[2,20] τῶν τε ἄλλων τοὺς ἀρίστους καὶ βασιλικωτάτους ἐποίησεν ἐσπουδακότας οὐχ ἧττον περὶ τὴν τοιαύτην δύναμιν, τόν τε Διομήδην καὶ Ὀδυσσέα καὶ Νέστορα, τοῦτον μὲν ὑπερβάλλοντα τῇ τε συνέσει καὶ τῇ πειθοῖ. φησὶ γοῦν ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς ποιήσεως, τοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ γλώσσης μέλιτος γλυκίων ῥέεν αὐδή· (21) ὥστε καὶ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα εὔχεσθαι δέκα γέροντας αὐτῷ τοιούτους εἶναι μᾶλλον συμβούλους ἢ νεανίσκους οἷος ὅ τ´ Αἴας καὶ ὁ Ἀχιλλεύς, ὡς θᾶττον ἂν ἁλούσης τῆς Τροίας. καὶ μὴν τὸ μέγεθος τῆς περὶ τοὺς λόγους χρείας ἐδήλωσεν ἐν ἑτέρῳ. (22) τῶν γὰρ Ἑλλήνων διὰ τὸ μῆκος τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τὴν χαλεπότητα τῆς πολιορκίας, ἔτι δὲ οἶμαι διὰ τὴν ἐπιλαβοῦσαν νόσον καὶ τὴν στάσιν τῶν βασιλέων τοῦ τε Ἀγαμέμνονος καὶ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως, ἀπειρηκότων ἤδη πρὸς τὴν στρατείαν, πρὸς δὲ αὖ τούτοις δημαγωγοῦ τινος ἐπαναστάντος αὐτοῖς καὶ ταράξαντος τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, τὸ πλῆθος ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς, καὶ παραχρῆμα ἐμβάντες ἐβούλοντο φεύγειν, οὐδενὸς δυναμένου κατασχεῖν, οὐδὲ τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος ἔχοντος ὅ τι χρήσεται τοῖς παροῦσι πράγμασιν. (23) οὐκοῦν ἐνταῦθα μόνος αὐτοὺς ἐδυνήθη μετακαλέσαι καὶ μεταβαλεῖν Ὀδυσσεύς, καὶ τέλος ἔπεισε δημηγορῶν μετὰ τοῦ Νέστορος μένειν. ὥστε τοῦτο μὲν τὸ ἔργον φανερῶς τῶν ῥητόρων ἐγένετο. (24) πολλὰ δ´ ἄν τις ἐπιδείξειε καὶ ἕτερα. φαίνεται δ´ οὐ μόνον Ὅμηρος, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἡσίοδος οὕτω φρονῶν, ὡς φιλοσοφίας τε ἅμα καὶ ῥητορικῆς τῆς ἀληθοῦς τῷ βασιλεῖ προσῆκον, ἐν οἷς φησι περὶ Καλλιόπης, ἣ γὰρ καὶ βασιλεῦσιν ἅμ´ αἰδοίοισιν ὀπηδεῖ, ὅντινα τιμήσωσι Διὸς κοῦραι μεγάλοιο γεινόμενόν τε ἴδωσι διοτρεφέων βασιλήων.

[2,20] And as for the other chieftains, he depicted the best and the best qualified for kingly office as having cultivated this art with no less zeal : I mean Diomede, Odysseus, and particularly Nestor, who surpassed all the others in both discernment and persuasiveness. Witness what he says in the early part of his poem : 'whose tongue Dropped words more sweet than honey.' It was for this reason that Agamemnon prayed that he might have ten such elders as counsellors rather than youths like Ajax and Achilles, implying that the capture of Troy would thus be hastened. And, indeed, in another instance he showed the importance of rhetorical skill. For when the Greeks had at last become faint-hearted in pursuing the campaign because the war had lasted so long and the siege was so difficult, and also, no doubt, because of the plague that laid hold of them and of the dissension between the kings, Agamemnon and Achilles ; and when, in addition, a certain agitator rose to oppose them and threw the assembly into confusion—at this crisis the host rushed to the ships, embarked in hot haste, and were minded to flee. Nobody was able to restrain them, and even Agamemnon knew not how to handle the situation. Now in this emergency the only one who was able to call them back and change their purpose was Odysseus, who finally, by the speech he made, and with the help of Nestor, persuaded them to remain. Consequently, this achievement was clearly due to the orators ; and one could point to many other instances as well. It is evident, then, that not only Homer but Hesiod, too, held this view, implying that rhetoric in the true meaning of the term, as well as philosophy, is a proper study for the king; for the latter says of Calliope, 'She attendeth on kings august that the daughters of great Zeus Honour and watch at their birth, those kings that of Zeus are nurtured.'