Institutio Oratoria (Quintilian)

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	Institutio Oratoria Author: Quintilian	Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
115	Iam si minor in eligendis custodum vel praeceptorum moribus fuit cura , pudet dicere , in quae probra nefandi homines isto caedendi iure abutantur , quam det allis quoque nonnunquam occasionem hic miserorum metus . Non morabor in parte hac ; nimium est quod intelligitur . Quare hoc dixisse satis est ; in aetatem infirmam et iniuriae obnoxiam nemini debet nimium licere .	Further if inadequate care is taken in the choices of respectable governors and instructors, I blush to mention the shameful abuse which scoundrels sometimes make of their right to administer corporal punishment or the opportunity not infrequently offered to others by the fear thus caused in the victims. I will not linger on this subject; it is more than enough if I have made my meaning clear. I will content myself with saying that children are helpless and easily victimised, and that therefore no one should be given unlimited power over them.
116	Nunc quibus instituendus sit artibus , qui sic formabitur , ut fieri possit orator , et quae in quaque aetate inchoanda , dicere ingrediar .	I will now proceed to describe the subjects in which the boy must be trained, if he is to become an orator, and to indicate the age at which each should be commenced.
117	Primus in eo , qui scribendi legendique adeptus erit facultatem , grammatici est locus . Nec refert , de Graeco an de Latino loquar , quanquam Graecum esse priorem placet .	As soon as the boy has learned to read and write without difficulty, it is the turn for the teacher of literature. My words apply equally to Greek and Latin masters, though I prefer that a start should be made with a Greek:
118	Utrique eadem via est . Haec igitur professio , cum brevissime in duas partes dividatur , recte loquendi scientiam et poetarum enarrationem , plus habet in recessu quam fronte promittit .	in either case the method is the same. This profession may be most briefly considered under two heads, the art of speaking correctly and the interpretation of the poets; but there is more beneath the surface than meets the eye.
119	Nam et scribendi ratio coniuncta cum loquendo est , et enarrationem praecedit emendata lectio , et mixtum his omnibus iudicium est ; quo quidem ita severe sunt usi veteres grammatici , ut non versus modo censoria quadam virgula notare et libros , qui falso viderentur inscripti , tanquam subditos summovere familia permiserint sibi , sed auctores alios in ordinem redegerint , alios omnino exemerint numero .	For the art of writing is combined with that of speaking, and correct reading precedes interpretation, while in each of these cases criticism has its work to perform. The old school of teachers indeed carried their criticism so far that they were not content with obelising lines or rejecting books whose titles they regarded as spurious, as though they were expelling a supposititious child from the family circle, but also drew up a canon of authors, from which some were omitted altogether.
120	Nec poetas legisse satis est : excutiendum omne scriptorum genus non propter historias modo sed verba , quae frequenter ius ab auctoribus sumunt . Tum neque citra musicen grammatice potest esse perfecta , cum ei de metris rhythmisque dicendum sit , nec , si rationem siderum ignoret , poetas intelligat , qui ( ut alia omittam ) totiens ortu occasuque signorum in declarandis temporibus utantur ; nec ignara philosophiae , cum propter plurimos in omnibus fere carminibus locos ex intima naturalium quaestionum subtilitate repetitos , tum vel propter Empedoclea in Graecis , Varronem ac Lucretium in Latinis , qui praecepta sapientiae versibus tradiderunt .	Nor is it sufficient to have read the poets only; every kind of writer must be carefully studied, not merely for the subject matter, but for the vocabulary; for words often acquire authority from their use by a particular author. Nor can such training be regarded as complete if it stop short of music, for the teacher of literature has to speak of metre and rhythm: nor again if he be ignorant of astronomy, can he understand the poets; for they, to mention no further points, frequently give their indications of time by reference to the rising and setting of the stars. Ignorance of philosophy is an equal drawback, since there are numerous passages in almost every poem based on the most intricate questions of natural philosophy, while among the Greeks we have Empedocles and among our own poets Varro and Lucretius, all of whom have expounded their philosophies in verse.
