[91]
But, heedless of these lessons, those who came after them desired, not to rule but to dominate1—words which are thought to have the same meaning, although between them there is the utmost difference. For it is the duty of those who rule to make their welfare,2 whereas it is a habit of those who dominate to provide pleasures for themselves through the labors and hardships of others. But it is in the nature of things that those who attempt a despot's course must encounter the disasters which befall despotic power3 and be afflicted by the very things which they inflict upon others. And it is just this which has happened in the case of Athens;
1 That is, to rule by consent as against ruling by force—delegated as against irresponsible power. See Isoc. 4.80 ff.
2 Cf. Isoc. Letter 7.4.
3 Described in 111-113.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
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