---
title: "The Orator’s Education · Institutio oratoria"
author: "Quintilian"
translator: "Harold Edgeworth Butler"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
section: 53 of 53
url: https://scriptura.si/works/quintilian-institutio-oratoria/53/
cite: "Quintilian, tr. Harold Edgeworth Butler, The Orator’s Education · Institutio oratoria, section 53. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/quintilian-institutio-oratoria/53/"
---

# The Orator’s Education · Institutio oratoria

*Quintilian, tr. Harold Edgeworth Butler*

Twelve books on training a good man skilled in speaking, from the nursery to the forum.

> Latin: ed. Harold Edgeworth Butler, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, phi1002.phi001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Harold Edgeworth Butler, from the Perseus Digital Library (phi1002.phi001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 53. Book XII · chapters 10–11

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/quintilian-institutio-oratoria/53/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/quintilian-institutio-oratoria/53/#p-N

[¶0] 10.44. It is, in fact, as natural to do this as to harden the muscles, increase our strength and improve our complexion by means of exercise. It is for this reason that among all nations one man is regarded as more eloquent and more attractive in his style than another (since if this were not the case, all speakers would be equal); but the same men speak differently on different subjects and observe distinctions of character. Consequently the more effective a man's speaking, the more in accordance with the nature of eloquence will it be.

> Latin: 10.44. et lacertos exercitatione constringere et augere vires et colorem trahere naturale est. in omnibus gentibus alius alio facundior habetur et eloquendo dulcis magis (quod si non eveniret, omnes pares essent); at idem homines aliter de re alia loquuntur et servant personarum discrimina., quo quisque plus efficit dicendo, hoc magis secundum naturam eloquentiae dicit.

[¶1] 10.45. I have, therefore, no strong objection even to the views expressed by those who think that some concession should be made to the circumstances under which we speak and to the ears of the audience which require something more polished and emotional than ordinary speech. For this reason I consider that it would be absurd to restrict an orator to the style of the predecessors of Cato and the Gracchi, or even of those orators themselves. And I note that it was the practice of Cicero, while devoting himself in the main to the interests of his case, to take into account the delectation of his audience as well, since, as he pointed out, his own interests were concerned as well as those of his client, although of course the latter were of paramount importance. For his very charm was a valuable asset.

> Latin: 10.45. ne illis quidem nimium repugno, qui dandum putant nonnihil etiam temporibus atque auribus nitidius aliquid atque adfectius postulantibus. non solum ad priores Catone Gracchisque, sed ne ad hos quidem ipsos oratorem adligandum puto. id fecisse M. Tullium video, ut cum plurimum utilitati, tum partem quandam delectationi daret; cum et suam se rem agere diceret, ageret autem maxime litigatoris.

[¶2] 10.46. I do not know what can be added by way of improvement to the charms of his style, except perhaps the introduction of something more in the way of brilliant reflexions to suit the taste of our own times. For this can be done without injury to the treatment of our case or inpairing the authority of our language, provided that such embellishments are not too frequent or continuous, and do not mutually destroy the effects which they were designed to produce.

> Latin: 10.46. hoc ipso proderat, quod placet. cuius voluptates nihil equidem quod addi possit invenio, nisi ut sensus nos quidem dicamus plures. enim non fieri potest salva tractatione causae et dicendi auctoritate, si non crebra hac lumina et continua fuerint et invicem offecerint. me hactenus cedentem nemo insequatur ultra.

[¶3] 10.47. I am ready to go so far along the path of concession, but let no man press me further. I concur in the fashion of the day to the extent of agreeing that the toga should not be long in the nap, but not to the extent of insisting that it should be of silk: I agree that the hair should be cut, but not that it should be dressed in tiers and ringlets, since we must always remember that ornaments, unless they be judged from the standpoint of the fop and the debauchee, are always effective in proportion to their seemliness.

> Latin: 10.47. tempori, ne hirta toga sit, non ut serica; ne intonsum caput, non ut in gradus atque anulos comptum, cum eo quod, si non ad luxuriam ac libidinem referas, eadem speciosiora quoque sint, quae honestiora.

[¶4] 10.48. But with regard to those passages to which we give the name of reflexions, a form of ornament which was not employed by the ancients and, above all, not by the Greeks, although I do find it in Cicero, who can deny their usefulness, provided they are relevant to the case, are not too diffuse and contribute to our success? For they strike the mind and often produce a decisive effect by one single blow, while their very brevity makes them cling to the memory, and the pleasure which they produce has the force of persuasion.

> Latin: 10.48. hoc, quod vulgo sententias vocamus, quod veteribus praecipueque Graecis in usu non fuit (apud Ciceronem enim invenio), dum rem contineant et copia non redundent et ad victoriam spectent, quis utile neget? animum et uno ictu frequenter impellunt et ipsa brevitate magis haerent et delectatione persuadent.

[¶5] 10.49. There are, however, some who, while allowing the actual delivery of such specially brilliant forms of ornament, think that they should be excluded from the written speech. Consequently I must not dismiss even this topic without a word of discussion. For a number of learned authorities have held that the written and the spoken speech stand on different footings, and that consequently some of the most eloquent of speakers have left nothing for posterity to read in durable literary form, as, for example, is the case with Pericles and Decades Again, they urge that there have been authors, like Isocrates, who, while admirable writers, were not well-fitted for actual speaking;

> Latin: 10.49. sunt qui haec excitatiora lumina, etiamsi dicere permittant, a componendis tamen orationibus excludenda arbitrentur. mihi ne Hic quidem locus intactus est omittendus; nam plurimi eruditorum aliam esse dicendi rationem, aliam scribendi putaverunt; ideoque in agendo clarissimos quosdam nihil posteritati mansurisque mox litteris reliquisse, ut Periclem, ut Demaden; rursus alios ad componendum optimos actionibus idoneos non fuisse, ut Isocraten;

[¶6] 10.50. and, further, that actual pleading is characterised by a greater energy and by the employment, almost verging on license, of every artifice designed to please, since the minds of an uneducated audience require to be moved and led. On the other hand, the written speech with is published as a model of style must be polished and filed and brought into conformity with the accepted rules and standards of artistic construction, since it will come into the hands of learned men and its art will be judged by artists.

> Latin: 10.50. praeterea in agendo plus impetus plerumque et petitas vel paulo licentius voluptates, commovendos enim esse ducendosque animos imperitorum; at quod libris dedicatum in exemplum edatur, id tersum ac limatum et ad legem ac regulam conpositum esse oportere, quia veniat in manus doctorum et iudices artis habeat artifices.

