ἅ μὲν οὖν ἀξια μνήμης τῶν περὶ Δημοσθένους καὶ Κικέρωνος ἱστορουμένων εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀφῖκται γνῶσιν, ταῦτʼ ἐστίν, ἀφεικὼς δὲ τὸ συγκρίνειν τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἕξιν αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖνό μοι δοκῶ μὴ παρήσειν ἄρρητον, ὅτι Δημοσθένην μὲν εἰς τὸ ῥητορικὸν ἐνέτεινε πᾶν ὅσον εἶχεν ἐκ φύσεως ἢ ἀσκήσεως λόγιον, ὑπερβαλλόμενος ἐνάργείᾳ μὲν καὶ δεινότητι τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγώνων καὶ τῶν δικῶν συν συνεξεταζομένους, ὄγκῳ δὲ καὶ μεγαλοπρέπείᾳ τοὺς ἐπιδεικτικούς, ἀκριβείᾳ δὲ καὶ τέχνῃ τοὺς σοφιστάς·
These, then, are the memorable incidents in the recorded careers of Demosthenes and Cicero which have come to our knowledge. And though I have renounced the comparison of their oratorical styles, yet this, I think, ought not to be left unsaid, namely, that Demosthenes devoted to the rhetorical art all the powers of speech which he possessed by nature or acquired by practice, surpassing in force and effectiveness his rivals in forensic and judicial pleading, in pomp and majesty of utterance the professional declaimers, and in precision and skill the sophists;
Κικέρων δὲ καὶ πολυμαθὴς καὶ ποικίλος τῇ περὶ τοὺς λόγους σπουδῇ γενόμενος συντάξεις μὲν ἰδίας φιλοσόφους ἀπολέλοιπεν οὐκ ὀλίγας εἰς τὸν Ἀκαδημαϊκὸν τρόπον, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν πρὸς τὰς δίκας καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας γραφομένων λόγων δῆλός ἐστιν ἐμπειρίαν τινὰ γραμμάτων παρεπιδείκνυσθαι βουλόμενος.
Cicero, on the other hand, became widely learned and had a variety of interest in the pursuit of letters, and left behind him not a few philosophical treatises of his own conforming to the fashion of the Academy; indeed, even in the speeches which he wrote for the forum and the courts he clearly desires to display by the way a considerable acquaintance with letters.
ἔστι δὲ τις καὶ τοῦ ἤθους ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἑκατέρου δίοψις. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Δημοσθενικὸς ἔξω παντὸς ὠραϊσμοῦ καὶ παιδιᾶς εἰς δεινότητα καὶ σπουδὴν συνηγμένος οὐκ ἐλλυχνίων ὄδωδεν, ὥσπερ ὁ Πυθέας ἔσκωπτεν, ἀλλʼ ὐδροποσίας καὶ φροντίδων καὶ τῆς λεγομένης πικρίας τοῦ τρόπου καὶ στυγνότητος,
It is possible, too, to get a glimpse of the character of each in his style of speaking. For that of Demosthenes, which had no prettiness or pleasantry, and was condensed with a view to power and earnestness, did not smell of lamp-wicks, as Pytheas scoffingly said, but of water-drinking and anxious thought, and of what men called the bitterness and sullenness of his disposition;
Κικέρων δὲ πολλαχοὺ τῷ σκωπτικῷ πρὸς τὸ βωμολόχον ἐκφερόμενος καὶ πράγματα σπονδῆς ἄξια γέλωτι καὶ παίδιᾷ κατειρωνευόμενος ἐν ταῖς δίκαις εἰς τὸ χρειῶδες ἠφείδει τοῦ πρέποντος, ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ Καιλίου συνηγορίᾳ μηδὲν ἄτοπον ποιεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν τοσαύτῃ τρνφῇ καὶ πολυτελείᾳ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς χρώμενον· τὸ γὰρ ὧν ἔξεστι μὴ μετέχειν, μανικὸν εἶναι, καὶ ταῦτα ἐν ἡδονῇ τὸ εὔδαιμον τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων φιλοσόφων τιθεμένων.
whereas Cicero was often carried away by his love of jesting into scurrility, and when, to gain his ends in his cases, he treated matters worthy of serious attention with ironical mirth and pleasantry, he was careless of propriety. Thus, in his defence of Caelius, he said that his client, surrounded as he was by great luxury and extravagance, did nothing out of the way when indulging in pleasures; for not to enjoy what is in one’s possession was madness, he said, particularly when the most eminent philosophers assert that true happiness consists in pleasure.
