Upon a View of render-
ing your Soldiers more afraid of the Penalties inflided by the
Laws, than of their Enemies, and thus compelling them to
fight with greater Ardour for their Country.
ing your Soldiers more afraid of the Penalties inflided by the
Laws, than of their Enemies, and thus compelling them to
fight with greater Ardour for their Country.
Demosthenes - Orations - v2
But when
Philip died, and Alexander was eflabliflied on the Throne, dif-
playing again the Monflers of his Imagination, he inflituted
Sacrifices
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? 3IO ORATION OF iESCHINES
Sacrifices to the Manes of Paufanias, (24) and fixed upon the
Senate the Crime of celebrating the joyful News of Philip's
Death by a pubhc Feftival. He then contemptuouily gave
Alexander the Surname of Driveler, and confidently afierted, he
would never ftir out of Macedonia, but hold himfelf extremely
contented in walking round his Capital, and infpeding the En-
trails of his Victims. (25) Thefe Afiertions, he afTured us,
were founded, not upon fimple Conjedures, but upon his own
clear and perfect Science, that Glory is only to be purchafed by
Blood. (26) Thus reafoned the Man, who hath not himfelf a Drop
of Blood in his Veins ; who forms his Judgement of Alexander,
not upon the Genius of Alexander, but upon his own Cowardice.
For Inftance, when the Theflalians refolved to invade the Re-
public, and the young Monarch in the firft Tranfports of his
Anger, nor unreafonable his Anger, had invefled Thebes, De-
mofthenes being appointed your Ambaflador to intercede for the
befieged, betook himfelf to Flight from the very Middle of
Mount
(24) Who wirh a noble Refentment JI^p in a whole Skin. By a Paflage in
killed Philip for an inhuman Outrage Polybius, quoted by Doftor Taylor, it
offered him by one of his Favourites, appears, that it was cuftomary among
and which the Monarch negleded to pu- the Macedonian Monarchs not only to
nifh. infpecSt, but even to handle the Entrails
(25) 'Prohdb\y, before he would venture of their Viftims.
upon any future Expedition. Theie Words, (26) O'V* Ki^otTog Ig-w ^ a^erij uvlu,
Tcc (TTrXxyx^voi (puXxTJovroi, have been if literally trandated is, perhaps, hardly
mod abfurdly rendered by all our Tranf- intelligible. Firttie or Vakur is only to h
lations, except the Italian and an anony- purchafed by Blood; or as Lambinus ren-
mous Latin I ranflator. Procardia fua ders it, virtutem noti mji fanguine compa^
confervaret. Vifcera paterna cuficdire. rari : or Du Vair, ^e le fang efl le prix
Fitn7n confervaret. De conferver fri- de la vertu. If we underfland d^iTyj
tieufement fa perfonne -, and pleafantly the Reputation of Virtue or Valour, the
enough by a latq F. nglifli Tranflator, to Sentiment is juft and of great Dignity,
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 311
Mount Citheron, and returned to Athens, proving himfelf
neither in Peace nor War a valuable, ufeful Citizen.
Yet of all things moft atrocious, U'hile you would neither
furrender him to the Juftice of his Country, nor fuffer him to
be tried in the General Council of Greece, ev-en then did he
furrender you to Alexander, at leaft, if univerfal Report may
be believed. For the Mariners of the Galley, in which he failed,
and the Colleagues ofhisEmbafly to Alexander affert (and their
Afiertion is in itfelf extremely probable) that there is a certain
Youth, called Ariftion, the Son of a Dealer in Drugs, whom
poflibly fome of you may know. This Youth was formerly
difliinguifhed for his Beauty, and lived a confiderable Time in
the Houfe of Demofthenes. What were his Converfation and
Employment there, is Matter of Doubt, and by no Means de-
cent for me to mention. This Ariftion being perfectly un-
known, either with Regard to his Birth, or Manner of Life,,
insinuated himfelf into the Favour of Alexander, and approach-
ed him with much Familiarity. By this Youth Demofthenes.
wrote to Alexander ; obtained a Kind of Pardon ; was after-
wards received into Favour, and pradlifed much abjedl Adula-
tion. Judge from hence, how confiftent this Ajffair with the
Crimes, of which I have accufed him in this Indidlment,
For if Demofthenes had entertained any of the Sentiments
he now profefles, or held Alexander in that hoftile Hatred, he
3 ' pretends^
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? 312 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
pretends, there were three the fairefl: Opportunities offered him
of evincing that Hatred ; none of which, it is apparent, he
ever ufed. The firft, when Alexander was hardly eftablifhed
on the Throne, and leaving his own Kingdom defencelefs and
unfettled had marched into Afia, the Perfian King, who was
then moft powerful in Fleets, and Money, and Armies, yet a-
larmed with the Dangers, that threatened him, would have
gladly received you into the Number of his Confederates. What
Oration, Demofthenes, did you then pronounce ? What Decree
did you then propofe ? Would you have me fuppofe you were
miferably afraid, and yielded to the natural Feeblenefs of your
Conftitution? Yet a Conjundure, upon which depends the
Welfare of a whole People, will not wait for the Timidity of an
Orator. But afterwards, when Darius came down with all hi?
Forces, and Alexander was inclofed in the Streights of Cilicia,
deftitute, as you afferted, of all Support for his Army, and in-
ftantly to be trampled under Foot, (for fo you exprefled it) by
the Perfian Horfe, the City was unable to endure thy tedious
Petulance, or to contain the Epiftles, that hung dangling at
your Fingers Ends, as you walked in procellional Pomp through
the Streets, pointing me out to a certain Faction, as if I carried
Aftonifhment and Defpair in my Face, calling me the Bull
with gilded Horns, and threatening, if any Misfortune happened
to Alexander, that I fhould be crowned for Sacrifice ; yet not
even then did you perform any one A6lion to prove your Ha-
tred to Alexander, but prudently deferred your Anger to fome
more
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 313
more favourable Opportunity. But paffing over all thefe In-
ftances, I fhall fpeak to the prefent Situation of our Affairs,
The Lacedaemonians and their foreign Soldiery had fortunately
gained a fignal Vidory, and totally defeated a Body of Alexan-
der's Troops encamped near Choragus, a Fortrcfs in Macedonia :
the Eleans ; almoft all the Achacans, and all Arcadia, had a-
bandoned the Party of the Macedonians, excepting Megalo-
polis ; that City too was befiegcd, and in the general Opinion
was every Day expedled to be reduced : Alexander had marched
beyond the North Pole, I might almoft fay, beyond the Boun-
daries of the habitable World : Antipater had loft much Time
in levying an Army, and what the Event would prove was ab-
folutely uncertain. Here then, Demofthenes, inform us, what
Adtion you performed upon this Occafion, and what Oration
you pronounced. If you pleafe, I will refign the Tribunal, till
you have finifhed your Harangue. But ftnce you are filent, I
fhall excufe your Hefttation, and what you then faid, I fliall
now repeat.
Do you not remember thefe abominable and abfurd Expref-
lions, which you, his iron-hearted Audience, were able to
endure. '* There are fome certain Perfons, who prune the
" Commonwealth, like a Vine ; fome lop off the Tendrils of
" our Democracy ; the Nerves of Government are cut afunder;
" we are prcffed and ftitched together in Matts ; fome Folks
Vol. II. S s
(C
run
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? 314 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
" run through us, as if we were Needles. " (27) Are thefe,
thou Creature of Fraud and Wilinefs, are they human Expref-
lions, or ill-omened and portentous Bodings ? Then turning
yourfelf round on the Tribunal, with the Svviftnefs and Agita-
tion of a Whirl-pool, you declared, as if in all your Adlions you*
had been a determined Enemy to Alexander, " I confefs, I
" formed the Lacedaemonian Confederacy ; I confefs, I influ-
" enced the ThefiaHans and Parrh^ebians to abandon him. "
Thou influence the Theffalians ? Couldft thou ever influence
even a Village to abandon him ? Didft thou ever dare to en-
ter, I will not fay, into a City, but even a Houfe, where there
was an Appearance of Danger } No. Indeed where Money
is expended, there you are moft afliduous, but incapable of
any one manly, generous Adlion. Whatever in the natural
Courfe of Things happens more fortunately, you arrogate to
yourfelf, and infcribe your Name upon it. If any Terror ap-
proaches, you betake yourfelf to Flight ; if we grow confident
of our Succefs, you deinand Rewards, and Crowns of Gold.
*' All this is acknowledged. The Man however is a zealous
Defender of our Democracy. " If you regard the fpecious Ap-
pearances of his Declamation? , you will be again deceived, as
formerly.
(27) Much good Learning hath been Wolfius and Dodor Taylor. Hyena,
employed to illullrate and explain thefe qui ibouriconnmt noftre ville. , qui couppent
very extraordinary Metaphors. But fince les branches du peuple, & les nerfs des
we are told, that the Affair, however affaires. II nous mettent a reftroir,
important, is to be determined by Au- comme de la bourre piquee entre deux
thorities, let us add that of an old Tranf- tollies : vous dirriez qu'ils nous fourrent
lator, Du \'air, to thofc given us by des lardoires dans les felTes.
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? AGAINST CT ESI PI-ION. ^^15
formerly. But if you look into his natural Genius, and the
Trutli of Fadls, you cannot be deceived. Let him give you
his own Eftimate of Things, (28) while I confider with you,
what good QuaUties a wife and able democratical Citizen ought
neceffarily to poffefs, and place it in Oppofition to the Charac-
ter of a bad Man, violently zealous for an Oligarchy. When
they were placed in this Oppofition, do you determine which
of them he moft refembles, not in his Words, but Anions.
I THEREFORE imagine you will unanimoufly acknowledge
thefe Requifites are neceffary to conftitute a valuable Republican*
Firft, that he be freeborn both by Father and Mother ; left by
the Misfortune of his Birth he may be malevolently affedled to-
wards thofe Laws, which preferve the Conftitution of his
Country : fecondly, that fome Adt of Beneficence to the Com-
monwealth fhould have been performed by his Anceftors, or,
which is of abfolute NeceiTity, that they had no Refentments
againft her, left he may be influenced by the Defire of reveng-
ing their Misfortunes, to attempt her Deftrudion : thirdly,
that in his conftant Expences he be frugal and temperate, that
he may not be compelled by the Wantonnefs of his Profufion
to take Bribes againft her Interefts : fourthly, that he be a
Man of Probity and Eloquence ; for glorious indeed is that In-
S f 2 tegrity,
(28) AVoXa^ETE 7ra^' aura To'v Xoyov, che egli dice. Italian Translator"
ad verbum, Recipite ab eo rationm-, ied in this Senle, our Commentators in ge-
redlius, llle reddat vobis rat'wnem. Sfe- neral underiland the PafTage.
PHANS. In quefta maniera pigliate quel
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? 3i6 ORATION OF iESCHINES .
tegrity, which alv/ays direds us to the befl: Meafures, when
joined with Eloquence capable of perfuading our Audience to
purfue them. If however we cannot find thefe Qualities united,,
certainly Probity is ever to be preferred to all the Powers of
fpeaking. Laftly, let him poflefs a generous Spirit of Refo-
lution, that he may never in Times of public Difficulty, and
amidft the Dangers of War, defert the Confl;itution. The Man,
who is zealous for an Oligarchy, is in every Particular the Op-
pofite to this Character. To what Purpofe therefore fhould I
repeat them.
Now confider, whether any Part of the Charadter I have
given of a democratical Republican can be applied to Demoft-
henes, and let the Computation be made with exadleft Juftice.
His Father (for nothing fliould oblige us to utter a Falfehood)
was a Citizen of Athens, but with regard to his Mother and her
Father, I {hall inftrudl you in his Defcent. Gylon, a Native
of an obfcure Attic Village, betrayed a Town in Pont us, at
the Time when the Republic extended her Dominion over that
Country, and having been capitally condemned, fled from A-
thens to avoid the Punifhment he merited. He then paffed over
into Thrace, and received from the Tyrants of that Country,,
as a Reward of his Perfidy, a Trad: of Land, called the Gar-
dens. There he marries a Woman, rich, by Jupiter, and
who brought a very confidcrable Fortune, but by Birth a Scy-
thian. By this Woman he hath two Daughters, whom he
fends
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 317
fends hither with an immenfe Sum of Money, and gives one of
them in Marriage, I muft not fay to whom, that I may not pro-
voke more Enemies. The other, the Father of this Demoft-
benes married in Contempt of the Laws of his Country, and
from Her defcends our egregious Calumniator. By his Defcent
therefore from his Grand-father he is an Enemy to tlie People
of Athens, for they condemned that Grand-father to Death,,
and with regard to his Mother he is a Scythian, a Barbarian,,
a Grecian only in his Language, and from thence even in his
Villanies an Alien and a Foreio-ner.
Now behold him in his Oeconomy. Having ridiculoufly^
fquandered away his paternal Fortune in building Gal lies, he
fuddenly made his Appearance as an Attorney, but being con-
vi? led of having betrayed his Truft in his new Profeffion, and
fhewn the Pleadings of his Clients to their Adverfaries, he
bounded from thence up to the Tribunal. Here he extorted
from the Republic a mighty Sum of Money, which he hath
reduced to almofl: nothing. At prefent the royal Gold of Perfia
hath overflowed him, like an Inundation. (29) Yet even the
Gold
(29) To ^xTtXiKov ^^lkt/ov 67njc? - feems to preferve this Idea in the PafTage
aXvyie Trjv ^uTToivriV ccvri. Thus rendered before us, which might be literally tranf-
by the lad, and, beyond all Comparifon, ^^^^^^ '^^^ ^"^^ '^"^'^ overflowed his Ex-
the beft Edition of our Author, \His T^"^" ' '^'^<<"S'^ po H-ip^ our I^anguage
Affairs ivere at a low Ebb, till the Tide '^'" "? ^ ^^""^ ^^e Hardinefs of fuch an
cf the Perfian Exchequer flowed in. j Yet E^preffion. KAsoTrar^a rtq 'UXii^g
tTTmXv^u gives us, in general, an Idea s7riKXv. croia-c6 ttoXXu %fLi. o-^, cum magnam
of overflowing and Inundation, rather ""^'"^ ^>>ri in Eleos efudijfet, or as it might
than the Flux and Reflux of the Sea. It ^^ better rendered, Elees auro imaiJavifet.
4 1 ! ic
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? 3i8 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
Gold of Perfia is not fufficient to fupport his Extravagance.
No Treafures can fatiate a depraved Spirit. In fliort, he now
adually rublifts, not upon his own Revenues, but on your
Dangers. But with regard to his Probity and his Eloquence,
how hath Nature formed him ? Eminent for his Eloquence j
infamous in his Life. In his Intemperance of Proftitution, he
commits fuch Exceffes, as I am unwilling to mention ; becaule
I have fometinies obferved, that they, who have too curioufly
explained the Turpitude of others, have made themfelves the
Objefts of public Deteftation. Yet what Advantages to the
Republic from his Eloquence ? His Words indeed are excel-
lent j his Adtions vile and fcandalous.
Of his Courage, I have very little to remark. If he himfelf
denied, or you were not confcious of his being a Coward, it
might be neceffary to dwell fomewhat longer on the Proofs.
But fince he confeffes even in your Aflemblies, and you your-
felves are univerfally feniible of his Cowardice, it only remains,
that 1 recall to your Remembrance the 'Laws enad;ed againft
Cowards in general. Solon, your ancient Legiflator, thought
the fame Punifhment fhould beinflided upon him, whorefufed
to cnlif! : ; upon him, who deferted his Ranks, and upon the
natural Coward. There are Indidments for Cowardice. Al-
thouorh
The Word s'Tj-ncXhcroca-x is explained by mentioned, miglit be fiipported by the
e7rt^oi-]jiXevcra(rBi, KUToc^aXSc-oi, ^i<e in- Authority of the Italian. Nondime'io hcra
undavie. ^/a- largiter effudit. Sir id as. ^ damri del Rehanm coper to la ftui fpefa.
