Witli this
Intention
were
thefe Intrigues thus curioufly woven, and you were thus ha-
rangued.
thefe Intrigues thus curioufly woven, and you were thus ha-
rangued.
Demosthenes - Orations - v2
Many of you are confcious of the Fadls
1 am going to relate, for the Houfe was crouded with private
Citizens. I came forward, and laid the whole Truth before
the Senate, and accufed our guilty Ambafladors, from the very
firft Hopes brought you home by Ctefiphon and Ariftodemus.
Even when you had ratified the Peace, I enumerated every
Particular, which this bad Man had uttered in his Harangues ;
every Circumftance, by which they had reduced the Common-
wealth to that unhappy Crifis. What yet remained to us (the
Phoc^eans and Thermopyls) I counfelled you not to abandon ;
nor ever to commit the fame Errors again, nor to be held in
Sufpence by Hopes, repeated upon Hopes, by Promifes, on
C 2 Pro-
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? ,2 ORATIONSOF
Promifes ; nor to fuffer your Affairs to be reduced to fucli ex-
treme Deflrudion. Such the Counfel I gave, and the Senate
was convinced.
When an Affembly was afterwards convened; when it was
become neceflary to give you an Account of our Embaily^
this j^fchines, firft of all our Ambaffadors came forward (and
now by Jupiter and all our Deities I conjure you, endeavour
with me to recoiled, whether I repeat the Truth, for tliefe are
certainly the Circumftances, by which your Affairs were wholly
diftreffed and ruined) but he totally abftained from making
any Report with Regard to his own Condud during his Em_
baffy, or to what I had declared in the Senate, if perchance
he had entertained any Doubt of the Truth of what I de-
clared, but fuch an Oration did he make, containing Advan-
tacres fo numerous and fo great, that he abfolutely forced you
all into his Opinion. For he affirmed, he had perfuaded Phi-
lip to comply with every Meafure, wherein the Interefts of
the Republic were concerned, both with regard to the Caufe
depending before the Amphidyons, and in every other In-
ftance. (3) He then made a Recital of a long Harangue,
(3) The Amphidyons, however de- mifed to influence their Suffrages in Fa-
oenerate from the Virtue of their origi- vour of the Phocasans, as Allies and
nal Conftitution, ftill preferved an Ap- Friends of the Republic,
pearance of their ancient Authority, and The Reader may find fome Account
affumed a Right to determine upon the of the Amphidtyons in the Preface to
Juftice of the Qiiarrel between the Pho- the firfl Volume ; twelfth Page.
ca;ans and Thcbans. Philip had pro-
which
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? DEMOSTHENES. 13
which he informed us he had pronounced againft the Thebans
in the prefence of Phihp ; he repeated the general Heads of
it, and then computed, that by his pecuHar Condu6l in this
Embafly, you fliould hear, within two or three Days, with-
out your leaving home, or undertaking any Expedition, or
giving yourfelves the leaft Solicitude, that Thebes alone, with-
out an Invasion of the reft of Bceotia, was befieged ; that
Thefpiae and Platasa were again inhabited ; that Apollo's Trea-
fures were repaid Him, not by the Phocaeans, but the The-
bans, who had themfelves formed a Defio-n of feizino: his
Temple. (4) For ^fchines boafted of his having taught Phi-
lip, that they, who purpofe to commit a Crime, are not lefs
impious, than they, who really with their own Hands perpe-
trate the Fa(5l. He then affured us, that the Thebans, in Re-
fentment, had proclaimed a Reward for his Head. Laftly,
he affirmed his having heard, that the Euboeans were terrified,
(4) Tuv CaXiva-uvTuv r-^v kutccXti^iv committed the Sacrilege. Thus the rea-
T>> *? fl? . Tranflated by Wolfius, qui au- foning is direft and conclufive, which by
tores fuijfent templi occupandi, and he then his Tranflation is broken and imperfefl.
explains his Tranflation, as if the 1 he- The Italian Tranflator renders the Paf-
bans had advifed the Phocsans to feize fage, / quali haveano con/igliato, que fi
the Temple of Apollo. In his Notes occupajfe il tempio. Dodlor Taylor, by
he very juftly condemns the Abfurdity giving us . Wolfius his Tranflation and
of fuppofing fuch Advice, and remarks, his Note without any Remark upon it,
that the Fadt is unfupported by Hiftory. has given his own Authority to the Mif-
But the Abfurdity is totally his own. take ; it therefore becomes necelTary to
The Thebans had formed a Bejign of feiz- fay, it muft have efcaped that very ac-
ing this Temple, and were therefore equally curate and learned Editor.
criminal, as the Phcc^cans, ivho really
and
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? 14 ORATIONSOF
and confounded at the Reconciliation between Philip and the
Republic ; that they had declared ; " Ambafladors, it hath
" not efcaped us, upon what Conditions you have concluded
" a Peace with Philip ; neither are we ignorant, that you
" have ceded Amphipolis to him, nor that he hath promifed
" to deliver up Euboea to you. " Another important Affair
he affured you he had regulated, which hov/ever he would
not yet mention openly, becaufe at prefent fome of his Col-
leagues envied him. He thus obfcurely hinted at me, and
the Ceffion of Oropus. (5)
Being, with all Appearance of Juftice, much honoured
for his Condudl ; acknowledged a very powerful Orator, and a
Man of admirable Abilities, he with much Solemnity de-
fcended from the Tribunal. I then arofe; I declared my
total Ignorance of thefe Promifes, and attempted to repeat
fome Circumflances, which I had mentioned before in the Se-
nate, while iEfchines on one Side, and this Philocrates on the
other, clamoroufly interrupted, and at length abfolutely mocked
me. You laughed, nor would either hear, nor be perfuaded
to believe, except what jEfchines had declared : and, by the
(5) Oropus, by its Situation on the Acknowledgement of the Succours they '
Borders of Attica and Boeotia, was the had fent him againfl: the Athenians. Our '
Occafion of frequent Contefts between Orator here charges ^fchines with infi-
the two States. It had been taken from nuating, that PhiHp had promifed him
Athens by Themefion, Tyrant of Ere- to reftore it the Republic.
fria, who ceded it to the Thebans, in
8 Gods,
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? DEMOSTHENES. 15
Gods, you a6led thus, in my Judgement, not without Reafon.
For who could have endured, while he expeded Advantages
fo great, fo numerous, to hear even the PofTibility of them
denied, and the Perfons, who wrought fuch Wonders, ac-
cufed ? All other Coniiderations were certainly of little Im-
portance, when compared to fuch Hopes and Expedations.
Whoever contradidled them, appeared actuated merely by a
Spirit of Oppofition and Envy ; while all his Propofals were
thought wonderfully great, and advantageous to the Republic.
But to what Purpofe have I now recollected, for the firft
Time, thefe Circumflances, and repeated thefe Harangues ?
For one, O Men of Athens, aa important and principal Rea-
fon ; that none of you, who fliall hereafter hear me accufe
thefe Meafures, may imagine me fevere, and exceflive in my
Cenfures, or afk with Wonder, *' Why did you not upon the
" Inftant mention, and inform us of theie Circumftances ;"
but that you may rather recolledl the Promifes, which thefe
People made upon all Occafions, and by which they excluded,
others from the Liberty of fpeaking : that you may remem-
ber the famous Declaration of ^^fchines, and be convinced,
that, in addition to all his other Injuries, you have been hin-
dered from hearing the Truth at the immediate Inftant, when
it was moft neceffary, and deceived by Hopes, Impoftures, and
Promifes. This was the firft, and indeed the principal Rea-
fen, for which I have recolleded thefe Circumftances> The
fecond
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? i6 ORATIONSOF
fecond, and not of lefs Importance, that when you remember
the whole Tenour of his Adminiftration, while he was yet
iincorrupted, how incredulous with Regard to Philip ; how
ftrongly fortified againft him, you may confider how fudden
were his Confidence and Friendfhip. Laftly, that if his Pro-
mifes have been attended with Succefs^ if his Adminiftration
hath been alorious to the Commonwealth, you may then com-
pute, that he adled with Integrity, and for the public Advan-
tage ; on the contrary, if the Event hath always happened in
diredl Contradidion to what he promifed ; if he hath brought
much Diflionour, and imminent Danger upon the Republic,
by a fordid Avarice, and the Proftitution of Truth, you may-
then account for the Alteration.
