by his attempts, digs himself the grave of his own grandeur, and opens precipices before him, down which a small effort would throw him; a knave, whose power is raised on the most ruinous of all foundations, breach of faith and villainy; an usurper, hated universally abroad, who, by trampling upon all laws, human and divine, has made all nations his ene mies; a tyrant, detested even in the heart of his dominions, in which, by the infamy of his manners, and other vices, he has tired out the patience of his captains, his soldiers, and of all his subjects in general; to conclude, a perjured and impious wretch, equally abhorred by heaven and earth, and whom the gods are now upon the point of destroying, by any hand that will administer to their wrath, and second their Vengeance. This is the double picture of Philip which M. de Tourreй draws, by uniting the several detached lineaments in the present oration of Demosthenes. In it is shown the great freedom with which the Athenians spoke of so powerful a monarch. Our orator, after having represented Philip one moment as formidable, the next very easy to be conquered, concludes, that the only certain method for reducing such an enemy, would be to reform the new abuses, to revive the ancient or. der and regulations, to appease domestic dissensions, and to suppress the cabals which are incessantly forming; and all this in such a manner, that every thing may unite in the sole point of the public service; and that at a common expence, every man according to his abilities, may concur to the des truction of the common enemy, Demades,* bribed by Philip's gold, opposed very strenuously the advice of Demosthenes, but in vain; for the Athenians sent, under the conduct of Chares the general, 30 galleys and 2000 men to succour the Olynthians; who, in this urgent necessity, which so nearly affected all the Greeks in general, could obtain assistance only from the Athenians, However this succour did not prevent the designs of Philip, or the progress of his arms; for he marches into Chalcis, takes several plaçes of strength, the fortress of Gira, and spreads terror throughout the whole country. Olynthus being thus in great danger of an invasion, and menaced with destruction, sent a second embassy to Athens, to solicita new reinforcement. Demosthenes argues very strongly in favour of their request, and proves to the Athenians that they were equally obliged by honour and interest to have regard to it. This is the subject of the Olynthiac, generally taken as the third. 2 Suidas in voce Demades, The orator, always animated with a strong and lively zeal for the safety and glory of his country, endeavours to intimi. date the Athenians, by setting before them the dangers with which they are threatened; exhibiting to them a most dreadful prospect of the future, if they do not rouse from their lethargy for that in case Philip seizes upon Olynthus, he will inevitably attack Athens afterwards with all his forces. The greatest difficulty was the means of raising sufficient sums for defraying the expences requisite for the succour of the Olynthians, because the military funds were otherwise employed, viz. for the celebration of the public games. When the Athenians, at the end of the war of Egina, had concluded a thirty years peace with the Lacedæmonians, they resolved to put into their treasury, by way of reserve, 1000 talents every year; at the same time prohibiting any person, upon pain of death, to mention the employing any part of it, except for repulsing an enemy who should invade Attica. This was at first observed with the warmth and fervour which men have for all new institutions. Afterwards Peri eles, in order to make his court to the people, proposed to distribute among them in times of peace, the 1000 talents, and to apply it in giving to each citizen two oboli at the public shows, upon condition however that they might resume this fund in time of war. The proposal was approved, and the restriction also. But as all concessions of this kind degenerate one time or other into licence, the Athenians were so highly pleased with this distribution, called by Demades "a glue by which the Athenians might be catched," that they absolutely would not suffer it to be retrenched on any account. The abuse was carried to such a height, that Eubulus, one of the faction which opposed Demosthenes, prohibited any person, upon pain of death, so much as to propose the restoring for the service of the war, those funds which Pericles had transferred to the games and public shows. Apollodorus was even punished for declaring himself of a contrary opinion, and for insisting upon it. It was This absurd profusion had very strange effects. impossible to supply it but by imposing taxes, the inequality of which being entirely arbitrary, perpetuated strong feuds, and made the military preparations so very slow, as quite defeated the designs of them without lessening the expence. As the artificers and sea-faring people, who composed about two-thirds of the people of Athens, did not contribute any part These games, besides the two oboli which were distributed to each of the persons present, occasioned a great number of other ex pences, of their substance, and only gave their persons, the weight of the taxes fell entirely upon the rich. These murmured upon that account, reproached the others with the public monies being squandered upon festivals, comedies, and the like superfluities. But the people being sensible of their superiority, paid very little regard to their complaints, and had no manner of inclination to subtract from their diversions, merely to ease people who possessed employments and dignities, from which they were entirely excluded. Besides, any person who should dare to propose this to the people seriously and in form, would be in great danger of his life. However, Demosthenes presumed to introduce this subject at two different times; but then he treated it with the utmost art and circumspection. After showing that the Athenians were indispensably obliged to raise an army in order to stop the enterprises of Philip, he hints, but in a distant way, that those funds which were expended in theatric representations, ought to be employed for levying and maintaining an armed force. He demanded that commissioners might be nominated, not to enact new laws, there