Demosthenes

Then the man raised his voice and shouted: I, Demosthenes, no hurts? Now, indeed, said Demosthenes, I hear the voice of one who is wronged and hurt. So important in winning credence did he consider the tone and action of the speaker. Accordingly, his own action in speaking was astonishingly pleasing to most men, but men of refinement, like Demetrius the Phalerian, thought his manner low, ignoble, and weak.

And Hermippus tells us that Aesion,[*](A contemporary of Demosthenes.) when asked his opinion of the ancient orators as compared with those of his own time, said that one would have listened with admiration when the older orators discoursed to the people decorously and in the grand manner, but that the speeches of Demosthenes, when read aloud, were far superior in point of arrangement and power. Now, it is needless to remark that his written speeches have much in them that is harsh and bitter; but in his extempore rejoinders he was also humorous.

For instance, when Demades said: Demosthenes teach me! As well might the sow teach Athena. It was this Athena, said Demosthenes, that was lately found playing the harlot in Collytus. And to the thief nicknamed Brazen, who attempted to make fun of him for his late hours and his writing at night, I know, he said, that I annoy you with my lighted lamp.

But you, men of Athens, must not wonder at the thefts that are committed, when we have thieves of brass, but house-walls of clay. However, though I have still more to say on this head, I shall stop here; the other traits of his character, and his disposition, should be surveyed in connection with his achievements as a statesman.