614 



D E M O S T H E N E S. 



Bemcsihe- tation at the court of Philip. In an unusual situation, 

 nef * to which liis temper and habits were adverse, his ex- 

 ""~ ! tensive genius failed him, and the aukwardncss of his 



apologies to Philip, and the absurdity of some of his 

 compliments, are said to have moved thelaughter of the 

 by-standers. All this, however, is told on the autho- 

 rity of his oratorial rival. 



Peace was established. The Athenian ambassadors, 

 who concluded the treaty, gave, on their return, a fa- 

 vourable account of the appearance of candour and sin- 

 cerity in Philip ; but a violent sensation was produced 

 in the popular mind, by the intelligence that the Pho- 

 cians, by the influence of Philip, had been deprived 

 of their seat in the Amphyctionic council, and that the 

 double voice which they had enjoyed in it, should be 

 transferred to the King of Macedon. The Athenians 

 had not been present at Philip's election into this coun- 

 cil ; he thought proper, however, to send them an invi- 

 tation to come and ratify his election. The proposal rai- 

 sed a violent ferment in the assembly. On this occa- 

 sion, Demosthenes delivered his oration on the peace. 

 His object is expressly declared by himself to be, to in- 

 culcate, that whether subsidies, or alliances, or what- 

 ever schemes were concerting for the public good, one 

 point should be secured, the continuance of the present 

 peace. These are his words ; but his covert object is 

 evidently, rather to dissuade them from making the 

 election of Philip into the Amphyctions (an object 

 which he calls a mere shadow) the ground of war, 

 than to dissuade them from war altogether. He urges 

 the impolicy of affording Philip such a pretence for war, 

 as would rally round his standard a number of states, 

 who, if the war were declared for a different and more 

 rational object, would either be neutral, or attach them- 

 selves to Athens. Two years after this oration on the 

 peace, Demosthenes delivered his seventh against Phi- 

 lip, or as it is commonly called, his second Philippic. 

 The peace of Athens and Macedon had been quickly 

 followed by the most violent political agitations in 

 Peloponnesus. The Thebans, retaining their ancient 

 enmity to Lacedemon, supported the pretensions of 

 Messene and Argos to shake off the Lacedemonian 

 yoke; and certainly with a colour of justice, since the 

 former power had no right over the latter, but the right 

 of the strongest. The Thebans also besought the king 

 of Macedon to assist them in reducing the power of 

 Lacedemon ; and he listened to their overture. In this 

 convulsed state of the Peloponnesus, a congress of dele- 

 gates was held from all, or many of the governments ; 

 and Demosthenes had attended this congress, with a 

 view to persuade the Messenians and Argians to throw 

 themselves into Athenian, instead of Macedonian pa- 

 tronage. His elocpience was applauded, but his argu- 

 ments seem to have failed of effect. The same subject 

 gave again occasion to what is called his second, or 

 otherwise his seventh Philippic, pronounced before the 

 Athenian people. The Lacedemonians had applied to 

 Athens for succour. On the other hand, Thebes, Ar- 

 gos, and Messene, sent representatives to plead for 

 themselves, and to reproach Athens for favouring La- 

 cedemon, the tyrant of the Peloponnesus. Demosthe- 

 nes, in advising what answer should be given to the 

 Lacedemonian ambassadors, pronounced the whole bu- 

 siness to betray the designs of Philip against the best 

 liberties of Greece ; and concluded by an accusation of 

 iEschines for having advised, in the recent ratification 



of peace, the surrender of Phocis and Thermopylae. Demnsthe- 

 The vehemence of Demosthenes determined the Athe- nt "■• 

 nians to oppose the attempts of Philip in the Pelopon- "*" T~"" , * t 

 nesus, and his influence with the Argians and Messe- 

 nians, at'ength detached those states from the Macedo- 

 nian allifc.ice. The subject of discord was soon changed 

 from Peloponnesus to the Thracian Chersonese. In the 

 course of the late war, the states of this peninsula had 

 shaken off their dependence on Athens, and bowed to 

 the stronger influence of Macedon. 



But while Philip was called off during his truce with 

 Athens, to more remote conquests among the snowy de- 

 serts of Eastern Thrace, it seemed a favourable occasion 

 for the war-party of Athens to fix a settlement on the 

 Thracian Chersonese, by which their maritime exac- 

 tions and influence might again be restored. The con- 

 duct of the settlement was entrusted to Diopeithes, a 

 violent character, who seems to have conducted him- 

 self entirelj 7 in the style of an ancient Buccaneer, burn- 

 ing, destroying, and exacting tribute among those whom. 

 Philip had a right to regard as either his allies or de- 

 pendencies. Philip remonstrated to the Athenians, and 

 many voices were raised for Diopeithes. His cause was 

 taken up by Demosthenes, in his oration on the state 

 of the Chersonese. Here the orator, in his boldest tone, 

 justifies the conduct of Diopeithes, on the tyrant plea 

 of necessity. The republic, he said, had no choice left; 

 it was already at war with Philip, and had no alterna- 

 tive, but to repel force by force. Philip, he maintain- 

 ed, had broken articles of treaties upon record, and sei- 

 zed upon many of their possessions, — a seizure, for the 

 proof of which, he appeals to their own decrees : Philip 

 had, ever since the peace, been arming himself with all 

 the powers of Greeks and Barbarians to destroy them, 

 before the departure of Diopeithes and his colony. The 

 oration had its effect, for, instead of punishing Diopei- 

 thes, the Athenians supplied him with money, in order 

 to put him in a condition to continue his expeditions. 

 So far, the war-party was successful; but the entire 

 lead of administration was not yet in their hands, nor. 

 was war declared with Macedon, when Demosthenes 

 pronounced his third Philippic, preparatory to ah inter- 

 ference of the Athenians in the island of Eubcea ; an 

 interference, *o which they were invited by Callias, the: 

 Chalcidian founder of the Euboean general assembly 

 A change in Athenian politics took place at this period, 

 in which we find Demosthenes and Phocion acting in 

 unison, and the office of first minister of Athens filled 

 by Demosthenes. The coalition with Phocion is ex- 

 plained, by the moderate and just manner in which 

 Athens for the first time condescended to act towards a 

 dependent state. Demosthenes not only gave his sup- 

 port to the liberal system adopted towards Eubcea, but, 

 under his management, a treaty' was concluded with 

 the states of that island, granting entire independence ; 

 and a body of Athenian troops, conducted by Phocion, 

 with little or no effort subdued all the resistance that 

 was made to settling the peace of the island by the The- 

 ban or Macedonian troops. * For restoring liberty to 

 the Euboean cities, and for his various services to the 

 republic, the thanks of the people were voted to De- 

 mosthenes, in a general assembly ; and a crown of gold 

 was decreed to be presented to him in the theatre, at 

 the festival of Bacchus. With no less wisdom than he 

 had shewn, on a former occasion, in resisting the plan 

 of a needless war with Persia, the orator-minister now 



* Mr Mitford doubts that there were any Macedonian troops in Eubcea, but at the same time gives historical authority for the fact 

 •f wj ich he doubts. 



