Orators -- Greece; Oratory, Ancient; Speeches, addresses, etc., Greek -- History and criticism
There is no hint here of such weeping and wailing as Andocides describes;
nothing but the quiet pathos of the story itself to work upon the
feelings. To a certain class of audience this style would appeal more
truly than any extravagance of grief, and passages of this kind should be
enough to refute the common charge against Lysias that he lacks pathos.
§ 7
Lysias was not without a sense of humour, and sometimes employed sarcasm
which could be delicate and playful or bitter to the point of brutality
according to circumstances; thus in the _Epitaphios_ he remarks how the
Persians thought that their best chance of success would be to invade
Greece ‘while Greece was still quarrelling as to the best means of
defence against invasion.’[133]
Other sentences may be found in the speech _For the Cripple_.[134]
Sometimes a sarcastic reference is introduced by a play on words—as
βουλεύειν—δουλεύειν in _Philo_, § 26—‘He desires the position of a public
servant; that of a public slave is what he deserves.’ Out of several
instances in the _Nicomachus_ one may be quoted, in comparison with a
rather similar passage in Andocides: ‘He has now become a citizen instead
of a slave, a rich man instead of a poor man, a legislator instead of an
under-clerk.’
This is far less effective than the unexpected turn which Andocides gives
to a similar passage.[135]
Finally, the fragment of the speech against Aeschines the Socratic
contains a long humorous passage. Aeschines has a mania for borrowing
money which he never repays. ‘His neighbours are so badly treated by him
that they all move as soon as they can and take houses at a distance....
The crowd of creditors round his doors at daybreak makes people think
they are assembling for a funeral,’ and so on, in a comic vein, till the
speaker ends with a spiteful remark about Aeschines’ mistress, that ‘you
could count her teeth more easily than the fingers of her hand.’
§ 8
Lysias composed an extraordinary number of speeches; of the 425
attributed to him, Dionysius pronounced 233 to be genuine.[136] There
are now extant thirty-four, either complete or, in some cases, with
portions missing. A hundred and twenty-seven speeches are known by the
preservation of their titles or of small fragments.
As we cannot trace with any certainty a chronological development in
style, the most convenient classification of the speeches is according to
their subject-matter.
_Epideictic Speeches_
The fragment of the ‘Olympiac’ speech, which is undoubtedly genuine, is
an interesting specimen of compositions of this class.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account