234 Dr DONALDSON, ON THE STATUE OF SOLON 



the Greeks, Ed. 6, p. l60). Then again Demosthenes draws a ludicrous picture of ^schines 

 stalking across the market-place with his outer garment down to his ankles (not held up as in 

 this statue), and keeping step with the tall Pythocles, " puffing out his cheeks, and one of 

 Philip's friends, if any one is" (de falsa Legat. p. 442, 15), a picture, which would not be half 

 so absurd, if ^Eschines had been naturally the stately personage represented in this statue. 

 Finally, Ulpian tells us expressly (ad Orat. de Corona, 1. 1.), wherever he learned it, that 

 jEschines was known to be a little man. 



Much, therefore, as I respect those who have identified our statue with the orator iEschines, 

 I cannot but regard these reasons as decisive against their opinion, especially as that opinion 

 is mainly supported by a mistaken reference to jEschines of the passages by which alone, as 

 I conceive, we can fix upon the person represented by this noble figure. In the report of 

 Vescovali's discovery (Bullet, p. 48), it is expressly said : " dottissimo e veramente degno di 

 simile scoperta fu poi il divisamento, che prese Tautore di mostrare come non solamente i tratti 

 della testa, ma anzi tutto I'insieme di ridetta statua d'Aristide convenisse alia denominazione 

 d'Eschine, il di cui singolare ma significante atteggiamento, cioe di tener le mani dentro il manto, 

 come lo vediamo nella celebre statua di Napoli, derise assai volte il suo grande avversario, lo 

 stesso Demostene." 



It detracts seriously from the weight which we might be disposed to attach to Vescovali's 

 other reasons, when we find his supposed discovery supported by such a palpable error. There 

 is not the slightest foundation for the statement that jEschines was derided by Demosthenes 

 for a posture similar to that of the statue before us, and the well-known passages, to which 

 a reference is tacitly made, expressly attribute that "singular but significant attitude" to a 

 person with whom he is scornfully contrasted. To these passages I must now invite your 

 attention. 



In his speech against Timarchus, in which his charge of profligacy is sustained by an 

 appeal to the notorious character of his political opponent and without producing any direct 

 evidence (hence a/mapTvpoui dywvM in the taunt of Demosthenes, defals. Leg. p. 378), iEschines 

 endeavours to strengthen the general prejudice against his political antagonist by contrasting 

 the decorous oratory, which he attributes to the older statesmen of Athens, with the negligent 

 deshabille in which Timarchus had once appeared on the bema. He says (p. 4) : " So modest 

 were those ancient orators, Pericles, Themistocles, and Aristides, who was called the Just, 

 a surname very different from that of the defendant Timarchus, that they regarded as some- 

 what bold and were afraid to do that, which now-a-days all of us are in the habit of doing, 

 namely, speaking with outstretched hand (to rriv %e«jOa e^f" f^ovres \eyeiv). And I think 

 that I can exhibit to you in visible reality (^epyi^i) a very remarkable proof of this. For I 

 know well that you have made a trip to Salamis and have seen the statue of Solon, and would 

 testify yourselves that Solon is represented in the forum of the Salaminians with his hand in 

 his robe (ei/ros Trjv y'^'^P"- ^X"'")- This, men of Athens, is a memorial and imitation of the 

 posture in which Solon discoursed to the Athenian people. But consider, sirs, how greatly 

 Solon and those, whom I have just mentioned, differ from Timarchus. For they were ashamed 

 to speak with outstretched hand. Timarchus, on the contrary, not long ago, quite recently, 

 having cast aside his robe {lixanov), flung about his bare arms like an athlete (^yvixvo^ eiray- 



