§569τῶν ὑμετέρων αὐτῶν καλῶν μὴ φείδεσθαι.
not to spare your own beautiful things.
ἐνθυμήθητε δὲ ὅσην φιλοτιμίαν ὑμῖν ἔχει τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν εἰς ὑμᾶς εἰρημένα, ὧν ἐγὼ τοὺς λόγους ὑπερβὰς τῆς Ὁμήρου μόνης μαρτυρίας μνησθήσομαι.
Consider how much glory the things spoken by the poets about you bring to you, of whose words I will pass over the rest and make mention of the testimony of Homer alone.
ἔχει δὲ αὕτη πῶς;
And how does this go?
"οἳ Ῥόδον ἀμφενέμοντο διὰ τρίχα κοσμηθέντες,
Λίνδον, Ἰηλυσσόν τε καὶ ἀργινόεντα Κάμειρον. "
δάκνομαι μὲν ἔγωγʼ ἤδη πρὸς τὸ ῥῆμα, σκοπῶν ὡς ἀναξίως αὐτοῦ διακείμεθα, οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ νῦν ἀγόμενοι.
"Who dwelt in Rhodes, marshaled in three divisions, Lindos, Ialysos, and gleaming Kameiros." I indeed am already stung by this verse, seeing how unworthily of it we are situated, being guided now in no order.
τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ποῖʼ ἄττα τῆς μαρτυρίας;
And what is the rest of the testimony like?
"τριχθὰ δὲ ᾤκηθεν καταφυλαδὸν ἠδὲ φίληθεν
ἐκ Διὸς, ὅστε θεοῖσι καὶ ἀνθρώποισιν ἀνάσσει. "
ἐνθυμεῖσθʼ ὅτι πάντα σχεδὸν εὐφημήσας εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας ὁ ποιητὴς τὰ μέγιστα τῶν πάντων ὑμῖν ἀνέθηκε.
"And they dwelt in three divisions by tribes, and were loved by Zeus, who rules over gods and men." Consider that the poet, having praised almost all the Greeks, bestowed upon you the greatest of all things.
πότερον οὖν στασιάζοντες καὶ τεταραγμένοι καὶ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς μισοῦντες μᾶλλον ἂν εἶναι θεοφιλεῖς ἡγεῖσθε καὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ ποιητοῦ βεβαιοῦν, ἢ διʼ εὐνομίας καὶ ὁμονοίας ἄγοντες τὴν πόλιν;
Do you then think that by engaging in civil strife, being thrown into confusion, and hating one another, you would rather be loved by the gods and confirm the poet’s words, or by guiding the city through good order and concord?
εἶεν.
Very well.
θεοφιλεῖς δὲ ὄντες πότερον στασιάζειν καὶ ταράττεσθαι καὶ κατάραις ἐχθρῶν συζῆν μᾶλλον ἂν οἴεσθε ἢ τοὐναντίον ὡς αἱ τῶν σωφρόνων εὐχαὶ πράττειν, τιμᾶν μὲν τοὺς θεοὺς, γνωρίζειν δὲ ἀλλήλους, εὐθενεῖν δὲ τοῖς ἅπασιν;
Since you are loved by the gods, do you think it is more fitting to engage in civil strife, to be thrown into confusion, and to live with the curses of your enemies, or, on the contrary, to act according to the prayers of the wise—to honor the gods, to recognize one another, and to prosper in all things?
οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ διʼ ἀμφοτέρων ἡ μὲν στάσις ὑμῶν ἀλλότριον καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθρὸν, ἡ δὲ ὁμόνοια μόνον σωτήριον φαίνεται, προσήκει δήπουθεν ὡς ἐν χρημάτων λογισμῷ τὸ συμβαῖνον δέχεσθαι.
Since, therefore, through both comparisons, civil strife appears alien to you and hostile to the gods, while concord alone appears to be salvation, it is surely fitting to accept the outcome as in a calculation of money.
