64. and, after I have shown that it is to the advantage of Athens to end the war, I decry our dominion over the Hellenes and our sea-power, showing that it is no whit different, either in its conduct or in its results, from tyranny. I recall also the evils which that power has brought upon Athens, upon the Lacedaemonians, and upon all the others.
64. ἀναμιμνήσκω δὲ καὶ τὰ συμβάντα διʼ αὐτὴν τῇ πόλει καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι. διαλεχθεὶς δὲ περὶ τούτων, καὶ τὰς τῆς Ἑλλάδος συμφορὰς ὀδυράμενος, καὶ τῇ πόλει παραινέσας ὡς χρὴ μὴ περιορᾶν αὐτὴν οὕτω πράττουσαν, ἐπὶ τελευτῆς ἐπί τε τὴν δικαιοσύνην παρακαλῶ καὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτανομένοις ἐπιπλήττω καὶ περὶ τῶν μελλόντων συμβουλεύω.
65. After having dwelt upon this subject, deplored the misfortunes of Hellas, and urged Athens not to allow herself to remain in her present state, finally I summon her to a career of justice, I condemn the mistakes she is now making, and I counsel her as to her future policy. Now begin at the point where I start to discuss these matters and read this selection also to the jury. You have heard parts of two discourses; I want now to run through a few topics from a third, in order that it may become even more evident to you that all my writings tend toward virtue and justice. The one which is about to be produced before you is addressed to Nicocles of Cyprus, who at that time was king, and is made up of advice to him as to how to rule over his people. It is not, however, composed in the same style as the extracts which have been read.
65. λαβὼν οὖν ἀρχὴν ταύτην ὅθεν διαλέγομαι περὶ αὐτῶν, ἀνάγνωθι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος αὐτοῖς. δυοῖν μὲν τοίνυν λόγοιν ἀκηκόατε· βούλομαι δὲ καὶ τοῦ τρίτου μικρὰ διελθεῖν, ἵνʼ ὑμῖν ἔτι μᾶλλον γένηται καταφανὲς ὅτι πάντες οἱ λόγοι πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ δικαιοσύνην συντείνουσιν. ἔστι δʼ ὁ μέλλων δειχθήσεσθαι Νικοκλεῖ τῷ Κυπρίῳ, τῷ κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον βασιλεύοντι, συμβουλεύων ὡς δεῖ τῶν πολιτῶν ἄρχειν· οὐχ ὁμοίως δὲ γέγραπται τοῖς ἀνεγνωσμένοις.
68. For in them each part is always in accord and in logical connection with that which goes before; but in this, on the contrary, I detach one part from another, and breaking up the discourse, as it were, into what we call general heads, I strive to express in a few words each bit of counsel which I have to offer.
68. οὗτοι μὲν γὰρ τὸ λεγόμενον ὁμολογούμενον ἀεὶ τῷ προειρημένῳ καὶ συγκεκλειμένον ἔχουσιν, ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τοὐναντίον· ἀπολύσας γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ προτέρου καὶ χωρίς, ὥσπερ τὰ καλούμενα κεφάλαια, ποιήσας, πειρῶμαι διὰ βραχέων ἕκαστον ὧν συμβουλεύω φράζειν. τούτου δʼ ἕνεκα ταύτην ἐποιησάμην τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, ἡγούμενος ἐκ τοῦ παραινεῖν τήν τε διάνοιαν τὴν ἐκείνου μάλιστʼ ὠφελήσειν καὶ τὸν τρόπον τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ τάχιστα δηλώσειν.
69. But my reason for writing upon this subject was that I thought my advice would be the best means of aiding his understanding and at the same time the readiest means of publishing my own principles. It was with the same motive that I decided to present this discourse to you on the present occasion, not that it is the best written of my works, but that through it you will best see in what spirit I am wont to deal with princes as well as with private men;
69. διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ ταύτην πρόφασιν καὶ νῦν αὐτὸν αὐτὸν ὑμῖν δεῖξαι προειλόμην, οὐχ ὡς ἄριστα τῶν λοιπῶν γεγραμμένον, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐκ τούτου μάλιστα φανερὸς γενησόμενος, ὃν τρόπον εἴθισμαι καὶ τοῖς ἰδιώταις καὶ τοῖς δυνάσταις πλησιάζειν·
70. for you will see that I have expressed myself to Nicocles as a free man and an Athenian should, not paying court to his wealth nor to his power, but pleading the cause of his subjects, and striving with all my powers to secure for them the mildest government possible. And since in addressing a king I have spoken for his subjects, surely I would urge upon men who live under a democracy to pay court to the people.
70. φανήσομαι γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευθέρως καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀξίως διειλεγμένος, καὶ οὐ τὸν ἐκείνου πλοῦτον οὐδὲ τὴν δύναμιν θεραπεύων ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀρχομένοις ἐπαμύνων, καὶ παρασκευάζων καθʼ ὅσον ἠδυνάμην τὴν πολιτείαν αὐτοῖς ὡς οἷόν τε πραοτάτην. ὅπου δὲ βασιλεῖ διαλεψόμενος ὑπὲρ τοῦ δήμου τοὺς λόγους ἐποιούμην, ἦπου τοῖς ἐν δημοκρατία πολιτευομένοις σφόδρʼ ἃ παρακελευσαίμην τὸ πλῆθος θεραπεύειν.
71. Now in the introduction and in the opening words of that discourse I reproach monarchs because they who more than others ought to cultivate their understanding are less educated than men in private station. After discussing this point, I enjoin upon Nicocles not to be easy-going and not to feel that he had taken up the royal office as one takes up the office of a priest, but to put aside his selfish pleasures and give his mind to his affairs.
71. ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ προοιμίῳ καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις λεγομένοις ἐπιτιμῶ ταῖς μοναρχίαις, ὅτι δέον αὐτοὺς τὴν φρόνησιν ἀσκεῖν μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων, οἱ δὲ χεῖρον παιδεύονται τῶν ἰδιωτῶν. διαλεχθεὶς δὲ περὶ τούτων, παραινῶ τῷ Νικοκλεῖ μὴ ῥᾳθυμεῖν μηδʼ, ὥς περ ἱερωσύνην εἰληφότα τὴν βασιλείαν, οὕτω τὴν γνώμην ἔχειν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἡδονῶν ἀμελήσαντα προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν τοῖς πράγμασιν.
72. And I try to persuade him also that it ought to be revolting to his mind to see the base ruling over the good and the foolish giving orders to the wise, saying to him that the more vigorously he condemns folly in other men, the more should he cultivate his own understanding. Now then, begin where I have left off and read to the jury the rest of the discourse.
72. ἐπιχειρῶ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο πείθειν αὐτόν, ὡς χρὴ δεινὸν νομίζειν, ὅταν ὁρᾷ τοὺς μὲν χείρους τῶν βελτιόνων ἄρχοντας καὶ τοὺς ἀνοητοτέρους τοῖς φρονιμωτέροις προστάττοντας, λέγων ὡς ὅσῳ περ ἂν ἐρρωμενέστερον τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἄνοιαν ἀτιμάσῃ, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ διάνοιαν ἀσκήσει. ποιησάμενος οὖν ἀρχὴν ἣν ἐγὼ τελευτήν, ἀνάγνωθι καὶ τούτου τοῦ λόγου τὸ λοιπὸν μέρος αὐτοῖς.
74. Now this is the last selection which I shall have the clerk read to you—and the last of such length which I shall use; since I am not going to refrain from quoting, at any rate briefly, from my earlier writings, but shall use whatever I may think appropriate to the present occasion. For it would be absurd, when I see other men making use of my words, if I alone should refrain from using what I have written in former days, especially now when I have chosen to repeat to you not merely small parts but whole divisions of my speeches. I shall, therefore, act in this matter as occasion may suggest.
74. τῶν μὲν τοίνυν λόγων ἅλις ἡμῖν ἔστω τῶν ἀναγιγνωσκομένων καὶ τηλικοῦτο μῆκος ἐχόντων· ἐπεὶ μικροῦ γε μέρους τῶν πάλαι γεγραμμένων οὐκ ἂν ἀποσχοίμην, ἀλλʼ εἴποιμʼ ἂν εἴ τί μοι δόξειε πρέπον εἶναι τῶ παρόντι καιρῷ· καὶ γὰρ ἂν ἄτοπος εἴην, εἰ τοὺς ἄλλους ὁρῶν τοῖς ἐμοῖς χρωμένους ἐγὼ μόνος ἀπεχοίμην τῶν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ πρότερον εἰρημένων, ἄλλως τε καὶ νῦν ὅτʼ οὐ μόνον μικροῖς μέρεσιν ἀλλʼ ὅλοις εἴδεσι προειλόμην χρῆσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν, ὅπως ἂν ἡμῖν συμπίπτῃ, ποιήσομεν.
