by Demosthenes
[137] If Cersobleptes is by nature not a man of his word, if he is justly distrusted because of his past behavior, and if there is nothing in the political situation that should induce him, even against his judgement and his character, to promote the welfare of Charidemus, for what reason should we, in sheer absolute stupidity, help him to accomplish his desires, even to our own detriment? I see no reason.
[138] ὅτι τοίνυν ἄνευ τοῦ τοῖς πράγμασι μὴ συμφέρειν τὸ ψήφισμα, οὐδὲ πρὸς δόξαν συμφέρει τῇ πόλει τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν ἐψηφισμένῃ φαίνεσθαι, καὶ τοῦτο δεῖ μαθεῖν ὑμᾶς. εἰ μὲν γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πόλιν οἰκοῦντί τῳ καὶ νόμοις πολιτευομένῳ τὸ ψήφισμ᾽ ἐγέγραπτο, δεινὸν ὂν ἧττον ἂν ἦν αἰσχρόν: νῦν δὲ γέγραπται Χαριδήμῳ τῷ πόλιν μὲν οὐδ᾽ ἡντινοῦν οἰκοῦντι, Θρᾳκὶ δ᾽ ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ στρατηγοῦντι καὶ διὰ τῆς ἐκείνου βασιλείας πολλοὺς ἀδικοῦντι.
[138] Apart then from the fact that this decree does not further our policy, you must be warned that, as regards reputation also, it does not further the interest of our city to be known to have enacted anything of the sort. If, men of Athens, the decree had been made for the benefit of a man dwelling in a free state, and living under its laws as a free citizen, it would have been less discreditable, though still unwarranted; but in fact it has been made for Charidemus, a man not domiciled in any free state at all, but commanding an army for a Thracian and an autocrat, and maltreating people by royal authority.
[139] ἴστε γὰρ δήπου τοῦθ᾽ ὅτι πάντες οἱ ξεναγοῦντες οὗτοι πόλεις καταλαμβάνοντες Ἑλληνίδας ἄρχειν ζητοῦσιν, καὶ πάντων, ὅσοι περ νόμοις οἰκεῖν βούλονται τὴν αὑτῶν ὄντες ἐλεύθεροι, κοινοὶ περιέρχονται κατὰ πᾶσαν χώραν, εἰ δεῖ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, ἐχθροί. ἆρ᾽ οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καλὸν ἢ πρέπον ὑμῖν τοῦ μὲν εἵνεκα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πλεονεξίας ἐπιβουλεύσοντος οἷς ἂν τύχῃ τοιαύτην φυλακὴν ἐψηφισμένους φαίνεσθαι, τοῖς δ᾽ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἐλευθερίας ἀμυνουμένοις εἴργεσθαι τῆς ὑμετέρας συμμαχίας προειρηκέναι;
[139] You cannot but know how all these mercenary officers seize upon free Hellenic cities, and try to dominate them. They march about through country after country as the common enemies, if the truth must be told, of every man whose wish is to reside constitutionally and as a free man in his own fatherland. Men of Athens, is it creditable to you, is it dignified, that you should be known to have carried a measure for the protection of a fellow who, to satisfy his greed, is ready to fall foul of anybody who comes his way, and to have given notice of expulsion from your alliance to the defenders of their own independence?
[140] ἐγὼ μὲν οὐχ ὑπολαμβάνω τοῦτ᾽ οὔτε καλῶς ἔχειν οὔθ᾽ ὑμῶν ἀξίως. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ αἰσχρὸν Λακεδαιμονίοις μὲν ἐγκαλεῖν ὅτι τοὺς τὴν Ἀσίαν οἰκοῦντας Ἕλληνας ἔγραψαν ἐξεῖναι δρᾶσαι πᾶν ὅ τι ἂν θέλῃ βασιλεύς, αὐτοὺς δ᾽ ἐκδοῦναι καὶ τοὺς τὴν Εὐρώπην οἰκοῦντας Κερσοβλέπτῃ καὶ πάντας ὅσων περ ἂν οἴηται κρείττων Χαρίδημος ἔσεσθαι; οὐ γὰρ ἄλλο τι ποιεῖ τὸ ψήφισμα τουτί, ὅτε τῷ μὲν ἐκείνου στρατηγῷ οὐ διῄρηται τί πρακτέον ἢ μή, πᾶσι δέ, ἄν τις ἀμύνηται, τοσοῦτος ἐπήρτηται φόβος.
