§565ποιείσθω τὸ τοὺς καιροὺς ἑτέρους εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο κοινὸν ἐνθυμείσθω κατὰ πάσης στάσεως ὅτι τῶν παρόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀεὶ πέφυκεν ἀποστερεῖν.
Let no one of you, in security, make the fact that the times are different an excuse, but let him reflect on this common truth regarding all civil strife: that it is by nature always designed to deprive us of present blessings.
χωρὶς δὲ τούτων, ὦ ἄνδρες Ῥόδιοι, καὶ ἡ συμφορὰ μείζων, εἰ τοιούτων καιρῶν ἐν οἷς φόβος μὲν οὐδεὶς οὐδὲ κίνδυνος, εὐδαιμονίας δὲ ἀπολαύειν ὁπόσης τις βούλεται πάρεστι, τὸ ἐπιβάλλον ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς μέρος ὥσπερ θεωρικοῦ προήσεσθε ἐξεπίτηδες.
Apart from these things, men of Rhodes, the misfortune is even greater if, in such times when there is no fear or danger, and it is possible to enjoy as much happiness as one wishes, you should deliberately throw away your allotted share as if it were theater-money.
μέχρι μὲν γὰρ διειστήκει τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, εἰκὸς ἦν συνοίσειν καὶ τοὺς μὲν ταῦτα, τοὺς δὲ ἐκεῖνα ὑμῶν αἱρεῖσθαι.
For as long as the affairs of the Greeks were divided, it was reasonable that some of you should choose these things and others those, for your mutual benefit.
νῦν δὲ τίς ἢ στάσεως ἀφορμὴ, ἢ ῥᾳστώνης οὐκ ἐξουσία;
But now, what pretext is there for civil strife, or what lack of freedom to enjoy ease?
οὐ κοινὴ μὲν ἅπασα γῆ, βασιλεὺς δὲ εἷς, νόμοι δὲ κοινοὶ πᾶσι, πολιτεύεσθαι δὲ καὶ σιωπᾶν καὶ ἀπαίρειν καὶ μένειν ἄδεια ὁπόσην τις βούλεται;
Is not the whole earth common, the king one, the laws common to all, and is there not as much security as anyone wishes to take part in public life, to keep silence, to depart, and to remain?
τί οὖν δεῖ κακῶν ἐπεισάκτων, ἢ μανίας τοῖς πᾶσι περιττῆς;
Why then is there need of imported evils, or of madness that is excessive for everyone?
ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐχ ὡς ἔσχατον ἡ στάσις τῶν κακῶν δεῖξαι χαλεπώτατον, ἀλλʼ ὅπως αὐτῆς ἀπαλλάξεσθε, τοῦτʼ ἴσως ἔργον εὑρεῖν.
Indeed, the task is perhaps not to show that civil strife is the most difficult of evils, but rather how you will rid yourselves of it.
οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ συμφέροντος ἁμαρτάνειν μοι δοκεῖτε τοσοῦτον, ὅσον, εἰ οἷόν τε εἰπεῖν, ἀπονοίᾳ τινὶ καὶ τῶν διαφορῶν ἑκόντες ἡττώμενοι.
For you seem to me to err not so much through ignorance of what is useful, as—if one may say so—through a kind of madness and by willingly yielding to your differences.
λέγω δὴ κεφάλαιον, πρῶτον μὲν ὀργὴν ἅπασαν ἀπελθεῖν ἐκποδὼν ὡσπερεὶ πολιορκίαν, τὰ ἑαυτῆς ἔχουσαν· ὡς οὐ τῷ θυμῷ κάλλιστα τὰ πράγματα κρίνεται.
I speak therefore of the main point: first, that all anger should depart out of the way like a siege, taking its belongings with it; since affairs are not judged best by passion.
ἔπειτα φθόνον καὶ πλεονεξίαν ἑκατέρωθεν περιελεῖν· φθόνον μὲν λέγω τῶν ἐλαττόνων τοῖς μείζοσι, πλεονεξίαν δὲ εἰς τοὺς ἥττους τῶν μειζόνων· συνελόντι δʼ εἰπεῖν οἰκίας σχῆμα καὶ τύπον μιμήσασθαι.
Next, that envy and greed should be removed from both sides: by envy, I mean that of the inferior toward the superior; by greed, that of the superior toward the inferior; to speak briefly, to imitate the form and model of a household.
τί δὴ τοῦτʼ ἐστίν;
What indeed is this?
εἰσὶν ἄρχοντες ἐν οἰκίᾳ, πατέρες παίδων καὶ δούλων δεσπόται.
There are rulers in a household, fathers of children and masters of slaves.
πῶς οὖν οὗτοι καλῶς οἰκοῦσιν;
How then do these manage their house well?
ὅταν οἱ μὲν ἄρχοντες μὴ πάντʼ ἐξεῖναι νομίζωσιν ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλʼ ἑκόντες ὑφαιρῶσι τῆς ἐξουσίας, οἱ δʼ ὅ τι ἂν δοκῇ τοῖς κρείττοσιν ὡς ἐξὸν δέχωνται.
When the rulers do not think everything is permitted to them, but willingly reduce their own authority, while the others accept whatever seems good to their superiors as being lawful.
ἄνευ δὲ ταύτης τῆς ἑκατέρωθεν εὐγνωμοσύνης οὐ ῥᾴδιον εὑρεῖν οἰκίαν ἥτις σωθήσεται.
Without this mutual goodwill from both sides, it is not easy to find a household that will be saved.
τοῦτο τοίνυν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ κοινὰ τῆς πόλεως πράγματα ἀγαγεῖν ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ νῦν, λογιζομένους τοὺς μὲν ἀξιοῦντας εἶναι κρείττους ὅ τι ἂν §566τοὺς ἥττους ἑκόντες διαφθείρωσι τῇ σφετέρᾳ λυμαίνονται φιλοτιμίᾳ.
