§2.1Primus autem gradus fuit capessendae rei publicae bello Corcyraeo: ad quod gerendum praetor a populo factus non solum praesenti bello, sed etiam reliquo tempore ferociorem reddidit civitatem.
But the first step in entering public life was during the Corcyraean War; having been appointed general by the people to conduct this war, he made the state more formidable, not only in the present war but also for the future.
§2.2nam cum pecunia publica, quae ex metallis redibat, largitione magistratuum quotannis interiret, ille persuasit populo ut ea pecunia classis centum navium aedificaretur.
For when the public money, which came from the mines, was wasted every year by the distribution of the magistrates, he persuaded the people that a fleet of a hundred ships should be built with that money.
§2.3qua celeriter effecta primum Corcyraeos fregit, deinde maritimos praedones consectando mare tutum reddidit.
This having been quickly built, he first crushed the Corcyraeans, and then, by pursuing the pirates, made the sea safe.
in quo cum divitiis ornavit, tum etiam peritissimos belli navalis fecit Athenienses.
In doing this, he both enriched the Athenians and made them highly skilled in naval warfare.
§2.4id quantae saluti fuerit universae Graeciae, bello cognitum est Persico.
How great a salvation this proved to the whole of Greece was made known in the Persian War.
nam cum Xerxes et mari et terra bellum universae inferret Europae, cum tantis copiis eam invasit, quantas neque ante nec postea habuit quisquam:
For when Xerxes declared war against all Europe both by land and sea, he invaded it with such great forces as no one had ever had before or after.
§2.5huius enim classis mille et ducentarum navium longarum fuit, quam duo milia onerariarum sequebantur, terrestris autem exercitus septingenta peditum, equitum quadringenta milia fuerunt.
For his fleet consisted of twelve hundred warships, which were followed by two thousand transport ships, while his land army consisted of seven hundred thousand infantry and forty thousand cavalry.
§2.6cuius de adventu cum fama in Graeciam esset perlata et maxime Athenienses peti dicerentur propter pugnam Marathoniam, miserunt Delphos consultum, quidnam facerent de rebus suis.
When the rumor of his approach was brought into Greece, and it was said that the Athenians were especially targeted because of the Battle of Marathon, they sent to Delphi to consult what they should do about their affairs.
deliberantibus Pythia respondit, ut moenibus ligneis se munirent.
To them deliberating, the Pythia answered that they should defend themselves with wooden walls.
§2.7id responsum quo valeret cum intellegeret nemo, Themistocles persuasit consilium esse Apollinis, ut in naves se suaque conferrent: eum enim a deo significari murum ligneum.
Since no one understood what this answer meant, Themistocles persuaded them that it was the counsel of Apollo that they should convey themselves and their property into ships; for that the wooden wall was meant by the god to signify these.
§2.8tali consilio probato addunt ad superiores totidem naves triremes suaque omnia, quae moveri poterant, partim Salamina, partim Troezena deportant: arcem sacerdotibus paucisque maioribus natu ad sacra procuranda tradunt, reliquum oppidum relinquunt.
This counsel being approved, they added as many triremes to their former ships, and carried away all their property that could be moved, partly to Salamis and partly to Troezen; they committed the citadel to the priests and a few elders to take care of the sacred rites, and left the rest of the town.