[5]
And what I am going to say may perhaps seem a paradox,
but it is true. The worst feature of the past is our best hope for the future.
What, then, is that feature? It is that your affairs go wrong because you
neglect every duty, great or small; since surely, if they were in this plight in
spite of your doing all that was required, there would not be even a hope of
improvement. But in fact it is your indifference and carelessness that Philip
has conquered; your city he has not conquered. Nor have you been
defeated—no! you have not even made a move.
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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