No More Learning

3 He is fortifying places in Illyria. ]--Possibly, these rumours were
spread by Philip's friends, to persuade the Athenians that his views and
schemes were removed to a great distance from Athens
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? 58 ORATIONS OP DEMOSTHENES.
tales. For we are not to be solicitous to know what
particular events will happen; we need but be con-
vinced nothing good can happen unless you grant the
due attention to affairs, and be ready to act as becomes
Athenians.
I, on my part, have never on any occasion chosen
to court your favour by speaking any thing but what
I was convinced would serve you; and on this occa-
sion I have freely declared my sentiments, without
art and without reserve. It would have pleased me,
indeed, that as it is for your advantage to have your
true interest laid before you, so I might be assured
that he who layeth it before you would share the ad-
vantage, for then I had spoken with greater alacrity.
However, uncertain as is the consequence with re-
spect to me, I yet determined to speak, because I
was convinced that these measures, if pursued, must
have their use; and of all those opinions which are
offered to your acceptance, may that be chosen which
will best advance the general weal!
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? THE FIRST OLYNTHIAC ORATION:
AtONOUNCED FOUR TEARS AFTER THE FIRST PHILIPPIC, IN TH1 AR-
CHONSH1P OF CALLIMACHUS, THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE HUNDRED
AND SEVENTH OLYMPIAD, AND THE TWELFTH OF PHILIP'S REIGN.
INTRODUCTION.
The former oration does not appear to have had any considerable
effect. Philip had his creatures in the Athenian assembly, who proba-
bly recommended less vigorous measures, and were but too favourably
heard. In the mean time, this prince pursued his ambitious designs.
When he round himself shut out of Greece, he turned his arms to such
remote parts as he might reduce without alarming the states of Greece:
and, at the same time, he revenged himself on the Athenians, by making
himself master of some places which they laid claim to. At length his
success imboldened him to declare those intentions which he had long
entertained secretly against the Olynthians.
Olynthus (a city of Thrace, possessed by Greeks originally from
Chalcis, a town of Eobcea, and colony of Athens) commanded a large
tract called the Chalcidian region, in which there were thirty-two cities.
It had risen by degrees to such a pitch of grandeur, as to have frequent
and remarkable contests both with Athens and Lacedsemon. Nor did
the Olynthians show great regard to the friendship of Philip when he
first came to the throne, and was taking all measures to secure the
possession of it; for they did not scruple to receive two of his brothers
by another marriage, who had fled to avoid the effects of his jealousy;
and endeavoured to conclude an alliance with Athens against him,
which he, by secret practices, found means to defeat. But as he was yet
scarcely secure on bis throne, instead of expressing his resentment, he
courted, or rather purchased, ihe alliance of the Olynthians, by the cession
of Anthemus, a city which the kings of Macedon had long disputed with
them, and afterward by that of Pydna and Potidaea, which their joint
forces had besieged and taken from the Athenians. But the Olynthians
could not be influenced by gratitude towards such a benefactor. The
rapid progress of his arms and his glaring acts of perfidy alarmed them
exceedingly. He had already made some inroads on their territories,
and now began to act against them with less reserve. They therefore
despatched ambassadors to Athens, to propose an alliance, and request
assistance against a power which they were equally concerned to
oppose.
Philip affected the highest resentment at this step; alleged their
mutual engagements to adhere to each other in war and peace; in-
veighed against their harbouring his brothers, whom he called the con-
spirators; and, under pretence of punishing their infractions, pursued
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? 00
INTRODUCTION.
his hostilities with double vigour, made himself master of some of their
cities, and threatened the capital with a siege.
