GIFT OF
JANE Ko^ATHER
£w^7
THE GREEK ORATORS
THE
GREEK ORATORS
BY
J. F. DOBSON, M.A.
TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF BRISTOL
METHUEN & CO. LTD.
36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
LONDON
First Published in igig
y-'
PREFACE
THE object of this book is to provide a reasonably
short account of the works of the Orators and to
give a general idea of the style of each. It seemed to
me at the outset that this object could be best attained,
not by applying methods of scientific analysis, but by
giving numerous quotations from the speeches to
emphasise the points which I wished to bring out.
I have therefore avoided as far as possible the techni-
caHties of criticism, and illustrated my remarks by
translations of characteristic passages, hoping thus to
make my work easily accessible not only to classical
students, but also to others who, while generally
interested in the Classics, have not the time or the
capacity to study them in the original.
I have no idea of superseding the standard works
on the subject, such as Jebb's Attic Orators and Blass'
Attische Beredsamkeit, which deal with the subject
more fully and from a somewhat different point of view.
No student of the Orators can afford to neglect the
works of these scholars, but though I have frequently
consulted them, I have by no means considered myself
bound by their opinions ; in fact, my chief claim to
consideration is that my own judgments are entirely
independent of authority, and are based directly
Y
44Geea
vi THE GREEK ORATORS
upon a first-hand study of the extant writings of the
Orators.
The chief work, in addition to the two above men-
tioned, to which I am indebted is Croiset's Histoire
dt la LitUrature Grecque.
I have to thank BalHol College and the Clarendon
Press for permission to print extracts from Jowett's
Plato.
J. F. DOBSON
Bristol, /u/y igig
CONTENTS
I. THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY
II. ANTIPHON. ....
III. THRASYMACHUS — ANDOCIDES ,
IV. LYSIAS
V. ISAEUS
VI. ISOCRATES
VII. MINOR RHETORICIANS
VIII. AESCHINES
IX. DEMOSTHENES .
X. PHOCION, DEMADES, PYTHEAS .
XL LYCURGUS, HYPERIDES, DINARCHUS
XII. THE DECLINE OF ORATORY
INDEX
PAGE
I
19
50
74
103
126
160
163
199
268
271
308
315
vU
I
• THE GREEK ORATORS
CHAPTER I
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY
§1
ORATORY is one of the earliest necessities of
society ; as soon as men were organised on
terms of equality for corporate action, there must
have been occasions when opinions might differ as to
the best course to be pursued, and, if there were no
inspired king whose unquestioned authority could
impose his will, the majority must decide whether to
flee or to fight, to kill or to keep ahve. Thus different
plans must be discussed, and, in cases where opinion
was evenly balanced, that side would prevail which
could state its views most convincingly ; and so the
need for deliberative oratory arose.
With the Greeks oratory was instinctive; in the
earliest serm-historical records that we possess, eloquence
is found to be~ a gift prized not less highly than valour
m battle ; the kings and princes are not only ' re-
nowned for their power,' but are * leaders of the people
by their counsels, . . . wise and eloquent in their
instructions ' ; strength and courage are the property
of all, .but the real leaders must be the counsellors,
pov\r)(f)opoi, avhpe^. Nestor, who is almost „ past the
age for fightings Js honoured among the first for his_
,.,2.^ THE GREEK ORATORS
, eloquence, dn'd' whereas Achilles shares with many
/' '. : f^jfiicr warriors the glories of the tUad, Odysseus, fertile
in counsel, is the chief subject of an entire poem.
>^ The speech of Phoenix in the ninth book of the Iliad
shows us"the~ Heals wlucli were aimed at in~tlie~educa-
tion of a prince. He tells how he trained the young
Achilles to be a ' speakerof words and a doer of deeds-~L
and Achilles, as we know him, well justified this train-
ing. The leading characters in the Homeric poems
are already fluent orators, able and ready to debate
inteUigently on any concrete subject, and, moreover,
to seek guidance from general principles. Nestor
makes frequent appeals to historical precedent ,*
Phoenix introduces allegorical illustration ; ^ many
speakers refer to the sanctity of law and custom ;
though the particular case is foremost in the mind,
generalisations of various kinds are by no means in-
r frequent. The Homeric counsellor can urge his own
^ . I arguments and rebut those of his opponent with a
^^^ / natural facility of speech and readiness of invective
^K I which even a polished wielder of personahties like
[^ Demosthenes might envy.
From the spontaneous outpourings of Achilles and
his peers to the studied artifice of Lysias and Demo-
sthenes is a long journey through unknown country,
and it is obvious that no definite course of develop-
fment can be traced; Jbut__a xeieisiKe to Hoiner is of
I twofold importance. In the first place, it may indicate
c. / that Greek oratory was obviously of native growth,
\>^^/ since the germs of it are to be found in the earliest
^ I £^nais ; secondly. Homer was studied with such
i devout reverence not only by the Athenian orators
1 Iliad, ix. 443. ^ Ihid., ix. 502 sqq.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 3
themselves butjby their immediate literary prede-
cessor^^ the cosmopolitan Sophists and the rhetoricians
of Sicily, that his influence may have been greater than
would at first sight seem probaMe.
§2
The records of eloquence may be studied from various
points of view, which may be roughly classified under
the headings * literary ' and * practical,' though it is
not always easy to keep the elements distinct. A
stylistic study of the writings of the Athenian orators
must find a place in any systematic work on the de-
velopment of Attic prose, but in a work like the present,
which professes to deal with orators only, such a study
cannot be carried out with any attempt at complete-
ness ; thus, while it may be possible to discuss the
influence of Thucydides or Plato on Demosthenes,
there will be no room to consider how far the historian
himself may have been influenced directly by Antiphon,
or the philosopher by Gorgias, though a cursory in-
dication may be given that such influences were at
work. When, however, we regard rhetoric not for its
literary value but as a practical art, our task becomes
more feasible ; in literature there are many eddies
and cross-currents, but in oratory, especially of the
forensic type, there is more uniformity of flow. Anti-
phon and Demosthenes had, to a great extent, similar
ground to traverse, similar obstacles to overcome or
circumvent ; and a study of their different methods of
approaching like problems may give some reasonable
and interesting results which will be a contribution
to the history of the * Art of Persuasion.' Even here we
shall find diificulties, for one who is reckoned among
4 THE GREEK ORATORS
the greatest orators, Isocrates, is known not to have
been practical at all in the sense in which Demosthenes
was ; his so-called speeches were never meant to be
delivered, and depended for their efficacy far more on
their literary style than on their practical character-
istics. There is, perhaps, only one great factor which
is common to all orators alike ; they all give us, both
directly and indirectly, invaluable materials for the
study of Athenian history, information with regard
both to pubhc and private life and national character.
While the speeches before the assembly and in public
causes increase our historical knowledge in the wider
sense, the private speeches, often dealing with matters
of the utmost triviality, provide a miscellaneous store
of information on domestic matters only comparable
to that more recently recovered from the papyri of
Egypt.
§3
r It would _seem that constitutional liberty and_ a
' strong civic feeling are indispensable as a basis for the
growth of oratory. Such a statement must bejnade
with caution, as iOeaves"out of accoxmt a thousand
^(j^,^ influences which may have been operative ; but we
y^ \ have no records of oratory at Athens before the estab-
^ I lishment of the democracy, and after the limitatfon
! of Athenian influence diie to the spread of Hellenism
'( under Alexander, oratory very rapidly decHned.
The imagination of Herodotus gives us, in the de-
bates of the Persian court, some idea of what he
conceived the oratory of an earlier age to be; but as
he transferred the ideas of his own coimtry to another,
without any serious attempt at realism, such speeches
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 5
are of little value to us. Thucydides again inserted
speeches freely into his history, but these, he candidly
admits, are not authentic records but imaginary
reconstructions. Nevertheless, it is chiefly on Thucy-
dides that we must draw for information about the
eloquence of the early statesmen of the democracy.
Themistocles has left behind him some reputation as
a speaker. Herodotus indicates how he harangued the
Greeks before the battle of Salamis ; ^ Thucydides
commends him for ability in explaining his policy, ^
and the author of the pseudo-Lysian Epitaphios names
him as ' equally capable in speech, decision, and action.' ^
Beyond these meagre notices, and a reference to his
eloquence in Cicero,* we have nothing earlier than
Plutarch,^ who tells us that from early youth he took
an interest in the practice of speech-making, and that
he studied under a Sophist, Mnesiphilus, who apparently
t£|.ught him something of the science of statesmanship.
Plutarch records his answer to Eurybiadas, who had
taunted him in the council of alHes with being a man
without a city — since Athens was evacuated — and
therefore not entitled to the right of speech :
' We, villain, have left our houses and our walls, disdain-
ing to be slaves for the sake of these lifeless things ; but
still we have a city — the greatest of Greek cities — ^in our
fleet of 200 triremes, which now are ready to help you if
you care to be saved by their aid ; but if you go away and
betray us a second time, the Greek world shall forthwith
learn that the Athenians possess a free city and a country
no worse than the one they have lost. * ^
* Herod., viii. 83. * Thuc, i. 138. » § 42.
* Brutus, § 28. • Themistocles, ch. ii. " Ibid., ch. xi.
6 THE GREEK ORATORS .
Another fragment is preserved by Plutarch, an ad-
dress to Xerxes in quite a different vein, containing
an elaborate metaphor which may have been thought
suited to the Oriental mind :
' The speech of man is like to a piece of cunning em-
broidery, for both when unrolled display their patterns,
but when folded up conceal them.' ^
Many others of his sayings are chronicled ; they are
more or less apocryphal, as his retort to the man af
Seriphos, who hinted that Themistocles owed his
greatness to the fact that his city was great. ' You,
Themistocles, would never have been famous if you
had been a Seriphian ' — ' Nor would you, if you had
been an Athenian.' ^ His interpretation of the oracle,
explaining ' wooden walls ' as ships, shows the man
ready at need like Odysseus ; and the impression that we
form of him from the very slight indications which we
possess, is of a man always clear and plausible in his
statements, never at a loss for an explanation, and
perhaps rather a good debater than an orator.
Of Pericles, who represents the following generation,
we have a clearer picture. We know more about his
private life and the associates who influenced his
opinions. His earliest instructors were the musicians
Damon and Pythoclides, of whom the former remained
his intimate friend through life,^ and, if we believe
Plutarch, was capable of giving him advice even on
questions of statesmanship.* The friendship of Anaxa-
^ Ch. xxix. 2 Plato, Republic, i. 330 a.
^ Plato, Alcihiades, i., 118 c.
* Plut., Pericles yCh. iv., who quotes Plato (comicus) : crv yap, Cos (f)a<n,
Xelpu}^ e^^dperpas Hepi/cX^a.
*«'*Ti»>*^.**-'
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 7
goras was_dffiibtless__,a- powerfiil infliiP.nc£^.as_JElatdN^-
affirms in a well-knownjpassagejof th^^ Phaedrusj^ j
* All the arts require discussion and high speculation/*^
about the truths of nature ; hence come loftiness of thought
and completeness of execution. And this, as I conceivel
was the quaUty which, in addition to his natural gifts, \
Pericles acquired from his intercourse with Anaxagoras /
... He was thus imbued with the higher philosophy . . .j
and apphed what suited his purpose to the art of speaking. '\
He is saidjlso to Jiave _been„acq[Mi^^ of \
Sea, an accomplished dialectician, and with the great j
Sophist Protagoras,
Plutarch represents him as amusing himself by dis- ;
cussing with Protagoras a question which is the theme j
of one of Antiphon's tetralogies — a man in a gym- /
nasium accidentally kills another with a javelin : who j
is to blame ? ^ In Xenophon's Memorabilia ^ we find -^
him engaged in sophistical discussion with his young •
nephew Alcibiades, who, fresh from the rhetorical schools,
was apparently his superior in hair-splitting argument.
Thucydides puts three speeches into the mouth of
Pericles ; though the language is that of the historian,
some of the thoughts may be those of the statesman. /
We seem to recognise his high intelligence, developed I
by philosophical training, and the loftiness and effec- f
tiveness of which Plato speaks.*
The comic poet Eupolis gives us a picture from a
different point of view : v/'
A. ' Whenever at Council he rose in his place ^
That powerful speaker — so hot was the pace —
Could give other runners three yards in the race.' /
* p. 270 A, Jowett's translation.
2 Antiphon, Tetral. ii. ^ j^ 2. 40. * Plato, I.e.
8 THE GREEK ORATORS
\ B. ' His speed I admit ; in addition to that
A mysterious spell on his lips ever sate :
He charmed ; and alone of the orators he
Left something behind, like the sting of a bee.' ^
We know from Thucydides the extent of his influence
over the people. He was no demagogue in the vulgar
sense ; they knew him to be sincere and incorruptible.
He was never deterred by the unpopularity of his
i policy ; he would lead the people rather than submit
to be led by them ; he could abase their spirits when
they were unduly elated, or raise them to confidence
-4l when imseasonably disheartened. ^ At the height of
his career his eloquence was the more effective because
it was rarely displayed ; minor matters in the assembly
were transacted by his subordinates ; when Pericles
himself arose to speak it was a signal that a matter
of national importance was to be debated, and his ap-
pearance roused a confident expectation that the treat-
ment would be worthy of the subject.^ The epithet
' Olympian,' applied to him originally in sarcasm, was
felt to be more truly applicable than its originator,
perhaps, intended. His eloquence was a noble ex-
n/ position of the fine intelligence and high character
which first claimed a hearing.
Though we have no verbal record of his speeches, a
few of his phrases stuck in the memory of chroniclers.
Aegina was to him ' the eye-sore of the Piraeus ' — it
spoiled the view from the Athenian harbour,^ The
Samians, who' submitted very reluctantly to the bless-
* Bothe, Comic Frag., i. 162. See also Aristophanes, Acharn. 530.
* Then Pericles the Olympian in his wrath
Lightened and thundered and confounded Greece.'
* Thuc, ii. 65. » Plut., Pericles, ch. vii.
* Arist., Rhet., iii. 10. 7 D.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 9
ings of Athenian civilization, are like * babies tha-t cry
when you give them their pap, but take it all the
same ' ; ^ and Boeotia, disintegrated by civil war, is
like an oak spHt by oaken wedges. ^ His finest simile
— ^not, perhaps, original, since Herodotus attributes
a similar phrase to Gelon, when Greece refused his
invaluable assistance — occurred, according to Aristotle,
in a ftmeral speech :
' The city has lost its Youth ; it is as though the year
had lost its Spring.' ^
§4
The eloquence of these earlier statesmen, though
significant of the tendency of the Attic genius, is an
isolated phenomenon. It has no bearing on the
development of Athenian oratory. We have now to
consider two direct influences, that of the Sophists
and that of the early rhetoricians of Sicily.
In the middle of the fifth century B.C., — when in
turn the unrestricted imagination of the Ionian phil^
osophers had failed to explain the riddle of existence i
on physical grounds, the metaphysical Parmenides
had denied the possibihty of accurate knowledge, ajod
Zeno, the dialectician of Elea.^ had reduced himselfJto
dumbness by the conclusion that not only knowledge
is impossible but even grammatical predication isj
im justifiable, for you cannot say that one thing is/'
another, or like things unlike, — Philosophy fell somej
what into disrepute^j^ A spirit of scepticism sprea^
.. ^^
1 Thuc, i. 115-117 ; Arist., Rhet., iii. 4. 3.
* Arist., ibid.
' Herod., vii. 162 ; Arist., Rhet., i. 7. 34. In a later age the
orator Demades borrowed it. (Athenaeus, iii. 99 d.)
%r
10 THE GREEK ORATORS
over the Greek world, and the greatest thinkers, foiled
in tTi~eTfattenipts"fo~dis^covef the higher truths, turned
their attention to the practical side of education:: - In
various cities of Greater Greece there arose men of
high intellectual attainment, conveniently classed
together under the title of Sophists (educators), who,
neglecting abstract questions, undertook to prepare
men for the higher walks of civic life by instruction
of various kinds. The^reatest of these, Protagoras^
of Abdera, expressed his contempt for philosophy in
the well-known dictum, ' Man is the measure of all
things — of what is, that it" is"; and~of what is not,
that it is not? He" th:efef6fe devoted himself to the
study of literature, and, in particular, of Homer.
He attained great popularity ; in the course of long
travels throughout the Greek world, he made several
visits to Athens, where he knew Pericles. Plato, in
the dialogue named after him, gives us some idea of
the fascination which his personality exercised over
the young men of Athens, and, indeed, * Sophistry '
as a whole had a tremendous popularity. All young
men of good family and position, who aspired to
political life, flocked to hear the lectures of the Sophists.
Alcibiades, Critias, and others undoubtedly owed to
this movement much of their political ability.
The morality of sophistry has been much discussed.
The comic poets represent it as the chief instrument
for the destruction of the ancient ideals of conduct-
Plato, though he recognized its humanistic value and
spoke with appreciation of several individual teache s,
blamed their teaching as a whole. Certainly the claim
of Protagoras, that he could make the worse cause
appear the better, laid him particularly open to attack.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY ii
Protagoras made some elementary studies in grammar,
presumably as a basis for logic. His method of teach-
ing was apparently by example. In the dialogue of
Plato he gives a demonstration of how a given subject
should be discussed : his discourse consists first of a
* myth/ then a continuous speech, finally a criticism
on a poetical quotation. We may suppose that this "^
is a reasonable imitation of his methods. His pupils
committed to memory such speeches, or summaries of J
them, on various -subjects, and were thus moderately
well equipped for purposes of general debate.
Prodicus of Ceos, who seems to have been many
years younger than Protagoras,^ was more concerned
with moral philosophy than with dialectical exercises.
He paid the greatest attention in all his teaching to
opOoeireLa, the correct use of words, i.e. the distinction -^
of meaning between words which in the popular
language have come to be treated as synonymous.?
This precision may have been carried to the point of
pedantry, but as the correct use of terms is an important
element in prose style, his studies deserve consideration.
Hippias of Elis is of less importance. He was ready j-f
to discourse on any subject under the sim, and could
teach his pupils a similar glibness ; abundance of words
was made to conceal a lack of ideas.
§5
Cicero has preserved, from Aristotle, a statement
that forensic rhetoric came to its birth at Syracuse,
when, after the expulsion of the tyrants in 465 B.C.,
1 Plato, Protag., 317 c.
2 Plato, Protag., 337 a-c, where Plato parodies his style.
12 THE GREEK ORATORS
many families, whose property had been confiscated
by them, tried to re-estabhsh their claims.^ Certainly
Corax, the founder of rhetoric, was teaching about the
year 466 B.C., and composed a ri^^^vr), or handbook„of
rhetorical principles. ^ He was followed by his pupil
TiStas,^^ who also wrote a treatise which Aristotle
pronounced to be better than his master's, and was
in turn soon superseded by a better one.^ Both Corax
and Tisias attached great importance to et/co? (pro-
bability) as a means of convincing a jury. A sample
of the use of this argument from the work of Corax is
the case of the man charged with assault, who denies
the charge and says, ' It is obvious to you that I am
weak in body, while he is strong ; it is therefore
inherently improbable that I should have dared to
attack him.' The argument can of course be turned
the other way by the prosecutor — * the defendant is
weak in body, and thought that on that accoimt no
one would suspect him of violence.' We shall find
^ that this argument from eUora is very characteristic
of the orator Antiphon ; it occurs in his court speeches
as well as in his tetralogies, which are model exercises.
It seems, indeed, that he almost preferred this kind of
argument to actual proof, even when evidence was
available.^ Tisias improved on the theme of Corax ;
supposing that a feeble but brave man has attacked a
strong one who is a coward, he suggests that both
should tell lies in court. The coward will not like to
admit his cowardice, and will say that he was attacked
by more than one man. The culprit will prove this
to be a lie, and will then fall back on the argument of
1 Cicero, Brutus, § 46. 2 Arist., Rhet, ii. 24. 11.
* Soph. Elench.y 183 p. 28 sqq. * Vide infra, p. 36.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 13
Corax, ' I am weak and he is strong ; I could not have
assaulted or robbed him/ — and so on.^
An anecdote of these two rhetoricians further in-
dicates the slipperiness of the groimd on which they
walked.^ Tisias took lessons from Corax on condition
that he should pay the fee only if he won his first case
in court. After some lapse of time Corax grew im-
patient for his money, and finally brought an action —
the first case, as it happened, on which Tisias was ever
engaged. Corax asserted, ' If I win the case, I get
my money by the verdict ; if I lose it, I claim payment
by our contract.' * No,' said Tisias, * if I win, I don't
pay, and if I lose I don't pay.' The court dismissed
the case with the remark, * A bad crow lays bad eggs ' ; ^ ^1 ,^~--
and this was obviously to the advantage of the younger
man, who had nine points of the law on his side.
Though no writings of either are preserved, we can
form an idea of their methods. They were wholly
immoral or non-moral, and perversely sophistical.^
The^^;glausible was_ preferred to the true, and the one
object was to win the case. Their method of teaching
was, according to Aristotle, ' quick but unscientific,' *
and consisted of making the pupil learn by heart a ^
large number of ' commonplace ' topics and standard
* arguments suitable to all kinds of legal processes . They
do not appear to have paid any attention to style on
the literary side.
§6
Gorgias of Leontini, a contemporary of Protagoras,
started out, like the Sophist, from the position that
1 Quoted by Plato, Phaedrus, 273 b-c.
* Schol. on Hennogenes; also Sext. Empir. adv. Mathem,, ii. 96. . ; ^
' KdKQxi KbpuKot KaKo. (}}d. * Soph. Blench., 184 a. i. ,^i' 0 \*
14 THE GREEK ORATORS
nothing can be known, and the pursuit of philosophy
is a ploughing of the sand. He is said to have been a
pupil of Tisias, and occupies a place between the early
rhetoricians and the Sophists usually so-called. Like
the former, he studied and taught oratory, but whereas
they were only concerned with the struggle lor mastery
iiT (TeBale^ he entertained, likeT^otagoras, a broad"view
of education, and, while continuing to regard rhetoric
as the art of persuasion,^ attached more attentioril:o
the artistic side than any other educator had done.
He became the first conscious artist in prose style.
Like the other Sophists he travelled from town to
town giving displays of his art, and gained riches
which he spent freely. ^ In 427 B.C. he came to Athens
as an ambassador from his native city,^ and produced
a remarkable impression on his hearers, not only the
multitude before whom he spoke, but the highly
educated class who could appreciate his technique.
Thucydides owed something to him, and the poet
Antiphon showed traces of his influence.* We hear
of his sojourn at Larissa, where the Thessalians, in
^5 admiration, coined from his name the word which
*/ Philostratus uses to express his exuberant style. ^
His first work is said to have been a sceptical treatise
on Nature, or the Non-existent.^ This was followed by a
1 Cf. Plato, Gorgias, 453 a ; Phaedr., 259 e.
2 Isocr., Antid., § 155.
3 If it is true, as Philostratus, Ep. ix. says, that Aspasia ' sharpened
the tongue of Pericles ' in Gorgian style, he must have visited
Athens in a private capacity at an earlier date, unless his Olym-
piac and other speeches were widely circulated and read.
* IloXXaxoO rG}v id/x^up yopycd^ei, Philost., Lives of the Sophists, ix.
493-
^ Plato, Meno, 70 b ; Philost., Epist. ix. 364.
^ irepl (piLxrem ij rod fir] 6vtos, Sext. Emp., vii. 65. Cicero {Brut., § 46)
mentions also a collection of communes loci made for instructional
purposes.
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 15
certain number of speeches, the most famous of which
was the Olympiac, in which, Uke Isocrates at a later-^'"
date, he urged on the Greeks the necessity of union. '
The Funeral Oration, to which we shall recur, is sup-
posed to have been delivered at Athens, but this can
hardly have been the case, as such speeches were
regularly delivered by prominent Athenian statesmen,
and there would be no occasion for calling in a foreigner.
A Pythian speech and various Encomia are recorded ;
some on mythical characters, which may be regarded
as mere exercises, some on real people, as the Eleans.^
He seems not to have written speeches for the law-
courts ; his tendency, as in his personal habits, so in
his speech, was towards display, and so he originated '
the style of oratory known as epideictic, which Isocrates ^
in a subsequent age was destined to bring to perfection.
Though an Ionian by birth, he instinctively recognized
the great possibilities of the Attic dialect, and chose"
it as his medium of expression ; it was not, however,
the Attic of everyday life, but a language enriched by
the exuberance of a poetical imagination. We possess
of his actual work only one noteworthy extract from
the Funeral Speech ; but from this, joined to a few
isolated criticisms and phrases preserved by com-
mentators, as well as from the language ascribed by
Plato to his imitator Agathon,^ we can form some idea
of his pompous exaggerations.
He was much addicted to the substitution of rare
expressions — yXcoTrat, as the Greek critics called them
— for the ordinary forms of speech. His language
1 Arist., Rhet., iii. 14. 12.
2 Symposium, 194 e, sqq., 197 d ; the latter contains some excel-
lent examples : Trpa^TTjTa fi^p iroplj^wp, dypidrrp-a 8' i^opi^uw <pi\68<apos
evfieyeias, Aduiftos dvafxevelai, etc.
i6 THE GREEK ORATORS
abounded in archaic and poetical words, striking
metaphors and unusual compounds. He frequently
employed neuter adjectives and participles in pre-
ference to the corresponding abstract nouns ; he liked
to use a verbal noun accompanied by an auxiliary
in places where a simple verb would be naturally
employed. Finally, though he could not aspire to
composition in elaborate periods like Isocrates or
Demosthenes, he developed the use of antithesis, word
answering to word and clause to clause, pointing his
antithetical style not only by the frequent use of fikv
and Bi, but by the use of assonance at the ends of
^ clauses, corresponding forms of verbs in similar
positions, and by some attention to rhythm and
equahty of syllabic value in contrasted clauses.
His chief fault was excess ; he was a pioneer in
expression, and did very valuable work ; but he lacked
a sense of proportion. The result is that the page of
his genuine work which we possess reads like a parody
. of style, as every characteristic is carried to extreme.
But the teacher must indulge in exaggeration, or the
pupil will not grasp his points, and the work of Gorgias
has a considerable value. It was the first attempt to
form a style, and his followers learned partly by imi-
tation, partly by avoiding the faults which were too
prominent. The very fact that the fragment pre-
served is possibly not in his best style makes it the
easier to observe his influence on his successors —
Antiphon, Thucydides, and many subsequent writers
of artistic prose.
In addition to the speeches already mentioned we
possess two encomia on Helen and Palamedes, which
are attributed to him. Their authenticity is very
THE BEGINNINGS OF ORATORY 17
doubtful, but Blass, who discussed the question very
thoroughly in his Attic Orators without coming to a
conviction, has since decided in favour of their genuine-
ness.^ This is entirely a matter of personal opinion ;
but, even if not genuine, they are probably able imita-
tions of the Gorgian style and method.
The fragment from the Epitaphios can hardly be
translated in a way that will give a proper idea of
its affectations, but as some notion of its most striking
faults may be formed from an English version, some
extracts are added. In the Greek in some places
there seems to be very little sense, and what there is
has been entirely subordinated to the sound :
' What quality was there absent in these men which
ought in men to be present ? And what was there present
that should not be present ? May I have the power to
speak as I would, and the will to speak as I should, avoiding
the jealousy of gods and escaping the envy of men. For
these were divine in their valour, though human in their
mortality ; often preferring mild equity to stern justice,
and often the uprightness of reasoning to the strictness of
the laws, considering that the most divine and universal
law is this — to speak, to omit, and to do the proper thing
at the proper time. Two duties above all they practised,
strength of mind and strength of body ; the one in delibera-
tion, the other in execution ; tenders of those who by in-
justice were unfortunate, punishers of those who by in-
justice were fortunate. . . . And accordingly, though they
have died, our yearning died not with them, but immortal
over these bodies not immortal it lives when they live no
more.'
Contrast and parallelism are rampant throughout
this incredible piece of bombast, which in addition to
' Introduction to the Teubner edition of Antiphon (1908), p. xxviii.
B
i8 THE GREEK ORATORS
the curious jingles produced by such words as yvwfirjv
Koi p(Ofir]v ; BvarvxovvTcovt cvtv^ovvtcov, shows a poetical
vocabulary in such phrases as IfK^yro? "A/dt??, 'the Mars
that is bom in them/ ivoirXio^ ept?, ' embattled strife/
and (fitXoicaXo^ eiprjvr}, * peace that loves the arts/
Antiphon and Thucydides suffered severely from the
contagion of this style, and a conscious imitator, the
author of the pseudo-Lysian Epitaphios, has repro-
duced its florid monotony.
CHAPTER II
ANTIPHON
§1
ANTIPHON is said to have been almost contem-
JLx. porary with Gorgias, but a little younger.^ He
was bom about 480 b.c. He took no part in public
life, perhaps disdaining to serve the democracy owing
to his strong aristocratic prejudices. He wrote many
speeches for others, but himself never spoke in the
assembly and very rarely in the pubhc courts. Most
of his speeches were written for private individuals,
but we have a record on one ' about the tribute of
Samothrace,' apparently composed on behalf of that
community when appealing against their assessment.
Having lived in comparative obscurity all his life, he
stepped suddenly into brilliant light in 411 B.C., the
year of the revolution of the Four Hundred. According
to Thucydides his was the brain which had planned
all the details of this anti-democratic conspiracy. The
historian pays a striking tribute to his ability as an
organiser :
' It was Pisander who proposed this motion and in
general took the most active steps for the subversion
of the democracy ; but the one who contrived the whole
plot and the details of its working and who had given
his attention to it longest was Antiphon, a man who
* Ps.-Plut., Lives of the Orators, Antiplion, § 9.
1»
20 THE GREEK ORATORS
must be placed in the first rank for his character, his
ingenuity, and his powers of expression. He never
put himself forward in the assembly, nor appeared,
from choice, at any trial in the courts, but lay under
the people's suspicion owing to a reputation for
cleverness. He was, however, more capable than
any other man of giving assistance to anybody who
consulted him with regard to a case either in the courts
or the assembly. Eventually, when the Four Hundred
suffered reverse and were being harshly treated by
the democracy, he was himself brought to trial, for
participation in the revolution, and is known to have
' made the finest defence ever on record as having been
delivered by a man on trial for his life.' ^
During the short rule of the Four Hundred he seems
to have been one of the leaders of the extreme party,
as opposed to the followers of Theramenes, who advo-
cated measures of conciliation. He went, with Phry-
nichus and eight other envoys, to negotiate peace with
Sparta in the hope of thus securing the oligarchical
government. Shortly after the failure of this embassy
came the murder of Phrynichus and the fall of the Four
Hundred, and the democracy was ready for revenge.
Most of the ringleaders fled to Deceleia ; Antiphon and
Archeptolemus remained, were prosecuted for treason to
the people, condemned and executed. Their property
was confiscated, their houses razed to the ground, their
descendants disfranchised for all time, and their bodies
refused burial in the soil of Athens or any of her
sallies.
On the occasion of his trial the orator, who had spent
the best years of his Ufe in pleading by the lips of others
1 Thuc, viii. 68.
ANTIPHON 21
in causes which did not interest him, justified his
renown and far surpassed all expectation, delivering
what was, in Thucydides' opinion, the finest speech of
its kind ever heard up to that time. Aristotle pre-
serves an anecdote telling how the poet Agathon
congratulated the condemned man on his brilHant
effort, and Antiphon repHed that * he would rather have
satisfied one man of taste than any number of common-
people' — ol Tvyxavovrefi, a fine aristocratic term for
great Athenian people.^
At the time when Antiphon composed his speeches,
Attic prose had not settled down into any fixed forms.
The first of the orators was therefore an explorer in"
language ; he was not hampered by traditions, and
this freedom was an advantage ; but on the other hand,
the insufficiency of models threw him back entirely
on his own resources.
Of his predecessors in prose-writing, the early his-
torians were of no account as stylists. Herodotus
wrote in a foreign dialect and a discursive colloquial
manner which was unsuited to the needs of oratory ;
Gorgias, indeed, used the Attic dialect, but had hin-
dered the growth of prose by a too copious use of
florid poetical expression. Antiphon, therefore, had
little to guide him, and we should expect to find in his
work the imperfections which are natural in the ex-
perimental stage of any art.
So few of his works remain that we cannot trace any
development in his style ; it is only possible to guess
^ Eth. Eudem.y iii. 1232 b. 7.
X
22 THE GREEK ORATORS
at certain influences which may have helped to
form it.
He must have been familiar with the methods of the
best speakers in the assembly and the law-courts of
the Periclean age ; without great experience of pro-
cedure in both he could not have hoped for any success
as a speech- writer. He must have been versed in the
theories of the great Sophists, such as Protagoras and,
more particularly, Gorgias ; and the model discourses
which they and others composed for their pupils'
instruction were, no doubt, accessible to him. The
general influence of Sophistry is, however, to be traced
more in the nature of his arguments than in his style. ^
§3
As regards vocabulary, we are struck at once by the
fact that Antiphon uses many words which, apart from
their occurrence in these speeches, would be classed as
rare or poetical ; words, that is, which a maturer
prose-style was inclined to reject. This was partly
the result of circumstances ; as has been noted, there
was no canon of style and vocabulary, and the influence
of Gorgias had been rather to confuse than to dis-
tinguish the dictions of prose and poetry, while the
great importance attached to poetry in the sophistical
education of the time increased the difficulties for any
experimental writer who was imwilling to resort to
the colloquial language. In many cases, however, we
may give Antiphon credit for intention in the deliberate
use of poetical words : the * austere ' style ' is wont to
* The Sophistical element is very prominent, especially in the
tetralogies. Like Tisias he makes great use of arguments from
probability.
ANTIPHON 23
expand itself/ says Dionysius, ' by means of big
spacious words ' ; ^ and a store of such words is to be
found in the poets, notably Aeschylus. ^
Antiphon is not singular among prose writers in
introducing poetical words ; Plato, the greatest master
of Attic prose, is in some cases more poetical than the
poets themselves, though his genius is sufficient to
obviate any sense of harshness or incongruity. But
to an orator such harshness might on occasion be a
positive advantage for producing a particular effect ;
an unusual word must, at the worst, attract attention ;
at the best it lends dignity to an otherwise pedestrian
sentence. Dionysius classed Antiphon and Aeschylus--
together as masters of the ' austere ' style, and some
of the orator's words and phrases, quite apart from his
treatment of his subjects, have a certain touch of
Aeschylean majesty.
Besides poetical words — ^words which may, as we see,
have been used intentionally, in preference to their
ordinary equivalents in everyday speech — he employs,
for the same reasons, a certain number of unusual
words and forms not necessarily poetical. Every
conscious stylist makes experiments : some of his
innovations may become current coin ; others may
never pass into general circulation, but remain unused
until, perhaps, after many generations an archaeologist
discovers and uses the hoard. ^ A few famihar words
* De comp. verborum, ch. 22.
' Such words are, for instance, dvarpoirevs ; fi-nvi/xa and dXirnpios,
separately, as fiifjPifjia aKicaadai, deipoi/i dXiT'rjpiovs 'il^ofxev, or together,
fiijvifia Tuy iXirrjpiujv Trpoffrplrl/o/xai ; dcla KrjXis, yeyuvelv^ inrTiip^
delfAvrjaros.
' Rare but not poetical words are, e.g. inrijpKTo, xw/)o0t\erv,
KaraSoxOeis, iirldo^oi, and, from lost speeches, fiOipoXoyx^iv, rpifiuveC-
eo-flat, dffTopyia, and many others quoted by lexicographers for their
pecuUarity.
24 THE GREEK ORATORS
occur in unusual forms which are generally regarded as
un -Attic ; unless they are to be removed by emendation,
we must suppose that they were used intentionally to
give an archaic tone.^
Another noticeable characteristic of Antiphon's
•language is the frequent employment of circumlocu-
tions both for verbs and nouns ; a neuter participle
or adjective h\ combination with the definite article
does duty as a substantive, while a verbal noun joined
to an auxiliary takes the place of a verb. Thus, by
an artifice which becomes very common in later writers,
' the beautiful ' is used as a synonym for the abstract
noun ' beauty,' and to ' be judges of the truth ' is
substituted for ' judge the truth/ These artificialities
are often to be noticed in Thucydides, especially in
the speeches, and are probably derived from Gorgias,
who seems to have instituted the fashion. ^
§4
Aristotle and subsequent critics distinguish, in prose,
the running style {elpofievrj Xeft?) and the periodic
(irepLoScKr}). The characteristic of the former is that
a sentence consists of a succession of clauses loosely
strung together (etpo)), like a row of beads ; generally
by re, Be and other copulae ; the sentence begins and
ends with no definite plan, and may be of any length.
In the word period (circuit) the metaphor is rather that
of a hoop ; the sentence does not stretch out inde-
finitely in a straight line, but after a certain time
1 E.g. otda/jLcu, ^5etj, and the remarkable elKbrepov.
2 Vide supra, p. i6. A striking example of the verbal peri-
phrasis is in Antiphon, Herodes, § 94 : vvv ixkv o^v yvupiaral ylvtade
T^s 5//C17S, T&re d^ SiKaa-ral tuv fiaprvpuv pOp p.kp do^acrral, t6t€ d^ Kpirai
TIJ^V dXT^dwp.
ANTIPHON 25
bends back on itself so that the end is joined to the
beginning. It must, according to Aristotle,^ be of
hmited length, not longer than can be taken in at a
glance or uttered in one breath, and have a definitely
marked beginning and end.^
Aristotle finds the loose, running style tedious,
because it has no artistic limit of length, and never
gets to an end until it has finished what it has to say.
To us it seems to have this slight advantage, that it
can always stop when it has said what it me-ans, and
has no temptation to plunge itself into antithesis or
lose its way at the cross-roads of chiasmus before it
arrives at its destination ; for though, in the periodic
style, the end of the sense should ideally coincide with
the end of the period, there are in practice many
instances where the sense is fully expressed and the
sentence might end before the ' circuit ' is artistically
complete.
The baldest examples of the ' strung together ' style
must be sought in the fragments of the early historians ;
but Herodotus is sufficiently near to them to provide
us with an object-lesson.
Take, for instance, the following :
' When Ardys had reigned forty-nine years, Sadyattes
his son succeeded him, and he reigned twelve years, and
Alyattes succeeded Sadyattes. And he made war on
Cyaxares, the descendant of Deioces, and the Medes, and
drove the Cimmerians out of Asia and took Smyrna, a
colony of Colophon, and attacked Clazomenae. Here he
had not the success he desired, but met with grave disaster.
* RheU, iii. 9. 1-2.
* Rhet.y iii. 9. 3 : \i^u> ^xov<^^^ ^PXh^ '^'^^ reKevrijv avrijv Ka6* airriju
Kal fiiyedoi tva^uovrToi'. Ibid., 5 : evapdiry^varos.
26 y THE GREEK ORATORS
And during his reign he did other noteworthy deeds, as
follows. He fought with the Milesians . . .' etc., etc.^
Yet even Herodotus, the most obvious exponent of
^ the loose style, shows a tendency towards the greater
compression of periodic writing ; this tendency is at
times strongly marked, e.g. in the speeches of the
Persian nobles in debate. ^ Here there is a continual
movement towards the balance of clauses ; it is very
far from the harmonious structure of Isocrates, and is
perhaps unconscious, but the elements of the periodic
style are there.
The particular faculty of this latter st3de is that it
can be more emphatic and precise than the other. It
must be concentrated (KaTearTpafifievrj) ^ if the sentence
is to be of moderate length ; it tries, as Dionysius says,
* to pack the thoughts close together, and bring them
out compactly/ *
These qualities, concentration of thought and pre-
ciseness of expression, are essential for a pleader in the
courts, and so it was not unnatural that the develop-
ment of the periodic style should coincide at Athens
with the rise of forensic oratory. Antiphon, the first
practical pleader on scientific lines, is also the earHest
of extant writers known to have been a careful student
of periodic expression.
It must not be supposed that all his work consisted
of periods carefully balanced : on the one hand, perfec-
tion could not be attained at the first onset ; many of
the sentences are crude ; in some cases there is a
^ Herod., i. 16-17. ' ^^j "i- 80-81.
^ Arist., Rhet.y iii. 9. 3.
* Dion., de Lysia, 6 : -q avarpiipovaa rd vo'/jfiara /cat arpoyyTjXws
iK<pipovaa X^^is.
ANTIPHON 27
weakness of emphasis due to imperfect mastery of the
form ; on the other hand, there are cases where the
style is freer and more analogous to the simple fluency
of the elpofjuevT} Xef 49. The plain fact is that the method
of Herodotus is the most appropriate for telling a
straightforward narrative from one point of view only ;
while the periodic style comes spontaneously into being
for purposes of criticism, or where we contrast what is
with what might have been ; or of debate, where we
put up alternatives side by side with the object of
choosing between them.
The first object of history, to the mind of Herodotus,
is to tell a story ; and Herodotus mostly keeps this
end in view. Thucydides in some parts of his narrative
does the same, but whereas he has a greater tendency
to consider each event not by itself but in relation to
other circumstances, such as the motives for the action,
its effects and influences, he is often periodic even in
narrative. He is still more so in speeches. The object
of a deliberative speech is not usually to tell a plain
story but to produce a highly-coloured one ; it mentions
facts chiefly with the object of criticizing them and
drawing an inference or a moral.
If this is true of the speeches in Thucydides, it must
be still more applicable to those of a forensic orator.
In Antiphon we find short passages in the simple-
narrative style — for instance, in the statement of facts
in the Herodes case ; but a short section of this nature
is followed by criticism and argument expressed in the
more artificial period. This is inevitable ; there is no
time to spend on long narratives.
Closely connected with the desire for a periodic style
is the tendency to frequent use of verbal antithesis,-'
28 THE GREEK ORATORS
an artistic figure which provides a happy means of
completing the period and the sense. It is useful
because the second part of the antithesis supplies the
reader or hearer with something which he is already
expecting. It is the application in practice of a
familiar psychological law of association by contrary
ideas. Such contrast is emphasized in Greek by the
common use of the particles ^lev and Se, and is of
unnecessarily frequent occurrence in Athenian writers.
All readers of Thucydides will remember that author's
^craving for the contrast between * word and deed.'
In judicial rhetoric this kind of opposition must in-
evitably occur very often. From the nature of things
each speaker will want to insist on his own honesty
and the dishonesty of his opponents ; the truth which
he is telling as opposed to their hes, and to contrast
the appearances, which seem so black against him,
with the transparent whiteness of his character as
revealed by a true account of the case. But Antiphon,
like the speakers in Thucydides, carries this use of
"^ antithesis too far, for a sentence which contains too
many contrasted ideas is difficult to follow, and so
loses force.
A fair example may be taken from the third speech
of the second tetralogy :
' I, who have done nothing wrong, but have suffered
grievously and cruelly already, and now suffer still more
cruelly not from the words but the acts of my adversary,
throw myself upon your mercy, Gentlemen — ^you who are
avengers of impiety but discriminators of piety — and im-
plore you, in view of plain facts, not to be over-persuaded
by a malicious precision of speech, and so consider the true
explanation of the deed to be false ; for his statement has
ANTIPHON 29
been made with more plausibility than truth ; mine will
be made without guile, though at the same time without
force. '
This outburst is part of a sentence in which the pro-
secutor expresses his indignation that the opponent
whom he has accused of murder has had the audacity
to defend himself at some length.
One more example — from the speech on the charge
of poisoning — is almost ridiculous.
' Those whose duty it was to play the part of avengers
of the dead and my helpers, have played the part of mur-
derers of the dead, and established themselves as my
adversaries.'
§5
All speakers must consider the sound of their
sentences as well as their grammatical structure,
and among all careful writers we find that attention
is paid to the balance of clauses. Some orators go
further than this ; they emphasize contrasts or
parallels by the repetition of similar sounds and even
show a preference for certain rhythms, it being a
maxim of late rhetoricians that prose, though not
strictly metrical in the same way as verse, should
possess a characteristic rhythm of its own.
Some authors go so far as to change the natural
order of words for the purpose of escaping hiatus of
open vowels, which are necessarily awkward to pro-
nounce in rapid speech. This is familiar from the
pages of Demosthenes, and what the later writers did
systematically, Antiphon, and even Thucydides, seem
to have done at times instinctively.
30 THE GREEK ORATORS
As regards the balance of clauses, a good example
may be foimd in the opening of the Herodes speech :
rov fx€v TrtTTCLpafiai irkpa rov TrpoarrJKovTOS,
Tov 8' evSerj'S iifxi fiaiWov tov crv/A<^6/30VT0S,
where the correspondence of the two clauses in equal
numbers of syllables is noticeable. The next sentence
shows the same sort of correspondence, though not
quite so precise ; but here the structure is more
elaborate, since we have two clauses, each of two
parts, contrasted both in whole and part :
A. ov fX€V yap /a' eSci KaKOTra$€tv Tq> (nafiari, fi€Ta rrj^
atTtas T^s ov irpocT'qKO'va'rjSf
a. ivravOot ovSiv jjl ij)<l>€\r)(r€v 17 ifitreipia,
B. o5 Sc fxt Set <T(j>dYJvaL /xera Tr)s dkyjOeias tlrrovra to.
y€v6fi€va,
ft. iv TovTip fi€ ftXdirrn, yj tov Xkytiv dSvvafxia.
Though there is no rhythmical correspondence here,
and the syllabic lengths only correspond roughly, the
* an tis trophic ' structure is obvious.
Gorgias, if we may condemn him on the evidence of
a single short fragment, seems to have affected rhyme
— at any rate his collocation of yvoyfirjv and pco/nrjv can-
not have been accidental — and the similar sound of the
endings of the two clauses in the first passage quoted
above proves that Antiphon at any rate took no
pains to avoid such natural assonance. In an in-
flexional language, where there is always a strong
probabihty that a rhjnne will occur wherever we have
to use an adjective agreeing with a noun, or two
verbs in the same tense and person, some ingenuity
has to be employed at times to avoid a rhyme, and
ANTIPHON 31
Antiphon here, at any rate, did not choose lo avoid it.
The use of rhyme in verse seems to have been offensive^"^
to the Greek ear ; ^ perhaps for that very reason it
may have been at times desirable in prose, its harshness
producing the same kind of effect which Antiphon else-
where attains by the use of uncommon words.
Hiatus is of fairly common occurrence in Antiphon,
and I cannot point to any certain instance of an attempt
to avoid it by a change from the natural order of words.
Antiphon draws little from common speech ; perhaps ^
his dignity prevented him from enforcing a point by
the use of those r^v&iJbai — ^proverbial maxims — ^which
Aristotle recommends ; and he seldom has recourse
to colloquiaHsms. We are inchned, however, to put
in this class such a phrase as TrepiiTrea-ev oh ov/c rjdeXep
— 'he got what he didn't want' — ^used of an im-
fortunate who has been accidentally killed through
his own neghgence.
Metaphors are rare, but teUing when they do occur, as --^
SUrj Kv^€pvf]<r€ie — ' May justice steer my course ' ;
?GjvT69 KaTopoDpvy/jueda — ' I am buried in a hving tomb,'
used by a man who lost his only son ; or, again, the
appeal of the prisoner to the jury not to condemn him
to death — avlaTo<; yap rf fierdvoLa t&v toiovtcov iariv —
* Repentance for such a deed can never cure it.'
Some exaggeration of language is permitted to an
orator. The defendant in the first tetralogy thus
appeals for pity — ' An old man, an exile and an out-
cast, I shall beg my bread in a foreign land.'
The so-called * figures of thought ' (a-'^ij/jLaTa htavoia^) u
such as irony and rhetorical questions, so frequent in
* See Verrall, Rhyme and Reason, in The Bacchants of Euripides.
32 THE GREEK ORATORS
Demosthenes, are scarcely used by Antiphon. There
is no instance either of the hypocritical reticence
^^ {irapoKei'^Ls:), also common in later orators, which by a
pretence of passing over certain matters in silence
hints at more than it could prove.
Greek oratory was much bound by conventions
from which even the greatest speakers could not
altogether escape. To some extent this may be
attributed to the evil influence of the teachers of
rhetoric, but by far the greater part of the blame must
rest upon the Athenian audiences.
The dicasts, with a curious inconsistency, seem to
r- have demanded a finished style of speaking, and yet
to have been suspicious of any speaker who displayed
too much cleverness. It was, in fact, the possession of
this quality which made Antiphon himself unpopular. ^
A pleader, therefore, who felt himself in danger of
incurring such suspicion, must apologize to his audience
in advance, stating that any strength which his case
might seem to possess was due to its own inherent
justice, not to his own powers of presenting it. He
must compUment the jury on their well-known im-
\ partiality, and express a deep respect for the sanctity
"^^ of the laws. The early rhetoricians made collections
of such * topics ' or ' commonplaces,' and instructed
their pupils how to use them. The process became
merely mechanical ; any speaker could obtain from
the rhetorical handbooks specimens of sentences
dealing with all such requirements, but only a man of
rare genius could, by originaHty of treatment, make
them sound at all convincing. Aristotle at a later date
. made a practically exhaustive collection of such topics.^
1 Supra, p. 20. • Arist., Rhet., i.
ANTIPHON 33
Antiphon, in his Tetralogies, showed by example
how some of these commonplaces might be employed.
In his real speeches he uses them freely, and with so
httle care that he repeats his own actual words even/
within the limits of the few extant speeches. ^
In the introduction of these devices, however, he
shows some skill. The speech on the murder of Herodes
is quite subtle in places. CompUments are paid to
the jury, but the flattery is not too open. It is some-
times achieved rather by suggestion than by statement.
' Not that I wished to avoid a trial by your democracy,'
says the defendant ; and again, ' Of course I could
trust you quite without considering the oath you have
taken ' ; or once more, in parenthesis, * On the sup-
position that I had no objection to quitting this land
for ever, I might have left the country.' Here, and
in other cases, there is little more than a hint which
an intelligent juror may grasp.
The most prominent of all the topics used by Anti-
phon is the appeal to the divine law by which guile
meets with punishment ; the murdered man, if
unavenged by human justice, will find divine champions
who wiU not only bring the homicide to book, but will
punish the guilty city which has become polluted
by harbouring him. So much stress is laid upon this ;
conception of divine justice that some writers have ;
believed that Antiphon held firm reUgious views
which he thus expressed. This opinion may reason-
ably be held, but it must not be pressed. We know
from external sources that Antiphon was not in
* E.g., on the laws, Herodes, § 14, and Choreutes, § 2, where the
same passage of about eight lines occurs with only the alteration of
two or three unimportant words.
C
34 THE GREEK ORATORS
sympathy with the existing government, yet the
speakers of his orations express or imply admiration
for the democracy ; the speech-writer, in fact, wrote
what he thought would be acceptable to the judges
rather than what he himself believed. Arguing, in
Antiphon's own way, from probabilities, we may say it
is more likely that a highly educated contemporary of
Anaxagoras and Pericles should in private life profess
a moderate scepticism than an unquestioning belief in
the sort of curse that destroyed the house of Atreus,
even though Antiphon may be Aeschylean in style.
The argument of the defendant in the Herodes,
' Those who have sailed with me have made excellent
voyages, and sacrifices at which I have assisted have
been most favourably performed, and this is a strong
argument for my innocence,' does not appeal to us,
who do not believe in the accidental blood-guiltiness
of the community which imknowingly harbours a
guilty individual. It may or may not have had some
weight with Antiphon himself, but it certainly would
have some influence on the common people of Athens,
who believed that the whole city was polluted by the
sacrilege of the mutilation of the Hermae. The fact
that it must impress the jury was a good reason for
inserting it, whether Antiphon had any religious
feeling or not.^
§6
It remains to consider Antiphon's manner in the
treatment of his subjects.
1 Jebb {Attic Orators, vol. i. pp. 40-41) insists that the prominence
given to this kind of argument points to a deep rehgious feeUng in
the orator's heart. However, we meet with the same type of
aargument in Aeschines, to whom no such depth of feehng is usually
imputed.
ANTIPHON 35
His personal dignity is as remarkable in his manner
as in the formalities of style. As we turn back to him ^
from Demosthenes or Aeschines, who lowered the tone \
of forensic pleading to suit contemporary taste, we
are surprised to find that he hardly ever condescends
to ridicule, never to scurrilous invective. His judicial
adversaries are not necessarily persons of discreditable
parentage, immoral character, and infamous occupa-
tion. They may perhaps be liars, for one's own state-
ment of the case must be assumed to contain the whole
truth, and consequently the other side must depend
on falsehood ; but even here the orator is prepared
to admit, with almost un-Attic generosity, that his
adversaries have been misled and are not acting up
to their true character. Take the opening of Tet-
ralogy II. 3 :
' The behaviour of my adversary shows, better than any
theory could, that necessity constrains men to speak and
act contrary to their better nature.
Up to the present he has never spoken shamelessly or
acted desperately ; but now his misfortunes have con-
strained him to use language which, knowing him, I should
never have expected him to utter.'
Antiphon's method of constructing his speeches is
simple : a conventional preface, of the kind which "i..
every rhetorician kept in stock, ^ is followed by an
introduction describing and criticizing the circum-
stances under which the action has been brought. ^ ^
The facts, or a selection of facts of the case, are then ,:^
narrated, 3 and are followed by arguments and proofs.* J
The evidence of witnesses may be interspersed through
* Cf. the Demosthenic collection of irpoolfjua.
' xpOKaTa<rK€V7j. ^ Sn^yrjffis. * vlffTen.
36 THE GREEK ORATORS
the narrative, taken point by point ; or, if the narra-
tive is short and simple, all the testimony may be
reserved for the end. A peroration,^ reviewing the
situation and containing a final appeal to the court,
normally ends the speech.
The speeches in the Tetralogies, which are only
blank forms composed for practice or as specimens
for study, contain only preface, argument, and perora-
tion ; there being no actual facts to deal with, there is
no introduction or narrative.
It is a pecuHar weakness of the extant speeches that
they rely so much more on arguments from general
^^ probability {elKora) than on real pleading on the basis
of evidence. 2
Thus the defendant in the Herodes mentions quite
casually that he never left the ship on the night
when the murder was committed on shore, but he
produces no evidence for the alibi and treats it as of
quite secondary importance.^ He insists more on
the point that the slave who gave evidence against
him was probably induced to bear false witness by
the prosecutors. Another piece of evidence against
him is the assertion that he wrote a letter to Lycinus,
stating that he had committed the murder. * Why,'
he asks, ' should I have written a letter, when my
messenger would know all the facts ? '
It may be, in this instance, that the defendant's case
was a very weak one, and that he was obliged to rely
on generahties : but the First Tetralogy affords an in-
teresting parallel. There the defendant, in his second
^ iTriXoyos.
2 This is another characteristic of the earher rhetoricians ; vide
supra, p. 12.
» Herodes, § 26.
ANTIPHON 37
speech, the last speech of the trial, affirms, what he pf-
has apparently forgotten to mention before, that he
never left his house on the night of the murder.
The most serious artistic defect in the extant speeches
is the lack of that realism which the Greeks called rjOo^, ^1
characterization. The language of the defendants in
the Herodes and the Choreutes is very similar, though
the former is a young Lesbian and the latter a middle-
aged Athenian. Moreover, the young Lesbian apolo-
gizes for his inexperience and lack of capacity for t^^y^
speaking, and does so in polished periods elaborated
with all the devices of rhetorical art — antithesis of
words and ideas, careful balance of the length of
clauses, and judicious employment of assonance.
A perusal of Antiphon's introduction to the speech
de Caede Herodts will help, better than any detailed
criticism, to an understanding of his methods of com-
position. We must note the disproportionate length
of this introduction, to which the pleader evidently
attaches more importance than to the disproof of the
charge itself. ^ A study of it leads us to believe that
the guilt or innocence of the party would have little; "
to do with the verdict if he had once succeeded in J^,
impressing the jury favourably. He apologizes in
artistic periods for his incapacity in public speaking,
and enlarges on the commonplace that truth has often
been stifled through lacking the power of expression.
He makes no appeal for impartiality, since he can
trust the jury — another brazen commonplace (§§ 1-7).
The procedure of his adversaries is as shameless as
it is unjust (§§ 8-9) ; it is even sacrilegious (§§ 10-12),
so that they merit indignation, while the defendant,
* The Introduction amounts to one-fifth of the whole speech.
38 THE GREEK ORATORS
who respects the laws of God and man as he loves
his country, deserves every indulgence (§§ 13-15). The
prosecutors' brutality can be explained by their dis-
trust in the justice of their case and the uprightness
of the jury (§§ 16-17). Finally, they have had ample
time to work up their case, while the victim of their
intrigues is called upon at a moment's notice to answer
the most serious charges (§§ 18-19).
' I. I could wish. Gentlemen, that I possessed a capacity
for speaking and an experience of the world on a scale
corresponding to the misfortune and sufferings that have
befallen me ; as it is, my experience in the latter is as
much beyond my deserts as my deficiency in the former
falls short of my requirements.
' 2. When I had to suffer in my own person under an
undeserved charge, I had no experience to help me on ;
now, when my salvation lies in a plain statement of the
facts as they occurred, I am thwarted by my incapacity
in speaking.
* 3. In many instances men with no capacity in speak,
ing have been disbeUeved because they only told the truth,
and have owed their ruin to the fact that they could not
demonstrate the truth ; many, on the other hand, who
possess the capacity for speaking, have been believed on
account of their lies, and owed their salvation to the fact
that they lied well. So one who has not the necessary ex-
perience of procedure in the courts must inevitably be at
the mercy of the speeches of the prosecution ; he cannot
rest secure upon a true statement of the facts of the case.
* 4. Now, most parties in such causes as this make a
request for a fair hearing — implying a mistrust of them-
selves and a conviction that you are not impartial. I
shall make no such request, for it is only reasonable that
honest men should grant a hearing to the defendant, even
though he has not asked for it, just as the prosecutor has
been granted a hearing without cisking.
ANTIPHON 39
' 5. But my prayer is, firstly, that if my tongue leads me
into error, you will be merciful, and consider that my error
is due to inexperience rather than guilt ; and secondly,
that if I should in any point express myself well, you will
attribute such expression not to any cleverness of mine
but to the inherent power of truth ; for justice demands that
a man guilty in his actions should not win salvation by his
speech, and, equally, that one righteous in his actions
should not for his speech be brought to ruin ; for an error
in speech is the tongue's fault — ^an error in action is a fault
of the heart.
* 6. A man who reaUzes that his personal safety is en-
dangered is bound to err sometimes ; he has to think not
only of the defence he is making, but of its possible results ;
for the issue of all matters yet undecided depends on chance
rather than on forethought.
' 7. Such considerations cannot fail to cause anxiety to
one whose life is in danger ; indeed, I observe that people
,who have a thorough experience of the courts fail to do
justice to their powers when in danger themselves, but are
far more successful in cases which involve no personal
danger. Thus, Gentlemen, my request is both lawful and
righteous ; it is as just for you to grant as for me to prefer
it ; and I now proceed to answer in detail the charges which
have been brought against me.
* 8. First, I would draw attention to the illegahty of the
methods by which I have been forced into this trial, not
that I wish to avoid judgment by this democratic court —
for even if you had taken no oath, and were bound by no
law, I should be ready to leave in your hands the decision
about my life, confident as I am that I have done no wrong
in this matter, and that your verdict will be a just one —
but in order that my enemies' violent and illegal action
against me in this case may help you to realize their con-
duct towards me on other occasions,
* 9. My first point is this : Contrary to all precedent at
Athens, though I am on trial for murder, I was indicted
40 THE GREEK ORATORS
for " criminal violence." Now my enemies themselves
have testified that I neither belong to the class of " violent
criminals," nor am subject to the law which covers such
cases. It applies to such offences as steahng and highway
robbery, and they have shown that no such charge can
attach to me.
' Thus their conduct in the matter of my summary
arrest has made it in the highest degree legal and just for
you to acquit me.
' 10. They say, indeed, that the taking of life is in itself
an aggravated form of " criminal violence." I admit that
it is a most serious kind, and so is sacrilege or treason ;
but you have laws which deal with each of these charges
specifically.
* And, to begin with, they have brought me to trial in
the Agora, the very place which a defendant in a charge
of murder is ordinarily warned to avoid ; secondly, they
have proposed a penalty of their own choosing, whereas
the law ordains that the man who has taken another's life
shall lose his own in return.
* This they have done, not for my benefit, but for their
own convenience, and herein they have failed in that respect
for the dead which the law prescribes.
* II. Again, as I imagine you all know, all the courts
concerned with murder trials sit in the open air, with this
particular object, that the jurors may not have to enter
the same building with those who have blood on their
hands, and that the prosecutor in a trial for murder may
not find himself under the same*roof with him who com-
mitted the act.
' But you. Sir, have acted contrary to all precedent in
transgressing this law ; and not only this : It was incum-
bent on you to take the most solemn and binding oath, to
invoke destruction upon yourself and your family and
your house if you failed in its conditions, namely, that you
would not bring any charges against me except such as
referred to the murder and my complicity in it.
ANTIPHON 41
' Had this obligation been observed, however great
crimes I had committed I could not be found guilty except
in view of the one fact of blood-guiltiness, and on the other
hand, however many good deeds I had to my credit, these
good deeds could not save me.
* 12. All this regular procedure you have violated ; you
have invented laws for your own use ; you who prosecute
me have taken no oath ; your witnesses who bear witness
against me have taken none, though they ought first to take
the same oath as yourself ; they should lay their hands
upon the sacrifice while they are bearing witness against
me.
* Further, you ask the court to dispense with the oath ;
to give credence to your witnesses and bring in a verdict
of Guilty, though you yourself have made them disinclined
to credit you by transgressing the estabhshed laws, and
by imagining that your own illegal conduct should in their
consideration have precedence over law itself.
* 13. You say, however, that if I had been set at liberty
I should not have remained here, but should have gone
away and disappeared — as if you had compelled me against
my will to enter the country. I answer that, on your sup-
position that I should not have minded saying farewell to
Athens, it was open to me either not to appear in obedience
to the summons, and so incur judgment by default, or to
go away after replying to the opening speech of the prose-
cution ; for this privilege is open to all. But you, by legis-
lating in your own interest, are trying to withhold in my
case alone this privilege which belongs to all of Greek race.
' 14. Yet I think we must all agree that the laws which
govern such procedure are the best laws in the world, and
most in accordance with divine sanction. They have a
double claim to respect ; they are the most ancient laws
in this land, and they are unchangeable as the offences with
which they deal ; and this is the strongest indication that
a law is well framed ; for time and experience teach man-
kind to recognize what is not well done.
42 THE GREEK ORATORS
' So you do not require to leam from the speeches of
the prosecution whether the laws were well framed or not,
as he implies ; but you do require to learn by the aid of
the laws whether the speeches of the prosecution are urging
a righteous and lawful action, or the reverse — as I assert.
' 15. The laws, then, which relate to the charge of murder,
are excellently framed, inasmuch as no one has ever ven-
tured to disturb them ; you alone have ventured to legis-
late anew, and for the worse. You would set aside justice
as you have transgressed law in your attempt to bring me
to ruin. But your illegal procedure is in itself the strongest
evidence in my favour ; for you knew well enough that
nobody who had taken that solemn oath would have borne
witness against me.
' 16. Again, you did not rely on the facts sufficiently
to allow the question of facts to be settled indisputably
by a single trial ; you reserved for yourself the right to
dispute the judgment, and reopen the case, implying a dis-
trust in the verdict of the present court. The result is
that even if I am acquitted I am no better off, since it is
open to you to say that I was acquitted on the charge of
criminal violence but not on the charge of murder ; whereas,
.if you secure my condemnation you will demand my
death on the ground that I have been found guilty of
murder.
' What can surpass the cruelty of such a device by which
you, if you can once convince the jury, have attained your
object ; while I, if I escape your clutches once, find the
same danger awaiting me again ?
' 17. Again, my imprisonment was a monstrous illegality.
I consented to produce three sureties as required by law,
but they contrived that I should not be allowed to do so.
There is no other instance on record of the imprisonment
of a non- Athenian who consented to produce sureties.
' Yet the officers who have custody of criminals are sub-
ject to this same law, so that this is another privilege
common to all men which was withheld from me alone.
ANTIPHON 43
* i8. Of course, it suited my accusers, firstly, that I should
be as unprepared as possible, through being unable to attend
to my own business in person, secondly, that I should suffer
personal ill-usage, and in consequence of this personal ill-
usage find my own friends more ready to bear false witness
in support of my accusers than true witness in my support.
And so they inflicted a life-long disgrace on me and my
family.
* 19. Thus I have been brought to trial handicapped in
many ways in relation to your laws and to justice ; but
even with these disadvantages I shall try to demonstrate
my innocence.
* But it is a hard task to refute at a moment's notice a
number of deliberate falsehoods long-prepared; for it is
impossible to be forearmed against unexpected attacks.*
After this long preamble, the speaker at last dis-
cusses the accusation (§§ 19 sqq.), and to some extent
deals satisfactorily with the evidence — entirely cir-
cumstantial— which has been brought against him.
It has already been noticed that, though he casually!'
leaves it to be inferred that he could prove an alibi J
he lays no stress on the assertion, and is far more
concerned with showing that it is * improbable ' that
he should be a murderer. The final and, apparently,
the most important argument is drawn from the
absence of divine signs which might have pointed
to the speaker's guilt. He makes no attempt, like
the defendant in the First Tetralogy, to suggest
other explanations of the crime ; many crimes,
he says, have before now baffled investigation, and
he is only concerned with denying the charge against
himself.
44 THE GREEK ORATORS
§7
In the Life of Antiphon, falsely ascribed to Plutarch, ^
wfe read that sixty speeches were extant under the
orator's name, but of these twenty-five were con-
sidered spurious by the critic Caecilius of Calacte.
We have now fifteen, viz. the three Tetralogies, or sets
of four speeches ; the speeches on the Murder of
Herodes, the Death of the Choreutes, and the Charge
of Poisoning. All of these deal with homicide, the
department in which Antiphon, presumably, showed
especial skill. Blass has collected besides the titles
of twenty-three other speeches on miscellaneous
subjects. 2
The Tetralogies, each consisting of four short speeches
on the same imaginary case — two for the prosecution,
and two for the defence — have this peculiar interest,
that they stand on the border-line between theory
and practice. They differ from the exercises composed
by other early rhetoricians and from the declamations
of the Roman Empire in that they are not concerned
with historical or mythological personages in possible
or imaginary positions, but treat cases which, although
fictitious, are of the kind which might arise in every-
day life at Athens. Thus these skeleton-speeches give
a clear idea of the lines on which either side might
plead its case in an actual trial. The professioi^l
advocate must be ready to plead on either side in
any cause, and here we find Antiphon composing
speeches in turn suitable for both sides. As has been
noted, there is very little detail given. No narrative
1 Ps.-Plut., Lives of the Ten Orators.
2 Attische Beredsamkeit, vol. i. pp. 104-105.
ANTIPHON 45
of facts occurs ; the actual circumstances presupposed
can only be gathered from the arguments employed ;
and the result is that the outlines of the speeches
both in accusation and defence are very clearly marked.
The argument of the First Tetralogy is as follows : —
A certain citizen has been murdered on his way home
from a dinner party. His slave, who was mortally
wounded at the same time, deposed that one of the
murderers was a certain enemy of his master, against
whom the latter was on the point of bringing a serious
law-suit. The case comes before the Areopagus.
a. The accuser argues that the deceased cannot
have been murdered by robbers, since he was not
plundered ; nor in a drunken brawl, which was im-
possible considering the time and place. Therefore
the crime was premeditated, and the motive was
revenge or fear. The accused had both these motives,
and moreover the slave identified him.
y8. The defendant argues that the murder may have
been done by robbers who were scared away before they
had robbed the corpse, or by some criminal who feared
the dead man's testimony, or by some other enemy,
who felt secure because he knew suspicion would fall
on the accused. The slave may have been mistaken
or perhaps suborned. If probability is to decide the
case, it is more probable that the defendant would
have employed some one else to do the murder than
that the slave would be certain of having recognized
the criminal. The danger of losing a law-suit could
not have seemed so serious as the present danger of
losing his life.
7. The accuser in his second speech ingeniously
meets the arguments of /3 point by point ; and
46 THE GREEK ORATORS
8. The defendant criticizes and disposes of the argu-
ments of 7, and incidentally mentions that he could
prove an alibi — though he does not seem to lay any
stress on this.
With the exception of the evidence of the slave,
now dead, the whole case rests on a discussion of
probabilities.
The Second Tetralogy deals with the death of a boy
accidentally killed by a javelin with which another
youth was practising in the gjnnnasium. The question
to decide was, who was to blame — the accuser main-
tained that it was a case of homicide, the defendant
suggested unintentional suicide ! ^
The Third Tetralogy supposes that an old man has
been brutally beaten by a young man, and died of his
injuries a few days later. The defendant attempts to
put the blame first on the dead man, since he struck
the first blow, secondly on the surgeon ; and, finding
this not plausible enough, goes into exile : the second
speech for the defence is spoken by a friend of the
accused.
The extant speeches composed for real cases may
be taken in the order of their importance.
On the Murder of Her odes. — Herodes, an Athenian
citizen who had settled at Mitylene, made a voyage
to Aenus in Thrace to receive the ransom of some
Thracian captives. He sailed with the accused, a
Mitylenean whose father lived at Aenus. They were
driven by a storm to shelter at Methymna, and there
exchanged from their open boat into a decked vessel.
1 In the similar case discussed by Pericles and Protagoras, the
third possibility was considered — the guilt of the javelin. (Plut.,
Pericles, ch. 36.)
ANTIPHON 47
They fell to drinking to pass the time, and Herodes,
going ashore one night, was never heard of again.
His companion continued the voyage, and on returning
to Mitylene was charged with murder. It was asserted
that a slave had confessed to having assisted in the
murder, and that a letter had been discovered from
the defendant to one Lycinus, supposed to be the in-
stigator of the crime.
By the laws of the Athenian League such a trial
must take place at Athens ; ordinarily a case of murder
would come before the Areopagus, but actually the
accused was indicted as a * malefactor,' ^ was arrested
and brought before an ordinary court. He contends
that this is a grievance, for if the prosecution fails he
may still be brought before the Areopagus. Further,
he was kept in prison, all bail being refused. This
was, apparently, illegal.
The trial took place probably about 417 or 416 B.C.
The introduction to the speech has been quoted. ^
The narrative gives first the facts up to the defendant's
arrival at Athens (§§ 19-24), and shows that probabihty
is against the prosecution (§§ 25-28) ; next, the return
of one of the ships to Mitylene, and the confession of
the slave imder torture (§§ 29-30). The slave's evidence
is proved to be worthless (§§ 31-41). The alleged letter
to Lycinus is discussed, and the defendant proves that
he himself had no motive for the murder, and cannot
be expected to know who is the real culprit (§§ 42-73).
Odium has been unjustly stirred against him by the
assertion of his father's disloyalty (§§ 74-80). The
absence of signs of divine anger is a further proof of
his innocence (§§ 81-84) • Finally, he appeals for another
* iv8ei^ii KaKovpyias. ' Supra, p. 38 sqq.
'•\
48 THE GREEK ORATORS
chance at least, since, if acquitted now, he may be
tried again by the Areopagus (§§ 85-95).
The speech On the Choreutes refers to the death of
a boy Diodotus, who was being trained to sing in a
choir at the Thargeha, and was accidentally poisoned
by a drug given him to improve his voice. The
choregus or choir-master was accused of poisoning
before the Areopagus.
The extant speech is the second for the defence ;
the date is probably about 412 B.C. The speaker
comments on the disingenuous action of his adversaries,
who refused to have slaves examined, and introduced
much irrelevant matter. He contrasts the openness
of his own conduct. The epilogue is lost.
The speech Against a Stepmother on a Charge of
Poisoning is sometimes regarded as a mere exercise,
but, in striking contrast to the Tetralogies, this speech
contains full and detailed narrative. Its authenticity
has been further questioned, but we have so httle
material for judging of the style of Antiphon that it
is impossible to pronounce definitely against the sup-
position that this speech was composed by him. It
may be that it was an early work ; it is certainly less
powerful than the other two genuine speeches.
The Argument. — A young man accuses his stepmother
of having poisoned his father by the help of another
woman, a slave. The father was dining with Philoneos,
a former lover of this woman, and she was persuaded
to administer a love-philtre to the two. Both men
died, the woman was put to death, and the prosecutor
now urges that his stepmother, who instigated the
crime, should be punished for her guilt.
ANTIPHON 49
Of the speeches known to us only by name or by
short fragments, it is probable that some at any rate
were the work of Antiphon the Sophist, with whom
the orator is often confused. A work on rhetoric
and a collection of proemia and epilogues were also
current imder the orator's name.
A
CHAPTER III
THRASYMACHUS— ANDOCIDES
§1
NEW period begins with Thrasymachus of Chalce-
don, who adopted Athens as his home. He is
placed by Aristotle between Tisias, one of the founders
of rhetoric, and Theodorus of Byzantium, ^ who was a
contemporary of Lysias. According to the chronology
of Plato's Phaedrus, he was already at the height of
his powers when Isocrates was only a youth of pro-
mise. ^ The dramatic date of the dialogue being 410
B.C., we may suppose him to have been bom between
460 and 450 B.C., though there is no clear indication.
He seems to have followed the lines of his prede-
cessors. He composed a rixvv or handbook of rhetoric,
and composed or compiled a collection of passages to
serve as models for his pupils, called by Suidas dipopfial
pr)ropLKab (oratorical resources) . This probably included
the exordia and epilogues mentioned by Athenaeus.^
Aristotle mentions a work called^EXeot [appeals to pity),^
and a book with the mysterious title v7r€pl3dWopT6<:
completed his educational output. ^ He composed also
1 Soph. Elench., 183 b. 32. ^ 267 c.
» X. 416 A. * Rhet., in. i. 7.
' The word seems to mean powerful or convincing ; whether r^irot
(commonplaces or passages) or \6yoi {arguments) is the word to be
supplied, we cannot even conjecture.
50
THRASYMACHUS 51
some epideictic speeches, which, as Suidas calls them
irair^/vLa, were probably of the mythological type, of
which we possess examples in the Helen and Palamedes
of Gorgias. Dionysius says that he left no deliberative
or forensic speeches, and this statement agrees with
the known fact that he was an ahen, and therefore
could not appear in the courts or the assembly. ^ On
the other hand, Suidas mentions public speeches, and
Dionysius has himself preserved a fragment of what
appears to be a deliberative speech. ^ The probability
is that this was composed only as a model for his
pupils, and it is, in fact, of a vagueness which would
be appropriate to almost any circumstances.
He excelled in the * pathetic ' style : * For the-
** sorrows of a poor old man," ' says Socrates, * or any^
other pathetic case, no one is better than the Chalce-
donian giant ; he can put a whole company of people
into a passion and out of one again by his mighty
magic, and is first-rate at inventing or disposing of
any sort of calumny on any grounds or none.' ^ These
gifts seem to have been the natural expression of his
impetuous and passionate character represented in the
Republic.^
The loss of his works is much to be regretted, since
he was the inventor of a style — the tempered style,
as it was called by Dionysius — ^which, standing be-
tween the austerity of Antiphon and Thucydides, and
the elaborate simpHcity perfected by Lysias, combined
the best quahties of both. He was thus a forenmner
of Isocrates. In the fragment which is preserved, we
find no trace of rare or poetical words or audacious
* de Isaeo, ch. xx. * de Demosthevie, ch. iii.
