5
And the chief cause of our indignation is that we are so far from being judged worthy of equality with the rest of the Greeks that, although we are at peaceThis seems to be a reference to the peace of 374 B.C., made between Athens and Sparta (see Jebb, Attic Orators ii. p. 177). and although treaties exist, we not only have no share in the liberty which all the rest enjoy, but that we are not considered worthy of even a moderate condition of servitude.
6
We therefore beg of you, citizens of Athens, that you listen to our plea in a friendly spirit, reflecting that for us the most preposterous outcome of all would be, if those who have always been hostile to your city shall have regained their freedom through your efforts, but we, even when we supplicate you, should fail to obtain the same treatment as is accorded to your greatest enemies.
7
As for the events which have occurred in the past, I see no reason why I should speak of them at length. For who does not know that the Thebans have portioned out our land for pasturage and have razed our city to the ground? But it is with respect to their argument, by which they hope to deceive you, that we shall try to inform you.
8
At times, you know, they attempt to maintain that they have subjected us to this treatment because we were unwilling to be members of their federation.That is, to join the Boeotian Confederation, of which Thebes held the hegemony, and thus to be tributary (συντελεῖν) to the Thebans. But I ask you to consider, first, if on such grounds it is just to inflict penalties so contrary to justice and so cruel; next, if it seems to you consistent with the dignity of the city of the Plataeans, without their consent but under compulsion, to accept such dependence under the Thebans. For my part, I consider that there exists no people more overbearing than those who blot out the cities of each of us and compel us, when we have no use for it, to participate in their form of polity.