In the mean time, the Olynthians pressed the Athenians for imme-
diate succours. Their ambassadors opened their commission in an
assembly of the people, who had the right either to agree to or to reject
their demand. As the importance of the occasion increased the
number of speakers, the elder orators had debated the affair before De-
mosthenes arose. In the following oration, therefore, he speaks as to
a people already informed; urges the necessity of joining with the
Olynthians, and confirms his opinion by powerful arguments; lays
open the designs and practices of Philip, and labours to remove their
dreadful apprehensions of his power. He concludes with recommend-
ing to them to reform abuses, to restore ancient discipline, and to put
h end to all domestic dissensions
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? OLYNTHIAC THE FIRST. 1
In many instances, Athenians, have the gods, in my
opinion, manifestly declared their favour to this
state ; nor is it least observable in this present junc-
ture. For that an enemy should arise against Philip
on the very confines of his kingdom, of no inconsider-
able power, and, what is of most importance, so de-
termined on the war that they consider any accom-
modation with him, first, as insidious; next, as the
downfa,". of their country: this seems no less than
the gracious interposition of heaven itself. It must
therefore be our care, Athenians, that we ourselves
may not frustrate this goodness; for it must reflect
disgrace, nay, the foulest infamy on us, if we appear
to have thrown away, not those states and territories
only which we once commanded, but those alliances
and favourable incidents which fortune hath provided
for us.
To begin on this occasion with a display of Philip's
power, or to press you to exert your vigour by mo-
tives drawn from hence, is, in my opinion, quite im-
proper. And why? Because whatever may be offered
on such a subject sets him in an honourable view, but
seems to me as a reproach to our conduct; for the
higher his exploits have arisen above his former esti-
11 have disposed the Olynthiac orations in the order pointed out by
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and it plainly appears that this should pre-
cede the others; for in this Demosthenes solicits the immediate conclu-
sion of an alliance with Olynthus; in the others ho supposes the alliance
already concluded, and insists only on the necessity of effectually fulfil-
ling their engagements.
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? 62 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
' mation, the more must the world admire him ; while
your disgrace hath been the greater, the moreyour
conduct hath proved unworthy of your state. These
things, therefore, I shall pass over. He, indeed, who
-examines justly must find the source of all his great-
ness here, not in himself. But the services he hath
here received from those whose public administration
hath been devoted to his interest--those services
which you must punish--I do not think it seasonable
to display. There are other points of more moment
for you all to hear, and which must excite the great-
est abhorrence of him in every reasonable mind. --
These I shall lay before you.
And now, should I call him perjured and perfidious,
and not point out the instances of this his guilt, it
might be deemed the mere virulence of malice; and
with justice. Nor will it engage too much of your
attention to hear him fully and clearly convicted,
from a full and clear detail of all his actions. And
this I think useful on two accounts: first, that he
may appear as he really is, treacherous and false;
and then, that they who are struck with terror, as if
Philip was something more than human, may see
that he hath exhausted all those artifices to which he
owes his present elevation, and that his affairs are
now ready to decline. For I myself, Athenians,
should think Philip really to be dreaded and admired
if I saw him raised by honourable means. But I find,
on reflection, that at the time when certain persons
drove out the Olynthians from this assembly, when
desirous of conferring with you, he began with abus-
ing our simplicity by his promise of surrendering
Amphipolis, and executing the secret article1 of his
1 The secret article, Sec. )--When Philip had declared Amphipolis a free
city, the Athenians, who were desirous of recovering it, sent ambassadors
to Philip to solicit his assistance for that purpose, and on this condition
promised to make him master of Pydna; but lest the people of Pydna,
who were averse to Philip's government, should take the alarm, the
whole negotiation was transacted secretly in the senate, without being
referred as usual to the assembly of the people. This account Ulpian
and Suidas cite from Theopompus.
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? FiV-ST oI. YNTHlAC UKATtOt,.
g:i
treaty then so much spoken of; that after this he
courted the friendship of the Olynthians hy seizing
Potidaea where we were rightful sovereigns, despoil-
ing us his former allies, and giving them possession,
that but just now he gained the Thessalians, by prom-
ising to give up Magnesia;1 and, for their ease, to take
the whole conduct of the Phocian war on himself.
In a word, there are no people who ever made the
least use of him but have suffered by his subtlety, his
present greatness being wholly owing to his deceiv-
ing those who were unacquainted with him, and
making them the instruments of his success. As
these states, therefore, raised him, while each ima-
gined he was promoting some interes of theirs, these
states must also reduce him to his former meanness,
as it now appears that his own private interest was
the end of all his actions.
