Nepos: LIBER DE EXCELLENTIBUS DVCIBUS EXTERARVM GENTIVM

[1] MILTIADES, Cimonis filius, Atheniensis, cum et antiquitate generis et gloria maiorum et sua modestia unus omnium maxime floreret eaque esset aetate, ut non iam solum de eo bene sperare, sed etiam confidere cives possent sui talem eum futurum, qualem cognitum iudicarunt, accidit, ut Athenienses Chersonesum colonos vellent mittere.

[1] MILTIADES, the son of Cimon, an Athenian, since he above all was flourishing both in the antiquity of his lineage and the glory of his ancestors and his own modesty, and was of such an age that his fellow citizens could not now only hope well of him, but even have confidence that he would be such as, once known, they judged him to be, it happened that the Athenians wished to send colonists to the Chersonese.

2 Cuius generis cum magnus numerus esset et multi eius demigrationis peterent societatem, ex his delecti Delphos deliberatum missi sunt, [qui consulerent Apollinem,] quo potissimum duce uterentur. Namque tum Thraeces eas regiones tenebant, cum quibus armis erat dimicandum.

2 Of which kind, since there was a great number and many were seeking partnership in that emigration, from these men chosen were sent to Delphi to deliberate, [to consult Apollo,] as to which leader especially they should employ. For at that time the Thracians were holding those regions, with whom it was necessary to contend in arms.

3 His consulentibus nominatim Pythia praecepit, ut Miltiadem imperatorem sibi sumerent: id si fecissent, incepta prospera futura.

3 To those consulting, the Pythia expressly instructed that they take Miltiades as their commander: if they did that, their undertakings would be prosperous.

4 Hoc oraculi responso Miltiades cum delecta manu classe Chersonesum profectus cum accessisset Lemnum et incolas eius insulae sub potestatem redigere vellet Atheniensium,

4 With this response of the oracle, Miltiades, with a chosen band, having set out with a fleet to the Chersonese, when he had approached Lemnos and wished to reduce the inhabitants of that island under the power of the Athenians,

5 idque Lemnii sua sponte facerent, postulasset, illi irridentes responderunt tum id se facturos, cum ille domo navibus proficiscens vento aquilone venisset Lemnum. Hic enim ventus ab septentrionibus oriens adversum tenet Athenis proficiscentibus.

5 and when he had demanded that the Lemnians do that of their own accord, they, mocking, replied that they would do it then, when he, setting out from home with ships, should come to Lemnos by a north wind (Aquilon). For this wind, rising from the north, is adverse to those setting out from Athens.

6 Miltiades morandi tempus non habens cursum direxit, e quo tendebat, pervenitque Chersonesum.

6 Miltiades, having no time for delaying, directed his course to the place toward which he was tending, and arrived at the Chersonese.

[2] Ibi brevi tempore barbarum copiis disiectis tota regione, quam petierat, potitus, loca castellis idonea communiit, multitudinem, quam secum duxerat, in agris collocavit crebrisque excursionibus locupletavit.

[2] There, in a short time, the barbarian forces having been dispersed, having gotten possession of the whole region which he had sought, he fortified places suitable for forts, settled the multitude which he had led with him in the fields, and enriched them by frequent excursions.

2 Neque minus in ea re prudentia quam felicitate adiutus est. Nam cum virtute militum devicisset hostium exercitus, summa aequitate res constituit atque ipse ibidem manere decrevit.

2 Nor was he aided in that matter less by prudence than by felicity. For when, by the virtue of the soldiers, he had defeated the army of the enemy, he established affairs with the highest equity and he himself decreed to remain in the same place.

3 Erat enim inter eos dignitate regia, quamvis carebat nomine, neque id magis imperio quam iustitia consecutus. Neque eo setius Atheniensibus, a quibus erat profectus, officia praestabat. Quibus rebus fiebat, ut non minus eorum voluntate perpetuo imperium obtineret, qui miserant, quam illorum, cum quibus erat profectus.

3 For he was among them with regal dignity, although he lacked the title, and he had attained this not so much by authority as by justice. Nor, for that reason, did he any the less render services to the Athenians, from whom he had set out. By these things it came about that he held a continuous command no less by the goodwill of those who had sent him than by that of those with whom he had set out.

