ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ

(Julian, Caesar)

ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΟΣ ΠΡΑΞΕΩΝ Η ΠΕΡΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑΣ.

(The Heroic Deeds of the Emperor Constantius, Or, On Kingship)

Τὸν Ἀχιλλέα φησὶν ἡ ποίησις, ὁπότε ἐμήνισε καὶ διηνέχθη πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, μεθεῖναι μὲν ταῖν χεροῖν τὴν αἰχμὴν καὶ τὴν ἀσπίδα, ψαλτήριον δὲ ἁρμοσάμενον καὶ κιθάραν ᾄδειν καὶ ὑμνεῖν τῶν ἡμιθέων τὰς πράξεις, καὶ ταύτην διαγωγὴν τῆς ἡσυχίας ποιεῖσθαι, εὖ μάλα ἐμφρόνως τοῦτο διανοηθέντα. [D] τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ παροξύνειν τὸν βασιλέα λίαν αὔθαδες καὶ ἄγριον· τυχὸν δὲ οὐδὲ ἐκείνης ἀπολύεται τῆς μέμψεως ὁ τῆς Θέτιδος, ὅτι τῷι καιρῷ τῶν ἔργων εἰς ᾠδὰς καταχρῆται καὶ κρούματα, ἐξὸν τότε μὲν ἔχεσθαι τῶν ὅπλων καὶ μὴ μεθιέναι, αὖθις δὲ ἐφ᾽ ἡσυχίας ὑμνεῖν τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ᾄδειν τὰ κατορθώματα. [50] οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονά φησιν ὁ πατὴρ ἐκείνων τῶν λόγων μετρίως καὶ πολιτικῶς προσενεχθῆναι τῷ στρατηγῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπειλῇ τε χρῆσθαι καὶ ἔργοις ὑβρίζειν, τοῦ γέρως ἀφαιρούμενον. συνάγων δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐς ταὐτὸν ἀλλήλοις ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας μεταμελομένους, τὸν μὲν τῆς Θέτιδος ἐκβοῶντα

(Achilles, as the poet tells us, when his wrath was kindled and he quarrelled with the king,218 let fall from his hands his spear and shield; then he strung his harp and lyre and sang and chanted the deeds of the demi-gods, making this the pastime of his idle hours, and in this at least he chose wisely. For to fall out with the king and affront him was excessively rash and violent. But perhaps the son of Thetis is not free from this criticism either, that he spent in song and music the hours that called for deeds, though at such a time he might have retained his arms and not laid them aside, but later, at his leisure, he could have sung the praises of the king and chanted his victories. Though indeed the author of that tale tells us that Agamemnon also did not behave to his general either temperately or with tact, but first used threats and proceeded to insolent acts, when he robbed Achilles of his prize of valour. Then Homer brings them, penitent now, face to face in the assembly, and makes the son of Thetis exclaim)

[pg 134]

[B] εἶτα ἐπαρώμενον τῇ προφάσει τῇ ἀπεχθείας καὶ ἀπαριθμούμενον τὰς ἐκ τῆς μήνιδος ξυμφοράς, τὸν βασιλέα δὲ αἰτιώμενον Δία καὶ Μοῖραν220 καὶ Ἐρινύν, δοκεῖ μοι διδάσκειν, ὥσπερ ἐν δράματι τοῖς προκειμένοις ἀνδράσιν οἷον εἰκόσι χρώμενος, ὅτι χρὴ τοὺς μὲν βασιλέας μηδὲν ὕβρει πράττειν μηδὲ τῇ δυνάμει πρὸς ἅπαν χρῆσθαι μηδὲ ἐφιέναι τῷ θυμῷ, καθάπερ ἵππῳ θρασεῖ χήτει χαλινοῦ καὶ ἡνιόχου φερομένῳ, παραινεῖν δὲ αὖ τοῖς [C] στρατηγοῖς ὑπεροψίαν βασιλικὴν μὴ δυσχεραίνειν, φέρειν δὲ ἐγκρατῶς καὶ πρᾴως τὰς ἐπιτιμήσεις, ἵνα μὴ μεταμελείας αὐτοῖς ὁ βίος μεστὸς ᾖ.