» Phaedrus, 267 c (Jowett). * Book i., 336B.
V.
53 THE GREEK ORATORS
compounds such as Gorgias used ; none of the compli-
cated sentences of Thucydides, and no forced antithesis ;
the diction is flowing, and the expression clear. He
seems to have been the first writer to make a careful
study of metrical effect, and is mentioned for his fre-
quent use of the paeon by Aristotle, who apparently
classed him with those writers to whom diction is
more important than ideas.^
The fragment already mentioned purports to be the
exordium of a political speech :
' I could have wished, men of Athens, that my lot had
been cast amid those ancient times and conditions when the
younger men were content to be silent, since circumstances
did not force them to speak in public, and their elders were
able administrators of the state. . . .'
This is a conventional opening ; a similar phrase
of regret (i^ovXofivv) begins the speech of Antiphon on
the murder of Herodes,^ and Aeschines has elaborated
the same theme of the superiority of political Hfe in
the time of Solon in a way which leads us to suspect
that he had the prooemium of Thrasymachus in mind.^
Of the works of Theodorus of Byzantium not a
sentence remains. A contemporary of Lysias, he
taught rhetoric and composed certain works on the
subject.^ He concerned himself with the proper
divisions of a speech, adding a section of * further
narrative' {iirihuri^rja-L^) to the usual narrative, and
* further proof ' (iiriTrla-Tcoa-t^) to proof.^ It is for
^ Rhet., iii. 8. 4 ; iii. i. 7. The paeon =^ — ■^^^ot^^^s^—.
2 Cf. Aristoph., Frogs, 866 : e^ovKbixriv fikv ovk ipi^eiv ivddSe,
3 Aesch. in Ctes.^ § 2.
* The reference by Arist., Rhet., ii. 23. 28 to i) irpbrepov Qeoddtpov
rixfr) — the earlier treatise of T. — ^implies others.
* Cf. Arist., Rhet., iii. 13. 4 : dii^yriaiSf hriSi-fiyrjais, irpodi'^Tjais ;
IXryxos, iire^iXeyxos.
ANDOCIDES 53
this over-subtlety that Plato ridicules the ' cunning '
artificer of speeches ' from Byzantium. ^
§2
Andocides was bom about 440 B.C., a member of a
family which had been distinguished for three genera-
tions.
His great-grandfather, as he tells us, fought against
the Pisistratidae ; his grandfather Andocides was one
of the envoys for the peace with Sparta in 445, and was
twice subsequently a strategus ; his father, Leogoras,
is mentioned by Aristophanes as rearing pheasants. ^
The orator himself was a member of a eraipela or club
— ^probably a social rather than a poHtical club, as
the only meeting mentioned was purely for convivial
purposes.
In 415, on the eve of the saiHng of the Sicilian ex-
pedition, Athens was startled and horrified by a re-
markable act of sacrilege. The images of Hermes
which stood everywhere in the town were, all but one,
mutilated and defaced in a single night. The super-
stitious citizens, with a deep feeUng that the whole
community must suffer for the guilty action of some
of its members, considered this an evil omen for the
fortunes of the Syracusan expedition, and, less reason-
ably, took it as an indication of impending revolution
and an attempt to subvert the democracy. Their
anxiety was increased by rumours that a profane ^?
parody of the Eleusinian mysteries was being cele-
brated in certain private houses. Such acts of impiety
were hkely to bring upon Athens the wrath of the gods
who had hitherto protected her.
1 Phaedrus, 266 c, \oyodal8a\os. 2 Aristoph., Clouds, 109.
r
54 THE GREEK ORATORS
It will be remembered how Alcibiades, one of the
leaders of the expedition, was accused of compHcity
in the plot, and how this accusation brought about
his recall from Sicily and his estrangement from his
native city, which led to the utter failure of the great
enterprise of conquest, and ultimately, through the
total loss of her best armies and fleets, to the downfall
of Athens herself.
Andocides was accused of comphcity both in the
profanation of the mysteries and the mutilation of
the Hermae. Of the former charge he apparently
succeeded in clearing himself, but he confesses to a
knowledge of the affair of the Hermae.
A certain Teucrus denounced eighteen persons as
guilty of the mutilation of the busts. Of these some
were put to death, the rest went into exile. The list
included some members of the club to which Andocides
belonged. Another informer, Dioclides, came forward
with a tale that about three hundred persons were
implicated, and he named forty-two of them, including
Andocides and twelve of his near relations. Athens
was in a panic, and eager for instant vengeance. The
informers' victims were at once imprisoned, and their
situation was grave indeed. Andocides describes how,
to save his father and other innocent persons, he at
last resolved to tell what he knew. He gave his
information under a promise of immunity from punish-
ment, but in accordance with the terms of a subsequent
decree he suffered ' atimia,' comprising exclusion from
the market-place and the temples ; and being thus
debarred from a public career he decided to go abroad.
In the de Reditu, delivered in 410 B.C., five years
after the outrage, Andocides implies that he was him-
ANDOCIDES 55
self concerned in the deed, and asks pardon for his
'youthful folly' (§ 7). The language of Thucydides^
and others also implies that he accused himself along
with others. The language of the de Reditu is not,
however, explicit, and does not necessarily disagree
with the statement made twelve years later in the
de Mysteriis.
Andocides there affirms that he knew of the plot
and opposed its execution, but it was carried out
without his knowledge. In proof of this he points out
that the Hermes opposite his own house was the only
one not mutilated.
' So I told the Council that I knew the culprits, and I
declared the facts — namely that Euphiletus suggested the
plot while we were drinking, and I spoke against it, and for
the moment prevented it. Some time later I was riding a
colt I had in Cynosarges, and had a fall, and broke my
collar-bone and cut my head, and was carried home on a
stretcher. Euphiletus, hearing of my condition, told the
others that I had been persuaded to join them, and had
agreed to take a hand in the work and mutilate the Hermes
beside the shrine of Phorbas. In this statement he de-
ceived them, and this is the reason why the Hermes which
you all see in front of our house, the one erected by the
Aegeid tribe, was the only Hermes in Athens not to be
mutilated, because it was supposed that I would do it, as
Euphiletus said. The conspirators, when they heard of it,
were highly indignant, considering that I knew of the
affair, but had taken no part in it. On the next day Meletus
and Euphiletus came to me and said :
' " We have done it, Andocides, and it 's all over. If you
care to keep quiet and hold your tongue, you will find that
we are as good friends to you as ever ; if not, our enmity
* Thuc, vi. 60.
56 THE GREEK ORATORS
will count much more than any friendship you could fonn
by betraying us."
' I answered that, from what had occurred, I considered
Euphiletus a scoundrel ; but that they had much more
to fear from the fact of their guilt than from my know-
ledge of it.' ^
This story is at least a plausible one. The only
suspicious detail is the orator's own candid admission
that all of those whom he accused — with the exception
of four — ^had already been named by Teucrus and
punished, some by death, the rest by exile, so that
his ' confession ' could do them no further harm. The
four others whom he included were not yet in prison,
though they were known to be associates of those
who had already paid the penalty. They had time
to escape into exile (§ 68). We may suspect that they
^ received from the informer due notice of his intentions.
Thus, at the expense of driving four men, who were
probably guilty, into exile, Andocides imdoubtedly
saved the lives of himself, his father, his brother-in-
law, and the rest of the forty-two prisoners. The
f informer Dioclides now recanted, and said that he
'had been compelled by Alcibiades and Amiantus
to lay false information. He was brought to trial
and put to death (§ 66). Andocides, suffering from
^^ partial disfranchisement, was for many years away
(j' from Athens. He engaged in commerce in many
V '» countries, and made money, sometimes by discredit-
able means. He had dealings with Sicily, Italy, the
Peloponnese, Thessaly, Ionia, the Hellespont, and
finally, Cyprus, where Evagoras, King of Salamis,
bestowed a valuable property on him.^
' de MysU, §§ 6i sqq. « Ihid., § 4.
^)
ANDOCIDES 57
In 411 B.C. he made an attempt to recover his rights.
He procured oars for the Athenian fleet at Samos,
and returned to Athens to plead his cause. Un-
fortunately the Four Hundred had then just usurped
the government, and they rejected his plea on the
ground that he had helped their enemies. Later, in
410 or 408 B.C., he made another attempt, and de-
livered the speech de Reditu, but was again imsuccessful.
It was only after the anmesty of Thrasybulus (403 B.C.)
that he resumed his full citizenship, and henceforward
took an active part in public life, figuring now as an
ardent democrat, speaking in the assembly and per-
forming liturgies. In 399 B.C. old enmities burst into
flame, and he was accused of impiety on two counts —
as having taken part in the Eleusinian mysteries at
a time when he was legally disquahfied from doing so,
and as having deposited a supphant's branch on the
altar at Eleusis during the time of the mysteries —
which was a profanation. The penalty for either
offence was death, and the de Mysteriis is his successful
answer to these charges.
In 391 B.C., as one of the envoys delegated to bring
about a peace with Sparta, he delivered the de Pace.
The peace was not concluded. This is the last mention
of this interesting adventurer, though the pseudo-
Plutarch affirms that he went into exile again. If
that is true, we know that he had comfortable places
to retire to, in Cyprus and elsewhere.
§3
Ancient critics dealt severely with Andocides.
Though Alexandrine criticism included him in the list
of the ten standard orators, Dionysius barely mentions
58 THE GREEK ORATORS
him ; ^ Quintilian disparages his work,^ and Herodes
Atticus modestly hopes that he himself is at least
superior to Andocides ; ^ Hermogenes sums up his
defects as an orator as follows :
* He aims at being a statesman, but does not quite suc-
ceed. He lacks proper articulation and distinctness in his
"figures/' he lacks order in connecting his sentences and
rounding them off, losing distinctness by the use of paren-
theses, so that he strikes some as ineffectual and needlessly
V . obscure. He has very little finish or arrangement and
little vigour. He has a small, but very small, portion of
cleverness in systematic argument, but practically none of
any other kind. ' *
It is with some hesitation that I give this tentative
translation of a difficult passage. It seems to mean
that Andocides, though he uses ' figures,' such as
antithesis, rhetorical question and irony, does not
attain ' precision ' or make them distinct enough.
His sentences are sometimes deformed because a
parenthesis overpowers the main clause. His diction
^ is unpolished and unconvincing. The only credit
\ which he deserves is for his fiedoho^ — his system of
stating his case ; wherein Hermogenes was perhaps
thinking of the way in which the orator arranges his
material, giving only part of the narrative at a time,
and criticizing it as he goes along, rather than keeping
narrative and arguments quite separate. Later and
more practised orators have been commended for this
method. By general cleverness, Hermogenes probably
^ Dion., de Lysta, ch. 2. 2 Quint., xii. 10, 21.
^ Philostratus, vita Her. Att., ii. i, § 14.
* Hermogenes, irepi iSeCop, ch. xi. p. 416. Spengel [Rhetores
Graeci).
ANDOCIDES 59
means skill in the use of the usual sophistries of the
rhetorician.
The Pseudo-Plutarch is less severe on the orator :
* He is simple and inartificial in his narratives, straight-
forward and free from " figures." ' ^
It must at once be granted that many of the criticisms
aimed at Andocides hit their mark ; but it is open to
doubt whether they can penetrate deep enough to deal
a vital blow at his reputation. The ancient critics
were academic and tended to lose sight of practical
details. They were, as a rule, more concerned with
the impressions that a speech produced on the reader
than with its effect on the hearers ; they laid great
emphasis on the artistic side, and in examining a
speech looked carefully to see how closely the orator
had followed the artificial rules of the rhetorician.
But this kind of estimate may lead to injustice, for
not only must the critic refer to an artificial standard
established by convention, a standard which might not
have been recognized by the orator's contemporaries,
but, even granting that certain rules of rhetoric should
generally be followed, we may maintain that particu-
lar circumstances justify a speaker in departing from
them. Rhetoric is a practical art, whose object, as
Plato tells us, is persuasion ; and though most people
who practise it will do best to move on the accustomed
lines, there may be some who can succeed without
following the beaten track.
Andocides is not to be compared to his predecessor
Antiphon in the points which are the latter's chief
characteristics — dignity of manner, balance of clauses
* Ps.-Plut., Lives of the Ten Orators.
6o THE GREEK ORATORS
and verbal antithesis ; but, on the other hand, he
has command of a fairly lucid style, and a gift for
telling a straightforward narrative of events, two
matters in which the older orator was not conspicuously
successful. Again, Andocides starts with one signal
advantage. If we read the tetralogies of Antiphon,
excellent as they may be in showing the writer's grasp
of the technique of his trade, and turn from them to
one of the real speeches, the Herodes, for instance,
we feel at once how great a gain it is to have the human
interest before us. A speech in which real persons
are concerned must always have this advantage over
a declamatory exercise. But we still feel that the
personal element is not so prominent as it might be,
simply because the orator is not giving voice to his
own thoughts on an occasion where his own interests
are deeply concerned, but stringing together sentences
which an obscure young man from Mitylene may
clumsily stumble through without, perhaps, in the
least comprehending their cleverness. But Andocides
V [is a real live man speaking in his own person and in
' his own defence on a most serious charge. He is
in grave danger, and must exert himself to the utmost ;
he must rise to the great occasion, or expect to pay
the penalty — perhaps with his life. This is an occasion,
if there ever can be one, when style may be completely
put in the background, where matter is of more im-
portance than method, where the means are of no
account imless the end can be attained ; for epigram
cannot temper the hemlock-cup, and the laws of Athens
are stronger than the rules of oratory.
It was natural to Antiphon to pay attention to
^details of style, and his style is of a rather archaic
ANDOCIDES 6i
tone. Andocides, on the other hand, was not a trained
orator, except in so far as every Athenian was trained
in youth in the elements of speaking. He was not
either a professional pleader or a frequent speaker in
public — indeed, from the fact that he lived long in
exile he cannot have had many opportunities of
appearing either in the law-courts or the assembly.
Possessing a convenient fluency of speech and a^
thorough command of the language of daily life, he
finds in it a satisfactory means of expression. In
most cases he seems to have by nature what Lysias
obtained by art — a clear and direct way of expressing
his thoughts, a simplicity of language in which nothing
strained or unfamiliar strikes the ear. On the other
hand, there are inconsistencies in his style ; there are
times when, apparently without premeditation, he
does use words or phrases slightly foreign to the speech
of common life. We have a feeling that this was done
without affectation ; that in the course of his fluent
and rapid utterance he used just those words which
naturally occurred to him as appropriate. ^ In this
he differs from Lysias, who took the common speech
and perfected it into a literary form, attaining by study
a refined simplicity and purity which only careful
practice could produce.
^ The following is a list of some of the poetical or unusual words
and phrases occurring in the speeches — de Myst. : § 29 ravra rd.
Setvd Kal (ppiKibdr) dvcopdla^op. § 67 wicTLV . . . dTrta-rordrT/j'. § 68 opuffi
rod 17M0U TO (pws. § 99 iiriTpLTTTOv dyados. § 130 KXTjdup. § 146 {yivo^)
ol'xeTtti TcLv Trpbppi^ov.
de Pace: § 7 rbv Bij/xov . . . v\p7]\bv '^pe. § 8 and in three other
passages KaT-qpydaaro [secure, bring about, cf. Eur. Her., 646 TroXet
ffUT7)piav Karepyda-affdai). § 18 KpanaTiveiv. § 31 iKTcTvai. rbv dvfxby,
dpX^v -KoKKdv KaKuiy.
The de Face is noticeable for the recurrence of two grammatical
forms which do not occur in the other speeches, the use of tovto
62 THE GREEK ORATORS
On the whole, Andocides is most effective when he
is most simple ; when he uses common v/ords and makes
no attempt at the rhetorical artifices which do not
come natural to him. The following narrative will
emphasize my point :
* When we had all been taken to prison, and it was night
and the prison gates were shut, and one man's mother had
come, and another's sister, and another's wife and children,
and sounds of lamentation were heard as they wept and
bewailed our miserable state, Charmides spoke to me — ^he
was a cousin of mine, of the same age as myself, and he had
been brought up in our home from childhood.
' ** Andocides," he said, ** you see what serious trouble
we are in ; and though I did not want to say anything, or
to annoy you at all before, I am now forced to do so on
account of the misfortune we are come to.
* ** Your other friends and associates, apart from us
who are your relations, have some of them already been
executed for the charges on which we are being done to
death, while others have admitted their guilt by fleeing
from the country.
' " If you have heard anything about this affair, tell the
truth, and by doing so save both yourself, and your father,
who must be very dear to you, and your brother-in-law,
who is married to your only sister, and finally, all the rest
of your family and friends, not to mention me — ^for in all
my life I have never caused you annoyance, but am devoted
to you and ready to do anything I can to help you." ' ^
fiiu, TovTo 8^ after the manner of Herodotus for the simple fx^y
and 8^ ; and the repetition of 5^ with a resumptive force, as, e.g.,
§ 27 A 5^ irpbs TouTovs fidvovs iKeTvoi avvidevTO, ravra 5' oiSerrtJoiroT* airovi
(paat, TrapcL^rjva.i.
The illogical use of the plural of oi)5efs in the same sense as the
singular [de Myst., § 23 ovSiras, § 147 ovSiva) is perhaps colloquial.
There are many instances of the use of this plural in the later
orators, a point which Liddell and Scott did not observe, or, at
any rate, failed to make clear. Another phrase which may be
colloquial is r^^yvib/jL-jj Kal raiv x^po^y toxv ifxavTov {de Mysf., § 144)-
1 de My si., §§ 48-50.
ANDOCIDES 63
His exposure of Dioclides is simple and effective ;
he repeats the informer's statement, and with a very
few words of comment makes it appear ridiculous :
' Encouraged by his country's misfortunes Dioclides laid
information before the Council. He asserted that he knew
the persons who had mutilated the Hermae, and that there
were about three hundred of them. He proceeded to relate
how he had come across the matter.
' He said that he had a slave working at Laureion, and had
to go there to get the man's wages. He rose very early,
having mistaken the time, and started on his way. The
full moon was shining, and as he passed the gateway of
Dionysus, he saw a number of men coming down from the
Odeum into the Orchestra. He was afraid of them, and
so went into the shadow and sat down between the pillar
and the pedestal on which the bronze statue of the General
stands.
' He estimated the number of the men he saw at about
three hundred, and they were standing round in groups of
five or ten, or, in some cases, twenty. He could recognize
most of them, as he saw the moonlight shining on their
faces.
' Now he made this monstrous statement in the first
place in order that it might be in his power to say that
any citizen he liked was or was not a member of that
company.
' After seeing all this, he said, he went on to Laureion, and
on the next day heard of the mutilation of the Hermae.
So he knew at once that it was the work of the men whom
he had seen.^
The opening of the speech shows a reasonable use
of the sort of commonplaces which custom demanded
as a preface to argument — the mahgnity and ingenuity
of the speaker's enemies and the perplexity caused
1 de My St., §§ 37-39-
64 THE GREEK ORATORS
by the number of their accusations which makes it
difficult to know where to begin.
.^ ' Nearly all of you know, Gentlemen, with what per-
sistency my enemies have contrived to harm me in every
possible way, by fair means or foul, from the time when I
first came to Athens, and there is no need for me to dwell
upon the subject ; but I shall ask you only for just treat-
ment, a favour which is as easy for you to grant as it is
important for me to gain.
' First, I would have you bear in mind that I have now
appeared before you without having been in any way
forced to await my trial ; I have neither surrendered to
bail, nor have I suffered the constraint of imprisonment.
I appear because I have put my trust above all in the
justice of my cause, and secondly, in your character ; feel-
ing as I do that you will give a just decision, and not allow
me through a perversion of justice to be ruined by my
enemies, but that you will much rather save me by allow-
ing justice to take its course in accordance with the laws
of the city, and the oaths which you have sworn as a pre-
liminary to the verdict which you are about to record.
* It is reasonable. Gentlemen, that, in the case of men
who voluntarily face the danger of a trial, you should take
the same view of them as they do of themselves. Those
who refuse to await their trial practically stand self-
condemned, so that you may reasonably pass on them the
sentence which they have passed on themselves ; but as
for those who wait to stand their trial in the confidence
that they have done no wrong, you have a right to hold the
same opinion about them which they have held about
themselves, and not decide, without a hearing, that they
are in the wrong. . . .
' I am considering, therefore, from which point I ought
to begin my defence. Shall I begin with the last- mentioned
plea, that my indictment was illegal ? or with the fact that
the decree of Isotimides is not valid ? or shall I appeal to
ANDOCIDES 65
the laws and the oaths which you have taken ? or, lastly,
shall I start by relating the facts from the beginning ?
' My greatest difficulty is that the various counts of the
indictment do not stir you all equally to resentment, but
each of you has some point which he would like me to
answer first. It is impossible to deal with them all at once,
and so it seems to me the best course to relate the whole
story from the beginning, omitting nothing ; for if you
thoroughly realize what actually occurred, you will easily
recognize the lies which my accusers have told to my
discredit.' ^
The peroratibn is simple and vigorous in its direct-
ness :
* Do not deprive yourselves of your hopes of my help,
nor deprive me of my hopes of helping you. I now request
those who have already given proof of the highest nobility
of feeling towards the democracy to mount the platform
and advise you in accordance with what they know of my
character. Come forward, Anytus and Cephalus, and you
members of my tribe who have been chosen to plead for
me — Thrasyllus and the rest.' ^
Reference has already been made to the vitality of
his speech. Compared with his life-like vigour, the
* austerity ' of Antiphon becomes dull and pompous.
The most striking feature of his work is the ease with
which, in reporting conversations or explaining motives,
he breaks into direct quotation, recalling his own words
or putting words into the mouths of others to express
what they said or thought. We recognize in this
something of a Homeric quality ; it is comparable
to the Epic use of wSe Se rt? elVeo-^e and Kal irori rt?
The following extract shows how the main thread
1 de My St., §§ 1-3 and 8. a Ibid., § 150.
66 THE GREEK ORATORS
of the sentence may be lost in a tangle of such paren-
thetical quotations :
* From the first, though many people informed me that
my enemies were saying that I should never await my
trial — " For what could induce Andocides to await his trial,
when he may leave the city and still be well off ? If he
sails to Cyprus, where he comes from, there is waiting for
him a large and flourishing farm of which he has the free-
hold ; will he prefer to put his neck into a halter ? With
what end in view ? Cannot he see which way the wind
blows here ? " I, Gentlemen, disagree entirely with this
view. I would not live and enjoy the utmost prosperity
somewhere else at the price of losing my fatherland ; and
even if the wind did blow here as my enemies say it does,
I would rather be a citizen of Athens than of any other
city ; prosperous, for the present, as such other cities may
seem to me to be. Holding such views as these I have
committed to you the decision about my life. ' ^
It has been noted that Andocides is not addicted
to the use of verbal antithesis such as Thucydides and
Antiphon have made too familiar. We do not find
him playing upon the contrasts between ' word and
deed,' ' being and seeming ' with such recurrent
monotony.
There is, however, one kind of antithesis to which he
is somewhat partial — an antithesis of thought rather
than language. He is fond of explaining a difficulty
of choice by putting it in the form of a dilemma.
As far as his own personal conduct was concerned,
he must often have had to face dilemmas. From the
part which he had played in the sacrilege, and the
awkward positions in which consequently he foimd
himself placed, it must often have been equally difficult
1 de Myst., §§ 4, 5.
ANDOCIDES 67
and dangerous for him to lie and to speak the truth.
So it is not unnatural that we should often find sen-
tences like the following :
* How would each of you have acted, Gentlemen, if you
had had to choose either to die nobly, or to owe your life
to a disgraceful action ?
' Some may say that what I did was base, but many
would have chosen as I did.'^
This appeal to the individual feelings, especially the
request by which it is prefaced, that they will judge
* by human standards ' (avOpayrrivoys:), is effective in
its boldness. The speaker must have felt sure of
his audience before he ventured to appeal to the lower
nature which every one would like to repudiate.
In marked contrast to the dignity of Antiphon,
Andocides from time to time lapses into scurrility,
dragging into his speech discreditable anecdotes relating
to his opponents which are quite irrelevant to his proper
subject and merely serve to raise a laugh at the moment.
Thus the long recital about the domestic affairs of
Callias (§§ 123-130) has no bearing at all on the trial.
A man whose father has been three times imhappily
married may still be a trustworthy witness. The
introduction of the irrelevant story is then quite
unjustifiable, but,^ since such examples of bad taste
were freely tolerated at Athens, it was worth while
to make a score by such foul hitting, especially if one
could deUver the blows as neatly as in the following
passage :
' At the mother's request, the relations took the child
to the altar at the time of the Apaturia. They brought
1 de Myst, § 57.
68 THE GREEK ORATORS
a victim, and requested Callias to perform the sacrij&ce.
He asked who was the father of the child. " CaUias, the
son of Hipponicus." — "But I'm CaUias." — " Yes, and it's
your child." ' ^
There is more to be said in justification of the attack
on Epichares. To prove, or to assert violently, that
his accuser was an enemy of the democracy and a
person of vile character formed a presumption in
favour of the defendant. Demosthenes himself made
a custom of such practices, and was not less un-
scrupulous or less irrelevant than Andocides :
' But Epichares, who is the worst of them all, and wants
to keep up his reputation, and so acts vindictively against
himself — ^for he was a member of the Council in the time
of the Thirty ; and what is the provision in the law which
is inscribed on the pillar in front of the Council room ?
" Whosoever shall hold office in the city when the demo-
cracy has been overthrown, may be slain without penalty,
and his slayer shall be free from blood-guiltiness, and shall
possess the property of the slain." Surely then, Epichares,
any one who slays you now will have clean hands, according
to Solon's law ? Let me have the law on the pillar read
aloud ? ' 2
But Andocides in such cases certainly violates the
laws of good taste, and in the matter of this personal
abuse, though less fertile in vocabulary, is a worthy
forerunner of the great orators. His scurrility is
hardly excused by the ingenuity of its epigrammatic
form :
* You jackal, you common informer ! . . . are you
allowed to live and prowl about the city ? Little do you
deserve it ; under the democracy you lived by the informer's
1 dt Myst, § 126. " Ibid.y § 95.
ANDOCIDES 69
trade ; under the oligarchy, for fear of being forced to give
up the money you had made by informing, you were a
menial of the Thirty. . . .' ^
and again :
* One result of your decision to observe the present laws
is that he has been restored from exile to citizenship, and
from legal disability to the free exercise of the informer's
trade/ »
The use of parenthesis is sometimes carried by '^
Andocides to extremes. An instance has been quoted
in which the grammatical construction breaks down
because the writer introduces an imaginary conver-
sation into the middle of it.^ The style is sometimes
so loose and discursive that not only is the construc-
tion difficult to follow, but the argument is obscure.
The writer suffers from an inability to keep to the
point, or rather, he tries to explain several things at
once, and so makes nothing clear. An extreme
instance is to be found in §§ 57 sqq. of the de Mysteriis.
His thoughts run too fast for his tongue, and he has
not the technical skill to guide them on their proper
courses. Such sentences afford a practical comment
on the introduction to the same speech, in which he
states that he does not know where to begin.*
On the other hand, passages may be found in which
a series of short sentences, loosely combined, and
disturbed by anacoluthon, are really effective, since >!(
they simulate the broken utterance of passion. Of
such is the following :
* Then the herald inquired who had deposited the sup-
pHant's branch, and no one answered. Now we were
1 (S <TVK6<f>aPTa Kai iTriTpnTTov KivaSos, k.t.X., de Myst., § 99.
" Ibid., § 93. » Supra, p. 66. * § 8.
X
70 THE GREEK ORATORS
standing close by, and Callias could see me. When nobody
answered, he retired into the temple. Eucles, stepping
forward — oblige me by calling him up — Now then, Eucles,
first of all give evidence whether I am speaking the truth.* ^
§4
I have dealt hitherto chiefly with the speech de
My sterns, the best of Andocides' work. The other
speeches now demand a short mention. The de Reditu
differs remarkably from the later speech, de Mysteriis,
but it is chiefly a difference of tone. The verbal
style is much the same, though there is rather more
tendency to antithetical structure. The language is
simple, the sentences are less hampered with par-
entheses. But here Andocides is humble ; he appears
as a young man without friends speaking before a
critical and hostile assembly ; he is moderate in his
language, apologetic in tone, careful not to give offence
by any sarcastic or ill-considered utterance. In
the de Mysteriis he is speaking with the conscious-
ness not of a better cause but of increased powers
and an assured position in the State. He is confident,
almost arrogant at times ; he is bitter and violent in
his attacks on his enemies.
The de Pace bears a general resemblance in style to
the other speeches, except for certain grammatical
peculiarities. Dionysius declared it to be spurious,
but modem critics mostly regard it as genuine.
The chief groimds for suspicion are the inaccuracies
of the historical narrative (§§ 3-9) and the curious fact
that a very similar passage occurs in Aeschines {de
F. L., §§ 172-176), where even certain peculiarities
1 de Myst.y § 112.
ANDOCIDES 71
of phraseology^ are reproduced. As to history, the
orators were often inaccurate about the past history '"
of their own country. Careless statements occur even
in the de My stents. Demosthenes is an untrustworthy-
authority even for events almost contemporary. As
to the other matter, there is good reason for the behef
that Aeschines plagiarized Andocides in the fact that
a reference to Andocides, the grandfather of the orator,
which occurs in both speeches, is in place in a speech
of Andocides, while there is no particular reason why
Aeschines, if he were composing the passage, should
have mentioned him. In some minor points, as Jebb
has shown, Andocides is more accurate than Aeschines.
The suggestion that the de Pace is a spurious speech,
composed by a later rhetor who plagiarized from
Aeschines, is therefore hardly tenable. There remains
a third possibility, that both Aeschines and Andocides
borrowed from the same semi-historical compilation,
perhaps a lost rhetorical exercise.
The de Pace and the de Reditu are not enlivened by
excursions into anecdote or the consequent direct
quotations of speech which characterize the deMysteriis.
The historical argument already mentioned is dull in
itself, but the tedium of the de Pace is some-
what relieved by a not infrequent use of rhetorical
question.
' What is there left for us to discuss ? The subject of
Corinth and the invitation of Argos. First, I should hke
to b3 informed about Corinth : if the Boeotians do not join
us in the war but make peace with Sparta, what will Corinth
be worth to us ? Remember the day, men of Athens,
^ E.g., the poetical v\p'r]'^6v ripe. Andoc, § 7 ; Aesch., § 174. Cf.
Euripides, Supp., 555, and Her. 323.
n THE GREEK ORATORS
when we made our alliance with the Boeotians ; what was
our feeUng in that transaction ? Was it not that we and
Boeotia in combination were strong enough to stand against
all the world ? But now our question is, if the Boeotians
make peace, how shall we be able, without Boeotian
help, to fight against Sparta ? We can do it, say some
people, if we protect Corinth, and have an alliance with
Argos.
' But when the Spartans attack Argos, are we going to
help Argos or not ? We must definitely choose one course
or the other.' ^
An appeal for peace does not give such opportunities
for oratory as a call to arms ; nevertheless, a greater
orator might have made more of the subject.
TYi^^'^^^oh Against Alcihiades is undoubtedly spurious
and belongs to a much later date.
It is based upon a complete misconception of the
nature of the law about ostracism. The speaker is
represented as discussing the question whether he
himself or Nicias or Alcibiades should be ostracized —
a quite impossible position. The speech is little more
than a collection of some of the stock anecdotes about
Alcibiades, such as occur in Plutarch.
The names of four lost speeches are preserved : —
TT/oo? €TaLpov<i, (TVfiffovXevTiKOf;, irepl rrj<; eVSeifew?
and aTToXoyta tt/oo? ^aluKa. Fragments — a few lines
in each case — remain of two imnamed speeches. One
of these refers to Hyperbolus cLS still in Athens,
and so must be placed not later than 417 B.C.,
the year when Hyperbolus was ostracized. It de-
serves quotation as being typical of the snobbish-
1 de Pace, §§ 24-26.
ANDOCIDES 73
ness of the young aristocrat, not yet disciplined by
misfortune.
' I am ashamed to mention the name of Hyperbolas ;
his father is a branded slave, who up to the present day
works in the public mint ; he himself is a foreigner, a bar-
barian, and a lampmaker.' ^
I Frag. 5 (Blass)
T
CHAPTER IV
LYSIAS
§1
HOUGH we attempt a chronological arrangement
of the orators, such a treatment is apt to be
misleading, for their lives and the periods of their
activity overlap considerably. About the year 390 B.C.
Andocides was still composing speeches, Lysias was
yet in his prime ; Isocrates had already made himself
a reputation, and Isaeus had at least begun to be
known. It would be rash therefore to attempt to
trace in the work of any one the influence of any of
the others. Speaking and writing as contemporaries
all may have had something to teach and something
to learn, but we can hardly say that one is in the
\ fullest sense the Hterary predecessor or the disciple
of another.
Lysias was by descent a Syracusan ; his father
Cephalus, of whom Plato gives us a charming picture
in the opening chapters of the Republic, was induced
by Pericles to settle in Athens, and there Lysias was
bom. The Pseudo-Plutarch gives the date as 459 B.C.,
and Dionysius gives the same year ; but this is founded
on an assumption. He was known to have gone to
Thurii at the age of fifteen, and Thurii was founded in
443 B.C. But there is no proof that Lysias went to
74
LYSIAS - 75
Thurii in the year of its foundation ; we only know
that he cannot have been bom eariier than 459 B.C.
Tradition, however, made him Hve to the age of eighty
or eighty-three, and his latest known speech is dated,
probably, in 380 B.C., so that if we assume his death
to have occurred shortly after 380 B.C., we shall be
consistent. 1 The modem view, supported by Blass,
that Lysias was bom not earHer than 444 B.C., has little
evidence to support it. It is based chiefly on the
statement of the Pseudo-Plutarch that Lysias did not
go to Thurii till after his father's death, and the belief
that Cephalus was alive in 430 B.C., the date in which
the scene of the Republtc is supposed to be laid. But
Blass has himself collected instances of Plato's un-
trustworthiness about dates, and the biographer by
himself is a poor authority.
Lysias, then, went to Thurii with his brothers
Polemarchus and Euthydemus. He is said to have
studied under the Syracusan rhetorician Tisias.
After the loss of the Athenian armies in Sicily, 413 B.C.,
Lysias and his brothers were among three hundred
persons accused of * Atticizing,' and were expelled
from Thurii. They retumed to Athens in 412 B.C.
From this year till 404 B.C., the brothers lived in
prosperity and happiness, making a considerable
fortune as proprietors of a shield-factory, where they
employed 120 slaves.
They had many friends ; they belonged to the
highest class of aliens — the isoteleis — and the evidence
of Plato and Dionysius makes it clear that they mixed
1 Two lost speeches for Iphicrates, 371 B.C. and 354 b.c, were
pronounced spurious by Dionysius ; but, as he accepted the date of
Lysias' birth as 459 B.C., he was bound to conclude that these
speeches were not by him.
76 THE GREEK ORATORS
with the most cultivated society. They took pride
in the performance of all public services which fell
to their share.
Fortune changed for the sons of Cephalus when in
404 B.C. a successful revolution brought the Thirty
into power ; the orator himself gives a graphic de-
scription of the way in which their ruin was brought
about.
The Thirty, he tells us, * avowed that they must purge
the city of wrongdoers, and turn the rest of the citizens
towards virtue and j us tice . * Two of the leaders pointed
out that some of the metoeci were discontented with
the new constitution ; these metoeci were rich, so that
their execution was not only a moral duty but a sound
financial move. They easily prevailed on their col-
leagues, who, as Lysias neatly puts it, ' thought nothing
of taking hfe but thought a lot of making money.'
The orator's name was on the list, and he was arrested
at a dinner-party in his own house. He describes
what followed :
' I asked Piso whether he would save my life for money ;
he said he would, if it was a large sum. So I said I was
ready to pay a talent, and he agreed to the terms. I knew
well enough that he regarded neither god nor man, but I
thought my only chance lay in trusting him. So when he
had sworn by his own and his children's hope of salvation
that he would save me if he got a talent for it, I went into
my strong-room and opened the chest. '
The sight of its contents, amounting to about six
talents' worth of gold and silver as well as a quantity
of plate, was too much for Piso's honesty. * I begged
• him to allow me enough for my journey, but he said
I ought to be well satisfied if I saved my skin.'
LYSIAS 77
The prisoner was handed over by Piso to the keeping
of Damnippus and Theognis in the former's house,
and Damnippus, who seems to have been softer-
hearted than the rest, agreed to speak with Theognis
on Lysias' behalf. He knew his man, and * thought
he would do anything for money.' While they were
bargaining, Lysias managed to sUp away unnoticed
through the back-door, and on the following day
escaped on ship-board to Megara ; his brother Pole-
marchus was arrested by Eratosthenes and put to
death.i
During his exile, which lasted something less than
a year, Lysias showed himself a time friend of the
democracy. He gave two hundred shields to the
army and obtained recruits and gifts of money. When
the oligarchy fell in 403 B.C. the ecclesia, on the motion
of Thrasybulus, passed a vote conferring the citizen-
ship on Lysias ; but owing to some informality the
decree was declared illegal, and he lost his privilege
immediately. From this time till about 380 B.C. he
was actively employed in writing speeches, very few
of which he delivered himself. His industry must
have been considerable, since Dionysius attributed to
him not less than two hundred forensic speeches.
The prosecution of Eratosthenes in 403 B.C. marks,
so far as we know, his only personal contact with
Athenian politics. The occasion of the Olympiacus
shows us Lysias appealing to a far wider audience
at the Olympic festival of 388 B.C. He died, according
to the computation of the ancients, soon after 380 B.C.,
at the age of about eighty years.
1 Against Eratosthenes, §§ 5-17.
rr:
78 THE GREEK ORATORS
§2
In literature as in politics we grow tired of hearing
Aris tides called the Just, and so perfect writers are
less admired than they should be. In Latin Terence,
praised by all for the purity of his style, is less read
than the ruder Plautus, and in Greek Lysias, accounted
by ancient critics the standard writer of Attic prose,i
is less appreciated than Demosthenes. *
Using the everyday language as a literary medium,
Lysias, by his exceptional skill and mastery over its
idiom, exalted it to a simplicity and accuracy of ex-
pression never surpassed by other writers. This
simphcity is deceptive :
* ut sibi quivis
Speret idem, sudet multum frustraque laboret
Ausus idem. *
; It is not till we analyse a passage or try to imitate the
I style that we realize how great a part has been played
by art in this structure which seems so natural.
The smoothness strikes us, after a time, as mono-
tonous, and many readers will turn with rehef from
Lysias* polish to the more telUng ruggedness of Anti-
phon, or the varied magnificence of Plato. Lysias,
in fact, provides us with an excellent example of the
purest prose, but the comparative coarseness of the
average taste prefers something less refined, less care-
fully purged of the natural impurities which prevent
insipidity, less free from the colouring matter which
gives character.
So far I have considered only the broad impression
produced by the language, apart from more personal
elements in style.
^ Dion., de Lysia, ch. 2 : r^s 'ArriKJJt yXdrTrii dpurrot Kayiiv.
LYSIAS ' 79
As an orator, Lysias is, on first acquaintance, dis-
appointing. He seems to lack fire, and to subordinate
vigour to precision.
For this apparent weakness we must make certain
allowances. We must remember that he has to be
judged chiefly by speeches written for others, and
speeches deahng with cases which in their very nature
are often unimportant, and in their details have Httle
interest.
It would be unreasonable to ask for any other
qualities than clear statement of fact in a speech for
the prosecution relating to embezzlement by a trustee
for a will (Against Diogiton), or in the indictment of
Nicomachus, a magistrate who has not rendered his
accounts in due course. Such speeches are of con-
siderable importance indirectly : to the jurist, as bear-
ing upon the peculiarities of Attic Law ; to the general
reader, because they help to fill in details of the picture
of pubHc and private life at Athens. We should not
pass a hasty judgment on the writer because, considered
as examples of oratory, they are less attractive and
impressive than some of the more famous models.
I will reserve for future consideration the only
speech in which the personal feelings of Lysias are
deeply involved — the accusation of Eratosthenes. Of
the other speeches there is none which, taken as a whole,
is comparable to the finest of the pubhc speeches or
the harangues of Demosthenes. Though Lysias had
often to deal with trials of public men, these trials
were never really of public importance. It was not
his business to lay down a definite line of pohcy for
his city to follow ; it was not for him to awake an
apathetic nation to the need of instant and decisive
8o THE GREEK ORATORS
action. We cannot believe that any of his speeches
would appeal, or were meant to appeal, to Athens as
a whole.
Even when he is dealing with events that took place
during the tyranny of the Thirty, though no doubt
feeling still ran high, we have the impression that only
that part of the community which had been directly
concerned in promoting or thwarting the Revolution
would be keenly interested in the process of punishing
or rewarding those who had played minor parts :
^ the majority had acquiesced, with greater or less un-
willingness, at the time of the changes, and now that
the trouble was past, were eager to make the best of
the present ; political memory at Athens was short.
The position of Demosthenes was very different ;
his chief activity was not after a crisis, but during a
time of national danger. He foimd great opportunities
and he rose to them.
A great enthusiasm is required to produce really
great men, whether orators or statesmen. A gifted
man under the influence of a great constructive idea
may, with exceptional opportunities, become a Pericles ;
an extraordinarily favourable combination of such
circumstances may give birth to an Alexander.
In modern times the greatest eloquence is usually
V on the side of the opposition, and in all ages a losing
cause has tended to produce more conspicuous men.
Demosthenes owes his great reputation partly to his
exceptional ability, but in very large part also to his
opportunities, to the fact that he was fighting against
national apathy and foreign aggression for a noble
ideal — ^his conception of Athenian Liberty. A lesser
intellect might have shone under such circumstances ;
LYSIAS 8i
and on the other hand Demosthenes, if he had had no
opportunity for the speeches against Philip, might
have been ranked almost in the same class with such
orators as Lysias.
§3
Lysias is no less simple in the arrangement of his
subject-matter than in his language. Practically
every speech which has come down to us in entirety
may be analysed into four elements — preface, narrative,
proof, and epilogue. The preface or epilogue may be
very slight ; the narrative may be so self-evident that
proof is practically unnecessary, or on the other hand,
there may be hardly any facts to narrate, so that
beyond the words of the indictment only an accumula-
tion of proofs is required ; but the order of the parts
seems to be invariable. We have seen that Andocides
instinctively divided up his narrative, where there was
a long story to tell, and interspersed the parts with
proofs of the details. Isocrates, who states the
necessity of the divisions which Lysias tacitly adopted,
himself departs from his own rules at times, while
Isaeus, by a judicious subdivision and shifting of the
parts, contrives, as Dionysius says, to * outmanoeuvre '
the judges."^
Within these Hmits Lysias aimed at elasticity;-
though the form of the speech was to be settled pre-
cisely, his artistic sense demanded a variety in the
details. It is remarked by Dionysius that, though
he composed two hundred speeches, he never used!
the same preface twice. Some orators were in the
habit of using over again the opening sentences which
had already served as introduction to an old speech,
82 THE GREEK ORATORS
and even borrowing such proems whole from the
speeches of their predecessors or from rhetorical hand-
books.
Lysias, with a truer instinct for what was appro-
priate, composed for every speech a proem adapted
to its requirements. His versatihty in this small
matter is much to be admired. It is to be noticed
also that there is considerable variety in his ways
of ending his speeches ; though many of his epilogues
practically say the same thing in different words,
they nearly all succeed in saying it in a way more
appropriate to the particular speech than to any
other.
As there is diversity in these forms, so there is great
variety in the details of expression. There are very
few formal mannerisms on which we could seize if we
wished to produce a parody of the style. There are
indeed one or two common necessary phrases which
he employed frequently, but even these are presented
in different shape from time to time.^
§4
Lysias varies greatly in the structure of his sentences,
at one time producing periods neatly turned, with
clauses carefully balanced, at another time writing in
a style by no means periodic ; again varying his form
by mingling the two methods, inserting in the middle
of the period a parenthesis or relative clause which
keeps us in suspense, or attaching to the end of the
period an extra limb which, from a technical point
of view, spoils its symmetry. It is impossible without
^ E.g. Setvby S^ fioi 8okci elvai. el vvv fxev . . . rdre 8i, etc., and d^iov
b' evdvixTjdijvai 6ti . . .
LYSIAS 83
quoting a large number of examples to prove these
statements in detail, but we may state broadly that in
speeches dealing with serious matters of pubHc interest
the style is more periodic ; in some of the private
speeches on comparatively trivial subjects the style is
simpler and more straightforward.
But there is often much variety within the limits
of the same speech ; as Blass and others have pointed
out, the narrative is usually told in a simple style, ^
while for arguments and proofs the greater elaboration
of the period is employed. As I have pointed out in
a previous chapter, ^ narrative and argument seem
naturally to evoke different styles, and it may be sup-
posed further that the juries trying the more serious
cases looked for a more finished style of speech than
the colloquial simplicity which would be admissible
in minor police-court cases. But even in the unim-
portant private speeches Lysias has not one method
only, and we feel that he varied his style of sentence-
construction to suit the character of the speaker for
whom he wrote. Thus the youth Mantitheus is
nearly as simple in speech as he is ingenuous in thought,
while the cripple, whom we feel to be a plausible
rascal, glibly produces strings of neat antitheses, such
as the following :
' The rich with their money can buy exemption from
danger, the poor are compelled by their indigence to
practise moderation. The young claim indulgence from
their elders, but both young and old are equally severe on
the faults of the others.
* Examples are numerous : e.g. the speech of Polyaenus [Foy the
Soldier, §§ 4-5) shows a simplicity in narrative which Herodotus
could not have surpassed.
' Ch. ii. pp. 26-7.
^M
84 THE GREEK ORATORS
' The strong have the opportunity, without risk to them-
f' selves, of ill-treating whom they will ; the weak can neither
defend themselves against an aggressor when they are ill-
treated, nor overpower their intended victims when they
wish to ill-treat others.' ^
X
§5
The variation of sentence -construction is a minor
help towards the delineation of character — a necessary
part of the business of a professional speech-writer
who tries to be realistic. But, in order that the speech
may seem appropriate to the speaker, it is necessary
that not only his words and phrases but his sentiments
should be consonant with his character. This effect
Lysias attempted to produce, and he is credited with
having attained great success.
We may to some extent discover from the speeches
what was the nature of the speakers, but not altogether,
for we have no indication as to tone or manner of
delivery.
However, from data of various kinds, we can form
conceptions of many of the speakers. Thus the de-
fendant on a charge of receiving bribes (Or. xxi.)
gives a long and prosy catalogue of his services to the
State, with an accoimt of the moneys that he has spent
on liturgies (§§ i-io) ; all this leads up to his conclusion
that he, who desired little for himself and expended
all his fortune for his country's good, had no induce-
ment to take bribes to injure her.
From the Mantitheus we get quite a vivid and
^ pleasing picture of a young Athenian of good birth
and breeding, who ingenuously admits to having
1 For the Cripple, § 7.
LYSIAS 85
some fashionable affectations and owns to an over-
powering ambition to distinguish himself as a speaker
in the ecclesia, as he has already done good service
in the field.
The speech throughout is frank and self-confident,
but not by any means boastful :
* From such records as these you ought to judge a man
who in his public life is guided by ambition combined with
moderation ; you ought not to detest a man because he
does his hair in the fashionable way : such habits hurt
nobody personally, and do no harm to the community ;
while all of you alike are benefited by those who willingly
face your enemies. So it is not fair either to love or to
hate any one on account of his looks ; you should judge
by his actions. Many people who talk Httle and dress
quietly have been the authors of great harm, while others
who do not affect such deportment have done you great
services. . . .
' I have observed, too, that some people are offended
with me because I have ventured to speak in public when
I am in their opinion too young : but in the first place I
have been forced to speak publicly about matters which
concern me, and besides, I think I am by nature somewhat
excessively ambitious.
* I reflect that my ancestors have never ceased to serve
the State, and — to be candid — I observe that you think
that such people alone deserve your notice.
' Seeing that such is your opinion, who would not be en-
couraged to act and speak on the State's behalf ? And
why should you be displeased with those who do so ? No
one else has a right to judge them ; it is for you alone.' ^
A very different picture is that of the cripple (Ora-
tion xxiv.) who defends himself on a charge of.
receiving a State pension under false pretences. He
1 For Mantitheus, §§ 18-21.
\
86 THE GREEK ORATORS
seems to protest too much about his infirmity, his
poverty, and his general helplessness, while he keeps
a sneering tone throughout, and hardly troubles to
conceal a malicious temper :
* I am almost grateful to the prosecutor for instituting
this trial. Hitherto I have had no pretext for giving
you an account of my life : now I have obtained one —
through him. In my speech I shall attempt to show that
he is a liar, and that up to the present day my life has been
one that should win praise rather than be exposed to
jealousy, for I cannot think that he has brought me to trial
from any other motive than jealousy. But if a man feels
jealousy towards one whom all others pity, what baseness
will he not sink to, do you suppose ?
* It is not to gain money that he has laid this infor-
mation, and he is not trying to punish an enemy ; he is a
bad character, with whom I have had no dealings either
friendly or hostile. So it is clear, Gentlemen, that he is
jealous of me because, though thus afflicted, I am a better
citizen than he is. For I think that one should compensate
for bodily misfortunes by good habits of mind ; and if I
show a disposition of mind to match my unfortunate body,
and fashion my Ufe accordingly, I shall be as bad as he
is. . . .'1
' As to my riding, which he has had the audacity to men-
tion, having no fear of fortune or respect for you, there is
not much to say. I know that all who labour under any
incapacity seek some such relief, and speculate how best
they may alleviate their suffering. I am one of this class,
and, being afflicted as you see, have found riding a great
comfort for a journey of any length. . . .
' If I had the means, I would ride in comfort on a mule,
instead of a borrowed horse ; but as I cannot afford a beast
of my own, I am compelled often to use a borrowed horse.
... I am surprised that he does not make it a ground for
1 For the Cripple, §§ 1-3.
LYSIAS ?^7
accusation that I walk with two sticks, while others use
one — on the plea that only the affluent can afford two. ' ^
* Again, he says that I associate with numerous bad ^
characters who have spent all their own money, and are
plotting against those who want to keep what belongs to
them. But reflect that this accusation does not hit me
more than anybody else who practises a trade ; nor does
it apply to my visitors more than those of the rest of the
working-class. Every one of you pays visits to the per-
fumer, the barber, the shoemaker, or any tradesman, and
most people go to the establishments nearest the market-
place, and fewest to those farthest away. So if you con-
demn my visitors as scoundrels, it is clear that you must
equally condemn those who spend their time in other
people's shops ; and if they are guilty, all the inhabitants
of Athens must be ; for you are all in the habit of paying
visits and spending your time somewhere or other.' ^
Another good example of this realism in depicting
character is the speech de Caede Eratosthenis. Lysias ~f^
seems to have given us just the kind of speech that
is appropriate to a rather stupid man of the lower
middle classes who, by his own showing, is no better
than his neighbours, though no worse. Incidentally,
the whole speech is an important contribution to our
knowledge of domestic arrangements in an Athenian
home :
' So things went on, till one day I returned unexpectedly
from the country. After dinner the baby was crying and
fidgeting — ^the servant had been teasing it on purpose, to
make it cry, for Eratosthenes was in the house : I heard
all about that afterwards. — I told my wife to go and feed
the baby, to stop it crying. She refused at first, pretending
to be glad to have me back after so long ; but when I grew
annoyed and told her again to go, " Yes," said she," and
1 For the Cripple, parts of §§ 10-12, * Ibid., §§ 19-20.
88 THE GREEK ORATORS
leave you and the servant alone up here ; I know how you
behaved one night when you were drunk." I laughed, but
she got up and went away and shut the door, treating it as
a joke, and drew the bolt outside. I thought nothing of it,
and had no suspicion, and was glad to go to sleep after my
day's work in the country. Early in the morning she came
back and opened the door, and when I asked why the doors
had banged in the night, she told me that the lamp beside
the child's bed had gone out, and she had fetched a light
from a neighbour. I made no remark, supposing that this
was the truth. I had an idea that her face was powdered,
although her brother had died less than a month ago ; but
for all that I said nothing more about it, and left the house
and went on my business without comment.' ^
§6
Though Lysias shows dramatic instinct in the
representation of character, he seldom employs
theatrical effects for the purpose of overpowering the
feelings of the court. He trusts more to logic than
to the elements of pity and terror, and shows a modera-
tion of language comparable to the self-restraint
which characterizes his style in general. He avoids
exaggeration of every kind ; even the story of his own
arrest is told in a dispassionate, almost impersonal
style. 2 There can be no doubt that Lysias thus gains
greatly in dignity. The prison scene described by
Andocides ^ may appeal more to our feelings, but
certainly more impressive is the solemnity of a similar
scene in Lysias :
* When they were condemned to death, and their end
was near, they sent for various kinswomen — sister, mother,
wife, as the case might be — to visit them in prison, in order
* de Caede Eratosthenis, §§ 11-14.
* Supra, p. 76. ' Supra, p. 62,
LYSIAS 89
that they might, before they died, bid them a last farewell.
Dionysodorus sent for my sister, who was his wife. Re-
, ceiving the message, she came dressed in mourning as a fit
tribute to her husband's condition.' ^
The prisoner then disposed of his property, and
' solemnly warned his wife, if she should bear a son,
to tell the child that Agoratus had killed his father,
and bid him take vengeance on the murderer.'
There is no hint here of such weeping and wailing
as Andocides describes ; nothing but the quiet pathos
of the story itself to work upon the feelings. To a
certain class of audience this style would appeal more
truly than any extravagance of grief, and passages of
this kind should be enough to refute the common
charge against Lysias that he lacks pathos.
§7
Lysias was not without a sense of humour, and
sometimes employed sarcasm which could be delicate
• and playful or bitter to the point of brutality according
to circumstances ; thus in the Epitaphios he remarks
how the Persians thought that their best chance of
success would be to invade Greece * while Greece was
still quarrelling as to the best means of defence against
invasion.' 2
Other sentences may be found in the speech
For the Cripple.'^ Sometimes a sarcastic reference
is introduced by a play on words — as Bovkeveiv —
BovXevecv in Philo, § 26 — ' He desires the position of
a public servant ; that of a public slave is what he
deserves.' Out of several instances in the Nicomachus
1 Agoratus, §§ 39-40.
2 Vide infra, p. 92, on the question of authenticity.
? Supra, pp. 83 sqq.
90 THE GREEK ORATORS
one may be quoted, in comparison with a rather similar
passage in Andocides : ' He has now become a citizen
instead of a slave, a rich man instead of a poor man,
a legislator instead of an under-clerk/
This is far less effective than the unexpected turn
which Andocides gives to a similar passage. ^
Finally, the fragment of the speech against Aeschines
the Socratic contains a long humorous passage.
Aeschines has a mania for borrowing money which
he never repays. ' His neighbours are so badly treated
by him that they all move as soon as they can and
take houses at a distance. . . . The crowd of creditors
round his doors at daybreak makes people think they
are assembling for a funeral,' and so on, in a comic
vein, till the speaker ends with a spiteful remark
about Aeschines' mistress, that ' you could count her
teeth more easily than the fingers of her hand.'
§8
Lysias composed an extraordinary number of
speeches ; of the 425 attributed to him, Dionysius
pronounced 233 to be genuine. 2 There are now
T^ extant thirty-four, either complete or, in some cases,
with portions missing. A hundred and twenty-seven
speeches are known by the preservation of their titles
or of small fragments.
As we cannot trace with any certainty a chronological
development in style, the most convenient classification
of the speeches is according to their subject-matter.
* Lysias, Nicomachus, § 27 ; Andocides, de Myst., § 93, quoted
inffa, p. 96.
* Ps.-Plut., Lives of the Ten Orators ; Dion,, de Lys,, ch. 17, diaxofflvy
ovK iXdffaovs diKayiKovs ypd\f/as \6yovs.
LYSIAS 91
Epideictic Speeches
The fragment of the * Ol5mipiac ' speech, which is X
undoubtedly genuine, is an interesting specimen of
compositions of this class.
The Sophists had early realized the opportunities
which the great assembly of all Greek States gave for
an expression of national feehng, and though perhaps
the speech-making was instituted chiefly for the
display of oratory, the custom had grown up of making
it an occasion for discussing broad political questions.
Thus Gorgias had preached the necessity of union
among Greeks, and in later time Isocrates in his
Panegyric was to urge again the need of putting aside
petty disputes among cities for the good of the Greek
nation.
In 388 B.C. Dionysius of Syracuse had sent a - ,
magnificent embassy to the Olympic festival. Lysias,
realizing that this despot of the West, who had reduced
important cities of Sicily, had defeated Carthage, and
was now threatening the towns of Magna Graecia, ; ^'
might become, especially if allied with Persia, a serious . C^;**^
menace to the independence of the cities of Greece *
proper, urged them to sink their private animosities
for the good of all, and as a foretaste of their enmity
he called upon them to tear down the royal pavilion
at Olympia and scatter its treasures.
In the extant fragment the speaker warns his hearers
that much of the Greek world is in the hands of tyrants,
and much under barbarian sway. This is owing to the
weakness caused by internal discord. Empire depends
on command of the seas, and Dionysius and Artaxerxes
are both strong in ships.
92 THE GREEK ORATORS
' You ought therefore to lay aside your war with each
other, and by harmonious action make a bid for safety ;
you should view the past with shame and the future with
apprehension. '
He invites Sparta to take the lead. The substance
of the end of the speech is known to us only from the
* argument/ but the fragment is long enough to be
judged as a simple yet dignified composition.
The Epitaphios or Funeral Speech purports to relate
to the Athenians who fell in the Corinthian war^
c. 394 B.C., though it is impossible to determine the
year precisely.
Such speeches were habitually delivered at Athens,
a speaker of estabUshed reputation being generally
chosen to perform the service. Now Lysias, not being
a citizen, could not be so chosen, and, if the speech
was really delivered, he can hardly have composed
it ; for a practised public speaker would probably not
require the services of a professional logographos.^
An extract from the peroration will give a general
idea of the style :
* And so we may deem these men most happy, in that
they faced and met their end on behalf of all that is great
and noble, not committing themselves to chance, nor await-
ing the death that comes in nature's course, but choosing
the noblest way of dying.
' For their memory is ageless, and their honour is envied
of all men ; we mourn for them as mortal in their nature,
but we celebrate them as immortal for their valour. They
are receiving a pubhc funeral, and in their honour we in-
stitute displays of strength and wisdom and wealth, hold-
ing them who have died in battle worthy to be honoured
^ However, Socrates, in Plato's Menexenus, 236 b, suggests that
Pericles' famous Funeral Speech was composed for him by Apasia.
LYSIAS 93
with the same honour as the immortals. So I call them
happy in their death, and envy them therefor, and think
it should be said that life was worth the possessing only
for those men who, endowed with mortal bodies, have left
behind them through their valour a memorial that is im-
mortal. Still, we must follow ancient custom, and, obeying
the law of our fathers, make lamentation for those whom
we are burying to-day. ' ^
There is nothing striking or original in this perora-
tion, which recalls the fragment of the funeral speech of
Gorgias, especially in the forced and repeated contrasts
between ' mortal ' and * immortal.' In manner and
in substance it is infinitely inferior to the famous
speech of Pericles, which, with all its extravagances of
style, has a note of true feeling. The Epitaphios of ? |
Lysias rings hollow ; it is feeble in imagery, it contains
very little reference to the dead, and holds out no hope
of comfort to the living. The allusions to the Persian
war are part of the rhetorical paraphernalia such as
stirred the bile of Aristophanes, while the historical
references to the supposed circumstances of the speech
are so vague as not to be appropriate to any particular
occasion.
On internal evidence, therefore, we may well believe
that it is not a real speech, but a declamatory exercise.
There is the further question, whether it was com-
posed by Lysias or not.
The composer of a * declamatio * may allow himself
liberties which he would not take in a real speech ;
yet it is hard to believe that Lysias would have com-
mitted such faults of taste as to drag the wars of the
Amazons into discussion or to indulge in the exaggera-
tions of the opening sections : ' All time would not
1 EpU., §§ 79-Si.
-^x
94 THE GREEK ORATORS
be enough for all men to prepare a speech adequate
to such deeds ! ' and again, ' Everywhere and among
all men do those who mourn for their own sorrows
proclaim the valour of these dead ! '
This is not appropriate to the Corinthian war nor
to any war in the lifetime of Lysias, and Lysias did
not elsewhere say things so inappropriate. ^
The speech is probably an exercise composed by a
writer who had before him the speech of Pericles and
other such compositions. It is actually quoted by
Aristotle, who, however, does not assign it to Lysias.^
The general lack of restraint in tone is suspicious, and
is, on the whole, the strongest argument against
authenticity.
Only one fragment (Or. xxxiv.) remains of a
speech composed for the ecclesia. According to its
title, it was delivered in opposition to some proposals
to abolish or limit the ancient constitution after the
fall of the Thirty (403^ B.C.). Dionysius doubts whether
it was actually deHvered, but considers it to be written
in a style suitable for debate. ^ It is significant his-
torically that the speaker dares to compare the position
of Athens in relation to Sparta with that of Argos and
Mantineia. The Athenians must have been broken
in spirit to tolerate such a reference.
Public Causes
These ypa(f>aL fall under various heads ; they deal
with all offences against the State, directly compris-
ing treason, sacrilege, embezzlement, unconstitutional
1 The reference to the Amazons and the general vagueness of the
historical setting are closely paralleled by the Funeral Speech in
Plato's Menexenus, which is generally regarded as a parody.
* Rhet., III. 10. 7. ^ de Lys., ch. 32.
LYSIAS 95
procedure, evasion of military service, wrongful claims
for admission to office ; or against the State in the
person of an individual, e.g. charges of murder or
attempted murder.
They range in importance from high treason (e.g.
Ergocles) and dehberate murder [e.g. Eratosthenes) to
the attempt of the Cripple (Or. xxiv.) to obtain an
insignificant pension by alleged false pretences.
For Polystratus (Or. xx.), 411-405 B.C. This speech
is entitled ' For Polystratus ; defence on a charge of
attempting to subvert the democracy.'
Polystratus had held office imder the Four Hundred,
and had even been a member of that body. The
nature of the charge brought against him is uncertain,
but as the penalty proposed was only a fine, it cannot
have been so serious as the title implies. Modem
critics decide that the speech is spurious, entirely on
grounds of style and method. The arrangement is
at times confused, the argument obscure, and the
style weak.
This kind of argument against genuineness must
always be a subjective one ; it is hard to prove the case.
The speech Against Theomnestus [see below, p. 100) has
faults imworthy of Lysias, and yet, according to the
same critics, it is undoubtedly genuine.
It should be remembered that the present speech is
earlier by some years {c. 407 B.C.) than any of the
orations accepted as genuine, and perhaps in the case
of an orator's earlier efforts we should look for less
precision and finish.
Or. xxi., on a charge of taking bribes, is only the
second half of the speech. The first part, dealing with
.vV
96 THE GREEK ORATORS
specific charges, is lost. The defendant points to his
distinguished pubhc services as a proof that he is not
the sort of man to be bribed to betray his country.
The date is probably 402 B.C.
Against Ergocles (Or. xxviii.). Against Eptcrates
(Or. xxvii.), and Against Philocrates (Or. xxix.) may
be taken together as speeches delivered by a public
prosecutor, all in the year 389 B.C. ; they assume that
the previous speakers have gone fully into the charges,
so that they themselves need only recapitulate them.
The speakers are vigorous and concise, but impersonal.
There was no need in such formal orations for the kind
of adaptation to the speaker's character which we find
elsewhere. Ergocles was prosecuted and put to death
for betraying Greek cities in Asia and enriching himself
by embezzlement. Philocrates had been his subor-
dinate and confederate. Epicrates was also accused
of embezzling pubhc money when in a position of
trust.
Against Nicomachus (Or. xxx.), date probably
399 B.C. — The only charges against Nicomachus are
that, having been appointed to revise certain laws, he
was dilatory in his work and did not finish it within
the appointed time, and has caused an excessive ex-
penditure of public money — ^not, be it noted, for his
own advantage. Though Nicomachus at the worst
was unbusinesshke and indiscreet, the accuser thinks
fit to shower abuse on him, chiefly in connection with
his humble origin, for his father was a freedman.^
Against the Corn-dealers (Or. xxii.) is a plain, unpre-
tentious speech arising out of the laws relating to the
1 Cf. supra, p. 90.
LYSIAS 97
com supply ; the dealers were not allowed to make
a profit of more than one obol a bushel, and monopoly
was strictly guarded against. The date is imcertain ;
possibly about 390 B.C.
On the Confiscation of the Property of the Brother of
Nicias (Or. xviii.), about 396-385 B.C. — Nicias' brother
Eucrates was put to death by the Thirty in 404 B.C.,
and at some time later a decree was passed for the
confiscation of his estate. The sons and nephew of
Eucrates plead against the enforcement of this sen-
tence. Of the fragment which remains the greater
part consists of an appeal to pity, which is very un-
usual in the speeches of Lysias.
For the Soldier (Or. ix.), 394-387 B.C. ; a defence of
Polyaenus, who is prosecuted for non-payment of a
fine, is of doubtful authenticity, though the arguments
concerning it are not conclusive.
On the Property of Aristophanes (Or. xix.), 387 B.C.,
is another case dealing with confiscation. The speech
is very carefully constructed to meet what was evidently
a difficult case.
Against Evandrus (Or. xxvi.), 382 B.C. — This is a
considerable fragment of a speech relating to a scrutiny
(SoKifiaala). Leodamas, the first man to be elected
as archon for the year 381 B.C., having been rejected
as unfit, the second choice, Evandrus, becomes archon
if he can pass the scrutiny ; but his enemies refer to
his actions in the time of the oligarchy, and, while
admitting that he has been blameless since the Re-
storation, refuse him all credit for this. The bitterness
98 THE GREEK ORATORS
'^ and injustice of this speech are unusual in Lysias, but
its genuineness is not suspected.
For Mantitheus (Or. xvi.),^ about 392 B.C. ; Against
Philo (Or. xxxi.), 405-395 B.C. ; and the wrongly
entitled Defence on a charge of subversion of the demo-
cracy (Or. XXV.), 402-400 B.C., are all concerned with
SoKCfiaa-la. There is more bitterness in the Kara
^lX(ovo<i than in the speech against Evandrus, but with
more justification, for Philo, if the stories told of him
are true, must have been a very objectionable scoundrel.
The speech For the Cripple (Or. xxiv.), about 400 B.C.,
V' is also concerned with a EoKifiaarla, though of a different
kind. A pension was given by the State to certain
persons who could not, on account of bodily infirmity,
support themselves, and had no other means of Hving.
The defendant in this case is accused of claiming the
pension, whereas he is comparatively well off.^
Against Eratosthenes (Or. xii.), 403 B.C. — This, the
^ most famous of Lysias' speeches, has been to some
extent dealt with already.^ It is generally classed as
a speech in a prosecution for murder, but it seems
more probable that it was delivered on the occasion
of the evSvva of Eratosthenes ; for the amnesty
passed after the expulsion of the Thirty specially
provided that any of them who chose to give an
account of their actions should receive a fair trial."*
Eratosthenes and Pheidon were the only two who
embraced this opportunity.
The latter view finds some support in the fact that
only the first part of the speech (§§ 1-37) deals with
1 Vide supra, p. 85. ^ Vide sttpra, pp. 85-6.
» Supra, pp. 76-7. * Andoc, de Myst., § 90.
LYSIAS 99
the murder of Polemarchus ; the longer portion
(§§ 37-100) deals more generally with the character
of Eratosthenes and the crimes of the Thirty in general.
Against Agoratus (Or. xiii.), 400-398 B.C. — Agoratus,
an informer, is prosecuted for having caused the death
of the speaker's cousin, Dionysodorus. There is much
historical matter in the speech, but the accuser keeps
definitely to the charge of murder, touching on political
matters only incidentally.
On the Murder of Eratosthenes (Or. i.), date uncertain,
is of interest chiefly as illustrating domestic life among
the middle class at Athens. ^
Defence against Simon (Or. iii.), after 394 B.C. ;
and On wounding with intent (Or. iv.), date uncertain,
are both speeches in defence on the charge of wounding
with intent to kill {rpavfiarof; i/c 7rpovola<;). The de-
fendant in the latter, wishing to prove that he was
formerly on good terms with the prosecutor, tells an Cv
extraordinary story of corruption. The prosecutor
was nominated by the defendant as judge at the
Dionysia, on the understanding that, if elected, he
should award the prize to the latter' s tribe. He left
a written note of this agreement ; but unfortunately
he was not elected, so that the prize went to a chorus
which either sang better or organized its corrupt
practices with more skill. ^
For Callias (Or. v.), date uncertain, is a defence,
apparently, on a charge of sacrilege. The precise
charge is unknown.
On the Sacred Olive (Or. vii.), about 395 B.C., is in
defence of a man charged with uprooting the stump of
1 Vide supra, p. 87. * § 3«
100 THE GREEK ORATORS
a sacred olive — a sacrilege punishable by banishment
and confiscation of property.
Against Alcihiades, I. and II. (Or. xiv. and Or. xv.),
about 395 B.C. — The first is on a charge of desertion,
the second of avoiding mihtary service — two different
aspects of the same offence. The defendant, a son
^ of the great Alcibiades, had presumed to serve in the
cavalry when he was only entitled to be a hopUte.
The yoimg Alcibiades evidently paid for the sins of
f his father, to whom half of the present indictment is
devoted. On this point we may compare the subject-
matter of the speech of Isocrates in defence of Alci-
biades,^ and the speech against him which is attributed
to Andocides, but is probably a later work.^
Private Speeches
Against Theomnestus (Or. x.), 384-383 B.C., is a speech
for the prosecution in an action for defamation. The
speaker deals at quite disproportionate length with a
verbal quibble by which the defendant has tried to
escape justice. The argument is ingenious, but owing
to the slightness of the subject-matter the speech has
no interest except to students of method.^
Against Diogiton (Or. xxxii.), 400 B.C., is a truly
■-: excellent statement of the case against a dishonest
guardian. In addition to the skilful handling of
financial details, there is much dramatic skill in de-
scription and suggestion of character.
On the Property of Eraton (Or. xvii.), 397 B.C. — This
speech occurred in a BiaBcKaa-U between an individual
1 Vide infra, p. 150. - Vide supra, p. 72.
^ The second speech with the same title is only an epitome of
the first.
LYSIAS ([ ,-, \ ;;>'Oi;i^>/:
and the State. The speaker asserts a claim to the
property of Eraton (which has been confiscated), for
the repayment of a debt.
Against Pancleon (Or. xxiii.), date uncertadn. —
Pancleon, accused on some unknown charge, and sup-
posed by the prosecutor to be a metoecus, has put in
a plea that he is a Plataean citizen and therefore not
amenable to the law under which he was indicted.
He turns out after all to be a runaway slave.
These last two speeches consist almost entirely of
narrative.
Spurious or Doubtful Speeches
Against Andocides (Or. vi.), 399 B.C. — It is generally
beheved that this speech is not by Lysias, the most - ''
serious argument being that the writer of it is a
blunderer. As J ebb points out, he makes at least
three damaging admissions calculated seriously to
injure his own case. It may, however, reaUy be a
speech dehvered against Andocides. It contains some
statements which do not agree with Andocides' own
admissions, but, as we have seen, it cannot be proved
that Andocides was always veracious. On the groimd
of general agreement with Andocides' statements we
may believe that it was composed by some contempo-
rary orator, and not, as has been sometimes asserted,
by a late Sophist. It may have been actually de-
livered at the trial of Andocides in 399 B.C.
Eroticus. — Phaedrus, in the dialogue of Plato which
bears his name, reads aloud a speech of Lysias which -)^
Socrates criticizes.
If Plato could be taken literally, we should believe
^■-s^
\ ro^ ; 0 n J^HE (rREEK ORATORS
that what is read was the authentic work of Lysias )
but Plato is if anything too emphatic in his attempts
to produce this illusion, and most readers will pro-
bably be left with the impression that Plato is follow-
ing his usual custom ; he tries to give his myths the
solemnity of fact, and what he produces here is an
imitation too close to be called a parody. We may
compare Plato's reproduction of Aspasia's oration in
the Menexenus.
The speech To his Companions (Or. viii.) cannot
reasonably be attributed to Lysias, and indeed is so
trivial that it can hardly be the work of any self-
respecting forger. It is probably to be regarded as a
declamatory exercise.
The speaker complains that his friends have slandered
. him by asserting that he forced his company on them ;
-'^ '^^ they have sold him an unsound horse, and accused
him of inducing others to slander them. He therefore
abjures their friendship.
Extracts from six lost speeches are preserved by
quotation in various writers :
Against Cinesias (Athenaeus, xiii. 551 d) ; Against
Tisis (Dion., de Demos., ch. xi.) ; For Pherenicus (Dion.,
de Isaeo, ch. vi.) ; Against the Sons of Hippocrates
(ibid.) ; Against Archehiades (ibid., ch. x.) ; Against
AescMnes (Athenaeus, xiii., 611 E-612 c).^
The fragments of other speeches, in Suidas, Harpocra-
tion, and others, are negligible.
1 Cf. supra, p. 90.
CHAPTER V
ISAEUS
§1
DIONYSIUS could find, in the authorities whom
he consulted, no definite information about the
hfe of Isaeus. The dates of his birth and death are
unknown ; we cannot, as Dionysius observes, say
what were his political opinions, or even whether he
had any at all.^ We are even in doubt as to his birth-
place ; some authorities called him an Athenian,
others a Chalcidian. The suggestion that he may have
been the descendant of an Athenian who settled in
Chalcis as a cleruch is plausible, but without any
authority. 2 The inference, from the fact that he took
no part in public life, that he was probably an aHen, is
not justifiable. The fact that, whether an Athenian or
not, he never spoke at any of the great national
assemblies, where rhetoricians from all Greek countries
gave displays, seems to argue that he had no ambition
for personal distinction as an orator, but was content
to be a professional writer of speeches.
There is a legend that the young Demosthenes,-
impressed by the effectiveness of Isaeus' oratory,
induced the latter to live in his house and train him
thoroughly in all the arts of the forensic speech-
writer ; it is even said that the earliest speech of
1 Dion., de Isaeo, ch. i. * Jebb, vol. ii. p. 265.
104 THE GREEK ORATORS
Demosthenes, against Aphobus, was in reality composed
by his master. The authority for these tales is quite
insignificant, but the influence of Isaeus on Demo-
sthenes was nevertheless considerable, whether or not
they came much into personal contact.
Dionysius records, on the authority of Hermippus,
that Isaeus ' was a pupil of Isocrates and a teacher of
Demosthenes, and came into close contact with the
\best of the philosophers.' ^
There is no evidence that he was ever a companion
of Socrates, since his name is not anywhere mentioned
by Plato.
His earliest speech (On the Estate of Dicaeogenes) is
assigned with some probability to the year 390 B.C.,
and his latest (On the Estate of Apollodorus) to 353 B.C.
