Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
<<Dem. 14.23 | Dem. 14.32 (Greek) | >>Dem. 14.41 |
14.28You must therefore make all your other preparations, but let the money remain for the present in the hands of its owners, for it could not be in better keeping, for the benefit of the State; but if ever the threatened crisis comes, then accept it as a voluntary contribution.
Greece . For where would he retire afterwards? Will he go to Phrygia and be a slave?
14.32For the objects at stake in a war against the barbarian are nothing less than our country, our life, our habits, our freedom, and all such blessings. Who, then, is so desperate that he will sacrifice himself, his ancestors, his sepulchres, and his native land, all for the sake of a paltry profit? I cannot think that there is such a man. Moreover, it is not even to the King's advantage that mercenaries should beat the Greeks, for the men who shall beat us have been his masters long ago. note No; his object is not, after destroying us, to find himself in the power of others, but to rule all the world, if he can, or if not, at least those who are now his slaves.
Greece that they would pay a large sum,
14.34if they had it, to get a chance of expiating their former sins against the Greeks. note If, however, some think that the Thebans are fated always to be on the wrong side, at any rate you all know this, that if the Thebans stand by the King, their enemies are bound to stand by the Greeks.
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,
Demosthenes, Speeches (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose; rhetoric] [word count] [lemma count] [Dem.]. | ||
<<Dem. 14.23 | Dem. 14.32 (Greek) | >>Dem. 14.41 |