(Later on he makes him curse the cause of their quarrel, and recount the disasters due to his own wrath, and we see the king blaming Zeus and Fate and Erinys. And here, I think, he is pointing a moral, using those heroes whom he sets before us, like types in a tragedy, and the moral is that kings ought never to behave insolently, nor use their power without reserve, nor be carried away by their anger like a spirited horse that runs away for lack of the bit and the driver; and then again he is warning generals not to resent the insolence of kings but to endure their censure with self-control and serenely, so that their whole life may not be filled with remorse.221)

Ταῦτα κατ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν ἐννοῶν, ὦ φίλε βασιλεῦ, καὶ σὲ μὲν ὁρῶν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων τὴν Ὁμηρικὴν παιδείαν ἐπιδεικνύμενον καὶ ἐθέλοντα πάντως κοινῇ μὲν222 ἅπαντας ἀγαθόν τι δρᾶν, ἡμῖν δὲ ἰδίᾳ τιμὰς καὶ γέρα ἄλλα ἐπ᾽ ἄλλοις παρασκευάζοντα, τοσούτῳ δὲ οἶμαι κρείττονα τοῦ τῶν Ἐλλήνων βασιλέως εἶναι ἐθέλοντα, ὥστε ὁ μὲν ἠτίμαζε τοὺς ἀρίστους, σὺ δὲ οἶμαι καὶ τῶν φαύλων πολλοῖς τὴν συγγνώμην νέμεις, τὸν Πιττακὸν ἐπαινῶν τοῦ λόγου, ὃς τὴν συγγνώμην τῆς τιμωρίας προυτίθει, [D] αἰσχυνοίμην ἄν, εἰ μὴ τοῦ Πηλέως φαινοίμην εὐγνωμονέστερος μηδὲ223 ἐπαινοίην εἰς δύναμιν τὰ προσόντα σοί, οὔτι φημὶ χρυσὸν καὶ ἁλουργῆ χλαῖναν, οὐδὲ μὰ Δία πέπλους παμποικίλους, γυναικῶν ἔργα Σιδωνίων, οὐδὲ ἵππων Νισαίων κάλλη καὶ χρυσοκολλήτων ἁρμάτων ἀστράπτουσαν αἴγλην, [51] οὐδὲ τὴν Ἰνδῶν [pg 136] λίθον εὐανθῆ καὶ χαρίεσσαν. καίτοι γε εἴ τις ἐθέλοι τούτοις τὸν νοῦν προσέχων ἕκαστον ἀξιοῦν λόγου, μικροῦ πᾶσαν οἶμαι τὴν Ὁμήρου ποίησιν ἀποχετεύσας ἔτι δεήσεται λόγων, καὶ οὐκ ἀποχρήσει σοὶ μόνῳ τὰ ξύμπασι ποιηθέντα τοῖς ἡμιθέιος ἐγκώμια. ἀρξώμεθα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σκήπτρου πρῶτον, εἰ βούλει, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῆς· [B] τί γὰρ δή φησιν ὁ ποιητὴς ἐπαινεῖν ἐθέλων τῆς τῶν Πελοπιδῶν οἰκίας τὴν ἀρχαιότητα καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἐνδείξασθαι;

(When I reflect on this, my beloved Emperor, and behold you displaying in all that you do the result of your study of Homer, and see you so eager to benefit every citizen in the community in every way, and devising for me individually such honours and privileges one after another, then I think that you desire to be nobler than the king of the Greeks, to such a degree, that, whereas he insulted his bravest men, you, I believe, grant forgiveness to many even of the undeserving, since you approve the maxim of Pittacus which set mercy before vengeance. And so I should be ashamed not to appear more reasonable than the son of Peleus, or to fail to praise, as far as in me lies, what appertains to you, I do not mean gold, or a robe of purple, nay by Zeus, nor raiment embroidered all over, the work of Sidonian women,224 nor beautiful Nisaean horses,225 nor the gleam and glitter of gold-mounted chariots, nor the precious stone of India, so beautiful and lovely to look upon. And yet if one should choose to devote his attention to these and think fit to describe every one of them, he would have to draw on almost the whole stream of Homer's poetry and still he would be short of words, and the panegyrics that have been composed for all the demi-gods would be inadequate for your sole praise. First, then, let me begin, if you please, with your sceptre and your sovereignty itself. For what does the poet say when he wishes to praise the antiquity of the house of the Pelopids and to exhibit the greatness of their sovereignty?)

