§14.65.1εἰ καί τινα προσέψευσται Διονύσιος, τό γε ῥηθὲν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ τελευταῖον ἀληθὲς ἦν, ὅτι ταχέως καταλύσει τὸν πόλεμον.
Even if Dionysius has told some lies, what was said by him at the very last was true, namely, that he will quickly bring the war to an end.
τοῦτο δὲ πρᾶξαι δύναιτʼ ἂν οὐκ αὐτὸς ἀφηγούμενος, ἥττηται γὰρ πολλάκις, ἀλλὰ τὴν πάτριον ἐλευθερίαν ἀποδοὺς τοῖς πολίταις.
But he would be able to accomplish this, not by leading himself—for he has been defeated many times—but by restoring their ancestral freedom to the citizens.
§14.65.2νῦν μὲν γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἡμῶν προθύμως ὑπομένει τοὺς κινδύνους, ὅταν ἡ νίκη μηδὲν ἧττον ᾖ τῆς ἥττης· λειφθέντας γὰρ Καρχηδονίοις δεήσει ποιεῖν τὸ προσταττόμενον, νικήσαντας δὲ Διονύσιον ἔχειν βαρύτερον ἐκείνων δεσπότην.
For now none of us willingly endures the dangers, when victory is no less than defeat; for if we are defeated by the Carthaginians, we shall have to do what is commanded of us, but if we conquer, we shall have Dionysius as a master heavier than they.
Καρχηδόνιοι μὲν γάρ, κἂν πολέμῳ κρατήσωσι, φόρον ὡρισμένον λαβόντες οὐκ ἂν ἡμᾶς ἐκώλυσαν τοῖς πατρίοις νόμοις διοικεῖν τὴν πόλιν· οὗτος δὲ τὰ μὲν ἱερὰ συλήσας, τοὺς δὲ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν πλούτους ἅμα ταῖς τῶν κεκτημένων ψυχαῖς ἀφελόμενος, τοὺς οἰκέτας μισθοδοτεῖ κατὰ τῆς τῶν δεσποτῶν δουλείας· καὶ τὰ συμβαίνοντα κατὰ τὰς τῶν πόλεων ἁλώσεις δεινά, ταῦτʼ ἐν εἰρήνῃ πράττων καταλύσειν ἐπαγγέλλεται τὸν πρὸς Καρχηδονίους πόλεμον.
For the Carthaginians, even if they should conquer in war, having received a fixed tribute, would not prevent us from governing our city by our ancestral laws; but this man, having plundered the temples, and having taken away the wealth of private individuals together with the lives of their owners, pays wages to the slaves to maintain the enslavement of their masters; and while doing in time of peace those terrible things that happen at the capture of cities, he promises to bring to an end the war against the Carthaginians.
§14.65.3ἡμῖν δʼ, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὐχ ἧττον τοῦ Φοινικικοῦ πολέμου καταλυτέον ἐστὶ τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους τύραννον.
But for us, gentlemen, we must overthrow the tyrant within the walls no less than the Phoenician war.
ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀκρόπολις δούλων ὅπλοις τηρουμένη κατὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐπιτετείχισται, τὸ δὲ τῶν μισθοφόρων πλῆθος ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ τῶν Συρακοσίων ἤθροισται.
For the acropolis, guarded by the weapons of slaves, has been fortified against the city, and the multitude of mercenaries has been gathered for the enslavement of the Syracusans.
καὶ κρατεῖ τῆς πόλεως οὐκ ἐπʼ ἴσης βραβεύων τὸ δίκαιον, ἀλλὰ μόναρχος πλεονεξίᾳ κρίνων πράττειν πάντα.
And he rules the city, not by dispensing justice equally, but as a monarch deciding to do everything out of greed.
καὶ νῦν μὲν οἱ πολέμιοι βραχὺ μέρος ἔχουσι τῆς χώρας, Διονύσιος δὲ πᾶσαν ποιήσας ἀνάστατον τοῖς τὴν τυραννίδα συναύξουσιν ἐδωρήσατο.
And while now the enemy hold a small part of the territory, Dionysius, having laid it all waste, has made a gift of it to those who help to increase his tyranny.
§14.65.4μέχρι τίνος οὖν καρτερήσομεν ταῦτα πάσχοντες, ὑπὲρ ὧν οἱ ἀγαθοὶ χάριν τοῦ μὴ λαβεῖν πεῖραν ἀποθνήσκειν ὑπομένουσιν;
How long, then, shall we endure suffering these things, to avoid experiencing which good men submit to death?
καὶ πρὸς μὲν Καρχηδονίους ἀγωνιζόμενοι τοὺς ἐσχάτους κινδύνους εὐψύχως ὑπομένομεν, πρὸσδὲ πικρὸν τύραννον ὑπὲρ ἐλευθερίας καὶ περὶ πατρίδος οὐδὲ λόγῳ παρρησίαν ἔτι ἄγειν τολμῶμεν· καὶ ταῖς μὲν τοσαύταις μυριάσι τῶν πολεμίων ἀντιταττόμεθα, μόναρχον δὲ οὐδʼ ἀνδραπόδου γενναίου τὴν ἀρετὴν ἔχοντα πεφρίκαμεν.
And while in fighting against the Carthaginians we courageously endure the extreme dangers, against a bitter tyrant we do not dare, for the sake of freedom and on behalf of our fatherland, to maintain freedom of speech even in word; and we array ourselves against so many tens of thousands of the enemy, yet we tremble before a monarch who does not possess the virtue even of a noble slave.