Suppose a lawful heir,
bom to an affluence of fortune, should in some
instances be guilty of misconduct: he, indeed, lies
open to the justest censure and reproach: yet it can-
not be said that he hath lavished a fortune to which
he had no claim, no right of inheritance.
bom to an affluence of fortune, should in some
instances be guilty of misconduct: he, indeed, lies
open to the justest censure and reproach: yet it can-
not be said that he hath lavished a fortune to which
he had no claim, no right of inheritance.
Demosthenes - Leland - Orations
Callias, the Chalcidian, whose inconstancy had
made him espouse the interests of Athens, of Thebes, and Macedon,
successively, now returned to his engagements with Athens. He sent
deputies thither to desire assistance, and to prevail on the Athenians to
make some vigorous attempt to regain their power in Eubcea.
In the mean time the King of Persia, alarmed by the accounts of
Philip's growing power, made use of all the influence which his gold could
gain at Athens to engage the Athenians to act openly against an enemy
equally suspected by them both. This circumstance perhaps disposed
them to give the greater attention to the following oration.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
Though we have heard a great deal, Athenians, in
almost every assembly, of those acts of violence
which Philip hath been committing ever since his
treaty, not against ours only, but the other states of
Greece ; though all, I am confident, are ready to ac-
knowledge, even they who fail in the performance,
that we should, every one of us, exert our efforts, in
eouncil and in action, to oppose and to chastise his
insolence; yet to such circumstances are you reduced
by your supineness, that I fear (shocking as it is to
say, yet) that had we all agreed to propose, and you
to embrace, such measures as would most effectually
ruin our affairs, they could not have been more
distressed than at present. And to this perhaps
a variety of causes have conspired; nor could we
have been thus affected by one or two. But, on a
strict and just inquiry, you will find it principally
owing to those orators who study rather to gain your
favour than to advance your interests; some of
whom (attentive only to the means of establishing
their own reputation and power) never extend their
thoughts beyond the present moment, and therefore
think that your views are equally confined. Others,
by their accusations and invectives against those at
the head of affairs, labour only to make the state
inflict severity on itself; that, while we are thus en-
gaged, Philip may have full power of speaking and
of acting as he pleases. Such are now the usual
methods of our statesmen; and hence all our errors
and disorders.
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? 144 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
Let me entreat you, my countrymen, thai if ]
speak some truths with boldness, I may not be ex-
posed to your resentment. Consider this: on othei
occasions, you account liberty of speech so general
a privilege of all within your walls, that aliens and
slaves1 are allowed to share it: so that many domes-
tics may be found among you speaking their thoughts
with less reserve than citizens in some other states.
But from your councils you have utterly banished
it. And the consequence is this: in your assemblies,
as you listen only to be pleased, you meet with flat-
tery and indulgence: in the circumstances of public
affairs you find yourselves threatened with the ex-
tremity of danger. If you have still the same dis-
positions I must be silent; if you will attend to your
true interests, without expecting to be flattered, I am
ready to speak. For although our affairs are wretch-
edly situated, though our inactivity hath occasioned
many losses, yet by proper vigour and resolution
you may still repair them all. What I am now going
to advance may possibly appear incredible; yet it is
a certain truth. The greatest of all our past misfor-
tunes is a circumstance the most favourable to oui
future expectations. And what is this ? That the
present difficulties are really owing to our utter dis-
regard of every thing which in any degree affected
our interests. For, were we thus situated in spite
of every effort which our duty demanded, then we
l Aliens and slaves. ]--The Athenians piqued themselves on being tha
most independent and most humane of all people. With them a
stranger had liberty of speaking as he pleased, provided he let nothing
escape him against the government. So Jar were they from admitting
him into-their public deliberations, that a citizen was not permitted to
touch on state affairs in the presence of an alien. Their slaves enjoyed
a proportionable degree of indulgence. The Saturnalia, when they
were allowed to assume the character of masters, was originally an
Athenian institution, and adopted at Rome by Numa. At Sparta and
Thessaly, on the contrary, slaves were treated with such severity, as
obliged them frequently to revolt. The humanity of Athens had its
reward: for their slaves did them considerable service on several
nccasions; at Marathon, in the war of Egina, and at Arginusa). --.
TowrreU
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD. 145
should regard our fortune as absolutety desperate.
But now Philip hath conquered your supineness and
inactivity; the state he hath not conquered. Noi
have you been defeated; your force hath not even
been exerted. '
Were it generally acknowledged that Philip was
at war with the state, and had really violated the
peace, the only point to be considered would then be
how to oppose him with the greatest ease and safety.
But since there are persons so strangely infatuated,
that although he be still extending his conquests,
although he hath possessed himself of a consider-
able part of our dominions, although all mankind
have suffered by his injustice, they can yet hear it
repeated in this assembly that it is some of us who
are embroiling the state in war. This suggestion
must first be guarded against; else there is reason
to apprehend that the man who moves you to oppose
your adversary may incur the censure of being author
of the war.
And, first of all, I lay down this as certain: if it
were in our power to determine whether we should
be at peace or war; if peace (that I may begin with
this) were wholly dependent on the option of the
state, there is no doubt but we should embrace it.
And I expect that he who asserts it is will, without
attempting to prevaricate, draw up his decree in form,
and propose it to your acceptance. But if the other
party hath drawn the sword, and gathered his armies
round him; if he amuse us with the name of peace,
while he really proceeds to all kinds of hostilities,
what remains but to oppose him 1 To make profes-
sions of peace, indeed, like him;--if this be agree-
able to you, I acquiesce. But if any man takes that
for peace which is enabling him, after all his other
conquests, to lead his forces hither, his mind must
be disordered; at least it is our conduct only towards
him, not his towards us, that must be called a peace.
But this it is for which all Philip's treasures are ex-
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? 146 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
pended; that he should carry on the war against
you; but that you should make no war on him. --
Should we continue thus inactive till he declares
himself our enemy, we should be the weakest of
mortals. This he would not do, although he were
in the heart of Attica, even at the Piraeus, if we may
judge from his behaviour to others. For it was not
till he came within a few miles1 of Olynthus that he
declared that " either the Olynthians must quit their
city, or he his kingdom. " Had he been accused of
this at any time before, he would have resented it,
and ambassadors must have been despatched to jus-
tify their master. In like manner, while he was
moving towards the Phocians, he still affected to
regard them as allies and friends : nay, there were
actually ambassadors from Phocis who attended him
in his march: and among us were many who in-
sisted that this march portended no good to Thebes.