καὶ ἔδωκε Διί, ὁ δὲ τῷ τῆς Μαίας καὶ ἑαυτοῦ παιδί, Ἑρμείας δὲ ἄναξ δῶκε Πέλοπι,227 Πέλοψ δὲ

(and gave to Zeus; then Zeus gave it to his own and Maia's son, and Hermes the prince gave it to Pelops, and Pelops)

Αὕτη σοι τῆς Πελοπιδῶν οἰκίας ἡ γενεαλογία, εἰς τρεῖς οὐδὲ ὅλας μείνασα γενεάς· τά γε μὴν τῆς ἡμετέρας ξυγγενείας ἤρξατο μὲν ἀπὸ Κλαυδίου, μικρὰ δὲ ἐν μέσῳ διαλιπούσης τῆς ἡγεμονίας τὼ πάππω τὼ σὼ διαδέχεσθον. καὶ ὁ μὲν τῆς μητρὸς πατὴρ τὴν Ῥώμην διῴκει καὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν, [D] καὶ τὴν Λιβύην τε ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ, καὶ Σαρδὼ καὶ Σικελίαν, οὔτι φαυλοτέραν τῆς Ἀργείας καὶ Μυκηναίας [pg 138] δυναστείαν, ὅ γε μὴν τοῦ πατρὸς γεννήτωρ Γαλατίας ἔθνη τὰ μαχιμώτατα καὶ τοῦς Ἑσπερίους Ἴβηρας καὶ τὰς ἐντὸς Ὠκεανοῦ νήσους, αἳ τοσούτῳ μείζους τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ τῇ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ὁρωμένων εἰσίν, ὅσῳ καὶ τῆς εἴσω θαλάττης ἡ τῶν Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν ὑπερχεομένη. ταύτας δὲ ὅλας τὰς χώρας καθαρὰς ἀπέφηναν πολεμίων, κοινῇ μὲν ἐπιστρατεύοντες, [52] εἴ ποτε τούτου δεήσειεν, ἐπιφοιτῶντες δὲ ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ κατ᾽ ἰδίαν ἕκαστος τῶν ὁμόρων βαρβάρων ὕβριν τε καὶ ἀδικίαν ἐξέκοπτον. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν δὴ τούτοις ἐκοσμοῦντο. ὁ πατὴρ δὲ τὴν μὲν προσήκουσαν αὐτῷ μοῖραν μάλα εὐσεβῶς καὶ ὁσίως ἐκτήσατο, περιμείνας τὴν εἱμαρμένην τελευτὴν τοῦ γεγεννηκότος, τὰ λοιπὰ δὲ ἀπὸ βασιλείας εἰς τυραννίδας ὑπενεχθέντα δουλείας ἔπαυσε χαλεπῆς, [B] καὶ ἦρξε συμπάντων τρεῖς ὑμᾶς τοὺς αὑτοῦ παῖδας προσελόμενος ξυνάρχοντας. ἆρ᾽ οὖν ἄξιον μέγεθος δυνάμεως παραβαλεῖν καὶ τὸν ἐν τῇ δυναστείᾳ χρόνον καὶ πλῆθος βασιλευσάντων;228 ἢ τοῦτο μέν ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ἀρχαῖον, μετιτέον δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ θαυμαστέον σου τὴν χλαμύδα ξὺν τῇ πόρπῃ, ἃ δὴ καὶ Ὁμήρῳ διατριβὴν παρέσχεν ἡδεῖαν; λόγου τε ἀξιωτέον πολλοῦ τὰς Τρωὸς ἵππουσ, αἳ τρισχίλιαι οὖσαι

