Page:History of Greece Vol XII.djvu/336

304 HISTORY OF GREECE Demosthenes was neither paid nor bought by Ilarpalus. The only service which he retiderecl to the exile was, by refusing to deliver him to Antipater, and by not preventing his escajie from imprisonment. Now in this refusal even Phokion concurred ; and probably the best Athenians, of all parties, were desirous of favoring the escape of an exile whom it would have been odious to hand over to a Macedonian executioner. Insofar as it was a crime not to have prevented the escape of Harpalus, the crime was committed as much by Phokion as by Demosthenes ; and indeed more, seeing that Phokion was 'one of the generals, exer- cising the most important administrative duties — while Demos- thenes was only an orator and mover in the assembly. More- over, Harpalus had no means of requiting the persons, whoever they were, to whom he owed his escape ; for the same motion which decreed his arrest, decreed also the sequestration of his money, and thus removed it from his own control. i The charge therefore made against Demosthenes by his two accusers, — that he received money from Harpalus, — is one which all the facts known to us tend to refute. But this is not quite the whole case. Had Demosthenes the means of embez- zling the money, after it had passed out of the control of Har- palus ? To this question also we may reply in the negative, so far as Athenian practice enables us to judge. Demosthenes had moved, and the people had voted, that these treasures should be 1 In tlie Life of Demosthenes apud Photium (Cod. 265), the service alleged to have been rendered by him to Harpalus, and for which he was charged with having received 1000 Darics, is put as I have stated it in the text — Demosthenes first spoke publicly against receiving Harpalus, but presently AapeiKov^ ;i;t/li'oi'f {u ( (j>a a l) "kajiCiv rrpbc tov( vTiep airoii Xiyonrac fiETSTu^aTo (then follow the particular acts whereby this alleged change of sentiment was manifested, which particular acts are described as follows) — KM i3ov?.i)/iEVcjv riJv 'A^rjvatuv 'kvTLnu-pu Trpodovvni rbv uvdp(jTrov uvrelTrev, Tu TE 'ApTTuXeia xfVf-dTa etc uKpuKo2.iv typa^j'tv d;zoT&ea&at, firj(ii rti di//jLi Tuv api'&fihv avTtJv u—oarjfxrivafievoc. That Demosthenes should first oppose the reception of Harpalus — and then afterwards oppose the surrender of Harpalus to Antipater's requisition — is here represented as a change of politics, requiring the hypothesis of a bribe to explain it. But it is in reality no change at all. The two pro- ceedings are perfectly consistent with each other, and both of then ^ofenv ble