Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79)

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [3] Those who took part in the expedition of Romulus scorned the country of their ancestors in the hope of acquiring a better; but we, who are abandoning the life which had for us no city and no hearth, are going forth as a colony that will be neither hateful to the gods nor troublesome to men nor grievous to any country, and moreover we have not inflicted blood-shed and slaughter upon the kinsmen who are driving us forth, nor have we laid waste with fire and sword the country we are leaving, nor left behind any other memorial of an everlasting hatred, as is the usual practice of people who are driven into exile in violation of treaties and reduced to unenviable straits.

  [4] δρᾶν. θεούς τε ἐπιμαρτυράμενοι καὶ δαίμονας, οἳ τὰ θνητὰ πάντα κατὰ δίκην ἄγουσι, καὶ καταλιπόντες ἐκείνοις ἀναπράξασθαι τὰς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν δίκας, ἐκεῖνο μόνον ἀξιοῦμεν, οἷς ἐστιν ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει τέκνα νήπια καὶ γονεῖς καὶ εἴ τινες ἄρα γυναῖκες ἡμῖν ἐθελήσουσι κοινωνεῖν τῆς τύχης, τὰ σώματ᾽ ἀπολαβεῖν. ταῦθ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀπόχρη λαβεῖν, καὶ οὐκέτι οὐδενὸς ἄλλου δεόμεθα τῶν ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος. ἀλλ᾽ εὐτυχεῖτε καὶ ζῆτε βίον, ὃν ἂν προαιρῆσθε, οὕτως ἀπολίτευτα καὶ ἀκοινώνητα πρὸς τοὺς ταπεινοτέρους φρονοῦντες.

  [4] And calling to witness the gods and other divinities who direct all human affairs with justice, and leaving it to them to avenge our wrongs, we make but this one request, that those of us who have left in the city infant children and parents, and wives, in case these shall be willing to share our fortunes, may get them back. We are satisfied to receive these, and we ask for naught else besides from our fatherland. But fare you well and lead the life you choose, you who are so unwilling to associate as fellow-citizens and to share your blessings with those of humbler estate.”

  [1] ὁ μὲν δὴ Βροῦτος τοιούτους εἰπὼν λόγους ἐπαύσατο: τοῖς δὲ παροῦσιν, ὅσα τε περὶ τῶν δικαίων εἶπεν, ἀληθῆ εἶναι ἐδόκει καὶ ὅσα τῆς ὑπεροψίας τοῦ συνεδρίου κατηγόρησε, μάλιστα δ᾽ ἐν οἷς τὸ ἀσφαλὲς [p. 383] τῶν ὁμολογιῶν δόλου μεστὸν ἀπεδείκνυε καὶ ἀπάτης. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰς ὕβρεις τελευτῶν διῆλθεν, ἃς ἦσαν ὑβρισμένοι ὑπὸ τῶν δανειστῶν, καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἕκαστον ἀνέμνησε κακῶν, οὐδεὶς ἦν στερρὸς οὕτω τὴν διάνοιαν, ὃς οὐκ ἐξεχεῖτο τοῖς δάκρυσι καὶ ἀνεκλαίετο τὰς κοινὰς συμφοράς: καὶ τοῦτ᾽ οὐκ αὐτοῖς μόνοις συνέβαινε παθεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς ἥκουσιν. οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ πρέσβεις τὰ δάκρυα κατέχειν ἴσχυον ἐνθυμούμενοι τὰς ἐκ τοῦ διοικισμοῦ τῆς πόλεως ἀτυχίας, καὶ πολὺς ἦν χρόνος ἐν ᾧ κατηφεῖς καὶ δεδακρυμένοι καὶ

  [81] With these words Brutus ended his speech. All who were present regarded as true everything he said about principles of justice, as also the charges he made respecting the arrogance of the senate, but particularly what he said to show that the assurance offered for the performance of the agreement was full of fraud and deceit. But when at the last he described the abuses which the people had suffered at the hands of the money-lenders, and put every man in mind of his own misfortunes, no one was so stout of heart as not to be melted away by tears and to bewail their common calamities. And not only the people were affected in this manner, but likewise those who had come from the senate; for even the envoys could not restrain their tears when they considered the misfortunes that had arisen from the breaking up of the city, and for a long time they stood with eyes downcast and full of tears, and at a loss what to say.

  [2] τί χρὴ λέγειν ἀποροῦντες εἱστήκεσαν. ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ὅ τε πολὺς θρῆνος ἐπαύσατο καὶ σιωπὴ κατέσχε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, παρῆλθεν ἀπολογησόμενος πρὸς ταῦτα, ὅσπερ ἐδόκει τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν ἡλικίᾳ τε προὔχειν καὶ ἀξιώσει, Τῖτος Λάρκιος, ὃς δὶς ἀποδειχθεὶς ὕπατος δυναστείᾳ τῇ καλουμένῃ δικτατορίᾳ κράτιστα πάντων ἀνθρώπων χρησάμενος ἱερὰν καὶ σεβασμοῦ μεστὴν ἐποίησε νομισθῆναι τὴν ἐπίφθονον ἀρχήν.

