3.46. Or take this example from another book of the orations against Catiline, “He departed, he went hence; he burst forth, he was gone.” This is regarded as a case of pleonasm by Caecilius, that is to say, as language fuller than is absolutely required, like the phrase:Myself before my very eyes I saw:for “myself” is already implied by “I saw.” But when such language is over weighted by some purely superfluous addition, it is, as I have also pointed out elsewhere, a fault; whereas when, as in this case, it serves to make the sense stronger and more obvious, it is a merit. “I saw,” “myself,” “before my very eyes,” are so many appeals to the emotion.
3.46. in eundem alio libro:, excessit, erupit, evasit. Caecilio πλεονασμός videtur, id est, abundans super necessitatem oratio, sicut illa oculos ante ipse meos. in illo enim vidi inest ipse. id, ut alio quoque loco dixi, cum supervacua oneratur adiectione, vitium est, cum auget aut manifestat sententiam sicut hic, virtus., ipse, ante oculos, totidem sunt adfectus. tamen haec proprie nomine tali notarit, non video.
3.47. I cannot therefore see why Caecilius should have stigmatised these words by such a name, since the doubling and repetition of words and all forms of addition may likewise be regarded as pleonasms. And it is not merely words that are thus grouped together. The same device may be applied to thoughts of similar content. “The wild confusion of his thoughts, the thick darkness shed upon his soul by his crimes and the burning torches of the furies all drove him on.”
3.47. et geminatio et repetitio et qualiscunque adiectio πλεονασμός videri potest. verba modo, sed sensus quoque idem facientes acervantur: istum mentis et quaedam scelerum offusa caligo et ardentes furiarum faces excitarunt.
3.48. Words of different meaning may likewise be grouped together, as for instance, “The woman, the savage cruelty of the tyrant, love for his father, anger beyond control, the madness of blind daring ”; or again, as in the following passage from Ovid,But the dread Nereids' power,But horned Ammon, but that wild sea-beastTo feed upon my vitals that must come.
3.48. et diversa:, tyranni saeva crudelitas, patris amor, ira praeceps, temeritatis dementia. apud Ovidium:grave Nereidum numen, sed corniger Ammon,quae visceribus veniebat belua pontimeis.Inveni, qui et hoc πλοκήν vocaret:
3.49. I have found some who call this also by the name of πλοκή: but I do not agree, as only one figure is involved. We may also find a mixture of words, some identical and others different in meaning; of this figure, which the Greeks style διαλλαγή, the following will provide an example: “I ask my enemies whether these plots were investigated, discovered and laid bare, overthrown, crushed and destroyed by me.” In this sentence “investigated,” “discovered” and “laid bare” are different in meaning, while “overthrown,” “crushed” and “destroyed” are similar in meaning to each other, but different from the three previous.
3.49. cui non adsentior, cum sit unius figurae, mixta quoque et idem et diversum significantia, quod et ipsum διαλλαγὴν vocant. ab inimicis, sintne haec investigate, comperta, patefacta, sublata, deleta, exstincta per me., comperta, patefacta aliud ostendunt; sublata, deleta, extincta sunt inter se similia, sed non etiam prioribus.
3.50. But both the last example and the last but one involve a different figure as well, which, owing to the absence of connecting particles, is called dissolution ( asyndeton ), and is useful when we are speaking with special vigour: for it at once impresses the details on the mind and makes them seem more numerous than they really are. Consequently, we apply this figure not merely to single words, but to whole sentences, as, for instance, is done by Cicero in his reply to the speech which Metellus made to the public assembly: “I ordered those against whom information was laid, to be summoned, guarded, brought before the senate: they were led into the senate,” while the rest of the passage is constructed on similar lines. This kind of figure is also called brachylogy, which may be regarded as detachment without loss of connexion. The opposite of this figure of asyndeton is polyxyndeton, which is characterised by the number of connecting particles employed.
3.50. hoc autem exemplum et superius aliam quoque efficiunt figuram, quae, quia coniunctionibus caret, dissolutio vocatur, apta, cum quid instantius dicimus; nam et singula inculcantur et quasi plura fiunt. utimur hac figura non in singulis modo verbis, sed sententiis etiam, ut Cicero dicit contra contionem Metelli: indicabantur, eos vocari, custodiri, ad senatum adduci iussi; in senatum sunt introducti, et totus hic locus talis est. genus et βραχυλογίαν vocant, quae potest esse copulata dissolutio. illud est schema, quod coniunctionibus abundat. ἀσύνδετον, hoc πολυσύνδετον dicitur.
3.51. In this figure we may repeat the same connecting particle a number of times, as in the following instance:His house and home and armsAnd Amyclean hound and Cretan quiver;or they may be different, as in the case of arma virumque followed by multum ille et terris and multa quoque.
3.51. hoc est vel iisdem saepius repetitis, utlaremqueAmyclaeumque canem Cressamque pharetram;vel diversis: virumque — ille et terris — quoque.
3.53. Adverbs and pronouns also may be varied, as in the following instance: lic ilium vidi iunvenem followed by bis senos cui nostra dies and hic mihi responsum primus dedit ille petenti. But both these cases involve the massing together of words and phrases either in asyndeton or polysyndeton.
3.53. quoque et pronomina variantur, illum vidi iuvenem, — senos cui nostra dies, — mihi responsum primus dedit ille petenti. utrumque horum acervatio est, tantum iuncta aut dissoluta.
3.54. Writers have given special names to all the different forms, but the names vary with the caprice of the inventor. The origin of these figures is one and the same, namely that they make our utterances more vigorous and emphatic and produce animpression of vehemence such as might spring from repeated outbursts of emotion. Gradation, which the Greeks call climax, necessitates a more obvious and less natural application of art and should therefore be more sparingly employed. Moreover, it involves addition, since it repeats what has already been said and, before passing to a new point, dwells on those which precede.
3.54. scriptores sua nomina dederunt, sed varia et ut cuique fingenti placuit. quidem unus, quia acriora facit et instantiora quae dicimus et vim quandam prae se ferentia velut saepius erumpentis adfectus., quae dicitur κλῖμαξ apertiorem habet artem et magis adfectatam ideoque esse rarior debet.
