Demosthenes, Philippic 4, James Herbert Vince (Translator), 17

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[17] It is not so, but it is to win these prizes that he devotes his activities to all those other objects.

Therefore each must know and feel in his own mind the truth of this, but you must not, of course, call for a declaration of war from the statesman who is trying, in all honesty, to give you the best advice; for that would be the act of men who want to find someone to fight with, not of men who seek the interests of their state.¹

Philippic 4. Demosthenes. James Herbert Vince (Translator). London. 1930.

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Current edition Perseus

Fourth Philippic (English) (Demosthenes, Vol. I: Olynthiacs, Philippics, Minor Public Speeches, Speech Against Leptines, I-XVII, XX. Vince, J. H., translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1930 (printing).)

Editions (1)

κατὰ Φιλίππου δ΄ Perseus (Demosthenes. Orationes, Vol. I. Butcher, S. H., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903.) — 17 focus

[17] οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖνʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ τούτων γίγνεσθαι κύριος καὶ τἄλλα πάντα πραγματεύεται. ταῦτα τοίνυν ἕκαστον εἰδότα καὶ γιγνώσκοντα παρʼ αὑτῷ δεῖ μὰ Δίʼ οὐ γράψαι κελεύειν πόλεμον τὸν τὰ βέλτιστʼ ἐπὶ πᾶσι δικαίοις συμβουλεύοντα· τοῦτο μὲν γάρ ἐστι λαβεῖν ὅτῳ πολεμήσετε βουλομένων, οὐχ ἃ τῇ πόλει συμφέρει πράττειν.

Notes on the current edition

Philippic 4

1. To propose war on Philip would be dangerous to the speaker, as explained in the speech Dem. 8.68 , and unnecessary, as Philip is already at war with Athens .

Demosthenes Philippic 4 17

James Herbert Vince (Translator)

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