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he was defined, thinking every moment opportune to risk danger for his own lot and to fight for what had been beneficially entrusted to him by the greater one, but for him what another would have thought an end was a beginning, and what another, having accomplished, would have reckoned sufficient, he himself regarded as if nothing had happened. For no sooner had he set up the trophy in this battle, than a pretext for another battle and other struggles was introduced; and immediately the war-cry sounded and the breastplates gleamed and the spears bristled and the shields were held forth and the clash of battle was at hand, with him fighting in front and risking danger for the many. For indeed his spear anticipated those of the others, and his horse out-leaped and out-flew those of the others, and the enemy was wounded by his hands, and again victory and again a great trophy.

9 Thus his battles followed one another and thus his victories were resounding. What wonder is it then, if being so great in courage, and such in wisdom, and in both altogether incomparable, and so steadfast in battle, he expanded the borders of the Romans to such a breadth, of which how great the size and how long the extent, lift up your eyes round about and see, both every Roman and the foreigner dwelling in the land. The whole eastern portion was subjected to the emperor, freed from the Italian hand, and all the surrounding lands have been civilized as never before. For the Persian, who holds battles as a delight, who is quick to leap upon, and to plunder, and to escape, loves peace; his bow has been made to gape open and his arrow has been shattered and his spear has been broken to pieces, having suffered much in various conflicts and having lost many of his own people and having lost the most illustrious among them. Let my speech now cross over to the opposite side, I mean the western regions. To whose mind would such great happiness and glory of the Romans ever have occurred? What mind suspected that such good things would come to us? The entire west falls at the emperor's feet and bends the knee and has proclaimed him master. The Triballian defines for us the western borders, or rather not he, since he is registered as a slave and stoops to the emperor as a servant and is compelled to give military force as a tributary. The Mysian from the other side perhaps marks out the borders, but he does not mark them out either; for in truth he too is enrolled among those under the emperor. a small patch around the west is what remains that he had not yet managed to subdue, I mean the parts around the Peloponnese and the Euripus and whatever is still tyrannized and subjected by the Italians.

10 Such were his struggles, such were his achievements. These things persuade the Romans to lament, these things compel them to groan and to send forth tears from their eyes in streams, remembering on the one hand their former misfortunes and the experience of which one would not have hoped to escape thus, and on the other hand the brilliant and renowned heroic deeds, from which our prosperity and this great happiness has flowed in, and the fact of being on everyone's tongue as surpassing others in riches, in good seasons, in good fortunes, and it has come to pass that all our enemies are afraid and have drawn back, believing the Romans to be braver than all men, having been well trained in the arts of war under that most noble soldier and general and having practiced not to tremble at an adversary, and to tumble upon swords if need be, fighting not only for their own if it should happen, but also more boldly desiring the things of others.

11 Thus it is a duty for the Romans to mourn the emperor, thus it is an inescapable obligation to lament their own master. And it was necessary for me, O you who are present, long since able to speak rhetorically and with my tongue sharpened in speaking, not with such words

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ὡρίζετο, πάντα καιρὸν οἰόμενος ἐπιτήδειον τοῦ οἰκείου λάχους προκινδυνεύειν καὶ ὑπεραγωνίζεσθαι τοῦ τούτῳ πεπιστευμένου συμφερόντως παρὰ τοῦ κρείττονος, ἀλλ' ἦν αὐτοῦ τὸ ὅπερ ἂν ἄλλος ᾠήθη τέλος ἀρχή, καὶ ὅπερ ἕτερος ἐξειργασμένος ἀρκεῖν ἂν ἐλογίσατο, αὐτὸς ὡς εἰ μηδὲν γέγονεν ὑπελάμβανεν. οὐκ ἔφθασε γὰρ ἐν τῇδε τῇ μάχῃ στῆσαι τὸ τρόπαιον, καὶ μάχης ἑτέρας καὶ ἀγώνων ἄλλων εἰσήγετο πρόφασις· καὶ ἤχει παραυτίκα τὸ ἐνυάλιον καὶ οἱ θώρακες ἔστιλβον καὶ τὰ δόρατα ἔφρισσον καὶ αἱ ἀσπίδες προυβέβληντο καὶ ἡ τῆς μάχης σύρρηξις παρευθύς, προ μαχοῦντος ἐκείνου καὶ προκινδυνεύοντος τῶν πολλῶν. καὶ γὰρ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων τὸ δόρυ τούτου προυλάμβανε, καὶ ὁ ἵππος τοὺς τῶν ἑτέρων ὑπερήλλετό τε καὶ ὑπερίπτατο, καὶ ὁ πολέμιος ταῖς αὐτοῦ χερσὶν ἐτιτρώσκετο, καὶ πάλιν νίκη καὶ πάλιν μέγα τὸ τρόπαιον.

