(The moment that you learned this, you led your army out of the narrow and dangerous passes, and he followed in pursuit, as he thought, unaware that he was being outgeneralled, until you both reached open country. When the plains before Myrsa[172] were in sight, the cavalry of both armies were drawn up on the wings, while the infantry formed the centre. Then your Majesty kept the river on your right, and, outflanking the enemy with your left, you at once turned and broke his phalanx, which indeed had from the first the wrong formation, since it had been drawn up by one who knew nothing of war or strategy. Then he who so far had thought he was the pursuer did not even join battle, but took to headlong flight, dismayed by the clash of weapons; he could not even listen without trembling when the legions shouted their battle-song. His ranks had been thrown into disorder, but the soldiers formed into companies and renewed the battle. For they disdained to be seen in flight, and to give an example in their own persons of what had hitherto been inconceivable to all men, I mean a Celtic or Galatian[173] soldier turning his back to the enemy. The barbarians too, who, if defeated, could not hope to make good their retreat, were resolved either to conquer, or not to perish till they had severely punished their opponents. Just see the extraordinary daring of the usurper's troops in the face of dangers and their great eagerness to come to close quarters!)
Οἱ δὲ τῶν ὅλων κρατήσαντες, αἰδούμενοι μὲν ἀλλήλους καὶ τὸν βασιλέα, παροξυνόμενοι δὲ ὐπὸ τῶν πάλαι κατορθωμάτων καὶ τῶν ἐν χερσὶ λαμπρῶν καὶ τέως ἀπίστων ἔργων, τέλος [D] ἄξιον τοῖς προϋπηργμένοις ἐπιθεῖναι φιλοτιμούμενοι πάντα ὑπέμενον ἡδέως πόνον καὶ κίνδυνον. ὥσπερ οὖν ἄρτι τῆς παρατάξεως ἀρχομένης, συνιόντες πάλιν ἔργα τόλμης ἀπεδείκνυντο καὶ θυμοῦ γενναῖα, οἱ μὲν ὠθούμενοι περὶ τοῖς ξίφεσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ λαμβανόμενοι τῶν ἀσπίδων, καὶ τῶν ἱππέων ὁπόσους ἵπποι τρωθέντες ἀπεσείοντο πρὸς τοὺς ὁπλίτας μετεσκευάζοντο. ταῦτα ἔδρων οἱ ξὺν τῷ τυράννῳ τοῖς πεζοῖς ἐπιβρέσαντες· καὶ ἦν ὁ πόλεμος ἐξ ἴσης, ἕως οἱ θωρακοφόροι καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν ἱππέων πλῆθος, [37] οἱ μὲν ἐκ τόξων βάλλοντες, ἄλλοι δὲ ἐπελαύνοντες τοὺς ἵππους, πολλοὺς μὲν ἔκτεινον, ἐδίωκον δὲ ἅπαντας καρτερῶς, τινὰς μὲν πρὸς τὸ πεδίον ὡρμηκότας φεύγειν, ὧν ἡ νὺξ ὀλίγους ἀπέσωσε μόλις, τὸ λοιπὸν δὲ ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν κατηνέχθη, καθάπερ βοῶν ἢ βοσκημάτων ἀγέλη συνελαυνόμενοι. τοσαῦτα ἐκεῖνο τὸ στράτευμα τῆς τοῦ τυράννου δειλίας, οὐδὲν ἐκεῖνον ὀνῆσαν ἐκ τῆς [B] ἀνδρείας τῆς αὑτοῦ, μάτην ἀπέλαυσε.