3.55. I will translate a very famous instance from the Greek. “I did not say this, without making a formal proposal to that effect, I did not make that proposal without undertaking the embassy, nor undertake the embassy without persuading the Thebans.”
3.55. autem ipsa quoque adiectionis; repetit enim quae dicta sunt et, priusquam ad aliud descendat, in prioribus resistit. exemplum ex Graeco notissimo transferatur: enim dixi quidem sed non scripsi, nec scripsi quidem sed non obii legationem, nec obii quidem legationem sed non persuasi Thebanis.
3.56. There are, however, examples of the same thing in Latin authors. “It was the energy of Africanus that gave him his peculiar excellence, his excellence that gave him glory, his glory that gave him rivals.” Calvus again writes, “Consequently this means the abolition of trials for treason no less than for extortion, for offences covered by the Plautian law no less than for treason, for bribery no less than for those offences, and for all breaches of every law no less than for bribery,” etc.
3.56. tamen tradita et Latina: Africano virtutem industria, virtus gloriam, gloria aemulos comparavit. Calvi: ergo magis pecuniarum repetundarum quam maiestatis, neque maiestatis magis quam Plautiae legis, neque Plautiae legis magis quam ambitus, neque ambitus magis quam omnium legum iudicia perierunt.
3.57. It is also to be found in poets, as in the passage in Homer describing the sceptre which he traces from the hands of Jupiter down to those of Agamemnon, and in the following from one of our own tragedians:From Jove, so runs the tale, was Tantalus sprung,From Tantalus Pelops, and of Pelops' seedSprang Atreus, who is sire of all our line.
3.57. apud poetas quoque, ut apud Homerum de sceptro, quod a Iove ad Agamemnonem usque deducit, et apud nostrum etiam tragicum:Iove propagatus est, ut perhibent, Tantalus,Tantalo ortus Pelops, ex Pelope autem satusAtreus, qui nostrum porro propagat genus.
3.58. As regards the figures produced by omission, they rely for their charm in the main on conciseness and novelty. There is one of these which I mentioned in the last book with reference to synecdoche, and postponed discussing until such time as I came to deal with figures: it occurs when the word omitted may be clearly gathered from the context: an example may be found in Caelius' denunciation of Antony: stupere gaudio Graecus: for we must clearly supply coepit. Or take the following passage from a letter of Cicero to Brutus: Serno nullus scilicet nisi de te: quid enim potius? turn Flavius, cras, inquit, tabellarii, et ego ibidem has inter cenum exaravi.
3.58. quae per detractionem fiunt figurae, brevitatis novitatisque maxime gratiam petunt; quarum una est ea, quam libro proximo in figuras ex συνεκδοχῇ distuli, cum subtractum verbum aliquod satis ex ceteris intelligitur: ut Caelius in Antonium, gaudio Graecus: simul enim auditur coepit. Cicero ad Brutum: nullus scilicet nisi de te; quid enim potius? Flavius, Cras, inquit, tabellarii, et ego ibidem has inter cenam exaravi.
3.59. Of a similar kind, at any rate in my opinion, are those passages in which words are decently omitted to spare our modesty.You—while the goats looked goatish-we know who,And in what chapel—(but the kind Nymphs laughed).Some regard this as an aposiopesis, but wrongly.
3.59. similia sunt illa meo quidem iudicio, in quibus verba decenter pudoris gratia subtrahuntur:et qui te, transversa tuentibus hircis,quo, sed faciles Nymphae risere, sacello.Hanc quidam aposiopesin putant, frustra.
3.60. For in aposiopesis it is either uncertain or at least requires an explanation of some length to show what is suppressed, whereas in the present case only one word, and that of an obvious character, is missing. If this, then, is an aposiopesis, all omissions will have a claim to the title.
3.60. illa quid taceat incertum est aut certe longiore sermone explicandum, hic unum verbum et manifestum quidem desideratur; quod si aposiopesis est, nihil non, in quo deest aliquid, idem appellabitur. ne illud quidem aposiopesin semper voco, in quo res quaecunque relinquitur intelligenda, ut ea quae in epistolis Cicero: Lupercalibus, quo die Antonius Caesari;
3.61. I would not even allow the name of aposiopesis to all cases where what is omitted is left to be understood, as for example the following phrase from Cicero's letters, Data Lupercalibus quo die Antonius Caesari: for there, there is no real suppression: the omission is merely playful, for there is but one way of completing the sentence, namely with the words diadema imposuit. Another figure produced by omission is that of which I have just spoken, when the connecting particles are omitted. A third is the figure known as ἐπεζευγμένον in which a number of clauses are all completed by the same verb, which would be required by each singly if they stood alone. In such cases the verb to which the rest of the sentence refers may come first, as in the following instance: Vicit pudorem lilido, timiorem audacia, rationem amentia. Or it may come last, closing a number of clauses, as in the following: Neque enim is es, Catilina, ut te aut pudor unquam a turpitudine ant meites a periculo aut ratio a furore revocaverit.
3.61. non enim obticuit sed lusit, quia nihil aliud intelligi poterat quam hoc, diadema imposuit. est per detractionem figura, de qua modo dictum, cui coniunctiones eximuntur., quae dicitur ἐπεζευγμένον in qua unum ad verbum plures sententiae referuntur, quarum unaquaeque desideraret illud, si sola poneretur. accidit aut praeposito verbo, ad quod reliqua respiciant: pudorem libido, timorem audacia, rationem amentia; aut illato, quo plura cluduntur: enim is es, Catilina, ut te aut pudor unquam a turpitudine aut metus a periculo aut ratio a furore revocaverit.
3.63. The verb may even be placed in the middle so as to serve both what precedes and what follows. The same figure may join different sexes, as for example when we speak of a male and female child under the comprehensive term of “sons”; or it may interchange singular and plural.
3.63. quoque potest esse, quod et prioribus et sequentibus sufficiat. iungit autem et diversos sexus, ut cum marem feminamque filios dicimus, et singularia pluralibus miscet.
