(380 B.C.)
Born in 436 B.C., and died in 338; lived from the ageof Pericles to that of
Alexander; his teachings as to style influencedPlato, Demosthenes, and
IT 1 is confessed indeed
that our state isthe most ancient and the greatest, and the most celebrated
among all men;and the foundation being thus glorious, on account of what
follows theseit is still more befitting that we should be honored. For we
inhabit thiscity, not having expelled others, nor having found it deserted, nor
collectedpromiscuously from many nations, but we are of such honorable and
genuinebirth that we continue for all time possessing this land from which
wewere born, being sprung from the soil. and being able to call our cityby the
same names as our nearest relations, for we alone of all the Greekshave a right
to call the same—nurse and fatherland
and mother. And yetit is right that those who with good reason entertain high
thoughts, andwho justly dispute the supremacy and who often make mention of
their hereditaryrights, should prove the origin of their race to be of this
nature.
The advantages, then, which we possessed from the beginning,and which were
bestowed upon us by fortune, are so great in magnitude;but of how great
advantages we have been the cause to the rest we shouldthus best investigate.
if we should go through in detail the time fromthe commencement, and the
exploits of the State in succession; for we shallfind that she not only
[delivered us] from the dangers in respect of war,but also is the cause of that
established order besides in which we dwelland with which we live as free
citizens, and by means of which we are ableto live.
Of the wars, indeed, the Persian was the most famous;the old achievements,
however, are not less strong proofs for those whodispute about hereditary
institutions. For when Greece was still in a lowlycondition, the Thracians indeed
came to our land with Eumolpus the sonof Poseidon, and the Scythians with the
Amazons the daughters of Mars,not at the same time, but at the time when each
of them were rulers ofEurope, hating, indeed, the whole race of the Greeks, but
making chargesagainst us separately, thinking that by this line of conduct they
wouldincur danger against one state indeed, but would at the same time
conquerall.
They did not however, succeed, but having engaged withour ancestors separately,
they were destroyed equally as if they had madewar on all together. And the
magnitude of the evils which befel them ismanifest, for the speeches concerning
them would never have lived on forso long a time had not also their
achievements far excelled those of othermen. It is recorded, then, concerning
the Amazons, that not one of thosewho came went back again, while those who
were left at home were drivenout of their government on account of their
calamity here; and concerningthe Thracians, [it is said] that altho during the
former times they dweltbeside us, on our borders, yet on account of that
expedition they leftso great an intervening space, that in the district between
us, many nationsand all kinds of races and great cities have been established.
Glorious indeed, then, are these things, and befittingthose who dispute for the
supremacy, but akin to what has been said, andsuch as it is natural that those
sprung from such men would perform, werethe exploits of those who waged war
against Darius and Xerxes.
Always indeed, then, both our ancestors and the Lacedæmoniansacted in a spirit
of rivalry to each other. Not but what in those timesthey contended for the
most glorious objects, not thinking each other tobe enemies, but rivals, not
paying court to the foreigner with a view tothe slavery of the Greeks, but
being of one mind about the common safety,and engaging in a contest as to this,
viz., which of the two be the authorsof it. And they displayed their valor
first, indeed, in the case of thosesent by Darius. For when these had landed in
Attica, the one did not waitfor their allies, but making what was a common war
a personal one, theywent out to meet those who had treated contemptuously the
whole of Hellaswith their private force, a few against many myriads, as if about
to bravethe danger in the case of the lives of others, while the others no
soonerheard of the war being in Attica than, neglecting everything else
theycame to assist us, making as great haste as if it was their own
countrywhich was being ravaged.
And after these things, when the subsequent expeditiontook place, which Xerxes
led in person, after abandoning his palace andundertaking to become a general,
and having collected all the men fromAsia; and who, being anxious not to speak
in extravagant terms, has spokenabout him in language which fell short of the
reality?—a man, who reachedsuch a height
of arrogance, that considering it to be a trifling achievementto subdue Greece,
and wishing to leave behind such a monument as surpasseshuman nature, ceased not
until he had devised and at the same time carriedout by compulsion that which
all talk of, so that with his armament hesailed through the mainland and
marched over the sea, having bridged overthe Hellespont and dug a canal through
Athos. Against him, indeed, havingsuch high thoughts, and having succeeded in
accomplishing such great deedsand having become the lord of so many, they went
forth, having dividedamongst themselves the danger, the Lacedæmonians indeed to
Thermopylæagainst the land force, having selected a thousand of themselves, and
takingalong with them a few of their allies with the intention of
preventingthem in the narrow pass from advancing farther, while our fathers
[wentout] to Artemisium, having manned sixty triremes to meet the whole navalforce
of the enemy. And they had the courage to do these things, not somuch through
contempt of the enemy as from a spirit of rivalry with eachother, the
Lacedæmonians indeed envying our state, for the battleat Marathon, and seeking
to put themselves on an equality with us, andfearing lest our state should
twice in succession become the author ofdeliverance to the Greeks, and our
fathers wishing chiefly indeed to retaintheir present glory and to make it
manifest to all that both in the formercase it was through valor and not
through fortune that they had conquered;in the next place also to induce the
Greeks to maintain a sea-fight byshowing to them that valor gets the better of
numbers in naval dangersand enterprises equally as in those by land.
