§399ἣν μὲν ἐκ πολλοῦ πάντες ἡμέραν ἰδεῖν ἐποθοῦμεν ἥδʼ ἐστὶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Λακεδαιμόνιοι, διδοῦσα βουλεύσασθαι περὶ τῶν Ἀθηναίων ὅ τι ἂν βουλώμεθα.
This is the day, men of Lacedaemon, which we have all long yearned to see, offering us the opportunity to deliberate concerning the Athenians in whatever way we may wish.
δεῖ δὲ μήτʼ ἀγεννὲς παθεῖν μηδὲν μήτʼ, εἰ χρὴ τοῦτʼ εἰπεῖν, ἀτιμάσαι τὰ πεπραγμένα, ἀλλʼ εἰδέναι πόσον τι χρῆμα κατείργασται καὶ ὡς οὔτε Ἀθηναῖοι συμφορῶν ἐνδεεῖς οὔθʼ ἡμῖν περίεστιν ὀργίζεσθαι.
But we must neither suffer anything ignoble, nor, if it is right to say this, dishonor what has been achieved; rather, we must recognize how great a result has been accomplished, and that neither are the Athenians lacking in misfortunes, nor is it left to us to remain angry.
παρῃτούμην δʼ ἂν ὑμᾶς μὴ φιλίᾳ τῶν ἀνδρῶν δοκεῖν με λέγειν, εἰ μὴ πολλὰ μὲν τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς εὐνοίας, πολλὰ δὲ τοῦ πρὸς ἐκείνους §400μίσους ὑπῆρχέ μοι σύμβολα, ἃ πάντες ὁμοίως σύνιστε.
Indeed, I would have begged you not to think that I speak out of friendship for those men, if I did not possess many tokens of goodwill towards you, and many of hatred towards them, which you all likewise know well.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἅπερ ἐμαυτῷ ὑμῖν ταὐτὰ δεῖν οἶμαι συμβουλεύειν, μὴ πρότερον τί χρὴ παθεῖν ἐκείνους ὁρᾶν πρὶν ἡμῖν τί πρᾶξαι καλὸν, μηδʼ ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι οὐ περὶ τῆς Ἀθηναίων πόλεως μᾶλλον ἢ περὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας αὐτῶν σκοποῦμεν.
Nevertheless, I believe I ought to give you the very same advice as to myself: not to look to what they should suffer before looking to what it is honorable for us to do, nor to ignore that we are deliberating not so much about the city of the Athenians as about our own.
ὡς ἐὰν μὲν πρεπούσῃ τινὶ γνώμῃ κατακλείσωμεν τὰ πεπραγμένα, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν βεβουλεύμεθα καὶ τῷ ὄντι νενικήκαμεν, ἂν δʼ ἅ τινες κελεύουσι προαχθῆτε, δέδοιχʼ ὅπως μή τι καὶ παράλογον εἰπεῖν ἁρμόσῃ.
For if we conclude what has been done with a fitting judgment, we have deliberated for our own sake and have truly conquered; but if you are led on to do what some urge, I fear lest it may even become appropriate to say something paradoxical.
ἡμᾶς γὰρ εἴ τις ἔροιτο ἀνθʼ ὅτου τὸν πόλεμον τὸν μακρὸν καὶ πολὺν τοῦτον ἠράμεθα, οὔθʼ ὡς λείαν ἡμῶν ἤλασαν οὔθʼ ὡς χώρας ἀπετέμοντο, ὥσπερ Ἀργεῖοι, οὔτʼ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν ἂν ἔχοιμεν εἰπεῖν·
For if anyone were to ask us for what reason we undertook this long and great war, we would not be able to say either that they drove off our cattle or that they cut off our territory, as the Argives did, nor any other such thing.
οὐδέ γʼ ὡς φθόνῳ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς εὐδαιμονίας, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο καὶ πάντων ἥκιστα συγχωρήσαιμεν ἄν.
Nor indeed could we say that it was out of envy of their power and prosperity; on the contrary, this is the very thing we would least of all admit.
τίνος μὴν χάριν λοιπόν;
For what reason, then, remains?
ἐλευθερίας τῶν Ἑλλήνων φαίημεν ἂν, οἶμαι δὲ μηδʼ ἡμᾶς ἂν τοῦτό γε χρῆναι λέγειν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἅπαντας ἂν συμφῆσαι.
We would say, "for the freedom of the Greeks"; and indeed, I think that we should not even have to say this ourselves, but that all would agree on our behalf.
καὶ μὴν οὐδʼ ὅτι μεῖζον ἡμῖν πλεονέκτημα κατʼ αὐτῶν ὑπῆρξεν ἢ τοῦτο οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς εἰπεῖν ἔχοι.
And truly, not a single person could say that any greater advantage over them accrued to us than this.
περιῆν γὰρ τοῖς μὲν ἐξ ὧν περιειργάζοντο μισεῖσθαι, ἡμῖν δʼ ἐξ ὧν ἐπηγγελλόμεθα.
For the result for them was to be hated because of their meddling, but for us, because of what we promised.
τίνος οὖν χάριν, ὦ ἄνδρες Λακεδαιμόνιοι, τούτων ὑπέμνησα;
For what reason, then, men of Lacedaemon, did I remind you of these things?
ἑνὸς μὲν, ἵνʼ εἰδῆτε ὡς οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ὑπόλοιπόν ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ ἔχει τὴν γιγνομένην τελευτὴν ὁ πόλεμος.
First, so that you may know that nothing remains left for us to do, but the war has reached its proper end.
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἐλευθέρων ὄντων οὐδὲν ἦν πλέον ζητεῖν, οὕτω νῦν ἐκπεπλήρωται.
For just as from the beginning, since they were free, there was nothing more to seek, so now it has been fully accomplished.
κἂν μὲν οὕτω ποιῶμεν, συμβαίνοντα τὰ ἔργα τοῖς λόγοις παρεξόμεθα καὶ νίκην ἁπασῶν καλλίστην ἀναιρησόμεθα, συμφέρουσαν μὲν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ἔντιμον δὲ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς·
And if we act in this way, we shall show our deeds consistent with our words, and we shall win the fairest victory of all, one advantageous to the Greeks and honorable to ourselves.
εἰ δʼ ἀναιρήσομεν καθάπαξ τὴν πόλιν, οὐ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὅπως ἐλεύθεροι γενήσονται προορώμενοι πολεμῆσαι δόξομεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ πόλει φθονήσαντες, καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν αὐτῶν κακίαν ἐκπιμπλάντες, ἀλλʼ οὐ τὴν ἐκείνων ἀμετρίαν δυσχεραίνοντες. τοῦτο δὲ παντί που δῆλον ὡς καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐστιν.
But if we utterly destroy the city, we shall seem to have waged war not with a view to the Greeks becoming free, but because we envied the city, satisfying our own malice rather than being displeased by their excess.
ἕτερον δὲ πρὸς τούτοις ἐνθυμήθητε, εἰ καί τῳ
And that this is against us is surely clear to everyone. And in addition to these things, consider another point, even if to someone...