discerned a hope of improvement, nor do they wholly reject a cure, while
the vices of others are incurable. And for the latter the laws have
contrived the penalty of death as a release from evil, and this not only
for the benefit of the criminal, but quite as much in the interest of
others. Accordingly there must needs be two kinds of trials. For when men
are not incurable the king will hold it to be his duty to investigate and
to cure. But with the others he will firmly refuse to interfere, and will
never willingly have anything to do with a trial when death is the penalty
that has been ordained by the laws for the guilty. However, in making laws
for such offences, he will do away with violence and harshness and cruelty
of punishment, and will elect by lot, to judge them, a court of staid and
sober men who throughout their lives have admitted the most rigid scrutiny
of their own virtue, men who will not rashly, or led by some wholly
irrational impulse, after deliberating for only a small part of the day,
or it may be without even debating, cast the black voting‐tablet in the
case of a fellow‐citizen. But in his own hand no sword should lie ready to
slay a citizen, even though he has committed the blackest crimes, nor
should a sting lurk in his soul, considering that, as we see, nature has
made even the queen‐bee free from a sting. However it is not to bees that
we must look for our analogy, but in my opinion to the king of the gods
himself, whose prophet and vice‐regent the genuine ruler ought to be. For
wherever good exists wholly untainted by its opposite, and for the benefit
of mankind in common and the whole universe, of this good God was and is
the only creator. But evil he neither created nor ordered to be,(437) but
he banished it from heaven, and as it moves upon earth and has chosen for
its abode our souls, that colony which was sent down from heaven, he has
enjoined on his sons and descendants to judge and cleanse men from it. Now
of these some are the friends and protectors of the human race, but others
are inexorable judges who inflict on men harsh and terrible punishment for
their misdeeds, both while they are alive and after they are set free from
their bodies, and others again are as it were executioners and avengers
who carry out the sentence, a different race of inferior and unintelligent
demons. Now the king who is good and a favourite of the gods must imitate
this example, and share his own excellence with many of his subjects,
whom, because of his regard for them, he admits into this partnership; and
he must entrust them with offices suited to the character and principles
of each; military command for him who is brave and daring and high‐
spirited, but discreet as well, so that when he has need he may use his
spirit and energy; and for him who is just and kind and humane and easily
prone to pity, that office in the service of the state that relates to
contracts, devising this means of protection for the weaker and more
simple citizens and for the poor against the powerful, fraudulent and
wicked and those who are so buoyed up by their riches that they try to
violate and despise justice; but to the man who combines both these
temperaments he must assign still greater honour and power in the state,
and if he entrust to him the trials of offences for which are enacted just
pains and penalties with a view to recompensing the injured, that would be
a fair and wise measure. For a man of this sort, together with his
colleagues, will give an impartial decision, and then hand over to the
public official the carrying out of the verdict, nor will he through
excess of anger or tender‐heartedness fall short of what is essentially
just. Now the ruler in our state will be somewhat like this, possessing
only what is good in both those qualities, and in every quality that I
mentioned earlier avoiding a fatal excess.(438) And though he will in
person oversee and direct and govern the whole, he will see to it that
those of his officials who are in charge of the most important works and
management and who share his councils for the general good, are virtuous
men and as far as possible like himself. And he will choose them, not
carelessly or at random, nor will he consent to be a less rigorous judge
than a lapidary or one who tests gold plate or purple dye. For such men
are not satisfied with one method of testing, but since they know, I
suppose, that the wickedness and devices of those who are trying to cheat
them are various and manifold, they try to meet all these as far as
possible, and they oppose to them the tests derived from their art. So too
our ruler apprehends that evil changes its face and is apt to deceive, and
that the cruellest thing that it does is that it often takes men in by
putting on the garb of virtue, and hoodwinks those who are not keen
sighted enough, or who in course of time grow weary of the length of the
investigation, and therefore he will rightly be on his guard against any
such deception. But when once he has chosen them, and has about him the
worthiest men, he will entrust to them the choice of the minor officials.)
