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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 253
Thus have I clearly proved the Illegality of this Decree, and
at once produced the Laws, your own Decrees, and even my
Adverfaries as my Witnefies. How can any Man more clearly
demonftrate, that another hath preferred Decrees moft ^directly
contrary to Law ? But I fhall now convince you, that the Procla-
mation of this Crown is abfolutely illegal. For the Law
exprefsly commands, '' if theScnate decrees a Crown, it fhall be
" proclaimed in the Senate-Houfe ; if the People, in their own
'* AfTembly. ^ever in any other Place. " ' Read the Law.
The Law.
This Law, Athenians, is really excellent. For, in my
Judgement, the Legiflator did not imagine it neceflary, that
an Orator fhould make himfelf honoured by Strangers, but
content himfelf with being efteemed in his own Republic by
the People, and not make a Trade of publifhing thefe Pro-
clamations. (4) Thus the Legiflator ; but Ctefiphon, how does
he a(5l ? Read his Decree>>
The Decree.
You hear, Athenians, that the Author of the Law com-
mands, whoever is crowned by a Decree of the People, (hall
be proclaimed in their own AlTembly, nor in any other Place.
But
(4) [A,7j lpyoXx^? ~v IvroTi K'Tigwy^ccG'tv. tega de i handi. Italian Ttanslator.
Qiiasftum exercere in pronunciandis pras- Non briguer des proclamations par des
niiis, hoc eft, in perferendis promulga- veucs d'un indigne interell. Toub. -
tionibus. Bud. -eus. E non faccia iot- Reil-
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? 254 ORATION OF iESCHINES
But Ctefiphon proclaimed it in the Theatre, not only tranfgref-
ing the Laws by decreeing the Crown, but by changing the
Place of proclaiming it : not in full Affembly of the Athenian
People, but where our new Tragedians are adling; (5) not be-
fore the People, but before the Grecians in general, that they
may be equally confcious, as we are, upon what Kind of Man
we confer the Honours of the Republic. |
Having therefore preferred a Decree thus manifeftly illegal,
he will join his Forces, as if in Battle Array, with thofe of
Demofthenes, and form his Fallacies againft the Law, he has
violated. Thefe I fliall clearly lay open, and I now foretell
them, that you may not incautioufly be deceived by them.
That the Laws forbid the Perfon, whom the People have
decreed to crown, to be proclaimed in any other than in their
own Affembly, neither Ctefiphon, nor Demofthenes have it
in their Power to deny. But in their Defence, they will cite
a Law, that concerns only your Bacchanalian Feftivals ; they
will cite it partially, to impofe upon their Audience ; they will
produce a Law totally foreign to the prefent Indidment , they
will affert, that there are two Laws, with regard to Procla-
mations, of equal Force in the Republic. One of thefe I have
quoted, exprefsly forbidding the Perfon, who is honoured with
a Crown
(5) rpuyuSuv y. anZv. The Italian fignifies in itfelf, fahulas agere. Who
and French Tranflatois render the Words, thefe new Tragedians were, or what new
new Tragedies; certainly againft their Tragedies they might have afted, is
ftria: Meaning, Befides oiyuni^i<T^oc^, equally unknown.
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 255
a Crown by the People, to be proclaimed out of their own
Aflemblies. The other, they will affirm in dire6t Contra-
didion grants a Power of proclaiming the Crown in the Theatre,
during the Reprefentation of our Tragedies, If the People
approve/ According to this Law, they will conclude, that
Ctefiphon preferred his Decree.
In Oppofition to thefe Subtleties I fhall produce your Laws,-
which I have endeavoured to make my great Patrons and Ad-
vocates through this whole Profecution. For if it indeed be
true ; if fuch a Cuftom hath infinuated itfelf into your Confti-
tution, that obfolete Laws are to be reckoned among thofe in
full Force ; if ever two fhall meet diredly contradiding each
other in the very fame Caufe, by what Name (hall we call that
Government, in which the Laws command and forbid the very
fame Adions ? But not fuch our prefent Situation ; and may
you never hereafter fall into fuch Confufion. Nor was this
Care negledied by the Legiflator, who founded our Democracy ;:
for he hath exprefsly appointed certain Confervators of our Laws
to revife and corred them every Year in public Aflembly ; ac-
curately to examine, and attentively confider, whether any
one Law contradidls another ; whether the obfolete are retained
among thofe in Force, and whether there be more than one
upon the fame Subjed. If they find any fuch, he commands,
that they fliall be written upon Tables, and placed in public:
View before the Statues of our guardian Heroes ; that the
proper
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? 256 ORATION OF iE S C H 1 N E S
proper Magillrates lliould convoke an Affembly, and after having
infcribed upon each Law the Name of the Perfon, who had
propofed It, the Prefident of the Affembly fhall grant to
the People a Power of voting, which they will annul, which
they will retain, that there may be only one Law, no more,
upon every fmgle Fadl. ^ Now read the Laws.
