Part 22

Τοιαῦτα εἰπόντος τοῦ Καίσαρος καὶ λέγειν ἔτι βουλομένου, μόγις καὶ πρότερον ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος καρτερῶν οὐκέτι κατέσχεν, ἀλλὰ μετά τινος ταραχῆς καὶ ἀγωνίας, [B] Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, μέχρι τίνος ἀνέξομαι σιωπῇ τῆς θρασύτητος τῆς τούτου; πέρας γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστιν, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, οὔτε τῶν εἰς αὑτὸν ἐπαίνων οὔτε τῶν εἰς ἐμὲ βλασφημιῶν. ἐχρῆν δὲ ἴσως μάλιστα μὲν ἀμφοῖν φείδεσθαι· καί γὰρ εἶναί πως ἀμφότερα δοκεῖ παραπλησίως ἐπαχθῆ· πλέον δὲ τοῦ τἀμὰ διασύρειν ἄλλως τε καὶ μιμητὴν αὐτῶν γενόμενον. ὁ δὲ εἰς τοῦτο ἦλθεν ἀναισχυντίας, [C] ὥστε τολμῆσαι τὰ ἀρχέτυπα κωμῳδεῖν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἔργων. ἐχρῆν δέ, ὦ Καῖσαρ, ὑπομνησθῆναί σε τῶν δακρύων ἐκείνων, ἃ τότε ἀφῆκας, ἀκροώμενος τῶν ὑπομνημάτων, ὅσα πεποίηται περὶ τῶν ἐμῶν πράξεων. ἀλλ᾽ ὁ Πομπήιος ἐπῆρέ σε μετὰ τοῦτο, κολακευθεὶς μὲν παρὰ τῶν πολιτῶν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ, γενόμενος δὲ οὐδεὶς οὐδαμοῦ. [D] τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ Λιβύης θριαμβεῦσαι, οὐ μέγα ἔργον, ὀνομαστότατον ἐποίησεν ἡ τῶν τότε ὑπάτων μαλακία. τὸν δουλικὸν δὲ ἐκεῖνον πόλεμον, οὐδὲ πρὸς ἄνδρας γενόμενον, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοὺς χειρίστους τῶν οἰκετῶν, ἄλλοι μὲν κατειργάσαντο, Κράσσοι καὶ Λούκιοι, τοὔνομα δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἔσχε Πομπήιος. Ἀρμενίαν δὲ καὶ τὰ πρόσοικα ταύτης κατεπολέμησε Λούκουλλος, ἐθριάμβευσε δὲ ἀπὸ τούτων Πομπήιος. [323] εἶτ᾽ ἐκολάκευσαν αὐτὸν οἱ πολῖται καὶ Μέγαν ὠνόμασαν, ὄντα τίνος τῶν πρὸ ἑαυτοῦ μείζονα; τί γὰρ ἐκείνῳ τοσοῦτον ἐπράχθη, ἡλίκον Μαρίῳ ἢ Σκηπίωσι τοῖς δύο ἢ τῷ παρὰ τὸν Κυρῖνον τουτονὶ Φουρίῳ, ὃς μικροῦ συμπεσοῦσαν τὴν τούτου πόλιν ἀνέστησεν; οὗτοι γὰρ οὐκ ἀλλοτρίοις ἔργοις, ὥσπερ ἐν πολιτικαῖς οἰκοδομίαις καὶ δαπανήμασιν ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων καταβληθείσαις [B] καὶ ἐπιτελεσθείσαις ἕτερος ἄρχων ἐπεγράφη μικρὰ κονιάσας τὸν τοῖχον, οὕτω ταῖς ἀλλοτρίαις ἐπεγράφησαν πράξεσιν· ἀρχιτέκτονες δὲ αὐτοὶ καὶ δημιουργοὶ γενόμενοι τῶν καλλίστων ἠξιώθησαν ὀνομάτων. οὐδὲν οὖν θαυμαστόν, εἰ κεκράτηκας Πομπηίου δακτύλῳ κνωμένου καὶ τἆλλα ἀλώπεκος μᾶλλον ἢ λέοντος. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἡ τύχη προύδωκεν, ἣ τὸν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνον αὐτῷ παρειστήκει, ταχέως ἐκράτησας μόνου. καὶ ὅτι δεινότητι μὲν οὐδεμιᾷ κρείττων ἐγένου, [C] φανερόν· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἐνδείᾳ γεγονὼς(619) τῶν ἐπιτηδείων· ἔστι δὲ οὐ μικρόν, ὡς οἶσθα, τοῦτο ἁμάρτημα στρατηγοῦ· καὶ μάχῃ συμβαλὼν ἡττήθης. εἰ δὲ Πομπήιος ὑπ᾽ ἀφροσύνης τε καὶ ἀνοίας ἢ τοῦ μὴ δύνασθαι τῶν πολιτῶν ἄρχειν οὔτε, ἡνίκα ἔδει τρίβειν τὸν πόλεμον, ὑπερετίθετο τὴν μάχην οὔτε τῇ νίκῃ(620) νικῶν ἐπεξῄει, ὑπὸ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἁμαρτήμασι [D] καὶ οὐχ ὑπὸ τοῖς σοῖς ἐσφάλη στρατηγήμασι.

