Μακρόν ἐστι πάντα ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι καὶ τὰ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γράφειν, ὅσα ἐν ἐνιαυτοῖς ἔπραξα τέτταρσι· τὰ κεφάλαια δέ· τρίτον ἐπεραιώθην καῖσαρ ἔτι τὸν Ῥῆνον· δισμυρίους ἀπῄτησα παρὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ὑπὲρ τὸν Ῥῆνον ὄντας αἰχμαλώτους· ἐκ δυοῖν ἀγώνοιν καὶ μιᾶς πολιορκίας χιλίους ἐξελὼν ἐζώγρησα, οὐ τὴν ἄχρηστον ἡλικίαν, ἄνδρας δὲ ἡβῶντας· [D] ἔπεμψα τῷ Κωνσταντίῳ τέτταρας ἀριθμοὺς τῶν κρατίστων πεζῶν, τρεῖς ἄλλους τῶν ἐλαττόνων, ἱππέων τάγματα δύο τὰ ἐντιμότατα· πόλεις ἀνέλαβον νῦν μὲν δὴ τῶν θεῶν ἐθελόντων πάσας, τότε δὲ ἀνειλήφειν ἐλάττους ὀλίγῳ τῶν τεσσαράκοντα. μάρτυρας καλῶ τὸν Δία καὶ πάντας θεοὺς πολιούχους τε καὶ ὁμογνίους ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐμῆς προαιρέσεως εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ πίστεως, ὅτι τοιοῦτος [pg 274] γέγονα περὶ αὐτόν, οἷον ἂν εἱλόμην ἐγὼ υἱὸν περὶ ἐμὲ γενέσθαι. [281] τετίμηκα μὲν οὖν αὐτὸν ὡς οὐδεὶς καισάρων οὐδένα τῶν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοκρατόρων. οὐδὲν γοῦν εἰς τὴν τήμερον ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων ἐγκαλεῖ μοι, καὶ ταῦτα παρρησιασαμένῳ πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ γελοίους αἰτίας ὀργῆς ἀναπλάττει. Λουππικῖνον, φησί, καὶ τρεῖς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους κατέσχες· οὓς εἰ καὶ κτείνας ἤμην ἐπιβουλεύσαντας ἔμοιγε φανερῶς, ἐχρῆν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν παθόντων ὀργὴν ἀφεῖναι τῆς ὁμονοίας ἕνεκα. τούτους δὲ οὐδὲν ἄχαρι διαθεὶς ὡς [B] ταραχώδεις φύσει καὶ πολεμοποιοὺς κατέσχον, πολλὰ πάνυ δαπανῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν δημοσίων, ἀφελόμενος δ᾽474 οὐδὲν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἐκείνοις. ὁρᾶτε, πῶς ἐπεξιέναι τούτοις ὁ Κωνστάντιος νομοθετεῖ. ὁ γὰρ χαλεπαίνων ὑπὲρ τῶν προσηκόντων μηδὲν ἆρ᾽ οὐκ ὀνειδίζει μοι καὶ κατεγελᾷ τῆς μωρίας, ὅτι τον φονέα πατρός, ἀδελφῶν, ἀνεψιῶν, ἁπάσης ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν τῆς κοινῆς ἡμῶν ἑστίας καὶ συγγενείας τὸν δήμιον εἰς τοῦτο ἐθεράπευσα; [C] σκοπεῖτε δὲ ὅπως καὶ γενόμενος αὐτοκράτωρ ἔτι φεραπευτικῶς αὐτῷ προσηνέχθην ἐξ ὧν ἐπέστειλα.

(It would take too long to enumerate everything and to write down every detail of the task that I accomplished within four years. But to sum it all up: Three times, while I was still Caesar, I crossed the Rhine; one thousand persons who were held as captives on the further side of the Rhine I demanded and received back; in two battles and one siege I took captive ten thousand prisoners, and those not of unserviceable age but men in the prime of life; I sent to Constantius four levies of excellent infantry, three more of infantry not so good, and two very distinguished squadrons of cavalry. I have now with the help of the gods recovered all the towns, and by that time I had already recovered almost forty. I call Zeus and all the gods who protect cities and our race to bear witness as to my behaviour towards Constantius and my loyalty to him, and that I behaved to him as I would have chosen that my own son should behave to me.475 I have paid him more honour than any Caesar has paid to any Emperor in the past. Indeed, to this very day he has no accusation to bring against me on that score, though I have been entirely frank in my dealings with him, but he invents absurd pretexts for his resentment. He says, “You have detained Lupicinus and three other men.” And supposing I had even put them to death after they had openly plotted against me, he ought for the sake of keeping peace to have renounced his resentment at their fate. But I did those men not the least injury, and I detained them because they are by nature quarrelsome and mischief-makers. And though I am spending large sums of the public money on them, I have robbed them of none of their property. Observe how Constantius really lays down the law that I ought to proceed to extremities with such men! For by his anger on behalf of men who are not related to him at all, does he not rebuke and ridicule me for my folly in having served so faithfully the murderer of my father, my brothers, my cousins; the executioner as it were of his and my whole family and kindred? Consider too with what deference I have continued to treat him even since I became Emperor, as is shown in my letters.)

