Isocratis Opera Omnia Graecè et Latinè
by Isocratis
| Isocratis Opera Omnia Graece et Latine | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
||
| Author | Isocratis | |
| Published | Parisiis: F.A. Didot | |
| Date | 1782 | |
Isocrates (436-338 BCE) was an ancient Greek rhetorician who made significant contributions to the field of rhetorical persuasion through his teachings and writings. He was born into a wealthy family and received an elite education.[1] However, following the Peloponnesian War, his family lost their wealth and Isocrates was forced to find a way to support himself.[2]
Isocrates began his career as a courtroom speech writer, and around 392 BCE he decided to set up his own rhetoric school.[3] During that time, Athens had no set curriculum for higher education. Isocrates spoke out against the predominant Sophist method of education and was able to establish himself as an influential teacher.[4] His school did not focus on the political debate techniques that were central to the Sophist approach to education; instead, the school focused on oratory studies, composition, history, citizenship, culture, and morality.[5] It was Isocrates' approach to education that formed the basis for the modern conception of Liberal Arts
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Isocratis opera omnia. Gr. Lat. 3.v. 8vo." and given by Thomas Jefferson to his grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph. George Wythe's Library[6] on LibraryThing identifies this title as Isocratis Opera Omnia Graecè et Latinè, a three volume set published by Didot in Paris in 1782. The Brown Bibliography[7] lists this title as the most likely, but also includes the suggestion of a combination of two titles Jefferson sold to the Library of Congress in 1815, Isokratous Hapanta = Isocratis Opera Quæ Quidem Nunc Extant Omnia, translated by William Battie (London, 1749) and The Orations and Epistles of Isocrates, translated by Joshua Dinsdale (London, 1752).[8] The Wolf Law Library is looking for a copy of the three volume set published by Didot.
See also
References
- ↑ Thomas W. Benson and Michael H. Prosser, "Isocrates," in Readings in Classical Rhetoric (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1969)
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Patricia P. Matsen, "Isocrates Against the SophistsTranslated by George Norlin" in Readings From Classical Rhetoric (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1990)
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ LibraryThing, s.v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on July 10, 2025.
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, 2009, rev. 2023) Microsoft Word document (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School).
- ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 5:25-26 [no.4666 and no. 4667].
External Links
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