Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, Charles Darwin Adams (Translator), 132

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[132] Wherefore what is there, strange and unexpected, that has not happened in our time!¹ For it is not the life of men we have lived, but we were born to be a tale of wonder to posterity. Is not the king of the Persians—he who channelled Athos , he who bridged the Hellespont , he who demanded earth and water of the Greeks, he who dared to write in his letters that he was lord of all men from the rising of the sun unto its setting—is he not struggling now, no longer for lordship over others, but already for his life?² And do we not see this glory and the leadership against the Persians bestowed on the same men who liberated the temple of Delphi ?

Against Ctesiphon. Aeschines. Charles Darwin Adams (Translator). London. 1919.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Against Ctesiphon (English) (The Speeches of Aeschines. Adams, Charles Darwin, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919 (1958 printing).)

Editions (1)

Κατά Κτησιφώντος Perseus (The Speeches of Aeschines. Adams, Charles Darwin, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1919.) — 132 focus

[132] τοιγάρτοι τί τῶν ἀνελπίστων καὶ ἀπροσδοκήτων ἐφʼ ἡμῶν οὐ γέγονεν; οὐ γὰρ βίον γε ἡμεῖς ἀνθρώπινον βεβιώκαμεν, ἀλλʼ εἰς παραδοξολογίαν τοῖς μεθʼ ἡμᾶς¹ ἔφυμεν. οὐχ ὁ μὲν τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεύς, ὁ τὸν Ἄθω διορύξας, ὁ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ζεύξας, ὁ γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ τοὺς Ἕλληνας αἰτῶν, ὁ τολμῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς γράφειν, ὅτι δεσπότης ἐστὶν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀφʼ ἡλίου ἀνιόντος μέχρι δυομένου, νῦν οὐ περὶ τοῦ κύριος ἑτέρων εἶναι διαγωνίζεται, ἀλλʼ ἤδη περὶ τῆς τοῦ σώματος σωτηρίας; καὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁρῶμεν τῆς τε δόξης ταύτης καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν Πέρσην ἡγεμονίας ἠξιωμένους, οἳ καὶ τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἱερὸν ἠλευθέρωσαν;

Notes on the current edition

Against Ctesiphon

1. Athens and Thebes , in the old days god-fearing states of Hellas , have refused the service due the Delphic god, and have suffered every disaster; Philip, the barbarian, undertook the service of the god, and has received as his reward unheard-of power.

2. The Persian king was already dead when this speech was delivered, but the news had not yet reached Athens .

Aeschines Against Ctesiphon 132

Charles Darwin Adams (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers