Ἀλλὰ δὴ τὰ μετὰ τοῦτο πῶς πρὸς τὸν Κωνστάντιον διεπραξάμην; οὔπω καὶ τήμερον ἐν ταῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστολαῖς τῇ δοθείσῃ [pg 286] μοι παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἐπωνυμίᾳ κεχρημαι, καίσαρα δὲ ἐμαυτὸν γέγραφα, καὶ πέπεικα τοὺς στρατιώτας ὀμόσαι μοι μηδενὸς ἐπιθυμήσειν, εἴπερ ἡμῖν ἐπιτρέψειεν ἀδεῶς οἰκεῖν τὰς Γαλλίας, τοῖς πεπραγμένοις συναινέσας. [286] ἅπαντα τὰ παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ τάγματα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔπεμψεν ἐπιστολάς, ἱκετεύοντα περὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἡμῖν ὁμονοίας. ὁ δὲ ἀντὶ τούτων ἐπέβαλεν ἡμῖν τοὺς βαρβάρους, ἐχθρὸν δὲ ἀνηγόρευσέ με παρ᾽ ἐκείνοις, καὶ μισθοὺς ἐτέλεσεν, ὅπως τὸ Γαλλιῶν ἔθνος πορθηθείη, γράφων τε ἐν τοῖς ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ παραφυλάττειν τοὺς ἐκ τῶν Γαλλιῶν παρεκελεύετο, [B] καὶ περὶ τοὺς Γαλλικοὺς ὅρους ἐν ταῖς πλησίον πόλεσιν εἰς τριακοσίας μυριάδας μεδίμνων πυροῦ κατειργασμένου ἐν τῇ Βριγαντίᾳ, τοσοῦτον ἕτερον περὶ τὰς Κοττίας Ἄλπεις ὡς ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ στρατεύσων ἐκέλευσε παρασκευασθῆναι. καὶ ταῦτα οὐ λόγοι, σαφῆ δὲ ἔργα. καὶ γὰρ ἃς γέγραφεν ἐπιστολὰς ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων κομισθείσας ἐδεξάμην, καὶ τὰς τροφὰς τὰς παρεσκευασμένας κατέλαβον [C] καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς Ταύρου. πρὸς τούτοις ἔτι νῦν μοι ὡς καίσαρι[486] γράφει, καὶ οὐδὲ συνθήσεσθαι πώποτε πρός με ὑπέστη, ἀλλ᾽ Ἐπίκτητόν τινα τῶν Γαλλιῶν[487] ἐπίσκοπον ἔπεμψεν ὡς πιστά μοι περὶ τῆς ἀσφαλείας τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ παρέξοντα, καὶ τοῦτο θρυλεῖ δι᾽ ὅλων αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν, ὡς οὐκ ἀφαιρησόμενος τοῦ ζῆν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς τιμῆς οὐδὲν μνημονεύει. ἐγὼ δὲ τοὺς μὲν ὅρκους [pg 288] αὐτοῦ τὸ τῆς παραοιμίας οἶμαι δεῖν εἰς τέφραν γράφειν, οὕτως εἰσὶ πιστοί· [D] τῆς τιμῆς δὲ οὐ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ πρέποντος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τῶν φίλων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας ἀντέχομαι· καὶ οὔπω φημὶ τὴν πανταχοῦ γῆς γυμναζομένην πικρίαν.
(But further, how did I behave to Constantius after this? Even to this day I have not yet used in my letters to him the title which was bestowed on me by the gods, but I have always signed myself Caesar, and I have persuaded the soldiers to demand nothing more if only he would allow us to dwell peaceably in Gaul and would ratify what has been already done. All the legions with me sent letters to him praying that there might be harmony between us. But instead of this he let loose against us the barbarians, and among them proclaimed me his foe and paid them bribes so that the people of the Gauls might be laid waste; moreover he wrote to the forces in Italy and bade them be on their guard against any who should come from Gaul; and on the frontiers of Gaul in the cities near by he ordered to be got ready three million bushels of wheat which had been ground at Brigantia,[488] and the same amount near the Cottian Alps, with the intention of marching to oppose me. These are not mere words but deeds that speak plain. In fact the letters that he wrote I obtained from the barbarians who brought them to me; and I seized the provisions that had been made ready, and the letters of Taurus. Besides, even now in his letters he addresses me as “Caesar” and declares that he will never make terms with me: but he sent one Epictetus, a bishop of Gaul,[489] to offer a guarantee for my personal safety; and throughout his letters he keeps repeating that he will not take my life, but about my honour he says not a word. As for his oaths, for my part I think they should, as the proverb says, be written in ashes,[490] so little do they inspire belief. But my honour I will not give up, partly out of regard for what is seemly and fitting, but also to secure the safety of my friends. And I have not yet described the cruelty that he is practising over the whole earth.)
