Panathenaicus

Isocrates

Panathenaicus

Isocrates · Pana 254 · perseus-eng2 · More by Isocrates

Choose a text id="mobileReaderAuthor" class="mobile-reader-author" href="/authors/isocrates" aria-label="More works by Isocrates"> â€”

â‹¯

Primary version Secondary version

Original / primary: Perseus Eng2

201

He came, upon being summoned, and, having read through my discourse (for why take up time in relating what happened in the interval?) he took no offence at anything which I had written but, on the contrary, praised the speech in the highest possible terms and expressed views on each part of it which were very similar to those which I held. And yet it was manifest that he was not pleased with what I had said about the Lacedaemonians.

202

And he showed it forthwith; for he made bold to say that if the Spartans had done no other service to the Hellenes, at any rate, they deserved the gratitude of all men because they had discovered the best ways of life and not only followed these ways themselves but had taught them to the rest of the world.

203

This assertion, so brief and so brusque, furnished the reason why I did not close my speech at the point where I was inclined to end it. I thought that it would be shameful and reprehensible on my part to permit one who had been my pupil to make in my presence a statement which was unsound. With this in mind, I asked him whether he had no regard for his present auditors and was not ashamed of having said things which were impious and false and full of many contradictions.

204

“You will realize,” I said, “that your assertion is such as I have declared it to be if you will ask any intelligent men, first what they think are the best ways of life, and next how long a time has passed since the Lacedaemonians settled in the Peloponnesus. For there is no one who, among the ways of life, will not give preference to the practice of reverence in relation to the gods and of justice in relation to mankind and of wisdom in relation to all activities in general, and they will tell you that the Spartans have lived in the Peloponnesus not more than seven hundred years.

205

These things being so, if you speak the truth when you assert that they were the discoverers of the best ways of life, then it must follow that those who lived many generations before the Spartans settled there had no part in them—neither those who made the expedition against

205

Troy

205

nor those who were of the generation of Heracles and Theseus or of Minos, son of Zeus, or Rhadamanthus or Aeacus

205

1

205

or any of the others who are celebrated in song for the virtues which I have mentioned, but that all of them have in this respect a reputation which is false.

206

But if, on the other hand, you are speaking nonsense, and if it is fitting that men who were descended from gods should have cultivated these virtues more than all others and transmitted them to their successors as well, then you cannot escape being thought mad by all who hear you for being so reckless and unjust and undiscriminating in your praise. Furthermore, if you were praising them without having heard any of my speech, you would no less be speaking drivel, but you would not be manifestly contradicting yourself.

207

But now, since you have commended my discourse, which proves that the Lacedaemonians have committed many outrages both against their own kinsmen and the rest of the Hellenes, how could you then say that those who are open to these charges have been the leaders in the best ways of life

208

“Moreover, this consideration also has escaped you, that the things which have been overlooked, whether in ways of living or in the arts or in all other activities, are not discovered by any and every one, but by men who have superior endowments and are both able to learn the most of what has been discovered before their time and willing more than all others to give their minds to the search for what is new.

209

But in these respects the Lacedaemonians are more backward than the barbarians. For you will find that the latter have been both pupils and teachers of many discoveries, while the Lacedaemonians have fallen so far behind our common culture and learning that they do not even try to instruct themselves in letters

209

1

209

—a science which has so much power that those who understand and use it become apprized not only of the things which have been accomplished in their own time but also of the things which have come to pass in any age whatsoever.

210

Nevertheless, you have made bold to assert even of those who are ignorant of such matters that they have been the discoverers of the best ways of life, and that too when you know that they train their own boys in habits and practices by which they hope that, so far from becoming the benefactors of others, they will become most adept in doing injury to the Hellenes.

211

“Were I to go through all of these practices, I should greatly fatigue both myself and my hearers, but if I mention only a single one—one which they cherish most and by which they set most store—I think that I can put before you their whole manner of life. For every day they send out their boys, from the very cradle, as it were, with such companions as each may prefer, ostensibly to hunt, but in reality to steal

211

1

211

the property of the people who live in the country.