[¶7] 10.51. These subtle teachers (for such they have persuaded themselves and others that they are) have laid it down that the παράδειγμα is best suited for actual speech and the ἐνθύμημα for writing. My own view is that there is absolutely no difference between writing well and speaking well, and that a written speech is merely a record of one that has actually been delivered. Consequently it must in my opinion possess every kind of merit, and note that I say merit, not fault. For I know that faults do sometimes meet with the approval of the uneducated.

> Latin: 10.51. illi subtiles (ut sibimet ac multis persuaserunt) magistri παράδειγμα dicendo, ἐνθύμημα scribendo esse aptius tradiderunt. unum atque idem videtur bene dicere ac bene scribere, neque aliud esse oratio scripta quam monumentum actionis habitae. nullas non, ut opinor, debet habere virtutes, virtutes dico, non vitia. imperitis placere aliquando quae vitiosa sint, scio.

[¶8] 10.52. What, then, will be the difference between what is written and what is spoken? If I were given a jury of wise men, I should cut down a large number of passages from the speeches not only of Cicero, but even of Demosthenes, who is much more concise. For with such a jury there would be no need to appeal to the emotions nor to charm and soothe the ears, since according to Aristotle even exordia are superfluous, if addressed to such persons, as they will have no influence upon judges who are truly wise: it will be sufficient to state the facts with precision and significance and to marshal our array of proofs.

> Latin: 10.52. different igitur? mihi des consilium iudicum sapientium, perquam multa recidam ex orationibus non Ciceronis modo, sed etiam eius, qui est strictior multo, Demosthenis. enim adfectus omnino movendi erunt, nec aures delectatione mulcendae, cum etiam prooemia supervacua esse apud tales Aristoteles existimet; non enim trahentur his illi sapientes; proprie et significanter rem indicare, probationes colligere satis est.

[¶9] 10.53. Since, however, our judges are the people, or drawn from the people, and since those who are appointed to give sentence are frequently ill-educated and sometimes mere rustics, it becomes necessary to employ every method that we think likely to assist our case, and these artifices must not merely be produced in speech, but exhibited in the written version as well, at least if in writing it our design is to show how it should be spoken.

> Latin: 10.53. vero iudex detur aut populus aut ex populo, laturique sint sententiam indocti saepius atque interim rustici, omnia quae ad obtinendum, quod intendimus, prodesse credemus adhibenda sunt; eaque et cum dicimus promenda et cum scribimus ostendenda sunt, si modo ideo scribimus, ut doceamus quomodo dici oporteat.

[¶10] 10.54. If Demosthenes or Cicero had spoken the words as they wrote them, would either have spoken ill And is our acquaintance with either of those two great orators based on anything save their writings? Did they speak better, then, or worse than they wrote? If they spoke worse, all that can be said is that they should have spoken as they wrote, while, if they spoke better, they should have written as they spoke.

> Latin: 10.54. Demosthenes male sic egisset, ut scripsit, aut Cicero? aut eos praestantissimos oratores alia re quam scriptis cognoscimus? egerunt igitur an peius? si peius, sic potius oportuit dici, ut scripserunt; si melius, sic potius oportuit scribi, ut dixerunt.

[¶11] 10.55. Well, you ask, is an orator then always to speak as he writes? If possible, always. If, however, the time allowed by the judge is too short for this to be possible, he will have to cut out much that he should have said, but the published speech will contain the omitted passages. On the other hand, such passages as were uttered merely to suit the character of the judges will not be published for the benefit of posterity, for fear that they should seem to indicate the author's deliberate judgement instead of being a mere concession to the needs of the moment.

> Latin: 10.55. ergo? sic aget orator, ut scribet? licebit, semper. vero quando impediant brevitate tempora a iudice data, multum ex eo, quod oportuit dici, recidetur; editio habebit omnia. tamen secundum naturam iudicantium dicta sunt, non ita posteris tradentur, ne videantur propositi fuisse, non temporis.

[¶12] 10.56. For it is most important that we should know how the judge is disposed to listen, and his face will often (as Cicero reminds us) serve as a guide to the speaker. Consequently we must press the points that we see commend themselves to him, and draw back from those which are ill-received, while our actual language must be so modified that he will find our arguments as intelligible as possible. That this should be necessary is scarcely surprising, when we consider the alterations that are frequently necessary to suit the characters of the different witnesses.

> Latin: 10.56. id quoque plurimum refert, quomodo audire iudex velit, atque eius vultus saepe ipse rector est dicentis, ut Cicero praecipit. instandum iis quae placere intellexeris, resiliendum ab iis quae non recipientur. ipse, qui facillime iudicem doceat, aptandus. id mirum sit, cum etiam testium personis aliqua mutentur.

[¶13] 10.57. He was a shrewd man who, when he asked a rustic witness whether he knew Amphion, and the witness replied that he did not, dropped the aspirate and shortened the second syllable, whereupon the witness recognised him at once. Such situations, when it is impossible to speak as we write, will sometimes make it necessary to speak in language other than that which we use in writing.

> Latin: 10.57. enim, qui cum interrogasset rusticum testem, an Amphionem nosset, negante eo, detraxit aspirationem breviavitque secundam eius nominis syllabam, et ille eum sic optime norat. casus efficient, ut aliquando dicatur liter quam scribitur, cum dicere, quomodo scribendum est, non licet.

[¶14] 10.58. There is another threefold division, whereby, it is held, we may differentiate three styles of speaking, all of them correct. The first is termed the plain (or ἰσχνόν ), the second grand and forcible (or ἁδρόν ), and the third either intermediate or florid, the latter being a translation of ἀνθηρόν.

> Latin: 10.58. est divisio, quae in tres partes et ipsa discedit, qua discerni posse etiam recte dicendi genera inter se videntur. unum subtile, quod ἰσχνόν vocant, alterum grande atque robustum, quod ἁδρόν dicunt, constituunt; tertium alii, medium ex duobus, alii floridum (namque id ἀνθηρόν appellant) addiderunt.

[¶15] 10.59. The nature of these three styles is, broadly speaking, as follows. The first would seem best adapted for instructing, the second for moving, and the third (by whichever name we call it) for charming or, as others would have it, conciliating the audience; for instruction the quality most needed is acumen, for conciliation gentleness, and for stirring the emotions force. Consequently it is mainly in the plain style that we shall state our facts and advance our proofs, though it should be borne in mind that this style will often be sufficiently full in itself without any assistance whatever from the other two.

> Latin: 10.59. tamen ea fere ratio est, ut primum docendi, secundum movendi, tertium illud, utrocumque est nomine, delectandi sire, ut alii dicunt, conciliandi praestare videatur officium; in docendo autem acumen, in conciliando lenitas, in movendo vis exigi videatur. illo subtili praecipue ratio narrandi probandique consistet, sed saepe id etiam detractis ceteris virtutibus suo genere plenum.

