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+ WERE THE ATHENIANS MORE + FAMOUS IN WAR OR IN + WISDOM? + (BELLONE AN PACE CLARIORES FUERINT + ATHENIENSES) +
+ + INTRODUCTION +

+ Plutarch's discussion whether the Athenians were + more famous in war or in wisdom, sometimes referred + to by a briefer title. De Gloria Atheniensium, is an + epideictic oration like the preceding essays; we may + perhaps infer from the words (345 f), This city has + been the mother and kindly nurse of many other + arts, that it was delivered at Athens. Like the + preceding essays, it closes abruptly, and again we do + not know the reason therefor. +

+

Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his introduction to the + translation of Plutarch revised by Goodwin, says, + The vigor of his pen appears in the chapter + ‘Whether the Athenians were more Warlike or + Learned...’ It is strange that this vigour + should be devoted to glorifying the men of arms + and vilifying the men of letters, and yet this is + precisely what Plutarch attempts to do in this essay. + It is true that he lived in an era of profound peace, + when the horrors of war were remote, but it is + somewhat surprising to find him arguing for this + thesis, especially since he shows by incidental statements that he is thoroughly aware of the contributions + that Athens has made to literature. We may, then, + be justified in the inference that the essay is a tour + de force, like other rhetorical discussions which were + + + + popular in Plutarch's day; it does not necessarily + represent his own belief. +

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Many of the historical references will be found in + an amplified form in the Lives. +

+

The essay is no. 197 in Lamprias's list of Plutarch's + works where it bears the simpler title, In what + were the Athenians famous? (Κατὰ τί ἔνδοξοι Αθηναῖοι;;). +

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...ThusProbably Plutarch began with his favourite tale of Themistocles' remark (dealing with the festival day and the day after) to the generals who came after him; cf. 270 c, supra, and the note. rightly spoke the great Themistocles to + the generals who succeeded him, for whom he had + opened a way for their subsequent exploits by driving + out the barbarian host and making Greece free. And + rightly will it be spoken also to those who pride themselves on their writings; for if you take away the men + of action, you will have no men of letters. Take away + Pericles' statesmanship, and Phormio's trophies for + his naval victories at Rhium, and Nicias's valiant deeds + at Cythera and Megara and Corinth, Demosthenes' + Pylos, and Cleon's four hundred captives, Tolmides' + circumnavigation of the Peloponnesus, and Myronides' + Cf. Thucydides, i. 108; iv. 95. victory over the Boeotians at Oenophyta-take + these away and Thucydides is stricken from your list + of writers. Take away Alcibiades ' spirited exploits in + the Hellespontine region, and those of Thrasyllus by + Lesbos, and the overthrow by Theramenes of the + oligarchy, Thrasybulus and Archinus and the uprising of the Seventy + Cf. Xenophon, Hellenica, ii. 4. 2. from Phyle against the Spartan + hegemony, and Conon's restoration of Athens to her + + + + power on the sea - take these away and CratippusAn historian who continued Thucydides, claiming to be his contemporary (see E. Schwartz, Hermes, xliv. 496). + is no more. +

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Xenophon, to be sure, became his own history + by writing of his generalship and his successes and + recording that it was Themistogenes + Cf. Xenophon, Hellenica, iii. 1. 2; M. MacLaren, Trans. Amer. Phil. Assoc. lxv. (1934) pp. 240-247. the Syracusan + who had compiled an account of them, his purpose + being to win greater credence for his narrative by + referring to himself in the third person, thus favouring another with the glory of the authorship. But + all the other historians, men like Cleitodemus, + Diyllus, + Cf. Moralia, 862 b; Müller, Frag. Hist. Graec. ii. 360-361. Philochorus, Phylarchus, have been for + the exploits of others what actors are for plays, + exhibiting the deeds of the generals and kings, and + merging themselves with their characters as tradition records them, in order that they might share + in a certain effulgence, so to speak, and splendour. + For there is reflected from the men of action upon + the men of letters an image of another's glory, + which shines again there, since the deed is seen, + as in a mirror, through the agency of their words. +