καὶ μὴν οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνο εὔλογον, τοὺς μὲν προγόνους ὑμῶν τριχῆ πρότερον μεμερισμένους συνελθεῖν εἰς ταυτὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὁμονοίας καὶ πίστεως καὶ μίαν ἐξ ἁπασῶν πόλιν οἰκῆσαι, ὑμᾶς δὲ ἐκ μιᾶς πόλεως πολλὰς ἀποφῆναι τῷ διῃρῆσθαι.
Moreover, neither is it reasonable that, while your ancestors, previously divided into three, came together into the same place for the sake of concord and mutual trust, and inhabited one city out of all, you should make many cities out of one by being divided.
ὑπερβολὴ δʼ ἂν γένοιτο, εἰ τριχῆ μὲν οἰκοῦντες ἓν καὶ ταυτὸν φρονοῦντες ἐδείκνυσθʼ, ὁμοῦ δʼ ὄντες ἀλλήλοις πολεμήσετε.
And it would be the height of absurdity if, while living in three divisions you showed yourselves to have one and the same mind, you should now, being together, wage war on one another.
οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθε τὸν Ἥλιον, ὃς τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις θεατής ἐστι τῶν γιγνομένων, ὑμῶν δὲ καὶ ἀρχηγέτης;
Are you not ashamed before the Sun, who is a spectator of events for others, but for you is also your founder?
οὐχ ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τὴν παροῦσαν ἡμέραν ἡγήσεται ταύτην πρώτην εἶναι τῇ νήσῳ τῆς γενέσεως, ὅτʼ ἐκ τῆς θαλάττης ἀνῄει δῶρον τῷ θεῷ;
Will not each of you consider the present day to be the very first day of the island's birth, when it rose from the sea as a gift to the god?
οὐχ ὅπως μὴ τῶν §570ἱεροσύλων φαυλότερος φανεῖται λυμαινόμενος τῷ κλήρῳ τοῦ θεοῦ φροντιεῖ;
Will he not take care lest, by damaging the god's portion, he should appear more wretched than temple-robbers?
οὐ τὰς χεῖρας ἄρας ἄνω σὺν αἰδοῖ καὶ δέει συγγνώμην αἰτήσει τῶν μέχρι τοῦδε ἡμαρτημένων τοὺς θεοὺς, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἐν σκοτομαίνῃ φθείρεσθε τὴν ἱερὰν τοῦ ἡλίου πόλιν νεμόμενοι;
Will he not, raising his hands on high with reverence and fear, ask the gods for forgiveness for the sins committed up to this point, rather than ruining yourselves as if in total darkness while inhabiting the sacred city of the Sun?
ἢ νομίζετε τοὺς σὺν Ὀδυσσεῖ Κεφαλλῆνας οὕτως ἐναγεῖς εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ δόξειν ὡς ὑμᾶς, εἰ διαπορθήσετʼ αὐτῷ τὴν πόλιν;
Or do you think that the Cephallenians with Odysseus will seem to have been so accursed by the god as you, if you utterly destroy his city for him?
καὶ μὴν εἰ καὶ τοῦτο δεῖ προσθεῖναι, κἀκεῖνοι μέχρι μὲν τῆς ἀρίστης γνώμης ἠκροῶντο καὶ ὡμονόουν, ἀπείχοντο τῶν βοῶν καὶ ἐσώζοντο. ἐπεὶ δὲ διέστησαν. ἀπώλοντο πλὴν ἑνὸς τοῦ τὰ βέλτιστα συμβουλεύοντος.
Indeed, if this too must be added, they also listened and were in agreement as long as they followed the best counsel, abstained from the cattle, and were saved; but when they fell into discord, they perished except for the one who advised the best things.
ἀποβλέψατε δὴ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς τρίποδας τοὺς ἐν Διονύσου τουτουσὶ, πάντως δὲ χαίρετε αὐτοὺς προσορῶντες.
