Φώκῳ δὲ τῷ υἱῷ βουλομένῳ ἀγωνίσασθαι Παναθηναίοις ἀποβάτην ἐφῆκεν, οὐχὶ τῆς νίκης ὀρεγόμενος, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἐπιμεληθεὶς καὶ ἀσκήσας τὸ σῶμα βελτίων ἔσοιτο καὶ γὰρ ἦν ἄλλως φιλοπότης καὶ ἄτακτος ὁ νεανίσκος, νικήσαντος δὲ καὶ πολλῶν αἰτουμένων ἑστιᾶσαι τὰ νικητήρια, τοὺς ἄλλους Φωκίων παραιτησάμενος ἑνὶ τὴν φιλοτιμίαν ταύτην συνεχώρησεν.
When Phocus his son wished to compete at the Panathenaic festival as a vaulting rider of horses, Phocion permitted it, not because he was ambitious for the victory, but in order that care and training of the body might make his son a better man; for in general the youth was fond of wine and irregular in his habits. The youth was victorious, and many asked him to their houses for the victor’s banquet; but Phocion declined the other invitations and granted the coveted honour to one host only.
ὡς δὲ ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖπνον ἄλλην τε σοβαρὰν ἑώρα παρασκευὴν καὶ ποδανιπτῆρας οἴνου διʼ ἀρωμάτων προσφερομένους τοῖς εἰσιοῦσι, καλέσας τὸν υἱὸν, οὐ παύσεις ἔφη, τὸν ἑταῖρον, ὦ Φῶκε, διαφθείροντά σου τὴν νίκην ; βουλόμενος δὲ καὶ καθόλου μεταστῆσαι τὸ μειράκιον ἐκ τῆς διαίτης ἐκείνης, ἀπήγαγεν εἰς Λακεδαίμονα καὶ κατέμιξε τοῖς ἀγομένοις τὴν λεγομένην ἀγωγὴν νεανίσκοις.
And when he went to the banquet and saw the general magnificence of the preparations, and particularly the foot-basins of spiced wine that were brought to the guests as they entered, he called his son and said: Phocus, do not let thy companion ruin thy victory. Moreover, wishing to remove the young man entirely from that style of living, he took him off to Sparta and put him among the youths who were following the course of discipline called agoge.
καὶ τοῦτο τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἐλύπησεν, ὡς ὑπερορῶντος καὶ ὑπερφρονοῦντος τὰ οἰκεῖα τοῦ Φωκίωνος· εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ Δημάδου πρὸς αὐτόν, τί οὐ πείθομεν, ὦ Φωκίων, Ἀθηναίους τὴν Λακωνικὴν προσδέξασθαι πολιτείαν; ἐὰν γὰρ σὺ κελεύῃς, ἐγὼ γράφειν καὶ λέγειν ἕτοιμός εἰμι, πάνυ γοῦν, ἔφη, πρέψειεν ἄν σοι μύρου τοσοῦτον ὄζοντι καὶ χλανίδα τοιαύτην φοροῦντι συμβουλεύειν Ἀθηναίοις περὶ φιλιτίων καὶ τὸν Λυκοῦργον ἐπαινεῖν.
This vexed the Athenians, who thought that Phocion despised and looked down upon the native customs. And once Demades said to him: Phocion, why shouldn’t we try to persuade the Athenians to adopt the Spartan polity? For if thou sayest the word, I am ready to introduce and support the requisite law. But Phocion replied: Indeed it would very well become thee, with so strong a scent of ointment upon thee, and wearing such a mantle as thine, to recommend to the Athenians the public mess-halls of the Spartans, and to extol Lycurgus.
γράψαντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρου περὶ τριήρων, ὅπως ἀποστείλωσιν αὐτῷ, καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων ἐνισταμένων, τῆς δὲ βουλῆς τὸν Φωκίωνα λέγειν κελευούσης, λέγω τοίνυν ὑμῖν, εἶπεν, ἢ τοῖς ὅπλοις κρατεῖν ἢ τοῖς κρατοῦσι φίλους εἶναι. Πρὸς δὲ Πυθέαν ἀρχόμενον τότε πρῶτον ἐντυγχάνειν Ἀθηναίοις, ἤδη δὲ λάλον ὄντα καὶ θρασύν, οὐ σιωπήσεις, ἔφη, καὶ ταῦτα νεώνητος ὢν τῷ δήμῳ;
When Alexander wrote asking the Athenians to send him triremes, and the orators opposed the request, and the council bade Phocion speak upon the matter, I tell you, then, he said, either to be superior in arms or to be friends with those who are superior. To Pytheas, who at that time was just beginning to address the Athenians, but was already loquacious and bold, Phocion said: Hold thy peace, thou who art but a newly bought slave of the people!
ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἅρπαλος μετὰ χρημάτων πολλῶν ἀποδρὰς Ἀλέξανδρον ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας τῇ Ἀττικῇ προσέβαλε, καὶ τῶν εἰωθότων ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος χρηματίζεσθαι δρόμος ἦν καὶ ἅμιλλα φθειρομένων πρὸς αὐτόν, τούτοις μὲν ἀπὸ πολλῶν μικρὰ δελεάζων προήκατο καὶ διέρριψε, τῷ δὲ Φωκίωνι προσέπεμψε διδοὺς ἑπτακόσια τάλαντα, καὶ τἆλλα πάντα, καὶ μετὰ πάντων ἑαυτὸν ἐκείνῳ μόνῳ παρακατατιθέμενος.
And when Harpalus, who had run away from Alexander out of Asia with great sums of money, landed in Attica, and those who were wont to make merchandise of their influence as orators came running to him at breakneck speed, to these men he dropped and scattered small morsels of his wealth by way of bait; but he sent to Phocion and offered him seven hundred talents, and everything else that he had, and put himself with all his possessions at the sole disposition of Phocion.
ἀποκριναμένου δὲ τραχέως τοῦ Φωκίωνος οἰμώξεσθαι τὸν Ἅρπαλον, εἰ μὴ παύσεται διαφθείρων τὴν πόλιν, τότε μὲν συσταλεὶς ἀπέστη, μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ βουλευομένων Ἀθηναίων ἑώρα τοὺς μὲν εἰληφότας τὰ χρήματα παρʼ αὐτοῦ μεταβαλλομένους καὶ κατηγοροῦντας, ἵνα μὴ φανεροὶ γένωνται, Φωκίωνα δὲ τὸν μηδὲν λαβόντα μετὰ τοῦ κοινοῦ συμφέροντος ἅμα καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου σωτηρίαν ἔν τινι λόγῳ τιθέμενον.
But Phocion answered sharply that Harpalus would rue it if he did not cease trying to corrupt the city, and for the time being the traitor was abashed and desisted from his efforts. After a little, however, when the Athenians were deliberating upon his case, he found that those who had taken money from him were changing sides and denouncing him, that they might not be discovered; while Phocion, who would take nothing, was now giving some consideration to the safety of Harpalus as well as to the public interests.
πάλιν οὖν ἐνεχθεὶς ἐπὶ τὸ θεραπεύειν ἐκεῖνον, αὐτὸν μὲν ὡς ἔρυμα πανταχόθεν ἀνάλωτον ὑπὸ τοῦ χρυσίου περιοδεύων ἑώρα, Χαρικλέα δὲ τὸν γαμβρὸν αὐτοῦ ποιησάμενος συνήθη καὶ φίλον, ἀνέπλησε δόξης πονηρᾶς, πάντα πιστεύων καὶ πάντα χρώμενος ἐκείνῳ.
Again, therefore, he was led to pay court to Phocion, but after all his efforts to bribe him found that he was impregnable on all sides like a fortress. Of Charicles, however, Phocion’s son-in-law, Harpalus made an intimate associate and friend, trusting him in everything and using him in everything, and thus covered him with infamy.