If the date 390 B.C. is correct, the period of his study
imder Isocrates may reasonably be placed during the
period 393-390 B.C., when that orator was starting
his school, and on this assumption we might place the
birth of Isaeus approximately at 420 B.C. But the
chronology rests entirely on internal evidence which
in this case is ambiguous ; a later date for the speech
is equally possible, and in that case the earliest speech
is that On the Estate of Aristarchus, 377-371 B.C.
Isaeus, then, need not have been bom before 400 B.C.
There is more certainty in the dating of, the last ex-
tant speech about 353 B.C., but we have no means of
knowing whether or not the orator lived long after its
composition. He may have spent many years in
retirement. Isocrates was writing up to the moment
of his death, but he had great thoughts to express ;
Isaeus, with no interest in politics, may, when he re-
^ de Isaeo, ch. i.
ISAEUS 105
tired from the monotonous task of writmg speeches
for others, have been glad to find no further necessity
for composition. However, the approximate dates 420-
350 B.C. will give a reasonable duration for such a life.
Isaeus is perhaps the only one of the orators for-^
whom we cannot feel any enthusiasm. If we had,
from external sources, the slightest clue to his real
feelings, we might be able to collect from his speeches
some hints that would help us to form an image of
his personality. He is known to us only from speeches
which he wrote for others, all of them, with the ex-"
ception of one fragment, dealing with testamentary
cases, which are not the most interesting province of
law. He was not personally interested in any of these
trials, unless we can believe the more than doubtful
assertion of the Greek argument to the fourth oration,
that he himself spoke in support of Hagnon and
Hagnotheus, being their kinsman.
We may contrast his case with that of Antiphon,
who similarly is known to us chiefly from speeches in
one department of law — trials for homicide ; but in
Antiphon's case we are fortunate in having a short
but illuminating notice of his life by Thucydides,
which forms the outline of the picture ; and in addition
we have the tetralogies which to some extent help
to fill in the details. Of Isaeus as a man we know
less, almost, than we do of Homer. We gather only
an impression of his wonderful efficiency in dealing
with subjects of a particular class — his exhaustive J
knowledge of the intricacies of testamentary law, and'
his dexterity in applying that knowledge to the best
purpose ; a kind of efficiency which is admirable,,
but dull.
V
io6 THE GREEK ORATORS
Isaeus is our chief authority for the Attic Laws of
inheritance.^ These laws were often arbitrary, and
though they were to some extent simpHfied by the
fact that a man who had sons could not legally will
his property away from them, the intricacies of tables
of consanguinity were so complex that only a specialist
could be expected to have a complete mastery of them.
There was no class of professional lawyers at Athens ;
the Attic Laws were very largely framed by amateurs,
of which we have evidence in the number of recorded
cases in which the proposers of laws were prosecuted
for illegahty, i.e. for enacting laws contrary to laws
already established ; and as the framing of them was
a matter of haphazard improvisation, so their inter-
pretation was often a question of the temper of the
jury for the moment. No doubt some record of ver-
dicts was kept, but the Athenians had no great respect
for precedent, or at any rate could not make full use
of it in the lack of professional judges who should be
experts in such matters. Thus there were great
opportunities for a man like Isaeus, who combined a
minute knowledge of law and procedure with skill in
applying his knowledge ; who could quote at will either
the law or precedent for departing from its letter, and,
where the wording of the law left any room for am-
biguous interpretation, could twist the meaning to
one side or the other to suit his case.
The particular branch of law which Isaeus chose
as his special province was important owing to the
large number of cases dealing with inheritances which
seem to have come before the Athenian Courts, and
* He is by far the most important ; in some cases we can supple-
ment him from Demosthenes, but other authorities are negUgibie.
ISAEUS 107
these cases were often in themselves important owing
to the religious significance of the fact of inheritance.
An Athenian desired to leave behind him a male heir
not only that his property might remain in the family,
but that the family might have a representative who
should carry on the private worship of the household
gods, and in particular should duly perform the funeral
rites of the testator and offer all the proper sacrifices
at his grave. Heirship, therefore, carried with it
certain definite rehgious duties, and a man who had
no child living usually ensured the continuity of the
family worship by adopting a son either in his hfetime
or by will.
The skill of Isaeus in deahng with compHcated cases ^
is well shown by a consideration of the argimients of
any of the remaining speeches ; for instance. Oration v.
{On the Estate of Dicaeogenes) is concerned with the
claims of a certain man's nephew as against his cousin,
who inherited a third portion under a will subsequently
proved to be false, and eventually succeeded to the
whole under a second will which the claimants proved
false. Two wills and the results of two previous trials
have to be kept in mind, as well as the rather compli-
cated relationship of the parties ; but Isaeus makes
the case substantially clear. Again, in Oration xi.
{On the Estate of Hagnias) twenty-three members of
the family are referred to by name, and it is necessary
to trace the family's ramifications through a large
number of second cousins whose nearness of consan-
guinity is in some cases affected by the intermarriage
of first cousins. The facts of the case are not easy to
follow even on paper, and it appears that the judges on
this occasion were puzzled into giving a wrong verdict.
io8 THE GREEK ORATORS
The orator's methods may, howfever, be studied
more conveniently in a simpler speech, On the Estate
of Ciron (Or. viii.). The essential facts of the case
are as follows : — Ciron by his first marriage had one
daughter, the mother of the two claimants. Ciron
married a second wife, the sister of Diodes. The son
of Ciron's brother, instigated by Diodes, made a
counter-claim on the grounds that (i) Ciron's daughter
was illegitimate and consequently her sons were
illegitimate ; (2) a brother's son in any case has a
better claim than a daughter's son. The speaker,
the elder of the claimants, first estabhshes his mother's
legitimacy, proving that Ciron always treated her as
his daughter and twice gave her a dowry, and regarded
her sons as his natural heirs.
* Our grandfather Ciron died, not without issue, but
leaving as issue my brother and myself, the sons of his
legitimate daughter ; but the plaintiffs claim the inheri-
tance on the assumption that they are the next of kin, and
insult us by the insinuation that we are not sons of Ciron's
daughter, and that he never had a daughter at all. This
is due to the claimants' covetousness and the great amount
of Ciron's estate, which they have seized, and now control.
They have the impudence to say that he left nothing, and in
the same breath to lay a claim to the inheritance.
' Now your judgment ought not, in my opinion, to have
reference to the man who has urged the claim, but to
Diodes of Phlya, known as Orestes, who has incited him
to annoy us, endeavouring to withhold the property which
Ciron left at his death, and to endanger our interests, so
that he may not have to part with any of it, if you are misled
by the assertions of the claimant. Since they are working
for these ends it is right that you should be informed of all
the facts, in order that no detail may escape you, and that
ISAEUS 109
you may have a full knowledge of all that has occurred,
before you give your verdict. So I ask you to consult the
interests of justice by giving to this case as serious con-
sideration as you have given to any other case before.
This is only just. Recall the numerous cases that have
come before you, and you will find that no plaintiffs have
ever made a more shameless or barefaced claim to property
that does not belong to them than these two.
* Now it is a hard task, Gentlemen, for one entirely in-
experienced in the procedure of the courts to hold his own
in a trial for such an important issue against concerted
speeches and witnesses who give false evidence ; but I
have a confident hope that I shall obtain justice from you,
and that my own speech will be satisfactory to the point,
at least, of stating a just cause, unless I am thwarted by
some obstacle of the kind which I apprehend. I therefore
urge you. Gentlemen, to give me a courteous hearing, and
if you consider that I have been wronged, to support the
justice of my claim.
* First, I shall convince you that my mother was the
legitimate daughter of Ciron. For events long past I shall
rely on reported statements and evidence, for those within
our memory I shall adduce witnesses who know the facts, as
well as proofs which are stronger than depositions ; and when
I have laid this all before you I shall prove that I have a
better right than the claimant to inherit the estate of
Ciron.
* I shall start from the point at which my opponents
began, and from thence onwards instruct you in the facts.
* My grandfather Ciron, Gentlemen, married my grand-
mother, who was his own first cousin, being the daughter
of a sister of his own mother. After the marriage she in
due course gave birth to my mother, and four years later
she died.
* My grandfather, having only this one daughter, married
his second wife, the sister of Diodes, who bore him two sons.
He brought up my mother in the house with his wife and
no THE GREEK ORATORS
children, and during the lifetime of the latter, when his
daughter was of marriageable age, he bestowed her on
Nausimenes of Cholarge, giving her a dowry of clothing
and gold ornaments, as well as twenty-five minae. Three
or four years after this, Nausimenes fell ill and died, before
my mother had borne him any children. My grandfather
took her back to his house, but owing to the disorder of
her husband's affairs he did not recover all the dowry he
had given with her ; he then married her a second time
to my father, with a dowry of looo drachmae.
' In face of the charges now brought by the plaintiffs,
how can my statements be proved ? I sought and found
the way.
* Ciron's domestic slaves, male and female, must know
whether my mother was or was not his daughter ; whether
she lived in his house ; whether he did or did not on two
occasions give feasts in honour of her marriage ; what
dowry each of her husbands received. Wishing to examine
them under torture by way of supporting the evidence
already in my hands, in order that you might put more
confidence in their evidence when they had submitted to
the examination than you would if they were only appre-
hending it, I requested the plaintiffs to surrender their
slaves of both sexes to be examined on the above points
and all others of which they have knowledge. But this
man, who will shortly request you to believe his own wit-
nesses, shrank from submitting to such an examination.
But if I can prove that he refused, how can we avoid the
presumption that his witnesses are now giving false evidence
since he has shrunk from a test so searching ?
* To prove the truth of my assertion, take first this
deposition and read it.^
[The deposition.]
'Now you hold the opinion, both personally and officially,
that torture is the surest test ; and whenever slaves and
ISAEUS III
freemen come forward as witnesses and you have to arrive^!
at facts, you do not rely on the evidence of the freemen, r
but torture the slaves and seek thus to discover the truth.
You are right in your preference ; for you know that
whereas some witnesses have been suspected of giving
false evidence, no slaves have ever been proved to have
made untrue statements in consequence of the torture to
which they were submitted.^
* Who may be expected to know the early facts ? Obvi-
ously those who were acquainted with my grandfather,
and they have told us what they heard. Who must know
about my mother's marriage ? The parties to the marriage
contracts, and their witnesses. On this point the relations
of Nausimenes and of my father have given evidence.
And who knew that my mother was brought up in Ciron's
house, and was his legitimate daughter ? The present
claimants give clear evidence that this is true, by their
action in refusing the torture. Surely, then, it would not
be reasonable for you to discredit my witnesses, while you
can hardly fail to disbelieve those of the other side.
* Besides these, we can bring other proofs by which you
shall know that we are sons of Ciron's daughter. He
treated us as he naturally would treat his daughter's sons ;
he never conducted a sacrifice without our presence, but
whether the sacrifice were small or great, we were always
there and joined in it. Not only were we summoned for
such occasions, but he always used to take us to the rural
Dionysia, and we used to see the show with him, sitting
by his side ; and we came to his house to keep every feast-
day. And when he sacrificed to Zeus Ktesios, a sacrifice
to which he attached the utmost importance, never allow-
ing slaves or even freemen, outside the family, to participate,
but doing everything by himself, we used to share in the
sacrifice ; we helped him to handle the offerings, we helped
^ § 12. I have translated this section, though not relevant to the
matter under discussion, because it gives a good indication of
Athenian feeling on the subject of the torture of slaves.
112 THE GREEK ORATORS
him to place them on the altar, we helped him in every-
thing, and, as our grandfather, he would pray the God
to give us health and wealth. But if he had not considered
us as his daughter's sons, and seen in us the only descend-
ants left to him, he would never have done anything of the
kind, but would have kept by his side this man who now
claims to be his nephew. The truth of this is known best
of all by my grandfather's servants, whom the plaintiff
refused to surrender to torture ; but it is known accurately
enough by some of my grandfather's friends, whose evidence
I shall produce ' (§§ 14-17).
The speaker continues that he and his brother were
enrolled by Ciron in the phratria, and were allowed
to conduct the funeral by Diodes, who thus tacitly
admitted their claim.
He next proves by legal argument that direct de-
scendants have a better claim than collateral relations.
By way of epilogue he gives an account of the property
and the machinations of Diodes, whose personal char-
acter he attacks, and at the end produces evidence that
Diodes has been proved guilty of adultery.
§ 2. Literary Characteristics
N. Isaeus studied imder Isocrates, and it is therefore
reasonable to follow the chronological order and take
the master first ; but as the master survived the
pupil by several years, and was actively engaged in
literature down to the day of his death, ordinary
considerations of seniority do not apply in this case.
It is more satisfactory to study Isaeus in relation,
not to Isocrates, but to the earlier speech- writers,
Antiphon and Lysias. He is more closely connected
with them in his subject-matter, since he is, like them,
ISAEUS 113
essentially a practical writer, and his businesslike
style has more affinity to the terse condensation of
Lysias than to the florid * epideictic ' diction of the
author of the Panegyric.
In language there is not very much difference between
Lysias and Isaeus ; both use the current vocabulary,
making a literary medium out of the popular speech
of their day. A search through the latter's speeches
re-discovers a certain number of words which, so far
as our knowledge goes, have a poetical tinge ; but
practically all these may be foimd in other orators
and prose-writers.^
Again, there are a few noteworthy metaphors, such
as iKKoiTTtiv, to * knock out ' or ' knock on the head '
— this is used again by Dinarchus — and KaQinriroTpo^^lv,
' to race away one's money,' i.e. squander it on a
stable. We know little of the idioms of the language
spoken in the streets of Athens in the fourth century,
but we do know that popular speech has always
a tendency to the employment of rough meta-
phors, and where we come into contact with the
spoken word we expect to find expressions of this
kind. 2 A study of the private letters contained
among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri will give many ex-
amples to the point. ^ Lastly, a few words recall the —
language of comedy.*
We may readily beheve that, in admitting these
few blemishes to the purity of his Atticism, the orator
1 Jebb, Attic Orators, \o\. ii. p. 277'.
2 Cleisthenes [Herod., vi. 129), in a moment of extreme excitement,
remarked to Hippoclides d7rajpx'^<''*o t^" y^iJ-ov — ' You have danced
away your chances of marriage.'
• Cf., jtoo, the use of viroitnd^fa in the New Testament.
* E^. ypv^ai.
H
114 THE GREEK ORATORS
was indulging in a realism of which we find very few
traces, as a rule, in hterary prose. ^
His grammar, according to strict Attic rule, is
occasionally at fault, ^ and the MSS. exhibit a certain
number of word-forms which are supposed to be un-
Attic.3
Whether we should emend these passages to suit
the supposed standard, or make the standard more
liberal to admit such passages, is a matter for contro-
versy. The MSS. of Thucydides exhibit a wealth of
ingenious perversity in the way of grammar, and in
that case, though many critics have spent their in-
genuity on reducing the text to order and decency,
an opposite school of criticism maintains that the
historian may have chosen to write as he Hked. The
greatest artists are above the laws of their art, and
Isaeus may have condescended to a level which he
knew not to be the highest.
With regard, then, to the purity of language, Isaeus,
though surpassed by Lysias and Isocrates, is not far
behind them. He is on a level with Lysias also in
clearness and accuracy of thought, and in what
Dionysius calls ivdpyeta, vividness of presentation.
But in the structure of sentences some differences
between these two must be noted. Lysias, as has
already been stated, varied his structure considerably
according to the subjects of his speeches, the succes-
sion of periods being broken by the introduction of
* It has been already remarked that the speech-writers are, cis
a rule, ridiculously unsuccessful in their attempt to make their
cUents speak in the way that is natural to them {vide supra, p. 37).
• E.g. Or. V. 23, 7]yo}jfi€voL ovk Slv airbv ^e^aiibaeiv, k.t.X. Or. v. 31,
d}lj.o\oy^ffafi€v ififiepeiv oTs tv yvoiev. Or. v. 43, dairavrjdels (in middle
sense) .
' E.g, KaBiffrdveLV, \l/ri<pi(re<r6e, Afavres.
ISAEUS 115
a freer style ; but at the same time he had a love of
antithesis to which sacrifices had sometimes to be
made.
Isaeus is free from this straining after antithesis, -
and is hardly bound at all by scholastic rules. We ''^ '^^
cannot truly say that his style is non-periodic, for
formal periods are to be met with ; but a marked
characteristic of his style is his skill in the use of short
sentences, often abrupt, nearly always vigorous. In
argumentative passages especially, he uses the form
of imaginary question and answer ; in narrative he
sometimes gives us a series of short sentences, con-
nected in thought, but not formally bound together.
He has the appearance of composing negligently, but
from his effectiveness we conclude that the negHgence
was studied. The following passages illustrate these
styles :
' Eupolis, Thrasyllus, and Mneson were brothers from
the same two parents. Their father left them a con-
siderable property, so that they were eligible for the per-
formance of public services. This the three divided
amongst them. Of these brothers, two died about the
same time,' etc.^
The speech about Ciron's inheritance contains the
best example of argument by question and answer :
* On what ground should a statement be believed ? %^^,
Should we not say, on the ground of the evidence ? I - '
fancy so. And on what ground should we beUeve wit-
nesses ? From the fact that they have been tortured ?
Naturally. And on what grounds should we disbeUeve
the statements of the plaintiffs ? Because they shrink
from this test ? Most certainly.' 2
1 The Estate of Apollodorus (Or. vii.), § 5.
« Ciron (Or. viii.), § 28.
V
ii6 THE GREEK ORATORS
A third quotation gives a good example of the
"^.purely ornamental use of the rhetorical question ; it is
precious as showing us that Isaeus was on occasion
capable of applying a Hghter touch. He is so coldly
logical as a rule that we turn with relief to any exhibi-
tion of ordinary feeling :
* Who was there who omitted to cut his hair short when
the two talents arrived ? Who was there who failed to
wear black, hoping that his mourning would give him a
claim to the inheritance ? Or how many relatives and
sons laid claim, by deed of gift, to the estate of Nicostratus ?
Demosthenes said he was his nephew, but when the present
claimants disproved his statement, he retired. Telephus
said that Nicostratus had given him all his property. He
too soon ceased to be a claimant. Ameiniades came before
the archon and produced a son for Nicostratus — a child
less than three years old, though Nicostratus had not been
in Athens for eleven years past. Pyrrhus of Lamptra said
that the money had been dedicated by Nicostratus to
Athena, but given by Nicostratus to himself. Ctesias of
Besaea and Cranaus first said that judgment had beei|^
given in their favour against Nicostratus for a talent, and
when they could not prove it, asserted that he was their
freedman. They, like the rest, failed to estabUsh their
statement.
' These were the parties who in the first instance pounced
at once upon the property of Nicostratus. Chariades made
no claim at the time.' ^
Dionysius, a very keen critic on the literary side,
misses in Isaeus the grace and charm of Lysias, but
allows him more cleverness. ^ *
This * charm,' by which Dionysius could distinguish
a genuine speech of Lysias, is incapable of definition
and too elusive for our blunter wits to apprehend;
* Nicostratus (Or. iv.), §§ 7-10. ■ de Isaeo, ch. 3.
ISAEUS 117
but we can form a general impression that the diction
of Lysias has something in it more pleasing than that
of Isaeus. Perhaps there is something in the illustra-
tion which the ancient critic applies, when he compares
the speeches of the former to a clearly drawn picture
of simple colour and design ; those of the latter to a
more elaborate and ingenious composition, where there
is more play of light and shade and the depth and
brilliance of the colouring in some cases obscures the
lines — ^with a suggestion that the drawing may be
faulty.^ This simile, however, applies more truly to
the structure of the speeches than to the diction.
Dionysius recurs to the style, ^ and quotes parallel
extracts from the introductions to speeches by the
two writers to demonstrate the simplicity of Lysias
and the artificiality of Isaeus. The demonstration
is not overpowering. The first specimen from Lysias
is indeed simple and clear, but the extract from Isaeus,
though the language is a little more elaborate, seems
equally suitable for its purpose.
Lysias wrote as follows :
* I feel, Gentlemen, that I must tell you about my friend-
ship with Pherenicus, so that none of you may be surprised
that I, who have never before pleaded for any one else,
am now pleading for him. I had a friend in his father
Cephisodotus, and when our party was exiled to Thebes I
stayed with him, as did any other Athenian who wished to.
' He did us many kind services, both officially and pri-
vately, before we were restored to our homes. So when his
family met with the same misfortune, and came in exile to
Athens, I felt that I owed them the greatest possible grati-
tude, and received them in such intimate fashion that nobody
who came to the house, and did not know, could tell which of
1 de Isaeo, ch. 4. " Ibid., ch. 5.
\,
ii8 THE GREEK ORATORS
us was the owner of it. Now Pherenicus knows that there
are many who are cleverer speakers than I, and have more
experience of such business ; but he thinks that he can
rely absolutely on my friendship. So I should think it
disgraceful, when he asks me and urges me to support his
claims, to allow him to lose Androclides' gift, if I can do
anything to prevent it.' ^
The following is the parallel extract from Isaeus :
* Before now I have been of service to Eumathes, as
indeed he has deserved ; and now, so far as in me lies, I
shall try to help you to save him. Now listen to me for
a short time, lest any of you suppose that I through reck-
lessness or any other unjust motive have approached the
case of Eumathes.
' When I was a trierarch in the archonship of Cephiso-
dorus, and a report was carried to my relatives that I had
been killed in the sea-fight, whereas I had some moneys
deposited with Eumathes, Eumathes sent for my relative
and friends, and declared the amount of the money which
was in his hands, and justly and honestly made payment
in full.
* In consequence of this I, when I got home in safety,
treated him as a still closer friend, and when he was starting
business as a banker I provided him with money. After
this, when Dionysius claimed him as a slave, I vindicated
his liberty, knowing that he had been manumitted by
Epigenes before the court. But I shall say no more on
this subject.' ^
Dionysius thus criticizes them :
* What is the difference between these proemia ? In
Lysias the introduction of the subject is pleasing for this
one reason, that it is stated naturally and simply.
' " I feel. Gentlemen, that I must begin by telling you
about my friendship with Pherenicus " ' —
1 Lysias, fr. 46. ' Isaeus, fr. 15.
ISAEUS 119
What follows has no appearance of premeditation,
but is put just as an amateur might express it :
"* so that none of you may be surprised that I, who
have never before pleaded for any one else, am now
pleading for him." But in Isaeus what seems so
simple is really premeditated, and we see at once that it is
rhetorical : " Before now I have been of service to
Eumathes, as indeed he has deserved ; and now, so far
as in me Ues, I shall try to help you in saving him." This
is more exalted and less simple than the other ; still more
is this true of the next sentence : ** Now listen to me for
a short time, lest any of you suppose that I through reck-
lessness or any other unjust motive have approached the
case of Eumathes." '
Dionysius finds that the expressions here used,
TrpoTrereca, dSiKiay 7rpb<i to, 'Fjv/iia6ov<i TTpdy/jiaTa TrpoarjX-
Oov, sound to him artificial rather than spon-
taneous. In this he may be right ; but we feel
him to be hypercritical when he blames the next
sentence for lack of simplicity, and tries, by a few
verbal alterations, to show how it might have been
improved. He would re-write the sentence thus : —
* When I was trierarch, and it was reported at home
that I had been killed, Eumathes, having some money
of mine on deposit,' etc. Here he has certainly
succeeded in omitting once the name Eumathes,
which occurs twice in Isaeus ; but the other changes
consist purely in the substitution of two temporal
clauses introduced by ore (when) for two participial
clauses in the genitive absolute — a construction which
is, surely, common enough in all Greek writers to escape
the censure of being * rhetorical.'
120 THE GREEK ORATORS
§ 3. Structure of Speeches
The exceptional power of Isaeus does not, then,
depend upon any charm of language or any oratorical
^ gift ; it lies in his exhaustive legal knowledge and his
remarkable skill in argument. He has an almost
imique gift for circumstantial statement and proof
of the facts bearing on his case. This is the cleverness
v\ (BeivoTTj^;) to which Dionysius so often refers with
grudging admiration.
His speeches are not arranged according to a single
'^ plan, but, on the contrary, exhibit great variety of
structure. Lysias keeps practically to one form —
exordium, narrative, proof, epilogue. Isaeus, when
the narrative is too long or complicated to be grasped
all at once, does not set it out as a whole, but breaks
it up into sections, each of which is accompanied by
its evidence and argument.^ ' The orator is afraid,'
thinks Dioiiysius, ' that the argument may be hard
to follow, on account of the number of its sections,
and that the proofs of the various points, if all collected
together, being so numerous as they must be, dealing
with matters so numerous, may be detrimental to
clearness.' The critic is referring particularly to the
speech For Euphiletus (Or. xii.), a large fragment of
which his quotations have preserved for us ; but an
analysis of any of the extant speeches will show that
they are constructed skilfully on varying plans, un-
hampered by technical rule, with an art that adapts
its material according to the requirements of the case.
This skill, which aims at success rather than literary
^ finish, shows that Isaeus was above all a competent
* Cf. de Isaeo, ch. 14.
ISAEUS 121
tactician — such a master of argument that, * whereas
we should be ready to believe Lysias even when he
tells a lie, we can hardly regard Isaeus without sus-
picion even when he tells the truth.' ^
Dionysius is no doubt led rather far away by his
desire for a contrast ; he has given Isaeus a bad name
and is seeking means to justify his condemnation of the
man who ' takes a mean advantage of his adversary
and outmanoeuvres the judges.' ^
This Greek of a late Hellenistic age thoroughly
grasped the Athenian spirit, which demanded artistic
composition and was yet suspicious of any man who
was too obviously clever, a spirit against which we
find Antiphon, the earliest of the orators, contending,
when he makes his characters protest their own in-
experience and insinuate that their opponents seem
strong only because they have that same discreditable
skill to make the worse cause appear the better.^
Isaeus sometimes reiterates his arguments ; he will
even quote the same document twice. This is in-
artistic, but it pays. A notable advance on his pre-
decessors is found in the form of some of his epi-
logues. The earlier orators were generally content,
after stating the case, to finish with a general appeal
to justice or pity. Isaeus on occasion makes a more
practical use of his closing periods ; he recapitulates
the case, pointing out that he has proved what he set
out to prove ; * or gives a short summary of the
narrative which he regards as now established, or of
the claims urged by himself and his opponent. In
one speech^ he has actually reached the end and
1 de Isaeo, ch. i6. * Ibid., ch. 3. ' Cf. supra, p. 38.
* E.g. Orr. 2, 3, 7, 8, 9. ^ Or. 8 {Ciron), § 46.
122
THE GREEK ORATORS
"^v.
summarized his results, when the very last words
surprise us by an unexpected attack on his adversary's
character :
' I do not know that there is any need for me to say
more, for I think there is no point on which you have not
full knowledge ; but I will ask the clerk to take the last
remaining deposition, showing how the claimant was con-
victed of adultery, and read it to the court.'
Some of the earlier speech-writers made an attempt
at character-drawing, and tried to suit their speeches
to the character (77^09) of their clients. In Isaeus this
illusion is not maintained ; his style varies somewhat
according to the subject, but every speech bears, as
Dionysius observes, the stamp of the professional
writer, which must have betrayed it to the acute
perceptions of an Athenian jury.^ Probably the ac-
cumulated experience of the orators had proved that
such attempts at deception were on the whole useless ;
for a certain class of client it would be necessary either
to write a bad speech or let it be evident that the
speaker was only a mouthpiece for an advocate cleverer
than himself, and as success in the case was of more
importance than artistic illusion, the proper choice
was obvious. The ethos in Isaeus consists not in
making the characters speak as they naturally would
have spoken, but in putting their arguments for them
in the way most likely to appeal to the reason and
Ithe feelings of the judges. Experience had further
shown that though, from the lips of a real orator,
appeals to sentiment and passion may have a great
effect, such appeals by themselves, unsupported by
^ de Isaeo, ch. i6.
ISAEUS 123
argument, or made at an inauspicious moment, may
do more harm than good. An appeal to the reason
is always stronger, provided only that the speaker
must avoid giving offence by a too presumptuous
bearing.
When the court is already convinced by an argued
demonstration of the justice of the case, an appeal to
pity or indignation may be overpowering ; without
such preparation it is nothing but a last resort of
weakness.
Isaeus, though he uses such appeals, as indeed he
wields every weapon of the orator's armoury, uses
them with moderation and discernment, showing in
this, as in all his tactics, a sound knowledge of practical
utility.
§ 4. Speeches
The ' Life ' by the Pseudo-Plutarch tells us that sixty-
four speeches were attributed to Isaeus, of which fifty
were considered genuine. He also composed an Art
of Rhetoric. We now possess eleven and a consider-
able fragment of a twelfth, and know the titles of
forty-two others. The eleven speeches which are
extant all deal directly or indirectly with inheritances.
Six of these are connected with 8caBi,Kd<nai — trials to
decide who is the righteous claimant — and their titles
are as follows : — On the Estate of Cleonymus (Or. i.),
date 360-353 B.C. ; On the Estate of Nicostratus (Or. iv.),
the date is uncertain — the author of the * argument '
asserts, with no plausibility, that Isaeus delivered the
speech in his own person ; On the Estate of Apollodorus
(Or. vii.), about 353 B.C. ; On the Estate of Ciron
(Or. viii.) [see above, pp. T08-10), date uncertain, per-
124 THE GREEK ORATORS
haps circa 375 B.C. ; On the Estate of Astyphilus (Or. ix.),
date perhaps about 369 B.C. ; On the Estate of Aris-
tarchus, date probably between 377 and 371 B.C.
Three speeches deal with prosecutions for false
witness in connection with testamentary cases, viz.
On the Estate of Menecles (Or. ii.), date about 354 B.C. ;
On the Estate of Pyrrhus (Or. iii.), of imcertain date ;
On the Estate of Philoctemon (Or. vi.), — the date of this
speech can be fixed with certainty at 364-363 B.C.,
as we learn from § 14 that it is now fifty-two years
since the Athenian expedition sailed to Sicily.
Oration v.. On the Estate of Dicaeogenes, is in an
eyyvrffi BUt), an action to compel Leochares, who was
surety for Dicaeogenes in an agreement connected
with the will of the latter's cousin, also named Dicaeo-
genes, to carry out the contract, since Dicaeogenes,
the principal, is a defaulter. The date can only be
fixed by the references to the death of the testator,
who was killed in battle at Cnidos. There are two
engagements which might be referred to, the first in
412 B.C., the second in 394 B.C. Twenty-two years
have elapsed between that event and the present trial,
so the date is either 390 B.C. — many years earlier than
that of any other speech of Isaeus — or 372 B.C.
On the Estate of Hagnias (Or. xi.) is in a prosecution
of a guardian for ill-treatment of his ward under a will.
For Euphiletus (Or. xii.), a considerable fragment
preserved by Dionysius, is the only specimen that we
possess of a speech not connected with a will-case.
It refers to an appeal by Euphiletus to a law-court
against the decision of his fellow demes-men, who have
struck him off the roll.
The remaining fragments are hardly important
ISAEUS 125
except in so far as they provide us with the names of
several lost speeches. One of them (frag. 23) contains
several sentences repeated verbally from Or. viii.
(Ciron), § 28.
The fragment of the speech For Eumathes, preserved
by Dionysius, has been referred to above (p. 118).
CHAPTER VI
ISOCRATES
§ I. Life
ISOCRATES was born in 436 B.C., and lived to
the remarkable age of ninety-seven in full pos-
session of his faculties. His childhood and youth were
passed amid the horrors of the Peloponnesian War ;
he was already of age when the failure of the Sicilian
expedition turned the scale against Athens. In
mature manhood he saw the ruin of his city by the
capitulation to Lysander. He lived through the
Spartan supremacy, saw the foimdation of the new
Athenian League in 378 B.C., and the rise and fall of
the power of Thebes. At the time when Philip obtained
the throne of Macedon he was already, by ordinary
reckoning, an old man, but the laws of mortality were
suspended in the case of this Athenian Nestor. Some
of his most important works were composed after his
V eightieth year ; the Philippus, which he wrote at the
age of ninety, shows no diminution of his powers ;
4 he produced one of his longest works, the Panathenaicus,
^ in his ninety-seventh year, and Hved to congratulate
Philip on his victory at Chaeronea in 338 B.C.
In a Hfe of such extent and such remarkable variety
of experience we should expect to find many changes
of outlook and modifications, from time to time, of
earlier views. But Isocrates was a man of singularly
126
ISOCRATES 127
fixed ideas. With regard to education, he formulated
in the discourse against the Sophists (391 B.C.) views
which are practically identical with what he expressed
nearly forty years later in the Antidosis, views which
he maintains in his last work of all, the Panathenaicus
(339 B.C.). With regard to Greek poHtics, he held
till the close of his life the opinions propounded in the
Panegyricus of 380 B.C. His aims were unchanged,
though of necessity he modified the means by which
he hoped to carry them out.
We have little information about the orator's early
life. He tells us himself that his patrimony was
dissipated by the Peloponnesian War,i so that he was
forced to adopt a profession to make a living.
The story contained in the ' Life,' that he endea-
voured to save Theramenes when condemned by
the Thirty, has no other authority but the Pseudo-
Plutarch. It appears from Plato's Phaedrus ^ that he
was intimate with Socrates, that Socrates had a high
opinion of him, and considered that the young man
might distinguish himself either in oratory or in
philosophy. Tradition names the Sophists Prodicus,
Protagoras, and Gorgias among his early teachers.
He is beUeved to have visited Gorgias in Thessaly.
Plutarch asserts that Isocrates at one time opened a
school of rhetoric, with nine pupils, in Chios ; and
that while there he interfered in politics and helped
to institute a democracy. ^ The story may be accepted
with reservations. Isocrates himself never refers to
1 Antid., § 161.
2 Phaedr.f pp. 278-9.
^ Kai dpxo-s 5i [/cai] (raj ?) nepl rrjv Kiov Kariarrjae Kal t^p ai>TT}v rp irarpiSi
ToXlTfiap. Ps.-Plut., 837 B.
■■'¥
128 THE GREEK ORATORS
#
it, and in Ep. vi. § 2 (to the children of Jason) excuses
himself from visiting Thessaly on the ground that
people would comment tmfavourably on a man who
had ' kept quiet ' all his Hfe if he began traveUing in
his old age.i Jebb assumes a short stay in Chios in
404-403 B.C.
Between 403 and 393 B.C. Isocrates composed a
certain number of speeches for the law-courts, in which,
however, he never appeared as a pleader, for natural
■ disabilities — lack of voice and nervousness, to which
i he refers with regret — made him unfitted for such
work.
About 392 B.C. he opened a school at Athens, and
^^ in 391 B.C. pubhshed, in the discourse Against the
-■^ Sophists, his views on education. His pupils were
mostly Athenians, many of them afterwards being
men of distinction. 2
It was probably between 378 and 376 B.C. that
Isocrates went on several voyages with Conon's son,
Timotheus, who was engaged in organizing the new
maritime league. From this time down to 351 B.C.
he had many distinguished pupils from far countries —
Sicily and Pontus as well as all parts of Greece — and
amassed, as he tells us, a reasonable competence,
though not a large fortune.
In the year 351 B.C., when a great contest of eloquence
was held by Artemisia, widow of Mausolus of Caria,
\ in honour of her husband, it is reported that all the
competitors were pupils of Isocrates.
In the last period of his Hfe, 351-338 B.C., Isocrates
* However, if we pressed this passage, we must regard the journey
with Timotheus as unhistorical. All the evidence is to be found in
Blass, Att. Ber., vol. ii. pp. 16-17.
2 Antid., §§ 159 sqq.
ISOCRATES 129
still continued to teach, and was also busily occupied
in writing. He published the Philippus, which is one
of his most important works, and one of the greatest
in historical interest, in 346 B.C. ; in 342 B.C. he began
the lengthy Panathenaicus, which he had half finished
when he was attacked by an illness, which made the
work drag on for three years. It was finished in 339
B.C. In the following year, a few days after the
battle of Chaeronea, he died. A report was current
in antiquity that he committed suicide, by starving
himself, in consequence of the news of this downfall
of Greek liberty ; the story is quite incredible when
we consider that the result of the battle gave a possi-
bility of the fulfilment of the hopes which Isocrates
had been cherishing for half his life, the end to which
he had been labouring for over forty years — the con-
centration of all power into the hands of one man,
who might redeem Greece by giving her union and
leading her to conquest in the East.
His last letter, in fact, written after the battle of
Chaeronea, congratulates Philip on his victory; and
even if this letter is spurious, the probability, to judge
from the tone of his earlier works, is that he would
have hailed the Macedonian success as a victory for
his imperial ideas.
§ 2. Style
Though Isocrates composed, in his youth, a few
forensic speeches, it is not by such compositions that
he must be judged ; indeed he himself, far from claim-
ing credit for his activity in that direction, in later
life adopted an apologetic tone when speaking of his
earher work. As a teacher of rhetoric he won great
130 THE GREEK ORATORS
^^ \^. renown, numbering, as he boasts, even kings among
his pupils ; and he had a complete mastery of all the
technique of the rhetorical art.
He was also a master of style, having theories of
composition which he exemplified in practice with
such skill that he must occupy a prominent place in
any treatise on the development of Greek prose.
But his highest claim to consideration is as a political
"^ thinker. His bold and startling theories of Greek
poUtics were expressed indeed in finished prose, and
in rhetorical shape ; but the artistic form is only an
added ornament ; if Isocrates had written in the
baldest style he must have made a name by his treatises
on political science, and by the fact that he took a
broader and more liberal view of Hellenism than any
Athenian before or after. Thus he, who perhaps
never delivered a public speech, is of more importance
than any of the other orators ; and though no pohtician
in the narrow sense, he exerted a wider influence
than any, not excepting Demosthenes, who devoted
, their lives to political activity, for he originated and
^. promulgated ideas which completely changed the
^, course of Greek civilization. It was probably he who
^ was the first to instigate Philip to attempt the conquest
^ of Asia, as he had before urged Dionysius and others
to make the attempt — all for the sake of the union of
Greek States and the spread of Hellenism ; certainly
he encouraged the Macedonian in his project, and
perhaps it may be said to be due to him that on
Philip's death Alexander found the way prepared.
Isocrates could not fully foresee the results of
Alexander's conquests ; Alexander himself modified
and expanded his ambitions as he advanced ; but
ISOCRATES 131
undoubtedly Isocrates urged the general desirability
of the undertaking and saw clearly, up to a certain
point, the lines on which it ought to be carried out.
The petty law-suits which occupied Lysias and Ando-
cides seem trivial and unimportant, even the patriotic
utterances of Demosthenes seem of secondary weight,
compared with these literary harangues of Isocrates,
in cases where civilization and barbarism, unity and
discord, are the litigants, and the court is the world.
Isocrates is named by Dionysius as an example of
the smooth (or florid) style of composition, which
resembles closely woven stuffs, or pictures in which
the lights melt insensibly into the shadows.^
It is clear that to aim consciously at producing such
effects as these is to exalt mere expression to supreme
heights, and to risk the loss of clearness and emphasis.
We may gather the opinions of Isocrates on the
structure of prose partly from his own statements,
partly from the criticisms of Dionysius, and partly
from a study of his compositions. The subject has
been very fully and carefully dealt with by Blass, and
in the present work only a summary of the chief
results can be attempted.
The most noticeable feature of the style is the care
taken to avoid hiatus. This is particularly remarked
by Dionysius, who, after quoting from the Areopagiticus
a long passage which he particularly admires, notes,
' You cannot find any dissonance of vowels, at any
rate in the passage which I have quoted, nor any,
I think, in the whole speech, unless some instance
has escaped my observation.' ^
^ de Comp. Verb., ch. xxiii.
2 de Comp. Verb., ch. xxiii. He quotes Areop., §§ 1-5.
^,
132 THE GREEK ORATORS
We should expect to find that, to produce this
effect, it was necessary to depart frequently from
natural forms of expression, either by changing the
usual order, or by inserting unnecessary words. It
is probable that Isocrates resorted to both these
devices ; but such is the skill with which he handles
his materials that careful reading is necessary to
detect the distortions.*
^ Dionysius further notes that dissonance or clashing
of consonants is rare, and herein Isocrates seems to
have been at pains to follow the rules of euphony laid
down in his own Tixvv- In a fragment preserved by
Hermogenes he tells his readers to avoid the repetition
of the same syllable in consecutive words — as riXiKa
KaXd, evda %a\rj<;^ The ingenuity of Blass has dis-
covered passages in which the natural form of a phrase
has been altered to avoid such juxtaposition of similar
syllables.' Certain combinations of consonants, too,
'^ are hard to pronounce, and must therefore be avoided.
There is, in truth, much justice in the remark of
Dionysius that in reading Isocrates it is not the separate
words but the sentence as a whole that we must take
into account.
'^^ The third characteristic of Isocrates* style is his
attention to rhythm.
The extravagance of Gorgias had hindered the
development of the language by introducing into prose
the rhythms and language of poetry ; Thrasjnnachus,
1 Isocrates allows elisions of certain short vowels, but he is more
sparing than most poets in the use of it. In the epideictic speeches
the commonest elision is of enclitics or semi-enclitics {re, 5i, etc.)
and of personal pronouns. Crasis, except of Kai &v, is rare. In the
forensic speeches (his early work) eUsion is much less restricted.
2 Maxim. Planud. ad Hermog., v. 469. ' Vol. ii. p. 144.
ISOCRATES 133
as we know from Aristotle's Rhetoric, had studied the
effect of the foot * paeonius ' ( — ^^ ^ v^ or ^ s^ ^ — ) at f
the beginning and end of periods. ^ Isocrates, while
deprecating the use of poetical metres in any strict
sense, asserted that oratorical prose should have
rhythms of its own, and favoured combinations of the
trochee and the iambus. In this he differed from
Aristotle, who disapproved of the iambic rhythm as
being too similar to the natural course of ordinary
speech, and of the trochaic, as being too light and
tripping — in contrast to the hexameter, which he
classed as too solemn for spoken language. ^
The periods of Isocrates are remarkable for their
elaboration . The analyses of Blass show us a compHca-
tion of structure in some of the longer sentences which
may almost be compared to that of a Pindaric ode.-|
Never, perhaps, has there been a writer who attained
such luxuriant complexity in his composition of
sentences. But Isocrates is too much the slave of
his own virtues ; his periods are so long, so complete,
so imiformly artistic, that their everlasting procession ? ■
is monotonous. Lysias, less perfect in form, has in
consequence more variety ; Demosthenes, who could
compose long periods, did not confine himself to them,
but enlivened his style by contrast.
The structure of the period lends itself naturally
to antithetical forms of expression. We observed in
Antiphon the frequency of verbal antitheses of various
kinds — the \6ya) and epyo), the fikv and Bi, and
others. Isocrates, having before him the examples
of his predecessors and the precepts of rhetoricians,
and having theories of his own on sentence-construc-
1 Rhet., Book iii. 8. 4. « Ibid.
\
134 THE GREEK ORATORS
tion, developed very fully a scheme of parallelism
in word, sense, and somid.
Thus a period will consist, as we have seen, of a
succession of /cwXa or limbs, each one corresponding
to another in size, and pairs of corresponding KSiKa
will contain pairs of words parallel in sense, form or
sound. So the whole period is bound closely together.
Vocabulary. Schemata
His vocabulary avoids excess ; he is, in the judgment
of Dionysius, the purest of Atticists, with the exception
of Lysias. But if we compare the two we find much
more tendency to fine writing in Isocrates. Using
ordinary words he can produce notable effects, and he
is always consciously striving after a certain poni-
posity of diction. This is most noticeable in the
exhibition-writings, such as the Helen and Busiris,
where grandiloquent compound words are not in-
frequent, and metaphors are commoner and more strik-
ing than in the speeches on real subjects.
One of his affectations, copied by nearly all subse-
quent orators, is the unnecessary piling up of words
almost synonymous to express one idea.^ On the other
hand we sometimes find synonyms apparently con-
trasted in different parts of the sentence ; such con-
trast is only verbal, and is made for the purpose of
rounding the period ; in either case we must note that
the writer departs from simplicity in order to improve
the sound of his words, but does not add much to the
sense. 2
^ dav/xd^eiv Kal ^rj\ovy, iiraiV€T}' Kal rifxav, etc.
* E.g. Paneg., § 5, 6Tav H) rd vpAy/xara Xd^y r^Xos . . . i) t6v \6yoy
tdri Tis itx^vTo. vipaiy where t^Xoj and nipat, two words for end or
ISOCRATES 135
Another characteristic is the use of the plural of
abstract nouns, in much the same sense as the singular.^ Vt
All these details — the partiality for compounds, for the
accumulation of synonyms and for the use of the plural
instead of the singular, may be classed together under
the head of exaggerations of expression, and recorded .; ^^
as characteristics of the epideictic style. ■
In general, the tone is heightened, and Isocrates tends
to appear florid when compared with Lysias ; if, on
the other hand, we take Gorgias as a standard, we
see how far Isocrates, who imdoubtedly imitated the
Sicilian style, has surpassed his model in the direction
of refinement. .
§ 3. On Education
Prevented by natural disabilities from exercising his
talents in public, but urged on by the necessity of earn-
ing a living, since the Peloponnesian War had dissi-
pated his fortune, Isocrates turned to a profession for .f'^^
which he was well fitted, that of an educator. During i
many years he was, like Gorgias, a teacher of rhetoric,
and like Gorgias he may be classed as a Sophist. This
title is misleading. In itself it means nothing more v
than an educator, or teacher of wisdom, and early <
writers use it in a laudatory sense ; Herodotus applies
it to the Seven Sages. In the fourth century it was
debased, partly by the comic poets, as representing the
completion, are not really distinguishable, or, at any rate, the dis-
tinction is very sUght. So in Evagoras, § 11, evXayelu and iyKWfu-
d^eiv are used antithetically (to praise — to eulogise).
^ E.g. Evagoras, § 10, ai/Tois rats eipvOfxiais koI rats avfifierplais
\l>vx<iyuyov(n rods dKo6ovTas. Elsewhere we find fierpidTirreSy Xa/iirpi-
TTfT€i, av9d5€i.ai, dpyiai, etc.
136 THE GREEK ORATORS
popular habit of sneering at anything which the mob
cannot understand, but more honestly and systemati-
cally by Plato, who, though he admitted that some of
the Sophists, such as Protagoras, were men worthy of
the highest respect, took many opportunities of dis-
vparaging Sophists as a class, and Sophistry as a pro-
fession.
There can be no doubt that he was quite sincere, for
he takes great pains to bring out the distinction between
the educators and his own master Socrates, whom
Aristophanes had already marked as one of the crowd.^
To us it seems that the marked distinction cannot
be maintained ; apart from Socrates' peculiarity of
refusing to take fees from his pupils, he is distinguished
^- ~ * only by possessing a higher moral tone than the rest
of the Sophists. Like them he was a sceptic as far as
philosophy was concerned, and like them he was an
1 educator.
We have, however, accepted the word at the value
which Plato chose to put upon it ; but we must not
suppose that this was the value at which it was usually
current. This is clear from the fact that Isocrates can
use the word without any idea of disparagement.
Though he wrote a speech Against the Sophists, it
is directed not against the profession as a whole, but
against certain classes, whom he calls the ayeXacov
ao(f>La'Tal — ' Sophists of the baser sort.'
Isocrates' earliest work on education, the speech or
~X tract Against the Sophists (Or. xiii.), dates from the
beginning of his professional career, perhaps about the
year 390 B.C. We possess only part, perhaps less than
half, of the speech. What remains is purely destruc-
* Aristoph., Clouds^ passim.
ISOCRATES 137
tive criticism which, as is clear from the concluding
words, was meant to lead up to an exposition of the
writer's own principles and theory. The loss is to be
regretted, but is not irreparable, since the speech On the
Antidosis, composed thirty-five years later, supple-
ments it by a full constructive statement.
The introduction on the Sophists is sweeping in its
severity : ^
* If all our professional educators would be content to
tell the truth and not promise more than they ever intend
to perform, they would not have a bad reputation among
laymen. As it is, their reckless effrontery has encouraged
the opinion that a Hfe of incurious idleness is better than
one devoted to philosophy. '
He proceeds to criticize various classes :
' We cannot help hating and despising the professors of
contentious argument (eristic), who, while claiming to seek
for Truth, introduce falsehood at the very beginning of their
pretensions. They profess in a way to read the future, a
power which Homer denied even to the gods ; for they
prophesy for their pupils a full knowledge of right conduct,
and promise them happiness in consequence. This in-
valuable commodity they offer for sale at the ridiculous
price of three or four minae. They affect, indeed, to de-
spise money — mere dross of silver or gold as they call it —
yet, for the sake of this small profit they will raise their
pupils almost to a level with the immortals. They profess
to teach all virtue ; but it is notable that pupils, before
they are admitted to the course, have to give security for
the payment of their fees.'
The general tone of this censure recalls the attacks
of the Platonic Socrates on the * eristic ' Sophists ; but
* Cf. Isocrates' reference to this passage in Antid., § 193.
138 THE GREEK ORATORS
it is certain that the * eristics/ whom Isocrates here
attacks, are some of the lesser Socratics. This is made
obvious by the reference in § 3 to the knowledge
(iTrco-TrjfjLrj) which, according to these teachers, will lead
to right conduct or virtue, and so to happiness. The
Socratic view that knowledge is the basis of virtue, and
virtue of happiness, is well known. Socrates himself
did not profess to teach virtue for a fee ; but the
Megarians, the followers of his pupil EucHdes, did, and
at them the sarcasm of Isocrates seems to be directed.
Elsewhere, indeed, Isocrates refers definitely to the
Platonic school as belonging to the eristic class. ^
The teachers of * Political Discourse ' fall next under
ban, that is, the teachers of practical rhetoric, whether
forensic or deliberative. ^ ' They care nothing for
truth ' — whereas the eristics, at any rate, professed to
seek it — * they consider that their profession is to
attract as many pupils as possible by the smallness of
their fees and the greatness of their promises. They
are so dull, and think others so dull, that though the
speeches which they write are worse than many non-
professionals can improvise, they undertake to make
of their pupils orators equal to any emergency. They
say that they can teach oratory as easily as the alpha-
bet, which is a subject fixed by unchangeable rules,
whereas the conditions for a speaker are never quite
the same on two occasions. A speech, to be successful,
must be appropriate to the subject, to the occasion,
and to the speaker ; and in some degree original.
Instruction can give us technical skill ; but cannot call
* Hel. (Or. X.), § I, ol 8i S(,e^i6vT€s ws iySpla Kal <ro<f)la Kal diKaioa^vij
Tavrhv iffTc.
« §§ 9 sqq.
ISOCRATES 139
into existence the oratorical faculty, which a good
speaker must have innate in him.'
No doubt Isocrates himself professed to give a prac-
tical training for public life ; but he states here what
he repeats with more emphasis in a later writing : ^
* For distinction either in speech or in action, or in any
other work, there are three requisites : natural apti-
tude, theoretical training, and practical experience. . . .
Of these the first is indispensable, and by far the most
important.' The Sophists claimed to dispense with
the first, and this is the ground of the philosopher's
quarrel with them.
The third section of the speech, following naturally
on the second, deals with writers of technical guides to
rhetoric (rexvai).
* They profess to teach litigation, choosing for themselves
this offensive title which would be more appropriate in the
mouths of their detractors. They are worse than those who
wallow in the mire of " eristic," for they at least pretend to
be concerned with virtue and moderation, while those whom
we are considering now undertake only to teach men to be
busy-bodies from motives of base covetousness. ' ^
Here again Isocrates, who himself composed an
* Art ' of rhetoric, does not condemn all who may try
to teach the subject ; his complaint is that the majority
of such teachers have confined themselves to the ignoble
branch of the profession. This criticism is obviously
a vahd one, and is echoed by Aristotle, who declares
that speaking before a public assembly is less knavish
(Ka/covpyov) than speaking in a law-court.^ ,
The speech entitled On the Antidosis is really^'
Isocrates' defence of his life and profession. In
1 Antid.y §§ 187-189. - §§ 19 sqq. * Rhet., i. i. 10.
140 THE GREEK ORATORS
355 B.C. he was challenged by one Megacleides to
undertake the trierarchy, or else to accept an antidosis,
or exchange of properties. The matter was the subject
of a trial, in consequence of which Isocrates performed
the trierarchy. Some time — perhaps two years — ^later,
he wrote this speech, which is of no historical im-
portance, since even the name of the plaintiff, Lysi-
machus, is fictitious. The introduction (§§ 1-13) makes
it clear that the law-suit is only introduced for the sake
of local colour. The speech itself begins with a sem-
blance of forensic form in § 14, but the pretence is very
soon dropped. The cloak is resumed in the Epilogue
(§§ 320-323) ; but the greatest part of the speech has
nothing to do with any trial, real or imaginary.
The treatise, as we may call it, falls into two parts :
in §§ 14-166 the writer defends his own character ; in
§§ 167-319 he defends his system of education.
The indictment against which he pleads is that he is
in the habit of corrupting the younger generation by
teaching them habits of litigation. He has little diffi-
culty in showing that his chief work has lain in a far
nobler field than that of forensic rhetoric. While
others have been engaged in the paltry contentions of
the law-courts he has composed speeches bearing upon
the politics of all Greece. This he proves by reciting
long extracts from his most famous works : the Pane-
gyric (§ 59) ; On the Peace (§ 66) ; Nicocles (§ 72).
The second half of the speech contains, as has been
noted, a statement and defence of Isocrates' theory.
' Philosophy,' he says, ' is for the soul what Gymnastic
is for the body.'
This analogy he elaborates.
ISOCRATES 141
' The gymnastic trainer teaches his pupils first to per-
form the separate movements, then to combine them. The
educator follows the same order, and both insist on long
and diligent practice ; but the trainer of the body cannot
always make a man an athlete, nor can the trainer of the
mind make everybody an orator. There are three essen-
tials requisite for success-^natural aptitude, ^proper teach-
ing, and long practice ; and moreover there must be a will
on the part of both teacher and pupil to persevere. The
natural ability is by far the most important element.
Training, however complete, may break down utterly if
the speaker lacks nerve. ^
' Some people expect a marked improvement after a few
days of study with a Sophist, and demand a complete train-
ing in a year. This is ridiculous ; no class of education
could produce such results ; and there is no need to dis-
parage us as a class because we cannot do more than we
profess. We cannot make all men orators, but we can give
them culture.
* Others assert that our philosophy has an immoral
tendency. I shall not defend all who claim to be educators,
but only those who have a right to the name. We have
nothing to gain by making men immoral ; on the contrary
the greatest satisfaction for a Sophist is that his pupils
should become wise and honourable men, respected by their
fellows. Our pupils come from Sicily, from Pontus, and
from other distant regions ; do they com.e so far to be
instructed in wickedness ? Surely not ; they could find
plenty of teaching at home. They incur the trouble and
expense because they think that Athens can give them the
best education in the world.
' Again, power in debate is not in itself a demoralizing
thing. The greatest statesmen of this and earlier genera-
tions studied and practised oratory — Solon, who was called
one of the Seven Sophists, Themistocles, Pericles. You
blame the Thebans for lacking culture ; why blame us who
^ t6 ToXfidy, § 192.
142 THE GREEK ORATORS
try to impart it ? Athens honours with a yearly sacrifice
the Goddess Persuasion ; our enemies attack us for seeking
the faculty which this goddess personifies.
' We are even attacked by the " Eristics " : ^ far from re-
torting, I am ready to admit that there is good to be got
even from eristic disputation, from astronomy, ^ and from
geometry : they are useful as a preliminary to higher
studies.
' My own view of philosophy is a simple one. It is
impossible to attain absolute knowledge of what we ought
or ought not to do ; but the wise man is he who can make
a successful guess as a general rule, and philosophers are
those who study to attain this practical wisdom. There is
not, and never has been, a science which could impart
justice and virtue to those who are not by nature incHned
towards these quaUties ; but a man who is desirous of
speaking or writing well, and of persuading others, will
incidentally become more just and virtuous, for it is char-
acter that tells more than anything.
' Thoughtful speaking leads to careful action. Your
superior culture raises you above the rest of Greece, just as
mankind is superior to the lower animals and Greeks to
barbarians : do not, then, punish those who would give
you this culture. ' ^
These two treatises taken together, and supplemented
by a few passages from other speeches, give us a fair
idea of Isocrates' system. His ' Philosophy ' is to be
distinguished from all merely theoretical speculation,
such as the physical theories of the lonians, or the
logic of Parmenides ; from ' eristic ' — the art of arguing
for argument's sake — from geometry and astronomy;
from literary work which has no practical use ; from
the rhetoric of the law-courts. Boys at school may
1 Vide supra, p. 137. ' Or astrology ?
' Antid., Summary oi §§ 181-303.
ISOCRATES 143
profitably study grammar and poetry ; at a later age
the applied mathematics, and even * eristic/ are good
mental training ; but it must be recognized that they
are only a preparation for the Isocratean ' philosophy/
which is for the soul what gymnastic is for the body.
As the gymnastic-master teaches first the various
thrusts and parries, so to speak, the teacher of philo-
sophy makes his pupils learn first all the styles of prose
composition.^ He then makes them combine (crwelpeiv)
the things which they have learnt. The subjects for
such exercises must be properly chosen— they must be
practical and must deal with wide interests.
Practice on these lines will prepare a man, as far as
his nature allows, for speaking and acting in a pubHc
capacity ; so that what Isocrates calls his ' philo-
sophy ' is really a science of practical politics.
Isocrates seems to have been thorough in all things ;
himself a hard worker who took extraordinary care over
his compositions, he expected his pupils to work hard.
He was not content, like some Sophists, with making them
learn his own ' fair copies ' by heart ; they must do
the work for themselves. He scoffs at those teachers
who claim to ' finish ' their pupils in a year ; his pre-
tensions are more modest, but even so he requires a
course of three or four years. He believed in in-
dividual attention rather than class-teaching, if we
may regard an anecdote of the Pseudo-Plutarch, who
recounts that three pupils once came to him together,
but he admitted only two, telling the third to come
next day. He endeavoured to impart to his students
something of that broadness of view, so prominent in
his own speeches, which enabled him to look beyond
' Antid., § II, i54ai.
144 THE GREEK ORx\TORS
the trials of the law-courts, beyond the interests of
party or even of individual state, and lift his eyes to a
conception of national unity ; and something of that
loftiness of spirit which, in an age of selfish and scurri-
lous orators, enabled him to pursue his course towards
the truth, unbiased by personal considerations, and
never descending to invective or abuse.
§ 4. Patriotism
Isocrates was no less a patriot than Demosthenes,
though he differed very widely in his political views
from the later orator. What these views were may be
gathered from a series of speeches on national subjects
extending over a period of more than forty years.
4 The Panegyricus, the first of these, was probably
composed for publication at one of the great national
assemblies, perhaps the Ol5anpic festival, about 380
B.C. This was certainly a time when the long-con-
tinued dissensions of the city-states had brought the
affairs of Greece to a crisis. There seemed to Isocrates
to be no solution of the difficulties, no chance of estab-
lished peace or contentment, unless some enterprise
r' could be found which should imite the sympathies of
the rival cities, induce them to put their own quarrels
aside, and throw them whole-heartedly into a cause
which concerned Hellas as a nation.
The only motive which had ever been able to unite
the Greeks, even temporarily, was hatred of the bar-
barians, and Isocrates works upon this feeling. He
draws a vivid picture of the miserable state to which
the Greek world has been reduced by civil war, and
shows how the influence of Persia, besides keeping this
war alive, has in other ways worked towards the ruin
ISOCRATES 145
of Greece. Having discussed with outspoken candour
the claims of Sparta and Athens to leadership, he sug-
gests that they should agree by a compromise, and
urges that they and all other States should unite in a
racial war against the Persians.
This speech had no practical effect. The rise of
Thebes shortly after this date changed the balance of
power, and on the whole did not improve conditions.
Despairing of originating any joint action within
Greece itself, Isocrates looked farther for a leader, and
in or about 368 B.C. we find him writing to Dionysius of "
Syracuse, who at the time held an empire far more
powerful than that of any State of Greece proper, and
suggesting that he should come forward as the cham-
pion of the Greek national spirit.^
In 356 B.C. Isocrates turned again towards Sparta,
this time writing to Archidamus, who had recently
succeeded his father Agesilaus in the kingship, and
urging him to take steps which will ' put an end to
civil war in Greece, curb the insolence of the barbarians,
and deprive them of part of their ill-gotten gains.'
Archidamus, if he could be as vigorous as his father and
more unselfish, might well seem to be a suitable leader
for the crusade on which Isocrates had set his heart.
At this time Philip of Macedon, though he was
beginning to attain notoriety, was probably regarded
by the majority of Greeks as a pauper prince, sitting
insecurely on a throne which he had usurped, and from
which he might at any time be removed by rebellion
or assassination. But in this year he obtained pos-
session of the gold mines of Pangaeum, and it was soon
^ Ep. I, § 87. This letter is referred to in Philippus, § 81 ; the text .>•<.
of the letter remaining to us is incomplete. *-^
146 THE GREEK ORATORS
realized that Macedon was to play a leading part in
Greek politics.
In 346 B.C. Isocrates addressed Philip as one capable
of taking the lead, first in combining the Greek States
into a union, and secondly, in leading them to conquer
the barbarian. 1 The ten years of desultory hostilities
between Philip and Athens had now been ended by the
peace of Philocrates, and Isocrates, thinking that
Amphipolis, for which they had been fighting, was an
undesirable possession for either party, imagined and
hoped that the peace might be made permanent.
Though the Panegyric and the addresses to Dionysius
and Archidamus had failed, Isocrates hoped that an
appeal to Philip might be more successful.
* I decided,' he writes, ' to broach the subject to you, not
as a special compliment, though I should be glad if my
w6rds could find favour with you, but from the following
motive. I saw that all other men of distinction have to
obey their cities and their laws, and may do nothing
beyond what they are told ; and moreover none of them
are capable of dealing with the matter I now intend to
discuss.
' You alone have had given you by fortune a full authority
to send embassies to whom you will, and receive them from
where you choose, and to say whatever you think ex-
pedient. Besides, you possess wealth and power beyond
any other Greek — ^the two things which are the most potent
either to persuade or to compel : and you will find per-
suasion useful for the Greeks and compulsion for the
barbarians.' '^
A summary of a few extracts will indicate the tenor
of the speech.
* It is your duty to try to reconcile the four great cities
1 Philippus, 346 B.C. * Ibid. (Or. v.), §§ 14-17.
ISOCRATES 147
— ^Argos, Sparta, Thebes, and Athens ; bring these four to
their right mind, and you will have no difficulty with the
rest, which all depend on them (§§ 30-31). Your an-
cestors are Argive by descent, and these cities should never
have been at enmity with you or each other. All must
make allowances, as all have been at fault (§§ 33-38).
If Athens or Sparta were now, as once, predominant,
nothing could be done ; but all the great cities are now
practically on a level. No enmities are so deep-seated
that they cannot be overcome : Athens has at different
times been allied with both Thebes and Sparta. Sparta,
Argos, and Thebes all desire peace ; Athens has come to
her senses before the others, and already made peace.
She will be ready to give you her active sympathy '
(§§ 39-56).
* History provides many instances of men who, with
few advantages, even with disabilities, have achieved great
tasks : you, with all your resources, should find the present
task easy ' (§§ 57-67).
* Success in such a cause would be magnificent ; even
failure would be noble : your slanderers impute to you the
design of subjugating Greece ; you will convince them of
their error' (§§ 68-80).
' So much for your duty to Greece ; now turn to the
conquest of Asia. Agesilaus failed because he stirred up
political animosities.
* The Greeks under Cyrus defeated the Persian army,
and though left leaderless they made good their retreat.
All conditions are favourable for you. The Greeks of Asia
were hostile to Cyrus, but will welcome you. The present
King of Persia is less of a man than his predecessor, against
whom Cyrus fought ; and Persia is divided against itself.
Cyprus, Cilicia, and Phoenicia, which provided the king
with ships, will do so no longer ' (§§ 83-104).
' You may aim at conquering the whole Persian Empire ;
failing of that you might win all that is west of a line drawn
from Cihcia to Sinope. Even this would be an enormous
148 THE GREEK ORATORS
advantage. You could found cities for the hordes of
mercenaries who are driven by destitution to wander and
prey upon the settled inhabitants — a growing menace to
Greeks and Persians alike. You would thus render these
nomads a great service, and at the same time establish
them as a permanent guard of your own frontiers. If this
proved too much for you, at the very least you could free
the Greek cities of Asia. However great or little is your
success, you will at least win great renown for having led
a united expedition from all Greece ' (§§ 1 19-126).
* No other state or individual will undertake the task ;
you are free from restrictions, as all Hellas is your native
land. You will fight, I know, not for power or wealth, but
for glory. Your mission, then, is this : — ^To be the bene-
factor of Greece, the king of Macedon, the governor of
Asia' (§§127-155).
It may be said that Isocrates overrated the purity of
Philip's motives. On the other hand, it may be con-
ceived that Philip would have greatly preferred to
march to Asia as the general of a Greek force willingly
united. He, whom Isocrates reckons as a Greek of
royal or semi-divine descent, whom Demosthenes
stigmatized as a barbarian of the lowest type, had much
more of the Greek than the barbarian in his nature.
To Athens at least he always showed extraordinary
clemency, treating her with a respect far beyond her
merits, and honouring her for her ancient greatness.
He did all that was possible to conciliate her, and this
policy he handed on to his son. But he could not start
for the East, leaving so many irreconcilable enemies
behind him ; and the refusal of the States to accept his
hegemony made Chaeronea inevitable.
Those who read, not this short summary, but the
essay as a whole, must be struck by the firm grasp which
ISOCRATES 149
the writer has on contemporary history, and by his
insight into the forces at work. He under-estimated
the conservatism of the city-states, wrongly imagining
that the majority could be as broad-minded as himself.
The chapters on Asia show considerable knowledge
both of the conditions and the requirements. His
advice about the founding of cities was followed liter-
ally by Alexander, who, immediately after his first
victory, initiated this pohcy for securing his conquests.
In 342 B.C. Isocrates wrote again to Philip, reproach-
ing him for his recklessness in exposing his own life in
battle. He repeated some of the arguments of the
first essay, and summarized his advice as follows :
' It is far nobler to capture a city's good-will than its
walls.' After Chaeronea, in the year 338 B.C., he wrote
once more, recalling his former advice, and reflecting
with satisfaction that the dreams of his youth were
some of them already fulfilled, and others on the point
of fulfilment.
§ 5. Remaining Works
The general contents of the Panegyricus have already
been discussed, but only a careful study of the speech
will reveal the skill with which one topic is made to
lead up to another, the nice proportion of the parts, and
the adroitness displayed in gathering and binding
together the various threads of the argument. Numer-
ous paragraphs which seem at first to be almost digres-
sions are foimd, when we take the speech as a whole,
to be essential to its unity, and though in its course
a large number of topics is handled, the main subject
is never left out of view. The level of style is high
throughout, and no extracts can properly represent it.
150 THE GREEK ORATORS
A short analysis may, however, serve to indicate the
coherence of the arguments : ^
' I am here to offer advice about the necessity of war with
Persia and unity among the Greeks. Others have handled
the same theme, but the fact of their failure renders any
excuse for a fresh attempt superfluous, and the subject
admits of being treated better than it has been ' (§§ 1-14).
* My predecessors have missed an important point ; that
nothing can be done until the leaders — ^Athens and Sparta
— are reconciled, and persuaded to share the leadership.
' Sparta has accepted a false tradition, that leadership
is hers by ancestral right. I shall try to prove that the
leadership really belongs to Athens ; Sparta then should
consent to a joint command ' (§§ 15-20).
' Athens first possessed maritime empire, and her
civilization is the oldest in Greece (§§ 21-25). Her claims
to hegemony are as follows : —
'A. (a) Tradition, which has never been refuted, records
that Athens first provided the necessities of life. Demeter
taught in Attica the cultivation of corn and instituted the
Mysteries.
' (b) Athens undoubtedly led the way in colonization, thus
enlarging the boundaries of Greek land, and driving back
the barbarians (§§ 28-37).
' (c) Athens had the earliest laws, and the earUest con-
stitution. She established the Piraeus, the centre of Greek
trade. She provides in herself a perpetual festival, at
which the arts are encouraged. Practical philosophy and
oratory are so highly honoured at Athens that the name
" Greek " is applied properly not by claim of blood but by
virtue of the possession of Athenian culture (§§ 38-50).
' B. {a) From heroic times downwards Athens has shown
herself the helper of the oppressed. Even Sparta grew
great through her support {§§ 57-65).
* Isocrates is said to have spent ten years over the composition
of the Panegyricus ; it was probably pubUshed in 380 B.C.
ISOCRATES 151
' (6) Athens in the earhest times and in the Persian Wars
distinguished herself against the barbarians (§§ 66-74).
' In old days the rivalries between opposite political
parties and between Athens and Sparta were noble ones,
and the honourable competition of the two cities shamed
the other Greeks into taking arms against Xerxes. Athens,
however, furnished more ships than all the rest put to-
gether. Her claim to leadership, up to the end of the
Persian War, is therefore established ' (§§ 75-79).
* It is true that Athens treated her revolted allies —
Melos and Scione— severely : rebels must expect punish-
ment. On the other hand, our loyal subjects enjoyed for
seventy years freedom from tyranny, immunity from
barbarian attacks, settled government, and peace with all
the world ' (§§ 100-106).
' Sparta and her partisans inflicted more harm in a few
months than Athens in the whole duration of her empire '
(§§ 110-114).
'Our rule was preferable to the so-called "peace and
independence " which Sparta has given the cities. The
seas are overrun by pirates, and more cities are raided now
than before the peace was made. Tyrants and harmosts
make life in the cities intolerable. The Great King, whom
Athens confined within stated limits, has raided the
Peloponnese (§§ 115- 119) ; Sparta has abandoned the lonians
to slavery, and herself caused devastation in Greece, and
burdened the islanders with taxation. It is monstrous that
we Greeks, owing to our petty quarrels, should devastate
our own country, when we might reap a golden harvest
from Asia ' §§ (120-132).
' We have allowed the Great King to attain unheard of
power — simply through our quarrels, for he is not really
strong.
' Numerous instances from history betray the inferiority
of the Persian leaders and organization. They have often
been defeated on the coast of Asia ; when they invaded
Greece we made an example of them ; finally, they cut a
-^
152 THE GREEK ORATORS
ridiculous figure before the walls of their own palaces ' ^
(§§ 133-149) •
* This is what we might expect from their manner of
life ; the mass of the people are more fit to be slaves than
soldiers ; the nobles are by turns insolent and servile, and
being permanently corrupted by luxury they are weak and
treacherous. They deserve our hatred, and, in fact, our
enmity can never be reconciled. One of the reasons even
of Homer's popularity is that he tells of a great war against
Asia ' (§§ 150-159)-
' The time is favourable for attack ; Phoenicia and Syria
are devastated ; Tyre is captured ; Cilicia is mostly in our
favour ; Egypt and Cyprus are in revolt. The Greeks are
ready to rise ; we must make haste, and not let the history
of the Ionic revolt repeat itself. The present suffering in
Greece passes all records, and for this the present generation
deserves some recompense — another reason for haste. The
leading men in the cities are callously indifferent, so we who
stand outside politics must take the lead, as I am doing '
(§§ 160-174).
* The treaty of Antalcidas need not stand in our way ;
it has been broken already in spirit. We only observe the
provisions which are to our own shame, i.e. those by which
our allies are given over to the Persians. It was never a
fair covenant — ^we submitted to terms dictated by the king.
' Honour and expediency ahke demand that we should
combine to undertake this war, whose fame will be greater
than that of the Trojan war ' (§§ 175-189).
We may now consider the group of speeches which
deals with the internal affairs of Greece.
Plataicus (Or. xiv.). Plataea, destroyed in 427 B.C.,
was restored by Sparta in 386 B.C. as a menace to
Thebes, but was forced into the Boeotian Confederacy
in 376 B.C. In 373 B.C. it was surprised by a Theban
army and again destroyed. The inhabitants escaped
1 I.e. the victory of the 10,000 at Cunaxa.
ISOCRATES 153
to Athens, and their case was discussed in the ecclesia,
and also at the congress of allies. The present speech
is professedly deUvered by a Plataean before the
Athenian ecclesia. It consists chiefly of an appeal to
sentiment through history ; the speaker recalls the
ancient relations of Plataea and Athens, and thence
infers the present duty of Athens. The speech is in a
form suitable for dehvery before the assembly, and
may have been so delivered.
On the Peace (Or. viii.), on the other hand, is a political
treatise. It dates from 355 B.C., when the Social War
was near its end. The main theme of the speech is
the necessity of peace between Athens and all the
world, but the urging of this policy naturally brings in
a criticism of the war-party, and a severe indictment
not only of present politics but of the conditions of the
old empire of Athens. The speech is remarkable from
the fact that for once Isocrates abandons his even
and temperate language, and allows indignation and
even bitterness to give colour to his criticisms.
* The acquisition of empire,' he says, * over unwilling
subjects, is both unjust and impolitic. Ambition is like the
bait which entices a wild beast into a trap. Our adminis- .
tration is rotten ; our citizens have lost faith in personal
effort, and we employ mercenaries to fight our battles.
Our politicians are our worst citizens, and we appoint as
generals incompetent men who are not fitted for any
position of trust. We hold our own, but only because our
rivals are as weak as we are. The follies of our assembly
win allies for Thebes ; their follies in turn are our salvation.
It would pay either State to bribe the assembly of the other
to meet more often.
' Our hope lies in abandoning our empire ; it is unjust,
and moreover, we could not maintain it when we were rich.
154 THE GREEK ORATORS
and now we are poor. The statesmen of imperial Athens
did all that they could to make their city's policy un-
popular. They displayed the tribute extorted from the
allies, thus reminding all the world of their tjnranny ; and
paraded the children of those who had fallen in wars in
various parts of the world — ^the victims of national cove-
tousness. Far different was the position of Athens under
Themistocles and Aristides. National life is demoralized
by Empire. The history of Sparta's supremacy is another
case to the point. Pericles was a demagogue, and led the
city on a disastrous career, but he at least enriched the
treasury, not himself. Our modern demagogues are merely
self-seeking, and their covetousness reduces not only the
state but the citizens to penury.
' Peace, at the price I have indicated, is the only remedy.
We must deliver Greece, not despoil her. Athens should
hold among Greek States the position that the kings
occupy in Sparta ; they are not tyrants ; they have a
higher standard of conduct than any private person, and are
held in such respect that any man who would not throw
away his Ufe for them in the field is reckoned meaner than
a deserter. '
There is much truth in the invectives aimed at the
old empire ; Isocrates could see behind the glowing
colours in which the glories of the Periclean age are
sometimes painted, and equally with Demosthenes he
realized, and did not shrink from noticing, the weakness
of Athens in his own days. But his advice, though
noble, is unpractical. He failed, in spite of his know-
ledge of history, to fathom the depth of Greek selfish-
ness. No State that relied solely or chiefly on moral
worth could have a voice in the council of Greece, far
less dominiate its policy,
^V^' The Areopagiticus (Or. vii.), perhaps composed in
^ the same year, in many points supplements the de Pace.
