§19ποῦ μοι τὸ ξίφος;
Where is my sword?
μή τις ἄλλος τοῦτο γνωρίζει;
Does anyone else recognize this?
μή τινος ἄλλου ὅπλον τοῦτο ἦν;
Was this the weapon of anyone else?
τίς αὐτὸ ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἀνεκόμισε;
Who carried it up to the citadel?
πρὸ τοῦ τυράννου τίς ἐχρήσατο;
Who used it before the tyrant?
τίς αὐτὸ ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνον ἀπέστειλεν;
Who sent it against him?
ὦ ξίφος κοινωνὸν καὶ διάδοχον τῶν ἐμῶν κατορθωμάτων, μετὰ τοσούτους κινδύνους, μετὰ τοσούτους φόνους ἀμελούμεθα καὶ ἀνάξιοι δοκοῦμεν δωρεᾶς.
O sword, partner and successor of my achievements, after so many dangers, after so many murders we are neglected and seem unworthy of a reward.
εἰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ μόνου τούτου τὴν τιμὴν ᾔτουν παρʼ ὑμῶν, εἰ γὰρ ἔλεγον,
ἄνδρες, ἀποθανεῖν ἐθελήσαντι τῷ τυράννῳ καὶ ἀνόπλῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ καιροῦ κατειλημμένῳ ξίφος τοῦτο ἐμὸν ὑπηρέτησε καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέλος τῆς ἐλευθερίας συνήργησε πάντῃ, τοῦτο τιμῆς τε καὶ δωρεᾶς ἄξιον νομίσατε,
δεσπότην οὕτω δημοτικοῦ κτήματος οὐκ ἂν ἠμείψασθε;
For if I were asking for honor from you on behalf of this alone, if I were saying, "Gentlemen, to the tyrant who wished to die and was caught unarmed at the critical moment, this sword of mine served and co-operated in every way toward the end of freedom; consider this worthy of honor and reward," would you not have rewarded the master of so public-spirited a possession?
οὐκ ἂν ἐν τοῖς εὐεργέταις ἀνεγράψατε;
Would you not have inscribed him among the benefactors?
οὐκ ἂν τὸ ξίφος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἀνεθήκατε;
Would you not have dedicated the sword in the temples?
οὐκ ἂν μετὰ τῶν θεῶν κἀκεῖνο προσεκυνήσατε;
Would you not have worshiped it along with the gods?
§20νῦν μοι ἐννοήσατε οἷα πεποιηκέναι εἰκὸς τὸν τύραννον, οἷα δὲ εἰρηκέναι πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς·
Now consider for me what kind of things the tyrant was likely to have done, and what kind of things he was likely to have said before his death.
ἐπεὶ γὰρ ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ φονευόμενος καὶ τιτρωσκόμενος πολλοῖς τραύμασιν ἐς τὰ φανερὰ τοῦ σώματος, ὡς ἂν μάλιστα λυπήσειν ἔμελλον τὸν γεγεννηκότα, ὡς ἂν ἐκ τῆς πρώτης θέας διασπαράξειν, ὁ μὲν ἀνεβόησεν οἰκτρόν, ἐπιβοώμενος τὸν γεγεννηκότα οὐ βοηθὸν οὐδὲ σύμμαχον — ᾔδει γὰρ πρεσβύτην ὄντα καὶ ἀσθενῆ — ἀλλὰ θεατὴν τῶν οἰκείων κακῶν·
For when his son was being slain by me and wounded with many blows on the visible parts of his body, in such a way as was most likely to grieve the parent and most likely to tear his heart apart at first sight, he cried out piteously, calling upon his father not as a helper or ally—for he knew that he was old and weak—but as a spectator of his own misfortunes.
ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀπηλλαττόμην ποιητὴς μὲν τῆς ὅλης τραγῳδίας γεγενημένος, καταλιπὼν δὲ τῷ ὑποκριτῇ τὸν νεκρὸν καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν καὶ τὸ ξίφος καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ δράματος·
For I was departing, having become the creator of the entire tragedy, leaving behind for the actor the corpse, the stage, the sword, and the rest of the drama.
ἐπιστὰς δὲ ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἰδὼν υἱὸν ὃν εἶχεν μόνον ὀλίγον ἐμπνέοντα, ᾑμαγμένον, ἐμπεπλησμένον τοῦ φόνου καὶ τὰ τραύματα συνεχῆ καὶ πολλὰ καὶ καίρια, ἀνεβόησεν τοῦτο· τέκνον, ἀνηρήμεθα, πεφονεύμεθα, τετυραννοκτονήμεθα, ποῦ ὁ σφαγεύς;
But when that man came upon them and saw his only son breathing his last, covered in blood, filled with slaughter, and his wounds continuous, numerous, and mortal, he cried out this: "My child, we are destroyed, we are murdered, we have suffered tyrannicide! Where is the slaughterer?
τίνι με τηρεῖ;
For whom is he keeping me?
τίνι με φυλάττει διὰ σοῦ, τέκνον, προανῃρημένον;
For whom is he guarding me, my child, who have already been destroyed through you?