Καὶ τὰ πρὸ τούτου δὲ ὁποῖός τις γέγονα περὶ αὐτὸν ἐντεῦθεν εἴσεσθε. αἰσθόμενος, ὅτι τῶν ἁμαρτανομένων κληρονομήσω μὲν αὐτὸς τὴν ἀδοξίαν καὶ τὸν κίνδυνον, ἐξεργασθήσεται δὲ ἑτέροις τὰ πλεῖστα, [D] πρῶτον μὲν ἱκέτευον, εἰ ταῦτα [pg 276] πράττειν αὐτῷ φαίνοιτο καὶ πάντως ἐμὲ προσαγορεύειν καίσαρα δεδογμένον εἴη, ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς καὶ σπουδαίους δοῦναί μοι τοὺς ὑπουργοῦντας· ὁ δὲ πρότερον ἔδωκε τοὺς μοχθηροτάτους. ὡς δὲ ὁ μὲν εἷς ὁ πονηρότατος καὶ μάλα ἄσμενος476 ὑπήκουσεν, οὐδεὶς δὲ ἠξίου τῶν ἄλλων, ἄνδρα δίδωσιν ἄκων ἐμοὶ καὶ μάλα ἀγαθὸν Σαλούστιον, ὃς διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν εὐθέως αὐτῷ γέγονεν ὕποπτος. οὐκ ἀρκεσθεὶς ἐγὼ τῷ τοιούτῳ, βλέπων δὲ πρὸς τὸ διάφορον τοῦ τρόπου καὶ κατανόησας477 τῷ μὲν ἄγαν αὐτὸν πιστεύοντα, [282] τῷ δὲ οὐδ᾽ ὅλως προσέχοντα, τῆς δεξιᾶς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν γονάτων ἁψάμενος· Τούτων, ἔφην, οὐδείς ἐστί μοι συνήθης οὐδὲ γέγονεν ἔμπροσθεν· ἐπιστάμενος δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐκ φήμης, σοῦ κελεύσαντος, ἑταίρους ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ φίλους νομίζω, τοῖς πάλαι γνωρίμοις ἐπ᾽ ἴσης τιμῶν. οῦ μὴν δίκαιον ἢ τούτοις ἐπιτετράφθαι τὰ ἐμὰ ἢ τὰ τούτων ἡμῖν συγκινδυνεῦσαι. τί οὖν ἱκετεύω; γραπτοὺς ἡμῖν δὸς ὥσπερ νόμους, [B] τίμων ἀπέχεσθαι χρὴ καὶ ὅσα πράττειν ἐπιτρέπεις. δῆλον γάρ, ὅτι τὸν μὲν πειθόμενον ἐπαινέσεις, τὸν δὲ ἀπειθοῦντα κολάσεις, εἰ καὶ ὅ, τι μάλιστα νομίζω μηδένα ἀπειθήσειν.

(And how I behaved to him before that you shall now learn. Since I was well aware that whenever mistakes were made I alone should incur the disgrace and danger, though most of the work was carried on by others, I first of all implored him, if he had made up his mind to that course and was altogether determined to proclaim me Caesar, to give me good and able men to assist me. He however at first gave me the vilest wretches. And when one, the most worthless of them, had very gladly accepted and no one of the others consented, he gave me with a bad grace an officer who was indeed excellent, Sallust, who on account of his virtue has at once fallen under his suspicion. And since I was not satisfied with such an arrangement and saw how his manner to them varied, for I observed that he trusted one of them too much and paid no attention at all to the other, I clasped his right hand and his knees and said: “I have no acquaintance with any of these men nor have had in the past. But I know them by report, and since you bid me I regard them as my comrades and friends and pay them as much respect as I would to old acquaintances. Nevertheless it is not just that my affairs should be entrusted to them or that their fortunes should be hazarded with mine. What then is my petition? Give me some sort of written rules as to what I must avoid and what you entrust to me to perform. For it is clear that you will approve of him who obeys you and punish him who is disobedient, though indeed I am very sure that no one will disobey you.”)

Ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἐπεχείρησεν ὁ Πεντάδιος αὐτίκα καινοτομεῖν, οὐδὲν χρὴ λέγειν· ἀντέπραττον δὲ ἐγὼ πρὸς πάντα, καὶ γίνεταί μοι δυσμενὴς ἐκεῖθεν. εἶτ᾽ ἄλλον λαβὼν καὶ παρασκευάσας δεύτερον καὶ τρίτον, Παῦλον, [C] Γαυδέντιον, τοὺς ὀνομαστοὺς ἐπ᾽ [pg 278] ἑμὲ μισθωσάμενος συκοφάντας, Σαλούστιον μὲν ὡς ἐμοὶ φίλον ἀποστῆναι παρασκευάζει, Λουκιλιανὸν δὲ δοθῆναι διάδοχον αὐτίκα. καὶ μικρὸν ὕστερον καὶ Φλωρέντιος ἦν ἐχθρὸς ἐμοὶ διὰ τὰς πλεονεξίας, αἷς ἠναντιούμην. πείθουσιν οὗτοι τὸν Κωνστάντιον ἀφελέσθαι με τῶν στρατοπέδων ἁπάντων, ἴσως τι καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ζηλοτυπίας τῶν κατορθωμάτων κνιζόμενον, [D] καὶ γράφει γράμματα πολλῆς μὲν ἀτιμίας εἰς ἐμὲ πλήρη, Κελτοῖς δὲ ἀνάστασιν ἀπειλοῦντα· μικροῦ γὰρ δέω φάναι τὸ στρατιωτικὸν ἅπαν ἀδιακρίτως τὸ μαχιμώτατον ἀπαγαγεῖν τῆς Γαλατίας ἐκέλευσεν, ἐπιτάξας τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον Λουππικίνῳ τε καὶ Γιντωνίῳ, ἐμοὶ δὲ ὡς ἂν πρὸς μηδὲν ἐναντιωθείην αὐτοῖς ἐπέστειλεν.

(Now I need not mention the innovations that Pentadius at once tried to introduce. But I kept opposing him in everything and for that reason he became my enemy. Then Constantius chose another and a second and a third and fashioned them for his purpose, I mean Paul and Gaudentius, those notorious sycophants; he hired them to attack me and then took measures to remove Sallust, because he was my friend, and to appoint Lucilianus immediately, as his successor. And a little later Florentius also became my enemy on account of his avarice which I used to oppose. These men persuaded Constantius, who was perhaps already somewhat irritated by jealousy of my successes, to remove me altogether from command of the troops. And he wrote letters full of insults directed against me and threatening ruin to the Gauls. For he gave orders for the withdrawal from Gaul of, I might almost say, the whole of the most efficient troops without exception, and assigned this commission to Lupicinus and Gintonius, while to me he wrote that I must oppose them in nothing.)

