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of one perishing and not alone. This is the fruit of conceit and foolishness.” But so much for these things. But it is not right to pass over what he again prophesied to the Cnidians when they were praying and asking for alliance from the god; 5.26.1 “The Cnidians also suffered something similar to this when Harpagus was campaigning against them. For attempting to cut through the isthmus there and make their city an island, at first they held to the work, but when 5.26.2 the labor met them with resistance, they gave up and consulted the oracle. But you said to them: ‘Neither fortify the isthmus nor dig; for Zeus would have made it an island, if he had wished,’ and the fools were persuaded and, turning away, surrendered themselves to Harpagus. And the trick: since there was no certain escape for them if they dug, 5.26.3 you stopped them from this, so that by not commanding them to undertake the work, you would not be promising their escape. And to this you added not that it was better not to dig, but that it did not seem to Zeus that it should be an island. In the dissuasion, therefore, both outcomes are balanced, but in the exhortation, the prospect of escape predominated; a matter which it was safe for the sophist to subvert. Thus, saying nothing of the things for which they had come, you sent them away thinking they had heard something.” 5.26.4 These things, I believe, sufficiently expose the feebleness both of the oracles and of those who consult them, and that nothing true or inspired is to be found in the things they 5.26.5 declare. But you might see the malevolence of character, whether of the evil demons or of the men who act the part of seers, if you were to learn how they also provoked those who consulted them into war against each other, when it was their duty to be arbiters of peace and 5.26.6 friendship. At one time, therefore, the oracle at Delphi again drives the Lacedaemonians mad against the Messenians, as if they were kin and friends, and at another time, it gives an oracle to the Messenians against the Lacedaemonians, if they in turn would propitiate the demons through human sacrifice. But hear also the things concerning these matters. 5.27.1 25. HOW THEY DROVE THOSE WHO CONSULTED THEM MAD INTO WAR AGAINST EACH OTHER

WAR. “Wisdom, being present with Divination, will indeed judge such things and not permit it to discourse at random, since indeed she has fastened the cables of all things and taken the first honors, nor will she allow the Pythian, being vain, to give oracles either to these or to the Lacedaemonians concerning the Messenians and the land which the Messenians held, having defeated the Lacedaemonians by deceit: Phoebus does not bid you pursue only the works of battle with your hand, but by deceit a people holds the Messenian land; and by the same arts one shall be captured by which he began. 5.27.2 She commands to be mindful rather of peace and of having few needs and of self-sufficiency. But they, being regulated by the laws of Lycurgus, came from greed and vain glory to inquire, so that they might not seem to be inferior to the Messenians in battle, though they seemed to have been raised under hardy 5.27.3 laws. But if they had been so raised under hardy laws, they would have been content with little, and there would have been no need for them of battle 5.27.4 nor of arms and the rest of the madness. These things to the Lacedaemonians against the Messenians, and again, these things to the Messenians against the Lacedaemonians; for you prophesy both to the Messenians against the Lacedaemonians, not only to the Lacedaemonians against the Messenians: The lot calls for a virgin of Aepytus' line, whom you should give to the infernal deities, and so you may save the city. 5.27.5 For I do not accept the pretexts, that the victim was not pure from the race of Aepytus, whence things were unfulfilled for the Messenians. For you are the sort to cause trouble.” Such then are the things from ancient history. But there are countless similar things to see in our own time, as from ancient time and even to our own day the rulers of successive times have at one time rushed into fruitless wars through the counsel of the oracles, at another been overthrown by the obscurity of the things prophesied, and at other times been led astray by the

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ἀπολουμένου καὶ μὴ μόνου. οὗτος δὲ τύφου καὶ ἀφροσύνης καρπός.» Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ταύτη. οὐκ ἄξιον δὲ παρελθεῖν καὶ ἅπερ Κνιδίοις ἔχρησεν πάλιν εὐχομένοις καὶ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ συμμαχίαν αἰτοῦσιν· 5.26.1 «Ἔπαθον δὲ καὶ οἱ Κνίδιοι τούτῳ προσεοικὸς Ἁρπάγου ἐπ' αὐτοὺς στρατεύοντος. τὸν γὰρ ἰσθμὸν τὸν αὐτόθι διακόπτειν ἐπιχειροῦντες καὶ τὴν πόλιν νησοποιεῖν, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τοῦ ἔργου εἴχοντο, ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀπήντα 5.26.2 ἡ ἐργασία, ἀπαγορεύοντες ἤδη ἐχρῶντο. σὺ δὲ αὐτοῖς εἶπας· Ἰσθμὸν <δὲ> μὴ πυργοῦτε μηδ' ὀρύσσετε· Ζεὺς γάρ κ' ἔθηκε νῆσον, αἴ κ' ἐβούλετο, καὶ οἱ βλᾶκες ἐπείσθησαν καὶ ἀποτραπόμενοι παρέδωκαν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Ἁρπάγῳ. τὸ δὲ ῥᾳδιούργημα· ἐπεὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἦν βέβαιος ἀποφυγὴ ὀρύξασι, τούτου μὲν 5.26.3 ἔπαυσας, ὡς μὴ κελεύων ἔργου ἔχεσθαι ἐπαγγέλλῃ τὴν ἀποφυγήν· τούτῳ δὲ οὐ τὸ λῷον εἶναι μὴ ὀρύξασι προσετίθεις, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐ δοκεῖ τῷ ∆ιὶ αὐτὴν νῆσον εἶναι. ἐν μὲν οὖν τῇ ἀποτροπῇ ἀμφότερα ἰσόρροπα, ἐν δὲ τῇ προτροπῇ τὸ διαφεύξεσθαι προεῖχεν· οὗ δὴ ἀσφαλὲς ἦν τῷ σοφιστῇ τὸ ἀνατρέπειν. οὕτως δὲ οὐδὲν εἰπὼν ὧν ἕνεκα ἦσαν ἀφιγμένοι ἀπέπεμψας οἰομένους ἀκηκοέναι τι.» 5.26.4 Ταῦτα δὲ ἡγοῦμαι τὸ ἀδρανὲς τῶν τε χρώντων καὶ τῶν χρωμένων ἀπελέγχειν αὐτάρκως, καὶ ὅτι μηδὲν ἀληθὲς ἢ ἔνθεον ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἐν τοῖς δη5.26.5 λουμένοις. τὸ δὲ κακότροπον τοῦ ἤθους εἴτε τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων εἴτε τῶν τὰ μαντικὰ καθυποκρινομένων ἀνδρῶν ἴδοις ἄν, εἰ μάθοις ὡς καὶ εἰς τὸν κατ' ἀλλήλων πόλεμον τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτοῖς ἠρέθιζον, εἰρήνης καὶ 5.26.6 φιλίας αὐτοὺς δέον εἶναι βραβευτάς. τοτὲ μὲν οὖν Λακεδαιμονίους ὡς ἂν οἰκείους καὶ φίλους ὁ ἐν ∆ελφοῖς πάλιν κατὰ Μεσσηνίων παραμαίνει, τοτὲ δ' αὖ Μεσσηνίοις κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων χρᾷ, εἰ πάλιν οὗτοι δι' ἀνθρωποθυσίας ἱλάσοιντο τοὺς δαίμονας. ἄκουε δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ τούτων· 5.27.1 κεʹ. ΩΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΧΡΩΜΕΝΟΥΣ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ ΕΞΕΜΑΙΝΟΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΤ' ΑΛΛΗΛΩΝ

