wealth more secure for the rich than a father would for his own children,
and you take thought that your subjects shall be well‐born, as though you
were the founder and law‐giver of every single city. Those to whom fortune
has been generous you still further enrich, and in many cases men owe all
their wealth to your generosity, so that in amount your gifts clearly
surpass those of other princes, while, in security of ownership of what
has once been given, you cast into the shade any favours bestowed by
democracies.(198) And this is, I think, very natural. For when men are
conscious that they lack certain advantages, they envy those who do
possess them, but when a man is more brilliantly endowed by fortune than
any of his fellows, and by his own initiative has won even higher
dignities than fate had assigned him, he lacks nothing, and there is none
whom he need envy. And since you realise that in your case this is
especially true, you rejoice at the good fortune of others and take
pleasure in the successes of your subjects. You have already bestowed on
them certain honours, and other honours you are on the point of bestowing,
and you are making plans for the benefit of yet other persons. Nor are you
content to award to your friends the government of a single city or
nation, or even of many such, with the honours attaching thereto. But
unless you chose a colleague(199) to share that empire on whose behalf you
had spared no pains to exterminate the brood of usurpers, you thought that
no act of yours could be worthy of your former achievements. That you
reached this decision not so much because it was necessary as because you
take pleasure in giving all that you have to give, is, I suppose, well
known to all. For you chose no colleague to aid you in your contests with
the usurpers, but you thought it right that one who had not shared in the
toil should share in the honour and glory, and that only when all danger
seemed to be over. And it is well known that from that honour you subtract
not even a trifling part, though you do not demand that he should share
the danger even in some small degree, except indeed when it was necessary
for a short time that he should accompany you on your campaign. Does my
account of this call for any further witnesses or proofs? Surely it is
obvious that he who tells the tale would not be the one to introduce a
fictitious account. But on this part of my subject I must not spend any
more time.)
Σωφροσύνης δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς σῆς καὶ φρονήσεως καὶ ὅσην εὔνοιαν τοῖς ὑπηκόοις
ἐνειργάσω, [C] βραχέα διελθεῖν ἴσως οὐκ ἄτοπον. τίς γάρ σ᾽(200) ἀγνοεῖ τῶν
ἁπάντων τοσαύτην ἐκ παίδων τῆς ἀρετῆς ταύτης ἐπιμέλειαν ἐσχηκότα, ὅσην
οὐδεὶς ἄλλος τῶν ἔμπροσθεν; καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐν παισὶ σωφροσύνης μάρτυς ὁ πατὴρ
γέγονεν ἀξιόχρεως, σοὶ τὰ περὶ τὴς ἀρχὴν καὶ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς
διοικεῖν ἐπιτρέψας μόνῳ, ὄντι γε οὐδὲ πρεσβυτάτῳ τῶν ἐκείνου παίδων· τῆς
δὲ ἐν ἀνδράσιν ἅπαντες αἰσθανόμεθα, [D] καθάπερ πολίτου τοῖς νόμοις
ὑπακούοντος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ βασιλέως τῶν νόμων ἄρχοντος, ἀεί σου προσφερομένου τῷ
πλήθει καὶ τοῖς ἐν τέλει. τίς γάρ σ᾽(201) ἔγνω μεῖζον ὑπὸ τῆς εὐτυχίας
φρονήσαντα; τίς δὲ ἐπαρθέντα τοῖς κατορθώμασι τοσούτοις(202) καὶ
τηλικούτοις ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ γενομένοις; ἀλλὰ τὸν Φιλίππου φασὶν
Ἀλέξανδρον, ἐπειδὴ τὴν Περσῶν καθεῖλε δύναμιν, οὐ μόνον τὴν ἄλλην δίαιταν
πρὸς ὄγκον μείζονα καὶ λίαν ἐπαχθῆ τοῖς πᾶσιν ὑπεροψίαν μεταβαλεῖν, [46]
ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη καὶ τοῦ φύσαντος ὑπερορᾶν καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἁπάσης φύσεως. ἠξίου
γὰρ υἱὸς Ἄμμωνος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ Φιλίππου νομίζεσθαι, καὶ τῶν συστρατευσαμένων
ὄσοι μὴ κολακεύειν μηδὲ δουλεύειν ἠπίσταντο τῶν ἑαλωκότων πικρότερον
ἐκολάζοντο. ἀλλὰ σοῦ γε τῆς εἰς τὸν πατέρα τιμῆς ἆρα ἄξιον ἐνταῦθα
