54. But concerning the crimes of his public life I will try to speak more explicitly. For I understand that when the defence are given opportunity to speak, Demosthenes will enumerate to you four periods in the history of the city as the periods of his own political activity. One of them, and the first, as I hear, he reckons as the time of our war with Philip over Amphipolis. He marks this off by the peace and alliance that were made on motion of Philocrates of Hagnus, and with the cooperation of Demosthenes himself, as I shall show.
54. περὶ δὲ τῶν δημοσίων ἀδικημάτων πειράσομαι σαφέστερον εἰπεῖν. καὶ γὰρ πυνθάνομαι μέλλειν Δημοσθένην, ἐπειδὰν αὐτοῖς ὁ λόγος ἀποδοθῇ, καταριθμεῖσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὡς ἄρα τῇ πόλει τέτταρες ἤδη γεγένηνται καιροί, ἐν οἷς αὐτὸς πεπολίτευται. ὧν ἕνα μὲν καὶ πρῶτον, ὡς ἔγωγε ἀκούω, καταλογίζεται ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον ἐν ᾧ πρὸς Φίλιππον ὑπὲρ Ἀμφιπόλεως ἐπολεμοῦμεν· τοῦτον δʼ ἀφορίζεται τῇ γενομένῃ εἰρήνῃ καὶ συμμαχίᾳ ἣν Φιλοκράτης ὁ Ἁγνούσιος ἔγραψε καὶ αὐτὸς οὗτος μετʼ ἐκείνου, ὡς ἐγὼ δείξω.
55. And he says that the second period was the time while we kept the peace, doubtless up to that day on which this same orator put an end to the existing peace, by himself introducing the motion for war; and the third period, the period of war, up to the events of Chaeronea; and the fourth, the present period. When he has enumerated these, he intends, as I hear, to call me forward and ask me to tell him for which of these four periods I accuse him, and when it is that I say that his policy has not been for the best interests of the people. And if I refuse to answer, and cover my face and run away, he says he will come and uncover me and lead me to the platform, and force me to answer.
55. δεύτερον δέ φησι καιρὸν γενέσθαι, ὃν ἤγομεν χρόνον τὴν εἰρήνην, δηλονότι μέχρι τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ἐν ᾗ καταλύσας τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν εἰρήνην τῇ πόλει, ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος ῥήτωρ ἔγραψε τὸν πόλεμον· τρίτον δὲ ὃν ἐπολεμοῦμεν χρόνον μέχρι τῶν ἐν Χαιρωνείᾳ, τέταρτον δὲ τὸν νῦν παρόντα καιρόν. ταῦτα δὲ καταριθμησάμενος, ὡς ἀκούω, μέλλει με παρακαλεῖν καὶ ἐπερωτᾶν, ὁποίου τούτων τῶν τεττάρων αὐτοῦ καιρῶν κατηγορῶ, καὶ πότε αὐτὸν οὐ τὰ βέλτιστά φημι τῷ δήμῳ πεπολιτεῦσθαι· κἂν μὴ θέλω ἀποκρίνασθαι, ἀλλʼ ἐγκαλύπτωμαι καὶ ἀποδιδράσκω, ἐκκαλύψειν μέ φησι προσελθὼν καὶ ἄξειν ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα καὶ ἀναγκάσειν ἀποκρίνασθαι.
56. In order, then, that he may lose his confidence, and that you may be instructed in advance, and that I may reply, in the presence of the jury, Demosthenes, and of all the other citizens who are standing there outside the bar, and of all the other Greeks who have taken the trouble to listen to this case—and I see that not a few are here, more in fact than have ever attended a public trial within the memory of any man—I answer you that for all the four periods which you enumerate I accuse you.
56. ἵνʼ οὖν μήθʼ οὗτος ἰσχυρίζηται ὑμεῖς τε προειδῆτε ἐγώ τε ἀποκρίνωμαι, ἐναντίον σοι τῶν δικαστῶν, Δημόσθενες, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολιτῶν, ὅσοι δὴ ἔξωθεν περιεστᾶσι, καὶ Ἑλλήνων, ὅσοις ἐπιμελὲς γέγονεν ἐπακούειν τῆσδε τῆς κρίσεως· ὁρῶ δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγους παρόντας, ἀλλʼ ὅσους οὐδεὶς πώποτε μέμνηται πρὸς ἀγῶνα δημόσιον παραγενομένους· ἀποκρίνομαι, ὅτι ἁπάντων τῶν τεττάρων καιρῶν κατηγορῶ σου ὅσους διαιρῇ, κἂν ὅ τε θεοὶ θέλωσι καὶ οἱ δικασταὶ ἐξ ἴσου ἡμῶν ἀκούωσι κἀγὼ δύνωμαι ἀπομνημονεῦσαι ἅ σοι σύνοιδα, πάνυ προσδοκῶ ἐπιδείξειν τοῖς δικασταῖς τῆς μὲν σωτηρίας τῇ πόλει τοὺς θεοὺς αἰτίους γεγενημένους καὶ τοὺς φιλανθρώπως καὶ μετρίως τοῖς τῆς πόλεως πράγμασι χρησαμένους, τῶν δὲ ἀτυχημάτων ἁπάντων Δημοσθένην.
57. And if the gods permit, and the jurors give us an impartial hearing, and I am able to call to mind all that I know about you, I confidently expect to show to the jury that for the safety of the city it is the gods who are responsible, and the men who in the crisis have treated the city with humanity and moderation; but for all our misfortunes, Demosthenes. The order of my treatment shall be that which I understand he will follow; and I will speak first concerning the first period, second concerning the second, third concerning the next, and fourth concerning the present situation. So now I address myself to the peace which you and Philocrates formally proposed.
57. καὶ χρήσομαι τῇ τοῦ λόγου τάξει ταύτῃ ᾗ τοῦτον πυνθάνομαι μέλλειν, λέξω δὲ πρῶτον περὶ τοῦ πρώτου καιροῦ, καὶ δεύτερον περὶ τοῦ δευτέρου, καὶ τρίτου περὶ τοῦ ἐφεξῆς, καὶ τέταρτον περὶ τῶν νυνὶ καθεστηκότων πραγμάτων. καὶ δὴ ἐπανάγω ἐμαυτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν εἰρήνην ἣν σὺ καὶ Φιλοκράτης ἐγράψατε.
58. You could have made that former peace, fellow citizens, supported by the joint action of a congress of the Greek states, if certain men had allowed you to wait for the return of the embassies which at that crisis you had sent out among the Greeks, with the call to join you against Philip; and in the course of time the Greeks would of their own accord have accepted your hegemony again. Of this you were deprived, thanks to Demosthenes and Philocrates, and the bribes which they took in their conspiracy against the common weal.
58. ὑμῖν γὰρ ἐξεγένετʼ ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὴν προτέραν ἐκείνην εἰρήνην ποιήσασθαι μετὰ κοινοῦ συνεδρίου τῶν Ἑλλήνων, εἴ τινες ὑμᾶς εἴασαν περιμεῖναι τὰς πρεσβείας ἃς ἦτε ἐκπεπομφότες κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα, παρακαλοῦντες ἐπὶ Φίλιππον, καὶ προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου παρʼ ἑκόντων τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀπολαβεῖν τὴν ἡγεμονίαν· καὶ τούτων ἀπεστερήθητε διὰ Δημοσθένην καὶ Φιλοκράτην καὶ τὰς τούτων δωροδοκίας, ἃς ἐδωροδόκησαν συστάντες ἐπὶ τὸ δημόσιον τὸ ὑμέτερον.
59. But if such a statement as I have just made, falling suddenly on your ears, is too incredible to some of you, permit me to suggest how you ought to listen to the rest of my argument: When we take our seats to audit the accounts of expenditures which extend back a long time, it doubtless sometimes happens that we come from home with a false impression; nevertheless, when the accounts have been balanced, no man is so stubborn as to refuse, before he leaves the room, to assent to that conclusion, whatever it may be, which the figures themselves establish.
59. εἰ δέ τισιν ὑμῶν ἐξαίφνης ἀκούσασιν ἀπιστότερος προσπέπτωκεν ὁ τοιοῦτος λόγος, ἐκείνως τὴν ὑπόλοιπον ποιήσασθε ἀκρόασιν. ὥσπερ ὅταν περὶ χρημάτων ἀνηλωμένων διὰ πολλοῦ χρόνου καθεζώμεθα ἐπὶ τοὺς λογισμούς, ἐρχόμεθα δή που ἐνίοτε ψευδεῖς οἴκοθεν δόξας ἔχοντες· ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἐπειδὰν ὁ λογισμὸς συγκεφαλαιωθῇ, οὐδείς ἐστιν οὕτω δύσκολος τὴν φύσιν, ὅστις οὐκ ἀπέρχεται τοῦτο ὁμολογήσας ἀληθὲς εἶναι, ὅ τι ἂν ὁ λογισμὸς αἱρῇ·
60. I ask you to give a similar hearing now. If some of you have come from home with the opinion, formed in the past, that of course Demosthenes has never in conspiracy with Philocrates said a word in Philip’s interest—if any man of you is under such impression, let him decide nothing either way, aye or no, until he has heard; for that would not be fair. But if, as I briefly recall the dates, and cite the resolutions which Demosthenes moved in cooperation with Philocrates, the truthful audit of the facts shall convict Demosthenes of having moved more resolutions than Philocrates concerning the original peace and alliance, and of having flattered Philip and his ambassadors with a shamelessness which was beyond measure, and of being responsible to the people for the failure to secure the concurrence of a general congress of the Greek states in the making of the peace, and of having betrayed to Philip Cersobleptes, king of Thrace, a friend and ally of our city—if I shall clearly demonstrate all this to you, I shall make of you this modest request: in God’s name agree with me, that in the first of his four periods his policies have not been those of a good citizen.