121	Eloquentia quoque non mediocri est opus , ut de unaquaque earum , quas demonstravimus , rerum dicat proprie et copiose . Quo minus sunt ferendi , qui hanc artem ut tenuem atque ieiunam cavillantur , quae nisi oratoris futuri fundamenta fideliter iecit , quidquid superstruxeris , corruet ; necessaria pueris , iucunda senibus , dulcis secretorum comes et quae vel sola in omni studiorum genere plus habeat operis quam ostentationis .	No small powers of eloquence also are required to enable the teacher to speak appropriately and fluently on the various points which have just been mentioned. For this reason those who criticise the art of teaching literature as trivial and lacking in substance put themselves out of court. Unless the foundations of oratory are well and truly laid by the teaching of literature, the superstructure will collapse. The study of literature is a necessity for boys and the delight of old age, the sweet companion of our privacy and the sole branch of study which has more solid substance than display.
122	Ne quis igitur tanquam parva fastidiat grammatices elementa , non quia magnae sit operae consonantes a vocalibus discernere ipsasque eas in semivocalium numerum mutarumque partiri , sed quia interiora velut sacri huius adeuntibus apparebit multa rerum subtilitas , quae non modo acuere ingenia puerilia sed exercere altissimam quoque eruditionem ac scientiam possit .	The elementary stages of the teaching of literature must not therefore be despised as trivial. It is of course an easy task to point out the difference between vowels and consonants, and to subdivide the latter into semivowels and mutes. But as the pupil gradually approaches the inner shrine of the sacred place, he will come to realise the intricacy of the subject, an intricacy calculated not merely to sharpen the wits of a boy, but to exercise even the most profound knowledge and erudition.
123	An cuiuslibet auris est exigere litterarum sonos ? non hercule magis quam nervorum . At grammatici saltem omnes in hanc descendent rerum tenuitatem , desintne aliquae nobis necessariae litterarum , non cum Graeca scribimus ( tum enim ab iisdem duas mutuamur ) sed propriae ,	It is not every ear that can appreciate the correct sound of the different letters. It is fully as hard as to distinguish the different notes in music. But all teachers of literature will condescend to such minutiae: they will discuss for instance whether certain necessary letters are absent from the alphabet, not indeed when we are writing Greek words (for then we borrow two letters from them), but in the case of genuine Latin words:
124	in Latinis , ut in his seruus et uulgus Aeolicum digammon desideratur , et medius est quidam V et I litterae sonus ; non enim sic optimum dicimus ut opimum , et in here neque E plane neque I auditur ;	for example in words such as seruus and uulgus we feel the lack of the Aeolic digamma; there is also a sound intermediate between u and i, for we do not pronounce optimum as we do opimum, while in here the sound is neither exactly e or i.
125	an rursus aliae redundent , praeter notam aspirationis , ( quae si necessaria est , etiam contrariam sibi poscit ) ut K , quae et ipsa quorundam nominum nota est , et Q , cuius similis effectu specieque , nisi quod paulum a nostris obliquatur , Coppa apud Graecos nunc tantum in numero manet , et nostrarum ultima , qua tam carere potuimus quam ψ non quaerimus ?	Again there is the question whether certain letters are not superfluous, not to mention the mark of the aspirate, to which, if it is required at all, there should be a corresponding symbol to indicate the opposite: for instance k, which is also used as an abbreviation for certain nouns, and q, which, though slanted slightly more by us, resembles both in sound and shape the Greek koppa, now used by the Greeks solely as a numerical sign : there is also x, the last letter of our own alphabet, which we could dispense with as easily as with psi.
