To Nicocles

But the truth is that in discourses of this sort we should not seek novelties, for in these discourses it is not possible to say what is paradoxical or incredible or outside the circle of accepted belief; but, rather, we should regard that man as the most accomplished in this field who can collect the greatest number of ideas scattered among the thoughts of all the rest and present them in the best form.

Moreover, this has been clear to me from the first, that while all men think that those compositions, whether in verse or prose, are the most useful which counsel us how to live, yet it is certainly not to them that they listen with greatest pleasure; nay, they feel about these just as they feel about the people who admonish them; for while they praise the latter, they choose for associates[*](Cf. Isoc. 1.45.) those who share in, and not those who would dissuade them from, their faults.

As a case in point, one might cite the poetry of Hesiod and Theognis and Phocylides;[*](Theognis and Phocylides (middle of sixth century) were the leading gnomic poets. Theognis was used in the schools, and we have over a thousand of his verses. Phocylides survives in but a few fragments. Hesiod is classed with them because in his epic The Works and Days are scattered many maxims.) for these, they say, have proved the best counsellors for human conduct; but in spite of what they say, people prefer to occupy themselves with each other's follies rather than with the admonitions of these teachers.

And, again, if one were to make a selection from the leading poets of their maxims, as we call them, into which they have put their best thought, men would show a similar attitude toward them also; for they would lend a readier ear to the cheapest comedy[*](Isocrates had a poor opinion of comedy, himself having been subjected to its licence. Cf. Isoc. 8.14.) than to the creations of such finished art. Yet why should I spend time in giving single instances?

For if we are willing to survey human nature as a whole, we shall find that the majority of men do not take pleasure in the food[*](Cf. Isoc. 1.45.) that is the most wholesome, nor in the pursuits that are the most honorable, nor in the actions that are the noblest, nor in the creatures that are the most useful, but that they have tastes which are in every way contrary to their best interests, while they view those who have some regard for their duty as men of austere and laborious lives.

How, then, can one advise or teach or say anything of profit and yet please such people? For, besides what I have said of them, they look upon men of wisdom with suspicion, while they regard men of no understanding as open and sincere; and they so shun the verities of life that they do not even know their own interests: nay, it irks them to take account of their own business and it delights them to discuss the business of others;

and they would rather be ill in body than exert the soul and give thought to anything in the line of duty. Observe them when they are in each other's company, and you will find them giving and taking abuse; observe them when they are by themselves, and you will find them occupied, not with plans, but with idle dreams. I am, however, speaking now not of all, but of those only who are open to the charges I have made.

This much, however, is clear, that those who aim to write anything in verse or prose which will make a popular appeal should seek out, not the most profitable discourses, but those which most abound in fictions; for the ear delights in these just as the eye delights in games and contests. Wherefore we may well admire the poet Homer and the first inventors of tragedy, seeing that they, with true insight into human nature, have embodied both kinds of pleasure in their poetry;

for Homer has dressed the contests and battles of the demigods in myths, while the tragic poets have rendered the myths in the form of contests and action, so that they are presented, not to our ears alone, but to our eyes as well. With such models, then, before us, it is evident that those who desire to command the attention of their hearers must abstain from admonition and advice, and must say the kind of things which they see are most pleasing to the crowd.

I have dwelt on these matters because I think that you, who are not one of the multitude but a king over the multitude, ought not to be of the same mind as men at large; you ought not to judge what things are worthy or what men are wise by the standard of pleasure, but to appraise them in the light of conduct that is useful;

especially, since the teachers of philosophy, however much they debate about the proper discipline of the soul (some contending that it is through disputation,[*](See Isoc. 12.26; Isoc. 15.261; General Introduction, p. xxi.) others that it is through political discussion, others that it is through other means that their disciples are to attain to greater wisdom), yet are all agreed on this, that the well-educated man must, as the result of this training in whatever discipline, show ability to deliberate and decide.

You should, therefore, avoid what is in controversy and test men's value in the light of what is generally agreed upon, if possible taking careful note of them when they present their views on particular situations; or, if that is not possible, when they discuss general questions. And when they are altogether lacking in what they ought to know, reject them (for it is clear that if one is of no use in himself, neither can he make another man wise);

but when they are intelligent and able to see farther than the rest, prize them and cherish them, knowing that a good counsellor is the most useful and the most princely of all possessions. And believe that those contribute most to the greatness of your reign who can contribute most to your understanding.

Now I, for my part, have offered you all the good counsels which I know, and I honor you with these gifts which I have at my command; and do you, recalling what I said in the beginning, desire that your other friends also shall bring you, not the usual presents, which you purchase at a much greater cost from those who give than from those who sell, but gifts of such a nature that, even though you make hard use of them every day without fail, you will never wear them out, but will, on the contrary, enlarge them and increase their worth.