The Laws.
If therefore, Athenians, their Afiertions were true ; if there
were indeed any two Laws in Force with regard to thefe Pro-
clamations, of NeceiTity, I prefume, when the Magiftrates had
found, and the Senators of the prefiding Tribe had prefented them
to the proper Officers, one of them had certainly been repealed ;
cither that which granted, or that which denied a Power to
proclaim. But fince nothing of this Kind was ever done,
both Ctefiphon and Demofthenes are manifeftly convided of
uttering not Falfehoods only, but even abfolute ImpoflibiHties.
I SHALL inform you, from what Source they have derived
thefe Falfehoods, when I have mentioned for what Reafons the
Laws concerning Proclamations in the Theatre were enaded.
When Tragedies have been reprefented in this City, fome
certain Perfons proclaimed, without having obtained the Con-
fent of the People, that they were crowned by their own Tribes,
or by their Boroughs; others corrupted the Herald to proclaim,
that they generoufly fet their Slaves at Liberty, and thus they
called
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? AGAINST CTE SIPHON. 257
called upon the Grecians to be Witncffes of their Gcncrofity.
Yet flill more provoking and odious, they, who were appointed
to receive and entertain Foreigners at the pubHc Expence, con-
trived to have it proclaimed, that the People, for Inftance oi
Rhodes or Chios, or any other City, had crowned them for
their Virtue and Magnanimity. (6) Nor did they a6l in this
Manner, as if they were crowned by your Senate, or by your
People ; as if they had perfuaded you to confent, or were fup-
ported by your Decrees, or had laid fome mighty Obligation
upon you, but they feized upon the Crown without afking or
obtaining your Approbation. ' Hence it hath happened, that
the Spectators, the Directors of the Sports, and the Adors
were often difturbed, while they, who were proclaimed in the
Theatre, were far more gloriouily diftinguiflied, than they,
whom you yourfelves crowned. Thefe laft had only one par-
ticular Place, the general Affcmbly, in which they muft necef-
farily receive this Honour ; the others were proclaimed in open View
of all Greece. Thefe adled under Sandlion of your Decree, and by
your Confent ; the others without any Authority. Confcious
Vol. H. LI of
(6) U^olmxi; nvh sy^Jj^evo/ \v roug milufing their Employments, and the
e|^- TToAs^;. The Words, in their firfl: Funds appointed for the Entertainment
natural Conftrudion, feem to mean, of Strangers, to influence thofe Strangers
^hg, -^ho had been hofpitably received in ^? decree tliem a Crown of Vn-tuc and
foreign Cities, and in this Manner are Magnanimity. >> In fupport of this Rea-
they rendered by all our Interpreters, ^ning^ we have the great Authority of
The Senfe however leads us to a very Budsus upon the Word Tr^o^im; fie
different, indeed oppofite, Meaning. The cnim dicebantur, quibus publice hoc
^rime ofthefe People, foftrongly marked, munus delegarum erat, ut legates civi-
iTTiipBcvt^TKTov, iHvidiof! ,lf,mum, was their tatum honoris caufa hofpitio fufcipeccnr.
