by Demosthenes
[58] καὶ γάρ τοι πέμψας Ἱππόνικον ὁ σύμμαχος αὐτοῖς Φίλιππος καὶ ξένους χιλίους, τὰ τείχη περιεῖλε τοῦ Πορθμοῦ καὶ τρεῖς κατέστησε τυράννους, Ἵππαρχον, Αὐτομέδοντα, Κλείταρχον: καὶ μετὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἐξελήλακεν ἐκ τῆς χώρας δὶς ἤδη βουλομένους σῴζεσθαι, τότε μὲν πέμψας τοὺς μετ᾽ Εὐρυλόχου ξένους, πάλιν δὲ τοὺς μετὰ Παρμενίωνος.
[58] For of course Philip, whom they fancied their ally, sent Hipponicus with a thousand mercenaries, razed the walls of Porthmus, and set up three tyrants, Hipparchus, Automedon, and Clitarchus. Twice since then they have tried to deliver themselves, and twice he has driven them from their homes [on the first occasion sending Eurylochus with his mercenaries, on the second Parmenio].
[59] καὶ τί δεῖ τὰ πολλὰ λέγειν; ἀλλ᾽ ἐν Ὠρεῷ Φιλιστίδης μὲν ἔπραττε Φιλίππῳ καὶ Μένιππος καὶ Σωκράτης καὶ Θόας καὶ Ἀγαπαῖος, οἵπερ νῦν ἔχουσι τὴν πόλιν （καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ᾔδεσαν ἅπαντες）, Εὐφραῖος δέ τις ἄνθρωπος καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ποτ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ οἰκήσας, ὅπως ἐλεύθεροι καὶ μηδενὸς δοῦλοι ἔσονται.
[59] And what need is there to mention most of the cases? But at Oreus Philistides, Menippus, Socrates, Thoas, and Agapaeus, the very men who now control the city, were, as everyone knew, Philip’s agents, but Euphraeus, a man who once resided here at Athens, was working for the freedom and emancipation of his countrymen.
[60] οὗτος τὰ μὲν ἄλλ᾽ ὡς ὑβρίζετο καὶ προυπηλακίζεθ᾽ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, πόλλ᾽ ἂν εἴη λέγειν: ἐνιαυτῷ δὲ πρότερον τῆς ἁλώσεως ἐνέδειξεν ὡς προδότην τὸν Φιλιστίδην καὶ τοὺς μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ, αἰσθόμενος ἃ πράττουσιν. συστραφέντες δ᾽ ἄνθρωποι πολλοὶ καὶ χορηγὸν ἔχοντες Φίλιππον καὶ πρυτανευόμενοι ἀπάγουσι τὸν Εὐφραῖον εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον, ὡς συνταράττοντα τὴν πόλιν.
[60] It would be a long story to tell you how this man was repeatedly outraged and insulted by the people; but a year before the capture of Eretria, detecting the machinations of Philistides and his party, he denounced him as a traitor. Then a number of fellows banded together, with Philip for their paymaster and managing director, and dragged Euphraeus off to prison for setting the city in an uproar.
[61] ὁρῶν δὲ ταῦθ᾽ ὁ δῆμος ὁ τῶν Ὠρειτῶν, ἀντὶ τοῦ τῷ μὲν βοηθεῖν, τοὺς δ᾽ ἀποτυμπανίσαι, τοῖς μὲν οὐκ ὠργίζετο, τὸν δ᾽ ἐπιτήδειον ταῦτα παθεῖν ἔφη καὶ ἐπέχαιρεν. μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ οἱ μὲν ἐπ᾽ ἐξουσίας ὁπόσης ἐβούλοντ᾽ ἔπραττον ὅπως ἡ πόλις ληφθήσεται, καὶ κατεσκευάζοντο τὴν πρᾶξιν: τῶν δὲ πολλῶν εἴ τις αἴσθοιτο, ἐσίγα καὶ κατεπέπληκτο, τὸν Εὐφραῖον οἷ᾽ ἔπαθεν μεμνημένοι. οὕτω δ᾽ ἀθλίως διέκειντο, ὥστ᾽ οὐ πρότερον ἐτόλμησεν οὐδεὶς τοιούτου κακοῦ προσιόντος ῥῆξαι φωνήν, πρὶν διασκευασάμενοι πρὸς τὰ τείχη προσῇσαν οἱ πολέμιοι: τηνικαῦτα δ᾽ οἱ μὲν ἠμύνοντο, οἱ δὲ προὐδίδοσαν.
