Isocrates of Athens To Alexander in Greek
To Alexander is a brief open letter composed around 342 BCE by the Athenian orator and teacher Isocrates. Addressed to the young prince Alexander, son of King Philip II of Macedon, it congratulates him on an Olympic victory and offers political and personal counsel. The work urges Alexander to cultivate his innate excellence through the study of philosophy and rhetoric, arguing that such an education would prepare him to become a wise leader worthy of his heroic lineage and capable of uniting the Greek states. Written near the end of Isocrates' long life during the ascendancy of Macedonian power, the letter is interpreted by modern scholars not as private correspondence but as a published epistolary oration intended for public circulation. It represents the culmination of Isocrates' enduring hope for Panhellenic unity under an enlightened Macedonian ruler, extending the political project he had earlier directed at Alexander's father, Philip. The text survives in full within Isocrates' reliably transmitted corpus. Though a minor work, it provides valuable insight into the educational ideals and political climate surrounding the youth of the future Alexander the Great.
| Epist 5 t | Ἐπιστολαὶ εʹ. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΩΙ Πρὸς τὸν πατέρα σου γράφων ἐπιστολὴν ἄτοπον ᾤμην ποιήσειν, εἰ περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ὄντα σὲ τόπον ἐκείνῳ μήτε προσερῶ μήτ’ ἀσπάσομαι μήτε γράψω τι τοιοῦτον ὃ ποιήσει τοὺς ἀναγνόντας μὴ νομίζειν ἤδη με παραφρονεῖν διὰ τὸ γῆρας μηδὲ παντάπασι ληρεῖν, ἀλλ’ ἔτι τὸ καταλελειμμένον μου μέρος καὶ λοιπὸν ὂν οὐκ ἀναξίον εἶναι τῆς δυνάμεως ἣν ἔσχον νεώτερος ὤν. |
| Epist 5 2 | Ἀκούω δέ σε πάντων λεγόντων ὡς φιλάνθρωπος εἶ καὶ φιλαθήναιος καὶ φιλόσοφος, οὐκ ἀφρόνως ἀλλὰ νοῦν ἐχόντως. Τῶν τε γὰρ πολιτῶν ἀποδέχεσθαί σε τῶν ἡμετέρων οὐ τοὺς ἠμεληκότας αὑτῶν καὶ πονηρῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιθυμοῦντας, ἀλλ’ οἷς συνδιατρίβων τ’ οὐκ ἂν λυπηθείης συμβάλλων τε καὶ κοινωνῶν πραγμάτων οὐδὲν ἂν βλαβείης οὐδ’ ἀδικηθείης, οἵοις περ χρὴ πλησιάζειν τοὺς εὖ φρονοῦντας· τῶν τε φιλοσοφιῶν οὐκ ἀποδοκιμάζειν μὲν οὐδὲ τὴν περὶ τὰς ἔριδας, ἀλλὰ νομίζειν εἶναι πλεονεκτικὴν ἐν ταῖς ἰδίαις διατριβαῖς, οὐ μὴν ἁρμόττειν οὔτε τοῖς τοῦ πλήθους προεστῶσιν οὔτε τοῖς τὰς μοναρχίας ἔχουσιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ συμφέρον οὐδὲ πρέπον ἐστὶν τοῖς μεῖζον τῶν ἄλλων φρονοῦσιν οὔτ’ αὐτοῖς ἐρίζειν πρὸς τοὺς συμπολιτευομένους οὔτε τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπιτρέπειν πρὸς αὑτοὺς ἀντιλέγειν. |
| Epist 5 4 | Ταύτην μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀγαπᾶν σε τὴν διατριβὴν, προαιρεῖσθαι δὲ τὴν παιδείαν τὴν περὶ τοὺς λόγους οἷς χρώμεθα περὶ τὰς πράξεις τὰς προσπιπτούσας καθ’ ἑκάστην τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ μεθ’ ὧν βουλευόμεθα περὶ τῶν κοινῶν· δι’ ἣν νῦν τε δοξάζειν περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιεικῶς, τοῖς τ’ ἀρχομένοις προστάττειν οὐκ ἀνοήτως ἃ δεῖ πράττειν ἑκάστους ἐπιστήσει, περὶ δὲ τῶν καλῶν καὶ δικαίων καὶ τῶν τούτοις ἐναντίων ὀρθῶς κρίνειν, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τιμᾶν τε καὶ κολάζειν ὡς προσῆκόν ἐστιν ἑκατέροις. Σωφρονεῖς οὖν νῦν ταῦτα μελετῶν· ἐλπίδας γὰρ τῷ τε πατρὶ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις παρέχεις ὡς, ἂν πρεσβύτερος γενόμενος ἐμμείνῃς τούτοις, τοσοῦτον προέξεις τῇ φρονήσει τῶν ἄλλων ὅσον περ ὁ πατήρ σου διενήνοχεν ἁπάντων. |