§464προστάτας τοὺς αὐτοὺς μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς ἔγωγε οὐκ ἐπινοῶ.
But by the gods, I for my part do not conceive of having the same leaders.
ἀλλὰ κἂν ἐξ ἴσου δέῃ τὴν συμμαχίαν ποιεῖσθαι, θαρρῶν ἂν εἴποιμι Θηβαίους μᾶλλον αἱρεῖσθαι, οὓς ὅτι κρείττους Λακεδαιμονίων αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν οὗτοι.
But even if it is necessary to make the alliance on equal terms, I would confidently say that we should rather choose the Thebans, whom these very men themselves say are superior to the Lacedaemonians.
τὸ δὲ τοῖς κεκρατημένοις καὶ τοῖς ἠτυχηκόσιν εἰς ἴσον ἐλθεῖν οὐδʼ ὑπερβολὴν αἰσχύνης ἀπολιπεῖν νομίζω.
And to come to equal terms with those who have been conquered and have met with misfortune, I think leaves no limit of shame.
πότε γὰρ πλεῖον, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, Λακεδαιμονίων ἕξομεν, εἰ νῦν ὅτʼ εἰς χρείαν ἡμῶν ἐληλύθασιν, ἐξ ἴσου γιγνόμενοι στέρξομεν;
For when, O Athenians, shall we have an advantage over the Lacedaemonians, if now, when they have come to need us, we shall be content with becoming on equal terms?
εἰ δʼ ἐπωνυμίας σεμνότητα σκοποῦσιν, ἢ πρὸς δόξαν ὀνόματος τὰ τοιαῦτα κρίνουσιν, ἀρχηγέται Θηβαῖοι τούτων εἰσὶν οὓς θαυμάζουσι.
But if they look to the dignity of a title, or judge such matters with a view to the reputation of a name, the Thebans are the pioneers of these very things which they admire.
μὴ οὖν ὡς φαυλοτέρους ἀναινέσθων, ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε εὐπρέπεια ταῦτʼ ἐστὶ ῥημάτων καὶ οὐδὲν οἷον ἂν δόξειέ τις ἐγὼ δείξω ῥᾳδίως ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ.
Let them not, then, reject them as inferior, since I will easily show, caught in the act, that this is indeed a mere plausibility of words, and nothing like what someone might think.
εἰ γὰρ ἠτυχήκασι Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ καταπεπτώκασι καὶ οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν αὐτοῖς καταλείπεται, παραδόντες αὑτοὺς καὶ εἰσαγαγόντες ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὥσπερ εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν αὐτοί ποτʼ εἰσῆλθον, οὕτως εὑρισκέσθων τὴν σωτηρίαν· καὶ μὰ τὸν Δίʼ οὐ πολλοί με φθάσουσιν, ἀλλὰ πρῶτος ἀναστὰς κελεύσω τοῖς Θηβαίοις ἀνταίρειν, ἂν μὴ πείθωνται λόγῳ μηδʼ ἀπέχωνται τῶν ἀνδρῶν.
For if the Lacedaemonians have met with misfortune and have fallen, and not a single thing is left to them, let them find safety in this way: by surrendering themselves and admitting you into their city, just as they themselves once entered into ours; and, by Zeus, not many will anticipate me, but I will be the first to rise and urge resistance to the Thebans, if they do not listen to reason nor keep their hands off the men.
ἀλλʼ οὐ ποιήσουσιν οὐδέποτʼ, οἶμαι, ταῦτα Λακεδαιμόνιοι· πόθεν;
But the Lacedaemonians will never do this, I think; how could they?
ἐπεὶ καλῶ τοὺς πρέσβεις, καὶ θεωρεῖτε.
Since I call the ambassadors, and you may observe.
μικρὸν οὖν ὕστερον ὑμῖν ἐξέσται τούτου πεῖραν λαβεῖν· νῦν δʼ ἔτι μοι μικρὸν προσθεῖναι δότε.
A little later, then, it will be permitted to you to make trial of this; but now, grant me to add yet a little more.
ὑπῆλθε γάρ με λέγοντα μεταξὺ τὸ τῆς παλαιᾶς βοηθείας, ἣν ἐν τοῖς ἐσχάτοις καιροῖς λαβόντες παρʼ ἡμῶν αἰτήσαντες αὐτοὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ νῦν ἐλθόντες κατέπεμψαν, συνεστηκότος μὲν τοῦ πολέμου καὶ ἀκμάζοντος αὐτοῖς, ὄντες δʼ ἐν χρείᾳ συμμάχων, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις ἅπασι τοῖς παροῦσι χρώμενοι, καὶ οὐδʼ ἂν αὐτῶν αἰτουμένων συγχωρήσαντες ἀπελθεῖν ἐκείνων οὐδέσιν.
For while speaking, there occurred to me the matter of the ancient assistance, which they received from us in their extreme moments, having themselves asked for it in the same manner as they have now come and sent down [their ambassadors], while the war was going on and at its height for them, and they were in need of allies, and they used all other available means, and would not have permitted any of those, even if they begged, to depart.
