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.
Demosthenes: “He is convinced, you will not submit to be slaves; if you were inclined, you would not know how, having been accustomed…”
Editor's note · Context
Demosthenes asserts that Athenians, accustomed to leadership, are incapable of submitting to slavery and possess the strength to resist Philip.
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Because our city is the only one where liberty is allowed to speak for the enemy, where a man taking a bribe may safely address the people, though they have been deprived of their possessions.
For the riches of a state I consider to be allies, confidence, good-will; of all which you are destitute.
If we admitted the truth of what would be your best possible answer, namely, that all you do is for honor and renown, I wonder what puts it into your head, that you ought from such motives to exert yourself and undergo toil and danger…
I say, you must either desist from these practices, or blame none but yourselves for the wretched condition of your affairs.





