Philip for many years had been steadily extending his sway
over Greece. In the face of his encroachments would Athens, Sparta, and Thebes,
so long the leading cities, submit tamely to this Macedonian conqueror? There
was one man, at least, who realized the menace to Greek freedom from Philip's
onward march. In Demosthenes Greece found a champion of her threatened
liberties.
DEMOSTHENES AS AN ORATOR AND A PATRIOT
Demosthenes was the last, as well as the most famous, of
the great Athenian orators. When he first began to speak, the citizens laughed
at his long, involved sentences, over-rapid delivery, and awkward bearing.
Friends encouraged him to persist, assuring him that, if the manner of his
speeches was bad, their matter was worthy of Pericles. Numerous stories are
told of the efforts made by Demosthenes to overcome his natural defects. He
practiced gesturing before a mirror and, to correct a stammering pronunciation,
recited verses with pebbles in his mouth. He would go down to the seashore
during storms and strive to make his voice heard above the roar of wind and
waves, in order the better to face the boisterous Assembly. Before long he came
to be regarded as the prince of speakers even in the city of orators.
Demosthenes was a man cast in the old heroic mold. His patriotic imagination
had been fired by the great deeds once accomplished by free Greeks. Athens he
loved with passionate devotion. Let her remember her ancient glories, he urged,
and, by withstanding Philip, become the leader of Hellas in a second war for
liberty.