The litteral I-ng! ifh Tranflation, above-
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 319
though fome of you may wonder, there fhould be Profecutions
againft the Infirmities of Nature, yet there certainly are. Up-
on what Reafons are they founded ?
Upon a View of render-
ing your Soldiers more afraid of the Penalties inflided by the
Laws, than of their Enemies, and thus compelling them to
fight with greater Ardour for their Country. The Lcgiflator
equally excludes from the facred Afperfions in the Temple, (30)
and from all civil Bufmefs in the Forum, the Man, who re-
fufes to cnlift, the natural Coward, and him, who deferts his
Rank in Battle. He does not fuffer them to be crowned ; he for-
bids them to approach the Sacrifices, inftituted in the Name of
the People. And doft thou, Ctefiphon, command us to crown,
whom the Laws forbid to be crowned ? Doft thou by Decree
invite into the Theatre, amidft the foleran Reprefentation of
our Tragedies, the Man, moft unworthy of fuch Honours ?
Invite into the Temple of Bacchus, the Man, who by his
Cowardice hath betrayed all our Temples ? But that I may
not make you wander from the Subje6l, only remember, when
he profefTes his Zeal for the Liberties of the People, to confider
not his Eloquence, but his Life; to mark with Attention not
what he ailerts himfelf to be, but what he really is. //
Since
(3c) ns^i^'^avTyi^iuv koc] T^g oiyoccii. fprinkled by the Priefts. This Cuftom
Qiiafi arcendus eflet ab omnibus con- is Hill prcferved by Roman CathoHcs,
grcfiibus, tarn fans, quam civilibus. who tell us, it was originally a JewiHi
Taylor. A Vefftl, filled with purified Ceremony: as if the Heathens would
or holy Water, was placed at the En- have taken their religious Ceremonies
trance of the Heathen Temples, with ^''om a People, whom they defpiJed and
which the Perfons, who went to worfhip, abhorred,
cither fprinkled themfclves, or were
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? 320 , ORATION OF i? ^ S C Fl I N E S
Since I have mentioned Crowns and Rewards, wliile I re-
coiled, I will here prophecy to you, Men of Athens, if you
do not reftrain this Profufion of Rewards, and tliefe Crowns
thus inconfiderately beftowed, neither will the Perfons, who
. are honoured by them, return you Thanks for the Favour, nor
will the Affairs of the Republic be betta- diredled. Becaufe
you can never make the vicious Citizen virtuous, but you may
throw the Virtuous into the laft Defpair. That thefe Refledi-
ons are juft, I imagine, I can prove by ftrong Arguments.
For if you were alked, whether the Commonwealth feems at
prefent in a more flourifhing Condition, than in the Days of
our Anceftors, you would unanimoufly confefs, in the Days
of our Anceftors. Were the People at that Time more vir-
tuous, than at prefent ? They were then more eminent in
Virtue, and now far more degenerate. Yet Rewards, and
Crowns, and Proclamations, and the Honour of being main-
tained at the public Expence, were they at that Time more
? numerous, than at prefent? Thefe honourary Rewards were
then mod rare, and even the Name of Virtue was held in
Efteem ; but now, like Veftments often cleaned, thofe Re-
^wards have loft their Luftre, and Crowns are given by a meer
Habitude of giving, not by Judgement or Difcernment. /
It feems therefore moft unaccountable, if we confider things
with Attention, that Rewards of Merit arc now more frequent,
and the Republic then more powerful ; that the People of Athens
are
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 321
are now more degenerate, and were then more eminent for their
Virtue. I fhall endeavour to explain a Fa6t tlius extraordinary
Can you imagine, Athenians, that any Man either at the Fcf-
tival of Minerva, or the Olympic, or your other public Games,
in which Crowns are given to the Vidlors, would engage
in the feverer, athletic, Exercifes, if the Crown is beflowed,
not upon the moft deferving, but on him, who hath prac-
tifed upon your Votes ? No, certainly. At prefent, to fpeak
my own Sentiments, by the Rarity of the Contention and the
Dignity of the Prize; by the Glory and Immortality, arifmg
from the Vidlory ; there are many, who will with Ardour ex-
pofe themfelves to every Fatigue, fupport the greateft Miferies,
and even endanger their Lives. Imagine yourfelves there-
fore appointed Arbiters in this Contention of civil Virtue, and
then refledl, that if you beftow thefe Crowns upon the Few,
and moft deferving, as the Law diredls, you fhall have many
Competitors for the Prizes of Virtue. But if you gratify who-
ever defires them, or thofe who make ufe of Artifice and In-
trigue to gain them, you will corrupt even the Genius, that was
likely to merit them<<
I WOULD willingly explain to you more clearly the Truth of
thefe Obfervations. Tell me then, does Themiftocles, under
whofe Command you conquered the Perfian in the Sea-Fight
at Salamis, or this Deferter of his Rank at Chaeronea, appear
to you the more valuable Citizen ? But Miltiades, who gained
Vol. II, T t the
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? 022 ORATION OF iESCHINES
the Vidory over the Barbarians at Marathon, or this Demoft-
henes ? But the Leaders, who brought home the People, who
had fled to Phyle for Protedion from the thirty Tyrants ? But
Ariftides, furnamed the Juft; a Surname very different from
that of Demofthenes? -- (31) Yet, by all the Deities of O-
lymnus, I do not hold it fitting to mention this Monfter upon
the fame Day with thefe illuftrious Perfons. However let him
prove in his intended Oration, where it was ever decreed, that
any one of thefe great Men fhould be rewarded with a golden
Crown. (32) Was the People ungrateful? No; they were
of too generous a Spirit to be ungrateful. But the Perfons,
who were thus unhonoured, were they unworthy of the Re-
public ? No ; they did not imagine, their Virtues could be
honoured by Decrees or monumental Infcriptions, but by the
orateful Remembrance of their Fellow-Citizens, which even
to this Day continues immortal.
But fome Rewards they received, which deferve to be men-
tioned. At that diftinguiflied Period, in which our Generals^
having: with Fortitude fuftained innumerable Fatigues and Dan-
gers,
(31) A more temperate Orator would Original, will imagine the Words, wllh
himfelf have anfwered thefe violent Inter- a golden Crown, an unfaithful Addition
rogations, or have continued to the two to the Text. But either that Part of the
la(t his ^ Sto? , or this Demofthenes ? prefent Sentence, which mentions the
However, our ' temperate TranQators, Leaders, who brought home the People
excepting Wolfius, have taken Care to ^^0TM Phyle, fhould be totally omitted,
iupply this apparent Want of gramma- o"" ^e muft read ;^. f ucr^ re? '<<>>'^, becaufe
tical Exaftnefs. ^^ ^^'^ hereafter find them crowned with.
(32) The Reader, who confults the ^live. Doctor Markland,
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 323
gersj gained an important Vidtory over the Medcs, in a Battle
fought upon the Banks of the River Strymon, vvlien they return-
ed to Athens they foHcited the People for fome Reward. The
People granted them very fignal Honours, as Honours were then
eftimated, and permitted them to eredl three marble Statues of
Mercury in the Portico of his Temples, but forbad them to
infcribe upon them their own Names, that the Infcription might
be that of the People, not that of the Generals. You ITiall be
convinced by the Verfes themfelves ; for upon the firft of thele
Mercuries is the following Infcription.
Upon the Banks of Strymon's rapid Tide
Thefe Leaders firft the haughty Mede fubdued ;
With direful Famine quell'd their Tyrant's Pride,
And with the avenging Sword their flying War purfued.
Upon the Second.
This Monument a grateful People raife.
To Virtue and illuftrious Worth decreed ;
Here let our Sons behold their Fathers' Praife,
And for the public Weal with Ardour bleed. -
Upon the Third.
