A History of Greece (Volume 5 ) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1839. Excerpt: ... It is a little surprising that though this is the general purpose of the speech, the name of Philip does not once occur in it, and it contains no distinct allusion to the war with Macedonia. We may infer from this silence, that Philip's proceedings, though they had proYoked the resentment of the Athenians, had not yet excited any alarm even in Demosthenes. It is likewise remarkable that he speaks of Thebes, though the popular prejudice had never been more violent against her at Athens than at this period, in an extremely mild, respectful, conciliating tone. But he does not confine himself, like Isocrates, to vague general advice: the contrast between the practical statesman and the wordy rhetorician is strongly illustrated in the one's speech, and the other's pamphlet, which were produced at so short an interval of time, under similar circumstances, and with views apparently not discordant. Demosthenes proposes a specific well-digested plan, which would enable the commonwealth to equip her fleets with the least possible delay, and, if necessary, to raise her naval force to 300 galleys. Into the details of this scheme we need not enter. It was an attempt to remedy one of the crying evils of the existing system which will be mentioned hereafter. We are not informed whether it was adopted; but the proposal of war with Persia was rejected. The occupation which the Social War gave to the Athenians, seems to have prevented them from taking advantage of the cession of the Chersonesus: after that war was ended, the losses which they had suffered in it must have rendered them the more desirous of extracting all the profit they could from their newly acquired territory. Accordingly in the course of the next year a body of cleruchial colonists was sent to establish ...