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Demosthenes - Orations - v2
134 ORATIONSOF
fome Citizens of this Charader? Certainly. What? Were
there not in Megara, who robbed, and plundered the Public ?
Undoubtedly ; and it appeared. Were any of them the Authors
of thofe Calamities, which befell that State ? Not one. Who
therefore, and what were they, who committed fuch flagrant
Crimes? They, who thought themfelves honoured in being
called the Guefts and the Friends of Philip; who deemed
themfelves worthy of commanding your Armies, and prefiding
in your Councils, and exerting a Superiority over the People.
Was not Perilaus lately impeached before the Senate of Me-
gara, becaufe he went to Macedonia; and did not Ptceodorus,
the principal Citizen of Megara in Riches, Birth and Reputa-
tion, appear in his Defence, folicit for his Pardon, and again
fend him back to Philip ? He returned afterwards with a Body
of mercenary Troops, while Ptceodorus had totally changed the
civil Conftitution of his Country. For there is nothing, cer-
tainly nothing, of which you fhould be more cautious, than the
fufrering anyone Angle Citizen to exert an Authority fuperiorto
that of the whole People. Let no Man ever be acquitted or
condemned by the meer Pleafure of another; let his own Adions
acquit him; on the contrary, let this iEfchines be condemned
by the Juftice of your Sentence; (48) for fuch Condudt is
democratical.
I Several
(48) This Manner of mentioning iEf- Reafoning before is general, but this A p-
chines, thus irregularly, thus feemingly plication gives it a particular Direflion.
without Defign, is of great Force. The It is now pointed at Alfchines alone.
The
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? DEMOSTHENES. 135
Several of your Citizens have indeed, upon particular Oc-
cafions, gained an Influence over you j Califtratus, Ariftophon,
Diophantus, and others formerly. But where did they exert
this Influence? In your Afiemblics only : for never, even to
this Day, did any of theni aflijme an Authority in your Courts
of Juftice: an Authority more powerful than you yourfelves;
than the Laws and your Oaths. Do not therefore fuffer Eubulus
to ufurp this Authority. But to convince you, it will be a
greater Proof of your Wifdom to preferve it yourfelves, than to
intrufl: it to others, I will read you the Oracles of the Gods,
who far more powerfully proted; the Republic, than they, who
govern it. Read.
The Oracles.
Do you hear, O Men of Athens, what the Gods declare ?
If in Time of War, therefore, they had made this Declaration,
they would have adviled you to guard with Caution againft
your Commanders, becaule in War your Commanders are your
Governors; if in Peace, to guard againfl: your Magifl:rates;
becaufe they are then your Governors; you obey them, and
are in Danger of being deceived by them. Befldes, the Oracle
declares, that the Republic fliould be united ; that her Citizens
fhould be unanimous in their Deciflons, and not give Pleafure
to their Enemies. Whether then do you imagine, O Men of
Athens,
The Reader is Indebted for this Re- {landing, to Doftor Taylor in his Notes
mark, certainly of much good Under- upon another Oration.
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? 136 ORATIONSOF
Athens, will the acquitting or condemning the Man, who
wrought fuch Mifchiefs, give Pleafure to PhiHp? In my
Judgement, his being acquitted. But the Oracle advifes you
always to a6t in fuch a Manner, that your Enemies may never
have Reafon to rejoice. Thus does Jupiter, Venus and all the
Gods command you with one Confent to punifli thofe, who
render any Services to your Enemies. But who are your Ene-
mies? The Aflailants without, and their Affiftants within.
The Office of thefe AlTailants is to give; that of their Affiftants
to receive, and to protedl others, who receive.
Besides, we may difcover by the Force of human Reafon
only, that of all things moft odious, and moft terrible, is a
Magiftrate's Familiarity with them, who have Sentiments and
Inclinations different from thofe of the People, whom they
govern. For confider, by what Arts Philip hatii become thus
univerfally powerful, and by what Inftruments he hath wrought
out his Succefs. By purchafing the Affiftance of whoever fold
their Abilities j by corrupting the Magiftrates in every free City,
and infpiring them with Infolence and Ambition, But thefe
Arts it is this Day in your Power to render ufelefs, if you de-
termine not to hear the Advocates of fuch Traitors j if you
demonftrate, that they have not an abfolute Authority over you
(for at prefent they declare themfelves your abfolute Mafters) if
you puniffi the Wretch, who hath fold himfelf to PhiHp, and
let the whole World behold his Pujiiffiment. For though you
may
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? DEMOSTHENES. 137
may with Juftice, O Men of Athens, flievv your Indignation
againfl: whoever commits fuch Villainies; whoever betrays your
Confederates, your Allies, and thofe Conjunctures, upon
which the Profperity or Mifery of every particular Citizen
depends, yet never can you (hew that Indignation witli crreater
Juftice, than againft this iEfchines. , For he, who numbered
himfelf amongft thofe, who were moft fufpicious of Philip; he,
who alone, and firft was confcious, that Philip was the com-
mon Enemy of Greece, yet deferted to that Enemy, betrayed
his Poft, and fuddenly became an Advocate for Philip, docs he
not merit a thoufand Deaths? That thefe Allegations are true,
he hath it not in his Power to deny. For who firft introduced
Ifchander to you, and afllired you he came hither from the
Friends of this Republic in Arcadia? Who was even clamo-
rous in declaring, that Philip was pillaging Greece and Pelopon-
nefus, and that you were afteep? Who repeated thole beauti-
ful, and long, and numerous Declamations, and read the
Decrees of Miltiades and Themiftocles, (49) and the Oath,
which is taken by our Youth in the Temple of Agraulus? (50)
Did not JEfch'mcs? Who perfuaded you to fend an Em bally
even to the red Sea, as if Greece were already invaded by Philip,
and that it was your Duty to provide for her Safety, and not
Vol. II. T abandon
(49) WhenthePfiTiansinvadedGreece, he gained a complete Vi<5tory. Thcfe
Miltiades determined to meet them at Examples /Efchincs produced to animate
Marathon with only the Forces of the the People againft Philip. Scholiast.
Repubhc. Themiftocles perfuaded the (50) The military Oath, taken at tlic
Athenians to forfake their City, and to Time of enliftino-.
venture the Sea-fight at Salamis, where
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? 138 ORATIONSOF
abandon her States? Did not Eubulus write the Decree, and
i^fchines go AmbafTador to Peloponnefus ? How he negotiated,
and how he harangued, when he arrived there, he may himfelf
know; but what he declared here, I am confident you all re-
member; that he often called Philip a Barbarian and the Pert
of Greece; that he declared the Arcadians would be exceedingly
rejoiced, if the Republic of Athens would give fome Attention
to her Affairs, and awake from her Slumbers. But what beyond
every other Circumftance, he faid, provoked his Indignation,
in his Return he happened to meet Atreftidas returning on his
Journey from Philip, and travelling with fome thirty Women
and Children ; that he afked with Aftonifhment, who the Man
was, and what the Croud of People with him. But when he
heard, that Atreftidas, on his leaving Philip, had received thefe
Oiynthian Prifoners as a Prefent, the Sight appeared to him
moft deplorable; he burft into Tears, and lamented the Fate
of Greece, fo unhappily fituated, as not to regard fuch Calami-
ties. He then advifed you to fend Ambaffadors to Arcadia to
accufe the Faftion, who fupported Philip, for he had been in-
formed by his Friends, that if the Republic would ad with Seri-
oufnefs in the Affair, and fend an Embafly, the Traitors would
bejuftly punifhed.
Such were his Harangues at that Time, O Men of Athens,
honourable and worthy of the Commonwealth. But when he
arrived in Macedonia, and beheld this Philip, both his own, and
I the
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? DEMOSTHENES. 139
tlie common Enemy of Greece, did his Harangues afterwards
bear any Refemblance to thofe he had fpoken before; was
there any Affinity between them ? Far otherwife. He then
declared, we ought no longer to remember our Anceftors, nor
talk of their Triumphs, nor fend Succours to any of the States
of Greece. Then did he profefs his Wonder at thofe, who
advifed you to confult the Grecians in general upon concluding
a Peace with Philip, as if it were neceffary to afk the Confent
of others in Matters of your own peculiar Concernment. He af-
firmed, that Philip himfelf, O Hercules ! of all Mankind was bed
affected to Greece, the greateft Orator of his Age, and fond of
Athens to Excefs, but that fome of her Citizens were fo perv^erfe,
fo implacable, as not to be afhamed of pouring forth their
Inve<5lives againft him, and calling him a Barbarian.
