[4] As to the present form of government, that it is in a bad state and that almost everyone is dissatisfied with it, let this be the strongest proof for you, the one thing you cannot be ignorant of, that the most respectable of the plebeians are daily abandoning their ancestral hearths and fleeing out of the city, some with their wives and children removing to the neighbouring cities and others to country districts that lie farthest from Rome. And even of the patricians not many continue to reside in the city as they formerly did, but the greater part of these also are living in the country.
[5] καὶ τί δεῖ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων λέγειν, ὅτε καὶ τῶν βουλευτῶν ὀλίγοι μέν τινες οἱ κατὰ συγγένειαν ἢ φιλίαν προσήκοντες ὑμῖν ὑπομένουσιν ἐντὸς τείχους, οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλοι τὴν ἐρημίαν ποθεινοτέραν ἡγοῦνται τῆς πατρίδος; ὅτε γοῦν ἐδέησεν ὑμῖν καλέσαι τὴν βουλήν, ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν καθ᾽ ἕνα καλούμενοι συνῆλθον, οἷς πάτριον ἦν ἅμα ταῖς ἀρχαῖς διὰ φυλακῆς ἔχειν τὴν πατρίδα καὶ
[5] Yet why should I speak of the others when only a few even of the senators, and those such as are attached to you either by relationship or friendship, remain within the walls, while the rest regard solitude as more desirable than their native city? At any rate, when you found it necessary to assemble the senate, the members came together only when summoned from their country seats one by one — these men with whom it was a time-honoured custom to keep watch over the fatherland in conjunction with the magistrates and to shirk none of the public business.
[6] μηδενὸς ἀπολείπεσθαι τῶν κοινῶν. ἆρ᾽ οὐν τἀγαθὰ φεύγοντας ὑπολαμβάνετε ἀνθρώπους καταλιπεῖν τὰς ἑαυτῶν πατρίδας ἢ τὰ κακά; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οἴομαι τὰ κακά. καίτοι τίνος ἔλαττον οἴεσθ᾽ εἶναι κακὸν πόλει καὶ ταῦτα τῇ Ῥωμαίων, ᾗ πολλῶν οἰκείων δεῖ σωμάτων, εἰ μέλλει βεβαίως καθέξειν τὴν τῶν προσοίκων ἀρχήν, τὸ καταλείπεσθαι μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν δημοτικῶν, ἐρημοῦσθαι δ᾽ ὑπὸ τῶν πατρικίων, οὔτε πολέμου κατασχόντος αὐτὴν οὔτε νόσου λοιμικῆς οὔτ᾽ ἄλλης θεηλάτου συμφορᾶς οὐδεμιᾶς; [p. 129]
[6] Do you imagine, then, that it is to flee from their blessings or rather from their evils that men abandon their native lands? For my part, I think it is from their evils. And yet what greater evil do you think there is for a commonwealth, particularly for that of the Romans, which needs many troops of its own nationals if it is to maintain firmly its sovereignty over its neighbours, than to be abandoned by the plebeians and deserted by the patricians, when oppressed neither by war, pestilence nor any other calamity inflicted by the hand of Heaven?
[1] βούλεσθε οὖν ἀκοῦσαι, τίνες εἰσὶν αἱ βιαζόμεναι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καταλιπεῖν αἰτίαι ἱερὰ καὶ τάφους προγόνων καὶ ἐξερημοῦν ἐφέστια καὶ κτήσεις πατέρων καὶ πᾶσαν ἡγεῖσθαι γῆν ἀναγκαιοτέραν τῆς πατρίδος; οὐ γὰρ ἄτερ αἰτίας ταῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχει. ἐγὼ δὴ φράσω πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ οὐκ ἀποκρύψομαι.
[10.1] “Do you wish, then, to hear the reasons that are compelling these men to abandon temples and sepulchres of their ancestors, to desert hearths and possessions of their fathers, and to look upon every land as dearer to them than their own? For these things are not taking place without reason. Well, then, I will inform you and conceal nothing.
[2] κατηγορίαι γίνονται τῆς ἀρχῆς ὑμῶν, Ἄππιε, πολλαὶ καὶ παρὰ πολλῶν: εἰ μὲν ἀληθεῖς ἢ ψευδεῖς οὐδὲν δέομαι ζητεῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι, γίνονται δ᾽ οὖν ὅμως. οὐδεὶς δ᾽, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἔξω τῶν ὑμετέρων ἑταίρων οἰκείως τοῖς παροῦσιν ἔχει πράγμασιν. οἱ μέν γ᾽ ἀγαθοὶ καὶ ἐξ ἀγαθῶν, οἷς προσῆκεν ἱερᾶσθαί τε καὶ ἄρχειν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας καρποῦσθαι τιμάς, ἃς οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν ἐκαρποῦντο, ἄχθονται τούτων ἀπελαυνόμενοι δι᾽ ὑμᾶς τὰς προγονικὰς ἀξιώσεις ἀπολωλεκότες.
