Chapter VII: The Grecian Orators (4)

How, then, is this reproach to be avoided? It must be to
distrusting the men who usurp the character of upright and
patriotic citizens, which their entire conduct gainsays.
Good will and zeal for the public interest can be readily
assumed in name: oftentimes those who have the smallest
pretensions to them by their conduct seize upon and take
refuge behind these honorable titles. When you find, then,
an orator desirous of being crowned by strangers and of
being proclaimed in presence of the Greeks, let him, as the
law requires in other cases, prove the claim which he
asserts by the evidence of a life free from reproach, and a
wise and blameless course. If he be unable to do this, do
not confirm to him the honors which he claims, and try at
least to preserve the remnant of that public authority
which is fast escaping from you. Even now, strange as it
should seem, are not the Senate and the people passed over
and neglected, and despatches and deputations received by
private citizens, not from obscure individuals, but from
the most important personages of Europe and Asia? Far from
denying that for which under our laws the punishment is
death, it is made the subject of open public boast; the
correspondence is exhibited and read; and you are invited
by some to look upon them as the guardians of the
constitution, while others demand to be rewarded as the
saviors of the country. The people, meanwhile, as if struck
with the decrepitude of age and broken down by their
misfortunes, preserve the republic only in name and abandon
to others the reality of authority. You thus retire from
the Assembly, not as from a public deliberation, but as
from an entertainment given at common cost where each guest
carries away with him a share of the remnants of the feast.
That I speak forth the words of truth and soberness,
hearken to which I am about to say.

It distresses me to recur so often to our public
calamities, but when a private citizen undertook to sail
only to Samos to get out of the way, he was condemned to
death on the same day by the Council of Areopagus as a
traitor to his country. Another private citizen, unable to
bear the fear which oppressed him, and sailing in
consequence to Rhodes, was recently denounced for this and
escaped punishment by an equal division of the votes. Had a
single one been cast on the other side, he would have been
either banished or put to death. Compare these instances
with the present one. An orator, the cause of all our
misfortunes, who abandons his post in time of war and flies
from the city, proclaims himself worthy of crowns and
proclamations. Will you not drive such a man from your
midst as the common scourge of Greece; or will you not
rather seize upon and punish him as a piratical braggart
who steers his course through our government by dint of
phrases?

Consider, moreover, the occasion on which you are called
upon to record your verdict. In a few days the Pythian
Games will be celebrated, and the assembled Greeks will all
be reunited in your city. She has already suffered much
disparagement from the policy of Demosthenes: should you
now crown him by your votes you will seem to share the same
opinion as the men who wish to break the common peace. By
adopting the contrary course you will free the state from
any such suspicion.

Let your deliberations, then, be in accord with the
interests of the city: it is for her, and not a foreign
community, you are now to decide. Do not throw away your
honors, but confer them with discernment upon high-minded
citizens and deserving men. Search with both eyes and ears
as to who they are among you who are today standing forth
in Demosthenes' behalf. Are they the companions of his
youth who shared with him the manly toils of the chase or
the robust exercises of the palaestra? No, by the Olympian
Jove, he has passed not his life in hunting the wild boar
or in the preparation of his body for fatigue and hardship,
but in the exercise of chicane at the cost of the substance
of men of wealth!

Examine well his vainglorious boasting when he shall dare
to say that by his embassy he withdrew the Byzantines from
the cause of Philip; that by his eloquence he detached from
him the Acarnanians, and so transported the Thebans as to
confirm them upon your side. He believes indeed that you
have reached such a point of credulity that you are ready
to be persuaded by him of anything he may choose to utter,
as if you had here in your midst the goddess Persuasion
herself, and not an artful demagogue.