  [2] But after this great lamentation had ceased and silence fell upon the assembly, there came forward to answer these accusations a man who seemed to excel the rest of the citizens in both age and rank. This was Titus Larcius, who had twice been chosen consul and had of all men made the best use of the power called the dictatorship, causing that invidious magistracy to be looked upon as sacred and worthy of all respect.

  [3] ἐπιβαλλόμενος δὲ περὶ τοῦ δικαίου ποιεῖσθαι λόγους, καὶ τὰ μὲν τοῖς δανειστικοῖς ἐγκαλῶν ὡς ὠμὰ καὶ ἀπάνθρωπα διαπεπραγμένοις, τὰ δὲ τῶν πενήτων καθαπτόμενος ὡς οὐ δικαίως ἀξιούντων βίᾳ μᾶλλον ἀφεῖσθαι τῶν ὀφειλημάτων ἢ χάριτι, καὶ ὡς τὴν βουλὴν οὐκ ὀρθῶς [p. 384] δἰ ὀργῆς ἐχόντων ἐπὶ τῷ μηθενὸς τῶν μετρίων παρ᾽

  [3] He, undertaking to speak to the point of justice, now censured the money-lenders for having acted with cruelty and inhumanity, and now reproached the poor for unjustly demanding to be relieved of their debts through violence rather than as a favour, and told them they were in the wrong to direct their anger against the senate for their failure to obtain any reasonable concession from that body, instead of against those who were really to blame,

  [4] αὐτῆς τυγχάνειν, μᾶλλον ἢ οὐχὶ τοὺς αἰτίους: πειρώμενός τ᾽ ἀποφαίνειν βραχὺ μὲν ὑπάρχον τοῦ δήμου τὸ μὴ κατὰ γνώμην ἀδικοῦν, ὑπὸ δὲ μήκους ἀπορίας ἠναγκασμένον αἰτεῖσθαι τὴν ἄφεσιν, τὸ δὲ πλεῖον ἀκολασίᾳ καὶ ὕβρει καὶ τῷ καθ᾽ ἡδονὰς ζῆν ἐφεικὸς καὶ δἰ ἁρπαγῆς ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ὑπηρετεῖν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις παρεσκευασμένον, διακρίνεσθαί τε οἰόμενος δεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐλεεινῶν τὰ πονηρὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν φιλανθρωπίας δεομένων τὰ μίσους ἄξια, καὶ τοιούτους τινὰς ἄλλους καθιστάμενος λόγους ἀληθεῖς μέν, οὐχ ἅπασι δὲ τοῖς ἀκούουσι κεχαρισμένους, οὐκ ἔπειθεν, ἀλλὰ θροῦς ἦν ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ πολὺς καὶ τῶν μὲν ἀγανακτήσεις ὡς ἐξαιμάττοντος τὰς λύπας, τῶν δ᾽ ἐξομολογήσεις ὡς οὐδὲν τῶν ἀληθῶν ἀποκρυπτομένου: ἔλαττον δὲ πολλῷ τοῦτ᾽ ἦν θατέρου τὸ μέρος, ὥστ᾽ ἠφανίζοντο τῷ πολλῷ καὶ περιῆν ἡ τοῦ ἀγανακτοῦντος βοή.

  [4] He also endeavoured to show that, while there was a small part of the people whose offence was involuntary and who were forced by their extreme poverty to demand the remission of their debts, yet the greater part of them were abandoned to licence and insolence and a life of pleasure, and were prepared to gratify their desires by robbing others; and he thought a difference ought to
be made between the unfortunate and the depraved, and between those who needed kindness and those who deserved hatred. And though he advanced other arguments of this kind, which, while true enough, were not pleasing to all his hearers, he could not persuade them; but everything he said was received with a great murmur, some being indignant at his opening their griefs afresh, and others owning that he concealed no part of the truth; but the latter group was much smaller than the other, so that it was drowned out by numbers, and the clamour of the indignant group prevailed.

  [1] ὀλίγα δὲ τούτοις ἔτι προσθέντος τοῦ Λαρκίου καὶ τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς προπετείας τῶν βουλευμάτων καθαψαμένου παραλαβὼν τὸν λόγον ὁ τοῦ δήμου προεστηκὼς τότε Σικίννιος ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐτράχυνε τὰς ὀργὰς αὐτῶν λέγων, ὡς ἐκ τούτων ἂν δύναιντο μάλιστα τῶν λόγων καταμαθεῖν, οἷαι τιμαὶ καὶ χάριτες αὐτοὺς ὑποδέξονται κατελθόντας 10 εἰς τὴν πατρίδα.

