[194]
If the hurricane that burst upon us has been too strong, not for us alone, but
for every Hellenic state,—what then? As if a shipowner, who had done
everything in his power for a prosperous voyage, who had equipped his craft with
every appliance he could think of to ensure her safety, should encounter a great
storm, and then, because his tackle was overstrained or even shattered, should
be accused of the crime of shipwreck! “But,” he might say,
“I was not at the helm”—nor was I in command of
the army—“and I could not control fortune, but fortune
controls all.”
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by C. A. Vince, M. A. and J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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