Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [102] καὶ μὴν οὐδὲ δαπανᾶν φήσετε τῶν τότε μᾶλλον. τότε μὲν γὰρ εἰς πάνθ᾽. ὅσα καὶ νῦν ἀνηλίσκετο,πανηγύρεις, πομπάς, ἱερουργίας, εἰς τὰ τείχη, τοῖς δικάζουσι, τῇ [p. 249] βουλῇ. νῦν δὲ οὐκ ἔστι τὰ μέγιστα τῶν πρότερον. τὰς γὰρ εἰς τὸν πόλεμον δαπάνας σχεδόν τι συνεχῶς αὐτῶν πολεμούντων καὶ σπάνιον, εἴ ποτε, ἀναπαυομένων, οὐκ ἔνι συμβάλλειν οἶμαι τοῖς ἐν εἰρήνῃ γιγνομένοις ἀναλώμασιν.

  [102] Furthermore, you will not claim that you have heavier expenses than had the men of those earlier times, since in that period there were expenditures for every purpose for which they are made now — for their national assemblies, sacred processions, religious rites, fortifications, jury service, and for the council. But in these days the heaviest outlays of those borne in earlier times do not exist. For instance, their expenditures for war, seeing that they were almost continually at war and rarely, if ever, had a respite, are, in my opinion, not to be brought into comparison with those which are made in times of peace.

  [103] οὐ γὰρ ὅμοιον ἑκατὸν νεῶν ἢ καὶ πλειόνων στόλον ἀποστεῖλαι καὶ πάλιν ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ τριάκοντα ἑτέρων, καὶ τοῦτον ἔσθ᾽ ὅτε μὴ καταλύειν τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων ἐτῶν: οὐδὲ συνεχῶς τριήρεσι πλεῖν, οὐ μέχρι Κύπρου καὶ Κιλικίας, ἀλλ᾽ ὁτὲ μὲν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ὁτὲ δὲ εἰς τὸν Εὔξεινον, τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ Ὠκεανῷ: οὐδὲ ξένους στρατιώτας τρέφειν τὰ φρούρια καὶ τὴν χώραν φυλάττοντας: καὶ ὃ νῦν ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἰδεῖν ἔστι, μιᾷ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἢ δυσὶν ἀφράκτοις ἀπαντᾶν εἰς Κόρινθον.

  [103] Indeed, it was not the same thing at all to send out an expedition of one hundred ships or even more, and again, one of seventy and then a third of thirty others, and then sometimes not to disband this expedition for three or four years; or for warships to sail continuously, not merely across to Cyprus and Cilicia, but sometimes to Egypt and at other times to the Black Sea and finally on the Ocean itself, or the keep mercenary soldiers to garrison the forts and the country — it is not possible to compare all that with what may now be seen in our time, when you appear with merely one or two undecked ships every year at Corinth.

  [104] καὶ λέγω ταῦτα οὐκ ὀνειδίζων οὐδὲ τῶν προγόνων ὑμᾶς χείρονας ποιῶν: οὐ γὰρ ὅτι μὴ δύνασθε ταὐτὰ πράττειν ἐκείνοις, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καιρὸς οὐκ ἔστι τῶν τοιούτων, ἐν εἰρήνῃ διάγετε. δῆλον γὰρ ὡς κἀκεῖνοι μᾶλλον ἐβούλοντο μὴ κινδυνεύειν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπόνουν, ἵνα καταστῇ ποτε τὰ πράγματα, πλὴν ὅτι γε οὐκ ἴσα ὑμῖν ἀνήλισκον. ἵνα γὰρ τἄλλα ἀφῇ τις, τὸ τῶν νεωρίων, τὸ τῶν ὅπλων, τὸ τῶν μηχανημάτων, ὃ νῦν εἶπον, αὐτὸ δήπου τὸ τῶν τειχῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιον, ὡς ἐφ᾽ ὑμῶν ἐπισκευάζεται. καὶ γὰρ ἂν τὰ τῆς ἐπιμελείας θῇ τις μὴ διαφέρειν, ἀλλά τοι σχολῇ γίγνεται καὶ κατ᾽ ὀλίγον καὶ ὁπηνίκα τις βούλεται: τότε δὲ οὐκ ἦν αὐτὰ μὴ ἑστάναι. καὶ νῦν μὲν ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν δοκιμασθησόμενα οἰκοδομεῖται,

  [104] I say all this, not by way of reproaching you, nor to show that you are inferior to your ancestors; for it is not because you are unable to match their deeds, but because the occasion for such things is past, that you live in uninterrupted peace. For it is clear that they too would have preferred to keep out of danger, and that their object in exerting themselves was in order to win security in the end. The point I am making, however, is that their scale of expenditures was not on as low a level as yours. To pass over the other items, such as your shipyards, the arms and armour, the war engines, the mere upkeep of the walls, to which I just made reference, as they are now kept up in your time, is assuredly not comparable. For if one does suppose that there is no difference in the care given to them, yet, you see, they are kept in shape in a leisurely fashion, a little at a time, and whenever a magistrate so desires; but in former times they had to be kept standing. And while now they are built to be tested by yourselves, then they were to be tested by the enemy.

