No More Learning

** Demofthenes accules me of thofe Crimes, of which he was
" equally guilty ; he fays, I received Bribes, which he himfelf
" received, either alone, or in Partnerfhip with others. " But
he never mentioned ; he never urged an Objedlion of this Kind ;
you never heard him fpeak this Language. Yet he made ufe
of Menaces. Why? becaufe, he was confcious of having
committed thefe Crimes, and therefore dreaded thefe Expref-
iions like a Slave. His Imagination never ventured fo far; it
refufed the Tafk, and his Confcience recoiled upon him ; while
nothing hindered him from abufing and calumniating.
But the greateft of all his Villainies does not confiR: in
Words, but Deeds. When I had determined, as was reafonable
fince I was twice an Ambaflador, to render twice an Account
of my Condudl, this JEkhmes, in Prefence of a thoufand Wit-
nelles,
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? 96 ORATIONSOF
nefles, went forward to the Clerks, and forbad fhem to fum-
mon me into the Court, becaufe, I had alrtddy paft my Ac-
counts, and was therefore no longer liable to any other Fnfpec-
tion. The Affair was excelTively ridiculous. When he had
given in the Accounts of his firfl: Embafly, for which he never
was accufed, yet he would not venture a Trial of the fecond,
for which he is now indi6ted, and in which all his Crimes are
included. If I had been permitted to have given in an Account
of my fecond Embafly, he too had neceflarily been obliged to
appear a fecond Time. He therefore would not fuffer me to
be fummoned. This Adion alone, O Men of Athens, mani-
feflly difcovers, that he ftands felf-condemned ; that you cannot,
with Reverence to the Gods, acquit him, and that with regard
to me, he never uttered a Syllable of Truth. Becaufe, if
he had any thing in his Power; if he had difcovered aught
whereof to reproach or accufe me, he certainly would not have
hindered my being fummoned. In Proof of thefe Fads, let
the Witneflfis be called.
The Witnesses.
If however he fhould calumniate me in any other Inftance,
befides this Embafly, there are many Reafons, which forbid
you to hear him. I am neither this Day accufed, (37) nor obliged
to
{^-j) No Man pours Water to me. This fixth Note, twenty-eighth Page.
ExprelTion hath been already explained ; i
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? DEMOSTHENES, 97
to make my defence. What therefore is this perfonal Calumny,
except an abfolute Want of any reafonable Apology for himfelf?
Becaufe, who would accufe others, when he himfelf is profecu-
tcd, if he were capable of making his own Defence ? Confider,
if I were on my own Trial, iEfchines my Accufer, and Philip
my Judge ; if I had it not in my Power to deny my being
guilty, yet threw out Inve6lives, and endeavoured to calumni-
ate my Accufer, would not Philip generoufly refent his Benefac-
tor's being thus rudely treated in his Prefence? Be not you
therefore lefs gener -us than Philip, but oblige iEfchines to make
his defence, with regard to thofe Points alone, ? of which he is
accufed.
In the Confcioufnefs of my own Innocence, I thought myfelf
obliged to give an Account of my EmbafI)', and to fubmit to
whatever the Laws commanded. JE fchints purfued a contrary
Method. Whence is it pofllble therefore, that our Conduct
could ever have been the fame? Or whence does he now re--
proach me with Crimes, of which he never accufed me before ?
Certainly, never. He will however talk in this Manner, and,
by the Gods, not without Realbnj for you are perfectly fenfible,
that fince Mankind came into the World, and Trials were firfl:
inftituted, never were Criminals found, who confefTed their
Guilt. They behave themfelves impudently ; they deny ; they
tell Lies, and invent Excufes ; they do every thing to cfcape the
Vol, IL O PuniOi-
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? 9>> ORATIONSOF
Punifliment they merit. It is your Duty to avoid being influen-
ced this Day by fuch Artifices. Pronounce Sentence according
to your own Knowledge, nor pay any Attention either to my
Affertions, or thofe of -^fchines, or to his Witnefles, whom he
hath always ready to give Evidence for him, and whom Philip
maintains. You will obferve how dextroufly they give their
Teftimony in his Favour. Neither fhould you regard the
Sweetnefs and Strength of his Voice, or the We^knefs of mine.
