§1.1ἆρʼ οὖν ἴδιόν τι περὶ ταύτην τὴν σύγκρισιν ὑπάρχει καὶ μὴ πάνυ συμβεβηκὸς ἑτέρᾳ τῶν ἀναγεγραμμένων, τὸν ἕτερον γεγονέναι μιμητὴν τοῦ ἑτέρου, τὸν ἕτερον δὲ μάρτυν;
Is there, then, something peculiar to this comparison, and not at all applicable to any other of those recorded, namely, that the one became the imitator of the other, and the other the witness of the one?
ὅρα γάρ ἣν ὁ Σόλων ἐξήνεγκε περὶ εὐδαιμονίας ἀπόφασιν πρὸς Κροῖσον, ὡς Ποπλικόλᾳ μᾶλλον ἢ Τέλλῳ προσήκει·
For see the pronouncement which Solon made to Croesus concerning happiness, how it fits Publicola rather than Tellus.
§1.2Τέλλου μὲν γὰρ, ὃν εἶπε γεγονέναι μακαριώτατον διʼ εὐποτμίαν καὶ ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐτεκνίαν, οὔτʼ αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς ποιήμασιν ὡς ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ λόγον ἔσχεν οὔτε παῖδες οὔτʼ ἀρχή τις εἰς δόξαν ἦλθεν Ποπλικόλας δὲ καὶ ζῶν ἐπρώτευσε δυνάμει καὶ δόξῃ διʼ ἀρετὴν Ῥωμαίων, καὶ τεθνηκότος ἐν τοῖς ἐπιφανεστάτοις γένεσι καὶ στέμμασιν ἔτι καθʼ ἡμᾶς Ποπλικόλαι καὶ Μεσσάλαι καὶ Οὐαλλέριοι διʼ ἐτῶν ἑξακοσίων τῆς εὐγενείας τὴν δόξαν ἀναφέρουσι.
For as for Tellus, whom he said had been most happy on account of his good fortune, virtue, and fine children, neither did Solon himself make any account of him as a good man in his poems, nor did his children or any magistracy of his come into glory. But Publicola, while alive, held the first place in power and reputation among the Romans because of his virtue, and after his death, among the most illustrious families and lineages, even to our day, Publicolae, Messallae, and Valerii, through six hundred years, still trace back the glory of their noble birth.
§1.3καὶ Τέλλος μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ὡς ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς ἐν τάξει μένων καὶ μαχόμενος κατέστρεψε· Ποπλικόλας δὲ τοὺς μὲν πολεμίους κτείνας, ὃ τοῦ πεσεῖν εὐτυχέστερόν ἐστι, τὴν δὲ πατρίδα νικῶσαν ἐπιδὼν διʼ αὐτόν ἄρχοντα καὶ στρατηγοῦντα, τιμηθεὶς δὲ καὶ θριαμβεύσας ἔτυχε τῆς ζηλουμένης ὑπὸ Σόλωνος καὶ μακαριζομένης τελευτῆς.
And Tellus indeed ended his life at the hands of the enemy, remaining in his rank and fighting like a brave man; but Publicola, having slain the enemy—which is more fortunate than falling—and having looked upon his country victorious through his own leadership as ruler and general, and having been honored and having triumphed, attained the death envied and blessed by Solon.
§1.4ἔτι τοίνυν οἷς πρὸς Μίμνερμον ἀντειπὼν περὶ χρόνου ζωῆς ἐπιπεφώνηκε,
"
μηδέ μοι ἄκλαυστος θάνατος μόλοι, ἀλλὰ φίλοισι
ποιήσαιμι θανὼν ἄλγεα καὶ στοναχάς
"
ποιεῖ, τελευτήσας γὰρ οὐ φίλοις οὐδʼ οἰκείοις μόνον, ἀλλὰ τῇ πόλει πάσῃ, μυριάσι πολλαῖς, δάκρυα καὶ πόθον καὶ κατήφειαν ἐφʼ αὑτῷ παρέσχεν αἱ γάρ Ῥωμαίων γυναῖκες ἐπένθησαν αὐτόν ὥσπερ υ ἱὸν ἢ ἀδελφὸν ἢ πατέρα κοινὸν ἀποβαλοῦσαι.
Moreover, the words which Solon, in replying to Mimnermus concerning the length of life, pronounced: "May my death not come unlamented, but may I, when dead, leave pain and sighs to my friends "Publicola actually fulfilled. For when he died, he caused tears, longing, and dejection on his account, not only to his friends and relatives, but to the whole city, to many tens of thousands. For the Roman women mourned him as though they had lost a son, a brother, or a common father.
§1.5χρήματα δʼ ἱμείρω μὲν ἔχειν,
φησὶν ὁ Σόλων,
ἀδίκως δὲ πεπᾶσθαι οὐκ ἐθέλω,
ὡς δίκης ἐπιούσης Ποπλικόλᾳ δʼ ὑπῆρχεν οὐ μόνον μὴ κακῶς πλουτεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλῶς ἀναλίσκειν εὖ ποιοῦντι τοὺς δεομένους, ὥστʼ εἰ σοφώτατος ἁπάντων ὁ Σόλων, εὐδαιμονέστατος ὁ Ποπλικόλας.
"I desire to have wealth," says Solon, "but to possess it unjustly I do not wish, as justice will overtake me." But for Publicola, it was possible not only not to be rich unjustly, but also to spend beautifully by doing good to those in need. So that, if Solon was the wisest of all men, Publicola was the most happy.
ἃ γὰρ εὔξατο τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐκεῖνος ὡς μέγιστα καὶ κάλλιστα, ταῦτα καὶ κτήσασθαι Ποπλικόλᾳ καὶ φυλάξαι χρωμένῳ μέχρι τέλους ὑπῆρξεν.
For those blessings which the former prayed for as the greatest and most beautiful, these Publicola was able both to acquire and to preserve while using them until the end.