Ταῦτα ἔπεισέ με, ταῦτα ἐφάνη μοι δίκαια. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὰ τοῖς πάντα ὁρῶσι καὶ ἀκούουσιν ἀνεθέμην θεοῖς. εἶτα θυσάμενος περὶ τῆς ἐξόδου καὶ γενομένων καλῶν τῶν ἱερῶν κατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ τοῖς στρατιώταις περὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τάδε πορείας [287] ἔμελλον διαλέγεσθαι, ὑπέρ τε τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ σωτηρίας καὶ πολὺ πλέον ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν κοινῶν εὐπραγίας καὶ τῆς ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐλευθερίας αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ Κελτῶν ἔθνους, ὃ δὶς ἤδη τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐξέδωκεν, οὐδὲ τῶν προγονικῶν φεισάμενος τάφων, ὁ τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους πάνυ θεραπεύων, ᾠήθην δεῖν ἔθνη τε προσλαβεῖν τὰ δυνατώτατα καὶ χρημάτων πόρους δικαιοτάτων ἐξ ἀργυρείων καὶ χρυσείων, καὶ εἰ μὲν ἀγαπήσειεν ἔτι νῦν γοῦν τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμόνοιαν, εἴσω τῶν νῦν ἐχομένων μένειν, [B] εἰ δὲ πολεμεῖν διανοοῖτο καὶ μηδὲν ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας γνώμης χαλάσειεν, ὅ, τι ἂν ᾖ τοῖς θεοῖς φίλον πάσχειν ἢ πράττειν, ὡς αἴσχιον ἀνανδρίᾳ ψυχῆς καὶ διανοίας ἀμαθίᾳ ἢ πλήθει δυνάμεως ἀσθενέστερον αὐτοῦ φανῆναι. νῦν μὲν γὰρ εἰ τῷ πλήθει κρατήσειεν, οὐκ ἐκείνου τὸ ἔργον, ἀλλὰ τῆς πολυχειρίας ἐστίν· εἰ δὲ ἐν ταῖς Γαλλίαις περιμένοντά με καὶ τὸ ζῆν ἀγαπῶντα καὶ διακλίνοντα τὸν κίνδυνον [C] ἁπανταχόθεν περικόψας [pg 290] κατέλαβε, κύκλῳ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων, κατὰ στόμα δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτοῦ στρατοπέδων, τὸ παθεῖν τε οἶμαι τὰ ἔσχατα προσῆν καὶ ἔτι ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων αἰσχύνη οὐδεμιᾶς ἐλάττων ζημίας τοῖς γε σώφροσι.
(These then were the events that persuaded me; this was the conduct I thought just. And first I imparted it to the gods who see and hear all things. Then when I had offered sacrifices for my departure, the omens were favourable on that very day on which I was about to announce to the troops that they were to march to this place; and since it was not only on behalf of my own safety but far more for the sake of the general welfare and the freedom of all men and in particular of the people of Gaul,—for twice already he had betrayed them to the enemy and had not even spared the tombs of their ancestors, he who is so anxious to conciliate strangers!—then, I say, I thought that I ought to add to my forces certain very powerful tribes and to obtain supplies of money, which I had a perfect right to coin, both gold and silver. Moreover if even now he would welcome a reconciliation with me I would keep to what I at present possess; but if he should decide to go to war and will in no wise relent from his earlier purpose, then I ought to do and to suffer whatever is the will of the gods; seeing that it would be more disgraceful to show myself his inferior through failure of courage or lack of intelligence than in mere numbers. For if he now defeats me by force of numbers that will not be his doing, but will be due to the larger army that he has at his command. If on the other hand he had surprised me loitering in Gaul and clinging to bare life and, while I tried to avoid the danger, had attacked me on all sides, in the rear and on the flanks by means of the barbarians, and in front by his own legions, I should I believe have had to face complete ruin, and moreover the disgrace of such conduct is greater than any punishment—at least in the sight of the wise.[491])
Ταῦτα διανοηθείς, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῖς τε συστρατιώταις τοῖς ἐμοῖς διῆλθον καὶ πρὸς κοινοὺς τῶν πάντων Ἑλλήνων πολίτας γράφω. θεοὶ δὲ [D] οἱ πάντων κύριοι συμμαχίαν ἡμῖν τὴν ἑαυτῶν, ὥσπερ ὑπέστησαν, εἰς τέλος δοῖεν καὶ παράσχοιεν ταῖς Ἀθήναις ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν τε εἰς ὅσον δύναμις εὖ παθεῖν καὶ τοιούτους σχεῖν ἐς ἀεὶ τοὺς αὐτοκράτορας, οἳ μάλιστα καὶ διαφερόντως αὐτὰς αἰδέσονται[492] καὶ ἀγαπήσουσιν.
(These then are the views, men of Athens, which I have communicated to my fellow soldiers and which I am now writing to the whole body of the citizens throughout all Greece. May the gods who decide all things vouchsafe me to the end the assistance which they have promised, and may they grant to Athens all possible favours at my hands! May she always have such Emperors as will honour her and love her above and beyond all other cities!)