3.64. But these devices are so common that they can scarcely lay claim to involve the art essential to figures. On the other hand it is quite obviously figure, when two different constructions are combined as in the following case:Sociis tunc arma capessantEdico et dira bellum cum gene gerendumn.(I bid my comrades straight to seize their arms And war be waged against a savage race.) For although the portion of the sentence following bellum ends with a participle, both clauses of the sentence are correctly governed by edico. Another form of connexion, which does not necessarily involve omission, is called συνοικείωσις, because it connects two different things, for example:The miser lacksThat which he has no less than what he has not.
3.64. haec adeo sunt vulgaria, ut sibi artem figurarum adserere non possint. plane figura est, qua diversa sermonis forma coniungitur:tunc, arma capessant,, et dira bellum cum genie gerendum.Quamvis enim pars bello posterior participio insistat, utrique convenit illud edico. utique detractionis gratia factam coniunctionem συνοικείωσιν vocant, quae duas res diversas colligat:deest avaro, quod habet, quam quod non habet.Huic diversam volunt esse distinctionem, cui dant nomen παραδιαστολήν qua similia discernuntur: te pro astuto sapientem appelles, pro confidente, fortem, pro illiberali diligentem.
3.65. To this figure is opposed distinction, which they call παραδιαστολή, by which we distinguish between similar things, as in this sentence: “When you call yourself wise instead of astute, brave instead of rash, economical instead of mean.” But this is entirely dependent on definition, and therefore I have my doubts whether it can be called a figure. Its opposite occurs when we pass at a bound from one thing to something different, as though from like to like; for example:I labour to be brief, I turn obscure,with what follows.
3.65. totum pendet ex finitione, ideoque an figura sit dubito. contraria est ea, qua fit ex vicino transitus ad diversa ut similia: esse laboro, obscurus fio, et quae sequuntur.
3.66. There is a third class of figures which attracts the ear of the audience and excites their attention by some resemblance, equality or contrast of words. To this class belongs paronomasia, which we call adnominatio. This may be effected in different ways. It may depend on the resemblance of one word to another which has preceded, although the words are in different cases. Take the following passage from Domitius Afer's defence of Cloatilla: Mulier omnium rerum imiperita, in omnnibus rebus infelix.
3.66. est genus figurarum, quod aut similitudine aliqua vocum aut paribus aut contrariis convertit in se aures et animos excitat. est παρονομασία, quae dicitur adnominatio. non uno modo fieri solet: ex vicinia (quadam praedicti nominis ducta casibus declinat, ut Domitius Afer pro Cloatilla, omnium rerum imperita, in omnibus rebus infelix;
3.67. Or the same word may be repeated with greater meaning, as quando homo, hostis homno. But although I have used these examples to illustrate something quite different, one of them involves both emphasis and reiteration. The opposite of parononasia occurs when one word is proved to be false by repetition; for instance, “This law did not seem to be a law to private individuals.” Akin to this is that syled ἀντανάκλασις, where the same word is used in two different meanings.
3.67. et cum verbo idem verbum plus significans subiungitur: homo hostis, homo. exemplis sum in aliud usus, sed in uno ἔμφασις est geminatio. παρονομασίᾳ contrarium est, quod eodem verbo quasi falsum arguitur: Quae lex privatis hominibus esse lex non uidebatur.
3.68. When Proculeius reproached his son with waiting for his death, and the son replied that he was not waiting for it, the former retorted, Well then, I ask you to wait for it. Sometimes such difference in meaning is obtained not by using the same word, but one like it, as for example by saying that a man whom you think dignus supplicatione (worthy of supplication) is supplicio adficiendus.
3.68. confinis est ἀντανάκλασις eiusdem verbi contraria significatio. Proculeius> quereretur de filio, quod is mortem suam expectaret, et ille dixisset, se vero non exspectare: Immo, inquit, rogo exspectes. ex eodem sed ex vicino diversum accipitur, cum supplicio adficiendum dicas, quem supplicatione dignum iudicaris.
3.69. There are also other ways in which the same words may be used in different senses or altered by the lengthening or shortening of a syllable: this is a poor trick even when employed in jest, and I am surprised that it should be included in the text-books: the instances which I quote are therefore given as examples for avoidance, not for imitation. Here they are:
3.69. quoque voces aut eaedem diversa in significatione ponuntur aut productione tantum vel correptione mutatae; quod etiam in iocis frigidum equidem tradi inter praecepta miror, eorumque exempla vitandi potius quam imitandi gratia pono:
3.70. Amari iucundum est, si curetur ne quid insit amari, and Avium dulcedo ad avium ducit; and again this jest from Ovid,Cur ego non dicam, Furia, te furiam?Cornificius calls this traductio, that is the transference of the meaning of one word to another.
3.70. iucundum est, si curetur, ne quid insist amari. dulcedo ad avium ducit; et apud Ovidium ludentem:ego non dicam, Furia, te furiam?Cornificius hanc traductionem vocat, videlicet alterius intellectus ad alterum.
3.71. It has, however, greater elegance when it is employed to distinguish the exact meanings of things, as in the following example: “This curse to the state could be repressed for a time, but not suppressed for ever;” the same is true when the meaning of verbs is reversed by a change in the preposition with which they are compounded: for example, Non emissus ex urbe, sed immissus in urbem esse videatur. The effect is better still and more emphatic when our pleasure is derived both from the figurative form and the excellence of the sense, as in the following instance: emit morte immortalitatem.
3.71. elegantius, quod est positum in distinguenda rei proprietate: rei publicae pestem paulisper reprimi, non in perpetuum comprimi posse. quae praepositionibus in contrarium mutantur: emissus ex urbe, sed immissius in urbem esse videatur. atque acrius, quod cum figura iucundum est tum etiam sensu valet: Emit morte immortalitatem.
3.72. A more trivial effect is produced by the following: Non Pisonum, sed pistorum, and Ex oratore arator, while phrases such as Ne patres conscripti videantur circumscripti, or raro evenit, sed vehenenter venit, are the worst of all. It does, however, sometimes happen that a bold and vigorous conception may derive a certain charm from the contrast between two words not dissimilar in sound.
