Argo a towne no more famous by the auncient renowme therof than by the death of Pyrrhus Now let vs make a vewe of our doings I pray you how much did Italie flourish more when Pyrrhus set vpon vs than it doth at this present what a full strength and force was the state in than so many Captayne 's being as yet safe so many armies as yet whole sound whom afterward those Africane warres consumed and made away Yet for all that he shooke the state and came conquering welnie to the very gates of Rome And not only did the Tarentynes and all that part of Italie the which is called mayne Greece reuolt from vs so that a man myght well thinke they had followed their language and their auncient name but also the Basilicates the Calabrians and the Abruzzians seuerall people in the kingdome of Naples And thinke you if Philip passe into Italie that these people will be long at rest or keepe themselues within their allegeance In dede they were all quiet during the time that we warred afterwards abrode with the Carthagineans Nay nay this kinde of people will neuer leaue reuolting froÌ„ vs but when they shal haue no body to fal vnto If it had bene so lothsom a matter to you at that time to make ouer into Africa you had had Annibal the Carthage enimies within Italie at this day Let Macedonie rather abyde the mischiefes of warre than Italie and the Countrie and towne rather of our enimies feele the force of fire and sworde and be destroyed therewyth We haue good triall already that our force and might hath bene more fortunate and more puissant abrode than at home And therefore go you altogither on Gods name to giue your voyces and allowe you those things with one consent the which haue bene wysely considered vppon by the Senate And for this opinion you haue not onely your Consull to encourage you therevnto but also the immortall Goddes vnto whome when I made my sacrifice and my prayers that this warre might be fortunate to me to the Senate to you to the friendes and confederates of the Latine name and to our Nauie and whole armie they prognosticated and foreshewed vnto me when I was at the sacrifice that all things shoulde go happily forwarde and prosper very well The Argument vpon the first Oration of Demosthenes in fauour of the Olynthians a people in Thracia now called Romania PHILIP King of Macedonie sonne to Amyntas and father of Alexander the great did much annoye the lande of Greece but especially the people of Athens froÌ„ whom by force and other meanes he tooke many goodly Cities as Pydna Potydaea Amphipolis with others vsurping in all places where violence might preuayle Yea he brought by extreeme hande whole Thessalia vnder his yoke and being growne insolent through many victories and conquestes of priuate Countries and Cities he determined at the last to denounce open warre against the whole Countrie of Athens and yet before he would fall into so playne a quarrell with them he drew into his league the Citie Olynthus being in the Countrie of Thracia now called Romania standing somtimes betwixt Abdera and Heraclia a warrelike plat and a martiall soyle next adioyning to Attica the people whereof were Grecians of Chalcis in Euboia a colonie of the Athenians Now these Olynthians had earst bene at warre aswel against the Athenians as also against the Lacedemonians whose valiantnesse king Philip knowing and desirous to haue them matche with him hee sought by great giftes of Townes vnto them which he had gotten from the Athenians and others to make them assured to his part bicause he might haue a more easie passage to Athens a thing that he desired aboue al others For hauing that he thought it nothing to gette all the countrie of Grecia elsewhere whatsoeuer being his full minde to make a plaine conquest of all Grecia if it were possible The Olynthians herevpon perceyuing his ambicious nature and smelling thereby that he was sharpely sette to be Lorde ouer all weying also how vnfaithfull a man he was otherwise in all his doings toke their time in his absence and dispatched an Ambassade to Athens to be confederate with them contrarie to their league made before with King Philip with whome they had agreed to sette vpon Athens and to haue ech with others like friendes and like foes togither Which thing when king Philip vnderstoode he tooke herevpon iust aduauntage to fall out with them and so forthwith proclaimed open warre against them Whervpon the Olynthians sent to Athens for succour whose cause Demosthenes fauouring as one that did full well perceyue the insaciable ambition of King Philips nature perswaded earnestly that ayde shoulde be sent vnto them bicause the safetye of Olynthus was as a man woulde saye a bulwarke or forte to Athens against Macedonie and that King Philip coulde neuer annoye them so long as Olynthus stoode safe and sure Whereas on the other side the Athenians might at pleasure pierce into Macedonie and handle him hardly in his owne countrie But if King Philip once got Olynthus he had then an open entrie and a very playne passage to Athens And to encourage his Countrie men the better in this quarrell hee sayth that King Philip is not so mightie but he may easily be dealt withall contrarie to the common opinion Further he willeth monye to bee leuied and taken out of the common treasurie perswading that where as it was wont to bee bestowed vppon Stage playes Maygames and publyke sightes now the time serued that it might be better employed vpon Souldiers for their wages to defende the afflicted Olynthians and to maintaine the safegarde of Athens But bicause the maner is vnknowne to many how the Athenians vsed and dispensed their treasure at that time it weare not amisse to touch it briefly When the Athenians heretofore vsed no Theater or scaffolde for the people to stande vpon but such only as was made of boardes into the which euery man made haste to get a place to see those sightes that weare there to bee seene many times when their scaffolde fayled they did hurt themselues and sometimes they went togither by the eares so that manslaughter followed for want of order while euery man sought to place himselfe first that first could get vp wherevpon proclamation was made that none hereafter shoulde haue any place there except they first payde out of hand two halfe pence of that coyne for their standing being about two pence starâ—ing and so they should be placed of the which money part was giuen for the building of the Theater of stone where the playes and open shewes shoulde be made and set forth and part was bestowed vpon officers appointed for these pastimes And when the collection monye fayled the Chamber of Athens did beare the reast for maintenaunce of their costly feasts and seuerall games to the great and intollerable charge of the Citie And least the poore should be thought hereby
flatterie hurtfulnesse and guile for the speaker to get money by and to yéeld vp the state of our Citie into our enimies hands Wherefore eyther you must leaue of these condicions of yours or else you must blame no bodie that all things go awrie but your owne selues ¶ Certaine sentences gathered out of certaine seuerall Orations of Demosthenes Ex orat de falsa legatione THat Citie is of no value the which is not of habilitie ynough to punish wrong dooers neyther is that common weale any thing worth at all where pardon and intercession preuayles agaynst lawes Ex orat Amator THe minde of man is his guide in all thinges and the same is onely to bée instructed and trayned vp with knowledge and learning Ex orat Iuneb THe beginning of all vertue is wisedome the ende of vertue is monhoode and courage by the one we learne what to do by the other we preserue and maintaine our selues Ex orat Amator IT is a verye goodly thing for a man euen through fortunes goodnes to be regarded and had in estimation among the noblest and best sort of men but yet a much more goodly thing it is for a man to haue got through his owne vertue and trauaile all maner of reputation and honour for that one which is welfare the vile and naughtie man doth attaine vnto nowe and than but of this other surely no man can euer be partaker sauing he onely that is of an excéeding noble courage and hath a manly heart of his owne Ex orat contra Aristogit ALl men haue Altars of iustice equitie and shamefastnesse And those some haue verie fayre and the most holy euerye man within his owne minde and nature others haue such as be set vp for the common vse of all men but of shamelesnesse of slaundering of forswearing and of vnthankefulnesse was neuer man had any aultar at all Ex orat ad Lept IF all men for verie feare of the lawes would leaue to do any euill and euery man for desire of rewarde would doe his dutie what shoulde let why a countrie should not be verie mightye all men honest and none euill Ex orat contra Aristogi WHatsoeuer thing is goodly and honorable and serues for the ornament and preseruation of states as modest behauiour towardes parents reuerences of yong men towardes their elders and good order all those I saye by the onely ayde and assistance of the law doe preuaile agaynst all wickednesse as agaynst vnshamefastnesse foolehardinesse and vnreuerent behauiour towardes others ¶ These few sentences are set foorth to giue a certaine shew of Demosthenes notable worthines who hath infinit speaches of like sort throughout all his Orations which he vttered with great eloquence and pleasure to the hearers but much more effectually expressed he the same in the whole course of his life as being in déede more famous for his vertuous liuing and constant hartinesse towardes his deare Countrie than for his excellent knowledge and maruellous gift of eloquence wherein neuerthelesse he hath bene thought of all men hitherto to bée the odde man of all the worlde The life and doings of Demosthenes gathered out of Plutarch Suidas Libanius Lucian and others with some discourse vpon certaine things as occasion serueth DEmosthenes being father to Demosthenes the Orator and one of the warde or companie of the Paeanians a felowship so called by addicion or name of that place in the