§10.1ἤδη δʼ εὐπορῶν ὁ Κίμων ἐφόδια τῆς στρατηγίας ἃ καλῶς ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ἔδοξεν ὠφελῆσθαι κάλλιον ἀνήλισκεν εἰς τοὺς πολίτας.
Now Cimon, being wealthy, spent the provisions of his command, which he was thought to have won honorably from the enemy, even more honorably upon his citizens.
τῶν τε γὰρ ἀγρῶν τοὺς φραγμοὺς ἀφεῖλεν, ἵνα καὶ τοῖς ξένοις καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν τοῖς δεομένοις ἀδεῶς ὑπάρχῃ λαμβάνειν τῆς ὀπώρας, καὶ δεῖπνον οἴκοι παρʼ αὐτῷ λιτὸν μέν, ἀρκοῦν δὲ πολλοῖς, ἐποιεῖτο καθʼ ἡμέραν, ἐφʼ ὃ τῶν πενήτων ὁ βουλόμενος εἰσῄει καὶ διατροφὴν εἶχεν ἀπράγμονα, μόνοις τοῖς δημοσίοις σχολάζων.
For he removed the fences from his fields, so that both strangers and those of the citizens who were in need might take of the fruits without fear; and he provided at his house every day a dinner, simple indeed, but sufficient for many, which any of the poor who wished might enter and receive a maintenance free from trouble, so that they might be at leisure for public business alone.
§10.2ὡς δʼ Ἀριστοτέλης φησίν, οὐχ ἁπάντων Ἀθηναίων, ἀλλὰ τῶν δημοτῶν αὐτοῦ Λακιαδῶν παρεσκευάζετο τῷ βουλομένῳ τὸ δεῖπνον.
But as Aristotle says, this dinner was prepared not for all the Athenians, but for his own demesmen, the Laciadae, for anyone of them who wished.
αὐτῷ δὲ νεανίσκοι παρείποντο συνήθεις ἀμπεχόμενοι καλῶς, ὧν ἕκαστος, εἴ τις συντύχοι τῷ Κίμωνι τῶν ἀστῶν πρεσβύτερος ἠμφιεσμένος ἐνδεῶς, διημείβετο πρὸς αὐτὸν τὰ ἱμάτια· καὶ τὸ γινόμενον ἐφαίνετο σεμνόν.
And he was accompanied by young men, his close companions, who were well clad, each of whom, if they met any older citizen who was poorly dressed, would exchange cloaks with him; and what was done appeared noble.
§10.3οἱ δʼ αὐτοὶ καὶ νόμισμα κομίζοντες ἄφθονον παριστάμενοι τοῖς κομψοῖς τῶν πενήτων ἐν ἀγορᾷ σιωπῇ τῶν κερματίων ἐνέβαλλον εἰς τὰς χεῖρας.
These same young men also carried a great deal of money, and standing by the more refined of the poor in the marketplace, would silently slip small coins into their hands.
ὧν δὴ καὶ Κρατῖνος ὁ κωμικὸς ἐν Ἀρχιλόχοις ἔοικε μεμνῆσθαι διὰ τούτων· §10.4"
κἀγὼ γὰρ ηὔχουν Μητρόβιος ὁ γραμματεὺς
σὺν ἀνδρὶ θείῳ καὶ φιλοξενωτάτῳ
καὶ πάντʼ ἀρίστῳ τῶν Πανελλήνων πρὸ τοῦ
Κίμωνι λιπαρὸν γῆρας εὐωχούμενος
αἰῶνα πάντα συνδιατρίψειν. ὁ δὲ
λιπὼν βέβηκε πρότερος. "
To these practices Cratinus the comic poet seems to refer in his "Archilochi" in the following words: "For I, Metrobius the scribe, also hoped that with a man divine, most hospitable, and in all things the best of all the Greeks, with Cimon, spending a sleek old age in feasting, I should pass my whole life; but he has left me and gone before.
§10.5ἔτι τοίνυν Γοργίας μὲν ὁ Λεοντῖνός φησι τὸν Κίμωνα τὰ χρήματα κτᾶσθαι μὲν ὡς χρῷτο, χρῆσθαι δὲ ὡς τιμῷτο, Κριτίας δὲ τῶν τριάκοντα γενόμενος ἐν ταῖς ἐλεγείαις εὔχεται· "
πλοῦτον μὲν Σκοπαδῶν, μεγαλοφροσύνην δὲ Κίμωνος,
νίκας δʼ Ἀρκεσίλα τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίου.
"Furthermore, Gorgias of Leontini says that Cimon acquired riches that he might use them, and used them that he might be honored; and Critias, who became one of the Thirty, prays in his elegies: "The wealth of the Scopadae, the magnanimity of Cimon, and the victories of Arcesilaus the Lacedaemonian.