But fince 1 have proceeded thus far, I would willingly
mention, before all other Confiderations, the Manner in which
your Ambaffadors deprived you of all Diredion in the Affairs
of the Phocaeans. Nor fhould any of our Judges, while he
confiders the Greatnefs of thofe Affairs, imagine that ^fchines,
according to the general Eftimation of his Charader, was in-
capable of committing thofe Crimes, of which he is accufed.
You fhould fix your Attention to this Confideration alone,
that whomfoever you have appointed to any fuch Employ-
ment, and intrufted with a Power to difpofe of all Conjunc-
tures which may happen to arife, that Man, if he thought
proper to follow the Example of jl)fchines in felling himfelf
to
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? DEMOSTHENES. 17
to your Enemies, is capable of deceiving and deluding you,
. and producing Mifchiefs as great, as thofe, which ^fchincs
himfelf hath occafioned. But although you often employ
very worthlefs People in the Direction of your Affairs, not for
that Reafon are thofe Affairs themfelves worthlefs, or do not
become honourable to the Republic, when they are conduced
by others. Far otherwife. Let us then conclude, that Philip
did indeed deftroy the Phocaeans, but that thefe Ambaffidors
affifted him. It is your Duty therefore to confider and in-
quire, whether, as far as the Prefervation of the Phocaeans
depended on their Embafly, they have voluntarily ruined,
and deffroyed that People; not whether Philip was powerful
enough in himfelf to have deftroyed them. For to what Pur-
pofe fuch Inquiries ? But give me the Decree of the Senate,
which Vv'as formed when I made my Report of our Embafiy ;
then give me the Teftimony of the Clerk, who laid it before
the Senate, that you may be convinced, I was not then filent,
or now alone feparate myfelf from tlieir Adminiftration, but
that I inffantly accufed them, and forefaw our prefent Cala-
mities. The Senate, who were not hindered from hearing
me declare the Truth, neither applauded, nor thought them
worthy of being invited to any public Entertainment, although,
fince the Foundation of the City, no other Ambaffadors had
ever fuffered fuch an Indignity; not even Timagoras, whom
the People afterwards capitally condemned. But thefe Am-
VoL. II. D baffadors
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? i8 ORATIONSOF
bafladors fuffered it. Firfl read the Teftimony j then the De-
cree.
Testimony. Decree.
Here are no Praifes, no Invitation from the Senate to the Am-
bafladors ; or if ^fchines aflerts the contrary, let him prove,
let him make them appear. But it is impofllble.
Indeed, if we had all afted in the fame Manner, mofi:
juftly had the Senate refufed its Praifes to us all; for undeniably
our Condudt in general was greatly criminal. But if fome of us
preferved, while others betrayed, their Integrity, it is apparent,
that the Innocent have been obliged to participate of one com-
mon Infamy with the Guilty. " But how fhall you all with-
" out Difficulty diftinguifh, who is guilty ? " Remember, who
blamed the Conduct of thefe Ambafladors upon the Inftant
they returned. For it is manifeft, that a Man, who was con-
fcious of his own Guilt, would have been contented with being
filcnt ; and if he could have eluded an immediate Inquiry,
would never afterwards render an Account of his Condud:.
But to the Man, who is confcious of his Innocence, it is mod
afflidling to be filent, when his Silence expofes him to the Suf-
picion of being a Partner in the Crimes and Guilt of others.
But I ftood forth the Accufer of thefe AmbafTadors, when
they returned from their Embafly, nor have ever by any of
them been accufed. .
Such
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? DEMOSTHENES. 19
Such was the Decree of the Senate ; but when a general
Aflembly was convened, and PhiHp had marched into Ther-
mopylae (for their principal Crime was having given Philip an
Opportunity of furprifing the Phocaeans) when it was become
necefTary for you to take Cognizance of your Affairs, to con-
fult, and to execute, they rendered it difficult for you at once
to hear of PhiHp's Approach, and to determine how you fhould
aft. In addition to thefe Mifchiefs no Man read the Senate's
Decree to the People ; the People heard it not ; but -^fchines
harangued the Aflembly, as I have repeated to you, upon the
numerous and magnificent Advantages, which Philip (fo he
affured us) had granted to his Perfuafions, and for which the
Thebans had fet a Price upon his Head. Thus, although you were
terrified at Philip's March, and angry at them, who had not
informed you of it, yet you became more temperate, and even
to fuch a Degree, as to expert whatever you thought proper
to defire. You would neither hear me fpeak, nor any other.
Philip's Letter was then read, which ^^fchines, who had ftaid
behind us in Macedonia, had himfelf written. It was an open,
manifeft Defence of the guilty Adminiftration of his Collegues.
For it mentions his having hindered them, when they were
determined to go into the Cities of Greece, and require the
Oaths of Philip's Confederates in Ratification of the Peace,
and his having detained them, that they might affift him in
reconciling the Alenfes and Pharfalians, thus taking from them,-
D 2 and
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? 20 ORATIONSOF
and appropriating to himfelf, all their Crimes. But with Re-
gard to the Phocseans, and Thefpians, and all the Promifes he
had made, not a Tingle Syllable. Nor did this happen by
meer Accident; but that Vengeance, which was juftly due
to thofe, who had never aded, during their Embaffy, in Obe-
dience to your Decrees, he voluntarily takes upon himfelf, and
profefles himfelf the Caufe of all their Crimes, becaufe you
are unable, fo I prefume he thinks, to punifh him. Every
Circumftance, by which he could deceive the Republic, or de-
fpoil her of her Poffeflions, thefe he takes to himfelf, that you
might have no Pretence to accufe, or complain of Philip, fince
they are neither mentioned in his Letters, nor any of his Me-
morials. Secretary, read the Letter, which -^fchines wrote
himfelf, and which he himfelf fent, that you may fee, whether
it be fuch as I have reprefented. Read.
The LETTER.
You hear, O Men of Athens, this Letter ; how elegant and
humane ; but of the Phocaeans, or Thebans, or any others,
with regard to whom iEfchines had made fuch Declarations,
not one fingle Expreflion. But there is nothing true, nothing
fmcere in this Letter, as you fhall inftantly perceive. The
Alenfes, for the Sake of whofe Reconciliation with thePhar-
falians, he fays he had detained his Colleagues, have experi-
enced fuch a Reconciliation, that they are driven from their
native
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? DEMOSTHENES. 21
native Country, and their City is totally dedrovcd ; while
Philip, who, it feems, is folicitous to iind an Opportunity of
obliging you, does not even profefs an Intention of rcftoring
their Liberty to the Wretches, whom he has taken Prifoners.
It hath often appeared in Evidence before the People, and (Tiall
again appear, that I took with me a Talent for their Ranfom,
while iEfchines, willing to deprive me of the Honour of fuch
an Acl of Humanity, perfuaded Philip to write, that he would
not fuffer them to be ranfomed. But what is ftill of far greater
Importance, he, who WTOte in the firfl Letter we received,
" Thus have I exprefsly mentioned the Benefits I purpofe to
" confer upon you, if I were perfedlly aflured, that an Alli-
** ance could be formed between us," yet the Moment that
Alliance is concluded, he then declares, he knows not in vvhat
Inftance he can oblige you. What 1 did he not know, what
he himfelf had promifed ? He would certainly have known,
if he had not intended to deceive. To convince you, that he
wrote thefe very Words, take his firft Letter, and read me the
Paflage. Begin.
