Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [13] καὶ τοῦτον τὸν ἔρωτα οὕτως, εἴτε παιδικὸν φήσει τις εἴτε ἀνόητον, οὐκ ἔξαρνός εἰμι τὸ καὶ συνοικίζειν ἐθέλειν τὴν πόλιν καὶ πλῆθος ἀνθρώπων εἰς αὐτὴν ὅσον δύναμαι συναγαγεῖν, καὶ οὐ μόνον τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, ἀλλ̓, εἰ δυνατὸν ἦν, καὶ ἑτέρας πόλεις συνελθεῖν ἀναγκάσαντα, ὥσπερ Ἐπαμεινώνδας ποτὲ τὴν Βοιωτίαν εἰς τὰς Θήβας συνῴκισε καὶ Θησεὺς τὴν Ἀττικὴν εἰς τὰς Ἀθήνας, καὶ Μυτιληναῖοί ποτε λέγονται τῆς Αἰολίδος κατασχόντες καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον καὶ Τρῳάδα τόπων τὴν Λέσβον ἅπασαν εἰς

  [13] And also that I have had another passionate desire — call it either so childish or so foolish as you will — I do not deny. I mean my desire to make our city the head of a federation of cities and to bring together in it as great a multitude of inhabitants as I can, and not merely dwellers in this distinct either, but even, if possible, compelling other cities too to join together with us, just as Epaminondas once brought Boeotia into union with Thebes, and as Theseus brought Attica into union with Athens, and as the people of Mytilenê once, according to report, having become masters of Aeolis and of the regions about the Hellespont and the Troad, gathered all Lesbos into their own state as a unit.

  [14] μίαν τὴν αὑτῶν συναγαγεῖν πόλιν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ̓ ἐπιστάμενός γε τὰς διανοίας τῶν ἐνθάδε ἀνθρώπων ἐνίων καὶ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ δύναμιν καὶ τὰς ἀσχολίας καὶ τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἐπιδημίας, ὅτι μοι βραχύς ἐστι παντελῶς, οὔτε ἡπτόμην οὐδενὸς μείζονος οὔτε ἤλπιζον, μόνον δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν οὐκ ἐδυνάμην τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ κατέχειν, ἀλλ̓ ὥσπερ οἱ ἐρῶντες ἀεί ποτε περὶ τῶν τοιούτων τοιαῦτα διεξίασιν οἵων καὶ ἐπιθυμοῦσι, κἀγὼ πολλάκις ἐμεμνήμην ὧν καὶ ἐνόμιζον συμφέρειν γενέσθαι τῇ πόλει κατασκευῆς ἕνεκα καὶ συνοικισμοῦ καὶ

  [14] However, being acquainted with the views of some of the people here, as well as with my own limitations and responsibilities and the duration of my sojourn in Prusa — for the time at my disposal is altogether brief — I neither undertook anything too ambitious nor entertained any such expectations, only I could not control my own thoughts, but, just as lovers when alone together expatiate on such things as they most desire, so I too would often mention those things which I did believe it would profit the city to have for its equipment and its establishment of a federation and its revenues and countless other things.

  [15] προσόδων καὶ μυρίων ἄλλων. ἃ εἴ ποτε γένοιτο καιρὸς ἐπιτελεσθῆναι καὶ θεῶν τις ποιήσειε, τότε ὄψεσθε τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς τινων ἔχθρας καὶ τοῦ πρὸς ἐμὲ μίσους, ἵνα μὴ λέγω τοῦ πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὡς οὐκέτι ἀμφιβόλως οὐδὲ πρᾴως ἐροῦσι καὶ λοιδορήσονται, φανερῶς δὲ καὶ ἄντικρυς, κἂν μὴ κωλῦσαι δυνηθῶσιν, ἀπάγξονται πρότερον ἢ τὴν πόλιν ἰδεῖν, οἵαν αὐτὴν βουλομένων θεῶν οὐκ ἀδύνατον γενέσθαι. τότε δ̓ οὖν τοῦ ἡγεμόνος δεξαμένου τὸ πρᾶγμα, τυχὸν μὲν δἰ ὑμᾶς, ἴσως δὲ καὶ δἰ ἐμέ, καὶ συναγαγόντος ἐκκλησίαν οὐ προειδότος ἐμοῦ καὶ περὶ τούτων ἀναγιγνώσκοντος, οὐκ ἐδυνήθην τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, ἀλλ̓ ἀνέστην καὶ συνεβούλευσα [p. 76]

  [15] And if the opportunity should ever arise for the fulfilment of these projects and some god should bring them to pass, then you will see the extravagance of the hostility of certain persons and of their hatred of me — to say nothing of their hatred of you — since they will no longer be ambiguous and mild in their speech and their abuse, but open and outspoken, and if they prove unable to block proceedings, they will hang themselves sooner than see the city become such a city as, God willing, it is not impossible for it to come to be. At that time, at any rate, when the proconsul accepted the proposal — possibly through your efforts, but perhaps through mine as well — and convened an assembly, though I had had no previous warning, and began to read a statement about these matters, I could not keep quiet, but took the floor and gave the measure my support and explained the project for those who lacked information on the subject.

