[B] ἆρ᾽ ἐνταῦθα τὴν διήγησιν πάλιν ἀφήσομεν; ἢ πάντως τὸ τέλος ἁποδοῦναι
τῶν ἔργων τοῖς ποθοῦσιν(178) ἄξιον; ἐπέλαβε μὲν ὁ χειμὼν καὶ παρέσχε
διαφυγεῖν τῆν τιμωρίαν τὸν τύραννον. κηρύγματα δὲ ἦν λαμπρὰ καὶ βασιλικῆς
ἄξια μεγαλοψυχίας· ἄδεια δὲ πᾶσιν ἐδίδοτο τοῖς ταξαμένοις μετὰ τοῦ
τυράννου, πλὴν εἴ τις ἀνοσίων ἐκείνῳ φόνων ἐκοινώνει· ἀπελάμβανον τὰς
οἰκίας ἅπαντες καὶ τὰ χρήματα καὶ πατρίδας οἱ μηδὲ ὄψεσθαί τι τῶν φιλτάτων
αὐτοῖς ἐλπίζοντες. [C] ὑπεδέχου τὸ ναυτικὸν ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐπανερχόμενον,
πολλοὺς ἐκεῖθεν πολίτας κατάγον φεύγοντας οἶμαι τὴν τῶν τυράννων ὠμότητα.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ καιρὸς ἐκάλει στρατεύεσθαι, πάλιν ἐφειστήκεις δεινὸς τῷ τυράννῳ.
ὁ δὲ προυβάλλετο τὰς Ἰταλῶν δυσχωρίας, καὶ τοῖς ὄρεσι τοῖς ἐκεῖ καθάπερ
θηρίον ἐναποκρύψας τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτὸς οὐδὲ ὑπαίθριος ἐτόλμα στρατεύειν.
[D] ἀναλαβὼν δὲ ἁὑτὸν εἰς τὴν πλησίον πόλιν τρυφῶσαν καὶ πολυτελῆ, ἐν
πανηγύρεσι καὶ τρυφαῖς ἔτριβε τὸν χρόνον, ἀρκέσειν μὲν αὑτῷ πρὸς σοτηρίαν
τῶν ὀρῶν τὴν δυσχωρίαν μόνον οἰόμενος. ἀκόλαστος δὲ ὢν φύσει κερδαίνειν
ᾤετο τὸ χαρίζεσθαι ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις ἐν τοσούτοις κακοῖς, δῆλός τε ἦν λίαν
πεπιστευκὼς ἀσφαλῶς αὐτῷ τὰ παρόντα ἔχειν, ἀποτειχιζομένης ἐν κύκλῳ τῆς
Ἰταλίας τοῖς ὄρεσι, [39] πλὴν ὅσον ἐξ ἡμισείας ἡ θάλασσα τεναγώδης οὖσα
καὶ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίων ἕλεσιν ἐμφερὴς ἄβατον καὶ νηίτῃ στρατῷ πολεμίων ἀνδρῶν
καθίστησιν. ἀλλ᾽ ἔοικεν οὐδὲ ἓν ᾑ φύσις πρὸς ἀνδρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ σωφροσύνην
τοῖς ἀκολάστοις καὶ δειλοῖς ἔρυμα μηχανήσασθαι, πάντα ὑποχωρεῖν φρονήσει
μετὰ ἀνδρείας ἐπιούσῃ παρασκευάζουσα· πάλαι τε ἡμῖν ἐξηῦρε τὰς τέχνας, [B]
δι᾽ ὧν εἰς εὐπορίαν τῶν τέως δοξάντων ἀπόρων κατέστημεν, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καθ᾽
ἕκαστον ἔργων τὸ πολλοῖς ἀδύνατον εἶναι φαινόμενον(179) ἐπιτελούμενον πρὸς
ἀνδρὸς σώφρονος. ὃ δὴ καὶ τότε τοῖς ἔργοις, ὦ βασιλεῦ, δείξας εἰκότως ἂν
ἀποδέχοιο τοὺς ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ λόγους.
