Demosthenes

Demosthenes, seeing the Lacedaemonians about to attack him both by sea and land at once, made his own preparations also;

When Demosthenes had thus encouraged them, they were more inspirited, and went down against them, and ranged themselves close along the sea.

When he could not convince either the generals or the soldiers, having subsequently communicated his views to the subordinate officers also, he remained quiet from stress of weather;

The old law of Solon, to which Demosthenes, in his speech against Timocrates, appeals, agrees with it.

so in all political measures the motives and pretexts ought to be laid deeply in the principles of truth and justice.

Demosthenes in his speech against Aristocrates, exclaims, “By all that is sacred, is it not a dreadful and open violation of law, not only of written law, but of that law which is the unwritten rule of all men, to be debarred from the right of using force against the robber as well as against the enemy;

but for all our misfortunes, Demosthenes.

On this point Demosthenes and Ctesiphon will argue at length.

There are, fellow citizens, three classes of public officers.

Before them neither Lucius Crassus will defend you nor Marcus Antonius, nor — since the case will be tried before Greek judges — will you be able to call in Demosthenes;

And so Aeschines inveighs against Demosthenes because he sacrificed victims on the seventh day after his daughter's death.

Who said he grieved if ever he were outdone by the before-dawn industry of the craftsmen.

Among many advantages which Aeschines holds over me in this contention, there are two, men of Athens, of great moment.

Yet, if I address myself to what I have done, and to the part I have taken in politics, I shall often be obliged to speak about myself.

May the gods so inspire you that the temper with which you listen to my words shall be guided, not by my adversary— that would be monstrous indeed!

No wonder Demosthenes and I disagree, men of Athens.

I attempted to repeat the statement I had made to the Council;

So drawing my conclusions, I rose and presented myself, and made an attempt to reply.

It was not against the individual named Demosthenes that his brutality was directed on that occasion, but also against your chorus-master;

for the chorus was a state-chorus, the apparel was being prepared entirely for a public festival, and I, the aggrieved party, was official chorus-master.

The brutality and insolence with which Meidias treats everyone alike are, I suppose, as well known to you, gentlemen of the jury, as to all other citizens.

all this talk of theirs, said he, is sheer nonsense.

Then he went on and said, See how briefly I will report all the rest.

As he said this he called for the reading of the decree of the people.

But when I had loosed it and gone through it all point by point, I was moved to laughter—partly from pleasure at hearing nothing alarming, and partly because I was judging your case against that of Demosthenes.

To Demosthenes, as from the Community.

But perceiving that certain of the enemies of peace were going to trouble your august courts against us, we expected to be summoned by your Magnanimity, so as to be taught the truth from us;

I do not think, gentlemen of the jury, that even Timocrates can lay the blame of the present prosecution upon anyone else:

Men of Athens, I once fell out with a worthless, quarrelsome, unprincipled fellow, with whom in the end the whole city also fell out,—I mean Androtion.

By this man I was far more grievously wronged than Euctemon, inasmuch as Euctemon suffered the loss of some money, but I, if he had made good his attack upon me, should have lost my life as well as my property;

"And I should have been glad," said Philip in jest, "to cede Amphipolis to the Athenians in exchange for Demosthenes' formidable power.

You yourself are often compelled to write replies and to argue against Demosthenes, that most formidable orator and sorcerer, and against the others who play their part in the politics of Athens.

Athens was once wronged in the matter of her orators, and Demosthenes was led off, when Fortune no longer watched over Athens.

Demosthenes in oratione de libertate Rhodiorum:

“For,” as Demosthenes has said, “every one fights his hardest to recover what he has lost;

Demosthenes in his speech on the liberty of the Rhodians says that it was necessary for those who wished to be free to keep away from treaties which were imposed upon them, because such treaties were almost the same as slavery.

And yet a certain speech-writer who is concocting his defense says that I contradict myself;

in the case of Demosthenes, too, it was common report, and not his nurse, that gave him his nickname;

The eminent orator Demosthenes says that you must either wipe out your laws, or else no attention must be paid to my words.

Yes, and when Thucydides had said, "to have alone faced the danger at Marathon," Demosthenes said, "By those who faced the danger at Marathon.

" Again, when Homer had made, "I say that no man of mortals has escaped his fate," Archinus says, "To all men it is owed to die, either earlier or later";

" But also, when Demosthenes had said, "To all of us death is owed," and the rest, Phanocles in his Loves, or Beautiful Ones, writes, "But the thread of the Fates is not to be undone, nor can any of us who feed upon the earth ever flee it.

For myself, I admit it was our duty to undertake the prosecution and to deliver full speeches in accordance with custom and for your information;

To pass over other occasions, seven times, Aristogeiton, have you indicted me, when you had taken the pay of Philip’s agents, and twice you accused me at my audit.

Gentlemen of the jury, as I sat here for a long time and listened with you to the speech of Lycurgus for the prosecution, I thought it in general an excellent speech;

Just so far as it is better to be thought artless than unscrupulous, it is more honorable to repeal this law than to enact it.

For my own part, I shall forbear to retort that it is unjust to take away this privilege from all because you find fault with some;

But as to the character of the proposer of this law, I have no further knowledge of him, nor do I say or know anything to his prejudice;

Demosthenes to the Council and the Assembly sends greeting

Demosthenes to the Council and the Assembly sends greeting.

Because, which of the just pleas that have saved those subsequently tried did not I myself advance?

As for orators, I see they are praised, any of our men who have imitated Hyperides or Demosthenes.

'Do not ask me, who have even gone down to the Phaleric shore, in which place they say Demosthenes was wont to declaim against the surf, that he might accustom himself to overcome the roar with his voice.

for "what each man wishes, that also he thinks," according to the Athenian orator.

My father, men of the jury, left two factories, both doing a large business.

To these sums left by him at home we must add seventy minae, a maritime loan to Xuthus;

This was the amount of productive capital which my father left, as these men will themselves admit, the principal amounting to four talents and five thousand drachmae, and the proceeds to fifty minae each year.

and then cast your vote on the side of justice.

he will conceal it rather, that it may appear that he was justly acquitted.

do not allow my mother, my sister and myself to suffer undeserved misfortunes.

What better opportunity could he have had of convicting us of falsehood than by putting my slave to torture?

that Aphobus himself has, at my summons, given against Demo, his uncle and co-trustee, the same testimony as the witnesses whom he is suing;

Regarding the rapacity and vile character of the plaintiff I purpose to speak at length before you later on, though what you have even now heard gives you a fair idea of it.

why, in short, I found nothing to say at any time earlier than the passing of this decree.

My next purpose is briefly to examine the past history of Charidemus, and to unmask the extraordinary audacity of his flatterers.

And that is what the orators have constantly done in respect of Charidemus, as you will agree when I have given you an account of his past career.