by Demosthenes
[137] καὶ οὐκ ἀπέχρη ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ πάλιν μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὕστερον Ἀναξίνῳ τῷ κατασκόπῳ συνιὼν εἰς τὴν Θράσωνος οἰκίαν ἐλήφθη. καίτοι ὅστις τῷ ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων πεμφθέντι μόνος μόνῳ συνῄει καὶ ἐκοινολογεῖτο, οὗτος αὐτὸς ὑπῆρχε τῇ φύσει κατάσκοπος καὶ πολέμιος τῇ πατρίδι. καὶ ὅτι ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ λέγω, κάλει μοι τούτων τοὺς μάρτυρας.”Μάρτυρες
Τελέδημος Κλέωνος, Ὑπερείδης Καλλαίσχρου, Νικόμαχος Διοφάντου μαρτυροῦσι Δημοσθένει καὶ ἐπωμόσαντο ἐπὶ τῶν στρατηγῶν εἰδέναι Αἰσχίνην Ἀτρομήτου Κοθωκίδην συνερχόμενον νυκτὸς εἰς τὴν Θράσωνος οἰκίαν καὶ κοινολογούμενον Ἀναξίνῳ, ὃς ἐκρίθη εἶναι κατάσκοπος παρὰ Φιλίππου. αὗται ἀπεδόθησαν αἱ μαρτυρίαι ἐπὶ Νικίου, ἑκατομβαιῶνος τρίτῃ ἱσταμένου.”
[137] Nor did that satisfy him. At a later date he was caught again in the company of the spy Anaxinus at the house of Thraso. Yet a man who secretly met and conversed with a spy sent by the enemy must have been himself a spy by disposition and an enemy of his country. To prove the truth of my statement, please call the witnesses.”Witnesses
[Teledemus, son of Cleon, Hypereides, son of Callaeschrus, Nicomachus, son of Diophantus, bear witness for Demosthenes, and have taken oath before the Generals that to their knowledge Aeschines, son of Atrometus, of Cothocidae, comes by night to the house of Thraso and holds communication with Anaxinus, who has been proved to be a spy from Philip. These depositions were lodged with Nicias on the third day of Hecatombaeon.]”
[138] μυρία τοίνυν ἕτερ᾽ εἰπεῖν ἔχων περὶ αὐτοῦ παραλείπω. καὶ γὰρ οὕτω πως ἔχει. πόλλ᾽ ἂν ἐγὼ ἔτι τούτων ἔχοιμι δεῖξαι, ὧν οὗτος κατ᾽ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους τοῖς μὲν ἐχθροῖς ὑπηρετῶν, ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἐπηρεάζων εὑρέθη. ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τίθεται ταῦτα παρ᾽ ὑμῖν εἰς ἀκριβῆ μνήμην οὐδ᾽ ἣν προσῆκεν ὀργήν, ἀλλὰ δεδώκατ᾽ ἔθει τινὶ φαύλῳ πολλὴν ἐξουσίαν τῷ βουλομένῳ τὸν λέγοντά τι τῶν ὑμῖν συμφερόντων ὑποσκελίζειν καὶ συκοφαντεῖν, τῆς ἐπὶ ταῖς λοιδορίαις ἡδονῆς καὶ χάριτος τὸ τῆς πόλεως συμφέρον ἀνταλλαττόμενοι: διόπερ ῥᾷόν ἐστι καὶ ἀσφαλέστερον ἀεὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ὑπηρετοῦντα μισθαρνεῖν ἢ τὴν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἑλόμενον τάξιν πολιτεύεσθαι.
[138] I omit thousands of stories that I could tell you about him. The fact is, I could cite many clear instances of his conduct at that time, helping the enemy and maligning me; only it is not your way to score up such offences for accurate remembrance and due resentment. You have a vicious habit of allowing too much indulgence to anyone who chooses by spiteful calumnies to trip up the heels of a man who gives you good advice. You give away a sound policy in exchange for the entertainment you derive from invective; and so it is easier and safer for a public man to serve your enemies and pocket their pay than to choose and maintain a patriotic attitude.