3.72. leviora: Non Pisonum sed pistorum et oratore arator. vero: patres conscripti videantur circumscripti; — evenit sed vehementer venit. contingit, ut aliqui sensus vehemens et acer venustatem aliquam non eadem ex voce non dissona accipiat.
3.73. I do not know that there is any reason why modesty should prevent me from illustrating this point from my own family. My father, in the course of a declamation against a man who had said he would die on his embassy and then returned after a few days' absence without accomplishing anything, said, non exigo ut immoriaris legationi: immorare. For the sense is forcible and the sound of the two words, which are so very different in meaning, is pleasant, more especially since the assonance is not far fetched, but presents itself quite naturally, one word being of the speaker's own selection, while the other is supplied by his opponent.
3.73. cur me prohibeat pudor uti domestico exemplo? meus contra eum, qui se legationi immoriturum dixerat, deinde vix paucis diebus insumptis re infecta redierat, exigo, ut inmoriaris legationi; immorare. et valet sensus ipse et in verbis tantum distantibus iucunde consonat vox, praesertim non captata, sed velut oblata, cum altero suo sit usus, alterum ab adversario acceperit.
3.74. The old orators were at great pains to achieve elegance in the use of words similar or opposite in sound. Gorgias carried the practice to an extravagant pitch, while Isocrates, at any rate in his early days, was much addicted to it. Even Cicero delighted in it, but showed some restraint in the employment of a device which is not unattractive save when carried to excess, and, further, by the weight of his thought lent dignity to what would otherwise have been mere trivialities. For in itself this artifice is a flat and foolish affectation, but when it goes hand in hand with vigour of thought, it gives the impression of natural charm, which the speaker has not had to go far to find.
3.74. veteribus curae fuit gratiam dicendi et paribus et contrariis acquirere. Gorgias in hoc immodicus, copiosus aetate utique prima Isocrates fuit. est his etiam M. Tullius, verum et modum adhibuit non ingratae, nisi copia redundet, voluptati et rem alioqui leuem sententiarum pondere implevit. per se frigida et inanis adfectatio, cum in acres incidit sensus, innatam gratiam videtur habere non arcessitam.
3.75. There are some four different forms of play upon verbal resemblances. The first occurs when we select some word which is not very unlike another, as in the line of Virgilvuppesque tuae pubesque tuorum,or, sic in hac calamitosa fama quasi in aliqua perniciosissim flamma, and non enim tarn spes laudanda quam res est. Or at any rate the words selected will be of equal length and will have similar terminations, as in non verbis, sed armis.
3.75. fere quadruplex ratio est. est primum, quotiens verbum verbo aut non dissimile valde quaeritur, uttuae pubesque tuorum;et in hac calamitosa fama quasi in aliqua perniciosissima flamma, et enim tam spes laudanda quam res est, aut certe par et extremis syllabis consonans: verbis, sed armis.
3.76. A good effect may also be produced by an artifice such as the following, so long as the thought which it expresses be vigorous: quantum possis, in eo semper experire ut prosis. The name commonly applied to this is πάροσον though the Stoic Theon thinks that in cases of πάρισον the correspondence between the clauses must be exact.
3.76. hoc quoque, quotiens in sententias acres incidit, pulchrum est: possis, in eo semper experire, it prosis. est πάρισον, ut plerisque placuit. Theo Stoicus πάρισον existimat, quod sit e membris non dissimilibus.
3.77. The second form occurs when clauses conclude alike, the same syllables being placed at the end of each; this correspondence in the ending of two or more sentences is called homoeoteleuton. Here is an example: Non modo ad salutem eius exstinguendam sed etiam gloriam per tales viros infringendam. This figure is usually, though not invariably, found in the groups of three clauses, styled τρίκωλα, of which the following may be cited as an illustration: vicit pudorem libido, timorem audacia, rationed amentia. But the device may be applied to four clauses or more. The effect may even be produced by single words; for example, Hecuba hoc dolet, pudet, piget, or abiit, excessit, erupit, evasit.
3.77. , ut clausula similiter cadat, syllabis iisdem in ultimam partem collatis: ὁμοιοτέλευτον vocant similem duarum sententiarum vel plurium finem: modo ad salutem eius exstinguendam, sed etiam gloriam per tales viros infingendam. quibus fere fiunt, non tamen ut semper utique ultimis consonent, quae τρίκωλα dicuntur: pudorem libido, timorem audacia, rationem amentia. in quaternas quoque ac plures haec ratio ire sententias potest. etiam singulis verbis: Hecuba hoc dolet, pudet, piget; et, excessit, erupit, evasit.
3.78. In the third form the correspondence is produced by the use of similar cases; it is known as ὁμοιόπτωτον But this name, though it implies a certain similarity, does not necessarily involve identity in termination, since it means no more than similarity of case, irrespective of the fact that words may be differently declined, and does not always occur at the end of a sentence; the correspondence may occur at the beginning, middle or end of clauses, or may be varied so that the middle of one clause corresponds with the beginning of another and the end with the middle: in fact, any arrangement of correspondences is permissible.
3.78. est, quod in eosdem casus cadit, ὁμοιόπτωτον dicitur. neque, quod finem habet similem, utique in eundem venit finem ὁμοιόπτωτον, quia ὁμοιόπτωτον est tantum casu simile, etiamsi dissimilia sint quae declinentur; nec tantum in fine deprehenditur, sed respondentibus vel primis inter se vel mediis vel extremis vel etiam permutatis his, ut media primis et summa mediis accommodentur, et quocunque modo accommodari potest.
3.79. Nor need the words which correspond consist of the same number of syllables. For example, we find the following sentence in Domitius Afer: Amisso nuper infelicis aulae, si non praesidio inter pericula, tamen solacio inter adversa. The best form of this figure is that in which the beginnings and ends of the clauses correspond (as in this case praesidio corresponds with solacio and pericula with adversa ), in such a way that there is a close resemblance between the words, while cadence and termination are virtually identical.
3.79. enim semper paribus syllabis constat, ut est apud Afrum, nuper infelicis aulae si non praesidio inter pericula tamen solacio inter adversa. fere videntur optima, in quibus initia sententiarum et fines, consentiunt, ut hic praesidio solacio, pericula adversa, paene ut similia sint verbis et paribus cadant et eodem modo desinant.
