Institutio Oratoria (Quintilian)

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	Institutio Oratoria Author: Quintilian	Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
571	Unde fit , ut dissoluta et ex diversis congesta oratio cohaerere non possit similisque sit commentariis puerorum , in quos ea , quae aliis declamantibus laudata sunt , regerunt . Magnas tamen sententias et res bonas , ita enim gloriari solent , elidunt ; nam et barbari et servi ; et si hoc sat est , nulla est ratio dicendi .	The result is a speech which, being composed of disconnected passages having nothing in common with each other, must necessarily lack cohesion and can only be compared to a schoolboy's notebook, in which he jots down any passages from the declamations of others that have come in for a word of praise. None the less they do occasionally strike out some good things and some fine epigrams, such as they make their boast. Why not? slaves and barbarians sometimes achieve the same effects, and if we are to be satisfied with this sort of thing, then good-bye to any theory of oratory.
572	Ne hoc quidem negaverim , sequi plerumque hanc opinionem , ut fortius dicere videantur indocti ; primum vitio male iudicantium , qui maiorem habere vim credunt ea , quae non habent artem , ut effringere quam aperire , rumpere quam solvere , trahere quam ducere putant robustius .	I must, however, admit that the general opinion is that the untrained speaker is usually the more vigorous. This opinion is due primarily to the erroneous judgment of faulty critics, who think that true vigour is all the greater for its lack of art, regarding it as a special proof of strength to force what might be opened, to break what might be untied and to drag what might be led.
573	Nam et gladiator , qui armorum inscius in rixam ruit , et luctator , qui totius corporis nisu in id , quod semel invasit , incumbit , fortior ab his vocatur ; cum interim et hic frequenter suis viribus ipse prosternitur , et illum vehementis impetus excipit adversarii mollis articulus .	Even a gladiator who plunges into the fight with no skill at arms to help him, and a wrestler who puts forth the whole strength of his body the moment he has got a hold, is acclaimed by them for his outstanding vigour, although it is of frequent occurrence in such cases for the latter to be overthrown by his own strength and for the former to find the fury of his onslaught parried by his adversary with a supple turn of the wrist.
574	Sed sunt in hac parte , quae imperitos etiam naturaliter fallant ; nam et divisio , cum plurimum valeat in causis , speciem virium minuit , et rudia politis maiora et sparsa compositis numerosiora creduntur .	But there are many details in this department of our art which the unskilled critic will never notice. For instance, careful division under heads, although of the utmost importance in actual cases, makes the outward show of strength seem less than the reality; the unhewn block is larger than the polished marble, and things when scattered seem more numerous than when placed together.
575	Est praeterea quaedam virtutum vitiorumque vicinia , qua maledicus pro libero , temerarius pro forti , effusus pro copioso accipitur . Maledicit autem ineruditus apertius et saepius vel cum periculo suscepti litigatoris , frequenter etiam suo .	There is moreover a sort of resemblance between certain merits and certain defects: abuse passes for freedom of speech, rashness for courage, prodigality for abundance. But the untrained advocate will abuse too openly and too often, even though by so doing he imperils the success of the case which he has undertaken and not seldom his own personal safety as well.
576	Adfert et ista res opinionem , quia libentissime homines audiunt ea , quae dicere ipsi noluissent . Illud quoque alterum quod est in elocutione ipsa periculum minus vitat conaturque perdite , unde evenit nonnunquam , ut aliquid grande inveniat qui semper quaerit quod nimium est ; verum id et raro provenit , et cetera vitia non pensat .	But even such violence will win men's good opinion, since they are only too pleased to hear another say things which nothing would have induced them to utter themselves. Such speakers are also less careful to avoid that other peril, the pitfall of style, and are so reckless in their efforts that sometimes in their passion for extravagance they light upon some really striking expression. But such success is rare and does not compensate for their other defects.
577	Propter hoc quoque interdum videntur indocti copiam habere maiorem , quod dicunt omnia ; doctis est et electio et modus . His accedit , quod a cura docendi quod intenderunt recedunt . Itaque illud quaestionum et argumentorum apud corrupta iudicia frigus evitant nihilque aliud , quam quod vel pravis voluptatibus aures assistentium permulceat , quaerunt .	For the same reason the uninstructed sometimes appear to have a richer flow of language, because they say everything that can be said, while the learned exercise discrimination and self-restraint. To this must be added the fact that such persons take no trouble to prove their contentions, and consequently steer clear of the chilly reception given in our decadent law-courts to arguments and questions and seek only for such themes as may beguile the ears of the public even at the cost of appealing to the most perverted tastes.