(Now that I have told the story of this first campaign, which was fought
at the end of the autumn, shall I here break off my narrative? Or is it
altogether unfair to withhold the end and issue of your achievements from
those who are eager to hear? Winter overtook us and gave the usurper a
chance to escape punishment. Then followed a splendid proclamation worthy
of your imperial generosity. An amnesty was granted to those who had taken
sides with the usurper, except when they had shared the guilt of those
infamous murders. Thus they who had never hoped even to see again anything
that they held dear, recovered their houses, money, and native land. Then
you welcomed the fleet which arrived from Italy bringing thence many
citizens who, no doubt, had fled from the usurper’s savage cruelty. Then
when the occasion demanded that you should take the field, you again
menaced the usurper. He however took cover in the fastnesses of Italy and
hid his army away there in the mountains, wild‐beast fashion, and never
even dared to carry on the war beneath the open heavens. But he betook
himself to the neighbouring town(180) which is devoted to pleasure and
high living, and spent his time in public shows and sensual pleasures,
believing that the impassable mountains alone would suffice for his
safety. Moreover, intemperate as he was by nature, he thought it clear
gain to be able to indulge his appetites at so dangerous a crisis, and he
evidently placed too much confidence in the safety of his position,
because the town is cut off from that part of Italy by a natural rampart
of mountains, except the half that is bounded by a shoaling sea, which
resembles the marshes of Egypt and makes that part of the country
inaccessible even to an invading fleet. It seems however as though nature
herself will not devise any safeguard for the sensual and cowardly against
the temperate and brave, for when prudence and courage advance hand in
hand she makes everything give way before them. Long since she revealed to
us those arts through which we have attained an abundance of what was once
thought to be unattainable, and in the field of individual effort we see
that what seemed impossible for many working together to achieve can be
accomplished by a prudent man. And since by your own actions you
demonstrated this fact it is only fair, O my Emperor, that you should
accept my words to that effect.)
Ἐστράτευες μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸς ὑπαίθριος, καὶ ταῦτα πλησίον παρούσης πόλεως οὐ
φαύλης, τοῖς στρατευομένοις δὲ οὐκ ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος τὸ πονεῖν καὶ
κινδυνεύειν, ἐξ ὧν δὲ αὐτὸς ἔδρας παρεγγυῶν· ἄτραπον μὲν ἐξηῦρες ἄγνωστον
τοῖς πᾶσι, πέμψας [C] δὲ ἀξιόμαχον τῆς δυνάμεως ἁπάσης ὁπλιτῶν μοῖραν,
εἶτα ἐπειδὴ σαφῶς ἔγνως αὐτοὺς τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐφεστῶτας, αὐτὸς ἀναλαβὼν
ἦγες τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ κύκλῳ περιέχων πάντων ἐκράτησας. ταῦτα ἐδρᾶτο πρὸ
τῆς ἕω, ἤγγελτο δὲ πρὸ μεσημβρίας τῷ τυράννῳ ἁμίλλαις ἱππικαῖς καὶ
πανηγύρει προσκαθημένῳ καὶ τῶν παρόντων οὐδὲν ἐλπίζοντι. [D] τίς μὲν οὖν
γέγονεν ἐκ τίνος, καὶ ποταπὴν γνώμην εἶχεν ὑπὲρ τῶν παρόντων, καὶ ὅπως
ἐκλιπὼν ἔφυγε τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν πᾶσαν, τοὺς φόνους καὶ τὰς πρόσθεν
ἀδικίας ἐκκαθαιρόμενος, οὐ τοῦ παρόντος ἂν εἴη λόγου διηγεῖσθαι. ἔμελλε δὲ
βραχείας ἀνοκωχῆς τυχὼν οὐδέν τι μεῖον τῶν ἔμπροσθεν δράσειν. οὕτως οὐδὲν
πρὸς πονηρίαν ψυχῆς ἄνθρωπος ἀνόσιος(181) ἐξηῦρε καθάρσιον διὰ τοῦ
σώματος. ἀφικόμενος γὰρ εῖς Γαλατίαν ὁ χρηστὸς οὑτοσὶ καὶ νόμιμος [40]
ἄρχων τοσοῦτον αὐτοῦ γέγονε χαλεπώτερος, ὡς, εἴ τις πρότερον αὐτὸν
διαφυγὼν ἐλελήθει τιμωρίας τρόπος ὠμότατος, τοῦτον ἐξευρὼν θέαμα
κεχαρισμένον αὑτῷ τὰς τῶν ἀθλίων πολιτῶν παρεῖχε συμφοράς· ἅρματος ζῶντας
ἐκδήσας καὶ μεθεὶς φέρεσθαι τοῖς ἡνιόχοις ἕλκειν ἂν ἐκέλευεν, αὐτὸς
ἐφεστηκὼς καὶ θεώμενος τὰ δρώμενα· καί τισι τοιούτοις ἑτέροις αὑτὸν
ψυχαγωγῶν τὸν πάντα διετέλει χρόνον, ἕως [B] αὐτὸν καθάπερ Ὀλυμπιονίκης
περὶ τῷ τρίτῳ παλαίσματι καταβαλὼν δίκην ἐπιθεῖναι τῶν τετολμημένων ἀξίαν
κατηνάγκασας ὤσαντα διὰ τῶν στέρνων τὸ αὐτὸ ξίφος, ὃ πολλῶν πολιτῶν ἐμίανε
φόνῳ. ταύτης ἐγὼ τῆς νίκης(182) ἀμείνω καὶ δικαιοτέραν οὔποτε γενέσθαι
φημὶ οὐδὲ ἐφ᾽ ᾗ μᾶλλον τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ηὐφράνθη γένος, τοσαύτης
ὠμότητος καὶ πικρίας ἀφεθὲν ὄντως ἐλεύθερον, εὐνομίᾳ δὲ ἤδη γανύμενον, ἧς
τέως [C] ἀπολαύομεν καὶ ἀπολαύσαιμέν γε ἐπὶ πλέον, ὦ πάντα ἀγαθὴ πρόνοια.