3.80. It is also desirable that the clauses should be of equal length, although as a matter of fact this forms the fourth figure of this class, and is known as ἰσόκωλον The following will serve as an example, being both ἰσόκωλον and ὁμοιόπτωτον: Si, quantum in agro locisque desertis audacia potest, tantum in foro atque iudiciis impudentia valeret; continuing, it combines ἰσόκωλον, ὁμοιόπτωτον, and ὁμοιοτέλευτον.:—non minus nunc in causa cederet Aulus Caecina Sexti Aebutii imnpudentiae, quam turn in vi facienda cessit audaciae. This passage derives an additional elegance from the figure which I mentioned above as consisting in the repetition of words with an alteration of case, tense, mood, etc., to be found in this instance in the words non minus cederet quam cessit. The following, on the other hand, combines homoeoteleuton and paronomasia: Neminem alteri posse dare in matrinonium, nisi penes quem sit patrimonium.
3.80. ut sint, quod est quartum, membris aequalibus, quod ἰσόκωλον dicitur:, quantum in agro locisque desertis audacia potest, tantum in foro atque iudiciis impudentia valeret ἰσόκωλον est et ὁμοιόπτωτον habet; non minus nunc in causa cederet Aulus Caecina Sexti Aebutii impudentiae, quam tum in vi facienda cessit audaciae, ἰσόκωλον, ὁμοιόπτωτον, ὁμοιοτέλευτον. et ex illa figura gratia, qua nomina dixi mutatis casibus repeti: minus cederet quam cessit. hoc ὁμοιοτέλευτον et παρονομασία est: alteri posse dare in matrimonium, nisi penes quem sit patrimonium.
3.81. Antithesis, which Roman writers call either contrapositum or contentio, may be effected in more than one way. Single words may be contrasted with single, as in the passage recently quoted, Vicit pudorem libido, timorem audacia, or the contrast may be between pairs of words, as in non nostri ingenii, vestri auxilii est, or sentence may be contrasted with sentence, as in dominetur in contionibus, iaceat in iudiciis.
3.81. autem vel, ut quidam vocant, contentio ( ἀντίθετον dicitur) non uno fit modo. et fit, si singula singulis opponuntur, ut in eo quod modo dixi, pudorem libido, timorem audacia, et bina binis: nostri ingenii, vestri auxilii est, et sententiae sententiis: in contionibus, iaceat in iudiciis.
3.82. Next to this another form may appropriately be placed, namely that which we have styled distinction and of which the following is an example: Odit populus Romanus privaiam luxuriam, publicam magoificentiam diligit. The same is true of the figure by which words of similar termination, but of different meaning are placed at the end of corresponding clauses, as in ut quod in tempore mali fuit, nihil obsit, quod in causa boni fruit, prosit.
3.82. commodissime subiungitur et ea species, quam distinctionem diximus: populus Romanus privatam luxuriam, publicam magnificentiam diligit; et, quae sunt simili casu, dissimili sententia in ultimo locata: quod in tempore mali fuit, nihil obsit, quod in causa boni fuit, prosit.
3.83. Nor is the contrasted phrase always placed immediately after that to which it is opposed, as it is in the following instance: est igitur haec, indices, non scripta, sed nala lex: but, as Cicero says, we may have correspondence between subsequent particulars and others previously mentioned, as in the passage which immediately follows that just quoted: quam non didicimus, accepimus, leginmus, verum ex natura ipsa arrptluimus, hauusimus, epressimus.
3.83. semper contrapositum subiungitur, ut in hoc, igitur, haec iudices, non scripta sed nata lex, verum, sicut Cicero dicit, de singulis rebus propositis refertur ad singula, ut in eo quod sequitur, non didicimus, accepimus, legimus, verum ex natura ipsa arripuimus, hausimus, expressimus.
3.84. Again the contrast is not always expressed antithetically, as is shown by the following passage from Rutilius: nobis primis dii immortales fruges dedelunt, nos, quod soli accepimus, in omnes terras distribuimus.
3.84. semper, quod adversum est, contra ponitur, quale est apud Rutilium, primis dii immortales fruges dederunt; nos, quod soli accepimus, in omnes terras distribuimus.
3.85. Antithesis may also be effected by employing that figure, known as ἀντιμεταβολή by which words are repeated in different cases, tenses, moods, etc., as for instance when we say, non ut edam, vivo, sed ut vivam, edo (I do not live to eat, but eat to live). There is an instance of this in Cicero, where he has managed, while changing the case, to secure similarity of termination: ut et sine inridia culpa plectatur et sine culpa invidia ponatur.
3.85. etiam adsumpta illa figura, qua verba declinata repetuntur, quod ἀντιμεταβολή dicitur:, ut edam, vivo, sed, ut vivam, edo. quod apud Ciceronem conversum ita est, ut, cum mutationem casus habeat, etiam similiter desinat: et sine invidia culpa plectatur et sine culpa invidia ponatur.
3.86. Again the clauses may end with the same word, as when Cicero says of Sextus Roscius: etenim cum artifex eiusmodi est ut solus videatur dignus qui in scena spectetur, turn vir eiusmodi est ut solus dignus esse videatur qui eo non accedat. There is also a special elegance which may be secured by placing names in antithesis, as in the following instance, Si consul Antonius, Brutus hostis; si conservator rei publicae Brutus, hostis Antonius.
3.86. eodem cluditur verbo: ut quod dicit de se. Roscio,, cum artifex eiusmodi est, ut solus videatur dignus qui in scena, spectetur, tum vir eiusmodi est, ut solus dignus esse videatur, qui eo non accedat. et in nominibus ex diverso collocatis sua gratia: consul Antonius, Brutus hostis; si conservator rei publicae Brutus, hostis Antonius.
3.87. I have already said more than was necessary on the subject of figures. But there will still be some who think that the following (which they call ἀνθυποφορὰ is a figure: Incredibile est, quod dico, sed verum: they say the same of Aliquis hoc semel tubit, neno bis, ego ter (which they style διέξοδος ), and of Longius evects sum, sed redeo ad propositumr, which they call ἄφοδος.
