[11]
I suppose it is with national as
with private wealth. If a man keeps what he gains, he is duly grateful to
fortune; if he loses it by his own imprudence, he loses along with it the sense
of gratitude. So in national affairs, those who fail to use their opportunities
aright, fail also to acknowledge the good that the gods have given; for every
advantage in the past is judged in the light of the final issue. It is therefore
our duty, men of Athens, to keep a
careful eye on the future, that by restoring our prosperity we may efface the
discredit of the past.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1930.
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