[38,35] ὥστε ἐν ᾧ περὶ τοῦ πρωτείου μάχεσθε ὑμεῖς, κινδυνεύει τὸ πρωτεῖον παρ´ ἐκείνοις εἶναι τοῖς θεραπευομένοις ὑφ´ ὑμῶν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔνεστιν οὐκ ἔχειν τοῦτο δοκεῖν τινας, ὃ παρ´ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ὑμεῖς λαμβάνειν ἀξιοῦτε. καὶ τὰς πόλεις οὖν πᾶσα ἀνάγκη γενήσεται τὴν τάξιν τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀπολαβεῖν, καὶ ὥσπερ εἰκός ἐστι καὶ δίκαιον, ἐκείνας ὑμῶν χρῄζειν, οὐχ ὑμᾶς ἐκείνων. καὶ οὐχὶ παρὰ τοῦτο ἀξιώσω τυραννικῶς ὑμᾶς αὐτοῖς προσφέρεσθαι, πρᾴως δὲ καὶ μετρίως, ὥσπερ ὑφηγησάμην μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν, ἵνα μὴ φορτικὸν γένηται τὸ πρωτεῖον ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρωτεῖον ᾖ καὶ φιλῆται. (36) τὰ δὲ τῶν ἡγεμόνων νῦν μὲν ὅπως ἔχει, τί δεῖ πρὸς ἐπισταμένους λέγειν; ἢ γὰρ οὐκ ἐπαισθάνεσθε τῆς τυραννίδος, ἣν ἡ στάσις ἡ ὑμετέρα δίδωσι τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ὑμῶν; εὐθέως γὰρ ὁ βουλόμενος ἀδικῆσαι τὸ ἔθνος εἰδὼς ἥκει τί δεῖ ποιήσαντα αὐτὸν μὴ δοῦναι δίκην. ἢ γὰρ τῇ Νικαέων ἑταιρείᾳ προστίθεται καὶ τὸ μέρος τὸ ἐκείνων ἔχει βοηθοῦν ἢ τοὺς Νικομηδεῖς ἑλόμενος ὑφ´ ὑμῶν σῴζεται. καὶ φιλεῖ μὲν οὐδετέρους, δοκεῖ δὲ τοὺς ἑτέρους φιλεῖν· ἀδικεῖ δὲ πάντας. ἀδικῶν δὲ σῴζεται διὰ τοὺς μόνους οἰομένους ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ φιλεῖσθαι. (37) κατεγνώκασι δὲ ὑμῶν ἄνοιαν δημοσίᾳ, καὶ χρῶνται καθάπερ τοῖς παιδίοις ὑμῖν, οἷς πολλάκις ἀντὶ τῶν μεγίστων προτείνεται τὰ μικρότατα· κἀκεῖνα διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν ὡς ἀληθῶς μεγάλων καὶ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὰ ἐλάχιστα ἡδονὴν χαίρει τῷ μηδενί· καὶ ὑμῖν οὕτως ἀντὶ δικαιοσύνης, ἀντὶ τοῦ μὴ συλᾶσθαι τὰς πόλεις μηδὲ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν ἰδίων, ἀντὶ τοῦ μὴ ὑβρίζειν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἀντὶ τοῦ μὴ παροινεῖν, προτείνουσιν ὀνόματα καὶ ἢ εἶπον ὑμᾶς πρώτους ἢ ἔγραψαν· εἶτά εἰσιν ἀκίνδυνοι τὸ λοιπὸν ὑμῖν ὡς ἐσχάτοις χρώμενοι. (38) τὰ γὰρ τοιαῦτα, ἐφ´ οἷς μέγα φρονεῖτε, παρὰ πᾶσι μὲν τοῖς ὀρθῶς ἐννοουμένοις διαπτύεται, μάλιστα δὲ παρὰ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις γέλωτα κινεῖ καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ἔτι ὑβριστικώτερον Ἑλληνικὰ ἁμαρτήματα. καὶ γὰρ ἔστιν ἁμαρτήματα, ἄνδρες Νικομηδεῖς, ἀληθῶς, ἀλλ´ οὐχ Ἑλληνικά, εἰ μὴ κατ´ αὐτὸ τοῦτο Ἑλληνικὰ φήσει τις αὐτὰ εἶναι, καθ´ ὅσον ἐκεῖνοι δόξης ἀντεποιήσαντό ποτε καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιοι. τὰ δὲ ἐκείνων εἶπον ἤδη που καὶ πρότερον ὅτι μὴ κενόδοξα ἦν, ἀλλ´ ὑπὲρ ἀρχῆς ἀληθοῦς ἀγών· εἰ μή τι νῦν δοκεῖτε αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς προπομπείας καλῶς ἀγωνίζεσθαι, καθάπερ ἐν μυστηρίῳ τινὶ παίζοντας ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίου πράγματος. (39) ἂν δὲ τὸ μὲν τῆς μητροπόλεως ὑμῖν ὄνομα ἐξαίρετον ᾖ, τὸ δὲ τῶν πρωτείων κοινὸν ᾖ, τί κατὰ τοῦτο ἐλαττοῦσθε; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ τολμήσαιμι ἂν εἰπεῖν ὅτι κἂν πάντων ἐκστῆτε τῶν ὀνομάτων, οὐδενὸς ἐξίστασθε πράγματος. ἢ τί δοκεῖτε παρὰ τοῦτο; τὴν θάλατταν ἀναχωρήσειν ἀφ´ ὑμῶν ἢ τὴν γῆν ὑμῖν ἔσεσθαι μικροτέραν ἢ τὰς προσόδους ἐλάττονας; ἤδη ποτὲ θέας μετελάβετε; μᾶλλον δὲ μόνον οὐχὶ καθ´ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν θεᾶσθε καὶ τοὺς τραγῳδοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, ὅσοι δοκοῦσι μὲν ἡδονῆς ἕνεκεν καὶ τέρψεως εἰς τὰς σκηνὰς παριέναι, τοὺς δὲ αἰσθανομένους τῶν γιγνομένων ὠφελοῦσιν· ἆρ´ οὖν ἐκεῖ τις ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς εἶναι δοκεῖ βασιλεὺς ἢ τύραννος ἢ θεός;

