price—I do not mean gold or silver, but simply any benefit one may happen
to receive from one’s neighbour—suppose that they neither try nor intend
to repay that kindness, but are indolent and do not trouble themselves to
do what they can and try to discharge the debt? Is it not evident that we
must think them mean and base? Far more I think than any other crime do we
hate ingratitude, and we blame those persons who have received benefits
and are ungrateful to their benefactors. And the ungrateful man is not
only he who repays a kindness with evil deeds or words, but also he who is
silent and conceals a kindness and tries to consign it to oblivion and
abolish gratitude. Now of such brutal and inhuman baseness as the
repayment with evil the instances are few and easily reckoned; but there
are many who try to conceal the appearance of having received benefits,
though with what purpose I know not. They assert, however, that it is
because they are trying to avoid a reputation for a sort of servility and
for base flattery. But though I know well enough that what they say is all
insincere, nevertheless I let that pass, and suppose we assume that they,
as they think, do escape an undeserved reputation for flattery, still they
at the same time appear to be guilty of many weaknesses and defects of
character that are in the highest degree base and illiberal. For either
they are too dense to perceive what no one should fail to perceive, or
they are not dense but forgetful of what they ought to remember for all
time. Or again, they do remember, and yet shirk their duty for some reason
or other, being cowards and grudging by nature, and their hand is against
every man without exception, seeing that not even to their benefactors do
they consent to be gentle and amiable; and then if there be any opening to
slander and bite, they look angry and fierce like wild beasts. Genuine
praise they somehow or other avoid giving, as though it were a costly
extravagance, and they censure the applause given to noble actions, when
the only thing that they need enquire into is whether the eulogists
respect truth and rate her higher than the reputation of showing their
gratitude by eulogy. For this at any rate they cannot assert, that praise
is a useless thing, either to those who receive it or to others besides,
who, though they have been assigned the same rank in life as the objects
of their praise, have fallen short of their merit in what they have
accomplished. To the former it is not only agreeable to hear, but makes
them zealous to aim at a still higher level of conduct, while the latter
it stimulates both by persuasion and compulsion to imitate that noble
conduct, because they see that none of those who have anticipated them
have been deprived of that which alone it is honourable to give and
receive publicly. For to give money openly, and to look anxiously round
that as many as possible may know of the gift, is characteristic of a
vulgar person. Nay no one would even stretch out his hands to receive it
in the sight of all men, unless he had first cast off all propriety of
manner and sense of shame. Arcesilaus indeed, when offering a gift, used
to try to hide his identity even from the recipient.(497) But in his case
the manner of the deed always made known the doer. For a eulogy, however,
one is ambitious to obtain as many hearers as possible, and even a small
audience is, I think, not to be despised. Socrates, for instance, spoke in
praise of many, as did Plato also and Aristotle. Xenophon, too, eulogised
King Agesilaus and Cyrus the Persian, not only the elder Cyrus, but him
whom he accompanied on his campaign against the Great King, nor did he
hide away his eulogies, but put them into his history. Now I should think
it strange indeed if we shall be eager to applaud men of high character,
and not think fit to give our tribute of praise to a noble woman,
believing as we do that excellence is the attribute of women no less than
of men. Or shall we who think that such a one ought to be modest and wise
and competent to assign to every man his due, and brave in danger, high‐
minded and generous, and that in a word all such qualities as these should
be hers,—shall we, I say, then rob her of the encomium due to her good
deeds, from any fear of the charge of appearing to flatter? But Homer was
not ashamed to praise Penelope and the consort of Alcinous(498) and other
women of exceptional goodness, or even those whose claim to virtue was
slight. Nay nor did Penelope fail to obtain her share of praise for this
very thing. But besides these reasons for praise, shall we consent to
accept kind treatment from a woman no less than from a man, and to obtain
some boon whether small or great, and then hesitate to pay the thanks due
therefor? But perhaps people will say that the very act of making a
request to a woman is despicable and unworthy of an honourable and high‐
spirited man, and that even the wise Odysseus was spiritless and cowardly
because he was a suppliant to the king’s daughter(499) as she played with
her maiden companions by the banks of the river. Perhaps they will not
spare even Athene the daughter of Zeus, of whom Homer says(500) that she
put on the likeness of a fair and noble maiden and guided him along the
road that led to the palace, and was his adviser and instructed him what
he must do and say when he had entered within; and that, like some orator
perfect in the art of rhetoric, she sang an encomium of the queen, and for
a prelude told the tale of her lineage from of old. Homer’s verses about
this are as follows:)
Δέσποιναν μὲν πρῶτα κιχήσεαι ἐν μεγάροισιν,
Ἀρήτη δ᾽ ὄνομ᾽ ἐστὶν ἐπώνυμον, [B] ἐκ δὲ τοκήων
Τῶν αὐτῶν, οἵπερ τέκον Ἀλκίνοον βασιλῆα.