Not long since, when he went into Thessaly with all
the appearance of amity, he possessed himself of
Pherse. And it is but now he told the wretched
people of Oreum that he had, in all affection, sent
some forces to inspect their affairs; for that he heard
they laboured under disorders and seditions; and
that true friends and allies should not be absent on
such occasions. And can you imagine that he, who
chose to make use of artifice rather than open force,
against enemies by no means able to distress him,
who, at most, could but have defended themselves
against him--that he will openly proclaim his hostile
designs against you; and this when you yourselves
obstinately shut your eyes against them? Impossi-
ble! He would be the absurdest of mankind, if,
while his outrages pass unnoticed, . while you are
wholly engaged in accusing some among yourselves,
and endeavouring to bring them to a trial, he should
put an end to your private contests, warn you to
I A few miles, &c. J--In Ine originai,/orty stadia, about five miles.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
147
direct all your zeal against him, and so deprive his
pensioners of their most specious pretence for sus-
pending your resolutions; that of his not being at
war with the state. Heavens! is there any man of
a right mind who would judge of peace or war by
words, and not by actions? Surely, no man. --To
examine then the actions of Philip. --When the peace
was just concluded, before ever Diopithes had re-
ceived his commission, or those in the Chersonesus
had been sent out, he possessed himself of Senium
and Doriscum, and obliged the forces our general
had stationed in the citadel of Senium and the
Sacred Mount to evacuate these places. From these
proceedings, what are we to judge of him 1 The
peace he had ratified by the most solemn oaths. And
let it not be asked,1 of what moment is all this ? or
how is the state affected by if! Whether these
things be of no moment, or whether we are affected
by them or no, is a question of another nature. Let
the instance of violation be great or small, the sacred
obligation of faith and justice is, in all instances, the
same.
But further: when he sends his forces into the
Chersonesus, which the king, which every state of
Greece acknowledged to be ours; when he confess-
edly assists our enemies, and braves us with such
letters, what are his intentions ? for they say he is
not at war with us. For my own part, so far am I
from acknowledging such conduct to be consistent
with his treaty, that I declare, that by his attack of
the Megareans, by his attempts on the liberty of
Eubcea, by his late incursion into Thrace, by his
practices in Peloponnesus, and by his constant re-
course to the power of arms, in all his transactions
he has violated the treaty, and is at war with you;
t Let it not be asked, &c. ]--The partisans of Philip affected to speak
with contempt of these places. To deny the right of Athens to the'n
was dangerous and unpopular ; they therefore endeavoured to represent
them as beneath the public regard.
Vol. I. --:
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? 148 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
unless you will affirm, that he who prepares to invest
a city is still at peace until the walls be actually
assaulted. You cannot, surely, affirm it! He whose
designs, whose whole conduct tends to reduce me to
subjection, that man is at war with me, though not
a blow hath yet been given, not one weapon drawn.
And if any accident should happen, to what dangers
must you be exposed! The Hellespont will be no
longer yours: your enemy will become master of
Megara and Euba? a: the Peloponnesians will be
gained over to his interest. And shall I say that the
man who is thus raising his engines, and preparing
to storm the city, that he is at peace with you ? No:
from that day in Which Phocis fell beneath his arms I
date his hostilities against you. If you will instantly
oppose him, I pronounce you wise; if you delay, it
will not be in your power when you are inclined.
And so far, Athenians, do I differ from some other
speakers, that I think it now no time to debate about
the Chersonesus or Byzantium; but that we should
immediately send reinforcements, and guard these
places from all accidents, supply the generals sta-
tioned there with every thing they stand in need of,
and extend our care to all the Greeks, now in the
greatest and most imminent danger. Let me entreat
your attention while I explain the reasons which
induce me to be apprehensive of this danger; that,
if they are just, you may adopt them, and be provi
dent of your own interests at least, if those of others
do not affect you: or, if they appear frivolous and
impertinent, you may now, and ever hereafter,
neglect me as a man of an unsound mind.
That Philip, from a mean and inconsiderable Ori-
gin, hath advanced to greatness; that suspicion and
faction divide all the Greeks; that it is more to be
admired that he should become so powerful from
what he was, than that now, after such accessions
of strength, he should accomplish all his ambitious
schemes : these, and other like points which might
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
149
be dwelt on, I choose to pass over. But there is one
concession which, by the influence of your example,
all men have made to him, which hath heretofore
seen the cause of all the Grecian wars. And what
is this T An absolute power to act as he pleases;
thus to harass and plunder every state of Greece
successively; to invade and to enslave their cities.
You held the sovereignty of Greece seventy-three
years:' the Lacedaemonians commanded for the space
of twenty-nine years;2 and in these latter times,
after the battle of Leuctra, the Thebans were in
some degree of eminence. Yet neither to you, nor
to the Thebans, nor to the Lacedaemonians, did the
Greeks ever grant this uncontrolled power: far from
it. On the contrary, when you, or rather the Athe-
nians of that age, seemed to treat some persons not
with due moderation, it was universally resolved to
take up arms; even they who had no private com-
plaints espoused the cause of the injured. And
when the Lacedaemonians succeeded to your power,
the moment that they attempted to enlarge their
sway, and to make such changes in affairs as be-
trayed their ambitious designs, they were opposed
by all, even by those who were not immediately
affected by their conduct. But why do I speak of
others? We ourselves, and the Lacedaemonians,
though from the first we could allege no injuries
against, each other, yet, to redress the injured,
thought ourselves bound to draw the sword. And
all the faults of the Lacedaemonians in their thirty
years, and of our ancestors in their seventy years, do
not amount to the outrages which Philip hath com-
mitted against the Greeks within less than thirteen
1 Seventy-three years. ]--See note p. 80.
2 Twenty-nine years. l--That is, from the destruction of Athens by
Lysahder, in the last year of the 93d Olympiad, to the first war in which
the Athenians, when re-established by Conon, engaged against Sparta,
to free themselves and the other Greeks from the Spartan yoke in the
last year of the 100th Olympiad. --Tourml.
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? 150
ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
years of power;' or rather, do not all make up the
smallest part of them. This I shall easily prove in
a few words.
Olynthus, and Methone, and Apollonia, and the
two-and-thirty cities of Thrace, I pass all over;
every one of which felt such severe effects of . his
cruelty, that an observer could not easily determine
whether any of them had ever teen inhabited or no.
The destruction of the Phocians, a people so con-
siderable, shall also pass unnoticed. But think on
the condition of the Thessahans, Hath he not sub-
verted their states and cities 1 Hath he not estab-
lished his tetrarchs over them, that not only single
towns, but whole countries2 might pay htm vassalage 7
Are not the states of Eubcea in the hands of tyrants,
and this in an island bordering on Thebes and
Athens? Are not these the express words of his
letters--" they who are willing to obey me may ex-
pect peace from me ? " And he not only writes, but
confirms his menaces by actions. He marches
directly to the Hellespont: but just before he at-
tacked Ambracia: Elis,3 one of the chief cities of
Peloponnesus, is in his possession: not long since
he entertained designs against Megara. All Greece,
all the Barbarian world, is too narrow for this man's
ambition. And though we Greeks see and hear all
this, we send no embassies to each other, we express
no resentment: but into such wretchedness are we
sunk (blocked up within our several cities) that even
1 Thirteen years of power. ]--Philip had now reigned nineteen years.
But being at first engaged in wars wilh his neighbours, he did not
begin to make any considerable figure in Greece until the eighth year
of his reign; when, after the taking of Methone, he expelled the
tyrants of Thessaly, and cut ofT the Phocian army commanded by
Onomarchus. From this period Demosthenes begins his computation. -'
Tourreil.
2 Whole countries, &c. 1--The word in the original signifies a ntmrber
of different people dependent on one principal stale or city.