ἢ μή τι ὡς γέροντος ὑπερφρονεῖ, καὶ τῇ βραδυτῆτι, κολάζειν δέον, καὶ παρατείνει μοι τὸν φόνον καὶ μακροτέραν μοι τὴν σφαγὴν ποιεῖ; §21καὶ ταῦτα λέγων ἐζήτει τὸ ξίφος· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἄνοπλος ἦν διὰ τὸ πάντα τῷ παιδὶ θαρρεῖν.
Or does he somehow despise me as an old man, and by his slowness, when he ought to punish, does he prolong my murder and make my slaughter longer for me?" And saying these things, he was looking for the sword; for he himself was unarmed because of his trusting everything to his child.
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἐνεδέησεν, πάλαι δὲ ἦν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦτο προπαρεσκευασμένον καὶ πρὸς τὸ μέλλον τόλμημα καταλελειμμένον.
But not even this was lacking, but it had long been prepared beforehand by me and left behind for the future deed of daring.
ἀποσπάσας δὴ τῆς σφαγῆς καὶ τοῦ τραύματος ἐξελὼν τὸ ξίφος φησί,
πρὸ μικροῦ μέν με ἀπέκτεινας, νῦν δὲ ἀνάπαυσον, ξίφος.
Pulling it out indeed from the wound, and drawing the sword from the slaughter, he says, "A short while ago you killed me, but now, sword, give me rest.
πατρὶ πενθοῦντι παραμύθιον ἐλθὲ καὶ πρεσβυτικῇ χειρὶ δυστυχούσῃ συναγώνισαι.
Come as a consolation to a mourning father and assist an unfortunate, elderly hand.
ἀπόσφαξον, τυραννοκτόνησον καὶ τοῦ πενθεῖν ἀπάλλαξον.
Slaughter me, commit tyrannicide, and deliver me from mourning!
εἴθε πρῶτός σοι ἐνέτυχον, εἴθε τὴν τάξιν προὔλαβον τοῦ φόνου.
O that I had met you first, O that I had anticipated the order of the murder!
ἀπέθανον ἄν, ἀλλʼ ὡς τύραννος μόνον, ἀλλʼ ἔτι νομίζων ἕξειν ἔκδικον· νῦν δὲ ὡς ἄτεκνος, νῦν δὲ ὡς οὐδὲ φονέως εὐπορῶν. Καὶ ταῦτα ἅμα λέγων ἐπῆγε τὴν σφαγὴν τρέμων, οὐ δυνάμενος, ἐπιθυμῶν μέν, ἀσθενῶν δὲ πρὸς τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν τοῦ τολμήματος.
I would have died, but only as a tyrant, and still thinking that I would have an avenger; but now I die as one childless, now as one not even well provided with a slayer." And saying these things at the same time, he applied the blade to his throat, trembling, unable, desiring indeed but too weak for the service of the daring deed.
§22πόσαι κολάσεις ταῦτα;
How many punishments are these?
πόσα τραύματα;
How many wounds?
πόσοι θάνατοι;
How many deaths?
πόσαι τυραννοκτονίαι;
How many tyrannicides?
πόσαι δωρεαί;
How many rewards?
καὶ τέλος ἑωράκατε πάντες τὸν μὲν νεανίαν προκείμενον, οὐδὲ μικρὸν οὐδʼ εὐκαταγώνιστον ἔργον, τὸν πρεσβύτην δὲ αὐτῷ περικεχυμένον καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἀμφοῖν ἀνακεκραμένον, τὴν ἐλευθέριον ἐκείνην καὶ ἐπινίκιον σπονδήν, καὶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ ξίφους τοῦ ἐμοῦ, αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ξίφος ἐν μέσῳ ἀμφοτέρων, ἐπιδεικνύμενον ὡς οὐκ ἀνάξιον γεγένηται τοῦ δεσπότου καὶ μαρτυρόμενον ὅτι μοι πιστῶς διηκονήσατο.
And finally, you have all seen the youth lying there, a deed neither small nor easy to overcome, and the old man poured out over him, and the blood of both mingled together, that libation of freedom and victory, and the deeds of my sword, and the sword itself in the midst of both of them, showing that it has not become unworthy of its master, and testifying that it served me faithfully.
τοῦτο ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ γενόμενον μικρότερον ἦν· νῦν δὲ λαμπρότερόν ἐστι τῇ καινότητι.
This deed, had it been done by me directly, would have been smaller; but now it is more splendid by its novelty.
καὶ ὁ μὲν καθελὼν τὴν τυραννίδα πᾶσαν εἰμὶ ἐγώ· μεμέρισται δὲ ἐς πολλοὺς τὸ ἔργον ὥσπερ ἐν δράματι· καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐγὼ ὑπεκρινάμην, τὰ δεύτερα δὲ ὁ παῖς, τὰ τρίτα δὲ ὁ τύραννος αὐτός, τὸ ξίφος δὲ πᾶσιν ὑπηρέτησεν.
And the one who overthrew the entire tyranny is I; but the work has been divided among many, just as in a drama: and the first part I acted, the second the boy, the third the tyrant himself, and the sword served them all.