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[19] Let me ask, then, whether we should be satisfied if we could dwell in our city secure from danger, if we could be provided more abundantly with the necessities of life, if we could be of one mind amongst ourselves, and if we could enjoy the high esteem of the Hellenes. I, for my part, hold that, with these blessings assured us, Athens would be completely happy. Now it is the war1 which has robbed us of all the good things which I have mentioned; for it has made us poorer;2 it has compelled many of us to endure perils; it has given us a bad name among the Hellenes; and it has in every way overwhelmed us with misfortune.

1 The Social War.

2 In Isoc. 7.9, he states that in the course of the war Athens had thrown away 1000 talents on mercenary soldiers alone. Demosthenes also bears witness to the poverty and embarrassment of Athens at this time. See Dem. 20.24; Dem. 23.209.

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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hide References (10 total)
  • Commentary references to this page (1):
    • Edward S. Forster, Isocrates Cyprian Orations, 31
  • Cross-references to this page (3):
    • Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges, THE VERB: VOICES
    • Raphael Kühner, Bernhard Gerth, Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, KG 1.pos=2.2
    • Basil L. Gildersleeve, Syntax of Classical Greek, Tenses
  • Cross-references in notes to this page (1):
  • Cross-references in notes from this page (3):
    • Demosthenes, Against Leptines, 24
    • Demosthenes, Against Aristocrates, 209
    • Isocrates, Areopagiticus, 9
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (2):
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