μεμνῆσθαι; ὃν οὐκ ἰδίᾳ μόνον σεβόμενος, ἀεὶ δὲ ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς συλλόγοις
διετέλεις ἀνακηρύττων καθάπερ ἀγαθὸν ἥρωα. τῶν φίλων δέ, [B] ἀξιοῖς γὰρ
αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἄχρις ὀνόματος μόνον τῆς τιμῆς, πολὺ δὲ πλέον διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων
βεβαιοῖς ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν τοὔνομα· ἔστιν οὖν ἄρα τις ὁ μεμφόμενος ἀτιμίαν ἢ
ζημίαν ἢ βλάβην ἤ τινα μικρὰν ὑπεροψίαν ἢ μείζονα; ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν οὐδαμῶς
εἰπεῖν ἔχοι τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν. τούτων γὰρ οἱ μὲν γηραιοὶ σφόδρα, ταῖς ἀρχαῖς
εἰς τὴν εἱμαρμένην τελευτὴν τοῦ βίου παραμείναντες, τὰς ἐπιμελείας τῶν
κοινῶν συναπέθεντο τοῖς σώμασι, [C] παισὶν ἢ φίλοις ἤ τισι πρὸς γένους
τοὺς κλήρους παραπέμποντες· ἄλλοι δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πόνους καὶ τὰς στρατείας
ἀπαγορεύοντες, ἀφέσεως ἐντίμου τυχόντες, ζῶσιν ὄλβιοι· τινὲς δὲ καὶ
μετήλλαξαν, εὐδαίμονες παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους εἶναι κρινόμενοι. ὅλως δὲ οὐκ
ἔστιν οὐδὲ εἷς, ὃς ἐπειδὴ ταύτης ἠξιώθη τῆς τιμῆς, εἰ καὶ μοχθηρὸς ὕστερον
ἐφάνη, τιμωρίας ἔτυχε μικρᾶς ἢ μείζονος· ἤρκεσε δὲ αὐτὸν ἀπηλλάχθαι μόνον
καὶ μηδὲν ἐνοχλεῖν ἔτι.
(A few words about your temperance, your wisdom, and the affection that
you inspired in your subjects, will not, I think, be out of place. For who
is there among them all who does not know that from boyhood you cultivated
the virtue of temperance as no one had ever done before you? That in your
youth you possessed that virtue your father is a trustworthy witness, for
he entrusted to you alone the management of affairs of state and all that
related to your brothers, although you were not even the eldest of his
sons. And that you still display it, now that you are a man, we are all
well aware, since you ever behave towards the people and the magistrates
like a citizen who obeys the laws, not like a king who is above the laws.
For who ever saw you made arrogant by prosperity? Who ever saw you
uplifted by those successes, so numerous and so splendid, and so quickly
achieved? They say that Alexander, Philip’s son, when he had broken the
power of Persia, not only adopted a more ostentatious mode of life and an
insolence of manner obnoxious to all, but went so far as to despise the
father that begat him, and indeed the whole human race. For he claimed to
be regarded as the son of Ammon instead of the son of Philip, and when
some of those who had taken part in his campaigns could not learn to
flatter him or to be servile, he punished them more harshly than the
prisoners of war. But the honour that you paid to your father need I speak
of in this place? Not only did you revere him in private life, but
constantly, where men were gathered together in public, you sang his
praises as though he were a beneficent hero‐god. And as for your friends,
you grant them that honour not merely in name, but by your actions you
make their title sure. Can any one of them, I ask, lay to your charge the
loss of any right, or any penalty or injury suffered, or any overbearing
act either serious or trifling? Nay there is not one who could bring any
such accusation. For your friends who were far advanced in years remained
in office till the appointed end of their lives, and only laid down with
life itself their control of public business, and then they handed on
their possessions to their children or friends or some member of their
family. Others again, when their strength failed for work or military
service, received an honourable discharge, and are now spending their last
days in prosperity; yet others have departed this life, and the people
call them blessed. In short there is no man who having once been held
worthy of the honour of your friendship, ever suffered any punishment
great or small, even though later he proved to be vicious. For them all
that he had to do was to depart and give no further trouble.)
