1. Our hearty assent, men of Athens, is due to those who insist that we should abide by our oaths and covenants, provided that they do so from conviction; for I believe that nothing becomes a democratic people more than zeal for equity and justice. Those, therefore, who are so emphatic in urging you to this course should not keep wearying you with speeches which are belied by their practice, but after submitting now to full inquiry, should either for the future be sure of your assent in these matters, or else make way for the counsels of those who show a truer conception of what is just.
1. ἄξιον ἀποδέχεσθαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, σφόδρα τῶν τοῖς ὅρκοις καὶ ταῖς συνθήκαις διακελευομένων ἐμμένειν, εἴπερ αὐτὸ πεπεισμένοι ποιοῦσιν· οἶμαι γὰρ οὐδὲν οὕτω τοῖς δημοκρατουμένοις πρέπειν ὡς περὶ τὸ ἴσον καὶ τὸ δίκαιον σπουδάζειν. δεῖ τοίνυν τοὺς λίαν ἐπʼ αὐτὰ παρακαλοῦντας μὴ τῷ μὲν λόγῳ καταχρωμένους ἐνοχλεῖν, πάντα δὲ μᾶλλον πράττειν, ἀλλʼ ὑπομείναντας νυνὶ τὸν ἐξετασμὸν ἢ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν πειθομένους ὑμᾶς ἔχειν περὶ αὐτῶν, ἢ παραχωρήσαντας ἐᾶν συμβουλεύειν τοὺς ἀληθέστερα περὶ τῶν δικαίων ἀποφαινομένους, ἵνʼ ἢ ἑκόντες ἀδικούμενοι ἀνέχησθε καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο χαρίζησθε τῷ ἀδικοῦντι, ἢ προελόμενοι περὶ πλείστου ποιήσασθαι τὸ δίκαιον ἀνεγκλήτως πρὸς ἅπαντας χρῆσθε τῷ συμφέροντι μηκέτι μέλλοντες.
2. so that you may either voluntarily submit to wrong, making the wrongdoer a free gift of your submission, or having definitely resolved to put justice before all other claims, may pursue your own interests, clear from all reproach, without further hesitation. But from the very terms of the compact and from the oaths which ratified the general peace, you may at once see who are its transgressors; and that those transgressions are serious, I will prove to you concisely. Now if you were asked, men of Athens, what form of compulsion would most rouse your indignation, I think that if the sons of Pisistratus had been alive at the present time and someone tried to compel you to restore them, you would snatch up your weapons and brave any danger rather than receive them back, or if you did consent, you would be slaves, as surely as if you had been bought for money; nay, more so, inasmuch as no one would intentionally kill his own servant, but the victims of tyranny may be seen executed without trial, as well as outraged in the persons of their wives and children.
2. ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν συνθηκῶν καὶ τῶν ὅρκων σκεψαμένους τῶν περὶ τῆς κοινῆς εἰρήνης ἔξεστιν ἰδεῖν ἤδη, τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ παραβεβηκότες. ὡς δὲ περὶ μεγάλων συντόμως διδάξω. εἰ δή τις ἐρωτήσειεν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐπὶ τίνι ἂν μάλιστʼ ἀγανακτήσαιτʼ εἴ τις ἀναγκάζοι, οἶμαι ἄν, εἰ ἦσαν κατὰ τὸν νυνὶ χρόνον οἱ Πεισιστρατίδαι καί τις ἐβιάζετο κατάγειν αὐτοὺς δευρί, ἁρπάσαντας ἂν ὑμᾶς τὰ ὅπλα πάντα κίνδυνον ὑπομεῖναι ἀντὶ τοῦ παραδέξασθαι, ἢ πεισθέντας γε δουλεύειν ἀντὶ τῶν ἀργυρωνήτων, καὶ τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον, ὅσῳ τὸν μὲν οἰκέτην οὐδεὶς ἂν ἑκὼν ἀποκτείνειε, τοὺς δὲ τυραννουμένους ἀκρίτους ἔστιν ὁρᾶν ἀπολλυμένους ἅμα καὶ ὑβριζομένους εἰς παῖδας καὶ γυναῖκας.
4. Therefore when Alexander, contrary to the oaths and the compacts as set forth in the general peace, restored those tyrants, the sons of Philiades, to Messene, had he any regard for justice? Did he not rather give play to his own tyrannical disposition, showing little regard for you and the joint agreement.