(For you conducted the campaign under the open skies, and that though
there was a city of some importance near at hand, and moreover you
encouraged your men to work hard and to take risks, not merely by giving
orders, but by your own personal example. You discovered a path hitherto
unknown to all, and you sent forward a strong detachment of hoplites
chosen from your whole army; then when you had ascertained that they had
come up with the enemy, you led forward your army in person, surrounded
them, and defeated his whole force. This happened before dawn, and before
noon the news was brought to the usurper. He was attending a horse‐race at
a festival, and was expecting nothing of what took place. How his attitude
changed, what was his decision about the crisis, how he abandoned the town
and in fact all Italy, and fled, thus beginning to expiate his murders and
all his earlier crimes, it is not for this speech to relate. Yet though
the respite he gained was so brief, he proceeded to act no less wickedly
than in the past. So true is it that by the sufferings of the body alone
it is impossible for the wicked to cleanse their souls of evil. For when
he reached Galatia,(183) this ruler who was so righteous and law‐abiding,
so far surpassed his own former cruelty that he now bethought himself of
all the ruthless and brutal modes of punishment that he had then
overlooked, and derived the most exquisite pleasure from the spectacle of
the sufferings of the wretched citizens. He would bind them alive to
chariots and, letting the teams gallop, would order the drivers to drag
them along while he stood by and gazed at their sufferings. In fact he
spent his whole time in amusements of this sort, until, like an Olympic
victor, you threw him in the third encounter(184) and forced him to pay a
fitting penalty for his infamous career, namely to thrust into his own
breast that very sword which he had stained with the slaughter of so many
citizens.(185) Never, in my opinion, was there a punishment more suitable
or more just than this, nor one that gave greater satisfaction to the
whole human race, which was now really liberated from such cruelty and
harshness, and at once began to exult in the good government that we enjoy
to this day. Long may we continue to enjoy it, O all‐merciful Providence!)
Ἐμοὶ δὲ ποθοῦντι μὲν ἐπεξελθεῖν ἅπασι τοῖς σοι πραχθεῖσιν, ἀπολειπομένῳ δὲ
συγγνώμην εἰκότως, ὦ μέγιστε βασιλεῦ, παρέξεις, εἰ μήτε τῶν ἀποστόλων τῶν
ἐπὶ Καρχηδόνα μνημονεύοιμι ἀπό τε Αἰγύπτου παρασκευασθέντων καὶ ἐξ(186)
Ἰταλίας ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν πλευσάντων, μήτε ὡς τῶν Πυρηναίων ὀρῶν ἐκράτησας ναυσὶν
ἐκπέμψας ἐπ᾽ αὐτὰ στράτευμα, μήτε τῶν [D] ἔναγχός σοι πολλάκις πρὸς τοὺς
βαρβάρους πραχθέντων, μήτ᾽ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερον τῶν πάλαι γεγονὸς λέληθε
τοὺς πολλούς. ἐπεὶ καὶ τὴν Ἀντιόχου πόλιν ἑαυτὴν σοῦ(187) ἐπώνυμον
ἐπονομάζουσαν ἀκούω πολλάκις. ἔστι μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, πλουτεῖ δὲ
ἤδη καὶ πρὸς ἅπασαν εὐπορίαν ἐπιδέδωκε διὰ σὲ λιμένας εὐόρμους τοῖς
καταίρουσι παρασχόντα· τέως δὲ οὐδὲ παραπλεῖν ἀσφαλὲς οὐδὲ ἀκίνδυνον
ἐδόκει· [41] οὕτως ἦν πάντα σκοπέλων τινῶν καὶ πετρῶν ὑφάλων ἀνάπλεα τῆς
θαλάσσης τῆσδε πρὸς ταῖς ᾐόσι. στοὰς δὲ καὶ κρήνας καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα παρὰ
τῶν ὑπάρχων διὰ σὲ γέγονεν οὐδὲ ὀνομάζειν ἄξιον. ὁπόσα δὲ τῇ πατρῴᾳ πόλει
προστέθεικας, τεῖχος μὲν αὐτῇ κύκλῳ περιβαλὼν ἀρξάμενον τότε, τὰ δοκοῦντα
δὲ οὐκ ἀσφαλῶς ἔχειν(188) τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων εἰς ἀθάνατον ἀσφάλειαν
κατατιθεῖς, τίς ἂν ἀπαριθμήσαιτο; [B] ἐπιλείψει με τούτων ἕκαστον ὁ χρόνος
διηγούμενον.