λέγεται δὲ Κάτωνος Ἠίουρήναν διώκοντος ὐπατεύων ἀπολογείσθαι καὶ πολλὰ διὰ τὸν Κάτωνα κωμωδεὶν τὴν Στωικὴν αἰρεσιν ἐπι ταὶς ἀτοπίαις τῶν παραδόξων λεγομένων δογμάτων γέλωτος δὲ λαμπροὺ κατιόντος ἐκ τῶν περιεστώτων προς τους δικαστάς, ἡσυχῆ διαμειδιάσας ὁ Κάτων προς τοὺς καθήμενους εἰπεὶν ὠς γελοῖον, ὦ ἀνδρες, ἔχομεν ὕπατον.
And we are told that when Cato prosecuted Murena, Cicero, who was then consul, defended him, and because of Cato’s beliefs made much fun of the Stoic sect, in view of the absurdities of their so-called paradoxes; and when loud laughter spread from the audience to the jurors, Cato, with a quiet smile, said to those who sat by: What a funny man we have, my friends, for consul!
δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ γέλωτος οἰκεῖος ὁ Κικέρων γεγονέναι καὶ φιλοσκώπτης, τό τε πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ μειδίαμα καὶ γαλήνην παρεῖχε, τῷ δὲ Δημοσθένους ἀεί τις ἐπῆν σπουδή, καὶ τὸ πεφροντικὸς τούτο καὶ σύννουν οὐ ῥᾳδίως ἀπέλειπεν ὅθεν καὶ δύσκολον αὐτὸν οἱ ἐχθροὶ καὶ δύστροπον, ὡς αὐτός φησιν, ἀπεκάλουν.
And it would seem that Cicero was naturally prone to laughter and fond of jesting; his face, too, was smiling and peaceful. But in that of Demosthenes there was always a certain intense seriousness, and this look of thoughtfulness and anxiety he did not easily lay aside. For this reason his enemies, as he himself says, called him morose and ill-mannered.
ἔτι τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς συγγράμμασι κατιδεῖν ἔστι τὸν μὲν ἐμμελῶς καὶ ἀνεπαχθῶς τῶν εἰς αὑτὸν ἀπτόμενον ἐγκωμίων, ὅτε τούτου δεήσαι πρὸς ἕτερόν τι μεῖζον, τἆλλα δʼ εὐλαβῆ καὶ μέτριον· ἡ δὲ Κικέρωνος ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἀμετρία τῆς περιαυτολογίας ἀκρασίαν τινὰ κατηγόρει πρὸς δόξαν, βοῶντος ὡς τὰ ὅπλα ἔδει τῇ τηβέννῳ καὶ τῇ γλώττῃ τὴν θριαμβικὴν ὑπείκειν δάφνην.
Still further, then, in their writings it is possible to see that the one touches upon his own praises cautiously and so as not to give offence, when there was need of this for some weightier end, while on other occasions he is careful and moderate; whereas Cicero’s immoderate boasting of himself in his speeches proves that he had an intemperate desire for fame, his cry being that arms must give place to the toga and the laurel of triumph to the tongue.
τελευτῶν δʼ οὐ τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὰς πράξεις μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς λόγους ἐπαινεῖ τοὺς εἰρημένους ὑφʼ αὑτοὺ καὶ γεγραμμένους, ὥσπερ Ἰσοκράτει καὶ Ἀναξιμένει τοῖς σοφισταῖς διαμειρακιευόμενος, οὐ τὸν Ῥωμαίων δῆμον ἄγειν ἀξιῶν καὶ ὀρθοῦν, βριθύν, ὁπλιτοπάλαν, δάϊον ἀντιπάλοις.
