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

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [43.1] “For my part, senators, I think you used the best judgment in regard to the accommodation . . . to which you are obliged to yield . . . to observe faithfully the terms agreed upon. For you gave us the gods as sureties for the performance of the terms by invoking many grievous curses upon those who should violate the compact, both upon them and upon their posterity forever. But I do not know that it is necessary the weary you by saying any more in order to convince you, who are all well acquainted with the facts, that our demands are only what is just and advantageous, and that you are under every necessity of carrying them out, if you are mindful of your oaths.

  [2] ὡς δ᾽ οὐ μικρὰ τὰ διαφέροντα ἡμῖν ἐστι τόνδε μὴ ἐκλιπεῖν τὸν ἀγῶνα μήτε βίᾳ εἴξαντας μήτ᾽ ἀπάτῃ παραχθέντας, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πολλὴν ἀνάγκην εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφίγμεθα, δεινὰ καὶ πέρα δεινῶν πεπονθότες ὑπὸ τοῦδε τοῦ ἀνδρός, μάθετε, ὦ πατέρες, μᾶλλον δ᾽ ἀναμνήσθητε: οὐδὲν γὰρ ὅ τι οὐ πρὸς εἰδότας ὑμᾶς ἅπαντας ἐρῶ: καὶ ἅμα γνώμῃ χρήσασθε οἰκείᾳ πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα ἐνθυμηθέντες, εἰ τῶν δημοτῶν ἡμῶν ἐπεχείρησέ τις ἐν τῷ πλήθει τοιαῦτα λέγειν ἢ πράττειν [p. 65] καθ᾽ ὑμῶν, οἷα Μάρκιος ἐτόλμησεν ἐνθάδε εἰπεῖν, ποῖόν ποτ᾽ ἂν ὑμῖν παρέστη πρὸς αὐτὸν πάθος.

  [2] Learn now, fathers, that it is a point of no small importance to us not to relinquish this contest, either yielding to force or deluded by trickery, but that we entered upon it because of the greatest necessity, having suffered outrageous treatment, and worse than outrageous, at the hands of this man. Or rather recall these facts from your own knowledge; for I shall say nothing that is not known to all of you. And at the same time use your own judgment in passing upon what I am saying, reflecting how, if any of us had attempted in an assembly of the people to say or do such things against your class as Marcius dared to utter here, you would have felt towards him.

  [1] τὰς γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῆς ὁμονοίας τῇ βουλῇ ἀκινήτους ὁμολογίας καὶ μόνον οὐκ ἀδαμαντίνοις δεσμοῖς ἠσφαλισμένας, ἃς οὔτε ὑμῖν τοῖς ὀμωμοκόσιν οὔτε τοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐσομένοις καταλύειν θέμις, ἕως ἂν ἡ πόλις ἥδε οἰκῆται, πρῶτος ἐπεχείρησε λύειν ἐξ ὑμῶν οὑτοσὶ Μάρκιος οὔπω τέταρτον ἔτος ἐξ οὗ γεγενημένας, οὐ σιγῇ πράττων τὴν κατάλυσιν, οὐδ᾽ εἰς ἀφανές που καταδὺς χωρίον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀναφανδὸν ἐν τῷδε τῷ τόπῳ πάντων παρόντων ὑμῶν γνώμην ἀποφηνάμενος, ὡς χρὴ τὴν δημαρχικὴν ἐξουσίαν μηκέτι συγχωρεῖν ἡμῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνελεῖν, ᾗ πρώτῃ καὶ μόνῃ τῆς ἐλευθερίας φυλακῇ

  [44.1] “For Marcius here was the first man among you who endeavoured to dissolve our unalterable compact of unity with the senate, secured by bonds all but adamantine, a compact which it is unlawful for either you, who swore to its observance, or your posterity to dissolve as long as this city shall be inhabited. And this he did before the compact was in its fourth year, nor was it in silence, nor after he had slunk into some secret hole, that he worked for its abrogation, but he openly expressed the opinion in this very place, in the presence of you all, that you ought no longer to allow us the tribunician power, but ought to abolish the first and only safeguard of our liberty, relying on which we entered into the accommodation.

