Orations, Volume II: Orations 18–19: De Corona. De Falsa Legatione

by Demosthenes, C.A. Vince (Translator), J.H. Vince (Translator)

Demosthenes (384-322 BCE), orator at Athens, was a pleader in law courts who later became also a statesman, champion of the past greatness of his city and the present resistance of Greece to the rise of Philip of Macedon to supremacy. We possess by him political speeches and law-court speeches composed for parties in private cases and political cases. His early reputation as the best of Greek orators rests on his steadfastness of purpose, his sincerity, his clear and pungent argument, and his severe control of language. In his law cases he is the advocate, in his political speeches a castigator not of his opponents but of their politics. Demosthenes gives us vivid pictures of public and private life of his time.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Demosthenes is in seven volumes.

Genres: Classics

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 323

About the author

Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by studying the speeches of previous great orators. He delivered his first judicial speeches at the age of 20, in which he argued effectively to gain from his guardians what was left of his inheritance. For a time, Demosthenes made his living as a professional speech-writer (logographer) and a lawyer, writing speeches for use in private legal suits.

Reviews

[Nemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the False Embassy and On the Crown are Demosthenes' two most important speeches, both on a personal and political level. In the former, he accused his political enemy Aeschines of treason deserving the death penalty; in the latter, he defended his own political career against the accusations of Aeschines. Suffice to say, there was no love lost between these two gentlemen. Of all the legal and political battles Demosthenes fought in his life, I suspect these were the ones which he would have given all to win.

There are interesting contrasts between these two cases. Demosthenes' failure in the former and success in the latter are a reflection of his relative strength and weakness as a statesman. Demosthenes is at his best when he captures and magnifies the virtues of the ancient Greeks in his speech and in his person. It is that quality which makes On the Crown arguably the greatest speech ever made. By contrast, in a case such as On the False Embassy, which requires sound and impartial legal reasoning on the part of the orator, Demosthenes falls a little short of the mark.

Reasonable Doubt

As an orator, Demosthenes is an expert at mastering the timeline of relevant historical events, and presenting the audience a plausible intrerpretioan of the causal chain of events. As a prosecutor, however, he fails to show impartiality in examining the evidence. but seems to operate in a way that suits his political purpose, if not personal vendetta.

For example, he accuses Aeschines of accepting bribe from Philip, but can produce neither eyewitness nor physical evidence of the alleged bribery. If Aeschines was indeed susceptible to bribery, it is very likely that he accepted bribes more than once, from other people, as well as Philip. Venality is a disease with identifiable symptoms. It should have been possible for Demosthenes to find evidence of Aeschines' venality to bolster his case, but he couldn't find any, certainly not for lack of trying.

Demosthenes never gives Aeschines the benefit of the doubt, but always interprets the latter's actions and motives in the most unfavorable light. It was not enough for him to show that Aeschines was ignorant, incompetent or negligent, but he strained to persuade the jury that Aeschines was a traitor. His charge of treason against Aeschines is based solely on his interpretation of the events, which an impartial observer could very well interpret in a very different light, even without hearing from the defendant.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book cover here clearly refers to both "De Corona" = On the Crown (Dem.18) and "De Falsa Legatione" = On the False Embassy (Dem.19) = Public Orations XVIII and XIX, or volume 2 of the Loeb Collection.

It would not be very useful to read these two speeches in isolation, without the earlier ones that made Demosthenes' reputation. See separate entry for volume I: Demosthenes: I Olynthiacs, Philippics Minor Public Orations I-XVII and X.

Also see, my review covering both volumes.