ἀκριβοῦς κατεχούσης τὸ πέλαγος; τίς δὲ ἡνίοχος ἅρματος δεξιὸς ἐν ὁμαλῷ καὶ
λείῳ χωρίῳ εὐπειθεῖς καὶ πρᾴους καὶ ταχεῖς ἵππους ζευξάμενος, εἶτα ἐν
τούτοις ἐπιδεικνύμενος τὴν τέχνην; πόσῳ δὲ ἀμείνων νεὼς μὲν ἰθυντὴρ ὁ καὶ
τὸν μέλλοντα χειμῶνα προμαθὼν καὶ προαισθόμενος καὶ πειραθείς γε τοῦτον
ἐκκλῖναι, εἶτα δι᾽ ἁσδηποτοῦν αἰτίας ἐμπεσὼν καὶ διασώσας ἀπαθῆ τὴν ναῦν
αὐτῷ φόρτῳ; [D] ἄρματος δ᾽ ἐπιστάτης ὁ καὶ πρὸς χωρίων ἀγωνιζόμενος
τραχύτητα καὶ τοὺς ἵππους μετατιθεὶς ἅμα καὶ βιαζόμενος, ἤν τι
πλημμελῶσιν; ὅλως δὲ οὐδεμίαν ἄξιον τέχνην μετὰ τῆς τύχης ἐξετάζειν, ἀλλ᾽
αὐτὴν ἐφ᾽ αὑτῆς σκοπεῖν. οὐδὲ στρατηγὸς ἀμείνων ὁ Κλέων Νικίου, ἐπειδὴ τὰ
περὶ τὴν Πύλον ηὐτύχησεν, οὐδ᾽ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς τῶν τύχῃ μᾶλλον ἢ γνώμῃ
κρατούντων. ἐγὼ δὲ εἰ μὴ καὶ τὴν τύχην τὴν σὴν ἀμείνω καὶ δικαιοτέραν τῆς
τῶν ἀντιταξαμένων, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων κρατίστην φήσαιμι, [26]
ἀδικεῖν ἂν εἰκότως δοκοίην, τὴν μὴ παρασχοῦσαν τοῖς πολεμίοις αἰσθέσθαι τὸ
πλεονέκτημα. χρὴ γὰρ οἶμαι τὸν δικαίως ὑπὲρ τῶν ῥηθέντων κρινοῦντα(109) τὸ
μὲν ἐλάττωμα τῇ τοῦ πνίγους ἀνανταγωνίστῳ ῥώμῃ λογίζεσθαι, τὸ δὲ εἰς ἴσον
καταστῆσαι τοὺς πολεμίους ταῖς συμφοραῖς τῆς σῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργον ὑπολαβεῖν,
τὸ δὲ τῶν μὲν οἰκείων αἰσθέσθαι συμφορῶν, ἀγνοῆσαι δὲ τὰ κατορθώματα τῆς
ἀγαθῆς τύχης ἔργον λογέζεσθαι.
(Is a man a skilful pilot because he can steer his ship in fair weather
when the sea is absolutely calm? Would you call a charioteer an expert
driver who on smooth and level ground has in harness horses that are
gentle, quiet and swift, and under such conditions gives a display of his
art? How much more skilful is the pilot who marks and perceives beforehand
the coming storm and tries to avoid its path, and then, if for any reason
he must face it, brings off his ship safe and sound, cargo and all? Just
so, the skilful charioteer is he who can contend against the unevenness of
the ground, and guide his horses and control them at the same time, if
they grow restive. In short, it is not fair to judge of skill of any sort
when it is aided by fortune, but one must examine it independently. Cleon
was not a better general than Nicias because he was fortunate in the
affair of Pylos, and the same may be said of all whose success is due to
luck rather than to good judgment. But if I did not claim that your
fortune was both better and better deserved than that of your opponents,
or rather of all men, I should with reason be thought to do it an
injustice, since it prevented the enemy from even perceiving their
advantage. For, in my opinion, an impartial judge of my narrative ought to
ascribe our reverse to the extreme and insupportable heat, and the fact
that you inflicted loss on the enemy equal to ours he would regard as
achieved by your valour, but that, though they were aware of their losses,
they took no account of their success, he would regard as brought about by
your good fortune.)