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This city, as we all know, has been the mother + and kindly nurse of many other arts, some of which + she was the first to discover and reveal, while to others + she gave added strength and honour and advancement; + not least of all,painting was enhanced and embellished + by her. For Apollodorus the painter, the first man + to discover the art of mixing colours and chiaroscuro, + was an Athenian. Upon his productions is inscribed: + It were easier that you blame than try to make the same. + Cf. Pliny, Natural History, xxxv. 9. 62, where the verse is ascribed to Zeuxis; for other references see Edmonds, Elegy and Iambus (in the L.C.L.), ii. p. 24. + + + + + Euphranor, Nicias, Asclepiodorus, and Panaenus, the + brother of Pheidias, some of them painted conquering + generals, others battles, and still others the heroes + of old. As, for example, Euphranor compared his + own Theseus with that of Parrhasius, saying that + Parrhasius's Theseus + Cf. Pliny, Natural History, xxxv. 9. 69. had fed on roses, but his on + beef; for in truth Parrhasius's portrait has a certain + delicacy and subtlety in its execution, and it does + somewhat resemble Theseus; but someone, on seeing + Euphranor's Theseus, exclaimed, not inaptly, + + Race of the great-hearted hero Erechtheus, whom once + Athena + + Nurtured, the daughter of Zeus.Homer, Il. ii. 547. + + +

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Euphranor has painted also, not without some + animation, the cavalry battle against Epameinondas + at Mantineia. The action came about in this way: + Cf. Life of Agesilaüs, chaps. xxxiv.-xxxv. (615 c-616 a); Xenophon, Hellenica, vii. 5; Diodorus, xv. 82-84. + Epameinondas the Theban, after the battle of + Leuctra, was greatly elated, and conceived the desire + to trample upon the prostrate Sparta, and grind her + pride and self-esteem into the dust. And first he + attacked with an army of seventy thousand, pillaged + the Spartans' territory, and persuaded the Perioeci + to revolt from them. Then he challenged to battle + the forces that were drawn up in the vicinity of + Mantineia; but when they did not wish or even dare + to risk an engagement, but continued to await reinforcements from Athens, he broke camp by night + and, without being observed by anybody, descended + into Lacedaemon and almost succeeded, by a sudden + + + + attack, in capturing and occupying the city, which was + without defenders. But when the Spartan allies perceived this, and aid for the city quickly arrived, he retired as though he were again about totum to plundering and devastating the countryside. But when he + had thus deceived his enemies and quieted their + suspicions, he set forth by night from Laconia and, + rapidly traversing the intervening territory, appeared + to the Mantineans unexpectedly, while they also + were engaged in discussing the right moment for + sending aid to Sparta, and ordered the Thebans to + arm straightway for the attack. Accordingly the + Thebans, who took great pride in their skill at + arms, advanced to the attack and encircled the + city walls. There was consternation among the + Mantineans, and shouting and running hither and + thither, since they were unable to repulse this + assembled force which was bursting upon them like + a torrent, nor did any thought of possible succour + occur to their minds. At this crucial and fateful + moment the Athenians were descending from the + heights to the plain of Mantineia, with no knowledge + of this turn of fortune or of the keenness of the + struggle, but were proceeding leisurely on their + journey. However, when one of the Mantineans ran + out with report of the danger, although the Athenians + were few in comparison with the great numbers of + their enemy, and although they were weary from + their march, and none of their other allies was at + hand, nevertheless they straightway took their places + in battle-array with almost their whole number, while + the cavalry donned their armour and rode ahead of + + + + the rest, and under the very gates and the wall of + the eity engaged in a sharp cavalry encounter; the + Athenians prevailed and rescued Mantineia from the + clutches of Epameinondas. +

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This was the action which Euphranor depicted, + and in his portrayal of the battle one may see the + clash of conflict and the stout resistance abounding in + boldness and courage and spirit. But I do not think + you would award judgement to the painter in comparison with the general, nor would you bear with + those who prefer the picture to the trophy of victory, + or the imitation to the actuality. +

