10.7. so too dumb insects produce honey, whose taste is beyond the skill of man to imitate, from different kinds of flowers and juices. Shall we marvel then, if oratory, the highest gift of providence to man, needs the assistance of many arts, which, although they do not reveal or intrude themselves in actual speaking, supply hidden forces and make their silent presence felt?
10.7. et nuta animalia mellis illum inimitabilem humanae rationi saporem vario florum ac sucorum genere perficiunt: nos mirabimur, si oratio, qua nihil praestantius homini dedit providentia, pluribus artibus egeat, quae, etiam cum se non ostendunt in dicendo nec proferunt, vim tamen occultam suggerunt et tacitae quoque sentiuntur? aliquis sine iis disertus:
10.8. “But” it will be urged “men have proved fluent without their aid.” Granted, but I am in quest of an orator. “Their contribution is but small.” Yes, but we shall never attain completeness, if minor details be lacking. And it will be agreed that though our ideal of perfection may dwell on a height that is hard to gain, it is our duty to teach all we know, that achievement may at least come somewhat nearer the goal. But why should our courage fail? The perfect orator is not contrary to the laws of nature, and it is cowardly to despair of anything that is within the bounds of possibility. For myself I should be ready to accept the verdict of antiquity.
10.8. sed ego oratorem volo. multum adiiciunt: sed aeque non erit totum, cui vel parva deerunt; et optimum quidem hoc esse conveniet; cuius etiamsi in arduo spes est, nos tamen praecipiamus omnia, ut saltem plura fiant. cur deficiat animus? enim perfectum oratorem esse non prohibet, turpiterque desperatur quidquid fieri potest. ego vel iudicio veterum poteram esse contentus.
10.9. Who is ignorant of the fact that music, of which I will speak first, was in ancient times the object not merely of intense study but of veneration: in fact Orpheus and Linus, to mention no others, were regarded as uniting the roles of musician, poet and philosopher. Both were of divine origin, while the former, because by the marvel of his music he soothed the savage breast, is recorded to have drawn after him not merely beasts of the wild, but rocks and trees.
10.9. quis ignorat musicen (ut de hae primum loquar) tantum iam illis antiquis temporibus non studii modo verum etiam venerationis habuisse, ut iidem musici et vates et sapientes iudicarentur (mittam alios) Orpheus et Linus; quorum utrumque dis genitum, alterum vero, quia rudes quoque atque agrestes animos admiratione mulceret, non feras modo sed saxa etiam silvasque duxisse posteritatis memoriae traditum est.
10.10. So too Timagenes asserts that music is the oldest of the arts related to literature, a statement which is confirmed by the testimony of the greatest of poets in whose songs we read that the praise of heroes and of gods were sung to the music of the lyre at the feasts of kings. Does not lopas, the Vergilian bard, singThe wandering moon and labours of the Sunand the like? whereby the supreme poet manifests most clearly that music is united with the knowledge even of things divine.
10.10. et Timagenes auctor est, omnium in litteris studiorum antiquissimam musicen extitisse, et testimonio sunt clarissimi poetae, apud quos inter regalia convivia laudes heroum ac deorum ad citharam canebantur. lopas vero ille Vergilii nonne canit errantem lunam solisque labores et cetera? certe palam confirmat auctor eminentissimus, musicen cum divinarum etiam rerum cognitione esse coniunctam.
10.11. If this be admitted, music will be a necessity even for an orator, since those fields of knowledge, which were annexed by philosophy on their abandonment by oratory, once were ours and without the knowledge of all such things there can be no perfect eloquence.
10.11. si datur, erit etiam oratori necessaria, siquidem (ut diximus) haec quoque pars, quae ab oratoribus relicta a philosophis est occupata, nostri operis fuit, ac sine omnium talium scientia non potest esse perfecta eloquentia.
10.12. There can in any case be no doubt that some of those men whose wisdom is a household word have been earnest students of music: Pythagoras for instance and his followers popularised the belief, which they no doubt had received from earlier teachers, that the universe is constructed on the same principles which were afterwards imitated in the construction of the lyre, and not content merely with emphasising that concord of discordant elements which they style harmony attributed a sound to the motions of the celestial bodies.
10.12. claros nomine sapientiae viros, nemo dubitaverit, studiosos musices fuisse, cum Pythagoras atque eum secuti acceptam sine dubio antiquitus opinionem vulgaverint, mundum ipsum ratione esse compositum, quam postea sit lyra imitata, nec illa modo contenti dissimilium concordia, quam vocant ἁρμονίαν, sonum quoque iis motibus dederint.
10.13. As for Plato, there are certain passages in his works, more especially in the Timaeus, which are quite unintelligible to those who have not studied the theory of music. But why speak only of the philosophers, whose master, Socrates, did not blush to receive instruction in playing the lyre even when far advanced in years?
10.13. Plato, cum in aliis quibusdam tum praecipue in Timaeo, ne intelligi quidem nisi ab iis, qui hanc quoque partem disciplinae diligenter perceperint, potest. philosophis loquor, quorum fons ipse Socrates iam senex institui lyra non erubescebat?
10.14. It is recorded that the greatest generals played on the lyre and the pipe, and that the armies of Sparta were fired to martial ardour by the strains of music. And what else is the function of the horns and trumpets attached to our legions? The louder the concert of their notes, the greater is the glorious supremacy of our arms over all the nations of the earth.
10.14. maximos et fidibus et tibiis cecinisse traditum et exercitus Lacedaemoniorum musicis accensos modis. autem aliud in nostris legionibus cornua ac tubae faciunt? quorum concentus quanto est vehementior, tantum Romana in bellis gloria ceteris praestat.
10.15. It was not therefore without reason that Plato regarded the knowledge of music as necessary to his ideal statesman or politician, as he calls him; while the leaders even of that school, which in other respects is the strictest and most severe of all schools of philosophy, held that the wise man might well devote some of his attention to such studies. Lycurgus himself, the founder of the stern laws of Sparta, approved of the training supplied by music.
10.15. igitur frustra Plato civili viro, quem πολιτικὸν vocat, necessariam musicen credidit. eius sectae, quae aliis severissima aliis asperrima videtur, principes in hac fuere sententia, ut existimarent sapientium aliquos nonnullam operam his studiis accommodaturos. Lycurgus, durissimarum Lacedaemoniis legum auctor, musices disciplinam probavit.
