If the question
before us were a new one, men of Athens, I should have waited until most of the regular speakers
had delivered their opinions, and if satisfied with any of their proposals, I
should have remained silent, but if not satisfied, I should then have tried to
express my own views. Since, however, it is our fortune to be still debating a
point on which they have often spoken before, I can safely claim your indulgence
if I am the first to rise and address you. For if in the past their advice had
been sound, there would be no need for deliberation today.
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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