§23καίτοι σκέψασθʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἅ τις ἂν κεφάλαιʼ εἰπεῖν ἔχοι τῶν τʼ ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων ἔργων καὶ τῶν ἐφʼ ὑμῶν.
Yet consider, men of Athens, what achievements one might mention in sum, both from the time of your ancestors and from your own time.
ἔσται δὲ βραχὺς καὶ γνώριμος ὑμῖν ὁ λόγος· οὐ γὰρ ἀλλοτρίοις ὑμῖν χρωμένοις παραδείγμασιν, ἀλλʼ οἰκείοις, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εὐδαίμοσιν ἔξεστι γενέσθαι.
The story will be brief and well-known to you; for, men of Athens, it is possible for you to become happy, not by using foreign examples, but your own domestic ones.
§24ἐκεῖνοι τοίνυν, οἷς οὐκ ἐχαρίζονθʼ οἱ λέγοντες οὐδʼ ἐφίλουν αὐτοὺς ὥσπερ ὑμᾶς οὗτοι νῦν, πέντε μὲν καὶ τετταράκοντʼ ἔτη τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἦρξαν ἑκόντων, πλείω δʼ ἢ μύρια τάλαντʼ εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἀνήγαγον, ὑπήκουε δʼ ὁ ταύτην τὴν χώραν ἔχων αὐτοῖς βασιλεύς, ὥσπερ ἐστὶ προσῆκον βάρβαρον Ἕλλησι, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ καλὰ καὶ πεζῇ καὶ ναυμαχοῦντες ἔστησαν τρόπαιʼ αὐτοὶ στρατευόμενοι, μόνοι δʼ ἀνθρώπων κρείττω τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις δόξαν τῶν φθονούντων κατέλιπον.
Those men, then, whom the speakers did not flatter, nor did they love them as these men now love you, ruled over the willing Greeks for forty-five years, and brought more than ten thousand talents up to the Acropolis; and the king who held this land was subject to them, as is fitting for a barbarian to be to Greeks; and they themselves, serving in the army, set up many beautiful trophies both by land and by sea, and they alone of mankind left behind a reputation for their deeds that was superior to the envy of others.
§25ἐπὶ μὲν δὴ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν ἦσαν τοιοῦτοι· ἐν δὲ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν πόλιν αὐτὴν θεάσασθʼ ὁποῖοι, ἔν τε τοῖς κοινοῖς κἀν τοῖς ἰδίοις.
In Greek affairs, indeed, they were of such character; but observe what they were like in the affairs of the city itself, both in public and in private.
δημοσίᾳ μὲν τοίνυν οἰκοδομήματα καὶ κάλλη τοιαῦτα καὶ τοσαῦτα κατεσκεύασαν ἡμῖν ἱερῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν τούτοις ἀναθημάτων, ὥστε μηδενὶ τῶν ἐπιγιγνομένων ὑπερβολὴν λελεῖφθαι· ἰδίᾳ δʼ οὕτω σώφρονες ἦσαν καὶ σφόδρʼ ἐν τῷ τῆς πολιτείας ἤθει μένοντες, §26ὥστε τὴν Ἀριστείδου καὶ τὴν Μιλτιάδου καὶ τῶν τότε λαμπρῶν οἰκίαν εἴ τις ἄρʼ οἶδεν ὑμῶν ὁποία ποτʼ ἐστίν, ὁρᾷ τῆς τοῦ γείτονος οὐδὲν σεμνοτέραν οὖσαν· οὐ γὰρ εἰς περιουσίαν ἐπράττετʼ αὐτοῖς τὰ τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλὰ τὸ κοινὸν αὔξειν ἕκαστος ᾤετο δεῖν.
Publicly, then, they constructed for us buildings and ornaments of temples and of the offerings within them, of such beauty and number that no room for surpassing them was left to any of their successors; while in private life they were so temperate and remained so strictly within the character of the constitution, with the result that, if any of you indeed knows what the house of Aristides or Miltiades or the illustrious men of that time is like, he sees that it is in no way more magnificent than that of their neighbor; for their conduct of the city's affairs was not directed toward private accumulation, but each thought it his duty to increase the common wealth.
ἐκ δὲ τοῦ τὰ μὲν Ἑλληνικὰ πιστῶς, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβῶς, τὰ δʼ ἐν αὑτοῖς ἴσως διοικεῖν μεγάλην εἰκότως ἐκτήσαντʼ εὐδαιμονίαν.
And from managing Greek affairs faithfully, affairs toward the gods piously, and their own affairs fairly, they naturally acquired great prosperity.
