[23]
And perhaps it is in place first to say that you have done
well in choosing this kind of contest. For to judge rightly when one is young
what line of action one should pursue1 is the token of an honest soul and of sound judgement
alike, and on neither ground would it be right to omit praise of your
choice.You, therefore, being well aware that
slaves and aliens share in the other sports but that dismounting is open only to
citizens and that the best men aspire it, have eagerly applied yourself to this
sport.2
1 Blass notes a similarity in the Dem. 60.17; not impressive.
2 The contestants were called “apobates,” desultores, i.e. “dismounters.” The drivers seem to have dismounted at times and raced with the teams. Dion. Halicarn. Roman Antiq. 7.73; E. Norman Gardiner, Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, pp. 237-239.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by Norman W. DeWitt, Ph.D., and Norman J. DeWitt, Ph.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1949.
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