Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [32] On the other hand, you have it in your power to benefit the cities more fully and more effectively than the Nicaeans, first and foremost because of the sea, all the revenue of which the cities share even now, partly as a favour — though your city should grant favours officially and not to certain persons privately — partly also through their own smuggling operations, and partly on application in each separate case; and while you never refuse such applicants, still the very necessity of making application is irksome. If, however, you will actually allow the communities who day by day petition for what is urgent for their need the privilege in sharing in all these rights, is it not reasonable to suppose that you will stand higher in their estimation when you become their benefactors? And at the same time you will also increase the concord which will spread everywhere.

  [33] ἐλευσομένην. πειρᾶσθε δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν αἰδῶ παρέχειν, ἀεὶ τοῦτο φανερὸν καθιστάντες ὅτι μὴ ἀπόχρη ὑμῖν καλῶς διοικεῖσθαι μόνοις, ἀλλὰ παντὸς ἐπιμελεῖσθε τοῦ τῶν Βιθυνῶν γένους καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον δυσχεραίνετε τοῖς εἰς τοὺς ἄλλους ἀδικήμασιν ἢ τοῖς εἰς αὑτούς: κἄν τινες καταφύγωσιν ἐφ̓ ὑμᾶς δεόμενοι βοηθείας, προθύμως ἐπαρκεῖτε καὶ ὁμοίως. ταῦτα τὸ πρωτεῖον ὑμῖν παραδώσει τὸ ἀληθινόν, οὐχ ἡ περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων πρὸς Νικαεῖς

  [33] But you must also strive to give the provincial governors occasion to respect you, by continually making it manifest that you are not content with merely being well governed yourselves, but that you are concerned for the welfare of the whole Bithynian people, and that you are no less displeased over the wrongs inflicted upon the others than you are over those inflicted upon yourselves; moreover, that if any persons flee to you for succour, you aid them promptly and impartially. This line of conduct is what will yield you that primacy which is genuine, and not your squabble with Nicaeans over titles.

  [34] μάχη. βουλοίμην δ̓ ἂν καὶ ἐκείνους τὰ αὐτὰ ποιεῖν, καὶ ποιήσουσιν ἐὰν καταλλαγῆτε, καὶ μείζων ἡ δύναμις ὑμῶν γενήσεται συντεθεῖσα. καὶ γὰρ τῶν πόλεων ὁμοῦ γενόμενοι πασῶν ἄρξετε, καὶ τοῖς ἡγεμόσι γενήσεται πλείων διατροπὴ πρὸς ὑμᾶς [p. 39] καὶ φόβος, ἐὰν ἀδικεῖν θέλωσιν. τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔχον αἱ μὲν ἄλλαι πόλεις ὑπὸ τῆς ὑμετέρας στάσεώς εἰσιν ἐπηρμέναι: χρείαν γὰρ αὐτῶν δοκεῖτε ἔχειν καὶ ταῖς ἀληθείαις ἔχετε διὰ τὸν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγῶνα καὶ πάσχετε οἷόν τι πάσχουσιν, ἐπειδὰν δύο ἐπιφανεῖς ὁμοίως ἄνδρες διαπολιτεύωνται πρὸς ἀλλήλους: ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἅπαντας θεραπεύουσι καὶ τοὺς πλεῖστον ὅσον ἀποδέοντας αὐτῶν.

  [34] And I should like the Nicaeans also to pursue the same course, and they will do so if you come to terms with them, and the power of each will become greater through union. For by joining forces you will control all the cities, and, what is more, the provincial governors will feel greater reluctance and fear with regard to you, in case they wish to commit a wrong. But as things are now, the other cities are elated by the quarrel between you; for you seem to have need of their assistance, and in fact you do have need of it because of your struggle with each other, and you are in the predicament of two men, both equally distinguished, when they become rivals over politics — of necessity they court the favour of everybody, even of those who are ever so far beneath them.

  [35] ὥστε ἐν ᾧ περὶ τοῦ πρωτείου μάχεσθε ὑμεῖς, κινδυνεύει τὸ πρωτεῖον παῤ ἐκείνοις εἶναι τοῖς θεραπευομένοις ὑφ̓ ὑμῶν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔνεστιν οὐκ ἔχειν τοῦτο δοκεῖν τινας, ὃ παῤ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ὑμεῖς λαμβάνειν ἀξιοῦτε. καὶ τὰς πόλεις οὖν πᾶσα ἀνάγκη γενήσεται τὴν τάξιν τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀπολαβεῖν, καὶ ὥσπερ εἰκός ἐστι καὶ δίκαιον, ἐκείνας ὑμῶν χρῄζειν, οὐχ ὑμᾶς ἐκείνων. καὶ οὐχὶ παρὰ τοῦτο ἀξιώσω τυραννικῶς ὑμᾶς αὐτοῖς προσφέρεσθαι, πρᾴως δὲ καὶ μετρίως, ὥσπερ ὑφηγησάμην μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν, ἵνα μὴ φορτικὸν

