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And at a later time, when Alexander was campaigning in Asia and HarpalusHarpalus, treasurer of Alexander, embezzled a large sum and fled first to Tarsus, then, in 324 b.c., to Greece. came fleeing to Athens with money, at first Demosthenes kept him from being admitted, but after he had entered the harbour, Demosthenes accepted one thousand darics and changed his attitude, and when the Athenians wished to surrender the man to Antipater, he spoke against it and made a motion that Harpalus deposit the money on the Acropolis without even stating the amount to the people; and although Harpalus stated that he had brought with him seven hundred talents, that which was taken up to the Acropolis was found to amount to only three hundred and fifty or a little more, as Philochorus says. And after this, when Harpalus escaped from the prison in which he was being kept until a representative of Alexander should arrive, and had gone to Crete or, as some say, to Taenarum in Laconia, Demosthenes was accused of bribe-taking and of having this reason for not mentioning the amount of the money taken up or the carelessness of the guard. He was brought to trial by Hypereides, Pytheas, Menesaechmus, Himeraeus, and Patrocles, and they obtained his conviction by the Senate of the Areopagus; and after his conviction he went into exile, not being able to pay back five times the amount (he was accused of having accepted thirty talents), or, as some say, he did not wait for the trial. After this time the Athenians sent Polyeuctus as envoy to the commonwealth of the Arcadians in order to detach them from their alliance with the Macedonians, and when Polyeuctus was unable to persuade them, Demosthenes appeared to help him and did persuade them. For this he was admired, and after some time he was permitted to return, a decree in his favour having been passed and a trireme dispatched to bring him. When the Athenians passed a decree proposed by his cousin Demon of Paeania that he should use the thirty talents which he owed in adorning the altar of Zeus the Saviour at Peiraeus and should then be absolved, he returned on those conditions to public life.