212

In this practice, those who are caught are punished with fines and blows, while those who have accomplished the greatest number of thefts and have been able to escape detection enjoy a higher esteem among their fellow-youths than the others, and when they attain to manhood, provided they remain true to the ways which they practised in youth, they are in line for the most important offices.

213

“If anyone can point out an education which is more cherished by them or by which they set greater store than this, I am willing to grant that there is not a word of truth in what I have said about anything whatsoever. And yet what is there in such conduct that is good or admirable and not, on the contrary, shameful? How can we fail to condemn the folly of those who extol men who have so far departed from our common laws and are in no respect of the same way of thinking as either the Hellenes or the barbarians?

214

For the rest of the world looks upon malefactors and thieves as more depraved than slaves, whereas the Lacedaemonians regard those who stand first in such crimes as the best among their youths and honor them the most. And yet who that is in his right mind would not prefer to die many times rather than be known as seeking through such practices to school himself in virtue?”

215

When he heard this, he did not answer arrogantly any of the things which I had said, neither, on the other hand, was he altogether silent, but remarked as follows: “You”—meaning myself—“have spoken as if I applauded all of the ways of Sparta and considered them good. But in fact I think that you are right in condemning the Spartans for the licence practised by their youth and for many other things as well, but wrong in attacking me.

216

For I was troubled on reading your speech by what you had said about the Lacedaemonians, but much more by my own inability to utter a single word in their defence against what you had written, accustomed as I had been at all other times to commend you. And when I found myself in this perplexity, I said the only thing I could, namely, that for this reason at least, if for no other, they deserved the gratitude of all of us, because they followed the best ways of life.

217

However, I said this, not with any thought of reverence or justice or wisdom—the virtues which you mentioned

217

1

217

—but having in mind the athletic practices which have been instituted among them, their training in courage, their spirit of concord, and, in a word, their discipline for war. These all men will commend, and will concede that the Spartans practise them most of all.”

218

When he had said this, I accepted his explanation, feeling that it did not break down any of the criticisms which I had made but that it covered up, not without tact, nay, with good taste, the crudeness of his previous utterance, and that his defence on the other points showed greater moderation than his former brusque assertion. Nevertheless, though I dismissed that matter, I stated that with reference to these very claims which he made for the Spartans I had an attack which was much more damaging than what I had said on the subject of stealing among their youths.

219

“For by that practice,” I said, “they ruined their own youths, and by these which you have just mentioned, they seek to destroy the Hellenes. And it is easy to see at a glance that this is so for I think that all men will agree that those men are the basest and deserve the severest punishment who take the discoveries which have been made for our benefit and use them for the injury,

220

not of the barbarians nor of those who wrong them nor of those who invade their territory, but of those who are their nearest kin and share the same blood with them.

220

1

220

And this is what the Spartans have done. And yet with what conscience can we say that they make good use of their warlike practices who have at all times without ceasing sought to destroy those whom it behoved them to save?

221

“In truth, however, it is not you alone who fail to distinguish those who make good use of things, but, I might almost say, the great majority of the Hellenes. For whenever they see or hear from others that any people devote themselves zealously to what appear to be good practices, they extol them and make many speeches about them, without knowing what will be the effects of this devotion.

222

However, those who desire to form a correct judgement about such people should remain silent and have no opinion about them in the beginning, but when the time comes when they can observe them both speaking and taking action regarding both private and public affairs,

223

then they should take accurate note of what they do in each case; and when men make good use of the things which they have practised, they should praise and honor them, but when they go wrong and do evil they should censure and abhor them and guard themselves against their ways, bearing in mind that things do not of their own nature either help or harm us, but that the manner in which they are used and employed by men is the cause of all the things which befall us.