126	Atque etiam in ipsis vocalibus grammatici est videre , an aliquas pro consonantibus usus acceperit , quia iam sicut etiam scribitur et nos ut luos . At quae ut vocales iunguntur aut unam longam faciunt , ut veteres scripserunt qui geminatione earum velut apice utebantur , aut duas ; nisi quis putat etiam ex tribus vocalibus syllabam fieri , si non aliquae officio consonantium fungantur .	Again the teacher of literature will have to determine whether certain vowels have not been consonantalised. For instance iam and etiam are both spelt with an i, uos and tuos both with a u. Vowels, however, when joined as vowels, either make one long vowel (compare the obsolete method of indicating a long vowel by doubling it as the equivalent of the circumflex), or a diphthong, though some hold that even three vowels can form a single syllable; this however is only possible if one or more assume the role of consonants.
127	Quaeret hoc etiam , quomodo duabus demum vocalibus in se ipsas coeundi natura sit , cum consonantium nulla nisi alteram frangat . Atqui littera I sibi insidit , coniicit enim est ab illo iacit , et V , quomodo nunc scribitur uulgus et seruus . Sciat etiam Ciceroni placuisse aiio Maiiamque geminata I scribere ; quod si est , etiam iungetur ut consonans .	He will also inquire why it is that there are two vowels which may be repeated, while a consonant can only be followed and modified by a different consonant. But i can follow i (for coniicit is derived from iacit ): so too does u, witness the modern spelling of seruus and uulgus. He should also know that Cicero preferred to write aiio and Maaiiam with a double i; in that case one of them is consonantalised.
128	Quare discat puer , quid in litteris proprium , quid commune , quae cum quibus cognatio ; nec miretur , cur ex scamno fiat scabillum aut a pinno ( quod est acutum ) securis utrinque habens aciem bipennis ; ne illorum sequatur errorem , qui , quia a pennis duabus hoc esse nomen existimant , pennas avium dici volunt .	A boy therefore must learn both the peculiarities and the common characteristics of letters and must know how they are related to each other. Nor must he be surprised that scabillum is formed from scamnus or that a double-edged axe should be called bipennis from pinnus, "sharp" : for I would not have him fall into the same error as those who, supposing this word to be derived from his and pennae, think that it is a metaphor from the wings of birds.
129	Neque has modo noverit mutationes , quas adferunt declinatio aut praepositio , ut secat secuit , cadit excidit , caedit excidit , calcat exculcat ( et fit a lavando lotus et inde rursus inlutus et mille talia ) , sed quae rectis quoque casibus aetate transierunt . Nam ut Valesii Fusii in Valerios Furiosque venerunt : ita arbos , labos , vapos etiam et clamos ac lases fuerunt .	He must not be content with knowing only those changes introduced by conjugation and prefixes, such as secat secuit, cadit excidit, caedit excīdit, calcat exculcat, to which might be added lotus from lauare and again inlotus with a thousand others. He must learn as well the changes that time has brought about even in nominatives. For just as names like Valesius and Fusius have become Valerius and Furius, so arbos, labos, vapos and even clamos and lases were the original forms.
130	Atque haec ipsa S littera ab his nominibus exclusa in quibusdam ipsa alteri successit , nam mertare atque pultare dicebant , quin fordeum faedosque pro aspiratione F velut simili littera utentes ; nam contra Graeci aspirare F ut φ solent , ut pro Fundanio Cicero testem , qui primam eius litteram dicere non possit , irridet .	And this same letter s, which has disappeared from these words, has itself in some cases taken the place of another letter. For our ancestors used to say mertare and pultare. They also said fordeum and faedi, using f instead of the aspirate as being a kindred letter. For the Greeks unlike us aspirate f like their own phi, as Cicero bears witness in the pro Fundanio, where he laughs at a witness who is unable to pronounce the first letter of that name.
131	Sed B quoque in locum aliarum dedimus aliquando , unde Burrus et Bruges et Balaena . Nec non eadem fecit ex duello bellum , unde Duellios quidam dicere Bellios ausi .	In some cases again we have substituted b for other letters, as with Burrus, Bruges, and Belena. The same letter too has turned duellum into bellum, and as a result some have ventured to call the Duelii Belii.
