
father. Indeed, had he been only your father or only your king, obedience
was his due. Now what rearing and education for a king could one find in
history better than this? Consider the Greeks. Not thus did the Spartans
train the Heracleidae, though they are thought to have enjoyed the best
form of government, that of their kings. As for the barbarians, not even
the Carthaginians, though they were particularly well‐governed by their
kings, chose the best method of training their future rulers. The moral
discipline and the studies prescribed by their laws were pursued by all
alike, as though the citizens were brothers, all destined both to govern
and be governed, and in the matter of education they made no difference
between their princes and the rest of the citizens. Yet surely it is
foolish to demand superlative excellence from one’s rulers when one takes
no pains to make them better than other men. Among the barbarians, indeed,
no man is debarred from winning the throne, so one can excuse them for
giving the same moral training to all. But that Lycurgus, who tried to
make the dynasty of the Heracleidae proof against all shocks,(63) should
not have arranged for them a special education better than that of other
Spartan youths is an omission for which he may well be criticised. He may
have thought that all the Lacedaemonians ought to enter the race for
virtue, and foster it, but for all that it was wrong to provide the same
nurture and education for private citizens as for those who were to
govern. The inevitable familiarity little by little steals into men’s
souls and breeds contempt for their betters. Though, for that matter, they
are not in any sense one’s betters unless it was their own merit that
earned them the right to rule. This, in my opinion, is the reason why the
Spartan kings often found their subjects hard to govern. In proof of what
I say one might quote the rivalry of Lysander and Agesilaus, and many
other instances, if one should review the history of the Spartan kings.)
Ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἡ πολιτεία τὰ(64) πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἀρκούντως παρασκευάζουσα, εἰ
καὶ μηδὲν διαφέρον ἐπιτηδεύειν ἐδίδου τῶν πολλῶν, ἀλλὰ τὸ καλοῖς κἀγαθοῖς
ὑπάρχειν παρεῖχεν ἀνδράσι· Καρχηδονίων δὲ οὐδὲ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων
ἐπαινεῖν ἄξιον. ἐξελαύνοντες γὰρ τῶν οἰκιῶν οἱ γονεῖς τοὺς παῖδας
ἐπέταττον εὐπορεῖν διὰ τῶν πόνων τῶν πρὸς τὴν χρείαν ἀναγκαίων, [C] τὸ
δρᾶν τι τῶν δοκούντων αἰσχρῶν ἀπαγορεύοντες. τὸ δὲ ἦν, οὐ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν
ἐξελεῖν τῶν νέων, ἀλλὰ λαθεῖν(65) πειρᾶσθαι τι δρῶντα(66) προστάττειν.
πέφυκε γὰρ οὐ τρυφὴ μόνον ἦθος διαφθείρειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀναγκαίων
ἐνδεὴς δίαιτα, ἐφ᾽ ὧν οὔπω τὸ κρίνειν ὁ λόγος προσλαβὼν ἕπεται ταῖς
χρείαις ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἀναπειθόμενος, [D] ἄλλως τε εἰ καὶ τούτου μὴ
κρατοίη τοῦ πάθους, πρὸς χρηματισμὸν ἐκ παίδων συνεθιζόμενος καί τινας
ἀμοιβὰς ἐμποριῶν καὶ καπηλείας τὰς μὲν αὐτὸς εὑρὼν τὰς δὲ παρὰ τῶν εἰδότων
μαθών, ὑπὲρ ὧν οὐ λέγειν μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ἀκούειν ἄξιον ἐλευθέρῳ παιδί,
πλείστας ἂν κηλῚδας ἐναπόθοιτο τῇ ψυχῇ, ὧν πασῶν καθαρὸν εἶναι χρὴ καὶ τὸν
ἐπιεικῆ πολίτην, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τὸν βασιλέα καὶ στρατηγὸν μόνον.