Ἐνταῦθα μέντοι τίνα τρόπον τὰ τῶν θεῶν εἴποιμ᾽ [283] ἂν ἔργα πρὸς ὑμᾶς; διενοούμην· μάρτυρες δὲ αὐτοί· πᾶσαν ἀπορρίψας τὴν βασιλικὴν πολυτέλειαν καὶ παρασκευὴν ἡσυχάζειν, πράττειν δὲ οὐδὲν ὅλως. ἀνέμενον δὲ Φλωρέντιον παραγενέσθαι καὶ τὸν Λουππικῖνον· ἦν γὰρ ὁ μὲν περὶ τὴν Βίενναν, ὁ δὲ ἐν ταῖς Βρεττανίαις. ἐν τούτῳ θόρυβος πολὺς [B] ἦν περὶ πάντας τοὺς ἰδιώτας καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας, καὶ γράφει τις ἀνώνυμον γραμματεῖον478 εἰς τὴν ἀστυγείτονά μοι πόλιν πρὸς τοὺς Πετουλάντας τουτουσὶ καὶ Κελτούς· ὀνομάζεται δὲ οὕτω τὰ τάγματα· ἐν ᾧ πολλὰ μὲν ἐγέγραπτο κατ᾽ ἐκείνου, πολλοὶ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς Γαλλιῶν προδοσίας ὀδυρμοί· καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀτιμίαν ὁ τὸ γραμματεῖον συγγράψας ἀπωδύρετο. τοῦτο κομισθὲν ἐκίνησε πάντας, οἳ τὰ Κωνσταντίου μάλιστα ἐφρόνουν, [C] ἐπιθέσθαι μοι κατὰ τὸ καρτερώτατον, [pg 280] ὅπως ἤδη τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐκπέμψαιμι, πρὶν καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἄλλους ἀριθμοὺς ὅμοια ῥιφῆναι. καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἄλλος τις παρῆν τῶν δοκούντων εὔνως ἔχειν ἐμοί, Νεβρίδιος δέ, Πεντάδιος, Δεκέντιος, ὁ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ πεμφθεὶς ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτο Κωνσταντίου. λέγοντος δέ μου χρῆναι περιμένειν ἔτι Λουππικῖνον καὶ Φλωρέντιον, οὐδεὶς ἤκουσεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔλεγον πάντες τοὐναντίον ὅτι δεῖ Ποιεῖν, εἰ μὴ βούλομαι ταῖς προλαβούσαις ὑποψίαις ὥσπερ ἀπόδειξιν [D] καὶ τεκμήριον τοῦτο προσθεῖναι. εἶτα προσέθεσαν ὡς Νῦν μὲν ἐκπεμφθέντων αὐτὼν σόν ἐστι τὸ ἔργον, ἀφικομένων δὲ τούτων οὐ σοὶ τοῦτο, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνοις λογιεῖται Κωνστάντιος, σὺ δὲ ἐν αἰτίᾳ γενήσῃ. γράψαι δή479 με ἔπεισαν αὐτῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐβιάσαντο· πείθεται μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, ᾧπερ ἔξεστι καὶ μὴ πεισθῆναι, βιάζεσθαι δὲ οἷς ἂν ἐξῇ, τοῦ πείθειν οὐδὲν προσδέονται· οὔκουν οὐδὲ οἱ βιασθέντες τῶν πεπεισμένων εἰσίν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀναγκασθέντων. ἐσκοποῦμεν ἐνταῦθα, [284] ποίαν ὁδὸν αὐτοὺς χρὴ βαδίζειν, διττῆς οὔσης. ἐγὼ μὲν ἠξίουν ἑτέραν τραπῆναι, οἱ δὲ αὖθις ἀναγκάζουσιν ἐκείνην ἰέναι, μὴ τοῦτο αὐτὸ γενόμενον ὥσπερ ἀφορμήν τινα στάσεως τοῖς στρατιώταις παράσχῃ καὶ ταραχῆς τινος αἴτιον γένηται, εἶτα στασιάζειν ἅπαξ ἀρξάμενοι πάντα ἀθρόως ταράξωσιν. ἐδόκει τὸ δέος οὐ παντάπασιν ἄλογον εἶναι τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

(And now in what terms shall I describe to you the work of the gods? It was my intention, as they will bear me witness, to divest myself of all imperial splendour and state and remain in peace, taking no part whatever in affairs. But I waited for Florentius and Lupicinus to arrive; for the former was at Vienne, the latter in Britain. Meanwhile there was great excitement among the civilians and the troops, and someone wrote an anonymous letter to the town near where I was,480 addressed to the Petulantes and the Celts—those were the names of the legions—full of invectives against Constantius and of lamentations about his betrayal of the Gauls. Moreover the author of the letter lamented bitterly the disgrace inflicted on myself. This letter when it arrived provoked all those who were most definitely on the side of Constantius to urge me in the strongest terms to send away the troops at once, before similar letters could be scattered broadcast among the rest of the legions. And indeed there was no one there belonging to the party supposed to be friendly to me, but only Nebridius, Pentadius, and Decentius, the latter of whom had been despatched for this very purpose by Constantius. And when I replied that we ought to wait still longer for Lupicinus and Florentius, no one listened to me, but they all declared that we ought to do the very opposite, unless I wished to add this further proof and evidence for the suspicions that were already entertained about me. And they added this argument: “If you send away the troops now it will be regarded as your measure, but when the others come Constantius will give them not you the credit and you will be held to blame.” And so they persuaded or rather compelled me to write to him. For he alone may be said to be persuaded who has the power to refuse, but those who can use force have no need to persuade as well;481 then again where force is used there is no persuasion, but a man is the victim of necessity. Thereupon we discussed by which road, since there were two, the troops had better march. I preferred that they should take one of these, but they immediately compelled them to take the other, for fear that the other route if chosen should give rise to mutiny among the troops and cause some disturbance, and that then, when they had once begun to mutiny, they might throw all into confusion. Indeed such apprehension on their part seemed not altogether without grounds.)

