of the strong Macedonian bias of his policy, was nowise inferior to
Ephialtes, Aristeides, or Kimon, either in courage or in just dealing;
while Demosthenes, who could not be trusted, as we are told by
Demetrius, to stand his ground in battle, and who was not altogether
proof against the seductions of money--for though he never would receive
a bribe from Philip or from Macedonia, yet he was overwhelmed by the
torrent of gold which poured from Susa and Ekbatana--was better able than
any one else to praise the great deeds of his ancestors, but was not
equally capable of imitating them. Yet in spite of these shortcomings,
his life was more virtuous than that of any statesman of his time, with
the exception of Phokion. He used plainer language to the people than
any one else, opposed their wishes, and sharply reproved them for their
mistakes, as we learn from his orations. Theopompus has recorded that
once when the Athenians called upon him to impeach some person, and
became riotous when he refused, he rose and said, "Men of Athens, I will
always give you my advice, whether you bid me or not; but I will not
accuse men falsely because you bid me." His mode of dealing with
Antiphon also was by no means like that of a man who courts the favour
of the people, for when the public assembly acquitted Antiphon,
Demosthenes dragged him before the court of the Areopagus, and in
defiance of the expressed opinion of the people, proved him guilty of
having promised Philip that he would set fire to the dockyard. The
wretched man was condemned by the court and executed. He also impeached
the priestess Theoris for various evil practices, and especially for
teaching slaves to cheat their masters. He obtained a verdict against
her, and caused her also to be put to death.
XV. It is stated that the speech by which Apollodorus obtained sentence
against the general Timotheus, and had him condemned to pay a large
fine, was written for him by Demosthenes: and he also wrote the
speeches against Phormio and Stephanus, which, as may be supposed,
brought great disgrace upon him. For Phormio actually used a speech
written by Demosthenes to combat Apollodorus, which was just as if out
of one armourer's shop he had sold them each daggers to kill one another
with. Of his public speeches, those against Androtion, Timokrates and
Aristokrates were written for other persons, as he had not at the time
of their composition began to speak in public, being only twenty-seven
or twenty-eight years of age. The oration against Aristogeiton, he
himself pronounced, as he did also that against Leptines, out of regard
for Ktesippus the son of Chabrias, according to his own account of the
matter, though some say that he was paying his addresses to the young
man's mother at the time. He did not, however, marry her, but married a
Samian woman, as we learn from the treatise of Demetrius of Magnesia on
Synonyms. It is not clear whether the oration against Æschines for the
dishonest embassage was ever spoken; although we are told by Idomeneus
that Æschines was only acquitted by thirty votes. This, however, cannot
be true, judging from the speeches of Demosthenes and Æschines "on the
Crown:" for neither of them distinctly alludes to that affair as having
ever come into court. This point, therefore, I shall leave for others to
determine.
XVI. Before the war broke out no one could doubt which side Demosthenes
would take, as he never allowed any act of the King of Macedonia to pass
unnoticed, but seized every opportunity of rousing and exciting his
countrymen to oppose him. In consequence of this his name became well
known at the court of Philip, and when he was sent with nine others to
Macedonia on an embassy, Philip listened to the speeches of them all,
but replied to his speech with the greatest care. He did not, however,
pay so much attention to Demosthenes in the entertainment which he
provided for the ambassadors, but took especial pains to win the favour
of Æschines and Philokrates. Hence, when these men praised Philip as
being more eloquent, more handsome, and to crown all, able to drink more
than any one else, Demosthenes sneeringly replied that the first of
these qualities was excellent in a sophist, the second in a woman, and
the third in a sponge, but that they were none of them such as became a
king.