223

1

223

One may grasp the truth of this from the following consideration:

224

things which are in themselves always the same and never different are to some helpful and to others harmful. And yet it is not conceivable that each thing should have a nature which itself is contrary to itself and not the same. But, on the other hand, who that can reason correctly will not look upon it as natural that the consequences should be by no means the same in the case of those who act rightly and justly and in the case of those who act willfully and wickedly?

225

“This same argument applies also to the matter of concord; for this is not different in its nature from the things which I have discussed; on the contrary, we shall find that it is in some instances the cause of very many blessings, but in others of the greatest evils and misfortunes. And I contend that the concord of the Spartans is of the latter sort. For I shall speak the truth even at the risk of appearing to some to say what is quite contrary to the general opinion.

226

For by being of one mind amongst themselves regarding the outside world they have always striven to set the Hellenes at variance with each other, reducing this practice, as it were, to a fine art and they have always looked upon the cruellest of evils which befell the other states as of all things in the world the greatest of boons to themselves; for when the states were in such stress, they found it possible to manage them as they pleased. So that no one could justly praise them because of their concord, any more than one could praise pirates or brigands or men given to other forms of injustice. For such men also enjoy concord among themselves

226

1

226

and thereby seek to destroy all others.

227

But if I appear to some to use a comparison which is not in keeping with the reputation of the Spartans, I discard this and instance the Triballians,

227

1

227

who, according to what all men say, are of one mind as are no other people on earth, but are bent on destroying not only those who border upon their territory and those who live in their neighborhood but also all others whom they are able to reach.

228

But men who pretend to excellence must not imitate their example but much rather the power of wisdom and of justice and of the other virtues. For these do not work for the benefit of their own natures,

228

1

228

but whomsoever they visit and abide with—these they bless with prosperity and happiness. But the Lacedaemonians do the very opposite: whomsoever they approach they seek to destroy and they are ever striving to appropriate all the good things which belong to the world at large.”

229

Having said these things, I silenced the man to whom I had addressed my remarks, albeit he was able and experienced in many things and had been trained in speaking no less than any of those who had been under my instruction. However, the youths who had been present at all this discussion did not form the same judgement as myself, but, while they applauded me both for having spoken more vigorously than they anticipated and for having debated well, they disparaged my opponent, although in fact they judged neither of us correctly

230

but missed the truth as to us both. For he went his way, having grown wiser and feeling chastened in spirit, as is becoming to men of intelligence he had experienced the force of the inscription at Delphi and come to know both himself and the nature of the Lacedaemonians better than before. I, on the other hand, remained, having perhaps debated effectively, but having because of this very fact shown less understanding, cherishing a greater pride than befits men of my age, and given over to youthful confusion.

231

Manifestly I was in such a state of mind; for when I seized a moment of quiet, I did not cease until I had dictated to my boy

231

1

231

the speech which a short time before I had delivered with pleasure but which a little later was to cause me distress. For when, after three or four days had elapsed, I was reading and going over it, I found that, while I was not troubled about the things which I had said about Athens (for in everything which had reference to her I had written well and justly),

232

yet I was distressed and uncomfortable about what I had said with reference to the Lacedaemonians. For it seemed to me that I had not spoken of them with moderation nor in the same manner as the rest of the world but with contempt and with extreme bitterness and altogether without understanding. The result was that I was often on the point of blotting out or burning what I had written and as often changed my mind when I thought with pity of my old age and of the labour which had been spent upon my discourse.

233

Since I was in this state of confusion, shifting frequently from one impulse to the other, I decided that the best thing for me to do was to call in those of my former disciples who lived in the city and take counsel with them as to whether my discourse was to be entirely destroyed or to be distributed among those who desired to have it, and to follow their judgement whatever it might be. Having so resolved, I lost no time; they whom I have mentioned were summoned at once; I announced to them beforehand the object of their coming together the speech was read aloud, was praised and applauded and accorded even such a reception as is given to successful declamations.