[61] When the democrats of Oreus saw this, instead of rescuing him and knocking the others on the head, they showed no resentment against them and gloated over Euphraeus, saying that he deserved all he had got. Then having all the liberty of action they desired, they intrigued for the capture of the city and prepared to carry out their plot, while any of the common folk who saw what they were at were terrorized into silence, having the fate of Euphraeus before their eyes. And so abject was their condition that, with this danger looming ahead, no one dared to breathe a syllable until the enemy, having completed their preparations, were approaching the gates; and then some were for defence, the others for surrender.
[62] τῆς πόλεως δ᾽ οὕτως ἁλούσης αἰσχρῶς καὶ κακῶς οἱ μὲν ἄρχουσι καὶ τυραννοῦσι, τοὺς τότε σῴζοντας ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὸν Εὐφραῖον ἑτοίμους ὁτιοῦν ποιεῖν ὄντας τοὺς μὲν ἐκβαλόντες, τοὺς δ᾽ ἀποκτείναντες, ὁ δ᾽ Εὐφραῖος ἐκεῖνος ἀπέσφαξεν ἑαυτόν, ἔργῳ μαρτυρήσας ὅτι καὶ δικαίως καὶ καθαρῶς ὑπὲρ τῶν πολιτῶν ἀνθειστήκει Φιλίππῳ.
[62] But since that base and shameful capture of the city, the latter have been its rulers and tyrants; those who sheltered them before, and had been ready to take any measures against Euphraeus, were rewarded with banishment or death; and the noble Euphraeus slew himself, giving thus a practical proof of the honesty and disinterested patriotism of his opposition to Philip.
[63] τί οὖν ποτ᾽ αἴτιον, θαυμάζετ᾽ ἴσως, τὸ καὶ τοὺς Ὀλυνθίους καὶ τοὺς Ἐρετριέας καὶ τοὺς Ὠρείτας ἥδιον πρὸς τοὺς ὑπὲρ Φιλίππου λέγοντας ἔχειν ἢ τοὺς ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν; ὅπερ καὶ παρ᾽ ὑμῖν, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βελτίστου λέγουσιν οὐδὲ βουλομένοις ἔνεστιν ἐνίοτε πρὸς χάριν οὐδὲν εἰπεῖν: τὰ γὰρ πράγματ᾽ ἀνάγκη σκοπεῖν ὅπως σωθήσεται: οἱ δ᾽ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἷς χαρίζονται Φιλίππῳ συμπράττουσιν.
[63] Perhaps you wonder why the people of Olynthus and Eretria and Oreus were more favorably inclined to Philip’s advocates than to their own. The explanation is the same as at Athens, that the patriots, however much they desire it, cannot sometimes say anything agreeable, for they are obliged to consider the safety of the state; but the others by their very efforts to be agreeable are playing into Philip’s hands. The patriots demanded a war-subsidy, the others denied its necessity; the patriots bade them fight on and mistrust Philip, the others bade them keep the peace, until they fell into the snare.
[64] εἰσφέρειν ἐκέλευον, οἱ δ᾽ οὐδὲν δεῖν ἔφασαν: πολεμεῖν καὶ μὴ πιστεύειν, οἱ δ᾽ ἄγειν εἰρήνην, ἕως ἐγκατελήφθησαν. τἄλλα τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον οἶμαι πάνθ᾽, ἵνα μὴ καθ᾽ ἕκαστα λέγω: οἱ μὲν ἐφ᾽ οἷς χαριοῦνται, ταῦτ᾽ ἔλεγον, οἱ δ᾽ ἐξ ὧν ἔμελλον σωθήσεσθαι. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τὰ τελευταῖα οὐχ οὕτως πρὸς χάριν οὐδὲ δι᾽ ἄγνοιαν οἱ πολλοὶ προσίεντο, ἀλλ᾽ ὑποκατακλινόμενοι, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ὅλοις ἡττᾶσθαι ἐνόμιζον.
[64] Not to go into particulars, it is the same tale everywhere, one party speaking to please their audience, the other giving advice that would have ensured their safety. But at the last there were many things that the people were induced to concede, not as before for their own gratification nor through ignorance, but gradually yielding because they thought that their discomfiture was inevitable and complete.
[65] ὃ νὴ τὸν Δία καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω δέδοικ᾽ ἐγὼ μὴ πάθηθ᾽ ὑμεῖς, ἐπειδὰν εἰδῆτ᾽ ἐκλογιζόμενοι μηδὲν ἔθ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐνόν. καίτοι μὴ γένοιτο μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τὰ πρ�
�γματ᾽ ἐν τούτῳ: τεθνάναι δὲ μυριάκις κρεῖττον ἢ κολακείᾳ τι ποιῆσαι Φιλίππου καὶ προέσθαι τῶν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν λεγόντων τινάς. καλήν γ᾽ οἱ πολλοὶ νῦν ἀπειλήφασιν Ὠρειτῶν χάριν, ὅτι τοῖς Φιλίππου φίλοις ἐπέτρεψαν αὑτούς, τὸν δ᾽ Εὐφραῖον ἐώθουν:
[65] And, by Heaven, that is what I certainly fear will be your experience, when you count your chances and discover that there is nothing left for you to do. And yet I pray, Athenians, that such may not be the issue of events. Better to die a thousand times than pay court to Philip [and abandon any of your loyal counsellors.] A fine return the people of Oreus have gained for handing themselves over to Philip’s friends and rejecting Euphraeus!
[66] καλήν γ᾽ ὁ δῆμος ὁ Ἐρετριέων, ὅτι τοὺς ὑμετέρους πρέσβεις ἀπήλασε, Κλειτάρχῳ δ᾽ ἐνέδωκεν αὑτόν: δουλεύουσί γε μαστιγούμενοι καὶ σφαττόμενοι. καλῶς Ὀλυνθίων ἐφείσατο τῶν τὸν μὲν Λασθένην ἵππαρχον χειροτονησάντων, τὸν δ᾽ Ἀπολλωνίδην ἐκβαλόντων.
[66] A fine return the democrats of Eretria have gained for spurning your embassy and capitulating to Clitarchus! They are slaves, doomed to the whipping-post and the scaffold. A fine clemency he showed to the Olynthians, who voted Lasthenes their master of the horse and banished Apollonides!
[67] μωρία καὶ κακία τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐλπίζειν, καὶ κακῶς βουλευομένους καὶ μηδὲν ὧν προσήκει ποιεῖν ἐθέλοντας, ἀλλὰ τῶν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν λεγόντων ἀκροωμένους, τηλικαύτην ἡγεῖσθαι πόλιν οἰκεῖν τὸ μέγεθος ὥστε μηδέν, μηδ᾽ ἂν ὁτιοῦν ᾖ, δεινὸν πείσεσθαι.
[67] It is folly and cowardice to cherish such hopes, to follow ill counsel and refuse to perform any fraction of your duties, to lend an ear to the advocates of your enemies and imagine that your city is so great that no conceivable danger can befall it.
[68] καὶ μὴν ἐκεῖνό γ᾽ αἰσχρόν, ὕστερόν ποτ᾽ εἰπεῖν ‘τίς γὰρ ἂν ᾠήθη ταῦτα γενέσθαι; νὴ τὸν Δί᾽, ἔδει γὰρ τὸ καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι καὶ τὸ μὴ ποιῆσαι.’ πόλλ᾽ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοιεν Ὀλύνθιοι νῦν, ἃ τότ᾽ εἰ προείδοντο, οὐκ ἂν ἀπώλοντο: πόλλ᾽ ἂν Ὠρεῖται, πολλὰ Φωκεῖς, πολλὰ τῶν ἀπολωλότων ἕκαστοι.