Νόμων μὲν δὴ πέρι καὶ ἀρχόντων τοιάδε γινώσκει. τοῦ πλήθους δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐν
τοῖς ἄστεσιν οὔτε ἀργὸν οὔτε αὔθαδες ἀνέξεται εἶναι οὔτε μὴν ἐνδεὲς τῶν
ἀναγκαίων· [92] τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς τῶν γεωργῶν φῦλον ἀροῦντες καὶ
φυτεύοντες τροφὴν ἀποίσουσι τοῖς φύλαξι καὶ ἐπικούροις σφῶν, μισθὸν καὶ
ἐσθῆτα τὴν ἀναγκαίαν. οἰκοδομήματα δὲ Ἀσσύρια καὶ πολυτελεῖς καὶ δαπανηρὰς
λειτουργίας χαίρειν ἐάσαντες ἐν εἰρήνῃ πολλῇ τῶν τε ἔξωθεν πολεμίων καὶ
τῶν οἴκοθεν καταβιώσονται, ἀγαπῶντες μὲν τὸν αἴτιον τῶν παρόντων σφίσι
καθάπερ ἀγαθὸν δαίμονα, [B] ὑμνοῦντες δὲ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ τὸν θεὸν καὶ
ἐπευχόμενοι, οὔτι πλαστῶς οὐδὲ ἀπὸ γλώττης, ἔνδοθεν δὲ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς ψυχῆς
αἰτοῦσιν αὐτῷ τὰ ἀγαθά. φθάνουσι δὲ οἱ θεοὶ τὰς εὐχάς, καὶ αὐτῷ πρότερον
τὰ θεῖα δόντες οὐτὲ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐστέρησαν. εἰ δὲ τὸ χρεὼν βιάζοιτο κακῷ
τῷ περιπεσεῖν, τούτων δὴ τῶν θρυλουμένων ἀνηκέστων, χορευτήν τε αὑτῶν
ἐποιήσαντο καὶ συνέστιον, [C] καὶ αὐτῷ κλέος καθ᾽ ἅπαντας ἤγειραν
ἀνθρώπους. ταῦτα ἐγὼ τῶν σοφῶν ἀκούω πολλάκις, καί με ὁ λόγος ἰσχυρῶς
πείθει. οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐς ὑμᾶς αὐτὸν διεξῆλθον, μακρότερα μὲν τυχὸν ἴσως τοῦ
καιροῦ φθεγγόμενος, ἐλάττονα δὲ οἶμαι τῆς ὑποθέσεως· καὶ ὅτῳ γέγονε τῶν
τοιούτων λόγων ἐπακούειν ἐν φροντίδι, οὗτος ὅτι μὴ ψεύδομαι σαφῶς
ἐπίσταται. ἑτέρα δέ ἐστιν αἰτία τοῦ μήκους τῆς μὲν εἰρημένης ἧττον
ἀναγκαία, [D] προσεχεστέρα δὲ οἶμαι τῷ παρόντι λόγῳ· τυχὸν δὲ οὐδὲ ταύτης
ἀγηκόους ὑμᾶς εἶναι χρή.
(Such is his policy with regard to the laws and magistrates. As for the
common people, those who live in the towns he will not allow to be idle or
impudent, but neither will he permit them to be without the necessaries of
life. And the farming class who live in the country, ploughing and sowing
to furnish food for their protectors and guardians, will receive in return
payment in money, and the clothes that they need. But as for Assyrian
palaces and costly and extravagant public services, they will have nothing
to do with them, and will end their lives in the utmost peace as regards
enemies at home and abroad, and will adore the cause of their good fortune
as though he were a kindly deity, and praise God for him when they pray,
not hypocritically or with the lips only, but invoking blessings on him
from the bottom of their hearts. But the gods do not wait for their
prayers, and unasked they give him celestial rewards, but they do not let
him lack human blessings either; and if fate should compel him to fall
into any misfortune, I mean one of those incurable calamities that people
are always talking about, then the gods make him their follower and
associate, and exalt his fame among all mankind. All this I have often
heard from the wise, and in their account of it I have the firmest faith.
And so I have repeated it to you, perhaps making a longer speech than the
occasion called for, but too short in my opinion for the theme. And he to
whom it has been given to hear such arguments and reflect on them, knows
well that I speak the truth. But there is another reason for the length of
my speech, less forcible, but I think more akin to the present argument.
And perhaps you ought not to miss hearing this also.)
Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ὑπομνησθῶμεν μικρὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, ὁπότε τῆς ὑπὲρ τούτων
διηγήσεως ἀπεπαυόμεθα. ἔφαμέν που χρῆναι τοὺς σπουδαίους τῶν ἀληθινῶν
ἐπαίνων ἀκροατὰς οὐκ εἰς ταῦτα ὁρᾶν, ὧν ἡ τύχη καὶ τοῖς μοχθηροῖς πολλάκις
μεταδίδωσιν, εἰς δὲ τὰς ἕξεις καὶ τὴν ἀρετήν, ἧς μόνοις μέτεστι τοῖς
ἀγαθοῖς ἀνδράσι καὶ φύσει σπουδαίοις. [93] εἶτα ἐντεῦθεν ἑλόντες(439) τοὺς
ἑξῆς ἐπεραίνομεν λόγους, ὡς πρὸς(440) κανόνα τινὰ καὶ στάθμην
ἀπευθύνοντες, ᾗ τοὺς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ βασιλέων ἐπαίνους ἐναρμόττειν
ἐχρῆν. καὶ ὅτῳ μὲν ἀληθὴς καὶ ἀπαράλλακτος ἁρμονία πρὸς τοῦτο γέγονε τὸ
ἀρχέτυπον, ὄλβιος μὲν αὐτὸς καὶ ὄντως εὐδαίμων, εὐτυχεῖς δὲ οἱ
μεταλαβάντες τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρχῆς· ὅστις δὲ ἐγγὺς ἀφίκετο, τῶν [B] πλέον
ἀπολειφθέντων ἀμείνων καὶ εὐτυχέστερος· οἱ δὲ ἀπολειφθέντες παντελῶς ἢ καὶ
τὴν ἐναντίαν τραπόμενοι δυστυχεῖς καὶ ἀνόντοι καὶ μοχθηροί, αὑτοῖς τε καὶ
ἄλλοις τῶν μεγίστων αἴτιοι συμφορῶν.
(In the first place, then, let me remind you briefly of what I said
before, when I broke off my discourse for the sake of this digression.
What I said was that, when serious‐minded people listen to sincere
panegyrics, they ought not to look to those things of which fortune often
grants a share even to the wicked, but to the character of the man and his
virtues, which belong only to those who are good and by nature estimable;
and, taking up my tale at that point, I pursued the arguments that
followed, guiding myself as it were by the rule and measure to which one
ought to adjust the eulogies of good men and good kings. And when one of
them harmonises exactly and without variation with this model, he is
himself happy and truly fortunate, and happy are those who have a share in
such a government as his. And he who comes near to being like him is
better and more fortunate than those who fall further short of him. But
those who fail altogether to resemble him, or who follow an opposite
course, are ill‐fated, senseless and wicked, and cause the greatest
disasters to themselves and others.)
Εἰ δὴ οὖν καὶ ὑμῖν ταῦτῃ πῃ ξυνδοκεῖ, ὥρα ἐπεξιέναι τοῖς ἔργοις, ἂ
τεθαυμάκαμεν. καὶ ὅπως μή τις ὑπολάβῃ τὸν λόγον καθ᾽ αὑτὸν ἰόντα, καθάπερ
ἵππον ἀνταγωνιστοῦ στερόμενον ἐν τοῖς δρόμοις, κρατεῖν καὶ ἀποφέρειν τὰ
νικητήρια, πειράσομαι, πῇ ποτε διαφέρετον ἀλλήλων ὅ τε ἡμέτερος [C] καὶ ὁ
τῶν σοφῶν ῥητόρων ἔπαινος, δεῖξαι. οὐκοῦν οἱ μὲν τὸ προγόνων γενέσθαι
δυναστῶν καὶ βασιλέων θαυμάζουσι μάλα, ὀλβίων καὶ εὐδαιμόνων μακαρίους
ὑπολαμβάνοντες τοὺς ἐκγόνους· τὸ δὲ ἐπὶ τούτοις οὔτε ἐνενόησαν οὔτε
ἐσκέψαντο, τίνα τρόπον διατελοῦσιν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς(441) χρώμενοι. καίτοι γε
τοῦτο ἦν τῆς εὐτυχίας ἐκείνης τὸ κεφάλαιον καὶ σχεδὸν ἁπάντων τῶν ἐκτὸς
ἀγαθῶν· εἰ μή τις καὶ πρὸς τοὔνομα δυσχεραίνει, [D] τὴν κτῆσιν ὑπὸ τῆς
ἔμφρονος χρήσεως ἀγαθὴν καὶ φαύλην ὑπὸ τῆς ἐναντίας γίγνεσθαι συμβαίνειν·
ὥστε οὐ μέγα, καθάπερ οἴονται, τὸ βασιλέως πλουσίου καὶ πολυχρύσου
γενέσθαι, μέγα δὲ ἀληθῶς τὸ τὴν ἀρετὴν τὴν πατρῴαν ὑπερβαλλόμενον ἄμεμπτον
αὑτὸν τοῖς γειναμένοις παρασχεῖν εἰς ἅπαν.
