[Here the
secretary
reads.
Demosthenes - Leland - Orations
No:
from that day in Which Phocis fell beneath his arms I
date his hostilities against you. If you will instantly
oppose him, I pronounce you wise; if you delay, it
will not be in your power when you are inclined.
And so far, Athenians, do I differ from some other
speakers, that I think it now no time to debate about
the Chersonesus or Byzantium; but that we should
immediately send reinforcements, and guard these
places from all accidents, supply the generals sta-
tioned there with every thing they stand in need of,
and extend our care to all the Greeks, now in the
greatest and most imminent danger. Let me entreat
your attention while I explain the reasons which
induce me to be apprehensive of this danger; that,
if they are just, you may adopt them, and be provi
dent of your own interests at least, if those of others
do not affect you: or, if they appear frivolous and
impertinent, you may now, and ever hereafter,
neglect me as a man of an unsound mind.
That Philip, from a mean and inconsiderable Ori-
gin, hath advanced to greatness; that suspicion and
faction divide all the Greeks; that it is more to be
admired that he should become so powerful from
what he was, than that now, after such accessions
of strength, he should accomplish all his ambitious
schemes : these, and other like points which might
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
149
be dwelt on, I choose to pass over. But there is one
concession which, by the influence of your example,
all men have made to him, which hath heretofore
seen the cause of all the Grecian wars. And what
is this T An absolute power to act as he pleases;
thus to harass and plunder every state of Greece
successively; to invade and to enslave their cities.
You held the sovereignty of Greece seventy-three
years:' the Lacedaemonians commanded for the space
of twenty-nine years;2 and in these latter times,
after the battle of Leuctra, the Thebans were in
some degree of eminence. Yet neither to you, nor
to the Thebans, nor to the Lacedaemonians, did the
Greeks ever grant this uncontrolled power: far from
it. On the contrary, when you, or rather the Athe-
nians of that age, seemed to treat some persons not
with due moderation, it was universally resolved to
take up arms; even they who had no private com-
plaints espoused the cause of the injured. And
when the Lacedaemonians succeeded to your power,
the moment that they attempted to enlarge their
sway, and to make such changes in affairs as be-
trayed their ambitious designs, they were opposed
by all, even by those who were not immediately
affected by their conduct. But why do I speak of
others? We ourselves, and the Lacedaemonians,
though from the first we could allege no injuries
against, each other, yet, to redress the injured,
thought ourselves bound to draw the sword. And
all the faults of the Lacedaemonians in their thirty
years, and of our ancestors in their seventy years, do
not amount to the outrages which Philip hath com-
mitted against the Greeks within less than thirteen
1 Seventy-three years. ]--See note p. 80.
2 Twenty-nine years. l--That is, from the destruction of Athens by
Lysahder, in the last year of the 93d Olympiad, to the first war in which
the Athenians, when re-established by Conon, engaged against Sparta,
to free themselves and the other Greeks from the Spartan yoke in the
last year of the 100th Olympiad. --Tourml.
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? 150
ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
years of power;' or rather, do not all make up the
smallest part of them. This I shall easily prove in
a few words.
Olynthus, and Methone, and Apollonia, and the
two-and-thirty cities of Thrace, I pass all over;
every one of which felt such severe effects of . his
cruelty, that an observer could not easily determine
whether any of them had ever teen inhabited or no.
The destruction of the Phocians, a people so con-
siderable, shall also pass unnoticed. But think on
the condition of the Thessahans, Hath he not sub-
verted their states and cities 1 Hath he not estab-
lished his tetrarchs over them, that not only single
towns, but whole countries2 might pay htm vassalage 7
Are not the states of Eubcea in the hands of tyrants,
and this in an island bordering on Thebes and
Athens? Are not these the express words of his
letters--" they who are willing to obey me may ex-
pect peace from me ? " And he not only writes, but
confirms his menaces by actions. He marches
directly to the Hellespont: but just before he at-
tacked Ambracia: Elis,3 one of the chief cities of
Peloponnesus, is in his possession: not long since
he entertained designs against Megara. All Greece,
all the Barbarian world, is too narrow for this man's
ambition. And though we Greeks see and hear all
this, we send no embassies to each other, we express
no resentment: but into such wretchedness are we
sunk (blocked up within our several cities) that even
1 Thirteen years of power. ]--Philip had now reigned nineteen years.
But being at first engaged in wars wilh his neighbours, he did not
begin to make any considerable figure in Greece until the eighth year
of his reign; when, after the taking of Methone, he expelled the
tyrants of Thessaly, and cut ofT the Phocian army commanded by
Onomarchus. From this period Demosthenes begins his computation. -'
Tourreil.
2 Whole countries, &c. 1--The word in the original signifies a ntmrber
of different people dependent on one principal stale or city.
3 Elis, &c]--He made himself master of this place by treaty, not by
force of arms. Elis entered into the league ofthe amphictyons, by which
Philip was acknowledged as their chief; and maintained its freedom fit!
after the death of Alexander. --Tonrrsil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIED.
151
to this day we have not been able to perform the
least part of that which our interest or our duty de-
manded,--to engage in any associations, or to form
any confederacies; but look with unconcern on
this man's growing power; each fondly imagining
(as far as I can judge) that the time in which another
is destroyed is gained to him, without ever consult-
ing or acting for the cause of Greece; although no
man can be ignorant that, like the regular periodic
return of a fever, or other disorder, he is coming
on those who think themselves most remote from
danger.
You are also sensible that whatever injuries the
Greeks suffered by the Lacedaemonians, or by us,
they suffered by the true sons of Greece. And one
may consider it in this light. Suppose a lawful heir,
bom to an affluence of fortune, should in some
instances be guilty of misconduct: he, indeed, lies
open to the justest censure and reproach: yet it can-
not be said that he hath lavished a fortune to which
he had no claim, no right of inheritance. But should
a slave, should a pretended son waste those posses-
sions which really belonged to others, how much
more heinous would it be thought! how much more
worthy of resentment! And shall not Philip and his
actions raise the like indignation? he who is not
only no Greek, no way allied to Greece, but sprung
from a part of the Barbarian world unworthy to
be named; a vile Macedonian; where formerly we
could not find a slave fit to purchase. And hath his
insolence known any bounds? Besides the destruc-
tion of cities, doth he not appoint the Pythian games,1
the common entertainment of Greece: and, if absent
himself, send his slaves to preside ? Is he not master
I The Pythian fames, Ac. ]--To this honourhe was admitted by being
made an amphictyon, and declared head of the sacred league. By hia
slaves we are to understand no more than his subjects: for those old
republicans affected to speak thus of the subjects of every king or tyrant.
--Tmurreil and Olivet.
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? 152 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
of Thermopylae? Are not the passes into Greece
possessed by his guards and mercenaries ? Hath he
not assumed the honours of the temple,1 in opposi-
tion to our claim, to that of the Thessalians, that of
the Dorians, and of the other amphictyons; honours
to which even the Greeks do not all pretend ? Doth
he not prescribe to the Thessau ""ns how they shall
be governed ? Doth he not send out his forces, some
to Porthmus, to expel the Eretrian colony; some to
Oreum, to make Philistides tyrant ? And yet the
Greeks see all this without the least impatience.