Ἦλθε τὰ τάγματα, ὑπήντησα κατὰ τὸ νενομισμένον αὐτοῖς, [B] ἔχεσθαι τῆς ὁδοῦ προύτρεψα· μίαν [pg 282] ἡμέραν ἐπέμεινεν, ἄχρις ἧς οὐδὲν ᾔδειν ἐγὼ τῶν βεβουλευμένων αὐτοῖς· ἴστω Ζεύς, Ἥλιος, Ἄρης, Ἀθηνᾶ καὶ πάντες θεοί, ὡς οὐδὲ ἐγγὺς ἀφίκετό μού τις τοιαύτη ὑπόνοια ἄχρι δείλης αὐτῆς· ὀψίας δὲ ἤδη περὶ ἡλίου δυσμὰς ἐμηνύθη μοι, καὶ αὐτίκα τὰ βασίλεια περιείληπτο, καὶ ἐβόων πάντες, ἔτι φροντίζοντός μου τί χρὴ ποιεῖν καὶ οὔπω σφόδρα πιστεύοντος· [C] ὔτυχον γὰρ ἔτι τῆς γαμετῆς ζώσης μοι ἀναπαυσόμενος ἰδίᾳ πρὸς τὸ πλησίον ὑπερῷον ἀνελθών. εἶτα ἐκεῖθεν· ἀνεπέπτατο γὰρ ὁ τοῖχος· προσεκύνησα τὸν Δία. γενομένης δὲ ἔτι μείζονος τῆς βοῆς καὶ θορυβουμένων πάντων ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις, ᾐτέομεν τὸν θεὸν δοῦναι τέρας. αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ἡμῖν δεῖξε καὶ ἠνώγει πεισθῆναι καὶ μὴ προσεναντιοῦσθαι τοῦ στρατοπέδου τῇ προθυμίᾳ. γενομένων ὅμως [D] ἐμοὶ καὶ τούτων τῶν σημείων, οὐκ εἶξα ἑτοίμως, ἀλλ᾽ ἀντέσχον εἰς ὅσον ἠδυνάμην, καὶ οὔτε τὴν πρόσρησιν οὔτε τὸν στέφανον προσιέμην. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὔτε εἷς ὢν482 πολλῶν ἠδυνάμην κρατεῖν οἵ τε τοῦτο βουλόμενοι γενέσθαι θεοὶ τοὺς μὲν παρώξυνον, ἐμοὶ δὲ ἔθελγον τὴν γνώμην, ὥρᾳ που τρίτῃ σχεδὸν οὐκ οἶδα οὗτινός μοι στρατιώτου δόντος μανιάκην περιεθέμην καὶ ἦλθον εἰς τὰ βασίλεια, ἔνδοθεν ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς, ὡς ἴσασιν οἱ θεοί, στένων τῆς καρδίας. [285] καίτοι χρῆν δήπουθεν πιστεύοντα τῷ φήναντι θεῷ τὸ τέρας θαρρεῖν· ἀλλ᾽ [pg 284] ᾐσχυνόμην δεινῶς καὶ κατεδυόμην, εἰ δόξαιμι μὴ πιστῶς ἄχρι τέλους ὑπακοῦσαι Κωνσταντίῳ.

(The legions arrived, and I, as was customary, went to meet them and exhorted them to continue their march. For one day they halted, and till that time I knew nothing whatever of what they had determined; I call to witness Zeus, Helios, Ares, Athene, and all the other gods that no such suspicion even entered my mind until that very evening. It was already late, when about sunset the news was brought to me, and suddenly the palace was surrounded and they all began to shout aloud, while I was still considering what I ought to do and feeling by no means confident. My wife was still alive and it happened, that in order to rest alone, I had gone to the upper room near hers. Then from there through an opening in the wall I prayed to Zeus. And when the shouting grew still louder and all was in a tumult in the palace I entreated the god to give me a sign; and thereupon he showed me a sign483 and bade me yield and not oppose myself to the will of the army. Nevertheless even after these tokens had been vouchsafed to me I did not yield without reluctance, but resisted as long as I could, and would not accept either the salutation484 or the diadem. But since I could not singlehanded control so many, and moreover the gods, who willed that this should happen, spurred on the soldiers and gradually softened my resolution, somewhere about the third hour some soldier or other gave me the collar and I put it on my head and returned to the palace, as the gods know groaning in my heart. And yet surely it was my duty to feel confidence and to trust in the god after he had shown me the sign; but I was terribly ashamed and ready to sink into the earth at the thought of not seeming to obey Constantius faithfully to the last.)

