Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [9] but nevertheless it was by the government of the people, on whose account he then risked his life, that later on when that government was flourishing, because he had been slandered by certain informers, he was put to death. Now his accuser was Meletus, a loathsome fellow, and a liar too. Said he, “Socrates is guilty of corrupting young men and of not honouring the deities whom the city honours but of introducing other new divinities” — virtually the opposite to what Socrates was wont to do.

  [10] τἀναντία οἷς ἐποίει Σωκράτης. ἐτίμα τε γὰρ τοὺς θεοὺς ὡς οὐδεὶς ἄλλος καὶ παιᾶνα ἐποίησεν εἰς τὸν Ἀπόλλω καὶ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν, τοῦτον ὃν ἐγὼ νῦν ᾄδω, καὶ τοὺς νέους ἐκώλυε διαφθείρεσθαι οὐ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ὀνειδίζων καὶ προφέρων αὐτοῖς, εἴ τις ἄπληστος ἢ ἀκόλαστος ἢ τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἠργολάβει, τοὺς μὲν ἀπολύων ἐπ̓ ἀργυρίῳ, τοὺς δὲ συκοφαντῶν, τοὺς δὲ νησιώτας τοὺς ταλαιπώρους λεηλατῶν ἐπὶ προφάσει φόρων ἢ καταλογῇ στρατιωτῶν, ὥσπερ ἔνιοι ποιοῦσι παῤ ἡμῖν.

  [10] For not only did he honour the gods more than did anybody else, but he had composed a hymn in praise of Apollo and Artemis, this paean which even now I myself am wont to chant, and he tried to prevent, not merely the young men, but their elders too, from being corrupted, rebuking and reproving them, in case any one was greedy or licentious or tried to make money out of politics, some by arranging an acquittal for a bribe, some by blackmailing people, and some by pillaging the wretched islanders on the pretext of tribute or in connexion with the drafting of soldiers, just as some men are doing in Prusa. This is why they hated him and claimed he was corrupting the young men.

  [11] διὰ ταῦτα μισοῦντες αὐτὸν ἔφασαν διαφθείρειν τοὺς νέους. ἡ δ̓ ἐμὴ γραφὴ μείζων καὶ γενναιοτέρα σχεδὸν ἦν, κρυφαία τις, ὡς ἔοικεν: Ἀδικεῖ Δίων, τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς μὴ τιμῶν μήτ̓ ἐν θυσίαις μήτ̓ ἐν ὕμνοις, καταλύων τὰς πατρίους ἑορτάς, ἀναπείσας δὲ ἡγεμόνα πονηρὸν ὥστε τὸν μὲν δῆμον βασανίσαι καὶ ἐξελάσαι ὅσους ἂν δύνηται πλείστους, ἐνίους δὲ καὶ ἀποκτεῖναι, παρασχὼν ἀνάγκην αὐτοῖς ἑκουσίως ἀποθανεῖν διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι πρεσβύτας ὄντας φυγεῖν μηδὲ ὑπομένειν καταλιπεῖν τὴν πατρίδα: συμπράττων δὲ καὶ νῦν ἅπαντα: τῷ τυραννήσαντι τοῦ ἔθνους, καὶ ὅπως ἐκεῖνος καλῶς ἀγωνιεῖται καὶ κατὰ κράτος παραλήψεται τὰς πόλεις καὶ τοὺς δήμους κατασκευάζων, ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ κατασκευάζειν:

  [11] But my bill of indictment was longer and, one might say, nobler, a sort of occult bill apparently: “Dio is guilty, first, of not honouring the gods either with sacrifices or with hymns, by abolishing the festivals of our fathers; secondly, of so misleading a wicked proconsul as to cause him to torture the people and to banish as many as possible, and even to put some to death, making it necessary for them to die a voluntary death because, old as they were, they could not go into exile or endure to abandon their native land; thirdly, of co-operating in everything even now with the man who took the rôle of tyrant over our nation, and of arranging, so far as it is in his power to arrange, that that tyrant shall be successful in his struggle and shall take by force the cities and their popular governments;