Just as at the fall of hail: every one prays it
may not alight on his ground, but no one attempts
to fend against it: so they not only suffer the general
wrongs of Greece to pass unpunished, but carry their
insensibility to the utmost, and are not roused even
by their private wrongs. Hath he not attacked
Ambracia and Leucas, cities of the Corinthians?
Hath he not wrested Naupactus from the Achasans,*
and engaged, by oath, to deliver it to the jEtolians *
Hath he not robbed the Thebans of Echinus f Is
he not on his march against the Byzantines I4 And
1 The honours of the temple, &c. }--Tlmitavisiav, the right of prece-
dency in consulting the oracle of Delphos. This the Phocians had
enjoyed, as being in possession of the temple; arid Philip was invested
with it as well as their other privileges. It was thought of considerable
consequence by the Greeks, as appears from the first article of a peace
made between the Atlienians and the allies of Lacedaemon. See Thucytf.
b. V. --Tourreil. '
2 Wrested Naupactus from the Achaeans, Ac. ]--Naupactus was not a
city of the Aclueans, but of the Locri Ozola? . Possibly Demosthenes
speaks with the liberty of an orator, and founds his assertion on some
alliance which Naupactus might have had with-the Achaeans against the
JEtolians, its inveterate enemies. This city, thus delivered up, remained
ever alter under the jurisdiction of yEtolia, and is mentioned by Livy
and Polybius as the principal city of that country. --Tourreil.
3 Echinus. ]--There were two places of this name; the one in
Acamania, the other, which Is here spoken of, founded by the Thebans
on the Maliac Guff. --Tourreil.
4 Against the Byzantines. ]--He had threatened them already, but had
not as yet executed his threats: for we learn from history that Philip,
Staving: for a considerable time besieged Perinthos, raised the siege in
order to march to that of Byzantium. If the siege of Pferinthus had pre-
ceded this oration, Demosthenes. could not have forgotten so memorable
m expedition in recounting the enterprises of Philip. Probe My (Us
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
153
are they not our allies? I shall only add, that
Cardia, the chief city of the Chersonesus, is in his
possession. Yet these things do not affect us: we
are all languid and irresolute: we watch the motions
of those about us, and regard each other with sus-
picious eyes; and this when we are all so manifestly
injured. And if he behaves with such insolence
towards the general body, to what extravagances,
think ye, will he proceed when master of each par-
ticular state ?
And now, what is the cause of all this 1 (for there
must be some cause, some good reason to be assigned
why the Greeks were once so jealous of their liberty,
and are now so ready to submit to slavery. ) It is
this, Athenians. Formerly, mens' minds were ani-
mated with that which they now feel no longer,
which conquered all the opulence of Persia, main-
tained the freedom of Greece, and triumphed over
the powers of sea and land; but, now that it is lost,
universal ruin and confusion overspread the face of
Greece. What is this 1 Nothing subtle or myste-
rious : nothing more than a unanimous abhorrence of
all those who accepted bribes from princes, prompted
by the ambition of subduing, or the bare intent of
corrupting, Greece. To be guilty of such practices
was accounted a crime of the blackest kind; a crime
which called for all the severity of public justice.
no petitioning for mercy, no pardon was allowed.
So that neither orator nor general could sell those
favourable conjunctures with which fortune often-
times assists the supine against the vigilant, and
renders men utterly regardless of their interests
superior to those who exert their utmost efforts: nor
were mutual confidence among ourselves, distrust
of tyrants and Barbarians, and such-like noble prin-
princemade a feint of marching to Byzantium in order to conceal hia
designs against Perimhus. --Tourreil.
In the introduction to this oration, the reader has another account at
Philip's first march against Byzantium.
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? 154 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ciples, subject to the power of gold. But now are
all these exposed to sale, as in a public mart; and,
in exchange, such things have been introduced as
have affected the safety, the very vitals of Greece.
What are these 1 Envy, when a man hath received
a bribe; laughter, if he confess it; pardon, if he be
convicted; resentment, at his being accused; and
all the other appendages of corruption. For, as to
naval power, troops, revenues, and all kinds of prepa-
rations, every thing that is esteemed the strength
of a state, we are now much better and more amply
provided than formerly; but they have lost all their
force, all their efficacy, all their' value, by means of
these traffickers.
That such is our present state you yourselves are
witnesses, and need not any testimony from me. That
our state in former times was quite opposite to this
I shall now convince you, not by any arguments of
mine, but by a decree of your ancestors, which they
inscribed on a brazen column erected in the citadel;
not with a view to their own advantage (they needed
no such memorials to inspire them with just senti-
ments), but that it might descend to you as an
example of the great attention due to such affairs.
Hear, then, the inscription: " Let Arthmius1 of Zelia,
the son of Pythonax, be accounted infamous, and an
enemy to the Athenians and their allies, both he and
all his race. " Then comes the reason of his sen-
tence : " Because he brought gold from Media into
1 Let Arthmius, &c. ]--This, in a few words, was the occasion of
publishing this terrible decree against Arthmius, of which Themistocles
was the author. Egypt had thrown off the yoke of Artaxerxes Longi-
manus. A formidable army marched to reduce the rebels; but failed
of success, as Athens had provided lor their defence. The resentment
of Artaxerxes then turned against the Athenians. He sent Megabyzus
and other secret agents into Peloponnesus, to raise up enemies against
them by the force of bribery, and to blow up the flame of resentment and
jealousy in Sparta, which was ever ready to break out. But the attempt
was ineffectual. Arthmius, probably, was one of the King of Persia's
agents in this affair; and Diodorus, who does not name him, includes
him, however, in the general appellation of " the emissaries of Arta-
xerxes. "--Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
155
Peloponnesus. "--Not to Athens. This is the decree.
And now, in the name of all the gods, reflect on this!
think what wisdom, what dignity appeared in this
action of our ancestors! One Arthmius of Zelia, a
slave of the king's (for Zelia is a city of Asia), in'
obedience to his master, brings gold, not into Athens,
but Peloponnesus. This man they declare an enemy
to them and their confederates, and that he and his
posterity shall be infamous. Nor was this merely
a mark of ignominy; for how did it concern this
Zelite whether he was to be received into the com-
munity of Athens or no ? The sentence imported
something more: for in the laws relating to capital
cases it is enacted, that, "When the legal punish-
ment of a man's crime cannot be inflicted, he may
be put to death. " And it was accounted meritorious
to kill him. " Let not the infamous man," saith the
law, " be permitted to live. " Intimating that he is
free from guilt who executes this sentence.
Our fathers, therefore, thought themselves bound
to extend their care to all Greece; else they must
have looked with unconcern at the introduction ot
bribery into Peloponnesus. But we find they pro-
ceeded to such severity against all they could detect
in it as to raise monuments of their crimes. Hence
it was (and no wonder) that the Greeks were a terror
to the Barbarians, not the Barbarians to the Greeks.
But now it is not so: for you do not show the same
spirit on such or on any other occasions. How then
do you behave ? You need not be informed. Why
should the whole censure fall on you ? the conduct
of the rest of Greece is no less blameable. It is my
opinion, therefore, that the present state of things
demands the utmost care and most salutary counsel.
What counsel? Shall I propose it? and will ye not
be offended ? --Read this memorial.
