But being himself one of the
first whom the court condemned, when he came to the bar, he was
fined fifty talents, and committed to prison; where, out of shame
of the crime for which he was condemned, and through the weakness
of his body, growing incapable of supporting the confinement, he
made his escape, by the carelessness of some and by the connivance
of others of the citizens. He did not show much fortitude in his
banishment, spending his time for the most part in Aegina and
Troezen, and, with tears in his eyes, looking towards the country
of Attica. The young men that came to visit and converse with him,
he deterred from meddling with state affairs, telling them, that
if at first two ways had been proposed to him, the one leading to
the speaker's stand and the assembly, the other going direct to
destruction, and he could have foreseen the many evils which
attend those who deal in public business, such as fears, envies,
calumnies, and contentions, he would certainly have taken that
which led straight on to his death.
But now happened the death of Alexander, while Demosthenes was in
this banishment which we have been speaking of. And the Greeks
were once again up in arms, encouraged by the brave attempts of
Leosthenes, who was then drawing a circumvallation about
Antipater, whom he held close besieged in Lamia.
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