75. I said, I think, before these selections were read, that I asked not only to be adjudged guilty if my discourses are harmful but to be visited with the heaviest of punishments if they are not incomparable. If any of you then felt that my words were boastful and over-confident, they cannot longer justly be of this opinion; for I think that I have made good my promise and that the discourses which have been read to you are such as from the first I maintained that they were.
75. εἶπον δέ που, πρὶν ἀναγιγνώσκεσθαι τούτους, ὡς ἄξιος εἴην οὐ μόνον, εἰ βλαβεροῖς χρῶμαι τοῖς λόγοις, δοῦναι δίκην ὑμῖν, ἀλλʼ εἰ μὴ τοιούτοις οἵοις οὐδεὶς ἄλλος, τῆς μεγίστης τυχεῖν τιμωρίας. εἴ τινες οὖν ὑμῶν ὑπέλαβον τότε λίαν ἀλαζονικὸν εἶναι καὶ μέγα τὸ ῥηθέν, οὐκ ἂν δικαίως ἔτι τὴν γνώμην ταύτην ἔχοιεν· οἶμαι γὰρ ἀποδεδωκέναι τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν καὶ τοιούτους εἶναι τοὺς λόγους τοὺς ἀναγνωσθέντας οἵους περ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπεθέμην.
76. But I want to say just a word in behalf of each of them and so make it still more manifest that what I then said and what I now say about them is true. First of all, tell me what eloquence could be more righteous or more just than one which praises our ancestors in a manner worthy of their excellence and of their achievements?
76. βούλομαι δʼ ὑμῖν διὰ βραχέων ἀπολογήσασθαι περὶ ἑκάστου, καὶ ποιῆσαι μᾶλλον ἔτι καταφανὲς ὡς ἀληθῆ καὶ τότε προεῖπον καὶ νῦν λέγω περὶ αὐτῶν. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ποῖος γένοιτʼ ἂν λόγος ὁσιώτερος ἢ δικαιότερος τοῦ τοὺς προγόνους ἐγκωμιάζοντος ἀξίως τῆς ἀρετῆς τῆς ἐκείνων καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν πεπραγμένων αὐτοῖς;
77. Again, what could be more patriotic or more serviceable to Athens than one which shows that by virtue both of our other benefactions and of our exploits in war we have greater claims to the hegemony than the Lacedaemonians? And, finally, what discourse could have a nobler or a greater theme than one which summons the Hellenes to make an expedition against the barbarians and counsels them to be of one mind among themselves?
77. ἔπειτα τίς ἂν πολιτικώτερος καὶ μᾶλλον πρέπων τῇ πόλει τοῦ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἀποφαίνοντος ἔκ τε τῶν ἄλλων εὐεργεσιῶν καὶ τῶν κινδύνων ἡμετέραν οὖσαν μᾶλλον ἢ Λακεδαιμονίων; ἔτι δὲ τίς ἂν περὶ καλλιόνων καὶ μειζόνων πραγμάτων τοῦ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐπί τε τὴν τῶν βαρβάρων στρατείαν παρακαλοῦντος καὶ περὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὁμονοίας συμβουλεύοντος;
78. Well, then, in the first speech I have discoursed upon these themes, and in those later quoted upon matters which, though less lofty, are by no means less fruitful or less advantageous to our city. And you will appreciate the power of these discourses if you will read them side by side with others written by orators of recognized ability and service to mankind.
78. ἐν μὲν τοίνυν τῷ πρώτῳ λόγῳ περὶ τούτων τυγχάνω διειλεγμένος, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ὑστέροις περὶ ἐλαττόνων μὲν ἢ τηλικούτων, οὐ μὴν περὶ ἀχρηστοτέρων οὐδʼ ἧττον τῇ πόλει συμφερόντων. γνώσεσθε δὲ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῶν, ἢν παραβάλλητε πρὸς ἕτερα τῶν εὐδοκιμούντων καὶ τῶν ὠφελίμων εἶναι δοκούντων.
79. Now everyone would admit, I think, that our laws have been the source of very many and very great benefits to the life of humanity. But our enjoyment of these laws is a boon which, in the very nature of the case, is limited to the affairs of our state and to the engagements which you enter into with each other; whereas, if you would heed my words, you might direct the whole of Hellas with honor and justice and, at the same time, with advantage to Athens.
79. οἶμαι δὴ πάντας ἂν ὁμολογῆσαι τοὺς νόμους πλείστων καὶ μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν αἰτίους εἶναι τῷ βίῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων· ἀλλʼ ἡ μὲν τούτων χρῆσις τοῦτʼ ὠφελεῖν μόνον πέφυκε, τὰ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὰ συμβόλαια τὰ γιγνόμενα πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτούς· εἰ δὲ τοῖς λόγοις πείθοισθε τοῖς ἐμοῖς, ὅλην τὴν Ἑλλάδα καλῶς ἂν διοικοῖτε καὶ δικαίως καὶ τῇ πόλει συμφερόντως.
80. Men of wisdom ought to concern themselves both for the interests of our city and for the interests of Hellas, but should give preference to the broader and worthier cause; and they ought, furthermore, to appreciate the fact that while any number of men both among the Hellenes and among the barbarians have been able to lay down laws, there are not many who can discourse upon questions of public welfare in a spirit worthy both of Athens and of Hellas.
80. χρὴ δὲ τοὺς νοῦν ἔχοντας περὶ ἀμφότερα μὲν ταῦτα σπουδάζειν, αὐτοῖν δὲ τούτοιν τὸ μεῖζον καὶ τὸ πλέονος ἄξιον προτιμᾶν, ἔπειτα κἀκεῖνο γιγνώσκειν, ὅτι νόμους μὲν θεῖναι μυρίοι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἱκανοὶ γεγόνασιν, εἰπεῖν δὲ περὶ τῶν συμφερόντων ἀξίως τῆς πόλεως καὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος οὐκ ἂν πολλοὶ δυνηθεῖεν.
81. For these reasons, men who make it their duty to invent discourses of that kind should be held in higher esteem than those who propose and write down laws, inasmuch as they are rarer, have the more difficult task, and must have superior qualities of mind. Especially is this true in our day;
81. ὧν ἕνεκα τοὺς ἔργον ποιουμένους τοὺς τοιούτους λόγους εὑρίσκειν τοσούτῳ χρὴ περὶ πλείονος ποιεῖσθαι τῶν τοὺς νόμους τιθέντων καὶ γραφόντων, ὅσῳ πέρ εἰσι σπανιώτεροι καὶ χαλεπώτεροι καὶ ψυχῆς φρονιμωτέρας δεόμενοι τυγχάνουσιν, ἄλλως τε δὴ καὶ νῦν.
82. for, at the time when the human race was beginning to come into existence and to settle together in cities, it was natural that their searching should have been for much the same thing; but today, on the other hand, when we have advanced to the point where the discourses which have been spoken and the laws which have been laid down are innumerable, and where we single out the oldest among laws and the newest among discourses for our praise, these tasks no longer call for the same understanding;
82. ὅτε μὲν γὰρ ἤρχετο τὸ γένος τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γίγνεσθαι καὶ συνοικίζεσθαι κατὰ πόλεις, εἰκὸς ἦν παραπλησίαν εἶναι τὴν ζήτησιν αὐτῶν· ἐπειδὴ δʼ ἐνταῦθα προεληλύθαμεν ὥστε καὶ τοὺς λόγους τοὺς εἰρημένους καὶ τοὺς νόμους τοὺς κειμένους ἀναριθμήτους εἶναι, καὶ τῶν μὲν νόμων ἐπαινεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀρχαιοτάτους τῶν δὲ λόγων τοὺς καινοτάτους, οὐκέτι τῆς αὐτῆς διανοίας ἔργον ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν τοὺς νόμους τιθέναι προαιρουμένοις προὔργου γέγονε τὸ πλῆθος τῶν κειμένων (οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτοὺς δεῖ ζητεῖν ἑτέρους, ἀλλὰ τοὺς παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις εὐδοκιμοῦντας πειραθῆναι συναγαγεῖν, ὃ ῥᾳδίως ὅστις ἂν οὖν βουληθεὶς ποιήσειε), τοῖς δὲ περὶ τοὺς λόγους πραγματευομένοις διὰ τὸ προκατειλῆφθαι τὰ πλεῖστα τοὐναντίον συμβέβηκε·
83. nay, those who have elected to make laws have had at their service a multitude of laws already made (for they have no need to search for new laws, but only to put forth the effort to collect those which are approved in other states, which anyone who so desires can easily do), while those who occupy themselves with oratory, seeing that most subjects have been seized upon and used by others before them, are in the opposite case; for if they repeat the same things which have been said in the past, they will be regarded as shameless babblers, and if they seek for what is new, they will have great difficulty in finding it. That is why I stated that, while both are entitled to your praise, they are the more entitled to it who are able to execute the harder task. I maintain also that if you compare me with those who profess to turn men to a life of temperance and justice, you will find that my teaching is more true and more profitable than theirs. For they exhort their followers to a kind of virtue and wisdom which is ignored by the rest of the world and is disputed among themselves; I, to a kind which is recognized by all.