Is it poffible, that the very fame Man, who had made thefe
firft Declarations, fhould ever dare, unlefs he were corrupted,
to utter thefe fecond Sentiments? What? He, who looked
upon Atreftidas with Horrour, on account of thofe Olynthian
Women and Children, could he endure to adl in Conjundion
with Philocrates, who brought the free-born Women of Olyn-
thus hither for Proftitution ? A Wretch, fo notorioufly infamous
for the Impurity of his Life, that it were unneceffary to fny any
thing reproachful, or fevere of him. Let me only allert, Phi-
locrates brought Women hither, and my whole Audience is
fully informed for what Purpofes, and will pity, I am well
T 2 aJTurcd,
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? HO O R A T I O N S O F
afiured, thcfe ill-fated, miferable Creatures, whom ^fchincs
never pitied. Neither did he lament with Tears the Fate of
Greece, apparent in the Miferies of the Women, who were
infulted and outraged by our Ambaffadors, even in thePrefence
of our Confederates. Yet he will now lament himfelf, and the
Errors of his Embafly, with Tears and Cries; perhaps will
bring his Children, and appear with them on the Tribunal,
With regard to his Children, confider, O Men of Athens,
that the Children of many of your Confederates, and Allies, are
at this Moment Vagabonds and Beggars, after having fuffered
by his Crimes the extremeft Wretchednefs. It were far more
worthy of your Clemency to pity them, than the Children of
fuch a Traitor ; for he and his Colleagues, by adding thefe
Words, " and to his Pofterity," to the Articles of Peace, have
deprived your Children of all future Hopes. With regard to
his Tears, remember you have now before you the Man, wha
advifed you to fend an Embafly to Arcadia to accufe the Fadlion.
of Philip.
But it is now no longer neceflary to fend Ambafladors to
Peloponnefus, to travel a long Journey, nor expend immenfe
Sums on the Road, but to come forward each of you to the
Tribunal, and give a jufl: and holy Suffrage in Favour of your
Country againft this MaQ, O Earth and Heaven! who having
declaimed at firft, as 1 have related, of Marathon and Salamis,
5 ^^
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? DEMOSTHENES. i+i
of Battles and Trophies, on a fiidden, as foon as he had landed
in Macedonia, fpoke in dired; Contradi(5lion to his former Ha-
rangues; that we rhould no longer remember our Anceftors,
nor talk of their Trophies, nor fend Succours, nor enter into
Council with the other States of Greece, and only not rafe her
Cities ourfelves. Expreflions, fo full of Turpitude, were
never uttered in your Afiemblies. For among either Greeks
or Barbarians is there fo perverfe, fo ftupid, fo virulent an
Enemy to the Republic, that if he were afked; *' tell me, is
" there any Part of Greece,, fuch as it now appears, and inha-
" bited as it is at prefent, that could have either preferved its
" Name, or been inhabited by Grecians, if our Anceftors had
" not given fuch fignal Proofs of their Virtue at Marathon and
" Salamis? " No one, I am perfuaded, would ailert it could;
but on the contrary, that the whole Country mufl have been
fubdued by the Barbarians. Thofe Honours therefore, thofe
Praifes, of which even your Enemies would not deprive you,
j^fchines, that he may receive his Penfion, will not fuffer you,
the Defcendants of thofe Anceftors, even to mention. Of all
other Bleffings the Dead cannot participate, but Praife for the
glorious Adlions, which they died in performing, is their pecu-
liar Property, nor after Death does Envy itfelf oppofe their
Pofle/Tion. He therefore, who defpoils them of thefe Honours^
may juftly be deprived of his own Dignity, Vvhiie your Juftice
will appear in thus revenging your Anceftors.
By
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? 142 ORATIONS OF
By fuch Expreflionsj thou execrable Wretch, didfl thou at
once phinder the Adlions, and lacerate the Fame of our Ancef-
tors, and ruin all our Affairs. From thence you have purchafed
Land; from thence become a Man of Importance. Before
he had wrought thefe numberlefs Misfortunes to the Republic,
he acknowledged himfelf a Notary; he profefled his Gratitude
to you for appointing him to that Office, and behaved him-
felf with tolerable Modefty. But after he had wrought a
thoufand Mifchiefs to the State, he grew arrogant and fupercili-
ous; if any one calls him -^fchines, the Notary, he inftantly
declares himfelf his Enemy, and complains he is abufed; he
now ftalks through the Forum with his Robe flowing down to
his Heels, taking long Strides with Pythocles, (51) and puffing
up his Cheeks; he now becomes one of Philip's Guefts and
Friends, who determine to quit the Party of the People,
and call the prefent State of Affairs ConfuGon and Madnefs;
altliough he ftill continues to reverence the wretched Cell, in
which he was educated. (52)
I WILL now fummarily repeat the political Artifices, by which
Philip impofed upon you, and in which he was affifted by thefe
Enemies
(51) Pythocles, according to the Scho- (52) The Paflage is of acknowledged
liafl:, was very tall, and i^fchines a very Obfcurity. It probably means, that lEU
little Man. From thence our Author chines, with all his Infoience and Vanity,
laughs at the whimfical Affedation of his ftill preferves the Meannefs of his ori-^
walking with Pythocles, as if by thefe ginal Manners and Education, A Ch^'
large Strides he could meafure Height rafler not uncommon,
^vith him.
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? DEMOSTHENES. 143
Enemies of the Gods, becaufe it much concerns you to examine
and behold the whole Progrefs of his Delulions. At firft, when
his Dominions were laid wafte by Robbers, and his Ports fliut
up in fuch a Manner, as deprived him of all Advantages of
Commerce, he ardently wifhed for Peace, and fent hither
Neoptolemus, Ariftodemus, and Ctefiphon, who made, in
his Name, very equitable Propofals. But when we went
Ambafladors to him, he inftantly hired this i^fchines to defend
and fupport the polluted Philocrates, and to gain a Superiority
over us, who were determined to preferve our Integrity. He
likewife wrote a Letter to you, by which he principally hoped
to obtain a Peace. Neither was it in his Power, even then, to
execute any thing extraordinary againft you, unlefs he ruined
the Phocaeans; nor was this extremely eafy; for his Affairs
were contraded, as if by fome peculiar good Fortune, into
fuch narrow Bounds, that he mufl: either fail of executing the
Schemes he propofed, or of Necefllty muft appear a Liar and
perjured, and have all the Barbarians, as well as Grecians,
Witnefles of his Improbity. Becaufe, if he had received the
Phocffians as his Confederates, and had given to them his Oath
of Alliance as to us, he muft have inftantly violated his En-
gagements to the Thebans, to whom he had fvvorn to fubdue
Ba^otia, and to the Theffalians, whom he had promifed to
reftore to their Seat among the Amphidyons. (53) On the
contrary, if he had rcfufed to receive the Phocseans into his
Confe-
(53) From whence they were expelled by the Phocacans. Wolfius,
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? 144 ORATIONSOF
Confederacy, as in Fadl he afterwards refufed, he imagined,
you would not fuffer him to march any farther, but would
fend Succours to Thermopylse, which, if you had not been
deceived, you would certainly have done, and if done, he
computed you muft have effectually flopped his Progrefs. Nor
was it neceflary to hear this Truth from others : he was himfelf
a WItnefs of the Fad:. For after his firft Vidory over the
Phocsans, in which he cut to Pieces their mercenary Troops,
with their General and Commander Onomarchus, when no
human Creature, either Greek or Barbarian, except you, fent
them Succours, he not only did not enter the Streights of Ther-
mopyl^, but did not execute any of the Schemes he propofed to
himfelf after his having entered them; he was unable even to
approach them. (54) When he had fome Contefts with the Thef-
falians, and the Phereans refufed to follow him ; when the The-
bans were defeated, and routed in Battle, and a Trophy was
ereded over them by thePhocasans, Iprefume hcwasthenperfedtly
convinced, it was not in his Power to have entered the Streights,
if you had fent the Phoc^ans any Succours, nor could he have
fucceeded by Force, if he had attempted it, unlefs he had alfo
made
(54) Philip had been repulfed by the hp h. '. d attempted an Invafion and they
Athenians in his firft Attempt to enter had fent Succours to oppofe him. T'um
the Streights of ThermopyL-e. An Ac- fi nwrtdium omn. um vemo tulifTet cpem
tion thus [i^iori'jus and important was ce- Phocenfibus . . . 7ion penetraffet . . . jiec
lebrated at Athens with pecuhar Sacri- prcpe accedcre potuifTet. Such Miftakes
fict-s. Yet this Adion is repref^nted by muft frequently efcape the DUigence of
Wolfius in his Tranflation, as a cold the moft accurate Tranflator, and the
PoJlibiLty of the Succefs, which the beft Care of his Editors.
