--- title: "Against Ctesiphon · Κατά Κτησιφώντος" author: "Aeschines" translator: "Charles Darwin Adams" languages: [grc, en] shelf: "Classical Greek" section: 5 of 5 url: https://scriptura.si/works/aeschines-against-ctesiphon/5/ cite: "Aeschines, tr. Charles Darwin Adams, Against Ctesiphon · Κατά Κτησιφώντος, section 5. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/aeschines-against-ctesiphon/5/" --- # Against Ctesiphon · Κατά Κτησιφώντος *Aeschines, tr. Charles Darwin Adams* Aeschines attacks the proposal to crown Demosthenes, the case answered by On the Crown. > Greek: ed. Charles Darwin Adams, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0026.tlg003, CC BY-SA 4.0). > English: Charles Darwin Adams, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0026.tlg003.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included. > Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence. ## 5. Sections 207–260 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/aeschines-against-ctesiphon/5/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/aeschines-against-ctesiphon/5/#p-N [¶0] 207. What, on the other hand, will surely be the result for you if you listen in the way that they propose, I ought now to forewarn you. For the defendant will call to his aid this juggler and cut-purse, a man who has torn the constitution to shreds. This man weeps more readily than other men laugh, and nothing is so easy for him as perjury. And I should not wonder if he should change his tactics and slander the listeners outside the bar, alleging that those whom truth herself has singled out and counted as oligarchs have come to the platform of the prosecution, but all the friends of the people to the platform of the defence. > Greek: 207. ἀλλʼ ἃ δὴ συμβήσεται ὑμῖν, ἐὰν τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον τὴν ἀκρόασιν ποιήσησθε, ταῦθʼ ὑμῖν ἤδη δίκαιός εἰμι προειπεῖν. ἐπεισάξει γὰρ τὸν γόητα καὶ βαλλαντιοτόμον καὶ διατετμηκότα τὴν πολιτείαν. οὗτος κλάει μὲν ῥᾷον ἢ οἱ ἄλλοι γελῶσιν, ἐπιορκεῖ δὲ πάντων προχειρότατα· οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσαιμι δέ, εἰ μεταβαλόμενος τοῖς ἔξωθεν περιεστηκόσι λοιδορήσεται, φάσκων τοὺς μὲν ὀλιγαρχικοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας διηριθμημένους ἥκειν πρὸς τὸ τοῦ κατηγόρου βῆμα, τοὺς δὲ δημοτικοὺς πρὸς τὸ τοῦ φεύγοντος. [¶1] 208. Now when he talks like that, in answer to such appeals to faction, make this suggestion to him: “Demosthenes, if the men of Phyle, who brought back the people from exile, had been like you, never had the democracy been reestablished. But as it was, they saved the city out of great disasters, and gave utterance to those words which are the fairest product of enlightened minds, ‘Forgive and forget.’ But as for you, you tear open old sores, and you care more for the words of the moment than for the safety of the state.” But when, perjurer that he is, he takes refuge in the confidence which you place in oaths, remind him of this, that when a man repeatedly perjures himself, and yet is continually demanding to be believed because of his oaths, one of two things ought to be true, either the gods ought to be new gods, or the hearers not the same. > Greek: 208. ὅταν δὴ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγῃ, πρὸς μὲν τοὺς στασιαστικοὺς λόγους ἐκεῖνο αὐτῷ ὑποβάλλετε· ὦ Δημόσθενες, εἰ ὅμοιοι ἦσαν σοὶ οἱ ἀπὸ Φυλῆς φεύγοντα τὸν δῆμον καταγαγόντες, οὐκ ἄν ποθʼ ἡ δημοκρατία κατέστη. νῦν δὲ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν μεγάλων κακῶν συμβάντων ἔσωσαν τὴν πόλιν τὸ κάλλιστον ἐκ παιδείας ῥῆμα φθεγξάμενοι, μὴ μνησικακεῖν· σὺ δὲ ἑλκοποιεῖς, καὶ μᾶλλόν σοι μέλει τῶν αὐθημερὸν λόγων, ἢ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς πόλεως. ὅταν δʼ ἐπίορκος ὢν εἰς τὴν τῶν ὅρκων πίστιν καταφυγγάνῃ, ἐκεῖνο ἀπομνημονεύσατε αὐτῷ, ὅτι τῷ πολλάκις μὲν ἐπιορκοῦντι, ἀεὶ δὲ μεθʼ ὅρκων ἀξιοῦντι πιστεύεσθαι, δυοῖν θάτερον ὑπάρξαι δεῖ, ἢ τοὺς θεοὺς καινούς, ἢ τοὺς ἀκροατὰς μὴ τοὺς αὐτούς. [¶2] 209. But in answer to his tears and the straining of his voice when he asks you, “Whither shall I flee, fellow citizens? You have compassed me about, I have not whither to take wings,” suggest to him, “But the Athenian people, Demosthenes, whither shall they flee? What allies have been made ready to receive them? What resources are prepared? What bulwark have you thrown up before the people by your policies? For we all see what provision you have made for yourself. You have left the upper city and the Peiraeus, as it seems, is not so much your home, as an anchorage for you, off the city’s coast. And you have provided as means for your cowardly flight, the King’s gold and the fruits of your political bribery.” > Greek: 209. περὶ δὲ τῶν δακρύων καὶ τοῦ τόνου τῆς φωνῆς, ὅταν ὑμᾶς ἐπερωτᾷ. ποῖ καταφύγω, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι; περιεγράψατέ με· οὐκ ἔστιν ὅποι ἀναπτήσομαι, ἀνθυποβάλλετε αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων ποῖ καταφύγῃ, Δημόσθενες; πρὸς ποίαν συμμάχων παρασκευήν; πρὸς ποῖα χρήματα; τί προβαλλόμενος ὑπὲρ τοῦ δήμου πεπολίτευσαι; ἃ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὲρ σεαυτοῦ βεβούλευσαι, πάντες ὁρῶμεν. ἐκλιπὼν μὲν τὸ ἄστυ οὐκ οἰκεῖς, ὡς δοκεῖς, ἐν Πειραιεῖ, ἀλλʼ ἐξορμεῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ἐφόδια δὲ πεπόρισαι τῇ σαυτοῦ ἀνανδρίᾳ τὸ βασιλικὸν χρυσίον καὶ τὰ δημόσια δωροδοκήματα. [¶3] 210. But, after all, why these tears? Why all this noise? Why this straining of the voice? Is it not Ctesiphon who is the defendant? Is not the suit one in which the penalty is for the jury to determine? Is it not true that you are pleading neither for your person nor for your citizenship nor for your property? But what is this anxiety of his about? About crowns of gold and proclamations in the theater—against the laws. > Greek: 210. ὅλως δὲ τί τὰ δάκρυα; τίς ἡ κραυγή; τίς ὁ τόνος τῆς φωνῆς; οὐχ ὁ μὲν τὴν γραφὴν φεύγων ἐστὶ Κτησιφῶν, ὁ δʼ ἀγὼν οὐκ ἀτίμητος, σὺ δʼ οὔτε περὶ τοῦ σώματος οὔτε περὶ τῆς ἐπιτιμίας οὔτε περὶ τῆς οὐσίας ἀγωνίζῃ; ἀλλὰ περὶ τίνος ἐστὶν αὐτῷ ἡ σπουδή; περὶ χρυσῶν στεφάνων καὶ κηρυγμάτων ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ παρὰ τοὺς νόμους· [¶4] 211. Nay, but if the people gone mad, or forgetful of the existing situation, had actually wished to crown him at a time so unfitting, he ought to have come before the assembly and said, “Fellow citizens, I accept the crown, but I do not approve the time at which the proclamation is to be made. For events which have caused our city to shear her head in mourning are no fitting occasion for my head to receive a crown.” This I think a man would say whose life had been one of genuine virtue. > Greek: 211. ὃν ἐχρῆν, εἰ μανεὶς ὁ δῆμος ἢ τῶν καθεστηκότων ἐπιλελησμένος, ἐπὶ τοιαύτης ἀκαιρίας ἐβούλετο στεφανοῦν αὐτόν, παρελθόντα εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εἰπεῖν· ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸν μὲν στέφανον δέχομαι, τὸν δὲ καιρὸν ἀποδοκιμάζω ἐν ᾧ τὸ κήρυγμα γίγνεται· οὐ γὰρ δεῖ, ἐφʼ οἷς ἡ πόλις ἐκείρατο, ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐμὲ στεφανοῦσθαι. ἀλλʼ οἶμαι ταῦτα μὲν ἂν εἴποι ἀνὴρ ὄντως βεβιωκὼς μετʼ ἀρετῆς· ἃ δὲ σὺ λέξεις, εἴποι ἂν κάθαρμα ζηλοτυποῦν ἀρετήν. [¶5] 212. But the words which you, Demosthenes, will speak, are the natural expression of a worthless scoundrel, with whom virtue is a pretence. One thing at any rate is sure, by Heracles; no one of you will feel any anxiety lest Demosthenes, a man high-spirited and distinguished in war, will, if he fails to receive the meed of valor, go back home and make away with himself—he who so despises honor in your eyes that on this pestilential and accountable head of his upon which Ctesiphon, in defiance of all the laws, proposes