---
title: "Apology for the “Salaried Posts” · Ἀπολογία"
author: "Lucian"
translator: "Kenneth Kilburn"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 1 of 1
url: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-apology/1/
cite: "Lucian, tr. Kenneth Kilburn, Apology for the “Salaried Posts” · Ἀπολογία, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-apology/1/"
---

# Apology for the “Salaried Posts” · Ἀπολογία

*Lucian, tr. Kenneth Kilburn*

Lucian, now himself a salaried official in Egypt, answers the charge of hypocrisy.

> Greek: ed. Kenneth Kilburn, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0062.tlg059, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Kenneth Kilburn, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0062.tlg059.perseus-eng3). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 1. Sections 1–15

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-apology/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-apology/1/#p-N

[¶0] 1. I have long been wondering, my dear Sabinus, what it probably occurred to you to say now that you have read my essay on “Salaried Posts in Great Houses.” It is quite certain that you had a good laugh when you read it; but I am trying now to fit the detailed and general comments you made to the text. If I am any good at divination, I think I can hear you saying: “To think that anyone could write that and work up such a devastating indictment against that sort of life, then, when the die falls the other way up, completely forget it and himself of his own free will rush headlong into a slavery so manifest and conspicuous! How many Midases and Croesuses and whole Pactoluses have persuaded him to throw away his liberty, the object of his care and companion of his nurture since childhood? Already within sight of Aeacus himself, with one foot almost in the ferry-boat he lets himself be dragged and pulled along as though by a golden collar fastened round his throat! What bracelets and necklaces the idle rich must have! There is much inconsistency here between his present life and his essay—‘rivers flowing uphill’ and ‘the world upside down’ and ‘recantation for the worse,’ not for a Helen indeed, or what happened at Troy; no, here in very fact are your words turned upside down, although they seemed well enough before.”

> Greek: 1. Πάλαι σκοπῶ πρὸς ἐμαυτόν, ὦ καλὲ Σαβῖνε, ἅτινά σοι εἰκὸς ἐπελθεῖν εἰπεῖν ἀναγνόντι ἡμῶν τὸ περὶ τῶν ἐπὶ μισθῷ συνόντων βιβλίον· ὅτι μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἀγελαστὶ διεξῄεις αὐτὸ καὶ πάνυ μοι πρόδηλον. ἃ δὲ μεταξὺ καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ὑπὸ σοῦ ἐλέγετο, ταῦτα νῦν ἐφαρμόττειν ζητῶ τοῖς ἀνεγνωσμένοις. εἰ τοίνυν μὴ κακὸς ἐγὼ μαντικήν, δοκῶ μοι ἀκούειν σου λέγοντος· Εἶτά τις αὐτὸς ταῦτα γεγραφὼς καὶ κατηγορίαν οὕτω δεινὴν κατὰ τοῦ τοιούτου βίου διεξελθών, ἔπειτα πάντων ἐκλαθόμενος, ὀστράκου, φησί, μεταπεσόντος ἑκὼν ἑαυτὸν φέρων ἐς δουλείαν οὕτω περιφανῆ καὶ περίβλεπτον ἐνσέσεικεν; πόσοι Μίδαι καὶ Κροῖσοι καὶ Πακτωλοὶ ὅλοι μετέπεισαν αὐτὸν ἀφεῖναι μὲν τὴν ἐκ παίδων φίλην καὶ σύντροφον ἐλευθερίαν, πρὸς αὐτῷ δὲ ἤδη τῷ Αἰακῷ γενόμενον καὶ μονονουχὶ τὸν ἕτερον πόδα ἐν τῷ πορθμείῳ ἔχοντα παρέχειν ἑαυτὸν ἕλκεσθαι καὶ σύρεσθαι καθάπερ ὑπὸ κλοιῷ τινι χρυσῷ τὸν αὐχένα δεθέντα; οἷά ἐστι τῶν τρυφώντων πλουσίων τὰ σφιγγία καὶ τὰ κουράλλια; πολλὴ γοῦν ἡ διαφωνία τοῦ νῦν βίου πρὸς τὸ σύγγραμμα καὶ τὸ ἄνω τοὺς ποταμοὺς χωρεῖν καὶ ἀνεστράφθαι τὰ πάντα καὶ παλινῳδεῖν πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον· τοῦτ' ἂν εἴη οὐχ ὑπὲρ Ἑλένης μὰ Δί' οὐδ’ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπ' Ἰλίῳ γενομένων, ἀλλ’ ἔργῳ ἀνατρεπομένων τῶν λόγων καλῶς πρότερον εἰρῆσθαι δοκούντων.