Athenians might have expedcd, if Phi-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 145
made ufe of Fraud. " How then (hall I avoid being publicly
*' convidled of breaking my Word, and the Infamy of Perjury,
*' yet execute the Plan I propofe ? How? Thus. I will, if
<* poflible, find an Athenian, who Hiall deceive the Athenians;
*' I {hall not then have any fhare in the Infamy. " From thence
his Ambafladors declared at firft, that he would not receive
the Phocceans, as Confederates; butthefe Traitors replied, and
alTerted in the Affembly, that Philip could not with Honour
enter openly into an Alliance with the Phocseans, in regard to
his Engagements with the Thebans and ThefTalians; but that if
? ver he fhould happen to be abfolute Mafter of Affairs, and
obtain a Peace, the Articles, which we now propofed to him to
ratify, he would then pundually perform.
Upon thefe Hopes therefore, by thefe Artifices, thefe Infinu-
ations, did he obtain a Peace, within an Exclufion of the
Phocsans. Yet afterwards it became necefiary to prevent your
fending Succours to Thermopylae, for fifty Gallies were ftation-
ed together, that if Philip fliould march, you might hinder his
Progrefs. How then fliall he ad ? What other Artifices muft
be tried for this Purpofe? Every Oportunity you might poffibly
liave of engaging in the Afiair, muft be taken from you, and
proper Perfons muft be appointed to conduct and fuddenly bring
it to fuch a Conclufion, as to render it impradicabic, even
when you were determined, to fail out of your Harbours. It is
apparent, that your Ambafladors have aded in this Manner.
Vol. II. U With
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? 146 O R A T I O N S O F
With regard to myfelf, as you have often heard, I was unable
to depart before them, and although I had hired a VeiTel, was
hindered from fetting Sail. But it now becomes abfolutely
neceflary, that the Phocsans fliould place a Confidence in Phi-
lip, and voluntarily furrender themfelves, left any unlucky
Accident fhould happen in his Affairs, or you fhould publifb
fome Decree againft him. " The Athenian Ambaffadors tliere-
" fore fhall declare, that the Phocsans fhall be preferved.
*' Then if any of them be fufpicious of me, he will rely upon,
*' their Faith, and furrender himfelf. We will, however, in-
" vite the Athenians to march into Phocis, that imagining
'' every thing fhall be regulated, as they pleafe to dire<? t, they
" may not publifh their Decrees to oppofe us. (56) Their own;
*' Ambaffadors fhall therefore make thefe Declarations and Pro-
" mifes in our Name, that whatever happen, the Athenian*
*' may not put themfelves in Motion. "
In this Manner, by thefe Artifices, and by the Afliffance of
thefe Wretches, devoted to Perdition, have your Affairs been
univerfally ruined. For inftead of feeing Thefpias and Platsae
re-inhabited, you heard, that Orchomenus and Coronea were
enflaved: inflead of the Authority of the Thebans being re-
duced,
(56) We have already feen (Page 25) Invitation, that they Jloould march with
that Philip fent two Letters to invite the all their Forces to fupport the Caufe of
Athenians to a general Congrefs on the Jujike. We fhall there find, as he re-
Affairs of Phocis. ^fchines in the next prefencs it, the Reafon of their RefiUal.
Oration will give us the Terms of this
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? DEMOSTHENES. 147
duced, or their Infolence and Arrogance fuppreffed, the Cities of
the Phoc^ans, your Confederates, were rafed to the Ground;
the Thebans rafed them to the Ground, and their Inhabitants
were difperfed by the Harangues of iEfchines; inftead of deH-
vering up Eubaea in Exchange for Amphipolis, Philip is railing
Fortrefles in Eubaea, from whence to invade you, and is per-
petually meditating the Siege of thofe Places we ftill poflefs in.
that Illand : inftead of having Oropus reftored, we are now
preparing to march for the Defence of our own Frontiers, which,
while the Phocaeans were in Safety, we had never done: inftead
of performing their ancient, cuftomary Sacrifices at Delphos,
and having his Treafures reftored to Apollo, the rightful Am-
phi(n:yons are compelled to fly, are driven into Banifhment, and
their Country laid wafte; while thefe barbarian Macedonians,
who never had a Seat before among the Amphi6tyons, now
attempt by Force to enter into that Council. Whoever menti-
ons the facred Treafures is inftantly crucified; the Republic is
defpoiled of her Prerogative of firft confulting the Oracle at
Delphos, and all her Aftairs are perplexed and confufed like
an -^inigma. Thus Philip never told an Untruth, yet carried
all his Schemes into Execution, while you beheld whatever you
prayed and hoped for, in every Inftance contradicted, and
under an Appearance of Peace fuffered more direful Calamities,
than under an open Declaration of War. By fuch Pradices did
thefe Traitors get Money, and yet are even to this Day unpu-
nifhed.
U 2 That
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? 148 O R A T I O N S O F
That thefe Misfortunes have undoubtedly been produced hy
Corruption, and that your AmbaiTadors received the Price of
this Corruption, is already manifeft to you, I prefume, in num-
berlefs Inftances, and I am apprehenfive, that, contrary to my
Intentions, by endeavouring with too much Solicitude to de-
monftrate their Guilt, I may grow tedious by a Repetition o?
what you already know. Hear me, however, in one Inftance
more. Among the Ambafladors, whom Philip fent hither ,,
is there any one to whom you would ere6l a Statue of Bronze
in the Forum? What do I fay? Is there any one, to whom
you would give an Entertainment in the Prytan^um, or any
other Prefent, with which you generally honour your Bene-
factors? In my Opinion, not one. Why? Not becaufe yoij
are ungrateful, or unjuft, or malevolent, but becaufe you may-
affirm, as you certainly might affirm with Truth and Jufticcj
that they always a6led, not in Support of your Interefts, but
thofe of Philip. Do you then imagine, that while you are thus
fenfible of the Force of this reafoning, that Philip can think
in a different Manner? Or did he give your Ambafladors fo
many, and fuch fplendid Prefents, becaufe they acled in their
Embafly, with regard to you, v;ith Integrity and Honour?
Impoffible. You behold in what Manner he treated Hegefippus
and his Colleagues. Other Inftances I ffiall pafs over unmen-
tioned. But he baniflicd the Poet Xenoclydes by Proclamation,
becaufe he had holpitably received his Fellow-Citizens. (5 7) Thus
does
(c;y) Xenoclidis, a Poet of Athens, rcfided in Macedonia. Seeing the Difre-
gard.
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? D E M O S T H li N E S. 149
does he a(5l towards thofe, who fpeak with Integrity what they
really think for your Advantage, and thus, with regard to thofe,
who have fold themfelves, like iEfchines and Philocrates. Do
thefe Affertions therefore require Witneffes? Do they want
any ftronger Proof ? Shall ever any Power be able to tear them
from your Memory ?
