Orations of Demosthenes, Tr with Notes by O Flintoff

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 33 ORATION ON THE CROWN, (a) The counsellor and the malignant being alike in no other matter, in this most of all differ from one another. The one gives his opinion before the events, and renders himself responsible to those who have taken his advice, to fortune, to the turns of the times, to any one who...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 33 ORATION ON THE CROWN, (a) The counsellor and the malignant being alike in no other matter, in this most of all differ from one another. The one gives his opinion before the events, and renders himself responsible to those who have taken his advice, to fortune, to the turns of the times, to any one who chooses: whereas, the other, having remained silent, when he ought to speak, if any thing disagreeable occurs, vexatiously sets upon that. That then was, as I stated, the period (b), for the man who was anxious for the good of the state and for honest advice. And I go to so bold a length, as to allow that I am guilty if any one could now show any thing better, or altogether if any other measure were practicable except those I adopted. For if there be any measure which any one hath now seen, that would have been advantageous if then pursued, that I affirm ought not to have been unknown to me. But if there neither is, nor was, nor any one can mention one hitherto or to day, what did it behove the counsellor to do ? Did it not, to choose the best of such measures as were apparent and practicable. This then was what I did, when the herald asked, JEschines who chooses to harangue ? not who chooses to accuse about things past, nor who to give bond about (a) This oration was spoken B. C. 330.; Clin. Fast. Hell., i. 360. Part of it only is here given. (6) When it was in consultation whether Athens should join Thebes against Philip. the things to come. But when you, at those times, sat speechless in the assemblies, I came forward and spoke. But if not then, at any rate now, point out to me either what method which I ought to have found out, or advantageous crisis for the state, was neglected by me, and what alliance, what negociation, to which I ought rather to have condu...