by Demosthenes
[25] ἵνα τοίνυν μὴ τοῦτ᾽ ἐμποδὼν γένηται τῷ Θηβαίους γενέσθαι μικρούς, τὰς μὲν Θεσπιὰς καὶ τὸν Ὀρχομενὸν καὶ τὰς Πλαταιὰς κατοικίζεσθαι φῶμεν δεῖν καὶ συμπράττωμεν αὐτοῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀξιῶμεν （ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ καλὰ καὶ δίκαια, μὴ περιορᾶν πόλεις ἀρχαίας ἐξανεστώσας）, τὴν δὲ Μεγάλην πόλιν καὶ τὴν Μεσσήνην μὴ προώμεθα τοῖς ἀδικοῦσι, μηδ᾽ ἐπὶ τῇ προφάσει τῇ Πλαταιῶν καὶ Θεσπιῶν τὰς οὔσας καὶ κατοικουμένας πόλεις ἀναιρεθείσας περιίδωμεν.
[25] In order, then, that this unwillingness may not stand in the way of the weakening of Thebes, let us admit that Thespiae, Orchomenus and Plataea ought to be restored, and let us co-operate with their inhabitants and appeal to the other states, for it is a just and honorable policy not to allow ancient cities to be uprooted; but at the same time let us not abandon Megalopolis and Messene to their oppressors, nor allow the restoration of Plataea and Thespiae to blind us to the destruction of existing and established states.
[26] κἂν ᾖ ταῦτα πρόδηλα, οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ βουλήσεται παύσασθαι Θηβαίους ἔχοντας τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν: εἰ δὲ μή, πρῶτον μὲν ἐναντίους ἕξομεν πρὸς ἐκεῖνα τούτους εἰκότως, ὅταν ἡγῶνται τὴν ἐκείνων κατοίκισιν αὑτοῖς ὄλεθρον φέρειν, εἶτ᾽ ἀνήνυτα πράγμαθ᾽ ἕξομεν αὐτοί: τί γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔσται πέρας, ὅταν ἀεὶ τὰς μὲν οὔσας πόλεις ἐῶμεν ἀναιρεῖν, τὰς δ᾽ ἀνῃρημένας ἀξιῶμεν οἰκίζειν;
[26] Moreover, if we proclaim this policy, there is none but will be glad that the Thebans should cease to hold other people’s territory; if we do not, we shall not only find the Thebans, naturally enough, hostile to the other proposal, as soon as they reflect that the restoration of those cities means ruin to themselves, but we shall also involve ourselves in endless trouble; for what limit indeed can there be, if we are always sanctioning the destruction of existing cities, and demanding the restoration of those that are destroyed?
[27] λέγουσι τοίνυν οἱ μάλιστα δοκοῦντες δίκαια λέγειν ὡς δεῖ τὰς στήλας καθελεῖν αὐτοὺς τὰς πρὸς Θηβαίους, εἴπερ ἡμέτεροι βεβαίως ἔσονται σύμμαχοι. οἱ δέ φασι μὲν αὑτοῖς οὐκ εἶναι στήλας, ἀλλὰ τὸ συμφέρον εἶναι τὸ ποιοῦν τὴν φιλίαν, τοὺς δὲ βοηθοῦντας ἑαυτοῖς, τούτους νομίζειν εἶναι συμμάχους. ἐγὼ δ᾽, εἰ τὰ μάλιστ᾽ εἰσὶ τοιοῦτοι, ὡδί πως ἔχω. φημὶ δεῖν ἅμα τούτους ἀξιοῦν καθαιρεῖν τὰς στήλας καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους ἄγειν εἰρήνην, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ‘θέλωσι ποιεῖν ὁπότεροι ταῦτα, τότ᾽ ἤδη μετὰ τῶν ἐθελόντων ἡμᾶς γίγνεσθαι.
[27] Now those who seem to argue most fairly demand of the Megalopolitans that they shall destroy the pillars that record their treaty with the Thebans, if they are to be our trusted allies. But they reply that with them friendship is based, not on inscribed pillars, but on mutual advantage, and they count as their allies those who are their helpers. But, granting the fairness of these speakers, my own view is this. I say that we must at the same time call upon them to destroy the pillars and upon the Lacedaemonians to keep the peace. If they refuse — whichever of the two it may be — then at once we side with those who consent.
