[4]
I believe, of course, that if Plato had been willing
to devote himself to forensic oratory, he could have
spoken with the greatest eloquence and power; and
that if Demosthenes had continued the studies he
pursued with Plato and had wished to expound his
views, he could have done so with elegance and
brilliancy. I feel the same way about Aristotle and
Isocrates, each of whom, engrossed in his own profession, undervalued that of the other.
[p. 7]
2. But since I have decided to write you a little1
now (and a great deal by and by), I wish, if possible,
to begin with a matter most suited at once to your
years and to my position. Although philosophy
offers many problems, both important and useful,
that have been fully and carefully discussed by
philosophers, those teachings which have been
handed down on the subject of moral duties seem
to have the widest practical application. For no
phase of life, whether public or private, whether in
business or in the home, whether one is working on
what concerns oneself alone or dealing with another,
can be without its moral duty; on the discharge
of such duties depends all that is morally right,
and on their neglect all that is morally wrong in
life.
1 Statement of subject.
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