[154]
I have still a few things to say to you before I sit
down. For you ought, in my opinion, men of Athens, to be anxious for the utmost possible efficiency of our
laws, but especially of those on which depends the strength or weakness of our
State. And which are they? They are those which assign rewards to those who do
good and punishments to those who do evil. For in truth, if from fear of legal
penalties all men shunned wrongdoing, and if from ambition for the rewards of
good service all chose the path of duty, what prevents our city from being great
and all our citizens honest, with not a rogue among them?
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by C. A. Vince, M. A. and J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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