that you set a crown, he has inflicted a thousand gashes, and he has made money out of his wounds by bringing suit for malicious assault. And on one occasion he got such a smashing blow that I imagine he still carries the visible marks of Meidias’ knuckles. For it is not a head that the creature possesses, but an investment. > Greek: 212. οὐ γὰρ δὴ μὰ τὸν Ἡρακλέα τοῦτό γε ὑμῶν οὐδεὶς φοβήσεται, μὴ Δημοσθένης, ἀνὴρ μεγαλόψυχος καὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ διαφέρων, ἀποτυχὼν τῶν ἀριστείων ἐπανελθὼν οἴκαδε ἑαυτὸν διαχρήσηται· ὃς τοσοῦτον καταγελᾷ τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς φιλοτιμίας, ὥστε τὴν μιαρὰν κεφαλὴν ταύτην καὶ ὑπεύθυνον, ἣν οὗτος παρὰ πάντας τοὺς νόμους γέγραφε στεφανῶσαι, μυριάκις κατατέτμηκε καὶ τούτων μισθοὺς εἴληφε τραύματος ἐκ προνοίας γραφὰς γραφόμενος, καὶ κατακεκονδύλισται, ὥστε αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὰ τῶν κονδύλων ἴχνη τῶν Μειδίου ἔχειν ἔτι φανερά· ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος οὐ κεφαλήν, ἀλλὰ πρόσοδον κέκτηται. [¶6] 213. Now I wish to speak briefly about Ctesiphon, the author of the motion; and I will pass over the greater part of what might be said, for I should like to test your ability, even when no one cautions you, to discern those men who are utter rascals. I will speak only of what is common to the pair of them, and what I can honestly report to you concerning both. For the opinion that each of them has of the other is true, and the things that each, as he goes about the market-place, says of the other are no falsehoods. > Greek: 213. περὶ δὲ Κτησιφῶντος τοῦ γράψαντος τὴν γνώμην βραχέα βούλομαι εἰπεῖν, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ ὑπερβήσομαι, ἵνα καὶ πεῖραν λάβω, εἰ δύνασθε τοὺς σφόδρα πονηρούς, κἂν μή τις προείπῃ, διαγιγνώσκειν. ὃ δʼ ἐστὶ κοινὸν καὶ δίκαιον κατʼ ἀμφοτέρων αὐτῶν ἀπαγγεῖλαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, τοῦτʼ ἐρῶ. περιέρχονται γὰρ τὴν ἀγορὰν ἀληθεῖς κατʼ ἀλλήλων ἔχοντες δόξας καὶ λόγους οὐ ψευδεῖς λέγοντες. [¶7] 214. For Ctesiphon says he is not afraid so far as he himself is concerned, since he hopes it will appear that he is but a plain citizen, but that what he does fear is Demosthenes’ corruption in his conduct of affairs, and his instability and cowardice. And Demosthenes says that when he looks at his own case only, he is confident, but that he is exceedingly anxious in view of Ctesiphon’s wickedness and licentiousness! Well, when men have thus condemned one another, you, the common judges of both, must surely not acquit them of the crimes they charge. > Greek: 214. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Κτησιφῶν οὐ τὸ καθʼ ἑαυτόν φησι φοβεῖσθαι, ἐλπίζειν γὰρ δόξειν ἰδιώτης εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ Δημοσθένους ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ δωροδοκίαν καὶ τὴν ἐμπληξίαν καὶ δειλίαν· ὁ δὲ Δημοσθένης εἰς αὑτὸν μὲν ἀποβλέπων θαρρεῖν φησιν, τὴν δὲ τοῦ Κτησιφῶντος πονηρίαν καὶ πορνοβοσκίαν ἰσχυρῶς δεδιέναι. τοὺς δὴ κατεγνωκότας ἀλλήλων μηδαμῶς ὑμεῖς οἱ κοινοὶ κριταὶ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἀπολύσητε. [¶8] 215. I wish also to caution you in a few words as to the slanders which they will utter against me. For I learn that Demosthenes will say that the city has been greatly benefited by him, but damaged by me and he will bring up against me Philip and Alexander, and the charges connected with them. And he is, as it seems, such a master-craftsman of words that he is not content to bring charges against whatever part I have taken in your political action, or whatever speeches I have delivered, but he actually attacks the very quietness of my life, and makes my silence an accusation, in order that no topic may be left untouched by his slanders. And he censures my frequenting of the gymnasia with the younger men. And at the very beginning of his speech he demurs against this legal process, saying that I instituted the suit, not in behalf of the city, but as a manifesto to Alexander because he hates Demosthenes. > Greek: 215. περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰς ἐμαυτὸν λοιδοριῶν βραχέα βούλομαι προειπεῖν. πυνθάνομαι γὰρ λέξειν Δημοσθένην, ὡς ἡ πόλις ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μὲν ὠφέληται πολλά, ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ δὲ καταβέβλαπται, καὶ τὸν Φίλιππον καὶ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ τὰς ἀπὸ τούτων αἰτίας ἀνοίσειν ἐπʼ ἐμέ. οὕτω δʼ ἐστὶν ὡς ἔοικε δεινὸς δημιουργὸς λόγων, ὥστε οὐκ ἀποχρῇ αὐτῷ, εἴ τι πεπολίτευμαι παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐγώ, ἢ εἴ τινας δημηγορίας εἴρηκα, τούτων κατηγορεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν αὐτὴν τοῦ βίου διαβάλλει καὶ τῆς σιωπῆς μου κατηγορεῖ, ἵνα μηδεὶς αὐτῷ τόπος ἀσυκοφάντητος παραλείπηται, καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς γυμνασίοις μετὰ τῶν νεωτέρων μου διατριβὰς καταμέμφεται, καὶ κατὰ τῆσδε τῆς κρίσεως εὐθὺς ἀρχόμενος τοῦ λόγου φέρει τινὰ αἰτίαν, λέγων ὡς ἐγὼ τὴν γραφὴν οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ἐγραψάμην, ἀλλʼ ἐνδεικνύμενος Ἀλεξάνδρῳ διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχθραν. [¶9] 217. And, by Zeus, I understand that he proposes to ask me why I denounce his policy as a whole, but did not try to thwart it in detail, and did not prefer charges in the courts: and why I have brought suit at this late day without having steadily attacked his policy. But I have never in the past emulated the habits of Demosthenes, nor am I ashamed of my own, nor would I wish unsaid the words which I have spoken in your presence, nor would I care to live had my public speeches been like his. > Greek: 217. καὶ νὴ Δία, ὡς ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, μέλλει με ἀνερωτᾶν, διὰ τί τὸ μὲν κεφάλαιον αὐτοῦ τῆς πολιτείας ψέγω, τὰ δὲ καθʼ ἕκαστον οὐκ ἐκώλυον οὐδʼ ἐγραφόμην, ἀλλὰ διαλείπων καὶ πρὸς τὴν πολιτείαν οὐ πυκνὰ προσιὼν ἀπήνεγκα τὴν γραφήν. ἐγὼ δὲ οὔτε τὰς Δημοσθένους διατριβὰς ἐζήλωκα, οὔτʼ ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐμαυτοῦ αἰσχύνομαι, οὔτε τοὺς εἰρημένους ἐν ὑμῖν λόγους ἐμαυτῷ ἀρρήτους ἂν εἶναι βουλοίμην, οὔτε τὰ αὐτὰ τούτῳ δημηγορήσας δεξαίμην ἂν ζῆν. [¶10] 218. As to my silence, Demosthenes, it has been caused by the moderation of my life. For a little money suffices me, and I have no shameful lust for more. Both my silence and my speech are therefore the result of deliberation, not of the impulse of a spendthrift nature. But you, I think, are silent when you have gotten, and bawl aloud after you have spent; and you speak, not when your judgment approves, and not what you wish to speak, but whenever your pay-masters so order. And you are not ashamed of impostures in which you are instantly convicted of falsehood. > Greek: 218. τὴν δʼ ἐμὴν σιωπήν, ὦ Δημόσθενες, ἡ τοῦ βίου μετριότης παρεσκεύασεν· ἀρκεῖ γάρ μοι μικρά, καὶ μειζόνων αἰσχρῶς οὐκ ἐπιθυμῶ, ὥστε καὶ σιωπῶ καὶ λέγω βουλευσάμενος, οὐκ ἀναγκαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ φύσει δαπάνης. σὺ δʼ οἶμαι λαβὼν μὲν σιγᾷς, ἀναλώσας δὲ κέκραγας· λέγεις δὲ οὐχ ὅταν σοι δοκῇ, οὐδʼ ἃν βούλῃ, ἀλλʼ ὅταν οἱ μισθοδόται σοι προστάττωσιν· οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ δὲ ἀλαζονευόμενος, ἃ παραχρῆμα ἐξελέγχῃ ψευδόμενος. [¶11] 219. For my suit against this motion, which you say I instituted, not in the city’s behalf, but as a manifesto to Alexander, was instituted while Philip was still alive, before Alexander had come to the throne, before ever you had had that dream of yours about Pausanias, or ever had conversed with Athena and Hera in the night. How then could I have been already making a manifesto to Alexander? Unless, indeed, I and Demosthenes had the same dream! > Greek: 