10.16. Indeed nature itself seems to have given music as a boon to men to lighten the strain of labour: even the rower in the galleys is cheered to effort by song. Nor is this function of music confined to cases where the efforts of a number are given union by the sound of some sweet voice that sets the tune, but even solitary workers find solace at their toil in artless song.
10.16. eam natura ipsa videtur ad tolerandos facilius labores velut muneri nobis dedisse, si quidem et remigem cantus hortatur; nec solum in iis operibus, in quibus plurium conatus praeeunte aliqua iucunda voce conspirat, sed etiam singulorum fatigatio quamlibet se rudi modulatione solatur.
10.17. So far I have attempted merely to sound the praises of the noblest of arts without bringing it into connexion with the education of an orator. I will therefore pass by the fact that the art of letters and that of music were once united: indeed Archytas and Euenus held that the former was subordinate to the latter, while we know that the same instructors were employed for the teaching of both from Sophron, a writer of farces, it is true, but so highly esteemed by Plato, that he is believed to have had Sophron's works under his pillow on his deathbed:
10.17. adhuc dicere artis pulcherrimae videor, nondum eam tamen oratori coniungere. igitur id quoque, quod grammatice quondam ac musice iunctae fuerunt; siquidem Archytas atque Euenus etiam subiectam grammaticen musicae putaverunt, et eosdem utriusque rei praeceptores fuisse cum Sophron ostendit, mimorum quidem scriptor sed quem Plato adeo probavit, ut suppositos capiti libros eius, cum moreretur, habuisse credatur, tum Eupolis, apud quem Prodamus et musicen et litteras docet, et Maricas, qui est Hyperbolus, nihil se ex musice scire nisi litteras confitetur.
10.18. the same fact is proved by the case of Eupolis, who makes Prodamus teach both music and literature, and whose Maricas, who was none other than Hyperbolus in disguise, asserts that he knows nothing of music but letters. Aristophanes again in more than one of his plays shows that boys were trained in music from remote antiquity, while in the Hypobolimaeus of Menander an old man, when a father claims his son from him, gives an account of all expenses incurred on behalf of the boy's education and states that he has paid out large sums to musicians and geometricians.
10.18. Aristophanes quoque non uno libro sic institui pueros antiquitus solitos esse demonstrat, et apud Menandrum in Hypobolimaeo senex, qui reposcenti filium patri velut rationem impendiorum, quae in educationem contulerit, exponens, psaltis se et geometris multa dicit dedisse.
10.19. From the importance thus given to music also originated the custom of taking a lyre round the company after dinner, and when on such an occasion Themistocles confessed that he could not play, his education was (to quote the words of Cicero) “regarded as imperfect.”
10.19. etiam ille mos, ut in conviviis post cenam circumferretur lyra; cuius cum se imperitum Themistocles confessus esset ut verbis Ciceronis utar, est habitus indoctior.
10.20. Even at the banquets of our own forefathers it was the custom to introduce the pipe and lyre, and even the hymn of the Salii has its tune. These practices were instituted by King Numa and clearly prove that not even those whom we regard as rude warriors, neglected the study of music, at least in so far as the resources of that age allowed.
10.20. veterum quoque Romanorum epulis fides ac tibias adhibere moris fuit. quoque Saliorum habent carmen. cum omnia sint a Numa rege instituta, faciunt manifestum, ne illis quidem, qui rudes ac bellicosi videntur, cura musices, quantum illa recipiebat aetas, defuisse.
10.21. Finally there was actually a proverb among the Greeks, that the uneducated were far from the company of the Muses and Graces.
10.21. in proverbium usque Graecorum celebratum est, indoctos a Musis atque a Gratiis abesse.
10.22. But let us discuss the advantages which our future orator may reasonably expect to derive from the study of Music. Music has two modes of expression in the voice and in the body; for both voice and body require to be controlled by appropriate rules. Aristoxenus divides music, in so far as it concerns the voice, into rhythm and melody, the one consisting in measure, the latter in sound and song. Now I ask you whether it is not absolutely necessary for the orator to be acquainted with all these methods of expression which are concerned firstly with gesture, secondly with the arrangement of words and thirdly with the inflexions of the voice, of which a great variety are required in pleading.
10.22. quid ex ea proprie petat futurus orator, disseramus. musice duplices habet in vocibus et in corpore, utriusque enim rei aptus quidam modus desideratur. rationem Aristoxenus musicus dividit in ῥυθμόν et μέλος, quorum alterum modulatione, alterum canore ac sonis constat. igitur non haec omnia oratori necessaria? quorum unum ad gestum, alterum ad collocationem verborum, tertium ad flexus vocis, qui sunt in agendo quoque plurimi, pertinet:
10.23. Otherwise we must assume that structure and the euphonious combination of sounds are necessary only for poetry, lyric and otherwise, but superfluous in pleading, or that unlike music, oratory has no interest in the variation of arrangement and sound to suit the demands of the case.
10.23. nisi forte in carminibus tantum et in canticis exigitur structura quaedam et inoffensa copulatio vocum, in agendo supervacua est; aut non compositio et sonus in oratione quoque varie pro rerum modo adhibetur sicut in musice.
10.24. But eloquence does vary both tone and rhythm, expressing sublime thoughts with elevation, pleasing thoughts with sweetness, and ordinary with gentle utterance, and in every expression of its art is in sympathy with the emotions of which it is the mouthpiece.
10.24. et voce et modulatione grandia elate, iucunda dulciter, moderata leniter canit, totaque arte consentit cum eorum quae dicuntur adfectibus.
10.25. It is by the raising, lowering or inflexion of the voice that the orator stirs the emotions of his hearers, and the measure, if I may repeat the term, of voice or phrase differs according as we wish to rouse the indignation or the pity of the judge. For, as we know, different emotions are roused even by the various musical instruments, which are incapable of reproducing speech.
10.25. in orando quoque intentio vocis, remissio, flexus pertinet ad movendos audientium adfectus, aliaque et collocationis et vocis (ut eodem utar verbo) modulatione concitationem iudicis, alia misericordiam petimus; cum etiam organis, quibus sermo exprimi non potest, adfici animos in diversum habitum sentiamus.
