Æschines' Life

I. Æschines was the son of Charinus, the sausage-maker, but, as some writers say, of Lysanias; he was a citizen of Athens, of an industrious disposition from his boyhood upwards, on which account he never quitted Socrates.

I. Æschines was the son of Charinus, a sausage-maker, though some writers say his father was Lysanias. He was an Athenian and was hardworking from childhood. For this reason, he never left Socrates.

II. And this induced Socrates to say, the only one who knows how to pay us proper respect is the son of the sausage-seller. Idomeneus asserts, that it was he who, in the prison, tried to persuade Socrates to make his escape, and not Crito. But that Plato, as he was rather inclined to favour Aristippus, attributed his advice to Crito.

II. This led Socrates to say that the only person who knew how to show them proper respect was the sausage-seller’s son. Idomeneus says that he, not Crito, tried to persuade Socrates to escape from prison. But Plato was rather inclined to favor Aristippus, so he attributed the advice to Crito.

III. And Æschines was calumniated on more than one occasion; and especially by Menedemus of Eretria, who states that he appropriated many dialogues of Socrates as his own, having procured them from Xanthippe. And those of them which are called “headless,” are exceedingly slovenly performances, showing nothing of the energy of Socrates. And Pisistratus, of Ephesus, used to say, that they were not the work of Æschines. There are seven of them, and most of them are stated by Persæus to be the work of Pasiphon, of Eretria, and to have been inserted by him among the works of Æschines. And he plagiarised from the Little Cyrus, and the Lesser Hercules, of Antisthenes, and from the Alcibiades, and from the Dialogues of the other philosophers. The Dialogues then of Æschines, which profess to give an idea of the system of Socrates are, as I have said, seven in number. First of all, the Miltiades, which is rather weak; the Callias, the Axiochus, the Aspasia, the Alcibiades, the Telauges, and the Rhino. And they say that he, being in want, went to Sicily, to Dionysius, and was looked down upon by Plato, but supported by Aristippus, and that he gave Dionysius some of his dialogues, and received presents for them.

III. Æschines was slandered more than once. Menedemus of Eretria, in particular, claimed that Æschines obtained many dialogues of Socrates from Xanthippe and passed them off as his own. The dialogues called “headless” are extremely careless works and show none of Socrates’ energy. Pisistratus of Ephesus used to say that Æschines did not write them. There are seven of these dialogues. Persæus says that most were written by Pasiphon of Eretria, who inserted them among the works of Æschines. And he plagiarized from the Little Cyrus and the Lesser Hercules of Antisthenes, from the Alcibiades, and from the Dialogues of the other philosophers. As I have said, there are seven Dialogues of Æschines that claim to convey Socrates’ system. First is the Miltiades, which is rather weak. The others are the Callias, the Axiochus, the Aspasia, the Alcibiades, the Telauges, and the Rhino. They say that Æschines, being in need, went to Dionysius in Sicily. Plato looked down on him, but Aristippus supported him. Æschines gave Dionysius some of his dialogues and received gifts in return.

IV. After that he came to Athens, and there he did not venture to practise the trade of a sophist, as Plato and Aristippus were in high reputation there. But he gave lectures for money, and wrote speeches to be delivered in the courts of law for persons under prosecution. On which account, Timon said of him, “The speeches of Æschines which do not convince any one.” And they say that when he was in great straights through poverty, Socrates advised him to borrow of himself, by deducting some part of his expenditure in his food.

IV. After that, he came to Athens. There, he did not dare work as a sophist because Plato and Aristippus were highly respected. But he gave lectures for money and wrote speeches for people to deliver in court when facing prosecution. For this reason, Timon said of him, “The speeches of Æschines convince no one.” They say that when he was in great poverty, Socrates advised him to borrow from himself by spending less on food.

V. And even Aristippus suspected the genuineness of some of his Dialogues; accordingly, they say that when he was reciting some of them at Megara, he ridiculed him, and said to him, “Oh! you thief; where did you get that?”

V. Even Aristippus doubted that some of his Dialogues were genuine. So, they say, when he was reciting some of them at Megara, Aristippus mocked him, saying, “Oh, you thief! Where did you get that?”

VI. And Polycritus, of Menda, in the first book of his History of Dionysius, says that he lived with the tyrant till he was deposed, and till the return of Dion to Syracuse; and he says that Carcinus, the tragedian, was also with him. And here is extant a letter of Æschines addressed to Dionysius.

VI. In the first book of his History of Dionysius, Polycritus of Menda says that he lived with the tyrant until the tyrant was deposed and Dion returned to Syracuse. He also says that Carcinus, the tragedian, was there with him. A letter from Æschines to Dionysius also survives.

VII. But he was a man well versed in rhetorical art, as is plain from the defence of his father Phæax, the general; and from the works which he wrote in especial imitation of Gorgias of Leontini. And Lysias wrote an oration against him entitling it, On Sycophancy; from all which circumstances it is plain that he was a skilful orator. And one man is spoken of as his especial friend, Aristotle, who was surnamed The Table.

VII. But he was well versed in rhetoric, as his defense of his father, the general Phæax, shows. His works, written in deliberate imitation of Gorgias of Leontini, also show this. Lysias wrote a speech against him titled On Sycophancy. All these facts show that he was a skilled orator. One man is described as his close friend: Aristotle, who was nicknamed The Table.

VIII. Now Panætius thinks that the Dialogues of the following disciples of the Socratic school are all genuine,—Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, and Æschines; but he doubts about those which go under the names of Phædon, and Euclides; and he utterly repudiates all the others.

VIII. Panætius believes that all the dialogues of these followers of Socrates are genuine: Plato, Xenophon, Antisthenes, and Æschines. But he doubts the authenticity of those attributed to Phædon and Euclides. He rejects all the others outright.

IX. And there were eight men of the name of Æschines. The first, this philosopher of ours; the second was a man who wrote a treatise on Oratorical Art; the third was the orator who spoke against Demosthenes; the fourth was an Arcadian, a disciple of Isocrates; the fifth was a citizen of Mitylene, whom they used to call the Scourge of the Orators; the sixth was a Neapolitan, a philosopher of the Academy, a disciple and favourite of Melanthius, of Rhode; the seventh was a Milesian, a political writer; the eighth was a statuary.

IX. There were eight men named Æschines. The first was the philosopher discussed here. The second wrote a treatise on the art of public speaking. The third was the orator who spoke against Demosthenes. The fourth was an Arcadian and a student of Isocrates. The fifth was a citizen of Mitylene who was known as the Scourge of the Orators. The sixth was a Neapolitan philosopher of the Academy and a student and favorite of Melanthius of Rhode. The seventh was a Milesian who wrote about politics. The eighth was a sculptor.