§2.1οὔτε Ἀκραγαντίνων, ὦ ἄνδρες Δελφοί, πρόξενος ὢν οὔτε ἰδιόξενος αὐτοῦ Φαλάριδος οὔτʼ ἄλλην ἔχων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἢ εὐνοίας ἰδίαν αἰτίαν ἢ μελλούσης φιλίας ἐλπίδα, τῶν δὲ πρέσβεων ἀκούσας τῶν ἡκόντων παρʼ αὐτοῦ ἐπιεικῆ καὶ μέτρια διεξιόντων, καὶ τὸ εὐσεβὲς ἅμα καὶ τὸ κοινῇ συμφέρον καὶ μάλιστα τὸ Δελφοῖς πρέπον προορώμενος ἀνέστην παραινέσων ὑμῖν μήτε ὑβρίζειν ἄνδρα δυνάστην εὐσεβοῦντα μήτε ἀνάθημα ἤδη τῷ θεῷ καθωμολογημένον ἀπαλλοτριοῦν, καὶ ταῦτα τριῶν τῶν μεγίστων ὑπόμνημα εἰς ἀεὶ γενησόμενον, τέχνης καλλίστης καὶ ἐπινοίας κακίστης καὶ δικαίας κολάσεως.
Neither being a proxenos of the Acragantines, O men of Delphi, nor a personal friend of Phalaris himself, nor having any other private cause for goodwill toward him or hope of future friendship, but having heard the envoys who have come from him expounding reasonable and moderate things, and at the same time foreseeing piety, the common advantage, and especially what is fitting for Delphi, I stood up to advise you neither to insult a ruling man who acts piously, nor to alienate an offering already promised to the god, and that too when it is destined to become a perpetual memorial of three greatest things: the most beautiful art, the worst design, and a just punishment.
§2.2ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸ ἐνδοιάσαι ὑμᾶς ὅλως περὶ τούτου καὶ ἡμῖν προθεῖναι τὴν διάσκεψιν, εἰ χρὴ δέχεσθαι τὸ ἀνάθημα ἢ ὀπίσω αὖθις ἀποπέμπειν, ἀνόσιον ἤδη εἶναι νομίζω, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδʼ ὑπερβολὴν ἀσεβείας ἀπολελοιπέναι· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀλλʼ ἢ ἱεροσυλία τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστι μακρῷ τῶν ἄλλων χαλεπωτέρα, ὅσῳ τοῦ τὰ ἤδη ἀνατεθέντα συλᾶν τὸ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῖς ἀνατιθέναι βουλομένοις ἐπιτρέπειν ἀσεβέστερον.
I, for my part, therefore think that even your hesitating at all about this and proposing the deliberation to us, whether it is necessary to accept the offering or to send it back again, is already unholy, or rather, that it does not even leave any excess of impiety; for the matter is nothing other than a temple-robbery far more grievous than the others, inasmuch as to not even permit from the beginning those who wish to dedicate is more impious than to plunder things already dedicated.
§2.3δέομαι δὲ ὑμῶν Δελφὸς καὶ αὐτὸς ὢν καὶ τὸ ἴσον μετέχων τῆς τε δημοσίας εὐκλείας, εἰ φυλάττοιτο, καὶ τῆς ἐναντίας δόξης, εἰ ἐκ τῶν παρόντων προσγένοιτο, μήτʼ ἀποκλείειν τὸ ἱερὸν τοῖς εὐσεβοῦσι μήτε τὴν πόλιν πρὸς ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους διαβάλλειν ὡς τὰ πεμπόμενα τῷ θεῷ συκοφαντοῦσαν καὶ ψήφῳ καὶ δικαστηρίῳ δοκιμάζουσαν τοὺς ἀνατιθέντας· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἔτι ἀναθεῖναι τολμήσειεν ἂν εἰδὼς οὐ προσησόμενον τὸν θεὸν ὅ τι ἂν μὴ πρότερον Δελφοῖς δοκῇ.
And I beg of you, being myself also a Delphian and sharing equally in both the public good reputation, if it should be preserved, and the contrary reputation, if it should arise from the present circumstances, neither to shut out the temple to the pious, nor to slander the city to all men as one that scrutinizes the things sent to the god and tests the dedicators by vote and court; for no one would dare to dedicate any longer, knowing that the god will not accept whatever does not first seem good to the Delphians.
