24
But as regards money and a ready supply of it at once, I am aware that I am going to make a startling proposal. The proposal shall, however, be made, because I am confident that if you take the right point of view, it will be clear that I alone have told you the truth, as it is and as it will be. My view is that we ought not to talk about money now; for if we need it, we have a source of supply, abundant, honorable and fair; if we look for it at once, we shall fail so utterly to supply it now that we shall conclude that it is not even in reserve for our future use, but if we leave it alone, it will be there. What, then, is this supply, which is not now, but will be hereafter?
25
That sounds like a riddle, but I will explain. Look at the great city that lies around you, men of Athens. In that city there is wealth, I might almost say, equal to that of all the other Greek cities together. But that wealth is in the hands of men whose temper is such that if all our orators started a scare that the King is coming, that he is close at hand, that the report must be true, and if the orators were backed by an equal number of oracle-mongers, not only would they fail to contribute, but they would refuse to declare or acknowledge their wealth.
