Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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| 457 |
Erit illud plenius interim corpus , quod mox adulta aetas astringat . Hinc spes roboris . Maciem namque et infirmitatem in posterum minari solet protinus omnibus membris expressus infans . Audeat haec aetas plura et inveniat et inventis gaudeat , sint licet illa non satis sicca interim ac severa . Facile remedium est ubertati ;
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Such plumpness gives hope of strength; a child fully formed in every limb is likely to grow up a puny weakling. The young should be more daring and inventive and should rejoice in their inventions, even though correctness and severity are still to be acquired. Exuberance is easily remedied, but barrenness is incurable, be your efforts what they may. |
| 458 |
sterilia nullo labore vincuntur . Ilia mihi in pueris natura minimum spei dederit , in qua ingenium iudicio praesumitur . Materiam esse primum volo vel abundantiorem atque ultra quam oporteat fusam . Multum inde decoquent anni , multum ratio limabit , aliquid velut usu ipso deteretur , sit modo unde excidi possit et quod exsculpi ; erit autem , si non ab initio tenuem nimium laminam duxerimus et quam caelatura altior rumpat .
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To my mind the boy who gives least promise is one in whom the critical faculty develops in advance of the imagination. I like to see the first fruits of the mind copious to excess and almost extravagant in their profusion. The years as they pass will skim off much of the froth, reason will file away many excrescences, and something too will be removed by what I may perhaps call the wear and tear of life, so long as there is sufficient material to admit of cutting and chiselling away. And there will be sufficient, if only we do not draw the plate too thin to begin with, so that it runs the risk of being broken if the graver cut too deep. |
| 459 |
Quod me de his aetatibus sentire minus mirabitur , qui apud Ciceronem legerit : Volo enim se efferat in adolescente fecunditas . Quapropter in primis evitandus et in pueris praecipue magister aridus , non minus quam teneris adhuc plantis siccum et sine humore ullo solum .
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Those of my readers who know their Cicero will not be surprised that I take this view: for does he not say "I would have the youthful mind run riot in the luxuriance of its growth" ? We must, therefore, take especial care, above all where boys are concerned, to avoid a dry teacher, even as we avoid a dry and arid soil for plants that are still young and tender. |
| 460 |
Inde fiunt humiles statim et velut terram spectantes , qui nihil supra cotidianum sermonem attollere audeant . Macies illis pro sanitate et iudicii loco infirmitas est , et dum satis putant vitio carere , in id ipsum incidunt vitium , quod virtutibus carent . Quare mihi ne maturitas quidem ipsa festinet , nec musta in lacu statim austera sint ; sic et annos ferent et vetustate proficient .
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For with such a teacher their growth is stunted and their eyes are turned earthwards, and they are afraid to rise above the level of daily speech. Their leanness is regarded as a sign of health and their weakness as a sign of sound judgment, and while they are content that their work should be devoid of faults they fall into the fault of being devoid of merit. So let not the ripeness of vintage come too soon nor the must turn harsh while yet in the vat; thus it will last for years and mellow with age. |
| 461 |
Ne illud quidem quod admoneamus indignum est , ingenia puerorum nimia interim emendationis severitate deficere ; nam et desperant et dolent et novissime oderunt et , quod maxime nocet , dum omnia timent , nihil conantur .
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It is worth while too to warn the teacher that undue severity in correcting faults is liable at times to discourage a boy's mind from effort. He loses hope and gives way to vexation, then last of all comes to hate his work and fearing everything attempts nothing. |
| 462 |
Quod etiam rusticis notum est , qui frondibus teneris non putant adhibendam esse falcem , quia reformidare ferrum videntur et nondum cicatricem pati posse .
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This phenomenon is familiar to farmers, who hold that the pruning-hook should not be applied while the leaves are yet young, for they seem to "shrink from the steel" and to be unable as yet to endure a scar. |
| 463 |
Iucundus ergo tum maxime debet esse praeceptor , ut remedia , quae alioqui natura sunt aspera , molli manu leniantur ; laudare aliqua , ferre quaedam , mutare etiam , reddita cur id fiat ratione , illuminare interponendo aliquid sui . Nonnunquam hoc quoque erit utile , ipsum totas dictare materias , quas et imitetur puer et interim tanquam suas amet .