[Here the secretary reads. And the speaker resumes his discourse. ]
And here I must take notice of one weak argu-
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? 56 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ment made use of to inspire us with confidence:
That Philip is not yet so powerful as the Lacedae-
monians once were, who commanded by sea and
. and, were strengthened by the alliance of the king,
were absolute and uncontrolled; and yet we made a
brave stand against them; nor was all their force
able to crush our state. In answer to this, I shall
observe, that amid all the alterations and improve-
ments which have happened in affairs of every kind,
nothing hath been more improved than the art of
war: for, in the first place, I am informed that at
that time the Lacedaemonians and all the other Greeks
used to keep the field four or five months, just the
convenient season; and having so long continued
their invasion, and infested the territories of then
enemy with their heavy-armed and domestic forces,
they retired into their own country. Then, such
was the simplicity, I should say the national spirit,1
1 Were strengthened by the alliance of the king. ]--After the expedition
into Sicily, an expedition as unfortunate as it was imprudent, the Athe-
nians might still have supported themselves, if the King of Persia ha<J
not concurred to precipitate their ruin. Tissaphernes, the satrap of
Darius Nothus, conducted the first alliance between his master and the
Laced;emonians. This alliance had at that time no very great effect. But
when Cyrus the Younger was sent, by order of his father, to command
in Asia Minor, Lysander gained the affection of this young prince, who
soon made him able to give law to Athens. It is this period which
Demosthenes points out. --Tourreil.
2 I should say the national spirit, &c. ]--Circumstances peculiar to
any people, singular customs, particular relations, and the like, give rise
to words and phrases incapable of being precisely rendered into any
other language. And such I take to be the word iroXirtKws. Every
particular state of Greece was a member of a larger political body, that
of the natfon, in which all the several communities were united by
national laws, national customs, and a national religion. This I have
explained at large on another occasion. (See Prelim. Dissert, to the
Life of Philip. ) The word iroXtriKmj therefore, I understand as expres-
sive of that duty which each state owed to the Hellenic body, which pre-
scribed bounds and laws to their wars, and forbade their passions, con
tests, and animosities against each other to break out into any excesses
which might affect the welfare of the nation. They were to fight, not
as inveterate foes, but competitors for power and honour. To recur to
bribery in order to defeat their antagonists was to be guilty of corrupt-
ing the morals of what, in an extensive sense, may be called their
country. In like manner, the word civilis, in Latin, is used in a sense
somewhat analogous to this, as denoting the regard which every citizen
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
157
of that age, that the power of gold was never called
to their assistance; but all their wars were fair and
open. Now, on the contrary, we see most defeats
Dwingto treachery; no formal engagements, nothing
left to the decision of arms. For you find the rapid
progress of Philip is not owing to the force of regular
troops, but to armies composed of light horse and
foreign archers. With these he pours down on
some people already engaged by civil discord and
commotions; and when nono will venture out in
defence of their state, on account of their private
suspicions, he brings up his enginos, and attacks
their walls: not to mention his absolute indifference
to heat and cold, and that there is no pecnliai season
which he gives to pleasure. Let thesij thh. -gs sink
deep into all our minds: let us not suffer his a,-ms
to approach these territories: let us not proudly1
depend on our strength, by forming our judgments
from the old Lacedaemonian war; but let us attend
with all possible precaution to our interests and our
armaments; and let this be our point in view,--to
confine him to his own kingdom; not to engage him
on equal terms in the field. For if you be satisfied
should pay to the lights of others, in opposition to despotism, pride, im
periousness, and all those passions which are enemies to liberty and the
general good. Thus we find in Tacitus, " Juveni civile ingenium, mirs.
comiias. "--Ann. i. " Silentium ejus non civile, ut crediderar, sed in
auperbiam accipiebatur. "--Ann. vi. Andof Tiberius the historian says,
"Liberatusmetu, civilem se admodum inter initia, ac pauio minus quam
privatum egit. " I hare observed in a note on the exordium of the second
Philippic, that a regard to the interest of Greece was generally the most
extensive affection in the minds of its inhabitants. And that the exten
live social affections were denoted by the Greek word ito'XiTikov, we learn
from Cicero. Let the following quotation, from the fifth book of his
treatise De Ftnibus, suffice on this occasion: " Cum sic hominis natura
generata sit, ut habeat quiddam innatum quasi civile et populare, quod
Graeci icoKirtKov vocant, quicquid aget quaeque virtus, id a commuaitate,
et ea quam exposui caritate, atque societate humana, non abhorrebit. "
The authority of a writer who devoted so much of his attention to the
moral and political learning of the Greeks, and took so much pains to
<<xplain it to his countrymen, may surely be deemed decisive.
1 Let us not proudly, dfce. ]--In the original, eKTpaxv^odrivai, which,
besides the signification which Wolfius Assigns it, is frequently rendered
insolescere, superbire.
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? 158 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
with committing hostilities, there Nature hath giveu
you many advantages. 1 (Let us but do our part. ;
The situation of his kingdom, for instance, exposes
it to all the fury of an enemy; not to speak of many
other circumstances. But if we once come to a
regular engagement, there his experience must give
him the superiority.
But these are not the only points that require your
attention: nor are 5'ou to oppose him only by the
arts of war. It is also necessary that reason and
penetration should inspire you with an abhorrence
of those who plead his cause before you; ever bear-
ing in mind the absolute impossibility of conquering
our foreign enemy until we have punished those who
are serving him within our walls. But this, I call
the powers of heaven to witness, ye cannot, ye will
not do! No: such is your infatuation, or madness,
or^I know not what to call it (for I am oftentimes
tempted to believe that some power more than hu-
man is driving us to ruin), that through malice, or
envy, or a spirit of ridicule, or some like motive,
you command hirelings to speak (some of whom
dare not deny that they are hirelings), and make
their calumnies serve your mirth. Yet, shocking as
this is, there is something still more shocking:
these men are allowed to direct the public affairs
with greater security than your faithful counsellors.
--And now observe the dreadful consequences of
listening to such wretches. I shall mention facts
well known to you all.
In Olynthus, the administration of affairs was
divided between two parties; the one, in the interest
of Philip, entirely devoted to him; the other, in-
spired by true patriotism, directed all their . effcrts
to preserve the freedom of their country. To which
? Many advantages. ]--Although the Athenians had lost Amphipolis,
Pydna, and Potidasa, they were still in possession of Thassus, Lemnoa,
and the adjacent islands, from whence they might readily hare attempted
a descent on Macedon. --Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
159
of these are we to charge the ruin of the state; or
who betrayed the troops, and by that treachery de-
stroyed Olynthus ? The creatures of Philip. - Yet,
while their city stood, these men pursued the advo-
cates for liberty with such malicious accusations and
invftctives, that an assembly of the people was per-
suaded even to banish Apollonides.
But this is not the only instance. The same cus
torn hath produced the same calamities in other
places. In Eretria, at the departure of Plutarchus
and the foreign troops, when the people had posses
sion of the city and of Porthmus, some were in-
clined to seek our protection, some to submit to
Philip. But, being influenced by this latter party on
most, or rather all occasions, the poor unfortunate
Eretrians were at length persuaded to banish their
faithful counsellors. And the consequence was this:
Philip, their confederate and friend, detached a'
thousand mercenaries under the command of Hip-
ponicus, razed the fortifications of Porthmus, set
three tyrants over them, Hipparchus, Automedon,
and Clitarchus; and after that, when they discovered
some inclination to shake off the yoke, drove them
twice out of their territory; once by the forces com-
manded by Eurylochus, and again by those under
Parmenio.
