" But if we would
view his abilities to the greatest advantage, we must
not compare them with those of his rival.
view his abilities to the greatest advantage, we must
not compare them with those of his rival.
Demosthenes - Leland - Orations
PREFACE.
10
obliged, by a solemn treaty, to restore the Grecian
cities to their liberty. For although the Lacedae-
monians pretended a voluntary generosity in this
affair, yet it appeared by the consequence that fear
only had obliged them to it; as they took an op-
portunity, seme time after, to oppress Thebes,
though expressly comprehended in the treaty.
This raised the states of Greece against them.
The Athenians (who always harboured the most
inveterate hatred and jealousy of them, and had
lately been particularly provoked by an attempt of
one of their generals to seize their port) set them-
selves once more at the head of the confederacy,
and took on themselves the whole expense of the
war; in which their arms were crowned with
victories by sea and land--at Corinth, Naxos,
Corcyra, and Leucas. Thus were the Spartans
obliged to renew the treaty, and the cities of
Greece again restored to an entire independency
These bold efforts of the Athenians to reduce the
Spartan power, and to regain their former sove-
reignty, are frequently extolled in the following
Orations, as the glorious effects of their concern
for the liberties of Greece.
And now the peace was just concluded, and the
Greeks had the fairest prospect of enjoying it,
when, on a sudden, the Thebans started up, and
asserted their claim to sovereign power.
Thebes had, from the earliest ages,been ranVH
among the most considerable states. The natu-
ral slowness and heaviness of the inhabitants
had, however, prevented them from aiming at any
pre-eminence. In the Persian war, they even had
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? 20
PREFACE.
the baseness to join with the barbarians; and m
order to screen themselves from the resentment of
the Athenians on this account, they afterward
attached themselves to Lacedaemon, and continued
firm through the whole course of the Pelopon-
nesian war. They shifted sides, however, some
time after, and had some contests with the Lace-
daemonians. The seizing of their citadel, and the
recovery of it out of the hands of the Lacedae-
monians by Pelopidas, had created a mutual hatred
between these two states : and the Thebans, natu-
rally hardy and robust, and grown experienced
since the Peloponnesian war (from which time
their arms had been constantly exercised), now at
length began to entertain thoughts of commanding.
They refused to accede to the treaty negotiated by
the Athenians, unless they were acknowledged
chief of Boeotia. This refusal not only exposed
them to the resentment of the King of Persia (who
was at that time particularly concerned that the
Greeks should be at peace), but raised Athens,
Sparta, and indeed all Greece against them.
The Lacedaemonians declared war, and thinking
them an easy victory, now that they were deserted
by their allies, marched their forces a considerable
way into the Theban territory. Now it was that
Epaminondas first shone out in all his lustre. He
put himself at the head of the Thebans, and met
the enemy at Leuctra, where he gave them a total
overthrow. He then marched into Peloponnesus,
and had well-nigh made himself master of the city
of Sparta; relieved some people who had been op-
pressed by the Spartans; and by his justice and
magnanimity, his extensive abilities, and zealous
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? PREFACE.
21
concern for his country, promised to raise the
Thebans to the most exalted degree of power and
dignity, when, in another engagement with the
Lacedemonians at Mantinea, he fell, as it were, in
the arms of victory.
The death of Epaminondas, and the peace
which ensued, slackened the zeal of the principal
powers of Greece, and rendered them too secure.
The Athenians, particularly (when they saw the
fortune of Lacedsemon at the lowest ebb, and that
on the part of Thebes they were freed from all
apprehensions by the death of the general, the soul
of their counsels and designs), were now no longer
on their guard, but abandoned themselves to ease
and pleasure. Festivals and public entertainments
engaged their attention, and a violent passion for
the stage banished all thoughts of business and
glory. Poets, players, singers, and dancers were
received with that esteem and applause which were
due to the commanders who fought their battles.
They were rewarded extravagantly, and their per-
formances exhibited with a magnificence scarcely
to be conceived. The treasures which should have
maintained their armies were applied to purchase
seats in their theatres. * Instead of that spirit and
vigour which they exerted against the Persian, they
were possessed with indolence and effeminacy;
they had no further concern about the affairs of war
than just to keep a few foreign troops in pay; in
short, treachery, corruption, and degeneracy over-
spread the state.
But while they were sinking into this condition,
they found themselves unexpectedly engaged with
a very formidable enemy, Philip, king of the Mace-
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? 22
PREFACE.
donians, a people hitherto obscure, and in a manner
barbarous ; but now, by the courage, activity, and
consummate policy of their monarch, ready to lay
the foundation of a most extensive empire.
Philip had been sent early into Thebes, as a
hostage, where he was so happy as to improve his
natural abilities by the instructions of Epami-
nondas. The news of his brother Perdiccas being
slain in a battle with the Illyrians determined him
to fly to the relief of his country: he eluded the
vigilance of his guards, and escaped privately to
Macedon ; where, taking advantage of the people's
consternation at the loss of their king, and of the
dangers they apprehended from an infant reign, he
first got himself declared protector to his nephew,
and soon after king in his stead: and indeed the
present condition of the Macedonians required a
prince of his abilities. The Illyrians, flushed with
their late victory, were preparing to march against
them; the Paeonians harassed them with perpetual
incursions ; and, at the same time, Pausanias and
Argeus, two of the royal blood, pretended to the
crown; the one supported by Thrace, the other by
Athens.
Under these circumstances, Philip's first care
was to gain the affections of his people, to raise
their spirits, to train and exercise them, and to reform
their military discipline. And now he began to
discover those abilities which afterward raised l. im
to such a height ot power, and which were not to
be expected in a prince of the age of twenty-two
years.
The chief motive of the Athenians in supporting
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? PREFACE.
the pretensions of Argeus, was tl < nope of getting
possession of Amphipolis, a city bordering on Ma-
cedon, which they had long claimed as their colony.
It had sometimes been in their hands, sometime?
subjected to Lacedaemon, according to the different
changes of fortune of these states. After the
peace of Antalcidas, the Greeks acknowledged the
pretensions of the Athenians ; and it was resqhed
that they should be put in possession of this city at
the common charge. Probably the people of Am-
phipolis refused to submit to their old masters: fol
the Athenians were obliged to despatch Iphicrates
thither with forces. But the kings of Macedon
now began to dispute it with them. Perdiccas
made himself master of it; and Philip would very
gladly have kept it in his own hands; but this
could not be done without weakening his army, and
incensing the Athenians, whom his present circum-
stances required him rather to make his friends :
on the other hand, he could not think of suffering
them to possess it, as it was the key to that side
of his dominions. He therefore took a middle
course, and declared it a free city; thereby leaving
the inhabitants to throw off their dependence on
their old masters, and making it appear to be then-
own act. At the same time, he disarms the
Paeonians by the force of presents and promises;
and then turns his arms against the Athenians,
who had marched to the assistance of Argeus. A
battle ensued, in which Philip was victorious. By
the death of Argeus, who fell in the action, he was
freed from that dispute; and by his respectful care
of the Athenians, when he had them in his power,
lie so far gained on that people, that they con-
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? 24
PREFACE.
eluded a peace with him. He now found himself
strong enough to break with the Paeonians, whom
he subdued; and having gained a complete victory
over the Illyrians, he obliged them to restore all
their conquests in Macedon. He also shut up the
entrance of his kingdom against Pausanias: but
having provided for the security of it, in the next
place he thought of making it more powerful and
flourishing.