(Our men, on the other hand, had so far carried all before them and were anxious to retain the good opinion of their comrades and of the Emperor, and were moreover stimulated by their successes in the past and by the almost incredible brilliance of their exploits in this very engagement, and, ambitious as they were to end the day as gloriously as they had begun it, cheerfully encountered toil and danger. So they charged again as though the battle had only just begun, and gave a wonderful display of daring and heroism. For some hurled themselves full on the enemy's swords, or seized the enemy's shields, others, when their horses were wounded and the riders thrown, at once transformed themselves into hoplites. The usurper's army meanwhile did the same and pressed our infantry hard. Neither side gained the advantage, till the cuirassiers by their archery, aided by the remaining force of cavalry, who spurred on their horses to the charge, had begun to inflict great loss on the enemy, and by main force to drive the whole army before them. Some directed their flight to the plain, and of these a few were saved just in time by the approach of night. The rest were flung into the river, crowded together like a herd of oxen or brute beasts. Thus did the usurper's army reap the fruits of his cowardice, while their valour availed him nothing.)
Τρόπαιον δὲ ἀνέστησας ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ τοῦ πατρῴου λαμπρότερον. ὁ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς τέως ἀμάχους [pg 096] δοκοῦντας ἄγων ἐκράτει γέροντος δυστυχοῦς· σὺ δὲ ἡβῶσαν καὶ ἀκμάζουσαν οὐ τοῖς κακοῖς μόνον οἷς ἔδρα, τῇ νεότητι δὲ πλέον, τὴν τυραννίδα παρεστήσω, τοῖς ὑπὸ σοῦ παρασκευασθεῖσι στρατοπέδοις παραταξάμενος. τίς γὰρ εἰπεῖν ἔχει τῶν πρόσθεν αὐτοκρατόρων ἱππικὴν δύναμιν καὶ σκευὴν τῶν [C] ὅπλων τοιαύτην ἐπινοήσαντα καὶ μιμησάμενον; ᾗ πρῶτος αὐτὸς ἐγγυμνασάμενος διδάσκαλος ἐγένου τοῖς ἄλλοις ὅπλων χρήσεως ἀμάχου. ὑπὲρ ἧς εἰπεῖν τολμήσαντες πολλοὶ τῆς ἀξίας διήμαρτον, ὥσθ᾽ ὅσοι τῶν λόγων ἀκούσαντες ὕστερον ἰδεῖν ηὐτύχησαν τὰς ἀκοὰς σαφῶς ἀπιστοτέρας ἔγνωσαν εἶναι τῶν ὀμμάτων. ἄπειρον γὰρ ἦγες[174] ἱππέων πλῆθος, καθάπερ ἀνδριάντας ἐπὶ τῶν ἵππων ὀχουμένους, οἷς συνήρμοστο τὰ μέλη κατὰ μίμησιν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως· [D] ἀπὸ μὲν τῶν ἄκρων καρπῶν ἐς τοὺς ἀγκῶνας, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους, καὶ ὁ θώραξ ἐκ[175] τμημάτων κατὰ τὸ στέρνον καὶ τὰ νῶτα συναρμοζόμενος, τὸ κράνος αὐτῷ προσώπῳ σιδηροῦν ἐπικείμενον ἀνδριάντος λαμπροῦ καὶ στίλβοντος παρέχει τὴν ὄψιν, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ κνῆμαι καὶ μηροὶ μηδὲ ἄκροι πόδες τῆς σκευῆς ταύτης ἔρημοι λείπονται. συναρμοζομένων δὲ αὐτῶν τοῖς θώραξι διά τινων ἐκ κρίκου λεπτοῦ πεποιημένων οἱονεὶ ὑφασμάτων οὐδὲν ἂν ὀφθείη τοῦ σώματος γυμνὸν μέρος, ἅτε καὶ τῶν χειρῶν [38] τοῖς ὑφάσμασι τούτοις σκεπομένων πρὸς τὸ καὶ καμπτομένοις ἐπακολουθεῖν τοῖς δακτύλοις. ταῦτα [pg 098] ὁ λόγος παραστῆσαι μὲν σαφῶς ἐπιθυμεῖ, ἀπολειπόμενος δὲ θεατὰς τῶν ὅπλων τοὺς μαθεῖν τι πλέον ἐθέλοντας, οὐχὶ δὲ ἀκροατὰς τῆς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν διηγήσεως ἀξιοῖ γενέσθαι.