XVII. When war finally broke out, as Philip was unable to remain quiet,
while the Athenians were urged on by Demosthenes, his first measure was
to prevail upon the Athenians to recover Euboea, which had been handed
over to Philip by its local rulers. In pursuance of a decree which bore
the name of Demosthenes, the Athenians crossed into the island and drove
out the Macedonians. Next, as Philip was besieging Byzantium and
Perinthus, Demosthenes prevailed upon his countrymen to lay aside their
anger and forget the wrongs which they had received from the people of
those cities in the social war, and to send them a reinforcement by
which they were saved. After this he travelled through Greece, exciting
a spirit of resistance to Philip by his speeches, until he succeeded in
forming nearly all the Greek cities into a confederacy against Philip,
organised an army of fifteen thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry,
besides the local forces of each city, and induced them to subscribe
cheerfully for the maintenance of the mercenaries and the expenses of
the war. At this time, we are told by Theophrastus that, when the allies
demanded that their contributions should be limited to some fixed sum,
Krobylus the Athenian orator answered that war feeds not by a fixed
allowance.[129] Greece was now in a flutter of expectation, and the
people of Euboea, Achaia, Corinth, Megara, Leukas and Korkyra were all in
arms. Yet the hardest task of all still remained for Demosthenes to
accomplish, namely, to induce the Thebans to join the alliance, because
their territory bordered upon that of Athens, and their army was very
important, for at that time Thebes was the most warlike state in Greece.
It was no easy matter to win over the Thebans, who had just received
signal assistance from Philip in their war against the Phokians, and so
were inclined to take his side, besides which, their being such near
neighbours to the Athenians caused perpetual jealousies and quarrels
between the two countries, which were renewed upon the most trifling
occasions.
XVIII. Yet when Philip, excited by his success at Amphissa, suddenly
marched to Elatea and made himself master of Phokis, when all the
Athenians were panic-stricken, and no one dared to ascend the bema, or
knew what to say, Demosthenes alone came forward and advised them to
stand by the Thebans; and after having, after his wont, encouraged and
comforted the people, he was sent with some others as ambassador to
Thebes. We learn from the historian Marsyas that Philip, too, sent the
Macedonians Amyntas and Klearchus, the Thessalian Daochus, and
Thrasydaeus to Thebes to argue on his behalf. The Thebans on this
occasion saw clearly enough on which side their interests lay, for the
sufferings they had just endured in the Phokian war were still fresh in
their memories; but we read in the history of Theopompus that the
eloquence of Demosthenes so roused and inflamed their courage that all
cold-blooded calculation of the chances, fear of the enemy, and
considerations of expediency were entirely lost sight of in the
honourable enthusiasm created by his speech. So powerful did his oratory
prove, that Philip at once sent an embassy to ask for terms of peace,
while Greece stood erect and watchful. Not only the Athenian generals,
but even the Boeotarchs took their orders from Demosthenes, and he was
as powerful in the public assembly of the Thebans as in that of Athens,
being beloved by both nations and possessed of a power which was not
beyond his deserts, as Theopompus says, but which he well deserved.
XIX. But some fatal destiny seemed now to have brought round the hour
for the extinction of the liberties of Greece, and both counteracted his
efforts, and also gave many ominous indications of what was to come. The
Pythia at Delphi uttered terrible predictions, and an old oracle of the
Sibyls was in every one's mouth, which ran as follows:--
"Far from the battle, on that fatal day
Beside Thermodon may I flee away,
Or view it as an eagle from the sky;
There shall the vanquished weep, the victor die."
It is said that the Thermodon is a little rivulet near my own town of
Chæronea which runs into the Kephisus. We Chæroneans nowadays do not
know of any rivulet which is so called, but we suppose that the stream
which we call Hæmon was at that period called the Thermodon; for it runs
past the temple of Herakles, where the Greek army encamped: and we
imagine that when the battle took place this stream was filled with
blood and corpses, and became known by its present name. Yet the
historian Douris writes that the Thermodon was not a river at all, but
that some men while digging a trench round their tent found a small
stone image, with an inscription saying that it represented a man named
Thermodon carrying a wounded Amazon in his arms. Concerning this there
was another oracle current, as follows:--
"Watch for Thermodon's field, thou sable crow,
There shalt thou feed on human flesh enow."