4. παρὰ τοὺς ὅρκους τοίνυν καὶ τὰς συνθήκας τὰς ἐν τῇ κοινῇ εἰρήνῃ γεγραμμένας Ἀλέξανδρος εἰς Μεσσήνην καταγαγὼν τοὺς Φιλιάδου παῖδας, ὄντας τυράννους, ἆρʼ ἐφρόντισε τοῦ δικαίου, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο τῷ αὑτοῦ ἤθει τῷ τυραννικῷ, βραχὺ φροντίσας ὑμῶν καὶ τῆς κοινῆς ὁμολογίας;
5. It is surely wrong that you should be highly indignant when you are the victims of such coercion, but should neglect all safeguards if it is employed somewhere else, contrary to the sworn agreement with you, and that we here at Athens should be urged by certain speakers to abide by the oaths, while they grant this liberty of action to the men who have so notoriously made those oaths of no effect.
5. οὐ δὴ δεῖ, εἰ μέν τις ὑμᾶς ταῦτα βιάζοιτο, μάλιστʼ ἀγανακτῆσαι, εἰ δʼ ἑτέρωθί που γέγονε παρὰ τοὺς πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅρκους, μὴ φυλάξασθαι, καὶ ἡμῖν μὲν διακελεύεσθαί τινας ἐνταυθὶ ἐμμένειν τοῖς ὅρκοις, τοῖς δʼ αὐτοὺς οὕτω περιβοήτως ἀνῃρηκόσι καταλείπειν ταύτην τὴν ἐξουσίαν.
6. But this can never happen, if you are willing to see justice done; for it is further stipulated in the compact that anyone who acts as Alexander has acted shall be the enemy of all the other parties to the compact, and his country shall be hostile territory, and all the parties shall unite in a campaign against him. So if we carry out the agreement, we shall treat the restorer of the tyrants as an enemy.
6. ἀλλʼ οὐχ οἷόν τε ταῦθʼ οὕτως ἔχειν, ἐὰν βούλησθε τῷ δικαίῳ χρῆσθαι· καὶ γὰρ ἔτι προσγέγραπται ἐν ταῖς συνθήκαις πολέμιον εἶναι τὸν ἐκεῖνʼ ἅπερ Ἀλέξανδρος ποιοῦντα ἅπασι τοῖς τῆς εἰρήνης κοινωνοῦσι, καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτοῦ, καὶ στρατεύεσθαι ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἅπαντας. οὐκοῦν ἐὰν ποιῶμεν τὰ συγκείμενα, πολεμίῳ χρησόμεθα τῷ καταγαγόντι.
7. But these champions of tyranny might urge that the sons of Philiades were tyrants of Messene before the compact was made, and that that was why Alexander restored them. But it is a ridiculous principle to expel the Lesbian tyrants on the ground that their rule is an outrage—I mean the tyrants of Antissa and Eresus, who established themselves before the agreement—and yet to imagine that it is a matter of indifference at Messene, where the same harsh system prevails.
7. ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἴποιεν ἂν οἱ τυραννίζοντες οὗτοι, ὅτι πρὶν τὰς συνθήκας γενέσθαι ἐτυράννουν Μεσσηνίων οἱ Φιλιάδου παῖδες· διὸ καὶ καταγαγεῖν τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον αὐτούς. ἀλλὰ καταγέλαστος ὁ λόγος, τοὺς μὲν ἐκ Λέσβου τυράννους, οἷον ἐξ Ἀντίσσης καὶ Ἐρέσου, ἐκβαλεῖν ὡς ἀδικήματος ὄντος τοῦ πολιτεύματος, τοὺς πρὸ τῶν ὁμολογιῶν τυραννήσαντας, ἐν δὲ Μεσσήνῃ μηδὲν οἴεσθαι διαφέρειν, τῆς αὐτῆς δυσχερείας ὑπαρχούσης.
8. Again, the compact at the very beginning enjoins that the Greeks shall be free and independent. Is it not, then, the height of absurdity that the clause about freedom should stand first in the compact, and that one who has enslaved others should be supposed not to have acted contrary to the joint agreement? Therefore, men of Athens, if we are going to abide by our oaths and covenants and do what is just (for it is to this that these speakers, as I have said, are urging you), it is our bounden duty to seize our arms and take the field against the transgressors with all who will join us.
8. ἔπειτα καὶ ἐπιτάττει ἡ συνθήκη εὐθὺς ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐλευθέρους εἶναι καὶ αὐτονόμους τοὺς Ἕλληνας. διὸ καὶ πῶς οὐχ ὑπεράτοπον, ἡγεῖσθαι μὲν τῶν συνθηκῶν τὸ αὐτονόμους εἶναι καὶ ἐλευθέρους, τὸν δʼ εἰς δουλείαν ἀγαγόντα μὴ οἴεσθαι τἀναντία ταῖς κοιναῖς ὁμολογίαις διαπεπρᾶχθαι; οὐκοῦν ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἡμῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἴπερ ταῖς συνθήκαις καὶ τοῖς ὅρκοις ἐμμενοῦμεν καὶ τὰ δίκαια ποιήσομεν, ἐφʼ ἃ ὑμᾶς παρακαλοῦσι, καθάπερ ἄρτι εἶπον, λαβοῦσι τὰ ὅπλα στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺς παραβεβηκότας μετὰ τῶν βουλομένων.