[¶1] 2. That’s what you said to yourself, I’ve no doubt. Perhaps you will offer me some such advice, not untimely, but friendly, and becoming to an honest philosopher like yourself. If I put your mask on and answer properly, all will be well for us, and we shall sacrifice to the God of Reason. If not, well, you will add what is lacking. Well then it is time for us to change the scene; I must keep quiet and endure your cutting and cautery if need be for survival’s sake; you must apply the ointment and at the same time have the knife ready and the cauterising iron red-hot. Now you, Sabinus, take the word and thus you now address me:

> Greek: 2. Ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς ἑαυτόν ὡς τὸ εἰκός λέλεκταί σοι. ἐπάξεις δὲ ἴσως καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐμὲ ξυμβουλήν τινα τοιαύτην οὐκ ἄκαιρον, ἀλλὰ φιλικὴν καὶ οἵῳ σοι χρηστῷ καὶ φιλοσόφῳ ἀνδρὶ πρέπουσαν. ἢν μὲν οὖν κατ' ἀξίαν ὑποδὺς τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον ὑποκρίνωμαι, εὖ ἂν ἡμῖν ἔχοι καὶ τῷ Λογίῳ θύσομεν· εἰ δὲ μή, ἀλλὰ σὺ προσθήσεις τὰ ἐνδέοντα. ὥρα τοίνυν μετασκευάσαντας ἡμᾶς τὴν σκηνὴν ἐμὲ μὲν σιωπᾶν καὶ ἀνέχεσθαι τεμνόμενον καὶ καιόμενον, εἰ δέοι, ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ, σὲ δ’ ἐπιπάττειν τῶν φαρμάκων καὶ τὴν σμίλην ἅμα πρόχειρον ἔχοντα καὶ τὸ καυτήριον διάπυρον. καὶ δὴ παραλαβὼν τὴν ῥήτραν σὺ ταῦτα πρός με ὁ Σαβῖνος ἤδη λέγεις.

[¶2] 3. “My dear friend, your essay, as is right, has long been admired, both before a great crowd at its first appearance, as those who then heard it told me, and privately among educated people who have not hesitated to use and handle it. The style could not be censured, its content was ample and showed a knowledge of the world; it was clear in detail and, most important of all, it was useful for everybody and particularly for the educated, to save them falling into servitude through ignorance. Now all is changed; this course seems better to you, to bid freedom good-bye for ever, and to follow that sordid verse
‘Where gain is, be a slave beyond your nature.’
Take care no one hears you reading it again; keep written copies out of the way of anyone who sees your present life, and pray Hermes down below to sprinkle plenty of Lethe on those who have already heard it. Otherwise you will be like the man in the Corinthian story, a Bellerophon who wrote the book against yourself. Indeed I don’t see what answer you can make to give you a good face before your accusers, especially if they are laughing at you and praise the essay and its freedom while they see the writer himself enslaved and willingly putting his neck under the yoke.

> Greek: 3. Πάλαι μέν, ὦ φιλότης, ὡς εἰκός, εὐδοκίμηταί σοι τουτὶ τὸ σύγγραμμα καὶ ἐν πολλῷ πλήθει δειχθέν, ὡς οἱ τότε ἀκροασάμενοι διηγοῦντο, καὶ ἰδίᾳ παρὰ τοῖς πεπαιδευμένοις ὁπόσοι ὁμιλεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ διὰ χειρὸς ἔχειν ἠξίωσαν. ἥ τε γὰρ τῶν λόγων παρασκευὴ οὐ μεμπτὴ καὶ ἡ ἱστορία πολλὴ καὶ ἐμπειρία τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ ὅτι ἕκαστα σαφῶς ἐλέγετο, καὶ, τὸ μέγιστον, ὅτι χρήσιμα πᾶσιν ἦν καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς πεπαιδευμένοις, ὡς μὴ ὑπ' ἀγνοίας σφᾶς αὐτοὺς εἰς δουλείαν ὑπάγοιεν. ἐπεὶ δέ σοι μετέδοξε βελτίω ταῦτα εἶναι τὴν μὲν ἐλευθερίαν μακρὰ χαίρειν ἐᾶν, ζηλῶσαι δὲ τὸ ἀγεννέστατον ἐκεῖνο ἰαμβεῖον
ὅπου τὸ κέρδος, παρὰ φύσιν δουλευτέον,
ὅρα ὅπως μηδεὶς ἔτι ἀκούσεταί σου ἀναγινώσκοντος αὐτό, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ ἄλλῳ παράσχῃς τῶν τὸν παρόντα σου βίον ὁρώντων ἐπελθεῖν τὰ γεγραμμένα, εὔχου δὲ Ἑρμῇ τῷ χθονίῳ καὶ τῶν ἀκηκοότων πρότερον πολλὴν λήθην κατασκεδάσαι, ἢ δόξεις τὸν τοῦ Κορινθίου μῦθόν τι πεπονθέναι, κατὰ σαυτοῦ ὁ Βελλεροφόντης γεγραφὼς τὸ βιβλίον. μὰ γὰρ τὸν Δί' οὐχ ὁρῶ τὴν ἀπολογίαν ἥτις ἂν εὐπρόσωπός σοι γένοιτο πρὸς τοὺς κατηγοροῦντας, καὶ μάλιστα, ἢν σὺν γέλωτι αὐτὸ ποιῶσιν ἐπαινοῦντες μὲν τὰ γεγραμμένα καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐλευθερίαν, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν συγγραφέα δουλεύοντα ὁρῶντες καὶ ἑκόντα ὑποτιθέντα τὸν αὐχένα τῷ ζυγῷ.

[¶3] 4. It would be reasonable enough, at least, if they said that someone else was the noble author, and you were a jackdaw strutting in borrowed plumes; or, if it is yours, that you were another Salaethus who made a most severe law against adultery at Croton and was admired for it, but shortly afterwards was himself caught seducing his brother’s wife. It would be said that you were exactly that Salaethus—no, he was much more restrained than you; love caught him, as he said in his defence, and he jumped readily and bravely into the fire, although the people of Croton now pitied him and granted him exile if he preferred. But your case is much more shocking; you gave a precise description in your essay of the slavishness of a life of that sort and added your condemnation of the thousand unpleasant things a man suffered and did once he fell into a rich man’s power and put himself in chains, yet in extreme old age you chose such an ignoble service when you were almost over the threshold into death, and furthermore you all but plumed yourself on entering that service. At any rate the more distinguished a person everyone thinks you, the more ridiculous you will seem if your present life contradicts your essay.

> Greek: 4. οὐκ ἀπεικότα γ' οὖν λέγοιεν ἄν, εἰ λέγοιεν ἤτοι ἄλλου του γενναίου ἀνδρὸς εἶναι τὸ βιβλίον καὶ σὲ τὸν κολοιὸν ἀλλοτρίοις πτεροῖς ἀγάλλεσθαι· ἢ εἴπερ σόν ἐστιν, ὅμοιά σε τῷ Σαλαίθῳ ποιεῖν, ὃς πικρότατον κατὰ μοιχῶν θεὶς τοῖς Κροτωνιάταις νόμον καὶ θαυμαζόμενος ἐπ' αὐτῷ μετὰ μικρὸν αὐτὸς ἑάλω μοιχεύων τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα. περὶ πόδα τοίνυν καὶ σὲ τὸν Σάλαιθον ἐκεῖνον εἶναι φαίη τις ἄν· μᾶλλον δὲ πολὺ μετριώτερος ἐκεῖνος, ἔρωτι μὲν ἁλούς, ὡς ἔφασκεν ἀπολογούμενος, ἑκὼν δὲ μάλα εὐψύχως ἐς τὸ πῦρ ἁλλόμενος, καίτοι ἐλεούντων αὐτὸν ἤδη Κροτωνιατῶν καὶ ἐνδιδόντων φυγεῖν, εἰ βούλοιτο. τὸ δὲ σὸν οὐ παρὰ μικρὸν ἀτοπώτερον, ἀκριβοῦντος μὲν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τὴν τοῦ τοιούτου βίου δουλοπρέπειαν καὶ κατηγοροῦντος εἴ τις εἰς πλουσίου τινὸς ἐμπεσὼν καὶ καθείρξας ἑαυτὸν ἀνέχοιτο μυρία τὰ δυσχερῆ πάσχων καὶ ποιῶν, ἐν γήρᾳ δὲ ὑστάτῳ καὶ σχεδὸν ἤδη ὑπὲρ τὸν οὐδὸν οὕτως ἀγεννῆ λατρείαν ἐπανῃρημένου καὶ μονονουχὶ καὶ ἐμπομπεύοντος αὐτῇ. ὅσῳ γοῦν πᾶσιν ἐπισημότερος εἶναι δοκεῖς, τοσούτῳ καταγελαστότερος ἂν δόξειας εἶναι ἀντιφωνοῦντος τοῦ νῦν βίου τῷ βιβλίῳ.

[¶4] 5. “However, why need I look for a new charge against you when that splendid tragedy says:
‘I hate a wiseacre who’s not wise for himself.’
Your accusers will find plenty more examples to quote against you. Some will compare you to tragic actors, on stage each an Agamemnon, Creon, or Heracles himself, but with their masks off a Polus or Aristodemus, playing a part for money, hissed and whistled off the stage, and sometimes some of them are flogged, if the audience wishes. Others will say you are like the monkey which they say the famous Cleopatra owned; it was trained to dance most elegantly and in time, and was much admired as it kept up a part, behaving in a seemly fashion as it accompanied the singers and flautists of the bridal procession. But when he saw a fig, I suppose, or an almond some way off on the ground, then good-bye to flutes and rhythms and dances! he grabbed and ate it up after pulling off his mask and even tearing it up.

> Greek: 5. Καίτοι τί δεῖ καινὴν ἐπὶ σὲ κατηγορίαν ζητεῖν μετὰ τὴν θαυμαστὴν τραγῳδίαν λέγουσαν
μισῶ σοφιστήν, ὅστις οὐχ αὑτῷ σοφός;
οὐκ ἀπορήσουσι δὲ οἱ κατηγοροῦντες καὶ ἄλλων παραδειγμάτων ἐπί σε, ἀλλ’ οἱ μὲν τοῖς τραγικοῖς ὑποκριταῖς εἰκάσουσιν, οἳ ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς σκηνῆς Ἀγαμέμνων ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἢ Κρέων ἢ αὐτὸς Ἡρακλῆς εἰσιν, ἔξω δὲ Πῶλος ἢ Ἀριστόδημος ἀποθέμενοι τὰ προσωπεῖα γίγνονται ὑπόμισθοι τραγῳδοῦντες, ἐκπίπτοντες καὶ συριττόμενοι, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ μαστιγούμενοί τινες αὐτῶν, ὡς ἂν τῷ θεάτρῳ δοκῇ. ἄλλοι δὲ τὸ τοῦ πιθήκου πεπονθέναι σε φήσουσιν ὃν Κλεοπάτρᾳ τῇ πάνυ φασὶ γενέσθαι· ἐκεῖνον γὰρ διδαχθέντα τέως μὲν ὀρχεῖσθαι πάνυ κοσμίως καὶ ἐμμελῶς καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ θαυμάζεσθαι μένοντα ἐν τῷ σχήματι καὶ τὸ πρέπον φυλάττοντα καὶ τοῖς ᾄδουσι καὶ αὐλοῦσι συγκινούμενον ὑμέναιον, ἐπεὶ δὲ εἶδεν ἰσχάδα οἶμαι ἢ ἀμύγδαλον πόρρω κειμένην, μακρὰ χαίρειν φράσαντα τοῖς αὐλοῖς καὶ ῥυθμοῖς καὶ ὀρχήμασι συναρπάσαντα κατατρώγειν, ἀπορρίψαντα, μᾶλλον δὲ συντρίψαντα τὸ πρόσωπον.