3 Elis, &c]--He made himself master of this place by treaty, not by
force of arms. Elis entered into the league ofthe amphictyons, by which
Philip was acknowledged as their chief; and maintained its freedom fit!
after the death of Alexander. --Tonrrsil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIED.
151
to this day we have not been able to perform the
least part of that which our interest or our duty de-
manded,--to engage in any associations, or to form
any confederacies; but look with unconcern on
this man's growing power; each fondly imagining
(as far as I can judge) that the time in which another
is destroyed is gained to him, without ever consult-
ing or acting for the cause of Greece; although no
man can be ignorant that, like the regular periodic
return of a fever, or other disorder, he is coming
on those who think themselves most remote from
danger.
You are also sensible that whatever injuries the
Greeks suffered by the Lacedaemonians, or by us,
they suffered by the true sons of Greece. And one
may consider it in this light.
Suppose a lawful heir,
bom to an affluence of fortune, should in some
instances be guilty of misconduct: he, indeed, lies
open to the justest censure and reproach: yet it can-
not be said that he hath lavished a fortune to which
he had no claim, no right of inheritance. But should
a slave, should a pretended son waste those posses-
sions which really belonged to others, how much
more heinous would it be thought! how much more
worthy of resentment! And shall not Philip and his
actions raise the like indignation? he who is not
only no Greek, no way allied to Greece, but sprung
from a part of the Barbarian world unworthy to
be named; a vile Macedonian; where formerly we
could not find a slave fit to purchase. And hath his
insolence known any bounds? Besides the destruc-
tion of cities, doth he not appoint the Pythian games,1
the common entertainment of Greece: and, if absent
himself, send his slaves to preside ? Is he not master
I The Pythian fames, Ac. ]--To this honourhe was admitted by being
made an amphictyon, and declared head of the sacred league. By hia
slaves we are to understand no more than his subjects: for those old
republicans affected to speak thus of the subjects of every king or tyrant.
--Tmurreil and Olivet.
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? 152 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
of Thermopylae? Are not the passes into Greece
possessed by his guards and mercenaries ? Hath he
not assumed the honours of the temple,1 in opposi-
tion to our claim, to that of the Thessalians, that of
the Dorians, and of the other amphictyons; honours
to which even the Greeks do not all pretend ? Doth
he not prescribe to the Thessau ""ns how they shall
be governed ? Doth he not send out his forces, some
to Porthmus, to expel the Eretrian colony; some to
Oreum, to make Philistides tyrant ? And yet the
Greeks see all this without the least impatience.
Just as at the fall of hail: every one prays it
may not alight on his ground, but no one attempts
to fend against it: so they not only suffer the general
wrongs of Greece to pass unpunished, but carry their
insensibility to the utmost, and are not roused even
by their private wrongs. Hath he not attacked
Ambracia and Leucas, cities of the Corinthians?
Hath he not wrested Naupactus from the Achasans,*
and engaged, by oath, to deliver it to the jEtolians *
Hath he not robbed the Thebans of Echinus f Is
he not on his march against the Byzantines I4 And
1 The honours of the temple, &c. }--Tlmitavisiav, the right of prece-
dency in consulting the oracle of Delphos. This the Phocians had
enjoyed, as being in possession of the temple; arid Philip was invested
with it as well as their other privileges. It was thought of considerable
consequence by the Greeks, as appears from the first article of a peace
made between the Atlienians and the allies of Lacedaemon. See Thucytf.
b. V. --Tourreil. '
2 Wrested Naupactus from the Achaeans, Ac. ]--Naupactus was not a
city of the Aclueans, but of the Locri Ozola? . Possibly Demosthenes
speaks with the liberty of an orator, and founds his assertion on some
alliance which Naupactus might have had with-the Achaeans against the
JEtolians, its inveterate enemies. This city, thus delivered up, remained
ever alter under the jurisdiction of yEtolia, and is mentioned by Livy
and Polybius as the principal city of that country. --Tourreil.
3 Echinus. ]--There were two places of this name; the one in
Acamania, the other, which Is here spoken of, founded by the Thebans
on the Maliac Guff. --Tourreil.
4 Against the Byzantines. ]--He had threatened them already, but had
not as yet executed his threats: for we learn from history that Philip,
Staving: for a considerable time besieged Perinthos, raised the siege in
order to march to that of Byzantium. If the siege of Pferinthus had pre-
ceded this oration, Demosthenes. could not have forgotten so memorable
m expedition in recounting the enterprises of Philip. Probe My (Us
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
153
are they not our allies? I shall only add, that
Cardia, the chief city of the Chersonesus, is in his
possession. Yet these things do not affect us: we
are all languid and irresolute: we watch the motions
of those about us, and regard each other with sus-
picious eyes; and this when we are all so manifestly
injured. And if he behaves with such insolence
towards the general body, to what extravagances,
think ye, will he proceed when master of each par-
ticular state ?
And now, what is the cause of all this 1 (for there
must be some cause, some good reason to be assigned
why the Greeks were once so jealous of their liberty,
and are now so ready to submit to slavery. ) It is
this, Athenians. Formerly, mens' minds were ani-
mated with that which they now feel no longer,
which conquered all the opulence of Persia, main-
tained the freedom of Greece, and triumphed over
the powers of sea and land; but, now that it is lost,
universal ruin and confusion overspread the face of
Greece. What is this 1 Nothing subtle or myste-
rious : nothing more than a unanimous abhorrence of
all those who accepted bribes from princes, prompted
by the ambition of subduing, or the bare intent of
corrupting, Greece. To be guilty of such practices
was accounted a crime of the blackest kind; a crime
which called for all the severity of public justice.
no petitioning for mercy, no pardon was allowed.
So that neither orator nor general could sell those
favourable conjunctures with which fortune often-
times assists the supine against the vigilant, and
renders men utterly regardless of their interests
superior to those who exert their utmost efforts: nor
were mutual confidence among ourselves, distrust
of tyrants and Barbarians, and such-like noble prin-
princemade a feint of marching to Byzantium in order to conceal hia
designs against Perimhus. --Tourreil.
In the introduction to this oration, the reader has another account at
Philip's first march against Byzantium.
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? 154 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ciples, subject to the power of gold. But now are
all these exposed to sale, as in a public mart; and,
in exchange, such things have been introduced as
have affected the safety, the very vitals of Greece.
What are these 1 Envy, when a man hath received
a bribe; laughter, if he confess it; pardon, if he be
convicted; resentment, at his being accused; and
all the other appendages of corruption. For, as to
naval power, troops, revenues, and all kinds of prepa-
rations, every thing that is esteemed the strength
of a state, we are now much better and more amply
provided than formerly; but they have lost all their
force, all their efficacy, all their' value, by means of
these traffickers.
That such is our present state you yourselves are
witnesses, and need not any testimony from me. That
our state in former times was quite opposite to this
I shall now convince you, not by any arguments of
mine, but by a decree of your ancestors, which they
inscribed on a brazen column erected in the citadel;
not with a view to their own advantage (they needed
no such memorials to inspire them with just senti-
ments), but that it might descend to you as an
example of the great attention due to such affairs.