ISOCRATES 155
It is chiefly devoted to a contrast between the old days
of dignified government under the constitutions of
Solon and Cleisthenes, and the unsatisfactory con-
ditions of hfe in the orator's time. The description of
the old constitution is, perhaps, a fancy picture, but
the contrast serves to bring out the evils at which
Isocrates is aiming in the modern State. The speech
deals with the inner life of Athens rather than with her
foreign policy, and the chief credit for good govern-
ment and good life in the old days is given to the
Council of the Areopagus, that majestic body which
even now * has so strong an influence that the worst
men of modem times, if promoted to membership of it,
are pervaded by its spirit, and, losing the meanness of
their own hearts, think and act in accordance with the
Council's high traditions.'
The Archidamus (Or. vi.) is put into the mouth of
the Spartan king of that name, for whom, as we know
from a letter, Isocrates had a deep respect. It professes
to be part of a debate in 366 B.C., on the proposal of the
Thebans to grant peace on condition that Sparta re-
cognized the independence of Messenia. It probably
contains a fair representation of the feelings of the
Spartans at the time when it was proposed to make
an independent and permanently hostile state of the
Messenians, whom for generations they had regarded
as their slaves.
There still remain works of three classes — the ' horta-
tory letters/ the * displays,' and forensic speeches.
Hortatory Letters
To Demonicus (Or. i.), 372 B.C. (?). This letter, ad-
dressed to a young monarch, of whom nothing else is
known, is destined to be a * storehouse ' (ra/jLielov)
> 156 THE GREEK ORATORS
of moral maxims, comprising duty to the gods, duty to
men, and duty to oneself. It contains a vast number
of maxims, mostly of a practical or semi-practical
nature — ' We test gold by fire, friends by misfortune.'
* Never swear by the gods where money is concerned ;
some will think you a perjurer, others a covetous man.'
Occasionally the moral tone is higher — ' If you do
wrong, nevecihope to be undiscovered ; if others dis-
cover you not, your own conscience will discover you
to yourself.'
To Nicocles (Or. ii.), 374 B.C., addressed to Nicocles,
fl who became king of Salamis in Cyprus in 374 B.C., deals
with the duties and responsibilities of a king. * Re-
member your high position, and be careful that you
never do anything unworthy of it.'
Nicocles, or the Cyprians (Or. iii.), 372 B.C., is a com-
plement to Or. ii. In it the king himself is represented
as discoursing on the duties of subjects towards their
king. ' Do to your king as you would wish your own
subjects to do to you.'
Epideictic Speeches
Many of the Sophists wrote imaginary speeches on
legendary themes, and Isocrates, though this art was
outside his province, strayed into it as a critic. The
--s^ Busiris (Or. xi.), 391 B.C., addressed to a Sophist Poly-
crates, contains first a criticism of a speech composed
by Poly crates on that subject, and secondly an ex-
position of how Isocrates himself would treat such
a theme. Incidentally, Isocrates accepts the early
legends as true on the whole, while rejecting certain
parts of them as unbecoming.
The Encomium of Helen (Or. x.), 370 B.C., begins
with criticism of a certain encomium which is generally
ISOCRATES 157
believed to be the extant one attributed to Gorgias.
The previous writer has written not an encomium but
an apology ; Isocrates himself will write a real en-
comium, omitting all the topics which have been used
by others.
The Evagoras (Or. ix.), 365 B.C. (?), was composed for
a festival celebrated by Nicocles in memory of his
father, Evagoras of Salamis, who died 374 B.C. It con-
tains a laudatory account of the king's career, and an
encouragement to the son to emulate his father's
virtues.
The Panathenaicus was begun when Isocrates was ^^z"
94 years old, i.e. in 342 B.C. Owing to an illness, he
was not able to finish it for three years. It contains
much of the material which had already been used in
the Areopagiticus. Its main topic is the greatness of
Athens, considered historically, and not with refeience
to contemporary politics. But it contains long digres-
sions— a defence of his own system against the attacks
of certain baser Sophists (§§ 5-34) ; a discourse on
Agamemnon (§§ 62-73) ; a personal explanation (§§ 99
sqq.), in which the author explains that the speech would
naturally end at this point, and details the conver-
sations and discussions which led him to continue it.
He was blamed for being too harsh against Sparta, and
though he silenced his critics, he had some misgivings.
The result is to increase the length of the speech by
one third, and completely to spoil the balance and
destroy whatever unity it possessed.
Forensic Speeches
Six forensic speeches have come down to us ; they
belong to the early days of Isocrates, who in later
years regretted that he had ever been concerned
158 THE GREEK ORATORS
with such an art ; they may be dismissed in a few
words :
Against Lochites (Or. xx.), 394 B.C., is an action for
assault ; Aegineticus (Or. xix.), 394 B.C., a claim to an in-
heritance; Against Euthynus (Or. xxi.), 403 B.C., an
action to recover a deposit ; Trapeziticus (Or. xvii.),
394 B.C., a similar action, against the famous banker
Pasion ; irepl rov feu^ou? (Or. xvi.), 397 B.C., spoken
by the younger Alcibiades against a man Tisias, who
asserts that the elder Alcibiades, father of the speaker,
robbed him of a team of four horses. This is an action
for damages amounting to five talents. Against Calli-
machus, 399 B.C., a irapaypa^TJ or special plea entered
by the defendant, who contends that an action for
damages brought against him cannot be maintained.
Letters
Reference has already been made to certain letters,
to Dionysius, 368 B.C., Archidamus, 365 B.C., Philip and
Alexander, 342 B.C. Others extant are addressed to
,the children of Jason (Ep. vi.), 359 B.C. — i.e. Thebe
and her half-brothers, children of the tyrant of Pherae,
who was murdered in 370 B.C. ; to Timotheus (Ep. vii.),
345 B.C. — a king of Heraclea on the Euxine ; to the
Rulers of Mitylene {Ep. viii.), 350 B.C. — the oligarchs
who had recently overthrown the democracy ; to
Antipater {Ep. iv.), 340 B.C., at the time, appar-
ently, regent of Macedonia during Philip's absence
in Thrace. This list of the correspondents of Iso-
crates, with some of whom at least he is on terms of
familiarity, may serve to indicate his importance in
the Greek world.
ISOCRATES 159
Isocrates is also credited with the composition of a
rix^rj or treatise on the art of rhetoric, now lost, except
for a single quotation ; and the editions of the text
contain a number of apophthegms attributed to him.
None are important.
V
v.^
CHAPTER VII
MINOR RHETORICIANS
THE contemporaries of Isocrates are over-
shadowed by his genius ; nevertheless there
were in his time other speakers and teachers of ability.
The only one of them who deserves serious considera-
^ tion is Alcidamas, a pupil of Gorgias or of his school,
who, though a rival of Isocrates, had come imder the
influence of the latter's style. We possess under his
name a sophistical exercise, the Accusation ofPalamedes
by Odysseus, which is of no importance, and may be
spurious, and a declamation On the Sophists, which is
- probably genuine ; at least we may say that it is the
work of an able critic and a graceful writer. His other
works included two rhetorical exercises, the Praise of
Death and the Praise of Nais, and a Messenian Oration,
which was apparently a counterblast to the Archidamus
of Isocrates.
\' The Sophists is really an attack on the methods of
Isocrates, and is directed against the practice of labori-
ously composing written speeches, which are no real
help to a man who wishes to be an orator, whether
in the assembly or the law-courts. Certain so-called
Sophists, he contends, who, while quite incapable of
speaking, have practised writing, pride themselves on
this accomplishment, and though they can call only
160
MINOR RHETORICIANS i6i
one small department of rhetoric their own, claim to
be masters of the complete science. He would not dis-
parage the art of writing, but he considers it of second-
ary importance, while other accompHshments deserve
far more attention. Any man of abihty, given the
time, can learn to write moderately well ; but in order
to speak well you must apply a careful training to the
development of certain special gifts. To be able to
speak extemporaneously is a very important gift ; a
man who possesses it can adapt himself to the mood of
his audience, while one who relies on prepared orations
must often miss a great opportunity, for it is beyond
human powers to learn by heart enough speeches to be
ready at a moment's notice to speak on any subject
and to any kind of audience. A man accustomed to the
use of written speeches, when forced to speak ex tempore,
will not maintain his proper level of performance.^
Many arguments, of more or less value, are adduced ;
in all of them there is a certain cleverness.
Dionysius thought the style of Alcidamas coarse
and trivial ; ^ Aristotle says that he used his epithets
' not as seasoning but as meat.' ^ These strictures do
not apply to the one surviving work. He seems to
have been raised above the dead level of rhetoricians
by possessing ideas ; in the speech advocating the
freedom of the Messenians occurred the sentence, * God
has made all men free ; nature has made no man a
slave ' ; and his description of the Odyssey as * a noble
mirror of human life,' is a fine expression in itself,
though Aristotle objects that such ornaments detract
^ The truth of this maxim is illustrated by our records of the
impromptu performances of Demosthenes, vide infra, p. 190.
' de Isaeo, ch. xix., TraxOrepoy tvra t^v \4^iv Kal Koivdrepov.
« Rhet., iii. 3. 3.
i62 THE GREEK ORATORS
from the value of a speech, as giving the impression of
over-preparation . ^
Poly crates, a rhetorician of the same period, is known
to have composed a fictitious Accusation of Socrates,
to which Isocrates refers.^ His Encomium of Busiris,
the cannibal king of Egypt, stirred Isocrates to write
his own Busiris, in order to show how such a theme
ought to be treated. Dionysius found his style inane,
frigid, and vulgar.^ Lycophron, an imitator of Gorgias,
is quoted several times by Aristotle ; and Cephisodorus,
the best known rhetorician of the school of Isocrates,
wrote an admirable defence of his master against the
attacks of Aristotle.*
These minor teachers, who are mentioned only as
offshoots from the prominent schools, had no perman-
ent influence on the growth either of rhetoric or of
oratory.
1 Arist., Rhet.^ iii. 3. 4.
2 Busiris, §§ 5-6. He endeavoured to make Socrates responsible
for the misdeeds of Alcibiades.
3 de Isaeo, ch. xx.
* Dion., de Isocrate, ch. xviii. : Tr\v itrokoyiav t^p irdvv davixaar^v iv
Tats ir/>6j ^ApiffTOT^Xr) &vTiypa<paU iiroi.'fiao.To.
CHAPTER VIII
AESCHINES
§ I. Life
AESCHINES was for twenty years a bitter enemy
jlV of Demosthenes. This enmity was perhaps
the chief interest in his life ; at any rate it is the
dominant motive of his extant speeches. Demo-
sthenes on his side could not afford to despise an enemy
whose biting wit and real gift of eloquence assured him
an attentive hearing, whether in the courts or before
the ecclesia, and thus gave him an influence which the
vagueness of his political views and the instabihty of
his personal character could never entirely dissipate.
Aeschines had no constructive policy, but he had just
the talents which are requisite for the leader of a cap-
tious and mahcious opposition. To the fact of the
long-maintained hostility between these two men we
owe a good deal of first-hand information about each of
them, both as regards public and private life. It is
true that we cannot accept without reservation the
statements and criticisms made by either speaker about
his rival ; but in many cases they agree about facts,
though they put different interpretations on them,
and so, with care, we may arrive at a substratimi of
truth.
108
i64 THE GREEK ORATORS
Aeschines was bom about 390 b.c.^ His father
Atrometus, an Athenian citizen of pure descent, ^ was
exiled by the Thirty, and fied to Corinth, with his wife.
Jo/ He served for some time as a mercenary soldier in Asia,
and finally returned to Athens, where he kept a school.
His wife, Glaucothea, filled some minor rehgious office,
initiating the neophytes in certain mysteries, appar-
ently connected with Orphism. Aeschines seems to
have helped both his parents in their work, if we may
suppose that there is a grain of truth mixed with the
mahce of Demosthenes :
' You used to fill the ink-pots, sponge the benches, and
sweep the schoolroom, like a slave, not like a gentleman's
son. When you grew up you helped your mother in her
initiations, reciting the formulas, and making yourself
generally useful. All night long you were wrapping the
celebrants in fawn-skins, preparing their drink-offerings,
smearing them with clay and bran,' etc.^
The whole of the description from which the fore-
going passage is taken is an obvious caricature, and its
chief value is to show that Demosthenes, if circum-
stances had not made him a statesman, might have
"^^ been a successful writer of mediocre comedy ; but it
seems to point to the fact that Aeschines' parents were
in humble circumstances, that he himself had a hard
life as a boy, and did not enjoy the usual opportunities
of obtaining the kind of education desirable for a states-
^ See Timarchus, § 49, where Aeschines states, in 346 B.C., that
he is rather over forty -five years old.
* Aesch., de Leg., § 147. Dem. {de Cor., 129 sqq.) asserts that he
was originally a slave named Tromes {Coward), but changed his
name to Atrometus (Dauntless).
8 D«m., de Cor., §§ 258-259. Se« further infra, p. 249.
AESCHINES 165
man.^ After this, at an age when other aspirants to
public life would have been studying under teachers
of rhetoric, he was forced to earn his hving. He was
first clerk to some minor officials, then an actor —
according to Demosthenes he played small parts in an
inferior company, and lived chiefly on the figs and
ohves with which the spectators pelted him.^ He also
served as a hoplite, and, by his own account, distin-
guished himself at Man tinea and Tamynae. In 357
B.C. he obtained political employment, first under
Aristophon of Azenia, then under Eubulus, and later
we find him acting as clerk of the ecclesia.
He married into a respectable family about 350 B.C.,
and in 348 B.C. he first appears in a position of pubUc
trust, being appointed a member of the embassy to
Megadopolis in Arcadia. On this occasion he went out
admittedly as an opponent of PhiHp, but came back a
partisan of peace. The reasons for this change of view
will be discussed later. His own explanation, that he
realized war to be impracticable, is reasonable in itself.^
Two years later he was associated with Demosthenes
in the famous embassies to Philip, which, after serious
delays, resulted in the imsatisfactory peace of Philo-
crates. The peace was pronounced by Demosthenes
to be unworthy of Athens,* though he urged that, good
or bad, it must be upheld ; and besides uttering in-
sinuations against the conduct of Aeschines as an am-
bassador, he prepared to prosecute him for betraying
* However, his elder brother, Philocrates, was elected general
three times in succession, and his younger brother, Aphobetus, was
sent as an ambassador to the Great King. — Aesch., de Leg., § 149.
* de Cor., § 262, vide infra, p. 249.
' de Leg., § 79 ; vide infra, p. 168.
* See de Pace {passim) delivered in the same year.
V.
V
i66 THE GREEK ORATORS
his trust by taking bribes from Philip. He associated
with himself as a prosecutor one Timarchus. Aeschines
prepared a counter-stroke. He prosecuted Timarchus
on the ground that he was a person of notorious im-
morality, and, as such, debarred from speaking in
public. Timarchus appears to have been found guilty.
In 343 B.C. Demosthenes brought the action in which
his speech de Falsa Legatione and that of Aeschines bear-
ing the same title were delivered, and Aeschines was
acquitted by the rather small majority of thirty votes.
In the next year Aeschines prepared for reprisals, but
when on the point of impeaching Demosthenes he in
his turn was thwarted by a counter-move on his rival's
part.i
In 339 B.C. Aeschines was a pylagorus at the Amphic-
tyonic Council, and an inflammatory speech which he
made there led to the outbreak of the Sacred War.
In 337 B.C., the year after the battle of Chaeronea,
the proposal of Ctesiphon to confer a crown on Demo-
sthenes for his services to Athens gave Aeschines a new
weapon with which to strike at his enemy. He im-
peached Ctesiphon for illegahty. The case was not
actually tried till 330 B.C., when Aeschines, failing to
obtain a fifth of the votes, was fined a thousand
drachmae, and, being unable or unwilling to pay, went
into exile. He retired to Asia Minor, and lived either
in Ephesus or Rhodes. He is said by Plutarch to have
spent the rest of his life as a professional Sophist, that
is to say, no doubt, as a teacher of rhetoric ; ^ but
we have no further information about his life or the
manner or date of his death.
1 Aesch., Ctes., §§ 222-225.
• Dent., ch. 24, irepl'FoSou kuI ^lojviav (ro<picrTevo}u KareliiuxTev.
AESCHINES 167
§ 2. Public Character
Aeschines cannot be considered as a statesman, since
he had no definite poHcy. He was, as he admitted
himself, an opportunist. ' Both individual and state,'
he says, ' must shift their groimd according to change
of circumstances, and aim at what is best for the time ' ; ^
and though he claims to be ' the adviser of the greatest
of all cities,' 2 he never had in public matters any higher
principle than this following of the line of least re-
sistance.
It is necessary, however, to consider whether he was
actually the corrupt politician that Demosthenes makes
him out to be.
Athenian opinion with regard to corrupt practices
was less strict than ours ; Hyperides admits that there
are various degrees of guiltiness in the matter of receiv-
ing bribes ; the worst offence is to receive bribes from
improper quarters, i.e. from an enemy of the State, and
to the detriment of the State. ^
This principle implies a corollary that to receive
bribes for doing one's duty and acting in the best in-
terests of one's country is a venial offence, if indeed it
is an offence at all ; in which case a man's guilt or
innocence may be a matter for his individual conscience
to determine.
Demosthenes definitely accused Aeschines of chang-
ing his policy in consequence of bribes received from
Philip. It is known that at the beginning of his public
life he was an opponent of Macedon, and we have his
* de Leg., § l6, toIs yiip Kaipots dvdyKr) cv/j.irepKfy^peffdai irph% rh
KpdriaTov Kai rdv AvSpa Kal t^v irSXiv.
^ Ibid., § 157, 6 T^j fieyia-TTjs avfi^ovXoi 7r6Xfajy.
' Hyper., adv. Dem., xxiv.
i68 THE GREEK ORATORS
own account of his conversion on the occasion of the
embassy to Megalopolis :
* You reproach me for the speech which I made, as an
envoy, before ten thousand people in Arcadia ; you say
that I have changed sides, you abject creature, who were
nearly branded as a deserter. The truth is that during the
war I tried to the best of my ability to unite the Arcadians
and the rest of the Greeks against Philip ; but when I
found that nobody would give help to Athens, but some
were waiting to see what happened and others were march-
ing against us, and the orators in the city were using the
war as a means of meeting their daily expenses, I admit
that I advised the people to come to terms with Philip, and
make the peace which you, who have never drawn a sword,
now say is disgraceful, though I say that it is far more
honourable than the war.' ^
After the conclusion of the peace of Philocrates the
accusations were more definite. Demosthenes asserts
that Aeschines had private interviews with Phihp
when on the second embassy, and that for his services
he received certain lands in Boeotia ; ^ he recurs to this
charge in the de Corona, many years later. Aeschines
does not deny or even mention this charge either in
the speech On the Embassy or in the accusation of
Ctesiphon. Demosthenes, having, apparently, little
direct evidence, tries to estabhsh his case by emphasiz-
ing the relations of Aeschines with the traitor Philo-
crates ; but this is a weak argument, for though
Aeschines at one time boasted of these relations, on a
later occasion he repudiated them, and even ventured
to rank Demosthenes himself with Philocrates.^ Per-
1 de Leg., § 79.
' Dem., de Falsa Leg., §§ 145, 166-177 '> ^^ Cor., § 41.
' Timarchus, § 174 ; Ctes., § ^S.
AESCHINES 169
haps we should attach more importance to the other
fact urged by Demosthenes, that Aeschines from time
to time urged the city to accept Phihp's vague promises
of goodwill ; but before we condemn him on this
ground we must recollect that Isocrates, a man of far
greater intelligence than Aeschines, and of undoubted
honesty, had come so completely under the spell of
Phihp's personality as to place a thorough belief in the
sincerity of his professions.^ Aeschines may have been
duped in the same manner.
But the most severe condemnation of Aeschines*
policy is contained in his own speeches.
During a visit to the Macedonian army in Phocis
he was guilty of a gross piece of bad taste by joining r '^
with Philip in dancing the paean to celebrate the
defeat of Phocis. He admits the charge, and main-
tains that it was even a proper thing to do.^ His
conduct at the Amphictyonic Council was far more
serious.^ He was invited to make a speech, and as
he began, was rudely interrupted by a Locrian of
Amphissa. In revenge it ' occurred to him ' * to recall
the impiety of the Amphissians in occupying the
Cirrhaean plain. He caused to be read aloud the
curse pronounced after the first Sacred War, and by
recalling the forgotten events of past generations
worked up his audience to such a pitch of excitement
that on the following morning — for it was too late to
take action that night — the whole population of- f
Delphi marched down to Cirrha, destroyed the har- T
hour buildings, and set fire to the town. Though this
1 Supra, p. 148. ' de Leg., § 163.
* Vide supra, p. 166.
* iirri\ei fxoi, Aesch., Ctes., § 118, where A. complacently relates
the whole incident.
170 THE GREEK ORATORS
action undoubtedly plunged Greece into an Amphic-
tyonic War, Aeschines, quite regardless of the awful
^^ consequences, can only dwell upon the remarkable
effects of his own oratory.
§ 3. Personality
Something of the personal characteristics of Aeschines
may be gathered from his own writings and those of
Demosthenes. He must have been a man of dignified
presence, for even if he only played minor parts, as
Demosthenes so frequently asserts, he acted, on
occasion, in good company, as his enemy, in an un-
guarded moment, admitted. The conditions under
which Greek tragedy was performed required a majestic
^ bearing even in a tritagonist, and the taunt of Demo-
sthenes, who calls him ' a noble statue,' makes it certain
that Aeschines did not fall short of these requirements. ^
The words of Demosthenes probably imply that the
^ dignity was overdone, that the statuesque pose of the
ex-actor appeared pompous and exaggerated in a law-
court. Aeschines himself condemned the use of excited
gestures by orators. He urged the necessity of re-
^ straint, and often insisted that an orator should, while
speaking, hold his hand within his robe.^ This de-
clared prejudice on his part gave Demosthenes his
opportunity for a neat retort — ' You should keep your
hand there, not when you are speaking, but when you
go on an embassy.' ^ On this occaision Demosthenes
scored a point, but where wit and repartee were in
7/ question, the honours generally rested with Aeschines.
1 de Cor., §§ 129, 262, etc. Further, de Falsa Leg., § 246. A
tritagonist would ordinarily have to play the parts of kings and
tyrants, who must as a rule be majestic characters (cf. 6 Kpicov
Aitrxivrfs, de Falsa Leg., § 247).
' Timarch., § 25. ' Dem., de Falsa Leg., § 252.
AESCHINES 171
Another striking characteristic of Aeschines was his
magnificent voice, which he used with practised skill ;
Demosthenes, who had serious natural disabiHties as a
speaker, envied him bitterly, and in consequence was
always trying to ridicule his delivery.^ Conscious, no
doubt, of his natural advantages, to which Demo-
sthenes had once paid a more or less sincere tribute,^
Aeschines was apparently unmoved by these taunts ;
but he seems to have been deeply injured when Demo-
sthenes compared him to the Sirens, whose voices
charm men to their destruction. His indignation can
find no repartee ; he can only expostulate that the
charge is indecent, and even if it were true, Demo-
sthenes is not a fit man to bring it ; only a man of deeds
would be a worthy accuser ; his rival is nothing but
a bundle of words. Here, recovering himself a Uttle,
he delivers himself of the idea that Demosthenes is as
empty as a flute — ^no good for anything if you take
away the mouthpiece.^
In the case of other orators I have laid but little
stress on personal characteristics, because as a rule the
orator must be judged apart from his qualities as a
man. In considering Isaeus, for instance — an extreme
case, certainly — personal qualities and pecuHarities are
of no importance at all. But so many personal traits
appear in the writings of Aeschines that we cannot
afford to neglect them ; they form important data for
our estimate of him, both as a speaker and a public
character. There is some excuse, then, for dealing at
* Dem., de Falsa Leg., § 255, aeixvoKoyel . . . (puivaa Krja as y etc.; de
Cor., § 133, atfivoXbyov ; and numerous references to rpiTayuviffrvs.
2 Aesch., de Leg., § 41, ttjv (pv<Tiv /jlov fiaKapij^uVf etc. (of the
behaviour of Demosthenes during the first embassy).
* Cies., §§ 228-229, ^^ ovofidrtav ffvyKfi/xevos, etc.
172 THE GREEK ORATORS
greater length with his personality than with that of
any other of the Attic orators. The question of his
pubhc morahty has already to some extent been dis-
cussed ; ^ an examination of his more private qualities
may possibly throw further light on the question of
his culpability.
He was, as we saw, to some extent a self-made man ;
he had at least risen far above the station in which he
was bom. All through his speeches we find traces of
\; his pride in the position and the culture which he has
attained — his vanitS de parvenu, as M. Croiset styles it.
He is proud of his education, and boasts of it to excess,
not realizing that he thus lays himself open to the
charge of having missed the best that education can
give. Demosthenes is just, though on the side of
severity :
' What right have you,* he asks, * to speak of education ?
No man who really had received a liberal education would
ever talk about himself in such a tone as you do ; he would
have the modesty to blush if any one else said such things
about him ; but people who have missed a proper education,
as you have, and are stupid enough to pretend that they
possess it, only succeed in offending their hearers when they
talk about it, and fail completely to produce the desired
impression.' ^
Aeschines considered aTracBevo-la, want of education,
almost as a cardinal sin, and could never conceive that
he himself was guilty of it.^ He displays his learning
by quotations from the poets, which are sometimes, it
must be admitted, very appropriate to his argument,
1 Supra, pp. 167-170. ' Dem., de Cor., § 128.
' References to himself as ireiraidevfi^vos, to his adversaries as
diralSevToi, to their iwaidevffla, t6 d/xad^s, etc., are very common
in the speeches against Timarchus and on the embassy.
AESCHINES 173
and by references to mythology and legend, which are
sometimes frigid. His use of history betrays a rather
superficial knowledge of the subject ; it is hardly pro-
bable that he had studied Thucydides, for instance.
Still, he possessed a fair portion of learning ; what
leads him astray is really his lack of taste. He is at his
best in the use of quotation when he adduces the lines
of Hesiod on the man whose guilt involves a whole city
in his own ruin — the passage will be quoted later. ^
The verses give a real sting to his denunciations, and
the opinion which he expresses on the educational in-
fluence of poetry is both solemn and sincere. But he
cannot keep to this level. His much boasted education
results generally in an affectation of a sort of artificial
propriety in action and language, and a profession of
prudery which is really foreign to his nature. He
professes an admiration for the self-restraint of pubHc
speakers in Solon's time, and during the greatness of
the repubhc, and speaks with disgust of Timarchus,
who * threw off his cloak and performed a pancration
naked in the assembly.' 2 In the opening of the same
speech he makes a strong claim to the merit of * modera-
tion ' ; in the prosecution of Timarchus his moderation
consists in hinting at certain abominable practices,
which he does not describe by name.
* I pray you. Gentlemen, to forgive me if, when forced to
speak of certain practices which are not honourable by
1 Infra, pp. 184, 187.
2 Timarch., § 26. Aeschines adds a characteristically Greek
touch — ' his body was so horribly out of condition through liis
drunkenness and other excesses that decent people covered their
eyes.' It was the neglect of the body, rather than thei*exposure
of the arms and legs, which is exaggerated into ' nakedness,' that
really shocked the spectators, in addition to the ' rough-and-tumble '
gestures of the orator.
V
174 THE GREEK ORATORS
nature, but are the established habits of the defendant, I
am led away into using any expression which resembles the
actions of Timarchus. . . . The blame should rest on him
rather than on me. It will be impossible to avoid all use
of such expressions, . . . but I shall try to avoid it as far
as possible. ' ^
Notice again the hypocritical reticence or ' omission '
(Paraleipsis) — a rhetorical device familiar to readers of
Cicero — ^which insinuates what it cannot prove :
* Mark, men of Athens, how moderate I intend to be in
my attack on Timarchus. I omit all the abuses of which
he was guilty as a boy. So far as I am concerned they may
be no more valid than, say, the actions of the Thirty, the
events before the archonship of Euclides, or any other
hmitation which may ever have been established.' ^
' I hear that this creature ' (an associate of Timarchus)
* has committed certain abominable offences, which, I
swear by Zeus of Olympus, I should never dare to mention
in your presence ; he was not ashamed of doing these things,
but I could not bear to live if I had even named them to
you explicitly.' ^
In spite of the prosecutor's modesty, particular
references to the offences of Timarchus are frequent
enough throughout the speech ; the reticence is as-
sumed for the purpose of insinuating that only a tithe
of the offences are really named. The whole tone of
the speech, therefore, is disingenuous and dishonest.
» Timarch., §§ 37-38.
2 Timarch., § 39. "A-Kvpoi is used in a double sense ; the early
actions of Timarchus are unratified in the sense of not proved ;
the actions of the Thirty are not ratified by the succeeding govern-
ments. It is a looseness of expression which does not spoil the
general sense, and there is, perhaps, an implied reference to the
Amnesty, declared after the expulsion of the Thirty. Similarly
Aeschines declares an amnesty for all the offences of Timarchus
before a certain date.
» Ibid., § 55. In § 70 there is a further apology. Cf. also § 76.
AESCHINES 175
On the other hand, the orator's tribute to the judges'
respectabihty is at times overdrawn. They are in-
formed that ' Timarchus used to spend his days in a
gambhng-house, where there is a pit in which cock-
fights are held, and games of chance are played — I
imagine there are some of you who have seen the
things I refer to, or if not, have heard of them.' ^ No
large assembly could ever take quita seriously such a
compliment to its innocence, and it must have been
meant as a lighter touch to reheve the dark hues
aroimd it. Such playful sallies are not infrequent, and,
like this one, are often quite inoffensive.^
A far more serious arraignment of the character of
Aeschines is brought by Blass, who, having made a very
careful study of the speech against Timarchus, finds a
strong presumption, on chronological grounds, that the
majority of the charges are false. It is certainly re-
markable that the charges of immorahty rest almost
entirely on the statements of the prosecutor. He
expresses an apprehension that Misgolas, a most im-
portant witness, will either refuse to give evidence
altogether, or will not tell the truth. To meet trouble
half-way like this is a very serious confession of weak-
ness, which is confirmed by the orator's further com-
ment on the state of the case. He has, he says, other
witnesses, but * if the defendant and his supporters
persuade them also to refuse to give evidence — I think
they will not persuade them ; at any rate not all of
them — there is one thing which they never can do, and
that is to abolish the truth and the reputation which
Timarchus bears in the city, a reputation which I have
not secured for him ; he has earned it for himself. For
1 Timarch., § 53. * Cf. infra, p. 191.
176 THE GREEK ORATORS
the life of a respectable man should be so spotless as
not to admit even the suspicion of oifence/ ^
Blass considers that the minor charges, directed
against the reckless extravagance with which Tim-
archus had dissipated his inherited property, are better
substantiated ; but these alone would have been hardly
enough to secure his condemnation.
Against Blass' theories we must set the little that
we know about the facts. Timarchus was certainly
condemned and disfranchised. ^ Now an Athenian
jury was not infallible, and whether in an ordinary
court of justice or, as for this case, in the high court of
the ecclesia, political convictions might triumph over
partiality ; nevertheless, a man who was innocent of
the charge specifically brought against him, especially
if he had not only committed no real ."r-olitical offence,
but had played no part in political affairs — a man,
moreover, who had the powerful influence of Demo-
sthenes behind him — might reasonably expect to have
a fair chance of being acquitted. Aeschines himself
was acquitted a few years later on a political charge,
though his political conduct required a good deal of
explanation, and he had all the weight of Demosthenes
not for him, but against him.
Aeschines might well feel a legitimate pride at the
high position to which he had cHmbed from a com-
paratively humble starting-point ; but to reiterate
the reasons for this pride is a display of vanity. He
likes to talk of himself as * the counsellor of this the
greatest of cities,' as the friend of Alexander and Phihp.
* Demosthenes,' he says, * brings up against me the fact
^ Timarch.y § 48.
» Dem., de Falsa Leg., §§ 2, 257.
AESCHINES 177
of my friendship with Alexander. ' ^ Demosthenes retorts
that he has done nothing of the sort. ' I reproach
you, you say, with Alexander's friendship ? How in
the world could you have gained it or deserved it ? I
should never be so mad as to call you the friend of
either Phihp or Alexander, unless we are to say that
our harvesters and hirelings of other sorts are " friends "
and " guests " of those who have hired their services.' ^
And again — ' On what just or reasonable groimds
could Aeschines, the son of Glaucothea, the tambourine-
player, have as his host, or his friend, or his acquaint-
ance, Phihp ? ' ^ Demosthenes' estimate of the posi-
tion is probably the truer one ; Aeschines, with all
his cleverness, was not the man, as Isocrates was, to
meet princes on terms of equality.
His vanity about his speeches and the effect which
they produced is attested by the various occasions on
which he quotes them, or refers to them. He gives a
summary of a speech which he made as an envoy to
Phihp ; * a speech delivered before the ecclesia is
epitomized ; ^ a speech made before * thousands and
thousands of Arcadians ' is mentioned.^ The notorious
speech delivered to the Amphictyons is quoted at some
length,' and its disastrous effect described, the speaker's
delight in his own powers blinding him completely
to the serious and far-reaching consequences of his
criminal indiscretion.
His private hfe, in spite of some damaging admis-
sions in the Timarchus, seems to have been satisfactory
1 ^€vla, expressing the mutual relations of host and guest, cannot
be adequately translated into Enghsh.
2 de Cor., § 51. ' Ibid., § 284.
* Aesch., de Leg., §§ 25-33. ^ Ibid., §§ 75-78.
« Ibid., § 79. ' Ctes., §§ 119-121.
M
178 THE GREEK ORATORS
according to Athenian standards. Demosthenes ac-
cused him of offering a gross insult to an Ol5mthian
lady. Whether or not the statement was an entire
fiction, we are not in a position to judge. Aeschines
indignantly denies the charge, and asserts that the
Athenian people, when it was made, refused to listen
to it, in view of their confirmed respect for his own
character :
' Only consider the folly, the vulgarity of the man, who
has invented so monstrous a lie against me as the one
about the Olynthian woman. You hissed him down in the
middle of the story, for the slander was quite out of keeping
with my character, and you knew me well.' ^
Whatever his origin may have been, he was not
ashamed of it. He more than once refers with affec-
tionate respect to his father. ^ His love for his wife and
children is on one occasion ingeniously introduced in
an eloquent passage to influence the feelings of his
hearers. This use of ' pathos ' was familiar enough
to Greek audiences, but Aeschines shows his originaHty
by the form in which he puts the appeal — aiming
directly at the feelings of individual hearers for their
own families, rather than asking the assembly collec-
tively to pity the victims of misfortune :
' I have by my wife, the daughter of Philodemus and
sister of Philon and Echecrates, three children, a daughter
and two sons. I have brought them here with the rest of
my family in order that I may put one question and prove
one point to my judges ; and this I shall now proceed to do.
I ask you, men of Athens, whether you think it likely that,
» Aesch., de Leg., § 153.
' E.g.y de Leg., § 147. His esteem for his mother is expressed,
ibid., § 148.
AESCHINES 179
in addition to sacrificing my country and the companion-
ship of my friends and my right to a share in the worship
and the burial-place of my fathers, I could betray to Philip
these whom I love more than anything in the world, and
value his friendship higher than their safety ? Have I ever
become so far the slave of base pleasures ? Have I ever
yet done anything so base for the sake of money ? No ;
it is not Macedon that makes a man good or bad, but
nature ; and when we return from an embassy we are the
same men that we were when you sent us out.' ^
Lastly, he could speak of himself with dignity, as in
the passage, quoted above, ^ where he rebuts a charge
against his private character, and in the following :
' My silence, Demosthenes, is due to the moderation of
my life ; I am content with a little ; I have no base desire
for greatness ; and so my silence or my speech is due to
careful dehberation, not to necessity imposed by habits
of extravagance. You, I imagine, are habitually silent
when you have got what you want ; when you have spent
it, you raise your voice.' ^
§ 4. Style
The vocabulary of Aeschines consists mostly of words
in ordinary use which require no comment. Though he
was a great admirer of poetry, his ordinary writing
does not display more poetical or unusual words than
that of any other orator.
The difference between his style and that of a writer
such as Lysias is, essentially, a difference not of voca-
bulary but of tone ; the tones of Aeschines are raised.
He tends to use words which are stronger than they
need be, to be ' angry ' when only surprise is called for ;
to be * excessively indignant ' when a moderate resent-
» de Leg., § 152. » p. 178. « Ctes., § 218.
\
i8o THE GREEK ORATORS
ment would meet the caise, to ' detest ' when to dislike
would be enough.^ He makes unnecessary appeals to
the gods more frequently than any other orator except
Demosthenes. Exaggeration is part of the secret of
his splendor verborum, as the Roman critic described it ;
but by far the greatest part is his instinct for using
quite ordinary words in the most effective combina-
tions. His best passages, if analysed, contain hardly
any words which are at all out of the common, and yet
their vigour and dignity are unquestionable. ^ The
ancients, however, denied purity of diction to Aeschines,
perhaps on account of the characteristics just described.
He is, as Blass observes, occasionally obscure ; that
is, it is possible to find sentences which are not quite
easy to understand ; but on the whole these are very
rare. No writer, even a Lysias, can be at all times
perfectly lucid.^ As a rule Aeschines is as simple in
the construction of his sentences as he is in the arrange-
ment of his speeches, and he is much easier to under-
stand than, for instance, Demosthenes.
He has not the consummate grace and terseness
which critics admire as the chief beauties of Lysias ;
sometimes unnecessary repetitions of a word are to be
found, sometimes two S5nionyms are used where one
word would suffice ; but such repetitions often give us
lucidity, though at the expense of strict form, and the
accumulation of s5nion5niis increases the emphasis.*
Only the great artist, who is perfectly confident that
* Cf. ttie frequent use of Seivdi and Seiyws — Seivrj diratSeufffa, dyai<r-
X^ffia ; Seivws (rxcXidfcti', d(rx'»7/ioi'ca', Aypoeiv, etc., and compounds
such as vTrepayavaKrQ, vir€pai<rxiJ''Ofiai.
* E.g. the fine passage about Thebes, infra, p. i86.
' The speech of Lysias against Eratosthenes, for instance, con-
ains many complicated sentences which are unnecessarily obscure.
* 6p(apT<i}v tppovoivTbiv p\eTr6vT(av v/xwv. Ctes., § 94.
AESCHINES i8i
he has found the right word to express adequately his
whole meaning in exactly the right way, can afford to
do without all superfluous strokes. Aeschines is not a
perfect artist in language ; he aims not at artistic
beauty but effect, to which style is nothing but a subor-
dinate aid. The composition of artistic prose is, for
him, far from being an end in itself.
His speeches were designed not to be read by literary
experts, but to be delivered from the platform, and he
aimed, not at pleasing the critics' taste but at working
on the passions of the ordinary citizen. Some of his
most important orations were not written at all, though
he probably preserved notes of them,^ and the three
which he did write out in full were preserved not for
their literary beauty but for their subject-matter.
The time for the rhetoric of culture was past ; the
course of events required the kind of oratory that would
stir men to action. As to the effectiveness of his
speeches, there can be no doubt. We know — on his
own authority, certainly ; but it has never been dis-
puted— how his harangue moved the Amphictyons ;
and we know that, without any conspicuous moral
qualities, with no advantages from family influence
and no definite political principles, he became a power
in Athens solely by virtue of his eloquence.
Aeschines varies the length of his sentences very
considerably ; some of them are long, and consist of
strings of participial and relative clauses. These, how-
ever, occur mostly in narrative passages, where such
discursive style is excusable : for instance, the long
sentences in the de Legatione, §§ 26-27, §§ 75-77, and
§ 115, contain reports of Aeschines' own earher speeches.
» Cf. his frequent references to his speeches, supra, p. 177.
i82 THE GREEK ORATORS
The first of these (§§ 26-27) is monotonous owing to the
series of genitives absolute which compose an inordin-
ately long protasis, the main verb not occurring till
near the end of the sentence, and then being followed
by another genitive clause.
A long sentence early in the Ctesiphon gives a risumi
of the circumstances by which the orator is impelled
to speak ; the clauses are mostly connected by xaC,
though all depend on a relative at the beginning. No
skill is displayed in the structure of such sentences, and
their possible length is limited only by the amount of
water in the clepsydra. Up to a certain length, they
are forcible, but if the Hmit is exceeded, the effect is
lost, for the point which the orator wishes to make is
too long deferred, since the main clause, containing the
statement which the preceding relative clauses illustrate
or explain, is not reached until the heavy accumulation
of relative clauses has wearied the perception.
In general, however, Aeschines is moderate in
length ; his sentences, on the average, are shorter
.than those of Isocrates, and he tacitly adheres to the
rule that a period should not be so long that it cannot
be uttered in one breath.
Though not pedantic, he was far from being without
a taste for composition. In all the speeches we find
examples of the deliberate avoidance of hiatus, and in
the de Legatione he bestowed some care on the matter.
The avoidance may generally, though not always,
be traced in an unusual order of words. ^ Examples of
harsh hiatus are rare, though there are many unim-
^ E.g. de Leg.y § 183, toi/j eh t6p /aAXovt' ai/ry XP^^o^ iyrepovPTas.
Blass, vol. iii. pt. 2, p. 232, notes that there is more consistent care
on this point in the de Legatione than in the other two speeches.
AESCHINES 183
portant instances. Quite apart from theoretical rules,
a good orator will instinctively avoid awkward
combinations of letters, for euphony is necessary
for fluent speaking. Aeschines, secure in the pos-
session of a perfect delivery, might admit sounds
which Isocrates and other theorists considered
harsh ; it was with practical declamation that he
was concerned.
The use of the rhetorical ' figures ' is a prominent
characteristic of Aeschines. The verbal contrasts
which Gorgias and the Sophists affected, many of which
seem to us so frigid and tedious, have too much honour
from Aeschines ; for instance, the purely formal anti-
thesis— * He mentions the names of those whose bodies
he has never seen,' ^ where the sound of the jingle —
ovofiara, a-wfjiara — is more important than the
sense. The effect of such * hke endings ' [homoeote-
leute) cannot as a rule be reproduced, though some-
times a play upon words will indicate it : e.g. ov tov
TpoTTov dWa TOV TOTTOV jJLOPOv fjLeTrjWa^ev — * he has
changed, not his habits, but only his habitation.' ^ In
such assonance there is an undoubted aiming at comic
effect. A forcible repetition of words is found in such
sentences as the following : ' What I saw, I reported
to you as I saw it ; what I heard, as I heard it ; now
what was it that I saw and heard about Cersobleptes ?
I saw . . .' etc.^ Repetitions of this and similar kinds
seem to break at times from the speaker's control, and
pass all measure.*
1 Ctes., § 99. « Ibid., § 78. » de Leg., § 81.
* Cf. Ctes., § 198, ^crrts jxh oiv h t^ rifi'/iaci t^v \//7)<poy alrei, tt]i> 6py^u
T^v vfiCT^pav irapaiTc'iTai, 6<rTi5 5' ip r<p vpibrtp \6y<fi t-^v \pTJ(f>ov alrel SpKow
alreT, ydfiov alrcc, SrjfioKpaTlav alTe7, S}v oOtc alTrjffdi oiidiv Sffiov qPt'
OtlTiiQhTa hipif bovvai.
y^
i84 THE GREEK ORATORS
Aeschines does not seem to have paid any attention
to rhythmical writing ; his style is too free to be bound
by unnecessary restrictions ; verses and metrical pas-
sages occur sporadically, but they are rare. He seems
to have fallen into them by accident, since they occur
in positions where no special point is marked by an
unusual rhythm. ^
Direct quotations of poetry, for which he had a
^ great liking, are, on the other hand, very frequent.
^ No other orator, except Lycurgus, is comparable to
him in this respect, and Lycurgus uses his power of
quotation with much less force than Aeschines, who
often employs it aptly. He gives us the impression
that serious religious conviction is at the back of his
quotation from Hesiod :
' Often the whole of a city must suffer for one man's
sin.' 2
In other cases the quotations are excessively long and,
like those of Lycurgus, have hardly any bearing on
the point.
His metaphors are sometimes vivid and well chosen
— dfi'TreXovp'yelv ttjv ttoKlv — * to strip the city like a
vineyard ' ; evavKov rjv iraaiv — ' it was dinned into
everybody's ears.' Some of the most forcible occur in
passages which purport to be quotations or para-
phrases of Demosthenes : e.g. iir lotto fiiaai, ' to bridle '
the war-party ; aTToppd-^eiv to ^tXinrirov (TTofiay ' to
^ E.g. iambics, Ctes.^ § 239, A <rw0poj'u;v 6 hrjjxos ovk ide^aro ; and de
Leg., § 66, /.dav 8^ viL/Kra 3taXt7rw»' ffvvrjybpovv, etc. ; anapaestic effect,
ibid., 223, ad rh irapbv \vfxaiv6fxevos, t6 5^ fx^Wov KaTeTayyeXXd/nevoi ; and
a curious combination, ibid., 91, ardfriap fxcTaax^^ ''"«»' Tdyuv rg iriXei,
* Ctes.,^ 135. 3 dg Lgg^^ §§ „o, 2T,
AESCHINES 185
sew up Philip's mouth.' ^ These are probably carica-
tures of Demosthenes' daring phrases.
Turning now from the consideration of the materials
to the finished product, we find that Aeschines can
attain a high level of style. His denunciation of the
sharp practices prevailing in the course of his day is
impressive ; we know that he is speaking the truth,
and he does not make the mistake of exaggerating.
The seriousness is relieved, but not impaired, by the
light thread of sarcasm which runs through the whole
fabric :
' The hearing of such cases, as my father used to tell me,
was conducted in a way very diEerent from ours. The
judges were much more severe with those who proposed
illegal measures than the prosecutor was, and they would
often interrupt the clerk and ask him to read over again the
laws and the decree ; and the proposers of illegal measures
were found guilty not if they had ridden over all the laws,
but if they had subverted one single clause. The present
procedure is ridiculous beyond words ; the clerk reads the
illegal decree, and the judges, as if they were listening to
an incantation or something that did not concern them,
keep their minds fixed on something else. And already,
through the devices of Demosthenes, you are admitting a
disgraceful practice ; you have allowed the course of justice
to be changed, for the prosecutor is on his defence, and the
defendant conducts his prosecution ; and the judges some-
times forget the matter of which they are called on to be
arbiters, and are compelled to vote on questions which
they ought not to be judging. The defendant, if he ever
refers to the facts at all, tells you, not that his proposal was
legal, but that somebody else has proposed similar measures
before his time, and has been acquitted.' ^
* Ctes,, §§ 192-193.
i86 THE GREEK ORATORS
The following passage has been many times pointed
out, and justly, as a fine example of the higher style of
Aeschines' rhetoric. Taken apart from its context,
and without any consideration of the truth of the in-
sinuations which it makes, it is a notable piece of
* pathetic ' pleading. The Romans, with a fondness
for epigrammatic contrast, attributed to Aeschines
more of sound and less of strength than to Demo-
sthenes. This is true if we regard their works as a
whole ; but in isolated passages like this, Aeschines
finds his level with the best of Attic orators :
* Thebes, our neighbour Thebes, in the course of a single
day has been torn from the midst of Greece ; justly, per-
haps, for in general she followed a mistaken policy ; yet it
was not human judgment but divine ordinance that led
her into error. And the poor Lacedaemonians, who only
interfered in this matter originally in connection with the
seizure of the sanctuary, they who once could claim to be
the leaders of the Greeks, must now be sent up to Alexander
to offer themselves as hostages and advertise their disaster ;
they and their country must submit to any treatment on
which he decides, and be judged by the clemency of the
conqueror who was the injured party. And our city, the
common asylum of all Greeks, to whom formerly embassies
used to come from Greece to obtain their safety from us,
city by city, is struggling now not for the leadership of the
Greeks but for the very soil of her fatherland. And this
has befallen us since Demosthenes took the direction of our
policy. A passage in Hesiod contains a solemn warning
appropriate to such a case. He speaks, l believe, with the
intention of educating the people, and advising the cities
not to take to themselves evil leaders.
* I shall quote the lines, for I conceive that we learn by
heart the maxims of the poets in childhood, so that in
manhood we may apply them : —
AESCHINES 187
' " Often the whole of a city must suffer for one man's sin,
Who plotteth infatuate counsel, and walketh in evil ways,
On such God sendeth destruction, by famine and wasting
plague,
And razeth their walls and armies, and shatters their
ships at sea." ' ^
We know that Aeschines took education very
seriously — more seriously, in fact, than anything else —
and his reference here to the educative influence of the
poets gives proof of his earnestness, which may have
been a transient emotion, but was, for the moment, a
strong one.
Setting apart a few such serious passages, Aeschines
is at his best when he is directly accusing Demo-
sthenes. His attacks are nearly always characterized
by a humorous manner which does not make them
any the less forcible, and they generally contain just
enough truth to make their malice effective. The fact
that Aeschines himself had too deep a respect for the
truth to be prodigal in the use of it does not diminish
the virulence of his attack on his rival's veracity, while
any question as to the exactitude of his statements
would be drowned in the laugh that followed the
concluding paragraph :
* The fellow has one characteristic peculiarly his own
when other impostors tell a lie, they try to speak vaguely
and indefinitely, for fear of being convicted of falsehood ;
but when Demosthenes seeks to impose upon you, he first
of all enforces his He with an oath, invoking eternal ruin
on himself ; secondly, though he knows that a thing never
can happen at all, he dares to speak with a nice calculation
of the day when it is going to happen ; he utters the names
' Ctes., §§ 133-136.
i88 THE GREEK ORATORS
of people whose faces he has never seen, thus cheating you
into hearing him, and assuming an air of truthfulness ; and
so he thoroughly merits your detestation, since, being such
a scoundrel as he is, he discredits the usual proofs of
honesty.
' After talking in this way he gives the clerk a decree to
read — something longer than the Iliad, and more empty
than the speeches he makes or the hfe he has led ; full of
hopes that can never be realized, and armies that will never
be mustered.' ^
The pleasing custom followed by the orators of anti-
quity, whether Greek or Roman, of defiling the graves
of the ancestors of their political opponents, and de-
faming their private lives, can be as well exemplified
from Aeschines as from his rival. Aeschines shows no
great originality in particular terms of abuse — Din-
archus has a greater variety of offensive words — but
the following extract from his circumstantial fictions
about Demosthenes is more effective, because more
moderate in tone, than the incredible insults with
which the latter described the family circumstances
and the career of Aeschines : ^ .
' So, on his grandfather's account, he must be an enemy
of the people, for you condemned his ancestors to death ;
but through his mother's family he is a Scythian, a bar-
barian, though he speaks Greek ; so that even his wicked-
ness is not of native growth. And what of his daily
life ? Once a trierarch, he appeared again as a speech-
writer, having in some ridiculous fashion thrown away his
patrimony ; but as in this profession he came under sus-
picion of disclosing the speeches to the other side, he
bounded up on to the tribunal ; and though he took great
sums of money from his administration, he saved very little
* CUs.y §§ 99-IOO. « Dem., de Cor., §§ 129, 259.
AESCHINES 189
for himself. Now, however, the king's treasure has
drowned his extravagance — ^but even that will not be
enough ; for no conceivable wealth can survive evil habits.
* Worst of all, he makes a living not out of his private
sources of income, but out of your danger.' ^
But he is really at his best where some slight slip
on the part of his opponent gives him the opportunity
of magnifying a trivial incident into importance. In
the following caricature the indecision of Demosthenes
is better expressed by the vacillating language thrust
into his mouth than it could have been by the most
eloquent description in the third person :
' While I was in the middle of this speech, Demosthenes
shouted out at the top of his voice — all our fellow-envoys
can support my statement — for in addition to his other
vices he is a partisan of Boeotia. What he said was some-
thing to this purpose : — " This fellow is full of a spirit of
turbulence and recklessness ; I admit that I am made of
softer stuff, and fear dangers afar off. However, I would
forbid him to raise disturbances between the States, for I
think that the right course is for us ambassadors not to
meddle with anything. Philip is marching to Thermo-
pylae ; I cover my face. No man will judge me because
Philip takes up arms ; I shall be judged for any unnecessary
word that I utter, or for any action in which I exceed my
instructions." ' ^
The failure of Demosthenes to rise to the occasion
when he had the opportunity of delivering an impres-
sive speech before Philip, during the first embassy,
forms the groundwork for excellent comedy on the
part of Aeschines. Demosthenes, by his rival's ac-
count, was usually so intolerable as a companion that
* CUs., §§ 172-173- * de Leg., §§ 106-107.
V
190 THE GREEK ORATORS
his colleagues refused to stay in the same lodging with
him whenever another was obtainable ; but he had
found opportunity to impress them with his own sense
of his importance as an orator. These professions are
well indicated in a few words. The account of his
failure, of PhiUp's patronizing encouragement, of the
fiasco in which the whole proceedings terminated, are
sketched with a dehcate malice that must have
made any defence or explanation impossible ; indeed
Demosthenes seems to have attempted no reply :
' When these and other speeches had been made, it was
Demosthenes' turn to play his part in the embassy, and
everybody was most attentive, expecting to hear a speech
of exceptional power ; for, as we gathered later, even Philip
and his companions had heard the report of his ambitious
promises. When everybody was thus prepared to listen to
him, the brute gave utterance to some sort of obscure
exordium, half-dead with nervousness, and having made
a Httle progress over the surface of the subject he suddenly
halted and hesitated, and at last completely lost his way.
Philip, seeing the state he was in, urged him to take courage,
and not to think he had failed because, like an actor, he had
forgotten his part ; but to try quietly and little by httle to
recollect himself and make the speech as he intended it.
But he, having once been flurried, and lost the thread of his
written speech, could not recover himself again ; he tried
once more, and failed in the same way. A silence followed,
after which the herald dismissed the embassy.' ^
Aeschines not only excelled in this class of circum-
stantial caricature, but he could win a laugh by a
single phrase. It is well known that Midias, after
various discreditable quarrels, put the final touch to
his insolence by a public assault on Demosthenes,
1 de Leg., ^^3^-35.
AESCHINES 191
whose face he slapped in the theatre. Demosthenes
on many occasions made capital out of this assault ;
which fact inspires the remark of Aeschines, * His face
is his fortime.' ^ Of his dexterity in repartee a single
instance may be quoted : Demosthenes, in an out-
burst of indignation, had suggested that the court
should refuse to be impressed by the oratory of a man
who was notoriously corrupt, but should rather be
prejudiced by it against him.^ Aeschines, catching at
the words, rather than the spirit, retorted, * Though
you, gentlemen, have taken a solemn oath to give an
impartial hearing to both parties, he has dared to urge
you not to listen to the voice of the defendant.' ^
§ 5. Treatment of subjects : general estimate
During his tenure of the office of r^pa^ifiarev^ —
clerk to the ecclesia — Aeschines must have gained a
thorough knowledge of the procedure of that assembly,
and of law. This comes out in his general treatment
of his subjects, and particularly in his legal arguments,
which are clear and convincing. In the speech against
Ctesiphon, where the irregularities of the proceedings
about Demosthenes' crown gave him a good subject for
argument, he makes out a very strong case.
In the structure of his speeches he follows a chrono-
logical order. He realized well that the style of his
eloquence lent itself naturally to bright and attractive
narrative. His versatihty saves him from becoming
tedious ; at one time he can speak with a noble solem-
* Ctes.f § 212, ov K€<t>a\T)v dWd irpbaobov KiKT7}Tac. The play upon
words is not easy to reproduce: /ce^X^, of course, suggests K€<p-
riXaioy, ' principal,' or ' capital,* while irpdaodoi is ' income ' or
' revenue.'
• de Falsa Leg., § 339. * Aesch., de Leg., § i.
192 THE GREEK ORATORS
nity which reminds M. Croiset of the eloquence of the
pulpit,^ at another, the hghtness of his touch almost
conceials the bitterness of his sentiments and the serious-
ness of his purpose. 2 He can speak of himself with
dignity, of his family with true feeling ; careful argu-
ment succeeds to lucid narrative ; crisp interrogation,
reinforced by powerful sarcasm, to masterly exposition.
He can awaken his hearers' interest by an indication
of the course which he intends to follow, and this
interest is sustained by all the resources of an eloquence
which, though at times sophistical, and though dis-
figured by occasional blemishes, has more of natural-
ness and shows less traces of scholastic elaboration,
than that of any other great orator. He is abler than
Andocides, more varied than Lysias, more ahve than
Isaeus.
His natural gifts place him above Lycurgus, though
our insight into the latter's high character gives him
a powerful claim to our consideration. Blass ranks
him below Hyperides, but a study of the lighter pas-
sages in Aeschines leads us to believe that, had he
turned his attention to private cases, he might have
equalled or surpassed that polished orator on his own
chosen ground. The unanimous judgment of ancient
and modern times places him far below Demosthenes,
who stands apart without a rival ; but in one quality,
at least, he surpasses the paragon. Demosthenes,
according to the opinion of Longinus, is apt to make his
hearers laugh not with him but at him ; ^ Aeschines
never turns the laugh against himself.
1 La Litt. Grecque, iv. 643, with reference particularly to Ctes.,
§ 133 (quoted above, p. 186) and §§ 152 sqq.
» E.g. on Demosthenes, quoted supra^ pp. 187-188.
' de Sublim.f ch. xxiv., ov y^Xwra Kivti fidXXov fj KaraYcXaTai.
AESCHINES 193
Afeschines is perhaps less read than he deserves ; he
has suffered from historical bias, and the prevalent
contempt for his quaUties as a statesman has led to an
undue disregard of his virtues as an orator. There is
nothing unfamiHar in this judgment ; other orators
have suffered in the same way at the hands of pre-
judiced historians. 1
It is interesting to read the account of Aeschines in
Blass' Attische Beredsamkeit ; the gifted scholar appar-
ently starts with a strong prejudice against his author,
and is almost too ready to insist on his faults ; but time
after time he is obliged to admit the existence of positive
merits, and in the end he seems, almost against his will,
to have been forced to modify his judgment ; while
the care and impartiahty with which he has detailed
all points, good and bad ahke, provides material for a
more favourable estimate such as that of Croiset.
§ 6. Contents of Speeches
A short account of the subject-matter of the three
speeches may conclude this chapter.
I. Against Timarchus.
The speech begins (§§ 1-2) with a statement of the
prosecutor's motives ; § 3 states the position which he
intends to assume — that Timarchus, by breaking the
laws, has made the bringing of this action inevitable.
Laws relating to the matter are read and fully dis-
cussed (§§4-36).
1 Mommsen (Book v., ch. xii. pp. 609-610, Eng. ed. of 1887)
could write of Cicero : ' Cicero had no conviction and no passion ;
he was nothing but an advocate, and not a good one.' . . . ' If
there is anything wonderful in the case, it is in truth not the orations
but the admiration which they excited.'
194 THE GREEK ORATORS
This preliminary legal statement, apart from the
particular case, puts the prosecution on a sounder
footing than if the speech had begun at once with the
narrative.
§§ 37-7^- ^^^ fi'^^^ charge (immorality). Narrative
of the private life of Timarchus, interspersed with
evidence and argument as to his political disabilities.
§§ 77-93- Examples of disability imposed on other
grounds. Precedents for a verdict in accordance
with general knowledge even when the evidence is
defective.
§§ 94-105. The second charge. Timarchus is a
spendthrift. Narrative and evidence about his pro-
digality.
§§ 106-115. The third charge. His corruptness in
public life.
§ 116, recapitulation. §§ 1 17-176, anticipation of
the defence.
§§ 177-195. Epilogue, announced beforehand (§117)
as an * exhortation to a virtuous life.' § 196, a short
conclusion — ' I have instructed you in the laws, I have
examined the life of the defendant ; I now retire,
leaving the matter in your hands.'
2. On the Embassy.
-. Demosthenes had accused Aeschines of treason ; his
speech, it is to be noted, dealt really with the second
embassy only, and the events in Athens subsequent to
it, though he makes some reference to the third em-
bassy, and implies that Aeschines was corrupt even
before the second. He follows no chronological order,
so that his story is hard to follow. Aeschines, on the
other hand, has a great appearance of lucidity, treating
AESCHINES 195
all events in chronological order ; but this is mis-
leading, for, in order to divert attention from the
period in which his conduct was questionable, he spends
a disproportionate time in describing the first embassy,
in connection with which no accusation is made by
Demosthenes.
The exordium (§§ i-ii) contains a strong appeal for
an impartial hearing. The events of the first embassy
to Philip are the subject of an amusing narrative at the
expense of Demosthenes (§§ 12-39) i the return of the
envoys and their reports, etc., occupy §§ 40-55. The
same clearness does not appear in the rest of the speech.
Aeschines has to make a defence on various charges
brought against himself, so a plain narrative is not
enough. The chief charges were that Aeschines was in
the pay of Phihp, and that he deceived the people as
to PhiHp's intentions, thus leading them into actions
which proved disastrous. The former charge could
not be proved by Demosthenes, however strong his
suspicions were ; the facts relating to the peace of
Philocrates and the delay in the ratification of the
agreement with Philip were matters of common know-
ledge ; it was only a question of intention. The
defence of Aeschines is that he deceived the people
because he was himself deceived — a confession of
creduhty and incompetence. The narrative is not con-
tinuous ; details about the embassy to Philip, the em-
bassy to the Arcadians, and the fate of Cersobleptes,
are to some extent mixed together. Reference is also
made to some specific charges, e.g. the case of the
Olynthian woman, the speech before the Amphictyons,
the singing of the paean, etc. In the two latter cases
there is no defence, but an attempt at justification
\
196 THE GREEK ORATORS
(§§ 55-170)' The epilogue begins with an historical
survey of Athenian affairs, which is stolen either from
Andocides or from some popular commonplace book,
and contains the usual appeal to the judges to save the
speaker from his adversaries' mahce.
He ends by calling on Eubulus and Phocion to speak
for him. (§§ 171-178.)
Stress has been laid in these pages on the somewhat
disjointed character of the sections dealing with the
principal charges, and it cannot be denied that the
defence is sometimes vague ; that Aeschines seems to
aim not at refuting but eluding the accusations. X^ese
imperfections come out on an analysis ; but the speech
taken as a whole is a very fine piece of advocacy, and
makes the acquittal of the speaker quite intelligible.
3. Against Ctesiphon.
The speech opens with an elaboration of a trite
commonplace, modelled on the style of Andocides,
about the vicious cleverness of the speaker's opponents
and his own simple trust in the laws. Aeschines pro-
poses to prove that the procedure of Ctesiphon was
illegal, his statements false, and his action harmful.
(§§ 1-8.)
First charge — ' The proposal to grant a crown to
Demosthenes was illegal, because Demosthenes was at
the time liable to evOwa (§§ 9-12). All statements
to the contrary notwithstanding, a consideration of
the laws proves conclusively that Demosthenes was so
liable.' (§§13-31.)
Second charge — ' It was illegal for the proclamation
of the crown to be made in the theatre.' (§§ 32-48.)
Third charge — ' The statements on which the pro-
AESCHINES 197
posal was made, viz. that the pubHc counsel and public
actions of Demosthenes are for the best interests of the
people , are false . ' (§ 49 . )
The first two charges are dealt with by means of legal
argument, in which Aeschines, as usual, displays con-
siderable ability. The third and longest section of the
speech (§§ 49-176) is less satisfactory. The orator
proposes to set aside the private life of his enemy,
though he hints that many incidents might be adduced
to prove its general worthlessness (§§ 51-53), and to
deal only with his public policy. This he does, in
chronological order and at great length. Numerous
occasions are described on which the policy of Demo-
sthenes was detrimental to Athens. The arguments
with which the narrative is interspersed are often of
a trivial nature, consisting sometimes of appeals to
superstition, as when he tells us that troops were sent to
Chaeronea, although the proper sacrifices had not been
performed ; and attempts to show that Demosthenes
is an a\LT7]pLo<;, for whose sin the whole city must suffer.
Taken in detail, some of these passages are impressive ;
but the weakness of the whole is that Aeschines him-
self does not declare any serious or systematic poHcy.
This section contains incidentally digressions, in the
taste of the day, about the family and character of
Demos thenes.i
§§ 177-190 contain some references to heroes of anti-
quity, by way of invidious comparison; §§ 191-202, the
deterioration of procedure in the courts. ^
§§ 203-205, recapitulation ; §§ 206-212, further in-
crimination of Demosthenes, and §§ 213-214, of Ctesi-
1 E.g., in particular, §§ 171-176, partly quoted supra, p. 188.
• Quoted supra, p. 185.
iqS THE GREEK ORATORS
phon. §§ 215-229, chiefly refutation of charges against
Aeschines. §§ 230-259, further general discussion of
the illegahty of the measure and the unworthiness of
Demosthenes. The final appeal to the past — ' Think
yovL not that Themistocles and the heroes who fell at
Marathon and Plataea, and the very graves of our
ancestors, will groan aloud if a crown is to be granted to
one who concerts wdth the barbarians for the ruin of
Greece ? ' ends abruptly and grotesquely with an in-
vocation to * Earth and Sun and Virtue and InteUi-
gence and Education, through which we distinguish
between the noble and the base.'
It reminds us strangely of the invocations put into
the mouth of Euripides by Aristophanes. ^
^ Frogs, 892, aWrip, i/xdv ^6crK7j/jLa, kuI yXiirrrrjs aTpo<t>ly^, kuI ^ijveffi,
etc.
T
CHAPTER IX
DEMOSTHENES
§. I. Introduction
HE art of rhetoric could go no further after
Isocrates, who, in addition to possessing a
sjtyle which was as perfect as technical dexterity
could make it, had imparted to his numerous dis-
ciples the art of composing sonorous phrases and
linking them together in elaborate periods. Any
young aspirant to literary fame might now learn from
him to write fluent easy prose, which would have been
impossible to Thucydides or Antiphon. If the style
seems on some occasions to have been so over-elabor-
ated that the subject-matter takes a secondary place,
that was the fault not so much of the artist as of the
man. Isocrates never wrote at fever-heat ; his greatest
works come from the study ; he is too reflective and
dispassionate to be a really vital force.
With Demosthenes and his contemporaries it is
otherwise ; they are men actively engaged in politics,
actuated by strong party-feeling, and swayed by per-
sonal passion. This was the outcome of the political
situation : just as feeling was strong in the generation
immediately succeeding the reign of the oligarchical
Thirty at Athens, so now, when Athens and the whole
of Greece were fighting not against oligarchy but the
empire of a sovereign ruler, the depths were stirred.
199
^-.
200 THE GREEK ORATORS
^ A new feature in this period is the publication of
^ poHtical speeches. From the time of the earhest
orator — Antiphon — the professional logographoi had
preserved their speeches in writing. The majority of
these were delivered in minor cases of only personal
importance, though some orations by Lysias and others
have reference indirectly to political questions.
Another class of speeches which were usually pre-
served is the epideictic — orations prepared for delivery
at some great gathering, such as a religious festival or
a public funeral. Isocrates was an innovator to the
extent of writing in the form of speeches what were
really political treatises ; but these were only composed
for the reader, and were never intended to be delivered.
Among the contemporaries of Demosthenes we find
some diversity of practice. Some orators, such as
Demades and Phocion, never published any speeches,
and seem, indeed, hardly to have prepared them before
delivery. They relied upon their skill at improvisation.
Others, for instance Aeschines, Lycurgus, and
Dinarchus, revised and published their judicial speeches,
especially those which had a political bearing. Hyper-
ides and Demosthenes, in addition to this, in some
cases gave to the world an amended version of their
public harangues. Demosthenes did not always pub-
lish such speeches ; there are considerable periods of
his political life which are not represented by any
written work ; but he seems to have wished to make a
permanent record of certain utterances containing an
explanation of his policy, in order that those who had
not heard him speak, or not fully grasped his import,
might have an opportunity for further study of his
views after the ephemeral effect of his eloquence had
DEMOSTHENES 201
passed away. It is probable that most of the speeches
so pubhshed belong to times when his party was not
predominant in the State, and the opposition had to
reinforce its speech by writing. The result is of im-
portance in two ways, for the speeches are a serious
contribution to literature, of great value for the study
of the development of Greek prose ; and they are of
still greater historical value ; for, though untrust-
worthy in some details, they provide excellent material
for the understanding of the political situation, and the
aims and principles of the anti-Macedonian party.
§ 2. Life, etc.
[-Demosthenes the orator was bom at Athens in
384 B.C. . His father, Demosthenes, of the deme of
Paeania, was a rich manufacturer of swords ; his
mother was a daughter of an Athenian named Gylon;]
who had left Athens, owing to a charge of treason, at
the end of the Peloponnesian War, settled in the neigh-
bourhood of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Crimea),^ and
married a rich woman who was a native of that district.
We know nothing more of her except that Aeschines
describes her as a Scythian. She may have been of
Hellenic descent ; even Plutarch doubts the assertion
of Aeschines that she was a barbarian ; the suspicion,
however, was enough for Aeschines, who is able to call
his enemy a Greek-speaking Scythian.
fDemosthenes the elder died, leaving his son seven
years old and a daughter aged five. By his will two
nephews, Aphobos and Demophon, and a friend
* Aesch. {Ctes., § 171) says only dcpiKveTrai eis Bdairopov, which
is ambiguous, as there were several BSairopoi. The fact that he
calls the woman S/cv^i's seems to prove that he meant the Crimea.
202 THE GREEK ORATORS
Therippides, were appointed trustees, i The two former,
as nearest of kin, were, according to Attic custom,
to marry the widow and her daughter, but these pro-
visions were not carried out. ^During the years of
Demosthenes' minority his guardians ruined the sword
business by their mismanagement, and squandered the
accumulated profitSt^
At the age of eighteen Demosthenes, who had been
brought up by his mother, laid claim to his father's
estate. The guardians by various devices attempted
to frustrate him, and three years were spent in at-
tempts at compromise and examinations before the
arbitrators. During this time Demosthenes was study-
ing rhetoric and judicial procedure under Isaeus, to
whose methods his early speeches are so deeply in-
debted that a contemporary remarked ' he had swal-
lowed Isaeus whole.' ^ At last,-when he was twenty-
one years old, he succeeded in bringing his wrongs
before a court ; thanks to the training of Isaeus he was
able to plead his own case, and he won it.^ The in-
genuity of his adversaries enabled them to involve
him in further legal proceedings which lasted perhaps
two years more. In the end he was victorious, -but by
the time he recovered his patrimony there was very
nttle of it left.-
|r Being forced to find a means of living he adopted
the profession of a speech-writer, which he followed
through the greater part of his life.^ He made speeches
^ Pytheas, quoted by Dionysius.
* The last private speeches of which the genuineness is un-
doubted are dated about 346 and 345 B.C., but others, e.g. Against
Phormio, of which the authenticity was not questioned in ancient
times, go down to 326 b.c. or even later. The genuineness of the
Phormio is at least probable.
DEMOSTHENES , 203
for others to use, as his father had made swords, and
he was as good a craftsman as his father. He succeeded
by this new trade in repairing his damaged fortunes.
'^ In addition to forging such weapons for the use |
of others, he instructed pupils in the art of rhetoric. -^| v-^
This practice he seems to have abandoned soon after ■
the year 345 B.C., when pubHc affairs began to have^i
the chief claim on his energies.^ - From that time for-
ward he wielded with distinction a sword of his own
manufacture.
It is said that as a youth barely of age he made an
attempt to speak in the ecclesia, and failed. His voice
was too weak, his dehvery imperfect, and his style un-
suitable. The failure only inspired him to practise
that he might overcome his natural defects. We are
famihar with the legends of his declaiming with pebbles
in his mouth and reciting speeches when running up
hill, of his studies in a cave by the sea-shore, where he--"
tried to make his voice heard above the thunder of the
waves. -
The training to which he subjected himself enabled
him to overcome to a great extent whatever disabihties
he may have suffered from, but he never had the ad- ^ ''
vantage of a voice and delivery such as those of
Aeschines. Legends current in the time of Plutarch
represent him as engrossed in the study of the best
prose-writers. He copied out the history of Thucy-.r
dides eight times, according to one tradition. This
we need not accept, but it may be taken as certain that
he studied the author's style carefully. He may not
1 Aesch. (in 345 b.c.) in the Timarchus, §§ 117, 170-175, refers to
him as a teacher. In the Embassy (343 b.c.) there is no reference
to this profession.
204 THE GREEK ORATORS
have been a pupil of Isocrates or Plato, but from the
former he must have learnt much in the way of prose-
construction and rhythm, and the latter's works,
though he dissented from the great principle of Plato
that the wise man avoids the agora and the law-courts,
may well have inspired him with many of the generous
ideas which are the foundation of his policy. From
the study of such passages as the Melian controversy
and others in which the historian bases Justice upon
the right of the stronger, he may have turned with
relief to the nobler discussion of Justice in the Republic,
and indeed, in his view of what is right and good,
^V^- Demosthenes approaches much nearer to the philo-
sopher than to the historian.
A professional speech-writer at Athens might make
a speciality of some particular kind of cases, and by
thus restricting his field become a real expert in one
department, as Isaeus, for instance, did in the probate
court ; or, on the other hand, he might engage in quite
general practice. A farmer might have a dispute with
his neighbours about his boundaries, or damage caused
by the overflow of surface water ; ^ a quiet citizen
might seek redress from the law in a case of assault
against which he was unable or unwilling to make re-
taliation in kind ; ^ an underwriter who had been
defrauded in some shady marine transaction might
wish to bring another knave to accoimt.^ But besides
these private cases, whether they are purely civil,* or
practically, if not technically, criminal actions, there
"-^ is other work of more importance for a logographos.
1 Against Callichs. ' Against Conon.
3 The speeches Against Zenothemis, Lacritus, Dionysodotus, and
Phormio. * E.g. Against Boeotus.
DEMOSTHENES 205
The State may wish to prosecute an of&cial who has -
abused its trust. In times when honesty is rarer than
cleverness it may find the necessity of appointing a
prosecutor rather for his known integrity than for his
abihty in the law-courts. Such a prosecutor will need
professional assistance ; and this need evoked some of
the early poUtical speeches of Demosthenes, Against
AndroHon, Timocrates, and Aristocrates (355-352 B.c.).i
It is noticeable that we have no trace of his work
between the speeches dehvered against his guardians
and the first of this latter group. Probably he spent
these ten years partly in study and partly in the con-
duct of such cases as fell to the portion of a beginner.
In this time he must gradually have built up a repu-
tation, but he may not have wished to keep any record
of his first essays which, when he had arrived at his
maturity as a pleader, could not, perhaps, have seemed
to him worthy of his reputation.
V-It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of
these varied activities to the career of Demosthenes.
In the course of these early years he must have made
himself famiUar with many branches of the law ; he
was brought into intimate relations with individuals of
all classes, and all shades of political opinion. ^ In
order to be of use vicariously in poUtical cases he must
have made a careful study of poHtics. Such studies
were of great value in the education of a statesman,
and by means of the semi-pubHc cases in which he
was engaged, though not on his own account, and
perhaps not always in accordance with his convictions,
his own poUtical opinions must gradually have been
formed.
V-In 354 B.C., the year after the trial of Androtion,
2o6 THE GREEK ORATORS
Demosthenes appeared in person before the dicastery
on behalf of Ctesippus in an action against Leptines.
