§15.52.1οὗτοι μὲν οὖν προάγοντες ὡς ἧκον εἰς Κορώνειαν, κατεστρατοπέδευσαν καὶ τοὺς καθυστεροῦντας τῶν συμμάχων ἀνέμενον.
Thus, these men, marching forward, when they arrived at Coroneia, encamped and waited for those of the allies who were lagging behind.
οἱ δὲ Θηβαῖοι διὰ τὴν παρουσίαν τῶν πολεμίων ἐψηφίσαντο τέκνα μὲν καὶ γυναῖκας εἰς Ἀθήνας ὑπεκθέσθαι, αὐτοὶ δʼ Ἐπαμεινώνδαν στρατηγὸν ἑλόμενοι τούτῳ τὰ κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπέτρεψαν, συμπαρόντων αὐτῷ βοιωταρχῶν ἕξ. §15.52.2ὁ δʼ Ἐπαμεινώνδας πανδημεὶ τοὺς Θηβαίους τοὺς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ στρατιᾶς ὄντας καταλέξας εἰς τὴν μάχην καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Βοιωτῶν τοὺς εὐθέτους, προῆγε τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τῶν Θηβῶν, ἔχων τοὺς σύμπαντας οὐ πλείους τῶν ἑξακισχιλίων. §15.52.3κατὰ δὲ τὴν τῆς πόλεως ἔξοδον τῶν στρατιωτῶν πολλοῖς ἔδοξε δυσχερῆ σημεῖα φανῆναι τῷ στρατοπέδῳ.
But the Thebans, because of the presence of the enemy, voted to remove their children and wives to Athens for safety, and they themselves, having chosen Epaminondas as general, entrusted to him the conduct of the war, six boeotarchs being present with him.\n Epaminondas, having enrolled for the battle the Thebans of military age in full force, as well as those who were fit among the other Boeotians, led his army out of Thebes, having in all not more than six thousand men.\n At the departure of the soldiers from the city, it seemed to many that unfavorable omens appeared to the army.
περὶ γὰρ τὰς πύλας ἀπήντησε τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἐπαμεινώνδαν κῆρυξ τυφλός, ὃς ἀνδράποδʼ ἀποδεδρακότα, ἀνακομίζων, καὶ καθάπερ ἦν εἰθισμένον, ἀνηγόρευε κηρύττων μήτʼ ἐξάγειν Θήβηθεν μήτʼ ἀφανίζειν, ἀλλʼ ἀπάγοντα πάλιν ἀνασώζειν. §15.52.4οἱ μὲν οὖν πρεσβύτεροι τῶν ἀκουόντων τοῦ κήρυκος οἰωνὸν ἐποιοῦντο τοῦ μέλλοντος, οἱ δὲ νεώτεροι ἡσυχίαν εἶχον, ἵνα μὴ δόξωσι διὰ δειλίαν ἀποτρέπειν τὸν Ἐπαμεινώνδαν τῆς στρατείας.
For near the gates, Epaminondas and his men were met by a blind herald who was recovering runaway slaves, and, as was customary, was crying out and proclaiming that they should neither take them out of Thebes nor hide them, but should lead them back and restore them.\n Now the older men among those who heard the herald took it as an omen of the future, but the younger kept silence, so that they might not seem through cowardice to be deterring Epaminondas from the campaign.
ὁ δʼ Ἐπαμεινώνδας πρὸς τοὺς λέγοντας προσέχειν δεῖν τοῖς οἰωνοῖς εἶπεν
"
εἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης. " §15.52.5ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ παρρησίᾳ καταπληξαμένου τοῦ Ἐπαμεινώνδου τοὺς εὐλαβῶς ἔχοντας, ἕτερος οἱωνὸς ἐφάνη δυσχερέστερος τοῦ προτέρου.
But Epaminondas said to those who declared that they ought to pay attention to the omens:\n"\nεἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης.\n"\n Although Epaminondas had quieted the cautious ones by this frank speech, another omen appeared, more unfavorable than the first.
ὁ γὰρ γραμματεὺς προῆγεν ἔχων δόρυ καὶ ταινίαν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, καὶ προεσήμαινε τὸ παραγγελλόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἡγεμόνων· πνεύματος δὲ γενομένου συνέβη τὴν ταινίαν ἀποσπασθεῖσαν περιαμπίσχεσθαι περί τινα στήλην ἐφεστῶσαν τάφῳ·
For the secretary was leading the way holding a spear with a ribbon on it, and was signaling in advance what was ordered by the commanders; but when a gust of wind arose, it happened that the ribbon was torn off and wrapped itself around a certain gravestone standing on a tomb.
ἦσαν δὲ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ τεθαμμένοι τινὲς Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ Πελοποννήσιοι, οἳ μετʼ Ἀγησιλάου στρατεύσαντες ἐτελεύτησαν. §15.52.6τῶν δὲ πρεσβυτέρων τινὲς πάλιν ἐντυχόντες διεμαρτύραντο μὴ προάγειν τὴν δύναμιν, φανερῶς τῶν θεῶν κωλυόντων, ὁ δʼ οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἀποκριθεὶς προῆγε τὸ στρατόπεδον, ἡγούμενος τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν καλῶν λογισμὸν καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν δικαίων μνήμην αἱρετωτέραν εἶναι τῶν παρόντων σημείων. §15.52.7ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἐπαμεινώνδας πεφιλοσοφηκὼς καὶ τοῖς ἐν παιδείᾳ λογισμοῖς ἐμφρόνως χρησάμενος παραυτίκα μὲν ὑπὸ πολλῶν μέμψεως ἔτυχεν, ὕστερον δὲ διὰ τῶν κατορθωμάτων δόξας στρατηγικῇ συνέσει διαφέρειν μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος ἐγένετο τῇ πατρίδι.
In this place there were buried some Lacedaemonians and Peloponnesians who had died while campaigning with Agesilaus.\n Some of the older men, coming up again, protested against leading the force forward, since the gods were clearly forbidding it, but he made no reply to them and led the army forward, believing that the calculation for honor and the memory of what is just were more to be chosen than the present omens.\n Thus Epaminondas, having studied philosophy and having wisely applied the reasoning of his education, at the moment received blame from many, but later, because of his successes, was judged to excel in strategic wisdom and became the cause of the greatest blessings to his country.
εὐθὺς γὰρ προαγαγὼν τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ προκαταλαβόμενος τὰ περὶ τὴν Κορώνειαν στενά, κατεστρατοπέδευσεν.
For he immediately led his force forward, and having preoccupied the narrows around Coroneia, he encamped.