Look also at these tripods here in the temple of Dionysus, at which you surely rejoice when you look upon them.
ἆρʼ οὖν ποτʼ ἂν οὗτοι σταθῆναι δοκοῦσιν ὑμῖν, τῶν χορῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς μαχομένων;
Do you think these would ever have been set up if the choruses had been fighting among themselves?
ἢ τοῦτό γε εὔδηλον ὅτι κἂν εἰ μὴ τἀναντία μηδʼ ἄλλος ἄλλο τι, ταὐτὰ δὲ ῥήματα μὴ κατὰ ταυτὸν ἅπαντες ᾖδον, φεύγειν λοιπὸν ἦν αὐτοῖς;
Or is this at least clear, that even if they did not sing opposite things or different things, but simply did not all sing the same words at the same time, they would have had no choice but to depart?
καὶ μὴν οὐδεὶς χορὸς ἀσύμφωνος οὕτως ἄωρον θέαμα ὡς ὁ Ῥοδίων δῆμος μὴ ταυτὸν φθεγγόμενος.
Indeed, no discordant chorus is so unseasonable a spectacle as the people of Rhodes when not uttering the same voice.
εἶεν.
Very well.
οἱ δὲ τοὺς λῃστὰς ἐκεῖνοι καταδιώξαντες καὶ τὰ νεώρια κοσμήσαντες τοῖς ἐμβόλοις καὶ ταῖς μεγάλαις ἐκείναις τριήρεσιν, ἃς ἡμεῖς εἴδομεν πρὸ τοῦ σεισμοῦ, πρὸς θεῶν εἰ μὴ Τυρρηνοῖς μηδὲ τοῖς πλοίοις τοῖς λῃστικοῖς, ἀλλʼ αὐτοῖς κατὰ ναῦν ἐμάχοντο, ἆρʼ ἄν ποτε τῆς θαλάττης ἦρξαν, ἢ τοὺς κόσμους τούτους εἰσήγαγον εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ἢ φιλοτιμεῖσθαι τοῖς ἐξ αὑτῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις τούτοις κατέλιπον;
Those ancestors who pursued the pirates and adorned the docks with beaks and those great triremes, which we saw before the earthquake, by the gods, if they had fought not against the Tyrrhenians or the pirate ships, but against one another on board, would they ever have ruled the sea, or introduced these ornaments into the city, or left to their descendants the opportunity to be ambitious for these deeds?
ἀλλʼ, οἶμαι, περὶ σωτηρίας ἂν αὐτοῖς πρότερον ἐγένετο.
No, I think, their concern would have been first for their survival.
εἶτα ἐν νηὶ μὲν στάσις οὐχὶ σωτήριον, ἐν δὲ πόλει καὶ ταύτῃ περιρρύτῳ φθείρειν ἀλλήλους συνεζευγμένους σῶφρον, ἢ τὰ Λεσβίων καὶ τὰ Μυτιληναίων κακὰ μιμεῖσθαι Ῥοδίους ὄντας;
If, then, civil strife on a ship is not saving, is it wise in a city, and that one surrounded by water, to destroy one another while bound together, or, being Rhodesians, to imitate the evils of the Lesbians and Mytileneans?
ἀλλὰ πολλῷ βέλτιον ἦν ἐκείνους τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐνομίας ἐπιθυμήσαντας ὁρᾶσθαι ἢ τῆς ἐκείνων δυστυχίας ὑμᾶς ὑπομεῖναι μιμητὰς γενέσθαι.
Rather, it was much better for them to be seen desiring your good order than for you to submit to becoming imitators of their misfortune.
καίτοι πρέποντα μὲν ἄν τις ἔχοι καὶ πρὸς ἐκείνους εἰπεῖν καὶ ἱκνούμενα, ἄνδρες Λέσβιοι ποῖ προήχθητε;
Yet one could say appropriate and fitting words even to them: "Men of Lesbos, where have you been led?
οἳ
You who..."