And when, at the close of his harangue, Demosthenes shall
invite the partakers of his corruption to press round and
defend him, let there be present in your imagination upon
the platform from which I am now speaking the venerable
forms of the ancient benefactors of the state, arrayed in
all their virtue, to oppose these men's insolence. I see
among them the wise Solon, that upright lawgiver who
founded our popular government upon the soundest principles
of legislation, gently advising you with his native
moderation not to place your oaths and the law under the
control of this man's discourse. And Aristides, by whose
equity the imposts upon the Greeks were regulated, whose
daughters, left in poverty through his incorruptible
integrity, were endowed by the state, Aristides is seen
complaining of this outrage upon justice, and demanding
whether the descendants of the men who fought worthy of
death and actually banished from their city and country
Arthmius the Zelian, then living in their midst and
enjoying the sacred rights of hospitality for merely
bringing Persian gold into Greece, are now going to cover
themselves with disgrace by honoring with a crown of gold
the man who has not simply brought higher the stranger's
money, but is enjoying here the price of his treason. And
Themistocles and the men who fell at Marathon and Plataea,
think you that they are insensible to what is taking place?
Do not their voices cry out from the very tombs in mournful
protests against this perverse rendering of honor to one
who has dared to proclaim his union with the barbarians
against the Greeks?

As for me, O Earth and Sun, O Virtue, and thou,
Intelligence, by whose light we are enabled to discern and
to separate good from evil, as for me, I have directed my
efforts against this wrong. I have lifted up my voice
against this injustice! If I have spoken well and loftily
against this crime, I have spoken as I should have wished;
but if my utterances have been feeble and ill-directed,
still they have been according to the measure of my
strength. It is for you, men of Athens and jurors, to weigh
carefully both what has been spoken and what has been left
unsaid, and to render such a decision as shall not only be
upright but for the advantage of the State.

DEMOSTHENES

Demosthenes, considered the greatest of the Greek orators, and consequently the greatest orator in the history of the world, as oratory flourished nowhere as it did in Greece between 500 and 300 B.C., was born about 383 B.C., and died by poison administered to himself, after being captured by Macedonian troops, 322 B.C.

"He [Demosthenes] seems to have lacked by nature all the physical qualifications of a great orator, and to have acquired them solely by indefatigable self-discipline and training. At about the age of thirty he made his first appearance as a politician; he continued to practice as a logographer (speech-writer) until he was about forty, by which time he had made a fortune sufficient to enable him to devote himself exclusively to political life until he died, at the age of sixty-one."

Demosthenes studied under Isaeus and profited by the work previously done by the great rhetoricians and orators, Lysias, Isocrates, Antiphon, and others. Demosthenes' political morality was of the highest, and this was one of the main sources of his great strength.

_Speech of Demosthenes in Defense of Ctesiphon, Commonly
known as the "Oration on the Crown."_ I begin, men of
Athens, by praying to every god and goddess that the same
good-will, which I have ever cherished toward the
commonwealth and all of you, may be requited to me on the
present trial. I pray likewise--and this specially concerns
yourselves, your religion, and your honor--that the gods
may put it in your minds not to take counsel of my opponent
touching the manner in which I am to be heard--that would,
indeed, be cruel!--but of the laws and of your oath;
wherein (besides the other obligations) it is prescribed
that you shall hear both sides alike. This means, not only
that you must pass no precondemnation, not only that you
must extend your good-will equally to both, but also that
you must allow the parties to adopt such order and course
of defense as they severally choose and prefer.

Many advantages hath Aeschines over me on this trial; and
two especially, men of Athens. First, my risk in the
contest is not the same. It is assuredly not the same for
me to forfeit your regard, as for my adversary not to
succeed in his indictment. To me--but I will say nothing
untoward at the outset of my address. The prosecution,
however, is play to him. My second disadvantage is, that
natural disposition of mankind to take pleasure in hearing
invective and accusation, and to be annoyed by those who
praise themselves. To Aeschines is assigned the part which
gives pleasure; that which is (I may fairly say) offensive
to all, is left for me. And if, to escape from this, I make
no mention of what I have done, I shall appear to be
without defense against his charges, without proof of my
claims to honor; whereas, if I proceed to give an account
of my conduct and measures, I shall be forced to speak
frequently of myself. I will endeavor then to do so with
all becoming modesty; what I am driven to by the necessity
of the case will be fairly chargeable to my opponent, who
has instituted such a prosecution.