3.87. plura de figuris quam necesse erat, et adhuc erunt, qui putent esse figuram: est, ( quod dico, sed verum; ἀνθυποφοράν vocant; et hoc semel tulit, nemo bis, ego ter, διέξοδον et evectus sum sed redeo ad propositum, ἄφοδον.
3.88. There are some figures of speech which differ little from figures of thought, as for example that of hesitation. For when we hesitate over a thing, it belongs to the former class, whereas when we hesitate over a word, it must be assigned to the latter, as for instance if we say, “I do not know whether to call this wickedness or folly.”
3.88. verborum figurae paulum figuris sententiarum declinantur, ut dubitatio. cum est in re, priori parti adsignanda est, cum in verbo, sequenti; me malitiam sive stultitiam dicere oportet.
3.89. The same consideration applies to correction. For correction emends, where hesitation expresses a doubt. Some have even held that it applies to personification as well; they think, for example, that Avarice is the mother of cruelly, Sallust's O Romulus of Arpinum in his speech against Cicero, and the Thriasian Oedipus of Menander are figures of speech. All these points have been discussed in full detail by those who have not given this subject merely incidental treatment as a portion of a larger theme, but have devoted whole books to the discussion of the topic: I allude to writers such as Caecilius, Dionysius, Rutilius, Cornificius, Visellius and not a few others, although there are living authors who will be no less famous than they.
3.89. correctionis eadem ratio est; nam quod illic dubitat, hic emendat. in personae fictione accidere quidam idem putaverunt, ut in verbis esset haec figura: mater est avaritia, et apud Sallustium in Ciceronem O Romule Arpinas, et apud Menandrum Oedipus Thriasius. omnia copiosius sunt exsecuti, qui non ut partem operis transcurrerunt, sed proprie libros huic operi dedicaverunt, sicut Caecilius, Dionysius, Rutilius, Cornificius, Visellius aliique non pauci; sed non minor erit eorum, qui vivunt, gloria.
3.90. Now though I am ready to admit that more figures of speech may perhaps be discovered by certain writers, I cannot agree that such figures are better than those which have been laid down by high authorities. Above all I would point out that Cicero has included a number of figures in the third book of the de Oratore, which in his later work, the Orator, he has omitted, thereby seeming to indicate that he condemned them. Some of these are figures of thought rather than of speech, such as meiosis, the introduction of the unexpected, imagery, answering our own questions, digression, permission, arguments drawn from opposites (for I suppose that by contrarium he means what is elsewhere styled ἐναντιότης ), and proof borrowed from an opponent. There are some again which are not figures at all, such as arrangement, distinction by headings, and circumscription, whether this latter term be intended to signify the concise expression of thought or definition, which is actually regarded by Cornificius and Rutilius as a figure of speech.
3.90. fateor autem verborum quoque figuras posse plures reperiri a quibusdam, ita iis, quae ab auctoribus claris traduntur, meliores non adsentior. in primis M. Tullius multas in tertio De Oratore libro posuit, quas in Oratore postea scripto transeundo videtur ipse damnasse; quarum pars est, quae sententiarum potius quam uerborum sit: ut imminutio, improvisum, imago, sibi ipsi responsio, digressio, permissio, contrarium (hoc enim puto, quod dicitur ἐναντιότης ), sumpta ex adverso probatio.
3.91. With regard to the elegant transposition of words, that is, hyperbaton, which Caecilius also thinks is a figure, I have included it among tropes. As for mutation of the kind which Rutilius calls ἀλλοίωσις its function is to point out the differences between men, things and deeds: if it is used on an extended scale, it is not a figure, if on a narrower scale, it is mere antithesis, while if it is intended to mean hypallage, enough has already been said on the subject.
3.91. omnino non sunt figurae, sicut ordo, dinumeratio, circumscriptio, sive hoc nomine significatur comprehensa breviter sententia sive finitio; nam et hoc Cornificius atque Rutilius schema λέξεως putant. autem concinna transgressio, id est hyperbaton, quod Caecilius quoque putat schema, a nobis est inter tropos posita. mutatio, si ea est, quam Rutilius ἀλλοίωσιν vocat, dissimilitudinem ostendit horminum, rerum, factorum; quae si latius fiat, figura non est, si angustius, in ἀντίθετον cadet; si vero haec appellatio significat ὑπαλλαγήν, satis de ea dictum est.
3.93. Again what sort of a figure is this addition of a reason, for what is advanced, which Rutilius calls αἰτιολογία? It may also be doubted whether the assignment of a reason for each distinct statement, with which Rutilius opens his discussion of figures, is really a figure.
3.93. vero schema est ad propositum subiecta ratio, quod Rutilius αἰτιολογίαν vocat? nam de illo dubitari possit, an schema sit distributis subiecta ratio, quod apud eundem primo loco positum est.
3.94. He calls it προσαπόδοσις and states that strictly it applies to a number of propositions, since the reason is either attached to each proposition separately, as in the following passage from Gaius Antonius: “But I do not fear him as an accuser, for I am innocent; I do not dread him as a rival candidate, for I am Antonius; I do not expect to see him consul, for he is Cicero ”;
3.94. προσαπόδοσιν dicit, quae, ut maxime, servetur sane in pluribus propositis, quia aut singulis statim ratio subiiciatur, ut est apud C. Antonium, neque accusatorem eum metuo, quod sum innocens; neque competitorem vereor, quod sum Antonius; neque consulem spero, quod est Cicero;
3.95. or, after two or three propositions have been stated, the reasons for them may be given continuously in the same order, as for example in the words that Brutus uses of Gnaeus Pompeius: “For it is better to rule no man than to be the slave to any man: since one may live with honour without ruling, whereas life is no life for the slave.”
3.95. aut positis duobus vel tribus eodem ordine singulis continua reddatur, quale apud Brutum de dictatura Cn. Pompeii, enim nemini imperare quam alicui servire; sine illo enim vivere honeste licet, cum hoc vivendi nulla condicio est.
