by Demosthenes
[244] You will find that even our defeat, if this reprobate must needs exult over what he ought to have deplored, did not fall upon the city through any fault of mine. Make your reckoning in this way: wherever I was sent as your representative, I came away undefeated by Philip’s ambassador — from Thessaly, from Ambracia, from the Illyrians, from the kings of Thrace, from Byzantium, from every other place, and finally from Thebes; but wherever Philip was beaten in diplomacy, he attacked the place with an army and conquered it.
[245] ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἀπαιτεῖς παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνει τὸν αὐτὸν εἴς τε μαλακίαν σκώπτων καὶ τῆς Φιλίππου δυνάμεως ἀξιῶν ἕν᾽ ὄντα κρείττω γενέσθαι; καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς λόγοις; τίνος γὰρ ἄλλου κύριος ἦν ἐγώ; οὐ γὰρ τῆς γ᾽ ἑκάστου ψυχῆς, οὐδὲ τῆς τύχης τῶν παραταξαμένων, οὐδὲ τῆς στρατηγίας, ἧς ἔμ᾽ ἀπαιτεῖς εὐθύνας: οὕτω σκαιὸς εἶ.
[245] And for those defeats, Aeschines, you call me to account! Are you not ashamed to jeer at a man for cowardice, and then to require that same man to overcome the whole power of Philip single-handed, and to do it by mere words? For what else had I at my disposal? Certainly not the personal courage of each man, not the good fortune of the troops engaged, not that generalship for which you are unreasonable enough to hold me responsible. Make as strict an inquiry as you will into everything for which an orator is responsible; I ask no indulgence.
[246] ἀλλὰ μὴν ὧν γ᾽ ἂν ὁ ῥήτωρ ὑπεύθυνος εἴη, πᾶσαν ἐξέτασιν λαμβάνετε: οὐ παραιτοῦμαι. τίν᾽ οὖν ἐστι ταῦτα; ἰδεῖν τὰ πράγματ᾽ ἀρχόμενα καὶ προαισθέσθαι καὶ προειπεῖν τοῖς ἄλλοις. ταῦτα πέπρακταί μοι. καὶ ἔτι τὰς ἑκασταχοῦ βραδυτῆτας, ὄκνους, ἀγνοίας, φιλονικίας, ἃ πολιτικὰ ταῖς πόλεσιν πρόσεστιν ἁπάσαις καὶ ἀναγκαῖ᾽ ἁμαρτήματα, ταῦθ᾽ ὡς εἰς ἐλάχιστα συστεῖλαι, καὶ τοὐναντίον εἰς ὁμόνοιαν καὶ φιλίαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ τὰ δέοντα ποιεῖν ὁρμὴν προτρέψαι. καὶ ταῦτά μοι πάντα πεποίηται, καὶ οὐδεὶς μήποθ᾽ εὕρῃ κατ᾽ ἔμ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐλλειφθέν.
[246] But for what is he responsible? For discerning the trend of events at the outset, for forecasting results, for warning others. That I have always done. Further, he ought to reduce to a minimum those delays and hesitations, those fits of ignorance and quarrelsomeness, which are the natural and inevitable failings of all free states, and on the other hand to promote unanimity and friendliness, and whatever impels a man to do his duty. All that also I have made my business: and herein no man can find any delinquency on my part.
[247] εἰ τοίνυν τις ἔροιθ᾽ ὁντινοῦν τίσιν τὰ πλεῖστα Φίλιππος ὧν κατέπραξε διῳκήσατο, πάντες ἂν εἴποιεν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ καὶ τῷ διδόναι καὶ διαφθείρειν τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων. οὐκοῦν τῶν μὲν δυνάμεων οὔτε κύριος οὔθ᾽ ἡγεμὼν ἦν ἐγώ, ὥστ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὁ λόγος τῶν κατὰ ταῦτα πραχθέντων πρὸς ἐμέ. καὶ μὴν τῷ διαφθαρῆναι χρήμασιν ἢ μὴ κεκράτηκα Φίλιππον: ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ὠνούμενος νενίκηκε τὸν λαβόντα, ἐὰν πρίηται, οὕτως ὁ μὴ λαβὼν καὶ διαφθαρεὶς νενίκηκε τὸν ὠνούμενον. ὥστ᾽ ἀήττητος ἡ πόλις τὸ κατ᾽ ἐμέ.
[247] Let any man you like be asked by what means Philip achieved most of his successes: the universal reply will be, by his army and by bribing and corrupting politicians. Well, I had no control or authority over your forces, and therefore no question of their performances can touch me. Moreover, in the matter of corruption or purity I have beaten Philip. In bribery, just as the purchaser has vanquished the seller, whenever the bargain is struck, so the man who refuses the price and remains incorruptible has vanquished the purchaser. Therefore, in my person, Athens is undefeated.
[248] ἃ μὲν τοίνυν ἐγὼ παρεσχόμην εἰς τὸ δικαίως τοιαῦτα γράφειν τοῦτον περὶ ἐμοῦ, πρὸς πολλοῖς ἑτέροις ταῦτα καὶ παραπλήσια τούτοις ἐστίν: ἃ δ᾽ οἱ πάντες ὑμεῖς, ταῦτ᾽ ἤδη λέξω. μετὰ γὰρ τὴν μάχην εὐθὺς ὁ δῆμος, εἰδὼς καὶ ἑορακὼς πάνθ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἔπραττον ἐγώ, ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς δεινοῖς καὶ φοβεροῖς ἐμβεβηκώς, ἡνίκ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀγνωμονῆσαί τι θαυμαστὸν ἦν τοὺς πολλοὺς πρὸς ἐμέ, πρῶτον μὲν περὶ σωτηρίας τῆς πόλεως τὰς ἐμὰς γνώμας ἐχειροτόνει, καὶ πάνθ᾽ ὅσα τῆς φυλακῆς εἵνεκ᾽ ἐπράττετο, ἡ διάταξις τῶν φυλάκων, αἱ τάφροι, τὰ εἰς τὰ τείχη χρήματα, διὰ τῶν ἐμῶν ψηφισμάτων ἐγίγνετο: ἔπειθ᾽ αἱρούμενος σιτώνην ἐκ πάντων ἔμ᾽ ἐχειροτόνησεν ὁ δῆμος.
[248] These, and such as these, with many others are the grounds furnished by my conduct to justify the proposal of the defendant. I will now mention grounds furnished by all of you. Immediately after the battle, in the very midst of danger and alarm, at a time when it would not have been surprising if most of you had treated me unkindly, the people, with a full knowledge of all my doings, in the first place, adopted by vote my proposals for the safety of the city. All those measures of defence — the disposition of outposts, the entrenchments, the expenditure on the fortifications — were taken on resolutions moved by me. In the second place, they appointed me Food Controller, selecting me from the whole body of citizens.
[249] καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα συστάντων οἷς ἦν ἐπιμελὲς κακῶς ἐμὲ ποιεῖν, καὶ γραφάς, εὐθύνας, εἰσαγγελίας, πάντα ταῦτ᾽ ἐπαγόντων μοι, οὐ δι᾽ ἑαυτῶν τό γε πρῶτον, ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ὧν μάλισθ᾽ ὑπελάμβανον ἀγνοήσεσθαι （ἴστε γὰρ δήπου καὶ μέμνησθ᾽ ὅτι τοὺς πρώτους χρόνους κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἐκρινόμην ἐγώ, καὶ οὔτ᾽ ἀπόνοια Σωσικλέους οὔτε συκοφαντία Φιλοκράτους οὔτε Διώνδου καὶ Μελάντου μανία οὔτ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἀπείρατον ἦν τούτοις κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ）, ἐν τοίνυν τούτοις πᾶσι μάλιστα μὲν διὰ τοὺς θεούς, δεύτερον δὲ δι᾽ ὑμᾶς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἀθηναίους ἐσῳζόμην. δικαίως: τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἀληθές ἐστι καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀμωμοκότων καὶ γνόντων τὰ εὔορκα δικαστῶν.
[249] Then the men who made it their business to injure me formed a cabal, and set in motion all the machinery of indictments, audits, impeachments, and the like — not at first by their own agency, but employing persons by whom they imagined they would be screened. You will remember how, during that early period, I was put on my trial every day; and how the recklessness of Sosicles, and the spite of Philocrates, and the frenzy of Diondas and Melantus, and everything else, were turned to account by them for my detriment. Nevertheless, by the favor, first of the gods, and secondly of you and the rest of the Athenians, I came through unscathed. And so I deserved. Yes; that is true, and to the credit of juries that had taken the oath and gave judgement
according to their oath.
