Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/802

 798 DEMOSTHENES tion, and in 353 that against Timocrates. In 354, having been appointed by lot a member of the boule or senate, he passed the scrutiny required by law, in spite of the opposition of Midias and his party. In the following year he was chief of the state deputation sent from Athens to the festival of the Nemean Zeus. He took an active part at this time in the pub- lic debates on questions of foreign policy. He opposed, but not successfully, the expedition to Eubcea in 354, and delivered an able oration against the scheme, then much favored by the political leaders of Athens, of making war against Persia (TLepi ^v/upopiuv). In the fol- lowing year he delivered the oration in behalf of the Megalopolitans, and in opposition to the request of the >partans for aid in conquer- ing them. The relations between the states of Greece and King Philip of Macedon, who aimed at the conquest of the Hellenic world as a preliminary step to the subjugation of Asia, called the genius and eloquence of Demos- thenes into fuller play. The orator early saw through the designs of the Macedonian, and had the courage to set himself in stern opposi- tion to them. He felt the necessity of union among the Grecian states, and urged with won- derful ability, persistence, and eloquence every consideration that patriotism suggested in favor of this plan. The Philippics, so called because they are aimed against the policy of Philip, are among the most brilliant specimens of his eloquence. But the demoralized condition of the states and the corruptibility of public men made his efforts unsuccessful, except for brief moments of alarm. The first Philippic was delivered in 352. In 349 Philip attacked the Olynthians, who had made a treaty with Athens. They sent embassies to Athens im- ploring aid, and Demosthenes supported their cause in the three admirable Olynthiacs, which roused the Athenians to vigorous ef- forts. These, however, were not sufficient, and finally Olynthus fell into Philip's hands through the treachery of Lasthenes and Euthy- crates. During the Olynthian war Philip had thrown out hints of a desire to make a treaty of alliance with Athens. On the motion of Philo- crates, an embassy, consisting of himself, .zEschi- nes, and Demosthenes, was sent to open nego- tiations with the king. Philip appears to have evaded their demand that Phocis, then in alliance with the Athenians, should be included in the treaty. The ambassadors returned; the terms of the peace were discussed in two assemblies of the people, and were finally agreed to on the part of the Athenians, the customary oath having been given to the am- bassadors. A second embassy, of which ^Es- chines and Demosthenes were members, was sent to Philip, under instructions to make all haste to receive the oaths from him, because it was apprehended that he would not cease his encroachments until the treaty was com- pletely ratified. But instead of going to Ma- cedonia by sea, they took the longer way by land ; instead of finding Philip at once, they waited three months for his return from an expedition to the Bosporus; and finally they allowed him to defer taking the oaths until he had completed his preparations against the Phocians. They accompanied him on his march into Thessaly, and the oaths were not administered until they arrived at Pherae. This delay enabled Philip to accomplish his object. The Phocians were excluded from the treaty, and Philip passed through Thermopylae and conquered their country without resistance. The ambassadors having returned to Athens, Demosthenes accused his colleagues of treach- ery and of being bribed by the king ; but ^Es- chines succeeded in having the affair delayed. The oration on the peace, another attack upon Philip, was delivered in 347 or 346. From this time Demosthenes was the head of the anti-Macedonian party, and the vehement po- litical antagonism between him and ^Eschines, whose oratorical ability made him a leader on the other side, commenced. The oration TLepi TLapan pea fle'iag (the corrupt conduct in the em- bassy), in which Demosthenes renewed his exposure of the treachery of ^Eschines, belongs to the year 343 ; but the prosecutor was again unsuccessful, and the accused leader a'gain es- caped punishment. Philip in the mean time continued his intrigues in the Peloponnesus, and Demosthenes was unwearied in his labors to thwart them. He went on embassies to the several states, and employed all his pow- ers of argument, persuasion, and denunciation. Philip sent a deputation to Athens, charging the Athenians with favoring the Spartans in their designs against the liberties of the Pelo- ponnesians. An assembly was called, Philip's ministers were heard, and in the discussion of the answer to be made Demosthenes (344) delivered the second Philippic. In 343 Philip took Halonesus from the pirates. The Atheni- ans claimed it as an ancient possession of their own. Philip, denying their right to it, offered it to them as a gift; and it was on this oc- casion that the oration TLepi 'Afovfaov was de- livered, though it is doubtful whether this is a work of Demosthenes. The Athenians now made vigorous efforts to counteract the schemes of Philip in Acarnania, in the Peloponnesus, and in Thrace. Philip again complained of their course, and Demosthenes, about 341, de- livered the oration on the Chersonese, and the third Philippic, a most vigorous and daring attack. He next caused the expulsion of the tyrants who had been established and sup- ported by Philip in Euboaa. In 340 the Athe- nians, under the influence of Demosthenes, relieved Byzantium, which the king was be- sieging. In the same year he introduced a re- form into the naval system, by which the bur- dens of this department of the public service were more equitably distributed, and its effi- ciency increased. At the amphictyonic as- sembly, held at Delphi in the spring of 340, ^Eschines proposed a decree against the Lo-