[68] Ay, and a disgrace too it is to have to say, when all is over, “Why! who would have thought it? For of course we ought to have done this or that, and not so and so.” Many things could be named by the Olynthians today, which would have saved them from destruction if only they had then foreseen them. Many could be named by the Orites, many by the Phocians, many by every ruined city.
[69] ἀλλὰ τί τούτων ὄφελος αὐτοῖς; ἕως ἂν σῴζηται τὸ σκάφος, ἄν τε μεῖζον ἄν τ᾽ ἔλαττον ᾖ, τότε χρὴ καὶ ναύτην καὶ κυβερνήτην καὶ πάντ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἑξῆς προθύμους εἶναι, καὶ ὅπως μήθ᾽ ἑκὼν μήτ᾽ ἄκων μηδεὶς ἀνατρέψει, τοῦτο σκοπεῖσθαι: ἐπειδὰν δ᾽ ἡ θάλαττα ὑπέρσχῃ, μάταιος ἡ σπουδή.
[69] But of what use to them is that? While the vessel is safe, whether it be a large or a small one, then is the time for sailor and helmsman arid everyone in his turn to show his zeal and to take care that it is not capsized by anyone’s malice or inadvertence; but when the sea has overwhelmed it, zeal is useless.
[70] καὶ ἡμεῖς τοίνυν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ἕως ἐσμὲν σῷοι, πόλιν μεγίστην ἔχοντες, ἀφορμὰς πλείστας, ἀξίωμα κάλλιστον, τί ποιῶμεν; πάλαι τις ἡδέως ἂν ἴσως ἐρωτήσας κάθηται. ἐγὼ νὴ Δί᾽ ἐρῶ, καὶ γράψω δέ, ὥστ᾽ ἂν βούλησθε χειροτονήσετε. αὐτοὶ πρῶτον ἀμυνόμενοι καὶ παρασκευαζόμενοι, τριήρεσι καὶ χρήμασι καὶ στρατιώταις λέγω: καὶ γὰρ ἂν ἅπαντες δήπου δουλεύειν συγχωρήσωσιν οἱ ἄλλοι, ἡμῖν γ᾽ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀγωνιστέον:
[70] So we too, Athenians, as long as we are safe, blessed with a very great city, ample advantages, and the fairest repute — what are we to do? Perhaps some of my hearers have long been eager to ask that question. I solemnly promise that I will answer it and will also move a resolution, for which you can vote if so disposed. To begin with ourselves, we must make provision for our defence, I mean with war-galleys, funds, and men; for even if all other states succumb to slavery, we surely must fight the battle of liberty.
[71] ταῦτα δὴ πάντ᾽ αὐτοὶ παρεσκευασμένοι καὶ ποιήσαντες φανερὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἤδη παρακαλῶμεν, καὶ τοὺς ταῦτα διδάξοντας ἐκπέμπωμεν πρέσβεις πανταχοῖ, εἰς Πελοπόννησον, εἰς Ῥόδον, εἰς Χίον, ὡς βασιλέα λέγω （οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν ἐκείνῳ συμφερόντων ἀφέστηκε τὸ μὴ τοῦτον ἐᾶσαι πάντα καταστρέψασθαι）, ἵν᾽ ἐὰν μὲν πείσητε, κοινωνοὺς ἔχητε καὶ τῶν κινδύνων καὶ τῶν ἀναλωμάτων, ἄν τι δέῃ, εἰ δὲ μή, χρόνους γ᾽ ἐμποιῆτε τοῖς πράγμασιν.
