service. But a light yoke, it would seem, was harder to bear than a
heavy one; if Athens had openly oppressed her subjects, she would
never have heard a murmur.

Having thus tried to combat the prejudice against Athens, the orator
addressed himself directly to the Spartans, and said: "Consider the
awful responsibility which you will incur, if you suffer yourselves to
be carried away by the invectives of your allies, and drive us against
our will to tempt with you the dark uncertainties and perilous issues
of war. There is still time for an amicable settlement of our
differences: Athens is prepared to make all reasonable concessions,
and to submit to arbitration, as the terms of the treaty direct. And
if you decline to accept this offer, the guilt of the aggressor will
lie with you."

It is remarkable that the speaker, in tracing the later course of
Athenian policy, lays no claim to those high motives of patriotism
which had inspired his people with sublime self-devotion two
generations back. He boldly asserts the principle that it is lawful
for the stronger to rule the weaker, and claims merit for Athens in
abstaining from excessive abuse of her power. The Athenians, we may
believe, had been tainted by the baseness of their confederates. In
the early days of the Delian league they had not attempted to educate
the Greeks whom they led up to the standard of their own splendid
zeal,--or, if the attempt had been made, it was unsuccessful. They had
taken upon themselves the whole burden of a great public duty, and
standing alone, without moral support from their countrymen, they had
gradually fallen away from the pure and lofty virtues of their
ancestors. This decay of public morality proceeds with rapid strides
in the years which follow, and we shall presently hear the doctrine