The Passage is read>>
Thus, before he obtained a Peace, he promifed, if you eon-
eluded an Alliance with him, to write what wonderous Obli-
gations he would confer on the Republic ; but when both were
at length obtained, he then declares, he knows not in what
Manner
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? 22 ORATIONSOF
Manner lie can oblige you. If you inform him how he may
ad with Regard to you without Infamy, or Difhonour to him-
felf ; or if he fliould abfolutely promife, and you (liould pre-
vail upon yourfelves to afk a Favour, he then flies for Refuge
to his ufual Pretences, and leaves you nothing, but Excules
and Apologies.
These and many other Circumfiances might have inftantly
convi(fled him, and inftru6ted you not to fuffer your Affairs to
be totally ruined, if his Promifes of refloring the Thefpians
and Plateaus, and his Menaces of immediately chaftifing the
Thebans had not hindered you from perceiving the real State
of your Affairs. However, thefe Promifes and Menaces, if
the Republic alone were fuppofed to hear and be amufed by
them, were not unwifely employed ; but if really defigned to
be carried into Execution, they had better been pafTed over
in Silence. Becaufe if the Thebans were already in fuch a Si-
tuation, that although they forefaw, yet they were unable to
prevent, their Ruin, why were not thefe Menaces executed ?
If that Ruin was prevented by their being thus made fenfible
of their Danger, who was the Difcoverer ? Was it not JEf-
chines ? But PhiHp never intended their Deflrudion, nor did
JEfchines either propofe, or defire it. He therefore ftands ac-
quitted of any Guilt in making the Difcovery. But it was
neceflary, that you fhould be amufed by this Language, and
de-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 2^
J
determine not to hear the Truth from me ; that you fliould
remain at home, and a Decree be obtained, by which the Pho-
caeans fliould be totally deftroyed.
Witli this Intention were
thefe Intrigues thus curioufly woven, and you were thus ha-
rangued.
When I heard him making thefe magnificent Promifes, I
was perfedlly convinced of their Falfehood, and for what Rea-
fons I was convinced, I will inform you. Firft, becaufe when
Philip was to give his Oath in Ratification of the Peace, the
Phocsans vvere by him and -lEfchines exprefsly excluded from,
the Capitulation ; whereas all Mention of them fhould have
been pafled over in Silence and omitted, if it were intended
to preferve them : fecondly, becaufe neither Philip's Ambaf-
fador, nor Philip's Letter, but iEfchines alone, ever made fuch
a Promife. Having formed my Conjedlures upon thefe Cir-
cumftances, I rofe and came forward on the Tribunal, and en-
deavoured to contradidl him. But when you refufed to hear,
I kept Silence, entering only this Proteft (which by all the
Gods I conjure you to remember) that I neither knew thefe
Promifes, nor had any Share in the Intrigues of your Ambaf-
fadors ; I added, neither did I expedt any good Succefs from
th. m. When you received the ExprelHon, that I did not
expeil any Succefs, with fome Refentment, I declared to you,
<<^ O M. ii of Athens, if the Event of thefe Meafures be prof-
perous,.
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? 24 ORATIONSOF
" perous, give to thefe AmbaiTadors your Praifes, and Ho-
" nours, and Crowns ; I claim no Share of them ; but if the
" contrary fliould happen, then let them fuffer your juft In-
'* dignation. For my Part I retire. " Not yet, replied JEC-
chines ; do not yet retire ; only remember, not to claim any
of thefe Revvards, when they are diftributed. I anfvvered, I
fliould then be moil unjuft. Here Philocrates rofe with Info-
lence and Invedives, " It is nothing wonderful, O Men of
*' Athens, that Demofthenes and I never agree in Opinion ;
*' for he drinks Water, but I drink Wine ;" and then you
laughed.
Now confider the Decree, that Philocrates propofed imme-
diately after thefe licentious Pleafantries, for it is, in all its Parts,
mofl: worthy of your Attention ; but if we compute at what
Time it was propofed, and the Promifes iEfchines made on
the Occadon, it will appear, that your Ambafladors delivered
up the Phoc^ans to Philip, only not with their Hands tied
behind them. Read the Decree.
The Decree.
You behold, O Men of Athens, this Decree ; how filled with
Praifes, and honourable Appellations, '' Let the Peace and Con-
*' federacy, we have concluded with Philip, continue to his
*' Poftcrity, and let him receive Praife for his Promifes of adl-
*' ing with Juftice. " Yet he really promifed nothing. So far
other-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 25
othcrwife, that he knew ncn: wherein he could oblige you.
But ^fchines made Speeches and Promifes for him. Philo-
crates therefore finding, that you were earneftly inclined to
rely upon thefe Speeches, inferted in his Decree, " that if the
<' Phocjeans a6led not as they ought, but rcfufed to reftore the
" Temple of Apollo to the Amphi*5i:yons, the Athenian People
<* fliould fend Succours againft thofe, who hindered this Mea-
" fure from being carried into Execution. " While you there-
fore, O Men of Athens, remained inadive, nor marched
out of your own Territories ; when the Lacedemonians, fen-
fible of the Fraud, were returned home, and no other Am-
phidyons appeared at the Aflembly, except the Theffalians and
Thebans, then did iEfchines write in the gentleft Language in
the World, " that the Phocseans fhould deliver up the Tem-
ple to the Amphidyons. " What Amphiclyons ? No others
were aflembled, except the Thebans and Theffalians. But
fhould he not have convoked a general Council ? Should he
not have waited, untill they were aflembled ? Should he not
have ordered Proxenus to fuccour the Phocsans, and the Athe-
nians to take the Field ? Nothing of the kind was ordered.
*' But Philip fent two Letters, in which he called upon you to
** march. " But not with an Intention, that you fliould march.
By no means. Becaufe, he never would have confumed the
Time, in which you might poffibly have been able to have
gone, and then have called upon you ; he never would have
Vol. IL E delayed
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? 26 ORATIONS OF
delayed me, when I had determined to return ; nor would he
have commanded this Mercenary to make fuch Harangues to
you, by which you were very little influenced to go. He in-
tended, that you fhould imagine he would perform whatever
you thought proper to demand, and therefore would not op-
pofe him by your Decrees ; that the Phocaeans fhould not re-
pel his Invafion, or refift him, but relying on the Hopes of
your Afliftance, or broken by Defpair, fhould yield at Difcre-
tion. Read Philip's Letters.
The LETTERS.
These Letters do indeed, andwith Earneftnefs call upon you
to march. But if your Ambafladors had adled with Integrity,
what other Courfe could they have taken, than unanimoufly to
have decreed, that you fhould take the Field, and that Prox-
enus, who they knew was in that Part of the Country, fI:iould
inftantly fuccour the Phocreans ? Yet it is apparent, they
afted directly contrary, and indeed w^ith fome Appearance of
Reafon. For they paid no Regard to Philip's Letters, but to
the Intention>> with which they were confcious he wrote them.
This Intention therefore they laboured, and with Ardour, to
fupport.
But the Pliocaeans, when they heard what you had deter-
mined in your AiTcmbly, when they received the Decree of
Phi-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 37
Philocrates, with this Declaration of iEfchincs, and his Pro-
mifes, were in every Inftance undone. For confider their Cir-
cumftances. Some of their Citizens d^ftrufted PhiHp, and they
were wife ; yet they were induced to place a Confidence in
him. How induced ? Becaufe, although they imagined,
Philip would deceive them a thoufand Times, they never could
imagine, that the Athenian AmbaiTadors would dare to de-
ceive the Athenians. They believed what iEfchines declared,
and that the approaching Deflrudion was to fall, * not upon
them, but the Thebans. There were fome others, who de-
termined to fuifer the lafl: Extremities, and to repel the Inva-
fion ; but they were difpirited by the Perfuafion, that Philip
would prove their Friend, and by their Apprehenfion, if they
refufed to acft in Compliance with your Decree, that the Forces,
which they had expelled fhould fuccour them, would be em-
ployed againft them. Befides, fome of them imagined you had
repented of the Peace you had concluded with Philip. Your
Ambafiadors therefore demonftrated to them your having decreed
this Peace to your Pofterity, that they might in every Inftance
defpair o{ your Aftiftance, and all thefe Circumftances were for
this Reafon colleded into one Decree; in my Opinion, the
greateft Crime they were capable of committing. Becaufe,
when they concluded this Peace with a mortal Man, made
powerful only by fome favourable Conjunctures, they fixed an
immortal Infamy on the Republic, and not only deprived lier
E 2 of
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? 28 ORATIONSOF
of all other poffible AfTiftance, but even of the good Favour
of Fortune. That they proceeded to fuch Excefs of Wick d-
nefs, as not only to injure the prcfent Race of Athenians, but
all their future Defcendants, is it not intolerable ? Never could
you have endured the inferting this Article " and to his Pofte-
*' rity," if you had not relied upon the Promifes of -^fchines,
upon which the Phocasans relied, and were undone. For after
delivering themfelves up to Phihp, and furrendering their Cities
into his Hands, they have experienced every Calamity directly
oppolite to his Promife.