Becaufe not upon Orators, if you be wife, nor their Orations,
are you this Day to pronounce Sentence, but to retort the Infamy
of your Affairs, thus ignommioufly and- iniquitoufly ruined,
upon the Authors, after having examined the Fads, of which
you are perfedlly well aflured. What Fa? ls? Thofe of which;
you yourfelves confcious, and have not any Occafion of hearing
from us. For, if all thofe Advantages, which -^fchines promi-
fed, have indeed rifen from this Peace; if you can acknowledge
yourfelves to have been lb miferably funk in Indolence and;
Cowardice, that although your Dominions were neither invaded
by Land, or Sea, nor the Republic in any other Danger; al-
though Provisions bore a reafbnable Price, and our Situation
was in general what it is at prefent; although you forefaw, and
wxre informed by your Ambafladors, that your Confederates:
would be ruined, and the Thebans grow povv^erful; that Philip,
would make himfelf Mafter of Thrace, and raife Fortreffes
againll you in Eub^a, with a certainty that every thing, which.
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? DEMOSTHENES. 99
hath fince happened, was really to happen, yet you could have
been well contented to conclude this Peace, then let i^^fchlnes
be acquitted, and do not add Perjury to fucli Inftances of
Bafenefs. He hath committed no Injury againft you, but I
was tranfported by Madnefs and Extrav^agance, when I accufcd
him. But if on the contrary, your Ambafladors afTured you,
with many and the moft foothing Expreflions, " that Philip
' had an Affedlion for the Republic; would prefcrve the
' Phoc? eans; reprefs the Infolence of the Thebans; confer
' Benefits upon you far greater than any, that regarded Am-
' phipolis, and if you granted him a Peace, would reftore
' Eubzeaand Oropus to you;" if by making thefe Declarations
and Promifes they have deceived and impofed upon you in every
Inftance, and only not delivered up Attica to the Enemy, let
them be condemned ; nor in Addition to the ignominious Inju-
ries (I know not any other Expreflion for them) you have already
fufFered by tlieir being corrupted, carry home with you the
Horrors of Execration and Perjury.
Consider befides, O Men of Athens, from what Motive, if
they indeed are innocent, I have undertaken to accufe them.
You fhall find no fuch Motive. Is it plcafing to have
many Enemies? It is not even without Danger. " But I had
^' fome perfonal Quarrel with i^llchines. " None. " Did you
" then tremble for you rfelf, Demofthenes, and in your Fearful -
O 2 " nefs,
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? loo ORATIONSOF
" nefs, imagine this Profecution your only Security. " I have
heard, he ventures even this Extravagance. But in Truth,
/Efchines, there was nothing terrible; there was no Guilt, as
you afiert. If ever he fays this again, confid'er, you who are our
Judges, if I, who am totally innocent,, was alarmed with
Terrors of being deftroyed by thde Traitors, what Punifhment
ought they to fuffer, who are totally guilty? Since not for
thefe Reafons, yet for what other do I accule you ? *^' I calum -
" niate, in the Name of Jupiter! that I may extort Money from
" you. " Yet were it not more elegible to have taken it from
Philip (who gave it in Abundance) and not in lefs Sums, than
any of them received, efpecially when I might thus prcferve his
Friendfhip and theii's? Undoubtedly, moft undoubtedly, I
fhould have preferved their Feiendfliip, if I had entered into
their Schemes, for they had no paternal, ancient Quarrel to mCj. .
and only refented my not engaging in their Projects. Were
not this more eligible, than to demand a fordid Pittance of the
Bribes they had received, and thus make both Philip and them,
my Enemies ? Did I then, at fuch. Expencc,. out of my own
private Fortune, ranfom our Fellow-Citizens, and could I
meanly condefcend to take this wretched Pittance from them,
and attended with their Hatred too ? Impoflible. But all the
Reports I made to you werp true; I reftrained myfelf from taking
Prcfcnts, in a Senfe of Juftice, and of Truth, and a regard to
my future Life ; imagining, that I, like fome other of your
Citizens,
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? DEMOSTHENES. loi
Citizens, if I maintained my Integrity, might be honoured by
you, and diftinguiflied above the Vulgar, and that I never fhould
exchange my Zeal for your Service for any pofiible Advantage.
