| c.490
BCE from Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War The
official funeral oration for the Athenian soldiers who died at
one of the opening battles of the Peloponnesian War by the leader
of democratic Athens, Pericles. It is unlikely that these are
his exact words.
I
have no wish to make a long speech on subjects familiar to you
all: so I shall say nothing about the warlike deeds by which we
acquired our power or the battles in which we or our fathers gallantly
resisted our enemies, Greek or foreign. What I want to do is,
in the first place, to discuss the spirit in which we faced our
trials and also our constitution and the way of life which has
made us great. After that I shall speak in praise of the dead,
believing that this kind of speech is not inappropriate to the
present occasion, and that this whole assembly, of citizens and
foreigners, may listen to it with advantage.
Let
me say that our system of government does not copy the institutions
of our neighbours. It is more the case of our being a model to
others, than of our imitating anyone else. Our constitution is
called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority
but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private
disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question
of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility,
what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual
ability which the man possess. No one, so long as he has it in
him to be of service to the state, is kept in political obscurity
because of poverty. And, just as our political life is free and
open, so is our day-to-day life in our relations with each other.
We do not get into a state with our next-door neighbour if he
enjoys himself in his own way, nor do we give him the kind of
black looks which, though they do no real harm, still do hurt
people's feelings. We are free and tolerant in our private lives;
but in public affairs we keep the law. This is because it commands
our deep respect.
We
give our obedience to those whom we put in positions of authority,
and we obey the laws themselves, especially those which are for
the protection of the oppressed, and those unwritten laws which
it is an acknowledged shame to break.
And
here is another point. When our work is over, we are in a position
to enjoy all kinds of recreation for our spirits. There are various
kinds of contests and sacrifices regularly throughout the year;
in our own homes we find a beauty and a good taste which delight
us every day and which drive away our cares. Then the greatness
of our city brings it about that all the good things from all
over the world flow in to us, so that to us it seems just as natural
to enjoy foreign goods as our own local products.
Then
there is a great difference between us and our opponents, in our
attitude towards military security. Here are some examples: Our
city is open to the world, and we have no periodical deportations
in order to prevent people observing or finding out secrets which
might be of military advantage to the enemy. This is because we
rely, not on secret weapons, but on our own real courage and loyalty.
There is a difference, too, in our educational systems. The Spartans,
from their earliest boyhood, are submitted to the most laborious
training in courage; we pass our lives without all these restrictions,
and yet are just as ready to face the same dangers as they are.
Here is a proof of this: When the Spartans invade our land, they
do not come by themselves, but bring all their allies with them;
whereas we, when we launch an attack abroad, do the job by ourselves,
and, though fighting on foreign soil, do not often fail to defeat
opponents who are fighting for their own hearths and homes. As
a matter of fact none of our enemies has ever yet been confronted
with our total strength, because we have to divide our attention
between our navy and the many missions on which our troops are
sent on land. Yet, if our enemies engage a detachment of our forces
and defeat it, they give themselves credit for having thrown back
our entire army; or, if they lose, they claim that they were beaten
by us in full strength. There are certain advantages, I think,
in our way of meeting danger voluntarily, with an easy mind, instead
of with a laborious training, with natural rather than with state-induced
courage. We do not have to spend our time practising to meet sufferings
which are still in the future; and when they are actually upon
us we show ourselves just as brave as these others who are always
in strict training. This is one point in which, I think, our city
deserves to be admired. There are also others:
Our
love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance; our love
of the things of the mind does not make us soft. We regard wealth
as something to be properly used, rather than as something to
boast about. As for poverty, no one need be ashamed to admit it:
the real shame is in not taking practical measures to escape from
it. Here each individual in interested not only in his own affairs
but in the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly
occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on
general politics--this is a peculiarity of ours: we do not say
that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds
his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.
We Athenians, in our own persons, take our decisions on policy
or submit them to proper discussions: for we do not think that
there is an incompatibility between words and deeds; the worst
thing is to rush into action before the consequences have been
properly debated. And this is another point where we differ from
other people. We are capable at the same time of taking risks
and of estimating them beforehand. Others are brave out of ignorance;
and, when they stop to think, they begin to fear. But the man
who can most truly be accounted brave is he who best knows the
meaning of what is sweet in life and of what is terrible, and
then goes out undeterred to meet what is to come.
Again,
in questions of general good feeling there is great contrast between
us and most other people. We make friends by doing good to others,
not by receiving good from them. This makes our friendship all
the more reliable, since we want to keep alive the gratitude of
those who are in our debt by showing continued goodwill to them:
whereas the feelings of one who owes us something lack the same
enthusiasm, since he knows that, when he repays our kindness,
it will be more like paying back a debt than giving something
spontaneously. We are unique in this. When we do kindnesses to
others, we do not do them out of any calculations of profit or
loss: we do them without afterthought, relying on our free liberality.
Taking
everything together then, I declare that our city is an education
to Greece, and I declare that in my opinion each single one of
our citizens, in all the manifold aspects of life, is able to
show himself the rightful lord and owner of his own person, and
do this, moreover, with exceptional grace and exceptional versatility.
And to show that this is no empty boasting for the present occasion,
but real tangible fact, you have only to consider the power which
our city possesses and which has been won by those very qualities
which I have mentioned. Athens, alone of the states we know, comes
to her testing time in a greatness that surpasses what was imagined
of her. In her case, and in her case alone, no invading enemy
is ashamed at being defeated, and no subject can complain of being
governed by people unfit for their responsibilities. Mighty indeed
are the marks and monuments of our empire which we have left.
Future ages will wonder at us, as the present age wonders at us
now. We do not need the praises of a Homer, or of anyone else
whose words may delight us for the moment, but whose estimation
of facts will fall short of what is really true. For our adventurous
spirit has forced an entry into every sea and into every land;
and everywhere we have left behind us everlasting memorials of
good done to our friends or suffering inflicted on our enemies.
This,
then, is the kind of city for which these men, who could not bear
the thought of losing her, nobly fought and nobly died. It is
only natural that every one of us who survive them should be willing
to undergo hardships in her service. And it was for this reason
that I have spoken at such length about our city, because I wanted
to make it clear that for us there is more at stake than there
is for others who lack our advantage; also I wanted my words of
praise for the dead to be set in the bright light of evidence.
And now the most important of these words has been spoken. I have
sung the praises of our city; but it was the courage and gallantry
of these men, and of people like them, which made her splendid.
Nor would you find it true in the case of many of the Greeks,
as it is true of them, that no words can do more than justice
to their deeds. Translation by Charles Forster
Smith
Ancient
Greece
Books
on Ancient Greece
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