4 Chersoneso tali modo constituta Lemnum revertitur et ex pacto postulat, ut sibi urbem tradant. Illi enim dixerant, cum vento borea domo profectus eo pervenisset, sese dedituros: se autem domum Chersonesi habere.

4 With the Chersonese constituted in such a way, he returns to Lemnos and, according to the pact, demands that they hand over the city to him. For they had said that, when he had arrived there having set out from home with the north wind Boreas, they would surrender; he, however, asserted that he had his home in the Chersonese.

5 Cares, qui tum Lemnum incolebant, etsi praeter opinionem res ceciderat, tamen non dicto, sed secunda fortuna adversariorum capti resistere ausi non sunt atque ex insula demigrarunt. Pari felicitate ceteras insulas, quae Cyclades nominantur, sub Atheniensium redegit potestatem.

5 The Carians, who at that time were inhabiting Lemnos, although the affair had fallen out contrary to expectation, nevertheless, not at a word of command, but overmastered by the favorable fortune of their adversaries, did not dare to resist and moved out of the island. With equal felicity he brought the other islands, which are named the Cyclades, under the power of the Athenians.

[3] Eisdem temporibus Persarum rex Darius ex Asia in Europam exercitu traiecto Scythis bellum inferre decrevit. Pontem fecit in Histro flumine, qua copias traduceret. Eius pontis, dum ipse abesset, custodes reliquit principes, quos secum ex Ionia et Aeolide duxerat; quibus singulis illarum urbium perpetua dederat imperia.

[3] In the same times Darius, king of the Persians, with his army transported from Asia into Europe, resolved to bring war upon the Scythians. He made a bridge on the river Ister, by which he might lead his forces across. As guardians of that bridge, while he himself was away, he left the princes whom he had led with him from Ionia and Aeolis; to each of them he had granted perpetual rule over those cities.

2 Sic enim facillime putavit se Graeca lingua loquentes, qui Asiam incolerent, sub sua retenturum potestate, si amicis suis oppida tuenda tradidisset, quibus se oppresso nulla spes salutis relinqueretur. In hoc fuit tum numero Miltiades, cui illa custodia crederetur.

2 For thus he thought he would most easily retain under his power those speaking the Greek language who inhabited Asia, if he had handed over the towns to his friends to be guarded, for whom, if he were overthrown, no hope of safety would be left. In this number then was Miltiades, to whom that custody was entrusted.

3 Hic, cum crebri afferrent nuntii male rem gerere Darium premique a Scythis, [Miltiades] hortatus est pontis custodes, ne a fortuna datam occasionem liberandae Graeciae dimitterent.

3 He, when frequent messengers were bringing word that Darius was managing affairs badly and was being pressed by the Scythians, [Miltiades] urged the guardians of the bridge not to let slip the occasion given by Fortune for the freeing of Greece.

4 Nam si cum iis copiis, quas secum transportarat, interiisset Darius, non solum Europam fore tutam, sed etiam eos, qui Asiam incolerent Graeci genere, liberos a Persarum futuros dominatione et periculo; id facile effici posse. Ponte enim rescisso regem vel hostium ferro vel inopia paucis diebus interiturum.

4 For if Darius had perished with those forces which he had transported with him, not only would Europe be secure, but even those who inhabited Asia, Greeks by race, would be free from the domination and peril of the Persians; that could easily be effected. For, the bridge having been cut, the king would perish within a few days either by the enemies’ steel or by want.

5 Ad hoc consilium cum plerique accederent, Histiaeus Milesius, ne res conficeretur, obstitit, dicens: non idem ipsis, qui summas imperii tenerent, expedire et multitudini, quod Darii regno ipsorum niteretur dominatio; quo exstincto ipsos potestate expulsos civibus suis poenas daturos. Itaque adeo se abhorrere a ceterorum consilio, ut nihil putet ipsis utilius quam confirmari regnum Persarum.

5 To this counsel, when very many were acceding, Histaeus of Miletus opposed, lest the matter be brought to completion, saying: the same thing is not expedient for themselves, who hold the supreme commands, and for the multitude, because their domination rests upon the kingship of Darius; with him extinguished, they, expelled from power by their fellow-citizens, will pay penalties. Therefore he so abhors the counsel of the others that he thinks nothing more useful for themselves than that the kingdom of the Persians be confirmed.