Hear, then, the inscription: " Let Arthmius1 of Zelia,
the son of Pythonax, be accounted infamous, and an
enemy to the Athenians and their allies, both he and
all his race. " Then comes the reason of his sen-
tence : " Because he brought gold from Media into
1 Let Arthmius, &c. ]--This, in a few words, was the occasion of
publishing this terrible decree against Arthmius, of which Themistocles
was the author. Egypt had thrown off the yoke of Artaxerxes Longi-
manus. A formidable army marched to reduce the rebels; but failed
of success, as Athens had provided lor their defence. The resentment
of Artaxerxes then turned against the Athenians. He sent Megabyzus
and other secret agents into Peloponnesus, to raise up enemies against
them by the force of bribery, and to blow up the flame of resentment and
jealousy in Sparta, which was ever ready to break out. But the attempt
was ineffectual. Arthmius, probably, was one of the King of Persia's
agents in this affair; and Diodorus, who does not name him, includes
him, however, in the general appellation of " the emissaries of Arta-
xerxes. "--Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
155
Peloponnesus. "--Not to Athens. This is the decree.
And now, in the name of all the gods, reflect on this!
think what wisdom, what dignity appeared in this
action of our ancestors! One Arthmius of Zelia, a
slave of the king's (for Zelia is a city of Asia), in'
obedience to his master, brings gold, not into Athens,
but Peloponnesus. This man they declare an enemy
to them and their confederates, and that he and his
posterity shall be infamous. Nor was this merely
a mark of ignominy; for how did it concern this
Zelite whether he was to be received into the com-
munity of Athens or no ? The sentence imported
something more: for in the laws relating to capital
cases it is enacted, that, "When the legal punish-
ment of a man's crime cannot be inflicted, he may
be put to death. " And it was accounted meritorious
to kill him. " Let not the infamous man," saith the
law, " be permitted to live. " Intimating that he is
free from guilt who executes this sentence.
Our fathers, therefore, thought themselves bound
to extend their care to all Greece; else they must
have looked with unconcern at the introduction ot
bribery into Peloponnesus. But we find they pro-
ceeded to such severity against all they could detect
in it as to raise monuments of their crimes. Hence
it was (and no wonder) that the Greeks were a terror
to the Barbarians, not the Barbarians to the Greeks.
But now it is not so: for you do not show the same
spirit on such or on any other occasions. How then
do you behave ? You need not be informed. Why
should the whole censure fall on you ? the conduct
of the rest of Greece is no less blameable. It is my
opinion, therefore, that the present state of things
demands the utmost care and most salutary counsel.
What counsel? Shall I propose it? and will ye not
be offended ? --Read this memorial.
[Here the secretary reads. And the speaker resumes his discourse. ]
And here I must take notice of one weak argu-
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? 56 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ment made use of to inspire us with confidence:
That Philip is not yet so powerful as the Lacedae-
monians once were, who commanded by sea and
. and, were strengthened by the alliance of the king,
were absolute and uncontrolled; and yet we made a
brave stand against them; nor was all their force
able to crush our state. In answer to this, I shall
observe, that amid all the alterations and improve-
ments which have happened in affairs of every kind,
nothing hath been more improved than the art of
war: for, in the first place, I am informed that at
that time the Lacedaemonians and all the other Greeks
used to keep the field four or five months, just the
convenient season; and having so long continued
their invasion, and infested the territories of then
enemy with their heavy-armed and domestic forces,
they retired into their own country. Then, such
was the simplicity, I should say the national spirit,1
1 Were strengthened by the alliance of the king. ]--After the expedition
into Sicily, an expedition as unfortunate as it was imprudent, the Athe-
nians might still have supported themselves, if the King of Persia ha<J
not concurred to precipitate their ruin. Tissaphernes, the satrap of
Darius Nothus, conducted the first alliance between his master and the
Laced;emonians. This alliance had at that time no very great effect. But
when Cyrus the Younger was sent, by order of his father, to command
in Asia Minor, Lysander gained the affection of this young prince, who
soon made him able to give law to Athens. It is this period which
Demosthenes points out. --Tourreil.
2 I should say the national spirit, &c. ]--Circumstances peculiar to
any people, singular customs, particular relations, and the like, give rise
to words and phrases incapable of being precisely rendered into any
other language. And such I take to be the word iroXirtKws. Every
particular state of Greece was a member of a larger political body, that
of the natfon, in which all the several communities were united by
national laws, national customs, and a national religion. This I have
explained at large on another occasion. (See Prelim. Dissert, to the
Life of Philip. ) The word iroXtriKmj therefore, I understand as expres-
sive of that duty which each state owed to the Hellenic body, which pre-
scribed bounds and laws to their wars, and forbade their passions, con
tests, and animosities against each other to break out into any excesses
which might affect the welfare of the nation. They were to fight, not
as inveterate foes, but competitors for power and honour. To recur to
bribery in order to defeat their antagonists was to be guilty of corrupt-
ing the morals of what, in an extensive sense, may be called their
country. In like manner, the word civilis, in Latin, is used in a sense
somewhat analogous to this, as denoting the regard which every citizen
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
157
of that age, that the power of gold was never called
to their assistance; but all their wars were fair and
open. Now, on the contrary, we see most defeats
Dwingto treachery; no formal engagements, nothing
left to the decision of arms. For you find the rapid
progress of Philip is not owing to the force of regular
troops, but to armies composed of light horse and
foreign archers. With these he pours down on
some people already engaged by civil discord and
commotions; and when nono will venture out in
defence of their state, on account of their private
suspicions, he brings up his enginos, and attacks
their walls: not to mention his absolute indifference
to heat and cold, and that there is no pecnliai season
which he gives to pleasure. Let thesij thh. -gs sink
deep into all our minds: let us not suffer his a,-ms
to approach these territories: let us not proudly1
depend on our strength, by forming our judgments
from the old Lacedaemonian war; but let us attend
with all possible precaution to our interests and our
armaments; and let this be our point in view,--to
confine him to his own kingdom; not to engage him
on equal terms in the field. For if you be satisfied
should pay to the lights of others, in opposition to despotism, pride, im
periousness, and all those passions which are enemies to liberty and the
general good. Thus we find in Tacitus, " Juveni civile ingenium, mirs.
comiias. "--Ann. i. " Silentium ejus non civile, ut crediderar, sed in
auperbiam accipiebatur. "--Ann. vi. Andof Tiberius the historian says,
"Liberatusmetu, civilem se admodum inter initia, ac pauio minus quam
privatum egit. " I hare observed in a note on the exordium of the second
Philippic, that a regard to the interest of Greece was generally the most
extensive affection in the minds of its inhabitants. And that the exten
live social affections were denoted by the Greek word ito'XiTikov, we learn
from Cicero. Let the following quotation, from the fifth book of his
treatise De Ftnibus, suffice on this occasion: " Cum sic hominis natura
generata sit, ut habeat quiddam innatum quasi civile et populare, quod
Graeci icoKirtKov vocant, quicquid aget quaeque virtus, id a commuaitate,
et ea quam exposui caritate, atque societate humana, non abhorrebit. "
The authority of a writer who devoted so much of his attention to the
moral and political learning of the Greeks, and took so much pains to
<<xplain it to his countrymen, may surely be deemed decisive.
