Isocrates, Panathenaicus, George Norlin (Translator), 1

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[1] When I was younger, I elected not to write the kind of discourse which deals with myths¹ nor that which abounds in marvels and fictions,² although the majority of people are more delighted with this literature than with that which is devoted to their welfare and safety;³ nor did I choose the kind which recounts the ancient deeds and wars of the Hellenes, although I am aware that this is deservedly praised,⁴ nor, again, that which gives the impression of having been composed in a plain and simple manner and is lacking in all the refinements of style,⁵ which those who are clever at conducting law-suits urge our young men tocultivate,

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

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Current edition Perseus

Panathenaicus (English) (IIsocrates, Vol 2. Norlin, George, translator. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1929 (printing).)

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Παναθηναικός Perseus (Isocrates, Vol 2. Norlin, George, editor. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1929 (printing).) — 1 focus

[1] νεώτερος μὲν ὢν προῃρούμην γράφειν τῶν λόγων οὐ τοὺς μυθώδεις οὐδὲ τοὺς τερατείας καὶ ψευδολογίας μεστούς, οἷς οἱ πολλοὶ μᾶλλον χαίρουσιν ἢ τοῖς περὶ τῆς αὑτῶν σωτηρίας λεγομένοις, οὐδὲ τοὺς τὰς παλαιὰς πράξεις καὶ τοὺς πολέμους τοὺς Ἑλληνικοὺς ἐξηγουμένους, καίπερ εἰδὼς δικαίως αὐτοὺς ἐπαινουμένους, οὐδʼ αὖ τοὺς ἁπλῶς δοκοῦντας εἰρῆσθαι καὶ μηδεμιᾶς κομψότητος μετέχοντας, οὓς οἱ δεινοὶ περὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας παραινοῦσι τοῖς νεωτέροις μελετᾶν, εἴπερ βούλονται πλέον ἔχειν τῶν ἀντιδίκων,

Notes on the current edition

Panathenaicus

1. See General Introduction p. 22. Yet he deals with the legend of Demeter in Isoc. 4 and with that of Heracles in Isoc. 5 , and, half playfully, he goes into the stories of Helen and Busiris in the discourses devoted to them. See General Introduction.

2. Cf. Isoc. 10.4 ff. , Vol. III., L.C.L.

3. See Isoc. 7.1 .

4. One of his pupils, Theopompus, was a historian. For Isocrates’ attitude to the historians see Blass, Die attische Beredsamkeit 2. p. 49.

5. For the plain style affected by the forensic orators, notably Lysias, see Jebb, Attic Orators1. pp. 159 ff. Cf. Isoc. 4 .

Isocrates Panathenaicus 1

George Norlin (Translator)

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