§7.8.1ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν καὶ θαυμαστῶν ἅπαντας ἐμπλήσας ἐλπίδων τοὺς δημοτικοὺς δύο τὰ κάκιστα τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις καθίσταται πολιτευμάτων, οἷς ἅπασα χρῆται προοιμίοις τυραννίς, γῆς ἀναδασμὸν καὶ χρεῶν ἄφεσιν·
Having said this and filled all the plebeians with wonderful hopes, he established two of the worst political measures among men, which every tyranny uses as preludes: the redistribution of land and the cancellation of debts.
τούτων δὲ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν αὐτὸς ἀμφοτέρων ὑπισχνεῖται ποιήσεσθαι στρατηγὸς ἀποδειχθεὶς αὐτοκράτωρ, ἕως ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ τὰ κοινὰ γένηται καὶ δημοκρατικὴν §7.8.2καταστήσωνται πολιτείαν.
And he promised that he himself would take charge of both of these once he was appointed general-in-chief, until public affairs should be in safety and they should establish a democratic constitution.
ἀσμένως δὲ τοῦ δημοτικοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ πλήθους τὴν ἁρπαγὴν τῶν ἀλλοτρίων δεξαμένου λαβὼν τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν αὐτὸς παρʼ ἑαυτοῦ ἕτερον ἐπιφέρει βούλευμα, διʼ οὗ παρακρουσάμενος αὐτοὺς ἁπάντων ἀφείλετο τὴν ἐλευθερίαν.
And when the plebeian and wicked multitude gladly accepted the plunder of other people's property, having assumed supreme authority on his own initiative, he brought forward another plan, by which he deceived them and deprived them of all liberty.
σκηψάμενος γὰρ ὑποπτεύειν ταραχὰς καὶ ἐπαναστάσεις ἐκ τῶν πλουσίων εἰς τοὺς δημοτικοὺς διὰ τὸν ἀναδασμὸν τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰς τῶν δανείων ἀφέσεις, ἵνα μὴ γένοιτο πόλεμος ἐμφύλιος μηδὲ φόνοι πολιτικοί, μίαν εὑρίσκειν ἔφη πρὶν εἰς τὰ δεινὰ ἐλθεῖν φυλακήν, εἰ τὰ ὅπλα προενέγκαντες ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ἅπαντες τοῖς θεοῖς καθιερώσειαν, ἵνα κατὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν ἐπιόντων πολεμίων ἔχοιεν αὐτοῖς, ὅταν ἀνάγκη τις καταλάβῃ, χρῆσθαι καὶ μὴ καθʼ ἑαυτῶν, κεῖσθαι δʼ αὐτὰ τέως παρὰ τοῖς θεοῖς ἐν καλῷ.
For, pretending to suspect disturbances and uprisings on the part of the rich against the common people because of the redistribution of land and the cancellation of loans, in order that civil war might not occur, nor civic slaughters, he said he found only one safeguard before they came to disasters: if all, bringing out their weapons from their houses, should consecrate them to the gods, so that they might have them to use against enemies attacking from without, whenever some necessity should overtake them, and not against themselves, and that meanwhile they should lie in a suitable place with the gods.
§7.8.3ὡς δὲ καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐπείσθησαν, αὐθημερὸν ἁπάντων παρελόμενος Κυμαίων τὰ ὅπλα ταῖς ἑξῆς ἡμέραις ἔρευναν ἐποιεῖτο τῶν οἰκιῶν, ἐν αἷς πολλοὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς ἀποκτείνας τῶν πολιτῶν, ὡς οὐχ ἅπαντα τοῖς θεοῖς ἀποδείξαντας τὰ ὅπλα, μετὰ ταῦτα φυλακαῖς τρισὶ κρατύνεται τὴν τυραννίδα·
And when they were persuaded also of this, having deprived all the Cumaeans of their weapons on the very same day, on the following days he made a search of the houses, in which, having killed many good citizens on the pretext that they had not produced all their weapons to the gods, after this he secured his tyranny with three guards.
ὧν ἦν μία μὲν ἐκ τῶν ῥυπαρωτάτων πολιτῶν, μεθʼ ὧν κατέλυσε τὴν ἀριστοκρατικὴν πολιτείαν, ἑτέρα δʼ ἐκ τῶν ἀνοσιωτάτων δούλων, οὓς αὐτὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν ἀποκτείναντας τοὺς αὑτῶν δεσπότας, τρίτη δὲ μισθοφόρος ἐκ τῶν ἀγριωτάτων βαρβάρων·
One of these was composed of the lowest citizens, with whom he had overthrown the aristocratic government; another of the most impious slaves, whom he himself had freed after they had killed their own masters; and the third was a mercenary guard consisting of the wildest barbarians.
οὗτοι δισχιλίων οὐκ ἐλάττους ἦσαν καὶ τὰ πολέμια μακρῷ τῶν §7.8.4ἄλλων ἀμείνους.
These were not fewer than two thousand, and in military affairs they were by far superior to the others.
ὧν δʼ ἀπέκτεινεν ἀνδρῶν τὰς εἰκόνας ἀνελὼν ἐκ παντὸς ἱεροῦ καὶ βεβήλου τόπου, φέρων εἰς τοὺς αὐτοὺς τόπους τὰς ἰδίας ἀντʼ ἐκείνων ἀνέστησεν·
And having removed the statues of the men whom he had killed from every sacred and profane place, bringing his own, he set them up in those same places instead of them.
οἰκίας δʼ αὐτῶν καὶ κλήρους καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν ὕπαρξιν ἀναλαβών, ἐξελόμενος χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο τυραννίδος ἦν ἄξιον κτῆμα, τὰ λοιπὰ τοῖς συγκατασκευάσασι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐχαρίσατο, πλείστας δὲ καὶ μεγίστας δωρεὰς τοῖς ἀποκτείνασι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν δεσπότας ἐδίδου· οἱ δʼ ἠξίουν ἔτι καὶ γυναιξὶ τῶν δεσποτῶν καὶ θυγατράσι συνοικεῖν.
And having confiscated their houses, lands, and other property, and having set aside gold, silver, and whatever other possession was worthy of a tyranny, he bestowed the rest upon those who had helped establish his rule, and he gave the most and greatest gifts to those who had killed their own masters; and these even demanded to cohabit with the wives and daughters of their masters.