adversaries, his judges. He does not seem to endeavour to move you: hear him however, and he shall cause you to weep upon reflection. He overwhelms his fellow-citizens with reproaches; but, then, these are only the interpreters of their

own remorse.

Doth he refute an argument? He does not discuss it. He proposes a single question for the whole answer, and the objection no longer appears.

Doth he wish to stir up the Atheniens against Philip? It is no more an Orator who speaks; it is a General; it is a King; it is a Prophet; it is the Tutelar Angel of his country. And when he threatens his fellow citizens with slavery, we think that we hear from a distance the noise approaching of the rattling chains which the tyrant is bringing them.

The Phillippics of Demosthenes, and his famous Oration, "pro corona," in favour of Ctesiphon, are justly admired; but I apprehend that the learned, and Christian Orators, read but little of his other works; his discourse on the peace, his first and second Olynthiac, his Oration of Chersonesus, and many other masterly productions truly worthy of his genius. In these too much forgotten writings, and which seem to be of no service to the reputation of Demosthenes,

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we might be able to find sufficient claims to justify his fame, were all his other productions of Oratory unknown.

It is enough to repeat here one single passage;

The enemies of Demosthenes, (certain writers without talents, Eschines excepted, who presumed to consider themselves as his rivals because they set themselves up for Orators in Athens) accused him of seeking, in his discourses, rather his own reputation, than the public good. This great man, abused for long while without complaining, deigned at length to confute their clamours in the presence of all the Athenian people. He thus addresses them in his Oration of Cher

sonesus:

'I am so far from regarding all those contempt'ible Orators as citizens deserving of their coun'try, that should any one say to me this moment, * And thou, Demosthenes, what services hast ⚫ thou rendered to the Republic? I would nei

ther, O Athenians, speak of the expences I ‹‹ have incurred on behalf of my fellow-citizens in the discharge of my employments, nor of the captives whom I have redeemed, nor of ⚫ the gifts which I have presented to the city, · nor of all the monuments which will one day testify my zeal for my country; but this is

'the answer I should make: My conduct ' hath always been the reverse of the maxims ' of these Orators. I could, doubtless, have 'followed their example, and like them, have 'flattered you. But I have always sacrificed my personal advantage, my ambition, and even the desire of pleasing you. I have ad'dressed you so as to rank myself below other ' citizens, and to exalt you above the other people of Greece. O Athenians! permit me now 'to bear this witness of myself. No: I never in'dulged the expectation of attaining the first place among you, were I even to make you the

'lowest of mankind."

It is to those enemies, and to the sad necessity of crushing them with all the weight of his genius and virtue, that Demosthenes is indebted for this sublime passage, one of the finest strokes of his Eloquence.

It would be very easy to multiply similar quotations, when speaking of this Orator. But it is not my design to prevent public speakers from reading him. I invite them, on the contrary, to learn him by heart; and to transfuse his energy, his vigour, and his colouring, into their own Eloquence.*

*The Abp. of Cambray gives us his sentiments of Demosthenes, in the following terms: 'Demosthenes moves,

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SECTION XVI.

OF BOSSUET.

T the very name of Demosthenes, my admiration reflects on the most eloquent man

/warms, and captivates the heart. He was too sensibly touched with the interest of his country, to mind the little $ glittering fancies of Isocrates. Every Oration of Demosthenes is a close chain of reasoning, that represents the generous notions of a soul who disdains any thought that is not great. His discourses gradually increase in force by greater light and new reasons, which are always illus'trated by bold figures and lively images. One cannot but see that he has the good of the republic entirely at heart, ' and that nature itself speaks in all his transports; for his artful address is so masterly that it never appears. Nothing ever equalled the force and vehemence of his discourses.'-Dialogues concerning Eloquence, Dial. i. p. 20.

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M. ROLLIN paints the character of this Orator by the following extract of the sentiments of Quintilian and Dion. Halicarnassus: Demosthenes, among Orators, is the

standard, which every one must necessarily follow who ⚫ aspires to true Eloquence. His style is so strong, so close, ⚫ and nervous, it is every where so just, so exactly concise, ⚫ that there is nothing too much or too little. What distin'guishes the Eloquence of Demosthenes, is, the impetuo • sily of the expression, the choice of words, and the beauty of the disposition; which being supported throughout, ⚫ and accompanied with force and sweetness, keeps the at⚫tention of the judge's perpetually fixed. Eschines, indeed, 'is bright and solid; he enlarges and amplifies, but is of ⚫ten close; so that his style, which at first seems only flow'ing and sweet, discovers itself upon a nearer view to be

of my nation, who bears the greatest resemblance to him of all his competitors. Such, whom we

' vehement and emphatic, in which Demosthenes surpasses * him."

M. ROLLIN then refers us to Cicero's celebrated judgment of Demosthenes, (Orat. n. 23 et 104, et ep. ad Brut. n. 35.) and to the sentiments of M. de Toureil, after which he gives us his own, as follow:

'What is there, then, in his Orations that is so admi'rable, and has forced away the universal and unanimous 'applause of all ages? Is Demosthenes an Orator who ⚫ amuses himself barely with tickling the ear, by the sound and harmony of periods; or does he impose upon the • mind by a florid style and shining thoughts? Such Eloquence may, indeed, dazzle and charm, the moment we hear it; but the impression it makes is of a short duration. What we admire in Demosthenes, is the plan, the series, and the order and disposition of the Oration; it is the strength of the proofs, the solidity of the arguments, 'the grandeur and nobleness of the sentiments, and of the style; the vivacity of the turns and figures; in a word, the wonderful art of representing the subjects he treats, in all their lustre, and displaying them in all their strength. But that which distinguishes Demosthenes still C more, and in which no one has imitated him, is, that he forgets himself so entirely; is always so scrupulous in ' avoiding every thing that might look like a shew or pa'rade of wit and genius; and so careful to make the Au⚫ditor attend to the cause, and not to the Orator, that no expression, turn or thought ever escape him, which are calculated merely to shine. This reservedness, this moderation, in so fine a genius as Demosthenes, and in topics ⚫ so susceptible of graces and elegance, raises his merit to its highest pitch, and is superior to all encomiums."ROLLIN, V. ii. c. iii. §. iii. p. 251, 252.

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Dr. BLAIR makes the following remarks on the style of Demosthenes. His Orations are strongly animated; and