I think, men of the jury, you will all agree that I, as
well as Ctesiphon, am a party to this proceeding, and that
it is a matter of no less concern to me. It is painful and
grievous to be deprived of anything, especially by the act
of one's enemy; but your good-will and affection are the
heaviest loss, precisely as they are the greatest prize to
gain.

Such being the matters at stake in this cause, I conjure
and implore you all alike, to hear my defense to the charge
in that fair manner which the laws prescribe--laws, to
which their author, Solon, a man friendly to you and to
popular rights, thought that validity should be given, not
only by the recording of them, but by the oath of you, the
jurors; not that he distrusted you, as it appears to me,
but, seeing that the charges and calumnies, wherein the
prosecutor is powerful by being the first speaker, cannot
be got over by the defendant, unless each of you jurors,
observing his religious obligation, shall work with like
favor receive the arguments of the last speaker, and lend
an equal and impartial ear to both, before he determines
upon the whole case.

As I am, it appears, on this day to render an account both
of my private life and my public measures, I would fain, as
in the outset, call upon the gods to my aid; and in your
presence I implore them, first, that the good-will which I
have ever cherished toward the commonwealth and all of you
may be fully requited to me on the present trial; next,
that they may direct you to such a decision upon this
indictment as will conduce to your common honor, and to the
good conscience of each individual.

Had Aeschines confined his charge to the subject of the
prosecution, I, too, would have proceeded at once to my
justification of the decree. But since he has wasted now
fewer words in the discussion of other matters, in most of
them calumniating me, I deem it both necessary and just,
men of Athens, to begin by shortly adverting to these
points, that none of you may be induced by extraneous
arguments to shut your ears against my defense of the
indictment.

To all his scandalous abuse of my private life, observe my
plain and honest answer. If you know me to be such as he
alleged--for I have lived nowhere else but among you--let
not my voice be heard, however transcendent my
statesmanship! Rise up this instant and condemn me! But if,
in your opinion and judgment, I am far better and of better
descent than my adversary; if (to speak without offense) I
am not inferior, I or mine, to any respectable citizens;
that give no credit to him for his other statements--it is
plain they were all equally fictions--but to me let the
same good-will, which you have uniformly exhibited upon
many former trials, be manifested now. With all your
malice, Aeschines, it was very simple to suppose that I
should turn from the discussion of measures and policy to
notice your scandal. I will do no such thing; I am not so
crazed. Your lies and calumnies about my political life I
will examine forthwith; for that loose ribaldry I shall
have a word hereafter, if the jury desire to hear it.

The crimes whereof I am accused are many and grievous; for
some of them the laws enact heavy--most severe penalties.
The scheme of this present proceeding includes a
combination of spiteful insolence, insult, railing,
aspersion, and everything of the kind; while for the said
charges and accusations, if they were true, the state has
not the means of inflicting an adequate punishment, or
anything like it. For it is not the right to debar another
of access to the people and privilege of speech; moreover,
to do so by way of malice and insult--by Heaven! is neither
honest, nor constitutional, nor just. If the crimes which
he saw me committing against the State were as heinous as
he so tragically gave out, he ought to have enforced the
penalties of the law against them at the time; if he saw me
guilty of an impeachable offense, by impeaching and so
bringing me to trial before you; if moving illegal decrees,
by indicting me for them. For surely if he can prosecute
Ctesiphon on my account, he would not have forborne to
indict me myself, had he thought he could convict me. In
short, whatever else he saw me doing to your prejudice,
whether mentioned or not mentioned in his catalogue of
slander, there are laws for such things, and punishments,
and trials, and judgments, with sharp and severe penalties;
all of which he might have enforced against me: and had he
done so--had he thus pursued the proper method with me, his
charges would have been consistent with his conduct. But
now he has declined the straightforward and just course,
avoided all proofs of guilt at the time, and after this
long interval gets up, to play his part withal, a heap of
accusation, ribaldry, and scandal. Then he arraigns me, but
prosecutes the defendant. His hatred of me he makes the
prominent part of the whole contest; yet, without having
ever met me upon that ground, he openly seeks to deprive a
third party of his privileges. Now, men of Athens, besides
all the other arguments that may be urged in Ctesiphon's
behalf, this, methinks, may very fairly be alleged--that we
should all try our own quarrel by ourselves; not leave our
private dispute, and look what third party we can damage.
That surely were the height of injustice.