132	Quid stlocum stlitesque ? Quid T litterae cum D quaedam cognatio ? Quare minus mirum , si in vetustis operibus urbis nostrae et celebribus templis legantur Alexanter et Cassantra . Quid O atque V permutatae invicem , ut Hecoba et nutrix Culchidis et Pulixena scriberentur , ac , ne in Graecis id tantum notetur , dederont ac probaveront ? Sic Ὀδυσσεύς , quem Ὀλισσέα fecerant Aeolis , ad Ulixem deductus est .	What of stlocus and stlites? What of the connexion between t and d, a connexion which makes it less surprising that on some of the older buildings of Rome and certain famous temples we should find the names Alexanter and Cassantra? What again of the interchange of o and u, of which examples may be found in Hecoba, notrix, Culcides and Pulixena, or to take purely Latin words dederont and probaueront? So too Odysseus, which the Aeolian dialect turned into Ulysseus, has been transformed by us into Ulixes.
133	Quid ? non E quoque I loco fuit ? Μenerva et leber et magester et Diiove Victore non Diiovi Victori ? Sed mihi locum signare satis est , non enim doceo , sed admoneo docturos . Inde in syllabas cura transibit , de quibus in orthographia pauca adnotabo . Tum videbit , ad quem hoc pertinet , quot et quae partes orationis ; quanquam de numero parum convenit .	Similarly e in certain cases held the place that is now occupied by i, as in Menerua, leber, magester, and Dioue victore in place of Dioui victori. It is sufficient for me to give a mere indication as regards these points, for I am not teaching, but merely advising those who have got to teach. The next subject to which attention must be given is that of syllables, of which I will speak briefly, when I come to deal with orthography. Following this the teacher concerned will note the number and nature of the parts of speech, although there is some dispute as to their number.
134	Veteres enim , quorum fuerunt Aristoteles quoque atque Theodectes , verba modo et nomina et convinctiones tradiderunt ; videlicet quod in verbis vim sermonis , in nominibus materiam ( quia alterum est quod loquimur , alterum de quo loquimur ) , in convinctionibus autem complexus eorum esse iudicaverunt : quas coniunctiones a plerisque dici scio , sed haec videtur ex συνδέσμῳ magis propria translatio .	Earlier writers, among them Aristotle himself and Theodectes, hold that there are but three, verbs, nouns and convictions. Their view was that the force of language resided in the verbs, and the matter in the nouns (for the one is what we speak, the other that which we speak about), while the duty of the convinctions was to provide a link between the nouns and the verbs. I know that conjunction is the term in general use. But conviction seems to me to be the more accurate translation of the Greek .
135	Paulatim a philosophis ac maxime Stoicis auctus est numerus , ac primum convinctionibus articuli adiecti , post praepositiones , nominibus appellatio , deinde pronomen , deinde mixtum verbo participium , ipsis verbis adverbia . Noster sermo articulos non desiderat , ideoque in alias partes orationis sparguntur , sed accedit superioribus interiectio .	Gradually the number was increased by the philosophers, more especially by the Stoics: articles were first added to the convinctions, then prepositions: to nouns appellations were added, then the pronoun and finally the participle, which holds a middle position between the verb and the noun. To the verb itself was added the adverb. Our own language dispenses with the articles, which are therefore distributed among the other parts of speech.