  [35] And so while you are fighting for primacy, the chances are that the primacy really is in the hands of those who are courted by you. For it is impossible that people should not be thought to possess that which you expect to obtain from these same people. And so it is going to be absolutely necessary that the cities should resume their proper status, and, as is reasonable and right, that they should stand in need of you, not you of them. And applying this principle I shall expect you to behave toward them, not like tyrants, but with kindness and moderation, just as I suggested a little while ago, to the end that your position as leaders may not be obnoxious to them, but that it may be not only leadership but a welcome thing as well.

  [36] γένηται τὸ πρωτεῖον ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρωτεῖον ᾖ καὶ φιλῆται. τὰ δὲ τῶν ἡγεμόνων νῦν μὲν ὅπως ἔχει, τί δεῖ πρὸς ἐπισταμένους λέγειν; ἢ γὰρ οὐκ ἐπαισθάνεσθε τῆς τυραννίδος, ἣν ἡ στάσις ἡ ὑμετέρα δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ὑμῶν; εὐθέως γὰρ ὁ βουλόμενος ἀδικῆσαι τὸ ἔθνος εἰδὼς ἥκει τί δεῖ ποιήσαντα αὐτὸν μὴ δοῦναι δίκην. ἢ γὰρ τῇ Νικαέων ἑταιρείᾳ προστίθεται καὶ τὸ μέρος τὸ ἐκείνων ἔχει βοηθοῦν ἢ τοὺς Νικομηδεῖς ἐλόμενος ὑφ̓ ὑμῶν σῴζεται. καὶ φιλεῖ μὲν οὐδετέρους, δοκεῖ δὲ τοὺς ἑτέρους φιλεῖν: ἀδικεῖ δὲ πάντας. ἀδικῶν δὲ σῴζεται διὰ τοὺς μόνους οἰομένους ὑπ̓ αὐτοῦ

  [36] Again, what need is there to discuss the present situation of your governors in the presence of you who are informed? Or is it possible you are not aware of the tyrannical power your own strife offers those who govern you? For at once whoever wishes to mistreat your people comes armed with the knowledge of what he must do to escape the penalty. For either he allies himself with the Nicaean party and has their group for his support, or else by choosing the party of Nicomedia he is protected by you. Moreover, while he has no love for either side, he appears to love one of the two; yet all the while he is wronging them all. Still, despite the wrongs he commits, he is protected by those who believe they alone are loved by him.

  [37] φιλεῖσθαι. κατεγνώκασι δὲ ὑμῶν ἄνοιαν δημοσίᾳ, καὶ χρῶνται καθάπερ τοῖς παιδίοις ὑμῖν, οἷς πολλάκις ἀντὶ τῶν μεγίστων προτείνεται τὰ μικρότατα: κἀκεῖνα διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν ὡς ἀληθῶς μεγάλων καὶ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὰ ἐλάχιστα ἡδονὴν χαίρει τῷ μηδενί: καὶ ὑμῖν οὕτως ἀντὶ δικαιοσύνης, ἀντὶ τοῦ μὴ συλᾶσθαι τὰς πόλεις μηδὲ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν ἰδίων, ἀντὶ τοῦ μὴ ὑβρίζειν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἀντὶ τοῦ μὴ παροινεῖν, προτείνουσιν ὀνόματα καὶ ἢ εἶπον ὑμᾶς πρώτους ἢ ἔγρα�
�αν: εἶτά εἰσιν ἀκίνδυνοι τὸ

  [37] Yet by their public acts they have branded you as a pack of fools, yes, they treat you just like children, for we often offer children the most trivial things in place of things of greatest worth; moreover, those children, in their ignorance of what is truly valuable and in their pleasure over what is of least account, delight in what is a mere nothing. So also in your case, in place of justice, in place of the freedom of the cities from spoliation or from the seizure of the private possessions of their inhabitants, in place of their refraining from insulting you, in place of their refraining from drunken violence, your governors hand you titles, and call you “first” either by word of mouth or in writing; that done, they may thenceforth with impunity treat you as being the very last!

