Isocrates

From whence Thucydides gives the name of infinite space to unoccupied lands, and Isocrates speaking of that occupied by the Athenians calls it that which has been measured by us into alloted parts.

And the Lacedaemonians, we are informed by Isocrates, laid it down for a certain rule admitted among all nations, that the right to public territory as well as to private property was so firmly established by length of time, that it could not be disturbed;

Isocrates, and after him the Emperor Julian, has said that states are immortal, or may be so.

And as I kept thinking upon it, I came ever to the same conclusion, namely, that the only way in which I could accomplish this was to compose a discourse which would be, as it were, a true image of my thought and of my whole life;

For I think, now that the charge under which I formerly labored has been disproved, you are anxious to change your attitude and want to hear from me what sort of eloquence it is which has occupied me and given me so great a reputation.

for I have so lived all my life till now that no man either under the oligarchy or under the democracy has ever charged me with any offense, whether of violence or injury, nor will any man be found to have sat either as arbitrator or as judge upon my actions.

I wish, therefore, to preface my discussion with a word about myself and about those who have this attitude towards me, in order that, if only it lies within my power to do so, I may put an end to the abuse of my calumniators and give to the public a clear understanding of the work to which I am devoted.

I shall now proceed to discourse upon the benefactions of Athens to the Hellenes, not that I have not sung the praises of our city more than all others put together who have written in poetry or prose.

And yet I did not permit these disabilities to dishearten me nor did I allow myself to sink into obscurity or utter oblivion, but since I was barred from public life I took refuge in study and work and writing down my thoughts, choosing as my field, not petty matters nor private contracts, nor the things about which the other orators prate, but the affairs of Hellas and of kings and of states.

Tales autem sunt omnes quibus pars altera in iure suo imminuitur, iuxta Isocratis definitionem vocantis τὰ τοὺς ἑτέρους ἐλαττοῦντα παρὰ τὸ δίϰαιον.

Such conditions are all those by which one party is lessened in its own right, according to the definition of Isocrates.

Isocrates, Archidamos 51.

Well, then, does Isocrates in the Panathenaicus, having put the question "Whom, then, do I call educated?

Again, when Isocrates had said, "as being kin to his money, but not to him," Lysias in the Orphans' speeches says, "And it has become plain that he was kin not to their persons, but to their money.

" And again, when Isocrates had said, "We must conjecture the things to come from those that have come before," Andocides does not shrink from saying, "For one must use the things that have happened before as tokens concerning the things that shall be.

And that is why I endeavor in this way, for which my nature and powers are suited, to give advice to Athens and to the Hellenes at large and to the most distinguished among men.

Do not be surprised, Philip, that I am going to begin, not with the discourse which is to be addressed to you and which is presently to be brought to your attention, but with that which I have written about Amphipolis.

Now regarding myself, and regarding the course which you should take toward the Hellenes, perhaps no more need be said.

But just as Aristotle, a man of the highest genius, knowledge, and copiousness, when he was moved by the renown of the rhetorician Isocrates, began to teach young men to speak as well, and to join prudence with eloquence, so it is my resolve neither to lay aside my former zeal for speaking, and at the same time to occupy myself with this greater and richer art.

for his brothers were still youngish, in fact mere boys, but he was Lacritus, of Phaselis, a personage of note, a pupil of Isocrates.

For my own part, I swear by Zeus the king and by all the gods, I never made it a matter of reproach to anyone, men of the jury, nor blamed him, if he chose to be a sophist and to pay money to Isocrates;

Since, then, he is so clever, and trusts in his power of speaking and in the one thousand drachmae which he has paid to his teacher, bid him show you, either that they did not borrow the money from us, or that, having borrowed it, they have paid it back;

The plaintiff, however, who demands that you believe him as one speaking the truth, waited for three years after my father had spoken for the first time to Archebiades and the other friends of Cephisiades, and after they had refused to pay any attention to Callippus or to what he said;

But not to spend our time rehearsing ancient examples while others are available closer to our own times, you will discover that Timotheus was deemed worthy of the highest repute and numerous honors, not because of his activities as a younger man, but because of his performances after he had studied with Isocrates.

But in order that I may not appear to be breaking down the pretensions of others while myself making greater claims than are within my powers, I believe that the very arguments by which I myself was convinced will make it clear to others also that these things are true.

For I note that the bad repute which results therefrom does not affect the offenders only, but that all the rest of us who are in the same profession share in the opprobium.

However, if it is my duty not only to rebuke others, but also to set forth my own views, I think all intelligent people will agree with me that while many of those who have pursued philosophy have remained in private life, others, on the other hand, who have never taken lessons from any one of the sophists have become able orators and statesmen.

Furthermore, it is easy to judge of my purpose from the fact that in most of the discourses which I have written, you will find that I condemn oligarchies and special privileges, while I commend equal rights and democratic governments—not all of them, but those which are well-ordered, praising them not indiscriminately, but on just and reasonable grounds.

but it is for you to weigh all that I have said and cast your votes according to your judgement of what is best for Athens.

It is in favor of the democracy of our forefathers that I intend to speak, and this is the subject on which I gave notice that I would address you.

But that I may not seem to be doing the easiest thing in assailing what others have said without exhibiting any specimen of my own, I will try briefly to expound the same subject — even though it is not serious and does not call for a dignified style — and show out of what elements you ought to have composed the eulogy and the speech in defense.