The reunion of Amphipolis he considered as the
principal means to this end ; and therefore, under
pretence of punishing some wrongs which he
alleged against that city, he laid siege to it. The
moment they perceived their danger the people of
Amphipolis sent two of their citizens to Athens to
solicit succours ; but in order to prevent any oppo-
sition on the part of the Athenians, Philip gave them
the strongest assurances that his sole design wa*
to put them in possession of it the moment it was*
in his power: they therefore suffered him to make
a conquest of it. But instead of performing his
promise, he proceeded to take from them Pydua
and Potidaea, with which he purchased the friend-
ship of the Olynthians, whom it concerned him at
that time to oblige : the golden mines of Crenides
fell next into his hands, and contributed greatly to
his successes.
The Athenians could not but be alarmed at the
progress of this prince. His vigilance and activity,
his policy and insincerity, now began to appeal
dangerous ; and councils were held to deliberate on
the measures proper to be taken. But although,
the Athenians were possessed with delicacy and
sensibility, and entertained magnificent ideas of
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? PREFACE.
25
virtue and its duties, yet they wanted application,
constancy, and perseverance. The good qualities
which had long been the boast of that people were
now disappearing, while their faults increased.
Hence it was that they easily suffered themselves
to be lulled into a false security. Besides, they
had enough of difficulty to support their jurisdiction
in other parts, and to bear up against a considerable
revolt of their allies.
This revolt produced the war called the social
war, which lasted three years, and was succeeded
by the Phoeian or sacred war; so called, because
begun from a motive of religion. The Phocians
had ploughed, up some ground adjoining to the
temple of Apollo at Delphos, which their neighbours
exclaimed against as sacrilege, and was so judged
by the council of Amphictyons, that venerable
assembly, composed of representatives from the
principal stales of Greece, who sat twice every
year at Delphos and Thermopylae. They laid a
heavy fine on them; but, instead of submitting to
the sentence, the Phocians alleged that the care
and patronage of the temple belonged anciently to
them; and encouiaged by Philomelus, one of their
principal citizens, took up arms to assert their claim.
The several states of Greece took part in this
quarrel, as their interests and inclinations directed.
Athens and Sparta, with some other of the Pelo-
ponnesians, declared for the Phocians. The The-
bans were their principal opposers; and were
assisted by the Thessalians, Locrians, and other
neighbouring states. At first Philomelus had some
success; but, in the second year of the war the
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? 26
Thebans gave him a signal defeat, and he himself
was killed in the pursuit.
In the mean time, Philip took no part in this war.
He was well pleased that the parties should exhaust
their strength; and also had an opportunity of
securing and extending his frontier without inter-
ruption, by taking in such places as were either
convenient or troublesome to him. Of this latter
kind was the city of Methone, which after some
resistance he took and demolished, annexing its
lands to Macedon. During the siege he was in im-
minent danger of his life, having lost one of his eyes
by an arrow. But it was not long before Philip
had a fair opportunity of engaging as a party in
the Phocian war. The Thessalians, a people sus-
ceptible of all impressions, and incapable of pre-
serving any; equally forgetful of benefits and
injuries; ever ready to submit to tyrants, and to
implore the assistance of their neighbours to free
them from slavery; had some time since been
governed by Alexander of Pherae, the most detest-
able tyrant ever known in Greece. He was
despatched by Tisiphonus, Lycophron, and Pitho-
laus, who seized the government, and became
equally intolerable: so that the nobility of Thessaly,
with the Aleuadae, descendants from Hercules, at
their head, declared against them, and implored the
assistance of Philip. This prince willingly sacri-
ficed the hopes of extending his conquests in Thrace
to the honour of assisting the Aleuadae, who were -
of the same race with him, and of imitating Pe-
lopidas in giving liberty to Thessaly. He had also
long wished to have the Macedonians considered
as a Grecian people; and as he thought no oppor-
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? PREFACE.
27
tunily could be so honourable and favourable, as to
affect an interest in the affairs of Thessaly, he
readily marched against the tyrants, and soon
divested them of all their authority.
But Philip's apparent danger from the wound
which he received at Methone imboldened Lyco-
phron to resume the sovereign power. The Pho-
cians (who, after the death of Philomelus, had re-
newed the war with all imaginable vigour under
Onomarchus) espoused the cause of this tyrant,
who had engaged the Thessalians to observe a neu-
trality ; and they in return supported him with all
their power. Philip, therefore, now became involved
in the general quarrel. At first, the Phocian
general gained some advantages over him; but he
afterward had such success, as enlarged his views,
and inspired him with new hopes and expectations.
He thought of nothing less than the conquest of
Greece ; and under pretence of marching against
the Phocians, made a bold attempt to seize the
famous pass at Thermopylae, which he justly called
the key of Greece. This roused the Athenians
from their lethargy. At the first news of his
march they flew to the pass, and prevented his
design, as he did not think it prudent to force his
way.
We may reasonably look on his retreat from
Thermopylae as the era of Philip's hatred to the
Athenians. He saw that they were the only people
of Greece capable of defeating his projects, or of
giving him uneasiness in his own kingdom: he
therefore provided himself, with much diligence, a
fleet composed of light ships, which might disturb
Jieir trade, and at the same time enrich his subjects
Vol- I. --C
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? 28
PREFACE.
by bringing in prizes. He also increased his
army, and projected the destruction of the Athenian
colonies in Thrace. At the same time he practised
very successfully at Athens itself; and, by large
appointments, secured some eminent orators to
charm the people with delusive hopes of peace, or
to frighten them with expensive estimates, while
they pretended a zeal for the defence of the state.
In a democratical government, like that of
Athens, eloquence was the sure means of recom-
mending its possessor to the attention and regard
of his fellow-citizens, and of raising him to all
public honours and advantages. The gradual im-
provements of literature had introduced and per-
fected the arts of moving and persuading; and
perhaps the disorders of the state contributed to
make them more important, called forth a greater
number of public speakers, and . opened a larger
field for their abilities. Many of those orators
who about that time took the lead in the Athenian
assemblies are lost to posterity. The characters,
however, of the most eminent have been trans-
mitted, or may be collected from the writings of
antiquity.
Demades, by his birth and education, seemed
destined to meanness and obscurity; but as the
Athenian assembly admitted persons of all ranks
and occupations to speak their sentiments, his
powers soon recommended him to his countrymen,
and raised him from the low condition of a common
mariner to the administration and direction of public
affairs. His private life was stained with those
brutal excesses which frequently attend the want
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? PREFACE.
29
of early culture, and an intercourse with the infe-
rior and least refined part of mankind. His con-
duct, as a leader and minister, was not actuated
by the principles of delicate honour and integrity;
and his eloquence seems to have received a tincture
from his original condition. He appears to have
been a strong, bold, and what we call a blunt
speaker; whose manner, rude and daring, and
sometimes bordering on extravagance, had often-
times a greater effect than the more corrected style
of. other speakers, who confined themselves within
the bounds of decorum and good-breeding.
Hyperides, on the contrary, was blessed with
all the graces of refinement; harmonious, elegant,
and polite ; with a well-bred festivity, and delicate
irony; excellent in panegyric; and of great natural
abilities for affecting the passions. Yet his elo-
quence seems rather to have been pleasing than
persuasive. He is said to have been not so well
fitted for a popular assembly, and for political de-
bates, as for private causes, and addressing a few
select judges. And even here, when he pleaded
the cause of a woman for whom he had die ten-
derest passion, he was obliged to call the charms
of his mistress to the assistance of his eloquence,
and was more indebted to these for his success
than to his own powers.
Lycurgus had all the advantages which birth
and education could afford for forming an orator.
He was the hearer of Plato, and the scholar of
Isocrates. He seems to have been particularly
affected by the charms of poetry and the polite
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? SO PREFACE.