καὶ δὴ καὶ Πυθονίκης τῆς ἑταίρας ἀποθανούσης, ἣν εἶχεν ὁ Ἅρπαλος ἐρῶν καὶ θυγατρίου πατὴρ ἐξ αὐτῆς γεγόνει, μνημεῖον ἀπὸ χρημάτων πολλῶν ἐπιτελέσαι θελήσας προσέταξε τῷ Χαρικλεῖ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν.
For instance, on the death of Pythonicé the courtesan, who was the passionately loved mistress of Harpalus and had borne him a daughter, Harpalus resolved to build her a very expensive monument, and committed the care of the work to Charicles.
οὖσαν δὲ τὴν ὑπουργίαν ταύτην ἀγεννῆ προσκατῄσχυνεν ὁ τάφος συντελεσθείς. διαμένει γὰρ ἔτι νῦν ἐν Ἕρμει, ᾗ βαδίζομεν ἐξ ἄστεος εἰς Ἐλευσῖνα, μηδὲν ἔχων τῶν τριάκοντα ταλάντων ἄξιον, ὅσα τῷ Ἁρπάλῳ λογισθῆναί φασιν εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὑπὸ τοῦ Χαρικλέους. καὶ μέντοι καὶ τελευτήσαντος αὐτοῦ τὸ παιδάριον ὑπὸ τοῦ Χαρικλέους καὶ τοῦ Φωκίωνος ἀναληφθὲν ἐτύγχανε πάσης ἐπιμελείας.
This service was an ignoble one in itself, but it acquired additional disgrace from the completed tomb. For this is still to be seen in Hermus, on the road from Athens to Eleusis, and it has nothing worthy of the large sum of thirty talents which Charicles is said to have charged Harpalus for the work. And yet after the death of Harpalus himself, his daughter was taken up by Charicles and Phocion and educated with every care.
κρινομένου μέντοι τοῦ Χαρικλέους ἐπὶ τοῖς Ἁρπαλείοις, καὶ δεομένου βοηθεῖν αὐτῷ τὸν Φωκίωνα καὶ συνεισελθεῖν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον, οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, εἰπών· ἐγώ σε, ὦ Χαρίκλεις, ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς δικαίοις γαμβρὸν ἐποιησάμην. πρώτου δὲ Ἀθηναίοις Ἀσκληπιάδου τοῦ Ἱππάρχου τεθνάναι προσαγγείλαντος Ἀλέξανδρον, ὁ μὲν Δημάδης ἐκέλευε μὴ προσέχειν· πάλαι γὰρ ἂν ὅλην ὄζειν νεκροῦ τὴν οἰκουμένην· ὁ δὲ Φωκίων ἐπηρμένον ὁρῶν πρὸς τὸ νεωτερίζειν τὸν δῆμον ἐπειρᾶτο παρηγορεῖν καὶ κατέχειν.
However, when Charicles was brought to trial for his dealings with Harpalus, and begged Phocion to help him and go with him into the court-room, Phocion refused, saying: I made thee my son-in-law, Charicles, for none but just purposes. Asclepiades the son of Hipparchus was the first one to bring to the Athenians the tidings that Alexander was dead. Thereupon Demades urged them to pay no heed to the report, since, had it been true, the whole earth would long ago have been filled with the stench of the body. But Phocion, who saw that the people were bent on revolution, tried to dissuade them and restrain them.
ἀναπηδώντων δὲ πολλῶν ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα, καὶ βοώντων ἀληθῆ τὸν Ἀσκληπιάδην ἀπαγγέλλειν καὶ τεθνάναι τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον, οὐκοῦν, εἶπεν, εἰ σήμερον τέθνηκε, καὶ αὔριον ἔσται καὶ εἰς τρίτην τεθνηκώς, ὥστε ἡμᾶς ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ βουλεύσασθαι, μᾶλλον δὲ μετὰ ἀσφαλείας.
And when many of them sprang towards the bema, and shouted that the tidings brought by Asclepiades were true and that Alexander was dead, Well, then, said Phocion, if he is dead to-day, he will be dead to-morrow and the day after. Therefore we can deliberate in quiet, and with greater safety.
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