territorie of Atticke from whence they first came as many other cōpanies did to dwell afterwards within the Citie of Athens and to leaue the Countrie was a very honest man and a welthy Citizen called by surname the blade Smith or Cutler for that he had certaine workmen vnder him that made blades and swoordes to be sold for his benifite And albeit his seruants did thus labour vnder him with such handie crafte workes yet was he no worke man himselfe but being a wise and a welthie Citizen was appoynted by the State to be a Trierarchus which is asmuch as Capitaine or Gouernor of some one Galley or Galleys who not onely tooke that office vpon him as a good Surueyor but also did defray of his owne proper cost all the expences and charges belonging to a Galley according to the maner then vsed for the riche men so to doe in fauour of their Countrie their Galleyes being the woodden walles of their Citie as Apollo sayde by his Oracle and so the defence of their State. Now belyke this man and such other as tooke vpon them so great a matter being of so great charge credite and benifite to their Country could not be otherwise estéemed then for the best and most worthie Citizens among the reast Thus much I speake for his degrée and calling notwithstanding he bare the name of a blade Smith to the rebuke of those that can not brooke any to beare aucthoritie in their Countrie that are not Gentlemen borne the which is no thanke to them For so might others haue béene as well as they if their constellation had béene thereafter or rather if God had thought it so conuenient But whatsoeuer he be poore or riche lowe or high craftes man or landed man if he be vertuous and godly hée is a Gentleman And he that can do nothing nor will do nothing eyther is no Gentleman in déede or vnfitly beareth the name of a Gentleman yea vertue onely is the truest and most rightest Nobilitie that is This man had to wife one Cleobula a straunger borne and no Grecian as it was thought who brought him forth a sonne called Demosthenes after hys owne name This Demosthenes the father died in good welth to the value of .2700 pound starling of reuenewes as it should séeme leauing his sonne verie yong and of tender age after him scant seuen yeares olde Wherefore he bequeathed him with those his goodes to thrée executors men of trust named Aphobus Demophon and Therippides who like common executors not only became carelesse of the childes bringing vp but also employed his portion to their owne vse yea they did not so much as pay the teachers for his learning And the Boy being in déede somewhat wéerish and tender of bodie his mother therfore was not willing that he should be ouertrauelled with to great paynes to séeke learning for feare of hindering his health And the Schoolemaysters they cared as little as who cared least how little the childe tooke for his money beyng neyther willed by others to take paynes with the Boy nor yet like to be greatly cōsidered for their paines taking as they thought if perhappes they shoulde haue taken any So that this childe might haue béene lost for want of carefull bringing vp and good héede taking to him if he had not béene better enclined of hys owne nature And for that he was such a milke soppe and so neshe or tender natured childe and so verie a cockney
rewardes are necessarye for well doers so chastisement is meete for offenders He that will blame an other man must first be blamelesse himselfe in the selfe same matter that he blameth others Rewardes due for paynes taking Mercenarie strangers serue chiefly there for gaine where it is most to be had In euery ward of Athens was 300. comâ—â—ers whom the Orator abused aswell in leuying of mony as appoynting offices Libertie of speach necessarie for the Countries welfare Wordes and deedes should be all one After the afflicted confederates are first holpen we may in the necke therof seeke reuengement of our enimy and deuise his annoyaunce and not before Happie is he that can take his tyme. Rather negligence than ignoraunce hath hâ—â—t the Grecians Ten thousande eight hundred pound starling Nine hundred poundes starling It is good dealing with the enâ—miâ— when he is most weake and at the woorst Occasion to be taken nowe or neuer Besides dishonour there is feare of daunger hereafter if ayde be not sent presently for that the Thebanes are very lyke to fall from them and that the Phoceyans are very poore and needie Gentlemen eschewe euill for shame the common people for feare of harme Euill lawes are to be abrogated that hinder good proceedings Those that sought to repeale lawes among the Grecians by decree written and recorded in a table suffered smart for their attempt if they weare not able to proue theyr assertion to be for the Countries welfare The lawe maker and none other should abrogate his own decree and law established Lawes not executed are of no value and as good not made as not practised Execution of lawes a higher thing in nature than is the deuising or bare reporting of them Occasion offered neuer better and therefore not to be foreslowed * king Philip he meaneth Better for euery man to amend one and to doe his duty than euery one to seeke faultes in others without mending his owne Euery one shifteth to excuse his own doings and rather posteth faults ouer to others than takes them vpon him to beare the blame himselfe Publike prayer and supplication vsed to Godwardes Not as men would but as men may and as the nature of things do require so should they deale A good subiect preferreth the welfare of his Countrie before all other things Aristides Nicias Demosthenes Pericles Flatterers people most daungerous to a common weale * A comparison betwixt those that weare and those that are and what oddes there is betwixt the one and the other * One Milion eight hundred thousand poundes starling Perdicca king of Macedonie payde tribute to Athens * Old Councellours what they weare among the Greekes * Zerxes saddle dedicated to Minerua for his victorie had at Salamina Mardonius Semiterra or fawchen hong vp in the temple in honor of his victorie had agaynst the Plateians The temperance of two gouernors Aristides and Miltiades Magistrates what they should be * Old Councellors in Grece 1. Faithfull to their countrie 2. Deuout towards God. 3. Vpright and iust as a beame towardes all When flatterers beares rule all things comes to naught * Two hundred seuentie thousand pounde starling Trifles and vanities highly set foorth in steade of weightie affayres Magistrates and gouernors who they be â–ª that are to be misliked wherfore Demades Phryno Eubulus Philocrates noted to be the euill and corrupt Orators The causes of corrupt gouernement He meaneth the Orators 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was a small peece of money hauing the print vpon it of a small bullâ—cke in value two pence and somwhat more Such is the man and his maners as his delite and studie is He meaneth Ceres who was fayned to be the Goddesse of corne bicause she first taught the maner of manuring and turning vp the earth to cast corne therin By diligence and paynes taking all may be amended that is amisse An apt similitude to perswade that the stage money should be employed vpon the warres Euery man bound to aduaunce for his part the welfare of his countrie The idle should not reape the fruite of the painefull He misliketh that hired souldiours straungers should doe great things for them and they to do nothing for themselues The elders and most auncient weare wont to speake first When things are in extremitie it is good to be of good cheere and rather lustily to amend that in amisse than cowardly to faint and be in dispayre of all Negligence and want of care doe cause much wo. He styrreth the Athenians to be doing by example of their auncient prowes atchieued against the Lacedemonians Pidna a Citie in Macedonie Potidea a towne in Thracia Methona now called Modon a towne in Achaia Countries and states are the rewardes of valiaunt and couragious personages God and nature do set all things to sale for labour King Philips state both fickle and weake King Philip he meaneth The ydle man is soone taken tardie Neuer more neede to bee doing then nowe Necessitie Common askers of newes are no better than common pratlers Vnnecessarie questions asked of king Philips being Good dealing with the enimy when he is at the woorst Great was the desire of the Athenians to recouer their lost townes The maner how the Athenians did prepare themselues to the warres Pyla Chersonesus Olynthus Euboia nowe Negroponte an Island in Achaia Haliaâ—â—â—m a towne in Morea within the territorie of Messeâ—iâ— Citizens alwayes to be readie for annoying the enimie The number of Souldiors fit for the warres The reason why he would so small an armie should be prouided Why he would haue his owne countrymen to be ioyned souldiours with the straungers Corynthus a Citie in Morea Policrates Iphicrates Gabrias Euill trusting straungers alone to serue in the warres by themselues Souldiours must haue their paye Little was the authoritie that the Athenians had in their warres Menelaus a straunger and Capitaine to the Athenians in their warres at home Daungerous 〈◊〉 haue a straunger generall * Sixtene thousand two hundred poundes starling * Seuen thousand two hundred poundes starling * Three score poundes starling * It appeareth by this reckoning the prouision should be for a yeare * Six shillings starling A hundred drachmes made minam which was a pound of xij ounces that is three pound sterling of our standard * Two thousand a hundred sixtie poundes starling * Nine pounds starling To say and doe are two things Etesie certaine Northeast windes so called bicause they came ordinarily at a certain season of the yeare Lemnus nowe Stalimene an Island in the sea Aegeum south from Candia Thasus an Island their likewise not farre from Thracia Sciathus an Iland there also Good heede to be takeÌ„ in time of warre for dispensing of the treasure that euery man may haue his iust pay Gerastus Marathona A sacred Galey The feast of Minerua kept by order The holy day of God Bacchus duely obserued and by order appoynted to be kept Short shooting loseth the game Methona
