28
This man is a hireling, Athenians, a hireling of long standing. It was he who summoned from Thebes the embassy coming to us from Philip and was responsible for finishing the first war.The first war with Macedon (349-346 B.C.) was undertaken by Athens and Olynthus against Philip. Even before Olynthus was taken the king made overtures of peace, and it was Philocrates who proposed in Athens that these negotiations should begin. However, after the fall of Olynthus in 348, the Athenians tried to unite other Greek states against Philip, and it was not until this attempt had failed that Demosthenes acquiesced in peace proposals. In 347 he defended Philocrates, who was accused of illegality in making his first peace proposals, and himself served on an embassy to Macedon. The final peace was signed in 346, when Antipater and Parmenio came to Athens as Philip's envoys. Philocrates was prosecuted by Hyperides in 343 for being bribed by Philip and went into exile. Cf. Hyp. frag. 16 He helped to defend Philocrates who proposed the peace with Philip and was exiled by you in consequence, he hired a carriage for the envoys who came here with Antipater, and by attaching them to himself, first introduced into the city the custom of flattering Macedon.
29
Do not acquit him, Athenians. Do not let go unpunished this man who has endorsed the misfortunes of his country and the rest of Greece, when he has been caught with bribes against the city in his very hands. Now that good fortune is improving your lot and, after expelling from the city one of the two who have defiled their country, has surrendered this other to you for execution, do not oppose all our interests yourselves but rather bring happier omens to our state affairs and divert our misfortunes on to the heads of these leaders.