J
arts; nor was he less remarkable for diligence and
attention; yet his influence in the assembly seems,
like that of Phocion, to have arisen rather from a
respect to his character, and the general opinion
of his virtue and integrity, than from his abilities
as a speaker.
jEschines was an orator whose style was full,
diffusive, and sonorous. He was a stranger to the
glowing expressions and daring figures of Demos-
thenes, which he treats with contempt and ridicule.
But, though more simple, he is less affecting; and,
by being less contracted, has not so much strength
and energy: or, as Quintilian expresses it, " camis
plus habet, lacertorum minus.
" But if we would
view his abilities to the greatest advantage, we must
not compare them with those of his rival. Then
will his figures appear to want neither beauty nor
grandeur. His easy and natural manner will then
be thought highly pleasing; and a just attention will
discover a good degree of force and energy in his
style, which at first appears only flowing and har-
monious.
But all the several excellences of his country-
men and contemporaries were at least equalled by
Demosthenes. 1 His own no age or nation could
attain to. From him critics have formed their
rules; and all the masters in his own art have
thought it an honour to imitate him. To enlarge
on his character would be to resume a subject
already exhausted by every critic, both ancient and
1 Nihil Lysia e subtilitate cedit; nihil argutiis et acnmine Hyperifi
tihil lenitste jEachini, et splendors verborum. --Cic. m Okas.
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? PREFACE.
31
. modem. Let it be sufficient to say, that energy
and majesty are his peculiar excellences. From
the gravity of Thucydides, the pomp and dignity
of Plato, the ease and elegance, the neatness and
simplicity of the Attic writers, he formed a style
and manner admirably fitted to his own temper and
genius, as well as that of his hearers. His own
severity determined him to the more forcible
methods of astonishing and terrifying, rather than
to the gentle and insinuating arts of persuasion:
nor did the circumstances and dispositions of his
countrymen admit of any but violent impressions.
As many of those to whom he addressed himself
were men of low rank and occupations, his images
and expressions are sometimes familiar. As others
of them were themselves eminent in speaking, and
could readily see through all the eommon artifices
of oratory, these he affects to despise: appears
only solicitous to be understood ; yet, as it were,
without design, raises the utmost admiration and
delight; such delight as arises from the clearness
of evidence and the fulness of conviction. And as
all, even the lower part of his hearers, were
acquainted with the beauties of poetry, and the
force of harmony, he could not admit of any thing
rude or negligent; but with the strictest attention
laboured those compositions which appear so natural
and unadorned. They have their ornaments; but
these are austere and manly, and such as are con-
sistent with freedom and sincerity. A full and
regular series of diffusive reasoning would have
been intolerable in an Athenian assembly. He
often contents himself with an imperfect hint: a
sentence, a word, even his silence is sometimes
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? 32
PREFACE.
pregnant with meaning. And tms quicKnes. and
vehemence flattered a people who valued them-
selves on their acuteness and penetration. The
impetuous torrent that-in a moment bears down all
before it; the repeated flashes of lightning, which
spread universal terror, and which the strongest
eye dares not encounter, are the images by which
the nature of his eloquence hath been expressed.
As a statesman and as a citizen his conduct was
no less remarkable. If the fire of his eloquence
seems sometimes abated, his judgment and accuracy
and political abilities are then conspicuous. The
bravery with which he opposed the passions and
prejudices of his countrymen, and the general
integrity of his character (to which Philip himself
bare witness), are deserving of the highest honour;
and, whatever weakness he betrayed in his military
conduct, his death must be acknowledged truly
heroic.
The reader will observe, that the oration entitled
" On the Halonesus" is not admitted into the follow-
ing collection. * Some critics ascribe it to Hege*
sippus,1 an Athenian orator, of inferior character.
* This determination on the part of the translator was subsequently
abandoned, as will be seen by the introduction to the suspected oration.
1 In the oration on the Halonesus, the speaker takes notice of nia
having been the manager of a prosecution against Caiippus, on account
of an illegal motion made by this man in the assembly relative to the
boundaries of Cardia. Hegesippus was the person who conducted this
prosecution: and this circumstance Libanius mentions as having (to-
gether with the difference of style) induced the critics to ascribe this
oration, not to Demosthenes, but to Hegesippus. To this we may add
another circumstance of the like nature. The speaker observes that he
went on an embassy to Macedon, in order to obtain an explanation and
amendment of some articles in the treaty concluded between Philip and
the Athenians. Hegesippus was at the bead of this embassy: nor waa
Demosthenes at all concerned in it; as appears from the oration of Ibis
latter (irtpt rya riapaff. ).
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? PREFACE.
33
But, however this may be, it is certainly entirely
different from those compositions of Demosthenes
which are confessedly genuine. That he really
wrote an oration so entitled,1 the authority of the
ancient writers confirm, I think, sufficiently. But
one would be tempted to believe that the passages
which they have quoted had been taken up by some
old scholiast, and inserted in a performance of his
own
1 . flLschines, in his oration on the embassy, mentions two particulars
in that of Demosthenes on the Halonesus, neither of which are found in
the oration now extant. The first is, that Demosthenes treated Philip's
ambassadors with great severity, and insisted that they were really sent
as spies. The other, that he recommended to the Athenians by. no
means to submit their disputes with Philip to the decision of an umpire;
fcr that no one impartial mediating state could be found through Greece,
at* totally were the minds of all men corrupted by the Macedonian.
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? THE FIRST ORATION AGAINST PHILIP:
PRONOUNCED IN THE ARCHONSHIP OF ARIST0DEMUS, IN THE FIRST TEAR
OP THE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH OLYMPIAD, AND THE NINTH OF PHILIP*!
INTRODUCTION.
We bare seen Philip opposed in his design of passing into Greeoe
through Thermopylae, and obliged to retire. The danger they had thns
escaped deeply affected the Athenians. So daring an attempt, which
was in effect declaring his purposes, filled them with astonishment;
and the view of a power which every day received new accession*
drove them even to despair. Yet their aversion to public business was
still predominant. They forgot that Philip might renew his attempt, and
thought they had provided sufficiently for their security by posting a body
of troops at the entrance of Attica, under the command of Menelaus, a
foreigner. They then proceeded to convene an assembly of the people,
in order to consider what measures were to be taken to check the pro-
gress of Philip; on which occasion Demosthenes, for the first time, ap-
peared against that prince, and displayed those abilities which proved
the greatest obstacle to his designs.
At Athens the whole power and management of affairs were placed in
the people. It was their prerogative to receive appeals from the courts
of justice, to abrogate and enact laws, to make what alterations in the
state they judged convenient; in short, all matters, public or private,
foreign or domestic, civil, military, or religious, were determined by them.
Whenever there was occasion 10 deliberate the people assembled early
in the morning, sometimes in the forum or public place, sometimes in a
place called Pnyx; but most frequently in the theatre of Bacchus. A
few days before each assembly there was a -npoypanna or placard fixed
on the statues of some illustrious men erected in the city, to give notice
of the subject to be debated. As they refused admittance into the as-
sembly to all persons who had not attained the necessary age, so they
obliged all others to attend. The lexiarchs stretched nut a cord died
with scarlet, and by it pushed the people towards the place of meeting.
Such as received the stain were fined; the more diligent had a small
pecuniar}' reward. These lexiarchs were the keepers of the register in
which were enrolled the names of such citizens as had a right of voting;
and all had this right who were of age, and not excluded by a personal
fault. Undutiful children, cowards, brutal debauchees, prodigals, debtors
to the public, were all excluded. Until the time of Cecropa women had
a right of suffrage, which they were said to have lost on account of
their partiality to Minerva in her dispute with Neptune about giving a
name to the city.
In ordinary cases all matters were first deliberated in the senate of fiva
hundred, composed of fifty senators chosen out of each of the ten'ribsa
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? 46
INTRODUCTION.
