Page:History of the Literature of Ancient Greece (Müller) 2ed.djvu/526

504 ; HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XXXVI. § 1. Early training of Isocrates; but slightly influenced by Socrates. § 2. School of Isocrates ; its great repute ; his attempts to influence the politics of the day •without thoroughly understanding them. § 3. The form of a speech the prin- cipal matter in his judgment. § 4. New developement which he gave to prose composition. § 5. His structure of periods. $ G. Smoothness and evenness of his style. § V. He prefers the panegyrical oratory to the forensic. § 1. It is very doubtful whether Plato would have accorded to Isocrates in his maturer age those high praises which he has bestowed upon him in the earlier years of his life, or would have preferred him so decidedly to Lysias. Isocrates, the son of Theodoras, was born at Athens in 01. 86, 1. b.c. 436, and was, consequently, about 24 years younger than Lysias. He was, no doubt, a well-conducted youth, eager to acquire information ; and, to get himself thoroughly educated, became a pupil, not only of the Sophists Gorgias and Tisias, but also of Socrates. In the circle of his friends so strong an impression was created in his favour, that it was believed that " he would not only in oratory leave all other orators behind him like children, but that a divine instinct would lead him on to still greater things. For that there was an earnest love of wisdom in the heart of the man." Such is the prophecy concerning him which Plato puts into the mouth of Socrates himself. Notwithstanding this, however, Isocrates seems to have made no use of the great philo- sopher beyond acquiring from him such a superficial knowledge of moral philosophy as would enable him to give a colouring of science to his professional exertions. Rhetoric was, after all, his main occupation, and no age before his had seen so much care and labour expended on this art. Accordingly, Isocrates essentially belongs to the Sophists, differing from them only in this, that he could not any longer oppose the Socratic phi- losophy by the bold proposal of making all things equally true by argument :* on the contrary, he considered speech as only a means of setting forth, in as pleasing and brilliant a manner as possible, some opinion, which, though not very profound, was, at any rate, quite praise- worthy in itself. If, however, he was less concerned about enlarging his ideas and getting a deeper insight into the reality of things, or, in general, comprehending the truth with greater clearness and accuracy, than about perfecting the outward form and ornamental finish of his that he was corrupting the youth by teaching them to turn right into wrong in the courts of justice. Comp. $ 15.
 * See the speech sref) uvnYoeiui, § 30, where he justly repudiates the charge,