[B] Ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως μὴ μακρότερα περὶ τούτων λέγων τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν μειζόνων καιρὸν
ἀναλώσω, πειράσομαι λοιπὸν τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο περιστὰν ἡμᾶς τῶν πραγμάτων
πλῆθος διεξιέναι(110) καὶ τῶν κινδύνων τὸ μέγεθος, καὶ ὅπως ἅπασιν
ἀντισχὼν τυράννων μὲν πλῆθος, βαρβάρων δὲ ἐτρέψω δυνάμεις. ἦν μὲν γὰρ ὁ
χειμὼν ἐπ᾽ ἐξόδοις ἤδη, ἕκτον που μάλιστα μετὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἔτος, οὗ μικρῷ
πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, [C] ἧκε δὲ ἀγγέλλων τισ, ὡς Γαλατία μὲν συναφεστῶσα τῷ
τυράννῳ ἀδελφῷ τῷ σῷ ἐβοὐλευσέ τε καὶ ἐπετέλεσε τὸν φόνον, εἶτα ὡς Ἰταλία
καὶ Σικελία κατείληπται, τὰ δὲ ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς στρατόπεδα ταραχωδῶς ἔχει καὶ
Βασιλέα σφῶν ἀπέδειξε τὸν τέως στρατηγὸν ἀντισχεῖν ἐθέλοντα πρὸς τὴν
ἄμαχον δοκοῦσαν τῶν τυράννων φοράν. ἱκέτευε δὲ αὐτὸς οὗτος χρήματα πέμπειν
καὶ δύναμιν τὴν βοηθήσουσαν, σφόδρα ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ δεδιὼς καὶ τρέμων, μὴ πρὸς
τῶν τυράννων κρατηθείη. [D] καὶ τέως μὲν ἐπηγγέλλετο τὰ προσήκοντα
δράσειν, οὐδαμῶς αὑτὸν ἀξιῶν τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἐπίτροπον δὲ οἶμαι πιστὸν καὶ
φύλακα παρέξειν ἐπαγγελλόμενος· ἔμελλε δὲ οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἄπιστος φανεῖσθαι
καὶ δίκην ὑφέξειν καίτοι(111) φιλάνθρωπον. ταῦτα πυθόμενος οὐκ ᾤου δεῖν ἐν
ῥᾳστώνῃ πολλῇ τὸν χρόνον ἀναλίσκειν μάτην. ἀλλὰ τὰς μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ Συρίᾳ
πόλεις μηχανημάτων καὶ φρουρᾶς καὶ σίτου καὶ τῆς ἄλλης παρασκευῆς(112)
ἐμπλήσας, καὶ ἀπὼν ἀρκέσειν τοῖς τῇδε προσεδόκησας, [27] αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς
τυράννους ὁρμᾶν ἐβουλεύου.
(That I may not, however, by saying more on this subject, spend time that
belongs to more important affairs, I will try to describe next the
multitude of difficulties that beset us, the magnitude of our perils, and
how you faced them all, and not only routed the numerous following of the
usurpers, but the barbarian forces as well. About six years had passed
since the war I have just described, and the winter was nearly over, when
a messenger arrived with the news(113) that Galatia(114) had gone over to
the usurper, that a plot had been made to assassinate your brother and had
been carried out, also that Italy and Sicily had been occupied, lastly
that the Illyrian garrisons were in revolt and had proclaimed their
general(115) emperor, though for a time he had been inclined to resist
what seemed to be the irresistible onset of the usurpers.(116) Indeed, he
himself kept imploring you to send money and men to his aid, as though he
were terribly afraid on his own account of being overpowered by them. And
for a while he kept protesting that he would do his duty, that for his
part he had no pretensions to the throne, but would faithfully guard and
protect it for you. Such were his assertions, but it was not long before
his treachery came to light and he received his punishment, tempered
though it was with mercy. On learning these facts you thought you ought
not to waste your time in idleness to no purpose. The cities of Syria you
stocked with engines of war, garrisons, food supplies, and equipment of
other kinds, considering that, by these measures, you would, though
absent, sufficiently protect the inhabitants, while you were planning to
set out in person against the usurpers.)