(When Caesar had spoken to this effect he still wished to go on talking, but Alexander, who had with difficulty restrained himself hitherto, now lost patience, and with some agitation and combativeness: “But _I_,” said he, “O Jupiter and ye other gods, how long must I endure in silence the insolence of this man? There is, as you see, no limit to his praise of himself or his abuse of me. It would have better become him perhaps to refrain from both, since both are alike insupportable, but especially from disparaging my conduct, the more since he imitated it. But he has arrived at such a pitch of impudence that he dares to ridicule the model of his own exploits. Nay, Caesar, you ought to have remembered those tears you shed on hearing of the monuments that had been consecrated to my glorious deeds.(621) But since then Pompey has inflated you with pride, Pompey who though he was the idol of his countrymen was in fact wholly insignificant. Take his African triumph: that was no great exploit, but the feebleness of the consuls in office made it seem glorious. Then the famous Servile War(622) was waged not against men but the vilest of slaves, and its successful issue was due to others, I mean Crassus and Lucius,(623) though Pompey gained the reputation and the credit for it. Again, Armenia and the neighbouring provinces were conquered by Lucullus,(624) yet for these also Pompey triumphed. Then he became the idol of the citizens and they called him ‘the Great.’ Greater, I ask, than whom of his predecessors? What achievement of his can be compared with those of Marius(625) or of the two Scipios or of Furius,(626) who sits over there by Quirinus because he rebuilt his city when it was almost in ruins? Those men did not make their reputation at the expense of others, as happens with public buildings built at the public expense; I mean that one man lays the foundation, another finishes the work, while the last man who is in office though he has only whitewashed the walls has his name inscribed on the building.(627) Not thus, I repeat, did those men gain credit for the deeds of others. They were themselves the creators and artificers of their schemes and deserved their illustrious titles. Well then, it is no wonder that you vanquished Pompey, who used to scratch his head with his finger‐ tip(628) and in all respects was more of a fox than a lion. When he was deserted by Fortune who had so long favoured him, you easily overcame him, thus unaided. And it is evident that it was not to any superior ability of yours that you owed your victory, since after running short of provisions(629)—no small blunder for a general to make, as I need not tell you—you fought a battle and were beaten. And if from imprudence or lack of judgment or inability to control his countrymen Pompey neither postponed a battle when it was his interest to protract the war, nor followed up a victory when he had won,(630) it was due to his own errors that he failed, and not to your strategy.)