XX. It is hard in these matters to determine the exact truth: but, be
this as it may, Demosthenes was greatly encouraged to see such a force
of armed Greeks at his disposal, and, elated by their confidence and
eagerness for battle would not allow them to pay any attention to
oracles and predictions, but hinted that the Pythia was in Philip's pay,
and reminded the Thebans of Epameinondas, and the Athenians of Perikles,
both of whom regarded such considerations as mere pretexts for
cowardice. Up to this point he behaved as a brave man should; but in the
battle[130] itself he performed no honourable exploit worthy of his
speeches, but left his place in the ranks and ran away in a most
shameful manner, throwing away his arms that he might run faster, and
not hesitating to disgrace the motto of "Good Luck," which Pytheas tells
us was written in golden letters upon his shield. Immediately after the
victory Philip, in insolent delight at his success, danced in a drunken
revel among the corpses and sang the opening words of a decree of
Demosthenes, which happened to form an iambic verse, as follows:--
"Demosthenes Pæanian, son of Demosthenes," &c.
When, however, he came to himself, and comprehended how great his danger
had been, he trembled at the ability and power of an orator who had been
able to force him in a few hours of one day to risk both his empire and
his life. The fame of Demosthenes reached even to the King of Persia,
and he sent letters to the Satraps who governed the provinces near the
sea, bidding them offer money to Demosthenes, and pay him more attention
than any other Greek, because he was able to effect a diversion in
favour of Persia by keeping the King of Macedonia's hands full. This was
afterwards discovered by Alexander, who found at Sardis letters from
Demosthenes and papers belonging to the King's lieutenant, containing an
account of the various sums of money which they had transmitted to him.
XXI. When this great misfortune befell Greece, the political opponents
of Demosthenes at once impeached him for his conduct; but the people not
only acquitted him of the charges which they brought against him, but
continued to treat him with great honour, and to ask for his advice.
When the remains of those who had fallen at Chæronea were brought home
and buried, they chose him to make the funeral oration over them, and
generally they bore their misfortunes with a noble spirit, not being
excessively humbled and cast down, as Theopompus relates in his history,
with a view to dramatic effect, but by showing especial honour and
esteem for their principal adviser they proved that they did not repent
of the policy which they had followed. Demosthenes pronounced the
funeral oration over the fallen, but he never again proposed a decree in
the popular assembly in his own name, but always in that of some one of
his friends, in order to avoid the evil omen of his own unlucky name,
until he again took courage at the death of Philip, which took place
shortly after his victory at Chæronea. This, it seems, was the meaning
of the last verse of the oracle,
"There shall the vanquished weep, the victor die."
XXII. Demosthenes had secret intelligence of Philip's death, before it
was publicly known. In order to inspirit the Athenians, he went with a
cheerful countenance into the senate, and declared that he had dreamed
that some great good fortune was in store for them. Not long afterwards
messengers arrived with the news of Philip's death. Upon this the
Athenians made sacrifices of thanksgiving to the gods, and decreed a
crown to Pausanias who slew Philip. Demosthenes also came abroad in a
gay dress, and wearing a garland of flowers on his head, although his
daughter had only been dead seven days. This circumstance is reported by
Æschines, who reviles him for his conduct, and calls him an unnatural
father, though he only proves the weakness and vulgarity of his own
nature by supposing that noisy demonstrations of grief show tenderness
of heart, and blaming those who bear their sorrows with dignity and
composure. Yet I will not say that the Athenians did right to wear
garlands and make merry at the death of a king who, after his victory,
had dealt so gently with them when they were at his mercy; for it
deserved the anger of the gods, and was a thoroughly low-minded act to
honour a man while he lived and elect him a citizen of Athens, and then
when he fell by the hand of a stranger not to be able to contain
themselves for joy, but to dance over his corpse and to sing pæans of
victory, as if they themselves had done some great feat of arms. On the
other hand, I praise Demosthenes for leaving his own home troubles to be
wept for by the women of his household, and himself coming forward and
doing what he imagined was best for his country. This shows a manly and
patriotic spirit, which ever looks to the good of the community at
large; and I think that in forcing his private grief to give way to the
public joy he acted well, and even outdid those actors who represent
kings and autocrats on the stage, and who laugh or wail not as their own
feelings bid them, but as the argument of the play requires. Apart from
these considerations, it is our duty not to forsake a man when he is in
sorrow, but to administer consolation to him and to turn his thoughts to
pleasanter subjects, as physicians bid weak-eyed patients turn their
eyes away from a distressing glare of light and direct them to green and
soothing colours; and what better means of consolation could one
possibly find when one's country is fortunate, than to bid one's friend
merge his private grief in the public joy? I have been led to make
these reflections by observing that this speech of Æschines has had
undue influence with many persons, because it makes a mistaken appeal to
their tenderer feelings.