[¶5] 6. You then, they would say, were not a mere actor, but a poet of the noblest sentiments and a lawgiver; but when this fig appeared you were shown up a monkey, with philosophy on your lips, ‘hiding one thing in your heart, while saying another.’ So it may be fairly said against you that what you say and the matters for which you ask to be praised ‘wet your lips, but leave the palate dry.’ So retribution has followed close. You rushed headlong to attack human needs, then a little later forswore your freedom in what was almost a public proclamation. If Adrasteia stood behind you when your accusations were winning your reputation, she must have laughed, knowing as a god would what a turncoat you were going to be; you couldn’t have spat in your bosom, she would think, before thinking fit to accuse those who were driven to do this sort of thing by fortune’s fickleness.

> Greek: 6. καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, φαῖεν ἄν, οὐχ ὑποκριτής, ἀλλὰ ποιητὴς τῶν καλλίστων καὶ νομοθέτης γενόμενος ὑπὸ ἰσχάδος ταυτησὶ παραφανείσης ἠλέγχθης πίθηκος ὢν καὶ ἀπ' ἄκρου χείλους φιλοσοφῶν καὶ ἕτερα μὲν κεύθων ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ἄλλα δὲ λέγων· ὡς εἰκότως ἄν τινα ἐπὶ σοῦ εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἃ λέγεις καὶ ἐφ' οἷς ἐπαινεῖσθαι ἀξιοῖς, χείλεα μέν σου ἐδίηνεν, ὑπερῴην δὲ αὐχμῶσαν καταλέλοιπεν. τοιγαροῦν παρὰ πόδας εὐθὺς ἔτισας δίκην, προπετῶς μὲν θρασυνάμενος πρὸς τὰς ἀνθρώπων χρείας, μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ μονονουχὶ ὑπὸ κήρυξιν ἐξομοσάμενος τὴν ἐλευθερίαν. καὶ ἐῴκει ἡ Ἀδράστεια τότε κατόπιν ἐφεστῶσά σοι εὐδοκιμοῦντι ἐφ' οἷς κατηγόρεις τῶν ἄλλων, καταγελᾶν ὡς ἂν θεὸς εἰδυῖα τὴν μέλλουσάν σοι ἐς τὰ ὅμοια μεταβολὴν καὶ ὅτι οὐκ εἰς τὸν κόλπον πτύσας πρότερον ἠξίους κατηγορεῖν τῶν διὰ ποικίλας τινὰς τύχας τοιαῦτα πράττειν ὑπομενόντων.

[¶6] 7. Suppose for argument’s sake that after Aeschines had made his accusation against Timarchus he had been caught doing just the same, in the very act, don’t you think those who saw it would have roared with laughter at this fellow who censured Timarchus for the sins of youth, and committed the same crimes himself in his old age? In short you seem just like that drug-seller who was advertising cough medicine and promising immediate relief to sufferers, while he himself was racked by a cough as he talked for all to see.”

> Greek: 7. εἰ γοῦν ὑποθοῖτό τις τῷ λόγῳ τὸν Αἰσχίνην μετὰ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Τιμάρχου κατηγορίαν αὐτὸν ἁλῶναι καὶ φωραθῆναι τὰ ὅμοια πάσχοντα, πόσον ἂν οἴει παρὰ τῶν ὁρώντων γενέσθαι τὸν γέλωτα, εἰ Τίμαρχον μὲν ηὔθυνεν ἐπὶ τοῖς καθ' ὥραν ἡμαρτημένοις, αὐτὸς δὲ γέρων ἤδη τοιαῦτα εἰς ἑαυτὸν παρενόμει; τὸ δ’ ὅλον ἐκείνῳ τῷ φαρμακοπώλῃ ἔοικας ὃς ἀποκηρύττων βηχὸς φάρμακον καὶ αὐτίκα καταπαύσειν τοὺς πάσχοντας ὑπισχνούμενος αὐτὸς μεταξὺ σπώμενος ὑπὸ βηχὸς ἐφαίνετο.