§2.4ὁ μὲν οὖν Πύθιος τὴν δικαίαν ἤδη περὶ τοῦ ἀναθήματος ψῆφον ἤνεγκεν· εἰ γοῦν ἐμίσει τὸν Φάλαριν ἢ τὸ δῶρον αὐτοῦ ἐμυσάττετο, ῥᾴδιον ἦν ἐν τῷ Ἰονίῳ μέσῳ καταδῦσαι αὐτὸ μετὰ τῆς ἀγούσης ὁλκάδος, ὁ δὲ πολὺ τοὐναντίον ἐν εὐδίᾳ τε διαπεραιωθῆναι, ὥς φασι, παρέσχεν αὐτοῖς καὶ σῶς ἐς τὴν Κίρραν κατᾶραι.
The Pythian god, therefore, has already cast the just vote concerning the offering; at any rate, if he hated Phalaris or loathed his gift, it was easy to sink it in the middle of the Ionian sea along with the merchant ship carrying it, but he, much to the contrary, allowed them to cross in a calm as they say, and to put in safe at Cirrha.
§2.5ᾧ καὶ δῆλον ὅτι προσίεται τὴν τοῦ μονάρχου εὐσέβειαν.
by which it is also clear that he accepts the piety of the monarch.
χρὴ δὲ καὶ ὑμᾶς τὰ αὐτὰ ἐκείνῳ ψηφισαμένους προσθεῖναι καὶ τὸν ταῦρον τουτονὶ τῷ ἄλλῳ κόσμῳ τοῦ ἱεροῦ· ἐπεὶ πάντων ἂν εἴη τοῦτο ἀτοπώτατον, πέμψαντά τινα μεγαλοπρεπὲς οὕτω δῶρον θεῷ τὴν καταδικάζουσαν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ψῆφον λαβεῖν καὶ μισθὸν κομίσασθαι τῆς εὐσεβείας τὸ κεκρίσθαι μηδὲ τοῦ ἀνατιθέναι ἄξιον.
And it is necessary for you also, having voted the same things as he, to add this bull also to the other ornament of the temple; since this would be the most absurd of all things, for someone who sent so magnificent a gift to the god to receive a condemning vote from the temple and to carry off as a reward for his piety the judgment of not even being worthy of dedicating.
§2.6Ὁ μὲν οὖν τἀναντία μοι ἐγνωκώς, καθάπερ ἐκ τοῦ Ἀκράγαντος ἄρτι καταπεπλευκώς, σφαγάς τινας καὶ βίας καὶ ἁρπαγὰς καὶ ἀπαγωγὰς ἐτραγῴδει τοῦ τυράννου μόνον οὐκ αὐτόπτης γεγενῆσθαι λέγων, ὃν ἴσμεν οὐδʼ ἄχρι τοῦ πλοίου ἀποδεδημηκότα.
The one, therefore, who has held the opposite view to me, as if having just sailed down from Acragas, was dramatizing certain massacres, acts of violence, plunders, and abductions by the tyrant, saying all but that he had been an eyewitness, whom we know not to have traveled abroad even as far as a ship.
χρὴ δὲ τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα μηδὲ τοῖς πεπονθέναι φάσκουσιν πάνυ πιστεύειν διηγουμένοις — ἄδηλον γὰρ εἰ ἀληθῆ λέγουσιν — οὐχ ὅπως αὐτοὺς ἃ μὴ ἐπιστάμεθα κατηγορεῖν.
And it is necessary not to believe entirely such things even when those who claim to have suffered them relate them—for it is unclear if they speak the truth—let alone for ourselves to accuse of things we do not know.
§2.7εἰ δʼ οὖν τι καὶ πέπρακται τοιοῦτον ἐν Σικελίᾳ, τοῦτʼ οὐ Δελφοῖς ἀναγκαῖον πολυπραγμονεῖν, εἰ μὴ ἀντὶ ἱερέων ἤδη δικασταὶ εἶναι ἀξιοῦμεν καί, δέον θύειν καὶ τἆλλα θεραπεύειν τὸν θεὸν καὶ συνανατιθέναι εἰ πέμψειέ τις, σκοποῦντες καθήμεθα εἴ τινες τῶν ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἰόνιον δικαίως ἢ ἀδίκως τυραννοῦνται.
And if indeed some such thing has been done in Sicily, it is not necessary for Delphians to meddle in this, unless we claim to be judges instead of priests already and, while we ought to sacrifice and otherwise serve the god and join in dedicating if anyone should send something, we sit investigating whether some of those beyond the Ionian sea are ruled by a tyrant justly or unjustly.