Thus, then, Athenians, is Philip circumstanced. I f
not, let the man stand forth who can prove to me I
should have said to this assembly that I have asserted
these things falsely; or that they whom he hath de-
ceived in former instances will confide in him for the
future; or that the Thessalians, who have been so
basely, so undeservedly enslaved,2 would not gladly
embrace their freedom. If there be any one among
you who acknowledges all this, yet thinks that Philip
will support his power, as he hath secured places of
strength, convenient ports, and other like advan-
tages, he is deceived. For when forces3 join in har-
1 Magnesia. ]--He had made himself master of this city when he
marched into Thessaly against the tyrants. The Thessalians remon-
strated against this proceeding, but suffered themselves to be amused by
bis assurances that he would give it up, while he really determined to
keep possession of it. --Tourreil.
2 Enslaved. ]--When Philip had dispossessed the tyrants of Thessaly,
he began to set himself up in their place, but not by open force. He was
so complete a master of dissimulation, appeared so gentle, so affable, so
humane, tr. amiable, even to the conquered, that the Thessalians gave
tbemselv- ,s up to him with an entire confidence, which he knew how to
lake the advantage of. --Tourreil.
* For when forces, &c. ]--I need not take notice to the learned reader
how highly this passage is ornamented in the original by the beauty of
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? 64 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
mony and affection, and one common interest unites
the confederating powers, then they share the toils
? with alacrity, they endure the distresses, they perse-
vere. But when extravagant ambition and lawless
power (as in his case) have aggrandized a single per-
son, the first pretence, the slightest accident over-
throws him, and all his greatness is dashed at once
to the ground; for it is not--no, Athenians--it is not
possible to found a lasting power on injustice, per-
jury, and treachery. These may, perhaps, succeed
for once, and borrow for a while from hope a gay and
flourishing appearance; but time betrays their weak-
ness, and they fall into ruin of themselves. For as
in structures of every kind the lower parts should
have the greatest firmness, so the grounds and prin-
ciples of actions should be just and true. But these
advantages are not found in the actions of Philip.
I say, then, that you should despatch succours to
the Olynthians (and the more honourably and expe-
ditiously this is proposed to be done, the more agree-
ably to my sentiments), and send an embassy to the
Thessalians to inform some, and to enliven that spirit
already raised in others (for it hath actually been
resolved to demand the restitution of Pagasae,1 and to
assert their claim to Magnesia); and let it be your
care, Athenians, that our ambassadors may not de-
pend only on words, but give them some action to
display, by taking the field in a manner worthy of the
state, and engaging in the war with vigour; for
words, if not accompanied by actions, must ever
the metaphors, the grandeur of the composition, and the fineness of the
sentiment. The word avcx. airiot, by which he expresses the downfall
of Philip, I apprehend, is not to be rendered into our, or perhaps any
other, language. It gives us the idea of a generous steed tossing his
mane, impatient of the bit, and casting his rider to the ground; which at
once expresses the subjection of the states conquered by Philip, their
impatience of his government, their bold effort to regain their liberty,
and the downfall of their master. The change of tenses (avexairttrs Kai
SttXvacv) adds greatly to the force and beauty. It seems as if the de-
struction of Philip was too quick for words.
1 Fagasa;. ]--K city of Thessaly which he had made himself master of
five years before. --Taurreil.
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? FIRST OLVNTHIAC ORATION.
65
appear vain and contemptible, and particularly when
they come from us, whose prompt abilities and well-
known eminence in speaking make us to be always
heard with the greater suspicion.
Would you indeed regain attention and confidence,
your measures must be greatly changed, your con-
duct totally reformed; your fortunes, your persons
must appear devoted to the common cause; your
utmost efforts must be exerted. If you will act thus,
as your honour and your interest require, then, Athe-
nians, you will not only discover the weakness and
insincerity of the confederates of Philip, but the ruin-
ous condition of his own kingdom will also be laid
open. The power and sovereignty of Macedon may
have some weight, indeed, when joined with others.