83. λέγοντες μὲν γὰρ ταὐτὰ τοῖς πρότερον εἰρημένοις ἀναισχυντεῖν καὶ ληρεῖν δόξουσι, καινὰ δὲ ζητοῦντες ἐπιπόνως εὑρήσουσι. διόπερ ἔφασκον ἀμφοτέροις μὲν ἐπαινεῖσθαι προσήκειν, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον τοῖς τὸ χαλεπώτερον ἐξεργάζεσθαι δυναμένοις. ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην προσποιουμένων προτρέπειν ἡμεῖς ἂν ἀληθέστεροι καὶ χρησιμώτεροι φανεῖμεν ὄντες. οἱ μὲν γὰρ παρακαλοῦσιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν φρόνησιν τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων μὲν ἀγνοουμένην, ὑπʼ αὐτῶν δὲ τούτων ἀντιλεγομένην, ἐγὼ δʼ ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπὸ πάντων ὁμολογουμένην.
85. They, again, are satisfied if through the prestige of their names they can draw a number of pupils into their society; I, you will find, have never invited any person to follow me, but endeavor to persuade the whole state to pursue a policy from which the Athenians will become prosperous themselves, and at the same time deliver the rest of the Hellenes from their present ills.
85. κἀκείνοις μὲν ἀπόχρη τοσοῦτον, ἢν ἐπαγαγέσθαι τινὰς τῇ δόξῃ τῇ τῶν ὀνομάτων δυνηθῶσιν εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν ὁμιλίαν, ἐγὼ δὲ τῶν μὲν ἰδιωτῶν οὐδένα πώποτε φανήσομαι παρακαλέσας ἐπʼ ἐμαυτόν, τὴν δὲ πόλιν ὅλην πειρῶμαι πείθειν τοιούτοις πράγμασιν ἐπιχειρεῖν, ἐξ ὧν αὐτοί τε εὐδαιμονήσουσι καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας τῶν παρόντων κακῶν ἀπαλλάξουσι.
86. And yet, when anyone devotes his life to urging all his fellow-countrymen to be nobler and juster leaders of the Hellenes, how is it conceivable that such a man should corrupt his followers? What man possessed of the power to discover discourses of this character would try to search for those that are pernicious and have to do with pernicious things, especially a man who has reaped from his works the rewards which I have had?
86. καί τοι τὸν πάντας τοὺς πολίτας προτρέπειν προθυμούμενον πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον καὶ δικαιότερον προστῆναι τῶν Ἑλλήνων, πῶς εἰκὸς τοῦτον τοὺς συνόντας διαφθείρειν; τίς δὲ τοιούτους λόγους εὑρίσκειν δυνάμενος πονηροὺς ἂν καὶ περὶ πονηρῶν πραγμάτων ζητεῖν ἐπιχειρήσειεν, ἄλλως τε καὶ διαπεπραγμένος ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἅπερ ἐγώ;
87. For the writing and publication of them has won me distinction in many parts of the world and brought me many disciples, no one of whom would have remained with me had they not found in me the very kind of man they expected to find. In fact, although I have had so many pupils, and they have studied with me in some cases three, and in some cases four years, yet not one of them will be found to have uttered a word of complaint about his sojourn with me;
87. τούτων γὰρ γραφέντων καὶ διαδοθέντων καὶ δόξαν ἔσχον παρὰ πολλοῖς καὶ μαθητὰς πολλοὺς ἔλαβον, ὧν οὐδεὶς ἂν παρέμεινεν, εἰ μὴ τοιοῦτον ὄντα με κατέλαβον οἷόν περ προσεδόκησαν· νῦν δὲ τοσούτων γεγενημένων, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἔτη τρία τῶν δὲ τέτταρα συνδιαιτηθέντων, οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν φανήσεται τῶν παρʼ ἐμοὶ μεμψάμενος, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τελευτῆς, ὅτʼ ἤδη μέλλοιεν ἀποπλεῖν ὡς τοὺς γονέας καὶ τοὺς φίλους τοὺς ἑαυτῶν, οὕτως ἠγάπων τὴν διατριβὴν ὥστε μετὰ πόθου καὶ δακρύων ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀπαλλαγήν.
88. on the contrary, when at the last the time would come for them to sail away to their parents or their friends at home, so happy did they feel in their life with me, that they would always take their leave with regret and tears. Well, then, whom ought you to believe? Those who know intimately both my words and my character, or a sycophant who knows nothing about me at all, but has chosen to make me his victim? Ought you to believe a man who is so unscrupulous and so brazen that, having indicted me for teaching the kind of eloquence which enables people to gain their own advantage contrary to justice, he has not brought before you the slightest evidence of this but has dwelt from the beginning to the end of his speech on the iniquity of corrupting our youth—as if anyone disputed that, or as if it were necessary for him to prove what all men concede, instead of showing simply that I have been guilty of this offense?
88. καὶ τοι πότερα χρὴ πιστεύειν ὑμᾶς τοῖς σαφῶς ἐπισταμένοις καὶ τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὸν τρόπον τὸν ἐμόν, ἢ τῷ μηδὲν μὲν εἰδότι τῶν ἐμῶν, προῃρημένῳ δὲ συκοφαντεῖν; ὃς εἰς τοσοῦτο πονηρίας καὶ τόλμης ἐλήλυθεν, ὥστε γραψάμενος ὡς λόγους διδάσκω διʼ ὧν πλεονεκτήσουσι παρὰ τὸ δίκαιον ἀπόδειξιν μὲν οὐδεμίαν τούτων ἤνεγκε, λέγων δὲ διατετέλεκεν ὡς δεινόν ἐστι διαφθείρεσθαι τοὺς τηλικούτους, ὥσπερ ἀντιλέγοντός τινος περὶ τούτων, ἢ τοῦτο δέον αὐτὸν ἀποφαίνειν ὃ πάντες ὁμολογοῦσιν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐκεῖνο μόνον διδάσκειν ὡς ἐγὼ τυγχάνω ταῦτα διαπραττόμενος.
90. Why, if anyone were to bring this fellow to trial for kidnapping or stealing or highway robbery, and, instead of proving that he had done any of these things, were to hold forth on the iniquity of each of these crimes, my opponent would reply that his accuser was mad and talked like a fool; yet he has, himself, used just such arguments and thinks that you do not see through him.
90. καὶ εἰ μέν τις τοῦτον ἀπαγαγὼν ἀνδραποδιστὴν καὶ κλέπτην καὶ λωποδύτην μηδὲν μὲν αὐτὸν ἀποφαίνοι τούτων εἰργασμένον, διεξίοι δʼ ὡς δεινὸν ἕκαστόν ἐστι τῶν κακουργημάτων, ληρεῖν ἂν φαίη καὶ μαίνεσθαι τὸν κατήγορον, αὐτὸς δὲ τοιούτοις λόγοις κεχρημένος οἴεται λανθάνειν ὑμᾶς.
91. I, however, believe that even the most simple-minded of people recognize that an accusation, to be convincing and to carry great weight, must not be one which may be employed equally well against the innocent, but one which can be applied only to the guilty. My accuser has made light of this fact, and has made a speech which is in no respect pertinent to the indictment.
91. ἐγὼ δʼ ἡγοῦμαι τοῦτό γε καὶ τοὺς ἀμαθεστάτους γιγνώσκειν, ὅτι δεῖ πιστὰς εἶναι καὶ μέγα δυναμένας τῶν κατηγοριῶν οὐχ αἷς ἔξεστι χρήσασθαι καὶ περὶ τῶν μηδὲν ἠδικηκότων, ἀλλʼ ἃς οὐχ οἷόν τʼ εἰπεῖν ἀλλʼ ἤ κατὰ τῶν ἡμαρτηκότων· ὧν αὐτὸς ὀλιγωρήσας οὐδὲν προσήκοντας τῇ γραφῇ λόγους εἴρηκεν·
92. For he ought both to have produced before you the speeches by which I corrupt my associates and to have named to you the pupils who have been debased by association with me. However, he has done neither of these things, but has rejected the most legitimate form of accusation and attempted to lead you astray. I, on the contrary, shall base my defense only on grounds which are pertinent and just.