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? 258 ORATION OF iESCHINES
of thefe Irregularities, one of your Legiflators enaded a Law,
wliich has nothing in common with that, relating to Perfons
crowned by you, neither does it abrogate that Law, (for not
your Affembly was difturbed, but the Theatre) nor propofes
any thing in Oppofition to others formerly eftablifhed (for this
could never be permitted) but regards only thofe, who without
your Decree were crowned by their own Tribes and Boroughs ;
thofe, who had made their Slaves free ; or thofe, who were
honoured with Crowns granted by Foreigners. I He therefore
exprefsly forbids, either that a Slave fhall be made free in the
Theatre, or that any Perfon fhould be proclaimed to be crowned
by the People of his own Tribe, or Borough, or by any others,
and then orders, that the Herald who violates this Law, fhali
be ftigmatized with Infamy*
Since he therefore precilely appoints the Senate-Houfe for
proclaiming thofe, who are crowned by the Senate, and for
thofe, who are crowned by the People, their own Affembly ;
lince he hath abfolutely forbidden thofe, who are crov/ned by
their own Boroughs and Tribes, to be proclaimed in the The-
atre during the Reprefentation of our Tragedies, left any one,
by obtaining Crowns, and Proclamations by private Interefts
and Friendfhips, fhould obtain the unmerited Glory of having
ferved his Country : fince he declares, that the Crowns con-
ferred by the Senate and the People, the Tribes and Boroughs
Ihall be proclaimed in the Senate-Houfe or Affembly, what
then
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 259
then remains, except that the Crowns conferred by Foreigners
can alone be legally proclaimed in the Theatre ? ' In Proof of
this Reafoning, I fhall produce to you one powerful Argument
from the Laws themfclves. They take away the golden
Crown, proclaimed in our Theatre, from the Perfon to whom
it was given ; and command it to be confecrated to Minerva.
Yet who fhall dare to condemn the People of Athens of an
Aclion thus ilUberal ? For not the Republic only, but even no
private Athenian could be fo degenerate, as in the fame Mo-
ment to proclaim, and take away, and confecrate that very
Crown, which he himfelf had beftowcd. But, in my Opinion,
this Confecration arifes from its being conferred by Foreigners ;
left a Citizen of Athens more highly valuing the Affedion of
Strangers, than that of his own Coimtry, may be corrupted in
his Principles. But the Crown, which hath been proclaimed in
full Aflembly of the People, is never confecrated. It is per-
mitted to be pollefled by him, to whom it was given, that not
he alone, but all his Poflerity, preferving in their Houfes this
glorious Monument, may never entertain a Thought injurious
to this Republic. Thus the Legiflator hath added ; " no fo-
" reign Crown Hiall be proclaimed in the Theatre, except the
" People fliall confirm it by Decree," that whatever State
fhall have an Inclination to crown a Citizen of Athens may be
obliged to fend Ambafladors to folicite the Permiflion of our
People ; and that whoever is thus proclaimed may be confcious
of a greater Obligation to you, for the Crown he receives, than
L 1 2 to
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? "^? ,.
260 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
to thofe, who crown him, becaufe you permitted the Procla-
mation. ' To evince this Truth, hear the Laws themfelves.
The Laws.
When therefore, with an Intention of deceiving you, they
fliall affirm, that it is written in the Law, " Let it be permit-
ted to crown in the Theatre if the People (hall decree," re-
member to anfwer them. Yes, if any other City crown you;
but if the People of Athens, the Place is then pointed out to
you, where the Ceremony muft be performed J It is abfolutely
forbidden to proclaim you out of the general Aflembly. For
by this Expreflion, *' Not in any other Place," talk the whole
Day to explain it, you fhall never clearly fhew, that you have
preferred a legal Decree.
There yet remains one Part of my Accufatlon, to which I
am particularly attentive ; the Pretext, upon which Ctefiphon
fuppofes Demofthenes worthy of being crowned. ^ For thus he
fpeaks in his Decree, ** And the Herald fnall proclaim in the
" Theatre in Prefence of all the Grecians, that the People of
** Athens crown Demofthenes for his Virtue and Fortitude,
" and" (what is moft extraordinary) '* becaufe he conftantly
*' purfues in all his Words and Adions the Welfare of the Re-
" public. " The Remainder of my Difcourfe will be to me
extremely fimple. and to you moft eafy to form your Judge-
ment upon it. I My Duty as an Accufer obliges me to inform
you,
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 261
you, that the Praifes given to Demofthenes are abfolutely falfe ;
that he never propofed the moft falutary Counfels, nor at
prefent perfeveres in his Adlions to promote the Welfare of the
RepubHc. I If I clearly prove this Aliertion, Ctefiphon fhall
juftly be convi? led upon this Article, for all our Laws forbid
us to infert a Falfehood in any public Decrees. Ctefiphon in
his Defence muft maniteftly prove the contrary. You fhall
be Judges of our Reafonings. Behold the Caufe therefore
fairly ftatcd.