A CERTAIN Perfon met me lately near the Senate-Houfc,
and told me an Affair of all others moft extraordinary ; that
j^fchines was preparing to accufe Chares, and hoped to impofe
upon you by this Artifice, and by his Harangues. For my
own Part, if Chares be accufed, I dare affirm, that he will be
found to have a6led faithfully and affedionately, to the utmojft
of his Power, for your Advantage; but if in the Event he was
overpowered by Numbers, that ought to be imputed to the
Counfels of thole bad Men, who, under the Influence of Cor-
ruption, ruined the Republic. But I fhall make them this
abundant Conceflion. Let it be granted, that whatever -^fchi-
nes {hall fay againfl Chares may be peifedly true, yet ftill his
accufing him will be abfolutely ridiculous; becaufe I do not
blame ^^fchines for the Conduct of the War, for which the
Generals are alone accountable, nor impute to him the Peace
concluded by the Republic. Thus far I acquit him. What
then
gard, with which Hegefippus was treated. Behaviour, and banifhed hitn from his
he received him with the Hofpitahty due Do-minions. Scholiast>>.
to his Countrymen. Pljihp refented his
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? 150 ORATIONSOF
then do I aflert, and from whence does this Impeachment arife?
From his having, while the Commonwealth was engaged in
concluding the Peace, fupported Philocrates againft thofe, who
propofed the beft Conditions; from his receiving Prefents;
wafting away the Time in his fecond Embafly, and never, in
any one Inftance, obeying your Inftru6lions; from his having
impofed upon the Republic, and ruined the whole State of our
Affairs by encouraging our Hopes, that Philip would a6t in
every thing as we fhould diredl ; laftly, from his having pleaded
in Defence of tliat Monarch, when others bid beware of him,
who had already committed fuch atrocious Ads of Injuftice.
Thefe are the Articles upon which I impeach him. Thefe you
ought to remember. Becaufe, if I had feen a juft and equal
Peace; if I had feen that your Ambafladors neither fold their
Integrity, nor uttered Falfehoods to deceive you, I would my-
felf have pronounced their Panegyric; I would myfelf have
advifed their being crowned. But if any of your Generals
hath failed in his Duty, his Errors have nothing in common
with the prefent Trial. For what General loft Halus, and
ruined the Phocaeans? Who loft Dorifcus? Who Cherfoblep-
tes? Who the facred Mountain? Who Thermopylae? Who
opened a Paffage for Philip even to the Frontiers of Attica
through the Territories of our Confederates and Allies? Who
alienated the Affedlions of Coronea, Orchomeniim, Eubsa,
and very lately of Megai'a? Who rendered the Thebans fo
5 pcwer-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 151
powerful? Thefe Misfortunes, however numerous and impor-
tant, were not occafioned by your Generals, but thefe Places
were ceded during the Peace, and Philip holds Polfeflion of
them by the Influence and Perfuaflon of thefe Traitors. They
were lofl: by them, and their Corruption.
If thefe are the proper Obje? ls of his Defence, and he fhall
wander from them, and choofe rather to fpeak to every other
Queftion, be fure to make him this Reply. We do not now
fit in Judgement upon any of our Generals, nor are you accuf-
ed of any Errors in the Conduct of the War. Do not therefore
tell us, that others are Accomplices with you in the Deftruc-
tion o^ the Phoc^ans, but convince us, that you yourfelf are
innocent. What? Do you now aflert, that Demofthenes is
guilty, yet never accufed him when he pafled his Accounts ?
Have you not always, even to this Moment, praifed his Condud ? .
Neither declaim upon the general Excellence and Advantages
of Peace, becaufe you are not accufed of having influenced the
Republic to conclude the Peace; but, that we were not fhame-
fully and opprobrioufly deceived in a thoufand Inflances after-
wards, and our Affairs totally ruined, make thefe the Subjeds
of your Declamation. For it is reprefented to us, that you are
the Author of all thefe Mifchiefs, and are therefore juftly deem-
ed worthy of Deftrudion. If you are careful to anfwer him in
this Manner, he will have nothing to reply, but fliall raife his
Voice, and chaunt forth its Sweetnefs in vain.
Perhaps;
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? 152 ORATIONS OF
Perhaps it may be neceflary to fay fomething of his Voice,
for I am informed he greatly vaunts him of its Sweetnefs, as if
he intended to exercife his theatrical Talents upon this Occafion.
Yet in my Opinion, if, when he played the Character of
Thyeftes, or reprefented the Mileries of the Trojan War, you
drove him off the Stage with Hiffes, and only not with Stones,
in fuch a Manner, that he had very nearly defifted, in the
Article of Death, from playing any more third-rate Charadters,
it would furely be exceflively abfurd, if afterwards, when he
hath wrought a thoufand Mifchicfs, not upon the Scene, but
in the public and moft important Affairs of the Commonwealth,
you fhould liften to him, as an Orator. No ; may you never
commit fuch an Abfurdity. When you make Trial of an He-
rald, you fliould indeed be attentive to his having a good Voice,
but in choofing an Ambaffador, or any public Minifter, it is
your Intereft to fix upon a Man of Integrity, and zealous for
your Welfare. With regard to myfelF, I never looked up to
Philip with Admiration, but was anxious only to redeem our
Fellow-Citizens from Slavery, nor ever fubmitted to any thing
bafe or abjedt, while i^fchines threw himfelf proftrate at his
Feet, and fang Pasans of Vidory with him, and treated you
with Contempt.
Besides, when you behold a valuable Citizen, and ftudious
of your Interefts, poffefled of Eloquence, or Sweetnefs of
Voice, or any other Excellence, it is your Duty, all of you,
to
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? DEMOSTHENES. 153
to rejoice with him, and aflift him with Ardour (for fuch a
Man is a common Bleffing to you all) but when you perceive
him corrupted, abandoned, and a Slave to the moft fordid
Lucre, you fhould drive him out of the Aflembly, or liften to
him with Severity and Averlion; becaufe when a Man of a de-
praved Spirit hath gained the Reputation of Abilities among
you, he becomes moft dangerous to the State. Behold, by
the Reputation, that ^fchines had gained, what Miichiefs have
affaulted the Republic. But while Abilities of every other Kind
can tolerably well fupport themfelves, this of Eloquence, ifop-
pofed by its Audience, is inftantly checked in its Progrefs. You
{hould hear ^fchines therefore, as a Man void of all Integrity,.
corrupted, and never uttering a Syllable of Truth.
Now confider, that not only upon all other Accounts, but
with regard to your Negotiations with Philip, it were of advan-
tage to the Commonwealth that iEfchines fhould be condemned.
Becaufe, if ever Philip fhould hereafter be compelled to a6t
with Juftice to the Republic, he will alter his Conducft. At
prefent he hath chofen to impofe upon the Many, and to culti-
vate the Friendfhip of the Few. But fhould he hear, that
thefe Traitors are deftroyed, he will afterwards think proper to-
a? t with a regard to the Many, in whom refide all the Powers,
(C)f the Conftitution. On thecontrary, if he fhould perfevere, as
at prefent, in his Licentioufnefs and Infolence, you fhall in Effcd:
deftroy all thofe, who may fupport his Interefts hereafter, if you
Vol. IL. X. dcftr. o)^=
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? 154- ORATIONS, &c.
deftroy this fingle Traitor. For if they have a6led in this Man-
ner under the Apprehenfion of being punifhed, what Crimes,
. do you imagine, will they not commit, when no longer appre-
henfive of yoitr Vengeance? What Kind of Euthycrates?
What Kind of Lafthenes? What Betrayer will they not excell
in Villainy ? Will not your Citizens become the moft abandon-
ed of all Mankind, when they behold the Wretches, who have
fold their Country, enjoying Riches, Authority, and Impunity,
by the Friendfhip of Philip, while they, who preferve their
Integrity, and fpend their Fortunes in the Service of the Public,
are purfued with Vexations, Hatred, Envy? May this never
happen. Never can it promote your Glory, your Piety, your
Security, nor anfwer any other valuable Purpofe, to acquit this
Traitor; but to render him an Example of your Juftice, both
to your own Citizens, and to all the other States of Greece, will
beft promote the Interefts of the Republic.