(The trophy that you set up for that victory was far more brilliant than your father's. He led an army that had always proved itself invincible, and with it conquered a miserable old man.[176] But the tyranny that you suppressed was flourishing and had reached its height, partly through the crimes that had been committed, but still more because so many of the youth were on that side, and you took the field against it with legions that had been trained by yourself. What emperor can one cite in the past who first planned and then reproduced so admirable a type of cavalry, and such accoutrements? First you trained yourself to wear them, and then you taught others how to use such weapons so that none could withstand them. This is a subject on which many have ventured to speak, but they have failed to do it justice, so much so that those who heard their description, and later had the good fortune to see for themselves, decided that their eyes must accept what their ears had refused to credit. Your cavalry was almost unlimited in numbers and they all sat their horses like statues, while their limbs were fitted with armour that followed closely the outline of the human form. It covers the arms from wrist to elbow and thence to the shoulder, while a coat of mail protects the shoulders, back and breast. The head and face are covered by a metal mask which makes its wearer look like a glittering statue, for not even the thighs and legs and the very ends of the feet lack this armour. It is attached to the cuirass by fine chain-armour like a web, so that no part of the body is visible and uncovered, for this woven covering protects the hands as well, and is so flexible that the wearers can bend even their fingers.[177] All this I desire to represent in words as vividly as I can, but it is beyond my powers, and I can only ask those who wish to know more about this armour to see it with their own eyes, and not merely to listen to my description.)
Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐπειδὴ τὸν πρῶτον πόλεμον διεληλύθαμεν, ληγούσης ἤδη τῆς ὀπώρας, [B] ἆρ᾽ ἐνταῦθα τὴν διήγησιν πάλιν ἀφήσομεν; ἢ πάντως τὸ τέλος ἁποδοῦναι τῶν ἔργων τοῖς ποθοῦσιν[178] ἄξιον; ἐπέλαβε μὲν ὁ χειμὼν καὶ παρέσχε διαφυγεῖν τῆν τιμωρίαν τὸν τύραννον. κηρύγματα δὲ ἦν λαμπρὰ καὶ βασιλικῆς ἄξια μεγαλοψυχίας· ἄδεια δὲ πᾶσιν ἐδίδοτο τοῖς ταξαμένοις μετὰ τοῦ τυράννου, πλὴν εἴ τις ἀνοσίων ἐκείνῳ φόνων ἐκοινώνει· ἀπελάμβανον τὰς οἰκίας ἅπαντες καὶ τὰ χρήματα καὶ πατρίδας οἱ μηδὲ ὄψεσθαί τι τῶν φιλτάτων αὐτοῖς ἐλπίζοντες. [C] ὑπεδέχου τὸ ναυτικὸν ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐπανερχόμενον, πολλοὺς ἐκεῖθεν πολίτας κατάγον φεύγοντας οἶμαι τὴν τῶν τυράννων ὠμότητα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ καιρὸς ἐκάλει στρατεύεσθαι, πάλιν ἐφειστήκεις δεινὸς τῷ τυράννῳ. ὁ δὲ προυβάλλετο τὰς Ἰταλῶν δυσχωρίας, καὶ τοῖς ὄρεσι τοῖς ἐκεῖ καθάπερ θηρίον ἐναποκρύψας τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτὸς οὐδὲ ὑπαίθριος ἐτόλμα στρατεύειν. [D] ἀναλαβὼν δὲ ἁὑτὸν εἰς τὴν πλησίον πόλιν τρυφῶσαν καὶ πολυτελῆ, ἐν πανηγύρεσι καὶ τρυφαῖς ἔτριβε τὸν χρόνον, ἀρκέσειν μὲν αὑτῷ πρὸς σοτηρίαν τῶν ὀρῶν τὴν δυσχωρίαν μόνον οἰόμενος. ἀκόλαστος δὲ ὢν φύσει κερδαίνειν ᾤετο τὸ χαρίζεσθαι ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις ἐν