60. οὕτω καὶ νῦν τὴν ἀκρόασιν ποιήσασθε. εἴ τινες ὑμῶν ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνων ἥκουσιν οἴκοθεν τοιαύτην ἔχοντες τὴν δόξαν, ὡς ἄρα ὁ Δημοσθένης οὐδὲν πώποτε εἴρηκεν ὑπὲρ Φιλίππου συστὰς μετὰ Φιλοκράτους,—ὅστις οὕτω διάκειται, μήτʼ ἀπογνώτω μηδὲν μήτε καταγνώτω πρὶν ἂν ἀκούσῃ· οὐ γὰρ δίκαιον. ἀλλʼ ἐάν, ἐμοῦ διὰ βραχέων ὑπομιμνῄσκοντος τοὺς καιροὺς καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα παρεχομένου ἃ μετὰ Φιλοκράτους ἔγραψε Δημοσθένης, αὐτὸς ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας λογισμὸς καταλάβῃ τὸν Δημοσθένην πλείω μὲν γεγραφότα ψηφίσματα Φιλοκράτους τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰρήνης καὶ συμμαχίας, καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν δὲ αἰσχύνης κεκολακευκότα Φίλιππον καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἐκείνου πρέσβεις, αἴτιον δὲ γεγονότα τῷ δήμῳ τοῦ μὴ μετὰ κοινοῦ συνεδρίου τῶν Ἑλλήνων ποιήσασθαι τὴν εἰρήνην, ἔκδοτον δὲ πεποιηκότα Φιλίππῳ Κερσοβλέπτην τὸν Θρᾴκης βασιλέα, ἄνδρα φίλον καὶ σύμμαχον τῇ πόλει,—ἐὰν ταῦθʼ ὑμῖν σαφῶς ἐπιδείξω, δεήσομαι ὑμῶν μετρίαν δέησιν·
61. I will speak in a way that will enable you to follow me most easily. Philocrates made a motion that we permit Philip to send to us a herald and ambassadors to treat concerning peace. This motion was attacked in the courts as illegal. The time of the trial came. Lycinus, who had indicted him, spoke for the prosecution; Philocrates made answer for himself, and Demosthenes spoke in his behalf; Philocrates was cleared. After this came the archonship of Themistocles. Now Demosthenes came in as senator, not drawn by the lot either as a member of the senate or as a substitute, but through intrigue and bribery; the purpose of it was to enable him to support Philocrates in every way, by word and deed, as the event itself made evident.
61. ἐπινεύσατέ μοι πρὸς θεῶν τὸν πρῶτον τῶν τεττάρων καιρῶν μὴ καλῶς αὐτὸν πεπολιτεῦσθαι. λέξω δὲ ὅθεν μάλιστα παρακολουθήσετε. ἔγραψε Φιλοκράτης ἐξεῖναι Φιλίππῳ δεῦρο κήρυκα καὶ πρέσβεις πέμπειν περὶ εἰρήνης. τοῦτο τὸ ψήφισμα ἐγράφη παρανόμων. ἧκον οἱ τῆς κρίσεως χρόνοι· κατηγόρει μὲν Λυκῖνος ὁ γραψάμενος, ἀπελογεῖτο δὲ Φιλοκράτης, συναπελογεῖτο δὲ Δημοσθένης· ἀπέφυγε Φιλοκράτης· μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπῄει Θεμιστοκλῆς ἄρχων· ἐνταῦθʼ εἰσέρχεται βουλευτὴς Δημοσθένης, οὔτε λαχὼν οὔτʼ ἐπιλαχών, ἀλλʼ ἐκ παρασκευῆς πριάμενος, ἵνʼ εἰς ὑποδοχὴν ἅπαντα καὶ λέγοι καὶ πράττοι Φιλοκράτει, ὡς αὐτὸ ἔδειξε τὸ ἔργον.
63. For now Philocrates carries a second resolution, providing for the election of ten ambassadors, who shall go to Philip and ask him to send hither plenipotentiaries to negotiate peace. Of these ambassadors one was Demosthenes. On his return, Demosthenes was a eulogist of the peace, he agreed with the other ambassadors in their report, and he alone of the senators moved to give safe-conduct to Philip’s herald and ambassadors; and in this motion he was in accord with Philocrates, for the one had given permission to send a herald and ambassadors hither, the other gave safe-conduct to the embassy.
63. νικᾷ γὰρ ἕτερον ψήφισμα Φιλοκράτης, ἐν ᾧ κελεύει ἑλέσθαι δέκα πρέσβεις, οἵτινες ἀφικόμενοι ὡς Φίλιππον ἀξιώσουσιν αὐτὸν δεῦρο πρέσβεις αὐτοκράτορας ἀποστέλλειν στέλλειν ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης. τούτων εἷς ἦν Δημοσθένης. κἀκεῖθεν ἐπανήκων ἐπαινέτης ἦν τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ ταὐτὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις πρέσβεσιν ἀπήγγελλε, καὶ μόνος τῶν βουλευτῶν ἔγραψε σπείσασθαι τῷ κήρυκι τῷ ἀπὸ Φιλίππου καὶ τοῖς πρέσβεσιν, ἀκόλουθα γράφων Φιλοκράτει· ὁ μέν γε τὴν ἐξουσίαν δέδωκε τοῦ δεῦρο κήρυκα καὶ πρέσβεις πέμπεσθαι, ὁ δὲ τῇ πρεσβείᾳ σπένδεται.
64. As to what followed, I beg you now to pay especial attention. For negotiations were entered into—not with the other ambassadors, who were slandered again and again by Demosthenes after he had changed face, but with Philocrates and Demosthenes (naturally, for they were at once ambassadors and authors of the motions)—first, that you should not wait for the ambassadors whom you had sent out with your summons against Philip, for they wished you to make the peace, not together with the Greeks, but by yourselves;
64. τὰ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα ἤδη μοι σφόδρα προσέχετε τὸν νοῦν. ἐπράττετο γὰρ οὐ πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους πρέσβεις, τοὺς πολλὰ συκοφαντηθέντας ὕστερον ἐκ μεταβολῆς ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους, ἀλλὰ πρὸς Φιλοκράτην καὶ Δημοσθένην, εἰκότως, τοὺς ἅμα μὲν πρεσβεύοντας, ἅμα δὲ τὰ ψηφίσματα γράφοντας, πρῶτον μὲν ὅπως μὴ περιμενεῖτε τοὺς πρέσβεις οὓς ἦτε ἐκπεπομφότες παρακαλοῦντας ἐπὶ Φίλιππον, ἵνα μὴ μετὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἀλλʼ ἰδίᾳ ποιήσαισθε τὴν εἰρήνην·
65. secondly, that you should vote, not only for peace, but also for alliance with Philip, in order that any states which were taking note of what the Athenian democracy was doing might fall into utter discouragement on seeing that, while you were summoning them to war, you had at home voted to make both peace and an alliance; and thirdly, that Cersobleptes, king of Thrace, should not be included in the oaths, nor share the alliance and peace—indeed, an expedition was already being levied against him.
65. δεύτερον δʼ ὅπως μὴ μόνον εἰρήνην, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμμαχίαν εἶναι ψηφιεῖσθε πρὸς Φίλιππον, ἵνα, εἴ τινες προσέχοιεν τῷ πλήθει τῷ ὑμετέρῳ, εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην ἐμπέσοιεν ἀθυμίαν, ὁρῶντες ὑμᾶς αὑτοὺς μὲν παρακαλοῦντας ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον, οἴκοι δὲ μὴ μόνον εἰρήνην, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμμαχίαν ἐψηφισμένους ποιεῖσθαι· τρίτον δὲ ὅπως Κερσοβλέπτης ὁ Θρᾴκης βασιλεὺς μὴ ἔσται ἔνορκος, μηδέ μετέσται τῆς συμμαχίας καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης αὐτῷ. παρηγγέλλετο δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἤδη στρατεία.
66. Now the man who was buying such services was doing no wrong, for before the oaths had been taken and the agreements entered into, he could not be blamed for negotiating to his own advantage; but the men who sold, who admitted Philip into partnership in the control of the strongholds of the state, were deserving of your great indignation. For the man who now shouts, “Down with Alexander!” and in those days, “Down with Philip!” the man who throws in my face the friendship of Alexander, this man Demosthenes, stole away the opportunities of the city by making the motion that the prytanes call an assembly for the eighth day of Elaphebolion, the day of the sacrifice to Asclepius, and the introductory day of the festival —the sacred day—a thing that no man remembers ever to have been done before.