[D] Ἐν δὲ τούτοις ἅπασιν ὢν καὶ γεγονὼς τοιοῦτος ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἡδονῆς ἁπάσης, ᾗ
πρόσεστιν ὄνειδος καὶ μικρόν, καθαρὰν τὴν ψυχὴν διεφύλαξας. μόνον δὲ οἶμαι
σὲ τῶν πρόσθεν αὐτοκρατόρων, σχεδὸν δὲ πλὴν σφόδρα ὀλίγων καὶ πάντων
ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἀνδράσι μόνον παράδειγμα πρὸς σωφροσύνην παρασχεῖν κάλλιστον,
καὶ γυναιξὶ δὲ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἄνδρας κοινωνίας. [47] ὅσα γὰρ ἐκείναις
ἀπαγορεύουσιν οἱ νόμοι τοῦ γνησίους(203) φύεσθαι τοὺς παῖδας ἐπιμελόμενοι,
ταῦτα ὁ λόγος ἀπαγορεύει ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις παρὰ σοί. ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ μὲν τούτων
ἔχων ἔτι πλείονα λίγειν ἀφίημι.
(While this has been your character from first to last in all these
relations, you always kept your soul pure of every indulgence to which the
least reproach is attached. In fact I should say that you alone, of all
the emperors that ever were, nay of all mankind almost, with very few
exceptions, are the fairest example of modesty, not to men only but to
women also in their association with men. For all that is forbidden to
women by the laws that safeguard the legitimacy of offspring, your reason
ever denies to your passions. But though I could say still more on this
subject, I refrain.)
Τῆς φρονήσεως δὲ ἄξιον μὲν ἔπαινον διελθεῖν οὐδαμῶς εὐχερές, μικρὰ δὲ ὅμως
καὶ ὑπὲρ ταύτης ῥητέον. ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἔργα τῶν λόγων οἶμαι πιστότερα. οὐ
γάρ ἐστιν εἰκὸς τοσαύτην ἀρχὴν [B] καὶ δύναμιν μὴ παρὰ τῆς ἴσης
διοικουμένην καὶ κρατουμένην φρονήσεως πρὸς τοσοῦτον μέγεθος ἀφικέσθαι καὶ
κάλλος πράξεων· ἀγαπητὸν δὶ, εἰ καὶ τῇ τύχῃ μόνον δίχα φρονήσεως
ἐπιτρεπομένη(204) ἐπὶ πολὺ μένει.(205) ἀνθῆσαι μὲν γὰρ τῇ τύχῃ προσσχόντα
πρὸς βραχὺ ῥάδιον, διαφυλάξαι δὲ τὰ δοθέντα ἀγαθὰ δίχα φρονήσεως οὐ λίαν
εὔκολον, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀδύνατον ἴσως. ὄλως δὲ εἰ χρὴ καὶ περὶ τούτων ἐναργὲς
φράζειν τεκμήριον, πολλῶν καὶ γνωρίμων οὐκ ἀπορήσομεν. [C] τὴν γὰρ
εὐβουλίαν ὑπολαμβάνομεν τῶν περὶ τὰς πράξεις ἀγαθῶν καὶ συμφερόντων
ἐξευρίσκειν τὰ κράτιστα. σκοπεῖν οὖν ἄξιον ἐφ᾽ ἁπάντων ἁπλῶς, εἰ μὴ τοῦθ᾽
ἕν ἐστι τῶν σοι πραχθέντων. οὐκοῦν ὅπου μὲν ἦν ὁμονοίας χρεία, ἔχαιρες
ἐλαττούμενος, ὅπου δὲ τοῖς κοινοῖς ἐχρῆν βοηθεῖν, τὸν πόλεμον ἀνείλου(206)
προθυμότατα. καὶ Περσῶν μὲν τὴν δύναμιν καταστρατηγήσας οὐδένα τῶν ὁπλιτῶν
ἀποβαλὼν διέφθειρας, τὸν πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους δὲ πόλεμον διελὼν τοῦ μὲν
ἐκράτησας ταῖς δημηγορίαις, [D] καὶ τὴν μετ᾽ ἐκείνου δύναμιν ἀκέραιον καὶ
κακῶν ἀπαθῆ προσλαβὼν κατεπολέμησας μᾶλλον διὰ τῆς συνέσεως ἢ διὰ τῆς
ῥώμης τὸν τοσούτων τοῖς κοινοῖς αἴτιον συμφορῶν. βούλομαι δὲ σαφέστερον
περὶ τούτων εἰπὼν ἅπασι δεῖξαι, τίνι μάλιστα πιστεύσας(207) τοσούτοις
σαυτὸν ἐπιδοὺς πράγμασιν οὐδενὸς ὅλως διήμαρτες. [48] εὔνοιαν οἴει δεῖν
παρὰ τῶν ὑπηκόων ὑπάρχειν τῷ βασιλεύοντι ἐρυμάτων ἀσφαλέστατον. ταύτην δὲ
ἐπιτάττοντα μὲν καὶ κελεύοντα καθάπερ εἰσφορὰς καὶ φόρους κτήσασθαι
παντελῶς ἄλογον. λείπεται δὴ λοιπόν, καθάπερ αὐτὸς ὥρμηκας, τὸ πάντας εὖ
