§571φατὲ μὲν τὴν νῆσον ἅπασαν ὑμῖν εἶναι μουσικὴν καὶ τούτου τὴν Ὀρφέως κεφαλὴν αἰτιᾶσθε, αὐτοὶ δʼ οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθε οὕτως ἀμούσως διακείμενοι;
You say indeed that your entire island is musical, and you attribute this to the head of Orpheus, but are you not ashamed of yourselves for being in such an unmusical state?
καὶ κιθαρῳδοῖς μέν ποτε τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐνικᾶτε, τῷ δʼ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν μὴ δύνασθαι βουλεύσασθαι κινδυνεύετε ἡττᾶσθαι καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων;
And whereas you once defeated the Greeks in playing the cithara, are you now in danger of being defeated even by all mankind through your inability to deliberate on your own behalf?
καὶ πρότερον μὲν παρʼ ὑμῶν ἑτέρωσε βαδίζοντες ἔπαυον τὰς στάσεις, νῦν δὲ οὐδὲ παρʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς γνῶναι δύνασθε;
And whereas previously those who went out from you to other places would put an end to their civil strifes, can you now not even bring yourselves to reason among yourselves?
ταῦτʼ ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ τις ἂν ὀρθῶς καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εἰπεῖν νουθετῶν.
These things, it seems to me, one might rightly say to them by way of admonition.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἐκείνοις μὲν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐκ παλαιοῦ τὸ ἄλογον τοῦτο τῆς δυστυχίας συνείμαρται καὶ πολλάκις ἠλέγχθησαν οὐχ ὡς δεῖ διακείμενοι, ὑμῖν δὲ οὐδαμόθεν προσήκει τὸ νόσημα, οὓς ἡμεῖς, καὶ ὅτε ἦμεν παρʼ ὑμῖν, τότε ἑωρῶμεν κἀν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις οὐ μόνον μιᾷ φωνῇ χρωμένους, ἀλλʼ εἰ οἷόν τʼ εἰπεῖν, καὶ ἑνὶ ῥήματι ὡς τὸ πολὺ—ὀρθῶς γὰρ καὶ στεφάνου καὶ τοιαῦθʼ ὑμῖν ἤρκει καὶ τοὔνομα τοῦ δημηγοροῦντος ἀνειπεῖν ἐνίοτε, γάνυσθαι δὲ ἦν ὁρῶντα— καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς χειροτονίας τῷ νεύματι τῆς κεφαλῆς χρωμένους.
However, for them, as it seems, this irrationality of misfortune has been fated from of old, and they have often been proved to be in an improper state; but for you, this disease is in no way fitting—you whom we, even when we were among you, then saw in your assemblies not only using one voice, but, if one may say so, for the most part even one word—for it was enough for you to cry "Right!" or "A crown!" and such things, and sometimes the name of the speaker, and it was a joy to behold—and using a nod of the head instead of a show of hands.
ὥστε μόνους ἄν τις ὑμᾶς ἔφη διʼ αἰῶνος ἄγειν ἐκεχειρίαν· ὧν οὐκ ἄξια πυνθάνομαι τὰ νῦν, οὐδὲ μικρόν τι καὶ ἄγνωστον τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ παραλλάττοντα.
So that anyone would have said that you alone kept a truce through all time; of which the things I now hear are not worthy, nor do they depart from the rhythm by only a little or in an unnoticed way.
λυπηρὸν δέ μοι κἀκεῖνο, εἰ τοῖς μὲν ἐκ γενετῆς ὀνόμασιν οὕτω σφόδρα ἑλληνίζοντες ἐφαίνεσθε, ὥστʼ οὐδὲν ἦν εὑρεῖν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν παρʼ ὑμῖν ὄνομα ὅ τι μὴ Δώριον, ἀπὸ τῶν ὑμετέρων ξένων ἀρξάμενα, ἐν δὲ τῇ πολιτείᾳ τὴν πάτριον ἁρμονίαν καὶ τὴν ἀληθῶς Δωριστὶ μεθέντες κακῶν ξενικῶν καὶ πᾶσι μᾶλλον ἢ ὑμῖν προσηκόντων κληρονομήσετε.
This also is painful to me: if you appeared so thoroughly Greek in your native names that one could find virtually no name among you that was not Doric, starting from your foreign guests, yet in your constitution, abandoning your ancestral harmony and that which is truly in the Doric mode, you will inherit foreign evils and those fitting for anyone rather than yourselves.
μηδαμῶς, ὦ ἄνδρες καλοί τε καὶ ἀγαθοὶ, ἀλλʼ ἐνθυμηθέντες τὸ πάλαι τοῦτο ᾀδόμενον, ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἡμαρτημένων ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν οὐκ ἔστʼ ἀνελεῖν οὐδὲν, ἀλλʼ ἔχει πέρας οἷον ὁ καιρὸς ἤνεγκεν, ἀκεσταὶ δὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν φρένες, ὡς ὁ τῶν Ῥοδίων φησὶν ἐπαινέτης, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀναμαρτήτους φῦναι θεῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς οὐδεὶς ἀναμάρτητος, τὸ δὲ τοῖς εὖ λέγουσιν ἐθελῆσαι πεισθῆναι πρέπον ὑμῖν καὶ τῷ θεῷ μάλιστʼ ἂν οὕτω χαρίζεσθαι νομίσαντες, ᾧ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦθʼ ὁ ποιητὴς καθιέρωκεν ὄντι θαλαττίῳ, ὅς κε θεοῖς ἐπιπείθηται, καὶ πρὸς §572τούτοις λυσιτελέστερον μὲν εἶναι δουλεύειν ἢ κακῶν ἐφόδιον τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἔχειν, ὅμως δʼ εἶναι δέος μὴ καὶ τούτου στερηθῆτε· μέγιστον δὲ πάντων ἱερὰ καὶ τάφους αἰσχυνθέντες καὶ τὸ τῆς Ῥόδου μέχρι τούτου ζηλωτὸν ὄνομα, παύσασθε τοῦ σεισμοῦ τούτου, ὃς ὑμῖν πανταχοῦ συμπεριέρχεται, καὶ μὴ δευτέρων σχετλιωτέρων δεῖσθε, ἀλλὰ γένεσθε ἐν ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, ἵνʼ ἡμεῖς τε ἐφʼ ὑμῖν ὡς ἑταίροις ἀγαθοῖς φιλοτιμώμεθα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ὡς οἵοις πείθειν ὅτου καιρὸς ἀεί.
By no means, noble and good men, but consider that which has been sung of old, that "of the sins committed on this side and on that, it is not possible to undo anything, but they have such an end as occasion brought, yet the minds of the good are curable," as the praiser of the Rhodesians says; and believe that to be born without error from the beginning belongs to the gods, and of those on earth no one is without error, and that to be willing to be persuaded by those who speak well is fitting for you, and that you would in this way best please the god to whom the poet dedicated this saying, he being of the sea, "whoever obeys the gods, [them they hear]"; and in addition to these things, that it is more profitable to be in subjection than to have freedom as a provision for evils, but nevertheless that there is fear lest you be deprived of this as well; and most of all, respecting your sanctuaries and tombs and the hitherto enviable name of Rhodes, put an end to this earthquake which accompanies you everywhere, and do not stand in need of a second and more cruel one, but come to yourselves, so that we may be proud of you as good companions, and you of us as those capable of persuading you whenever there is need.