[139] καὶ τὸ μὲν δὴ πρὸ τοῦ πολεμεῖν φανερῶς συναγωνίζεσθαι Φιλίππῳ δεινὸν μέν, ὦ γῆ καὶ θεοί, πῶς γὰρ οὔ; κατὰ τῆς πατρίδος: δότε δ᾽, εἰ βούλεσθε, δότ᾽ αὐτῷ τοῦτο. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ φανερῶς ἤδη τὰ πλοῖ᾽ ἐσεσύλητο, Χερρόνησος ἐπορθεῖτο, ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἐπορεύεθ᾽ ἅνθρωπος, οὐκέτ᾽ ἐν ἀμφισβητησίμῳ τὰ πράγματ᾽ ἦν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνειστήκει πόλεμος, ὅ τι μὲν πώποτ᾽ ἔπραξ᾽ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ὁ βάσκανος οὗτος ἰαμβειοφάγος, οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι δεῖξαι, οὐδ᾽ ἔστιν οὔτε μεῖζον οὔτ᾽ ἔλαττον ψήφισμ᾽ οὐδὲν Αἰσχίνῃ περὶ τῶν συμφερόντων τῇ πόλει. εἰ δέ φησι, νῦν δειξάτω ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ ὕδατι. ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδέν. καίτοι δυοῖν αὐτὸν ἀνάγκη θάτερον, ἢ μηδὲν τοῖς πραττομένοις ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ τότ᾽ ἔχοντ᾽ ἐγκαλεῖν μὴ γράφειν παρὰ ταῦθ᾽ ἕτερα, ἢ τὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν συμφέρον ζητοῦντα μὴ φέρειν εἰς μέσον τὰ τούτων ἀμείνω.
[139] Though it was a scandalous shame enough, God knows, openly to take Philip’s side against his own country even before the war, make him a present, if you choose, make him a present of that. But when our merchantmen had been openly plundered, when the Chersonese was being ravaged, when the man was advancing upon Attica, when there could no longer be any doubt about the position, but war had already begun — even after that this malignant mumbler of blank verse can point to no patriotic act. No profitable proposition, great or small, stands to the credit of Aeschines. If he claims any, let him cite it now, while my hour-glass runs. But there is none. Now one of two things: either he made no alternative proposal because he could find no fault with my policy, or he did not disclose his amendments because his object was the advantage of the enemy.
[140] ἆρ᾽ οὖν οὐδ᾽ ἔλεγεν, ὥσπερ οὐδ᾽ ἔγραφεν, ἡνίκ᾽ ἐργάσασθαί τι δέοι κακόν; οὐ μὲν οὖν ἦν εἰπεῖν ἑτέρῳ. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καὶ φέρειν ἐδύναθ᾽, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἡ πόλις καὶ ποιῶν οὗτος λανθάνειν: ἓν δ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσατ᾽, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοιοῦτον ὃ πᾶσι τοῖς προτέροις ἐπέθηκε τέλος: περὶ οὗ τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀνήλωσε λόγους, τὰ τῶν Ἀμφισσέων τῶν Λοκρῶν διεξιὼν δόγματα, ὡς διαστρέψων τἀληθές. τὸ δ᾽ οὐ τοιοῦτόν ἐστι: πόθεν; οὐδέποτ᾽ ἐκνίψει σὺ τἀκεῖ πεπραγμένα σαυτῷ: οὐχ οὕτω πόλλ᾽ ἐρεῖς.
[140] Did he then refrain from speech as well as from moving resolutions, when there was any mischief to be done? Why, no one else could get in a word! Apparently the city could stand, and he could do without detection, almost anything; but there was one performance of his that really gave the finishing touch to his earlier efforts. On that he has lavished all his wealth of words, citing in full the decrees against the Amphissians of Locri, in the hope of distorting the truth. But he can never disguise it. No, Aeschines, you will never wash out that stain; you cannot talk long enough for that!
[141] καλῶ δ᾽ ἐναντίον ὑμῶν, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοὺς θεοὺς πάντας καὶ πάσας ὅσοι τὴν χώραν ἔχουσι τὴν Ἀττικήν, καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω τὸν Πύθιον, ὃς πατρῷός ἐστι τῇ πόλει, καὶ ἐπεύχομαι πᾶσι τούτοις, εἰ μὲν ἀληθῆ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἴποιμι καὶ εἶπον καὶ τότ᾽ εὐθὺς ἐν τῷ δήμῳ, ὅτε πρῶτον εἶδον τουτονὶ τὸν μιαρὸν τούτου τοῦ πράγματος ἁπτόμενον （ἔγνων γάρ, εὐθέως ἔγνων）, εὐτυχίαν μοι δοῦναι καὶ σωτηρίαν, εἰ δὲ πρὸς ἔχθραν ἢ φιλονικίας ἰδίας ἕνεκ᾽ αἰτίαν ἐπάγω τούτῳ ψευδῆ, πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνόνητόν �
�ε ποιῆσαι.
[141] In your presence, men of Athens, I now invoke all the gods and goddesses whose domain is the land of Attica. I invoke also Pythian Apollo, the ancestral divinity of this city, and I solemnly beseech them all that, if I shall speak the truth now, and if I spoke truth to my countrymen when first I saw this miscreant putting his hand to that transaction — for I knew it, I knew it instantly — they may grant to me prosperity and salvation. But if with malice or in the spirit of personal rivalry I lay against him any false charge, I pray that they may dispossess me of everything that is good.
