50. “I wish,” said he, “to show you how the thing ought to be done.” As he said this he called for the reading of the decree of the people. When it had been read he said, “This is the decree according to which we were sent out; what stands written here, we did. Now, if you please, take the letter that we have brought from Philip.” When this had been read he said, “You have your answer; it remains for you to deliberate.”
50. βούλομαι δʼ ὑμῖν ἔφη καὶ ἐπιδεῖξαι, ὡς δεῖ τὸ πρᾶγμα γίγνεσθαι. ἅμα δʼ ἐκέλευσεν ἀναγνωσθῆναι τὸ ψήφισμα τοῦ δήμου. ἀναγνωσθέντος δὲ εἶπεν, ὅτι κατὰ τοῦτο ἐξεπέμφθημεν, καὶ ταῦτα ἐπράττομεν ἃ ἐνταυθοῖ γέγραπται. λαβὲ δή μοι καὶ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἣν ἥκομεν παρὰ Φιλίππου φέροντες. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀνεγνώσθη, ἀπέχετε ἔφη τὴν ἀπόκρισιν, καὶ λοιπὸν ὑμῖν ἐστι βουλεύσασθαι.
51. The people shouted, some applauding his forceful brevity, but more of them rebuking his abominable jealousy. Then he went on and said, “See how briefly I will report all the rest. To Aeschines Philip seemed to be eloquent, but not to me; nay, if one should strip off his luck and clothe another with it, this other would be almost his equal.”
51. θορυβησάντων δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τῶν μέν, ὡς δεινός τις εἴη καὶ σύντομος, τῶν δὲ πλειόνων, ὡς πονηρὸς καὶ φθονερός, σκέψασθε δὲ ἔφη ὡς συντόμως καὶ τἆλλα πάντα ἀπαγγελῶ. ἐδόκει δεινὸς εἶναι λέγειν Αἰσχίνῃ Φίλιππος, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐμοί, ἀλλʼ εἴ τις αὐτοῦ τὴν τύχην περιελὼν ἑτέρῳ περιθείη, οὐκ ἂν πολύ τι καταδεὴς εἴη. ἐδόκει Κτησιφῶντι τὴν ὄψιν λαμπρὸς εἶναι, ἐμοὶ δʼ οὐ χείρων Ἀριστόδημος ὁ ὑποκριτής, παρῆν δʼ ἡμῖν καὶ συνεπρέσβευε.
52. “To Ctesiphon he seemed to be brilliant in person, but to me not superior to Aristodemus the actor” (he was one of us on the embassy). “One man says he has a great memory; so have others. ‘He was a wonderful drinker’; our Philocrates could beat him. One says that it was left to me to speak about our claim to Amphipolis; but neither to you nor to me would this orator be capable of yielding a moment of his time.”
52. μνημονικόν τις αὐτόν φησιν εἶναι· καὶ γὰρ ἕτεροι. πιεῖν δεινὸς ἦν· Φιλοκράτης ὁ μεθʼ ἡμῶν δεινότερος. λόγον τίς φησιν ἐμοὶ καταλιπεῖν ὑπὲρ Ἀμφιπόλεως· ἀλλʼ οὔτʼ ἂν ὑμῖν ὁ ῥήτωρ οὗτος οὔτʼ ἂν ἐμοὶ λόγου μεταδοίη. ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ἔφη λῆρός ἐστιν·
53. “all this talk of theirs,” said he, “is sheer nonsense. But for my part, I am going to move that safe conduct be granted both for the herald who has come from Philip, and for the ambassadors who are to come here from him; also I shall move that on the arrival of the ambassadors the prytanes call a meeting of the assembly for two successive days to consider not only the question of peace, but the question of an alliance also; and finally, that if we, the members of the embassy, are thought to deserve the honor, a vote of thanks be passed, and an invitation be given us to dine tomorrow in the prytaneum.”
53. ἐγὼ δὲ ψήφισμα γράψω καὶ τῷ κήρυκι σπείσασθαι τῷ παρὰ Φιλίππου ἥκοντι, καὶ τοῖς μέλλουσι παρʼ αὐτοῦ δεῦρο ἰέναι πρέσβεσι, καὶ τοὺς πρυτάνεις, ἐπειδὰν ἥκωσιν οἱ πρέσβεις, ἐκκλησίαν ἐπὶ δύο ἡμέρας ποιεῖν μὴ μόνον ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ συμμαχίας, καὶ τοὺς πρέσβεις ἡμᾶς, εἰ δοκοῦμεν ἄξιοι εἶναι, ἐπαινέσαι καὶ καλέσαι ἐπὶ δεῖπνον εἰς τὸ πρυτανεῖον εἰς αὔριον.
54. is proof of the truth of what I say, take, if you please, the decrees, that you, gentlemen of the jury, may know how crooked he is and how jealous, and how completely he and Philocrates were in partnership in the whole affair; and that you may know his character—how treacherous and faithless. Call also my colleagues in the embassy, if you please, and read their testimony.
54. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, λαβέ μοι τὰ ψηφίσματα, ἵνα εἰδῆτε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τὴν ἀνωμαλίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν φθόνον, καὶ τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων μετὰ Φιλοκράτους κοινωνίαν, καὶ τὸ ἦθος, ὡς ἐπίβουλον καὶ ἄπιστον. κάλει δέ μοι καὶ τοὺς συμπρέσβεις, καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν ἀνάγνωθι.
55. Decrees Moreover, he not only made these motions, but afterwards he moved in the senate to assign seats in the theatre for the Dionysia to the ambassadors of Philip when they should arrive. Read this decree also. Decree Now read also the testimony of my colleagues in the embassy, that you may know, fellow citizens, that when it is a question of speaking in the city’s behalf, Demosthenes is helpless, but against those who have broken bread with him and shared in the same libations, he is a practised orator.
55. Ψηφίσματα οὐ τοίνυν μόνον ταῦτα ἔγραψεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐν τῇ βουλῇ θέαν εἰς τὰ Διονύσια κατανεῖμαι τοῖς πρέσβεσιν, ἐπειδὰν ἥκωσι, τοῖς Φιλίππου. λέγε καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ψήφισμα. Ψήφισμα ἀνάγνωθι δὴ καὶ τὴν τῶν συμπρέσβεων μαρτυρίαν, ἵνʼ εἰδῆτε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὅτι Δημοσθένης οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως εἰπεῖν δύναται, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τοὺς συσσίτους καὶ ὁμοσπόνδους μελετᾷ.
56. Testimony You find, therefore, that it was not Philocrates and I who entered into partnership in the negotiations for the peace, but Philocrates and Demosthenes. And I think that the proofs which I have presented to you in confirmation of what I have said, are sufficient. For as to the report we made, you yourselves are my witnesses; but I have presented to you my colleagues in the embassy as witnesses of what was said in Macedonia and of what took place in the course of our journey. But you heard and remember the accusation which Demosthenes made a few moments ago. He began with the speech which I made in the assembly on the question of the peace.
56. Μαρτυρία τὴν μὲν τοίνυν κοινωνίαν τῶν περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης πράξεων οὐκ ἐμὴν καὶ Φιλοκράτους, ἀλλὰ Δημοσθένους καὶ Φιλοκράτους εὑρίσκετε, καὶ τὰς πίστεις τῶν εἰρημένων ἱκανὰς ὑμῖν οἶμαι παρεσχῆσθαι· τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἀπηγγελμένων ὑμεῖς ἐστέ μοι μάρτυρες, τῶν δʼ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ ῥηθέντων καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν πορείαν ἡμῖν συμβάντων τοὺς συμπρέσβεις ὑμῖν μάρτυρας παρεσχόμην. τῆς δὲ ὑπὸ Δημοσθένους ἀρτίως εἰρημένης κατηγορίας ἠκούσατε καὶ μέμνησθε, ἧς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐποιήσατο ἀπὸ τῆς δημηγορίας ἣν εἶπον ἐγὼ περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης.
