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I never intended, as far as I was concerned, to give cause of offence to anyone; but I used to say that we would at least gain from it this no small profit, to become hard to conquer for those who wished to defeat us. And I never ceased reminding you of these things; the time is hard, the plotters are many, the genuineness of love has perished, and the plague of envy has been brought in its place, we walk in the midst of snares and walk upon the battlements of cities; those ready to rejoice at our misfortunes, should any ever happen, stand by, many and from all sides; but there is no one who will share our pain, or they are very few in number. See to it that we, by ever being separated, do not incur much ridicule, and a loss greater than the ridicule. "A brother helped by a brother is like a strong city and a barred kingdom." Do not, then, dissolve this genuineness, nor break the bar. These things and more than these I used to say continuously, never suspecting any such thing, but believing you to be entirely sound in your feelings towards us, and from an abundance of caution wishing to minister to you even when you were sound; but I was unaware, it seems, that I was applying medicines to one who was sick, and not even so did I, wretched man, do any good, nor did anything more come to me from this excessive foresight. For having cast all those things away at once and not even taking them to mind, like an unballasted ship you have launched us into a boundless sea, thinking nothing of those wild waves which we must endure. For if it should ever happen that slander or mockery or any other insult and abuse is brought against us from anywhere—and it is necessary for such things often to happen—to whom shall we flee for refuge? With whom shall we share our sorrows? Who will be willing to defend us and will both check those who grieve us and make them grieve us no more, and will comfort us and prepare us to bear the rudeness of others? There is no one, as you are standing far away from this terrible war and are not even able to hear the cry. Do you know how much evil you have done? Do you now at least, after striking the blow, recognize how critical a blow you have given us? But let these things be dismissed; for it is not possible to undo what has been done, nor to find a solution for the impossible. What shall we say to those outside? What defense shall we make to their accusations?

1.5 5. Our defense concerning this {ΙΩ.} "Be of good courage," I said; for I am ready not only to be held accountable for these things, but also for those things for which you left us unaccountable, and of these I will try to give you an account as I am able. And if you wish, I will make my beginning of the defense from these very things; for I would be strange and very ungrateful, if while I care for the opinion of outsiders and do everything so that they might cease accusing us, I should not be able to persuade the one who is dearest of all to me—and who has shown such respect for us as not even to wish to accuse us for the things for which he says he has been wronged, but setting his own concerns at nought still cares for ours—that I am not doing wrong, but should appear to show greater indifference towards him than the earnestness he has shown towards us.

1.6 6. That it is possible to use deceit for a beneficial purpose In what, then, have we wronged you? since from this point we have decided to launch into the sea of our defense. Is it that we deceived you and hid our own mind? but it was for the profit both of you who were deceived and of those to whom we betrayed you by deceiving you. For if the act of deception is altogether evil and it is never possible to use it for a good purpose, we are ready to pay whatever penalty you yourself may wish; or rather, you would never endure to receive a penalty from us, but we will condemn ourselves for those things for which judges condemn wrongdoers when the accusers convict them. But if the matter is not always harmful, but becomes base or good according to the intention of those who use it, cease to complain of being deceived, and show that we contrived this for an evil end; for as long as this is lacking, you should not only not bring reproaches and accusations, but

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οὐδέποτε ἐνενόησα, τό γε εἰς ἐμὲ ἧκον, παρέξειν τισίν· ἔλεγον δὲ ὅτι τοῦτο γοῦν ἀπ' αὐτῆς κερδανοῦμεν κέρδος οὐ μικρόν, τὸ δυσχείρωτοι γενέσθαι τοῖς καταγωνίσασθαι βουλομένοις ἡμᾶς. Καὶ ταῦτά σε ὑπομιμνήσκων οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην ποτέ· χαλεπὸς ὁ καιρός, οἱ ἐπιβουλεύοντες πολλοί, τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης γνήσιον ἀπόλωλεν, ἀντεισῆκται δὲ ὁ τῆς βασκανίας ὄλεθρος, ἐν μέσῳ παγίδων διαβαίνομεν καὶ ἐπὶ ἐπάλξεων πόλεων περιπατοῦμεν· οἱ μὲν ἕτοιμοι τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἐφησθῆναι κακοῖς, εἴποτέ τι συμβαίη, πολλοὶ καὶ πολλαχόθεν ἐφεστήκασιν· ὁ δὲ συναλγήσων οὐδείς, ἢ καὶ εὐαρίθμητοι λίαν. Ὅρα μὴ διαστάντες ποτὲ πολὺν τὸν γέλωτα ὄφλωμεν καὶ τοῦ γέλωτος μείζονα τὴν ζημίαν. «Ἀδελφὸς ὑπὸ ἀδελφοῦ βοηθούμενος ὡς πόλις ὀχυρὰ καὶ ὡς μεμοχλευμένη βασιλεία.» Μὴ δὴ διαλύσῃς ταύτην τὴν γνησιότητα, μηδὲ διακόψῃς τὸν μοχλόν. Ταῦτα καὶ τούτων πλείονα ἔλεγον συνεχῶς, οὐδὲν μέν ποτε ὑποπτεύων τοιοῦτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάνυ σε τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὑγιαίνειν νομίζων, ἐκ περιουσίας δὲ καὶ ὑγιαίνοντα θεραπεύειν βουλόμενος· ἐλάνθανον δέ, ὡς ἔοικε, νοσοῦντι τὰ φάρμακα ἐπιτιθείς, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ὁ δείλαιος ὤνησα, οὐδὲ γέγονεν ἐμοί τι πλέον ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ἄγαν προμηθείας. Πάντα γὰρ ἐκεῖνα ῥίψας ἀθρόως καὶ μηδὲ εἰς νοῦν βαλλόμενος, ὥσπερ ἀνερμάτιστον πλοῖον εἰς πέλαγος ἡμᾶς ἄπειρον ἀφῆκας, οὐδὲν τῶν ἀγρίων ἐκείνων ἐννοήσας κυμάτων ἅπερ ἡμᾶς ὑπομένειν ἀνάγκη. Εἰ γάρ ποτε συμβαίη συκοφαντίαν ἢ χλευασίαν ἢ καὶ ἄλλην τινὰ ὕβριν καὶ ἐπήρειαν ἐπενεχθῆναί ποθεν ἡμῖν-πολλάκις δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα συμβαίνειν ἀνάγκη-, πρὸς τίνα καταφευξόμεθα; τίνι κοινωσόμεθα τὰς ἡμετέρας ἀθυμίας; τίς ἡμῖν ἀμῦναι θελήσει καὶ τοὺς μὲν λυποῦντας ἀνακόψει καὶ ποιήσει μηκέτι λυπεῖν, ἡμᾶς δὲ παραμυθήσεται καὶ παρασκευάσει τὰς ἑτέρων φέρειν ἀπαιδευσίας; Οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδείς, σοῦ πόρρωθεν ἑστηκότος τοῦ δεινοῦ τούτου πολέμου καὶ μηδὲ κραυγὴν ἀκοῦσαι δυναμένου. Ἆρα οἶδας ὅσον εἴργασταί σοι κακόν; ἆρα νῦν γοῦν μετὰ τὸ πλῆξαι ἐπιγινώσκεις ὡς καιρίαν ἡμῖν ἔδωκας τὴν πληγήν; Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἀφείσθω· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστι τὰ γενόμενα ἀναλῦσαι λοιπόν, οὐδὲ πόρον τοῖς ἀπόροις εὑρεῖν. Τί πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν ἐροῦμεν; τί πρὸς τὰς αἰτίας ἀπολογησόμεθα τὰς ἐκείνων;

