. The literature of all nations and all ages; history, character, and incident . Athens, or in any part of theAthenian territory ; yet you are going to crown Demostheneswith a golden crown, who did not bring in gold from Persia,but received bribes himself, and still possesses them. Andcan you not imagine that Themistocles, and those who fell atMarathon, and those who died at Platsea, and the very sepul-chres of our ancestors, must groan if you confer a crown onthis man, who confessedly united with the Barbarians againstthe Greeks ? And now bear witness for me, thou Earth, thou Sun, OVirtue, an
. The literature of all nations and all ages; history, character, and incident . Athens, or in any part of theAthenian territory ; yet you are going to crown Demostheneswith a golden crown, who did not bring in gold from Persia,but received bribes himself, and still possesses them. Andcan you not imagine that Themistocles, and those who fell atMarathon, and those who died at Platsea, and the very sepul-chres of our ancestors, must groan if you confer a crown onthis man, who confessedly united with the Barbarians againstthe Greeks ? And now bear witness for me, thou Earth, thou Sun, OVirtue, and Intelligence, and thou, O Education, which teachestus the just distinction between vice and goodness, I have stoodup, I have spoken in the cause of justice. If I have supportedmy prosecution with a dignity befitting its importance, I havespoken as my wishes dictated; if too deficiently, as my abilitiesadmitted. Let what has now been offered, and what yourown thoughts must supply, be duly weighed, and pronouncesuch a sentence as justice and the interests of the DEMOSTHENES. In the oratory of more than two thousand years Demos-thenes stands in the front rank, and will always hold firstplace among the orators of the ancient world. He was bornin 384 When he was only seven years of age, his father,a wealthy manufacturer of arms in Athens, died. When theyouth came of age he found himself stripped of his inheritanceby dishonest trustees. Aided by Isseus he commenced a law-suit against the chief embezzler, and succeeded in recoveringabout a third of his fathers estate. The loss of his patri-mony was the means of developing a spirit of courage andself-reliance, which might otherwise have remained Demosthenes first appeared before the public assemblyhe was utterly derided. He was weak in voice, awkward inmanner, defective in articulation, wanting in wit or pathos,and not prepossessing in appearance. But perseverance en-abled him to overcome all obstacles.
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