219. ἀπηνέχθη γὰρ ἡ κατὰ τοῦδε τοῦ ψηφίσματος γραφή, ἣν οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον ἐνδείξεώς με φῂς ἀπενεγκεῖν, ἔτι Φιλίππου ζῶντος, πρὶν Ἀλέξανδρον εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν καταστῆναι, οὔπω σοῦ τὸ περὶ Παυσανίαν ἐνύπνιον ἑωρακότος, οὐδὲ πρὸς τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ τὴν Ἥραν νύκτωρ διειλεγμένου. πῶς ἂν οὖν ἐγὼ προενεδεικνύμην Ἀλεξάνδρῳ; εἴ γε μὴ ταὐτὸν ἐνύπνιον ἐγὼ καὶ Δημοσθένης εἴδομεν. [¶12] 220. And you blame me if I come before the people, not constantly, but only at intervals. And you imagine that your bearers fail to detect you in thus making a demand which is no outgrowth of democracy, but borrowed from another form of government. For in oligarchies it is not he who wishes, but he who is in authority, that addresses the people; whereas in democracies he speaks who chooses, and whenever it seems to him good. And the fact that a man speaks only at intervals marks him as a man who takes part in politics because of the call of the hour, and for the common good; whereas to leave no day without its speech, is the mark of a man who is making a trade of it, and talking for pay. > Greek: 220. ἐπιτιμᾷς δέ μοι, εἰ μὴ συνεχῶς, ἀλλὰ διαλείπων, πρὸς τὸν δῆμον προσέρχομαι, καὶ τὴν ἀξίωσιν ταύτην οἴει λανθάνειν μεταφέρων οὐκ ἐκ δημοκρατίας, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἑτέρας πολιτείας. ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ὀλιγαρχίαις οὐχ ὁ βουλόμενος, ἀλλʼ ὁ δυναστεύων δημηγορεῖ, ἐν δὲ ταῖς δημοκρατίαις ὁ βουλόμενος, καὶ ὅταν αὐτῷ δοκῇ. καὶ τὸ μὲν διὰ χρόνου λέγειν σημεῖόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῶν καιρῶν καὶ τοῦ συμφέροντος ἀνδρὸς πολιτευομένου, τὸ δὲ μηδεμίαν παραλείπειν ἡμέραν ἐργαζομένου καὶ μισθαρνοῦντος. [¶13] 221. But as to your never having been brought to trial by me, and never having been punished for your crimes—when you take refuge in assertions like that, either you think that your bearers are forgetful, or you are deceiving yourself. Your impiety in the case of the Amphissians and your corruption in the Euboean affair, of which you were clearly convicted by me, perhaps you hope the people have forgotten in the lapse of time; > Greek: 221. ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ μήπω κεκρίσθαι ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ, μηδὲ τῶν ἀδικημάτων τιμωρίαν ὑποσχεῖν, ὅταν καταφεύγῃς ἐπὶ τοὺς τοιούτους λόγους, ἢ τοὺς ἀκούοντας ἐπιλήσμονας ὑπολαμβάνεις, ἢ σαυτὸν παραλογίζῃ. τὰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τοὺς Ἀμφισσέας ἠσεβημένα σοι καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν Εὔβοιαν δωροδοκηθέντα, ἐφʼ οἷς ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ φανερῶς ἐξηλέγχου, χρόνων ἐγγεγενημένων ἴσως ἐλπίζεις τὸν δῆμον ἀμνημονεῖν· [¶14] 222. but what length of time could conceal your acts of plunder in the case of the triremes and the trierarchs? For when you had carried constitutional amendments as to the Three Hundred, and had persuaded the Athenians to make you Commissioner of the Navy, you were convicted by me of having stolen away trierarchs from sixty-five swift ships, making away with a greater naval force of the city than that with which the Athenians once defeated Pollis and the Lacedaemonians at Naxos. > Greek: 222. τὰ δὲ περὶ τὰς τριήρεις καὶ τοὺς τριηράρχους ἁρπάγματα τίς ἂν ἀποκρύψαι χρόνος δύναιτʼ ἄν, ὅτε νομοθετήσας περὶ τῶν τριακοσίων, καὶ σαυτὸν πείσας Ἀθηναίους ἐπιστάτην τάξαι τοῦ ναυτικοῦ, ἐξηλέγχθης ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ ἑξήκοντα καὶ πέντε νεῶν ταχυναυτουσῶν τριηράρχους ὑφῃρημένος, πλέον τῆς πόλεως ἀφανίζων ναυτικὸν ἢ ᾧ ποτε Ἀθηναῖοι τὴν ἐν Νάξῳ ναυμαχίαν Λακεδαιμονίους καὶ Πόλλιν ἐνίκησαν; [¶15] 223. And by your recriminations you so blocked the punishment which was your due that the danger came, not upon you, the wrong-doer, but upon those who attempted to proceed against you; for in your charges you everlastingly brought forward Alexander and Philip, and complained that certain persons were fettering the opportunities of the city—you who always ruin the opportunity of to-day, and guarantee that of to-morrow. And when at last you were on the point of being impeached by me, did you not contrive the arrest of Anaxinus of Oreus, who was making purchases for Olympias? > Greek: 223. οὕτω δὲ ταῖς αἰτίαις ἐνέφραξας τὰς κατὰ σαυτοῦ τιμωρίας, ὥστε τὸν κίνδυνον εἶναι μὴ σοὶ τῷ ἀδικήσαντι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐπεξιοῦσι, πολὺν μὲν τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ τὸν Φίλιππον ἐν ταῖς διαβολαῖς φέρων, αἰτιώμενος δέ τινας ἐμποδίζειν τοὺς τῆς πόλεως καιρούς, ἀεὶ τὸ παρὸν λυμαινόμενος, τὸ δὲ μέλλον κατεπαγγελλόμενος. οὐ τὸ τελευταῖον εἰσαγγέλλεσθαι μέλλων ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ, τὴν Ἀναξίνου σύλληψιν τοῦ Ὠρείτου κατεσκεύασας, τοῦ τὰ ἀγοράσματα Ὀλυμπιάδι ἀγοράζοντος; [¶16] 224. And you twice put to the torture with your own hand and moved to punish with death the same man in whose house you had been entertained at Oreus. The man with whom at the same table you had eaten and drunken and poured libations, the man with whom you had clasped hands in token of friendship and hospitality, that man you put to death! When I convicted you of this in the presence of all Athens, and charged you with being the murderer of your host, you did not deny the impious crime, but gave an answer that called forth a cry of protest from the citizens and all the foreigners who were standing about the assembly. For you said that you held the city’s salt as of more importance than the table of your foreign host. > Greek: 224. καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἄνδρα δὶς στρεβλώσας τῇ σαυτοῦ χειρί, ἔγραψας αὐτὸν θανάτῳ ζημιῶσαι, καὶ παρὰ τῷ αὐτῷ ἐν Ὠρεῷ κατήγου, καὶ ᾧ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς τραπέζης ἔφαγες καὶ ἔπιες καὶ ἔσπεισας, καὶ τὴν δεξιὰν ἐνέβαλες ἄνδρα φίλον καὶ ξένον ποιούμενος, τοῦτον ἀπέκτεινας. καὶ περὶ τούτων ἐν ἅπασιν Ἀθηναίοις ἐξελεγχθεὶς ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ κληθεὶς ξενοκτόνος, οὐ τὸ ἀσέβημα ἠρνήσω, ἀλλʼ ἀπεκρίνω ἐφʼ ᾧ ἀνεβόησεν ὁ δῆμος καὶ ὅσοι ξένοι περιέστασαν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν· ἔφησθα γὰρ τοὺς τῆς πόλεως ἅλας περὶ πλείονος ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ξενικῆς τραπέζης. [¶17] 225. I say nothing of forged letters and the arrest of spies, and torture applied on groundless charges, on your assertion that I with certain persons was seeking a revolution. Furthermore, he intends, as I learn, to ask me what kind of a physician he would be who should give no advice to his patient in the course of his illness, but after his death should come to the funeral and tell over to the relatives by what course of treatment the man might have been cured. > Greek: 225. ἐπιστολὰς δὲ σιγῶ ψευδεῖς καὶ κατασκόπων συλλήψεις καὶ βασάνους ἐπʼ αἰτίαις ἀγενήτοις, ὡς ἐμοῦ μετά τινων νεωτερίζειν βουλομένου. ἔπειτα ἐπερωτᾶν με, ὡς ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι, μέλλει, τίς ἂν εἴη τοιοῦτος ἰατρός, ὅστις τῷ νοσοῦντι μεταξὺ μὲν ἀσθενοῦντι μηδὲν συμβουλεύοι, τελευτήσαντος δὲ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὰ ἔνατα διεξίοι πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους ἃ ἐπιτηδεύσας ὑγιὴς ἂν ἐγένετο. [¶18] 226. But, Demosthenes, you fail to ask yourself in turn what kind of a statesman he would be who, having the power to cajole the people, should sell the opportunities for saving the city, and by his calumnies prevent patriots from giving advice; and when he had run away from danger and had entangled the city in misfortunes from which there was no escape, should demand that he be crowned for his virtue, when he had done nothing that was