Busiris

He was not content with his mother's kingdom, considering it too small for one of his endowment; and when he had conquered many peoples and had acquired supreme power he established his royal seat in Egypt, because he judged that country to be far superior as his place of residence, not only to the lands which then were his, but even to all other countries in the world.

For he saw that all other regions are neither seasonably nor conveniently situated in relation to the nature of the universe, but some are deluged by rains and others scorched by heat; Egypt,[*](Egypt here means the Delta of the Nile; cf. Hdt. 2.14. Praise of Egypt is found in Plat. Tim. 22c.) however, having the most admirable situation of the universe,[*](i.e., as regards climate and fertility.) was able to produce the most abundant and most varied products, and was defended by the immortal ramparts of the Nile,

a river which by its nature provides not only protection to the land, but also its means of subsistence in abundance, being impregnable and difficult for foes to conquer, yet convenient for commerce and in many respects serviceable to dwellers within its bounds. For in addition to the advantages I have mentioned, the Nile has bestowed upon the Egyptians a godlike power in respect to the cultivation of the land; for while Zeus is the dispenser[*](Cf. Hom. Il. 4.84.) of rains and droughts to the rest of mankind, of both of these each Egyptian has made himself master on his own account.

And to so perfect a state of happiness have the Egyptians come that with respect to the excellence and fertility of their land and the extent of their plains they reap the fruits of a continent, and as regards the disposition of their superfluous products and the importation of what they lack, the river's possibilities are such that they inhabit an island[*](A reference to the Delta, enclosed and watered by the branches of the Nile.); for the Nile, encircling the land and flowing through its whole extent, has given them abundant means for both.

So Busiris thus began, as wise men should, by occupying the fairest country and also by finding sustenance sufficient for his subjects. Afterwards, he divided them into classes[*](Isocrates here praises the caste system. Cf. Plato in the Republic.): some he appointed to priestly services, others he turned to the arts and crafts, and others he forced to practise the arts of war. He judged that, while necessities and superfluous products must be provided by the land and the arts, the safest means of protecting these was practice in warfare and reverence for the gods.

Including in all classes the right numbers for the best administration of the commonwealth, he gave orders that the same individuals should always engage in the same pursuits, because he knew that those who continually change their occupations never achieve proficiency in even a single one of their tasks, whereas those who apply themselves constantly to the same activities perform each thing they do surpassingly well.

Hence we shall find that in the arts the Egyptians surpass those who work at the same skilled occupations elsewhere more than artisans in general excel the laymen; also with respect to the system which enables them to preserve royalty and their political institutions in general, they have been so successful that philosophers[*](It is natural to think that there is a reference here to Plato and his Republic, but it is not certain.) who undertake to discuss such topics and have won the greatest reputation prefer above all others the Egyptian form of government, and that the Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, govern their own city in admirable fashion because they imitate certain of the Egyptian customs.

For instance, the provision that no citizen fit for military service could leave the country without official authorization, the meals taken in common, and the training of their bodies; furthermore, the fact that lacking none of the necessities of life, they do not neglect the edicts of the State, and that none engage in any other crafts, but that all devote themselves to arms and warfare, all these practices they have taken from Egypt[*](Cf. Hdt. 2.80 and Hdt. 6.60.)

But the Lacedaemonians have made so much worse use of these institutions that all of them, being professional soldiers, claim the right to seize by force the property of everybody else, whereas the Egyptians live as people should who neither neglect their own possessions, nor plot how they may acquire the property of others. The difference in the aims of the two polities may be seen from the following:

if we should all imitate the sloth and greed of the Lacedaemonians, we should straightway perish through both the lack of the necessities of daily life and civil war; but if we should wish to adopt the laws of the Egyptians which prescribe that some must work and that the rest must protect the property of the workers, we should all possess our own goods and pass our days in happiness.