(The Spartan polity, however, by securing a satisfactory development of
the moral qualities in their kings, even if it gave them a training in no
way different from that of the crowd, at least endowed them with the
attributes of well‐bred men. But as for the Carthaginians, there was
nothing to admire even in the discipline that they all shared. The parents
turned their sons out of doors and bade them win the necessaries of life
by their own efforts, with the injunction to do nothing that is considered
disgraceful. The effect of this was not to uproot the evil inclinations of
the young, but to require them to take pains not to be caught in wrong‐
doing. For it is not self‐indulgence only that ruins character, but the
lack of mere necessaries may produce the same result. This is true at any
rate in the case of those whose reason has not yet assumed the power to
decide, being swayed by physical needs and persuaded by desire. It is
especially true when one fails to control the passion for money‐getting,
if from boyhood one is accustomed to it and to the trading and bartering
of the market‐places. This business, unfit for a youth of gentle birth to
mention, or so much as hear spoken of, whether the youth finds it out for
himself or learns it from those of greater experience, leaves many scars
on the soul; and even a respectable citizen ought to be free from all
this, not a king or general alone.)
ἐμοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐπιτιμᾶν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐκείνοις προσήκει· [16] δείξω δὲ
μόνον τῆς τροφῆς(67) τὸ διαφέρον, ᾗ χρησάμενος κάλλει καὶ ῥώμῃ καὶ
δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ διήνενκας, διὰ μὲν τῶν πόνων τὴν εὐεξίαν
περιβαλόμενος, δὰα δὲ τῶν νόμων τὴν σωφροσύνην κατακτησόμενος,(68) καὶ τῷ
μὲν σώματι ῥωμαλεωτέρῳ διὰ τὴν ἐγκράτειαν τῆς ψυχῆς, τῇ ψυχῇ δ᾽ αὖ διὰ τὴν
τοῦ σώματος καρτερίαν δικαιοτέρᾳ χρώμενος, τὰ μὲν ἐκ φύσεως ἀγαθὰ συναύξων
ἐκ παντός, τὰ δὲ ταῖς ἐπιμελείαις ἔξωθεν ἀεὶ προσλαμβάνων· [B] καὶ
δεόμενος(69) μὲν οὐδενός, ἐπαρκῶν δ᾽ ἄλλοις καὶ χαριζόμενος μεγάλας δωρεὰς
καὶ ὅσαι τοὺς λαβόντας ἤρκουν ἀποφῆναι τῷ Λυδῶν δυνάστῃ παραπλησίους,
ἐνδεέστερον μὲν ἀπολαύων αὐτὸς τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἀγαθῶν ἢ Σπαρτιατῶν ὁ
σωφρονέστατος, τοῦ τρυφᾶν δὲ παρέχων ἄλλοις χορηγίαν, καὶ τοῖς βουλομένοις
σωφρονεῖν παρέχων σαυτὸν μιμεῖσθαι, ἄρχων μὲν πρᾴως καὶ φιλανθρώπως τῶν
ἄλλων, [C] ἀρχόμενος δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς σωφρόνως καὶ ὡς εἷς τῶν πολλῶν τόν
ἅπαντα διετέλεις χρόνον. παιδὶ μὲν ὄντι σοι καὶ μειρακίῳ ταῦτά τε ὑπῆρχε
καὶ ἄλλα πλείονα, περὶ ὧν νῦν λέγειν μακρότερον ἂν εἴη τοῦ καιροῦ.
(But it is not for me to criticise the Carthaginians in this place. I will
only point out how different was your education, and how you profited by
it and have come to excel in looks, strength, justice, and temperance. By
your active life you achieved perfect health; your temperance was the
result of obedience to the laws; you enjoy a body of unusual strength by
reason of your self‐control, and a soul of unusual rectitude because of
your physical powers of endurance. You left nothing undone to improve your
natural talents, but ever acquired new talents by new studies. You needed
nothing yourself but gave assistance to others, and lavished such generous
gifts that the recipients seemed as rich as the monarch of the
Lydians.(70) Though you indulged yourself less in the good things that
were yours than the most austere of the Spartans, you gave others the
means of luxury in abundance, while those who preferred temperance could
imitate your example. As a ruler you were mild and humane; as your
father’s subject you were ever as modest as any one of his people. All
this was true of you in boyhood and youth, and much more about which there
is now no time to speak at length.)
Γενόμενος δὲ ἐφ᾽ ἡλικίας, καὶ τῷ πατρὶ τὴν εἱμαρμένην τελευτὴν τοῦ
δαίμονος μάλα ὀλβίαν παρασχόντος, οὐ μόνον τῷ πλήθει καὶ κάλλει τῶν
ἐπενεχθέντων τὸν τάφον ἐκόσμεις, γενέσεως καὶ τροφῆς ἀποτίνων τὰ
χαριστήρια, [D] πολὺ δὲ πλέον τῷ μόνος ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐκείνου παίδων ζῶντος
μὲν ἔτι καὶ πιεζομένου τῇ νόσῳ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁρμῆσαι, τελευτήσαντος δὲ τὰς
μεγίστας τιμὰς καταστῆσαι, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐξαρκεῖ καὶ τὸ μνησθῆναι. καλοῦσι γὰρ
ἡμᾶς ἐφ᾽ αὑτὰς αἱ πράξεις ὑπομιμνήσκουσαι τῆς ῥώμης, τῆς εὐψυχίας,
εὐβουλίας τε ἅμα καὶ δικαιότητος, οἷς ἄμαχος ὤφθης καὶ ἀνυπέρβλητος, τὰ
μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοὺς πολίτας καὶ [17] τοὺς πατρῴους σοι φίλους
καὶ τὰ στρατεύματα δικαίως καὶ σωφρόνως καταστησάμενος· πλὴν εἴ που
βιασθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν καιρῶν ἄκων ἑτέρους ἐξαμαρτεῖν οὐ διεκώλυσας· τὰ δὲ πρὸς
τοὺς πολεμίους ἀνδρείως καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς καὶ τῆς προüπαρχούσης ἀξίως τοῪ
γένους δόξης καταστρησάμενος. τοῖς μὲν δι᾽ ὁμονοίας τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον
συγγέγονας, ἀστασίαστον μὲν τὴν πόλιν [B] διαφυλάττων καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς
συνάρχοντας θεραπεύων ἀεί, τοῖς φίλοις δὲ τῆς ἰσηγορίας(71) μεταδιδοὺς καὶ
τῆς παρρησίας μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν ἀφθόνως, κοινωνῶν μὲν ἅπασι τῶν
ὑπαρχόντων, μεταδιδοὺς δὲ ὧν ἕκαστος ἐνδεὴς δόξειε. καὶ τούτων μάρτυσι μὲν
αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις εἰκότως ἄν τις χρήσαιτο, καὶ τὰ πράγματα δὲ τοῖς
ἀπολειφθεῖσι τῆς πρὸς ἐκείνους συνουσίας ἱκανὰ δηλῶσαι τὴν προαίρεσιν τοῦ
βίου παντός.
(When you had come to man’s estate, and after fate had decreed the ending
of your father’s life(72) and Heaven had granted that his last hours
should be peculiarly blest, you adorned his tomb not only by lavishing on
it splendid decorations(73) and so paying the debt of gratitude for your
birth and education, but still more by the fact that you alone of his sons
hastened to him when he was still alive and stricken by illness, and paid
him the highest possible honours after his death. But all this I need only
mention in passing. For now it is your exploits that cry aloud for notice
and remind me of your energy, courage, good judgment, and justice. In
these qualities you are unsurpassed, unrivalled. In your dealings with
your brothers,(74) your subjects, your father’s friends, and your armies
you displayed justice and moderation; except that, in some cases, forced
as you were by the critical state of affairs, you could not, in spite of
your own wishes, prevent others from going astray. Towards the enemy your
demeanour was brave, generous, and worthy of the previous reputation of
your house. While you maintained the friendly relations that already
existed, kept the capital free from civil discord, and continued to
cherish your brothers who were your partners in empire, you granted to
your friends, among other benefits, the privilege of addressing you as an
equal and full freedom of speech without stint, and perfect frankness. Not
only did you share with them all whatever you possessed, but you gave to
each what he seemed most to need. Anyone who wants testimony to all this
might reasonably call your friends to witness, but if he does not know
your friends, the facts themselves are sufficient to demonstrate the
policy of your whole life.)
