To Philip

Then again, Cyrus[*](Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, Isoc. 9.37.)(that we may take account of the barbarians also), not withstanding the fact that as a child he was exposed by his mother on the public highway[*](See Isoc. 5.132 and Hdt. 1.108.) and was picked up by a Persian woman,[*](Hdt. 1.112 ff.) so completely reversed his fortunes that he became master of all Asia.

Now if Alcibiades in exile, and Conon after a disastrous defeat, and Dionysius, a man of no repute, and Cyrus, with his pitiable start in life, advanced so far and achieved such mighty deeds, how can we fail to expect that you, who are sprung from such ancestors, who are king of Macedonia and master of so many peoples, will effect with ease this union which we have discussed?

Consider how worthy a thing it is to undertake, above all, deeds of such a character that if you succeed you will cause your own reputation to rival that of the foremost men of history, while if you fall short of your expectations you will at any rate win the good will of all the Hellenes—which is a better thing to gain than to take by force many Hellenic cities;[*](Cf. Isoc. Letter 2.21: “It is a much greater glory to capture the good will of states than their fortifications.”) for achievements of the latter kind entail envy and hostility and much opprobrium, but that which I have urged entails none of these things. Nay, if some god were to give you the choice of the interests and the occupations in which you would wish to spend your life, you could not, at least if you took my advice, choose any in preference to this;

for you will not only be envied of others, but you will also count yourself a happy man. For what good fortune could then surpass your own? Men of the highest renown will come as ambassadors from the greatest states to your court; you will advise with them about the general welfare, for which no other man will be found to have shown a like concern;

you will see all Hellas on tiptoe with interest in whatever you happen to propose; and no one will be indifferent to the measures which are being decided in your councils, but, on the contrary, some will seek news of how matters stand, some will pray that you will not be thwarted in your aims, and others will fear lest something befall you before your efforts are crowned with success.

If all this should come to pass, would you not have good reason to be proud? Would you not rejoice throughout your life in the knowledge that you had been a leader in such great affairs? And what man that is even moderately endowed with reason would not exhort you to fix your choice above all upon that course of action which is capable of bearing at one and the same time the twofold fruits, if I may so speak, of surpassing joys and of imperishable honors?

Now I should content myself with what I have already said on this topic, had I not passed over a certain matter—not that it slipped my memory, but because I hesitated to speak of it—which I am now resolved to disclose to you. For I think that it is profitable for you to hear about it, and that it is becoming in me to speak, as I am wont to do, without reserve.

I observe that you are being painted in false colors by men who are jealous of you,[*](Demosthenes and his party. On Isocrates and Demosthenes see Havet, Introd. to Cartelier's Isoc. 15.pp. xlviii ff.) for one thing, and are, besides, in the habit of stirring up trouble in their own cities—men who look upon a state of peace which is for the good of all as a state of war upon their selfish interests. Heedless of all other considerations, they keep talking about your power, representing that it is being built up, not in behalf of Hellas, but against her, that you have for a long time been plotting against us all,

and that, while you are giving it out that you intend to go to the rescue of the Messenians,[*](The Messenians were at war with Sparta and in alliance with Philip. Paus. 4.28.2.) if you can settle the Phocian question, you really design to subdue the Peloponnesus to your rule. The Thessalians,[*](See Isoc. 5.20.) they say, and the Thebans, and all those who belong to the Amphictyony,[*](The Amphictyony was an association of states for the protection of the worship of Apollo at Delphi (Grote, Hist. ii. pp. 284 ff.). The members of the Amphictyony, among whom the Thebans and the Thessalians were prominent, were now engaged in the Sacred War against the Phocians, seeking to wrest from the latter the control of the Temple. In 338 B. C. Philip had been invited by the Amphictyony to join them against the Phocians.) stand ready to follow your lead while the Argives, the Messenians, the Megalopolitans,[*](See Isoc. 5.49 ff.) and many of the others are prepared to join forces with you and wipe out the Lacedaemonians; and if you succeed in doing this, you will easily be master of the rest of Hellas.

By speaking this rubbish, by pretending to have exact knowledge and by speedily effecting in words the overthrow of the whole world, they are convincing many people. They convince, most of all, those who hunger for the same calamities as do the speech-makers; next, those who exercise no judgement about their common welfare, but, utterly obtuse in their own perceptions, are very grateful to men who pretend to feel alarm and fear in their behalf; and lastly, those who do not deny that you appear to be plotting against the Hellenes, but are of the opinion that the purpose with which you are charged is a worthy ambition.

For these latter are so far divorced from intelligence that they do not realize that one may apply the same words in some cases to a man's injury, in others to his advantage. For example, if at the present moment one were to say that the King of Asia was plotting against the Hellenes, and had made preparations to send an expedition against us, he would not he saying anything disparaging of him; nay, he would, on the contrary, make us think more highly of his courage and his worth. But if, on the other hand, one should bring this charge against one of the descendants of Heracles, who made himself the benefactor of all Hellas, he would bring upon him the greatest opprobrium.

For who would not feel indignation and loathing if a man should be found to be plotting against those in whose behalf his ancestor elected to live a life of perils, and if he made no effort to preserve the good will which the latter had bequeathed as a legacy to his posterity, but, heedless of these examples, set his heart on reprehensible and wicked deeds?

You ought to give these matters careful thought, and not look on with indifference while rumors are springing up around you of the sort which your enemies seek to fasten upon you, but which your friends, to a man, would not hesitate to deny. And yet it is in the feelings of both these parties that you can best see the truth as to your own interests.

Perhaps, however, you conceive that it argues a mean spirit to pay attention to the drivelers who heap abuse upon you and to those who are influenced by what they say, especially when your own conscience is free from any sense of guilt. But you ought not to despise the multitude nor count it a little thing to have the respect of the whole world; on the contrary, you ought then, and only then, to be satisfied that you enjoy a reputation which is good and great and worthy of yourself and of your forefathers and of the achievements of your line,

when you have brought the Hellenes to feel toward you as you see the Lacedaemonians feel toward their kings,[*](See Isoc. Letter 2.6.) and as your companions feel toward yourself. And it is not difficult for you to attain this if you determine to show yourself equally friendly to all, and cease treating some of the cities as friends and others as strangers, and if, furthermore, you fix your choice upon the kind of policy by which you can make yourself trusted by the Hellenes and feared by the barbarians.