Each tribe had its turn of presiding, and the fifty senators in office were
called prytanes: and, according to the number of the tribes, the Artie
year was divided into ten parts, the first four containing thirty-six, the
other thirty-five days, in order to make the lunar year complete, which,
according to their calculation, contained three hundred and fifty-four
days. During each of these divisions ten of the fifty prytanes governed
for a week, and were called proCdri; and of these he who in the course
of the week presided for one day was called the epistate; three of the
profidri being excluded from this office.
The prytanes assembled the people; the profidri declared the occasion
and the epistate demanded their voices. This was the case in the ordi
nary assemblies: the extraordinary were convened as well by the gene
rals as the prytanes; and sometimes the people met of their own accord,
without waiting the formalities.
The assembly was opened by a sacrifice, and the place was sprinkled
with the blood of the victim. Then an imprecation was pronounced,
conceived in these terms: " May the gods pursue that man to destruction
with all his race, who shall act, speak, or contrive any thing against this
state V This ceremony being finished, the proSdri declared the occasion
of the assembly, and reported the opinion of the senate. If any doubt
arose, a herald, by commission from the epistate, with a loud voice,
invited any citizen, first of those above the age of fifty, tospeak his opinion:
and then the rest according to their ages. This right of precedence had
been granted by a law of Solon, and the order of speaking determined
entirely by the difference of years. In the time of Demosthenes this law
was not in force. It is said to havo been repealed about fifty years before
the date of this oration. Yet the custom still continued out of respect to
Ihe reasonable and decent purpose for which the law was originally en-
acted. When a speaker had delivered his sentiments he generally called
on an officer, appointed for that purpose, to read his motion, and propound
it in form. He then sat down, or resumed his discourse, and enforced
his motion by additional arguments: and sometimes the speech was
introduced by his motion thus propounded. When all the speakers had
ended the people gave their opinion, by stretching out their hands to him
whose proposal pleased them most: and Xenophon reports, that, night
having come on when the people were engaged in an important debate,
they were obliged to defer their determination till next day, for fear of
confusion when their hands were to be raised.
" Porrexerunt manus. " saith Cicero (pro Flacco), "et psephisma natum
est. " And, to constitute this psephisma or decree, six thousand citizens
at least were required. When it was drawn up, the name of its author,
or that person whose opinion had prevailed, was prefixed : whence, in
speaking of it, they called it his decree. The date of it contained the
name of the archon, that of the day and month, and that of the tribe then
presiding. The business being over, the prytanes dismissed the assembly
The reader who chooses to be more minutely informed in the customs,
and manner of procedure in the public assemblies of Athens, may con-
sult the Archspologia of Archbishop Potter,* Sigonius, sr the Concion-
atrices of Aristophanes.
* A second edition of "Robinson's Archaeologia Groca, or the Antiqui-
ties of Greece," considerably enlarged and improved, and illustrated by
a map and designs from the antique, has been recently published in one
vol. 8vq-
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? PHILIPPIC THE FIRST
Had we been convened, Athenians, on some new
subject of debate, I had waited until most of the usual
persons had declared their opinions. If I had ap-
proved of any thing proposed by them, I should
nave continued silent: if not, I had then attempted
to speak my sentiments. But since those very points
on which these speakers have oftentimes been heard
already are, at this time, to be considered, though I
have risen first,11 presume I may expect your par-
don ; for if they on former occasions had advised the
necessary measures, ye would not have found it
needful to consult at present.
First, then, Athenians, these our affairs must not be
thought desperate: no, though their situation seems
entirely deplorable ! for the most shocking circum-
stance of all our past conduct is really the most'
favourable to our future expectations. And what is
this ? That our own total indolence hath been the
cause of all our present difficulties: for were we thus
distressed, in spite of every vigorous effort which the
honour of our state demanded, there were then no
hope of a recovery.
In the next place, reflect--you who have been
informed by others, and you who can yourselves
1 Though I hiive risen first, &c. ]--Demosthenes was at that time but
thirty years old, which made it necessary for him to apologize l'or his
zeal in rising before the other speakers: and the ingenious turn which he
gives it not only prevents any unfavourable impression on the minds of
his hearers, but engages their affection, and excites their attention, by
the tacit promise of better counsel than they had hitherto received
Tourrcil.
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? 38 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
remember--how great a power' the Lacedaemonians
not long since possessed; and with what resolution,
with what dignity you disdained to act unworthy of
the state, but maintained the war against them for the
rights of Greece. Why do I mention these things ?
That ye may know, that ye may see, Athenians, that
if duly vigilant ye cannot have any thing to fear;
that if once remiss, not any thing can happen agree-
ably to your desires: witness the then powerful arms
of Lacedaemon, which a just attention to your mterests
enabled you to vanquish; and this man's late insolent
attempt, which our insensibility to all our great con-
cerns hath made the cause of this confusion.
If there be a man in this assembly who thinks that
we must find a formidable enemy in Philip, while he
views, on one hand, the numerous armies" which at-
tend him ; and, on the other, the weakness of the state
thus despoiled of its dominions--he thinks justly.
Yet let him reflect on this; there was a time, Athe-
nians, when we possessed Pydna, and Potidaea, and
Methone, and all that country round; when many
of those states now subjected to him were free and
independent, and more inclined to our alliance than
to his. Had then Philip reasoned in the same man-
ner, " How shall I dare to attack the Athenians,
whose garrisons command my territory, while I am
destitute of all assistance V he would not have en-
1 How great a power, Ac. ]--It has been already observed in the
prefer* to these orations that Demosthenes takes many occasions of
extolling the efforts of Athens to reduce the Spartan power, and to regain
that sovereignty which tl. sy lost by the victory of Lysander at JEgos-
Potamos. These efforts he every where represents as high instances of
magnanimity and public spirit: though revenge and jealousy had no less
share in them. The victories which the Athenians gained over Sparta
at Corinth, Naxos, Ac. , and which he here alludes to, happened about
twenty-four years before the date of this oration ; so that he might well
appeal to the memories of many persons present.
2 The numerous armies, Ac. ]--The number of Philip's threes at that
time amounted to twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse; a
great army compared with those of the Greeks. At their march to Mara-
thon the Athenians could not assemble more than '<"i thousand force*.
--Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE FIRST. 39
gaged in those enterprises which are now crowned
with success; nor could he have raised himself to
this pitch of greatness. No, Athenians, he knew this
well, that all these places are but prizes,1 laid between
the combatants, and ready for the conqueror: that
the dominions of the absent devolve naturally to those
who are in the field; the possessions of the supine to
the active and intrepid. Animated by these senti-
ments, he overturns whole countries; he holds all
people in subjection: some, as by the right of con-
quest ; others, under the title of allies and confede-
rates ; for all are willing to confederate with those
whom they see prepared and resolved to exert them-
selves as they ought.
And if you, my countrymen, will now at length be
persuaded to entertain the like sentiments; if each of
you, renouncing all evasions, will be ready to approve
himself a useful citizen, to the utmost that his station
and abilities demand; if the rich will be ready to con
tribute, and the young to take the field. in one word,
if you will be yourselves, and banish those vain hopes
which every single person entertains, that while so
many others are engaged in public business,his service
will not be required; you then (if Heaven so pleases)
shall regain your dominions, recall those opportunities
your supineness hath neglected, and chastise the inso-
lence of this man: for you are not to imagine that,
like a god, he is to enjoy his present greatness for
ever fixed and unchangeable. No, Athenians, there
are who hate him, who fear him, who envy him, even
among those seemingly the most attached to his
cause. These are passions common to mankind;
noi must we think that his friends only are exempted
from them. It is true they lie concealed at present,
as our indolence deprives them of all resource. But
let us shake off this indolence; for you see how we
1 But prizes, &c. ]--His hearers were of all others most devoted to
public games and entertainments, and must therefore have been par*
ticularly sensible of the beauty of this image.