[28] εἴτε γὰρ εἰρήνης γιγνομένης αὐτοῖς οἱ Μεγαλοπολῖται τῆς Θηβαίων συμμαχίας ἕξονται, φανεροὶ πᾶσιν ἔσονται τὴν πλεονεξίαν τὴν Θηβαίων, οὐ τὸ δίκαιον αἱρούμενοι: εἴτε συμμάχους ἡμᾶς ἀδόλως τῶν Μεγαλοπολιτῶν ποιουμένων μὴ ‘θελήσουσιν ἄγειν εἰρήνην οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, δῆλοι δήπου πᾶσιν ἔσονται, οὐχ ἵνα Θεσπιαὶ κατοικισθῶσι ποιούμενοι τὴν σπουδήν, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα τοῦ πολέμου περιεστηκότος Θηβαίοις τὴν Πελοπόννησον ὑφ᾽ αὑτοῖς ποιήσωνται.
[28] If the Megalopolitans, though peace is secured for them, still cling to the Theban alliance, it will of course be obvious to all that they prefer the ambition of Thebes to the claims of justice; or if, while the Megalopolitans join our alliance in all sincerity, the Lacedaemonians refuse to keep the peace, then it will be equally obvious that the object of their activities is not merely to restore Thespiae, but to subjugate the Peloponnese while the Thebans are engrossed in the war.
[29] θαυμάζω δ᾽ ἐνίων, εἰ τὸ μὲν Θηβαίων συμμάχους εἶναι τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίων ἐχθροὺς φοβοῦνται, εἰ δὲ καταστρέψονται Λακεδαιμόνιοι τούτους, μηδὲν ἡγοῦνται φοβερόν, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἔργῳ πεῖραν ἡμῖν δεδωκότος τοῦ χρόνου ὅτι Θηβαῖοι μὲν τούτοις συμμάχοις ἐπὶ Λακεδαιμονίους ἀεὶ χρῶνται, Λακεδαιμόνιοι δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ εἶχον αὐτούς, ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἐχρῶντο.
[29] I am surprised that some of you are afraid of the enemies of Sparta becoming allies of Thebes, and yet see nothing to fear in their subjugation by the Lacedaemonians, forgetting the practical lesson to be learned from the past, that the Thebans always use these allies against the Lacedaemonians, whereas the Lacedaemonians, when they had them at command, used them against us.
[30] οἶμαι τοίνυν ἔγωγε κἀκεῖν᾽ ἐνθυμεῖσθαι δεῖν, ὅτι μὴ προσδεξαμένων μὲν ὑμῶν τοὺς Μεγαλοπολίτας, ἐὰν μὲν ἀναιρεθῶσι καὶ διοικισθῶσιν, ἰσχυροῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις ἔστιν εὐθὺς εἶναι, ἐὰν δὲ σωθῶσιν ἄρα, ὡς ἤδη τι καὶ παρ᾽ ἐλπίδας ἐξέβη, βέβαιοι σύμμαχοι Θηβαίων δικαίως ἔσονται: ἂν δὲ προσδέξησθε, τούτοις μὲν ὑπάρξει ἤδη σωθῆναι δι᾽ ὑμᾶς, τὸ δὲ συμβησόμενον, τὸν τοῦ κινδύνου λογισμὸν μετενεγκόντες, σκοπῶμεν ἐπὶ Θηβαίων καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων.
[30] Then again I think that you must bear this in mind, that if you reject the Megalopolitans and they are overthrown and decentralized, the Lacedaemonians can at once be a great power, or if they do escape destruction — for such miracles have happened before now — they are bound to be the staunch friends of Thebes; but if you accept them as allies, Megalopolis will indeed owe its immediate deliverance to you, but we must put on one side all calculation of risk, and consider what will be the effect upon our relations with Thebes and Sparta.
[31] ἂν μὲν τοίνυν καταπολεμηθῶσιν οἱ Θηβαῖοι, ὥσπερ αὐτοὺς δεῖ, οὐκ ἔσονται μείζους τοῦ δέοντος οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, τούτους ἔχοντες ἀντιπάλους τοὺς Ἀρκάδας ἐγγὺς οἰκοῦντας: ἂν δ᾽ ἀνενέγκωσιν ἄρ᾽ οἱ Θηβαῖοι καὶ σωθῶσιν, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ἀσθενέστεροί γ᾽ ἔσονται, ἡμῖν συμμάχων γεγενημένων τῶνδε καὶ δι᾽ ἡμᾶς σεσωμένων. ὥστε πανταχῇ συμφέρει μήτε προέσθαι τοὺς Ἀρκά
δας μήτε δι᾽ αὑτούς, ἂν ἄρα σωθῶσι, περιγεγονέναι δοκεῖν, μηδὲ δι᾽ ἄλλους τινάς, ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ὑμᾶς.