9 Οὕτως αὐτοῦ τὰ τῆς μάχης ἀλληλουχούμενα καὶ οὕτως αὐτοῦ τὰ τῆς νίκης περικροτούμενα. τί γοῦν θαυμαστόν, εἰ τοσοῦτος ὢν τὴν ἀνδρείαν, τοιοῦτος δέ γε τὴν φρόνησιν, κατ' ἄμφω δὲ τοῖς ξύμπασιν ἀπαράμιλλος, οὕτω δὲ καρτε ρικὸς πρὸς τὰ μάχιμα, ἐς τοσοῦτον πλάτος τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐμεγέθυνεν ὅρια, ὧν ὁπόσον τὸ μέγεθος καὶ ἡλίκος ὁ δρόμος ἆρον κύκλῳ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ἴδε σύμπας τε Ῥωμαῖος καὶ ὁ ἐπιχωριάζων ἀλλογενής. ἑῴα μὲν λῆξις ὑπετέθη πᾶσα τῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς Ἰταλικῆς ἐλευθερωθεῖσα χειρός, πάντα δὲ τὰ κύκλῳ ταύτης ὡς οὐδεπώποτε καθημέρωνται. ὁ γὰρ Πέρσης τὴν ἡσυχίαν φιλεῖ ὁ τὰς μάχας ἔχων ἐντρύφημα, ὁ ταχὺς ἐφαλέσθαι καὶ σκυλεῦσαι καὶ ἐκφυγεῖν· τούτου καὶ τὸ τόξον κεχάνωται καὶ τὸ βέλος οἱ κατέθραυσται καὶ τὸ δόρυ συγκατέτριπται, πολλὰ παθόντος ἐν διαφόροις ἐναντιώσεσι καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν οἰκείων ἀποβαλόντος καὶ τῶν περιφανεστέρων ὀλέσαντος. περαιωθήτω μοι καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἀντίπεραν ὁ λόγος, λέγω δὴ τὰ ἑσπέρια. τίνι ἂν κατὰ νοῦν ἐπῄει ποτὲ ὁ τοσοῦτος εὐδαιμονισμὸς Ῥωμαίων καὶ τὸ περίδοξον; ποῖος νοῦς τοιαῦτα δὴ τἀγαθὰ γενήσεσθαι ἡμῖν ὑπετόπασεν; πᾶσα δυσμὴ τοῖς τοῦ βασιλέως πίπτει ποσὶ καὶ γόνυ κλίνει καὶ δεσπότην πεφήμικε. Τριβαλλὸς ἡμῖν ὁρίζει τὰ τῆς ἑσπέρας, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ αὐτός, εἴ γε καὶ δοῦλος λογογραφεῖται καὶ ὡς θεράπων ὑποκύπτει τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ δύναμιν στρατιωτικὴν ὡς ὑπόφορος διδόναι καταναγκάζεται. Μυσὸς ἑτέρωθεν τάχα περιγράφει τὰ ὅρια, ἀλλ' οὐδ' αὐτὸς περιγράφει· τὸ γὰρ ἀληθὲς καὶ οὗτος τοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως συντάττεται. μικρὸν περὶ τὴν ἑσπέραν τὸ σπαῖρον ὅπερ οὐκ ἐπεφθάκει χειρώσασθαι, τὰ περὶ Πελοπόννησόν φημι καὶ τὸν Εὔριπον καὶ ὅσαπερ ἔτι τοῖς Ἰταλοῖς τυραννεῖται καὶ ὑποτέταται.

10 Τοιαῦτα ἐκείνου τὰ ἀγωνίσματα, τοιαῦτα ἐκείνου τὰ κατορθώματα. ταῦτα Ῥωμαίους πείθει θρηνεῖν, ταῦτα στέ νειν βιάζει καὶ κρουνηδὸν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐκπέμπειν τὰ δάκρυα, τῶν προτέρων μὲν μεμνημένων δυσπραγημάτων καὶ ὧν τὴν πεῖραν οὐκ ἄν τις οὕτως ἤλπισεν ἐκφυγεῖν, ἐν ὑστέροις δὲ τῶν λαμπρῶν καὶ περιβοήτων ἀριστευμάτων, ἐξ ὧν ἡμῖν τὰ τῆς εὐπραγίας καὶ ὁ μέγας οὗτος εὐδαιμονισ μὸς ἐπεισήρρηκε καὶ τὸ ἐν γλώσσῃ ἁπάντων κεῖσθαι ὡς τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερκειμένους ἐν πλουτισμοῖς, ἐν εὐετηρίαις, ἐν εὐτυ χήμασι, πάντας δὲ ἐχθραίνοντας πεφοβῆσθαι καὶ συνεστάλ θαι συμβέβηκεν, ἀνδρειοτέρους ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἡγημένους εἶναι Ῥωμαίους, ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ τῷ γενναιοτάτῳ καὶ στρατιώτῃ καὶ στρατηγῷ καλῶς ἐκπαιδευθέντας τὰ ἐνυάλια καὶ τὸ μὴ τετρεμαίνειν ἐξησκηκότας ἀντίπαλον, κατὰ ξιφῶν δὲ κυβιστᾶν εἰ δεήσειεν, οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑαυτῶν μόνον μαχομένους εἰ τύχοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐφιεμένους τὸ τολμηρότερον.

11 Οὕτω χρέος Ῥωμαίοις τὸν βασιλέα πενθεῖν, οὕτως ὀφειλὴ ἀπαραίτητος τὸν σφῶν δεσπότην ἀπολοφύρεσθαι. ἔδει δὲ κἀμέ, ὦ παρόντες, πάλαι ῥητορεύειν δεδυνημένον καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν ἐν τῷ λέγειν γε τεθηγμένον μὴ τοιούτοις λόγοις