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Excerpt from Isocrates De Pace and Philippus: Edited With a Historical Introduction and Commentary An edition with an English commentary of the two important Isocratean discourses contained in this volume scarcely needs an apology. No commentary in English on the De Pace and the P/zz'lzppus exists, and those in other languages deal not so much with the historical content as with the language and style of the speeches. Moreover, during the last thirty years or so there has been a strong reaction against the patronising, and sometimes even contemptuous, attitude towards Isocrates's political thought shown by nineteenth century historians and critics. If this edition arouses fresh interest in two splendid examples of ancient eloquence, if it helps to show that Isocrates, so far from being a mere Stubengelehrter, had a very real grasp of the political situation in Greece during the fourth century and proposed a remedy for existing evils which was by no means impracticable, and, thirdly, if it succeeds in proving that as historical material the Isocratean writings are not as unreliable as has sometimes been maintained, it will have fulfilled its purpose. My sincere thanks are due to the Heckscher Foundation for the Advancement of Research for bearing the expense of publishing this book, and to the Department of Classics in this University for courteously including it in the series of Cornell Studies in Classical Pfiz'lology. It is a pleasure, too, to thank Professors H. L. Jones and I. F. Mountford for a number of helpful suggestions and criticisms. Professor Mountford also generously assisted in the weary task of proof-reading. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfect