ἤδη δὲ πρὸς Φίλιππον ἐκπεπολεμωμένων παντάπασι, καί στρατηγῶν αὐτοῦ μὴ παρόντος ἑτέρων ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον ᾑρημένων, ὡς κατέπλευσεν ἀπὸ τῶν νήσων, πρῶτον μὲν ἔπειθε τὸν δῆμον εἰρηνικῶς ἔχοντος τοῦ Φιλίππου καί φοβουμένου τὸν κίνδυνον ἰσχυρῶς δέχεσθαι τὰς διαλύσεις·
Presently the relations between Athens and Philip were altogether hostile, and, in Phocion’s absence, other generals were chosen to conduct the war. But when Phocion returned with his fleet from the islands, to begin with, he tried to persuade the people, since Philip was peaceably inclined and greatly feared the peril of war, to accept the terms of settlement which he offered.
καί τινος ἀντικρούσαντος αὐτῷ τῶν εἰωθότων κυλινδεῖσθαι περὶ τὴν Ἡλιαίαν καί συκοφαντεῖν, καί εἰπόντος, σὺ δὲ τολμᾷς, ὦ Φωκίων, ἀποτρέπειν Ἀθηναίους ἤδη τὰ ὅπλα διὰ χειρῶν ἔχοντας; ἔγωγε, εἶπε, καί ταῦτα εἰδὼς ὅτι πολέμου μὲν ὄντος ἐγὼ σοῦ, εἰρήνης δὲ γενομένης σὺ ἐμοῦ ἄρξεις. ὡς δʼ οὐκ ἔπειθεν, ἀλλʼ ὁ Δημοσθένης ἐκράτει κελεύων ὡς πορρωτάτω τῆς Ἀττικῆς θέσθαι μάχην τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, ὦ τᾶν, ἔφη, μὴ ποῦ μαχώμεθα σκοπῶμεν, ἀλλὰ πῶς νικήσωμεν.
And when one of those who haunted the law-courts in the capacity of public informer opposed him, and said, Canst thou dare, O Phocion, to divert the Athenians from war when they are already under arms? I can, said he, and that, too, though I know that while there is war thou wilt be under my orders, but when peace has been made I shall be under thine. When, however, he could not prevail, but Demosthenes carried the day and was urging the Athenians to join battle with Philip as far from Attica as possible, My good Sir, said Phocion, let us not ask where we can fight, but how we shall be victorious.
οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται μακρὰν ὁ πόλεμος, ἡττωμένοις δὲ πᾶν ἀεὶ δεινὸν ἐγγὺς πάρεστι. γενομένης δὲ τῆς ἥττης καί τῶν θορυβοποιῶν καί νεωτεριστῶν ἐν ἄστει τὸν Χαρίδημον ἑλκόντων ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα καί στρατηγεῖν ἀξιούντων, ἐφοβήθησαν οἱ βέλτιστοι· καί τὴν ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλὴν ἔχοντες ἐν τῷ δήμῳ δεόμενοι καί δακρύοντες μόλις ἔπεισαν ἐπιτρέψαι τῷ Φωκίωνι τὴν πόλιν.
For in that case the war will be at a long remove; but wherever men are defeated every terror is close at hand. But when the defeat came, and the turbulent and revolutionary spirits in the city dragged Charidemus to the tribunal and demanded that he be made general, the best citizens were filled with fear; and with the aid of the council of the Areiopagus in the assembly, by dint of entreaties and tears, they persuaded them at last to entrust the city to the guidance of Phocion.
ὁ δὲ τὴν μὲν ἄλλην τοῦ Φιλίππου πολιτείαν καί φιλανθρωπίαν ᾤετο δεῖν προσδέχεσθαι· Δημάδου δὲ γράψαντος ὅπως ἡ πόλις μετέχοι τῆς κοινῆς εἰρήνης καί τοῦ συνεδρίου τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, οὐκ εἴα πρὸ τοῦ γνῶναι τίνα Φίλιππος αὑτῷ γενέσθαι παρὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀξιώσει·
In general, Phocion thought that the policy and kindly overtures of Philip should be accepted by the Athenians; but when Demades brought in a motion that the city should participate with the Greeks in the common peace and in the congress, Phocion would not favour it before they found out what demands Philip was going to make upon the Greeks.
κρατηθεὶς δὲ τῇ γνώμῃ διὰ τὸν καιρόν, ὡς εὐθὺς ἑώρα τοὺς Ἀθηναίους μεταμελομένους, ὅτι καί τριήρεις ἔδει παρέχειν τῷ Φιλίππῳ καί ἱππεῖς, ταῦτα, ἔφη, φοβούμενος ἠναντιούμην· ἐπεὶ δὲ συνέθεσθε, δεῖ μὴ βαρέως φέρειν μηδὲ ἀθυμεῖν, μεμνημένους ὅτι καί οἱ πρόγονοί ποτὲ μὲν ἄρχοντες, ποτὲ δὲ ἀρχόμενοι, καλῶς δὲ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα ποιοῦντες καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἔσωσαν καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας.
His opinion did not prevail, owing to the crisis, and yet as soon as he saw that the Athenians were repenting of their course, because they were required to furnish Philip with triremes and horsemen, This is what I feared, said he, when I opposed your action; but since you agreed upon it, you must not repine or be dejected, remembering that our ancestors also were sometimes in command, and sometimes under command, but by doing well in both these positions saved both their city and the Greeks.
Φιλίππου δὲ ἀποθανόντος εὐαγγέλια θύειν τὸν δῆμον οὐκ εἴα· καί γὰρ ἀγεννὲς εἶναι ἐπιχαίρειν, καί τὴν ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ, παραταξαμένην πρὸς αὐτοὺς δύναμιν ἑνὶ σώματι μόνον ἐλάττω γενέσθαι.
And on the death of Philip, he was opposed to the peoples offering sacrifices of glad tidings; for it was an ignoble thing, he said, to rejoice thereat, and the force which had been arrayed against them at Chaeroneia was diminished by only one person.
Δημοσθένους δὲ λοιδοροῦντος τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον ἤδη προσάγοντα ταῖς Θήβαις ἔφη· σχέτλιε, τίπτʼ ἐθέλεις ἐρεθιζέμεν ἄγριον ἄνδρα καὶ δόξης μεγάλης ὀρεγόμενον; ἢ βούλει πυρκαϊᾶς τηλικαύτης οὔσης ἐγγὺς ῥιπίσαι τὴν πόλιν; ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς οὐδὲ βουλομένοις ἀπολέσθαι τούτοις ἐπιτρέψομεν, οἱ διὰ τοῦτο στρατηγεῖν ὑπομένοντες.
Again, when Demosthenes was heaping abuse upon Alexander, who was already advancing against Thebes, Phocion said: Rash one, why dost thou seek to provoke a man who is savage, and is reaching out after great glory? Canst thou wish, when so great a conflagration is near, to fan the city into flame? But I, who am bearing the burdens of command with this object in view, will not suffer these fellow citizens of mine to perish even if that is their desire.
ὡς δὲ ἀπωλώλεισαν αἱ Θῆβαι καὶ ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἐξῃτεῖτο τοὺς περὶ Δημοσθένην καὶ Λυκοῦργον καὶ Ὑπερείδην καὶ Χαρίδημον, ἡ δὲ ἐκκλησία πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀπέβλεπεν, ὀνομαστὶ πολλάκις καλούμενος ἀνέστη καὶ τῶν φίλων ἕνα παραστησάμενος, ᾧ μάλιστα χρώμενος διετέλει καὶ πιστεύων καὶ ἀγαπῶν, εἰς τοιαῦτα, ἔφη, τὴν πόλιν οὗτοι παραγηόχασιν ὥστʼ ἔγωγε, κἂν Νικοκλέα τις τοῦτον ἐξαιτῇ, διδόναι κελεύσω.