233

1

234

But when all this demonstration had come to an end, the others present began to talk among themselves, presumably about the discourse which had been read. But the man whom I had sent for at first to obtain his advice (the panegyrist of the Lacedaemonians, to whom I had spoken at greater length than I should), having remained silent in the meantime, turned to me and said that he was in doubt what to do in the present situation, for he desired neither to discredit the words which I had spoken nor was he able to credit them entirely.

235

“For I wonder,” he continued, “whether you were as distressed and uncomfortable about the things which you had said concerning the Lacedaemonians as you allege—for I see nothing in what you have written to indicate such a feeling—and whether you really brought us together because you desired to get our advice about your discourse, since you knew well enough that we always commend whatever you say or do. Men of intelligence are accustomed to take common counsel with others regarding matters about which they are concerned, preferably with those who are wiser than themselves, but, at any rate, with those who will express their own judgement. But you have done the very opposite.

236

Therefore I accept neither of these explanations but am rather of the opinion that you summoned us here and pronounced your encomium on Athens, not ingenuously nor for the reason you stated to us, but because you wanted to test us to see if we were true to the cultivated life, if we remembered what had been said to us under your tutelage, and if we could grasp at once the manner in which your speech was written—

237

that you chose, and chose wisely, to eulogize your own city in order that you might gratify the multitude of your fellow-citizens and that you might win the acclaim of those who are friendly disposed towards you. But having so decided, you conceived that if you confined your discourse to Athens alone and repeated the fables about her which fall easily from the lips of everyone, your speech would appear no different from those which had been composed by the other orators (which would cause you extreme humiliation and distress),

238

whereas if you discarded these fables and dealt with her acknowledged achievements, which have brought many blessings to the Hellenes, and compared these with the deeds of the Lacedaemonians, praising the achievements of your ancestors and censuring the things which have been done by the Lacedaemonians, not only would your discourse make a more striking impression upon your hearers but you yourself would lose no ground, and many would admire such a treatment of the theme more than what had been written by the other orators.

239

“At the first, then, so it appears to me, this was the manner in which you reviewed and thought upon your problem. But since you knew that you had praised the government of the Spartans more than any other man,

239

1

239

you feared lest you might impress those who had heard this praise as no different from the orators who speak without conviction or principle, if, that is to say, you censured on the present occasion those whom you formerly were wont to praise above all others. Pondering this difficulty, you proceeded to study in what light you could represent each of these two cities in order that you might seem to speak the truth about them both and that you might be able to praise your ancestors, just as you purposed to do, and at the same time to appear to be censuring the Spartans in the eyes of those who have no liking for them, while in reality doing nothing of the sort but covertly praising them instead.

240

Seeking such an effect, you found without difficulty arguments of double meaning, which lend themselves no more to the purpose of those who praise than of those who blame, but are capable of being turned both ways and leave room for much disputation—arguments the employment of which, when one contends in court over contracts for his own advantage, is shameful and no slight token of depravity but, when one discourses on the nature of man and of things, is honorable and bespeaks a cultivated mind.

240

1

241

Even such is the discourse which has been read, in which you have represented your ancestors as devoted to peace and lovers of the Hellenes and champions of equality in the government of states, but have painted the Spartans as arrogant and warlike and self-seeking, as indeed they have been conceived by all men to be. “Such being the nature of each of these two cities, the Athenians are extolled by all men and are credited with being friendly to the masses, while the Spartans are envied and disliked by the majority of men.

242

There are, however, those who praise them and admire them and make bold to say that they have greater advantages than were possessed by your ancestors. For arrogance partakes of dignity—a quality held in high esteem—and men of that character are regarded as more high-minded than those who champion equality, just as those who are warlike are regarded as superior to those who are peaceable. For the latter are neither seekers after what they do not have nor staunch guardians of what they possess, while the former are effective in both respects—both in seizing whatever they covet and in keeping whatever they have once made their own.