[142] τί οὖν ταῦτ᾽ ἐπήραμαι καὶ διετεινάμην οὑτωσὶ σφοδρῶς; ὅτι καὶ γράμματ᾽ ἔχων ἐν τῷ δημοσίῳ κείμενα, ἐξ ὧν ταῦτ᾽ ἐπιδείξω σαφῶς, καὶ ὑμᾶς εἰδὼς τὰ πεπραγμένα μνημονεύοντας, ἐκεῖνο φοβοῦμαι, μὴ τῶν εἰργασμένων αὐτῷ κακῶν οὗτος ἐλάττων ὑποληφθῇ: ὅπερ πρότερον συνέβη, ὅτε τοὺς ταλαιπώρους Φωκέας ἐποίησ᾽ ἀπολέσθαι τὰ ψευδῆ δεῦρ᾽ ἀπαγγείλας.
[142] This imprecation I address to Heaven, and this solemn averment I now make, because, though I have letters, deposited in the Record Office, enabling me to offer absolute proof, and though I am sure that you have not forgotten the transaction, I am afraid that his ability may be deemed inadequate for such enormous mischief. That mistake was made before, when by his false reports he contrived the destruction of the unhappy Phocians.
[143] τὸν γὰρ ἐν Ἀμφίσσῃ πόλεμον, δι᾽ ὃν εἰς Ἐλάτειαν ἦλθε Φίλιππος καὶ δι᾽ ὃν ᾑρέθη τῶν Ἀμφικτυόνων ἡγεμών, ὃς ἅπαντ᾽ ἀνέτρεψε τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ συγκατασκευάσας καὶ πάντων εἷς ἀνὴρ μεγίστων αἴτιος κακῶν. καὶ τότ᾽ εὐθὺς ἐμοῦ διαμαρτυρομένου καὶ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ‘πόλεμον εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν εἰσάγεις, Αἰσχίνη, πόλεμον Ἀμφικτυονικόν’ οἱ μὲν ἐκ παρακλήσεως συγκαθήμενοι οὐκ εἴων με λέγειν, οἱ δ᾽ ἐθαύμαζον καὶ κενὴν αἰτίαν διὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἔχθραν ἐπάγειν μ᾽ ὑπελάμβανον αὐτῷ.
[143] The war at Amphissa, that is, the war that brought Philip to Elatea, and caused the election, as general of the Amphictyons, of a man who turned all Greece upside down, was due to the machinations of this man. In his own single person he was the author of all our worst evils. I protested instantly; I raised my voice in Assembly; I cried aloud, “You are bringing war into Attica, Aeschines, an Amphictyonic war;” but a compact body of men, sitting there under his direction, would not let me speak, and the rest were merely astonished and imagined that I was laying an idle charge in private spite.
[144] ἥτις δ᾽ ἡ φύσις, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, γέγονεν τούτων τῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ τίνος εἵνεκα ταῦτα συνεσκευάσθη καὶ πῶς ἐπράχθη, νῦν ἀκούσατε, ἐπειδὴ τότ᾽ ἐκωλύθητε: καὶ γὰρ εὖ πρᾶγμα συντεθὲν ὄψεσθε, καὶ μεγάλ᾽ ὠφελήσεσθε πρὸς ἱστορίαν τῶν κοινῶν, καὶ ὅση δεινότης ἦν ἐν τῷ Φιλίππῳ θεάσεσθε.
[144] Men of Athens, you were not allowed to hear me then; but now you must and shall hear what was the real nature of that business, what was the purpose of the conspiracy, and how it was accomplished. You will see how skilfully it was contrived; you will get the benefit of new insight into your own politics and you will form an idea of the supreme craftiness of Philip.
[145] οὐκ ἦν τοῦ πρὸς ὑμᾶς πολέμου πέρας οὐδ᾽ ἀπαλλαγὴ Φιλίππῳ, εἰ μὴ Θηβαίους καὶ Θετταλοὺς ἐχθροὺς ποιήσειε τῇ πόλει: ἀλλὰ καίπερ ἀθλίως καὶ κακῶς τῶν στρατηγῶν τῶν ὑμετέρων πολεμούντων αὐτῷ, ὅμως ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τῶν λῃστῶν μυρί᾽ ἔπασχε κακά. οὔτε γὰρ ἐξήγετο τῶν ἐκ τῆς χώρας γιγνομένων οὐδὲν οὔτ᾽ εἰσήγεθ᾽ ὧν ἐδεῖτ᾽ αὐτῷ:
[145] For Philip there could be no end or quittance of hostilities with Athens unless he should make the Thebans and Thessalians her enemies. Now, aIthough your commanders were conducting the war against him without ability and without success, he was vastly distressed both by the campaign and by the privateers; for he could neither export the products of his own country, nor import what he needed for himself.