(I would fain recite every single one of your achievements, but you will
with reason pardon me, most mighty Emperor, if I fall short of that
ambition and omit to mention the naval armament against Carthage which was
equipped in Egypt and set sail from Italy to attack her, and also your
conquest of the Pyrenees, against which you sent an army by sea, and your
successes against the barbarians, which of late have been so frequent, and
all such successes in the past as have not become a matter of common
knowledge. For example, I often hear that even Antioch now calls herself
by your name. Her existence she does indeed owe to her founder,(189) but
her present wealth and increase in every sort of abundance she owes to
you, since you provided her with harbours that offer good anchorage for
those who put in there. For till then it was considered a dangerous risk
even to sail past Antioch; so full were all the waters of that coast, up
to the very shores, of rocks and sunken reefs. I need not stop to mention
the porticoes, fountains, and other things of the kind that you caused to
be bestowed on Antioch by her governors. As to your benefactions to the
city of your ancestors,(190) you built round it a wall that was then only
begun, and all buildings that seemed to be unsound you restored and made
safe for all time. But how could one reckon up all these things? Time will
fail me if I try to tell everything separately.)
Σκοπεῖν δὲ ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων ἄξιον ἤδη τῶν ῥηθέντων, εἰ μετὰ ἀρετῆς καὶ τῆς
βελτίστης ἕξεως ἅπαντα γέγονε· τούτῳ γὰρ ἤδη καὶ τῶν λόγων ἀρχόμενος
μάλιστα προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν ἠξίουν. οὐκοῦν τῷ πατρὶ μὲν εὐσεβῶς καὶ
φιλανθρώπως ὅπως προσηνέχθης, ὁμονοῶν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς διετέλεσας τὸν
ἅπαντα χρόνον, ἀρχόμενος μὲν προθύμως, [C] συνάρχων δὲ ἐκείνοις σωφρόνως,
πάλαι τε εἴρηται καὶ νῦν ἀξιούσθω μνήμης. τοῦτο δὲ ὅστις μικρᾶς ἀρετῆς
ἔργον ὑπέλαβεν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Φιλίππου καὶ Κῦρον τὸν Καμβύσου σκοπῶν
ἐπαινείτω. ὁ μὲν γὰρ μειράκιον ἔτι κομιδῇ νέον δῆλος ἦν τοῦ πατρὸς οὐκ
ἀνεξόμενος ἄρχοντος, ὁ δὲ ἀφείλετο τὴν ἀρχὴν τὸν πάππον. καὶ ταῦτα οὐδείς
ἐστιν οὕτως(191) ἠλίθιος, ὅστις οὐκ οἴεταί σε,(192) μηδὲν ἐκείνων
μεγαλοψυχίᾳ καὶ τῇ πρὸς τὰ καλὰ φιλοτιμίᾳ λειπόμενον, οὕτως ἐγκρατῶς καὶ
σωφρόνως [D] τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς προσενηνέχθαι. παρασχούσης γὰρ τῆς
τύχης τὸν καιρὸν, ἐν ᾧ τῆς ἁπάντων ἡγεμονίας ἐχρῆν μεταποιηθῆναι, πρῶτος
ὡρμήθης, πολλῶν ἀπαγορευόντων καὶ πρὸς τἀναντία ξυμπείθειν ἐπιχειρούντων·
ῥᾷστα δὲ καὶ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν τὸν ὲν χερσὶ πόλεμον διοικησάμενος ἐλευθεροῦν
ἔγνως τῆς ἀρχῆς τὰ κατειλημμένα, [42] δικαιοτάτην μὲν καὶ οἵαν οὔπω
πρόσθεν ἔλαβε πρόφασιν πόλεμος τῆς πρὸς ἐκείνους ἔχθρας τιθέμενος. οὐδὲ
γὰρ ἐμφύλιον ἄξιον προσαγορεύειν τὸν πόλεμον, οὗ βάρβαρος ἦν ἡγεμὼν ἑαυτὸν
ἀναγορεύσας βασιλέα καὶ χειροτονήσας στρατηγόν. τῶν ἀδικημάτων δὲ τῶν
ἐκείνου καὶ ὧν ἔδρασεν εἰς οἰκίαν τὴν σὴν οὐχ ἡδύ μοι πολλάκις μεμνῆσθαι.