57. and, utterly untruthful in this part of his accusation, he complained bitterly about the occasion of that speech, saying that it was delivered in the presence of the ambassadors whom the Greeks had sent to you; for you had invited them in order that if you must go on with the war, they might join you against Philip, and that if peace should seem the better policy, they might participate in the peace. Now see the man’s deceit in a momentous matter, and his outrageous shamelessness.
57. πάντα δὲ ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ τῆς κατηγορίας ἐψευσμένος, ἐπὶ τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ δεινῶς ἐσχετλίασε. τοὺς γὰρ λόγους τούτους ἐναντίον φησὶ τῶν πρέσβεων λέγεσθαι οὓς ἔπεμψαν πρὸς ὑμᾶς οἱ Ἕλληνες μεταπεμφθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, ἵνα κοινῇ καὶ πολεμοῖεν, εἰ δέοι, Φιλίππῳ, καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, εἰ τοῦτο εἶναι δοκοίη συμφέρον, μετέχοιεν. σκέψασθε δὴ πράγματος μεγάλου κλοπὴν καὶ δεινὴν ἀναισχυντίαν τἀνθρώπου. τῶν γὰρ πρεσβειῶν, ἃς ἐξεπέμψατε εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἔτι τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Φίλιππον ὑμῖν ἐνεστηκότος, οἱ μὲν χρόνοι τῆς αἱρέσεως καὶ τὰ τῶν πρεσβευσάντων ὀνόματα ἐν τοῖς δημοσίοις ἀναγέγραπται γράμμασι, τὰ δὲ σώματά ἐστιν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ, ἀλλʼ Ἀθήνησι·
58. For in the public archives you have the record of the dates when you chose the several embassies which you sent out into Hellas, when the war between you and Philip was still in progress, and also the names of the ambassadors; and the men themselves are not in Macedonia, but here in Athens. Now for embassies from foreign states an opportunity to address the assembly of the people is always provided by a decree of the senate. Now he says that the ambassadors from the states of Hellas were present. Come forward, then, Demosthenes, to this platform while I have the floor, and mention the name of any city of Hellas you choose from which you say the ambassadors had at that time arrived. And give us to read the senatorial decrees concerning them from the records in the senate-house, and call as witnesses the ambassadors whom the Athenians had sent out to the various cities. If they testify that they had returned and were not still abroad at the time when the city was concluding the peace, or if you offer in evidence any audience of theirs before the senate, and the corresponding decrees dated at the time of which you speak, I leave the platform and declare myself deserving of death.
58. ταῖς δὲ ξενικαῖς πρεσβείαις ἡ βουλὴ τὰς εἰς τὸν δῆμον προσόδους προβουλεύει· οὗτος δʼ ἐφεστάναι τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων φησὶ πρεσβείας. παρελθὼν τοίνυν, Δημόσθενες, ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα τοῦτο ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ λόγῳ, εἰπὲ πόλεως ἧστινος βούλει τῶν Ἑλληνίδων τοὔνομα ἐξ ἧς ἀφῖχθαι τότε φῂς τοὺς πρέσβεις· καὶ τὰ προβουλεύματα αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου δὸς ἀναγνῶναι, καὶ τοὺς Ἀθηναίων κάλει πρέσβεις, οὓς ἐξέπεμψαν ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις, μάρτυρας. κἂν παρεῖναι καὶ μὴ ἀποδημεῖν, ὅτε ἡ πόλις τὴν εἰρήνην ἐποιεῖτο, μαρτυρήσωσιν, ἢ τὰς πρὸς τὴν βουλὴν αὐτῶν προσόδους καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα ἂν παράσχῃ ἐν ᾧ σὺ φῂς ὄντα χρόνῳ, καταβαίνω καὶ θανάτου τιμῶμαι.
60. Now read also what is said in the decree of the allies, in which it stands expressly written, “Whereas the people of the Athenians are deliberating with regard to peace with Philip, and whereas the ambassadors have not yet returned whom the people sent out into Hellas summoning the cities in behalf of the freedom of the Hellenic states, be it decreed by the allies that as soon as the ambassadors return and make their report to the Athenians and their allies the prytanes shall call two meetings of the assembly of the people according to law, and that in these meetings the Athenians shall deliberate on the question of peace; and whatever the people shall decide, be it voted that this decision stand as the common vote of the allies.” Now please read the decree of the synod.
60. ἀνάγνωθι δὴ καὶ τὸ τῶν συμμάχων δόγμα τί λέγει, ἐν ᾧ διαρρήδην γέγραπται, ἐπειδὴ βουλεύεται ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης πρὸς Φίλιππον, οἱ δὲ πρέσβεις οὔπω πάρεισιν, οὓς ἐξέπεμψεν ὁ δῆμος εἰς τὴν Ἐλλάδα παρακαλῶν τὰς πόλεις ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας τῶν Ἑλλήνων, δεδόχθαι τοῖς συμμάχοις, ἐπειδὰν ἐπιδημήσωσιν οἱ πρέσβεις καὶ τὰς πρεσβείας ἀπαγγείλωσιν Ἀθηναίοις καὶ τοῖς συμμάχοις, προγράψαι τοὺς πρυτάνεις ἐκκλησίας δύο κατὰ τὸν νόμον, ἐν δὲ ταύταις βουλεύσασθαι περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης Ἀθηναίους· ὅ τι δʼ ἂν ψηφίσηται ὁ δῆμος, τοῦτʼ εἶναι κοινὸν δόγμα τῶν συμμάχων. ἀνάγνωθι δή μοι τὸ τῶν συνέδρων δόγμα.
61. Decree of the Synod Now in contrast with this, read, if you please, the decree moved by Demosthenes, in which he orders the prytanes, after the celebration of the City Dionysia and the session of the assembly in the precinct of Dionysus, to call two meetings of the assembly, the one on the eighteenth, the other on the nineteenth; for in thus fixing the dates, he saw to it that the meetings of your assembly should be held before the ambassadors from the states of Hellas should have arrived. Moreover, the decree of the allies, which I acknowledge I also supported, prescribes that you deliberate concerning peace—nothing more; but Demosthenes prescribes the subject of an alliance also. Read them the decree.
61. Δόγμα Συνέδρων παρανάγνωθι δή μοι καὶ τὸ Δημοσθένους ψήφισμα, ἐν ᾧ κελεύει τοὺς πρυτάνεις μετὰ τὰ Διονύσια τὰ ἐν ἄστει καὶ τὴν ἐν Διονύσου ἐκκλησίαν προγράψαι δύο ἐκκλησίας, τὴν μὲν τῇ ὀγδόῃ ἐπὶ δέκα, τὴν δὲ τῇ ἐνάτῃ, ὁρίζων τὸν χρόνον καὶ προϋφαιρῶν τὰς ἐκκλησίας, πρὶν ἐπιδημῆσαι τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων πρέσβεις. καὶ τὸ μὲν τῶν συμμάχων δόγμα κελεύει, ᾧ συνειπεῖν καὶ ἐγὼ ὁμολογῶ, ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης μόνον ὑμᾶς βουλεύσασθαι, Δημοσθένης δὲ καὶ περὶ συμμαχίας κελεύει. λέγε αὐτοῖς τὸ ψήφισμα.
62. Decree You have heard both decrees; by them Demosthenes is convicted of saying that the ambassadors were here, when they were still abroad, and of having made void the decree of the allies, when you wished to comply with it. For it was their judgment that we should wait for the ambassadors from the other states of Hellas but Demosthenes is responsible for having prevented your waiting for them, not only by his words, most shamelessly shifty of all men, but by his act and his decree, in which he required us to make our decision immediately.
