§14.67.1καὶ ποῦ τὸ φιλελεύθερον τῶν Συρακοσίων;
And where is the love of freedom of the Syracusans?
ποῦ δʼ αἱ τῶν προγόνων πράξεις;
And where are the deeds of our ancestors?
ἐῶ τὰς ἐφʼ Ἱμέρᾳ τριάκοντα μυριάδας ἄρδην ἀναιρεθείσας Καρχηδονίων, παρίημι τὴν τῶν μετὰ Γέλωνα τυράννων κατάλυσιν· ἀλλʼ ἐχθὲς καὶ πρῴην, Ἀθηναίων τηλικαύταις δυνάμεσιν ἐπὶ Συρακούσας στρατευσάντων, οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν οὐδὲ τὸν ἀπαγγελοῦντα τὴν συμφορὰν ἀπέλιπον.
I pass over the three hundred thousand Carthaginians who were utterly destroyed at Himera, and I omit the overthrow of the tyrants who succeeded Gelon; but only yesterday or the day before, when the Athenians campaigned against Syracuse with such great forces, our fathers did not leave behind even a single person to report the disaster.
§14.67.2ἡμεῖς δὲ τηλικαῦτʼ ἔχοντες πατέρων παραδείγματʼ ἀρετῆς, τοῦ Διονυσίου προστάγμασιν ὑπακούομεν, καὶ ταῦτα τῶν ὅπλων ὄντες κύριοι;
Yet do we, who possess such examples of our fathers' virtue, obey the commands of Dionysius, and that too when we are masters of our weapons?
θεῶν γάρ τις πρόνοια μετὰ τῶν συμμάχων ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ἡμᾶς συνήγαγε πρὸς τὸ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀνακτήσασθαι, καὶ πάρεστι τήμερον ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς γενομένους καὶ συμφρονήσαντας ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς βαρείας ἀνάγκης.
For some providence of the gods has gathered us together in arms along with our allies to regain our freedom, and today it is possible for us, by becoming brave men and being of one mind, to be delivered from this heavy necessity.
§14.67.3τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον παρωπλισμένοι καὶ ἔρημοι συμμάχων ὄντες, τῷ δὲ τῶν μισθοφόρων πλήθει τηρούμενοι, σχεδὸν εἴκομεν τῷ τῆς ἀνάγκης καιρῷ· νῦν δὲ τῶν ὅπλων κυριεύοντες καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους ἅμα βοηθοὺς καὶ θεατὰς ἔχοντες τῆς ἀρετῆς, μὴ παραχωρήσωμεν ἀλλὰ ποιήσωμεν φανερόν, ὡς διὰ καιρόν, οὐ διʼ ἀνανδρίαν ὑπεμείναμεν δουλεύειν.
For in the former time, being disarmed and destitute of allies, and watched by the multitude of mercenaries, we virtually yielded to the occasion of necessity; but now, since we are masters of our weapons and have our allies at once as helpers and spectators of our virtue, let us not give way, but let us make it clear that it was because of the occasion, and not through cowardice, that we endured to be slaves.
§14.67.4οὐκ αἰσχυνόμεθα τῶν πολέμων ἔχοντες ἡγεμόνα τὸν τὰ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ἱερὰ σεσυληκότα, καὶ τηλικούτων πραγμάτων ποιοῦντες προστάτην, ᾧ βίον ἰδιωτικὸν οὐδεὶς ἂν εὖ φρονῶν διοικεῖν ἐπιτρέψειεν;
Are we not ashamed of having as leader of our wars the man who has plundered the temples in the city, and of making the protector of such great affairs a man to whom no one in his right mind would entrust the management of a private life?
καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις μάλιστα τηρούντων τὰ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς ὅσια διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν κινδύνων, ἡμεῖς τὸν ἐπʼ ἀσεβείᾳ διωνομασμένον ἐλπίζομεν καταλύσειν τὸν πόλεμον;
And while others in wars especially observe their sacred duties toward the gods because of the magnitude of the dangers, do we expect that a man notorious for impiety will bring the war to an end?