On that fam'd Coaft, where great Atrides bled,
Meneftheus our Athenian Forces led ;
A Chief renown'd, in Homer's facred Page,
To form the Battle, and diredt its Rage.
Thus fam'd in War has Athens ever {hone,
Yet made the various Arts of Peace her o\vn.
T t 2 Is
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? 324 ORATION OF iESCHINES
Is the Name of the Generals infcribed upon any of theie
Mercuries ? No ; that of the People. Approach therefore,
in Imagination, the Portico, for its Paintings called the various,
where you frequently aflemble, and where all the Monuments
of your memorable Adions are depofited. You afk, Athenians,
what I mean by fuch a Propofal ? There the Battle of Marathon
is painted. Who was the Commander in Chief upon that im-
portant Day ? You can all anfwer, Miltiades. Yet his Name
is not written upon the Pidlure. Wherefore ? Did he not
folicit this Reward ? He did folicit, and the People refufed it.
Yet inftead of his Name they permitted him to be drawn the
principal Figure in the Piece, and in an Attitude, that diftin-
guiflied him animating the Soldiers to their Duty. In the
Temple of the Mother of the Gods, near the Senate-Houfe, we
may ftill behold what Rewards you gave the Leaders, who
brought home the People from their Exile in Phyle. Archinus,,
one of thefe Leaders, propofed a Decree, and carried it without
Oppofition, in which he directed, that a thoufand Drachmas
fliould be given to the Perfons, whom he brought home from
Phyle, for Sacrifices and monumental Offerings to the Gods ;
the whole amounting to fomewhat lefs than ten Drachmas, each
Perfon. He then ordered, that they fhould be crowned with
an Olive, not a golden Crown. For in thofe Days a Crown
ol Olive was held in Honour, though now a golden one is de-
fpifed. Nor did he fuffer thefe Crowns to be given without dire
Caution, but direfled the Senate to enquire with their ftri^eft
Care
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 325
Care how many Citizens had been befieged in Phyle, who had
bravely repulfed the Lacedemonians and the thirty Tyrants,
when they attacked that Fortrefs ; not how many had fled
from the Battle of Ch^ronea, upon the Approach of the Enemy,
To prove thefe AfTertions, the Decree fhall be read to you.
The Decree.
Now compare with this Decree, that which Ctefiphon pre-
ferred for crowning Demofthenes, this Author of all our great-
eft Misfortunes.
The Decree.
Bv this Decree the Honours given to thofe, who reftored you
to your Country are wholly defaced. If this be Matter of
Glory, that was full of Turpitude ; if they were juftly rewarded,
this Man is unworthy to be crowned.
But I am informed, Demofthenes will reply, that I deal
unjuftly with him, when I compare his Adions with thofe of
our Anceftors. He will objed:, that Philammon was not crown-
ed in the Olympic Games for vanquifliing Glaucus, the cele-
brated Champion of Antiquity, buthisownperfonal Antagonifts ;
as if we were ignorant, that the Conteft in thefe Games is in-
deed perfonal, but that when we afpire to the Crown of Virtue,
we contend with Virtue herfelf, for whofe fake we are crown-
ed : becaufe the Herald ftiould by no means utter a Falfehood,
when he makes a Proclamation in the Theatre before the gene-
ral
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? 326 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
ral Aflembly of Greece. Do not therefore, Demofthenes, re-
peatedly inform us how far your Adminiftration exceeded that
of Pataecion, but give us fome Inftance of your own manly
Virtue, and then demand thefe Favours from the People. But
that we may not wander too far from the Subjedt, the Secretary
fliall read you the Verfes infcribed to thofe, who reftored the
People to their Country.
Thefe honour'd Wreaths this ancient State beflows.
For when opprefs'd, enflav'd. She bow'd the Head j
Thefe Heroes in her facred Caufe arofe,
Her Chains were broken, and her Tyrants fled.
The Poet fays they were honoured for having deftroyed a Ty-
ranny, that violated the Laws of their Country. For the A-
larm univerfally refounded through the Republic, (33) that the
Conftitution had been ruined by them, who had abolifhed the
Profecutions for propofing new Laws in Contradiction to thofe
already enabled. (34)
My
(^3) "EvavXav, an elegant, and un- oF Expreffion fo remarkable, H^erehat
common Metaphor. Eft autem meta- <<nm etiam turn in auribus at que ammis
phora llimpta ab iis, quibus poft tibiaruni omnium.
Ibnum aures adhuc perfonant. Id eft, (34) TaV_ y^>><p>>? rm '? rx^xvof*uv,
tiotum eft: el inculcatum auribus, ut tibiarum -^>> A? iion laid againft the Perfon, who
/onus. Palmer. // rang in our Ear 3^ propofed a new Law in Oppofition to an
like the Sound of a 'Trumpet, (if indeed "^'^- This Expreffion recurs ib frequent-
axiXog fignifies a Trumpet) would per- ly>> that the Tranflator, apprehenfive it
haps be too bold for a Tranflation. Of "^'S^^ become difguftful to his Readers,
all our Trannators Lambinus alone feems ''^^^ fometimes changed it for any Vio-
to have paid any Attention to a Manner ^'^^^"^ "^ ^^^ ^^^""^ '" general.
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 327
My Father, who died at ninety-five Years of Age, and who
had born a confiderable Share in all the DiftrefTcs of the Com-
monwealth ; has often at his Hours of Leifure informed me,
that as foon as the People had refumed the Government, when-
ever an Adlion was brought before the Judges for propofing
new Laws, the Crime appeared equally atrocious, as if they
violated the Laws, already enadled. For what is there more
execrable, than the Man, who either fpeaks or afts in Violation
of the Laws of his Country ? Very different was the Manner
then, as he informed me, of hearing thefe Caufes, from what
is in Prad;ice at prefent. The Judges were far more fevere a-
gainft the Criminals, than even the Accufer himfelf. They
frequently called back the Clerk, and commanded him to read
again and again the Laws, and the Decree, that propofed any
Alteration in them. Nor were they alone condemned, who
thus contradicted any one whole Law, but they, who altered
even a fingle Syllable. But the Procefs in fuch Caufes now is
abfolutely ridiculous. The Clerk reads the Decree, preferred
againft the Laws, while the Judges, as if they heard fome idle
Ballad, or perhaps a Caufe, in which they were wholly uncon-
cerned, engage their Attention to whatever is moft foreign to
the Pleadings. Thus by the Artifices of Demofthenes you
have admitted this fhameful Cuftom into your Courts of Juflice,
and all your judicial Proceedings are totally perverted. The
Prolecutor in Fact becomes Defendant ; the Criminal turns
Profecutor, and the Judges not feldom forget the Caufe, upon
I which.
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? 328 ORATION OF . ESCHINES
which they are to pronounce Judgement. They are therefore
of Neceflity compelled to give Sentence upon Points, which
liave not appeared to them in the Trial, and of which they
confequently cannot ftridlly be Judges. ^If the Criminal con-
defcends to touch upon the Merits of the Caufe, he does not
defend himfelf by proving, that he has not propofed an illegal
Decree, but that others, who have preferred Decrees equally con-
trary to the Laws, have efcaped unpunifhed. Upon this Plea,
I am told, that Ctefiphon is highly confident and affured.