XXIII. Now Demosthenes a second time began to rouse the states of Greece
and reorganise the confederacy. The Thebans attacked their Macedonian
garrison, and killed many of them, with arms furnished by Demosthenes,
and the Athenians began to prepare to fight as their allies. Demosthenes
reigned supreme in the popular assembly, and wrote to the Persian
generals in Asia endeavouring to induce them to attack Alexander, whom
he scoffed at as a child, and nicknamed Margites.[131] But when
Alexander, after settling the affairs of his kingdom, marched with his
army into Boeotia, the courage of the Athenians deserted them.
Demosthenes himself quailed in terror, and the Thebans, forsaken by
their allies, fought against Alexander alone, and were utterly ruined.
Upon this the Athenians, in an agony of terror, sent Demosthenes and
several other orators on an embassy to Alexander; but he, fearing
Alexander's fury, went no further than Mount Kithæron, and then returned
home. Alexander now at once sent to Athens to demand that ten of her
chief orators should be given up to him, according to the historians
Idomeneus and Douris, though most of the more trustworthy writers say
that he only asked for the eight following:--Demosthenes, Polyeuktus,
Ephialtes, Lykurgus, Moerokles, Demon, Kallisthenes and Charidemus. On
this occasion Demosthenes told the people the fable of the sheep who
gave up their watch-dogs to the wolves, explaining that he and the other
orators were the watch-dogs who guarded the people, and calling
Alexander the "great wolf of Macedon." "Moreover," said he, "by
delivering us up you really deliver up yourselves also, just as you see
merchants selling whole cargoes of corn by small samples of a few grains
which they carry about in a cup." This we learn from Aristobulus of
Kassandrea.[132] As the Athenians were quite at their wit's end, and
knew not what to do, Demades at last agreed with the orators whose
extradition was demanded, that in consideration of a sum of five talents
he would himself go to the king of Macedonia and intercede for them,
either because he trusted in the friendship which existed between him
and Alexander, or because he thought that he should find him like a lion
that has been satiated with slaughter. Demades succeeded in saving their
lives, and arranged terms of peace between the Athenians and Alexander.
XXIV. After Alexander's departure Demades and his party were all
powerful at Athens, and Demosthenes was completely humbled. He made an
effort to assist the abortive attempts of Agis[133] King of Sparta, but
as the Athenians would not take part in the proposed rising, and the
Lacedæmonians were crushed, he again retired into obscurity. At this
time also the action bought by Æschines against Ktesiphon about the
Crown came on for trial. This action had been formally begun during the
archonship of Chærondas, a short time before the battle of Chæronea, but
it was not decided until ten years later, in the archonship of
Aristophon. This, although a private action, attracted greater interest
than any public one, both on account of the eloquence of the speakers on
both sides and the spirited behaviour of the judges, who refused to
truckle to the party in power, which had banished Demosthenes and which
was slavishly subservient to Macedonia, but acquitted Demosthenes by
such a splendid majority that Æschines did not obtain the fifth part of
the votes. He in consequence at once left the city, and spent the
remainder of his life at Rhodes and the other cities of the Ionian coast
as a sophist and teacher of rhetoric.