10.26. Further the motion of the body must be suitable and becoming, or as the Greeks call it eurythmic, and this can only be secured by the study of music. This is a most important department of eloquence, and will receive separate treatment in this work.
10.26. Corporis quoque aptus et decens motus, qui dicitur εὐρυθμία, et est necessarius nec aliunde peti potest; in quo pars actionis non minima consistit, qua de re sepositus nobis est locus.
10.27. To proceed, an orator will assuredly pay special attention to his voice, and what is so specially the concern of music as this? Here too I must not anticipate a later section of this work, and will content myself by citing the example of Gaius Gracchus, the leading orator of his age, who during his speeches had a musician standing behind him with a pitchpipe, or tonarion as the Greeks call it, whose duty it was to give him the tones in which his voice was to be pitched.
10.27. , non habebit imprimis curam vocis orator? tam musices proprium? ne haec quidem praesumenda pars est. interim contenti simus exemplo C. Gracchi, praecipui suorum temporum oratoris, cui contionanti consistens post eum musicus fistula, quam τονάριον vocant, modos, quibus deberet intendi, monstrabat.
10.28. Such was the attention which he paid to this point even in the midst of his most turbulent speeches, when he was terrifying the patrician party and even when he had begun to fear their power. I should like for the benefit of the uninstructed, those “creatures of the heavier Muse,” as the saying is, to remove all doubts as to the value of music.
10.28. ei cura inter turbidissimas actiones vel terrenti optimates vel iam timenti fuit. propter quosdam imperitiores etiam crassiore, ut vocant, Musa dubitationem huius utilitatis eximere.
10.29. They will at any rate admit that the poets should be read by our future orator. But can they be read without some knowledge of music? Or if any of my critics be so blind as to have some doubts about other forms of poetry, can the lyric poets at any rate be read without such knowledge? If there were anything novel in my insistence on the study of music, I should have to treat the matter at greater length.
10.29. poetas certe legendos oratori futuro concesserint: num igitur hi sine musice? ac si quis tam caecus animi est, ut de allis dubitet, illos certe, qui carmina ad lyram composuerunt. diutius forent dicenda, si hoc studium velut novum praeciperem.
10.30. But in view of the fact that the study of music has, from those remote times when Chiron taught Achilles down to our own day, continued to be studied by all except those who have a hatred for any regular course of study, it would be a mistake to seem to cast any doubt upon its value by showing an excessive zeal in its defence.
10.30. vero antiquitus usque a Chirone atque Achille ad nostra tempora apud omnes, qui modo legitimam disciplinam non sint perosi, duraverit, non est committendum, ut illa dubia faciam defensionis sollicitudine.
10.31. It will, however, I think be sufficiently clear from the examples I have already quoted, what I regard as the value and the sphere of music in the training of an orator. Still I think I ought to be more emphatic than I have been in stating that the music which I desire to see taught is not our modern music, which has been emasculated by the lascivious melodies of our effeminate stage and has to no small extent destroyed such manly vigour as we still possessed. No, I refer to the music of old which was employed to sing the praises of brave men and was sung by the brave themselves. I will have none of your psalteries and viols, that are unfit even for the use of a modest girl. Give me the knowledge of the principles of music, which have power to excite or assuage the emotions of mankind.
10.31. autem satis iam ex ipsis, quibus sum modo usus, exemplis credam esse manifestum, quae mihi et quatenus musice placeat, apertius tamen profitendum puto, non hanc a me praecipi, quae nunc in scenis effeminata et impudicis modis fracta non ex parte minima, si quid in nobis virilis roboris manebat, excidit, sed qua laudes fortium canebantur, quaque ipsi fortes canebant; nec psalteria et spadicas, etiam virginibus prolis recusanda, sed cognitionem rationis, quae ad movendos leniendosque adfectus plurimum valet.
10.32. We are told that Pythagoras on one occasion, when some young men were led astray by their passions to commit an outrage on a respectable family, calmed them by ordering the piper to change her strain to a spondaic measure, while Chrysippus selects a special tune to be used by nurses to entice their little charges to sleep.
10.32. et Pythagoran accepimus concitatos ad vim pudicae domui adferendam iuvenes, iussa mutare in spondeum modos tibicina, composuisse; et Chrysippus etiam nutricum illi, quae adhibetur infantibus, adlectationi suum quoddam carmen assignat.
10.33. Further I may point out that among the fictitious themes employed in declamation is one, doing no little credit to its author's learning, in which it is supposed that a piper is accused of manslaughter because he had played a tune in the Phrygian mode as an accompaniment to a sacrifice, with the result that the person officiating went mad and flung himself over a precipice. If an orator is expected to declaim on such a theme as this, which cannot possibly be handled without some knowledge of music, how can my critics for all their prejudice fail to agree that music is a necessary element in the education of an orator?
10.33. etiam non inerudite ad declamandum ficta materia, in qua ponitur tibicen, qui sacrificanti Phrygium cecinerat, acto illo in insaniam et per praecipitia delato accusari, quod causa mortis extiterit; quae si dici debet ab oratore nec dici citra scientiam musices potest, quomodo non hanc quoque artem necessariam esse operi nostro vel iniqui consentient?
10.34. As regards geometry, it is granted that portions of this science are of value for the instruction of children: for admittedly it exercises their minds, sharpens their wits and generates quickness of perception. But it is considered that the value of geometry resides in the process of learning, and not as with other sciences in the knowledge thus acquired. Such is the general opinion.
10.34. geometria partem fatentur esse utilem teneris aetatibus. namque animos et acui ingenia et celeritatem percipiendi venire inde concedunt, sed prodesse eam non ut ceteras artes, cum perceptae sint, sed cum discatur, existimant: ea vulgaris opinio est.
10.35. But it is not without good reason that some of the greatest men have devoted special attention to this science. Geometry has two divisions; one is concerned with numbers, the other with figures. Now knowledge of the former is a necessity not merely to the orator, but to any one who has had even an elementary education. Such knowledge is frequently required in actual cases, in which a speaker is regarded as deficient in education, I will not say if he hesitates in making a calculation, but even if he contradicts the calculation which he states in words by making an uncertain or inappropriate gesture with his fingers. Again linear geometry is frequently required in cases, as in lawsuits about boundaries and measurements.