62. Ψήφισμα τῶν μὲν ψηφισμάτων ἀμφοτέρων ἀκηκόατε, ὑφʼ ὧν ἐξελέγχεται Δημοσθένης τὰς ἀποδημούσας πρεσβείας ἐπιδημεῖν φάσκων, καὶ βουλομένων ὑμῶν ἀκροάσασθαι, τὸ τῶν συμμάχων ἄκυρον πεποιηκὼς δόγμα. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀπεφήναντο ἀναμεῖναι τὰς Ἑλληνικὰς πρεσβείας, Δημοσθένης δὲ οὐ λόγῳ μόνον κεκώλυκε περιμεῖναι, ὁ πάντων αἴσχιστα καὶ τάχιστα μετατιθέμενος, ἀλλʼ ἔργῳ καὶ ψηφίσματι, προστάξας ἤδη βεβουλεῦσθαι.
63. But he has said that at the first of the two meetings of the assembly, after Philocrates had spoken, I then arose and found fault with the resolution for peace which he had introduced, calling it disgraceful and unworthy of the city; but that again on the next day I spoke in support of Philocrates, and succeeded in sweeping the assembly off its feet, persuading you to pay no attention to those who talked of our fathers’ battles and trophies, and not to aid the Greeks.
63. εἴρηκε δὲ ὡς ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν δημηγορήσαντος Φιλοκράτους, ὕστερον ἀναβὰς ἐγὼ κατεμεμψάμην ἣν εἰσηγεῖτο ἐκεῖνος εἰρήνην, αἰσχρὰν καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀναξίαν εἶναι φάσκων, τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ πάλιν ὡς συναγορεύοιμι τῷ Φιλοκράτει, καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εὐημερήσας οἰχοίμην φέρων, πείθων ὑμᾶς μὴ προσέχειν τοῖς τὰς μάχας καὶ τὰ τῶν προγόνων λέγουσι τρόπαια, μηδὲ τοῖς Ἕλλησι βοηθεῖν.
64. But that what he has laid to my charge is not only false, but a thing that could not have happened, he himself shall furnish one proof, a witness against himself; another proof all the Athenians shall furnish, and your own memory; a third, the incredibility of the charge; and the fourth, a man of repute, who is active in public affairs, Amyntor, to whom Demosthenes exhibited the draft of a decree, asking him whether he should advise him to hand it to the clerk, a decree not contrary in its provisions to that of Philocrates, but identical with it.
64. ὅτι δʼ οὐ ψευδῆ μόνον κατηγόρηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀδύνατα γενέσθαι, μίαν μὲν αὐτὸς καθʼ αὑτοῦ μαρτυρίαν μαρτυρήσει, ἑτέραν δὲ πάντες Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀναμιμνῃσκόμενοι, τρίτην δὲ ἡ τῆς αἰτίας ἀπιθανότης, τετάρτην δὲ ἀνὴρ ἀξιόλογος, εἷς τῶν πολιτευομένων, Ἀμύντωρ, ᾧ ψήφισμα ἐπεδείξατο Δημοσθένης καὶ ἀνεκοινοῦτο, εἰ δῷ τῷ γραμματεῖ, οὐχ ὑπεναντία, ἀλλὰ ταὐτὰ γεγραφὼς Φιλοκράτει.
65. Now, if you please, take and read the decree of Demosthenes, in which you will see that he has prescribed that in the first of the two meetings of the assembly all who wish shall take part in the discussion, but that on the next day the presiding officers shall put the question to vote, without giving opportunity for debate—the day on which he asserts that I supported Philocrates in the discussion.
65. καί μοι λαβὲ τὸ ψήφισμα καὶ ἀνάγνωθι τὸ Δημοσθένους, ἐν ᾧ φαίνεται γεγραφώς, τῇ μὲν προτέρᾳ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν συμβουλεύειν τὸν βουλόμενον, τῇ δʼ ὑστέρᾳ τοὺς προέδρους ἐπιψηφίζειν τὰς γνώμας, λόγον δὲ μὴ προτιθέναι, ἐν ᾗ μέ φησιν αὐτὸς Φιλοκράτει συνειπεῖν.
66. Decree You see that the decrees stand as they were originally written, whereas the words of rascals are spoken to fit the day and the occasion. My accuser makes two speeches out of my plea before the assembly, but the decree and the truth make it one. For if the presiding officers gave no opportunity for discussion in the second meeting, it is impossible that I spoke then. And if my policy was the same as that of Philocrates, what motive could I have had for opposing on the first day, and then after an interval of a single night, in the presence of the same listeners, for supporting? Did I expect to gain honor for myself, or did I hope to help Philocrates? I could have done neither, but would have got myself hated by all, and could have accomplished nothing.
66. Ψήφισμα οὐκοῦν τὰ μὲν ψηφίσματα, ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐγράφη, μένει, οἱ δὲ τῶν συκοφαντῶν λόγοι πρὸς τοὺς ἐφʼ ἡμέραν καιροὺς λέγονται. ποιεῖ δέ μου τὴν δημηγορίαν ὁ μὲν κατήγορος διαιρετήν, τὸ ψήφισμα δὲ καὶ τἀληθὲς μίαν· λόγον γὰρ μὴ προτιθέντων εἰς τὴν ὑστέραν ἐκκλησίαν τῶν προέδρων, οὐκ εἰπεῖν. τί δʼ ἂν καὶ βουλόμενος, εἴπερ ταὐτὰ Φιλοκράτει προειλόμην, κατηγόρουν μὲν πρὸς τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἀκροατὰς τῇ προτεραίᾳ, μίαν δὲ νύκτα διαλιπὼν συνηγόρουν; πότερα ὡς αὐτὸς εὐδοξήσων, ἢ ὡς ἐκεῖνον ὠφελήσων; ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐνῆν οὐδέτερα ἐξενέγκασθαι, ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ πάντων μὲν μισεῖσθαι, περαίνειν δὲ μηδέν.
67. But please call Amyntor of the deme Herchia and read his testimony. First, however, I wish to go over its contents with you: Amyntor in support of Aeschines testifies that when the people were deliberating on the subject of the alliance with Philip, according to the decree of Demosthenes, in the second meeting of the assembly, when no opportunity was given to address the people, but when the decrees concerning the peace and alliance were being put to vote, At that meeting Demosthenes was sitting by the side of the witness, and showed him a decree, over which the name of Demosthenes stood written; and that he consulted him as to whether he should hand it to the presiding officers to put to vote; this decree contained the terms on which Demosthenes moved that peace and alliance he made, and these terms were identical with the terms which Philocrates had moved.
67. κάλει δέ μοι καὶ Ἀμύντορα Ἑρχιέα, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἀνάγνωθι. ὃν δὲ τρόπον γέγραπται, προδιελθεῖν ὑμῖν βούλομαι. μαρτυρεῖ Ἀμύντωρ Αἰσχίνῃ, ὅτε ἐβουλεύετο ὁ δῆμος περὶ τῆς συμμαχίας τῆς πρὸς Φίλιππον κατὰ τὸ Δημοσθένους ψήφισμα, ἐν τῇ ὑστέρᾳ τῶν δυοῖν ἐκκλησιῶν, ὅτε οὐκ ἐξῆν δημηγορεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὰ περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ συμμαχίας ψηφίσματα ἐπεψηφίζετο, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Δημοσθένην ἐπιδείξασθαι παρακαθήμενον ψήφισμα ἑαυτῷ, ἐφʼ ᾧ ἐπεγέγραπτο τὸ Δημοσθένους ὄνομα, καὶ ἀνακοινοῦσθαι αὐτὸν αὑτῷ, εἰ δῷ τοῖς προέδροις ἐπιψηφίσαι, καὶ εἶναι, ἐφʼ οἷς τὴν εἰρήνην καὶ τὴν συμμαχίαν ἔγραψε ποιεῖσθαι, ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐφʼ οἷσπερ καὶ Φιλοκράτης ἐγεγράφει.