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The instructor therefore should be as kindly as possible at this stage; remedies, which are harsh by nature, must be applied with a gentle hand: some portions of the work must be praised, others tolerated and others altered: the reason for the alterations should however be given, and in some cases the master will illumine an obscure passage by inserting something of his own. Occasionally again the teacher will find it useful to dictate whole themes himself that the boy may imitate them and for the time being love them as if they were his own. |
| 464 |
At si tam negligens ei stilus fuerit , ut emendationem non recipiat ; expertus sum prodesse , quotiens eandem materiam rursus a me tractatam scribere de integro iuberem ; posse enim adhuc eum melius , quatenus nullo magis studia quam spe gaudent .
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But if a boy's composition is so careless as not to admit of correction, I have found it useful to give a fresh exposition of the theme and to tell him to write it again, pointing out that he was capable of doing better: for there is nothing like hope for making study a pleasure. |
| 465 |
Aliter autem alia aetas emendanda est , et pro modo virium et exigendum et corrigendum opus . Solebam ego dicere pueris aliquid ausis licentius aut laetius , laudare illud me adhuc , venturum tempus , quo idem non permitterem ; ita et ingenio gaudebant et iudicio non fallebantur .
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Different ages however demand different methods: the task set and the standard of correction must be proportioned to the pupil's strength. When boys ventured on something that was too daring or exuberant, I used to say to them that I approved of it for the moment, but that the time would come when I should no longer tolerate such a style. The result was that the consciousness of ability filled them with pleasure, without blinding their judgment. |
| 466 |
Sed ut eo revertar , unde sum digressus : narrationes stilo componi quanta maxima possit adhibita diligentia volo . Nam ut primo , cum sermo instituitur , dicere quae audierint utile est pueris ad loquendi facultatem , ideoque et retro agere expositionem et a media in utramque partem discurrere sane merito cogantur , sed ad gremium praeceptoris , et dum aliud non possunt et dum res ac verba connectere incipiunt , ut protinus memoriam firment : ita cum iam formam rectae atque emendatae orationis accipient , extemporalis garrulitas nec exspectata cogitatio et vix surgendi mora circulatoriae vere iactationis est .
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However, to return to the point from which I had digressed. Written narratives should be composed with the utmost care. It is useful at first, when a child has just begun to speak, to make him repeat what he has heard with a view to improving his powers of speech; and for the same purpose, and with good reason, I would make him tell his story from the end back to the beginning or start in the middle and go backwards or forwards, but only so long as he is at his teacher's knee and while he is incapable of greater effort and is beginning to connect words and things, thereby strengthening the memory. Even so when he is beginning to understand the nature of correct and accurate speech, extempore effusions, improvised without waiting for thought to supply the matter or a moment's hesitation before rising to the feet, must not be permitted: they proceed from a passion for display that would do credit to a common mountebank. |
| 467 |
Hinc parentium imperitorum inane gaudium , ipsis vero contemptus operis et inverecunda frons et consuetudo pessime dicendi et malorum exercitatio et , quae magnos quoque profectus frequenter perdidit , arrogans de se persuasio innascitur .
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Such proceedings fill ignorant parents with senseless pride, while the boys themselves lose all respect for their work, adopt a conceited bearing, and acquire the habit of speaking in the worst style and actually practising their faults, while they develop an arrogant conviction of their own talents which often proves fatal even to the most genuine proficiency. |
| 468 |
Erit suum parandae facilitati tempus , nec a nobis negligenter locus iste transibitur . Interim satis est , si puer omni cura et summo , quantum illa aetas capit , labore aliquid probabile scripserit ; in hoc assuescat , huius sibi rei naturam faciat . Ille demum in id , quod quaerimus , aut ei proximum poterit evadere , qui ante discet recte dicere quam cito .