10.35. sine causa summi viri etiam impensam huic scientiae operam dederunt. cum sit geometria divisa in numeros atque formas, numerorum quidem notitia non oratori modo, sed cuicunque saltem primis litteris erudito necessaria est. causis vero vel frequentissime versari solet; in quibus actor, non dico, si circa summas trepidat, sed si digitorum saltem incerto aut indecoro gestu a computatione dissentit, iudicatur indoctus.
10.36. But geometry and oratory are related in a yet more important way than this. In the first place logical development is one of the necessities of geometry. And is it not equally a necessity for oratory? Geometry arrives at its conclusions from definite premises, and by arguing from what is certain proves what was previously uncertain. Is not this just what we do in speaking? Again are not the problems of geometry almost entirely solved by the syllogistic method, a fact which makes the majority assert that geometry bears a closer resemblance to logic than to rhetoric? But even the orator will sometimes, though rarely, prove his point by formal logic.
10.36. vero linearis ratio et ipsa quidem cadit frequenter in causas (nam de terminis mensurisque sunt lites), sed habet maiorem quandam aliam cum arte oratoria cognationem. primum ordo est geometriae necessarius; nonne et eloquentiae? prioribus geometria probat insequentia, ex certis incerta; nonne id in dicendo facimus?? illa propositarum quaestionum conclusio non fere tota constat syllogismis? quod plures invenias, qui dialecticae similem quam qui rhetoricae fateantur hanc artem. et orator etiamsi raro non tamen nunquam probabit dialectice.
10.38. For, if necessary, he will use the syllogism, and he will certainly make use of the enthymeme which is a rhetorical form of syllogism. Further the most absolute form of proof is that which is generally known as linear demonstration. And what is the aim of oratory if not proof?
10.38. et syllogismo, si res poscet, utetur et certe enthymemate, qui rhetoricus est syllogismus. probationum quae sunt potentissimae γραμμικαὶ ἀποδείξεις vulgo dicuntur: quid autem magis oratio quam probationem petit?
10.39. Again oratory sometimes detects falsehoods closely resembling the truth by the use of geometrical methods. An example of this may be found in connexion with numbers in the so-called pseudographs, a favourite amusement in our boyhood. But there are more important points to be considered. Who is there who would not accept the following proposition? “When the lines bounding two figures are equal in length, the areas contained within those lines are equal.” But this is false, for everything depends on the shape of the figure formed by these lines, and historians have been taken to task by geometricians for believing the time taken to circumnavigate an island to be a sufficient indication of its size.
10.39. quoque veris similia geometrica ratione deprehendit. hoc et in numeris per quasdam, quas ψευδογραφίας vocant, quibus pueri ludere solebamus. alia maiora sunt. quis non ita proponenti credat? locorum extremae lineae eandem mensuram colligunt, eorum spatium quoque, quod iis lineis continetur, par sit necesse est.
10.40. For the space enclosed is in proportion to the perfection of the figure. Consequently if the bounding line to which we have referred form a circle, the most perfect of all plane figures, it will contain a greater space than if the same length of line took the form of a square, while a square contains a greater space than a triangle having the same total perimeter, and an equilateral triangle than a scalene triangle.
10.40. id falsum est. plurimum refert, cuius sit formae ille circuitus; reprehensique a geometris sunt historici, qui magnitudinem insularum satis significari navigationis ambitu crediderunt. ut quaeque forma perfectissima ita capacissima est. illa circumcurrens linea si efficiet orbem, quae forma est in planis maxime perfecta, amplius spatium complectetur quam si quadratum paribus oris efficiat, rursus quadrata triangulis, triangula ipsa plus aequis lateribus quam inaequalibus.
10.42. But there are other points which perhaps present greater difficulty. I will take an example which is easy even for those who have no knowledge of geometry. There is scarcely anyone who does not know that the Roman acre is 240 feet long and 120 feet broad, and its total perimeter and the area enclosed can easily be calculated.
10.42. alia forsitan obscuriora; nos facillimum etiam imperitis sequamur experimentum. lugeri mensuram ducentos et quadraginta longitudinis pedes esse dimidioque in latitudinem patere, non fere quisquam est qui ignoret, et qui sit circuitus et quantum campi claudat, colligere expeditum.
10.43. But a square of 180 feet gives the same perimeter, yet contains a much larger area within its four sides. If the calculation prove irksome to any of my readers, he can learn the same truth by employing smaller numbers. Take a ten foot square: its perimeter is forty feet and it contains 100 square feet. But if the dimensions be fifteen feet by five, while the perimeter is the same, the area enclosed is less by a quarter.
10.43. centeni et octogeni in quamque partem pedes idem spatium extremitatis sed multo amplius clausae quattuor lineis areae faciunt. si computare quem piget, brevioribus numeris idem discat. deni in quadram pedes, quadraginta per oram, intra centum erunt. si quini deni per latera, quini in fronte sint, ex illo, quod amplectuntur, quartam deducent eodem circumductu.
10.44. On the other hand if we draw a parallelogram measuring nineteen feet by one, the number of square feet enclosed will be no greater than the number of linear feet making the actual length of the parallelogram, though the perimeter will be exactly as that of the figure which encloses an area of 100 square feet. Consequently the area enclosed by four lines will decrease in proportion as we depart from the form of a square.
10.44. vero porrecti utrinque undeviceni singulis distent, non plures intus quadratos habebunt, quam per quot longitudo ducetur; quae circumibit autem linea, eiusdem spatii erit, cuius ea quae centum continet. quidquid formae quadrati detraxeris, amplitudini quoque peribit.
10.45. It further follows that it is perfectly possible for the space enclosed to be less, though the perimeter be greater. This applies to plane figures only: for even one who is no mathematician can see that, when we have to consider hills or valleys, the extent of ground enclosed is greater than the sky over it.
10.45. etiam id fieri potest, ut maiore circuitu minor loci amplitudo claudatur. in planis. in collibus vallibusque etiam imperito patet plus soli esse quam caeli.
10.46. But geometry soars still higher to the consideration of the system of the universe: for by its calculations it demonstrates the fixed and ordained courses of the stars, and thereby we acquire the knowledge that all things are ruled by order and destiny, a consideration which may at times be of value to an orator.
