ἐπεὶ δὲ οἱ δέκα πρέσβεις, οὓς ἡ σύγκλητος ἔπεμψε τῷ Τίτῳ, συνεβούλευον τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους Ἕλληνας ἐλευθεροῦν, Κόρινθον δὲ καὶ Χαλκίδα καὶ Δημητριάδα διατηρεῖν ἐμφρούρους ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς Ἀντίοχον ἀσφαλείας, ἐνταῦθα δὴ ταῖς κατηγορίαις λαμπροὶ λαμπρῶς τὰς πόλεις ἀνερρήγνυσαν Αἰτωλοί, τὸν μὲν Τίτον κελεύοντες τὰς πέδας τῆς Ἑλλάδος λύειν (οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Φίλιππος εἰώθει τὰς προειρημένας πόλεις ὀνομάζειν),
And now the ten commissioners, who had been sent to Titus by the senate, advised him to give the rest of the Greeks their freedom, but to retain Corinth, Chalcis, and Demetrias under garrisons, as a safeguard against Antiochus. Thereupon the Aetolians stirred up the cities with the most vociferous denunciations, ordering Titus to strike off the shackles of Greece (for that is what Philip was wont to call these three cities),
τοὺς δὲ Ἕλληνας ἐρωτῶντες εἰ κλοιὸν ἔχοντες βαρύτερον μὲν, λειότερον δὲ τοῦ πάλαι τὸν νῦν, χαίρουσι, καὶ θαυμάζουσι τὸν Τίτον ὡς εὐεργέτην, ὅτι τοῦ ποδὸς λύσας τὴν Ἑλλάδα τοῦ τραχήλου δέδεκεν. ἐφʼ οἷς ἀχθόμενος ὁ Τίτος καὶ βαρέως φέρων, καὶ δεόμενος τοῦ συνεδρίου, τέλος ἐξέπεισε καὶ ταύτας τὰς πόλεις ἀνεῖναι τῆς φρουρᾶς, ὅπως ὁλόκληρος ἡ χάρις ὑπάρξῃ παρʼ αὐτοῦ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν.
and asking the Greeks whether they were glad to have a fetter now which was smoother than the one they had worn before, but heavier; and whether they admired Titus as a benefactor because he had unshackled the foot of Greece and put a collar round her neck. Titus was troubled and distressed at this, and by labouring with the commission finally persuaded it to free these cities also from their garrisons, in order that his gift to the Greeks might be whole and entire.
Ἰσθμίων οὖν ἀγομένων πλῆθος μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ καθῆστο τὸν γυμνικὸν ἀγῶνα θεωμένων, οἷα δὴ διὰ χρόνων πεπαυμένης μὲν πολέμων τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐπʼ ἐλπίσιν ἐλευθερίας, σαφεῖ δὲ εἰρήνῃ πανηγυριζούσης τῇ σάλπιγγι δὲ σιωπῆς εἰς ἅπαντας διαδοθείσης,
Accordingly, at the Isthmian games, where a great throng of people were sitting in the stadium and watching the athletic contests (since, indeed, after many years Greece had at last ceased from wars waged in hopes of freedom, and was now holding festival in time of assured peace), the trumpet signalled a general silence,
προελθὼν εἰς μέσον ὁ κῆρυξ ἀνεῖπεν ὅτι Ῥωμαίων ἡ σύγκλητος καὶ Τίτος Κοΐντιος στρατηγὸς ὕπατος καταπολεμήσαντες βασιλέα Φίλιππον καὶ Μακεδόνας, ἀφιᾶσιν ἀφρουρήτους καὶ ἐλευθέρους καὶ ἀφορολογήτους, νόμοις χρωμένους τοῖς πατρίοις, Κορινθίους, Λοκρούς, Φωκεῖς, Εὐβοέας, Ἀχαιοὺς Φθιώτας, Μάγνητας, Θετταλούς, Περραιβούς. τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον οὐ πάνυ πάντες οὐδὲ σαφῶς ἐπήκουσαν, ἀλλʼ ἀνώμαλος καὶ θορυβώδης κίνησις ἦν ἐν τῷ σταδίῳ θαυμαζόντων καὶ διαπυνθανομένων καὶ πάλιν ἀνειπεῖν κελευόντων·