τοσούτοις κακοῖς, [pg 100] δῆλός τε ἦν λίαν πεπιστευκὼς ἀσφαλῶς αὐτῷ τὰ παρόντα ἔχειν, ἀποτειχιζομένης ἐν κύκλῳ τῆς Ἰταλίας τοῖς ὄρεσι, [39] πλὴν ὅσον ἐξ ἡμισείας ἡ θάλασσα τεναγώδης οὖσα καὶ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίων ἕλεσιν ἐμφερὴς ἄβατον καὶ νηίτῃ στρατῷ πολεμίων ἀνδρῶν καθίστησιν. ἀλλ᾽ ἔοικεν οὐδὲ ἓν ᾑ φύσις πρὸς ἀνδρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ σωφροσύνην τοῖς ἀκολάστοις καὶ δειλοῖς ἔρυμα μηχανήσασθαι, πάντα ὑποχωρεῖν φρονήσει μετὰ ἀνδρείας ἐπιούσῃ παρασκευάζουσα· πάλαι τε ἡμῖν ἐξηῦρε τὰς τέχνας, [B] δι᾽ ὧν εἰς εὐπορίαν τῶν τέως δοξάντων ἀπόρων κατέστημεν, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἔργων τὸ πολλοῖς ἀδύνατον εἶναι φαινόμενον[179] ἐπιτελούμενον πρὸς ἀνδρὸς σώφρονος. ὃ δὴ καὶ τότε τοῖς ἔργοις, ὦ βασιλεῦ, δείξας εἰκότως ἂν ἀποδέχοιο τοὺς ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ λόγους.
(Now that I have told the story of this first campaign, which was fought at the end of the autumn, shall I here break off my narrative? Or is it altogether unfair to withhold the end and issue of your achievements from those who are eager to hear? Winter overtook us and gave the usurper a chance to escape punishment. Then followed a splendid proclamation worthy of your imperial generosity. An amnesty was granted to those who had taken sides with the usurper, except when they had shared the guilt of those infamous murders. Thus they who had never hoped even to see again anything that they held dear, recovered their houses, money, and native land. Then you welcomed the fleet which arrived from Italy bringing thence many citizens who, no doubt, had fled from the usurper's savage cruelty. Then when the occasion demanded that you should take the field, you again menaced the usurper. He however took cover in the fastnesses of Italy and hid his army away there in the mountains, wild-beast fashion, and never even dared to carry on the war beneath the open heavens. But he betook himself to the neighbouring town[180] which is devoted to pleasure and high living, and spent his time in public shows and sensual pleasures, believing that the impassable mountains alone would suffice for his safety. Moreover, intemperate as he was by nature, he thought it clear gain to be able to indulge his appetites at so dangerous a crisis, and he evidently placed too much confidence in the safety of his position, because the town is cut off from that part of Italy by a natural rampart of mountains, except the half that is bounded by a shoaling sea, which resembles the marshes of Egypt and makes that part of the country inaccessible even to an invading fleet. It seems however as though nature herself will not devise any safeguard for the sensual and cowardly against the temperate and brave, for when prudence and courage advance hand in hand she makes everything give way before them. Long since she revealed to us those arts through which we have attained an abundance of what was once thought to be unattainable, and in the field of individual effort we see that what seemed impossible for many working together to achieve can be accomplished by a prudent man. And since by your own actions you demonstrated this fact it is only fair, O my Emperor, that you should accept my words to that effect.)
