§52νῦν δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἅπασι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν οἰκείως ἔχει, καὶ πάντων ἥκιστα δὴ ἡμῖν, ἄν τι μὴ νῦν ἐπανορθωσώμεθα· ἔπειτα προστασίαι πολλαὶ καὶ πανταχόθεν γίγνονται, καὶ τοῦ πρωτεύειν ἀντιποιοῦνται μὲν πάντες, ἀφεστᾶσι δʼ ἔργῳ, καὶ φθονοῦσι καὶ ἀπιστοῦσιν αὑτοῖς, οὐχ οἷς ἔδει, καὶ γεγόνασι καθʼ αὑτοὺς ἕκαστοι, Ἀργεῖοι, Θηβαῖοι, Λακεδαιμόνιοι, Κορίνθιοι, Ἀρκάδες, ἡμεῖς.
But now, in the first place, the King is on friendly terms with all the Greeks, and least of all with us, unless we correct something now; secondly, many leaderships are arising from all sides, and though everyone claims the primacy, they actually stand aloof, and they envy and distrust one another, instead of those whom they ought to, and each has become isolated on their own—Argives, Thebans, Lacedaemonians, Corinthians, Arcadians, and ourselves.
§53ἀλλʼ ὅμως εἰς τοσαῦτα μέρη καὶ τοσαύτας δυναστείας διῃρημένων, εἰ δεῖ τἀληθῆ μετὰ παρρησίας εἰπεῖν, τὰ παρʼ οὐδέσι τούτων ἀρχεῖα καὶ βουλευτήριʼ ἐρημότερʼ ἄν τις ἴδοι τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν πραγμάτων ἢ τὰ παρʼ ἡμῖν, εἰκότως· οὔτε γὰρ φιλῶν οὔτε πιστεύων οὔτε φοβούμενος οὐδεὶς ἡμῖν διαλέγεται.
But nevertheless, although they are divided into so many parts and so many principalities, if one must speak the truth with boldness, no one would see the government offices and council chambers of any of these people more deserted of Greek affairs than those among us, and naturally so; for no one speaks to us either out of friendship, trust, or fear.
§54αἴτιον δὲ τούτων οὐχ ἕν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, (ῥᾴδιον γὰρ ἂν ἦν ὑμῖν μεταθεῖναι), ἀλλὰ πολλὰ καὶ παντοδαπὰ ἐκ παντὸς ἡμαρτημένα τοῦ χρόνου, ὧν τὸ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐάσας, εἰς ὃ πάντα τείνει λέξω, δεηθεὶς ὑμῶν, ἂν λέγω τἀληθῆ μετὰ παρρησίας, μηδὲν ἀχθεσθῆναί μοι.
And the cause of these things is not single, men of Athens (for then it would have been easy for you to alter it), but many and various errors committed throughout all time, of which, leaving aside the details, I will speak of that towards which everything tends, having begged of you not to be angry with me at all if I speak the truth with boldness.
πέπραται τὰ συμφέροντʼ ἐφʼ ἑκάστου τῶν καιρῶν, καὶ μετειλήφαθʼ ὑμεῖς μὲν τὴν σχολὴν καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν, ὑφʼ ὧν κεκηλημένοι τοῖς ἀδικοῦσιν οὐ πικρῶς ἔχετε, ἕτεροι δὲ τὰς τιμὰς ἔχουσιν.
Your interests have been sold out on every occasion, and you have received in exchange leisure and quiet, by which you have been charmed so that you do not feel bitter towards those who wrong you, while others hold the honors.
§55καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τἄλλʼ οὐκ ἄξιον ἐξετάσαι νῦν· ἀλλʼ ἐπειδάν τι τῶν πρὸς Φίλιππον ἐμπέσῃ, εὐθὺς ἀναστάς τις λέγει ὡς οὐ δεῖ ληρεῖν οὐδὲ γράφειν πόλεμον, παραθεὶς εὐθέως ἑξῆς τὸ τὴν εἰρήνην ἄγειν ὡς ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ τρέφειν μεγάλην δύναμιν ὡς χαλεπόν, καὶ
διαρπάζειν τινὲς τὰ χρήματα βούλονται,
καὶ ἄλλους λόγους ὡς οἷόν τʼ ἀληθεστάτους λέγουσιν.
And it is not worth examining other matters now; but whenever any question concerning Philip arises, someone immediately stands up and says that we must not talk nonsense or propose war, adding straightway next that maintaining peace is a good thing and keeping up a great force is difficult, and 'some wish to plunder the treasury,' and they make other speeches as plausible as possible.