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?
10
obliged, by a solemn treaty, to restore the Grecian
cities to their liberty. For although the Lacedae-
monians pretended a voluntary generosity in this
affair, yet it appeared by the consequence that fear
only had obliged them to it; as they took an op-
portunity, seme time after, to oppress Thebes,
though expressly comprehended in the treaty.
This raised the states of Greece against them.
The Athenians (who always harboured the most
inveterate hatred and jealousy of them, and had
lately been particularly provoked by an attempt of
one of their generals to seize their port) set them-
selves once more at the head of the confederacy,
and took on themselves the whole expense of the
war; in which their arms were crowned with
victories by sea and land--at Corinth, Naxos,
Corcyra, and Leucas. Thus were the Spartans
obliged to renew the treaty, and the cities of
Greece again restored to an entire independency
These bold efforts of the Athenians to reduce the
Spartan power, and to regain their former sove-
reignty, are frequently extolled in the following
Orations, as the glorious effects of their concern
for the liberties of Greece.
And now the peace was just concluded, and the
Greeks had the fairest prospect of enjoying it,
when, on a sudden, the Thebans started up, and
asserted their claim to sovereign power.
Thebes had, from the earliest ages,been ranVH
among the most considerable states. The natu-
ral slowness and heaviness of the inhabitants
had, however, prevented them from aiming at any
pre-eminence. In the Persian war, they even had
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? 20
PREFACE.
the baseness to join with the barbarians; and m
order to screen themselves from the resentment of
the Athenians on this account, they afterward
attached themselves to Lacedaemon, and continued
firm through the whole course of the Pelopon-
nesian war. They shifted sides, however, some
time after, and had some contests with the Lace-
daemonians. The seizing of their citadel, and the
recovery of it out of the hands of the Lacedae-
monians by Pelopidas, had created a mutual hatred
between these two states : and the Thebans, natu-
rally hardy and robust, and grown experienced
since the Peloponnesian war (from which time
their arms had been constantly exercised), now at
length began to entertain thoughts of commanding.
They refused to accede to the treaty negotiated by
the Athenians, unless they were acknowledged
chief of Boeotia. This refusal not only exposed
them to the resentment of the King of Persia (who
was at that time particularly concerned that the
Greeks should be at peace), but raised Athens,
Sparta, and indeed all Greece against them.
The Lacedaemonians declared war, and thinking
them an easy victory, now that they were deserted
by their allies, marched their forces a considerable
way into the Theban territory. Now it was that
Epaminondas first shone out in all his lustre. He
put himself at the head of the Thebans, and met
the enemy at Leuctra, where he gave them a total
overthrow. He then marched into Peloponnesus,
and had well-nigh made himself master of the city
of Sparta; relieved some people who had been op-
pressed by the Spartans; and by his justice and
magnanimity, his extensive abilities, and zealous
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? PREFACE.
21
concern for his country, promised to raise the
Thebans to the most exalted degree of power and
dignity, when, in another engagement with the
Lacedemonians at Mantinea, he fell, as it were, in
the arms of victory.
The death of Epaminondas, and the peace
which ensued, slackened the zeal of the principal
powers of Greece, and rendered them too secure.
The Athenians, particularly (when they saw the
fortune of Lacedsemon at the lowest ebb, and that
on the part of Thebes they were freed from all
apprehensions by the death of the general, the soul
of their counsels and designs), were now no longer
on their guard, but abandoned themselves to ease
and pleasure. Festivals and public entertainments
engaged their attention, and a violent passion for
the stage banished all thoughts of business and
glory. Poets, players, singers, and dancers were
received with that esteem and applause which were
due to the commanders who fought their battles.
They were rewarded extravagantly, and their per-
formances exhibited with a magnificence scarcely
to be conceived. The treasures which should have
maintained their armies were applied to purchase
seats in their theatres. * Instead of that spirit and
vigour which they exerted against the Persian, they
were possessed with indolence and effeminacy;
they had no further concern about the affairs of war
than just to keep a few foreign troops in pay; in
short, treachery, corruption, and degeneracy over-
spread the state.
But while they were sinking into this condition,
they found themselves unexpectedly engaged with
a very formidable enemy, Philip, king of the Mace-
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? 22
PREFACE.
donians, a people hitherto obscure, and in a manner
barbarous ; but now, by the courage, activity, and
consummate policy of their monarch, ready to lay
the foundation of a most extensive empire.
Philip had been sent early into Thebes, as a
hostage, where he was so happy as to improve his
natural abilities by the instructions of Epami-
nondas. The news of his brother Perdiccas being
slain in a battle with the Illyrians determined him
to fly to the relief of his country: he eluded the
vigilance of his guards, and escaped privately to
Macedon ; where, taking advantage of the people's
consternation at the loss of their king, and of the
dangers they apprehended from an infant reign, he
first got himself declared protector to his nephew,
and soon after king in his stead: and indeed the
present condition of the Macedonians required a
prince of his abilities. The Illyrians, flushed with
their late victory, were preparing to march against
them; the Paeonians harassed them with perpetual
incursions ; and, at the same time, Pausanias and
Argeus, two of the royal blood, pretended to the
crown; the one supported by Thrace, the other by
Athens.
Under these circumstances, Philip's first care
was to gain the affections of his people, to raise
their spirits, to train and exercise them, and to reform
their military discipline. And now he began to
discover those abilities which afterward raised l. im
to such a height ot power, and which were not to
be expected in a prince of the age of twenty-two
years.
The chief motive of the Athenians in supporting
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? PREFACE.
the pretensions of Argeus, was tl < nope of getting
possession of Amphipolis, a city bordering on Ma-
cedon, which they had long claimed as their colony.
It had sometimes been in their hands, sometime?
subjected to Lacedaemon, according to the different
changes of fortune of these states. After the
peace of Antalcidas, the Greeks acknowledged the
pretensions of the Athenians ; and it was resqhed
that they should be put in possession of this city at
the common charge. Probably the people of Am-
phipolis refused to submit to their old masters: fol
the Athenians were obliged to despatch Iphicrates
thither with forces. But the kings of Macedon
now began to dispute it with them. Perdiccas
made himself master of it; and Philip would very
gladly have kept it in his own hands; but this
could not be done without weakening his army, and
incensing the Athenians, whom his present circum-
stances required him rather to make his friends :
on the other hand, he could not think of suffering
them to possess it, as it was the key to that side
of his dominions. He therefore took a middle
course, and declared it a free city; thereby leaving
the inhabitants to throw off their dependence on
their old masters, and making it appear to be then-
own act. At the same time, he disarms the
Paeonians by the force of presents and promises;
and then turns his arms against the Athenians,
who had marched to the assistance of Argeus. A
battle ensued, in which Philip was victorious. By
the death of Argeus, who fell in the action, he was
freed from that dispute; and by his respectful care
of the Athenians, when he had them in his power,
lie so far gained on that people, that they con-
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? 24
PREFACE.
eluded a peace with him. He now found himself
strong enough to break with the Paeonians, whom
he subdued; and having gained a complete victory
over the Illyrians, he obliged them to restore all
their conquests in Macedon. He also shut up the
entrance of his kingdom against Pausanias: but
having provided for the security of it, in the next
place he thought of making it more powerful and
flourishing.
The reunion of Amphipolis he considered as the
principal means to this end ; and therefore, under
pretence of punishing some wrongs which he
alleged against that city, he laid siege to it. The
moment they perceived their danger the people of
Amphipolis sent two of their citizens to Athens to
solicit succours ; but in order to prevent any oppo-
sition on the part of the Athenians, Philip gave them
the strongest assurances that his sole design wa*
to put them in possession of it the moment it was*
in his power: they therefore suffered him to make
a conquest of it. But instead of performing his
promise, he proceeded to take from them Pydua
and Potidaea, with which he purchased the friend-
ship of the Olynthians, whom it concerned him at
that time to oblige : the golden mines of Crenides
fell next into his hands, and contributed greatly to
his successes.
