τελευτήσαντος δὲ Κλεομένεος ὡς ἐπύθοντο Αἰγινῆται, ἔπεμπον ἐς Σπάρτην ἀγγέλους καταβωσομένους Λευτυχίδεω περὶ τῶν ἐν Ἀθήνῃσι ὁμήρων ἐχομένων. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ δικαστήριον συναγαγόντες ἔγνωσαν περιυβρίσθαι Αἰγινήτας ὑπὸ Λευτυχίδεω, καί μιν κατέκριναν ἔκδοτον ἄγεσθαι ἐς Αἴγιναν ἀντὶ τῶν ἐν Ἀθήνῃσι ἐχομένων ἀνδρῶν.
μελλόντων δὲ ἄγειν τῶν Αἰγινητέων τὸν Λευτυχίδεα, εἶπέ σφι Θεασίδης ὁ Λεωπρέπεος, ἐὼν ἐν Σπάρτῃ δόκιμος ἀνήρ, τί βουλεύεσθε ποιέειν, ἄνδρες Αἰγινῆται; τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Σπαρτιητέων ἔκδοτον γενόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν πολιητέων ἄγειν; εἰ νῦν ὀργῇ χρεώμενοι ἔγνωσαν οὕτω Σπαρτιῆται, ὅκως ἐξ ὑστέρης μή τι ὑμῖν, ἢν ταῦτα πρήσσητε, πανώλεθρον κακὸν ἐς τὴν χώρην ἐμβάλωσι.
ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες οἱ Αἰγινῆται ἔσχοντο τῆς ἀγωγῆς, ὁμολογίῃ δὲ ἐχρήσαντο τοιῇδε, ἐπισπόμενον Λευτυχίδεα ἐς Ἀθήνας ἀποδοῦναι Αἰγινήτῃσι τοὺς ἄνδρας.
Now when the Eginetans heard that Cleomenes had met his end, they sent messengers to Sparta to denounce Leotychides for the matter of the hostages which were being kept at Athens: and the Lacedemonians caused a court to assemble and judged that the Eginetans had been dealt with outrageously by Leotychides; and they condemned him to be taken to Egina and delivered up in place of the men who were being kept at Athens. Then when the Eginetans were about to take Leotychides, Theasides the son of Leoprepes, a man of repute in Sparta, said to them: “What are ye proposing to do, men of Egina? Do ye mean to take away the king of the Spartans, thus delivered up to you by his fellow-citizens? If the Spartans now being in anger have decided so, beware lest at some future time, if ye do this, they bring an evil upon your land which may destroy it.” Hearing this the Eginetans abstained from taking him; but they came to an agreement that Leotychides should accompany them to Athens and restore the men to the Eginetans.
ὡς δὲ ἀπικόμενος Λευτυχίδης ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας ἀπαίτεε τὴν παραθήκην, οἱ δʼ Ἀθηναῖοι προφάσιας εἷλκον οὐ βουλόμενοι ἀποδοῦναι, φάντες δύο σφέας ἐόντας βασιλέας παραθέσθαι καὶ οὐ δικαιοῦν τῷ ἑτέρῳ ἄνευ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀποδιδόναι·
οὐ φαμένων δὲ ἀποδώσειν τῶν Ἀθηναίων, ἔλεξέ σφι Λευτυχίδης τάδε. ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι, ποιέετε μὲν ὁκότερα βούλεσθε αὐτοί· καὶ γὰρ ἀποδιδόντες ποιέετε ὅσια, καὶ μὴ ἀποδιδόντες τὰ ἐναντία τούτων· ὁκοῖον μέντοι τι ἐν τῇ Σπάρτῃ συνηνείχθη γενέσθαι περὶ παρακαταθήκης, βούλομαι ὑμῖν εἶπαι.
λέγομεν ἡμεῖς οἱ Σπαρτιῆται γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ Λακεδαίμονι κατὰ τρίτην γενεὴν τὴν ἀπʼ ἐμέο Γλαῦκον Ἐπικύδεος παῖδα· τοῦτον τὸν ἄνδρα φαμὲν τά τε ἄλλα πάντα περιήκειν τὰ πρῶτα, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀκούειν ἄριστα δικαιοσύνης πέρι πάντων ὅσοι τὴν Λακεδαίμονα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον οἴκεον.