ΠΟΛΕΜΟΝ «Ἐπικρινεῖ δὴ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἡ Σοφία παροῦσα τῇ Μαντικῇ καὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέψει αὐτῇ ὡς ἔτυχε διαλέγεσθαι, ἅτε δὴ τῶν πάντων ἀναψαμένη τὰ πείσματα καὶ ἐπιθεμένη τὰ πρεσβεῖα, οὐδὲ ἐφήσει ματαίῳ ὄντι τῷ Πυθίῳ χρᾶν οὔτε τούτοις οὔτε Λακεδαιμονίοις περὶ Μεσσηνίων καὶ τῆς γῆς ἧς εἶχον Μεσσήνιοι ἀπάτῃ νικήσαντες Λακεδαιμονίους· οὔ σε μάχης μόνον ἔργ' ἐφέπειν χερὶ Φοῖβος ἄνωγεν, ἀλλ' ἀπάτῃ μὲν ἔχει γαῖαν Μεσσηνίδα λαός· ταῖς δ' αὐταῖς τέχναις τις ἁλώσεται αἷσπερ ὑπῆρξεν. 5.27.2 εἰρήνης μᾶλλον μεμνῆσθαι κελεύει καὶ ὀλιγοδείας καὶ αὐταρκείας. οἱ δέ που τοῖς Λυκούργου νόμοις κατακοσμούμενοι ἧκον ὑπὸ ἀπληστίας καὶ δόξης κενῆς ἐρησόμενοι, ὡς μὴ δοκοῖεν Μεσσηνίων μάχῃ λείπεσθαι, ἐν νόμοις καρτερι5.27.3 κοῖς τεθράφθαι δοκοῦντες. οἱ δέ γε εἰ ἐν καρτερικοῖς οὕτως ἦσαν νόμοις τεθραμμένοι, ἐκαρτέρουν ἂν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀλίγοις καὶ οὐδὲν ἂν μάχης αὐτοῖς ἔδει 5.27.4 οὐδὲ ὅπλων καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ἀποπληξίας. ταῦτα Λακεδαιμονίοις κατὰ Μεσσηνίων, πάλιν δ' αὖ Μεσσηνίοις κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων ταῦτα· σὺ γὰρ καὶ Μεσσηνίοις κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων, οὐ μόνον Λακεδαιμονίοις κατὰ Μεσσηνίων χρησμῳδεῖς· παρθένον Αἰπυτίδα κλῆρος καλεῖ, ἥντινα δοίης δαίμοσι νερτερίοις, καί κεν σώσεις πτολίεθρον. 5.27.5 τὰ γὰρ παρευρήματα οὐ δέχομαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν καθαρὸν ἐκ γένους Αἰπύτου τὸ ἱερεῖον, ὅθεν ἀτέλεστα Μεσσηνίοις εἶναι. τοιοῦτος γὰρ εἶ οἷος ταράττειν.» Τὰ μὲν δὴ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἱστορίας τοιαῦτα. μυρία δ' ἔστι καὶ καθ' ἡμᾶς τούτοις συνιδεῖν ὅμοια, ἐκ παλαιοῦ χρόνου καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τῶν κατὰ χρόνους ἀρχόντων τοτὲ μὲν εἰς ἀπράκτους πολέμους διὰ τῆς τῶν χρησμῶν συμβουλίας ὁρμώντων, τοτὲ δὲ σφαλλομένων ἐκ τῆς τῶν χρησθέντων ἀδηλίας, ἄλλοτε δ' ἀποπλανωμένων ἐκ τῆς