(“The queen thou shalt find first in the halls. Arete is the name
she is called by, and of the same parents is she as those who
begat king Alcinous.”(501))
ἀναλαβὼν δὲ ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος οἶμαι τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ γένους καὶ ὅσα
ἔδρασάν τε καὶ ἔπαθον εἰπών, καὶ ὅπως αὐτὴν ὁ θεῖος, τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπολομένου
νέου καὶ νυμφίου, ἔγημέ τε καὶ ἐτίμησεν,
(Then he goes back and begins with Poseidon and tells of the origin of
that family and all that they did and suffered, and how when her father
perished, still young and newly‐wed, her uncle married her, and honoured
her)
ὡς οὔτις ἐπὶ χθονὶ τίεται ἄλλη,
(“As no other woman in the world is honoured,”)
καὶ ὅσων τυγχάνει C
(and he tells of all the honour she receives)
Ἔκ τε φίλων παίδων ἔκ τ᾽ αὐτοῦ Ἀλκινόοιο,
(“From her dear children and from Alcinous himself,”)
ἔπι δὲ οἷμαι τῆς γερουσίας καὶ τοῦ δήμου, οἱ καθάπερ θεὸν ὁρῶσι
πορευομένην διὰ τοῦ ἄστεος, τέλος ἐπέθηκε ταῖς εὐφημίαις ζηλωτὸν ἀνδρὶ καὶ
γυναικί,
(and from the council of elders also, I think, and from the people who
look upon her as a goddess as she goes through the city; and on all his
praises he sets this crown, one that man and woman alike may well envy,
when he says)
Οὐ μὲν γάρ τι νόου γε καὶ αὐτὴ δεύεται ἐσθλοῦ
(“For indeed she too has no lack of excellent understanding,”)
λέγων, καὶ ὡς κρίνειν εὖ ἠπίστατο, οἷσίν τ᾽ εὗ φρονέῃσι, [D] καὶ διαλύειν
τὰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐγκλήματα τοῖς πολίταις ἀναφυόμενα ξὺν δίκῃ. ταύτην δὴ
οὖν ἱκετεύσας εἰ τύχοις εὔνου, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη,
(and that she knows well how to judge between men, and, for those citizens
to whom she is kindly disposed, how to reconcile with justice the
grievances that arise among them. Now if, when you entreat her, the
goddess says to him, you find her well disposed,)
Ἐλπωρή τοι ἔπειτα φίλους τ᾽ ἰδέειν καὶ ἱκέσθαι
Οἶκον ἐς ὑψόροφον·
(“Then is there hope that you will see your friends and come to
your high‐roofed house.”)
