Ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἐχρῆν, ὦ θεοί, πρὸς τοῦτον ἀπολογήσασθαι· καίτοι κρεῖττον ἦν ὑπεριδεῖν αὐτοῦ· εἴρηται. [B] εἰ δέ τι πικρὸν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπράχθη, οὔτι παντάπασιν εἰς ἀναιτίους ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ ἢ πολλάκις καὶ ἐπὶ πολλοῖς προσκρούσαντας ἢ τῷ καιρῷ μὴ καλῶς μηδὲ πρεπόντως χρησαμένους, ἠκολούθησε γοῦν ἐπὶ μὲν τοῖς διὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαμαρτηθεῖσιν ἡ μεταμέλεια, σώφρων πάνυ καὶ τῶν ἐξημαρτηκότων σώτειρα δαίμων, [C] τοὺς δὲ ὥσπερ φιλοτιμουμένους ἐπὶ τῷ πολλάκις ἀπεχθάνεσθαι καὶ προσκρούειν οὐδὲν ᾤμην ἄδικον ποιεῖν κολάζων. (“Thus much, ye gods, I was bound to say in my own defence against this man; though indeed it would have been better to ignore him. And if some things I did seemed cruel, I never was so to the innocent, but only to those who had often and in many ways thwarted me and had made no proper or fitting use of their opportunities. And even my offences against these, which were due to the emergency of the time, were followed by Remorse, that very wise and divine preserver of men who have erred. As for those whose ambition it was to show their enmity continually and to thwart me, I considered that I was justified in chastising them.”) Ἐπεὶ δὲ εἴρητο καὶ τούτῳ στρατιωτικώτερον ὁ λόγος, ἐπὶ τὸν Ὀκταβιανὸν τὴν ὑδρίαν ἔφερεν ὁ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος θεράπων, ἐπιμετρῶν αὐτῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἔλασσον διὰ τὸν καιρόν, ἄλλως τε καὶ μνησικακῶν αὐτῷ τῆς εἰς τὸν θεὸν ὑπερηφανίας. [D] καὶ ὃς ἐπειδὴ συνῆκεν ὑπὸ ἀγχινοίας, ἀφεὶς τὸ λέγειν τι περὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, Ἐγὼ δέ, εἶπεν. ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοί, τοῦ διασύρειν μὲν τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἔργα καὶ μικρὰ ποιεῖν ἀφέξομαι, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ τὸν πάντα ποιήσομαι λόγον. νέος προύστην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ πόλεως ὥσπερ οὗτος ὁ γενναῖος Ἀλέξανδρος, κατώρθωσα δὲ Γερμανικοὺς πολέμους ὥσπερ [326] ὁ ἐμὸς πατὴρ οὑτοσὶ Καῖσαρ. συμπλακεὶς δὲ τοῖς ἐμφυλίοις ἀγῶσιν Αἴγυπτον μὲν περὶ τὸ Ἄκτιον κατεναυμάχησα, Βροῦτον δὲ καὶ Κάσσιον περὶ τοὺς Φιλίππους κατεπολέμησα, καὶ τὸν Πομπηίου παῖδα Σέξτον πάρεργον ἐθέμην τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ στρατηγίας. οὕτω δὲ παρέσχον ἐμαυτὸν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ χειροήθη, ὥστε καὶ τῆς Ἀθηνοδώρου παρρησίας ἠνεσχόμην, οὐκ ἀγανακτῶν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐφραινόμενος ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ, [B] καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα καθάπερ παιδαγωγὸν ἢ πατέρα μᾶλλον αἰδούμενος. Ἄρειον δὲ καὶ φίλον καὶ συμβιωτὴν ἐπιγράφομαι, καὶ ὅλως οὐδέν ἐστιν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἁμαρτηθέν. ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἐμφυλίων στάσεων τὴν Ῥώμην ὁρῶν εἰς τὸν(634) ἔσχατον ἐλαύνουσαν πολλάκις κίνδυνον οὕτω διεθέμην τὰ περὶ αὐτήν, ὥστε εἶναι, εἰ μὴ δι᾽ ὑμᾶς, [C] ὦ θεοί, τὸ λοιπὸν ἀδαμαντίνην. οὐ γὰρ ταῖς ἀμέτροις ἐπιθυμίαις εἴκων ἐπικτᾶσθαι πάντως αὐτῇ διενοήθην, ὅρια δὲ διττά, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἀποδεδειγμένα,(635) Ἴστρον καὶ Εὐφράτην ποταμοὺς ἐθέμην. εἶτα ὑποτάξας τὸ Σκυθῶν καὶ Θρᾳκῶν ἔθνος, ἐπιμετρούντων ὑμῶν τῆς βασιλείας μοι τὸν χρόνον, οὐ πόλεμον ἄλλον ἐξ ἄλλου περιεσκόπουν, ἀλλὰ εἰς νομοθεσίαν καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου [D] συμφορῶν ἐπανόρθωσιν τὴν σχολὴν διετιθέμην, οὐδενὸς νομίζων τῶν πρὸ ἐμαυτοῦ χεῖρον βεβουλεῦσθαι, μᾶλλον δέ, εἰ χρὴ θαρρήσαντα φάναι, κρεῖσσον τῶν πώποτε τηλικαύτας ἡγεμονίας ἐπιτροπευσάντων.