true-born sons of Hellas; and (one might conceive) it was as though a
lawful son, born to a great estate, managed his affairs in some wrong or
improper way;--his conduct would in itself deserve blame and denunciation,
but at least it could not be said that he was not one of the family, or
was not the heir to the property. {31} But had it been a slave or a
supposititious son that was thus ruining and spoiling an inheritance to
which he had no title, why, good Heavens! how infinitely more scandalous
and reprehensible all would have declared it to be. And yet they show no
such feeling in regard to Philip, although not only is he no Hellene, not
only has he no kinship with Hellenes, but he is not even a barbarian from
a country that one could acknowledge with credit;--he is a pestilent
Macedonian, from whose country it used not to be possible to buy even a
slave of any value.

{32} And in spite of this, is there any degree of insolence to which he
does not proceed? Not content with annihilating cities, does he not manage
the Pythian games,[n] the common meeting of the Hellenes, and send his
slaves to preside over the competition in his absence? [Is he not master
of Thermopylae, and of the passes which lead into Hellenic territory? Does
he not hold that district with garrisons and mercenaries? Has he not taken
the precedence in consulting the oracle, and thrust aside ourselves and
the Thessalians and Dorians and the rest of the Amphictyons, though the
right is not one which is given even to all of the Hellenes?] {33} Does he
not write to the Thessalians to prescribe the constitution under which
they are to live? Does he not send one body of mercenaries to Porthmus, to
expel the popular party of Eretria, and another to Oreus, to set up
Philistides as tyrant? And yet the Hellenes see these things and endure
them, gazing (it seems to me) as they would gaze at a hailstorm--each
people praying that it may not come their way, but no one trying to
prevent it. Nor is it only his outrages upon Hellas that go unresisted.