[2] Many charges are being brought against the magistracy of you decemvirs, Appius, and by many people. Whether they are true or false I do not care to inquire at present, but at any rate they are being brought. And not a man, I say, outside of your own partisans is well disposed toward the present state of affairs. For the men of worth, descended from men of worth, who ought to hold the priesthoods and the magistracies and to enjoy the other honours which were enjoyed by their fathers, are indignant when they are excluded from these by you and thus have lost the dignities of their ancestors.
[3] οἱ δὲ τὴν διὰ μέσου τάξιν ἔχοντες ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ τὴν ἀπράγμονα διώκοντες ἡσυχίαν, χρημάτων τ᾽ ἀδίκους ἁρπαγὰς ἐγκαλοῦσιν ὑμῖν καὶ προπηλακισμοὺς εἰς γαμετὰς ὀδύρονται γυναῖκας καὶ παροινίας εἰς θυγατέρας ἐπιγάμους καὶ
[3] The men of middle rank in the state, who pursue a life of tranquillity free from public duties, accuse you of snatching away their property unjustly and lament the insults you offer to their wedded wives, your drunken licentiousness toward their marriageable daughters, and many other grievous abuses.
[4] ἄλλας ὕβρεις πολλὰς καὶ χαλεπάς. τὸ δὲ πενέστατον τοῦ δημοτικοῦ μέρος οὔτ᾽ ἀρχαιρεσιῶν ἔτι κύριον γινόμενον οὔτε ψηφοφοριῶν οὔτ᾽ εἰς ἐκκλησίας καλούκενον οὔτ᾽ ἄλλης πολιτικῆς φιλανθρωπίας μεταλαμβάνον οὐδεμιᾶς, διὰ ταῦτα πάνθ᾽ ὑμᾶς μισεῖ καὶ τυραννίδα καλεῖ τὴν ἀρχήν. [p. 130]
[4] And the poorest part of the populace, who have no longer the power either of choosing magistrates or of giving their votes upon other occasions, who are not summoned to assemblies and do not share in any other political courtesy, hate you upon all these accounts and call your government a tyranny.
[1] πῶς οὖν ἐπανορθώσετε ταῦτα καὶ παύσεσθε δἰ αἰτίας παρὰ τοῖς πολίταις ὄντες; τοῦτο γὰρ ἔσθ᾽ ὑπόλοιπον εἰπεῖν. εἰ προβούλευμα τοῦ συνεδρίου ποιήσαντες ἀποδοίητε τῷ δήμῳ διαγνῶναι, πότερον αὐτῷ δοκεῖ πάλιν ὑπάτους τ᾽ ἀποδεικνύναι καὶ δημάρχους καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς τὰς πατρίους, ἢ μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς πολιτείας.
[11.1] “How, then, shall you reform these matters and cease being the object of accusations among your fellow citizens? For this remains to be discussed. You can do so if you will procure a preliminary decree of the senate and restore to the people the right of deciding whether they prefer to appoint consuls, tribunes and the other traditional magistrates once more or to continue under the same form of government as at present.
[2] ἐάν τε γὰρ ἀγαπῶσι Ῥωμαῖοι πάντες ὀλιγαρχούμενοι καὶ μένειν ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐξουσίας ψηφίσωνται, κατὰ νόμον ἕξετε καὶ οὐ βίᾳ τὴν ἀρχήν: ἐάν τε ὑπάτους πάλιν
αἱρεῖσθαι βουληθῶσι καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς ὡς πρότερον, ἀποθήσεσθε νόμῳ τὴν ἐξουσίαν καὶ οὐ δόξετε ἀκόντων ἄρχειν τῶν ἴσων: τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ τυραννικόν, τὸ δὲ παρ᾽ ἑκόντων τὰς ἀρχὰς λαμβάνειν ἀριστοκρατικόν.
[2] For if all the Romans are content to be governed by an oligarchy and vote that you shall continue in possession of the same power, you will hold your magistracy in accordance with law and not by force; whereas, if they wish to choose consuls again and all the other magistrates as aforetime, you will resign your power in a legal manner and avoid the imputation of governing your equals without their consent. For the latter course is tyrannical, but to receive the magistracies with the consent of the governed is the mark of an aristocracy.