243

And this is what is done by those who are men in the complete sense.

243

1

243

But the eulogists of

243

Sparta

243

think they have even a stronger plea for self-seeking than what I have said. For they do not consider that men who break contracts and cheat and falsify accounts deserve to be termed self-seeking; for because they are in bad repute with all men they come off worse in all circumstances, whereas the self-seeking of the Spartans and of kings and despots is a gift from heaven which all men crave.

244

It is true that those who hold such power are the objects of abuse and execration but no man is so constituted by nature that he would not pray to the gods to be granted this power, preferably for himself, but, failing that, for those nearest and dearest to him. And this fact makes it manifest that all men regard it as the greatest good in the world to have the advantage over others. “It was, then, with such thoughts, as it seems to me, that you planned the general scope of your discourse.

245

But if I believed that you would refrain from revising what has been said and would let this discourse stand without criticism, I would not myself attempt to speak further. As it is, however, I do not suppose that you will feel disturbed in the least because I did not speak out my opinion on the question about which I was called in to advise you, for even at the time when you called us together you did not seem to me to be really concerned about it.

246

I suppose rather that you will object that, whereas you have deliberately chosen to compose a discourse which is not at all like any other, but which to those who read it casually will appear to be ingenuous and easy to comprehend, though to those who scan it thoroughly and endeavor to see in it what has escaped all others it will reveal itself as difficult and hard to understand, packed with history and philosophy, and filled with all manner of devices and fictions—not the kind of fictions which, used with evil intent, are wont to injure one’s fellow-citizens, but the kind which, used by the cultivated mind, are able to benefit or to delight one’s audience,—

247

you will object, I say, that, whereas you have chosen to do this, yet I have not allowed any of this to stand as you resolved that it should, but that I fail to see that in seeking both to explain the force of your words and to expound your real thoughts I thereby lessen the reputation of the discourse in proportion as I make it more patent and intelligible to its readers; for by implanting understanding in those who are without knowledge I render the discourse naked and strip it of the honor which would otherwise attach to it through those who study hard and are willing to take pains.

248

“But, while I acknowledge that my own intelligence is vastly inferior to your own, yet as surely as I appreciate this fact so surely do I know that in times when your city deliberates on matters of the greatest import those who are reputed to be the wisest some times miss the expedient course of action, whereas now and then some chance person from the ranks of men who are deemed of no account and are regarded with contempt hits upon the right course and is thought to give the best advice.

249

It would not, then, be surprising if something of the sort has come to pass in the present instance, where you think that you will gain the greatest credit if you conceal for the longest possible time the purpose you had in mind when you worked out your discourse, whereas I think that you will best succeed if you can with the least possible delay publish the thought by which you were governed when you composed it to all the world and especially to the Lacedaemonians, whom you have often discussed, sometimes with fairness and dignity, but then again with recklessness and extreme captiousness.

250

“For if one were to show them a discourse of the latter sort before I had explained it to them, they would inevitably hate you and dislike you for having written in denunciation of them. As it is, I think that while most of the Lacedaemonians will continue to abide in the ways to which they have been faithful in past times and will pay no more attention to what is written in Athens than to what is said beyond the Pillars of Heracles,

251

yet the most intelligent among them, who possess and admire certain of your writings, will not misapprehend anything of what is said in this discourse if they can find someone who will interpret it to them, and if they can take the time to ponder over it by themselves; on the contrary, they will appreciate the praise given to their own city, which is based on proof, while they will dismiss with contempt the abuse, which is uttered at random with no regard to the facts, and is offensive only in the words employed; and they will think that envy slipped in the calumnies which are found in your treatise,

252

but that you have recorded the exploits and the battles in which they themselves take great pride and because of which they enjoy a high repute with the rest of the world, and that you have made these achievements memorable by collecting them all and placing them side by side with each other and so have brought it about that many of the Spartans long to read and peruse your accounts of them, not because they crave to hear of their own deeds,