[¶16] 10.60. The intermediate style will have more frequent recourse to metaphor and will make a more attractive use of figures, while it will introduce alluring digressions, will be neat in rhythm and pleasing in its reflexions: its flow, however, will be gentle, like that of a river whose waters are clear, but overshadowed by the green banks on either side.

> Latin: 10.60. hic modus et translationibus crebrior et figuris erit iucundior, egressionibus amoenus, compositione aptus, sententiis dulcis, lenior tamen ut amnis lucidus quidem sed uirentibus utrinque ripis inumbratus.

[¶17] 10.61. But he whose eloquence is like to some great torrent that rolls down rocks and “disdains a bridge” and carves out its own banks for itself, will sweep the judge from his feet, struggle as he may, and force him to go whither he bears him. This is the orator that will call the dead to life (as, for example, Cicero calls upon Appius Caecus ); it is in his pages that his native land itself will cry aloud and at times address the orator himself, as it addresses Cicero in the speech delivered against Catiline in the senate.

> Latin: 10.61. ille, qui saxa devolvat et pontem indignetur et ripas sibi faciat, multus et torrens iudicem vel nitentem contra feret cogetque ire, qua rapiet. orator et defunctos excitabit ut Appium Caecum, apud hunc et patria ipsa exclamabit, aliquandoque ut Ciceronem in oratione contra Catilinam in senatu alloquetur.

[¶18] 10.62. Such an orator will also exalt his style by amplification and rise even to hyperbole, as when Cicero cries, “What Charybdis was ever so voracious!” or “By the god of truth, even Ocean's self,” etc. (I choose these fine passages as being familiar to the student). It is such an one that will bring down the Gods to form part of his audience or even to speak with him, as in the following, “For on you I call, ye hills and groves of Alba, on you, I say, ye fallen altars of the Albans, altars that were once the peers and equals of the holy places of Rome.” This is he that will inspire anger or pity, and while he speaks the judge will call upon the gods and weep, following him wherever he sweeps him from one emotion to another, and no longer asking merely for instruction.

> Latin: 10.62. et amplificationibus extollet orationem, et in superlationem quoque erigetur. Charybdis tam vorax? et Oceanus medius fidius ipse. sunt enim iam studiosis haec lumina. deos ipsos in congressum prope suum sermonemque deducet: enim Albani tumuli atque luci; vos, inquam, Albanorum obrutae arae, sacrorum popli Romani sociae et aequales. iram, hic misericordiam inspirabit, hoc dicente iudex deos appellabit et flebit et per omnes adfectus tractatus huc atque illuc sequetur nec doceri desiderabit.

[¶19] 10.63. Wherefore if one of these three styles has to be selected to the exclusion of the others, who will hesitate to prefer this style to all others, since it is by far the strongest and the best adapted to the most important cases?

> Latin: 10.63. si ex tribus his generibus necessario sit eligendum unum, quis dubitet hoc praeferre omnibus et validissimum alioqui et maximis quibusque causis accommodatissimum?

[¶20] 10.64. For Homer himself assigns to Menelaus an eloquence, terse and pleasing, exact (for that is what is meant by “making no errors in words” ) and devoid of all redundance, which qualities are virtues of the first type: and he says that from the lips of Nestor flowed speech sweeter than honey, than which assuredly we can conceive no greater delight: but when he seeks to express the supreme gift of eloquence possessed by Ulysses he gives a mighty voice and a vehemence of oratory equal to the snows of winter in the abundance and the vigour of its words.

> Latin: 10.64. et Homerus brevem quidem cum iucunditate et propriam, id enim est non deerrare uerbis, et carentem supervacuis eloquentiam Menelao dedit, quae sunt virtutes generis illius primi, et ex ore Nestoris dixit dulciorem melle profluere sermonem, qua certe delectatione nihil fingi maius potest; sed summam expressurus in Ulixe facundiam et magnitudinem illi vocis et vim orationis niuibus hibernis et copia verborum atque impetu parem tribuit.

[¶21] 10.65. “With him then,” he says, “no mortal will contend, and men shall look upon him as on a god.” It is this force and impetuosity that Eupolis admires in Pericles, this that Aristophanes compares to the thunderbolt, this that is the power of true eloquence.

> Latin: 10.65. hoc igitur nemo mortalium contendet; hunc ut deum homines intuebuntur. vim et celeritatem in Pericle miratur Eupolis, hanc fulminibus Aristophanes comparat, haec est vere dicendi facultas.

[¶22] 10.66. But eloquence cannot be confined even to these three forms of style. For just as the third style is intermediate between the grand and the plain style, so each of these three are separated by interspaces which are occupied by intermediate styles compounded of the two which he on either side.

> Latin: 10.66. neque his tribus quasi formis inclusa eloquentia est. ut inter gracile validumque tertium aliquid constitutum est, ita horum inter se intervalla sunt, atque inter haec ipsa mixtum quiddam ex duobus medium est eorum.

[¶23] 10.67. For there are styles fuller or plainer than the plain, and gentler or more vehement than the vehement, while the gentler style itself may either rise to greater force or sink to milder tones. Thus we may discover almost countless species of styles, each differing from the other by some fine shade of difference. We may draw a parallel from the winds. It is generally accepted that there are four blowing from the four quarters of the globe, but we find there are also a large number of winds which he between these, called by a variety of names, and in certain cases confined to certain districts and river valleys.

> Latin: 10.67. et subtili plenius aliquid atque subtilius et vehementi remissius atque vehementius invenitur, ut illud lene aut ascendit ad fortiora aut ad tenuiora summittitur. sic prope innumerabiles species reperiuntur, quae utique aliquo momento inter se differant: sicut quattuor ventos generaliter a totidem mundi cardinibus accepimus flare, cum interim plurimi medii et eorum varia nomina et quidam etiam regionum ac fluminum proprii deprehenduntur.

[¶24] 10.68. The same thing may be noted in music. For after assigning five notes to the lyre, musicians fill up the intervals between the strings by a variety of notes, and between these again they interpose yet others, so that the original divisions admit of a number of gradations.

> Latin: 10.68. musicis ratio est, qui, cum in cithara quinque constituerunt sonos, plurima deinde varietate complent spatia illa nervorum, atque his, quos interposuerunt, inserunt alios, ut pauci illi transitus multos gradus habeant.

