-
Pericles
’
Funeral
Oration
In
the
same
winter
the
Athenians,
following
their
annual
custom,
gave
a
public
funeral
for
those who had been the
first to die in the war. These funerals are held
in the following way: two
days
before
the
ceremony
the
bones of
the
fallen
are
brought
and put
in a
tent
which
has
been
erected,
and people make whatever offerings they wish to
their own dead. Then there is a funeral
procession in which coffins of cypress
wood are carried on wagons. There is one coffin
for each
tribe, which contains the
bones of members of that tribe. One empty bier is
decorated and carried
in
the
procession:
this
is
for
the
missing,
whose
bodies
could
not
be
recovered.
Everyone
who
wishes to, both citizens and
foreigners, can join in the procession, and the
women who are related
to
the
dead
are
there
to
make
their
laments
at
the
tomb.
The
bones
are
laid
in
the
pubic
burial-
place,
which
is
in
the
most
beautiful
quarter
outside
the
city
walls.
Here
the
Athenians
always bury those
who have fallen in war. The only exception is
those who died at Marathon, who,
because their achievement was
considered absolutely outstanding, were buried on
the battlefield
itself.
When the bones have been laid in the
earth, a man chosen by the city for his
intellectual gifts
and
for
his
general
reputation
makes
an
appropriate
speech
in
praise
of
the
dead,
and
after
the
speech all depart. This is the
procedure at these burials, and all through the
war, when the time
came to do so, the
Athenians followed this ancient custom. Now, at
the burial of those who were
the first
to fall in the war Pericles, the son of
Xanthippus, was chosen to make the speech. When
the moment arrived, he came forward
from the tomb and, standing on a high platform, so
that he
might be heard by as many
people as possible in the crowd, he spoke as
follows:
“
Many of those who
have spoken here in the past have praised the
institution of this speech at
the close
of our ceremony. It seemed to them a mark of
honour to our soldiers who have fallen in
war that a speech should be made over
them. I do not agree. These men have shown
themselves
valiant in action, and it
would be enough, I think, for their glories to be
proclaimed in action, as
you
have
just
seen
it
done
at
this
funeral
organized
by
the
state.
Our
belief
in
the
courage
and
manliness
of
so
many
should
not
be
hazarded
on
the
goodness
or
badness
of
one
man
’
s
speech
……
However,
the fact is that this institution was set up and
approved by forefathers, and it
is my
duty to follow the tradition and do my best to
meet the wishes and the expectations of every
one of you.
“
I
shall begin by speaking about our ancestors, since
it is only right and proper on such an
occasion to pay them the honour of
recalling what they did. In this land of ours
there have always
been the same people
living from generation to generation up till now,
and they, by their courage
and their
virtues, have handed it on to us, a free country.
They certainly deserve our praise. Even
more
so
do
our
fathers
deserve
it.
For
to
the
inheritance
they
had
received
they
added
all
the
empire we have now, and it was not
without blood and toil that they handed it down to
us of the
present generation. And then
we ourselves, assembled here today, who are mostly
in the prime of
life, have, in most
directions, added to the power of our empire and
have organized our State in
such a way
that it is perfectly well able to look after
itself both in peace and war.
“
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
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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, every one 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 possesses. 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 to
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.
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