§390εἰπεῖν, οὐκ εἴ τί ποθʼ ἡμᾶς ἀναγκαῖον περιστήσεται, τούτου χάριν καὶ τὰ μὴ προσήκοντα ἑκόντας αὑτοῖς προστίθεσθαι χρὴ, ἀλλὰ χωρὶς τιθέναι τό τʼ ἀμύνασθαι τοὺς ἐπιόντας καὶ τὸ μὴ ἐθέλειν ἑαυτῶν φείσασθαι.
To speak [one thing], we must not, if some necessity should ever encompass us, for the sake of this willingly add to ourselves things that do not concern us, but we must set apart the repelling of those who attack and the unwillingness to spare ourselves.
ἐγὼ δὲ φοβοῦμαι μὲν ἃ μικρῷ πρόσθεν εἴρηκα, φοβοῦμαι δὲ καὶ τοὺς οἰωνοὺς, βλέπων μὲν εἰς τὰ μυστήρια ὡς οὐ καλῶς ἐξεφοίτησε πρὶν ἐκπλεῖν ἡμᾶς, βλέπων δʼ εἰς τοὺς ἑρμᾶς ὡς διετέθησαν, ἐνθυμούμενος δὲ ὡς ὁ ταῦτα συμβουλεύσας ἐπάρατος γεγένηται καὶ μόνῳ τούτῳ δημοσίᾳ τὰ γένη τὰ ἱερὰ κατηράσατο.
And I fear indeed what I said a little earlier, but I also fear the omens, seeing how the mysteries were improperly revealed before we sailed out, and seeing how the Herms were treated, and considering how the one who advised these things has become accursed, and how the sacred clans publicly cursed him alone.
ἀναμιμνήσκομαι δὲ καὶ τῆς εἰς Αἴγυπτον στρατείας, ἣν καλῶς οὗτος ἀρτίως περιέστελλεν, ἣ διακοσίας ἡμῶν τριήρεις παρείλετο, καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐχόντων μοῖραν ἤδη Αἰγύπτου οὐκ ἐλάττω τῆς πάσης Σικελίας· καὶ οὐδʼ ἐνταῦθα ἔστημεν, ἀλλὰ χρόνου διελθόντος ᾤχοντο ἕτεραι πεντήκοντα βοηθοὶ ταῖς ἐκεῖ, καὶ οὔτʼ ἐκείνας οὐδὲν ὤνησαν καὶ αὐτοὶ προσαπώλοντο ἐπιθήκην.
And I also recall the expedition to Egypt, which this man just now beautifully cloaked, which took away two hundred of our triremes, even though they already held a portion of Egypt no less than the whole of Sicily; and we did not even stop there, but after a time had passed, another fifty went as an aid to those there, and they did those men no good and were themselves lost in addition as a supplement.
τοῦτο μέντοι, τοῦτο ἐγὼ φρίττω τὸ παράδειγμα, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ οὔτε νὺξ οὔτε ἡμέρα παραιρεῖται τὴν μνήμην αὐτοῦ· καὶ δέομαι πάντων ὑμῶν τὴν Σικελίαν ὡς τὴν Αἴγυπτον φυλάξασθαι καὶ μὴ πολλὰ τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν παραδείγματα, λογιζομένους εἰ τότε τις ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν ἔπεισε, μάλιστα μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς μὴ πλεῖν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, εἰ δὲ μὴ, τάς γε δευτέρας τριήρεις μὴ πέμπειν, ὡς οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν ἂν πρᾶγμα τῇ πόλει συνέβη, ἢ τά γε δεύτερα οὐκ ἂν προσαπώλετο.
It is this, this example that I shudder at, O Athenians, and neither night nor day takes away its memory; and I beg of you all to guard against Sicily as against Egypt, and not to make many such examples, reflecting that if anyone then, by saying these things, had persuaded them, best of all not to sail to Egypt from the start, or if not, at least not to send the second triremes, no trouble whatsoever would have happened to the city, or at least the second ones would not have been lost in addition.
ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰ πάντες ἐπίστασθε ὅτι κἀκεῖνα ἡμαρτήθη γνώμῃ συμβούλων καὶ τῷ τοὺς κωλύοντας ἔλαττον σχεῖν, ὁρᾶτε μή ποτε καὶ νῦν τῆς ἡμετέρας ἥττης αὐτοὶ τὴν δίκην δῶτε.
But indeed, if you all know that those things also were erred by the judgment of advisers and because those who tried to prevent them had less influence, see to it lest now you yourselves pay the penalty for our defeat.
ἐνθυμεῖσθε δʼ ὡς οὐδʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν Κύπρῳ ποτὲ νικῶν πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων περιεγένετο ἡμῖν αὐτήν γε κτήσασθαι τὴν Κύπρον, ἀλλʼ ἀφέντες αὐτὴν ἀνεχωρήσαμεν.
And consider that not even from many and great victories once in Cyprus did it result in our acquiring Cyprus itself, but we abandoned it and withdrew.
ὡς δὲ καὶ τὸ χωρίον λοιμῶδες οὗ τὸ στρατόπεδον πάντες ἴσως πυνθάνεσθε.
And you all probably hear that the place where the camp is located is pestilential.
ἃ χρὴ λογιζομένους οὐκ εἰ μετὰ παιάνων §391ἐκπλεύσαντας ἀπράκτους ὑποδεξόμεθα ἀφόρητον νομίζειν, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο πάντων ἂν γενέσθαι σχετλιώτατον, εἰ οὓς τότε ὡς ἀρχὴν ἐπικτησομένους καὶ μετὰ τοιούτου σχήματος ἐξεπέμπομεν, τούτους ὑπʼ ἄλλων ποτὲ φωνῶν ζητήσομεν, καὶ ἡ τότε ἅμιλλα μέχρι Αἰγίνης οὐκ ἐάσει νῦν αὐτοὺς εἰς τοὺς οἰκείους λιμένας ἀποσωθῆναι.
Reflecting on these things, we must not, because they sailed out with paeans, think it unbearable if we receive them back without success, but that would be the most wretched of all things to happen, if those whom we then sent out to acquire an empire and with such pomp, we shall some day seek through other voices, and the rivalry of that time as far as Aegina will not now permit them to be saved back to their own harbors.
ἐμοὶ μὲν εἴρηται· εὔχομαι δὲ δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ καὶ ὑμῖν συνδοκεῖν, ἢ γνώμης ἁμαρτεῖν αὐτὸς καὶ δειλίαν ὕστερον μόνος ἐξ ἁπάντων ὀφλεῖν.
For my part, I have spoken; and I pray for one of two things: either that you also agree, or that I myself am mistaken in judgment and later alone of all bear the charge of cowardice.