9. Or do you think that opportunity sometimes so prevails that men pursue expediency even apart from justice—and yet now, when justice and opportunity and expediency all concur, will you actually wait for some other season to claim your liberties and the liberties of all the Greeks.
9. ἢ νομίζετε τὸν μὲν καιρόν ποτʼ ἰσχύειν καὶ ἄνευ τοῦ δικαίου τὸ συμφέρον πράττειν· νυνὶ δʼ, ὅτʼ εἰς ταὐτὸν τὸ δίκαιον ἅμα καὶ ὁ καιρὸς καὶ τὸ συμφέρον συνδεδράμηκεν, ἄλλον ἄρα τινὰ χρόνον ἀναμενεῖτε τῆς ἰδίας ἐλευθερίας ἅμα καὶ τῆς τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ἀντιλαβέσθαι;
10. I come to another claim sanctioned by the compact. For the actual words are, “If any of the parties shall overthrow the constitution established in the several states at the date when they took the oaths to observe the peace, they shall be treated as enemies by all the parties to the peace.” But just reflect, men of Athens, that the Achaeans in the Peloponnese enjoyed democratic government, and one of their democracies, that of Pellene, has now been overthrown by the Macedonian king, who has expelled the majority of the citizens, given their property to their slaves, and set up Chaeron, the wrestler, as their tyrant.
10. ἐπʼ ἄλλο δὲ δίκαιον ἔρχομαι τῶν κατὰ τὰς συνθήκας. ἔστι γὰρ γεγραμμένον, ἐάν τινες τὰς πολιτείας τὰς παρʼ ἑκάστοις οὔσας, ὅτε τοὺς ὅρκους τοὺς περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ὤμνυσαν, καταλύωσι, πολεμίους εἶναι πᾶσι τοῖς τῆς εἰρήνης μετέχουσιν. σκέψασθε δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι Ἀχαιοὶ μὲν οἱ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ ἐδημοκρατοῦντο, τούτων δʼ ἐν Πελλήνῃ νῦν καταλέλυκε τὸν δῆμον ὁ Μακεδὼν ἐκβαλὼν τῶν πολιτῶν τοὺς πλείστους, τὰ δʼ ἐκείνων τοῖς οἰκέταις δέδωκε, Χαίρωνα δὲ τὸν παλαιστὴν τύραννον ἐγκατέστησεν.
11. But we ourselves are parties to the peace, which instructs us to treat as enemies those who are guilty of such acts. Now in view of this, are we to obey these joint instructions and treat them as enemies, or will anyone be blackguard enough to say no—one of the hirelings in the pay of the Macedonian king, one of those who have grown rich at your expense.
11. ἡμεῖς δὲ τῆς εἰρήνης μετέχομεν τῆς προσταττούσης πολεμίους ἡγεῖσθαι τοὺς ταῦτα πράττοντας. ἐκ δὴ τούτων πότερα πειθόμεθα τοῖς κοινοῖς προστάγμασι πολεμίοις αὐτοῖς χρώμενοι, ἢ βδελυρεύσεταί τις οὐ φάσκων, τούτων τῶν μισθοφορούντων παρὰ τοῦ Μακεδόνος, τῶν καθʼ ὑμῶν πεπλουτηκότων;
12. For you may be sure they are not ignorant of these facts; but they have grown so insolent, with the tyrant’s troops for their bodyguard, that they insist on your observing the already violated oaths, as if Alexander’s absolute sovereignty extended over perjury also; and they compel you to rescind your own laws, releasing men who have been condemned in your courts and forcing you to sanction numberless other illegalities.
12. οὐ γὰρ δὴ λέληθέ γʼ αὐτοὺς οὐδὲν τούτων· ἀλλʼ εἰς τοῦθʼ ὕβρεως ἥκουσιν ὥστε δορυφορούμενοι τοῖς τοῦ τυράννου στρατοπέδοις ἐν μὲν τοῖς παραβεβασμένοις ὅρκοις ἐμμένειν ὑμῖν διακελεύονται, ὡς καὶ τῆς ἐπιορκίας αὐτοκράτορος ὄντος ἐκείνου, τοὺς δʼ ἰδίους ὑμᾶς νόμους ἀναγκάζουσι λύειν, τοὺς μὲν κεκριμένους ἐν τοῖς δικαστηρίοις ἀφιέντες, ἕτερα δὲ παμπληθῆ τοιαῦτα βιαζόμενοι παρανομεῖν.