10.46. quod se eadem geometria tollit ad rationem usque mundi? in qua, cum siderum certos constitutosque cursus numeris docet, discimus nihil esse inordinatum atque fortuitum; quod ipsum nonnunquam pertinere ad oratorem potest.
10.47. When Pericles dispelled the panic caused at Athens by the eclipse of the sun by explaining the causes of the phenomenon, or Sulpicius Gallus discoursed on the eclipse of the moon to the army of Lucius Paulus to prevent the soldiers being seized with terror at what they regarded as a portent sent by heaven, did not they discharge the function of an orator?
10.47. vero, cum Pericles Athenienses solis obscuratione territos redditis eius rei causis metu liberavit, aut cum Sulpicius ille Gallus in exercitu L. Paulli de lunae defectione disseruit, ne velut prodigio divinitus facto militum animi terrerentur, non videtur usus esse oratoris officio?
10.48. If Nicias had known this when he commanded in Sicily, he would not have shared the terror of his men nor lost the finest army that Athens ever placed in the field. Dion for instance when he came to Syracuse to overthrow the tyranny of Dionysius, was not frightened away by the occurrence of a similar phenomenon. However we are not concerned with the uses of geometry in war and need not dwell upon the fact that Archimedes singlehanded succeeded in appreciably prolonging the resistance of Syracuse when it was besieged.
10.48. si Nicias in Sicilia scisset, non eodem confusus metu pulcherrimum Atheniensium exercitum perdidisset; sicut Dion, cum ad destruendam Dionysii tyrannidem venit, non est tali casu deterritus. extra licet usus bellici, transeamusque, quod Archimedes unus obsidionem Syracusarum in longius traxit.
10.49. It will suffice for our purpose that there are a number of problems which it is difficult to solve in any other way, which are as a rule solved by these linear demonstrations, such as the method of division, section to infinity, and the ratio of increase in velocity. From this we may conclude that, if as we shall show in the next book an orator has to speak on every kind of subject, he can under no circumstances dispense with a knowledge of geometry.
10.49. utique iam proprium ad efficiendum quod intendimus, plurimas quaestiones, quibus difficilior alia ratione explicatio est, ut de ratione dividendi, de sectione in infinitum, de celeritate augenda, linearibus illis probationibus solvi solere; ut, si est oratori (quod proximus demonstrabit liber) de omnibus rebus dicendum, nullo modo sine geometria esse possit orator.
11.1. XI. The comic actor will also claim a certain amount of our attention, but only in so far as our future orator must be a master of the art of delivery. For I do not of course wish the boy, whom we are training to this end, to talk with the shrillness of a woman or in the tremulous accents of old age.
11.1. aliquid comoedo quoque, dum eatenus, qua pronuntiandi scientiam futurus orator desiderat. enim puerum, quem in hoc instituimus, aut femineae vocis exilitate frangi volo aut seniliter tremere.
11.2. Nor for that matter must he ape the vices of the drunkard, or copy the cringing manners of a slave, or learn to express the emotions of love, avarice or fear. Such accomplishments are not necessary to an orator and corrupt the mind, especially while it is still pliable and unformed. For repeated imitation passes into habit.
11.2. vitia ebrietatis effingat neque servili vernilitate imbuatur nec amoris, avaritiae, metus discat adfectum; quae neque oratori sunt necessaria et mentem, praecipue in aetate prima teneram adhuc et rudem, inficiunt.
11.3. Nor yet again must we adopt all the gestures and movements of the actor. Within certain limits the orator must be a master of both, but he must rigorously avoid staginess and all extravagance of facial expression, gesture and gait. For if an orator does command a certain art in such matters, its highest expression will be in the concealment of its existence. What then is the duty of the teacher whom we have borrowed from the stage?
11.3. frequens imitatio transit in mores. gestus quidem omnis ac motus a comoedis petendus est. enim utrumque eorum ad quendam modum praestare debet orator, plurimum tamen aberit a scenico, nec vultu nec manu nec excursionibus nimius. si qua in his ars est dicentium, ea prima est, ne ars esse videatur.
11.4. In the first place he must correct all faults of pronunciation, and see that the utterance is distinct, and that each letter has its proper sound. There is an unfortunate tendency in the case of some letters to pronounce them either too thinly or too fully, while some we find too harsh and fail to pronounce sufficiently, substituting others whose sound is similar but somewhat duller.
11.4. est igitur huius doctoris officium? primis vitia si qua sunt oris emendet, ut expressa sint verba, ut suis quaeque litterae sonis enuntientur. enim vel exilitate vel pinguitudine nimia laboramus, quasdam velut acriores parum efficimus et aliis non dissimilibus sed quasi hebetioribus permutamus.
11.5. For instance, lambda is substituted for rho, a letter which was always a stumbling-block to Demosthenes; our l and r have of course the same value. Similarly when c and g are not given their full value, they are softened into t and d.
11.5. et Rho litterae, qua Demosthenes quoque laboravit, Labda succedit (quarum vis est apud nos quoque); et cum c ac similiter g non evaluerunt, in t ac d molliuntur.
11.6. Again our teacher must not tolerate the affected pronunciation of s with which we are painfully familiar, nor suffer words to be uttered from the depths of the throat or rolled out hollow-mouthed, or permit the natural sound of the voice to be over-laid with a fuller sound, a fault fatal to purity of speech; the Greeks give this peculiarity the name καταπεπλασμένον (plastered over), a term applied to the tone produced by a pipe, when the stops which produce the treble notes are closed, and a bass note is produced through the main aperture only.
11.6. illas quidem circa s litteram delicias hic magister feret, nec verba in faucibus patietur audiri nec oris inanitate resonare nec, quod minime sermoni puro conveniat, simplicem vocis naturam pleniore quodam sono circumliniri, quod Graeci καταπεπλασμένον dicunt. appellatur cantus tibiarum, quae praeclusis quibus clarescunt foraminibus, recto modo exitu graviorem spiritum reddunt.
11.8. He will also see that final syllables are not clipped, that the quality of speech is continuously maintained, that when the voice is raised, the strain falls upon the lungs and not the mouth, and that gesture and voice are mutually appropriate.
