to make light of my appeal; you expect to maintain supremacy over the whole of Greece by means of your existing forces. But it is precisely on these grounds that I really am alarmed. I observe that it is those States which think they are at the height of prosperity that adopt the worst policy, and that it is the most confident that incur the greatest danger. The reason is that no good or evil fortune comes to men entirely by itself: folly and its mate intemperance have been appointed to wait on wealth and power, self-restraint and great moderation to attend on poverty and low estate. So that it is hard to decide which of these two lots a man would desire to bequeath to his children, since we can see that from what is popularly regarded as the inferior condition men’s fortunes commonly improve, while from that which is apparently the better they usually decline and fall.”[178]
The instinctive perception of the ear testifies that these words are run and blended together; that they do not individually stand on a broad foundation which gives an all-round view of each; and that they are not separated by long time-intervals and planted far apart from one another, but are plainly in a state of motion, being borne onwards in an unbroken stream, while the links which bind the passage together are gentle and soft and flowing. And it is easy to see that the sole cause lies in the character of this style as I have previously described it. For no dissonance of vowels will be found, at any rate in the harmonious clauses which I have quoted, nor any, I think, in the entire speech, unless some instance has escaped my notice. There are also few dissonances of semi-vowels and mutes, and those not very glaring or
2 ταύτηι (ταύτην M) τῆι δυνάμει P, MV Isocr.: τῆι δυνάμει ταύτη F, E 5 πλείστους κινδύνους PM Isocr.: πλείους κινδύνους V: πλεῖστον κίνδυνον EF 8 πλουσίοις F (cum Isocratis codd. quibusdam) 9 ἄνοια ... ἐνδείαις om. F || ἀκολασίαι PMV 10 σωφροσύνη EPMV Isocr.: καὶ σωφροσύνη F 12 δέξαιτο PMV Isocr.: εὔξαιτο EF || τῶν μερίδων τούτων PMV Isocr.: τούτων τῶν μερίδων EF || αὐτοῦ libri 13 καταλιπεῖν PMV Isocr.: om. EF || ἴδοιμεν PV Isocr.: ἴδοι μὲν M: ἴδοι EF || ἂν om. F: ἄν τις E || εἶναι δοκούσης PMV Isocr.: om. EF 17 συνείληπταί τε EPMV: συνήλειπτέται F || οὐ καθ’ ἓν PMV: οὐδὲν EF 18 ἕδρα ... πλατεία (sine iota) P 19 οὐδὲ EF: οὐδ’ ἐν PMV 20 φορᾶι P 21 τε ... μαλακαὶ om. F 22 προπετεῖς PV: προσφυεῖς FM γρ V 25 ῥαίδιον P 26 εὕροι F: om. PM, post οὐδεμίαν ponit V 27 οὐθ F || ὅλωι τωῖ λόγωι P 28 πάνυ PMV: σφόδρα F
17 ff. When expressing admiration, Dionysius often tends (as here) to reproduce the style admired.—For further estimates of Isokrates’s style reference may be made to Dionysius’ separate essay on Isokrates (in his de Antiq. Or.); Jebb Att. Or. ii. 54 ff.; Blass Att. Bereds. ii. 131 ff.
19. The reading οὐδ’ ἐν is possibly right, viz. ‘at long time-intervals’; cp. [222] 5.
ἐκφανεῖς οὐδὲ συνεχεῖς. ταῦτα δὲ τῆς εὐεπείας αἴτια τῇ λέξει
γέγονε καὶ ἡ τῶν κώλων συμμετρία πρὸς ἄλληλα, τῶν τε
περιόδων ὁ κύκλος ἔχων τι περιφερὲς καὶ εὔγραμμον καὶ
τεταμιευμένον ἄκρως ταῖς συμμετρίαις. ὑπὲρ ἅπαντα δὲ
ταῦτα οἱ σχηματισμοὶ πολὺ τὸ νεαρὸν ἔχοντες· εἰσὶ γὰρ 5
ἀντίθετοι καὶ παρόμοιοι καὶ πάρισοι καὶ οἱ παραπλήσιοι
τούτοις, ἐξ ὧν ἡ πανηγυρικὴ διάλεκτος ἀποτελεῖται. οὐκ
ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι δοκῶ μηκύνειν καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ διεξιών· ἱκανῶς
γὰρ εἴρηται καὶ περὶ ταύτης τῆς συνθέσεως ὅσα γε ἥρμοττεν.
XXIV
ἡ δὲ τρίτη καὶ μέση τῶν εἰρημένων δυεῖν ἁρμονιῶν, ἣν 10
εὔκρατον καλῶ σπάνει κυρίου τε καὶ κρείττονος ὀνόματος,
σχῆμα μὲν ἴδιον οὐδὲν ἔχει, κεκέρασται δέ πως ἐξ ἐκείνων
μετρίως καὶ ἔστιν ἐκλογή τις τῶν ἐν ἑκατέρᾳ κρατίστων.
αὕτη δοκεῖ μοι τὰ πρωτεῖα ἐπιτηδεία εἶναι φέρεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ
μεσότης μέν τίς ἐστι (μεσότης δὲ ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ βίων καὶ 15
ἔργων [καὶ τεχνῶν], ὡς Ἀριστοτέλει τε δοκεῖ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις
ὅσοι κατ’ ἐκείνην τὴν αἵρεσιν φιλοσοφοῦσιν), ὁρᾶται δ’,
ὥσπερ ἔφην καὶ πρότερον, οὐ κατὰ ἀπαρτισμὸν ἀλλ’ ἐν
πλάτει, καὶ τὰς εἰδικὰς ἔχει διαφορὰς πολλάς· οἵ τε χρησάμενοι