Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §7.50.1-7.50.4

Xerxes on the Necessity of Taking Bold Risks

Passage 1113 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Xerxes counters Artabanus, arguing that one cannot achieve anything by fearing everything, and expresses confidence in the campaign's success by citing how past Persian kings expanded the empire by taking risks.

§7.50.1ἀμείβεται Ξέρξης τοῖσιδε. Ἀρτάβανε, οἰκότως μὲν σύ γε τούτων ἕκαστα διαιρέαι· ἀτὰρ μήτε πάντα φοβέο μήτε πᾶν ὁμοίως ἐπιλέγεο.
Xerxes answered with these words: "Artabanus, you analyze each of these things reasonably; but neither fear all things nor reflect upon everything in like manner.
εἰ γὰρ δὴ βούλοιο ἐπὶ τῷ αἰεὶ ἐπεσφερομένῳ πρήγματι τὸ πᾶν ὁμοίως ἐπιλέγεσθαι, ποιήσειας ἂν οὐδαμὰ οὐδέν· κρέσσον δὲ πάντα θαρσέοντα ἥμισυ τῶν δεινῶν πάσχειν μᾶλλον ἢ πᾶν χρῆμα προδειμαίνοντα μηδαμὰ μηδὲν παθεῖν.
For if indeed you should wish to reflect upon everything in like manner in regard to every matter that presents itself from time to time, you would never achieve anything at all; and it is better to suffer half of the evils by being bold in everything than to suffer nothing at all by fearing every matter beforehand.
§7.50.2εἰ δὲ ἐρίξων πρὸς πᾶν τὸ λεγόμενον μὴ τὸ βέβαιον ἀποδέξεις, σφάλλεσθαι ὀφείλεις ἐν αὐτοῖσι ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ ὑπεναντία τούτοισι λέξας.
And if, contending against everything that is said, you do not show what is certain, you must needs trip in these matters just as much as he who says the opposite of these things.
τοῦτο μέν νυν ἐπʼ ἴσης ἔχει· εἰδέναι δὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐόντα κῶς χρὴ τὸ βέβαιον;
Now, this is on an equal footing; but how is it possible for one who is a human being to know what is certain?
δοκέω μὲν οὐδαμῶς.
I think it is by no means possible.
τοῖσι τοίνυν βουλομένοισι ποιέειν ὡς τὸ ἐπίπαν φιλέει γίνεσθαι τὰ κέρδεα, τοῖσι δὲ ἐπιλεγομένοισί τε πάντα καὶ ὀκνέουσι οὐ μάλα ἐθέλει.
To those, then, who wish to act, gains for the most part are wont to accrue, but to those who reflect upon everything and hesitate, they are not very willing to come.
§7.50.3ὁρᾷς τὰ Περσέων πρήγματα ἐς ὃ δυνάμιος προκεχώρηκε.
You see to what point of power the affairs of the Persians have advanced.
εἰ τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι οἱ πρὸ ἐμεῦ γενόμενοι βασιλέες γνώμῃσι ἐχρέωντο ὁμοίῃσι καὶ σύ, ἢ μὴ χρεώμενοι γνώμῃσι τοιαύτῃσι ἄλλους συμβούλους εἶχον τοιούτους, οὐκ ἄν κοτε εἶδες αὐτὰ ἐς τοῦτο προελθόντα· νῦν δὲ κινδύνους ἀναρριπτέοντες ἐς τοῦτο σφέα προηγάγοντο.
If, then, those kings who came before me had held opinions like yours, or, not holding such opinions themselves, had had other counselors like you, you would never have seen our affairs advance to this point; but as it is, by risking dangers they advanced them to this point.
μεγάλα γὰρ πρήγματα μεγάλοισι κινδύνοισι ἐθέλει καταιρέεσθαι.
For great undertakings are wont to be achieved by great dangers.
§7.50.4ἡμεῖς τοίνυν ὁμοιεύμενοι ἐκείνοισι ὥρην τε τοῦ ἔτεος καλλίστην πορευόμεθα, καὶ καταστρεψάμενοι πᾶσαν τὴν Εὐρώπην νοστήσομεν ὀπίσω, οὔτε λιμῷ ἐντυχόντες οὐδαμόθι οὔτε ἄλλο ἄχαρι οὐδὲν παθόντες.
We, therefore, following their example, are marching at the fairest season of the year, and after conquering all Europe we shall return home, having met with famine nowhere nor having suffered any other unpleasant thing.
τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ αὐτοὶ πολλὴν φορβὴν φερόμενοι πορευόμεθα, τοῦτο δέ, τῶν ἄν κου ἐπιβέωμεν γῆν καὶ ἔθνος, τούτων τὸν σῖτον ἕξομεν· ἐπʼ ἀροτῆρας δὲ καὶ οὐ νομάδας στρατευόμεθα ἄνδρας.
For on the one hand, we ourselves march carrying much provisions, and on the other hand, of whatever land and nation we enter, we shall have their grain; for we are marching against men who are tillers of the soil and not nomads."

