Institutio Oratoria (Quintilian)

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	Institutio Oratoria Author: Quintilian	Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
381	Curabit 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 .	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.
382	Observandum 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 . Nam frons pluribus generibus peccat .	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,
383	Vidi multos , quorum supercilia ad singulos vocis conatus adlevarentur , aliorum constricta , aliorum etiam dissidentia , cum alterum in verticem tenderent , altero paene oculus ipse premeretur .	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.
384	Infinitum autem , ut mox dicemus , in his quoque rebus momentum est ; et nihil potest placere quod non decet .	These are details, but as I shall shortly show, they are of enormous importance, for nothing that is unbecoming can have a pleasing effect.
385	Debet etiam docere comoedus , quomodo narrandum , qua sit auctoritate suadendum , qua concitatione consurgat ira , qui flexus deceat miserationem . Quod ita optime faciet , si certos ex comoediis elegerit locos et ad hoc maxime idoneos , id est , actionibus similes .	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.
386	Iidem autem non ad pronuntiandum modo utilissimi verum ad augendam quoque eloquentiam maxime accommodati erunt .	These are not only most useful in training the delivery, but are admirably adapted to increase a speaker's eloquence.
387	Et 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 .	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.
388	Ne illos quidem reprehendendos puto , qui paulum etiam palaestricis vacaverunt . Non 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 ) ;	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.
389	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 .	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.
390	Nam 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 .	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.
391	Nam Lacedaemonios quidem etiam saltationem quandam tanquam ad bella quoque utilem habuisse inter exercitationes accepimus . Neque 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 .	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.
392	A me tamen nec ultra pueriles annos retinebitur nec in his ipsis diu . Neque 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 .	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.
393	Quaeri solet , an , etiamsi discenda sint haec , eodem tempore tamen tradi omnia et percipi possint . Negant 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 .	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.
394	Sed 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 .	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.
395	An 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 ?	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?
396	Quid ? nos agendi subita necessitate deprehensi nonne alia dicimus , alia providemus , cum pariter inventio rerum , electio verborum , compositio , gestus , pronuntiatio , vultus , motus desiderentur ? Quae 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 . Ideo et stilus lectione requiescit , et ipsius lectionis taedium vicibus levatur .	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.
397	Quamlibet multa egerimus , quodam tamen modo recentes sumus ad id quod incipimus . Quis non obtundi potest , si per totum diem cuiuscunque artis unum magistrum ferat ? Mutatione recreabitur sicut in cibis , quorum diversitate reficitur stomachus et pluribus minore fastidio alitur .	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.
398	Aut dicant isti mihi , quae sit alia ratio discendi . Grammatico 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 ?	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?
399	Cur 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 ? Cur 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 . Adeo facilius est multa facere quam diu .	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.
400	Illud quidem minime verendum est , ne laborem studiorum pueri difficilius tolerent , neque enim ulla aetas minus fatigatur . Mirum sit forsitan , sed experimentis deprehendas .	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.
401	Nam et dociliora sunt ingenia , priusquam obduruerunt . Id 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 . Magis scias , si quem iam robustum instituere litteris coeperis , non sine causa dici παιδομαθεῖς eos , qui in sua quidque arte optime faciant .	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.
402	Et patientior est laboris natura pueris quam iuvenibus . Videlicet , 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 .	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.
403	Praeterea secundum aliam aetatis illius facilitatem velut simplicius docentes sequuntur nec quae iam egerint metiuntur . Abest illis adhuc etiam laboris iudicium . Porro , ut frequenter experti sumus , minus adficit sensus fatigatio quam cogitatio .	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.
404	Sed ne temporis quidem unquam plus erit , quia his aetatibus omnis in audiendo profectus est . Cum ad stilum secedet , cum generabit ipse aliquid atque componet , tum inchoare haec studia vel non vacabit vel non libebit .	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.
405	Ergo cum grammaticus totum occupare diem non possit nec debeat , ne discentis animum taedio avertat , quibus potius studiis haec temporum velut subsiciva donabimus ?	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?
406	Nam 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 . Longa est enim , quae discit , aetas , et ego non de tardis ingeniis loquor .	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.
407	Denique 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 .	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.
408	Difficultatis patrocinia praeteximus segnitiae . Neque enim nobis operis amor est , nec , quia sit honesta ac rerum pulcherrima eloquentia , petitur ipsa , sed ad venalem usum et sordidum lucrum accingimur .	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.
409	Dicant sine his in foro multi et adquirant , dum sit locupletior aliquis sordidae mercis negotiator et plus voci suae debeat praeco . Nec velim quidem lectorem dari mihi quid studia referant computaturum .	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.