(And now if you are in any way of my opinion, it is time to proceed to
those achievements that we have so admired. And lest any should think that
my argument is running alone, like a horse in a race that has lost its
competitor and for that reason wins and carries off the prizes, I will try
to show in what way my encomium differs from that of clever rhetoricians.
For they greatly admire the fact that a man is born of ancestors who had
power or were kings, since they hold that the sons of the prosperous and
fortunate are themselves blest. But the question that next arises they
neither think of nor investigate, I mean how they employed their
advantages throughout their lives. And yet, after all, this is the chief
cause of that happiness, and of almost all external goods. Unless indeed
someone objects to this statement that it is only by wise use of it that
property becomes a good, and that it is harmful when the opposite use is
made. So that it is not a great thing, as they think, to be descended from
a king who was wealthy and “rich in gold,” but it is truly great, while
surpassing the virtue of one’s ancestors, to behave to one’s parents in a
manner beyond reproach in all respects.)
Βούλεσθε οὖν εἰ τοῦτο ὑπάρχει βασελεῖ καταμαθεῖν; παρέξομαι δὲ ὑμῖν ἐγὼ
μαρτυρίαν πιστὴν, [94] καί με οὐχ αἱρήσετε ψευδομαρτυρίων,(442) εὖ οἶδα·
ὑπομνήσω γὰρ ὑμᾶς(443) ὧν ἴστε· τυχὸν δὲ καὶ ἤδη τοῦ λεγομένου ξυνίετε, εἴ
τε οὔπω δῆλον, αὐτίκα μάλα ξυνήσετε ἐννοήσαντες πρῶτον μὲν ὡς αὐτὸν ὁ
πατὴρ ἠγάπα διαφερόντως, οὔτι πρᾷος ὢν λίαν τοῖς ἐκγόνοις οὐδὲ τῇ φύσει
πλέον ἢ τῷ τρόπῳ διδούς, ἡττώμενος δὲ οἶμαι τῆς θεραπείας καὶ οὐκ ἔχων,
[B] ὄτι μέμφοιτο, δῆλος ἦν εὔνους ὤν. καὶ αὐτοῦ σημεῖον τῆς γνώμης, πρῶτον
μὲν ὅτι Κωνσταντίῳ ταύτην ἐξεῖλε τὴν μοῖραν, ἣν αὑτῷ πρότερον προσήκειν
ἔχειν ὑπέλαβεν, εἶθ᾽ ὅτι τελευτῶν τὸν βίον, τὸν πρεσβύτατον καὶ τὸν
νεώτατον ἀφεὶς σχολὴν ἄγοντας, τοῦτον δὴ ἄσχολον ἐκάλει καὶ ἐπέτρεπε τὰ
περὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ξύμπαντα. γενόμενος δὲ ἐγκρατὴς ἁπάντων οὕτω τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς
δικαίως ἅμα καὶ σωφρόνως προσηνέχθη, ὥστε οἱ μὲν οὔτε κληθέντες οὔτε
ἀφικόμενοι πρὸς [C] ἀλλήλους ἐστασίαζον καὶ διεμάχοντο, τούτῳ δὲ
ἐχαλέπαινον οὐδὲν οὐδὲ ἐμέμφοντο. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτῶν ἡ στάσις τέλος εἶχεν οὐκ
εὐτυχές, ἐξὸν μεταποιεῖσθαι πλειόνων, ἑκὼν ἀφῆκε, τῆς αὐτῆς ἀρετῆς
ὑπολαμβάνων πολλά τε ἔθνη καὶ ὀλίγα δεῖσθαι, περικεῖσθαι δέ, οἶμαι,
φροντίδας μείζονας ὅτῳ πλειόνων ἀνάνκη τημελεῖν καὶ(444) κήδεσθαι. οὐ γὰρ
δὴ τρυφῆς ὑπολαμβάνει τὴν βασιλείαν εἶναι παρασκευὴν οὐδέ, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν
χρημάτων εἰς πότους [D] καὶ ἡδονὰς οἱ καταχρώμενοι μειζόνων εὐπορίαν
προσόδων ἐπινοοῦσιν, οὕτω χρῆναι τὸν βασιλέα παρασκευάζεσθαι, οὐδὲ
ἀναιρεῖσθαι πόλεμον, ὅ,τι μὴ τῶν ἀρχομένων τῆς ὠφελείας ἕνεκα. οὐκοῦν
ἐκείνῳ μὲν ἔχειν τὸ πλέον ξυγχωρῶν, αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ ἀρετῆς ἔλαττον ἔχων τῷ
κρατίστῳ πλεονεκτεῖν ὑπέλαβε. καὶ ὅτι μὴ δέει [95] μᾶλλον τῆς ἐκείνου
παρασκευῆς τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἠγάπα, τεκμήριον ὑμῖν ἐμφανὲς ἔστω ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα
ξυμπεσὼν πόλεμος. ἐχρήσατο γοῦν πρὸς τὰς ἐκείνου δυνάμεις ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τοῖς
ὅπλοις ὕστερον. πάλιν δὲ ἐνταῦθα ἐκεῖνοι μέν που τὸ νικᾶν τεθαυμάκασιν·
ἐγὼ δὲ πολὺ πλέον τὸ ξὺν δίκῃ μὲν ἀνελέσθαι τὸν πόλεμον, διενεγκεῖν δὲ
ἀνδρείως καὶ μάλα ἐμπείρως, ἐπιθείσης δὲ τὸ τέλος τῆς τύχης δεξιὸν
χρήσασθαι τῇ νίκῃ σωφρόνως καὶ βασιλικῶς, καὶ ὅλως ἄξιον τοῦ κρατεῖν
φανῆναι.
(Do you wish to learn whether this is true of the Emperor? I will offer
you trustworthy evidence, and I know well that you will not convict me of
false witness. For I shall but remind you of what you know already. And
perhaps you understand even now what I mean, but if it is not yet evident
you very soon will, when you call to mind that the Emperor’s father loved
him more than the others, though he was by no means over‐indulgent to his
children, for it was character that he favoured rather than the ties of
blood; but he was, I suppose, won over by the Emperor’s dutiful service to
him, and as he had nothing to reproach him with, he made his affection for
him evident. And a proof of his feeling is, first, that he chose for
Constantius that portion of the empire which he had formerly thought best
suited to himself, and, secondly, that when he was at the point of death
he passed over his eldest(445) and youngest(446) sons, though they were at
leisure, and summoned Constantius, who was not at leisure, and entrusted
him with the whole government. And when he had become master of the whole,
he behaved to his brothers at once so justly and with such moderation,
that, while they who had neither been summoned nor had come of themselves
quarrelled and fought with one another, they showed no resentment against
Constantius, nor ever reproached him. And when their feud reached its
fatal issue(447), though he might have laid claim to a greater share of
empire, he renounced it of his own free will, because he thought that many
nations or few called for the exercise of the same virtues, and also,
perhaps, that the more a man has to look after and care for the greater
are the anxieties beset him. For he does not think that the imperial power
is a means of procuring luxury, nor that, as certain men who have wealth
and misapply it for drink and other pleasures set their hearts on lavish
and ever‐increasing revenues, this ought to be an emperor’s policy, nor
that he ought ever to embark on a war except only for the benefit of his
subjects. And so he allowed his brother(448) to have the lion’s share, and
thought that if he himself possessed the smaller share with honour, he had
the advantage in what was most worth having. And that it was not rather
from fear of his brother’s resources that he preferred peace, you may
consider clearly proved by the war that broke out later. For he had
recourse to arms later on against his brother’s forces, but it was to
avenge him(449). And here again there are perhaps some who have admired
him merely for having won the victory. But I admire far more the fact that
it was with justice that he undertook the war, and that he carried it
through with great courage and skill, and, when fortune gave him a
favourable issue, used his victory with moderation and in imperial
fashion, and showed himself entirely worthy to overcome.)