It seems to me, therefore, that we should apply this principle to the common affairs of the city now, reflecting that those who claim to be superior, whatever of the inferior they willingly destroy, they ruin by their own ambition.
τὸ γὰρ εἶναι τοὺς ἥττους κέρδος τοῖς κρείττοσιν, εἴπερ ἕξουσιν ὧν ἔσονται κρείττους δεικνύναι, τοὺς δὲ ἀπολειπομένους ἢ ταῖς οὐσίαις ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην τύχην, ὅτι τοῖς μείζοσιν, ἐὰν ἐπηρεάζωσι, τῇ σφετέρᾳ λυμαίνονται σωτηρίᾳ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ εἰ τὸ τεῖχος ἑκόντες καθῄρουν.
For the existence of the inferior is a gain to the superior, if indeed they are to have those over whom they can show themselves to be superior; while those who are left behind either in property or in other fortune must reflect that, if they insult the superior, they ruin their own safety far more than if they were willingly tearing down their wall.
νόμος γάρ ἐστιν οὗτος φύσει κείμενος ἀληθῶς ὑπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων καταδειχθεὶς, ἀκούειν τὸν ἥττω τοῦ κρείττονος.
For this is a law truly established by nature and demonstrated by the superior, that the inferior should listen to the superior.
κἄν τις ἐλευθερίας σύμβολον ποιῆται τὸ διαφθείρειν τὸν νόμον, αὑτὸν ἐξαπατᾷ καὶ ποιεῖ παραπλήσιον ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ κοινῇ πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῖς θεοῖς φθονήσαντες, εἶτα μὴ νομίζοιεν.
And if anyone makes the destruction of this law a symbol of freedom, he deceives himself and does something very similar to what all men would do if, in common, they envied the gods and then did not believe in them.
εἰ δέ τις ὑμῶν τῷ πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ πεπονθέναι πρὶν λαβεῖν δίκην, οὐκ ἀνεκτὸν ἡγεῖται καταλύσασθαι, πρῶτον μὲν αὑτῷ τοὔμπαλιν διάκειται.
And if any of you, because of having suffered many terrible things before receiving justice, thinks it intolerable to make peace, he is in the first place disposed in a way contrary to his own interest.
εἰ γὰρ τοσούτων καὶ τηλικούτων κακῶν ἡ στάσις αἰτία γίγνεται ὥστʼ ἀβίωτον νομίζειν εἰ μή τις ὁπωσοῦν δίκην λήψεται, πῶς οὐ φεύγειν κράτιστον ἀπʼ αὐτῆς;
For if civil strife becomes the cause of so many and so great evils that one considers life not worth living unless he takes vengeance in some way, how is it not best to flee from it?
ἔστι γὰρ εὖ φρονούντων ὧν μὲν εὐφραινόντων πεπείρανται μὴ θέλειν ἀφίστασθαι, ἃ δʼ οὕτως σκληρὰ καὶ ταραχώδη καὶ πανταχοῦ μεστὰ ἀηδίας εὑρήκασι, τούτων ὡς τάχιστα παύσασθαι, μὴ τὸ κακὸν τοῦ κακοῦ φάρμακον ἡγουμένους, ἀλλὰ νομίζοντας μνήμην καὶ λήθην δύο προσρήματα ἐναντίω δυοῖν ἐναντίοιν εἶναι πραγμάτοιν, καὶ δεῖν τὰ μὲν χρηστὰ τῇ μνήμῃ σημειοῦσθαι, τὰ δὲ φαῦλα τῇ λήθη παραγράφεσθαι.
For it is the part of those who are wise not to wish to depart from the pleasant things they have experienced, but to cease as quickly as possible from those which they have found to be so harsh, turbulent, and everywhere full of unpleasantness, not regarding evil as the medicine for evil, but believing that memory and forgetfulness are two opposite names for two opposite things, and that we must mark good things with memory, but write off bad things with forgetfulness.
ἔπειθʼ ὅταν καὶ παντάπασιν ὁ θυμὸς προσίστηται, τὸν ἀρχαῖον ἀντίπαλον παραλαμβάνοντας αὐτοῦ δεῖ τὸν λογισμὸν ὡδὶ λέγειν πρὸς αὑτοὺς, ἡμεῖς ἐσμὲν Ῥόδιοι, κἄν τις ἡμῖν Ἑλλήνων ἢ βαρβάρων εὐγενείας ἀμφισβητῇ, βουλοίμεθʼ ἂν αὐτοῦ κρατεῖν. οὐκοῦν ὅτε τοῦτο βουλόμεθα, ἡ πατρὶς ἡμῖν σωστέα κοινῇ, ἵνʼ ἔχοιμεν ἐφʼ ᾗ φρονοῖμεν.
Then, whenever anger completely stands in the way, calling upon its ancient adversary, reason, one must speak thus to oneself: "We are Rhodians, and if anyone of Greeks or barbarians disputes our nobility, we would wish to overcome him." Therefore, since we wish this, our homeland must be saved by us in common, so that we may have that of which we are proud.
οὐκοῦν στασιαζόντων μὲν ἀπόλλυται, μιᾷ δὲ γνώμῃ χρησαμένων ἅμα καλλίων καὶ μείζων γίγνεται.
Therefore, if we are in faction, it is destroyed, but if we employ one mind, it becomes at once more beautiful and greater.
τί οὖν ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς καταλύομεν;
Why then do we destroy ourselves?
ταῦθʼ εἷς ἕκαστος εἰ πρὸς αὑτὸν εἰπεῖν ἐθελήσειεν, οὐ δώσει
If each one should be willing to say these things to himself, he will not give...