The three Orations of Demosthenes chiefe Orator among the Grecians in fauour of the Olynthians a people in Thracia now called Romania with those his fower Orations titled expressely by name against king Philip of Macedonie most nedefull to be redde in these daungerous dayes of all them that loue their Countries libertie and desire to take warning for their better auayle by example of others Englished out of the Greeke By Thomas Wylson Doctor of the ciuill lawes After these Orations ended Demosthenes lyfe is set foorth and gathered out of Plutarch Lucian Suidas and others with a large table declaring all the principall matters conteyned in euerye part of this booke Seene and allowed according to the Queenes Maiesties Iniunctions ¶ Imprinted at London by Henrie Denham GVALTERI HADDONI LEGVM DOCTORIS Regiae Maiestati à libellis supplicibus Tetrastichon EN Demostheneum fulmen sermone Britanno Mittitur Anglorum Graecus in ora venit Thomas VVilsonus pretiosi muneris author Eximia Graecam qui ferit arte tubam AEgidij Laurentij Oxoniensis Regiae Maiestati in lingua Graeca professoris publici Carmen in versionem Olynthiacarum Philipppicarum Orationum Demosthenis per Thomam Wilsonum Legum Doctorem ARte laboratas veneres Demosthenis Angle Si cupias oculis ipse videre tuis Si vim dicendi rationum inuictaque tela Si viuam effigiem mentis ingenij Perlege quas doctus doctè atque fideliter Anglis Anglus VVilsonus vertit Olynthiacas Atque quibus titulum dat Rex hostisque Philippus Infestus Graecis fraude dolisque potens Aptius expressit nemo me Iudice Athenis Orantem melius postea nemo dabit En tibi praeclarum specimen quod Attica verba Dexteritate refert lingua Britanna pari Non sic quantumuis neruos contenderit omnes Exprimere ad viuum lingua Latina potest In Demosthenis Olynthiacas Philippicas orationes à doctissimo Thoma VVilsono Legum Doctore de Graeco in Anglicum sermonem conuersas Thomae Bingi Oratoris Academiae Cantabrigiensis carmen QVae Demosthenicis olim contorta lacertis Turbarunt coeptus tela Philippe tuos Cecropijs tantùm conseruabantur Athenis Dum tantùm Actaea Pallas in arce stetit Nunc postquam externas adijt Tritonia gentes Angli tela eadem te duce Vilso vibrant Scilicet hoc fuerat quod multis ante parabas Annis rhetorices quando elementa dabas ▪ Illis vt freti nostrates doctius ipsum Versarent tandem Rhetora grandiloquum Carmen Ioannis Cooci scholae Paulinae moderatoris in versionem Olynthiacarum Philippicarum Demosthenis domini Thomae Wilsoni legum doctoris COmmuni cur peste luit primùm acris Olynthus Vt sensim socias perdat par exitus vrbeis Heu vigilasse fuit quanto consultius omnes Signaque in hanc studijs pariter conuersa tulisse Non est consilium paries cum proximus ardet Delendi studium soli liquisse colenti Contiguos ne forte sequax iam flamma penateis Implicet tacitis inuoluat cuncta ruinis Fida pares operas poni cum foedera poscant ▪ Cur affere tuis dubitas tutamen amicis Grassans nostra lues si depopuletur oportet Vi socios iuncta communem pellere pestem Praesertim si animos societ sententia concors Toti quem dederat rhetor iam Gräius orbi Atticus haec Graecè vulgat praecepta libellus Atticus hunc nostro nostras sermone poliuit Atticus studio patriae dulcedine linguae Quo si forte libro gens Anglica rite fruatur Et praecepta colat degendae commoda vitae Hunc operi vigilem iuuat impendisse laborem Quem patriae summo pertractus iniuit amore I. M. Londinensis in eandem versionem carmen ELoquio praestans reliquis fert Graecia palmam Inter eximias Graecas dicuntur Athenae Praecipuae ciuis Demosthenis optima fama est Is fuit vrbis honor fuit orbis gloria summa Anglia pars orbis Demosthenis ora videre Nunc habet in votis Anglas vt reddere voces Audiat hunc Graecum decus immortale suorum Attulit hunc nostras Thomas VVilsonus ad aures Et docuit lingua nostra res maxima dictu Tam bene dicentem quam purè Graeca sonabat Tum cùm dicendi princeps regnaret Athenis Fulmine verborum quatiens diademata regum INTERPRES LECTORI QVid miraris opus fato Deus imperat Orbi Nil ego solus ago sed Deus vrget opus Aspicere in patriam monuit labesque videre Iussit Authorum dicta verenda sequi Inter egregios Demosthenis optima laus est Plurima qui patriae commemoranda notat Nunc quoque tempus adest patriae succurrere dulci Ne miserè in praeceps Anglia tota ruat Discere sic monitus Graeca exemplaria voluo Et moestae patriae pharmaca Graeca paro Nitor Oceanum qui nunquam viderat hospes Britanni vt ciuis iam queat esse loco Incola vix talis similis vix nascitur vllus Aduena sit gratus qui modò talis erit Versio si rudis est nos argue nos reprehende Excolere hunc talem vix potis vnus erat Vix dudum edidicit linguae modò soluit habenas Si rudis est hodie tempore purus erit Atticus ex omni Graecorum gente supremus Vrbis Athenarum Gratia sola fuit Quisquis es hospitio talem dignare Britanno Si pius in patriam vel bonus esse cupis To the right Honorable Sir William Cecill Knight principall Secretarie to the Queenes Maiestie and of hir priuie counsell Maister of the Court of Wardes and Liueries and Chauncelor of the Vniuersitie of Cambridge Thomas Wilson Doctor of the Ciuill lawe wisheth long and perfite health with encrease of Gods most holy spirite GReat is the force of Vertue Right Honorable Counseller to wynne loue and good will vniuersally in whose minde soeuer it is perfitelye knowne to haue once gotte a dwelling I speake it for this ende that being solitarie of late time from my other studies and musinge on this world in the middest of my bookes I did then as I haue oftentimes else done deepelye thinke of Sir Iohn Checke Knyght that rare learned man and singular ornament of this lande And as the remembrance of him was deare vnto me for his manifolde great gifts and wonderfull vertues so did I thinke of his most gentle nature and godly disposed minde to helpe all those with his knowledge and vnderstanding that any waye made meanes vnto him and sought his fauour And to say for my selfe amongest others I founde him such a friende to me for communicating the skill and giftes of hys minde as I cannot but during my life speake reuerentlye of so worthie a man and honor in my hart the heauenly remembrance of him And thinking of my being with him in Italie in that famous Vniuersitie of Padua I did cal to minde his care that he had ouer all the Englishe men there to go to their bokes
hath bene done by elder time in Homer and Virgill if any woulde doe the same in Demosthenes and Tullie that he might finde by making conference of places what Tullie hath borowed of him and where our Latin Orator is equall to the Gréeke and where he passeth him and where the counterfayting of him doth alter from the originall There is nothing in the worlde so méete to perfite a mans iudgement withall And here I will not spende labor to commende Demosthenes to the setting forth of whose praises worthily we had néede of Demosthenes eloquence naye there néedeth no eloquence at all to set him foorth whom all men with one whole consent doe prayse and set vp to the verye heauens Ludouicus Viues a Spaniarde and one notably learned in his seconde booke of Rhetoricke THerefore is Demosthenes preferred before Cicero in the opinion of some men in that he hideth his Arte and smelleth the lesse of Schooles being more enclined to applye himselfe to the playne and familiar speache of the vulgar people than otherwise to write or speake aboue the common capacitie and vnderstanding of men Sadoletus in his booke De liberis rectè instituendis IT will doe good to knowe and therewithall to haue in admiration that vnspeakable pythinesse and vehemencie of Demosthenes whose maner of speache séemeth to mée to bée knit togither as though it weare with certaine hookes or links that if you take awaye neuer so little the whole disposition and order of the matter must néedes quayle And so passing fierce is his speache that it is like alwaies to preuaile and so full and so well stored therewithall that it is able to ouerthrowe and so artificiall and cunning that it is able alwayes to beguyle the aduersaries And besides this howe often report is there made in his Oratiōs of auncient things what choyce of words and sentences how many exhortations vsed vpon the sodeyne and as the cause serued both for praise for honor that in good reason the eloquence of Gréecelande may be sayde to depende vppon the glorie and honor of this onely man the chiefe and péerelesse Orator in the profession of eloquence aboue al others The like opinion had sir Iohn Chéeke Knight of this famous man and sayde plainly that he passed all others not onely for learning witte and iudgement but also for his familier and plaine kinde of writing and was the méetest to bée folowed and studied of all those that would be in déede without colour or painted Arte such as they woulde séeme in outwarde showe to be reputed and estéemed of others And yet thus much must I saye after so many speaches vsed of this man that although nothing can be more excellent than Demosthenes Orations yet in Demosthenes there wanteth a great péece of Demosthenes himselfe bicause he is rather knowne now by reading his workes than by hearing his speach and vtterance wherein he did chiefly excell and got thereby the greatest prayse But to conclude at length what is he that euer was taken for wyse and learned that eyther coulde prayse this man sufficiently or durst in any poynt diminish the glorie of his most famous and worthie renowme And therefore I will saye of Demosthenes as one sayde of Carthage Satius est silere quam parúm dicere It were better to be silent or at leastwise to forbeare speaking any more thā not to vtter at full the iust commendation of so worthy a man And when all is done I maye applie Titus Liuius saying vppon Cato iustly to Demosthenes Hic ille est cuius gloriae nemo vnquam laudando addidit neque vituperando quisquam aliquando detraxit This is he whose glorie no man hath euer made greater by praysing him nor yet any hath euer made lesse