Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/321

 ACCUSATION OF iESCHINES. 289 an emphatic condemnation of him was the only way of clearing her from the charoje of privity with those who had raised the standard against Macedonian supremacy. In an able and bitter harangue, ^schines first shows that the motion of Ktesiphon was illegal, in consequence of the public official appointment,s held by Demosthenes at the moment when it was proposed — next he enters at large into the whole life and character of De- moslhenes, to prove him unworthy of such an honor, even if there bad been no formal grounds of objection. He distributes the en- tire life of Demosthenes into four periods, the first ending at the peace of 346 b. c, between Philip and the Athenians — the second, ending with the breaking out of the next ensuing Avar in 341-340 B. c. — the third, ending with the disaster at Chajro- neia — the fourth, comprising all the time following.* Through- out all the four periods, he denounces the conduct of Demos- thenes as having been corrupt, treacherous, cowardly, and ruin- ous to the city. What is more surprising still — he expressly charges him with gross subservience both to Philip and to Alex- ander, at the very time when he was taking credit for a patriotic and intrepid opposition to them.2 That Athens had undergone sad defeat and humiliation, hav- ing been driven from her independent and even presidential po- sition into the degraded character of a subject Macedonian city, since the time when Demosthenes first began political life — was a fact but too indisputable, .^schines even makes this a part of his case ; arraigning the traitorous mismanagement of Demos- thenes as the cause of so melancholy a revolution, and denounc- ing him as candidate for public compliment or no better plea than a series of public calamities.^ Having thus animadverted on the conduct of Demosthenes prior to the battle of Cha^roneia, -lEschines proceeds to the more recent past, and contends that roif PiOiTToff TTiv Tax'LCSTriv (LTzaTJkaytjV tuv F.TnjpTTjiievuv oofiuv dure Kol  aa<pa2.ii. The mention by jEschines (immediately before) of the Pythian games, as about to be celebrated in a few days, marks the date of this judicial tiial — August, 330 B. c. ' ^scliines adv. Ktesiph. p. 443. ^ ^schincs adv. Ktesiph. pp. 449, 456, 467, 551 3 ^schines adv. Ktesiph. pp. 52G, 538, 541. VOL. XII. 25