  [2] πιστεύσαντες ἐποιησάμεθα τὰς διαλύσεις. καὶ οὐκ ἐνταῦθ᾽ ἔστη τῆς ἀλαζονείας, ἀλλ᾽ ὕβριν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῶν πενήτων καὶ τυραννίδα τὴν ἰσηγορίαν ὀνομάζων ἀφελέσθαι παρῄνει ταύτην ὑμῖν. ὃ δὲ πάντων ἀνοσιώτατον ἦν τῶν τότε ὑπὸ τούτου ἀξιωθέντων, ἀναμνήσθητε, ὦ πατέρες, ὅτ᾽ ἀπέφαινε καλὸν εἶναι καιρὸν ἀπομηνμονεῦσαι πρὸς τὸ δημοτικὸν ἁπάσας τὰς ἐπὶ τοῖς προτέροις ἐγκλήμασιν ὀργάς, καὶ παρῄνει νῦν, ἐν ᾧ τετρύχωταί θ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ἀχρηματίας καὶ πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον τῆς ἀναγκαίου σπανίζεται τροφῆς, ἅπαν αὐτὸ ἐπιτρῖψαι, διακατασχόντας ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀπορίας τῶν [p. 66]

  [2] Nor did this bluffing stop here, but giving to the liberty of the poor the name of insolence, and to equality that of tyranny, he advised you to deprive us of them. Call to mind, fathers, the most wicked of all the measures he then urged, when he declared it to be a fine opportunity for you to remember again all your resentment against the plebeians for their former offences, and advised that now, while they were distressed for want of money and had already for a long time lacked the necessaries of life, you should crush their whole class by firmly holding the market to the same scarcity of provisions.

  [3] ἐπιτηδείων τὴν ἀγοράν. οὐ γὰρ ἀνθέξειν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον ὀλίγα σιτία πολλοῦ ὠνουμένους ἀργυρίου πένητας ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν οἰχήσεσθαι τὴν πόλιν ἐκλείποντας, ὅσοι δ᾽ ἂν ὑπομείνωσι τῷ κακοδαιμονεστάτῳ διαφθαρήσεσθαι τῶν μόρων. οὕτω δ᾽ ἄρα παρεφρόνει καὶ θεοβλαβὴς ἦν ταῦτα πείθων ὑμᾶς, ὥστ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνο ἠδυνήθη καταμαθεῖν, χωρὶς τῶν ἄλλων ὧν προσετρίβετο τὰς τῆς βουλῆς σπονδὰς λύειν ἀξιῶν, ὅτι πένητες ἄνθρωποι τῆς ἀναγκαίου τροφῆς ἀποκλειόμενοι τοσοῦτοι τὸ πλῆθος ὄντες ὁμόσε χωρεῖν ἀναγκασθήσονται τοῖς αἰτίοις τῆς συμφορᾶς οὐθὲν ἔτι φίλιον ἡγούμενοι.

  [3] For we should not hold out for any length of time, he said, while paying a high price for little corn, poor men that we are, but some of us would leave the city and go elsewhere, while those who remained would perish by the most miserable of all deaths. But he was so senseless and infatuated in giving you this advice as not to be able to see even this — that, to say nothing of the other evils he was inflicting by asking the senate to dissolve its compact, such a multitude of poor men, when deprived of the necessaries of life, would be compelled to attack the authors of their calamity, no longer regarding any one as a friend.