Thus, when you marched against the Olynthians
under the conduct of Timotheus, it proved a useful
ally; when united with the Olynthians against Poti-
daea, it added something to their force; just now,
when the Thessalians were in the midst of disorder,
sedition, and confusion, it aided them against the
family of their tyrants; and in every case, any, even
a small accession of strength, is in my opinion of
considerable effect. But of itself, unsupported, it is
infirm; it is totally distempered; for by all those
glaring exploits which have given him this apparent
greatness, his wars, his expeditions, he hath rendered
it yet weaker than it was naturally; for you are not
to imagine that the inclinations of his subjects are the
same with those of Philip. He thirsts for glory:
this is his object, this he eagerly pursues through toils
and dangers of every kind, despising safety and life
when compared with the honour of achieving such
actions as no other prince of Macedon could ever
boast of. But his subjects have no part in this ambi-
tion. Harassed by those various excursions he is
ever making, they groan under perpetual calamity;
torn from their business and their families, and with-
out opportunity to dispose of that pittance which their
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? 66
ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
toils have earned; as all commerce is shut out from
the coast of Macedon by the war.
Hence, one may perceive how his subjects in gene-
ral are affected to Philip. But then his auxiliaries
and the soldiers of his phalanx1 have the character
of wonderful forces trained completely to war. And
yet I can affirm, on the credit of a person from that
country incapable of falsehood, that they have no
such superiority; for, as he assures me, if any man
of experience in military affairs should be found
among them, he dismisses all such, from an ambition
of having every great action ascribed wholly to him-
self (for, besides his other passions, the man hath
this ambition in the highest degree). And if any per-
son, from a sense of decency or other virtuous prin-
ciple, betrays a dislike of his daily intemperance, and
riotings, and obscenities,2 he losers all favour and re-
gard ; so that none are left about him but wretches
who subsist on rapine and flattery, and who, when
heated with wine, do not scruple to descend to such
instances of revelry as it would shock you to repeat.
Nor can the truth of this be doubted; for they whom
we all conspired to drive from hence as infamous and
abandoned,--Callias, the public servant,3 and others
of the same stamp, buffoons, composers of lewd songs,
1 The soldiers of his phalanx. ]--In the original ireS^/atpot, fellow-
soldiers, a term invented for the encouragement of this* "body, and to
reconcile them to all the severities of their duty. Such kind of familiar-
ities cost but little, and are often of considerable service to a prince. --
Tovrreil.
2 Obscenities-! -- In the original xopoafftcy/oiic. Certain lascivious
dances, so called from the name of a salyr said to have invented them.
Theophrastus mentions it as a part of the character of a man utterly
abandoned, that, when inflamed by wine, he is even capable of dancing
the chnrdax.
In this description of the dissolute manners of Philip and his court,
one would imagine that the orator had aggravated a little ; yet we have
the whole description still more heightened in his*ory. The learned
reader will find it in Athenffius, book vi. --Tourreil.
3 The public servant. ]--One of those public slaves who attended the
Athenian generals in the field. They chose slaves for this business,
that if there was occasion for their evidence on any public inquiry into
the conduct of the war, they might be put to the torture, from which free
citizens were exempted. --Ulpian.
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? riRST OLYNTHIAC ORATION.
67
in which they ridicule their companions,--these are
the persons whom he entertains and caresses. And
these things, Athenians, trifling as they may appear
to some, are to men of just discernment great indica-
tions of the weakness both of his mind and fortune.
At present, his successes cast a shade over them; for
prosperity hath great power to veil such baseness
from observation. But let his arms meet with the
least disgrace, and all his actions will be exposed
This is a truth of which he himself, Athenians, will
in my opinion soon convince you, if the gods favour
us, and you exert your vigour; for as in our bodies,
while a man is in health, he feels no effect of any in-
ward weakness, but when disease attacks him every
thing becomes sensible, in the vessels, in the joints,
or in whatever other part his frame may be disordered,
--so in states and monarchies, while they carry on a
war abroad their defects escape the general eye; but
when once it approaches their own territory, then
they are all detected.