[38,35] And so while you are fighting for primacy, the chances are that the primacy really is in the hands of those who are courted by you. For it is impossible that people should not be thought to possess that which you expect to obtain from those same people. And so it is going to be absolutely necessary that the cities should resume their proper status, and, as is reasonable and right, that they should stand in need of you, not you of them. And applying this principle I shall expect you to behave toward them, not like tyrants, but with kindness and moderation, just as I suggested a little while ago, to the end that your position as leaders may not be obnoxious to them, but that it may be not only leadership but a welcome thing as well. (36) Again, what need is there to discuss the present situation of your governors in the presence of you who are informed ? Or is it possible you are not aware of the tyrannical power your own strife offers those who govern you? For at once whoever wishes to mistreat your people comes armed with the knowIedge of what he must do to escape the penalty. For either he allies himself with the Nicaean party and has their group for his support, or else by choosing the party of Nicomedia he is protected by you. Moreover, while he has no love for either side, he appears to love one of the two ; yet all the while he is wronging them all. Still, despite the wrongs he commits, he is protected by those who believe they alone are loved by him. Yet by their public acts they have branded you as a pack of fools, yes, they treat you just like children, for we often offer children the most trivial things in place of things of greatest worth ; moreover, those children, in their ignorance of what is truly valuable and in their pleasure over what is of least account, delight in what is a mere nothing. So also in your case, in place of justice, in place of the freedom of the cities from spoliation or from the seizure of the private possessions of their inhabitants, in place of their refraining from insulting you, in place of their refraining from drunken violence, your governors hand you titles, and call you " first " either by word of mouth or in writing ; that donc, they may thenceforth with impunity treat you as being the very last ! (38) In truth such marks of distinction, on which you plume yourselves, not only are objects of utter contempt in the eyes of all persons of discernment, but especially in Rome they excite laughter and, what is still more humiliating, are called " Greek failings " And failings they are indeed, men of Nicomedia, though not Greek, unless some one will claim that in this special particular they are Greek, namely, that those Greeks of old, both Athenians and Spartans, once laid counterclaims to glory. However, I may have said already that their doings were not mere vain conceit but a struggle for real empire—though nowadays you may fancy somehow that they were making a valiant struggle for the right to lead the procession, like persons in some mystic celebration putting up a sham battle over something not really theirs. (39) But if, wihile the title " metropolis " is your special prerogative, that of leader is shared with others, what do you lose thereby ? For I would venture to assert that, even if you lose all your titles, you are losing nothing real. Or what do you expert to be the consequence of that ? That the sea will retreat from your shores, or your territory be smaller, or your revenues less ? Have you ever yet been present at a play ? More properly speaking, almost every day you behold not only tragic actors but the other sort too, the various actors who appear to come upon the scene to give pleasure and enjoyment, but who really benefit those who are sensitive to the action of the play. Well then, does any one in the cast appear to you to be really king or prince or god ?