§5ὁ νεανίας δὲ τῆς μὲν τιμῆς παρεχώρει καθʼ ἡλικίαν ἐκείνῳ καὶ μόνου ἐξίστατο τοῦ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὀνόματος, τὸ δʼ ἔργον τῆς τυραννίδος καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον αὐτὸς ἦν, καὶ τὸ μὲν πιστὸν καὶ ἀσφαλὲς ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ παρεῖχε τῇ δυναστείᾳ, τὴν δὲ ἀπόλαυσιν μόνος ἐκαρποῦτο τῶν ἀδικημάτων.
The youth, yielding honor to him because of his age, withdrew only from the name of the rule, but he himself was the action and substance of the tyranny; and while he provided trust and security to the dynasty from his own side, he alone reaped the enjoyment of the crimes.
ἐκεῖνος ἦν ὁ τοὺς δορυφόρους συνέχων, ὁ τὴν φρουρὰν κρατύνων, ὁ τοὺς τυραννουμένους φοβῶν, ὁ τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντας ἐκκόπτων, ἐκεῖνος ὁ τοὺς ἐφήβους ἀνασπῶν, ὁ ἐνυβρίζων τοῖς γάμοις·
He was the one who held the bodyguards together, who strengthened the garrison, who terrified the subjects, who cut down those who plotted; he was the one who dragged away the youths, who insulted marriages.
ἐκείνῳ αἱ παρθένοι ἀνήγοντο, καὶ εἴ τινες σφαγαὶ καὶ εἴ τινες φυγαὶ καὶ χρημάτων ἀφαιρέσεις καὶ βάσανοι καὶ ὕβρεις, πάντα ταῦτα τολμήματα ἦν νεανικά.
To him the virgins were brought, and if there were any slaughters, any banishments, confiscations of property, tortures, and outrages, all these were his youthful escapades.
ὁ γέρων δὲ ἐκείνῳ ἠκολούθει καὶ συνηδίκει καὶ ἐπῄνει μόνον τὰ τοῦ παιδὸς ἀδικήματα, καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἡμῖν ἀφόρητον καθειστήκει· ὅταν γὰρ αἱ τῆς γνώμης ἐπιθυμίαι τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐξουσίαν προσλάβωσιν, οὐδένα ὅρον ποιοῦνται τῶν ἀδικημάτων. §6μάλιστα δὲ ἐκεῖνο ἐλύπει, τὸ εἰδέναι μακράν, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀΐδιον, τὴν δουλείαν ἐσομένην καὶ ἐκ διαδοχῆς παραδοθησομένην τὴν πόλιν ἄλλοτε ἄλλῳ δεσπότῃ καὶ πονηρῶν κληρονόμημα γενησόμενον τὸν δῆμον·
The old man followed him and, sharing in his crimes, merely praised the wrongs of his son, and the situation had become intolerable to us; for when the desires of the mind acquire the power from authority, they place no limit on their wrongdoings. \n What grieved us most was to know that our servitude would be long, or rather eternal, and that the city would be handed down in succession to one master after another, and that the people would become the inheritance of scoundrels.
ὡς τοῖς γε ἄλλοις οὐ μικρά τις ἐλπὶς αὕτη, τὸ λογίζεσθαι καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγειν,
ἀλλʼ ἤδη παύσεται,
ἀλλʼ ἤδη τεθνήξετα καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον ἐλεύθεροι γενησόμεθα. ἐπʼ ἐκείνων δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἠλπίζετο, ἀλλὰ ἑωρῶμεν ἤδη ἕτοιμον τὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς διάδοχον.
For to others, there is no small hope in this, to reflect and say to themselves: \n"But he will soon cease," \n"But he will soon die, and in a little while we shall be free." \nBut under those men, no such thing was hoped for; instead, we saw the successor to the rule already prepared.
τοιγαροῦν οὐδʼ ἐπιχειρεῖν τις ἐτόλμα τῶν γεννικῶν καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐμοὶ προαιρουμένων, ἀλλʼ ἀπέγνωστο παντάπασιν ἡ ἐλευθερία καὶ ἄμαχος ἡ τυραννὶς ἐδόκει, πρὸς τοσούτους ἐσομένης τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως. §7ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐμὲ ταῦτα ἐφόβησεν οὐδὲ τὸ δυσχερὲς τῆς πράξεως λογισάμενος ἀπώκνησα οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον ἀπεδειλίασα, μόνος δέ, μόνος πρὸς οὕτως ἰσχυρὰν καὶ πολλὴν τυραννίδα, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ μόνος, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦ ξίφους ἀνῄειν τοῦ συμμεμαχημένου καὶ τὸ μέρος συντετυραννοκτονηκότος, πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μὲν τὴν τελευτὴν ἔχων, ἀλλαξόμενος δὲ ὅμως τὴν κοινὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς σφαγῆς τῆς ἐμῆς.
