§8ἢ τοῖς Ὀρφέως ἔργοις ὁμοιώσωμεν;
Or should we match him with the deeds of Orpheus?
ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν ἐξ Ἅιδου τοὺς τεθνεῶτας ἀνῆγεν, ὁ δὲ πρὸ μοίρας τοὺς ζῶντας ἀπώλλυεν.
But the one used to bring back the dead from Hades, while the other destroyed the living before their fated hour.
ὥσθʼ ἡδέως ἂν εἰδείην τί ποτʼ ἂν ἐποίησεν, εἰ καταφρονῶν αὐτῶν ἐτύγχανεν, ὃς θαυμάζων τὴν ἀρετὴν τὴν ἐκείνων ἅπαντα φαίνεται τἀναντία διαπραττόμενος.
So I should gladly know what on earth he would have done if he had happened to despise them, when he, while marveling at their virtue, appears to have done everything to the contrary.
ὃ δὲ πάντων ἀτοπώτατον, ὅτι περὶ τὰς γενεαλογίας ἐσπουδακὼς ἐτόλμησας εἰπεῖν, ὡς τούτους ἐζήλωσεν ὧν οὐδʼ οἱ πατέρες πω κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον γεγονότες ἦσαν.
But the most absurd thing of all is that, though you have busied yourself with genealogies, you dared to say that he emulated those whose fathers had not even been born at that time.
§9ἵνα δὲ μὴ δοκῶ τὸ προχειρότατον ποιεῖν, ἐπιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν εἰρημένων μηδὲν ἐπιδεικνὺς τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ, πειράσομαί σοι διὰ βραχέων δηλῶσαι περὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπόθεσιν, καίπερ οὐ σπουδαίαν οὖσαν οὐδὲ σεμνοὺς λόγους ἔχουσαν, ἐξ ὧν ἔδει καὶ τὸν ἔπαινον καὶ τὴν ἀπολογίαν ποιήσασθαι.
In order that I may not seem to do the easiest thing, namely, to find fault with what has been said without showing any of my own, I shall try to make clear to you briefly concerning the same subject, although it is not serious and does not contain solemn words, from what points both the praise and the defense ought to have been made.
§10περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς Βουσίριδος εὐγενείας τίς οὐκ ἂν δυνηθείη ῥᾳδίως εἰπεῖν;
Now, concerning the noble birth of Busiris, who would not be able to speak easily?
ὃς πατρὸς μὲν ἦν Ποσειδῶνος, μητρὸς δὲ Λιβύης τῆς Ἐπάφου τοῦ Διός, ἥν φασι πρώτην γυναῖκα βασιλεύσασαν ὁμώνυμον αὑτῇ τὴν χώραν καταστῆσαι.
He had Poseidon as his father, and Libya, the daughter of Epaphus the son of Zeus, as his mother, who they say was the first woman to rule as queen and established the country with the same name as herself.
τυχὼν δὲ τοιούτων προγόνων οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτοις μόνοις μέγʼ ἐφρόνησεν, ἀλλʼ ᾠήθη δεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τῆς αὑτοῦ μνημεῖον εἰς ἅπαντα τὸν χρόνον καταλιπεῖν.
Having obtained such ancestors, he did not pride himself on these alone, but thought he ought to leave a monument of his own virtue for all time.
§11τὴν μὲν οὖν μητρῴαν ἀρχὴν ὑπερεῖδεν ἐλάττω νομίσας ἢ κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ φύσιν εἶναι, πλείστους δὲ καταστρεψάμενος καὶ μεγίστην δύναμιν κτησάμενος ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ κατεστήσατο τὴν βασιλείαν, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν παρουσῶν μόνον ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἁπασῶν προκρίνας τὴν ἐκεῖ πολὺ διαφέρειν οἴκησιν.
Therefore, he looked down on his mother's realm, thinking it was smaller than was fitting for his own nature, and having subdued very many people and acquired the greatest power, he established his kingdom in Egypt, choosing the habitation there as far superior, not only among those existing then, but among all.