by dispraysing him So that he hath bene is and will be euer the honor of learning the fame of well doing and the verye patterne of vertue and knowledge for all men liuing euermore to follow And as for his faithfull and heartie minde that he did beare to his Countrie I will giue him none other prayse than onely set forth those Gréeke verses of Sophocles in Antigona the which he himselfe rehearsed in his Oration De falsa legatione agaynst Aeschines and shewed to haue euer obserued for his part in the whole course of his lyfe as a very excellent lesson both to himselfe and to all others that shall beare office or rule in their countrie the which verses are thus to be englished A playne declaration of a iust Magistrate and true subiect to his Countrie Mans heart and minde cannot be tryde Nor invvarde thought be fully spyde Before he hath in office beene And of the lavves the force vvell seene Novv then if one be set in place That shrinkes for feare to shevv his face And vvill not vse his best aduyse The state to saue by lore most vvyse Him doe I novv and euer shall Of vvicked men most vvicked call And he againe that doth his frinde Preferre before his Countrie kinde I doe not saye a friende is hee But him starke naught count I to bee As for my selfe that iudge I call The God on hie vvho knovveth all If any euill I happe to see VVhich to the state may daunger bee That vvill I shevve vvith heart and minde Fall backe fall edge euen as I finde No publyke foe vvill I once take In priuate loue to be my make For vvell I knovv this Realme shall saue All subiects true euen till their graue And that so long as state shall stande No friendes can vvant vvithin this lande Thus much of this worthy and famous Demosthenes whose name as it is by interpretation the strength and force of the people so was he in very deede and by nature the strong bulwarke and mighty defence of his most deare natiue Countrie Moreouer bicause these Orations of Demosthenes conteyne matters of warre I will shewe the Othe that the yong men of Grecia did take when they weare appointed Souldiers for the warres a note vndoubtedly at this time right needefull for all Christians not onely for Englishe men to obserue and followe I Wyll not doe any thing vnworthye the sacred and holye warres neyther will I abandon or forsake my bande and Captayne if I be appoynted to any I will fight for the right of the Church and safetie of the state aswell when I am alone as when I am in companie I wyll not make my Countrie to bee in worse case than it is but I wyll make it better than I found it And I will euer frame my selfe reuerentlye to obey such orders as are decreed and adiudged and to lawes established I wyll still yeelde my selfe and obey those lawes also that the state hereafter shall by common assent enact or set forth That if any one man shall chaunge the lawes or not obey them I wyll not suffer him to my power much lesse wyll I allow him in so doing But I will bee a sure defender
of right aswell by my selfe alone as when I am with others and I will euermore honor the religion of my Countrie The Goddes be they my witnesse of these my sayings This Othe was solemnely giuen to yong men being in armour in the Church of their God at eyghteene yeares of their age and hauing thus sworne they continued alwayes ready to serue for .xlij. yeares after so that they weare fully three score yeare olde before they were discharged of their Othe and seruice to their Countrie for the warres And such loue did these people beare to their Countrie that all their sacrifices and Church religion tended onely to the long preseruation and good welfare of their state Such care had these heathen people to the prosperous safegarde of their Nation much to the shame and confusion of all these in our dayes that are common traytors and open Rebels to their naturall soyle and Countrie The Description of Athens AThens hauing hir name from Minerua who was called otherwise Athene being somtimes the Paradise of Gréece yea the Gréece of Gréece as Thucidides sayd the mart of learning the nurse of knowledge the mother of Orators the fosterdame of Philosophers and Poetes and the verye Palace or dwelling place of the Gods themselues to harbowre in as some did tearme it the same Citie hath felt in continuance of time much of fortunes frowning not onely by the Persians the Macedonians and the Peloponnesians now called the people of Morea but also by the Romaines diuers times and after that by the Gaules and last of all by the great Turke who is now Lorde and ruler there ouer all And to speake amongst others of the Gaules you shall vnderstande that when they were driuen from Constantinople and lost their seate in the East they came backe to Athens and planted their seate there and in the countrie of Morea tyll translating themselues from thense to Naples the same Citie came to the handes of a Florentine of the house of Acciolai in the tyme of Quéene Ioan of Naples that notorious lewde Ladie for hir wickednesse and euill lyfe known throughout the world to hir shame for euer The which Florentine séeking ayde of the Christians to kéepe it still and not finding any helpe he was driuen by fine force at the last to giue ouer his right interest and tytle to the great Turke about a hundreth yeares by past So that now it is a very meane village and a poore fisher Towne hauing scant the name left of it called after a barbarous and corrupt maner of speach Sathines in steade of Athens nothing now extant of so famous a Citie sauing that vpon the rocke where the Church of Minerua was builded there is a mighty pile or fortresse of maine puissance and strength Such is the course of this worlde that nothing kéepeth any long continuance but as our bodies are naturally subiect to alteration so haue all states and common weales in this worlde their naturall ages and chaunges to teache vs the rather to fasten our mindes wholy vpon heauen and to dedicate our selues to God alone And as Gréece was the midst of the worlde and the countrie Attica the midst of all Gréece so was Athens the verye heart of all Attica as well for the situation of the soyle as for the myndes and disposition of the men The people whereof as Plutarchus writeth were very soone stirred to anger and yet very easily moued to mercie rather enclined to suspicion than giuen to heare any long information or report made of things and as they weare readie to helpe the poore afflicted sort so did they gladlye delyte in sportes and pastymes And being praysed by others they tooke pleasure in it againe being rebuked they were not greatly discontented A people much feared euen of the greatest Princes being notwithstanding very curteous and gentle to their greatest enimies And touching the Countrie Attica and the soyle thereof Plato sayth in his dialogues Timeo and Menexemo that the same was verye apt to bring forth most freshe and excellent wittes the which riseth by reason of the temperature of the ayre being of a verye moderate heate and moysture the Countrie standing in .42 degrées from the equinoctiall This Citie was builded in the middest betwyxt the Temple of Diana and the famous Church of Ceres in the Citie Eleusine next vnto the which is that great mountaine called Eron Vpon the north side of Athens runneth the riuer Asopus and vpon the South side the sea called Mare Aegeum now Arcipelagus by name The verie situation declared the maiestie of this Citie as the whiche was the common harborowe or safe receyte of all Gréeceland to flie vnto for succor in their greatest extremities and miseries of warre lying Eastwarde in such sort that it séemed to offer receyte by stretching out hir arme Yea their hauen or péere earst called Pyraeeus now Lion did after a sort appeare to open hir lappe to harbowre succourlesse straungers being a hauen both verye safe to enter to it and a sure harbowre to ride in it against all weather and daunger that might happen They had another hauen set beyond the temple of Diana somewhat out of the Citie called the port Munichia standing East froÌ„ Athens where was a little pretie towne marueylous strongly fensed the hauen thereof being an harbowre or receyte of foure hundreth Gallies at the least yea so many Gallies the Athenians many times vsed to set forth in their warres It is written furthermore that Pericles that worthie Gouernour of Athens in his time caused thrée score new Gallies yearely to be made for a certaine space of the Cities charge These two hauens weare fortified with a notable wall of huge square frée stone so strong and so thicke therewithall that two Cartes might méete one another and go and come from eyther of the hauens to the Citie And it is further sayde that Munichia compassed within hir boundes both the hauen Pyraeeum and also that notable Arsinall made by Philo that excellent Architect or Maister builder the which was such a péece of worke for charges and beautie as the lyke was not againe to be séene in all the worlde Of this Munichia one Epimenides Phaestiâ—s when he came to Athens and sawe the perill that Athens was lyke to sustaine by the losse of such a place standing as it did from Athens and of such force warned the Athenians very wisely in thrée Gréeke verses what was néedefull to bée done with it the which verses are to bée englished out of the Gréeke after this sort Had the Athenays wist how great a bayne Munichia vnto their towne shoulde bee As breade with teeth they woulde it eate amayne Meaning that it was good for them to beate downe Munichia to the grounde rather than it shoulde remayne to be a daunger to the Citie And as Epimenides sayde so it fell out afterwards For Antipater in his warre against Athens assone as he had once got Munichia he