  [38] λοιπὸν ὑμῖν ὡς ἐσχάτοις χρώμενοι. τὰ γὰρ τοιαῦτα, ἐφ̓ οἷς μέγα φρονεῖτε, παρὰ πᾶσι μὲν τοῖς ὀρθῶς ἐννοουμένοις διαπτύεται, [p. 40] μάλιστα δὲ παρὰ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις γέλωτα κινεῖ καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ἔτι ὑβριστικώτερον Ἑλληνικὰ ἁμαρτήματα. καὶ γὰρ ἔστιν ἁμαρτήματα, ἄνδρες Νικομηδεῖς, ἀληθῶς, ἀλλ̓ οὐχ Ἑλληνικά, εἰ μὴ κατ̓ αὐτὸ τοῦτο Ἑλληνικὰ φήσει τις αὐτὰ εἶναι, καθ̓ ὅσον ἐκεῖνοι δόξης ἀντεποιήσαντό ποτε καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. τὰ δὲ ἐκείνων εἶπον ἤδη που καὶ πρότερον ὅτι μὴ κενόδοξα ἦν, ἀλλ̓ ὑπὲρ ἀρχῆς ἀληθοῦς ἀγών: εἰ μή τι νῦν δοκεῖτε αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς προπομπείας καλῶς ἀγωνίζεσθαι, καθάπερ ἐν μυστηρίῳ τινὶ παίζοντας

  [38] In truth such marks of distinction, on which you plume yourselves, not only are objects of utter contempt in the eyes of all persons of discernment, but especially in Rome they excite laughter and, what is still more humiliating, are called “Greek failings!” And failings they are indeed, men of Nicomedia, though not Greek, unless some one will claim that in this special particular they are Greek, namely, that those Greeks of old, both Athenians and Spartans, once laid counterclaims to glory. However, I may have said already that their doings were not mere vain conceit but a struggle for real empire — though nowadays you may fancy somehow that they were making a valiant struggle for the right to lead the procession, like persons in some mystic celebration putting up a sham battle over something not really theirs.

  [39] ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίου πράγματος. ἂν δὲ τὸ μὲν τῆς μητροπόλεως ὑμῖν ὄνομα ἐξαίρετον ᾖ, τὸ δὲ τῶν πρωτείων κοινὸν ᾖ, τί κατὰ τοῦτο ἐλαττοῦσθε; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ τολμήσαιμι ἂν εἰπεῖν ὅτι κἂν πάντων ἐκστῆτε τῶν ὀνομάτων, οὐδενὸς ἐξίστασθε πράγματος. ἢ τί δοκεῖτε παρὰ τοῦτο; τὴν θάλατταν ἀναχωρήσειν ἀφ̓ ὑμῶν ἢ τὴν γῆν ὑμῖν ἔσεσθαι μικροτέραν ἢ τὰς προσόδους ἐλάττονας; ἤδη ποτὲ θέας μετελάβετε; μᾶλλον δὲ μόνον οὐχὶ καθ̓ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν θεᾶσθε καὶ τοὺς τραγῳδοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, ὅσοι δοκοῦσι μὲν ἡδονῆς ἕνεκεν καὶ τέρψεως εἰς τὰς σκηνὰς παριέναι, τοὺς δὲ αἰσθανομένους τῶν γιγνομένων ὠφελοῦσιν: ἆῤ οὖν ἐκεῖ τις ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς

  [39] But if, while the title “metropolis” is your special prerogative, that of leader is shared with others, what do you lose thereby? For I would venture to assert that, even if you lose all your titles, you are losing nothing real. Or what do you expect to be the consequence of that? That the sea will retreat from your shores, or your territory be smaller, or your revenues less? Have you ever yet been present at a play? More properly speaking, almost every day you behold not only tragic actors but the other sort too, the various actors who appear to come upon the scene to give pleasure and enjoyment, but who really benefit those who are sensitive to the action of the play. Well then, does any one in the cast appear to you to be really king or prince or god?

  [40] εἶναι δοκεῖ βασιλεὺς ἢ τύραννος ἢ θεός; καίτοι ταῦτα πάντα καλοῦνται καὶ Μενέλαοι καὶ Ἀγαμέμνονες, καὶ οὐκ ὀνόματα μόνον ἔχουσι θεῶν καὶ ἡρώων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρόσωπα καὶ στολάς, καὶ κελεύουσι πολλά, ὡς ἐκεῖνοι: τοῦ δὲ ποιήματος συντελεσθέντος ἀπίασι τὸ μηδὲν ὄντες. ὀνομάζεσθαί τις θέλει πρῶτος: ἔστω. πρωτεύει τις: κἂν ἄλλος ὀνομάζηται, πρῶτός ἐστιν. οὐ γὰρ τὰ ὀνόματα πίστεις

  [40] And yet they are called by all these titles, as well as by the names Menelaüs and Agamemnon, and they have not only names of gods and heroes, but their features and robes as well, and they issue many orders, just as would the characters they represent; however, when the play is over, they take their departure as mere nonentities. A person wishes to be dubbed “first”; very good. Some one really is first, and no matter if another wears the title, first he is. For titles are not guarantees of facts, but facts of titles.