[¶25] 10.69. Eloquence has, therefore, a quantity of different aspects, but it is sheer folly to inquire which of these the orator should take as his model, since every species that is in itself correct has its use, and what is commonly called style of speaking does not depend on the orator. For he will use all styles, as circumstances may demand, and the choice will be determined not only by the case as a whole, but by the demands of the different portions of the case.

> Latin: 10.69. igitur etiam eloquentiae faces, sed stultissimum quaerere, ad quam se recturus sit orator, cum omnis species, quae modo recta est, habeat usum, atque id ipsum non sit oratoris, quod vulgo genus dicendi vocant. enim, ut res exiget, omnibus, nec pro causa modo, sed pro partibus causae.

[¶26] 10.70. For just as he will not speak in the same way when he is defending a client on a capital charge and when he is speaking in a lawsuit concerned with an inheritance, or discussing interdicts and suits taking the form of a wager, or claims in connexion with loans, so too he will preserve a due distinction between the speeches which he makes in the senate, before the people and in private consultations, while he will also introduce numerous modifications to suit the different persons and circumstances of time and place. Thus in one and the same speech he will use one style for stirring the emotions, and another to conciliate his hearers; it is from different sources that he will derive anger or pity, and the art which he employs in instructing the judge will be other than that which he employs to move him.

> Latin: 10.70. ut non eodem modo pro reo capitis et in certamine hereditatis et de interdictis ac sponsionibus et de certa credita dicet, sententiarum quoque in senatu et contionum et privatorum consiliorum servabit discrimina, multa ex differentia personarum, locorum temporumque mutabit, ita in eadem oratione aliter concitabit, aliter conciliabit, non ex iisdem haustibus iram et misericordiam petet, alias ad docendum alias ad movendum adhibebit artes.

[¶27] 10.71. He will not maintain the same tone throughout his exordium, statement of fact, arguments, digression and peroration. He will speak gravely, severely, sharply, with vehemence, energy, fullness, bitterness, or geniality, quietly, simply, Hatteringly, gently, sweetly, briefy or wittily; he will not always be like himself, but he will never be unworthy of himself.

> Latin: 10.71. unus color prooemii, narrationis, argumentorum, egressionis, perorationis servabitur. idem graviter, severe, acriter, vehementer, concitate, copiose, amare, comiter, remisse, subtiliter, blande, leniter, dulciter, breviter, urbane, non ubique similis, sed ubique par sibi.

[¶28] 10.72. Thus the purpose for which oratory was above all designed will be secured, that is to say, he will speak with profit and with power to effect his aim, while he will also win the praise not merely of the learned, but of the multitude as well.

> Latin: 10.72. fiet cum id, propter quod maxime repertus est usus orationis, ut dicat utiliter et ad efficiendum quod intendit potenter, tum laudem quoque nec doctorum modo sed etiam vulgi consequatur.

[¶29] 10.73. They make the gravest mistake who consider that the style which is best adapted to win popularity and applause is a faulty and corrupt style of speaking which revels in license of diction or wantons in childish epigram or swells with stilted bombast or riots in empty commonplace or adorns itself with blossoms of eloquence which will fall to earth if but lightly shaken, or regards extravagance as sublime or raves wildly under the pretext of free speech.

> Latin: 10.73. enim plurimum, qui vitiosum et corruptum dicendi genus, quod aut verborum licentia exultat aut puerilibus sententiolis lascivit aut immodico tumore turgescit aut inanibus locis bacchatur aut casuris, si leviter excutiantur, flosculis nitet aut praecipitia pro sublimibus habet aut specie libertatis insanit, magis existimant populare atque plausibile. quidem placere multis nec infitior nec miror.

[¶30] 10.74. I am ready to admit that such qualities please many, and I feel no surprise that this should be the case. For any kind of eloquence is pleasing and attractive to the car, and every effort of the voice inspires a natural pleasure in the soul of man; indeed this is the sole cause of those familiar gatherings in the Forum or on the Old Wall, so that there is small reason for wonder if any pleader is safe to draw a ring of listeners from the crowd.

> Latin: 10.74. Est enim iucunda auribus ac favorabilis qualiscunque eloquentia et ducit animos naturali voluptate vox omnis, neque aliunde illi per fora atque aggerem circuli; quo minus mirum est, quod nulli non agentium parata vulgi corona est.

[¶31] 10.75. And when any unusually precious phrase strikes the ears of an uneducated audience, whatever its true merits, it wakens their admiration just for the very reason that they feel they could never have produced it themselves. And it deserves their admiration, since even such success is hard to attain. On the other hand, when such displays are compared with their betters, they sink into insignificance and fade out of sight, for they are like wool dyed red that pleases in the absence of purple, but, as Ovid says, if compared with a cloak of Tyrian dye, pales in the presence of the fairer hue.

> Latin: 10.75. vero quid exquisitius dictum accidit auribus imperitorum, qualecunque id est, quod modo se ipsi posse desperent, habet admirationem, neque immerito; nam ne illud quidem facile est. evanescunt hac atque emoriuntur comparatione meliorum, ut lana tincta fuco citra purpuras placet; at si contuleris Tyriae eam lacernae, conspectu melioris obruatur, ut Ovidius ait.

[¶32] 10.76. If, however, we test such corrupt eloquence by the touchstone of a critical taste, as, for example, we test inferior dyes with sulphur, it will lay aside the false brilliance that deceived the eye and fade to a pallor almost too repulsive to describe. Such passages shine only in the absence of the sunlight, just as certain tiny insects seem transformed in the darkness to little flames of fire. Finally, while many approve of things that are bad, no one disapproves of that which is good.

> Latin: 10.76. vero iudicium his corruptis acrius adhibeas ut fucinis sulfura, iam illum, quo fefellerant, exuant mentitum colorem et quadam vix enarrabili foeditate pallescant. igitur haec citra solem, ut quaedam exigua animalia igniculi videntur in tenebris. mala multi probant, nemo improbat bona.

[¶33] 10.77. But the true orator will not merely be able to achieve all the feats of which I have spoken with supreme excellence, but with the utmost ease as well. For the sovereign power of eloquence and the voice that awakens well-deserved applause will be free from the perpetual distress of harassing anxiety which wastes and fevers the orator who painfully corrects himself and pines away over the laborious weighing and piecing together of his words.

> Latin: 10.77. vero omnia ista, de quibus locuti sumus, orator optime tantum sed etiam facillime faciet. enim vim summam dicendi et os admiratione dignum infelix usque ad ultimum sollicitudo persequitur, quae oratorem macerat et coquit aegre verba vertentem et perpendendis coagmentandisque eis intabescentem.

