[119]
Is it right, Athenians,
to honor your benefactors? It is. Well then, is it right to allow a man to keep
what has once been given him? It is. Then, to observe your oaths, act on that
principle yourselves; resent the imputation that your ancestors acted otherwise;
and as for those who cite such instances, alleging that your ancestors rewarded
no man for great benefits received, look upon them as both knaves and
dullards—knaves, because they falsely charge your ancestors with
ingratitude; fools, because they do not see that were the charge proved to the
hilt, it would better become them to deny than to repeat it.
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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