dare not doe these things vnto him vpon this occasion and oportunitie which if he had the like abilitie you might be assured to féele at his hands Moreouer I would not haue you ignorant of this O Athenians that it is in your owne choyse nowe whither you will go fight with him in his owne Countrie or that he should come and fight with you at your owne dores For if the Olynthians shal be able to hold their owne you shall fight with him there and annoy his Realme and enioy the fruits of this your owne Country without feare of any daunger but if king Philip shoulde take their Citie who shall let him then to draw straight hither The Thebanes be it spoken without bitternesse they will be readie to enter vpon vs with him But perhaps the Phoceyans alas poore men they are not able to kéepe their owne except you your selues do succour them or some bodie else But good sir sayth one King Philip will neuer come hither Nowe surely this weare the greatest absurditie that euer was if that thing which nowe he commonly talkes and brags of though all men countes him a mad man for his labor he would not do the same if he might Nowe howe much oddes there is whither you fight wyth him here or in his owne Countrie I thinke it not worth the speaking for weare you once dryuen to bée in the Campe but one Moneth onelye and shoulde haue all thinges néedefull for the armye out of your owne Countrey I saye vnto you that althoughe none enimye appeared amongest vs your farmours and husbande menne shoulde susteyne more losse and harme at home than all the charges of the warres heretofore haue amounted vnto Great then will bée oure harme if we shall be fought withall here at home Besides this what a reproche will it be and what a shame also for vs to bee bearded by oure enimyes and brested by them euen at oure owne doores the which blemishe and rebuke vnto wise men is comparable to the greatest losse that may be Wherefore séeing all this is séene vnto you you ought altogither to plye your ayde and to aduaunce the warre from hence vpon him Those that be welthie men to depart with some portion of their goodes to thintent they may better kéepe the masse of their treasure and gotten goodes in more safetie at home As for yong men what can they doe more honorable for themselues than getting experience of warre within the boundes of King Philips Countrie returne home like valiant and redoubted kéepers of their naturall soyle and welfare And the Oratours for their partes to render vp a cléere account of their doinges in the common weale For euen as the worlde frameth with you so are ye commonlye woont to iudge of their doings Thus I pray God all may be well The Argument vpon the second Oration in fauour of the Olynthians AFter the Ambassadors of Olynthus had vttered their requests the Athenians agreed vnto them and appointed vpon ayde to be sent but yet foreslowed somwhat their matters for feare of king Philips mightinesse and somewhat also bicause King Philip had some bearers in the towne that thūdred his power out amaine amongst the commons wherby to discourage and quaile their hearts from making warre Demosthenes vsing great cunning to cracke this his credite and the common digested opinion of him and his magnificence first and formost perswades them by this Argument that all his puissaunce hath growne but by craft and subtiltie and therefore is of no continuaunce nor yet to be weyed Then howe his owne people be wasted with continuall taxes and tallages and therefore likely to seeke meanes to disburdeine themselues thereof Thirdly that he is a man of naughtie liuing which thing though it be presently kept hid through the floud of his prosperitie yet with time it will ebbe and be discouered and therefore the heartes of his owne people must needes be alienated from him And in this place he doth excellently paint out a Tiraunt in his colours as one false to his confederates cruell to his subiectes and dissolute of his owne life and by the way he sheweth most grauely that the good behauiour of Princes hath great force to winne and to keepe the good will of the common people and commonly good lucke foloweth good doinges and as mens maners are such is their prosperitie And lastly he doth most wisely discourse of happinesse and welfare and sayth that where as manye doe thinke that witte and pollicie doe mainteine States he affirmeth that all prosperite and assuraunce of welth are the onely gift of God tearmed by him good fortune Without the which all good counsels bee they neuer so finely or cunningly deuised are nothing worth at all Wherein he doth not exclude counsell and wisedome but he wisheth that God and good happe should be our guide in all our actions In the second part of his Oration he rebuketh their sloth and idlenesse warning them to further their good fortune and happinesse with all painefull diligence and industrie that may be and then he doubteth not but all shall be well ¶ The seconde Oration of Demosthenes in the fauour of the distressed Olynthians WHereas God hath in manye other thinges most plainly shewed his goodnesse towardes vs he hath at this time moste especially declared his great fauour and mercie to this our Countrie For séeing they are nowe at warre with King Philippe that border vpon him being people of no small force such as are resolued vpon this amongest themselues by full consent and agréement the which is the chiefest matter of all that first the conditions and accordes made with him are vntrustie and nothing safe nay rather such as if they be receyued and allowed they will vtterly destroye them and their countrie for euer it séemeth most euident that God of his goodnesse hath wrought this feate for our blessing and welfare Now then good it weare for vs to looke about vs that wee lose not this occasion offered and so deserue worse of our selues than fortune offers vnto vs For it were a reproche yea a verie foule reproche to séeme to let goe not onelye the Cities and Townes that sometymes we weare Lordes ouer but also to abandon and refuse those warre fellowes and occasions that are by good fortune offered vnto vs And here to discourse vnto you what the force of king Philip is the rather to encourage you to take this matter in hande I doe think it weare a speach nedelesse to be vsed And why Bicause al such talke shoulde turne to his honour and to our shame For the mo things that he hath done aboue the opinion dignitie he was of the greater honour shall be thought to be his and the greater shame yours that being of such force and renowme haue done little or nothing thereafter And therefore I will let these matters alone For he that will truely consider the substaunce O Athenians
againe from a bad state to a better being Now surely this is against all reason and nature so to thinke For by nature it is a more easie matter for a man that hath a thing to kepe it still than it is to get it vnhad howbeit by this time the warre hath left nothing for vs to kepe that was ours before but we must be fain to get it a fresh that belongs to you to do Wherfore I say vnto you you must euery man bring in his mony and go forth lustily your selues and accusing no man before you had brought al your matters to passe and than when it is done you shall doe well to sit in iudgement to rewarde the prayse worthie and punish the offendors laying aside all excuses and quarreling one with another Neyther is it fit to searche other mens doyngs ouer curiously or rigorously vnlesse we first endeuour our selues aboue all others to doe that which we ought to doe For I pray you what is the cause that all the Capitaines whom you send forth do eschue these our warres and had rather séeke warres of their owne in other places Mary if a man must néedes say as it is and speake truth of the Capitaines is it not bicause that here with vs the rewards and booties of the warre are yours For and Amphipolis should be taken would not you sease it to your selues by by and so the Capitaines should abide all the perill and haue no part of the reward at all whereas any where else the daunger should be lesse and the gaynes much greater to the Capitaynes and Souldiors As was to be séene at Lampsacus Sygeum by the number of the sayles that they had the spoyle of So that euerye man goes where as he ran make his most aduauntage But you so soone as you sée thinges go euill fauouredly forwarde with you you haue your Capitaynes in sute by and by And when they haue giuen vp their reckoning and you haue heard their necessitie you dismisse them streight out of the Court And so you remayne still brabling and fauling out among your selues some holding one opinion and some another And in the meane season the common weale taryes still at an euill stay For heretofore O Athenians you leuyed your mony by Wardes and companies whereas nowe you beare office and rule by Wardes The Orator he rules both vnder him the grand Capitaine and the thrée hundred to assist him and the rest of you be deuided some on one side some on the other Therefore I pray you setting these brawles aside and calling better mindes to you make it frée for euery man to saye his minde to giue his counsell and to doe his part for if you will giue some men leaue like Tyraunts to commaund you to enforce some to serue in Galleys to contribute to go in proper person to these warres and other some to doe nothing but make decrées and orders agaynst them and not put theyr handes to any thing themselues why than you shall neuer haue any thing wel done or in good time as it ought to be For the party wronged will alwayes fayle when you shall haue neede And so shall you be faine to punishe them in stéede of enimies And therefore to conclude I thinke it good that you all do contribute money according to your wealth and habilitie and that euery man go foorth in his course till you haue béene all at the warres and that all men may haue libertie to speake their fantasies in this place that when all haue said theyr mindes you may pick out the best of all and leaue the worst and not be addicted to that which this man or that man hath said Thus doyng you shall not onely prayse the Orator for his redy counsell at the time present but you shall hereafter also reioyce and cunne your selues thanke when you shall sée your country in better case than now it is The Argument vpon the thirde Oration in fauour of the Olynthians THe Athenians hauing sent ayde to Olynthus did somewhat represse and hinder king Philips