11.8. etiam, ne extremae syllabae intercidant, ut par sibi sermo sit, ut, quotiens exclamandum erit, lateris conatus sit ille non capitis, ut gestus ad vocem, vultus ad gestum accommodetur.
11.9. He will also insist that the speaker faces his audience, that the lips are not distorted nor the jaws parted to a grin, that the face is not thrown back, nor the eyes fixed on the ground, nor the neck slanted to left or right. For there are a variety of faults of facial expression. I have seen many, who raised their brows whenever the voice was called upon for an effort, others who wore a perpetual frown, and yet others who could not keep their eyebrows level, but raised one towards the top of the head and depressed the other till it almost closed the eye.
11.9. erit etiam, ut recta sit facies dicentis, ne labra distorqueantur, ne immodicus hiatus rictum discindat, ne supinus vultus, ne deiecti in terram oculi, ne inclinata utrolibet cervix. frons pluribus generibus peccat. multos, quorum supercilia ad singulos vocis conatus adlevarentur, aliorum constricta, aliorum etiam dissidentia, cum alterum in verticem tenderent, altero paene oculus ipse premeretur.
11.11. These are details, but as I shall shortly show, they are of enormous importance, for nothing that is unbecoming can have a pleasing effect.
11.11. autem, ut mox dicemus, in his quoque rebus momentum est; et nihil potest placere quod non decet.
11.12. Our actor will also be required to show how a narrative should be delivered, and to indicate the authoritative tone that should be given to advice, the excitement which should mark the rise of anger, and the change of tone that is characteristic of pathos. The best method of so doing is to select special passages from comedy appropriate for the purpose, that is to say, resembling the speeches of a pleader.
11.12. etiam docere comoedus, quomodo narrandum, qua sit auctoritate suadendum, qua concitatione consurgat ira, qui flexus deceat miserationem. ita optime faciet, si certos ex comoediis elegerit locos et ad hoc maxime idoneos, id est, actionibus similes.
11.13. These are not only most useful in training the delivery, but are admirably adapted to increase a speaker's eloquence.
11.13. autem non ad pronuntiandum modo utilissimi verum ad augendam quoque eloquentiam maxime accommodati erunt.
11.14. These are the methods to be employed while the pupil is too young to take in more advanced instruction; but when the time has come for him to read speeches, and as soon as he begins to appreciate their merits, he should have a careful and efficient teacher at his side not merely to form his style of reading aloud, but to make him learn select passages by heart and declaim them standing in the manner which actual pleading would require: thus he will simultaneously train delivery, voice and memory.
11.14. haec, dum infirma aetas maiora non capiet; ceterum, cum legere orationes oportebit, cum virtutes earum iam sentiet, tum mihi diligens aliquis ac peritus adsistat, neque solum lectionem formet, verum ediscere etiam electa ex iis cogat et ea dicere stantem clare et quemadmodum agere oportebit, ut protinus pronuntiationem, vocem, memoriam exerceat.
11.15. I will not blame even those who give a certain amount of time to the teacher of gymnastics. I am not speaking of those, who spend part of their life in rubbing themselves with oil and part in winebibbing, and kill the mind by over-attention to the body: indeed, I would have such as these kept as far as possible from the boy whom we are training.
11.15. illos quidem reprehendendos puto, qui paulum etiam palaestricis vacaverunt. de his loquor, quibus pars vitae in oleo, pars in vino consumitur, qui corporum cura mentem obruerunt (hos enim abesse ab eo quem instituimus quam longissime velim);
11.16. But we give the same name to those who form gesture and motion so that the arms may be extended in the proper manner, the management of the hands free from all trace of rusticity and inelegance, the attitude becoming, the movements of the feet appropriate and the motions of the head and eyes in keeping with the poise of the body.
11.16. sed nomen est idem iis, a quibus gestus motusque formantur, ut recta sint brachia, ne indoctae rusticae manus, ne status indecorus, ne qua in proferendis pedibus inscitia, ne caput oculique ab alia corporis inclinatione dissideant.
11.17. No one will deny that such details form a part of the art of delivery, nor divorce delivery from oratory; and there can be no justification for disdaining to learn what has got to be done, especially as chironomy, which, as the name shows, is the law of gesture, originated in heroic times and met with the approval of the greatest Greeks, not excepting Socrates himself, while it was placed by Plato among the virtues of a citizen and included by Chrysippus in his instructions relative to the education of children.
11.17. neque haec esse in parte pronuntiationis negaverit quisquam, neque ipsam pronuntiationem ab oratore secernet, et certe, quod facere oporteat, non indignandum est discere, cum praesertim haec chironomia, quae est, ut nomine ipso declaratur, lex gestus, et ab illis temporibus heroicis orta sit et a summis Graeciae viris atque ipso etiam Socrate probata, a Platone quoque in parte civilium posita virtutum et a Chrysippo in praeceptis de liberorum educatione compositis non omissa.
11.18. We are told that the Spartans even regarded a certain form of dance as a useful element in military training. Nor again did the ancient Romans consider such a practice as disgraceful: this is clear from the fact that priestly and ritual dances have survived to the present day, while Cicero in the third book of his de Oratore quotes the words of Crassus, in which he lays down the principle that the orator “should learn to move his body in a bold and manly fashion derived not from actors or the stage, but from martial and even from gymnastic exercises.” And such a method of training has persisted uncensured to our own time.
11.18. Lacedaemonios quidem etiam saltationem quandam tanquam ad bella quoque utilem habuisse inter exercitationes accepimus. id veteribus Romanis dedecori fuit; argumentum est sacerdotum nomine ac religione durans ad hoc tempus saltatio, et illa in tertio Ciceronis de Oratore libro verba Crassi, quibus praecipit, ut orator utatur laterum inclinatione forti ac virili, non a scena et histrionibus sed ab armis aut etiam a palaestra; cuius disciplinae usus in nostram usque aetatem sine reprehensione descendit.
11.19. In my opinion, however, such training should not extend beyond the years of boyhood, and even boys should not devote too much time to it. For I do not wish the gestures of oratory to be modelled on those of the dance. But I do desire that such boyish exercises should continue to exert a certain influence, and that something of the grace which we acquired as learners should attend us in after life without our being conscious of the fact.
