Texte grec :
| [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.
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Traduction française :
| [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.
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