ell-won fame thus
ignominiously at a tyrant's feet! No! I swear by Athene, by Father Zeus,
and by Apollo, that I will sooner starve in foreign lands than take one
step homeward, so long as the Pisistratidae hold my country in bondage.
When I leave the service of Amasis, I shall be free, free as a bird in
the air; but I would rather be the slave of a peasant in foreign lands,
than hold the highest office under Pisistratus. The sovereign power in
Athens belongs to us, its nobles; but Cimon by laying his chaplet at the
feet of Pisistratus has acknowledged the tyrants, and branded himself as
their servant. He shall hear that Phanes cares little for the tyrant's
clemency. I choose to remain an exile till my country is free, till her
nobles and people govern themselves, and dictate their own laws. Phanes
will never do homage to the oppressor, though all the Philaidae, the
Alkmaeonidae, and even the men of your own house, Kallias, the rich
Daduchi, should fall down at his feet!"

With flashing eyes he looked round on the assembly; Kallias too
scrutinized the faces of the guests with conscious pride, as if he would
say:

"See, friends, the kind of men produced by my glorious country!"

Taking the hand of Phanes again, he said to him: "The tyrants are as
hateful to me as to you, my friend; but I have seen, that, so long
as Pisistratus lives, the tyranny cannot be overthrown. His allies,
Lygdamis of Naxos and Polykrates of Samos, are powerful; but the
greatest danger for our freedom lies in his own moderation and prudence.
During my recent stay in Greece I saw with alarm that the mass of the
people in Athens love their oppressor like a father. Notwithstanding
his great power, he leaves the commonwealth in the enjoyment of Solon's
constitution. He adorns the city with the most magnificent buildings.
They say that the new temple of Zeus, now being built of glorious marble
by Kallaeschrus, Antistates and Porinus (who must be known to you,
Theodorus), will surpass every building that has yet been erected by the
Hellenes. He understands how to attract poets and artists of all kinds
to Athens, he has had the poems of Homer put into writing, and the
prophecies of Musaeus collected by Onomakritus. He lays out new streets
and arranges fresh festivals; trade flourishes under his rule, and the
people find themselves well off, in spite of the many taxes laid upon
them. But what are the people? a vulgar multitude who, like the gnats,
fly t