Πέρσαι δὲ πανταχοῦ καλῶς καὶ φρονίμως παρεσκευασμένοι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀλκὴν ἐνέδοσαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐ τοὺ πράττειν ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τὰ δίκαια πράττειν ἄνδρα ἄριστον καὶ βασιλέα προσήκει μεταποιεῖσθαι, ἐγὼ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τοὺς Πέρσας ἀπῄτησα δίκην, καὶ τοὺς Ἑλληνικοὺς πολέμους ἐπανειλόμην, οὐχὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα λυπεῖν βουλόμενος, ἀλλὰ τοὺς κωλύοντάς με διαβαίνειν καὶ δίκας ἀπαιτεῖν τὸν Πέρσην ἐπικόπτων. [324] σὺ δὲ τοὺς Γερμανοὺς καὶ Γαλάτας κατεπολέμησας, ἐπὶ τὴν πατρίδα τὴν σεαυτοῦ παρασκευαζόμενος, οὗ τί γένοιτ᾽ ἂν χεῖρον ἢ μιαρώτερον; ἐπεὶ δὲ ὥσπερ διασύρων τῶν μυρίων ἐμνημόνευσας Γραικῶν, ὅτι μὲν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐντεῦθεν γεγόνατε καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς Ἰταλίας ὤκησαν οἱ Γραικοί, καίπερ εἰδὼς ὅμως οὐ παραδέχομαι. τούτων δὲ αὐτῶν ὀλίγον ἔθνος, Αἰτωλοὺς λέγω τοὺς παροικοῦντας ἡμῖν, [B] οὐ φίλους μὲν ἔχειν καὶ συμμάχους ἐποιήσασθε περὶ πολλοῦ, πολεμωθέντας δὲ ὑμῖν ὕστερον δι᾽ ἁσδήποτε αἰτίας οὐκ ἀκινδύνως ὑπακούειν ὑμῖν ἠναγκάσατε; οἱ δὲ πρὸς τὸ γῆρας, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τισ, τῆς Ἑλλάδος, καὶ οὐδὲ πάσης, ἀλλ᾽ ἔθνους μικροῦ, ἡνίκα ἤκμαζε τὸ Ἑλληνικόν, οὐδ᾽ ὅτι ἔστι γιγνωσκομένου, μικροῦ δέω φάναι, μόγις ἀρκέσαντες, τίνες ἂν ἐγένεσθε, [C] εἰ πρὸς ἀκμάζοντας καὶ ὁμονοοῦντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας πολεμεῖν ὑμᾶς ἐδέησεν; ἐπεὶ καὶ Πύρρου διαβάντος ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἴστε ὅπως ἐπτήξατε. εἰ δὲ τὸ Περσῶν κρατῆσαι μικρὸν νομίζεις καὶ τὸ τηλικοῦτον ἔργον διασύρεις, ὀλίγης πάνυ τῆς ὑπὲρ τὸν Τίγρητα ποταμὸν ὑπὸ Παρθυαίων βασιλευομένης χώρας, ἔτη πλέον ἢ τριακόσια πολεμοῦντες, λέγε μοι, δι᾽ ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἐκρατήσατε; [D] βούλει σοι φράσω; τὰ Περσῶν ὑμᾶς εἶρξε βέλη. φρασάτω δέ σοι περὶ αὐτῶν Ἀντώνιος(631) ὁ παιδοτριβηθεὶς ἐπὶ στρατηγίᾳ παρὰ σοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν οὐδὲ ὅλοις ἐνιαυτοῖς δέκα πρὸς τούτοις καὶ Ἰνδῶν γέγονα κύριος. εἶτ᾽ ἐμοὶ τολμᾷς ἀμφισβητεῖν, ὃς ἐκ παιδαρίου στρατηγῶν ἔργα ἔπραξα τηλικαῦτα, ὥστε τὴν μνήμην, καίπερ οὐκ ἀξίως ὑπὸ τῶν συγγραφέων ὑμνηθέντων, ὅμως(632) συμπαραμένειν τῷ βίῳ. [325] καθάπερ τῶν τοῦ Καλλινίκου, τοὐμοῦ βασιλέως, οὗ θεράπων ἐγὼ καὶ ζηλωτὴς ἐγενόμην, Ἀχιλλεῖ μὲν ἁμιλλώμενος τῷ προγόνῳ, Ἡρακλέα δὲ θαυμάζων καὶ ἑπόμενος, ἅτε δὴ κατ᾽ ἴχνος θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος.