68. Now, if you please, call Amyntor of the deme Herchia; if he does not come hither voluntarily, serve summons upon him.
68. κάλει δέ μοι Ἀμύντορα Ἑρχιέα, καὶ ἐκκλήτευε, ἐὰν μὴ θέλῃ δευρὶ παρεῖναι.
69. Testimony You have heard the testimony, fellow citizens. Consider whether you conclude that it is I whom Demosthenes has accused, or whether on the contrary he has accused himself in my name. But since he also misrepresents the speech that I made, and puts a false construction on what was said, I have no disposition to run away, or to deny a word that was then spoken; I am not ashamed of what I said; on the contrary, I am proud of it.
69. Μαρτυρία τῆς μὲν μαρτυρίας ἀκηκόατε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι· σκοπεῖτε δὴ πότερα ὑμῖν δοκεῖ Δημοσθένης ἐμοῦ κατηγορηκέναι, ἢ τοὐναντίον αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ ἐπὶ τῷ ἐμῷ ὀνόματι. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τὴν δημηγορίαν μου διαβάλλει, καὶ τοὺς εἰρημένους λόγους ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω διεξέρχεται, οὔτʼ ἂν ἀποδραίην, οὔτʼ ἂν τῶν τότʼ εἰρημένων οὐδὲν ἀρνησαίμην, οὔτʼ αἰσχύνομαι ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ φιλοτιμοῦμαι.
70. But I wish also to recall to you the time and circumstances of your deliberations. We went to war in the first place over the question of Amphipolis. In the course of the war our general succeeded in losing seventy-five allied cities, which Timotheus, the son of Conon, had won over and made members of the synod—I am determined, as you see, to speak right out, and to seek safety in frank and truthful speaking; if you are otherwise minded, do what you will with me; I cannot prevaricate— and a hundred and fifty triremes which he took from the dockyards he failed to bring back, a story which the accusers of Chares are never tired of telling you in the courts; and he spent fifteen hundred talents, not upon his troops, hut upon his tricky officers, a Deiares, a Deipyrus, a Polyphontes, vagabonds collected from all Hellas (to say nothing of the wages of his hirelings on the bema and in the popular assembly), who were exacting from the wretched islanders a contribution of sixty talents a year, and seizing merchant ships and Greek citizens on the high seas.
70. βούλομαι δʼ ὑμᾶς καὶ τοὺς καιροὺς ὑπομνῆσαι, ἐν οἷς ἐβουλεύεσθε. τὴν μὲν γὰρ ἀρχὴν ἐποιησάμεθα τοῦ πολέμου ὑπὲρ Ἀμφιπόλεως, συνέβαινε δʼ ἡμῶν τὸν στρατηγὸν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἑβδομήκοντα μὲν καὶ πέντε πόλεις συμμαχίδας ἀποβεβληκέναι, ἃς ἐκτήσατο Τιμόθεος ὁ Κόνωνος καὶ κατέστησεν εἰς τὸ συνέδριον· (προῄρημαι γὰρ παρρησιάσασθαι, καὶ ἐλευθέρως ἅμα καὶ τἀληθῆ εἰπὼν σῴζεσθαι· ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλως πως γιγνώσκητε, καταχρήσασθέ μοι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ὑποστειλαίμην·) ἑκατὸν δὲ καὶ πεντήκοντα τριήρεις λαβόντα ἐκ τῶν νεωρίων μὴ κατακεκομικέναι, καὶ ταῦτα ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἀεὶ τοῖς Χάρητος οἱ κατήγοροι δεικνύουσι, χίλια δὲ καὶ πεντακόσια τάλαντα οὐκ εἰς στρατιώτας, ἀλλʼ εἰς ἡγεμόνων ἀλαζονείας ἀνηλωκέναι, Δηιάρην τε καὶ Δηίπυρον καὶ Πολυφόντην, δραπέτας ἀνθρώπους ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος συνειλεγμένους, καὶ χωρὶς εἰς τοὺς περὶ τὸ βῆμα καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν μισθοφόρους, οἳ τοὺς μὲν ταλαιπώρους νησιώτας καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἑξήκοντα τάλαντα εἰσέπραττον σύνταξιν, κατῆγον δὲ τὰ πλοῖα καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐκ τῆς κοινῆς θαλάττης.
72. and instead of respect and the hegemony of Hellas, Athens had a name that stank like a nest of Myonnesian pirates. And Philip from his base in Macedonia was no longer contending with us for Amphipolis, but already for Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, our own possessions, while our citizens were abandoning the Chersonese, the undisputed property of Athens. And the special meetings of the assembly which you were forced to hold, in fear and tumult, were more in number than the regular meetings.
72. ἀντὶ δὲ ἀξιώματος καὶ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἡγεμονίας, ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν τῆς Μυοννήσου καὶ τῆς τῶν λῃστῶν δόξης ἀνεπίμπλατο· Φίλιππος δὲ ὁρμηθεὶς ἐκ Μακεδονίας, οὐκέθʼ ὑπὲρ Ἀμφιπόλεως πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἠγωνίζετο, ἀλλʼ ἤδη περὶ Λήμνου καὶ Ἴμβρου καὶ Σκύρου, τῶν ἡμετέρων κτημάτων· ἐξέλειπον δὲ Χερρόνησον ἡμῶν οἱ πολῖται, τὴν οὖσαν ὁμολογουμένως Ἀθηναίων· πλείους δὲ ἐκκλησίας συγκλήτους ἠναγκάζεσθε ἐκκλησιάζειν μετὰ φόβου καὶ θορύβου, ἢ τὰς τεταγμένας ἐκ τῶν νόμων·
73. The situation was so precarious and dangerous that Cephisophon of Paeania, one of the friends and companions of Chares, was compelled to make the motion that Antiochus, who commanded the dispatch boats, should sail immediately and hunt up the general who had been put in charge of our forces, and in case he should happen to find him anywhere, should tell him that the people of Athens were astonished to learn that Philip was on the way to the Chersonese, Athenian territory, while as to the general and the force which they themselves had sent out, the Athenians did not even know what had become of them. To prove that I am speaking the truth, hear the decree and recall the facts of the war, and then charge the peace, not to the ambassadors, but to the commanders of our arms.
73. οὕτω δʼ ἦν σφαλερὰ καὶ ἐπικίνδυνα τὰ πράγματα, ὥστε ἠναγκάσθη γράψαι ψήφισμα Κηφισοφῶν ὁ Παιανιεύς, εἷς τῶν φίλων καὶ ἑταίρων τῶν Χάρητος, ἐκπλεῖν τὴν ταχίστην Ἀντίοχον τὸν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑπηρετικῶν, καὶ ζητεῖν τὸν στρατηγὸν τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ δυνάμει τεταγμένον, κἂν ἐντύχῃ που, φράζειν ὅτι θαυμάζει ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἀθηναίων, εἰ Φίλιππος μὲν ἐπὶ Χερρόνησον τὴν Ἀθηναίων πορεύεται, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ οὐδὲ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἴσασιν οὐδὲ τὴν δύναμιν ἣν ἐξέπεμΨαν, ὅπου ἐστίν. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, ἀκούσατε τοῦ Ψηφίσματος, καὶ ἀναμνήσθητε τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην τοὺς τῶν ὅπλων ἡγεμόνας, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοὺς πρέσβεις, ἀπαιτεῖτε.
74. Decree Such was the situation of the city, such the circumstances under which the debate on the peace took place. But the popular speakers arose and with one consent ignored the question of the safety of the state, but called on you to gaze at the Propylaea of the Acropolis, and remember the battle of, Salamis, and the tombs and trophies of our forefathers.
