§5Παρρησιάδης
ἀνέπνευσα·
Parresiades I breathe again!
οὐ γὰρ ἀποκτενεῖτέ με, ἢν μάθητε ὁποῖος ἐγὼ περὶ ὑμᾶς ἐγενόμην·
For you will not kill me if you learn what kind of man I have been toward you.
ὥστε ἀπορρίψατε τοὺς λίθους, μᾶλλον δὲ φυλάττετε. χρήσεσθε γὰρ αὐτοῖς κατὰ τῶν ἀξίων.
Therefore, throw away your stones, or rather, keep them; for you will use them against those who deserve them.
Πλάτων
ληρεῖς.
Plato You talk nonsense.
σὲ δὲ χρὴ τήμερον ἀπολωλέναι, καὶ ἤδη γε
"λάϊνον ἕσσο χιτῶνα κακῶν ἕνεχʼ ὅσσα ἔοργας. "
Παρρησιάδης
καὶ μήν, Ὢ ἄριστοι, ὃν ἐχρῆν μόνον ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐπαινεῖν οἰκεῖόν τε ὑμῖν ὄντα καὶ εὔνουν καὶ ὁμογνώμονα καί, εἰ μὴ φορτικὸν εἰπεῖν, κηδεμόνα τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων εὖ ἴστε ἀποκτενοῦντες, ἢν ἐμὲ ἀποκτείνητε τοσαῦτα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πεπονηκότα.
You must die today, and indeed right now: "Put on a tunic of stone because of all the evils you have wrought." Parresiades And indeed, O best of men, know well that if you kill me, who have labored so much on your behalf, you will kill the only one out of all who ought to be praised, who is close to you, well-disposed, of the same mind, and, if it is not offensive to say so, a guardian of your pursuits.
ὁρᾶτε οὖν μὴ κατὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν νῦν φιλοσόφων αὐτοὶ ποιεῖτε, ἀχάριστοι καὶ ὀργίλοι καὶ ἀγνώμονες φαινόμενοι πρὸς ἄνδρα εὐεργέτην.
See to it, then, that you do not act like the majority of present-day philosophers, showing yourselves ungrateful, irascible, and unreasonable toward a benefactor.
Πλάτων
Ὢ τῆς ἀναισχυντίας.
Plato What shamelessness!
καὶ χάριν σοι τῆς κακηγορίας προσοφείλομεν;
Are we actually to owe you thanks for your slander?
οὕτως ἀνδραπόδοις ὡς ἀληθῶς οἴει διαλέγεσθαι;
Do you really think you are talking to slaves?
ἢ καὶ εὐεργεσίαν καταλογιῇ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τῇ τοσαύτῃ ὕβρει καὶ παροινίᾳ τῶν λόγων;
Or will you reckon as a benefit to us all this insult and drunken outrage of your speeches?
§6Παρρησιάδης
ποῦ γὰρ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἢ πότε ὕβρικα, ὃς ἀεὶ φιλοσοφίαν τε θαυμάζων διατετέλεκα καὶ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὑπερεπαινῶν καὶ τοῖς λόγοις οἷς καταλελοίπατε ὁμιλῶν;
Parresiades Where or when indeed have I insulted you, I who have always continued to admire Philosophy and to praise you yourselves above all, and to commune with the writings you left behind?
αὐτὰ γοῦν ἅ φημι ταῦτα, πόθεν ἄλλοθεν ἢ παρʼ ὑμῶν λαβὼν καὶ κατὰ τὴν μέλιτταν ἀπανθισάμενος ἐπιδείκνυμαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις;
Indeed, these very things I say, from where else but from you have I taken them, and, like the bee, gathering them from flowers, do I display them to mankind?
οἱ δὲ ἐπαινοῦσι καὶ γνωρίζουσιν ἕκαστον τὸ ἄνθος ὅθεν καὶ παρʼ ὅτου καὶ ὅπως ἀνελεξάμην, καὶ λόγῳ μὲν ἐμὲ ζηλοῦσι τῆς ἀνθολογίας, τὸ δʼ ἀληθὲς ὑμᾶς καὶ τὸν λειμῶνα τὸν ὑμέτερον, οἳ τοιαῦτα ἐξηνθήκατε ποικίλα καὶ πολυειδῆ τὰς βαφάς, εἴ τις ἀναλέξασθαί τε αὐτὰ ἐπίσταιτο καὶ ἀναπλέξαι καὶ ἁρμόσαι, ὡς μὴ ἀπᾴδειν θάτερον θατέρου.
They praise them and recognize each flower, whence, from whom, and how I gathered it; and in word they envy me for the anthology, but in truth they praise you and your meadow, which has bloomed with such diverse and multicolored hues, if only someone knows how to gather, weave, and arrange them so that one does not clash with another.
ἔσθʼ ὅστις οὖν ταῦτα εὖ πεπονθὼς παρʼ ὑμῶν κακῶς ἂν εἰπεῖν ἐπιχειρήσειεν εὐεργέτας ἄνδρας, ἀφʼ ὧν εἶναί τις ἔδοξεν;
Is there anyone then who, having received such benefits from you, would attempt to speak ill of his benefactors, from whom he obtained his reputation?
ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ κατὰ τὸν Θάμυριν ἢ τὸν Εὔρυτον εἴη τὴν φύσιν, ὡς ταῖς Μούσαις ἀντᾴδειν, παρʼ ὧν εἴληφε τὴν ᾠδήν, ἢ τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ἐριδαίνειν ἐναντία τοξεύων, καὶ ταῦτα δοτῆρι ὄντι τῆς τοξικῆς.
Unless he were of the nature of Thamyris or Eurytus, so as to sing against the Muses from whom he received his song, or to contend with Apollo, shooting arrows in opposition, and that too when he is the giver of archery.
§7Πλάτων
τοῦτο μέν, ὦ γενναῖε, κατὰ τοὺς ῥήτορας εἴρηταί σοι·
Plato This indeed, my noble friend, has been spoken by you in the manner of the rhetoricians.
ἐναντιώτατον δʼ οὖν ἐστι τῷ πράγματι καὶ χαλεπωτέραν σου ἐπιδείκνυσι τὴν τόλμαν, εἴ γε τῇ ἀδικίᾳ καὶ ἀχαριστία πρόσεστιν, ὃς παρʼ ἡμῶν τὰ τοξεύματα, ὡς φής, λαβὼν καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐτόξευες, ἕνα τοῦτον ὑποθέμενος τὸν σκοπόν, ἅπαντας ἡμᾶς ἀγορεύειν κακῶς·
But it is entirely contrary to the fact, and it shows your audacity to be even more grievous, if indeed to your injustice and ingratitude is added this: that having taken your arrows from us, as you say, you shot them against us, making this one goal, to speak ill of us all.
τοιαῦτα παρὰ σοῦ ἀπειλήφαμεν ἀνθʼ ὧν σοι τὸν λειμῶνα ἐκεῖνον ἀναπετάσαντες οὐκ ἐκωλύομεν δρέπεσθαι καὶ τὸ προκόλπιον ἐμπλησάμενον ἀπελθεῖν·
Is this what we have received from you in return for throwing open that meadow to you and not preventing you from plucking it and going away with your lap filled?
ὥστε διά γε τοῦτο μάλιστα δίκαιος ἂν εἴης ἀποθανεῖν.
Therefore, for this very reason, you would most justly die.
§8Παρρησιάδης
ὁρᾶτε·
Parresiades See now!
πρὸς ὀργὴν ἀκούετε καὶ οὐδὲν τῶν δικαίων προσίεσθε.
You listen in anger and accept nothing of what is just.
καίτοι οὐκ ἂν ᾠήθην ποτὲ ὡς ὀργὴ Πλάτωνος ἢ Χρυσίππου ἢ Ἀριστοτέλους ἢ τῶν ἄλλων ὑμῶν καθίκοιτο ἄν, ἀλλά μοι ἐδοκεῖτε μόνοι δὴ πόρρω εἶναι τοῦ τοιούτου.
And yet I should never have thought that anger would overcome Plato, or Chrysippus, or Aristotle, or the rest of you, but you seemed to me alone indeed to be far from such a thing.
πλὴν ἀλλὰ μὴ ἄκριτόν γε, ὦ θαυμάσιοι, μηδὲ πρὸ δίκης ἀποκτείνητέ με.
At all events, O wonderful ones, do not kill me untried, nor before a trial.
ὑμέτερον γοῦν καὶ τοῦτο ἦν, μὴ βίᾳ μηδὲ κατὰ τὸ ἰσχυρότερον πολιτεύεσθαι, δίκῃ δὲ τὰ διάφορα λύεσθαι διδόντας λόγον καὶ δεχομένους ἐν τῷ μέρει.
For this too was yours, not to govern by force or according to the stronger, but to resolve differences by law, giving a hearing and receiving it in turn.
ὥστε δικαστὴν ἑλόμενοι κατηγορήσατε μὲν ὑμεῖς ἢ ἅμα πάντες ἢ ὅντινα ἂν χειροτονήσητε ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπολογήσομαι πρὸς τὰ ἐγκλήματα.
Therefore, choose a judge and accuse me, either all of you together or whoever you elect on behalf of all, and I will defend myself against the charges.
κᾆτα ἢν μέν τι ἀδικῶν φαίνωμαι καὶ τοῦτο περὶ ἐμοῦ γνῷ τὸ δικαστήριον, ὑφέξω δηλαδὴ τὴν ἀξίαν· ὑμεῖς δὲ βίαιον οὐδὲν τολμήσετε·
Then, if I appear to do some wrong and the court so decides concerning me, I shall of course pay the penalty; and you will attempt nothing violent.
ἢν δὲ τὰς εὐθύνας ὑποσχὼν καθαρὸς ὑμῖν καὶ ἀνεπίληπτος εὑρίσκωμαι, ἀφήσουσί με οἱ δικασταί, ὑμεῖς δὲ εἰς τοὺς ἐξαπατήσαντας ὑμᾶς καὶ παροξύναντας καθʼ ἡμῶν τὴν ὀργὴν τρέψετε.
But if, after undergoing scrutiny, I am found pure and blameless toward you, the judges will release me, and you will turn your anger against those who deceived you and incited you against us.