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[178]
In the next place, I would have you appoint ten
ambassadors, and give them authority, in consultation with the military
commanders, to determine the time of the march to Thebes and the conduct of the campaign. Now
for my advice on the treatment of the difficulty after the arrival of the
ambassadors at Thebes. I beg your
careful attention to this. Do not ask any favor of the Thebans: for that the
occasion is not creditable. Pledge yourselves to come to their aid at their
call, on the ground that they are in extremities, and that we have a clearer
foresight of the future than they. And so, if they accept our overtures and take
our advice, we shall have accomplished our desires and have acted on a principle
worthy of our traditions; while, if success does not fall to our lot, they will
have themselves to blame for their immediate blunder, and we shall have done
nothing mean or discreditable.”
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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