[117]
For
there is nothing outrageous in withholding what one never dreamed of giving; but
it is an outrage to give and afterwards take back one's gift, with no fault
alleged. Prove to me that our ancestors ever took back the gifts they had
bestowed, and you too have my leave to do the same, though the disgrace remains
none the less; but if no one can cite an instance from the whole course of our
history, why is such a precedent to be set in our generation?
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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