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.

while still others have occupied themselves with dialogue, and are called dialecticians.

Be assured, therefore, that you shall hear from me the whole truth, and in this spirit give me your attention.

They, again, are satisfied if through the prestige of their names they can draw a number of pupils into their society;

and, lastly, there is the fact of my present age, which is such as to deter others from such an undertaking.

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.

Nevertheless, I may not desist on that account from my task, but must carry it through to the end, if indeed I am enabled to live to do so, especially since many considerations impel me to write upon this theme myself:

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.

Panegyricus 176.

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.

On hearing this they went their way, I know not in what state of mind.

This was, in fact, the course which I had already advocated in the Panegyric discourse.

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.

This fellow Lacritus, men of the jury, has not come into court relying on the justice of his case, but realizing perfectly what he and his brothers have done in the matter of this loan;

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;

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.

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.

But it cannot fully fashion men who are without natural aptitude into good debaters or writers, although it is capable of leading them on to self-improvement and to a greater degree of intelligence on many subjects.

For I hold that to obtain a knowledge of the elements out of which we make and compose all discourses is not so very difficult if anyone entrusts himself, not to those who make rash promises, but to those who have some knowledge of these things.

I have done so many times and before many people.

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.

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;

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.

No doubt I have omitted much that might be said of Evagoras:

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;

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

for no good will come of the resolutions which have now been made regarding the peace unless we are well advised also with regard to what remains to be done.

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.

Addressing myself to these, I shall proceed with my theme, after first vaunting a little further my own powers.

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.

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;

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

nay, I know perfectly well that to discover actions which are noble, great, and advantageous is difficult and given to few men, whereas to praise your virtues I should have found an easy task.

Since I know, Archidamus, that many persons are eager to sing the praises of you, your father, and your family, I have chosen to leave to them that topic, since it would be a very easy one to treat.

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.

But now, when the Lacedaemonians are in such a plight that they are content if they can remain in possession of their own land, and when our city would gladly join with you as ally in any struggle that you should care to make in behalf of the welfare of Greece, how could there befall a more favorable opportunity than that which now presents itself to you?

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.