Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/324

 2)2 HISTOllY OF GREECE. Platasa and Salamis.* To have had a foreign dominion obtioided upon Greece, is an overwhelming calamity ; but to have had this accomplished without strenuous resistance on the part of Athens, would have been calamity aggravated by dishonor. Conceived in this sublime strain, the reply of Demosthenes to his rival has an historical value, as a funeral oration of extinct Athenian and Grecian freedom. Six years before, the orator had been appointed by his countrymen to deliver the usual pub- lic oration over the warriors slain at Chasroneia. That speech is now lost, but it probably touched upon the same topics. Though the sphere of action, of every Greek city as well as of every Greek citizen, was now cramped and confined by irresisti- ble Macedonian force ; there still remained the sentiment of full political freedom and dignity enjoyed during the past — the ad- miration of ancestors who had once defended it successfully — and the sympathy with leaders who had recently stood forward to uphold it, however unsuccessfully. It is among the most memorable facts in Grecian history, that in spite of the victory of Philip at Cha?roneia — in spite of the subsequent conquest of Thebes by Alexander, and the danger of Athens after it — in spite of the Asiatic conquests which had since thrown all Per- sian force into the hands of the Macedonian king — the Athen- ian people could never be persuaded either to repudiate Demos- thenes, or to disclaim sympathy with his political policy. How much art and ability was employed, to induce them to do so, by his numerous enemies, the speech of ^schines is enough to teach us. And when we consider how easily the public sicken of schemes which end in misfortune — how great a mental relief is usually obtained by throwing blame on unsuccessful leaders — it would have been no matter of surprise, if, in one of the many prosecutions wherein the fame of Demosthenes w^as involved, the Dikasts had given a verdict unfavorable to him. That he al- ways came off acquitted, and even honorably acquitted, is a ' Demosthen. Dc Corona, p. 297. tiX/l' ovk ianv, ovk eotiv brrug Tjfiup- TETe, ui'dpff ''K'&rjvaloi, tuv VTrep ttjc utzuvtuv i?^EV&epiag nal currjpia^ Kivdvvov upu/iEvoi — ov jiil Toix ^lapa'&cJvi. TzpoKivSwEvaavrac tuv npoyovuv Kal Toi)g Ev WAaTaialg napaTaiafiivovr koL nvg iv '!^a?.ainri i'avij.af;aav- rac, etc., tlie oath so often cited and admired.