But manifeftly to convince you, that thefe AfTerttons are
true, and that the Phocasans were utterly deftroyed by thefe
Ambafladors, I fhall compute the Time, in wliich every Cir-
cumftance happened, and whoever contradicts me, let him
arife, and take Part of the Hours, appointed to me by the Laws
for this Indictment. (6) The Peace, therefore, was concluded.
on
6. A literal Trannation of this PafTage or even Verfes, quoted by the Orator,,
woLikl to an Englilli Rtader be wholly un- were read by the Secretary. Thefe, wq
inteliio-ible ? , Let him /peak in my Water ; may believe, were therefore artfully ufed
ycL it may be Matter of Curiofity to know to relieve the Fatigue of the Speaker, an(>
the MeariiDg of the Expreflion. Acer- the Attention of his Audience. Some-
tain Ponion of Time, computed prcba- times, as intheprefent Inftance, we find
bly by the Import. mceof the Caufe, was their Orators infulting each other, as iiv
ap oint d for the Plaintiff and Defendant- a Confidence of their Succefs, with an
1 Ms Time was meafured by an Hour- Offer of the remainder of their Water,.
Gla s of Wat. r, v\hi( h was flopped when or, according to the prefent Tranflation,
any thing foreign to t. ic Caufe intervened, qJ the Time aliened to their Pleading.
? r when their Laws, Decrees, Evidence,
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? DEMOSTHENES. 29
on the nineteenth of February. We were abfcnt full three
Months on our Embafly for demanding PhiHp's Oath in Ratifi-
cation of it, and that whole Time the Phocaeans continued in
Safety. (7) We returned from our Embafly the thirteenth of
May. Philip had now entered the Pafs of Thermopylae, and
made fuch Promifes to the Phocceans, as none of them believed.
Certainly ; for otherwife, they never would have conte hither
for Succours. An AfTembly was afterwards convened the fix-
teenth of May, when thefe AmbafTadors by Perfidy and falfc
Reprefentations utterly ruined your Affairs. In five Days, as
I compute, the Phocaeans might have been informed of your
Determinations, for their AmbafTadors were then in Athens,
and it much concerned them to know what Propofils ^fchines
and his Collegues brought home, and what you had decreed.
The Phocasans therefore, according to my Calculation, might
have known your Determinations upon the twentieth. I mean,
in five Days from the fixteenth. Then followed the twenty-
firfl, twenty-fecond, twenty- third, in which a Treaty was.
concluded
7. Our Author is not perfeftly exadl the twenty-th'rd an Alliance was con-
in his reckoning. The AmbaflTadors de- eluded b twetn Philip and i hcbcs, and.
parted on their Embafiy, according to the Phocfeans were deflroyed. The >e-
Doftor Taylor's Calculation^ after the nate w,(S aflembled in the Pyr^rum. and:
third of March, and returned the thir- the News of this Dcllruction re, ( rte 1 at.
teenth of May. The Senate met the fix- A' hens on th^- twenty fcvench
teenth, when they made the Report of This fliortcr Computation ;ray be ufcful;
their Embafiy. Demofthenes computes, to the Reader, and he is indebted for, ic:
that the Phocseans might have received to Do6tor Taylor,
the Athenian Decree the twentieth. On,
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? 30 ORATIONSOF
concluded between Philip and the Thebans, when every Thing
was ruined, and brought to their final Period. How is this
manifeft ? 1 he twenty-feventh the Senate affembled in the
Pyrzeum upon the State of your Marine, when Dercyllus ar-
rived from Chalcis, and gave you an Account, that Phihp had
delivered every Thing into the Hands of the Thebans. He
reckoned that Day the fifth from the Conclufion of the Treaty,
and the twenty-third, fourth, fifth, fixth, and feventh, make
exaflly the five Days, which Dercyllus computed from the
Treaty. Thus by an exa6t Calculation of the Days, upon
which thefe Ambafilidors made their Report of their Embafiy,
and publiilicd their Decree, they ftand convicted of having ftre-
nuoufly afiified Phihp, and adted in Concert with him for the
Defirudion of the Phocseans.
Besides, that none of the Phocaean Cities were taken bj
Siege, or by Aflault, but were utterly ruined by the Treaty
they had concluded, is a convincing Proof, that they fufi^ered
thefe Calamities, becaufe they were perfuaded by your Ambaf-
fadors, that PhiHp would preferve them. For they were not
ignorant of Philip's Charader. Here, give me our Treaty
with the Phoca^ans, and the Decrees by which Philip rafed
their Walls, that you may behold what Alliance fubfifted be-
tween us, and what Misfortunes have befallen them through
? " CD
the Counfels of thefe Enemies of the Gods. Read.
Articles
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? DEMOSTHENES. 31
Articles of Alliance between the Athenians and Piioc^ans.
Such were the Connexions between you and them : Friend-
fhip. Alliance, Succours. Now hear what Calamities they
have endured by this Man's hindering you from aflifting them.
Read.
The Convention! between Philip and the Phoc^ans.
Do you hear, O Men of Athens ? He fays, " the Con-
" vention between Philip and the Phocaeans," not between
the Thebans and Phocsans ; the Theflalians and Phocseans ;
the Locrians or any other People. And again ; he fays>
*' they mufl deliver up their Towns to PhiHp," not to the
Thebans, Theflalians, or any other People. Wherefore? Be-
caufe iiEfchines had declared to you, that Philip had marched
into Thermopyls for the Prefervation of the Phocaeans>> They
therefore placed their entire Confidence in him ; they direded
all their Views towards him ; they concluded a Peace with him.
Let the Secretary read the Remainder. Then do you confider
what they believed, and what they fuffered. Have they any
Likenefs or Refemblance to the Promifes of ^S^fchines ? Read,
The Decree of the Amphictyons.
Calamities, O Men of Athens, more terrible, or greater
than thefe, were never known among the Grecians, neither in
& our^j,
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? 32 ORATIONSOF
ours, nor, I believe, in any former Age. Of Conqneils thus im-
portant, thus numerous, one fmgle Man, by. the Perfidy of
thdQ Ambailadors, is become abfolute Mafter, even whik
Athens ilill exifls, to whom it hath belonged by ancient Cufrom
to hold the Sovereignty of Greece, and not to look with uncon-
cern upon iuch Mifchiefs.
In what Manner, therefore, the unhappy Phoc^eans were
deftroyed, is apparent, not only from thofe Decrees, but from
all the Operations, that followed. A dreadful fpedacle, O
Men of Athens, and full of Mifery. When we lately travelled
to Delphos we were of necellity compelled to fee all tliis Wretch-
ednefs ; Houfes in Ruins ; Walls rafed to the Ground ; the
Country deferted by the young Men ; a few Women and
Children, and old Men, moft miferable. It is impofTible for
Language to cxprefs the Calamities of this unhappy People,
even at this Moment. Yet I have heard you all declare, that
they formerly gave their Vote in Oppofition to the Thebans,
when the Servitude of this Republic was under Debate. What
Sentence therefore, what Judgement do you imagine, O Men
of Atjiens, would our Anceflors, if they returned to Life, pro-
nounce upon the Authors of this Deftrudlion ? In my Opinion,
they would not imagine themfelves guiltlefs of the Treachery,
by which the Phoca^ans were thus totally ruined, if they did
not flone them with even their own Hands. For is it not mofl:
diflionourable,
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1 am going to relate, for the Houfe was crouded with private
Citizens. I came forward, and laid the whole Truth before
the Senate, and accufed our guilty Ambafladors, from the very
firft Hopes brought you home by Ctefiphon and Ariftodemus.
