[4] When we considered that every sedition in any state is cured only when the causes that produced the disagreement are removed, we thought it necessary both to discover and to put an end to the primary causes of this dissension. And having found that the harsh exactions of debts have been the cause of the present ills, we are reforming those exactions as follows: We think it just that all those who have contracted debts and are unable to pay them should be relieved of their obligations; and if the persons of any who are default in their payments are already held under restraint by the limit for payment prescribed by law, it is our decision that these also shall be free. As for those who have been convicted in private suits and handed over to the creditors who won their suits against them, it is our wish that these also shall be free, and we set aside their sentences.
[5] περὶ μὲν δὴ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ παρεληλυθότος χρόνου συμβολαίων, ἃ τὴν ἀπόστασιν ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ποιῆσαι, τοῦτον ἐπανορθούμεθα τὸν τρόπον: περὶ δὲ τῶν ὕστερον ἐσομένων, ὡς ἂν ὑμῖν τε τῷ δήμῳ καὶ τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ συνεδρίου κοινῇ βουλευσομένοις φανῇ, νόμου κυρωθέντος, οὕτως ἐχέτω. οὐχὶ ταῦτα μέντοι τὰ διαστήσαντα ὑμᾶς ἦν ἀπὸ τῶν πατρικίων, ὦ δημόται, καὶ τούτων εἰ τύχοιτε ἀποχρῆν ὑμῖν ᾤεσθε καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου ὠρέγεσθε; δίδοται νῦν ὑμῖν: ἄπιτε ἤδη χαίροντες εἰς τὴν πατρίδα.
[5] With regard to your debts of the past, therefore, which seemed to us to have led to your secession, we redress them in this manner; as to your future debts, whatever shall be approved of both by you, the people, and by the senate in joint consultation, after a law has been passed for that purpose, let it be so ordered. Are not these the things, plebeians, that divided you from the patricians? And did you not think it enough if you obtained these, without aiming at anything else? They are now granted to you. Return, then, to your country with joy.
[1] αἱ δὲ βεβαιώσουσαι τὰς ὁμολογίας ταύτας καὶ τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ὑμῖν παρέξουσαι πίστεις ἔσονται πᾶσαι νόμιμοί τε καὶ ἐν ἔθει τοῖς διαλυομένοις τὰς ἔχθρας. ἐπιψηφιεῖται μὲν ἡ βουλὴ ταῦτα καὶ νόμου [p. 388] τάξιν ἀποδώσει τοῖς γραφησομένοις: μᾶλλον δ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν ἐνθάδε γραφέσθω τὰ δόξαντα, καὶ ἡ βουλὴ τούτοις πείσεται.
[84.1] “The assurances which shall confirm this agreement and secure to you the performance of it shall all be according to law and conformable to the practice of those who put an end to their enmities. The senate will confirm these arrangements by a vote and give the force of law to the conditions that shall be drawn up, But rather let your demands be drawn up by you here, and the senate will agree to them.
[2] τοῦ δὲ μενεῖν βέβαια τὰ συγχωρούμενα νῦν, καὶ μηδὲν ὕστερον ἐναντίον αὐτοῖς ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς ἐξενεχθήσεσθαι, πρῶτον μὲν ἡμεῖς οἱ πρέσβεις ἀνάδοχοι, διδόντες ὑμῖν σώματα καὶ ψυχὰς καὶ γενεὰς τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἐνέχυρα: ἔπειτα οἱ ἄλλοι βουλευταί, ὅσοι τῷ ψηφίσματι συνεγγραφήσονται: οὐ γὰρ δή ποτε ἀκόντων ἡμῶν γραφήσεταί τι κατὰ τοῦ δήμου. οἱ γὰρ ἡγούμενοι τοῦ συνεδρίου καὶ πρῶτοι τὰς αὑτῶν γνώμας ἀποφαινόμενοι τῶν ἄλλων ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν.