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Simonides, however, calls painting inarticulate + poetry and poetry articulate painting: + Cf. Moralia, 18 a. for the + actions which painters portray as taking place at the + moment literature narrates and records after they + have taken place. Even though artists with colour + and design, and writers with words and phrases, + represent the same subjects, they differ in the + material and the manner of their imitation; and yet + the underlying end and aim of both is one and the + same; the most effective historian is he who, by a vivid + representation of emotions and characters, makes his + narration like a painting. Assuredly Thucydides + Cf. Life of Nicias, chap. i. (523 c); Longinus, On the Sublime, chap. xxv. is + always striving for this vividness in his writing, since it + is his desire to make the reader a spectator, as it were, + and to produce vividly in the minds of those who + peruse his narrative the emotions of amazement + and consternation which were experienced by those + who beheld them. For he tells how Demosthenes + Cf. Thucydides, iv. 10-12. is + + + + drawing up the Athenians at the very edge of the + breakwater at Pylos, and Brasidas is urging on his pilot + to beach the ship, and is hurrying to the landing-plank, + and is wounded and falls fainting on the forward-deck; + and the Spartans are fighting an infantry engagement from the sea, while the Athenians wage a naval + battle from the land. Again, in his account of the + Sicilian + Cf. Thucydides, vii. 71; in the next two sentences the text is very uncertain and can only be restored with great hesitation. expedition: The armies of both sides on + the land, as long as the fighting at sea is evenly + balanced, are enduring an unceasing struggle and + tension of mind because of their battling forces; + and because of the continued indecisiveness of the + struggle they accompany it in an extremity of fear, + with their very bodies swaying in sympathy with + their opinion of the outcome. Such a description + is characterized by pictorial vividness both in its + arrangement and in its power of description; so, if + it be unworthy to compare painters with generals, let + us not compare historians either. +

+

Again, the news of the battle of Marathon Thersippus of Eroeadae brought back, as Heracleides + Pontieus relates; but most historians declare that it + was Eucles who ran in full armour, hot from the battle, + and, bursting in at the doors of the first men of the + State, could only say, Hail! we are victorious! + + Cf. Lucian, Pro Lapsu inter Salutandum, 3; and F. G. Allinson in the Classical Weekly, xxiv. p. 152. + + + + and straightway expired. Yet this man carne as a + self-sent messenger regarding a battle in which he + himself had fought; but suppose that some goatherd + or shepherd upon a hill or a height had been a distant + spectator of the contest and had looked down upon + that great event, too great for any tongue to teli, and + had come to the city as a messenger, a man who had + not felt a wound nor shed a drop of blood, and yet + had insisted that he have such honours as Cynegeirus + received, or Callimachus, or Polyzelus, because, forsooth, he had reported their deeds of valour, their + wounds and death; would he not have been thought + of surpassing impudence? Why, as we are told, + the Spartans merely sent meat from the public + commons to the man who brought glad tidings of the + victory in Mantineia which Thucydides + Cf. Thucydides, v. 65-73; Life of Agesilaüs, chap. xxxiii. (614f). describes! + And indeed the compilers of histories are, as it were, + reporters of great exploits who are gifted with the + faculty of felicitous speech, and achieve success in + their writing through the beauty and force of their + narration; and to them those who first encountered + and recorded the events are indebted for a pleasing + retelling of them. We may be sure that such writers + are lauded also merely through being remembered + and read because of the men who won success; for + the words do not create the deeds, but because of the + deeds they are also deemed worthy of being read. +

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Poetry also has won favour and esteem because + it utters words which match the deeds, as HomerHomer, Od. xix. 203; cf. Moralia 16 a. + says, + Many the lies that he spoke, but he made them all to seem + truthful. + + + + The story is also told that one of Menander's + Cf. the Scholia Cruquiana on Horace, Ars Poetica, 311. intimate friends said to him, The Dionysian Festival + is almost here, Menander; haven't you composed your + comedy? Menander answered, By heaven, I have + really composed the comedy: the plot's all in order. + But I still have to fit the lines to it. For even poets + consider the subject matter more necessary and vital + than the words. +