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There will be a special time for acquiring fluency of speech and I shall not pass the subject by unnoticed. For the meantime it will suffice if a boy, by dint of taking pains and working as hard as his age will permit, manages to produce something worthy of approval. Let him get used to this until it becomes a second nature. It is only he who learns to speak correctly before he can speak with rapidity who will reach the heights that are our goal or the levels immediately below them. |
| 469 |
Narrationibus non inutiliter subiungitur opus destruendi confirmandique eas , quod ἀνασκευή et κατασκευή vocatur . Id porro non tantum in fabulosis et carmine traditis fieri potest , verum etiam in ipsis annalium monumentis ; ut , si quaeratur , an sit credibile super caput Valeri pugnantis sedisse corvum , qui os oculosque hostis Galli rostro atque alis everberaret , sit in utramque partem ingens ad dicendum materia ;
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To narratives is annexed the task of refuting and confirming them, styled anaskeue and kataskeue, from which no little advantage may be derived. This may be done not merely in connexion with fiction and stories transmitted by the poets, but with the actual records of history as well. For instance we may discuss the credibility of the story that a raven settled on the head of Valerius in the midst of a combat and with its wings and beak struck the eyes of the Gaul who was his adversary, and a quantity of arguments may be produced on either side: |
| 470 |
aut de serpente , quo Scipio traditur genitus , et lupa Romuli et Egeria Numae . Nam Graecis historiis plerumque poeticae similis licentia est . Saepe etiam quaeri solet de tempore , de loco quo gesta res dicitur , nonnunquam de persona quoque ; sicut Livius frequentissime dubitat , et alii ab aliis historici dissentiunt .
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or we may discuss the tradition that Scipio was begotten by a serpent, or that Romulus was suckled by the she-wolf, or the story of Numa and Egeria. As regards Greek history, it allows itself something very like poetic licence. Again the time and place of some particular occurrence and sometimes even the persons concerned often provide matter for discussion: Livy for instance is frequently in doubt as to what actually occurred and historians often disagree. |
| 471 |
Inde paulatim ad maiora tendere incipiet , laudare claros viros et vituperare improbos , quod non simplicis utilitatis opus est . Namque et ingenium exercetur multiplici variaque materia , et animus contemplatione recti pravique formatur , et multa inde cognitio rerum venit exemplisque , quae sunt in omni genere causarum potentissima , iam tum instruit , cum res poscet , usurum .
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From this our pupil will begin to proceed to more important themes, such as the praise of famous men and the denunciation of the wicked. Such tasks are profitable in more than one respect. The mind is exercised by the variety and multiplicity of the subject matter, while the character is moulded by the contemplation of virtue and vice. Further wide knowledge of facts is thus acquired, from which examples may be drawn if circumstances so demand, such illustrations being of the utmost value in every kind of case. |
| 472 |
Hinc illa quoque exercitatio subit comparationis , uter melior uterve deterior ; quae quanquam versatur in ratione simili , tamen et duplicat materiam et virtutum vitiorumque non tantum naturam , sed etiam modum tractat . Verum de ordine laudis contraque , quoniam tertia haec rhetorices pars est , praecipiemus suo tempore .
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It is but a step from this to practice in the comparison of the respective merits of two characters. This is of course a very similar theme to the preceding, but involves a duplication of the subject matter and deals not merely with the nature of virtues and vices, but with their degree as well. But the method to be followed in panegyric and invective will be dealt with in its proper place, as it forms the third department of rhetoric. |
| 473 |
Communes loci ( de iis loquor , quibus citra personas in ipsa vitia moris est perorare , ut in adulterum , aleatorem , petulantem ) ex mediis sunt iudiciis et , si reum adiicias , accusationes ; quanquam hi quoque ab illo generali tractatu ad quasdam deduci species solent , ut si ponatur adulter caecus , aleator pauper , petulans senex . Habent autem nonnunquam etiam defensionem .
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As to commonplaces (I refer to those in which we denounce vices themselves such as adultery, gambling or profligacy without attacking particular persons), they come straight from the courts and, if we add the name of the defendant, amount to actual accusations. As a rule, however, the general character of a commonplace is usually given a special turn: for instance we make our adulterer blind, our gambler poor and our profligate far advanced in years. Sometimes too they entail defence: |
| 474 |
Nam et pro luxuria et pro amore dicimus , et leno interim parasitusque defenditur sic , ut non homini patrocinemur , sed crimini .
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for we may speak on behalf of luxury or love, while a pimp or a parasite may be defended in such a way that we appeal as counsel not for the character itself, but to rebut some specific charge that is brought against him. |
| 475 |
Theses autem , quae sumuntur ex rerum comparatione , ut rusticane vita an urbana potior , iurisperiti an militaris viri laus maior , mire sunt ad exercitationem dicendi speciosae atque uberes , quae vel ad suadendi officium vel etiam ad iudiciorum disceptationem iuvant plurimum . Nam posterior ex praedictis locus in causa Murenae copiosissime a Cicerone tractatur .