[2] That the concessions now made to you will stand firm and unchanged and that nothing contrary to them shall be carried out later by the senate, first, we envoys are your sureties, giving you our persons, our lives, and our families as pledges; and in the next place, all the other senators who shall be named in the decree. For no decree will ever be drawn up contrary to the interests of the people so long as we oppose it, since we are the leading members of the senate and always deliver our opinions first.
[3] τελευταία δὲ πίστις ἅπασίν ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις Ἕλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάροις, ἣν οὐδεὶς πώποτε ἀναιρήσει χρόνος, ἡ δι᾽ ὅρκων καὶ σπονδῶν ἐγγυητὰς θεοὺς ποιουμένη τῶν συμβάσεων: ὑφ᾽ ἧς πολλαὶ μὲν ἰδιωτῶν ἔχθραι πικραί, πολλοὶ δὲ πόλεμοι πόλεσι πρὸς πόλεις συστάντες διηλλάγησαν. καὶ ταύτην εἴ τινα λαμβάνετε τὴν πίστιν, εἴτ᾽ ὀλίγοις ἐπιτρέπετε τοῖς ἡγεμόσι τοῦ συνεδρίου περὶ ὅλης ὑμῖν δοῦναι τῆς βουλῆς τοὺς ὅρκους, εἴτε πάντας ἀξιοῦτε τοὺς ἐπιγραφομένους τοῖς δόγμασιν ὀμνύειν καθ᾽ ἱερῶν ἦ μὴν βέβαια τὰ συγκείμενα φυλάξειν.
[3] The last assurance we shall give you is that in use among all men, both Greeks and barbarians, which no lapse of time shall ever overthrow, namely, the one which through oaths and treaties makes the gods sureties for the performance of agreements. Under this assurance many bitter enmities between private individuals and many wars that have arisen between states have been composed. Come now, accept this assurance also, whether you permit a few of the principal members of the senate to give your their oaths in the name of their whole body, or think fit that all the senators who are named in the decree shall swear over the sacrificial victims to maintain the agreement inviolable.
[4] δεξιὰς δὲ καὶ σπονδὰς καὶ πίστεις ἐπὶ θεῶν γιγνομένας μήτε σὺ διάβαλλε, Βροῦτε, μήτ᾽ ἀναίρει τὸ κάλλιστον ἐπιτήδευμα [p. 389] τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, μηδ᾽ ὑμεῖς ἀνάσχησθε αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ἀνοσίων καὶ τυραννικῶν ἀνθρώπων πονηρεύματα, ἃ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρετῆς πολὺ ἀπέχει.
[4] Do not traduce, Brutus, assurances given under the sanction of the gods and confirmed by the pledging of hands and by treaties, nor destroy the noblest of all human institutions; and as for you, plebeians, do not permit him to mention the wicked deeds of impious and tyrannical men, deeds far removed from the virtue of the Romans.
[1] μίαν εἰπὼν ἔτι τὴν οὔτε ἀγνοουμένην ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων οὔτε ἀμφισβητουμένην παύσομαι. τίς δ᾽ ἐστὶν αὕτη; ἡ τὸ κοινὸν συμφέρον εἰσάγουσα καὶ δι᾽ ἀλλήλων ἀμφότερα ποιοῦσα σώζεσθαι τὰ μέρη. αὕτη μέντοι πρώτη καὶ μόνη συνάγει τε ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ οὐκ ἐάσει ποτὲ δίχ᾽ ἀλλήλων γενέσθαι. δεήσεται γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ οὐδέποτε παύσεται δεόμενον τὸ μὲν ἀμαθὲς πλῆθος ἔμφρονος ἡγεμονίας, τὸ δ᾽ ἡγεῖσθαι δυνάμενον βουλευτήριον τῶν ἄρχεσθαι βουλομένων ὄχλων: καὶ οὐ δόξῃ μόνον τοῦτ᾽ εἰκάσαντες,
[85.1] “I shall mention one other assurance which no man fails to know or questions, and then have done. And what is that? It is the assurance that introduces the common advantage and preserves both parts of the state through their mutual assistance. This, after all, is the first and only assurance that draws us together, and it will never permit us to be sundered from each other. For the ignorant multitude will always need and never cease to need prudent leadership, while the senate, which is capable of leadership, will always need multitudes willing to b
e ruled. This we know, not merely as a matter of opinion and conjecture, but also by actual experience.