[3] τοῦ δὲ πολιτεύματος τούτου πρῶτον οἴομαι δεῖν ἄρξαι σὲ καὶ παῦσαι τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ κατασταθεῖσαν ὀλιγαρχίαν, Ἄππιε, λυσιτελῆ γέ ποθ᾽ ἡμῖν γενομένην, νῦν δ᾽ ἐπαχθῆ. ἃ δ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ πεισθῆναί μοι καὶ ἀποθέσθαι τὴν ἐπίφθονον ἐξουσίαν ταύτην κερδανεῖς, ἄκουσον.
[3] And of this measure I think that you, Appius, ought to be the author and thus put an end to the oligarchy instituted by yourself, which was once an advantage to us but is now a grievance. Hear, now, what you will gain by following my advice and resigning this invidious power.
[4] ἐὰν μὲν ὅλον ὑμῶν τὸ ἀρχεῖον ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς γένηται προαιρέσεως, διὰ σὲ πάντες ὑπολήψονται τὸν ἄρξαντα καὶ τούτους γεγενῆσθαι χρηστούς: ἐὰν δ᾽ οὗτοι φιλοχωρῶσιν ἐπὶ τῇ παρανόμῳ δυναστείᾳ, σοὶ μὲν ἅπαντες εἴσονται τὴν χάριν, ὅτι μόνος ἐβουλήθης δίκαια ποιεῖν, τοὺς δὲ μὴ θέλοντας σὺν αἰσχύνῃ καὶ μεγάλῃ βλάβῃ παύσουσι τῆς ἀρχῆς.
[4] If your whole college is actuated by the same principle, everyone will think that it is because of you who set the example that the others too have become virtuous, whereas if these others are too fond of their illegal power, all will feel grateful to you for being the only person who desired to do what was right, and they will force out of office with ignominy and great hurt those who refuse to resign it.
[5] ὁμολογίας δὲ καὶ πίστεις ἀπορρήτους εἴ [p. 131] τινας ἀλλήλοις δεδώκατε θεοὺς ἐγγυητὰς ποιησάμενοι — τάχα γάρ τι καὶ τοιοῦτον ὑμῖν πέπρακται — φυλαττομένας ἀνοσίους εἶναι νόμιζε ὡς κατὰ πολιτῶν καὶ πατρίδος, καταλυομένας δ᾽ εὐσεβεῖς. θεοὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ καλαῖς καὶ δικαίαις παραλαμβάνεσθαι φιλοῦσιν ὁμολογίαις, οὐκ ἐπ᾽ αἰσχραῖς καὶ ἀδίκοις.
[5] And if you have entered into any agreements and given secret pledges to one another, invoking the gods as witnesses, — for it is possible that you may have done something even of this nature, — look upon the observance of these agreements as impious, since they were made against your fellow citizens and your country, and the breaking of them as pious. For the gods like to be called in as partners for the performance of honourable and just agreements, not of those that are shameful and unjust.
[1] εἰ δὲ διὰ φόβον ἐχθρῶν ὀκνεῖς ἀποθέσθαι τὴν ἀρχήν, μή σοι κίνδυνοί τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπαχθῶσι, καὶ δίκας ἀναγκασθῇς ὑπέχειν τῶν πεπραγμένων, οὐκ ὀρθῶς δέδοικας. οὐ γὰρ οὕτω μικρόθυμος οὐδ᾽ ἀχάριστος ἔσται ὁ Ῥωμαίων δῆμος, ὥστε τῶν μὲν ἁμαρτημάτων σου μεμνῆσθαι, τῶν δ᾽ εὐεργεσιῶν ἐπιλελῆσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἀντιπαρεξετάζων τὰ νῦν ἀγαθὰ τοῖς πάλαι κακοῖς ἐκεῖνα μὲν ἡγήσεται συγγνώμης ἄξια, ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐπαίνων.
[12.1] “However, if it is through fear of your enemies that you hesitate to resign your magistracy, lest they should form some dangerous designs against you and you should be compelled to give an account of your actions, your fear is not justified. For the Roman people will be neither so mean-spirited nor so ungrateful as to remember your faults and forget your good services, but offsetting your past errors by your present merits, will look upon the former as deserving of forgiveness and the latter of praise.
[2] ὑπάρξει δέ σοι καὶ τῶν πρὸ τῆς ὀλιγαρχίας ἔργων πολλῶν καὶ καλῶν ὄντων ὑπομιμνήσκειν τὸν δῆμον, καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων χάριν εἰς βοήθειαν καὶ σωτηρίαν ἀπαιτεῖν, ἀπολογίαις τε χρῆσθαι πρὸς τὰ κατηγορήματα πολλαῖς: τοῦτο μέν, ὡς οὐκ αὐτὸς ἥμαρτες, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἄλλων τις ἀγνοοῦντός σου: τοῦτο δ᾽, ὡς οὐχ ἱκανὸς ἦσθα τὸν πράττοντα κωλύειν ἰσότιμον ὄντα: τοῦτο δ᾽, ὡς ἑτέρου τινὸς ἔργου χρησίμου χάριν ἠναγκάσθης ἀβούλητόν τι ὑπομεῖναι.