[146] ἦν δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ τότε κρείττων ὑμῶν οὔτ᾽ εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἐλθεῖν δυνατὸς μήτε Θετταλῶν ἀκολουθούντων μήτε Θηβαίων διιέντων: συνέβαινε δ᾽ αὐτῷ τῷ πολέμῳ κρατοῦντι τοὺς ὁποιουσδήποθ᾽ ὑμεῖς ἐξεπέμπετε στρατηγούς （ἐῶ γὰρ τοῦτό γε） αὐτῇ τῇ φύσει τοῦ τόπου καὶ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἑκατέροις κακοπαθεῖν.
[146] At that time he had no supremacy at sea, nor could he reach Attica by land unless the Thessalians followed his banner and the Thebans gave him free passage. In spite of his successes against the commanders you sent out, such as they were — I have nothing to say of their failure — he found himself in trouble by reason of conditions of locality and of the comparative resources of the two combatants.
[147] εἰ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἰδίας ἕνεκ᾽ ἔχθρας ἢ τοὺς Θετταλοὺς ἢ τοὺς Θηβαίους συμπείθοι βαδίζειν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς, οὐδέν᾽ ἡγεῖτο προσέξειν αὐτῷ τὸν νοῦν: ἐὰν δὲ τὰς ἐκείνων κοινὰς προφάσεις λαβὼν ἡγεμὼν αἱρεθῇ, ῥᾷον ἤλπιζε τὰ μὲν παρακρούσεσθαι, τὰ δὲ πείσειν. τί οὖν; ἐπιχειρεῖ, θεάσασθ᾽ ὡς εὖ, πόλεμον ποιῆσαι τοῖς Ἀμφικτύοσι καὶ περὶ τὴν Πυλαίαν ταραχήν: εἰς γὰρ ταῦτ᾽ εὐθὺς αὐτοὺς ὑπελάμβανεν αὑτοῦ δεήσεσθαι.
[147] Now, if he should invite the Thebans or the Thessalians to take up his private quarrel and march against you, he could expect no attention; but if he should espouse their joint grievances and be chosen as their leader, he might hope to succeed by a mixture of deception and persuasion. Very well; he sets to work — and observe how cleverly he managed it — to throw the Pylaean Congress into confusion and to implicate the Amphictyonic Council in warfare, feeling certain that they would immediately beg him to deal with the situation.
[148] εἰ μὲν τοίνυν τοῦτ᾽ ἢ τῶν παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ πεμπομένων ἱερομνημόνων ἢ τῶν ἐκείνου συμμάχων εἰσηγοῖτό τις, ὑπόψεσθαι τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἐνόμιζε καὶ τοὺς Θηβαίους καὶ τοὺς Θετταλοὺς καὶ πάντας φυλάξεσθαι, ἂν δ᾽ Ἀθηναῖος ᾖ καὶ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑπεναντίων ὁ τοῦτο ποιῶν, εὐπόρως λήσειν: ὅπερ συνέβη. πῶς οὖν ταῦτ᾽ ἐποίησεν; μισθοῦται τουτονί.
[148] If, however, the question should be introduced by any of the commissioners of religion sent by him or by any allies of his, the Thebans and Thessalians, as he expected, would be suspicious and all on their guard; but, if the operator should be an Athenian, representing his opponents, he conceived that he would easily escape detection. And such was the actual result.
[149] οὐδενὸς δ�
� προειδότος, οἶμαι, τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ οὐδὲ φυλάττοντος, ὥσπερ εἴωθε τὰ τοιαῦτα παρ᾽ ὑμῖν γίγνεσθαι, προβληθεὶς πυλάγορος οὗτος καὶ τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων χειροτονησάντων αὐτὸν ἀνερρήθη. ὡς δὲ τὸ τῆς πόλεως ἀξίωμα λαβὼν ἀφίκετ᾽ εἰς τοὺς Ἀμφικτύονας, πάντα τἄλλ᾽ ἀφεὶς καὶ παριδὼν ἐπέραινεν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐμισθώθη,καὶ λόγους εὐπροσώπους καὶ μύθους, ὅθεν ἡ Κιρραία χώρα καθιερώθη, συνθεὶς καὶ διεξελθὼν ἀνθρώπους ἀπείρους λόγων καὶ τὸ μέλλον οὐ προορωμένους, τοὺς ἱερομνήμονας,
[149] How did he manage it? By hiring Aeschines. Nobody, of course, had any inkling; nobody was watching — according to your usual custom! Aeschines was nominated for the deputation to Thermopylae; three or four hands were held up, and he was declared elected. He repaired to the Council, invested with all the prestige of Athens, and at once, putting aside and disregarding everything else, addressed himself to the business for which he had taken pay. He concocted a plausible speech about the legendary origin of the consecration of the Cirrhaean territory, and by this narration induced the commissioners, men unversed in oratory and unsuspicious of consequences,