Minutely to inquire into the Life of Demofthenes, would
be the Work, I imagine, of a very long Oration. But where-
fore fhould I mention, either what befell him, when ne cited
his Coufin-German Democles before the Areopagus, upon an
Adion of Battery for Wounds he had given himfelf ;' or when
he received Cephifodotus, General of the Expedition to the
Hellefpont, on board the Galley he commanded, and although
lie had eaten with him at the fame Table, performed the fame
Sacrifices, the fame Libations, (Honours which the General
conferred upon him becaufe he had a Friendfliip for his Father)
yet he hefitated not to become his Accufer in an Indidment for
a capital Crime ? Wherefore mention the Affair between him,
and Midias, and the Buffetings he received in the Orcheftrn,
when he was Superintendant of the public Games ? Or how
he fold for thirty Minas at once the Affront itfelf, and the
Judgement of the People, who had by Decree condemned Mi-
dias
b
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? 262 O R A T I O iV OF . E S C H I N E S
dias in the Temple of Bacchus ? Thefe, and many other In-
flances Hke thefc, in mv own Opinion, I may pafs over in Si-
lence without either betraying your Interefls in the Caufe, or
making any Conceflions in the Dispute to gratify my Adrerfa-
ries, but mcerly apprehenfive of your objedling, that I aflert
Truths indeed, but Truths obfolete, and generally acknow-
ledged. The Man therefore, O Ctefiphon, whofe enormous
Turpitude is fo notorious, fo univerfally believed, that his
Profecutor is not apprehenfive of appearing to urge a Falfehood
againft him, but of feeming to impofe upon his Audience with
Truth of ancient Date repeatedly acknowledged, whether ought
he to be crowned with a golden Crown, or ftigmatized with In-
famy? I Or you, who impudently dare to write in your Decree
things equally falfe, as illegal, whether ought you to treat with
Contempt the Juftice of your Country, or fuffer that Punifli-
ment, which the Vengeance of the Republic demands ? '
Of his public Crimes, I fliall endeavour to fpeak more clearly,
for I hear, when Leave is given to him and Ctefiphon to reply,
he will compute, that tlxere were four particular Periods of
much Importance to the Commonwealth during his Adminif-
tration. As one of thcfe, and indeed the principal, fo I am
informed, he reckons the Time, when we entered into a War
again ft Philip for the Prefcrvation of Amphipolis. This Period
he concludes with the Treaty and Alliance, which Philocra;:es,
and he ratified by their Decrees, as I fhall demonftrate. The
? fecond
1
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 263
iecond he dates from the Time, when wq enjoyed a general
Peace, even to the very Day, in which this Orator himfelf vio-
lated that Peace, and decreed a War. The tliird, while we
maintained that War, until! the Misfortune at Cheronsa. The
fourth, is the prefent Time. Having divided them in this
Manner, he propofes, as I am informed, to call me, and afk,
upon which of thefe, his four Periods, I accufe him, or at
what Time, during his Adminiftration, I aflert his having adcd
contrary to the Interefts of the Republic. If Irefufe to anfvver>
or hide my Head with fhame, or defert the Caufe like a
Coward, He threatens to lay me open to public View; to drag
me to the Tribunal, and compel me to anfvver. That he may
not therefore triumph in his Strength ; that you may be previ-
oully acquainted with his Defigns; that I may anfwer you,
Demofthenes, before our common Judges, in Prelence of our
Fellow-Citizens, who ftand round the Tribunal, and of the
Grecians, who are anxious to hear this Trial (for I behold them
in no inconfiderable Numbers; indeed far greater than in
the Memory of Man were ever alTembled at a public Trial)
I anfwer, that I accufe you upon all the four Periods, into
which you divide your Adminiftration : and if it be the good
Pleafure of the Gods ; if our Judges hear us impartially, and
I can recollcdl the Crimes, I am confcious you have committed,
I am wholly confident, I fliall convince our Judges, that the
immortal Gods, and the Magiftrates, who directed your Affairs
with a milder Spirit, and more temperately, were the Prefervcrs
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? 264 ORATION OF iESCHINES
of the Republic, and that Demofthcnes hath been the fole
Author of all our Misfortunes. I fliall preferve the fame
regular Plan of Difcourfe, which, I am informed, he defigns
to ufe. I fliall begin with his firfl Period ; then fpeak to the
fecond and third in their proper Order, and end with the pre-
fent Situation of our Affairs.
I RETURN therefore to that Peace, which you, Demofthc-
nes and Philocrates, decreed.