1 Let us not proudly, dfce. ]--In the original, eKTpaxv^odrivai, which,
besides the signification which Wolfius Assigns it, is frequently rendered
insolescere, superbire.
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? 158 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
with committing hostilities, there Nature hath giveu
you many advantages.
made him espouse the interests of Athens, of Thebes, and Macedon,
successively, now returned to his engagements with Athens. He sent
deputies thither to desire assistance, and to prevail on the Athenians to
make some vigorous attempt to regain their power in Eubcea.
In the mean time the King of Persia, alarmed by the accounts of
Philip's growing power, made use of all the influence which his gold could
gain at Athens to engage the Athenians to act openly against an enemy
equally suspected by them both. This circumstance perhaps disposed
them to give the greater attention to the following oration.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
Though we have heard a great deal, Athenians, in
almost every assembly, of those acts of violence
which Philip hath been committing ever since his
treaty, not against ours only, but the other states of
Greece ; though all, I am confident, are ready to ac-
knowledge, even they who fail in the performance,
that we should, every one of us, exert our efforts, in
eouncil and in action, to oppose and to chastise his
insolence; yet to such circumstances are you reduced
by your supineness, that I fear (shocking as it is to
say, yet) that had we all agreed to propose, and you
to embrace, such measures as would most effectually
ruin our affairs, they could not have been more
distressed than at present. And to this perhaps
a variety of causes have conspired; nor could we
have been thus affected by one or two. But, on a
strict and just inquiry, you will find it principally
owing to those orators who study rather to gain your
favour than to advance your interests; some of
whom (attentive only to the means of establishing
their own reputation and power) never extend their
thoughts beyond the present moment, and therefore
think that your views are equally confined. Others,
by their accusations and invectives against those at
the head of affairs, labour only to make the state
inflict severity on itself; that, while we are thus en-
gaged, Philip may have full power of speaking and
of acting as he pleases. Such are now the usual
methods of our statesmen; and hence all our errors
and disorders.
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? 144 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
Let me entreat you, my countrymen, thai if ]
speak some truths with boldness, I may not be ex-
posed to your resentment. Consider this: on othei
occasions, you account liberty of speech so general
a privilege of all within your walls, that aliens and
slaves1 are allowed to share it: so that many domes-
tics may be found among you speaking their thoughts
with less reserve than citizens in some other states.
But from your councils you have utterly banished
it. And the consequence is this: in your assemblies,
as you listen only to be pleased, you meet with flat-
tery and indulgence: in the circumstances of public
affairs you find yourselves threatened with the ex-
tremity of danger. If you have still the same dis-
positions I must be silent; if you will attend to your
true interests, without expecting to be flattered, I am
ready to speak. For although our affairs are wretch-
edly situated, though our inactivity hath occasioned
many losses, yet by proper vigour and resolution
you may still repair them all. What I am now going
to advance may possibly appear incredible; yet it is
a certain truth. The greatest of all our past misfor-
tunes is a circumstance the most favourable to oui
future expectations. And what is this ? That the
present difficulties are really owing to our utter dis-
regard of every thing which in any degree affected
our interests. For, were we thus situated in spite
of every effort which our duty demanded, then we
l Aliens and slaves. ]--The Athenians piqued themselves on being tha
most independent and most humane of all people. With them a
stranger had liberty of speaking as he pleased, provided he let nothing
escape him against the government. So Jar were they from admitting
him into-their public deliberations, that a citizen was not permitted to
touch on state affairs in the presence of an alien. Their slaves enjoyed
a proportionable degree of indulgence. The Saturnalia, when they
were allowed to assume the character of masters, was originally an
Athenian institution, and adopted at Rome by Numa. At Sparta and
Thessaly, on the contrary, slaves were treated with such severity, as
obliged them frequently to revolt. The humanity of Athens had its
reward: for their slaves did them considerable service on several
nccasions; at Marathon, in the war of Egina, and at Arginusa). --.
TowrreU
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD. 145
should regard our fortune as absolutety desperate.
But now Philip hath conquered your supineness and
inactivity; the state he hath not conquered. Noi
have you been defeated; your force hath not even
been exerted. '
Were it generally acknowledged that Philip was
at war with the state, and had really violated the
peace, the only point to be considered would then be
how to oppose him with the greatest ease and safety.
But since there are persons so strangely infatuated,
that although he be still extending his conquests,
although he hath possessed himself of a consider-
able part of our dominions, although all mankind
have suffered by his injustice, they can yet hear it
repeated in this assembly that it is some of us who
are embroiling the state in war. This suggestion
must first be guarded against; else there is reason
to apprehend that the man who moves you to oppose
your adversary may incur the censure of being author
of the war.
And, first of all, I lay down this as certain: if it
were in our power to determine whether we should
be at peace or war; if peace (that I may begin with
this) were wholly dependent on the option of the
state, there is no doubt but we should embrace it.
And I expect that he who asserts it is will, without
attempting to prevaricate, draw up his decree in form,
and propose it to your acceptance. But if the other
party hath drawn the sword, and gathered his armies
round him; if he amuse us with the name of peace,
while he really proceeds to all kinds of hostilities,
what remains but to oppose him 1 To make profes-
sions of peace, indeed, like him;--if this be agree-
able to you, I acquiesce. But if any man takes that
for peace which is enabling him, after all his other
conquests, to lead his forces hither, his mind must
be disordered; at least it is our conduct only towards
him, not his towards us, that must be called a peace.
But this it is for which all Philip's treasures are ex-
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? 146 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
pended; that he should carry on the war against
you; but that you should make no war on him. --
Should we continue thus inactive till he declares
himself our enemy, we should be the weakest of
mortals. This he would not do, although he were
in the heart of Attica, even at the Piraeus, if we may
judge from his behaviour to others. For it was not
till he came within a few miles1 of Olynthus that he
declared that " either the Olynthians must quit their
city, or he his kingdom. " Had he been accused of
this at any time before, he would have resented it,
and ambassadors must have been despatched to jus-
tify their master. In like manner, while he was
moving towards the Phocians, he still affected to
regard them as allies and friends : nay, there were
actually ambassadors from Phocis who attended him
in his march: and among us were many who in-
sisted that this march portended no good to Thebes.
Not long since, when he went into Thessaly with all
the appearance of amity, he possessed himself of
Pherse. And it is but now he told the wretched
people of Oreum that he had, in all affection, sent
some forces to inspect their affairs; for that he heard
they laboured under disorders and seditions; and
that true friends and allies should not be absent on
such occasions. And can you imagine that he, who
chose to make use of artifice rather than open force,
against enemies by no means able to distress him,
who, at most, could but have defended themselves
against him--that he will openly proclaim his hostile
designs against you; and this when you yourselves
obstinately shut your eyes against them? Impossi-
ble! He would be the absurdest of mankind, if,
while his outrages pass unnoticed, . while you are
wholly engaged in accusing some among yourselves,
and endeavouring to bring them to a trial, he should
put an end to your private contests, warn you to
I A few miles, &c. J--In Ine originai,/orty stadia, about five miles.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
147
direct all your zeal against him, and so deprive his
pensioners of their most specious pretence for sus-
pending your resolutions; that of his not being at
war with the state. Heavens! is there any man of
a right mind who would judge of peace or war by
words, and not by actions? Surely, no man. --To
examine then the actions of Philip. --When the peace
was just concluded, before ever Diopithes had re-
ceived his commission, or those in the Chersonesus
had been sent out, he possessed himself of Senium
and Doriscum, and obliged the forces our general
had stationed in the citadel of Senium and the
Sacred Mount to evacuate these places. From these
proceedings, what are we to judge of him 1 The
peace he had ratified by the most solemn oaths. And
let it not be asked,1 of what moment is all this ? or
how is the state affected by if! Whether these
things be of no moment, or whether we are affected
by them or no, is a question of another nature. Let
the instance of violation be great or small, the sacred
obligation of faith and justice is, in all instances, the
same.