6 Huius cum sententiam plurimi essent secuti, Miltiades, non dubitans tam multis consciis ad regis aures consilia sua perventura, Chersonesum reliquit ac rursus Athenas demigravit. Cuius ratio etsi non valuit, tamen magnopere est laudanda, cum amicior omnium libertati quam suae fuerit dominationi.

6 When very many had followed this man’s opinion, Miltiades, not doubting that, with so many privy, his plans would come to the king’s ears, abandoned the Chersonese and again migrated to Athens. Although his rationale did not prevail, nevertheless it is greatly to be praised, since he was more a friend to everyone’s liberty than to his own domination.

[4] Darius autem cum ex Europa in Asiam redisset, hortantibus amicis, ut Graeciam redigeret in suam potestatem, classem quingentarum navium comparavit eique Datim praefecit et Artaphernem hisque ducenta peditum, decem milia equitum dedit, causam interserens, se hostem esse Atheniensibus, quod eorum auxilio Iones Sardis expugnassent suaque praesidia interfecissent.

[4] But Darius, when he had returned from Europe into Asia, his friends urging him to reduce Greece into his power, assembled a fleet of five hundred ships and put Datis and Artaphernes in command of it; and to these he gave two hundred thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry, alleging as a pretext that he was an enemy to the Athenians, because with their aid the Ionians had taken Sardis by storm and had slain his garrisons.

2 Illi praefecti regii classe ad Euboeam appulsa celeriter Eretriam ceperunt omnesque eius gentis cives abreptos in Asiam ad regem miserunt. Inde ad Atticam accesserunt ac suas copias in campum Marathona deduxerunt. Is est ab oppido circiter milia passuum decem.

2 Those royal prefects, the fleet having put in at Euboea, quickly took Eretria and sent all the citizens of that nation, having been snatched away, into Asia to the king. From there they approached Attica and led their forces down into the plain of Marathon. This is about 10 miles from the town.

3 Hoc tumultu Athenienses tam propinquo tamque magno permoti auxilium usquam nisi a Lacedaemoniis petiverunt Phidippumque, cursorem eius generis, qui hemerodromoe vocantur Lacedaemonem miserunt, ut nuntiaret, quam celeri opus esset auxilio.

3 Moved by this tumult, so near and so great, the Athenians sought help nowhere except from the Lacedaemonians, and they sent Phidippus, a runner of that kind who are called hemerodromoi, to Lacedaemon, to announce how swift help was needed.

4 Domi autem creant decem praetores, qui exercitui praeessent, in eis Miltiadem. Inter quos magna fuit contentio, utrum moenibus se defenderent an obviam irent hostibus acieque decernerent.

4 At home, however, they elect ten praetors (generals), to be in command of the army, among them Miltiades. Among whom there was great contention, whether they should defend themselves by the walls or go to meet the enemies and decide the issue by the battle-line.

5 Unus Miltiades maxime nitebatur, ut primo quoque tempore castra fierent: id si factum esset, et civibus animum accessurum, cum viderent de eorum virtute non desperari, et hostes eadem re fore tardiores, si animadverterent auderi adversus se tam exiguis copiis dimicari.

5 One man, Miltiades, strove most that a camp be made at the earliest possible time: if that were done, spirit would accrue to the citizens, when they saw that there was no despair of their virtue, and the enemies would for the same reason be slower, if they perceived that men dared to fight against them with such exiguous forces.

[5] Hoc in tempore nulla civitas Atheniensibus auxilio fuit praeter Plataeenses. Ea mille misit militum. Itaque horum adventu decem milia armatorum completa sunt; quae manus mirabili flagrabat pugnandi cupiditate.

[5] At this time no city was an aid to the Athenians except the Plataeans. That one sent a thousand soldiers. And so, at their advent, ten thousand armed men were made up; which band was blazing with a marvelous eagerness for fighting.

