The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1Julian, Emperor of Rome
Religion
The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1
Julian, Emperor of Rome
Speeches, addresses, etc., Greek -- Translations into English
(And so it was with Alexander, Philip’s son, and Achilles, son of Thetis,
and others who were not worthless or ignoble men. But only to Socrates, I
think, and a few others who emulated him, men who were truly fortunate and
happy, was it given to put off the last garment that man discards—the love
of glory.(460) For resentment of calumny is due to the passion for glory,
and for this reason it is implanted most deeply in the noblest souls. For
they resent it as their deadliest foe, and those who hurl at them
slanderous language they hate more than men who attack them with the sword
or plot their destruction; and they regard them as differing from
themselves, not merely in their acquired habits, but in their essential
nature, seeing that they love praise and honour, and the slanderer not
only robs them of these, but also manufactures false accusations against
them. They say that even Heracles and certain other heroes were swayed by
these emotions. But for my part I do not believe this account of them, and
as for the Emperor I have seen him repelling calumny with great self‐
restraint, which in my judgment is no slighter achievement than “to take
Troy”(461) or rout a powerful phalanx. And if anyone does not believe me,
and thinks it no great achievement nor worth all these praises, let him
observe himself when a misfortune of this sort happens to him, and then
let him decide; and I am convinced that he will not think that I am
talking with exceeding folly.)
Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὢν καὶ γενόμενος βασιλεὺς μετὰ τὸν πόλεμον εἰκότως οὐ μόνον
ἐστὶ ποθεινὸς τοῖς φίλοις καὶ ἀγαπητός, [B] πολλοῖς(462) μὲν τιμῆς καὶ
δυνάμεως καὶ παρρησίας μεταδιδούς, χρήματα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἄφθονα χαριζόμενος
καὶ χρῆσθαι ὅπως τις βούλεται τῷ πλούτῳ ξυγχωρῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις
τοιοῦτος ἐδόκει. τεκμήριον δὲ ὑμῖν ἐμφανὲς καὶ τοῦδε γιγνέσθω· ἄνδρες, τῆς
γερουσίας ὅτιπερ ὄφελος, ἀξιώσει καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ ξυνέσει διαφέροντες τῶν
ἄλλων, ὥσπερ ἐς λιμένα καταφεύγοντες τὴν τούτου δεξιάν, ἑστίας τε λιπόντες
[C] καὶ οἴκους καὶ παῖδας Παιονίαν μὲν ἀντὶ τῆς Ῥώμης, τὴν μετὰ τούτου δὲ
ἀντὶ τῶν φιλτάτων συνουσίαν ἠσπάσαντο, ἴλη τε τῶν ἐπιλέκτων ἱππέων ξὺν
τοῖς σημείοις καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἄγουσα τούτῳ τοῦ κινδύνου ξυμμετέχειν
μᾶλλον ἢ ἐκείνῳ τῆς εὐτυχίας ἠξίου. καὶ ταῦτα ἅπαντα ἐδρᾶτο πρὸ τῆς μάχης
ἣν ἐπὶ τοῦ Δράου ταὶς ᾐόσιν ὁ πρόσθεν λόγος παρέστησεν· ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ ἤδη
βεβαίως ἐθάρρουν, τέως δ ἐδόκει τὰ τῶν τυράννων ἐπικρατεῖν, [D]
πλεονεκτήματός τινος περὶ τοὺς κατασκόπους τοὺς(463) βασιλέως γενομένου, ὁ
δὴ ἐκεῖνόν τε ἐποίησεν ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς ἄφρονα καὶ ἐξετάραττε τοὺς οὐ
δυναμένους ἐφικνεῖσθαι οὐδὲ διορᾶν τὴν στρατηγίαν. ὁ δὲ ἦν ἀκατάπληκτος
καὶ γεννάδας καθάπερ ἀγαθὸς νεὼς κυβερνήτης, ἐξαπίνης νεφῶν ῥαγείσης
λαίλαπος, εἶτα ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ τοῦ θεοῦ σείοντος τὸν βυθὸν καὶ τὰς ᾐόνας. ἐνταῦθα
γὰρ τοὺς μὲν ἀπείρους δεινὸν καὶ ἄτοπον κατέλαβε δέος, [98] ὁ δὲ ἤδη
χαίρει καὶ γάνυται, γαλήνην ἀκριβῆ καὶ νηνεμίαν ἐλπίζων. λέγεται γὰρ δὴ
καὶ ὁ Ποσειδῶν συνταράττων τὴν γῆν παύειν τὰ κύματα. καὶ ἡ τύχη δὲ τοὺς
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