[140] For my part, I cannot regard such action as consistent with your honor or your good fame. It must be discreditable, first to denounce the Lacedaemonians for giving written licence to the King of Persia to do what he likes to the Hellenic inhabitants of Asia, and then to put European Hellenes, and everybody whom Charidemus thinks he can overpower, at the mercy of Cersobleptes. And that is precisely the effect of this decree, when no distinction is drawn as to what his general may or may not do, but when all who resist his attacks are menaced with such terrors.
[141] καὶ μήν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ γεγονός τι πρᾶγμα φράσαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς βούλομαι, δι᾽ οὗ μᾶλλον ἔθ᾽ ὑμῖν γενήσεται δῆλον ὡς σφόδρα δεῖ λῦσαι τὸ ψήφισμα τουτί. ὑμεῖς ἐποιήσασθ᾽ ἔν τισι καιροῖς καὶ χρόνοις Ἀριοβαρζάνην πολίτην καὶ δι᾽ ἐκεῖνον Φιλίσκον, ὥσπερ νῦν διὰ Κερσοβλέπτην Χαρίδημον. ὢν δ᾽ ὅμοιος ἐκεῖνος τούτῳ τῇ προαιρέσει τοῦ βίου, διὰ τῆς Ἀριοβαρζάνου δυνάμεως πόλεις κατελάμβανεν Ἑλληνίδας, εἰς ἃς εἰσιὼν πολλὰ καὶ δείν᾽ ἐποίει, παῖδας ἐλευθέρους ἀδικῶν καὶ γυναῖκας ὑβρίζων, καὶ πάντα ποιῶν ὅσ᾽ ἂν ἄνθρωπος ποιήσειεν ἄνευ νόμων καὶ τῶν ἐν πολιτείᾳ καλῶν τεθραμμένος εἰς ἐξουσίαν ἐλθών.
[141] In the next place, men of Athens, I would like to relate a piece of history, which will make it still more evident to you that it is your bounden duty to abrogate this decree. Once upon a time, on a certain occasion, you gave your citizenship to Ariobarzanes, and also, on his account, to Philiscus, — just as you have recently given it to Charidemus for the sake of Cersobleptes. Philiscus, who resembled Charidemus in his choice of a career, began to use the power of Ariobarzanes by occupying Hellenic cities. He entered them and committed many outrages, mutilating free-born boys, insulting women, and behaving in general as you would expect a man, who had been brought up where there were no laws, and none of the advantages of a free constitution, to behave if he attained to power.
[142] ἐν δὴ Λαμψάκῳ τινὲς ἄνθρωποι γίγνονται δύο: Θερσαγόρας ὄνομ᾽ αὐτῶν θατέρῳ, τῷ δ᾽ Ἐξήκεστος: οἳ παραπλήσια τοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῖν γνόντες περὶ τῶν τυράννων ἀποκτιννύασι τὸν Φιλίσκον δικαίως, τὴν αὑτῶν πατρίδ᾽ οἰόμενοι δεῖν ἐλευθεροῦν. εἰ δὴ τῶν τόθ᾽ ὑπὲρ Φιλίσκου λεγόντων, ὅτ᾽ ἐμισθοδότει μὲν τοῖς ἐν Περίνθῳ ξένοις, εἶχεν δ᾽ ὅλον τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, μέγιστος δ᾽ ἦν τῶν ὑπάρχων, ἔγραψέ τις ὥσπερ οὗτος νυνί, ἐάν τις ἀποκτείνῃ Φιλίσκον, ἀγώγιμον αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν συμμάχων εἶναι, πρὸς Διὸς θεάσασθ᾽ εἰς ὅσην αἰσχύνην ἂν ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν ἐληλύθει.
