Edward S. Forster, Isocrates Cyprian Orations

τὰ πρὸς τοὺς θεούς, ‘in matters of religion,’ probably an accusative standing in relation to the whole sentence and not the object of ποίει; cp. for somewhat similar accusatives N. C. 2 τὰ περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβοῦμεν and note, and Thuc. vii. 31 αὐτοὶ δὲ τὰ περὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς τὸν ξύλλογον ἡτοιμάζοντο.

κατέδειξαν: καταδεικνύναι is regularly used of those who initiate something new; cp. Paneg. 47 φιλοσοφίαν ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν κατέδειξε.

θεραπείαν: see note on E. 28 θεραπεύειν.

καταβάλλοντας, ‘sacrifice’; cp. Hesych. καταβάλλοντες: κτείνοντες, σφάζοντες, and Eur. Bacch. 1246 καλὸν τὸ θῦμα καταβαλοῦσα δαίμοσιν.

πράξειν τι . . . ἀγαθόν, ‘win a blessing’; cp. Hesych. πράσσειν: λαβεῖν.

τίμα . . . εὐνουστάτους: for reading see critical note. The passage is probably corrupt. As it stands it must be translated, ‘honour the most intimate of your friends by the bestowal of public appointments, but in actual reality honour those who are best disposed towards you.’ The contrast between τοὺς οἰκειοτάτους and τοὺς εὐνουστάτους does not give very satisfactory sense; and in any case the precept does not belong here, but rather to § 27, where the question of appointment to offices is discussed. The phrase ταῖς ἀληθείαις αὐταῖς is quite Isocratean, and is merely a stronger form of ταῖς ἀληθείαις, which is found in Antid. 283 ταῦτα καὶ ταῖς ἀληθείαις οὕτως ἔχει, ‘these things are so in very truth’ (cp. Philemon fr. 40 ταῖς ἀληθείαισιν). The readings of the inferior MSS. are doubtless attempts made by copyists to improve the passage. Lange suggests ἀργαῖς for ἀρχαῖς; this, taken with τῶν τιμῶν, the reading of Λ and the Marseilles papyrus, would make good sense if translated ‘with unremunerative offices’; but Isocrates can hardly have written τίμα . . . τῶν τιμῶν.