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8. Not only in this case, but also in the case of Samuel 51.308 one might see this very same thing having happened. For he, having presided over the people of the Jews for so many years in the way that God willed, and never having uttered anything great about himself, although he had many things to say, if he had wished, about his upbringing from his earliest years, his time spent in the temple, his prophecy from his swaddling clothes, the wars after these things, the victories which he won, not by using weapons, but by fighting with the favor of God, said none of these things in the times before. But when he was about to step down from the leadership, and to hand over the rule to another, then at last he was compelled to recount his own praises, and this he did in an understated way. And having called all the people, with Saul also present, he says something like this: Behold, I have listened to your voice, and have made a king over you; and I, behold, I have walked before you from my youth until this day, and I have grown old. Testify against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: Whose calf have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom of you have I defrauded? or whom of you have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I taken a bribe or a sandal, and covered my eyes with it?

Speak against me, and I will restore it to you. And what was the need to say these things, you ask? A great and pressing one. For since he was about to introduce Saul to them as ruler, wishing in his own defense to teach him how one ought to preside and care for those who are ruled, he brings forward his own subjects as witnesses of his philosophy. And he does not do this during the time of his rule, so that no one might say that, fearing and being afraid of him, they testified to things that were not so; but when the leadership was at an end, and the authority had passed to another, and there was no longer any danger for one who accused him, then he submits to their judgment. And yet if he had been someone else, he would have borne a grudge against the Jews, and would not have wanted the ruler after him to be fair and moderate, not only because of resentment, but also so that he himself might be praised more greatly.

9. For this terrible malady is inherent in rulers: those who after them to

the rule they come pray are base and wicked. For if they happen to be noble, they think that they themselves appear more brilliant, when those who succeed to the rule are not of such a kind; but if they are awkward and corrupt, that the wickedness of the subsequent ruler will be a defense for their own evil.

But this blessed man was not like that; but he wished and prayed and desired that they enjoy a much better leadership; so affectionate was he, so pure of envy, so free from vainglory. And yet he sought one thing only, the salvation of the people. For this reason he also instructed their ruler in his own defense.

For to call the king and say, "Be fair and moderate and not open to bribes, and do not compel anyone, nor do wrong, nor be greedy," was burdensome and offensive to the one who was about to hear these things; but to be silent, on the other hand, would be a betrayal of the people; under the guise of a defense, he accomplished both these things, both teaching him what sort of person a king ought to be, and avoiding the offense of teaching. And he seems to be contending for his own 51.309 sake; but he is educating him on how and in what manner he ought to care for those who are ruled. But consider for me how with all exactness he showed himself pure of ill-gotten gains. For he did not say, "Have I taken anyone's fields? or gold?" but what was most insignificant of all, "A sandal?" he says.

Then he also showed us another great virtue of his. For many rulers, when they steal, are fair and moderate and affable not

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ηʹ. Οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτου δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ 51.308 τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο γεγενημένον ἴδοι τις ἄν. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ νος ἔτη τοσαῦτα προστὰς τοῦ δήμου τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὕτως, ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἤθελε, καὶ μηδὲν μηδέποτε μέγα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ φθεγξάμενος, καίτοι πολλὰ ἔχων, εἴπερ ἐβούλετο, λέγειν, τὴν ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ἀνατροφὴν, τὴν ἐν τῷ ναῷ διατριβὴν, τὴν ἐκ σπαργάνων αὐτοῦ προφητείαν, τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα πολέμους, τὰς νίκας ἃς ἐνίκησεν, οὐχ ὅπλοις χρώμενος, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τῆς εὐ νοίας τοῦ Θεοῦ παραταττόμενος, ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν χρόνοις οὐδὲν τούτων εἶπεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔμελλεν ἀφ ίστασθαι τῆς προστασίας, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐγχειρίζειν ἑτέρῳ, τότε λοιπὸν ἠναγκάσθη τὰ ἐγκώμια αὐτοῦ διεξελθεῖν, καὶ ταῦτα ὑφειμένως. Καὶ καλέσας τὸν δῆμον ἅπαντα, παρόντος καὶ τοῦ Σαοὺλ, οὕτω πώς φησιν· Ἰδοὺ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐβασί λευσα ἐφ' ὑμᾶς βασιλέα· καὶ ἐγὼ ἰδοὺ ἀνέστραμ μαι ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἐκ νεότητός μου, καὶ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης, καὶ γεγήρακα. Ἀποκρίθητε κατ' ἐμοῦ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ ἐνώπιον χριστοῦ αὐ τοῦ· μόσχον τίνος ὑμῶν εἴληφα; ἢ ὄνον τίνος εἴληφα; ἢ τίνα ὑμῶν κατεδυνάστευσα; ἢ τίνα ἐξ επίεσα ὑμῶν; ἢ ἐκ χειρὸς τίνος ὑμῶν εἴληφα ἐξ ίλασμα ἢ ὑπόδημα, καὶ ἀπέκρυψα τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου ἐν αὐτῷ;

