AESCHINES, an Athenian, a Socratic philosopher, the son of Charinus, a sausage-maker. He was continually with Socrates; which occasioned this philosopher to say, that the sausage-maker’s son was the only person who knew how to pay a due regard to him. It is said that poverty obliged him to go to Sicily to Dionysius the tyrant; and that he met with great contempt from Plato, but was extremely well received by Aristippus, to whom he showed some of his dialogues, and received from him a handsome reward. He would not venture to profess philosophy at Athens, Plato and Aristippus being in such high esteem; but he opened a school, in which he taught philosophy, to maintain himself. He afterwards wrote orations for the forum. Phrynicus, in Photius, ranks him amongst the best orators, and mentions his orations as the standard of the pure Attic style. Hermogenes has also spoken very highly of him. He wrote, besides, several Dialogues, of which there are only three extant: 1. Concerning virtue, whether it can be taught. 2 Eryxias, or Erasistratus; concerning riches, whether they are good. 3. Axiochus; concerning death, whether it is to be feared. M. le Clerc has given a Latin translation of them, with notes and several dissertations, entitled Silvae Philologicae. Aeschines, a celebrated Grecian orator, was born at Athens 327 years before the Christian era. According to his own account, he was of distinguished birth; according to that of Demosthenes, he was the son of a courtesan, and a humble performer in a company of comedians. But whatever was the true history of his birth and early life, his talents, which were considerable, procured him great applause, and enabled him to be a formidable rival to Demosthenes himself. The two orators, inspired probably with mutual jealousy and animosity, became at last the strenuous leaders of opposing parties. Aeschines was accused by Demosthenes of having received money as a bribe, when he was employed on an embassy to Philip of Macedon. He indirectly retaliated the charge by bringing an accusation against Ctesiphon, the friend of Demosthenes, for having moved a decree, contrary to the laws, to confer on Demosthenes a golden crown, as a mark of public approbation. A numerous assembly of judges and citizens met to hear and decide the question. Each orator employed all his powers of eloquence; but Demosthenes, with superior talents, and with justice on his side, was victorious; and Aeschines was sent into exile. The resentment of Demosthenes was now softened into generous kindness; for when Aeschines was going into banishment, he requested him to accept of a sum of money; which made him exclaim, “How do I regret leaving a country where I have found an enemy so generous, that I must de⅛pair of ever meeting with a friend who shall be like him !”

Aeschines opened a school of eloquence at Rhodes, which was the place of his exile; and he commenced his lectures by reading to his audience the two orations which had been the cause of his banishment. His own oration received great praise, but that of Demosthenes was heard with boundless applause. In so trying a moment, when vanity must be supposed to have been deeply wounded, with a noble generosity of sentiment, he said, “What would you have thought if you had heard him thunder out the words himself.”—Aeschines afterwards removed to Samos, where he died in the 75th year of his age. Three of his orations only are extant. His eloquence is not without energy, but it is diffuse and ornamented, and more calculated to please than to move the passions.