And to the king (of Asia), indeed, nothing is more importantthan to consider by
what means we shall never cease warring against oneanother, while we are so far
from bringing any of his interests into collisionor causing them to be
distracted by factions, that we even endeavor toassist in putting an end to the
troubles which have befallen him throughfortune; since we also allow him to
make use of one of the two armamentsin Cyprus, and to blockade the other, tho
both of them belong to Hellas.For both those who have revolted are friendly
disposed towards us and givethemselves up to the Lacedæmonians, and the most
useful part of thosewho are serving with Tiribazus and of the land army have
been collectedfrom these districts, and the greater part of the navy has sailed
alongwith them from Ionia, who would much more gladly have ravaged Asia in
concertthan have fought against one another on account of trifles. Of these
thingswe take no thought, but we are disputing about the islands of the
Our citizens are at this time reconciled with all theothers with whom they have
been at war, and forget the hostility whichhas arisen, but to the inhabitants
of the continent they do not feel grateful,even when they receive benefits
[from them], so undying is the anger theyfeel toward them. And our fathers
condemned many to death for favoringthe Medes; and even at the present day, in
their public assemblies, theymake imprecations, before they transact any other
business, on whomsoeverof the citizens makes proposals for peace to the
Persians. And the Eumolpidæand the Heralds, in the celebration of the
mysteries, on account of theirhatred for them, proclaim publicly also to all
other foreigners, as theydo to homicides, that they are excluded from the
sacred rites. And suchhostile feelings do we entertain by nature toward them,
that even in ourlegends, we occupy ourselves with most pleasure with those
relating tothe Trojan and Persian wars, by which it is possible to hear of
their calamities.And one might finds hymns composed in consequence of the war
against theforeigners, but dirges produced for us in consequence of that
against theGreeks, and might find the former sung at the festivals, while we
callto mind the latter in our calamities. And I think that even the poetryof
Homer received greater honors, because he nobly extolled those who madewar
against the foreign foe: and that for this reason our ancestors wishedto make
his art honored, both in the contests in poetry and in the educationof the
younger generation, in order that, hearing frequently his poems,we may learn by
heart the enmity which existed toward them, and, emulatingthe deeds of valor of
those who made war upon them, may set our heartsupon the same exploits as they
achieved.
Wherefore there appear to me to be very many things whichencourage us to make
war against them, and especially the present favorableopportunity, than which
nothing is more clear. And we must not let it slip.For, in fact, it is
disgraceful not to use it when present, but to rememberit when it is past. For
what additional advantage could we even wish tohave, if intending to go to war
with the king, beyond what we already possess?Has not Egypt revolted from him,
as well as Cyprus; and have not Phœniciaand
Syria been devastated owing to the war; and has not Tyre, on accountof which he
was greatly elated, been seized by his enemies? And the majorityof the cities
in
And yet, as we already possess so many bases of operation,and as so great a war
encircles
And it is fitting to make the expedition in the presentage, in order that those
who participate in the calamities may also havethe enjoyment of the advantages,
and may not continue to live unfortunateduring all their lifetime. For the time
past is sufficient—in which whathorror
is there which has not happened?—for,
tho there are many evils alreadyexisting in the nature of man, we ourselves
have invented in addition morethan the necessary evils, having created wars and
factions among ourselves,so that some are perishing lawlessly in their own
cities, and some arewandering in a foreign land with their children and wives, and
many beingcompelled, through want of the daily necessaries of life, to serve as
mercenaries,are dying fighting against their friends on behalf of their
enemies. Andat this no one has ever been indignant, but they think it becoming
to shedtears at the calamities composed by poets, but, tho gazing upon many
dreadfulgenuine sufferings happening on account of the war, they are so far
frompitying them, that they even take more pleasure in the misfortunes of
oneanother than in their own personal advantages. And perhaps, also, manymight
laugh at my simplicity, if I were to lament the misfortunes of individualsat
such critical times, in which Italy has been devastated, and Sicilyreduced to
slavery, and so many cities have been surrendered to the foreigners,and the
remaining portions of the Greeks are in the greatest dangers.
Now it is necessary to put out of the way these plottings,and to attempt those
deeds from which we shall both inhabit our citiesin greater security, and be
more faithfully disposed to one another, andwhat is to be mid about these
matters is simple and easy. For it is neitherpossible to enjoy a secure peace,
unless we make war in concert againstthe foreign enemy, nor for the Greeks to
be of one mind until we considerboth our advantages to come from one another,
and our dangers to be againstthe same people.
But when these things have been done, and the embarrassmentwith regard to our
means of living has been taken away, which both dissolvesfriendships and
perverts relationships into enmity, and involves all menin wars and factions,
it is not possible that we shall not be of one mind,and entertain toward one
another genuine feelings of good will. For whichreasons we must esteem it of
the greatest importance how we shall, as soonas possible, banish the war from
hence to the continent, as this is theonly advantage we should reap from the
dangers in fighting against oneanother, namely, if it should seem good to us to
employ against the foreignfoe the experience which we have derived from them.
And truly we shall not even annoy the cities by enrollingsoldiers from them, a
thing which is now most troublesome to them in thewar against one another; for
I think that those who will wish to stay athome will be much fewer in number
than those who will desire to followwith us. For who, whether young or old, is
so indifferent that he willnot wish to have a share in this expedition,
commanded indeed by the Atheniansand Lacedæmonians, but collected in defense of
the liberty of theallies, and sent out by the whole of Hellas, and marching to
take vengeanceupon the foreign foe? And how great must we consider the fame,
and thememory, and the glory which those will either have in their lives, or
leavebehind them in their deaths, who have been the bravest in such
exploits?For where those who made war against Alexander, and captured one
city,were deemed worthy of such praises, what panegyrics must we expect
thatthey will obtain who have conquered the whole of Asia? For who, eitherof
those able to write poetry, or of those who understand how to speak,will not
labor and study, wishing to leave behind him a memorial for allages, at the
same time of his own and of their valor?
Note 1. Supposed to have been first
published at Olympia380 B.C., and here abridged. It has been pointed out that,
while the conquestof Asia by Alexander was not due to a union of
from "The World's Great
Orations" ed. by William JenningsBryan, 1906, published in full by
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