(“The Persians, on the contrary, though on all occasions they were well and wisely equipped, had to submit to my valour. And since it becomes a virtuous man and a king to pride himself not merely on his exploits but also on the justice of those exploits, it was on behalf of the Greeks that I took vengeance on the Persians, and when I made war on the Greeks it was not because I wished to injure Greece, but only to chastise those who tried to prevent me from marching through and from calling the Persians to account. You, however, while you subdued the Germans and Gauls were preparing to fight against your fatherland. What could be worse or more infamous? And since you have alluded as though insultingly to ‘ten thousand Greeks,’ I am aware that you Romans are yourselves descended from the Greeks, and that the greater part of Italy was colonised by Greeks; however on that fact I do not insist. But at any rate did not you Romans think it very important to have as friends and allies one insignificant tribe of those very Greeks, I mean the Aetolians, my neighbours? And later, when you had gone to war with them for whatever reason, did you not have great trouble in making them obey you? Well then, if in the old age, as one may say, of Greece, you were barely able to reduce not the whole nation but an insignificant state which was hardly heard of when Greece was in her prime, what would have happened to you if you had had to contend against the Greeks when they were in full vigour and united? You know how cowed you were when Pyrrhus crossed to invade you. And if you think the conquest of Persia such a trifle and disparage an achievement so glorious, tell me why, after a war of more than three hundred years, you Romans have never conquered a small province beyond the Tigris which is still governed by the Parthians? Shall I tell you why? It was the arrows of the Persians that checked you. Ask Antony to give you an account of them, since he was trained for war by you. I, on the other hand, in less than ten years conquered not only Persia but India too. After that do you dare to dispute the prize with me, who from childhood have commanded armies, whose exploits have been so glorious that the memory of them—though they have not been worthily recounted by historians—will nevertheless live for ever, like those of the Invincible Hero,(633) my king, whose follower I was, on whom I modelled myself? Achilles my ancestor I strove to rival, but Heracles I ever admired and followed, so far as a mere man may follow in the footsteps of a god.)

Ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἐχρῆν, ὦ θεοί, πρὸς τοῦτον ἀπολογήσασθαι· καίτοι κρεῖττον ἦν ὑπεριδεῖν αὐτοῦ· εἴρηται. [B] εἰ δέ τι πικρὸν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπράχθη, οὔτι παντάπασιν εἰς ἀναιτίους ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ ἢ πολλάκις καὶ ἐπὶ πολλοῖς προσκρούσαντας ἢ τῷ καιρῷ μὴ καλῶς μηδὲ πρεπόντως χρησαμένους, ἠκολούθησε γοῦν ἐπὶ μὲν τοῖς διὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαμαρτηθεῖσιν ἡ μεταμέλεια, σώφρων πάνυ καὶ τῶν ἐξημαρτηκότων σώτειρα δαίμων, [C] τοὺς δὲ ὥσπερ φιλοτιμουμένους ἐπὶ τῷ πολλάκις ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ προσκρούειν οὐδὲν ᾤμην ἄδικον ποιεῖν κολάζων.

(“Thus much, ye gods, I was bound to say in my own defence against this man; though indeed it would have been better to ignore him. And if some things I did seemed cruel, I never was so to the innocent, but only to those who had often and in many ways thwarted me and had made no proper or fitting use of their opportunities. And even my offences against these, which were due to the emergency of the time, were followed by Remorse, that very wise and divine preserver of men who have erred. As for those whose ambition it was to show their enmity continually and to thwart me, I considered that I was justified in chastising them.”)