It was in your Power, Athe-
nians, to have concluded it with the general Confent of all
Greece, if certain Perfons had permitted you to wait for the
Return of the EmbafTies, you fent at that important Conjunc-
ture to the Grecian States to invite them to alTift at the Council
aflembled to deliberate upon declaring War againft Philip ; and
in Procefs of Time, you might have recovered the Sovereignty
of Greece by the univerfal Confent of the Grecians. Of all thefe
Advantages you are deprived by Demofthcnes and Philocrates,
who confpiring againft the Republic have engaged in Practices
moft fordidly corrupt. Yet if any among you, when he hears
this unexpeded Aftertion ,fhould think it incredible, let him give
fuch Attention to the Remainder of this Oration, as when we
fit down upon an Account of Money long ftnce expended.
For we fometimes come hither with very falfe Impreftions, yet
when the Account hath been in every Article regularly ftated,
no Man can be fo perverfe and obftinate of Spirit, as not to
depart acknowledging and aflenting to the Truth, which the
Account
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 265
Account itfclf demonflrates. Give me therefore fuch equitable
hearing, and if any of you come hither long fince prepoffcffed
with an Opinion, that Dcmofthenes never pleaded, in Collulion
with Philocrates, in Favour of Philip ; if any ofyoubethus
perfuaded, let him neither acquit, nor condemn, before he
hears the Proofs U he will otherwife be mofl: unjuft. But if
you give me your Attention, while T briefly recolle6l thefc Pe-
riods ; while I produce the Decree, that Demofthenes and
Philocrates preferred; if the very Calculation of Truth itfelf
fhall convidl Demofthenes of having with Philocrates propofed
more than one Decree in Favour of that former Peace and Al-
liance ; of having: even to a fhamelefs Excefs of Adulation
flattered Philip, and his Ambafladors, nor waited for the Re-
turn of the Embaflies you had fent to animate the Grecians to
engage in a Confederacy againft him; of being the fole Caufe,
that the People of Athens ratified a feparate Peace with Philip,
without the Concurrence of the general Council of Greece; of
having rendered Cherfobleptes, King of Thrace, a Confederate
and Ally to this Republic, a Tributary to Philip ; if I mani-
feflly demonflrate all thefe Articles, I fhall implore you to grant
me one very reafonabie Requeft. Acknowledge, in the Name
of the immortal Gods, that he hath acred neither honourably,
nor advantageoufly for the Republic, during this firft Period.
I fhall begin from whence you may follow me with greatefl: Eafe
and Certainty.
Vol. II. M m Phi-
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? 266 ORATION OF . ^SCHINES
Philocrates preferred a Decree, that Philip might be
permitted to fend Heralds and AmbalTadors hither to nego-
tiate an Alliance, offenfive and defenfive. This Decree
was oppofed as contrary to Law. The Day of Trial came ;. .
Lycinus, who laid the Indidment, entered upon the Profe-
cution. Philocrates made his Defence ;. Demofthenes fupported
him, and Pliilocrates was acquitted. The following Year The-
miftocks is made Archon. I^hen enters the Senator Demoft-
henes into the Senate-Houfe, neither chofen by Lot in his owa
Riorht, nor appointed to fucceed upon a Vacancy either by
Death or Mifcondud: of any of the Senators, but getting a Seat
by Bribery and Intrigue, with an Intention upon all Occafions
both of fpeaking and adling in fupport of Philocrates ; as the
Event itfelf hath demonftrated. I For Philocrates violently
carried another Decree, in which he commanded, that ten'
AmbafTadors fliould be chofen, who fhall folicite Philip to fend'
his Plenepotentiaries hither to negotiate a Peace. One of thefe
was Demofthenes, who returning from Macedonia, pronounced
a Panegyric on the Peace, and made the very fame Reports,
as his Colleagues, of their Negotiations. Yet he alone of all
our Senators propofed a Decree, for concluding a Peace with
the Herald and AmbafTadors of Philip, in perfedl Conformity
with the Decrees of Philocrates. He gave Philip Leave to fend
Heralds and Ambafladors hither, and Demofthenes concludes
the Treaty. Give me now your earneft Attention to the Circum-
ftances, that followed. Very little Bufinefs was tranfaded by
Philip
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 267
Philip with the other Ambaffadors (whom Demofthenes upon
this Alteration of Affairs, in numberlefs Inftances calumniated]
but with Philocrates and Demofthencs. Nor without Reafon ;
fince they a6led together in their Embafly, and together formed
the following Decrees. The firft forbids you to wait for the
Return of the Ambafladors, whom you fent to engage the States
of Greece againfl Philip, and orders you without their Con-
currence to conclude a feparate Peace. The fecond net only
diredls you to confirm this Peace, but to enter into a League
offenfive and defenfive, with Philip, that if any of the Grecians
were well-intentioned to this Republic, they might fall into the
lafl; Defpair, when they perceived you encouraging them to
War, and at home confirming by your Decrees not Peace alone,
but even the ftri6teft Confederacy. The third commands, that
Cherfobleptes fhould be neither included within the Oath of
Treaty, nor interefted either in the Peace, or Alliance; yet
even at that Moment Philip had denounced Vengeance, and was
preparing an Expedition againfl him.