To give but one instance more. In Oreum, Philis-
tides was the agent of Philip; as were Menippus,
and Socrates, and Thoas, and Agapaeus, the preseni
masters of that city. And this was universally
known. But there was one Euphraeus, a man for
some time resident at Athens, who stood up against
captivity and slavery. Much might be said of the
injurious and contemptuous treatment which he re-
ceived from the people of Oreum on other occasions.
But the year before the taking of the city, as he saw
through the traitorous designs of Philistides and his
accomplices, he brought a formal impeachment
against them. Immediately considerable numbers
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? 160 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
form themselves into a faction (directed and sup>>
ported by Philip), and hurry away Euphraeus to
prison, as a disturber of the public peace. The peo-
ple of Oreum were witnesses of this ; but instead of
defending him, and bringing his enemies to condign
punishment, showed no resentment towards them;
but approved, and triumphed in his sufferings. And
now the faction, possessed of all the power they
wished for, laid their schemes for the ruin of the city,
and were carrying them into execution. Among
the people, if any man perceived this, he was silent;
struck with the remembrance of Euphraeus and his
sufferings. And to such dejection were they reduced,
that no one dared to express the least apprehension
of the approaching danger, until the enemy drew
up before their walls, and prepared for an assault.
Then some defended, others betrayed their state.
When the city had thus been shamefully and basely
lost, the faction began to exercise the most tyrannic
power; having either, by banishment or death,
removed all those who had asserted their own cause
and that of Euphraeus; and were still ready for any
noble enterprise. Euphraeus himself put an end to
his own life; and thus gave proof that, in his oppo-
sition to Philip, he had been actuated by a just and
pure regard to the interest of his country.
And now what could be the reason (you may pos-
sibly ask with surprise) that the people of Olynthus,
and those of Eretria, and those of Oreum, all at-
tended with greater pleasure to the advocates of
Philip than to then own friends 1 The same reason
which prevails here. Because they who are en
gaged on the part of truth and justice can never, even
if they were inclined, advance any thing to recom-
mend themselves to favour; their whole concern is
for the welfare of their state. The others need but
to sooth and flatter in order to second the designs
of Philip. The one press for supplies; the others
insist that they are not wanted: the one call theil
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
161
countrymen to battle, and alarm them with appre-
hensions of danger; the others are ever recom-
mending peace, until the toils come too near to be
escaped. And thus, on all occasions, one set of men
speak but to insinuate themselves into the affections
of their fellow-citizens; the other to preserve them
from ruin; till at last the interests of the state are
given up; not corruptly or ignorantly, but from a
desperate purpose of yielding to the fate of a con-
stitution thought to be irrecoverably lost. And, by
the powers of heaven! I dread that this may prove
your case, when you find that reflection cannot serve
you! And when I turn my eyes to the men who
have reduced you to this, it is not terror1 that I feel;
it is the utmost detestation. For whether they act
through design or ignorance, the distress to which
they are reducing us is manifest. But far be this
distress from us, Athenians! It were better to die
ten thousand deaths than to be guilty of a servile
complaisance to Philip, and to abandon any of your
faithful counsellors! The people of Oreum have
now met a noble return for their confidence in
Philip's creatures and their violence towards Eu-
phraeus. The Eretrians are nobly rewarded for
driving out our ambassadors, and committing their
affairs to Clitarchus. Captivity, and stripes, and
racks are their reward. Great was his indulgence to
the Olynthians, for choosing Lasthenes their general,
and banishing Apollonides. It were folly and base-
ness to be amused with such false hopes as theirs,
when neither our counsels direct us nor our inclina-
tions prompt us to the pursuit of our true interests,
1 It is not terror, . fcc. ]--The word in the original signifies the most
abject fear and dismay; and the whole passage seems to have a particu-
lar reference or allusion. Possibly some of Philip's partisans might
have accused Demosthenes of being thus affected at their sight; while
they magnified their own integrity and resolution, their true discern-
ment, and patriotic zeal for the interest of their country; and possibly
might have called out for severe punishment on the man who dared to
utter the most bitter invectives against a powerful prince in alliance
with Athens.
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? 162 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
and to suffer those who speak for our enemies to
persuade us that the state is too powerful to be
affected by any accident whatever. It is shameful to
cry out, when some event hath surprised us, " Hea-
vens ! who could have expected this 1 We should
have acted thus and thus, and avoided these and
these errors. " There are many things the Olyn-
thians can now mention which, if foreseen in time,
would have prevented their destruction. The people
of Oreum can mention many : those of Phocis
many: every state that hath been destroyed can
mention many such things. But what dot1! it avail
them now ? While the vessel is safe, whether it be
great or small, the mariner, the pilot, every person
should exert himself in his particular station, and
preserve it from being wrecked either by villany or
unskilfulness. But when the sea hath once broken
in all care is vain. And therefore, Athenians, while
we are yet safe, possessed of a powerful city, fa-
voured with many resources, our reputation illustri-
ous--what are we to do? (Perhaps some have sat
with impatience to ask. )--I shall now give my opin-
ion, and propose it in form; that, if approved, your
voices may confirm it.
Having, in the first place, provided for your de-
fence, fitted out your navy, raised your supplies, and
arrayed your forces (for, although all other people
should submit to slavery, you should still contend
for freedom); having made such a provision, I say,
and this in the sight of Greece, then we are to call
others to their duty; and, for this purpose, to send
ambassadors into all parts, to Peloponnesus, to
Rhodes, to Chios, and even to the king (for he is by
no means unconcerned in opposing the rapidity of
this man's progress). If ye prevail, ye will have
sharers in the dangers and expense which may arise'
at least you may gain some respite; and, as we are
engaged against a single person, and not to the
united powers of a commonwealth, this may be of
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
163
advantage ; as were those embassies of last year into
Peloponnesus, and those remonstrances which were
made in several places by me and Polydatus, that
true patriot, and Hegesippus, and Clitomaehus, and
Lycurgus, and the other ministers, which checked
his progress, prevented his attack of Ambracia, and
secured Peloponnesus from an invasion.
I do not mean that we should endeavour to raise
that spirit abroad which we ourselves are unwilling
to assume. It would be absurd to neglect our own
interests, and yet pretend a regard to the common
cause; or, while we are insensible to present dan-
gers, to think of alarming others with apprehensions
of futurity. No: let us provide the forces in the
Chersonesus with. money, and every tiling else that
they desire. Let us begin with vigour on our part;
then call on the other Greeks; convene, instruct,
exhort them. Thus it becomes a- state of such dig-
nity as ours. If you think the protection of Greece
may be intrusted to the Chalcidians and Megareans,
and so desert its cause, you do not think justly. It
will be well if they can protect themselves. No:
this is your province: this is that prerogative trans-
mitted from your ancestors, the reward of all their
many, and glorious, and great dangers. If every
man sits down in ease and indulgence, and studies
only to avoid trouble, he will certainly find no one
to supply his place ; and I am also apprehensive
that we may be forced into all that trouble to which
we are so averse. Were there persons to act in our
stead, our inactivity would have long since discov-
ered them; but there are really none.
