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Old World Worthies; Or, Classical Biography
Old World Worthies Or Classical Biography Author:Plutarch General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1875 Original Publisher: W.P. Nimmo Subjects: Greece Rome History / Ancient / General History / Ancient / Greece History / Ancient / Rome History / Europe / Greece Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may ... more »be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: DEMOSTHENES. BORN B. C. 382 -- DIED 322. DEMOSTHENES, the father of Demosthenes, was one of the principal citizens of Athens. Theo- pompus tells us he was called the "sword-cutler," because he employed a great number of slaves in that business. As to what yEschines the orator relates concerning his mother, that she was the daughter of one Gylon, who was forced to fly for treason against the commonwealth, and of a barbarian woman, we cannot take upon us to say whether it was dictated by truth, or by falsehood and malignity. He had a large fortune left him by his father, who died when he was only seven years of age; the whole being estimated at little less than fifteen talents. But he was greatly wronged by his guardians, who converted part to their own use, and suffered part to lie neglected. Nay, they were vile enough to defraud his tutors of their salaries. This was the chief reason that he had not those advantages of education to which his quality entitled him. His mother did not chose that he should be put to hard and laborious exercises, on account of the weakness and delicacy of his frame; and his preceptors, being ill paid, did not press him to attend them. Indeed, from the first he was of a slender and sickly habit, insomuch that the boys are said to havegiven him the contemptuous name of " Batalus " for his natural defects. His ambition to speak in public is said to have taken its rise on this occasion. The orator Callistratus was...« less