66. καὶ ταῦθʼ ὁ μὲν ἐξωνούμενος οὐκ ἠδίκει, πρὸ γὰρ τῶν ὅρκων καὶ τῶν συνθηκῶν ἀνεμέσητον ἦν αὐτῷ πράττειν τὰ συμφέροντα, οἱ δʼ ἀποδόμενοι καὶ κατακοινωνήσαντες τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἰσχυρὰ μεγάλης ὀργῆς ἦσαν ἄξιοι. ὁ γὰρ μισαλέξανδρος νυνὶ φάσκων εἶναι, καὶ τότε μισοφίλιππος, Δημοσθένης, ὁ τὴν ξενίαν ἐμοὶ προφέρων τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου, γράφει ψήφισμα, τοὺς καιροὺς τῆς πόλεως ὑφαιρούμενος, ἐκκλησίαν ποιεῖν τοὺς πρυτάνεις τῇ ὀγδόῃ ἱσταμένου τοῦ Ἐλαφηβολιῶνος μηνός, ὅτʼ ἦν τῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ ἡ θυσία καὶ ὁ προαγών, ἐν τῇ ἱερᾷ ἡμέρᾳ, ὃ πρότερον οὐδεὶς μέμνηται γεγονός, τίνα πρόφασιν ποιησάμενος;
67. And what was his pretext? “In order,” he says, “that if Philip’s ambassadors shall by that time have arrived, the people may most speedily deliberate on their relations with Philip.” He thus appropriates the assembly for the ambassadors in advance, before their arrival, cutting short your time, and hurrying on the whole business; and this was in order that you might make the peace, not in cooperation with the other Greeks, on the return of your ambassadors, but alone.
67. ἵνα, φησίν, ἐὰν παρῶσιν ἤδη οἱ Φιλίππου πρέσβεις, βουλεύσηται ὁ δῆμος ὡς τάχιστα περὶ τῶν πρὸς φίλιππον, τοῖς οὔπω παροῦσι πρέσβεσι προκαταλαμβάνων τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ τοὺς χρόνους ὑμῶν ὑποτεμνόμενος καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα κατασπεύδων, ἵνα μὴ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων, ἐπανελθόντων τῶν ὑμετέρων πρέσβεων, ἀλλὰ μόνοι ποιήσησθε τὴν εἰρήνην.
68. After this, fellow citizens, Philip’s ambassadors arrived but yours were absent, summoning the Greeks against Philip. Thereupon Demosthenes carries another resolution, in which he provides that we take counsel, not only regarding peace, but on the subject of an alliance also; and that we should do this without waiting for your ambassadors to return, but immediately after the City Dionysia, on the 18th and 19th of the month. As proof of the truth of what I say, hear the resolutions.
68. μετὰ ταῦτα, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἧκον οἱ φιλίππου πρέσβεις· οἱ δὲ ὑμέτεροι ἀπεδήμουν, παρακαλοῦντες τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐπὶ Φίλιππον. ἐνταῦθʼ ἕτερον νικᾷ ψήφισμα Δημοσθένης, ἐν ᾧ γράφει μὴ μόνον ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ συμμαχίας βουλεύσασθαι, μὴ περιμείναντας τοὺς πρέσβεις τοὺς ὑμετέρους, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς μετὰ τὰ Διονύσια τὰ ἐν ἄστει, τῇ ὀγδόῃ καὶ ἐνάτῃ ἐπὶ δέκα. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τῶν ψηφισμάτων ἀκούσατε.
69. Resolutions When now, fellow citizens, the Dionysia were past and the assemblies took place, in the first assembly a resolution of the synod of the allies was read, the substance of which I will give briefly before having it read to you. First, they provided only that you should take counsel regarding peace, and omitted the word “alliance”—and that not inadvertently, but because they looked upon even the peace as necessary, rather than honorable; secondly, they met Demosthenes’ bribery with a well-chosen remedy, by adding in their resolution that any Greek state that wished should be permitted within the space of three months to have its name inscribed with the Athenians on the same stone, and to share the oaths and agreements.
69. Ψηφίσματα ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, παρεληλύθει τὰ Διονύσια, ἐγίγνοντο δὲ αἱ ἐκκλησίαι, ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἀνεγνώσθη δόγμα κοινὸν τῶν συμμάχων, οὗ τὰ κεφάλαια διὰ βραχέων ἐγὼ προερῶ. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἔγραψαν ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης ὑμᾶς μόνον βουλεύσασθαι, τὸ δὲ τῆς συμμαχίας ὄνομα ὑπερέβησαν, οὐκ ἐπιλελησμένοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην ἀναγκαιοτέραν ἢ καλλίω ὑπολαμβάνοντες εἶναι· ἔπειτα ἀπήντησαν ὀρθῶς ἰασόμενοι τὸ Δημοσθένους δωροδόκημα, καὶ προσέγραψαν ἐξεῖναι τῷ βουλομένῳ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐν τρισὶ μησὶν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν στήλην ἀναγράφεσθαι μετʼ Ἀθηναιων καὶ μετέχειν τῶν ὅρκων καὶ τῶν συνθηκῶν, δύο τὰ μέγιστα προκαταλαμβάνοντες, πρῶτον μὲν τὸν χρόνον τὸν τῆς τριμήνου ταῖς τῶν Ἑλλήνων πρεσβείαις ἱκανὸν παραγενέσθαι κατασκευάζοντες, ἔπειτα τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων εὔνοιαν τῇ πόλει μετὰ κοινοῦ συνεδρίου κτώμενοι, ἵνʼ εἰ παραβαίνοιντο αἱ συνθῆκαι, μὴ μόνοι μηδʼ ἀπαράσκευοι πολεμήσαιμεν, ὃ νῦν ἡμῖν παθεῖν συνέβη διὰ Δημοσθένην.
70. In this way they were taking two precautions, and those of the greatest importance; for first, they provided the period of three months, a sufficient time for the ambassadors of the Greek states to arrive; and secondly, they sought to secure to the city the good-will of the Greeks, by the provision for a general congress, in order that in case the agreements should be violated, we might not enter upon the war unprepared and alone—the misfortune that actually came upon us, thanks to Demosthenes. Now that what I say is true, you shall learn by hearing the resolution itself. The Resolution of the Allies I acknowledge that I supported this resolution, as did all who spoke in the first of the two assemblies; and the people left the assembly with substantially this supposition, that peace would be made (that, however, it was better not to discuss an alliance, because of our summons to the Greeks), and that the peace would be shared by all the Greeks. Night intervened. We came the next day to the assembly. Then it was that Demosthenes, hastening to get possession of the platform, and leaving no other man an opportunity to speak, said that the propositions of yesterday were utterly useless unless Philip’s ambassadors could be persuaded to assent to them. He further said that he could not conceive of peace without alliance.
70. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ δόγματος ἀκούσαντες μαθήσεσθε. Δόγμα Συμμάχων τούτῳ τῷ δόγματι συνειπεῖν ὁμολογῶ, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν δημηγοροῦντες· καὶ ὁ δῆμος ἀπῆλθε τοιοῦτόν τι ὑπειληφώς, ὡς ἔσται μὲν ἡ εἰρήνη [περὶ δὲ συμμαχίας οὐκ ἄμεινον εἴη διὰ τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων παράκλησιν βουλεύσασθαι], ἔσται δὲ κοινῇ μετὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἁπάντων. νὺξ ἐν μέσῳ, καὶ παρῆμεν τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. ἐνταῦθα δὴ προκαταλαβὼν Δημοσθένης τὸ βῆμα, οὐδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων παραλιπὼν λόγον, οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἔφη τῶν χθὲς εἰρημένων εἶναι λόγων, εἰ ταῦθʼ οἱ Φιλίππου μὴ συμπεισθήσονται πρέσβεις, οὐδὲ γιγνώσκειν ἔφη τὴν εἰρήνην ἀπούσης συμμαχίας.
72. For he said we must not—I remember the expression he used, for the word was as odious as the man—he said we must not “rip off” the alliance from the peace, nor wait for the slow decisions of the other Greeks, but we must either fight ourselves, or by ourselves make the peace. And finally he called Antipater to the platform, and proceeded to ask him a certain question—he had previously told him what he gas going to ask, and had instructed him what he was to answer, to the injury of the state. Finally this thing prevailed, Demosthenes forcing you to it by his talk, and Philocrates moving the resolution.
72. οὐ γὰρ ἔφη δεῖν, καὶ γὰρ τὸ ῥῆμα μέμνημαι ὡς εἶπε, διὰ τὴν ἀηδίαν τοῦ λέγοντος ἅμα καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος, ἀπορρῆξαι τῆς εἰρήνης τὴν συμμαχίαν, οὐδὲ τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀναμένειν μελλήματα, ἀλλʼ ἢ πολεμεῖν αὐτούς, ἢ τὴν εἰρήνην ἰδίᾳ ποιεῖσθαι. καὶ τελευτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα παρακαλέσας Ἀντίπατρον ἐρώτημά τι ἠρώτα, προειπὼν μὲν ἃ ἐρήσεται, προδιδάξας δὲ ἃ χρὴ κατὰ τῆς πόλεως ἀποκρίνασθαι. καὶ τέλος ταῦτʼ ἐνίκα, τῷ μὲν λόγῳ προσβιασαμένου Δημοσθένους, τὸ δὲ ψήφισμα γράψαντος Φιλοκράτους.