When Philip purchafed . their Decrees, he committed with
regard to you nothing unjuft, for before his Oaths and Ratifi-
cation of the Treaties, you had no right to refent his making
Ufe of his own Advantages. But they, who either have be-
trayed, or communicated the Strength of the Republic to
Philip, certainly deferve your heavieft Indignation. But he,
who now profefles himfelf an Enemy to Alexander, as formerly
M m 2 to
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? 268 ORATION OF . ^SCHINES
to Philip ; this Demofthenes, who reproaches me with being the
Gueft of Alexander, prefers a Decree, by which he deprives the
Commonwealth of the regular Seafons for her Deliberations,
and commands the Magiftrates to convene an AfTembly of the
People on the eighth of March, when the Feftival of ^fcula-
pius was to be folemnized, and the Games before it celebrated ;
a facred Day, upon which no Man ever remembered an In-
flance of convening an Aflembly. But what Excufe did he
make for this Matiner of adling ? " That the People" (fo lie
fpeaks in his Decree) " when Philip's Ambafladors arrived,
" might deliberate with the foonefl: upon their Embally to
*' him. " Thus anticipating the Refolutions of the AfTembly
before the Arrival of liis Ambafladors; preventing every favour-
able Conjundlure, that might poflibly happen, and violently
precipitating the whole Affair, that without the Confent of
other Grecian States, whenever your AmbafTadors returned, you
might conclude a feparate Peace. Immediately after thefe
Tranfadlions Philip's Ambafladors arrived, while yours were
ftill abroad forming a general Confederacy againft him. Here
Demoft-
(7) This PaJTage miift certainly be turn eft die fefto. Lambinus. De fa-
difficult, fince two of our old Tranfla- con que Ic Senat forma fon decret irelimi-
tors do not attempt the Word 'jTpoocyuv, vaire un jour de fefie. Tourreil.
and all the reft differ in the Manner of Antequampopulus id fcifceret, Foulkes
rendering it. To thofe mentioned by and Freind. The prefent Tranflation,
Wolfius let us add the Italian, e Ji pro- as in numberlefs other Inftances, follows
vavano i giuochi di Bacco ; and an old Doflor Taylor. He points the Text,
French TranQator, Du Vair, Et prcpo- k<<; -ir^oxyuv, Iv ttJ U^S. vji^s^^, Et
fcnt un affaire de confeqtience a un jour pr^ludia celehrarentur, in die, inquani,
de feflc. Atque de hac re, antequam fantlo, quo nemo unquam meminit cencio-
cum populo ageretur, ad fenatum rela- nem haheri.
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? AGAINST C T E S I P H O N. 269
Demofthenes violently carried another Decree, in which he di-
rects, that without waiting for the return of your Ambaffadors,
you (hould enter into a Confultation, not only upon concluding
a Peace, but even an Alliance offenfive and defenfive, immedi-
ately after the Feftival of Bacchus, celebrated in the City the
eigthteenth and nineteenth of March. That thefe Aflertion&
are true be convinced by hearing the Decrees themfelves.
The Decrees.