The Athenians could not but be alarmed at the
progress of this prince. His vigilance and activity,
his policy and insincerity, now began to appeal
dangerous ; and councils were held to deliberate on
the measures proper to be taken. But although,
the Athenians were possessed with delicacy and
sensibility, and entertained magnificent ideas of
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? PREFACE.
25
virtue and its duties, yet they wanted application,
constancy, and perseverance. The good qualities
which had long been the boast of that people were
now disappearing, while their faults increased.
Hence it was that they easily suffered themselves
to be lulled into a false security. Besides, they
had enough of difficulty to support their jurisdiction
in other parts, and to bear up against a considerable
revolt of their allies.
This revolt produced the war called the social
war, which lasted three years, and was succeeded
by the Phoeian or sacred war; so called, because
begun from a motive of religion. The Phocians
had ploughed, up some ground adjoining to the
temple of Apollo at Delphos, which their neighbours
exclaimed against as sacrilege, and was so judged
by the council of Amphictyons, that venerable
assembly, composed of representatives from the
principal stales of Greece, who sat twice every
year at Delphos and Thermopylae. They laid a
heavy fine on them; but, instead of submitting to
the sentence, the Phocians alleged that the care
and patronage of the temple belonged anciently to
them; and encouiaged by Philomelus, one of their
principal citizens, took up arms to assert their claim.
The several states of Greece took part in this
quarrel, as their interests and inclinations directed.
Athens and Sparta, with some other of the Pelo-
ponnesians, declared for the Phocians. The The-
bans were their principal opposers; and were
assisted by the Thessalians, Locrians, and other
neighbouring states. At first Philomelus had some
success; but, in the second year of the war the
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? 26
Thebans gave him a signal defeat, and he himself
was killed in the pursuit.
In the mean time, Philip took no part in this war.
He was well pleased that the parties should exhaust
their strength; and also had an opportunity of
securing and extending his frontier without inter-
ruption, by taking in such places as were either
convenient or troublesome to him. Of this latter
kind was the city of Methone, which after some
resistance he took and demolished, annexing its
lands to Macedon. During the siege he was in im-
minent danger of his life, having lost one of his eyes
by an arrow. But it was not long before Philip
had a fair opportunity of engaging as a party in
the Phocian war. The Thessalians, a people sus-
ceptible of all impressions, and incapable of pre-
serving any; equally forgetful of benefits and
injuries; ever ready to submit to tyrants, and to
implore the assistance of their neighbours to free
them from slavery; had some time since been
governed by Alexander of Pherae, the most detest-
able tyrant ever known in Greece. He was
despatched by Tisiphonus, Lycophron, and Pitho-
laus, who seized the government, and became
equally intolerable: so that the nobility of Thessaly,
with the Aleuadae, descendants from Hercules, at
their head, declared against them, and implored the
assistance of Philip. This prince willingly sacri-
ficed the hopes of extending his conquests in Thrace
to the honour of assisting the Aleuadae, who were -
of the same race with him, and of imitating Pe-
lopidas in giving liberty to Thessaly. He had also
long wished to have the Macedonians considered
as a Grecian people; and as he thought no oppor-
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? PREFACE.
27
tunily could be so honourable and favourable, as to
affect an interest in the affairs of Thessaly, he
readily marched against the tyrants, and soon
divested them of all their authority.
But Philip's apparent danger from the wound
which he received at Methone imboldened Lyco-
phron to resume the sovereign power. The Pho-
cians (who, after the death of Philomelus, had re-
newed the war with all imaginable vigour under
Onomarchus) espoused the cause of this tyrant,
who had engaged the Thessalians to observe a neu-
trality ; and they in return supported him with all
their power. Philip, therefore, now became involved
in the general quarrel. At first, the Phocian
general gained some advantages over him; but he
afterward had such success, as enlarged his views,
and inspired him with new hopes and expectations.
He thought of nothing less than the conquest of
Greece ; and under pretence of marching against
the Phocians, made a bold attempt to seize the
famous pass at Thermopylae, which he justly called
the key of Greece. This roused the Athenians
from their lethargy. At the first news of his
march they flew to the pass, and prevented his
design, as he did not think it prudent to force his
way.
We may reasonably look on his retreat from
Thermopylae as the era of Philip's hatred to the
Athenians. He saw that they were the only people
of Greece capable of defeating his projects, or of
giving him uneasiness in his own kingdom: he
therefore provided himself, with much diligence, a
fleet composed of light ships, which might disturb
Jieir trade, and at the same time enrich his subjects
Vol- I. --C
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? 28
PREFACE.
by bringing in prizes. He also increased his
army, and projected the destruction of the Athenian
colonies in Thrace. At the same time he practised
very successfully at Athens itself; and, by large
appointments, secured some eminent orators to
charm the people with delusive hopes of peace, or
to frighten them with expensive estimates, while
they pretended a zeal for the defence of the state.
In a democratical government, like that of
Athens, eloquence was the sure means of recom-
mending its possessor to the attention and regard
of his fellow-citizens, and of raising him to all
public honours and advantages. The gradual im-
provements of literature had introduced and per-
fected the arts of moving and persuading; and
perhaps the disorders of the state contributed to
make them more important, called forth a greater
number of public speakers, and . opened a larger
field for their abilities. Many of those orators
who about that time took the lead in the Athenian
assemblies are lost to posterity. The characters,
however, of the most eminent have been trans-
mitted, or may be collected from the writings of
antiquity.
Demades, by his birth and education, seemed
destined to meanness and obscurity; but as the
Athenian assembly admitted persons of all ranks
and occupations to speak their sentiments, his
powers soon recommended him to his countrymen,
and raised him from the low condition of a common
mariner to the administration and direction of public
affairs. His private life was stained with those
brutal excesses which frequently attend the want
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? PREFACE.
29
of early culture, and an intercourse with the infe-
rior and least refined part of mankind. His con-
duct, as a leader and minister, was not actuated
by the principles of delicate honour and integrity;
and his eloquence seems to have received a tincture
from his original condition. He appears to have
been a strong, bold, and what we call a blunt
speaker; whose manner, rude and daring, and
sometimes bordering on extravagance, had often-
times a greater effect than the more corrected style
of. other speakers, who confined themselves within
the bounds of decorum and good-breeding.
Hyperides, on the contrary, was blessed with
all the graces of refinement; harmonious, elegant,
and polite ; with a well-bred festivity, and delicate
irony; excellent in panegyric; and of great natural
abilities for affecting the passions. Yet his elo-
quence seems rather to have been pleasing than
persuasive. He is said to have been not so well
fitted for a popular assembly, and for political de-
bates, as for private causes, and addressing a few
select judges. And even here, when he pleaded
the cause of a woman for whom he had die ten-
derest passion, he was obliged to call the charms
of his mistress to the assistance of his eloquence,
and was more indebted to these for his success
than to his own powers.
Lycurgus had all the advantages which birth
and education could afford for forming an orator.
He was the hearer of Plato, and the scholar of
Isocrates. He seems to have been particularly
affected by the charms of poetry and the polite
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? SO PREFACE.
J
arts; nor was he less remarkable for diligence and
attention; yet his influence in the assembly seems,
like that of Phocion, to have arisen rather from a
respect to his character, and the general opinion
of his virtue and integrity, than from his abilities
as a speaker.
jEschines was an orator whose style was full,
diffusive, and sonorous. He was a stranger to the
glowing expressions and daring figures of Demos-
thenes, which he treats with contempt and ridicule.