You have now heard my sentiments. You have
heard the measures I propose, and by which I appre-
hend our affairs may be yet retrieved. If any man
can offer some more salutary course, let him rise
and declare his opinion.
from that day in Which Phocis fell beneath his arms I
date his hostilities against you. If you will instantly
oppose him, I pronounce you wise; if you delay, it
will not be in your power when you are inclined.
And so far, Athenians, do I differ from some other
speakers, that I think it now no time to debate about
the Chersonesus or Byzantium; but that we should
immediately send reinforcements, and guard these
places from all accidents, supply the generals sta-
tioned there with every thing they stand in need of,
and extend our care to all the Greeks, now in the
greatest and most imminent danger. Let me entreat
your attention while I explain the reasons which
induce me to be apprehensive of this danger; that,
if they are just, you may adopt them, and be provi
dent of your own interests at least, if those of others
do not affect you: or, if they appear frivolous and
impertinent, you may now, and ever hereafter,
neglect me as a man of an unsound mind.
That Philip, from a mean and inconsiderable Ori-
gin, hath advanced to greatness; that suspicion and
faction divide all the Greeks; that it is more to be
admired that he should become so powerful from
what he was, than that now, after such accessions
of strength, he should accomplish all his ambitious
schemes : these, and other like points which might
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
149
be dwelt on, I choose to pass over. But there is one
concession which, by the influence of your example,
all men have made to him, which hath heretofore
seen the cause of all the Grecian wars. And what
is this T An absolute power to act as he pleases;
thus to harass and plunder every state of Greece
successively; to invade and to enslave their cities.
You held the sovereignty of Greece seventy-three
years:' the Lacedaemonians commanded for the space
of twenty-nine years;2 and in these latter times,
after the battle of Leuctra, the Thebans were in
some degree of eminence. Yet neither to you, nor
to the Thebans, nor to the Lacedaemonians, did the
Greeks ever grant this uncontrolled power: far from
it. On the contrary, when you, or rather the Athe-
nians of that age, seemed to treat some persons not
with due moderation, it was universally resolved to
take up arms; even they who had no private com-
plaints espoused the cause of the injured. And
when the Lacedaemonians succeeded to your power,
the moment that they attempted to enlarge their
sway, and to make such changes in affairs as be-
trayed their ambitious designs, they were opposed
by all, even by those who were not immediately
affected by their conduct. But why do I speak of
others? We ourselves, and the Lacedaemonians,
though from the first we could allege no injuries
against, each other, yet, to redress the injured,
thought ourselves bound to draw the sword. And
all the faults of the Lacedaemonians in their thirty
years, and of our ancestors in their seventy years, do
not amount to the outrages which Philip hath com-
mitted against the Greeks within less than thirteen
1 Seventy-three years. ]--See note p. 80.
2 Twenty-nine years. l--That is, from the destruction of Athens by
Lysahder, in the last year of the 93d Olympiad, to the first war in which
the Athenians, when re-established by Conon, engaged against Sparta,
to free themselves and the other Greeks from the Spartan yoke in the
last year of the 100th Olympiad. --Tourml.
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? 150
ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
years of power;' or rather, do not all make up the
smallest part of them. This I shall easily prove in
a few words.
Olynthus, and Methone, and Apollonia, and the
two-and-thirty cities of Thrace, I pass all over;
every one of which felt such severe effects of . his
cruelty, that an observer could not easily determine
whether any of them had ever teen inhabited or no.
The destruction of the Phocians, a people so con-
siderable, shall also pass unnoticed. But think on
the condition of the Thessahans, Hath he not sub-
verted their states and cities 1 Hath he not estab-
lished his tetrarchs over them, that not only single
towns, but whole countries2 might pay htm vassalage 7
Are not the states of Eubcea in the hands of tyrants,
and this in an island bordering on Thebes and
Athens? Are not these the express words of his
letters--" they who are willing to obey me may ex-
pect peace from me ? " And he not only writes, but
confirms his menaces by actions. He marches
directly to the Hellespont: but just before he at-
tacked Ambracia: Elis,3 one of the chief cities of
Peloponnesus, is in his possession: not long since
he entertained designs against Megara. All Greece,
all the Barbarian world, is too narrow for this man's
ambition. And though we Greeks see and hear all
this, we send no embassies to each other, we express
no resentment: but into such wretchedness are we
sunk (blocked up within our several cities) that even
1 Thirteen years of power. ]--Philip had now reigned nineteen years.
But being at first engaged in wars wilh his neighbours, he did not
begin to make any considerable figure in Greece until the eighth year
of his reign; when, after the taking of Methone, he expelled the
tyrants of Thessaly, and cut ofT the Phocian army commanded by
Onomarchus. From this period Demosthenes begins his computation. -'
Tourreil.
2 Whole countries, &c. 1--The word in the original signifies a ntmrber
of different people dependent on one principal stale or city.
3 Elis, &c]--He made himself master of this place by treaty, not by
force of arms. Elis entered into the league ofthe amphictyons, by which
Philip was acknowledged as their chief; and maintained its freedom fit!
after the death of Alexander. --Tonrrsil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIED.
151
to this day we have not been able to perform the
least part of that which our interest or our duty de-
manded,--to engage in any associations, or to form
any confederacies; but look with unconcern on
this man's growing power; each fondly imagining
(as far as I can judge) that the time in which another
is destroyed is gained to him, without ever consult-
ing or acting for the cause of Greece; although no
man can be ignorant that, like the regular periodic
return of a fever, or other disorder, he is coming
on those who think themselves most remote from
danger.
You are also sensible that whatever injuries the
Greeks suffered by the Lacedaemonians, or by us,
they suffered by the true sons of Greece. And one
may consider it in this light. Suppose a lawful heir,
bom to an affluence of fortune, should in some
instances be guilty of misconduct: he, indeed, lies
open to the justest censure and reproach: yet it can-
not be said that he hath lavished a fortune to which
he had no claim, no right of inheritance. But should
a slave, should a pretended son waste those posses-
sions which really belonged to others, how much
more heinous would it be thought! how much more
worthy of resentment! And shall not Philip and his
actions raise the like indignation? he who is not
only no Greek, no way allied to Greece, but sprung
from a part of the Barbarian world unworthy to
be named; a vile Macedonian; where formerly we
could not find a slave fit to purchase. And hath his
insolence known any bounds? Besides the destruc-
tion of cities, doth he not appoint the Pythian games,1
the common entertainment of Greece: and, if absent
himself, send his slaves to preside ? Is he not master
I The Pythian fames, Ac. ]--To this honourhe was admitted by being
made an amphictyon, and declared head of the sacred league. By hia
slaves we are to understand no more than his subjects: for those old
republicans affected to speak thus of the subjects of every king or tyrant.
--Tmurreil and Olivet.
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? 152 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
of Thermopylae? Are not the passes into Greece
possessed by his guards and mercenaries ? Hath he
not assumed the honours of the temple,1 in opposi-
tion to our claim, to that of the Thessalians, that of
the Dorians, and of the other amphictyons; honours
to which even the Greeks do not all pretend ? Doth
he not prescribe to the Thessau ""ns how they shall
be governed ? Doth he not send out his forces, some
to Porthmus, to expel the Eretrian colony; some to
Oreum, to make Philistides tyrant ? And yet the
Greeks see all this without the least impatience.