good, but was himself responsible for all the disasters; and should then ask those who had been driven out of public life by his slanders in those critical days when there was still a chance of safety, why they had not prevented his wrong doing; > Greek: 226. σαυτὸν δʼ οὐκ ἀντερωτᾷς, τίς ἂν εἴη δημαγωγὸς τοιοῦτος, ὅστις τὸν μὲν δῆμον θωπεῦσαι δύναιτο, τοὺς δὲ καιροὺς ἐν οἷς ἦν σῴζεσθαι τὴν πόλιν, ἀποδοῖτο, τοὺς δʼ εὖ φρονοῦντας κωλύοι διαβάλλων συμβουλεύειν, ἀποδρὰς δʼ ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀνηκέστοις συμφοραῖς περιβαλὼν ἀξιοίη στεφανοῦσθαι ἐπʼ ἀρετῇ, ἀγαθὸν μὲν πεποιηκὼς μηδέν, πάντων δὲ τῶν κακῶν αἴτιος γεγονώς, ἐπερωτῴη δὲ τοὺς συκοφαντηθέντας ἐκ τῆς πολιτείας ἐπʼ ἐκείνων τῶν καιρῶν ὅτʼ ἐνῆν σῴζεσθαι, διὰ τί αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐκώλυσαν ἐξαμαρτάνειν, ἀποκρύπτοιτο δὲ τὸ πάντων τελευταῖον, ὅτι τῆς μάχης ἐπιγενομένης οὐκ ἐσχολάζομεν περὶ τὴν σὴν εἶναι τιμωρίαν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς πόλεως ἐπρεσβεύομεν. [¶19] 227. and should conceal the final fact of all, that after the battle we had no time to attend to punishing you, but were engrossed in negotiations for the safety of the city. But when, not content with having escaped punishment, you were actually calling for rewards, making the city an object of ridicule in the eyes of all Hellas, then I interposed and brought my indictment. > Greek: 227. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ ἀπέχρη σοι δίκην μὴ δεδωκέναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ δωρεὰς ᾔτεις, καταγέλαστον ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησι τὴν πόλιν ποιῶν, ἐνταῦθʼ ἐνέστην καὶ τὴν γραφὴν ἀπήνεγκα. [¶20] 228. And, by the Olympian gods, of all the things which I understand Demosthenes is going to say, I am most indignant at what I am now about to tell you. For he likens me in natural endowment to the Sirens, saying that it was not charm that the Sirens brought to those who listened to them, but destruction, and that therefore the Siren-song has no good repute; and that in like manner the smooth flow of my speech and my natural ability have proved the ruin of those who have listened to me. And yet I think no man in the world is justified in making such a statement about me. It is a shame to accuse a man and not to be able to show the ground for the accusation. > Greek: 228. καὶ νὴ τοὺς θεοὺς Ὀλυμπίους, ὧν ἐγὼ πυνθάνομαι Δημοσθένην λέξειν, ἐφʼ ᾧ νυνὶ μέλλω λέγειν ἀγανακτῶ μάλιστα. ἀφομοιοῖ γὰρ μου τὴν φύσιν ταῖς Σειρῆσιν. καὶ γὰρ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων οὐ κηλεῖσθαί φησι τοὺς ἀκροωμένους, ἀλλʼ ἀπόλλυσθαι, διόπερ οὐδʼ εὐδοκιμεῖν τὴν τῶν Σειρήνων μουσικήν· καὶ δὴ καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐμῶν εὔροιαν λόγων καὶ τὴν φύσιν μου γεγενῆσθαι ἐπὶ βλάβῃ τῶν ἀκουόντων. καίτοι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον ὅλως μὲν ἔγωγε οὐδενὶ πρέπειν ἡγοῦμαι περὶ ἐμοῦ λέγειν· τῆς γὰρ αἰτίας αἰσχρὸν τὸν αἰτιώμενόν ἐστι τὸ ἔργον μὴ ἔχειν ἐπιδεῖξαι· [¶21] 229. But if the charge really had to be made, it was not for Demosthenes to make it, but for some general who, although he had rendered distinguished services to the state, was not gifted with the power of speech, and for that reason was envious of the natural endowments of his opponents in court, because he knew that he had not the ability to describe one of all the things he had accomplished, but saw in his accuser a man able to set forth to the hearers in all detail how he had himself administered things which had not been done by him at all. But when a man who is made up of words, and those words bitter words and useless—when such a man takes refuge in “simplicity” and “the facts,” who could have patience with him? If you treat him as you might a clarinet, and take out his tongue, you have nothing left! > Greek: 229. εἰ δʼ ἦν ἀναγκαῖον ῥηθῆναι, οὐ Δημοσθένους ἦν ὁ λόγος, ἀλλʼ ἀνδρὸς στρατηγοῦ μεγάλα μὲν τὴν πόλιν ἀγάθʼ εἰργασμένου, λέγειν δὲ ἀδυνάτου καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀντιδίκων διὰ τοῦτο ἐζηλωκότος φύσιν, ὅτι σύνοιδεν ἑαυτῷ μὲν οὐδὲν ὧν διαπέπρακται δυναμένῳ φράσαι, τὸν δὲ κατήγορον ὁρᾷ δυνάμενον καὶ τὰ μὴ πεπραγμένα ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ παριστάναι τοῖς ἀκούουσιν ὡς διῴκησεν. ὅταν δʼ ἐξ ὀνομάτων συγκείμενος ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τούτων πικρῶν καὶ περιέργων, ἔπειτα ἐπὶ τὴν ἁπλότητα καὶ τὰ ἔργα καταφεύγῃ, τίς ἂν ἀνάσχοιτο; οὗ τὴν γλῶτταν ὥσπερ τῶν αὐλῶν ἐάν τις ἀφέλῃ, τὸ λοιπὸν οὐδέν ἐστιν. [¶22] 230. But for my part I am surprised at you, fellow citizens, and I ask under what possible consideration you could refuse to sustain this indictment. On the ground that Ctesiphon’s motion is lawful? Never was a more unlawful motion made. On the ground that he who moved the decree is not the sort of man to be punished? You give up the possibility of calling any man to account for his manner of life, if you let this man go. And is it not vexatious that whereas in former times the orchestra was piled with golden crowns with which the state was honored by the Hellenes, today in consequence of the policies of Demosthenes you the people go uncrowned and unproclaimed, but he is to be honored by the voice of the herald? > Greek: 230. θαυμάζω δʼ ἔγωγε ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ζητῶ, πρὸς τί ἂν ἀποβλέψαντες ἀποψηφίσαισθε τὴν γραφήν. πότερον ὡς τὸ ψήφισμά ἐστιν ἔννομον; ἀλλʼ οὐδεμία πώποτε γνώμη παρανομωτέρα γεγένηται. ἀλλʼ ὡς ὁ τὸ ψήφισμα γράψας οὐκ ἐπιτήδειός ἐστι δίκην δοῦναι; οὐκ ἄρʼ εἰσὶ παρʼ ὑμῖν εὔθυναι βίου, εἰ τοῦτον ἀφήσετε. ἐκεῖνο δʼ οὐ λυπηρόν, εἰ πρότερον μὲν ἐνεπίμπλατο ἡ ὀρχήστρα χρυσῶν στεφάνων, οἷς ὁ δῆμος ἐστεφανοῦτο ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἐκ δὲ τῶν Δημοσθένους πολιτευμάτων ὑμεῖς μὲν ἀστεφάνωτοι καὶ ἀκήρυκτοι γίγνεσθε, οὗτος δὲ κηρυχθήσεται; [¶23] 231. If any one of the tragic poets who are to bring on their plays after the crowning should in a tragedy represent Thersites as crowned by the Greeks, no one of you would tolerate it, for Homer says he was a coward and a slanderer; but when you yourselves crown such a man as this, think you not that you would be hissed by the voice of Hellas? Your fathers were wont to attribute to the people such deeds as were glorious and brilliant, but mean and unworthy acts they threw upon the incompetent politicians. But Ctesiphon thinks that you ought to take off from Demosthenes his ill-fame, and crown the people with it. > Greek: 231. καὶ εἰ μέν τις τῶν τραγικῶν ποιητῶν τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπεισαγόντων ποιήσειεν ἐν τραγῳδίᾳ τὸν Θερσίτην ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων στεφανούμενον, οὐδεὶς ἂν ὑμῶν ὑπομείνειεν, ὅτι φησὶν Ὅμηρος ἄνανδρον αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ συκοφάντην· αὐτοὶ δʼ ὅταν τὸν τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον στεφανῶτε, οὐκ ἂν οἴεσθε ἐν ταῖς τῶν Ἑλλήνων δόξαις συρίττεσθαι; οἱ μὲν γὰρ πατέρες ὑμῶν τὰ μὲν ἔνδοξα καὶ λαμπρὰ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀνετίθεσαν τῷ δήμῷ τὰ δὲ ταπεινὰ καὶ καταδεέστερα εἰς τοὺς ῥήτορας τοὺς φαύλους ἔτρεπον· Κτησιφῶν δʼ ὑμᾶς οἴεται δεῖν ἀφελόντας τὴν ἀδοξίαν ἀπὸ Δημοσθένους περιθεῖναι τῷ δήμῳ. [¶24] 232. And while you assert that you are favorites of fortune—as indeed you are, thank heaven—will you declare by public resolution that you have been abandoned by fortune, but blessed by Demosthenes? And—strangest of all—in the same court-rooms do you disfranchise those who are convicted of receiving bribes, and then yourselves propose to crown a man who, to your own knowledge, has always been in politics for pay? If the judges at the Dionysiac festival are not honest in their award of the prize to the cyclic