92. ἔδει γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς λόγους δεικνύναι τοὺς ἐμούς, οἷς διαφθείρω τοὺς συνόντας, καὶ τοὺς μαθητὰς φράζειν τοὺς χείρους διὰ τὴν συνουσίαν τὴν ἐμὴν γεγενημένους· νῦν δὲ τούτων μὲν οὐδέτερον πεποίηκε, παραλιπὼν δὲ τὴν δικαιοτάτην τῶν κατηγοριῶν ἐξαπατᾶν ὑμᾶς ἐπεχείρησεν. ἐγὼ δʼ ἐξ αὐτῶν τούτων ἐξ ὧν περ προσήκει καὶ δίκαιόν ἐστι, ποιήσομαι τὴν ἀπολογίαν.
93. I had my speeches read to you a moment ago; I shall now bring before you the men who have been associated with me from the time of my youth to the days of my old age, and from your own number I shall present men of my own years to bear witness to the truth of what I say. Among the first to begin studying with me were Eunomus, Lysitheides, and Callippus; and following them were Onetor, Anticles, Philonides, Philomelus, and Charmantides.
93. καὶ τοὺς μὲν λόγους ὀλίγῳ πρότερον ἀνέγνωμεν ὑμῖν, τοὺς δὲ κεχρημένους ἐκ μειρακίων μοι μέχρι γήρως δηλώσω, καὶ μάρτυρας ὑμῶν αὐτῶν παρέξομαι περὶ ὧν ἂν λέγω τοὺς κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν τὴν ἐμὴν γεγενημένους. ἤρξαντο μὲν οὖν ἐν πρώτοις Εὔνομός μοι καὶ Λυσιθείδης καὶ Κάλλιππος πλησιάζειν, μετὰ δὲ τούτους Ὀνήτωρ, Ἀντικλῆς, Φιλωνίδης, Φιλόμηλος, Χαρμαντίδης.
94. All these men were crowned by Athens with chaplets of gold, not because they were covetous of other people’s possessions, but because they were honorable men and had spent large sums of their private fortunes upon the city. Suppose whatever you like as to the nature of my relations with them;
94. τούτους ἅπαντας ἡ πόλις χρυσοῖς στεφάνοις ἐστεφάνωσεν, οὐχ ὡς τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐφιεμένους, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς ὄντας καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἰδίων εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀνηλωκότας. πρὸς οὓς ὅπως βούλεσθε θέτε με διακεῖσθαι· πρὸς γὰρ τὸ παρὸν πανταχῶς ἕξει μοι καλῶς.
95. for the result, at any rate so far as the present issue is concerned, will be altogether to my advantage. For if you suppose that I was their counsellor and teacher, I should deserve from you greater gratitude than those who are maintained in the Prytaneum in recognition of excellence; for each of the latter has furnished to the city his own high qualities alone, whereas I have furnished those of all whom I have just now named to you.
95. ἤν τε γὰρ ὑπολάβητε σύμβουλον εἶναί με καὶ διδάσκαλον τούτων, δικαίως ἂν ἔχοιτέ μοι πλείω χάριν ἢ τοῖς διʼ ἀρετὴν ἐν πρυτανείῳ σιτουμένοις· τούτων μὲν γὰρ ἕκαστος αὑτὸν μόνον παρέσχε καλὸν κἀγαθόν, ἐγὼ δὲ τοσούτους τὸ πλῆθος ὅσους ὀλίγῳ πρότερον διῆλθον ὑμῖν.
96. But if, on the other hand, you suppose that I, myself, had nothing to do with their achievements, but that I merely enjoyed their society and friendship, I consider that even this view is defense enough against the charges on which I am being tried. For if I have had the affection of men who have received rewards in recognition of excellence, but have nothing in common with the sycophant, then how, in all reason, could you judge me to be a corrupter of youth?
96. εἴ τε τῶν μὲν πεπραγμένων ἐκείνοις μηδὲν συναίτιος ἐγενόμην, ὡς ἑταίροις δὲ καὶ φίλοις αὐτοῖς ἐχρώμην, ἱκανὴν ὑπὲρ ὧν φεύγω τὴν γραφὴν ἡγοῦμαι καὶ ταύτην εἶναι τὴν ἀπολογίαν· εἰ γὰρ τοῖς μὲν διʼ ἀρετὴν δωρεὰς εἰληφόσιν ἤρεσκον, τῷ δὲ συκοφάντῃ μὴ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχω γνώμην, πῶς ἂν εἰκότως γνωσθείην τοὺς συνόντας διαφθείρειν;
97. Verily, I should be the most unfortunate of all men if, when others are esteemed better or worse, as the case may be, from the manner of their lives and from the character of their associates, I alone should be denied this basis of judgement; and if I, who have lived all my life in company with such men, and have kept myself above all criticism up to this point in my career, should be classed with those who from the manner of their lives and the character of their associates have got themselves a bad name. I should like to know what in the world my fate would have been if I had numbered among my associates anyone like my accuser, when, although I hate all his kind and am hated by them, I am yet subjected to this trial.
97. ἢ πάντων γʼ ἂν εἴην δυστυχέστατος, εἰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ἔκ τε τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων καὶ τῶν συνουσιῶν τῶν μὲν χείρω τῶν δὲ βελτίω δόξαν λαμβανόντων ἐγὼ μόνος μὴ τύχοιμι τῆς δοκιμασίας ταύτης, ἀλλὰ τοιούτοις μὲν ἀνδράσι συμβεβιωκώς, ἀνέγκλητον δʼ ἐμαυτὸν μέχρι ταυτησὶ τῆς ἡλικίας παρεσχηκώς, ὅμοιος εἶναι δόξαιμι τοῖς ἔκ τε τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων συνουσιῶν διαβεβλημένοις. ἡδέως δʼ ἂν εἰδείην τί ποτʼ ἂν ἔπαθον, εἴ τίς μοι τοιοῦτος ἦν συγγεγενημένος οἷός πέρ ἐστιν ὁ κατήγορος, ὃς μισῶν ἅπαντας τοὺς τοιούτους καὶ μισούμενος εἰς τουτονὶ καθέστηκα τὸν κίνδυνον.
98. Nor, I assure you, can my case be justly injured by the argument which certain of those who are entirely hostile to me may, perhaps, dare to put forth, namely, that I have associated with the men I have mentioned merely to the extent of having been seen conversing with them, whereas I have had as my disciples many of another sort, mischievous characters, whom I am trying to conceal from you. For I have ready at hand a reply which will refute and confound all calumnies of that sort. For I ask this of you: If any of those who have been associated with me have turned out to be good men in their relations to the state, to their friends, and to their own households—I ask you to give them the praise and not to be grateful to me on their account; but if, on the other hand, any of them have turned out to be bad—the kind of men who lay information, hale people into court, and covet the property of others—then to let the penalty be visited on me.
98. καὶ μὴν οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνος ὁ λόγος δικαίως ἄν με βλάψειεν, ὃν ἴσως ἄν τινες τολμήσαιεν εἰπεῖν τῶν παντάπασι πρός με δυσκόλως διακειμένων, ὡς τούτοις μὲν οἷς εἴρηκα τοσοῦτον μόνον ἐχρώμην ὅσον ὀφθῆναι διαλεγόμενος, ἕτεροι δέ τινές μοι πολλοὶ καὶ πολυπράγμονες μαθηταὶ γεγόνασιν, οὓς ἀποκρύπτομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. ἔχω γὰρ λόγον ὃς ἐξελέγξει καὶ διαλύσει πάσας τὰς τοιάσδε βλασφημίας· ἀξιῶ γάρ, εἰ μέν τινες τῶν ἐμοὶ συγγεγενημένων ἄνδρες ἀγαθοὶ γεγόνασι περὶ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοὺς φίλους καὶ τὸν ἴδιον οἶκον, ἐκείνους ὑμᾶς ἐπαινεῖν, ἐμοὶ δὲ μηδεμίαν ὑπὲρ τούτων χάριν ἔχειν, εἰ δὲ πονηροὶ καὶ τοιοῦτοι τὰς φύσεις οἷοι φαίνειν καὶ γράφεσθαι καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐπιθυμεῖν,
100. What proposition could be less invidious or more fair than one which claims no credit for those who are honorable, but offers to submit to punishment for any who have become depraved? And these are no idle words; on the contrary, if anyone can name anyone of that kind to you, I yield the floor for this purpose to my accuser or to anyone else who may desire it—not that there are not persons who would gladly perjure themselves to my harm, but that they would be shown up to you at once, and the injury would fall upon them, not upon me...