ποιεῖν καὶ μιμεῖσθαι τὴν θείαν ἐν ἀνθρώποις φύσιν· πρᾴως μὲν ἔχειν πρὸς
ὀργήν, [B] τῶν τιμωριῶν δὲ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τὰς χαλεπότητας, πταίσασι δὲ οἶμαι
τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐπιεικῶς καὶ εὐγνωμόνως προσφέρεσθαι. ταῦτα πράττων, ταῦτα
θαυμάζων, ταῦτα τοῖς ἄλλοις προστάττων μιμεῖσθαι τὴν Ῥώμην μέν, ἔτι τοῦ
τυράννου κρατοῦντος τῆς Ἰταλίας, διὰ τῆς γερουσίας εἰς Παιονίαν
μετέστησας, προθύμους δὲ εἶχες τὰς πόλεις πρὸς τὰς λειτουργίας.
(Your wisdom it is by no means easy to praise as it deserves, but I must
say a few words about it. Your actions, however, are more convincing, I
think, than my words. For it is not likely that this great and mighty
empire would have attained such dimensions or achieved such splendid
results, had it not been directed and governed by an intelligence to
match. Indeed, when it is entrusted to luck alone, unaided by wisdom, we
may be thankful if it last for any length of time. It is easy by depending
on luck to flourish for a brief space, but without the aid of wisdom it is
very hard, or rather I might say impossible, to preserve the blessings
that have been bestowed. And, in short, if we need cite a convincing proof
of this, we do not lack many notable instances. For by wise counsel we
mean the ability to discover most successfully the measures that will be
good and expedient when put into practice. It is therefore proper to
consider in every case whether this wise counsel may not be counted as one
of the things you have achieved. Certainly when there was need of harmony
you gladly gave way, and when it was your duty to aid the community as a
whole you declared for war with the utmost readiness. And when you had
defeated the forces of Persia without losing a single hoplite, you made
two separate campaigns against the usurpers, and after overcoming one of
them(208) by your public harangue, you added to your army his forces,
which were fresh and had suffered no losses, and finally, by intelligence
rather than by brute force, you completely subdued the other usurper who
had inflicted so many sufferings on the community. I now desire to speak
more clearly on this subject and to demonstrate to all what it was that
you chiefly relied on and that secured you from failure in every one of
those great enterprises to which you devoted yourself. It is your
conviction that the affection of his subjects is the surest defence of an
emperor. Now it is the height of absurdity to try to win that affection by
giving orders, and levying it as though it were a tax or tribute. The only
alternative is the policy that you have yourself pursued, I mean of doing
good to all men and imitating the divine nature on earth. To show mercy
even in anger, to take away their harshness from acts of vengeance, to
display kindness and toleration to your fallen enemies, this was your
practice, this you always commended and enjoined on others to imitate, and
thus, even while the usurper still controlled Italy, you transferred Rome
to Paeonia by means of the Senate and inspired the cities with zeal for
undertaking public services.)
