INDEPENDENCE OF RHODES.
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to triumph1 over them. For the prosperous ought ever to be seen consulting the interests of the distressed, seeing no man knows what the morrow may bring forth to himself. I am in the habit of hearing it frequently asserted amongst you in this place, that when our country was unfortunate, certain states of Greece agreed2 in advising that it should be saved ; of whom, I will, for the present, only make a short mention of the Argives.3 For I should not be willing that you, who have the reputation of always saving the distressed should appear worse than the Argives in this particular,— who, with a territory bordering upon that of Sparta, and seeing the Lacedaemonians lording it both by land and sea, were not deterred from shewing themselves friendly towards you. Nay more, they even came to a Decree, as we are told, to hold their ambassadors, who came from Lacedaemon to demand certain of your exiles, enemies, if they did not quit the territory before the sun set. Is it not disgraceful then, O men of Athens, if the people of Argos feared not the dominion of the Lacedaemonians in those times, nor their power, that you, who are Athenians, should fear a Barbarian, and that too, a woman ? Besides, the Argives had it in their power to relate that they had been frequently vanquished by the Lacedaemonians ; but you have conquered the King often, and have been worsted, not even once, either by the slaves of the King, or by himself. For if, indeed, the King has anywhere had an advantage over this country, that advantage he
1 “ To be pleased at,” “ to rejoice at,” &c. literally. There is something in the tone of this passage, not unlike one (on a very different subject certainly) in Terence, much admired ; where Thais says to Chærea, that if others blamed her, &c. he should not do it,—“at tu indignus qui faceres tamen.” Eun. Act v. Sc. 2. 2 Can this mean more than “ took counsel together ?” &c. It can hardly imply any act, which, perhaps, “combine,” “conspire,” &c. do. 3 Mention is made of another, the Phocians, in a vehement passage of the Περι Παρηπρΐσββίαε, where he describes the horrible nature of their destruction ; and then turns upon Æschines, that they gave την σώζονσαν ψήφον. They did not wish Greece to be one-eyed, έτερόώθαλμον την ‘Ελλάδα. A translation of this passage is attempted in the Edinburgh Review of a Rectorial Speech at Glasgow in 1825.