This was a case of some poUtical importance. A few
months later he came forward in the assembly to
deliver his speech On the Symmories, which was shortly
followed by another public harangue On behalf of the
people of Megapolis (353 B.C.). Two years later he
r came to the front not as a mere pleader, but a real
i counsellor of the people, and began the great series of
^ Philippics.
|- His career from this point onward is divided natur-
ally into three periods.
hin the first, 351-340 B.C., he was in opposition to the
party in power at Athens. The beginning of it is
marked by some famous speeches, the First Philippic
and the first three Olynthiac orations (351-349 b.c.).-|
^Till this time the Athenians had not realized the signi-
ficance of the growth of the Macedonian power. It
. was only eight years since Philip, on his accession to
the throne, had undertaken the great task of uniting
the constituent parts of his kingdom which had long
been torn by civil war, of fostering a national feeling,
and creating an army. He had won incredible successes
in a few years. n By a combination of force and deceit
he had made himself master of Amphipolis and Pydna
in 357 B.C. In the following year he obtained pos-
session of the gold mines of Mt. Pangaeus, which gave
him a source of inexhaustible wealth, and enabled him
to prepare more ambitious enterprises. This was an
important crisis in his career : the bribery for which
"* he was famous and in which he greatly trusted could
now be practised on a large scale.
In the early speeches of Demosthenes there is Httle
DEMOSTHENES 207
reference to Philip ; he is certainly not regarded as a
dangerous rival of Athens. There is a passing mention
of him in the Leptines (384 B.C.) ; ^ in the Aristocrates
he plays a larger part, but is treated almost contemp-
tuously : ' You know, of course, whom I mean by this
Philip of Macedon * (care Stjttov ^iXiinrov tovtovl rov
MaKehova) is the form in which his name is intro-
duced (§111). He is considered as an enemy, but only
classed with other barbarian princes, such as Cerso-
bleptes of Thrace.
But Philip was not content with annexing towns
and districts in his own neighbourhood in whose in-
tegrity Athens was interested — Amphipolis, Pydna,
Potidaea, Methone, and part of Thrace. He interfered
in the affairs of Thessaly, which brought the trouble
nearer home to Athens (353 B.C.). In 352 B.C. he
proposed to pass through Thermopylae, and take part
in the Sacred War against Phocis, but here Athens
intervened for the first time and checked his pro-
gress.
After this one vigorous stroke the Athenians, in
spite of Philip's renewed activities in Thrace and
on the Propontis, relapsed into an apathetic indiffer-
ence, from which Demosthenes in vain tried to rouse
them.
— The language of the First Philippic shows that
Demosthenes fully recognized the seriousness of the
situation, and the imminent danger to which the com-
placency of his countrymen was exposing them ; he
wishes to make them feel that the case, though not yet
desperate, is likely to become so if they persist in doing
1 § 61. ' Pydna and Potidaea, which are subject to Phihp and
hostile to you.' Also § 63.
2o8 THE GREEK ORATORS
nothing, while a whole-hearted effort will bring them
into safety again :^
§ 2. ' Now, first of all, Gentlemen, we must not despair
about the present state of affairs, serious as it is ; for our
greatest weakness in the past will be our greatest strength
in the future. What do I mean ? I mean that you are
in difiiculties simply because you have never exerted your-
selves to do your duty. If things were as they are in spite
of serious effort on your part to act always as you should,
there would be no hope of improvement. Secondly, I
would have you reflect on what some of you can remember
and others have been told, of the great power possessed not
long ago by Sparta ; yet, in face of that power you acted
honourably and nobly, you in no wise detracted from your
country's dignity ; you faced the war unflinchingly in a
just cause. . . .'
§ 4. * If any of you thinks that Phihp is invincible,
considering how great is the force at his disposal, and how
our city has lost all these places, he has grounds for his
belief ; but let him consider that we once possessed Pydna,
Potidaea, and Methone, and the whole of that district ;
and many of the tribes, now subject to him, were free and
independent and better disposed to us than to Macedon.
If Philip had felt as you do now, that it was a serious matter
to fight against Athens because she possessed so many
strongholds commanding his own country, while he was
destitute of aUies, he would never have won any of his
present successes, or acquired the mighty power which now
alarms you. But he saw clearly that these places were the
prizes of war offered in open competition ; that the pro-
perty of an absentee goes naturally to those who are on
the spot to claim it, and those who are willing to work
hard and take risks may supplant those who neglect their
chances. '
§ 8. 'Do not imagine that he is as a God, secure in
eternal possession. There are men who hate and fear and
DEMOSTHENES 209
envy him, even among those who seem his closest associates.
These feelings are for the present kept under, because
through your slowness and your negligence they can find
no opening. These habits, I say, you must break with. '
§ 10. * When, I ask, when will you be roused to do your
duty? — ^When the time of need comes, you say. What
do you think of the present crisis ? I hold that a free nation
can never be in greater need than when their conduct is of
a kind to shame them. Tell me, do you want to parade
the streets asking each other, *' Is there any news to-day ? "
What graver news can there be than that a Macedonian
is crushing Athens and dictating the policy of Greece ?
" Philip is dead," says one. " Oh no, but he is ill," says
another. What difference does it make to you ? Even
if anything happens to him you will very soon call into
existence a second Philip if you attend to your interests
as carefully as you are doing now. For it is not so much
his own strength as your negligence that has raised him
to power.'
The orator proceeds to give detailed advice for the j
conduct of the war ; he asks for no * paper forces,' ^
such as the assembly is in the habit of voting, irre-
spective of whether they can be obtained or not — ten
or twenty thousand of mercenaries or the like. He
requires a small but efficient expeditionary force, of
which the backbone is to be a contingent of citizen- *
hoplites, one quarter of the whole ; a small but efficient
fleet, and money to pay both army and navy — this was
a matter often overlooked by the assembly — and an
Athenian general in whom the host will have confid-
ence. The advice was moderate and sound in the
extreme. Demosthenes probably knew what he was
talking about when he said that two thousand hoplites,
1 iiriaroXi/JLalovs dvvdfxeii, § 19.
210 THE GREEK ORATORS
two hundred cavalry, and fifty triremes were enough
for the present. A resolute attack on Philip by such a
force would probably have put fresh heart into the
many enemies whom he had not yet completely
subdued.
There is a further point which marks the difference
between the present advice and that of previous coim-
sellors. The army is not to be enlisted for a particular
expedition only ; it is to be maintained at its original
strength as long as may be necessary. ^ Soldiers will
serve for a certain Hmited time, and at the end of their
term will be replaced by fresh troops. ^ The army
which he suggests will not be enough to defeat Philip
unaided, but enough to produce a strong impression.
They might send a large force, but it would be un-
wieldy, and they could not maintain it.^
The First Philippic failed to produce the effect
desired. The Olynthiac speeches which closely followed
it were also ineffectual. In 349 B.C. Philip seized a
pretext for making war on Olynthus, which appealed for
help to Athens. The alliance, which had been sought
in vain in 357 and 352 B.C., was now, apparently,
granted with little opposition, and Chares with two
thousand mercenaries sent to the help of the Olynthian
league. Demosthenes tries to emphasize the import-
ance of the situation^ the aid which has been voted is
not enough ; they ought to act at once, sending two
forces of citizens, not mercenaries ; the one to protect
Olynthus, the other to harass Philip elsewhere. Large
* § 19, Sivaixiv . . . '^ (ruvexws iro\einif)(Tei. . . .
* § 21, XP^^^^ TaKTbv a-rparevofi^povs, fir] fiuKpov rovrov, dW 6aov tv
doKTJ KoXQi ^X* "'» ^'f Siadoxrjs dXXiJXois.
' § 23, 0^ Toipvv viripoyKov avT-f^v {oi> y^p (ari fxicrdbt 0^5^ Tpo<f>^), oid^
waPTeXQs raveiv^v elvai 8eT,
DEMOSTHENES 211
supplies of money are necessary, and he hints that the
Athenians have such supplies ready at hand. He
refers to the Festival Fund (decopiKov), but concern-
ing this he is in a delicate position. The ministry of
Eubulus was in power, and a law of Eubulus had
pronounced any attempt to tamper with the dempcKov
a criminal offence. Demosthenes, being one of a weak
minority, could only move cautiously, suggesting that
a change of administration was desirable, but not
proposing a definite motion.
V There is a marked difference in tone between the
first two speeches and the third. In the former
Demosthenes insists that everything is still to be done,
but he points out that there are many weak points in
Philip's armour, and a vigorous and united policy may
still defeat him. In the third he makes it clear that
the opportunity is past, and the lost ground can only
be recovered by desperate measures. He openly
advocates the conversion of the Festival Fund
into a military chest, and this is the main theme
of the oratjon, to which every argument in turn
leads up.i -\
'• The efforts of Athens were dilatory and insufficient ;
Olynthus and the other cities of the Chalcidian League
fell in the following year (349 B.C.) ; they were de-
stroyed, and all the inhabitants made slaves. \ Attempts
to unite the Peloponnesian States against the common
enemy were futile, and negotiations were begun
between Philip and Athens. They were conducted at
first informally by private persons, but in 347 B.C., on
1 I have assumed the traditional order of the Olynthiac speeches
to be the correct one. The question is much disputed, and is
lucidly discussed by M. Weil in his introductions to the speeches
{Les Harangues de Wmosth^ne).
212 THE GREEK ORATORS
the proposal of Philocrates, an embassy was sent to
Philip. Philip's answer, received in 346 B.C., de-
manded that Phocis and Halus should be excluded
from the proposed treaty. Demosthenes contested
this point, but Aeschines carried it. A second em-
bassy was sent, and the discreditable Peace of Philo-
crates was signed. The result was the ruin of Phocis.
Although Demosthenes disapproved of the peace, later
in the year, in his speech On the Peace, he urged Athens
to keep its conditions, arguing that to break it would
bring upon them even greater disaster.
In consequence of the peace, Philip had been able to
convoke the Amphictyonic Council, and pass a vote
for the condemnation of Phocis. Twenty-two towns
were destroyed, and the Phocian votes in the Council
transferred to Philip, who was also made president of
the Pythian Games. Thus the barbarian of a few years
ago had received the highest religious sanction for*his
claim to be the leader of Greece. Athens alone, whose
precedence he had usurped, refused to recognize him,
and Demosthenes saw that to persist in a hostile atti-
tude might involve all the States in a new Amphictyonic
war. It was better to surrender their scruples, and
to regard the convention not, indeed, as a permanent
peace, but a truce during which fresh preparations might
be made. Six years of nominal peace ensued, during
which Philip extended his influence diplomatically.
Whether from principle or policy he treated Athens
with marked courtesy, and, through his agents, made
vague offers of the great services which he was prepared
to render. Many of the citizens believed in his sin-
cerity, notably Isocrates, who in 346 B.C. spoke of the
baseless suspicions caused by the assertions of mahcious
DEMOSTHENES 213
persons, that Philip wished to destroy Greek freedom. ^
Demosthenes was never duped by these professions. ^
He was now a recognized leader, and was gathering to
his side a powerful body of patriotic orators such as
Lycurgus and Hyperides. Phihp, after organizing
the government of Thessaly and allying himself with
Thebes, interfered in the Peloponnese by supporting
Messene, Arcadia, and Argos against Sparta.
An Athenian embassy, led by Demosthenes, was
sent to these states to advise them of the danger which
they incurred by their new alliance. Some impression
was produced, and apparently an embassy was sent by
some of the states to Athens. In reply to their re-
presentations, of which no trace is preserved, Demo- ""
sthenes delivered the Second Philippic. In it he ex- -^
poses the king's duphcity. ' The means used by
Athens to coimteract his manoeuvres are quite in-
adequate ; we talk, but he acts. We speak to the
point, but do nothing to the point. Each side is
superior in the line which it follows, but his is the more
effective line (§§ 1-5). Philip's assurances of goodwill
are accepted too readily. He realized that Thebes, in
consideration of favours received, would further his
designs. He is now showing favour to Messene and
Argos from the same motive. He has paid Athens the
high comphment of not offering her a disgraceful
bargain (§§ 6-12). His past actions betray him ; as he
made the Boeotian cities subject to Thebes, he is not
likely to free the Peloponnesian States from Sparta.
He knows that he is really aiming at you, and that you ,, .
are aware of it ; that is why he is ever on the alert, '
and supports against you Thebans and Peloponnesians,
^ Isocr,, Philippus, § 73-74.
214 THE GREEK ORATORS
who, he thinks, are greedy enough to swallow his
present ofers, and too stupid to foresee the conse-
quences' (§§ 12-19). The epilogue contains an in-
dictment of those whose policy is to blame for the
present troubles. In accordance with Demosthenes*
general practice Aeschines and Philocrates, at whom
he aims the charge, are not mentioned by name.
The anti-Macedonian party grew in strength in
343 B.C. Hyperides impeached Philocrates, who re-
tired into exile and was condemned to death. About
the same time Demosthenes himself brought into court
an action against Aeschines, which had been pending
for three years, for traitorous conduct in connexion
with the embassy to Philip. The position was a diffi-
cult one for two reasons : his own policy in that matter
could not be sharply distinguished from that of
Aeschines ; the accusation depended largely on dis-
crimination of motives, and he had practically no proof
of the guilt of Aeschines. Considering the technical
weakness of the prosecutor's case it is not surprising
that Aeschines escaped ; it is more remarkable that
he was acquitted only by a small majority.
In 342 B.C. Philip, whose influence in the Pelopon-
nese had sHghtly waned, began a fresh campaign in
Thrace, and in 341 B.C. had reached the Chersonese.
The possession of this district meant the control of the
Dardanelles, and, as Athens still depended largely on
the Black Sea trade for her com supply, his progress
was a menace to her existence. Diopeithes, an
Athenian mercenary captain, had in 343 B.C. taken
settlers to Cardia, a town in the Chersonese in nominal
alliance with Macedon. Cardia was unwilling to
receive them, and PhiHp sent help to the town. Dio-
DEMOSTHENES 215
peithes, who, in accordance with the habit of the times,
in order to support his fleet, exacted ' benevolences '
from friends and foes impartially, happened to plunder
some districts in Thrace which were subject to Mace-
don. Philip addressed a letter of remonstrance to
Athens, and his adherents in the city demanded the
recall of Diopeithes. Demosthenes in his speech On
4^ the Chersonese urged that the Chersonese should not be
abandoned at such a crisis : a permanent force must
be maintained there. He defends the actions of
Diopeithes by an appeal to necessity. The Athenians
were in the habit of voting armaments for foreign
service without voting them supplies ; consequently
the generals had to supply themselves.
' All the generals who have ever sailed from Athens take
money from Chios, Erythrae, or from any other Asiatic
city they can. Those who have one or two ships take less ;
those with a larger force take more. Those who give,
whether in large or small amounts, are not so mad as to
give them for nothing ; they are purchasing protection for
merchants sailing from their ports, immunity from ravages,
safe convoy for their own ships and other such advantages.
They will tell you that they give '* Benevolences," which is
the term applied to these extortions.
' Now in the present case, since Diopeithes has an army,
it is obvious that all these people will give him money.
Since he got nothing from you, and has no private means to
pay his soldiers with, where else do you imagine he can get
money to keep them ? Will it fall from the skies ? Un-
fortunately, no. He has to live from day to day on what
he can collect and beg and borrow. ' ^
In addition to including a plan of campaign, the
speech contains, as many of the orations do, a frank
1 Chers., §§ 24-26.
216 THE GREEK ORATORS
statement of the position of affairs, and the usual in-
vectives against Athenian apathy. The concluding
section, however, contains a more solemn warning than
is usual, showing that Demosthenes almost despairs of
success.
* If you grasp the situation as I have indicated, and
cease to make light of everything, it may be, it may be that
even now our affairs may take a favourable turn ; but if
you continue to sit still and confine your enthusiasm to
expressions of applause and votes of approval, but shirk
the issue when any action is required of you, I cannot
conceive of any eloquence which, without performance of
your duty, can guide our State to safety. ' ^
^ The Third Philippic was dehvered in the same year
(341 B.C.). The situation is in all essentials the same.
Demosthenes again demands that help should be sent
to the Chersonese and the safety of Byzantium assured ;
but he does not enlarge on these points, which have
been treated by previous speakers. ^ ' We must help
them, it is true, and take care that no harm befalls them ;
but our deliberations must be about the great danger
which now threatens the whole of Greece.' ^ It is
this breadth of view which distinguishes the Third
y^ V Philippic, and makes it the greatest of all the public
' harangues.
In the Chersonese Demosthenes had suggested the
dispatch of numerous embassies ; he now enlarges on
this topic ; the interests of Athens must be identified
with those of all Greece, and all States must be made
I to realize this. Philip's designs are against Greek
liberty as a whole ; Athens must arm and put herself
at the head of a great league in the struggle for freedom.
M 77- ' § 19- ' § 20.
DEMOSTHENES 217
' I pass over Olynthus, Methone, and Apollonia, and
thirty-two cities in the Thracian district, all of which he has
so brutally destroyed that it is hard for a visitor to say
whether they were ever inhabited. I am silent about the
destruction of a great nation, the Phocians. But how fares
Thessaly ? Has he not deprived the cities of their govern-
ments, and established tetrarchies, in order that they may
be enslaved, not only city by city, but tribe by tribe ?
Are not the cities of Euboea now ruled by tyrants, though
that island is close on the borders of Thebes and Athens ?
Does he not expressly state in his letters " I am at peace
with those who will obey me " ? And his actions corro-
borate his words. He has started for the Hellespont ;
before that he visited Ambracia ; he holds in the Pelopon-
nese the important city of EUs ; only the other day he made
plots against Megara. Neither Greece nor the countries'
beyond it can contain his ambition.' ^
This short extract is a fair example of Demosthenes*
vigorous use of historical argun^ent, but it can give
little idea of the speech as a whole. r It abounds, indeed,
in enumerations of recent events bearing on the case,
and in contrasts between the present and the past.
This running appeal to example to a great extent
takes the place of reasoned argument, but the effect of
the whole, with its combined appeals to feeling and
reason, is convincingly strong. H
The orator himself must have attached great im-
portance to this speech as an exposition of his policy,
for he appears to have published two recensions of itr^
Both are preserved in different families of MSS. The
shorter text contained in S (Parisinus) and L {Lauren-
tianus) omits many phrases and even whole passages
which occur in the other group. It is beheved that the
1 §§ 26-27.
2i8 THE GREEK ORATORS
shorter is the final form in which Demosthenes wished
to preserve the speech.*
)r The Fourth Philippic contains the suggestion that
• - I Athens should make overtures to the Persian king for
' help against Phihp. The speech is probably a forgery,
but one of a peculiar kind. About a third of the text
consists of passages taken directly from the speech
On the Chersonese, and one division (§§ 35-45) is in
favour of a distribution of the Theoric Fund, which is
quite opposed to the policy of the Olynthiacs and the
Chersonese speech. On the other hand, some passages
are in a style and tone quite worthy of Demosthenes,
and consistent with his views. There can be little
doubt that we have here a compilation from actual
speeches of Demosthenes, expanded by a certain
amount of rhetorical invention. The * answer to
Phihp's letter ' and the speech irepl o-vvrd^eco^ are,
on the other hand, simple forgeries. This concludes
• the list of the Philippic speeches.
\- Y ^^^ record of Demosthenes' pubhc speeches ceases
with the Third Philippic, at the moment when his
eloquence had reached its greatest height. The great
speeches belong to the years of opposition ; now, after
1 The subject is admirably discussed by M. Weil {Les Harangues
de Ddmosihine (2nie 6d.), pp. 312-316). His axguments should be
carefully read by those interested in the subject. I quote only his
conclusions : ' Nous avons dej4 vu que plusieurs passages, qui
manquent dans S et L, ne pouvaient guere emaner que de Demo-
sth^ne lui-meme ' (p. 314). ' Le resultat de cet examen, c'est que
nous nous trouvons en presence de deux textes egalement autoris6s,
et que les additions et les modifications qui distinguent I'un de
I'autre doivent etre attribuees a I'orateur lui-meme . . .' (p. 315)-
These conclusions are adopted by Blass (Ati. Bered., 1893) and
Sandys (1900), who, however, considers that the shorter version
was the orator's first draft. Butcher {Demosthenes , 3rd ed., 191 1)
considers that the shorter text represents ' the maturer correction
of the orator.'
DEMOSTHENES 219
eleven years of combat, he had estabhshed himself
as chief leader of the assembly. He spoke, no doubt,
frequently and impressively, but, engaged in im-
portant administrative work, he had no leisure or need^
for writing.
The years 340-338 B.C. were a time of vigorous re-
vival for Athens. For a short but brilliant period it ^
seemed that the city-state might emerge triumphant
from the struggle against monarchy. Enthusiasm
inspired the patriotic party to noble efforts. Euboea
was removed from Philip's influence, and Athens in-
augurated a new league, including Acarnania, Achaea,
Corcyra, Corinth, Euboea, and Megara. Philip himself
suffered a check before Byzantium, which had ap-.
pealed to Athens for help, and had not called in vain. }'
In internal affairs, a new trierarchic law not only
increased the efficiency of the fleet, but abolished a
great social grievance by making the burden of trier-
archy fall on all classes in just proportion to their
means, whereas hitherto the poorer citizens had
suffered unduly. A still greater reform was the exe-
cution of the project, so long cherished, for applying
the Theoric Fund to the expenses of war (339 B.C.).
In 338 B.C. Lycurgus was appointed to the Ministry of ^
Finance, an office which he was to fill with exceptional
efficiency for twelve years to come.
But PhiHp held many strings, and was most dan-
gerous when he seemed to turn his back on his enemies.
Unsuccessful on the Hellespont, he withdrew his fleet
and undertook an expedition by land against a Scythian
prince who had offended him. This journey had no
direct relation to his greater designs, and Athens was
pleased to think that he might be defeated or even
220 THE GREEK ORATORS
killed. He was, indeed, wounded, but he returned to
Macedonia in 339 B.C., having accomplished what was
probably his chief object, to restore the confidence of
his soldiers after their reverses in recent encounters
with the Greeks.
Meanwhile events in Greece, which perhaps were
partly directed by his influence, pursued a course
favourable to his plans.
In 340 B.C. two enemies of Demosthenes, Midias and
Aeschines, represented Athens as pylagorae at the
Amphictyonic Council. Aeschines describes how, ap-
parently from no political motive but for the satis-
faction of a personal grudge, he himself inflamed the
passions of the Amphictyons to the point of declaring
a sacred war against the Locrians of Amphissa. Any
war between Greeks was to PhiHp's advantage. The
Amphictyonic War was carried on in a dilatory way,
and in the autumn of 339 B.C. the Council, still under
the influence of Aeschines, nominated Philip to carry
the affair to a conclusion. The king had recovered
quickly from his wound, and eagerly embraced the
sacred mission which allowed him to pass through
Thessaly and Thermopylae unmolested. On reaching
Elatea, once the principal town of Phocis, but now
desolate, he halted and began to put the place in a
state of defence. The news was received at Athens
with great consternation, as Demosthenes vividly
describes.^ Aji assembly was hastily summoned, and
Demosthenes explained the full import of this action.
It was a threat to Athens and Thebes alike. All the
masterly eloquence of the great statesman was exerted
to the utmost of his powers to induce Athens to forget
1 de Cor., §§ 169-170.
DEMOSTHENES z2T
long-standing enmities and offer to Thebes the help of --^
her entire fighting force freely and unconditionally. It
was probably the greatest triumph of eloquence ever \
known that Demosthenes was successful in his plea. J
War was inevitable sooner or later, and it is greatly
to his credit that he brought about the Theban alliance,
though it ended disastrously for all the Greeks con-
cerned in the battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.).
Henceforward the influence of Athens on external
affairs was strictly limited, though she retained her
independence, for Philip was a generous foe.^ Demo-
sthenes busied himself with internal matters ; to him
was committed the repair of the fortifications, to the
expense of which he gave a contribution of 100 minae.
For this act Ctesiphon proposed in 337 B.C. that he
should be rewarded with a gold crown. Aeschines
indicted Ctesiphon for an illegal motion, and the famous
case of The Crown, which produced great speeches from ^\
both the rivals, was the result. The case, however,
was not heard till six years later,
r In 336 B.C. Phihp was murdered. Demosthenes set
the example of rejoicing by appearing in public
crowned with flowers, though he was in mourning for "^
his daughter at the time. The great hopes which the
city-states had entertained were dashed to the ground
by the energy of Alexander, who, though only twenty |^
years old, proved himself an even greater general and
statesman than his father.
V Thebes was induced to revolt by Demosthenes, who
was supported by Persian gold, but Alexander crushed
^ Philip seems to have had a genuine admiration for Athens,
and always treated her with extraordinary consideration. For a
full appreciation of this attitude see Hogarth, Philip and Alexander.
222 THE GREEK ORATORS
"^^ and destroyed Thebes before help could reach it, and
sent an ultimatum to Athens. He demanded the
^' surrender of Demosthenes, Lycurgus, and eight other
orators of their party. They were saved, it appears,
by the intervention of Demades.^
Alexander departed for Asia, and Athenian states-
men were left to quarrel about the politics of their city.
It was now that the great case in which Demosthenes
and Aeschines were concerned came up for trial.
The matter nominally in dispute was only a pretext ;
it was really a question of reviewing and passing judg-
ment on the pohtical Hfe of the two great antagonists
for the last twenty years.
The charges of illegality brought against Ctesiphon
were three : (i) That the decree, falsely asserting that
Demosthenes had done good service to the State, in-
volved the insertion of a lie into the public records.
(2) That it was' illegal to crown an official who, like
Demosthenes, was still subject to audit. (3) That
proclamation of the crowning in the theatre was illegal.
On (2) and (3), the technical points, the prosecutor
had a strong case, but the first section was the only one
of real importance, since the process was really aimed
at Demosthenes. The main part of the speech of
Aeschines against Ctesiphon is accordingly devoted
^"^ to an indictment of the public life of Demosthenes.
— " Four periods are taken : (i) From the war about
Amphipolis to the peace of Philocrates (357-346 B.C.).
(2) The years of peace (346-340 B.C.). (3) The
ministry of Demosthenes (340-33S B.C.). (4) The
years after Chaeronea (33^-33^ B.C.).
The reply of Demosthenes [de Corona) is mainly con-
1 Plut., Dem., ch. xxiii.
DEMOSTHENES , 223
cemed with a defence of his own pohc}^ the technical
points on which the issue nominally depended being
kept very much in the background. It is remarkable
that in dealing with the early years he makes no
attempt to take credit for the great speeches by which
in that time he attempted to influence his country —
the First Philippic and the three Olynthiacs. He dis-
cusses chiefly, the peace negotiations. He speaks more
fully of the second period, and lays the greatest stress
on the third — the years during which he was the ac-
knowledged leader of the people, so that an eulogy of
the national policy must involve a tribute to his own
patriotism. Only short allusions are made to the last
period, the years since the battle of Chaeronea.
The order is not chronological, and the structure is
not apparently systematic ; nevertheless the de Corona
is the greatest of all Athenian speeches.
The speech cannot be represented by extracts ; it
must be read as a whole to be appreciated. All that a
summary can do is to draw attention to the peculiarities
of structure, which are possibly due in some measure
to the length of the speech and the variety of the sub-
jects which have to be treated : ^
1. §§ 1-8. The conventional exordium, in this case
both introduced and finished by a solemn
prayer.
2. §§ 9-52. Refutation of the calumnies uttered by
Aeschines. This section consists chiefly of
Demosthenes' own version of the negotiations
for the peace of 346 B.C., showing that Aeschines
and his associates were really guilty of treason
in their dealings with Philip.
1 See also infra, p. 253, note i, and p. 254.
224 THE GREEK ORATORS
3- §§ 53-125. Defence of Ctesiphon — Demosthenes
undertakes to prove (a) that he deserved to
receive a crown, (b) that on the legal point
Ctesiphon is not to blame, {a) He summarizes
the condition of Greece during the years of
peace, and immediately after it records his own
public services and justifies his policy, {b) He
examines the question of legality, and proves
that Ctesiphon is on the right side of the law.
4. §§ 126-159. Invective against Aeschines. This
might be called a pseudo-epilogue, but is really
only an interlude. It deals with (a) the birth
and life of his rival, and {b) in particular, his
action which kindled an Amphictyonic war. *
5. §§ 160-251. Demosthenes continues the dis-
cussion of his past policy, in regard to the
Theban alliance and the last war with Philip.
6. §§ 252-324. An epilogue of exceptional length,
mainly devoted to a comparison between
Demosthenes and Aeschines. The speaker
closely identifies himself with the city, whose
policy he has shaped; so that in attacking
him, Aeschines attacks Athens. The speech
ends, as it began, with a prayer.
§3
For the next few years Demosthenes probably spent
some of his time in composing private speeches for
others, though the extant speeches of this period are
mostly of doubtful authenticity. He also remained
as a prominent figure in Athenian pohtics. He had
not changed his views, but he seems to have been
deposed from the leadership of the patriotic party by
DEMOSTHENES 225
others whose patriotism was of a more violent type than
his, so that he must be now counted as a moderate in
opinion. It may have been this position which brought
him into danger in 324 B.C. *^
Harpalus, who had been left as Alexander's governor
at Babylon, on receipt of a rumour of his master's
death in India, made off with the royal treasure, and,
accompanied by a force of six thousand men, took ship
and sailed for Greece. He appeared off Piraeus, and
the fervid patriots proposed that Athens should wel-
come him and use his treasure and his men to help
them in a revolt.
Demosthenes opposed an open breach with Alex-,
ander, and on his motion admission was refused to
the flotilla. Harpalus came a second time without his
army, and was admitted. Close on his heels came
messengers from Alexander to demand his surrender,
but this was resisted by Demosthenes and Phocion.
On the motion of Demosthenes it was decided to tem-
porize ; Harpalus was to be treated as a prisoner, and
the treasure deposited in the Parthenon. The amount
of the treasure was declared by Harpalus as 720
talents, but it soon became known that only 350
talents had been lodged in the Acropolis. Harpalus
in the meantime had escaped from prison and dis-
appeared, and suspicion was roused against all who
had had any kind of dealings with him. To allay the
public excitement Demosthenes proposed that the
Council of the Areopagus should investigate the mystery
of the lost talents. Six months later the Council gave
its report, issuing a list of nine pubHc men whom it
declared guilty of receiving part of the lost money.
The name of Demosthenes himself headed the list ; he
p
226 THE GREEK ORATORS
was charged with having received twenty talents for
helping Harpalus to escape. This declaration did not
constitute a judicial sentence, but in consequence of
it prosecutions were instituted, ten public prosecutors
"u were appointed, and Demosthenes was found guilty.
He was condemned to pay a fine of fifty talents, and
being imable to raise the money he was cast into
prison. He soon escaped, and fled first to Aegina and
then to Troezen, where, according to Plutarch, he sat
daily by the sea, watching with sad eyes the distant
shores of Attica.
The whole affair is obscure ; we do not know how
Demosthenes defended himself, but we possess two of
^A the speeches for the prosecution, by Hyperides and
■ Dinarchus. Neither is explicit. The report of the
Areopagus was held to have estabhshed the facts, so
that no further evidence was required ; it was the
business of the court only to interpret motives and
decide the degree of each defendant's guilt.
Hyperides ^ afiirms that Demosthenes began by ad-
mitting the receipt of the money ; but he afterwards
denied it, declaring that he was ready to suffer death
if it could be proved that he had received it.^ It was
certainly Demosthenes who proposed that the Areo-
pagus should investigate the affair.
Two details in the case give rise to perplexity : the
fine inflicted — two and a half times the amount in-
volved— was fight, considering that the law demanded
ten-fold restitution ; secondly, it is difficult to see
when Demosthenes can have received the money.
Harpalus could not pay him at the time of his escape,
* Hyp., Against Dem., fr. 3, col. xiii.
* Dinarchus, Against Dem., § i.
DEMOSTHENES 227
or indeed at any time subsequent to his arrest, for he
did not take the money to prison with him. It seems
improbable that the money should have been paid
earlier, for Demosthenes was acting against Harpalus
all the time. Professor Butcher supposed that pay-
ment might have been made when Demosthenes re-
sisted the surrender of Harpalus to Alexander. ^
Two theories have been proposed with a view to the
complete or partial exculpation of the orator — one,
that he was absolutely innocent, but became the victim
of a coinbination of his political enemies, the extreme
patriots, who were dissatisfied with his moderate policy,
and his ancient foes the Macedonian party. The other
view is that he received the money and spent it, or in-
tended to spend it, on secret service of the kind on
which every State spends money, though it is generally
impossible to give a detailed account of such expenses.
Even if he could not prove such a use, the offence of
receiving bribes was a venial one, as even his prosecutor
Hyperides admits, if they were not received against
the interests of the State. In Demosthenes' favour
we have the late evidence of Pausanias, who affirms
that an agent of Harpalus, when examined by Alex-
ander with regard to this affair, divulged a list of names
which did not contain that of Demosthenes.
A minor charge of briberj^ is brought by Dinarchus,
who asserts that Demosthenes received 300 talents
from the Great King to save Thebes in 335 B.C., but
sacrificed Thebes to his own avarice because he
wished to keep ten talents which had been pro-
mised to the Arcadians for their assistance. The story
is ridiculous.
1 Butcher, Dem., pp. 124-127.
228 THE GREEK ORATORS
In 323 B.C. Alexander died ; the hope of freedom
^revived, and Demosthenes started at once on a tour of
the Peloponnese to urge on the cities the need of joint
action. He was reconciled with the party of Hyperides
and recalled from exile. He was fetched home in a
X trireme, and a procession escorted him from the har-
bour to the city. By a straining of the law, the public
paid his fine. The Lamian war opened successfully
under Leosthenes, but at the battle of Crannon Anti-
pater crushed the Greek forces. Athens was forced
^ to receive a Macedonian garrison, to lose her demo-
cratic constitution, and to give up her leaders to the
conqueror's vengeance. Demades carried a decree
for the death of Demosthenes and Hyperides. Demo-
sthenes had already escaped and taken sanctuary in the
temple of Posidon on the island of Calauria. Here he
was pursued by an agent of Antipater, one Archias,
known as the exile-hunter, who had been an actor.
This man tried to entice him forth by generous promises,
but Demosthenes answered, ' Your acting never carried
' conviction, and your promises are equally uncon-
vincing.' Archias then resorted to threats, but was
met by the calm retort, * Now you speak like a Mace-
donian oracle ; you were only acting before ; only
wait a little, so that I may write a few lines home.'
^" While pretending to write he sucked poison from the
end of his pen, and then let his head sink on his hands,
as if in thought. When Archias approached again he
looked him in the face and said, ' It is time for you to
play the part of Creon, and cast out this body un-
buried. Now, adored Posidon, I leave thy precinct
while yet aUve; but Antipater and his Macedonians
have left not even thy shrine undefiled.' He essayed
DEMOSTHENES 229
to walk out, but fell and died upon the steps of the
altar. ^
Lucian, in his Encomium of Demosthenes, has given
a fanciful account of Antipater receiving the news from
Archias ; these are the concluding words :
* So he is gone, either to live with the heroes in the Isles
of the Blest or along the path of those souls that cUmb to
Heaven, to be an attendant spirit on Zeus the giver of
Freedom ; but his body we will send to Athens, as a nobler
memorial for that land than are the bodies of those who
fell at Marathon.' 2
. "* § 4. Literary Reputation
\ The verdict of antiquity, which has generally been
accepted in modem times, ranked Demosthenes as the
greatest of orators. In his own age he had rivals :
Aeschines, as we have seen already, is in many respects
worthy of comparison with him ; of his other contem-
poraries Phocion was impressive by his dignity, sin-.,
cerity, and brevity — ' he could say more in fewer
words ' ; the vigorous extemporizations of Demades
were sometimes more elective than the polished
subtleties of Demosthenes ; Aeschines claims to prefer
the speaking of Leodamas of Achamae, but the tone
in which he says so is almost apologetic, and the
laboured criticism to which Aeschines constantly sub-
jects his rival practically takes it for granted that the
latter was reckoned the foremost speaker of the time.
Later Greek authorities, who are far enough removed
to see in proper perspective the orators of the pre-
Macedonian times, have an ungrudging admiration for
Demosthenes. The author of The Sublime saw in him
1 This account is taken from Plutarch {Dem., ch. xxix.).
* Lucian, Dem. Enc, § 50.
230 THE GREEK ORATORS
many faults, and admitted that in many details
Hyperides excelled him.^ Nevertheless he finds in
Demosthenes certain divine gifts which put him apart
from the others in a class by himself ; he surpasses the
t' orators of all generations ; his thunders and lightnings
\ shake down and scorch up all opposition ; it is im-
possible to face his dazzling brilliancy without flinching.
But Hyperides never made anybody tremble.
In later times we find Demosthenes styled ' The
Orator,' just as Homer is * The Poet.' Lucian, whose
literary appreciations are always worthy of attention,
wrote an Encomium of Demosthenes, containing an
imaginary dialogue, in which Antipater is the chief
speaker. He pays a generous tribute to his dead
enemy, who * woke his compatriots from their drugged
sleep * ; 2 the Philippics are compared to battering-
rams and catapults, and Philip is reported to have
^rejoiced that Demosthenes was never elected general,
for the orator's speeches shook the king's throne, and
his actions, if he had been given the opportunity, would
have overturned it.
Of Roman critics, Cicero in many passages in the
Brutus and Orator expresses extreme admiration for
the excellence of Demosthenes in every style of oratory ;
he regards him as far outstripping all others, though
failing in some details to attain perfection. Quin-
tilian's praise is discriminating but sincere ; in fact we
may say that the Greek and Roman worlds were prac-
tically unanimous about the orator's merits. ~^
It is difficult to take a general view of the style of
Demosthenes, from the mere fact that it is extremely
1 de Sublimi, ch. xxxiv.
^ § 3^> olop eK fxapdpaydpov KadeiL^SovTas.
DEMOSTHENES 231
varied ; the three classes of speeches — the forensic
speeches in private and pubhc suits, and the pubhc
harangues addressed to the assembly, all have their
particular features : nevertheless there are certain
characteristics which may be distinguished in all
classes.
First of these is his great care in composition.
Isocrates is known to have spent yeSfs in polishing the
essays which he intended as permanent contributions
to the science of politics ; Plato wrote and erased and
wrote again before he was satisfied with the form in
which his philosophy was to be given to the world ;
y Demosthenes, without j^ears^ Ql.toil> could produce for
definite occasions speeches whose finished brilliancy
made them worthy to be ranked as great literature
quite apart from their merits as contributions to
practical policy. V . v . /A ; ^ . ^' v- x\>v
It is a well-known jest against him that his speeches
smelt of midnight oil, but he must have had a remark-
able natural fluency to be able to compose so many
speeches so well. It is quite possible, on the other
hand, that the speeches which survive are not alto-
gether in the form in which they were delivered. It
seems to have been a habit among orators of this time
to edit for publication their speeches delivered in
important cases, in order that a larger audience might
have an opportunity of reading a permanent record of
the speakers' views on political or legal questions which
had more than a transitory interest.
We have indirect evidence that Demosthenes was in
the habit of introducing corrections into his text.
Aeschines quotes and derides certain expressions,
mostly exaggerated metaphors, which do not occur in
.^
232 THE GREEK ORATORS
the speeches as extant to us, though some of them
evidently should, if the text had not been submitted
to a recension.^ We may note the remark of Erato-
sthenes 2 that while speaking he sometimes lost control
of himself, and talked like a man possessed, and that of
Demetrius of Phaleron, that on one occasion he offended
against good taste by quoting a metrical oath which
bears the stamp of comedy :
' By earth and fountains, rivulets and streams/ ^
This quotation is not to be found in any extant speech,
but it is noticeable that formulae of the kind, typically
represented by the familiar w 7^ kuI Oeol — * Ye
Earth and Gods ' — are commonly affected by Demo-
sthenes, as indeed they are to be found in his contem-
porary AescKines.
Evidently the Attic taste ,was undergoing a modi-
fication ; such expressions are foreign to the dignified
harmonies of Isocrates and of rare occurrence in the
restrained style of Lysias ; but they begin to appear
more frequently in Isaeus, whose style was the model
for the early speeches of Demosthenes. Certain other
expressions belonging to the popular speech, and pro-
bably avoided by Isocrates as being too colloquial, are
foimd in Demosthenes' public speeches — e.g. 6 Selva
and 0) rav.
Under the same heading must come the use of coarse
expressions and terms of personal abuse. In many
of the speeches relating to public law-suits Demo-
sthenes allows himself all the latitude which was
1 Aescl)., Ctes., §§ 72, 166 ; de Leg., § 21 ; Ctes., §§ 84, 209.
2 Plut., Dem., ch. ix., irapd^aKxov.
* ipdovariQvTa. Cf. Aristophanes, Clouds, 194 :
fxa yriv, fid vaylSas, fia ve(p^\ai, /id dlKTva.
DEMOSTHENES 233
sanctioned by the taste of his times. In the actual
use of abusive epithets — Orjpiov, Kardparo^, and the
Hke — he does not go beyond the common practice of
Aeschines, and is even outstripped by Dinarchus ; but
in the accumulation of offensive references to the sup-
posed private character of his pohtical opponents he
condescends to such excesses that we wonder how a-
decent audience can ever have tolerated him.^ Evi-
dently an Athenian audience loved vulgarity for its
own sake, apart from humour.
In the private speeches there is at times a certain
coarseiiess — ^inevitably, since police-court cases are
offen concerned with sordid details. Offensive actions
sometimes have to be described ; ^ but this is a very
different matter from the irrelevant introduction of
offensive matter.
In the speeches delivered before the ecclesia Demo-
sthenes set himself a higher ideal. Into questions of
pubHc policy, private animosities should not be allowed
to intrude, and throughout the Philippics and Olyn-
thiacs Demosthenes observes this rule. Under no stress
of excitement does he sink to personalities ; his political
opponents for the time being are not abused, not even
mentioned by name. The courtesies of debate are
fully and justly maintained.
^ Notably the caricatures of Aeschines' private Ufe and family
history in the de Corona, §§ 129-130, 260. Mr. Pickard-Cambridge
makes it clear that the habitual members of the law-courts would
be of a lower average socially than the ecclesia. The pay in either
case was not enough to attract any but the unemployed, but whereas
members of the leisured classes would have sufficient motives for
attending the ecclesia, and well-to-do business-men might sacrifice
valuable time unselfishly for the good of the State, there would be
little inducement to such people to endure the wearisome routine
of the law-courts (see Demosthenes, ch. iii.).
« E.g. Canon, § 4.
234 THE GREEK ORATORS
§ 5. Style and Composition
Though Demosthenes wrote in pure Attic Greek, it is
to Lysias and Isocrates rather than to him that Diony-
sius assigns praise for the most perfect purity of lan-
s^ guage. It is probable that Demosthenes was nearer
to the hving speech. Even in his dehberative speeches
he can use such famihar expressions as w rav, 6 Belva
and such expletives as vrj Ala, the frequent use of which
would have seemed to Isocrates to belong to the
vocabulary of Comedy. The epideictic style would
also have shunned such vigorous touches as Xayo) ^iov
If?/? — * you hved a hare's life,' or, to give the proper
equivalent, * a dog's life,' ^ or the famous kukcov TXta? —
* Twenty-four books of misery.' ^ Colloquial vigour is
apparent in some metaphorical uses of single words,
e.g. i(oKa KoX '^frvxpd — * stale and cold ' (applied to
crimes),^ irpoaijX&a-daL — * to be pinned down,' ^ or the
succession of crude metaphors in the account of how
Aristogiton, in prison, picked a quarrel with a new-
comer ; * he being newly caught and fresh, was getting
the better of Aristogiton, who had got into the net some
time ago and been long in pickle ; so finding himself
getting the worst of it, he ate off the man's nose.' ^
There is bold personification of abstractions in * Peace,
which has destroyed the walls of your allies and is now
building houses for your ambassadors,' ^ and such
phrases as redvaai rcS Seec tov<; tolovtov^; airoaToKov^
^ de Cor., § 263. 2 ^^ Falsa Leg., § 148.
3 Midias, § 91. * Ibid., § 105.
' On the other hand he often apologizes for metaphors by w^irep
or oXov — fjv Tovd^ dxnrep ifxirddiafxd rt r^ fl^i\lTnr(p though ifiirbSitTfin
is probably as natural a form of expression as our ' obstacle.'
« de Falsa Leg., § 275.
DEMOSTHENES 235
— * they are frightened to death of so and so/ are more ""'
vigorous than Hterary.^
Demosthenes seems to discard metaphor in his most
solemn moments. In a spirit of sarcasm he can use
such expressions as those quoted above about the
disorderly scene in prison, and in an outburst of indig-
nation he can speak of rival politicians as * Fiends, who
have mutilated the corpses of their fatherlands, and
made a birthday present of their liberty first to Philip,
and now again to Alexander ; who measure happiness
by their belly and their basest pleasures ' ; ^ but on
grave occasions, whether in narrative or in counsel, -^
he reverts to a simplicity equal to that of Lysias. The
plainness of the language in which he describes the
excitement caused by the news of Philip's occupation
of Elatea is proverbial ; ^ and the closing sentences of
the Third Philippic afford another good example :
* If everybody is going to sit still, hoping to get what he
wants, and seeking to do nothing for it himself, in the first
place he will never find anybody to do it for him, and
secondly, I am afraid that we shall be forced to do every-
thing that we do not want. This is what I tell you, this is
what I propose ; and I believe that if this is done our affairs
may even yet be set straight again. If anybody can offer
anything better, let him name it and urge it ; and what-
ever you decide, I pray to heaven it may be for the best.'
The simplicity of the language is only equalled by
the sobriety of tone. The simplest words, if properly
used, can produce a great effect, which is sometimes
heightened by repetition, a device which Demosthenes
^ I PhiL^ § 45 ; cf. Ttdvikvai rip <p6§(f Qri^aiovs, de Falsa Leg., § 8i.
* de Cor., § 296. * de Cor., § 169.
236 THE GREEK ORATORS
finds useful on occasion — dW ovk ea-rtv, ovk eariv
6iT(o^ rjfidpT€T6 — * But surely, surely you were not
wrong.' ^ We realize a slight raising of the voice as the
word comes in for the second time. Dinarchus, an
imitator of Demosthenes, copies him in the use of this
' figure/ but uses it too much and inappropriately.
In this, as in other details, his style is an unsuccessful
parody of the great orator.
Dionysius compares Demosthenes to several other
writers in turn. He finds passages, for instance, which
recall the style of Thucydides.^ He quotes the first
section from the Third Philippic, and by an ingenious
analysis shows the points of resemblance. The chief
characteristic noticed by the critic is that the writer
does not introduce his thoughts in any natural or con-
ventional sequence, but employs an affected order of
words which arrests the attention by its avoidance of
simplicity.
Thus, a parenthetical relative clause intrudes between
the subject and the verb of the chief relative clause,
while we are kept in long suspense as to what the verbs
are to be, both in relative clauses and in the main clause
itself. The peculiar effects which he notices cannot
be reproduced in a non-inflexional language such as
English.
At other times, especially in narrative, Demosthenes
emulates the lucidity of Lysias at his best. Dionysius
quotes with well-deserved approval the vivid present-
ment of the story on which the accusation against
Conon is based. As the speech gives us an excellent
picture of the camp hfe of an undiscipHned mihtia, it
will be worth while here to quote some extracts :
1 <U Cor., § 208. 2 de Thucyd., ch. 53.
DEMOSTHENES 237
' Two years ago, having been detailed for garrison-duty,
we went out to Panactum. Conon's sons occupied a tent
near us ; I wish it had been otherwise, for this was the
primary cause of our enmity and the collisions between us.
You shall hear how it arose. They used to diink every day
aird'Sll day long, begiiming immediately after breakfast,
and this custom they maintained all the time that we were
in garrison. My brothers and I, on the contrary, lived out
there just as we were in the habit of living at home. So
by the time which the rest of us had fixed for dinner, they
were invariably playing drunken tricks, first on our ser-
vants, and finally on ourselves. For because they said
that the servants sent the smoke in their faces while cook-
ing, or were uncivil to them, or what not, they used to beat
them and empty the slops over their heads . . . and in
every way behaved brutally and disgustingly. We saw
this and took offence, and first of all remonstrated with
them ; but as they jeered at us and would not stop, we all
went and reported the occurrence to the general — not I
alone, but the whole of the mess. He reprimanded them
severely, not only for their offensive behaviour to us, but
for their general conduct in camp ; however, they were
so far from stopping or feeHng any shame that, as soon as
it was dark that evening, they made a rush on us, and first
abused us and then beat me, and made such a disturbance
and uproar round the tent that the general and his staff
and some of the other soldiers came out, and prevented them
from doing us any serious harm, and us from retaliating
on their drunken violence. ' ^
Another passage quoted from the same speech gives
a companion picture of the defendant's behaviour in
civil life :
* When we met them, one of the party, whom I cannot
identify, fell upon Phanostratus and held him tight, while
1 Against Conon, §§ 3-5.
238 THE GREEK ORATORS
the defendant Conon and his son and the son of Andro-
menes fell upon me, and first stripped me, and then tripped
me up, and dashed me down in the mud. There they
jumped upon me and beat me, and so mishandled me that
they cut my lip right through, and closed up both my eyes.
They left me in such a weak state that I could neither get
up nor speak, and as I lay on the ground I heard them
uttering floods of abominable language. What they said
was vilely slanderous, and some of it I should shrink from
repeating, but I will mention one thing which is an example
of Conon's brutality, and proves that he was responsible
for the whole incident — he began to crow like a game-cock
after a victory, and the others told him to flap his arms
against his sides in triumph. After this I was carried home
naked by some passers-by, while the defendants made off
with my coat. ' ^
Dionysius observes that the ecclesia and the courts
were composed of mixed elements ; ^ not all were clever
and subtle in intellect ; the majority were farmers,
merchants, and artisans, who were more likely to be
pleased by simple speech ; anything of an unusual
flavour would turn their stomachs : a smaller number,
a mere fraction of the whole, were men of high educa-
tion, to whom you could not speak as you would to the
multitude ; and the orator could not afford to neglect
either section. He must therefore aim at satisfying
both, and consequently he should steer a middle course,
avoiding extremes in either direction.
In the opinion of Dionysius both Isocrates and Plato
I give good examples of this middle style, attaining a
U seeming simplicity intelligible to all, combined with a
" subtlety which could be appreciated only by the ex-
pert ; but Demosthenes surpassed them both in the
* Against Conon, §§ 8-9, » de Demos., ch. xv.
~A
DEMOSTHENES 239
perfection of this art. To prove his case he quotes
first the passage from The Peace which Isocrates him-
self selected for quotation, as a favourable example of
his own style, in the speech on the Antidosis. With
this extract a passage from the third Olynthiac is con-
trasted, greatly to the advantage of Demosthenes, who
is found to be nobler, more majestic, more forcible, and
to have avoided the frigidity of excessive refinement
with which Isocrates is charged.
The criticism professes to be based on an accumu-
lation of small details, but there is no doubt that
Dionysius depended, in the main, not upon analysis,
but upon subjective impressions. After enumerating
the points in which either of the writers excels or falls
short, he describes his own feelings :
' When I read a speech of Isocrates, I become sober and
serious, as if I were listening to solemn music ; but when I
take up a speech of Demosthenes, I am beside myself, I
am led this way and that, I am moved by one passion after
another : suspicion, distress, fear, contempt, hate, pity,
kindliness, anger, envy — passing successively through all
the passions which can obtain a mastery over the human
mind ; . . . and I have sometimes thought to myself, what
must have been the impression which he made on those
who were fortunate enough to hear him ? For where we,
who are so far removed in time, and in no way interested
in the actual events, are led away and overpowered, and
made to follow wherever the speech leads us, how must
the Athenians and other Greeks have been led by the
speaker himself when the cases in which he spoke had a
living interest and concerned them nearly ?...'*
Dionysius, as we know from many of his criticisms,
had a remarkably acute sense of style ; he had also a
^ Demos, f ch. xxii. ^
X-
240 THE GREEK ORATORS
strong imagination. In this same treatise he recounts
how the forms of the sentences themselves suggest to
him the tone in which the words were uttered, the very
gestures with which they were accompanied. ^
Though we modem students cannot expect to rival
him in these peculiar gifts, it is still possible for us to
sympathize with his feelings. We cannot fail, in read-
ing a speech like the Third Philippic, for instance, to
appreciate how fully Demosthenes reahzes the Platonic
ideal, expressed in the Gorgias, that rhetoric is the art
of persuasion. We need not pause to analyse the
means by which he attains his end ; he may resemble
Lysias at one moment in a simple piece of narrative,
at another he may be as involved and antithetical as
Thucydides, or even florid like Gorgias ; he can be a
very Proteus, as Dionysius says, in his changes of
form ; but in whatever shape he appears, naive, subtle,
pathetic, indignant, sarcastic, he is convincing. The
reason is simple : he has a single purpose always
present to his mind, namely, to make his audience
feel as he feels. Readers of Isocrates were expected,
while they followed the exposition of the subject-
matter, to regard the beauties of the form in which it
was expressed ; in Demosthenes there is no idea of such
display. A good speech was to him a successful speech,
not one which might be admired by critics as a piece
of hterature. It is only incidental that his speeches
have a literary quahty which ranks him among the
foremost writers of Attic prose ; as an orator he was
independent of this quahty.
1 Demos., chs. liii., liv. So Aeschines, after reading aloud some
extracts from Demosthenes, and observing their effect on his
hearers, exclaimed, * But what if you had heard the brute himself ? '
DEMOSTHENES 241
The strong practical sense of Demosthenes refused
to be confined by any theoretical rules of scholastic ^^
rhetoricians. He does not aspire to the complexity of
periods which makes the style of Isocrates monotonous
in spite of the writer's wonderful ingenuity. Long^
and short, complex and simple sentences, are used in
turn, and with no systematic order, so that we can-
not call any one kind characteristic; the form of
the sentence, like the language, is subordinate to its
purpose. 1
He was moderately careful in the avoidance of hiatus
between words, but in this matter he modified the rule
of Isocrates to suit the requirements of speech ; he ,
was guided by ear, not by eye ; thus we find that
hiatus is frequently omitted between the cola or sec-
tions of a period ; in fact any pause in the utter-
ance is enough to justify the non-elision of an
open vowel before the pause. Isocrates, on the con-
trary, usually avoids even the appearance of hiatus in
such cases.
There is one other formal rule of composition which
Demosthenes follows with some strictness ; this is the
avoidance of a succession of short syllables. It is ""'
notable that he very seldom admits a tribrach (three
short syllables) where a little care can avoid it, while
instances of more than three short vowels in sue- "vi
cession are very exceptional.^ An unusual order of
1 de Chersoneso, §§ 69-71, gives an example of a sentence of about
twenty-seven lines in the Teubner edition.
2 TimocrateSy § 217, oj55' otiovv Av 60e\oi etr) is a case in point —
{y ^ >^\j ) ; in this instance no other arrangement of the words
was possible ; ou5' otioGv div eirj cl^eXos would give a harsh hiatus*
Cf. also First Olynthiac, § 27, iiKlKa 7' iarl rd 5ui<pop' ivddd' 1) Vet
rroXefjLetv, where five shorts appear in sequence.
Q
242 THE GREEK ORATORS
words may often be explained by reference to this
practice.^
We know from Aristotle and other critics that earlier
writers of artistic prose, from Thrasymachus onwards,
had paid some attention to the metrical form of words
and certain combinations of long and short syllables.
Thrasymachus in particular studied the use of the
"^^- paeonius (- ^ ^^ ^ or v> ^ v> -) at the beginning and end of
a sentence. 2
The effect of increasing the number of short syllables,
whether in verse or prose, is to make the movement
of the line or period more rapid. The frequent use of
"^^ tribrachs by Euripides constantly produces this im-
pression, and an extreme case is the structure of the
Galliambic metre, as seen, for instance, in the Attis of
Catullus.^ Conversely the multiphcation of long syl-
lables makes the movement slow, and produces an
effect of solemnity.*
v^ Demosthenes seems to have been the first prose-
writer to pay attention to the avoidance of the tri-
^.^ brach; Plato seems to have consciously preferred a
succession of short syllables where it was possible.
The difference between the two points of view is pro-
bably this — that Plato aimed at reproducing the
natural rapidity of conversation, Demosthenes aimed
^ E.g. de Falsa Leg., § ii, Stc^tcbv TjKiKa T7)p"EX\aSa iraaav^ ovxl Tds
iSias adiKOvai fidvov Trarpldas oi dojpoSoKovPTes. The position of ddiKoOai
is peculiar, but the sentence already contains a preponderance of
short syllables, and any other arrangement would give more of them
together : e.g. the more natural orders rds iSiai iibvov TarplSas ddtKodai,
(^\^y^^^ — ^^ or iSLas fxbvov dStKovcfi irarpidas (v^w — ^v^^v^ — v>^v> vy).
2 Arist., Rhet., iii. 8. 4.
* Super alta vectus Attis celeri rate maria, etc. The ending with
five short syllables gives an impression of headlong speed.
* Cf. the ' spondaic ' hymn, ZeC Trdj'rwi' dpxd, iravrwy iiyr}Top, ZeO
croi fffrifdu ravray vjxvuv dpxdv.
\
DEMOSTHENES 243
at a more solemn and dignified style appropriate to /
impressive utterance before a large assembly.
This is the only metrical rule which Demosthenes ''^
ever observed, and one of the soundest of modem
critics believes that even this observance was instinc-
tive rather than conscious.^ He never affected any
metrical formula for the end of sentences comparable
to Cicero's famous esse videatur, or the double trochee
( — v^ — s^) at the beginning of a sentence, approved by
later writers. An examination shows that he has an
almost infinite variety both in the opening and the close
of his sentences. He seems never to follow any
mechanical system.
Much labour has been expended, especially in Ger-
many, on the analysis of the rhythmical element in
Demosthenes' style. There is no doubt that many
orators, from Gorgias onwards, laboured to produce
approximate correspondence between parallel or con-
trasted sections of their periods. In some cases we
find an equal number of syllables in two clauses, and
even a more or less complete rhythmical correspond-
ence. Such devices serve to emphasize the peculiar
figures of speech in which Gorgias deUghted, and may
have been appropriate to the class of oratory intended
primarily for display, but it is hard to believe that
such elaboration was ever consciously carried through
a long forensic speech.
The appendix to the third volume of Blass' Attic -^
oratory is a monumental piece of work. It consists of
an analysis of the first seventeen sections of the de
Corona, and the whole of the First Olynthiac and Third
Philippic speeches, and conveys the impression that
^ Croiset, Hist, de la Litt. Gr., tome iv., pp. 552-553.
244 THE GREEK ORATORS
this Demosthenic prose may be scamied with almost
as much certainty as a comparatively simple form of
composition like a Pindaric ode. It is hard to pro-
nounce on such a matter without a very long and careful
study of this difficult subject ; but the theory of rhyth-
mical correspondence seems to have been worked out
far too minutely. In many cases emendation is re-
quired ; we have to divide words in the middle, and
clauses are split up in an arbitrary and unnatural way.
I am far from beheving that analysis can justifiably be
carried to this extent ; it is more reasonable to suppose
that Demosthenes had a naturally acute ear, and that
practice so developed his faculty that a certain rhythm
was natural to all his speech. I am not convinced that
all his effects were designed.^
§ 6. Rhetorical Devices
Isaeus, the teacher of Demosthenes, was a master of
reasoning and demonstration ; Demosthenes in his
earhest speeches shows strong traces of the influence of
Isaeus, but in his later work he has developed varied
gifts which enable him to surpass his master. Real-
izing the insufficiency, for a popular audience, of mere
reasoning, he reinforced his logic by adventitious aids,
appeahng in numerous indirect ways to feeling and
prejudice. One valuable method of awakening interest
was his striking use of paradox :
* On the question of resources of money at present at
our disposal, what I have to say will, I know, appear para-
doxical, but I must say it ; for I am confident that, con-
sidered in the proper light, my proposal will appear to be
the only true and right one. I tell you that we need not
raise the question of money at all : we have great resources
^ See ad hoc, Croiset, iv. 553. i.
DEMOSTHENES 245
which we may fairly and honourably use if we need them.
If we look for them now, we shall imagine that they never
will be at our disposal, so far shall we be from willingness to
dispose of them at present ; but if we let matters wait,
we shall have them. What, then, are these resources which
do not exist at present, but will be to hand later on ? It
looks like a riddle. I will explain. Consider this city of
ours as a whole. It contains almost as much money as all
other cities taken together ; but those individuals who
possess it are so apathetic that if all the orators tried to
terrify them by saying that the king is coming, that he is
near, that invasion is inevitable, and even if the orators
were reinforced by an equal number of soothsayers, they
would not only refuse to contribute ; they would refuse
even to declare or admit the possession of their wealth.
But suppose that the horrors which we now talk about
were actually reaHzed, they are none of them so foolish that
they would not readily offer and make contributions. . . .
So I tell you that we have money ready for the time of
urgent need, but not before.' ^
Similarly in the Third Olynthiac he rouses the curiosity
of the audience by propounding a riddle, of which,
after some suspense, he himself gives the answer.
The matter under discussion is the necessity of sending
help to Olynthus. There is, as usual, a difficulty
about money.
* " Very well," you may say ; "we have aU decided that
we must send help ; and send help we will ; but how are
we to do it ; tell me that ? " Now, Gentlemen, do not be
astoiiishgdJLl.what I say comes as a bUi'piiseTo most of youT
Appoint a legislative hoard. Instruct this board not to pass
any law (you have enough already), but to repeal the laws
which are injurious under present conditions. I refer to the
laws about the Theoric Fund.' ^
1 de Symmor., §§ 24-26. ' Third Olynthiac, §§ lo-ii.
246 THE GREEK ORATORS
This mention of the Festival Fund suggests some
reflections on the orator *s tenacity and perseverance.
He is not content to say once what he has to propose,
and leave his words to sink in by their own weight.
Like a careful lecturer he repeats his statement, em-
phasizing it in various ways, until he perceives that
his audience has really grasped its importance. The
walls which he is attacking will not fall flat at the sound
of the trumpet ; his persistent battering-rams must
make a breach, his catapults must drive the defenders
from their positions. Such is the meaning of Lucian's
comment in the words attributed to Philip.^
The speech On the Chersonese, for instance, may be
divided into three parts, dealing successively with the
treatment of Diopeithes, the supineness of Athens, and
the guilt of the partisans of Phihp ; but in all parts
we find emphatically stated the need for energetic
action. This is really the theme of the speech ; the
rest is important only in so far as it substantiates the
main thesis.
The extract last given ^ shows with what adroitness
he introduces dialogues, in which he questions or
answers an imaginary critic. This is a device fre-
quently employed with considerable effect. The fol-
lowing shows a rather different type :
' If Philip captures Ol5nithus, who will prevent him from
marching on us ? The Thebans ? It is an unpleasant
thing to say, but they will eagerly join him in the invasion.
Or the Phocians ? — ^when they cannot even protect their
own land, unless you help them. Can you think of any one
else? — "My dear fellow, he won't want to attack us."
It would indeed be the greatest surprise in the world if he
* Quoted above, p. 230. ' Supra, p. 245.
DEMOSTHENES 247
did not do it when he got the chance ; since even now he is
fool enough to declare his intentions/ ^
Narrative, too, can take the place of argument; a
recital of Philip's misdeeds during the last few years
may do far more to convince the Athenians of the
necessity for action than any argument about the case
of a particular ally who chances to be threatened at
the moment. 2
Demosthenes' knowledge of history was deep and
broad. The superiority of his attainments to those
of Aeschines is shown in the more philosophic use
which he makes of his appeals to precedent ; his
examples are apposite and not far-fetched ; he can
illuminate the present not only by references to ancient
facts, but by a keen insight into the spirit which
animated the men of old times. ^
The examples already quoted of rhetorical dialogue
with imaginary opponents will have given some idea
of his use of a sarcastic tone. Sarcasm thinly con-
cealed may at times run through a passage of consider-
able length, as in the anecdote which follows. We may
note in passing that he is usually sparing in the use of
anecdote, which is never employed without good reason.
Here it may be excused by the fact that it figures as an
historical precedent of a procedure which he ironically
recommends to his contemporaries.
1 First Olynthiac, §§ 25-26.
2 Chersonese, §§ 61-67. The recital of the present condition of
Phocis is a simple but impressive piece of argument by description :
' It was a terrible sight, Gentlemen, and a sad one ; when we
were lately on our way to Delphi we were compelled to see it all,
houses in ruins, walls demoUshed, the country empty of men of
military age ; only a few poor women and little children and old
men in pitiable state — words cannot describe the depth of the
misery in which they are now sunk ' {de Falsa Leg., § 65).
3 Cf. Third Olynthiac, §§ 24-26.
c<^^.^ 4o~^
248 THE GREEK ORATORS
Inveighing against the reckless procedure of the
Athenian poUticians, who propose laws for their own
benefit almost every month,^ he recounts the customs
of the Locrians, and, with an assumption of seriousness,
imphes a wish that similar restrictions could be im-
posed at Athens :
' I should like to tell you, Gentlemen, how legislation is
conducted among the Locrians. It will do yQ\L nn harm
to^have an example before you, espeaallythe example of
a weH-govemed State. There men are so convinced that
they ought to keep to the established laws and cherish their
traditions, and not legislate to suit their fancy, or to help
a criminal to escape, that any man who wishes to pass a
new law must have a rope round his neck while he proposes
it. If they think that the law is a good and useful one, the
proposer lives and goes on his way ; if not, they pull the
rope and there is an end of him. For they cannot bear to
pass new laws, but they rigorously observe the old ones.
We are told that only one new law has been enacted in
very many years. Whereas there was a law that if a man
knocked out another man's eye, he should submit to having
his own knocked out in return, and no monetary compen-
sation was provided, a certain man threatened his enemy,
who had already lost an eye, to knock out the one eye he
had left. The one-eyed man, alarmed by the threat, and
thinking that life would not be worth hving if it were put
into execution, ventured to propose a law that if a man
knocks out the eye of a man who has only one, he shall
submit to having both his own knocked out in return, so
that both may suffer alike. We are told that this is the
only law which the Locrians have passed in upwards of
two hundred years.' ^
This, however, occurs in a speech before the law-
* Viz., on every meeting of the ecdesia at which legislation was
possible.
2 Timocrates, §§ 139 sqq.
DEMOSTHENES 249
courts ; it is excellent in its place, but would have been
unsuitable to the more dignified and solemn style in
which he addresses the assembly. Equally unsuitable
to his pubHc harangues would be anything like the
virulent satire which he admits into the de Corona, the
vulgar personaUties of abuse and gross caricatures of
Aeschines and his antecedents. ^ For these the only
excuse is that, though meant maUciously, they are so
exaggerated as to be quite incredible. They may be
compared to Aristophanes' satire of Cleon in the
Knights, which was coarse enough, but cannot have
done Cleon any serious harm. Demosthenes indeed
becomes truly Aristophanic when he talks about
Aeschines* acting :
* When in the course of time you were relieved of these
duties, having yourself committed all the offences of which
you accuse others, I vow that your subsequent life did not
fall short of your earlier promise. You engaged yourself
to the players Simylus and Socrates, the " Bellowers," as
they were called, to play minor parts, and gathered a har-
vest of figs, grapes, and olives, like a fruiterer getting his
stock from other people's orchards ; and you made more
from this source than from your plays, which you played
in dead earnest at the risk of your lives ; for there was a
truceless and merciless war between you and the spectators,
from whom you received so many wounds that you natur-
ally mock at the cowardice of those who have never had
that great experience.' ^
He is generally described as deficient in wit, and he
seems in this point to have been inferior to Aeschines,
^ In particular de Corona, §§ 129-130, 258-262. Cf. supra,
p. 164.
- de Corona, §§ 261-262.
250 THE GREEK ORATORS
though on one or two occasions he could make a neat
repartee. 1 As Dionysius says :
* Not on all men is every gift bestowed.' ^
If, as his critic afhrms,^ he was in danger of turning the
laugh against himself, he had serious gifts which more
than compensated this deficiency.
It must not be supposed that he was entirely free
from sophistry. Like many good orators in good or
bad causes he laboured from time to time to make a
weak case appear strong, and in this effort was often
absolutely disingenuous. The whole of the de Corona
is an attempt to throw the judges off the scent by lead-
ing them on to false trails. It may be urged in his
defence that on this occasion he had justice really on
his side, but finding that Aeschines on legal ground
was occupying an impregnable position, he practically
threw over the discussion of legality and turned the
course of the trial towards different issues altogether.
In this case, admittedly, the technical points were
merely an excuse for the bringing of the case, and were
probably of Httle importance to the court. The trial
was reaUy concerned with the poHtical principles and
actions of the two great opponents, while Ctesiphon
was only a catspaw. But a study of other speeches
results in the discovery of many minor points in which,
accurately gauging the intelligence of his audience, he
has intentionally misled them. Thus, his own know-
ledge of history was profound ; but experience has
proved that the knowledge possessed by any audience
1 Vide supra, pp. 170, 177.
^ ov ydp TTws dfia ir6.vTa deol SSaau dvdpuTroKTi.
' de Sublimty ch. xxxiv.
DEMOSTHENES 251
of the history of its own generation is likely to be
sketchy and inaccurate. Events have not settled
down into their proper perspective ; we must rely
either on our own memories, which may be distorted
by prejudice, or on the statements of historians who
stand too near in time to be able to get a fair view.
This gives the pohtician his opportunity of so grouping
or misrepresenting facts as to give a wrong impression.
Instances of such bad faith on the part of Demo-
sthenes are probably numerous, even if unimportant.
In the speech on the Embassy ^ he asserts that
Aeschines, far from opposing Phihp's pretension to be
recognized as an Amphictyon, was the only man who
spoke in favour of it ; yet Demosthenes himself had
counselled submission. In the speech Against Timo-
crates there are obvious exaggerations to the detriment
of the defendant. Timocrates had proposed that cer-
tain debtors should be given time to pay their debts ;
Demosthenes asserts that he restored them to their full
civic rights without payment. ^ Towards the end of
the speech a statement is made which conflicts with
one on the same subject in the exordium.^
But such rhetorical devices are only trivial faults
to which most politicians are liable.* The orator him-
1 de Falsa Leg., §§ 112-113, with Weil's note. 2 § ^q.
^ §§ 9» 196. Weil remarks truly, * Les orateurs ne se piquent
pas d'etre exacts : ils usent largement de I'hyperbole mensongdre.'
* Mr, Pickard-Cambridge {Demos., p. 80) observes : ' Men who
are assembled in a crowd do not think. . . . The orator has often
to use arguments which no logic can defend, and to employ methods
of persuasion upon a crowd which he would be ashamed to use
if he were deaUng with a personal friend.' This is partly true, but
should be accepted with reservations. The arguments in the
harangues of Demosthenes will generally bear the light, and the
public speeches by distinguished statesmen of this country on the
causes of the Great War have frequently appealed to the higher
nature of their audiences.
252 THE GREEK ORATORS
self would probably feel that even more doubtful
actions were justifiable for the sake of the cause which
he championed. We must remember that all the
really important cases in which he took part had their
origin on political grounds, and during his pubhc career
he never relaxed his efforts for the maintenance of
those principles which he expoimded in his public
harangues. Until the end he had hopes for Greek
freedom, freedom for Athens, not based on any un-
worthy compromise, but dependent on a new birth of
the old Athenian spirit. The regeneration which he
pictured would be due to a revival of the spirit of per-
sonal self-sacrifice. Every man must be made to
reahze first that the city had a glorious mission, being
destined to fulfil an ideal of liberty based on principles
of justice ; secondly that, to attain this end, each must
live not for himself or his party but wholly for the city.
It is the consciousness that Demosthenes has these
enlightened ideas always present in his mind which
makes us set him apart from other orators. Lycurgus,
a second-rate orator, becomes impressive through his
sincerity and incorruptibihty ; Demosthenes, great
among orators, stands out from the crowd still more
eminently by the nobleness of his aspirations.
§ 7. Structure of Speeches
The structure of the speeches will give us a last
example of the versatility of the composer and his
freedom from conventional form.
We find, indeed, that he regularly has some kind of
exordium and epilogue, but in the arrangement of other
divisions of the speech he allows himself perfect free-
dom ; we cannot reckon on finding a statement of the
DEMOSTHENES 253
case in one place, followed regularly by evidence, by
refutation of the opponent's arguments, and so forth.
All elements may be interspersed, since he marshals
his arguments not in chronological nor even, necessarily,
in logical order, but in such an arrangement as seems
to him most decisive. He is bound by no conventional
rules of warfare, and may leave his flanks unprotected
while he delivers a crushing attack on the centre. In
some cases it is almost impossible to make regular
divisions by technical rule ; thus, in the de Corona
there is matter for dispute as to where the epilogue
really begins. ^
The majority of the speeches actually end, according
to the Attic convention which governed both Tragedy
and Oratory, in a few sentences of moderate tone con-
trasting with the previous excitement ; a calm succeeds
to the storm of passions. In the forensic speeches
there is usually at the very end some appeal for a just
verdict, or a statement of the speaker's conviction that
the case may now be safely left to the court's decision ;
thus the Leptines ends with a simphcity worthy of
Lysias :
* I cannot see that 1 need say any more ; for I conceive
there is no point on which you are not sufficiently in-
structed ' ; the Midias more solemnly, * On account of all
that I have laid before you, and particularly to show respect
to the god whose festival Midias is proved to have profaned,
1 There is a pseudo-epilogue, §§ 126-159, devoted chiefly to the
birth and Hfe of Aeschines. Here the speech might have ended,
but the orator reverts in § 160 to an examination and defence of
his own political life. The real epilogue is contained in §§ 252-324.
The disorder is undoubtedly due in part to the pecuUar facts of
the case, namely, that the issues of the trial were much wider than
might have appeared. Demosthenes is not so much concerned
to prove the legality of Ctesiphon's decree as to offer an apologia
of his own political conduct during many years.
254 THE GREEK ORATORS
punish him by rendering a verdict in accordance with piety
and justice.*
In the de Falsa Legatione there is more personal feel-
ing : * You must not let him go, but make his punish-
ment an example to all Athens and all Greece/ The
Timocrates is rather similar : ' Mercy under these
circumstances is out of place ; to pass a light sentence
means to habituate and educate in wrong-doing as
many of you as possible/ The Androtion ends with
a personal opinion on the aspect of the offence, and the
Aristocrates is in a similar tone. The (first) speech
against Aristogiton appeals directly to the personal
interests of all the jurors : ' His offence touches every
one, every one of you : and all of you desire to be quit
of his wickedness and see him punished.'
The de Corona is remarkable in every way ; this
great speech, which, arising from causes almost trivial,
abandons the slighter issues, and is transformed into
a magnificent defence of the patriotic policy, begins
with a solemn invocation : * I begin, men of Athens,
with a prayer to all the gods and goddesses that you
may show me in this case as much good-will as I have
shown and still show to Athens and to all of you.' It
ends in an unique way with an appeal, not to the court
but to a higher tribunal, an appeal which is all the
more impressive as its language recalls the sacred
formulas of religious utterance. * Never, ye gods of
heaven, never may you give their conduct your sanc-
tion ; but, if it be possible, may you impart even to
my enemies a sounder mind and heart. But if they
are beyond remedy, hurl them to utter and absolute
destruction by land and sea ; and to the rest of us
DEMOSTHENES 255
grant, as quickly as may be, release from the terrors
which hang over us, and salvation imshakable/
The speeches before the assembly are naturally
different in their endings from the judicial speeches ;
there is no criminal to attack, and no crime to stig-
matize ; the hearers themselves are, as it were, on their
defence, and Demosthenes freely points out their
faults, but, as has been noticed, individual opponents
escape ; if there have been evil counsellors, the re-
sponsibiHty for following bad advice rests with the
public, and they can only be exhorted to follow a
better course. The speeches on the Symmories and on
Megalopolis end with a summary of the speaker's
advice. So, too, does that On the Freedom of Rhodes,
the last words containing a fine appeal to the lesson of
antiquity. * Consider that your forefathers dedicated
these trophies not in order that you might gaze in ad-
miration upon them, but in the hope that you might
imitate the virtues of those who dedicated them.'
