Delphi Complete Works of Demosthenes

by Demosthenes

  [74] For he did not allege in his report that, but for the Lacedaemonians, but for their refusal to receive Proxenus, but for Hegesippus, but for this or that, the Phocians would have been delivered. He passed over all that, and declared explicitly that before his return he had persuaded Philip to deliver the Phocians, to repopulate Boeotia, and to put the whole business into your hands; that it would all be accomplished within two or three days, and that in revenge the Thebans had set a price upon his head.

  [75] μὴ τοίνυν ἃ πρὸ τοῦ τοῦτον ἀπαγγεῖλαι ταῦτ᾽ ἐπέπρακτ᾽ ἢ Λακεδαιμονίοις ἢ Φωκεῦσιν ἀκούετε μηδ᾽ ἀνέχεσθε, μηδὲ κατηγορεῖν ἐᾶτε Φωκέων ὡς πονηροί. οὐδὲ γὰρ Λακεδαιμονίους διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν αὐτῶν ποτ᾽ ἐσώσατε, οὐδὲ τοὺς καταράτους Εὐβοέας τουτουσί, οὐδ᾽ ἄλλους πολλούς, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι συμφέρον ἦν σῶς εἶναι τῇ πόλει, ὥσπερ Φωκέας νυνί. καὶ τί τῶν Φωκέων ἢ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἢ ὑμῶν ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς ἀνθρώπων μετὰ τοὺς παρὰ τούτου λόγους ἐξαμαρτόντος οὐκ ἀπέβη τὰ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὑπὸ τούτου τότε ῥηθέντα; τοῦτ᾽ ἐρωτᾶτε: οὐ γὰρ ἕξει δεῖξαι.

  [75] Do not, then, listen to anything that had been done by Lacedaemonians or Phocians before he made his report; do not let him talk about it; do not permit him to denounce the Phocians and call them rascals. You saved the Lacedaemonians in old time, and those accursed Euboeans lately, and many other peoples, not because they were virtuous, but because their safety profited Athens, as that of the Phocians would today. What transgression did the Phocians or the Lacedaemonians or you or anyone else commit after Aeschines’ speech, that the promises made by him to you then should not be fulfilled?

  [76] πέντε γὰρ ἡμέραι γεγόνασι μόναι, ἐν αἷς οὗτος ἀπήγγειλε τὰ ψευδῆ, ὑμεῖς ἐπιστεύσατε, οἱ Φωκεῖς ἐπύθοντο, ἐνέδωκαν ἑαυτούς, ἀπώλοντο. ὅθεν οἶμαι καὶ δῆλόν ἐστι σαφῶς, ὅτι πᾶσ᾽ ἀπάτη καὶ τέχνη συνεσκευάσθη τοῦ περὶ Φωκέας ὀλέθρου. ὃν μὲν γὰρ χρόνον οὐχ οἷός τ᾽ ἦν ἐλθεῖν ὁ Φίλιππος διὰ τὴν εἰρήνην, ἀλλ᾽ ἦν ἐν παρασκευῇ, τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους μετεπέμπετο, πάντα τὰ πράγμαθ᾽ ὑποσχόμενος πράξειν ἐκείνοις, ἵνα μὴ δι᾽ ὑμῶν αὐτοὺς οἱ Φωκεῖς ὑποποιήσωνται.

  [76] Ask him that question. He can point to none. For he made his lying report, you believed it, the Phocians heard of it, surrendered, and perished, all within a period of five days only. Hence it is clearly evident that the ruin of the Phocians was nothing but a concoction of deceit and artifice. For during the time when Philip was unable to march by reason of the peace, but was already laying his plans, he sent for the Lacedaemonians, promising to do everything for them, so that the Phocians might not, through your agency, secure their help.

  [77] ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ἧκεν εἰς Πύλας, οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι δ᾽ αἰσθόμενοι τὴν ἐνέδραν ὑπεχώρησαν, τοῦτον αὖ προκαθῆκεν ἐξαπατᾶν ὑμᾶς, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν, ὑμῶν αἰσθομένων ὅτι Θηβαίοις τὰ πράγματα πράττει, εἰς χρόνους καὶ πόλεμον καὶ τριβὴν ἐμπέσῃ, τῶν μὲν Φωκέων ἀμυνομένων, ὑμῶν δὲ βοηθούντων, ἀλλ᾽ ἀκονιτεὶ πάνθ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτῷ ποιήσηται: ὅπερ καὶ γέγονεν. μὴ οὖν ὅτι καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους καὶ Φωκέας ἐξηπάτησε Φίλιππος, διὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὧν ὑμᾶς οὗτος ἐξηπάτησε μὴ δότω δίκην: οὐ γὰρ δίκαιον.

  [77] But when he had reached Thermopylae, and when the Lacedaemonians, detecting the snare, had withdrawn, he sent Aeschines as his agent in advance for your deception, lest, when you discovered that he was acting in the interest of the Thebans, he should be involved once more in delays and fighting and waste of time with the Phocians resisting him, and you helping them. In this way he hoped to obtain complete mastery without a struggle. And so it fell out. Aeschines, then, must not escape punishment for deceiving you, merely because Philip deceived the Lacedaemonians and the Phocians. That would be unjust indeed.

  [78] ἂν τοίνυν ἀντὶ Φωκέων καὶ Πυλῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἀπολωλότων Χερρόνησος ὡς περίεστι τῇ πόλει λέγῃ, πρὸς Διὸς καὶ θεῶν μὴ ἀποδέξησθ᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, μηδ᾽ ὑπομείνητε, πρὸς οἷς ἐκ τῆς πρεσβείας ἠδίκησθε, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀπολογίας ὄνειδος προσκατασκευασθῆναι τῇ πόλει, ὡς ἄρ᾽ ὑμεῖς τῶν ἰδίων τι κτημάτων ὑπεξαιρούμενοι τὴν τῶν συμμάχων σωτηρίαν προήκασθε. οὐ γὰρ ἐποιήσατε τοῦτο, ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη τῆς εἰρήνης γεγονυίας καὶ τῆς Χερρονήσου σῴας οὔσης τέτταρας μῆνας ὅλους ἐσῴζονθ᾽ οἱ Φωκεῖς τοὺς ὕστερον, ἡ δὲ τούτου ψευδολογία μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὕστερον αὐτοὺς ἀπώλεσεν, ἐξαπατήσασ᾽ ὑμᾶς.

  [78] If as an offset to the Phocians and Thermopylae and all our other losses he tells you that the city still retains the Chersonese, I adjure you not to accept that excuse. In addition to the wrongs he has done you by his embassy, you must not suffer him by his defence also to fasten upon the city the reproach that, while stealthily securing some of your own possessions, you made sacrifice of the safety of your allies. You did no such thing. Peace was concluded; the Chersonese was secure; and then for the four ensuing months the Phocians were not imperilled, until you were deceived, and the Phocians destroyed, by this man’s mendacity.

  [79] εἶτα καὶ νῦν ἐν μείζονι κινδύνῳ τὴν Χερρόνησον οὖσαν εὑρήσετ᾽ ἢ τότε. πότερον γὰρ εὐπορώτερον ἂν δίκην ἔδωκε Φίλιππος ἐξαμαρτὼν εἰς αὐτὴν πρὶν τούτων τι τῆς πόλεως προλαβεῖν, ἢ νυνί; ἐγὼ μὲν οἶμαι, τότε πολλῷ. τίς οὖν ἡ ταύτης περιουσία, τῶν φόβων ἀφῃρημένων καὶ τῶν κινδύνων τῶν τοῦ βουληθέντος ἂν αὐτὴν ἀδικῆσαι;

  [79] Moreover, you will find that the Chersonese is in greater danger now than then. When would it have been easier to punish Philip for wrongful aggression upon that country — before he forestalled us at Thermopylae, or today? Surely far easier then! What, then, does it profit us that we still retain the Chersonese, if the man, who would have invaded it if he could, is freed from the apprehensions and perils that deterred him?

  [80] ἔτι τοίνυν τοιοῦτό τι μέλλειν αὐτὸν ἀκούω λέγειν, ὅτι θαυμάζει τί δήποτε Δημοσθένης αὐτοῦ κατηγορεῖ, Φωκέων δ᾽ οὐδείς. ὡς δὴ τοῦτ᾽ ἔχει, βέλτιον προακοῦσαι παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ. Φωκέων τῶν ἐκπεπτωκότων οἱ μὲν οἶμαι βέλτιστοι καὶ μετριώτατοι φυγάδες γεγενημένοι καὶ τοιαῦτα πεπονθότες ἡσυχίαν ἄγουσι, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν ἐθελήσειεν ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν συμφορῶν ἰδίαν ἔχθραν ἀνελέσθαι: οἱ δ᾽ ὁτιοῦν ἂν ἀργυρίου ποιήσαντες τὸν δώσοντ᾽ οὐκ ἔχουσιν αὑτ�
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  [80] I hear of another argument he will use: he will wonder why his accuser is Demosthenes and not one of the Phocians. I had better explain at once how the matter stands. The best and most respectable of the expatriated Phocians, being exiled and in distress, are living peaceably, and none of them would be willing to incur private animosity on account of the misfortunes of the nation, while those who might have done anything for a fee find that there is no one to pay it them.

  [81] οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγ᾽ ἂν ἔδωκ᾽ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν ὥστε μοι παραστάντας ἐνταυθὶ βοᾶν οἷα πεπόνθασιν: ἡ γὰρ ἀλήθεια καὶ τὰ πεπραγμέν᾽ αὐτὰ βοᾷ. ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅ γε δῆμος ὁ τῶν Φωκέων οὕτω κακῶς καὶ ἐλεινῶς διάκειται ὥστε μὴ περὶ τοῦ κατηγορεῖν ἑκάστῳ τὰς Ἀθήνησιν εὐθύνας εἶναι τὸν λόγον, ἀλλὰ δουλεύειν καὶ τεθνάναι τῷ φόβῳ Θηβαίους καὶ τοὺς Φιλίππου ξένους, οὓς ἀναγκάζονται τρέφειν, διῳκισμένοι κατὰ κώμας καὶ παρῃρημένοι τὰ ὅπλα.

  [81] For I would never pay a man a farthing to stand here by my side and make an outcry about his sufferings, since truth and fact cry out loudly enough. Nay more, the commonalty of the Phocians are in such an evil and pitiable plight that there is no question with them of prosecuting at an Athenian scrutiny — only of living like slaves in mortal terror of Thebans and of Philip’s mercenaries, who are billeted on them after they have been disarmed and distributed among villages.

  [82] μὴ δὴ ταῦτα λέγειν αὐτὸν ἐᾶτε, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς οὐκ ἀπολώλασι Φωκεῖς δεικνύναι, ἢ ὡς οὐχ ὑπέσχετο σώσειν αὐτοὺς Φίλιππον. τοῦτο γάρ εἰσι πρεσβείας εὔθυναι, τί πέπρακται; τί ἀπήγγειλας; εἰ μὲν ἀληθῆ, σῴζου: εἰ δὲ ψευδῆ, δίκην δός. εἰ δὲ μὴ πάρεισι Φωκεῖς, τί τοῦτο; οὕτω γὰρ διέθηκας αὐτούς, οἶμαι, τὸ μέρος σύ, ὥστε μήτε τοῖς φίλοις βοηθεῖν μήτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀμύνεσθαι δύνασθαι.

  [82] Do not allow this plea. No, Aeschines must prove either that the Phocians are not ruined, or that he did not promise that Philip would protect them. These are the questions for a scrutiny of an embassy: What has been accomplished? What did you report? If the truth, — go in peace; if falsehood, — take your punishment. What matter if the Phocians are not in court? You have played your part in reducing them to such straits that they can neither help their friends nor repel their enemies.

  [83] καὶ μὴν ὅτι χωρὶς τῆς ἄλλης αἰσχύνης καὶ ἀδοξίας, ἣν τὰ πεπραγμέν᾽ ἔχει, καὶ μεγάλοι κίνδυνοι περιεστᾶσιν ἐκ τούτων τὴν πόλιν, ῥᾴδιον δεῖξαι. τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδεν ὑμῶν ὅτι τῷ Φωκέων πολέμῳ καὶ τῷ κυρίους εἶναι Πυλῶν Φωκέας ἥ τ᾽ ἀπὸ Θηβαίων ἄδει᾽ ὑπῆρχεν ἡμῖν, καὶ τὸ μηδέποτ᾽ ἐλθεῖν ἂν εἰς Πελοπόννησον μηδ᾽ εἰς Εὔβοιαν μηδ᾽ εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν Φίλιππον μηδὲ Θηβαίους;

  [83] Moreover, apart from the discredit and infamy attached to these transactions, it is easy to show that they have involved the commonwealth in very serious perils. You all know that the prowess of the Phocians, and their control of the pass of Thermopylae, gave us security against the Thebans, and ensured that neither Philip nor the Thebans would invade either the Peloponnesus, or Euboea, or Attica.

  [84] ταύτην μέντοι τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν ἀσφάλειαν ὑπάρχουσαν τῇ πόλει ταῖς τούτων ἀπάταις καὶ ψευδολογίαις πεισθέντες προήκασθ᾽ ὑμεῖς, καὶ τετειχισμένην ὅπλοις καὶ πολέμῳ συνεχεῖ καὶ πόλεσιν μεγάλαις συμμάχων ἀνδρῶν καὶ χώρᾳ πολλῇ περιείδετ᾽ ἀνασταθεῖσαν. καὶ ματαία μὲν ἡ πρότερον βοήθει᾽ εἰς Πύλας ὑμῖν γέγονεν, ἣν μετὰ πλειόνων ἢ διακοσίων ταλάντων ἐποιήσασθε, ἂν λογίσησθε τὰς ἰδίας δαπάνας τὰς τῶν στρατευσαμένων, μάταιαι δὲ καὶ αἱ κατὰ Θηβαίων ἐλπίδες.

  [84] But, overborne by the impostures and falsehoods of these men, you have flung away the security of position and circumstances which the city enjoyed. That security was fortified by arms and an unbroken front, by strongholds of our allies and a broad territory; and you have acquiesced in its devastation. Your former expedition to Thermopylae, made at a cost of more than two hundred talents, if you include the private expenses of the troops, has gone to waste; and so have all your hopes respecting the Thebans.

  [85] ὃ δέ, πολλῶν ὄντων καὶ δεινῶν ὧν οὗτος ὑπηρέτηκε Φιλίππῳ, πλείστην ὕβριν ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔχει κατὰ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἁπάντων ὑμῶν, τοῦτ᾽ ἀκούσατέ μου, ὅτι τοῖς Θηβαίοις ἐγνωκότος ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῦ Φιλίππου πάνθ᾽ ἃ πεποίηκε ποιεῖν, οὗτος ἀπαγγείλας τἀναντία καὶ φανεροὺς ἐπιδείξας ὑμᾶς οὐχὶ βουλομένους, ὑμῖν μὲν τὴν ἔχθραν τὴν πρὸς Θηβαίους μείζω, Φιλίππῳ δὲ τὴν χάριν πεποίηκεν. πῶς ἂν οὖν ὑβριστικώτερον ἄνθρωπος ὑμῖν ἐχρήσατο;

  [85] But of all the many shameful services rendered by Aeschines to Philip, let me mention the one that really implied the most insolent disdain of the city and of you all. Philip was resolved from the first to do for the Thebans all that he has done, but Aeschines by the perversions of his report revealed your repugnance, and so intensified both your hostility and Philip’s friendliness towards the Thebans. How could the man have treated you more arrogantly?

  [86] λέγε δὴ τὸ ψήφισμα λαβὼν τὸ τοῦ Διοφάντου καὶ τὸ τοῦ Καλλισθένους, ἵν᾽ εἰδῆθ᾽ ὅτι, ὅτε μὲν τὰ δέοντ᾽ ἐποιεῖτε, θυσιῶν καὶ ἐπαίνων ἠξιοῦσθε παρ᾽ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ὑπὸ τούτων παρεκρούσθητε, παῖδας καὶ γυναῖκας ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν κατεκομίζεσθε καὶ τὰ Ἡράκλει᾽ ἐντὸς τείχους θύειν ἐψηφίζεσθε, εἰρήνης οὔσης. ὃ καὶ θαυμάζω, εἰ τὸν μηδὲ τοὺς θεούς, καθ᾽ ὃ πάτριον ἦν, τιμᾶσθαι ποιήσαντα, τοῦτον ἀτιμώρητον ἀφήσετε. λέγε τὸ ψήφισμα.”Ψήφισμα”

  ταῦτα μὲν τότ᾽ ἄξι᾽, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τῶν πεπραγμένων ἐψηφίσασθε. λέγε δὴ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα.”Ψήφισμα”

  [86] Now take and read the decrees of Diophantus and of Callisthenes. They will show you how, when you did your duty, you made it an occasion of services of praise and thanksgiving, both at Athens and abroad; but when you had been led astray by these men, you brought your wives and children in from the country, and ordered the festival of Heracles to be held within the walls, in time of peace. It makes me wonder whether you will release unpunished a man who has deprived even the gods of immemorial observances. Read the decree.” Decree”

  So you decreed at that time, men of Athens, agreeably to your achievements. Now read the next.” Decree”

  [87] ταῦτα τότ᾽ ἐψηφίζεσθ᾽ ὑμεῖς διὰ �
�ούτους, οὐκ ἐπὶ ταύταις ταῖς ἐλπίσιν οὔτε κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς ποιησάμενοι τὴν εἰρήνην καὶ τὴν συμμαχίαν, οὔθ᾽ ὕστερον ἐγγράψαι πεισθέντες εἰς αὐτὴν ‘καὶ τοῖς ἐγγόνοις,’ ἀλλ᾽ ὡς θαυμάσι᾽ ἡλίκα πεισόμενοι διὰ τούτους ἀγαθά. καὶ μὴν καὶ μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὁσάκις πρὸς Πορθμῷ ἢ πρὸς Μεγάροις ἀκούοντες δύναμιν Φιλίππου καὶ ξένους ἐθορυβεῖσθε, πάντες ἐπίστασθε. οὐ τοίνυν εἰ μήπω τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἐπιβαίνει, δεῖ σκοπεῖν οὐδὲ ῥᾳθυμεῖν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ διὰ τούτους ἐξουσία γέγονεν αὐτῷ τοῦθ᾽ ὅταν βούληται ποιῆσαι, τοῦθ᾽ ὁρᾶν, καὶ πρὸς ἐκεῖνο τὸ δεινὸν βλέπειν, καὶ τὸν αἴτιον καὶ παρασκευάσαντα τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἐκείνῳ μισεῖν καὶ τιμωρεῖσθαι.