  [4] ὥστ᾽ εἰ μανέντες ὑμεῖς ἐπεκυρώσατε τὰς γνώμας αὐτοῦ, μηθὲν ἂν γενέσθαι τὸ διὰ μέσου, ἀλλ᾽ ἤτοι τὸ δημοτικὸν ἀπολωλέναι πλῆθος ἅπαν, ἢ μηδὲ τὸ τῶν πατρικίων περιλελεῖφθαι γένος. οὐ γὰρ ἂν οὕτως ἀνδραποδωδῶς παρέσχομεν ἑαυτούς, οἱ μὲν ἐκπεσεῖν, οἱ δ᾽ ἀποθανεῖν, ἀλλὰ θεοὺς μάρτυρας ὧν ἐπάσχομεν καὶ δαίμονας ἐπικαλεσάμενοι, πολλῶν ἂν ἐξεπληρώσαμεν, εὖ ἴστε, τὰς ἀγορὰς καὶ τοὺς στενωποὺς νεκρῶν, καὶ μέγαν αἵματος κρατῆρα πολιτικοῦ στήσαντες οὕτως ἂν ἐδεξάμεθα τὴν ὀφειλομένην μοῖραν. τοιούτων ὑμῖν δυσσεβημάτων εἰσηγητής, ὦ πατέρες, ἐγένετο, καὶ τοιαῦτα δημηγορεῖν ᾤετο �
�εῖν.

  [4] Consequently, if you had been so mad as to adopt his advice, it must have ended in one of these two ways, for there would have been no middle course: either the whole plebeian multitude would have perished, or even the patrician class would not have survived. For we should not have allowed ourselves to be banished or put to death in so slavish a manner, but, having called upon the gods and lesser divinities to be witnesses to our sufferings, be assured we should have filled the fora and the streets with many dead bodies, and after offering up a great bowl of the blood of our fellow-citizens, we should then have accepted our destined fate. Of such impious deeds, fathers, did he make himself the proponent, and such things did he think fit to demand in his harangue.

  [1] καὶ οὐχὶ λέγειν μὲν ὁ Μάρκιος, ἐξ ὧν διαστήσει τὴν πόλιν, ἐπεχείρησε, πράττειν δ᾽ οὐχ οἷα [p. 67] ἔλεγεν ἐπεβάλετο, ἀλλὰ καὶ στῖφος ἀνθρώπων εἰς ἅπασαν ὑπηρεσίαν ἑτοίμων παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ ἔχων, καλούμενος ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἡμῶν οὐκ ἀπαντᾷ, καὶ τοῖς ὑπηρέταις τοῖς ἡμετέροις, ὁπότε κελευσθέντες ἄγειν αὐτὸν ἐπιβάλλοιντο, πληγὰς ἐντρίβεται, καὶ οὐδὲ τῶν ἡμετέρων σωμάτων τὼ χεῖρε τελευτῶν ἀπέχεται.

  [45.1] “Nor did Marcius merely undertake to utter words that would divide the city, yet refrain from acting in accordance with his words, but actually keeping about him a body of men ready for any service, he refuses to appear before our magistrates when summoned, and showers blows upon our assistants when at our command they endeavour to bring him away, and at last does not even refrain from offering violence to our own persons.

  [2] ὥστε περίεστιν ἡμῖν, τό γ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῦτον εἶναι μέρος, ὄνομα μὲν εὐπρεπὲς ἀσύλου ἀρχῆς ἐπὶ χλευασμῷ κείμενον ἔχειν, ἔργον δὲ τῶν ἀποδεδομένων τῇ ἀρχῇ μηδ᾽ ὁτιοῦν πράττειν. πῶς δ᾽ ἂν ἑτέροις ἀδικεῖσθαι λέγουσι βοηθήσαιμεν, οἷς γε μηδ᾽ αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχει τἀσφαλές; ταύτας μέντοι τὰς ὕβρεις οἱ πένητες ὑβριζόμενοι πρὸς ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς οὔπω τυραννοῦντος, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι μέλλοντος, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἤδη πεπονθότες, ὦ βουλή, δεινά, τὰ δ᾽ εἰ μὴ τὸ πλεῖον ὑμῶν μέρος ἐμποδὼν ἐγένετο παρασχεδὸν ἐλθόντες παθεῖν, ἄρα εἰκότως ἀγανακτοῦμεν καὶ βοηθείας τινὸς οἰόμεθα δεῖν οὐκ ἄνευ τῆς ὑμετέρας συναγανακτήσεως τυχεῖν, ἐπὶ δίκην αὐτὸν ἴσην καὶ νόμιμον, ὦ βουλή, προσκαλούμενοι, περὶ ἣν ἅπασα ἡ πληθὺς μερισθεῖσα κατὰ φυλὰς λόγου δοθέντος τοῖς δεομένοις ἔνορκον ἐποίσει τὴν ψῆφον.

