[34,25] καὶ μὴν ὅ γε ἔφην τὸ πρότερον αὐξῆσαι τὴν πόλιν, τοῦτο οὐχ ὁρῶ νῦν ὑμῖν ὑπάρχον, τὸ ἐξαίρετον εὐεργεσίαν καὶ χάριν καταθέσθαι τῷ κρατοῦντι, δῆλον ὅτι τῷ μὴ δεηθῆναι μηδενὸς αὐτὸν τοιούτου· πλὴν ὅτι γε {εἰ} μηδὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἔχετε πλεῖον πρὸς αὐτόν· ὥστε ὧν παρ´ ἐκείνου τότε δι´ εὔνοιαν καὶ φιλίαν ἐτύχετε, ταῦτα ὀφείλετε φυλάττειν τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον δι´ εὐταξίαν καὶ τὸ μηδεμίαν αἰτίαν (26) διδόναι καθ´ αὑτῶν. καὶ μηδείς με νομίσῃ ταῦτα λέγειν ἁπλῶς ἁπάντων ἀνέχεσθαι παραινοῦντα ὑμῖν καὶ πάντα πάσχειν, ἀλλ´ ὅπως ἔμπειροι τῶν καθ´ αὑτοὺς ὄντες καὶ νῦν ἄμεινον βουλεύησθε καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν οὕτως ἀπαιτῆτε τὸν παριόντα μὴ ῥᾳδίως ὑμῖν μηδ´ ὡς ἂν ἐπέλθῃ μηδὲν εἰσηγεῖσθαι, πάντα δὲ εἰδότα καὶ περὶ πάντων ἐσκεμμένον. καὶ γὰρ ἰατρόν, ὅστις ἐξήτακεν ἀκριβῶς τὰ τοῦ κάμνοντος, ὡς μηδὲν αὐτὸν λανθάνειν, τοῦτον εἰκὸς ἄριστα θεραπεύειν. (27) ὅτι μὲν οὖν δεῖται τὰ παρόντα προσοχῆς καὶ βελτίονος συμβούλου {οὐ} τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης καὶ δι´ ἀργύριον ἢ διὰ γένος παριόντων, ἐνθένδε ὁρᾶτέ πως. ὅταν γὰρ μήτε αὐτοὶ βεβαίως ὁμονοῆτε μήθ´ αἱ πλείους τῶν πέριξ πόλεων οἰκείως ὑμῖν ἔχωσιν, ἀλλ´ οἱ μὲν φθονῶσιν, ἐκ πολλοῦ ἀντιφιλοτιμούμενοι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, οἱ δὲ ἀπεχθάνωνται, διὰ τὸ ὑπὲρ τῆς χώρας ἀμφισβητεῖν, οἱ δὲ οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως γε ἐνοχλεῖσθαι λέγωσιν, ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς οἴηται μὲν τὰ βελτίω φρονεῖν περὶ {αὐτοὺς} ὑμᾶς, ἠναγκασμένοι δὲ ἦτε προσκροῦσαι καὶ πρότερον ἀλλήλοις, ἔτι δὲ ἐπίφθονοι τῷ τε μεγέθει τῆς πόλεως νομίζησθε καὶ τῷ πολλὰ τῶν ὄντων ἀπολαβεῖν δυνήσεσθαι· πῶς οὐχὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἐπιμελοῦς καὶ περιεσκεμμένης γνώμης δεῖσθε; (28) τί οὖν; οὐχ ἱκανοὶ ταῦτα οἱ πολῖται συνιδεῖν καὶ παραινέσαι; πόθεν; εἰ γὰρ ἦσαν ἱκανοὶ τὸ δέον εὑρίσκειν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν οἱ προεστῶτες καὶ πολιτευόμενοι, πάντες ἂν ἀεὶ καλῶς ἀπήλλαττον καὶ ἀπαθεῖς ἦσαν κακῶν, εἰ μή τις αὐτόματος ἄλλως ἐπέλθοι τισὶ συμφορά. ἀλλ´ οἶμαι καὶ πάλαι καὶ νῦν πλείονα εὕροι τις ἂν συμβεβηκότα δεινὰ ταῖς πόλεσι δι´ ἄγνοιαν τοῦ συμφέροντος καὶ τὰ τῶν προεστώτων ἁμαρτήματα τῶν ἐκ τοῦ δαιμονίου καὶ παρὰ (29) τῆς τύχης. οἱ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν δυνάμενοι τῶν δεόντων ἰδεῖν οὐδ´ ἐπιμεληθέντες αὑτῶν πρότερον, μηδὲ κώμην ὄντες ἱκανοὶ διοικῆσαι κατὰ τρόπον, ἄλλως δὲ ὑπὸ χρημάτων ἢ γένους συνιστάμενοι προσέρχονται τῷ πολιτεύεσθαι· τινὲς δὲ ταύτην ἐπιμέλειαν εἶναι νομίζοντες, ἂν ῥήματα συμφορῶσι καὶ ταῦτα τῶν πολλῶν ὁπωσδὴ θᾶττον συνείρωσι, μηδενὸς τἄλλα ἀμείνους ὄντες. τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, διὰ μὲν τὸ βέλτιστον καὶ τῆς πατρίδος αὐτῆς ἕνεκεν οὔ, λοιπὸν δὲ διὰ δόξας καὶ τιμὰς καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι πλέον ἑτέρου καὶ στεφάνους καὶ προεδρίας καὶ πορφύρας διώκοντες, πρὸς ταῦτα ἀποβλέποντες καὶ τούτων ἐξηρτημένοι τοιαῦτα πράττουσι καὶ λέγουσιν, ἐξ ὧν αὐτοί τινες εἶναι δόξουσιν.