  [105] τότε δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων. εἶεν: οὐ τοίνυν οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὡς πλείονας τιμᾶτε: τὸ γὰρ πλῆθος αὐτὸ δηλοῖ τῶν ἐξ ἐκείνου τοῦ χρόνου κειμένων ἀνδριάντων. χωρὶς δὲ τούτου τίς ἂν εἴποι πλείους εἶναι τοὺς νῦν φιλοτιμουμένους περὶ τὴν πόλιν; νὴ Δία, ἀνάγκην γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τιμᾶν ἅπαντας. τί δ᾽; οὐχὶ καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ Βυζάντιοι καὶ Μυτιληναῖοι τοὺς αὐτοὺς τούτους θεραπεύουσιν; ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ὅταν δόξῃ τινὰ στῆσαι χαλκοῦν, ἱστᾶσι καὶ τῆς εἰς τοῦτο δαπάνης εὐποροῦσιν.

  [105] So much for that. Well then, neither can it be said that the persons you honour are more numerous; for the mere number of the statues standing which date from that time reveals the truth. And apart from that, who would say that those who are zealous to serve the state are now more numerous than then?

  Oh yes! you may say, “but we simply must honour the commanders who rule over us, one and all.”

  What of it? Do not also the Athenians, Spartans, Byzantines, and Mytilenaeans pay court to these same? But nevertheless, whenever they decide to set up in bronze one of these, they do so, and they manage to find the cost.

  [106] καὶ μὴν ἤδη τινὸς ἤκουσα Ῥοδίου λέγοντος, οὐχ [p. 250] ὅμοια τὰ ἐκείνων καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ μόνον ὑπάρχειν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν δίχα Ἀθηναίων, καὶ τούτους δὲ μηδὲν μέγα κεκτῆσθαι: τὴν δὲ ὑμετέραν πόλιν ἐπίφθονον εἶναι παρὰ πᾶσιν, ὡς ἄριστα πράττουσαν: διόπερ αὐτῇ πλειόνων δεῖν τῶν εὐνοούντων. ἔτι δὲ μηδένα τῶν Ῥωμαίων διαφέρεσθαι παρὰ τοῖσδε ἑστάναι,

  [106] Indeed I once heard a certain Rhodian remark— “The position of those people is not comparable to ours. For all that they, the Athenians excepted, possess is liberty and the Athenians have no great possessions either; but our city is the envy of all because it is the most prosperous, and consequently it needs a greater number of loyal friends. Furthermore, none of the Romans particularly cares to have a statue among those peoples, but they do not despise that honour here.”

  [107] τῆς δέ γε ἐνθάδε τιμῆς οὐκ ἀμελεῖν. ταῦτα δέ ἐστι μὲν ἀληθῆ, μᾶλλον δὲ ὀφείλετε ἀποστῆναι δι᾽ αὐτὰ τοῦ πράγματος. τούς τε γὰρ λόγον ἔχοντας τῆς παρ᾽ ὑμῖν εἰκόνος εἰκός ἐστι μὴ παραπέμπειν μηδὲ τὸ πῶς αὐτῆς τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἅμα καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τὴν ὑμετέραν σκοπεῖν: τούς τε ἐπίφθονον εἶναι τὴν εὐπορίαν
τῆς πόλεως ὁμολογοῦντας οὐκ εἰκὸς ἦν ὑπολογίζεσθαι τὸ τῆς δαπάνης. οὐ γάρ τοι τοσούτῳ διὰ τοῦτο πλείους τιμᾶτε τῶν ἄλλων ὅσῳ πλείονα ἐκείνων κέκτησθε. καὶ μὴν τῶν γε αὐτοκρατόρων καὶ νῦν ποιεῖσθε εἰκόνας, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ τῶν ἐπ᾽ ἀξιώματος. οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑμᾶς λέληθεν ὡς οὐδέν ἐστι τὸ τοῦτον ἵστασθαι τὸν τρόπον. ἵν᾽ οὖν τίνας τιμήσητε, λοιπὸν οὕτως αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἀνάξιον ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἔργον διαπράττεσθε;

  [107] All this is true, and that is all the more reason why you should give up that practice. For we may reasonably assume that those who put any value upon having this honour in your city do not overlook the manner in which they get it, but at the same time take into consideration also the spirit in which you give it; and on the other hand, it would not be reasonable to assume that those who acknowledge that the wealth of their city arouses envy should take into account the matter of the expense. For assuredly you do not because of that consideration honour a greater number than do the other states in proportion to the relatively greater wealth which you possess.