ὁ δ᾽ ἐπείσθη τῇ ξυμβουλῇ. ἆρ᾽ οὖν ἔτι δεησόμεθα μειζόνων εἰκόνων καὶ
ἀποδείξεων ἐναργεστέρων, ὥστε ἀποφυγεῖν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ κολακεύειν δοκεῖν
ὑποψίαν; [106] οὐχὶ δὲ ἤδη μιμούμενοι τὸν σοφὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ θεῖον ποιητὴν
ἐπαινέσομεν Εὐσεβίαν τὴν ἀρίστην, ἐπιθυμοῦντες μὲν ἔπαινον αὐτῆς ἄξιον
διεξελθεῖν, ἀγαπῶντες δέ, εἰ καὶ μετρίως τυγχάνοιμεν οὕτω καλῶν καὶ πολλῶν
ἐπιτηδευμάτων; καὶ τῶν(502) ἀγαθῶν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἐκείνῃ, σωφροσύνης καὶ
δικαιοσύνης ἢ πρᾳότητος καὶ ἐπιεικείας ἢ τῆς περὶ τὸν ἄνδρα φιλίας ἢ τῆς
περὶ τὰ χρήματα μεγαλοψυχίας [B] ἢ τῆς περὶ τοὺς οἰκείους καὶ ξυγγενεῖς
τιμῆς. προσήκει δὲ οἶμαι καθάπερ ἴχνεσιν ἑπόμενον τοῖς ἤδη ῥηθεῖσιν οὕτω
ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ξὺν εὐφημίᾳ τάξιν, ἀποδιδόντα τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνῃ, πατρίδος τε,
ὡς εἰκός, καὶ πατέρων μνημονεύοντα, καὶ ὅπως ἐγήματο καὶ ᾧτινι, καὶ τἆλλα
πάντα τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκείνοις τρόπον.
(And he was persuaded by her counsel. Shall I then need yet greater
instances and clearer proofs, so that I may escape the suspicion of
seeming to flatter? Shall I not forthwith imitate that wise and inspired
poet and go on to praise the noble Eusebia, eager as I am to compose an
encomium worthy of her, though I shall be thankful if, even in a moderate
degree, I succeed in describing accomplishments so many and so admirable?
And I shall be thankful if I succeed in describing also those noble
qualities of hers, her temperance, justice, mildness and goodness, or her
affection for her husband, or her generosity about money, or the honour
that she pays to her own people and her kinsfolk. It is proper for me, I
think, to follow in the track as it were of what I have already said, and,
as I pursue my panegyric, so arrange it as to give the same order as
Athene, making mention, as is natural, of her native land, her ancestors,
how she married and whom, and all the rest in the same fashion as Homer.)
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς πατρίδος πολλὰ σεμνὰ λέγειν ἔχων, τὰ μὲν διὰ παλαιότητα
παρήσειν μοι δοκῶ· φαίνεται γὰρ εἶναι τῶν μύθων οὐ πόρρω· [C] ὁποῖον δή τι
καὶ τὸ περὶ τῶν Μουσῶν λεγόμενον, ὡς εἶεν δήπουθεν ἐκ τῆς Πιερίας, οὐχὶ δὲ
ἐξ Ἑλικῶνος εἰς τὸν Ὄλυμπον ἀφίκοιντο παρὰ τὸν πατέρα κληθεῖσαι. τοῦτο μὲν
δὴ καὶ εἰ δή τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερον, μύθῳ μᾶλλον ἢ λόγῳ προσῆκον, ἀπολειπτέον·
ὀλίγα δὲ εἰπεῖν τῶν οὐ πᾶσι γνωρίμων τυχὸν οὐκ ἄτοπον οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ
παρόντος λόγου. Μακεδόνων γὰρ οἰκίσαι φασὶ τὴν χώραν τοὺς Ἡρακλέους
ἐγγόνους, Τημένου παῖδας, [D] οἵ τὴν Ἀργείαν λῆξιν νεμόμενοι καὶ
στασιάζοντες τέλος ἐποιήσαντο τὴν ἀποικίαν τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἔριδος καὶ
φιλοτιμίας· εἶτα ἑλόντες τὴν Μακεδονίαν καὶ γένος ὄλβιον ἀπολιπόντες(503)
βασιλεῖς ἐκ βασιλέων διετέλουν καθάπερ κλῆρον τὴν τιμὴν διαδεχόμενοι.