Ἐπεὶ δὲ εἴρητο καὶ τούτῳ στρατιωτικώτερον ὁ λόγος, ἐπὶ τὸν Ὀκταβιανὸν τὴν ὑδρίαν ἔφερεν ὁ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος θεράπων, ἐπιμετρῶν αὐτῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἔλασσον διὰ τὸν καιρόν, ἄλλως τε καὶ μνησικακῶν αὐτῷ τῆς εἰς τὸν θεὸν ὑπερηφανίας. [D] καὶ ὃς ἐπειδὴ συνῆκεν ὑπὸ ἀγχινοίας, ἀφεὶς τὸ λέγειν τι περὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν. ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, τοῦ διασύρειν μὲν τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔργα καὶ μικρὰ ποιεῖν ἀφέξομαι, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ τὸν πάντα ποιήσομαι λόγον. νέος προύστην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ πόλεως ὥσπερ οὗτος ὁ γενναῖος Ἀλέξανδρος, κατώρθωσα δὲ Γερμανικοὺς πολέμους ὥσπερ [326] ὁ ἐμὸς πατὴρ οὑτοσὶ Καῖσαρ. συμπλακεὶς δὲ τοῖς ἐμφυλίοις ἀγῶσιν Αἴγυπτον μὲν περὶ τὸ Ἄκτιον κατεναυμάχησα, Βροῦτον δὲ καὶ Κάσσιον περὶ τοὺς Φιλίππους κατεπολέμησα, καὶ τὸν Πομπηίου παῖδα Σέξτον πάρεργον ἐθέμην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ στρατηγίας. οὕτω δὲ παρέσχον ἐμαυτὸν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ χειροήθη, ὥστε καὶ τῆς Ἀθηνοδώρου παρρησίας ἠνεσχόμην, οὐκ ἀγανακτῶν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐφραινόμενος ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ, [B] καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα καθάπερ παιδαγωγὸν ἢ πατέρα μᾶλλον αἰδούμενος. Ἄρειον δὲ καὶ φίλον καὶ συμβιωτὴν ἐπιγράφομαι, καὶ ὅλως οὐδέν ἐστιν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἁμαρτηθέν. ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἐμφυλίων στάσεων τὴν Ῥώμην ὁρῶν εἰς τὸν(634) ἔσχατον ἐλαύνουσαν πολλάκις κίνδυνον οὕτω διεθέμην τὰ περὶ αὐτήν, ὥστε εἶναι, εἰ μὴ δι᾽ ὑμᾶς, [C] ὦ θεοί, τὸ λοιπὸν ἀδαμαντίνην. οὐ γὰρ ταῖς ἀμέτροις ἐπιθυμίαις εἴκων ἐπικτᾶσθαι πάντως αὐτῇ διενοήθην, ὅρια δὲ διττά, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀποδεδειγμένα,(635) Ἴστρον καὶ Εὐφράτην ποταμοὺς ἐθέμην. εἶτα ὑποτάξας τὸ Σκυθῶν καὶ Θρᾳκῶν ἔθνος, ἐπιμετρούντων ὑμῶν τῆς βασιλείας μοι τὸν χρόνον, οὐ πόλεμον ἄλλον ἐξ ἄλλου περιεσκόπουν, ἀλλὰ εἰς νομοθεσίαν καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου [D] συμφορῶν ἐπανόρθωσιν τὴν σχολὴν διετιθέμην, οὐδενὸς νομίζων τῶν πρὸ ἐμαυτοῦ χεῖρον βεβουλεῦσθαι, μᾶλλον δέ, εἰ χρὴ θαρρήσαντα φάναι, κρεῖσσον τῶν πώποτε τηλικαύτας ἡγεμονίας ἐπιτροπευσάντων. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ταῖς στρατηγίαις ἐναπέθανον, ἐξὸν λοιπὸν ἡσυχάζειν(636) καὶ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι, πολέμους ἐκ πολέμων ἑαυτοῖς, ὥσπερ οἱ φιλοπράγμονες δίκας κατασκευάζοντες· [327] οἱ δὲ καὶ πολεμούμενοι τῇ τρυφῇ προσεῖχον, οὐ μόνον τῆς μετὰ ταῦτα εὐκλείας τὴν αἰσχρὰν τρυφὴν προτιμῶντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῆς. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα διανοούμενος οὐκ ἀξιῶ τῆς χείρονος ἐμαυτὸν μερίδος· ὅ, τι δ᾽ ἂν ὑμῖν, ὦ θεοί, φαίνηται, τοῦτο εἰκός ἐστιν ἐμὲ δήπουθεν στέργειν.