[¶34] 10.78. No, our orator, brilliant, sublime and opulent of speech, is lord and master of all the resources of eloquence, whose affluence surrounds him. For he that has reached the summit has no more weary hills to scale. At first the climber's toil is hard, but the higher he mounts the easier becomes the gradient and the richer the soil.

> Latin: 10.78. ille et sublimis et locuples circumfluentibus undique eloquentiae copiis imperat. enim in adversa niti, qui pervenit in summum. circa ima labor est; ceterum quantum processeris, mollior clivus ac laetius solum.

[¶35] 10.79. And if by perseverance of study he pass even beyond these gentler slopes, fruits for which none have toiled thrust themselves upon him, and all things spring forth unbidden; and yet if they be not gathered daily, they will wither away. But even such wealth must observe the mean, without which nothing is either praiseworthy or beneficial, while brilliance must be attended by manliness, and imagination by soundness of taste.

> Latin: 10.79. si haec quoque iam lenius supina perseverantibus studiis evaseris, inde fructus illaborati offerunt sese et omnia sponte proveniunt; quae tamen cotidie nisi decerpantur, arescunt. et copia habeat modum, sine quo nihil nec laudabile nec salutare est, et nitor ille cultum virilem et inventio iudicium.

[¶36] 10.80. Thus the works of the orator will be great not extravagant, sublime not bombastic, bold not rash, severe but not gloomy, grave but not slow, rich but not luxuriant, pleasing but not effeminate, grand but not grandiose. It is the same with other qualities: the mean is safest, for the worst of all faults is to fly to extremes.

> Latin: 10.80. erunt magna non nimia, sublimia non abrupta, fortia non temeraria, severa non tristia, gravia non tarda, laeta non luxuriosa, iucunda non dissoluta, grandia non tumida. in ceteris ratio est ac tutissima fere per medium via, quia utriusque ultimum vitium est.

[¶37] 11.1. After employing these gifts of eloquence in the courts, in councils, in public assemblies and the debates of the senate, and, in a word, in the performance of all the duties of a good citizen, the orator will bring his activities to a close in a manner worthy of a blameless life spent in the pursuit of the noblest of professions. And he will do this, not because he can ever have enough of doing good, or because one endowed with intellect and talents such as his would not be justified in praying that such glorious labours may be prolonged to their utmost span, but for this reason, that it is his duty to look to the future, for fear that his work may be less effective than it has been in the past.

> Latin: 11.1. dicendi virtutibus usus orator ad iudiciis, consiliis, contionibus, senatu, ad omni denique officio boni civis finem quoque dignum et optimo viro et opere sanctissimo faciet, non quia prodesse unquam satis sit et illa mente atque illa facultate praedito non optandum operis pulcherrimi quam longissimum tempus, sed quia decet hoc quoque prospicere, ne quid peius, quam fecerit, faciat.

[¶38] 11.2. For the orator depends not merely on his knowledge, which increases with the years, but on his voice, lungs and powers of endurance. And if these be broken or impaired by age or health, he must beware that he does not fall short in something of his high reputation as a master of oratory, that fatigue does not interrupt his eloquence, that he is not brought to realise that some of his words are inaudible, or to mourn that he is not what once he was.

> Latin: 11.2. enim scientia modo constat orator, quae augetur annis, sed voce, latere, firmitate; quibus fractis aut imminutis aetate seu valetudine cavendum est, ne quid ad oratore summo desideretur, ne intersistat fatigatus, ne quae dicet parum audiri sentiat, ne se quaerat priorem.

[¶39] 11.3. Domitius Afer was by far the greatest of all the orators whom it has been my good fortune to know, and I saw him, when far advanced in years, daily losing something of that authority which his merits had won for him; he whose supremacy in the courts had once been universally acknowledged, now pleaded amid the unworthy laughter of some, and the silent blushes of others, giving occasion to the malicious saying that he had rather “faint than finish.”

> Latin: 11.3. ego longe omnium, quos mihi cognoscere contigit, summum oratorem, Domitium Afrum valde senem, cotidie aliquid ex ea quam meruerat auctoritate perdentem, cum agente illo, quem principem fuisse quondam fori non erat dubium, alii, quod indignum videatur, riderent, alii erubescerent; quae occasio fuit de illo dicendi, malle eum deficere quam desinere.

[¶40] 11.4. And yet even then, whatever his deficiencies, he spoke not badly, but merely less well. Therefore before ever he fall a prey to the ambush where time lies in wait for him, the orator should sound the retreat and seek harbour while his ship is yet intact. For the fruits of his studies will not be lessened by retirement. Either he will bequeath the history of his own times for the delight of after ages, or will interpret the law to those who seek his counsels, as Lucius Crassus proposes to do in the de Oratore of Cicero, or compose some treatise on the art of oratory, or give worthy utterance to the sublimest ideals of conduct.

> Latin: 11.4. erant ilia qualiacunque mala sed minora. antequam ad has aetatis veniat insidias, receptui canet et ad portum integra nave perveniet. enim minores eum, cum id fecerit, studiorum fructus prosequentur. ille monumenta rerum posteris aut, ut L. Crassus ad libris Ciceronis destinat, iura quaerentibus reddet aut eloquentiae component artem aut pulcherrimis vitae praeceptis dignum os dabit.

[¶41] 11.5. His house will, as in the days of old, be thronged by all the best of the rising generation, who will seek to learn from him as from an oracle how they may find the path to true eloquence. And he as their father in the art will mould them to all excellence, and like some old pilot will teach them of the shores whereby their ships must sail, of the harbours where they may shelter, and the signs of the weather, and will expound to them what they shall do when the breeze is fair or the tempest blows. Whereto he will be inclined not only by the common duty of humanity, but by a certain passion for the task that once was his, since no man desires that the art wherein he was once supreme should suffer decay or diminution.

> Latin: 11.5. vero eius domum optimi iuvenes more veterum et vere dicendi viam velut ex oraculo petent. ille formabit quasi eloquentiae parens, et ut vetus gubernator litora et portus et quae tempestatum signa, quid secundis flatibus, quid adversis ratio poscat, docebit, non humanitatis solum communi ductus officio, sed amore quodam operis. enim minui velit id, ad quo maximus fuit.

[¶42] 11.6. And what can be more honourable than to teach that which you know surpassing well? It was for this that the elder Caelius brought his son to Cicero, as the latter tells us, and it was with this intent that the same great orator took upon himself the duties of instructor, and trained Pansa, Hirtius and Dolabella by declaiming daily before them or hearing them declaim.

> Latin: 11.6. porro est honestius quam docere quod optime scias? ad se Caelium deductum a patre Cicero profitetur; sic Pansam, Hirtium, Dolabellam ad morem praeceptoris exercuit cotidie dicens audiensque.

