§45ὅποι μὲν γὰρ ἄν, οἶμαι, μέρος τι τῆς πόλεως συναποσταλῇ, κἂν μὴ πᾶσα, καὶ τὸ τῶν θεῶν εὐμενὲς καὶ τὸ τῆς τύχης συναγωνίζεται· ὅποι δʼ ἂν στρατηγὸν καὶ ψήφισμα κενὸν καὶ τὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος ἐλπίδας ἐκπέμψητε, οὐδὲν ὑμῖν τῶν δεόντων γίγνεται, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν ἐχθροὶ καταγελῶσιν, οἱ δὲ σύμμαχοι τεθνᾶσι τῷ δέει τοὺς τοιούτους ἀποστόλους.
For wherever, I believe, some part of the city is sent out along with them, even if not the whole, both the favor of the gods and that of fortune fight on our side; but wherever you send out a general and an empty decree and the hopes from the platform, nothing of what is necessary is done for you, but on the one hand your enemies laugh at you, and on the other your allies are dead with fear of such expeditions.
§46οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἕνʼ ἄνδρα δυνηθῆναί ποτε ταῦθʼ ὑμῖν πρᾶξαι πάνθʼ ὅσα βούλεσθε· ὑποσχέσθαι μέντοι καὶ φῆσαι καὶ τὸν δεῖνʼ αἰτιάσασθαι καὶ τὸν δεῖνʼ ἔστι, τὰ δὲ πράγματʼ ἐκ τούτων ἀπόλωλεν·
For it is not, it is not possible that one man should ever be able to perform for you all these things that you wish; to promise, indeed, and to assert, and to accuse this or that person is possible, but from these things your affairs are ruined.
ὅταν γὰρ ἡγῆται μὲν ὁ στρατηγὸς ἀθλίων ἀπομίσθων ξένων, οἱ δʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἂν ἐκεῖνος πράξῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ψευδόμενοι ῥᾳδίως ἐνθάδʼ ὦσιν, ὑμεῖς δʼ ἐξ ὧν ἂν ἀκούσηθʼ ὅ τι ἂν τύχητε ψηφίζησθε, τί καὶ χρὴ προσδοκᾶν;
For when the general leads miserable unpaid mercenaries, and those who lie to you about what he has done are easily here, and you, from what you hear, vote whatever happens to please you, what indeed must you expect?
§47πῶς οὖν ταῦτα παύσεται;
How then will these things stop?
ὅταν ὑμεῖς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἀποδείξητε στρατιώτας καὶ μάρτυρας τῶν στρατηγουμένων καὶ δικαστὰς οἴκαδʼ ἐλθόντας τῶν εὐθυνῶν, ὥστε μὴ ἀκούειν μόνον ὑμᾶς τὰ ὑμέτερʼ αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρόντας ὁρᾶν.
When you, men of Athens, make the same men soldiers, and witnesses of the campaigns, and judges of the accounts when they come home, so that you may not only hear of your own affairs, but also see them being present.
νῦν δʼ εἰς τοῦθʼ ἥκει τὰ πράγματʼ αἰσχύνης ὥστε τῶν στρατηγῶν ἕκαστος δὶς καὶ τρὶς κρίνεται παρʼ ὑμῖν περὶ θανάτου, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς οὐδεὶς οὐδʼ ἅπαξ αὐτῶν ἀγωνίσασθαι περὶ θανάτου τολμᾷ, ἀλλὰ τὸν τῶν ἀνδραποδιστῶν καὶ λωποδυτῶν θάνατον μᾶλλον αἱροῦνται τοῦ προσήκοντος· κακούργου μὲν γάρ ἐστι κριθέντʼ ἀποθανεῖν, στρατηγοῦ δὲ μαχόμενον τοῖς πολεμίοις.
But now your affairs have come to such a pitch of shame that each of your generals is tried twice and thrice before you on a capital charge, but against the enemies not one of them dares to fight even once for his life, but they prefer the death of kidnappers and highwaymen to the one that is proper for them; for it belongs to a criminal to die having been condemned by a court, but to a general to die fighting against the enemies.
§48ἡμῶν δʼ οἱ μὲν περιιόντες μετὰ Λακεδαιμονίων φασὶ Φίλιππον πράττειν τὴν Θηβαίων κατάλυσιν καὶ τὰς πολιτείας διασπᾶν, οἱ δʼ ὡς πρέσβεις πέπομφεν ὡς βασιλέα, οἱ δʼ ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς πόλεις τειχίζειν, οἱ δὲ λόγους πλάττοντες ἕκαστος περιερχόμεθα.