But further: when he sends his forces into the
Chersonesus, which the king, which every state of
Greece acknowledged to be ours; when he confess-
edly assists our enemies, and braves us with such
letters, what are his intentions ? for they say he is
not at war with us. For my own part, so far am I
from acknowledging such conduct to be consistent
with his treaty, that I declare, that by his attack of
the Megareans, by his attempts on the liberty of
Eubcea, by his late incursion into Thrace, by his
practices in Peloponnesus, and by his constant re-
course to the power of arms, in all his transactions
he has violated the treaty, and is at war with you;
t Let it not be asked, &c. ]--The partisans of Philip affected to speak
with contempt of these places. To deny the right of Athens to the'n
was dangerous and unpopular ; they therefore endeavoured to represent
them as beneath the public regard.
Vol. I. --:
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? 148 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
unless you will affirm, that he who prepares to invest
a city is still at peace until the walls be actually
assaulted. You cannot, surely, affirm it! He whose
designs, whose whole conduct tends to reduce me to
subjection, that man is at war with me, though not
a blow hath yet been given, not one weapon drawn.
And if any accident should happen, to what dangers
must you be exposed! The Hellespont will be no
longer yours: your enemy will become master of
Megara and Euba? a: the Peloponnesians will be
gained over to his interest. And shall I say that the
man who is thus raising his engines, and preparing
to storm the city, that he is at peace with you ? No:
from that day in Which Phocis fell beneath his arms I
date his hostilities against you. If you will instantly
oppose him, I pronounce you wise; if you delay, it
will not be in your power when you are inclined.
And so far, Athenians, do I differ from some other
speakers, that I think it now no time to debate about
the Chersonesus or Byzantium; but that we should
immediately send reinforcements, and guard these
places from all accidents, supply the generals sta-
tioned there with every thing they stand in need of,
and extend our care to all the Greeks, now in the
greatest and most imminent danger. Let me entreat
your attention while I explain the reasons which
induce me to be apprehensive of this danger; that,
if they are just, you may adopt them, and be provi
dent of your own interests at least, if those of others
do not affect you: or, if they appear frivolous and
impertinent, you may now, and ever hereafter,
neglect me as a man of an unsound mind.
That Philip, from a mean and inconsiderable Ori-
gin, hath advanced to greatness; that suspicion and
faction divide all the Greeks; that it is more to be
admired that he should become so powerful from
what he was, than that now, after such accessions
of strength, he should accomplish all his ambitious
schemes : these, and other like points which might
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
149
be dwelt on, I choose to pass over. But there is one
concession which, by the influence of your example,
all men have made to him, which hath heretofore
seen the cause of all the Grecian wars. And what
is this T An absolute power to act as he pleases;
thus to harass and plunder every state of Greece
successively; to invade and to enslave their cities.
You held the sovereignty of Greece seventy-three
years:' the Lacedaemonians commanded for the space
of twenty-nine years;2 and in these latter times,
after the battle of Leuctra, the Thebans were in
some degree of eminence. Yet neither to you, nor
to the Thebans, nor to the Lacedaemonians, did the
Greeks ever grant this uncontrolled power: far from
it. On the contrary, when you, or rather the Athe-
nians of that age, seemed to treat some persons not
with due moderation, it was universally resolved to
take up arms; even they who had no private com-
plaints espoused the cause of the injured. And
when the Lacedaemonians succeeded to your power,
the moment that they attempted to enlarge their
sway, and to make such changes in affairs as be-
trayed their ambitious designs, they were opposed
by all, even by those who were not immediately
affected by their conduct. But why do I speak of
others? We ourselves, and the Lacedaemonians,
though from the first we could allege no injuries
against, each other, yet, to redress the injured,
thought ourselves bound to draw the sword. And
all the faults of the Lacedaemonians in their thirty
years, and of our ancestors in their seventy years, do
not amount to the outrages which Philip hath com-
mitted against the Greeks within less than thirteen
1 Seventy-three years. ]--See note p. 80.
2 Twenty-nine years. l--That is, from the destruction of Athens by
Lysahder, in the last year of the 93d Olympiad, to the first war in which
the Athenians, when re-established by Conon, engaged against Sparta,
to free themselves and the other Greeks from the Spartan yoke in the
last year of the 100th Olympiad. --Tourml.
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? 150
ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
years of power;' or rather, do not all make up the
smallest part of them. This I shall easily prove in
a few words.
Olynthus, and Methone, and Apollonia, and the
two-and-thirty cities of Thrace, I pass all over;
every one of which felt such severe effects of . his
cruelty, that an observer could not easily determine
whether any of them had ever teen inhabited or no.
The destruction of the Phocians, a people so con-
siderable, shall also pass unnoticed. But think on
the condition of the Thessahans, Hath he not sub-
verted their states and cities 1 Hath he not estab-
lished his tetrarchs over them, that not only single
towns, but whole countries2 might pay htm vassalage 7
Are not the states of Eubcea in the hands of tyrants,
and this in an island bordering on Thebes and
Athens? Are not these the express words of his
letters--" they who are willing to obey me may ex-
pect peace from me ? " And he not only writes, but
confirms his menaces by actions. He marches
directly to the Hellespont: but just before he at-
tacked Ambracia: Elis,3 one of the chief cities of
Peloponnesus, is in his possession: not long since
he entertained designs against Megara. All Greece,
all the Barbarian world, is too narrow for this man's
ambition. And though we Greeks see and hear all
this, we send no embassies to each other, we express
no resentment: but into such wretchedness are we
sunk (blocked up within our several cities) that even
1 Thirteen years of power. ]--Philip had now reigned nineteen years.
But being at first engaged in wars wilh his neighbours, he did not
begin to make any considerable figure in Greece until the eighth year
of his reign; when, after the taking of Methone, he expelled the
tyrants of Thessaly, and cut ofT the Phocian army commanded by
Onomarchus. From this period Demosthenes begins his computation. -'
Tourreil.
2 Whole countries, &c. 1--The word in the original signifies a ntmrber
of different people dependent on one principal stale or city.
3 Elis, &c]--He made himself master of this place by treaty, not by
force of arms. Elis entered into the league ofthe amphictyons, by which
Philip was acknowledged as their chief; and maintained its freedom fit!
after the death of Alexander. --Tonrrsil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIED.