It may appear, from what has been said, that all his
charges are alike unjust and unfounded in truth; yet I wish
to examine them separately, and especially his calumnies
about the peace and the embassy, where he attributed to me
the acts of himself and Philocrates. It is necessary also,
and perhaps proper, men of Athens, to remind you how
affairs stood at those times, that you may consider every
single measure in reference to the occasion.

When the Phocian war had broken out--not through me, for I
had not then commenced public life--you were in this
position: you wished the Phocians to be saved, though you
saw they were not acting right; and would have been glad
for the Thebans to suffer anything, with whom for a just
reason you were angry; for they had not borne with
moderation their good fortune at Leuctra. The whole of
Peloponnesus was divided: they that hated the
Lacedaemonians were not powerful enough to destroy them;
and they that ruled before by Spartan influence were not
masters of the states: among them, as among the rest of the
Greeks, there was a sort of unsettled strife and confusion.
Philip, seeing this--it was not difficult to see--lavished
bribes upon the traitors in every state, embroiled and
stirred them all up against each other; and so, by the
errors and follies of the rest, he was strengthening
himself, and growing up to the ruin of all. But when every
one saw that the then overbearing, but now unfortunate,
Thebans, harassed by so long a war, must of necessity have
recourse to you, Philip, to prevent this, and obstruct the
union of the states, offered to you peace, to them succor.
What helped him then almost to surprise you in a voluntary
snare? The cowardice, shall I call it? or ignorance--or
both--of the other Greeks, who while you were waging a long
and incessant war--and that, too, for their common benefit,
as the event has shown--assisted you neither with money nor
men, nor anything else whatsoever. You, being justly and
naturally offended with them, lent a willing ear to Philip.

The peace then granted was through such means brought
about, not through me, as Aeschines calumniously charged.
The criminal and corrupt practice of these men during the
treaty will be found, on fair examination, to be the cause
of our present condition. The whole matter am I for truth's
sake discussing and going through; for, let there appear to
be ever so much criminality in these transactions, it is
surely nothing to me. The first who spoke and mentioned the
subject of peace was Aristodemus the actor; the seconder
and mover, fellow-hireling for that purpose with the
prosecutor, was Philocrates the Agnusian--your associate,
Aeschines, not mine, though you should burst with lying.
Their supporters--from whatever motives--I pass that by for
the present--were Eubulus and Cephisophon. I had nothing to
do with it.

Notwithstanding these facts, which I have stated exactly
according to the truth, he ventured to assert--to such a
pitch of impudence had he come--that I, besides being
author of the peace, had prevented the country making it in
a general council with the Greeks. Why, you--I know not
what name you deserve!--when you saw me robbing the state
of an advantage and connection so important as you
described just now, did you ever express indignation? did
you come forward to punish and proclaim what you now charge
me with? If, indeed, I had been bribed by Philip to prevent
the conjunction of the Greeks, it was your business not to
be silent, but to cry out, to protest, and inform the
people. But you never did so--your voice was never heard to
such a purpose, and no wonder; for at that time no embassy
had been sent to any of the Greeks--they had all been
tested long before; and not a word of truth upon the
subject has Aeschines spoken.