If there be any one among you who, from Philip's
good fortune, concludes that he must prove a formi-
dable enemy, such reasoning is not unworthy a man
of prudence.
Fortune hath great influence, nay, the
whole influence, in all human affairs; but then, were
I to choose, I should prefer the fortune of Athens (if
you yourselves will assert your own cause with the
least degree of vigour) to this man's fortune ; for we
have many better reasons to depend on the favour of
Heaven than this man. But our present state is, in
my opinion, a state of total inactivity; and he who
will not exert his own strength cannot apply for aid
either to his friends or to the gods. It is not then
surprising, that he who is himself even amid the
dangers and labours of the field, who is every where,
whom no opportunity escapes, to whom no season is
unfavourable, should be superior to you who are
whol. y engaged in contriving delays, and framing
decrees, and inquiring after news. I am not sur
Vol. I. --F
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? 68 ORATIONS OF PEMOSTHENES.
prised at this; for the contrary must have been sur ?
prising, if we, who never act in any single instance as
becomes a state engaged in war, should conquer him
who in every instance acts with an indefatigable vigi-
lance. This, indeed, surprises me,--that you who'
fought the cause of Greece against Lacedsemon, and
generously declined all the many favourable oppor-
tunities of aggrandizing yourselves; who, to secure
their property to others, parted with your own by
your contributions, and bravely exposed yourselves
in battle, should now decline the service of the field
and delay the necessary supplies when called to the
defence of your own rights; that you, in whom Greece
in general and each particular state hath often found
protection, should sit down quiet spectators of your
own private wrongs. This, I say, surprises me; and
one thing more, that not a man among you can reflect
how long a time we have been at war with Philip,
and in what measures this time hath all been wasted.
You are not to be informed, that in delaying, in hoping
that others would assert our cause, in accusing each
other, in impeaching, then again entertaining hopes,
in such measures as are now pursued, that time hath
been entirely wasted. And are you so devoid of
apprehension as to imagine, when our state hath been
reduced from greatness to wretchedness, that the
very same conduct will raise us from wretchedness
to greatness? No: this is not reasonable; it is not
natural; for it is much easier to defend than to ac-
quire dominions. But now, the war hath left us
nothing to defend: we must acquire. And to this
work you yourselves alone are equal.
This, then, is my opinion: you should raise sup-
plies ; you should take the field with alacrity. Prose-
cutions should be all suspended until you have re-
covered your affairs; let each man's sentence be
determined by his actions; honour those who have
1 See note 1, p. 38.
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? FIRST OLYNTHIAC ORATION. 69
deserved applause; let the iniquitous meet their pun-
ishment ; let there be no pretences, no deficiencies on
your part; for you cannot bring the actions of others
to a severe scrutiny unless you have first been care-
ful of your own duty. What, indeed, can be the rea-
son, think ye, that every man whom ye have sent out
at the head of an army hath deserted your service,
and sought out some private expedition, if we must
speak ingenuously of these our generals also ? The
reason is this: when engaged in the service of the
state, the prize for which they fight is yours. Thus,
should Amphipolis be now taken, you instantly pos-
sess yourselves of it: the commanders have all the
danger, the rewards they do not share. But in their
private enterprises the dangers are less; the acqui-
sitions are all shared by the generals and soldiers,
as were Lampsacus, Sigaeum,1 and those vessels
which they plundered. Thus are they all determined
by their private interest. And when you turn your
eyes to the wretched state of your affairs, you bring
your generals to a trial, you grant them leave-to
speak, you hear the necessities they plead, and then
acquit them. Nothing then remains for us but to be
distracted with endless contests and divisions (some
urging these, some those measures), and to feel the
public calamity; for in former times, Athenians, you
divided into classes2 to raise supplies. Now the
1 Lampsacus, Sigeum, &c. ]--Chares received these two cities of Asia
Minor from the satrap Artabazus, in return for his service (see note 2,
p. 41). This general, instead of employing the fleet he had been in-
trusted with for the recovery of Amphipolis, according to his instruc-
tions, joined with some pirates, and committed considerable outrages in
the >Egean Sea. He was accused of this at his return, but escaped by
flying from public justice until his faction grew powerful enough to rein
state him in his former command. --Tourreil.
