[9]
First, then, we must consider what is the function of kings; for if we can properly encompass the essence of the whole matter in a general principle1 we shall, with this before us, speak to better purpose about its parts. I think that all would agree that it is a king's business to relieve the state when it is in distress, to maintain it in prosperity, and to make it great when it is small; for it is with these ends in view that the other duties which present themselves day by day must be performed.
1 For the habit of definition in Isocrates see General Introd. p. xvii.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
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