[B] Βούλεσθε οὖν καὶ τούτων ὑμῖν ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις ὀνομαστὶ
καλῶμεν τοὺς μάρτυρας; καὶ ὅτι μὲν οὐδείς πω πόλεμος συνέστη πρότερον οὐδὲ
ἐπὶ τὴν Τροίαν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς Πέρσας Μακεδόσιν, οἵπερ δὴ
δοκοῦσιν ἐν δίκῃ γενέσθαι, τοσαύτην ἔχων ὑπόθεσιν, καὶ παιδί που δῆλον,
τοῖς μέν γε λίαν ἀρχαίων ἀδικημάτων τιμωρίας σφόδρα νεαρᾶς(450) οὔτ᾽ εἰς
παῖδας οὔτε εἰς ἐγγόνους γενομένης, ἀλλὰ εἰς τὸν ἀφελόμενον καὶ
ἀποστερήσαντα [C] τὴν ἀρχὴν τοὺς τῶν ἀδικησάντων ἀπογόνους· Ἀγαμέμνων δὲ
ὥρμητο
(Now do you wish that, as though I were in a law‐court, I should summon
before you by name witnesses of this also? But it is plain even to a child
that no war ever yet arose that had so good an excuse, not even of the
Greeks against Troy or of the Macedonians(451) against the Persians,
though these wars, at any rate, are thought to have been justified, since
the latter was to exact vengeance in more recent times for very ancient
offences, and that not on sons or grandsons, but on him(452) who had
robbed and deprived of their sovereignty the descendants of those very
offenders. And Agamemnon set forth)
τίσασθαι Ἑλένης ὁρμήματά τε στοναχάς τε,
(“To avenge the strivings and groans of Helen,”(453))
καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς Τρῶας ἐστράτευε γυναῖκα μίαν ἐκδικεῖν ἐθέλων. τῷ δὲ ἔτι μὲν
ἦν νεαρὰ τὰ ἀδικήματα, ἦρχε δὲ οὐ κατὰ Δαρεῖον οὐδὲ Πρίαμον ἀνὴρ εὐγενὴς
καὶ τυχὸν δι᾽ ἀρετὴν ἢ κατὰ γένος προσηκούσης αὐτῷ τῆς βασιλείας ἀξιωθείς,
ἀλλὰ ἀναιδὴς καὶ τραχὺς βάρβαρος τῶν ἑαλωκότων οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ. [D] καὶ ὅσα
μὲν ἔπραξε καὶ ὅπως ἦρχεν, οὔτε ἡδύ μοι λέγειν οὔτε ἐν καιρῷ· ἐν δίκῃ δὲ
ὅτι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπολέμησεν, ἀκηκόατε. τῆς δὲ ἐμπειρίας καὶ τῆς ἀνδρείας
ἱκανὰ μὲν τὰ πρόσθεν ῥηθέντα σημεῖα, πιστότερα δέ, οἶμαι, τὰ ἔργα τῶν
λόγων. τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ γενόμενα καὶ ὅπως ξίφους μὲν οὐδὲν ἐδέησεν ἔτι,
οὐδ᾽ εἴ τις ἀδικημάτων μειζόνων εἶχεν ὑποψίαν, [96] οὐδὲ εἴ τῳ πρὸς τὸν
τύραννον οἰκειοτέρα γέγονε φιλία, οὐδὲ μὴν εἴ τις ἐκείνῳ χαριζόμενος
φέρειν τε ἠξίου κηρύκιον καὶ ἐλοιδορεῖτο βασιλεῖ, τῆς προπετείας ἀπέτισε
δίκην, ὅ,τι μὴ τἆλλα μοχθηρὸς ἦν, ἐννοήσατε δὴ πρὸς φιλίου Διός. ποταπὸν
δὲ χρῆμα λοιδορία; ὡς θυμοδακὲς ἀληθῶς καὶ ἀμύττον ψυχὴν μᾶλλον ἢ σίδηρος
χρῶτα; οὐκοῦν καὶ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα παρώξυνεν εἰς δύναμιν ἀμύνασθαι λόγῳ τε καὶ
ἔργῳ· διηνέχθη γοῦν ὑπὲρ τούτου πρὸς τὸν ξενοδόκον αὐτὸς ὢν ἀλήτης καὶ
ξένος, καὶ ταῦτα εἰδώς, ὅτι
(for it was because he desired to avenge one woman that he went to war
with the Trojans. But the wrongs done to Constantius were still fresh, and
he(454) who was in power was not, like Darius or Priam, a man of royal
birth who, it may be, laid claim to an empire that belonged to him by
reason of his birth or his family, but a shameless and savage barbarian
who not long before had been among the captives of war.(455) But all that
he did and how he governed is neither agreeable for me to tell nor would
it be well‐timed. And that the Emperor was justified in making war on him
you have heard, and of his skill and courage what I said earlier is proof
enough, but deeds are, I think, more convincing than words. But what
happened after the victory, and how he no longer made use of the sword,
not even against those who were under suspicion of serious crimes, or who
had been familiar friends of the usurper, nay not even against anyone who,
to curry favour with the latter, had stooped to win a tale‐bearer’s fee by
slandering the Emperor, consider, in the name of Zeus the god of
friendship, that not even these paid the penalty of their audacity, except
when they were guilty of other crimes. And yet what a terrible thing is
slander! How truly does it devour the heart and wound the soul as iron
cannot wound the body! This it was that goaded Odysseus to defend himself
by word and deed. At any rate it was for this reason that he quarrelled
with his host(456) when he was himself a wanderer and a guest, and though
he knew that)
Ἄφρων ... καὶ οὐτιδανὸς πέλει ἀνήρ,
Ὅστις ξεινοδόκῳ ἔριδα προφέρῃσι βαρεῖαν,
(“Foolish and of nothing worth is that man who provokes a violent
quarrel with his host.”(457))
καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Φιλίππου καὶ Ἀχιλλέα τὸν Θέτιδος(458) καὶ ἄλλους δὲ
τινας οὐ φαύλος οὐδὲ ἀγεννεῖς ἀνθρώπους. [C] μόνῳ δὲ ὑπῆρχεν, οἶμαι,
Σωκράτει καὶ σπανίοις τισὶν ἐκείνου ζηλωταῖς, εὐδαίμοσιν ἀληθῶς καὶ
μακαρίοις γενομένοις, τὸν ἔσχατον ἀποδύσασθαι χιτῶνα τῆς φιλοτιμίας.