Even when you had ratified the Peace, I enumerated every
Particular, which this bad Man had uttered in his Harangues ;
every Circumftance, by which they had reduced the Common-
wealth to that unhappy Crifis. What yet remained to us (the
Phoc^eans and Thermopyls) I counfelled you not to abandon ;
nor ever to commit the fame Errors again, nor to be held in
Sufpence by Hopes, repeated upon Hopes, by Promifes, on
C 2 Pro-
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? ,2 ORATIONSOF
Promifes ; nor to fuffer your Affairs to be reduced to fucli ex-
treme Deflrudion. Such the Counfel I gave, and the Senate
was convinced.
When an Affembly was afterwards convened; when it was
become neceflary to give you an Account of our Embaily^
this j^fchines, firft of all our Ambaffadors came forward (and
now by Jupiter and all our Deities I conjure you, endeavour
with me to recoiled, whether I repeat the Truth, for tliefe are
certainly the Circumftances, by which your Affairs were wholly
diftreffed and ruined) but he totally abftained from making
any Report with Regard to his own Condud during his Em_
baffy, or to what I had declared in the Senate, if perchance
he had entertained any Doubt of the Truth of what I de-
clared, but fuch an Oration did he make, containing Advan-
tacres fo numerous and fo great, that he abfolutely forced you
all into his Opinion. For he affirmed, he had perfuaded Phi-
lip to comply with every Meafure, wherein the Interefts of
the Republic were concerned, both with regard to the Caufe
depending before the Amphidyons, and in every other In-
ftance. (3) He then made a Recital of a long Harangue,
(3) The Amphidyons, however de- mifed to influence their Suffrages in Fa-
oenerate from the Virtue of their origi- vour of the Phocasans, as Allies and
nal Conftitution, ftill preferved an Ap- Friends of the Republic,
pearance of their ancient Authority, and The Reader may find fome Account
affumed a Right to determine upon the of the Amphidtyons in the Preface to
Juftice of the Qiiarrel between the Pho- the firfl Volume ; twelfth Page.
ca;ans and Thcbans. Philip had pro-
which
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? DEMOSTHENES. 13
which he informed us he had pronounced againft the Thebans
in the prefence of Phihp ; he repeated the general Heads of
it, and then computed, that by his pecuHar Condu6l in this
Embafly, you fliould hear, within two or three Days, with-
out your leaving home, or undertaking any Expedition, or
giving yourfelves the leaft Solicitude, that Thebes alone, with-
out an Invasion of the reft of Bceotia, was befieged ; that
Thefpiae and Platasa were again inhabited ; that Apollo's Trea-
fures were repaid Him, not by the Phocaeans, but the The-
bans, who had themfelves formed a Defio-n of feizino: his
Temple. (4) For ^fchines boafted of his having taught Phi-
lip, that they, who purpofe to commit a Crime, are not lefs
impious, than they, who really with their own Hands perpe-
trate the Fa(5l. He then affured us, that the Thebans, in Re-
fentment, had proclaimed a Reward for his Head. Laftly,
he affirmed his having heard, that the Euboeans were terrified,
(4) Tuv CaXiva-uvTuv r-^v kutccXti^iv committed the Sacrilege. Thus the rea-
T>> *? fl? . Tranflated by Wolfius, qui au- foning is direft and conclufive, which by
tores fuijfent templi occupandi, and he then his Tranflation is broken and imperfefl.
explains his Tranflation, as if the 1 he- The Italian Tranflator renders the Paf-
bans had advifed the Phocsans to feize fage, / quali haveano con/igliato, que fi
the Temple of Apollo. In his Notes occupajfe il tempio. Dodlor Taylor, by
he very juftly condemns the Abfurdity giving us . Wolfius his Tranflation and
of fuppofing fuch Advice, and remarks, his Note without any Remark upon it,
that the Fadt is unfupported by Hiftory. has given his own Authority to the Mif-
But the Abfurdity is totally his own. take ; it therefore becomes necelTary to
The Thebans had formed a Bejign of feiz- fay, it muft have efcaped that very ac-
ing this Temple, and were therefore equally curate and learned Editor.
criminal, as the Phcc^cans, ivho really
and
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? 14 ORATIONSOF
and confounded at the Reconciliation between Philip and the
Republic ; that they had declared ; " Ambafladors, it hath
" not efcaped us, upon what Conditions you have concluded
" a Peace with Philip ; neither are we ignorant, that you
" have ceded Amphipolis to him, nor that he hath promifed
" to deliver up Euboea to you. " Another important Affair
he affured you he had regulated, which hov/ever he would
not yet mention openly, becaufe at prefent fome of his Col-
leagues envied him. He thus obfcurely hinted at me, and
the Ceffion of Oropus. (5)
Being, with all Appearance of Juftice, much honoured
for his Condudl ; acknowledged a very powerful Orator, and a
Man of admirable Abilities, he with much Solemnity de-
fcended from the Tribunal. I then arofe; I declared my
total Ignorance of thefe Promifes, and attempted to repeat
fome Circumflances, which I had mentioned before in the Se-
nate, while iEfchines on one Side, and this Philocrates on the
other, clamoroufly interrupted, and at length abfolutely mocked
me. You laughed, nor would either hear, nor be perfuaded
to believe, except what jEfchines had declared : and, by the
(5) Oropus, by its Situation on the Acknowledgement of the Succours they '
Borders of Attica and Boeotia, was the had fent him againfl: the Athenians. Our '
Occafion of frequent Contefts between Orator here charges ^fchines with infi-
the two States. It had been taken from nuating, that PhiHp had promifed him
Athens by Themefion, Tyrant of Ere- to reftore it the Republic.
fria, who ceded it to the Thebans, in
8 Gods,
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? DEMOSTHENES. 15
Gods, you a6led thus, in my Judgement, not without Reafon.
For who could have endured, while he expeded Advantages
fo great, fo numerous, to hear even the PofTibility of them
denied, and the Perfons, who wrought fuch Wonders, ac-
cufed ? All other Coniiderations were certainly of little Im-
portance, when compared to fuch Hopes and Expedations.
Whoever contradidled them, appeared actuated merely by a
Spirit of Oppofition and Envy ; while all his Propofals were
thought wonderfully great, and advantageous to the Republic.
But to what Purpofe have I now recollected, for the firft
Time, thefe Circumflances, and repeated thefe Harangues ?
For one, O Men of Athens, aa important and principal Rea-
fon ; that none of you, who fliall hereafter hear me accufe
thefe Meafures, may imagine me fevere, and exceflive in my
Cenfures, or afk with Wonder, *' Why did you not upon the
" Inftant mention, and inform us of theie Circumftances ;"
but that you may rather recolledl the Promifes, which thefe
People made upon all Occafions, and by which they excluded,
others from the Liberty of fpeaking : that you may remem-
ber the famous Declaration of ^^fchines, and be convinced,
that, in addition to all his other Injuries, you have been hin-
dered from hearing the Truth at the immediate Inftant, when
it was moft neceffary, and deceived by Hopes, Impoftures, and
Promifes. This was the firft, and indeed the principal Rea-
fen, for which I have recolleded thefe Circumftances> The
fecond
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? i6 ORATIONSOF
fecond, and not of lefs Importance, that when you remember
the whole Tenour of his Adminiftration, while he was yet
iincorrupted, how incredulous with Regard to Philip ; how
ftrongly fortified againft him, you may confider how fudden
were his Confidence and Friendfhip. Laftly, that if his Pro-
mifes have been attended with Succefs^ if his Adminiftration
hath been alorious to the Commonwealth, you may then com-
pute, that he adled with Integrity, and for the public Advan-
tage ; on the contrary, if the Event hath always happened in
diredl Contradidion to what he promifed ; if he hath brought
much Diflionour, and imminent Danger upon the Republic,
by a fordid Avarice, and the Proftitution of Truth, you may-
then account for the Alteration.
