§13.30.1τί γὰρ τῶν αἰσχίστων οὐκ ἐβουλεύσαντο, τί δὲ τῶν δεινοτάτων οὐκ ἔπραξαν;
For what of the most shameful things did they not plot, and what of the most terrible things did they not do?
πλεονεξίας ἴδιόν ἐστι τὸ ταῖς ἰδίαις εὐτυχίαις οὐκ ἀρκούμενον τῶν πόρρω κειμένων καὶ μηδὲν προσηκόντων ἐπιθυμεῖν· οὗτοι ταῦτʼ ἔπραξαν.
It is characteristic of greed not to be satisfied with one's own good fortunes but to desire those things that lie far away and do not belong to one at all; and these men did this.
εὐδαιμονέστατοι γὰρ ὄντες τῶν Ἑλλήνων, τὴν εὐτυχίαν ὥσπερ βαρὺ φορτίον οὐ φέροντες, τὴν πελάγει τηλικούτῳ διειργομένην Σικελίαν ἐπεθύμησαν κατακληρουχῆσαι, τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας ἐξανδραποδισάμενοι.
For being the most prosperous of the Greeks, not bearing their good fortune, just as if it were a heavy burden, they desired to parcel out Sicily, which is separated by such a great sea, after having enslaved its inhabitants.
§13.30.2δεινόν ἐστι μὴ προαδικηθέντας πόλεμον ἐπιφέρειν· καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐνήργησαν.
It is a terrible thing to bring war without having been previously wronged; and they carried this out.
φίλοι γὰρ ὄντες τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον, ἐξαίφνης ἀνελπίστως τηλικαύτῃ δυνάμει Συρακοσίους ἐπολιόρκησαν.
For though they had been friends in the previous time, suddenly and unexpectedly they besieged the Syracusans with such a great force.
§13.30.3ὑπερηφάνων ἐστὶ τὸ τῶν μήπω κρατηθέντων προλαμβάνοντας τὴν τύχην καταψηφίζεσθαι τιμωρίαν· οὐδὲ τοῦτο παραλελοίπασι.
It is characteristic of the arrogant to pass sentence of punishment, anticipating fortune, upon those who have not yet been conquered; nor have they omitted this.
πρὸ τοῦ γὰρ ἐπιβῆναι τῆς Σικελίας γνώμην ἐκύρωσαν Συρακοσίους μὲν καὶ Σελινουντίους ἐξανδραποδίσασθαι, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς διδόναι φόρους ἀναγκάζειν.
For before setting foot in Sicily they ratified a decree to enslave the Syracusans and Selinuntines, and to force the rest to pay tribute.
ὅταν οὖν περὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὑπάρχῃ πλεονεξία, ἐπιβουλή, ὑπερηφανία, τίς ἂν νοῦν ἔχων αὐτοὺς ἐλεήσειεν;
When, therefore, greed, conspiracy, and arrogance coexist in the very same men, who that has sense would pity them?
§13.30.4ἐπεί τοί γε Ἀθηναῖοι πῶς ἐχρήσαντο Μιτυληναίοις;
For indeed, how did the Athenians treat the Mytileneans?
κρατήσαντες γὰρ αὐτῶν, ἀδικῆσαι μὲν οὐδὲν βουλομένων, ἐπιθυμούντων δὲ τῆς ἐλευθερίας, ἐψηφίσαντο τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει κατασφάξαι.
For after conquering them, though they wished to do no wrong but desired their freedom, they voted to slaughter those in the city.
§13.30.5ὠμόν τε καὶ βάρβαρον τὸ πεπραγμένον.
A cruel and barbaric deed, what was done!
καὶ ταῦτα ἐξήμαρτον εἰς Ἕλληνας, εἰς συμμάχους, εἰς εὐεργέτας πολλάκις γεγενημένους.
And they committed these wrongs against fellow Greeks, against allies, against those who had often been their benefactors.
μὴ δὴ νῦν ἀγανακτούντων, εἰ τοιαῦτα πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους πράξαντες αὐτοὶ παραπλησίας τεύξονται τιμωρίας· δικαιότατον γάρ ἐστιν, ὃν καθʼ ἑτέρων νόμον τις ἔθηκε, τούτῳ χρώμενον μὴ ἀγανακτεῖν.
Let them not now, indeed, complain if, having done such things to others, they themselves will meet with similar punishment; for it is most just that a man, when treated according to the law which he himself established against others, should not complain.
§13.30.6καὶ τί λέγω Μηλίους, οὓς ἐκπολιορκήσαντες ἡβηδὸν ἀπέκτειναν, καὶ Σκιωναίους, οἳ συγγενεῖς ὄντες τῆς αὐτῆς Μηλίοις τύχης ἐκοινώνησαν; ὥστε δύο δήμους πρὸς Ἀττικὴν ὀργὴν ἐπταικότας οὐδὲ τοὺς κηδεύσοντας ἔχειν τὰ τῶν τετελευτηκότων σώματα.
And why do I speak of the Melians, whom they blockaded and slew from youth upwards, and the Scionaeans, who, being kinsmen, shared the same fate as the Melians? with the result that two entire populations, having tripped before Athenian anger, did not even have anyone to perform funeral rites for the bodies of the deceased.
§13.30.7οὐ Σκύθαι τοῦτʼ ἔπραξαν, ἀλλʼ ὁ προσποιούμενος φιλανθρωπίᾳ διαφέρειν δῆμος ψηφίσμασι τὰς πόλεις ἄρδην ἀνῄρηκεν.
It was not Scythians who did this, but the people that pretends to excel in humanity has utterly destroyed these cities by its decrees.
ἤδη λογίζεσθε, τί ἂν ἔπραξαν, εἰ τὴν τῶν Συρακοσίων πόλιν ἐξεπόρθησαν·
Consider now, what they would have done if they had sacked the city of the Syracusans!
οἱ γὰρ τοῖς οἰκείοις οὕτως ὠμῶς χρησάμενοι τοῖς μηδὲν προσήκουσι βαρυτέραν ἂν ἐξεῦρον τιμωρίαν.
For those who treated their own kin so cruelly would have devised a heavier punishment for those who did not belong to them at all.