§457εἰκότως, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, πολλῶν λόγων ἐδέησε τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων λέγουσιν, οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἄρα ἁπλᾶ ὥσπερ τὰ Θηβαίων, ἀλλʼ ἐδεῖτό τινος κομψοτέρου μοι δοκεῖν ῥήτορος.
Reasonably, O Athenians, many words were needed for those speaking on behalf of the Lacedaemonians; for their affairs, as it turned out, were not simple like those of the Thebans, but, in my view, required a somewhat more subtle orator.
ἐγὼ δʼ εἰμὶ μὲν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν οὐ πρότερον φίλους Θηβαίους ἤπερ ὑμεῖς ἅπαντες κρινάντων, ὁρῶ δὲ τοῖς μὲν Λακεδαιμονίοις ἐνυπάρχον εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν τὸ μὴ δεῖν μνησικακεῖν, τοῖς δὲ Θηβαίοις αὐτό τε τοῦτο καὶ τὸ ὧν εὖ πεπόνθαμεν δεῖν μεμνῆσθαι.
But I, O Athenians, am one of those who did not judge the Thebans to be friends any sooner than all of you did; yet I see that for the Lacedaemonians, there exists as a ground for assistance the duty not to harbor resentment, while for the Thebans, there exists both this very thing and the duty to remember the benefits we have received.
ὥστʼ εἰ πεπαῦσθαι δεῖ μισοῦντας, πάλαι πεπαύμεθα Θηβαίους· καὶ εἰ Λακεδαιμονίοις ἰσχυρὸν τὸ μηκέθʼ ὑμᾶς κακῶς ποιεῖν δύνασθαι, πολὺ Θηβαίοις ἰσχυρότερον τὸ βουλομένους εὖ ποιεῖν ἐκ πολλοῦ πεφηνέναι.
Therefore, if we must cease from hating, we have long ceased from hating the Thebans; and if for the Lacedaemonians it is a strong argument that they can no longer do you harm, it is a far stronger argument for the Thebans that they have long shown themselves wishing to do you good.
ἐκείνους μὲν οὖν μηκέτʼ ἐχθροὺς νομίζειν παραινοῦσιν οὗτοι, τούτους δʼ ὁρῶ φίλους ὑπάρχοντας πρὶν καὶ καλεῖν ἡμᾶς.
These men, then, advise us no longer to regard those as enemies, while I see these others existing as friends even before we called upon them.
εἰ δὲ τοσοῦτον δύναται τὸ τὴν ἔχθραν καταθέσθαι, ὥστʼ εὐθὺς συμμάχους ἔχειν ὑμᾶς, τό γε ἐσχηκέναι πρότερον τοὺς ἑτέρους, ὃ νῦν οὗτοι σπουδάζουσι, ποῦ θήσομεν;
But if laying aside enmity has so much power that it immediately wins you as allies, where shall we place the fact of having previously possessed the other party, which these men are now striving to achieve?
καὶ οὐκ ὀφείλειν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, χάριν ὑμᾶς Θηβαίοις τε καὶ Ἀργείοις καταλέγω, πολὺ γὰρ μᾶλλον ὑμῖν Θηβαίους ὀφείλειν νομίζω, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ὑπηργμένοις ὑμῖν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀκόλουθα ταῦτʼ εἶναί φημι καὶ προσήκοντα.
And I do not say, O Athenians, that you owe a debt of gratitude to the Thebans and the Argives—for I think the Thebans owe a debt to you far more—but I say that these actions are consistent with and appropriate to what has already been done by you for one another.
θαυμάζω δʼ εἴ τις τὸ μὲν φίλους καὶ συμμάχους ἡμῖν εἶναι Θηβαίους φοβεῖται νομίζων ἰσχυροὺς εἶναι, τὸ δʼ ἐχθροὺς καὶ πολεμίους §458καταστῆναι συμφέρον κρίνει, καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις μὲν πολεμοῦντας δέδοικεν αὐτοὺς, ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς δʼ ὅπως ἥξουσι διαπράττεται, καὶ φυλάττεσθαι μὲν κελεύει μή ποθʼ ὕστερον ὑμῖν πολεμήσωσιν, ἤδη δὲ εἰς τοῦτο καταστῆναι προτρέπει, καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις μὲν κελεύει θαρρεῖν κοινωνοῖς ἐπὶ Θηβαίους, ὧν ἐλάττους αὐτούς φησιν εἶναι, Θηβαίοις δʼ ἐπὶ τούτους οὐκ ἐᾷ θαρρεῖν, ὥσπερ τὰς τῶν ἀσθενεστάτων συμμαχίας μάλιστʼ ὠφελούσας, ἀλλʼ οὐ τὰς τῶν οἵους εἶναι Θηβαίους φασὶν οὗτοι.
