As a youth in ancient Athens, I had a severe speech impediment, and people jeered at my stuttering when I addressed my first large public assembly.The son of a prosperous sword maker, I was orphaned when I was only 8. My guardians so pilfered my estate that little was left when I came of age. Seeking justice, I successfully pleaded my own case and won damages. To improve my elocution, I talked with pebbles in my mouth and recited verses while running along the seashore over the roar of the waves.My diligent work was successful and at the age of 25 I had entered public life. I had won popularity and power when King Philip of Macedon was beginning the conquest of Greece. Realizing the peril, I made eloquent appeals for my 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 my warnings and I was falsely accused of taking a bribe. I was fined and imprisoned but escaped. When my final effort to obtain freedom for Greece failed, I swallowed poison from his pen and died.My greatest oration is entitled `On the Crown'. I delivered it in 330 BC. It was a review and justification of my public life and a condemnation of my bitter rival, Aeschines, who was forced into exile.Now, I am back to serve the world, to save it from its own rulers. Join me in my rebellion against those who are misguided in the governments of the world.make
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