[¶7] 8. This and a lot more of the sort could be said by a prosecutor like you in a case with such scope and countless opportunities for criticism. But now I am wondering to what defence I should turn. Is it best to play the coward, turn my back, and admit my wrong-doing, taking refuge in the universal defence, Fortune, Fate, Destiny? Shall I ask pardon from my critics, who know that we have no control and are driven by a mightier power, especially one of those just mentioned? Shall I say we do not wish it, but have no responsibility at all for what we say or do? Surely this is a very vulgar excuse, and, my good friend, you would not let me use any such defence or call in Homer as an advocate and chant his:
“No man, say I, ever escaped Fate.”
and again,
“Spun the thread at his birth, the day his mother
bore him.”

> Greek: 8. Ταῦτα μὲν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ἕτερα εἴποι τις ἂν οἷος σὺ κατηγορῶν ἐν οὕτως ἀμφιλαφεῖ τῇ ὑποθέσει καὶ μυρίας τὰς ἀφορμὰς παρεχομένῃ. ἐγὼ δὲ ἤδη σκοπῶ ἥντινα καὶ τράπωμαι πρὸς τὴν ἀπολογίαν. ἆρά μοι κράτιστον, ἐθελοκακήσαντα καὶ τὰ νῶτα ἐπιστρέψαντα καὶ ἀδικεῖν οὐκ ἀρνούμενον ἐπὶ τὴν κοινὴν ἐκείνην ἀπολογίαν καταφυγεῖν,—λέγω δὲ τὴν Τύχην καὶ Μοῖραν καὶ Εἱμαρμένην—καὶ παραιτεῖσθαι συγγνώμην ἔχειν μοι τοὺς ἐπιτιμῶντας εἰδότας ὡς οὐδενὸς ἡμεῖς κύριοι, ἀλλ’ ὑπό τινος κρείττονος, μᾶλλον δὲ μιᾶς τῶν προειρημένων ἀγόμεθα οὐχ ἑκόντες, ἀλλ’ ἀναίτιοι παντάπασιν ὄντες ὧν ἂν λέγωμεν ἢ ποιωμεν; ἢ τοῦτο μὲν κομιδῇ ἰδιωτικόν, καὶ οὐδ’ ἂν σύ με, ὦ φιλότης, ἀνάσχοιο τοιαύτην ἀπολογίαν προϊσχόμενον καὶ συνήγορον τὸν Ὅμηρον παραλαμβάνοντα καὶ τὰ ἐκείνου ἔπη ῥαψῳδοῦντα,
Μοῖραν δ’ οὔτινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀν-
δρῶν
καὶ τὸ
γεινομένῳ ἐπένησε λίνῳ, ὅτε μιν τέκε μήτηρ.

[¶8] 9. But if I abandoned this argument as quite unconvincing and said this that I was not hooked by money or any such expectation when I formed the present association, but that I admired my patron’s intelligence and courage and elevation of thought and wished to share the fortunes of such a man, I fear that besides the accusation being brought against me I may be accused of flattery, and find myself knocking out a nail with a nail, as they say, and a small one with a big one at that, since flattery is considered the most servile—and therefore the worst—of all the vices.

> Greek: 9. Εἰ δὲ τοῦτον ἀφεὶς τὸν λόγον ὡς οὐ πάνυ ἀξιόπιστον ἐκεῖνο λέγοιμι, μήτε ὑπὸ χρημάτων μήτε ὑπ' ἄλλης τινὸς ἐλπίδος τοιαύτης δελεασθεὶς ὑποστῆναι τὴν παροῦσαν συνουσίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν σύνεσιν καὶ ἀνδρείαν καὶ μεγαλόνοιαν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς θαυμάσας ἐθελῆσαι κοινωνῆσαι πράξεων τῷ τοιούτῳ, δέδοικα μὴ πρὸς τῇ ἐπιφερομένῃ κατηγορίᾳ κολακείας αἰτίαν προσλαβὼν κᾆτα εὑρίσκωμαι ἥλῳ, φασίν, ἐκκρούων τὸν ἧλον, καὶ μείζονί γε τὸν σμικρότερον, ὅσῳ κολακεία τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων κακῶν τὸ δουλοπρεπέστατον εἶναι—καὶ ταύτῃ χείριστον—νενόμισται.

[¶9] 10. Well then, if I am pleased with neither line of defence, am I driven to agree or to confess that I have no honourable argument? Perhaps I have still one anchor left on board, to complain of old age and disease and poverty as well, which persuades one to do or endure anything to get away from it. In such a case perhaps it is not untimely to call on Euripides’ Medea to come and say in my defence those iambic lines, parodied a little:
“I know the evil that I’m going to do,
But poverty is stronger than my plans.”
I do not quote the Theognis passage, but everybody knows it, where he thinks it not improper for men to throw themselves from lofty crags into the deep yawning sea with its monsters, if one can escape poverty in that way.