But fince 1 have proceeded thus far, I would willingly
mention, before all other Confiderations, the Manner in which
your Ambaffadors deprived you of all Diredion in the Affairs
of the Phocaeans. Nor fhould any of our Judges, while he
confiders the Greatnefs of thofe Affairs, imagine that ^fchines,
according to the general Eftimation of his Charader, was in-
capable of committing thofe Crimes, of which he is accufed.
You fhould fix your Attention to this Confideration alone,
that whomfoever you have appointed to any fuch Employ-
ment, and intrufted with a Power to difpofe of all Conjunc-
tures which may happen to arife, that Man, if he thought
proper to follow the Example of jl)fchines in felling himfelf
to
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? DEMOSTHENES. 17
to your Enemies, is capable of deceiving and deluding you,
. and producing Mifchiefs as great, as thofe, which ^fchincs
himfelf hath occafioned. But although you often employ
very worthlefs People in the Direction of your Affairs, not for
that Reafon are thofe Affairs themfelves worthlefs, or do not
become honourable to the Republic, when they are conduced
by others. Far otherwife. Let us then conclude, that Philip
did indeed deftroy the Phocaeans, but that thefe Ambaffidors
affifted him. It is your Duty therefore to confider and in-
quire, whether, as far as the Prefervation of the Phocaeans
depended on their Embafly, they have voluntarily ruined,
and deffroyed that People; not whether Philip was powerful
enough in himfelf to have deftroyed them. For to what Pur-
pofe fuch Inquiries ? But give me the Decree of the Senate,
which Vv'as formed when I made my Report of our Embafiy ;
then give me the Teftimony of the Clerk, who laid it before
the Senate, that you may be convinced, I was not then filent,
or now alone feparate myfelf from tlieir Adminiftration, but
that I inffantly accufed them, and forefaw our prefent Cala-
mities. The Senate, who were not hindered from hearing
me declare the Truth, neither applauded, nor thought them
worthy of being invited to any public Entertainment, although,
fince the Foundation of the City, no other Ambaffadors had
ever fuffered fuch an Indignity; not even Timagoras, whom
the People afterwards capitally condemned. But thefe Am-
VoL. II. D baffadors
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? i8 ORATIONSOF
bafladors fuffered it. Firfl read the Teftimony j then the De-
cree.
Testimony. Decree.
Here are no Praifes, no Invitation from the Senate to the Am-
bafladors ; or if ^fchines aflerts the contrary, let him prove,
let him make them appear. But it is impofllble.
Indeed, if we had all afted in the fame Manner, mofi:
juftly had the Senate refufed its Praifes to us all; for undeniably
our Condudt in general was greatly criminal. But if fome of us
preferved, while others betrayed, their Integrity, it is apparent,
that the Innocent have been obliged to participate of one com-
mon Infamy with the Guilty. " But how fhall you all with-
" out Difficulty diftinguifh, who is guilty ? " Remember, who
blamed the Conduct of thefe Ambafladors upon the Inftant
they returned. For it is manifeft, that a Man, who was con-
fcious of his own Guilt, would have been contented with being
filcnt ; and if he could have eluded an immediate Inquiry,
would never afterwards render an Account of his Condud:.
But to the Man, who is confcious of his Innocence, it is mod
afflidling to be filent, when his Silence expofes him to the Suf-
picion of being a Partner in the Crimes and Guilt of others.
But I ftood forth the Accufer of thefe AmbafTadors, when
they returned from their Embafly, nor have ever by any of
them been accufed. .
Such
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? DEMOSTHENES. 19
Such was the Decree of the Senate ; but when a general
Aflembly was convened, and PhiHp had marched into Ther-
mopylae (for their principal Crime was having given Philip an
Opportunity of furprifing the Phocaeans) when it was become
necefTary for you to take Cognizance of your Affairs, to con-
fult, and to execute, they rendered it difficult for you at once
to hear of PhiHp's Approach, and to determine how you fhould
aft. In addition to thefe Mifchiefs no Man read the Senate's
Decree to the People ; the People heard it not ; but -^fchines
harangued the Aflembly, as I have repeated to you, upon the
numerous and magnificent Advantages, which Philip (fo he
affured us) had granted to his Perfuafions, and for which the
Thebans had fet a Price upon his Head. Thus, although you were
terrified at Philip's March, and angry at them, who had not
informed you of it, yet you became more temperate, and even
to fuch a Degree, as to expert whatever you thought proper
to defire. You would neither hear me fpeak, nor any other.
Philip's Letter was then read, which ^^fchines, who had ftaid
behind us in Macedonia, had himfelf written. It was an open,
manifeft Defence of the guilty Adminiftration of his Collegues.
For it mentions his having hindered them, when they were
determined to go into the Cities of Greece, and require the
Oaths of Philip's Confederates in Ratification of the Peace,
and his having detained them, that they might affift him in
reconciling the Alenfes and Pharfalians, thus taking from them,-
D 2 and
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? 20 ORATIONSOF
and appropriating to himfelf, all their Crimes. But with Re-
gard to the Phocseans, and Thefpians, and all the Promifes he
had made, not a Tingle Syllable. Nor did this happen by
meer Accident; but that Vengeance, which was juftly due
to thofe, who had never aded, during their Embaffy, in Obe-
dience to your Decrees, he voluntarily takes upon himfelf, and
profefles himfelf the Caufe of all their Crimes, becaufe you
are unable, fo I prefume he thinks, to punifh him. Every
Circumftance, by which he could deceive the Republic, or de-
fpoil her of her Poffeflions, thefe he takes to himfelf, that you
might have no Pretence to accufe, or complain of Philip, fince
they are neither mentioned in his Letters, nor any of his Me-
morials. Secretary, read the Letter, which -^fchines wrote
himfelf, and which he himfelf fent, that you may fee, whether
it be fuch as I have reprefented. Read.
The LETTER.
You hear, O Men of Athens, this Letter ; how elegant and
humane ; but of the Phocaeans, or Thebans, or any others,
with regard to whom iEfchines had made fuch Declarations,
not one fingle Expreflion. But there is nothing true, nothing
fmcere in this Letter, as you fhall inftantly perceive. The
Alenfes, for the Sake of whofe Reconciliation with thePhar-
falians, he fays he had detained his Colleagues, have experi-
enced fuch a Reconciliation, that they are driven from their
native
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? DEMOSTHENES. 21
native Country, and their City is totally dedrovcd ; while
Philip, who, it feems, is folicitous to iind an Opportunity of
obliging you, does not even profefs an Intention of rcftoring
their Liberty to the Wretches, whom he has taken Prifoners.
It hath often appeared in Evidence before the People, and (Tiall
again appear, that I took with me a Talent for their Ranfom,
while iEfchines, willing to deprive me of the Honour of fuch
an Acl of Humanity, perfuaded Philip to write, that he would
not fuffer them to be ranfomed. But what is ftill of far greater
Importance, he, who WTOte in the firfl Letter we received,
" Thus have I exprefsly mentioned the Benefits I purpofe to
" confer upon you, if I were perfedlly aflured, that an Alli-
** ance could be formed between us," yet the Moment that
Alliance is concluded, he then declares, he knows not in vvhat
Inftance he can oblige you. What 1 did he not know, what
he himfelf had promifed ? He would certainly have known,
if he had not intended to deceive. To convince you, that he
wrote thefe very Words, take his firft Letter, and read me the
Paflage. Begin.
The Passage is read>>
Thus, before he obtained a Peace, he promifed, if you eon-
eluded an Alliance with him, to write what wonderous Obli-
gations he would confer on the Republic ; but when both were
at length obtained, he then declares, he knows not in what
Manner
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? 22 ORATIONSOF
Manner lie can oblige you. If you inform him how he may
ad with Regard to you without Infamy, or Difhonour to him-
felf ; or if he fliould abfolutely promife, and you (liould pre-
vail upon yourfelves to afk a Favour, he then flies for Refuge
to his ufual Pretences, and leaves you nothing, but Excules
and Apologies.
