been responsible during the earlier invasion, but the more
limited Council or Court of the Areopagus. The time had
not yet arrived for this venerable authority to be directly
assailed, but otherwise all traditional respect was becoming
seriously weakened during the later prosecution of the war; it
spirit of proud and even arrogant self-reliance spread among
the mass of the population, when each man, fighting with
zeal as if the event depended on himself; was almost per-
suaded that not even the general had contributed more to its
result. The urgency of the times gave opportunity and pro-
minence to men who never before had a chance of either, but,
when so put to the proof, were as worthy as the best. The
urgency of the strain might relax, but not so the ambition of
the many, who were ill-content to fall back in civil life into
places below those with whom they had ranked in the face of
danger as equals or superiors and who now had only a privi-
lege to plead and no sufficient reason. It was a familiar
principle and experience with the Greek, that political fran-
chise should and would be co-extensive with military service;
and now for the first time a victory at sea had been so im-
portant and so glorious, that the familiar maxim carried its
application to the entire nautical multitude.

The spirit, the enthusiasm, of democratical encroachment at
Athens was far from originating in these events, however
it might be revived and reinforced by them; the germ was of
far earlier origin, had made good several stages of progress,
and to its movement was not inconsiderably due the vigour of
the Athenian patriotic exertions at this time as on some earlier
occasions; so manifestly is concentrated energy associated
with ¹ freedom. Athenian poets were fond of dating democni-
tical institutions as far back as mythecal times, extravigrantly
enough, though more plausibly than when they, imputed
Spartan characteristies to the subjects of Menelaus. But

-208-