Demosthenes, Exordia
Norman W. DeWitt, Norman J. DeWitt, Ed.

I assume, men of Athens, that the time for humoring you and the time for recommending the measures I regard as best are not the same; for often, I observe, humoring you contrary to one's own judgement has earned more hatred than opposing at the outset. Now, if you all held the same opinions, I should not have come forward if you seemed to me to prefer the right course, considering it superfluous to speak before people doing the right thing of their own accord, nor again, if the contrary were true, for I should have thought that a lone person like myself was more likely to misapprehend the best measures than all of you. [2] But since I see some of you holding the same views as myself and the opposite to those held by others, I shall try with the support of these to persuade those who differ. Now, if you shall think it right to refuse to listen, you will make a mistake; but if you will listen in silence and bear with me in this, one of two benefits will accrue to you: for either you will be persuaded if we seem to advocate something advantageous, or you will be more firmly convinced of the rightness of your own views; for if the grounds upon which we think you are going somewhat astray shall be proved valueless, with the benefit of argument you will this time have chosen the plans approved before.