Πέρσαι δὲ ἐξ ἐκείνου τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον παραφυλάξαντες, ὡς ἐξ ἐφόδου τὴν
Συρίαν ληψόμενοι, πᾶσαν ἐξαναστήσαντες ἡλικίαν καὶ φύσιν καὶ τύχην ἐφ᾽
ἡμᾶς ὥρμηντο, ἄνδρες, μειράκια, πρεσβῦται καὶ γυναικῶν πλῆθος καὶ
θεραπόντων, οὐ μόνον τῶν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὑπουργιῶν χάριν, ἐκ περιουσίας
δὲ πλεῖστον ἑπόμενον. διενοοῦντο γὰρ ὡς καὶ τὰς πόλεις [B] καθάξοντες καὶ
τῆς χώρας ἤδη κρατήσαντες κληρούχους ἡμῖν ἐπάγειν.(117) κενὰς δὲ ἀπέφηνεν
αὐτοῖς τὰς προσδοκίας τῆς παρασκευῆς τῆς σῆς τὸ μέγεθος. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐς
πολιορκίαν κατέστησαν, ἐπετειχίζετο μὲν ἡ πόλις κύκλῳ τοῖς χώμασιν,
ἐπέρρει δὲ ὁ Μυγδόνιος πελαγίζων τὸ περὶ τῷ τείχει χωρίον, καθάπερ ὁ
Νεῖλος, φασὶ, τὴν Αἴγυπτον. προσήγετο δὲ ἐπὶ νεῶν ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι τὰ
μηχανήματα, καὶ ἐπιπλεῖν ἄλλοι διενοοῦντο τοῖς τείχεσιν, [C] ἄλλοι δὲ
ἔβαλλον ἀπὸ τῶν χωμάτων τοὺς ἀμυνομένους ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως. οἱ δὲ ἐκ τῶν
τειχῶν ἤμυνον καρτερῶς τῇ πίλει. μεστὰ δὲ ἦν ἅπαντα σωμάτων καὶ ναυαγίων
καὶ ὅπλων καὶ βελῶν, τῶν μὲν ἄρτι καταδυομένων, τῶν δέ, ἐπειδὴ τὸ πρῶτον
ὑπὸ τῆς βίας κατενεχθέντα κατέδυ, κουφιζομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ κύματος. ἀσπίδες
μὲν ἐπενήχοντο βαρβάρων παμπληθεῖς καὶ νεῶν σέλματα(118) συντριβομένων ἐπ᾽
αὐταῖς τῶν μηχανημάτων. [D] βελῶν πλῆθος ἐπινηχόμενον μικροῦ δεῖν ἐπεῖχεν
ἅπαν τὸ μεταξὺ τοῦ τείχους καὶ τῶν χωμάτων. ἐτέτραπτο δὲ ἡ λίμνη πρὸς
λύθρον, καὶ κύκλῳ τὸ τεῖχος ἐπήχουν οἰμωγαὶ βαρβάρων ὀλλύντων μὲν οὐδαμῶς,
ὀλλυμένων(119) δὲ πολυτρόπως καὶ τιτρωσκομένων ποικίλοις τραύμασι.
(But the Persians ever since the last campaign had been watching for just
such an opportunity, and had planned to conquer Syria, by a single
invasion. So they mustered all forces, every age, sex, and condition, and
marched against us, men and mere boys, old men and crowds of women and
slaves, who followed not merely to assist in the war, but in vast numbers
beyond what was needed. For it was their intention to reduce the cities,
and once masters of the country, to bring in colonists in spite of us. But
the magnitude of your preparations made it manifest that their
expectations were but vanity. They began the siege and completely
surrounded the city(120) with dykes, and then the river Mygdonius flowed
in and flooded the ground about the walls, as they say the Nile floods
Egypt. The siege‐engines were brought up against the ramparts on boats,
and their plan was that one force should sail to attack the walls while
the other kept shooting on the city’s defenders from the mounds. But the
garrison made a stout defence of the city from the walls. The whole place
was filled with corpses, wreckage, armour, and missiles, of which some
were just sinking, while others, after sinking from the violence of the
first shock, floated on the waters. A vast number of barbarian shields and
also ship’s benches, as a result of the collisions of the siege‐engines on
the ships, drifted on the surface. The mass of floating weapons almost
covered the whole surface between the wall and the mounds. The lake was
turned to gore, and all about the walls echoed the groans of the
barbarians, slaying not, but being slain(121) in manifold ways and by all
manner of wounds.)