  [12] διαφθείρων δὲ καὶ τὸν δῆμον αὐτὸς ἐφιστάμενος κατήγορος καὶ τοῖς αὑτοῦ ῥήμασι καὶ τῇ γλώττῃ παρανομῶν εἰς τοὺς πολίτας, εἰς τοὺς δημότας, καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα ποιῶν, ἅ αἰσχύνομαι καθ̓ ἕκαστον λέγειν: πονηρὸν δὲ παράδειγμα παρέχων ἑαυτὸν καὶ νεωτέροις καὶ πρεσβυτέροις ἀπονίας καὶ τρυφῆς καὶ ἀπιστίας: δεκάζων δὲ τὸ πλῆθος, ἵνα μηδεὶς αὐτῷ προφέρῃ τὰ τότε πραχθέντα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ μίσους καὶ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς λήθην τινὰ ποιήσωνται. φέρε δὴ πρὸς ταῦτα ἀπολογήσομαι, ὦ ἄνδρες Προυσαεῖς, κἂν δοκῇ ὑμῖν ἀκούσασι, κατεψηφίσασθέ μου: καὶ γὰρ τοῦ Σωκράτους οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἀκούσαντες κατεψηφίσαντο. [p. 67]

  [12] fourthly, of spoiling even democracy itself, setting himself up as its accuser, and with his own words and tongue committing crimes against his fellow citizens, yes, the members of his own community, and doing many other things which I am ashamed to specify; fifthly, of making himself a bad example of laziness and high-living and faithlessness for both young and old; and sixthly, of bribing the masses, so that no one may reproach him with what was done in those days, but that people may instead acquire a sort of forgetfulness of his hatred and treachery.

  Well then, men of Prusa, I shall defend myself against these charges, and if it seems good to you when you have heard me, condemn me; for the Athenians heard Socrates before they condemned him.

  THE FORTY-FOURTH DISCOURSE: AN ADDRESS OF FRIENDSHIP FOR HIS NATIVE LAND ON ITS PROPOSING HONOURS FOR HIM

  ΦΙΛΟΦΡΟΝΗΤΙΚΟΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΗΝ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΑ ΕΙΣΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΗΝ ΑΥΤΩΙ ΤΙΜΑΣ.

  THE FORTY-FOURTH DISCOURSE: AN ADDRESS OF FRIENDSHIP FOR HIS NATIVE LAND ON ITS PROPOSING HONOURS FOR HIM

  Internal evidence makes it fairly certain that this Discourse was delivered in the winter of A.D. 96-97, shortly after Dio’s return from his long exile of fourteen years. The occasion was a town meeting at which it was proposed to accord him certain unnamed honours. These honours he modestly deprecates, pointing out that Prusa has honoured him sufficiently in having honoured various members of his family. Taking advantage of the present temper of his audience, he then urges the advisability of a reform in the conduct of the citizens. Though he is adroit in making his plea, it is abundantly evident from other speeches in this group that such a plea was warranted, for Prusa, in common with other cities of the province, was in a state of social and political upheaval. It is hinted that such reform is a necessary prerequisite to securing the concessions alluded to in § 11.

  At the conclusion of his remarks, he announces that he is going to read to his hearers some correspondence between himself and the Emperor. Unfortunately that correspondence has not been preserved, but it becomes reasonably certain from Or. .- that his imperial correspondent was Nerva, with whom he was on very friendly terms, and that their exchange of letters concerned, not only an invitation to visit Rome, but also certain aspirations on the part of Prusa, aspirations thwarted temporarily by Nerva’s untimely death.