Aristophon had once in your Aflembly the Effrontery to
glory in his having been tried upon feventy-five Indidlments for
illegal Decrees. Not fb the ancient Cephalus, efteemed the
moll zealous Defender of republican Principles. He gloried in
the very oppofite Condudl, when he declared he had written
more Decrees, than ever any other Citizen, and yet had never
been accufed of contradidling any Law. A juft, in my Opini-
on, and a laudable Boaft. For not only they, who had taken
different Parties in the Adminiftration, impeached each other,
but Friends then giccufed Friends, if they were guilty of any
thing injurious to the Republic. You will be convinced by
the following Jnftance. Archinus impeached Thralybulus for
having, in Contradidtion to an exprefs Law, decreed a Crown
to one of thofe, who returned with him from Phyle. Thraly-
bulus was condemned, however recent his good Services, which
his Judges very lightly regarded j becaufe they imagined, that
as
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Philip died, and Alexander was eflabliflied on the Throne, dif-
playing again the Monflers of his Imagination, he inflituted
Sacrifices
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? 3IO ORATION OF iESCHINES
Sacrifices to the Manes of Paufanias, (24) and fixed upon the
Senate the Crime of celebrating the joyful News of Philip's
Death by a pubhc Feftival. He then contemptuouily gave
Alexander the Surname of Driveler, and confidently afierted, he
would never ftir out of Macedonia, but hold himfelf extremely
contented in walking round his Capital, and infpeding the En-
trails of his Victims. (25) Thefe Afiertions, he afTured us,
were founded, not upon fimple Conjedures, but upon his own
clear and perfect Science, that Glory is only to be purchafed by
Blood. (26) Thus reafoned the Man, who hath not himfelf a Drop
of Blood in his Veins ; who forms his Judgement of Alexander,
not upon the Genius of Alexander, but upon his own Cowardice.
For Inftance, when the Theflalians refolved to invade the Re-
public, and the young Monarch in the firft Tranfports of his
Anger, nor unreafonable his Anger, had invefled Thebes, De-
mofthenes being appointed your Ambaflador to intercede for the
befieged, betook himfelf to Flight from the very Middle of
Mount
(24) Who wirh a noble Refentment JI^p in a whole Skin. By a Paflage in
killed Philip for an inhuman Outrage Polybius, quoted by Doftor Taylor, it
offered him by one of his Favourites, appears, that it was cuftomary among
and which the Monarch negleded to pu- the Macedonian Monarchs not only to
nifh. infpecSt, but even to handle the Entrails
(25) 'Prohdb\y, before he would venture of their Viftims.
upon any future Expedition. Theie Words, (26) O'V* Ki^otTog Ig-w ^ a^erij uvlu,
Tcc (TTrXxyx^voi (puXxTJovroi, have been if literally trandated is, perhaps, hardly
mod abfurdly rendered by all our Tranf- intelligible. Firttie or Vakur is only to h
lations, except the Italian and an anony- purchafed by Blood; or as Lambinus ren-
mous Latin I ranflator. Procardia fua ders it, virtutem noti mji fanguine compa^
confervaret. Vifcera paterna cuficdire. rari : or Du Vair, ^e le fang efl le prix
Fitn7n confervaret. De conferver fri- de la vertu. If we underfland d^iTyj
tieufement fa perfonne -, and pleafantly the Reputation of Virtue or Valour, the
enough by a latq F. nglifli Tranflator, to Sentiment is juft and of great Dignity,
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 311
Mount Citheron, and returned to Athens, proving himfelf
neither in Peace nor War a valuable, ufeful Citizen.
Yet of all things moft atrocious, U'hile you would neither
furrender him to the Juftice of his Country, nor fuffer him to
be tried in the General Council of Greece, ev-en then did he
furrender you to Alexander, at leaft, if univerfal Report may
be believed. For the Mariners of the Galley, in which he failed,
and the Colleagues ofhisEmbafly to Alexander affert (and their
Afiertion is in itfelf extremely probable) that there is a certain
Youth, called Ariftion, the Son of a Dealer in Drugs, whom
poflibly fome of you may know. This Youth was formerly
difliinguifhed for his Beauty, and lived a confiderable Time in
the Houfe of Demofthenes. What were his Converfation and
Employment there, is Matter of Doubt, and by no Means de-
cent for me to mention. This Ariftion being perfectly un-
known, either with Regard to his Birth, or Manner of Life,,
insinuated himfelf into the Favour of Alexander, and approach-
ed him with much Familiarity. By this Youth Demofthenes.
wrote to Alexander ; obtained a Kind of Pardon ; was after-
wards received into Favour, and pradlifed much abjedl Adula-
tion. Judge from hence, how confiftent this Ajffair with the
Crimes, of which I have accufed him in this Indidlment,
For if Demofthenes had entertained any of the Sentiments
he now profefles, or held Alexander in that hoftile Hatred, he
3 ' pretends^
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? 312 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
pretends, there were three the fairefl: Opportunities offered him
of evincing that Hatred ; none of which, it is apparent, he
ever ufed. The firft, when Alexander was hardly eftablifhed
on the Throne, and leaving his own Kingdom defencelefs and
unfettled had marched into Afia, the Perfian King, who was
then moft powerful in Fleets, and Money, and Armies, yet a-
larmed with the Dangers, that threatened him, would have
gladly received you into the Number of his Confederates. What
Oration, Demofthenes, did you then pronounce ? What Decree
did you then propofe ? Would you have me fuppofe you were
miferably afraid, and yielded to the natural Feeblenefs of your
Conftitution? Yet a Conjundure, upon which depends the
Welfare of a whole People, will not wait for the Timidity of an
Orator. But afterwards, when Darius came down with all hi?
Forces, and Alexander was inclofed in the Streights of Cilicia,
deftitute, as you afferted, of all Support for his Army, and in-
ftantly to be trampled under Foot, (for fo you exprefled it) by
the Perfian Horfe, the City was unable to endure thy tedious
Petulance, or to contain the Epiftles, that hung dangling at
your Fingers Ends, as you walked in procellional Pomp through
the Streets, pointing me out to a certain Faction, as if I carried
Aftonifhment and Defpair in my Face, calling me the Bull
with gilded Horns, and threatening, if any Misfortune happened
to Alexander, that I fhould be crowned for Sacrifice ; yet not
even then did you perform any one A6lion to prove your Ha-
tred to Alexander, but prudently deferred your Anger to fome
more
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 313
more favourable Opportunity. But paffing over all thefe In-
ftances, I fhall fpeak to the prefent Situation of our Affairs,
The Lacedaemonians and their foreign Soldiery had fortunately
gained a fignal Vidory, and totally defeated a Body of Alexan-
der's Troops encamped near Choragus, a Fortrcfs in Macedonia :
the Eleans ; almoft all the Achacans, and all Arcadia, had a-
bandoned the Party of the Macedonians, excepting Megalo-
polis ; that City too was befiegcd, and in the general Opinion
was every Day expedled to be reduced : Alexander had marched
beyond the North Pole, I might almoft fay, beyond the Boun-
daries of the habitable World : Antipater had loft much Time
in levying an Army, and what the Event would prove was ab-
folutely uncertain. Here then, Demofthenes, inform us, what
Adtion you performed upon this Occafion, and what Oration
you pronounced. If you pleafe, I will refign the Tribunal, till
you have finifhed your Harangue. But ftnce you are filent, I
fhall excufe your Hefttation, and what you then faid, I fliall
now repeat.
Do you not remember thefe abominable and abfurd Expref-
lions, which you, his iron-hearted Audience, were able to
endure. '* There are fome certain Perfons, who prune the
" Commonwealth, like a Vine ; fome lop off the Tendrils of
" our Democracy ; the Nerves of Government are cut afunder;
" we are prcffed and ftitched together in Matts ; fome Folks
Vol. II. S s
(C
run
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? 314 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
" run through us, as if we were Needles. " (27) Are thefe,
thou Creature of Fraud and Wilinefs, are they human Expref-
lions, or ill-omened and portentous Bodings ? Then turning
yourfelf round on the Tribunal, with the Svviftnefs and Agita-
tion of a Whirl-pool, you declared, as if in all your Adlions you*
had been a determined Enemy to Alexander, " I confefs, I
" formed the Lacedaemonian Confederacy ; I confefs, I influ-
" enced the ThefiaHans and Parrh^ebians to abandon him. "
Thou influence the Theffalians ? Couldft thou ever influence
even a Village to abandon him ? Didft thou ever dare to en-
ter, I will not fay, into a City, but even a Houfe, where there
was an Appearance of Danger } No. Indeed where Money
is expended, there you are moft afliduous, but incapable of
any one manly, generous Adlion. Whatever in the natural
Courfe of Things happens more fortunately, you arrogate to
yourfelf, and infcribe your Name upon it. If any Terror ap-
proaches, you betake yourfelf to Flight ; if we grow confident
of our Succefs, you deinand Rewards, and Crowns of Gold.