These and many other Circumfiances might have inftantly
convi(fled him, and inftru6ted you not to fuffer your Affairs to
be totally ruined, if his Promifes of refloring the Thefpians
and Plateaus, and his Menaces of immediately chaftifing the
Thebans had not hindered you from perceiving the real State
of your Affairs. However, thefe Promifes and Menaces, if
the Republic alone were fuppofed to hear and be amufed by
them, were not unwifely employed ; but if really defigned to
be carried into Execution, they had better been pafTed over
in Silence. Becaufe if the Thebans were already in fuch a Si-
tuation, that although they forefaw, yet they were unable to
prevent, their Ruin, why were not thefe Menaces executed ?
If that Ruin was prevented by their being thus made fenfible
of their Danger, who was the Difcoverer ? Was it not JEf-
chines ? But PhiHp never intended their Deflrudion, nor did
JEfchines either propofe, or defire it. He therefore ftands ac-
quitted of any Guilt in making the Difcovery. But it was
neceflary, that you fhould be amufed by this Language, and
de-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 2^
J
determine not to hear the Truth from me ; that you fliould
remain at home, and a Decree be obtained, by which the Pho-
caeans fliould be totally deftroyed.
Witli this Intention were
thefe Intrigues thus curioufly woven, and you were thus ha-
rangued.
When I heard him making thefe magnificent Promifes, I
was perfedlly convinced of their Falfehood, and for what Rea-
fons I was convinced, I will inform you. Firft, becaufe when
Philip was to give his Oath in Ratification of the Peace, the
Phocsans vvere by him and -lEfchines exprefsly excluded from,
the Capitulation ; whereas all Mention of them fhould have
been pafled over in Silence and omitted, if it were intended
to preferve them : fecondly, becaufe neither Philip's Ambaf-
fador, nor Philip's Letter, but iEfchines alone, ever made fuch
a Promife. Having formed my Conjedlures upon thefe Cir-
cumftances, I rofe and came forward on the Tribunal, and en-
deavoured to contradidl him. But when you refufed to hear,
I kept Silence, entering only this Proteft (which by all the
Gods I conjure you to remember) that I neither knew thefe
Promifes, nor had any Share in the Intrigues of your Ambaf-
fadors ; I added, neither did I expedt any good Succefs from
th. m. When you received the ExprelHon, that I did not
expeil any Succefs, with fome Refentment, I declared to you,
<<^ O M. ii of Athens, if the Event of thefe Meafures be prof-
perous,.
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? 24 ORATIONSOF
" perous, give to thefe AmbaiTadors your Praifes, and Ho-
" nours, and Crowns ; I claim no Share of them ; but if the
" contrary fliould happen, then let them fuffer your juft In-
'* dignation. For my Part I retire. " Not yet, replied JEC-
chines ; do not yet retire ; only remember, not to claim any
of thefe Revvards, when they are diftributed. I anfvvered, I
fliould then be moil unjuft. Here Philocrates rofe with Info-
lence and Invedives, " It is nothing wonderful, O Men of
*' Athens, that Demofthenes and I never agree in Opinion ;
*' for he drinks Water, but I drink Wine ;" and then you
laughed.
Now confider the Decree, that Philocrates propofed imme-
diately after thefe licentious Pleafantries, for it is, in all its Parts,
mofl: worthy of your Attention ; but if we compute at what
Time it was propofed, and the Promifes iEfchines made on
the Occadon, it will appear, that your Ambafladors delivered
up the Phoc^ans to Philip, only not with their Hands tied
behind them. Read the Decree.
The Decree.
You behold, O Men of Athens, this Decree ; how filled with
Praifes, and honourable Appellations, '' Let the Peace and Con-
*' federacy, we have concluded with Philip, continue to his
*' Poftcrity, and let him receive Praife for his Promifes of adl-
*' ing with Juftice. " Yet he really promifed nothing. So far
other-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 25
othcrwife, that he knew ncn: wherein he could oblige you.
But ^fchines made Speeches and Promifes for him. Philo-
crates therefore finding, that you were earneftly inclined to
rely upon thefe Speeches, inferted in his Decree, " that if the
<' Phocjeans a6led not as they ought, but rcfufed to reftore the
" Temple of Apollo to the Amphi*5i:yons, the Athenian People
<* fliould fend Succours againft thofe, who hindered this Mea-
" fure from being carried into Execution. " While you there-
fore, O Men of Athens, remained inadive, nor marched
out of your own Territories ; when the Lacedemonians, fen-
fible of the Fraud, were returned home, and no other Am-
phidyons appeared at the Aflembly, except the Theffalians and
Thebans, then did iEfchines write in the gentleft Language in
the World, " that the Phocseans fhould deliver up the Tem-
ple to the Amphidyons. " What Amphiclyons ? No others
were aflembled, except the Thebans and Theffalians. But
fhould he not have convoked a general Council ? Should he
not have waited, untill they were aflembled ? Should he not
have ordered Proxenus to fuccour the Phocsans, and the Athe-
nians to take the Field ? Nothing of the kind was ordered.
*' But Philip fent two Letters, in which he called upon you to
** march. " But not with an Intention, that you fliould march.
By no means. Becaufe, he never would have confumed the
Time, in which you might poffibly have been able to have
gone, and then have called upon you ; he never would have
Vol. IL E delayed
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? 26 ORATIONS OF
delayed me, when I had determined to return ; nor would he
have commanded this Mercenary to make fuch Harangues to
you, by which you were very little influenced to go. He in-
tended, that you fhould imagine he would perform whatever
you thought proper to demand, and therefore would not op-
pofe him by your Decrees ; that the Phocaeans fhould not re-
pel his Invafion, or refift him, but relying on the Hopes of
your Afliftance, or broken by Defpair, fhould yield at Difcre-
tion. Read Philip's Letters.
The LETTERS.
These Letters do indeed, andwith Earneftnefs call upon you
to march. But if your Ambafladors had adled with Integrity,
what other Courfe could they have taken, than unanimoufly to
have decreed, that you fhould take the Field, and that Prox-
enus, who they knew was in that Part of the Country, fI:iould
inftantly fuccour the Phocreans ? Yet it is apparent, they
afted directly contrary, and indeed w^ith fome Appearance of
Reafon. For they paid no Regard to Philip's Letters, but to
the Intention>> with which they were confcious he wrote them.
This Intention therefore they laboured, and with Ardour, to
fupport.
But the Pliocaeans, when they heard what you had deter-
mined in your AiTcmbly, when they received the Decree of
Phi-
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? DEMOSTHENES. 37
Philocrates, with this Declaration of iEfchincs, and his Pro-
mifes, were in every Inftance undone. For confider their Cir-
cumftances. Some of their Citizens d^ftrufted PhiHp, and they
were wife ; yet they were induced to place a Confidence in
him. How induced ? Becaufe, although they imagined,
Philip would deceive them a thoufand Times, they never could
imagine, that the Athenian AmbaiTadors would dare to de-
ceive the Athenians. They believed what iEfchines declared,
and that the approaching Deflrudion was to fall, * not upon
them, but the Thebans. There were fome others, who de-
termined to fuifer the lafl: Extremities, and to repel the Inva-
fion ; but they were difpirited by the Perfuafion, that Philip
would prove their Friend, and by their Apprehenfion, if they
refufed to acft in Compliance with your Decree, that the Forces,
which they had expelled fhould fuccour them, would be em-
ployed againft them. Befides, fome of them imagined you had
repented of the Peace you had concluded with Philip. Your
Ambafiadors therefore demonftrated to them your having decreed
this Peace to your Pofterity, that they might in every Inftance
defpair o{ your Aftiftance, and all thefe Circumftances were for
this Reafon colleded into one Decree; in my Opinion, the
greateft Crime they were capable of committing. Becaufe,
when they concluded this Peace with a mortal Man, made
powerful only by fome favourable Conjunctures, they fixed an
immortal Infamy on the Republic, and not only deprived lier
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? 28 ORATIONSOF
of all other poffible AfTiftance, but even of the good Favour
of Fortune. That they proceeded to fuch Excefs of Wick d-
nefs, as not only to injure the prcfent Race of Athenians, but
all their future Defcendants, is it not intolerable ? Never could
you have endured the inferting this Article " and to his Pofte-
*' rity," if you had not relied upon the Promifes of -^fchines,
upon which the Phocasans relied, and were undone. For after
delivering themfelves up to Phihp, and furrendering their Cities
into his Hands, they have experienced every Calamity directly
oppolite to his Promife.
