Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/428

 402 HISTORY OF GREECE. intercourse singly and individually with Philip ; L but they were farther enjoined, by a comprehensive general clause, '' to do any- thing else which might be within their power for the advantage of Athens." " It was our duty as prudent envoys (says .2Eschi nes tc the Athenian people) to take a right measure of the whole state of affairs, as they concerned either you or Philip." 2 Upon these rational views of the duties of the envoys, however, JEschi- nes unfortunately did not act. It was Demosthenes who acted upon them, and who insisted, immediately after the departure of Antipater and Parmenio, on going straight to the place where Philip actually was ; in order that they might administer the oath to him with as little delay as possible. It was not only certain that the King of Macedon, the most active of living men, would push his conquests up to the last moment ; but it was farthei known to .^Eschines and the envoys, that he had left Pella to make war against Kersobleptes in Thrace, at the time when they returned from their first embassy. 3 Moreover, on the day of, or the day after, the public assembly last described (that is, on the 25th or 26th of the month Elaphebolion), a despatch had reached Athens from Chares, the Athenian commander at the Hellespont, intimating that Philip had gained important advantages in Thrace, had taken the important place called the Sacred Mountain, and deprived Kersobleptes of great part of his kingdom. 4 Such suc- cessive conquests on the part of Philip strengthened the reasons for despatch on the part of the envoys, and for going straight to Thrace to arrest his progress. As the peace concluded was based 1 Demosth. Fals. Leg. p. 430. ov rb pev tyijipifffia, " ov6a[iov povovf iv~ rvyx f^iif I or iv TI $iXnnrov, TOVTO fi&n tp yov iart irpsafieuv (jipovipuv ...... 'AQiy/uE&a <5'^e?f e^ovrff TOV dr/fiov ^dufffta, h> 9 yeypanTai, TlpuTreiv 6e roi)f IT pea(3 E i$, Kal AA' 6, TI uv dvvuvrai uyatiov. 3 ^schines, Fals. Leg. p. 39. c. 26. 4 wEschines, Fals. Leg. p. 40. c. 29. OTI KepaopteirTTic uirolufaKC TTJV up- Xffv, Kal Tb lepbv opof KO rei7i.r)^e $/AT n-of. There is no fair grour.d for supposing that the words dTro^cjAe/ce rt)v upx^f are the actual words used by Chares, or that Kersobleptes was affirmed by Chares to have lost everything that he had. It suited the argument of -<Es chines to give the statement in a sweeping and exaggerated form.