oken and desired to be held up, because already he
began to tremble and stagger, as he was going forward, and passing by
the altar, he fell down, and with a groan gave up the ghost.

Ariston says that he took the poison out of a reed, as we have shown
before. And Eratosthenes also says that he kept the poison in a hollow
ring, which he wore about his arm. There are various other statements
made by the many authors who have related the story, but there is no
need to enter into their discrepancies; yet I must not omit what is said
by Demochares, the relation of Demosthenes, who is of opinion, it was
not by the help of poison that he met with no sudden and so easy a
death, but that by the singular favor and providence of the gods he
was thus rescued from the cruelty of the Macedonians. He died on
the sixteenth of Pyanepsion, the most sad and solemn day of the
Thesmophoria, which the women observe by fasting in the temple of the
goddess.

Soon after his death, the people of Athens bestowed on him such honors
as he had deserved. They erected his statue of brass; they decreed that
the eldest of his family should be maintained in the Prytaneum; and on
the base of his statue was engraven the famous inscription,--

Had you for Greece been strong, as wise you were,
The Macedonian had not conquered her.

A little before we went to Athens, the following incident was said to
have happened. A soldier, being summoned to appear before his superior
officer, and answer to an accusation brought against him, put a little
gold which he had into the hands of Demosthenes's statue. The fingers
of this statue were folded one within another, and near it grew a small
plane-tree, from which many leaves, either accidentally blown thither by
the wind, or placed so on purpose by the man himself, falling together,
and lying round about the gold, concealed it for a long time. In the
end, the soldier returned, and found his treasure entire, and the fame
of this incident was spread abroad. And many ingenious persons of
the city competed with each other, on this occasion, to vindicate the
integrity of Demosthenes, in several epigrams which they made on the
subject.

As for Demades, he did not long enjoy the new honors he now came in
for, divine vengeance for the death of Demosthenes pursuing him into
Macedonia, where he was justly put to death by those whom he had basely
flattered.

CICERO

It is generally said that Helvia, the mo