(Here then you have the genealogy of the house of Pelops, which endured for barely three generations. But the story of our family began with Claudius; then its supremacy ceased for a short time, till your two grandfathers succeeded the throne. And your mother's father229 governed Rome and Italy and Libya besides, and Sardinia and Sicily, an empire not inferior certainly to Argos and Mycenae. Your father's father230 ruled the most warlike of all the tribes of Galatia,231 the Western Iberians232 and the islands that lie in the Ocean,233 which are as much larger than those that are to be seen in our seas as the sea that rolls beyond the pillars of Heracles is larger than the inner sea.234 These countries your grandfathers entirely cleared of our foes, now joining forces for a campaign, when occasion demanded, now making separate expeditions on their own account, and so they annihilated the insolent and lawless barbarians on their frontiers. These, then, are the distinctions that they won. Your father inherited his proper share of the Empire with all piety and due observance, waiting till his father reached his appointed end. Then he freed from intolerable slavery the remainder, which had sunk from empire to tyranny, and so governed the whole, appointing you and your brothers, his three sons, as his colleagues. Now can I fairly compare your house with the Pelopids in the extent of their power, the length of their dynasty, or the number of those who sat on the throne? Or is that really foolish, and must I instead go on to describe your wealth, and admire your cloak and the brooch that fastens it, the sort of thing on which even Homer loved to linger? Or must I describe at length the mares of Tros that numbered three thousand, and)

καὶ τὰ φώρια τὰ ἐντεῦθεν; ἢ τοὺς Θρᾳκίους ἵππους εὐλαβησόμεθα λευκοτέρους μὲν τῆς χιόνος, θεῖν δὲ ὠκυτέρους τῶν χειμερίων πνευμάτων, καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἅρματα; καὶ ἔχομέν σε ἐν τούτοις [pg 140] ἐπαινεῖν, οἰκίαν τε οἶμαι τὴν Ἀλκίνου καὶ τὰ τοῦ Μενέλεω δώματα καταπληξάμενα καὶ τὸν τοῦ πολύφρονος Ὀδυσσέως παῖδα καὶ τοιαῦτα ληρεῖν ἀναπείσαντα τοῖς σοῖς παραβαλεῖν ἀξιώσομεν, [D] μὴ ποτε ἄρα ἔλασσον ἔχειν ἐν τούτοις δοκῇς, καὶ οὐκ ἀπωσόμεθα τὴν φλυαρίαν; ἀλλ᾽ ὅρα μή τις ἡμᾶς μικρολογίας καὶ ἀμαθίας τῶν ἀληθῶς καλῶν γραψάμενος ἕλῃ. οὐκοῦν ἀφέντας χρὴ τοῖς Ὁμηρίδαις τὰ τοιαῦτα πολυπραγμονεῖν ἐπὶ τὰ τούτων ἐγγυτέρω πρὸς ἀρετήν, καὶ ὧν μείζονα ποιεῖ προμήθειαν, σώματος ῥώμης καὶ τῆς ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ἐμπειρίας, θαρροῦντας236 ἰέναι.

(and the theft that followed?237 Or shall I pay my respects to your Thracian horses, whiter than snow and faster than the storm winds, and your Thracian chariots? For in your case also we can extol all these, and as for the palace of Alcinous and those halls that dazzled even the son of prudent Odysseus and moved him to such foolish expressions of wonder,238 shall I think it worth while to compare them with yours, for fear that men should one day think that you were worse off than he in these respects, or shall I not rather reject such trifling? Nay, I must be on my guard lest someone accuse and convict me of using frivolous speech and ignoring what is really admirable. So I had better leave it to the Homerids to spend their energies on such themes, and proceed boldly to what is more closely allied to virtue, and things to which you yourself pay more attention, I mean bodily strength and experience in the use of arms.)