[C] Ῥητέον δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἤδη τῶν πράξεων ἀναβαλλομένοις τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἕξεων
λόγον. Πέρσαι τῆς Ἀσίας ἁπάσης πάλαι κρατήσαντες καὶ τῆς Εὐρώπης τὰ πολλὰ
καταστρεψάμενοι, μικροῦ δέω φάναι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην περιβαλόμενοι κύκλῳ
ταῖς ἐλπίσιν, ἐπειδὴ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπὸ Μακεδόνων ἀφῄρηντο, τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου
στρατηγίας ἔργον γενόμενοι, μᾶλλον δὲ παίγνιον, χαλεπῶς φέροντες(75) τὸ
δουλεύειν, ὡς ἐκεῖνον ᾔσθοντο τετελευτηκότα, τῶν διαδόχων ἀποστάντες [D]
Μακεδόσι τε εἰς τὴν ἀντίπαλον δύναμιν αὖθις κατέστησαν καὶ ἡμῚν τὸ
λειπόμενον τῆς Μακεδόνων ἀρχῆς. κατακτησαμένοις ἀξιόμαχοι διὰ τέλους
ἔδοξαν εἶναι πολέμιοι. καὶ τῶν μὲν παλαιῶν τί χρὴ νῦν ὑπομιμνήσκειν,
Ἀντωνίου καὶ Κράσσου, στρατηγῶν αὐτοκρατόρων, καὶ ὡς ἐκεῖνα διὰ μακρῶν
ἀπωσάμεθα κινδύνων τὰ αἴσχη, πολλῶν καὶ σωφρόνων αὐτοκρατόρων
ἀναμαχεσαμένων τὰ πταίσματα; τί δὲ χρὴ τῶν δευτέρων ἀτυχημάτων μεμνῆσθαι
καὶ τῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς τοῦ Κάρου πράξεων, [18] ὅσπερ μετὰ τὰς συμφορὰς ᾑρέθη
στρατηγός;(76) ἀλλ᾽ οἱ τὴν θαυμαστὴν καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀγαπωμένην εἰρήνην
ἐπιτάξαντες ἐκείνοις ἄγειν, οἱ πρὸ τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸς τὴν βασιλείαν
κατασχόντες, οὐχ ὁ μὲν καῖσαρ καθ᾽ αὑτὸν συμβαλὼν αἰσχρῶς ἀπήλλαξεν;
ἐπιστραφέντος δὲ τοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης ἄρχοντος καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις τῆς
ἡγεμονίας [B] ἁπάσης ἐκεῖσε τρέψαντος καὶ προκαταλαβέντος τὰς εἰσβολὰς
στρατεύμασι καὶ καταλόγοις ὁπλιτῶν παλαιῶν καὶ νεολέκτων καὶ παντοδαπαῖς
παρασκευαῖς, δεδιότες μόλις τὴν εἰρήνην ἠγάπησαν. ἣν οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως
περιόντος τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ σοῦ συγχέαντες καὶ συνταράξαντες, τῆς μὲν παρ᾽
ἐκείνου τιμωρίας διήμαρτον, ἐν ταῖς πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον παρασκευαῖς τὸν βίον
μεταλλάξαντος· σοὶ δὲ ὑπέσχον τὴν δίκην ὕστερον τῶν τετολμημένων. μέλλων
δὲ ἔτι δὴ τῶν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀγώνων γενομένων σοι πολλάκις ἅπτεσθαι τοσοῦτον
ἁξιῶ σκοπεῖν τοὺς ἀκροωμένους, [C] ὅτι τοῦ τρίτου μορίου τῆς ἀρχῆς
καθεστὼς κύριος οὐδαμῶς πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἐρρῶσθαι δοκοῦντος, οὐχ ὅπλοις,
οὐκ ἀνδράσι τοῖς στρατευομένοις, οὐδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσα πρὸς τηλικοῦτον
πόλεμον ἐχρῆν ἐπιρρεῖν ἄφθονα, πρὸς τούτοις δὲ οὐδὲ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σοι δι᾽
ἁσδηποτοῦν αἰτίας τὸν πόλεμον ἐλαφρυνόντων· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς οὕτως
ἀναίσχυντος οὐδὲ βάσκανος συκοφάντης, [D] ὃς οὐκ αἰτιώτατον γενέσθαι σὲ