φιλότιμον γὰρ δεινῶς τὸ πάθος, καὶ ἔοικεν ἐμφύεσθαι διὰ τοῦτο μᾶλλον ταῖς
γενναίαις ψυχαῖς· ἄχθονται γὰρ ὡς ἐναντιωτάτῳ σφίσι λοιδορίᾳ, [D] καὶ τοὺς
ἀπορρίπτοντας ἐς αὐτοὺς τοιαῦτα ῥήματα μισοῦσι μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς ἐπάγοντας τὸν
σίδηρον καὶ ἐπιβουλεύοντας φόνον, διαφόρους τε αὑτοῖς ὑπολαμβάνουσι φύσει
καὶ οὐ νόμῳ, εἴ γε οἱ μὲν ἐπαίνου καὶ τιμῆς ἐρῶσιν, οἱ δὲ οὐ τούτων μόνον
ἀφαιροῦνται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς μηχανῶνται βλασφημίας ψευδεῖς. τούτου καὶ
Ἡρακλέα φασὶ καὶ ἄλλους δέ τινας ἀκράτορας τοῦ πάθους γενέσθαι. ἐγὼ δὲ
οὔτε περὶ ἐκείνων τῷ λόγῳ πείθομαι, καὶ βασιλέα τεθέαμαι σφόδρα ἐγκρατῶς
τὴν λοιδορίαν ἀποτρεψάμενον,(459) [97] οὔτι φαυλότερον ἔργον, ὡς ἐγὼ
κρίνω, τοῦ Τροίαν ἑλεῖν καὶ φάλαγγα γενναίαν τρέψασθαι. εἰ δὲ ἀπιστεῖ τις
καὶ οὐ μέγα οἴεται οὐδὲ ἄξιον έπαίνων τοσούτων, ἐς αὑτὸν ἀφορῶν, ὅταν ἔν
τινι τοιαύτῃ ξυμφορᾷ γένηται, κρινέτω, καὶ αὐτῷ οὐ σφόδρα ληρεῖν δόξομεν,
ὡς ἐγὼ πείθομαι.
(And so it was with Alexander, Philip’s son, and Achilles, son of Thetis,
and others who were not worthless or ignoble men. But only to Socrates, I
think, and a few others who emulated him, men who were truly fortunate and
happy, was it given to put off the last garment that man discards—the love
of glory.(460) For resentment of calumny is due to the passion for glory,
and for this reason it is implanted most deeply in the noblest souls. For
they resent it as their deadliest foe, and those who hurl at them
slanderous language they hate more than men who attack them with the sword
or plot their destruction; and they regard them as differing from
themselves, not merely in their acquired habits, but in their essential
nature, seeing that they love praise and honour, and the slanderer not
only robs them of these, but also manufactures false accusations against
them. They say that even Heracles and certain other heroes were swayed by
these emotions. But for my part I do not believe this account of them, and
as for the Emperor I have seen him repelling calumny with great self‐
restraint, which in my judgment is no slighter achievement than “to take
Troy”(461) or rout a powerful phalanx. And if anyone does not believe me,
and thinks it no great achievement nor worth all these praises, let him
observe himself when a misfortune of this sort happens to him, and then
let him decide; and I am convinced that he will not think that I am
talking with exceeding folly.)
Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὢν καὶ γενόμενος βασιλεὺς μετὰ τὸν πόλεμον εἰκότως οὐ μόνον
ἐστὶ ποθεινὸς τοῖς φίλοις καὶ ἀγαπητός, [B] πολλοῖς(462) μὲν τιμῆς καὶ
δυνάμεως καὶ παρρησίας μεταδιδούς, χρήματα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἄφθονα χαριζόμενος
καὶ χρῆσθαι ὅπως τις βούλεται τῷ πλούτῳ ξυγχωρῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις
τοιοῦτος ἐδόκει. τεκμήριον δὲ ὑμῖν ἐμφανὲς καὶ τοῦδε γιγνέσθω· ἄνδρες, τῆς
γερουσίας ὅτιπερ ὄφελος, ἀξιώσει καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ ξυνέσει διαφέροντες τῶν
ἄλλων, ὥσπερ ἐς λιμένα καταφεύγοντες τὴν τούτου δεξιάν, ἑστίας τε λιπόντες
[C] καὶ οἴκους καὶ παῖδας Παιονίαν μὲν ἀντὶ τῆς Ῥώμης, τὴν μετὰ τούτου δὲ
ἀντὶ τῶν φιλτάτων συνουσίαν ἠσπάσαντο, ἴλη τε τῶν ἐπιλέκτων ἱππέων ξὺν
τοῖς σημείοις καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἄγουσα τούτῳ τοῦ κινδύνου ξυμμετέχειν
μᾶλλον ἢ ἐκείνῳ τῆς εὐτυχίας ἠξίου. καὶ ταῦτα ἅπαντα ἐδρᾶτο πρὸ τῆς μάχης
ἣν ἐπὶ τοῦ Δράου ταὶς ᾐόσιν ὁ πρόσθεν λόγος παρέστησεν· ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ ἤδη
βεβαίως ἐθάρρουν, τέως δ ἐδόκει τὰ τῶν τυράννων ἐπικρατεῖν, [D]
πλεονεκτήματός τινος περὶ τοὺς κατασκόπους τοὺς(463) βασιλέως γενομένου, ὁ
δὴ ἐκεῖνόν τε ἐποίησεν ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς ἄφρονα καὶ ἐξετάραττε τοὺς οὐ
δυναμένους ἐφικνεῖσθαι οὐδὲ διορᾶν τὴν στρατηγίαν. ὁ δὲ ἦν ἀκατάπληκτος
καὶ γεννάδας καθάπερ ἀγαθὸς νεὼς κυβερνήτης, ἐξαπίνης νεφῶν ῥαγείσης
λαίλαπος, εἶτα ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ τοῦ θεοῦ σείοντος τὸν βυθὸν καὶ τὰς ᾐόνας. ἐνταῦθα
γὰρ τοὺς μὲν ἀπείρους δεινὸν καὶ ἄτοπον κατέλαβε δέος, [98] ὁ δὲ ἤδη
χαίρει καὶ γάνυται, γαλήνην ἀκριβῆ καὶ νηνεμίαν ἐλπίζων. λέγεται γὰρ δὴ
καὶ ὁ Ποσειδῶν συνταράττων τὴν γῆν παύειν τὰ κύματα. καὶ ἡ τύχη δὲ τοὺς
ἀνοήτους ἐξαπατᾷ καὶ σφάλλει περὶ τοῖς μείζοσι, μικρὰ πλεονεκτεῖν
ἐπιτρέπουσα, τοῖς ἔμφροσι δὲ τὸ βεβαίως θαρσεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν μειζόνων, ὅταν ἐν
τοῖς ἐλάττοσιν αὐτοὺς διαταράττῃ, παρέχει. τοῦτο Λακεδαιμόνιοι παθόντες ἐν
Πύλαις οὐκ ἀπηγόρευον οὐδὲ ἔδεισαν [B] τὸν Μῆδον ἐπιφερόμενον, τριακοσίους
Σπαρτιατῶν καὶ τὸν βασιλέα περὶ τὰς εἰσβολὰς τῆς Ἑλλάδος προέμενοι· τοῦτο
Ῥωμαῖοι πολλάκις παθόντες μείζονα κατώρθουν ὕστερον· ὁ δὴ καὶ βασιλεὺς
ἐννοῶν καὶ λογιζόμενος οὐδαμῶς ἐσφάλη τῆς γνώμης.