73. One thing remained now for them to do—to betray Cersobleptes and the Thracian coast. This they accomplished on the 25th of Elaphebolion, before Demosthenes set out on the second embassy, the embassy for the ratification of the oaths (for this orator of ours, this man who shouts “Down with Alexander!” and “Down with Philip!” has twice been an ambassador to Macedonia, when he need not have gone once—the man who now bids you spit on the Macedonians). Presiding over the assembly on the 25th, for he had gained a seat in the senate by intrigue, he, with the help of Philocrates, betrayed Cersobleptes;
73. ὃ δὲ ἦν ὑπόλοιπον αὐτοῖς, Κερσοβλέπτην καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης τόπον ἔκδοτον ποιῆσαι, καὶ τοῦτʼ ἔπραξαν ἕκτῃ φθίνοντος τοῦ Ἐλαφηβολιῶνος, πρὶν ἐπὶ τὴν ὑστέραν ἀπαίρειν πρεσβείαν τὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὅρκους Δημοσθένην· ὁ γὰρ μισαλέξανδρος καὶ μισοφίλιππος ἡμῖν οὑτοσὶ ῥήτωρ δὶς ἐπρέσβευσεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, ἐξὸν μηδὲ ἅπαξ, ὁ νυνὶ κελεύων τῶν Μακεδόνων καταπτύειν. εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν τῇ ἕκτῃ προκαθεζόμενος βουλευτὴς ὢν ἐκ παρασκευῆς, ἔκδοτον Κερσοβλέπτην μετὰ Φιλοκράτους ἐποίησε.
74. for Philocrates unobserved slipped this clause in among the provisions of his resolution, and Demosthenes put it to the vote, that “The members of the synod of the allies do on this day give their oaths to the ambassadors from Philip.” But no representative of Cersobleptes had a seat in the synod and so in providing that those who were sitting in the synod should give oath, he excluded Cersobleptes from the oaths, for he had no place in the synod.
74. λανθάνει γὰρ ὁ μὲν Φιλοκράτης ἐν ψηφίσματι μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων παρεγγράψας, ὁ δʼ ἐπιψηφίσας, Δημοσθένης, ἀποδοῦναι δὲ τοὺς ὅρκους τοῖς πρέσβεσι τοῖς παρὰ Φιλίππου ἐν τῇδε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοὺς συνέδρους τῶν συμμάχων. παρὰ δὲ Κερσοβλέπτου σύνεδρος οὐκ ἐκάθητο· γράψας δὲ τοὺς συνεδρεύοντας ὀμνύναι, τὸν Κερσοβλέπτην οὐ συνεδρεύοντα ἐξέκλῃσε τῶν ὅρκων.
75. As proof that I am speaking the truth, read, if you please, who it was that made this motion, and who it was that put it to vote. The Resolution An excellent thing, fellow citizens, an excellent thing is the preservation of the public acts. For the record remains undisturbed, and does not shift sides with political turncoats, but whenever the people desire, it gives them opportunity to discern who have been rascals of old, but have now changed face and claim to be honorable men.
75. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἀνάγνωθί μοι, τίς ἦν ὁ ταῦτα γράψας, καὶ τίς ὁ ἐπιψηφίσας. Ψήφισμα καλόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καλὸν ἡ τῶν δημοσίων γραμμάτων φυλακή· ἀκίνητον γάρ ἐστι, καὶ οὐ συμμεταπίπτει τοῖς αὐτομολοῦσιν ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ, ἀλλʼ ἀπέδωκε τῷ δήμῳ, ὁπόταν βούληται, συνιδεῖν τοὺς πάλαι μὲν πονηρούς, ἐκ μεταβολῆς δʼ ἀξιοῦντας εἶναι χρηστούς.
76. It remains for me to describe his flattery. For Demosthenes, fellow citizens, was senator for a year, yet he will be found never to have invited any other embassy to the seat of honor —nay, that was the first and the only time; and he placed cushions and spread rugs; and at daybreak he came escorting the ambassadors into the theater, so that he was actually hissed for his unseemly flattery. And when they set out on their return journey, he hired for them three span of mules, and escorted the ambassadors as far as Thebes, making the city ridiculous. But that I may not wander from my subject, please take the resolution concerning the seats of honor.
76. ὑπόλοιπον δʼ ἐστί μοι τὴν κολακείαν διεξελθεῖν. Δημοσθένης γὰρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐνιαυτὸν βουλεύσας, οὐδεμίαν πώποτε φανήσεται πρεσβείαν εἰς προεδρίαν καλέσας, ἀλλὰ τότε μόνον καὶ πρῶτον· καὶ προσκεφάλαια ἔθηκε, καὶ φοινικίδας περιεπέτασε, καὶ ἅμα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡγεῖτο τοῖς πρέσβεσιν εἰς τὸ θέατρον, ὥστε καὶ συρίττεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην καὶ κολακείαν. καὶ ὅτʼ ἀπῄεσαν, ἐμισθώσατο αὐτοῖς τρία ζεύγη ὀρεικὰ καὶ τοὺς πρέσβεις προὔπεμψεν εἰς Θήβας, καταγέλαστον τὴν πόλιν ποιῶν. ἵνα δʼ ἐπὶ τῆς ὑποθέσεως μείνω, λαβέ μοι τὸ ψήφισμα τὸ περὶ τῆς προεδρίας.
77. Resolution Now this man it was, fellow citizens, this past master of flattery, who, when informed through scouts of Charidemus that Philip was dead, before any one else had received the news, made up a vision for himself and lied about the gods, pretending that he had received the news, not from Charidemus, but from Zeus and Athena, the gods by whose name he perjures himself by day, and who then converse with him in the night, as he says, and tell him of things to come. And though it was but the seventh day after the death of his daughter, and though the ceremonies of mourning were not yet completed, he put a garland on his head and white raiment on his body, and there he stood making thank-offerings, violating all decency—miserable man, who had lost the first and only one who ever called him “father”!
77. Ψήφισμα οὗτος τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὁ τηλικοῦτος τὸ μέγεθος κόλαξ, πρῶτος διὰ τῶν κατασκόπων τῶν παρὰ Χαριδήμου πυθόμενος τὴν Φιλίππου τελευτήν, τῶν μὲν θεῶν συμπλάσας ἑαυτῷ ἐνύπνιον κατεψεύσατο, ὡς οὐ παρὰ Χαριδήμου τὸ πρᾶγμα πεπυσμένος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ Διὸς καὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, οὓς μεθʼ ἡμέραν ἐπιορκῶν νύκτωρ φησὶν ἑαυτῷ διαλέγεσθαι καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι προλέγειν, ἑβδόμην δʼ ἡμέραν τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῷ τετελευτηκυίας, πρὶν πενθῆσαι καὶ τὰ νομιζόμενα ποιῆσαι, στεφανωσάμενος καὶ λευκὴν ἐσθῆτα λαβὼν ἐβουθύτει καὶ παρενόμει, τὴν μόνην ὁ δείλαιος καὶ πρώτην αὐτὸν πατέρα προσειποῦσαν ἀπολέσας.
78. Not that I reproach him for his misfortune, but I am probing his character. For the man who hates his child and is a bad father could never become a safe guide to the people; the man who does not cherish the persons who are nearest and dearest to him, will never care much about you, who are not his kinsmen; the man who is wicked in his private relations would never be found trustworthy in public affairs; and the man who is base at home was never a good and honorable man in Macedonia, for by his journey he changed his position, not his disposition.
78. καὶ οὐ τὸ δυστύχημα ὀνειδίζω, ἀλλὰ τὸν τρόπον ἐξετάξω. ὁ γὰρ μισότεκνος καὶ πατὴρ πονηρὸς οὐκ ἄν ποτε γένοιτο δημαγωγὸς χρηστός, οὐδὲ ὁ τὰ φίλτατα καὶ οἰκειότατα σώματα μὴ στέργων οὐδέποθʼ ὑμᾶς περὶ πολλοῦ ποιήσεται τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους, οὐδέ γε ὁ ἰδία πονηρὸς ἄν ποτε γένοιτο δημοσίᾳ χρηστός, οὐδʼ ὅστις ἐστὶν οἴκοι φαῦλος, οὐδέποτʼ ἦν ἐν Μακεδονία καλὸς κἀγαθός· οὐ γὰρ τὸν τρόπον, ἀλλὰ τὸν τόπον μετήλλαξεν.
79. Now how it was that he came to reverse his policies (for this is the second period), and what is the reason that policies identical with those of Demosthenes led to the impeachment and exile of Philocrates, while Demosthenes suddenly stood forth as accuser of the rest, and how it is that the pestilential fellow has plunged you into misfortune, this you ought now especially to hear.