151
to this day we have not been able to perform the
least part of that which our interest or our duty de-
manded,--to engage in any associations, or to form
any confederacies; but look with unconcern on
this man's growing power; each fondly imagining
(as far as I can judge) that the time in which another
is destroyed is gained to him, without ever consult-
ing or acting for the cause of Greece; although no
man can be ignorant that, like the regular periodic
return of a fever, or other disorder, he is coming
on those who think themselves most remote from
danger.
You are also sensible that whatever injuries the
Greeks suffered by the Lacedaemonians, or by us,
they suffered by the true sons of Greece. And one
may consider it in this light.
Suppose a lawful heir,
bom to an affluence of fortune, should in some
instances be guilty of misconduct: he, indeed, lies
open to the justest censure and reproach: yet it can-
not be said that he hath lavished a fortune to which
he had no claim, no right of inheritance. But should
a slave, should a pretended son waste those posses-
sions which really belonged to others, how much
more heinous would it be thought! how much more
worthy of resentment! And shall not Philip and his
actions raise the like indignation? he who is not
only no Greek, no way allied to Greece, but sprung
from a part of the Barbarian world unworthy to
be named; a vile Macedonian; where formerly we
could not find a slave fit to purchase. And hath his
insolence known any bounds? Besides the destruc-
tion of cities, doth he not appoint the Pythian games,1
the common entertainment of Greece: and, if absent
himself, send his slaves to preside ? Is he not master
I The Pythian fames, Ac. ]--To this honourhe was admitted by being
made an amphictyon, and declared head of the sacred league. By hia
slaves we are to understand no more than his subjects: for those old
republicans affected to speak thus of the subjects of every king or tyrant.
--Tmurreil and Olivet.
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? 152 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
of Thermopylae? Are not the passes into Greece
possessed by his guards and mercenaries ? Hath he
not assumed the honours of the temple,1 in opposi-
tion to our claim, to that of the Thessalians, that of
the Dorians, and of the other amphictyons; honours
to which even the Greeks do not all pretend ? Doth
he not prescribe to the Thessau ""ns how they shall
be governed ? Doth he not send out his forces, some
to Porthmus, to expel the Eretrian colony; some to
Oreum, to make Philistides tyrant ? And yet the
Greeks see all this without the least impatience.
Just as at the fall of hail: every one prays it
may not alight on his ground, but no one attempts
to fend against it: so they not only suffer the general
wrongs of Greece to pass unpunished, but carry their
insensibility to the utmost, and are not roused even
by their private wrongs. Hath he not attacked
Ambracia and Leucas, cities of the Corinthians?
Hath he not wrested Naupactus from the Achasans,*
and engaged, by oath, to deliver it to the jEtolians *
Hath he not robbed the Thebans of Echinus f Is
he not on his march against the Byzantines I4 And
1 The honours of the temple, &c. }--Tlmitavisiav, the right of prece-
dency in consulting the oracle of Delphos. This the Phocians had
enjoyed, as being in possession of the temple; arid Philip was invested
with it as well as their other privileges. It was thought of considerable
consequence by the Greeks, as appears from the first article of a peace
made between the Atlienians and the allies of Lacedaemon. See Thucytf.
b. V. --Tourreil. '
2 Wrested Naupactus from the Achaeans, Ac. ]--Naupactus was not a
city of the Aclueans, but of the Locri Ozola? . Possibly Demosthenes
speaks with the liberty of an orator, and founds his assertion on some
alliance which Naupactus might have had with-the Achaeans against the
JEtolians, its inveterate enemies. This city, thus delivered up, remained
ever alter under the jurisdiction of yEtolia, and is mentioned by Livy
and Polybius as the principal city of that country. --Tourreil.
3 Echinus. ]--There were two places of this name; the one in
Acamania, the other, which Is here spoken of, founded by the Thebans
on the Maliac Guff. --Tourreil.
4 Against the Byzantines. ]--He had threatened them already, but had
not as yet executed his threats: for we learn from history that Philip,
Staving: for a considerable time besieged Perinthos, raised the siege in
order to march to that of Byzantium. If the siege of Pferinthus had pre-
ceded this oration, Demosthenes. could not have forgotten so memorable
m expedition in recounting the enterprises of Philip. Probe My (Us
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
153
are they not our allies? I shall only add, that
Cardia, the chief city of the Chersonesus, is in his
possession. Yet these things do not affect us: we
are all languid and irresolute: we watch the motions
of those about us, and regard each other with sus-
picious eyes; and this when we are all so manifestly
injured. And if he behaves with such insolence
towards the general body, to what extravagances,
think ye, will he proceed when master of each par-
ticular state ?
And now, what is the cause of all this 1 (for there
must be some cause, some good reason to be assigned
why the Greeks were once so jealous of their liberty,
and are now so ready to submit to slavery. ) It is
this, Athenians. Formerly, mens' minds were ani-
mated with that which they now feel no longer,
which conquered all the opulence of Persia, main-
tained the freedom of Greece, and triumphed over
the powers of sea and land; but, now that it is lost,
universal ruin and confusion overspread the face of
Greece. What is this 1 Nothing subtle or myste-
rious : nothing more than a unanimous abhorrence of
all those who accepted bribes from princes, prompted
by the ambition of subduing, or the bare intent of
corrupting, Greece. To be guilty of such practices
was accounted a crime of the blackest kind; a crime
which called for all the severity of public justice.
no petitioning for mercy, no pardon was allowed.
So that neither orator nor general could sell those
favourable conjunctures with which fortune often-
times assists the supine against the vigilant, and
renders men utterly regardless of their interests
superior to those who exert their utmost efforts: nor
were mutual confidence among ourselves, distrust
of tyrants and Barbarians, and such-like noble prin-
princemade a feint of marching to Byzantium in order to conceal hia
designs against Perimhus. --Tourreil.
In the introduction to this oration, the reader has another account at
Philip's first march against Byzantium.
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? 154 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ciples, subject to the power of gold. But now are
all these exposed to sale, as in a public mart; and,
in exchange, such things have been introduced as
have affected the safety, the very vitals of Greece.
What are these 1 Envy, when a man hath received
a bribe; laughter, if he confess it; pardon, if he be
convicted; resentment, at his being accused; and
all the other appendages of corruption. For, as to
naval power, troops, revenues, and all kinds of prepa-
rations, every thing that is esteemed the strength
of a state, we are now much better and more amply
provided than formerly; but they have lost all their
force, all their efficacy, all their' value, by means of
these traffickers.
That such is our present state you yourselves are
witnesses, and need not any testimony from me. That
our state in former times was quite opposite to this
I shall now convince you, not by any arguments of
mine, but by a decree of your ancestors, which they
inscribed on a brazen column erected in the citadel;
not with a view to their own advantage (they needed
no such memorials to inspire them with just senti-
ments), but that it might descend to you as an
example of the great attention due to such affairs.