  [16] καὶ ἐνεδειξάμην τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὸ πρᾶγμα. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα οὐχ ὁ μὲν δῆμος ὑμεῖς ἐπεθυμήσατε τῶν ἔργων, τῶν δὲ ἐν τέλει τις ἀντεῖπεν, οὐδὲ ἀντεῖπε μὲν οὐδείς, οὐ μὴν προθυμούμενος εὑρέθη καὶ συμπράττων, ἀλλὰ πάντες ὡς ἐπ̓ ἀγαθοῖς οὖσι καὶ συμφέρουσιν οὐ λόγῳ μόνον συμπράττοντες καὶ συνεισφέροντες: καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ὡς καλὸν καὶ μεγαλοπρεπὲς καὶ τῇ πόλει συμφέρον, οὕτως ἐγένετο

  [16] And as to what happened after that, it is not that you the Assembly desired the improvements but a certain one of the officials opposed them, nor yet that, while no one opposed them, none was found enthusiastically in favour of them and ready to co-operate; on the contrary, one and all, believing that the undertaking was fine and for the city’s good, were ready not only to vote for it but also to contribute to it; and thus the proposal was carried, as being fine and magnificent and beneficial to the city.

  THE FORTY-SIXTH DISCOURSE: DELIVERED IN HIS NATIVE CITY PRIOR TO HIS PHILOSOPHICAL CAREER

  ΠΡΟ ΤΟΥ ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΕΙΝ ΕΝ ΤΗΙ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΙ.

  THE FORTY-SIXTH DISCOURSE: DELIVERED IN HIS NATIVE CITY PRIOR TO HIS PHILOSOPHICAL CAREER

  The title of this Discourse, though doubtless truthful, affords no information as to either the contents or the occasion. Such a title must have been given by a person who was interested in the chronology of the speeches. It is the only title of the sort preserved in our MSS., though Synesius found several of that type in his copy of Dio.

  Relying on internal evidence, Arnim dates the speech shortly prior to Dio’s exile. Although the clues when taken separately may not be conclusive on that point, their combined witness supports that dating. The speaker is conscious of his powers as an orator (§ 7) and has appeared as an advocate in court (§ 8); he has been in possession of his inheritance for some time, though he has not yet collected all the debts due the estate; he has excited the envy of the masses by his reputed wealth (§§ 5-6); he appears to have only one infant child (§ 13); he has recently built a pretentious villa and some workshops (§ 9). Furthermore, he rests his claim to respect upon the reputation of his forebears rather than upon any merits of his own (§§ 2-4), and his failure to appeal for sympathy on the score of having been an exile is in marked contrast with his behaviour in the speeches which are demonstrably subsequent to that exile.

  The occasion for the address is briefly as follows. As a result of the rising price of grain at Prusa a bread riot has taken place. The excited mob rushed to attack the properties of Dio and an unnamed neighbour, either because they were suspected of having manipulated the grain market or because it was felt that they should be doing something toward the relief of the masses or because of pure hatred of the poor for the rich. Having reached a narrow lane near Dio’s estate, the mob suddenly was seized with
panic and withdrew. The following morning the local authorities call a town meeting to discuss ways and means of easing the situation. In this meeting of citizens Dio rises to protest against his maltreatment by the mob. The gathering is hostile, and he appeals for a fair hearing both in the beginning of his remarks and later when he speaks of the price of grain; but he shows himself a man of fearless courage both in defending himself and in upbraiding his fellow townsmen. The address is interesting, not only as presumably the spontaneous eloquence of a distinguished speaker, but also as portraying in vivid colours the social and economic unrest that must have characterized more than one community in Bithynia.

  [1] Ἐγὼ οὐχ οὕτως ἐκπέπληγμαι ἐφ̓ οἷς ποιεῖτε, ὦ ἄνδρες, τοιούτοις οὖσιν, ἀλλ̓ ἐπεὶ οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν ὁρῶ τῆς ὑμετέρας ὀργῆς πρὸς ἐμέ, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ εἰς ἀπορίαν ἄγον. ὀργὴν μὲν γὰρ δικαίαν ἔστι παραιτήσασθαι ἀνθρώπων, μῖσος δὲ ἄδικον τίς ἂν θεραπεύσαι; ἀξιῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀκοῦσαί μου λέγοντος οὐκ ἐμοῦ ἕνεκα μᾶλλον ἢ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἀδικῶ, οὐδὲ ὑμεῖς βούλεσθε δήπου ἀναιτίως μισεῖν τινα τῶν ὑμετέρων πολιτῶν: εἰ δὲ ἀδικῶ, κατ̓ ἐμοῦ ὁ λόγος ἔσται, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ: καὶ οὕτως γε μείζω ὑμῖν ὑφέξω τιμωρίαν ἢ αὐτοὶ ζητεῖτε. τὸ γὰρ ἐξελεγχθῆναι πονηρὸν

