Demosthenes, The Erotic Essay, Norman W. DeWitt (Translator), Norman J. DeWitt (Translator), 46

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[46] But not to spend our time rehearsing ancient examples while others are available closer to our own times,¹ you will discover that Timotheus was deemed worthy of the highest repute and numerous honors, not because of his activities as a younger man, but because of his performances after he had studied with Isocrates.² You will discover also that Archytas of Tarentum became ruler of his city and managed its affairs so admirably and so considerately as to spread the record of that achievement to all mankind; yet at first he was despised and he owed his remarkable progress to studying with Plato.³

The Erotic Essay. Demosthenes. Norman W. DeWitt (Translator), Norman J. DeWitt (Translator). London. 1949.

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Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

The Erotic Essay (English) (Demosthenes, Vol. VII: Funeral Speech, Erotic Essay, LX, LXI, Exordia and Letters. DeWitt, Norman W. and Norman J., translators. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1949 (printing).)

Editions (1)

ἐρωτικὸς Perseus (Demosthenes. Orationes, Vol. III. Rennie, W., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931.) — 46 focus

[46] εἰ δὲ δεῖ μὴ παλαιὰ λέγοντας διατρίβειν, ἔχοντας ὑπογυωτέροις παραδείγμασιν χρῆσθαι, τοῦτο μὲν Τιμόθεον οὐκ ἐξ ὧν νεώτερος ὢν ἐπετήδευσεν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ὧν Ἰσοκράτει συνδιατρίψας ἔπραξεν, μεγίστης δόξης καὶ πλείστων τιμῶν εὑρήσεις ἀξιωθέντα· τοῦτο δʼ Ἀρχύταν τὴν Ταραντίνων πόλιν οὕτω καλῶς καὶ φιλανθρώπως διοικήσαντα κύριον αὐτῆς καταστάντα, ὥστʼ εἰς ἅπαντας τὴν ἐκείνου μνήμην διενεγκεῖν· ὃς ἐν ἀρχῇ καταφρονούμενος, ἐκ τοῦ Πλάτωνι πλησιάσαι τοσαύτην ἔλαβεν ἐπίδοσιν.

Notes on the current edition

The Erotic Essay

1. The phrase closer to our own times is defined by the mention of Timotheus, who died in 355 B.C., just after Demosthenes entered public life. The author, whether the orator or a forger, belongs to the second half of the fourth century.

2. Timotheus, son of Conon, was called by Cornelius Nepos the last Athenian general worthy of mention. Demosthenes regularly spoke of him with admiration.

3. There is a brief life of Archytas which may be consulted in the Loeb translation. It is not known positively that he was a pupil of Plato, but he was his friend: Plat. L. 7.338c,350a ; Plat. L. 13.360c . His adherence was to the school of Pythagoras.

Demosthenes The Erotic Essay 46

Norman W. DeWitt (Translator), Norman J. DeWitt (Translator)

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