  [41] τῶν πραγμάτων εἰσί, τὰ δὲ πράγματα καὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων. ἔτι τοίνυν κἀκεῖνο λογίσασθε τὸ ἐκ τῆς ὁμονοίας γενησόμενον. νῦν μὲν ἕκαστοι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἄνδρας ἔχετε: ἂν δὲ καταλλαγῆτε, τοὺς ἀλλήλων ἕξετε: καὶ τὰς φιλοτιμίας ῾δεῖ γὰρ καὶ τούτων πόλεἰ διπλασίας τίθεσθε καὶ τὰς ὑπηρεσίας. λέγειν τις δεινός ἐστι παῤ ὑμῖν; κἀκείνους ὠφελήσει. πλούσιός τις παῤ ἐκείνοις ἐστί; χορηγήσει καὶ παῤ ὑμῖν. καθόλου δὲ οὐδεὶς οὔτε ἂν ἄξιος ὢν τοῦ [p. 41] πρωτεύειν ἐν πόλει διὰ τοῦτο εὐδοκιμήσῃ, διαβεβλήσεται παῤ ὑμῖν τῷ πρὸς ἐκείνους λέγειν ἢ παῤ ἐκείνοις τῷ πρὸς ὑμᾶς: οὔτε ἂν φαῦλός τις ὢν καὶ τοῦ δοῦναι δίκην ἄξιος εὑρεθῇ, διαδράσεται τὴν

  [41] Well, here is another outcome of concord for you to take into account. At present you two cities have each your own men; but if you come to terms, you will each have the other’s too; and as for honours — for a city needs these too — set them down as doubled, and likewise the services. Some one in your city is gifted as a speaker; he will aid the Nicaeans too. There is a rich man in Nicaea: he will defray public expenses in your city too. And in general, neither will any man who is unworthy of first place in a city achieve fame with you by assailing the Nicaeans, or with the Nicaeans by assailing you; nor, in case a man is found to be a low fellow and deserving of punishment, will he escape his just deserts by migrating from Nicomedia to Nicaea or from Nicaea to Nicomedia.

  [42] τιμωρίαν ἀπαλλαγεὶς ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεῖ, κἀκεῖθεν ἐνθάδε. τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔχον ὥσπερ ὑφορμεῖτε ἀλλήλαις αἱ πόλεις καὶ ἔστι τοῖς ἀδικήσασι τὴν ἑτέραν πρὸς τὴν ἑτέραν καταφυγή. τῆς δὲ ὁμονοίας γενομένης ἀνάγκη καλοὺς εἶναι καὶ δικαίους ἄνδρας ἢ ἐκ τῆς Βιθυνίας ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. μέγα φρονεῖτε τῇ τοῦ πλήθους ὑπερβολῇ: πλείους ἔσεσθε. γῆν ἱκα
νὴν δοκεῖτε ἔχειν: πλείω τῆς ἱκανῆς ἕξετε. καθόλου πάντα μιχθέντα, καὶ καρποὶ καὶ χρήματα καὶ ἀνδρῶν ἀξίαι καὶ

  [42] Yet as things are now, you two cities, as it were, are lying in wait for each other at your moorings, and men who have wronged the one can find refuge with the other. But once concord is achieved, persons must be men of honour and justice or else get out of Bithynia. You are proud of your superiority in population; you will be still more populous. You think you have sufficient territory; you will have more than sufficient. In fine, when all resources have been united — crops, money, official dignities for men, and military forces — the resources of both cities are doubled.

  [43] δυνάμεις, διπλάσια τὰ παῤ ἀμφοτέροις γίγνεται. καὶ οὗ δὲ πάντα ἕνεκεν οἱ ἄνθρωποι πράττουσιν, ἡ ἡδονή, κρείττων λόγου. τὸ γὰρ τὰ μὲν ὀδυνῶντα ὑμᾶς ἐξαιρεθῆναι, καὶ φθόνον καὶ φιλονικίαν καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτων γιγνομένην στάσιν καὶ τὸ ἐπιβουλεύειν ἀλλήλοις ὑμᾶς καὶ τὸ τοῖς κακοῖς ἐφήδεσθαι τοῖς τῶν πλησίον καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἄχθεσθαι, τὰ δὲ ἐναντία ἀντὶ τούτων εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὰς πόλεις, κοινωνίαν ἀγαθῶν, ὁμοφροσύνην, ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀμφοτέρων χαράν, οὐχὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἑορτῇ ἔοικε δημοσίᾳ;