Several of the speeches dealing with the Macedonian
question end with a short prayer for guidance : thus,
the First Philippic, ' May that counsel prevail which is
likely to be to the advantage of all ' ; the First Olynthiac,
' May your decision be a sound one, for all your sakes ' ;
the Third Philippic, * Whatever you decide, I pray to
heaven it may be to your advantage ' ; the Third
Olynthiac, * I have told you what I think is to your
advantage, and I pray that you may choose what is
likely to be of advantage to the State and all your-
selves.'
Sometimes there is a greater show of confidence, as
in the Second Olynthiac : ' If you act thus, you will not
only commend your present counsellor, but you will
256 THE GREEK ORATORS
have cause to commend your own conduct later on,
when you find a general improvement in your prospects/
The Second Philippic ends with a prayer rather
similar to that in the de Corona, though less emphatic ;
the speech On the Chersonese with a reproof and a
warning. 1 The Peace contains no epilogue at all, but
breaks off with a sarcasm.
An indication of the nature of the subjects of the
genuine speeches may be useful for reference. They
may be taken in their three groups : A. Private,
B. Public, C. Deliberative speeches.
A. — Speeches in Private Causes
Against Aphobus, i. and ii., 363 B.C., delivered in the
action which Demosthenes brought against his guar-
dian for the recovery of his property.
For Phanos against Aphobus, 363 B.C. Aphobus,
convicted in the former case, accused a witness, Phanos,
of perjury : Demosthenes defends the latter.
Against Onetor, i. and ii., 362 B.C. Another case aris-
ing out of the guardianship. When Aphobus was
convicted it was found that he had«made over some of
the property to his father-in-law Onetor, against whom
Demosthenes was forced to bring a BUrj efouX?;?.
On the Trierarchic Crown, between 361-357 b.c.
Apollodorus, having been awarded the crown given
each year to the trierarch who first had his ship in
commission, claims a second crown for having given
the best equipped ship.
Against Spudias (date unknown). One Polyeuctus
died, leaving his property equally to his two daughters.
The husband of the elder claims that the dowry pro-
mised with her was never paid in full, and that Spudias,
1 Quoted supra, p. 216.
DEMOSTHENES 257
the husband of the younger daughter, has consequently
no right to half of the gross estate. The debt to the
complainant should be discharged first.
Against Callicles (date unknown) . Callicles, a farmer,
alleges that the defendant's father built a wall stopping
a water-course ; consequently the plaintiff's land was
flooded in rainy weather. The defendant denies the
charge, and ridicules it on the ground that the high-
road was the natural water-course.^
Against Conon (possibly 341 B.C., see Paley and
Sandys' edition). Ariston prosecutes Conon for as-
sault. The quarrel dated from a time when the two
parties were on garrison duty, and Conon and his sons
deliberately annoyed Ariston and his friends. Subse-
quently the defendant, aided by his sons and others,
members of a disreputable * Mohock ' club called the
' Triballi,' violently assaulted the speaker.^
For Phormio, 350 B.C. Phormio, chief clerk to
Pasion, the famous Athenian banker, succeeded him in
the business. Some years later ApoUodorus, Pasion's
elder son, claimed a sum of money, said to be due to
him under his father's will ; Phormio, however, proved
that a compromise had been made which rendered the
present action invahd.
Against Stephanus, i., 349 or 348 B.C. ApoUodorus
accuses Stephanus, a witness for Phormio in the
previous case, of perjury. It is noticeable that
Demosthenes, the professional speech-writer, has now
changed sides, an action of rather dubious morality
if judged by strict standards.
^ A plausible answer. In Greece at the present day water-
courses are used as roads, and the same is true of the south of
Spain. At Malaga, a few years ago, the tram-line actually crossed
the river-bed. * Vide supra, p. 237.
R
258 THE GREEK ORATORS
Against Boeotus, i., 348 B.C. Mantias, an Athenian
politician, had three sons, Mantitheus (legitimate),
and Boeotus and another illegitimate. Boeotus laid
claim to the name Mantitheus, and the true Mantitheus
brought an action to restrain him from using the name.
Against Pantaenetus, 346 B.C. A plea (7rapaypa(j>7])
by one Nicobulus against Pantaenetus, who had
charged the former with damaging his mining property.
"The case is hard to follow, since the mine in question
was held in succession by no less than six different
parties, whether as owners, mortgagees, or lessees.
Against Nausimachus (about 346 B.C.). Nausima-
chus and Xenopeithes, orphans, brought an action
against their guardian Aristaechmus with regard to
their estate, but agreed to compromise for three talents,
which was duly paid. After his death they brought 201
action against his four sons, renewing their original
claim. The sons put in a irapaypacf)!] to stop the
action on the ground of the compromise.
Against Eubulides, 345 B.C. Euxitheus, who has
been ' objected to ' at the revision of the Hst of citizens,
claims that he is a citizen by rights, but has been re-
moved from the roll maliciously by Eubulides. The
present case is his appeal {e<^eaL<i) to the court against
the decision.
- The remaining private speeches were quite possibly
not composed by Demosthenes, though proof is gener-
ally impossible. They seem, however, to be genuine
speeches, composed for delivery by some author or
authors of the Demosthenic period, and are of extreme
interest and importance to all students of private life
at Athens.
Against Callippus, 369 B.C. An ec^eo-t? or appeal
DEMOSTHENES 259
to a court from an arbitration which, according to
the plaintiff Apollodorus, Pasion's son, was informal,
as the arbitrator had not taken the oath. The case
arises from a claim made by Callippus for money de-
posited with the banker Pasion, and by him paid out
to one Cephisiades.
Against Nicostratus, 368-365 B.C. Apollodorus had
declared that Arethusius, a debtor to the State, pos-
sessed two slaves, who were Uable to be confiscated
in payment of the debt. Nicostratus, brother of
Arethusius, declared that the slaves were his. Apollo-
dorus in this speech has to prove that the claim is
false.
Against Timotheus, 362 b.c, Apollodorus claims
from Timotheus money which, he affirms, the latter
borrowed from Pasion.
Against Polycles, 358 b.c. Apollodorus was forced
to act at trier arch beyond the appointed time, as
Polycles, his successor, was not ready to take over the
duty. The former claims damages.
Against Stephanus, ii. See Against Stephanus, i., to
which this is a supplement.
Against Euergus and Mnesibulus, 356-353 B.C. A
prosecution for perjury of witnesses in a case of ex-
trierarchs who are state-debtors.
Against Zenothemis, date unknown. An intricate
story of fraud and collusion in connexion with money
borrowed on the security of a ship and an attempt to
scuttle the ship.
Against Boeotus, ii., 348-346 B.C. (see the first speech
Against Boeotus). Mantitheus claims from his brothers
the payment of his mother's dowry in addition to his
share of his father's inheritance.
26o THE GREEK ORATORS
Against Macartatus, c. 341 B.C. A case dealing
with a forged will and conflicting claims to an inheri-
tance.
Against Olympiodorus, c, 341 B.C. Ol5anpiodorus
and Callistratus, brothers-in-law, obtained the in-
heritance of Conon. Their title being questioned,
judgment went against them by default. They
brought a fresh action, Olympiodorus claiming the
whole and Callistratus half, but they had secretly
agreed to divide the booty equally. Olympiodorus
was awarded the whole, and kept it, so CalUstratus
brought an action on the ground of their agreement.
Against Lacritus, date unknown. Lacritus dis-
claims responsibiUty for the debts of his brother
Artemon, whose property he has inherited.
Against Phaenippus, 330 B.C. (?). The petitioner,
chosen for the trierarchy, claimed that Phaenippus
was better able to afford it, and should submit to
antidosis, or exchange of property. He accuses
Phaenippus of making a false declaration.
Against Leochares, date unknown ; another case of
disputed inheritance.
Against Apaturius, 341 B.C. (?). Apaturius claims
that the speaker has certain habilities towards him
in accordance with an agreement which he has lost.
The speaker af&rms in a irapaypa^ri that the con-
tract was fulfilled some time ago and the document
torn up. «
Against Phormio, c. 326 B.C. Phormio having bor-
rowed money on the security of a ship's cargo in
a voyage to the Bosporus and back, shipped no cargo
on the return journey, but as the ship was lost,
evaded his habilities. When Chrysippus, the debtor,
DEMOSTHENES 261
claimed repayment, Phormio put in a Trapaypa^trj
stating that he had fulfilled his contract.
Against Dionysodorus, 323-322 B.C. Another action
for breach of contract in a similar case.
B. — Speeches in Public Causes
Against Androtion, 355 B.C., written for Diodorus.
Androtion had proposed the bestowal of a golden crown
on the Boul6 for their services during the year.
Euctemon and Diodorus attacked the proposal as
illegal because the navy had not been increased during
the year. Demosthenes in this speech attacks the
retrograde naval poHcy, pointing out by historical
argument the importance of the navy, and inveighs
generally against the corruptness of the party which
Androtion represents, as well as his personal character.
Against Leptines, 354 B.C. This is the first appear-
ance of Demosthenes in a public court. Leptines had
proposed the abolition of hereditary immunities from
taxation (drcXeLaL) granted to public benefactors.
It was a salutary measure in view of the existing
financial embarrassment, but Demosthenes opposed
it as being a breach of faith. * You must take care
not to be found guilty of doing, as a State, the sort of
thing that you would shrink from as individuals.' ^
This debasement of the State is compared to a debase-
ment of the coinage,^ which is a capital offence.^
Against Timocrates, 353 B.C. Another speech written
for Diodorus, contains several passages repeated from
the Androtion. This man and others, having failed
to repay certain moneys which they had embezzled,
were liable to imprisonment. Timocrates proposed
1 f 136. » § 167.
262 THE GREEK ORATORS
an extension of the time within which they might pay.
Demosthenes maintains that the law was informally
passed and was imconstitutional. Many of the argu-
ments are sophistical or trivial, butsome are weighty, and
on general groimds, that retrospective legislation in the
interests of individuals is bad, this speech is very sound.
The peroration contains an eulogy on the laws of Athens.^
Against Aristocrates, 352 B.C., is an important
authority for the Athenian law of homicide. Aristo-
crates had carried a resolution making the person of
Charidemus inviolable. This man, an Euboean by
birth, was a mercenary leader, who having helped to
lose Amphipolis, was now proposing to recover it. He
was at present commanding the forces of the Thracian
chief Cersobleptes. Demosthenes wrote this speech
for Euthycles, who impeached the proposal. It con-
tains an unusually careful arrangement in three
divisions : (i) The proposal is illegal, (2) it is against
our interest, (3) Charidemus is an unworthy person.
Demosthenes is seen at his best in his appeal to legis-
lative principle, his use of historical argument, and his
description of the conditions of mercenary service and
the politics of the barbarian fringe. The case against
Charidemus is strong ; he has been in the service of
Athens, Olynthus, Asia, and Thrace, and has played
fast and loose with all.
Against Midias, 347 B.C. A fine speech on a trivial
subject, which all the eloquence of Demosthenes cannot
dignify. Strong emotion is evident all through,
the tone is exalted, there are pathetic and humorous
passages, and all about a box on the ear !
^ §§ 210 s^^. 'A State's character is reflected in its laws ' {pd/xovi
. . . vv€l\r)(pa<ri . . . rpdvovs r^f r6\t(as. ).
DEMOSTHENES 263
Midias, who had a long-standing personal grudge
against Demosthenes, was also his political opponent.
When Demosthenes undertook to furnish the chorus
for his tribe at the greater Dionysia in 348 B.C., Midias
did all that he could to ruin the performance. On
the day itself he slapped Demosthenes in the face in
the presence of the whole people in the theatre. ^
Demosthenes laid a complaint, and Midias was declared
guilty of ' contempt ' in a religious sense {dBcKelv irepl
T7]v kopTTjv). This preliminary vote involved no
penalty, and Demosthenes was determined to push the
case to extremes. Midias, having assaulted an official
in discharge of his duty, and, further, committed sacri-
lege in so doing, might be condemned to death or con-
fiscation of property. In the end, however, as we
learn from Aeschines,^ a compromise was made, and
Demosthenes accepted half a talent as compensation
for his injuries. This sum was quite inadequate, but
there is good reason to believe that Demosthenes gave
way for political reasons, since at the end of this year
we find there is an understanding between him and
the party of Eubulus, to which Midias belonged.
On the Embassy [de Falsa Legatione), 344 B.C.
We come now to the two great speeches arising out
of the political hostility of Demosthenes and Aeschines,
the speeches On the Embassy, 344 B.C., and On the Crown,
330 B.C. The history of the quarrel has been given in
earlier chapters, and the speeches themselves to some
extent described, since an accoujit of the lives of the
two orators must have been very incomplete without
a full reference to their antagonism. ^ A few supple-
mentary remarks may, however, be in place here.
1 Vide supra, p. 190. » Ctes., § 52.
* Vide supra, pp. 168, 194, 223.
264 THE GREEK ORATORS
In the Embassy Demosthenes has to fight an uphill
fight ; he accuses Aeschines of having, from corrupt
motives, concluded a dishonourable and fatal peace.
He can bring no direct evidence of the guilt of his rival,
but his presumptive evidence is strong. He has one
imdisputed fact to work upon : Aeschines, on his
return from the second embassy, made certain state-
ments and promises which misled the people, and
resulted in the occupation of Thermopylae and the
ruin of Phocis. Aeschines himself must either have
been duped or bribed by Philip, and as he has never
admitted that he was a fool, it becomes certain that
he was a knave. A long section of the speech (§§ 29-97)
is devoted to a description of the effects of Aeschines'
policy, and another (§§ 98-149) infers his guilt on the
lines indicated and from other incidents in his career.
A presumption of guilt had already been reached in
the opening sections (§§ 9-28) where the sudden change
of front of Aeschines is described. The impression is
strengthened by a review of the events of the second
embassy (§§ 150-178). The charge has now been estab-
lished as far as circumstances permit ; the remainder
of the speech, almost as long as this first part, is really
a supplement. It is more discursive, and in some
places, by its enunciation of general principles, recalls
the tone of deliberative oratory.
The speech On the Crown, ^ 330 B.C., surpasses even
the preceding speech in the appearance of disorder,
which is probably due to deep design. The unity and
consistency of the whole is preserved by the thought,
which pervades every section, that the speaker must
identify himself with the city ; his policy has been
^ Cf. supra, p. 223,
DEMOSTHENES 265
hers ; personal interests are merged in those of the
community, and the case is to be won not on technical
points of law but by a justification of the broader
principles which have underlain all actions of the
State.
The speeches Against Aristogiton, 325-4 B.c.,^ are
generally considered spurious ; Weil, however, defends
the authenticity of the first, while abandoning the
second. The process is an attempt to crush a malicious
and dangerous sycophant.
Two more public speeches by contemporary writers
are included wrongly in editions of Demosthenes :
Against Neaera, written for Apollod4)rus between 343
and 339 B.C., on a question of the legal status of a
hetaira, and Against Theocrines, about 340 B.C. Theo-
crines was another sycophant, whom Demosthenes
branded for ever by using-his name as a term of abuse,
referring to Aeschines as * a Theocrines with the bearing
of a tragic actor. '^
C. — Deliberative Speeches
On the Symmories, 354 B.C., deals with a rumour that
Persia intended to invade Greece. Demosthenes points
out that this apprehension is unfounded, and dis-
courages any rash steps ; but admits that trouble is
to be anticipated in the future, and so finds an oppor-
tunity for introducing a scheme of naval reform. The
money could be obtained when the danger was im-
minent ; 2 it was necessary now to perfect the machin-
ery. The style is Thucydidean.
1 We know from Dinarchus, Aristogiton, § 13, that this trial
shortly preceded the affair of Harpahis.
" de Cor., § 313, rpayiKds QeoKplvT)^. ■ Vide supra, pp. 244-245.
266 THE GREEK ORATORS
For the people of Megalopolis, 353 B.C. Megalopolis,
the city of the Arcadian league, instituted by Epami-
nondas, was threatened with disruption by Sparta, and
appealed to Athens. Sparta sent an embassy at the
same time. Demosthenes, professing neutrality, really
supported the Arcadians, wishing to preserve their
integrity for the sake of the balance of power. He
failed in his object.
First Philippic, 351 B.C., vide supra, pp. 206-210.
For the Liberty of the Rhodians, 351 B.C., supports the
claim of the islanders against oppression by Artemisia,
widow of Mausolus of Caria. Demosthenes failed again,
chiefly through the prejudice against Rhodes, which
had revolted against Athens in 357 B.C.
First, Second, and Third Olynthiacs, all in 349 B.C.,
vide supra, p. 210.
On the Peace, 346 B.C., vide supra, p. 212.
Second Philippic, 344 B.C., vide supra, pp. 213-214.
On the Chersonese, 341 B.C., vide supra, pp. 215-216.
Third Philippic, 341 B.C., vide supra, pp. 216-218.
The spurious Fourth Philippic (341-340 B.C.) has
been discussed {supra, p. 218). The speech on Halon-
nesus (342 B.C.) is attributed to Hegesippus. It is a
reply to an offer on the part of Philip to present to
Athens the island of Halonnesus which he had seized,
after clearing out the pirates who occupied it.^
1 This Hegesippus, an orator of secondary importance, was an
ardent supporter of the patriotic party. In 357 b.c. he had brought
an accusation against one Callippus in connexion with the affairs
of Cardia {de Halon., § 43, and the hypothesis to the speech). In
343 B.C. he was one of an embassy sent to Philip (Demos., de Falsa
Leg., § 331). He was still aUve in 325 B.C. (Croiset, vol. iv. p. 621).
The extant speech consists of a clear and straightforward discussion
of the various points in Philip's proposal ; the style is easy, but
without distinction, and Dionysius, who did not doubt that it was
the work of Demosthenes, remarks that the orator has reverted
DEMOSTHENES 267
On the Treaty with Alexander, date uncertain, probably
335 B.C., is also by a contemporary of Demosthenes.
The theme is, — Treaties should be observed by all, but
Macedon has broken promises, so this is an opportunity
for Athens to recover her freedom.
The Answer to Philip's Letter and the speech irepl
avvrd^eo)^ (on financial organization) are generally
regarded as rhetorical forgeries.
Two epideictic speeches, the Epitaphius and Eroticus,
are almost certainly not by Demosthenes, and the six
Letters are doubtful. The fifty-six prooemia, or intro-
ductions to speeches, are probably genuine exercises
of the orator's early days.
to the style of Lysias {de Demos., ch. ix.). Hiatus is frequent and
there are some monotonous repetitions. Critics were somewhat
shocked by the concluding phrase of § 45 — ' If you carry your
brains in your heads, and not in your heels so as to walk on them.'
Aeschines calls the orator KpwjSiXos, from his affected way of wear-
ing his hair in a ' bun ' on the top of his head.
CHAPTER X
PHOCION, DEMADES, PYTHEAS
THOUGH as a rule an orator could not hope
to be successful in fourth-century Athens
without a professional training, yet there were at
times men who, either through strength of character
or natural gifts, could dispense with a rhetorical
education.
Foremost among the men of the peace party was
Phocion, an aristocrat by instinct if not by birth ;
a man admired alike for ability and integrity, so that,
though he was no great orator, his speeches always
commanded respect. He aspired, like Pericles, to be
both a statesman and a general, and in the former
capacity had at times to speak in the assembly.
Various anecdotes in Plutarch point to his efforts to
attain a conciseness which was almost laconic. His
utterance was as trenchant as it was brief — Demo-
sthenes called him ' the knife that cuts my speeches
down ' ; and he had a lively wit, which must have
pleased his hearers even though his policy was un-
popular. On one occasion, when the people applauded
him — which was rare, for he neither courted nor ex-
pected popularity — he paused in his speech and asked,
' Have I said something absurd ? '
An unsparing critic of the democracy, as he was
nevertheless their faithful servant, he continued, from
868
DEMADES 269
the purest motives, to urge peace, though the best
years of his hfe were spent in war. He was respected
for his high character by Phihp and Alexander, and
acquiesced in the government instituted by Antipater
in 322 B.C., but fell a victim to the hatred of the
extreme democrats, and was forced to drink hemlock,
at the age of eighty years, in 317 B.C.
Demades, his contemporary, and a member of the
same political party, is a perfect type of the vulgar
demagogue. He depended for his success on a lively
wit and a never-failing flow of words. After the battle
of Chaeronea, where he was taken prisoner, he became
an avowed agent of Philip and Alexander.^ In conse-
quence of his supposed services to Athens after the
destruction of Thebes, he attained great popularity,
his statue was erected in the market-place, and the
more material benefit of perpetual meals in the Pry-
taneum was decreed to him. He was put to death by
Cassander, the son of Antipater ; his fellow-citizens
melted down his statues and apphed the metal to even
baser purposes. ^ His recorded sayings show imagina-
tion— * Alexander is not dead ; if he were, the whole
world would stink of his corpse ' ; or again, ' Macedon
without Alexander would be like the Cyclops without
his eye ' ; ^ finally, Athens is to him ' not the sea-
fighter whom our ancestors knew, but an old woman,
wearing slippers and supping barley-water.' * For the
high opinion entertained of his eloquence we may refer
to the verdict of Theophrastus — ' Demosthenes is an
orator worthy of Athens ; Demades is on a higher
1 Dinarchus, Demos,, § 104, ofioXoyiav Xafi^dvciy Kal Xrirl/ecrdaL.
' Plut., Moralia, 820 F, »taT€X<6»'«i'<rav els dfilSas.
* Demetrius, de ElocutionCt §§ 282, 284. * Ibid.^ § 286.
270 THE GREEK ORATORS
plane than Athens.' ^ We have no further means of
forming any conception of his style.
Pytheas, another orator who raised himself by his
talents from a humble position, was much younger
than the previous two, who were about contemporary
with Demosthenes. 2 He was one of the prosecutors of
Demosthenes in the affair of Harpalus in 324 B.C.
Soon after the death of Alexander he was banished,
took service with Antipater, and worked as his agent
in the Peloponnese, using his influence to thwart the
efforts of Demosthenes towards united resistance.
After this we lose sight of him. He is said to have had
talent, but to have been handicapped by lack of educa-
tion. He was the coiner of the famous phrase about
the speeches of Demosthenes, that they ' smelt of the
lamp,' cind another equally apt, though less familiar,
that Demosthenes ' had swallowed Isaeus whole.' ^
* For this and other judgments, see Plut., Demos., chs. viii.-x.
' Ibid., ch. viii. * Dionysius, Isaeus, ch. iv.
CHAPTER XI
LYCURGUS, HYPERIDES, DINARCHUS
§ I. Life
LYCURGUS, according to Libanius, was older
-/ than Demosthenes, 1 though they were prac-
tically contemporaries. He belonged to the illustrious
house of the Eteobutadae, who traced their descent
from one Butes, brother of Erechtheus. The priest-
hood of Posidon-Erechtheus, and other religious offices,'
were hereditary in this family.
The grandfather of the orator, also called Lycurgus,
was put to death by the Thirt}/ ; his father, Lycophron,
is known only by name.
In the orator's extant speech, and in his recorded
actions, we find abundant proof of a sincere piety and
deep religious feeling, which were natural in the true
representative of such a family. The traditions of
his house may well have turned his thoughts to the
stem virtues of ancient days, the days of Athenian
greatness, when self-sacrifice was expected of a citizen.
He expresses a friendly feeling towards Sparta.
Of his earher political life we know only that he was
an ally of Demosthenes. ^ He came into greater pro-
minence after Chaeronea, and was one of the ten
orators whose surrender was demanded by Alexander
after the destruction of Thebes.
1 Hypothesis to Demos., ^gams/ /4m/ag«7ow.
" In some MSS. of Demosthenes {Phil., iii., § 72) his name
occurs as a member of an embassy which made a tour of the Pelo-
ponnese in 343 B.C. to rouse opposition against PhiUp.
271
c
272 THE GREEK ORATORS
In 338 B.C., when the war party came into power,
he succeeded Eubnlus, the nominee of the peace party,
in an important financial office. In the decree quoted
by the Pseudo-Plutarch he is called ' Steward of the
pubUc revenue ' (rr)? Koivrj<; irpoaohov Tafiia<;)f which
is probably not his correct title, though it fairly
represents his appointment.^ He kept this office for
twelve years. His long administration, which was
characterized by absolute probity, brought the finances
of Athens to a thoroughly sound condition. During
his office he built a theatre and an odeon, completed
an arsenal, increased the fleet, and improved the
harbour of Piraeus. He also embellished the city
with works of art — statues of the great poets erected
in the pubhc places, golden figures of Victory and
golden vessels dedicated in the temples. His respect
for the poets was further shown by his decree that an
official copy should be made of the works of the three
great tragedians — a copy which afterwards passed
into the possession of the Alexandrine library. ^
He conceived it as his mission to raise the standard
of public and private Hfe. Himself almost an ascetic,^
he enacted sumptuary laws ; as a religious man by
instinct and tradition, he built temples and encouraged
religious festivals ; an ardent patriot by conviction,
* See (Aristotle) ^ A.$rival<i}v TroXiTeia, ch. 43, with Sandys' notes.
He must have been either rafiias tQu cFTpaTLWTiKwp or president
of ol irrl rb decapLKov, or perhaps he held both these appointments, as
the scope of his work seems to imply. Ps.-Plutarch says iria-rev-
ffdfieVOS TT)V dLolKTJfflV TUP xPVA''^'"w»'.
' Ptolemy Philadelphus borrowed it in order to have it copied.
He deposited a large sum as security, but in the end he sacrificed
the deposit, kept the original, and presented Athens with his new
copy.
' He wore the same clothes in summer and winter, and shoes
only in very severe weather {Ps.-Pluf.).
LYCURGUS 273
he thought it his duty to undertake the ungrateful
part of a public prosecutor, pursuing all who failed in
their sacred duty towards their country. In this way
he conducted many prosecutions, which were nearly
all successful. He was never a paid advocate or a
writer of speeches for others ; indeed he would have
thought it criminal to write or speak against his con-iH.>^
victions.i His indictments were characterized by
such inflexible severity that his contemporaries com-
pared him to Draco, saying that he wrote his accusa-
tions with a pen dipped in death instead of blood. ^
He died a natural death in 324 B.C. ,3 and was
honoured by a public funeral. His enemy Menes-
aechmus, who succeeded to his office, accused him of
having left a deficit, though, according to one story,
Lycurgus, on the point of death, had been carried into
the ecclesia and successfully defended himself on that
score. His sons were condemned to make restitution,
and, being unable to pay, were thrown into prison, in
spite of an able defence by Hype rides. They were
released on an appeal by Demosthenes, then in exile.*/
§ 2. Works
Fifteen speeches of Lycurgus were preserved in anti-
quity, nearly all accusations on serious charges. He
prosecuted Euxenippus, whom Hyperides defended ;
he spoke against the orator Demades, and, in alliance
with Demosthenes, against the sycophant Aristogiton.
Other speeches known to us by name are Against Auto-
lycus, Against Leocrates, two speeches Against Lycophron,
1 See his condemnation of the advocates of Leocrates, § 135.
2 oil fiiXaPL dXXA davdrip XP^^^'''"- "^^^ KdXafxov Kara rCov irovqpQv {Ps.-
Flut.). ^ Suidas.
* Assuming (with Blass) the authenticity of the third letter of
Demosthenes, which is doubtful.
M
!%..
274 THE GREEK ORATORS
Against Lysicles, against Menesaechmus, a Defence of
himself against Demades, Against Ischyrias, irpb^ rct^
fiavreia^ (obscure title), Concerning his administration.
Concerning the priestess, and Concerning the priesthood.^
Only one speech is now extant, the impeachment of
Leocrates.
Leocrates, an Athenian, during the panic which
succeeded the battle of Chaeronea, fled from Athens
to Rhodes, and thence migrated to Megara, where he
engaged in trade for five years. About 332 B.C. he
returned to Athens, thinking that his desertion would
have been forgotten ; but Lycurgus prosecuted him
as a traitor.
Only a small part of the speech is really devoted to
proving the charge. By § 36 Lycurgus regards it as
generally admitted. The remaining 114 sections con-
sist mostly of comment and digressions which aim at
emphasizing the seriousness of the crime and produce
precedent for the infliction of severe punishment in such
cases.
Analysis
1. Introduction. Justice and piety demand that I
should bring Leocrates to trial (§§ 1-2) ; the part
of a prosecutor is unpopular, but it is my duty
to undertake it (§§ 3-6). This is a case of
exceptional importance, and you must give
your decision without prejudice or partiality,
emulating the Areopagus (§§ 7-16).
2. Narrative. The flight of Leocrates to Rhodes.
Evidence (§§ 17-20). His move to Megara and
occupation there. Evidence (§§ 21-23).
1 This list is taken from Suidas. The hst compiled by Blass,
from various sources, is different in some details.
LYCURGUS 275
3. Argument. Comments on the narrative. Possible
line of defence (§§ 24-35). The case is now
proved. It remains to describe the circum-
stances of Athens at the time when Leocrates
deserted her (§ 36).
4. The panic after the battle of Chaeronea (§§ 37-45).
Praise of those who fell in the battle there
(§§ 46-51)- Acquittal is impossible (§§ 52-54).
Another ground of defence cut away (§§ 55-58).
Further excuses disallowed (§§ 59-62) . Attempt
of his advocates to belittle his crime refuted by
appeal to the principles of Draco (§§ 63-67).
They appeal to precedent — the evacuation of
the city before the battle of Salamis : this
precedent can be turned against them (§§ 68-74).
The sanctity of oaths and punishment for per-
jury. Appeals to ancient history. Codrus (§§
75-89). Leocrates says he is confident in his in-
nocence— quern deus vult perdere, prius dementat
(§§ 90-93)- Providence (§§ 94-97). Examples
of self-sacrifice ; quotations from Euripides and
Homer (§§ 97-105). Praise of Sparta. Influ-
ence of Tyrtaeus on patriots. Thermopylae
(§§ 106-110) . Severity of our ancestors towards
traitors (§§111-127). Sparta was equally severe
(§§ 128-129). Due severity will discourage
treachery, and the treachery of Leocrates is of
the basest sort (§§ 130-134). His advocates are
as bad as he is (§§ 135-140). Appeal to the
righteous indignation of the judges (§§ 141-148),
Epilogue (§§ 149-150) :
* I have come to the succour of my country and her
religion and her laws, and have pleaded my case straight-
276 THE GREEK ORATORS
forwardly and justly, neither slandering Leocrates for his
general manner of living, nor bringing any charge foreign
to the present matter ; but you must consider that in
acquitting him you condemn your country to death and
slavery. Two urns stand before you, the one for betrayal,
the other for salvation ; votes placed in the former mean
the ruin of your fatherland, those in the latter are given
for civil security and prosperity. If you let Leocrates go,
you will be voting for the betrayal of Athens, her religion,
and her ships ; but if you put him to death, you will en-
courage others to guard and secure your country, her re-
venues, and her prosperity. So imagine, Athenians, that
the land and its trees are supplicating you, that the har-
bours, the dockyards, and the walls of the city are imploring
you ; that the temples and holy places are urging you to
come to their help ; and make an example of Leocrates,
remembering what charges are brought against him, and
how mercy and tears of compassion do not weigh more with
you than the safety of the laws and the commonwealth ' ^
§ 3. Style, etc.
Lycurgus is called a pupil of Isocrates ; whether he
was actually a student under the great master we cannot
be sure, but undoubtedly he had studied the master's
works. The influence of the Panegyric may be traced
here and there in the forms of sentences and in certain
terms of speech which are characteristic of the epideictic
style . Blass and others have drawn attention to isolated
sentences in the speech against Leocrates which might
have been deliberately modelled, with only the neces-
sary changes of words for the different circumstances,
on sentences in Isocrates. ^ The employment of a pair
' §§ 149-150.
* E.g. cf. § 3, i^ovKbixTjv 8' &v, HxTirep 6v(p4\ifx6v itxTi, etc., with
Isocr. viii. {dt Pace), § 36, ij^ovXbixrjv 5' Hv, &ffirtp irpoffjjKdp icnv, etc.
also § 7 with Isocr. vii. (Areopagiticus), § 43, etc.
LYCURGUS 277
of synonyms, or words of similar sense, where one
would suffice, also belongs to this style ^ — e.g. safe-
guard and protect, § 3 ; infamous and inglorious, § 91 ;
greatheartedness and nobility, § 100.
With these we must class such phrases as rd KOLvd ro}v
d8iK7)/j.dTa)v for rd KOivd dBifcrjfjiaTa^ (§ 6), and the
employment of abstract words in the plural, as evvoiai,
(t>6^oi, § 48, 43.
Lycurgus is very variable with regard to hiatus. In
some instances he has deliberately avoided it by slight
distortions of the natural order of words ; ^ in some
passages he has been able to avoid it without any dis-
location of order — a work of greater skill ; * but again
there are sentences where the sequences of open vowels
are frequent and harsh. ^ Other instances of careless
writing may be foimd in the inartistic joining of sen-
tences and clauses, for instance in §§ 49-50, where
several successive clauses are connected by ydp,^ or in
the clumsy accumulation of participles, as in § 93.' We
must conclude that Lycurgus, though so familiar with
the characteristics of Isocratean prose as to reproduce
them by unconscious imitation, was too much interested
in his subject to care about being a stylist ; and that
1 Cf. supra, p. 134.
2 This circumlocution may have been employed originally for
the avoidance of hiatus, as in the example quoted, and in § iii,
Ttt /caXd Twv ^pyoop ; it is, however, also used in cases whero no
such consideration enters, e.g. § 48, Toi>i iroi.riToi>s rdv iraripuv.
' E.g. § 7, oit fiLKpbv Ti ixipos ffvuixfi- T'J^*' T^s •7r6Xea;s', oi'5' ^tt' dXiyhv
XP^vov, where o-w^x^i \ oiS' is deliberately avoided.
* E.g. §§ 71-73-
'^ E.g. § 143, Kal avrUa fidy vfids dfiaJaei d/coi/eiv adroO dwoXoyovfi^vov.
§ 20, TToXXoi iTreladtjcrav twp fiapTvpwv i) dfivijfioveiv rj firj i\6clv ^ ir^pav
irp6<pa<Tiu evpeiv.
• See the translation on p. 278.
'' (pvyoPTa, Kal . . . aKovaravra . . . , d<piK6fM€vov xai . . . KaTa<f>vy6vTa, Kal
oid^v ^Tov . . . dirodavbvTa.
278 THE GREEK ORATORS
though, like Demosthenes, he wrote his speeches out,
he really belongs rather to the class of improvisatory
speakers like Phocion.
His tendency towards the epideictic style is also seen
in his treatment of his subject-matter ; thus §§ 46-51
are nothing but a condensed funeral speech on those
who died at Chaeronea. It is introduced with an
apology (§ 46) ; it may seem irrelevant, he says, but it
is frankly introduced to point the contrast between the
patriot and the traitor. The concluding sections of
the eulogy are as follows :
' And if I may use a paradox which is bold but neverthe-
less true, they were victorious in death. For to brave men
the prizes of war are freedom and valour ; for both of these
the dead may possess. And further, we may not say that
our defeat was due to them, whose spirits never quailed
before the terror of the enemy's approach ; for to those who
fall nobly in battle, and to them alone, can no man justly
ascribe defeat ; for fleeing from slavery they make choice
of a noble death. The valour of these men is a proof, for
they alone of all in Greece had freedom in their bodies ; for
as they passed from life all Greece passed into slavery ; for
the freedom of the rest of the Greeks was buried in the
same tomb with their bodies. Hence they proved to all
that they were not warring for their personal ends, but
facing danger for the general safety. So, Gentlemen, I
need not be ashamed of saying that their souls are the
garland on the brows of their country. ' ^
This, with the exception of a slight imperfection of
style already noticed, is good in its way, in the style
which tradition had established as appropriate to such
subjects. It is less conventional and, in spite of its
bold metaphors, less insincere than Gorgias, avoiding
as it does the extravagance of his antithetical style.
' §§ 49-50.
LYCURGUS 279
But in spite of the speaker's apology we feel that it is
out of place, and its effect is spoiled by the use to which
it is put in the argumentative passage which imme-
diately follows :
' And because they showed reason in the exercise of their
courage, you, men of Athens, alone of all the Greeks, know
how to honour noble men. In other States you will find
memorials of athletes in the market-places ; in Athens
such records are of good generals and of those who slew the
tyrant. Search the whole of Greece and you will barely
find a few men such as these, while in every quarter you
will easily find men who have won garlands for success in
athletic contests. So, as you bestow the highest honours
on your benefactors, you have a right to inflict the severest
punishments on those by whom their country is dis-
honoured and betrayed. ' ^
His use of examples from ancient history is similar
to that of Isocrates, e.g. in the Philip and the Pane-
gyric ; but many of these episodes are forcibly dragged
into a trial of the kind with which Lycurgus was con-
cerned, whereas those of Isocrates always help to convey
the lesson which he is trying to enforce. Thus the
following passage, which succeeds a quotation from
Homer, leads up to a digression on Tjrtaeus, accom-
panied by a lengthy quotation from his works. There
is only a bare pretence that all this has anything to do
with the case :
' Hearing these lines and emulating such actions, our
ancestors were so disposed towards manly courage that
they were content to die not only for their own fatherland
but for all Greece, as their common fatherland. Those, at
any rate, who faced the barbarians at Marathon, conquered
the armament of all Asia, by their individual sacrifice gain-
M51.
28o THE GREEK ORATORS
ing security for all the Greeks in common, priding them-
selves not upon their fame but on doing deeds worthy of
their country, setting themselves up as champions of the
Greeks and masters of the barbarians ; for they made no
nominal profession of courage, but gave an actual display
of it to all the world.' 1
Here Lycurgus has reverted to the antithetical style
of Antiphon, the opposition of * word ' and *deed,'
* private * and ' public,' and the like. We are also
from time to time reminded of Antiphon by the
prominence given in the Leocrates to religious considera-
tions. The digressions may be partly explained by the
speaker's avowed motive in introducing some of them
— his wish to be an educator. He introduces a very
moral tale of a young Sicilian who, tarrying behind to
save his father, on the occasion of an^ruption of Etna,
was providentially saved while all the others perished.
^ This is his excuse — * The story may be legendary, but
it will be appropriate for all the younger men to hear it
'"""""--iiow ' ; 2 and the manner of the lecturer is evident
elsewhere — * There are three influences above all which
guard and protect the democracy and the welfare of
vthe city,' etc. 'There are two things which educate
/ our youth : — the punishment of evil-doers and the
, rewards bestowed on good men.' ^
Quite apart fron these decorative digressions,
Lycurgus admits into his ordinary discourse poetical
^^r-^ phrases and metaphors which the stricter taste of
Isocrates would have excluded. The bold personifica-
tions in his epilogue and elsewhere are cases in point :
' So imagine, Athenians, that the land and its trees are
supplicating you ; that the harbours, the dockyards, and
■ § 104. » § 95. I 3 §§ 3, 10 ; cf. also § 79.
LYCURGUS 281
the walls of the city are imploring you ; that the temples
and holy places are urging you to come to their help. ' ^
Lycurgus must have tried the patience of his hearers
by his lengthy quotations from the poets. No other
orator, perhaps, would have dared to recite fifty-five
lines of Euripides and to follow them, after a short
extract from Homer, with thirty- two lines of Tyrtaeus.
Aeschines, no doubt, was fond of quoting, but his
extracts are comparatively short and generally to the
point ; he can make good use of a single couplet.
Demosthenes too, in capping his great adversary's
quotations, observed moderation and season. But the
long quotations in Lycurgus are superfluous ; that from
Euripides is a mere excrescence, for he has already
summarized in half a dozen lines the story from which
he draws his moral ; and the only purpose in telling
the story at all is to introduce the refrain ' Leocrates is
quite a different kind of person.'
In this matter Lycurgus lacks taste — that is to say,
he lacks a sense of proportion ; but for all that he is
felt to be speaking naturally quite according to his own
character ; he is attaining the highest ethos by being
himself. We know his interest in the tragedians from
the fact that he caused an official copy of the plays to
be preserved ; and though religious motives would
suffice to account for this decree, probably personal
feeling, the statesman's private affection for the works
which he thus perpetuated, to some degree influenced
his judgment.
* § 150, cf. also § 43. ' He contributed nothing to the nation's
safety, at a time when the country was contributing her trees, the
dead their sepulchres, and the temples their arms.' And § 17, ofire
Tovs Xifievas rrjs TriXeojs iXewv ; § 61, iroXewj iari ddparoi dvaffrarov
yev^cdai. Hyperides has a similarly bold expression, ' Condemning
the city to death.'
282 THE GREEK ORATORS
Though he may be unskilful, if judged by technical
standards, Lycurgus impresses us by his dignified
manner. He will not condescend to any rhetorical
device which might detract from this dignity. He has
no personal abuse for his opponent ; he promises to
keep to the specific charge with which the trial is con-
cerned,^ and at the end of the speech can justly claim
that he has done so.^ Though it may lay him open to
the suspicion of sycophancy, he disclaims any personal
enmity against Leocrates ; he professes to be impelled
entirely by patriotic motives, and we believe him.^
He may seem to us excessively severe ; we may regard
the crime of Leocrates as nothing worse than cowardice;
but we are convinced that to Lycurgus it appeared as
the greatest of all crimes ; and the Athenian assembly
too was apparently so convinced.*
Failure in patriotism was to Lycurgus an offence
^ against religion, and religion has the utmost prominence
in his speech. There can be no doubt of his sincerity.
The court of the Areopagus, which was more directly
under religious protection and more closely concerned
with religious questions than any other court, is men-
tioned by him with almost exaggerated praise.^ The
Areopagus was very highly respected by all Athenians,
but it was not a democratic court ; it was a survival
from pre -democratic da3^s. An orator who only wished
to propitiate the good-will of his popular audience
would praise not the old aristocratic court but the
modem popular assembly before which he was speaking.
Mil- M 149. Ms.
* Leocrates was acquitted by one vote only.
* § 12. ' It is so far superior to other courts that even those
who are convicted before it do not question its justice. You
should take it as your model.'
LYCURGUS 283
Lycurgus gives praise and blame where he thinks them
due. . He is by no means satisfied with the democratic
courts.
' I too, shall follow justice in my prosecution, neither
falsif5dng an3d;hing, nor speaking of matters extraneous to
the case. For most of those who come before you behave
in the most inappropriate fashion ; for they either give
you advice about public interests, or bring charges, true or
false, of every possible kind rather than the one on which
you are to be called on to give your verdict.
* There is no difficulty in either of these courses ; it is as
easy to utter an opinion about a matter on which you are
not deliberating as it is to make accusations which nobody
is going to answer. But it is not just to ask you to give
a verdict in accordance with justice when they observe no
justice in making their accusations. And you are re-
sponsible for this abuse, for it is you who have given this
licence to those who appear before you. . . .'^
The whole speech is pervaded by references to
religion ; Rehdantz has noted that the word ^€09^
occurs no less than thirty-three times ; and other words -^
of religious import are very frequent, though the orator
never uses ejaculations such as the w 7^ koX Beoi of
Demosthenes. This reiteration is of less significance
than the serious tone of the passages in which such
references occur ; his opening sentences indicate the
attitude which he is to maintain :
' Justice and Piety will be satisfied, men of Athens, by
the prosecution which I shall institute, on your behalf
and on behalf of the gods, against the defendant Leocrates.
For I pray to Athena and the other gods, and to the heroes
whose statues stand in the city and in the country, that if
I have justly impeached Leocrates ; if I am bringing to
284 THE GREEK ORATORS
trial the betrayer of their temples, their shrines and their
sanctuaries, and the sacrifices ordained by the laws, handed
down to you by your forefathers, they may make me
to-day a prosecutor worthy of his offences, as the interests
of the people and the city demand ; and that you, remember-
ing that your deliberations are concerned with your fathers,
your children, your wives, your country, and your religion,
and that you have at the mercy of your vote the man who
betrayed them all, may prove relentless judges, both now
and for all time to come, in dealing with offenders of this
kind and degree. But if the man whom I bring to trial
before this assembly is not one who has betrayed his father-
land and deserted the city and her holy observances, I pray
that he may be saved from this danger both by the gods and
by you, his judges.' ^
Passages later in the speech deepen this impression,
and contain definite statements of belief which we
cannot disregard :
* For the first act of the gods is to lead astray the mind
of the wicked man ; and I think that some of the ancient
poets were prophets when they left behind them for future
generations such lines as these :
For when God's wrath affiicteth any man.
By his own act his wits are led astray,
And his straight judgment warped to crooked ways.
That, sinning, he may know not of his sin.
I * The older men among you remember, the younger have
heard, the story of Callistratus, whom the city condemned
to death. He fled the country, and hearing the god at
Delphi declare that if he went to Athens he would obtain
his due, he came here, and took sanctuary at the altar of the
twelve gods ; but none the less he was put to death by the
city.
' This was just ; for a criminal's due is punishment. And
the god rightly gave up the wrong-doer to be punished by
HYPERIDES 285
those whom he had wronged ; for it would be strange
if he revealed the same signs to the pious and the wicked.'
* But I am of opinion, Gentlemen, that the god's care'
watches over every human action, particularly those con- ;,
cerned with our parents and the dead, and our pious duty
towards them ; and naturally so, for they are the authors
of our being, and have conferred innumerable blessings on
us, so that it is an act of monstrous impiety, I will not say
to sin against them, but even to refuse to squander our own
lives in benefiting them.* ^
The following fragment deserves quotation as an
example of his dignified severity :
* You were a general, Lysicles ; a thousand of your fellow-
citizens met their death, two thousand were made prisoners,
and our enemies have set up a trophy of victory over Athens,
and all Greece is enslaved ; all this happened under your
leadership and generalship ; and yet do you dare to live
and face the sun's light, and invade the market-place — you,
who have become a memorial of disgrace and reproach to
your country } ' '^
HYPERIDES
Hyperides, a member of a middle-class family,
was bom in 389 B.C., and so was almost exactly con-
temporary with Lycurgus, whose political views he
shared. He too, according to his biographer, was a
pupil of Isocrates and of Plato, but the influence of the
latter can nowhere be traced in his work.
A man of easy morals and self-indulgent habits, he-^
presents a striking contrast to the austerity of Lycurgus.
The comic poets satirized his gluttony and his partiality
for fish, and the Pseudo-Plutarch records that he took
^ §§ 92-94. * Against Lysicles, fr. 75.
N
286 THE GREEK ORATORS
a walk through the fish-market every day of his hfe ;
but the pursuit of pleasure did not impair his activity.
He was at first a writer of speeches for others, as
Demosthenes was at the beginning of his career ; ^
but before he reached the age of thirty he began to
be concerned personally in trials of political import.
He prosecuted the general Autocles on a charge of
treachery, in 360 B.C. ; he appeared against the orator
Aristophon of Azenia, and Diopeithes. He impeached
in 343 B.C., Philocrates, who had brought about the
peace with Philip. ^ He was sent as a delegate to the
Amphictyonic Council,^ and showed himself a vigorous
supporter of the policy of Demosthenes ; in 340 B.C.,
when an attack on Euboea by Philip was anticipated,
he collected a fleet of forty triremes, two of which he
provided at his own cost. Shortly before Chaeronea
he proposed a decree to honour Demosthenes ; after
the battle he took extreme measures for the public
safety, including the enfranchisement of metoeci and
the manumission of slaves. He was prosecuted by
Demades for moving an illegal decree, and retorted,
* The arms of Macedon made it too dark to see the laws ;
it was not I who proposed the decree, but the battle of
Chaeronea.' * He was able to retaliate soon aften\^ards
by prosecuting Demades for the same offence of illegal-
ity. Demades had proposed to confer the title of
proxenos on Euthycrates, who had betrayed Olynthus
1 He could not afford to be particular as to the kind of cases
which he took up ; the affair of Athenogenes is far from respectable
on either side, and several of his speeches were in connexion with
heiaivai of the less reputable sort. His defence of the famous
Phryne was his masterpiece.
« He mentions these three among the most famous cases in which
he has been concerned {For Euxenippus, § 28).
* Demos., de Cor., §§ 134-135. '* Fr. 28.
HYPERIDES 287
to Philip. A fragment which remains of Hyperides'
speech on this subject shows him to be a master of
sarcasm.^
We know nothing for certain about the origin of the
breach between him and Demosthenes ; it may have
been due to his disapproval of the latter's pohcy of
inactivity when Sparta in 330 B.C. wished to fight with
Antipater ; at any rate his language in 334 B.C. shows
him to be an irreconcilable adversary of Macedon.
Nicanor had sent a proclamation to the Greeks request-
ing them to recognize Alexander as a god, and to receive
back their exiles. At the same time Harpalus, Alex-
ander's treasurer, had deserted from the king's side
and arrived at Athens with a considerable treasure.
Demosthenes was in favour of negotiating with Alex-
ander ; Hyperides wished to reject the proposals of
Nicanor, and use the treasure of Harpalus for con-
tinuing the war against Macedon. Harpalus was ar-
rested, but succeeded in escaping, and many prominent
statesmen came under suspicion of having received
bribes from him. Hyperides was chosen as one of the
prosecutors, and Demosthenes was exiled.
Hyperides, after Alexander's death, took the chief
responsibility for the Lamian war, and was chosen to
pronounce the funeral oration on his friend, the general
Leosthenes, and the other Athenians who fell in the
war. Demosthenes had now returned from exile ; the
two patriots were reconciled, and persisted in the policy
of resistance from which the prudence of Phocion had
long striven to dissuade Athens. After the battle of
Crannon, Antipater demanded the surrender of the
leaders of the war party ; Hyperides fied, was captured
* Vide infra, p. 295.
288 THE GREEK ORATORS
and put to death in 322 B.C. He is said to have bitten
^^-out his tongue for fear that he might, under torture,
betray his friends. His body was left unburied till the
piety of a kinsman recovered it and gave him interment
in the family tomb by the Rider's Gate. He had proved
himself consistent throughout his public life, and how-
ever mistaken his policy, especially in the latter years,
may have been, honour is due to him for the unflinching
patriotism which led him to martyrdom in a vain
struggle to uphold his country's honour.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century. Hyper-
ides was known to the modem world only from the
criticisms of Dionysius and other ancient scholars, and
from a few minute fragments preserved here and there
by quotations in scholiasts and lexicographers. A
manuscript is believed to have existed in the library at
Buda, but when that city was captured by the Turks
in 1526 the library was destroyed or dispersed, and
Hyperides was lost.
-4^- In 1847 portions of his speeches began to reappear
among the papyri discovered in Egypt. In that year
a roll, containing fragments of the speech Against
Demosthenes and of the first half of the Defence of
Lycophron, was brought to England; a second roll
discovered in the same year was found to contain the
second half of the Lycophron and the whole of the
Euxenippus. In 1856 were discovered considerable
fragments of the Funeral Speech. In 1890, some frag-
ments of the speech Against Philippides were acquired
by the British Museum, while the most important dis-
covery of all was that of the speech Against Athenogenes.
The MS. was purchased for the Louvre in 1888, but the
complete text was only pubUshed in 1892. Its import-
HYPERIDES 289
ance may be estimated by the fact that Dionysius
couples this speech and the defence of Phryne as being
the best examples of a style in which Hyperides sur-
passed even Demosthenes. The pap5mis itself is of
interest as giving us one of the very earliest classical
MSS. that we possess ; it dates from the 2nd century B.C. ^
In many points Hyperides challenges comparison
with Lysias. The criticism of Dionysius is well worth
our consideration : ' Hyperides is sure of aim, but sel-
dom exalts his subject ; in the technique of diction he
surpasses Lysias, in subtlety (of structure) he surpasses
all. He keeps a firm hold throughout on the matter at
issue, and clings close to the essential details. He is
well equipped with intelligence, and is full of charm ;
he seems simple, but is no stranger to cleverness.' ^
The first sentence contrasts Hyperides once for all
with his contemporary Lycurgus, who, while less sure
of his aim, has a personal dignity which gives exaltation
to every theme.
We have hardly enough of the work of Hyperides to
enable us to form a first-hand judgment as to the
merits of his diction compared with that of Lysias.
He has, indeed, the same simpHcity and naturalness,
but hardly, so far as we can judge, the same felicity of
expression.
Hermogenes blames him for carelessness and lack of
restraint in the use of words, instancing such expres-
sions as /jLOV(i)TaTO<i, yakiaypa, iirrj^oXof}, etc., which
seem to him unsuited for literary prose. As we have
had occasion to notice already, rare and unusual words
^ The agreement of Blass and Kenyon on this point may be
taken as conclusive. Small fragments of another speech For
Lycophron have been recently published {Pap. Oytyrh., vol. xiii.).
? dpxo.i<>)v Kpiais, V. 6.
290 THE GREEK ORATORS
may be found occasionally in every orator, almost in
every writer. Hyperides was no purist ; he enlivened
his style with words taken from the vocabulary of
Comedy and of the streets. He did not wait for
authority to use any expression which would give a
point to his utterance.
Critics who expected dignified restraint in oratorical
prose may have been shocked by the adjective dpcirrj-
Bea-Tos, * worm-eaten,' which he applied to Greece ; to us
it seems an apt metaphor. Of his other colloquialisms
some recall the language of Comedy — as Kp6vo<; (' an old
Fossil'), the diminutive depairovTiov, and 6^okoaTdT7)<^^
('a weigher of small change ' = ' usurer '), m-poairepi'
KOTTTeiv (' to get additional pickings ' — the metaphor is
apparently from pruning a tree), TratBaycoyelv in the
sense of ' lead by the nose.' Others seem to be merely
colloquial, part of that large and unconventional voca-
bulary which was soon to form the basis of Hellen-
istic Greek ; for we must remember that we are already
on the verge of Hellenism, and that the Attic dialect
must soon give way before the spread of a freer
language. In this class we may put iirocfydaXfMcdv
(* to eye covetously '), viroirl'irTeLv {' to put oneself under
control of somebody '), iva-elci) (' to entrap '), Kar are five lv
{'to abuse'), iirefi^aLvco (poetical or colloquial, 'to
trample on').
In some of his speeches relating to hetairai he seems
to have used coarse language which offended his critics ;
nothing offensive is found in his extant speeches. ^
Other metaphors and similes abound ; he is fond of
comparing the life of the State to the life of a man, as
1 d^oKoaraTftv was used by Lysias also (fr. 41).
* Demetrius, irepl ep/j-rfvelas, § 302.
HYPERIDES 291
LycurgllS does also — ev /juev a-ay/ia dddvaTOv V7r€i\'r}(f>a<i
eaecOaty ttoXgco^ Se Trj\iKavTr)<i OdvaTOV KaTiyvcofi.
* You imagine that one person [i.e. Philip) can live for
ever, and you passed sentence of death on a city as old
as ours.' The Homeric phrase iirl ryrjpcDf; 68^ ( = €7rl
<y7jpao^ ovBd), ' on the threshold of old age ') is curiously
introduced into a serious passage in the Demosthenes
without any preparation or apology. We can only
suppose that it was so famihar to his hearers that it
would not strike them as being out of place in ordinary
speech. It is similarly used by Lycurgus.^ In the
same speech (Against Demosthenes) Hyperides speaks of
the nation being robbed of its crown, but the meta-
phor is suggested by the fact that actual crowns had
been bestowed on Demosthenes. Such metaphors as
* others are building their conduct on the foundations
laid by Leosthenes,' though less common in Greek than
in English, are perfectly intelligible. A happy instance
of his ' sureness of aim ' which Dionysius commended
is preserved in a fragment about his contemporaries :
* Orators are like snakes ; all snakes are equally loathed,
but some of them, the vipers, injure men, while the big
snakes eat the vipers.' ^
He uses simile, however, with varying success ; the
following, though the conception is good, is not properly
worked out, as the paralleHsm breaks down :
* As the sun traverses the whole world, marking out the
seasons, and ordering everything in due proportion, and
for the prudent and temperate of mankind takes charge
of the growth of their food, the fruits of the earth and all
else that is beneficial for life ; so our city ever continues
to punish the wicked and help the righteous, preserving
equal opportunities for all, and restraining covetousness,
1 Leoc, § 40. « Fr. 80.
^ij\
292 THE GREEK ORATORS
and by her own risk and loss providing common security
for all Greece.' ^
\^. The Epitaphios from which the last quotation is taken
r^ is a speech of a formal kind composed in the epideictic
style, and naturally recalls similar speeches of Isocrates
and others. Its composition shows much greater care
than was taken with the other speeches ; thus there are
few examples of harsh hiatus, a matter to which the
author as a rule paid no attention. All the other extant
speeches have far more instances of clashing vowels.^
The antithetical sentences are appropriate to the style,
and the periodic structure is like that of Isocrates,
except that the sentences are, on the whole, shorter
and simpler.
In other speeches he mingles the periodic and the
free styles with discretion. The objection to a long
period is that it takes time to understand it ; we cannot
fully appreciate the importance of any one part until
we have reached the end and are in a position to look
back at the whole . For practical oratory it is far better
to make a short statement which may be in periodic
form, and amphfy it by subsequent additions loosely
connected by Kai, Se, 7ap, and such particles. This is
what Hyperides does with success, for instance in the
opening of the Euxenippus, an argumentative passage. ^
In narrative passages a free style is expected.^
1 Epitaphios, § 5.
2 Cf. de Demos., col. xi, iv t($ S-fjfUfi iTrraKda-ia 0Vas elvai. rdXavra,
vvv tA 7]fil<rr] dvacp^peis, /cat oiJ5' iXoyiaru 6ti rod irdpra dvevexOrivai, dpdCHs,
K.T.X. Ibid., col. xiii., Kal ol &\\ol <f)l\oi. avroO ^\eyov 8ti dvayKdcovai,
K.T.X. Euxenippus, § 19, etc.
3 |§ 1. 2, although a full stop occurs in the second line of § 3,
are aU resdly one sentence, but in spite of its length it is perfectly
lucid.
* A good example of a story told by a succession of short sentences
joined by Kal is to be found in Athenogenes, § 5.
HYPERIDES 293
In contrast to this flowing style we must notice the
quick abrupt succession of short sentences which he
sometimes affects, either in the form of question and
answer, as in the following fragment, or otherwise :
' " Did you propose that the slaves should be made free ? "
" I did, to save the free men from becoming slaves. " " Did
you move that the disfranchised citizens should be en-
franchised ? " — "I did, in order that all in harmony might
fight side by side for their country." ' ^
Still more effective is the following :
' It is on this account that you have enacted laws to deal
separately with every possible offence that a citizen may
commit. A man commits sacrilege — ^prosecution for sacri-\
lege before the king-archon. He neglects his parents — the ;
archon sits on his case. A man proposes an illegal measure
— ^there is the council of the Thesmothetae. He makes
himself liable to arrest — the " eleven " are permanent
officials.' 2
Hyperides possessed an active wit which enabled him
on many occasions to evade an argument by making
his opponent appear ridiculous. Euthias, in prosecut-
ing Phryne for impiety, made his audience shudder by
describing the torments of the wicked in Hades. ' How
is Phryne to blame,' asked Hyperides, ' for the fact that
a stone hangs over the head of Tantalus ? ' ^ In the
Euxenippus, he complains that the process of impeach-
ment before the assembly has been appHed to the
present case :
* Impeachment has hitherto been employed against
people like Timomachus, Leosthenes, Callistratus, Philon,
and Theotimus who lost Sestos — ^some of them for betray-
ing ships which they commanded, some for betraying
cities, and one for giving, as an orator, bad advice to the
1 Frr. 27-28. ' Euxenippus, §§ 5, 6. * Fr. 173.
294 THE GREEK ORATORS
people. . . . The present state of affairs is ridiculous —
Diognides and Antidorus are impeached for hiring flute-
players at a higher price than the law allows ; Agasicles of
Piraeus is impeached for being registered as of Halimus ;
and Euxenippus is impeached on account of the dream
which he says he dreamed.' ^
His sarcasm is playful at times, even in serious pas-
sages ; for instance the following :
' These Euboeans Demosthenes enrolled as Athenian
citizens, and he treats them as his intimate friends ; this
need not surprise you ; naturally enough, since his policy
is always ebbing and flowing, he has secured as his friends
people from Euripus/ ^
Another good example of his sarcastic humour
appears in the defence of Euxenippus against the charge
of Macedonian sympathy :
' If your assertion (the prosecutor's) were true, you would
not be the only person to know it. In the case of all others
who in word or deed favour Philip, their secret is not their
own ; it is shared by the whole city. The very children in
the schools know the names of the orators who are in his
pay, of the private persons who entertain and welcome his
emissaries, and go out into the streets to meet them on their
arrival.' *
This same sarcasm is in many places a powerful
weapon of offence, as in the next extract from the
indictment of Demosthenes :
* You, by whose decree he was put in custody, who
when the watch was relaxed did nothing to assure it, and
when it was abandoned altogether did not bring the guilty
to trial — ^no doubt it was for nothing that you turned the
opportunity to such advantage. Are we to believe that
^ Euxenippus, §§ 1-3.
* Against Demos., fr. v., col. xv. 15. The tide in the Euripus,
which ebbed and flowed nine times a day, was, of course, proverbial.
' Euxenippus, col. xxxiv., § 22.
HYPERIDES 295
Harpalus gradually paid out his money to the minor poli-
ticians, who could only make a noise and raise an uproar,
and overlooked you, who were master of the whole situa-
tion ? ' 1
The following fragment contains the most striking
example of irony to be found anywhere in his works ;
the situation explains itself :
' The reasons which Demades has introduced are not the
true justification for Euthy crates' appointment, but if he
must be your proxenos, I have composed, and now put
forward, a decree setting forth the true reasons why he
should be so appointed : — Resolved — ^that Euthycrates be
appointed proxenos, for that he acts and speaks in the
interests of Philip ; for that, having been appointed a
cavalry-leader, he betrayed the Olynthian cavalry to Philip ;
for that by so doing he caused the ruin of the people of
Chalcidice ; for that after the capture of Olynthus he acted
as assessor at the sale of the prisoners ; for that he worked
against Athens in the matter of the temple at Delos ; for
that, when Athens was defeated at Chaeronea, he neither
buried any of the dead nor ransomed any of the captured.'^
We have seen already how he could turn his wit
against the whole class of orators, to which he belonged
himself ; it is pleasant to find him, in a speech which he
wrote for a fee, thus describing Athenogenes : ' A com-
mon fellow, a professional writer of speeches.' ^ It was
the business of the logographos to sink his own person-
ality in that of his client, and Hyperides, who was an
artist by instinct, did so more successfully than any
other speech- writer, except, perhaps, Demosthenes. In
the present instance he must have felt a peculiar satis-
faction in his work.
In private speeches he introduces many matters
* Against Demos., col. xii. ' Fr. 76.
^ Athenogenes, col. 2, &vOp(t}irov \oy6ypa<p6v re /cat dyopahv.
296 THE GREEK ORATORS
extraneous to the case ; thus in the Athenogenes, though
the question is only about a shady business transac-
tion, he rouses odium by references to his adversary's
poHtical offences. No doubt many weak cases suc-
ceeded by such devices, which call forth the just indig-
nation of Lycurgus.i In pubHc cases he has a higher
ideal. When Lycurgus was an advocate on the other
side, Hyperides referred to him with all the respect
due to his character. Even the speech against Demo-
sthenes is entirely free from personal abuse, if we except
a little mild banter about Demosthenes' austere habits
of sobriety. 2 The indictment of Demosthenes' pubHc
actions is vigorous enough, but it is restrained within
the limits of good taste, and this is not for the sake of
ancient friendship, which Hyperides repudiates :
' After that will you dare to remind me of our friendship ?
... (as if it were) not you yourself who dissolved that
friendship, when you received money to do your country
harm, and changed sides ? When you made yourself ridi-
culous and brought disgrace on us who hitherto had been of
your party ? Whereas we might have been held in the
highest respect by the people, and been attended for the
rest of life's journey by an honourable repute, you shal tered
all such hopes, and are not ashamed at your age to be tried
by the younger generation for receiving bribes. On the
contrary, the younger politicians ought to receive education
from men like you ; if they committed any hasty action
they ought to be rebuked and punished. Things are quite
different now, when it falls upon the young men to correct
those who have passed the age of sixty. And so, Gentle-
men, you may well be angry with Demosthenes, for through
you he has had his fair portion of wealth and renown ; and
1 Lycurgus, Leocr., § ii ; cf. § 149.
' Col. xxxix., the Icist two fragments of the speech in Blass'
edition.
HYPERIDES 297
now, with his foot on the threshold of old age, he shows that
he cares nothing for his country.' ^
Dionysius approves the diversity of Hyperides*
manner in dealing with his narratives : — ' He tells his
story on a variety of ways, sometimes in the natural
order, sometimes working back from the end to the
beginning.* ^ We have no means of judging ; the
Euxenippus, the only complete forensic speech, con-
tains practically no narrative ; the story of the
Athenogenes is, apparently, told straight through with-
out a break, and then followed by evidence and
criticism and legal arguments. Then follows the
attempt to blacken the character of Athenogenes by
extraneous arguments.
We may conclude this section by a few sentences
from the treatise On the Sublime, expressing an estimate
of the general character of his oratory :
' If successes were to be judged by number, not by magni-
tude, Hyperides would be absolutely superior to Demo-
sthenes. He has more tones in his voice, and more good
quaUties. He is very nearly first-class in everything, like
a pentathlete, so that, while other competitors in every
event beat him for the first prize, he is the best of all who
are not speciaUsts.' . . . 'Where Demosthenes tries to be
amusing and witty, he raises a laugh, but it is against him-
self. When he attempts to be graceful, he fails still more
signally. At any rate, if he had attempted to compose
the little speech about Phryne or the one against Atheno-
genes, he would have established still more firmly the re-
putation of Hyperides.' 'But . . . the beauties of the
latter, though numerous, are not great ; his sobriety renders
them ineffective, and leaves the hearer undisturbed — ^no
one, at any rate, is moved to terror by reading H57perides. ' ^
^ Demos., v., §§ 20-21. ' de Dinarcho, ch. 6.
' irepi vxpovs, ch. 34.
J
298 THE GREEK ORATORS
And the passage concludes with a sincere tribute to the
titanic force of Demosthenes.
Hyperides had seventy-seven speeches ascribed to
him, of which fifty- two were thought by the Greek
biographer to be genuine. ^ Blass has collected the
titles of no less than sixty-five, in addition to the five
which are extant in the papyri ; so that only seven are
unknown by name. Some quotations have been given
from the indictment of Demosthenes ; ^ the subject-
matter has been explained,^ and the treatment, so far
as we can judge from the fragments, criticized.* The
date is 324 B.C. The Defence of Lycophron is a speech
in an elcrayyeXla in which Lycurgus was one of the
prosecutors. Lycophron, an Athenian noble, was a
commander of cavalry in Lemnos, and was accused of
seducing a Lemnian woman of good family, the wife of
an Athenian who died before the case came on. The
date is uncertain ; perhaps circa 338 B.C. The case of
Euxenippus arises out of the fact that Philip, after
Chaeronea, restored the territory of Oropus to Athens.
It was divided into five lots, and one lot assigned to
every two tribes. A question arose whether the
portion given to the Hippothoontid and Acamantid
tribes was not sacred to Amphiaraiis, and Euxenippus
and two others were deputed to sleep in the shrine of
the hero and obtain from their dreams a divination on
the subject. They reported a dream which could be
interpreted in favour of their tribes. In the present
instance they are prosecuted for having given a false
report of their dreams. The defendant and another
advocate had already preceded Hyperides, so that the
present speech is mainly devoted to bickering with the
1 Ps.-Pluf., § 15. 2 Supra, pp. i8, 294-296.
* Supra, p. 225-227. * Supra, p. 296.
HYPERIDES • 299
prosecutors, of whom Lycurgus was one. Date about
330 B.C.
The speech Against Philippides ^ is very much muti-
lated. It is a ypa(l>T] Trapavoficov against Phihppides,
otherwise unknown, who had proposed a vote of thanks
to a board of irpoehpot or presidents of the ecclesia for
their action in passing a certain decree, which seems to
have been a vote of honour to PhiHp. It was passed
under compulsion, and Philippides attempted sub-
sequently to exonerate them from all possible blame
by a decree which is here declared illegal.
The Efitafhios or Funeral Speech is a composition
in a well-known conventional form. The topics for
such a speech were already laid down by long custom.
The skill of the orator is seen in his original way of
handling the traditional commonplaces. First of all
there is the strong personal note. He had been asso-
ciated in politics with Leosthenes, and with him was
jointly responsible for the Lamian war in which the
latter met his death. ^ His personal feeling for the
general is very prominent in the speech ; Leosthenes
is in fact the principal theme ; he is put, as M. Croiset
remarks, almost on a level with Athens : — ' Leosthenes
seeing all Greece humbled and cowering, brought to
ruin by the traitors whom Philip and Alexander had
bought ; seeing that our city wanted a man, and all
Greece wanted a city, to take the leadership, freely gave
himself for his country and gave our city for the Greeks
to win their freedom.' ^ It is not, he says, that he
wishes to slight the other patriots, but in praising
Leosthenes he is praising all. He draws a fancy picture
of the heroes of antiquity welcoming Leosthenes in
Hades. It is a sign of the times that the individual
* Date 336-5 B.C. 2 322 B.C. ' Epttaphtos, § 10.
300 THE GREEK ORATORS
should so be exalted ; we have travelled far indeed
from the cold impersonaHty of Pericles, to whom the
nameless heroes who sacrifice their lives are but part
of a pageant passing before the eyes of the deathless
^ city. The consolation to the living is remarkable for
-^"containing references to a future life, which is quite
without precedent : — ' It is hard to comfort those who
are in such grief ; for neither speeches nor laws can
send sorrow to sleep ' . . . (there follow remarks about
eternal praise, which are not particularly characteristic ;
but he concludes in a higher strain) : — ' Furthermore,
if the dead are as though they had never been, our
friends are released from sickness and pain and the
other misadventures which afflict mankind ; but if the
\ dead have consciousness, and are under the care of
I God, as we beheve, we may be sure that they, who
upheld the honour of the gods when it was threatened,
are now the objects of God's loving kindness.' ^ Truly
Socrates had not lived in vain.
. , The speech Against Athenogenes ^ is an admirable
"^^ - example of the orator's lighter style. Its chief merit
is the way in which the narrative of the events is
delivered by the speaker.
Hyperides' client, a young Athenian, wished to obtain
possession of a young slave, who was employed in a
perfumery-shop. Athenogenes, the owner of the shop —
^ ' a vulgar speech-maker, and worst of all an Eg3rptian '
— saw his opportunity for a good stroke of business,
and at first refused to sell the slave. A quarrel ensued.
At this point Antigona, once the most accomplished
courtesan of her day, but now retired, came and offered
her services to the young man. She contrived to pick
* Epitaphios, §§ 41-43. ^ Date between 328 and 323 B.C.
HYPERIDES 301
up for herself a gratuity of 300 drachmas, just as a
proof of his good opinion. Later, she told the young
man that she had persuaded Athenogenes to release
the boy, not separately, but together with his father
and brother, for forty minas. The young man bor-
rowed the money ; a touching scene of reconcihation
followed, Antigona exhorting the two adversaries to
behave as friends in future. * I said that I would do
so, and Athenogenes answered that I ought to be grateful
to Antigona for her services ; " and now," he said, "you
shall see what a kindness I will do you for her sake." '
He offered, instead of setting the slaves free, to sell
them formally to the plaintiff, who could then set them
free when he liked, and so win their gratitude. * As to
any debts they have contracted, you can take them
over ; they are trifling, and the stock remaining in the
shop will easily cover them.' Assent having been
given, Athenogenes produced a contract in these terms,
which he had brought with him, and it was signed and
sealed on the spot. Within three months the unhappy
purchaser found himself liable for business debts and
deposits amounting to five talents. Athenogenes made
the preposterous excuse that he had not known any-
thing about this enormous debt. His dupe was in an
awkward position, as he had formally taken over the
business and its liabilities. He tries to prove that the
contract should be held not valid. His legal claim is
very slight ; the appeal is really to equity. The second
part of the speech deals with Athenogenes in his
political relations. The epilogue exhorts the judges
to take this opportunity of pimishing such a scoundrel
on general groimds, even if he cannot actually be brought
under any particular law.
302 THE GREEK ORATORS
DINARCHUS
Dinarchus, the last of the ten orators of the
"^^ Alexandrian Canon, was a Corinthian by birth. He
lived as a metoecus at Athens, but never obtained
the citizenship, and was therefore unable to appear in
the courts or the assembly. He was bom about 360
B.C. ; on coming to Athens he is said to have studied
under Theophrastus, and he began to write speeches,
as a professional logographos, about 336 B.C. He did
not come into prominence till about the time of the affair
of Harpalus, and his most flourishing period was after
^ the death of Alexander, under the oligarchic constitu-
tion set up by Cassander. During these fifteen years,
322-307 B.C., he composed a large number of speeches.
In 307 B.C. the democratic restoration threatened
danger to all who had flourished imder the oligarchy,
and he retired to Chalcis in Euboea, where he lived for
fifteen years. ^ He returned to Athens in 292 B.C. and
stayed for a time with one Proxenos, who, taking
advantage of his age and infirmity, robbed him of a
large srnn of money. He brought his host to justice,
and, according to Dionysius and other biographers,
himself spoke in court for the first time. We know
nothing of the result of the case, and have no informa-
tion of the rest of the life of Dinarchus or his death. 2
1 Dion, {de Dinarcho, ch. iv., ad fin.) believed that he wrote no
speeches during this time, for nobody would take the trouble to
go to Chalcis for a speech either in a private or public action— o^
yd.p riXeoy TjTdpovv oUtoj X&yoov. Dionysius consequently rejected
as spurious all speeches attributed to Dinarchus which were dated
between 307 and 292 b.c.
* Suidas says that he was appointed Commissioner of th© Pelo-
p>onnese {iiniui€\7}T^5 UeXoiropv-^aov) by Antipater, but this was
another Dinarchus, Demetrius Magnes, quoted by Dionysius
Din., ch. i), mentions four men of this name.
\
DINARCHUS 303
Dinarchus wrote, according to Demetrius Magnes,^
over a hundred and sixty speeches. Many of these
were rejected by Dionysius, who, however, admits the
authenticity of a sufficiently large number — sixty out
of eighty-seven which he knew.^ Three only have
come down to us, and the authenticity of the longest
of these — Against Demosthenes — was questioned by
Demetrius. We shall, however, treat it as genuine,
since in style and subject-matter it is very similar to
the others. The three speeches, Against Demosthenes,
Aristogiton, and Philocles, all relate to the affair of
Harpalus. The corruption connected with this affair
was so deep-rooted that it was necessary above all to
find men of upright character to conduct the prosecu-
tions, and these would not be well-known orators, since
most of the prominent politicians were impUcated as
defendants in the case. It is hardly remarkable,
therefore, that professional speech- writers should be
employed or that one writer should compose speeches
to be delivered in three of the many prosecutions.
