e who _faced the foe_ at Marathon; those who _fought in the
sea-fights_ of Salamis and Artemisium; those who _stood in the ranks_ at
Plataea." Note that he nowhere says "those who _conquered_," artfully
suppressing any word which might hint at the successful issue of those
battles, which would have spoilt the parallel with Chaeronea. And for
the same reason he steals a march on his audience, adding immediately:
"All of whom, Aeschines,--not those who were successful only,--were
buried by the state at the public expense."

[Footnote 3: Lit. "That even in the midst of the revels of Bacchus
we ought to remain sober."]

XVII

There is one truth which my studies have led me to observe, which
perhaps it would be worth while to set down briefly here. It is this,
that by a natural law the Sublime, besides receiving an acquisition of
strength from figures, in its turn lends support in a remarkable manner
to them. To explain: the use of figures has a peculiar tendency to rouse
a suspicion of dishonesty, and to create an impression of treachery,
scheming, and false reasoning; especially if the person addressed be a
judge, who is master of the situation, and still more in the case of a
despot, a king, a military potentate, or any of those who sit in high
places.[1] If a man feels that this artful speaker is treating him like
a silly boy and trying to throw dust in his eyes, he at once grows
irritated, and thinking that such false reasoning implies a contempt of
his understanding, he perhaps flies into a rage and will not hear
another word; or even if he masters his resentment, still he is utterly
indisposed to yield to the persuasive power of eloquence. Hence it
follows that a figure is then most effectual when it appears in
disguise.

[Footnote 1: Reading with Cobet, +kai pantas tous en huperochais+.]

2
To allay, then, this distrust which attaches to the use of figures we
must call in the powerful aid of sublimity and passion. For art, once
associated with these great allies, will be overshadowed by their
grandeur and beauty, and pass beyond the reach of all suspicion. To
prove this I need only refer to the passage already quoted: "I swear it
by the men," etc. It is the very brilliancy of the orator's figure which
blinds us to the fact that it _is_ a figure. For as the fainter lustre
of the stars is put out of sight by the all-encompassing rays of the
sun, so when sublimity sheds its light all round the sophis