doings Wherevpon the people weare marueylous glad and thought they needed not now to deale any further for helping the Olynthians And so they slacked to contribute money or to sende supplies as though they had no more to doe And some there was that thought it good pollicie to call backe the armie from Olynthus to goe streight to Macedonie to vexe king Philip in his owne Countrie Wherevpon Demosthenes seeing what perill remayned to the afflicted Olynthians if they weare not thorowly ayded stept forth and rebuked the fonde ioy and vaine pride of his Countriemen for so smal cause and willed them to vse more temperatenesse and waryer dealings and not to looke only howe to be reuenged of king Philip but how they might best helpe their friendes and allies according as they had promised and to contribute more bountifully and to abrogate the former law of the Theater mony and now to employ it vpon Souldiours and men of warre And here he sheweth howe necessarie it is to cut king Philip short least he waxe so great hereafter that they shall not be able to deale with him And altogether he calleth vpon them to followe the example of their elders and to go to the warres in their owne persons and rebuketh the inconstancie and follie of the common people that thinks so soone as anye good fortune commeth towardes them or that they haue neuer so little aduauntage of their enimie that then all is their owne and that they neede not to trauaile anye farther And with the people he blameth the Orators and Counsellors that seekes onely to serue the peoples humor and so to marre all thereby in the ende In the thirde part of his Oration he setteth forth a patterne or shape of a good gouerned common weale shewing what the people should do abrode what at home and how euery man should priuately vse himselfe and howe daungerous persons in the common weale are those wicked Counsellors and licencious people that will follow their owne fansie and haue their owne will in all thinges And therefore he chydeth sharpely not onely the people but also the Magistrates that haue no better eye nor care to the prosperous estate and welfare of their Countrie ¶ The thirde Oration in fauour of the Olynthians I Cannot bee of the same minde O Athenians when I looke vppon mens doings that I am of when I regard the talke which I heare For the talke is altogither howe to bée reuenged of king Philip but their doinges are come to that poynt that we had néede to looke to our selues for feare we be preuented wyth some euill perswasion before hande For they that tell you those tales me thinks they doe euill in thys poynt that they séeke to put newe matters into your heade to remoue you from that you are minded vnto already But I knowe very well the
great that they can bring you any notable profite neyther yet will let you occupie your selues in anye thing else but are rather nourishmentes of the lythernesse and slouth that you all wallowe in Why then will one say will you haue it serue for waging of men In déede I saye so and withall I woulde that one certaine order weare taken for euery man to haue his part of the common money and shewe himselfe readie to doe good seruice when the Citie shall haue néede Is it so with vs that wée may bée at rest if we lyst In déede then I must néedes saye he is in better case that taryes at home so hée weare quitte from the necessitie of doing any wicked thing through lacke and néede And when euer chaunced the like as it doth nowe Hée that will haue the gaine of that same money let him serue for a souldiour to as reason good in the quarrell 〈◊〉 Countrie Is their anye of you aboue the age of a Souldiour Why looke what so euer hée receyued besydes order and did no good for it let him nowe take the same by equall order ouerséeing and directing thinges as néede shall bée To conclude I haue neither added nor diminished thinges sauing in a verye little but haue taken awaye the misorder and brought the Citie into that order as that men maye receyue wages go on warrefare sitte in iudgement and doe whatsoeuer euerye mans owne age and the tyme shall require Neyther in making of thys order did I euer say that this money ought to bée bestowed vppon them that woulde doe nothing and that suche as they are should both liue ydlely and loyter and begge too and stande a prating and questioning what a goodlye victorie what shoulde I call his Souldiours haue gotten For thus is theyr doynges nowe a dayes And yet I speake not thys to the reproche of them whatsoeuer they bée that doe any good seruice But I woulde require you all your selues to doe those thinges for your selues for which you doe estéeme and honour others neyther to swarue a whitte from that your rancke and place of vertue O Athenians which your Auncestours by many and great daungers hauing attayned vnto did leaue vnto you Thus haue I sayde almost all that as I suppose maye be for your good God graunt you to choose out that which shall be best for the profite of the Citie and welfare of you all The Argument of the first Oration against king Philip of Macedonie AFter that the people of Athens had the worse in battaile against king Philip they assembled themselues in counsell as men altogither amazed and out of heart Wherevpon Demosthenes willeth them to be of good courage and not to stand in dispaire of themselues saying that it is no meruaile if they had the worse that weare so carelesse and so negligent in their owne doyngs And therefore he exhorteth them to bee more diligent hereafter and earnestly to giue their mindes to the defence of their countries libertie and the daunting of king Philips force In the seconde part he warneth them to addresse two armies the one and that the greater of Citizens that shall alwayes bee in a readinesse for the necessarie affayres of the Citie the other somewhat lesse to bee of forreyners and hyred Souldiours among whom the Citizens to be intermingled And these mercinarie straungers hee woulde not haue to abyde in Athens nor yet to goe foorth into other countries for succouring others agaynst king Philip but he would that they went forth to spoyle and waste about the borders of Macedonie and to keepe them still occupied there with skirmishes and bickerings for feare least king Philip should come vpon them in the winter tyme and take the aduauntage when the winde lyeth in the North east which bicause it was customable to come at a certaine season of the yeare therfore it was called of them Etesie and as it should seeme it laye so vpon the hauens of the Athenians countries that their nauie could not put out from land to helpe those that weare distressed by him and so in their absence he might make some great enterprise and attempt a conquest where as hauing theyr armie in a readinesse they shall be alwayes able to bearde him and withstande his force from tyme to time In the thirde part he is earnest againe with them and both wisely rebuketh and grauely exhorteth them to looke well to their owne affayres and herevpon he vseth very excellent similitudes whereby he sheweth that all occasions and aduauntages possible shoulde be taken and that men should neuer depend vpon casualties and that it is the greatest fondnesse in the world to follow occasions alreadie escaped as who should say there weare hope to call agayne yesterday ¶ The first Oration against king Philip of Macedonie IF any new thing had bene appoynted and propounded to be talked vpon O Athenians I woulde haue forborne till moste of them that are woont to speake first had sayde theyr mindes and then if any thing had liked me that they had sayde I woulde haue holden my selfe fully contented therwith whereas otherwise I would haue endeuoured to haue giuen mine opinion also But for as much as it falleth out that those matters are nowe to be entreated vpon that haue béene ofttymes heretofore ripped vp and examined by them I do thinke that I may iustly be holden excused although I haue stoode vp before others to speake my mynde vnto you For truely had they so spoken when time was and giuen such counsayle as was fitte for them to doe you shoulde not now haue néeded to sitte in counsaile againe vpon these matters And therefore to beginne withall you néede not O Athenians to be greatly discouraged with the present state of things thoughe they séeme to runne verie much amisse For why those which haue hurted vs most in our matters heretofore the selfe same hereafter shall doe vs most good And what is that Marie that it is the negligence and carelesse doinges of your selues that haue made all things to go awrie hitherto whereas if you doing your best indeuour your state for all that had bene neuer the better than might you well haue bene out of hope of any recouery or amendment at all Againe you may consider as well by hearesay of others as by your owne remembraunce and knowledge what a mightie armie the Lacedemonians haue had in times past and that not long ago against you and yet how trimly and how worthily you behaued your selues as well beséemed for the honour of your country in holding out mainteyning warre in a rightfull quarrell To what ende speake I this vnto you Marie that you O Athenians maye both sée and verie well perceiue thus much that neither as long as you list to be circumspect and take héede to thinges you shall néede to feare any thing at all Neither yet as long as you continue without regarde or care of