Dinarchus, the last of the truly Attic orators, is of
very little importance in himself, but must find a place
in any history of this kind as representing the beginning
of the decline of oratory. * He flourished most of all,'
says Dionysius, * after the death of Alexander, when
Demosthenes and the other orators had been con-
demned to perpetual banishment or put to death, and
there was nobody left who was worth mentioning after
them. ' This contains a fairly j ust estimate of the merits
of the man, who, according to the same critic, * neither
invented a style of his own, like Lysias and Isocrates
* In Dionysius, de Din., ch. i.
* The curious may collect the titles from Dionysius {de Din.
chs. x.-xiii.).
304 THE GREEK ORATORS
and Isaeus, nor perfected the inventions of others, as,
in our judgment, Demosthenes, Aeschines, and Hyperides
did.' ' His merits and defects are very obvious. He
"^ knows all the technique of prose composition ; he can
avoid hiatus cleverly, and writes a style which is easily
intelligible, even when his sentences are inordinately
long. He has some skill in the use of new words
and metaphors — ^eToicoviaaaOaL Tr}v rif^rjv, * auspicate
your fortunes anew ' — iKKaOdpare, * purge him away
from the State ' — Seuo-oTroto? Trovrjpla, * ingrained
wickedness.' He has some vigour and liveliness :
abrupt statements like the following are terse and
graphic enough — ' You chose prosecutors in due course ;
he came before the court ; you acquitted him ' ; ^ he
makes good use of rhetorical questions addressed to
the defendant : — ' Did you propose any motion about
it ? Did you give any counsel ? Did you contribute
any money ? Did you ever in any small matter prove
serviceable to those who were working for the common
safety ? Not in the slightest degree ' . . . etc,^ His
sarcasm, which is rare, because he is generally too directly
violent to be sarcastic, is at times pointed : — * Read
again the decree which Demosthenes proposed against
N^ Demosthenes.' * He knows the oratorical tricks : he
' can flatter the jury by references to their intelligence,
by praise of the Areopagus, by encomia on the virtues
of their ancestors. He can appeal to ancient and
modem precedent for the impartiahty of judges and
their severity against evil-doers.
He is at his best in the long refutation of the defence
which he anticipates from Demosthenes^^ — this is, on
1 Dion., Din., ch, 2. * Demos., § 58. » Ibid., § 35.
* Ibid., 83. » Demos., §§ 48-63.
DINARCHUS 305
the whole, orderly and effective — and in short passages
like the following from the speech Against Phtlocles :
* Reflecting on these facts, Athenians, and remembering
the present crisis, which calls for honour, not corruption,
it is your duty to hate evil-doers, to exterminate from your
city such beasts, and show the world that the nation has
not shared in the degradation of certain of its politicians
and generals, and is not a slave to conventional opinion ;
knowing that, by God's favour, with the help of justice and
concord, we shall easily defend ourselves, if any enemies
wrongfully attack us, but that in union with corruption
and treachery and other such vices which infect mankind,
no city can ever be saved. ' ^
He was, then, thoroughly competent ; but he was
careless. He passes from section to section with no
logical and little formal connection ; invective takes
the place of argument, and even his abuse is incoherent.
Everything is overdone ; other writers have produced
striking effects by slight changes in the order of words ;
Dinarchus disarranges his order without improving the
emphasis. 2 Again, the repetition of a single word may
give emphasis, as thus : — * A hireling, men of Athens,
a hireling he is and has been ' ; but this device is used
ad nauseam.^ His sentences, great concatenations of
participles and relatives, trail along like wounded
snakes.*
Invective had its place in Athenian oratory, but
when on every page we find such expressions as beast,
1 Phil, § 19.
' In such extravagances as 17 rajv 4k irpovolas <p6v(au d^ioiriffTos oC<ra
^ovXrj TO SiKaLOP Kai raXrjdes evpeiu {Demos., § 6). Cf. also §§ 12, 23, 59,
1 10, and elsewhere.
* Demos., § 28 ; cf. §§ 10, 27, 46, 76, etc.
* Demos., §§ 18-21 (thirty -six lines without a real stop) ; Phtlocles,
§§ 1-3 (twenty-three hnes).
U
3o6 THE GREEK ORATORS
foul creature, foul beast, scum, cheat, accursed, thief,
traitor, perjurer, receiver of bribes, hireling, unclean,
we feel that the orator is spitting rather than talking.^
There is a similar lack of decency in his imputation of
.^corrupt motives to all the public actions of Demosthenes,
good or bad, and to his exaggeration of the latter's
offences. He becomes positively ridiculous when he
describes Aristogiton's first imprisonment — the first
of many. Aristogiton, the worst man in Athens, or
rather, in all the world . . . has spent more time in
prison than out . . . the first time he went there he
behaved so disgustingly that the other prisoners, the
dregs of all the world, refused to have their meals with
him, or associate with him on terms of equahty.^ This
abuse of a man who is on trial for a merely political
offence, is grossly over-coloured, and is probably as
false as his description of Demosthenes' callousness : —
' He went about exulting in the city's misfortunes ; he
was carried in a litter down the road to Piraeus, mocking
at the miseries of the poor.' Finally, his plagiarisms
from Demosthenes, Aeschines, and other orators are too
numerous to record ; he borrows whole passages with-
out skill or appropriateness.^ He borrows even from
himself.* The ancient nicknames for him, a^ypolKo^
Afjfjbocrdevtjf;, KpiOivo^ ATjfjLoaOev^f; — ' the boorish Demo-
^ drjpiou, Aciapos, fjnapbv drjptov, Kddapfia^ 7(5i?s, KardpaToSy /c\^7rT7;$,
irpo86T7)s, irrLOjpKrjKcbs, 8o}p68oKOs, fxicrdwrds, KCLTairTvarbs are culled with-
out any special diligence from his elegant repertory.
« Anstog., §§ I, 2, 9-IO.
* Demos., § 24, description of Thebes, from Aeschines. See
Weil, les Harangues de Demosthene, p. 338, note on Philippic, iii.,
§ 41, and Din., Aristog., § 24, which is borrowed from it ; 'II est
4 son module ce que la bi^re est au vin.' (This barley-beer was a
barbarian drink.)
* E.g. the passage about Conon's son, Demos., § 14, used again
in Phil., § 17.
DINARCHUS 307
sthenes/ * the small-beer Demosthenes/ are as apt as
such characterisation can be.^
To sum up : the very marked decline of which f^,
Dinarchus is tjrpical, is due not to lack of technical
abiHty, but to lack of originality on the intellectual
side, and still more to moral causes : — lack of literary
conscience, shown in the plagiarisms ; lack of proper
care, shown in the incoherence of the whole speeches ;
and lack of all sense of proportion and restraint, shown
by the numerous exaggerations of various kinds which
have been described above.
^ Dion., de Din., ch. viii. ; Hermogenes, irepl iSewv, b, p. 384, iv.
CHAPTER XII
THE DECLINE OF ORATORY
OWING to the extraordinary success of the Mace-
donian arms, Hellenic culture spread rapidly
over a great part of the world ; but it was beaten
out thin in the process. ^
The conditions of Hfe in Greece underwent a great
change in the generations which succeeded the death of
Alexander. Athens, which had for so long been the
intellectual headquarters of the world, was now only a
station of secondary importance. Alexandria, founded
by the king himself, became under the divine auspices
of the Ptolemies not only the great mart of the world
but the greatest centre of learning ; Pergamus in the
course of time rivalled Alexandria, at any rate in
Uterary resources ; while Antioch and Tarsus also
became prominent in the history of learning.
From early times men of genius bom elsewhere in
Greece, in the Ionian cities and in Magna Graecia, had
turned to Athens for appreciation of their powers. It
is easy to see at a glance how much Athens owed to
these ahens for her intellectual advancement — Gorgias
of Leontini, Protagoras of Abdera, Anaxagoras of
Clazomenae, Thr£LS5nnachus of Chalcedon. Her dram-
atic poets were her own, and so were her great orators,
* The general decline of taste reacted on literary style, cf. infra
pp. 309-10-
808
THE DECLINE OF ORATORY 309
with the exception of Lysias ; but this is partly due to
the fact that the constitution of her laws gave little
opportunity for aliens to win distinction on the plat-
form or the stage. Of her great historians, one was
not of Athenian birth and even wrote in a foreign
dialect ; in philosophy no true-born Athenian before
Plato won real distinction. In the Macedonian era a
distinguished stranger had more prospect not only of
appreciation but of material advancement in one of the
royal cities than in a city-state which had become little
better than a minor satrapy in one of the great empires,
and traded only on the fading memories of its former
magnificence. Life in the great cities was very different,
too, from life in democratic Athens. From the time
of Pericles to that of Demosthenes, all citizens had at
least a strong corporate feeling ; all citizens knew each
other. The sculptor fought side by side with the tanner,
the Alcmaeonid met the lamp-seller in debate ; there
were many common grounds in which all could meet
under conditions of equality. In the law-courts the
orator must satisfy not only the learned few but the
unlettered many ; in the theatre the poet and his
actors appealed to all classes, from the high-priest who
must not be allowed to slumber on his central throne to
the people who ate sweetmeats in the back rows, and, if
dissatisfied, with true Athenian spirit, threw these harm-
less missiles at the performers. ^ Moreover, all spoke
the same language. The diction of tragedy gradually
put off its artificiality, and the orators approached
nearer and nearer to the idiom of common speech.
In Alexandria, on the other hand, to take one typical
1 Arist., Eth. Nic., x. 5. 4, ot TpayTifiarl^oyTts. Demos., de Cor. ,
cl. supra, p. 249.
X
310 THE GREEK ORATORS
example, there was no such unity. Among the Greek
inhabitants there were many classes — the court-circle,
the scholars of the Museum, the merchants, the
mercenary troops, all with different aims and occupa-
tions ; and these formed but a minority. In addition
there would be thousands of Jews, Egyptians, Phoeni-
cians, Mesopotamians, and others, to whom Greek was
at first a foreign language, and who when they had
acquired it spoke, in the kolvti, a dialect corrupted by
innumerable foreign elements. Thus, though scholar-
ship persisted and flourished, there must always have
been a sharp distinction between the lettered classes
and the common people.
Oratory, like all other arts, faded away in Athens
after Alexander's death, partly from the general causes
indicated, partly on account of the special conditions
of Athenian life.
Forced to submit to Antipater in 322 B.C., Athens was
allowed to exist on humihating terms. She received
a Macedonian garrison into Munychia, the democracy
was overthrown ; 12,000 of the poorer citizens were not
only disfranchised but expatriated, and an oligarchy
was instituted. Five years later a temporary revival
occurred, when Polysperchon (317 B.C.) overthrew the
oligarchy ; but a few months after this Cassander
obtained possession of the city and again established a
government on narrower lines, installing as governor
a man of great erudition and culture, Demetrius
of Phalerum. This Demetrius, though practically a
satrap of Cassander, governed the city wisely for ten
years ; but in 307 B.C. he fled before the approach of
Demetrius PoHorcetes, son of Antigonus. The Be-
sieger made a proclamation of freedom, which the
THE DECLINE OF ORATORY 311
Athenians by this time were unworthy to enjoy ; they
ascribed to him divine honours, and in 301 B.C. he
took up his quarters in the Parthenon. No wonder
that Pallas Athene fled in disgust when her shrine was
polluted by the licentious orgies of this new war-god.
Phocion, Demades, and Dinarchus, from among the
contemporaries of Demosthenes, lived to see their city
under Macedonian rule, but they left no successors.
There were few opportunities left for an orator. The
ecclesia, when it met on sufferance, could debate only
on matters of domestic import ; and proposals to im-
prove the water-supply, or er§ct statues to a tyrant,
give less scope for eloquence than the great issues of
peace and war which had formerly been the subject of
their dehberation. Men of political abiHty had no
scope when pohtics were dead. In the courts, too, there
could be no public cases of great interest comparable
with the case of the Crown or the impeachment of
Demosthenes. Private cases, in which aspiring poHti-
cians had hitherto found it convenient to try their
strength, were more suited to the attainments of pro-
fessional lawyers, and these cases must have greatly
decreased in numbers and importance when all the
dependencies of Athens were taken from her.^ The
oratory of display, brought to perfection by Isocrates,
had likewise but few openings. No orator could rise
at the Olympic Festival to summon all Greeks to
brotherhood in arms ; no funeral speech could move a
people to tears or exalt them to enthusiasm when battles
1 E.g. many of the private speeches of Demosthenes refer to
maritime speculations ; many of these cases, under Macedon, would
be settled in local courts instead of being brought to Athens, and
the diminution of Athenian commerce would still further reduce
their number.
^
X...
312 THE GREEK ORATORS
were waged by mercenaries and war declared not by a
nation but by a foreign prince. The art of rhetoric was
still practised, but already Aristotle, by going back to
first principles, had composed the first and last scientific
treatise on this subject, and shown that it must be put
into its true place as a branch of philosophy, to be
studied in combination with its counterpart, Dialectic. ^
Political theory, which figures prominently in Isocrates
and Demosthenes, had likewise become the property
of the philosophical schools.
Demetrius of Phalerum, the regent of Cassander, is
reckoned by Quintihan as the last of the orators. Such
time as he could spare from the management of the
city and the contemplation of the 360 statues erected
to him by an admiring or subservient populace, ^ was
devoted to the study of philosophy, history and oratory.
He wrote more than any other Epicurean on record ^ —
philosophical dialogues, historical works, erudite re-
searches, Hterary and rhetorical studies, speeches, all
testified alike to his industry and the wide extent of
his interests. His Rhetoric, which contained personal
reminiscences of Demosthenes, is quoted by Plutarch
on that account ; his treatise on Demagogy contained
his iHeas of political science ; his history of his regency
(jrepl T7}9 BeKaereia^) might, if we could recover it, add
much to our scanty knowledge of that period. So short
are the fragments remaining of his work that we must
turn chiefly to Cicero and Quintilian for an estimate of
his value. We gather that he was an excellent example
of the * tempered style,' excelling in grace and brilhance,
but deficient in vigour and in real passion. A philo-
^ Arist., Rhet., i. i., ad init. * Diog. Laert., v. 75.
? Ibid., V. 80-81.
THE DECLINE OF ORATORY 313
sophical treatment of his subject-matter was one of
his marked characteristics.^
A few facts about his hfe are known chiefly from
Diogenes. He was the son of Phanostratus, an en-
franchised slave. He studied imder Theophrastus and
entered political Hfe about 324 B.C. Belonging to the
Macedonian party, he took part in the negotiations after
the Lamian war. In 317 B.C., when Phocion was put
to death, he fled, but was chosen by the citizens, with
the approval of Cassander, to be their governor, and
ruled from 317 to 307, when he was superseded by
Demetrius Poliorcetes. He retired to Thebes, and
twenty years later went to Egypt. Exiled from Alex-
andria by Philadelphus, he died of a snake-bite in one ^
of the remote demes of Egypt about 280 B.C.
Demochares and Charisius belong also to this period ;
the former, one of the few Athenians who retained any
independence of spirit, was a nephew of Demosthenes,
whose style he imitated ; Charisius imitated and ex-
aggerated the simplicity of Lysias.^
From this time onward, oratory is practically dead ;
declamations on fictitious subjects took the place of
real speeches in the assembly or the courts ; oratory
became an element in education and nothing more.
We need mention only Hegesias of Magnesia {c. 250 B.C.),
the founder of what was subsequently known as the
* Asian ' school of rhetoric, the characteristics of which
were affected expression, grotesque metaphor, plays upon
words, incongruous rhythms, and general lack of ideas. ^
1 Cicero, Brutus, § 37 ; Orator, § 92 ; de Oratore, ii. § 95 ; Quint.,
X. I, 80 ; Diog. L,, V. 82. ^ Cicero, Brutus, § 286.
^ He was over-fond of the ditrochaeus {—^-J) at the end of the
sentence, vide Cicero, Brutus, § 286; Orator, §§ 226, 230; Dion., dt
Comp. Verb.„ ch. xviii.
314 THE GREEK ORATORS
Dionysius quotes an extract, with the remark that it
looks as if it had been written for a joke. Hegesias is
r, f important only on accomit of the debasing influence
* which he exercised over his Greek and Roman followers.
For a genuine revival of oratory we must wait till
the last years of the Roman Repubhc.
INDEX
Achilles, 2.
Administration, speech of Lycur-
gns on his, 274.
Aegina, 8.
A egineticus, the, oiIsocta.tQS, 158 ;
Aeschines, 163-108; 35, 70, 71,
200, 201, 203, 220, 224, 229, ;
231, 247, 249, 255, 263, 265,
267, 307.
Aeschines the Socratic, 90, 112. ;
Aeschylus, 23.
Agamemnon, 157.
Agathon, 15, 21.
Agesilaus, 145, 147. |
Agoratus, speech of Lysias ;
against, 99.
Alcibiades, 7, 10, 54, 158; speech
of Lysias against, loo.
Alcidamas, 160-162.
Alexander the Great, 4, 130, 158,
176-7, 221-2, 225, 228, 268,
271.
Alexandria, 308, 309.
Allegory, 2. i
Amphictyonic Council, the, 169, j
220, 251, 286. j
Amphissa, 169, 220. |
Anaxagoras, 6, 34, 308.
Andocides, 53-73; 81, 88, 192.
Andocides, speech of Lysias
against, loi.
Androtion, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 205, 254, 261.
Antalcidas, 152.
Antidosis, speech of Isocrates
on the, 14, 127, 137 sqg.
Antioch, 308.
Antipater, 158, 228, 229, 269, '
270, 287, 310. i
Antiphon, 19 49 ; 3, 7, 12, 16, 17,
51. 59. 66, 105, 112, 199, 200, I
280. i
Antiphon the poet, 14.
Antiphon the Sophist, 49.
Antithesis, 16, 17, 27, 52, 58, 60,
66, 70,93, 115, T33, 183, 240,
278, 280.
Apaturius, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 260.
Aphobus, speech of Demosthenes
against, 103, 256.
Apollodorus, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 104, 115, 123.
Archaism, 16.
Archebiades, speech of Lysias
against, 102.
Archeptolemus, 20, 93.
Archidamus, 145, 158.
Archidamus, the, of Isocrates,
155, 160.
Areopagiticus, the, of Isocrates,
131, 154-5, 157-
Areopagus, the, 47, 155, 225,
282, 304.
Argos, 147, 213.
Aristarchus, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 104, 124.
Aristides, 154.
Aristocrates, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 205, 254, 262.
Aristogiton, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 234, 265 ; of
Lycurgus, 273 ; of Dinarchus,
303, 306.
Aristophanes, 53, 136, 198, 232,
249.
Aristophanes, speech of Lysias
on the property of, 97.
Aristophon of Azenia, 286.
Aristotle, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 21,
25, 32, 50, 133, 161, 162, 272.
Artaxerxes, 92.
Artemisia, 128, 266.
Asia, 130.
316
3i6
THE GREEK ORATORS
Aspasia, 102.
Astyphilus, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 124.
Athenaeus, 50.
Athenogenes, speech of Hyper-
ides against, 288, 295, 300-1.
Athens, 4, 5, 10, 126, 141, 145,
147, 150-2, 154, 219, 267,
308-11.
^Austere' style, the, 27.
Autolycus, speech of I.ycurgus
against, 273.
BalaxMce of Clauses (see also
Period), 30.
Blass, R, 17, 44, 83, 132, 174,
176, 192, 193, 218, 243-4, 273,
276.
Boeotia, 9.
Boeotus, speech of Demosthenes
against, 258-9.
Bosporus, 201.
Bribery, 167.
Busiris, the, of Isocrates, 134,
156.
Butcher, Prof. S. H., 218, 227.
Byzantium, 216, 219.
Caecilius of Calacte, 44.
Callias, speech of Lysias for, 99.
Callicles, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 204, 257.
CaUimachus, speech of Isocrates
against, 158.
Callippus, speech of Demosthenes
against, 258.
Cassander, 302, 310.
Cephisodorus, 162.
Cersobleptes, 183.
Chaeronea, 126, 129, 148, 149,
221, 274-5, 278.
Charidemus, 262.
Charisius, 313.
Chersonese, the, 214, 240, 247,
266 ; speech of Demosthenes
on the, 215-16, 256.
Choreutes, speech of Antiphon
on the, 33, 37, 44, 48.
Cicero, 5, 11, 14, 174, 193, 230,
3"-
Cinesias, speech of Lysias against,
102.
Circumlocution, 24.
Ciron, speech of Isaeus on the
estate of, 108-112, 115, 123,
125.
Cirrha, 169.
Cleonymus, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 123.
CoUoquiahsms, 23, 31, 78, 113,
232, 234, 289-90.
Companions, speech of Lysias to
his, 102.
Conon, speech of Demosthenes
against, 204, 237-8, 257.
Corax, 12, 13.
Corinthian War, the, 94.
Corn-dealers, speech of Lysias
against the, 96-7.
Cripple, speech of Lysias for the,
83, 86-7, 89, 95, 98.
Critias, 10,
Croiset, M., 192, 243, 244, 266,
299.
Crown, speech of Demosthenes
on the, 165, 170, 220, 222-4,
248, 254, 263-5, 311.
Ctesiphon, 166, 179, 183, 185,
187-9, 191, 196-8, 221, 222-4,
253-
Cunaxa, 147.
Cyrus, 147.
Damon, 6.
Death, the praise of, by Alci-
damas, 160.
Decelea, 20.
Declamations, 44.
Demades, 269-270; 200, 222,
228-9 » speech of Lycurgus
against, 273, 274, 286, 294.
Demetrius Magnes, 303.
Demetrius of Phalerum, 232, 290,
310, 312-13.
Demetrius Pohorcetes, 310, 313.
Demochares, 313.
Democracy, speech of Lysias on
a charge of subversion of the,
98.
Demonicus, letter of Isocrates to,
INDEX
317
Demosthenes, 199-267 ; 2, 3, i6,
29; 32, 35, 68, 78, 80, 81, 103,
104, 130, 133, 144, 154, 163-
198 passim^ 270, 271, 278, 286,
287, 289, 294, 296, 303, 304,
306.
Dicaeogenes, speech of T.saeus od
the estate of, 104, 107, 124.
Dinarchus, 302-307; 200, 226,
236, 311.
DiocHdes, 56, 63.
Diogenes Laertius, 312.
Diogiton, speech of Lysias
against, 100.
Dionysius of Hahcarnassus, 23,
50, 57, 70, 74. 81, 90, 94, 103,
104, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122,
131, 161, 162, 236, 238-40,
250, 270, 288, 289, 302, 303,
313-
Dionysius i. of Syracuse, 91, 92,
130, 145, 158.
Dionysodorus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 204, 261.
Diopeithes, 214-15, 246, 286.
Education, Isocrates' views on,
127, 128, 135-44, 172, 187-
Eleusis, mysteries of, 53-5.
Embassy, speech of Aeschines
on the, 166, 167, 179, 182, 191,
194-6 ; speech of Demosthenes
on the, 166, 168, 170, 251,
253, 263-4.
Encomia^ 15, 16, 156-7.
Epicrates, speech of Lysias
against, 96.
Epideictic style, 15-16, 93, 135,
200, 234, 243, 276-7, 292.
Epitaphios, the, of Demosthenes,
267 ; of Gorgias, 15, 17 ; of
Hyperides, 292, 299 ; of Ly-
curgus, 288 ; of Lysias, 5, 17,
89, 92-3-
Eraton, speech of Lysias on the
property of, loo-i.
Eratosthenes, speech of Lysias
against, 77, 79, 98.
Eratosthenes, speech of Lysias
on the murder of, 87, 95, 99.
Eratosthenes (criticism of De-
mosthenes), 232.
Ergodes, speech of Lysias
against, 95, 96.
EroticuSy the, of Demosthenes,
267 ; of Lysias, 101-2.
Ethos, 37, 67, 84-8, 114, 122, 295.
Eubuhdes, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 258.
Eubulus, 196, 211, 263.
EucUdes of Megara, 138.
Eucrates, 95.
Euergus and Mnesibulus, speech
of Demosthenes against, 259.
Eumathes, speech of Isaeus for,
118-19, 125.
Euphiletus, speech of Isaeus for,
120, 124.
Euphony, 132.
EupoHs, 7.
Euripides, 198.
Eurybiadais, 5.
Euthynus, speech of Isocrates
against, 158.
Euxenippus, speech against, of
Hyperides, 288, 293-5 > o^ Ly-
curgus, 273.
Evagoras, the, of Isocrates, 135,
157-
Evandrus, speech of Lysias
against, 97, 98.
Falsa Legatione, de, see Embassy.
Figures of thought (see also
Rhetorical devices), 31, 58, 89,
183, 294.
' Florid ' style, the, 131.
Four Hundred, the, 19-20, 57.
Gelon, 9.
Glottal (rare words), 15, 51.
Gorgias, 12-18 ; 19, 21, 22, 30, 51,
52, 91, 93, 127, 135, 160, 240,
243, 278, 308.
Hagnias, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 107, 124.
Heilonnesus, speech of Demo-
sthenes on, 266.
Harpalus, 225-7, 287, 302.
3i8
THE GREEK ORATORS
Harpocration, 102.
Hegesias, 313.
Hegesippus, 266.
Helenae encomium of Gorgias, 51,
157 ; of Isocrates, 134, 138,
156-7-
Hellenism, 4, 130, 290.
Hermae, the, 34, 53-4.
Hermogenes, 13, 58, 289.
Herodes, speech of Antiphon on
the murder of, 27, 33-4, 36,
37-43, 44, 46, 60.
Herodes Atticus, 58.
Herodotus, 4, 5, 9, 21, 26, 27, 135.
Hesiod, 173, 184, 186.
Hiatus, 29, 30, 1 31-2, 183, 241,
267, 277, 304.
Hippias, II.
Hippocrates, speech of Lysias
against the sons of, 102.
Hogarth, D. G., 221.
Homer, i, 2, 10, 65, 105, 137,
152, 230, 279.
Hyperbolus, 72-3.
Hyperides, 285-301 ; 167, 192,
200, 213, 214, 226-8, 230, 273,
304-
Inheritance, 105-7.
Ionian philosophers, 9, 142.
Isaeus, 102-125; 81, 171, 192,
202, 244, 270, 303.
Ischyrias, speech of Lysias
against, 274.
Isocrates, 125-159; 4, 14, 16, 51,
81,91, 100, 104, 112, 113, 114,
160, 162, 177, 199, 200, 204,
212, 231, 234, 238-9, 241, 276,
279, 285, 303.
Jason, letter of Isocrates to the
children of, 127, 158.
Jebb, Sir R. C., 34, loi, 102, 128.
Lacedaemon, 92, 145, 147, 150-
2, 154, 215.
Lacritus, speech of Demosthenes
against, 204, 260.
Lamian War, the, 228, 287, 299.
Leochares, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 260.
Leocrates, speech of Lycurgus
against, 273, 274-6, 280, 283-5.
Leodamas, 229.
Leosthenes, 287, 299-300.
Leptines, speech of Demosthenes
against, 206-7, 253-4, 261.
Libanius, 271.
Lochites, speech of Isocrates
against, 158.
Locrians, the, 248.
Logographi, 34, 84, 92, 200, 202,
286, 295, 302.
Longinus, 192.
Lucian, 229, 230, 246.
Lycophron, 162 ; speech of
Hyperides for, 298 ; of Ly-
curgus against, 273, 288, 298.
Lycurgus, 271-285.
Lysander, 126.
Lysias, 73-102; 2, 51, 61, 112,
113, 114, 117, 120, 133, 135,
192, 236, 253, 289, 303, 308,
313-
Lysicles, speech of Lycurgus
against, 274, 285.
Macartatus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 260.
Macedonia, 128, 129, 311.
Trpb% ras Marreias, speech of
Lycurgus, 274.
Mantitheus, speech of Lysias for ,
83-5, 98.
Mausolus, 128.
Megalopohs, 165, 168 ; speech of
Demosthenes for the people of,
206, 255, 266.
Menecles, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 124.
Menesaechmus, speech of Ly-
curgus against, 274.
Menexenus, the, of Plato, 94,
102.
Messenian Oration, the, of Alci-
damas, 160-1.
Metaphor, 31, 184, 234-5, 290-1,
304-
Midias, 190, 220; speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 253, 262-3.
Mitylene, letter of Isocrates to
the rulers of, 158.
INDEX
319
Mnesiphilus., 5. j
Mommsen, 193.
Mysteries, speech of Andocides |
on the, 55, 37, 62-5, 69, 71. I
NaiSy the Praise of^ by Alcidamas, !
160. I
Nausimachus, speech of Demo- I
sthenes against, 258.
Neaera, speech of Demosthenes j
against, 265. \
Nestor, i. - j
Nicias, speech of Lysias on the j
property of the brother of, 97. {
Nicocles, or The Cyprians, by j
Isocrates, 140, 156.
Nicomachus, speech of Lysias
against, 90, 96.
Nicostratus, speech of Isaeus on
the estate of, 116, 123.
Nicostratus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 259.
Odysseus, 2, 6,
Odyssey, the, 161.
Olympia, 91, 144, 311.
Olympiacus, the, of Gorgiais, 15 ;
of Lysias, 77, 91.
Olympiodorus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 260.
Olynthiacs, the, of Demosthenes,
206, 210, 223, 233, 245, 246,
255-
Olynthus, 2 10-2 11, 217, 245, 286,
295- I
Onetor, speech of Demosthenes j
against, 256.
Orphism, 164. !
Palamedes, the defence of, by i
Gorgias, 16, 51. j
Panathenaicus, the, of Isocrates, :
126, 127, 129, 157. i
Pancleon, speech of Lysias
against, 10 1.
Panegyricus, the, of Isocrates, 91,
134, 140, 144, 146, 149-52, 276, :
279. i
Pantaenetus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 258. j
Papyri, 4, 113, 288.
Paradox, 244-5.
Paraleipsis, 32, 174.
Parallelism, 17, 29.
Parenthesis, 69.
Parmenides, 9, 142.
Pasion, 158.
Pathos, 88, 123, 178.
Pausanias, 227.
Peace, on the, speech of Ando-
cides, 57, 70 ; of Demosthenes,
212, 256 ; of Isocrates, 140,
153-4.
Peloponnesian War, the, 126-7,
135, 201.
Pergamus, 308.
Pericles, 6, 7, 10, 34, 74, 93, 141,
154, a^e; 309. 2.^:^ r^.^ , /. ri-u.^t/'^
Period, 16, 24-6, 82-4, 114, 133. ^^'^
Persia, 4, 92-3, 144,147, 150-2,221.
Personalities, 35, 67-9, 122, 164,
170-1, 187-91, 233, 248, 305.
Personification, 198, 234, 280-1.
Persuasion, the goddess, 142.
Phaedrus, the, of Plato, 7, 50, 127.
Phaenippus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 260.
Phanos, speech of Demosthenes
for, 256.
Pherenicus, speech of Lysias for,
102.
Phihp of Macedon, 81, 126, 129,
130, 145-9, «58, 165, 167-9,
176-7, 189, 206-221, 251, 269,
286, 294-5.
Philip's letter, Demosthenes*
answer to, 267.
Philippics, the, of Demosthenes,
207-10, 213, 2i6-i8, 255-6,
266.
Phihppides, speech of Hyperides
against, 288, 299.
Philippus, the, of Isocrates, 126,
129, 146-9, 215, 279.
Philocles, speech of Dinarchus
against, 303-5-
Philocrates, speech of Hyperides
against, 214, 286 ; speech of
Lysias against, 96.
Philocrates, the peace of, 146,
168, 212.
320
THE GREEK ORATORS
Philoctemon, speech of Isaeus
on the estate of, 124.
Philon, speech of Lysias against,
98.
Philostratus, 14.
Phocion, 268-269 ; 196, 200, 225,
229, 278, 287, 311.
Phocis, 169, 212, 217, 220.
Phoenix, 2.
Phorinio, speech of Demosthenes
for, 257 ; do. against, 204, 260.
Phryne, Hyperides' defence of,
286, 289, 293.
Phrynichus, 20.
Pickard-Cambridge, A. W., 233,
251.
Piraeus, 8, 150, 225, 272.
Pisander, 19.
Piso, 76-7.
Plataicus, the, of Isocrates, 152-3.
Plato, 3, 7, 10, II, 14, 15, 20,
50, 51, 74-5, 101-2, 104, 127,
136, 204, 231, 238-9, 285, 309.
Plato comicus, 4.
Plutarch, 5, 6, 166, 201, 203, 226,
229, 232, 268.
Pseudo-, 44, 57, 59, 74-5, 90,
123, 127, 143, 272-3, 285, 298.
Poetical quotations, 184, 187, 232,
275, 279, 281.
Poetical words, 16, 17, 23, 51-2,
179.
Poisoning, speech of Antiphon on
a charge of, 29, 44, 48.
Polemarchus, 99.
Polycles, speech of Demosthenes
against, 259.
Polycrates, 162.
Polysperchon, 310.
Polystatus, speech of Lysie^ for,
95-
Priestess and Priesthood,
speeches of Lycurgus on the,
274.
Probability, argument from, 36.
Prodicus, 10, 20.
Prooemia, of Demosthenes, 267 ;
of Lysias, 82.
Prose-style (see also Period,
Style, etc.), 3, 14, 16, 21, 130,
201, 238-240.
Protagoras, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 22,
127, 136, 308.
Ptolemy Philadelphus, 272.
Pyrrhus, speech of Isaeus on the
estate of, 124.
Pytheas, 202, 270.
Pythian speech, the, of Gorgias,
15-
Pythian Games, the, 212.
Pythoclides, 6.
Questions, rhetorical, 58, 71,
115-16, 293, 304.
Quintilian, 58, 230, 312.
de Reditu, speech of Andocides,
54-55, 70-
Rhetoric and rhetoricians, 3, 9, 12,
32, 50, 59, 129-30, 133, 138,
161, 162, 181, 199, 312.
Rhetorical devices, 33, 64, 69, 93,
183, 244-52, 304.
Rhodians, speech of Demo-
sthenes on the freedom of the,
255, 266.
Rhyme, 18, 30-31.
Rhythm, 16, 27-30, 52, 132-3,
184, 241-4.
Rome, 314.
Sacred Ohve, speech of Lysias
on the, 99-100.
Sacred War, the, 166, 169.
Sacrilege, 53.
Salamis, 5.
Samos, 8.
Samothrace, 19,
Sandys, Sir J. E., 218.
Sextus Empiricus, 13, 14.
SiciUan expedition, the, 53, 126
Sicily, 3, 9.
Simile, 9, 290-1.
Simon, speech of Lysias against,
99.
Smooth style, the, 131.
Social War, the, 153.
Socrates, 127, 136-8, 300.
Socrates, the Accusation of, by
Polycrates, 162.
Socratics, 138.
INDEX
321
Soldier, speech of Lysias for the,
97-
Solon, 141, 173.
Sophists, the, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13,
14, 22, 135-44, 157, 160.
Sophists, speech of Alcidamas
on the, 160.
Sophists, speech of Isocrates
against the, 127, 128, 136-144.
Spudias, speech of Demosthenes
against, 256.
Stephanus, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 257, 259.
Structure of sentences, 30, 82,
133-4, 181-2, 292-3 ; of
speeches, 35, 52, 81, 114, 117,
120-2, 191, 252-5.
Style, types and characteristics
of, 15-16,21-7, 51, 58,61,78, 82,
113, 117, 119, 179-81, 185, 234,
238, 276, 292-3, 303-4.
Sublime, treatise on the, 229, 297.
■Kepi cvvra^em, Speech of Demo-
sthenes, 267.
Symmories, speech of Demo-
sthenes on the, 206, 244-5,
255, 265.
Syracuse, 11.
Tarsus, 308.
Tetralogies, the, of Antiphon, 19-
43, 44-9, 60.
Thebes, 126, 141, 145, 147, 152,
186, 215, 221, 227, 271.
Themistocles, 5, 6, 141, 154,
' 198.
Theccrines, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 265.
Theodorus of Byzantium, 50,
52-3-
Theomnestus, speech of Lysias
against, 100.
Theophrastus, 269, 302, 313.
Theoric Fund, the, 211, 218, 219,
245-6.
Theramenes, 20, 127.
Thermopylae, 220.
Thessaly, 14, 217, 220.
Thirty, The, 76, 98, 127, 164,
174, 199, 271.
Thrasymachus, 50-52; 132, 308.
Thucydides, 3, 5, 7, 8, 16, 18-20,
27-9, 51, 52, 55, 105, 114,
199, 203.
Thurii, 74-5.
Timarchus, speech of Aeschines
against, 164-6, 168, 170, 173,
176, 193-4.
Timocrates, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 205, 248, 251,
254, 261.
Timotheus, son of Conon, 128.
Timotheus, letter of Isocrates to,
158.
Tisias, 12-14, 5°, 75-
Tisis, speech of Lysias against,
102.
Torture of staves, 47, no- 11, 112.
Trapeziticus, the, of Isocrates,
158.
Treaty with Alexander, speech
of Demosthenes on the, 267.
Trierarchic Crown, speech of
Demosthenes on the, 256.
Trierarchic law, 219.
Verrall, a. W., 31.
Vocabulary, 18, 22, 23, 61, 68,
81, 113, 134-5, 179, 289.
Weil, H., 218, 251, 265, 306.
Wounding with intent, speech
of Lysias on, 99.
Xenophon, 7.
Xerxes, 6.
Zeno, 7, 9.
Zenothemis, speech of Demo-
sthenes against, 204, 259.
irepl TOO ^euyovs, speech of Iso-
crates, 158.
Zfj)s Krijcrios, III.
Printed by T, and A, Constable, Printers to His Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press
A SELECTION OF BOOKS
PUBLISHED BY METHUEN
AND CO. LTD. LONDON
36 ESSEX STREET
W.C.(2^
CONTENTS
PAGE
FAGB
General Literature .
2
Miniature Library .
«9
Ancient Cities .
12
New Library of Medicine
19
Antiquary's Books . .
12
New Library of Music .
M
Arden Shakespeare .
»3
Oxford Biographies .
ao
Classics of Art . . .
13
Nine Plays . . .
ao
'Complete' Series .
14
Sport Series .
ao
Connoisseur's Library .
14
States of Italy .
•0
Handbooks of English Church
Westminster Commentaries
so
History ....
'!
' Young ' Series .
ax
Handbooks of Theology .
>5
Cheap Library .
•X
Health Series . .
15
Books for Travellers . .
aa
' Home Life ' Series .
IS
Some Books on Art.
aa
Leaders of Religion
16
Some Books on Italy
«3
Library of Devotion
16
Little Books on Art
17
Fiction
•4
Little Guides . . .
17
Books for Boys and Girls
aS
Little Librai-y . .
18
Cheap Novels . . . .
•9
Little Quarto Shakespeare
T9
One and Threepenny Novels.
V
A SELECTION O?
Messrs. Methuen's
PUBLICATIONS
In this Catalogue the order is according to authors.
Colonial Editions ate published of all Messrs. Methobn's Novels issued
at a price above 4*. net, and similar editions are published of some works of
General Literature. Colonial Editions are only for circulation in the British
Colonies and India.
All books marked net are not subject to discount, and cannot be bought
at less than the published price. Books not marked net are subject to the
discount which the bookseller allows.
The prices in this Catalogue are liable to alteration without previous notice.
Messrs. Methuen's books arc kept in stock by all good booksellers. If
there is any difficulty in seeing copies, Messrs. Mcthuen will be very glad to
have early information, and specimen copies of any books will be sent on
receipt of the published price plus postage for net books, and of the published
price for ordi)»ary books.
This Catalogue contains only a selection of the more important books
published by Messrs, Methuen. A complete catalogue of their publications
may be obtained on application.
JLndrewes (Lancelot). PRECES PRI-
VATAE. Translated and edited, with
Notes, by F. E. Brightman. Cr. %vo.
^s. 6d, net.
Aristotle. THE ETHICS. Edited, with
an Introduction and Notes, by John
Burnet. Detny Zvo. 15J. net.
Atkinson (T. D.). ENGLISH ARCHI-
TECTURE. Illustrated. Fourth Edition.
Fcap, 8»<7. ts. net.
A GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN
ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE, Illus-
trated. Second Edition. Fcap. Zvo. ts. net.
Atterldge (A. H.). FAMOUS LAND
FIGHTS. Illustrated, Cr. Svo. 7*. 6d.
net.
Baggally (W. Wortley). TELEPATHY :
Genuine and Fraudulent. Cr. Svo.
3*. 6d. net.
Bain (F. W.). A DIGIT OF THE MOON:
A Hindoo Love Story. Twelfth Edition.
Fcaj>. Svo. ss, net.
THE DESCENT OF THE SUN : A Cycle
OF Birth. Seventh Edition. Fcap. Svo.
SS. net.
A HEIFER OF THE DAWN. Ninth
Edition, Fcap. Svo. 5s. net.
IN THE GREAT GOD'S HAIR. Sixth
Edition. Fcap. Svo. ^s. net.
A DRAUGHT OF THE BLUE. Sixth
Edition, Fcap. Svo. ^s. net.
AN ESSENCE OF THE DUSK. Fourth
Edition. Fcap. Svo. 5^. net.
AN INCARNATION OF THE SNOW,
Fourth Edition. Fcap. Svo. 5^. net.
A MINE OF FAULTS. Fourth Edition
Fcap. Svo. 5J. net.
THE ASHES OF A GOD. Second Edition,
Fcap. Svo. 5^. net.
BUBBLES OF THE FOAM. Secona
Edition. Fcap. ^to. 7s. 6d. net. Alsc
Fcap. Svo. 5J. net.
A SYRUP OF THE BEES. Fcap. 4/0.
7J, 6^. net. Also Fcap. Svo. 5J, net.
THE LIVERY OF EVE. Second Edition.
Fcap. 4to. js. 6</. net. Also Fcap Svo.
SS. net.
AN ECHO OF THE SPHERES. Rescued
from Oblivion by F. W. Bain. Wide Demy
Svo. los. 6d. net.
Balfour (Graliam). THE LIFE OF
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. Fif-
teenth Edition. In one Volume. Cr. Svo.
Buckram, js. 6ti. net.
Baring (Hon. Maurice). LANDMARKS
IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE. Third
Edition. Cr. Svo. js. 6d. net.
THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE. Second
Edition. Demy Svo. i^s. net.
General Literature
A YEAR IN RUSSIA. Cr. Svo. js. 6d.
TUt.
Baring-Gould (S.). THE TRAGEDY OF
THE CyESARS: A Study of the
Characters of the Cvesars of the
Julian and Claudian Houses. Illus-
trated. Seventh Editon, Royal %vo. 15*.
net.
A BOOK OF CORNWALL. Illustrated.
Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 75. f>d. net.
A BOOK OF DARTMOOR. Illustrated.
Third Edition. Cr.Zvo. 7j.6d.net.
A BOOK OF DEVON. Illustrated. TUrd
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7*. td. net.
Baring-Oould (S.) and Sheppard (H. F.).
A GARLAND OF COUNTRY SONG.
English Folk Songs with their Tradi-
tional Melodies. Demy ^to. js. 6d. net.
Baring-OoQld (S.), Sheppard (H. F.), and
BusseU (F. W.). SONGS OF THE
WEST. Folk Songs of Devon and Corn-
wall. Collected from the Mouths of the
People. New and Revised Edition, under
the musical editorship of Cecil J. Sharp.
Second Edition. Large Imperial &vo.
js. 6d. net.
Barker (B.). GREEK POLITICAL
THEORY : Plato and his Predecessors.
Demy Bvo. 14J. net.
Bastable (C. F.). THE COMMERCE OF
NATIONS. Eighth Edition, Cr.Zvo. s*.
net.
Beckford (Peter). THOUGHTS ON
HUNTING. Edited by J. Otho Paget.
Illustrated. Third Edition. Demy 8vo.
js. 6d. net.
Belloc (H.). PARIS. Illustrated. Third
Edition. Cr. Zvo. js. 6d. net.
HILLS AND THE SEA. IVinth Edition.
Fcap. %vo. ts. net.
ON NOTHING AND KINDRED SUB-
JECTS. Fourth Edition. Fcap.Zvo. (>s.
net.
ON EVERYTHING. Fourth EdiHon. Fcap.
%vo. 6j. net.
ON SOMETHING. Third Edition. Fcap.
Zvo. 6j. net.
FIRST AND LAST. Second Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6j. net.
THIS AND THAT AND THE OTHER.
Second Edition. Fcap. %vo. ts, net.
MARIE ANTOINETTE. Illustrated.
Fourth Edition. Demy Swo. i8j. net.
THE PYRENEES. Illustrated. Second
Edition. Demy %vo. lojr. dd. net.
Bennett (Arnold). THE TRUTH ABOUT
AN AUTHOR. Fcap. Zvo. 5^. mt.
Bennett (W. H.). A PRIMER OF THE
BIBLE. Fifth Edition. Cr. 8vo. 4s. net.
Bennett (W. H.) and Adeney (W. F.). A
BIBLICAL INTRODUCTION. With a
concise Bibliography. Sixth Edition. Cr.
8vo. 8s. 6d. net. Also in Two Volumes.
Cr. Bvo. Each ss. net.
Berrlman (Algernon B.). AVIATION.
Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr. Bvo.
12s. 6d. net.
MOTORING.
1 2 J. 6d. net.
Illustrated. Demy Bvo.
Bicknell (Bthel E.). PARIS AND HER
TREASURES. Illustrated. Fcap. Bvo.
Round comers. 6s. net.
Blake (William). ILLUSTRATIONS OF
THE BOOK OF JOB. With a General
Introduction by Laurence Binyon. Illus-
trated. Quarto. £1 is. net.
Bloemfonteln (BUhop of). ARA CCELI :
An Essay in Mystical Theology.
Seventh Edition. Cr. Bvo. ss. net.
FAITH AND EXPERIENCE. Third
Edition. Cr. Bvo. sj. net.
THE CULT OF THE PASSING
MOMENT. Fourth Edition. Cr. Bvo.
SS. net.
THE ENGLISH CHURCH AND RE-
UNION. Cr.Bvo. ss.net.
Brabant (P. G.). RAMBLES IN SUSSEX.
Illustrated. Cr. Bvo. 7s. 6d. net.
Braid (James). ADVANCED GOLF.
Illustrated. Eighth Edition. Demy Bvo.
I2S. 6d. net.
BuUey (M. H.). ANCIENT AND MEDI-
EVAL ART. Illustrated. Cr. Svo. 7s. 6d.
net.
Carlyle (Thomas). THE FRENCH
REVOLUTION. Edited by C. R. L.
Fletcher. Three Volumes. Cr. Bvo. iBs.
net.
THE LETTERS AND SPEECHES OF
OLIVER CROMWELL. With an In-
troduction by C. H. Firth, and Notes
and Appendices by S. C. Lomas. Three
Volumes. Demy Bvo. iBs. net.
Chambers (Mrs. Lambert). LAWN
TENNIS FOR LADIES. Illustrated.
Second Edition. Cr. Bvo. sj. net.
Chesterton (G. K.). CHARLES DICKENS.
With two Portraits in Photogravure. Eighth
Edition. Cr. Bvo. 7s. td. net.
Mbthuen and Company Limited
THE BALLAD OF THE WHITE HORSE.
Fifth Edition, ts. rut.
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. Tenth
Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6j. net.
TREMENDOUS TRIFLES. Fifth Edi-
tion. Fcap. Zvo. ts. net.
ALARMS AND DISCURSIONS. Second
Edition. Fcap. %vo. 6*. ntt.
A MISCELLANY OF MEN. Second
Edition. Fcap. Zve. &J. net.
WINE, WATER, AND SONG. Ninth
Edition. Fcap. 8ptf. is. dd. net.
Claasen (George). ROYAL ACADEMY
LECTURES ON PAINTING. Illustrated.
Cr. ivo. 7S. 6d. net.
Clephan (R. Oeltman). THE TOURNA-
MENT: Its Periods and Phases. With
Preface by Chas. J. ffoulkbs. Illustrated.
Royal 4to. £2 as. net.
Cluttou-Brock (A.). THOUGHTS ON
THE WAR- Ninth Edition. FcAp. 8w.
xs. td. net.
WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ?
Cr. %vo. 5J. net.
Conrad (Joseph). THE MIRROR OF
THE SEA : Memories and Impressions.
Fcap. iioo. IS. net.
CoultOB (O. G.). CHAUCER AND HIS
ENGLAND. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Demy 8w. 12*. (td. net.
Cowpar (William). POEMS. Edited, with
an Introduction and Notes, by J. C. Bailkv.
Illustrated. Demy Zvo. lai. 6d. net.
Cox (J. C). RAMBLES IN SURREY.
Illustrated, Second Edition. Cr. Zvo.
js. 6d. net.
RAMBLES IN KENT. Illustrated. Cr.
Svo. js. 6d. net.
Dalton (Hugh). WITH BRITISH GUNS
IN ITALY. Illustrated. Cr. 6vo. is. 6d.
net.
Davis (H. W. C). ENGLAND UNDER
THE NORMANS AND ANGEVINS :
1066-1272. Fifth Edition. Demy %90.
12s. 6d. net.
Day(HapryJL),P.B.H.S. SPADECRAFT:
OR, How TO BB Gardknkr. Second Edi-
tion. Cr. Svo. 25. net.
VEGECULTURE : How to Grow Vhgk-
takles, Salads, and Herbs in Town
AND Coontbt. Second Edition. Cr. Bva.
as. net.
THE FOOD- PRODUCING GARDEN.
Cr. ivo. as. net.
Dearmer (Mabel). A CHILD'S LIFE OF
CHRIST, Illustrated. Fourth Edition.
Large Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
Dickinson (SirG.L.). THE GREEK VIEW
OF LIFE. Eleventh Edition. Cr. Ivo.
Ss. net.
Ditchfleld (P. H.). THE VILLAGE
CHURCH. Second Edition. Illustrated.
Cr. tvo. 6j. net.
THE ENGLAND OF SHAKESPEARE.
Illustrated. Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
DowdeB (J.). FURTHER STUDIES IN
THE PRAYER BOOK. Cr. ivo. 6s.net.
Durham (The Earl of). THE REPORT
ON CANADA. With an Introductory
Note. Second Edition. Demy Bvo. js. 6d.
net.
Egorton (H. K.). A SHORT HISTORY
OF BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY.
Fifth Edition. Demy Bvo. 10*. 6d. net.
•Etlenne.' A NAVAL LIEUTENANT,
1914-1918. Illustrated. Cr. ivo. is. 6d.
net.
Fairbrother (W. H.). THE PHILO-
SOPHY OF T. H. GREEN. Second
Edition. Cr. ivo. ss. net.
fifoulkes (Charles). THE ARMOURER
AND HIS CRAFT. Illustrated. Royal
4/tf. £2 us. net.
DECORATIVE IRONWORK. From the
xith to the xviirth Century. Illustrated.
Royal ^o. £2 2s. net.
Plrth (C. H.). CROMWELL'S ARMY.
A History of the English Soldier during the
Civil Wars, the Commonwealth, and the
Protectorate. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Cr. ivo. 7s. 6d. net.
Fisher (H. Jl. L.). THE REPUBLICAN
TRADITION IN EUROPE. Cr. ivo.
js. 6d. net.
FitzGerald (Edward). THE RUBAiyAt
OF OMAR KHAYYAM. Printed from
the Fifth and last Edition. With a Com-
mentary by H. M. Batson, and a Biograph-
ical Introduction by E. D. Ross. Cr. i7>o.
"js. 6d. net.
Pyleman (Rose), FAIRIES AND CHIM-
NEYS, j^caf. ivo. Fourth Edition.
3*. 6d. net.
General Literature
Gftntln (Crosby). THE MUD-LARKS
AGAIN. Fcajy. Ivo. 3J. td. net.
Glbbins (H. de B.). INDUSTRY IN
ENGLAND: HISTORICAL OUT-
LINES. With Maps and Plans. Ninth
Edition. Demy Zvo. xns. 6d. net.
THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF
ENGLAND. With 5 Maps and a Plan.
Twenty-sixth Edition. Cr. Zvo. 5*.
Gibbon (Edward). THE DECLINE AND
FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
Edited, with Notes, Appendices, and Maps,
by J. B. BoKY. Illustrated. Seven Volumes.
Demy %vo. Illustrated. Etuh 12J. td. net.
Also in Seven Volumes. Cr. 8vo. Each
7*. 6rf. net.
aiadBtont (W, Ewart). GLADSTONE'S
SPEECHES : Descriktive Index and
Bibliography. Edited by A, Tilney Bas-
SBTT. With a Preface by Viscount
Bryck, O.M. Demy %vo. xis. 6d. net.
Qloirer (T. R.). THE CONFLICT OF
RELIGIONS IN THE EARLY ROMAN
EMPIRE, Seventh Edition. Demy Zvo.
loj. 6</. net.
POETS AND PURITANS. Second Edition.
Demy Bvo. los, 6d. net.
FROM PERICLES TO PHILIP. Second
EditioTU Demy Svo. 10s. 6d. net.
VIRGIL. Third Edition. DemyZvo. ios.6d.
net.
THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION AND
ITS VERIFICATION. (The Angus Lee-
ture for 1912.) Second Edition. Cr. Zvo.
ts. net.
Grahame (Kenneth). THE WIND IN
THE WILLOWS. Eighth Edition. Cr.
8vo. 7s. 6d. net.
Griffin (W. Hall) and Minchin (H. 0.).
THE LIFE OF ROBERT BROWNING.
Illustrated. Second Edition. Demy Svo.
12S. 6d. net.
Halg (K. Q.). HEALTH THROUGH
DIET. Fourth Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6*.
net.
Hale (J. R.). FAMOUS SEA FIGHTS :
From Sai.amis to Tsu-shima. Illustrated.
Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. js. 6d. net.
Hall(H.R,). THE ANCIENT HISTORY
OF THE NEAR EAST FROM THE
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE BATTLE
OFSALAMIS. Illustrated. Fourth Edi-
Hon. Demy T>T'0. i6j. net.
Hannay (D.). A SHORT HISTORY OF
THE ROYAL NAVY. Vol. I., 1217-1688.
Second Edition. Vol. II., 1689-1815.
Demy Zvo. Each los. 6d. net.
Marker (Alfred). THE NATURAL HIS-
TORY OF IGNEOUS ROCKS. With
112 Diagrams and 2 Plates. Demy Zvo.
15s. net.
Harper (Charles G.). THE 'AUTOCAR'
ROAD-BOOK. With Maps. Four
Volumes. Cr. ivo. Each 8j. dd net.
I. — South of the Thames.
II.— North and South Wales and
West Midlands.
III.— East Anglia and East Midlands.
IV. — The North of England and
South of Scotland.
HasRall (Arthur). THE LIFE OF
NAPOLEON. Illustrated Demy Zvo.
los. td. net.
Henley (W. B.). ENGLISH LYRICS:
CHAUCER TO POE. Second Edition,
Cr. Svo. 6s. net.
Hill (George Francis). ONE HUNDRED
MASTERPIECES OF SCULPTURE.
lUnstrated. Demy Svo. 12s. 6d. net.
Hobhouse (L. T.). THE THEORY OF
KNOWLEDGE. Second Edition. Demy
Zvo. 155. net.
Hobson (J. A.). INTERNATIONAL
TRADE : An Application of Economic
Theory. Cr. Zvo. ss. net.
PROBLEMS OF POVERTY : An Inquiry
INTO THE Industrial Condition of the
Poor. Eighth Edition. Cr. Svo. sj. net.
THE PROBLEM OF THE UN-
EMPLOYED: An Inquiry and an
Economic Policy. Sixth Edition. Cr.Svo.
Ss. net.
GOLD, PRICES AND WAGES : With an
Examination of the Quantity Theory.
Second Edition. Cr. Svo. 5^. net.
Hodgson (Mm. W.). HOW TO IDENTIFY
OLD CHINESE PORCELAIN. Illus-
trated. Third Edition. Post Svo. 7s. 6d.
net.
Holdsworth (W. S.). A HISTORY OF
ENGLISH LAW. Four Volumes,
Vols. /., //., ///. Each Second Edition.
Demy Svo. Each 15^. net.
Hutt (C. W.). CROWLEY'S HYGIENE
OF SCHOOL LIFE. Illustrated. Second
and Revised Edif ion. Cr. Zvo. bs. net.
Methuen and Company Limited
Button (Edward). THE CITIES OF
UMBRIA. Illustrated. Fifth Ediiion.
Cr. Zvo. js. 6d. net.
THE CITIES OF LOMBARDY. Illus-
trated. Cr. 8v0. js. M. net.
THE CITIES OF ROMAGNA AND THE
MARCHES. Illustrated. Cr. 8w. js. 6d.
net.
FLORENCE AND NORTHERN TUS-
CANY, WITH GENOA. Illustrated.
Third Edition. Cr. ?,va, js. 6d. net.
SIENA AND SOUTHERN TUSCANY.
Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr. 8?'<7. js.
6d. net.
VENICE AND VENETIA. Illustrated.
Cr. Svo. 7J. 6d. net.
NAPLES AND SOUTHERN ITALY.
Illustrated. Cr Zvo. js. 6d. net.
ROME. Illustrated. Third Edition. Cr.
Svo. 7S. 6d. net.
COUNTRY WALKS ABOUT FLORENCE.
lUu.strated. Second Edition. Fcap. Zvo.
6.V. net.
THE CITIES OF SPAIN. Illustrated.
Fifth Edition. Cr. Zvo. js. M. net.
Ibsen (Henrik). BRAND. A Dramatic
Poem, translated by William Wilson.
Fourth Edition. Cr. Svo. 5s. net.
In^e(W.R.). CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM.
(The Bampton Lectures of 1899.) Fourth
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. 6d. net.
Innes (A. D.). A HISTORY OF THE
BRITISH IN INDIA. With Maps and
Plans. Second Edition. Cr. Zvo, 7J. 6d.
net.
ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS.
With Maps. Fi/th Edition. Demy Svo.
1 2 J. 6d. net.
Innes (Mary). SCHOOLS OF PAINT-
ING. Illustrated. Third Edition. Cr.
Svo. 8j. net.
Jenks (E.). AN OUTLINE OF ENG-
LISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT. Third
Edition. Revised by R. C. K. Ensor. Cr.
Bvo. 5J. net.
A SHORT HISTORY OF ENGLISH
LAW : From the Earliest Times to
THE End of the Year igii. Demy Svo.
10s. 6d. net.
Johnston (Sir H. H.). BRITISH CEN-
TRAL AFRICA. Illustrated. Third
Edition. Cr. t^to. \Ss. net.
THE NEGRO IN THE NEW WORLD.
Illustrated. Crown ^to. £x xs. net.
Julian (Lady) of Horwich. REVELA-
TIONS OF DIVINE LOVE. Edited by
Grace Warrack. Sixth Edition. Cr.
Svo. 5J. net.
Keat8(John). POEMS. Edited, with Intro-
duction and Notes, by E. de Selincoxjrt.
With a Frontispiece in Photogravure.
Third Edition. Demy Svo. xos. f>d. net.
Keble(John). THE CHRISTIAN YEAR.
With an Introduction and Notes by W.
Lock. Illustrated. Third Edition. Fcap.
Svo. 5J. net.
Kelynack (T. N.), M.D., M.R.C.P. THE
DRINK PROBLEM OF TO-DAY IN
ITS MEDICO-SOCIOLOGICAL AS-
PECTS. Second and Revised Edition.
Demy Svo. los. 6d. net.
KIdd (Benjamin). THE SCIENCE OF
POWER. Eighth Edition. Cr.Svo. 7S.6d.
net.
Kipling (Rudyard). BARRACK - ROOM
BALLADS. xSgth Thousand. Cr. Svo.
Buckram, 7s. 6d. net. Also Fcap. Szw.
Cloth, ts. net ; leather, is. td. net.
Also a Service Edition. T%vo Volumes.
Square fcap. Svo. Each 3J. net.
THE SEVEN SEAS. 140^-% Thousand.
Cr. Svo. Buckram, js. 6d. net. A Iso Fcap.
Svo. Cloth, 6s. net; leather, js. 6d. net.
Also a Service Edition. Ttvo Volumes.
Square fcap. Zvo. Each 3J. net.
THE FIVE NATIONS. 120^/t Thousand.
Cr. Svo. Buckram, "js. 6d. net. Also Fcap.
Svo. Cloth, 6j. net ; leather, 7s. 6d. net.
Also a Service Edition. Two Volumes.
Square fcap. Svo. Each 3^. net.
THE YEARS BETWEEN. Cr. Svo.
Buckram, 7 s. fid. net. Also on thin paper.
Fcap. Svo. Blue cloth, 6j. ns,t; Limp
lambskin, "js. 6d. net.
Also a Service Edition. Tivo volumes.
Square fcap. Svo. Each 3.1. net.
DEPARTMENTAL DITTIES. S^th T/wu-
sand. Cr. Svo. BtickTam, 7s. 6d. net.
Also Fcap. Svo. Cloth, 6s. ret; leather,
7s. 6d. net.
Also a Service Edition. Two Volumes.
Square fcap. Svo, Each js. net.
HYMN BEFORE ACTION. Illuminated.
Fcap. ^to. IS. 6d. net.
RECESSIONAL. Illuminated. Fcap. ^io.
IS. 6d. net.
TWENTY POEMS FROM RUDYARD
KIPLING. 360M Thousand. Fcap. Svo.
IS. net.
Lamb (Charles and Mary). THE COM-
PLETE WORKS. Edited by E. V. Lucas.
A New and Revised Edition in Six Volumes.
With Frontispieces. Fcap. Svo. Each 6s.
net.
The volumes are : —
I. MiSCELLANEOtJS PrOSE. II. ElIA AND
the Last Essays of Elia. hi. Books
FOR Children, iv. Plays and Poems.
V. and VI. Letters.
General Literature
Lane-Poole (Stanley). A HISTORY OF
EGYPT IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
Illustrated. Second Edition^ Revised. Cr.
Zvo. 9^. net.
Lankester (Sir Ray). SCIENCE FROM
AN EASY CHAIR. Illustrated. Eighth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. js. 6d. net.
SCIENCE FROM AN EASY CHAIR
Second Series. Illustrated. First Edition
Cr. %vo. 7J. bd. net.
DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST,
Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr. 2vo,
js. ixl. net.
Lewis (Edward). EDWARD CARPEN
TER : An Exposition and an Apprecia
TiON. Second Edition. Cr. Bvo. 6s. net.
Lock (Walter). ST. PAUL, THE
MASTER BUILDER. Third Edition.
Cr. Stjo. 5s. net.
THE BIBLE AND CHRISTIAN LIFE.
Cr. Zvo. 6s. mt.
Lodge (Sir Oliver). MAN AND THE
u5lIVERSE : A Study of the Influence
OF THE Advance in Scientific Know-
ledge UPON OUR Understanding of
Christianity. Ninth Edition. Crown ivo.
js. 6d. net.
THE SURVIVAL OF MAN : A Study in
Unrecognised Human Faculty. Seventh
Edition. Cr. 2>vo. js. 6d. net.
MODERN PROBLEMS. Cr. Bvo. js. 6d.
net.
RAYMOND ; on, Life and Death. Illus-
trated. Eleventh Edition. DetnyZvo. 15J.
net.
THE WAR AND AFTER : Short Chap-
ters ON Subjects of Serious Practical
Import for the Average Citizen in a.d.
1915 Onwards. Eighth Edition. Fcap.
%vo. 2s. net.
Loreburn (Earl). CAPTURE AT SEA.
Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. 2J. 6d. net.
HOW THE WAR CAME. With a Map.
Cr. Zvo. js. 6d. net.
Lorimer (George Horace). LETTERS
FROM A SELF-MADE MERCHANT
TO HIS SON. Illustrated. Twenty-
fourth Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
OLD GORGON GRAHAM. Illustrated.
Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
Lorimer (Uorma). BY THE WATERS
OF EGYPT. Illustrated. Third Edition.
. Cr. Zvo. JS. 6d. net.
Lucas (E. Y.). THE LIFE OF CHARLES
LAMB. Illustrated. Sixth Edition. Demy
Zvo. los. 6d. mt.
A WANDERER IN HOLLAND. Illus-
trated. Sixteenth Edition. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d.
net.
A WANDERER IN LONDON. Illus-
trated. Eighteenth Edition, Revised. Cr.
Zvo. Zs. 6d. net.
LONDON REVISITED. Illustrated. Third
Edition. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d. net.
A WANDERER IN PARIS. Illustrated.
Thirteenth Edition. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d. net.
Also Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
A WANDERER IN FLORENCE. Illus-
trated. Sixth Edition. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d.
net.
A WANDERER IN VENICE. Illustrated.
Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d. net.
THE OPEN ROAD : A Little Book for
Wayfarers. Twenty-seventh Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. 6d. net. India Paper, js. 6d.
net.
Also Illustrated. Cr. ^to. 15s.net.
THE FRIENDLY TOWN : A Little Book
FOR the Urbane. Ninth Edition. Fcap.
Zvo. 6s. net.
FIRESIDE AND SUNSHINE. Ninth
Edition. Fcap, Zvo. 6s. net.
CHARACTER AND COMEDY. Eighth
Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
THE GENTLEST ART: A Choice of
Letters by Entertaining Hands.
Tenth Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
THE SECOND POST. Fifth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
HER INFINITE VARIETY : A Feminine
Portrait Gallery. Eighth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
GOOD COMPANY: A Rally of Men.
Fourth Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
ONE DAY AND ANOTHER. Seventh
Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
OLD LAMPS FOR NEW. Sixth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
LOITERER'S HARVEST. Third Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
CLOUD AND SILVER. Third Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
LISTENER'S LURE : An Oblique Narra-
tion. Twelfth Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
OVER BEMERTON'S: An Easy-Going
Chronicle, Sixteenth Edition. Fcap.
Zvo. 6s. net.
MR. INGLESIDE. Twelfth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
LONDON LAVENDER. Twelfth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo, 6s. net.
LANDMARKS. Fifth Edition. Fcap. Zvo.
6s. net.
8
Methuen and Company Limited
THE BRITISH SCHOOL : An Anecdotal
Guide to the British Painters and
Paintings in the National Gallery.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. rut.
A BOSWELL OF BAGHDAD, AND
OTHER ESSAYS. Third Edition. Fcap.
%V0. 6s. net.
'TWIXT EAGLE AND DOVE. Third
Edition. Fcap. Svo. 6s. net.
Lyd«kker (R.). THE OX AND ITS
KINDRED. Illustrated. Cr.Zvo. js. 6d.
net.
Macaulay (Lord). CRITICAL AND
HISTORICAL ESSAYS. Edited by F.
C. Montague. Three Volumes. Cr. ivo.
iSs. net.
Macdooald (J. R. M.). A HISTORY OF
FRANCE. Three Volumes. Cr. Bvo.
Each los. 6d. net.
MoDon^all (William). AN INTRODUC-
TION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY.
Twelfth Edition. Cr. ivo. 7S. 6d. net.
BODY AND MIND: A History and a
Defence of Animism. Fourth Edition.
Demy 8vo. 12*. 6d. tut.
Maeterlinck (Hauriee). THE BLUE
BIRD: A Fairy Play in Six Acts.
Translated by Alexander Teixeira de
Mattos. Fcap. Szfo. 6s.net. Also Fcap.
8otf. 2J. net. Of the above book Forty-
one Editions in all have been issued.
MARY MAGDALENE: A Play in Three
Acts. Translated by Alexander Teixeira
DE Mattos. Third Edition. Fcap. Svo.
5 J. net. Also Fcap. 8r<?. 2j. net.
DEATH. Translated by Alexander Teix-
eira DE Mattos. Fourth Edition. Fcap.
Svo. y. 6d. net.
OUR ETERNITY. Translated by Alex-
ANDER Teixeira db Mattos. Second
Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
THE UNKNOWN GUEST. Translated
by Alexander Teixeira db Mattos.
Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
POEMS. Done into English Verse by
Bernard Miall. Second Edition. Cr.
Zvo. ss. net.
THE WRACK OF THE STORM. Third
Edition. Cr. Svo. 6s. net.
THE MIRACLE OF ST. ANTHONY : A
Play in One Act. Translated by Alex-
ander Teixeira de Mattos. Fcap. ivo.
2S. 6d. net.
THE BURGOMASTER OF STILE-
MONDE : A Play in Three Acts.
Translated by Alexander Teixeira de
Mattos. Fcap. ivo. y. net.
THE BETROTHAL; or, The Blue
Bird Chooses. Translated by Alex-
ander Teixeira db Mattos. Fcap. Zvo.
6s. net.
MOUNTAIN PATHS. Translated by Alex-
ander Teixeira de Mattos. Fcap. Zvo.
6s. net.
Mahaffy(J.P.). A HISTORY OF EGYPT
UNDER THE PTOLEMAIC DYNASTY.
Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. qs.
net.
Maitland (P. W.). ROMAN CANON LAW
IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
Royal Zvo. 10s. 6d. net.
Marett (R. R.). THE THRESHOLD OF
RELIGION. TA:rd Edition. Cr. Svo.
7S. 6d. n€t.
Marriott (J. A. R.). ENGLAND SINCE
WATERLOO. With Maps. Second
Edition, Revised. Demy Zvo. its. 6d. net.
Masefleld (John). A SAILOR'S GAR-
LAND. Selected and Edited. Second
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
MaBterman (C. P. G.). TENNYSON
ASA RELIGIOUS TEACHER. Second
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7*. 6d. net.
Medley (D. J.). ORIGINAL ILLUSTRA-
TIONS OF ENGLISH CONSTITU-
TIONAL HISTORY. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d.
net.
Miles (Eustace). LIFE AFTER LIFE;
OR, Thb Theory of Reincarnation.
Cr. Zvo. ys. 6d. net.
THE POWER OF CONCENTRATION:
How TO Acquire it. Fifth Edition.
Cr. Ivo. 6s. net.
PREVENTION AND CURE. Second
Edition. Croivn Zvo. ss. net.
Miles (Mrs. Eustace). HEALTH WITH-
OUT MEAT. Sixth Edition. Fcap. Svo.
xs. 6d. net.
Mlllais (J. 0.). THE LIFE AND LET-
TERS OF SIR JOHN EVERETT
MILLAIS. Illustrated. Third Edition.
Demy Zvo. 121. 6d. net.
Milne (J. G.). A HISTORY OF EGYPT
UNDER ROMAN RULE. Illustrated.
Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. qj. net.
Money (Sir Leo Chiozza). RICHES AND
POVERTY, 1910. Eleventh Edition.
Demy Zvo. sj. net.
Montague (G. E.). DRAMATIC VALUES.
Second Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 5s. net.
General Literature
Myers (Charles B.). PRESENT-DAY
APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY.
Third Edition. Fcap. %vo. ix. yi. net.
Noyes (Alfted). A SALUTE FROM THE
FLEET, AND OTHER POEMS. Third
Edition. Cr. Zvo. ys. td. net.
RADA : A Belgian Christmas Eve. Illus-
trated. Fcap. %vo. 5J. net.
Oman (C. W. C). A HISTORY OF THE
ART OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE
AGES. Illustrated. Detny 8vo. 15s. net.
ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN
CONQUEST. With Maps. Third Edi-
tion, Revised. Demy Svo. 12s. 6d. net.
Oxenham (John). BEES IN AMBER: A
Little Book of Thoughtful Verse.
9.2ith Thousand. Small Pott Zvo. Paper
IS. 3^. net ; Cloth Boards, 2X. net.
Also Illustrated. Fcap. Zvo. 3*. f>d. net.
4LL'S WELL: A Collection of War
Poems. 175M Thousand, Small Pott
Bvo. Paper, is. 3^. net; Cloth Boards,
2j. net.
THE KING'S HIGH WAY. 120th Thousand.
Small Pott Zvo. is.yi.net; Cloth Boards,
2S. net.
THE VISION SPLENDID. 100th Thou-
sand. Small Pott ivo. Paper, is. 3d. net ;
Cloth Boards, 2s. n*t.
THE FIERY CROSS. 80M TJiousand.
Small Pott Zvo. Paper, is. 3d. net ; Cloth
Boards, ts. net.
HIGH ALTARS : Thb Record of a Visit
to thb Battlefields of France and
Flanders. 40M Thousand. Small Pott
2ioo. IS. 3d. net ; Cloth Boards, 2s. net.
HEARTS COURAGEOUS. Small Pott
Bvo. IS. 3d net. Cloth Boards, 2s. net.
ALL CLEAR. Small Pott %vo. 1s.3d.net.
Cloth Boards, 2s. net.
WINDS OF THE DAWN. Small Poti Zvo.
2S. net.
Oxford (M. H.). A HANDBOOK OF
NURSING. Seventh Edition, Revised.
Cr. Bvo. 5s. net.
Pakes (W. C. C). THE SCIENCE OF
HYGIENE. Illustrated. Second and
Cheaper Edition. Revised by A. T.
Nankivell. Cr. Bvo. 6s. net.
Petri* (W. M. Flinders.) A HISTORY
OF EGYPT. Illustrated. Six Volumes
Cr. Bvo. Each gs. net.
Vol. I. From the 1st to the XVIth
Dynasty. Eighth Edition.
Vol. II. The XVIIth and XVIIIth
Dynasties. Sixth Edition.
Vol. III. XIXth to XXXth Dynasties.
Second Edition.
Vol. IV. Egypt under the Ptolemaic
Dynasty. J. P. Mahaffy. Second Edition.
Vol. V. Egypt under Roman Rule. J. G.
MiLNB. Second Edition.
Vou VI. Egypt in the Middle Ages.
Stanley Lane Poole. Second Edition.
RELIGION AND CONSCIENCE IN
ANCIENT EGYPT. Illustrated. Cr.ioo.
5*. net.
SYRIA AND EGYPT, FROM THE TELL
EL AMARNA LETTERS. Cr. Bvo.
5s. net.
EGYPTIAN TALES. Translated from the
Papyri. First Series, ivth to xiith Dynasty.
Illustrated. Third Edition. Cr. Bvo.
Ss. net.
EGYPTIAN TALES. Translated from the
Papyri. Second Series, xviiith to xixth
Dynasty. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Cr. Bvo. ss. net.
Pollard (Alfred W.). SHAKESPEARE
FOLIOS AND QUARTOS. A Study in
the Bibliography of Shakespeare's Plays,
1594-1685. Illustrated. Folio. £1 is. net.
Porter (G. R.). THE PROGRESS OF
THE NATION. A New Edition. Edited
by F. W. Hirst. Demy Bvo. £1 is. net.
Power (J. O'Connor). THE MAKING OF
AN ORATOR. Cr. Bvo. 6s. net.
Price (L. L.). A SHORT HISTORY OF
POLITICAL ECONOMY IN ENGLAND
FROM ADAM SMITH TO ARNOLD
TOYNBEE. Ninth Edition. Cr. Bvo.
SS. net.
Ravlin^s (Gertrude B.). COINS AND
HOW TO KNOW THEM. Illustrated.
Third Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. 6d. net.
Regan (C. Tate). THE FRESHWATER
FISHES OF THE BRITISH ISLES.
Illustrated. Cr. Bvo. js. 6d. net.
Reld (G. Archdall). THE LAWS OF
HEREDITY. Second Edition. Demy Bvo.
