[24]
Now some
of our opponents, men of Athens, are
so illogical that they make no attempt to answer these arguments, but take a
different line, saying for instance how monstrous it is that on the one hand
there is nothing left in the Exchequer, but on the other hand private
individuals will grow wealthy because they have secured an immunity. But it is
not fair to combine both these statements. For if a man has great wealth without
doing you any wrong, there is surely no need to look on him with envy; but if
they are prepared to say that he has stolen it or gained it in some other
disreputable way, there are laws by which he can be suitably punished. But as
long as they do not prosecute him, neither have they any right to make this
allegation.
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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