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When Pindar was still young, and prided himself + on his felicitous use of words. Corinna warned him + that his writing lacked refinement, since he did not + introduce myths, which are the proper business of + poetry, but used as a foundation for his work unusual + and obsolete words, extensions of meaning, paraphrases, lyrics and rhythms, which are mere embellishments of the subject matter. + Cf. Moralia, 769 c. So Pindar,Pindar, Frag. 29, ed. Christ; ed. Sandys (L.C.L.) p. 512; cf. Lucian, Demosthenis Encomium, 19. giving + all heed to her words, composed the famous lyric: + + Ismenus, or Melia of the golden distaff, + + Or Cadmus, or the holy race of men that were sown, + + Or the mighty strength of Heracles, + + Or the gladsome worship of Dionysus. + + He showed it to Corinna, but she laughed and said + that one should sow with the hand, not with the whole + sack. For in truth Pindar had confused and jumbled + together a seed-mixture, as it were, of myths, and + poured them into his poem.Edmonds's version (Lyra Graeca, iii. p. 7) of this famous passage is incomprehensible to me. That poetry concerns + itself with the composition of mythological matters + Plato + Phaedo, 61 b; cf. Moralia, 16 c. also has stated. A myth aims at being a false + + + + tale, resembling a true one; wherefore it is far removed from actual events, if a tale is but a picture + and an image of actuality, and a myth is but a picture + and image of a tale. And thus those who write of + imaginative exploits lag as far behind historians as + persons who tell of deeds come short of those that + do them. +

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Athens, to be sure, possessed no famous writer + of either epic or melic poetry; for Cinesias + Cf. Moralia, 1141 e; Aristophanes, Birds, 1373 ff.; Frogs, 366; Ecclesiazusae, 327 ff.; Plato, Gorgias, 502 a. Athenaeus, 551 d, quotes from an oration of Lysias against him; but even though unpopular he was at least witty; cf. Moralia, 22 a (170 a). seems + to have been an infelicitous dithyrambic poet. He + was himself without family or fame but, jeered and + mocked by the comic poets, he acquired his share in + unfortunate notoriety. And for the dramatic poets, + the Athenians considered the writing of comedy so + undignified and vulgar a business that there was a + law forbidding any member of the Areopagus to write + comedies. But tragedy blossomed forth and won + great acclaim, becoming a wondrous entertainment + for the ears and eyes of the men of that age, and, + by the mythological character of its plots, and the + vicissitudes which its characters undergo, it effected + a deception wherein, as Gorgias + Cf. Moralia, 15 d. remarks, he who + deceives is more honest than he who does not deceive, + and he who is deceived is wiser than he who is not + deceived. For he who deceives is more honest, + because he has done what he promised to do; and he + who is deceived is wiser, because the mind which is + not insensible to fine perceptions is easily enthralled + by the delights of language. +

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What profit, then, did these fine tragedies bring to + Athens to compare with the shrewdness of Themistocles which provided the city with a wall, with the + + + + diligence of Pericles which adorned the Acropolis, + with the liberty which Miltiades bestowed, with the + supremacy to which Cimon advanced her? If in this + manner the wisdom of Euripides, the eloquence + of Sophocles, + Cf. Haigh, Tragic Drama of the Greeks, p. 166. and the poetic magnificence of + Aeschylus rid the city of any of its difficulties or + gained for her any brilliant success, it is but right + to compare their tragedies with trophies of victory, + to let the theatre rival the War Office, and to compare the records of dramatic performances with the + memorials of valour. +