  The Forty-sixth Discourse: Delivered in his Native City prior to his Philosophical Career

  I am not so astounded at your conduct, gentlemen, shocking as it is, but since I cannot see any justification for your anger against me, I am in a quandary. For while justifiable anger can be assuaged by entreaty, hatred that is unjust who could heal? However, I ask you to give me a hearing, since I speak as much on your account as on my own. For if I am guilty of no wrong, neither do you, I presume, wish to hate without a cause one of your own citizens; while if I am guilty, my words will be harmful instead of helpful to me; and thus I shall undergo at your hands a punishment greater than you yourselves are seeking. For it is in every way more dreadful to be proved a scoundrel than to be stoned to death or consumed by fire.

  [2] ὄντα τῷ παντὶ δεινότερον τοῦ λευσθῆναι ἢ καταφλεγῆναι. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν μάθετε ὅτι ἃ δοκεῖ ὑμῖν φοβερά, οἱ λίθοι καὶ τὸ πῦρ, οὐδενὶ φοβερά ἐστιν, οὐδ̓ ἐστέ γε τούτοις ἰσχυροί, ἀλλὰ πάντων ἀσθενέστατοι, ἐκτὸς εἰ μή τις ἀριθμεῖ τὴν τῶν λῃστῶν καὶ τῶν μαινομένων δύναμιν. πόλεως δὲ καὶ δήμου ἰσχὺς ἐν ἑτέροις ἐστί, καὶ πρῶτόν γε ἐν τῷ φρονεῖν καὶ τὰ δίκαια ποιεῖν. περὶ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ πατρὸς οὐδὲν ἐμὲ δεῖ λέγειν, εἰ ἀγαθὸς ἦν. ἀεὶ γὰρ εὐφημεῖτε αὐτὸν καὶ κοινῇ καὶ καθ̓ ἕκαστον, ὅπου ἄν μνησθῆτε,

  [2] And you must recognize first of all that the things which seem terrible to you — stones and fire — are not terrible to anybody, and that you are not really strong because of these things, but weakest of all — unless one were to take into account the strength of brigands and madmen. But as for a city and a government by the people, strength lies in other things, and first and foremost in wisdom and fair dealing.

  Now with reference to my father, there is no need for me to tell whether he was a good citizen, for you are always singing his praises, both collectively and individually, whenever you refer to him, as being no ordinary citizen.

  [3] ὡς οὐ φαῦλον πολίτην. δεῖ μέντοι εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς ὅτι οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἐκείνῳ ἐστὶ τούτων τῶν ἐπαίνων: ἀλλ̓ ὅταν ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἐξ αὐτοῦ [p. 77] ἀποδέχησθε, τότε κἀκείνου μέμνησθε. καὶ περὶ τοῦ πάππου δὲ τοῦ ἡμετέρου οὐκ ἂν εἴποι οὐδεὶς οὔτε ὡς κατῄσχυνε τὴν πόλιν οὔτε ὡς οὐδὲν ἀνάλωσεν ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ. τὴν γὰρ οὐσίαν ἣν εἶχε πατρῴαν καὶ παππῴαν ἅπασαν εἰς φιλοτιμίαν ἀναλώσας, ὥστε μηδὲν ἔχειν λοιπόν, ἑτέραν ἐκτήσατο ἀπὸ παιδείας καὶ παρὰ τῶν

  [3] You should know, however, that these words of praise of yours are of no use to him; on the other hand, when you give your approval to me, his son, then you have been mindful of him too. Again, no one could say of my grandfather either that he disgraced the city or that he spent nothing on it out of his own means. For he spent on public benefactions all that he had from his father and his grandfather, so that he had nothing left at all, and then he acquired a second fortune by his learning and from imperial favour.