bodye might appeare And séeing a Mayde did this shall Demosthenes preferre a dishonourable lyfe before an honest death forgetting the disputations of Zenocrates and Plato touching the immortalitie of the soule These weare his sayings And moreouer he enueyed bitterly agaynst those that doe vpbrade vnto others their calamitie and dashe them in the téeth with their poore life and miserable estate But to what end do I rehearse all these things sayth Archias to Antipater At the length when I had partly entreated and partly threatned him vsing both sharpt and swéete wordes togither I would quoth he be styrred man with these thy wordes if I weare Archias but séeing I am Demosthenes pardon me I pray thée for that it is agaynst my woont to be a wauering or an inconstant man And nowe when I went to plucke him out perforce and that he perceyued it he beganne to laugh at me and looking vpon the God sayde Archias thinketh that armour onely and armyes of men are the strength and bulwarkes of mans lyfe contemning my furniture the which neyther the Illirian souldiours the Treballian garde nor yet the Macedonian forces shall euer be able to dash and ouerthrow The same force being stronger than that woodden wall our shippes was the which Apollo did once report by his Oracle to be inuincible For euē as through foresight vnderstanding I haue kept my selfe safe in gouernement of the common weale hitherto so I trust by the same to defende my selfe clearely from the Macedonians daunger hereafter I neuer cared a straw for Euctemon nor for Aristogiton nor for Pytheas nor for Callimedon nor then for Philip nor yet nowe for this Archias And when he had sayde thus and I began to plucke at him How nowe man quoth he doe not lay violent hands vpon me for this Temple shall not be prophaned through me by so much as I am able to let it so soone as I haue done my prayers to God I will follow thée streight wayes without leading at all And so I looked in déede that they would haue done when he had put his hande to his mouth Neyther had I any mistrust at all that he did any other thing but only prayed to god But what he did then we knew it afterwardes by taking streight examination of his mayde who confessed that he bought poyson for himselfe a great while ago to loose his soule from bondage of the bodie to liue streight wayes in libertie Neither could he scantly passe ouer the stares of the Church doore when he looked vpon me and sayde thou mayest cary this carkasse man to Antipater but as for Demosthenes thou shalt not carie him no no by And séemed then according to his maner to sweare by those that dyed in the battaile at Marathona in the fauour of their Countrie where Miltiades gaue the ouerthrow to the Persians But death approching he taking his leaue of vs his speach fayled and his spirit vanished cleane away This end O king Antip. of Demosthenes you say Now all these things O Archias that thou hast sayde are proper to Demosthenes And doest thou thinke then that we woulde haue caryed this man to the slaughter house as men cary an Oxe or any other beast or rather would we haue cherished him and vsed his councell touching the whole state of Greceland that we might haue heard the voyce of a frée minded man where as nowe we haue none about vs but flatterers and soothers to all things that we say and doe But he was to good for vs Nowe Lorde God what a passing man was this O spirit inuincible and most blessed creature what a valiaunt stout heart had he It is wisedome I sée for man euer to haue in his hande the possession of libertie Nowe he is gone most like to liue in the Islandes of the blessed in Paradice of the renowmed and worthie Champions or rather he hath taken the streight way to heauen there to be an aungell with Iupiter the Sauiour As for his bodie we will sende it to Athens the which is like to be a more precious monument to that Countrie than all those that dyed at Marathona for sauegarde of their Citie Thus farre Lucian in that Dialogue betwixt King Antipater and Archias the Marshall He was .62 yeares of age when he dyed ending his course the .xvj. day of October vpon the feast of Ceres which feast was euer after hallowed with mourning and fasting for memorie of him about ninetéene hundred and .93 yeres past The Athenians vpon this day did him honour as he had deserued and erected a brasen monument of his shape and portrature and gaue to the eldest of his familie a liuing in the Court grauing an honourable inscription vpon the foote of his monument in this wise If might had matcht the minde of Demosthenes the worthie Greecelande by the Macedones had not bene brought to miserie Thus this noble Orator ended his dayes being a man worthie to haue liued euer whose name and glorie cannot but continue so long as the Sunne giueth light vpon earth or man hath tongue to speake Neyther haue I in vsing this report of him done as Zenophon did in setting forth the lyfe of Cirus king of Persia who in déede did coulour him not as his condicions weare but spake of a king in his person as a king should bée but I haue béene bolde with Demosthenes to shewe him fully and wholy in his colours as he was not leauing in the middest of his vertues to touch also the nature of his vices bicause I woulde shewe plainely what he was in all poyntes that the worlde may sée God giueth not to anye one man all things in perfection without some blemish or default although some men haue some seuerall and excellent giftes farre passing others as this man without doubt had Nowe Demades the Orator his fellow who for naturall witte farre passed Demosthenes decréed and enacted a sentence of death agaynst him after he was fledde the rather to flatter the Macedonians and to yéelde himselfe and his countrie into their handes which turned him to vtter destruction And hereof Demosthenes gaue him warning before hande and willed him in anye wise not to make sale of hys naturall soyle saying that traytours in making sale of theyr Countrie doe first make sale of themselues And so it fell out afterwards with him in déede for Demades shortly after was apprehended and had first his sonne slaine in his armes and he himselfe next put to a most cruell miserable death A worthie ende for all such whatsoeuer they be that are wicked betrayers of their naturall soyle and Countrie who after a sort plucke out their owne bowelles in that they alienate from themselues to others whatsoeuer the respect be the proper inheritaunce and birth right of their owne nation the chiefest and greatest treasure belonging to man vpon earth next to the true knowledge and reuerent
sodaine The treasuâ—er and gouernor of Aterne for the Persian king called home from his charge for practising with king Philip against his soueraigne â–ª It is sâ—llie not to take ayde of a straunger when we may and haue nede of it Susae chiefe Citie in Persia distant from Athens 2000 myles the people called Susâ—â— and Ciâ—â—â—â— by Straac but noâ—e called â—oque Ismail * King Philip he meaneth â—â—â—batana now 〈◊〉 Meâ—ia 〈…〉 Persian 〈…〉 doth vse to make his abode Ciuill factions being betwixt the riche and poore are nedefull to be cut of Speach in fauour of the poore * Twenty three thousand foure hundred pouÌ„ds sâ—arling * Three score twelue thousand poundes starling Riche men not to drawe backe from their duties bicause the poore are vnwilling So should euery man liue in the common weale as good folkes do in priuate families The common Countrie and naturall soyle should be deare to euery man that is bred borne in it and no Subiect ought to be vncared for The rich well warned not to hinder the poore Conuerting of publike treasure to priuate game a thing hurtfull and offensiue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a hurre or noise that vpon some thing that liketh or misliketh the people assembled togither goeth thorow them all Iustice maintayneth estates An answeâ—e to traytours that sayde their was no feare of king Philip bicause there was plentie of vittayles â–ª in Athens and no want of things necessarie * king Philip he meaneth Carelesse people alwayes in most daunger Strength of a Citie what it is and wherein it consisteth The king of Persia he meaneth Falshoode in felowship and common enuying one an other Laysinesse lost Athens Vnnecessarie reasons alleaged to hynder necessarie warre A well spenâ— pennie that saueth a pound Particular griefes sooner felt than publike annoyaÌ„ces Daungerous giuing eare to common accusers It is good beaâ—ing of a prowd man. Vilaynes in grosse Home foes the worst and most dauÌ„gerous people liuing Thessalians deceyued by tâ—king of great gyftes Olynthians abused â–ª Thebanes brought into a fooles Paradice Athenians wyped cleane of their chiefe townes and fortes vpon their conclusion of peace with king Philip. Bribe takers being suffered to speake without perill bring hurt to the state Money taking destroyed Olynthus Money taking vndid Thessalia Money taking the ruine of Thebes * Constantinople Athenians receyuing losse suffer flatterers to speake in fauour of the enimie contrary to the maner and vsage of other countries Euery man for himselfe none for his couÌ„trie The treasure of a kingdome are these three 1. War fellowes confederates 2. Faithfulnesse in dooyng thinges 3. good will to doe well * king Philip he meaneth Dissembling Counsellors Aristodemus an euill counsellor perswading vnnecessarie peace The priuate mans life a verie safe being Many in auâ—thoritie seeke rather theyr own aduauncement than the welfare of their Countrie Ouer muche medling and ouerlittle both hurtfull to man and Citie Honors chauÌ„ge maners especially in those that rise from the Dunghill Thre chiefe poynts fit for Counsellors 1. to be bolde 2. plaine and 3. faythfull Much pardoning offences destroyeth a state The minde of man is man himselfe and needeth continuall teaching To know and to do are all in all in vertue Honor got by vertue hath perpetuall assurance Vertue honoured of all men but of wrong deedes no man maketh any worship If eyther feare or loue woulde cause men to be honest lawes were nedelesse Vertue excludeth vice Lawes are the links of vertue Demosthenes more honoured for his notable vertues good life than for his greaâ— learning and wonderfull eloquence Theseus perswaded the people to liue togither in the Citie who liued before in the countrie diuided into foure tribes or shyres and those tribes weare parted into twelue hundrethes and those twelue huÌ„drethes were seuered into 365 fraternities or brotherhoodes euery brotherhoode hauing their proper names 〈◊〉 Demosthenes among the reaâ—â— was of the Peanian brotherhoode Such as had the gouernemeÌ„t of Galeyes weare the best esteemed men in Athens Vertue the best Nobilitie 15. Talents Executors carelesse of their charge Battalus