And at last he praises not only his deeds and actions, but also his speeches, both those which he delivered himself and those which he committed to writing, as if he were impetuously vying with Isocrates and Anaximenes the sophists, instead of claiming the right to lead and instruct the Roman people, Steadfast, in heavy armour clad, destructive to foes. /
ἰσχύειν μὲν γὰρ διὰ λόγου τὸν πολιτευόμενον ἀναγκαῖον, ἀγαπᾶν δʼ ἀγεννὲς καὶ λιχνεύειν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου δόξαν. ὅθεν ἐμβριθέστερος ταύτῃ καὶ μεγαλοπρεπέστερος ὁ Δημοσθένης, τὴν μὲν αὑτοῦ δύναμιν ἐμπειρίαν τινὰ πολλῆς δεομένην τῆς παρὰ τῶν ἀκροωμένων εὐνοίας ἀποφαινόμενος, ἀνελευθέρους δὲ καὶ βαναύσους, ὥσπερ εἰσί, τοὺς ἐπὶ τούτῳ φυσωμένους ἡγούμενος.
It is necessary, indeed, that a political leader should prevail by reason of his eloquence, but ignoble for him to admire and crave the fame that springs from his eloquence. Wherefore in this regard Demosthenes is more stately and magnificent, since he declares that his ability in speaking was a mere matter of experience, depending greatly upon the goodwill of his hearers, and considers illiberal and vulgar, as they are, those who are puffed up at such success.
ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐν τῷ δημηγορεῖν καὶ πολιτεύεσθαι δύναμις ὁμαλῶς ἀμφοτέροις ὑπῆρξεν, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς τῶν ὅπλων καὶ στρατοπέδων κυρίους δεῖσθαι, Δημοσθένους μὲν Χάρητα καὶ Διοπείθην καὶ Λεωσθένην, Κικέρωνος δὲ Πομπήϊον καὶ Καίσαρα τὸν νέον, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐν τοῖς πρὸς Ἀγρίππαν καὶ Μαικήναν ὑπομνήμασιν εἴρηκεν.
It is true that in haranguing and guiding the people both had equal power, so that even those who controlled armies and camps had need of their services; Chares, Diopeithes, and Leosthenes needed Demosthenes, and Pompey and the young Caesar needed Cicero, as Caesar himself says in his Memoirs addressed to Agrippa and Maecenas.
ὃ δὲ δοκεῖ μάλιστα καὶ λέγεται τρόπον ἀνδρὸς ἐπιδεικνύναι καὶ βασανίζειν, ἐξουσία καὶ ἀρχὴ πᾶν πάθος κινοῦσα καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποκαλύπτουσα κακίαν, Δημοσθένει μὲν οὐχ ὑπῆρξεν, οὐδʼ ἔδωκε τοιαύτην διάπειραν ἑαυτοῦ, μηδεμίαν ἀρχὴν τῶν ἐπιφανῶν ἄρξας, ὃς οὐδὲ τῆς ὑφʼ αὑτοῦ συντεταγμένης ἐπὶ Φίλιππον ἐστρατήγησε δυνάμεως·
But what is thought and said most of all to reveal and test the character of a man, namely power and authority, which rouses every passion and uncovers every baseness, this Demosthenes did not have, nor did he give any such proof of himself, since he held no conspicuous office, nor did he even command the force which was raised by him against Philip;
Κικέρων δὲ ταμίας εἰς Σικελίαν καὶ ἀνθύπατος εἰς Κιλικίαν καὶ Καππαδοκίαν ἀποσταλείς, ἐν ᾧ καιρῷ τῆς φιλοπλουτίας ἀκμαζούσης, καὶ τῶν πεμπομένων στρατηγῶν καὶ ἡγεμόνων, ὡς τοὺ κλέπτειν ἀγεννοῦς ὄντος, ἐπὶ τὸ ἁρπάζειν τρεπομένων, οὐ τὸ λαμβάνειν ἐδόκει δεινόν, ἀλλʼ ὁ μετρίως τοῦτο ποιῶν ἠγαπᾶτο, πολλὴν μὲν ἐπίδειξιν ὑπεροψίας χρημάτων ἐποιήσατο, πολλὴν δὲ φιλανθρωπίας καὶ χρηστότητος.
whereas Cicero was sent out as quaestor to Sicily, and as pro-consul to Cilicia and Cappadocia, at a time when the love of wealth was at its greatest height, and when those who were sent out as praetors and governors, feeling that theft was an ignoble thing, resorted to open plundering, so that the taking of property was not thought heinous, but he who did this in moderation was held in high esteem; and yet Cicero gave many proofs of his contempt for wealth, and many of his humanity and goodness.
ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ Ῥώμῃ λόγῳ μὲν ἀποδειχθεὶς ὕπατος, ἐξουσίαν δὲ λαβὼν αὐτοκράτορος καὶ δικτάτορος ἐπὶ τοὺς περὶ Κατιλίναν, ἐμαρτύρησεν ἅμα τῷ Πλάτωνι μαντευομένῳ παῦλαν ἕξειν κακῶν τὰς πόλεις, ὅταν εἰς ταὐτὸ δύναμίς τε μεγάλη καὶ φρόνησις ἔκ τινος τύχης χρηστῆς ἀπαντήσῃ μετὰ δικαιοσύνης.
And when in Rome itself he was appointed consul in name, but really received the power of a dictator and sole ruler against Catiline and his conspirators, he bore witness to the truth of Plato’s prophecy that states would then have respite from evil, when in one and the same person, by some happy fortune, great power and wisdom should be conjoined with justice.
χρηματίσασθαι τοίνυν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου Δημοσθένης μὲν ἐπιψόγως λέγεται, λογογραφῶν κρύφα τοῖς περὶ Φορμίωνα καὶ Ἀπολλόδωρον ἀντιδίκοις, καὶ διαβληθεὶς μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖς βασιλικοῖς χρήμασιν, ὀφλὼν δὲ τῶν Ἁρπαλείων. εἰ δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς γράφοντας οὐκ ὀλίγοι δʼ εἰσὶν οὗτοι ψεύδεσθαι φαίημεν,
Moreover, it is said to the reproach of Demosthenes that he made money by his eloquence, since he secretly wrote speeches for Phormio and Apollodorus, who were adversaries in the same case, and since he was accused in the matter of the Great King’s money, and condemned for taking that of Harpalus. And if we should say that those who write things (and these writers are not few) tell what is untrue,
ἀλλʼ ὅτι γε πρὸς δωρεὰς βασιλέων σὺν χάριτι καὶ τιμῇ διδομένας ἀντιβλέψαι Δημοσθένης οὐκ ἂν ἐτόλμησεν, οὐδʼ ἦν τοῦτο ἔργον ἀνθρώπου δανείζοντος ἐπὶ ναυτικοῖς, ἀμήχανον ἀντειπεῖν· περὶ δὲ Κικέρωνος, ὅτι καὶ Σικελιωτῶν ἀγορανομοῦντι καὶ βασιλέως τοῦ Καππαδοκῶν ἀνθυπατεύοντι καὶ τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ φίλων, ὅτʼ ἐξέπιπτε τῆς πόλεως, δωρουμένων πολλὰ καὶ δεομένων λαβεῖν ἀντέσχεν, εἴρηται.
still, at least, that Demosthenes could not bring himself to look within indifference upon gifts which kings offered as marks of honour and favour, and that this was not to be expected of a man who lent money on bottomry, it is impossible to deny; whereas, in the case of Cicero, that the Sicilians when he was quaestor, and the king of Cappadocia when he was pro-consul, and his friends in Rome when he was going into exile, offered him large sums and begged him to take them, only to meet with his refusal, has been said.
καὶ μὴν ἥ γε φυγὴ τῷ μὲν αἰσχρὰ κλοπῆς ἁλόντι συνέπεσε, τῷ δὲ κάλλιστον ἔργον ἀνθρώπους ἀλιτηρίους ἐκκόψαντι τῆς πατρίδος, διὸ τοῦ μὲν οὐδεὶς λόγος ἐκπίπτοντος, ἐφʼ ᾧ δʼ ἡ σύγκλητος ἐσθῆτά τε διήλλαξε καὶ πένθος ἔσχε καὶ γνώμην ὑπὲρ οὐδενὸς εἰπεῖν ἐπείσθη πρότερον ἢ Κικέρωνι κάθοδον ψηφίσασθαι.