§56ἀλλὰ δεῖ δήπου τὴν μὲν εἰρήνην ἄγειν οὐχ ὑμᾶς πείθειν, οἳ πεπεισμένοι κάθησθε, ἀλλὰ τὸν τὰ τοῦ πολέμου πράττοντα· ἂν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος πεισθῇ, τά γʼ ἀφʼ ὑμῶν ὑπάρχει·
But surely, you do not need to persuade to keep peace those of you who sit already persuaded, but rather the one who is performing the acts of war; for if he is persuaded, as far as you are concerned, the condition is already fulfilled.
νομίζειν δʼ εἶναι χαλεπὰ οὐχ ὅσʼ ἂν εἰς σωτηρίαν δαπανῶμεν, ἀλλʼ ἃ πεισόμεθα, ἂν μὴ ταῦτʼ ἐθέλωμεν ποιεῖν, καὶ τὸ
διαρπασθήσεται τὰ χρήματα
τῷ φυλακὴν εὑρεῖν διʼ ἧς σωθήσεται κωλύειν, οὐχὶ τῷ τοῦ συμφέροντος ἀποστῆναι.
And we should consider difficult not what we spend for our safety, but what we shall suffer if we are unwilling to do this; and we should prevent 'the property from being plundered' by finding a guard by which it will be saved, not by abandoning our interests.
§57καίτοι ἔγωγʼ ἀγανακτῶ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, εἰ τὰ μὲν χρήματα λυπεῖ τινὰς ὑμῶν εἰ διαρπασθήσεται, ἃ καὶ φυλάττειν καὶ κολάζειν τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἐφʼ ὑμῖν ἐστι, τὴν δʼ Ἑλλάδα πᾶσαν ἐφεξῆς οὑτωσὶ Φίλιππος ἁρπάζων οὐ λυπεῖ, καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς ἁρπάζων.
And yet, I for my part am vexed at this very thing, if some of you are grieved about the treasury being plundered, when both guarding it and punishing the wrongdoers is in your power, but Philip plundering all Greece successively in this way does not grieve you, and that too when he is plundering it to your hurt.
§58τί ποτʼ οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸν μὲν οὕτω φανερῶς ἀδικοῦντα καὶ πόλεις καταλαμβάνοντα οὐδεὶς πώποτε τούτων εἶπεν ὡς ἀδικεῖ καὶ πόλεμον ποιεῖ, τοὺς δὲ μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν μηδὲ προΐεσθαι ταῦτα συμβουλεύοντας, τούτους πόλεμον ποιεῖν φασίν;
Why is it then, men of Athens, that of the one who is so openly doing wrong and seizing cities, no one of these men has ever said that he is doing wrong and making war, while those who advise not to permit or abandon these things, they say are making war?
ὅτι τὴν αἰτίαν τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου συμβησομένων δυσχερῶν (ἀνάγκη γάρ, ἀνάγκη πολλὰ λυπηρὰ ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου γίγνεσθαι) τοῖς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τὰ βέλτιστα λέγειν εἰθισμένοις ἀναθεῖναι βούλονται.
It is because they wish to lay the blame for the difficulties that will result from the war (for it is necessary, indeed necessary, that many painful things arise from war) upon those who are accustomed to speak the best on your behalf.
§59ἡγοῦνται γάρ, ἂν μὲν ὑμεῖς ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐκ μιᾶς γνώμης Φίλιππον ἀμύνησθε, κἀκείνου κρατήσειν ὑμᾶς καὶ αὑτοῖς οὐκέτʼ ἔσεσθαι μισθαρνεῖν, ἂν δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν πρώτων θορύβων αἰτιασάμενοί τινας πρὸς τὸ κρίνειν τράπησθε, αὐτοὶ μὲν τούτων κατηγοροῦντες ἀμφότερʼ ἕξειν, καὶ παρʼ ὑμῖν εὐδοκιμήσειν καὶ παρʼ ἐκείνου χρήματα λήψεσθαι, ὑμᾶς δʼ ὑπὲρ ὧν δεῖ παρὰ τούτων δίκην λαβεῖν, παρὰ τῶν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν εἰρηκότων λήψεσθαι.
For they believe that if you, with one mind and from a single resolution, defend yourselves against Philip, you will defeat him and they will no longer be able to take bribes; but if, from the very first disturbances, having accused certain persons, you turn to litigation, they themselves, by accusing these people, will secure both advantages—gaining reputation among you and receiving money from him—while you will inflict upon those who have spoken on your behalf the punishment which you ought to exact from these men.