Texte grec :
| [38,0] ΠΡΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΙΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΝΙΚΑΕΙΣ.
(1) Ὅταν ἐκλογίσωμαι τὰς αἰτίας, ἄνδρες Νικομηδεῖς, δι´ ἃς ἐποιήσασθέ
με πολίτην· οὐ γὰρ πλοῦτον ὄντα ὁρῶ μοι μέγαν, ὥστε
νομίζειν ὅτι διὰ χρήματα ἐσπουδάσθην ὑφ´ ὑμῶν, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸ
θεραπεύειν τοὺς ὄχλους ἐπιτηδείως ἔχοντι ἐμαυτῷ σύνοιδα· οὔκουν
οὐδὲ εἰς τοῦτό μου χρῄζειν δοκεῖτε, τὸ ταῖς ὁρμαῖς ὑμῶν ἁπάσαις
ὑπηρετεῖν ἑτοίμως ἐμέ· ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ συμποτικός εἰμί τις οὐδὲ
κοινὸς ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις συνουσίαις, ὥστε ἀπό γε τούτου παρέχειν
τοῖς πλήθεσιν ἡδονήν· εἰ δὲ μὴ διαμαρτάνω μήτε τῆς ὑμετέρας
περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ προαιρέσεως, ὅσα τε ὑμῖν δύναμαι χρήσιμος εἶναι,
ταῦτα ἐπίσταμαι· τὸ λοιπόν ἐστιν, δι´ ὃ πολίτης ἐγὼ γεγένημαι
παρ´ ὑμῖν {σπουδῆς}, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ τὸ συμβουλεύειν ἐμέ τι περὶ
τῶν κοινῇ συμφερόντων ἴσως μᾶλλον ἑτέρων καὶ βούλεσθαι καὶ
δύνασθαι.
(2) τοῦτο δὲ εἰ μὲν οὐκ ἔστι τοιοῦτον, ὑμεῖς τε τῆς περὶ
ἐμὲ σπουδῆς διημάρτετε ἐγώ τε ἔοικα μάτην ὑπακούσας ὑμῖν ἐπ´
ἐλπίδι τοῦ γενήσεσθαι τῇ πόλει χρήσιμος, οὐ ποιουμένων μου
χρείαν ὑμῶν, εἰς ἣν μόνον ἐπιτήδειός εἰμι. εἰ δὲ πάσαις μὲν
ταῖς πόλεσι, μᾶλλον δὲ ταῖς μεγάλαις, δεῖ μὲν καὶ τῶν πλουσίων,
ἵνα καὶ χορηγῶσι καὶ φιλοτιμῶνται ταυτὶ τὰ νενομισμένα δαπανήματα,
δεῖ δὲ καὶ κολάκων ἀνδρῶν, ἵνα δημαγωγοῦσιν αὐτοῖς ἥδωνται·
δεῖ δὲ καὶ συμβούλων, ἵνα σῴζωνται ταῖς πολιτείαις, κἀγὼ
καθ´ ὅσον μοι δυνατὸν οὐκ ὀκνήσω περὶ τῶν μεγίστων συμβουλεύων
ὠφελεῖν τὴν πόλιν.