XXV. Shortly after this, Harpalus arrived in Athens from Asia, fleeing
from Alexander, whom he feared to meet, both because he had grossly
misconducted himself while in command of a province, and because
Alexander had now become a capricious tyrant, terrible even to his
friends. When he sought refuge with the Athenians, and placed himself,
his ships, and his treasure in their hands, the other orators, casting
longing glances at his wealth, at once pleaded for him, and advised the
Athenians to receive and protect the suppliant. Demosthenes at first
advised them to send Harpalus away, and take care not to involve the
city in war by such unjust and uncalled-for proceedings: but a few days
afterwards when an inventory was being taken of Harpalus's property, he,
seeing that Demosthenes was admiring a golden Persian drinking cup and
examining the sculptures with which it was enriched, bade him take it in
his hands and observe the weight of the gold. Demosthenes was surprised
at the weight, and asked how much it would fetch. Harpalus answered with
a smile, "It will fetch you twenty talents:" and as soon as it was dark
he sent the cup and the twenty talents to the house of Demosthenes.
Harpalus had very cleverly fathomed the character of Demosthenes by
observing the loving and eager glances with which he eyed this cup; for
he received the bribe and went over to the side of Harpalus, just as if
he were a city which had received a foreign garrison. Next morning he
carefully bandaged his throat with woollen wrappers, and proceeded to
the assembly, where, when called upon to rise and speak, he made signs
that he had lost his voice. Witty men said that the orator had not
caught a sore throat, but a silver quinsy during the night. Soon the
whole people learned that he had been bribed, and as they would not
listen to him when he rose to explain his conduct, but hooted and
groaned, some one rose and said, "Men of Athens, will you not listen to
a man who has such a golden tongue?" The people thereupon sent Harpalus
away, and fearing that inquiry might be made after the treasure which
the orators had received, they instituted a vigorous search through
every man's house, except that of Kallikles the son of Arrhenides, which
they would not allow to be searched because his newly-married wife was
there. These particulars we learn from the history of Theopompus.
XXVI. Demosthenes, wishing to put a good face on the matter, passed a
decree in the assembly, that the senate of the Areopagus should enquire
into the matter, and punish those who were found guilty. However he was
one of the first whom the senate found guilty: and, although he came
into court and pleaded his cause, he was condemned to pay a fine of
fifty talents, and was imprisoned in default. Overwhelmed with shame at
this disgrace, and being also in weak health, he could not bear to
remain in prison, and made his escape with the secret assistance of his
keepers. We read that after he had got a short distance from Athens he
saw that he was being pursued by several of his political opponents, and
tried to hide from them. When, however, they came up to him, addressed
him by his name, and begged him to receive money for his journey from
them, assuring him that they had brought it to give to him and had
pursued him for no other reason, Demosthenes burst into tears and
exclaimed: "I may well be sorry to leave a home where my very enemies
treat me with more kindness than any friends I am likely to find abroad
will do." Demosthenes was much depressed by his banishment, and spent
most of his time in Troezene or Ægina, looking towards Attica with
tears in his eyes. He is said during his exile to have uttered many
unmanly sentiments, very unworthy of his bold speeches when in power. On
leaving the city he stretched out his hands towards the Acropolis and
exclaimed: "Athena, patroness of Athens, why dost thou delight in those
three savage creatures, the owl, the snake, and the people?" He used to
dissuade the young men whom he met and conversed with during his travels
from taking part in political life, and would say that such were the
miseries, the fears, the jealousies, backbitings, and ceaseless
struggles by which a public man is beset, that if at the outset of his
life he had known them, and had been offered his choice between two
courses, one leading to the bema and the public assembly, and the other
to utter annihilation, he would unhesitatingly have chosen the latter.