253

but because they wish to hear how you have dealt with them. And as they think and dwell upon these deeds, they will not fail to recall also those ancient exploits through which you have glorified their ancestors,

253

1

253

but will often talk of them amongst themselves; and first of all they will tell of the time when, being still Dorians, they saw their own cities to be inglorious and insignificant and in need of many things, and, feeling them to be unworthy, took the field against the leading states of the Peloponnesus—against Argos and

253

Lacedaemon

253

and

253

Messene

253

—

254

conquered them in battle and drove the vanquished both from their cities and from their lands, and seized for themselves at that time all the possessions of the enemy and have continued to hold them to this day. And no man can point to a greater or a more marvellous achievement in those times nor to an enterprise more fortunate or more blessed of the gods than that which delivered those who engaged in it from their own poverty and placed them in possession of the prosperity of others.

255

“These were victories won with the aid of all who joined in that expedition. But after they had divided the territory with the Argives and the Messenians and for themselves had settled in Sparta—at this juncture, as you say, they were so proud that although they then numbered no more than two thousand men

255

1

255

they considered themselves unworthy to live unless they could make themselves masters of all the cities in the

255

Peloponnesus

255

.

256

In this state of mind, they undertook to wage war and did not cease, albeit they were involved in many misadventures and dangers, before they had reduced them all to subjection, except the city of the Argives. But when at length they held the greatest territory and the strongest power in Hellas and a reputation appropriate to men who had achieved such mighty things, they continued no less to pride themselves upon the fact that they could boast of a record unique and glorious:

257

for they, alone of the Hellenes, could say that, albeit so few in number, they had never followed the lead or done the bidding of any one of the populous states, but had throughout been free and independent; and that they themselves in the war against the barbarians had held the place of leadership among all the Hellenes and had attained this honor, not without good reason, but because they had fought more battles than any other people in those times and had never been defeated in any one of them, when a king led them forth to battle, but had been victorious in all.

258

And no one could urge a stronger proof than this of their valor and their hardihood and of their concord amongst themselves, except that which I shall now mention: for of all the other Hellenic states, many as they are, no man could cite or find a single one which has not been involved in the misadventures which are wont to happen to states,

259

whereas in the city of the Spartans no one can show an instance of civil faction or slaughter or unlawful exile, nor of seizure of property or outrage to women and children, nor even of revolution or abolition of debts or redistribution of lands, nor of any other of the irreparable ills.

259

1

259

And as the Spartans review these facts, they cannot fail to remember you also, who have collected them and discoursed upon them so ably, and to be most grateful to you.

260

“But I do not now have the same feeling about you as I had formerly. For in time past I admired your natural endowments and the manner in which you ordered your life and your devotion to work and above all the truth of your teaching, but now I envy and congratulate you because of your good fortune. For it seems to me that during your lifetime you will gain a reputation, not greater than you deserve—for that would be difficult—but one more widely extended and more heartily acknowledged than that which you now possess, and that after you have ceased to live you will partake of immortality,

260

1

260

not the immortality which the gods enjoy, but that which plants in future generations a remembrance of those who have distinguished themselves in any noble endeavor.

261

And you will deserve this reward; for you have extolled both these cities well and fittingly—Athens, according to the acclaim of the majority, which no man of note has ever disdained, while all men in their craving to obtain it are ready to submit themselves to any hazard whatsoever; but Sparta, according to the reasoning of those who endeavor to aim at the truth, whose good opinion some would choose in preference to that of all the rest of the world, even were mankind to number twice as many as now.