*' All this is acknowledged. The Man however is a zealous
Defender of our Democracy. " If you regard the fpecious Ap-
pearances of his Declamation? , you will be again deceived, as
formerly.
(27) Much good Learning hath been Wolfius and Dodor Taylor. Hyena,
employed to illullrate and explain thefe qui ibouriconnmt noftre ville. , qui couppent
very extraordinary Metaphors. But fince les branches du peuple, & les nerfs des
we are told, that the Affair, however affaires. II nous mettent a reftroir,
important, is to be determined by Au- comme de la bourre piquee entre deux
thorities, let us add that of an old Tranf- tollies : vous dirriez qu'ils nous fourrent
lator, Du \'air, to thofc given us by des lardoires dans les felTes.
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? AGAINST CT ESI PI-ION. ^^15
formerly. But if you look into his natural Genius, and the
Trutli of Fadls, you cannot be deceived. Let him give you
his own Eftimate of Things, (28) while I confider with you,
what good QuaUties a wife and able democratical Citizen ought
neceffarily to poffefs, and place it in Oppofition to the Charac-
ter of a bad Man, violently zealous for an Oligarchy. When
they were placed in this Oppofition, do you determine which
of them he moft refembles, not in his Words, but Anions.
I THEREFORE imagine you will unanimoufly acknowledge
thefe Requifites are neceffary to conftitute a valuable Republican*
Firft, that he be freeborn both by Father and Mother ; left by
the Misfortune of his Birth he may be malevolently affedled to-
wards thofe Laws, which preferve the Conftitution of his
Country : fecondly, that fome Adt of Beneficence to the Com-
monwealth fhould have been performed by his Anceftors, or,
which is of abfolute NeceiTity, that they had no Refentments
againft her, left he may be influenced by the Defire of reveng-
ing their Misfortunes, to attempt her Deftrudion : thirdly,
that in his conftant Expences he be frugal and temperate, that
he may not be compelled by the Wantonnefs of his Profufion
to take Bribes againft her Interefts : fourthly, that he be a
Man of Probity and Eloquence ; for glorious indeed is that In-
S f 2 tegrity,
(28) AVoXa^ETE 7ra^' aura To'v Xoyov, che egli dice. Italian Translator"
ad verbum, Recipite ab eo rationm-, ied in this Senle, our Commentators in ge-
redlius, llle reddat vobis rat'wnem. Sfe- neral underiland the PafTage.
PHANS. In quefta maniera pigliate quel
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? 3i6 ORATION OF iESCHINES .
tegrity, which alv/ays direds us to the befl: Meafures, when
joined with Eloquence capable of perfuading our Audience to
purfue them. If however we cannot find thefe Qualities united,,
certainly Probity is ever to be preferred to all the Powers of
fpeaking. Laftly, let him poflefs a generous Spirit of Refo-
lution, that he may never in Times of public Difficulty, and
amidft the Dangers of War, defert the Confl;itution. The Man,
who is zealous for an Oligarchy, is in every Particular the Op-
pofite to this Character. To what Purpofe therefore fhould I
repeat them.
Now confider, whether any Part of the Charadter I have
given of a democratical Republican can be applied to Demoft-
henes, and let the Computation be made with exadleft Juftice.
His Father (for nothing fliould oblige us to utter a Falfehood)
was a Citizen of Athens, but with regard to his Mother and her
Father, I {hall inftrudl you in his Defcent. Gylon, a Native
of an obfcure Attic Village, betrayed a Town in Pont us, at
the Time when the Republic extended her Dominion over that
Country, and having been capitally condemned, fled from A-
thens to avoid the Punifhment he merited. He then paffed over
into Thrace, and received from the Tyrants of that Country,,
as a Reward of his Perfidy, a Trad: of Land, called the Gar-
dens. There he marries a Woman, rich, by Jupiter, and
who brought a very confidcrable Fortune, but by Birth a Scy-
thian. By this Woman he hath two Daughters, whom he
fends
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 317
fends hither with an immenfe Sum of Money, and gives one of
them in Marriage, I muft not fay to whom, that I may not pro-
voke more Enemies. The other, the Father of this Demoft-
benes married in Contempt of the Laws of his Country, and
from Her defcends our egregious Calumniator. By his Defcent
therefore from his Grand-father he is an Enemy to tlie People
of Athens, for they condemned that Grand-father to Death,,
and with regard to his Mother he is a Scythian, a Barbarian,,
a Grecian only in his Language, and from thence even in his
Villanies an Alien and a Foreio-ner.
Now behold him in his Oeconomy. Having ridiculoufly^
fquandered away his paternal Fortune in building Gal lies, he
fuddenly made his Appearance as an Attorney, but being con-
vi? led of having betrayed his Truft in his new Profeffion, and
fhewn the Pleadings of his Clients to their Adverfaries, he
bounded from thence up to the Tribunal. Here he extorted
from the Republic a mighty Sum of Money, which he hath
reduced to almofl: nothing. At prefent the royal Gold of Perfia
hath overflowed him, like an Inundation. (29) Yet even the
Gold
(29) To ^xTtXiKov ^^lkt/ov 67njc? - feems to preferve this Idea in the PafTage
aXvyie Trjv ^uTToivriV ccvri. Thus rendered before us, which might be literally tranf-
by the lad, and, beyond all Comparifon, ^^^^^^ '^^^ ^"^^ '^"^'^ overflowed his Ex-
the beft Edition of our Author, \His T^"^" ' '^'^<<"S'^ po H-ip^ our I^anguage
Affairs ivere at a low Ebb, till the Tide '^'" "? ^ ^^""^ ^^e Hardinefs of fuch an
cf the Perfian Exchequer flowed in. j Yet E^preffion. KAsoTrar^a rtq 'UXii^g
tTTmXv^u gives us, in general, an Idea s7riKXv. croia-c6 ttoXXu %fLi. o-^, cum magnam
of overflowing and Inundation, rather ""^'"^ ^>>ri in Eleos efudijfet, or as it might
than the Flux and Reflux of the Sea. It ^^ better rendered, Elees auro imaiJavifet.
4 1 ! ic
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? 3i8 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
Gold of Perfia is not fufficient to fupport his Extravagance.
No Treafures can fatiate a depraved Spirit. In fliort, he now
adually rublifts, not upon his own Revenues, but on your
Dangers. But with regard to his Probity and his Eloquence,
how hath Nature formed him ? Eminent for his Eloquence j
infamous in his Life. In his Intemperance of Proftitution, he
commits fuch Exceffes, as I am unwilling to mention ; becaule
I have fometinies obferved, that they, who have too curioufly
explained the Turpitude of others, have made themfelves the
Objefts of public Deteftation. Yet what Advantages to the
Republic from his Eloquence ? His Words indeed are excel-
lent j his Adtions vile and fcandalous.
Of his Courage, I have very little to remark. If he himfelf
denied, or you were not confcious of his being a Coward, it
might be neceffary to dwell fomewhat longer on the Proofs.
But fince he confeffes even in your Aflemblies, and you your-
felves are univerfally feniible of his Cowardice, it only remains,
that 1 recall to your Remembrance the 'Laws enad;ed againft
Cowards in general. Solon, your ancient Legiflator, thought
the fame Punifhment fhould beinflided upon him, whorefufed
to cnlif! : ; upon him, who deferted his Ranks, and upon the
natural Coward. There are Indidments for Cowardice. Al-
thouorh
The Word s'Tj-ncXhcroca-x is explained by mentioned, miglit be fiipported by the
e7rt^oi-]jiXevcra(rBi, KUToc^aXSc-oi, ^i<e in- Authority of the Italian. Nondime'io hcra
undavie. ^/a- largiter effudit. Sir id as. ^ damri del Rehanm coper to la ftui fpefa.