  [4] αὐτοκρατόρων. καὶ τοίνυν εἰς αὑτὸν οὐδεμίαν φαίνεται χάριν αἰτησάμενος ἐν τοιαύτῃ φιλίᾳ καὶ σπουδῇ, φυλάττων δὲ καὶ ταμιευόμενος τὴν τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος προθυμίαν εἰς ὑμᾶς. εἰ δέ τῳ δοκεῖ φλυαρία τὸ πολιτῶν ὑμετέρων ἀναμιμνήσκειν ὑμᾶς εὐνοίας καὶ ἀρετῆς, οὗτος οὐκ οἶδ̓ ὅπως εὖ παθεῖν αὐτὸς ὑπό του βούλεται. ἐκ τοιούτων δὴ ὄντες ἡμεῖς, εἰ καὶ σφόδρα πονηροὶ ἦμεν, ἀλλά τοι δἰ ἐκείνους ἐντροπῆς τινος ἄξιοι ἦμεν, οὐχὶ λευσθῆναι

  [4] Moreover, it is plain that he asked for no favour for himself, though held in such great friendship and esteem, but rather that he guarded and husbanded for you the goodwill of the Emperor. But if anyone thinks it foolishness to remind you of goodwill and nobility on the part of your own citizens, I do not know how such a man can wish to be treated well himself. Being descended, then, from such forebears, even if I were an utter knave myself, yet surely on their account I should merit some consideration instead of being stoned or burned to death by you.

  [5] ὑφ̓ ὑμῶν οὐδὲ καταφλεχθῆναι. σκοπεῖτε δὲ καὶ τοὐμόν, ὦ ἄνδρες, μὴ ἀγνωμόνως. ἡμῖν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ οὐσίαν κατέλιπε τῇ μὲν δόξῃ μεγάλην, δυνάμει δὲ μικρὰν καὶ πολλῷ ἐλάττω ἑτέρων: οὐ μεῖον γὰρ ἤ τετταράκοντα μυριάδες ἦσαν χρεῶν καὶ πράγματα τοιαῦτα ἔξωθεν, ὥστε πολὺ τῶν χρεῶν εἶναι ταῦτα χαλεπώτερα. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀσφάλεια, ὡς εἰπεῖν, οὐδενὸς ἡμῖν τῶν ὄντων ὑπῆρχεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ αὑτοῦ δυνάμει πιστεύων ἐκεῖνος ἅπαντα ἐκέκτητο, ὡς

  [5] But consider my own claims too, gentlemen, not unsympathetically. For my father left us an estate which, while reputed to be large, was small in value, yes, much less than that of others; for no less than four hundred thousand drachmas were in bills receivable, besides foreign business ventures of such nature that they were far more troublesome than the bills. For we had no security, I might say, for any part of our assets, but my father had acquired all his wealth through trusting to his own influence, believing that no one would contest his claims.

  [6] οὐδενὸς ἀμφισβητήσοντος. ἐν δὲ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀπολειφθεὶς οὐδέπω μὲν καὶ νῦν τὸ ἐπιβάλλον αὑτῷ μέρος τῶν χρεῶν διαλέλυμαι, λελειτούργηκα δὲ ὑμῖν τὰς μεγίστας λειτο�
�ργίας καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐμοῦ πλείους τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει. πλουσιωτέρους δὲ ἐμοῦ πολλοὺς ὄντας ἐπίστασθε καὶ αὐτοί. τί οὖν ἐστιν ἐφ̓ ὅτῳ ἐμοὶ ὀργίζεσθε καὶ ἄτιμον ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν δεῖνα προβέβλησθε καὶ λίθους καὶ πῦρ ἐφ̓ ἡμᾶς φέρετε; καὶ μηδεὶς ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου με φῇ λέγειν. ἴσως μὲν γὰρ ἐπ̓ οὐδένα οὐδὲ τῶν ἀδικούντων οὕτως ἔδει παροξύνεσθαι:

  [6] Yet, left as I was in such a situation, while I have not even now succeeded in securing a settlement of that part of the loans which fell to me, I have performed for you the greatest liturgies, in fact no one in the city has more of them to his credit than I have. Yet you yourselves know that many are wealthier than I am. What is it, then, that makes you angry with me, and why of all the citizens have you singled out for dishonour me and what’s-his-name, and why do you threaten us with stoning and burning? And let no one say that I am speaking in behalf of that man. For though perhaps you should not be so exasperated at any one, even among the wrongdoers, still my own troubles are enough for me.

  [7] πλὴν ἔμοιγε ἀπόχρη τὰ κατ̓ ἐμαυτόν. καὶ σκοπεῖτε καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὁποῖός εἰμι πολίτης ἐγώ, πρὸς ὅντινα βούλεσθε παραβάλλοντες τοσούτων οὕς οὐ κατακάετε. ἔστι μὲν γὰρ χωρία [p. 78] μοι καὶ πάντα ταῦτα ἐν τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ γῇ: τῶν δὲ ἐμοὶ γειτνιώντων οὐδὲν πώποτε οὐδεὶς οὔτε πλούσιος οὔτε πένης ῾πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν τοιούτων μοι γειτνιῶσιν̓ ᾐτιάσατο ἐμὲ ὡς ἀφαιρούμενός τινος ἤ ἐκβαλλόμενος, οὔτε δικαίως οὔτε ἀδίκως. εἰμὶ δὲ αὐτὸς οὔτε