(3) ἔστι μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ παρ´ ὑμῖν ἐπαναρθώσεως ἄξια
καὶ κατὰ μέρος αὐτῶν ποιήσομαι τὴν θεραπείαν,
ἂν τἀληθῆ λέγων πιστευθῶ περὶ τῶν μειζόνων. τί δὲ
παθὼν ἢ τί βουλόμενος οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν μικροτέρων συμβουλεύω
πρότερον, οὐδὲ ἐν ἐκείνοις ἀποπειρῶμαι τοῦ δήμου τῆς εὐπειθείας,
ἀλλ´ εὐθὺς ἀξιῶ κινδυνεύειν περὶ τοῦ μεγίστου συμβουλεύων πράγματος;
ὅτι πολλῷ μοι δοκεῖ ῥᾷον εἶναι πεῖσαι περὶ τῶν μεγίστων
ἢ τῶν μικροτέρων καὶ φαύλων. τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἔξεστι καὶ καταφρονῆσαι
τῆς ἀπ´ αὐτῶν γιγνομένης βλάβης, ὁ δὲ χωρὶς ὧν ἀμήχανόν
ἐστιν αὐτῷ σῴζεσθαι, περὶ τούτων οὐκ ἐθελήσας πεισθῆναι δῆλός
(4) ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τῶν μικροτέρων οὐδὲ ἀκουσόμενος. ὅτι μὲν οὖν, ἐὰν
ὑπομείνητε τὴν συμβουλίαν, πεισθήσεσθέ μοι περὶ ὧν συμβουλεύων
πάρειμι, καὶ δὴ σφόδρα θαρρῶ. τὸ δὲ δύσκολον τοῦτ´
ἔστι, τὸ μήτε φορτικὴν ὑμᾶς ἡγήσασθαι τὴν ἀκρόασιν τὴν περὶ
τοῦ πράγματος μήτε περιττὴν μήτε ἄκαιρον. ἵνα οὖν μοι μὴ ταῦτα
προαπαντήσῃ παρ´ ὑμῶν, Τί δὲ συμβουλεύεις σὺ περὶ ὧν ἡμεῖς
τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ βουλευόμεθα; Τί δὲ σεαυτῷ λόγου μεταδίδως, οὗ
σοὶ μὴ μετέδομεν ἡμεῖς; Διὰ τί δὲ τοσούτων πεπολιτευμένων παρ´
ἡμῖν ἀνδρῶν ἐπιχωρίων, εἰσποιητῶν, ῥητόρων, φιλοσόφων, γερόντων,
νέων, οὐδέποτε οὐδεὶς ἐτόλμησεν ἡμῖν συμβουλεῦσαι ταύτην
τὴν συμβουλίαν;
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Traduction française :
| [38,0] THE THIRTY - EIGHTH DISCOURSE :
TO THE NICOMEDIANS ON CONCORD WITH THE NICAEANS.
(1) MEN of Nicomedia, when I undertake to compute
the reasons why you gave me citizenship, I am at
a loss ; for I do not see that I have great wealth
such as to warrant my believing that I have been
sought after by you for mercenary reasons, nor am
I conscious of having an aptitude for flattering the
masses ; so you do not seem to want me even for
the purpose of readily serving your every whim. No,
the fact is that I am not even good company at a
banquet or a sociable person at gatherings of that
sort, so as to be able at least to afford pleasure for
the populace from that quality. However, if I do
not wholly mistake your purpose regarding me, and
also if I am cognizant of all the matters in which
I am capable of serving you, the only thing left to
account for my having been made a citizen by you
is naught else than that, perhaps to a greater degree
than others, I have both the desire and the ability
to give advice on the interests of the commonwealth.
(2) However, if such is not the case, then not only have
you been misguided in your interest in me but I
too, it would appear, was rash in heeding your call
in the hope of proving useful to your city in the
future, since you are not making that use of me for
which alone I am adapted. If, on the other hand,
all cities, or rather the great cities, need not only
the men of wealth, both to finance the public spectacles
and liberally to provide such customary expenses,
and flatterers to afford pleasure by their
demagogic clap-trap, but also counsellors to provide
safety by their policies, I myself shall not shrink
from aiding the city to the best of my ability by
giving advice on matters of greatest importance.
(3) Well now, there are indeed some other things in
your city which deserve correction, and one after
the other I shall apply my treatment to them,
provided I win your confidence by speaking the
truth about the greater matters. But for what
strange reason or with what purpose do I not first
give advice about the smaller matters and in those
matters test the willingness of the people to be persuaded,
instead of choosing to jeopardize my reputation
at the start by offering advice on the weightiest
matter of all ? It is because it seems to me far
easier to persuade men concerning the weightiest
matters than concerning those which are slighter or
trivial. For while one may actually scorn the harm
resulting from these minor matters, a man who, when
it is a question of policies apart from which it is
impossible for him to be saved, has refused to be
persuaded regarding these things is clearly a man
who will not even listen concerning the minor
matters.
(4) So then, if you will endure my advice with patience,
I am indeed very confident you will be persuaded
by me in the matters about which I am here to advise
you. What then ? It is a hard task to get you to
view my remarks upon the subject which I have in
mind as neither tiresome nor superfluous nor untimely.
In order, therefore, that I may not at the
outset encounter such objections on your part as:
" But why do you offer advice in matters about which,
to begin with, we are not even deliberating ? "
" But why do you accord yourself the privilege of
the floor, when we have not bestowed it on you ? "
" But for what reason, when so many have been
active in politics in our city, native-born and adopted,
orators and philosophers, old and young, has no one
ever presumed to give us this advice ? "
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