The litteral I-ng! ifh Tranflation, above-
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 319
though fome of you may wonder, there fhould be Profecutions
againft the Infirmities of Nature, yet there certainly are. Up-
on what Reafons are they founded ?
Upon a View of render-
ing your Soldiers more afraid of the Penalties inflided by the
Laws, than of their Enemies, and thus compelling them to
fight with greater Ardour for their Country. The Lcgiflator
equally excludes from the facred Afperfions in the Temple, (30)
and from all civil Bufmefs in the Forum, the Man, who re-
fufes to cnlift, the natural Coward, and him, who deferts his
Rank in Battle. He does not fuffer them to be crowned ; he for-
bids them to approach the Sacrifices, inftituted in the Name of
the People. And doft thou, Ctefiphon, command us to crown,
whom the Laws forbid to be crowned ? Doft thou by Decree
invite into the Theatre, amidft the foleran Reprefentation of
our Tragedies, the Man, moft unworthy of fuch Honours ?
Invite into the Temple of Bacchus, the Man, who by his
Cowardice hath betrayed all our Temples ? But that I may
not make you wander from the Subje6l, only remember, when
he profefTes his Zeal for the Liberties of the People, to confider
not his Eloquence, but his Life; to mark with Attention not
what he ailerts himfelf to be, but what he really is. //
Since
(3c) ns^i^'^avTyi^iuv koc] T^g oiyoccii. fprinkled by the Priefts. This Cuftom
Qiiafi arcendus eflet ab omnibus con- is Hill prcferved by Roman CathoHcs,
grcfiibus, tarn fans, quam civilibus. who tell us, it was originally a JewiHi
Taylor. A Vefftl, filled with purified Ceremony: as if the Heathens would
or holy Water, was placed at the En- have taken their religious Ceremonies
trance of the Heathen Temples, with ^''om a People, whom they defpiJed and
which the Perfons, who went to worfhip, abhorred,
cither fprinkled themfclves, or were
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? 320 , ORATION OF i? ^ S C Fl I N E S
Since I have mentioned Crowns and Rewards, wliile I re-
coiled, I will here prophecy to you, Men of Athens, if you
do not reftrain this Profufion of Rewards, and tliefe Crowns
thus inconfiderately beftowed, neither will the Perfons, who
. are honoured by them, return you Thanks for the Favour, nor
will the Affairs of the Republic be betta- diredled. Becaufe
you can never make the vicious Citizen virtuous, but you may
throw the Virtuous into the laft Defpair. That thefe Refledi-
ons are juft, I imagine, I can prove by ftrong Arguments.
For if you were alked, whether the Commonwealth feems at
prefent in a more flourifhing Condition, than in the Days of
our Anceftors, you would unanimoufly confefs, in the Days
of our Anceftors. Were the People at that Time more vir-
tuous, than at prefent ? They were then more eminent in
Virtue, and now far more degenerate. Yet Rewards, and
Crowns, and Proclamations, and the Honour of being main-
tained at the public Expence, were they at that Time more
? numerous, than at prefent? Thefe honourary Rewards were
then mod rare, and even the Name of Virtue was held in
Efteem ; but now, like Veftments often cleaned, thofe Re-
^wards have loft their Luftre, and Crowns are given by a meer
Habitude of giving, not by Judgement or Difcernment. /
It feems therefore moft unaccountable, if we confider things
with Attention, that Rewards of Merit arc now more frequent,
and the Republic then more powerful ; that the People of Athens
are
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 321
are now more degenerate, and were then more eminent for their
Virtue. I fhall endeavour to explain a Fa6t tlius extraordinary
Can you imagine, Athenians, that any Man either at the Fcf-
tival of Minerva, or the Olympic, or your other public Games,
in which Crowns are given to the Vidlors, would engage
in the feverer, athletic, Exercifes, if the Crown is beflowed,
not upon the moft deferving, but on him, who hath prac-
tifed upon your Votes ? No, certainly. At prefent, to fpeak
my own Sentiments, by the Rarity of the Contention and the
Dignity of the Prize; by the Glory and Immortality, arifmg
from the Vidlory ; there are many, who will with Ardour ex-
pofe themfelves to every Fatigue, fupport the greateft Miferies,
and even endanger their Lives. Imagine yourfelves there-
fore appointed Arbiters in this Contention of civil Virtue, and
then refledl, that if you beftow thefe Crowns upon the Few,
and moft deferving, as the Law diredls, you fhall have many
Competitors for the Prizes of Virtue. But if you gratify who-
ever defires them, or thofe who make ufe of Artifice and In-
trigue to gain them, you will corrupt even the Genius, that was
likely to merit them<<
I WOULD willingly explain to you more clearly the Truth of
thefe Obfervations. Tell me then, does Themiftocles, under
whofe Command you conquered the Perfian in the Sea-Fight
at Salamis, or this Deferter of his Rank at Chaeronea, appear
to you the more valuable Citizen ? But Miltiades, who gained
Vol. II, T t the
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? 022 ORATION OF iESCHINES
the Vidory over the Barbarians at Marathon, or this Demoft-
henes ? But the Leaders, who brought home the People, who
had fled to Phyle for Protedion from the thirty Tyrants ? But
Ariftides, furnamed the Juft; a Surname very different from
that of Demofthenes? -- (31) Yet, by all the Deities of O-
lymnus, I do not hold it fitting to mention this Monfter upon
the fame Day with thefe illuftrious Perfons. However let him
prove in his intended Oration, where it was ever decreed, that
any one of thefe great Men fhould be rewarded with a golden
Crown. (32) Was the People ungrateful? No; they were
of too generous a Spirit to be ungrateful. But the Perfons,
who were thus unhonoured, were they unworthy of the Re-
public ? No ; they did not imagine, their Virtues could be
honoured by Decrees or monumental Infcriptions, but by the
orateful Remembrance of their Fellow-Citizens, which even
to this Day continues immortal.
But fome Rewards they received, which deferve to be men-
tioned. At that diftinguiflied Period, in which our Generals^
having: with Fortitude fuftained innumerable Fatigues and Dan-
gers,
(31) A more temperate Orator would Original, will imagine the Words, wllh
himfelf have anfwered thefe violent Inter- a golden Crown, an unfaithful Addition
rogations, or have continued to the two to the Text. But either that Part of the
la(t his ^ Sto? , or this Demofthenes ? prefent Sentence, which mentions the
However, our ' temperate TranQators, Leaders, who brought home the People
excepting Wolfius, have taken Care to ^^0TM Phyle, fhould be totally omitted,
iupply this apparent Want of gramma- o"" ^e muft read ;^. f ucr^ re? '<<>>'^, becaufe
tical Exaftnefs. ^^ ^^'^ hereafter find them crowned with.
(32) The Reader, who confults the ^live. Doctor Markland,
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 323
gersj gained an important Vidtory over the Medcs, in a Battle
fought upon the Banks of the River Strymon, vvlien they return-
ed to Athens they foHcited the People for fome Reward. The
People granted them very fignal Honours, as Honours were then
eftimated, and permitted them to eredl three marble Statues of
Mercury in the Portico of his Temples, but forbad them to
infcribe upon them their own Names, that the Infcription might
be that of the People, not that of the Generals. You ITiall be
convinced by the Verfes themfelves ; for upon the firft of thele
Mercuries is the following Infcription.
Upon the Banks of Strymon's rapid Tide
Thefe Leaders firft the haughty Mede fubdued ;
With direful Famine quell'd their Tyrant's Pride,
And with the avenging Sword their flying War purfued.
Upon the Second.
This Monument a grateful People raife.
To Virtue and illuftrious Worth decreed ;
Here let our Sons behold their Fathers' Praife,
And for the public Weal with Ardour bleed. -
Upon the Third.
On that fam'd Coaft, where great Atrides bled,
Meneftheus our Athenian Forces led ;
A Chief renown'd, in Homer's facred Page,
To form the Battle, and diredt its Rage.
