Dr. Richard Bentley’s Dissertations Upon The Epistles Of Phalaris, Themistocles, Socrates, Euripides, And Upon The Fables Of Aesop (1874)

Dr. Richard Bentley’s Dissertations Upon The Epistles Of Phalaris, Themistocles, Socrates, Euripides, And Upon The Fables Of Aesop is a scholarly work published in 1874. The book is a collection of essays written by Dr. Richard Bentley, a prominent 17th-century English classical scholar and theologian. The essays explore various topics related to ancient Greek literature, including the authenticity of certain epistles attributed to Phalaris, Themistocles, and Socrates, as well as the authorship of the fables of Aesop. Bentley’s essays are considered groundbreaking in their time, as they challenged many long-held beliefs about the authenticity of these works. His arguments were based on extensive research and analysis of the language and style used in the texts, as well as comparisons with other works from the same period. The book is divided into five sections, each focusing on a different topic. The first section examines the epistles of Phalaris, a tyrant of Agrigentum in Sicily, and argues that they are not authentic. The second section looks at the epistles of Themistocles, an Athenian general and statesman, and similarly concludes that they are not genuine. The third section explores the authorship of the fables of Aesop, and suggests that they were not written by Aesop himself, but rather by later authors. The fourth section of the book focuses on the character of Socrates, and argues that the accounts of his life and teachings in the works of Plato and Xenophon are not accurate. Finally, the fifth section examines the style and language of the Greek playwright Euripides, and argues that his works were not written by a single author, but rather were a collaboration between different writers. Overall, Dr. Richard Bentley’s Dissertations Upon The Epistles Of Phalaris, Themistocles, Socrates, Euripides, And Upon The Fables Of Aesop is a seminal work in the field of classical scholarship, and continues to be studied and debated by scholars today.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world’s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.