Εἴπατε κατ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἀποδώσω ὑμῖν. Καὶ ποία ἦν ἀνάγκη ταῦτα λέγειν, φησί; Πολλὴ καὶ μεγάλη. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἄρχοντα ἔμελλεν εἰσάγειν αὐτοῖς τὸν Σαοὺλ, ἐν τῇ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἀπολογίᾳ διδάξαι βουλό μενος ἐκεῖνον, πῶς προΐστασθαι δεῖ καὶ κήδεσθαι τῶν ἀρχομένων, αὐτοὺς τοὺς ὑπηκόους μάρτυρας αὐτοῦ τῆς φιλοσοφίας παράγει. Καὶ οὐ ποιεῖ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἵνα μή τις εἴπῃ, ὅτι δεδοικότες αὐτὸν καὶ φοβούμενοι, τὰ μὴ ὄντα ἐμαρτύρησαν· ἀλλ' ὅτε παρελύθη τὰ τῆς δημαγωγίας, καὶ εἰς ἕτερον μετέστη τὰ τῆς προστασίας, καὶ κίνδυνος οὐ δεὶς ἦν τῷ κατηγοροῦντι λοιπὸν, τότε δικάζεται πρὸς αὐτούς. Καίτοι γε εἰ ἕτερός τις ἦν, ἐμνησικάκησεν ἂν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἠθέλησε τὸν ἄρχοντα τὸν μετ' αὐτὸν ἐπιεικῆ γενέσθαι καὶ μέτριον, οὐ διὰ μνησικακίαν δὲ μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπαινῆται μειζόνως.

θʹ. Καὶ γὰρ νόσημα τοῦτο δεινὸν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἔνεστι· τοὺς μετ' αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ

τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐρχομένους εὔχονται φαύλους εἶναι καὶ πονηρούς. Ἄν τε γὰρ γενναῖοι τύ χωσιν ὄντες, λαμπροτέρους αὐτοὺς φανεῖσθαι νομί ζουσι, τῶν διαδεξαμένων τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐκ ὄντων τοιού των· ἄν τε σκαιοὶ καὶ διεφθαρμένοι, ἀπολογίαν τῆς οἰκείας ἔσεσθαι πονηρίας τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα ἄρχοντος τὴν κακίαν. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ μακάριος οὗτος τοιοῦτος· ἀλλ' ἠβούλετο καὶ ηὔχετο καὶ ἐπεθύμει πολλῷ βελτίονος αὐτοὺς ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς προστασίας· οὕτω φιλόστοργος ἦν, οὕτω φθόνου καθαρὸς, οὕτω κενοδοξίας ἀπηλλα γμένος. Καίτοι γε ἓν μόνον ἐζήτει, τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν σωτηρίαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἐῤῥύθμιζεν ἀπολογίᾳ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸ μὲν καλέσαι τὸν βασιλέα καὶ εἰπεῖν, Ἐπιεικὴς ἔσο καὶ μέτριος καὶ ἀδωροδόκητος, καὶ μηδένα βιάζου, μηδὲ ἀδίκει, μηδὲ πλεονέκτει, φορτικὸν ἦν καὶ ἐπ αχθὲς τῷ μέλλοντι ταῦτα ἀκούειν· τὸ δὲ σιγῆσαι πάλιν προδοσία τοῦ δήμου ἐγίνετο· ἐν ἀπολογίας προσχή ματι ἀμφότερα ταῦτα κατώρθωσε, κἀκεῖνον ἐδίδαξεν ὁποῖον εἶναι χρὴ τὸν βασιλεύοντα, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ δι δάσκειν ἐπάχθειαν ἔφυγε. Καὶ δοκεῖ μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν 51.309 καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἀγωνίζεσθαι· παιδεύει δὲ ἐκεῖνον, πῶς καὶ τίνι τρόπῳ τῶν ἀρχομένων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι χρή. Σὺ δέ μοι σκόπει πῶς μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἁπάσης καθαρὸν ἑαυτὸν ἔδειξε λημμάτων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπε, Μὴ ἀγρούς τινος ὑμῶν ἔλαβον; μὴ χρυσίον; ἀλλ' ὃ πάντων εὐτελέστερον ἦν, Μὴ ὑπόδημα; φησίν.

Εἶτα καὶ ἑτέραν ἑαυτοῦ πολλὴν ἡμῖν ἐδήλωσεν ἀρετήν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων, ὅταν μὲν κλέπτωσιν, ἐπιεικεῖς εἰσι καὶ μέτριοι καὶ προσηνεῖς οὐκ