Texte grec :
| [4,50] ἐπεπόνθει γὰρ τοὐναντίον ἤ φησιν Ὅμηρος τὸν Ἀχιλλέα νεκρὸν
πεπονθέναι. ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἔλεγεν ὅτι ζῶν βούλοιτο θητεύειν
ἀνδρὶ παρ´ ἀκλήρῳ, ᾧ μὴ βίοτος πολὺς εἴη,
ἢ πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσειν·
ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος δοκεῖ μοι ἑλέσθαι ἂν καὶ τοῦ τρίτου μέρους τῶν
νεκρῶν ἄρχειν ἀποθανὼν ἢ ζῆν τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον θεὸς γενόμενος,
(51) {μόνον} εἰ μὴ βασιλεὺς γένοιτο τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν. μόνου δ´ ἴσως
οὐκ ἂν ὑπερεῖδε τοῦ Διός, ὅτι βασιλέα καλοῦσιν αὐτὸν {οἱ ἄνθρωποι}·
ὅθεν καὶ ἐκόλαζεν αὐτὸν ὁ Διογένης πάντα τρόπον. ἔφη
οὖν, Ὦ Διόγενες, σὺ μέν μοι παίζειν δοκεῖς· ἐγὼ δὲ ἂν Δαρεῖον
ἕλω καὶ ἔτι τὸν Ἰνδῶν βασιλέα, οὐδέν με κωλύσει τῶν πώποτε βασιλέων
μέγιστον εἶναι. τί γὰρ ἐμοὶ λοιπόν ἐστι κρατήσαντι Βαβυλῶνος
καὶ Σούσων καὶ Ἐκβατάνων καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἰνδοῖς πραγμάτων;
(52) καὶ ὃς ὁρῶν αὐτὸν φλεγόμενον ὑπὸ τῆς φιλοτιμίας κἀκεῖ τῇ ψυχῇ
ὅλον τεταμένον καὶ φερόμενον, ὥσπερ αἱ γέρανοι, ὅποι ἂν ὁρμήσωσιν,
(53) ἀποτείνασαι ἑαυτὰς πέτονται, Ἀλλ´ οὐδὲν ἕξεις, ἔφη, πλέον
οὐδενὸς οὐδὲ τῷ ὄντι βασιλεύσεις ἀφ´ ἧς ἔχεις {ταύτης} διανοίας,
οὐδὲ ἂν ὑπερβαλλόμενος τὸ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι τεῖχος οὕτως ἕλῃς τὴν
πόλιν, ἀλλὰ μὴ διορύττων ἔξωθεν καὶ ὑπορύττων, {ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ
τὸ ἐν Σούσοις καὶ τὸ ἐν Βάκτροις}, οὐδ´ ἂν Κῦρον μιμησάμενος
κατὰ τὸν ποταμὸν εἰσρυῇς, ὥσπερ ὕδρος, οὐδ´ ἂν ἑτέραν προσλάβῃς
μείζω τῆς Ἀσίας ἤπειρον, τὸν Ὠκεανὸν διανηξάμενος.
(54) ἢ σὺ τοὺς ἀλεκτρυόνας οὐ καλεῖς νόθους, οἳ ἂν ὦσιν ἐξ
ἀνομοίων; ἢ οὐ μείζων σοι δοκεῖ διαφορὰ θεοῦ πρὸς γυναῖκα
θνητὴν ἢ γενναίου ἀλεκτρυόνος; εἰ οὖν γέγονας οὕτως καθάπερ
φασί, καὶ σὺ νόθος ἂν εἴης ὥσπερ ἀλεκτρυών. τυχὸν δὲ καὶ
μαχιμώτατος ἔσῃ τῶν ἄλλων διὰ ταύτην τὴν νοθείαν.
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Traduction française :
| [4,50] His state of mind, you see, was the
opposite of what Homer says was that of Achilles' ghost.
For that hero said that he preferred to live in bondage to
"Some man of mean estate, who makes scant cheer,
Rather than reign o'er all who have gone down
To death."
But Alexander, I doubt not, would have chosen to
die and govern even a third part of the dead rather
than become merely a god and live for everunless,
of course, he became king over the other gods.
Perhaps, too, Zeus is the only one for whom he
would have shown no contempt, and that because
men call him king. This is the reason why Diogenes
was bent on reproving him thoroughly.
The king replied, "Diogenes, you seem to be
joking. If I capture Darius and the king of the
Indians to boot, there will be nothing to prevent my
being the greatest king that ever lived. For what is
left for me when I have once become master of Babylon,
Susa, Ecbatana, and the Empire of the Indies ? "
And the other, observing that he was aflame with ambition
and that with all his heart he was being borne
at full stretch in that direction, just as the cranes
when flying stretch themselves out in whatever
direction they are speeding, exclaimed, " Nay, in
the state of mind in which you are, you will have
not one whit more than anyone else, nor will you
really be a king, no, not even if you leap over the
walls of Babylon and capture the city in that way,
instead of breaking through the walls from without
or sapping them from beneath, nor even if you
imitate Cyrus and glide in like a water-snake by
the river-route, and in the same way get inside the
walls of Susa and Bactra, no, not even though
you swim across the ocean and annex another
continent greater than Asia."
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