DEMOSTHENES
those who I think will report it yonder, and on any news of our own success shudder and groan and stoop to the earth, like these impious men, who rail at Athens, as if in so doing they did not rail at themselves; who look abroad, and if the foreigner thrives by the distresses of Greece, are thankful for it, and say we should keep him so thriving to all time.
Never, O ye gods, may those wishes be confirmed by you! If possible, inspire even in these men a better sense and feeling! But if they are indeed incurable, destroy them by themselves; exterminate them on land and sea; and for the rest of us, grant that we may speedily be released from our present fears, and enjoy a lasting deliverance![1]
- ↑ After the failure of Æschines In this prosecution, he went into exile and at Rhodes established a school of oratory. It is related of him that, one day when he had read this oration of Demosthenes to his students, it was received with such vociferous applause that Æschines generously remarked, "What would you not have said had you heard him thunder out the words himself?"
185