Τῶν στρατευμάτων δὲ τὴν εὔνοιαν τίς ἂν ἀξίως διηγήσαιτο; τάξις μὲν ἱππέων
πρὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ Μύρσῃ παρατάξεως μεθειστήκει, [C] ἐπεὶ δὲ τῆς Ἰταλίας
ἐκράτησας, πεζῶν κατάλογοι καὶ τέλη λαμπρά. ἀλλὰ τὸ μικρὸν μετὰ τὴν τοῦ
τυράννου δυστυχῆ τελευτὴν ἐν Γαλατίᾳ γενόμενον κοινὴν ἁπάντων ἔδειξε
στρατοπέδων τὴν εὔνοιαν, τὸν θρασυνόμενον καθάπερ ἐπ᾽ ἐρημίας καὶ τὴν
γυναικείαν ἁλουργίδα περιβαλόμενον ὥσπερ τινὰ λύκον(209) ἐξαίφνης
διασπασαμένων. ὅστις δὲ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ γέγονας τῇ πράξει, καὶ ὅπως πρᾴως ἅπασι
καὶ φιλανθρώπως τοῖς ἐκείνου γνωρίμοις προσηνέχθης, ὅσοι μηδὲν ἠλέγχοντο
ἐκείνῳ συμπράξαντες, πολλῶν ἐφεστηκότων τῇ κατηγορίᾳ συκοφαντῶν, [D] καὶ
τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον φιλίαν ὑποπτεύειν μόνον κελευόντων, ἐγὼ μὲν ἁπάσης ἀρετῆς
τίθεμαι τοῦτο(210) κεφάλαιον. καὶ γὰρ ἐπιεικῶς καὶ δικαίως φημὶ καὶ πολὺ
πλέον ἐμφρόνως πεπράχθαι. ὅστις δὲ ἄλλως ἡγεῖται καὶ τῆς περὶ τοῦ
πράγματος ἀληθοῦς ὑπολήψεως καὶ τῆς σῆς γνώμης διήμαρτε. τοὺς μὲν γὰρ οὐκ
ἐλεγχθέντας δίκαιον ἦν, ὡς εἰκός, [49] σώζεσθαι, ὑπόπτους δὲ τὰς φιλίας
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φευκτὰς οὐδαμῶς ᾤου δεῖν κατασκευάζειν, ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ὑπηκόων
εὐνοίας ἐς τοῦτο μεγέθους ἀρθεὶς καὶ πράξεων. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν παῖδα τοῦ
τετολμηκότος νήπιον κομιδῇ τῆς πατρῴας οὐδὲν εἴασας μετασχεῖν ζημίας. οὕτω
σοι πρὸς ἐπιείκειαν ἡ πρᾶξις ῥέπουσα τελείας ἀρετῆς ὑπάρχει γνώρισμα. * *
*
(As for the affection of your armies, what description could do it
justice? Even before the battle at Myrsa, a division of cavalry came over
to your side,(211) and when you had conquered Italy bodies of infantry and
distinguished legions did the same. But what happened in Galatia(212)
shortly after the usurper’s miserable end demonstrated the universal
loyalty of the garrisons to you; for when, emboldened by his isolated
position, another(213) dared to assume the effeminate purple, they
suddenly set on him as though he were a wolf and tore him limb from
limb.(214) Your behaviour after that deed, your merciful and humane
treatment of all those of his friends who were not convicted of having
shared his crimes, and that in spite of all the sycophants who came
forward with accusations and warned you to show only suspicion against
friends of his, this I count as the culmination of all virtue. What is
more, I maintain that your conduct was not only humane and just, but
prudent in a still higher degree. He who thinks otherwise falls short of a
true understanding of both the circumstances and your policy. For that
those who had not been proved guilty should be protected was of course
just, and you thought you ought by no means to make friendship a reason
for suspicion and so cause it to be shunned, seeing that it was due to the
loyal affection of your own subjects that you had attained to such power