13. And their conduct is natural; for men who have sold themselves to a policy antagonistic to the interests of their country cannot trouble themselves about laws and oaths; they are to them mere terms which they employ to lead astray the citizens who come to the Assembly for diversion and not for careful inquiry, and who forget that present inaction will some day result in wild confusion.
13. εἰκότως· τοῖς γὰρ πεπρακόσιν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τἀναντία τοῖς τῇ πατρίδι συμφέρουσιν οὐκ ἔνι μέλειν νόμων οὐδʼ ὅρκων· τοῖς δʼ ὀνόμασι μόνον αὐτῶν ἀποχρώμενοι παρακρούονται τοὺς παρέργως ἐνταυθὶ ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐξεταστικῶς ἐκκλησιάζοντας, καὶ νομίζοντας τὴν παραυτίχʼ ἡσυχίαν οὐκ ἔσεσθαί ποτʼ αἰτίαν ταραχῆς ἀτόπου [μεγάλης].
14. My own advice, as I said at the start, is to believe them when they say that we ought to abide by the joint agreement, unless, when they insist on our abiding by the oaths, they interpret them as not forbidding any act of injustice, or imagine that no one will be sensible of the change from democracy to tyranny or of the overthrow of a free constitution.
14. κελεύω δʼ ἔγωγε, καθάπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ προεῖπον, πείθεσθαι τούτοις τοῖς φάσκουσι δεῖν ἐν ταῖς κοιναῖς ὁμολογίαις ἐμμένειν, εἰ μὴ ἐκεῖνο νομίζουσιν, ὅταν μὲν λέγωσιν ὡς ἐμμενετέον τοῖς ὅρκοις, οὐ λέγειν αὐτοὺς τὸ μηδὲν ἀδικεῖσθαι, οὐδένα δʼ οἴονται αἰσθήσεσθαι, τυραννίδων ἀντὶ δημοκρατιῶν καθισταμένων καὶ τῶν πολιτειῶν καταλυομένων.
15. Now for a still greater absurdity. For it is provided in the compact that it shall be the business of the delegates at the Congress and those responsible for public safety to see that in the states that are parties to the peace there shall be no executions and banishments contrary to the laws established in those states, no confiscation of property, no partition of lands, no cancelling of debts, and no emancipation of slaves for purposes of revolution. But these speakers are so far from seeking to prevent any of these evils, that they join in promoting them. And do they not then deserve death—the men who promote in the various states those terrible calamities which, because they are so serious, this important body has been commissioned to prevent I will point out a further breach of the compact.
15. τὸ δʼ ἔτι καταγελαστότερον· ἔστι γὰρ ἐν ταῖς συνθήκαις ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τοὺς συνεδρεύοντας καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ κοινῇ φυλακῇ τεταγμένους ὅπως ἐν ταῖς κοινωνούσαις πόλεσι τῆς εἰρήνης μὴ γίγνωνται θάνατοι καὶ φυγαὶ παρὰ τοὺς κειμένους ταῖς πόλεσι νόμους, μηδὲ χρημάτων δημεύσεις, μηδὲ γῆς ἀναδασμοί, μηδὲ χρεῶν ἀποκοπαί, μηδὲ δούλων ἀπελευθερώσεις ἐπὶ νεωτερισμῷ. οἱ δὲ τοσούτου δέουσι τούτων τι κωλύειν ὥστε καὶ συγκατασκευάζουσιν· οὓς πῶς οὐ προσήκει ἀπολωλέναι; οἳ τηλικαύτας συμφορὰς παρασκευάζουσιν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν, ἃς διὰ τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῖς τοσούτοις οὖσι μὴ περιορᾶν ἐπέταξαν.
16. For it is laid down that it shall not be lawful for exiles to set out, bearing arms, from the states which are parties to the peace, with hostile intent against any of the states included in the peace; but if they do, then that city from which they set out shall be excluded from the terms of the treaty. Now the Macedonian king has been so unscrupulous about bearing arms that he has never yet laid them down, but even now goes about bearing arms, as far as is in his power, and more so indeed now than ever, inasmuch as he has reinstated the professional trainer at Sicyon by an edict, and other exiles elsewhere.