and the herald, coming forward into the midst of the spectators, made proclamation that the Roman senate and Titus Quintius Flamininus proconsular general, having conquered King Philip and the Macedonians, restored to freedom, without garrisons and without imposts, and to the enjoyment of their ancient laws, the Corinthians, the Locrians, the Phocians, the Euboeans, the Achaeans of Phthiotis, the Magnesians, the Thessalians, and the Perrhaebians. At first, then, the proclamation was by no means generally or distinctly heard, but there was a confused and tumultuous movement in the stadium of people who wondered what had been said, and asked one another questions about it, and called out to have the proclamation made again;
ὡς δὲ αὖθις ἡσυχίας γενομένης ἀναγαγὼν ὁ κῆρυξ τὴν φωνὴν προθυμότερον εἰς ἅπαντας ἐγεγώνει καὶ διῆλθε τὸ κήρυγμα, κραυγὴ μὲν ἄπιστος τὸ μέγεθος διὰ χαρὰν ἐχώρει μέχρι θαλάττης, ὀρθὸν δὲ ἀνειστήκει τὸ θέατρον, οὐδεὶς δὲ λόγος ἦν τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων, ἔσπευδον δὲ πάντες ἀναπηδῆσαι καὶ δεξιώσασθαι καὶ προσειπεῖν τὸν σωτῆρα τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ πρόμαχον.
but when silence had been restored, and the herald in tones that were louder than before and reached the ears of all, had recited the proclamation, a shout of joy arose, so incredibly loud that it reached the sea. The whole audience rose to their feet, and no heed was paid to the contending athletes, but all were eager to spring forward and greet and hail the saviour and champion of Greece.
τὸ δὲ πολλάκις λεγόμενον εἰς ὑπερβολὴν τῆς φωνῆς καὶ μέγεθος ὤφθη τότε. κόρακες γὰρ ὑπερπετόμενοι κατὰ τύχην ἔπεσον εἰς τὸ στάδιον. αἰτία δὲ ἡ τοῦ ἀέρος ῥῆξις· ὅταν γὰρ ἡ φωνὴ πολλὴ καὶ μεγάλη φέρηται, διασπώμενος ὑπʼ αὐτῆς οὐκ ἀντερείδει τοῖς πετομένοις, ἀλλʼ ὀλίσθημα ποιεῖ καθάπερ κενεμβατοῦσιν, εἰ μὴ νὴ Δία πληγῇ τινι μᾶλλον ὡς ὑπὸ βέλους διελαυνόμενα πίπτει καὶ ἀποθνῄσκει, δύναται δὲ καὶ περιδίνησις εἶναι τοῦ ἀέρος, οἷον ἑλιγμὸν ἐν πελάγει καὶ παλιρρύμην τοῦ σάλου διὰ μέγεθος λαμβάνοντος.
And that which is often said of the volume and power of the human voice was then apparent to the eye. For ravens which chanced to be flying overhead fell down into the stadium. The cause of this was the rupture of the air; for when the voice is borne aloft loud and strong, the air is rent asunder by it and will not support flying creatures, but lets them fall, as if they were over a vacuum, unless, indeed, they are transfixed by a sort of blow, as of a weapon, and fall down dead. It is possible, too, that in such cases there is a whirling motion of the air, which becomes like a waterspout at sea with a refluent flow of the surges caused by their very volume.
ὁ δʼ οὖν Τίτος, εἰ μὴ τάχιστα τῆς θέας διαλυθείσης ὑπιδόμενος τὴν φορὰν τοῦ πλήθους καὶ τὸν δρόμον ἐξέκλινεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐδόκει περιγενέσθαι τοσούτων ὁμοῦ καὶ πάντοθεν αὐτῷ περιχεομένων. ὡς δʼ ἀπέκαμον περὶ τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ βοῶντες ἤδη νυκτὸς οὔσης, αὖθις οὕστινας ἴδοιεν ἢ φίλους ἢ πολίτας ἀσπαζόμενοι καὶ περιπλεκόμενοι, πρὸς δεῖπνα καὶ πότους ἐτρέποντο μετʼ ἀλλήλων.