Τίς ἂν ἀξίως τῶν δρωμένων διηγοῖτο; πῦρ μὲν ἐνίετο ταῖς ἀσπίσιν, ἐξέπιπτον
δὲ τῶν ὁπλιτῶν ἡμίκαυτοι πολλοί, ἄλλοι δὲ ἀποδιδράσκοντες τὴν φλόγα τὸν ἐκ
τῶν βελῶν οὐκ ἀπέφευγον κίνδυνον· [28] ἀλλ᾽ οἱ μὲν ἔτι νηχόμενοι τὰ νῶτα
τρωθέντες ἐς βυθὸν κατεδύοντο, οἱ δὲ ἐξαλλόμενοι τῶν μηχανημάτων πρὶν
ὕδατος ἅψασθαι βληθέντες οὐ σωτηρίαν, κουφότερον δὲ εὗρον τὸν(122)
θάνατον. τοὺς δὲ οὐδὲ νεῖν εἰδότας ἀκλεέστερον τῶν πρόσθεν ἀπολλυμένους
τίς ἂν ἀξιώσειεν ἁριθμοῦ καὶ μνήμης; ἐπιλείψει με, καθ᾽ ἕκαστον εἰ πᾶσιν
ἐπεξελθεῖν βουλοίμην, ὁ χρόνος· τὸ κεφάλαιον δὲ ἀκούειν ἀπόχρη. [B] ταύτην
ἥλιος ἐπεῖδε τὴν μάχην ἄγνωστον ἀνθρώποις τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον· ταῦτα τὴν
παλαιὰν ἀλαζονείαν ἤλενξε τῶν Μήδων τῦφον ὄντα κενόν· ταῦτα τῆς Ξέρξου
παρασκευῆς ἀπιστουμένης τέως τὸ μέγεθος, εἰ τοσαύτη γενομένη τέλος ἔσχεν
αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἐπονείδιστον, ἐναργέστερον τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι γνωρίμων ἡμῖν
κατέστησεν. ὁ μὲν ἐπειρᾶτο πλεῖν καὶ πεζεύειν ἀπεναντίον τῇ φύσει
μαχόμενος καὶ, [C] ὥσπερ οὖν ᾤετο, κρατῶν ἠπείρου φύσεως καὶ θαλάττης
ἀνδρὸς Ἕλληνος ἡττᾶτο σοφίας καὶ ῥώμης στρατιωτῶν οὐ τρυφᾶν μεμελετηκότων
οὐδὲ δουλεύειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐλευθέρως ἄρχεσθαι καὶ πονεῖν εἰδότων. ὁ δὲ ταῖς
παρασκευαῖς ἐκείνου καταδεέστερος, ἔμπληκτος δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ τῇ μανίᾳ τοὺς
Ἀλωάδας ὑπερβαλλόμενος μόνον οὐχὶ τὸ πλησίον ὄρος ἐγνωκὼς ἀμφικαλύψαι τῇ
πόλει, ἐπαφιεὶς δὲ [D] ποταμῶν ῥεύματα καὶ τὰ τείχη διαλύσας οὐδὲ
ἀτειχίστου τῆς πόλεως περιγενόμενος ἔσχεν ἐφ᾽ ὅτῳ σεμνύνηται, καθάπερ ὁ
Ξέρξης ταῖς Ἀθήναις ἐμβαλὼν τὴν φλόγα. ἐπανῄει δὲ τεττάρων μηνῶν ἀναλώσας
χρόνον μυριάσι πολλαῖς ἧττον ἀπάγων τὸ στάατευμα, καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἠγάπησεν
ὁ πρόσθεν ἀφόρητος δοκῶν, τὴν σὴν ἀσχολίαν καὶ τὴν τῶν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν πραγμάτων
παραχὴν ὥσπερ ἔρυμα τῆς αὑτοῦ προβαλλόμενος σωτηρίας.
