corn which he was at no pains to disguise; receiving their anger with
indifference, and their praises with contempt. His known probity also
gave him weight with the assembly. He was the only statesman of whom
Demosthenes stood in awe; who was accustomed to say, when Phocion rose,
"Here comes the pruner of my periods." But Phocion's desponding views,
and his mistrust of the Athenian people, made him an ill statesman at a
period which demanded the most active patriotism. He doubtless injured
his country by contributing to check the more enlarged and patriotic
views of Demosthenes; and though his own conduct was pure and
disinterested, he unintentionally threw his weight on the side of those
who, like Demades and others, were actuated by the basest motives.
This division of opinion rendered the operations of the Athenians for
the aid of the Olynthians languid and desultory. Town after town of
the confederacy fell before Philip; and in 347 Olynthus itself was
taken. The whole of the Chalcidian peninsula thus became a Macedonian
province.

The prospects of Athens now became alarming, her possessions in the
Chersonese were threatened, as well as the freedom of the Greek towns
upon the Hellespont. The Athenians had supported the Phocians in the
Sacred War, and were thus at war with Thebes. In order to resist
Philip the attention of the Athenians was now directed towards a
reconciliation with Thebes, especially since the treasures of Delphi
were nearly exhausted, and on the other hand the war was becoming every
year more and more burthensome to the Thebans. Nor did it seem
improbable that a peace might be concluded not only between those two
cities, but among the Grecian states generally. It seems to have been
this aspect of affairs that induced Philip to make several indirect
overtures to the Athenians in the summer of B.C. 347. In spite of
subsidies from Delphi the war had been very onerous to them, and they
received these advances with joy, and eventually agreed to the terms of
a peace. Having thus gained over the Athenians, Philip marched through
Thermopylae, and entered Phocis, which surrendered unconditionally at
his approach. He then occupied Delphi, where he assembled the
Amphictyons to pronounce sentence upon those who bad been concerned in
the sacrilege committed there. The council decreed that all the cities
of Phocia, except Abae, should be destroyed, and their inhabitants
scattered into villages conta