[142] Now there were two men in Lampsacus, one named Thersagoras and the other Execestus, who had formed views about tyranny very much like those that prevail here. These men put Philiscus to death, as he deserved, because they felt it their duty to liberate their own fatherland. Now suppose that one of those orators who spoke on behalf of Philiscus, at a time when he was paymaster of the mercenaries at Perinthus, when he held all the Hellespont, and was the most powerful of viceroys, had then, like Aristocrates today, moved a resolution that whosoever killed Philiscus should be liable to seizure in allied territory. I entreat you to reflect upon the depth of ignominy to which our city would have fallen.
[143] ἧκε μὲν γὰρ ὁ Θερσαγόρας καὶ
ὁ Ἐξήκεστος εἰς Λέσβον καὶ ᾤκουν ἐκεῖ: εἰ δ᾽ ἐφήπτετό τις τῶν Φιλίσκου φίλων ἢ παίδων, ἐξεδίδοντ᾽ ἂν ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑμετέρου ψηφίσματος. πῶς οὖν οὐκ αἰσχρὸν καὶ δεινὸν ἂν ἦτε πεποιηκότες, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ τοὺς μὲν παρ᾽ ὑμῖν τοιοῦτό τι πράξαντας χαλκοῦς ἱστάντες καὶ ταῖς μεγίσταις δωρειαῖς τιμῶντες ἐφαίνεσθε, τοὺς δ᾽ ἑτέρωθί που τὴν αὐτὴν τούτοις διάνοιαν ὑπὲρ τῆς αὑτῶν πατρίδος ἔχοντας ἐκδότους εἶναι κατεψηφισμένοι; τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνου μέν, εὖ ποιοῦν, οὐ συνέβη φενακισθεῖσιν ὑμῖν αἰσχύνην ὀφλεῖν: ἐπὶ τούτου δέ, ἂν ἐμοὶ πίθησθε, φυλάξεσθε. μὴ γὰρ ὡρισμένου μηδενός, ἀλλ᾽ ἁπλῶς ‘ἄν τις ἀποκτείνῃ Χαρίδημον’ γεγραμμένου, τάχ᾽ ἄν, εἰ τύχοι, καὶ τοιοῦτό τι συμβαίη.
[143] Thersagoras and Execestus came to Lesbos and lived there. Well, if any son or any friend of Philiscus had laid hands on them, they would have been given up to justice in pursuance of your decree; and assuredly you would have been guilty of a shameful and a scandalous act if, while ostentatiously setting up bronze statues of the men who performed a similar feat in your own city, and loading them with unparalleled honors, you had condemned to outlawry those who in some other country had exhibited the selfsame spirit of patriotism. I am glad to say that, in the case of Philiscus, it was not your fate to be ensnared and to incur that great dishonor; but in the present case, if you will heed my warning, you will be very careful; for, if there is no limiting clause and if the phrase “whosoever shall kill Charidemus” is unqualified, it is quite possible that the outcome will be such as I have described.
[144] βούλομαι τοίνυν ἤδη καὶ τὰ πεπραγμέν᾽ ἐξετάσαι τῷ Χαριδήμῳ διὰ βραχέων, καὶ δεῖξαι τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἀναιδείας τῶν ἐπαινούντων αὐτόν. ἓν δ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐκεῖν᾽ ὑπισχνοῦμαι, καί μου μηδεὶς ἀχθεσθῇ τῇ ὑποσχέσει: οὐ μόνον ὑμῖν ἐπιδείξω τῆς φυλακῆς οὐκ ἄξιον ἣν γέγραφ᾽ οὗτος, ἀλλὰ καὶ δίκην δόντ᾽ ἂν δικαίως τὴν μεγίστην, εἴπερ οἱ κακόνοι καὶ φενακίζοντες ὑμᾶς καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐναντία πράττοντες κολάζοιντ᾽ ἂν δικαίως.
