[67]
I suppose what tends to make everyone public-spirited
and liberal with his money is the reflection that under a democracy each man has
his share of just and equal rights. Now I, men of Athens, was deprived of those rights
through this man's acts, and, quite apart from the insults I endured, I was
robbed of my victory. Yet I shall prove to all of you beyond a doubt that
Meidias, without committing any outrageous offence, without insulting or
striking me, had it in his power both to cause me trouble and to display his
public spirit to you in a legitimate way, so that I should not be able to open
my lips against him.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1939.
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