ἂν οὖν, ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ νῦν ταυτὸν ποιήσωσι καὶ φῶσι μηκέτι χρῄζειν ὑμῶν. ἤτοι νὴ Δίʼ ὑποπτεύσαντες ἢ καὶ ὁπωσοῦν δόξαν αὐτοῖς, οἱ δʼ ἄνδρες ὑβρισταὶ καὶ κρυψίνοι, ἦ που χαρίεντα πεπονθότες ἄπιμεν καὶ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων ὑβρισμένοι καὶ τούτους παρεορακότες, ἐχθροὺς δʼ ἀμφοτέρους ἔχοντες τὸ λοιπόν.
If, then, O Athenians, they should do the same now and say they no longer need you, either, by Zeus, because they became suspicious, or for whatever other reason seemed best to them—and those men are insolent and secretive—surely we shall depart having received a 'fine' treatment, insulted by them and having overlooked these (Thebans), and having both as enemies for the future.
§465ἐμοὶ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο θαυμαστὸν φαίνεται, εἴ τις τὸ μὲν Θηβαίους μόνους ἀντιπάλους ἡμῖν καταλειφθῆναι δέδιε, τὸ δὲ πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους ἡμῖν εἶναι τὸν λόγον οὐδενὸς ἄξιον κρίνει φόβου.
To me, this also seems astonishing, if anyone fears on the one hand that the Thebans alone should be left as our rivals, but on the other hand judges that our having to reckon with both is worthy of no fear.
νὴ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ὄντων τῶν τροπαίων οὐκ ἄξιον καταπολεμῆσαι Λακεδαιμονίους.
By Zeus, but because of the trophies, it is not right to utterly defeat the Lacedaemonians.
ἡμεῖς δὲ αὐτοὺς τοὺς εἰσηγησαμένους ἡμῶν πολίτας, διʼ ὧν ταῦτα ἀνεστήσαμεν, οὐκ ἀφήκαμεν διὰ ταῦτα, ὅτʼ ἠδικηκότας ὕστερον εὕρομεν, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν Μιλτιάδην ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ τελευτήσαντα οὐκ ἐκρίναμεν παρʼ ἀξίαν ἀπολωλέναι, τοῦτο δὲ τὸν τῶν καλλίστων ἔργων σύμβουλον καὶ στρατηγὸν γενόμενον Θεμιστοκλέα φυγάδα ἐποιήσαμεν, ἀποκτεῖναι παρόντα λαβεῖν οὐ δυνηθέντες.
But we did not, on account of these things, acquit our own citizens who introduced these measures, through whom we erected these trophies, when we later found them to have done wrong; but on the one hand we did not judge that Miltiades, who died in prison, had perished undeservedly, and on the other hand we made Themistocles an exile—he who had been the counselor and general of our finest deeds—being unable to seize and execute him in person.
πῶς οὖν οὐ δεινὸν αὐτοῖς μὲν ὑμῖν οὕτω κεχρημένους ὑμᾶς ὑπάρχειν διʼ ὧν ὁστισοῦν τὰς τότε πράξεις. κατωρθῶσθαι μᾶλλον ἂν ἢ διὰ Λακεδαιμονίων εἴποι, Λακεδαιμονίους δʼ ἀφεῖναι διʼ ἐκείνας καθελεῖν, εἰληφότας καιρόν;
How then is it not terrible that, while you have behaved in this way toward your own citizens, through whom anyone would say that the successes of those days were achieved rather than through the Lacedaemonians, you should spare the Lacedaemonians from destruction on account of those former deeds, now that you have seized the opportunity?
καὶ μὴν ὅτι καὶ τὸ σχῆμα βέλτιον τοῦ πρὸς αὐτοὺς πολέμου ἤπερ τοῦ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εἴσεσθε ῥᾳδίως.
And indeed, you will easily know that the character of the war against them is better than that of the war on their behalf.
ἐν ἐκείνῳ μὲν γάρ ἐστι τὸ μετὰ τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων εἶναι δοκεῖν, ὅπερ εἶναι γενναῖον οὗτοί φασιν· ἐν τούτῳ δʼ ἀντὶ μὲν τούτου σὺν τοῖς ἠδικημένοις εἶναι, μεῖζον ὂν εἰς σεμνότητα· ὃ δὲ σφαλερὸν πρόσεστιν ἐκείνῳ, τοῦτʼ ἐκπεφευγέναι διὰ τὸ βελτίους τοὺς κοινωνοὺς ἔχειν.
For in the latter case there is the appearance of being with the weaker, which these men say is noble; but in this case, instead of that, there is the being with the wronged, which is greater in dignity; and the danger which is attached to that case, we have escaped because we have better partners.
ὃ δʼ ἀσφαλείᾳ νικᾷ δόξῃ παρισούμενον, πῶς οὐ κάλλιον ὁστισοῦν ἂν κρίνοι σωφρονῶν;
And that which wins in safety while being equal in glory, how would any sensible man not judge it to be more noble?
δείκνυμι μὲν δὴ ταῦτα· λέγειν δὲ καὶ κάλλιον καὶ δικαιότερον τὸ δόξαν ὑμῖν ἀνάγκη κἀμοὶ, καὶ μὴ λέγειν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμπράττειν προθύμως.
I point out these things; but once you have made your decision, it is necessary for me also to speak what is more noble and more just, and not only to speak, but also to cooperate eagerly.