§515καὶ τῶν ξένων τοὺς εἰσαφικνουμένους, ἔτι δὲ τοῖς ξένοις ἁπάσης τύχης ἀφορμὴν καὶ παραμυθίαν, ἡδέως ἂν εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀφικοίμην, ἐν ᾗ ταῦτα ἑστῶτα θεάσομαι.
and to those of strangers who arrive, and furthermore as a source of every fortune and consolation to strangers, I would gladly arrive at that day on which I shall behold these things standing.
ὅταν γε μὴν ἐνθυμηθῶ κατʼ ἐμαυτὸν ὅτι τῶν πάλαι τις αὐτοκρατόρων οὐ τῆς ὑμετέρας οἰκίας, μηδὲ γὰρ εἴη τοῦτό γε, οὐδὲ γένοιτʼ ἂν ὑφʼ ὑμῶν οὐδενὸς, ἀλλά τις τῶν πρότερον πεττεύων, ὡς λέγεται, μεταξὺ παρεφθέγξατο, μὴ βούλεσθαι Νασαμῶνας εἶναι, ἔπειτα ἀπώλοντο οἱ Νασαμῶνες, οἶμαι περί γε ὑμῶν εἰκότως ἂν ἐλπίζειν ὅτι σπουδάζοντες καὶ τοῖς ὑμετέροις αὐτῶν ἤθεσι χρώμενοι, καὶ τοσοῦτον μόνον εἰπόντες καὶ προδείξαντες ὅτι βούλεσθε Σμύρναν εἶναι, ταχέως ἅπασιν ἡμῖν ὃ ποθοῦμεν δείξετε.
Yet when I reflect within myself that one of the former emperors—not of your house, for may this not be so, nor could it happen from any of you, but one of those of former times playing draughts, as they say, muttered in the midst of it, that he did not wish the Nasamones to exist, and then the Nasamones perished—I think I can reasonably hope concerning you that, being zealous and employing your own characters, and having only said and prefigured this much, that you wish Smyrna to exist, you will quickly show to us all what we desire.
ἔτι δὲ οὐκ ἀλλοτρίοις χρῶμαι παραδείγμασιν, ἀλλʼ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, ὅσην τῶν ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ πόλεων ἐπιμέλειαν.
Moreover, I do not use foreign examples, but your own, in how much care you took of the cities in Italy, so that they recovered in all respects.
ἐποιήσασθε, ὥστε ἀναλαβεῖν αὐτὰς τοῖς ἅπασιν. ἐκείνας μὲν τοίνυν πάλαι κεκμηκυίας ἀνεκτήσασθε, Σμύρναν δὲ ἀρτίως μὲν ἀνθοῦσαν, ἀρτίως δὲ καταρρυεῖσαν, εἰς πόλεων ἀριθμὸν αὖθις καταστήσατε, πρότερον μὲν τὰ ἱερὰ κοσμήσαντες αὐτῆς, νυνὶ δὲ τὸ πᾶν σχῆμα σώσαντες.
Those indeed, having long been worn out, you restored; but as for Smyrna, which was recently flourishing and has recently fallen, restore her again to the number of cities, having formerly adorned her temples, and now saving her entire form.
ἀξία δὲ οὐ μόνον τῆς ὄψεως χάριν ἡ πόλις σωθῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς εὐνοίας ἣν παρὰ πάντα τὸν χρόνον εἰς ὑμᾶς παρέσχετο, συναραμένη μὲν τοῦ πρὸς Ἀντίοχον πολέμου, συναραμένη δὲ τοῦ πρὸς Ἀριστόνικον, πολιορκίας τε ὑπομείνασα καὶ μάχας οὐ φαύλας ἀγωνισαμένη, ὧν ἔτι νῦν ἐν πύλαις ἦν αὐτῇ τὰ ὑπομνήματα.
And the city is worthy to be saved not only for the sake of her appearance, but also for the sake of the goodwill which she showed toward you through all time, by having taken part in the war against Antiochus, and having taken part in that against Aristonicus, and having endured sieges and fought no ordinary battles, of which even now her monuments were at the gates.
ἔτι δὲ ἐσθῆτος δεῆσαν ὑμετέρῳ στρατοπέδῳ καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ διεφθαρμένου τὸν μὲν στρατηγὸν κομίσαντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν θάπτουσιν εἴσω τῶν νῦν πυλῶν, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς στρατιώτας τοὺς χιτῶνας ἐνείμαντο ἀνὴρ ἀνδρὶ δούς.
Furthermore, when your army needed clothing and the general was lost, they carried the general into the city and buried him within the present gates, and distributed the tunics to the soldiers, man giving to man.
τοιοῦτοι μὲν τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας ὑμᾶς· πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ὁμοφύλους τίνες;
Such indeed they were toward you, the rulers; but what were they toward those of their own race?
πάντα μὲν οὐ μικρὸν ἔργον ἂν εἴη γράφειν.
