Demosthenes The Erotic Essay 2

[2] Now, that part of my essay which you may find to be the most erotic, so to speak, is on this topic, but the rest of it in part praises the lad himself and in part counsels about his education and his design for living. ¹ whole essay is written as one would put it into a book, because discourses intended to be delivered ought to be written simply and just as one might speak offhand, while those of the other kind, which are planned to last longer, are properly composed in the manner of poetry and ornately. ² For it is the function of the former to win converts and of the latter to display one’s skill. Accordingly, to avoid spoiling the essay for you or rehearsing my own opinions about these questions, I ask you to lend your attention, since you are immediately going to hear the essay itself, because Epicrates is also at hand, whom I wished to hear it.