§429τούτοις ἔτι κινδυνεύειν ἐπὶ στρατείας περὶ ψυχῆς, ὃ πᾶσιν ἁπάντων κτημάτων τιμιώτατον εἶναι συμβέβηκε καὶ πρῶτον ὁ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἄριστος ὁρίζεται, εἰ τούτοις ἕκαστος ἐχρήσατο τοῖς λογισμοῖς, οὐδʼ ἂν συνελέγη δή που τὸ στράτευμα τὴν ἀρχήν.
risk their lives furthermore on a campaign for the sake of the soul, which has happened to be the most precious of all possessions for all men, and which the best of the Greeks defines as the first—if each man had used these reasonings, the army would surely not have been gathered in the first place.
νῦν δὲ οἶμαι δύο ταῦτα ἦν τὰ κινοῦντα, τό τε τοῖς ὅρκοις πάλαι προκατειλῆφθαι θεῶν τινος, οἶμαι, προνοίᾳ καὶ τὸ κοινῇ πάντας ὑβρίσθαι δοκεῖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων καὶ μὴ δεῖν ἐπιτρέπειν.
But as it is, I think these two things were what moved them: both being bound beforehand by the oaths long ago, by the foresight, I think, of some god, and the appearing to all in common that they had been insulted by the foreigners and that they must not permit it.
προσθείη δʼ ἄν τις τάχα καὶ τρίτον τὸ τοῖς ἄρχουσι πείθεσθαι χρῆναι.
And one might perhaps add also a third: that it is necessary to obey the rulers.
μὴ δὴ τοῦτο σκοπῶμεν νῦν, τίνος χάριν τὴν στρατείαν ἠράμεθα ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀλλʼ ὅτι οὐ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐστι τότε μὲν τὰ ἄλλα πάντα δεύτερα ποιήσασθαι, νῦν δὲ πρὶν ὧν ἕνεχʼ ἥκομεν πρᾶξαι διαστῆναι.
Let us not then consider this now, for whose sake we undertook the campaign from the beginning, but rather that it is not the part of the same men at one time to make all other things secondary, and now to split up before accomplishing the things for which we came.
οὐ γὰρ τῇ προφάσει τῆς στρατείας ἀκόλουθον, ἀλλʼ ἐναντίον αὐτῇ τῇ στρατείᾳ φαίνεται· ἔπειτʼ οὐδὲ ὅμοιόν ἐστιν· ὅπως δὲ, ἀκούσει πρᾴως.
For it is not consistent with the pretext of the campaign, but seems contrary to the campaign itself; furthermore, it is not even the same; but how so, you shall hear mildly.
οὐ γὰρ ἵνα ἐλέγξω λέγω, ἀλλʼ ὅπως παραμυθήσωμαι· εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἐκομίζου τὴν ἄνθρωπον, εἰκότως ἂν εἰς ταῦτʼ ἀνεχώρεις, νῦν δὲ οὐ μόνον αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑπτὰ πρὸς αὐτῇ δίδωσιν· ἄλλα γὰρ ἐῶ τοσαῦτα τὸ πλῆθος.
For I do not speak in order to refute, but that I may comfort you; for if you were not recovering the woman, you would reasonably retreat to these things, but now he gives not only her, but also seven in addition to her; for I omit so many others in number.
καίτοι εἴ γε οἱ Τρῶες ἐβούλοντο τὴν Ἑλένην καὶ ὅσα μετʼ αὐτῆς ἄγοντες ᾤχοντο ἀποδιδόναι, οὐκ ἂν ἡμῖν ἦν λόγος πρὸς αὐτούς· εἰ δὲ δὴ καὶ παρʼ ἑαυτῶν οἴκοθεν προσετίθεσαν, οὐδὲ φωνὴν οὐδεὶς προήκατο ἂν ὡς οὐ χρὴ δέχεσθαι.
And yet if the Trojans had wished to return Helen and all the things they had gone off carrying with her, we would have had no dispute with them; and if indeed they had added something of their own from home, no one would have uttered even a sound to the effect that we must not accept it.
τί τούτου μέγα σημεῖον;
What is a great sign of this?
αὐτοὶ ταῦτα προὐκαλούμεθʼ αὐτοὺς κατʼ ἀρχὰς εὐθὺς, ἀλλʼ οὔτε ἐκείνων οὐδεὶς ταῦτα ἐβούλετο ποιεῖν, σοί τε ἣν ἀφῃρέθης, ἐπάνεισι μετὰ πολλῶν.
We ourselves proposed these things to them straightway at the beginning, but none of them wished to do these things, and she of whom you were deprived returns to you with many gifts.
εἰ δʼ αὖ καὶ δίκην δεῖ προσυποσχεῖν τῆς ὕβρεως, δέδωκε καὶ μάλα πολλὴν ἐκεῖνός γε.
And if, on the other hand, a penalty must also be paid for the insult, he at least has paid a very great one.
χωρὶς γὰρ ὧν ἀπολώλεκε τοσούτων τὸ πλῆθος στρατιωτῶν τήν γε ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου καὶ τοῦ ταπεινὸς εἶναι πηλίκην τινʼ οἴει σοι δίδωσι δίκην;
For apart from so great a multitude of soldiers whom he has lost, how great a penalty do you think he pays you from his fear and being humbled?
