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[183]
Do not, then,
display such anger when people make unconstitutional proposals, and such
indulgence when not their proposals, but their acts are unconstitutional. For no
mere words and terms can be so galling to the great mass of you as the conduct
of a man who persistently insults any citizen who crosses his path. Beware,
Athenians, of bearing this testimony against yourselves, that if you detect a
man of the middle class or a friend of the people committing an offence, you
will neither pity nor reprieve him, but will punish him with death or
disfranchisement, while you are ready to pardon the insolence of a rich man.
Spare us that injustice, and show your indignation impartially against all
offenders.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1939.
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