2 Classes, Sec. )--"Zvupopiai. Each of the ten tribes elected one hun-
dred and twenty of the richer citizens out of their own body, who were
obliged to* perform the public duties, and to raise supplies for the exi-
gences of the state out of their private fortunes. The twelve hundred
persons thus chosen were divided into two parts, and each of these into
ten classes, called vvnfiopiai. These were again subdivided into two
parts, according to the estates of those who composed them. And thus,
But of the ten first classes were appointed the Three Hundred, that is,
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? 70
OftAlIONS OF DEHOSTHENES.
business of these classes is to govern; each hath an
orator at its head, and a general who is his creature
The Three Hundred are assistants to these ; and the
rest of you divide, some to this, some to that party
You must rectify these disorders; you must appear
yourselves; you must leave the power of speaking,
of advising, and of acting open to every citizen. But
if you suffer some persons to issue out their mandates
as with a royal' authority^-if one set of men be forced
to fit out ships, to raise supplies, to take up arms,
while others are only to make decrees agains them,
without any charge, any employment besides, it is
not possible that any thing can be effected season-
ably and successfully; forthe injured party ever will
desert you, and then your sole resource will be to
make them feel your resentment instead of your
enemies.
To sum up all, my sentiments are these:--That
every man should contribute in proportion to his for-
tune; that all should take the field in their turns,
until all have served ; that whoever appears in this
place should be allowed to speak; and that when you
give your voices, your true interest only should de-
termine you, not the authority of this or the othei
speaker. Pursue this course, and then your applause
will not be lavished on some orator the moment he
concludes: you yourselves will share it hereafter
when you find how greatly you have advanced the
interests of your state.
such a nnmber of the wealthy citizens, who were on all occasions ta
supply the commonwealth with money, and with the rest of the twelve
hundred to perform all extraordinary duties in their turns It seems,
however, that in the time of Demosthenes these classes sought pretences
to avoid their duty, and contended for the power of throwing the whole
weight of public business on each other.
l As with a royal, Jfcc]--Enbulns, Aristophon, Hyperides, and Lycur-
gus governed every thing with an absolute power in the assemblies.
The conduct of military affairs was entirely engrossed by Diopithes,
Menestheus, Leosthenes, and Chares. Thin the administration of affairs
was shared among a few men, as it were, by lot; so that the popular
government degenerated into an oligarchy (See Piutarch in Phoriov
Tourreil
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? THE SECOND OLYNTHIAC ORATION:
PRONOUNCED IN THE SAME YEAR.
INTRODUCTION.
To remove the impression made on the minds of the Athenians by tho
preceding oration, Demades, and other popular leaders in the interest of
Philip, rose up and opposed the propositions of Demosthenes with all
their eloquence. Their opposition, however, proved ineffectual; for the
assembly decreed that relief should be sent to the Olynthians, and thirty
galleys and two thousand forces were accordingly despatched under the
command of Chares. But these succours, consisting entirely of merce-
naries, and commanded by a general of no great reputation, could not be
of considerable service; and were besides suspected, and scarcely less
dreaded by the Olynthians than the Macedonians themselves. In the
oiean time, the progress of Philip's arms could meet with little interrup-
tion. He reduced several places in the region of Chalcis, razed the for
cress of Zeira, and, having twice defeated the Olynthians in the field, at
last shut them up in their city. In this emergency they again applied to
the Athenians, and pressed for fresh and effectual succours. In thefol
lowing oration Demosthenes endeavours to support this petition, and to
prove that both the honour and the interest of the Athenians demanded
their immediate compliance. As the expense of the armament was the
great point of difficulty, he recommends the abrogation of such laws as
prevented the proper settlement of the funds necessary for carrying on a
war of such importance. The nature of these laws will come imme-
diately to be explained.