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Theses on the other hand are concerned with the comparison of things and involve questions such as "Which is preferable, town or country life?" or "Which deserves the greatest praise, the lawyer or the soldier?" These provide the most attractive and copious practice in the art of speaking, and are most useful whether we have an eye to the duties of deliberative oratory or the arguments of the courts. For instance Cicero in his pro Murena deals very fully with the second of the two problems mentioned above. |
| 476 |
Sunt et illae paene totae ad deliberativum pertinentes genus , ducendane uxor , petendine sint magistratus . Namque et hae personis modo adiectis suasoriae erunt .
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Other theses too belong entirely to the deliberative class of oratory, as for instance the questions as to "Whether marriage is desirable" or "Whether a public career is a proper object of ambition." Put such discussions into the mouths of specific persons and they become deliberative declamations at once. |
| 477 |
Solebant praeceptores mei neque inutili et nobis etiam iucundo genere exercitationis praeparare nos coniecturalibus causis , cum quaerere atque exsequi iuberent , Cur armata apud Lacedaemonios Venus , et Quid ita crederetur Cupido puer atque volucer et sagittis ac face armatus , et similia , in quibus scrutabamur voluntatem , cuius in controversiis frequens quaestio est , quod genus chriae videri potest .
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My own teachers used to prepare us for conjectural cases by a form of exercise which was at once useful and attractive: they made us discuss and develop questions such as "Why in Sparta is Venus represented as wearing armour?" or "Why is Cupid believed to be a winged boy armed with arrows and a torch?" and the like. In these exercises our aim was to discover the intention implied, a question which frequently occurs in controversial declamations. Such themes may perhaps be regarded as a kind of chria or moral essay. |
| 478 |
Nam locos quidem , quales sunt de testibus , semperne his credendum , et de argumentis , an habenda etiam parvis fides , adeo manifestum est ad forenses actiones pertinere , ut quidam neque ignobiles in officiis civilibus scriptos eos memoriaeque diligentissime mandatos in promptu habuerint , ut quotiens esset occasio , extemporales eorum dictiones his velut emblematis exornarentur .
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That certain topics such as the question as to whether we should always believe a witness or whether we should rely on circumstantial evidence, are part and parcel of actual forensic pleading is so obvious that certain speakers, men too who have held civil office with no small distinction, have written out passages dealing with such themes, committed them to memory and kept them ready for immediate use, with a view to employing them when occasion arose as a species of ornament to be inserted into their extempore speeches. |
| 479 |
Quo quidem ( neque enim eius rei iudicium differre sustineo ) summam videbantur mihi infirmitatem de se confiteri . Nam quid ii possint in causis , quarum varia et nova semper est facies , proprium invenire ? quomodo propositis ex parte adversa respondere , altercationibus velociter occurrere , testem rogare ? qui etiam in iis , quae sunt communia et in plurimis causis tractantur , vulgatissimos sensus verbis nisi tanto ante praeparatis prosequi nequeant .
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This practice— for I am not going to postpone expressing my judgment on it—I used to regard a confession of extreme weakness. For how can such men find appropriate arguments in the course of actual cases which continually present new and different features? How can they answer the points that their opponents may bring up? how deal a rapid counterstroke in debate or cross-examine a witness? if, even in those matters which are of common occurrence and crop up in the majority of cases, they cannot give expression to the most familiar thoughts except in words prepared so far in advance. |
| 480 |
Necesse vero iis , cum eadem iudiciis pluribus dicunt , aut fastidium moveant velut frigidi et repositi cibi , aut pudorem deprehensa totiens audientium memoria infelix supellex , quae sicut apud pauperes ambitiosos pluribus et diversis officiis conteratur :
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And when they produce the same passage in a number of different cases, they must come to loathe it like food that has grown cold or stale, and they can hardly avoid a feeling of shame at displaying this miserable piece of furniture to an audience whose memory must have detected it so many times already: like the furniture of the ostentatious poor, it is sure to shew signs of wear through being used for such a variety of different purposes. |
| 481 |
cum eo quidem quod vix ullus est tam communis locus , qui possit cohaerere cum causa nisi aliquo propriae quaestionis vinculo copulatus ; appareat alioqui non tam insertum quam adplicitum ,
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Also it must be remembered that there is hardly a single commonplace of such universal application that it will fit any actual case, unless some special link is provided to connect it with the subject: otherwise it will seem to have been tacked on to the speech, not interwoven in its texture, |
| 482 |
vel quod dissimilis est ceteris vel quod plerumque adsumi etiam parum apte solet , non quia desideratur sed quia paratus est : ut quidam sententiarum gratia verbosissimos locos arcessunt , cum ex locis debeat nasci sententia .