As foon therefore, Athenians, as the Feftival of Bacchus was
celebrated, two Aflemblies were convened. In the firfl: was
recited the general Refolution of our Confederates, the prin-
cipal Articles of which I fliall briefly repeat. Firft, they direc-
ted you to confine your Deliberations to the Peace alone, and
pafTed over the very Name of Alliance ; not becaufe they had
forgotten it, but becaufe they efteemed the Peace rather necef-
fary, than honourable. Then they wifely oppofed Demoilhenes,
with an Intention of finding a Remedy for his Corruption, and
inferted in their Refolution, *' Let it be permitted to whatever
" States of Greece fliall think proper within three Months to
^' have their Names infcribed upon the fame Column with that
" of the Athenians, and to enjoy all Advantages of Oaths and
"^ Treaties. " Thus they provided for two Points of utmoft
Importance: firfl, they gained three Months ; a Time, fufhcient
for affembling the Grecian Ambaffadors; and then conciliated
to the Republic the Affedions of Greece in this her general:
GouQ-
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? 27(C) . ORATION OF ^E S C H I N E S
Council, that if our Treaties with Philip fliould be violated by
him, Ave might neither enter into the War alone, or unprepared ;
both which Misfortunes are now fallen upon us by the Condud;
of Demoflhenes. That I affert only Trutli, you fliall hear and
be convinced by the very Decree.
Decree of the Confederates.
To this Decree I confefs, I gave my Afient, as did all your
Orators, who fpoke in the former Aflembly, and the People
departed, poffeiTed with an Opinion, that a Peace ought necef-
farily to be concluded ; that it were better not to debate upon
an Alliance, as our Ambaffadors were yet abroad forming a
Confederacy againft Philip, but that it fliould be ratified by
common Confent of all the Grecians. Night intervened, and
we were next Day fummoned to the Aflembly. There Demoft-
henes forceably taking Pofleflion of the Tribunal, and not per-
mitting any other to fpeak, declared, that all Refolutions of
the preceding Day were inflgniflcant and invalid, unlefs Philip's
Ambafladors confented ; nor could he conceive, that a Peace
could poflibly fubflfl; without an Alliance. For we ought not
(I remember the very Words he ufed, both from the DiflxDuance
of the Speaker and the Exprefllon itfelf] to tear afunder the
Peace from the Alliance, nor wait for the Tardinefs of the
Grecians, but either continue the War ourfelves, or conclude a
fcparate Peace. Then calling Antipater up to the Tribunal,
he afked him fome Queftions, having before informed him,
what
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 271
what he himfelf fliould afk, and inftruded him to return an
Anfwer moft prejudicial to the RcpubHc. Thus did this per-
nlciousMeafurc prevail. Demofthenes extorted your Confent by
very Violence of Words, and Philocrates confirmed it by De-
cree.
It yet remained to render Cherfobleptes, and all his Thracian
Dominions, tributary to Philip. This they executed the twenty
fifth of March before Demofthenes departed for his fecond Em-
bafiy appointed for the Requifition of Philip's Oath in Ratifi-
cation of the Peace. For tliis Enemy to Alexander ; this Enemy
to Philip ; this your favourite Orator twice went AmbafTador to
Macedonia ; though he never fhould have gone even once ; he,
who now advifes you to treat the Macedonians with the vileft
Contempt. Having taken his Seat in the Afiembly, held the
twenty-fifth, a Senator by meer Intrigue, in Collufion with
Philocrates he delivered up Cherfobleptes a Tributary to Philip.
For Philocrates had fecretly inferted this Claufe, befides many
others, in his Decree, for which Demofthenes had moved, that
all the Minifters of our Allies at that Time in Athens fliould
upon the fame Day give their Oaths of Ratification of die Peace
to Philip's AmbafTadors, when Cherfobleptes had not any Mi-
nifler Refident amono- us. When he therefore ordered all the
Minifters then prefent in the Council to take the Oaths, he ne-
ceflarily excluded Cherfobleptes, who had not any Refident at
Athens. That I fpeak Truth, read to me the Names of the
Perfons,,
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? 272 ORATION OF ^SCHINES
Pcrfons, who preferred the Decree, and the Prefident, who put
die Queflion.
The Decrfe. The President.
Excellent, O Athenians, excellent indeed, the Preferva-
tion of our public Ads ; for they remain unmoveable, nor ever
vary with thofe, who defert from Party to Party in their Poli-
tics, but give the People a Power, whenever they pleafe, of in-
fpeding into the Lives of thofe, who were formerly guilty of
the moft execrable Crimes, and yet upon any Alteration of Af-
fairs afTume the Charader of being valuable and upright Citi-
zens.
