by Demosthenes
“Can you not imagine,” I said, addressing the Messenians, “how annoyed the Olynthians would have been to hear a word said against Philip in the days when he was handing over to them Anthemus, to which all the former kings of Macedonia laid claim, when he was making them a present of Potidaea, expelling the Athenian settlers, and when he had taken upon himself the responsibility of a quarrel with us and had given them the territory of Potidaea for their own use? Do you imagine they expected to be treated as they have been, or would have believed anyone who suggested it? [21] Nevertheless,” said I, “after a brief enjoyment of other men’s territory, they have long been robbed by Philip of their own, expelled with contumely, not merely vanquished but betrayed, bought and sold by their own country-men. For truly such close communications with tyranny corrupt good constitutions. [22] And what of the Thessalians? Do you imagine,” I said, “that when he was expelling their despots, or again when he was presenting them with Nicaea and Magnesia, they ever dreamed that a Council of Ten would be established among them, as it is today, or that the same man who restored to them the Amphictyonic meeting at Thermopylae would also appropriate their own peculiar revenues? Impossible! But so it came to pass, as all men may know. [23] You,” I said, “gaze with wonder at Philip as he gives away this and promises that, but if you are truly wise, pray that you may never find that he has deceived and cozened you. Verily,” I said, “there are manifold means devised by states for protection and safety — stockades, ramparts, fosses and the like. [24] And all these are wrought by hand and entail expense. But there is one common bulwark which the instinct of sensible men possesses within itself, a good and safe one for all, but invaluable for democracies against tyrants. And what is that bulwark? It is mistrust. Guard that; hold fast to that. If you preserve it, no harm can touch you. [25] What is your object?” I said. “Freedom. Then do you not see that Philip’s very titles are utterly irreconcilable with that? For every king, every despot is the sworn foe of freedom and of law. Beware,” said I, “lest, seeking to be rid of war, you find a master.” [26]
That is what I said to them, and they shouted their approval; and they heard many other speeches from the envoys, both in my presence and again later, as it seems; but they are none the more likely to do without Philip’s friendship and Philip’s promises. [27] And, indeed, it is not strange that Messenians and other Peloponnesians should sometimes act against their better judgement; but you, who know, both from your own intelligence and from our speeches, how you are compassed about with plots and snares, you will, as it seems to me, find to your surprise that through having done nothing in time, you have submitted to everything. So much does the pleasure and ease of the moment prevail over that which at some future time is likely to be advantageous. [28]
On your practical measures you will, if you are wise, deliberate hereafter by yourselves; at present I will suggest the immediate answer which it would be proper for you to adopt.”Answer”
It would indeed have been fair, men of Athens, to call upon those who conveyed to you Philip’s promises, on the strength of which you were induced to conclude the Peace. [29] For I should never myself have consented to serve on the embassy, nor would you, I am sure, have suspended military operations, if you had imagined that Philip after securing peace would act as he has done; but his words at the time were very different from his present actions. Yes, and there are others who ought to be called upon. Whom do I mean? The men who, when peace was made and when I, returning from the second embassy — that sent to administer the oaths — found that the state was being imposed upon, and spoke out and protested and refused to give up Thermopylae and the Phocians — [30] the men, I say, who told you that I, being a water-drinker, was naturally a disagreeable, cross-grained fellow, and that Philip, if he got through the Pass, would do just what you would pray for, would fortify Thespiae and Plataea, and humble the Theban pride, and dig a trench across the Chersonese at his own charges, and restore to you Euboea and Oropus in lieu of Amphipolis. All this was said from this very platform, as I am sure you recollect, although you are not remarkable for keeping in mind those who injure you. [31] And the crowning disgrace is that your posterity also is bound by the same peace which these hopes prompted you to conclude; so completely were you led astray. Why do I mention this now and assert that these men ought to be called upon? I vow that I will boldly tell you the whole truth and keep nothing back. [32] It is not that by descending to abuse I may lay myself open to retaliation in your presence, while I give those who from the first have fallen foul of me an excuse for making further profit out of Philip. Nor do I wish to indulge in idle talk. But I think that one day Philip’s policy will cause you more distress than it does now, [33] for I see the plot thickening. I hope I may prove a false prophet, but I fear the catastrophe is even now only too near. So when you can no longer shut your eyes to what is happening, when you do not need me or someone else to tell you, but can all see for yourselves and be quite certain that all this is directed against you, then I expect you will be angry and exasperated. [34] Yes, I am afraid that, since the ambassadors have kept silence about the services for which they know they have been bribed, those who are trying to repair some of the losses that these men have caused may chance to fall under your displeasure; for I observe that people vent their wrath as a rule, not on those who are to blame, but chiefly on those who are within their reach. [35] Now therefore, while the danger is in the future and is gathering head, while we can still hear one another speak, I want to remind each one of you, however clearly he knows it, who it is that persuaded you to abandon the Phocians and Thermopylae, the command of which gave Philip the command also of the road to Attica and the Peloponnesus, and who it is that has forced you to take counsel, not for your rights and interests abroad, but for your possessions here at home and for the war in Attica, a war which will bring distress on every one of us, when it does come, but which really dates from that very day. [36] For if you had not been hoodwinked then, there would be no anxiety in Athens, because Philip could never, of course, have gained command of the sea and reached Attica with his fleet, nor could he have marched past Thermopylae and Phocis, but either he would have acted fairly and observed the Peace by keeping quiet, or he would have been instantly engaged in a war similar to that which made him so anxious for the Peace. [37]
Enough has now been said by way of reminder. May all the gods forbid that my warnings should ever be brought to the sternest test! For I would not willingly see one man suffer, even though he deserve to perish, if his punishment involves the danger and the damage of all.
