§4.1Huius post mortem cum populum iudicii sui paeniteret, multae novem partes detraxit et decem talenta Cononem, filium eius, ad muri quandam partem reficiendam iussit dare.
After his death, when the people repented of their judgment, they struck off nine-tenths of the fine and ordered Conon, his son, to give ten talents for repairing a certain part of the wall.
in quo fortunae varietas est animadversa. nam quos avus muros ex hostium praeda patriae restituerat, eosdem nepos cum summa ignominia familiae ex sua re familiari reficere coactus est.
In this, a variation of fortune was observed; for the very same walls that the grandfather had restored to his country from the spoils of the enemy, the grandson was compelled to rebuild from his own family property, to the utmost disgrace of his family.
§4.2Timothei autem moderatae sapientisque vitae cum pleraque possimus proferre testimonia, uno erimus contenti, quod ex eo facile conici poterit, quam carus suis fuerit.
Moreover, although we could produce many testimonies of the moderate and wise life of Timotheus, we shall be content with one, from which it can easily be conjectured how dear he was to his own people.
cum Athenis adulescentulus causam diceret, non solum amici privatique hospites ad eum defendendum convenerunt, sed etiam in eis Iason, tyrannus Thessaliae, qui illo tempore fuit omnium potentissimus.
When as a young man he was pleading his cause at Athens, not only did his friends and private guest-friends assemble to defend him, but also among them came Jason, the tyrant of Thessaly, who at that time was the most powerful of all men.
§4.3hic cum in patria sine satellitibus se tutum non arbitraretur, Athenas sine ullo praesidio venit tantique hospitem fecit, ut mallet se capitis periculum adire quam Timotheo de fama dimicanti deesse.
This man, although he did not think himself safe in his own country without bodyguards, came to Athens without any protection, and valued his guest-friend so highly that he preferred to face the danger of his life rather than fail Timotheus when he was fighting for his reputation.
hunc adversus tamen Timotheus postea populi iussu bellum gessit: patriae enim sanctiora iura quam hospitii esse duxit.
Yet, against this very man Timotheus afterwards waged war by order of the people; for he deemed the rights of his country to be more sacred than those of hospitality.
§4.4Haec extrema fuit aetas imperatorum Atheniensium, Iphicratis, Chabriae, Timothei, neque post illorum obitum quisquam dux in illa urbe fuit dignus memoria.
This was the last age of Athenian generals—Iphicrates, Chabrias, and Timotheus; nor after their death was there any leader in that city worthy of memory.
§4.5Venio nunc ad fortissimum virum maximique consilii omnium barbarorum, exceptis duobus Karthaginiensibus, Hamilcare et Hannibale.
I come now to the bravest man of the greatest counsel among all the barbarians, with the exception of the two Carthaginians, Hamilcar and Hannibal.
§4.6de quo hoc plura referemus, quod et obscuriora sunt eius gesta pleraque et ea, quae prospere ei cesserunt, non magnitudine copiarum, sed consilii, quo tum omnes superabat, acciderunt: quorum nisi ratio explicata fuerit, res apparere non poterunt.
Concerning whom we shall relate more details for this reason, that most of his exploits are somewhat obscure, and those which turned out successfully for him occurred not through the size of his forces, but through his counsel, in which he then surpassed everyone; unless the rationale of these is explained, the events cannot become clear.