Τίνι δήποτε οὖν τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς Ὁμηρικῆς ὑμνουμένων σειρῆνος εἴξομεν; [53] ἔστι μὲν γὰρ τοξότης παρ᾽ αὐτῷ Πάνδαρος, ἀνὴρ ἄπιστος καὶ χρημάτων ἥττων, ἀλλα καὶ ἀσθενὴς τὴν χεῖρα καὶ ὁπλίτης φαῦλος, Τεῦκρος τε ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ καὶ Μηριόνης, ὁ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς πελειάδος τῷ τόξῳ χρώμενος, ὁ δὲ ἠρίστευε μὲν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ ἐδεῖτο δὲ ὥσπερ ἐρύματος καὶ τειχίου. ταῦτά τοι καὶ προβάλλεται τὴν ἀσπίδα, οὔτι τὴν οἰκείαν, τἀδελφοῦ δέ, καὶ στοχάζεται καθ᾽ ἡσυχίαν τῶν πολεμίων, γελοῖος ἀναφανεὶς στρατιώτης, [B] ὅς γε ἐδεῖτο μείζονος φύλακος καὶ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ἐποιεῖτο τῆς σωτηρίας τὰς ἐλπίδας. σὲ δῆτα ἐθεασάμην, ὦ φίλε βασιλεῦ, ἄρκτους καὶ παρδάλεις καὶ λέοντας συχνοὺς καταβάλλοντα [pg 142] τοῖς ἀφιεμένοις βέλεσι, χρώμενον δὲ πρὸς θήραν καὶ παιδιὰν τόξῳ, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς παρατάξεως ἀσπίς ἐστί σοι καὶ θώραξ καὶ κράνος· καὶ οὐκ ἂν καταδείσαιμι τὸν ἀχιλλέα τοῖς Ἡφαιστείοις λαμπρυνόμενον καὶ ἀποπειρώμενον αὑτοῦ καὶ τῶν ὅπλον,

(And now which one of those heroes to whom Homer devotes his enchanting strains shall I admit to be superior to you? There is the archer Pandaros in Homer, but he is treacherous and yields to bribes239; moreover his arm was weak and he was an inferior hoplite: then there are besides, Teucer and Meriones. The latter employs his bow against a pigeon240 while Teucer, though he distinguished himself in battle, always needed a sort of bulwark or wall. Accordingly he keeps a shield in front of him,241 and that not his own but his brother's, and aims at the enemy at his ease, cutting an absurd figure as a soldier, seeing that he needed a protector taller than himself and that it was not in his weapons that he placed his hopes of safety. But I have seen you many a time, my beloved Emperor, bringing down bears and panthers and lions with the weapons hurled by your hand, and using your bow both for hunting and for pastime, and on the field of battle you have your own shield and cuirass and helmet. And I should not be afraid to match you with Achilles when he was exulting in the armour that Hephaistos made, and testing himself and that armour to see)

ἀνακηρύττει γὰρ εἰς ἅπαντας τὴν σὴν ἐμπειρίαν τὰ κατορθώματα.

(for your successes proclaim to all men your proficiency.)

Τήν γε μὴν ἱππικὴν καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς δρόμοις κουφότητα ἆρά σοι παραβαλεῖν ἄξιον τῶν πρόσθεν τοὺς ἀραμένους ὄνομα καὶ δόξαν μείζονα; ἢ τὸ μὲν οὐδὲ ηὕρητό πω; ἅρμασι γὰρ ἐχρῶντο καὶ οὔπω πώλοις ἄζυξι· τάχει δὲ ὅστις διήνεγκε, τούτῳ πρὸς σὲ γέγονεν ἀμφήριστος κρίσις· [D] τάξιν δὲ κοσμῆσαι καὶ φάλαγγα διατάξαι καλῶς δοκεῖ Μενεσθεὺς κράτιστος, καὶ τούτῳ διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ὁ Πύλιος οὐχ ὑφίεται τῆς ἐμπειρίας. ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν οἱ πολέμιοι πολλάκις τὰς τάξεις συνετάραξαν, καὶ οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους ἴσχυον ἀντέχειν παραταττόμενοι· σοὶ δὲ μυρίαις μάχαις ξυμμίξαντι καὶ πολεμίοις πολλοῖς μὲν βαρβάροις, οὐκ ἐλάττοσι δὲ τούτων τοῖς οἴκοθεν ἀφεστῶσι καὶ συνεπιθεμένοις τῷ τὴν ἀρχὴν σφετερίσασθαι προελομένῳ ἀρραγὴς ἔμεινεν ἡ φάλανξ καὶ ἀδιάλυτος, [54] οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ σμικρὸν ἐνδοῦσα. καὶ ὅτι μὴ λῆρος ταῦτα μηδὲ προσποίησις λόγων τῆς [pg 144] ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων ἀληθείας κρείττων, ἐθέλω τοῖς παροῦσι διεξελθεῖν. γελοῖον γὰρ οἶμαι πρὸς σὲ περὶ τῶν σῶν ἔργων διηγεῖσθαι· καὶ ταὐτὸν ἂν πάθοιμι φαύλῳ καὶ ἀκόμψῳ θεατῇ τῶν Φειδίου δημιουργημάτων πρὸς αὐτὸν Φειδίαν ἐπιχειροῦντι διεξιέναι περὶ τῆς ἐν ἀκροπόλει παρθένου καὶ τοῦ παρὰ τοῖς Πισαίοις Διός. εἰ δὲ ἐς τοὺς ἄλλους ἐκφέροιμι τὰ σεμνότατα τῶν ἔργων, [B] ἴσως ἂν ἀποφύγοιμι τὴν ἁμαρτάδα, καὶ οὐκ ἔσομαι ταῖς διαβολαῖς ἔνοχος· ὥστε ἤδη θαρροῦντα χρὴ λέγειν.

