[34,35] ἔνιοι δ´, ἂν εἰς ἀρχήν τινα καταστῶσιν, ἐν ἐκείνῃ μόνον ζητοῦσιν ἅψασθαί τινος πράξεως, ὅπως ἀπέλθωσιν ἐνδοξότεροι, τοῦτο μόνον σκοποῦντες. τοιγαροῦν πρὸς ἓξ μῆνάς εἰσιν ὑμῖν ἀνδρεῖοι, πολλάκις οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῷ συμφέροντι τῆς πόλεως. ὥστε νῦν μέν ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ λέγων, κἀκείνῳ ἔτι εὐθὺς ἄλλος, εἶθ´ ἕτερος· καὶ τὸν πρὸ τριάκοντα ἡμερῶν λαμπρὸν καὶ μόνον φάσκοντα κήδεσθαι τῆς πόλεως οὐδ´ ἰδεῖν (36) ἔστι προσιόντα τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, καθάπερ οἶμαι τῶν πομπευόντων αὐτὸς ἕκαστος ὀφθῆναι ἐπιθυμῶν κατὰ τοῦτ´ ἐσπούδακεν, ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ, μικρὸν δὲ ἀποστὰς ἔλυσε τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἷς ἐστι καὶ ὅπως δήποτε ἄπεισιν. ἐχρῆν μέντοι τὸν μὲν πρυτανεύοντα τῆς ἀρχῆς τοὺς ἓξ μῆνας ἡγεῖσθαι μέτρον· τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ νόμος κελεύει· τὸν μέντοι γε πολιτευόμενον τῆς εὐνοίας τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ τῆς ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν ἐπιμελείας καὶ σπουδῆς μὴ μὰ Δία καιρόν τινα ἐξαίρετον ἔχειν, καὶ ταῦτα βραχὺν οὕτως, ἀλλ´ εἰς (37) αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀποδύεσθαι καὶ ἀεὶ παραμένειν. νῦν δὲ ὥσπερ οἱ τοῖς ἀπογείοις, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν γνόφων πνεύμασι πλέοντες, οὕτως φέρεσθε, ἄνδρες Ταρσεῖς, οὔτε τῆς τοιαύτης πολιτείας οὔτ´ ἐκείνου τοῦ πλοῦ βέβαιον οὐδ´ ἀσφαλὲς ἔχοντος οὐδέν. διαρκέσαι μὲν γὰρ ἄχρι παντὸς {ἢ διαστήματος} οὐχ οἷαί τέ εἰσιν αἱ τοιαῦται προσβολαί, πολλάκις δὲ κατέδυσαν ἀκαίρως προσπεσοῦσαι. ἔδει δὲ πόλιν οὕτως μεγάλην καὶ λαμπρὰν ἔχειν τοὺς ἀληθῶς προνοοῦντας. ταύτῃ δὲ ἴσως ὑπὸ τῶν ἐφημέρων τούτων καὶ πρὸς ὀλίγον δημαγωγῶν οὐδὲν ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν παθεῖν. (38) περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων καὶ μυρίων ἄλλων πολλὰ ἂν ἔχοι τις λέγειν. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀφ´ ἧς ἐπεδήμησα ἡμέρας ὑμῖν γέγονα δημαγωγός, καὶ ταῦτα ἐπιτιμῶν τοῖς τοιούτοις, * ὅμως εἰπεῖν ἅπερ ὑπεσχόμην, ἃ γιγνώσκω περὶ τῶν παρόντων. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὰ πρὸς τὸν στρατηγόν. ἔσται δέ μοι περὶ πάντων ὁ λόγος. φημὶ δὴ τοίνυν τοὺς ἐν τοιαύτῃ καταστάσει τυγχάνοντας, ὁποία δὴ τὰ νῦν ἐστι παρὰ πᾶσιν, οὕτω προσήκειν φρονεῖν, ὡς μήτε πάντα ἀνεξομένους καὶ παρέξοντας αὑτοὺς ἁπλῶς χρῆσθαι τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας, ὅπως ἂν αὐτοὶ θέλωσι, κἂν εἰς ὁτιοῦν προΐωσιν ὕβρεως καὶ πλεονεξίας, μήτε ὡς ὅλως μηδὲν οἴσοντας διακεῖσθαι, μηδὲ προσδοκᾶν ὅτι Μίνως τις ὑμῶν ἀφίξεται νῦν ἢ Περσεὺς ἐπιμελησόμενος. (39) τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐφ´ ἅπαν ἀποστῆναι τοῦ βοηθεῖν αὑτοῖς ἀνδραπόδων ἐστί, καὶ δυσχερές, εἰ μηδεὶς ὄκνος μηδὲ ὑποψία καταλειφθήσεται τοῖς ἀγνωμονοῦσιν. τὸ δὲ πλῆθος ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ πάντα ἐξετάζειν οὐχ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν. ἐὰν γὰρ ἀλόγως ἐνίοτε ἐγκαλεῖν δόξητε καί τις ὑμῶν περιγένηται· διὰ πολλὰς δ´ ἂν αἰτίας τοῦτο συμβαίη· δέδοικα μὴ τελέως ἀποβάλητε τὴν παρρησίαν. ὁρᾶτε δὲ τοὺς περὶ τὴν Ἰωνίαν, ὅτι μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς κατηγορεῖν ἐψηφίσαντο. δεῖ δὴ τοὺς νοῦν ἔχοντας ἅπαντα ταῦτα προορᾶσθαι, καὶ μὴ καθάπερ τοὺς ἀπείρους ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι ῥᾳδίως ἀφέντας τὸ παρὸν αὐτοῖς ἀνόπλους εἶναι τὸ λοιπὸν καὶ μηδὲν ἔχειν ποιῆσαι, μηδ´ ἂν ἀποσφάττῃ τις.

