Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- INTRODUCTION
- I THE CALL TO HISTORY
- II THE HISTORIAN'S INQUIRY
- III THE HISTORIAN'S CHARACTER
- IV THE HISTORIAN'S DEEDS
- V THE ‘LONELY’ HISTORIAN: CONTRAST AND CONTINUITY
- CONCLUSION
- Appendices
- I Table of historians
- II Name and nationality
- III Isocrates on autopsy and inquiry?
- IV Variant versions
- V The Roman convention of ‘nos’ and ‘nostri’
- VI Greek continuators
- VII Roman continuators
- Bibliography
- Index locorum
- Index of Greek words
- General index
III - Isocrates on autopsy and inquiry?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- INTRODUCTION
- I THE CALL TO HISTORY
- II THE HISTORIAN'S INQUIRY
- III THE HISTORIAN'S CHARACTER
- IV THE HISTORIAN'S DEEDS
- V THE ‘LONELY’ HISTORIAN: CONTRAST AND CONTINUITY
- CONCLUSION
- Appendices
- I Table of historians
- II Name and nationality
- III Isocrates on autopsy and inquiry?
- IV Variant versions
- V The Roman convention of ‘nos’ and ‘nostri’
- VI Greek continuators
- VII Roman continuators
- Bibliography
- Index locorum
- Index of Greek words
- General index
Summary
Two passages of Isocrates are sometimes cited to argue that the orator inverted the usual preference of eyes over ears, and in doing so encouraged the writing of non-contemporary over contemporary history. In the former (Paneg. 7–10), Isocrates' exhortations not to avoid what has been said before but rather to attempt to say it better than has previously been said is seen both as a rejection of contemporary history that relies on eyewitness accounts, and a preference for non-contemporary history whose main goal is stylistic excellence and a lack of concern with accuracy. This view is then supported by the second passage (Panath. 149–50) where Isocrates says that all men have greater knowledge ‘from hearsay rather than from sight’, διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς ἢ τῆς ὄΨεως. It would indeed require a great orator to demonstrate that ears are more trustworthy than eyes, and an examination of the full context of each passage shows that Isocrates in fact said nothing of the sort.
(i) Paneg. 7–10: Isocrates has announced at the beginning of this work that he will give his counsels on the war against the Persians and on domestic concord; he knows it is a much-worked theme, but he hopes to treat it differently (and, of course, better).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography , pp. 276 - 279Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1997