1
There are people who frown upon eloquence and censure men who study philosophy,For Isocrates’ use of the word “philosophy” as covering what we mean by “culture” and his identification of “discourse” with the cultivated life see General Introduction, pp. xxiii ff. asserting that those who engage in such occupations do so, not for the sake of virtue, but for their own advantage. Now, I should be glad if those who take this position would tell me why they blame men who are ambitious to speak well, but applaud men who desire to act rightly; for if it is the pursuit of one’s own advantage which gives them offense, we shall find that more and greater advantages are gained from actions than from speech.
2
Moreover, it is passing strange if the fact has escaped them that we reverence the gods and practice justice, and cultivate the other virtues, not that we may be worse off than our fellows, but that we may pass our days in the enjoyment of as many good things as possible. They should not, therefore, condemn these means by which one may gain advantageAdvantage (in the good sense) which works no disadvantage to others. Cf. Isoc. 15.275. without sacrifice of virtue, but rather those men who do wrong in their actions or who deceive by their speech and put their eloquence to unjust uses.