being already but too many established, but to examine and abolish such as should be prejudicial to the commonwealth. He did not thereby become ebnoxious to capital punishment, as enacted by those laws; because he did not require that they should be actually abolished, but only that commissioners might be nominated to inspect them. He only hinted, how highly necessary it was to abolish a law which grieved the most zealous citizens, and reduced them to this sad necessity, either to ruin themselves, in case they gave their opinion boldly and faithfully, or to destroy their country, in case they observed a fearful, prevari. cating silence. These remonstrances do not seem to have had the success. they deserved, since in the following Olynthiae, which is commonly placed as the first, the orator was obliged to inveigh once more against the misapplication of the mil itary funds. The Olynthians being now vigorously attacked by Philip, and having hitherto been very ill served by the venal succours of Athens, required, by a third embassy, a body of troops, which should not consist of mercenaries and foreigners, as before, but of true Athenians, of men inspired with a sincere ardour for the interest both of their own glory, and the common cause. The Athenians, at the earnest solicitation of Demosthenes, sent Chares a second time, with a reinforcement of 17 galleys, of 2000 foot and 300 horse, all citizens of Athens, as the Olynthians requested. L *The following year Philip possessed himself of Olynthus. ~ Neither the succours nor efforts of the Athenians could defend it from its domestic enemies. It was betrayed by Euthycrates and Lasthenes, two of its most eminent citizens, in actual employment at that time. Thus Philip entered by the breach which his gold had made. Immediately he plunders this unhappy city, lays one part of the inhabitants in chains, and sells the rest for slaves and distinguishes those who had betrayed their city, no otherwise than by the supreme contempt he expressed for them. This king, like his son Alexander, loved the treason, but abhorred the traitor. And, indeed, how can a prince rely upon him who has betrayed his country? Every one, even the common soldiers of the Macedonian army, reproached Euthycrates and Lasthenes for their perfidy, who, complaining to Philip upon that account, he only made this ironical answer, infinitely more severe than the reproach itself: "do not mind what a pack of vul"gar fellows say, who call every thing by its real name." The king was overjoyed at his being possessed of this city, which was of the utmost importance to him, as its power might have very much checked his conquests. Some years before, the Olynthians had long resisted the united armies of Macedon and Lacedæmonia; whereas Philip had taken it with very little resistance, at least had not lost many men in the siege. He now caused shows and public games to be exhibited with the utmost magnificence; to these he added feasts, in which he made himself very popular, bestowing on all the guests considerable gifts, and treating them with the utmost marks of his friendship. SECTION IV. PHILIP DECLARES FOR THEBES AGAINST THE PHO-. CRANS. HE SEIZES ON THERMOPYLE. The Thebans being unable alone to terminate the wars which they had so long carried on against the Phocæans, addressed Philip. Hitherto, as we before mentioned, he had observed a kind of neutrality with respect to the sacred war; and he seemed to wait for an opportunity of declaring himself, that is, till both parties should have weakened themselves by a long war, which equally exhausted them both. The Thebans had now very much abated of that haughtiness 1 * A, M, 3656. Ant. J, C, 348. Diod. 1, xvi, 450-452. $ Plut, in Apophth. P, 178, and those ambitious views with which the victories of Epaminondas had inspired them. The instant therefore that they requested the alliance of Philip, he resolved to espouse the interest of that republic, in opposition to the Phocæans. Ho had not lost sight of the project he had formed, of obtaining an entrance into Greece, in order to make himself master of it. To give success to his design, it was proper for him to declare in favour of one of the two parties which at that time divided all Greece, that is, either for the Thebans, or the Athenians and Spartans. He was not so void of sense as to imagine that the latter party would assist his design of carrying his arms into Greece. He therefore had no more to do but to join the Thebans, who offered themselves voluntarily to him, and who stood in need of Philip's power to support themselves in their declining condition. He therefore declared at once in their favour. But to give a specious colour to his arms, besides the gratitude he affected to have at heart for Thebes, in which he had been educated, he also pretended to make an honour of the zeal with which he was fired, with regard to the violated God; and was very glad to pass for a religious prince, who warmly espoused the cause of the god, and of the temple of Delphos, in order to conciliate by that means, the esteem and friendship of the Greeks. Pol iticians apply every pretext to their views, and endeavour to screen the most unjust attempts with the veil of probity, and sometimes even of religion; though they very frequently have no manner of regard for either. * There was nothing Philip had more at heart than to possess himself of Thermopyla, as it opened him a passage into Greece; to appropriate all the honour of the sacred war to himself, as if he had been principal in that affair, and to preside in the Pythian games. He was desirous of aiding the Thebans, and by their means to possess himself of Phocis; but then, in order to put this double design in execution, it was necessary for him to keep it secret from the Athenians, who had actually declared war against Thebes, and who for many years had been in alliance with the Phoceans. His business therefore was to make them change their measures, by placing other objects in their view; and on this occasion the politics of Philip succeeded to a wonder. The Athenians, who began to grow tired of a war which was very burthensome, and of little benefit to them, had commissioned Ctesiphon and Phrynon to sound the intentions of Philip, and in what manner he stood disposed with regard • Demosth, Orat. de fals, Legat |