Hear, then, the inscription: " Let Arthmius1 of Zelia,
the son of Pythonax, be accounted infamous, and an
enemy to the Athenians and their allies, both he and
all his race. " Then comes the reason of his sen-
tence : " Because he brought gold from Media into
1 Let Arthmius, &c. ]--This, in a few words, was the occasion of
publishing this terrible decree against Arthmius, of which Themistocles
was the author. Egypt had thrown off the yoke of Artaxerxes Longi-
manus. A formidable army marched to reduce the rebels; but failed
of success, as Athens had provided lor their defence. The resentment
of Artaxerxes then turned against the Athenians. He sent Megabyzus
and other secret agents into Peloponnesus, to raise up enemies against
them by the force of bribery, and to blow up the flame of resentment and
jealousy in Sparta, which was ever ready to break out. But the attempt
was ineffectual. Arthmius, probably, was one of the King of Persia's
agents in this affair; and Diodorus, who does not name him, includes
him, however, in the general appellation of " the emissaries of Arta-
xerxes. "--Tourreil.
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
155
Peloponnesus. "--Not to Athens. This is the decree.
And now, in the name of all the gods, reflect on this!
think what wisdom, what dignity appeared in this
action of our ancestors! One Arthmius of Zelia, a
slave of the king's (for Zelia is a city of Asia), in'
obedience to his master, brings gold, not into Athens,
but Peloponnesus. This man they declare an enemy
to them and their confederates, and that he and his
posterity shall be infamous. Nor was this merely
a mark of ignominy; for how did it concern this
Zelite whether he was to be received into the com-
munity of Athens or no ? The sentence imported
something more: for in the laws relating to capital
cases it is enacted, that, "When the legal punish-
ment of a man's crime cannot be inflicted, he may
be put to death. " And it was accounted meritorious
to kill him. " Let not the infamous man," saith the
law, " be permitted to live. " Intimating that he is
free from guilt who executes this sentence.
Our fathers, therefore, thought themselves bound
to extend their care to all Greece; else they must
have looked with unconcern at the introduction ot
bribery into Peloponnesus. But we find they pro-
ceeded to such severity against all they could detect
in it as to raise monuments of their crimes. Hence
it was (and no wonder) that the Greeks were a terror
to the Barbarians, not the Barbarians to the Greeks.
But now it is not so: for you do not show the same
spirit on such or on any other occasions. How then
do you behave ? You need not be informed. Why
should the whole censure fall on you ? the conduct
of the rest of Greece is no less blameable. It is my
opinion, therefore, that the present state of things
demands the utmost care and most salutary counsel.
What counsel? Shall I propose it? and will ye not
be offended ? --Read this memorial.
[Here the secretary reads. And the speaker resumes his discourse. ]
And here I must take notice of one weak argu-
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? 56 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
ment made use of to inspire us with confidence:
That Philip is not yet so powerful as the Lacedae-
monians once were, who commanded by sea and
. and, were strengthened by the alliance of the king,
were absolute and uncontrolled; and yet we made a
brave stand against them; nor was all their force
able to crush our state. In answer to this, I shall
observe, that amid all the alterations and improve-
ments which have happened in affairs of every kind,
nothing hath been more improved than the art of
war: for, in the first place, I am informed that at
that time the Lacedaemonians and all the other Greeks
used to keep the field four or five months, just the
convenient season; and having so long continued
their invasion, and infested the territories of then
enemy with their heavy-armed and domestic forces,
they retired into their own country. Then, such
was the simplicity, I should say the national spirit,1
1 Were strengthened by the alliance of the king. ]--After the expedition
into Sicily, an expedition as unfortunate as it was imprudent, the Athe-
nians might still have supported themselves, if the King of Persia ha<J
not concurred to precipitate their ruin. Tissaphernes, the satrap of
Darius Nothus, conducted the first alliance between his master and the
Laced;emonians. This alliance had at that time no very great effect. But
when Cyrus the Younger was sent, by order of his father, to command
in Asia Minor, Lysander gained the affection of this young prince, who
soon made him able to give law to Athens. It is this period which
Demosthenes points out. --Tourreil.
2 I should say the national spirit, &c. ]--Circumstances peculiar to
any people, singular customs, particular relations, and the like, give rise
to words and phrases incapable of being precisely rendered into any
other language. And such I take to be the word iroXirtKws. Every
particular state of Greece was a member of a larger political body, that
of the natfon, in which all the several communities were united by
national laws, national customs, and a national religion. This I have
explained at large on another occasion. (See Prelim. Dissert, to the
Life of Philip. ) The word iroXtriKmj therefore, I understand as expres-
sive of that duty which each state owed to the Hellenic body, which pre-
scribed bounds and laws to their wars, and forbade their passions, con
tests, and animosities against each other to break out into any excesses
which might affect the welfare of the nation. They were to fight, not
as inveterate foes, but competitors for power and honour. To recur to
bribery in order to defeat their antagonists was to be guilty of corrupt-
ing the morals of what, in an extensive sense, may be called their
country. In like manner, the word civilis, in Latin, is used in a sense
somewhat analogous to this, as denoting the regard which every citizen
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? PHILIPPIC THE THIRD.
157
of that age, that the power of gold was never called
to their assistance; but all their wars were fair and
open. Now, on the contrary, we see most defeats
Dwingto treachery; no formal engagements, nothing
left to the decision of arms. For you find the rapid
progress of Philip is not owing to the force of regular
troops, but to armies composed of light horse and
foreign archers. With these he pours down on
some people already engaged by civil discord and
commotions; and when nono will venture out in
defence of their state, on account of their private
suspicions, he brings up his enginos, and attacks
their walls: not to mention his absolute indifference
to heat and cold, and that there is no pecnliai season
which he gives to pleasure. Let thesij thh. -gs sink
deep into all our minds: let us not suffer his a,-ms
to approach these territories: let us not proudly1
depend on our strength, by forming our judgments
from the old Lacedaemonian war; but let us attend
with all possible precaution to our interests and our
armaments; and let this be our point in view,--to
confine him to his own kingdom; not to engage him
on equal terms in the field. For if you be satisfied
should pay to the lights of others, in opposition to despotism, pride, im
periousness, and all those passions which are enemies to liberty and the
general good. Thus we find in Tacitus, " Juveni civile ingenium, mirs.
comiias. "--Ann. i. " Silentium ejus non civile, ut crediderar, sed in
auperbiam accipiebatur. "--Ann. vi. Andof Tiberius the historian says,
"Liberatusmetu, civilem se admodum inter initia, ac pauio minus quam
privatum egit. " I hare observed in a note on the exordium of the second
Philippic, that a regard to the interest of Greece was generally the most
extensive affection in the minds of its inhabitants. And that the exten
live social affections were denoted by the Greek word ito'XiTikov, we learn
from Cicero. Let the following quotation, from the fifth book of his
treatise De Ftnibus, suffice on this occasion: " Cum sic hominis natura
generata sit, ut habeat quiddam innatum quasi civile et populare, quod
Graeci icoKirtKov vocant, quicquid aget quaeque virtus, id a commuaitate,
et ea quam exposui caritate, atque societate humana, non abhorrebit. "
The authority of a writer who devoted so much of his attention to the
moral and political learning of the Greeks, and took so much pains to
<<xplain it to his countrymen, may surely be deemed decisive.
1 Let us not proudly, dfce. ]--In the original, eKTpaxv^odrivai, which,
besides the signification which Wolfius Assigns it, is frequently rendered
insolescere, superbire.
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? 158 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
with committing hostilities, there Nature hath giveu
you many advantages.