[144] My next purpose is briefly to examine the past history of Charidemus, and to unmask the extraordinary audacity of his flatterers. I pledge myself simply to this, — and I hope no one will take my pledge in bad part, — that I will satisfy you, not only that he is unworthy of the protection proposed by the defendant, but that he deserves to be most severely punished, if chastisement is justly due to those who wish you ill, and cheat you, and are always trying to thwart you.
[145] ἴσως δέ τισιν λογιζομένοις ὑμῶν ὅτι πρῶτον μὲν πολίτης γέγον᾽ ἅνθρωπος, εἶτα πάλιν χρυσοῖς στεφάνοις ὡς εὐεργέτης ἐστεφάνωται, θαυμάζειν ἐπελήλυθεν εἰ τὰ τηλικαῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἐξηπάτησθε ῥᾳδίως. εὖ τοίνυν ἴστ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι ἐξηπάτησθε. καὶ δι᾽ ἅ γ᾽ εἰκότως τοῦτο πεπόνθατε, ἐγὼ πρὸς ὑμᾶς φράσω. ὅτι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πολλὰ γιγνώσκοντες ὀρθῶς ὑμεῖς οὐ διὰ τέλους αὐτοῖς χρῆσθε.
[145] I dare say that some of you, reflecting that the fellow has first been made a citizen, and thereafter has been decorated with crowns of gold, are astonished that it has been such an easy task to delude you so completely. Well, you may be quite sure, men of Athens, that you have been deluded; and I will explain why such a result was to be expected. You have plenty of good judgement; but you do not apply it persistently.
[146] οἷον τί λέγω; εἴ τις ὑμᾶς ἔροιτο τί πονηρότατον νομίζετε τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει πάντων ἐθνῶν, οὔτε τοὺς γεωργοὺς οὔτε τοὺς ἐμπόρους οὔτε τοὺς ἐκ τῶν ἀργυρείων οὔτε τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν ἂν εἴποιτε, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ τοὺς ἐπὶ μισθῷ λέγειν καὶ γράφειν εἰωθότας εἴποι τις, εὖ οἶδ᾽ ὅτι συμφήσαιτ᾽ ἂν ἅπαντες. μέχρι μὲν δὴ τούτου καλῶς ἐγνώκατε, ἔπειτ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ὀρθῶς τὸ λοιπόν.
[146] I mean this, for instance: suppose you were asked which you regard as the most unprincipled breed of citizens you have; you would not name the farmers, or the traders, or the silver-miners, or any class like those, but if any one named the people who make speeches and move resolutions for hire, I am sure that your assent would be unanimous. So far your judgement is excellent; but it is no longer sound in the sequel.
[147] οὓς γὰρ αὐτοὶ πονηροτάτους νομίζετε πάντων, τούτοις περὶ τοῦ ποῖόν τιν᾽ ἕκαστον χρὴ νομίζειν πεπιστεύκατε: οἱ δ᾽ ὃν ἂν αὑτοῖς λυσιτελῇ, καὶ χρηστὸν καὶ πονηρὸν εἶναί φασιν, οὐχ ὃν ἂν ᾖ δίκαιον καὶ ἀληθές. ὅπερ πεποιήκασι τὸν Χαρίδημον τοῦτον οἱ ῥήτορες πάντα τὸν χρόνον, ὡς καὶ ὑμεῖς ὁμολογήσετε, ἐπειδὰν ἀκούσητέ μου τὰ πεπραγμέν᾽ αὐτῷ.
