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38.
For myself, I adhere to my former opinion,
and wonder at those who have proposed to reopen the case of the Mitylenians,
and who are thus causing a delay which is all in favour of the guilty, by
making the sufferer proceed against the offender with the edge of his anger
blunted; although where vengeance follows most closely upon the wrong, it best
equals it and most amply requites it.
I wonder also who will be the man who will maintain the contrary, and will
pretend to show that the crimes of the Mitylenians are of service to us, and
our misfortunes injurious to the allies.
[2]
Such a man must plainly either have such confidence in his rhetoric as to
adventure to prove that what has been once for all decided is still
undetermined, or be bribed to try to delude us by elaborate sophisms.
[3]
In such contests the state gives the rewards to others, and takes the
dangers for herself.
[4]
The persons to blame are you who are so foolish as to institute these
contests; who go to see an oration as you would to see a sight, take your facts on
hearsay, judge of the practicability of a project by the wit of its
advocates, and trust for the truth as to past events not to the fact which
you saw more than to the clever strictures which you heard;
[5]
the easy victims of newfangled arguments, unwilling to follow received
conclusions; slaves to every new paradox, despisers of the commonplace;
[6]
the first wish of every man being that he could speak himself, the next to
rival those who can speak by seeming to be quite up with their ideas by
applauding every hit almost before it is made, and by being as quick in
catching an argument as you are slow in foreseeing its consequences;
[7]
asking, if I may so say, for something different from the conditions under
which we live, and yet comprehending inadequately those very conditions; very slaves to the pleasure of the ear, and more like the audience of a
rhetorician than the council of a city.
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References (70 total)
- Commentary references to this page
(27):
- Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Antigone, 640
- Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Antigone, 648
- Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Philoctetes, 98
- E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 2, 2.48
- E.C. Marchant, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 7, 7.67
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.112
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.36
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.37
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.39
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.40
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.42
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.43
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.44
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.45
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.46
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.53
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.54
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.59
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.81
- Charles F. Smith, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 3, 3.86
- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4, CHAPTER CVI
- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4, CHAPTER CX
- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4, CHAPTER XIX
- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4, CHAPTER XXXIV
- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 4, CHAPTER LXXXV
- C.E. Graves, Commentary on Thucydides: Book 5, 5.89
- Gilbert A. Davies, Commentary on Demosthenes: Philippics I, II, III, 1
- Cross-references to this page (2):
- Cross-references in notes to this page
(2):
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Thuc. 1.70
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Thuc. 7.48
- Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page
(39):
- LSJ, δῆλος
- LSJ, ἄριστος
- LSJ, ἄτοπ-ος
- LSJ, ἀγωνο-θετέω
- LSJ, ἀκολουθ-έω
- LSJ, ἀκούω
- LSJ, ἀκρο-α_τής
- LSJ, ἀμβλ-ύς
- LSJ, ἀναφέρω
- LSJ, ἀντα^γων-ίζομαι
- LSJ, ἀνταπο-φαίνω
- LSJ, ἀποβαίνω
- LSJ, αὐτός
- LSJ, βρα^δύς
- LSJ, διατρι^βή
- LSJ, δοκι^μάζω
- LSJ, δοῦλος
- LSJ, δράω
- LSJ, ἐκπονέω
- LSJ, ἐμποι-έω
- LSJ, ἐπεξ-έρχομαι
- LSJ, ἐπιτιμ-έω
- LSJ, εἶπον
- LSJ, εὐπρεπ-ής
- LSJ, γιγνώσκω
- LSJ, γνώμ-η
- LSJ, ἡδονή
- LSJ, ἡσσ-άομαι
- LSJ, καινότης
- LSJ, ὄψις
- LSJ, προαισθ-άνομαι
- LSJ, προεπ-αινέω
- LSJ, προνοέω
- LSJ, προτίθημι
- LSJ, θαυμ-άζω
- LSJ, θεα_τ-ής
- LSJ, σοφισ-τής
- LSJ, συνέπομαι
- LSJ, ὑπερόπτης
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