410	Qui 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 .	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.
411	Dedit enim hoc providentia hominibus munus , ut honesta magis iuvarent . Sed nos haec ipsa dulcedo longius duxit . Hactenus ergo de studiis , quibus , antequam maiora capiat , puer instituendus est ; proximus liber velut novum sumet exordium et ad rhetoris officia transibit .	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.
412	Liber II tenuit consuetudo , quae cotidie magis invalescit , ut praeceptoribus eloquentiae , Latinis quidem semper sed etiam Graecis interim , discipuli serius quam ratio postulat , traderentur . Eius rei duplex causa est , quod et rhetores utique nostri suas partes omiserunt et grammatici alienas occupaverunt .	Book II THE custom has prevailed and is daily growing commoner of sending boys to the schools of rhetoric much later than is reasonable: this is always the case as regards Latin rhetoric and occasionally applies to Greek as well. The reason for this is twofold: the rhetoricians, more especially our own, have abandoned certain of their duties and the teachers of literature have undertaken tasks which rightly belong to others.
413	Nam et illi declamare modo et scientiam declamandi ac facultatem tradere officii sui ducunt , idque intra deliberativas iudicialesque materias ( nam cetera ut professione sua minora despiciunt ) , et hi non satis credunt excepisse , quae relicta erant , ( quo nomine gratia quoque iis habenda est ) , sed ad prosopopoeias usque ac suasorias , in quibus onus dicendi vel maximum est , irrumpunt .	For the rhetorician considers that his duty is merely to declaim and give instruction in the theory and practice of declamation and confines his activities to deliberative and judicial themes, regarding all others as beneath the dignity of his profession; while the teacher of literature is not satisfied to take what is left him (and we owe him a debt of gratitude for this), but even presumes to handle declamations in character and deliberative themes, tasks which impose the very heaviest burden on the speaker.
414	Hinc ergo accidit , ut , quae alterius artis prima erant opera , facta sint alterius novissima , et aetas altioribus iam disciplinis debita in schola minore subsidat ac rhetoricen apud grammaticos exerceat . Ita , quod est maxime ridiculum , non ante ad declamandi magistrum mittendus videtur puer quam declamare sciat . Nos suum cuique professioni modum demus .	Consequently subjects which once formed the first stages of rhetoric have come to form the final stages of a literary education, and boys who are ripe for more advanced study are kept back in the inferior school and practise rhetoric under the direction of teachers of literature. Thus we get the absurd result that a boy is not regarded as fit to go on to the schools of declamation till he knows how to declaim. The two professions must each be assigned their proper sphere.
415	Et grammatice ( quam in Latinum transferentes litteraturam vocaverunt ) fines suos norit , praesertim tantum ab hac appellationis suae paupertate , intra quam primi illi constitere , provecta ; nam tenuis a fonte assumptis historicorum criticorumque viribus pleno iam satis alveo fluit , cum praeter rationem recte loquendi non parum alioqui copiosam prope omnium maximarum artium scientiam amplexa sit ;	Grammatice, which we translate as the science of letters, must learn to know its own limits, especially as it has encroached so far beyond the boundaries to which its unpretentious name should restrict it and to which its earlier professors actually confined themselves. Springing from a tiny fountain-head, it has gathered strength from the historians and critics and has swollen to the dimensions of a brimming river, since, not content with the theory of correct speech, no inconsiderable subject, it has usurped the study of practically all the highest departments of knowledge.
416	et rhetorice , cui nomen vis eloquendi dedit , officia sua non detrectet nec occupari gaudeat pertinentem ad se laborem , quae , dum opere cedit ,	On the other hand rhetoric, which derives its name from the power of eloquence, must not shirk its peculiar duties nor rejoice to see its own burdens shouldered by others. For the neglect of these is little less than a surrender of its birthright.
417	iam paene possessione depulsa est . Neque infitiabor , aliquem ex his , qui grammaticen profiteantur , eo usque scientiae progredi posse , ut ad haec quoque tradenda sufficiat ; sed cum id aget , rhetoris officio fungetur non suo .	I will of course admit that there may be a few professors of literature who have acquired sufficient knowledge to be able to teach rhetoric as well; but when they do so, they are performing the duties of the rhetorician, not their own.
418	Nos porro quaerimus , quando iis , quae rhetorice praecipit , percipiendis puer maturus esse videatur . In quo quidem non id est aestimandum , cuius quisque sit aetatis , sed quantum in studiis iam effecerit .	A further point into which we must enquire concerns the age at which a boy may be considered sufficiently advanced to profit by the instructions of the rhetorician. In this connexion we must consider not the boy's actual age, but the progress he has made in his studies. To put it briefly, I hold that the best answer to the question "When should a boy be sent to the school of rhetoric?"