But I hated thefe AmbaiTadors, becaufe I fiivv them ading ini-
quitoufly towards you, and impioufly to the Gods in their
Embafly ; becaufe I was deprived, by their rapacious Corruption,
of the Honours I perfonally merited, while you treated the whole
Embafly with equal Indignation. But looking forward to Futu-
rity, and willing that you fhould determine in this Trial, and
at this Tribunal, that our Adions were totally different, I now
accufe, and fummon them to render the ufual Account of their
Conduct. I am, however, apprehenfive, greatly apprehenfive,
(for all my Thoughts fhall be laid before you) that you then
included me, though perfectly guiltlefs, in the Sufpicion of
their Crimes, and are now extremely inattentive to my Inno-
cence. For to me you appear, O Men of Athens, abfolutely
diflblved in Indoleace and expecting your Misfortunes witli
IndifTerence. When you behold others labouring in Diftrefs,
you are neither concerned for their Safety, nor anxious for the
Republic, that hath been long injured in fo various and outra-
gious a Manner. Do you not think it terrible and monftrous
what I am going to relate? for although I had determined to-
be filent, yet I am forced to fpeak. You all know Pythocles.
I had long lived with him in every Kind of Intimacy, nor did:
any thing unfriendly ever happen between us even to this Day.
But
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? 102 O R A T I O N S O F
But fince he returned from this Embafly to PhiHp, he avoids mc
upon all Occalions ; or if he be compelled accidentally ro meet
me, he ftarts away, left any one fhonld fee him fpeaking to me.
Yet he walks round the Forum with M^chmts^ confults with
him, and enters into his Schemes. Is it not then provoking,
O Men of Athens; is it not a miferable Reflexion that Philip
fliould be fo attentive both to the Friendfhip and Enmity of
thofe, who engage in his Service, as that each of them believes
he perfe6lly knows all their Adtions here, as if he were perfonally
prefcnt ; that they efteem thofe Ferfons their Friends or Enemies,
whom he regards with Friendfhip or Enmity, yet, on the con-
trary, that they, who live only for your Welfare; who are
ambitious only of thofe Honours, which you can beftow, and
of which they never deferted the Purfuit, fliould meet among
you with fuch obftinate Deafnefs in hearing, and fuch Blindnefs
in feeing, as that I fliould be compelled at this Moment to
hold a contefl: with thefe execrable Villains upon equal Terms,
and before an Audience, perfedly confcious of their Crimes ?
Are you willing to hear and be convinced, from what Caufe
thefe Diforders arifc ? I will inform you. But be not angry
with me, I befeech you, for declaring the Truth. As Philip
hath one Body, fo I really think he hath only one Soul. With
all his Heart he loves whoever obliges him; with all his Heart
he detefts whoever oppofcs him. But a Citizen of Athens never
efteems
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? DEMOSTHENES. 103
efleems the Man, who is fcrviceable to the Republic, as doing
him any perfonal ObUgation, or thinks himfelf injured by thofc,
who injure the Commonwealth. Every Man hath fome parti-
cular Paffion, Pity, Envy, Refentment, a Deiire of obliging
whoever afks a Favour, and a thoufand others, by which you are
frequently mifled. (38) Yet thefe particular, and feparate
Errours, advancing by Degrees, fall at laft in one colledled
Ruin on the Republic. Do not therefore, O Men of Athens,
again commit fuch Errors, nor acquit the Man, by whom you
have been thus egregioufly injured.
Yet what will be tlie general Language of Mankind, if you
acquit him ? '* Philocrates, ^fchines, Phrynon, Demofthenes,
" went from Athens, as Ambafladors to Philip. " What then?