(When Alexander in his turn had made his speech in martial fashion, Poseidon’s attendant carried the water‐clock to Octavian, but gave him a smaller allowance of water, partly because time was precious, but still more because he bore him a grudge for the disrespect he had shown to the god.(637) Octavian with his usual sagacity understood this, so without stopping to say anything that did not concern himself, he began: “For my part, Zeus and ye other gods, I shall not stay to disparage and belittle the actions of others, but shall speak only of what concerns myself. Like the noble Alexander here I was but a youth when I was called to govern my country. Like Caesar yonder, my father,(638) I conducted successful campaigns against the Germans. When I became involved in civil dissensions I conquered Egypt in a sea‐fight off Actium; I defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi: the defeat of Sextus, Pompey’s son, was a mere incident in my campaign. I showed myself so gentle to the guidance of philosophy that I even put up with the plain speaking of Athenodorus,(639) and instead of resenting it I was delighted with it and revered the man as my preceptor, or rather as though he were my own father. Areius(640) I counted my friend and close companion, and in short I was never guilty of any offence against philosophy. But since I saw that more than once Rome had been brought to the verge of ruin by internal quarrels, I so administered her affairs as to make her strong as adamant for all time, unless indeed, O ye gods, you will otherwise. For I did not give way to boundless ambition and aim at enlarging her empire at all costs, but assigned for it two boundaries defined as it were by nature herself, the Danube and the Euphrates. Then after conquering the Scythians and Thracians I did not employ the long reign that you gods vouchsafed me in making projects for war after war, but devoted my leisure to legislation and to reforming the evils that war had caused. For in this I thought that I was no less well advised than my predecessors, or rather, if I may make bold to say so, I was better advised than any who have ever administered so great an empire. For some of these, when they might have remained quiet and not taken the field, kept making one war an excuse for the next, like quarrelsome people and their lawsuits; and so they perished in their campaigns. Others when they had a war on their hands gave themselves up to indulgence, and preferred such base indulgence not only to future glory but even to their personal safety. When I reflect on all this I do not think myself entitled to the lowest place. But whatever shall seem good to you, O ye gods, it surely becomes me to accept with a good grace.”)

Δίδοται μετὰ τοῦτον τῷ Τραïανῷ τοῦ λέγειν ἐξουσία. ὁ δέ, καίπερ δυνάμενος λέγειν, ὑπὸ ῥᾳθυμίας· [B] ἐπιτρέπειν γὰρ εἰώθει τὰ πολλὰ τῷ Σούρᾳ γράφειν ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ· φθεγγόμενος μᾶλλον ἢ λέγων, ἐπεδείκνυεν αὐτοῖς τό τε Γετικὸν καὶ τὸ Παρθικὸν τρόπαιον. ᾐτιᾶτο δὲ τὸ γῆρας ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτρέψαν αὐτῷ τοῖς Παρθικοῖς πράγμασιν ἐπεξελθεῖν. καὶ ὁ Σειληνός, Ἀλλ᾽, ὦ μάταιε, ἔφη, εἴκοσι βεβασίλευκας ἔτη, Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ οὑτοσὶ δώδεκα. τί οὖν ἀφεὶς αἰτιᾶσθαι τὴν σαυτοῦ τρυφὴν τὴν τοῦ χρόνου μέμφῃ στενότητα; παροξυνθεὶς οὖν ὑπὸ τοῦ σκώμματος, [C] οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ἔξω τοῦ δύνασθαι ῥητορεύειν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς φιλοποσίας ἀμβλύτερος ἑαυτοῦ πολλάκις ἦν, Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαβὼν ναρκῶσαν ὥσπερ καὶ διαλελυμένην ὑπό τε τῆς οἴκοι πολὺν χρόνον ἐπικρατησάσης τυραννίδος καὶ τῆς τῶν Γετῶν ὕβρεως, [D] μόνος ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἴστρον ἐτόλμησα προσλαβεῖν ἔθνη, καὶ τὸ Γετῶν ἔθνος ἐξεῖλον, οἳ τῶν πώποτε μαχιμώτατοι γεγόνασιν, οὐχ ὑπὸ ἀνδρείας μόνον τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧν ἔπεισεν αὐτοὺς ὁ τιμώμενος παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς Ζάμολξις. οὐ γὰρ ἀποθνήσκειν, ἀλλὰ μετοικίζεσθαι νομίζοντες ἑτοιμότερον αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν ἢ ἄλλοι(641) τὰς ἀποδημίας ὑπομένουσιν. ἐπράχθη δέ μοι τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο ἐν ἐνιαυτοῖς ἴσως που πέντε. πάντων δὲ [328] ὅτι τῶν πρὸ ἐμαυτοῦ(642) γεγονότων αὐτοκρατόρων ὤφθην τοῖς ὑπηκόοις πρᾳότατος καὶ οὔτε Καῖσαρ οὑτοσὶ περὶ τούτων ἀμφισβητήσειεν ἄν μοι οὔτ᾽ ἄλλος οὐδὲ εἷς, εὔδηλόν ἐστί που. πρὸς Παρθυαίους δέ, πρὶν μὲν ἀδικεῖσθαι παρ᾽ αὐτῶν, οὐκ ᾤμην δεῖν χρῆσθαι τοῖς ὅπλοις· ἀδικοῦσι δὲ ἐπεξῆλθον οὐδὲν ὑπὸ τῆς ἡλικίας κωλυθείς, καίτοι διδόντων μοι τῶν νόμων τὸ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι. τούτων δὴ τοιούτων ὄντων, [B] ἆρ᾽ οὐχὶ καὶ τιμᾶσθαι πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων εἰμὶ δίκαιος, πρᾷος μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ὑπηκόους, φοβερὸς δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους διαφερόντως γενόμενος, αἰδεσθεὶς δὲ καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἔκγονον(643) φιλοσοφίαν; τοιαῦτα ὁ Τραïανὸς εἰπὼν ἐδόκει τῇ πρᾳότητι πάντων κρατεῖν, καὶ δῆλοί πως ἦσαν οἱ θεοὶ μάλιστα ἡσθέντες ἐπὶ τούτῳ.