πάντας μὲν οὖν αὐτοὺς ἐπαινεῖν οὔτε ἀληθὲς οὔτε οἶμαι ῥάδιον. πολλῶν δὲ
ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν γενομένων καὶ καταλιπόντων Ἑλληνικοῦ τρόπου μνημεῖα πάγκαλα,
Φίλιππος καὶ ὁ τούτου παῖς ἀρετῇ διηνεγκάτην πάντων, [107] ὅσοι πάλαι
Μακεδονίας καὶ Θρᾴκης ἦρξαν, οἶμαι δὲ ἔγωγε καὶ ὅσοι Λυδῶν ἢ Μήδων καὶ
Περσῶν καὶ Ἀσσυρίων, πλὴν μόνου τοῦ Καμβύσου παιδός, ὃς ἐκ τῶν Μήδων ἐς
Πέρσας τὴν βασιλείαν μετέστησεν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτος ἐπειράθη τὴν Μακεδόνων
αὐξῆσαι δύναμιν, καὶ τῆς Εὐρώπες τὰ πλεῖστα καταστρεψάμενος ὅρον ἐποιήσατο
πρὸς ἕω μὲν καὶ πρὸς μεσημβρίαν τὴν θάλατταν, ἀπ᾽ ἄρκτων δὲ οἶμαι [B] τὸν
Ἴστρον καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέραν τὸ Ὠρικὸν ἔθνος. ὁ τούτου δὲ αὖ παῖς ὑπὸ τῷ
Σταγειρίτηι σοφῷ τρεφόμενος τοσοῦτον μεγαλοψυχίᾳ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων
διήνεγκε καὶ προσέτι τὸν αὑτοῦ πατέρα τῇ στρατηγίᾳ καὶ τῇ θαρραλεότητι καὶ
ταῖς ἄλλαις ἀρεταῖς ὑπερβαλλόμενος, ὥστ᾽(504) οὐκ ἄξιον αὑτῷ ζῆν
ὑπερλάμβανεν, εἰ μὴ ξυμπάντων μὲν ἀνθρώπων, πάντων δὲ ἐθνῶν κρατήσειεν.
οὐκοῦν [C] τὴν μὲν Ἀσίαν ἐπῆλθε σύμπασαν καταστρεφόμενος, καὶ ἀνίσχοντα
πρῶτος ἀνθρώπων τὸν ἥλιον προσεκύνει, ὡρμημένον δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Εὐρώπην,
ὅπως τὰ λειπόμενα περιβαλόμενος γῆς τε ἁπάσης καὶ θαλάττης κύριος γένοιτο,
τὸ χρεὼν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι κατέλαβε. Μακεδόνες δὲ ἁπάντων ἦρχον, ὧν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνῳ
κτησάμενοι πόλεων καὶ ἐθνῶν ἔτυχον. ἆρ᾽ οὖν ἔτι χρὴ διὰ μειζόνων τεκμηρίων
δηλοῦν, [D] ὡς ἔνδοξος μὲν ἡ Μακεδονία καὶ μεγάλη τὸ πρόσθεν γένοιτο;
ταύτης δὲ αὐτῆς τὸ κράτιστον ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη, ἣν ἀνέστησαν, πεσόντων,
οἶμαι, Θετταλῶν, τῆς κατ᾽ ἐκείνων ἐπώνυμον νίκης. καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτων
οὐδὲν ἔτι δέομαι μακρότερα λέγειν.
(Now though I have much that is highly honourable to say about her native
land,(505) I think it well to omit part, because of its antiquity. For it
seems to be not far removed from myth. For instance, the sort of story
that is told about the Muses, that they actually came from Pieria(506) and
that it was not from Helicon that they came to Olympus, when summoned to
their father’s side. This then, and all else of the same sort, since it is
better suited to a fable than to my narrative, must be omitted. But
perhaps it is not out of the way nor alien from my present theme to tell
some of the facts that are not familiar to all. They say(507) that
Macedonia was colonised by the descendants of Heracles, the sons of
Temenus, who had been awarded Argos as their portion, then quarrelled, and
to make an end of their strife and jealousy led out a colony. Then they
seized Macedonia, and leaving a prosperous family behind them, they
succeeded to the throne, king after king, as though the privilege were an
inheritance. Now to praise all these would be neither truthful, nor in my
opinion easy. But though many of them were brave men and left behind them
very glorious monuments of the Hellenic character, Philip and his son
surpassed in valour all who of old ruled over Macedonia and Thrace, yes
and I should say all who governed the Lydians as well, or the Medes and
Persians and Assyrians, except only the son of Cambyses,(508) who
transferred the sovereignty from the Medes to the Persians. For Philip was
the first to try to increase the power of the Macedonians, and when he had
subdued the greater part of Europe, he made the sea his frontier limit on
the east and south, and on the north I think the Danube, and on the west
the people of Oricus,(509) And after him, his son, who was bred up at the
feet of the wise Stagyrite,(510) so far excelled all the rest in greatness
of soul, and besides, surpassed his own father in generalship and courage
and the other virtues, that he thought that life for him was not worth
living unless he could subdue all men and all nations. And so he traversed
the whole of Asia, conquering as he went, and he was the first of men(511)
to adore the rising sun; but as he was setting out for Europe in order to
gain control of the remainder and so become master of the whole earth and
sea, he paid the debt of nature in Babylon. Then Macedonians became the
rulers of all the cities and nations that they had acquired under his
leadership. And now is it still necessary to show by stronger proofs that
Macedonia was famous and great of old? And the most important place in
Macedonia is that city which they restored, after, I think, the fall of
the Thessalians, and which is called after their victory over them.(512)
But concerning all this I need not speak at greater length.)
Εὐγενείας γε μὴν τί ἂν ἔχοιμεν ἔτι πράγματα ἐπιζητοῦντες φανερώτερον καὶ
ἐναργὲς μᾶλλον τεκμήριον; θυγάτηρ γάρ ἐστιν ἀνδρὸς ἀξίου νομισθέντος τὴν
ἐπώνυμον τοῦ ἔτους ἀρχὴν ἄρχειν,(513) πάλαι [108] μὲν ἰσχυρὰν καὶ
βασιλείαν ἀτεχνῶς ὀνομαζομένην, μεταβαλοῦσαν δὲ διὰ τοὺς οὐκ ὀρθῶς
χρωμένους τῇ δυνάμει τὸ ὄνομα· νῦν δὲ ἤδη τῆς δυνάμεως ἐπιλειπούσης,
ἐπειδὴ πρὸς μοναρχίαν τὰ τῆς πολιτείας μεθέστηκε, τιμὴ καθ᾽ αὑτὴν τῶν
ἄλλων ἁπάντων στερομένη πρὸς πᾶσαν ἰσχὺν ἀντίρροπος εἶναι δοκεῖ, τοῖς μὲν
ἰδιώταις οἷον ἆθλον ἀποκειμένη καὶ γέρας ἀρετῆς ἦ πίστεως ἤ τινος εὐνοίας
καὶ ὑπηρεσίας περὶ τοὺς τῶν ὅλων ἄρχοντας ἢ πράξεως λαμπρᾶς, [B] τοῖς
βασιλεῦσι δὲ πρὸς οἷς ἔχουσιν ἀγαθοῖς οἷον ἄγαλμα καὶ κόσμος ἐπιτιθεμένη·
τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄλλων ὀνομάτων τε καὶ ἔργων, ὁπόσα τῆς παλαιᾶς ἐκείνης
πολιτείας διασώζει τινὰ φαύλην καὶ ἀμυδρὰν εἰκόνα, ἢ παντάπασιν
ὑπεριδόντες διὰ τὴν ἰσχὺν κατέγνωσαν, ἢ προσιέμενοὶ γε διὰ βίου καρποῦνται
τὰς ἐπωνυμίας· μόνης δέ, οἶμαι, ταύτης οὔτε τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπερεῖδον, χαίρουσί
τε(514) καὶ πρὸς ἐνιαυτὸν τυγχάνοντες· [C] καὶ οὔτε ἐδιώτης οὐδεὶς οὔτε
βασιλεύς ἐστιν ἢ γέγονεν, ὃς οὐ ζηλωτὸν ἐνόμισεν ὕπατος ἐπονομασθῆναι. εἰ
δέ, ὅτι πρῶτος ὔτυχεν ἐκεῖνος καὶ γέγονεν ἀρχηγὸς τῷ γένει τῆς εὐδοξίας,
ἔλαττὸν τις ἔχειν αὐτὸν τῶν ἄλλων ὑπολαμβάνει, λίαν ἐξαπατώμενος οὐ
μανθάνει· τῷ παντὶ γὰρ οἶμαι κρεῖττον ἐστι καὶ σεμνότερον ἀρχὴν παρασχεῖν
τοῖς ἐγγόνοις περιφανείας τοσαύτης [D] ἢ λαβεῖν παρὰ τῶν προγόνων. ἐπεὶ
καὶ πόλεως μεγίστης οἰκιστὴν γενέσθαι κρεῖττον ἢ πολίτην, καὶ λαβεῖν
ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν τοῦ δοῦναι τῷ παντὶ καταδεέστερον. λαμβάνειν δὲ ἐοίκασι παρὰ
τῶν πατέρων οἱ παῖδες καὶ οἱ πολῖται παρὰ τῶν πόλεων οἷον ἁφορμάς τινας
πρὸς εὐδοξίαν. ὅστις δὲ ἀποδίδωσι πάλιν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ προγόνοις τε καὶ πατρίδι
μείζονα τιμῆς ὑπόθεσιν, λαμπροτέραν μὲν ἐκείνην καὶ σεμνοτέραν, τοὺς
πατέρας δὲ ἐνδοξοτέρους ἀποφαίνων, οὗτος οὐδενὶ δοκεῖ καταλιπεῖν(515) πρὸς
εὐγενείας λόγον ἅμιλλαν· [109] οὐδὲ ἔστιν ὅστις ἐκείνου φήσει κρείττων
γεγονέναι· ἐξ ἀγαθῶν μὲν γὰρ ἀγαθὸν φῦναι χρή. ὁ δὲ ἐξ ἐνδόξων ἐνδοξότερος
γενόμενος, ἐς ταὐτὸν ἀρετῇ τῆς τύχης πνεούσης, οὗτος οὐδενὶ δίδωσιν
ἀπορεῖν, εἰ τῆς εὐγενείας εἰκότως μεταποιεῖται.
(And of her noble birth why should I take any further trouble to seek for
clearer or more manifest proof than this? I mean that she is the daughter
of a man who was considered worthy to hold the office that gives its name