> Greek: 10. Τί οὖν ἄλλο, εἰ μήτε ταῦτα μήτε ἐκεῖνα λέγειν δοκεῖ, ὑπόλοιπόν ἐστιν ἢ ὁμολογεῖν μηδὲ ἓν ὑγιὲς εἰπεῖν ἔχειν; μία μοι ἴσως ἐκείνη ἄγκυρα ἔτι ἄβροχος, ὀδύρεσθαι τὸ γῆρας καὶ τὴν νόσον καὶ μετὰ τούτων τὴν πενίαν πάντα ποιεῖν καὶ πάσχειν ἀναπείθουσαν ὡς ἐκφύγοι τις αὐτήν. καὶ ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ οὐκ ἄκαιρον ἴσως καὶ τὴν τοῦ Εὐριπίδου Μήδειαν παρακαλέσαι παρελθοῦσαν εἰπεῖν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνα τὰ ἰαμβεῖα μικρὸν αὐτὰ παρῳδήσασαν·
καὶ μανθάνω μὲν οἷα δρᾶν μέλλω κακά,
πενία δὲ κρείσσων τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Θεόγνιδος κἂν ἐγὼ μὴ λέγω, τίς οὐκ οἶδεν, οὐκ ἀπαξιοῦντος καὶ ἐς βαθυκήτεα πόντον σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ῥιπτεῖν καὶ κατὰ κρημνῶν ἠλιβάτων, εἴ γε μέλλει τις οὕτως ἀποδράσεσθαι τὴν πενίαν;

[¶10] 11. Such are the pleas one might bring in defence in such a case as this, none of them pretty. But don’t be afraid, my friend, I’m not going to use any of them. May there never be such a famine at Argos that they try to sow the gymnasium at Cyllarabis, and may I never be so destitute of a reasonable defence that in my need I look for refuges of this sort against the accusation. But realise this: there is a very great difference between entering a rich man’s house as a hireling, where one is a slave and endures what my essay describes, and entering public service, where one administers affairs as well as possible and is paid by the Emperor for doing it. Consider every detail and examine it for yourself. You will find the two lives two octaves apart, to use a musical phrase, and as like each other as lead and silver, bronze and gold, anemone and rose, monkey and man. You are paid in both cases and are under a master’s orders, but there is a world of difference. In the one case the slavery is obvious, and those who enter on these conditions are not much different from slaves, whether bought or bred at home, while those who handle public business and make themselves of service to states and whole provinces cannot rightly be criticised merely because they are paid, or be brought down to the same level of general denunciation. Otherwise you must post-haste abolish all offices of this kind: neither administrators of all the provinces nor governors of cities nor commanders of corps or whole armies will please since they are paid for their work. No, you must not, I fancy, overturn everything because of an isolated example, or lump all wage-earners together.

> Greek: 11. Ταῦτα μὲν εἶναι δοκεῖ ἅ τις ἂν ὡς ἐν τοιούτῳ ἀπολογήσασθαι ἔχοι, οὐ πάνυ εὐπρόσωπον ἕκαστον αὐτῶν. σὺ δέ μοι θάρρει, ὦ ἑταῖρε, ὡς οὐδενὶ τούτων ἐμοῦ χρησομένου. μὴ γὰρ τοσοῦτός ποτε λιμὸς καταλάβοι τὸ Ἄργος ὡς τὴν Κυλλάραβιν σπείρειν ἐπιχειρεῖν· οὐδ’ ἡμεῖς οὕτω πένητες εὐλόγου ἀπολογίας ὡς ὑπὸ ἀπορίας τὰ τοιαῦτα κρησφύγετα πρὸς τὴν κατηγορίαν ζητεῖν. ἀλλά μοι ἐκεῖνο ἐννόησον, ὡς πάμπολυ διαφέρει, ἐς οἰκίαν τινὸς πλουσίου ὑπόμισθον παρελθόντα δουλεύειν καὶ ἀνέχεσθαι ὅσα μοί φησιν τὸ βιβλίον, ἢ δημοσίᾳ πράττοντά τι τῶν κοινῶν καὶ ἐς δύναμιν πολιτευόμενον ἐπὶ τούτῳ παρὰ βασιλέως μισθοφορεῖν. διελθὼν δὴ καὶ ἰδίᾳ καταθεὶς ἑκάτερον σκόπει· εὑρήσεις γὰρ τὸ τῶν μουσικῶν δὴ τοῦτο, δὶς διὰ πασῶν τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ τοσοῦτον ἐοικότας ἀλλήλοις τοὺς βίους, ὅσον μόλυβδος ἀργύρῳ καὶ χαλκὸς χρυσῷ καὶ ἀνεμώνη ῥόδῳ καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ πίθηκος. μισθὸς μὲν γὰρ κἀκεῖ κἀνταῦθα καὶ τὸ ὑπ' ἄλλῳ τάττεσθαι, τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα παμπόλλην ἔχει τὴν διαφωνίαν. ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ δουλεία σαφὴς καὶ οὐ πολὺ τῶν ἀργυρωνήτων καὶ οἰκοτρίβων διαφέρουσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ εἰσιόντες, οἱ δὲ τὰ κοινὰ διὰ χειρὸς ἔχοντες καὶ πόλεσι καὶ ἔθνεσιν ὅλοις σφᾶς αὐτοὺς χρησίμους παρέχοντες οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως ἐκ μόνου τοῦ μισθοῦ διαβάλλοιντο καὶ ἐς ὁμοιότητα καὶ κοινωνίαν τῆς κατηγορίας καθέλκοιντο· ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν φθάνοι τις ἁπάσας ἀναιρῶν τὰς τοιαύτας προστασίας, καὶ οὔτε οἱ τοσαῦτα ἔθνη ἐπιτροπεύοντες οὔθ' οἱ τὰς πόλεις ἁρμόττοντες οὔθ' οἱ τὰς φάλαγγας ἢ στρατόπεδα ὅλα ἐγχειριζόμενοι ὀρθῶς ποιήσουσιν ἐπεὶ καὶ μισθὸς αὐτῶν τῷ ἔργῳ πρόσεστιν. ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀφ' ἑνός, οἶμαι, χρὴ ἀνατρέπειν τὰ πάντα οὐδ’ ἰσοτιμίαν τῶν μισθοφορούντων καθιστάναι.