  [1] Ἐμοί, ὦ ἄνδρες πολῖται, οὔτε ὄψις ἡδίων ἐστὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας οὔτε φωνὴ προσφιλεστέρα οὔτε τιμαὶ μείζους τῶν ἐνθάδε οὔτε ἔπαινος λαμπρότερος ἢ ὁ παῤ ὑμῶν: οὐδ̓ ἂν ξύμπαντες οἱ Ἕλληνες, πρὸς δὲ αὐτοῖς ὁ Ῥωμαίων δῆμος ἐμὲ θαυμάζωσι καὶ ἐπαινῶσιν, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως τοῦτο εὐφράναι τὴν ἐμὴν διάνοιαν. τῷ γὰρ ὄντι πολλὰ σοφὰ καὶ θεῖα εἰρηκὼς Ὅμηρος οὐδὲν σοφώτερον ἔφη τούτου τοῦ ἔπους οὐδὲ ἀληθέστερον ,ὣς οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.῾


  The Forty-fourth Discourse: An Address of Friendship for his Native Land on its Proposing Honours for him

  Fellow citizens, no sight is more delightful to me than your faces, no voice dearer than yours, no honours greater than those you bestow, no praise more splendid than praise from you. Even if the whole Greek world, and the Roman people too, were to admire and to praise me, that would not so cheer my heart. For though, in truth, Homer has spoken many wise and divine words, he never spoke a wiser or a truer word than this:

  For naught is sweeter than one’s native land.

  [2] εὖ μέντοι ἐπίστασθε ὅτι τὰς τιμὰς ἔχω πάσας, καὶ ὅσας νῦν εἰσηγεῖσθε καὶ εἴ τινες ἄλλαι εἰσίν, ἐν τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ εὐνοίᾳ καὶ φιλίᾳ καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου ἐγὼ δέομαι. τοῦτο γὰρ ἀνθρώπῳ ἱκανώτατον ἐπιεικεῖ, τὸ ἀγαπᾶσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν αὑτοῦ πολιτῶν, καὶ ὁ τοῦτο ἔχων τί ἂν ἔτι προσδέοιτο εἰκόνων ἢ κηρυγμάτων ἢ κηρυγμάτων ἢ προεδριῶν; ἀλλ̓ οὐδὲ ,χρυσοῦς σφυρήλατος᾿ ἱστάμενος ἐν τοῖς ἐπιφανεστάτοις ἱεροῖς. ἓν γὰρ ῥῆμα πλείονος ἄξιον ἀπ̓ εὐνοίας ῥηθὲν καὶ φιλίας ἢ τὸ ξύμπαν ἐν ἀνθρώποις χρυσίον καὶ στέφανοι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα,

  [2] Indeed, you may rest assured that I find all my honours, both those you now propose and any others there may be, contained in your goodwill and friendship, and I need naught else. For it is quite sufficient for a reasonable human being to be loved by his own fellow citizens, and why should the man who has that love need statues too or proclamations or seats of honour? Nay, not even if it be a portrait statue of beaten gold set up in the most distinguished shrines. For one word spoken out of goodwill and friendship is worth all the gold and crowns and everything else deemed splendid that men possess; so take my advice and act accordingly.

  [3] ὅσα δοκεῖ λαμπρά: ὥστε μοι πειθόμενοι οὕτω ποιεῖτε. εἰ δὲ ἄρα καὶ τοιαύτας τινὰς δεῖ με τιμὰς ἔχειν, πολλαί μοι καὶ ἄλλαι εἰσὶ παῤ ὑμῖν, τοῦτο μὲν αἱ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐμοῦ, ὅσαις ἐκεῖνον ἐτιμήσατε, ὡς ἄνδρα ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὅσον ἔζη χρόνον δικαίως προεστῶτα τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως, τοῦτο δὲ τῆς μητρός, ἧς ὑμεῖς ἱδρύσασθε καὶ

  [3] But if really I must have some such honours also, I have here at Prusa many other honours already — in the first place, those belonging to my father, all those honours bestowed upon him for being a good citizen and for administering the city with uprightness as long as he lived; then, too, those belonging to my mother, in whose memory you not only set up a substitute but also established a shrine; furthermore, the honours bestowed upon my grandsires and my other ancestors; and more than that, the honours possessed by my brothers and other kinsmen.