and accomplished so much. But the son of that rash usurper, who was a mere
child, you did not allow to share his father’s punishment. To such a
degree does every act of yours incline towards clemency and is stamped
with the mint‐mark of perfect virtue * * * * *.)(215)
ORATION II
Introduction To Oration II
The Second Oration is a panegyric of the Emperor Constantius, written
while Julian, after his elevation to the rank of Caesar, was campaigning
in Gaul.(216) It closely resembles and often echoes the First, and was
probably never delivered. In his detailed and forced analogies of the
achievements of Constantius with those of the Homeric heroes, always to
the advantage of the former, Julian follows a sophistic practice that he
himself condemns,(217) and though he more than once contrasts himself with
the “ingenious rhetoricians” he is careful to observe all their rules,
even in his historical descriptions of the Emperor’s campaigns. The long
Platonic digression on Virtue and the ideal ruler is a regular feature of
a panegyric of this type, though Julian neglects to make the direct
application to Constantius. In the First Oration he quoted Homer only
once, but while the Second contains the usual comparisons with the Persian
monarchs and Alexander, its main object is to prove, by direct references
to the Iliad, that Constantius surpassed Nestor in strategy, Odysseus in
eloquence, and in courage Hector, Sarpedon and Achilles.
ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ
(Julian, Caesar)
ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΟΣ ΠΡΑΞΕΩΝ Η ΠΕΡΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑΣ.
(The Heroic Deeds of the Emperor Constantius, Or, On Kingship)
Τὸν Ἀχιλλέα φησὶν ἡ ποίησις, ὁπότε ἐμήνισε καὶ διηνέχθη πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα,
μεθεῖναι μὲν ταῖν χεροῖν τὴν αἰχμὴν καὶ τὴν ἀσπίδα, ψαλτήριον δὲ
ἁρμοσάμενον καὶ κιθάραν ᾄδειν καὶ ὑμνεῖν τῶν ἡμιθέων τὰς πράξεις, καὶ
ταύτην διαγωγὴν τῆς ἡσυχίας ποιεῖσθαι, εὖ μάλα ἐμφρόνως τοῦτο διανοηθέντα.
[D] τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ παροξύνειν τὸν βασιλέα λίαν αὔθαδες καὶ
ἄγριον· τυχὸν δὲ οὐδὲ ἐκείνης ἀπολύεται τῆς μέμψεως ὁ τῆς Θέτιδος, ὅτι τῷι
καιρῷ τῶν ἔργων εἰς ᾠδὰς καταχρῆται καὶ κρούματα, ἐξὸν τότε μὲν ἔχεσθαι
τῶν ὅπλων καὶ μὴ μεθιέναι, αὖθις δὲ ἐφ᾽ ἡσυχίας ὑμνεῖν τὸν βασιλέα καὶ
ᾄδειν τὰ κατορθώματα. [50] οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονά φησιν ὁ πατὴρ
ἐκείνων τῶν λόγων μετρίως καὶ πολιτικῶς προσενεχθῆναι τῷ στρατηγῷ, ἀλλ᾽
ἀπειλῇ τε χρῆσθαι καὶ ἔργοις ὑβρίζειν, τοῦ γέρως ἀφαιρούμενον. συνάγων δὲ
αὐτοὺς ἐς ταὐτὸν ἀλλήλοις ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας μεταμελομένους, τὸν μὲν τῆς
Θέτιδος ἐκβοῶντα
(Achilles, as the poet tells us, when his wrath was kindled and he
quarrelled with the king,(218) let fall from his hands his spear and
shield; then he strung his harp and lyre and sang and chanted the deeds of
the demi‐gods, making this the pastime of his idle hours, and in this at