" the laft, beQdes not receiving any Emolument from his Em-
" bafly, out of his own Fortune redeemed his Fellow- Citizens,
" v^hile ^fchines wandered through Greece, purchafing
" Harlots and FiiK, with that very Money, for which he fold
" the Interefts of the Republic ; and the polluted Phrynon fent
'' his
(38) A Sentence, that appears in all ti-fadion, he may form his own Judge-
our Editions, is here left oyt of the ment of the Meaning of the Paflage by
Tranflation. It is not only unintelH- the following Iranflations. E fe un
gible, but unprofitably breaks the Senfe ftigge, tutti gli a'. lri JJmftri, almeno ncn
and Connexion of the whole Period. f^<o egli fuggir color o, i quali non vcgli-
Whcre Doftor Taylor acknowledges his ono^ che mnn fta tale. Quod fi quis cs-
Doubts, the Tranflator may without tera qureque efiugiat, eos, qui ncmineni,
Shame acknowledge his Ignorance. How. - vtllent ejufmodi cITe, certe non eiFug'ee;.
ever, to give the Reader all poffible Sar
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? 104 O R AT IONS OF
" his Son, not yet arrived at Manhood, to PhiHp. But De-
" mofthenes a6led not in any thing unworthy of the RepubHc,
" orofhimfelF. For, as when he was ^dile, and appointed a
" Trierarch for Equipment of the Fleet, hegenerouHy fupport-
" ed the Expence of thofe Employments, fo in this Inftance
" he thought it his Duty voluntarily to expend his Fortune jn
*' ranfoming Prifoners, and not to fuffer his Fellow-Citizens
" through Indigence to continue in Mifery. But ^fchines,
" fo far from purchafing at his own Expence a fingle Perfon's
" Freedom, affifted Philip in reducing a whole Province, and
*' makino- the Troops of our Confederates, more than ten
" thoufand Foot with almoft a thoufand Horfe, Prifoners of
<' War. " What was the Confequence? " The Athenian
*' People (who were perfectly convinced of their Guilt) having
*' brought them to their Trial" What then? " They ac-
" quitted the Traitors, vvho had received Bribes and Prefents;
t' who had difhonoured themfelves, the Republic, and their
" Pofterity. They adjudged, that they had a6ted with Wifdom,
" and that the Common-wealth was profperoufly conducted
*' under their Adminiftration. " But their Accufer? " Was
" an extravagant Vifionary; knew not the Temper of his Fel-
" low-Citizens; had no other Manner oflavifhing away his
" Fortune. "
Who then, O Men of Athens, when he beholds this Ex-
ample, will ever be anxious to preferve his Integrity ? Who
? will
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? X)EMOSTHENES. 505
will be an Ambaflador for nothing, if he, who prefervcs him-
felf uncorrupted, hath no more Confidence with you, than
thefe Receivers of Bribes? Thus, you do not only, this Day,
pronounce Sentence upon thefe Traitors ; but you eftablidi a
Law for all fucceeding Time, to determine, whether your
future Ambafladors fhall infamoufly fupport the Interefts of
yotir Enemies for a Penfion, or for nothing and unpenfioned
confult the Utility of the Republic. With regard to all other
Particulars, you can have no Occafion for Evidence, but to
prove, that Phrynon fent his Son to PhiHp, call me the Wit-
nefles of that Affair.
The Witnesses.
^ffiscHiNEs, therefore, hath not accufed Plirynon of having
fent his Son to Philip for the infamous Purpofes of Proftitution ;
but if another, in his Youth excelling in the Beauty of his
Perfon, and not forefeeing the Sufpicions, that naturally attend
on Beauty, hath perhaps Hved a little too Hcentioufly, this Man
iEfchines indidled for Impurity of Manners.
I SHALL now fpeak to the Invitation I made our Ambafladors
to a Banquet in the Prytan^um, and to the Decree I propofed
on that Occafion; for this Affair, which I ought particularly to
have mentioned, had very nearly efcaped my Memory. With
regard to the firft Embafly, when I had written the Decree of
Vol. IL P the
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? io6 O R A T I O N S O F
the Senate, and afterwards that of the People (while In thofe
Affemblies, in which you were to deliberate upon the Peace,
there were yet no Sufpicions of their Condud rumoured abroad,
nor any apparent Injury committed by them) according to the
Ufages eftablifhed by Law, I pronounced their Panegyric, and
invited them to the Prytanacum. Befides, I confefs I entertained
Philip's Ambafladors moft hofpitably ; indeed, O Men of
Athens, moft fplendidly. For having obferved in Macedonia,
that they gloried in the Luxury of fuch Entertainments, as
Objedis of Happinefs and Splendor, I inftantly thought myfelf
obliged to aflume a Superiority over them, and to difplay a
greater Spirit of Magnificence. But uSfchines will urge it as an
Objecftion, and exclaim, " Demofthenes himfelf pronounced
*' our Panegyric; Demofthenes entertained Philip's Ambafta-
dors," but without diftinguifhing the Date of thefe Fads.
