In 400 B. C.—when Plato was twenty-nine years old, Isokrates thirty-six, and Lysias fifty-nine (or, according to the modern view of his birth-date, forty-four at most ¹ ), Isaeos was probably about twenty. That subtle and eager mind, destined to a narrow field, may well have had its early place in the most liberal converse that Athens could afford ² . But the only master to whom Isaeos is given as pupil by a tradition at once definite and trustworthy is Isokrates. Their intercourse may be referred to ³ the years 393—390, when Isokrates was just beginning to teach, or when Isaeos was about to enter on his own career as a writer of speeches for the lawcourts. Both these facts—that the teacher's manner was not matured, and that the discipleship must have been comparatively short—may help to explain why Isaeos kept so few traces of Isokratic expression. As we shall see, however, the Isokratic influence on Isaeos may clearly be traced in another province—in his handling of subject-matter ⁴ . Isokrates asserts that, of all the numerous writers of speeches for the courts, no one was ever honoured with pupils ⁵ . If Isaeos had been the pupil of Lysias, at least one ⁶ notable exception would have been established. It is worth observing, however, that the best authority speaks of Isaeos, not as the scholar, but as the student of Lysias; and this is undoubtedly the true account ⁷ .