person who took the matter up and moved the motion, and sold his services
for the purpose, along with Aeschines, was Philocrates of Hagnus--your
partner, Aeschines, not mine, even if you split your sides with lying;
while those who supported him, from whatever motive (for of that I say
nothing at present), were Eubulus and Cephisophon. I had no part in the
matter anywhere. {22} And yet, although the facts are such as with
absolute truth I am representing them to be, he carried his effrontery so
far as to dare to assert that I was not only responsible for the Peace,
but had also prevented the city from acting in conjunction with a general
assembly of the Hellenes in making it. What? and you--oh! how can one find
a name that can be applied to you?--when you saw me (for you were there)
preventing the city from taking this great step and forming so grand an
alliance as you just now described, did you once raise a protest or come
forward to give information and to set forth the crimes with which you now
charge me? {23} If I had covenanted with Philip for money that I would
prevent the coalition of the Hellenes, your only course was to refuse to
keep silence--to cry aloud, to protest, to reveal the fact to your fellow
countrymen. On no occasion did you do this: no such utterance of yours was
ever heard by any one. In fact there was no embassy away at the time on a
mission to any Hellenic state; the Hellenes had all long ago been tried
and found wanting;[n] and in all that he has said upon this matter there
is not a single sound word. {24} And, apart from that, his falsehoods
involve the greatest calumnies upon this city. For if you were at one and
the same time convoking the Hellenes with a view to war, and sending
ambassadors yourselves to Philip to discuss peace, it was a deed for a
Eurybatus,[n] not a task for a state or for honest men, that you were
carrying out. But that is not the case; indeed it is not. For what could
possibly have been your object in summoning them at that moment? Was it
with a view to peace? But they all had peace already. Or with a view to
war? But you were yourselves discussing peace. It is therefore evident