They happened, however, before the Republic was injured;
before thefe Traitors had apparently fold themfelves; when
Philip's Ambafladors were but juft arrived, and the People were
yet to hear their Propofals ; when ^(chines had not openly
pleaded the Caufe of Philocrates, and when he himfelf had not
propofed his Decree. If he urges thefe Objedions, do you
remember the Date of thefe Tranfadlions ; that they preceded
their Crimes, and that afterwards I never had any Society with
them, any Communication. Read the Evidence>>
The Evidence>>
But
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? DEMOSTHENES. 107
But perhaps his Brothers, Philocrates, and Aphobetus will
undertake his Defence ; to both of whom you may return a
very full and reafonable Reply ; but it is neceflary to fpeak with
Freedom, and without referve. " We are not ignorant that you,
** Philocrates, are a Painter of earthen Vafes for Perfumers, and
" of Bacchanalian Cymbals; that your Brothers Aphobetus,
" and iEfchines, are public-Notaries by Profeffion, and by
" Birth of the common People (Circum fiances indeed removed
" from Infamy, but certainly not meriting any military Com-
" mand) yet we have efteemed you worthy of EmbaiTics,
" Commiflions in our Armies, and all the higheft Dignities of
the Republic. Suppofe then you never have committed a
Crime, we do not therefore owe you any Obligation, but
you are in Gratitude indebted to us for the Employments you
hold, becaufe we paffed by many others more deferving,
" and adorned you with thefe Honours. If either of you hath
" been faulty in thefe Employments, with which you were thus
" diftinguifhed, efpecially as they were of fuch Importance,
** how much rather fhould you be detefted, than acquitted? "
In my Opinion, much rather.
But they will perhaps grow violent, and being, as they are,
clamorous, and impudent, they will aflert, that defending a
Brother is always pardonable. Do not give way to this Afier-
tion, but be convinced, that as it is their Duty to be anxious
P 2 for
(C
C(
<(
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? io8 O R A T I O N S O F
for the Safety of their Brother, fo is it yours to defend the Laws,
the whole RepubUc, and efpecially to preferve the Oaths invio-
lable, which you took before you fat upon this Tribunal. But
if they folicit you to acquit this Man, confider whether they
make the Requeft upon a Prefuinption of his appearing innocent
or guilty ? If innocent, I myfelf declare for his acquittal ; if
they defire it upon any other Terms, they defire you to perjure
yourfelves. Becaufe, although the Suffrage be given in fecret,
it does not therefore efcape the Knowledge of the Gods. For
the Legiflator, in this, and all other Inftances, mofl: excellent,
hath pronounced*, " the fuffrages fhall be given in fecret. "
Wherefore? That the Criminal may never know the Man,
to whom he is obliged. But the Gods, and the fupreme Divi-
nity will know the Man, who hath not pronounced an upright
Sentence j and it is infinitely more eligible to expert from them
our own Happinefs, and that of our Pofterity, for giving
Judgement with Juftice and Equity, than to fix a fecret and
uncertain Obligation upon the Criminal, or to acquit this Man,
who hath himfelf given Evidence againft himfelf. For what
more unexceptionable Witneis, jEfchines, that you have com-
mitted many flagrant Villainies in your Embafly, can I poflibly
produce, than you againft yourfelf? Even that fevere and ex-
traordinary Punifliment, which you thought proper to infli(5t
upon him, who propofed to deted: your Crimes, openly declares
what Vengeance you yourfelf exped:, if your Judges are informed
of your Condudl.
