I have learned of your fairmindedness, Polycrates, and of the reversal in your life,
 through information from others; and having myself read certain of the discourses which
 you have written, I should have been greatly pleased to discuss frankly with you and fully
 the education with which you have been obliged to occupy yourself. For I believe that when
 men through no fault of their own are unfortunate and so seek in philosophy a source of
 gain, That is, from the teaching of the subject. 
 it is the duty of all who have had a wider experience in that occupation, and have become
 more thoroughly versed in it, to make this contribution For
 the figure of speech in E)/RANOS see Isoc. 10.20 and Plat.
 Sym.177c . voluntarily for their benefit. But since we have not yet met one another, we shall be able, if we ever do come together,
 to discuss the other topics at greater length; concerning those suggestions, however, by
 which at the present time I might be of service to you, I have thought I should advise you
 by letter, though concealing my views, to the best of my ability, from everyone else. I am well aware, however, that it is instinctive with most persons when admonished, not
 to look to the benefits they receive but, on the contrary, to listen to what is said with
 the greater displeasure in proportion to the rigor with which their critic passes their
 faults in review. Nevertheless, those who are well disposed toward any persons must not
 shrink from incurring such resentment, but must try to effect a change in the opinion of
 those who feel this way toward those who offer them counsel. Having observed, therefore, that you take especial pride in your Defense of
 Busiris and in your Accusation of Socrates , I shall try to make
 it clear to you that in both these discourses you have fallen far short of what the
 subject demands. For although everyone knows that those who wish to praise a person must
 attribute to him a larger number of good qualities than he really possesses, and accusers
 must do the contrary, you have so far fallen short of following these principles of rhetoric that, though you
 profess to defend Busiris, you have not only failed to absolve him of the calumny with
 which he is attacked, but have even imputed to him a lawlessness of such enormity that it
 is impossible for one to invent wickedness more atrocious. For the other writers whose aim
 was to malign him went only so far in their abuse as to charge him with sacrificing the
 strangers For the legend of Busiris see Apollod. 2.5.7 and Hdt. 2.45 .
 Busiris, in obedience to an oracle, sacrificed strangers on the altar of Zeus. Herodotus
 doubts the truth of the legend that the Egyptians sacrificed men. who came to his
 country; you, however, accused him of actually devouring his victims. And when your
 purpose was to accuse Socrates, as if you wished to praise him, you gave Alcibiades to him
 as a pupil who, as far as anybody observed, never was taught by Socrates, Alcibiades, if not a disciple of Socrates, was intimately
 associated with the philosopher; cf. Plat. Sym. For
 praise of Alcibiades see Isoc. 16 . but that Alcibiades
 far excelled all his contemporaries all would agree.