End of the ORATION.
fome Citizens of this Charader? Certainly. What? Were
there not in Megara, who robbed, and plundered the Public ?
Undoubtedly ; and it appeared. Were any of them the Authors
of thofe Calamities, which befell that State ? Not one. Who
therefore, and what were they, who committed fuch flagrant
Crimes? They, who thought themfelves honoured in being
called the Guefts and the Friends of Philip; who deemed
themfelves worthy of commanding your Armies, and prefiding
in your Councils, and exerting a Superiority over the People.
Was not Perilaus lately impeached before the Senate of Me-
gara, becaufe he went to Macedonia; and did not Ptceodorus,
the principal Citizen of Megara in Riches, Birth and Reputa-
tion, appear in his Defence, folicit for his Pardon, and again
fend him back to Philip ? He returned afterwards with a Body
of mercenary Troops, while Ptceodorus had totally changed the
civil Conftitution of his Country. For there is nothing, cer-
tainly nothing, of which you fhould be more cautious, than the
fufrering anyone Angle Citizen to exert an Authority fuperiorto
that of the whole People. Let no Man ever be acquitted or
condemned by the meer Pleafure of another; let his own Adions
acquit him; on the contrary, let this iEfchines be condemned
by the Juftice of your Sentence; (48) for fuch Condudt is
democratical.
I Several
(48) This Manner of mentioning iEf- Reafoning before is general, but this A p-
chines, thus irregularly, thus feemingly plication gives it a particular Direflion.
without Defign, is of great Force. The It is now pointed at Alfchines alone.
The
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? DEMOSTHENES. 135
Several of your Citizens have indeed, upon particular Oc-
cafions, gained an Influence over you j Califtratus, Ariftophon,
Diophantus, and others formerly. But where did they exert
this Influence? In your Afiemblics only : for never, even to
this Day, did any of theni aflijme an Authority in your Courts
of Juftice: an Authority more powerful than you yourfelves;
than the Laws and your Oaths. Do not therefore fuffer Eubulus
to ufurp this Authority. But to convince you, it will be a
greater Proof of your Wifdom to preferve it yourfelves, than to
intrufl: it to others, I will read you the Oracles of the Gods,
who far more powerfully proted; the Republic, than they, who
govern it. Read.
The Oracles.
Do you hear, O Men of Athens, what the Gods declare ?
If in Time of War, therefore, they had made this Declaration,
they would have adviled you to guard with Caution againft
your Commanders, becaule in War your Commanders are your
Governors; if in Peace, to guard againfl: your Magifl:rates;
becaufe they are then your Governors; you obey them, and
are in Danger of being deceived by them. Befldes, the Oracle
declares, that the Republic fliould be united ; that her Citizens
fhould be unanimous in their Deciflons, and not give Pleafure
to their Enemies. Whether then do you imagine, O Men of
Athens,
The Reader is Indebted for this Re- {landing, to Doftor Taylor in his Notes
mark, certainly of much good Under- upon another Oration.
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? 136 ORATIONSOF
Athens, will the acquitting or condemning the Man, who
wrought fuch Mifchiefs, give Pleafure to PhiHp? In my
Judgement, his being acquitted. But the Oracle advifes you
always to a6t in fuch a Manner, that your Enemies may never
have Reafon to rejoice. Thus does Jupiter, Venus and all the
Gods command you with one Confent to punifli thofe, who
render any Services to your Enemies. But who are your Ene-
mies? The Aflailants without, and their Affiftants within.
The Office of thefe AlTailants is to give; that of their Affiftants
to receive, and to protedl others, who receive.
Besides, we may difcover by the Force of human Reafon
only, that of all things moft odious, and moft terrible, is a
Magiftrate's Familiarity with them, who have Sentiments and
Inclinations different from thofe of the People, whom they
govern. For confider, by what Arts Philip hatii become thus
univerfally powerful, and by what Inftruments he hath wrought
out his Succefs. By purchafing the Affiftance of whoever fold
their Abilities j by corrupting the Magiftrates in every free City,
and infpiring them with Infolence and Ambition, But thefe
Arts it is this Day in your Power to render ufelefs, if you de-
termine not to hear the Advocates of fuch Traitors j if you
demonftrate, that they have not an abfolute Authority over you
(for at prefent they declare themfelves your abfolute Mafters) if
you puniffi the Wretch, who hath fold himfelf to PhiHp, and
let the whole World behold his Pujiiffiment. For though you
may
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? DEMOSTHENES. 137
may with Juftice, O Men of Athens, flievv your Indignation
againfl: whoever commits fuch Villainies; whoever betrays your
Confederates, your Allies, and thofe Conjunctures, upon
which the Profperity or Mifery of every particular Citizen
depends, yet never can you (hew that Indignation witli crreater
Juftice, than againft this iEfchines. , For he, who numbered
himfelf amongft thofe, who were moft fufpicious of Philip; he,
who alone, and firft was confcious, that Philip was the com-
mon Enemy of Greece, yet deferted to that Enemy, betrayed
his Poft, and fuddenly became an Advocate for Philip, docs he
not merit a thoufand Deaths? That thefe Allegations are true,
he hath it not in his Power to deny. For who firft introduced
Ifchander to you, and afllired you he came hither from the
Friends of this Republic in Arcadia? Who was even clamo-
rous in declaring, that Philip was pillaging Greece and Pelopon-
nefus, and that you were afteep? Who repeated thole beauti-
ful, and long, and numerous Declamations, and read the
Decrees of Miltiades and Themiftocles, (49) and the Oath,
which is taken by our Youth in the Temple of Agraulus? (50)
Did not JEfch'mcs? Who perfuaded you to fend an Em bally
even to the red Sea, as if Greece were already invaded by Philip,
and that it was your Duty to provide for her Safety, and not
Vol. II. T abandon
(49) WhenthePfiTiansinvadedGreece, he gained a complete Vi<5tory. Thcfe
Miltiades determined to meet them at Examples /Efchincs produced to animate
Marathon with only the Forces of the the People againft Philip. Scholiast.
Repubhc. Themiftocles perfuaded the (50) The military Oath, taken at tlic
Athenians to forfake their City, and to Time of enliftino-.
venture the Sea-fight at Salamis, where
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? 138 ORATIONSOF
abandon her States? Did not Eubulus write the Decree, and
i^fchines go AmbafTador to Peloponnefus ? How he negotiated,
and how he harangued, when he arrived there, he may himfelf
know; but what he declared here, I am confident you all re-
member; that he often called Philip a Barbarian and the Pert
of Greece; that he declared the Arcadians would be exceedingly
rejoiced, if the Republic of Athens would give fome Attention
to her Affairs, and awake from her Slumbers. But what beyond
every other Circumftance, he faid, provoked his Indignation,
in his Return he happened to meet Atreftidas returning on his
Journey from Philip, and travelling with fome thirty Women
and Children ; that he afked with Aftonifhment, who the Man
was, and what the Croud of People with him. But when he
heard, that Atreftidas, on his leaving Philip, had received thefe
Oiynthian Prifoners as a Prefent, the Sight appeared to him
moft deplorable; he burft into Tears, and lamented the Fate
of Greece, fo unhappily fituated, as not to regard fuch Calami-
ties. He then advifed you to fend Ambaffadors to Arcadia to
accufe the Faftion, who fupported Philip, for he had been in-
formed by his Friends, that if the Republic would ad with Seri-
oufnefs in the Affair, and fend an Embafly, the Traitors would
bejuftly punifhed.
Such were his Harangues at that Time, O Men of Athens,
honourable and worthy of the Commonwealth. But when he
arrived in Macedonia, and beheld this Philip, both his own, and
I the
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? DEMOSTHENES. 139
tlie common Enemy of Greece, did his Harangues afterwards
bear any Refemblance to thofe he had fpoken before; was
there any Affinity between them ? Far otherwife. He then
declared, we ought no longer to remember our Anceftors, nor
talk of their Triumphs, nor fend Succours to any of the States
of Greece. Then did he profefs his Wonder at thofe, who
advifed you to confult the Grecians in general upon concluding
a Peace with Philip, as if it were neceffary to afk the Confent
of others in Matters of your own peculiar Concernment. He af-
firmed, that Philip himfelf, O Hercules ! of all Mankind was bed
affected to Greece, the greateft Orator of his Age, and fond of
Athens to Excefs, but that fome of her Citizens were fo perv^erfe,
fo implacable, as not to be afhamed of pouring forth their
Inve<5lives againft him, and calling him a Barbarian.