And do not be astonished if I, who am younger than you and unrelated to you, essay so lightly to admonish you;

I have learned of your fairmindedness, Polycrates, and of the reversal in your life, through information from others;

For it has not escaped the notice of either me or anyone else that you, Nicocles, are the first and the only one of those who possess royal power, wealth, and luxury who has undertaken to pursue the study of philosophy, nor that you will cause many kings, emulating your culture, to desire these studies and to abandon the pursuits in which they now take too great pleasure.

I am fully aware that what I propose to do is difficult—to eulogize in prose the virtues of a man.

and you it behooves not to be negligent, but as at present so in the future to pay heed to yourself and to discipline your mind that you may be worthy of your father and of all your ancestors.

On the former topic, how a ruler should act, you have heard Isocrates speak;

Nevertheless, if it was ever appropriate to preface the discussion of any other subject with such words, it seems to me fitting also to begin with them in speaking upon the subject now before us.

But if anyone among those who are more fair-minded were to confront me and object, while conceding that I speak the truth and am correct in condemning the things which are taking place, that we have a right to expect of those who seek to admonish us with friendly purpose that they should not only denounce what has been done but should also counsel us what to abstain from and what to strive for in …

But those who admonish and those who denounce cannot avoid using similar words, although their purposes are as opposite as they can be.

And yet I have not failed to appreciate the fact that it is difficult to come forward last and speak upon a subject which has long been appropriated, and upon which the very ablest speakers among our citizens have many times addressed you at the public funerals;

on the contrary, believing that I shall have a sufficient reward in the approbation which my discourse will itself command, I have come before you to give my counsels on the war against the barbarians and on concord among ourselves.

For I observe that the other orators in their introductions seek to conciliate their hearers and make excuses for the speeches which they are about to deliver, sometimes alleging that their preparation has been on the spur of the moment, sometimes urging that it is difficult to find words to match the greatness of their theme.

By means of this study you will come to know how at the present time to form reasonably sound opinions about the future, how not ineptly to instruct your subject peoples what each should do, how to form correct judgements about the right and the just and their opposites and, besides, to reward and chastise each class as it deserves.

for you give hope to your father and to all the world that if, as you grow older, you hold fast to this course, you will as far surpass your fellow-men in wisdom as your father has surpassed all mankind.

As regards systems of philosophy, they say that while you do not indeed reject eristic, but hold that it is valuable in private discussions, you regard it nevertheless as unsuitable for either those who are leaders of the people or for monarchs; for it is not expedient or becoming that those who regard themselves as superior to all others should themselves dispute with their fellow-citizens or suf …

Although it is dangerous for us here in Athens to send a letter to Macedonia, not only now when we are at war with you, but even in time of peace, nevertheless I have decided to write to you concerning Diodotus, as I think it only right to esteem highly all those who have been my pupils and who have shown themselves worthy disciples, and not the least among them this man both because of his devoti …

for everything else I have neglected and have had thought for this one thing alone—to show my zeal on behalf of men who are my friends and who have become very dear to me.

and do you, I beg, whether he resides with you or remains inactive in that region, have a care for everything else which he may chance to need and especially for the personal safety of himself and of his father, considering them to be, as it were, a sacred trust committed to you by my old age, which might fittingly receive much consideration, and by the reputation I possess (if this, to be sure, i …

Now I might have spoken passably about even these matters, since I knew, in the first place, that it is easier to treat copiously in cursory fashion occurrences of the past than intelligently to discuss the future and, in the second place, that all men are more grateful to those who praise them than to those who advise them —for the former they approve as being well—disposed, but the latter, if th …

I for my part, however, pride myself so greatly on my ability that, even though I am now eighty years of age and altogether worn out, I think it is especially fitting to speak my mind on these matters, and also that I have been well advised in directing my appeal to you, and that it may well be that from my counsel some of the necessary measures will be taken.

That these things are practicable and expedient for you, for your city, and for all the Hellenes at large, it is now my task to explain.

And I shall be most grateful to the gods if I am not disappointed in the opinion which I have of you.

Now those who compose hortatory discourses addressed to their own friends are, no doubt, engaged in a laudable employment;

for, as it is the nature of the body to be developed by appropriate exercises, it is the nature of the soul to be developed by moral precepts.

If I were younger, I should not be sending you a letter, but should myself take ship and converse with you there;

but when written missives are used and any such misconception arises, there is no one to correct it, for since the writer is not at hand, the defender is lacking.

I know, to be sure, that when men essay to give advice, it is far preferable that they should come in person rather than send a letter, not only because it is easier to discuss the same matters face to face than to give their views by letter, nor yet because all men give greater credence to the spoken rather than to the written word, since they listen to the former as to practical advice and to th …

Now I, for my part, have offered you all the good counsels which I know, and I honor you with these gifts which I have at my command;

but as regards a king’s conduct in general, I shall attempt to set forth the objects at which he should aim and the pursuits to which he should devote himself.

For my part, I should think that this would be the finest and the most serviceable present and the most suitable for me to give and for you to receive—I could prescribe what pursuits you should aspire to and from what you should abstain in order to govern to the best advantage your state and kingdom.

nor am I highly esteemed by the masses or by those who form their opinions offhand, but, like yourself, I am misunderstood and disliked by them.

I know that all men are accustomed to be more grateful to those who praise them than to those who give them counsel, especially if one offers his advice unbidden.

but as it is, you will put an end to it without difficulty if you wish, but I must be content with the standing I now have because of my old age and for many other reasons.