74. Ψήφισμα οἱ μὲν καιροὶ τῆς πόλεως τοιοῦτοι, ἐν οἷς οἱ περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐγίγνοντο λόγοι· ἀνιστάμενοι δὲ οἱ συντεταγμένοι ῥήτορες, περὶ μὲν τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς πόλεως οὐδʼ ἐνεχείρουν λέγειν, ἀποβλέπειν δὲ εἰς τὰ προπύλαια τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἐκέλευον ὑμᾶς, καὶ τῆς ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ναυμαχίας μεμνῆσθαι, καὶ τῶν τάφων τῶν προγόνων καὶ τῶν τροπαίων.
75. I replied that we must indeed remember all these, but must imitate the wisdom of our forefathers, and beware of their mistakes and their unseasonable jealousies; I urged that we should emulate the battle that we fought at Plataea, the struggles off the shores of Salamis, the battles of Marathon and Artemisium, and the generalship of Tolmides, who with a thousand picked men of the Athenians fearlessly marched straight through the Peloponnesus, the enemy’s country.
75. ἐγὼ δὲ ἁπάντων μὲν τούτων ἔφην δεῖν μεμνῆσθαι, μιμεῖσθαι μέντοι τὰς τῶν προγόνων εὐβουλίας, τὰ δὲ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἄκαιρον φιλονικίαν φυλάττεσθαι, τὴν μὲν ἐν Πλαταιαῖς πεζομαχίαν, καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας τοὺς περὶ Σαλαμῖνα, καὶ τὴν ἐν Μαραθῶνι μάχην, καὶ τὴν ἐπʼ Ἀρτεμισίῳ ναυμαχίαν, καὶ τὴν Τολμίδου ζηλοῦν στρατηγίαν κελεύων, ὃς χιλίους ἔχων ἐπιλέκτους Ἀθηναίων, διὰ μέσης Πελοποννήσου πολεμίας οὔσης ἀδεῶς διεξῄει.
76. But I urged that we should take warning from the Sicilian expedition, which was sent out to help the people of Leontini, at a time when the enemy were already in our own territory and Deceleia was fortified against us; and that final act of folly, when, outmatched in the war, and offered terms of peace by the Lacedaemonians, with the agreement that we should hold not only Attica, but Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros also, and retain the constitutional democracy, the people would have none of it, but chose to go on with a war that was beyond their powers. And Cleophon, the lyre-maker, whom many remembered as a slave in fetters, who had dishonourably and fraudulently got himself enrolled as a citizen, and had corrupted the people by distribution of money, threatened to take his knife and slit the throat of any man who should make mention of peace.
76. τὴν δʼ εἰς Σικελίαν στρατείαν φυλάττεσθαι, ἣν ἐξέπεμΨαν Λεοντίνοις βοηθήσοντες, τῶν πολεμίων ἐμβεβληκότων εἰς τὴν χώραν ἡμῶν καὶ Δεκελείας ἐπιτετειχισμένης, καὶ τὴν τελευταίαν ἀβουλίαν, ὅθʼ ἡττημένοι τῷ πολέμῳ, προκαλουμένων αὐτοὺς Λακεδαιμονίων εἰρήνην ἄγειν ἔχοντας πρὸς τῇ Ἀττικῇ Λῆμνον καὶ Ἴμβρον καὶ Σκῦρον καὶ δημοκρατουμένους κατὰ τοὺς νόμους, τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἤθελον ποιεῖν, πολεμεῖν δὲ προῃροῦντο οὐ δυνάμενοι, Κλεοφῶν δὲ ὁ λυροποιός, ὃν πολλοὶ δεδεμένον ἐν πέδαις ἐμνημόνευον, παρεγγραφεὶς αἰσχρῶς πολίτης καὶ διεφθαρκὼς νομῇ χρημάτων τὸν δῆμον, ἀπολόψειν ἠπείλει μαχαίρᾳ τὸν τράχηλον, εἴ τις εἰρήνης μνησθήσεται·
77. Finally they brought the city to such a pass that she was glad to make peace, giving up everything, tearing down her walls, receiving a garrison and a Lacedaemonian governor, and surrendering the democracy to the Thirty, who put fifteen hundred citizens to death without a trial. I admit that I urged that we should guard against such folly as that, and imitate the conduct shortly before described. For it was from no stranger that I heard that story, but from him who is nearest of all men to me.
77. τελευτῶντες δὲ εἰς τοῦτο τὴν πόλιν προήγαγον, ὥστε ἀγαπητῶς τὴν εἰρήνην ποιήσασθαι, ἀποστάντας πάντων καὶ τὰ τείχη καθελόντας, καὶ παραδεξαμένους φρουρὰν καὶ Λακεδαιμόνιον ἁρμοστήν, καὶ τῆς δημοκρατίας τοῖς τριάκοντα ἀφεμένους, οἳ χιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους τῶν πολιτῶν ἀκρίτους ἀπέκτειναν. τὴν μὲν τοιαύτην ἀβουλίαν ὁμολογῶ παραγγέλλειν φυλάττεσθαι, τὰ δʼ ὀλίγῳ πρότερον εἰρημένα μιμεῖσθαι. οὐ γὰρ παρὰ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ πάντων οἰκειοτάτου ταῦτα ἐπυνθανόμην.
78. for Atrometus our father, whom you slander, though you do not know him and never saw what a man he was in his prime—you, Demosthenes, a descendant through your mother of the nomad Scythians—our father went into exile in the time of the Thirty, and later helped to restore the democracy; while our mother’s brother, our uncle Cleobulus, the son of Glaucus of the deme Acharnae, was with Demaenetus of the family of the Buzygae, when he won the naval victory over Cheilon the Lacedaemonian admiral. The sufferings of the city were therefore a household word with us, familiar to my ears.
78. ἀτρόμητος γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ ἡμέτερος, ὃν σὺ λοιδορεῖς οὔτʼ εἰδὼς οὔτʼ ἐπιδὼν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἡλικίας ὅστις ἦν, καὶ ταῦτα, ὦ Δημόσθενες, ἐκ τῶν νομάδων Σκυθῶν τὸ πρὸς μητρὸς ὢν γένος, ἔφυγε μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν τριάκοντα, συγκατήγαγε δὲ τὸν δῆμον· καὶ ὁ τῆς μητρὸς τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀδελφός, θεῖος δὲ ἡμέτερος, Κλεόβουλος ὁ Γλαύκου τοῦ Ἀχαρνέως υἱός, μετὰ Δημαινέτου τοῦ Βουζύγου συγκατεναυμάχησε Χείλωνα τὸν Λακεδαιμονίων ναύαρχον· ὥστε οἰκεῖά μοι καὶ συνήθη τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἀτυχήματα εἶναι τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούειν.
79. But you find fault with my service as ambassador to Arcadia and my speech before the Ten Thousand there, and you say that I have changed sides—yourself more slave than freeman, all but branded as a runaway! So long as the war lasted, I tried so far as in me lay to unite the Arcadians and the rest of Hellas against Philip. But when no man came to the help of our city, but some were waiting to see what was going to happen, and others were taking the field against us, while the politicians in our own city were using the war to subsidize the extravagance of their daily life, I acknowledge that I advised the people to come to terms with Philip, and to make the peace, which you, Demosthenes, now hold disgraceful, you who never had a weapon of war in your hands—but which I declare to be much more honourable than the war.