  And besides, even at this moment you are having statues made of the emperors and other men also who are of high rank. For even you must have noticed that to be set up in your present way means nothing! Whom, then, do you think of honouring in the future that you continue a practice so shameful and so unworthy of your own selves?

  [108] εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἅπασιν ὁμοίως προσεφέρεσθε δίχα τῶν αὐτοκρατόρων, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἠλέγχεσθε. νῦν δ᾽ εἰσὶν οὓς αὐτοὺς ἵστατε: ὥστε τοῖς ἄλλοις εἶναι φανερὸν ἐκ τούτων ὅτι οὐ τιμᾶτε αὐτούς. εἰ δὲ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ τῶν μηδένα ὠφελησάντων εἰσὶν οὗτοι, τίνος χάριν ἀσχημονεῖτε; ἢ τί βουλόμενοι τούτους θεραπεύετε, καὶ ταῦτα ἐνὸν ὑμῖν ἄλλως ἐπιμελεῖσθαι; καὶ γὰρ ξένια πλείω καὶ τὸ τῆς ὑποδοχῆς ἐλευθέριον τοῖς πολλοῖς ἱκανόν, κἂν βελτίων ᾖ τις, ἔτι καὶ ψήφισμα ἤρκεσεν ἁπλοῦν, ᾧ εἰς τὸ πρυτανεῖον ἢ εἰς προεδρίαν ἐκλήθη. νυνὶ μὲν γὰρ δοκεῖτε, ὥσπερ οἱ σφόδρα γέμοντες τῶν ναυκλήρων καὶ χειμαζόμενοι διὰ τοῦτο, ἐκβολὴν ποιεῖσθαι τῶν ἀνδριάντων.

  [108] I ask this because, if you were treating everybody alike with the exception of the emperors, you would not be shown up as you being at present. But as it is, there are persons for whom you do set up statues of themselves; consequently from these cases you make it evident to all the others that you are not really honouring them. And if these persons are commoners and could have rendered no service at all, what motive have you for this unseemly conduct? What is your object in courting the favour of those persons, and that too when it is possible for you to show your solicitude for them in other ways? For the fact is that for the commoner several gifts of friendship and lavish entertainment were sufficient; and if a person is of higher rank a simple decree in addition was enough, whether indeed he was invited to dine in the city hall or to take a seat of honour. For as things are, you give the impression that you are doing what ship-captains do whose vessels are heavily laden and consequently in danger of foundering — jettisoning your statues!

  [109] καίτοι φέρε, εἴ τις ὑμῖν ἔλεγεν ὡς ἄρα ἀποδόσθαι προσήκει τοὺς πολλοὺς αὐτῶν, ἵνα εὐπορήσητε χρημάτων, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως οὐκ ἂν ἀνδράποδον ἡγήσαισθε εἶναι τὸν λέγοντα. νῦν τοίνυν αὐτὸ τοῦτο ποιεῖτε: ὅσου γὰρ ἀνδριὰς [p. 251] γένοιτ᾽ ἄν, τοσοῦτον ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ κερδαίνετε: πλὴν ὅτι γε αὑτοῖς ἀποδίδοσθε αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἐξαγωγῇ, καθάπερ οἶμαι τὰ σφόδρα πονηρὰ ἀνδράποδα. καθόλου δὲ εὖ ἴστε ὅτι μηδέν ἐστι τῶν τοιούτων μέγα μηδὲ τίμιον ἄλλως, εἰ μὴ παρὰ τοὺς διδόντας, ἐὰν διδῶσιν ὡς τοιοῦτον. εἰ δὲ τῶν ὄντων ὅ,τι ἂν θέλῃ

  [109] But come, consider: if anyone told you that it was better after all to sell the most of them in order to be well supplied with funds, you could not possibly help considering the speaker a base slavish sort of man. Yet this is just what you are doing now; for what a statue would cost to make is just so much gain for you; except that you are selling them to yourselves and not for export, just as you deport to foreign parts, I presume, your vilest slaves. But in general, you well know that there is nothing great or valuable in such gifts anyhow, except as it is in the givers — if they give it for what it is. But if a man makes a present from his own property of whatever any person wants, giving it carelessly and to any person that comes along, soon the gift will be looked upon as utterly valueless.

