I, however, have never concerned myself in the least with such auditors, any more than do
 other sensible men, but rather with those who will keep in mind what I said in preface to
 my whole discourse and at the same time will not frown upon the length of my speech, even
 though it extend through thousands upon thousands of words, but will realize that it lies
 in their power to read and peruse only such portion of it as they themselves desire; and
 most of all am I concerned with those who, in preference to any other, will gladly listen
 to a discourse which celebrates the virtues of men and the ways of a well-governed state.
 For if any should have the wish and the power to pattern their lives upon such examples,
 they might themselves pass their days in the enjoyment of high repute and render their own
 countries happy and prosperous. Now I have expressed myself as to the kind of auditors I
 would pray that I might have for what I shall say, but I am afraid that were I given such
 an audience I might fall far below the subject upon which I am to speak. Nevertheless, in
 such manner as I can I shall attempt to discourse upon it. The fact, then, that our city was governed in those times better than the rest of the
 world I would justly credit to her kings, of whom I spoke a moment ago. For it was they
 who trained the multitude in the ways of virtue and justice and great sobriety and who
 taught through the manner of their rule the very truth which I shall be seen to have
 expressed in words after they had expressed it in their deeds, namely, that every polity
 is the soul of the state, having as much power over it as the mind over the body. For it
 is this which deliberates on all questions, seeking to preserve what is good and to avoid
 what is disastrous, Repeated from Isoc. 7.14 . and is the cause of all the things which transpire in
 states. Having learned this truth, the people did not forget it on account of the change in the
 constitution, but rather gave their minds to this one endeavor before all others: to
 obtain as their leaders men who were in sympathy with democracy, but were possessed of the
 same character as those who were formerly at the head of the state; and not unwittingly to
 place in charge of the whole commonwealth men to whom no one would entrust a single detail
 of his private interests; Cf. Isoc.
 8.13 , 133. 
 and not to permit men to approach positions of public trust who are notoriously depraved;
 and not even to suffer men to be heard Cf. Isoc. 8.3 and note. who lend their own persons to base
 practices but deem themselves worthy to advise others how they should govern the state in
 order to advance in sobriety and well-being, or who have squandered what they inherited
 from their fathers on shameful pleasures but seek to repair their own fortunes from the
 public treasury See Isoc.
 8.124 and note. , or who strive always to speak for the gratification of
 their audience but plunge those who are persuaded by them into many distresses and
 hardships;