Therefore, not even one of those of noble character and who shared my purposes dared to make an attempt, but freedom was altogether despaired of, and the tyranny seemed invincible, since the attempt would have to be made against so many. \n But these things did not frighten me, nor did I shrink back by calculating the difficulty of the deed, nor did I play the coward in the face of danger. Alone, alone against so strong and massive a tyranny—or rather not alone, but with the sword that had fought alongside me and had shared in the tyrannicide—I went up, having death before my eyes, yet willing to exchange my own slaughter for common freedom.
ἐντυχὼν δὲ τῇ πρώτῃ φρουρᾷ καὶ τρεψάμενος οὐ ῥᾳδίως τοὺς δορυφόρους καὶ τὸν ἐντυγχάνοντα κτείνων καὶ τὸ ἀνθιστάμενον πᾶν διαφθείρων ἐπὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον αὐτὸ τῶν ἔργων ἱέμην, ἐπὶ τὴν μόνην τῆς τυραννίδος ἰσχύν, ἐπὶ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν τῶν ἡμετέρων συμφορῶν·
Encountering the first guard, and routing the bodyguards not without difficulty, slaying everyone I met, and destroying all resistance, I rushed toward the very head of the deeds, toward the sole strength of the tyranny, toward the source of our misfortunes.
καὶ ἐπιστὰς τῷ τῆς ἀκροπόλεως φρουρίῳ καὶ ἰδὼν γεννικῶς ἀμυνόμενον καὶ ἀνθιστάμενον πολλοῖς τραύμασιν ὅμως ἀπέκτεινα. §8καὶ ἡ μὲν τυραννὶς ἤδη καθῄρητο, καὶ πέρας εἶχέ μοι τὸ τόλμημα, καὶ τὸ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου πάντες ἦμεν ἐλεύθεροι, ἐλείπετο δὲ γέρων ἔτι μόνος, ἄνοπλος, ἀποβεβληκὼς τοὺς φύλακας, ἀπολωλεκὼς τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον ἑαυτοῦ δορυφόρον, ἔρημος, οὐδὲ γενναίας ἔτι χειρὸς ἄξιος. ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν πρὸς ἐμαυτόν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐλογιζόμην· πάντʼ ἔχει μοι καλῶς, πάντα πέπρακται, πάντα κατώρθωται.
Standing at the fortress of the acropolis and seeing him defending himself nobly and resisting, yet despite many wounds, I killed him. \n And the tyranny was already overthrown, and my bold deed had its end, and from that moment we were all free; but there remained still an old man alone, unarmed, having lost his guards, having lost that great bodyguard of his, desolate, and no longer worthy of a noble hand. \nThereupon, gentlemen of the jury, I reasoned with myself as follows: \n"All is well for me, all is done, all is achieved.
τίνα ἂν ὁ περίλοιπος κολασθείη τρόπον;
In what way should the survivor be punished?
ἐμοῦ μὲν γὰρ ἀνάξιός ἐστι καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς δεξιᾶς, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπʼ ἔργῳ λαμπρῷ καὶ νεανικῷ καὶ γενναίῳ ἀνῃρημένος, καταισχύνων κἀκείνην τὴν σφαγήν·
For he is unworthy of me and of my right hand, and especially after so brilliant, youthful, and noble a deed, to slay him would disgrace even that slaughter.
ἄξιον δέ τινα δεῖ ζητῆσαι δήμιον, ἀλλαγὴν συμφορᾶς, μηδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν κερδαίνειν.
We must seek some fitting executioner, a change of misfortune, and he must not gain the same end.
ἰδέτω, κολασθήτω, παρακείμενον ἐχέτω τὸ ξίφος· τούτῳ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐντέλλομαι. ταῦτα βουλευσάμενος αὐτὸς μὲν ἐκποδὼν ἀπηλλαττόμην, ὁ δέ, ὅπερ ἐγὼ προὐμαντευσάμην, διεπράξατο καὶ ἐτυραννοκτόνησεν καὶ τέλος ἐπέθηκε τῷ ἐμῷ δράματι.
Let him see, let him be punished, let him have the sword lying beside him; to this I commit the rest." \nHaving resolved on this, I withdrew out of the way; and he, just as I had foretold, did the deed, killed the tyrant, and put the finishing touch to my drama.