  [2] The consequence is that, as far as in him lies, we bear the specious name of an ‘inviolable’ magistracy, a term given in mockery, but discharge not one of the functions assigned to that magistracy. For how shall we give relief to others who complain that they are injured, when we ourselves have no security? When, therefore, we, the poor, have been thus insulted by one man who, though not yet a tyrant, is nevertheless aiming at tyranny; when we have already suffered many indignities, and came near suffering others, had not the majority of you, fathers, prevented it, have we not good reason to resent this and to feel that we ought to obtain some assistance as well as your sympathy in our resentment, when we summon him to a fair and legal trial, in which the whole populace, divided into their tribes, will give their votes under oath after all who desire to speak have been heard?

  [3] ἴθι ἐκεῖ, Μάρκιε, καὶ ταῦθ᾽, ἃ μέλλεις λέγειν ἐνθάδε, πρὸς ἅπαντας τοὺς πολίτας ἀθρόους ἀπολογοῦ, εἴτε ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ βελτίστου [p. 68] τὰ κράτιστα συνεβούλευες τούτοις καὶ συνήνεγκεν ἂν τῇ πόλει ταῦτα γενόμενα, εἴτε ὡς οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιον λόγων εὐθύνας ὑπέχειν τοὺς ἀποφαινομένους ἐνθάδε τὰς γνώμας, εἴτε ὡς οὐκ ἐκ προνοίας οὐδὲ ἐπιβουλῆς, ἀλλ᾽ ὀργῇ ἐπιτρέψας τὰ μιαρὰ ταῦτα παραινεῖν προήχθης,

  [3] Go thither, Marcius, and say in your defence before all the citizens in a body what you are intending to say here — either that with the best intention you gave the soundest advice to these senators and that your advice, if followed, would have been advantageous to the commonwealth, or that it is not right that those who deliver their opinions in this place should have to give an account of their words, or that it was not with premeditation or treacherous purpose, but in a momentary yielding to passion that you were led to give this abominable advice, or whatever other defence you can offer.

  [4] εἴθ᾽ ὁτιδήποτε ἄλλο ἀπολόγημα ἔχεις. καταβίβασον ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπερηφάνων καὶ τυραννικῶν αὐχημάτων ἐκείνων σεαυτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ δημοτικώτερον, ὦ πονηρέ, καὶ ποίησον ἤδη ποτὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις ὅμοιον. ἡμαρτηκότος λαβὲ καὶ παραιτουμένου σχῆμα ταπεινὸν καὶ ἐλεεινόν, οἷον ἀπαιτοῦσιν αἱ συμφοραί. μὴ βιαζόμενος τοὺς κακῶς πεπονθότας, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπερχόμενος ἀξίου σώζεσθαι.

  [4] Descend from that overbearing and tyrannical haughtiness to a more democratic behaviour, wretched man, and make yourself at last like other men. Assume the humble and piteous demeanour of one who has erred and is asking pardon, such a demeanour as your plight requires. Seek to save yourself, not by offering violence to those you have injured, but by courting their favour.