[250] οὐκοῦν ἐν μὲν οἷς εἰσηγγελλόμην, ὅτ᾽ ἀπεψηφίζεσθέ μου καὶ τὸ μέρος τῶν ψήφων τοῖς διώκουσιν οὐ μετεδίδοτε, τότ᾽ ἐψηφίζεσθε τἄριστά με πράττειν: ἐν οἷς δὲ τὰς γραφὰς ἀπέφευγον, ἔννομα καὶ γράφειν καὶ λέγειν ἀπεδεικνύμην: ἐν οἷς δὲ τὰς εὐθύνας ἐπεσημαίνεσθε, δικαίως καὶ ἀδωροδοκήτως πάντα πεπρᾶχθαί μοι προσωμολογεῖτε. τούτων οὖν οὕτως ἐχόντων, τί προσῆκεν ἢ τί δίκαιον ἦν τοῖς ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ πεπραγμένοις θέσθαι τὸν Κτησιφῶντ᾽ ὄνομα; οὐχ ὃ τὸν δῆμον ἑώρα τιθέμενον, οὐχ ὃ τοὺς ὀμωμοκότας δικαστάς, οὐχ ὃ τὴν ἀλήθειαν παρὰ πᾶσι βεβαιοῦσαν;
[250] When, on my impeachment, you acquitted me, and did not give the prosecutors the fifth part of your votes, your verdict implied approval of my policy. When I was indicted, I satisfied you that my proposals and my speeches had been constitutional. When you put the seal on my accounts, you further admitted that I had done my business honestly and without corruption. That being so, what description could Ctesiphon properly and honestly have applied to my conduct, other than that which he had seen applied by the whole nation and by sworn juries, and confirmed by the truth in the eyes of all men?
[251] ναί, φησίν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ Κεφάλου καλόν, τὸ μηδεμίαν γραφὴν φυγεῖν. καὶ νὴ Δί᾽ εὔδαιμόν γε. ἀλλὰ τί μᾶλλον ὁ πολλάκις μὲν φυγών, μηδεπώποτε δ᾽ ἐξελεγχθεὶς ἀδικῶν ἐν ἐγκλήματι γίγνοιτ᾽ ἂν διὰ τοῦτο δικαίως; καίτοι πρός γε τοῦτον, ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τὸ τοῦ Κεφάλου καλὸν εἰπεῖν ἔστι μοι. οὐδεμίαν γὰρ πώποτ᾽ ἐγράψατό μ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐδίωξε γραφήν, ὥσθ᾽ ὑπὸ σοῦ γ᾽ ὡμολόγημαι μηδὲν εἶναι τοῦ Κεφάλου χείρων πολίτης.
[251] Ah, says he, but look at that glorious boast of Cephalus — never once indicted! Yes, glorious, and also lucky. But why should a man who has been often indicted but never convicted be the more justly open to reproach? However, men of Athens, so far as Aeschines is concerned, I can repeat that glorious boast: for he never indicted me or prosecuted me on indictment; and so, by his own admission, I am no worse a citizen than Cephalus.
[252] πανταχόθεν μὲν τοίνυν ἄν τις ἴδοι τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν βασκανίαν, οὐχ ἥκιστα δ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὧν περὶ τῆς τύχης διελέχθη. ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὅλως μέν, ὅστις ἄνθρωπος ὢν ἀνθρώπῳ τύχην προφέρει, ἀνόητον ἡγοῦμαι: ἣν γὰρ ὁ βέλτιστα πράττειν νομίζων καὶ ἀρίστην ἔχειν οἰόμενος οὐκ οἶδεν εἰ μενεῖ τοιαύτη μέχρι τῆς ἑσπέρας, πῶς χρὴ περὶ ταύτης λέγειν ἢ πῶς ὀνειδίζειν ἑτέρῳ; ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ οὗτος πρὸς πολλοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ περὶ τούτων ὑπερηφάνως χρῆται τῷ λόγῳ, σκέψασθ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ θεωρήσατε ὅσῳ καὶ ἀληθέστερον καὶ ἀνθρωπινώτερον ἐγὼ περὶ τῆς τύχης τούτου διαλεχθήσομαι.
[252] At every point his morose and spiteful temper is conspicuous, and especially in what he said about fortune. As a general remark, I must say that it is a stupid thing for any human being to reproach his brother man on the score of fortune. Seeing that a man who thinks he is doing very well and regards himself as highly fortunate, is never certain that his good fortune will last till the evening, how can it be right to boast about it, or use it to insult other people? But, since Aeschines has treated this topic, like many others, so vaingloriously, I beg you to observe, men of Athens, that my discourse on fortune will be more veracious, and more suitable to a mere man, than his.
[253] ἐγὼ τὴν τῆς πόλεως τύχην ἀγαθὴν ἡγοῦμαι, καὶ ταῦθ᾽ ὁρῶ καὶ τὸν Δία τὸν Δωδωναῖον ὑμῖν μαντευόμενον, τὴν μέντοι τῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων, ἣ νῦν ἐπέχει, χαλεπὴν καὶ δεινήν: τίς γὰρ Ἑλλήνων ἢ τίς βαρβάρων οὐ πολλῶν κακῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι πεπείραται;
[253] I attribute good fortune to our city, and so, I observe, does the oracle of Zeus at Dodona; but the present fortune of all mankind I account grievous and distressing. Is there a man living, Greek or barbarian, who has not in these days undergone many evils?
[254] τὸ μὲν τοίνυν προελέσθαι τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ τὸ τῶν οἰηθέντων Ἑλλήνων, εἰ προοῖνθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ἐν εὐδαιμονίᾳ διάξειν αὐτῶν ἄμεινον πράττειν, τῆς ἀγαθῆς τύχης τῆς πόλεως εἶναι τίθημι: τὸ δὲ προσκροῦσαι καὶ μὴ πάνθ᾽ ὡς ἐβουλόμεθ᾽ ἡμῖν συμβῆναι, τῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων τύχης τὸ ἐπιβάλλον ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς μέρος μετειληφέναι νομίζω τὴν πόλιν.
[254] I reckon it as part of the good fortune of Athens that she has chosen the noblest policy, and that she is better off than the Greeks who expected prosperity from their betrayal of us. If she has been unsuccessful, if everything has not fallen out as we desired, I regard that as our appointed share in the general ill-fortune of mankind.
[255] τὴν δ᾽ ἰδίαν τύχην τὴν ἐμὴν καὶ τὴν ἑνὸς ἡμῶν ἑκάστου ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ἐξετάζειν δίκαιον εἶναι νομίζω. ἐγὼ μὲν οὑτωσὶ περὶ τῆς τύχης ἀξιῶ, ὀρθῶς καὶ δικαίως, ὡς ἐμαυτῷ δοκῶ, νομίζω δὲ καὶ ὑμῖν: ὁ δὲ τὴν ἰδίαν τύχην τὴν ἐμὴν τῆς κοινῆς τῆς πόλεως κυριωτέραν εἶναί φησι, τὴν μικρὰν καὶ φαύλην τῆς ἀγαθῆς καὶ μεγάλης. καὶ πῶς ἔνι τοῦτο γενέσθαι;
[255] My personal fortune, or that of any man among you, must, I imagine, be estimated in the light of his private circumstances. That is my view of fortune: a just and correct view, as it seems to me, and, I think, also to you. But he declares that a poor, insignificant thing like my individual fortune has been more powerful than the great and good fortune of Athens. Now how is that possible?
[256] καὶ μὴν εἴ γε τὴν ἐμὴν τύχην πάντως ἐξετάζειν, Αἰσχίνη, προαιρεῖ, πρὸς τὴν σεαυτοῦ σκόπει, κἂν εὕρῃς τὴν ἐμὴν βελτίω τῆς σῆς, παῦσαι λοιδορούμενος αὐτῇ. σκόπει τοίνυν εὐθὺς ἐξ ἀρχῆς. καί μου πρὸς Διὸς μηδεμίαν ψυχρότητα καταγνῷ μηδείς. ἐγὼ γὰρ οὔτ᾽ εἴ τις πενίαν προπηλακίζει, νοῦν ἔχειν ἡγοῦμαι, οὔτ᾽ εἴ τις ἐν ἀφθόνοις τραφεὶς ἐπὶ τούτῳ σεμνύνεται: ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ τῆς τουτουὶ τοῦ χαλεποῦ βλασφημίας καὶ συκοφαντίας εἰς τοιούτους λόγους ἐμπίπτειν ἀναγκάζομαι, οἷς ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων ὡς ἂν δύνωμαι μετριώτατα χρήσομαι.
[256] If, Aeschines, you are determined at all costs to investigate my fortune, compare it with your own; and, should you find mine to be better than yours, stop your vilification. Begin your inquiry then at the beginning. And I beg earnest
ly that no one will blame me for want of generosity. No sensible man, in my judgement, ever turns poverty into a reproach, or prides himself on having been nurtured in affluence. But I am compelled by this troublesome man’s scurrility and backbiting to deal with these topics; and I will treat them with as much modesty as the state of the case permits.
[257] ἐμοὶ μὲν τοίνυν ὑπῆρξεν, Αἰσχίνη, παιδὶ μὲν ὄντι φοιτᾶν εἰς τὰ προσήκοντα διδασκαλεῖα, καὶ ἔχειν ὅσα χρὴ τὸν μηδὲν αἰσχρὸν ποιήσοντα δι᾽ ἔνδειαν, ἐξελθόντι δ᾽ ἐκ παίδων ἀκόλουθα τούτοις πράττειν, χορηγεῖν, τριηραρχεῖν, εἰσφέρειν, μηδεμιᾶς φιλοτιμίας μήτ᾽ ἰδίας μήτε δημοσίας ἀπολείπεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ πόλει καὶ τοῖς φίλοις χρήσιμον εἶναι, ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸς τὰ κοινὰ προσελθεῖν ἔδοξέ μοι, τοιαῦτα πολιτεύμαθ᾽ ἑλέσθαι ὥστε καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς πατρίδος καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων πολλῶν πολλάκις ἐστεφανῶσθαι, καὶ μηδὲ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμᾶς, ὡς οὐ καλά γ᾽ ἦν ἃ προειλόμην, ἐπιχειρεῖν λέγειν.