But, though more simple, he is less affecting; and,
by being less contracted, has not so much strength
and energy: or, as Quintilian expresses it, " camis
plus habet, lacertorum minus.
" But if we would
view his abilities to the greatest advantage, we must
not compare them with those of his rival. Then
will his figures appear to want neither beauty nor
grandeur. His easy and natural manner will then
be thought highly pleasing; and a just attention will
discover a good degree of force and energy in his
style, which at first appears only flowing and har-
monious.
But all the several excellences of his country-
men and contemporaries were at least equalled by
Demosthenes. 1 His own no age or nation could
attain to. From him critics have formed their
rules; and all the masters in his own art have
thought it an honour to imitate him. To enlarge
on his character would be to resume a subject
already exhausted by every critic, both ancient and
1 Nihil Lysia e subtilitate cedit; nihil argutiis et acnmine Hyperifi
tihil lenitste jEachini, et splendors verborum. --Cic. m Okas.
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? PREFACE.
31
. modem. Let it be sufficient to say, that energy
and majesty are his peculiar excellences. From
the gravity of Thucydides, the pomp and dignity
of Plato, the ease and elegance, the neatness and
simplicity of the Attic writers, he formed a style
and manner admirably fitted to his own temper and
genius, as well as that of his hearers. His own
severity determined him to the more forcible
methods of astonishing and terrifying, rather than
to the gentle and insinuating arts of persuasion:
nor did the circumstances and dispositions of his
countrymen admit of any but violent impressions.
As many of those to whom he addressed himself
were men of low rank and occupations, his images
and expressions are sometimes familiar. As others
of them were themselves eminent in speaking, and
could readily see through all the eommon artifices
of oratory, these he affects to despise: appears
only solicitous to be understood ; yet, as it were,
without design, raises the utmost admiration and
delight; such delight as arises from the clearness
of evidence and the fulness of conviction. And as
all, even the lower part of his hearers, were
acquainted with the beauties of poetry, and the
force of harmony, he could not admit of any thing
rude or negligent; but with the strictest attention
laboured those compositions which appear so natural
and unadorned. They have their ornaments; but
these are austere and manly, and such as are con-
sistent with freedom and sincerity. A full and
regular series of diffusive reasoning would have
been intolerable in an Athenian assembly. He
often contents himself with an imperfect hint: a
sentence, a word, even his silence is sometimes
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? 32
PREFACE.
pregnant with meaning. And tms quicKnes. and
vehemence flattered a people who valued them-
selves on their acuteness and penetration. The
impetuous torrent that-in a moment bears down all
before it; the repeated flashes of lightning, which
spread universal terror, and which the strongest
eye dares not encounter, are the images by which
the nature of his eloquence hath been expressed.
As a statesman and as a citizen his conduct was
no less remarkable. If the fire of his eloquence
seems sometimes abated, his judgment and accuracy
and political abilities are then conspicuous. The
bravery with which he opposed the passions and
prejudices of his countrymen, and the general
integrity of his character (to which Philip himself
bare witness), are deserving of the highest honour;
and, whatever weakness he betrayed in his military
conduct, his death must be acknowledged truly
heroic.
The reader will observe, that the oration entitled
" On the Halonesus" is not admitted into the follow-
ing collection. * Some critics ascribe it to Hege*
sippus,1 an Athenian orator, of inferior character.
* This determination on the part of the translator was subsequently
abandoned, as will be seen by the introduction to the suspected oration.
1 In the oration on the Halonesus, the speaker takes notice of nia
having been the manager of a prosecution against Caiippus, on account
of an illegal motion made by this man in the assembly relative to the
boundaries of Cardia. Hegesippus was the person who conducted this
prosecution: and this circumstance Libanius mentions as having (to-
gether with the difference of style) induced the critics to ascribe this
oration, not to Demosthenes, but to Hegesippus. To this we may add
another circumstance of the like nature. The speaker observes that he
went on an embassy to Macedon, in order to obtain an explanation and
amendment of some articles in the treaty concluded between Philip and
the Athenians. Hegesippus was at the bead of this embassy: nor waa
Demosthenes at all concerned in it; as appears from the oration of Ibis
latter (irtpt rya riapaff. ).
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? PREFACE.
33
But, however this may be, it is certainly entirely
different from those compositions of Demosthenes
which are confessedly genuine. That he really
wrote an oration so entitled,1 the authority of the
ancient writers confirm, I think, sufficiently. But
one would be tempted to believe that the passages
which they have quoted had been taken up by some
old scholiast, and inserted in a performance of his
own
1 . flLschines, in his oration on the embassy, mentions two particulars
in that of Demosthenes on the Halonesus, neither of which are found in
the oration now extant. The first is, that Demosthenes treated Philip's
ambassadors with great severity, and insisted that they were really sent
as spies. The other, that he recommended to the Athenians by. no
means to submit their disputes with Philip to the decision of an umpire;
fcr that no one impartial mediating state could be found through Greece,
at* totally were the minds of all men corrupted by the Macedonian.
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? THE FIRST ORATION AGAINST PHILIP:
PRONOUNCED IN THE ARCHONSHIP OF ARIST0DEMUS, IN THE FIRST TEAR
OP THE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH OLYMPIAD, AND THE NINTH OF PHILIP*!
INTRODUCTION.
We bare seen Philip opposed in his design of passing into Greeoe
through Thermopylae, and obliged to retire. The danger they had thns
escaped deeply affected the Athenians. So daring an attempt, which
was in effect declaring his purposes, filled them with astonishment;
and the view of a power which every day received new accession*
drove them even to despair. Yet their aversion to public business was
still predominant. They forgot that Philip might renew his attempt, and
thought they had provided sufficiently for their security by posting a body
of troops at the entrance of Attica, under the command of Menelaus, a
foreigner. They then proceeded to convene an assembly of the people,
in order to consider what measures were to be taken to check the pro-
gress of Philip; on which occasion Demosthenes, for the first time, ap-
peared against that prince, and displayed those abilities which proved
the greatest obstacle to his designs.
At Athens the whole power and management of affairs were placed in
the people. It was their prerogative to receive appeals from the courts
of justice, to abrogate and enact laws, to make what alterations in the
state they judged convenient; in short, all matters, public or private,
foreign or domestic, civil, military, or religious, were determined by them.
Whenever there was occasion 10 deliberate the people assembled early
in the morning, sometimes in the forum or public place, sometimes in a
place called Pnyx; but most frequently in the theatre of Bacchus. A
few days before each assembly there was a -npoypanna or placard fixed
on the statues of some illustrious men erected in the city, to give notice
of the subject to be debated. As they refused admittance into the as-
sembly to all persons who had not attained the necessary age, so they
obliged all others to attend. The lexiarchs stretched nut a cord died
with scarlet, and by it pushed the people towards the place of meeting.
Such as received the stain were fined; the more diligent had a small
pecuniar}' reward. These lexiarchs were the keepers of the register in
which were enrolled the names of such citizens as had a right of voting;
and all had this right who were of age, and not excluded by a personal
fault. Undutiful children, cowards, brutal debauchees, prodigals, debtors
to the public, were all excluded. Until the time of Cecropa women had
a right of suffrage, which they were said to have lost on account of
their partiality to Minerva in her dispute with Neptune about giving a
name to the city.
In ordinary cases all matters were first deliberated in the senate of fiva
hundred, composed of fifty senators chosen out of each of the ten'ribsa
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? 46
INTRODUCTION.