Ἐστράτευες μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸς ὑπαίθριος, καὶ ταῦτα πλησίον παρούσης πόλεως οὐ φαύλης, τοῖς στρατευομένοις δὲ οὐκ ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος τὸ πονεῖν καὶ κινδυνεύειν, ἐξ ὧν δὲ αὐτὸς ἔδρας παρεγγυῶν· ἄτραπον μὲν ἐξηῦρες ἄγνωστον τοῖς πᾶσι, πέμψας [C] δὲ ἀξιόμαχον τῆς δυνάμεως ἁπάσης ὁπλιτῶν μοῖραν, εἶτα ἐπειδὴ σαφῶς ἔγνως αὐτοὺς τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐφεστῶτας, αὐτὸς ἀναλαβὼν ἦγες τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ κύκλῳ περιέχων πάντων ἐκράτησας. ταῦτα ἐδρᾶτο πρὸ τῆς ἕω, ἤγγελτο δὲ πρὸ μεσημβρίας τῷ τυράννῳ ἁμίλλαις ἱππικαῖς καὶ [pg 102] πανηγύρει προσκαθημένῳ καὶ τῶν παρόντων οὐδὲν ἐλπίζοντι. [D] τίς μὲν οὖν γέγονεν ἐκ τίνος, καὶ ποταπὴν γνώμην εἶχεν ὑπὲρ τῶν παρόντων, καὶ ὅπως ἐκλιπὼν ἔφυγε τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν πᾶσαν, τοὺς φόνους καὶ τὰς πρόσθεν ἀδικίας ἐκκαθαιρόμενος, οὐ τοῦ παρόντος ἂν εἴη λόγου διηγεῖσθαι. ἔμελλε δὲ βραχείας ἀνοκωχῆς τυχὼν οὐδέν τι μεῖον τῶν ἔμπροσθεν δράσειν. οὕτως οὐδὲν πρὸς πονηρίαν ψυχῆς ἄνθρωπος ἀνόσιος[181] ἐξηῦρε καθάρσιον διὰ τοῦ σώματος. ἀφικόμενος γὰρ εῖς Γαλατίαν ὁ χρηστὸς οὑτοσὶ καὶ νόμιμος [40] ἄρχων τοσοῦτον αὐτοῦ γέγονε χαλεπώτερος, ὡς, εἴ τις πρότερον αὐτὸν διαφυγὼν ἐλελήθει τιμωρίας τρόπος ὠμότατος, τοῦτον ἐξευρὼν θέαμα κεχαρισμένον αὑτῷ τὰς τῶν ἀθλίων πολιτῶν παρεῖχε συμφοράς· ἅρματος ζῶντας ἐκδήσας καὶ μεθεὶς φέρεσθαι τοῖς ἡνιόχοις ἕλκειν ἂν ἐκέλευεν, αὐτὸς ἐφεστηκὼς καὶ θεώμενος τὰ δρώμενα· καί τισι τοιούτοις ἑτέροις αὑτὸν ψυχαγωγῶν τὸν πάντα διετέλει χρόνον, ἕως [B] αὐτὸν καθάπερ Ὀλυμπιονίκης περὶ τῷ τρίτῳ παλαίσματι καταβαλὼν δίκην ἐπιθεῖναι τῶν τετολμημένων ἀξίαν κατηνάγκασας ὤσαντα διὰ τῶν στέρνων τὸ αὐτὸ ξίφος, ὃ πολλῶν πολιτῶν ἐμίανε φόνῳ. ταύτης ἐγὼ τῆς νίκης[182] ἀμείνω καὶ δικαιοτέραν οὔποτε γενέσθαι φημὶ οὐδὲ ἐφ᾽ ᾗ μᾶλλον τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ηὐφράνθη γένος, τοσαύτης ὠμότητος καὶ πικρίας ἀφεθὲν ὄντως ἐλεύθερον, εὐνομίᾳ δὲ ἤδη γανύμενον, ἧς τέως [pg 104] [C] ἀπολαύομεν καὶ ἀπολαύσαιμέν γε ἐπὶ πλέον, ὦ πάντα ἀγαθὴ πρόνοια.