[31] Now if the Thebans are finally beaten, as they deserve to be, there will be no undue increase in the power of the Lacedaemonians, because there are their neighbors, the Arcadians, to balance it; but if the Thebans after all recover and are saved, at any rate they will be the weaker because we shall have gained these allies, saved by our help. Therefore it is in every way expedient that the Arcadians should not be abandoned, and that if they do survive, they should not seem to owe their preservation to themselves or to any other people than you.
[32] ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς οὔτε φιλῶν οὐδετέρους οὔτε μισῶν ἰδίᾳ εἴρηκα, ἀλλ᾽ ἃ νομίζω συμφέρειν ὑμῖν: καὶ παραινῶ μὴ προέσθαι Μεγαλοπολίτας, μηδ᾽ ἄλλον ἁπλῶς μηδένα τῶν ἐλαττόνων τῷ μείζονι.
[32] Men of Athens, I solemnly assure you that I am not prompted by private friendship or enmity for either party, but have said what I consider expedient for you; and I urge you not to abandon the Megalopolitans, and, as a general principle, never to sacrifice the weak to the strong.
περὶ τῶν πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον Συνθηκῶν — ON THE TREATY WITH ALEXANDER
[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 ἐπ᾽ αὐτὰ παρακαλοῦντας μὴ τῷ μὲν λόγῳ καταχρωμένους ἐνοχλεῖν, πάντα δὲ μᾶλλον πράττειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπομείναντας νυνὶ τὸν ἐξετασμὸν ἢ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν πειθομένους ὑμᾶς ἔχειν περὶ αὐτῶν, ἢ παραχωρήσαντας ἐᾶν συμβουλεύειν τοὺς ἀληθέστερα περὶ τῶν δικαίων ἀποφαινομένους,
[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,
[2] ἵν᾽ 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. 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.
[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.
[3] εἰ δή τις ἐρωτήσειεν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐπὶ τίνι ἂν μάλιστ᾽ ἀγανακτήσαιτ᾽ 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.
[3] 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.
[4] παρὰ τοὺς ὅρκους τοίνυν καὶ τὰς συνθήκας τὰς ἐν τῇ κοινῇ εἰρήνῃ γεγραμμένας Ἀλέξανδρος εἰς Μεσσήνην καταγαγὼν τοὺς Φιλιάδου παῖδας, ὄντας τυράννους, ἆρ᾽ ἐφρόντισε τοῦ δικαίου, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο τῷ αὑτοῦ ἤθει τῷ τυραννικῷ, βραχὺ φροντίσας ὑμῶν καὶ τῆς κοινῆς ὁμολογίας;
[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?
[5] οὐ δὴ δεῖ, εἰ μέν τις ὑμᾶς ταῦτα βιάζοιτο, μάλιστ᾽ ἀγανακτῆσαι, εἰ δ᾽ ἑτέρωθί που γέγονε παρὰ τοὺς πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅρκους, μὴ φυλάξασθαι, καὶ ἡμῖν μὲν διακελεύεσθαί τινας ἐνταυθὶ ἐμμένειν τοῖς ὅρκοις, τοῖς δ᾽ αὐτοὺς οὕτω περιβοήτως ἀνῃρηκόσι καταλείπειν ταύτην τὴν ἐξουσίαν.
[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.
[6] ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ οἷόν τε ταῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχειν, ἐὰν βούλησθε τῷ δικαίῳ χρῆσθαι: καὶ γὰρ ἔτι προσγέγραπται ἐν ταῖς συνθήκαις πολέμιον εἶναι τὸν ἐκεῖν᾽ ἅπερ Ἀλέξανδρος ποιοῦντα ἅπασι τοῖς τῆς εἰρήνης κοινωνοῦσι, καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτοῦ, καὶ στρατεύεσθαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἅπαντας. οὐκοῦν ἐὰν ποιῶμεν τὰ συγκείμενα, πολεμίῳ χρησόμεθα τῷ καταγαγόντι.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[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 δ᾽ 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, ἐφ᾽ ἃ ὑμᾶς παρακαλοῦσι, καθάπερ ἄρτι εἶπον, λαβοῦσι τὰ ὅπλα στρατεύεσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺς παραβεβηκότας μετὰ τῶν βουλομένων.