£1 IS. net.
Robertson (C. Grant). SELECT STAT-
UTES, CASES, AND DOCUMENTS,
1660-1832. Second Edition, Revised and
Enlarged. Demy Bvo. iss. net.
ENGLAND UNDER THE HANOVER-
IANS. Illustrated. Third Edition. Demy
BzH>. t2S. 6d. net.
Rolle (Richard). THE FIRE OF LOVE
AND THE MENDING OP LIFE.
Exlited by Frances M. Comper. Cr. Bvo.
6s. net.
Ryley (A. Beresford). OLD PASTE.
Illustrated. Royal ^to. £2 2s. net.
•BaW (H. H. Munro). REGINALD.
Fourth Edition. Fcap. Bvo. 3*. 6d. ntt.
10
Methuen and Company Limited
REGINALD IN RUSSIA. Fcap. Zvo.
3^. 6d. net.
Sohldrowitz (Philip). RUBBER. Illus-
trated. Second Edition, Demy Zvo. 15J.
net.
Selous (Edmund). TOMMY SMITH'S
ANIMALS. Illustrated. Sixteenth Edi-
tion. Fcap. ivo. y. 6d. net.
TOMMY SMITH'S OTHER ANIMALS.
Illustrated. Seventh Edition. Fcap. Zvo.
y. 6d. net.
TOMMY SMITH AT THE ZOO. Illus
trated. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo.
2S. gd.
TOMMY SMITH AGAIN AT THE ZOO.
Illustrated. Fcap. Zvo. is. gd.
JACK'S INSECTS. Illustrated. Cr. ivo. 6s.
net.
Shakespeare (William).
THE FOUR FOLIOS, 1623; 1632; 1664;
1685. Each XJ4 4J. net, or a complete set,
;£i2 \is. net.
THE POEMS OF WILLIAM SHAKE-
SPEARE. With an Introduction and Notes
by George Wyndham. Demy ivo. Buck-
ram, 12S. (d. net.
Shelley (Percy Bysshe). POEMS. With
an Introduction by A. Glutton- Brock and
notes by C. D. Locock. Two Volumes.
Demy 8r*. £,1 iJ. net.
Sladen (Douglae). SICILY: The New
Winter Resort. An Encyclopaedia of
Sicily. With 234 Illustrations, a Mapj and
a Table of the Railway System of Sicily.
Second Edition, Revised. Cr. ivo. js. 6d.
net.
Blesser (H. H.). TRADE UNIONISM.
Cr. ivo. ss. net.
Smith (Adam). THE WEALTH OF
NATIONS. Edited by Edwin Cannan.
Two Volumes. Demy ivo. £x 5s. net.
Smith (Q. P. Herbert). GEM-STONES
AND THEIR DISTINCTIVE CHARAC-
TERS. Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr.
ivo. 7s. 6d. net.
Stanollffe. GOLF DO'S AND DONT'S.
Sixth Edition. Fcap. 8w. 2s. net.
Stevenson (R. L.). THE LETTERS OF
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. Edited
by Sir Sidney Colvin. A New Re-
arranged Edition in four volumes. Fourth
Edition. Fcap. ivo. Each 6*. net. Leather,
each 7s. 6d. net.
Snrtees (R. S.). HANDLEY CROSS.
Illustrated. Eighth Edition. Fcap. ivo.
7*. td. net.
MR. SPONGE'S SPORTING TOUR.
Illustrated. Fourth Edition. Fcap. ivo.
JS. 6d. net.
ASK MAMMA; or, THE RICHEST
COMMONER IN ENGLAND. Illus-
trated. Second Edition. Fcap. ivo. js. 6d.
net.
JORROCKS'S JAUNTS AND JOLLI-
TIES. Illustrated. Sixth Edition. Fcap,
ivo. 6s. net.
MR. FACEY ROMFORD'S HOUNDS.
Illustrated. Third Edition. Fcap. ivo.
js. 6d. net.
HAWBUCK GRANGE ; or, THE SPORT-
ING ADVENTURES OF THOMAS
SCOTT, Esq. Illustrated. Fca/. ivo.
6s. net.
PLAIN OR RINGLETS? Illustrated.
Fcap. ivo. 7s. 6d. net.
HILLINGDON HALL. With la Coloured
Plates by Wildrake, Heath, and Jeixi-
COE. Fcap. ivo. 7s. 6d. net.
Saso (Henry). THE LIFE OF THE
BLESSED HENRY SUSO. By Himself.
Translated by T. F. Knox. With an Intro-
duction by Dean Inge. Second Edition.
Cr. ivo. 6s. net.
Swanton (B. W.). FUNGI AND HOW
TO KNOW THEM. Illustrated. Cr. ivo.
los. 6d. net.
BRITISH PLANT -GALLS. Cr. ivo.
xos. 6d. net.
Tabor (Margaret B.). THE SAINTS IN
ART. With their Attributes and Symbols
Alphabetically Arranged. Illustrated.
Third Edition. Fcap. ivo. 5*. net.
Taylor (A. B.). ELEMENTS OF META-
PHYSICS. Fourth Edition, Demy ivo.
i*s. 6d. net.
Taylor (J. W.). THE COMING OF THE
SAINTS. Second Edition. Cr. ivo. 6s.
net.
Thomas (Edward). MAURICE MAE-
TERLINCK. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Cr. ixfo. 6s. net.
A LITERARY PILGRIM IN ENGLAND.
Illustrated. Demy ivo. \2S. 6d. net.
Tileston (Mary W.). DAILY STRENGTH
FOR DAILY NEEDS. Twenty-fifth
Edition. Medium \6mo. y. 6d. net.
Toynbee (Paget). DANTE ALIGHIERI.
His Life and Works. With x6 Illustra-
tions. Fourth and Enlarged Edition. Cr,
ivo. 6s. net.
Trevelyan (G. M.). ENGLAND UNDER
THE STUARTS. With Maps and Plans.
Seventh Edition. Demy ivo. xts. 6d. net.
Triggs (H. Inigo). TOWN PLANNING:
Past, Present, and Possible. Illustra-
ted. Second Edition, Wide Royal tvo.
i6s. net.
General Literature
II
Underbill (Evelyn). MYSTICISM, A
Study in the Nature and Development of
Man's Spiritual Consciousness. Seventh
Edition. Demy Zvo. i$s. net.
Yardon (Harry). HOW TO PLAY GOLF.
Illustrated. Eleventh Edition. Cr. ivo.
Ss. net.
Yernon (Hon. W. Warren). READINGS
ON THE INFERNO OF DANTE. With
an Introduction by the Rev. Dr. Moore.
Two Volumes. Second Edition, Rewritten.
Cr. Svo. 1 5 J. net.
READINGS ON THE PURGATORIO
OF DANTE. With an Introduction by
the late Dean Church. Two Volumes.
Third Edition, Revised. Cr. Svo. 15J. net.
READINGS ON THE PARADISO OF
DANTE. With an Introduction by the
Bishop of Ripon. Two Volumes. Second
Edition, Revised, Cr^Svo. x5s.net.
Yickers (Kenneth H.). ENGLAND IN
THE LATER MIDDLE AGES. With
Maps. Second Edition, Revised. Demy
Zvo. \7.s. 6d. net.
Waddell (L. A.). LHASA AND ITS
MYSTERIES. With a Record of the Ex-
pedition of 1903-1904. Illustrated. Third
Edition. Medium. Bvo. 12s. 6d. net.
Wade (G. W. and J. H.). RAMBLES IN
SOMERSET. Illustrated. Cr. Svo. 7s. 6d.
net.
Wagner (Richard). RICHARD WAG-
NER'S MUSIC DRAMAS. Interpreta-
tions, embodying Wagner's own explana-
tions. By Alicb Leighton Cleather
and Basil Crump. Fcap. %vo. Each^s.
net.
The Ring of the Nibelung.
Sixth Edition.
Lohengrin and Parsifal.
Third Edition.
Tristan and Isolde.
Second Edition.
TannhAuser and the Mastersingbrs
of Nuremburg.
Waterhousa (Bllzabeth). WITH THE
SIMPLE-HEARTED. Little Homilies.
Third Edition. Small Pott Zvo. y. 6d.
net.
THE HOUSE BY THE CHERRY TREE.
A Second Series of Little Homilies. Small
Pottivc. 3J. f>d, net.
COMPANIONS OF THE WAY. Being
Selections for Morning and Evening Read-
ing. Cr. Bvo. ys. 6d. net.
THOUGHTS OF A TERTIARY. Second
Edition. Small Pott Zvo. xs. 6d. net.
VERSES. Second Edition, Enlarged. Fcap.
8cv. ax. net.
A LITTLE BOOK OF LIFE AND
DEATH. Nineteenth Edition. Small
Pott Svo. Cloth, as. bd. net.
Waters (W. G.). ITALIAN SCULPTORS.
Illustrated. Cr. 8vo. js. 6d. net.
Watt (Francis). CANTERBURY PIL-
GRIMS AND THEIR WAYS. With a
Frontispiece in Colour and 12 other Illustra-
tions. Demy Svo. 10s. 6d. net.
Welgall (Arthur B. P.). A GUIDE TO
THE ANTIQUITIES OF UPPER
EGYPT: From Abvdos to the Sudan
Frontier. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Cr. Bvo. 10s. 6d. net.
Wells (J.). A SHORT HISTORY OF
ROME. Sixteenth Edition. With 3 Maps.
Cr. Bvo. 6s.
Wllde (Oscar). THE WORKS OF OSCAR
WILDE. Thirteen Volumes. Fcat>. Bvo.
Each 6s. 6d. net.
T. Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and
the Portrait of Mr. W. H. ii. The
Duchess of Padua, hi. Poems, iv.
Lady Windermere's Fan. v. A Woman
of No Importance, vi. An Ideal Hus-
band. VII. The Importance of being
Earnest. viii. A House of Pome-
granates. IX. Intentions, x. De Pro-
fundis and Prison Letters, xi. Essays.
XII. Salome, A Florentine "Tragedy,
and La Saints Courtisane. xiv.
Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde.
A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES. Illus-
trated. Cr. ^to. 21s. net.
Wilding (Anthony P). ON THE COURT
AND OFF. With 58 Illustrations. Seventh
Edition. Cr. Bvo. 6s. net.
Wilson (Ernest H.), A NATURALIST IN
WESTERN CHINA. Illustrated. Second
Edition. 2 Vols. Demy Bvo. £1 xos. net.
Wood (Sir EYelyn). FROM MIDSHIP-
MAN TO FIELD-MARSHAL. Illus-
trated. Fi/th Edition. Demy Bvo. X2S. 6d.
net.
THE REVOLT IN HINDUSTAN (x^sj.
59). Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr. Svo.
js. 6d. net.
Wood (Lieut. W. B.) and Edmonds (Ool.
J. B.). A HISTORY OF THE CIVIL
WAR IN THE UNITED STATES
(1861-65). With an Introduction by Spenser
Wilkinson. With 24 Maps and Plans.
Third Edition. Demy Bvo. 15 j. net.
Wordsworth (W.). POEMS. With an
Introduction and Notes by Nowell C
Smith. Three Volumes. Demy Bvo. xSs.
net.
Yeats (W. B.). A BOOK OF IRISH
VERSE. Third Edition. Cr. Bvo. 6s.net.
12
Methuen and Company Limited
Part II. — A Selection of Series
Ancient Cities
General Editor, Sir B. C. A. WINDLE
Cr. Svo, 6s. net each volume
With Illustrations by E. H. New, and other Artists
Bristol. Alfred Harvey.
Canterbury. J. C. Cox.
Chester. Sir B. C. A. Windle.
Dublin. S. A. O. Fitzpatrick.
Edinburgh. M. G. Williamson.
Lincoln. E. Mansel Sympson.
Shrewsbury. T. Auden.
Wells and Glastonbury. T. S. Holmes.
The Antiquary's Books
General Editor, J. CHARLES COX
Demy %vo. \os. 6d. tut each volume
With Numerous Illustrations
Ancient Painted Glass in England.
Philip Nelson.
ARCHiBOLOGY and FaLSE ANTIQUITIES.
R. Munro.
Bells of England, The. Canon J. J.
Raven. Second Edition.
Brasses of England, The. Herbert W.
Macklin. Third Edition.
Castles and Walled Towns of England,
The. a. Harvey.
Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian
Times. J. Romilly Allen. Second Edition.
Churchwardens' Accounts. J. C. Cox.
Domesday Inquest, The. Adolphus Ballard.
English Church Furniture. J. C. Cox
and A. Harvey. Second Edition.
English Costume. From Prehistoric Times
to the End of the Eighteenth Century.
George Clinch.
English Monastic Life. Cardinal Gasquet.
Fourth Edition.
English Seals.
J. Harvey Bloom.
Historical Science.
FoLK-LoRE AS AN
Sir G. L. Gomme.
Gilds and Companies of London, The.
George Unwin.
Hermits and Anchorites of England,
The. Rotha Mary Clay,
Manor and Manorial Records, The.
Nathaniel J. Hone. Second Edition.
MEDiiEVAL Hospitals of England, The.
Rotha Mary Clay.
Old English Instruments of Music.
F. W. Galpin. Second Edition.
General Literature
The Antiquary's BookB— continued
13
Old Ekglish Libraries. Ernest A. Savage.
Old Service Books of the English
Church. Christopher Wordsworth, and
Henry Littlehales. Second Edition.
Parish Life in MsDiiCivAL England.
Cardinal Gasquet. Fourth Edition.
Parish Registers of England,
J. C. Cox.
The.
Remains of the Prehistoric Age in
England. Sir B. C. A. Windle. Second
Edition.
Roman Era in Britain, The. J. Ward.
Romano-British Buildings and Earth-
works. J. Ward.
Royal Forests of England, The. J. C
Cox.
Schools of Medieval England, The.
A. F. Leach. Second Edition,
Shrines of British Saints. J. C Wall.
The Arden Shakespeare
General Editor— R. H. CASE
Demy Zvo, 6s. net each volume
An edition of Shakespeare in Single Plays ; each edited with a full Introduction,
Textual Notes, and a Commentary at the foot of the page
All's Well That Ends Well.
Antony and Cleopatra. Third Edition.
As You Like It.
Cvmbeline. Second Edition.
Comedy of Errors, The.
Hamlet. Fourth Edition.
Julius Caesar. Secotid Edition.
King Henry iv. Pt. l
King Henry v. Second Edition.
King Henry vi. Pt. i.
King Henry vi. Pt. ir.
King Henry vi. Pt. hi
King Henry viil
King Lear. Second Edition.
King Richard ii.
King Richard hi. Second Edition.
Life and Death of King John, The.
Love's Labour's Lost. Second Edition,
Macbeth. Second Edition.
Measure for Measure.
Merchant of Venice, The. Fourth Edition.
Merry Wives of Windsor, The.
Midsummer Night's Dream, A.
Othello. Second Edition.
Pericles.
Romeo and Juliet. Second Edition.
Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint.
Taming of the Shrew, The.
Tempest, The. Second Edition.
TiMON OF Athens.
Titus Andronicus.
Troilus and Cressida.
Tv/elfth Night. Third Edition,
Two Gentlemen of Verona, The.
Venus and Adonis.
Winter's Tale, The.
Classics of Art
Edited by Dr. J. H. W. LAING
With numerous Illustrations. Wide Royal Szw
Art of the Greeks, The, H. B. Walters.
iSs. net.
Art ok the Romans, The. H. B. Walters.
i6,r. net.
Chakdin. H. E. a. Furst. x^s, net.
Donatello. Maud Cmttwell. i&r. net.
Florentine Sculptors of the Renais-
sance. Wilhelm Bode. Translated by
Jessie Haynes. 15J. net.
George Romney. Arthur B. Chamberlain.
15J. net.
14
Methuen and Company Limited
Classics of Art — continued
Ghirlandaio. Gerald S. Davies. Second
Edition. 15^. net.
Lawrsncb. Sir Walter Armstrong. 25^. net.
Michelangelo. Gerald S. Davies. 15J.
net.
Raphael. A. P. Oppd. 15J. mi
Rembrandt's Etchings. A. M. Hind.
Two Volumes. 25X. net.
Rubens. Edward Dillon. 301. nti.
Tintoretto. Evelyn March Phillipps. id*.
net.
Titian. Charles Ricketts. i6j. net.
Turner's Sketches and Drawings. A. J.
Finberg. Second Edition. 15^. net.
! Velazquez. A. de Beruete. 15*. net.
The * Complete' Series
Fully Illustrated. Demy Svo
Complete Amateur Boxer, The. J. G.
Bohun Lynch, los. 6d. net.
Complete Association Footballer, The.
B. S. Evers and C. E. Hughes- Davies.
lof. 6d. net.
Complete Athletic Trainer, The. S. A.
Mussabini. lof. €)d. net.
Complete Billiard Player, The. Charles
Roberts. 12^. 6d. net.
Complete Cook, The. Lilian Whitling.
zof . dd. net.
Complete Cricketer, The. Albert E.
Knight. Second Edition, los. 6d. net.
Complete Foxhunter, The. Charles Rich-
ardson. Second Edition. i6s. net.
Complete Golfer, The. Harry Vardon.
Fifteenth Edition^ Revised. 12s. 6d. net.
Complete Hockey- Player, The. Eustace
E. White. Second Edition. 10s. 6d. net.
Complete Horseman, The. W. Scarth
Dixon. Second Edition. 12s. 6d. net.
Complete Jujitsuan, The. W. H. Garrud.
SJ. net.
Complete Lawn Tennis Player, The.
A. Wallis Myers. Fourth Edition. 12s. 6d.
net.
Complete Motorist, The. Filson Young
and W. G. Aston. Revised Edition.
10s. 6d. net.
Complete Mountaineer, The. G. D.
Abraham. Second Edition, xts. net.
Complete Oarsman, The. R. C. Lehmann.
1 2 J. td. net.
Complete Photographer, The. R. Child
Bay ley. Fifth Edition, Revised. 12s. 6d,
net.
Complete Rugby Footballer, on the New
Zealand System, The. D. Gallaher and
W. J. Stead. Second Edition. 12s. ()d. net.
Complete Shot, The. G. T. Teasdale-
Buckell. Third Edition. 16s. net.
Complete Swimmer, The. F. Sachs. loi.
6d. net.
Complete Yachtsman, The. B. Heckstall-
Smith and E, du Boulay. Second Edition,
Revised, -its. net.
The Connoisseur's Library
With numerous Illustrations, Wide Royal Svo. 25J. tut each volume
English Coloured Books. Martin Hardie.
English Furniture. F. S. Robinson.
SecoTui Edition.
Etchings. Sir F. Wedmore. Second Edition.
European Enamels. Henry H. Cunyng-
hame.
Fine Books. A. W. Pollard.
Glass. Edward Dillon.
Goldsmiths' and Silversmiths' Work.
Nelson Dawson. Second Edition.
Illuminated Manuscripts. J. A. Herbert
Second Edition.
Ivories. Alfred Maskell.
Jewellery. H. Clifford Smith. Second
Edition.
Mezzotints. Cyril Davenport.
Miniatures. Dudley Heath.
Porcelain. Edward Dillon.
Seals. Walter de Gray Birch.
Wood Sculpture. AHred MaskelL
General Literature
15
Handbooks of English Charch History
Edited by J. H. BURN. Croton Sva. ^s. mt each volume
Rbformation Period, The. Henry Gee.
Foundations of thb English Church, The.
J. H. Maude.
Saxon Church and the Norman Conquest,
The. C. T. Cruttwell.
MEDiiGVAL Church and the Papacy, The.
A. C. Jennings.
Struggle with Puritanism, The. Bruce
Blaxland.
Church of England in the Eighteenth
Century, The. Alfred Plummer.
Handbooks of Theology
Demy %vo
Doctrine of the Incarnation, The. R. L.
Ottley. Fifth Edition. 15*. net.
History of Early Christian Doctrine, A.
J. F. Bethune-Baker. 15J. net.
Introduction to the History of Religion,
An. F. B. Jevons. Seventh Edition. laj. 6</.
neU
Introduction to the History of the
Creeds, An. A. E. Burn. izr. td.
net.
Philosophy of Religion in England and
America, The. Alfred Caldecott. isj. dd.
net.
XXXIX Articles of the Church of Eng-
land, The. Edited by E. C. S. Gibson.
Ninth Edition. 15*. net.
Health Series
Fcap. Svo. 2J. 6d. net
Baby, The. Artbor Saunders.
Care of the Body, The. F. Cavanagb.
Care of the Teeth, The. A. T. Pitts.
Eyes of our Children, The. N. Bisbop
Harman.
Health for the Midolb.Aged. Seymour
Taylor. Third Edition.
Health of a Woman, The. R. Murray
Leslie.
Health of the Skin, The. George Pernet.
How to Live Long. J. Walter Carr.
Prevention of the Common Cold, The.
O. K. Williamson.
Staying the Plague. N. Bisbop Harman.
Throat and Ear Troubles. Macleod
Yearsley. Third Edition.
Tuberculosis. Clive Riviere.
Health of the Child, The.
Second Edition, as. net.
O. Hilton.
The 'Home Life' Series
Illustrated. Demy Svo.
Home Life in America. Katberine G.
Busbey. Secoftd Edition. 12s.6d.net.
Home Life in China. I. Taylor Headland.
i2.r. 6d. net.
Home Life in France. Miss Betbam
Edwards. Sixth Edition. 7s. 6d. net.
Home Life in Germany. Mrs. A. Sidgwick.
Third Edition. 12. 6d. net.
Home Life in Holland. D. S. Meldrum.
Second Edition. 12J. td. net.
Home Life in Italy. Lina Duff Gordon.
Third Edition. 12s. 6d. net.
Home Life in Norway. H. K. Daniels.
Second Edition. 12s. 6d. net.
Home Life in Spain. S. L. Bensusan.
Second Edition. 12s. 6d. net.
Balkan Home Life. Lucy M J. Garnett.
I2J. (>d. net.
i6
Methuen and Company Limited
Leaders of Religion
Edited by H. C. BEECHING. With Portraits
Crown Svo. y. net each volume
AOGOSTINE OF CANTERBURY. E. L. CuttS.
Bishop Butler. W. A. Spooner.
Bishop Wii.ber force. G. W. Daniell.
Cardinal Manning. A. W. Hutton. Second
Edition.
Cardinal Newman. R. H. Hutton.
Charles Simeon. H. C. G. Moule.
George Fox, the Quaker. T. Hodgldn.
Third Edition.
John Donne. Augustas Jcssop.
John Howe. R. F. Horton.
JohnKeble. Walter Lock. Seventh Edition.
John Knox. F. MacCunn. Second Edition.
John Wesley. J. H. Overton.
Lancelot Andrewes. R- L. Ottley. Second
Edition.
Latimer. R. M. and A. J. Carlyle.
Thomas Chalmers. Mrs. Oliphant. Second
Edition.
Thomas Cranmer. A. J. Mason.
Thomas Ken. F. A. Clarke.
William Laud. W. H. Hutton. Fourth
Edition.
The Library
With Introductions and
Small Pott Svo, cloth, ^s. net;
3J. 6d. net
Bishop Wilson's Sacra Privata.
Book of Devotions, A. Second Edition.
Christian Year, The. Fifth Edition.
Confessions of St. Augustine, The.
Ninth Edition, y. 6d. net.
Day Book from the Saints and Fathers,
A.
Death and Immortality.
Devotions from the Apocrypha.
Devotions of St. Anselm, The.
Devotions for Every Day in the Week
AND the Great Festivals.
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sin-
ners.
Guide to Eternity, A.
Horae Mysticae. a Day Book from the
Writings of Mystics of Many Nations.
Imitation of Chiust, The. Eighth Edition.
Inner Way, The. Third Edition.
Introduction to the Devout Life, Am.
of Devotion
(where necessary) Notes
also some volumes in leather^
each volume
Light, Life, and Love. A Selection from
the German Mystics.
Little Book of Heavenly Wisdom, A.
A Selection from the English Mystics.
Lyra Apostolica.
Lyra Innocentium. Third Edition.
Lyra Sacra. A Book of Sacred Verse.
Second Edition.
Manual of Consolation from the Saints
AND Fathers, A.
On the Love of God.
PRrcES Privatae.
Psalms of David, Thbc
Serious Call to a Devout and Holy
Life, A. Fifth Edition.
Song of Songs, The.
Spiritual Combat, The.
Spiritual Guide, The. Third Edition.
Temple, The. Second Edition.
Thoughts of Pascal, The. Second Edition.
General Literature
Little Books on Art
IVifh many Illustrations, Demy i6mo. $s. net each volume
Each volume consists of about 200 pages, and contains from 30 to 40 Illustrations,
including a Frontispiece in Photogravure
Albrecht Dorer. L. J Allen.
Arts of Japan, The. K Dillon.
Third
Edition.
Bookplates. E. Almack.
Botticelli. Mary L. Bonnor.
BuRNE-JoNES. F. de Lisle. Third Edition.
Cellini. R. H. H. Cust.
Christian Symbolism. Mrs. H. Jenner.
Christ in Art. Mrs. H. Jenner.
Claude. E. Dillon.
H. W. Tompkins. Second
Constable.
Edition.
A. Pollard and E. Birnstingl.
Water-Colour. C.
Corot.
Early English
Hughes.
Enamels. Mrs. N. Dawson. Second Edition.
Frederic Leighton. A. Corkran.
George Romney. G. Paston.
Greek Art. H. B. Walters. Fifth Edition.
Greuzb and Boucher. E. F. Pollard.
Holbein. Mrs. G. Fortescue.
Jewellery. C. Davenport. Second Edition.
John Hoppner. H. P. K. Skipton.
Sir Joshua Reynolds. J. Sime. Second
Edition.
Millet. N. Peacock. Second Edition.
Miniatures. C. Davenport, V.D., F.S.A.
Second Edition.
Our Lady in Art. Mrs. H. Jenner.
Raphael. A. R. Dryhurst. Second Edition
Rodin. Muriel Ciolkowska.
Turner. F. Tyrrell-GilL
Vandyck. RI. G. Smallwood.
Velazquez. W. Wilberforce and A. R.
Gilbert.
Watts. R. E. D. Sketchley. Second Edition.
The Little Guides
With many Illustrations by E. H. New and other artists, and from photographs
Small Pott %vo. ^s. net each volume
The main features of these Guides are (i) a handy and charming form ; (2) illus-
trations from photographs and by well-known artists ; (3) good plans and maps ;
(4) an adequate but compact presentation of everything that is interesting in the
natural features, history, archaeology, and architecture of the town or district treated.
Cambridge and its Colleges. A. H.
Thompson. Fourth Edition^ Revised.
Channel Islands, The. E. E. Bicknell.
English Lakes, The. F. G. Brabant.
Isle of Wight, The. G. Clinch.
London. G. Clinch.
Malvern Counti?y, The. Sir B.C. A. Windle,
Second Edition.
North Wales. A. T. Story.
Oxford and its Colleges. J. Wells.
Tenth Edition.
St. Paul's Cathedral. G. Clinch.
Shakespeare's Country. Sir B. C. A.
Windle. Fifth Edition.
South Wales. G. W. and J. H. Wade.
Temple, The. H. H. L. Bellot.
Westminster Abbey. G. E. Troutbeck,
Second Edition.
i8
Methuen and Company Limited
The Little Quldei— continued
Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire. H.
W. Macklin.
Berkshire. F. G. Brabant.
Buckinghamshire. E. S. Roscoc. Second
Edition^ Revised.
Cambridgeshire. J. C. Cox.
Cheshire. W. M. Gallichan.
Cornwall. A. L. Salmon. Second Edition.
Derbyshire. J. C. Cox. Second Edition.
Devon. S. Baring-Gould. Fourth Edition.
Dorset. F. R. Heath. Fourth Edition.
Durham. J. E. Hodgkin.
Essex. J. C Cox. Second Edition,
Gloucestershire. J. C Cox. Second
Edition.
Hampshire. J. C. Cox. Third Edition.
Herefordshire. G. W. and J. H. Wade.
Hertfordshire. H. W. Tompkins.
Kent. J. C. Cox. Second Edition, Re-
written.
Kerry. C. P. Crane. Second Edition.
Leicestershire and Rutland. A. Harvey
and V. B. Crowther-Beynon.
Lincolnshire. J. C. Cox.
Middlesex. J. B. Firth.
Monmouthshire. G. W. and J. H. Wade.
Norfolk. W. A. Dutt. Fourth Edition,
Revised.
Northamptonshire.
Edition, Revised.
Northumberland. J.
W. Dry. Second
E. Morris. 5X.
net.
Nottinghamshire. L. Guilford.
Oxfordshire. F. G. Brabant Second Edition.
Shropshire. J. E. Auden. Second Eaition.
Somerset. G. W. and J. H. Wade. Fourih
Edition.
Staffordshire.
tion.
C. Masefield. Second Edi-
Suffolk.
W. A. Dutt.
C Cox.
Second Edition.
Third Edition, Re-
Surrey. J.
written.
Sussex. F. G. Brabant. Fifth Edition,
Warwickshire. J. C. Cox.
Wiltshire. F. R. Heath. Third Edition.
Riding. J. E.
Riding. J. E.
Riding. J. E.
Brittany. S. Baring-Gould. Second Edition.
Normandy. C. Scudamore. Second Edition.
Rome. C. G. EUaby.
Sicily. F. H. Jackson.
Yorkshire,
Morris.
The
East
Yorkshire,
The
North
Morris.
Yorkshire, The
Morris, ^s. net.
West
The Little Library
With Introduction, Notes, and Photogravure Frontispieces
Small Pott Svo.
Each Volume^ clothe 2s. dd, net ; also some volumes
in leather at 31. 6d. net
Anon. A LITTLE BOOK OF ENGLISH
LYRICS. Second Edition. 3s.6d.net.
AuBten (Jane). PRIDE AND PREJU-
DICE. Two Volumes.
NORTHANGER ABBEY.
Bacon (Francis). THE ESSAYS OF
LORD BACON.
Barnett (Annie). A LITTLE BOOK OF
ENGLISH PROSE. Third Edition.
Beckfopd (William). THE HISTORY OF
THE CALIPH VATHEK.
Blake (William). SELECTIONS FROM
THE WORKS OF WILLIAM BLAKE.
Browning (Robert). SELECTIONS FROM
THE EARLY POEMS OF ROBERT
BROWNING.
Canning (George). SELECTIONS FROM
THE ANTI-JACOBIN : With some later
Poems by George Canning.
Cowley (Abraham). THE ESSAYS OF
ABRAHAM COWLEY.
General Literature
iO
The Little L\hv&rY— continued
Crabbe (Qeorg«). SELECTIONS FROM
THE POEMS OF GEORGE CRABBE.
Crashaw (Richard). THE ENGLISH
POEMS OF RICHARD CRASHAW.
PURGATORY.
Dante Alighierl.
PARADISE.
Darley (George). SELECTIONS FROM
THE POEMS OF GEORGE DARLEY.
Kinglake (A. W.). EOTHEN. Stcond
EdiiioH. M. 6d. tut
Locker (P.). LONDON LYRICS.
POEMS
OF
Harvell (Andrew). THE
ANDREW MARVELL.
Milton (John). THE MINOR POEMS OF
JOHN MILTON.
Moir (D. M.). MANSIE WAUCH.
Nichols (Bowyer). A LITTLE BOOK OF
ENGLISH SONNETS.
Smith (Horace and James). REJECTED
ADDRESSES.
Sterne (Laurence).
JOURNEY.
A SENTIMENTAL
Tennyson (Alfred, Lord). THE EARLY
POEMS OF ALFRED. LORD TENNY-
POEMS OF
SON.
IN MEMORIAM.
THE PRINCESS.
MAUD.
m
HENRY VAUGHAN.
Waterhouse (Elizabeth). A LITTLE
BOOK OF LIFE AND DEATH.
Nituteenth Edition.
Wordsworth (W.). SELECTIONS FROM
THE POEMS OF WILLIAxM WORDS-
WORTH.
Wordsworth (W.) and Coleridge (S. ¥.).
LYRICAL BALLADS. Third Ediiion.
The Little Quarto Shakespeare
Edited by W. J. CRAIG. With Introductions and Notes
Pott i6fno. 40 Volumes. Leather ^ price is, gd. net each volume
Miniature Library
Demy Z^mo. Leather^ 3X. 6d. net ecuh volume
EuPHRANOR : A^Dialogue on Youth. Edward I Polonius ; or, Wise Saws and Modern In-
FitzGerald. " \ stances. Edward FitzGerald.
The RubaivAt of Omar Khayv^m. Edward FitzGerald. Fifth Edition. Cloth, w, net.
The New Library of Medicine
Edited by C. W. SALEEBY. Demy ^vo
Air and Health. Ronald C. Macfie. Second
Edition. los. 6d. net.
Care of the Body, The. F. Cavanagh.
Second Edition. 10s. 6d. net.
Children of the Nation, The. The Right
Hon. Sir John Gorst. Second Edition.
JOS. 6d. net.
Drugs and the Drug Habit.
bury. loj. 6d. net.
H. Sains-
Functional Nerve Diseases. A. T. Scbo-
field. 10s. 6d. net.
Hygiene OF Mind, The. Sir T. S. Clouston.
Sixth Edition. 10*. 6d. net.
Infant Mortality. Sir George Newman.
xos. td. net.
Prevention of Tobercuiosis (Consump
tion), The. Arthur Newsholme. Second
Edition, las. 6d, net.
20
Methuen and Company Limited
The New Library o! Musio
Edited by ERNEST NEWMAN. Illustraisd. Demy 8vo. los. 6d. net
Brahms. J. A. Fuller-Maitland. Second I Handkl. R. A. Streatteild. Second Edition.
^ '"*' I Hugo Wolf. Ernest Newman.
Oxford Biographies
Illustrated. Fcap. Hvo. Ecu: A volume^ cloth, /^s. net;
also some in leather, $5. net
Sir Walter Raleigh. I. A. Taylor.
Dante Alighibri. Paget Toynbee. Fifth
Edition.
GiROLAMO Savokarola. £. L. S. Horsburgh.
Sixth Edition.
JoHx Howard. £. C S. Gibson.
Nine
Fcap. Svo.
Across the Border. Beulah Marie Dix.
Honeymoo.v, The. A Comedy in Three Acts.
Arnold Bennett. Third Edition.
Great Adventure, The. A Play of Fancy in
Four Acts. Arnold Bennett. Fourth Edition.
Milestones. Arnold Bennett and Edward
Knoblock. Eighth Edition.
Ideal Husband, An. Oscar Wilde. Acting
Edition,
Chatham. A. S. McDowalL
Canning. W. Alison Phillips.
Plays
3J. 6^. net
Kismet. Edward Knoblock. Third Edi-
tion.
Typhoon. A Play in Four Acts. Melchior
LengyeL English Version by Laurence
Irving. Second Edition.
'^KKB. Q,K%%, The. George Pleydell.
General Post. J. E. Harold Terry. Second
Edition.
Flying, All About.
Golf Do's and Dont's.
Edition.
Sport Series
Illustrated. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. net
Golfing Swing, Thf~ Burnham Hare.
Fourth Edition.
How TO Swim. H. R. Austin.
Wrestling. P. Longhurst.
Gertrude Bacon.
StancliflFc* Sixth
The States of Italy
Edited by E. ARMSTRONG and R. LANGTON DOUGLAS
Illustrated. Demy Svo
Milan under the Sforza, A History ok. I Verona, A History of. A. M. Allen.
Cecilia M. Ady. 12s. 6d. net. \ 15J. net.
Perugia, A History of. W. Haywood. 155. net.
The Westminster Commentaries
General Editor, WALTER LOCK
Demy Svo
Acts of the Apostles, The. R. B. Rack-
ham. Seventh Edition. 16s. net.
Amos. E. A- Edghill. &s. 6d. net.
Corinthians, I. H. L. Goudge. Fourth
Edition. Zs. 6d. net.
Exodus. A. H. M'Nelle.
15J. net.
Ezekifl, H. a. Redpath.
Genesis. S. R. Driver.
16s. net.
Hebrews. E. C. Wickham. &r. 6d. net.
Second Edition.
12s. 6d. net.
Tenth Edition.
Isaiah. G. W. Wade. i6j. net.
Jeremiah. L. E. Binns. i6.r. net.
Job. E. C. S. Gibson. Second Edition.
%s. 6d. net.
Pastoral Epistles, The. E. F. Brown.
is. 6d. net.
Philippians, The.
net.
St. James,
R. J. Knowling.
tion. 8j. 6d. net.
St. Matthew. P. A. Micklem
Maurice Jones. 8j. 6d.
Second Edi-
ie,s. net.
General Literature
21
The * Young' Series
Illustrated. Croivn Svo
Young Botanist, The. W. P. Westell and
C. S. Cooper. 6s. net.
Young Carpentbr, The. Cyril Hall. f>s.
net.
Young Electrician, The. Hammond Hall.
Second Edition, ts. net.
Young Engineer, The. Hammond HalL
Third Edition, dr. net.
Young Naturalist, The. W. P. Westell
^s. 6d. net.
Young Ornithologist, The. W. P. Westell
6j. net.
Methuen's Cheap Library
F<:ap. Svo. 2s. net
All Things Considered. G. K. Chesterton.
Best of Lamb, The. Edited by E. V. Lucas
Blue Bird, The. Maurice Maeterlinck.
Charles Dickens. G. K. Chesterton.
Charmides, and other Poems. Oscar
Wilde.
ChitrXl : The Story of a Minor Siege. Sir
G. S. Robertson.
Customs of Old England, The. F. J.
Snell.
De Profundis. Oscar Wilde.
Famous Wits, A Book of. W. Jerrold.
From Midshipman to Field-Marshal.
Sir Evelyn Wood, F.M., V.C.
Harvest Home. E. V. Lucas.
Hills and the Sea. Hilaire Belloc.
Ideal Husband, An. Oscar Wilde.
Importance of being Earnest, The.
Oscar Wilde.
Intentions. Oscar Wilde.
Jane Austen and her Times. G. E.
Mitton.
John Boyes, King of the Wa-Kikuyu.
John Boyes.
Lady Windermere's Fan. Oscar Wilde.
Letters from a Self-made Merchant
to his Son. George Horace Lorimer.
Life of John Ruskin, The. W. G. Colling-
wood.
Life of Robert Louis Stevenson, The.
Graham Balfour.
Little of Everything, A. E. V. Lucas.
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. Oscar Wilde.
Lore of the Honey-Bee, The. Tickner
Edwardes.
Man and the Universe. Sir Oliver Lodge-
Makv Magdalrnx. Maurice Maeterlinck.
Mirror of the Sea, The. J. Conrad.
Mixed Vintages. E V. Lucas.
Modern Problems. Sir Oliver Lodge.
My Childhood and Boyhood. Leo Tolstoy.
My Youth. Leo Tolstoy.
Old Country Life. S. Baring-GoiJd.
Old Time Parson, The. P. H. Ditch-
field.
On Everything. Hilaire Belloc.
On Nothing. Hilaire Belloc.
Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study. Arthur
Ransomc.
Picked Company, A. Hilaire Belloc.
Reason and Belief. Sir Oliver Lodge.
R. L. S. Francis Watt.
Science from an Easy Chair. Sir Ray
Lankester.
Selected Poems. Oscar Wilde.
Selected Prose. Oscar Wilde.
Shepherd s Life, A. W. H. Hudson.
Shilling for my Thoughts, A. G. K.
Chesterton.
Social Evils and their Remedy. Leo
Tolstoy.
Some Letters of R. L. Stevenson. Selected
by Lloj'd Osbourne.
Substance of Faith, The. Sir Oliver
Lodge.
Survival of Man, The. Sir Oliver Lodge.
Tower of London, The. R. Davey.
Two Admirals. Admiral John Moresby.
Vailima Letters. Robert Loub Stevenson.
Variety Lane. E. V. Lucas.
Vicar of Morwenstow, The. S. Barinir*
Gould.
Woman of no Importance, A. Oscar
Wilde.
A StltciUn only
22
Methuen and Company Limited
Books for TraYellers
Crown Svo. $s. 6d. net each
Each volume contains a number of Illustrations in Colour
Avon and Shakespeare's Country, The.
A. G. Bradley. Second Edition.
Black Forest, A Book of the. C. E.
Hughes.
Cities of Lombardy, The. Edward Hutton.
Cities ok Romagna and the Marches,
The. Edward Hutton.
Cities of Spain,
Fifth Edition.
The. Edward Hutton.
Edward Hutton.
Cities of Umbria, The.
Fifth Edition.
Florence and Northern Tuscany, with
Genoa. Edward Hutton. Third Edition.
Land of Pardons, The (BrittanyX Anatole
Le Braz. Fourth Edition.
London Revisited. E.
Edition. 8j. ()d. net.
V. Lucas. Third
Naples. Arthur H. Norway. Fourth Edi-
tion. &r. &/. net.
Naples and Southern Italy. Edward
Hutton.
Naples Riviera,
Second Edition.
New Forest, The.
Fourth Edition.
The,
H. M. Vaughan.
Horace G. Hutchinson.
Norway and its Fjords. M. A. Wyllie.
Rome, Edward Hutton. Third Edition.
Round about Wiltshire. A. G. Bradley.
Third Edition.
Siena and Southern Tuscany. Edward
Hutton. Second Edition.
Skirts of the Great City, The. Mrs. A.
G.Bell. Second Edition.
Venice and Venetia.
Edward Hutton.
E. V. Lucas.
Wanderer in Florence, A.
Sixth Edition.
Wanderer in Paris, A. E. V. Lucas.
Thirteenth Edition.
Wanderer in Holland, A. E. V. Lucas.
Sixteenth Edition.
Wanderer in London, A. E. V. Lucas.
Eighteenth Edition.
Wanderer in Venice, A. E. V. Lucas.
Second Edition.
Some Books on Art
Art, Ancient and Medieval. M. H.
BuUey. Illustrated. Crown Zvo. fs. 6d.
net.
British School, The. An Anecdotal Guide
to the British Painters and Paintings in the
National Gallery. E. V. Lucas. Illus-
trated. Fcap. Svo. 6s. net.
Decorative Iron Work. From the xith
to the xviiith Century. Charles ffoulkcs.
Royal 4to. £a 2S. net.
Francesco Guardi, 1712-1793. G. A.
Simonson. Illustrated. Imperial ^to.
£,2. 2S. net.
Illustrations of the Book of Job.
William Blake. Quarto. £1 is. net.
Italian Sculptors. W. G. Waters. Illus-
trated. Crown ivo. js. 6d. net.
Old Paste. A. Beresford Ryley. Illustrated.
Royal 4/tf. £1 is. net.
One Hundred Masterpieces of Sculpture.
With an Introduction by G. F. Hill. Illus-
trated. Demy ivo. laj. (>d. net.
Royal Academy Lectures on Painting.
George Clausen. Illustrated. Crown Zvo.
7s, 6d. net.
Saints in Art, The. Margaret E. Tabor.
Illustrated. Third Edition. Fcap. Bvo.
Ss. net.
Schools of Painting. Mary Innes. Illus-
trated. Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. Zs. net.
Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times.
J. R. Allen. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Demy Zvo. le*. 6rf. net.
General Literature
23
Some Books on Italy
Florence and her Treasures. H. M.
Vaughan. Illustrated. Fcap. Sz'tf. dr. net.
Florence and the Cities of Northern
Tuscany, with Genoa. Edward Hutton.
Illustrated. Third Edition. Cr. ivo.
8j. 6d. net.
Lombardy, The Cities of. Edward Hutton.
Illustrated. Cr. Zvo. Zs. 6d. net.
Milan under the Sforza, A History of.
Cecilia M. Ady. Illustrated. Demjf Zva.
12s. 6d. net.
Naples : Past and Present. A. H. Norway.
Illustrated. Fourth Edition. Cr. 8vo,
8s. 6d. net.
Naples Riviera, The. H. M. Vaughan.
Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo.
is. 6d. net.
Naples and Southern Italy. E. Hutton.
Illustrated. Cr. 8vo. 8s. 6d net.
Perugia, A History of. William Heywood.
Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 15J. net.
Rome. Edward Hutton. Illustrated. Third
Edition. Cr. Zzh>. 8s. 6d. net.
Romagna and the Marches, The Cities
OF. Edward Hutton. Cr. 8vo. 8s. 6d.
net.
Rome. C. G. Ellaby. Illustrated. Small
Pott 8vo. 4J. net.
Sicily. F. H. Jackson. Illustrated. Small
Pott 8vo. 4s. net.
Sicily : The New Winter Resort. Douglas
Sladen. Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr.
8vo. js. 6d. net.
Siena and Southern Tuscany. Edward
Hutton. Illustrated. Second Edition. Cr.
8vo. 8s. 6d, net.
Umbkia, The Cities of. Edward Hutton.
Illustrated. Fifth Edition. Cr. tvo.
8s. 6d. net.
Venice and Venetia. Edward Hutton.
Illustrated. Cr. 8vo. 8s. 6d. net.
Venice on Foot. H. A. Douglas. Illus-
trated. Second Edition. Fcap.8vo. 6s.net.
Venice and her Treasures. H. A.
Douglas. Illustrated. Fca/. 8zfO. 6s. net.
Verona, A History of. A. M. Allen.
Illustrated. Demy 8vo. 15J. net.
Dante Alighieri : His Life and Works.
Paget Toynbee. Illustrated. Fourth Edi-
tion. Cr. 8vo. 6s. net.
Lakes of Northern Italy, The. Richard
Bagot. Illustrated. Second Edition. Fcap.
8vo. 6s. net.
Savonarola, Girolamo. E. L. S. Horsburgh.
Illustrated. Fourth Edition. Cr. 8j«o.
6*. net.
Skies Italian : A Little Breviary for Tra-
vellers in Italy. Ruth S. Phelps. Fcap.8100.
St. net.
24
Methuen and Company Limited
Part III. — A Selection of Works of Fiction
Albancsi (E. Haria). I KNOW A
MAIDEN. Third Edition. Cr. 8w. ^s.
net.
THE GLAD HEART. Fifth Edition. Cr.
%vo. ^s. net.
Aumonier (Stacy).
Cr. ivo. ys. net.
Bagot (Richard).
SERRAVALLE.
ivo. js. net.
OLGA BARDEL.
THE HOUSE OF
Third Edition. Cr.
Bailey (H. C), THE SEA CAPTAIN.
Third Edition. Cr. Bvo, js. net.
THE HIGHWAYMAN. Third Edition.
Cr. ivo. js. net.
THE GAMESTERS. Second Edition. Cr.
8vo. js. net.
THE YOUNG LOVERS. Second Edition.
Cr. Svo. js, net.
Baring - Gould (S.). THE BROOM-
SQUIRE. Illustrated. Fifth Edition. Cr.
Zvo. js. net.
Barr (Bobert). IN THE MIDST OF
ALARMS. Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. js.
net.
THE COUNTESS TEKLA. Fifth Edition.
Cr. Zrw. js. net.
THE MUTABLE MANY. Third Edition.
Cr. ivo. js. net.
Begbie (Harold). THE CURIOUS AND
DIVERTING ADVENTURES OF SIR
JOHN SPARROW, Bart.; or, The
Progress of an Open Mind. Second
Edition. Cr. Zvo. js. tut.
Belloc (H.). EMMANUEL BURDEN,
MERCHANT. Illustrated. Second Edi-
tion. Cr. Zvo. 7J. net.
Bennett (Arnold). CLAYHANGER.
Twelfth Edition. Cr. %vo. Sj. net.
HILDA LESSWAYS. Eighth Edition.
Cr. %vo. 7*. net.
THESE TWAIN. Fourth Edition. Cr.
Bvo. js. net.
THE CARD. Thirteenth Edition. Cr. %vo.
JS. net.
THE REGENT : A Five Towns Storv of
Adventure in London. Fifth Edition.
Cr. 8vo. JS. net,
THE PRICE OF LOVE. Fourth Edition.
Cr. Bvo. JS. net.
BURIED ALIVE. JVinth Edition. Cr.
Bvo. JS. net.
A MAN FROM THE NORTH. Third
Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
THE MATADOR OF THE FIVE TOWNS.
Second Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
WHOM GOD HATH JOINED. A New
Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
A GREAT MAN: A Frolic. Seventh
Edition. Cr. Bzw. js. net.
Benson (K. P.). DODO : A Detail of the
Day. Seventeenth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js.
net.
Birmingham (George A.). SPANISH
GOLD. Seventeenth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js.
net.
THE SEARCH PARTY. Tenth Edition.
Cr. Bvo. JS. net.
LALAGE'S LOVERS. Third Edition.
Bvo. JS. net.
GOSSAMER. Fourth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js.
Cr.
net.
THE ISLAND MYSTERY. Second F.di-
tion, Cr. Bvo. js. net.
THE BAD TIMES. Second Edition. Cr.
Bvo JS. net.
Bowen (Marjorle). I WILL MAINTAIN.
Ninth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. Seventh
Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
WILLIAM, BY THE GRACE OF GOD.
Second Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
Fiction
25
GOD AND THE KING. Sixth Edition,
Cr, ivo. js. rut.
PRINCE AND HERETIC. Third Edition.
Cr. 8vo. js. net.
A KNIGHT OF SPAIN. Third Edition.
Cr. ivo. js. n*t.
THE QUE.ST OF GLORY. Third Edition.
Cr. 8tw. js. net.
THE GOVERNOR OF ENGLAND. Third
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7*. net.
THE CARNIVAL OF FLORENCE. Fifth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
MR. WASHINGTON. Third Edition. Cr.
%vo. js. net.
" BECAUSE OF THESE THINGS. . . ."
Third Edition. Cr. 8zh>. 7s. net.
THE THIRD ESTATE. Second Edition.
Cr. 8«v. 7s. net.
Burroa^ha (Edgar Rice). THE RETURN
OF TARZAN. Fcap. ivo. as. net.
THE BEASTS OF TARZAN. Second
Edition. Cr. ivo. 6s. net.
THE SON OF TARZAN. Cr. Zvo. 7*. net.
A PRINCESS OF MARS. Cr.Zvc. is.net.
Castle (Agnes and Egerton). THE
GOLDEN BARRIER. Third Edition.
Cr. ivo. 7$. net.
Conrad (Joseph). A SET OF SIX. Fourth
Edition. Cr. ivo. 7s. net.
VICTORY: An Island Talk. Sixth
Edition. Cr. Svo. gs. net.
Conyers (Dorothea). SANDY MARRIED.
FtjTth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net,
OLD ANDY. Fovrth Edition. Cr. tvo. js.
net.
THE BLIGHTING OF BARTRAM. Thirtl
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7*. net.
B. E. N. Cr. ivo. 7s. net.
CoreUi (Marie). A ROMANCE OF TWO
WORLDS. rh%rtyfifth Edition, Cr. %vo.
73. 6d. net.
VENDETTA ; or, The Story of Onk For-
gotten. Thirtyjl/ih Edition. Cr. Svo.
Ss. net.
THELMA: A Norwegian Princess.
Fipyninth Edition. Cr. Svo. Ss. 6d. net.
ARDATH: The Story of a Dead Self.
Trventy-fourth Edition. Cr. 8tw. 7s. td.
net.
THE SOUL OF LILITH. Twentieth
Edition. Cr. St'O. 7s. net.
WORMWOOD: A Drama of Paris.
Twenty -second Edition. Cr. Svo. Ss. net.
BARABBAS: A Dream of the World's
Tragedy. Fiftieth Edition. Cr. Svo. Ss.
net.
THE SORROWS OF SATAN. Sixty-third
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
THE MASTER-CHRISTIAN. Eighteenth
Edition, 184M Thousand. Cr, Zvo.
Ss, 6d, net.
TEMPORAL POWER: A Study in
Supremacy. Second Edition, isoth
Thousand, Cr. Svo. 6s. net.
GOD'S GOOD MAN: A Simple Love
Story. Twentieth Edition. 159/A Thou-
sand. Cr. Svo. Ss. 6d. net.
HOLY ORDERS : The Tragedy of a
Quiet Life. Third Edition. 121st
Thousand, Cr. Svo. Ss. 6d. net.
THE MIGHTY ATOM. Thirty-sixth
Edition. Cr, ivo. 7s. 6d. net.
BOY : A Sketch. Twentieth Edition. Cr.
Svo. 6s. net.
CAMEOS. Fifteenth Edition. Cr. Svo.
6s.net.
THE LIFE EVERLASTING. Eighth Edi-
tion, Cr, Svo, Ss. 6d. net.
Orocliett (S. R.)- LOCHINVAR. Illus-
trated. Fifth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
THE STANDARD BEARER. Second
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
Doyle (Sir A. Conan). ROUND THE RED
LAMP. Twelfth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7*.
net.
Dudeney (Mrs. H.). THIS WAY OUT.
Cr. 8p*. 7S. net.
Fry (B. and C. B.). A MOTHERS SON.
Fifth Edition Cr. Svo. 7s. net,
Harraden (Beatrice). THE GUIDING
THREAD. Second Edition. Cr. Svo.
7S. net.
Hichens (Robert). THE PROPHET OF
BERKELEY SQUARE. Second Edition.
Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
TONGUES OF CONSCIENCE. Fourth
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7f. net.
26
Metiiuen and Company Limited
FELIX : Three Years in a Life. Seventh
Edition. Cr. Zdo. 7J. net.
THE WOMAN WITH THE FAN. Eighth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. ^s. net.
BYEWAYS. Cr. Sv(f. 7s. net.
THE GARDEN OF ALLAH. Twenty-
sixth Edition. Illustrated. Cr. 8w. 8j. td.
net.
THE CALL OF THE BLOOD. Ninth
Edition. Cr. %vo. Zs. dd. net.
BARBARY SHEEP. Sccofid Edition. Cr.
%vo. ds. net.
THE DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD.
Cr. Zvo. js. net.
THE WAY OF AMBITION. Fi/tk Edi-
tion. Cr. 8vo. 7s. net.
IN THE WILDERNESS. Third Edition.
Cr. Bvo. js. net.
Hope (Anthony). A CHANGE OF AIR.
Sixth Edition. Cr. Zvo. -/s. net.
A MAN OF MARK. Seventh Edition. Cr.
Svo. -js. net.
THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT AN-
TONIO. Sixth Edition. Cr. Svo. js.
net.
PHROSO. Illustrated. Nin^h Edition. Cr.
&V0. 7s. net.
SIMON DALE. Illustrated. Ninth Edition.
Cr. 6vo. 7s. n't.
THE KING'S MIRROR. Fifth Edition.
Cr. Zvo. 7s. net,
QUISANTE. Fourth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s.
net.
THE DOLLY DIALOGUES. Cr. 8vo. 7s.
net.
TALES OF TWO PEOPLE. TJtird Edi-
tion. Cr. ivo. 7s. net.
A SERVANT OF THE PUBLIC. Illus-
trated. Fourth Edition. Cr, Svo. 7s. net.
MRS. MAXON PROTESTS. Third Edi-
tion. Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
A YOUNG MAN'S YEAR. Second Edition.
Cr. Zvo. 7s.net.
Hyne (C. J. Cutcliffe). MR. HORROCKS,
PURSER. Fifth Edition. Cr. Bvo 7s.
net.
FIREMEN HOT. Fourth Edition. Cr.
Svo. 7S. net.
CAPTAIN KETTLE ON THE WAR-
PATH. Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
RED HERRINGS. Cr. Zvo. 6s. net.
Jacobs (W. W.). MANY CARGOES.
Thirty-third Edition. Cr. Zvo. sjr. net.
Also Cr. Zvo. 2s. 6d. net.
SEA URCHINS. Nineteenth Edition. Cr.
Zvo. 5J. net.
Also Cr. Zvo. 3 J. ()d. net.
A MASTER OF CRAFT. Illustrated.
Eleventh, Edition. Cr. Zvo. 5s. net.
LIGHT FREIGHTS. Illustrated. Fifteenth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. s^- w^-
THE SKIPPER'S WOOING. Twelfth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 55. net.
AT SUNWICH PORT. Illustrated. Eleventh
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 5J. net.
DIALSTONE LANE. Illustrated. Eighth
Edition. Cr. Zvo 5s. net.
ODD CRAFT. Illustrated. Fifth Edition.
Cr. Zrxf. 5J. net.
THE LADY OF THE BARGE. Illustrated.
Tenth Edition. Cr. Zvo. $s. net.
SALTHAVEN. Illustrated. Fourth Edition.
Cr. Zvo. 5J. net.
SAILORS' KNOTS. Illustrated. Sixth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 5^. net.
SHORT CRUISES. Third Editioiu Cr
Zvo. s*. net.
King (Basil). THE LIFTED VEIL. Cr.
Zvo. 7s. net.
Lethbridge (Sybil C). ONE WOMAN'S
HERO. Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
London (Jack). WHITE FANG. Ninth
Edition, Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
Lowndes (Mrs. Belloc). THE LODGER.
Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
Lucas (E. v.). LISTENER'S LURE : An
Oblique Narration. Twelfth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
OVER BEMERTON'S: An Easy-going
Chronicle. Sixteenth Edition. Fcap.
Zvo. 6s. net.
MR. INGLESIDE. Thirteenth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s. net.
LONDON LAVENDER. Twelfth Edition.
Fcap. Zvo. 6s, net,
LANDMARKS. Fifth Edition. Cr. Zvo.
7s. net.
THE VERMILION BOX. Fifth Edition.
Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
Lyall (Edna). DERRICK VAUGHAN,
NOVELIST. 44th Thousand. Cr. Zvo.
Ss. rM.
Fiction
27
McKenna (Stephen). SON I A : Between
Two Worlds. Sixteenth Edition. Cr. Svo.
8s. net.
NINETY-SIX HOURS' LEAVE. Fifth
Edition. Cr. Zvo. 'js. net.
THE SIXTH SENSE. Cr.Zvo. os.net.
MIDAS & SON. Cr. Zvo. 8j. net.
Macnaughtan (S.). I'E TER AND JANE.
Fourth Edition. Cr. Svo, js. net.
ISal6t (Lucas). I HE HISTORY OF SIR
RICHARD CALMADY: A Romance.
Seventh Edition. Cr. 8z>o. ys, net.
THE WAGES OF SIN. Sixteenth Edition.
Cr. 8vo. js. net.
THE CARISSIMA. Fifth Edition. Cr
8vo. ys. net.
THE GATELESS BARRIER. Fifth Edi-
tion. Cr. 2,7)0. 7s. net.
Mason (A. B. W.). CLEMENTINA.
Illustrated. Ninth Edition. Cr. Zvo. js.
net.
Maxwell (W. B.). VIVIEN. Thirteenth
Edition, Cr. Zvo. ys. net.
THE GUARDED FLAME. Seventh Edi-
tion. Cr. 8vo. "JS. net.
ODD LENGTHS. Second Edition. Cr. 8vo.
JS. net.
HILL RISE. Fourth Edition. Cr. Svo, 7s.
net.
THE REST CURE. Fourth Editiofi. Cr.
Svo. 7s. net.
Milne (A. A.). THE DAY'S PLAY. Sixth
Edition. Cr. Svo. js. net.
ONCE A WEEK. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
Morrison (Arthur). TALES OF MEAN
STREETS. Seventh Edition. Cr.Svo. 7s.
net.
A CHILD OF THE JAGO. Sixth Edition.
Cr. Bvo. 7s. net.
THE HOLE IN THE WALL. Fourth
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net,
DIVERS VANITIES. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
Oppenheim (E. Phillips). MASTER OF
MEN. Fifth Edition. Cr. Svo, 7s, net.
THE MISSING DELORA. Illustrated.
Fourth Edition, Cr. Svo. 7s. net,
THE DOUBLE LIFE OF MR. ALFRED
BURTON. Second Edition. Cr.Svo, 7s,
net.
A PEOPLE'S MAN. Third Edition. Cr.
Svo. 7s. net.
MR. GREX OF MONTE CARLO. Third
Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
THE VANISHED MESSENGER. Secopid
Edition, Cr. S<;o. 7s. net.
THE HILLMAN. Cr, Svo. 75. tiet-
Oxenham (John). A WEAVER OF
WEBS. Illustrated. Fifth Edition. Cr.
St.'o. 75. net,
PROFIT AND LOSS. Sixth Edition.
Cr. Svo. 75. net,
THE SONG OF HYACINTH, and Other
Stories. Second Edition, Cr. Svo, 7s,
net,
LAURISTONS. Fourth Edition, Cr. Svo.
7s. net.
THE COIL OF CARNE. Sixth Edition,
Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
THE QUEST OF THE GOLDEN ROSE.
Fourth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
MARY ALL-ALONE. Third Edition. Cr.
Svo, 7s. net.
BROKEN SHACKLES. Fourth Edition.
Cr. Svo. 7s. Mt.
♦•1914." Third Edition. Cr.Svo, 7s, net.
Parker (Gilbert). PIERRE AND HIS
PEOPLE. Seventh Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s.
net,
MRS. FALCHION. Fifth Edition, Cr.
Svo. 7s. net.
THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE.
Fourth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. Illus-
trated. Tenth Edition. Cr. Svo, 7s, net.
WHEN VALMOND CAME TO PONTIAC :
The Story ok a Lost Napoleon. Seventh
Edition, Cr. Svo. 7s. net,
AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH:
The Last Adventures of ' Pretty
Pierre.' Fifth Edition, Cr. Svo. 7s. net,
THE SEATS OF THE MIGHTY. Illus-
trated. Twentieth Edition, Cr. Svo. 7s.
net.
THE BATTLE OF THE STRONG: A
Romance of Two Kingdoms. Illustrated.
Seventh Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
THE POMP OF THE LAVILETTES.
Third Edition, Cr. Svo, 6s. net.
NORTHERN LIGHTS. Fourth Edition.
Cr. Svo. 7s, net.
Perrln (Alice). THE CHARM. Fifth
Edition, Cr, Svo. 7s. net.
Phillpotts (Eden). CHILDREN OF THE
MIST. Sixth Edition. Cr. Svo. 7s. net.
28
Methuen and Company Limited
THE HUMAN BOY. With a Frontispiece.
Seventh Edition. Cr. Zzfc. js. net,
SONS OF THE MORNING. Second Edi-
tion. Cr. iv0. 7s. net.
THE RIVER. Fourth Edition. Cr.Bvo. js.
net.
THE AMERICAN PRISONER. Fourth
Edition. Cr. Svo. js. net.
DEMETER'S DAUGHTER. Third Edi-
tion. Cr. 8v0. -js. net.
THE HUMAN BOY AND THE WAR.
Third Edition. Cr. Svjo. js. net.
Ridge (W. Pett). A SON OF THE
STATE. Third Edition. Cr. 8w. 7s.
net.
THE REMINGTON SENTENCE. Third
Edition. Cr. 8vo. js. net.
MADAME PRINCE. Second Edition. Cr.
Bvo. js. net.
TOP SPEED. Second Edition. Cr. ivo.
js. net.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES. Cr. ivo.
6s. net.
THE BUSTLING HOURS. Cr. ivo. js.
net.
Rohmer (Bax). THE DEVIL DOCTOR.
Third Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
THE SI-FAN MYSTERIES. Second Edi-
tion. Cr. Zvo. js. net.
TALES OF SECRET EGYPT. Cr. Bvo.
6s. net.
THE ORCHARD OF TEARS.
6s. net.
Cr. Bvo.
Swlnnerton (F.), SHOPS AND HOUSES.
Cr. Bvo. js. net.
Wells (H. G.). BEALBY. Fifth Edition.
Cr. Bvo. js. net.
Williamson (C. 8. and A. H.). THE
LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR : The
Strangb Auventurks of a Motor Car.
Illustrated. Trventy-second Edition. Cr.
BzM). js. net.
THE PRINCESS PASSES: A Romance
OF A Motor. Illustrated. Ninth Edition,
Cr. 8zH>. js. net.
LADY BETTY ACROSS THE WATER.
Nineteenth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
SCARLET RUNNER. Illustrated. Fourth
Edition. Cr. Bvo. 7s. net.
LORD LOVELAND DISCOVERS
AMERICA. Illustrated. Second Edition.
Cr. Bvo. 7s. net.
THE GOLDEN SILENCE. Illustrated.
Eighth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
THE GUESTS OF HERCULES. Illus-
trated. Fourth Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
IT HAPPENED IN EGYPT. Illustrated.
Seventh Edition. Cr. Zvo. 7s. net.
A SOLDIER OF THE LEGION. Second
Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
THE SHOP GIRL. Cr. Bvo. 7s. net.
THE LIGHTNING CONDUCTRESS.
Third Edition. Cr. Bvo. 7s. net.
SECRET HISTORY. Cr. Bvo. 7s. net.
THE LOVE PIRATE. Illustrated. Third
Edition. Cr. Bvo. js. net.
Also Cr. Bvo. y. 6d. net.
CRUCIFIX CORNER. Cr. Bvo. 6s. net.
Wilson (Romer). MARTIN SCHULER.
Cr. Bvo. JS. net.
Getting Well or Dorothy, The.
W. K. Clifford. 6s. net.
Girl of the People, A. L. T. Meade.
HoNOUKABLB Miss, The, I^. T. Mcadc,
Books for Boys and Girls
Illustrated. Crown Zvo. 5j. net.
Mrs.
Master Rockafellar's Voyage. W, Clark
Russell.
Red Grange, The. Mrs. Molesworth.
There was once a Prince. Mrs. M- E.
Mann.
Fiction
29
Methuen's Cheap Novels
Fcap. %vo. 2s. net.
Abandoned. W. Clark Russell.
Adventures or Dr. Whittv, Thb. George
A. Birmingham.
Anglo-Indians, The. Alice Perrin.
Anna of the Five Towns. Arnold Bennett.
Anthony Cothbert. Richard Bagot.
Babes in the Wood. B. M. Croker.
Bad Times, The. George A. Birmingham.
Barbarv Sheep. Robert Hichens.
Because of These Things. . . . Marjorie
Bowen.
Beloved Enemy, The. E. Maria Albanesi.
Below Stairs. Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick.
Botor Chaperon, The. C. N. and A. M.
Williamson.
Boy. Marie Corelli.
Branded Prince, The. Weatherby Chesney.
Broken Shackles. John Oxenham.
Broom Squire, The. S. Baring-Gould.
Buried Alive. Arnold Bennett.
Byeways. Robert Hichens.
Call of the Blood, The. Robert Hichens.
Cameos. Marie Corelli.
Card, The. Arnold Bennett,
Carissima, The. Lucas Malet.
Cease Fire. J. M. Cobban.
Chance. Joseph Conrad.
Change in the Cabinet, A Hilaire Belloc.
Chink in the Armour, The. Mrs. Belloc
Lowndes.
Chronicles of a German Town. The
Author of " Mercia in Germany."
Coil of Carne, The. John Oxenham.
Convert, The. Elizabeth Robins.
Counsel of Perfection, A. Lucas Malet.
Crooked Way, The. William Le Queux.
Dan Russbl the Fox. E. CE. Somerville
and Martin Ross.
Darnelby Place. Richard Bagot.
Dead Men tell ho Taxe.s. E. W. Hor-
nung.
Demkter's Daughter. Eden Phillpotts.
Demon, The. C. N. and A. M. Williamson.
Desert Trail, The. Dane CooHdge.
Dkvil Doctor, The. Sax Rohmer.
Double Life of Mr. Alfred Burton,
The. E. Phillips Oppenheim.
Duke's Motto, The. J. H. McCarthy.
Emmanuel Burden. Hilaire Belloc.
End of her Honeymoon, The. Mrs.
Belloc Lowndes.
Family, The. Elinor Mordaunt
Fire in Stubble. Baroness Orczy.
Fikemen Hot. C. J. Cutclikfe Hvne.
Flower of the Dusk. Mjnrtle Reed.
Gate of the Desert, The. John Oxenham.
Gates of Wrath, The. Arnold Bennett.
Gentleman Adventurer, The. H. C.
Bailey.
Golden Centipede, The. Louise Gerard.
Golden Silence, The. C. N. and A. M.
Williamson.
Gossamer. George A. Birmingham.
Governor of England, The. Marjorie
Bowen.
Great Lady, A. Adeline Sergeant.
Great Man, A. Arnold Bennett.
Guarded Flame, The. W. B. Maxwell
Guiding Thread, The. Beatrice Harraden.
Halo, The. Baroness von Hutten.
Happy Hunting Ground, The. Alice
Perrin.
Happy Valley, The. B. M. Croker.
Heart of his Heart. E. Maria Albanesi.
Heart of the Ancient Wood, The.
Charles G. D. Roberts.
Heather Moon, The. C. N. and A. M.
Williamson.
Heritage op Peril, A. A. W. Marchmont,
Highwayman, The. H. C. Bailey.
Hillman, The. E. Phillips Oppenheim.
Hill Rise. W. B. Maxwell.
House of Srrravalle, The. Richard
Bagot.
Hyena of Kallo, The. Louise Gerard.
Island Princess, His W. Clark Russe!!:
30 Methuen and Company Limited
Methuen's Cheap • Hovelu— continued.
Jank. Marie Corelli.
Johanna. B. M. Croker.
Joseph. Frank Danby.
Joshua Davidson, Communist. E. Lynn
Linton.
Joss, The. Richard Marsh.
Kinsman, The. Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick.
Knight of Spain, A. Marjorie Bowen.
Ladv Betty Across the Water. C. N.
and A. M. Williamson.
Lalage's Lovers. George A. Birmingham.
Lantern Bearers, The. Mrs. Alfred Sidg-
wick.
Lauristons. John Oxenham.
Lavender and Old Lace. Myrtle Reed.
Light Freights. W. W. Jacobs.
Lodger, The. Mrs. Belloc Lowndes.
Long Road, The. John Oxenham.
Love and Louisa. E. Maria Albanesi.
Love Pirate, The. C N. and A. M.
Williamson.
Mary All-Alone. John Oxenham.
Master of the Vineyard. Myrtle Reed.
Master's Violin, The. Myrtle Reed.
Max Carrados. Ernest Bramah.
Mayor of Troy, The. "Q."
Mbss Deck, The. W. F. Shannon.
Mighty Atom, The. Marie CorellL
Mirage. E. Temple Thurston.
Missing Delora, The. £. Phillips Oppen-
heim.
Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo. E. Phillips
Oppenheim.
Mr. Washington. Marjorie Bowen.
Mrs. Maxon Protests. Anthony Hope.
Mrs. Pkter Howard. Mary E. Mann.
My Danish Sweetheart. V/. Clark
Russell.
Mv Fkiend the Chauffeur. C. N. and
A. M. Williamson.
My Husband and I. Leo Tolstoy.
Mv Lady of Shadows. John Oxenham.
Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, The. Sax
Rohmer.
Mystery of the Green Heart, The.
Max Pemberton.
Nine Days' Wonder, A- B. M. Croker. |
Nine to Six-Tkirtv. W. Pett Ridge.
Ocean Sleuth, The. Maurice Drake.
Old Rose and Silver. Myrtle Reed.
Paths of the Prudent, The. J. S. Fletcher.
Pathway of the Pioneer, The. Dolf
Wyllarde.
Peggy of the Bartons. B. M. Croker.
People's Man, A. E. Phillips Oppenheim.
Peter and Jane. S. Macnaughtan.
Pomp of the Lavilbttes, The. Sir Gilbert
Parker.
Quest of Glory, The. Marjorie Bowen.
Quest of the Golden Rose, Thk. John
Oxenham.
Regent, The. Arnold Bennett.
Remington Sentence, Thk. W. Pett
Ridge.
Rest Cure, The. W. B. MaxwelL
Return of Tarzan, The. Edgar Rice
Burroughs.
Round the Red Lamp. Sir A. Conan Doyle.
Royal Georgib. S. Baring-Gould.
SaTd, the Fisherman. Marmaduke Pick-
thall.
Sally. Dorothea Conyers.
Salving of a Derelict, The. Maurice
Drake.
Sandy Married. Dorothea Conyers.
Sea Captain, The. H. C. Bailey.
Sea Lady, The. H. G. Wells.
Search Party, The. George A. Burmingham.
Secret Agent, The. Joseph Conrad.
Secret History. C. N. and A. M. William-
son.
Secret Woman, The. Eden Phillpotts.
Set in Silver. C N. and A. M. William-
son.
Sevastopol, and Other Stories. Leo
Tolstoy.
Severins, The. Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick.
Short Cruises. W. W. Jacobs.
Si-Fan Myspekies, The. Sax Rohmer.
Spanish Gold. George A. Birmingham.
Spinner in the Sun, A. Myrtle Reed.
Street called Straight, The. Basil
King.
Supreme Crime, The. Dorothea Gerard.
Tales of Mean Streets. Arthur Morrison.
Tarzan of the Apes. Edgar Rice Bur-
roughs.
Fiction
31
Methaen'B Cheap ISoYeiis— continued.
Terksa of Watling Strbet. Arnold
Bennett.
There was a Crooked Man. Dolf Wyllarde.
Tyrant, The. Mrs. Henry de la Pasture.
Under Western Eyes. Joseph Conrad.
Unofficial Honeymoon, The. Dolf
Wyllarde.
Valley of the Shadow, The. William
Le Queux.
Virginia Perfect. Peggy Webling.
Wallet of Kai Lung. Ernest Eramah.
War Wedding, The. C. N. and A. M.
Williamson.
Ware Case, The, George Pleydell.
Way Home, The. Basil King.
Way of these Women, The. E. Phillips
Oppenheim.
Weaver of Dreams, A. Myrtle Reed.
Weaver of Webs, A. John Oxenham.
Wedding Day, The. C. N. and A. M.
Williamson.
White Fang. Jack London.
Wild Olive, The. Basil King.
William, by the Grace of God. Marjorie
Bo wen.
Woman with the Fan, The. Robert
Hichens.
WO2. Maurice Drake.
Wonder of Love, The. E. Maria Albanesi.
Yellow Claw, The. Sax Rohmer.
Yellow Diamond, The. Adeline Sergeant.
Methuen's One and Threepenny NoYels
Fcap. Sv0, Is. 3^. nei
Barbara Rebell. Mrs. Belloc Lowndes.
By Stroke of Sword. Andrew Balfour.
Derrick Vaughan, Novelist. Edna
Lyall.
House of Whispers, The. William Le
Queux.
Inca's Treasure, The E. Glanville.
Katherine the Arrogant. Mrs. B. M,
Croker.
Mother's Son, A. B. and C. B. Fry.
Profit and Loss. John Oxenham.
Red Derelict, The. Bertram Mitford.
Sign of the Spider, The. Bertram Mitford.
27/6/19.
printed by Morrison and gibb limited, Edinburgh
^4 DAYU?^
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
CIRCULATIOiN DEPARTMENT
This book is due on the last date stamped below, or
on the date to which renewed.
K£T JHHHV^^^^ ^^^ subject to immediate recall.
Tl
JUMct{flH,i9fe^
^m-
ib:^
EE^, cm.o^'^ 1 ^ '77
AUG 10 1984
— BECEWEO
J^^^JV^
cmeuuATtow
oet
^Oll 1984
HEiCfriVE'
MAY 1 5
c;mcuLAT
LD21 — 32-m — 1,'75
(838451)4970
.Sl-Sfol-b'^S^-n'^
""''"Srkeley
/ i
^?,%^;?ST:i?i>5A-32
riPtieral Library .
""'"•grkeley
i GENERAL LIBRARY -U.C. BERKELEY
' Miiiliilll
, BD0D71t,a27
* - .-^ /-% ->
oa
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
v.-K^