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Is it, then, your pleasure that we introduce the + men themselves bearing the emblems and badges of + their achievements, and assign to each their proper + entrance? Then from this entrance let the poets + approach, speaking and chanting to the accompaniment of flutes and lyres, + + Now speak not a word of evil sound, and keep clear the + way for our chorus, + + Whoever in words like these is unskilled and whose mind + is not free from uncleanness, + + Who never has sung and never has danced in the rites of + the noble Muses, + + Nor has ever been trained in the Bacchic rites of the tongue + of bull-eating Cratinus!Aristophanes, Frogs, 353-356; cf. Aulus Gellius, Praefatio, 20 f. + + + Let them bring with them their equipment, their + masks and altars, their stage machinery, their revolving changes of scene, and the tripods that commemorate their victories. Let their tragic actors accompany them, men like Nicostratus and Callippides, + + + + Mynniscus, Theodorus, and Polus, who robe Tragedy + and bear her litter, as though she were some woman + of wealth; or rather, let them follow on as though + they were painters and gilders and dyers of statues.That is, a tragedy is an unadorned statue. The actors supply the decoration: encaustic paint, gold-leaf, and dye. + Let there be provided also a bounteous outlay for + stage furnishings, supernumeraries, sea-purple robes, + stage machinery, as well as dancing-masters and bodyguards, an intractable crowd. It was in reference to + all this that a Spartan + Cf. Moralia, 230 b and the note. not ineptly remarked that the + Athenians were making a great mistake in wasting + their energies on amusements, that is to say, in lavishing on the theatre what would pay for great fleets and + would support armies in the field. For, if we reckon up + the cost of each tragedy, the Athenian people will be + seen to have spent more on productions of Bacchae, + Phoenissae, Oedipuses, and Antigones, and the woes of + Medea and Electra, than they spent in fighting for + their supremacy and for their liberty against the + barbarians. For the generals often ordered their men + to bring along uncooked rations when they led them + forth to battle; and the commanders, I can swear, + after providing barley-meal and a relish of onions and + cheese for the rowers, would embark them on the + triremes. But the men who paid for the choruses + gave the choristers eels and tender lettuces, roastbeef and marrow, and pampered them for a long time + while they were training their voices and living in + luxury. The result for the defeated choregoi + The choregoi, the men who trained the tragic choruses at Athens, lavished their private resources on the festival competitions; but the victor had merely a tripod awarded to him to show for all his vast expenditure, the loser worse than nothing. was to + + + + be held in contumely and ridicule; but to the victors + belonged a tripod, + Cf. Life of Aristeides, chap. i. (318 e); Life of Nicias, chap. iii. (524 e). which was, as Demetrius says, not + a votive offering to commemorate their victory, but a + last oblation of their wasted livelihood, an empty + memorial of their vanished estates. Such are the returns paid by the poetic art and nothing more splendid + ever comes from it. +