79. πόθεν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν μεταβολὴν ἦλθε τῶν πραγμάτων, οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ δεύτερος καιρός, καὶ τί ποτʼ ἐστὶ τὸ αἴτιον, ὅτι Φιλοκράτης μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν πολιτευμάτων Δημοσθένει φυγὰς ἀπʼ εἰσαγγελίας γεγένηται, Δημοσθένης δὲ ἐπέστη τῶν ἄλλων κατήγορος, καὶ πόθεν ποθʼ ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἀτυχίαν ὁ μιαρὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐμβέβληκε, ταῦτʼ ἤδη διαφερόντως ἄξιόν ἐστιν ἀκοῦσαι.
80. For as soon as Philip had come this side Thermopylae, and contrary to all expectation had destroyed the cities of Phocis, and strengthened the Thebans beyond what was seasonable and advantageous for you, as you then thought, and when you in alarm had brought in your movable property from the country districts, and the ambassadors who had negotiated the peace were under the gravest accusation—Philocrates and Demosthenes far beyond all the rest, because they not only had been ambassadors, but were also the authors of the resolutions, and when it happened at the same time that Demosthenes and Philocrates had a falling out—you were able to guess the reasons without much difficulty—when all this disturbance had arisen, then Demosthenes proceeded to take counsel as to his future course, consulting his own innate corruption, his cowardice, and his jealousy of Philocrates’ bribes; and he came to the conclusion that if he should step forward as the accuser of his colleagues on the embassy and of Philip, Philocrates would surely be ruined, his other colleagues would be put in jeopardy, and he himself would gain favour, and—scoundrel and traitor to his friends—would appear to be a faithful servant of the people.
80. ὡς γὰρ τάχιστα εἴσω Πυλῶν Φίλιππος παρῆλθε, καὶ τάς τε ἐν Φωκεῦσι πόλεις παραδόξως ἀναστάτους ἐποίησε, Θηβαίους τε, ὡς τόθʼ ὑμῖν ἐδόκει, περαιτέρω τοῦ καιροῦ καὶ τοῦ ὑμετέρου συμφέροντος ἰσχυροὺς κατεσκεύασεν, ὑμεῖς τε ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν φοβηθέντες ἐσκευαγωγήσατε, ἐν ταῖς μεγίσταις δʼ ἦσαν αἰτίαις οἱ πρέσβεις οἱ τὴν εἰρήνην πρεσβεύσαντες, πολὺ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων διαφερόντως Φιλοκράτης καὶ Δημοσθένης, διὰ τὸ μὴ μόνον πρεσβεύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα γεγραφέναι, συνέβη τε ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρόνοις διαφέρεσθαί τι Δημοσθένην καὶ Φιλοκράτην σχεδὸν ὑπὲρ τούτων ὑπὲρ ὧν καὶ ὑμεῖς ὑπωπτεύσατε· τοιαύτης ἐμπιπτούσης ταραχῆς, μετὰ τῶν συμφύτων αὐτῷ νοσημάτων ἤδη τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐβουλεύετο, μετὰ δειλίας καὶ τῆς πρὸς Φιλοκράτην ὑπὲρ τῆς δωροδοκίας ζηλοτυπίας, καὶ ἡγήσατο, εἰ τῶν συμπρεσβευόντων καὶ τοῦ Φιλίππου κατήγορος ἀναφανείη, τὸν μὲν Φιλοκράτην προδήλως ἀπολεῖσθαι, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους συμπρέσβεις κινδυνεύσειν, αὐτὸς δʼ εὐδοκιμήσειν, καὶ προδότης ὢν τῶν φίλων καὶ πονηρός, πιστὸς τῷ δήμῳ φανήσεσθαι.
82. Now when the men who are always the foes of public tranquillity caught sight of him, they were delighted, and repeatedly called him to the platform, and named him our sole and only incorruptible citizen; and he as often came forward and furnished them with the sources of disturbance and war. He it is, fellow citizens, who first discovered Serrhium-Teichus and Doriscus and Ergisca and Myrtisca and Ganus and Ganias; for before that we did not even know the names of these places. And he put such forced and perverse interpretation upon what was done, that, if Philip did not send ambassadors, Demosthenes said that Philip was treating the city with contempt; and if he did send them, that he was sending spies, not ambassadors;
82. κατιδόντες δʼ αὐτὸν οἱ τῇ τῆς πόλεως προσπολεμοῦντες ἡσυχίᾳ, ἄσμενοι παρεκάλουν ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα, τὸν μόνον ἀδωροδόκητον ὀνομάζοντες τῇ πόλει· ὁ δὲ παριὼν ἀρχὰς αὐτοῖς ἐνεδίδου πολέμου καὶ ταραχῆς. οὗτός ἐστιν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὁ πρῶτος ἐξευρὼν Σέρριον τεῖχος καὶ Δορίσκον καὶ Ἐργίσκην καὶ Μυρτίσκην καὶ Γάνος καὶ Γανιάδα, χωρία ὧν οὐδὲ τὰ ὀνόματα ᾔδεμεν πρότερον. καὶ εἰς τοῦτο φέρων περιέστησε τὰ πράγματα, ὥστʼ εἰ μὲν μὴ πέμποι πρέσβεις Φίλιππος, καταφρονεῖν αὐτὸν ἔφη τῆς πόλεως, εἰ δὲ πέμποι, κατασκόπους πέμπειν, ἀλλʼ οὐ πρέσβεις.
83. and if Philip was willing to refer our differences to some state as an equal and impartial arbiter, he said that between Philip and us there was no impartial arbiter. Philip offered to give us Halonnesus; Demosthenes forbade us to accept it if he “gave it,” instead of “giving it back,” quarrelling over syllables. And finally, by bestowing crowns of honor on the embassy which Aristodemus led to Thessaly and Magnesia contrary to the provisions of the peace, he violated the peace and prepared the final disaster and the war.
83. εἰ δὲ ἐπιτρέπειν ἐθέλοι πόλει τινὶ ἴσῃ καὶ ὁμοίᾳ περὶ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων, οὐκ εἶναι κριτὴν ἴσον ἡμῖν ἔφη καὶ Φιλίππῳ. Ἁλόννησον ἐδίδου· ὁ δʼ ἀπηγόρευε μὴ λαμβάνειν, εἰ δίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀποδίδωσι, περὶ συλλαβῶν διαφερόμενος. καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον στεφανώσας τοὺς μετὰ Ἀριστοδήμου εἰς Θετταλίαν καὶ Μαγνησίαν παρὰ τὰς τῆς εἰρήνης συνθήκας πρεσβεύσαντας, τὴν μὲν εἰρήνην διέλυσε, τὴν δὲ συμφορὰν καὶ τὸν πόλεμον κατεσκεύασεν.
84. Yes, but with walls of brass and steel, as he himself says, he fortified our land, by the alliance with Euboea and Thebes. Nay, fellow citizens, it is just here that you have been most wronged and most deceived. But eager as I am to speak about that wonderful alliance with Thebes, I will speak first about the Euboeans, that I may follow the events in their order.
84. ναί, ἀλλὰ χαλκοῖς καὶ ἀδαμαντίνοις τείχεσιν, ὡς αὐτός φησι, τὴν χώραν ἡμῶν ἐτείχισε, τῇ τῶν Εὐβοέων καὶ Θηβαίων συμμαχίᾳ. ἀλλά, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, περὶ ταῦτα καὶ μέγιστα ἠδίκησθε καὶ μάλιστα ἠγνοήκατε. σπεύδων δʼ εἰπεῖν περὶ τῆς θαυμαστῆς συμμαχίας τῆς τῶν Θηβαίων, ἵνʼ ἐφεξῆς λέγω, περὶ τῶν Εὐβοέων πρῶτον μνησθήσομαι.
85. You, fellow citizens, had suffered many serious injuries at the hands of Mnesarchus of Chalcis, father of Callias and Taurosthenes, men whom Demosthenes now for gold dares to propose for enrollment as Athenian citizens; and again at the hands of Themison of Etretria, who in time of peace robbed us of Oropus; but you were willing to overlook these wrongs, and when the Thebans had crossed over into Euboea in an attempt to enslave its cities, in five days you went to their rescue with fleet and troops, and before thirty days had passed you brought the Thebans to terms and sent them home; and being now yourselves in complete control of Euboea, you righteously and justly restored the cities themselves and their constitutions to those who had entrusted them to you; for you felt that it was not right to cherish your anger, now that they had put faith in you.
85. ὑμεῖς γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἠδικημένοι ὑπὸ Μνησάρχου τοῦ Χαλκιδέως, τοῦ Καλλίου καὶ Ταυροσθένους πατρός, οὓς οὗτος νυνὶ μισθὸν λαβὼν Ἀθηναίους εἶναι τολμᾷ γράφειν, καὶ πάλιν ὑπὸ Θεμίσωνος τοῦ Ἐρετριέως, ὃς ἡμῶν εἰρήνης οὔσης Ὠρωπὸν ἀφείλετο, τούτων ἑκόντες ἐπιλαθόμενοι, ἐπειδὴ διέβησαν εἰς Εὔβοιαν Θηβαῖοι καταδουλώσασθαι τὰς πόλεις πειρώμενοι, ἐν πέντε ἡμέραις ἐβοηθήσατε αὐτοῖς καὶ ναυσὶ καὶ πεζῇ δυνάμει, καὶ πρὶν τριάκονθʼ ἡμέρας διελθεῖν ὑποσπόνδους Θηβαίους ἀφήκατε, κύριοι τῆς Εὖβοίας γενόμενοι, καὶ τάς τε πόλεις αὐτὰς καὶ τὰς πολιτείας ἀπέδοτε ὀρθῶς καὶ δικαίως τοῖς παρακαταθεμένοις, οὐχ ἡγούμενοι δίκαιον εἶναι τὴν ὀργὴν ἀπομνημονεύειν ἐν τῷ πιστευθῆναι.
86. After receiving such benefits at your hands, the Chalcidians did not requite you with like treatment, but as soon as you had crossed over to Euboea to help Plutarchus, while at first they did pretend to be friends to you, yet as soon as we had come to Tamynae and had crossed the mountain called Cotylaeum, then Callias the Chalcidian, who had been the object of Demosthenes’ hired praises, seeing the troops of our city shut up in a place which was difficult and dangerous, from which there was no withdrawal unless we could win a battle, and where there was no hope of succor from land or sea, collected troops from all Euboea, and sent to Philip for reinforcements, while his brother, Taurosthenes, who nowadays shakes hands with us all and smiles in our faces, brought over the mercenaries from Phocis, and together they came upon us to destroy us.
86. καὶ τηλικαῦθʼ ὑφʼ ὑμῶν εὖ πεπονθότες οἱ Χαλκιδεῖς οὐ τὰς ὁμοίας ὑμῖν ἀπέδοσαν, ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ διέβητε εἰς Εὔβοιαν Πλουτάρχῳ βοηθήσοντες, τοὺς μὲν πρώτους χρόνους ἀλλʼ οὖν προσεποιοῦνθʼ ὑμῖν εἶναι φίλοι, ἐπειδὴ δὲ τάχιστα εἰς Ταμύνας παρήλθομεν, καὶ τὸ Κοτύλαιον ὀνομαζόμενον ὄρος ὑπερεβάλομεν, ἐνταῦθα Καλλίας ὁ Χαλκιδεύς, ὃν Δημοσθένης μισθαρνῶν ἐνεκωμίαζεν, ὁρῶν τὸ στρατόπεδον τὸ τῆς πόλεως εἰς δεινὰς δυσχωρίας κατακεκλῃμένον, ὅθεν μὴ νικήσασι μάχην οὐκ ἦν ἀναχώρησις, οὐδὲ βοηθείας ἐλπὶς οὔτʼ ἐκ γῆς οὔτʼ ἐκ θαλάττης, συναγείρας ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς Εὐβοίας στρατόπεδον, καὶ παρὰ Φιλίππου δύναμιν προσμεταπεμψάμενος, ὅ τʼ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Ταυροσθένης, ὁ νυνὶ πάντας δεξιούμενος καὶ προσγελῶν, τοὺς Φωκικοὺς ξένους διαβιβάσας, ἦλθον ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ὡς ἀναιρήσοντες.
88. And had not, in the first place, some god saved the army, and had not then your soldiers, horse and foot, showed themselves brave men, and conquered the enemy in a pitched battle by the hippodrome at Tamynae, and brought them to terms and sent them back, our city would have been in danger of the greatest disaster. For it is not ill fortune in war that is the greatest calamity, but when one hazards success against unworthy foes and then fails, the misfortune is naturally twofold. But yet, even after such treatment as that, you became reconciled to them again; and Callias of Chalcis, obtaining pardon from you, soon made haste to return to his natural disposition, and tried ostensibly to assemble a Euboean congress at Chalcis, but in fact to strengthen Euboea thoroughly against you, and to win the position of tyrant as his own personal reward.
88. καὶ εἰ μὴ πρῶτον μὲν θεῶν τις ἔσωσε τὸ στρατόπεδον, ἔπειθʼ οἱ στρατιῶται οἱ ὑμέτεροι καὶ οἱ πεζοὶ καὶ οἱ ἱππεῖς ἄνδρες ἐγένοντο ἀγαθοί, καὶ παρὰ τὸν ἱππόδρομον τὸν ἐν Ταμύναις ἐκ παρατάξεως μάχῃ κρατήσαντες ὑποσπόνδους ἀφεῖσαν τοὺς πολεμίους, ἐκινδύνευσεν ἂν ἡ πόλις αἴσχιστα παθεῖν· οὐ γὰρ τὸ δυστυχῆσαι κατὰ πόλεμον μέγιστόν ἐστι κακόν, ἀλλʼ ὅταν τις πρὸς ἀνταγωνιστὰς ἀναξίους διακινδυνεύων ἀποτύχῃ, διπλασίαν εἰκὸς εἶναι τὴν συμφοράν. ἀλλʼ ὅμως ὑμεῖς τοιαῦτα πεπονθότες πάλιν διελύσασθε πρὸς αὐτούς. τυχὼν δὲ συγγνώμης παρʼ ὑμῶν Καλλίας ὁ Χαλκιδεύς, μικρὸν διαλιπὼν χρόνον πάλιν ἧκε φερόμενος εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν, Εὐβοϊκὸν μὲν τῷ λόγῳ συνέδριον εἰς Χαλκίδα συνάγων, ἰσχυρὰν δὲ τὴν Εὔβοιαν ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς ἔργῳ κατασκευάζων, ἐξαίρετον δʼ αὑτῷ τυραννίδα περιποιούμενος.
89. Then, hoping to get Philip’s help, he went to Macedonia, and travelled about with him, and was named a “comrade.”
89. κἀνταῦθα ἐλπίζων συναγωνιστὴν Φίλιππον λήψεσθαι, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν καὶ περιῄει μετὰ Φιλίππου, καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων εἷς ὠνομάζετο.
90. But having wronged Philip and run away from thence, he made haste to throw himself at the feet of the Thebans. Then abandoning them also, and making more twists and turns than the Euripus, by whose shores he used to live, he falls between the hatred of the Thebans and of Philip. At his wits’ end what to do, when an expedition had already been called out against him, he saw one gleam of hope for safety left—to get the Athenian people solemnly bound, under the name of allies, to aid him if any one should attack, a thing that was sure to happen unless you should prevent it.
90. ἀδικήσας δὲ Φίλιππον κἀκεῖθεν ἀποδράς, ὑπέβαλεν ἑαυτὸν φέρων Θηβαίοις. καταλιπὼν δὲ κἀκείνους, καὶ πλείους τραπόμενος τροπὰς τοῦ Εὐρίπου, παρʼ ὃν ὤκει, εἰς μέσον πίπτει τῆς τε Θηβαίων ἔχθρας καὶ τῆς Φιλίππου. ἀπορῶν δʼ ὅ τι χρήσαιτο αὑτῷ, καὶ παραγγελλομένης ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἤδη στρατείας, μίαν ἐλπίδα λοιπὴν κατεῖδε σωτηρίας, ἔνορκον λαβεῖν τὸν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον, σύμμαχον ὀνομασθέντα, βοηθήσειν, εἴ τις ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἴοι· ὃ πρόδηλον ἦν ἐσόμενον, εἰ μὴ ὑμεῖς κωλύσετε.
91. With this plan in view Callias sent ambassadors hither, Glaucetes, Empedon, and Diodorus the long distance runner, who brought to the people empty hopes, but silver to Demosthenes and his following. And he was buying three things at once: first, to be assured of your alliance, for he had no alternative if the people, remembering his past crimes, should refuse the alliance, since one of two things was sure, that he would be banished from Chalcis, or be caught and put to death—such were the forces that were moving against him, the combined power of Philip and the Thebans; and the second service for which the pay came to the man who was to move the alliance, was to provide that the Chalcidians should not sit in the synod at Athens; and the third was that they should pay no contributions to the league. Now in not one of these plans did Callias fail;
91. ταῦτα διανοηθείς, ἀποστέλλει δεῦρο πρέσβεις Γλαυκέτην καὶ Ἐμπέδωνα καὶ Διόδωρον τὸν δολιχοδρομήσαντα, φέροντας τῷ μὲν δήμῳ κενὰς ἐλπίδας, Δημοσθένει δʼ ἀργύριον καὶ τοῖς περὶ τοῦτον. τρία δʼ ἦν ἃ ἅμα ἐξεωνεῖτο, πρῶτον μὲν μὴ διασφαλῆναι τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς συμμαχίας· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἦν τὸ μέσον, εἰ μνησθεὶς τῶν προτέρων ἀδικημάτων ὁ δῆμος μὴ προσδέξαιτο τὴν συμμαχίαν, ἀλλʼ ὑπῆρχεν αὐτῷ ἢ φεύγειν ἐκ Χαλκίδος, ἢ τεθνάναι ἐγκαταληφθέντι· τηλικαῦται δυνάμεις ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἐπεστράτευον, ἥ τε Φιλίππου καὶ Θηβαίων. δεύτερον δʼ ἧκον οἱ μισθοὶ τῷ γράψοντι τὴν συμμαχίαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ συνεδρεύειν Ἀθήνησι Χαλκιδέας, τρίτον δὲ ὥστε μὴ τελεῖν συντάξεις.
