36
I could wish that, even as to praise virtue is a facile theme, so it were easy to persuade bearers to practice it. But as things are I am afraid that I may be expressing such sentiments to no purpose. For we have been depraved for a long time by men whose only ability is to cheat and delude—men who have held the people in such contempt that whenever they wish to bring about a state of war with any city, these very men who are paidThat is, bribed to speak. See Isoc. 8.50 and note. for what they say have the audacity to tell us that we should follow the example of our ancestors and not allow ourselves to be made a laughing-stock nor permit those Hellenes to sail the sea who are unwilling to pay us their contributions.
37
Now I should be glad if they would inform me what ancestors they would have us imitate. Do they mean those who lived at the time of the Persian WarsSee 75. or those who governed the city before the Decelean WarThis term is frequently used to denote the last decade of the Peloponnesian War, from the occupation of the fort of Decelea near Athens by the Spartans in 413 B.C. Cf. 84. During this period the affairs of Athens went from bad to worse.? If they mean the latter then they are simply advising us to run the risk once again of being enslavedAs at the end of the Peloponnesian War. Cf. 78.;