[181]
But in those days, men of Athens, you were still careful to be on
your guard against perils, and not sparing of precaution; now you overlook
anything that at any given moment does not disturb you or cause immediate
annoyance. And then you come here and pass random resolutions,—that
Philip shall swear fidelity to Cersobleptes,—that he shall have no
share in Amphictyonic business,—that he shall revise the terms of
peace. Yet all your resolutions would have been unnecessary, if only the
defendant had chosen to travel by sea and to do his duty. What might have been
saved by sailing, he has lost by insisting on travel by land; and what might
have been saved by telling the truth, he has lost by telling lies.
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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