§3Ταῦτα ὁ μὲν Ἁρμονίδης οὐκ ἔφθη ποιῆσαι.
Harmonides did not have time to do these things.
μεταξὺ γὰρ αὐλῶν, φασίν, ὅτε τὸ πρῶτον ἠγωνίζετο, φιλοτιμότερον ἐμφυσῶν ἐναπέπνευσε τῷ αὐλῷ καὶ ἀστεφάνωτος ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ἀπέθανε τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ πρῶτον καὶ ὕστατον αὐλήσας ἐν τοῖς Διονυσίοις.
For, as they say, while he was playing, when he first competed, blowing too eagerly, he breathed his last into his flute and died uncrowned on the stage, having played the same piece as his first and last at the Dionysia.
Ὁ μέντοι τοῦ Τιμοθέου λόγος οὐκ αὐληταῖς οὐδὲ Ἁρμονίδῃ μόνον εἰρῆσθαί μοι δοκεῖ, ἀλλὰ πᾶσιν ὅσοι δόξης ὀρέγονται δημόσιόν τι ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, τοῦ παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπαίνου δεόμενοι.
However, the speech of Timotheus seems to me to have been spoken not only to flute-players or to Harmonides, but to all who desire glory by displaying something in public, needing praise from the many.
ἔγωγ' οὖν ὁπότε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐνενόουν τὰ ὅμοια περὶ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ ἐζήτουν ὅπως ἂν τάχιστα γνωσθείην πᾶσιν, τῷ Τιμοθέου λόγῳ ἑπόμενος ἐσκοπούμην ὅστις ὁ ἄριστος εἴη τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ ὅτῳ πιστεύσουσιν οἱ ἄλλοι καὶ ὃς ἀντὶ πάντων ἀρκέσειεν ἄν.
I myself, therefore, when I too was thinking of similar things about my own works and was seeking how I might most quickly become known to all, following the speech of Timotheus, was considering who might be the best of those in the city, and whom the others would trust, and who would be sufficient instead of all.
οὕτω δὲ ἄρα σὺ ἔμελλες ἡμῖν φαίνεσθαι τῷ δικαίῳ λόγῳ, ὅ τι περ τὸ κεφάλαιον ἀρετῆς ἁπάσης, ὁ γνώμων, φασί, καὶ ὁ ὀρθὸς κανὼν τῶν τοιούτων.
And so indeed you were destined to appear to us by right reason, as the very sum of all virtue, the standard, as they say, and the straight rule of such things.
εἰ δέ σοι δείξαιμι τἀμὰ καὶ σὺ ἐπαινέσειας αὐτά—εἴη γὰρ οὕτω φανήσεσθαι—, καὶ δὴ ἐπὶ πέρας ἥκειν με τῆς ἐλπίδος ἐν μιᾷ ψήφῳ τὰς ἁπάσας λαβόντα.
If I should show you my works and you should praise them—for may it appear so!—then indeed I have reached the limit of my hope, having received all votes in a single vote.
ἢ τίνα γὰρ ἂν πρὸ σοῦ ἑλόμενος οὐχὶ παραπαίειν ἂν δικαίως νομισθείην;
For whom indeed, if I chose anyone before you, would I not justly be thought to be out of my mind?
ὥστε λόγῳ μὲν ἐφ' ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἀναρρίψομεν τὸν κύβον, τὸ δ’ ἀληθὲς ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ τοὺς ἁπανταχόθεν ἀνθρώπους συγκαλέσας ἐς κοινὸν θέατρον ἐπιδεικνυοίμην τοὺς λόγους.
So, in word indeed, we shall cast the die upon one man, but in truth it is just as if I were displaying my speeches after calling together men from everywhere into a common theater.
δῆλον γὰρ ὡς καθ' ἕνα τε καὶ συνάμα πάντων συνειλεγμένων μόνος αὐτὸς ἀμείνων ἂν ἦσθα.
For it is clear that whether one by one or with all gathered together at the same time, you alone would have been better than all.