But manifeftly to convince you, that thefe AfTerttons are
true, and that the Phocasans were utterly deftroyed by thefe
Ambafladors, I fhall compute the Time, in wliich every Cir-
cumftance happened, and whoever contradicts me, let him
arife, and take Part of the Hours, appointed to me by the Laws
for this Indictment. (6) The Peace, therefore, was concluded.
on
6. A literal Trannation of this PafTage or even Verfes, quoted by the Orator,,
woLikl to an Englilli Rtader be wholly un- were read by the Secretary. Thefe, wq
inteliio-ible ? , Let him /peak in my Water ; may believe, were therefore artfully ufed
ycL it may be Matter of Curiofity to know to relieve the Fatigue of the Speaker, an(>
the MeariiDg of the Expreflion. Acer- the Attention of his Audience. Some-
tain Ponion of Time, computed prcba- times, as intheprefent Inftance, we find
bly by the Import. mceof the Caufe, was their Orators infulting each other, as iiv
ap oint d for the Plaintiff and Defendant- a Confidence of their Succefs, with an
1 Ms Time was meafured by an Hour- Offer of the remainder of their Water,.
Gla s of Wat. r, v\hi( h was flopped when or, according to the prefent Tranflation,
any thing foreign to t. ic Caufe intervened, qJ the Time aliened to their Pleading.
? r when their Laws, Decrees, Evidence,
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? DEMOSTHENES. 29
on the nineteenth of February. We were abfcnt full three
Months on our Embafly for demanding PhiHp's Oath in Ratifi-
cation of it, and that whole Time the Phocaeans continued in
Safety. (7) We returned from our Embafly the thirteenth of
May. Philip had now entered the Pafs of Thermopylae, and
made fuch Promifes to the Phocceans, as none of them believed.
Certainly ; for otherwife, they never would have conte hither
for Succours. An AfTembly was afterwards convened the fix-
teenth of May, when thefe AmbafTadors by Perfidy and falfc
Reprefentations utterly ruined your Affairs. In five Days, as
I compute, the Phocaeans might have been informed of your
Determinations, for their AmbafTadors were then in Athens,
and it much concerned them to know what Propofils ^fchines
and his Collegues brought home, and what you had decreed.
The Phocasans therefore, according to my Calculation, might
have known your Determinations upon the twentieth. I mean,
in five Days from the fixteenth. Then followed the twenty-
firfl, twenty-fecond, twenty- third, in which a Treaty was.
concluded
7. Our Author is not perfeftly exadl the twenty-th'rd an Alliance was con-
in his reckoning. The AmbaflTadors de- eluded b twetn Philip and i hcbcs, and.
parted on their Embafiy, according to the Phocfeans were deflroyed. The >e-
Doftor Taylor's Calculation^ after the nate w,(S aflembled in the Pyr^rum. and:
third of March, and returned the thir- the News of this Dcllruction re, ( rte 1 at.
teenth of May. The Senate met the fix- A' hens on th^- twenty fcvench
teenth, when they made the Report of This fliortcr Computation ;ray be ufcful;
their Embafiy. Demofthenes computes, to the Reader, and he is indebted for, ic:
that the Phocseans might have received to Do6tor Taylor,
the Athenian Decree the twentieth. On,
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? 30 ORATIONSOF
concluded between Philip and the Thebans, when every Thing
was ruined, and brought to their final Period. How is this
manifeft ? 1 he twenty-feventh the Senate affembled in the
Pyrzeum upon the State of your Marine, when Dercyllus ar-
rived from Chalcis, and gave you an Account, that Phihp had
delivered every Thing into the Hands of the Thebans. He
reckoned that Day the fifth from the Conclufion of the Treaty,
and the twenty-third, fourth, fifth, fixth, and feventh, make
exaflly the five Days, which Dercyllus computed from the
Treaty. Thus by an exa6t Calculation of the Days, upon
which thefe Ambafilidors made their Report of their Embafiy,
and publiilicd their Decree, they ftand convicted of having ftre-
nuoufly afiified Phihp, and adted in Concert with him for the
Defirudion of the Phocseans.
Besides, that none of the Phocaean Cities were taken bj
Siege, or by Aflault, but were utterly ruined by the Treaty
they had concluded, is a convincing Proof, that they fufi^ered
thefe Calamities, becaufe they were perfuaded by your Ambaf-
fadors, that PhiHp would preferve them. For they were not
ignorant of Philip's Charader. Here, give me our Treaty
with the Phoca^ans, and the Decrees by which Philip rafed
their Walls, that you may behold what Alliance fubfifted be-
tween us, and what Misfortunes have befallen them through
? " CD
the Counfels of thefe Enemies of the Gods. Read.
Articles
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? DEMOSTHENES. 31
Articles of Alliance between the Athenians and Piioc^ans.
Such were the Connexions between you and them : Friend-
fhip. Alliance, Succours. Now hear what Calamities they
have endured by this Man's hindering you from aflifting them.
Read.
The Convention! between Philip and the Phoc^ans.
Do you hear, O Men of Athens ? He fays, " the Con-
" vention between Philip and the Phocaeans," not between
the Thebans and Phocsans ; the Theflalians and Phocseans ;
the Locrians or any other People. And again ; he fays>
*' they mufl deliver up their Towns to PhiHp," not to the
Thebans, Theflalians, or any other People. Wherefore? Be-
caufe iiEfchines had declared to you, that Philip had marched
into Thermopyls for the Prefervation of the Phocaeans>> They
therefore placed their entire Confidence in him ; they direded
all their Views towards him ; they concluded a Peace with him.
Let the Secretary read the Remainder. Then do you confider
what they believed, and what they fuffered. Have they any
Likenefs or Refemblance to the Promifes of ^S^fchines ? Read,
The Decree of the Amphictyons.
Calamities, O Men of Athens, more terrible, or greater
than thefe, were never known among the Grecians, neither in
& our^j,
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? 32 ORATIONSOF
ours, nor, I believe, in any former Age. Of Conqneils thus im-
portant, thus numerous, one fmgle Man, by. the Perfidy of
thdQ Ambailadors, is become abfolute Mafter, even whik
Athens ilill exifls, to whom it hath belonged by ancient Cufrom
to hold the Sovereignty of Greece, and not to look with uncon-
cern upon iuch Mifchiefs.
In what Manner, therefore, the unhappy Phoc^eans were
deftroyed, is apparent, not only from thofe Decrees, but from
all the Operations, that followed. A dreadful fpedacle, O
Men of Athens, and full of Mifery. When we lately travelled
to Delphos we were of necellity compelled to fee all tliis Wretch-
ednefs ; Houfes in Ruins ; Walls rafed to the Ground ; the
Country deferted by the young Men ; a few Women and
Children, and old Men, moft miferable. It is impofTible for
Language to cxprefs the Calamities of this unhappy People,
even at this Moment. Yet I have heard you all declare, that
they formerly gave their Vote in Oppofition to the Thebans,
when the Servitude of this Republic was under Debate. What
Sentence therefore, what Judgement do you imagine, O Men
of Atjiens, would our Anceflors, if they returned to Life, pro-
nounce upon the Authors of this Deftrudlion ? In my Opinion,
they would not imagine themfelves guiltlefs of the Treachery,
by which the Phoca^ans were thus totally ruined, if they did
not flone them with even their own Hands. For is it not mofl:
diflionourable,
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