It appears, from the beginning of this oration, that other speakers had
risen before Demosthenes, and inveighed loudly against Philip. Full of
the national prejudices, or disposed to flatter the Athenians in their no-
tions of. the dignity and importance of their state, they breathed nothing
but indignation against the enemy, and possibly, with some contempt of
his present enterprises, proposed to the Athenians to correct his arro-
gance by an invasion of his own kingdom. Demosthenes, on the con-
trary, insists on the necessity of self-defence, endeavours to rouse his
bearers from their security by the terror of impending danger, and affect*
to consider the defence of Olynthus as the last and oMv means of pre-
serving the very being of Athens
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? OLYNTHIAC THE SECOND.
I am by no means affected in the same mannei,
Athenians, when I review the state of our affairs, and
when I attend to those speakers who have now
declared their sentiments. They insist that we
should punish Philip : but our affairs, situated as they
now appear, warn us to guard against the dangers
with which we ourselves are threatened. Thus far,
therefore, I must differ from these speakers, that I
apprehend they have not proposed the proper object
of your attention. There was a time, indeed, I know
it well, when the state could have possessed her own
dominions in security, and sent out her armies to
inflict chastisement on Philip. I myself have seen
that time when we enjoyed such power. But now,
I am persuaded, we should confine ourselves to the
protection of our allies. When this is once effected;
then we may consider the punishment his outrages
have merited. But, till the first great point be well
secured, it is weakness to debate about our more
'emote concernments.
And now, Athenians, if ever we stood in need of
mature deliberation and counsel, the present juncture
calls loudly for them. To point out the course to be
pursued on this emergency I do not think the greatest
difficulty: but I am in doubt in what manner to pro
pose my sentiments; for all that I have observed, and
all that I have heard, convince me that most of youi
misfortunes have proceeded from a want of inclina
tion to pursue the necessary measures, not from igno
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? SECOND OLYNTHIAC ORATION. 73
ranee of them. Let me entreat you, that, if I now
speak with an unusual holdness, you may bear it,
considering only whether I speak truth, and with a
sincere intention to advance your future interests;
for you now see, that by some orators, who study but
to gain your favour, our affairs have been reduced to
the extremity of distress.
I think it necessary, in the first place, to recall
some late transactions to your thoughts. --You may
remember, Athenians, that about three or four years
since you received advice that Philip was in Thrace,
and had laid siege to the fortress of Heraea. It was
then the month of November. 1 Great commotions
and debates arose: it was resolved to send out
forty galleys; that all citizens under the age of five-
and-forty2 should themselves embark: and that sixty
talents should be raised. Thus it was agreed:
that year passed away; then came in the months
July,3 August, September. In this last month, with
great difficulty, when the mysteries had first been
celebrated, you sent out Charidemus,4 with just ten
vessels, unmanned, and five talents of silver. For
when reports came of the sickness and the death of
1 Of November. ]--The reducing the Attic months to the Julian has
occasioned some dispute among the learned. As I thought it best to
make use of Roman names in the translation, I have followed the
reduction of Scaliger.
2 Under the age of five-and forty, &c. ]--This expresses their zeal, and
their apprehensions of the danger; for by the laws of Athens a citizen
was exempted from military service at the age of forty, except on some
very urgent occasion.
3 July, &c. ]--That is, the first months of the next year; for the reader
is to observe, that the Attic year commenced on that new moon whose
full moon immediately succeeded the summer solstice.
* Charidemus. ]--That is, the worst of all your generals; a foreigner,
a soldier of fortune, who had sometimes fought against you, sometimes
betrayed your cause, and who, on many occasions, had proved himself
unworthy of the confidence you reposed in him. --Monsieur Tourreil
translates this passage thus: "Ce fut en ce dernier mois qu'immediate.
ment apres la celebration des mysteres, vous depechates d'ici Chari-
deme," &c. Here there are two unfortunate words, which express haste
and expedition : whereas the description in the original labours on in the
slowest and heaviest manner possible. Every single word marks out the
tediousness or the meanness of their armament. --
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? 74 ORATIONS OF DEMOSTHENES.