100. παρʼ ἐμοῦ δίκην λαμβάνειν. καίτοι τίς ἂν πρόκλησις γένοιτο ταύτης ἀνεπιφθονωτέρα, καὶ δικαιοτέρα τῆς τῶν μὲν καλῶν κἀγαθῶν οὐκ ἀμφισβητούσης, εἰ δέ τινες πονηροὶ γεγόνασιν, ὑπὲρ τούτων δίκην ὑποσχεῖν ἐθελούσης; καὶ ταῦτʼ οὐ λόγος μάτην εἰρημένος ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ παραχωρῶ καὶ τῷ κατηγόρῳ καὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ τῶν ἄλλων, εἴ τις ἔχει τινὰ φράσαι τοιοῦτον, οὐχ ὡς οὐχ ἡδέως ἄν τινών μου καταψευσαμένων, ἀλλʼ ὡς εὐθὺς φανερῶν ἐσομένων ὑμῖν καὶ τῆς ζημίας ἐκείνοις ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐμοὶ γενησομένης.
101. Well, then, I do not see how I could show more clearly that the charges filed against me are false and that I am not guilty of corrupting my associates. My accuser has mentioned also the friendship which existed between me and Timotheus, and has attempted to calumniate us both, nor did any sense of shame restrain him from saying slanderous and utterly infamous things about a man who is dead, to whom Athens is indebted for many services.
101. περὶ μὲν οὖν ὧν φεύγω τὴν γραφὴν καὶ τοῦ μὴ διαφθείρειν τοὺς συνόντας, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἂν σαφέστερον ἐπιδεῖξαι δυνηθείην. ἐμνήσθη δὲ καὶ τῆς πρὸς Τιμόθεόν μοι φιλίας γεγενημένης, καὶ διαβάλλειν ἡμᾶς ἀμφοτέρους ἐπεχείρησε, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνθη περὶ ἀνδρὸς τετελευτηκότος καὶ πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίου τῇ πόλει βλασφήμους καὶ λίαν ἀσελγεῖς λόγους εἰπών. ἐγὼ δʼ ᾤμην μέν, εἰ καὶ φανερῶς ἐξηλεγχόμην ἀδικῶν, διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον φιλίαν σώζεσθαί μοι προσήκειν·
102. But I, for my part, should have thought that even if I were proved guilty beyond a doubt, yet because of my friendship with him I should be entitled to go free. But since Lysimachus is attempting to hurt me by the very means which ought to help my case, I am compelled to go into this question. I must explain that I did not mention Timotheus when I named my other associates because he was in very different case from them.
102. ἐπειδὴ δὲ Λυσίμαχος καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐπιχειρεῖ με βλάπτειν ἐξ ὧν δικαίως ἂν ὠφελοίμην, ἀναγκαίως ἔχει διαλεχθῆναι περὶ αὐτῶν. διὰ τοῦτο δʼ οὐχ ἅμα περὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδείων ἐποιησάμην τὴν μνείαν, ὅτι πολὺ τὰ πράγματα διέφερεν αὐτῶν.
103. For, in the first place, my accuser has not dared to say anything derogatory of my other friends, while he has laid greater stress upon his arraignment of Timotheus than upon the charges which he has preferred in his indictment. In the next place, my other friends were entrusted with only a few commissions, although in every case they discharged the duties assigned to them in such a manner that they won the honor which I mentioned a moment ago, while Timotheus had the responsibility of many affairs of great importance and over a long period of time. It would not, therefore, have been fitting to discuss him and the others in one group, but it was necessary to separate and segregate them as I have done.
103. περὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνων οὐδὲν φλαῦρον εἰπεῖν ὁ κατήγορος ἐτόλμησε, περὶ δὲ τὴν Τιμοθέου κατηγορίαν μᾶλλον ἐσπούδασεν ἢ περὶ ὧν ἀπήνεγκε τὴν γραφήν· ἔπειθʼ οἱ μὲν ὀλίγων ἐπεστάτησαν, τῶν δʼ ἑκάστῳ προσταχθέντων οὕτως ἐπεμελήθησαν ὥστε τυχεῖν τῆς τιμῆς τῆς ὀλίγῳ πρότερον ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ λεχθείσης, ὁ δὲ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων πραγμάτων καὶ πολὺν χρόνον κατέστη κύριος. ὥστʼ οὐκ ἂν ἥρμοσεν ἅμα περὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων χρήσασθαι τοῖς λόγοις, ἀλλʼ ἀναγκαίως εἶχεν οὕτω διελέσθαι καὶ διατάξασθαι περὶ αὐτῶν.
104. You must not think, however, that what I say in behalf of Timotheus is irrelevant to the present case, nor that I am straying beyond the limits of the indictment; for while it is proper for the layman to say what he has to say in defense of his own actions and then take his seat or else to be thought to overdo his case, yet when anyone occupies a position in the eyes of the public as a counsellor and teacher, he must then justify his followers as well as himself, especially if he is being tried on this charge—which is exactly the position in which I have been placed.
104. χρὴ δὲ τὸν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου λόγον οὐκ ἀλλότριον εἶναι νομίζειν τοῖς ἐνεστῶσι πράγμασιν, οὐδʼ ἐμὲ λέγειν ἔξω τῆς γραφῆς· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἰδιώταις ὑπὲρ ὧν ἕκαστος ἔπραξε προσήκει διαλεχθεῖσι καταβαίνειν ἢ δοκεῖν περιεργάζεσθαι, τοῖς δʼ ὑπολαμβανομένοις συμβούλοις εἶναι καὶ διδασκάλοις ὁμοίως ὑπὲρ τῶν συγγεγενημένων ὥσπερ ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν ἀναγκαῖον ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀπολογίαν, ἄλλως τʼ ἢν καὶ τύχῃ τις διὰ τὴν αἰτίαν ταύτην κρινόμενος· ὅ περ ἐμοὶ συμβέβηκεν.
105. Now any other man might be satisfied to say that it is not fair that he should share the blame for any mistakes which Timotheus may have made, on the ground that he was given no share in the rewards or the honors which were voted to Timotheus, nor was he even thought worthy by any orator of being commended as an adviser of the latter, and that it is only fair that one should either share the good fortunes of another, or have no part in his misfortunes.
105. ἑτέρῳ μὲν οὖν ἀπέχρησεν ἂν τοῦτʼ εἰπεῖν, ὡς οὐ δίκαιόν ἐστι μετέχειν εἴ τι Τιμόθεος πράττων μὴ κατώρθωσεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν δωρεῶν οὐδὲ τῶν τιμῶν οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ μετέδωκε τῶν ἐκείνῳ ψηφισθεισῶν, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐπαινέσαι τῶν ῥητόρων οὐδεὶς ἠξίωσεν ὡς σύμβουλον γεγενημένον· εἶναι δὲ δίκαιον ἢ καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν κοινωνεῖν ἢ μηδὲ τῶν ἀτυχιῶν ἀπολαύειν.
106. I, however, should be ashamed to make this plea, and I make you the same proposition regarding Timotheus as I made regarding my other associates. For I ask that if it turns out that Timotheus was a bad man and committed many wrongs against you—I ask to be allowed to share the blame, to pay the penalty, and to suffer whatever is meted out to the guilty; but if, on the other hand, it is shown that he was both a good citizen and a greater general than any other within our knowledge, then I hold that you should praise him and be grateful to him, while as to this indictment against me, you should pass whatever judgement you may deem fair in the light of what I, myself, have done.
106. ἐγὼ δὲ ταῦτα μὲν αἰσχυνθείην ἂν εἰπεῖν, τὴν αὐτὴν δὲ ποιοῦμαι πρόκλησιν ἥν περ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων· ἀξιῶ γάρ, εἰ μὲν κακὸς ἀνὴρ γέγονε Τιμόθεος καὶ πολλὰ περὶ ὑμᾶς ἐξήμαρτε, μετέχειν καὶ δίκην διδόναι καὶ πάσχειν ὅμοια τοῖς ἀδικοῦσιν· ἢν δʼ ἐπιδειχθῇ καὶ πολίτης ὢν ἀγαθὸς καὶ στρατηγὸς τοιοῦτος οἷος οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ὧν ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν, ἐκεῖνον μὲν οἶμαι δεῖν ὑμᾶς ἐπαινεῖν καὶ χάριν ἔχειν αὐτῷ, περὶ δὲ ταυτησὶ τῆς γραφῆς ἐκ τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπραγμένων, ὅ τι ἂν ὑμῖν δίκαιον εἶναι δοκῇ, τοῦτο γιγνώσκειν.
107. The facts, then, about Timotheus I can put most concisely and in the most comprehensive terms by saying that he has taken more cities by storm than any other man has ever done, and I include all generals who have led armies into the field whether from Athens or from the rest of Hellas. And among these cities were some whose capture compelled all the surrounding territory to make terms with Athens; so great was their importance in each case.