(Who could find suitable words to describe all that was done there? They
hurled fire down on to the shields, and many of the hoplites fell half‐
burned, while others who fled from the flames could not escape the danger
from the missiles. But some while still swimming were wounded in the back
and sank to the bottom, while others who jumped from the siege‐engines
were hit before they touched the water, and so found not safety indeed but
an easier death. As for those who knew not how to swim, and perished more
obscurely than those just mentioned, who would attempt to name or number
them? Time would fail me did I desire to recount all this in detail. It is
enough that you should hear the sum of the matter. On that day the sun
beheld a battle the like of which no man had ever known before. These
events exposed the historic boastings of the Medes as only empty conceit.
Till then men had hardly believed that Xerxes could have had so huge an
armament, seeing that for all its size its fate was so shameful and
ignominious; but these events made the fact clearer to us than things long
familiar and obvious. Xerxes tried to sail and to march by fighting
against the laws of nature, and, as he thought, overcame the nature of the
sea and of the dry land, but he proved to be no match for the wisdom and
endurance of a Greek whose soldiers had not been bred in the school of
luxury, nor learned to be slaves, but knew how to obey and to use their
energies like free‐born men. That man,(123) however, though he had no such
vast armament as Xerxes, was even more insensate, and outdid the Aloadae
in his infatuation, as if almost he had conceived the idea of overwhelming
the city with the mountain(124) that was hard by. Then he turned the
currents of rivers against its walls and undermined them, but even when
the city had lost its walls he could not succeed in taking it, so that he
had not even that triumph to boast of, as Xerxes had when he set fire to
Athens. So, after spending four months, he retreated with an army that had
lost many thousands, and he who had always seemed to be irresistible was
glad to keep the peace, and to use as a bulwark for his own safety the
fact that you had no time to spare and that our own affairs were in
confusion.)
Ταῦτα καταλιπὼν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας τρόπαια καὶ νίκας, [29] ἐπὶ τὴν Εὐρώπην
ἀκμῆτας ἦγες τὸ στράτευμα, τὴν οἰκουμένην ἅπασαν ἐμπλῆσαι τροπαίων
ἐγνωκώς. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀρκεῖ(125) τὰ πρόσθεν ῥηθέντα, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι περὶ σοῦ
λέγειν εἶχον σεμνότερον, πρὸς τὸ πάντων ἀποφῆναι σε τῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῆς
αὐτῆς σοι μετασχόντων τύχης συνέσει καὶ ῥώμῃ κρατοῦντα. τὸ γὰρ ἀπαθῶς
ὤσασθαι μεὲ τὴν Περσῶν δύναμιν, οὐ πόλιν οὐδὲ φρούριον, ἀλλ᾽ [B] οὐδὲ
στρατιώτην τῶν ἐκ καταλόγου προέμενον, πολιορκίᾳ δὲ τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι
λαμπρὸν καὶ οἷον οὔπω πρόσθεν ἠκούσαμεν, τίνι χρὴ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν παραβαλεῖν
ἔργων; περιβόητος γέγονεν ἡ Καρχηδονίων ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς τόλμα, ἀλλ᾽
