Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of the orations of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon in the fourth century BC.
- noun Any of the orations of Cicero against Antony in 44 BC.
- noun A verbal denunciation characterized by harsh, often insulting language; a tirade.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One of a series of orations delivered, in the fourth century
b. c. , by the Athenian orator Demosthenes, against Philip, king of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, in which the orator proclaims the imminent jeopardy of Athenian liberty, and seeks to arouse his fellow-citizens to a sense of their danger and to stimulate them to timely action against the growing power of Macedon. - noun Hence [lowercase] Any discourse or declamation full of acrimonious invective. The orations of Cicero against Mark Antony are called
philippics .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Any one of the series of famous orations of Demosthenes, the Grecian orator, denouncing Philip, king of Macedon.
- noun Hence: Any discourse or declamation abounding in acrimonious invective.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a speech of violent denunciation
Etymologies
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Examples
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Nothing can exceed the taste and beauty of those for the Manilian law, for Marcellus, for Ligarius, for Archias, and the ninth Philippic, which is principally in praise of Servius
Historical Sketches, Volume I (of 3) The Turks in Their Relation to Europe; Marcus Tullius Cicero; Apollonius of Tyana; Primitive Christianity John Henry Newman 1845
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It was on this occasion that Demosthenes delivered his second "Philippic" (344 B.C.), addressing himself principally to the Athenian sympathizers with
Mosaics of Grecian History Marcius Willson
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In his first "Philippic" Demosthenes tried to rouse his countrymen to energetic measures against this formidable enemy; but his warnings and exhortations produced little effect, for the Athenians were no longer distinguished by the same spirit of enterprise which had characterized them in the days of their supremacy.
A Smaller history of Greece From the earliest times to the Roman conquest William Smith 1853
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Anyone can knock out a simple, desultory Philippic, but can they make it whipsmart funny?
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It's been replayed endlessly, with Patrick Buchanan uttering a Philippic against it last night on MSNBC for several minutes.
Pride and Plagiarism. Ann Althouse 2008
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Cicero, in the second Philippic calls Antonius a catamite; but in
Satyricon 2007
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His first entering into public business was much about the time of the Phocian war, as himself affirms, and may be collected from his Philippic orations.
The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Plutarch 2003
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Mrs Mason said only that one word, but Demosthenes could not have put more vituperation into a whole Philippic; and yet, when the landlady came in to clear the table, Mrs Mason contrived to be at her loftiest.
Hornblower And The Hotspur Forester, C. S. 1962
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Sihler's Cicero's Second Philippic. 157 pages 1.00
A Handbook for Latin Clubs Susan Paxson
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It might perhaps heighten the effect of the picture, if I were to describe the appearance of Mr. Gladstone during the delivery of this fierce Philippic, -- the contracted brow, the compressed lip, the uneasy motion from side to side, and all the other customary manifestations of anger, mortification, and conscious defeat.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 Various
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