"
καίτοι Λίχαν γε τὸν Σπαρτιάτην ἀπʼ οὐδενὸς ἄλλου γινώσκομεν ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὀνομαστὸν γενόμενον ἢ ὅτι τοὺς ξένους ἐν ταῖς γυμνοπαιδίαις ἐδείπνιζεν· ἡ δὲ Κίμωνος ἀφθονία καὶ τὴν παλαιὰν τῶν Ἀθηναίων φιλοξενίαν καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν ὑπερέβαλεν.
"And yet, we know that Lichas the Spartan became famous among the Greeks for no other reason than that he entertained strangers at the Gymnopaediae; but the abundance of Cimon surpassed even the ancient hospitality and benevolence of the Athenians.
§10.6οἱ μὲν γάρ, ἐφʼ οἷς ἡ πόλις μέγα φρονεῖ δικαίως, τό τε σπέρμα τῆς τροφῆς εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐξέδωκαν ὑδάτων τε πηγαίων καὶ πυρὸς ἔναυσιν χρῄζουσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐδίδαξαν,ὁ δὲ τὴν μὲν οἰκίαν τοῖς πολίταις πρυτανεῖον ἀποδείξας κοινόν, ἐν δὲ τῇ χώρᾳ καρπῶν ἑτοίμων ἀπαρχὰς καὶ ὅσα ὧραι καλὰ φέρουσι χρῆσθαι καὶ λαμβάνειν ἅπαντα τοῖς ξένοις παρέχων, τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἐπὶ Κρόνου μυθολογουμένην κοινωνίαν εἰς τὸν βίον αὖθις κατῆγεν.
For whereas the Athenians, for which things the city justly prides itself, distributed the seed of food among the Greeks, and taught those in need the use of spring waters and the kindling of fire, Cimon, by making his house a common town-hall for the citizens, and by offering in his lands the first-fruits of ripe crops and all the beautiful things the seasons bring for strangers to use and take, in a way restored to life again that community of goods which is fabulously told of the reign of Cronus.
§10.7οἱ δὲ ταῦτα κολακείαν ὄχλου καὶ δημαγωγίαν εἶναι διαβάλλοντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἄλλης ἐξηλέγχοντο τοῦ ἀνδρὸς προαιρέσεως ἀριστοκρατικῆς καὶ Λακωνικῆς οὔσης, ὅς γε καὶ Θεμιστοκλεῖ πέρα τοῦ δέοντος ἐπαίροντι τὴν δημοκρατίαν ἀντέβαινε μετʼ Ἀριστείδου, καὶ πρὸς Ἐφιάλτην ὕστερον χάριτι τοῦ δήμου καταλύοντα τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλὴν διηνέχθη,
But those who slandered these things as flattery of the multitude and demagogy were refuted by the rest of the man's political choice, which was aristocratic and Spartan; for he opposed Themistocles when he raised the democracy beyond what was fitting, together with Aristides, and later clashed with Ephialtes when he was destroying the Council of the Areopagus to gratify the people.
§10.8λημμάτων δὲ δημοσίων τοὺς ἄλλους πλὴν Ἀριστείδου καὶ Ἐφιάλτου πάντας ἀναπιμπλαμένους ὁρῶν, αὑτὸν ἀδέκαστον καὶ ἄθικτον ἐκ τῇ πολιτείᾳ δωροδοκίας καὶ πάντα προῖκα καὶ καθαρῶς πράττοντα καὶ λέγοντα διὰ τέλους παρέσχε.
And though he saw all others except Aristides and Ephialtes filling themselves with public bribes, he kept himself uncorrupted and untouched by bribery in his public life, always acting and speaking without reward and purely to the end.
λέγεταί γέ τοι Ῥοισάκην τινὰ βάρβαρον ἀποστάτην βασιλέως ἐλθεῖν μετὰ χρημάτων πολλῶν εἰς Ἀθήνας, καὶ σπαραττόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν συκοφαντῶν καταφυγεῖν πρὸς Κίμωνα, καὶ θεῖναι παρὰ τὴν αὔλειον αὐτοῦ φιάλας δύο, τὴν μὲν ἀργυρείων ἐμπλησάμενον Δαρεικῶν, τὴν δὲ χρυσῶν· ἰδόντα δὲ τὸν Κίμωνα καὶ μειδιάσαντα πυθέσθαι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου,
Indeed, it is said that a certain barbarian, Rhoesaces, who had revolted from the King, came to Athens with much money, and being harassed by the sycophants, fled to Cimon for refuge, and placed at his courtyard gate two bowls, one filled with silver Darics, the other with gold.
§10.9πότερον αἱρεῖται Κίμωνα μισθωτὸν ἢ φίλον ἔχειν·
Cimon, seeing them and smiling, asked the man: whether he chose to have Cimon as a hireling or as a friend.
τοῦ δὲ φήσαντος φίλον
οὐκοῦν,
φάναι,
ταῦτʼ ἄπιθι μετὰ σεαυτοῦ κομίζων· χρήσομαι γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὅταν δέωμαι φίλος γενόμενος.
And when he replied, "As a friend," Cimon said: "Go then, and take these things away with you; for I shall make use of them when I have need, since I have become your friend."