συνενειχθῆναι δέ οἱ ἐν χρόνῳ ἱκνευμένῳ τάδε λέγομεν. ἄνδρα Μιλήσιον ἀπικόμενον ἐς Σπάρτην βούλεσθαί οἱ ἐλθεῖν ἐς λόγους προϊσχόμενον τοιάδε. εἰμὶ μὲν Μιλήσιος, ἥκω δὲ τῆς σῆς Γλαῦκε βουλόμενος δικαιοσύνης ἀπολαῦσαι.
ὡς γὰρ δὴ ἀνὰ πᾶσαν μὲν τὴν ἄλλην Ἑλλάδα, ἐν δὲ καὶ περὶ Ἰωνίην τῆς σῆς δικαιοσύνης ἦν λόγος πολλός, ἐμεωυτῷ λόγους ἐδίδουν καὶ ὅτι ἐπικίνδυνος ἐστὶ αἰεί κοτε ἡ Ἰωνίη, ἡ δὲ Πελοπόννησος ἀσφαλέως ἱδρυμένη, καὶ διότι χρήματα οὐδαμὰ τοὺς αὐτούς ἐστι ὁρᾶν ἔχοντας.
ταῦτά τε ὦν ἐπιλεγομένῳ καὶ βουλευομένῳ ἔδοξέ μοι τὰ ἡμίσεα πάσης τῆς οὐσίης ἐξαργυρώσαντα θέσθαι παρὰ σέ, εὖ ἐξεπισταμένῳ ὥς μοι κείμενα ἔσται παρὰ σοὶ σόα. σὺ δή μοι καὶ τὰ χρήματα δέξαι καὶ τάδε τὰ σύμβολα σῶζε λαβών· ὃς δʼ ἂν ἔχων ταῦτα ἀπαιτέῃ, τούτῳ ἀποδοῦναι.
ὁ μὲν δὴ ἀπὸ Μιλήτου ἥκων ξεῖνος τοσαῦτα ἔλεξε, Γλαῦκος δὲ ἐδέξατο τὴν παρακαταθήκην ἐπὶ τῷ εἰρημένῳ λόγῳ. χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ διελθόντος ἦλθον ἐς Σπάρτην τούτου τοῦ παραθεμένου τὰ χρήματα οἱ παῖδες, ἐλθόντες δὲ ἐς λόγους τῷ Γλαύκῳ καὶ ἀποδεικνύντες τὰ σύμβολα ἀπαίτεον τὰ χρήματα·
ὁ δὲ διωθέετο ἀντυποκρινόμενος τοιάδε. οὔτε μέμνημαι τὸ πρῆγμα οὔτε με περιφέρει οὐδὲν εἰδέναι τούτων τῶν ὑμεῖς λέγετε, βούλομαί τε ἀναμνησθεὶς ποιέειν πᾶν τὸ δίκαιον· καὶ γὰρ εἰ ἔλαβον, ὀρθῶς ἀποδοῦναι, καὶ εἴ γε ἀρχὴν μὴ ἔλαβον, νόμοισι τοῖσι Ἑλλήνων χρήσομαι ἐς ὑμέας. ταῦτα ὦν ὑμῖν ἀναβάλλομαι κυρώσειν ἐς τέταρτον μῆνα ἀπὸ τοῦδε.
οἱ μὲν δὴ Μιλήσιοι συμφορὴν ποιησάμενοι ἀπαλλάσσοντο ὡς ἀπεστερημένοι τῶν χρημάτων, Γλαῦκος δὲ ἐπορεύετο ἐς Δελφοὺς χρησόμενος τῷ χρηστηρίῳ. ἐπειρωτῶντα δὲ αὐτὸν τὸ χρηστήριον εἰ ὅρκῳ τὰ χρήματα ληίσηται, ἡ Πυθίη μετέρχεται τοῖσιδε τοῖσι ἔπεσι.
γλαῦκʼ Ἐπικυδείδη, τὸ μὲν αὐτίκα κέρδιον οὕτω / ὅρκῳ νικῆσαι καὶ χρήματα ληίσσασθαι. / ὄμνυ, ἐπεὶ θάνατός γε καὶ εὔορκον μένει ἄνδρα. / ἀλλʼ ὅρκου πάις ἐστίν, ἀνώνυμος, οὐδʼ ἔπι χεῖρες / οὐδὲ πόδες· κραιπνὸς δὲ μετέρχεται, εἰς ὅ κε πᾶσαν / συμμάρψας ὀλέσῃ γενεὴν καὶ οἶκον ἅπαντα. / ἀνδρὸς δʼ εὐόρκου γενεὴ μετόπισθεν ἀμείνων. / ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Γλαῦκος συγγνώμην τὸν θεὸν παραιτέετο αὐτῷ ἴσχειν τῶν ῥηθέντων. ἡ δὲ Πυθίη ἔφη τὸ πειρηθῆναι τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι ἴσον δύνασθαι.