His
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? DEMOSTHENES. 109
His own Pra(flices, therefore, ifyoubewife, fLall be turned
againft him, not only becaufe they are powerhil Proofs of the
Manner, in which he hath executed his Embafly, but becaufe
when he was himfelf an Accufer, he made ufe of thofe very
Expreflions, which may now be retorted upon his own Head,
For that Juftice, which you pronounced, when you profecuted
Timarchus, that very Juftice ought to be enforced againft you
by others. He then declared to the Judges, " Demofthenes
" will undertake his Defence, and accufe me of Mifcondudl
" in my Embafly, and if he can feduce you by the Power of
" Words, he will grow petulant, and wander about vaunting
" him of the Circumftances, in what Manner, by what
*' Force of Arguments, he feduced the Judges from the Quef-
" tion, and took from them the very Cognizance of the Fa6t.
" But do not adt thus, Demofthenes. The Subject of Difpute,
" make that the Subjedt of your Defence. " But, iEfchines,
when you profecuted Timarchus, you had it in your Power to
urge what Accufations, and make ufe of what Arguments you
pleafed. Yet unable to produce any Evidence of the Crimes,
of which you accufed him, you affured the Judges,
What all report can never be a Lie,
And born a Goddefs, Fame can never die.
But, -S^fchines, this whole AfTembly declares, tliat you have
taken Bribes from Philip, and the Remark may therefore be
retorted againft you.
What all report can never be a Lie,
I - Yet
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? no ORATIONSOF
Yet confider the Reafon, why more People accufe you, than
Timarchus. Him, his Neighbours hardly knew. But there is
neither Greek, nor Barbarian, who does not declare, that you
and your Colleagues have taken Bribes in your Embafly. If
Fame therefore may be relied upon, it will appear againft you
in the Opinion of thoufands. That we ought to rely upon her,
becaufe (he is a Goddefs, and becaufe the Poet was wife, who
made thefe Verfes, you yourfelf have determined.
Having then colleded fome Iambics out of Sophocles he
concluded.
Who holds licentious Converfe with the wicked,
I afk not of his Morals, well convinc'd.
He differs not from thofe, he loves, and lives with.
" Are you then ignorant," fays he, among other ExprefHons of
the fame Kind, " what Opinion you ought to conceive of the
" Man, who goes into Aviaries, and walks with Pittalacus ? " (39)
Now, -ffifchines, I can with exceeding Aptnefs make ufe of
thefe Iambics againft you, and if I repeat them to your Judges,
I fhall repeat them with Juftice and Propriety. Whoever k
delighted with the Converfation of Philocrates, and enters into
his Schemes of Embafly, I never aiked, being perfedly convin-
ced, whether he had taken Prefents like Philocrates, who confefies
it,
(39) Pittalacus was probaWy a Citizen among their Amufements to go into
of diflblute, effeminate Manners, with Aviaries, but, very poffibly, not to fee
whom Timarchus was intimate. It was the Birds fight.
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? DEMOSTHENES. m
it. But when he calls others Tranfcribers of common-place
Sentences and Plagiaries of Verfes; when he endeavours to treat
them with Contempt, he may be very clearly convidtcd of being
himfelf obnoxious to thefe Titles; (4. 0) becaufe thefe Verfes are
taken out of Phienice, a Tragedy of Euripides, which neither
TheodoruSj nor Ariftodemus (to whom ^fchines a6led his third-
rate Chara<flers) ever performed ; butMolon, only, and fome of
our ancient Tragedians. (41) Yet Theodorus and Ariftodemus
often reprefented the Antigone of Sophocles, in which are many
beautiful Verfes, and to you of great Importance, which JEC-
chines had frequently repeated on the Stage, and perfedly well
remembers, but which he has now pafled over in Silence. You
know, it is an Honour peculiar to the third-Rate Actors in our
Tragedies to make their Entrance in the Charaders of Tyrants,
and pompoufly holding their Scepters in their Hands. Recoi-
led: therefore in this Tragedy the Lines, which Sophocles made
for Creon-^^fchines, but which he never repeated, either in
his Embafly, or to the Judges in the Trial of Timarchus.
Read.