578	Sententiae quoque ipsae , quas solas petunt , magis eminent , cum omnia circa illas sordida et abiecta sunt ; ut lumina non inter umbras , quemadmodum Cicero dicit , sed plane in tenebris clariora sunt . Itaque ingeniosi vocentur , ut libet , dum tamen constet contumeliose sic laudari disertum .	Again, their epigrams, the sole objects of their quest, seem all the more striking because of the dreariness and squalor of their context, since flashes are more clearly seen against a background, not of mere "shade," as Cicero says, but of pitchy darkness. Well, let the world credit them with as much genius as it pleases, so long as it is admitted that such praise is an insult to any man of real eloquence.
579	Nihilominus confitendum est etiam detrahere doctrinam aliquid , ut limam rudibus et cotes hebetibus et vino vetustatem , sed vitia detrahit , atque eo solo minus est , quod litterae perpolierunt , quo melius .	None the less it must be confessed that learning does take something from oratory, just as the file takes something from rough surfaces or the whetstone from blunt edges or age from wine; it takes away defects, and if the results produced after subjection to the polish of literary study are less, they are less only because they are better.
580	Verum hi pronuntiatione quoque famam dicendi fortius quaerunt . Nam et clamant ubique et omnia levata , ut ipsi vocant , manu emugiunt , multo discursu , anhelitu , iactatione gestus , motu capitis furentes .	But these creatures have another weapon in their armoury: they seek to obtain the reputation of speaking with greater vigour than the trained orator by means of their delivery. For they shout on all and every occasion and bellow their every utterance "with uplifted hand," to use their own phrase, dashing this way and that, panting, gesticulating wildly and wagging their heads with all the frenzy of a lunatic.
581	Iam collidere manus , terrae pedem incutere , femur , pectus , frontem caedere , mire ad pullatum circulum facit ; cum ille eruditus , ut in oratione multa summittere , variare , disponere , ita etiam in pronuntiando suum cuique eorum , quae dicet , colori accommodare actum sciat , et , si quid sit perpetua observatione dignum , modestus et esse et videri malit .	Smite your hands together, stamp the ground, slap your thigh, your breast, your forehead, and you will go straight to the heart of the dingier members of your audience. But the educated speaker, just as he knows how to moderate his style, and to impart variety and artistic form to his speech, is an equal adept in the matter of delivery and will suit his action to the tone of each portion of his utterances, while, if he has any one canon for universal observance, it is that he should both possess the reality and present the appearance of self-control.
582	At illi hanc vim appellant , quae est potius violentia ; cum interim non actores modo aliquos invenias sed , quod est turpius , praeceptores etiam , qui brevem dicendi exercitationem consecuti omissa ratione ut tulit impetus , passim tumultuentur eosque , qui plus honoris litteris tribuerunt , ineptos et ieiunos et trepidos et infirmos , ut quodque verbum contumeliosissimum occurrit , appellent .	But the ranters confer the title of force on that which is really violence. You may also occasionally find not merely pleaders, but, what is far more shameful, teachers as well, who, after a brief training in the art of speaking, throw method to the winds and, yielding to the impulse of the moment, run riot in every direction, abusing those who hold literature in higher respect as fools without life, courage or vigour, and calling them the first and worst name that occurs to them.
583	Verum illis quidem gratulemur sine labor , sine ratione , sine disciplina disertis ; nos , quando et praecipiendi munus iam pridem deprecati sumus et in foro quoque dicendi , quia honestissimum finem putabamus desinere dum desideraremur , inquirendo scribendoque talia consolemur otium nostrum , quae futura usui bonae mentis iuvenibus arbitramur , nobis certe sunt voluptati .	Still let me congratulate these gentlemen on attaining eloquence without industry, method or study. As for myself I have long since retired from the task of teaching in the schools and of speaking in the courts, thinking it the most honourable conclusion to retire while my services were still in request, and all I ask is to be allowed to console my leisure by making such researches and composing such instructions as will, I hope, prove useful to young men of ability, and are, at any rate, a pleasure to myself.