But I wonder if anyone fears that the Thebans should be our friends and allies because he thinks they are strong, while he judges it advantageous for them to become our enemies and foes, and fears them when they are at war with the Lacedaemonians, yet so manages matters that they will come against you, and bids you be on guard lest they should make war on you hereafter, while urging you to enter into this very state immediately, and bids you trust the Lacedaemonians as partners against the Thebans, than whom he says they are weaker, while he does not allow you to trust the Thebans against them—as if the alliances of the weakest were most beneficial, but not those of such men as they say the Thebans are.
ἐρωτῶσι δὲ τίς ἐγγυητής ἐστι τοῦ Θηβαίους ἐφʼ ἑαυτῶν μένειν, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἡμᾶς ἀντερωτῆσαι τίς δʼ ἐγγυητής ἐστι τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίους ἐφʼ αὑτῶν μένειν, ἄνπερ τοῦτον τὸν πόλεμον διαθῶνται.
And they ask who is the guarantor that the Thebans will remain within their own bounds, as if it were not permitted for us to ask in return who is the guarantor that the Lacedaemonians will remain within their own bounds, if they should settle this war.
καὶ μὴν τὸ μέλλον μὲν ἄδηλον, ᾧ πολλῷ χρῶνται κατὰ τῶν Θηβαίων, εἰ δὲ δεῖ τὸ προχείρως βλασφημεῖν καὶ φιλονεικεῖν ἀφιέντας αὐτὰ τἀληθῆ σκοπεῖν, πολὺ πλείων πίστις ἐστὶ Θηβαίοις ἢ Λακεδαιμονίοις· καὶ τούτου μάρτυρας ὑμῖν αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἀντιλέγοντας παρέξομαι.
And indeed, the future is uncertain—a point they use heavily against the Thebans—but if, dismissing hasty slander and contentiousness, we must examine the truth itself, there is far more ground for confidence in the Thebans than in the Lacedaemonians; and of this I will provide the objectors themselves as witnesses to you.
εἰ γάρ τις αὐτοὺς ἔροιτο, εἰπέ μοι, καλῶς ἐποίησαν Λακεδαιμόνιοι τὴν Καδμείαν καταλαβόντες, εἰ φυλάττουσι τὸ ἀρτίως σχῆμα τὸ πλαστόν; οὐ καλῶς, ἐροῦσι δή που. διὰ τί, εἴ τις αὐτοὺς ἐπανέροιτο, παρεσπόνδησαν, φήσουσι.
For if someone should ask them, "Tell me, did the Lacedaemonians act well in seizing the Cadmea, if they maintain their recent fabricated pretext?" they will surely say, "Not well." "Why?" if someone should ask them further; "They violated the treaty," they will say.
τί γὰρ ἄλλο;
For what else?
οἷς τοίνυν οὐκ ἂν ἔξαρνοι γένοιντο ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν ὡς οὐκ ἠδικήκασι, τούτοις ἥν φημι μαρτυρίαν παρέχονται.
Therefore, by those things which they could not deny on their own behalf as if they had done no wrong, they provide the very testimony I speak of.
ἴστε γὰρ δή που τοῦθʼ ὅτι ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ σπονδαῖς μάλιστα οἱ τὰ δίκαια ποιεῖν βουλόμενοι κρίνονται· ἐν γὰρ τοῖς πολέμοις οὐχ ὁ τρόπος κύριος, ἀλλʼ ὅσʼ ἂν ἡ τύχη δῷ καὶ ὁ καιρὸς, ταῦθʼ ἕκαστοι μεταλαμβάνουσιν.
For you surely know this, that it is in peace and under treaties that those who wish to act justly are most of all tested; for in wars it is not character that is sovereign, but everyone shares in whatever fortune and opportunity may give.
ὁπότʼ οὖν ὅτʼ ἦσαν ἀμφότεροι κύριοι γνώμης, Θηβαῖοι μὲν τὰ αὑτῶν πράττειν οἰόμενοι δεῖν ἐφάνησαν, Λακεδαιμόνιοι δʼ ἐπιόντες καὶ πλεονεκτοῦντες, πῶς οὐ τῷ παντὶ δεῖ νομίζειν πιστοτέρους Θηβαίους, καὶ τὸν φόβον τοῦτον ἐπὶ τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους μεταθεῖναι, μή ποτε εὐπορήσαντες δυνάμεως ταυτὸν καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς πράξωσι;
When, therefore, at a time when both were masters of their own mind, the Thebans appeared to think they ought to do their own duty, while the Lacedaemonians appeared attacking and taking advantage, how is it not necessary to think the Thebans entirely more trustworthy, and to transfer this fear to the Lacedaemonians, lest if they ever obtain an abundance of power they should do the very same to us?
καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐκείνῳ ἔγωγʼ ἂν πεισθείην, ὡς διὰ Βοιωτίας μὲν διεξιόντες τότʼ εἰσῆλθον εἰς Θηβαίους τῷ καιρῷ χρησάμενοι, ὑμῶν δʼ εἰ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον ἔσχον, ἀπέσχοντʼ
For indeed, I would never be persuaded of that other point, that having passed through Boeotia they then entered the territory of the Thebans by taking advantage of the opportunity, but if they had held this same opportunity against you, they would have refrained.