ἀνδρειοτέραν δὲ τ῀εσδε τῆς πράξεως τίς ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοι; ἐφ᾽ ἧς δῆλος μὲν
[B] ἦν ἀποτυχόντι τῶν ἔργων ὁ(193) κίνδυνος· ὑπέμενες δὲ οὐδὲν κέρδους
χάριν οὐδὲ κλέος ἀείμνηστον ἀντωνούμενος, ὑπὲρ οὗ καὶ ἀποθνήσκειν ἄνδρες
ἀγαθοὶ πολλάκις τολμῶσιν, οἷον πρὸς ἀργύριον τὴν δόξαν τὰς ψυχὰς
ἀποδιδόμενοι, οὐδὲ μὴν δι᾽ ἐπιθυμίαν ἀρχῆς μείζονος καὶ λαμπροτέρας, ὅτι
μηδὲ νέῳ σοι τούτων ἐπιθυμῆσαι συνέβη, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ καλὸν στέργων τῆς
πράξεως πάντα ὑπομένειν ᾤου δεῖν πρὶν ἰδεῖν Ῥωμαίων βάρβαρον βασιλεύοντα
καὶ νόμων κύριον καὶ [C] πολιτείας καθεστῶτα καὶ τὰς ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν εὐχὰς
ποιούμενον τὸν τοσούτοις ἀσεβήμασιν ἔνοχον καὶ φόνοις. τῆς παρασκευῆς δὲ
αὐτῆς ἡ λαμπρότης καὶ τῶν ἀναλωμάτων τὸ μέγεθος τίνα οὐχ ἱκανὸν ἐκπλῆξαι;
καίτον Ξέρξην μὲν ἀκούω τὸν τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐξαναστήσαντα
χρόνον ἐτῶν οὐκ ἐλάσσονα δέκα πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἐκεῖνον παρασκευάζεσθαι,
εἶτα ἐπαγαγεῖν πρὸς ταῖς χιλίαις τριήρεσι διακοσίας ἐκ τούτων αὐτῶν οἶμαι
τῶν χωρίων, [D] ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς ἐν οὐδὲ ὅλοις μησὶ δέκα ναυπηγησάμενος ἤγειρας
τὸν στόλον, πλήθει νεῶν ἐκεῖνον ὑπερβαλλόμενος· τῇ τύχῃ δὲ οὐδὲ ἄξιον
συμβαλεῖν οὐδὲ τοῖς ἔργοις.
(The time has now come when it is proper to consider whether your career,
so far as I have described it, is at every point in harmony with virtue
and the promptings of a noble disposition. For to this, as I said at the
beginning of my speech, I think it right to pay special attention. Let me
therefore mention once more what I said some time ago, that to your father
you were dutiful and affectionate, and that you constantly maintained
friendly relations with your brothers, for your father you were ever
willing to obey, and as the colleague of your brothers in the empire you
always displayed moderation. And if anyone thinks this a trifling proof of
merit, let him consider the case of Alexander the son of Philip, and Cyrus
the son of Cambyses, and then let him applaud your conduct. For Alexander,
while still a mere boy, showed clearly that he would no longer brook his
father’s control, while Cyrus dethroned his grandfather. Yet no one is so
foolish as to suppose that, since you displayed such modesty and self‐
control towards your father and brothers, you were not fully equal to
Alexander and Cyrus in greatness of soul and ambition for glory. For when
fortune offered you the opportunity to claim as your right the empire of
the world, you were the first to make the essay, though there were many
who advised otherwise and tried to persuade you to the contrary course.
