330 THIRD PHILIPPIC OF DEMOSTHENES. and true friends to lend assistance on such occasions. People who never have harmed him, though they might have adopted measures of defence, he chose to deceive rather than warn them of his attack; and think ye he would declare war against you before he began it, and that while you are willing to be deceived? Impossible. He would be the silliest of mankind, if, whilst you, the injured parties, make no complaint against him, but are accusing your own countrymen, he should terminate your intestine strife and jealousies, warn you to turn against him, and remove the pretext of his hirelings for asserting, to amuse you, that he makes no war upon Athens. O heavens! would any rational being judge by words rather than by actions, who is at peace with him and who at war? Surely none. Well then; Philip immediately after the peace, before Diopithes was in command or the settlers in the Chersonese had been sent out, took Serrium and Doriscus, and expelled from Serrium and the Sacred Mount the troops whom your general had stationed there. What do you call such conduct? He had sworn the peace. Don't say what does it signify? how is the state concerned?— Whether it be a trifling matter, or of no concernment to you, is a different question: religion and justice have the same obligation, be the subject of the offence great or small. Tell me now; when he sends mercenaries into Chersonesus, which the king and all the Greeks have acknowledged to be yours, when he avows himself an auxiliary and writes us word so, what are such proceedings? He says he is not at war; I cannot however admit such conduct to be an observance of the peace; far otherwise: I say, by his attempt on Megara, by his setting up despotism in Euboea, by his present advance into Thrace, by his intrigues in Peloponnesus, by the whole course of operations with his army, he has been breaking the peace and making war upon you; unless indeed you will say, that those who establish batteries are not at war, until they apply them to the walls. But that you will not say: for whoever contrives and prepares the means for my conquest, is at war with me, before he darts or draws the bow. What, if anything should happen, is the risk you run? The alienation of the Hellespont, the subjection of Megara and Euboea to your ene my, the siding of the Peloponnesians with him. Then can I allow, that one who sets such an engine at work against Athens is at peace with her? Quite the contrary. From the day that he destroyed the Phocians I date his commencement of hostilities. Defend yourselves instantly, and I say you will be wise: delay it, and you may wish in vain to do so hereafter. So much do I dissent from your other counsellors, men of Athens, that I deem any discussion about Chersonesus or Byzantium out of place. Succor them-I advise that-watch that no harm befalls them, send all necessary supplies to your troops in that quarter; but let your deliberations be for the safety of all Greece, as being in the utmost peril. I must tell you why I am so alarmed at the state of our affairs, that, if my reasonings are correct, you may share them, and make some provision at least for yourselves, however disinclined to do so for others: but if, in your judgment, I talk nonsense and absurdity, you may treat me as crazed, and not listen to me, either now or in future. That Philip, from a mean and humble origin, has grown mighty, that the Greeks are jealous and quarrelling among themselves, that it was far more wonderful for him to rise from that insignificance, than it would now be, after so many acquisitions, to conquer what is left; these and similar matters which I might dwell upon, I pass over. But I observe that all people, be ginning with you, have conceded to him a right, which in former times has been the subject of contest in every Grecian war. And what is this? The right of doing what he pleases, openly fleecing and pillaging the Greeks, one after another, attacking and enslaving their cities. You were at the head of the Greeks for seventy-three years, the Lacedæmonians for twenty-nine; and the Thebans had some power in these latter times after the battle of Leuctra. Yet neither you, my countrymen, nor Thebans, nor Lacedæmonians, were ever licensed by the Greeks to act as you pleased: far otherwise. When you, or rather the Athenians of that time, appeared to be dealing harshly with certain people, all the rest, even such as had no complaint against Athens, thought proper to side with the injured parties in a war against her. So, when the Lacedæmonians became masters and succeeded to your empire, on their attempting to encroach and make oppressive innovations, a general war was declared against them, even by such as had no cause of complaint. But wherefore mention other people? We ourselves and the Lacedæmonians, although at the outset THIRD PHILIPPIC OF DEMOSTHENES. 331 we could not allege any mutual injuries, | could not be said that he was an alien, and thought proper to make war for the injus- not heir to the property which he so dealt tice that we saw done to our neighbors. Yet with. But if a slave or a spurious child all the faults committed by the Spartans in wasted and spoiled what he had no interest those thirty years, and by our ancestors, in in- Heavens ! how much more heinous and the seventy, are less, men of Athens, than hateful would all have pronounced it! And the wrongs, which, in thirteen incomplete yet in regard to Philip and his conduct they years that Philip has been uppermost, he feel not this, although he is not only no has inflicted on the Greeks: nay they are Greek and noway akin to Greeks, but not scarcely a fraction of these, as may easily even a barbarian of a place honorable to be shown in a few words. Olynthus and mention; in fact, a vile fellow of Macedon, Methane and Apollonia, and thirty-two cities from which a respectable slave could not be on the borders of Thrace, I pass over; all purchased formerly. which he has so cruelly destroyed, that a What is wanting to make his insolence visitor could hardly tell if they were ever complete? Besides