[2] ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργῳ πειραθέντες ἴσμεν. τί οὖν δεδιττόμεθα καὶ πράγματα παρέχομεν ἀλλήλοις; τί δὲ λόγους πονηροὺς λέγομεν χρηστὰ πράγματα ἔχοντες ἐν χερσίν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀναπτύξαντες αὑτοὺς καὶ τὼ χεῖρε περιβάλλοντες ἀλλήλοις ἄπιμεν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα παλαιὰν τέρψιν τῶν ἡδίστων καὶ πόθον ἁπάντων γλυκύτατον ἀποληψόμενοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιζητοῦμεν ἀσφαλείας ἀγενήτους καὶ πίστεις ἀπίστους, ὥσπερ οἱ πολεμιώτατοι καὶ πάντα ὑποπτεύοντες ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον. ἡμῖν μέν, ὦ δημόται, τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ συνεδρίου μία πίστις ἀπόχρη περὶ τοῦ μὴ ἄν ποτε ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι περὶ ἡμᾶς, εἰ κατέλθοιτε, κακοὺς τροφάς τε ὑμῶν ἀγαθὰς εἰδόσι καὶ [p. 390] ἐπιτηδεύματα νόμιμα τήν τε ἄλλην ἀρετήν, ἣν πολλάκις ἀπεδείξασθε καὶ ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ κατὰ πολέμους.
[2] Why, then, do we terrify and trouble one another? Why do we speak evil words when we have kindly deeds in our power? Why do we not rather open our arms and, embracing one another, return to our country to find there our old-time enjoyment of the dearest pleasures and the satisfaction of a yearning that is sweetest of all, instead of seeking securities that come to naught and faithless assurances, as do the deadliest foes who suspect the worst of everything? As for us of the senate, plebeians, one assurance suffices, that you will never, if you return, behave yourselves badly toward us, and that is the knowledge we have of your excellent rearing, of your law-abiding habits, and of all your other virtues, of which you have given many proofs both in peace and in war.
[3] καὶ εἴ τι δι᾽ ἀνάγκην τῆς πίστεως καὶ ἐλπίδος τὰ συμβόλαια κοινῆς ἐπανορθώσεως τύχοι, τὰ γοῦν ἄλλα πιστεύομεν ὑμῖν ἔσεσθαι ἀγαθοὺς καὶ οὐδὲν δεόμεθα οὔτε ὅρκων οὔτε ὁμήρων οὔτε ἄλλης πίστεως παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους οὐδεμιᾶς: ὑμῖν μέντοι γε πρὸς οὐδὲν τῶν ἀξιουμένων ἐναντιωσόμεθα. καὶ περὶ μὲν τῆς πίστεως, ἐφ᾽ ᾗ διαβάλλειν ἡμᾶς Βροῦτος ἐπεχείρει, ταῦτα ἱκανά. εἰ δέ τις ὑμῖν φθόνος οὐ δίκαιος ἐγκάθηται πονηρὰ περὶ τῆς βουλῆς διανοεῖσθαι πείθων, βούλομαί τινα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον εἰπεῖν λόγον, ὦ δημόται: καί μου πρὸς θεῶν μεθ᾽ ἡσυχίας καὶ προσοχῆς ἀκούσατε.
[3] And if, in consequence of the need of assurance and hope, the contracts should be revised by us jointly, we are confident that in all other respects at least you will be good citizens, and we have no need of either oaths or hostages or any other assurances from the people. However, we shall oppose you in nothing you desire. Concerning the matter of assurances, then, upon which subject Brutus endeavoured to malign us, this is enough. But if any groundless hatred is implanted in your minds, causing you to entertain a bad opinion of the senate, I desire to speak to that point also, plebeians, and I beg of you in the name of the gods to hear me with silence and attention.