ἐτελεύτησεν εἰς συμφοράς· λαμπρὰ τὰ περὶ τὴν Πλαταιέων πολιορκίαν
γενόμενα, ἐχρήσαντο δὲ οἱ δείλαιοι γνωριμώτερον τοῖς δυστυχήμασι. τί χρὴ
Μεσσήνης καὶ Πύλου μεμνῆσθαι, οὔτε ἀγωνισαμένων καρτερῶς οὔτε ἁλόντων ξὺν
βίᾳ; [C] Συρακούσιοι δὲ τὸν σοφὸν ἐκεῖνον ἀντιτάξαντες ταῖς παρασκευαῖς
τῆς ἡμετέρας πόλεως καὶ τῷ καλῷ κἀγαθῷ στρατηγῷ τί πλέον ὤναντο; οὐχ
ἑάλωσαν μὲν τῶν ἄλλων αἴσχιον, ἐσώζοντο δὲ καλὸν ὑπόμνημα τῆς τῶν ἑλόντων
πρᾳότητος; Ἀλλ᾽ εἰ πάσας ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι τὰς πόλεις βουλοίμην, αἳ πρὸς τὰς
ὑποδεεστέρας οὐ κατήρκεσαν παρασκευάς, πόσας οἴει μοι βίβλους ἀρκέσειν;
τῆς Ῥώμης δὲ ἴσως ἄξιον μνησθῆναι πάλαι ποτὲ χρησαμένης τύχῃ τοιαύτῃ, [D]
Γαλατῶν οἶμαι καὶ Κελτῶν ἐς ταύτὸ πνευσάντων καὶ φερομένων ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν
καθάπερ χειμάρρους ἐξαίφνης. κατέλαβον μὲν γὰρ τὸν λόφον ἐκεῖνον, οὗ τὸ
τοῦ Διὸς ἀφίδρυται βρέτας; γέρροις δὲ καί τισι τοιούτοις οἱονεὶ τείχει
φραξάμενοι, πολυπραγμονούντων οὐδὲν προσιέναι τῶν πολεμίων βίᾳ τολμώντων,
ἐκράτησαν.
(Such were the trophies and victories that you left behind you in Asia,
and you led your troops to Europe in perfect condition, determined to fill
the whole world with the monuments of your victories. Even if I had
nothing more wonderful to relate about you, what I have said is enough to
demonstrate that in good sense and energy you surpass all those in the
past whose fortune was the same as yours. Indeed to have repulsed the
whole strength of Persia and remain unscathed, not to have lost so much as
a soldier from the ranks, much less a town or fort, and finally to have
brought the siege to so brilliant and unprecedented a conclusion,—what
achievement I ask in the past could one compare with this? The
Carthaginians were famous for their daring in the face of danger, but they
ended in disaster. The siege of Plataea shed lustre on its citizens, but
all that their valour could do for those unhappy men was to make their
misfortunes more widely known. What need to quote Messene or Pylos, since
there the defeated did not make a brave defence nor was a vigorous assault
necessary to subdue them? As for the Syracusans, they had their famous man
of science(126) to aid them against the armaments of Rome and our
illustrious general,(127) but what did he avail them in the end? Did they
not fall more ignominiously than the rest, and were only spared to be a
glorious monument of their conqueror’s clemency? But if I wished to reckon
up all the states that could not withstand armaments inferior to their
own, how many volumes do you think would suffice? Rome, however, I ought
perhaps to mention, because long ago she had just such a fortune, I mean
when the Galatians and Celts(128) conspired together, and without warning
poured down on the city like a winter torrent.(129) The citizens occupied
the famous hill(130) on which stands the statue of Jupiter. There they
intrenched themselves with wicker barricades and such like defences, as
though with a wall, while the enemy offered no hindrance nor ventured to
approach to attack at close quarters, and so they won the day.)