[34,25] And I must add that I do not find existing in your favour now that asset which I said had in the past increased the prestige of Tarsus—your having placed to your credit with the Emperor exceptional service and kindness—evidently because he has no further need of such assistance. However, the fact remains that you have no advantage with him over the other dominions; consequently what you obtained from Caesar on that former occasion through your loyalty and friendship you should safeguard for the future through good behaviour and through giving no occasion for criticism. (26) And let no one suppose that in saying this I am advising you to put up with absolutely anybody and to endure any and every thing ; nay, my purpose is rather that you, being acquainted with your own situation, may not only take better counsel in the present instance, but may also in the future demand that the man who comes forward to speak shall make his proposals to you, not in an off-hand manner nor on the inspiration of the moment, but with full knowledge and after careful examination of every detail. For the physician who has investigated minutely the symptoms of his patient, so that nothing can escape him, is the one who is likely to administer the best treatment. (27) That your present situation, then, demands careful attention, and a better adviser than those who ascend the rostrum by chance or for mercenary reasons or because of family position, you can perceive in some measure from what follows. For at a time when your own harmony is not assured, and when most of the cities that surround you are not on friendly terms with you, but some are envious through long rivalry with you, while others are actively hostile because of disputes over territory, and still others claim to be subjeet to annoyance in one form or another, and when the general supposes, to be sure, that your feeling toward him is improving, although you and he have been compelled to clash with one another even previously, and when, furthermore, you are viewed with jealousy because of the very magnitude of your city and the ability you will have to rob your neighbours of many of their possessions—at a time like this, how can you for these reasons fail to require careful and well-considered judgement? (28) "Well then," you interject, "are not the citizens competent to appraise this situation and to give advice regarding it? " Absurd! For if the leaders and statesmen in the cities were competent to hit upon the proper course, all men would always fare handsomely and be free from harm—unless of course some chance misfortune should perversely befall one city or another. But on the contrary, in my opinion, both in former days and at the present time you would find that more dreadful things have happened to cities through ignorance of what is to their interest and through the mistakes of their leaders than the disasters that happen by divine will or through mere chance. (29) For sometimes men without any ability to perceive what is needful, men who have never given heed to their own welfare in the past, incompetent to manage even a village as it should be managed, but recommended only by wealth or family, undertake the task of government; still others undertake that task in the belief that they are displaying diligence if they merely heap up phrases and string them together in any way at all with greater speed than most men can, although in all else they are in no way superior to anybody else. And what is most serious is that these men, not for the sake of what is truly best and in the interest of their country itself, but for the sake of reputation and honours and the possession of greater power than their neighbours, in the pursuit of crowns and precedence and purple robes, fixing their gaze upon these things and staking all upon their attainment, do and say such things as will enhance their own reputations.