Accordingly, when you had carried through the war that you had in hand,
and that with the utmost ease and so as to ensure safety for the future,
you resolved to liberate that part of the empire which had been occupied
by the enemy, and the reason that you assigned for going to war was most
just and such as had never before arisen, namely your detestation of those
infamous men. Civil war one could not call it, for its leader was a
barbarian who had proclaimed himself emperor and elected himself general.
I dislike to speak too often of his evil deeds and the crimes that he
committed against your house. But could anything be more heroic than your
line of action? For should you fail in your undertaking the risk involved
was obvious. But you faced it, and you were not bidding for gain, nay nor
for undying renown, for whose sake brave men so often dare even to die,
selling their lives for glory as though it were gold, nor was it from
desire of wider or more brilliant empire, for not even in your youth were
you ambitious of that, but it was because you were in love with the
abstract beauty of such an achievement, and thought it your duty to endure
anything rather than see a barbarian ruling over Roman citizens, making
himself master of the laws and constitution and offering public prayers
for the common weal, guilty as he was of so many impious crimes and
murders. Who could fail to be dazzled by the splendour of your armament
and the vast scale of your expenditure? And yet I am told that Xerxes,
when he mustered all Asia against the Greeks, spent no less than ten years
in preparing for that war. Then he set out with twelve hundred triremes,
from the very spot, as I understand, where you gathered your fleet
together, having built it in rather less than ten months, and yet you had
more ships than Xerxes. But neither his fortune nor his achievements can
properly be compared with yours.)
Τὴν δὲ εἰς τὰ λοιπὰ δαπανήματα μεγαλοπρέπειαν μὴ πολὺ λίαν ἔργον ᾖ
φράζειν, οὐδὲ ὁπόσα ταῖς πόλεσι πάλαι στερομέναις ἀπεδίδους ἀπαριθμούμενος
ἐνοχλήσω τὰ νῦν. [43] πλουτοῦσι μὲν γὰρ ἅπασαι διὰ σὲ ἐπὶ τῶν(194)
ἔμπροσθεν ἐνδεεῖς οὖσαι καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων, ἐπιδίδωσι δὲ τῶν ἰδίων ἕκαστος
οἴκων διὰ τὰς κοινὰς τῶν πόλεων εὐετηρίας. ἀλλὰ τῶν εἰς τοὺς ἰδιώτας ἄξιον
δωρεῶν μεμνῆσθαι, ἐλευθέριόν σε καὶ μεγαλόδωρον βασιλέα προσαγορεύοντα, ὃς
πολλοῖς μὲν στερομένοις πάλαι τῶν αὑτῶν κτημάτων, τοῦ πατρῴου κλήρου
συμφορᾷ περιπεπτωκότος ἐν δίκῃ καὶ παρὰ δίκην, ἐπειδὴ πρῶτον ἐγένου
κύριος, [B] τοῖς μὲν καθάπερ δικαστὴς ἀγαθὸς τὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἁμαρτήματα
διορθωσάμενος κυρίους εἶναι τῆς αὑτῶν οὐσίας παρέσχες, τοῖς δὲ ἐπιεικὴς
κριτὴς γενόμενος ταῦτα μὲν ὧν ἀφῄρηντο πάλιν ἐχαρίσω, ἀρκεῖν οἰόμενος τὸ
μῆκος τοῦ χρόνου πρὸς τιμωρίαν τοῖς παθοῦσιν· ὅσα δὲ αὐτὸς οἴκοθεν
χαριζόμενος πλουσιωτέρους ἀπέθηνας πολλοὺς τῶν πάλαι δοξάντων ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν
χρημάτων εὐπορίᾳ σεμνύνεσθαι, [C] τί χρὴ νῦν ὑπομιμνήσκοντα περὶ μικρὰ
διατρίβειν δοκεῖν; ἄλλως τε καὶ πᾶσιν ὄντος καταφανοῦς, ὅτι μηδεὶς πώποτε
πλὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ Φιλίππου τοσαῦτα βασιλεῦς τοῖς αὑτοῦ φίλοις διανέμων
ὤφθη. ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ὁ τῶν φίλων πλοῦτος τῆς τῶν πολεμίων ῥώμης ὕποπτος
ἐφάνη μᾶλλον καὶ φοβερώτερος, ἄλλοι δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀρχομένων εὐγένειαν
ὑπιδόμενοι πάντα τρόπον τοὺς εὖ γεγονότας προπηλακίζοντες [D] ἢ καὶ
ἀναιροῦντες ἄρδην τὰς οἰκίας κοινῇ μὲν ταῖς πόλεσι συμφορῶν, ἰδίᾳ δὲ
αὑτοῖς ἀνοσίων ἔργων αἰτιώτατοι κατέστησαν. οὐκ ἀπέσχοντο δὲ ἤδη τινὲς
τοῖς τοῦ σώματος ἀγαθοῖς, ὑγιείᾳ φημὶ καὶ κάλλει καὶ εὐεξίᾳ, βασκαίνοντες·
