Isocrates I

To Demonicus

1. TO DEMONICUS introduction Although this speech may seem to a modern reader to encompass simply a random collection of bland pieces of advice, it was widely read and quoted from antiquity through the Renaissance. Strangely enough, however, for a work so often identified with the values of Isocrates, its authenticity has been challenged, both in antiquity and in modern times. Nevertheless, the overwhelming consensus is that the work is Isocratean. What we know about Demonicus and his father Hipponicus must be gleaned from the speech itself, although the author of a fourthcentury ad introduction says that he was Cyprian. Demonicus lived under a king (36) and appears to have been prosperous (49). His father was well known as a man of high morals (11). It is supposed—and it is no better than a supposition—that the work was written about the same time as the two other ‘‘hortatory’’ works, To Nicocles (2) and Nicocles (3) (374–370), and so may be called one of the ‘‘Cyprian’’ speeches. Like those works and other ‘‘gnomic’’ (gnōmē ⫽ maxim) works of the time, it is loosely organized. It may be profitably compared with the poetry of Theognis of Megara (sixth century bc) in that it treats a succession of loosely connected topics. Such a comparison would show a remarkable continuity in Greek popular wisdom , which often betrays a conflicting mixture of practical advice and idealism. The work has three parts: an introduction (1–12), a long list of precepts (13–43), and an epilogue (44–52). 1. to demonicus [1] We shall find, Demonicus, that the thoughts of honorable people and the opinions of the base stand far apart in many respects. But by far the greatest way in which these people differ is in their associations with one another: the base honor their friends only when they are present, but the honorable love them even when they are far away; a short time destroys relationships among the base, but not even an entire age could wither the friendships of the honorable. [2] Since I believe it proper for those striving for renown and seeking an education to imitate the honorable, not the base, I have sent you this discourse as a gift, evidence of my goodwill for you and an indication of my intimacy with Hipponicus: it is fitting that children inherit not only the property but also the friendships of their fathers. [3] I see that luck is also with us and that the present occasion is on our side: you are eager for education, and I endeavor to educate others; the peak moment to do philosophy is upon you, and I guide those doing philosophy.1 Those who compose words of encouragement for their friends take on a noble task, [4] but they are not devoting themselves to the most noble aspect of philosophy. Rather, those who direct the young, not in the ways of practicing cleverness (deinotēs) in speeches (logoi ) but in how to become renowned as serious in the constitution of their character, do their hearers a much greater benefit to the extent that while others may exhort them only to speech, they improve their characters. [5] Therefore, we intend to counsel you not by composing an exhortation2 but by writing an address about what young people ought to strive for, what actions they should avoid, with what sort of people they should keep company, and how they should manage their lives. Only those who have walked this path of life have been able to reach virtue (aretē )3 genuinely, which is the most valuable and secure acqui20 isocrates i 1 On what Isocrates means by ‘‘philosophy,’’ see Introduction to Isocrates and the Glossary (philosophia). 2 Isocrates is ever mindful of distinctions in genre (eidos). Here he distinguishes an exhortation (paraklēsis) from an address (parainesis). The distinction flows from what he says in 1.4. 3 Aretē (pl. aretai ) is the central word in Greek ethics. It is translated here and elsewhere as ‘‘virtue,’’ but it has a wide range of meanings, running from sition. [6] Beauty is destroyed by time or marred by disease.4 Wealth supports evil rather than noble conduct: it provides a basis for laziness and exhorts the young to pleasures. Strength is a benefit when it is joined with practical wisdom (phronēsis), but without this, it does more harm to those...