least he chose wisely. For to fall out with the king and affront him was
excessively rash and violent. But perhaps the son of Thetis is not free
from this criticism either, that he spent in song and music the hours that
called for deeds, though at such a time he might have retained his arms
and not laid them aside, but later, at his leisure, he could have sung the
praises of the king and chanted his victories. Though indeed the author of
that tale tells us that Agamemnon also did not behave to his general
either temperately or with tact, but first used threats and proceeded to
insolent acts, when he robbed Achilles of his prize of valour. Then Homer
brings them, penitent now, face to face in the assembly, and makes the son
of Thetis exclaim)
Ἀτρείδη, ἦ ἄρ τι τόδ᾽ ἀμφοτέροισιν ἄρειον
Ἔπλετο, σοὶ καὶ ἐμοί,
(“Son of Atreus, verily it had been better on this wise for both
thee and me!”(219))
[B] εἶτα ἐπαρώμενον τῇ προφάσει τῇ ἀπεχθείας καὶ ἀπαριθμούμενον τὰς ἐκ τῆς
μήνιδος ξυμφοράς, τὸν βασιλέα δὲ αἰτιώμενον Δία καὶ Μοῖραν(220) καὶ
Ἐρινύν, δοκεῖ μοι διδάσκειν, ὥσπερ ἐν δράματι τοῖς προκειμένοις ἀνδράσιν
οἷον εἰκόσι χρώμενος, ὅτι χρὴ τοὺς μὲν βασιλέας μηδὲν ὕβρει πράττειν μηδὲ
τῇ δυνάμει πρὸς ἅπαν χρῆσθαι μηδὲ ἐφιέναι τῷ θυμῷ, καθάπερ ἵππῳ θρασεῖ
χήτει χαλινοῦ καὶ ἡνιόχου φερομένῳ, παραινεῖν δὲ αὖ τοῖς [C] στρατηγοῖς
ὑπεροψίαν βασιλικὴν μὴ δυσχεραίνειν, φέρειν δὲ ἐγκρατῶς καὶ πρᾴως τὰς
ἐπιτιμήσεις, ἵνα μὴ μεταμελείας αὐτοῖς ὁ βίος μεστὸς ᾖ.
(Later on he makes him curse the cause of their quarrel, and recount the
disasters due to his own wrath, and we see the king blaming Zeus and Fate
and Erinys. And here, I think, he is pointing a moral, using those heroes
whom he sets before us, like types in a tragedy, and the moral is that
kings ought never to behave insolently, nor use their power without
reserve, nor be carried away by their anger like a spirited horse that
runs away for lack of the bit and the driver; and then again he is warning
generals not to resent the insolence of kings but to endure their censure
with self‐control and serenely, so that their whole life may not be filled
with remorse.(221))
Ταῦτα κατ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν ἐννοῶν, ὦ φίλε βασιλεῦ, καὶ σὲ μὲν ὁρῶν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων
τὴν Ὁμηρικὴν παιδείαν ἐπιδεικνύμενον καὶ ἐθέλοντα πάντως κοινῇ μὲν(222)
ἅπαντας ἀγαθόν τι δρᾶν, ἡμῖν δὲ ἰδίᾳ τιμὰς καὶ γέρα ἄλλα ἐπ᾽ ἄλλοις
παρασκευάζοντα, τοσούτῳ δὲ οἶμαι κρείττονα τοῦ τῶν Ἐλλήνων βασιλέως εἶναι
ἐθέλοντα, ὥστε ὁ μὲν ἠτίμαζε τοὺς ἀρίστους, σὺ δὲ οἶμαι καὶ τῶν φαύλων
πολλοῖς τὴν συγγνώμην νέμεις, τὸν Πιττακὸν ἐπαινῶν τοῦ λόγου, ὃς τὴν
συγγνώμην τῆς τιμωρίας προυτίθει, [D] αἰσχυνοίμην ἄν, εἰ μὴ τοῦ Πηλέως
φαινοίμην εὐγνωμονέστερος μηδὲ(223) ἐπαινοίην εἰς δύναμιν τὰ προσόντα σοί,
οὔτι φημὶ χρυσὸν καὶ ἁλουργῆ χλαῖναν, οὐδὲ μὰ Δία πέπλους παμποικίλους,
γυναικῶν ἔργα Σιδωνίων, οὐδὲ ἵππων Νισαίων κάλλη καὶ χρυσοκολλήτων ἁρμάτων
ἀστράπτουσαν αἴγλην, [51] οὐδὲ τὴν Ἰνδῶν λίθον εὐανθῆ καὶ χαρίεσσαν.