1.5 εʹ. Ἀπολογία ὑπὲρ τούτου ἡμετέρα {ΙΩ.} Θάρσει, ἔφην ἐγώ· οὐ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τούτων εἰμὶ μόνον ἕτοιμος εὐθύνας ὑπέχειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧν ἀνευθύνους ἡμᾶς ἀφῆκας, καὶ τούτων πειράσομαί σοι δοῦναι λόγον ὡς ἂν οἷός τε ὦ. Καὶ εἰ βούλει γε, ἀπ' αὐτῶν πρῶτον τῆς ἀπολογίας ποιήσομαι τὴν ἀρχήν· καὶ γὰρ ἂν εἴην ἄτοπος καὶ λίαν ἀγνώμων, εἰ τῆς παρὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν δόξης φροντίζων καὶ ὅπως παύσωνται ἡμῖν ἐγκαλοῦντες πάντα ποιῶν, τὸν ἁπάντων μοι φίλτατον καὶ τοσαύτῃ πρὸς ἡμᾶς αἰδοῖ κεχρημένον ὡς μηδὲ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἠδικῆσθαί φησιν ἐγκαλέσαι θελῆσαι, ἀλλὰ παρ' οὐδὲν τὰ αὑτοῦ θέμενον ἔτι τῶν ἡμετέρων φροντίζειν, μὴ δυναίμην ὡς οὐκ ἀδικῶ πεῖσαι, ἀλλὰ μείζονι περὶ αὐτὸν φαινοίμην κεχρημένος ῥαθυμίᾳ ἧς αὐτὸς περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐπεδείξατο σπουδῆς.

1.6 ʹ. Ὅτι ἔστιν ἀπάτῃ πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον κεχρῆσθαι Τί ποτ' οὖν σε ἠδικήκαμεν; ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐγνώκαμεν εἰς τὸ τῆς ἀπολογίας ἀφεῖναι πέλαγος. Ἆρα ὅτι σε παρεκρουσάμεθα καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐκρύψαμεν γνώμην; ἀλλ' ἐπὶ κέρδει καὶ τοῦ ἀπατηθέντος σου καὶ οἷς ἀπατήσαντές σε προὐδώκαμεν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ δι' ὅλου τὸ τῆς κλοπῆς κακὸν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν εἰς δέον αὐτῷ χρήσασθαί ποτε, δοῦναι ἕτοιμοι δίκην ἡμεῖς ἣν ἂν αὐτὸς ἐθέλῃς· μᾶλλον δὲ σὺ μὲν οὐδέποτε παρ' ἡμῶν ἀνέξῃ δίκην λαβεῖν, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἑαυτῶν καταγνωσόμεθα ταῦτα ἃ τῶν ἀδικούντων οἱ δικάζοντες ὅταν αὐτοὺς ἕλωσιν οἱ κατήγοροι. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἀεὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐπιβλαβές, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν τῶν χρωμένων προαίρεσιν γίνεται φαῦλον ἢ καλόν, ἀφεὶς ἐγκαλεῖν τὸ ἠπατῆσθαι, δεῖξον ἐπὶ κακῷ τοῦτο τεχνησαμένους· ὡς ἕως ἂν τοῦτο ἀπῇ, μὴ ὅτι μέμψεις καὶ αἰτίας ἐπάγειν, ἀλλὰ