choruses, you punish them; but do you yourselves, who are sitting as judges, not of cyclic choruses, but of the laws and of integrity in public life, do you propose to bestow your rewards, not according to the laws, and not upon the rare and deserving, but upon the successful intriguer? > Greek: 232. καὶ φατὲ μὲν εὐτυχεῖς εἶναι, ὡς καὶ ἐστὲ καλῶς ποιοῦντες, ψηφιεῖσθε δʼ ὑπὸ μὲν τῆς τύχης ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι, ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους δὲ εὖ πεπονθέναι; καὶ τὸ πάντων ἀτοπώτατον, ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς δικαστηρίοις τοὺς μὲν τὰς τῶν δώρων γραφὰς ἁλισκομένους ἀτιμοῦτε, ὃν δʼ αὐτοὶ μισθοῦ πολιτευόμενον σύνιστε, στεφανώσετε; καὶ τοὺς μὲν κριτὰς τοὺς ἐκ τῶν Διονυσίων, ἐὰν μὴ δικαίως τοὺς κυκλίους χοροὺς κρίνωσι, ζημιοῦτε· αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐ κυκλίων χορῶν κριταὶ καθεστηκότες, ἀλλὰ νόμων καὶ πολιτικῆς ἀρετῆς, τὰς δωρεὰς οὐ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους οὐδʼ ὀλίγοις καὶ τοῖς ἀξίοις, ἀλλὰ τῷ διαπραξαμένῳ δώσετε; [¶25] 233. Furthermore, a juror who so acts will go out from the court-room responsible for having made himself weak and the politician strong. For in a democracy the private citizen is a king by virtue of the constitution and his own vote; but when he hands these over to another man, he has by his own act dethroned himself. Still further, the oath that he has sworn before taking his seat haunts him and troubles him, for it was his oath, I think, that made his act a sin; and his service is unknown to the man whom he was trying to please, for the vote is cast in secret. > Greek: 233. ἔπειτʼ ἔξεισιν ἐκ τοῦ δικαστηρίου ὁ τοιοῦτος κριτὴς ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἀσθενῆ πεποιηκώς, ἰσχυρὸν δὲ τὸν ῥήτορα. ἀνὴρ γὰρ ἰδιώτης ἐν πόλει δημοκρατουμένῃ νόμῳ καὶ ψήφῳ βασιλεύει· ὅταν δʼ ἑτέρῳ ταῦτα παραδῷ, καταλέλυκε τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ δυναστείαν. ἔπειθʼ ὁ μὲν ὅρκος ὃν ὀμωμοκὼς δικάζει, συμπαρακολουθῶν αὐτὸν λυπεῖ· διʼ αὐτὸν γὰρ οἶμαι γέγονε τὸ ἁμάρτημα· ἡ δὲ χάρις πρὸς ὃν ἐχαρίζετο ἄδηλος γεγένηται· ἡ γὰρ ψῆφος ἀφανὴς φέρεται. [¶26] 234. But it seems to me, fellow citizens, that the political situation, while fortunate, is also perilous; for we are not wise. The fact that at the present time you, the people, give over the mainstays of the democracy to the few is to be deplored; but the fact that there has not sprung up to our hurt a crop of politicians both corrupt and daring is a gift of fortune. For in former times the state did bring forth such characters, and they made short work of putting down the democracy. For the people loved to be flattered, and in consequence were overthrown, not by the men whom they feared, but by those in whose hands they had placed themselves. > Greek: 234. δοκοῦμεν δʼ ἔμοιγε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀμφότερα καὶ κατορθοῦν καὶ παρακινδυνεύειν εἰς τὴν πολιτείαν, οὐ σωφρονοῦντες. ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν νυνὶ καιρῶν οἱ πολλοὶ τοῖς ὀλίγοις προΐεσθε τὰ τῆς δημοκρατίας ἰσχυρά, οὐκ ἐπαινῶ· ὅτι δʼ οὐ γεγένηται φορὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ῥητόρων πονηρῶν ἅμα καὶ τολμηρῶν, εὐτυχοῦμεν. πρότερον μὲν γὰρ τοιαύτας φύσεις ἤνεγκε τὸ δημόσιον, αἳ ῥᾳδίως οὕτω κατέλυσαν τὸν δῆμον· ἔχαιρε γὰρ κολακευόμενος, ἔπειτʼ αὐτὸν οὐχ οὓς ἐφοβεῖτο, ἀλλʼ οἷς ἑαυτὸν ἐνεχείριζε, κατέλυσαν· [¶27] 235. And some of them actually joined the Thirty, who killed more than fifteen hundred of the citizens without trial, before they had even heard the charges on which they were to be put to death, and who would not even allow the relatives to be present at the burial of the dead. Will you not hold the politicians under your control? Will you not humble and dismiss those who are now exultant? Will you not bear in mind that in the past no one has ever attempted the overthrow of the democracy until he has made himself stronger than the courts? > Greek: 235. ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ τῶν τριάκοντα ἐγένοντο, οἳ πλείους ἢ χιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους τῶν πολιτῶν ἀκρίτους ἀπέκτειναν, πρὶν καὶ τὰς αἰτίας ἀκοῦσαι ἐφʼ αἷς ἔμελλον ἀποθνῄσκειν, καὶ οὐδʼ ἐπὶ τὰς ἐκφορὰς τῶν τελευτησάντων εἴων τοὺς προσήκοντας παραγενέσθαι. οὐχ ὑφʼ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς ἕξετε τοὺς πολιτευομένους; οὐ ταπεινώσαντες ἀποπέμψετε τοὺς νῦν ἐπηρμένους; οὐ μεμνήσεσθʼ ὅτι οὐδεὶς πώποτε ἐπέθετο πρότερον δήμου καταλύσει πρὶν ἂν μεῖζον τῶν δικαστηρίων ἰσχύσῃ; [¶28] 236. But I would like to reckon up in your presence, fellow citizens, with the author of this motion, the benefactions for which he calls on you to crown Demosthenes. For if, Ctesiphon, you propose to cite that which you made the beginning of your motion, that he did good work in excavating the trenches around the walls, I am astonished at you. For to have been responsible for the necessity of doing the work at all involves an accusation greater than is the credit for having done it well. Indeed, it is not for surrounding the walls with palisades, and not for tearing down the public tombs that the statesman of clean record ought to ask reward, but for having been responsible for some good to the city. > Greek: 236. ἡδέως δʼ ἂν ἔγωγε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐναντίον ὑμῶν ἀναλογισαίμην πρὸς τὸν γράψαντα τὸ ψήφισμα, διὰ ποίας εὐεργεσίας ἀξιοῖ Δημοσθένην στεφανῶσαι. εἰ μὲν γὰρ λέξεις, ὅθεν τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ ψηφίσματος ἐποιήσω, ὅτι τὰς τάφους τὰς περὶ τὰ τείχη καλῶς ἐτάφρευσε, θαυμάζω σου. τοῦ γὰρ ταῦτʼ ἐξεργασθῆναι καλῶς τὸ γεγενῆσθαι τούτων ἄτιον μείζω κατηγορίαν ἔχει· οὐ γὰρ περιχαρακώσαντα χρὴ τὰ τείχη, οὐδὲ τάφους δημοσίους ἀνελόντα τὸν ὀρθῶς πεπολιτευμένον δωρεὰς αἰτεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἀγαθοῦ τινος αἴτιον γεγενημένον τῇ πόλει. [¶29] 237. But if you turn to the second part of your decree, in which you have had the effrontery to write that he is a good man, and “constantly speaks and does what is best for the Athenian people,” omit the pretence and the bombast of your decree, and take hold of the facts, and show us what you mean. I pass by his corruption in the case of the Amphissians and Euboeans; but when you give Demosthenes the credit for the alliance with Thebes, you deceive the ignorant and insult the sensible and well informed. For in failing to mention the crisis and the prestige of these your fellow citizens, which were the real reasons why the alliance was made, you think you prevent our seeing that you are crowning Demosthenes with the credit which belongs to the city. > Greek: 237. εἰ δὲ ἥξεις ἐπὶ τὸ δεύτερον μέρος τοῦ ψηφίσματος, ἐν ᾧ τετόλμηκας γράφειν ὡς ἔστιν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός, καὶ διατελεῖ λέγων καὶ πράττων τὰ ἄριστα τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων, ἀφελὼν τὴν ἀλαζονείαν καὶ τὸν κόμπον τοῦ ψηφίσματος ἅψαι τῶν ἔργων, ἐπίδειξον ἡμῖν ὅ τι λέγεις. τὰς μὲν γὰρ περὶ τοὺς Ἀμφισσέας καὶ τοὺς Εὐβοέας δωροδοκίας παραλείπω· ὅταν δὲ τῆς πρὸς Θηβαίους συμμαχίας τὰς αἰτίας ἀνατιθῇς Δημοσθένει, τοὺς μὲν ἀγνοοῦντας ἐξαπατᾷς, τοὺς δʼ εἰδότας καὶ αἰσθανομένους ὑβρίζεις. ἀφελὼν γὰρ τὸν καιρὸν καὶ τὴν δόξαν τὴν τούτων, διʼ ἣν ἐγένετο ἡ συμμαχία, λανθάνειν οἴει ἡμᾶς τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἀξίωμα Δημοσθένει περιτιθείς. [¶30] 238. How great is this imposture, I will try to show you by a signal proof. Not long before Alexander crossed over into Asia, the king of the Persians sent to our people a most insolent and barbarous letter, in which everything was expressed in the most ill-mannered terms; and at the close he wrote, “I will not give you gold; stop asking me for it; you will