Just as at the fall of hail: every one prays it
may not alight on his ground, but no one attempts
to fend against it: so they not only suffer the general
wrongs of Greece to pass unpunished, but carry their
insensibility to the utmost, and are not roused even
by their private wrongs. Hath he not attacked
Ambracia and Leucas, cities of the Corinthians?
Hath he not wrested Naupactus from the Achasans,*
and engaged, by oath, to deliver it to the jEtolians *
Hath he not robbed the Thebans of Echinus f Is
he not on his march against the Byzantines I4 And
1 The honours of the temple, &c. }--Tlmitavisiav, the right of prece-
dency in consulting the oracle of Delphos. This the Phocians had
enjoyed, as being in possession of the temple; arid Philip was invested
with it as well as their other privileges. It was thought of considerable
consequence by the Greeks, as appears from the first article of a peace
made between the Atlienians and the allies of Lacedaemon. See Thucytf.
b. V. --Tourreil. '
2 Wrested Naupactus from the Achaeans, Ac. ]--Naupactus was not a
city of the Aclueans, but of the Locri Ozola? . Possibly Demosthenes
speaks with the liberty of an orator, and founds his assertion on some
alliance which Naupactus might have had with-the Achaeans against the
JEtolians, its inveterate enemies. This city, thus delivered up, remained
ever alter under the jurisdiction of yEtolia, and is mentioned by Livy
and Polybius as the principal city of that country. --Tourreil.
3 Echinus. ]--There were two places of this name; the one in
Acamania, the other, which Is here spoken of, founded by the Thebans
on the Maliac Guff. --Tourreil.
4 Against the Byzantines. ]--He had threatened them already, but had
not as yet executed his threats: for we learn from history that Philip,
Staving: for a considerable time besieged Perinthos, raised the siege in
order to march to that of Byzantium. If the siege of Pferinthus had pre-
ceded this oration, Demosthenes. could not have forgotten so memorable
m expedition in recounting the enterprises of Philip. Probe My (Us
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
153
are they not our allies? I shall only add, that
Cardia, the chief city of the Chersonesus, is in his
possession. Yet these things do not affect us: we
are all languid and irresolute: we watch the motions
of those about us, and regard each other with sus-
picious eyes; and this when we are all so manifestly
injured. And if he behaves with such insolence
towards the general body, to what extravagances,
think ye, will he proceed when master of each par-
ticular state ?
And now, what is the cause of all this 1 (for there
must be some cause, some good reason to be assigned
why the Greeks were once so jealous of their liberty,
and are now so ready to submit to slavery. ) It is
this, Athenians. Formerly, mens' minds were ani-
mated with that which they now feel no longer,
which conquered all the opulence of Persia, main-
tained the freedom of Greece, and triumphed over
the powers of sea and land; but, now that it is lost,
universal ruin and confusion overspread the face of
Greece. What is this 1 Nothing subtle or myste-
rious : nothing more than a unanimous abhorrence of
all those who accepted bribes from princes, prompted
by the ambition of subduing, or the bare intent of
corrupting, Greece. To be guilty of such practices
was accounted a crime of the blackest kind; a crime
which called for all the severity of public justice.
no petitioning for mercy, no pardon was allowed.
So that neither orator nor general could sell those
favourable conjunctures with which fortune often-
times assists the supine against the vigilant, and
renders men utterly regardless of their interests
superior to those who exert their utmost efforts: nor
were mutual confidence among ourselves, distrust
of tyrants and Barbarians, and such-like noble prin-
princemade a feint of marching to Byzantium in order to conceal hia
designs against Perimhus. --Tourreil.
In the introduction to this oration, the reader has another account at
Philip's first march against Byzantium.
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? 154 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ciples, subject to the power of gold. But now are
all these exposed to sale, as in a public mart; and,
in exchange, such things have been introduced as
have affected the safety, the very vitals of Greece.
What are these 1 Envy, when a man hath received
a bribe; laughter, if he confess it; pardon, if he be
convicted; resentment, at his being accused; and
all the other appendages of corruption. For, as to
naval power, troops, revenues, and all kinds of prepa-
rations, every thing that is esteemed the strength
of a state, we are now much better and more amply
provided than formerly; but they have lost all their
force, all their efficacy, all their' value, by means of
these traffickers.
That such is our present state you yourselves are
witnesses, and need not any testimony from me. That
our state in former times was quite opposite to this
I shall now convince you, not by any arguments of
mine, but by a decree of your ancestors, which they
inscribed on a brazen column erected in the citadel;
not with a view to their own advantage (they needed
no such memorials to inspire them with just senti-
ments), but that it might descend to you as an
example of the great attention due to such affairs.
Hear, then, the inscription: " Let Arthmius1 of Zelia,
the son of Pythonax, be accounted infamous, and an
enemy to the Athenians and their allies, both he and
all his race. " Then comes the reason of his sen-
tence : " Because he brought gold from Media into
1 Let Arthmius, &c. ]--This, in a few words, was the occasion of
publishing this terrible decree against Arthmius, of which Themistocles
was the author. Egypt had thrown off the yoke of Artaxerxes Longi-
manus. A formidable army marched to reduce the rebels; but failed
of success, as Athens had provided lor their defence. The resentment
of Artaxerxes then turned against the Athenians. He sent Megabyzus
and other secret agents into Peloponnesus, to raise up enemies against
them by the force of bribery, and to blow up the flame of resentment and
jealousy in Sparta, which was ever ready to break out. But the attempt
was ineffectual. Arthmius, probably, was one of the King of Persia's
agents in this affair; and Diodorus, who does not name him, includes
him, however, in the general appellation of " the emissaries of Arta-
xerxes. "--Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
155
Peloponnesus. "--Not to Athens. This is the decree.
And now, in the name of all the gods, reflect on this!
think what wisdom, what dignity appeared in this
action of our ancestors! One Arthmius of Zelia, a
slave of the king's (for Zelia is a city of Asia), in'
obedience to his master, brings gold, not into Athens,
but Peloponnesus. This man they declare an enemy
to them and their confederates, and that he and his
posterity shall be infamous. Nor was this merely
a mark of ignominy; for how did it concern this
Zelite whether he was to be received into the com-
munity of Athens or no ? The sentence imported
something more: for in the laws relating to capital
cases it is enacted, that, "When the legal punish-
ment of a man's crime cannot be inflicted, he may
be put to death. " And it was accounted meritorious
to kill him. " Let not the infamous man," saith the
law, " be permitted to live. " Intimating that he is
free from guilt who executes this sentence.
Our fathers, therefore, thought themselves bound
to extend their care to all Greece; else they must
have looked with unconcern at the introduction ot
bribery into Peloponnesus. But we find they pro-
ceeded to such severity against all they could detect
in it as to raise monuments of their crimes. Hence
it was (and no wonder) that the Greeks were a terror
to the Barbarians, not the Barbarians to the Greeks.
But now it is not so: for you do not show the same
spirit on such or on any other occasions. How then
do you behave ? You need not be informed. Why
should the whole censure fall on you ? the conduct
of the rest of Greece is no less blameable. It is my
opinion, therefore, that the present state of things
demands the utmost care and most salutary counsel.
What counsel? Shall I propose it? and will ye not
be offended ? --Read this memorial.