2 Quo factum est, ut plus quam collegae Miltiades valeret.

2 Whereby it came about that Miltiades had more influence than his colleagues.

3 Eius ergo auctoritate impulsi Athenienses copias ex urbe eduxerunt locoque idoneo castra fecerunt. Dein postero die sub montis radicibus acie [e] regione instructa non apertissuma - namque arbores multis locis erant rarae - proelium commiserunt hoc consilio, ut et montium altitudine tegerentur et arborum tractu equitatus hostium impediretur, ne multitudine clauderentur.

3 Therefore, impelled by his authority, the Athenians led their forces out of the city and made camp in a suitable place. Then on the next day, with the battle-line drawn up opposite beneath the mountain’s roots, not very open - for the trees in many places were rare - they joined battle with this plan: that both they might be covered by the altitude of the mountains and that the enemy cavalry might be impeded by the tract of the trees, lest they be enclosed by the multitude.

4 Datis etsi non aequum locum videbat suis, tamen fretus numero copiarum suarum confligere cupiebat eoque magis, quod, priusquam Lacedaemonii subsidio venirent, dimicare utile arbitrabatur. Itaque in aciem peditum centum, equitum decem milia produxit proeliumque commisit.

4 Datis, although he saw that the place was not equitable for his own, nevertheless, relying on the number of his forces, was eager to conflict, and all the more because he judged it useful to fight before the Lacedaemonians should come with succor. And so he brought forward into the battle-line 100,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry and committed the battle.

5 In quo tanto plus virtute valuerunt Athenienses, ut decemplicem numerum hostium profligarint adeoque perterruerint, ut Persae non castra, sed naves petierint. Qua pugna nihil adhuc exstitit nobilius. Nulla enim umquam tam exigua manus tantas opes prostravit.

5 In which the Athenians prevailed by so much more in valor that they routed an enemy ten times their number, and so thoroughly terrified them that the Persians sought not the camp, but the ships. Than this battle nothing up to now has existed more noble. For never has so small a band prostrated such great forces.

[6] Cuius victoriae non alienum videtur quale praemium Miltiadi sit tributum, docere, quo facilius intellegi possit eandem omnium civitatum esse naturam.

[6] Of which victory, it does not seem out of place to teach what sort of reward was conferred upon Miltiades, so that it may be more easily understood that the nature of all states is the same.

2 Ut enim populi Romani honores quondam fuerunt rari et tenues ob eamque causam gloriosi, nunc autem effusi atque obsoleti, sic olim apud Athenienses fuisse reperimus.

2 For as the honors of the Roman people once were rare and slight—and for that reason glorious—but now are poured out and obsolete, so we find it to have been formerly among the Athenians.

3 Namque huic Miltiadi, qui Athenas totamque Graeciam liberarat, talis honos tributus est, in porticu, quae Poecile vocatur, cum pugna depingeretur Marathonia, ut in decem praetorum numero prima eius imago poneretur isque hortaretur milites proeliumque committeret.

3 For to this Miltiades, who had freed Athens and all Greece, such an honor was bestowed, in the portico which is called the Poecile, as the Marathonian battle was being painted, that his image should be placed first among the number of the ten generals, and that he should be exhorting the soldiers and engaging the battle.

4 Idem ille populus posteaquam maius imperium est nactus et largitione magistratuum corruptus est, trecentas statuas Demetrio Phalereo decrevit.

4 That same people, after it had obtained a greater imperium and had been corrupted by the largess of the magistrates, decreed three hundred statues to Demetrius Phalereus.

[7] Post hoc proelium classem LXX navium Athenienses eidem Miltiadi dederunt, ut insulas, quae barbaros adiuverant, bello persequeretur. Quo in imperio plerasque ad officium redire coegit, nonnullas vi expugnavit.

[7] After this battle the Athenians gave to that same Miltiades a fleet of 70 ships, so that he might pursue in war the islands which had aided the barbarians. While in that command he compelled most to return to obedience, and some he took by storm with force.

2 Ex his Parum insulam opibus elatam cum oratione reconciliare non posset, copias e navibus eduxit, urbem operibus clausit omnique commeatu privavit; dein vineis ac testudinibus constitutis propius muros accessit.

2 Of these, since he could not reconcile the island of Paros, puffed up by resources, by oratory, he led his forces out of the ships, enclosed the city with works and deprived it of all supply; then, mantlets (vineae) and testudos having been set in place, he approached the walls more closely.