§12ἑώρα γὰρ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους τόπους οὐκ εὐκαίρως οὐδʼ εὐαρμόστως πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σύμπαντος φύσιν ἔχοντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ὑπʼ ὄμβρων κατακλυζομένους, τοὺς δʼ ὑπὸ καυμάτων διαφθειρομένους, ταύτην δὲ τὴν χώραν ἐν καλλίστῳ μὲν τοῦ κόσμου κειμένην, πλεῖστα δὲ καὶ παντοδαπώτατα φέρειν δυναμένην, ἀθανάτῳ δὲ τείχει τῷ Νείλῳ τετειχισμένην, §13ὃς οὐ μόνον φυλακὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τροφὴν ἱκανὴν αὐτῇ παρέχειν πέφυκεν, ἀνάλωτος μὲν ὢν καὶ δύσμαχος τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσιν, εὐαγωγὸς δὲ καὶ πρὸς πολλὰ χρήσιμος τοῖς ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ κατοικοῦσιν.
For he saw that the other places were situated neither conveniently nor harmoniously with respect to the nature of the universe, but some were deluged by rains and others destroyed by heat, whereas he saw that this country lay in the most beautiful part of the world, and was able to produce the most and most varied things, and was fortified by an immortal wall, the Nile, which by nature provides her not only with defense but also with sufficient food, being impregnable and hard to fight against for those plotting against her, but easy to navigate and useful for many things for those dwelling within her.
πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς προειρημένοις καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῶν πρὸς τὴν τῆς γῆς ἐργασίαν ἰσόθεον πεποίηκεν· τῶν γὰρ ὄμβρων καὶ τῶν αὐχμῶν τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ὁ Ζεὺς ταμίας ἐστίν, ἐκείνων δʼ ἕκαστος ἀμφοτέρων τούτων αὐτὸς αὑτῷ κύριος καθέστηκεν.
For in addition to the aforementioned things, it has made their power for the cultivation of the land equal to that of gods; for while Zeus is the dispenser of rains and droughts for others, each of them has become master of both of these for himself.
§14εἰς τοσαύτην δʼ ὑπερβολὴν εὐδαιμονίας ἥκουσιν, ὥστε τῇ μὲν ἀρετῇ καὶ τῇ φύσει τῆς χώρας καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν πεδίων ἤπειρον καρποῦνται, τῇ δὲ τῶν περιόντων διαθέσει καὶ τῇ τῶν ἐλλειπόντων κομιδῇ διὰ τὴν τοῦ ποταμοῦ δύναμιν νῆσον οἰκοῦσιν· κύκλῳ γὰρ αὐτὴν περιέχων καὶ πᾶσαν διαρρέων πολλὴν αὐτοῖς εὐπορίαν ἀμφοτέρων τούτων πεποίηκεν.
And they have reached such an excess of prosperity that, by the fertility and nature of the country and the abundance of the plains, they harvest a continent, while by the disposal of surplus goods and the import of what is lacking, through the power of the river, they inhabit an island; for surrounding it in a circle and flowing through all of it, it has created for them great abundance of both of these.
§15ἤρξατο μὲν οὖν ἐντεῦθεν, ὅθεν περ χρὴ τοὺς εὖ φρονοῦντας, ἅμα τόν τε τόπον ὡς κάλλιστον καταλαβεῖν καὶ τροφὴν ἱκανὴν τοῖς περὶ αὑτὸν ἐξευρεῖν.
He began, then, from here, where indeed those of good sense must, both to occupy the place as the most beautiful and to find sufficient food for those about him.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα διελόμενος χωρὶς ἑκάστους τοὺς μὲν ἐπὶ τὰς ἱερωσύνας κατέστησε, τοὺς δʼ ἐπὶ τὰς τέχνας ἔτρεψε, τοὺς δὲ τὰ περὶ τὸν πόλεμον μελετᾶν ἠνάγκασεν, ἡγούμενος τὰ μὲν ἀναγκαῖα καὶ τὰς περιουσίας ἔκ τε τῆς χώρας καὶ τῶν τεχνῶν δεῖν ὑπάρχειν, τούτων δʼ εἶναι φυλακὴν ἀσφαλεστάτην τήν τε περὶ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσέβειαν.
After this, dividing them apart, he appointed some to the priesthoods, turned others to the crafts, and forced others to practice the things of war, thinking that while the necessities and surpluses must come from the land and the crafts, the safest protection of these was the care for war and piety toward the gods.