584	Nemo autem a me exigat id praeceptorum genus , quod est a plerisque scriptoribus artium traditum , ut quasi quasdam leges inmutabili necessitate constrictas studiosis dicendi feram : utique prooemium et id quale , proxima huic narratio , quae lex deinde narrandi , propositio post hanc vel , ut quibusdam placuit , excursio , tum certus ordo quaestionum ceteraque , quae , velut si aliter facere fas non sit , quidam tanquam iussi sequuntur .	Let no one however demand from me a rigid code of rules such as most authors of textbooks have laid down, or ask me to impose on students of rhetoric a system of laws immutable as fate, a system in which injunctions as to the exordium and its nature lead the way; then come the statement of facts and the laws to be observed in this connexion: next the proposition or, as some prefer, the digression, followed by prescriptions as to the order in which the various questions should be discussed, with all the other rules, which some speakers follow as though they had no choice but to regard them as orders and as if it were a crime to take any other line.
585	Erat enim rhetorice res prorsus facilis ac parva , si uno et brevi praescripto contineretur ; sed mutantur pleraque causis , temporibus , occasione , necessitate . Atque ideo res in oratore praecipua consilium est , quia varie et ad rerum momenta convertitur .	If the whole of rhetoric could be thus embodied in one compact code, it would be an easy task of little compass: but most rules are liable to be altered by the nature of the case, circumstances of time and place, and by hard necessity itself. Consequently the all-important gift for an orator is a wise adaptability since he is called upon to meet the most varied emergencies.
586	Quid si enim praecipias imperatori , quotiens aciem instruat , derigat frontem , cornua utrinque promoveat , equites pro cornibus locet ? erit haec quidem rectissima fortasse ratio , quotiens licebit ; sed mutabitur natura loci , si mons occurret , si flumen obstabit , collibus , silvis , asperitate alia prohibebitur ;	What if you should instruct a general, as often as he marshals his troops for battle, to draw up his front in line, advance his wings to left and right, and station his cavalry to protect his flank? This will perhaps be the best plan, if circumstances allow. But it may have to be modified owing to the nature of the ground, if, for instance, he is confronted by a mountain, if a river bars his advance, or his movements are hampered by hills, woods or broken country.
587	mutabit hostium genus , mutabit praesentis condicio discriminis ; nunc acie directa nunc cuneis , Nunc auxiliis nunc legione pugnabitur , nonnunquam terga etiam dedisse simulata fuga proderit .	Or again it may be modified by the character of the enemy or the nature of the crisis by which he is faced. On one occasion he will fight in line, on another in column, on one he will use his auxiliary troops, on another his legionaries; while occasionally a feint of flight may win the day. So, too, with the rules of oratory.
588	Ita prooemium necessarium an supervacuum , breve an longius , ad iudicem omni sermone derecto an aliquando averso per aliquam figuram dicendum sit , constricta an latius fusa narratio , continua an divisa , recta an ordine permutato , causae docebunt . Itemque de quaestionum ordine , cum in eadem controversia aliud alii parti prius quaeri frequenter expediat .	Is the exordium necessary or superfluous? should it be long or short? addressed entirely to the judge or sometimes directed to some other quarter by the employment of some figure of speech? Should the statement of facts be concise or developed at some length? continuous or divided into sections? and should it follow the actual or an artificial order of events? The orator will find the answers to all these questions in the circumstances of the case. So, too, with the order in which questions should be discussed, since in any given debate it may often suit one party best that such and such a question come up first,
589	Neque enim rogationibus plebisve scitis sancta sunt ista praecepta , sed hoc quidquid est utilitas excogitavit .	while their opponents would be best suited by another. For these rules have not the formal authority of laws or decrees of the plebs, but are, with all they contain, the children of expediency.
590	Non negabo autem sic utile esse plerumque , alioqui nec scriberem ; verum , si eadem illa nobis aliud suadebit utilitas , hanc relictis magistrorum auctoritatibus sequemur .	I will not deny that it is generally expedient to conform to such rules, otherwise I should not be writing now; but if our friend expediency suggests some other course to us, why, we shall disregard the authority of the professors and follow her.
