A fine Italian Grand Tour bronze of Demostene on a variagated marble base. As a youth in ancient Athens, Demosthenes had a severe speech impediment, and people jeered at his stuttering when he addressed his first large public assembly. Demosthenes, the son of a prosperous sword maker, was orphaned when he was only 8. His guardians so pilfered his estate that little was left when Demosthenes came of age. Seeking justice, he successfully pleaded his own case and won damages. To improve his elocution, he talked with pebbles in his mouth and recited verses while running along the seashore over the roar of the waves. Demosthenes' diligent work was successful and at the age of 25 he had entered public life. He had won popularity and power when King Philip of Macedon was beginning the conquest of Greece. Realizing the peril, Demosthenes made eloquent appeals for his countrymen to unite and preserve their freedom. These powerful orations against Philip were known as philippics, a term still in use to describe any impassioned denunciation or tirade. The Athenians were too late in heeding Demosthenes ' warnings and he was falsely accused of taking a bribe. He was fined and imprisoned but escaped. When his final effort to obtain freedom for Greece failed, he swallowed poison from his pen and died. Demosthenes' greatest oration is entitled `On the Crown'. He delivered it in 330 BC. It was a review and justification of his public life and a condemnation of his bitter rival, Aeschines, who was forced into exile. 9.25 inces high ( 23.5 cms). Circa 1860.