his destruction of Greinhabited and of the Phocians, so con- cian cities, does he not hold the Pythian siderable a people exterminated, I say no- games, the common festival of Greece, and thing. But what is the condition of Thes- if he comes not himself, sends his vassals to saly? Has he not taken away her consti- preside? Is he not master of Thermopylae tutions and her cities, and established te- and the passes into Greece, and holds he trarchies to parcel her out, not only by not those places by garrisons and mercencities, but also by provinces, for subjection? aries? Has he not thrust aside Thessalians, Are not the Euboean states governed now ourselves, Dorians, the whole Amphictyonic by despots, and that in an island near to body, and got preaudience of the oracle, to Thebes and Athens? Does he not expressly which even the Greeks do not all pretend? write in his epistles, "I am at peace with Does he not write to the Thessalians, what those who are willing to obey me? Nor form of government to adopt? send merdoes he write so and not act accordingly. cenaries to Porthmus, to expel the Eretrian He is gone to the Hellespont; he marched commonalty; others to Oreus, to set up formally against Ambracia; Elis, such an Philistides as ruler? Yet the Greeks enimportant city in Peloponnesus, he posses-dure to see all this; methinks they view it ses; he plotted lately to get Megara: as they would a hailstorm, each praying that neither Hellenic nor Barbaric land contains it may not fall on himself, none trying to the man's ambition. And we, the Greek community, seeing and hearing this, instead of sending embassies to one another about it and expressing indignation, are in such a miserable state, so intrenched in our separate towns, that to this day we can attempt nothing which interest or necessity requires; we cannot combine, or form any association for succor and alliance; we look unconcernedly on the man's growing power, each resolving (methinks) to enjoy the interval that another is destroyed in, not caring or striving for the salvation of Greece: for none can be ignorant that Philip, like some course or attack of fever or other disease, is coming even on those that yet seem very far removed. And you must be sensible that whatever wrong the Greeks sustained from Lacedæmonians or from us, was at least in- But what has caused the mischief? There dicted by genuine people of Greece; and must be some cause, some good reason, why it might be felt in the same manner as if a the Greeks were so eager for liberty then, lawful son, born to a large fortune, commit- and now are eager for servitude. There ted some fault or error in the management was something, men of Athens, something of it; on that ground one would consider in the hearts of the multitude then, which him open to censure and reproach, yet it there is not now, which overcame the wealth prevent it. And not only are the outrages ye 332 THIRD PHILIPPIC OF DEMOSTHENES. of Persia and maintained the freedom of Greece, and quailed not under any battle by land or sea; the loss whereof has ruined all, and thrown the affairs of Greece into confusion. What was this? Nothing subtle or clever: simply that whoever took money from the aspirants for power or the corruptors of Greece were universally detested: it was dreadful to be convicted of bribery; the severest punishment was inflicted on the guilty, and there was no intercession or pardon. The favorable moments for enterprise, which fortune frequently offers to the careless against the vigilant, to them that will do nothing against those that discharge all their duty, could not be bought from orators or generals; no more could mutual concord, nor distrust of tyrants and barbarians, nor anything of the kind. But now all such principles have been sold as in open market, and those imported and exchanged, by which Greece is ruined and diseased. What are they? Envy where a man gets a bribe; laughter if he confesses it; mercy to the convicted; hatred of those that denounce the crime: all the usual attendants upon corruption. For as to ships and men and revenues and abundance of other materials, all that may be reckoned as constituting national strength -assuredly the Greeks of our day are more fully and perfectly supplied with such advantages than Greeks of the olden time. But they are all rendered useless, unavailable, unprofitable, by the agency of these traffickers. That such is the present state of things, you must see, without requiring my testimony that it was differen: in former times, I will demonstrate, not by speaking my own words, but by showing an inscription of your ancestors, which they graved on a brazen column and deposited in the citadel, not for their own benefit (they were right-minded enough without such records), but for a memorial and example to instruct you how seriously such conduct should be taken up. What says the inscription then? It says: "Let Arthmius, son of Pythonax the Zelite, be declared an outlaw, and an enemy of the Athenian people and their allies, him and his family." Then the cause is written why this was done: because he brought the Median gold into Peloponnesus. That is the inscription. By the gods! only consider and reflect among yourselves, what must have been the spirit, what the dignity of those Athenians who acted so! One of Arthmius a Zelite, subject of the king, (for Zelea is in Asia,) because in his master's service he brought gold into Peloponnesus, not to Athens, they proclaimed an enemy the Athenians and their allies, him and his family, and outlawed. That is, not the outlawry commonly spoken of: for what would a Zelite care to be excluded from Athenian franchises? It means not that; but in the statutes of homicide is written, in cases where a prosecution for murder is not al lowed, but killing is sanctioned, "and let him die an outlaw," says the legislator: by which he means, that whoever kills such a person shall be unpolluted. Therefore they considered that the preservation of all Greece was their own concern (but for such opinion, they would not have cared whether people in Peloponnesus were bought and corrupted): and whomsoever they discov ered taking bribes, they chastised and punished so severely as to record their names in brass. The natural result was that Greece was formidable to the Barbarian, not the Barbarian to Greece. 'Tis not so now: since neither in this nor in other respects are your sentiments the same. what are they? You know yourselves: why am I to upbraid you with everything? The Greeks in general are alike and no better than you. Therefore I say our present af fairs demand earnest attention and wholesome counsel. * * * But What can be the reason-perhaps you wonder-why the Olynthians and Eretrians and Orites were more indulgent to Philip's advocates than to their own? The same which operates with you. They who advise for the best cannot always gratify their au dience, though they would; for the safety of the state must be attended to: their opponents by the very counsel which is agreeable advance Philip's interest. One party required contribution; the other said there was no necessity: one were for war and mistrust; the other for peace until they were ensnared. And so on for everything else (not to dwell on particulars); the one made speeches to please for the moment, and gave no annoyance; the other offered salutary counsel, that was offensive. Many rights did the people surrender at last, not from any such motive of indulgence or ignorance, but submitting in the belief that all was lost. Which, by Jupiter and Apollo, I fear will be your case, when on calculation you see that nothing can be done. I pray, men of Athens, it may never come to HYMN TO GOD. this! Better die a thousand deaths than render homage to Philip, or sacrifice any of your faithful counsellors. A fine recompense have the people of Oreus got, for trusting themselves to Philip's friends and spurning Euphraeus! Finely are the Eretrian commons rewarded, for having driven away your ambassadors and yielded to Clitarchus! Yes; they are slaves, exposed to the lash and the torture. Finely he spared the Olynthians, who appointed Lasthenes to command their horse, and expelled Apollonides! It is folly and cowardice to cherish such hopes, and while you take evil counsel and shirk every duty, and even listen to those who plead for your enemies, to think you inhabit a city of such magnitude, that you cannot suffer any serious misfortune. Yea, and it is disgraceful to exclaim on any occurrence when it is too late, "Who would have expected it? How ever-this or that should have been done, the other left undone." Many things could the Olynthians mention now, which if foreseen at the time, would have prevented their destruction. Many could the Orites mention; many the Phocians, and each of the ruined states. But what would it avail them? As long as the vessel is safe, whether it be great or small, the mariner, the pilot, every man in turn, should exert himself, and prevent its being overturned either by accident or design: but when the sea hath rolled over it, their efforts are in vain. And we likewise, O Athenians, whilst we are safe, with a magnificent city, plentiful resources, lofty reputation-what must we do? Many of you, I dare say, have been longing to ask. Well then, I will tell you; I will move a resolution; pass it if you please. 333 lected power of a state, even this may be useful; as were the embassies last year to Peloponnesus and the remonstrances with which I and Polyeuctus, that excellent man, and Hegesippus, and Clitomachus, and Ly curgus and the other envoys went round, and arrested Philip's progress, so that he neither attacked Ambracia nor started for Peloponnesus. I say not, however, that you should invite the rest without adopting measures to protect yourselves: it would be folly while you sacrifice your own interest, to profess a regard for that of strangers, or to alarm others about the future, whilst for the present you are unconcerned. I advise not this: I bid you send supplies to the troops in Chersonesus and do what else they require; prepare yourselves and make every effort first, then summon, gather, instruct the rest of the Greeks. That is the duty of a state possessing a dignity such as yours. If you imagine that Chalcidians or Megarians will save Greece, while you run away from the contest, you imagine wrong. Well for any of those people if they are safe themselves. This work belongs to you: this privilege your ancestors bequeathed to you, the prize of many perilous exertions. But if every one will sit seeking his pleasure, and studying to be idle himself, never will he find others to do his work, and more than this I fear we shall be under the neces sity of doing all that we like not at one time. Were proxies to be had, our inactivity would have found them long ago; but they are not. Such are the measures which I advise, which I propose: adopt them, and even yet, I believe, our prosperity may be re-established. If any man has better advice to offer, let him communicate it openly. Whatever you determine, I pray to all the gods for a happy result. DEMOSTHENES. First, let us prepare for our own defence; provide ourselves, I mean, with ships, money and troops-for surely, though all other people consented to be slaves, we at least ought to struggle for freedom. When we have completed our own preparations and made them apparent to the Greeks, then let us invite the rest, and send our ambassadors everywhere with the intelligence, to Peloponnesus, to Rhodes, to Chios, to the king, I say (for it concerns his interests not to let Philip make universal conquest); that, if you prevail, you may have partners of your dangers and expenses, in case of necessity, or at all events that you may considerable reputation in his native city as a versifier. delay the operations. For, since the war is Among his poems, those most highly esteemed are the against an individual, not against the col-"Vaderlandse Gezengen" (Patriotic Songs). His later 1757. HYMN TO GOD. [JACOB BELLAMY was born at Flushing, in the year His boyhood was passed in humble circumstances, and he worked at the trade of a baker until he was fifteen years old. At this early age he acquired |