3.96. But a number of reasons may also be assigned for one statement, as in the lines of Virgil:Whether that earth there from some hidden strengthAnd fattening food derives, or that the tireBakes every blemish out, etc.Or that the heat unlocks new passages....Or that it hardens more, etc.As to what Cicero means by reference, I am in the dark: if he means ἀνάκλασις or ἐπάνοδος or ἀντιμεταβολή, I have already discussed them.
3.96. et uni rei multiplex ratio subiungitur, ut apud Vergilium,inde occultas vires et pabula terraeconcipiunt, sive illis omne per ignemvitium—et totus locus;plures calor ille vias,—Seu durat magis.Relationem quid accipi velit, non liquet mihi.
3.97. But whatever its meaning may be, he does not mention it in the Orator any more than the other terms I have just mentioned. The only figure of speech mentioned in that work, which I should prefer to regard as a figure of thought owing to its emotional character, is exclamation. I agree with him about all the rest. To these Caecilius adds periphrasis, of which I have already spoken,5 while Cornificius adds interrogation, reasoning, suggestion, transition, concealment, and further, sentence, clause, isolated words, interpretation and conclusion.
3.97. si ἀνάκλασιν aut ἐπάνοδον dicit, de omnibus locuti sumus. quidquid id est, neque hoc neque superiora in Oratore repetit. est in eo libro posita pariter inter figuras uerborum exclamatio, quam sententiae potius puto (adfectus enim est), de ceteris omnibus consentio.
3.98. Of these the first (down to and including concealment) are figures of thought, while the remainder are not figures at all. Rutilius also in addition to the figures found in other authors adds, παρομολογία ἀναγκαῖον ἠθοποιΐα δικαιολογία, πρόληψις, χαρακτηρισμός βραχυλογία, παρασιώπησις παῤῥησία of which I say the same. I will pass by those authors who set no limit to their craze for inventing technical terms and even include among figures what really comes under the head of arguments. With regard to genuine figures, I would briefly add that, while, suitably placed, they are a real ornament to style, they become perfectly fatuous when sought after overmuch. There are some who pay no consideration to the weight of their matter or the force of their thoughts and think themselves supreme artists, if only they succeed in forcing even the emptiest of words into figurative form, with the result that they are never tired of stringing figures together, despite the fact that it is as ridiculous to hunt for figures without reference to the matter as it is to discuss dress and gesture without reference to the body.
3.98. his Caecilius περίφρασιν, de qua dixi; Cornificius interrogationem, ratiocinationem, subiectionem, transitionem, occultationem, praeterea sententiam, membrum, articulos, interpretationem, conclusionem. priora alterius generis sunt schemata, sequentia schemata omnino non sunt. Rutilius praeter ea, quae apud alios quoque sunt, παρομολογίαν, ἀναγκαῖον, ἠθοποιίαν, δικαιολογίαν, πρόλημψιν, χαρακτηρισμόν, βραχυλογίαν, παρασιώπησιν, παῤῥησίαν de quibus idem dico. eos quidem auctores, qui nullum prope tinem fecerunt exquirendis nominibus, praeteribo, qui etiam, quae sunt argumentorum, figuris ascripserunt. illud de iis etiam, quae vere sunt, adiiciam breviter, sicut ornent orationem opportune positae, ita ineptissimas esse, cum immodice petantur. qui neglecto rerum pondere et viribus sententiarum, si vel inania verba in hos modos depravarunt, summos se iudicent artifices ideoque non desinant eas nectere, quas sine substantia sectari tam est ridiculum quam quaerere habitum gestumque sine corpore.
3.101. But even perfectly correct figures must not be packed too closely together. Changes of facial expression and glances of the eyes are most effective in pleading, but if the orator never ceases to distort his face with affected grimaces or to wag his head and roll his eyes, he becomes a laughing-stock. So too oratory possesses a natural mien, which while it is far from demanding a stolid and immovable rigidity should as far as possible restrict itself to the expression with which it is endowed by nature.
3.101. ne eae quidem, quae recte fiunt, densandae sunt nimis; nam et vultus mutatio oculorumque coniectus multum in actu valet; sed si quis ducere os exquisitis modis et frontis ac luminum inconstantia trepidare non desinat, rideatur. oratio habet rectam quandam velut faciem, quae ut stupere immobili rigore non debebit, ita saepius in ea, quam natura dedit, specie continenda est.
3.102. But it is of the first importance that we should know what are the requirements of time, place and character on each occasion of speaking. For the majority of these figures aim at delighting the hearer. But when terror, hatred and pity are the weapons called for in the fray, who will endure the orator who expresses his anger, his sorrow or his entreaties in neat antitheses, balanced cadences and exact correspondences? Too much care for our words under such circumstances weakens the impression of emotional sincerity, and wherever the orator displays his art unveiled, the hearer says, “The truth is not in him.”
3.102. vero in primis, quid quisque in orando postulet locus, quid persona, quid tempus; maior enim pars harum figurarum posita est in delectatione. vero atrocitate, invidia, miseratione pugnandum est, quis ferat contrapositis et pariter cadentibus et consimilibus irascentem, flentem, rogantem cum in his rebus cura uerborum deroget adfectibus fidem et ubicunque ars ostentatur, veritas abesse videatur.
4.1. IV. I should not venture to speak of artistic structure after what Cicero has said upon the subject (for there is I think no topic to which he has devoted such elaborate discussion) but for the fact that his own contemporaries ventured to traverse his theories on this subject even in letters which they addressed to him, while a number of later writers have left on record numerous observations on the same topic.
4.1. compositione non equidem post M. Tullium scribere auderem (cui nescio an ulla pars operis huius sit magis elaborata), nisi et eiusdem aetatis homines scriptis ad ipsum etiam litteris reprehendere id collocandi genus ausi fuissent, et post eum plures multa ad eandem rem pertinentia memoriae tradidissent.
4.2. Accordingly on a large number of questions I shall be found in agreement with Cicero and shall deal more briefly with those points which admit of no dispute, while there will be certain subjects on which I shall express a certain amount of disagreement. For, though I intend to make my own views clear, I shall leave my readers free to hold their own opinion.
