The end of the nineteenth century heralds in the age of nationalism, national unification (e.g. Italy and Germany), colonialism and globalization. A fifth generation of imperial constitutions accommodate this by pooling government power through mass-political organization, an increase in parliamentary competence and party-political organisation, thus increasing inclusivity. Throughout Europe, as Chris Thornhill writes, the imperial period brought both an extension of national franchises and a correlated consolidation of domestic statehood

The Lives of the Sophists, written by the third-century-CE author Philostratus, contains the most detailed and thorough image of a Classical-period sophistic age surviving from antiquity. Previous ancient accounts of the period are comparable with that of Philostratus in various respects but never emphasize a discrete sophistic age. Philostratus’ text has been known continuously since its production, and the individual members of Philostratus’ First Sophistic were arguably the core for modern lists of the individual Sophists. Yet Philostratus’ image of the First Sophistic is colored by oratorical practices of his own day, privileging the craft of speaking performance, networks of influence and rivalry, and leadership of the city over the kind of intellectual performances that interested philosophers such as Plato. Despite his obvious departures from Plato, Philostratus also depends on Plato for qualities that establish a “Sophist” under his concept, both in the Classical period and in his own.