  [4] ἄγαλμα καὶ ἱερόν, τοῦτο δὲ αἱ τῶν πάππων καὶ αἱ τῶν ἄλλων προγόνων, ἔτι δὲ αἱ τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων συγγενῶν. καὶ γὰρ ἀνδριάντας πολλοὺς καὶ ταφὰς δημοσίας καὶ ἀγῶνας ἐπιταφίους καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ καὶ τίμια, ἃ ἐκείνοις παρὰ τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως γέγονεν, ὧν οὐδενὸς ἐγὼ ἐπιλέλησμαι, ἀλλὰ ἐπίσταμαι πάντα ὡς οἷόν τε μάλιστα, καὶ οἶμαι τὰς ὑπὲρ τούτων χάριτας [p. 68] αὐτὸς ὑμῖν ὀφείλειν, καὶ εὔχομαι τοῖς θεοῖς ἱκανὸς γενέσθαι ἀποτίνειν. πολλοῦ μὲν γὰρ ἐπίσταμαι κἀκείνους γενομένους ἀξίους καὶ δικαίως ἁπάντων τυχόντας, ὅμως δὲ ἐν ἅπασιν ὑπερέβαλεν ἡ πόλις. καὶ γὰρ ὅσα οὐκ ἐδυνήθησαν βουληθέντες διὰ τύχην τινά,

  [4] For numerous statues and state funerals and funeral games and many other precious marks of distinction have been accorded them by this city — none of which have I forgotten, nay, I know them all as well as any man could — and I feel that I myself owe you the thanks for these honours, and I pray the gods I may be able to discharge the debt. For though I know they proved themselves very worthy and had a right to all they received, still the city was more than generous in each instance. For their fatherland thanked them even for all they wished, but through some turn of fortune proved unable, to accomplish.

  [5] καὶ τούτων αὐτοῖς χάριν ἀπεδίδου ἡ πατρίς. ὁ γοῦν πάππος ὁ ἐμός, εἰ ἐπὶ πλέον ἀπώνατο τῆς φιλίας τοῦ τότε αὐτοκράτορος, ἀλλὰ μὴ βραχὺς παντελῶς ἐγένετο ὁ χρόνος, διενοεῖτο, ὥς φασιν, ἐλευθερίαν τῇ πόλει λαβεῖν καὶ ἤδη περὶ τούτου πεποίητο τὸν λόγον. οὐ δεῖ δὲ ἀπελπίζειν, ἕως ἂν ἀγαθοὺς καὶ φιλοτίμους ἄνδρας ἡ πόλις φέρῃ ὁποίους καὶ τοὺς νῦν. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐν πολλαῖς γεγονὼς πόλεσιν οὐκ οἶδα βελτίους ἄνδρας τῶν παῤ ὑμῖν. ἔλεγον δ̓ ἄν ἐπὶ πλέον καθ̓ ἕκαστον, εἰ μὴ σχεδὸν ἅπαντας συγγενεῖς ὄντας ὤκνουν ἐπαινεῖν, καὶ ὥσπερ ἔρανόν τινα ἀποδιδοὺς τῶν εἰς

  [5] For example, if my grandfather had enjoyed the friendship of the emperor of that day for a longer period and if the time left to him had not been altogether brief, he had in mind, as I am told, to obtain independence for Prusa, and indeed he had already drafted his plea to that end. However, there is no need to abandon hope so long as the city continues to bear noble, patriotic men such as those it bears to-day. For though I have been in many cities, I do not know better men than the men of Prusa.

  Now I might go on to speak at some length of individuals, were it not that, since virtually all are my kinsmen, I shrink from the task of praising them, even though I should be making to each and all a contribution, as it were, due in return for the honours paid to me.