Be that as it may, had not Titus, now that the spectacle was given up, at once foreseen the rush and press of the throng and taken himself away, it would seem that he could hardly have survived the concourse of so many people about him at once and from all sides. But when they were tired of shouting about his tent, and night was already come, then, with greetings and embraces for any friends and fellow citizens whom they saw, they betook themselves to banqueting and carousing with one another.
ἐν ᾧ καὶ μᾶλλον, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἡδομένοις ἐπῄει λογίζεσθαι καὶ διαλέγεσθαι περὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, ὅσους πολεμήσασα πολέμους διὰ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν οὔπω τύχοι βεβαιότερον οὐδὲ ἥδιον αὐτῆς, ἑτέρων προαγωνισαμένων ὀλίγου δεῖν ἀναίμακτος αὐτὴ καὶ ἀπενθὴς φερομένη τὸ κάλλιστον καὶ περιμαχητότατον ἆθλον. ἦν δʼ ἄρα σπάνιον μὲν ἀνδρεία καὶ φρόνησις ἐν ἀνθρώποις, σπανιώτατον δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν ὁ δίκαιος.
And here, their pleasure naturally increasing, they were moved to reason and discourse about Greece, saying that although she had waged many wars for the sake of her freedom, she had not yet obtained a more secure or more delightful exercise of it than now, when others had striven in her behalf, and she herself, almost without a drop of blood or a pang of grief, had borne away the fairest and most enviable of prizes. Verily, they would say, valour and wisdom are rare things among men, but the rarest of all blessings is the just man.
οἱ γὰρ Ἀγησίλαοι καὶ Λύσανδροι καὶ οἱ Νικίαι καὶ οἱ Ἀλκιβιάδαι πολέμους μὲν εὖ διέπειν καὶ μάχας νικᾶν κατά τε γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν ἄρχοντες ἠπίσταντο, χρῆσθαι δὲ πρὸς χάριν εὐγενῆ καὶ τὸ καλὸν οἷς κατώρθουν οὐκ ἔγνωσαν, ἀλλʼ εἰ τὸ Μαραθώνιόν τις ἔργον ἀφέλοι καὶ τὴν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ναυμαχίαν καὶ Πλαταιὰς καὶ Θερμοπύλας καὶ τὰ πρὸς Εὐρυμέδοντι καὶ τὰ περὶ Κύπρον Κίμωνος ἔργα, πάσας τὰς μάχας ἡ Ἑλλὰς ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ μεμάχηται πρὸς αὑτήν, καὶ πᾶν τρόπαιον αὐτῆς συμφορὰ καὶ ὄνειδος ἐπʼ αὐτὴν ἕστηκε, τὰ πλεῖστα κακίᾳ καὶ φιλονεικίᾳ τῶν ἡγουμένων περιτραπείσης.
For men like Agesilaüs, or Lysander, or Nicias, or Alcibiades could indeed conduct wars well, and understood how to be victorious commanders in battles by land and sea, but they would not use their successes so as to win legitimate favour and promote the right. Indeed, if one excepts the action at Marathon, the sea-fight at Salamis, Plataea, Thermopylae, and the achievements of Cimon at the Eurymedon and about Cyprus, Greece has fought all her battles to bring servitude upon herself, and every one of her trophies stands as a memorial of her own calamity and disgrace, since she owed her overthrow chiefly to the baseness and contentiousness of her leaders.
ἀλλόφυλοι δὲ ἄνδρες, ἐναύσματα μικρὰ καὶ γλίσχρα κοινωνήματα παλαιοῦ γένους ἔχειν δοκοῦντες, ἀφʼ ὧν καὶ λόγῳ τι καὶ γνώμῃ τῶν χρησίμων ὑπάρξαι τῇ Ἑλλάδι θαυμαστὸν ἦν, οὗτοι τοῖς μεγίστοις κινδύνοις καὶ πόνοις ἐξελόμενοι τὴν Ἑλλάδα δεσποτῶν χαλεπῶν καὶ τυράννων ἐλευθεροῦσι.
Whereas men of another race, who were thought to have only slight sparks and insignificant traces of a common remote ancestry, from whom it was astonishing that any helpful word or purpose should be vouchsafed to Greece—these men underwent the greatest perils and hardships in order to rescue Greece and set her free from cruel despots and tyrants.
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