  [5] γενέσθω σοι παράδειγμα τῆς ἐπιεικείας, ᾗ χρώμενος ἂν εἴης πρὸς τοὺς ἅμα πολιτευομένους ἀνεπίληπτος, τὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τούτων ἔργα, οἳ τοσοῦτοι μὲν ὄντες τὸ πλῆθος, ὅσους νῦν αὐτὸς ὁρᾷς, τοσαύτας δ᾽ ἀρετὰς ἀποδεδειγμένοι καὶ πολεμικὰς καὶ πολιτικάς, ἃς οὐδ᾽ ἐν πολλῷ πάνυ χρόνῳ διελθεῖν ῥᾴδιον, οὐδὲν ὠμὸν οὐδ᾽ ὑπερήφανον ἐξήνεγκαν τέλος καθ᾽ ἡμῶν τῶν φαύλων καὶ ταπεινῶν οἱ σεμνοὶ καὶ μεγάλοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ λόγων ἦρξαν συμβατηρίων αὐτοὶ πρότεροι προτείνοντες διαλλαγάς, ὅτε διεῖλεν ἡμᾶς ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων ἡ τύχη, καὶ τὰς συμβάσεις οὐχ ὡς ἑαυτοῖς ὑπελάμβανον ἄριστα ἕξειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἡμεῖς ἠξιοῦμεν [p. 69] συνεχώρησαν γενέσθαι, καὶ τὰ τελευταῖς ταυτὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν σιτοδοσίαν ἔναγχος τοῦ χρόνου προσκρούματα, ἐφ᾽ οἷς δι᾽ αἰτίας εἴχομεν αὐτούς, περὶ πολλοῦ ἐποιήσαντο ἀπολύσασθαι.

  [5] As an example of moderation, the practice of which would make you free from all reproach on the part of your fellow-citizens, take the actions of these worthy men. Though they are so many in number as you yourself see here present, and have displayed so many virtues both in war and in peace that I could not easily enumerate them in a very long time, yet they, the venerable and great, passed no cruel or haughty sentence against us, the common and humble folk, but even took the lead themselves in m
aking overtures and offered us a reconciliation when Fortune had divided us from one another, and they agreed to make the compact upon the conditions we desired, rather than upon those they thought would be best for themselves; and finally, when the difficulties recently arose over the distribution of corn, for which we blamed them, they took great pains to remove these grounds of offence.

  [1] ἐῶ τἆλλα, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ σοῦ καὶ τῆς σῆς θεοβλαβείας τίνας οὐκ ἐποιήσαντο δεήσεις ἁπάντων κοινῇ τε καὶ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον τῶν δημοτικῶν παραιτούμενοί σε τῆς τιμωρίας; ἔπειτα τοῖς μὲν ὑπάτοις καὶ τῇ βουλῇ τοσαύτην πόλιν ἐπιτροπευούσῃ καλῶς εἶχεν, ὦ Μάρκιε, δικαστὴν τὸν δῆμον ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐνεκαλοῦντο ὑπομένειν, σοὶ δ᾽ ἆρ᾽ οὐχὶ καλῶς ἔχει;

  [46.1] “I omit all the rest. But in your own behalf, and to deprecate the punishment due to your madness, what intercessions did they not employ with all the plebeians both collectively and individually? Then, if it was seemly, Marcius, for the consuls and the senate, who have the oversight of so great a commonwealth, to submit to the judgment of the populace concerning any charges brought against them, is it not seemly also for you to do likewise?

  [2] καὶ δεῖσθαί γε τῶν δημοτῶν ὑπὲρ ἀφέσεως τῆς σῆς οὗτοι μὲν ἅπαντες οὐδὲν αἰσχρὸν εἶναι νομίζουσι, σὺ δὲ δι᾽ αἰσχύνης λαμβάνεις τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο; καὶ οὐκ ἀπόχρη σοι ταῦτ᾽, ὦ γενναῖε, ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ τι καλὸν ἐξειργασμένος ὑψαυχενῶν καὶ μεγαληγορῶν περιέρχῃ καὶ μηδὲν ὑφεῖναι τοῦ φρονήματος ἀπομαχόμενος: ἐῶ γάρ, ὅτι καὶ λοιδορούμενος τῷ δήμῳ καὶ προσεγκαλῶν καὶ ἀπειλῶν.