(Trajan was allowed to speak next. Though he had some talent for oratory he was so lazy that he had been in the habit of letting Sura write most of his speeches for him; so he shouted rather than spoke, and meanwhile displayed to the gods his Getic and Parthian trophies, while he accused his old age of not having allowed him to extend his Parthian conquests. “You cannot take us in,” said Silenus; “you reigned twenty years and Alexander here only twelve. Why then do you not put it down to your own love of ease, instead of complaining of your short allowance of time?” Stung by the taunt, since he was not deficient in eloquence, though intemperance often made him seem more stupid than he was, Trajan began again. “O Zeus and ye other gods, when I took over the empire it was in a sort of lethargy and much disordered by the tyranny that had long prevailed at home, and by the insolent conduct of the Getae. I alone ventured to attack the tribes beyond the Danube, and I subdued the Getae, the most warlike race that ever existed, which is due partly to their physical courage, partly to the doctrines that they have adopted from their admired Zamolxis.(644) For they believe that they do not die but only change their place of abode, and they meet death more readily than other men undertake a journey. Yet I accomplished that task in a matter of five years or so. That of all the Emperors who came before me(645) I was regarded as the mildest in the treatment of my subjects, is, I imagine, obvious, and neither Caesar here nor any other will dispute it with me. Against the Parthians I thought I ought not to employ force until they had put themselves in the wrong, but when they did so I marched against them, undeterred by my age, though the laws would have allowed me to quit the service. Since then the facts are as I have said, do I not deserve to be honoured before all the rest, first because I was so mild to my subjects, secondly because more than others I inspired terror in my country’s foes, thirdly because I revered your daughter divine Philosophy?” When Trajan had finished this speech the gods decided that he excelled all the rest in clemency; and evidently this was a virtue peculiarly pleasing to them.)

Τοῦ Μάρκου δὲ ἀρχομένου λέγειν, ὁ Σειληνὸς ἠρέμα πρὸς τὸν Διόνυσον, [C] Ἀκούσωμεν, ἔφη, τοῦ Στωικοῦ τουτουί, τί ποτε ἄρα τῶν παραδόξων ἐκείνων ἐρεῖ καὶ τεραστίων δογμάτων. ὁ δὲ ἀποβλέψας πρὸς τὸν Δία καὶ τοὺς θεούς, Ἀλλ᾽ ἔμοιγε, εἶπεν, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, λόγων οὐδὲν δεῖ καὶ ἀγῶνος. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἠγνοεῖτε τἀμά, προσῆκον ἦν ἐμοὶ διδάσκειν ὑμᾶς· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἴστε καὶ λέληθεν ὑμᾶς τῶν ἁπάντων οὐδέν, [D] αὐτοί μοι τιμᾶτε τῆς ἀξίας. ἔδοξε δὴ οὖν ὁ Μάρκος τά τε ἄλλα θαυμάσιός τις εἶναι καὶ σοφὸς διαφερόντως ἅτε οἶμαι διαγινώσκων,