Πολλῆς οὖν οὔσης περὶ τὰ βασίλεια κατηφείας, τοῦτον εὐθὺς οἱ Κωνσταντίου φίλοι τὸν καιρὸν ἁρπάσαι διανοηθέντες ἐπιβουλήν μοι ῥάπτουσιν αὐτίκα καί διένειμαν τοῖς στρατιώταις χρήματα, δυοῖν θάτερον προσδοκῶντες, ἢ διαστήσειν ἀλλήλους ἢ [B] καὶ παντάπασιν ἐπιθήσεσθαι485 μοι φανερῶς. αἰσθόμενός τις τῶν ἐπιτεταγμένων τῇ προόδῳ τῆς ἐμῆς γαμετῆς λάθρᾳ πραττόμενον αὐτὸ ἐμοὶ μὲν πρῶτον ἐμήνυσεν, ὡς δὲ ἑώρα με μηδὲν προσέχοντα, παραφρονήσας ὥσπερ οἱ θεόληπτοι δημοσίᾳ βοᾶν ἤρξατο κατὰ τὴν ἀγοράν· Ἄνδρες στρατιῶται καὶ ξένοι καὶ πολῖται, μὴ προδῶτε τὸν αὐτοκράτορα. εἶτα ἐμπίπτει θυμὸς εἰς τοὺς στρατιώτας, καὶ πάντες εἰς τὰ βασίλεια μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων ἔθεον. [C] καταλαβόντες δέ με ζῶντα καὶ χαρέντες ὥσπερ οἱ τοὺς ἐξ ἀνελπίστων ὀφθέντας φίλους ἄλλος ἄλλοθεν περιέβαλλον καὶ περιέπλεκον καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἔφερον, καὶ ἦν πως τὸ πρᾶγμα θέας ἄξιον, ἐνθουσιασμῷ γὰρ ἐῴκει. ὡς δέ με ἁπανταχόθεν περιέσχον, ἐξῄτουν ἅπαντας τοὺς Κωνσταντίου φίλους ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ. πηλίκον ἠγωνισάμην ἀγῶνα σῶσαι [D] βουλόμενος αὐτούς, ἴσασιν οἱ θεοὶ πάντες.

(Now since there was the greatest consternation in the palace, the friends of Constantius thought they would seize the occasion to contrive a plot against me without delay, and they distributed money to the soldiers, expecting one of two things, either that they would cause dissension between me and the troops, or no doubt that the latter would attack me openly. But when a certain officer belonging to those who commanded my wife's escort perceived that this was being secretly contrived, he first reported it to me and then, when he saw that I paid no attention to him, he became frantic, and like one possessed he began to cry aloud before the people in the market-place, “Fellow soldiers, strangers, and citizens, do not abandon the Emperor!” Then the soldiers were inspired by a frenzy of rage and they all rushed to the palace under arms. And when they found me alive, in their delight, like men who meet friends whom they had not hoped to see again, they pressed round me on this side and on that, and embraced me and carried me on their shoulders. And it was a sight worth seeing, for they were like men seized with a divine frenzy. Then after they had surrounded me on all sides they demanded that I give up to them for punishment the friends of Constantius. What fierce opposition I had to fight down in my desire to save those persons is known to all the gods.)