[1] ἔοικέ πως ἀνθρωπείῳ σώματι πόλις. σύνθετον γὰρ καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν μερῶν ἐστιν ἑκάτερον: καὶ οὔτε δύναμιν ἔχει ἕκαστον τὴν αὐτὴν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς μερῶν οὔτε χρείας παρέχεται τὰς ἴσας.
[86.1] “A commonwealth resembles in some measure a human body. For each of them is composite and consists of many parts; and no one of their parts either has the same function or performs the same service as the others.
[2] εἰ δὴ λάβοι τὰ μέρη τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου σώματος ἰδίαν αἴσθησιν καθ᾽ αὑτὰ καὶ φωνήν, ἔπειτα στάσις ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐμπέσοι καθ᾽ ἓν γενομένοις τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι πρὸς τὴν γαστέρα μόνην, καὶ λέγοιεν οἱ μὲν πόδες, ὅτι πᾶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐπίκειται τὸ σῶμα: αἱ δὲ χεῖρες, ὅτι τὰς τέχνας ἐργάζονται καὶ τἀπιτήδεια ἐκπορίζουσι καὶ μάχονται πολεμίοις καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ὠφελήματα παρέχουσιν εἰς τὸ κοινόν: οἱ δὲ ὦμοι, ὅτι τὰ ἄχθη πάντα ἐπ᾽ [p. 391] αὐτοῖς κομίζεται: τὸ δὲ στόμα ὅτι φθέγγεται: ἡ δὲ κεφαλή, ὅτι ὁρᾷ καὶ ἀκούει καὶ τὰς ἄλλας αἰσθήσεις περιλαβοῦσα πάσας ἔχει, δι᾽ ὧν σώζεται τὸ πρᾶγμα: εἶτα φαῖεν πρὸς τὴν γαστέρα: σὺ δ᾽, ὦ χρηστή, τί τούτων ποιεῖς ἢ τίς ἐστιν ἡ σὴ χάρις ἡμῖν καὶ ὠφέλεια; ἀλλὰ σύ γε τοσοῦτον ἀπέχεις τοῦ πράττειν καὶ συγκατορθοῦν ἡμῖν τι τῶν κοινῇ χρησίμων, ὥστε καὶ ἀντιπράττεις καὶ ἐνοχλεῖς καί, πρᾶγμα ἀφόρητον, ὑπηρετεῖν ἀναγκάζεις καὶ φέρειν ἁπανταχόθεν εἰς τὴν ἐκπλήρωσιν τῶν σεαυτῆς ἐπιθυμιῶν.
[2] If, now, these parts of the human body should be endowed, each for itself, with perception and a voice of its own and a sedition should then arise among them, all of them uniting against the belly alone, and the feet should say that the whole body rests on them; the hands, that they ply the crafts, secure provisions, fight with enemies, and contribute many other advantages toward the common good; the shoulders, that they bear all the burdens; the mouth, that it speaks; the head, that it sees and hears and, comprehending the other senses, possesses all those by which the thing is preserved; and then all these should say to the belly, ‘And you, good creature, which of these things do you do? What return do you make and of what use are you to us? Indeed, you are so far from doing anything for us or assisting us in accomplishing anything useful for the common good that you are actually a hindrance and a trouble to us and — a thing intolerable — compel us to serve you and to bring things to you from everywhere for the gratification of your desires.
[3] φέρε, τί οὐ μεταποιούμεθα τῆς ἐλευθερίας, καὶ τῶν πολλῶν ἀφιέμεθα πραγματειῶν, ἃς ἕνεκα ταύτης ὑπομένομεν; εἰ δὴ ταῦτα δόξειεν αὐτοῖς καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι δρῴη τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργον, ἔσθ᾽ ὅπως ἂν ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ διαρκέσαι δυνηθείη τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν ἐντὸς ὀλίγων ἡμερῶν τῷ κακίστῳ τῶν μόρων ἀναλωθείη, λιμῷ; οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι ἄλλως τις εἰπεῖν.
