Isocrates, Panegyricus, George Norlin (Translator), 145

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[145] And assuredly we have no greater reason to fear the army which wanders about¹ with the King nor the valor of the Persians themselves; for they were clearly shown by the troops who marched inland² with Cyrus to be no better than the King’s soldiers who live on the coast. I refrain from speaking of all the other battles in which the Persians were worsted, and I am willing to grant that they were split with factions, and so where not inclined to throw themselves wholeheartedly into the struggle against the King’s brother.

Panegyricus. Isocrates. George Norlin (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1928.

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Panegyricus (English) (Isocrates, Vol. 1. Norlin, George, translator. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1928 (printing).)

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Πανηγυρικός Perseus (Isocrates, Vol. 1. Norlin, George, editor. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1928 (printing).) — 145 focus

[145] καὶ μὴν οὐδὲ τὴν στρατιὰν τὴν μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως περιπολοῦσαν, οὐδὲ τὴν Περσῶν ἀνδρίαν ἄξιον φοβηθῆναι· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι φανερῶς ἐπεδείχθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν Κύρῳ συναναβάντων οὐδὲν βελτίους ὄντες τῶν ἐπὶ θαλάττῃ. τὰς μὲν γὰρ ἄλλας μάχας ὅσας ἡττήθησαν ἐῶ, καὶ τίθημι στασιάζειν αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ βούλεσθαι προθύμως πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν βασιλέως διακινδυνεύειν.

Notes on the current edition

Panegyricus

1. Contemptuous, recalling Aristoph. Ach. 81 .

2. The famous “ten thousand” led by Cleararchus, a Spartan, were employed by Cyrus, the younger son of Dareius, against his brother Artaxerxes, the Persian king, 401-399. The death of Cyrus, due to his rashness in the very moment of victory, deprived the rebellion of its leader and left the Greek army stranded in the heart of Asia . Xenophon, who has described this expedition in the Anabasis, led the remnant of this army after many months of hardship back to the shore of the Black Sea. See Grote, Hist. viii. pp. 3O3 ff. The expedition, though unsuccessful in its purpose, was regarded as a triumph of courage and a demonstration of the superiority of the Greeks over the Persians in warfare. The episode is used in Isoc. 5.90-93 with the same point as here.

Isocrates Panegyricus 145

George Norlin (Translator)

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