Is it poffible, that the very fame Man, who had made thefe
firft Declarations, fhould ever dare, unlefs he were corrupted,
to utter thefe fecond Sentiments? What? He, who looked
upon Atreftidas with Horrour, on account of thofe Olynthian
Women and Children, could he endure to adl in Conjundion
with Philocrates, who brought the free-born Women of Olyn-
thus hither for Proftitution ? A Wretch, fo notorioufly infamous
for the Impurity of his Life, that it were unneceffary to fny any
thing reproachful, or fevere of him. Let me only allert, Phi-
locrates brought Women hither, and my whole Audience is
fully informed for what Purpofes, and will pity, I am well
T 2 aJTurcd,
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? HO O R A T I O N S O F
afiured, thcfe ill-fated, miferable Creatures, whom ^fchincs
never pitied. Neither did he lament with Tears the Fate of
Greece, apparent in the Miferies of the Women, who were
infulted and outraged by our Ambaffadors, even in thePrefence
of our Confederates. Yet he will now lament himfelf, and the
Errors of his Embafly, with Tears and Cries; perhaps will
bring his Children, and appear with them on the Tribunal,
With regard to his Children, confider, O Men of Athens,
that the Children of many of your Confederates, and Allies, are
at this Moment Vagabonds and Beggars, after having fuffered
by his Crimes the extremeft Wretchednefs. It were far more
worthy of your Clemency to pity them, than the Children of
fuch a Traitor ; for he and his Colleagues, by adding thefe
Words, " and to his Pofterity," to the Articles of Peace, have
deprived your Children of all future Hopes. With regard to
his Tears, remember you have now before you the Man, wha
advifed you to fend an Embafly to Arcadia to accufe the Fadlion.
of Philip.
But it is now no longer neceflary to fend Ambafladors to
Peloponnefus, to travel a long Journey, nor expend immenfe
Sums on the Road, but to come forward each of you to the
Tribunal, and give a jufl: and holy Suffrage in Favour of your
Country againft this MaQ, O Earth and Heaven! who having
declaimed at firft, as 1 have related, of Marathon and Salamis,
5 ^^
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? DEMOSTHENES. i+i
of Battles and Trophies, on a fiidden, as foon as he had landed
in Macedonia, fpoke in dired; Contradi(5lion to his former Ha-
rangues; that we rhould no longer remember our Anceftors,
nor talk of their Trophies, nor fend Succours, nor enter into
Council with the other States of Greece, and only not rafe her
Cities ourfelves. Expreflions, fo full of Turpitude, were
never uttered in your Afiemblies. For among either Greeks
or Barbarians is there fo perverfe, fo ftupid, fo virulent an
Enemy to the Republic, that if he were afked; *' tell me, is
" there any Part of Greece,, fuch as it now appears, and inha-
" bited as it is at prefent, that could have either preferved its
" Name, or been inhabited by Grecians, if our Anceftors had
" not given fuch fignal Proofs of their Virtue at Marathon and
" Salamis? " No one, I am perfuaded, would ailert it could;
but on the contrary, that the whole Country mufl have been
fubdued by the Barbarians. Thofe Honours therefore, thofe
Praifes, of which even your Enemies would not deprive you,
j^fchines, that he may receive his Penfion, will not fuffer you,
the Defcendants of thofe Anceftors, even to mention. Of all
other Bleffings the Dead cannot participate, but Praife for the
glorious Adlions, which they died in performing, is their pecu-
liar Property, nor after Death does Envy itfelf oppofe their
Pofle/Tion. He therefore, who defpoils them of thefe Honours^
may juftly be deprived of his own Dignity, Vvhiie your Juftice
will appear in thus revenging your Anceftors.
By
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? 142 ORATIONS OF
By fuch Expreflionsj thou execrable Wretch, didfl thou at
once phinder the Adlions, and lacerate the Fame of our Ancef-
tors, and ruin all our Affairs. From thence you have purchafed
Land; from thence become a Man of Importance. Before
he had wrought thefe numberlefs Misfortunes to the Republic,
he acknowledged himfelf a Notary; he profefled his Gratitude
to you for appointing him to that Office, and behaved him-
felf with tolerable Modefty. But after he had wrought a
thoufand Mifchiefs to the State, he grew arrogant and fupercili-
ous; if any one calls him -^fchines, the Notary, he inftantly
declares himfelf his Enemy, and complains he is abufed; he
now ftalks through the Forum with his Robe flowing down to
his Heels, taking long Strides with Pythocles, (51) and puffing
up his Cheeks; he now becomes one of Philip's Guefts and
Friends, who determine to quit the Party of the People,
and call the prefent State of Affairs ConfuGon and Madnefs;
altliough he ftill continues to reverence the wretched Cell, in
which he was educated. (52)
I WILL now fummarily repeat the political Artifices, by which
Philip impofed upon you, and in which he was affifted by thefe
Enemies
(51) Pythocles, according to the Scho- (52) The Paflage is of acknowledged
liafl:, was very tall, and i^fchines a very Obfcurity. It probably means, that lEU
little Man. From thence our Author chines, with all his Infoience and Vanity,
laughs at the whimfical Affedation of his ftill preferves the Meannefs of his ori-^
walking with Pythocles, as if by thefe ginal Manners and Education, A Ch^'
large Strides he could meafure Height rafler not uncommon,
^vith him.
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? DEMOSTHENES. 143
Enemies of the Gods, becaufe it much concerns you to examine
and behold the whole Progrefs of his Delulions. At firft, when
his Dominions were laid wafte by Robbers, and his Ports fliut
up in fuch a Manner, as deprived him of all Advantages of
Commerce, he ardently wifhed for Peace, and fent hither
Neoptolemus, Ariftodemus, and Ctefiphon, who made, in
his Name, very equitable Propofals. But when we went
Ambafladors to him, he inftantly hired this i^fchines to defend
and fupport the polluted Philocrates, and to gain a Superiority
over us, who were determined to preferve our Integrity. He
likewife wrote a Letter to you, by which he principally hoped
to obtain a Peace. Neither was it in his Power, even then, to
execute any thing extraordinary againft you, unlefs he ruined
the Phocaeans; nor was this extremely eafy; for his Affairs
were contraded, as if by fome peculiar good Fortune, into
fuch narrow Bounds, that he mufl: either fail of executing the
Schemes he propofed, or of Necefllty muft appear a Liar and
perjured, and have all the Barbarians, as well as Grecians,
Witnefles of his Improbity. Becaufe, if he had received the
Phocffians as his Confederates, and had given to them his Oath
of Alliance as to us, he muft have inftantly violated his En-
gagements to the Thebans, to whom he had fvvorn to fubdue
Ba^otia, and to the Theffalians, whom he had promifed to
reftore to their Seat among the Amphidyons. (53) On the
contrary, if he had rcfufed to receive the Phocseans into his
Confe-
(53) From whence they were expelled by the Phocacans. Wolfius,
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? 144 ORATIONSOF
Confederacy, as in Fadl he afterwards refufed, he imagined,
you would not fuffer him to march any farther, but would
fend Succours to Thermopylse, which, if you had not been
deceived, you would certainly have done, and if done, he
computed you muft have effectually flopped his Progrefs. Nor
was it neceflary to hear this Truth from others : he was himfelf
a WItnefs of the Fad:. For after his firft Vidory over the
Phocsans, in which he cut to Pieces their mercenary Troops,
with their General and Commander Onomarchus, when no
human Creature, either Greek or Barbarian, except you, fent
them Succours, he not only did not enter the Streights of Ther-
mopyl^, but did not execute any of the Schemes he propofed to
himfelf after his having entered them; he was unable even to
approach them. (54) When he had fome Contefts with the Thef-
falians, and the Phereans refufed to follow him ; when the The-
bans were defeated, and routed in Battle, and a Trophy was
ereded over them by thePhocasans, Iprefume hcwasthenperfedtly
convinced, it was not in his Power to have entered the Streights,
if you had fent the Phoc^ans any Succours, nor could he have
fucceeded by Force, if he had attempted it, unlefs he had alfo
made
(54) Philip had been repulfed by the hp h. '. d attempted an Invafion and they
Athenians in his firft Attempt to enter had fent Succours to oppofe him. T'um
the Streights of ThermopyL-e. An Ac- fi nwrtdium omn. um vemo tulifTet cpem
tion thus [i^iori'jus and important was ce- Phocenfibus . . . 7ion penetraffet . . . jiec
lebrated at Athens with pecuhar Sacri- prcpe accedcre potuifTet. Such Miftakes
fict-s. Yet this Adion is repref^nted by muft frequently efcape the DUigence of
Wolfius in his Tranflation, as a cold the moft accurate Tranflator, and the
PoJlibiLty of the Succefs, which the beft Care of his Editors.