[30] Ταύτῃ παραβαλεῖν ἄξιον τῇ πολιορκίᾳ τὴν ἔναγχος τῷ τέλει τῆς τύχης,
ἐπεὶ τοῖς γε ἔργοις οὐδεμιᾷ τῶν ὅσαι πάλαι γεγόνασι. τίς γὰρ ἔγνω
κυκλουμένην μὲν ὕδασι πόλιν,(131) λόφοις δὲ ἔξωθεν καθάπερ δικτύοις
περιβληθεῖσαν, καὶ ποταμὸν ἐπαφιέμενον οἱονεὶ μηχάνημα, συνεχῶς ῥέοντα καὶ
προσρηγνύμενον τοῖς τείχεσι, τάς τε ὑπὲρ τῶν ὑδάτων μάχας καὶ ὅσαι περὶ τῷ
τείχει κατενεχθέντι γεγόνασιν;(132) ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, ἀπόχρη καὶ
ταῦτα· τὰ λειπόμενα δέ ἐστι μακρῷ σεμνότερα. [B] καὶ τυχὸν οὐδαμῶς εὔλογον
ἅπαξ ἑλόμενον ἁπάντων ἐς δύναμιν μνησθῆναι τῶν σοι πραχθέντων, ἀκμαζουσῶν
ἔτι τῶν πράξεων, ἁφεῖναι τὴν διήγησιν. ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἔτι τοῖς ἔργοις
προσκαθήμενος, ὧν μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, περὶ τὴν Εὐρώπην διῴκησας,
πρεσβείας πέμπων καὶ ἀναλίσκων χρήματα καὶ στρατόπεδα τὰ προσκαθήμενα τοῖς
Σκύθαις ἐν Παιονίᾳ ἐκπέμπων, τοῦ μὴ κρατηθῆναι τὸν πρεσβύτην ὑπὸ τοῦ
τυράννου προνοῶν, πῶς ἄν τις ἐν βραχεῖ λόγῳ [C] παραστῆσαι δύναιτο καὶ
πάνυ σπουδάζων;
(It is with this siege that the recent one may well be compared, at least
in the issue of its fortunes; for the actual occurrences could not be
paralleled in all history. For who ever heard of surrounding a city with
water, and from without throwing hills about it like nets, then hurling at
it, like a siege‐engine, a river that flowed in a steady stream and broke
against its walls, or of fighting like that which took place in the water
and about the wall where it had fallen in? For my purpose, this is, as I
said, evidence enough. But what remains to tell is far more awe‐inspiring.
And perhaps, since I have undertaken to record, as far as possible, all
that you accomplished, it is not fair to break off my narrative at the
point where you were at the very height of your activity. For even while
you were occupied by the interests I have just described, you arranged
your affairs in Europe, despatching embassies, spending money, and sending
out the legions that were garrisoning Paeonia against the Scythians, all
of which was with the intention of preventing that feeble old man(133)
from being overpowered by the usurper.(134) But how could one, with the
best will in the world, present all this in a short speech?)
Ἐπει δέ, ἤδη σου πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὡρμημένου, οὐκ οἶδα παρ᾽ ὅτου δαιμόνων
ἐξαιρεθεὶς τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὰς φρένας ὁ τέως πιστὸς μενεῖν φύλαξ
ἐπαγγελλόμενος καὶ χρήμασι καὶ στρατοπέδοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ὑπὸ σοῦ
περισωζόμενος εἰρήνην ὡμολόγησε τῷ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀνοσιωτάτῳ καὶ πολεμίῳ