107. ἀθροώτατον μὲν οὖν τοῦτʼ εἰπεῖν ἔχω περὶ Τιμοθέου καὶ μάλιστα καθʼ ἁπάντων, ὅτι τοσαύτας ᾕρηκε πόλεις κατὰ κράτος ὅσας οὐδεὶς πώποτε τῶν ἐστρατηγηκότων, οὔτε τῶν ἐκ ταύτης τῆς πόλεως οὔτε τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος, καὶ τούτων ἐνίας, ὧν ληφθεισῶν ἅπας ὁ τόπος ὁ περιέχων οἰκεῖος ἠναγκάσθη τῇ πόλει γενέσθαι· τηλικαύτην ἑκάστη δύναμιν εἶχε.
108. For who does not know that Corcyra has the best strategic position among the cities in the neighborhood of the Peloponnese; Samos, among the cities of Ionia; Sestos and Crithôte, among those in the Hellespont; and Potidaea and Torône among the settlements in Thrace? All these cities he has taken and presented to you, with no great outlay of money, without imposing burdens upon your present allies, and without forcing you to pay many taxes into the treasury. Indeed, for the voyage of the fleet around the Peloponnese, Athens allowed him only thirteen talents and fifty triremes, and yet he captured Corcyra, a city with a fleet of eighty triremes, and about the same time he won a naval battle over the Lacedaemonians and forced them to agree to the terms of the present peace—a peace which has so changed the relative positions of Athens and of Lacedaemon that from that day to this we celebrate the peace with sacrifices every year because no other treaty has been so advantageous to our city; while, as for the Lacedaemonians, no man since that time has seen a ship of theirs voyage this side of Malea nor any land force advance beyond the Isthmus, and anyone can see in this fact the cause of their disaster at Leuctra.
108. τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδε Κόρκυραν μὲν ἐν ἐπικαιροτάτῳ καὶ κάλλιστα κειμένην τῶν περὶ Πελοπόννησον, Σάμον δὲ τῶν ἐν Ἰωνίᾳ, Σηστὸν δὲ καὶ Κριθώτην τῶν ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ, πόντῳ, Ποτίδαιαν δὲ καὶ Τορώνην τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης; ἃς ἐκεῖνος ἁπάσας κτησάμενος παρέδωκεν ὑμῖν, οὐ δαπάναις μεγάλαις, οὐδὲ τοὺς ὑπάρχοντας συμμάχους λυμηνάμενος, οὐδὲ πολλὰς ὑμᾶς εἰσφορὰς ἀναγκάσας εἰσενεγκεῖν, ἀλλʼ εἰς μὲν τὸν περίπλουν τὸν περὶ Πελοπόννησον τρία καὶ δέκα μόνον τάλαντα δούσης αὐτῷ τῆς πόλεως καὶ τριήρεις πεντήκοντα Κόρκυραν εἷλε, πόλιν ὀγδοήκοντα τριήρεις κεκτημένην, καὶ περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον Λακεδαιμονίους ἐνίκησε ναυμαχῶν, καὶ ταύτην αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκασε συνθέσθαι τὴν εἰρήνην, ἣ τοσαύτην μεταβολὴν ἑκατέρᾳ τῶν πόλεων ἐποίησεν, ὥσθʼ ἡμᾶς μὲν ἀπʼ ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας θύειν αὐτῇ καθʼ ἕκαστον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ὡς οὐδεμιᾶς ἄλλης οὕτω τῇ πόλει συνενεγκούσης, Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ μετʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον μηδʼ ὑφʼ ἑνὸς ἑωρᾶσθαι μήτε ναυτικὸν ἐντὸς Μαλέας περιπλέον μήτε πεζὸν στρατόπεδον διὰ τοῦ Ἰσθμοῦ πορευόμενον, ὅπερ αὐτοῖς τῆς περὶ Λεῦκτρα συμφορᾶς εὕροι τις ἂν αἴτιον γεγενημένον.
111. After these exploits he led an expedition against Samos; and that city which Pericles, renowned above all others for his wisdom, his justice, and his moderation, reduced with a fleet of two hundred ships and the expenditure of a thousand talents, Timotheus, without receiving from you or collecting from your allies any money whatsoever, captured after a siege of ten months with a force of eight thousand light-armed troops and thirty triremes, and he paid all these forces from the spoils of war.
111. μετὰ δὲ ταύτας τὰς πράξεις ἐπὶ Σάμον στρατεύσας, ἣν Περικλῆς ὁ μεγίστην ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ δόξαν εἰληφὼς ἀπὸ διακοσίων νεῶν καὶ χιλίων ταλάντων κατεπολέμησε, ταύτην οὔτε πλέον οὔτʼ ἔλαττον παρʼ ὑμῶν λαβὼν οὔτε παρὰ τῶν συμμάχων ἐκλέξας, ἐν δέκα μησὶν ἐξεπολιόρκησεν ὀκτακισχιλίοις πελτασταῖς καὶ τριήρεσι τριάκοντα, καὶ τούτοις ἅπασιν ἐκ τῆς πολεμίας τὸν μισθὸν ἀπέδωκε.
112. And if you can point to any other man who has done a like thing, I stand ready to admit my folly in attempting to praise superlatively one who has done no more than others. Well, then, from Samos he sailed away and captured Sestos and Crithôte, forcing you, who up to that time had been careless of your interests in the Chersonese, to give your attention to that territory.
112. καί τοι τοιοῦτον ἔργον ἄν τις ἄλλος φανῇ πεποιηκώς, ὁμολογῶ ληρεῖν, ὅτι διαφερόντως ἐπαινεῖν ἐπιχειρῶ τὸν οὐδὲν περιττότερον τῶν ἄλλων διαπεπραγμένον. ἐντεῦθεν τοίνυν ἀναπλεύσας Σηστὸν καὶ Κριθώτην ἔλαβε, καὶ τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον ἀμελουμένης Χερρονήσου προσέχειν ὑμᾶς αὐτῇ τὸν νοῦν ἐποίησε. τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον Ποτίδαιαν, εἰς ἣν ἡ πόλις τετρακόσια καὶ δισχίλια τάλαντα τὸ πρότερον ἀνήλωσε, ταύτην εἷλεν ἀπὸ τῶν χρημάτων ὧν αὐτὸς ἐπόρισε καὶ τῶν συντάξεων τῶν ἀπὸ Θρᾴκης·
113. And finally he took Potidaea, upon which Athens had in times past squandered twenty-four hundred talents, and he met the expense from money which he himself provided and from contributions of the Thracians; and, for full measure, he reduced all the Chalcideans to subjection. To speak, not in detail, but in summary, he made you masters of twenty-four cities and spent in doing so less than your fathers paid out in the siege of Melos.
113. καὶ προσέτι Χαλκιδεῖς ἅπαντας κατεπολέμησεν. εἰ δὲ δεῖ μὴ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἀλλὰ διὰ βραχέων εἰπεῖν, τεττάρων καὶ εἴκοσι πόλεων κυρίους ὑμᾶς ἐποίησεν ἐλάττω δαπανήσας ὧν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν Μηλίων πολιορκίαν ἀνήλωσαν.
114. I could wish that just as it has been quite easy to recount his exploits, so it were possible to picture briefly the circumstances under which each of them was accomplished—what the situation was in Athens in each case and what the strength of our foes—, for you would then have been made to appreciate much more highly the worth of his achievements and of the man himself. As it is, the subject is so large that I must leave it untouched.
114. ἠβουλόμην δʼ ἄν,ὥσπερ ἐξαριθμῆσαι τὰς πράξεις ῥᾴδιον γέγονεν, οὕτως οἷόν τʼ εἶναι συντόμως δηλῶσαι τοὺς καιροὺς ἐν οἷς ἕκαστα τούτων ἐπράχθη, καὶ τὰ τῆς πόλεως ὡς εἶχε, καὶ τὴν τῶν πολεμίων δύναμιν· πολὺ γὰρ ἂν ὑμῖν αἵ τʼ εὐεργεσίαι μείζους κἀκεῖνος πλείονος ἄξιος ἔδοξεν εἶναι. νῦν δὲ ταῦτα μὲν ἐάσω διὰ τὸ πλῆθος.
115. But I think you would like to have me explain to you why in the world it is that some of the generals who have a high reputation among you and are thought to be great fighters have not been able to take even a village, while Timotheus, who lacks a robust physique and has not knocked about with itinerant armies but has shared with you the duties of a citizen, has accomplished such great things. What I have to say on this question will no doubt be offensive, but it will not be without profit for you to hear it.
