for himself, and a strong party to combat that of Cimon. He immediately
altered his mode of life; was never seen in any street except that which
led to the market-place and the national assembly, and declined all
invitations to dinner and such like social gatherings. But Pericles
feared to make himself too common even with the people, and only
addressed them after long intervals; not speaking upon every subject,
and not constantly addressing them, but, as Critolaus says, keeping
himself like the Salaminian trireme for great crises, and allowing his
friends and the other orators to manage matters of less moment.

Wishing to adopt a style of speaking consonant with his haughty manner
and lofty spirit, Pericles made free use of the instrument which
Anaxagoras, as it were, put into his hand, and often tinged his oratory
with natural philosophy. He far surpassed all others by using this
"lofty intelligence and power of universal consummation," as the divine
Plato calls it; in addition to his natural advantages, adorning his
oratory with apt illustrations drawn from physical science. For this
reason some think that he was nicknamed the Olympian; though some refer
this to his improvement of the city by new and beautiful buildings, and
others from his power both as a politician and a general. It is not by
any means unlikely that these causes all combined to produce the name.

Pericles was very cautious about his words, and, whenever he ascended
the tribune to speak, used first to pray to the gods that nothing
unfitted for the present occasion might fall from his lips. He left no
writings, except the measures which he brought forward, and very few of
his sayings are recorded.

Thucydides represents the constitution under Pericles as a democracy in
name, but really an aristocracy, because the government was all in the