Athenians might have expedcd, if Phi-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 145
made ufe of Fraud. " How then (hall I avoid being publicly
*' convidled of breaking my Word, and the Infamy of Perjury,
*' yet execute the Plan I propofe ? How? Thus. I will, if
<* poflible, find an Athenian, who Hiall deceive the Athenians;
*' I {hall not then have any fhare in the Infamy. " From thence
his Ambafladors declared at firft, that he would not receive
the Phocceans, as Confederates; butthefe Traitors replied, and
alTerted in the Affembly, that Philip could not with Honour
enter openly into an Alliance with the Phocseans, in regard to
his Engagements with the Thebans and ThefTalians; but that if
? ver he fhould happen to be abfolute Mafter of Affairs, and
obtain a Peace, the Articles, which we now propofed to him to
ratify, he would then pundually perform.
Upon thefe Hopes therefore, by thefe Artifices, thefe Infinu-
ations, did he obtain a Peace, within an Exclufion of the
Phocsans. Yet afterwards it became necefiary to prevent your
fending Succours to Thermopylae, for fifty Gallies were ftation-
ed together, that if Philip fliould march, you might hinder his
Progrefs. How then fliall he ad ? What other Artifices muft
be tried for this Purpofe? Every Oportunity you might poffibly
liave of engaging in the Afiair, muft be taken from you, and
proper Perfons muft be appointed to conduct and fuddenly bring
it to fuch a Conclufion, as to render it impradicabic, even
when you were determined, to fail out of your Harbours. It is
apparent, that your Ambafladors have aded in this Manner.
Vol. II. U With
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? 146 O R A T I O N S O F
With regard to myfelf, as you have often heard, I was unable
to depart before them, and although I had hired a VeiTel, was
hindered from fetting Sail. But it now becomes abfolutely
neceflary, that the Phocsans fliould place a Confidence in Phi-
lip, and voluntarily furrender themfelves, left any unlucky
Accident fhould happen in his Affairs, or you fhould publifb
fome Decree againft him. " The Athenian Ambaffadors tliere-
" fore fhall declare, that the Phocsans fhall be preferved.
*' Then if any of them be fufpicious of me, he will rely upon,
*' their Faith, and furrender himfelf. We will, however, in-
" vite the Athenians to march into Phocis, that imagining
'' every thing fhall be regulated, as they pleafe to dire<? t, they
" may not publifh their Decrees to oppofe us. (56) Their own;
*' Ambaffadors fhall therefore make thefe Declarations and Pro-
" mifes in our Name, that whatever happen, the Athenian*
*' may not put themfelves in Motion. "
In this Manner, by thefe Artifices, and by the Afliffance of
thefe Wretches, devoted to Perdition, have your Affairs been
univerfally ruined. For inftead of feeing Thefpias and Platsae
re-inhabited, you heard, that Orchomenus and Coronea were
enflaved: inflead of the Authority of the Thebans being re-
duced,
(56) We have already feen (Page 25) Invitation, that they Jloould march with
that Philip fent two Letters to invite the all their Forces to fupport the Caufe of
Athenians to a general Congrefs on the Jujike. We fhall there find, as he re-
Affairs of Phocis. ^fchines in the next prefencs it, the Reafon of their RefiUal.
Oration will give us the Terms of this
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? DEMOSTHENES. 147
duced, or their Infolence and Arrogance fuppreffed, the Cities of
the Phoc^ans, your Confederates, were rafed to the Ground;
the Thebans rafed them to the Ground, and their Inhabitants
were difperfed by the Harangues of iEfchines; inftead of deH-
vering up Eubaea in Exchange for Amphipolis, Philip is railing
Fortrefles in Eubaea, from whence to invade you, and is per-
petually meditating the Siege of thofe Places we ftill poflefs in.
that Illand : inftead of having Oropus reftored, we are now
preparing to march for the Defence of our own Frontiers, which,
while the Phocaeans were in Safety, we had never done: inftead
of performing their ancient, cuftomary Sacrifices at Delphos,
and having his Treafures reftored to Apollo, the rightful Am-
phi(n:yons are compelled to fly, are driven into Banifhment, and
their Country laid wafte; while thefe barbarian Macedonians,
who never had a Seat before among the Amphi6tyons, now
attempt by Force to enter into that Council. Whoever menti-
ons the facred Treafures is inftantly crucified; the Republic is
defpoiled of her Prerogative of firft confulting the Oracle at
Delphos, and all her Aftairs are perplexed and confufed like
an -^inigma. Thus Philip never told an Untruth, yet carried
all his Schemes into Execution, while you beheld whatever you
prayed and hoped for, in every Inftance contradicted, and
under an Appearance of Peace fuffered more direful Calamities,
than under an open Declaration of War. By fuch Pradices did
thefe Traitors get Money, and yet are even to this Day unpu-
nifhed.
U 2 That
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? 148 O R A T I O N S O F
That thefe Misfortunes have undoubtedly been produced hy
Corruption, and that your AmbaiTadors received the Price of
this Corruption, is already manifeft to you, I prefume, in num-
berlefs Inftances, and I am apprehenfive, that, contrary to my
Intentions, by endeavouring with too much Solicitude to de-
monftrate their Guilt, I may grow tedious by a Repetition o?
what you already know. Hear me, however, in one Inftance
more. Among the Ambafladors, whom Philip fent hither ,,
is there any one to whom you would ere6l a Statue of Bronze
in the Forum? What do I fay? Is there any one, to whom
you would give an Entertainment in the Prytan^um, or any
other Prefent, with which you generally honour your Bene-
factors? In my Opinion, not one. Why? Not becaufe yoij
are ungrateful, or unjuft, or malevolent, but becaufe you may-
affirm, as you certainly might affirm with Truth and Jufticcj
that they always a6led, not in Support of your Interefts, but
thofe of Philip. Do you then imagine, that while you are thus
fenfible of the Force of this reafoning, that Philip can think
in a different Manner? Or did he give your Ambafladors fo
many, and fuch fplendid Prefents, becaufe they acled in their
Embafly, with regard to you, v;ith Integrity and Honour?
Impoffible. You behold in what Manner he treated Hegefippus
and his Colleagues. Other Inftances I ffiall pafs over unmen-
tioned. But he baniflicd the Poet Xenoclydes by Proclamation,
becaufe he had holpitably received his Fellow-Citizens. (5 7) Thus
does
(c;y) Xenoclidis, a Poet of Athens, rcfided in Macedonia. Seeing the Difre-
gard.
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? D E M O S T H li N E S. 149
does he a(5l towards thofe, who fpeak with Integrity what they
really think for your Advantage, and thus, with regard to thofe,
who have fold themfelves, like iEfchines and Philocrates. Do
thefe Affertions therefore require Witneffes? Do they want
any ftronger Proof ? Shall ever any Power be able to tear them
from your Memory ?
