And we have reached such a degree of imbecility that, although we are ourselves in need of the necessities of daily existence, we have undertaken to support mercenary troops and we do violence to our own allies and extort money from them in order to provide pay for the common enemies of all mankind.These troops, whose only thought was for pay or plunder, made no difference between foes and friends. See Isoc. Letter 9.9-10. Demosthenes also (Dem. 23.139) calls them κοινοὶ κατὰ κᾶσαν χώραν ἐχθροί.

And so far are we inferior to our ancestors, both those who enjoyed the esteem of the Hellenes and those who incurred their hatred,The distinction is between those who were awarded the hegemony and those who later turned the hegemony into an empire maintained by force. that whereas they, when they resolved to wage war against any state, deemed it their duty, notwithstanding that the Acropolis was stored with silver and gold,See 126. to face danger in their own persons in support of their resolutions, we, on the other hand, not withstanding that we are in such extreme povertySee19 and Isoc. 7.54. and are so many in number, employ, as does the great King, mercenary armies!

In those days, when they manned their triremes, they put on board crews of foreigners and slaves but sent out citizens to fight under heavy arms. Now, however, we use mercenaries as heavy-armed troops but compel citizens to row the ships,See Isoc. 7.54, note. with the result that when they land in hostile territory these men, who claim the right to rule over the Hellenes, disembark with their cushionsPads for the rowers’ benches. under their arms, while men who are of the character which I have just described take the field with shield and spear!

However, if one could see that the domestic policy of Athens was well managed he might be of good cheer as to our other affairs. But is it not about this very thing that he would feel most aggrieved? For we assert that we are sprung from our very soilSee Isoc. 4.23-24. and that our city was founded before all others,See Isoc. 4.37. but although we ought to be an example to all the world of good and orderly government, we manage our state in a worse manner and with more disorder than those who are just founding their cities.

We glory and take great pride in being better born than the rest but we are readier to share this noble birth-right with any who desire itThe Athenians were less conservative in the matter of citizenship than other states. Cleisthenes gave citizenship to the resident aliens in Athens at the time of his reforms. In 427 citizenship was conferred upon all the people of Plataeae. From time to time numerous individuals were admitted to this privilege. than are the Triballians or the LeucaniansThe Triballians were a savage tribe in the interior of Thrace(see Isoc. 12.227); the Lucanians a rude people, noted for their ferocity, in Southern Italy. to share their ignoble origin. We pass a multitude of laws,See Isoc. 7.40-41. but we care so little about them (for if I give you a single instance you will be able to judge of the others as well) that, although we have prescribed the penalty of death for anyone who is convicted of bribery, we elect men who are most flagrantly guilty of this crime as our generalsThis seems to be a covert attack upon Chares, who according to Theopompus (in Athenaeus xii. 532) paid money to the orators to advocate a war policy, especially to the orator Aristophon, who may be alluded to in 36 and in this paragraph. Chares in the field and Aristophon on the rostrum were the leaders of Athenian jingoism at this time. and we pick out the man who has been able to deprave the greatest number of our citizens and place him in charge of the most important affairs.