[2] You will also have the opportunity of reminding the people of the many fine actions you performed before the establishment of the oligarchy, of claiming the gratitude due for these as a means to assist and save you, and of employing many lines of defence against the charges. For example, that you yourself did not commit the wrong, but one of the others without your knowledge; or that you had no power to restrain the person who did the deed, since he was of equal authority with yourself; or, again, that you were forced to submit to something undesirable for the sake of something else which was useful.
[3] πολὺς γὰρ ἂν εἴη ὁ λόγος, εἰ πάσας ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι βουλοίμην τὰς ἀπολογίας. καὶ οἷς μηδὲν ἀπολόγημα ὑπάρχει μήτε δίκαιον μήτ᾽ ἐπιεικές, ὁμολογοῦντες καὶ παραιτούμενοι [p. 132] πραΰνουσι τὰς τῶν ἠδικημένων ὀργάς, οἱ μὲν εἰς ἄνοιαν ἡλικίας καταφεύγοντες, οἱ δ᾽ εἰς πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων ὁμιλίας, οἱ δ᾽ εἰς μέγεθος ἀρχῆς, οἱ δ᾽ εἰς τὴν ἅπαντας πλανῶσαν τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους λογισμοὺς τύχην.
[3] Indeed, it would be a long story if I chose to enumerate all the lines of defence open to you. And even those who can make no defence that is either just or plausible, by acknowledging their guilt and craving pardon soften the resentment of the injured parties, some by falling back on the folly of youth, and others on their association with wicked men, some on the greatness of their power, and still others on Fortune that misleads all human calculations.
[4] ἐγώ σοι τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀποστάντι ὑπισχνοῦμαι πάντων ἀμνηστίαν ὑπάρξειν τῶν ἡμαρτημένων καὶ διαλλαγὰς πρὸς τὸν δῆμον ὡς ἐν κακοῖς εὐπρεπεῖς.
[4] I myself promise you, if you resign your magistracy, that all your faults shall be forgotten and that the people shall be recalled to you upon such terms as in your unfortunate situation will be honourable.
[1] ἀλλὰ δέδοικα, μὴ πρόφασις μὲν οὐκ ἀληθὴς ὁ κίνδυνος ᾖ τοῦ μὴ παραχωρεῖν τῆς ἀρχῆς — μυρίοις γοῦν ὑπῆρξε τυραννίδας ἀποθεμένοις μηδὲν δεινὸν ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν �
�αθεῖν — , αἱ δ᾽ ἀληθεῖς ὦσιν αἰτίαι φιλοτιμία κενὴ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ καλοῦ τῆς δόξης διώκουσα καὶ πόθος ἡδονῶν ὀλεθρίων, ἃς οἱ τυραννικοὶ φέρουσι βίοι.
[13.1] “But I fear that the danger is not the real ground for your not resigning your magistracy — at all events, men without number have been able to lay aside their tyrannies without suffering any harm at the hands of their fellow citizens — but that the true causes are a vain ambition, which pursues the phantom of honour, and a yearning for those pernicious pleasures which the life led by tyrants brings in its train.
[2] εἰ δὲ βούλει μὴ τὰ εἴδωλα καὶ τὰς σκιὰς τῶν τιμῶν καὶ τῶν εὐημεριῶν διώκειν, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὰς καρποῦσθαι τὰς ἀληθεῖς τιμάς, ἀπόδος τὴν ἀριστοκρατίαν τῇ πατρίδι καὶ τιμὰς λάμβανε παρὰ τῶν ἴσων καὶ ζήλου τύγχανε παρὰ τῶν ἐπιγιγνομένων καὶ κλέος ἀθάνατον ἀντὶ τοῦ θνητοῦ σώματος κατάλιπε τοῖς ἐγγόνοις. αὗται γάρ εἰσι βέβαιοι καὶ ἀληθεῖς τιμαὶ καὶ ἀναφαίρετοι χαριέστατοί
[2] If, however, instead of pursuing the vain images and shadows of the honours and enjoyments, you wish to enjoy the real honours themselves, then restore the aristocracy to your country, receive honours from your equals and gain the praise of posterity, and in exchange for your mortal body leave an immortal renown to your descendants. For these are lasting and real honours, which can never be taken from you and afford the greatest pleasure without any regrets.
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 685