[Here the secretary reads. And the speaker resumes his discourse. ]
And here I must take notice of one weak argu-
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? 56 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ment made use of to inspire us with confidence:
That Philip is not yet so powerful as the Lacedae-
monians once were, who commanded by sea and
. and, were strengthened by the alliance of the king,
were absolute and uncontrolled; and yet we made a
brave stand against them; nor was all their force
able to crush our state. In answer to this, I shall
observe, that amid all the alterations and improve-
ments which have happened in affairs of every kind,
nothing hath been more improved than the art of
war: for, in the first place, I am informed that at
that time the Lacedaemonians and all the other Greeks
used to keep the field four or five months, just the
convenient season; and having so long continued
their invasion, and infested the territories of then
enemy with their heavy-armed and domestic forces,
they retired into their own country. Then, such
was the simplicity, I should say the national spirit,1
1 Were strengthened by the alliance of the king. ]--After the expedition
into Sicily, an expedition as unfortunate as it was imprudent, the Athe-
nians might still have supported themselves, if the King of Persia ha<J
not concurred to precipitate their ruin. Tissaphernes, the satrap of
Darius Nothus, conducted the first alliance between his master and the
Laced;emonians. This alliance had at that time no very great effect. But
when Cyrus the Younger was sent, by order of his father, to command
in Asia Minor, Lysander gained the affection of this young prince, who
soon made him able to give law to Athens. It is this period which
Demosthenes points out. --Tourreil.
2 I should say the national spirit, &c. ]--Circumstances peculiar to
any people, singular customs, particular relations, and the like, give rise
to words and phrases incapable of being precisely rendered into any
other language. And such I take to be the word iroXirtKws. Every
particular state of Greece was a member of a larger political body, that
of the natfon, in which all the several communities were united by
national laws, national customs, and a national religion. This I have
explained at large on another occasion. (See Prelim. Dissert, to the
Life of Philip. ) The word iroXtriKmj therefore, I understand as expres-
sive of that duty which each state owed to the Hellenic body, which pre-
scribed bounds and laws to their wars, and forbade their passions, con
tests, and animosities against each other to break out into any excesses
which might affect the welfare of the nation. They were to fight, not
as inveterate foes, but competitors for power and honour. To recur to
bribery in order to defeat their antagonists was to be guilty of corrupt-
ing the morals of what, in an extensive sense, may be called their
country. In like manner, the word civilis, in Latin, is used in a sense
somewhat analogous to this, as denoting the regard which every citizen
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
157
of that age, that the power of gold was never called
to their assistance; but all their wars were fair and
open. Now, on the contrary, we see most defeats
Dwingto treachery; no formal engagements, nothing
left to the decision of arms. For you find the rapid
progress of Philip is not owing to the force of regular
troops, but to armies composed of light horse and
foreign archers. With these he pours down on
some people already engaged by civil discord and
commotions; and when nono will venture out in
defence of their state, on account of their private
suspicions, he brings up his enginos, and attacks
their walls: not to mention his absolute indifference
to heat and cold, and that there is no pecnliai season
which he gives to pleasure. Let thesij thh. -gs sink
deep into all our minds: let us not suffer his a,-ms
to approach these territories: let us not proudly1
depend on our strength, by forming our judgments
from the old Lacedaemonian war; but let us attend
with all possible precaution to our interests and our
armaments; and let this be our point in view,--to
confine him to his own kingdom; not to engage him
on equal terms in the field. For if you be satisfied
should pay to the lights of others, in opposition to despotism, pride, im
periousness, and all those passions which are enemies to liberty and the
general good. Thus we find in Tacitus, " Juveni civile ingenium, mirs.
comiias. "--Ann. i. " Silentium ejus non civile, ut crediderar, sed in
auperbiam accipiebatur. "--Ann. vi. Andof Tiberius the historian says,
"Liberatusmetu, civilem se admodum inter initia, ac pauio minus quam
privatum egit. " I hare observed in a note on the exordium of the second
Philippic, that a regard to the interest of Greece was generally the most
extensive affection in the minds of its inhabitants. And that the exten
live social affections were denoted by the Greek word ito'XiTikov, we learn
from Cicero. Let the following quotation, from the fifth book of his
treatise De Ftnibus, suffice on this occasion: " Cum sic hominis natura
generata sit, ut habeat quiddam innatum quasi civile et populare, quod
Graeci icoKirtKov vocant, quicquid aget quaeque virtus, id a commuaitate,
et ea quam exposui caritate, atque societate humana, non abhorrebit. "
The authority of a writer who devoted so much of his attention to the
moral and political learning of the Greeks, and took so much pains to
<<xplain it to his countrymen, may surely be deemed decisive.
1 Let us not proudly, dfce. ]--In the original, eKTpaxv^odrivai, which,
besides the signification which Wolfius Assigns it, is frequently rendered
insolescere, superbire.
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? 158 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
with committing hostilities, there Nature hath giveu
you many advantages. 1 (Let us but do our part. ;
The situation of his kingdom, for instance, exposes
it to all the fury of an enemy; not to speak of many
other circumstances. But if we once come to a
regular engagement, there his experience must give
him the superiority.
But these are not the only points that require your
attention: nor are 5'ou to oppose him only by the
arts of war. It is also necessary that reason and
penetration should inspire you with an abhorrence
of those who plead his cause before you; ever bear-
ing in mind the absolute impossibility of conquering
our foreign enemy until we have punished those who
are serving him within our walls. But this, I call
the powers of heaven to witness, ye cannot, ye will
not do! No: such is your infatuation, or madness,
or^I know not what to call it (for I am oftentimes
tempted to believe that some power more than hu-
man is driving us to ruin), that through malice, or
envy, or a spirit of ridicule, or some like motive,
you command hirelings to speak (some of whom
dare not deny that they are hirelings), and make
their calumnies serve your mirth. Yet, shocking as
this is, there is something still more shocking:
these men are allowed to direct the public affairs
with greater security than your faithful counsellors.
--And now observe the dreadful consequences of
listening to such wretches. I shall mention facts
well known to you all.
In Olynthus, the administration of affairs was
divided between two parties; the one, in the interest
of Philip, entirely devoted to him; the other, in-
spired by true patriotism, directed all their . effcrts
to preserve the freedom of their country. To which
? Many advantages. ]--Although the Athenians had lost Amphipolis,
Pydna, and Potidasa, they were still in possession of Thassus, Lemnoa,
and the adjacent islands, from whence they might readily hare attempted
a descent on Macedon. --Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
159
of these are we to charge the ruin of the state; or
who betrayed the troops, and by that treachery de-
stroyed Olynthus ? The creatures of Philip. - Yet,
while their city stood, these men pursued the advo-
cates for liberty with such malicious accusations and
invftctives, that an assembly of the people was per-
suaded even to banish Apollonides.
But this is not the only instance. The same cus
torn hath produced the same calamities in other
places. In Eretria, at the departure of Plutarchus
and the foreign troops, when the people had posses
sion of the city and of Porthmus, some were in-
clined to seek our protection, some to submit to
Philip. But, being influenced by this latter party on
most, or rather all occasions, the poor unfortunate
Eretrians were at length persuaded to banish their
faithful counsellors. And the consequence was this:
Philip, their confederate and friend, detached a'
thousand mercenaries under the command of Hip-
ponicus, razed the fortifications of Porthmus, set
three tyrants over them, Hipparchus, Automedon,
and Clitarchus; and after that, when they discovered
some inclination to shake off the yoke, drove them
twice out of their territory; once by the forces com-
manded by Eurylochus, and again by those under
Parmenio.
