Page:History of Greece Vol VIII.djvu/230

 208 HISTORY OF GREECE. when a man, either from low civilization, has never known this large moral reason, or when from some accidental stimulus,, righteous in the origin, but wrought up into fanaticism by the conspiring force of religious as well as family sympathies, he comes to place his pride and virtue in discarding its supremacy, there is scarcely any amount of evil or injustice which he may not be led to perpetrate, by a blind obedience to the narrow in- stincts of relationship. " Ces peres de famille sont capables de tout," was the satirical remark of Talleyrand upon the gross pub- lic jobbing so largely practised by those who sought place or pro- motion for their sons. The same words understood in a far more awful sense, and generalized for other cases of relationship, sum up the moral of this melancholy proceeding at Athens. Lastly, it must never be forgotten that the generals themselves were also largely responsible in the case. Through the unjustifi- able fury of the movement against them, they perished like inno- cent men, without trial, " inauditi et indefensi, tamquam innocentes, perierunt ; " but it does not follow that they were really innocent. I feel persuaded that neither with an English, nor French, nor American fleet, could such events have taken place as those which followed the victory of Arginusse. Neither admiral nor seamen, after gaining a victory and driving off the enemy, could have endured the thoughts of going back to their anchorage, leaving their own disabled wrecks unmanageable on the waters, with many living comrades aboard, helpless, and depending upon extraneous succor for all their chance of escape. That the gen- erals at Arginusa? did this, stands confessed by their own advocate Euryptolemus, 1 though they must have known well the condition of disabled ships after a naval combat, and some ships even of 1 Xenoph. Hellen. i, 7, 31. 'E7re<(5# yap apart] aovref ry fat, iia%ia irpbf rrjv yrjv KOTSTT hevaav, Atofieduv [lev ticeXevev, u raf enl tcepuf uTravraf avatpsia&ai ra vavayia Kal roi)f vavayovf, 'Ep 6e, iiri roi)f ff "^iiTv^rjvrjv xo'kefj.iovf rqv Ta%iaTT}v irTieiv airavrar J 1 ufttyorepa ETI yevea&ai, uv ru? (ilv avrov Kara^'nruai, ratf (5e km roiif ira'Aen'iov^ TivUfuor Kal do^uvruv TOVTUV. etc. 1 remarked, a few pages before, that the case of Erasinides stool in some easure apart from that of the other generals. He proposed, according to this speech of Euryptolemus, that all the fleet should at once go again to Mitylene which would of course have left tie men on the wrecks to 'J-.ei;