Besides, it is the country that he most traduces by his
falsehoods. For, if you were at the same time calling on
the Greeks to take arms and sending your own ambassadors to
treat with Philip for peace, you were performing the part
of an Eurybatus, not the act of a commonwealth, or of
honest men. But it is false, it is false. For what purpose
could ye have sent for them at that period? For peace? They
all had it. For war? You were yourselves deliberating about
peace. It appears, therefore, I was not the adviser or the
author of the original peace; and none of his other
calumnies against me are shown to be true.

Observe again, after the state had concluded the peace,
what line of conduct each of us adopted. Hence you will
understand who it was that coöperated in everything with
Philip, who that acted in your behalf, and sought the
advantage of the commonwealth.

I moved in the council, that our ambassadors should sail
instantly for whatever place they heard Philip was in, and
receive his oath: they would not, however, notwithstanding
my resolution. What was the effect of this, men of Athens?
I will explain. It was Philip's interest that the interval
before the oaths should be as long as possible; yours, that
it should be as short. Why? Because you discontinued all
your warlike preparations, not only from the day of
swearing peace, but from the day you conceived hopes of it;
a thing which Philip was from the beginning studious to
contrive, believing--rightly enough--that whatever of your
possessions he might take before the oath of ratification
he should hold securely; as none would break the peace on
such account. I, men of Athens, foreseeing and weighing
these consequences, moved the decree, to sail for whatever
place Philip was in, and receive his oath without delay; so
that your allies, the Thracians, might be in possession of
the places which Aeschines ridiculed just now (Serrium,
Myrtium, and Ergisce), at the time of swearing the oaths;
and that Philip might not become master of Thrace by
securing the post of vantage, nor provide himself with
plenty of money and troops to facilitate his further
designs. Yet this decree he neither mentions nor reads; but
reproaches me, because, as Councillor, I thought it proper
to introduce the ambassadors. Why, what should I have done?
Moved not to introduce men who were come for the purpose of
conferring with you? or ordered the Manager not to assign
them places at the theatre? They might have had places for
their two obols, if the resolution had not been moved. Was
it my duty to guard the petty interests of the state, and
have sold our main interests like these men? Surely not.
Take and read me this decree, which the prosecutor, knowing
it well, passed over. Read!

THE DECREE

"In the Archonship of Mnesiphilus, on the thirteenth of
Hecatombaeon, in the presidency of the Pandionian tribe,
Demosthenes, son of Demosthenes of Paeania, moved: Whereas,
Philip hath sent ambassadors for peace, and hath agreed
upon articles of treaty, it is resolved by the Council and
people of Athens, in order that the peace voted in the
first assembly may be ratified, to choose forthwith from
the whole body of Athenians five ambassadors; and that the
persons elected do repair, without any delay, wheresoever
they shall ascertain that Philip is, and as speedily as may
be exchange oaths with him, according to the articles
agreed on between him and the Athenian people,
comprehending the allies of either party. For ambassadors
were chosen, Eubulus of Anaphlystus, Aeschines of
Cothocidae, Cephisophon of Rhamnus, Democrates of Phyla,
Cleon of Cothocidae."

Notwithstanding that I had passed this decree for the
advantage of Athens, not that of Philip, our worthy
ambassadors so little regarded it as to sit down in
Macedonia three whole months, until Philip returned from
Thrace after entirely subjugating the country; although
they might in ten days, or rather in three or four, have
reached the Hellespont and saved the fortresses, by
receiving his oath before he reduced them: for he would
never have touched them on our presence, or we should not
have sworn him; and thus he would have lost the peace, and
not have obtained both the peace and the fortresses.

