§28τὴν μὲν οὖν φιλίαν τὴν πρὸς τὸν δῆμον οὕτω παλαιὰν καὶ γνησίαν καὶ διὰ τὰς μεγίστας εὐεργεσίας γεγενημένην παρὰ τῶν προγόνων παρέλαβεν· αὐτὸς δὲ κατελείφθη μὲν ὀρφανός, ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ μαχόμενος ἐν Κορωνείᾳ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπέθανεν, ἐπετροπεύθη δʼ ὑπὸ Περικλέους, ὃν πάντες ἂν ὁμολογήσειαν καὶ σωφρονέστατον καὶ δικαιότατον καὶ σοφώτατον γενέσθαι τῶν πολιτῶν.
Therefore, he received from his ancestors a friendship toward the people that was so ancient, genuine, and established through the greatest services; but he himself was left an orphan, for his father died fighting the enemy at Coroneia, and he was ward to Pericles, whom everyone would agree to have been the most prudent, just, and wise of the citizens.
ἡγοῦμαι γὰρ καὶ τοῦτʼ εἶναι τῶν καλῶν, ἐκ τοιούτων γενόμενον ὑπὸ τοιούτοις ἤθεσιν ἐπιτροπευθῆναι καὶ τραφῆναι καὶ παιδευθῆναι.
For I think that this too is an honorable thing, that one born of such ancestors should be guarded, reared, and educated under such influences.
§29δοκιμασθεὶς δʼ οὐκ ἐνδεέστερος ἐγένετο τῶν προειρημένων, οὐδʼ ἠξίωσεν αὐτὸς μὲν ῥᾳθύμως ζῆν, σεμνύνεσθαι δʼ ἐπὶ ταῖς τῶν προγόνων ἀρεταῖς, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς οὕτω μέγʼ ἐφρόνησεν, ὥστʼ ᾠήθη δεῖν διʼ αὑτὸν καὶ τἀκείνων ἔργα μνημονεύεσθαι.
Having passed his scrutiny, he did not prove inferior to those I have mentioned, nor did he think it right to live in idleness and pride himself on the virtues of his ancestors; but immediately he conceived such great ambitions that he thought their deeds too should be remembered through his own efforts.
καὶ πρῶτον μέν, ὅτε Φορμίων ἐξήγαγεν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης χιλίους Ἀθηναίων, ἐπιλεξάμενος τοὺς ἀρίστους, μετὰ τούτων στρατευσάμενος τοιοῦτος ἦν ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις ὥστε στεφανωθῆναι καὶ πανοπλίαν λαβεῖν παρὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ.
And first, when Phormio led out a thousand Athenians to Thrace, having selected the best, my father campaigned with them and showed himself such in dangers that he was crowned and received a full suit of armor from the general.
§30καίτοι τί χρὴ τὸν τῶν μεγίστων ἐπαίνων ἄξιον;
And yet, what should he do who is worthy of the highest praise?
οὐ μετὰ μὲν τῶν βελτίστων ἐκ τῆς πόλεως στρατευόμενον ἀριστείων ἀξιοῦσθαι, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς κρατίστους τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀντιστρατηγοῦντʼ ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς κινδύνοις αὐτῶν φαίνεσθαι περιγιγνόμενον;
Should he not, when campaigning with the best from the city, be deemed worthy of the prize of valor, and when acting as general against the strongest of the Greeks, show himself superior to them in all dangers?
ἐκεῖνος τοίνυν τῶν μὲν νέος ὢν ἔτυχε, τὰ δʼ ἐπειδὴ πρεσβύτερος ἦν ἔπραξεν.
He, then, attained the former when he was young, and performed the latter when he was older.
§31μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν ἔγημεν· ἡγοῦμαι γὰρ καὶ ταύτην ἀριστεῖον αὐτὸν λαβεῖν.
After this, he married my mother; for I think that he received her too as a prize of valor.
ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτῆς Ἱππόνικος, πλούτῳ μὲν πρῶτος ὢν τῶν Ἑλλήνων, γένει δʼ οὐδενὸς ὕστερος τῶν πολιτῶν, τιμώμενος δὲ καὶ θαυμαζόμενος μάλιστα τῶν ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ, μετὰ προικὸς δὲ πλείστης καὶ δόξης μεγίστης ἐκδιδοὺς τὴν θυγατέρα, καὶ τοῦ γάμου τυχεῖν εὐχομένων μὲν ἁπάντων, ἀξιούντων δὲ τῶν πρώτων, τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμὸν ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐκλεξάμενος κηδεστὴν ἐπεθύμησε ποιήσασθαι.
