Aeschines paid tribute to the oratory of his greatest rival — whether he meant to or not.
Aeschines (389-314 BC) and Demosthenes (384-322 BC) were lawyers and statesmen of Athens, and rivals. Cicero, a Roman lawyer of a later generation, knew of their competitive relationship, and told this story to illustrate both their strength of feeling and also, hidden deeper than even Aeschines realised, their mutual respect.
Demosthenes was about sixteen when he decided he wanted to be a lawyer, but he was the most unpromising advocate imaginable.
Demosthenes (384-322 BC), the Athenian, is a household name for his eloquence, but brilliance came by labour. When he began his legal career, his weak and stuttering voice, poor breath control, gawky gestures and muddled sentences caused much amusement among seasoned advocates. Then one day he bumped into an actor named Satyrus, who had him repeat a few lines from Euripides.