115. ἡγοῦμαι δʼ ὑμᾶς ἡδέως ἂν ἀκοῦσαι διὰ τί ποτε τῶν μὲν εὐδοκιμούντων ἀνδρῶν παρʼ ὑμῖν καὶ πολεμικῶν εἶναι δοκούντων οὐδὲ κώμην ἔνιοι λαβεῖν ἠδυνήθησαν, Τιμόθεος δʼ οὔτε τὴν τοῦ σώματος φύσιν ἔχων ἐρρωμένην οὔτʼ ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις τοῖς πλανωμένοις κατατετριμμένος, ἀλλʼ ὁ μεθʼ ὑμῶν πολιτευόμενος τηλικαῦτα διεπράξατο τὸ μέγεθος. ἔστι δʼ ὁ λόγος ὁ περὶ τούτων φιλαπεχθήμων μέν, ῥηθῆναι δʼ οὐκ ἀσύμφορος. ἐκεῖνος γὰρ τούτῳ τῶν ἄλλων διήνεγκεν, ὅτι περὶ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν καὶ συμμαχικῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τῆς ἐπιμελείας τῆς τούτων οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑμῖν γνώμην εἶχεν.
116. Timotheus was superior to all the rest in that he did not hold the same views as you with regard to the affairs of the Hellenes and of your allies and the manner in which they should be directed. For you elect as your generals men who have the most robust bodies and who have served in many campaigns with foreign armies, thinking that under their leadership you will have some success. Timotheus, on the other hand, used these men as captains and division-commanders, while he, himself, showed his ability in the very things which it is necessary for a good general to know.
116. ὑμεῖς μὲν γὰρ χειροτονεῖτε στρατηγοὺς τοὺς εὐρωστοτάτους τοῖς σώμασι καὶ πολλάκις ἐν τοῖς ξενικοῖς στρατεύμασι γεγενημένους, ὡς διὰ τούτων διαπραξόμενοί τι τῶν δεόντων. ὁ δὲ τοῖς μὲν τοιούτοις λοχαγοῖς ἐχρῆτο καὶ ταξιάρχοις, αὐτὸς δὲ περὶ ταῦτα δεινὸς ἦν, περὶ ἅπερ χρὴ φρόνιμον εἶναι τὸν στρατηγὸν τὸν ἀγαθόν.
117. What, then, are the requisites of a good general and what ability do they involve? For they cannot be summed up in a word, but must be explained clearly. First of all is the ability to know against whom and with whose help to make war; for this is the first requisite of good strategy, and if one makes any mistake about this, the result is inevitably a war which is disadvantageous, difficult, and to no purpose.
117. Ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα τίνα δύναμιν ἔχοντα; δεῖ γὰρ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ σαφῶς φράσαι περὶ αὐτῶν. πρῶτον μὲν δύνασθαι γνῶναι πρὸς τίνας πολεμητέον καὶ τίνας συμμάχους ποιητέον· ἀρχὴ γὰρ αὕτη στρατηγίας ἐστίν, ἧς ἢν διαμάρτῃ τις, ἀνάγκη τὸν πόλεμον ἀσύμφορον καὶ χαλεπὸν καὶ περίεργον εἶναι.
118. Well, in this kind of sagacity there has never been anyone like him or even comparable with him, as may easily be seen from his deeds themselves. For, although he undertook most of his wars without support from the city, he brought them all to a successful issue, and convinced all the Hellenes that he won them justly. And what greater or clearer proof of his wise judgement could one adduce than this fact?
118. περὶ τοίνυν τὴν τοιαύτην προαίρεσιν οὐ μόνον οὐδεὶς τοιοῦτος γέγονεν, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ παραπλήσιος. ῥᾴδιον δʼ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἔργων γνῶναι· πλείστους γὰρ πολέμους ἄνευ τῆς πόλεως ἀνελόμενος, ἅπαντας τούτους κατώρθωσε καὶ δικαίως ἅπασι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἔδοξεν αὐτοὺς ποιήσασθαι. καί τοι τοῦ καλῶς βουλεύσασθαι τίς ἂν ἀπόδειξιν ἔχοι σαφεστέραν καὶ μείζω ταύτης παρασχέσθαι;
119. What, then, is the second requisite of a good general? It is the ability to collect an army which is adequate to the war in hand, and to organize and to employ it to good advantage. Now, that Timotheus understood how to employ his forces to good purpose, his achievements themselves have shown; that in the ability to recruit armies which were splendidly equipped and reflected honor upon Athens he excelled all other men, no one even of his enemies would dare to gainsay;
119. δεύτερον τί προσήκει τὸν στρατηγὸν τὸν ἀγαθόν; στρατόπεδον συναγαγεῖν ἁρμόττον τῷ πολέμῳ τῷ παρόντι, καὶ τοῦτο συντάξαι καὶ χρήσασθαι συμφερόντως. ὡς μὲν τοίνυν ἠπίστατο χρῆσθαι καλῶς, αἱ πράξεις αὐταὶ δεδηλώκασιν· ὡς δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸ παρασκευάσασθαι μεγαλοπρεπῶς καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀξίως ἁπάντων διήνεγκεν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν οὐδεὶς ἂν ἄλλως εἰπεῖν τολμήσειεν.
120. and, furthermore, in the power both to bear the privations and hardships of army life, and again to find abundant resources, who of the men who were with him in the field would not pronounce him incomparable? For they know that at the beginning of his campaigns, owing to the fact that he received nothing from Athens, he found himself in great extremities, but that, even with this handicap, he was able to bring his fortunes round to the point where he not only prevailed over our enemies but paid his soldiers in full.
120. ἔτι τοίνυν πρὸς τούτοις ἀπορίας ἐνεγκεῖν στρατοπέδου καὶ πενίας, καὶ πάλιν εὐπορίας εὑρεῖν, τίς οὐκ ἂν τῶν συνεστρατευμένων πρὸς ἀμφότερα ταῦτα διαφέρειν ἐκεῖνον προκρίνειεν; συνίσασι γὰρ αὐτῷ κατὰ μὲν ἀρχὰς τῶν πολέμων διὰ τὸ μηδὲν παρὰ τῆς πόλεως λαμβάνειν εἰς τὰς ἐσχάτας ἐνδείας καθιστάμενον, ἐκ δὲ τούτων εἰς τοῦτο τὰ πράγματα περιιστάναι δυνάμενον, ὥστε καὶ τῶν πολεμίων περιγίγνεσθαι καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐντελεῖς ἀποδιδόναι τοὺς μισθούς.
121. These are great things and compel our admiration; but the facts which I now give entitle him to even greater praise. For although he saw that you respected only the kind of generals who threatened and tried to terrify the other cities and were always for setting up some revolution or other among your allies, he did not fall in with your prejudices, nor was he willing to enhance his own reputation to the injury of Athens; on the contrary, he made it the object of his thought and of his actions to see to it that no one of the cities of Hellas should be afraid of him, but that all should feel secure excepting those which did wrong;
121. οὕτω τοίνυν τούτων μεγάλων ὄντων καὶ σφόδρα κατεπειγόντων, ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐχομένοις δικαίως ἄν τις αὐτὸν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπαινέσειεν. ὁρῶν γὰρ ὑμᾶς τούτους μόνους ἄνδρας νομίζοντας, τοὺς ἀπειλοῦντας καὶ τοὺς ἐκφοβοῦντας τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις καὶ τοὺς ἀεί τι νεωτερίζοντας ἐν τοῖς συμμάχοις, οὐκ ἐπηκολούθησε ταῖς ὑμετέραις γνώμαις, οὐδʼ ἠβουλήθη βλάπτων τὴν πόλιν εὐδοκιμεῖν, ἀλλὰ τοῦτʼ ἐφιλοσόφει καὶ τοῦτʼ ἔπραττεν, ὅπως μηδεμία τῶν πόλεων αὐτὸν φοβήσεται τῶν Ἑλληνίδων, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαι θαρρήσουσι πλὴν τῶν ἀδικουσῶν.
122. for he realized that men who are afraid hate those who inspire this feeling in them, and that it was due to the friendship of the other cities that Athens rose to great power and prosperity, just as it was due to their hatred that she barely escaped the most disastrous fate. Bearing in mind these facts, he used the power of Athens in order to subdue her enemies, and the force of his own character in order to win the good will of the rest of the world, believing that this is a greater and nobler kind of generalship than to conquer many cities many times in battle.
122. ἠπίστατο γὰρ τούς τε δεδιότας ὅτι μισοῦσι διʼ οὓς ἂν τοῦτο πεπονθότες τυγχάνωσι, τήν τε πόλιν διὰ μὲν τὴν φιλίαν τὴν τῶν ἄλλων εὐδαιμονεστάτην καὶ μεγίστην γενομένην, διὰ δὲ τὸ μῖσος μικρὸν ἀπολιποῦσαν τοῦ μὴ ταῖς ἐσχάταις συμφοραῖς περιπεσεῖν. ὧν ἐνθυμούμενος τῇ μὲν δυνάμει τῇ τῆς πόλεως τοὺς πολεμίους κατεστρέφετο, τῷ δʼ ἤθει τῷ αὑτοῦ τὴν εὔνοιαν τὴν τῶν ἄλλων προσήγετο, νομίζων τοῦτο στρατήγημα μεῖζον εἶναι καὶ κάλλιον ἢ πολλὰς πόλεις ἑλεῖν καὶ πολλάκις νικῆσαι μαχόμενος.