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But let us now review the generals in their turn, + as they make entrance from the other side; and at + their approach those who have had no part in deeds + of valour or political life or campaigns must in very + truth speak not a word of evil sound and clear the + way, whoever there be that lacks courage for such + deeds as theirs and whose mind is not free from + uncleanness, nor has ever been trained in the Bacchic + rites that are the handiwork of Miltiades, bane of + Medes, and Themistocles, slayer of Persians. This + is the rebel-rout of the god of war, with battalions + on land and squadrons on sea, laden with mingled + spoils and trophies: + + Hearken, Alala, daughter of War, + Thou prelude of clashing spears, thou to whom are + offered + + Heroes in the holy sacrifice of death,Pindar, Frag. 78 (ed. Christ); p. 558 ed. Sandys (in L.C.L.); cf. Moralia, 192 c (with Nachstädt's note ad loc.) and 483 d; Athenaeus, 19 a. + + + as Epameinondas the Theban cried, when he and his + men were dedicating themselves to the noblest and + most resplendent of struggles for their native land, + the graves of their fathers, and their holy shrines. I + seem to see their victories advancing, not dragging + + + + along a bull or a goat as their prize, nor garlanded + with ivy and redolent of the lees of Dionysus; but + whole cities are theirs, and islands, and even continents, temples costing a thousand talents,£200,000 or $1,000,000. Cf. Life of Pericles, chap. xii. (158 f). and + colonies of vast population; and they are garlanded + with all manner of trophies and spoils. Their ornaments and emblems are buildings like the Parthenon + one hundred feet in length, southern Long Walls, The work of Cimon, according to the Life of Cimon, chap. xiii. (487 b). + dockyards, Propylaea, Chersonese, and Amphipolis. + Cf. Thucydides, iv. 102. + Marathon leads forward the Victory of Miltiades, and + Salamis does the same for Themistocles' Victory, + poised upon the wreckage of a thousand ships. + Cimon's Victory brings an hundred Phoenician ships + from the Eurymedon, and the Victory of Demosthenes and Cleon brings from Sphacteria the captive + shield + Cf. Thucydides, iv. 12, with Diodorus, xii. 62. of Brasidas and his soldiers in chains. Conon's + Victory fortifies the city with new walls, while that of + Thrasybulus leads back from Phyle the people restored to freedom. Alcibiades' Victories revive the + city laid prostrate by her failure in Sicily. From the + struggles of Neileus and AndroclusSons of Codrus, founders of Miletus and Ephesus respectively; cf. Moralia, 253 f, 603 b. about Lydia and + Caria Greece came to see that Ionia was rising. If + you inquire of the other Victories in turn what good + came to the State from each, one will reply Lesbos, + another Samos, another Cyprus, another the Euxine, + another five hundred triremes, another ten thousand + talents, to say nothing of the glory and the trophies + which they won. These are the things which the city + + + + celebrates in her festivals, for these she sacrifices to + the gods, not for the dramatic victories of Aeschylus + and Sophocles. Nor is the day celebrated when + CarcinusNauck, Trag. Graec. Frag. p. 797. was successful with his Aüropê, or Astydamas + Ibid. p. 778. with his Hector, but even yet the State celebrates the victory at Marathon on the sixth of + Boëdromion. + Cf. Moralia, 861 f, Life of Camillus, chap. xix. (138 b), and How's note on Herodotus, vi. 106 (which, however, misquotes Plutarch). On the sixteenth of this month they + pour a libation of wine in memory of Chabrias's + victory at Naxos. + Cf. Life of Phocion, chap. vi. (744 d); Life of Camillus, chap. xix. (138 b); Diodorus, xv. 35. On the twelfth they used to + sacrifice thank-offerings for the recovery of their + liberty, for on that day the exiles returned from + Phylê. + Cf. 345 e, 349 e, supra. On the third they won the battle of + Plataeae. + Cf. Life of Aristeides, chap. xix. (330 f). The sixteenth of Munichion they dedicated to Artemis, for on that day the goddess shone + with full moon upon the Greeks as they were conquering at Salamis. The conflict at Mantineia + Cf. 346 b-e, supra. has + made the twelfth of Scirophorion more sacred; for in + this battle, when the other allies were overpowered + and routed, it was the Athenians alone who defeated + the force opposed to them and erected a trophy taken + from the victorious enemy. These are the things + which have uplifted Athens to heights of glory and + greatness; it was for these that PindarPindar, Fragg. 76 and 77 (ed. Christ); p. 556 ed. Sandys (L.C.L.); cf. also Moralia, 232 e, 552 b, 867 c; Life of Themistocles, chap. viii. (115 f). addressed + Athens as + The mainstay of Greece, + not because she had guided the Greeks aright with + + + + the tragedies of Phrynichus and Thespis, but because, + as he himself says, first at Artemisium + Sons of the Athenians laid the far-shining foundation + of freedom.Pidnar, Fragg. 76 and 77 (ed. Christ); p. 556 ed Sandys (L.C.L.); cf. also Moralia, 232 e, 552 b, 867 c; Life of Themistocles, chap. viii, (115 f). + + And when at Salamis and Mycalê and Plataeae they + had firmly established, as in adamant, the liberty of + Greece, they handed it down to all mankind. +

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But the compositions of the poets we may affirm + to be but a childish pastime; orators, however, have + some claim when compared with generals; wherefore with good reason AeschinesAeschines, Against Ctesiphon, 146. asserts derisively + that Demosthenes declares that he will enter a suit + for possession on behalf of the Speakers' Platform + against the War Office. Is it, then, right to prefer + Hypereides' Plataean oration to Aristeides' victory + at Plataea? Or Lysias's speech against the ThirtyThe speech Against Eratosthenes. + to Thrasybulus's and Archinus's slaughter of those + tyrants? Or Aeschines' oration against Timarchus's + wanton ways to Phocion's expedition to Byzantium, + Cf. Life of Phocion, chap. xiv. (748 a); Diodorus, xvi. 77. + by which he prevented the sons of Athenian allies + from becoming victims of the wantonness and + drunken lust of Macedonians? Or with the crownsWhether the crowns of Conon or the crowns received by the Athenian people should be read is hard to decide. In favour of Conon may be quoted Demosthenes, xx. 69-70; and in favour of the Athenian people (as well as Conon and Chabrias), Demosthenes, xxii. 616, and xxiv. 180. + which the Athenian people in common received when + they had given freedom to Greece shall we compare + + + + Demosthenes' oration On the Crown? For in this + speech the orator has made this matter exceedingly + perspicuous and intelligible in taking his oath by + the memory of those of our ancestors who risked their + lives for us at Marathon, + Quoted from De Corona, 208. not by the teachers who + in the schools gave them as youths their early + training. +