Ἀλλὰ δὴ τὰ μετὰ τοῦτο πῶς πρὸς τὸν Κωνστάντιον διεπραξάμην; οὔπω καὶ τήμερον ἐν ταῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστολαῖς τῇ δοθείσῃ [pg 286] μοι παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἐπωνυμίᾳ κεχρημαι, καίσαρα δὲ ἐμαυτὸν γέγραφα, καὶ πέπεικα τοὺς στρατιώτας ὀμόσαι μοι μηδενὸς ἐπιθυμήσειν, εἴπερ ἡμῖν ἐπιτρέψειεν ἀδεῶς οἰκεῖν τὰς Γαλλίας, τοῖς πεπραγμένοις συναινέσας. [286] ἅπαντα τὰ παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ τάγματα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔπεμψεν ἐπιστολάς, ἱκετεύοντα περὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἡμῖν ὁμονοίας. ὁ δὲ ἀντὶ τούτων ἐπέβαλεν ἡμῖν τοὺς βαρβάρους, ἐχθρὸν δὲ ἀνηγόρευσέ με παρ᾽ ἐκείνοις, καὶ μισθοὺς ἐτέλεσεν, ὅπως τὸ Γαλλιῶν ἔθνος πορθηθείη, γράφων τε ἐν τοῖς ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ παραφυλάττειν τοὺς ἐκ τῶν Γαλλιῶν παρεκελεύετο, [B] καὶ περὶ τοὺς Γαλλικοὺς ὅρους ἐν ταῖς πλησίον πόλεσιν εἰς τριακοσίας μυριάδας μεδίμνων πυροῦ κατειργασμένου ἐν τῇ Βριγαντίᾳ, τοσοῦτον ἕτερον περὶ τὰς Κοττίας Ἄλπεις ὡς ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ στρατεύσων ἐκέλευσε παρασκευασθῆναι. καὶ ταῦτα οὐ λόγοι, σαφῆ δὲ ἔργα. καὶ γὰρ ἃς γέγραφεν ἐπιστολὰς ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων κομισθείσας ἐδεξάμην, καὶ τὰς τροφὰς τὰς παρεσκευασμένας κατέλαβον [C] καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς Ταύρου. πρὸς τούτοις ἔτι νῦν μοι ὡς καίσαρι486 γράφει, καὶ οὐδὲ συνθήσεσθαι πώποτε πρός με ὑπέστη, ἀλλ᾽ Ἐπίκτητόν τινα τῶν Γαλλιῶν487 ἐπίσκοπον ἔπεμψεν ὡς πιστά μοι περὶ τῆς ἀσφαλείας τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ παρέξοντα, καὶ τοῦτο θρυλεῖ δι᾽ ὅλων αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν, ὡς οὐκ ἀφαιρησόμενος τοῦ ζῆν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς τιμῆς οὐδὲν μνημονεύει. ἐγὼ δὲ τοὺς μὲν ὅρκους [pg 288] αὐτοῦ τὸ τῆς παραοιμίας οἶμαι δεῖν εἰς τέφραν γράφειν, οὕτως εἰσὶ πιστοί· [D] τῆς τιμῆς δὲ οὐ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ πρέποντος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τῶν φίλων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας ἀντέχομαι· καὶ οὔπω φημὶ τὴν πανταχοῦ γῆς γυμναζομένην πικρίαν.

(But further, how did I behave to Constantius after this? Even to this day I have not yet used in my letters to him the title which was bestowed on me by the gods, but I have always signed myself Caesar, and I have persuaded the soldiers to demand nothing more if only he would allow us to dwell peaceably in Gaul and would ratify what has been already done. All the legions with me sent letters to him praying that there might be harmony between us. But instead of this he let loose against us the barbarians, and among them proclaimed me his foe and paid them bribes so that the people of the Gauls might be laid waste; moreover he wrote to the forces in Italy and bade them be on their guard against any who should come from Gaul; and on the frontiers of Gaul in the cities near by he ordered to be got ready three million bushels of wheat which had been ground at Brigantia,488 and the same amount near the Cottian Alps, with the intention of marching to oppose me. These are not mere words but deeds that speak plain. In fact the letters that he wrote I obtained from the barbarians who brought them to me; and I seized the provisions that had been made ready, and the letters of Taurus. Besides, even now in his letters he addresses me as “Caesar” and declares that he will never make terms with me: but he sent one Epictetus, a bishop of Gaul,489 to offer a guarantee for my personal safety; and throughout his letters he keeps repeating that he will not take my life, but about my honour he says not a word. As for his oaths, for my part I think they should, as the proverb says, be written in ashes,490 so little do they inspire belief. But my honour I will not give up, partly out of regard for what is seemly and fitting, but also to secure the safety of my friends. And I have not yet described the cruelty that he is practising over the whole earth.)

