§1.1ἐν δὲ τῇ συγκρίσει πρῶτον ὁ Νικίου πλοῦτος τῷ Κράσσου παραβαλλόμενος ἀμεμπτοτέραν ἔχει τὴν κτῆσιν.
In the comparison, first of all, Nicias' wealth, when compared to that of Crassus, has a more blameless acquisition.
ἄλλως μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἄν τις δοκιμάσειε τὴν ἀπὸ μετάλλων ἐργασίαν, ἧς τὰ πλεῖστα περαίνεται διὰ κακούργων ἢ βαρβάρων, ἐνίων δεδεμένων καὶ φθειρομένων ἐν τόποις ὑπούλοις καὶ νοσεροῖς· παραβαλλομένη δὲ πρὸς τὰ Σύλλα δημιόπρατα καὶ τὰς περὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐργολαβίας, ἐπιεικεστέρα φανεῖται.
For in general, one would not approve of the work in the mines, most of which is carried out by criminals or barbarians, some of whom are bound and perish in dark and diseased places; but when compared with Sulla's public auctions and the business undertakings relating to fires, it will appear more moderate.
§1.2ταύταις γὰρ ὁ Κράσσος ἀναφανδὸν ὡς τῷ γεωργεῖν ἐχρῆτο καὶ τῷ δανείζειν· ἃ δὲ ἔξαρνος ἦν ἐλεγχόμενος, ἐπὶ κέρδεσιν ἐν βουλῇ λέγειν καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους ἀδικεῖν καὶ γύναια περιιὼν κολακεύειν καὶ συνεπικρύπτειν τοὺς πονηρούς, τούτων αἰτίαν οὐδὲ ψευδῆ ποτε Νικίας ἔλαβεν, ἄλλως δὲ διδοὺς καὶ προϊέμενος ἀργύριον ὑπὸ δειλίας τοῖς συκοφάνταις ἐχλευάζετο, πρᾶγμα ποιῶν Περικλεῖ μὲν ἴσως καὶ Ἀριστείδῃ μὴ πρέπον, αὐτῷ δʼ ἀναγκαῖον οὐκ εὖ πεφυκότι πρὸς τὸ θαρρεῖν.
For Crassus used these openly as if they were agriculture and lending; but as for the things which he denied when accused—speaking in the senate for gain, treating the allies unjustly, going around flattering women, and helping to cover up the deeds of wicked men—Nicias never received even a false accusation of these. On the other hand, because he gave away and threw away his money out of cowardice to sycophants, he was mocked, doing something that was perhaps not fitting for Pericles and Aristides, but necessary for himself, who was not well-disposed by nature toward boldness.
§1.3ᾧ καὶ Λυκοῦργος ὕστερον ὁ ῥήτωρ ἐπαρρησιάσατο πρὸς τὸν δῆμον, αἰτίαν ἔχων ἐξωνήσασθαί τινα τῶν συκοφαντῶν· ἥδομαι γάρ,
εἶπεν,
εἰ τοσοῦτον χρόνον πεπολιτευμένος παρʼ ὑμῖν διδοὺς πεφώραμαι πρότερον ἢ λαμβάνων. §1.4τὴν δὲ ταῖς δαπάναις πολιτικώτερος μὲν ὁ Νικίας ἀναθήμασι καὶ γυμνασιαρχίαις καὶ διδασκαλίαις χορῶν φιλοτιμούμενος, ὧν δʼ ὁ Κράσσος ἀνάλωσεν ἑστιάσας ἅμα τοσαύτας μυριάδας ἀνθρώπων, εἶτα θρέψας πάλιν, οὐδὲν ἦν μέρος ἃ Νικίας ἐκέκτητο σὺν οἷς ἀνάλωσεν, ὥστε θαυμάζειν, εἴ τινα λέληθε τὸ τὴν κακίαν ἀνωμαλίαν εἶναί τινα τρόπου καὶ ἀνομολογίαν, ὁρῶντα τοὺς αἰσχρῶς συλλέγοντας εἶτʼ ἀχρήστως ἐκχέοντας.
Concerning this, Lycurgus the orator later spoke with frankness to the people, when accused of buying off one of the sycophants: "For I am glad," he said, "if, having been a citizen among you for so long, I am detected giving rather than receiving." But with respect to their expenditures, Nicias was more civic-minded, showing a love of honor in dedications, gymnasiarchies, and the training of choruses; whereas what Crassus spent in entertaining so many tens of thousands of people at one time, and then feeding them again, was such that all that Nicias possessed, together with what he spent, was not even a fraction of it. So that one may wonder if anyone fails to notice that vice is a kind of inconsistency and disharmony of character, when one sees men gathering shamefully and then pouring out uselessly.