591	Equidem id maxime praecipiam ac repetens iterumque iterumque monebo : res duas in omni actu spectet orator , quid deceat et quid expediat . Expedit autem saepe mutare ex illo constituto traditoque ordine aliqua et interim decet , ut in statuis atque picturis videmus variari habitus , vultus , status . Nam recti quidem corporis vel minima gratia est ;	For my part above all things "This I enjoin and urge and urge anew" that in all his pleadings the orator should keep two things constantly in view, what is becoming and what is expedient. But it is often expedient and occasionally becoming to make some modification in the time-honoured order. We see the same thing in pictures and statues. Dress, expression and attitude are frequently varied.
592	nempe enim adversa sit facies et demissa brachia et iuncti pedes et a summis ad ima rigens opus . Flexus ille et , ut sic dixerim , motus dat actum quendam et adfectum . Ideo nec ad unum modum formatae manus et in vultu mille species .	The body when held bolt upright has but little grace, for the face looks straight forward, the arms hang by the side, the feet are joined and the whole figure is stiff from top to toe. But that curve, I might almost call it motion, with which we are so familiar, gives an impression of action and animation. So, too, the hands will not always be represented in the same position, and the variety given to the expression will be infinite.
593	Cursum habent quaedam et impetum , sedent alia vel incumbunt ; nuda haec , illa velata sunt , quaedam mixta ex utroque . Quid tam distortum et elaboratum quam est ille discobolos Myronis ? Si quis tamen , ut parum rectum , improbet opus , nonne ab intellectu artis abfuerit , in qua vel praecipue laudabilis est ipsa illa novitas ac difficultas ?	Some figures are represented as running or rushing forward, others sit or recline, some are nude, others clothed, while some again are half-dressed, half-naked. Where can we find a more violent and elaborate attitude than that of the Discobolus of Myron? Yet the critic who disapproved of the figure because it was not upright, would merely show his utter failure to understand the sculptor's art, in which the very novelty and difficulty of execution is what most deserves our praise.
594	Quam quidem gratiam et delectationem adferunt figurae , quaeque in sensibus quaeque in verbis sunt ; mutant enim aliquid a recto atque hanc prae se virtutem ferunt , quod a consuetudine vulgari recesserunt .	A similar impression of grace and charm is produced by rhetorical figures, whether they be figures of thought or figures of speech. For they involve a certain departure from the straight line and have the merit of variation from the ordinary usage.
595	Habet in pictura speciem tota facies ; Apelles tamen imaginem Antigoni latere tantum altero ostendit , ut amissi oculi deformitas lateret . Quid ? non in oratione operienda sunt quaedam , sive ostendi non debent sive exprimi pro dignitate non possunt ?	In a picture the full face is most attractive. But Apelles painted Antigonus in profile, to conceal the blemish caused by the loss of one eye. So, too, in speaking, there are certain things which have to be concealed, either because they ought not to be disclosed or because they cannot be expressed as they deserve.
596	Ut fecit Timanthes , opinor , Cythnius in ea tabula , qua Coloten Teium vicit . Nam cum in Iphigeniae immolatione pinxisset tristem Calchantem , tristiorem Vlixem , addidisset Menelao , quem summum poterat ars efficere , maerorem , consumptis adfectibus , non reperiens , quo digne modo patris vultum posset exprimere , velavit eius caput et suo cuique animo dedit aestimandum .	Timanthes, who was, I think, a native of Cythnus, provides an example of this in the picture with which he won the victory over Colotes of Teos. It represented the sacrifice of Iphigenia, and the artist had depicted an expression of grief on the face of Calchas and of still greater grief on that of Ulysses, while he had given Menelaus an agony of sorrow beyond which his art could not go. Having exhausted his powers of emotional expression he was at a loss to portray the father's face as it deserved, and solved the problem by veiling his head and leaving his sorrow to the imagination of the spectator.