11.19. A me tamen nec ultra pueriles annos retinebitur nec in his ipsis diu. enim gestum oratoris componi ad similitudinem saltationis volo, sed subesse aliquid ex hac exercitatione puerili, unde nos non id agentes furtim decor ille discentibus traditus prosequatur.
12.1. The question is not infrequently asked, as to whether, admitting that these things ought to be learned, it is possible for all of them to be taught and taken in simultaneously. There are some who say that this is impossible on the ground that the mind is confused and tired by application to so many studies of different tendencies: neither the intelligence nor the physique of our pupils, nor the time at our disposal are sufficient, they say, and even though older boys may be strong enough, it is a sin to put such a burden on the shoulders of childhood.
12.1. solet, an, etiamsi discenda sint haec, eodem tempore tamen tradi omnia et percipi possint. enim quidam, quia confundatur animus ac fatigetur tot disciplinis in diversum tendentibus, ad quas nec mens nec corpus nec dies ipse sufficiat, et si maxime patiatur hoc aetas robustior, pueriles annos onerari non oporteat.
12.2. These critics show an insufficient appreciation of the capacities of the human mind, which is so swift and nimble and versatile, that it cannot be restricted to doing one thing only, but insists on devoting its attention to several different subjects not merely in one day, but actually at one and the same time.
12.2. non satis perspiciunt, quantum natura humani ingenii valeat; quae ita est agilis ac velox, sic in omnem partem, ut ita dixerim, spectat, ut ne possit quidem aliquid agere tantum unum, in plura vero non eodem die modo, sed eodem temporis momento vim suam intendat.
12.3. Do not harpists simultaneously exert the memory and pay attention to the tone and inflexions of the voice, while the right hand runs over certain strings and the left plucks, stops or releases others, and even the foot is employed in beating time, all these actions being performed at the same moment?
12.3. vero citharoedi non simul et memoriae et sono vocis et plurimis flexibus serviunt, cum interim alios nervos dextra percurrunt, alios laeva trahunt, continent, praebent, ne pes quidem otiosus certam legem temporum servat, et haec pariter omnia?
12.4. Again, do not we ourselves, when unexpectedly called upon to plead, speak while we are thinking what we are to say next, invention of argument, choice of words, rhythm, gesture, delivery, facial expression and movement all being required simultaneously? If all these things can be done with one effort in spite of their diversity, why should we not divide our hours among different branches of study? We must remember that variety serves to refresh and restore the mind, and that it is really considerably harder to work at one subject without intermission. Consequently we should give the pen a rest by turning to read, and relieve the tedium of reading by changes of subject. However manifold our activities, in a certain sense we come fresh to each new subject.
12.4. ? nos agendi subita necessitate deprehensi nonne alia dicimus, alia providemus, cum pariter inventio rerum, electio verborum, compositio, gestus, pronuntiatio, vultus, motus desiderentur? si velut sub uno conatu tam diversa parent simul, cur non pluribus curis horas partiamur? cum praesertim reficiat animos ac reparet varietas ipsa, contraque sit aliquanto difficilius in labore uno perseverare. et stilus lectione requiescit, et ipsius lectionis taedium vicibus levatur.
12.5. Who can maintain his attention, if he has to listen for a whole day to one teacher harping on the same subject, be it what it may? Change of studies is like change of foods: the stomach is refreshed by their variety and derives greater nourishment from variety of viands.
12.5. multa egerimus, quodam tamen modo recentes sumus ad id quod incipimus. non obtundi potest, si per totum diem cuiuscunque artis unum magistrum ferat? recreabitur sicut in cibis, quorum diversitate reficitur stomachus et pluribus minore fastidio alitur.
12.6. If my critics disagree, let them provide me with an alternative method. Are we first to deliver ourselves up to the sole service of the teacher of literature, and then similarly to the teacher of geometry, neglecting under the latter what was taught us by the former? And then are we to go on to the musician, forgetting all that we learned before? And when we study Latin literature, are we to do so to the exclusion of Greek? In fine, to have done with the matter once and for all, are we to do nothing except that which last comes to our hand?
12.6. dicant isti mihi, quae sit alia ratio discendi. soli deserviamus, deinde geometrae tantum, omittamus interim quod didicimus? mox transeamus ad musicum, excidant priora? et cum Latinis studebimus litteris, non respiciamus ad Graecas, et, ut semel finiam, nihil faciamus nisi novissimum?
12.7. On this principle, why not advise farmers not to cultivate corn, vines, olives and orchard trees at the same time? or from devoting themselves simultaneously to pastures, cattle, gardens, bees and poultry? Why do we ourselves daily allot some of our time to the business of the courts, some to the demands of our friends, some to our domestic affairs, some to the exercise of the body, and some even to our pleasures? Any one of these occupations, if pursued without interruption, would fatigue us. So much easier is it to do many things than to do one thing for a long time continuously.
12.7. non idem suademus agricolis, ne arva simul et vineta et oleas et arbustum colant, ne pratis et pecoribus et hortis et alvearibus avibusque accommodent curam? ipsi aliquid forensibus negotiis, aliquid desideriis amicorum, aliquid rationibus domesticis, aliquid curae corporis, nonnihil voluptatibus cotidie damus? quarum nos una res quaelibet nihil intermittentes fatigaret. facilius est multa facere quam diu.
12.8. We need have no fear at any rate that boys will find their work too exhausting: there is no age more capable of enduring fatigue. The fact may be surprising, but it can be proved by experiment. For the mind is all the easier to teach before it is set.
12.8. quidem minime verendum est, ne laborem studiorum pueri difficilius tolerent, neque enim ulla aetas minus fatigatur. sit forsitan, sed experimentis deprehendas.
12.9. This may be clearly proved by the fact that within two years after a child has begun to form words correctly, he can speak practically all without any pressure from outside. On the other hand how many years it takes for our newly-imported slaves to become familiar with the Latin language. Try to teach an adult to read and you will soon appreciate the force of the saying applied to those who do everything connected with their art with the utmost skill “he started young!” Moreover boys stand the strain of work better than young men.
12.9. et dociliora sunt ingenia, priusquam obduruerunt. vel hoc argumento patet, quod intra biennium, quam verba recte formare potuerunt, quamvis nullo instante, omnia fere loquuntur; at noviciis nostris per quot annos sermo Latinus repugnat. scias, si quem iam robustum instituere litteris coeperis, non sine causa dici παιδομαθεῖς eos, qui in sua quidque arte optime faciant.