[¶43] 11.7. And I know not whether we should not deem it the happiest moment in an orator's life, when he has retired from the public gaze, the consecrated priest of eloquence, free from envy and far from strife, when he has set his glory on a pinnacle beyond the reach of detraction, enjoys, while still living, that veneration which most men win but after death, and sees how great shall be his renown amid generations yet unborn.

> Latin: 11.7. nescio an eum tum beatissimum credi oporteat fore, cum iam secretus et consecratus, liber invidia, procul contentionibus famam ad tuto collocarit et sentiet vivus eam, quae post fata praestari magis solet, venerationem et, quid apud posteros futurus sit, videbit.

[¶44] 11.8. I can say with a good conscience that, as far as my poor powers have permitted, I have published frankly and disinterestedly, for the benefit of such as might wish to learn, all that my previous knowledge and the researches made for the purpose of this work might supply. And to have taught what lie knows is satisfaction enough for any good man.

> Latin: 11.8. sum mihi, quantum mediocritate valui, quaeque antea scierim, quaeque operis huiusce gratia potuerim inquirere, candide me atque simpliciter ad notitiam eorum, si qui forte cognoscere voluissent, protulisse. id viro bono satis est, docuisse quod scierit.

[¶45] 11.9. I fear, however, that I may be regarded as setting too lofty an ideal for the orator by insisting that he should be a good man skilled in speaking, or as imposing too many subjects of study on the learner. For in addition to the many branches of knowledge which have to be studied in boyhood and the traditional rules of eloquence, I have enjoined the study of morals and of civil law, so that I am afraid that even those who have regarded these things as essential to my theme, may he appalled at the delay which they impose and abandon all hope of achievement before they have put my precepts to the test.

> Latin: 11.9. tamen, ne aut magna nimium videar exigere, qui eundem virum bonum esse et dicendi peritum velim, aut multa, qui tot artibus ad pueritia discendis morum quoque praecepta et scientiam iris civilis praeter ea, quae de eloquentia tradebantur, adiecerim, quique haec operi nostro necessaria esse crediderint, velut moram rei perhorrescant et desperent ante experimentum.

[¶46] 11.10. I would ask them to consider how great are the powers of the mind of man and how astonishing its capacity for carrying its desires into execution: for has not man succeeded in crossing the high seas, in learning the number and the courses of the stars, and almost measuring the universe itself, all of them accomplishments of less importance than oratory, but of far greater difficulty? And then let them reflect on the greatness of' their aims and on the fact that no labour should be too huge for those that are beckoned by the hope of such reward.

> Latin: 11.10. primum renuntient sibi, quanta sit humani ingenii vis, quam potens efficiendi quae velit, cum maria transire, siderum cursus numerosque cognoscere, mundum ipsum paene dimetiri, minores, sed difficiliores artes potuerint. cogitent, quantam rem petant, quamque nullus sit hoc proposito praemio labor recusandus.

[¶47] 11.11. If they can only rise to the height of this conception, they will find it easier to enter on this portion of their task, and will cease to regard the road as impassable or even hard. For the first and greatest of' the aims we set before us, namely that we shall be good men, depends for its achievement mainly on the will to succeed: and he that truly and sincerely forms such resolve, will easily acquire those forms of knowledge that teach the way to virtue.

> Latin: 11.11. si mente conceperint, huic quoque parti facilius accedent, ut ipsum iter neque impervium neque saltem durum putent. id, quod prius quodque maius est, ut boni viri simus, voluntate maxime constat; quam qui vera fide induerit, facile eas, quae virtutem docent, artes accipiet.

[¶48] 11.12. For the precepts that are enjoined upon us are not so complex or so numerous that they may be acquired by little more than a few years' study. It is repugnance to learn that makes such labour long. For if you will only believe it, you will quickly learn the principles that shall lead you to a life of virtue and happiness. For nature brought us into the world that we might attain to all excellence of mind, and so easy is it for those to learn who seek for better things, that he who directs his gaze aright will rather marvel that the bad should be so many.

> Latin: 11.12. enim aut tam perplexa aut tam numerosa sunt quae praecipiuntur, ut non paucorum admodum annorum intentione discantur. enim facit operam quod repugnamus; brevis est institution vitae honestae beataeque, si credas. enim nos ad mentem optimam genuit, adeoque discere meliora uolentibus promptum est, ut vere intuenti mirum sit illud magis malos esse tam multos.

[¶49] 11.13. For as water is the natural element of fish, dry land for creatures of the earth and the circumambient atmosphere for winged things, even so it should be easier to live according to nature than counter to her will. As regards other accomplishments, there are plenty of years available for their acquisition, even though we measure the life of man not by the span of age, but by the period of youth. For in every case order and method and a sense of proportion will shorten our labour.

> Latin: 11.13. ut aqua piscibus, ut sicca terrenis, circumfusus nobis spiritus volucribus convenit, ita certe facilius esse oportebat secundum naturam quam contra eam vivere. vero, etiamsi aetatem nostram non spatio senectutis sed tempore adolescentiae metiamur, abunde multos ad discendum annos habent. enim breviora reddet ordo et ratio et modus.

[¶50] 11.14. But the chief fault lies with our teachers, in that they love to keep back the pupils they have managed to lay their hands on, partly from the desire to draw their miserable fees for as long as possible, partly out of ostentation, to enhance the difficulty of acquiring the knowledge which they promise to impart, and to some extent owing to their ignorance or carelessness in teaching. The next most serious fault lies in ourselves, who think it better to linger over what we have learned than to learn what we do not yet know.

> Latin: 11.14. culpa est ad praeceptoribus prima, qui libenter detinent quos occupaverunt, partim cupiditate diutius exigendi mercedulas, partim ambitione, quo difficilius videatur esse quod pollicentur, partim etiam inscientia tradendi vel negligentia. ad nobis, qui morari ad eo quod novimus, quam discere quae nondum scimus, melius putamus.

[¶51] 11.15. For example, to restrict my remarks mainly to the study of rhetoric, what is the use of spending so many years, after the fashion now so prevalent (for I will say nothing of those who spend almost their whole lives), in declaiming in the schools and devoting so much labour to the treatment of fictitious themes, when it would be possible with but slight expenditure of time to form some idea of what the true conflicts are in which the orator must engage, and of the laws of speaking which he ought to follow?

> Latin: 11.15. ut de nostris potissimum studiis dicam, quid attinet tam multis annis quam ad more est plurimorum (ut de his, a quibus magna ad hoc pars aetatis absumitur, taceam) declamitare ad schola et tantum laboris ad rebus falsis consumere, cum satis sit modico tempore imaginem veri discriminis et dicendi leges comperisse Quod non eo diro, quasi sit umquam omittenda dicendi exercitatio, sed quia non ad una sit eius specie consenescendum.