  [82.1] After Larcius had added a few more remarks to those I have reported and had reproached the people for their uprising and the precipitancy of their resolutions, Sicinius, who was then at the head of the populace, replied and inflamed their passions still more, saying that from these words of Larcius in particular they might learn what honours and gratitude would await them when they returned to their country.

  [2] οἷς γὰρ ἐν ἀκμῇ τῶν δεινῶν οὖσι καὶ δεομένοις τῆς παρὰ τοῦ δήμου βοηθείας καὶ [p. 385] ἐπὶ τοῦθ᾽ ἥκουσιν οὐδὲ νῦν ἐπέρχεται μετρίους καὶ φιλανθρώπους ποιεῖσθαι λόγους, τίνα χρὴ δοκεῖν παραστήσεσθαι διάνοιαν, ὅταν αὐτοῖς κατ᾽ ἐλπίδα χωρήσῃ τὰ πράγματα, καὶ γένηται τὰ νῦν ὑβριζόμενα τοῖς λόγοις ὑποχείρια τοῖς ἔργοις; ποίας ὑπερηφανίας αὐτοὺς ἀφέξεσθαι, ποίας αἰκίας, ποίας ὠμότητος τυραννικῆς;

  [2] “For if to those who are in the direst straits, who are imploring the assistance of the people, come hither for that purpose, it does not occur even now to speak words of moderation and humanity, what sentiments must we expect them to entertain when things have succeeded according to their wishes, and when those who are now insulted by their words become subject to their deeds? From what arrogance, from what abusive treatment, from what tyrannical cruelty will they refrain?

  [3] ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὲν ὑμῖν ἀπόχρη δουλεύειν ἅπαντα τὸν τοῦ βίου χρόνον δεδεμένοις καὶ μαστιγουμένοις καὶ πυρὶ καὶ σιδήρῳ καὶ λιμῷ καὶ πάσῃ λώβῃ ἀπολλυμένοις, μὴ τρίβετε τὸν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὅπλα ῥίψαντές τε καὶ τὼ χεῖρε περιαγαγόντες ἀκολουθεῖτε αὐτοῖς: εἰ δὲ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἔνεστιν ὑμῖν τις πόθος, μὴ ἀνέχεσθε αὐτῶν. ὑμεῖς τ᾽, ὦ πρέσβεις, ἢ λέγετε, ἐφ᾽ οἷς καλεῖτε ἡμᾶς δικαίοις, ἢ μὴ λέγοντες ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἄπιτε: οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔτι μεταδοίημεν ὑμῖν λόγου.

  [3] But if you are contented to be slaves all your lives, to be bound, scourged, and destroyed by fire, sword, famine, and every other abuse, don’t waste any time, but throw down your arms, offer your hands to be bound behind you, and follow them. But if you have any craving for liberty, do not bear with them. And as for you, envoys, either state the terms upon which you summon us or, if you will not do so, withdraw from the assembly. For after this we shall not give you leave to speak.”

  [1] ὡς δ᾽ ἐπαύσατο, πάντες οἱ παρόντες ἐπεθορύβησαν ὡς τὰ δέοντα λελογισμένῳ συγκατατιθέμενοι καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο ἡσυχίας γενομένης Μενήνιος Ἀγρίππας, ὅσπερ καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ βουλῇ λόγους ὑπὲρ τοῦ δήμου διέθετο καὶ τοῦ πεμφθῆναι τὴν αὐτοκράτορα πρεσβείαν τὴν γνώμην ἀποφηνάμενος αἰτιώτατος ἦν, διεσήμηνεν ὅτι βούλεται καὶ αὐτὸς εἰπεῖν. τοῖς δὲ κατ᾽ εὐχὴν τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐφάνη καὶ νυνί γέ τοι λόγων ὑπέλαβον ἀκούσεσθαι συμβάσεις ἀληθινὰς καὶ γνώμας σωτηρίους ἀμφοῖν ἐχόντων.

  [83.1] When he had ceased speaking, all present shouted uproariously, showing that they approved of his reasoning and agreed with him. Then, when silence prevailed, Menenius Agrippa, he who had delivered the speech in the senate in behalf of the people and had, more than any other, brought about, by the motion he had offered, the sending of the envoys clothed with full powers, signified that he too wished to speak. The people looked upon this as the best thing they could ask, and now at least expected to hear proposals tending to a sincere accommodation and advice salutary to both parties.