Notes

  1. 7.50.1ἐπὶ τῷ αἰεὶ ἐπεσφερομένῳ πρήγματι — The preposition ἐπί here means "in regard to" or "on the occasion of," and the present middle-passive participle ἐπεσφερομένῳ refers to matters that "present themselves from time to time" or "keep arising."
  2. 7.50.1ἥμισυ τῶν δεινῶν πάσχειν μᾶλλον ἢ πᾶν χρῆμα προδειμαίνοντα μηδαμὰ μηδὲν παθεῖν — A comparison introduced by the comparative κρέσσον (Ionic for κρεῖσσον). The participles θαρσέοντα in the first clause and προδειμαίνοντα in the second are in the accusative, agreeing with the unexpressed subject of the infinitives πάσχειν and παθεῖν.
  3. 7.50.2σφάλλεσθαι ὀφείλεις ἐν αὐτοῖσι ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ ὑπεναντία τούτοισι λέξας — The phrase σφάλλεσθαι ὀφείλεις literally means "you owe it to trip," yielding the sense "you must needs trip/fail." The καί functions as "as" in comparison with ὁ... λέξας (the one who says the opposite).
  4. 7.50.2εἰδέναι δὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐόντα κῶς χρὴ τὸ βέβαιον; — The phrase ἄνθρωπον ἐόντα is the accusative subject of the infinitive εἰδέναι (or a participle agreeing with the unexpressed subject of the infinitive), meaning "one who is human." Combined with χρή, it forms a rhetorical question: "how is it possible for a human to know...?"
  5. 7.50.2φιλέει... ἐθέλει — The verbs φιλέω and ἐθέλω are used here not to express human affection or volition, but in an idiomatic sense to denote natural tendency or likelihood ("is wont to," "is willing/apt to").
  6. 7.50.3εἰ τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι οἱ πρὸ ἐμεῦ γενόμενοι βασιλέες γνώμῃσι ἐχρέωντο ὁμοίῃσι καὶ σύ... οὐκ ἄν κοτε εἶδες — A past counterfactual conditional construction, marked by εἰ with the imperfect indicative (ἐχρέωντο) and ἄν with the aorist indicative (εἶδες) in the apodosis.
  7. 7.50.4των ἄν κου ἐπιβέωμεν γῆν καὶ ἔθνος, τούτων τὸν σῖτον ἕξομεν — The verb ἐπιβέωμεν (Ionic aorist subjunctive of ἐπιβαίνω) in the relative clause governs the genitive pronoun τῶν, which refers to γῆν καὶ ἔθνος. The demonstrative τούτων in the main clause sums up the relative clause, limiting τὸν σῖτον.

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.50.1-7.50.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.50.1-7.50.4

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