4.2. accedam ut plerisque Ciceroni atque ut iis ero, quae indubitata sunt, brevior, ut quibusdam paulum fortasse dissentiam. etiam cum iudicium meum ostendero, suum tamen legentibus relinquam.
4.3. I am well aware that there are certain writers who would absolutely bar all study of artistic structure and contend that language as it chances to present itself in the rough is more natural and even more manly. If by this they mean that only that is natural which originated with nature and has never received any subsequent cultivation, there is an end to the whole art of oratory.
4.3. ignoro quosdam esse, qui curam omnem compositionis excludant, atque illum horridum sermonem, ut forte fluxerit, modo magis naturalem, modo etiam magis virilem esse contendant. si id demum naturale esse dicunt, quod natura primum ortum est et quale ante cultum fuit, tota haec ars orandi subvertitur.
4.4. For the first men did not speak with the care demanded by that art nor in accordance with the rules that it lays down. They knew nothing of introducing their case by means of an exordium, of instructing the jury by a statement of facts, of proving by argument or of arousing the emotions. They lacked all these qualifications as completely as they lacked all knowledge of the theory of artistic structure. But if they were to be forbidden all progress in this respect, they ought equally to have been forbidden to exchange their huts for houses, their cloaks of skin for civilised raiment and their mountains and forests for cities.
4.4. enim locuti sunt ad hanc regulam et diligentiam primi homines, nec prooemiis praeparare, docere expositione, argumentis probate, adfectibus commovere scierunt. his omnibus, non sola compositione caruerunt; quorum si fieri nihil melius licebat, ne domibus quidem casas aut vestibus pellium tegmina aut urbibus montes ac silvas mutari oportuit.
4.5. What art was ever born fullgrown? What does not ripen with cultivation? Why do we train the vine? Why dig it? We clear the fields of brambles, and they too are natural products of the soil. We tame animals, and yet they are born wild. No, that which is most natural is that which nature permits to be done to the greatest perfection.
4.5. porro ars statim fuit? quid non cultu mitescit? cur vites coercemus manu? cur eas fodimus? rubos arvis excidimus, terra et hos generat; mansuefacimus animalia, indomita nascuntur. id est maxime naturale, quod fieri natura optime patitur.
4.6. How can a style which lacks orderly structure be stronger than one that is welded together and artistically arranged? It must not be regarded as the fault of the study of structure that the employment of feet consisting of short syllables such as characterise the Sotadean and Galliambic metres and certain prose rhythms closely resembling them in wildness, weakens the force of our matter.
4.6. vero qui incompositum potest esse quam vinctum et bene collocatum?, si parvi pedes vim detrahunt rebus, ut Sotadeorum et Galliamborum et quorundam ut oratione simili paene licentia lascivientium, compositionis est iudicandum.
4.7. Just as river-currents are more violent when they run along a sloping bed, that presents no obstacles to check their course, than when their waters are broken and baffled by rocks that obstruct the channel, so a style which flows in a continuous stream with all the full development of its force is better than one which is rough and broken. Why then should it be thought that polish is inevitably prejudicial to vigour, when the truth is that nothing can attain its full strength without the assistance of art, and that art is always productive of beauty?
4.7. quanto vehementior fluminum cursus est prono alveo ac nullas moras obiiciente quam inter obstantia saxa fractis aquis ac reluctantibus, tanto, quae connexa est et totis viribus fluit, fragosa atque interrupta melior oratio. ergo vires ipsa specie solvi putent, quando res nec ulla sine arte satis valeat et comitetur semper artem decor?
4.8. Is it not the fact that grace always goes with the highest skill in throwing the spear, and that the truer the archer's aim, the more comely is his attitude? Again in fencing and all the contests of the wrestling school, what one of all the tricks of attack and defence is there, that does not require movements and firmness of foot such as can only be acquired by art?
4.8. non eam, quae missa optime est, hastam speciosissime contortam ferri videmus, et arcu dirigentium tela quo certior manus, hoc est habitus ipse formosior? ut certamine armorum atque ut omni palaestra quid satis recte cavetur ac petitur, cui non artifex motus et certi quidam pedes adsint?
4.9. Consequently in my opinion artistic structure gives force and direction to our thoughts just as the throwing-thong and the bowstring do to the spear and the arrow. And for this reason all the best scholars are convinced that the study of structure is of the utmost value, not merely for charming the ear, but for stirring the soul.
4.9. mihi compositione velut amentis quibusdam nervisve intendi et concitari sententiae videntur. eruditissimo cuique persuasum est, valere eam plurimum non ad delectationem modo sed ad motum quoque animorum, primum quia nihil intrare potest ut adfectus, quod ut aure velut quodam vestibulo statim offendit;
4.10. For in the first place nothing can penetrate to the emotions that stumbles at the portals of the ear, and secondly man is naturally attracted by harmonious sounds. Otherwise it would not be the case that musical instruments, in spite of the fact that their sounds are inarticulate, still succeed in exciting a variety of different emotions in the hearer.
4.10. deinde quod natura ducimur ad modos. enim aliter eveniret, ut illi quoque organorum soni, quanquam verba non exprimunt, ut alios tamen atque alios motus ducerent auditorem.
4.11. In the sacred games different methods are employed to excite and calm the soul, different melodies are required for the war-song and the entreaty sung by the suppliant on bended knee, while the war-note of the trumpet that leads the army forth to battle has no resemblance to the call that sounds the retreat.
4.11. certaminibus sacris non eadem ratione concitant animos ac remittunt, non eosdem modos adhibent, cum bellicum est canendum et cum posito genu supplicandum est; nec idem signorum concentus est procedente ad proelium exercitu, idem receptui carmen.
4.12. It was the undoubted custom of the Pythagoreans, when they woke from slumber, to rouse their souls with the music of the lyre, that they might be more alert for action, and before they retired to rest, to soothe their minds by melodies from the same instrument, in order that all restlessness of thought might be lulled to orderly repose.
4.12. Pythagoreis certe moris fuit, et cum evigilassent, animos ad lyram excitare, quo essent ad agendum erectiores, et cum somnum peterent, ad eandem prius lenire mentes, ut, si quid fuisset turbidiorum cogitationum, componerent.