  [2] καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπερρόθησαν ἅπαντες βοῇ μεγάλῃ λέγειν κελεύοντες: ἔπειτα [p. 386] ἐπέσχον, καὶ σιγὴ τοσαύτη κατέλαβε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ὥστε μηθὲν διαλλάξαι τὸν τόπον ἐρημίας. ὁ δὲ τά τε ἄλλα, ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν, πιθανωτάτοις ἔδοξε χρήσασθαι λόγοις καὶ τοῦ βουλήματος τῶν ἀκουόντων ἐστοχασμένοις, τελευτῶν δὲ τῆς δημηγορίας λέγεται μῦθόν τινα εἰπεῖν εἰς τὸν Αἰσώπειον τρόπον συμπλάσας πολλὴν ὁμοιότητα πρὸς τὰ πράγματα ἔχοντα, καὶ τούτῳ μάλιστ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἑλεῖν: ὅθεν καὶ μνήμης ἀξιοῦται ὁ λόγος καὶ φέρεται ἐν ἁπάσαις ταῖς ἀρχαίαις ἱστορίαις. ἦν δὲ τὰ λεχθέντα 11 ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοιάδε.

  [2] And first they all roared their approval, calling to him with a great shout to speak; then they became quiet, and so great silence prevailed in the assembly that the place was as hushed as a desert. He seemed to employ in general the most persuasive arguments possible and those which gauged well the inclinations of his audience; and at the end of his speech he is said to have related a kind of fable that he composed after the manner of Aesop and that bore a close resemblance to the situation of the moment, and by this means chiefly to have won them over. For this reason his speech is thought worthy of record and it is quoted in all the ancient histories. His discourse was as follows:

  [3] ἡμεῖς ἀπεστάλημεν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς, ὦ δημόται, πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὔτε ἀπολογησόμενοι ὑπὲρ ἐκείνης οὔτε ὑμῶν κατηγορήσοντες: οὐ γὰρ ἐδόκει ταῦτα καιρὸν ἔχειν οὐδ᾽ εἶναι ταῖς κατεχούσαις τὸ κοινὸν τύχαις πρόσφορα: ἀλλὰ διαλύσοντες ἁπάσῃ προθυμίᾳ καὶ μηχανῇ τὴν στάσιν καὶ καταστήσοντες εἰς τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς κόσμον τὴν πολιτείαν, ἔχοντες δὲ τούτου τὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτοκράτορα. ὥστε περὶ μὲν τῶν δικαίων οὐδὲν ἂν οἰόμεθα δεῖν, ὅπερ Ἰούνιος ἐποίησεν οὑτοσί, εἰς μακρὸν ἐκμηκύνειν χρόνον: ἐφ᾽ οἷς δὲ φιλανθρώποις διαλῦσαι τὴν στάσιν οἰόμεθα δεῖν, καὶ τίς ἡ βεβαιώσουσα τὰς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν ἔσται πίστις, περὶ τούτων,

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sp; [3] “We have been sent to you by the senate, plebeians, neither to excuse them nor to accuse you (for neither of these courses seemed to be opportune or suited to the conditions now disturbing the commonwealth), but to use every effort and every means to put an end to the sedition and to restore the government to its original form; and for that purpose we are invested with full powers. So that we do not think it at all necessary to discourse at great length, as Junius here has done, concerning principles of justice; but as regards the humane terms on which we think we ought to put an end to the sedition, and the assurance you shall have for the performance of our agreement, we shall tell you the decisions to which we have come.

  [4] ἃ διεγνώκαμεν, ἐροῦμεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς. ἡμῖν ἐνθυμουμένοις, ὅτι πᾶσα θεραπεύεται στάσις ἐξ ἁπάσης πόλεως, ὅταν ἐξαιρεθῶσιν αἱ παρασχοῦσαι τὴν διαφορὰν αἰτίαι, [p. 387] ἀναγκαῖον ἔδοξεν εἶναι τὰς ἀρχηγοὺς τῆς διχοστασίας προφάσεις γνῶναί τε καὶ παῦσαι. εὑρόντες δὲ τὰς ἀποτόμους τῶν δανείων ἀναπράξεις τῶν παρόντων κακῶν αἰτίας γεγονυίας, οὕτως αὐτὰς διορθούμεθα. τοὺς ὀφείλοντας χρία καὶ μὴ δυναμένους διαλύσασθαι πάντας ἀφεῖσθαι τῶν ὀφλημάτων δικαιοῦμεν: καὶ εἴ τινων ἤδη τὰ σώματα ὑπερημέρων ὄντων ταῖς νομίμοις προθεσμίαις κατέχεται, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐλεύθερα εἶναι κρίνομεν: ὅσοι τε δίκαις ἁλόντες ἰδίαις παρεδόθησαν τοῖς καταδικασαμένοις, καὶ τούτους ἐλευθέρους εἶναι βουλόμεθα, καὶ τὰς καταγνώσεις αὐτῶν ἀκύρους ποιοῦμεν.