136	Alii tamen ex idoneis dumtaxat auctoribus octo partes secuti sunt ut Aristarchus et aetate nostra Palaemon , qui vocabulum sive appellationem nomini subiecerunt tanquam speciem eius . At ii , qui aliud nomen aliud vocabulum faciunt , novem . Nihilominus fuerunt , qui ipsum adhuc vocabulum ab appellatione deducerent , ut esset vocabulum corpus visu tactuque manifestum , domus , lectus , appellatio , cui vel alterum deesset vel utrumque , ventus , caelum , deus , virtus . Adiiciebant et asseverationem ut eheu , et tractationem ut fasciatim ; quae mihi non approbantur .	But interjections must be added to those already mentioned. Others however follow good authority in asserting that there are eight parts of speech. Among these I may mention Aristarchus and in our own day Palaemon, who classified the vocable or appellation as a species of the genus noun. Those on the other hand who distinguish between the noun and the vocable, make nine parts of speech. But yet again there are some who differentiate between the vocable and the appellation, saying that the vocable indicates concrete objects which can be seen and touched, such as a "house" or "bed," while an appellation is something imperceptible either to sight or touch or to both, such as the "wind, "heaven," or "virtue." They added also the asseveration, such as "alas" and the derivative such as fasciatim. But of these classifications I do not approve.
137	Vocabulum an appellatio dicenda sit προσηγορία et subiicienda nomini necne , quia parvi refert , liberum opinaturis relinquo .	Whether we should translate προσηγορία by vocable or appellation, and whether it should be regarded as a species of noun, I leave to the decision of such as desire to express their opinion: it is a matter of no importance.
138	Nomina declinare et verba in primis pueri sciant , neque enim aliter pervenire ad intellectum sequentium possunt ; quod etiam monere supervacuum erat , nisi ambitiosa festinatione plerique a posterioribus inciperent et , dum ostentare discipulos circa speciosiora malunt , compendio morarentur .	Boys should begin by learning to decline nouns and conjugate verbs: otherwise they will never be able to understand the next subject of study. This admonition would be superfluous but for the fact that most teachers, misled by a desire to show rapid progress, begin with what should really come at the end: their passion for displaying their pupils' talents in connexion with the more imposing aspects of their work serves but to delay progress and their short cut to knowledge merely lengthens the journey.
139	Atqui si quis et didicerit satis et ( quod non minus deesse interim solet ) voluerit docere quae didicit , non erit contentus tradere in nominibus tria genera et quae sunt duobus omnibusve communia .	And yet a teacher who has acquired sufficient knowledge himself and is ready to teach what he has learned—and such readiness is all too rare—will not be content with stating that nouns have three genders or with mentioning those which are common to two or all three together.
140	Nec statim diligentem putabo , qui promiscua , quae ἐπίκοινα dicuntur , ostenderit , in quibus sexus uterque per alterum apparet ; aut quae feminina positione mares aut neutrali feminas significant , qualia sunt Murena et Glycerium .	Nor again shall I be in a hurry to regard it as a proof of real diligence, if he points out that there are irregular nouns of the kind called epicene by the Greeks, in which one gender implies both, or which in spite of being feminine or neuter in form indicate males or females respectively, as for instance Muraena and Glycerium.
141	Scrutabitur ille praeceptor acer atque subtilis origines nominum , quae ex habitu corporis Rufos Longosque fecerunt ; ubi erit aliud secretius , Sullae , Burri , Galbae , Plauti , Pansae , Scauri taliaque ; et ex casu nascentium ; hic Agrippa et Opiter et Cordus et Postumus erunt ; et ex iis , quae post natos eveniunt , unde Vopiscus . Iam Cottae , Scipiones , Laenates , Serani sunt ex variis causis .	A really keen and intelligent teacher will inquire into the origin of names derived from physical characteristics, such as Rufus or Longus, whenever their meaning is obscure, as in the case of Sulla, Burrus, Galba, Plautus, Pansa, Scaurus and the like; of names derived from accidents of birth such as Agrippa, Opiter, Cordus and Postumus, and again of names given after birth such as Vopiscus. Then there are names such as Cotta, Scipio, Laenas or Seranus, which originated in various ways.