  [110] τις ῥᾳδίως καὶ τῷ τυχόντι παρέχοιεν, ταχὺ δόξει τοῦ μηδενὸς ἄξιον. διὰ τοῦτο σεμνότερόν ἐστι τὸ παρ᾽ ὑμῖν κληθῆναι εἰς προεδρίαν ἅπαξ τῆς παρ᾽ ἑτέροις εἰκόνος. καὶ τὸ μὲν ὑμᾶς καθημένους ἐπαινέσαι λαμπρόν: ἄλλοι δὲ οὐδὲ ἂν διαρραγῶσι κεκραγότες οὐ δοκοῦσιν ἱκανῶς τιμᾶν. τὸν Ὀλυμπίασι στέφανον ἴστε δήπουθεν ἐλάϊνον ὄντα, καὶ τοῦτον πολλοὶ προτετιμήκασι τοῦ ζῆν, οὐχὶ τῆς ἐκεῖ φυομένης ἐλαίας ἐχούσης τι θαυμαστόν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι μὴ ῥᾳδίως μηδ᾽ ἐπὶ μικρῷ δίδοται. τοιγαροῦν ἔγγιστα ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν, ὡς ἐπίστασθε, τῶν αὐτοκρατόρων τις οὕτω σφόδρα ἡττήθη τοῦ πράγματος καὶ ἐπεθύμησε τῆς ἐκεῖ νίκης ὥστε καὶ ἀγωνίσασθαι παρ᾽ Ἠλείοις, καὶ τοῦτον ὅρον ἡγήσασθαι τῆς εὐδαιμονίας. εἰ δέ γε πάντας ἐστεφάνουν τοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν ἀφικνουμένους τῶν ἡγουμένων, τίνα ἂν ζῆλον ἢ ποίαν ἔτι δόξαν ἔσχεν ὁ στέφανος;

  [110] For this reason it is a matter of greater pride to the recipient to be invited to a seat of honour just once in your city than to get a statue elsewhere. And a resolution of commendation voted by you from your seats in the assembly is a splendid distinction; but other peoples, even if they burst their lungs with cheering, seem not to show honour enough.

  You doubtless know that the Olympian crown is olive leaves, and yet this honour many people have preferred to life itself, not because there is anything wonderful about the olive that grows there, but because it is not given carelessly or for slight achievement. This explains why very recently, in our own time, one of the emperors, as you know, was so taken with this practice and was so eager to win the victory that he actually competed at the Elean festival and considered this the height of happiness. But if it had been their custom to crown all the potentates that came to the spectacle, what emulation would the crown any longer have aroused and what sort of glory would it have won? On the contrary, they say that the Eleans do not even open the letters

  [111] ἀλλὰ ἐκείνους γέ φασι μηδὲ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς λύειν, ἃς ἂν γράψωσι τῶν ἀθλητῶν τινα συνιστάντες, πρὶν ἢ ἀγωνίσηται.
καὶ τοῦτο οὐδένα πώποτε αὐτοῖς ἤνεγκε κίνδυνον, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον τιμὴν καὶ ἔπαινον τῷ δοκεῖν ἀξίους εἶναι βραβεύειν τὸν ἀγῶνα. μὴ γὰρ οἴεσθε Ῥωμαίους οὕτως εἶναι σκαιοὺς καὶ ἀμαθεῖς ὥστε μηδὲν αἱρεῖσθαι τῶν ὑφ᾽ αὑτοῖς ἐλευθέριον εἶναι μηδὲ καλόν κἀγαθόν, ἀλλὰ βούλεσθαι μᾶλλον ἀνδραπόδων κρατεῖν.

  [111] written by those who would recommend a particular athlete, until he has competed. And this has never brought upon them any risk of harm, but, on the contrary, honour and applause, because they are considered worthy to supervise the games. For you must not suppose that the Romans are so stupid and ignorant as to choose that none of their subjects should be independent or honourable but would rather rule over slaves.

  [112] εἶτα Ἠλεῖοι μὲν οὕτως ἀξιοῦσι τὰ ἑαυτῶν, οὐδενὸς Πελοποννησίων κατά γε τἄλλα ἀμείνους ὄντες: ὑμεῖς δὲ τοὺς παριόντας δεδοίκατε, κὰν ἕνα τινὰ μὴ στήσητε χαλκοῦν, τὴν ἐλευθερίαν οἴεσθε ἀποβαλεῖν; ἀλλ᾽ εἴ γε οὕτω σφόδρα ἐπισφαλής ἐστιν ὥστε [p. 252] ἐκ τῆς τυχούσης προφάσεως περιαιρεθῆναι, δουλεύειν ὑμῖν τῷ παντὶ βέλτιον ἤδη. καὶ γὰρ τοῖς τὸ σῶμα οὕτως ἐπικινδύνως ἔχουσιν ὥστε μηκέτ᾽ ἀνενεγκεῖν τεθνάναι κρεῖττον ἢ ζῆν.