(For you conducted the campaign under the open skies, and that though there was a city of some importance near at hand, and moreover you encouraged your men to work hard and to take risks, not merely by giving orders, but by your own personal example. You discovered a path hitherto unknown to all, and you sent forward a strong detachment of hoplites chosen from your whole army; then when you had ascertained that they had come up with the enemy, you led forward your army in person, surrounded them, and defeated his whole force. This happened before dawn, and before noon the news was brought to the usurper. He was attending a horse-race at a festival, and was expecting nothing of what took place. How his attitude changed, what was his decision about the crisis, how he abandoned the town and in fact all Italy, and fled, thus beginning to expiate his murders and all his earlier crimes, it is not for this speech to relate. Yet though the respite he gained was so brief, he proceeded to act no less wickedly than in the past. So true is it that by the sufferings of the body alone it is impossible for the wicked to cleanse their souls of evil. For when he reached Galatia,[183] this ruler who was so righteous and law-abiding, so far surpassed his own former cruelty that he now bethought himself of all the ruthless and brutal modes of punishment that he had then overlooked, and derived the most exquisite pleasure from the spectacle of the sufferings of the wretched citizens. He would bind them alive to chariots and, letting the teams gallop, would order the drivers to drag them along while he stood by and gazed at their sufferings. In fact he spent his whole time in amusements of this sort, until, like an Olympic victor, you threw him in the third encounter[184] and forced him to pay a fitting penalty for his infamous career, namely to thrust into his own breast that very sword which he had stained with the slaughter of so many citizens.[185] Never, in my opinion, was there a punishment more suitable or more just than this, nor one that gave greater satisfaction to the whole human race, which was now really liberated from such cruelty and harshness, and at once began to exult in the good government that we enjoy to this day. Long may we continue to enjoy it, O all-merciful Providence!)
Ἐμοὶ δὲ ποθοῦντι μὲν ἐπεξελθεῖν ἅπασι τοῖς σοι πραχθεῖσιν, ἀπολειπομένῳ δὲ συγγνώμην εἰκότως, ὦ μέγιστε βασιλεῦ, παρέξεις, εἰ μήτε τῶν ἀποστόλων τῶν ἐπὶ Καρχηδόνα μνημονεύοιμι ἀπό τε Αἰγύπτου παρασκευασθέντων καὶ ἐξ[186] Ἰταλίας ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν πλευσάντων, μήτε ὡς τῶν Πυρηναίων ὀρῶν ἐκράτησας ναυσὶν ἐκπέμψας ἐπ᾽ αὐτὰ στράτευμα, μήτε τῶν [D] ἔναγχός σοι πολλάκις πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους πραχθέντων, μήτ᾽ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερον τῶν πάλαι γεγονὸς λέληθε τοὺς πολλούς. ἐπεὶ καὶ τὴν Ἀντιόχου πόλιν ἑαυτὴν σοῦ[187] ἐπώνυμον ἐπονομάζουσαν ἀκούω πολλάκις. ἔστι μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸν κτίσαντα, πλουτεῖ δὲ ἤδη καὶ πρὸς ἅπασαν εὐπορίαν ἐπιδέδωκε διὰ σὲ λιμένας εὐόρμους τοῖς καταίρουσι παρασχόντα· τέως δὲ οὐδὲ παραπλεῖν ἀσφαλὲς οὐδὲ ἀκίνδυνον ἐδόκει· [41] οὕτως ἦν πάντα σκοπέλων τινῶν καὶ πετρῶν ὑφάλων ἀνάπλεα τῆς θαλάσσης τῆσδε πρὸς ταῖς ᾐόσι. στοὰς δὲ καὶ κρήνας καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα παρὰ τῶν ὑπάρχων διὰ σὲ γέγονεν οὐδὲ ὀνομάζειν ἄξιον. ὁπόσα δὲ τῇ πατρῴᾳ πόλει προστέθεικας, τεῖχος μὲν αὐτῇ κύκλῳ περιβαλὼν ἀρξάμενον τότε, τὰ δοκοῦντα δὲ οὐκ ἀσφαλῶς ἔχειν[188] τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων εἰς ἀθάνατον ἀσφάλειαν κατατιθεῖς, τίς ἂν ἀπαριθμήσαιτο; [B] ἐπιλείψει με τούτων ἕκαστον ὁ χρόνος διηγούμενον.