to the year,(516) an office that in the past was powerful and actually
called royal, but lost that title because of those who abused their power.
But now that in these days its power has waned, since the government has
changed to a monarchy, the bare honour, though robbed of all the rest, is
held to counterbalance all power, and for private citizens is set up as a
sort of prize and a reward of virtue, or loyalty, or of some favour done
to the ruler of the empire, or for some brilliant exploit, while for the
emperors, it is added to the advantages they already possess as the
crowning glory and adornment. For all the other titles and functions that
still retain some feeble and shadowy resemblance to the ancient
constitution they either altogether despised and rejected, because of
their absolute power, or they attached them to themselves and enjoy the
titles for life. But this office alone, I think, they from the first did
not despise, and it still gratifies them when they obtain it for the year.
Indeed there is no private citizen or emperor, nor has ever been, who did
not think it an enviable distinction to be entitled consul. And if there
be anyone who thinks that, because he I spoke of was the first of his line
to win that title and to lay the foundations of distinction for his
family, he is therefore inferior to the others, he fails to understand
that he is deceived exceedingly. For it is, in my opinion, altogether
nobler and more honourable to lay the foundations of such great
distinction for one’s descendants than to receive it from one’s ancestors.
For indeed it is a nobler thing to be the founder of a mighty city than a
mere citizen and to receive any good thing is altogether less dignified
than to give. Indeed it is evident that sons receive from their fathers,
and citizens from their cities, a start, as it were, on the path of glory.
But he who by his own effort pays back to his ancestors and his native
land that honour on a higher scale, and makes his country show more
brilliant and more distinguished, and his ancestors more illustrious,
clearly yields the prize to no man on the score of native nobility. Nor is
there any man who can claim to be superior to him I speak of. For the good
must needs be born of good parents. But when the son of illustrious
parents himself becomes more illustrious, and fortune blows the same way
as his merit, he causes no one to feel doubt, if he lays claim, as is
reasonable, to be of native nobility.)