16. ἔτι δʼ ἕτερον δείξω τὸ λελυκὸς τὰς συνθήκας. ἔστι γὰρ γεγραμμένον, ἐκ τῶν πόλεων τῶν κοινωνουσῶν τῆς εἰρήνης μὴ ἐξεῖναι φυγάδας ὁρμήσαντας ὅπλʼ ἐπιφέρειν ἐπὶ πολέμῳ ἐπὶ μηδεμίαν πόλιν τῶν μετεχουσῶν τῆς εἰρήνης· εἰ δὲ μή, ἔκσπονδον εἶναι τὴν πόλιν ἐξ ἧς ἂν ὁρμήσωσιν. οὕτω τοίνυν ῥᾳδίως ἐπήνεγκε τὰ ὅπλʼ ὁ Μακεδὼν ὥστʼ οὐδὲ κατέθετο πώποτε, ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἔχων περιέρχεται καθʼ ὅσον δύναται, καὶ τοσούτῳ νῦν μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον, ὅσῳ ἐκ προστάγματος ἄλλους θʼ ἑτέρωσε καὶ τὸν παιδοτρίβην εἰς Σικυῶνα κατήγαγεν.
17. Therefore if we are to keep this joint agreement, as these speakers say, the states that are guilty of these offences are excluded from our treaty. If, indeed, we ought to hush the matter up, we must never say that they are the Macedonian states; but if the men who are subservient to the Macedonian king against your interests never cease urging us to carry out the joint agreement, let us take them at their word, since their contention is just, and let us, as our oath demands, exclude the guilty parties from the treaty, and form a plan for dealing with men whose temper is so brutally dictatorial, and who are constantly either plotting or acting against us and mocking at the general peace.
17. οὐκοῦν εἰ δεῖ πείθεσθαι ταῖς κοιναῖς ὁμολογίαις, καθάπερ οὗτοί φασιν, ἔκσπονδοι ἡμῖν εἰσιν αὗται αἱ πόλεις αἱ ταῦτα διαπεπραγμέναι. εἰ μὲν οὖν δεῖ ἐπικρύπτεσθαι τἀληθῆ, οὐδὲν δεῖ λέγειν ὅτι εἰσὶν αἱ Μακεδονικαί· εἰ δʼ οὐκ ἀνιᾶσιν οἱ καθʼ ὑμῶν τῷ Μακεδόνι ὑπηρέται προστάττοντες πράττειν τὰ ἐν ταῖς κοιναῖς ὁμολογίαις, πεισθῶμεν αὐτοῖς, ἐπειδὴ τὰ δίκαια λέγουσι, καί, καθάπερ κελεύει ὁ ὅρκος, ἐκσπόνδους αὐτοὺς ποιήσαντες βουλευσώμεθα πῶς δεῖ χρῆσθαι τοῖς δεσποτικῶς καὶ ἀσελγῶς διακειμένοις καὶ διὰ τέλους τὰ μὲν ἐπιβουλεύουσι, τὰ δʼ ἐπιτάττουσι, καὶ καταγελῶσι τῆς κοινῆς εἰρήνης.
18. What, I ask you, can they urge against the correctness of this view? Will they claim that the agreement stands good as against our city, but demur to it where it protects our interests? Does it really seem fair that this should be so? And if there is anything in the treaty that favors our enemies against our city, will they always make the most of it, but if there is anything that tells the other way and is at once just and advantageous to us, will they think that unremitting opposition is their peculiar duty.
18. διὰ τί γὰρ οὐ φήσουσιν οὗτοι δεῖν ταῦθʼ οὕτως ἔχειν; ἢ ὁμολογίαν τὴν μὲν κατὰ τῆς πόλεως οὖσαν βεβαίαν ἀξιοῦσιν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ σῴζουσαν οὐ συγχωρήσουσιν; ἆρα δίκαιον ταῦτα γίγνεσθαι; κἂν μέν τι ᾖ πρὸς τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐν τοῖς ὅρκοις, τοῦτο μὲν ἰσχυρὸν ἀεὶ ποιήσουσιν· ἐὰν δέ τι ἡμέτερον ᾖ κατʼ ἐκείνων ἅμα δίκαιον καὶ συμφέρον, πρὸς τοῦτο δὲ μαχομένους οὐδέποτε παύσασθαι οἰήσονται δεῖν ἑαυτούς;
19. But to prove to you still more clearly that no Greeks will accuse you of transgressing any of the terms of the joint agreement, but will even be grateful to you for exposing the real transgressors, I will just touch upon a few of the many points that might be mentioned. For the compact, of course, provides that all the parties to the peace may sail the seas, and that none may hinder them or force a ship of any of them to come to harbor, and that anyone who violates this shall be treated as an enemy by all the parties to the peace.
