Isaeus(Ἰσαῖος).
1. One of the ten Attic orators, whose orations were contained in the Alexandrian canon. The
time of his birth and death is unknown, but all accounts agree in the statement that he
flourished (ἤκμασε) during the period between the
Peloponnesian war and the accession of Philip of Macedonia, so that he lived between B. C. 420 and 348. (Dionys. Isaeus, 1; Plut. Vit. X. Orat. p. 839; Anonym. γένος
Ἰσαίου.) He was a son of Diagoras, and was born at Chalcis or, as some say, at
Athens, probably only because he came to Athens at an early age, and spent the greater part of
his life there. He was instructed in oratory by Lysias and Isocrates (Phot. Bibl. Cod. 263; Dionys. Plut. Il. cc.) He was afterwards engaged
in writing judicial orations for others, and established a rhetorical school at Athens, in
which Demosthenes is said to have been his pupil. Suidas states that Isaeus instructed him
gratis, whereas Plutarch relates that he received 10,000 drachmas (comp. Plut. de Glor. Ath. p. 350c.; Phot. l.c.); and it is further said that
Isaeus composed for Demosthenes the speeches against his guardians, or at least assisted him
in the composition. All particulars about his life are unknown, and were so even in the time
of Dionysius, since Hermippus, who had written an account of the disciples of Isocrates, did
not mention Isaeus at all.
Works
Orations
In antiquity there were sixty-four orations which bore the name of Isaeus, but fifty only
were recognised as genuine by the ancient critics. (Plut. Vit. X. Orat.
l.c.) Of these only eleven have come down to us; but we possess fragments and the
titles of 56 speeches ascribed to him.
The eleven extant are all on subjects connected with disputed inheritances; and Isaeus
appears to have been particularly well acquainted with the laws relating to inheritance.
(Ππρὶ κλήρου.)
Editions
Ten of these orations had been known ever since the revival of letters, and were printed
in the collections of Greek orators; but the eleventh, Περὶ
τοῦ Μενεκλέους κλήρου, was first published in 1785, from a Florentine MS.,
by Th. Thyrwitt, London, 1785, 8vo.; and afterwards in the
Gölting. Biblioth.
für alte Lit. und Kunst for 1788, part iii., and by J. C. Orelli,
Zürich, 1814, 8vo. In 1815 A. Mai discovered the greater half of the oration of
Isaeus,
Περὶ τοῦ Κλεωνύμον κλήρον, which he
published at
Milan, 1815,fol., and reprinted in his
Classic. Auctor. e Cod. Vatican. vol. iv. p. 280, &c. (Rome, 1831.)
Rhetorical Writings
Isaeus also wrote on rhetorical subjects, such as a work entitled
ἰδίαι τέχναι, which, however, is lost. (Plut.
Vit. X.
Orat. p. 839; Dionys.
Epist. ad Ammon. 1.2.)
Assessment
Although his orations were placed fifth in the Alexandrian canon, still we do not hear of
any of the grammarians having written commentaries upon them, except Didymus of Alexandria.
(Harpocrat. s. vv.
γαμηλία, πανδαισία.) But we still possess the criticism upon Isaeus written by Dionysius
of Halicarnassus; and by a comparison of the orations still extant with the opinions of
Dionysius, we come to the following conclusion. The oratory of Isaeus resembles in many
points that of his teacher, Lysias: the style of both is pure, clear, and concise; but while
Lysias is at the same time simple and graceful, Isaeus evidently strives to attain a higher
degree of polish and refinement, without, however, in the least injuring the powerful and
impressive character of his oratory. The same spirit is visible in the manner in which he
handles his subjects, especially in their skilful division, and in the artful manner in which
he interweaves his arguments with various parts of the exposition, whereby his orations
become like a painting in which light and shade are distributed with a distinct view to
produce certain effects. It was mainly owing to this mode of management that he was envied
and censured by his contemporaries, as if he had tried to deceive and misguide his hearers.
He was one of the first who turned their attention to a scientific cultivation of political
oratory; but excellence in this department of the art was not attained till the time of
Demosthenes.
Editions
The orations of Isaeus are contained in the collections of the Greek orators,
published by Aldus, Stephens,
Miniati, Reiske,
Ducas, Bekker, and
Baiter and Sauppe.
A separate edition, with Reiske's and Taylor's notes, appeared at Leipzig, 1773.
8vo., and another by G. H. Schäfer, Leipzig, 1822, 8vo.The best separate edition is that by G. F. Schömann, with critical notes and a
good commentary, Greifswald, 1831, 8vo.
Translations
There is an English translation of the orations of Isaeus, by Sir William Jones
(London, 1794, 4to.), with prefatory discourse, notes critical and historical, and a
commentary.
Further Information
Comp. Westermann, Gesch. d. Griech. Beredtsamkeit, § 51, and Beilage, v. p. 293, &c.; J. A. Liebmann, De Isaei Vita
et Scriptis, Halle, 1831, 4to.