79. ἐπιτιμᾷς δέ μοι καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς μυρίοις ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ δημηγορίαν καὶ πρεσβείαν, καὶ μεταβεβλῆσθαί με φῄς, αὐτὸς ὢν ἀνδραποδώδης καὶ μόνον οὐκ ἐστιγμένος αὐτόμολος. ἐγὼ δʼ ἐν μὲν τῷ πολέμῳ συνίστην, καθʼ ὅσον ἦν δυνατός, Ἀρκάδας καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας ἐπὶ Φίλιππον· οὐδενὸς δʼ ἀνθρώπων ἐπικουροῦντος τῇ πόλει, ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν περιορώντων ὅ τι συμβήσεται, τῶν δὲ συνεπιστρατευόντων, τῶν δʼ ἐν τῇ πόλει ῥητόρων χορηγὸν ταῖς καθʼ ἡμέραν δαπάναις τὸν πόλεμον ποιουμένων, ὁμολογῶ συμβουλεῦσαι τῷ δήμῳ διαλύσασθαι πρὸς Φίλιππον καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην συνθέσθαι, ἣν σὺ νομίζεις νῦν αἰσχράν, ὁ οὐδὲ πώποθʼ ἁψάμενος ὅπλων, ἐγὼ δὲ ταύτην εἶναι πολλῷ φημι καλλίω τοῦ πολέμου.
80. You ought, fellow citizens, to judge your ambassadors in the light of the crisis in which they served your generals, in the light of the forces which they commanded. For you set up your statues and you give your seats of honour and your crowns and your dinners in the Prytaneum, not to those who have brought you tidings of peace, but to those who have been victorious in battle. But if the responsibility for the wars is to he laid upon the ambassadors, while the generals are to receive the rewards, the wars you wage will know neither truce nor herald of peace, for no man will be willing to be your ambassador.
80. χρὴ δέ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοὺς μὲν πρέσβεις θεωρεῖν πρὸς τὸν καιρὸν καθʼ ὃν ἐπρέσβευον, τοὺς δὲ στρατηγοὺς πρὸς τὰς δυνάμεις ὧν ἡγοῦντο. καὶ γὰρ τὰς εἰκόνας ἵστατε, καὶ τὰς προεδρίας καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους καὶ τὰς ἐν πρυτανείῳ σιτήσεις δίδοτε, οὐ τοῖς τὴν εἰρήνην ἀπαγγείλασιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τὴν μάχην νικήσασιν. εἰ δʼ ἔσονται τῶν πολέμων αἱ μὲν εὔθυναι τῶν πρέσβεων, αἱ δὲ δωρεαὶ τῶν στρατηγῶν, ἀσπόνδους καὶ ἀκηρύκτους τοὺς πολέμους ποιήσετε· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐθελήσει πρεσβεύειν.
81. Now it remains for me to speak of Cersobleptes and the Phocians, as well as the other matters in which I have been slandered. For, fellow citizens, both on the first and on the second embassy I reported to you what I saw, as I saw it; what I heard, as I heard it. What was it then in either case: what was it that I saw and what was it that I heard about Cersobleptes? I, as well as all my colleagues in the embassy, saw the son of Cersobleptes a hostage at Philip’s court; and this is still the case.
81. περὶ δὲ Κερσοβλέπτου καὶ Φωκέων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἃ πρὸς τούτοις διαβέβλημαι, ὑπόλοιπον εἰπεῖν. ἐγὼ γὰρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ἐν τῇ προτέρᾳ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὑστέρᾳ πρεσβείᾳ, ἃ μὲν εἶδον, ὡς εἶδον, ὑμῖν ἀπήγγελλον, ἃ δʼ ἤκουσα, ὡς ἤκουσα. τίνα οὖν ἦν ἑκάτερα τούτων, ἅ τε εἶδον ἅ τε ἤκουσα περὶ Κερσοβλέπτου; εἶδον μὲν ἐγὼ καὶ οἱ συμπρέσβεις ἅπαντες ὁμηρεύοντα τὸν υἱὸν τὸν Κερσοβλέπτου παρὰ Φιλίππῳ· καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν τοῦθʼ οὕτως ἔχει.
82. now it happened on the occasion of our first embassy, that at the moment when I was leaving for home with the rest of the ambassadors, Philip was setting out for Thrace; but we had his promise that while you were deliberating concerning peace, he would not set foot on the Chersonese with an armed force. Now on that day when you voted the peace, no mention was made of Cersobleptes. But after we had already been elected to receive the oaths, before we had set forth on the second embassy, an assembly was held, the presidency of which fell by lot to Demosthenes, who is now accusing me.
82. συνέβαινε δέ, ὅτε τὴν προτέραν ἐπρεσβεύομεν πρεσβείαν, ἐμοὶ μὲν μετὰ τῶν συμπρέσβεων ἀπιέναι δεῦρο, Φιλίππῳ δʼ ἐπὶ Θράκην ἐξιέναι, πρὸς δʼ ἡμᾶς ὡμολογηκέναι, ἕως ἂν ὑμεῖς περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης βουλεύσησθε, μὴ ἐπιβήσεσθαι μεθʼ ὅπλων Χερρονήσου. ἐν ἐκείνῃ μὲν οὖν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ὑμεῖς ἐψηφίσασθε τὴν εἰρήνην, οὐδεμία μνεία ἐγένετο περὶ Κερσοβλέπτου· ἤδη δὲ ἡμῶν κεχειροτονημένων ἐπὶ τοὺς ὅρκους, οὔπω δὲ ἀπηρκότων ἐπὶ τὴν ὑστέραν πρεσβείαν, ἐκκλησία γίγνεται, ἐν ᾗ Δημοσθένης ὁ νυνὶ κατηγορῶν ἐμοῦ λαγχάνει προεδρεύειν.
83. in that assembly Critobulus of Lampsacus came forward and said that Cersobleptes had sent him, and he demanded that he should be allowed to give his oath to the ambassadors of Philip, and that Cersobleptes be enrolled among your allies. When he had thus spoken, Aleximachus of the deme Pelex handed to the presiding officers a motion to be read, in which it was written that the representative of Cersobleptes be permitted to join the other allies in giving the oath to Philip.
83. ἐν δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Κριτόβουλος ὁ Λαυμψακηνὸς εἶπε παρελθών, ὅτι πέμψειε μὲν αὑτὸν Κερσοβλέπτης, ἀξιοίη δὲ ἀποδοῦναι τοὺς ὅρκους τοῖς Φιλίππου πρέσβεσι, καὶ συναναγραφῆναι Κερσοβλέπτην ἐν τοῖς ὑμετέροις συμμάχοις. ῥηθέντων δὲ τῶν λόγων τούτων, Ἀλεξίμαχος ὁ Πήληξ δίδωσιν ἀναγνῶναι ψήφισμα τοῖς προέδροις, ἐν ᾧ ἐγέγραπτο ἀποδοῦναι τοὺς ὅρκους Φιλίππῳ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων συμμάχων τὸν ἥκοντα παρὰ Κερσοβλέπτου.
84. When the motion had been read—I think you all remember this—Demosthenes arose from among the presiding officers and refused to put the motion to vote, saying that he would not bring to naught the peace with Philip, and that he did not recognize the sort of allies who joined only in time, as it were, to help in pouring the peace libations; for they had had their opportunity at an earlier session of the assembly. But you shouted and called the board of presidents to the platform, and so against his will the motion was put to vote.
84. ἀναγνωσθέντος δὲ τοῦ ψηφίσματος, καὶ ταῦτα οἶμαι πάντας ὑμᾶς μνημονεύειν, ἀναστὰς ἐκ τῶν προέδρων Δημοσθένης οὐκ ἔφη τὸ ψήφισμα ἐπιψηφιεῖν, οὐδὲ λύσειν τὴν πρὸς Φίλιππον εἰρήνην, οὐδὲ γιγνώσκειν τῶν συμμάχων τοὺς ὥσπερ συνεφαπτομένους τοῖς σπένδουσι τῶν ἱερῶν· ἀποδοθῆναι γὰρ περὶ τούτων ἑτέραν ἐκκλησίαν. βοώντων δὲ ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς προέδρους ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα καλούντων, οὕτως ἄκοντος αὐτοῦ τὸ ψήφισμα ἐπεψηφίσθη.
85. To prove that I am speaking the truth, please call Aleximachus, the author of the motion, and the men who served with Demosthenes on the board of presidents, and read their testimony. Testimony You see, therefore, that Demosthenes, who just now burst into tears here at mention of Cersobleptes, tried to shut him out of the alliance. Now on the adjournment of that session of the assembly, Philip’s ambassadors proceeded to administer the oaths to your allies in your army-building.
85. ὅτι δʼ ἀληθῆ λέγω, κάλει μοι τὸν γράψαντα τὸ ψήφισμα Ἀλεξίμαχον καὶ τοὺς συμπροέδρους τοὺς Δημοσθένους, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἀνάγνωθι. Μαρτυρία ὁ μὲν τοίνυν ἐπιδακρύσας ἀρτίως ἐνταυθοῖ Δημοσθένης μνησθεὶς Κερσοβλέπτου, φαίνεται τῆς συμμαχίας ἐκκλῄων αὐτόν. ὡς δʼ ἡ παροῦσα ἐκκλησία διελύθη, ἐξώρκιζον τοὺς συμμάχους οἱ τοῦ Φιλίππου πρέσβεις ἐν τῷ στρατηγίῳ τῷ ὑμετέρῳ.
86. and my accuser has dared to tell you that it was I who drove Critobulus, Cersobleptes’ ambassador, from the ceremony—in the presence of the allies, under the eyes of the generals, after the people had voted as they did! Where did I get all that power? How could the thing have been hushed tip? If I had really dared to undertake such a thing, would you have suffered it, Demosthenes? Would you not have filled the market-place with your shouts and screams, if you had seen me, as you just now said you did, thrusting the ambassador away from the ceremony? But please let the herald call the generals and the representatives of the allies, and do you hear their testimony.
86. τετόλμηκε δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν ὁ κατήγορος, ὡς ἀπὸ τῶν ἱερῶν ἐγὼ Κριτόβουλον ἀπήλασα τὸν πρεσβευτὴν τὸν παρὰ Κερσοβλέπτου, παρόντων μὲν τῶν συμμάχων, ἐψηφισμένου δὲ τοῦ δήμου, παρακαθημένων δὲ τῶν στρατηγῶν, πόθεν τοσαύτην ῥώμην λαβών; ἢ πῶς ἂν τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐσιγήθη; εἰ δʼ ἄρα ἐγὼ ἐτόλμων τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἐπέτρεψας ἄν, ὦ Δημόσθενες, καὶ οὐκ ἐνέπλησας βοῆς καὶ κραυγῆς τὴν ἀγοράν, ὁρῶν με, ὡς ἔφησθʼ ἀρτίως, ὠθοῦντα ἀπὸ τῶν ἱερῶν τὸν πρεσβευτήν; καλείτω δέ μοι τοὺς στρατηγοὺς ὁ κῆρυξ καὶ τοὺς συνέδρους τῶν συμμάχων, καὶ τὰς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν ἀκούσατε.
87. Testimony Is it not, therefore, an outrage, gentlemen, if one dares utter such lies about a man who is his own—no, I hasten to correct myself, not his own, but your—fellow citizen, when he is in peril of his life? Wisely, indeed, did our fathers prescribe that, in the trials for bloodshed which are held at the Palladion, the one who wins his case must cut in pieces the sacrificial flesh, and take a solemn oath (and the custom of your fathers is in force to this day), affirming that those jurors who have voted on his side have voted what is true and right, and that he himself has spoken no falsehood; and he calls down destruction upon himself and his household, if this be not true, and prays for many blessings for the jurors. A right provision, fellow citizens, and worthy of a democracy.
87. Μαρτυρίαι οὐκ οὖν δεινόν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, εἴ τις κατʼ ἀνδρὸς πολίτου, οὐχ ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλʼ ὑμετέρου, τοῦτο γὰρ προδιορθοῦμαι, τολμᾷ τηλικαῦτα καταψεύδεσθαι, κινδυνεύοντος ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος; ἢ πῶς οὐκ εἰκότως οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν ταῖς φονικαῖς δίκαις ταῖς ἐπὶ Παλλαδίῳ κατέδειξαν, τέμνοντα τὰ τόμια τὸν νικῶντα τῇ ψήφῳ ἐξορκίζεσθαι, καὶ τοῦτο ὑμῖν πάτριόν ἐστιν ἔτι καὶ νῦν, τἀληθῆ καὶ τὰ δίκαια ἐψηφίσθαι τῶν δικαστῶν ὅσοι τὴν ψῆφον ἤνεγκαν αὐτῷ, καὶ ψεῦδος μηδὲν εἰρηκέναι, εἰ δὲ μή, ἐξώλη αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐπαρᾶσθαι καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν αὑτοῦ, τοῖς δὲ δικασταῖς εὔχεσθαι πολλὰ καὶ ἀγαθὰ εἶναι; καὶ μάλα ὀρθῶς καὶ πολιτικῶς, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι·
88. For if no one of you would willingly defile himself with justifiable bloodshed, surely he would guard against that which was unjustifiable, such as robbing a man of life or property or civil rights—such acts as have caused some men to kill themselves, others to be put to death by decree of the state. Will you then, fellow citizens, pardon me, if I call him a lewd rascal, unclean of body, even to the place whence his voice issues forth, and if I go on to prove that the rest of his accusation about Cersobleptes is false on the face of it?
88. εἰ γὰρ μηδεὶς ἂν ὑμῶν ἑαυτὸν ἀναπλῆσαι φόνου δικαίου βούλοιτο, ἦ που ἀδίκου γε φυλάξαιτʼ ἄν, τὴν ψυχὴν ἢ τὴν οὐσίαν ἢ τὴν ἐπιτιμίαν τινὸς ἀφελόμενος, ἐξ ὧν αὑτοὺς ἀνηρήκασί τινες, οἱ δὲ καὶ δημοσίᾳ ἐτελεύτησαν. ἆρʼ οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, δοίητʼ ἄν μοι συγγνώμην, εἰ κίναιδον αὐτὸν προσειπὼν καὶ μὴ καθαρεύοντα τῷ σώματι, μηδʼ ὅθεν τὴν φωνὴν ἀφίησιν, ἔπειτα τὸ λοιπὸν μέρος τοῦ κατηγορήματος τοῦ περὶ Κερσοβλέπτην ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ δείξαιμι ψεῦδος ὄν;
89. You have a practice which in my judgment is most excellent and most useful to those in your midst who are the victims of slander: you preserve for all time in the public archives your decrees, together with their dates and the names of the officials who put them to vote. Now this man has told you that what ruined the cause of Cersobleptes was this: that when Demosthenes urged that we should go to Thrace, where Cersobleptes was being besieged, and should solemnly call on Philip to cease doing this thing, I, as leader of the ambassadors and influential with you, refused, and sat down in Oreus, I and the rest of the ambassadors, busy with getting foreign consulships for ourselves.
89. κάλλιστον γὰρ οἶμαι πρᾶγμα καὶ χρησιμώτατον τοῖς διαβαλλομένοις παρʼ ὑμῖν γίγνεται· καὶ γὰρ τοὺς χρόνους καὶ τὰ ψηφίσματα καὶ τοὺς ἐπιψηφίσαντας ἐν τοῖς δημοσίοις γράμμασι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον φυλάττετε. εἴρηκε δὲ οὗτος πρὸς ὑμᾶς, παρὰ τοῦτο διαφθαρῆναι τὰ Κερσοβλέπτου πράγματα, ὅτι τῆς πρεσβείας ὢν ἡγεμὼν ἐγὼ καὶ κατευημερηκὼς παρʼ ὑμῖν, αὐτοῦ κελεύοντος εἰς Θρᾴκην ἡμᾶς ἰέναι Κερσοβλέπτου πολιορκουμένου, καὶ διαμαρτύρασθαι Φιλίππῳ ταῦτα μὴ ποιεῖν, οὐκ ἠθέλησα, ἀλλʼ ἐκαθήμην ἐν Ὠρεῷ, καὶ οἱ συμπρέσβεις, προξενίας κατασκευαζόμενοι.
90. Hear now the letter which Chares sent to the people at the time, saying that Cersobleptes had lost his kingdom and that Philip had taken Hieron Oros on the twenty-fourth of Elaphebolion. And it was Demosthenes, one of the ambassadors, who was presiding in the assembly here on the twenty-fifth of that month.
90. ἀκούσατε δὴ τῆς Χάρητος ἐπιστολῆς, ἣν ἐπέστειλε τότε τῷ δήμῳ, ὅτι Κερσοβλέπτης ἀπολώλεκε τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ Ἱερὸν ὄρος κατείληφε Φίλιππος Ἐλαφηβολιῶνος μηνὸς ἑβδόμῃ φθίνοντος· Δημοσθένης δʼ ἐν τῷ δήμῳ προήδρευε τούτου τοῦ μηνός, εἷς ὢν τῶν πρέσβεων, ἕκτῃ φθίνοντος.
91. Letter Now not only did we delay all the rest of that month, but it was Munichion when we set out. As witness of this I will present the senate, for there is a decree of theirs which commands the ambassadors to set out in order to receive the oaths. Please read the decree of the senate. Decree Now read also the date of the decree.
91. Ἐπιστολή οὐ μόνον τοίνυν διετρίψαμεν τὰς λοιπὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ μηνός, ἀλλὰ Μουνιχιῶνος ἐξωρμήσαμεν. καὶ τούτου τὴν βουλὴν μάρτυρα ὑμῖν παρέξομαι· ἔστι γὰρ αὐτῆς ψήφισμα, ὃ κελεύει ἀπιέναι τοὺς πρέσβεις ἐπὶ τοὺς ὅρκους. καί μοι λέγε τὸ τῆς βουλῆς ψήφισμα. Ψήφισμα παρανάγνωθι δὴ καὶ τὸν χρόνον, ὅστις ἦν.
92. Date You hear that the decree was passed on the third of Munichion. How many days before I set out was it that Cersobleptes lost his kingdom? According to Chares the general it occurred the month before—that is, if Elaphebolion is the month next before Munichion! Was it, then, in my power to save Cersobleptes, who was lost before I set out from home? And now do you imagine that there is one word of truth in his account of what was done in Macedonia or of what was done in Thessaly, when he gives the lie to the senate-house and the public archives, and falsifies the date and the meetings of the assembly?
92. Χρόνος ἀκούετε ὅτι Μουνιχιῶνος ἐψηφίσθη τρίτῃ ἱσταμένου. ὁ δὲ Κερσοβλέπτης πόσαις πρότερον ἡμέραις ἀπώλεσε τὴν ἀρχὴν πρὶν ἐμὲ ἀπιέναι; ὥς φησι Χάρης ὁ στρατηγός, τοῦ προτέρου μηνός, εἴπερ Ἐλαφηβολιών ἐστι Μουνιχιῶνος πρότερος. ἐδυνάμην ἂν οὖν ἐγὼ σῶσαι Κερσοβλέπτην, ὃς πρὶν ἐμὲ ἐξορμᾶν οἴκοθεν ἀπωλώλει; ἔπειτα οἴεσθέ τι τοῦτον ἀληθὲς εἰρηκέναι ἢ περὶ τῶν ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ πραχθέντων ἢ περὶ τῶν ἐν Θετταλίᾳ, ὃς τοῦ βουλευτηρίου καὶ τῶν δημοσίων γραμμάτων καὶ τοῦ χρόνου καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν καταψεύδεται;
93. and is it true, Demosthenes, that you at Athens tried to exclude Cersobleptes from the treaty, but pitied him when you got to Oreus? And do you today accuse me of having taken bribes, you who were once fined by the Senate of the Areopagus for not prosecuting your suit for assault, that time when you indicted your cousin Demomeles of Paeania for the cut on your head that you gave yourself with your own hand? And do you put on airs before these jurymen, as though they did not know that you are the bastard son of Demosthenes the cutler?
93. καὶ τὸν Κερσοβλέπτην Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἔκσπονδον ἐποίεις, ἐν Ὠρεῷ δʼ ἠλέεις; καὶ νῦν μὲν δωροδοκίας κατηγορεῖς, πρότερον δʼ ὑπέμεινας τὴν ἐπιβολὴν τῆς βουλῆς τῆς ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου, οὐκ ἐπεξιὼν τῇ τοῦ τραύματος γραφῇ, ἣν ἐγράψω Δημομέλην τὸν Παιανιέα, ἀνεψιὸν ὄντα, ἐπιτεμὼν τὴν σαυτοῦ κεφαλήν; καὶ σεμνολογεῖ ὡς οὐκ εἰδόσι τούτοις ὅτι Δημοσθένους υἱὸς εἶ νόθος τοῦ μαχαιροποιοῦ;
94. But you undertook to say that I at first refused to serve on the embassy to the Amphictyons, and later went on the embassy and was guilty of misconduct, and you read the one decree and suppressed the other. I was, indeed, chosen one of the ambassadors to the Amphictyons, and even as I had shown myself zealous in reporting to you the embassy from which I had returned, so now, although I was in poor health, I did not refuse the new mission, but promised to serve, if I should have the strength. But as the ambassadors were on the point of setting out, I sent my brother and his son with my physician to the senate, not to decline service for me (for the law does not permit men who have been elected by the assembly to decline before the senate), but merely to testify to my illness.
94. ἐπεχείρησας δʼ εἰπεῖν, ὡς καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀμφικτύονας πρεσβείαν ἐξομοσάμενος παρεπρέσβευσα, καὶ ψήφισμα τὸ μὲν ἀνέγνως, τὸ δὲ ὑπερέβης. ἐγὼ δʼ αἱρεθεὶς πρεσβευτὴς ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀμφικτύονας, ἀρρώστως δʼ ἔχων, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς προθυμίας ἀπαγγέλλων ἀφʼ ἧς ἧκον πρεσβείας πρὸς ὑμᾶς, τὴν μὲν πρεσβείαν οὐκ ἐξωμοσάμην, ἀλλʼ ὑπεσχόμην πρεσβεύσειν, ἐὰν ὦ δυνατός, πρὸς δὲ τὴν βουλὴν ἀπιόντων τῶν συμπρέσβεων τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν καὶ τὸν ἰατρὸν ἔπεμψα, οὐκ ἐξομουμένους·
95. When now the ambassadors had been informed of the fate of the Phocians, they returned, and a meeting of the assembly was held. I had by this time recovered and was present. When the people insisted that we who had been originally elected should all go on with the embassy in spite of what had happened, I thought it my duty to speak the truth to the Athenians.
95. οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ νόμος ἐᾷ τὰς ἐκ τοῦ δήμου χειροτονίας ἐν τῇ βουλῇ ἐξόμνυσθαι· ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρρωστίαν μου δηλώσοντας. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ συμπρέσβεις πυθόμενοι τὰ περὶ τοὺς Φωκέας συμβάντα ἀνέστρεψαν, γενομένης ἐκκλησίας ἤδη παρὼν καὶ δυνάμενος τῷ σώματι, προσαναγκάζοντος τοῦ δήμου μηδὲν ἧττον πρεσβεύειν ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἐξ ἀρχῆς αἱρεθέντας ἅπαντας, ἀψευδεῖν πρὸς Ἀθηναίους ᾤμην δεῖν.