[57]
Furthermore, on the question of merit I shall not shrink from saying
this to you: I for one do not think that merit should be examined by the State
in the same way as by an individual, because the examination is not concerned
with the same questions. For in private life each of us tries to find who is
worthy, say, to marry into our family, or something of that sort, and such
questions are determined by convention and opinion; but in public affairs the
State and the people try to find who is their benefactor and savior, and that
question you will find is best decided by reference not to birth or opinion, but
to plain fact. So, whenever we want to receive benefits, are we to allow anyone
to confer them, but when we have received them, then shall we scrutinize the
merits of the benefactor? That will be a topsy-turvy policy.
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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