[3] Come now, why do we not assert our liberty and free ourselves from the many troubles we undergo for the sake of this creature?’ If, I say, they should decide upon this course and none of the parts should any longer perform its office, could the body possibly exist for any considerable time, and not rather be destroyed within a few days by the worst of all deaths, starvation No one can deny it. Now consider the same condition existing in a commonwealth.
[4] τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον ὑπολάβετε καὶ περὶ πόλεως. πολλὰ γὰρ δὴ τὰ συμπληροῦντα καὶ ταύτην ἔθνη καὶ οὐδὲν ἀλλήλοις ἐοικότα, ὧν ἕκαστον ἰδίαν τινὰ τῷ �
�οινῷ χρείαν ὥσπερ τὰ μέλη τῷ σώματι παρέχεται. οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ἀγροὺς γεωργοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ μάχονται περὶ αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους, οἱ δ᾽ ἐμπορεύονται πολλὰς διὰ θαλάσσης ὠφελείας, οἱ δὲ τὰς ἀναγκαίας ἐργάζονται τέχνας. εἰ δὲ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ταῦτα πρὸς [p. 392] τὴν βουλὴν τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἀρίστων συνηγμένην διαστασιάσειε καὶ λέγοι: σὺ δ᾽ ἡμῖν, ὦ βουλή, τί ποιεῖς ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἀντὶ ποίας αἰτίας ἄρχειν τῶν ἄλλων ἀξιοῖς; οὐθὲν γὰρ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοις: ἔπειτ᾽ οὐκ ἀπαλλαγησόμεθά σου τῆς τυραννίδος ταύτης ἤδη ποτὲ καὶ δίχ᾽
[4] For this also is composed of many classes of people not at all resembling one another, every one of which contributes some particular service to the common good, just as its members do to the body. For some cultivate the fields, some fight against the enemy in defence of those fields, others carry on much useful trade by sea, and still others ply the necessary crafts. If, then, all these different classes of people should rise against the senate, which is composed of the best men, and say, ‘As for you, senate, what good do you do us, and for what reason do you presume to rule over others? Not a thing can you name. Well then, shall we not now at last free ourselves from this tyranny of yours and live without a leader?’
[5] ἡγεμόνος οἰκήσομεν; εἰ δὴ ταῦτα διανοηθέντες τῶν συνήθων ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἀποσταῖεν, τί κωλύσει ταύτην κακὴν κακῶς ἀπολέσθαι τὴν πόλιν ὑπὸ λιμοῦ τε καὶ πολέμου καὶ παντὸς ἄλλου κακοῦ; μαθόντες οὖν, ὦ δημόται, ὅτι καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν ἡμῶν ἡ λοιδορουμένη κακῶς ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν γαστὴρ τρέφει τὸ σῶμα τρεφομένη καὶ σώζει σωζομένη, καὶ ἔστιν ὡσεί τις ἑστίασις κοινὴ τὸ πρόσφορον ἁπάντων καὶ τῆς διαλλαγῆς αἴτιον ἀποδιδοῦσα, οὕτως ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἡ διοικοῦσα τὰ κοινὰ καὶ τοῦ προσήκοντος ἑκάστῳ προνοουμένη βουλὴ πάντα σώζει καὶ φυλάττει καὶ ἐπανορθοῖ, παύσασθε τὰς ἐπιφθόνους κατ᾽ αὐτῆς φωνὰς λέγοντες, ὡς ἐξεβλήθητε τῆς πατρίδος καὶ ὡς ἀλῆται καὶ πτωχοὶ περιέρχεσθε δι᾽ αὐτήν. οὐδὲν γὰρ ὑμᾶς εἴργασται δεινὸν οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐργάσαιτο, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὴ καλεῖ καὶ ἀντιβολεῖ καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῖν ἅμα ταῖς πύλαις ἀναπετάσασα ὑποδέχεται.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 574