142	Gentes quoque ac loca et alia multa reperias inter nominum causas . In servis iam intercidit illud genus , quod ducebatur a domino , unde Marcipores Publiporesque . Quaerat etiam , sitne apud Graecos vis quaedam sexti casus et apud nos quoque septimi . Nam cum dico hasta percussi , non utor ablativi natura ; nec , si idem Graece dicam , dativi .	It will also be found that names are frequently derived from races, places and many other causes. Further there are obsolete slave-names such as Marcipor or Publipor derived from the names of their owners. The teacher must also inquire whether there is not room for a sixth case in Greek and a seventh in Latin. For when I say "wounded by a spear," the case is not a true ablative in Latin nor a true dative in Greek.
143	Sed in verbis quoque quis est adeo imperitus , ut ignoret genera et qualitates et personas et numeros ? Litterarii paene ista sunt ludi et trivialis scientiae . Iam quosdam illa turbabunt , quae declinationibus non tenentur . Nam et quaedam participia an verba an appellationes sint , dubitari potest , quia aliud alio loco valent ,	Again if we turn to verbs, who is so ill-educated as not to be familiar with their various kinds and qualities, their different persons and numbers. Such subjects belong to the elementary school and the rudiments of knowledge. Some, however, will find points undetermined by inflexion somewhat perplexing. For there are certain participles, about which there may be doubts as to whether they are really nouns or verbs, since their meaning varies with their use, as for example lectum and sapiens,
144	ut lectum et sapiens et quaedam verba appellationibus similia , ut fraudator , nutritor . Iam itur in antiquam silvam nonne propriae cuiusdam rationis est ? nam quod initium eius invenias ? cui simile fletur . Accipimus aliter , ut panditur interea domus omnipotentis Olympi , aliter ut totis usque adeo turbatur agris . Est etiam quidam tertias modus , ut urbs habitatur , unde et campus curritur , mare navigator .	while there are other verbs which resemble nouns, such as fraudator and nutritor. Again itur in antiquam silvam is a peculiar usage. For there is no subject to serve as a starting point: fletur is a similar example. The passive may be used in different ways as for instance in "panditur interea domus omnipotentis Olympi "Meanwhile the house of almighty Olympus is opened." and in "totis usque adeo turbatur agris. "There is such confusion in all the fields." Yet a third usage is found in urbs habitatur, whence we get phrases such as campus curritur and mare navigatur.
145	Pransus quoque ac potus diversum valet quam indicat . Quid ? quod multa verba non totum declinationis ordinem ferunt ? Quaedam etiam mutantur ut fero in praeterito , quaedam tertiae demum personae figura dicuntur ut licet , piget , quaedam simile quiddam patiuntur vocabulis quae in adverbium transeunt ? Nam ut noctu et diu ita dictu factuque . Sunt enim haec quoque verba participialia quidem , non tamen qualia dicto factoque .	Pransus and potus have a meaning which does not correspond to their form. And what of those verbs which are only partially conjugated? Some (as for instance fero ) even suffer an entire change in the perfect. Others are used only in the third person, such as licet and piget, while some resemble nouns tending to acquire an adverbial meaning; for we say dictu and factu as we say noctu and diu, since these words are participial though quite different from dicto and facto.
146	Iam cum omnis oratio tris habeat virtutes , ut emendata , ut dilucida , ut ornata sit ( quia dicere apte , quod est praecipuum , plerique ornatui subiiciunt ) , totidem vitia , quae sunt supra dictis contraria , emendate loquendi regulam , quae grammatices prior pars est , examinet .	Style has three kinds of excellence, correctness, lucidity and elegance (for many include the all-important quality of appropriateness under the heading of elegance). Its faults are likewise threefold, namely the opposites of these excellences. The teacher of literature therefore must study the rules for correctness of speech, these constituting the first part of his art.
147	Haec exigitur verbis aut singulis aut pluribus . Verba nunc generaliter accipi volo , nam duplex eorum intellectus est ; alter , qui omnia per quae sermo nectitur significat , ut apud Horatium : verbaque provisam rem non invita sequentur ; alter , in quo est una pars orationis , lego , scribo . Quam vitantes ambiguitatem quidam dicere maluerunt voces , locutiones , dictiones .	The observance of these rules is concerned with either one or more words. I must now be understood to use verbum in its most general sense. It has of course two meanings; the one covers all the parts of which language is composed, as in the line of Horace: "Once supply the thought, And words will follow swift as soon as sought" the other restricts it to a part of speech such as lego and scribo. To avoid this ambiguity, some authorities prefer the terms voces, locutiones, dictiones.
