Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
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14.1Those who praise your ancestors, men of
14.3I admit that he is the common enemy of all the Greeks; yet I would not on that account advise you to undertake a war against him by yourselves apart from the rest, for I observe that the Greeks themselves are by no means common friends of one another, but that certain of them repose more confidence in the King than in some of their neighbors. From this state of things I conclude that it is to your interest to be careful that your grounds for entering on war shall be equitable and just, but to proceed with all the necessary preparations, making that the foundation of your policy. 14.4For I believe, Athenians, that if there were clear and unmistakable signs of the King's hostile intentions, the other Greeks would join with us, and would be deeply grateful to those who would stand up for them and with them against his attacks; but if we force on a war, while his aims are still obscure, I am afraid, men of
14.14Therefore, men of
I now proceed to describe a clear and easy way of manning the ships. I suggest that the generals should divide the dockyards into ten areas, so arranging it that there may be dock-room in each for thirty ships, as close together as possible, and that when they have done this, they should apportion two boards and thirty galleys to each area, and then assign the tribes by lot to the areas.
14.23And each brigade-commander note must divide into three parts whatever area his tribe has taken over, and the ships in the same way, and then he must allot the thirds of his tribe in such a way that of the whole space of the dockyards each tribe may have one area and each third of a tribe a third of an area; so that you can know at once, if necessary, where each tribe and each third of a tribe is stationed, who are the trierarchs and what ships they have, and that so each tribe may have thirty ships and each third of a tribe ten. For if we can only get this started, any detail at present omitted (for it is perhaps difficult to provide for everything) will be discovered by the actual working of the plan, and we shall have a uniform system both for the whole navy and for every part of it.14.24But as regards money and a ready supply of it at once, I am aware that I am going to make a startling proposal. The proposal shall, however, be made, because I am confident that if you take the right point of view, it will be clear that I alone have told you the truth, as it is and as it will be. My view is that we ought not to talk about money now; for if we need it, we have a source of supply, abundant, honorable and fair; if we look for it at once, we shall fail so utterly to supply it now that we shall conclude that it is not even in reserve for our future use, but if we leave it alone, it will be there. What, then, is this supply, which is not now, but will be hereafter? 14.25That sounds like a riddle, but I will explain. Look at the great city that lies around you, men of
These proposals, men of
14.31Again, what frightens some of you—that his wealth will attract a large mercenary army—does not strike me as true. For although I believe that many Greeks would consent to serve in his pay against the Egyptians and Orontes note and other barbarians, not so much to enable him to subdue any of those enemies as to win for themselves wealth and relief from their present poverty, yet I do not think that any Greek would attack
14.33Now, if anyone expects the Thebans to take our side, it is difficult to speak to you about them, because you have such a hearty dislike of them that you would not care to hear any good of them, even if it were true; but yet, when dealing with grave matters, one must not on any pretext pass over an important consideration. For my part, I believe that the Thebans are so little likely to join the King in an attack on
14.35I believe, then, that the cause of justice and those who defend it will prove stronger than the traitors and the barbarian against all opposition. Therefore I say that we must not be unduly alarmed, nor must we be tempted to commence hostilities. And indeed I cannot see that any of the other Greeks have reason to dread this war. 14.36For who of them does not know that as long as they were of one mind and regarded the Persian as their common enemy, they could count on many advantages, but ever since they thought of him as a friend to fall back on and were torn asunder by their own private quarrels, they have suffered such disasters as no one would have devised for them even in an imprecation. If that is so, are we to fear this man, whom fortune and the voice of Heaven proclaim to be an unprofitable friend and an auspicious foe? Never! Yet let us do him no wrong either, both in our own interests and in view of the unrest and disloyalty of the other Greeks. 14.37If indeed we could attack him with unanimity, all banded against one, I should not count it wrong in us to do him wrong. note But since this is impossible, I suggest that we ought to be careful not to give the King an opportunity to pose as the champion of the other Greeks; for as long as you remain quiet, any such action on his part would excite suspicion, but if you are the aggressors, he will seem naturally anxious to befriend the rest, because they are hostile to you. 14.38Do not, then, expose the weakness of the Greeks by issuing a summons which they will not obey and declaring a war which you cannot wage; but in quietness and confidence go on with your preparations, and be content that this report of you be brought to the King's ears, not (Heaven forbid!) that all the Greeks, including the Athenians, are helpless, 14.39terrified and distracted—that is far from being the case—but that if falsehood and perjury were not as disgraceful in the eyes of the Greeks as they are respectable in his, you would long ago have marched against him; that as it is, you will not for your own sakes do this, but you pray to all the gods that he may be smitten with the same infatuation as were his ancestors of old. And if it comes into his mind to reflect on this; he will find that your resolutions are not carelessly taken. 14.40He knows that the wars we fought against his ancestors have made our city prosperous and powerful, but that the policy of inaction that she once pursued gave her no such supremacy over any of the other Greek states as she enjoys today. And indeed he sees that the Greeks stand in need of a peacemaker, whether voluntary or involuntary, and he knows that in that character he would himself appear to them, if he tried to stir up war. Therefore he will find the reports that reach him easy to understand and easy to believe.
14.41To spare you the tedium of a lengthy speech, men of
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