[71] Then having completed all these preparations and made our purpose clear, we must lose no time in calling upon the other Greeks, and we must inform them by sending ambassadors [in every direction, to the Peloponnese, to Rhodes, to Chios, to the Great King — for even his interests are not unaffected if we prevent Philip from subduing the whole country — ] so that if you win them over, you may have someone to share your dangers and your expenses when the time comes, or if not, that you may at least delay the course of events.
[72] ἐπειδὴ γάρ ἐστι πρὸς ἄνδρα καὶ οὐχὶ συνεστώσης πόλεως ἰσχὺν ὁ πόλεμος, οὐδὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἄχρηστον, οὐδ᾽ αἱ πέρυσιν πρεσβεῖαι περὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἐκεῖναι καὶ κατηγορίαι, ἃς ἐγὼ καὶ Πολύευκτος ὁ βέλτιστος ἐκεινοσὶ καὶ Ἡγήσιππος καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι πρέσβεις περιήλθομεν, καὶ ἐποιήσαμεν ἐπισχεῖν ἐκεῖνον καὶ μήτ᾽ ἐπ᾽ Ἀμβρακίαν ἐλθεῖν μήτ᾽ εἰς Πελοπόννησον ὁρμῆσαι.
[72] For since the war is against an individual and not against the might of an organized community, even delay is not without its use; nor were those embassies useless which you sent round the Peloponnese last year to denounce Philip, when I and our good friend Polyeuctus here and Hegesippus and the rest went from city to city and succeeded in checking him, so that he never invaded Ambracia nor even started against the Peloponnese.
[73] οὐ μέντοι λέγω μηδὲν αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν ἀναγκαῖον ἐθέλοντας ποιεῖν, τοὺς ἄλλους παρακαλεῖν: καὶ γὰρ εὔηθες τὰ οἰκεῖ᾽ αὐτοὺς προϊεμένους τῶν ἀλλοτρίων φάσκειν κήδεσθαι, καὶ τὰ παρόντα περιορῶντας ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων τοὺς ἄλλους φοβεῖν. οὐ λέγω ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἐν Χερρονήσῳ χρήματ᾽ ἀποστέλλειν φημὶ δεῖν καὶ τἄλλ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἀξιο
ῦσι ποιεῖν, αὐτοὺς δὲ παρασκευάζεσθαι, τοὺς δ᾽ ἄλλους Ἕλληνας συγκαλεῖν, συνάγειν, διδάσκειν, νουθετεῖν: ταῦτ᾽ ἐστὶν πόλεως ἀξίωμ᾽ ἐχούσης ἡλίκον ὑμῖν ὑπάρχει.
[73] I do not, however, suggest that you should invite the rest, unless you are ready to do for yourselves what is necessary; for it would be futile to abandon our own interests and pretend that we are protecting those of others, or to overlook the present dangers and alarm our neighbors with dangers to come. That is not my meaning. But I do contend that we must send supplies to the forces in the Chersonese and satisfy all their demands, and while we make preparation ourselves, we must summon, collect, instruct, and exhort the rest of the Greeks. That is the duty of a city with a reputation such as yours enjoys.
[74] εἰ δ᾽ οἴεσθε Χαλκιδέας τὴν Ἑλλάδα σώσειν ἢ Μεγαρέας, ὑμεῖς δ᾽ ἀποδράσεσθαι τὰ πράγματα, οὐκ ὀρθῶς οἴεσθε: ἀγαπητὸν γὰρ ἐὰν αὐτοὶ σῴζωνται τούτων ἑκάστοις. ἀλλ᾽ ὑμῖν τοῦτο πρακτέον: ὑμῖν οἱ πρόγονοι τοῦτο τὸ γέρας ἐκτήσαντο καὶ κατέλιπον μετὰ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων κινδύνων.
[74] But if you imagine that Greece will be saved by Chalcidians or Megarians, while you run away from the task, you are wrong. For they may think themselves lucky if they can save themselves separately. But this is a task for you; it was for you that your ancestors won this proud privilege and bequeathed it to you at great and manifold risk.