[180]
What part do you wish me to assign to you, Aeschines, and what to myself, in
the drama of that great day? Am I to be cast for the part of Battalus,1 as you dub me when you scold me so
scornfully, and you for no vulgar role but to play some hero of legendary
tragedy, Cresphontes, or Creon, or, shall we say, Oenomaus, whom you once
murdered by your bad acting at Collytus? Anyhow, on that occasion Battalus of
Paeania deserved better of his country than Oenomaus of Cothocidae. You were
utterly useless; I did everything that became a good citizen. Please read the
decree.
1 Battalus, perhaps stammerer, a nickname of the nursery; capable also of an indecent interpretation, and therefore maliciously revived by Aeschines.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by C. A. Vince, M. A. and J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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