19. ἵνα δʼ εἰδῆτʼ ἔτι σαφέστερον ὅτι οὐδεὶς ὑμῖν ἐγκαλεῖ ποτε τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὡς ἄρα παρέβητέ τι τῶν κοινῇ ὁμολογηθέντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ χάριν ἕξουσιν ὅτι μόνοι ἐξηλέγξατε τοὺς ταῦτα ποιοῦντας, μικρὰ ἐπιδραμοῦμαι περὶ αὐτῶν πολλῶν ὄντων. ἔστι γὰρ δήπου ἐν ταῖς συνθήκαις τὴν θάλατταν πλεῖν τοὺς μετέχοντας τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ μηδένα κωλύειν αὐτοὺς μηδὲ κατάγειν πλοῖον μηδενὸς τούτων· ἐὰν δέ τις παρὰ ταῦτα ποιῇ, πολέμιον εἶναι πᾶσι τοῖς τῆς εἰρήνης μετέχουσιν.
20. Now, men of Athens, you have most distinctly seen this done by the Macedonians; for they have grown so arrogant that they forced all our ships coming from the Black Sea to put in at Tenedos, and under one pretence or another refused to release them until you passed a decree to man and launch a hundred war-galleys instantly, and you put Menestheus in command.
20. οὐκοῦν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐναργέστατα ἑοράκατε τοῦθʼ ὑπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων γεγενημένον· εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ὑπεροψίας ἦλθον ὥστε εἰς Τένεδον ἅπαντα τὰ ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου πλοῖα κατήγαγον, καὶ σκευωρούμενοι περὶ αὐτὰ οὐ πρότερον ἀνεῖσαν, πρὶν ὑμεῖς ἐψηφίσασθε τριήρεις ἑκατὸν πληροῦν καὶ καθέλκειν εὐθὺς τότε, καὶ στρατηγὸν ἐπʼ αὐταῖς ἐτάξατε Μενεσθέα.
21. Is it not, then, absurd that others should be guilty of so many serious transgressions, but that their friends in Athens, instead of restraining the transgressors, should urge us to abide by the terms thus lightly regarded? As if there were a clause added, permitting some to violate them, but forbidding others even to defend their rights.
21. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον τοσαῦτα μὲν εἶναι καὶ τηλικαῦτα τὰ ἡμαρτημένʼ ἑτέροις, τοὺς δʼ ἐνταῦθα φίλους αὐτῶν μὴ ἐκείνους ἀποτρέπειν τοὺς παραβαίνοντας, ἀλλʼ ὑμῖν συμβουλεύειν ἐμμένειν τοῖς οὕτως ὠλιγωρημένοις; ὥσπερ καὶ τούτου προσγεγραμμένου, τοῖς μὲν ἐξεῖναι πλημμελεῖν, τοῖς δὲ μηδʼ ἀμύνεσθαι.
22. But was not the conduct of the Macedonians as stupid as it was lawless, when they committed such a gross violation of their oaths as deservedly went near to cost them their right to command at sea? Even as it is, they have supplied us with this unquestionable claim against them, whenever we choose to press it. For surely their violation of the joint agreement is not lessened because they have now ceased to offend.
22. πῶς δʼ οὐχ ἅμα τε παρενόμουν ἐκεῖνοι καὶ ἀναίσθητοι ἦσαν, οἵ γε τηλικοῦτον παρέβησαν τῶν ὅρκων, ὃ παρʼ ἐλάχιστον ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς ἀφαιρεθῆναι δικαίως τὴν κατὰ θάλατταν ἡγεμονίαν; καὶ νῦν ἔτι παραδεδώκασι τοῦτο τὸ δίκαιον ἀνεγκλήτως ἡμῖν, ὅταν βουληθῶμεν πράττειν· οὐ γὰρ ὅτι ἐπαύσαντʼ ἐξαμαρτάνοντες, ἧττόν τι δήπου παραβεβήκασι τὰς κοινὰς ὁμολογίας.
23. But they are in luck, because they can make the most of your supineness, which prefers to take no advantage even of your due rights. The greatest humiliation, however, that we have suffered is that all the other Greeks and barbarians dread your enmity, but these upstarts alone can make you despise yourselves, sometimes by persuasion, sometimes by force, as if Abdera or Maronea, and not Athens, were the scene of their political activities.
23. ἀλλʼ εὐτυχοῦσιν, ὅτι ἐναποχρῶνται τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ τῇ οὐδὲ τῶν δικαίων ἀπολαύειν προαιρουμένῃ. ὃ καὶ ὑβριστικώτατον συμβέβηκεν, εἰ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι Ἕλληνες καὶ βάρβαροι ἅπαντες τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἔχθραν φοβοῦνται, οὗτοι δʼ οἱ νεόπλουτοι μόνοι καταφρονεῖν ὑμᾶς ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἀναγκάζουσι, τὰ μὲν πείθοντες, τὰ δὲ βιαζόμενοι, ὥσπερ ἐν Ἀβδηρίταις ἢ Μαρωνείταις, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐν Ἀθηναίοις πολιτευόμενοι.