[¶52] 11.16. In saying this, I do not for a moment mean to suggest that we should ever omit to exercise ourselves in speaking. I merely urge that we should not grow old over one special form of exercise. We have been in a position to acquire varied knowledge, to familiarise ourselves with the principles that should guide our life, and to try our strength in the courts, while we were still attending the schools. The theory of speaking is of such a nature that it does not demand many years for its acquisition. For any one of the various branches of knowledge which I have mentioned will, as a rule, be found to be comprised in a few volumes, a fact which shows that instruction does not require an indefinite amount of time to be devoted to it. The rest depends entirely on practice, which at once develops our powers and maintains them, once developed.

> Latin: 11.16. varias cognoscere et praecepta vivendi perdiscere et ad foro nos experiri potuimus, dum scholastici sumus. ratio talis, ut non multos poscat annos. enim ex iis artibus, quarum habui mentionem, ad paucos libros contrahi solet; adeo non est infinito spatio ad traditionem opus. est exercitatio, quae vires cito facit, cum fecit, tuetur.

[¶53] 11.17. Knowledge increases day by day, and yet how many books is it absolutely necessary to read in our search for its attainment, for examples of facts from the historians or of eloquence from the orators, or, again, for the opinions of the philosophers and the lawyers, that is to say, if we are content to read merely what is useful without attempting the impossible task of reading everything?

> Latin: 11.17. cognitio cotidie crescit, et tamen quam multorum ad eam librorum necessaria lectio est, quibus aut rerum exempla ab historicis aut dicendi ab oratoribus petuntur, philosophorum quoque consultorumque opiniones, si utilia velimus legere non, quod ne fieri quidem potest, omnia? breve nobis tempus nos facimus.

[¶54] 11.18. But it is ourselves that make the time for study short: for how little time we allot to it! Some hours are passed in the futile labour of ceremonial calls, others in idle chatter, others in staring at the shows of the theatre, and others again in feasting. To this add all the various forms of amusement, the insane attention devoted to the cultivation of the body, journeys abroad, visits to the country, anxious calculation of loss and gain, the allurements of lust, wine-bibbing and those remaining hours which are all too few to gratify our souls on fire with passion for every kind of pleasure.

> Latin: 11.18. enim studiis partimur Alias horas vanus salutandi labor, alias datum tabulis otium, alias spectacula, alias convivia trahunt. tot genera ludendi et insanam corporis curam, peregrinatio, rura, calculorum anxiam sollicitudinem, invitamenta libidinum et vinum et flagrantibus omni genere voluptatum animis ne ea quidem tempora idonea, quae supersunt.

[¶55] 11.19. If all this time were spent on study, life would seem long enough and there would be plenty of time for learning, even though we should take the hours of daylight only into our account, without asking any assistance from the night, of which no little space is superfluous even for the heaviest sleeper. As it is, we count not the years which we have given to study, but the years we have lived.

> Latin: 11.19. si omnia studiis impenderentur, iam nobis longa aetas et abunde satis ad discendum spatii viderentur vel diurna tantum computantibus tempora ut nihil noctes, quarum bona pars omni somno longior est, adiuvarent. computamus annos, non quibus studuimus, sed quibus viximus.

[¶56] 11.20. And indeed even although geometricians, musicians and grammarians, together with the professors of every other branch of knowledge, spend all their lives, however long, in the study of one single science, it does not therefore follow that we require several lives more if we are to learn more. For they do not spend all their days even to old age in learning these things, but being content to have learned these things and nothing more, exhaust their length of years not in acquiring, but in imparting knowledge.

> Latin: 11.20. vero si geometrae et musici et grammatici ceterarumque artium professores omnem suam vitam, quamlibet longa fuerit, ad singulis artibus consumpserunt, sequitur ut plures quasdam vitas ad plura discenda desideremus. enim illi didicerunt haec usque ad senectutem, sed ea sola didicisse contenti fuerunt ac tot annos non ad percipiendo exhauserunt, sed ad praecipiendo.

[¶57] 11.21. However, to say nothing of Homer, in whom we may find either the perfect achievements, or at any rate clear signs of the knowledge of every art, and to pass by Hippias of Elis, who not merely boasted his knowledge of the liberal arts, but wore a robe, a ring and shoes, all of which he had made with his own hands, and had trained himself to be independent of external assistance, we accept the universal tradition of Greece to the effect that Gorgias, triumphant over all the countless ills incident to extreme old age, would bid his hearers propound any questions they pleased for him to answer.

> Latin: 11.21. , ut de Homero taceam, ad quo nullius non artis aut opera perfecta aut certe non dubia vestigia reperiuntur, (ut Eleum Hippiam transeam, qui non liberalium modo disciplinarum prae se scientiam tulit, sed vestem et anulum crepidasque, quae omni manu sua fecerat, ad usu habuit, atque ita se praeparavit, ne cuius alterius opere egeret,) illusisse tot malis, quot summa senectus habet, uniuersae Graeciae credimus Gorgian, qui quaerere auditores de quo quisque vellet iubebat.

[¶58] 11.22. Again in what branch of knowledge worthy of literary expression was Plato deficient? How many generations' study did Aristotle require to embrace not merely the whole range of philosophical and rhetorical knowledge, but to investigate the nature of every beast and plant. And yet they had to discover all these things which we only have to learn. Antiquity has given us all these teachers and all these patterns for our imitation, that there might be no greater happiness conceivable than to be born in this age above all others, since all previous ages have toiled that we might reap the fruit of their wisdom.

> Latin: 11.22. tandem ars digna litteris Platoni defuit? sacculis Aristoteles didicit, ut non solum, quae ad philosophos atque oratores pertinent, scientia complecteretur, sed animalium satorumque naturas omnes perquireret? haec invenienda fuerunt, nobis cognoscenda sunt. nos praeceptoribus, tot exemplis instruxit antiquitas, ut possit videri nulla sorte nascendi aetas felicior quam nostra, cui docendae priores elaborarunt.

[¶59] 11.23. Marcus Cato was at once a great general, a philosopher, orator, historian, and an expert both in law and agriculture, and despite his military labours abroad and the distractions of political struggles at home, and despite the rudeness of the age in which he lived, he none the less learned Greek, when far advanced in years, that he might prove to mankind that even old men are capable of learning that on which they have set their hearts.

