Orations and Letters

Hieronymus Wolf

...pleasant and easy, as much as, I hope, they will be of public benefit. I have always hated and fled from laziness and sluggishness; I gladly embrace honest labors that are equal to my strength, and I have dedicated them—as much as the modest nature of my talent can provide—to the benefit of the Republic of Letters Latin: respublica literaria; the international community of scholars and intellectuals (for I would not dare promise anything more profound). I have inaugurated this study of mine with a translation of Isocrates, the Athenian orator, and philosopher as well: if, as I feel and as many others do not hesitate to affirm, he ought to be called such. I prefer that his excellence be proclaimed by Plato, Cicero, Quintilian, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and other supreme writers, rather than have the praises of such a great man be diminished or worn down by my own lack of eloquence. Therefore, I have added the testimonies and eulogies of those whom I mentioned to the end of this work.

To tell the truth, a certain peculiar admiration and remarkable love with which I regard Isocrates (whether by my own judgment or for some secret reasons, I do not know) has stirred my eagerness in no small way. Later, when I had finished three of his orations and was about to bring them to light, I showed them to Master Jacob Schegk and Sebald Hauenreuter, excellent philosophers and physicians, as well as to Johannes Oporinus A famous printer and scholar in Basel known for publishing the works of the Reformers and classical texts. and other learned friends. They exhorted me not to present merely mutilated fragments, but rather—if I wished to please readers or look after my own reputation—to provide the entire work. Since I had already experienced what seemed to be moderate success with the three orations by my own initiative, I did not shrink from the labor; I easily allowed myself to be persuaded to do what they desired.

However, a doubt was cast into my mind when I considered that not only had certain orations of this author been translated by learned men, but an entire work gifted with Latinity by Johann Lonicer A German humanist (1497–1569) who published a Latin translation of Isocrates in 1540. was in general circulation. Therefore, I thought I should fear those common insults from the malevolent, the kind of things that the slanderous have ready at hand: that some man or other had appeared among us who set out to "peck out the eyes of crows" A Latin idiom, cornicum oculos configere, meaning to deceive the experts or attempt to outshine the masters in their own field. and to "write an Iliad after Homer" A proverb for attempting a task that has already been performed to perfection by someone else..

Those most learned men, my very dear friends, cured this anxiety of mine in this way: they said it is indeed something if a work has the grace of novelty—both because of the foolishness of mortals, who are accustomed to ask not how good a book is but whether it is new, and because of the perversity of critics. Such critics do not bring themselves to hear both sides equally Wolf translates the Greek phrase ἀμφοῖν ὁμοίως ἀκροᾶσθαι, which was part of the oath taken by Athenian judges. (as the judges at Athens were compelled to swear annually), but instead, without any comparison being made, and without understanding the matter—indeed, often without even having read it—they reject a book published later and do not fear to rashly condemn the writer himself for temerity and arrogance.

But they argued that this race of men—who think and speak ill because they are depraved and envious by nature, and lacking in a liberal education have not learned to speak well—has always been neglected and despised by all wise men. I should instead consider and aim to serve the convenience of students, who for a long time have desired a more appropriate, less obscure and doubtful translation of this most excellent writer—one closer to the Greek author, and finally more true and sincere. They did not doubt that I would be doing something most welcome to these students and would earn the gratitude of all fair-minded readers (provided I applied faithfulness and diligence).

Nor should I fear the charge of arrogance or of harboring a malicious judgment regarding those most famous men [previous translators]. For while those men flourished in talent, learning, eloquence, and authority, being occupied with more serious studies and business, they never bestowed sufficient time or study upon this grammatical work of translation. Instead, as if through play and jest, and for the sake of their own spirits, they translated some small Greek work and in that matter sometimes indulged themselves rather freely. Thus, in comparing the Greek and Latin, a not insignificant discrepancy would sometimes appear to anyone looking closely, as they were unconcerned with the judgments of readers and thinking only of their own amusement. Later, as happens, yielding either to the prayers of friends or the demands of printers, they published what they had played with at home or lectured on in the schools.

Furthermore, twenty or thirty years ago, Greek was not so widely known or exquisitely understood; indeed, even a man otherwise learned and sharp, if he were not most attentive (and this still happens to many today), could very easily slip through carelessness in such a subtlety of ideas and such slippery words. But I, who would pour out all my strength as if into one small work, and keep my mind intent like a drawn bow, though I might be inferior to others in all other things, would surpass them either in diligence or by the good fortune of our most literate age. When I heard these things, though I was somewhat quieted, I was not yet freed from all care. For I was weighing not only the weight of the most serious sentences (which it would be a crime to break by translating poorly, and most difficult to weigh out in an equal balance), but also...