597	Nonne huic simile est illud Sallustianum , Nam de Carthagine tacere satius puto quam parum dicere ? Propter quae mihi semper moris fuit , quam minime alligare me ad praecepta , quae καθολικά vocitant , id est ( ut dicamus quomodo possumus ) universalia vel perpetualia . Raro enim reperitur hoc genus , ut non labefactari parte aliqua et subrui possit .	Sallust did something similar when he wrote "I think it better to say nothing of Carthage rather than say too little." It has always, therefore, been my custom not to tie myself down to universal or general rules (this being the nearest equivalent I can find for the Greek catholic rules ). For rules are rarely of such a kind that their validity cannot be shaken and overthrown in some particular or other.
598	Sed de his plenius suo quidque loco tractabimus . Interim nolo se iuvenes satis instructos , si quem ex his , qui breves plerumque circumferuntur , artis libellum edidicerint , et velut decretis technicorum tutos putent . Multo labore , assiduo studio , varia exercitatione , plurimis experimentis , altissima prudentia , praesentissimo consilio constat ars dicendi .	But I must reserve each of these points for fuller treatment in its proper place. For the present I will only say that I do not want young men to think their education complete when they have mastered one of the small text-books of which so many are in circulation, or to ascribe a talismanic value to the arbitrary decrees of theorists. the art of speaking can only be attained by hard work and assiduity of study, by a variety of exercises and repeated trial, the highest prudence and unfailing quickness of judgement.
599	Sed adiuvatur his quoque , si tamen rectam viam , non unam orbitam monstrent ; a qua declinare qui crediderit nefas , patiatur necesse est illam per funes ingredientium tarditatem . Itaque et stratum militari labore iter saepe deserimus compendio ducti ; et , si rectum limitem rupti torrentibus pontes inciderint , circumire cogemur , et , si ianua tenebitur incendio ,	But rules are helpful all the same so long as they indicate the direct road and do not restrict us absolutely to the ruts made by others. For he who thinks it an unpardonable sin to leave the old, old track, must be content to move at much the same speed as a tight-rope walker. Thus, for example, we often leave a paved military road to take a short cut or, finding that the direct route is impossible owing to floods having broken down the bridges, are forced to make a circuit, while if our house is on fire and flames bar the way to the front door, we make our escape by breaking through a party wall.
600	per parietem exibimus . Late fusum opus est et multiplex et prope cotidie novum , et de quo nunquam dicta erunt omnia . Quae sint tamen tradita , quid ex his optimum , et si qua mutari , adiici , detrahi melius videbitur , dicere experiar .	The orator's task covers a large ground, is extremely varied and develops some new aspect almost every day, so that the last word on the subject will never have been said. I shall however try to set forth the traditional rules and to point out their best features, mentioning the changes, additions and subtractions which seem desirable.
601	Rhetoricen in Latinum transferentes tum oratoriam , tum oratricem nominaverunt . Quos equidem non fraudaverim debita laude , quod copiam Romani sermonis augere temptarint . Sed non omnia nos ducentes ex Graeco sequuntur sicut ne illos quidem , quotiens utique suis verbis signare nostra voluerunt .	Rhetoric is a Greek term which has been translated into Latin by oratoria or oratrix. I would not for the world deprive the translators of the praise which is their due for attempting to increase the vocabulary of our native tongue; but translations from Greek into Latin are not always satisfactory, just as the attempt to represent Latin words in a Greek dress is sometimes equally unsuccessful.
602	Et haec interpretatio non minus dura est quam illa Plauti essentia atque queentia , sed ne propria quidem ; nam oratoria sic effertur ut elocutoria , oratrix ut elocutrix ; illa autem de qua loquimur rhetorice talis est qualis eloquentia , nec dubie apud Graecos quoque duplicem intellectum habet .	And the translations in question are fully as harsh as the essentia and queentia of Plautus, and have not even the merit of being exact. For oratoria is formed like elocutoria and oratrix like elocutrix, whereas the rhetoric with which we are concerned is rather to be identified with eloquentia, and the word is undoubtedly used in two senses by the Greeks.
603	Namque uno modo fit appositum ars rhetorica ut navis piratica , altero nomen rei , qualis est philosophia , amicitia . Nos ipsam nunc volumus significare substantiam ut grammatice litteratura est , non litteratrix quemadmodum oratrix , nec litteratoria quemadmodum oratoria ; verum id in rhetorice non fit .	In the one case it is an adjective i.e. ars rhetorica, the rhetorical art, like piratic in the phrase nauis piratica, in the other it is a noun like philosophy or friendship. It is as a substantive that we require it here; now the correct translation of the Greek grammatice is litteratura not litteratrix or litteratoria, which would be the forms analogous to oratrix and oratoria. But in the case of "rhetoric" there is no similar Latin equivalent.