οἱ μέν γε τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλεῖς, τῶν ἄλλων ἑκάστου μίαν ψῆφον φερόντων, ἐκεῖνοι μόνοι ἑκάτερος αὐτῶν δύο ἔφερον, σὺ δὲ καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐφόρων καὶ τὰς τῶν γερόντων προσέτι, καὶ ὅλως ἁπάντων ὁ πολυψηφότατος ἐν παιδείᾳ σύ γε, καὶ μάλιστα ὅσῳ τὴν λευκὴν ἀεὶ καὶ σώζουσαν φέρεις, ὃ καὶ θαρρεῖν με ἐν τῷ παρόντι ποιεῖ διά γε τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ τολμήματος καὶ πάνυ δικαίως ἂν φοβηθέντα.
The kings of the Lacedaemonians indeed, while each of the others cast one vote, they alone cast two votes each, but you have those of the ephors and those of the elders besides, and in short, in education you are the one with the most votes of all, and especially as you always cast the white and saving vote, which makes me take courage at the present moment, though I would have been quite justly afraid due to the magnitude of the undertaking.
κἀκεῖνο δὲ νὴ Δία προσέτι καὶ αὐτὸ θαρρεῖν ποιεῖ, τὸ μὴ παντάπασιν ἀλλότρια τἀμὰ εἶναί σοι, ὃς πόλεώς γε ἐκείνης εἰμί, ἣν πολλάκις εὖ ἐποίησας, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἰδίᾳ, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον κοινῇ μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ ἔθνους.
And by Zeus, that too also makes me take courage, that my affairs are not altogether foreign to you, since I am of that city which you have often benefited, first individually, and secondly in common with the whole nation.
ὥστε ἤν που καὶ νῦν ἐμοὶ ἐς τὸ χεῖρον ῥέπωσιν αἱ ψῆφοι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ ἐλάττους ὦσιν αἱ ἀμείνους, σὺ δὲ τὴν τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς προστιθεὶς ἀναπλήρου τὸ ἐνδέον παρὰ σεαυτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἐπανόρθωμα οἰκεῖόν σοι δοκείτω.
So if now too the votes in my speech should incline to the worse for me and the better ones should be fewer, do you, by adding the vote of Athena, fill up what is lacking from yourself, and let the correction seem appropriate to you.
§4Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνό μοι ἱκανόν, εἰ πολλοὶ ἐθαύμασαν πρότερον, εἰ ἔνδοξος ἤδη ἐγώ, εἰ ἐπαινοῦνται πρὸς τῶν ἀκουσάντων οἱ λόγοι.
For neither is that sufficient for me, if many admired me before, if I am already famous, if my speeches are praised by those who heard them.
πάντα ἐκεῖνα ὑπηνέμια ὀνείρατα, φασί, καὶ ἐπαίνων σκιαί.
All those things are, they say, windy dreams and shadows of praise.
τὸ δ’ ἀληθὲς ἐν τῷ παρόντι δειχθήσεται· οὗτος ἀκριβὴς ὅρος τῶν ἐμῶν, οὐδὲν ἀμφίδοξον ἔτι οὐδ’ ὡς ἄν τις ἐνδοιάσειεν, ἀλλ’ ἢ ἄριστον κατὰ παιδείαν δεήσει νομίζεσθαι, σοί γε δόξαν, ἢ πάντων—εὐφημεῖν δὲ χρὴ πρὸς οὕτω μέγαν ἀγῶνα χωροῦντα.
But the truth will be shown in the present; this is the exact limit of my affairs, nothing is ambiguous any longer nor such that anyone might doubt, but it will be necessary to be thought either the best in education, if it seems so to you, or of all...—but one must speak auspiciously when going to so great a contest.
δόξαιμεν γάρ, ὦ θεοί, λόγου ἄξιοι καὶ βεβαιώσαιτε ἡμῖν τὸν παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔπαινον, ὡς τὸ λοιπὸν θαρροῦντας ἐς τοὺς πολλοὺς παρεῖναι.
For may we seem, O gods, worthy of account, and may you confirm to us the praise from others, so that for the future we may present ourselves to the many with confidence.
πᾶν γὰρ ἤδη στάδιον ἧττον φοβερὸν τῷ Ὀλύμπια τὰ μεγάλα νενικηκότι.
For every stadium is already less formidable to the one who has won the great Olympic games.