Philip (both-of these were affirmed), you laid aside
your intended armament, imagining that at such a
juncture there was no need -of succours. And yet
this was the very critical moment; for, had they
been despatched with the same alacrity with which
they were granted, Philip would not have then
escaped, to become that formidable enemy he now
appears.
But what was then done cannot be amended.
Now, we have the opportunity of another war: that
war I mean which hath induced me to bring these
transactions into view, that you may not once more
fall into the same errors. How then shall we im-
prove this opportunity 1 This is the only question.
For, if you are not resolved to assist with all the
force you can command, you are really serving under
Philip; you are fighting on his side. The Olynthians
are a people whose power was thought considerable.
Thus were the circumstances of affairs: Philip could
not confide in them: they looked with equal sus-
picion on Philip. We and they then entered into mu-
tual engagements of peace and alliance. This was a
grievous embarrassment to Philip, that we should
nave a powerful state confederated with us, spies on
the incidents of his fortune. It was agreed that we
should by all means engage this people in a war wi:h
him. And now, what we all so earnestly desired is
effected: the manner is of no moment. What then
remains for us, Athenians, but to send immediate and
effectual succours, I cannot see : for besides the dis-
grace that must attend us, if any of our interests are
supinely disregarded, I have no small apprehensions
of the consequence (the Thebans1 affected as they
are towards us, and the Phocians exhausted of their
1 The Thebans, &c. ]--They had a mortal hatred to the Athenians, as
they had favoured Lacedsemon after the battles of Leuctra and Maminea,
and had lately taken part with the Phocians against them in the sacred
war. [And even before these times, at the conclusion of the Pelopon-
neaian war, the Thebans strenuously contended for the utter extirpation
of Athens. \-Tourreil.
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? SECOND OLYNTHIAC ORATION. 75
treasures), if Philip be left at full liberty to lead his
armies into these territories, when his present enter-
prises are accomplished. If any one among you can
be so far immersed in indolence as to suffer this, he
must choose to be witness of the misery of his own
country rather than to hear of that which strangers
suffer, and to seek assistance for himself when it is
now in his power to grant assistance to others.
That this must be the consequence if we do not
exert ourselves on the present occasion, there can
scarcely remain the least doubt among us.
But as to the necessity of sending succours: this,
it may be said, we are agreed in; this is our resolu-
tion. But how shall we be enabled 1 that is the point
to be explained. --Be not surprised, Athenians, if my
sentiments on this occasion seem repugnant to the
general sense of this assembly. Appoint magistrates
for1 the inspection of your laws: not in order to
enact any new law; you have already a sufficient
number; but to repeal those whose ill effects you
now experience. I mean the laws relating to the
theatrical funds2 (thus openly I declare it), and some
1 Magistrates for, Ac. )--In the original voiwdtras. So were thoflt-
citizens called who were intrusted by the people with the regulation of
their '. aws. They were chosen by lot, to the number of 1001, that their
votes might not be equal. Every citizen, at certain times, and in certain
assemblies, had usually a right to complain of any law. The president
of the assembly proposed the complaint to the people: five advocates
were allowed to plead in defence of the law; and after hearing them,
the people r^rred the affair to the uomothetae. --Tourreil.
2 The theatrical funds. ]--The Athenians, as well as the other Greeks,
were ever passionately fond of the entertainments of the theatre. Dis-
putes for places soon became remarkably inconvenient, and called for a
regulation. The magistrates therefore ordered that a small price should
he paid for places to reimburse the builders of the theatre, which as yet
knew not that magnificence which riches and luxury afterward intro-
duced. This purchasing of places began to be complained of by the
poorer citizens; and therefore Pericles, out of a pretended zeal for their
interest, proposed that a sum of money (which had been deposited in the
treasury after the war of Egina, when they had made a thirty yeara
peace with Lacedremon, and was intended as a public resource in cas
? f any invasion of Attica) should be distributed among the citizens, t
defray the expense of their entertainments in time of peace only. Th
proposal and the restriction were both agreed to: but as all Indulgence
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