Εὐσεβία δέ, περὶ ἧς ὁ λόγος, παῖς μὲν ὑπάτου γέγονε, γαμετὴ δέ ἐστι
βασιλέως ἐνδρείου, σώφρονος, συνετοῦ, δικαίου, χρηστοῦ καὶ πρᾴου καὶ
μεγαλοψύχου, [B] ὃς ἐπειδὴ πατρῴαν οὖσαν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνεκτήσατο,
ἀφελόμενος τοῦ βίᾳ λαβόντος, γάμου τε ἐδεῖτο πρὸς παίδων γένεσιν, οἳ
κληρονομήσουσι τῆς τιμῆς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας, ταύτην ἀξίαν ἔκρινε τῆς
κοινωνίας γεγονὼς ἤδη σχεδόν τι τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης κύριος. καίτοι πῶς
ἄν τις μείζονα μαρτυρίαν ἐπιζητήσειε τῆσδε; οὐ μόνον περὶ τῆς εὐγενείας
αὐτῆς, [C] ὑπὲρ δὲ ἁπάντων ἁπλῶς, ὅσα χρῆν οἶμαι τὴν βασιλεῖ τοσούτῳ
συνιοῦσαν, καθάπερ φερνὴν οἴκοθεν ἐπιφερομένην, κομίζειν ἀγαθά, παιδείαν
ὀρθήν, σύνεσιν ἐμμελῆ, ἀκμὴν καὶ ὥραν σώματος καὶ κάλλος τοσοῦτον, ὥστε
ἀποκρύπτεσθαι τᾶς ἄλλας παρθένους, καθάπερ οἶμαι περὶ τῇ σελήνῃ πληθούσῃ
οἱ διαφανεῖς ἀστέρες καταυγαζόμενοι κρύπτουσι τὴν μορφὴν. ἓν μὲν γὰρ
τούτων οὐδὲν(517) ἐξαρκεῖν δοκεῖ πρὸς κοινωνίαν βασιλέως, πάντα δὲ ἅμα,
[D] ὥσπερ θεοῦ τινος ἀγαθῷ βασιλεῖ καλὴν καὶ σώφρονα πλάττοντος τὴν
νύμφην, εἰς ταὐτὸ συνεληλυθότα πόρρωθεν καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀμμάτων
ἐφελκυσάμενα μάλα ὄλβιον ἦγε τὸν νυμφίον. κάλλος μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ γένους
βοηθείας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν οἶμαι στερόμενον οὐδὲ ἰδιώτην ἀκόλαστον
ἰσχύει πείθειν τὴν γαμήλιον ἀνάψαι λαμπάδα, ἄμφω δὲ ἅμα συνελθόντα γάμον
μὲν ἧρμοσε πολλάκις, ἀπολειπόμενα δὲ [110] τῆς ἐκ τῶν τρόπων ἁρμονίας καὶ
χάριτος οὐ λίαν ἐφάνη ζηλωτά.
(Now Eusebia, the subject of my speech, was the daughter of a consul, and
is the consort of an Emperor who is brave, temperate, wise, just,
virtuous, mild and high‐souled, who, when he acquired the throne that had
belonged to his ancestors, and had won it back from him who had usurped it
by violence, and desired to wed that he might beget sons to inherit his
honour and power, deemed this lady worthy of his alliance, when he had
already become master of almost the whole world. And indeed why should one
search for stronger evidence than this? Evidence, I mean, not only of her
native nobility, but of all those combined gifts which she who is united
to so great an Emperor ought to bring with her from her home as a dowry,
wit and wisdom, a body in the flower of youth, and beauty so conspicuous
as to throw into the shade all other maidens beside, even as, I believe,
the radiant stars about the moon at the full are outshone and hide their
shape.(518) For no single one of these endowments is thought to suffice
for an alliance with an Emperor, but all together, as though some god were
fashioning for a virtuous Emperor a fair and modest bride, were united in
her single person and, attracting not his eyes alone, brought from afar
that bridegroom blest of heaven. For beauty alone, if it lacks the support
of birth and the other advantages I have mentioned, is not enough to
induce even a licentious man, a mere citizen, to kindle the marriage
torch, though both combined have brought about many a match, but when they
occur without sweetness and charm of character they are seen to be far
from desirable.)
