1
It seems to me a fine and seemly thing, men of Athens, for a man who has convinced himself he has something profitable to say to take the floor, but I consider it altogether shameful to force people to listen against their will. And I think, if you will but take my advice today, you will be better able both to choose the best measures and to shorten the speeches of those who come to the platform.
2
What, then, do I advise? First of all, men of Athens, to require the man who comes forward to confine himself to the matters you are considering. For otherwise someone may embrace many other topics in his speech and say many witty things, especially those who are smart at it, as some of these are. Well, if you have come here to listen to fine phrases, the thing to do is to make them and listen to them, but if you have come to deliberate about a choice of measures, I urge you to judge the measures strictly by themselves, eliminating all passages of a nature to mislead.