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Wherefore the State has given public burial not to + men like Isocrates, Antiphon, and Isaeus, but to these + men, whose remains she has taken in her embrace; + and these men it was that the orator deified in his oath + when he swore by men whose example he was not + following. + Cf. Life of Demosthenes, chap. xiv. (852 c); Demosthenes was an incompetent soldier. But Isocrates, although he had declaredIsocrates, Panegyricus, 86; cf. Thucydides' language in i. 70. + that those who had risked their lives at Marathon had + fought as though their souls were not their own, and + although he had hymned their daring and their contempt of life, himself (so they say), when he was + already an old man,Contrast Cicero's admiration for Isocrates' old age (Cato Maior, 5). replied to someone who asked + him how he was getting on, Even as does a man over + ninety years of age who considers death the greatest + of evils. For he had not grown old sharpening his + sword nor whetting his spear-point nor polishing + his helmet nor campaigning nor pulling at the oar, + but in glueing together and arranging antitheses, + balanced clauses, and inflexional similarities, all but + smoothing off and proportioning his periods with + chisel and file. How could this person do other than + fear the clash of arms and the impact of phalanxes, + he who feared to let vowel collide with vowel, or to + + + + utter a phrase whose balance was upset by the lack + of a single syllable?A reference to Isocrates' avoidance of hiatus and his attention to prose rhythm (Cicero, Brutus, 32). For Miltiades set forth for + Marathon, joined battle the next day, and returned + victorious with his army to the city; and Pericles, + Cf. Life of Pericles, chap. xxviii. (167 e); Thucydides, i. 117. + when he had subdued the Samians in nine months, + was prouder of his achievement than was Agamemnon, who captured Troy in the tenth year. But + Isocrates consumed almost twelve years in writing + his Panegyric + + Cf. Moralia, 837 f; Quintilian, x. 4. 4; Longinus, On the Sublime, 4. 2.; and during this period he took part + in no campaigns, nor served on any embassy, nor + founded any city, nor was dispatched as commander + of a fleet, although this era brought forth countless + wars. But while Timotheüs was freeing Euboea, and + Chabrias + Cf. 348 f, supra. with his fleet was fighting at Naxos, and + Iphicrates near Lechaeum was cutting to pieces the + Spartan division, + Cf. Demosthenes, Oration xxiii. 198. and the Athenian people, having + liberated every city, bestowed upon Greece equal + suffrage with themselves, Isocrates sat at home + remodelling a book with mere words, as long a + time as sufficed for Pericles to erect the Propylaea + and his temples a hundred feet long. Yet CratinusKock, Comic. Att. Frag. i. p. 100, Cratinus, no. 300. + pokes fun even at Pericles for his slowness in accomplishing his undertakings, and remarks somewhat as + follows about his Middle Wall: + Cf. Life of Pericles, chap. xiii. (160 a), where the quotation seems metrically and otherwise closer to the original. + + Pericles in his talk makes the wall to advance, + + By his acts he does nothing to budge it. + + But consider the petty spirit of this sophist, which + + + + caused the ninth part of his life to be spent on the + composition of one speech. Is it, then, greatly + worth our while to compare the speeches of the + orator Demosthenes with the deeds of Demosthenes + the general? To compare the speech Against Conon + Demosthenes, Oration liv. + for assault and battery with Demosthenes' trophies + won at Pylos? To compare the speech directed at + Arethusius + Ibid. liii. on the slaves with Demosthenes' reduction of the Spartans to slavery? The orator's age + when he wrote his speeches against his guardians + Ibid. xxvii., xxviii., xxix. + was the same as that of Alcibiades when he united + the Mantineans and Eleans against Sparta. + Cf. Thucydides, v. 43. And + indeed Demosthenes' public orations have this + wonderful characteristic: in the Philippics he spurs + his countrymen on to action and he praises the action + of Leptines.Wyttenbach is probably correct in regarding the text of this last paragraph as too corrupt and disjointed for any certain correction and interpretation. The statement concerning Leptines is certainly wrong (cf. Demosthenes, Oration xx.); but it may have been set right in the context, for the ending is surely missing. + +

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