24. Moreover, while they weaken your cause and strengthen that of your enemies, they at the same time admit unconsciously that our city is irresistible, because they bid her uphold justice by injustice, as though she could easily vanquish her enemies, if she preferred to consult her own interests.
24. καὶ ἅμα μικρὰ μὲν τὰ ὑμέτερα ποιοῦσι, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἰσχυρά, ἅμα δὲ λανθάνουσιν ἑαυτοὺς ἀνυπόστατον τὴν πόλιν ὁμολογοῦντες εἶναι, διακελευόμενοι τὸ δίκαιον οὐ δικαίως διαφυλάττειν, ὡς τῷ συμφέροντί γε προελομένην χρῆσθαι κρατεῖν ἂν τῶν πολεμίων ῥᾳδίως δυνηθεῖσαν.
25. And they have taken up a reasonable attitude; for as long as we, single-handed, can maintain an unchallenged supremacy at sea, we can devise other and stronger defences on land in addition to our existing forces, especially if by good fortune we can get rid of these politicians, who have for their bodyguard the hosts of tyranny, and if some of them are destroyed and others conclusively proved to be worthless.
25. εἰκότως δʼ αὐτὸ πεπόνθασιν· ἕως γὰρ ἂν ἐξῇ τῶν κατὰ θάλατταν καὶ μόνοις ἀναμφισβητήτως εἶναι κυρίοις, τοῖς γε κατὰ γῆν πρὸς τῇ ὑπαρχούσῃ δυνάμει ἔστι προβολὰς ἑτέρας ἰσχυροτέρας εὑρέσθαι, ἄλλως τε καὶ πεπαυμένων ὑπὸ τῆς τύχης τῶν δορυφορουμένων ὑπὸ τῶν τυραννικῶν στρατοπέδων, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἐφθαρμένων, τῶν δὲ ἐξεληλεγμένων οὐδενὸς ἀξίων ὄντων.
26. Such then, in the matter of the ships, has been the violation of the compact by the Macedonian king, in addition to the other cases mentioned. But the most insolent and overbearing exploit of the Macedonians was that performed quite recently, when they dared to sail into the Piraeus, contrary to our mutual agreement. Moreover, men of Athens, because it was only a single war-galley, it must not be regarded as a slight matter, but as an experiment made to see whether we should overlook it, so that they could repeat it on a larger scale, and also as a proof that they cared as little for these terms of agreement as for those that have been already mentioned.
26. τὸ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὰ πλοῖα πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς προειρημένοις ὁ Μακεδὼν τηλικοῦτον παρέβη· τὸ δὲ ὑβριστικώτατον καὶ ὑπεροπτικώτατον τῶν Μακεδόνων τὸ πρώην γεγενημένον ἐστί, τὸ τολμῆσαι εἰσπλεῦσαι εἰς τὸν Πειραιᾶ παρὰ τὰς κοινὰς ἡμῖν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁμολογίας. καὶ τοῦτʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, οὐχ ὅτι μία τριήρης ἦν, μικρὸν ὑποληπτέον, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἀπόπειρα ἐγένετο, εἰ περιοψόμεθα, ἵνα μετὰ πλειόνων αὐτοῖς ἐγγένηται τοῦτο πράττειν, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἐφρόντισαν τῶν κοινῶν δογμάτων, καθάπερ οὐδὲ τῶν προειρημένων.
27. For that it was an encroachment little by little and was meant to accustom us to suffering such intrusions into our harbors, is plain from the following consideration. For the mere fact that the man who sailed the ship in, and whom you ought to have put out of existence at once, galley and all, asked permission to build small boats in our harbor—does it not make it perfectly plain that their scheme was not so much to enter the harbor as to be inside it from the first? And if we tolerate small craft, a little later it will be war-galleys as well; and if at first we sanction a few, there will soon be many.
27. ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε τοῦτο παράδυσις ἦν κατὰ μικρὸν καὶ ἐθισμὸς τοῦ ἀνέχεσθαι ἡμᾶς τοὺς τοιούτους εἴσπλους, κἀκεῖθεν δῆλον· τῷ γὰρ τὸν τότε ἐπὶ τῆς νεὼς εἰσπλεύσαντα, ὃν ἔδει εὐθὺς μετὰ τῆς τριήρους ὑφʼ ὑμῶν ἀπολωλέναι, αἰτεῖσθαι ναυπηγήσασθαι μικρὰ πλοῖα ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις λιμέσι πῶς οὐ καταφανὲς ὅτι ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰσπλεῖν τὸ εὐθὺς ἔνδον εἶναι ἐμηχανῶντο; καὶ εἰ λεπτὰ πλοῖα ὑπομενοῦμεν, ὀλίγον ὕστερον καὶ τριήρεις· καὶ εἰ τὸ πρῶτον ὀλίγας, μικρῷ ὕστερον πολλάς.