not get it.” > Greek: 238. ἡλίκον δʼ ἐστὶ τὸ ἀλαζόνευμα τοῦτο, ἐγὼ πειράσομαι μεγάλῳ σημείῳ διδάξαι. ὁ γὰρ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ πρὸ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου διαβάσεως εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν κατέπεμψε τῷ δήμῳ καὶ μάλα ὑβριστικὴν καὶ βάρβαρον ἐπιστολήν, ἐν ᾗ τά τε δὴ ἄλλα καὶ μάλʼ ἀπαιδεύτως διελέχθη, καὶ ἐπὶ τελευτῆς ἐνέγραψεν, ἐγώ, φησίν, ὑμῖν χρυσίον οὐ δώσω· μή με αἰτεῖτε· οὐ γὰρ λήψεσθε. [¶31] 239. But this same man, overtaken by the dangers which are now upon him, sent, not at the request of the Athenians, but of his own accord, three hundred talents to the people, which they were wise enough to refuse. Now what brought the gold was the crisis, and his fear, and his need of allies. And this same thing it was that brought about the alliance with Thebes. But you, Demosthenes, tire us out with your everlasting talk of Thebes and of that most ill-starred alliance, while you are silent as to the seventy talents of the king’s gold which you have seized and embezzled. > Greek: 239. οὗτος μέντοι ὁ αὐτὸς ἐγκαταληφθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν νυνὶ παρόντων αὐτῷ κινδύνων, οὐκ αἰτούντων Ἀθηναίων, αὐτὸς ἑκὼν κατέπεμψε τριακόσια τάλαντα τῷ δήμῳ, ἃ σωφρονῶν οὐκ ἐδέξατο. ὁ δὲ κομίζων ἦν τὸ χρυσίον καιρὸς καὶ φόβος καὶ χρεία συμμάχων. τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν Θηβαίων συμμαχίαν ἐξηργάσατο. σὺ δὲ τὸ μὲν τῶν Θηβαίων ὄνομα καὶ τὸ τῆς δυστυχεστάτης συμμαχίας ἐνοχλεῖς ἀεὶ λέγων, τὰ δʼ ἑβδομήκοντα τάλαντα ὑποσιωπᾷς, ἃ προλαβὼν τοῦ βασιλικοῦ χρυσίου ἀπεστέρηκας. [¶32] 240. Was it not for lack of money, nay, for lack of five talents, that the mercenaries failed to deliver up the citadel to the Thebans? And when all the Arcadians were mobilized and their leaders were ready to bring aid, did not the negotiations fail for want of nine talents of silver? But you are a rich man, you serve as choregus —to your own lusts. In a word, the king’s gold stays with Demosthenes, the dangers, fellow citizens, with you. > Greek: 240. οὐ διʼ ἔνδειαν χρημάτων ἕνεκα μὲν πέντε ταλάντων οἱ ξένοι Θηβαίοις τὴν ἄκραν οὐ παρέδοσαν; διὰ ἐννέα δὲ τάλαντα ἀργυρίου πάντων Ἀρκάδων ἐξεληλυθότων καὶ τῶν ἡγεμόνων ἑτοίμων ὄντων βοηθεῖν, ἡ πρᾶξις οὐ γεγένηται; σὺ δὲ πλουτεῖς καὶ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ταῖς σαυτοῦ χορηγεῖς. καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον, τὸ μὲν βασιλικὸν χρυσίον παρὰ τούτῳ, οἱ δὲ κίνδυνοι παρʼ ὑμῖν. [¶33] 241. But we may well consider their lack of good breeding also. For if Ctesiphon shall have the effrontery to call Demosthenes to the platform to speak to you, and he to come forward and praise himself, that will be even harder for you to hear than his deeds were to bear. We refuse to listen even to honest men when they speak their own praises, though we know full well how many noble deeds they have done; who, then, could endure to listen when a man who has made himself a disgrace to the city lauds himself? > Greek: 241. ἄξιον δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ τὴν ἀπαιδευσίαν αὐτῶν θεωρῆσαι. εἰ γὰρ τολμήσει Κτησιφῶν μὲν Δημοσθένην παρακαλεῖν λέξοντα εἰς ὑμᾶς, οὗτος δʼ ἀναβὰς ἑαυτὸν ἐγκωμιάζειν, βαρύτερον τῶν ἔργων ὧν πεπόνθαμεν τὸ ἀκρόαμα γίγνεται. ὅπου γὰρ τοὺς ὄντως ἄνδρας ἀγαθούς, οἷς πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ σύνισμεν ἔργα, τοὺς καθʼ ἑαυτῶν ἐπαίνους ἐὰν λέγωσιν, οὐ φέρομεν, ὅταν ἄνθρωπος αἰσχύνη τῆς πόλεως γεγονὼς ἑαυτὸν ἐγκωμιάζῃ, τίς ἂν τὰ τοιαῦτα καρτερήσειεν ἀκούων; [¶34] 242. From such shameless business as that, Ctesiphon, you will therefore withdraw, if you are wise, and make your defence in your own person. For surely you will not put forth this excuse, that you have not the ability to speak. It was only the other day that you allowed yourself to be elected as envoy to Cleopatra, the daughter of Philip, to condole with her over the death of Alexander, king of the Molossians; you would then be in a strange position today, if you should say that you have not the ability to speak. Have you, then, the ability to console a foreign woman in her grief, but when you have made a motion for pay, will you not speak in defence of it? > Greek: 242. ἀπὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἀναισχύντου πραγματείας, ἐὰν σωφρονῇς, ἀποστήσῃ, ποιήσῃ δέ, ὦ Κτησιφῶν, διὰ σαυτοῦ τὴν ἀπολογίαν. οὐ γὰρ δή που τοῦτό γε σκήψῃ, ὡς οὐ δυνατὸς εἶ λέγειν. καὶ γὰρ ἂν ἄτοπόν σοι συμβαίνοι, εἰ πρώην μέν ποθʼ ὑπέμεινας πρεσβευτὴς ὡς Κλεοπάτραν τὴν Φιλίππου θυγατέρα χειροτονεῖσθαι, συναχθεσθησόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Μολοττῶν βασιλέως Ἀλεξάνδρου τελευτῇ, νυνὶ δὲ οὐ φήσεις δύνασθαι λέγειν. ἔπειτα γυναῖκα μὲν ἀλλοτρίαν πενθοῦσαν δύνασαι παραμυθεῖσθαι, γράψας δὲ μισθοῦ ψήφισμα οὐκ ἀπολογήσῃ; [¶35] 243. Or is the man whom you have moved to crown so obscure a man as not to be known by those whom he has served, unless some one shall help you to describe him? Pray ask the jury whether they knew Chabrias and Iphicrates and Timotheus, and inquire why they gave them those rewards and set up their statues. All will answer with one voice, that they honored Chabrias for the battle of Naxos, and Iphicrates because he destroyed a regiment of the Lacedaemonians, and Timotheus because of his voyage to Corcyra, and other men, each because of many a glorious deed in war. > Greek: 243. ἢ τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὃν γέγραφας στεφανοῦσθαι, οἷος μὴ γιγνώσκεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν εὖ πεπονθότων, ἂν μή τις συνείπῃ; ἐπερώτησον δὴ τοὺς δικαστάς, εἰ ἐγίγνωσκον Χαβρίαν καὶ Ἰφικράτην καὶ Τιμόθεον, καὶ πυθοῦ παρʼ αὐτῶν, διὰ τί τὰς δωρεὰς αὐτοῖς ἔδοσαν καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας ἔστησαν. ἅπαντες γὰρ ἅμα ἀποκρινοῦνται, ὅτι Χαβρία μὲν διὰ τὴν περὶ Νάξον ναυμαχίαν, Ἰφικράτει δὲ ὅτι μόραν Λακεδαιμονίων ἀπέκτεινε, Τιμοθέῳ δὲ διὰ τὸν περίπλουν τὸν εἰς Κέρκυραν, καὶ ἄλλοις, ὧν ἑκάστῳ πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ κατὰ πόλεμον ἔργα πέπρακται. [¶36] 244. But ask them why Demosthenes is to be honored. Because he is a taker of bribes? Because he is a coward? Because he deserted his post? And will you in reality be honoring him, or leaving unavenged yourselves and those who died for you in the battle? In imagination see them expostulating against the crowning of this man. When sticks and stones and iron, voiceless and senseless things, fall on any one and kill him, we cast them beyond the borders, and when a man kills himself, the hand that did the deed is buried apart from the body; > Greek: 244. Δημοσθένει δʼ ἀντεροῦ διὰ τί. ὅτι δωροδόκος, ὅτι δειλός, ὅτι τὴν τάξιν ἔλιπε; καὶ πότερον τοῦτον τιμήσετε, ἢ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀτιμωρήτους ἐάσετε καὶ τοὺς ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ τελευτήσαντας; οὓς νομίσαθʼ ὁρᾶν σχετλιάζοντας, εἰ οὗτος στεφανωθήσεται. καὶ γὰρ ἂν εἴη δεινόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἰ τὰ μὲν ξύλα καὶ τοὺς λίθους καὶ τὸν σίδηρον, τὰ ἄφωνα καὶ τὰ ἀγνώμονα, ἐάν τῳ ἐμπεσόντα ἀποκτείνῃ, ὑπερορίζομεν, καὶ ἐάν τις αὑτὸν διαχρήσηται, τὴν χεῖρα τὴν τοῦτο πράξασαν χωρὶς τοῦ σώματος θάπτομεν, Δημοσθένην δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὸν γράψαντα μὲν τὴν πανυστάτην ἔξοδον, προδόν, προδόντα δὲ τοὺς στρατιώτας, τοῦτον ὑμεῖς τιμήσετε. [¶37] 245. how outrageous, then, fellow citizens, if Demosthenes, who made the motion for that final campaign, and then betrayed the soldiers, is to receive honor from you! So are the dead insulted, and the living are disheartened, when they see that death is the prize of valor, while the memory of it fades away. And, most important of all, the younger men inquire of you after what example