41
and he would take each of us in turn to one side, and to one he would promise to open a subscription to help him in his private difficulties, and to another that he would get him elected general. As for me, he fol- lowed me about, congratulating me on my ability and praising my speech; so lavish was he in his compliments that I became sick and tired of him. And when we were all dining together at Larisa, he made fun of himself and the embarrassment which had come upon him in his speech, and he declared that Philip was the most wonderful man under the sun.
42
When I had added my testimony, saying something like this, that Philip had shown excellent memory in his reply to what we had said, and when Ctesiphon, who was the oldest of us, speaking of his own advanced age and the number of his years, added that in all his many years he had never looked upon so charming and lovable a man, then this SisyphusA proverbial name for a cheat. here clapped his hands and said,
43
But, Ctesiphon, it will never do for you to tell the people that, nor would our friend here, meaning me, venture to say to the Athenians that Philip is a man of good memory and great eloquence. And we innocently, not foreseeing the trick of which you shall hear presently, allowed him to bind us in a sort of agreement that we would say this to you.Demosthenes dared them to do it; they accepted the challenge and wagered that they would. And he begged me earnestly not to fail to tell how Demosthenes also said something in support of our claim to Amphipolis.
