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you have deprived me of money and cattle, not even to be numbered. All of which makes me grieve and accuse you of much ingratitude. Nevertheless, although I have been wronged by you in so many ways, I choose to be not an enemy, but a friend and ally of yours, as before. And I advise you to put aside all faint-heartedness, to renew our former friendship 3.140 and treaties, each of us keeping what we have. But if it grieves you that I myself have taken and possess a certain portion of the Roman dominion, you must consider this, that you yourself have taken many times more from the same dominion that belonged to another. For which reasons it is fitting for each of us to be content, and having made a treaty, to live in peace. But if these things do not seem agreeable to you, see to it that, besides having accomplished nothing more, the charge of greed and ingratitude towards your friends and benefactors is not added to you.” Such things Krales said to the emperor, with many present. But the emperor, after pausing for a little, made such a defense to Krales: “I believe that nothing so corrupts the life of men from the beginning, nor has been more the cause of great disputes and wars, than that each person does not judge justly for himself and for others, but often forgives himself even the most absurd things, while demanding the greatest accountability from others for even the smallest matters. And this is what has filled life with much turmoil, and has wrought great calamities not only for cities and houses, but has also destroyed whole dominions, either certain people destroying others through greed and beginning unjust wars, or being destroyed by those who were wronged, defending themselves justly and nobly. Which I think has also happened to you now. For if you had judged justly and rightly 3.141 for me and for yourself, you would not, while holding so many cities of the Romans in violation of the treaty and against your oaths, think you were doing nothing new, but when I took back a few out of many, you pursued me with accusations of ingratitude, ungraciousness and, what is even more amazing than these, greed. That I, therefore, having been unjustly warred against by my own people and driven from the land of the Romans, came to you, bringing many of my household and friends and no small amount of money, and that you yourself, neither for desire of money, though so much was available both from me and offered by my enemies, nor for cities and so much territory that they were offering in return for harming me, were overcome by any of it, but put your friendship for me before all things, I myself would not deny. For I would be doing the greatest injustice both to you and to the others who, by using such good examples, could be encouraged to do better things. For to have received someone who, as you yourself said, owed you no previous good deed in return and was in misfortune, and then neither to have been moved by your own accord towards greed, nor to have been incited and compelled by others, nor to have planned anything unjust or ignoble concerning me, but to have freely preferred the choice of the noble and the just over all those things that seemed profitable for your rule, testifies not only to your magnanimity and love of honor, but also to your justice and good counsel, and for all these things 3.142 I confess that I am right to owe you many thanks, not only for not wronging me when you were most able to, but because you also showed me honor greater than is due to a friend. For nearly the entire time I was with you, you yielded your rule to me, not only yourself always ceding the first place, but also commanding all your subjects to attend to me as their own emperor and to offer all respect and honor. For which things I owe you even greater thanks than for my salvation. For having been saved then, I will surely die later, but the honor will remain even after death, celebrated by all and by those who will be hereafter. And I would be right to praise not only you for these things, but also your wife who was seen to be most responsible for what was done for me. For she both devised the plan and persuaded you and the others in authority, not to be petty, nor to be good for a reward, but freely and out of love for honor, this very thing being the greatest gain