3 Cum iam in eo esset, ut oppido potiretur, procul in continenti lucus, qui ex insula conspiciebatur, nescio quo casu nocturno tempore incensus est. Cuius flamma ut ab oppidanis et oppugnatoribus est visa, utrisque venit in opinionem signum a classiariis regis datum.

3 When he was already at the point of taking the town, far off on the continent a sacred grove, which was visible from the island, was ignited by I know not what chance in the nighttime. As its flame was seen by the townspeople and the besiegers, it came into the opinion of both that it was a signal given by the king’s classiarii (seamen).

4 Quo factum est, ut et Parii a deditione deterrerentur, et Miltiades, timens, ne classis regia adventaret, incensis operibus, quae statuerat, cum totidem navibus, atque erat profectus, Athenas magna cum offensione civium suorum rediret.

4 Whereupon it came about that both the Parians were deterred from surrender, and Miltiades, fearing lest the royal fleet should arrive, having set fire to the works which he had erected, returned to Athens with just as many ships as he had set out with, and with great offense to his fellow citizens.

5 Accusatus ergo est proditionis, quod, cum Parum expugnare posset, a rege corruptus infectis rebus discessisset. Eo tempore aeger erat vulneribus, quae in oppugnando oppido acceperat. Itaque, quoniam.

5 Therefore he was accused of treason, because, although he was able to storm Paros, he had, corrupted by the king, departed with the affairs unfinished. At that time he was ill from the wounds which he had received in attacking the town. And so, since.

ipse pro se dicere non posset, verba fecit frater eius Stesagoras.

since he himself could not speak on his own behalf, his brother Stesagoras delivered the speech.

6 Causa cognita capitis absolutus pecunia multatus est, eaque lis quinquaginta talentis aestimata est, quantus in classem sumptus factus erat. Hanc pecuniam quod solvere in praesentia non poterat, in vincula publica coniectus est ibique diem obiit supremum.

6 The case having been heard, he was acquitted on the capital charge but fined in money, and the action was assessed at fifty talents, as great as the expenditure that had been made for the fleet. Because he could not pay this money on the spot, he was cast into the public prison, and there he met his last day.

[8] Hic etsi crimine Pario est accusatus, tamen alia causa fuit damnationis. Namque Athenienses propter Pisistrati tyrannidem, quae paucis annis ante fuerat, omnium civium suorum potentiam extimescebant.

[8] Although this man was accused on a Parian charge, nevertheless there was another cause of the condemnation. For the Athenians, on account of the tyranny of Pisistratus, which had been a few years before, were exceedingly afraid of the power of all their fellow-citizens.

2 Miltiades, multum in imperiis magnisque versatus, non videbatur posse esse privatus, praesertim cum consuetudine ad imperii cupiditatem trahi videretur.

2 Miltiades, much versed in commands and in great ones, did not seem able to be a private citizen, especially since by custom he seemed to be drawn toward a cupidity for command.

3 Nam Chersonesi omnes illos, quos habitarat, annos perpetuam obtinuerat dominationem tyrannusque fuerat appellatus, sed iustus. Non erat enim vi consecutus, sed suorum voluntate, eamque potestatem bonitate retinebat. Omnes autem et dicuntur et habentur tyranni, qui potestate sunt perpetua in ea civitate, quae libertate usa est.

3 For in the Chersonese he had held perpetual dominion for all those years which he had inhabited it, and had been called a tyrant—yet a just one. For he had not obtained it by force, but by the will of his own people, and he was retaining that power by his goodness. Moreover, all are both called and regarded as tyrants who possess perpetual power in that state which has enjoyed liberty.

4 Sed in Miltiade erat cum summa humanitas tum mira communitas, ut nemo tam humilis esset, cui non ad eum aditus pateret, magna auctoritas apud omnes civitates, nobile nomen, laus rei militaris maxima. Haec populus respiciens maluit illum innoxium plecti quam se diutius esse in timore.

4 But in Miltiades there were both the highest humanity and a wondrous affability, such that no one was so humble that access to him did not stand open, great authority among all the cities, a noble name, the greatest renown in military affairs. Looking to these things, the people preferred that he, though innocent, be punished rather than that they themselves be longer in fear.