[34,35] And some, in case they do accept office, seek therein only to engage in some enterprise out of which they may emerge with added glory for themselves, making that their sole aim. Accordingly for six months they are your `men of valour,' frequently not to the advantage of the city either. And so at one moment it is So-and-so who makes the motions, and hard upon his heels cornes someone else in quick succession, and then a third; and he who but one brief month ago was resplendent and claimed to be the only one who cared for the city cannot be seen even coming to the assembly. It reminds me of a parade, in which each participant, eager to catch the public eye, exerts himself to that end until he has passed beyond the spectators, but when he gets a short distance away, he relaxes his pose and is just one of the many and goes home in happy-go-lucky style. However, while your president should regard his six months as the limit to his term of office—for so the law prescribes — still the statesman should not, by heaven, observe any set term for the exercise of benevolence toward you and of care and concern for the commonwealth — and that too a term so brief—nay, he should strip for action for that very purpose and hold himself in readiness for service constantly. But at present, just like men who sail with offshore breezes—or rather with gusts from the storm-clouds—so are you swept along, men of Tarsus, though neither such statecraft nor such voyaging has aught of certainty or of safety in it. For such blasts are not the kind to last for ever or to blow devoid of interruption, but they often sink a ship by falling upon it with undiminished violence. And a city of such size and splendour as your own should have men who truly take thought on its behalf. But as things go now, I dare say, under these transitory, short-lived demagogues no good can come to you. (38) Well then, on these topics, as well as on countless others too, there is a great deal one might say. But since I myself also from the very day of my arrival here have played the demagogue for you, and that too though I find fault with men of that sort, I must notwithstanding express my opinion regarding your present situation, as indeed I promised to do. And first of all, your dealings with the general—but what I have to say will cover everything. Very well then, I say that men who find themselves in such a situation as yours, which of course is the common situation everywhere today, should be so minded as not, on the one hand, to submit to any and every thing and allow those in authority to treat them simply as they please, no matter to what lengths of insolence and greed they may proceed; nor, on the other hand, to be disposed to put up with nothing disagreeable whatever, or to expect, as you might, that some Minos or Perseus will arrive in these days to take care of them. For to refrain entirely from coming to one's own assistance is the conduct of slaves, and it is a serious matter if no remnant of hesitancy or distrust is to be left in the minds of those who deal unfairly. And yet for the populace to incur hatred and be constantly prying into everything is not to your advantage either. For if you get the reputation of making complaints now and then without good reason, and someone gets the better of you—and there are many reasons why this might happen—I fear that you may lose the right of free speech altogether. Pray consider what the people of Ionia have done. They have passed a decree prohibiting accusations against anyone at all. So men of sense should foresee all these contingencies and not, like men inexperienced in fighting, rashly abandoning the equipment they have, be defenceless from then on and unable to act at all, not even if an enemy threatens them with slaughter.