Thus fam'd in War has Athens ever {hone,
Yet made the various Arts of Peace her o\vn.
T t 2 Is
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? 324 ORATION OF iESCHINES
Is the Name of the Generals infcribed upon any of theie
Mercuries ? No ; that of the People. Approach therefore,
in Imagination, the Portico, for its Paintings called the various,
where you frequently aflemble, and where all the Monuments
of your memorable Adions are depofited. You afk, Athenians,
what I mean by fuch a Propofal ? There the Battle of Marathon
is painted. Who was the Commander in Chief upon that im-
portant Day ? You can all anfwer, Miltiades. Yet his Name
is not written upon the Pidlure. Wherefore ? Did he not
folicit this Reward ? He did folicit, and the People refufed it.
Yet inftead of his Name they permitted him to be drawn the
principal Figure in the Piece, and in an Attitude, that diftin-
guiflied him animating the Soldiers to their Duty. In the
Temple of the Mother of the Gods, near the Senate-Houfe, we
may ftill behold what Rewards you gave the Leaders, who
brought home the People from their Exile in Phyle. Archinus,,
one of thefe Leaders, propofed a Decree, and carried it without
Oppofition, in which he directed, that a thoufand Drachmas
fliould be given to the Perfons, whom he brought home from
Phyle, for Sacrifices and monumental Offerings to the Gods ;
the whole amounting to fomewhat lefs than ten Drachmas, each
Perfon. He then ordered, that they fhould be crowned with
an Olive, not a golden Crown. For in thofe Days a Crown
ol Olive was held in Honour, though now a golden one is de-
fpifed. Nor did he fuffer thefe Crowns to be given without dire
Caution, but direfled the Senate to enquire with their ftri^eft
Care
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 325
Care how many Citizens had been befieged in Phyle, who had
bravely repulfed the Lacedemonians and the thirty Tyrants,
when they attacked that Fortrefs ; not how many had fled
from the Battle of Ch^ronea, upon the Approach of the Enemy,
To prove thefe AfTertions, the Decree fhall be read to you.
The Decree.
Now compare with this Decree, that which Ctefiphon pre-
ferred for crowning Demofthenes, this Author of all our great-
eft Misfortunes.
The Decree.
Bv this Decree the Honours given to thofe, who reftored you
to your Country are wholly defaced. If this be Matter of
Glory, that was full of Turpitude ; if they were juftly rewarded,
this Man is unworthy to be crowned.
But I am informed, Demofthenes will reply, that I deal
unjuftly with him, when I compare his Adions with thofe of
our Anceftors. He will objed:, that Philammon was not crown-
ed in the Olympic Games for vanquifliing Glaucus, the cele-
brated Champion of Antiquity, buthisownperfonal Antagonifts ;
as if we were ignorant, that the Conteft in thefe Games is in-
deed perfonal, but that when we afpire to the Crown of Virtue,
we contend with Virtue herfelf, for whofe fake we are crown-
ed : becaufe the Herald ftiould by no means utter a Falfehood,
when he makes a Proclamation in the Theatre before the gene-
ral
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? 326 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
ral Aflembly of Greece. Do not therefore, Demofthenes, re-
peatedly inform us how far your Adminiftration exceeded that
of Pataecion, but give us fome Inftance of your own manly
Virtue, and then demand thefe Favours from the People. But
that we may not wander too far from the Subjedt, the Secretary
fliall read you the Verfes infcribed to thofe, who reftored the
People to their Country.
Thefe honour'd Wreaths this ancient State beflows.
For when opprefs'd, enflav'd. She bow'd the Head j
Thefe Heroes in her facred Caufe arofe,
Her Chains were broken, and her Tyrants fled.
The Poet fays they were honoured for having deftroyed a Ty-
ranny, that violated the Laws of their Country. For the A-
larm univerfally refounded through the Republic, (33) that the
Conftitution had been ruined by them, who had abolifhed the
Profecutions for propofing new Laws in Contradiction to thofe
already enabled. (34)
My
(^3) "EvavXav, an elegant, and un- oF Expreffion fo remarkable, H^erehat
common Metaphor. Eft autem meta- <<nm etiam turn in auribus at que ammis
phora llimpta ab iis, quibus poft tibiaruni omnium.
Ibnum aures adhuc perfonant. Id eft, (34) TaV_ y^>><p>>? rm '? rx^xvof*uv,
tiotum eft: el inculcatum auribus, ut tibiarum -^>> A? iion laid againft the Perfon, who
/onus. Palmer. // rang in our Ear 3^ propofed a new Law in Oppofition to an
like the Sound of a 'Trumpet, (if indeed "^'^- This Expreffion recurs ib frequent-
axiXog fignifies a Trumpet) would per- ly>> that the Tranflator, apprehenfive it
haps be too bold for a Tranflation. Of "^'S^^ become difguftful to his Readers,
all our Trannators Lambinus alone feems ''^^^ fometimes changed it for any Vio-
to have paid any Attention to a Manner ^'^^^"^ "^ ^^^ ^^^""^ '" general.
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 327
My Father, who died at ninety-five Years of Age, and who
had born a confiderable Share in all the DiftrefTcs of the Com-
monwealth ; has often at his Hours of Leifure informed me,
that as foon as the People had refumed the Government, when-
ever an Adlion was brought before the Judges for propofing
new Laws, the Crime appeared equally atrocious, as if they
violated the Laws, already enadled. For what is there more
execrable, than the Man, who either fpeaks or afts in Violation
of the Laws of his Country ? Very different was the Manner
then, as he informed me, of hearing thefe Caufes, from what
is in Prad;ice at prefent. The Judges were far more fevere a-
gainft the Criminals, than even the Accufer himfelf. They
frequently called back the Clerk, and commanded him to read
again and again the Laws, and the Decree, that propofed any
Alteration in them. Nor were they alone condemned, who
thus contradicted any one whole Law, but they, who altered
even a fingle Syllable. But the Procefs in fuch Caufes now is
abfolutely ridiculous. The Clerk reads the Decree, preferred
againft the Laws, while the Judges, as if they heard fome idle
Ballad, or perhaps a Caufe, in which they were wholly uncon-
cerned, engage their Attention to whatever is moft foreign to
the Pleadings. Thus by the Artifices of Demofthenes you
have admitted this fhameful Cuftom into your Courts of Juflice,
and all your judicial Proceedings are totally perverted. The
Prolecutor in Fact becomes Defendant ; the Criminal turns
Profecutor, and the Judges not feldom forget the Caufe, upon
I which.
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? 328 ORATION OF . ESCHINES
which they are to pronounce Judgement. They are therefore
of Neceflity compelled to give Sentence upon Points, which
liave not appeared to them in the Trial, and of which they
confequently cannot ftridlly be Judges. ^If the Criminal con-
defcends to touch upon the Merits of the Caufe, he does not
defend himfelf by proving, that he has not propofed an illegal
Decree, but that others, who have preferred Decrees equally con-
trary to the Laws, have efcaped unpunifhed. Upon this Plea,
I am told, that Ctefiphon is highly confident and affured.
Aristophon had once in your Aflembly the Effrontery to
glory in his having been tried upon feventy-five Indidlments for
illegal Decrees. Not fb the ancient Cephalus, efteemed the
moll zealous Defender of republican Principles. He gloried in
the very oppofite Condudl, when he declared he had written
more Decrees, than ever any other Citizen, and yet had never
been accufed of contradidling any Law. A juft, in my Opini-
on, and a laudable Boaft. For not only they, who had taken
different Parties in the Adminiftration, impeached each other,
but Friends then giccufed Friends, if they were guilty of any
thing injurious to the Republic. You will be convinced by
the following Jnftance. Archinus impeached Thralybulus for
having, in Contradidtion to an exprefs Law, decreed a Crown
to one of thofe, who returned with him from Phyle. Thraly-
bulus was condemned, however recent his good Services, which
his Judges very lightly regarded j becaufe they imagined, that
as
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