Demosthenes: On the Crown

Demosthenes was one of the most popular authors and the most influential orator in the ancient world, if the number of extant manuscripts is any indication, as I noted in a previous post. On the Crown is Demosthenes’ most popular oration, having thirty-two extant manuscripts, by contrast, Cicero’s prosecution speech In Verrem, which launched his remarkable political career, has six extant manuscripts. In his treatises on oratory, Cicero acknowledges Demosthenes […]

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Pericles

Plutarch: Life of Pericles

Pericles was a pupil of Zeno the Eleatic, and perfected a species of refutative catch which was sure to bring an opponent to grief. But the man who most consorted with Pericles and did most to exalt the dignity of his character, was Anaxagoras the Clazomenian, whom men of that day used to call ‘Nous,’ either because they admired that comprehension of his; or because he was the first to […]

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