328 THUCYDIDES
" I will speak first of our ancestors, for it is right and becoming that now, when we are lamenting the dead, a tribute should be paid to their memory. There has never been a time when they did not inhabit this land, which by their Λ^alor they have handed down from generation to generation, and we have received from them a free state. But if they were worthy of praise, still more were our fathers, who addeci• to their inheritance, and after many a struggle transmitted to us, their sons, this great empire. And we ourselves, assembled here to-day, who are still most of us in the vigor of life, have chiefly done the work of improve- ment, and have richly endowed our city with all things, so that she is sufficient for herself both in peace and war. Of the military exploits by which our various possessions were acquired, or of the energy with which we or our fathers drove back the tide of war, Hellenic or Barbarian, I will not speak, for the tale would be long and is familiar to you. But before I praise the dead, I should like to point out by what principles of action we rose to power, and under what institutions and through what mannei' of life our empire became great. For I conceive that such thoughts are not un- suited to the occasion, and that this numerous assem- bly of citizens and strangers may profitably listen to them.
" Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the institutions of others. We do not copy our neighbors, but are an example to them. It is true that we are called a democracy, for the admin- istration is in the hands of the many and not of the few. But while the law secures equal justice to all alike in their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized ; and when a citizen is in any way