[¶11] 12. In short I did not say that all wage-earners lived a mean and petty existence: no, it was those in private houses who endured slavery under the pretext of education that I pitied. My present situation, my friend, is altogether different. My private standing is not reduced, and in public life I take a share and play my part in the mightiest of empires. If you consider the matter you will realise that my personal responsibility in this administration of Egypt is not the least important—the initiation of court-cases and their arrangement, the recording of all that is done and said, guiding counsel in their speeches, keeping the clearest and most accurate copy of the president’s decisions in all faithfulness and putting them on public record to be preserved for all time; and my salary not from any private person, but from the emperor, and it is no small one at that, many talents in fact. For the future I have no small hopes, if what is likely comes about—the supervision of a province or some other imperial service.

> Greek: 12. Τὸ δὲ ὅλον οὐ τοὺς μισθαρνοῦντας ἅπαντας ἐγὼ φαύλῳ βίῳ συνεῖναι ἔφασκον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις ἐπὶ προφάσει παιδεύσεως δουλεύοντας ᾤκτειρον. τουτὶ δέ, ὦ ἑταῖρε, τὸ ἡμέτερον πρᾶγμα παντάπασιν ἑτεροῖόν ἐστιν, εἴ γε τὰ μὲν οἴκοι ἰσότιμα ἡμῖν, δημοσίᾳ δὲ τῆς μεγίστης ἀρχῆς κοινωνοῦμεν καὶ τὸ μέρος συνδιαπράττομεν. ἔγωγ' οὖν, εἰ σκέψαιο, δόξαιμ' ἄν σοι οὐ τὸ σμικρότατον τῆς Αἰγυπτίας ταύτης ἀρχῆς ἐγκεχειρίσθαι, τὰς δίκας εἰσάγειν καὶ τάξιν αὐταῖς τὴν προσήκουσαν ἐπιτιθέναι καὶ τῶν πραττομένων καὶ λεγομένων ἁπαξαπάντων ὑπομνήματα γράφεσθαι καὶ τάς τε ῥητορείας τῶν δικαιολογούντων ῥυθμίζειν καὶ τὰς τοῦ ἄρχοντος γνώσεις πρὸς τὸ σαφέστατον ἅμα καὶ ἀκριβέστατον σὺν πίστει τῇ μεγίστῃ διαφυλάττειν καὶ παραδιδόναι δημοσίᾳ πρὸς τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον ἀποκεισομένας, καὶ ὁ μισθὸς οὐκ ἰδιωτικός, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, οὐ σμικρὸς οὐδὲ οὗτος, ἀλλὰ πολυτάλαντος· καὶ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ οὐ φαῦλαι ἐλπίδες, εἰ τὰ εἰκότα γίγνοιτο, ἀλλὰ ἔθνος ἐπιτραπῆναι ἤ τινας ἄλλας πράξεις βασιλικάς.

[¶12] 13. So I am willing to be bolder than I need be, to close with the charge against me, and to advance beyond defence. Moreover I say to you that no one does anything without pay, not even if you instance those at the head of things, for not even the emperor himself is unpaid. I do not mean tributes and taxes that come in every year from his subjects; no, the king’s most important reward is praise, universal fame, reverence for his benefactions, statues and temples and shrines bestowed on him by his subjects—all these are payment for the thought and care which such men evidence in their continual watch over the common weal and its improvement. To compare small with great, if you will begin at the top of the heap and descend to each of its component parts, you will see that we differ from those at the top in size, but that in other respects we are all wage-earners alike.

> Greek: 13. Ἐθέλω γοῦν ἐκ περιττοῦ χρησάμενος τῇ παρρησίᾳ καὶ ὁμόσε χωρήσας τῷ ἐπιφερομένῳ ἐγκλήματι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἀπολογήσασθαι, καὶ δὴ φημί σοι μηδένα μηδὲν ἀμισθὶ ποιεῖν, οὐδ’ ἂν τοὺς τὰ μέγιστα πράττοντας εἴπῃς, ὅπου μηδὲ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸς ἄμισθός ἐστιν. οὐ φόρους λέγω οὐδὲ δασμούς, ὁπόσοι παρὰ τῶν ἀρχομένων ἐπέτειοι φοιτῶσιν, ἀλλ’ ἔστι βασιλεῖ μισθὸς μέγιστος ἔπαινοι καὶ ἡ παρὰ πᾶσιν εὔκλεια καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις προσκυνεῖσθαι, καὶ εἰκόνες δὲ καὶ νεῲ καὶ τεμένη, ὁπόσα παρὰ τῶν ἀρχομένων ἔχουσι, μισθοὶ καὶ ταῦτά εἰσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν φροντίδων καὶ προνοίας, ἣν ἐκφέρονται προσκοποῦντες ἀεὶ τὰ κοινὰ καὶ βελτίω ποιοῦντες. ὡς δὴ μικρὰ μεγάλοις εἰκάζειν, ἢν ἐθέλῃς ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ σωροῦ κορυφῆς ἐφ' ἕκαστον τούτων ἀφ' ὧν σύγκειται καταβαίνειν, ὄψει ὅτι μεγέθει καὶ σμικρότητι διαλλάττομεν τῶν ἀκροτάτων, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα μισθοφόροι ὁμοίως ἅπαντες.