12.10. Just as small children suffer less damage from their frequent falls, from their crawling on hands and knees and, a little later, from their incessant play and their running about from morn till eve, because they are so light in weight and have so little to carry, even so their minds are less susceptible of fatigue, because their activity calls for less effort and application to study demands no exertion of their own, since they are merely so much plastic material to be moulded by the teacher.
12.10. patientior est laboris natura pueris quam iuvenibus., ut corpora infantium nec casus, quo in terram totiens deferuntur, tam graviter adfligit nec illa per manus et genua reptatio nec post breve tempus continui lusus et totius diei discursus, quia pondus illis abest nec sese ipsi gravant: sic animi quoque, credo, quia minore conatu moventur nec suo nisu studiis insistunt, sed formandos se tantummodo praestant, non similiter fatigantur.
12.11. And further owing to the general pliability of childhood, they follow their instructors with greater simplicity and without attempting to measure their own progress: for as yet they do not even appreciate the nature of their work. Finally, as I have often noticed, the senses are less affected by mere hard work than they are by hard thinking.
12.11. secundum aliam aetatis illius facilitatem velut simplicius docentes sequuntur nec quae iam egerint metiuntur. illis adhuc etiam laboris iudicium., ut frequenter experti sumus, minus adficit sensus fatigatio quam cogitatio.
12.12. Moreover there will never be more time for such studies, since at this age all progress is made through listening to the teacher. Later when the boy has to write by himself, or to produce and compose something out of his own head, he will neither have the time nor the inclination for the exercises which we have been discussing.
12.12. ne temporis quidem unquam plus erit, quia his aetatibus omnis in audiendo profectus est. ad stilum secedet, cum generabit ipse aliquid atque componet, tum inchoare haec studia vel non vacabit vel non libebit.
12.13. Since, then, the teacher of literature neither can nor ought to occupy the whole day, for fear of giving his pupil a distaste for work, what are the studies to which the spare time should preferably be devoted?
12.13. cum grammaticus totum occupare diem non possit nec debeat, ne discentis animum taedio avertat, quibus potius studiis haec temporum velut subsiciva donabimus?
12.14. For I do not wish the student to wear himself out in such pursuits: I would not have him sing or learn to read music or dive deep into the minuter details of geometry, nor need he be a finished actor in his delivery or a dancer in his gesture: if I did demand all these accomplishments, there would yet be time for them; the period allotted to education is long, and I am not speaking of duller wits.
12.14. nec ego consumi studentem in his artibus volo, nec moduletur aut musicis notis cantica excipiat, nec utique ad minutissima usque geometriae opera descendat, non comoedum in pronuntiando nec saltatorem in gestu facio; quae si omnia exigerem, suppeditabat tamen tempus. est enim, quae discit, aetas, et ego non de tardis ingeniis loquor.
12.15. Why did Plato bear away the palm in all these branches of knowledge which in my opinion the future orator should learn? I answer, because he was not merely content with the teaching which Athens was able to provide or even with that of the Pythagoreans whom he visited in Italy, but even approached the priests of Egypt and made himself thoroughly acquainted with all their secret lore.
12.15. cur in his omnibus, quae discenda oratori futuro puto, eminuit Plato? qui non contentus disciplinis, quas praestare poterant Athenae, non Pythagoreorum, ad quos in Italiam navigaverat, Aegypti quoque sacerdotes adiit atque eorum arcana perdidicit.
12.16. The plea of the difficulty of the subject is put forward merely to cloak our indolence, because we do not love the work that lies before us nor seek to win eloquence for our own because it is a noble art and the fairest thing in all the world, but gird up our loins for mercenary ends and for the winning of filthy lucre.
12.16. patrocinia praeteximus segnitiae. enim nobis operis amor est, nec, quia sit honesta ac rerum pulcherrima eloquentia, petitur ipsa, sed ad venalem usum et sordidum lucrum accingimur.
12.17. Without such accomplishments many may speak in the courts and make an income; but it is my prayer that every dealer in the vilest merchandise may be richer than they and that the public crier may find his voice a more lucrative possession. And I trust that there is not one even among my readers who would think of calculating the monetary value of such studies.
12.17. sine his in foro multi et adquirant, dum sit locupletior aliquis sordidae mercis negotiator et plus voci suae debeat praeco. velim quidem lectorem dari mihi quid studia referant computaturum.
12.18. But he that has enough of the divine spark to conceive the ideal eloquence, he who, as the great tragic poet says, regards “oratory” as “the queen of all the world” and seeks not the transitory gains of advocacy, but those stable and lasting rewards which his own soul and knowledge and contemplation can give, he will easily persuade himself to spend his time not, like so many, in the theatre or in the Campus Martius, in dicing or in idle talk, to say naught of the hours that are wasted in sleep or long drawn banqueting, but in listening rather to the geometrician and the teacher of music. For by this he will win a richer harvest of delight than can ever be gathered from the pleasures of the ignorant, since among the many gifts of providence to man not the least is this that the highest pleasure is the child of virtue.
12.18. vero imaginem ipsam eloquentiae divina quadam mente conceperit, quique illam (ut ait non ignobilis tragicus) reginam rerum orationem ponet ante oculos, fructumque non ex stipe advocationum sed ex animo suo et contemplatione ac scientia petet perpetuum illum nec fortunae subiectum, facile persuadebit sibi, ut tempora, quae spectaculis, campo, tesseris, otiosis denique sermonibus, ne dicam somno et conviviorum mora conteruntur, geometrae potius ac musico impendat, quanto plus delectationis habiturus quam ex illis ineruditis voluptatibus.
12.19. But the attractions of my theme have led me to say overmuch. Enough of those studies in which a boy must be instructed, while he is yet too young to proceed to greater things! My next book will start afresh and will pass to the consideration of the duties of the teacher of rhetoric.
12.19. enim hoc providentia hominibus munus, ut honesta magis iuvarent. nos haec ipsa dulcedo longius duxit. ergo de studiis, quibus, antequam maiora capiat, puer instituendus est; proximus liber velut novum sumet exordium et ad rhetoris officia transibit.