Hi cum criminibus adversariorum omnes in invidiam venissent ob eamque rem imperium iis esset abrogatum atque in eorum locum alii praetores successissent, Epaminondas populi scito non paruit idemque ut facerent persuasit collegis, et bellum quod susceperat gessit. Namque animadvertebat, nisi id fecisset, totum exercitum propter praetorum imprudentiam inscitiamque belli periturum. Lex erat Thebis, quae morte multabat, si quis imperium diutius retinuisset quam lege praefinitum foret. Hanc Epaminondas cum rei publicae conservandae causa latam videret, ad perniciem civitatis conferri noluit et quattuor mensibus diutius quam populus iusserat gessit imperium.
All these generals had become, through the charges of their opponents, objects of suspicion, and for that reason their command had been taken from them and other leaders had been appointed in their place. Epaminondas refused to obey the peoples decree, persuaded his colleagues to follow his example, and continued the war which he had begun; for he knew that unless he did so, the entire army would be lost, owing to the incapacity of the generals and their ignorance of warfare. There was a law at Thebes which punished with death anyone who had retained a command beyond the time provided by that law. Since Epaminondas realized that the law in question had been passed for the safety of his country, he did not wish it to contribute to the ruin of the state; consequently, he retained his command for four months longer than the time fixed by the people.
final_alignments\Cornelius_Nepos_Epaminondas.json