To give but one instance more. In Oreum, Philis-
tides was the agent of Philip; as were Menippus,
and Socrates, and Thoas, and Agapaeus, the preseni
masters of that city. And this was universally
known. But there was one Euphraeus, a man for
some time resident at Athens, who stood up against
captivity and slavery. Much might be said of the
injurious and contemptuous treatment which he re-
ceived from the people of Oreum on other occasions.
But the year before the taking of the city, as he saw
through the traitorous designs of Philistides and his
accomplices, he brought a formal impeachment
against them. Immediately considerable numbers
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? 160 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
form themselves into a faction (directed and sup>>
ported by Philip), and hurry away Euphraeus to
prison, as a disturber of the public peace. The peo-
ple of Oreum were witnesses of this ; but instead of
defending him, and bringing his enemies to condign
punishment, showed no resentment towards them;
but approved, and triumphed in his sufferings. And
now the faction, possessed of all the power they
wished for, laid their schemes for the ruin of the city,
and were carrying them into execution. Among
the people, if any man perceived this, he was silent;
struck with the remembrance of Euphraeus and his
sufferings. And to such dejection were they reduced,
that no one dared to express the least apprehension
of the approaching danger, until the enemy drew
up before their walls, and prepared for an assault.
Then some defended, others betrayed their state.
When the city had thus been shamefully and basely
lost, the faction began to exercise the most tyrannic
power; having either, by banishment or death,
removed all those who had asserted their own cause
and that of Euphraeus; and were still ready for any
noble enterprise. Euphraeus himself put an end to
his own life; and thus gave proof that, in his oppo-
sition to Philip, he had been actuated by a just and
pure regard to the interest of his country.
And now what could be the reason (you may pos-
sibly ask with surprise) that the people of Olynthus,
and those of Eretria, and those of Oreum, all at-
tended with greater pleasure to the advocates of
Philip than to then own friends 1 The same reason
which prevails here. Because they who are en
gaged on the part of truth and justice can never, even
if they were inclined, advance any thing to recom-
mend themselves to favour; their whole concern is
for the welfare of their state. The others need but
to sooth and flatter in order to second the designs
of Philip. The one press for supplies; the others
insist that they are not wanted: the one call theil
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
161
countrymen to battle, and alarm them with appre-
hensions of danger; the others are ever recom-
mending peace, until the toils come too near to be
escaped. And thus, on all occasions, one set of men
speak but to insinuate themselves into the affections
of their fellow-citizens; the other to preserve them
from ruin; till at last the interests of the state are
given up; not corruptly or ignorantly, but from a
desperate purpose of yielding to the fate of a con-
stitution thought to be irrecoverably lost. And, by
the powers of heaven! I dread that this may prove
your case, when you find that reflection cannot serve
you! And when I turn my eyes to the men who
have reduced you to this, it is not terror1 that I feel;
it is the utmost detestation. For whether they act
through design or ignorance, the distress to which
they are reducing us is manifest. But far be this
distress from us, Athenians! It were better to die
ten thousand deaths than to be guilty of a servile
complaisance to Philip, and to abandon any of your
faithful counsellors! The people of Oreum have
now met a noble return for their confidence in
Philip's creatures and their violence towards Eu-
phraeus. The Eretrians are nobly rewarded for
driving out our ambassadors, and committing their
affairs to Clitarchus. Captivity, and stripes, and
racks are their reward. Great was his indulgence to
the Olynthians, for choosing Lasthenes their general,
and banishing Apollonides. It were folly and base-
ness to be amused with such false hopes as theirs,
when neither our counsels direct us nor our inclina-
tions prompt us to the pursuit of our true interests,
1 It is not terror, . fcc. ]--The word in the original signifies the most
abject fear and dismay; and the whole passage seems to have a particu-
lar reference or allusion. Possibly some of Philip's partisans might
have accused Demosthenes of being thus affected at their sight; while
they magnified their own integrity and resolution, their true discern-
ment, and patriotic zeal for the interest of their country; and possibly
might have called out for severe punishment on the man who dared to
utter the most bitter invectives against a powerful prince in alliance
with Athens.
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? 162 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
and to suffer those who speak for our enemies to
persuade us that the state is too powerful to be
affected by any accident whatever. It is shameful to
cry out, when some event hath surprised us, " Hea-
vens ! who could have expected this 1 We should
have acted thus and thus, and avoided these and
these errors. " There are many things the Olyn-
thians can now mention which, if foreseen in time,
would have prevented their destruction. The people
of Oreum can mention many : those of Phocis
many: every state that hath been destroyed can
mention many such things. But what dot1! it avail
them now ? While the vessel is safe, whether it be
great or small, the mariner, the pilot, every person
should exert himself in his particular station, and
preserve it from being wrecked either by villany or
unskilfulness. But when the sea hath once broken
in all care is vain. And therefore, Athenians, while
we are yet safe, possessed of a powerful city, fa-
voured with many resources, our reputation illustri-
ous--what are we to do? (Perhaps some have sat
with impatience to ask. )--I shall now give my opin-
ion, and propose it in form; that, if approved, your
voices may confirm it.
Having, in the first place, provided for your de-
fence, fitted out your navy, raised your supplies, and
arrayed your forces (for, although all other people
should submit to slavery, you should still contend
for freedom); having made such a provision, I say,
and this in the sight of Greece, then we are to call
others to their duty; and, for this purpose, to send
ambassadors into all parts, to Peloponnesus, to
Rhodes, to Chios, and even to the king (for he is by
no means unconcerned in opposing the rapidity of
this man's progress). If ye prevail, ye will have
sharers in the dangers and expense which may arise'
at least you may gain some respite; and, as we are
engaged against a single person, and not to the
united powers of a commonwealth, this may be of
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
163
advantage ; as were those embassies of last year into
Peloponnesus, and those remonstrances which were
made in several places by me and Polydatus, that
true patriot, and Hegesippus, and Clitomaehus, and
Lycurgus, and the other ministers, which checked
his progress, prevented his attack of Ambracia, and
secured Peloponnesus from an invasion.
I do not mean that we should endeavour to raise
that spirit abroad which we ourselves are unwilling
to assume. It would be absurd to neglect our own
interests, and yet pretend a regard to the common
cause; or, while we are insensible to present dan-
gers, to think of alarming others with apprehensions
of futurity. No: let us provide the forces in the
Chersonesus with. money, and every tiling else that
they desire. Let us begin with vigour on our part;
then call on the other Greeks; convene, instruct,
exhort them. Thus it becomes a- state of such dig-
nity as ours. If you think the protection of Greece
may be intrusted to the Chalcidians and Megareans,
and so desert its cause, you do not think justly. It
will be well if they can protect themselves. No:
this is your province: this is that prerogative trans-
mitted from your ancestors, the reward of all their
many, and glorious, and great dangers. If every
man sits down in ease and indulgence, and studies
only to avoid trouble, he will certainly find no one
to supply his place ; and I am also apprehensive
that we may be forced into all that trouble to which
we are so averse. Were there persons to act in our
stead, our inactivity would have long since discov-
ered them; but there are really none.
You have now heard my sentiments. You have
heard the measures I propose, and by which I appre-
hend our affairs may be yet retrieved. If any man
can offer some more salutary course, let him rise
and declare his opinion.