A CERTAIN Perfon met me lately near the Senate-Houfc,
and told me an Affair of all others moft extraordinary ; that
j^fchines was preparing to accufe Chares, and hoped to impofe
upon you by this Artifice, and by his Harangues. For my
own Part, if Chares be accufed, I dare affirm, that he will be
found to have a6led faithfully and affedionately, to the utmojft
of his Power, for your Advantage; but if in the Event he was
overpowered by Numbers, that ought to be imputed to the
Counfels of thole bad Men, who, under the Influence of Cor-
ruption, ruined the Republic. But I fhall make them this
abundant Conceflion. Let it be granted, that whatever -^fchi-
nes {hall fay againfl Chares may be peifedly true, yet ftill his
accufing him will be abfolutely ridiculous; becaufe I do not
blame ^^fchines for the Conduct of the War, for which the
Generals are alone accountable, nor impute to him the Peace
concluded by the Republic. Thus far I acquit him. What
then
gard, with which Hegefippus was treated. Behaviour, and banifhed hitn from his
he received him with the Hofpitahty due Do-minions. Scholiast>>.
to his Countrymen. Pljihp refented his
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? 150 ORATIONSOF
then do I aflert, and from whence does this Impeachment arife?
From his having, while the Commonwealth was engaged in
concluding the Peace, fupported Philocrates againft thofe, who
propofed the beft Conditions; from his receiving Prefents;
wafting away the Time in his fecond Embafly, and never, in
any one Inftance, obeying your Inftru6lions; from his having
impofed upon the Republic, and ruined the whole State of our
Affairs by encouraging our Hopes, that Philip would a6t in
every thing as we fhould diredl ; laftly, from his having pleaded
in Defence of tliat Monarch, when others bid beware of him,
who had already committed fuch atrocious Ads of Injuftice.
Thefe are the Articles upon which I impeach him. Thefe you
ought to remember. Becaufe, if I had feen a juft and equal
Peace; if I had feen that your Ambafladors neither fold their
Integrity, nor uttered Falfehoods to deceive you, I would my-
felf have pronounced their Panegyric; I would myfelf have
advifed their being crowned. But if any of your Generals
hath failed in his Duty, his Errors have nothing in common
with the prefent Trial. For what General loft Halus, and
ruined the Phocaeans? Who loft Dorifcus? Who Cherfoblep-
tes? Who the facred Mountain? Who Thermopylae? Who
opened a Paffage for Philip even to the Frontiers of Attica
through the Territories of our Confederates and Allies? Who
alienated the Affedlions of Coronea, Orchomeniim, Eubsa,
and very lately of Megai'a? Who rendered the Thebans fo
5 pcwer-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 151
powerful? Thefe Misfortunes, however numerous and impor-
tant, were not occafioned by your Generals, but thefe Places
were ceded during the Peace, and Philip holds Polfeflion of
them by the Influence and Perfuaflon of thefe Traitors. They
were lofl: by them, and their Corruption.
If thefe are the proper Obje? ls of his Defence, and he fhall
wander from them, and choofe rather to fpeak to every other
Queftion, be fure to make him this Reply. We do not now
fit in Judgement upon any of our Generals, nor are you accuf-
ed of any Errors in the Conduct of the War. Do not therefore
tell us, that others are Accomplices with you in the Deftruc-
tion o^ the Phoc^ans, but convince us, that you yourfelf are
innocent. What? Do you now aflert, that Demofthenes is
guilty, yet never accufed him when he pafled his Accounts ?
Have you not always, even to this Moment, praifed his Condud ? .
Neither declaim upon the general Excellence and Advantages
of Peace, becaufe you are not accufed of having influenced the
Republic to conclude the Peace; but, that we were not fhame-
fully and opprobrioufly deceived in a thoufand Inflances after-
wards, and our Affairs totally ruined, make thefe the Subjeds
of your Declamation. For it is reprefented to us, that you are
the Author of all thefe Mifchiefs, and are therefore juftly deem-
ed worthy of Deftrudion. If you are careful to anfwer him in
this Manner, he will have nothing to reply, but fliall raife his
Voice, and chaunt forth its Sweetnefs in vain.
Perhaps;
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? 152 ORATIONS OF
Perhaps it may be neceflary to fay fomething of his Voice,
for I am informed he greatly vaunts him of its Sweetnefs, as if
he intended to exercife his theatrical Talents upon this Occafion.
Yet in my Opinion, if, when he played the Character of
Thyeftes, or reprefented the Mileries of the Trojan War, you
drove him off the Stage with Hiffes, and only not with Stones,
in fuch a Manner, that he had very nearly defifted, in the
Article of Death, from playing any more third-rate Charadters,
it would furely be exceflively abfurd, if afterwards, when he
hath wrought a thoufand Mifchicfs, not upon the Scene, but
in the public and moft important Affairs of the Commonwealth,
you fhould liften to him, as an Orator. No ; may you never
commit fuch an Abfurdity. When you make Trial of an He-
rald, you fliould indeed be attentive to his having a good Voice,
but in choofing an Ambaffador, or any public Minifter, it is
your Intereft to fix upon a Man of Integrity, and zealous for
your Welfare. With regard to myfelF, I never looked up to
Philip with Admiration, but was anxious only to redeem our
Fellow-Citizens from Slavery, nor ever fubmitted to any thing
bafe or abjedt, while i^fchines threw himfelf proftrate at his
Feet, and fang Pasans of Vidory with him, and treated you
with Contempt.
Besides, when you behold a valuable Citizen, and ftudious
of your Interefts, poffefled of Eloquence, or Sweetnefs of
Voice, or any other Excellence, it is your Duty, all of you,
to
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? DEMOSTHENES. 153
to rejoice with him, and aflift him with Ardour (for fuch a
Man is a common Bleffing to you all) but when you perceive
him corrupted, abandoned, and a Slave to the moft fordid
Lucre, you fhould drive him out of the Aflembly, or liften to
him with Severity and Averlion; becaufe when a Man of a de-
praved Spirit hath gained the Reputation of Abilities among
you, he becomes moft dangerous to the State. Behold, by
the Reputation, that ^fchines had gained, what Miichiefs have
affaulted the Republic. But while Abilities of every other Kind
can tolerably well fupport themfelves, this of Eloquence, ifop-
pofed by its Audience, is inftantly checked in its Progrefs. You
{hould hear ^fchines therefore, as a Man void of all Integrity,.
corrupted, and never uttering a Syllable of Truth.
Now confider, that not only upon all other Accounts, but
with regard to your Negotiations with Philip, it were of advan-
tage to the Commonwealth that iEfchines fhould be condemned.
Becaufe, if ever Philip fhould hereafter be compelled to a6t
with Juftice to the Republic, he will alter his Conducft. At
prefent he hath chofen to impofe upon the Many, and to culti-
vate the Friendfhip of the Few. But fhould he hear, that
thefe Traitors are deftroyed, he will afterwards think proper to-
a? t with a regard to the Many, in whom refide all the Powers,
(C)f the Conftitution. On thecontrary, if he fhould perfevere, as
at prefent, in his Licentioufnefs and Infolence, you fhall in Effcd:
deftroy all thofe, who may fupport his Interefts hereafter, if you
Vol. IL. X. dcftr. o)^=
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? 154- ORATIONS, &c.
deftroy this fingle Traitor. For if they have a6led in this Man-
ner under the Apprehenfion of being punifhed, what Crimes,
. do you imagine, will they not commit, when no longer appre-
henfive of yoitr Vengeance? What Kind of Euthycrates?
What Kind of Lafthenes? What Betrayer will they not excell
in Villainy ? Will not your Citizens become the moft abandon-
ed of all Mankind, when they behold the Wretches, who have
fold their Country, enjoying Riches, Authority, and Impunity,
by the Friendfhip of Philip, while they, who preferve their
Integrity, and fpend their Fortunes in the Service of the Public,
are purfued with Vexations, Hatred, Envy? May this never
happen. Never can it promote your Glory, your Piety, your
Security, nor anfwer any other valuable Purpofe, to acquit this
Traitor; but to render him an Example of your Juftice, both
to your own Citizens, and to all the other States of Greece, will
beft promote the Interefts of the Republic.
End of the ORATION.
