Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/491

TRIERARCHY EQUALIZED. itfo The same influences, which had led originally to the introduc- tion of such abuses, stood opposed to the orator in his attempted amendment. The body of Three Hundred, the richest men in the state the leader or richest individual in each syrnmory. with those who stood second or third in order of wealth en* ployed every effort to throw out the proposition, and tendered large bribes to Demosthenes (if we may credit his assertion) a* inducements for dropping it. He was impeached moreover un- der the Grapha Paranomon, as mover of an unconstitutional or illegal decree. It required no small share of firmness and public spirit, combined with approved eloquence and an established name, to enable Demosthenes to contend against these mighty enemies. His new law caused the charge of trierarchy to be levied upon all the members of the symmories, or upon all above a certain minimum of property, in proportion to their rated property ; but it seems, if we rightly make out, to have somewhat heightened the minimum, so that the aggregate number of persons chargea- ble was diminished. 1 Every citizen rated at ten talents was as- sessed singly for the charge of trierarchy belonging to one tri- reme ; if rated at twenty talents, for the trierarchy of two ; at thirty talents, for the trierarchy of three ; if above thirty talents, for that of three triremes and a service boat which was held to be the maximum payable by any single individual. Citizens rated at less than ten talents, were grouped together into ratings of ten talents in the aggregate, in order to bear collectively the trierarchy of one of a trireme ; the contributions furnished by But Demosthenes nowhere points out in what proportions they were to share the expense among them ; whether the richest citizens among the twelve were to pay only an equal sum with the poorest, or a sum greater in pro- portion to their wealth. There is nothing in his project to prevent the richer members from insisting that all should pay equally. This is the very abuse that he denounced afterwards (in 340 B. c.), as actually realized niid corrected by a new law. The oration of Demosthenes De Symraoriis. omitting as it does all positive determination as to proportions of payment, helps us to understand how the abuse grew up. 1 JEschines (adv. Ktesiph. p. 86) charges Demosthenes with "having stolen away from the city the trierarchs of sixty-five swift sailing vessels.' This impliss, I imagine, that the new law diminished the total number of persons chargeable witfc trierarchy,