> Latin: 11.23. M. igitur Cato idem summus imperator, idem sapiens, idem orator, idem historiae conditor, idem iris, idem rerum rusticarum peritissimus fuit inter tot operas militiae, tantas domi contentiones, rudi saeculo, litteras Graecas aetate iam declinata; didicit, ut esset hominibus documento ea quoque percipi posse quae senes concupissent.

[¶60] 11.24. How wide, almost universal, was the knowledge that Varro communicated to the world! What of all that goes to make up the equipment of an orator was lacking to Cicero? Why should I say more, since even Cornelius Celsus, a man of very ordinary ability, not merely wrote about rhetoric in all its departments, but left treatises on the art of war, agriculture and medicine as well. Indeed the high ambition revealed by his design gives him the right to ask us to believe that he was acquainted with all these subjects.

> Latin: 11.24. multa, paene omnia, tradidit Varro! instrumentum dicendi M. Tullio defuit? plura? cum etiam Cornelius Celsus, mediocri vir ingenio, non solum de his omnibus conscripserit artibus, sed amplius rei militaris et rusticae et medicinae praecepta reliquerit, dignus vel ipso proposito, ut eum scisse omnia illa credamus.

[¶61] 11.25. But, it will be urged, to carry out such a task is difficult and has never been accomplished. To which I reply that sufficient encouragement for study may be found in the fact, firstly, that nature does not forbid such achievement and it does not follow that, because a thing never has been done, it therefore never can be done, and secondly, that all great achievements have required time for their first accomplishment.

> Latin: 11.25. perficere tantum opus arduum et nemo perfecit. omnia sufficit ad exhortationem studiorum, capere id rerum naturam nec, quidquid non est factum, ne fieri quidem posse; tum omnia, quae magna sunt atque admirabilia, tempus aliquod quo primum efficerentur habuisse.

[¶62] 11.26. Poetry has risen to the heights of glory, thanks to the efforts of poets so far apart as Homer and Virgil, and oratory owes its position to the genius of Demosthenes and Cicero. Finally, whatever is best in its own sphere must at some previous time have been non-existent. But even if a man despair of reaching supreme excellence (and why should he despair, if he have talents, health, capacity and teachers to aid him?), it is none the less a fine achievement, as Cicero says, to win the rank of second or even third.

> Latin: 11.26. et poesis ab Homero et Vergilio tantum fastigium accepit et eloquentia a Demosthene atque Cicerone. quidquid est optimum, ante non fuerat. etiam si quis summa desperet (quod cur faciat, cui ingenium, valetudo, facultas, praeceptores non deerunt?), tamen est, ut Cicero ait, pulchrum ad secundis tertiisque consistere.

[¶63] 11.27. For even if a soldier cannot achieve the glory of Achilles in war, he will not despise fame such as fell to the lot of Ajax and Diomede, while those who cannot be Homers may be content to reach the level of Tyrtaeus. Nay, if men had been obsessed by the conviction that it was impossible to surpass the man who had so far shown himself best, those whom we now regard as best would never have reached such distinction, Lucretius and Macer would never have been succeeded by Virgil, nor Crassus and Hortensius by Cicero, nor they in their turn by those who flourished after them.

> Latin: 11.27. enim, si quis Achillis gloriam ad bellicis consequi non potest, Aiacis aut Diomedis laudem aspernabitur, nec qui Homeri non fuerunt, Tyrtaei. immo si hanc cogitationem homines habuissent, ut nemo se meliorem fore eo qui optimus fuisset, arbitraretur, ii ipsi, qui sunt optimi, non fuissent, neque post Lucretium ac Macrum Vergilius nec post Crassum et Hortensium Cicero, sed nec illi, qui post eos fuerunt.

[¶64] 11.28. But even though we cannot hope to surpass the great, it is still a high honour to follow in their footsteps. Did Pollio and Messala, who began to plead when Cicero held the citadel of eloquence, fail to obtain sufficient honour in their lifetime or to hand down a fair name to posterity? The arts which have been developed to the highest pitch of excellence would deserve but ill of mankind if that which was best had also been the last of its line.

> Latin: 11.28. ut transeundi spes non sit, magna tamen est dignitas subsequendi. Pollio et Messala, qui iam Cicerone arcem tenente eloquentiae agere coeperunt, parum ad vita dignitatis habuerunt, parum ad posteros gloriae tradiderunt? pessime de rebus humanis perductae ad summum artes mererentur, si, quod optimum, idem ultimum fuisset.

[¶65] 11.29. Add to this the further consideration that even moderate eloquence is often productive of great results and, if such studies are to be measured solely by their utility, is almost equal to the perfect eloquence for which we seek. Nor would it be difficult to produce either ancient or recent examples to show that there is no other source from which men have reaped such a harvest of wealth, honour, friendship and glory, both present and to come. But it would be a disgrace to learning to follow the fashion of those who say that they pursue not virtue, but only the pleasure derived from virtue, and to demand this meaner recompense from the noblest of all arts, whose practice and even whose possession is ample reward for all our labours.

> Latin: 11.29. quod magnos modica quoque eloquentia parit fructus ac, si quis haec studia utilitate sola metiatur, paene illi perfectae par est. erat difficile vel veteribus vel novis exemplis palam facere, non aliunde maiores opes, honores, amicitias, laudem praesentem, futuram hominibus contigisse, nisi indignum litteris esset, ab opere pulcherrimo, cuius tractatus atque ipsa possessio plenissimam studiis gratiam refert, hanc minorem exigere mercedem, more eorum, qui a se non virtutes sed voluptatem, quae fit ex virtutibus, peti dicunt.

[¶66] 11.30. Wherefore let us seek with all our hearts that true majesty of oratory, the fairest gift of god to man, without which all things are stricken dumb and robbed alike of present glory and the immortal record of posterity; and let us press forward to whatsoever is best, since, if we do this, we shall either reach the summit or at least see many others far beneath us.

> Latin: 11.30. igitur orandi maiestatem, qua nihil dii immortales melius homini dederunt et qua remota muta sunt omnia et luce praesenti ac memoria posteritatis carent, toto animo petamus nitamurque semper ad optima, quod facientes aut evademus ad summum aut certe multos infra nos videbimus.

[¶67] 11.31. Such, Marcellus Victorius, were the views by the expression of which it seemed to me that I might, as far as in me lay, help to advance the teaching of oratory. If the knowledge of these principles proves to be of small practical utility to the young student, it should at least produce what [value more,—the will to do well.

> Latin: 11.31. erant, Marcelle Victori, quibus praecepta dicendi pro virili parte adiuvari posse per nos videbantur, quorum cognitio studiosis iuvenibus si non magnam utilitatem adferet, at certe, quod magis petimus, bonam voluntatem.