Such was the first trick of Philip, the first corrupt act
of these accursed miscreants, in the embassy: for which I
avow that I was and am and ever will be at war and variance
with them. But mark another and still greater piece of
villainy immediately after. When Philip had sworn to the
peace, having secured Thrace through these men disobeying
my decree, he again bribes them not to leave Macedonia
until he had got all ready for his expedition against the
Phocians. His fear was, if they reported to you his design
and preparation for marching, you might sally forth, sail
round with your galleys to Thermopylae as before, and block
up the strait; his desire, that, the moment you received
the intelligence from them, he should have passed
Thermopylae, and you be unable to do anything. And in such
terror and anxiety was Philip, lest, notwithstanding he had
gained these advantages, if you voted succor before the
destruction of the Phocians, his enterprise should fail, he
hires this despicable fellow, no longer in common with the
other ambassadors, but by himself individually, to make
that statement and report to you, by which everything was
lost.

I conjure and beseech you, men of Athens, throughout the
trial to remember this: that, if Aeschines in his charge
had not travelled out of the indictment, neither would I
have spoken a word irrelevant; but since he has resorted to
every species both of accusation and calumny, it is
necessary for me to reply briefly to each of his charges.

What, then, were the statements made by Aeschines, through
which everything was lost? That you should not be alarmed
by Philip's having passed Thermopylae--that all would be as
you desired, if you kept quiet; and in two or three days
you would hear he as their friend to whom he had come as an
enemy, and their enemy to whom he had come as a friend--it
was not words that cemented attachments (such was his
solemn phrase), but identity of interest; and it was the
interest of all alike, Philip, the Phocians, and you, to be
relieved from the harshness and insolence of the Thebans.
His assertions were heard by some with pleasure, on account
of the hatred which then subsisted against the Thebans. But
what happened directly, almost immediately, afterwards? The
wretched Phocians were destroyed, their cities demolished;
you that kept quiet, and trusted to Aeschines, were shortly
bringing in your effects out of the country, while
Aeschines received gold; and yet more--while you got
nothing but your enmity with the Thebans and Thessalians,
Philip won their gratitude for what he had done. To prove
what I say, read me the decree of Callisthenes, and the
letter of Philip, from both of which these particulars will
be clear to you.

* * * * * * *

These and like measures, Aeschines, are what become an
honorable citizen (by their success--O earth and heaven! we
should have been the greatest of people incontestably, and
deserved to be so: even under their failure the result is
glory, and no one blames Athens or her policy; all condemn
fortune that so ordered things); but never will he desert
the interests of the commonwealth, nor hire himself to her
adversaries, and study the enemy's advantage, instead of
his country's; nor on a man who has courage to advise and
propose measures worthy of the state, and resolution to
persevere in them, will he cast an evil eye, and, if any
one privately offends him, remember and treasure it up; no,
nor keep himself in a criminal and treacherous retirement,
as you so often do. There is indeed a retirement just and
beneficial to the state, such as you, the bulk of my
countrymen, innocently enjoy; that, however, is not the
retirement of Aeschines; far from it. Withdrawing himself
from public life when he pleases (and that is often), he
watches for the moment when you are tired of a constant
speaker, or when some reverse of fortune has befallen you,
or anything untoward has happened (and many are the
casualties of human life); at such a crisis he springs up
an orator, rising from his retreat like a wind; in full
voice, with words and phrases collected, he rolls them out
audibly and breathlessly, to no advantage or good purpose
whatsoever, but to the detriment of some or other of his
fellow-citizens and to the general disgrace.

Yet from this labor and diligence, Aeschines, if it
proceeded from an honest heart, solicitous for your
country's welfare, the fruits should have been rich and
noble and profitable to all--alliances of states, supplies
of money, conveniences of commerce, enactment of useful
laws, opposition to our declared enemies. All such things
were looked for in former times; and many opportunities did
the past afford for a good man and true to show himself;
during which time you are nowhere to be found, neither
first, second, third, fourth, fifth, nor sixth--nor in any
rank at all--certainly in no service by which your country
was exalted. For what alliance has come to the state by
your procurement? What succors, what acquisition of good
will or credit? What embassy or agency is there of yours,
by which the reputation of the country has been increased?
What concern, domestic, Hellenic, or foreign, of which you
have had the management, has improved under it? What
galleys? what ammunition? what arsenals? what repair of
walls? what cavalry? What in the world are you good for?
What assistance in money have you ever given, either to the
rich or the poor, out of public spirit or liberality? None.
But, good sir, if there is nothing of this, there is at all
events zeal and loyalty. Where? when? You infamous fellow!
Even at a time when all who ever spoke upon the platform
gave something for the public safety, and last Aristonicus
gave the sum which he had amassed to retrieve his
franchise, you neither came forward nor contributed a
mite--not from inability--no! for you have inherited above
five talents from Philo, your wife's father, and you had a
subscription of two talents from the chairmen of the Boards
for what you did to cut up the navy law. But, that I may
not go from one thing to another and lose sight of the
question, I pass this by. That it was not poverty prevented
your contributing, already appears: it was, in fact, your
anxiety to do nothing against those to whom your political
life is subservient. On what occasion, then, do you show
your spirit? When do you shine out? When aught is to be
spoken against your countrymen!--then it is you are
splendid in voice, perfect in memory, an admirable actor, a
tragic Theocrines.

You mention the good men of olden times; and you are right
to do so. Yet it is hardly fair, O Athenians, that he
should get the advantage of that respect which you have for
the dead, to compare and contrast me with them--me who am
living among you; for what mortal is ignorant that toward
the living there exists always more or less of ill will,
whereas the dead are no longer hated even by an enemy? Such
being human nature, am I to be tried and judged by the
standard of my predecessors? Heaven forbid! It is not just
or equitable, Aeschines. Let me be compared with you, or
any persons you like of your party who are still alive. And
consider this--whether it is more honorable and better for
the state, that because of the services of a former age,
prodigious though they are beyond all power of expression,
these of the present generation should be unrequited and
spurned, or that all who give proof of their good
intentions should have their share of honor and regard from
the people? Yet indeed--if I must say so much--my politics
and principles, if considered fairly, will be found to
resemble those of the illustrious ancients, and to have had
the same objects in view, while yours resemble those of
their calumniators: for it is certain there were persons in
those times who ran down the living, and praised people
dead and gone, with a malignant purpose like yourself.

Two things, men of Athens, are characteristic of a
well-disposed citizen: so may I speak of myself and give
the least offense: In authority, his constant aim should be
the dignity and pre-eminence of the commonwealth; in all
times and circumstances his spirit should be loyal. This
depends upon nature; power and might upon other things.
Such a spirit, you will find, I have ever sincerely
cherished. Only see, when my person was demanded--when they
brought Amphictyonic suits against me--when they
menaced--when they promised--when they set these miscreants
like wild beasts upon me--never in any way have I abandoned
my affection for you. From the very beginning I chose an
honest and straightforward course in politics, to support
the honor, the power, the glory of my fatherland, these to
exalt, in these to have my being. I do not walk about the
market place gay and cheerful because the stranger has
prospered, holding out my right hand and congratulating
those who I think will report it yonder, and on any news of
our own success shudder and groan and stoop to the earth,
like these impious men, who rail at Athens, as if in so
doing they did not rail at themselves; who look abroad, and
if the foreigner thrives by the distress of Greece, are
thankful for it, and say we should keep him so thriving all
the time.

Never, O ye gods, may those wishes be confirmed by you! If
possible, inspire even in these men a better sense and
feeling! But if they are indeed incurable, destroy them by
themselves; exterminate them on land and sea; and for the
rest of us, grant that we may speedily be released from our
present fears, and enjoy a lasting deliverance.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] It may be doubted whether any compositions which
have ever been produced in the world are equally
perfect in their kind with the great Athenian
orations.--MACAULAY'S ESSAY, _Athenian Orators_

[2] The rest of the column is hopelessly mutilated.

[3] The rest of the column is mutilated.

[4] The remainder of this column and the whole of the
next are either lost or so mutilated as to be
unintelligible.

[5] When the next continuous passage is reached the
speaker has quitted the direct issue and is
attacking the political conduct of his adversary.

[6] Half a column is hopelessly mutilated here.