To write everything would be no small task.
ἀλλὰ σεισμῶν ποτε καὶ λιμῶν συνεχῶν συμβάντων περὶ τὸν κάτω τόπον §516τοῦτον τῆς Ἀσίας, καί τινων καὶ χάσμασι διεφθαρμένων καὶ συμφορᾶς πολυτρόπου κατεχούσης τὰς πόλεις, καὶ σίτῳ καὶ χρήμασι καὶ τῷ μηδὲν προθυμίας ἐλλείπειν ἔστιν ἃς τῶν πόλεων διεσώσαντο, Χίους, Ἐρυθραίους, Τηίους, Ἁλικαρνασσέας.
But when earthquakes and successive famines once occurred around this lower region of Asia, and some indeed were destroyed by chasms, and multifaceted disaster held the cities, they saved some of the cities, the Chians, the Erythraeans, the Teians, the Halicarnassians, with corn and money and by lacking nothing of zeal.
εἰς ἃ τοίνυν τότε τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπήρκει μία δὴ πόλις οὐδʼ ἡτισοῦν αὐτῇ νῦν ἀξιόχρεως βοηθῆσαι.
Therefore, for those disasters which then a single city was sufficient to relieve for others, now not any city whatsoever is sufficient to help her.
ἡ δὲ παρʼ ὑμῶν ἐλπὶς λείπεται.
Only the hope from you is left.
καὶ μὴν πρότερον μὲν ἀριστεῖα τῶν ἔργων ἐφέρετο, χώραν καὶ πανοπλίας καὶ λάφυρα, οἷς αὐτὴν ὑμεῖς ἐτιμᾶτε, νῦν δὲ πρεσβεῖα συμφορῶν ἀνῄρηται παρὰ τοῦ δαίμονος, ὧν ὑμῖν ἡ λύσις.
And indeed, formerly she carried off the prizes for her deeds, land and armor and spoils, with which you honored her, but now the prizes of disasters have been taken up from the divinity, of which the solution is yours.
ὃ δʼ ἁπάντων μάλιστα ἄξιον εἰπεῖν καὶ θαυμάσαι, τῆς τύχης τὴν μεταβολήν.
And what is most of all worthy to speak of and to marvel at is the change of fortune.
τοῦ γὰρ νεὼ τοῦ νῦν καταδύντος οὕτω λαμπροῦ λέγεται τυχεῖν ὥστʼ ἀγῶνος γενομένου τὴν μὲν Ἀσίαν τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν προκριθῆναι, τῶν δʼ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ πόλεων τὴν Σμύρναν τοσοῦτον ὥστε τὴν μὲν ἄλλην Ἀσίαν ἑπτὰ μόνας ψήφους μεταλαβεῖν, τῇ δὲ πόλει τετρακοσίας γενέσθαι μόνῃ.
For concerning the temple which has now sunk, it is said to have met with such splendor that, when a contest arose, Asia was preferred to the other nations, and of the cities in Asia, Smyrna so much so that the rest of Asia received only seven votes, while the city alone had four hundred.
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ διὰ τῆς Ἀσίας κομίσαιτʼ ἂν ἴσως, ἂν ὑμῖν δοκῇ, ἡ δὲ τῶν ὅλων ἐπανόρθωσις μόνων ὑμῶν, οἷς οἱ θεοὶ τὰ τηλικαῦτα ἀπέδοσαν.
This indeed you might perhaps recover through Asia, if it seems good to you, but the restoration of the whole is yours alone, to whom the gods have given such great things.
ὅταν μὲν οὖν εἰς τὸ τῆς συμφορᾶς μέγεθος ἀποβλέψω, οὐδείς μοι δοκεῖ λόγος ἀρκεῖν, ἀλλὰ πάντʼ ἐλλείπειν τοῦ μετρίου, ὅταν δὲ εἰς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀρετὴν καὶ φύσιν καὶ τὸ πρόχειρον πρὸς τὰς εὐεργεσίας, ἐπέρχεταί μοι δεδιέναι μὴ πλείω τῶν ἱκανῶν διειλέχθαι δοκῶ.
Therefore, when I look at the magnitude of the disaster, no speech seems to me to be sufficient, but everything falls short of the measure; but when I look at your virtue and nature and your readiness for benefactions, it occurs to me to fear lest I seem to have spoken more than is fitting.
οἶμαι μὲν οὖν οὐχ οὕτω τοῦτʼ ἔχειν· εἰ δʼ ἄρα, συγγνώσεσθε οἶδʼ ὅτι.
I think indeed that this is not so; but if indeed it is, you will forgive me, I know.
πολλά τοι καὶ παρὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ σφίσιν ἄνθρωπος φθέγγεται συμφορᾷ ληφθεὶς, ἄλλως τε καὶ ἣν οὐδεπώποτʼ ἂν ἤλπισεν.
For indeed, a man overtaken by disaster speaks many things even contrary to his own intent, especially when it is one which he would never have expected.