Γλαῦκος μὲν δὴ μεταπεμψάμενος τοὺς Μιλησίους ξείνους ἀποδιδοῖ σφι τὰ χρήματα. τοῦ δὲ εἵνεκα ὁ λόγος ὅδε ὦ Ἀθηναῖοι ὁρμήθη λέγεσθαι ἐς ὑμέας, εἰρήσεται· Γλαύκου νῦν οὔτε τι ἀπόγονον ἐστὶ οὐδὲν οὔτʼ ἱστίη οὐδεμία νομιζομένη εἶναι Γλαύκου, ἐκτέτριπταί τε πρόρριζος ἐκ Σπάρτης. οὕτω ἀγαθὸν μηδὲ διανοέεσθαι περὶ παρακαταθήκης ἄλλο γε ἢ ἀπαιτεόντων ἀποδιδόναι.
When however Leotychides came to Athens and asked for the deposit back, the Athenians, not being willing to give up the hostages, produced pretexts for refusing, and alleged that two kings had deposited them and they did not think it right to give them back to the one without the other: so since the Athenians said that they would not give them back, Leotychides spoke to them as follows:
(a) “Athenians, do whichever thing ye yourselves desire; for ye know that if ye give them up, ye do that which religion commands, and if ye refuse to give them up, ye do the opposite of this: but I desire to tell you what kind of a thing came to pass once in Sparta about a deposit. We Spartans report that there was in Lacedemon about two generations before my time on Glaucos the son of Epikydes. This man we say attained the highest merit in all things besides, and especially he was well reported of by all who at that time dwelt in Lacedemon for his uprightness: and we relate that in due time it happened to him thus:—a man of Miletos came to Sparta and desired to have speech with him, alleging the reasons which follow: ‘I am a Milesian,’ he said, ‘and I am come hither desiring to have benefit from thy uprightness, Glaucos; for as there was much report of thy uprightness throughout all the rest of Hellas and also in Ionia, I considered with myself that Ionia is ever in danger, whereas Peloponnesus is safely established, and also that we never see wealth continue in the possession of the same persons long;—reflecting, I say, on these things and taking counsel with myself, I resolved to turn into money the half of my possessions, and to place it with thee, being well assured that if it were placed with thee I should have it safe. Do thou therefore, I pray thee, receive the money, and take and keep these tallies; and whosoever shall ask for the money back having the tokens answering to these, to him do thou restore it.’ (b) The stranger who had come from Miletos said so much; and Glaucos accepted the deposit on the terms proposed. Then after a long time had gone by, there came to Sparta the sons of him who had deposited the money with Glaucos; and they came to speech with Glaucos, and producing the tokens asked for the money to be given back: but he repulsed them answering them again thus: ‘I do not remember the matter, nor does my mind bring back to me any knowledge of those things whereof ye speak; but I desire to recollect and do all that is just; for if I received it, I desire to restore it honestly; and if on the other hand I did not receive it at all, I will act towards you in accordance with the customs of the Hellenes: therefore I defer the settling of the matter with you for three months from now.’ (c) The Milesians accordingly went away grieved, for they supposed that they had been robbed of the money; but Glaucos set forth to Delphi to consult the Oracle: and when he inquired of the Oracle whether he should rob them of the money by an oath, the Pythian prophetess rebuked him with these lines:
“‘Glaucos, thou, Epikydes’ son, yea, this for the moment,
This, to conquer their word by an oath and to rob, is more gainful.
Swear, since the lot of death waits also for him who swears truly.
But know thou that Oath has a son, one nameless and handless and
footless, Yet without feet he pursues, without hands he seizes, and
wholly He shall destroy the race and the house of the man who offendeth.
But for the man who swears truly his race is the better hereafter.’
Having heard this Glaucos entreated that the god would pardon him for that which he had said, but the prophetess said that to make trial of the god and to do the deed were things equivalent. (d) Glaucos then, having sent for the Milesians, gave back to them the money: but the reason for which, O Athenians, I set forth to relate to you this story, shall now be told. At the present time there is no descendant of Glaucos existing, nor any hearth which is esteemed to be that of Glaucos, but he has been utterly destroyed and rooted up out of Sparta. Thus it is good not even to entertain a thought about a deposit other than that of restoring it, when they who made it ask for it again.”
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