(When Marcus Aurelius began to speak, Silenus whispered to Dionysus, “Let us hear which one of his paradoxes and wonderful doctrines this Stoic will produce.” But Marcus turned to Zeus and the other gods and said, “It seems to me, O Zeus and ye other gods, that I have no need to make a speech or to compete. If you did not know all that concerns me it would indeed be fitting for me to inform you. But since you know it and nothing at all is hidden from you, do you of your own accord assign me such honour as I deserve.” Thus Marcus showed that admirable as he was in other respects he was wise also beyond the rest, because he knew)

Λέγειν θ᾽ ὅπου χρὴ καὶ σιγᾶν ὅπου καλόν.

(“When it is time to speak and when to be silent.”(646))

Τῷ Κωνσαταντίνῳ μετὰ τοῦτον λέγειν ἐπέτρεπον. ὁ δὲ πρότερον μὲν ἐθάρρει τὴν ἀγωνίαν. ὡς δὲ ἀπέβλεπεν εἰς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔργα, μικρὰ παντάπασιν εἶδε τὰ ἑαυτοῦ. [329] δύο γὰρ τυράννους, εἴ γε χρὴ τἀληθῆ φάναι, καθῃρήκει, τὸν μὲν ἀπόλεμον τε καὶ μαλακόν, τὸν δὲ ἄθλιόν τε καὶ διὰ τὸ γῆρας ἀσθενῆ,(647) ἀμφοτέρω δὲ θεοῖς τε καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἐχθίστω. τά γε μὴν εἰς τοὺς βαρβάρους ἦν γελοῖα αὐτῷ· φόρους γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐτετελέκαι,(648) καὶ πρὸς τὴν Τρυφὴν ἀφεώρα· πόρρω δὲ εἱστήκει τῶν θεῶν αὕτη περὶ τὰ πρόθυρα τῆς Σελήνης· ἐρωτικῶς τε οὖν εἶχεν αὐτῆς, καὶ ὅλος πρὸς ἐκείνην [B] βλέπων οὐδὲν ἔμελεν αὐτῷ περὶ τῆς νίκης.(649) ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐχρῆν καὶ αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν τι, Ταύτῃ τούτων κρείττων, ἔφη, εἰμί, τοῦ Μακεδόνος μέν, ὅτι πρὸς Ῥωμαίους καὶ τὰ Γερμανικὰ καὶ Σκυθικὰ γένη καὶ οὐχὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἀσιανοὺς βαρβάρους ἠγωνισάμην, Καίσαρος δὲ καὶ Ὀκταβιανοῦ τῷ μή, καθάπερ οὗτοι, πρὸς καλοὺς κἀγαθοὺς πολίτας στασιάσαι, τοῖς μιαρωτάτοις δὲ καὶ πονηροτάτοις τῶν τυράννων ἐπεξελθεῖν. [C] Τραïανοῦ δὲ τοῖς μὲν κατὰ τῶν τυράννων ἀνδραγαθήμασιν εἰκότως ἂν προτιμηθείην, τῷ δὲ ἣν οὗτος προσεκτήσατο χώραν ἀναλαβεῖν ἴσος ἂν οὐκ ἀπεικότως νομιζοίμην, εἰ μὴ καὶ μεῖζον ἐστι τὸ ἀνακτήσασθαι τοῦ κτήσασθαι. Μάρκος δὲ οὑτοσὶ σιωπῶν ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν τῶν πρωτείων ἐξίσταται. καὶ ὁ Σειληνός, Ἀλλ᾽ ἦ τοὺς Ἀδώνιδος κήπους ὡς ἔργα ἡμῖν, ὦ Κωνσταντῖνε, σεαυτοῦ προφέρεις; τί δέ, εἶπεν, εἰσὶν οὓς λέγεις Ἀδώνιδος κήπους; [D] οὓς αἱ γυναῖκες, ἔφη, τῷ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἀνδρὶ φυτεύουσιν ὀστρακίοις ἐπαμησάμεναι γῆν λαχανίαν· χλοήσαντα δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς ὀλίγον αὐτίκα ἀπομαραίνεται. καὶ ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος ἠρυθρίασεν, ἄντικρυς ἐπιγνοὺς τοιοῦτον τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργον.