Page:History of Greece Vol VII.djvu/195

177 DEFENCE OF ALKIB1ADES. 177 featcd. The strenuous denial of Aikibiades, aided by his very peculiar position as commander of the armament, as well as by the reflection that the recent outrage tended rather to spoil his favorite projects in Sicily, found general credence. The citizens enrolled to serve, manifested strong disposition to stand by him ; the allies from Argos and Mantineia were known to have em- braced the service chiefly at his instigation ; the people generally had become familiar with him as the intended conqueror in Sicily, and were loth to be balked of this project. From all these circumstances, his enemies, finding little disposition to wel- come the accusations which they preferred, were compelled to postpone them until a more suitable time. 1 But Aikibiades saw full well the danger of having such charges hanging over his head, and the peculiar advantage which he derived from his accidental position at the moment. He im- plored the people to investigate the charges at once ; proclaiming his anxiety to stand trial and even to suffer death, if found guilty, accepting the command only in case he should be acquitted, and insisting above all things on the mischief to the city, of sending him on such an expedition with the charge undecided, as well as on the hardship to himself, of being aspersed by calumny during his absence, without power of defence. Such appeals, just and reasonable in themselves, and urg ;d with all the vehemence of a man who felt that the question was one of life or death to his future prospects, were very near prevailing. His enemies could only defeat them by the trick of putting up fresh speakers, less notorious for hostility to Aikibiades. These men affected a tone of candor, deprecated the delay which would be occasioned in the departure of the expedition, if he were put upon his trial forthwith, and proposed deferring the trial until certain number of days after his return. 2 Such was the determi- 1 Thncyd. vi, 29. Isokrates (Orat. xvi, De Bigis, sects. 7, 8) represents these proceedings before the departure for Sicily, in a very inaccurate manner. 2 Thucyd. vi, 29 Ol <5' l^-Spol, dediorcf TO TE arpurcvfta, fiq evvovv %$, f/v 7,'dri uyuvi&Tru, 5 re Sf/ucf pi) /laTiaKifyTai, depairevav art 61' kKslvov ol r 1 'A/jyeZoi Zvvcarpurfvov KG.I ruv MavTivew rivef, uirerpeirov ical atreaTtevdov a A ? ovf pi)Topac, Kvievrtf, ol ileyov viiv fitv irTielv avrlv KOI ftjj Karaa elv rrjv ujuyr/v, IMovTa 6e Kpiveatiat. ev ypspatf Arjralf fiovl.opcvoi 4* VOL. vn. -8* 12oc.