Historical voices

Like puppet-makers, you elect your infantry and cavalry officers for the market-place, not for war.

But ever since your hirelings have served by themselves, they have been vanquishing your friends and allies, while your enemies have become unduly great.

Mercenaries I recommend--and beware of doing what has often been injurious--thinking all measures below the occasion, adopting the strongest in your decrees, you fail to accomplish the least--rather, I say, perform and procure a little…

My promise indeed is large; it shall be tested by the performance; and you shall be my judges.

Good luck is for those who are in a position to avail themselves of it.

For even he has been exalted not so much by his own strength, as by our negligence.

Should any thing befall this man, you will soon create another Philip, if you attend to business thus.

Methinks, to freemen the strongest necessity is the disgrace of their condition.

When then, Athenians, when will ye act as becomes you?

But now they are all cowed, having no refuge through your tardiness and indolence, which I say you must abandon forthwith.

Do not imagine, that his empire is everlastingly secured to him as a god.

Acting on such principle, he has won every thing and keeps it, either by way of conquest, or by friendly attachment and alliance; for all men will side with and respect those, whom they see prepared and willing to make proper exertion.

But he saw well, Athenians, that all these places are the open prizes of war, that the possessions of the absent naturally belong to the present, those of the remiss to them that will venture and toil.

Take for examples the strength of the Lacedaemonians then, which you overcame by attention to your duties, and the insolence of this man now, by which through neglect of our interests we are confounded.

To show and convince you, Athenians, that nothing, if you take precaution, is to be feared, nothing, if you are negligent, goes as you desire.

That our affairs are amiss, men of Athens, because you do nothing which is needful; if, notwithstanding you performed your duties, it were the same, there would be no hope of amendment.

First I say, you must not despond, Athenians, under your present circumstances, wretched as they are; for that which is worst in them as regards the past, is best for the future.

Not that I blame any one who does you a service: I only call upon you, Athenians, to perform on your own account those duties for which you honor strangers, and not to surrender that post of dignity which, won through many glorious…

I never advise we should give to idlers the wages of the diligent, or sit at leisure, passive and helpless, to hear that such a one's mercenaries are victorious; as we now do.

For even liberty of speech you allow not on all subjects; I marvel indeed you have allowed it here.

It is impossible, I say, to have a high and noble spirit, while you are engaged in petty and mean employments: whatever be the pursuits of men, their characters must be similar.

Because anciently the people, having the courage to be soldiers, controlled the statesmen, and disposed of all emoluments; any of the rest was happy to receive from the people his share of honor, office, or advantage.

They have risen from beggary to opulence, or from obscurity to honor; some have made their private houses more splendid than the public buildings; and in proportion as the state has declined, their fortunes have been exalted.

By a conduct honorable toward the Greeks, pious to the gods, brotherlike among themselves, they justly attained a high prosperity.