123. So concerned was he that none of the cities should in the slightest degree suspect him of sinister designs that whenever he intended to take his fleet to any of the cities which had been remiss in their contributions, he sent word to the authorities and announced his coming beforehand, lest his appearance without warning in front of their ports might plunge them into disquiet and confusion;
123. οὕτω δʼ ἐσπούδαζε περὶ τὸ μηδεμίαν τῶν πόλεων μηδὲ μικρὰν ὑποψίαν περὶ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν ὡς ἐπιβουλεύοντος, ὥσθʼ ὁπότε ὁπότε μέλλοι τινὰ παραπλεῖν τῶν μὴ τὰς συντάξεις διδουσῶν, πέμψας προηγόρευε τοῖς ἄρχουσιν, ἵνα μὴ πρὸ τῶν λιμένων ἐξαίφνης ὀφθεὶς εἰς θόρυβον καὶ ταραχὴν αὐτοὺς καταστήσειεν.
124. and if he happened to harbor his fleet in any place, he would never permit his soldiers to plunder and pillage and sack the people’s houses, but took as great precautions to prevent such an occurrence as the owners would take to guard their own possessions; for his mind was not upon winning for himself the good opinion of his soldiers by such license, but upon winning for Athens the good opinion of the Hellenes.
124. εἰ δὲ τύχοι καθορμισθεὶς πρὸς τὴν χώραν, οὐκ ἂν ἐφῆκε τοῖς στρατιώταις ἁρπάζειν καὶ κλέπτειν καὶ πορθεῖν τὰς οἰκίας, ἀλλὰ τοσαύτην εἶχεν ἐπιμέλειαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲν γίγνεσθαι τοιοῦτον, ὅσην περ οἱ δεσπόται τῶν χρημάτων· οὐ γὰρ τούτῳ προσεῖχε τὸν νοῦν, ὅπως ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων αὐτὸς εὐδοκιμήσει παρὰ τοῖς στρατιώταις, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἡ πόλις παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν.
125. Moreover, when cities had been taken by him in battle, he would treat them with a mildness and a consideration for their rights which no one else has ever shown to allies in war; for he thought that if he showed such an attitude toward those who had made war upon him, he could give no greater guarantee that he would never bring himself to wrong the others.
125. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τὰς δοριαλώτους τῶν πόλεων οὕτω πράως διῴκει καὶ νομίμως ὡς οὐδεὶς ἄλλος τὰς συμμαχίδας, ἡγούμενος, εἰ τοιοῦτος ὢν φαίνοιτο περὶ τοὺς πολεμήσαντας, τὴν μεγίστην πίστιν ἔσεσθαι δεδωκὼς ὡς οὐδέποτʼ ἂν περί γε τοὺς ἄλλους ἐξαμαρτεῖν τολμήσειεν.
126. Therefore it was that, because of the reputation which this conduct gave him, many of the cities which had no love for Athens used to welcome him with gates thrown wide; and he, in turn, never set up any disturbance in them, but just as he found them governed when he entered their gates, so he left them when he passed out.
126. τοιγάρτοι διὰ τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἐκ τούτων γιγνομένην πολλαὶ τῶν πόλεων τῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς δυσκόλως ἐχουσῶν ἀναπεπταμέναις αὐτὸν ἐδέχοντο ταῖς πύλαις· ἐν αἷς ἐκεῖνος οὐδεμίαν ταραχὴν ἐποίησεν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ οἰκουμένας αὐτὰς εἰσιὼν κατέλαβεν, οὕτως ἐξιὼν κατέλειπεν.
127. And now to sum up all this: In other times many calamities were wont to be visited upon the Hellenes, but, under his leadership, no one can point to cities devastated, governments overthrown, men murdered or driven into exile, or any other of those ills that are irreparable. Nay, so complete was the respite from such misfortunes in his day that, so far back as we can remember, he is the only general under whom no complaint was raised against Athens by the other Hellenes.
127. κεφάλαιον δὲ πάντων τούτων· εἰθισμένων γὰρ τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον πολλῶν γίγνεσθαι καὶ δεινῶν ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκείνου στρατηγίας οὐδεὶς ἂν οὔτʼ ἀναστάσεις εὕροι γεγενημένας οὔτε πολιτειῶν μεταβολὰς οὔτε σφαγὰς καὶ φυγὰς οὕτως ἄλλʼ οὐδὲν τῶν κακῶν τῶν ἀνηκέστων, ἀλλʼ οὕτως αἱ τοιαῦται συμφοραὶ κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον ἐλώφησαν, ὥστε μόνος ὧν ἡμεῖς μνημονεύομεν ἀνέγκλητον τὴν πόλιν τοῖς Ἕλλησι παρέσχε.
128. And surely you ought to find your ideal of a good general, not in one who by a single stroke of good fortune has attained, like Lysander, a success which it has been the lot of no other man to achieve, but one who, though loaded with many difficult responsibilities of all sorts, has always discharged them with honesty and wisdom. And just this has been the fortune of Timotheus.
128. καί τοι χρὴ στρατηγὸν ἄριστον νομίζειν οὐκ εἴ τις μιᾷ τύχῃ τηλικοῦτόν τι κατώρθωσεν ὥσπερ Λύσανδρος, ὃ μηδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων διαπράξασθαι συμβέβηκεν, ἀλλʼ ὅστις ἐπὶ πολλῶν καὶ παντοδαπῶν καὶ δυσκόλων πραγμάτων ὀρθῶς ἀεὶ πράττων καὶ νοῦν ἐχόντως διατετέλεκεν· ὅπερ Τιμοθέῳ συμβέβηκεν.
129. Most of you are, I suppose, astonished at what I am saying, and think that in praising him I am condemning Athens, since he, after having captured so many cities and having never lost a single one, was tried for treason, and again when he submitted his reports, and Iphicrates took upon himself the responsibility for the conduct of the campaign and Menestheus accounted for the moneys expended upon it, they, on the one hand, were acquitted, while Timotheus was fined a larger sum than anyone in the past had ever been condemned to pay.
129. οἶμαι οὖν ὑμῶν τοὺς πολλοὺς θαυμάζειν τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ νομίζειν τὸν ἔπαινον τὸν ἐκείνου κατηγορίαν εἶναι τῆς πόλεως, εἰ τοσαύτας μὲν πόλεις ἑλόντα μηδεμίαν δʼ ἀπολέσαντα περὶ προδοσίας ἔκρινε, καὶ πάλιν εἰ διδόντος εὐθύνας αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰς μὲν πράξεις Ἰφικράτους ἀναδεχομένου, τὸν δʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν χρημάτων λόγον Μενεσθέως, τούτους μὲν ἀπέλυσε, Τιμόθεον δὲ τοσούτοις ἐζημίωσε χρήμασιν ὅσοις οὐδένα πώποτε τῶν προγεγενημένων.
130. The fact is, however, that I desire to stand up for Athens also. It is true that if you consider the actions of the city by the standard of pure justice, no one of you can avoid the conclusion that her treatment of Timotheus was cruel and abominable; but if you make allowance for the ignorance which possesses all mankind, for the feelings of envy that are aroused in us, and, furthermore, for the confusion and turmoil in which we live, you will find that nothing of what has been done has come about without a reason nor does the cause lie outside our human weakness, but that Timotheus, also, has been responsible in some degree for the mistaken judgements passed upon him.
130. ἔχει δʼ οὕτως· βούλομαι γὰρ καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως λόγον εἰπεῖν. εἰ μὲν ὑμεῖς πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ δίκαιον ἀποβλέποντες σκέψεσθε περὶ τούτων, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως οὐ δεινὰ καὶ σχέτλια πᾶσιν εἶναι δόξει τὰ πεπραγμένα περὶ Τιμόθεον· ἢν δʼ ἀναλογίσησθε τὴν ἄγνοιαν ὅσην ἔχομεν πάντες ἄνθρωποι, καὶ τοὺς φθόνους τοὺς ἐπιγιγνομένους ἡμῖν, ἔτι δὲ τὰς ταραχὰς καὶ τὴν τύρβην ἐν ᾗ ζῶμεν, οὐδὲν τούτων ἀλόγως οὐδʼ ἔξω τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως εὑρεθήσεται γεγενημένον, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τιμόθεος μέρος τι συμβεβλημένος τοῦ μὴ κατὰ τρόπον γνωσθῆναι περὶ αὐτῶν.