Texte grec :
| [207] ὥστε μᾶλλον μὲν ἐκεῖνον εἰδέναι νομίζουσιν ἃ
πράττουσιν ἢ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς, μᾶλλον δὲ δεδίασι καὶ αἰδοῦνται
ἢ τὸν δεσπότην ἄν τις τὸν αὑτοῦ παρόντα καὶ ἐφεστηκότα καὶ κελεύοντα.
οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐφ´ ἑαυτῷ τηλικοῦτον φρονεῖ, ὅστις τοὔνομα ἀκούσας μόνον
οἷός τ´ ἐστὶν ἀτρεμεῖν,
ἀλλ´ ἀναστὰς ὑμνεῖ καὶ σέβει καὶ συνεύχεται διπλῆν εὐχὴν, τὴν μὲν
ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ τοῖς θεοῖς, τὴν δὲ αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ
περὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ. εἰ δέ τι καὶ μικρὸν ἐνδοῖεν περὶ δίκας
τε καὶ ἀξιώσεις, ἢ κοινὰς ἢ ἰδίας τῶν ἀρχομένων, εἴ
τινες ἄρα ἄξιοι εἶεν, ὡς ἐκεῖνον ἐκπέμπουσιν εὐθὺς ἐρωτῶντες τί δεῖ ποιεῖν,
καὶ μένουσιν ἔς τ´ ἂν ἀποσημήνῃ,
οὐχ ἧττον ἢ διδάσκαλον χορός. ὥστε οὐδὲν δεῖ φθείρεσθαι περιιόντα
τὴν ἀρχὴν ἅπασαν, οὐδ´ ἄλλοτε ἐν ἄλλοις
γιγνόμενον τὸ καθ´ ἕκαστον βεβαιοῦσθαι, ὁπότε σφίσι
τὴν γῆν πατοίη· ἀλλ´ εὐμάρεια πολλὴ καθημένῳ πᾶσαν
ἄγειν τὴν οἰκουμένην δι´ ἐπιστολῆς. αἱ δὲ μικρὸν φθάνουσι γραφεῖσαι καὶ
πάρεισιν ὥσπερ ὑπὸ πτηνῶν φερόμεναι. ὃ δὲ πάντων ἄξιον ἄγασθαί τε καὶ
θαυμάζειν καὶ χάριν ἐκτίνειν καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ, τοῦτο νῦν εἰρήσεται.
τοσαύτην μὲν γὰρ ἔχοντες τὴν ἀρχὴν, οὕτω δ´ ἐγκρατῶς
καὶ κατὰ πολλὴν ἐξουσίαν ἄρχοντες, ἐκεῖνο καὶ πολὺ μάλιστα νενικήκατε,
ὃ παντελῶς ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἴδιον· μόνοι
γὰρ τῶν πώποτε ἐλευθέρων ἄρχετε, καὶ οὐ Καρία δέδοται Τισσαφέρνει,
οὐδὲ Φρυγία Φαρναβάζῳ, οὐδὲ Αἴγυπτος
ἑτέρῳ, οὐδ´ ὥσπερ οἶκος τοῦ δεῖνος ἀκούει τὸ ἔθνος,
ὅτῳ παρεδόθη δουλεύειν, οὐδὲ αὐτῷ ὄντι ἐλευθέρῳ, ἀλλ´
ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν ταῖς κατὰ μίαν πόλεσιν, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς
ὥσπερ ἐν μιᾷ πόλει πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ πολιτευόμενοι τοὺς
ἄρχοντας καθίστατε ἐπ´ αὐτοῖς, οἷον ἐξ ἀρχαιρεσιῶν ἐπὶ
προστασίᾳ καὶ προνοίᾳ τῶν ἀρχομένων, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ δεσπότας εἶναι.
ὥστε ὑποχωρεῖ μὲν ἄρχων ἄρχοντι, ὅταν αὐτοῦ
ὁ χρόνος ἐξήκῃ, καὶ οὐδ´ ἂν ἀπαντήσειε ῥᾳδίως· τοσοῦτον ἀπέχει τοῦ
διενεχθῆναι ἄγαν, ὡς αὐτοῦ τῆς χώρας
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Traduction française :
| [207] They are convinced that he knows
what they are doing better than they know it themselves. They fear and
respect him more than any slave could fear his master standing over him
personally and giving orders. None of them are so proud that they can sit
still if they so much as hear his name. They leap up, praise him, bow,
and utter a double prayer, to the gods on behalf of him, and to him on
their own behalf. If they feel the slightest doubt about their subjects
lawsuits, public or private, or whether petitions should be granted, they
immediately send to him and ask what to do, and they wait for a signal
from him, like a chorus from its director. No need for him to wear himself
out making the rounds of the whole empire, or to be in one place
after another adjusting the affairs of each people whenever he sets foot
in their country. Instead, he can very easily sit and manage the whole
world by letters, which are practically no sooner written than delivered,
as if flown in by birds.
I shall now say what above all deserves admiration, wonder, and
gratitude in word and deed. While your empire is so large and you rule
it with so much statesmanship and authority, the following is by far your
greatest triumph, and one quite peculiar to you: You are the only ones
ever to rule over freemen. You do not give Caria over to Tissaphernes,
Phrygia to Pharnabazus, Egypt to someone else. You do not present a
province to so-and-so, like a household of slaves to obey someone who
is not free himself. Your state is administered like a single city, and
you choose governors for the whole world as if it were one city holding
an election. They are to protect and care for the governed, not to
be their masters. One governor makes way for another when his term
expires; and so far from claiming that the province belongs to him, he
will hardly stay on till his successor takes over.
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