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either because it is out of keeping with the circumstances or like most of its kind is inappropriately employed not because it is wanted, but because it is ready for use. Some speakers, for example, introduce the most long-winded commonplaces just for the sake of the sentiments they contain, whereas rightly the sentiments should spring from the context. |
| 483 |
Ita sunt autem speciosa haec et utilia , si oriuntur ex causa ; ceterum quamlibet pulchra elocutio , nisi ad victoriam tendit , utique supervacua , sed interim etiam contraria est . Verum hactenus evagari satis fuerit .
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Such disquisitions are at once ornamental and useful, only if they arise from the nature of the case. But the most finished eloquence, unless it tend to the winning of the case, is to say the least superfluous and may even defeat its own purpose. However I must bring this digression to a close. |
| 484 |
Legum laus ac vituperatio iam maiores ac prope summis operibus suffecturas vires desiderant ; quae quidem suasoriis an controversiis magis accommodata sit exercitatio , consuetudine et iure civitatium differt . Apud Graecos enim lator earum ad iudicem vocabatur , Romanis pro contione suadere ac dissuadere moris fuit . Utroque autem modo pauca de his et fere certa dicuntur . Nam et genera sunt tria , sacri , publici , privati iuris .
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The praise or denunciation of laws requires greater powers; indeed they should almost be equal to the most serious tasks of rhetoric. The answer to the question as to whether this exercise is more nearly related to deliberative or controversial oratory depends on custom and law and consequently varies in different states. Among the Greeks the proposer of a law was called upon to set forth his case before a judge, while in Rome it was the custom to urge the acceptance or rejection of a law before the public assembly. But in any case the arguments advanced in such cases are few in number and of a definite type. For there are only three kinds of law, sacred, public and private. |
| 485 |
Quae divisio ad laudem magis spectat , si quis eam per gradus augeat , quod lex , quod publica , quod ad religionem deum comparata sit . Ea quidem , de quibus quaeri solet , communia omnibus .
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This division is of rhetorical value chiefly when a law is to be praised. For example the orator may advance from praise to praise by a series of gradations, praising an enactment first because it is law, secondly because it is public, and, finally, designed for the support of religion. As regards the questions which generally arise, they are common to all cases. |
| 486 |
Aut enim de iure dubitari potest eius , qui rogat , ut de P . Clodi , qui non rite creatus tribunus arguebatur ; aut de ipsius rogationis , quod est varium , sive non trino forte nundino promulgata sive non idoneo die , sive contra intercessionem vel auspicia aliudve quid , quod legitimis obstet , dicitur lata esse vel ferri , sive alicui manentium legum repugnare .
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Doubts may be raised as to whether the mover is legally in a position to propose a law, as happened in the case of Publius Clodius, whose appointment as tribune of the plebs was alleged to be unconstitutional. Or the legality of the proposal itself may be impugned in various ways; it may for instance be urged that the law was not promulgated within seventeen days, or was proposed, or is being proposed on an improper day, or in defiance of the tribunicial veto or the auspices or any other legal obstacle, or again that it is contrary to some existing law. |
| 487 |
Sed haec ad illas primas exercitationes non pertinent ; nam sunt hae citra complexum personarum , temporum , causarum . Reliqua eadem fere vero fictoque huiusmodi certamine tractantur .
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But such points are not suitable to elementary rhetorical exercises, which are not concerned with persons, times or particular cases. Other subjects, whether the dispute be real or fictitious, are generally treated on the following lines. |
| 488 |
Nam vitium aut in verbis aut in rebus est . In verbis quaeritur , an satis significent , an sit in iis aliquid ambiguum ; in rebus , an lex sibi ipsa consentiat , an in praeteritum ferri debeat , an in singulos homines . Maxime vero commune est quaerere , an sit honesta , an utilis .