[147] For it is on the very people whom you regard as most unprincipled that you rely for a right opinion of a man’s character and they describe this or that man as virtuous or wicked, not when the description is honest and true, but when it brings money into their own pockets. And that is what the orators have constantly done in respect of Charidemus, as you will agree when I have given you an account of his past career.
[148] ὅσα μὲν δὴ στρατιώτης ὢν ἐν σφενδονήτου καὶ ψιλοῦ μέρει τὸ ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ἐναντί᾽ ἐστράτευται τῇ πόλει, οὐ τίθημ᾽ ἐν ἀδικήματος μέρει, οὐδ᾽ ὅτι λῃστικόν ποτε πλοῖον ἔχων ἐλῄζετο τοὺς ὑμετέρους συμμάχους, ἀλλ᾽ ἐῶ ταῦτα. διὰ τί; ὅτι, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, αἱ ἀναγκαῖαι χρεῖαι τοὺς τοῦ τί πρακτέον ἢ μὴ λογισμοὺς ἀναιροῦσιν ἅπαντας, ὥστ᾽ οὐ πάνυ ταῦτ᾽ ἀκριβολογεῖσθαι δεῖ τὸν δικαίως ἐξετάζοντα. ἀλλ᾽ ὅθεν ἀρξάμενος ξεναγῶν ἤδη καί τινων ἄρχων στρατιωτῶν κακῶς ὑμᾶς ἐποίει, ταῦτ᾽ ἀκούσατέ μου.
[148] I do not reckon among his misdeeds those campaigns of his early life, in which he served against Athens as a slinger or light-infantry man; nor that he once owned a piratical ship and preyed on your allies. But I pass these things by. And for what reason? Because, gentlemen, hard necessity does away with all consideration of what anyone should or should not do; and therefore in such matters a candid examiner must not be too fastidious. But let me tell you of the mischief he did to you at the outset of his career as a mercenary officer with troops under his command.
[149] οὗτος ἓν μὲν ἁπάντων πρῶτον, μισθωθεὶς ὑπ᾽ Ἰφικράτους καὶ πλεῖν ἢ τρί᾽ ἔτη μισθοφορήσας παρ᾽ ἐκείνῳ, ἐπειδὴ τὸν μὲν Ἰφικράτην ἀποστράτηγον ἐποιήσατ�
�, Τιμόθεον δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ Ἀμφίπολιν καὶ Χερρόνησον ἐξεπέμψατε στρατηγόν, πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς Ἀμφιπολιτῶν ὁμήρους, οὓς παρ᾽ Ἁρπάλου λαβὼν Ἰφικράτης ἔδωκε φυλάττειν αὐτῷ, ψηφισαμένων ὑμῶν ὡς ὑμᾶς κομίσαι παρέδωκεν Ἀμφιπολίταις: καὶ τοῦ μὴ λαβεῖν Ἀμφίπολιν τοῦτ᾽ ἐμποδὼν κατέστη. δεύτερον δέ, μισθουμένου Τιμοθέου πάλιν αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ στράτευμα, τούτῳ μὲν οὐ μισθοῖ, πρὸς δὲ Κότυν πλέων ᾤχετ᾽ ἔχων τὰς ὑμετέρας τριακοντόρους, ὃν ἀκριβῶς ᾔδει τῶν ὄντων ἀνθρώπων ἐχθρόταθ᾽ ὑμῖν διακείμενον.
[149] First of all, he was hired by Iphicrates, and drew pay in his army for more than three years. When you had cashiered Iphicrates, and dispatched Timotheus as commander-in-chief to Amphipolis and the Chersonesus, the man’s first performance was to surrender to the Amphipolitans those hostages of theirs whom Iphicrates had taken from Harpalus, and put under his care, although you had ordered them to be conveyed to Athens. That act prevented you from occupying Amphipolis. Secondly, when Timotheus in his turn wanted to hire him and his troops, he refused the engagement, and repaired by sea to Cotys, taking with him your light galleys, though he was perfectly well aware that Cotys was the most bitter enemy you had in the world.