σὺ παραχωρήσεις μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ ἀναγκάσεις με λέγειν, ὅπως σὺ μὲν ἐχρήσω πικρῶς Θηβαίοις, ἐγὼ δὲ τοῖς Ἑλβετίοις φιλανθρώπως; σὺ μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνων κατέκαυσας τὰς πόλεις, ἐγὼ δὲ τὰς ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων πολιτῶν κεκαυμένας πόλεις ἀνέστησα. καίτοι οὔτι ταὐτὸν(613) ἦν μυρίων Γραικῶν κρατῆσαι καὶ πεντεκαίδεκα μυριάδας ἐπιφερομένας ὑποστῆναι. [322] πολλὰ εἰπεῖν ἔχων ἔτι περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ τοῦδε, τῷ μὴ σχολὴν ἄγειν ἥκιστα τὸ λέγειν ἐξεμελέτησα. διόπερ χρὴ συγγνώμην ὑμᾶς ἔχειν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ περὶ τῶν μὴ ῥηθέντων τὴν ἴσην καὶ δικαίαν ἐξέτασιν ποιουμένους ἀποδιδόναι μοι τὸ πρωτεῖον. (While Hermes had been making this proclamation the lots were being drawn, and it happened that the first lot favoured Caesar’s passion for being first. This made him triumphant and prouder than before. But the effect on Alexander was that he almost withdrew from the competition, had not mighty Heracles encouraged him and prevented him from leaving. Alexander drew the lot to speak second, but the lots of those who came next coincided with the order in which they had lived. Caesar then began as follows: “It was my fortune, O Zeus and ye other gods, to be born, following a number of great men, in a city so illustrious that she rules more subjects than any other city has ever ruled; and indeed other cities are well pleased to rank as second to her.(614) What other city, I ask, began with three thousand citizens and in less than six centuries carried her victorious arms to the ends of the earth? What other nations ever produced so many brave and warlike men or such lawgivers? What nation ever honoured the gods as they did? Observe then that, though I was born in a city so powerful and so illustrious, my achievements not only surpassed the men of my own day, but all the heroes who ever lived. As for my fellow‐citizens I am confident that there is none who will challenge my superiority. But if Alexander here is so presumptuous, which of his deeds does he pretend to compare with mine? His Persian conquests, perhaps, as though he had never seen all those trophies that I gathered when I defeated Pompey! And pray, who was the more skilful general, Darius or Pompey? Which of them led the bravest troops? Pompey had in his army the most martial of the nations formerly subject to Darius,(615) but he reckoned them no better than Carians,(616) for he led also those European forces which had often repulsed all Asia when she invaded Europe, aye and he had the bravest of them all, Italians, Illyrians, and Celts. And since I have mentioned the Celts, shall we compare the exploits of Alexander against the Getae with my conquest of Gaul? He crossed the Danube once, I crossed the Rhine twice. The German conquest again is all my doing. No one opposed Alexander, but I had to contend against Ariovistus. I was the first Roman who ventured to sail the outer sea.(617) Perhaps this achievement was not so wonderful, though it was a daring deed that may well command your