Nineteenth-century classical scholar Friedrich Wilhelm Blass wrote over 300 densely annotated pages on Isocrates, an ancient Athenian schoolmaster and political essayist. A lengthy section of Blass' Die attische Beredsamkeit (1898) has been excerpted here and translated into English for the first time. The excerpt involves Blass' inventory of the Isocratic canon, an argument for the existence of a lost Isocratic rhetoric (techne), and an illustration of what that lost rhetoric likely contained. A translator's prologue discusses the value of both Isocrates and Blass to the study of classical rhetoric. Blass' work is also contrasted with the work of his British contemporary, R. C. Jebb.Blass' commentary on Isocrates requires of its readers a fluency in the technical terminology of classical rhetoric and a patience, perhaps a passion, for difficult rhetorical style. Blass frequently exercises in his writing the Isocratic principles and schemata he discusses. The English translation here, in order to preserve that trait in Blass' personal style, often approaches rhetorical replication of the original German text. Hence it becomes, to a certain extent, as much a simulacrum rhetoricum as a translation.In his text, Blass exposes a traditional misunderstanding of Isocrates that has resulted in a lack of appreciation for his overall contribution. We too often judge the Isocratic canon's value based either upon orations Isocrates constructed early in his career, before he matured in his art, or upon ones he composed late in his life, when he was in his eighties and nineties and becoming a bit senile. As a result, the merit of Isocrates' work during his most influential period, his middle age, is often ignored.The quality of the entire Isocratic canon must be carefully examined, Blass maintains, before its author or his work can be accurately judged. Accordingly, Isocrates' rhetoric is illustrated here as it evolved throughout his career. Blass' examination includes more detailed rhetorical explications than any other treatise currently available in English. / Department of English
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/175644 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Covington, Faries M. |
| Contributors | Blass, Friedrich, 1843-1907. Attische Beredsamkeit. English., Ranieri, Paul W. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Language | eng ger |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | i, 194 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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