[2]
We have put in a special plea in bar of
action, not that we may evade the issue and waste time, but that, if the
defendant1 shows that he has committed no wrong whatsoever, he may win
in your court an acquittal which will be final. For all that in the minds of
other people brings about a firm and lasting settlement without engaging in a
trial before you—
1 The terms “plaintiff” and “defendant,” as used in the translation of this oration, apply to the suit brought against Phormio.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1939.
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