a Musitian so nise of behauiour that he could not well tell howe to treade vpon the grouÌ„d and a great delite he had to go in womans apparell or at the least wyse as nisely as women do Demosthenes aptnesse by nature to follow the path of vertue Oropus a town of Attica bordering vppon Boeotia for the iurisdiction of which place there was great holde The cause that moued Demosthenes first to loue eloquence Iseus an excellent Orator and teacher of eloquence Isocrates kept a schole of Rhetoricke being the sweetest Orator for hys sentences and phrases that then liued Plato Aristotel Demosthenes pleadeth agaynst his Tutor Orchomenius Laomedon through exercise of bodie cured himselfe of a great disease and made his bodie therby euer after more nimble lustie strong An apt similitude Vse makes maysteries Demosthenes imperfections in speach and want of skill to tell his tale Eunomius Thriasius Demosthenes bashfull of nature before the people Satyrus a professor to teach iesture and vâ—terance who shewed his cunning in open stage as Roscius and others did among the Romaines Demosthenes complaine to Satyrus PronunciatioÌ„ of what force it is Demosthenes practise to amende his speache Demosthenes maner to mend his voyce Demosthenes remedie to help his bashfulnes Demosthenes maner to ameÌ„d his iesture Demosthenes diligence and painefulnesse and his strauÌ„ge kinde of keping within Demosthenes maner to occupie his head witte withall Demosthenes more painefull than wittie Demosthenes neuer spake in â—pen audience vnprepared Demosthenes to Epicicles Labour and paynes taking bring all things to passe Pythâ—as saying to Demosthenes Demosthenes temperauncie of life Demades saying vpon Demoâ—thenes Clepsidra a Diall measuring houres by running of water Demosthenes Orations what they are Demosthenes aboue al praise Many passing vertues in one seuerall man. * The rehersall of the order to set forth Demosthenes 1. His seuerall speaches 2. His loue to his countrie 3. His constaÌ„cie and stoutnesse against the enimies of his Countrie 4. His banishment 5. His restitution 6. His last end and maner of death Demosthenes pleasaunt in priuate talke Vtterance maâ—eth much to set forth a matter Minerua the Ladie of wisedome chastitie and learning and therfore when an vnlearned person would controll one of much excellencie it is sayd in rebuke to him Sus MineruaÌ„ ColituÌ„ a place in Athens so named being the brothell corner as it should seeme of that Citie A pithie speach better than a Pilates voyce Fonde tales sooner heard than graue reasons Contention for the shadow of an Asse Trifling speaches better esteemed thaÌ„ earnest talke Aeschines and Policrates with others fauoured king Philips doings agaynst their Countrie King Philips prayses ouerthwarted Follie to dye without doing any good when a man may escape thereby do much good Phocion the hatchet of Demosthenes reasons Magistrates compared to Mastiffes that defende sheepe
against the Wolfe Fiue talents â–ª 10000. drachmes Pleasure bought with sorow causeth repentance Sleight auoyded by sleight Good vtteraÌ„ce the best thing for an Orator Scolding and rayling not to be vsed nor answered vnto Demosthenes loialty towards his Countrie Slaundering neuer vsed by any honest man Demosthenes boldnesse to rebuke offenders Antiphon charged with treason by Demosthenes Demosthenes ielous ouer his Countryes welfare Demosthenes continuall â—â—â—mitie agaynâ—â— king Philip of Macedonie Euboia nowe the Islande Nigropâ—nie Bizanze nowe CoÌ„stantinople Amphissa Phocis Eliteum Demosthenes Ambassador to the Thebanes Demosthenes aucthoritie among the Thebanes Boetians the rest of Greece Cheronea a town in Boâ—otia where king Philip got victory against the Athenians King Philip after victorye had feared yet Demosthenes King of Persia his estimatioÌ„ of Demosthenes Enuie foloweth vertue King Philip trayterouslye slaine by Paâ—sanias one of his Garde Great reioysing in Athens vppon the newes had of King Philips death especially by Demosthenes None contented with their state Enuie shoulde ende with the death of a man. king Philips saying to Parmenio of Demosthenes Traytors to their Countrie hated euen of the enimie although their treason bee sometimes rewarded A good subiect beloued euen of the enimie Eloquence of as great force as armour Demosthenes onely feared of king Philip â–ª as being a Spoke to all his deuises Marathone a place tâ—n miles distant from Athens where Miltiades that valiant Capitain of Athens vanquished the Parsians Salamine an Island by Athens where they gotte a greet vâ—ctorie The best men able to doe the greatest good are often kept backe others set in place that can do lesse good â–ª Calauria now Sidra Vertue honoured euen amoÌ„g enimies Xerxes fauour to his deadly enimies Demosthenes honoured chiefly for his great wisedome in gouernment â–ª Demosthenes neuer dismayde by any aduersitie â–ª Great prayses giuen to Demosthenes by king Philip his enimie Demosthenes could neuer be corrupted by king Philip. Loue and hatred must be in euerie good Magistrate Pyndarus worthy saying of hiâ— that is both a friend and a foe Demosthenes estemed among men as a God. Alexander miscalled by Demosthenes Demosthenes fearefull to doe his message Nine hundred pound starling Demosthenes out of credite Agis king of Lacedemon slaine by his owne men for that he would restore the lawes of Licurgus Aeschines agaynst Ctesiphon for decreeing a garlande to Demosthenes in aduauncement of his worthinesse Aeschines banished and Demosthenes cleared Demosthenes vtterance commended by Aeschines his enimie Harpolus a traytor that forsooke his mayster king Alexander and ran away with his treasure Money blindeth the wise 3600. pâ—unde stacling Demosthenes euercome with the loue of a golden cup. Angina otherwise called Synanche an inflamation of the muscle of the inner gargil Reuerence of a spousall Areopagus the high Court of Grece called the Pallace of Mars to iudge causes criminal and matters of great importaÌ„ce * Nine thousaÌ„d pound starling A good enimie better than a bad friend Demosthenes saying when he went into banishment The people euill rewarders of them that haue done them good Magistrates alwayes subiect to enuie Diuers good deedes of Demosthenes Such charity of redeming captiues muche vsed and greatly commended at this day among the Greekes Pausanias wryteth the hystorie of Harpalus at large in his second boke of the description of Grece semeth there to cleare Demosthenes Ostracismus a banishment for ten yeres space by a certaine kinde of balloting with shelles wherin the names of the persons condeÌ„ned weare written and it was vsed to abate the power and credit of great personages y weare suspected to aspire â–ª Pytheas and Callimedon banished men from their couÌ„trie became traytours to the same Demosthenes euer true to his Countrie although he was banished Demosthenes and Pytheas chiding brawling the one with the other Demosthenes turning a speach vttered by his enimy to his purpose Demosthenes called from banishment Alcibiades receyued home for feare least being absent â–ª he might be hurtfull to his countrie Fiftie talents Alteration of states a thing naturall Cranon a town in Thessaly Demosthenes condemned by the people Hiperides Marathonius Aristonicus Himerius Hyperides a lewde wauering Orator Calauria an Island bordering vpoÌ„ Troâ—â—enium in Arcipelagus Archias entering the temple of Neptune in Calauria fouÌ„d Demosthenes there sought to perswade him to come away quietly to Antipater and he should haue no harme but he could not entreat him for all that he could doe or say Demosthenes would not giue eare to Archias speach Demosthenes maner of death by putting a quill to his mouth Creon king of Thebes a cruell murtherer of diuers and especiallye of Antigone and Argia beeing slaine himselfe afterwardes by Theseus of Athens for hys great tyrannie and murther vsed against others Demosthenes dyed without poysoning himselfe being sodenly deliuered by Gods mightie hand A dialogue betwixt Demosthenes Archias and the same rehearsed as it was to king Antipater by Archias vpoÌ„ his returne from the Isle Calauria now Sidra A rehearsall made by Demosthenes of his seuerall deedes atchieued for his couÌ„tries welfare God Neptunes temple a sanctuarie Callimedon Pytheas Demades three euill members salemakers of their Countries libertie Notable bashfulnesse of a Mayden that being to be executed was careful that no bare plat of hir body might vnsemely appere open Hee is worsse than mad that chargeth an other man with beggerie for that fortune is euer vnstable and no man assured of that he hath The courage of mans minde aboue all force and strength whatsoeuer Their galleyes and ships called by Apollo their woodden walles Euctemon Aristogiton Pytheas Callimedon foure traytours to their Countrie and flatterers to king Philip. The minde of euery man is man himselfe Miltiades victor in the battaile at Marathona Antipaters notable prayses giuen of Demosthenes The free minded man the best and surest friend Demosthenes age and how long it is since he was Traytors ende their dayes as they deserue A straunge and pitifull sight to see learning go a begging The best men alwayes in most daunger * 1600. pound starling The Table Enimies to be vsed as they would vse others 8 Enimies to be dealt withall when they are at the worst 36 Enimie to be fought withall rather at his home than at our home 48 Enimie waxing mighty to be feared greatly 5â— Enimies most daungerous when they deale with vs in our owne countrie 75 Enimies domesticall the worst creatures liuing 75 Enuie followeth vertue 124 Enuie shoulde ende with the death of him that is enuied 125 Entry graunted to the enimie a thing very daungerous 58 Euent of things rather marked than the cause 4 Etesie north east windes comming ordinarily at a certaine season of the yeare 42 Euill men care for nothing but for the present time 55 Euill speakers would be euill doers 8 Euill men gouerne with better safetie than good men 75 Euboia now Negroponte an Iland in Achaia 38 Euphreus a iust man