Alcibiades

Though great doors to public service were opened to him by his birth, his wealth, and his personal bravery in battle; and though he had many friends and followers, he thought that nothing should give him more influence with the people than the charm of his discourse. And that he was a powerful speaker, not only do the comic poets testify, but also the most powerful of orators himself,[*](Dem. 21.145) who says, in his speech Against Meidias, that Alcibiades was a most able speaker in addition to his other gifts.