τῆς πρὸς ἐκείνους ὁμονοίας φήσει· ὄντος δὲ οἶμαι τοῦ πολέμου καθ᾽ αὑτὸν
δυσχεροῦς, τὰ τὼν στρατοπέδων πρὸς τὴν μεταβολὴν διεταράττετο, τὸν μὲν
παλαιὸν σφῶν ἡγεμόνα ποθεῖν ἐκβοῶντες, ὑμῶν δὲ ἄρχειν ἐθέλοντες· καὶ ἄλλα
μυρία ἄτοπα καὶ δυσχερῆ πανταχόθεν ἀναφυόμενα χαλεπωτέρας τὰς ὑπὲρ τοῦ
πολέμου παρεῖχεν ἐλπίδας· Ἀρμένιοι παλαιοὶ [19] σύμμαχοι στασιάζοντες καὶ
μοῖρα σφῶν οὐ φαύλη Πέρσαις προσθέμενοι, τὴν ὅμορον σφίσι λῃσταῖς
κατατρέχοντες· καὶ ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν ἐφαίνετο μόνον σωτήριον, τὸ σὲ
τῶν πραγμάτων ἔχεσθαι καὶ βουλεύεσθαι, τέως οὐχ ὑπῆρχε διὰ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς
ἀδελφοὺς ἐν Παιονίᾳ συνθήκας, ἃς αὐτὸς παρὼν οὕτω διῴκησας, ὡς μηδεμίαν
ἀφορμὴν ἑκείνοις παρασχεῖν μέμψεως. μικροῦ με ἔλαθεν ἡ(77) τῶν πράξεων
ἀρχὴ διαφυγοῦσα καλλίων ἁπασῶν ἢ ταῖς καλλίσταις ἐξ ἴσης θαυμαστή. [B] τὸ
γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοσούτων πραγμάτων βουλευόμενον μηδὲν ἐλαττοῦσθαι δοκεῖν, εἰ τοῖς
ἀδελφοῖς τὸ πλέον ἔχειν ἑκὼν συγχωροίης, σωφροσύνης καὶ μεγαλοψυχίας
μέγιστον ἂν εἴη σημεῖον. νῦν δὲ εἰ μέν τις τὴν πατρῴαν οὐσίαν πρὸς τοὺς
ἀδελφοὺς νεμόμενος ἑκατὸν ταλάντων, κείσθω δέ, εἰ βούλει, τοσούτων ἄλλων,
εἶτα ἔχων πεντήκοντα(78) μναῖς ἔλαττον ἠγάπησε δή, καὶ μικροῦ παντελῶς
ἀργυρίου τὴν πρὸς ἐκείνους ὁμόνοιαν ἀνταλλαξάμενος, [C] ἐπαίνων ἂν ἐδόκει
καὶ τιμῆς ἄξιος ὡς χρημάτων κρείττων, ὡς εὔβουλος φύσει, ξυνελόντι δὲ
εἰπεῖν, ὡς καλὸς κἀγαθός. ὁ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς οὅτω μεγαλοψύχως
καὶ σωφρόνως δοκῶν βεβουλεῦσθαι, ὡς τὸν μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἐπιμελείας αὑτῷ μείζονα
μὴ προσθεῖναι πόνον, τῶν δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς προσόδων ἑκὼν ὑφίεσθαι ὑπὲρ
ὁμονοίας καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους Ῥωμαίων ἁπάντων εἰρήνης, [D] πόσων ἐπαίνων
ἄξιον κρινεῖ τις; οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο λέγειν ἔνεστιν ἐνταῦθα, ὡς καλῶς μέν,
ἀλυσιτελῶς δέ· λυσιτελὲς(79) μὲν γὰρ οὐδέν, ὅ, τι μὲ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ καλόν,
ἔμοιγε φαίνεται. ὅλως δὲ εἴ τινι καθ᾽ αὑτὸ τὸ συμφέρον ἐξετάζειν δοκεῖ,
κρινέτω μὴ πρὸς ἀργύριον σκοπῶν μηδὲ προσόδους χωρίων ἀπαριθμοόμενος,
καθάπερ οἱ φιλάργυροι γέροντες ὑπὸ τῶν κωμῳδῶν ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνὴν ἑλκόμενοι,
ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τὴν ἀξίωσιν. [20] φιλονεικῶν μὲν γὰρ
ὑπὲρ τῶν ὁρίων καὶ δυσμενῶς ἔχων ἐκείνων ἂν ἦρξε μόνων ὧν ἔλαχεν, εἰ καὶ
πλέον ἔχων ἀπῄει· ὑπερορῶν δὲ τῶν μικρῶν καὶ καταφρονήσας ἦρχε μὲν ἁπάσης
μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῆς οἰκουμένης, ἐπεμελεῖτο δὲ τοῦ λαχόντος μέρους,
ἀπολαύων μὲν τελείας τῆς τιμῆς, μετέχων δὲ ἔλαττον τῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ πόνων.