ἀδελφοῖς τὸ πλέον ἔχειν ἑκὼν συγχωροίης, σωφροσύνης καὶ μεγαλοψυχίας μέγιστον ἂν εἴη σημεῖον. νῦν δὲ εἰ μέν τις τὴν πατρῴαν οὐσίαν πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς νεμόμενος ἑκατὸν ταλάντων, κείσθω δέ, εἰ βούλει, τοσούτων ἄλλων, εἶτα ἔχων πεντήκοντα(78) μναῖς ἔλαττον ἠγάπησε δή, καὶ μικροῦ παντελῶς ἀργυρίου τὴν πρὸς ἐκείνους ὁμόνοιαν ἀνταλλαξάμενος, [C] ἐπαίνων ἂν ἐδόκει καὶ τιμῆς ἄξιος ὡς χρημάτων κρείττων, ὡς εὔβουλος φύσει, ξυνελόντι δὲ εἰπεῖν, ὡς καλὸς κἀγαθός. ὁ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς οὅτω μεγαλοψύχως καὶ σωφρόνως δοκῶν βεβουλεῦσθαι, ὡς τὸν μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἐπιμελείας αὑτῷ μείζονα μὴ προσθεῖναι πόνον, τῶν δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς προσόδων ἑκὼν ὑφίεσθαι ὑπὲρ ὁμονοίας καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους Ῥωμαίων ἁπάντων εἰρήνης, [D] πόσων ἐπαίνων ἄξιον κρινεῖ τις; οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο λέγειν ἔνεστιν ἐνταῦθα, ὡς καλῶς μέν, ἀλυσιτελῶς δέ· λυσιτελὲς(79) μὲν γὰρ οὐδέν, ὅ, τι μὲ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ καλόν, ἔμοιγε φαίνεται. ὅλως δὲ εἴ τινι καθ᾽ αὑτὸ τὸ συμφέρον ἐξετάζειν δοκεῖ, κρινέτω μὴ πρὸς ἀργύριον σκοπῶν μηδὲ προσόδους χωρίων ἀπαριθμοόμενος, καθάπερ οἱ φιλάργυροι γέροντες ὑπὸ τῶν κωμῳδῶν ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνὴν ἑλκόμενοι, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τὴν ἀξίωσιν. [20] φιλονεικῶν μὲν γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ὁρίων καὶ δυσμενῶς ἔχων ἐκείνων ἂν ἦρξε μόνων ὧν ἔλαχεν, εἰ καὶ πλέον ἔχων ἀπῄει· ὑπερορῶν δὲ τῶν μικρῶν καὶ καταφρονήσας ἦρχε μὲν ἁπάσης μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῆς οἰκουμένης, ἐπεμελεῖτο δὲ τοῦ λαχόντος μέρους, ἀπολαύων μὲν τελείας τῆς τιμῆς, μετέχων δὲ ἔλαττον τῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ πόνων. (But I must postpone the description of your personal qualities and go on to speak of your achievements. The Persians in the past conquered the whole of Asia, subjugated a great part of Europe, and had embraced in their hopes I may almost say the whole inhabited world, when the Macedonians deprived them of their supremacy, and they provided Alexander’s generalship with a task, or rather with a toy. But they could not endure the yoke of slavery, and no sooner was Alexander dead, than they revolted from his successors and once more opposed their power to the Macedonians, and so successfully that, when we took over what was left of the Macedonian empire, we counted them to the end as foes with whom we must reckon. I need not now remind you of ancient history, of Antony and Crassus,(80) who were generals with the fullest powers, or tell how after long‐continued dangers we succeeded in wiping out the disgrace they incurred, and how many a prudent general retrieved their blunders. Nor need I recall the second chapter of our misfortunes and the exploits of Carus(81) that followed, when after those failures he was appointed general. Among those who sat on the throne before your father’s time and imposed on the Persians conditions of peace admired and welcomed by all, did not the Caesar(82) incur a disgraceful defeat when he attacked them on his own account? It was not till the ruler of the whole world(83) turned his attention to them, directing thither all the forces of the empire,