Ταῦτα ἔπεισέ με, ταῦτα ἐφάνη μοι δίκαια. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὰ τοῖς πάντα ὁρῶσι καὶ ἀκούουσιν ἀνεθέμην θεοῖς. εἶτα θυσάμενος περὶ τῆς ἐξόδου καὶ γενομένων καλῶν τῶν ἱερῶν κατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ τοῖς στρατιώταις περὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τάδε πορείας [287] ἔμελλον διαλέγεσθαι, ὑπέρ τε τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ σωτηρίας καὶ πολὺ πλέον ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν κοινῶν εὐπραγίας καὶ τῆς ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐλευθερίας αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ Κελτῶν ἔθνους, ὃ δὶς ἤδη τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐξέδωκεν, οὐδὲ τῶν προγονικῶν φεισάμενος τάφων, ὁ τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους πάνυ θεραπεύων, ᾠήθην δεῖν ἔθνη τε προσλαβεῖν τὰ δυνατώτατα καὶ χρημάτων πόρους δικαιοτάτων ἐξ ἀργυρείων καὶ χρυσείων, καὶ εἰ μὲν ἀγαπήσειεν ἔτι νῦν γοῦν τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμόνοιαν, εἴσω τῶν νῦν ἐχομένων μένειν, [B] εἰ δὲ πολεμεῖν διανοοῖτο καὶ μηδὲν ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας γνώμης χαλάσειεν, ὅ, τι ἂν ᾖ τοῖς θεοῖς φίλον πάσχειν ἢ πράττειν, ὡς αἴσχιον ἀνανδρίᾳ ψυχῆς καὶ διανοίας ἀμαθίᾳ ἢ πλήθει δυνάμεως ἀσθενέστερον αὐτοῦ φανῆναι. νῦν μὲν γὰρ εἰ τῷ πλήθει κρατήσειεν, οὐκ ἐκείνου τὸ ἔργον, ἀλλὰ τῆς πολυχειρίας ἐστίν· εἰ δὲ ἐν ταῖς Γαλλίαις περιμένοντά με καὶ τὸ ζῆν ἀγαπῶντα καὶ διακλίνοντα τὸν κίνδυνον [C] ἁπανταχόθεν περικόψας [pg 290] κατέλαβε, κύκλῳ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων, κατὰ στόμα δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτοῦ στρατοπέδων, τὸ παθεῖν τε οἶμαι τὰ ἔσχατα προσῆν καὶ ἔτι ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων αἰσχύνη οὐδεμιᾶς ἐλάττων ζημίας τοῖς γε σώφροσι.

(These then were the events that persuaded me; this was the conduct I thought just. And first I imparted it to the gods who see and hear all things. Then when I had offered sacrifices for my departure, the omens were favourable on that very day on which I was about to announce to the troops that they were to march to this place; and since it was not only on behalf of my own safety but far more for the sake of the general welfare and the freedom of all men and in particular of the people of Gaul,—for twice already he had betrayed them to the enemy and had not even spared the tombs of their ancestors, he who is so anxious to conciliate strangers!—then, I say, I thought that I ought to add to my forces certain very powerful tribes and to obtain supplies of money, which I had a perfect right to coin, both gold and silver. Moreover if even now he would welcome a reconciliation with me I would keep to what I at present possess; but if he should decide to go to war and will in no wise relent from his earlier purpose, then I ought to do and to suffer whatever is the will of the gods; seeing that it would be more disgraceful to show myself his inferior through failure of courage or lack of intelligence than in mere numbers. For if he now defeats me by force of numbers that will not be his doing, but will be due to the larger army that he has at his command. If on the other hand he had surprised me loitering in Gaul and clinging to bare life and, while I tried to avoid the danger, had attacked me on all sides, in the rear and on the flanks by means of the barbarians, and in front by his own legions, I should I believe have had to face complete ruin, and moreover the disgrace of such conduct is greater than any punishment—at least in the sight of the wise.491)

Ταῦτα διανοηθείς, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῖς τε συστρατιώταις τοῖς ἐμοῖς διῆλθον καὶ πρὸς κοινοὺς τῶν πάντων Ἑλλήνων πολίτας γράφω. θεοὶ δὲ [D] οἱ πάντων κύριοι συμμαχίαν ἡμῖν τὴν ἑαυτῶν, ὥσπερ ὑπέστησαν, εἰς τέλος δοῖεν καὶ παράσχοιεν ταῖς Ἀθήναις ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν τε εἰς ὅσον δύναμις εὖ παθεῖν καὶ τοιούτους σχεῖν ἐς ἀεὶ τοὺς αὐτοκράτορας, οἳ μάλιστα καὶ διαφερόντως αὐτὰς αἰδέσονται492 καὶ ἀγαπήσουσιν.

(These then are the views, men of Athens, which I have communicated to my fellow soldiers and which I am now writing to the whole body of the citizens throughout all Greece. May the gods who decide all things vouchsafe me to the end the assistance which they have promised, and may they grant to Athens all possible favours at my hands! May she always have such Emperors as will honour her and love her above and beyond all other cities!)