[12,55] πρὸς δὴ ταῦτα τυχὸν εἴποι ἂν Φειδίας, ἅτε ἀνὴρ οὐκ ἄγλωττος οὐδὲ ἀγλώττου πόλεως, ἔτι δὲ συνήθης καὶ ἑταῖρος Περικλέους· Ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, ὁ μὲν ἀγὼν τῶν πώποτε μέγιστος· οὐ γὰρ περὶ ἀρχῆς οὐδὲ περὶ στρατηγίας μιᾶς πόλεως οὐδὲ περὶ νεῶν πλήθους ἢ πεζοῦ στρατοπέδου, πότερον ὀρθῶς ἢ μὴ διῴκηται, τὰ νῦν ὑπέχω λόγον, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ πάντων κρατοῦντος θεοῦ καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ὁμοιότητος, εἴτε εὐσχημόνως καὶ προσεοικότως γέγονεν, οὐδὲν ἐλλείπουσα τῆς δυνατῆς πρὸς τὸ δαιμόνιον ἀνθρώποις ἀπεικασίας, εἴτε ἀναξία καὶ ἀπρεπής.

[12,55] Perhaps in answer to this Pheidias would say, since he was not tongue-tied nor belonged to a tongue-tied city, and besides was the close friend and comrade of Pericles : "My Greek fellow-citizens, the issue is the greatest that has ever arisen. For it is not about empire or the presidency of one single state or the size of the navy or as to whether an army of infantry has or has not been correctly administered, that I am now being called to account, but concerning that god who governs the universe and my representation of him : whether it has been made with due respect to the dignity of the god and so as to be a true likeness of him, in no way falling short of the best portrayal of the divinity that is within the capacity of human beings to make, or is unworthy of him and unbefitting.

[12,56] ἐνθυμεῖσθε δὲ ὅτι οὐκ ἐγὼ πρῶτος ὑμῖν ἐγενόμην ἐξηγητὴς καὶ διδάσκαλος τῆς ἀληθείας. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔφυν ἔτι κατ´ ἀρχὰς τῆς Ἑλλάδος οὐδέπω σαφῆ καὶ ἀραρότα δόγματα ἐχούσης περὶ τούτων, ἀλλὰ πρεσβυτέρας τρόπον τινὰ καὶ τὰ περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἤδη πεπεισμένης καὶ νομιζούσης ἰσχυρῶς. καὶ ὅσα μὲν λιθοξόων ἔργα ἢ γραφέων ἀρχαιότερα τῆς ἐμῆς τέχνης σύμφωνα ἦσαν, πλὴν ὅσον κατὰ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς ποιήσεως, ἐῶ λέγειν.

[12,56] "Remember, too, that it is not I who was your first expounder and teacher of the truth, for I was not even born as yet when Hellas began to be and while it still had no ideas that were firmly established about these matters, but when it was rather old, so to speak, and already had strong beliefs and convictions about the gods. And all the works of sculptors or painters earlier than my art which I found to be in harmony therewith, except so far as the perfection of the workmanship is concerned, I omit to mention ;