[75]
Therefore, though there is much that I could say on many
topics, I will forbear; for indeed it is not, I think, lack of speeches either
now or at any other time that is the cause of our distress, but when you have
listened to the right sort of arguments, and when you are unanimous as to their
validity, you sit on and give equal attention to those who wish to overthrow and
distort them. It is not that you do not recognize these speakers, for as soon as
you have seen them, you know exactly who is speaking for pay and acting as
Philip's agent, and who is sincerely defending your best interests; but your aim
is to find fault with these latter and, by turning the subject into ridicule and
raillery, to avoid doing any part of your own duty.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1930.
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