And when Thebes had been destroyed and Alexander was demanding the surrender of Demosthenes, Lycurgus, Hypereides, Charidemus, and others, and the assembly turned their eyes upon Phocion and called upon him many times by name, he rose up, and drawing to his side one of his friends, whom he always cherished, trusted, and loved most of all, he said: These men have brought the city to such a pass that I, for my part, even if this Nicocles should be demanded, would urge you to give him up.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἁπάντων ἀποθανεῖν εὐτυχίαν ἂν ἐμαυτοῦ θείμην. ἐλεῶ δέ, εἶπεν, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τοὺς ἐκ Θηβῶν δεῦρο πεφευγότας, ἀρκεῖ δὲ τὰς Θήβας κλαίειν τοῖς Ἕλλησι. διὸ βέλτιόν ἐστιν ὑπὲρ ἀμφοῖν πείθειν καὶ παραιτεῖσθαι τοὺς κρατοῦντας ἢ μάχεσθαι.
For if I might die myself in behalf of you all, I should deem it a piece of good fortune for me. And I feel pity, said he, men of Athens, for those also who have fled hither from Thebes; but it is enough that the Greeks should have the fate of Thebes to mourn. Therefore it is better to supplicate and try to persuade the victors for both you and them, and not to fight.
τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον ψήφισμα λέγεται τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον, ὡς ἔλαβε, ῥῖψαι καὶ φυγεῖν ἀποστραφέντα τοὺς πρέσβεις· τὸ δὲ δεύτερον ἐδέξατο, κομισθὲν ὑπὸ Φωκίωνος, τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀκούων ὅτι καὶ Φίλιππος ἐθαύμαζε τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον καὶ οὐ μόνον τὴν ἔντευξιν ὑπέμεινεν αὑτοῦ καὶ τὴν δέησιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμβουλεύοντος ἤκουσε. συνεβούλευε δʼ ὁ Φωκίων, εἰ μὲν ἡσυχίας ὀρέγεται, θέσθαι τὸν πόλεμον· εἰ δὲ δόξης, μεταθέσθαι, πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους ἀπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τραπόμενον.
Well, then, we are told that when Alexander got the first decree which the Athenians passed, he cast it from him and ran with averted face from the envoys; the second, however, he accepted, because it was brought by Phocion, and because he heard from the older Macedonians that Philip also used to admire this man. And he not only consented to meet Phocion and hear his petition, but actually listened to his counsels. And Phocion counselled him, if he sought quiet, to make an end of the war; but if glory, to transfer the war, and turn his arms away from Greece against the Barbarians.
καὶ πολλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου φύσιν καὶ βούλησιν εὐστόχως εἰπών οὕτω μετέβαλε καὶ κατεπράϋνεν αὐτόν ὥστε εἰπεῖν ὅπως προσέξουσι τὸν νοῦν Ἀθηναῖοι τοῖς πράγμασιν, ὡς, εἴ τι γένοιτο περὶ αὐτόν, ἐκείνοις ἄρχειν προσῆκον, ἰδίᾳ δὲ τὸν Φωκίωνα ποιησάμενος αὑτοῦ φίλον καὶ ξένον, εἰς τοσαύτην ἔθετο τιμὴν ὅσην εἶχον ὀλίγοι τῶν ἀεὶ συνόντων.
And by saying many things that suited well with Alexander’s nature and desires he so far changed and softened his feelings that he advised the Athenians to give close attention to their affairs, since, if anything should happen to him, the leadership of Greece would properly fall to them. In private, too, he made Phocion his friend and guest, and showed him greater honour than most of his constant associates enjoyed.
ὁ γοῦν Δοῦρις εἴρηκεν ὡς μέγας γενόμενος καὶ Δαρείου κρατήσας ἀφεῖλε τῶν ἐπιστολῶν τὸ χαίρειν πλὴν ἐν ὅσαις ἔγραφε Φωκίωνι· τοῦτον δὲ μόνον, ὥσπερ Ἀντίπατρον, μετὰ τοῦ χαίρειν προσηγόρευε. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ Χάρης ἱστόρηκε.
At any rate, Duris writes that after Alexander had become great and had conquered Dareius, he dropped from his letters the word of salutation, chairein, except whenever he was writing to Phocion; him alone, like Antipater, he used to address with the word chairein. This is the testimony of Chares also.
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