(As for your horsemanship and your agility in running, would it be fair to compare with you any of those heroes of old who won a name and great reputation? Is it not a fact that horsemanship had not yet been invented? For as yet they used only chariots and not riding-horses. And as for their fastest runner, it is an open question how he compares with you. But in drawing up troops and forming a phalanx skilfully Menestheus243 seems to have excelled, and on account of his greater age the Pylian244 is his equal in proficiency. But the enemy often threw their line into disorder, and not even at the wall245 could they hold their ground when they encountered the foe. You, however, engaged in countless battles, not only with hostile barbarians in great numbers, but with just as many of your own subjects, who had revolted and were fighting on the side of one who was ambitious of grasping the imperial power; yet your phalanx remained unbroken and never wavered or yielded an inch. That this is not an idle boast and that I do not make a pretension in words that goes beyond the actual facts, I will demonstrate to my hearers. For I think it would be absurd to relate to you your own achievements. I should be like a stupid and tasteless person who, on seeing the works of Pheidias should attempt to discuss with Pheidias himself the Maiden Goddess on the Acropolis, or the statue of Zeus at Pisa. But if I publish to the rest of the world your most distinguished achievements, I shall perhaps avoid that blunder and not lay myself open to criticism. So I will hesitate no more but proceed with my discourse.)

Καί μοι μή τις δυσχεράνῃ πειρωμένῳ πράξεων ἅπτεσθαι μειζόνων, εἰ καὶ τὸ τοῦ λόγου συνεκθέοι μῆκος, καὶ ταῦτα θέλοντος ἐπέχειν καὶ βιαζομένου, ὅπως μὴ τῷ μεγέθει τῶν ἔργων ἡ τῶν λόγων ἀσθένεια περιχεομένη διαλυμήνηται· καθάπερ δὴ τὸν χρυσόν φασι τοῦ Θεσπιᾶσιν [C] Ἔρωτος τοῖς πτεροῖς ἐπιβληθέντα τὴν ἀκρίβειαν ἀφελεῖν τῆς τέχνης. δεῖται γὰρ ἀληθῶς τῆς Ὁμηρικῆς σάλπιγγος τὰ κατορθώματα, καὶ πολὺ πλέον ἢ τὰ τοῦ Μακεδόνος ἔργα. δῆλον δὲ ἔσται χρωμένοις ἡμῖν τῷ τρόπῳ τῶν λόγων, ὅνπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς προυθέμεθα. ἐφαίνετο δὲ τῶν βασιλέως ἔργων πρὸς τὰ τῶν ἡρώων πολλὴ ξυγγένεια, καὶ αὐτὸν ἔφαμεν ἁπάντων προφέρειν ἐν ᾧ μάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστος διήνεγκε, καὶ ὅπως ἐστὶ τοῦ μὲν δὴ βασιλέως αὐτοῦ βασιλικώτερος, [D] εἴ που μεμνήμεθα τῶν ἐν προοιμίῳ ῥηθέντων, ἐπεδείκνυμεν, ἔσται δὲ καὶ μάλα αὖθις καταφανές. νῦν δὲ, εἰ βούλεσθε, τὰ περί τὰς μάχας καὶ τοὺς [pg 146] πολέμους ἀθρήσωμεν. τίνας οὖν Ὅμηρος διαφερόντως ὕμνησεν Ἑλλήνων ὁμοῦ καὶ βαρβάρων; αὐτὰ ὑμῖν ἀναγνώσομαι τῶν ἐπῶν τὰ καιριώτατα.