But of us, some go around saying that Philip, with the Lacedaemonians, is plotting the destruction of the Thebans and the dissolution of their free states, some that he has sent ambassadors to the King, some that he is fortifying cities among the Illyrians, and we go around, each of us fabricating stories.
§49ἐγὼ δʼ οἶμαι μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, νὴ τοὺς θεοὺς ἐκεῖνον μεθύειν τῷ μεγέθει τῶν πεπραγμένων καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτʼ ὀνειροπολεῖν ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ, τήν τʼ ἐρημίαν τῶν κωλυσόντων ὁρῶντα καὶ τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ἐπῃρμένον, οὐ μέντοι μὰ Δίʼ οὕτω γε προαιρεῖσθαι πράττειν ὥστε τοὺς ἀνοητοτάτους τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν εἰδέναι τί μέλλει ποιεῖν ἐκεῖνος· ἀνοητότατοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ λογοποιοῦντες.
And I for my part believe, men of Athens, by the gods, that he is drunk with the greatness of his achievements and dreams of many such things in his mind, seeing the absence of anyone to prevent him and being elated by his deeds; however, by Zeus, he does not choose to act in such a way that the most foolish of those among us should know what he is about to do; for those who make up stories are the most foolish.
§50ἀλλʼ ἂν ἀφέντες ταῦτʼ ἐκεῖνʼ εἰδῶμεν, ὅτι ἐχθρὸς ἅνθρωπος καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερʼ ἡμᾶς ἀποστερεῖ καὶ χρόνον πολὺν ὕβρικε, καὶ ἅπανθʼ ὅσα πώποτʼ ἠλπίσαμέν τινα πράξειν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καθʼ ἡμῶν εὕρηται, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡμῖν ἐστί, κἂν μὴ νῦν ἐθέλωμεν ἐκεῖ πολεμεῖν αὐτῷ, ἐνθάδʼ ἴσως ἀναγκασθησόμεθα τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἂν ταῦτʼ εἰδῶμεν, καὶ τὰ δέοντʼ ἐσόμεθʼ ἐγνωκότες καὶ λόγων ματαίων ἀπηλλαγμένοι·
But if, dismissing these things, we know this: that the man is an enemy, and deprives us of our own, and has insulted us for a long time, and everything that we ever hoped someone would do for us has turned out to be against us, and the future is in our own hands, and if we are not willing to fight him there now, we shall perhaps be forced to do so here—if we know these things, we shall both have resolved what is necessary and be rid of idle talk.
οὐ γὰρ ἅττα ποτʼ ἔσται δεῖ σκοπεῖν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι φαῦλα, ἂν μὴ προσέχητε τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὰ προσήκοντα ποιεῖν ἐθέλητε, εὖ εἰδέναι.
For it is not necessary to consider what will happen, but to know well that it will be bad, unless you pay attention and are willing to do what is proper.
§51ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὔτʼ ἄλλοτε πώποτε πρὸς χάριν εἱλόμην λέγειν ὅ τι ἂν μὴ καὶ συνοίσειν πεπεισμένος ὦ, νῦν θʼ ἃ γιγνώσκω πάνθʼ ἁπλῶς, οὐδὲν ὑποστειλάμενος, πεπαρρησίασμαι.
I, then, have never at any other time chosen to speak for favor, unless I was convinced that it would also be advantageous, and now I have spoken frankly all that I know, simply and without holding back.
ἐβουλόμην δʼ ἄν, ὥσπερ ὅτι ὑμῖν συμφέρει τὰ βέλτιστʼ ἀκούειν οἶδα, οὕτως εἰδέναι συνοῖσον καὶ τῷ τὰ βέλτιστʼ εἰπόντι· πολλῷ γὰρ ἂν ἥδιον εἶχον.
And I could wish, just as I know it is advantageous for you to hear the best things, so to know that it would be advantageous to the one who says the best things; for I would have been much more pleased.
νῦν δʼ ἐπʼ ἀδήλοις οὖσι τοῖς ἀπὸ τούτων ἐμαυτῷ γενησομένοις, ὅμως ἐπὶ τῷ συνοίσειν ὑμῖν, ἂν πράξητε, ταῦτα πεπεῖσθαι λέγειν αἱροῦμαι.
But now, though what will happen to me from these things is uncertain, yet on the conviction that it will be advantageous to you if you act, I choose to say these things.
νικῴη δʼ ὅ τι πᾶσιν μέλλει συνοίσειν.
And may that win which is going to be advantageous to all.