ON HALONNESUS
Translated by J. H. Vince
Men of Athens, the charges that Philip brings against the speakers who here uphold your claims shall never deter us from offering our advice on what concerns your interests; for it would be monstrous if the freedom of utterance which is the privilege of this platform should be stifled by dispatches from him. But for myself, men of Athens, I wish first to touch upon the different points of his letter, and then to add my comments on the speeches of his ambassadors. [2]
Philip begins by saying that he offers you Halonnesus as his own property, but that you have no right to demand it of him, because it was not yours when he took it, and is not yours now that he holds it. Moreover, when we ambassadors visited him, he used similar language, to the effect that he had captured the island from pirates and that therefore it belonged absolutely to him. [3] It is not difficult to refute this claim on the ground of its unfairness. For all pirates seize places belonging to others and turn them into strongholds from which to harry their neighbors. But a man who should defeat and punish pirates would surely be unreasonable, if he said that the stolen property wrongfully held by them passed thereby into his own possession. [4] For, that plea once granted, if some pirates seize a strip of Attic territory, or a part of Lemnos or Imbros or Scyros, and if someone dislodges these pirates, what is to prevent this place, where the pirates are established and which is really ou
rs, from becoming the property of those who chastised them? [5] Philip is quite aware that his claim is unjust, but, though he knows this as well as anyone, he thinks that you may be hoodwinked by the men who have engaged, and are now fulfilling their engagement, to direct Athenian policy in accordance with his own desires. Nor again does he fail to see that in either case, however you dub the transaction, the island will be yours, whether it is presented or restored to you. [6] Then what does he gain by using the wrong term and making a present of it to you, instead of using the right term and restoring it? It is not that he wants to debit you with a benefaction received, for such a benefaction would be a farce; but that he wants all Greece to take notice that the Athenians are content to receive maritime strongholds from the man of Macedon. And that is just what you, men of Athens, must not do. [7]
But when he says that he is willing to arbitrate, he is merely mocking you. In the first place, he expects Athenians to refer to arbitration, as against this upstart from Pella, the question whether the islands are yours or his. If you cannot preserve your maritime possessions by your might that once saved Hellas, but rely on any jury to whom you refer it, and whose verdict is final, to preserve them for you, provided always that Philip does not buy their votes, [8] is it not an open confession, when you adopt this policy, that you have abandoned everything on the mainland, and are you not advertising to the world that there is not a single thing for the sake of which you will appeal to arms, if indeed for your possessions on the sea, where you say your strength lies, you shall appeal, not to arms, but to the law-courts? [9]
Then again he says that he has sent envoys to arrange with you an inter-state legal compact, and that this compact will be valid, not as soon as it is ratified by the body of Athenian jurors, as the law directs, but only after it has been referred to him, thus constituting himself a court of appeal from your decision. His object, of course, is to steal a march on you, and to insert in the compact an admission on your part that none of the wrongs committed at Potidaea are charged against him by you as the injured party, but that you confirm his seizure and retention of that city as lawful. [10] Yet Athenians, settled at Potidaea, were robbed of their property by Philip, though they were not at war but in alliance with him, and though he had duly pledged his word to all the inhabitants of that city. Of course he wants to get his many illegal acts everywhere confirmed by a declaration on your part that you bring no charge against him and do not consider yourselves wronged; [11] for that Macedonians need no inter-state compact with Athenians let past history be your witness, since neither Amyntas, the father of Philip, nor the earlier kings ever made any such compact with our city, [12] though intercourse between the two nations was more frequent then than now. For Macedonia was under our sway and tributary to us, and we used each other’s markets more freely then than at present, and mercantile suits were not then, as now, settled strictly every month, making a formal compact between such distant parties unnecessary. [13] However, there was no such compact, and it would not have paid to make one which would entail a voyage from Macedonia to Athens or from Athens to Macedonia in order to obtain satisfaction. Instead, we sought redress in Macedonia under their laws and they at Athens under ours. So do not forget that the real object of this proposed compact is to get your admission that you have no reasonable claim to Potidaea. [14]
As for the pirates, he says that it is only fair that we should join him in clearing the sea of these depredators, who injure you as much as himself; which amounts to a claim that you should set him up as a maritime power and confess that without Philip’s help you cannot keep the high seas safe, [15] and furthermore that he should have a free hand to cruise about and anchor off the different islands and, under pretence of protecting them from pirates, bribe the islanders to revolt from you. Not content with getting your commanders to carry refugees from Macedonia to Thasos, he claims the right to appropriate the other islands also, and sends agents to accompany your commanders, as if to share with you the task of policing the seas. [16] And yet some people say that he has no use for the sea! Why, this man who has no use for the sea is laying down war-ships and building docks, and is ready to send out fleets and incur considerable expense in facing risks at sea, and all for objects that he does not value! [17]
