[8,25] Φέρε, εἰ δὲ δὴ πάντας μὲν ἀνθρώπους καὶ τοὺς μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντάς σε γυναιξὶν ὁμοῦ καὶ τέκνοις δίκας σοι δοῦναι προσῆκε, πάντας δὲ θεούς τε καὶ ἥρωας καὶ δαίμονας πόλιν τε καὶ χώραν ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς τῶν δημάρχων ἀνοίας, καὶ μηδὲν ἐξαίρετον μηδ´ ἀτιμώρητον ἀφεῖσθαι μέρος ὑπὸ σοῦ, οὐχ ἱκανὰς ἤδη παρὰ πάντων εἰσπέπραξαι δίκας τοσοῦτον μὲν φόνον ἐργασάμενος ἀνθρώπων, τοσαύτην δὲ χώραν πυρὶ καὶ σιδήρῳ λωβησάμενος, τοσαύτας δὲ πόλεις ἐκ βάθρων ἀναστήσας, ἑορτὰς δὲ καὶ θυσίας καὶ σεβασμοὺς θεῶν καὶ δαιμόνων ἐν πολλοῖς τόποις ἀνεόρτους ἀναγκάσας γενέσθαι καὶ ἀθύτους καὶ τιμῶν νομίμων ἀμοίρους; ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἠξίουν ἄνδρα, ὅτῳ φροντὶς ὁποσηοῦν ἀρετῆς ἐστιν, οὔτε συναναιρεῖν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τὰ φίλια οὔτε χαλεπὸν ὀργὴν εἶναι καὶ ἀπαραίτητον εἰς τοὺς ἐξαμαρτάνοντάς τι περὶ αὐτόν, ἄλλως τε καὶ δίκας παρ´ αὐτῶν εἰληφότα πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας. ἃ μὲν οὖν ἀπολογεῖσθαί τε περὶ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν εἴχομεν καὶ παραιτεῖσθαί σε περὶ τῶν δημοτικῶν, ταῦτ´ ἐστιν, ἃ δ´ ὑποτίθεσθαί σοι δι´ εὔνοιαν οἱ τιμιώτατοι φίλων ἥκοντες καὶ ὑπισχνεῖσθαι διαλλαττομένῳ πρὸς τὴν πατρίδα, ταυτί· ἐν ᾧ τὸ δύνασθαί σοι μάλιστα ὑπάρχει καὶ τὸ θεῖον ἔτι συλλαμβάνει μετριάσαι καὶ ταμιεύεσθαι τὴν τύχην ἐνθυμηθέντα, ὅτι μεταβολὰς ἔχει πάντα τὰ πράγματα καὶ οὐδὲν ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτῶν φιλεῖ διαμένειν, νεμεσᾶταί τε πάντα ὑπὸ θεῶν τὰ ὑπερέχοντα, ὅταν εἰς ἄκρον ἐπιφανείας ἀφίκηται, καὶ τρέπεται πάλιν εἰς τὸ μηδέν. μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο πάσχει τὰ σκληρὰ καὶ μεγάλαυχα φρονήματα καὶ τοὺς ὅρους ἐκβαίνοντα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως. ὑπάρχει δέ σοι νῦν ἁπάντων κράτιστα καταλύσασθαι τὸν πόλεμον· ἥ τε γὰρ βουλὴ πᾶσα ὥρμηται τὴν κάθοδον ψηφίσασθαί σοι, καὶ ὁ δῆμος ἕτοιμός ἐστι νόμῳ κυρωθέντι λῦσαι τὴν ἀειφυγίαν. τί οὖν ἔτι κωλύει σε τὰς ἡδίστας καὶ τιμιωτάτας ὄψεις τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων σωμάτων ἀπολαβεῖν καὶ κεκομίσθαι τὴν περιμάχητον πατρίδα ἄρχειν τε ὥσπερ σοι προσῆκεν ἀρχόντων καὶ ἡγεῖσθαι ἡγεμόνων παισί τε καὶ ἐγγόνοις μέγιστον αὔχημα καταλιπεῖν; τούτων μέντοι τῶν ὑποσχέσεων ἡμεῖς ἐγγυηταὶ πασῶν ἐσμεν ὡς αὐτίκα μάλα γενησομένων. νῦν μὲν γὰρ οὐχὶ καλῶς εἶχε ψηφίσασθαί σοι τὴν βουλὴν ἢ τὸν δῆμον οὐθὲν ἐπιεικὲς ἢ μέτριον, ἕως ἀντιπαρεστρατοπέδευκας ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ πολεμίων ἔργα δρᾷς· εἰ δ´ ἀποσταίης τῶν ὅπλων, ἥξει σοι τὸ περὶ τῆς καθόδου ψήφισμα φερόμενον ὑφ´ ἡμῶν οὐκ εἰς μακράν.

[8,25] "Come now, even if it were fitting that all men, even those who have not wronged you at all, together with their wives and children should make atonement to you, and that all the gods, the heroes and the lesser divinities, the city and the country, should reap the benefit of the tribunes' folly, and that nothing whatever should be exempted, nothing go unrevenged by you, have you not already exacted sufficient punishment from us all you slaying so many people, ravaging so much territory by fire and sword, razing to the ground so many cities, and doing away in many places with the festivals, the sacrifices and the worship of the gods and other divinities and compelling them to go without their festivals and sacrifices and to have no part in their customary honours? For my part, I should have refused to believe that a man who had the least regard for virtue would either destroy his friends along with his enemies or show himself harsh and inexorable in his anger toward those who offend him in any way, especially after he has already exacted from them many severe retributions. These, then, are the considerations we had to offer you by way of both clearing ourselves and asking to be lenient toward the plebeians; and the advice which we, your most valued friends, were ready to give you out of goodwill if you were bent on (p71) strife, and the promises we could make if you were ready to be reconciled to your country, are as follows: While your power is greatest and Heaven still assists you, we advise you to act with moderation and to husband your good fortune, bearing in mind that all things are subject to change and that nothing is apt to continue long in the same state. All things that wax too great, when they reach the peak of eminence, incur the displeasure of the gods and are brought to naught again. And this is the fate which comes especially to stubborn and haughty spirits and those that overstep the bounds of human nature. It is in your power now to put an end to the war on the best possible terms; for the whole senate is eager to pass a vote for your return, and the populace is ready by a law ratifying the senate's vote to annul your sentence of perpetual banishment. What is there, then, to prevent you any longer from enjoying once more the most dear and precious sight of your nearest of kin, from recovering your fatherland that is so well worth fighting for, from ruling, as you ought, over rulers and commanding those who cdm others, and from bequeathing to children and descendants the greatest glory? Moreover, we are the sureties that all these promises will be performed forthwith. For though at present it would not be well for the senate or the people to pass any mild or lenient vote in your favour while you are encamped against us and are committing hostile acts, yet if you lay down your arms, the decree for your return will soon come to you, brought by us.