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STATESMEN AND ORATORS. 173them, two things should not be forgotten.First ;less depended on the winds than, in modern tactics for the tri;remes were moved rather by oars than sails. Secondly ;where battles were always fought near at hand, and the shipsalways ran alongside of each other, the manoeuvres of thefleets could not be so various or so important, as where theships remain at a certain distance, and manoeuvres are performed during the whole action. But though the navaltactics of the moderns are more difficult and intricate, wemust not infer that the naval battles of the ancients werecomparatively insignificant. They decided wars in ancienttimes much more frequently than in modern ;and if the lossof men is to be taken into consideration, it might easily beshown, that one naval battle of the ancients often swept awaymore men, than three or even more in our age.CHAPTER XIII.STATESMEN AND ORATORS,THE character of the statesmen in republicslike the Grecianmust, in many respects,differ from the statesmen of themodern European monarchies ;and can be sketched withdifficulty.Yet it is necessary to form a distinct conceptionof the sphere of action in which those men exerted themselves, who justly form the pride of antiquity.But itmayseem the less superfluous to enter into this subject, sincewe shall thus gain an opportunity of forming more correctopinions respecting several of those men. Though Athenswas their home and the theatre of their actions, they werethe property of Greece ;and are here to be held upas therepresentatives of so many others, of whom historyhas preserved for us less information, because they made their appearance in cities of less renown.The different character of the Grecian states necessarilyexercised an influence on the character of the statesmen,who appeared in them. Where the law exercised unlimitedpower, as it did in Sparta,there was no room for demagogues like those of Athens. But difference of time was as