(7) He who can lift a heavy burden has no difficulty in raising a light one, but the man of feeble powers cannot carry a heavy load. Alcidamas Messenian (see Aristotle, Rhetoric 1373 b18 and 1397 a11 with the Scholia) is thought to have been not a delivered speech but a book, like Isocrates Archidamus. In live debate, you prepare your arguments in advance but choose the actual words WebAlcidamas (Greek: ), of Elaea, in Aeolis, was a Greek sophist and rhetorician, who flourished in the 4th century BC. 13. On the new fragments on papyri see Solmsen, Hermae 67, 141 f. 14. To write or not to write? Alcidamas and the art of What are declamations. (1) Often in the past, men of Greece, I have pondered and been astonished at the intentions of those who address us, wondering what on earth their purpose is in readily coming forward here and giving advice to you when they offer no help to the common cause, and very many mutual insults are produced, and they waste untimely words at random on whatever subject they happen to choose. [8] The analogy holds true in speeches, namely, that the master of extempore speaking, if given time and leisure for the written word, will excel therein, but it is evident that the practised writer when he turns to extemporaneous speaking will suffer mental embarrassments, wanderings, and confusion. But, since others have this power, is it not silly for us to practise anything other than extemporaneous speech? (4) On the contrary, to write after long premeditation, and to revise at leisure, comparing the writings of previous Sophists, and from many sources to assemble thoughts on the same subject, and to imitate felicities cleverly spoken, to revise privately some matters on the advice of laymen and to alter and expunge other parts as a result of repeated and careful excogitation, truly, this is an easy matter even for the untutored. It often happens that unexpected crises occur when those who can say nothing seem contemptible, while the speakers are seen to be honored by the listeners as possessors of god-like minds. Reshape culture and leadership with this 12-month action plan Recommended Content for You Research Gartner CEO Talent Champions Learn More Article (4) The fact of the matter, as you may be aware, is treachery; for this, punishments are prescribed which are ten times greater than for other crimes, and yet, as you all know, there has never been any hostility or quarrel between me and him on any matter up to now, and moreover this has been so both in the palaistra and in the drinking party where very many quarrels and insults begin. Cultures are internally affected by both forces encouraging change and forces 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica/Alcidamas - Wikisource, the free We possess two declamations under his name: .mw-parser-output .wst-lang-grc{font-family:GentiumPlus;font-feature-settings:"cv78"on,"cv83"on} , directed against Isocrates and setting forth the superiority of extempore over written speeches (a recently discovered fragment of another speech against Isocrates if probably of later date); , in which Odysseus accuses Palamedes of treachery during the siege of Troy (this is generally considered spurious). See the edition by Blass, 1881; fragments in Mller, Oratores Attici, ii. [17] Similarly, just as those who are loosed after long confinement in bonds are unable to walk normally, but still must proceed in the same fashion and manner as when previously inhibited, so, the practice of writing, by making sluggish the mental processes, and by giving the opposite sort of training in speaking, produces an unready and fettered speaker, deficient in all extemporaneous fluency.