604	Ne pugnemus igitur , cum praesertim plurimis alioqui Graecis sit utendum . Nam certe et philosophos et musicos et geometras dicam , nec vim adferam nominibus his indecora in Latinum sermonem mutatione . Denique cum M . Tullius etiam in ipsis librorum , quos hac de re primum scripserat , titulis Graeco nomine utatur , profecto non est verendum , ne temere videamur oratori maximo de nomine artis suae credidisse .	It is best therefore not to quarrel about it, more especially as we have to use Greek terms in many other cases. For I may at least use the words philosophus, musicus and geometres without outraging them by changing them into clumsy Latin equivalents. Finally, since Cicero gave a Greek title to the earlier works which he wrote on this subject, I may without fear of rashness accept the great orator as sufficient authority for the name of the art which he professed.
605	Igitur rhetorice ( iam enim sine metu cavillationis utemur hac appellatione ) sic , ut opinor , optime dividetur , ut de arte , de artifice , de opere dicamus . Ars erit , quae disciplina percipi debet ; ea est bene dicendi scientia . Artifex est , qui percepit hanc artem , id est , orator , cuius est summa bene dicere ; opus , quod efficitur ab artifice , id est , bona oratio . Haec omnia rursus diducuntur in species ; sed illa sequentia suo loco , nunc quae de prima parte tractanda sunt , ordiar .	To resume, then, rhetoric (for I shall now use the name without fear of captious criticism) is in my opinion best treated under the three following heads, the art, the artist and the work. The art is that which we should acquire by study, and is the art of speaking well. The artist is he who has acquired the art, that is to say, he is the orator whose task it is to speak well. The work is the achievement of the artist, namely good speaking. Each of these three general divisions is in its turn divided into species. Of the two latter divisions I shall speak in their proper place. For the present I shall proceed to a discussion of the first.
606	Ante omnia , quid sit rhetorice . Quae finitur quidem varie , sed quaestionem habet duplicem , aut enim de qualitate ipsius rei aut de comprehensione verborum dissensio est . Prima atque praecipua opinionum circa hoc differentia , quod alii malos quoque viros posse oratores dici putant ; alii , quorum nos sententiae accedimus , nomen hoc artemque , de qua loquimur , bonis demum tribui volunt . Eorum autem ,	The first question which confronts us is "What is rhetoric?" Many definitions have been given; but the problem is really twofold. For the dispute turns either on the quality of the thing itself or on the meaning of the words in which it is defined. The first and chief disagreement on the subject is found in the fact that some think that even bad men may be called orators, while others, of whom I am one, restrict the name of orator and the art itself to those who are good.
607	qui dicendi facultatem a maiore ac magis expetenda vitae laude secernunt , quidam rhetoricen vim tantum , quidam scientiam sed non virtutem , quidam usum , quidam artem quidem sed a scientia et virtute diiunctam , quidam etiam pravitatem quandam artis , id est κακοτεχνίαν nominaverunt .	Of those who divorce eloquence from that yet fairer and more desirable title to renown, a virtuous life, some call rhetoric merely a power, some a science, but not a virtue, some a practice, some an art, though they will not allow the art to have anything in common with science or virtue, while some again call it a perversion of art or κακοτεχνία.
608	Hi fere aut in persuadendo aut in dicendo apte ad persuadendum positum orandi munus sunt arbitrati . Id enim fieri potest ab eo quoque , qui vir bonus non sit . Est igitur frequentissimus finis , rhetoricen esse vim persuadendi . Quod ego vim appello , plerique potestatem , nonnulli facultatem vocant ; quae res ne quid adferat ambiguitatis , vim dico δύναμιν .	These persons have as a rule held that the task of oratory lies in persuasion or speaking in a persuasive manner: for this is within the power of a bad man no less than a good. Hence we get the common definition of rhetoric as the power of persuading. What I call a power, many call a capacity, and some a faculty. In order therefore that there may be no misunderstanding I will say that by power I mean δύναμις.