κοινῇ μὲν ἁπάντων, ὁπόσοις εἰρήνης μέλει καὶ τὴν ὁμόνοιαν ἐκ παντὸς
στέργουσιν, [D] ἰδίᾳ δὲ σοὶ καὶ πλέον τῶν ἄλλων· οὔτε ἔδεισας τῆς
παρασκευῆς τὸ μέγεθος οὔτε ἀπίστων ἀνδρῶν ξυμμαχίαν πλέον ἔχειν(135)
ὑπέλαβες τῆς ἔμφρονος γνώμης. ἐγκαλῶν δέ, ὡς εἰκός, τῷ μὲν ἀπιστίαν, τῷ δὲ
πρὸς ταύτῃ πράξεων ἀναγῶν καὶ παρανόμων τολμήματα, τὸν μὲν εἰς δίκην καὶ
κρίσιν ἐπὶ τῶν στρατοπέδων προυκάλεις, τοῦ δὲ κριτὴν ὑπελάμβανες εἶναι τὸν
πόλεμον. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ πρῶτον ὁ καλὸς καὶ συνετὸς ἀπήντα πρεσβύτης, [31]
εὐχερέστερον παιδαρίου τινὸς μετατιθέμενος τὰ δόξαντα καὶ ὧν εὖ πάθοι
δεόμενος μετὰ τὴν χρείαν ἐπιλήσμων· παρῆν δὲ ἄγων ὁπλιτῶν φάλαγγας καὶ
τάξεις ἱππέων, ὡς, εἰ μὴ πείθοι, βιασόμενος σε(136) ὀπίσω πάλιν ἀπιέναι
τὴν αὐτὴν ἄπρακτον· οὐδὲν ἐκπλαγείς, ὅτι τὸν σύμμαχον καὶ στρατηγὸν μενεῖν
ἐπαγγελλόμενον πολέμιον εἶδες ἐξ ἴσης ἄρχειν ἐθέλοντα, καίτοι τῷ πλήθει
τῶν στρατευμάτων ἐλαττούμενος, ἐπεὶ μὴ πάντες εἵποντο, [B] πρὸς πλήθει
κρατοῦντα διαγωνίζεσθαι τολμηρὸν μὲν ἴσως, σφαλερὸν δὲ πάντως(137)
ὑπολαβὼν καὶ κρατήσαντι τῇ μάχῃ διὰ τὸν ἐφεδρεύοντα τοῖς καιροῖς καὶ τοῖς
πράγμασιν ἄγριον τύραννον, ἐβουλεύσω καλῶς μόνον εἶναι σὸν ἐθέλων τὸ
κατόρθωμα, καὶ παρῄεις ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα μετὰ τοῦ τέως συνάρχοντος· συνῄει δὲ
ὁπλίτης δῆμος στίλβων τοῖς ὅπλοις, τὰ ξίφη γυμνὰ καὶ τὰ δόρατα
προτείνοντες, [C] δειλῷ μὲν φρικῶδες καὶ δεινὸν θέαμα, εὐψύχῳ δὲ καὶ
θαρραλέῳ καὶ οἷος αὐτὸς γέγονας ὄφελος γενναῖον. οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ πρῶτον ἤρξω
τῶν λόγων, σιγὴ μὲν ἐπέσχε, πρὸς τὴν ἀκοὴν ὡρμημένων πάντων, τὸ στράτευμα·
δάκρυα δὲ προυχεῖτο πολλοῖς, καὶ ἐς τὸν οὐρανὸν τὰς χεῖρας ὤρεγον, σιγῇ
καὶ ταῦτα δρῶντες, ὡς μήτις αἴσθηται. τὴν εὔνοιαν δὲ οἱ μὲν ἐνεδείκνυντο
καὶ(138) διὰ τῆς ὄψεως, πάντες δὲ τῷ σφόδρα ὡρμῆσθαι τῶν λόγων ἀκούειν.
[D] ἀκμαζούσης δὲ τῆς δημηγορίας συνενθουσιῶντες τῷ λόγῳ πάντες
ἐπεκρότουν, εἶτα αὖθις ἀκούειν ἐπιθυμοῦντες ἡσύχαζον. τέλος δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν
λόγων ἀναπειθόμενοι σὲ(139) μόνον ἐκάλουν βασιλέα, μόνον ἄρχειν ἠξίουν
ἁπάντων, ἡγεῖσθαι σφῶν ἐκέλευον ἐπὶ τὸν πολέμιον, ἀκολουθήσειν ὡμολόγουν,
ἀπολαμβάνειν ἠξίουν τῆς ἀρχῆς τὰ γνωρίσματα. σὺ δὲ οὐδὲ τὴν χεῖρα
προσάγειν ᾤου δεῖν οὐδὲ ἀφελέσθαι ξὺν βίᾳ· ὁ δὲ ἄκων μὲν καὶ μόλις, εἴξας
δὲ ὅμως ὀψέ ποτε, φασί, τῇ Θετταλικῇ πειθανάνκῃ, [32] προσῆγέ σοι
περιελόμενος τὴν ἁλουργίδα. οἷός τις ἐνταῦθα γέγονας τοσούτων μὲν ἐθνῶν
καὶ στρατοπέδων καὶ χρημάτων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ γεγονὼς κύριος, τὸν πολέμιον δέ,
εἰ καὶ μὴ τοῖς ἔργοις, ἀλλα τῇ γνώμῃ φανέντα, τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀφελόμενος καὶ τοῦ
σώματος κρατήσας;