καίτοι γε εἴ τις ἐθέλοι τούτοις τὸν νοῦν προσέχων ἕκαστον ἀξιοῦν λόγου,
μικροῦ πᾶσαν οἶμαι τὴν Ὁμήρου ποίησιν ἀποχετεύσας ἔτι δεήσεται λόγων, καὶ
οὐκ ἀποχρήσει σοὶ μόνῳ τὰ ξύμπασι ποιηθέντα τοῖς ἡμιθέιος ἐγκώμια.
ἀρξώμεθα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σκήπτρου πρῶτον, εἰ βούλει, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῆς·
[B] τί γὰρ δή φησιν ὁ ποιητὴς ἐπαινεῖν ἐθέλων τῆς τῶν Πελοπιδῶν οἰκίας τὴν
ἀρχαιότητα καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἐνδείξασθαι;
(When I reflect on this, my beloved Emperor, and behold you displaying in
all that you do the result of your study of Homer, and see you so eager to
benefit every citizen in the community in every way, and devising for me
individually such honours and privileges one after another, then I think
that you desire to be nobler than the king of the Greeks, to such a
degree, that, whereas he insulted his bravest men, you, I believe, grant
forgiveness to many even of the undeserving, since you approve the maxim
of Pittacus which set mercy before vengeance. And so I should be ashamed
not to appear more reasonable than the son of Peleus, or to fail to
praise, as far as in me lies, what appertains to you, I do not mean gold,
or a robe of purple, nay by Zeus, nor raiment embroidered all over, the
work of Sidonian women,(224) nor beautiful Nisaean horses,(225) nor the
gleam and glitter of gold‐mounted chariots, nor the precious stone of
India, so beautiful and lovely to look upon. And yet if one should choose
to devote his attention to these and think fit to describe every one of
them, he would have to draw on almost the whole stream of Homer’s poetry
and still he would be short of words, and the panegyrics that have been
composed for all the demi‐gods would be inadequate for your sole praise.
First, then, let me begin, if you please, with your sceptre and your
sovereignty itself. For what does the poet say when he wishes to praise
the antiquity of the house of the Pelopids and to exhibit the greatness of
their sovereignty?)
ἀνὰ δὲ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων
Ἔστη σκῆπτρον ἔχων, τὸ μὲν Ἥφαιστος κάμε τεύξων,
“(Then uprose their lord Agamemnon and in his hand was the sceptre
that Hephaistos made and fashioned.)”(226)
καὶ ἔδωκε Διί, ὁ δὲ τῷ τῆς Μαίας καὶ ἑαυτοῦ παιδί, Ἑρμείας δὲ ἄναξ δῶκε
Πέλοπι,(227) Πέλοψ δὲ
(and gave to Zeus; then Zeus gave it to his own and Maia’s son, and Hermes
the prince gave it to Pelops, and Pelops)
δῶκ᾽ Ἀτρέι ποιμένι λαῶν·
Ἀτρεὺς δὲ θνήσκων ἔλιπε πολύαρνι Θυέστῃ·
Αὐτὰρ ὅγ᾽ αὖτε Θυέστ᾽ Ἀγαμέμνονι δῶκε φορῆναι, [C]
Πολλῇσιν νήσοισι καὶ Ἄργεï παντὶ ἀνάσσειν·
(“Gave it to Atreus, shepherd of the host, and Atreus at his death
left it to Thyestes, rich in flocks; and he in turn gave it into
the hands of Agamemnon, so that he should rule over many islands
and all Argos.”)