they ought to shape their lives. > Greek: 245. οὐκοῦν ὑβρίζονται μὲν οἱ τελευτήσαντες, ἀθυμότεροι δὲ οἱ ζῶντες γίγνονται, ὁρῶντες τῆς ἀρετῆς ἆθλον μὲν τὸν θάνατον κείμενον, τὴν δὲ μνήμην ἐπιλείπουσαν· καὶ τὸ μέγιστον, ἐπερωτῶσιν ὑμᾶς οἱ νεώτεροι, πρὸς ὁποῖον χρὴ παράδειγμα αὐτοὺς τὸν βίον ποιεῖσθαι. [¶38] 246. For be assured, fellow citizens, it is not our wrestling halls or the schools or our system of liberal studies alone that educate the young, but far more our public proclamations. It is proclaimed in the theater that one is crowned for virtue and nobility and patriotism, a man whose life is shameful and loathsome; a younger man, at sight of that, is corrupted. A man has been punished who is a rascal and libertine—like Ctesiphon; the rest have received instruction. A juror who has cast his vote against honor and justice goes home and proceeds to instruct his son; the boy refuses to obey, and with good reason, and he is surely justified thenceforth in calling exhortation vexation. > Greek: 246. εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι οὐχ αἱ παλαῖστραι οὐδὲ τὰ διδασκαλεῖα οὐδʼ ἡ μουσικὴ μόνον παιδεύει τοὺς νέους, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον τὰ δημόσια κηρύγματα. κηρύττεταί τις ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ, ὅτι στεφανοῦται ἀρετῆς ἕνεκα καὶ ἀνδραγαθίας καὶ εὐνοίας, ἄνθρωπος ἀσχημονῶν τῷ βίῳ καὶ βδελυρός· ὁ δέ γε νεώτερος ταῦτʼ ἰδὼν διεφθάρη. δίκην τις δέδωκε πονηρὸς καὶ πορνοβοσκός, ὥσπερ Κτησιφῶν· οἱ δέ γε ἄλλοι πεπαίδευνται. τἀναντία τις Ψηφισάμενος τῶν καλῶν καὶ δικαίων, ἐπανελθὼν οἴκαδε παιδεύει τὸν υἱόν· ὁ δέ γε εἰκότως οὐ πείθεται, ἀλλὰ τὸ νουθετεῖν ἐνοχλεῖν ἤδη δικαίως ὀνομάζεται. [¶39] 247. Cast your vote, then, not only as men who are rendering a verdict, but also as men who are in the public eye, to be called to account by the citizens who, though they are not now present, will nevertheless ask you what your verdict was. For be assured, fellow citizens, men will hold the city to be of like character with the man who is proclaimed. And it is a reproach for you to be likened, not to your fathers, but to the cowardice of Demosthenes. How then could you escape such disgrace? > Greek: 247. ὡς οὖν μὴ μόνον κρίνοντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεωρούμενοι, οὕτω τὴν ψῆφον φέρετε, εἰς ἀπολογισμὸν τοῖς νῦν μὲν οὐ παροῦσι τῶν πολιτῶν, ἐπερησομένοις δὲ ὑμᾶς τί ἐδικάζετε. εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι τοιαύτη δόξει ἡ πόλις εἶναι, ὁποῖός τις ἂν ᾖ ὁ κηρυττόμενος· ἔστι δὲ ὄνειδος μὴ τοῖς προγόνοις ὑμᾶς, ἀλλὰ τῇ Δημοσθένους ἀνανδρίᾳ, προσεικασθῆναι. πῶς οὖν ἄν τις τὴν τοιαύτην αἰσχύνην ἐκφύγοι; [¶40] 248. By guarding against those who arrogate to themselves the name of “patriot” and “benefactor,” but are untrustworthy in character. For loyalty and the name of friend of the people are prizes which are offered to us all, but for the most part those persons are the first to take refuge in them in speech who are farthest from them in conduct. > Greek: 248. ἐὰν τοὺς προκαταλαμβάνοντας τὰ κοινὰ καὶ φιλάνθρωπα τῶν ὀνομάτων, ἀπίστους δʼ ὄντας τοῖς ἤθεσι, φυλάξησθε. ἡ γὰρ εὔνοια καὶ τὸ τῆς δημοκρατίας ὄνομα κεῖται μὲν ἐν μέσῳ, φθάνουσι δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτὰ καταφεύγοντες τῷ λόγῳ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ οἱ τοῖς ἔργοις πλεῖστον ἀπέχοντες. [¶41] 249. When, therefore, you find a politician coveting crowns and proclamations in the presence of the Greeks, bid him bring his argument back to the proof of a worthy life and a sound character, precisely as the law commands a man to give security for property. But if he has no testimony to this, do not confirm to him the praises which he seeks let your thought be for the democracy, which is already slipping through your hands. > Greek: 249. ὅταν οὖν λάβητε ῥήτορα στεφάνων καὶ κηρυγμάτων ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἐπιθυμοῦντα, ἐπανάγειν αὐτὸν κελεύετε τὸν λόγον, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰς βεβαιώσεις τῶν κτημάτων ὁ νόμος κελεύει ποιεῖσθαι, εἰς βίον ἀξιόχρεων καὶ τρόπον σώφρονα. ὅτῳ δὲ ταῦτα μὴ μαρτυρεῖται, μὴ βεβαιοῦτε αὐτῷ τοὺς ἐπαίνους, καὶ τῆς δημοκρατίας ἐπιμελήθητε ἤδη διαφευγούσης ὑμᾶς. [¶42] 250. Does it not seem to you to be an outrage if the senate-house and the people are coming to be ignored, while the letters and ambassadors come to private houses, sent hither not by ordinary men, but by the first men of Asia and Europe? And deeds the legal penalty for which is death, these deeds certain men do not deny, but acknowledge them before the people; and they read their letters to one another and compare them. And some of them bid you look into their faces as being guardians of the democracy, and others call for rewards as being saviours of the state. > Greek: 250. ἢ οὐ δεινὸν ὑμῖν εἶναι δοκεῖ, εἰ τὸ μὲν βουλευτήριον καὶ ὁ δῆμος παρορᾶται, αἱ δʼ ἐπιστολαὶ καὶ αἱ πρεσβεῖαι ἀφικνοῦνται εἰς ἰδιωτικὰς οἰκίας, οὐ παρὰ τῶν τυχόντων ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῶν πρωτευόντων ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ καὶ τῇ Εὐρώπῃ; καὶ ἐφʼ οἷς ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν νόμων ζημία θάνατος, ταῦτά τινες οὐκ ἐξαρνοῦνται πράττειν, ἀλλʼ ὁμολογοῦσιν ἐν τῷ δήμῳ, καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ἀλλήλοις παραναγιγνώσκουσιν· παρακελεύονται δʼ οἱ μὲν βλέπειν εἰς τὰ ἑαυτῶν πρόσωπα ὡς φύλακες τῆς δημοκρατίας, ἕτεροι δʼ αἰτοῦσι δωρεὰς ὡς σωτῆρες τῆς πόλεως ὄντες. [¶43] 251. But the people, discouraged by what they have experienced, as though in very dotage or declared of unsound mind, lay claim only to the name of democracy, and have surrendered the substance to others. And so you go home from the meetings of your assembly, not as from a deliberative session, but as from some picnic, where you have been given the leavings as your share. > Greek: 251. ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐκ τῆς ἀθυμίας τῶν συμβεβηκότων ὥσπερ παραγεγηρακὼς ἢ παρανοίας ἑαλωκώς, αὐτὸ μόνον τοὔνομα τῆς δημοκρατίας περιποιεῖται, τῶν δʼ ἔργων ἑτέροις παρακεχώρηκεν. ἔπειτʼ ἀπέρχεσθε ἐκ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν οὐ βουλευσάμενοι, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἐκ τῶν ἐράνων, τὰ περιόντα νειμάμενοι. [¶44] 252. To prove that this is not mere talk, consider my statement in the light of the following facts: There came—it pains me to call it to mind repeatedly—there came a certain disaster to the city. At that time a certain private citizen who merely undertook to sail to Samos was on the same day punished with death by the Senate of the Areopagus, as a traitor to his country. Another private citizen, who sailed away to Rhodes, was only the other day prosecuted, because he was a coward in the face of danger. The vote of the jury was a tie, and if a single vote had been changed, he would have been cast outside our borders. > Greek: 252. ὅτι δʼ οὐ ληρῶ, ἐκεῖθεν τὸν λόγον θεωρήσατε. ἐγένετό τις, ἄχθομαι δὲ πολλάκις μεμνημένος, ἀτυχία τῇ πόλει. ἐνταῦθʼ ἀνὴρ ἰδιώτης ἐκπλεῖν μόνον εἰς Σάμον ἐπιχειρήσας, ὡς προδότης τῆς πατρίδος αὐθημερὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλῆς θανάτῳ ἐζημιώθη. ἕτερος δʼ ἐκπλεύσας ἰδιώτης εἰς Ῥόδον, ὅτι τὸν φόβον ἀνάνδρως ἤνεγκε, πρώην ποτὲ εἰσηγγέλθη, καὶ ἴσαι αἱ ψῆφοι αὐτῷ ἐγένοντο· εἰ δὲ μία ψῆφος μετέπεσεν, ὑπερώριστʼ ἄν. [¶45] 253. Now with that let us compare what is taking place today. A politician, the man who is responsible for all our disasters, deserted his post in the field, and then ran away from the city: this man is calling for a crown, and he thinks he must be proclaimed. Away with the fellow, the curse of all Hellas! Nay, rather, seize and punish him, the pirate of politics, who sails on his craft of words over the sea of