Then he bowed down his
head and covered it. The soldiers that stood at the door,
supposing all this to proceed from want of courage and fear of
death, in derision called him effeminate, and faint-hearted, and
coward. And Archias, drawing near, desired him to rise up, and
repeating the same kind things he had spoken before, he once more
promised him to make his peace with Antipater. But Demosthenes,
perceiving that now the poison had pierced and seized his vitals,
uncovered his head, and fixing his eyes upon Archias, "Now," said
he, "as soon as you please you may commence the part of Creon in
the tragedy, and cast out this body of mine unburied. But, O
gracious Neptune, I, for my part, while I am yet alive, arise up
and depart out of this sacred place; though Antipater and the
Macedonians have not left so much as thy temple unpolluted." After
he had thus spoken and desired to be held up, because already he
began to tremble and stagger, as he was going forward, and passing
by the altar, he fell down, and with a groan gave up the ghost.
Ariston says that he took the poison out of a reed, as we have
shown before. And Eratosthenes also says that he kept the poison
in a hollow ring, which he wore about his arm.
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