§27τότε μὲν δὴ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον εἶχε τὰ πράγματʼ ἐκείνοις, χρωμένοις οἷς εἶπον προστάταις· νυνὶ δὲ πῶς ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τῶν χρηστῶν τούτων τὰ πράγματʼ ἔχει;
At that time, indeed, their affairs were in this state under the leaders whom I have mentioned; but now, how are our affairs under these worthy leaders of ours?
ἆρά γʼ ὁμοίως ἢ παραπλησίως;
Is it in the same or a similar way?
οἷς —τὰ μὲν ἄλλα σιωπῶ, πόλλʼ ἂν ἔχων εἰπεῖν, ἀλλʼ ὅσης ἅπαντες ὁρᾶτʼ ἐρημίας ἐπειλημμένοι, Λακεδαιμονίων μὲν ἀπολωλότων, Θηβαίων δʼ ἀσχόλων ὄντων, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων οὐδενὸς ὄντος ἀξιόχρεω περὶ τῶν πρωτείων ἡμῖν ἀντιτάξασθαι, ἐξὸν δʼ ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερʼ αὐτῶν ἀσφαλῶς ἔχειν καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων δίκαια βραβεύειν, §28ἀπεστερήμεθα μὲν χώρας οἰκείας, πλείω δʼ ἢ χίλια καὶ πεντακόσια τάλαντʼ ἀνηλώκαμεν εἰς οὐδὲν δέον, οὓς δʼ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ συμμάχους ἐκτησάμεθα, εἰρήνης οὔσης ἀπολωλέκασιν οὗτοι, ἐχθρὸν δʼ ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τηλικοῦτον ἠσκήκαμεν.
Under these men—I say nothing of other things, though I could say much, but in the midst of such a void of competitors as you all see, with Lacedaemonians ruined, Thebans occupied, and no other state capable of disputing the supremacy with us, and when it is in our power both to hold our own securely and to arbitrate the rights of others, we have been deprived of our own territory, and have spent more than fifteen hundred talents to no useful purpose, and the allies whom we acquired in war, these men have lost in time of peace, and we have trained up against ourselves an enemy of such formidable power.
ἢ φρασάτω τις ἐμοὶ παρελθών, πόθεν ἄλλοθεν ἰσχυρὸς γέγονεν ἢ παρʼ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν Φίλιππος.
Or let someone come forward and tell me, from what other source than from ourselves has Philip become strong?
§29ἀλλʼ, ὦ τᾶν, εἰ ταῦτα φαύλως, τά γʼ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλει νῦν ἄμεινον ἔχει. καὶ τί ἂν εἰπεῖν τις ἔχοι;
"But, my good sir, if these things are bad, at least the affairs within the city itself are better now." And what could anyone mention?
τὰς ἐπάλξεις ἃς κονιῶμεν, καὶ τὰς ὁδοὺς ἃς ἐπισκευάζομεν, καὶ κρήνας, καὶ λήρους;
The battlements which we plaster, the roads which we repair, and fountains, and such nonsense?
ἀποβλέψατε δὴ πρὸς τοὺς ταῦτα πολιτευομένους, ὧν οἱ μὲν ἐκ πτωχῶν πλούσιοι γεγόνασιν, οἱ δʼ ἐξ ἀδόξων ἔντιμοι, ἔνιοι δὲ τὰς ἰδίας οἰκίας τῶν δημοσίων οἰκοδομημάτων σεμνοτέρας εἰσὶ κατεσκευασμένοι, ὅσῳ δὲ τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐλάττω γέγονεν, τοσούτῳ τὰ τούτων ηὔξηται.
Look, indeed, at those who conduct these policies, of whom some have become rich from being poor, others honorable from being obscure, and some have constructed private houses more magnificent than public buildings; and by as much as the state's affairs have declined, by so much have theirs increased.
§30τί δὴ τὸ πάντων αἴτιον τούτων, καὶ τί δή ποθʼ ἅπαντʼ εἶχε καλῶς τότε, καὶ νῦν οὐκ ὀρθῶς;
What is indeed the cause of all these things, and why was everything well then, and now not right?
ὅτι τότε μὲν πράττειν καὶ στρατεύεσθαι τολμῶν αὐτὸς ὁ δῆμος δεσπότης τῶν πολιτευομένων ἦν καὶ κύριος αὐτὸς ἁπάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ἀγαπητὸν ἦν παρὰ τοῦ δήμου τῶν ἄλλων ἑκάστῳ καὶ τιμῆς καὶ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἀγαθοῦ τινος μεταλαβεῖν·
Because then the people itself, daring to act and serve in the field, was master of those who conducted the state and was itself lord of all benefits, and it was a welcome thing for each of the others to receive from the people a share of honor, office, or some benefit.