state. > Greek: 253. ἀντιθῶμεν δὴ τὸ νυνὶ γιγνόμενον. ἀνὴρ ῥήτωρ, ὁ πάντων τῶν κακῶν αἴτιος, ἔλιπε μὲν τὴν ἀπὸ στρατοπέδου τάξιν, ἀπέδρα δʼ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως· οὗτος στεφανοῦσθαι ἀξιοῖ καὶ κηρύττεσθαι οἴεται δεῖν. οὐκ ἀποπέμψεσθε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὡς κοινὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων συμφοράν; ἢ συλλαβόντες ὡς λῃστὴν τῶν πραγμάτων, ἐπʼ ὀνομάτων διὰ τῆς πολιτείας πλέοντα, τιμωρήσεσθε; [¶46] 254. And mark well the occasion on which you are casting your vote. A few days hence the Pythian games are to be celebrated and the synod of Hellas assembled. Our city is already the object of slander in consequence of the policies of Demosthenes in connection with the present critical situation. If you crown him, you will seem to be in sympathy with those who violate the general peace, whereas if you do the opposite, you will free the people from these charges. > Greek: 254. καὶ τὸν καιρὸν μέμνησθε, ἐν ᾧ τὴν ψῆφον φέρετε. ἡμερῶν μὲν ὀλίγων μέλλει τὰ Πύθια γίγνεσθαι καὶ τὸ συνέδριον τὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων συλλέγεσθαι· διαβέβληται δʼ ἡ πόλις ἐκ τῶν Δημοσθένους πολιτευμάτων περὶ τοὺς νυνὶ καιρούς· δόξετε δέ, ἐὰν μὲν τοῦτον στεφανώσητε, ὁμογνώμονες εἶναι τοῖς παραβαίνουσι τὴν κοινὴν εἰρήνην, ἐὰν δὲ τοὐναντίον τούτου πράξητε, ἀπολύσετε τὸν δῆμον τῶν αἰτιῶν. [¶47] 255. Deliberate, therefore, not as for some foreign state, but as for your own; treat your honors, not as favours to be bestowed, but as rewards of merit; reserve your crowns for better heads and more worthy men. Deliberate, not with the help of your ears alone, but with your eyes as well, looking sharply among yourselves to see who of your number they are who propose to aid Demosthenes; whether they are comrades of his youth in the hunting-field, or companions in the gymnasium—but no, by the Olympian Zeus, that cannot be, for his time has been spent, not in hunting wild boars, and not in cultivating vigor of body, but in practising his art of hunting down men of property. > Greek: 255. μὴ οὖν ὡς ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίας, ἀλλʼ ὡς ὑπὲρ οἰκείας τῆς πόλεως βουλεύεσθε, καὶ τὰς φιλοτιμίας μὴ νέμετε, ἀλλὰ κρίνετε, καὶ τὰς δωρεὰς εἰς βελτίω σώματα καὶ ἄνδρας ἀξιολογωτέρους ἀπόθεσθε, καὶ μὴ μόνον τοῖς ὠσίν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ὄμμασι διαβλέψαντες εἰς ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς βουλεύσασθε, τίνες ὑμῶν εἰσιν οἱ βοηθήσοντες Δημοσθένει, πότερον οἱ συγκυνηγέται, ἢ οἱ συγγυμνασταὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτʼ ἦν ἐν ἡλικία—ἀλλὰ μὰ τὸν Δία τὸν Ὀλύμπιον οὐχ ὗς ἀγρίους κυνηγετῶν, οὐδὲ τῆς τοῦ σώματος εὐεξίας ἐπιμελόμενος, ἀλλʼ ἐπασκῶν τέχνας ἐπὶ τοὺς τὰς οὐσίας κεκτημένους διαγεγένηται— ἀλλʼ εἰς τὴν ἀλαζονείαν ἀποβλέψαντες, ὅταν φῇ Βυζαντίους μὲν ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν πρεσβεύσας ἐξελέσθαι τῶν Φιλίππου, ἀποστῆσαι δὲ Ἀκαρνᾶνας, ἐκπλῆξαι δὲ Θηβαίους δημηγορήσας· [¶48] 256. Yes, look at his imposture when he says that by his services as envoy he dragged Byzantium from Philip’s hands, and caused the revolt of the Acarnanians, and carried the Thebans away by his harangues. For he supposes that you have by this time come to such a pitch of folly that you will credit even this, as though it were the goddess Persuasion that you have been nurturing in your city, and not a slanderer! > Greek: 256. οἴεται γὰρ ὑμᾶς εἰς τοσοῦτον εὐηθείας ἤδη προβεβηκέναι, ὥστε καὶ ταῦτα ἀναπεισθήσεσθαι, ὥσπερ Πειθὼ τρέφοντας, ἀλλʼ οὐ συκοφάντην ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῇ πόλει. [¶49] 257. But when at last at the close of his speech he calls forward to support his cause the men who have shared his bribes, imagine that on the platform where now I am standing as I speak, you see, drawn up in array against the lawlessness of these men, the benefactors of the state: Solon, who equipped the democracy with the best of laws, a philosopher and a good lawgiver, begging you soberly, as he naturally would, by no means to hold the words of Demosthenes as more weighty than your oaths and the laws; and that man who assessed the tribute of the Greeks, and whose daughters our people dowered after his death, Aristeides, expressing his indignation at this mockery of justice, and asking you if you are not ashamed that whereas, when Arthmius of Zeleia transported the gold of the Medes into Hellas, although he had once resided in our city, and was proxenus of the Athenian people, your fathers were all but ready to kill him, and they warned him out of their city, and out of all the territory under Athenian control, you now propose to crown with a golden crown Demosthenes, a man who has not indeed “transported” the gold of the Medes, but has received it as a bribe, and keeps it to this day. > Greek: 257. ὅταν δʼ ἐπὶ τελευτῆς ἤδη τοῦ λόγου συνηγόρους τοὺς κοινωνοὺς τῶν δωροδοκημάτων αὑτῷ παρακαλῇ, ὑπολαμβάνετε ὁρᾶν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος, οὗ νῦν ἑστηκὼς ἐγὼ λέγω, ἀντιπαρατεταγμένους πρὸς τὴν τούτων ἀσέλγειαν τοὺς τῆς πόλεως εὐεργέτας, Σόλωνα μὲν τὸν καλλίστοις νόμοις κοσμήσαντα τὴν δημοκρατίαν, ἄνδρα φιλόσοφον καὶ νομοθέτην ἀγαθόν, σωφρόνως, ὡς προσῆκον αὐτῷ, δεόμενον ὑμῶν μηδενὶ τρόπῳ τοὺς Δημοσθένους λόγους περὶ πλείονος ποιήσασθαι τῶν ὅρκων καὶ τῶν νόμων, Ἀριστείδην δὲ τὸν τοὺς φόρους τάξαντα τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, οὗ τελευτήσαντος τὰς θυγατέρας ἐξέδωκεν ὁ δῆμος, σχετλιάζοντα ἐπὶ τῷ τῆς δικαιοσύνης προπηλακισμῷ, καὶ ἐπερωτῶντα, εἰ οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθε, εἰ οἱ μὲν πατέρες ὑμῶν Ἄρθμιον τὸν Ζελείτην κομίσαντα εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα τὸ ἐκ Μήδων χρυσίον, ἐπιδημήσαντα εἰς τὴν πόλιν, πρόξενον ὄντα τοῦ δήμου τοῦ Ἀθηναίων, παρʼ οὐδὲν μὲν ἦλθον ἀποκτεῖναι, ἐξεκήρυξαν δʼ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἐξ ἁπάσης ἧς ἄρχουσιν Ἀθηναῖοι, [¶50] 259. Think you not that Themistocles and those who died at Marathon and at Plataea, and the very sepulchres of your fathers, will groan aloud, if the man who admits that he has negotiated with the barbarians against the Greeks shall receive a crown? > Greek: 259. ὑμεῖς δὲ Δημοσθένην, οὐ κομίσαντα τὸ ἐκ Μήδων χρυσίον, ἀλλὰ δωροδοκήσαντα καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν κεκτημένον, χρυσῷ στεφάνῳ μέλλετε στεφανοῦν. Θεμιστοκλέα δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν Μαραθῶνι τελευτήσαντας καὶ τοὺς ἐν Πλαταιαῖς καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς τάφους τοὺς τῶν προγόνων οὐκ οἴεσθε στενάξειν, εἰ ὁ μετὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ὁμολογῶν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἀντιπράττειν στεφανωθήσεται; [¶51] 260. Be ye my witnesses, O Earth and Sun, and virtue and Conscience, and Education, by which we distinguish the honorable and the base, that I have heard my country’s call, and have spoken. If I have presented the accusations well and in a manner commensurate with the crime, I have spoken according to my desire; if insufficiently, according to my ability. It remains for you, fellow citizens, in view both of what has been spoken and what is left unsaid, yourselves to give the verdict that is just and for the city’s good. > Greek: 260. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν, ὦ γῆ καὶ ἥλιε καὶ ἀρετὴ καὶ σύνεσις καὶ παιδεία, ᾗ διαγιγνώσκομεν τὰ καλὰ καὶ τὰ αἰσχρά, βεβοήθηκα καὶ εἴρηκα. καὶ εἰ μὲν καλῶς καὶ ἀξίως τοῦ ἀδικήματος κατηγόρηκα, εἶπον ὡς ἐβουλόμην, εἰ δὲ ἐνδεεστέρως, ὡς ἐδυνάμην. ὑμεῖς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων λόγων καὶ ἐκ τῶν παραλειπομένων αὐτοὶ τὰ δίκαια καὶ τὰ συμφέροντα ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ψηφίσασθε.