(I hope no one will object if, when I attempt to deal with exploits that are so important, my speech should become proportionately long, and that though I desire to limit and restrain it lest my feeble words overwhelm and mar the greatness of your deeds; like the gold which when it was laid over the wings of the Eros at Thespiae246 took something, so they say, from the delicacy of its workmanship. For your triumphs really call for the trumpet of Homer himself, far more than did the achievements of the Macedonian.247 This will be evident as I go on to use the same method of argument which I adopted when I began. It then became evident that there is a strong affinity between the Emperor's exploits and those of the heroes, and I claimed that while one hero excelled the others in one accomplishment only, the Emperor excels them all in all those accomplishments. That he is more kingly than the king himself248 I proved, if you remember, in what I said in my introduction, and again and again it will be evident. But now let us, if you please, consider his battles and campaigns. What Greeks and barbarians did Homer praise above their fellows? I will read you those of his verses that are most to the point.)

καὶ αὖθις ὑπὲρ τοῦ Τελαμωνίου φησίν·

(And again he says of the son of Telamon:)

Ἑλλήνων μὲν δὴ τούτους ἀρίστους ἀφῖχθαί φησι, τῶν δὲ ἀμφὶ τοὺς Τρῶας Ἕκτορα καὶ Σαρπηδόνα. βούλεσθε οὖν αὐτῶν τὰ λαμπρότατα ἐπιλεξάμενοι περιαθρῶμεν τὸ μέγεθος; καὶ γάρ πως ἐς ταὐτόν τισι τῶν βασιλέως251 ξυμφέρεται ἥ τε ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ τοῦ Πηλέως μάχη καὶ ὁ περὶ τὸ τεῖχος τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πόλεμος· [C] Αἴας τε ὑπεραγωνιζόμενος τῶν νεῶν καὶ ἐπιβεβηκὼς τῶν ἰκρίων ἴσως ἂν τυγχάνοι τινὸς ἀξίας εἰκόνος. ἐθέλω δὲ ὑμῖν διγγεῖσθαι τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ μάχην, ἣν ἠγωνίσατο βασιλεὺς ἔναγχος. ἴστε δὲ ὅθεν ὁ πόλεμος ἐξερράγη, καὶ ὅτι ξὺν δίκῃ καὶ οὐ τοῦ πλείονος ἐπιθυμίᾳ διεπολεμήθη. κωλύει δὲ οὐδὲν ὑπομνησθῆναι δι᾽ ὀλίγων.

(These two, he says, were the bravest of the Greeks who came to the war, and of the Trojan army Hector and Sarpedon. Do you wish, then, that I should choose out their most brilliant feats and consider what they amounted to? And, in fact, the fighting of Achilles at the river resembles in some respects certain of the Emperor's achievements, and so does the battle of the Achaeans about the wall. Or Ajax again, when, in his struggle to defend the ships, he goes up on to their decks, might be allowed some just resemblance to him. But now I wish to describe to you the battle by the river which the Emperor fought not long ago. You know the causes of the outbreak of the war, and that he carried it through, not from desire of gain, but with justice on his side. There is no reason why I should not briefly remind you of the facts.)

Ἀνὴρ ἄπιστος καὶ θρασὺς τῆς οὐ προσηκούσης [D] ὀρεχθεὶς ἡγεμονίας κτείνει τὸν ἀδελφὸν βασιλέως [pg 148] καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς κοινωνόν, καὶ ᾔρετο λαμπραῖς ταῖς ἐλπίσιν, ὡς τὸν Ποσειδῶνα μιμησόμενος καὶ ἀποφανῶν οὐ μῦθον τὸν Ὁμήρου λόγον, παντὸς δὲ ἀληθῆ μᾶλλον, ὃς ἔφη περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ·

(A rash and traitorous man252 tried to grasp at power to which he had no right, and assassinated the Emperor's brother and partner in empire. Then he began to be uplifted and dazzled by his hopes, as though he was about to imitate Poseidon and to prove that Homer's story was not mere fiction but absolutely true, where he says about the god)