Each tribe had its turn of presiding, and the fifty senators in office were
called prytanes: and, according to the number of the tribes, the Artie
year was divided into ten parts, the first four containing thirty-six, the
other thirty-five days, in order to make the lunar year complete, which,
according to their calculation, contained three hundred and fifty-four
days. During each of these divisions ten of the fifty prytanes governed
for a week, and were called proCdri; and of these he who in the course
of the week presided for one day was called the epistate; three of the
profidri being excluded from this office.
The prytanes assembled the people; the profidri declared the occasion
and the epistate demanded their voices. This was the case in the ordi
nary assemblies: the extraordinary were convened as well by the gene
rals as the prytanes; and sometimes the people met of their own accord,
without waiting the formalities.
The assembly was opened by a sacrifice, and the place was sprinkled
with the blood of the victim. Then an imprecation was pronounced,
conceived in these terms: " May the gods pursue that man to destruction
with all his race, who shall act, speak, or contrive any thing against this
state V This ceremony being finished, the proSdri declared the occasion
of the assembly, and reported the opinion of the senate. If any doubt
arose, a herald, by commission from the epistate, with a loud voice,
invited any citizen, first of those above the age of fifty, tospeak his opinion:
and then the rest according to their ages. This right of precedence had
been granted by a law of Solon, and the order of speaking determined
entirely by the difference of years. In the time of Demosthenes this law
was not in force. It is said to havo been repealed about fifty years before
the date of this oration. Yet the custom still continued out of respect to
Ihe reasonable and decent purpose for which the law was originally en-
acted. When a speaker had delivered his sentiments he generally called
on an officer, appointed for that purpose, to read his motion, and propound
it in form. He then sat down, or resumed his discourse, and enforced
his motion by additional arguments: and sometimes the speech was
introduced by his motion thus propounded. When all the speakers had
ended the people gave their opinion, by stretching out their hands to him
whose proposal pleased them most: and Xenophon reports, that, night
having come on when the people were engaged in an important debate,
they were obliged to defer their determination till next day, for fear of
confusion when their hands were to be raised.
" Porrexerunt manus. " saith Cicero (pro Flacco), "et psephisma natum
est. " And, to constitute this psephisma or decree, six thousand citizens
at least were required. When it was drawn up, the name of its author,
or that person whose opinion had prevailed, was prefixed : whence, in
speaking of it, they called it his decree. The date of it contained the
name of the archon, that of the day and month, and that of the tribe then
presiding. The business being over, the prytanes dismissed the assembly
The reader who chooses to be more minutely informed in the customs,
and manner of procedure in the public assemblies of Athens, may con-
sult the Archspologia of Archbishop Potter,* Sigonius, sr the Concion-
atrices of Aristophanes.
* A second edition of "Robinson's Archaeologia Groca, or the Antiqui-
ties of Greece," considerably enlarged and improved, and illustrated by
a map and designs from the antique, has been recently published in one
vol. 8vq-
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? PHILIPPIC THE FIRST
Had we been convened, Athenians, on some new
subject of debate, I had waited until most of the usual
persons had declared their opinions. If I had ap-
proved of any thing proposed by them, I should
nave continued silent: if not, I had then attempted
to speak my sentiments. But since those very points
on which these speakers have oftentimes been heard
already are, at this time, to be considered, though I
have risen first,11 presume I may expect your par-
don ; for if they on former occasions had advised the
necessary measures, ye would not have found it
needful to consult at present.
First, then, Athenians, these our affairs must not be
thought desperate: no, though their situation seems
entirely deplorable ! for the most shocking circum-
stance of all our past conduct is really the most'
favourable to our future expectations. And what is
this ? That our own total indolence hath been the
cause of all our present difficulties: for were we thus
distressed, in spite of every vigorous effort which the
honour of our state demanded, there were then no
hope of a recovery.
In the next place, reflect--you who have been
informed by others, and you who can yourselves
1 Though I hiive risen first, &c. ]--Demosthenes was at that time but
thirty years old, which made it necessary for him to apologize l'or his
zeal in rising before the other speakers: and the ingenious turn which he
gives it not only prevents any unfavourable impression on the minds of
his hearers, but engages their affection, and excites their attention, by
the tacit promise of better counsel than they had hitherto received
Tourrcil.
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? 38 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
remember--how great a power' the Lacedaemonians
not long since possessed; and with what resolution,
with what dignity you disdained to act unworthy of
the state, but maintained the war against them for the
rights of Greece. Why do I mention these things ?
That ye may know, that ye may see, Athenians, that
if duly vigilant ye cannot have any thing to fear;
that if once remiss, not any thing can happen agree-
ably to your desires: witness the then powerful arms
of Lacedaemon, which a just attention to your mterests
enabled you to vanquish; and this man's late insolent
attempt, which our insensibility to all our great con-
cerns hath made the cause of this confusion.
If there be a man in this assembly who thinks that
we must find a formidable enemy in Philip, while he
views, on one hand, the numerous armies" which at-
tend him ; and, on the other, the weakness of the state
thus despoiled of its dominions--he thinks justly.
Yet let him reflect on this; there was a time, Athe-
nians, when we possessed Pydna, and Potidaea, and
Methone, and all that country round; when many
of those states now subjected to him were free and
independent, and more inclined to our alliance than
to his. Had then Philip reasoned in the same man-
ner, " How shall I dare to attack the Athenians,
whose garrisons command my territory, while I am
destitute of all assistance V he would not have en-
1 How great a power, Ac. ]--It has been already observed in the
prefer* to these orations that Demosthenes takes many occasions of
extolling the efforts of Athens to reduce the Spartan power, and to regain
that sovereignty which tl. sy lost by the victory of Lysander at JEgos-
Potamos. These efforts he every where represents as high instances of
magnanimity and public spirit: though revenge and jealousy had no less
share in them. The victories which the Athenians gained over Sparta
at Corinth, Naxos, Ac. , and which he here alludes to, happened about
twenty-four years before the date of this oration ; so that he might well
appeal to the memories of many persons present.
2 The numerous armies, Ac. ]--The number of Philip's threes at that
time amounted to twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse; a
great army compared with those of the Greeks. At their march to Mara-
thon the Athenians could not assemble more than '<"i thousand force*.
--Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE FIRST. 39
gaged in those enterprises which are now crowned
with success; nor could he have raised himself to
this pitch of greatness. No, Athenians, he knew this
well, that all these places are but prizes,1 laid between
the combatants, and ready for the conqueror: that
the dominions of the absent devolve naturally to those
who are in the field; the possessions of the supine to
the active and intrepid. Animated by these senti-
ments, he overturns whole countries; he holds all
people in subjection: some, as by the right of con-
quest ; others, under the title of allies and confede-
rates ; for all are willing to confederate with those
whom they see prepared and resolved to exert them-
selves as they ought.
And if you, my countrymen, will now at length be
persuaded to entertain the like sentiments; if each of
you, renouncing all evasions, will be ready to approve
himself a useful citizen, to the utmost that his station
and abilities demand; if the rich will be ready to con
tribute, and the young to take the field. in one word,
if you will be yourselves, and banish those vain hopes
which every single person entertains, that while so
many others are engaged in public business,his service
will not be required; you then (if Heaven so pleases)
shall regain your dominions, recall those opportunities
your supineness hath neglected, and chastise the inso-
lence of this man: for you are not to imagine that,
like a god, he is to enjoy his present greatness for
ever fixed and unchangeable. No, Athenians, there
are who hate him, who fear him, who envy him, even
among those seemingly the most attached to his
cause. These are passions common to mankind;
noi must we think that his friends only are exempted
from them. It is true they lie concealed at present,
as our indolence deprives them of all resource. But
let us shake off this indolence; for you see how we
1 But prizes, &c. ]--His hearers were of all others most devoted to
public games and entertainments, and must therefore have been par*
ticularly sensible of the beauty of this image.
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?