148	Singula sunt aut nostra aut peregrina , aut simplicia aut composita , aut propria aut translata , aut usitata aut ficta . Uni verbo vitium saepius quam virtus inest . Licet enim dicamus aliquod proprium , speciosum , sublime : nihil tamen horum nisi in complexu loquendi serieque contingit ; laudamus enim verba rebus bene accommodata .	Individual words will either be native or imported, simple or compound, literal or metaphorical, in current use or newly-coined. A single word is more likely to be faulty than to possess any intrinsic merit. For though we may speak of a word as appropriate, distinguished or sublime, it can possess none of these properties save in relation to connected and consecutive speech; since when we praise words, we do so because they suit the matter.
149	Sola est , quae notari possit velut vocalitas , quae εὐφωνία dicitur ; cuius in eo delectus est , ut inter duo , quae idem significant ac tantundem valent , quod melius sonet malis .	There is only one excellence that can be isolated for consideration, namely euphony, the Greek term for our uocalitas: that is to say that, when we are confronted with making a choice between two exact synonyms, we must select that which sounds best.
150	Prima barbarismi ac soloecismi foeditas absit . Sed quia interim excusantur haec vitia aut consuetudine aut auctoritate aut vetustate aut denique vicinitate virtutum ( nam saepe a figuris ea separare difficile est ) , ne qua tam lubrica observatio fallat , acriter se in illud tenue discrimen grammaticus intendat , de quo nos latius ibi loquemur , ubi de figuris orationis tractandum erit .	In the first place barbarisms and solecisms must not be allowed to intrude their offensive presence. These blemishes are however pardoned at times, because we have become accustomed to them or because they have age or authority in their favour or are near akin to positive excellences, since it is often difficult to distinguish such blemishes from figures of speech.1 The teacher therefore, that such slippery customers may not elude detection, must seek to acquire a delicate discrimination; but of this I will speak later when I come to discuss figures of speech.
151	Interim vitium , quod fit in singulis verbis , sit barbarismus . Occurrat mihi forsan aliquis , quid hic promisso tanti operis dignum ? aut quis hoc nescit , alios barbarismos scribendo fieri alios loquendo ;— quia , quod male scribitur , male etiam dici necesse est ; quae vitiose dixeris , non utique et scripto peccant — illud prius adiectione , detractione , immutatione , transmutatione , hoc secundum divisione , complexione , aspiratione , sono contineri ?	For the present I will define barbarism as an offence occurring in connexion with single words. Some of my readers may object that such a topic is beneath the dignity of so ambitious a work. But who does not know that some barbarisms occur in writing, others in speaking? For although what is incorrect in writing will also be incorrect in speech, the converse is not necessarily true, inasmuch as mistakes in writing are caused by addition or omission, substitution or transposition, while mistakes in speaking are due to separation or combination of syllables, to aspiration or other errors of sound.
152	Sed ut parva sint haec , pueri docentur adhuc , et grammaticos officii sui commonemus . Ex quibus si quis erit plane impolitus et vestibulum modo artis huius ingressus , intra haec , quae profitentium commentariolis vulgata sunt , consistet , doctiores multa adiicient , vel hoc primum , quod barbarismum pluribus modis accipimus .	Trivial as these points may seem, our boys are still at school and I am reminding their instructors of their duty. And if one of our teachers is lacking in education and has done no more than set foot in the outer courts of his art, he will have to confine himself to the rules published in the elementary text-books: the more learned teacher on the other hand will be in a position to go much further: first of all, for example, he will point out that there are many different kinds of barbarism.