92. and Demosthenes, the tyrant-hater, as he pretends to be, who, Ctesiphon says, “speaks what is best,” bartered away the opportunities of the city, and in his motion for the alliance provided that we were to aid the Chalcidians, stipulating in return for this a mere phrase; for he added, to make it sound well, “The Chalcidians on their part are to bring aid if any one shall come against Athens”;
92. καὶ τούτων τῶν προαιρέσεων οὐδεμιᾶς ἀπέτυχε Καλλίας, ἀλλʼ ὁ μισοτύραννος Δημοσθένης, ὡς αὐτὸς προσποιεῖται, ὅν φησι Κτησιφῶν τὰ βέλτιστα λέγειν, ἀπέδοτο μὲν τοὺς καιροὺς τοὺς τῆς πόλεως, ἔθαψε δʼ ἐν τῇ συμμαχίᾳ βοηθεῖν ἡμᾶς Χαγκιδεῦσι, ῥῆμα μόνον ἀντικαταλλαξάμενος ἀντὶ τούτων, εὐφημίας ἕνεκα προσγράψας καὶ Χαλκιδέας βοηθεῖν, ἐάν τις ἴῃ ἐπʼ Ἀθηναίους·
93. but the membership in the synod and the contributions of money, the sources of strength for the coming war, he sold completely, in fairest words proposing most shameful deeds, and leading you on by his talk, telling how our city must first furnish aid to any Greeks who might need it from time to time, but provide for their alliance afterward, after giving them aid. But that you may be sure that I am speaking the truth, please take the motion for the alliance proposed for the benefit of Callias. Read the resolution.
93. τὰς δὲ συνεδρίας καὶ τὰς συντάξεις, ἐξ ὧν ἰσχύσειν ὁ πόλεμος ἔμελλεν, ἄρδην ἀπέδοτο, καλλίστοις ὀνόμασιν αἰσχίστας πράξεις γράφων, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ προσβιβάζων ὑμᾶς, τὰς μὲν βοηθείας ὡς δεῖ τὴν πόλιν πρότερον ποιεῖσθαι τοῖς ἀεὶ δεομένοις τῶν Ἑλλήνων, τὰς δὲ συμμαχίας ὑστέρας μετὰ τὰς εὐεργεσίας. ἵνα δʼ εὖ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω, λαβέ μοι τὴν Καλλία γραφεῖσαν συμμαχίαν. ἀνάγνωθι τὸ ψήφισμα.
94. Resolution But this was only the beginning of outrage—this actual selling of such opportunities and accessions to the league and contributions of money for that which I am about to relate was far worse, as you shall see. For Callias was led on to such a pitch of insolence and arrogance, and Demosthenes—whom Ctesiphon praises—to such a pitch of rapacity for bribes, that, while you still had life and sight and senses, they succeeded in stealing away from you the contributions of Oreus and Eretria, ten talents in all, and they detached from you the delegates from those cities, and carried them back to Chalcis, uniting them in the so-called Euboean Congress. But how they did it and by what crimes, it is high time for you to hear.
94. Ψήφισμα οὔπω τοίνυν τοῦτʼ ἐστὶ δεινόν, εἰ καιροὶ τηλικοῦτοι πεπραμένοι τυγχάνουσιν καὶ συνεδρίαι καὶ συντάξεις, ἀλλὰ πολὺ τούτου δεινότερον φανήσεται ὃ μέλλω λέγειν. εἰς γὰρ τοῦτο προήχθη Καλλίας μὲν ὕβρεως καὶ πλεονεξίας, Δημοσθένης δέ, ὃν ἐπαινεῖ Κτησιφῶν, δωροδοκίας, ὥστε τὰς ἐξ Ὠρεοῦ συντάξεις καὶ τὰς ἐξ Ἐρετρίας, τὰ δέκα τάλαντα, ζώντων φρονούντων βλεπόντων ἔλαθον ὑμῶν ὑφελόμενοι, καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῶν πόλεων τούτων συνέδρους παρʼ ὑμῶν μὲν ἀνέστησαν, πάλιν δὲ εἰς Χαλκίδα καὶ τὸ καλούμενον Εὐβοϊκὸν συνέδριον συνήγαγον. ὃν δὲ τρόπον καὶ διʼ οἵων κακουργημάτων, ταῦτʼ ἤδη ἄξιόν ἐστιν ἀκοῦσαι.
95. Callias, depending no longer on messengers, came himself to you, and coming forward in your assembly repeated a speech that Demosthenes had prepared for him. He said that he had just come from the Peloponnesus, and that he had made arrangements for contributions which would yield a revenue of not less than one hundred talents for use against Philip; and he counted off what each state was to pay: the united Achaeans and the Megarians sixty talents, and the united cities in Euboea, forty.
95. ἀφικνεῖται γὰρ πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκέτι διʼ ἀγγέλων, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς ὁ Καλλίας, καὶ παρελθὼν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν λόγους διεξῆλθε κατεσκευασμένους ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους. εἶπε γὰρ ὡς ἥκοι ἐκ Πελοποννήσου νεωστὶ σύνταγμα συντάξας εἰς ἑκατὸν ταλάντων πρόσοδον ἐπὶ Φίλιππον, καὶ διελογίζετο ὅσον ἑκάστους ἔδει συντελεῖν, Ἀχαιοὺς μὲν πάντας καὶ Μεγαρέας ἑξήκοντα τάλαντα, τὰς δʼ ἐν Εὐβοία πόλεις ἁπάσας τετταράκοντα·
96. From this fund he said we could be sure of forces by land and sea, adding that there were many other Greeks who wished to share in contributing, so that there would be no lack of money or men. So much was openly told; but he said that he had also conducted other negotiations in secret, and that certain of our citizens were witnesses of them; finally he called on Demosthenes by name and bade him confirm his statements.
96. ἐκ δὲ τούτων τῶν χρημάτων ὑπάρξειν καὶ ναυτικὴν καὶ πεζὴν δύναμιν· εἶναι δὲ πολλοὺς καὶ ἄλλους τῶν Ἑλλήνων οὓς βούλεσθαι κοινωνεῖν τῆς συντάξεως, ὥστε οὔτε χρημάτων οὔτε στρατιωτῶν ἀπορίαν ἔσεσθαι. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τὰ φανερά· ἔφη δὲ καὶ πράξεις πράττειν ἑτέρας διʼ ἀπορρήτων, καὶ τούτων εἶναί τινας μάρτυρας τῶν ἡμετέρων πολιτῶν, καὶ τελευτῶν ὀνομαστὶ παρεκάλει Δημοσθένην καὶ συνειπεῖν ἠξίου.
97. Demosthenes came forward with a most solemn air, praised Callias above measure, and pretended to know the secret business; but he said that he wished to report to you his own recent mission to the Peloponnesus and Acarnania. The sum of what he said was that all Peloponnesus could be counted on, and that he had brought all the Acarnanians into line against Philip; that the contributions of money were sufficient to provide for the manning of one hundred swift ships, and to employ ten thousand foot soldiers and a thousand cavalry;
97. ὁ δὲ σεμνῶς πάνυ παρελθών, τόν τε Καλλίαν ὑπερεπῄνει, τό τε ἀπόρρητον προσεποιήσατο εἰδέναι· τὴν δʼ ἐκ Πελοποννήσου πρεσβείαν ἣν ἐπρέσβευσε, καὶ τὴν ἐξ Ἀκαρνανίας ἔφη βούλεσθαι ὑμῖν ἀπαγγεῖλαι. ἦν δʼ αὐτῷ κεφάλαιον τῶν λόγων, πάντας μὲν Πελοποννησίους ἐπὶ Φίλιππον ὑφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, εἶναι δὲ τὸ σύνταγμα χρημάτων μὲν εἰς ἑκατὸν νεῶν ταχυναυτουσῶν πληρώματα καὶ εἰς πεζοὺς στρατιώτας μυρίους καὶ ἱππέας χιλίους, ὑπάρξειν δὲ πρὸς τούτοις καὶ τὰς πολιτικὰς δυνάμεις, ἐκ Πελοποννήσου μὲν πλέον ἢ δισχιλίους ὁπλίτας, ἐξ Ἀκαρνανίας δὲ ἑτέρους τοσούτους·
98. and that in addition to these forces the citizen troops would be ready, from the Peloponnesus more than two thousand hoplites, and as many more from Acarnania that the leadership of them all was given to you, and that all this was going to be done, not after a long interval, but by the 16th of Anthesterion; for he himself had given notice in the cities, and invited all the delegates to come to Athens by the time of the full moon to take part in a congress. For this is Demosthenes’ personal and peculiar way of doing things:
98. δεδόσθαι δὲ ἁπάντων τούτων τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ὑμῖν· πραχθήσεσθαι δὲ ταῦτα οὐκ εἰς μακράν, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὴν ἕκτην ἐπὶ δέκα τοῦ Ἀνθεστηριῶνος μηνός· εἰρῆσθαι γὰρ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ὑφʼ αὑτοῦ καὶ παρηγγέλθαι πάντας ἥκειν συνεδρεύσοντας Ἀθήναξε εἰς τὴν πανσέληνον. καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο ἅνθρωπος ἴδιον καὶ οὐ κοινὸν ποιεῖ.