And surely in the matter of banishment, at least, for the one it was disgraceful, since he had been convicted of theft; but for the other it was a most honourable result, since he had rid his country of baleful men. Therefore no account was made of the one when he went into exile; but for the other the senate changed its garb and put on mourning and could not be induced to discuss any business until Cicero’s return had been decreed.
τὴν μέντοι φυγὴν ἀργῶς ὁ Κικέρων διήνεγκεν ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ καθήμενος, τῷ δὲ Δημοσθένει καὶ ἡ φυγὴ μέγα μέρος τῆς πολιτείας γέγονε. συναγωνιζόμενος γάρ, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ τοὺς Μακεδόνων πρέσβεις ἐξελαύνων ἐπήρχετο τὰς πόλεις, πολὺ βελτίων Θεμιστοκλέους καὶ Ἀλκιβιάδου παρὰ τὰς αὐτὰς τύχας φανεὶς πολίτης· καὶ μέντοι κατελθὼν αὖθις ἑαυτὸν ἐπέδωκεν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην πολιτείαν, καὶ διετέλει πολεμῶν πρὸς Ἀντίπατρον καὶ Μακεδόνας.
However, Cicero spent his exile idly, remaining quietly in Macedonia; but the exile of Demosthenes proved to be a great part of his service to the state. For he took part in the struggles of the Greeks, as has been said, and drove out the Macedonian envoys in the various cities which he visited, and so showed himself to be a far better citizen than Themistocles or Alcibiades when they were having the same fortune; and furthermore, when he returned from exile, he again devoted himself to this same public service, and steadfastly continued waging war upon Antipater and the Macedonians.
Κικέρωνα δʼ ὠνείδισεν ἐν τῇ βουλῇ Λαίλιος αἰτουμένου Καίσαρος ὑπατείαν μετιέναι παρὰ νόμον, οὔπω γενειῶντος, σιωπῇ καθήμενον. ἔγραφε δὲ καὶ Βροῦτος ἐγκαλῶν ὡν μείζονα καὶ βαρυτέραν πεπαιδοτριβηκότι τυραννίδα τῆς ὑφʼ αὑτοῦ καταλυθείσης.
Cicero, on the contrary, was reproached in the senate by Laelius for sitting silent when Caesar asked leave to stand for the consulship, which was contrary to law, since he was still a beardless youth. And Brutus also, in one of his letters, accused him of having reared up a tyranny greater and more severe than that which the writer himself had overthrown.
ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τῆς τελευτῆς τὸν μὲν οἰκτείραι τις ἄν, ἄνδρα πρεσβύτην διʼ ἀγέννειαν ὑπὸ οἰκετῶν ἄνω καὶ κάτω περιφερόμενον καὶ περιφεύγοντα τὸν θάνατον καὶ ἀποκρυπτόμενον τοὺς οὐ πολὺ πρὸ τῆς φύσεως ἥκοντας ἐπʼ αὐτόν, εἶτ’ ἀποσφαγέντα· τοῦ δʼ, εἰ καὶ μικρὰ πρὸς τὴν ἱκετείαν ἐνέδωκεν, ἀγαστὴ μὲν ἡ παρασκευὴ τοῦ φαρμάκου καὶ τήρησις, ἀγαστὴ δʼ ἡ χρῆσις, ὅτι τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ παρασχόντος αὐτῷ τὴν ἀσυλίαν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ μείζονα βωμὸν καταφυγών, ἐκ τῶν ὅπλων καὶ τῶν δορυφόρων λαβὼν ἑαυτὸν ᾤχετο, τῆς Ἀντιπάτρου καταγελάσας ὠμότητος.
And after all, the one is to be pitied for the manner of his death—an old man ignobly carried up and down by servants, trying to escape death, hiding himself from those who were coming after him not much in advance of nature’s final summons, and then beheaded; whereas in that of the other, even though it had a slight touch of supplication, we must admire the preparation of the poison and its place of custody, must admire, too, the use he made of it, because, since the god would not afford him asylum, he took refuge at a greater altar, as it were, made his escape from arms and mercenaries, and laughed to scorn the cruelty of Antipater.
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