It now remains, that I mention fome Inftances of the fervile
Compliances of DemoPchenes with regard to Philip. Although
he had been a Senator a whole Year, he never invited any fo-
reign Ambafladors to the front Seats in the Theatre. This
was the firfl and only Inftance. He placed the Macedonian
Ambaffadors there^ laid their CufLions himfelf, fpread the
purple Carpets on their Seats, and at the iirft Appearance of
Day-Light, conduced them into the Theatre, in fuch a Man-
ner, as to be hified for his Turpitude and Adulation. (8) When
they departed for Thebes, he liberally hired fix Mules for them,
and marched before them in much Solemnity, making the Re-
public
(8) This Inftance of Adulation is well Cufhions to fit upon in the Theatie.
explained by a Pafiage in Theophraflus, But the Flatterer can defcend to the Vile-
quoted by Tourreil. A Slave was ap- nefs of fnatching one for his Patron, and
ointed to give People of Diftindion placing it himfelf on his Scat.
. 8
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 273
public itfelf perfedly ridiculous. But that I may confine
myfelf to my Subjed:, give me the Decree of Precedence granted
to the Macedonians.
The Decree.
However, this Flatterer of Philip; this Flatterer of iuch
enormous Magnitude, having firfl: heard the Death of that Mo-
narch from the Spies of Charidemus, pretended that a Dreaip,
was fent him from the Gods, and villainoufly declared, he heard
the FaS:, not from Charidemus, but from Jupiter and Minerva.
Thofe Deities, whom he affronts with his Perjuries by Day, he
protefts, converfe with him by Night, and foretell him the
great Events of Futurity. Then, feven Days after the Death
of his Daughter, before he had mourned for her; before he
had performed the cuftomary Ceremonies of Sepulture, crowned
with Flowers, and clothed in white, he facrijiced an Ox, and
impioufly violates the Rites, by Nature due to that Cliild,
whom the miferable Wretch had loft ; his only Child, the firft,
that ever called him Father. Nor do I mean to infult hira
with this great Calamity, but inquire into the Manners and
Genius of the Man. For the Father, who does not love his
Children, can never prove a good Minifter to the Republic.
Whoever does not cherifh with paternal Tendcrncfs thefe deareft,
thefe domeftic Charities, will never be more anxious for your
Wellfare, than that of Strangers ; whoever is in private Life
difhoneft, will never become virtuous in public ; whoever is a
Vol. II. N n worthlefs
\.
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? 274 ORATION OF . ESCHINES
wortlilefs Citizen in Athens, will never become an honourable
and faithful Ambaflador in Macedonia. ' He hath not changed
his GeniuSj but only altered his Situation.
From whence he hath maintained fo various a Charader in
various Conjun(5lures (for this the fecond Period of his Admi-
niftration) or what Caufe can be afllgned, why Philocrates, en-
gaged in the fame political Meafures with Demofthenes, was
driven into Banifliment for Crimes againft the State, while De-
mofthenes continues a public Accufer ;| and by what Means this
execrable Wretch hath plunged us into thefe our prefent Cala-
mities, are Circumftances more efpecially worthy of your
Attention.
As foon therefore as Philip had marched into the Streights
of Thermopylae ; unexpe6ledly deftroyed the Cities of the Pho-
CDcans, and rendered the Thebans, as you then judged, more
powerful, than the Conjundlure itfelf, and your Interefts would
allow ; when, terribly alarmed, you carried your Effedls out
of the open Country into the City ; the fevereft Accufations
were formed againft the Ambaffadors, who negotiated the
Peace, but beyond all others againft Philocrates and Demoft-
henes, who had not only ratified the Peace during their Em-
bafly, but preferred the Decree, by which it was concluded^
It happened at the fame Time, that Demofthenes and Philocra-
tes quarrelled for almoft the very Reafons you yourfelves fuf-
pc. 'ded.
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? AGAINST CTESIPHON. 275
pedted. (9) But amidft the general Conftcrnation, occafioncd
by Philip's marching into Phocis, Demofthenes began to form
his future Defigns according to the innate Diftemperature of
his Difpofition, his Timidity, and the Jealoufy he entertained ot
Philocrates with regard to their Divifion of the Treafures arifmg
from their mutual Corruption. He then imagined, if he fhould
appear an open Accufer both of his Colleagues in his EmbalTv,
and of Philip, that Philocrates would undoubtedly be ruined,
the other AmbafTadors brought intoextreme Danger, and hehim-
felf greatly honoured ; and while he was indeed a perfidious
Betrayer of his Friends, be efteemed faithful to the Interefts of
the People. The Enemies of our Tranquility obferving his
Condu6l, with Pleafure invited him to the Tribunal, calling
him the only uncorrupt Minifter in the Commonwealth. He
advanced, and then laid the Foundation of War and Confu-
fion.