, Pio-
(40) The Word in the Original, which (41) Demofthenes feems to wonder
IS here tranflated Plagiary, fignifies in where ^fchines got thefe Verfes, as if
general a Deceiver, an Impoftor ? , neither his Reading extended no farther than the
of which will explain the Senfe of the Plays, in whicii he himfelf had afted.
Context, or account for the Contempt, Molon was an ancient Adtor, whom lEl'-
with which they are ufed. ^fchines chines had never fecn. Theodcrus and
had probably repeated thefe Verfes as his Ariftodemus had never performed tlfe
own, for otherwife it were impertinent to Antigone of Euripides,
tell the People they were written by Eu-
ripides.
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? TI2 ORATIONS OF
Pronounce on no Man's Genius, Wifdom, Senfc,
Till Power, and public Bufinefs afcertain
His doubtful Charader. As for myfelf,
Who takes the fole Diredion of the State,
Nor yields him to the Counfels of the wife,
Nor fpeaks, through Fear, the Dictates of his Heart,
I hold him worthlefs, and fhall ever hold him.
He too is vile, who to his Country's Good,
Prefers liis Friend ; Witnefs all-feeing Jove
I never will be filent, when I fee
Deftrudion ftalking o'er my native Land,
Nor to my bofom'd Confidence receive
My Country's Foe; convinc'd that in her Welfare
We fail in Safety down the Tide of Life,
And form our happieft Friendftiips for the Voyage.
Not one of thefe Verfes did ever ^fchines repeat to himfelf
during his Embafly ; but having preferred the Hofpitality and
Friendfliip of Philip to the Interefts of the Commonwealth, as
of greater Importance to him and more profitable, he heartily
bad Farewel to the Wifdom of Sophocles. He neither declared,
nor gave you Notice of Philip's Expedition againfl; the Phocseans,
although he faw Defirudlion advancing along with it. On the
contrary, he concealed, he affifted it, he oppofed whoever
would hav^e given their Sentiments upon it, not remembring,
that in our Country alone " we fail in Safety down the Tide
*'of
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? DEMOSTHENES. 113
" of Life ;" and that his Mother performed in it her holy Myftc-
ries and Luftrations ; that fhc picked up a LiveHhood by
plundering the Houfcs of thofe, who made ufe of her Incanta-
tions, and thus educated t<liefe her illuftrious Sons; while their
Father, as I have heard fome old People relate, taught Children
their Alphabet, according to the befl of his Abilities, near the
Temple of the Gods of Phyfic. In this City however he
lived, where /Efchines and his Brothers, by being under-
Clerks, and writing in all our public OjfHces, got a little Money;
and at length, being appointed Notaries by you, they were
maintained two Years in the vaulted Cells adjoining our
Temples, from whence i^fchines was fent an Ambaflador to
Philip. None of thefe Circumftances did he regard, nor was
anxious, that the Republic might fail in Safety, but overfet,
and funk, and to the utmoft of his Power betrayed her to her
Enemies. Art thou not then a Plagiary? Yes; and impious.
Art thou not a Tranfcribcr of Sentences? Yes ; and an Enemy
to the Gods. The Verfcs you had often repeated upon the
Stage, and which you faithfully remembered, thofe you paflcd
over in Silence, but what you never aded in your Life, }'ou
very curioufly fought for, and repeated in public to ruin }^our
Fellow-Citizens,
Now confider the Remarks he made with regard to Solon.
He faid the Statue of Solon, clothed in his Tunic, and holding
his Hands within the Folds of his Robe, was eredled as an
Vol. II. Q^ Example
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? 114 ORATIONSOF
Example of the Modefty of the Orators in his Time. Thus
did he malignantly aim at Timarchus, and reproach him with
the Vivacity of his Adion. But the People of Salamis afTure
us, that Statue has not been fifty years ereded, yet from Solon
to the prefent Time we reckon full two hundred and fifty.
The Statuary therefore, who gave him his Attitude was not
himfelf, nor was even his Grand-father, alive at that Time. Such
were the Remarks he made to the Judges, and imitated Solon's
Attitude. But far more important to the Republic, to have
entered into the Spirit and Senfe of Solon, which he never
imitated, but in every polTible Inftance contradidled. For
when Salamis revolted from the Athenians, and they had de-
creed, it fhould be punifhable with Death, even to mention
the recovering it, Solon undertook the Danger, and fung fome
elegiac Verfes he made upon the Occafion, recovered the Ifland
to the Republic, and removed the Ignominy fhe had fuffered.