  [6] ἐμαυτὸν ἕνεκα τιμῶν. ἠκροασάμην γὰρ δὴ καὶ τούτων καίτοι σφόδρα αἰδούμενος ὅμως διὰ τοὺς λέγοντος αὐτούς, ἀγάμενος τῶν ἀνδρῶν τό τε ἄφθονον καὶ τὴν προθυμίαν, ἔτι δὲ τὴν περὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν δύναμιν. οὐ δὴ θαυμαστόν, εἰ ἐγὼ πατρίδα τοιαύτην οὕτω σφόδρα ἠγάπηκα ὥστε οὔτ̓ ἄν Ἀθήνας οὔτε Ἄργος οὔτε Λακεδαίμονα, αἵπερ εἰσὶ πρῶται καὶ ἐνδοξόταται τῶν Ἑλληνίδων, εἱλόμην ἂν εἶναί μοι πατρίδας πρὸ ταύτης: καὶ τοῦτο ἔργῳ ἐδήλωσα. πολλῶν γὰρ πολλαχῇ παρακαλούντων με καὶ μένειν καὶ προΐστασθαι τῶν κοινῶν οὐ νῦν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρότερον, ὅτε ἤμην φυγάς ῾καὶ ψηφίσματα ἔπεμψάν τινες πρὸς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα χάριν εἰδότες τῆς εἰς ἐμὲ τιμῆς᾿, οὐδὲ πώποτε ἄχρι λόγου τὸ τοιοῦτον ὑπεσχόμην, ἀλλ̓ οἰδ̓ οἰκίαν ἢ χωρίον ἐκτησάμην παῤ ἑτέροις,

  [6] For, indeed, I have listened to these men too — though greatly awed on account of the speakers themselves, admiring their generosity and their devotion, and, what is more, their gift of eloquence. No wonder, then, if I myself have loved such a father
land so greatly that I would not have chosen either Athens or Argos or Sparta, the foremost and most distinguished of the Greek cities, as my native land in preference to Prusa; and I have given practical demonstration of this too. For although many people in many lands have invited me both to make my home with them and to take charge of their public affairs, not merely at the present time, but even earlier, at the time when I was an exile — and some went so far as to send the Emperor resolutions thanking him for the honour he had done me — yet I never accepted such a proposal even by so much as a single word, but I did not even acquire a house or a plot of ground anywhere else, so that I might have nothing to suggest a home-land anywhere but here.

  [7] ὡς μηδὲν ᾖ μοι σημεῖον ἀλλαχοῦ πατρίδος. καὶ γὰρ ἄν εἴη δεινόν, εἰ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἀδικώτεροι ἔσονται τῶν μελιττῶν. οὐδέποτε γὰρ ἐκείνων μία καταλιποῦσα τὸ αὑτῆς σμῆνος εἰς ἕτερον μετέστη τὸ μεῖζον ἢ μᾶλλον εὐθενοῦν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἴδιον ἑσμὸν πληροῖ τε καὶ αὔξει, κἂν ψυχρότερον ᾖ τὸ χωρίον καὶ αἱ νομαὶ χείρους καὶ ἡ δρόσος ἐλάττων κἂν δυσκολώτερον τὸ ἔργον τὸ περὶ τὰ κηρία κἂν [p. 69] ὁ γεωργὸς ἀμελέστερος. οὕτως δὲ ἄγαν αὐτάς φασι φιλεῖν ἀλλήλας καὶ τὸ ἴδιον σμῆνος ἑκάστην, ὥστε ἐπειδὰν ἔξω ὑπὸ χειμῶνος ἀποληφθῶσι πολλοῦ γενομένου πνεύματος, λίθον εἰς τοὺς πόδας ἑκάστη λαβοῦσα ὥσπερ ἕρμα οὕτως πέτονται, ὅπως μὴ παρενεχθῶσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος μηδὲ τοῦ σμήνους διαμάρτωσιν.