For her father Hipponicus, who was first of the Greeks in wealth and second to none of the citizens in birth, and was most honored and admired of his contemporaries, when giving his daughter in marriage with the largest dowry and the greatest reputation—though all prayed to obtain this marriage and the foremost citizens deemed themselves worthy—chose my father out of all of them, desiring to make him his son-in-law.
§32περὶ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ὁρῶν τὴν ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πανήγυριν ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀγαπωμένην καὶ θαυμαζομένην, καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐπίδειξιν ἐν αὐτῇ ποιουμένους πλούτου καὶ ῥώμης καὶ παιδεύσεως, καὶ τούς τʼ ἀθλητὰς ζηλουμένους καὶ τὰς πόλεις ὀνομαστὰς γιγνομένας τὰς τῶν νικώντων, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἡγούμενος τὰς μὲν ἐνθάδε λῃτουργίας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἰδίων πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας εἶναι, τὰς δʼ εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν πανήγυριν ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως εἰς ἅπασαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα γίγνεσθαι, §33ταῦτα διανοηθείς, οὐδενὸς ἀφυέστερος οὐδʼ ἀρρωστότερος τῷ σώματι γενόμενος τοὺς μὲν γυμνικοὺς ἀγῶνας ὑπερεῖδεν, εἰδὼς ἐνίους τῶν ἀθλητῶν καὶ κακῶς γεγονότας καὶ μικρὰς πόλεις οἰκοῦντας καὶ ταπεινῶς πεπαιδευμένους, ἱπποτροφεῖν δʼ ἐπιχειρήσας, ὃ τῶν εὐδαιμονεστάτων ἔργον ἐστί, φαῦλος δʼ οὐδεὶς ἂν ποιήσειεν, οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀνταγωνιστὰς ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς πώποτε νικήσαντας ὑπερεβάλετο.
Around the same time, seeing that the festival at Olympia was beloved and admired by all mankind, and that the Greeks made a display there of wealth, strength, and education, and that the athletes were envied and the cities of the victors became famous, and moreover, believing that while the public services here at home are for the benefit of individual citizens, those performed at that festival on behalf of the city are made before the whole of Greece, having considered these things, though he was second to none in natural talent or physical strength, he looked down on the athletic contests, knowing that some of the athletes were of low birth, inhabited small cities, and had a mean education; but having turned his hand to breeding horses, which is the pursuit of the most fortunate and which no worthless person could do, he surpassed not only his competitors but all who had ever won before.
§34ζεύγη γὰρ καθῆκε τοσαῦτα μὲν τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὅσοις οὐδʼ αἱ μέγισται τῶν πόλεων ἠγωνίσαντο, τοιαῦτα δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὥστε καὶ πρῶτος καὶ δεύτερος γενέσθαι καὶ τρίτος.
For he entered so many chariots as not even the greatest cities had ever competed with, and of such quality that he came in first, second, and third.
χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἐν ταῖς θυσίαις καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ταῖς περὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν δαπάναις οὕτως ἀφειδῶς διέκειτο καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ὥστε φαίνεσθαι τὰ κοινὰ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐλάττω τῶν ἰδίων τῶν ἐκείνου.
Apart from this, in the sacrifices and the other expenses concerning the festival, he was so open-handed and magnificent that the public displays of others seemed smaller than his private ones.
κατέλυσε δὲ τὴν θεωρίαν, τὰς μὲν τῶν προτέρων εὐτυχίας μικρὰς πρὸς τὰς αὑτοῦ δόξαι ποιήσας, τοὺς δʼ ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ νικήσαντας παύσας ζηλουμένους, τοῖς δὲ μέλλουσιν ἱπποτροφεῖν οὐδεμίαν ὑπερβολὴν καταλιπών.
And he eclipsed the festival delegation, making the successes of his predecessors seem small compared to his own, stopping those who won in his own day from being envied, and leaving no room for future horse-breeders to surpass him.