But JEfchines betrayed and delivered into the Hands of Philip
the City of Amphipolis, which the Perfian Monarch, and every
State of Greece acknowledged to be yours, and afterwards fup-
ported Philocrates, who confirmed the Treachery by Decree.
An honourable Inftance (was it not? ) of his remembering Solon,
But he not only a6led in this Manner here in Athens, for when
he arrived at Macedonia, he never once pronounced the Name
ot thofe Territories, for the Recovery of which he was appointed
an Ambaflador. This he himfelf declared; for you muft re-
member his flying, " I could indeed fay fomething concerning
" Am-
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? DEMOSTHENES, 115
" Amphipolis, but have left it for Demofthenes to fpeak upon
" that Subjed:. " I advanced upon the Tribunal and declared,
" he had left me nothing to fay of his Conferences with Philip,
" for he would rather give away Part of his Blood, than of
*' thofe Conferences. But, Iprefume, he thought it indecent,
" after having received Philip's Money, to oppofe him in that
*' very Purpofe for which he gave his Money, for he certainly
" gave it, that he might not be obliged toreftore Amphipolis. "
Now take and read me thefe elegiac Verfes of Solon, by
which you will be convinced, that Solon detefted Men like
iElchines. But indeed, JEfchines, it is by no means neceffary,
that an Orator fhould fpeak with his Hand under his Robe,
No; but an AmbafTador fhould perform his Embafly with his
Hand under his Robe. Yet when you ftretched forth yours in
Macedonia, and held it open, and brought Shame upon this Peo-
ple, were you then a magnificent Orator ? Or when you curioufly
collecSted thofe miferable Conceits, and exercifed the Sweetnefs
of your Voice in repeating them, did you not imagine you
fhould fuffer the Vengeance due to fuch and fo many Villainies,
although you wandered round the City with that extraordinary
Bonnet upon your Head, and uttered your Invedives againft
me? (42) Read.
Solon's
(42) Solon, to avoid the Funifliment having made fome Verfes proper for the
denounced againft whoever fhould pro- Occafion, he got them by Heart, chaunt-
pofe to renew the War for the Recovery ed them, fays Plutarch, as if under an
of Salamis, counterfeited Madnefs, and immediate Infpiration, and appeared in
Q 2 public
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? ii6 O R A T I O N S O F
Solon's Elegiac Verses. *
. Nor Jove fupreme, whofe fecret Will is Fate,
' Nor the blefl: Gods have doom'd th' Athenian State;
For Pallas, with her Father's Glories crown'd,,
Spreads the Protedtion of her ^Egis round.
But dire Corruption wide extends its Sway;
Athenians hear its Didates, and obey.
Oppreffive Demagogues our Counfels guide.
Though various Mifchiefs wait to quell their Pride.
Untaught with chearful Appetite to tafte
The calm Delights, that crown the temperate Feaftj
A Luft of Gold their reftlefs Bofoms fires,
A Luft of Gold their guilty Schemes infpires.
Vain are all Laws, or human or divine.
To guard the public Wealth, or facred Shrine,
While private Life is fill'd with mutual Fraud,
By Juftice and her facred Laws unaw'd.
Silent She fits, the pafl:, the prefent views.
And in her own good Time the guilty Scene purfues. .
Thus other States their mortal Wound receive,
And fervile Chains their freeborn Sons enflave ;
Sedition^
public with a Bonnet on his Head. In Spirit. They are a Colledion of poli-
this laft Circnmftance ^fchines feems to tical Maxims, that feem to prefage the
have been ridiculoufly careful to imitate Diflblution of every State wherein they
the Spirit of Solon. appear. Let this Reflexion, by which
* Thefe Verfes have all the Simplicity they may be happily applied to our pre-
of the Age, in which they were written, fent Hiftory, excufe the Poetiy, either
but very little poetical Elegance and in the Original, or the Trandation.
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