Ταῦτα ἐπιστάμενον σαφῶς τὸν βασιλέα τὸν σώφρονα φαίην ἂν εἰκότως πολλάκις
βουλευσάμενον ἑλέσθαι τὸν γάμον, τὰ μὲν οἶμαι πυνθανόμενον, ὅσα χρῆν δι᾽
ἀκοῆς περὶ αὐτῆς μαθεῖν, τεκμαιρόμενον δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς τὴν εὐταξίαν·
ὑπὲρ ἧς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τί δεῖ λέγοντας διατρίβειν, καθάπερ οὐκ ἔχοντας ἴδιον
ἐγκώμιον τῆς,(519) ὑπὲρ ἧς ὁ λόγος, [B] διελθεῖν; τοσοῦτον δὲ ἴσως οὔτε
εἰπεῖν οὔτε ἐπακοῦσαι πολὺ καὶ ἐργῶδες, ὅτι δὴ γένος μὲν αὐτῇ σφόδρα
Ἑλληνικόν, Ἑλλήνων τῶν πάνυ, καὶ πόλις ἡ μητρόπολις τῆς Μακεδονίας,
σωφροσύνη δὲ ὑπέρ τε Εὐάδνην τὴν Καπανέως καὶ τὴν Θετταλὴν ἐκείνην
Λαοδάμειαν. αἱ μὲν γὰρ καλοὺς καὶ νέους καὶ ἔτι νυμφίους τοὺς ἄνδρας
ἀφαιρεθεῖσαι διαμόνων βίᾳ βασκάνων ἢ μοιρῶν νήμασι τοῦ ζῆν ὑπερεῖδον διὰ
τὸν ἔρωτα, ἡ δέ, [C] ἐπειδὴ τὸ χρεὼν τὸν κουρίδιον αὐτῆς ἄνδρα κατέλαβε,
τοῖς παισὶ προσκαθημένη τοσοῦτον ἐπὶ σωφροσύνῃ κλέος αὑτῇ εἰργάσατο, ὥστε
τῇ μὲν Πηνελόπῃ περιόντος ἔτι καὶ πλανωμένου τοῦ γήμαντος, προσῄει τὰ
μειράκια μνηστευσόμενα ἔκ τε Ἰθάκης καὶ Σάμου καὶ Δουλιχίου, τῇ δὲ ἀνὴρ
μὲν οὐδεὶς καλὸς καὶ μέγας ἢ ἰσχυρὸς καὶ πλούσιος ὑπὲρ(520) τούτων εἰς
λόγους ἐλθεῖν ὑπέμεινέ ποτε· τὴν θυγατέρα δὲ βασιλεὺς ἑαυτῷ συνοικεῖν
ἀξίαν ἔκρινε, [D] καὶ ἔδρασε τὸν γάμον λαμπρῶς μετὰ τὰ τρόπαια, ἔθνη καὶ
πόλεις καὶ δήμους(521) ἑστιῶν.
(I have good reason to say that the Emperor in his prudence understood
this clearly, and that it was only after long deliberation that he chose
this marriage, partly making enquiries about all that was needful to learn
about her by hearsay, but judging also from her mother of the daughter’s
noble disposition. Of that mother why should I take time to say more, as
though I had not to recite a special encomium on her who is the theme of
my speech? But so much perhaps I may say briefly and you may hear without
weariness, that her family is entirely Greek, yes Greek of the purest
stock, and her native city was the metropolis of Macedonia, and she was
more self‐controlled than Evadne(522) the wife of Capaneus, and the famous
Laodameia(523) of Thessaly. For these two, when they had lost their
husbands, who were young, handsome and still newly‐wed, whether by the
constraint of some envious powers, or because the threads of the fates
were so woven, threw away their lives for love. But the mother of the
Empress, when his fate had come upon her wedded lord, devoted herself to
her children, and won a great reputation for prudence, so great indeed,
that whereas Penelope, while her husband was still on his travels and
wanderings, was beset by those young suitors who came to woo her from
Ithaca and Samos and Dulichium, that lady no man however fair and tall or
powerful and wealthy ever ventured to approach with any such proposals.
And her daughter the Emperor deemed worthy to live by his side, and after
setting up the trophies of his victories, he celebrated the marriage with
great splendour, feasting nations and cities and peoples.)