Isocrates › To Alexander
EN Lat Orig
Isocrates
To Alexander
§1 πρὸς τὸν πατέρα σου γράφων ἐπιστολὴν ἄτοπον ᾤμην ποιήσειν, εἰ περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ὄντα σὲ τόπον ἐκείνῳ μήτε προσερῶ μήτ’ ἀσπάσομαι μήτε γράψω τι τοιοῦτον, ὃ ποιήσει τοὺς ἀναγνόντας μὴ νομίζειν ἤδη με παραφρονεῖν διὰ τὸ γῆρας μηδὲ παντάπασι ληρεῖν, ἀλλ’ ἔτι τὸ καταλελειμμένον μου μέρος καὶ λοιπὸν ὂν οὐκ ἀνάξιον εἶναι τῆς δυνάμεως ἣν ἔσχον νεώτερος ὤν.
§2 ἀκούω δέ σε πάντων λεγόντων ὡς φιλάνθρωπος εἶ καὶ φιλαθήναιος καὶ φιλόσοφος, οὐκ ἀφρόνως ἀλλὰ νοῦν ἐχόντως. τῶν τε γὰρ πολιτῶν ἀποδέχεσθαί σε τῶν ἡμετέρων οὐ τοὺς ἠμεληκότας αὑτῶν καὶ πονηρῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιθυμοῦντας, ἀλλ’ οἷς συνδιατρίβων τ’ οὐκ ἂν λυπηθείης, συμβάλλων τε καὶ κοινωνῶν πραγμάτων οὐδὲν ἂν βλαβείης οὐδ’ ἀδικηθείης, οἵοις περ χρὴ πλησιάζειν τοὺς εὖ φρονοῦντας·
§3 τῶν τε φιλοσοφιῶν οὐκ ἀποδοκιμάζειν μὲν οὐδὲ τὴν περὶ τὰς ἔριδας, ἀλλὰ νομίζειν εἶναι πλεονεκτικὴν ἐν ταῖς ἰδίαις διατριβαῖς, οὐ μὴν ἁρμόττειν οὔτε τοῖς τοῦ πλήθους προεστῶσιν οὔτε τοῖς τὰς μοναρχίας ἔχουσιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ συμφέρον οὐδὲ πρέπον ἐστὶ τοῖς μεῖζον τῶν ἄλλων φρονοῦσιν οὔτ’ αὐτοῖς ἐρίζειν πρὸς τοὺς συμπολιτευομένους οὔτε τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπιτρέπειν πρὸς αὑτοὺς ἀντιλέγειν.
§4 ταύτην μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀγαπᾶν σε τὴν διατριβήν, προαιρεῖσθαι δὲ τὴν παιδείαν τὴν περὶ τοὺς λόγους, οἷς χρώμεθα περὶ τὰς πράξεις τὰς προσπιπτούσας καθ’ ἑκάστην τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ μεθ’ ὧν βουλευόμεθα περὶ τῶν κοινῶν· δι’ ἣν νῦν τε δοξάζειν περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιεικῶς, τοῖς τ’ ἀρχομένοις προστάττειν οὐκ ἀνοήτως ἃ δεῖ πράττειν ἑκάστους, ἐπιστήσει, περὶ δὲ τῶν καλῶν καὶ δικαίων καὶ τῶν τούτοις ἐναντίων ὀρθῶς κρίνειν, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τιμᾶν τε καὶ κολάζειν ὡς προσῆκόν ἐστιν ἑκατέρους.
§5 σωφρονεῖς οὖν νῦν ταῦτα μελετῶν· ἐλπίδας γὰρ τῷ τε πατρὶ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις παρέχεις, ὡς, ἂν πρεσβύτερος γενόμενος ἐμμείνῃς τούτοις, τοσοῦτον προέξεις τῇ φρονήσει τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσον περ ὁ πατήρ σου διενήνοχεν ἁπάντων.
Tap any Greek word to look it up
An open-access project
Benseler–Blass 1945
Loeb
Benseler–Blass, 1945 · 1945
The Editor

Gustav Eduard Benseler (1806–1868) was a German classical scholar who produced the first systematic critical edition of Isocrates. Friedrich Blass (1843–1907), Professor at the University of Halle, was one of the foremost Greek philologists of his generation, renowned for his work on Attic oratory and Greek prose rhythm. Blass thoroughly revised Benseler's edition of Isocrates for the Teubner series, producing a text that remained standard for generations.

About This Edition

The Benseler–Blass Teubner edition of Isocrates combines Benseler's foundational work with Blass's extensive revisions and re-collation of manuscripts. The text is conservative in its approach to emendation, respecting the manuscript tradition where defensible. The apparatus criticus records all significant variants and conjectures from earlier scholars. This edition, like all Teubner texts, aims at maximum scholarly rigour and is designed primarily for specialist readers.

Translator

Larue Van Hook (Loeb Classical Library)

Text Basis

Text based on Benseler, rev. Blass. Van Hook translated for the Loeb Classical Library.

—

Tap any Greek word to look it up