28. For they cannot allege as their excuse that there is plenty of timber for shipbuilding at Athens, where we import it with great trouble from distant parts, but that it is scarce in Macedonia, where there is a cheap supply for all who want it. No, they thought that they would build their ships here and also furnish them with crews in our harbor, though it is expressly stipulated in the joint agreement that nothing of the kind should be permitted; and they thought too that it would always be more and more in their power to do this. Thus on every hand they treat our city with contempt, thanks to their prompters here, who suggest to them everything they should do.
28. οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἔστι γʼ εἰπεῖν ὡς Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἀφθόνων ὄντων τῶν ναυπηγησίμων ξύλων, τῶν μόγις καὶ πόρρωθεν εἰσκομιζομένων, ἐν δὲ τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ ἐπιλελοιπότων, τῇ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς βουλομένοις εὐτελέστατα καθισταμένῃ, ἀλλʼ ᾤονθʼ ἅμα τε ναυπηγήσεσθαι ἐνταῦθα καὶ πληρώσεσθαι ἐν τῷ λιμένι [τῷ προειρημένῳ], ἐν ταῖς κοιναῖς ὁμολογίαις διειρημένον μηδὲν τοιοῦτον εἰσδέχεσθαι, καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐξέσεσθαι ἐπὶ πλέον ἀεὶ ποιεῖν.
29. and thus with their help they have discovered that there is an indescribable slackness and feebleness in our city, and that we take no thought for the morrow, and that it never occurs to us to consider how the tyrant is carrying out the joint agreement.
29. οὕτω πανταχόθεν καταπεφρονηκότως ἐκεῖνοι τῇ πόλει χρῶνται διὰ τοὺς ἐντεῦθεν διδασκάλους τοὺς ὑπαγορεύοντας αὐτοῖς ἃ δεῖ ποιεῖν· οὕτω δὲ κατεγνώκασι μετὰ τούτων ἀδιήγητόν τινα τῆς πόλεως ἔκλυσιν καὶ μαλακίαν, καὶ οὔτε πρόνοιαν περὶ τῶν μελλόντων εἶναι, οὔτε λογισμὸν οὐδένα παραγίγνεσθαι τίνα τρόπον χρῆται ὁ τύραννος ταῖς κοιναῖς ὁμολογίαις.
30. That agreement, men of Athens, I urge you to keep in the way that I have explained, and I would confidently assure you, with the authority that my age confers, that we shall at once be exercising our undoubted rights, and also making the safest use of those opportunities which impel us to secure our interests. For, indeed, there is this clause appended to the agreement, “if it is our wish to share in the common peace.” But the words “if it is our wish” mean also the opposite—if it is ever our duty to abandon our disgraceful submission to the dictates of others, or even our forgetfulness of those high ideals, which from time immemorial we have cherished in greater measure than any other people. Therefore, if you approve, Athenians, I will now propose that, as the agreement directs, we declare war on the transgressors.
30. /div>αἷς ἐγὼ διακελεύομαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πείθεσθαι, καθάπερ ἐδίδαξα, καὶ διαβεβαιωσαίμην ἄν, ὡς τοῦθʼ ἡλικίας ἔχων, ἅμα καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ ἡμᾶς ἀνεγκλήτως καὶ τοῖς καιροῖς ἀσφαλέστατα χρήσεσθαι τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸ συμφέρον κατεπείγουσιν. καὶ γὰρ ἔτι προσγέγραπται ⟨ἐν⟩ ταῖς συνθήκαις, ἐὰν βουλώμεθα τῆς κοινῆς εἰρήνης μετέχειν· τὸ δʼ ἐὰν βουλώμεθα ἐστὶν ἅμα καὶ τοὐναντίον, εἰ ἄρα ποτὲ δεῖ παύσασθαι αἰσχρῶς ἑτέροις ἀκολουθοῦντας, ἢ μηδʼ ἀναμνησθῆναι μηδεμιᾶς φιλοτιμίας τῶν ἐξ ἀρχαιοτάτου καὶ πλείστων καὶ μάλιστα πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἡμῖν ὑπαρχουσῶν. ἐὰν οὖν κελεύητʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, γράψω, καθάπερ αἱ συνθῆκαι κελεύουσι, πολεμεῖν τοῖς παραβεβηκόσιν.