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χρημάτων τε ἀπεστέρησας καὶ βοσκημάτων, οὐδὲ ἀριθμητῶν. ἃ πάντα ἄχθεσθαι ποιεῖ καὶ πολλήν σου κατηγορεῖν ἀγνωμοσύνην. ὅμως μέντοι, καίτοι τοσαῦτα ὑπὸ σοῦ ἠδικημένος, οὐ πολέμιος, ἀλλὰ φίλος καὶ σύμμαχος, ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον, αἱροῦμαι εἶναι σός. καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποθέμενον παραινῶ μικροψυχίαν, τὴν προτέραν φιλίαν 3.140 καὶ τὰς σπονδὰς ἀνανεοῦσθαι, ἔχοντας ἃ ἔχομεν ἑκάτερον. εἰ δέ σε λυπεῖ τὸ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας μοῖράν τινα παρῃρημένον ἔχειν, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο ἐννοεῖν χρὴ, ὡς αὐτὸς ἔχεις πολλαπλάσιον λαβὼν ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ἑτέρῳ προσηκούσης. οἷς προσῆκον ἀγαπᾷν ἑκάτερον, καὶ σπονδὰς θεμένους εἰρήνην ἄγειν. εἰ δὲ μὴ ταῦτα φίλα σοι δοκεῖ, ὅρα μή σοι πρὸς τῷ μηδὲν πλέον ἠνυκέναι καὶ ἀπληστίας καὶ ἀχαριστίας πρὸς τοὺς φίλους καὶ τοὺς εὖ πεποιηκότας ἔγκλημα προσέσται.» τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ Κράλης διειλέχθη πρὸς βασιλέα, πολλῶν παρόντων. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπισχὼν μικρὸν, τοιαύτην πρὸς Κράλην ἐποιήσατο ἀπολογίαν· «οὐδὲν οὕτως οἴομαι λυμαίνεσθαι τῷ βίῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐξαρχῆς, οὐδὲ μᾶλλον αἴτιον τῶν μεγάλων διαφορῶν καὶ τῶν πολέμων γεγενῆσθαι, ἢ τὸ μὴ δικαίως ἕκαστον ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις διαιτᾷν, ἀλλ' ἑαυτῷ μὲν καὶ τὰ ἀτοπώτατα πολλάκις συγχωρεῖν, τοὺς δ' ἄλλους καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐλαχίστων μεγίστας ἀπαιτεῖν εὐθύνας. καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὃ πολλῆς ἐμπέπληκε τὸν βίον ταραχῆς, καὶ οὐ πόλεσι μόνον καὶ οἰκίαις μεγάλας ἐνειργάσατο συμφορὰς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅλας διέφθειρεν ἡγεμονίας, ἢ αὐτούς τινας ὑπ' ἀπληστίας ἑτέρους διαφθείραντας πολέμων ἄρχοντας ἀδίκων, ἢ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδικουμένων διαφθαρέντας, δικαίως καὶ καλῶς ἀμυνομένων. ὅπερ οἴομαι καὶ σοὶ συμβεβηκέναι νῦν. εἰ γὰρ δικαίως καὶ καλῶς 3.141 ἐμοί τε καὶ σαυτῷ διῄτεις, οὐκ ἂν σὺ μὲν ἐκσπόνδως καὶ παρὰ τοὺς ὅρκους τοσαύτας ἔχων Ῥωμαίων πόλεις, καινὸν ᾤου μηδὲν ποιεῖν, ἐμὲ δ' ὅτι ἐκ πολλῶν ἀπέλαβον ὀλίγα, ἐδίωκες ἀγνωμοσύνης καὶ ἀχαριστίας καὶ τὸ τούτων ἔτι θαυμασιώτερον, ἀπληστίας. ὡς μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ τῶν ὁμοφύλων πολεμηθεὶς ἀδίκως καὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, πρὸς σὲ ἀφῖγμαι, πολλοὺς ἄγων καὶ τῶν οἰκείων καὶ τῶν φίλων καὶ χρήματα οὐκ ὀλίγα, καὶ ὡς αὐτὸς οὔτε χρημάτων ἐπιθυμίᾳ τοσούτων ὄντων τῶν τε παρ' ἐμοὶ καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων παρεχομένων, οὔτε πόλεων καὶ χώρας τοσαύτης προϊεμένων ἐπὶ τῷ κακῶς ποιεῖν ἐμὲ, οὐδενὸς ἡττήθης, ἀλλὰ πάντων τὴν εἰς ἐμὲ φιλίαν προὔθηκας, οὐκ ἂν ἀρνηθείην οὐδ' αὐτός. ἀδικοίην γὰρ ἂν τὰ μέγιστα σέ τε ὁμοίως καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, οἷς ἐξῆν τοιούτοις παραδείγμασι καλοῖς χρωμένοις ἐπὶ τὸ τὰ βελτίω πράττειν προθυμεῖσθαι. τὸ γὰρ μηδὲν, ὥσπερ ἔφης καὶ αὐτὸς, πρὸς ἀντίδοσιν εὐποιίας προοφείλοντα καὶ κατὰ συμφορὰν εἰσδεδεγμένον, ἔπειτα μήτ' οἴκοθεν ὁρμηθῆναι πρὸς πλεονεξίαν, μήθ' ὑπ' ἄλλων ἐναγόμενον καὶ καταναγκαζόμενον, μήτ' ἄδικον, μήτ' ἀγεννὲς βουλεύσασθαι περὶ ἐμὲ, ἀλλὰ πάντων ἐκείνων τῶν δοκούντων πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν λυσιτελεῖν τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ δικαίου αἵρεσιν προῖκα προτιμῆσαι, οὐ μεγαλοψυχίαν μόνον καὶ φιλοτιμίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ εὐβουλίαν σοὶ συμμαρτυρεῖ, καὶ τούτων 3.142 ἁπάντων ἐγώ σοι πολλὰς ὀφείλειν δίκαιος εἶναι χάριτας ὁμολογῶ, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἠδικηκέναι μάλιστα δυνάμενον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τὴν εἰς ἐμὲ τιμὴν μείζω ἢ πρὸς φίλον ἐπεδείξω. σχεδὸν γὰρ παρ' ὅσον χρόνον σοὶ συνῆν, τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐμοὶ τῆς σῆς ἐξέστης, οὐκ αὐτὸς μόνον τῶν πρωτείων ἀεὶ παραχωρῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἅπαντας ὡς αὐτῶν βασιλεύοντι προσέχειν κελεύων καὶ πᾶσαν αἰδῶ παρέχειν καὶ τιμήν. δι' ἅ σοι καὶ μείζους οἶδα χάριτας, ἢ τῆς σωτηρίας. τότε μὲν γὰρ σωθεὶς, πάντως ὕστερον ἀποθανοῦμαι, ἡ τιμὴ δὲ καὶ μετὰ τελευτὴν διαμενεῖ ὑπὸ πάντων ᾀδομένη καὶ τῶν εἰς ὕστερον ἐσομένων. οὐ σὲ δὲ μόνον ἐπὶ τούτοις δίκαιος ἂν εἴην ἐπαινεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν σὴν γυναῖκα μάλιστα αἰτιωτάτην ὀφθεῖσαν τῶν γεγενημένων εἰς ἐμέ. αὐτὴ γὰρ καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο καὶ ἔπεισέ σέ τε ὁμοίως καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς ἐν τέλει, μὴ μικρολογεῖν, μηδ' εἶναι ἀγαθοὺς ἐπὶ μισθῷ, ἀλλὰ προῖκα καὶ κατὰ φιλοτιμίαν, μέγιστον κέρδος αὐτὸ τοῦτο