§430οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο γε οὐδὲν νῦν ἢ τὸ σχῆμα πᾶν ἀποτέθειται, ἱκέτης ἐκ βασιλέως καὶ δοῦλος ἐξ ἐλευθέρου γεγονὼς, καὶ εἰ δεῖ τἀληθέστερον εἰπεῖν, ἐλέῳ θαρρῶν, ἐὰν τὰ κράτιστα φέρηται παρὰ τῆς τύχης. καὶ μὴν εἰ δεῖ καὶ τούτων μνημονεύειν, ἐκεῖνο ἐνθυμήθητι· τῶν ἀτόπων ἐστὶ συλλεγομένης μὲν τότε τῆς στρατιᾶς οὕτω προθύμως ἔχειν σε πρὸς τὸ μετασχεῖν τῶν πραγμάτων, ὥστʼ ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα εἶδες τὰ ὅπλα ὁρμῆσαι πρὸς αὐτὰ καὶ μὴ κατασχεῖν σεαυτὸν, καὶ ταῦτα ὄντα παῖδα κἀν ταῖς κόραις κρυπτόμενον, νῦν δʼ ἐπειδὴ τηλικόσδʼ εἶ καὶ παῖδα ἔχεις ὡραῖον ὡς συνεῖναι καὶ στρατεύεσθαι, καὶ δόξαν τὴν πρώτην ἐν ἅπασιν εἴληφας, βούλεσθαι μὴ χρῆσθαι τοῖς ὅπλοις τοῖς σαυτοῦ, ἀλλὰ ζητεῖν προφάσεις διʼ ἃς προήσει πάντα, καὶ τότε μὲν τὴν παῖδα ἀπολιπεῖν ῥᾳδίως, ἧς τί σοι φίλτερον εἰκὸς εἶναι; καὶ ἣν ὁμότιμον ἐκτήσω γυναῖκα σαυτῷ, νῦν δʼ ἑτέρας παιδὸς ἕνεκα τἀναντία γνῶναι σαυτῷ περὶ τῶν ὅλων.
indeed now he has put aside nothing else than his entire dignity, having become a suppliant from a king and a slave from a free man, and if the truth must be told more plainly, trusting to mercy, even if he should obtain the best from fortune. And indeed, if it is necessary to mention these things also, bear this in mind: it is among the absurd things, when the army was being gathered then, for you to be so eager to share in the events, that as soon as you saw the weapons you rushed toward them and did not restrain yourself, and that too though you were a child and hidden among the girls, but now, when you are of such an age and have a son of an age to be with you and to go on campaign, and have received the first glory among all, to wish not to use your own weapons, but to seek pretexts through which you will abandon everything, and then indeed to have left the girl easily—of whom what is it reasonable to be dearer to you, whom you acquired as a wife of equal honor to yourself?—but now, for the sake of another girl, to decide the opposite to yourself concerning the whole situation.
σκόπει μὴ οὐδὲ τῆς Δηιδαμείας ᾖ ταῦτα ἄξια ἐπαινέσαι, μή τί γε ἀνδρὸς ὅτου καὶ μνησθῆναι καλόν.
Consider whether these things are not worthy of praise even for Deidameia, let alone for any man whose name it is honorable even to remember.
καὶ λέγεις δὴ τὰς μοίρας τὰς διττὰς ἀκηκοέναι παρὰ τῆς μητρὸς ἄριστα εἰδυίας περὶ αὐτῶν.
And you say indeed that you have heard of the two fates from your mother, who knows best about them.
ἐγὼ δὲ ἀμφιγνοῶ μὲν εἴτε σπουδάζων ταῦτα λέγεις εἴτʼ ἐρεσχελῶν ἡμᾶς καὶ φιλονεικίᾳ τινὶ θυμοῦ· οὐ γὰρ σοί γε οἱ λόγοι· πολλοῖς ἔργοις τοῦτο σοῖς τεκμαίρομαι.
But I am in doubt whether you say these things in earnest, or mocking us and from some contentiousness of anger; for the words are not yours; I infer this from many of your deeds.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ εἰ τὰ μάλιστα ἐσπούδακας, ἔστι σοι καὶ τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων ὅμως τὰ δέοντα βουλεύσασθαι· μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ ἔγωγε φαίην ἂν τὴν μητέρα σου ποιεῖσθαι τούτοις συγκατατίθεσθαι τοῖς λόγοις, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ διδάσκαλος οὕτως ἐπαίδευόν σε πειρώμενοι, ἔπειτʼ ἐνταῦθα δὴ καὶ τὸ πάνδεινόν ἐστιν, εἰ παρʼ αὐτοὺς μὲν τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν οὕτως ἐρρωμένως ἔσχες ὥστε τὴν εὐδοξίαν καὶ τὸ καλὸν πρὸ τῆς ἀσφαλείας καὶ τοῦ γήρως αἱρεῖσθαι, ἐπειδὴ δὲ
Nevertheless, if you are in the greatest earnest, it is still possible for you, even if these things are so, to deliberate on what is necessary; for I especially would say that you are pretending that your mother agrees to these words, since both your father and your teacher so educated you by trying, and then indeed herein is the terrible thing, if at the very words and the hearing you were so strongly resolved that you chose good reputation and the noble before safety and old age, but when...