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The fault must lie either in the words or the matter. As regards the words, the question will be whether they are sufficiently clear or contain some ambiguity, and as regards the matter whether the law is consistent with itself or should be retrospective or apply to special individuals. The point however which is most commonly raised is the question whether the law is right or expedient. |
| 489 |
Nec ignore , plures fieri a plerisque partes ; sed nos iustum , pium , religiosum , ceteraque his similia honesto complectimur . Iusti tamen species non simpliciter excuti solent . Aut enim de re ipsa quaeritur , ut dignane poena vel praemio sit , aut de modo praemii poenaeve , qui tam maior quam minor culpari potest .
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I am well aware that many rhetoricians introduce a number of sub-divisions in connexion with this latter enquiry. I however include under the term right all such qualities as justice, piety and religion. Justice is however usually discussed under various aspects. A question may be raised about the acts with which the law is concerned, as to whether they deserve punishment or reward or as to the degree of punishment or reward that should be assigned, since excess in either direction is open to criticism. |
| 490 |
Utilitas quoque interim natura discernitur , interim tempore . Quaedam an obtineri possint , ambigi solet . Ne illud quidem ignorare oportet , leges aliquando totas , aliquando ex parte reprehendi solere , cum exemplum rei utriusque nobis claris orationibus praebeatur .
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Again expediency is sometimes determined by the nature of things, sometimes by the circumstances of the time. Another common subject of controversy is whether a law can be enforced, while one must not shut one's eyes to the fact that exception is sometimes taken to laws in their entirety, but sometimes only in part, examples of both forms of criticism being found in famous speeches. |
| 491 |
Nec me fallit , eas quoque leges esse , quae non in perpetuum rogentur , sed de honoribus aut imperiis , qualis Manilia fuit , de qua Ciceronis oratio est . Sed de his nihil hoc loco praecipi potest ; constant enim propria rerum , de quibus agitur , non communi qualitate .
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I am well aware, too, that there are laws which are not proposed with a view to perpetuity, but are concerned with temporary honours or commands, such as the lex Manilia which is the subject of one of Cicero's speeches. This however is not the place for instructions on this topic, since they depend on the special circumstances of the matters under discussion, not on their general characteristics. |
| 492 |
His fere veteres facultatem dicendi exercuerunt assumpta tamen a dialecticis argumentandi ratione . Nam fictas ad imitationem fori consiliorumque materias apud Graecos dicere circa Demetrium Phalerea institutum fere constat .
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Such were the subjects on which the ancients as a rule exercised their powers of speaking, though they called in the assistance of the logicians as well to teach them the theory of argument. For it is generally agreed that the declamation of fictitious themes in imitation of the questions that arise in the law courts or deliberative assemblies came into vogue among the Greeks about the time of Demetrius of Phalerum. |
| 493 |
An ab ipso id genus exercitationis sit inventum , ut alio quoque libro sum confessus , parum comperi ; sed ne ii quidem , qui hoc fortissime adfirmant , ullo satis idoneo auctore nituntur . Latinos vero dicendi praeceptores extremis L . Crassi temporibus coepisse Cicero auctor est ; quorum insignis maxime Plotius fuit .
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Whether this type of exercise was actually invented by him I have failed to discover, as I have acknowledged in another work. But not even those who most strongly assert his claim to be the inventor, can produce any adequate authority in support of their opinion. As regards Latin teachers of rhetoric, of whom Plotius was the most famous, Cicero informs us that they came into existence towards the end of the age of Crassus. |
| 494 |
Sed de ratione declamandi post paulum . Interim , quia prima rhetorices rudimenta tractamus , non omittendum videtur id quoque , ut moneam , quantum sit collaturus ad profectum discentium rhetor , si , quemadmodum a grammaticis exigitur poetarum enarratio , ita ipse quoque historiae atque etiam magis orationum lectione susceptos a se discipulos instruxerit ; quod nos in paucis , quorum id aetas exigebat et parentes utile esse crediderant , servavimus .
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I will speak of the theory of declamation a little later. In the mean time, as we are discussing the elementary stages of a rhetorical education, I think I should not fail to point out how greatly the rhetorician will contribute to his pupils' progress, if he imitates the teacher of literature whose duty it is to expound the poets, and gives the pupils whom he has undertaken to train, instruction in the reading of history and still more of the orators. I myself have adopted this practice for the benefit of a few pupils of suitable age whose parents thought it would be useful. |