262

“I am insatiable in my desire to speak on the present occasion and I still have many things which I might say concerning you and these two cities and your discourse, but I shall forgo these subjects and declare myself only upon the question about which, as you say, you called me in to advise you. I counsel you, then, not to burn or to suppress your discourse, but—if there be any need of so doing—to revise and supplement it and then give to those who desire it the benefit of all the time and pains which you have spent upon its composition,

263

if indeed you wish to gratify the worthiest among the Hellenes—those who are in truth devoted to culture and do not merely pretend to it—and to annoy those who secretly admire your writings above all others but malign your discourses before the crowds at the national festivals, in which those who sleep outnumber those who listen;

263

1

263

for these speakers hope that if only they can hoodwink such audiences their own compositions will rival yours in popular favour, little realizing that their work is farther below the level of yours than the poets who have essayed to compose in the manner of Homer fall short of his reputation.”

264

When he had said these things and had asked those present to express their opinion on the question about which they had been called in, they did not merely accord him the applause with which they were wont to greet a clever speech but signified by tumultuous shouts that he had spoken excellently; they crowded around him, praised him, envied him, congratulated him, and found nothing to add to what he had said or to subtract therefrom, but showed that they were of his opinion and advised me to do the very thing which he had urged.

265

Nor did I, for my part, stand silently by; on the contrary, I praised both his native ability and his training, although beyond that I uttered not a word about the sentiments which he had expressed, as to how his conjecture had hit upon my purpose or missed the mark, but let him remain of the same opinion which he had formed for himself.

266

Now as to the subject which I undertook to discuss, I think that I have said enough; for to review in detail the points which have been made

266

1

266

not in keeping with discourses such as this. But I do wish to relate my personal experiences in relation to its composition.

267

I entered upon it at the age which I have already stated at the beginning.

267

1

267

But when I had written half of it, I was attacked by a malady which it is not decorous to name,

267

2

267

but which is powerful enough to carry off in the course of three or four days not only older people but many in the prime of life. I battled against this disease without respite for three years, and I passed every day of that time with such devotion to my work that those who knew of my industry as well as those who learned of it from them admired me more because of this fortitude than because of the things for which I had formerly been praised.

269

When, however, I had at length given up my work both because of my illness and of my age, certain of those who were in the habit of paying me visits, and who had read again and again the portion of my discourse which I had written, begged and urged me not to leave it half-finished or incomplete, but to work upon it for a short time and to give my thoughts to what remained to be done.

269a

They did speak as men do who perfunctorily acquit themselves of a duty, but praised extravagantly what I had written, saying about it such things that if any people had heard them who were not my personal friends and kindly disposed towards me, they could not possibly have failed to suppose that my visitors were trying to make a fool of me and that I had lost my wits and was altogether a simpleton if I allowed myself to be persuaded of what they said.

270

But, although I had this feeling about the things which they made bold to state, I did allow myself to be persuaded (for why make a long story of it?) to occupy myself with the completion of the discourse, at a time when I lacked but three years of having lived a century and when I was in a state of infirmity such that anyone else similarly afflicted, so far from undertaking to write a discourse of his own, would not even be willing to listen to one worked out and submitted by another.

271

Why, then, have I gone into these matters? Not because I think that I should ask indulgence for the things which I have discussed—for I do not feel that I have spoken of them in a manner to require this—but because I desire both to relate my personal experiences and to commend those among my hearers who not only applaud this speech but prefer, as more weighty and more worthy of serious study, discourses which are composed for instruction and, at the same time, with finished art

271

1

271

to others which are written for display or for the law-courts,

271

2

271

and who prefer for the same reason discourses which aim at the truth to those which seek to lead astray the opinions of their auditors, and discourses which rebuke our faults and admonish

271

3

271

us to those which are spoken for our pleasure and gratification.

271

4

272

I desire, on the other hand, to warn those of my hearers who are of a mind contrary to these, in the first place, not to trust in their own opinions nor to regard as true the judgements which are pronounced by the lazy-minded and, in the second place, not to publish hastily their views on things which they do not understand, but to wait until they can find themselves in accord with men who have much experience of matters submitted to them for judgement;

272

1

272

for if they will so govern their thoughts, no one can fail to approve their discretion.

Reader

Word analysis

Intertext edge

Note