Demosthenes: “You see to what wretched plight we are reduced by some men haranguing for popularity.”

He is convinced, you will not submit to be slaves; if you were inclined, you would not know how, having been accustomed to command: you will be able, should occasion offer, to give him more trouble than any people in the world.

Such is the truth, spoken with perfect freedom, purely from good-will and for the best: not a speech fraught with flattery and mischief and deceit, to earn money for the speaker, and to put the commonwealth into the hands of our enemies.

I say, you must either desist from these practices, or blame none but yourselves for the wretched condition of your affairs.

For the riches of a state I consider to be allies, confidence, good-will; of all which you are destitute.