ψυχῆς τε ἀρετὴν ἔν τινι τῶν πολιτῶν γενομένην οὐδὲ ἀκούειν ὑπέμενον, ἀλλ᾽
ἦν ἀδίκημα τοῦτο, καθάπερ ἀνδροφονία καὶ κλοπὴ καὶ προδοσία, τὸ δοκεῖν
ἀρετῆς μεταποιηθῆναι. [44] καὶ ταῦτα τυχὸν ἀληθῶς οὐ βασιλέων φήσει τις,
πονηρῶν δὲ καὶ ἀνελευθέρων τυράννων ἔργα καὶ πράξεις. ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἤδη τὸ
πάθος οὐ τῶν ἀνοήτων μόνον, ἀλλά τινων ἐπιεικῶν καὶ πρᾴων ἀνδρῶν ἁψάμενον,
τὸ τοῖς φίλοις ἄχθεσθαι πλέον ἔχουσι(195) καὶ πολλάκις ἐλαττοῦν ἐθέλειν
καὶ τῶν προσηκόντων αὐτοὺς ἀφαιρεῖσθαι, τίς ἐπὶ σοῦ λέγειν ἐτόλμησε; τοῦτο
καὶ Κῦρόν φασι τὸν Πέρσην γάμβρον ὄντα βασιλέως παρὰ τοῦ κηδεστοῦ παθεῖν
ἀχθομένου τῇ παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα τιμῇ, καὶ ἀγησίλαος δὲ [B]
δῆλος ἦν ἀχθόμενος τιμωμένῳ παρὰ τοῖς Ἴωσι Λυσάνδρῳ.
(I fear that it is beyond my powers to describe the magnificence of your
outlay for other purposes, nor will I risk being tedious by staying now to
count up the sums you bestowed on cities that had long been destitute. For
whereas, in the time of your predecessors, they lacked the necessaries of
life, they have all become rich through you, and the general prosperity of
each city increases the welfare of every private household in it. But it
is proper that I should mention your gifts to private persons, and give
you the title of a generous and open‐handed Emperor; for since there were
many who long ago had lost their property, because, in some cases justly,
in others unjustly, their ancestral estates had suffered loss, you had no
sooner come into power, than like a just judge you set right in the latter
cases the errors committed by men in the past, and restored them to the
control of their property, while in the former cases you were a kindly
arbiter, and granted that they should recover what they had lost, thinking
that to have suffered so long was punishment enough. Then you lavished
large sums from your privy purse, and increased the reputation for wealth
of many who even in the past had prided themselves on their large incomes.
But why should I remind you of all this and seem to waste time over
trifles? Especially as it must be obvious to all that no king except
Alexander the son of Philip was ever known to bestow such splendid
presents on his friends. Indeed some kings have thought that the wealth of
their friends gave more grounds for suspicion and alarm than did the
resources of their enemies, while others were jealous of the aristocrats
among their subjects, and therefore persecuted the well‐born in every
possible way, or even exterminated their houses, and thus were responsible
for the public disasters of their cities and, in private life, for the
most infamous crimes. There were some who went so far as to envy mere
physical advantages, such as health or good looks, or good condition. And
as for a virtuous character among their subjects, they could not bear even
to hear of it, but counted it a crime like murder or theft or treason to
appear to lay claim to virtue. But perhaps someone will say, and with
truth, that these were the actions and practices not of genuine kings but
of base and contemptible tyrants. Nay, but that other malady which has
been known to attack not only those who were irrational, but some even who
were just and mild, I mean the tendency to quarrel with friends who were
too prosperous and to wish to humble them and deprive them of their
rightful possessions, who I ask has ever dared so much as to mention such
conduct in your case? Yet such, they say, was the treatment that Cyrus the
Persian, the king’s son‐in‐law, received from his kinsman,(196) who could
not brook the honour in which Cyrus was held by the common people, and
Agesilaus also is well known to have resented the honours paid to Lysander
by the Ionians.)