99. other deceivers, when they are lying, try to speak in vague and ambiguous terms, afraid of being convicted; but Demosthenes, when he is cheating you, first adds an oath to his lie, calling down destruction on himself; and secondly, predicting an event that he knows will never happen, he dares to tell the date of it; and he tells the names of men, when he has never so much as seen their faces, deceiving your ears and imitating men who tell the truth. And this is, indeed, another reason why he richly deserves your hatred, that he is not only a scoundrel himself, but destroys your faith even in the signs and symbols of honesty.
99. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι ἀλαζόνες, ὅταν τι ψεύδωνται, ἀόριστα καὶ ἀσαφῆ πειρῶνται λέγειν, φοβούμενοι τὸν ἔλεγχον· Δημοσθένης δʼ ὅταν ἀλαζονεύηται, πρῶτον μὲν μεθʼ ὅρκου ψεύδεται, ἐξώλειαν ἐπαρώμενος ἑαυτῷ, δεύτερον δέ, ἃ εὖ οἶδεν οὐδέποτε ἐσόμενα, τολμᾷ λέγειν εἰς ὁπότʼ ἔσται, καὶ ὧν τὰ σώματα οὐχ ἑώρακε, τούτων τὰ ὀνόματα λέγει, κλέπτων τὴν ἀκρόασιν καὶ μιμούμενος τοὺς τἀληθῆ λέγοντας. διὸ καὶ σφόδρα ἄξιός ἐστι μισεῖσθαι, ὅτι πονηρὸς ὢν καὶ τὰ τῶν χρηστῶν σημεῖα διαφθείρει.
100. But now when he had said this, he gave the clerk a resolution to read, longer than the Iliad, but more empty than the speeches that he is accustomed to deliver and the life that he has lived. Empty did I say? Nay, full of hopes that were not to be realized and of armies that were never to be assembled. And leading you off out of sight of his fraud, and suspending you on hopes, at last he gathers all up in a motion that you choose ambassadors to go to Eretria and beg the Eretrians—of course it was necessary to beg!—no longer to pay their contribution of five talents to you, but to Callias; and further, that you choose other ambassadors to go to Oreus to beg the people of that city to make common cause with the Athenians.
100. ταῦτα δʼ εἰπὼν δίδωσιν ἀναγνῶναι ψήφισμα τῷ γραμματεῖ μακρότερον μὲν τῆς Ἰλιάδος, κενότερον δὲ τῶν λόγων οὓς εἴωθε λέγειν, καὶ τοῦ βίου ὃν βεβίωκε, μεστὸν δʼ ἐλπίδων οὐκ ἐσομένων καὶ στρατοπέδων οὐδέποτε συλλεγησομένων. ἀπαγαγὼν δʼ ὑμᾶς ἄπωθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ κλέμματος καὶ ἀνακρεμάσας ἀπὸ τῶν ἐλπίδων, ἐνταῦθʼ ἤδη συστρέψας γράφει, ἑλέσθαι πρέσβεις εἰς Ἐρέτριαν, οἵτινες δεήσονται τῶν Ἐρετριέων, πάνυ γὰρ ἔδει δεηθῆναι, μηκέτι διδόναι τὴν σύνταξιν ὑμῖν, τὰ πέντε τάλαντα, ἀλλὰ Καλλίᾳ, καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρους εἰς Ὠρεόν, οἵτινες δεήσονται τὸν αὐτὸν Ἀθηναίοις καὶ φίλον καὶ ἐχθρὸν νομίζειν.
101. Here again, in this resolution, you see how entirely absorbed he is in his thievery, for he also moves that your ambassadors ask the people of Oreus to give their five talents, not to you, but to Callias. But to prove that I am speaking the truth, read—leave out the grandiloquence and the triremes and the pretence, and come to the trick worked on us by the vile and wicked man, who, according to Ctesiphon’s motion which we are discussing, “constantly speaks and does what is best for the people of Athens.”
101. ἔπειτα ἀναφαίνεται παρʼ ἅπαντʼ ὢν ἐν τῷ ψηφίσματι πρὸς τῷ κλέμματι, γράψας καὶ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα τοὺς πρέσβεις ἀξιοῦν τοὺς Ὠρείτας μὴ ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ Καλλίᾳ διδόναι. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἀφελὼν τὸν κόμπον καὶ τὰς τριήρεις καὶ τὴν ἀλαζονείαν ἀνάγνωθι· τοῦ κλέμματος ἅψαι, ὃ ὑφείλετο ὁ μιαρὸς καὶ ἀνόσιος ἄνθρωπος, ὅν φησι Κτησιφῶν ἐν τῷδε τῷ ψηφίσματι διατελεῖν λέγοντα καὶ πράττοντα τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων.
102. Resolution So then the triremes and the land forces and the full moon and the congress were so much talk for your ears, but the contributions of the allies, those ten talents, were very real, and you lost them.
102. Ψήφισμα οὐκοῦν τὰς μὲν τριήρεις καὶ τὴν πεζὴν στρατιὰν καὶ τὴν πανσέληνον καὶ τοὺς συνέδρους λόγῳ ἠκούσατε, τὰς δὲ συντάξεις τῶν συμμάχων, τὰ δέκα τάλαντα, ἔργῳ ἀπωλέσατε.
103. It remains for me to say that Demosthenes was paid three talents for making this motion: a talent from Chalcis, paid over by Callias, a talent from Eretria, paid by the tyrant Cleitarchus, and a talent from Oreus. And it was this last by means of which he was found out; for the government of Oreus is a democracy, and everything is done there by popular vote. Now they, exhausted by the war and entirely without means, sent to him Gnosidemus, son of Charigenes, a man who had once been powerful in Oreus, to ask him to release the city from paying the talent, and to offer him a statue of bronze to be set up in Oreus.
103. ὑπόλοιπον δʼ εἰπεῖν ἐστί μοι, ὅτι λαβὼν τρία τάλαντα μισθὸν τὴν γνώμην ταύτην ἔγραψε Δημοσθένης, τάλαντον μὲν ἐκ Χαλκίδος παρὰ Καλλίου, τάλαντον δʼ ἐξ Ἐρετρίας παρὰ Κλειτάρχου τοῦ τυράννου, τάλαντον δὲ ἐξ Ὠρεοῦ, διʼ ὃ καὶ καταφανὴς ἐγένετο, δημοκρατουμένων τῶν Ὠρειτῶν καὶ πάντα πραττόντων μετὰ ψηφίσματος. ἐξανηλωμένοι γὰρ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ παντελῶς ἀπόρως διακείμενοι, πέμπουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν Γνωσίδημον τὸν Χαριγένους υἱὸν τοῦ δυναστεύσαντός ποτε ἐν Ὠρεῷ, δεησόμενον τὸ μὲν τάλαντον ἀφεῖναι τῇ πόλει, ἐπαγγελούμενον δʼ αὐτῷ χαλκῆν εἰκόνα σταθήσεσθαι ἐν Ὠρεῷ.
104. But he replied to Gnosidemus that the last thing that he was in need of was bronze, and he tried to collect the talent through Callias. Now the people of Oreus, pressed for payment and without means, mortgaged to him the public revenues as security for the talent, and paid Demosthenes interest on the fruit of his bribery at the rate of a drachma per month on the mina, until they paid off the principal.
104. ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο τῷ Γνωσιδήμῳ, ὅτι ἐλάχιστα χαλκοῦ δέοιτο, τὸ δὲ τάλαντον διὰ τοῦ Καλλίου εἰσέπραττεν. ἀναγκαζόμενοι δὲ οἱ Ὠρεῖται καὶ οὐκ εὐποροῦντες, ὑπέθεσαν αὐτῷ τοῦ ταλάντου τὰς δημοσίας προσόδους, καὶ τόκον ἤνεγκαν Δημοσθένει τοῦ δωροδοκήματος δραχμὴν τοῦ μηνὸς τῆς μνᾶς, ἕως τὸ κεφάλαιον ἀπέδοσαν.
105. This was done by vote of the people. To prove that what I am telling you is true, please take the decree of the people of Oreus. Decree This is the decree, fellow citizens, a disgrace to our city, no slight exposure of Demosthenes’ policies, and a clear accusation against Ctesiphon as well. For the man who so shamelessly received bribes cannot have been the good man that Ctesiphon has dared to set forth.
105. καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐπράχθη μετὰ ψηφίσματος τοῦ δήμου. ὅτι δὲ ἀληθῆ λέγω, λαβέ μοι τὸ ψήφισμα τῶν Ὠρειτῶν. Ψήφισμα τοῦτʼ ἐστὶ τὸ ψήφισμα, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, αἰσχύνη μὲν τῆς πόλεως, ἔλεγχος δὲ οὐ μικρὸς τῶν Δημοσθένους πολιτευμάτων, φανερὰ δὲ κατηγορία Κτησιφῶντος· τὸν γὰρ οὕτως αἰσχρῶς δωροδοκοῦντα οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνδρα γεγονέναι ἀγαθόν, ὃ τετόλμηκεν οὗτος γράψαι.