[¶13] 14. Now if I had laid down a law that no one must do any work, I would rightly be thought guilty of breaking it; but if this was nowhere said in my essay, but rather that a good man ought to be active, how better could he employ himself than to work with his friends for the best ends and in full view under the open sky to let his loyalty, seriousness of purpose, and good will in his undertakings be put to the test, so that he may not be “a useless burden to the earth” in Homer’s words?

> Greek: 14. Εἰ μὲν οὖν τοῦτον ἐτεθείκειν τὸν νόμον μηδένα μηδὲν πράττειν, ἔνοχος ἂν εἰκότως ἐδόκουν τῇ παρανομίᾳ, εἰ δὲ τοῦτο μὲν οὐδαμοῦ τοῦ βιβλίου λέλεκταί μοι, χρὴ δὲ τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρα ἐνεργὸν εἶναι, τί ἂν ἄλλο ἐς δέον αὑτῷ χρῷτο, ἢ φίλοις συμπονῶν πρὸς τὰ βέλτιστα κἀν τῷ μέσῳ ὑπαίθριος πεῖραν αὑτοῦ διδοὺς ὅπως ἔχει πίστεως καὶ σπουδῆς καὶ εὐνοίας πρὸς τὰ ἐγκεχειρισμένα, ὡς μὴ τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν ἐκεῖνο “ἐτώσιον ἄχθος ἀρούρης” εἴη;

[¶14] 15. Above all, those who censure me must remember that it is not a wise man—if such there be anywhere—whom they will censure but one from the common people, one who has trained himself in words and received moderate praise for them, but one completely unpractised in that acme of the virtues that the cream of men display. And surely I ought not to be grieved even on this account, for I at any rate have met no other who fulfilled the promise of wisdom. However I should be surprised if you were to condemn me for my present life—you knew me long ago when I was commanding the highest fees for the public practice of rhetoric, at the time when you went to see the Western Ocean and the lands of the Celts and met me: my fees were as high as those of any professor. This then, my friend, is the defence which I offer to you, busy though I am with countless tasks, thinking it of prime importance to secure my full acquittal at your hands. As for the rest, even if they all condemn me unanimously, I shall be content to quote “Hippoclides doesn’t care.”

> Greek: 15. Πρὸ δὲ τῶν ὅλων μεμνῆσθαι χρὴ τοὺς ἐπιτιμῶντας ὅτι οὐ σοφῷ ὄντι μοι—εἰ δή τις καὶ ἄλλος ἐστί που σοφός—ἐπιτιμήσουσιν ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολλοῦ δήμου, λόγους μὲν ἀσκήσαντι καὶ τὰ μέτρια ἐπαινουμένῳ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς, πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἄκραν ἐκείνην τῶν κορυφαίων ἀρετὴν οὐ πάνυ γεγυμνασμένῳ. καὶ μὰ Δί' οὐδ’ ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἀνιᾶσθαί μοι ἄξιον, ὅτι μηδὲ ἄλλῳ ἐγὼ γοῦν ἐντετύχηκα τὴν τοῦ σοφοῦ ὑπόσχεσιν ἀποπληροῦντι. σοῦ μέντοι καὶ θαυμάσαιμ' ἂν ἐπιτιμῶντός μου τῷ νυνὶ βίῳ, εἴ γε ἐπιτιμῴης, ὃν πρὸ πολλοῦ ᾔδεις ἐπὶ ῥητορικῇ δημοσίᾳ μεγίστας μισθοφορὰς ἐνεγκάμενον, ὁπότε κατὰ θέαν τοῦ ἑσπερίου Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ τὴν Κελτικὴν ἅμα ἐπιὼν ἐνέτυχες ἡμῖν τοῖς μεγαλομίσθοις τῶν σοφιστῶν ἐναριθμουμένοις. Ταῦτά σοι, ὦ ἑταῖρε, καίτοι ἐν μυρίαις ταῖς ἀσχολίαις ὢν ὅμως ἀπελογησάμην, οὐκ ἐν παρέργῳ θέμενος τὴν λευκὴν παρὰ σοῦ καὶ πλήρη μοι ἐνεχθῆναι· ἐπεὶ πρός γε τοὺς ἄλλους, κἂν συνάμα πάντες κατηγορῶσιν, ἱκανὸν ἂν εἴη μοι τό οὐ φροντὶς Ἱπποκλείδῃ.