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If the discourse which is now about to be readCf. Isoc. 5.1. had been like the speeches which are produced either for the law-courtsSee General Introd. p. xxxi. or for oratorical display,Like the Encomium on Helen See General Introd. p. xxxi, and Burgess, Epideictic Literature. I should not, I suppose, have prefaced it by any explanation. Since, however, it is novel and different in character, it is necessary to begin by setting forth the reasons why I chose to write a discourse so unlike any other; for if I neglected to make this clear, my speech would, no doubt, impress many as curious and strange.