Men of Athens, do you suppose that Philip would insist on your making such concessions to him, if he did not despise you and put complete confidence in his friends here, whom he has made it his policy to conciliate? They are not ashamed to devote their lives to Philip rather than to their own country, and they think that when they take his gifts they are taking them home — though they are selling everything at home. [18]
With regard to the amendment of the peace, Philip’s ambassadors conceded to us the right to amend it, and our amendment, universally admitted to be fair, was that each side should retain its own possessions. But he now contends that he never agreed to this, and that his ambassadors never even raised the point. This simply means that his friends here have persuaded him that you have no memory for what has been stated publicly in the Assembly. [19] But that is just the one thing that you cannot have forgotten; for at the same meeting of the Assembly Philip’s ambassadors put his case before you and the decree was duly proposed, so that, as the decree was recited immediately after the conclusion of the speeches, it was impossible for you to pass at once a resolution which gives the lie to the ambassadors. So it is not against me but against you that his letter is aimed, alleging that you have sent back to him your decision on questions that were never put before you. [20] Why, the ambassadors themselves, whom your resolution flatly contradicted, when you read them your answer and offered them hospitality, did not venture to come forward and say, “You misrepresent us, men of Athens; you say we have said something that we never did say.” No; they held their tongues and took their leave. But I want, men of Athens — for Pytho, who was one of the ambassadors, made an excellent impression on you by his address — I want to recall to you the exact words he used, for I am sure you must remember them. [21] His language was pretty much that of Philip’s present letter. For while accusing those of us who misrepresent Philip, he at the same time blamed you because, though Philip is eager to benefit you and prefers your friendship to that of any other state, you constantly thwart him, lending an ear to false accusers, who both beg money of him and slander him; for tales of that sort, when he is told that he was traduced and that you believed what was said, make him change his mind, since he finds himself distrusted by the very people whom it has been his aim to benefit. [22] Pytho therefore urged public speakers not to attack the peace, because it was not good policy to rescind it, but to amend any unsatisfactory clause, on the understanding that Philip was prepared to fall in with your suggestions. If, however, the speakers confined themselves to abusing Philip without drafting any proposals which, while preserving the terms of peace, might clear Philip of suspicion, he asked you to pay no attention to such fellows. [23] And you approved these arguments and said that Pytho was right, as indeed he was. He made these statements, however, not in order that all those advantages that Philip had paid so much money to secure might be struck out of the treaty, but because he had been so instructed by his schoolmasters here in Athens, who did not imagine that anyone would propose to annul the decree of Philocrates, which lost us Amphipolis. [24]
As for me, men of Athens, I did not venture to propose anything that was unconstitutional, but it was not so to propose the direct contrary of Philocrates’ decree, as I can prove to you. For the decree of Philocrates, through which you lost Amphipolis, was itself contrary to the earlier decrees by which you claimed possession of that territory. [25] So it was this decree of Philocrates that was unconstitutional, nor would it have been possible to draft a constitutional proposal in conformity with his unconstitutional decree. By drafting mine to agree with the earlier decrees, which were constitutional and which also kept your territory intact, I both kept within the constitution and was able to convict Philip of trying
to deceive you and of wishing, not to amend the peace, but to bring discredit on those who were pleading your cause. [26] You are all aware that, after conceding the right to amend the peace, he now denies it. He says that Amphipolis is his, because your decree that he should keep what he held confirmed his right. It is true that you passed that decree, but you never admitted his right to Amphipolis, for it is possible to “hold” what belongs to another, and it is not all “holders” who hold what is their own, but many are in possession of what is really another’s. So his clever quibble is merely foolish. [27] Moreover he remembers the decree of Philocrates, but he has quite forgotten the letter sent to you when he was besieging Amphipolis, in which he admitted that Amphipolis was yours; for he said that when he had taken it he would “restore” it to you, implying that it was your property, and not that of the holders. [28] Apparently those who inhabited Amphipolis, before Philip took it, were holding Athenian territory; but when he has taken it, it is no longer our territory, but his own, that he holds; and in the same way at Olynthus and Apollonia and Pallene he is in possession of his own property, not that of others. [29] Do you not see that his letter to you is all carefully calculated, so that his words and his actions may appear to conform to the universal standard of justice, while he has really shown supreme contempt for it in claiming for himself and denying to you territory which is yours by common consent and decree of the Greeks and of the King of Persia? [30]