Τούτους οὖν(197) πάντας ὑπερβαλλόμενος ἀρετῇ, τοῖς πλουτοῦσι μὲν τὸ
πλουτεῖν ἀσφαλέστερον ἢ πατὴρ τοῖς αὑτοῦ παισί κατέστησας, εὐγενείας δὲ
τῆς τῶν ὑπηκόων προνοεῖς καθάπερ ἁπάσης πόλεως οἰκιστὴς καὶ νομοθέτης· καὶ
τοὶς ἐκ τῆς τύχης ἀγαθοῖς πολλὰ μὲν προστιθείς, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ
ἀρχῆς χαριζόμενος, δῆλος [C] εἶ τῷ μεγέθει μὲν τὰς παρὰ τῶν βασιλέων
δωρεὰς ὑπερβαλλόμενος, τῇ βεβαιότητι δὲ τῶν ἅπαξ δοθέντων τὰς παρὰ τῶν
δήμων χάριτας ἁποκρυπτόμενος. τοῦτο δὲ οἶμαι καὶ μάλα εἰκότως συμβαίνει.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐφ᾽ οἷς συνίσασιν αὑτοῖς ἀπολειφθεῖσιν ἀγαθοῖς, τοῖς
κεκτημένοις βασκαίνουσιν, ὅτῳ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῆς τύχης ἐστὶ λαμπρὰ καὶ οἷα
οὐδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων, τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῆς προαιρέσεως τῶν ἐκ τῆς τύχης μακρῷ
σεμνότερα, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτου δεόμενος τῷ κεκτημένῳ φθονήσειεν. [D] ὃ δὴ καὶ
σαυτῷ μάλιστα πάντων ὑπάρχειν ἐγνωκὼς χαίρεις μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖς τῶν ἄλλων
ἀγαθοῖς, εὐφραίνει δὲ σε τὰ τῶν ὑπηκόων κατορθώματα· καὶ τιμὰς ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς
τὰς μὲν ἐχαρίσω, τὰς δὲ ἤδη μέλλεις, ὑπὲρ δὲ ἐνίων βουλεύῃ· καὶ οὐκ ἀπόχρη
σοι πόλεως μιᾶς οὐδὲ ἔθνους ἑνὸς οὐδὲ πολλῶν ὁμοῦ τοῖς φίλοις ἀρχὰς καὶ
τὰς ἐπ᾽ αὐταῖς τιμὰς διανέμειν· ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὴ καὶ βασιλείας [45] ἕλοιο
κοινωνόν, ὑπὲρ ἧς τοσοῦτον ὑπομείνας πόνον τὸ τῶν τυράννων γένος ἀνῄρηκας,
οὐδὲν ἄξιον τῶν σαυτοῦ κατορθωμάτων ἔργον ὑπέλαβες. καὶ ὅτι μὴ χρείᾳ
μᾶλλον ἢ τῷ χαίρειν πάντα δωρούμενος ἐπὶ ταύτην ὥρμησας τὴν γνώμην, ἅπασιν
οἶμαι γνώριμον γέγονε. τῶν μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους ἀγώνων κοινωνὸν οὐχ
εἵλου, τῆς τιμῆς δὲ τὸν οὐ μετασχόντα τῶν πόνων ἠξίωσας μεταλαβεῖν μόνον,
ὅτε μηδὲν ἔτι φοβερὸν ἐδόκει. [B] καὶ τῆς μὲν οὐδὲ ἐπ᾽ ὀλίγον ἀφελὼν δῆλος
εἶ, τῶν πόνων δὲ οὐδὲ ἐπὶ σμικρὸν κοινωνεῖν ἀξιοῖς. πλὴν εἴ που δέοι πρὸς
ὀλίγον ἑπόμενον σοι στρατεύεσθαι. πότερον οὖν καὶ περὶ τούτων μαρτύρων
τινῶν καὶ τεκμηρίων τῷ λόγῳ προσδεῖ; ἢ δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ λέγοντος, ὅτι μὴ
ψευδεῖς ἐπεισάγει λόγους; ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ μὲν τούτων οὐδὲν ἔτι πλέον ἄξιον
ἐνδιατρίβειν.