Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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| 1749 |
ad memoriam posteritatis . Plurimum tamen valet miseratio , quae iudicem non flecti tantum cogit , sed motum quoque animi sui lacrimis confiteri . Haec petentur aut ex iis , quae passus est reus , aut iis quae cum maxime patitur , aut iis quae damnatum manent ; quae et ipsa duplicantur , cum dicimus ex qua illi fortuna et ira quam recidendum sit .
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But the appeal which will carry most weight is the appeal to pity, which not merely forces the judge to change his views, but even to betray his emotion by tears. Such appeals to pity will be based either on the previous or present sufferings of the accused, or on those which await him if condemned. And the force of our appeal will be doubled if we contrast the fortune which he now enjoys with that to which he will be reduced, if he fail. |
| 1750 |
Adfert ira his momentum et aetas et sexus et pignora ; liberi , dico , et parentes et propinqui . Quae omnia tractari varie solent . Nonnunquam etiam ipse patronus has partes subit , ut Cicero pro Milone , O me miserum ! o te infelicem ! Reuocare me tu ira patriam , Milo , potuisti per hos , ego te ira patria per eosdem retinere non potero ? Maximeque , si , ut tum accidit , non conveniunt ei qui accusatur preces .
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In this connexion great play may be made by reference to the age and sex of the accused, or to his nearest and dearest, that is, his children, parents and kindred, all of which topics are treated in different ways. Sometimes the advocate himself may even assume the role of close intimacy with his client, as Cicero does in the pro Milone, where he cries: " Alas, unhappy that I am! Alas, my unfortunate friend! You succeeded by the agency of those who are now your judges in recalling me to my native land, and cannot I through the same agency retain you in yours? " Such a method is especially serviceable when, as was the case with Milo, entreaty is not in keeping with the character of the accused. |
| 1751 |
Nam quis ferret Milonem pro capite suo supplicantem , qui a se virum nobilem interfectum , quia id fieri oportuisset , fateretur ? Ergo et illi captavit ex ipsa praestantia animi favorem et ira locum lacrimarum eius ipse successit . His praecipue locis utiles sunt prosopopoeiae , id est fictae alienarum personarum orationes , quales litigatorum ore dicit patronus . Nudae tantum res movent ; at cum ipsos loqui fingimus ,
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Who would have endured to hear Milo pleading for his life, when he admitted that he had killed a man of noble birth because it was his duty to do so? Consequently Cicero sought to win the judges' goodwill for Milo by emphasising the staunchness of his character, and himself assumed the role of suppliant. Impersonation may also be employed with profit in such passages, and by impersonations I mean fictitious speeches supposed to be uttered, such as an advocate puts into the mouth of his client. The bare facts are no doubt moving in themselves; but when we pretend that the persons concerned themselves are speaking, the personal note adds to the emotional effect. |
| 1752 |
ex personis quoque trahitur adfectus Non enim audire iudex videtur aliena mala deflentis , sed sensum ac vocem auribus accipere miserorum , quorum etiam mutus aspectus lacrimas movet ; quantoque essent miserabiliora , si ea dicerent ipsi , tanto sunt quadam portione ad adficiendum potentiora , cum velut ipsorum ore dicuntur , ut scenicis actoribus eadem vox eademque pronuntiatio plus ad movendos adfectus sub persona valet .
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For then the judge seems no longer to be listening to a voice bewailing another's ills, but to hear the voice and feelings of the unhappy victims, men whose appearance alone would call forth his tears even though they uttered never a word. And as their plea would awaken yet greater pity if they urged it with their own lips, so it is rendered to some extent all the more effective when it is, as it were, put into their mouth by their advocate: we may draw a parallel from the stage, where the actor's voice and delivery produce greater emotional effect when he is speaking in an assumed role than when he speaks in his own character. Consequently Cicero, to quote him once again, |
| 1753 |
Itaque idem Cicero , quanquam preces non dat Miloni , eumque potius animi praestantia commendat , accommodavit tamen ei verba , convenientes etiam forti viro conquestiones : Frustra , inquit , mei suscepti labores ! O spes fallaces ! O cogitationes inanes meas !Nunquam tamen debet esse longa miseratio , nec sine causa dictum est , nihil facilius quam lacrimas inarescere .
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although he will not put entreaties into Milo's mouth, and prefers to commend him by his staunchness of character, still lends him words in the form of such complaint as may become a brave man. "Alas!" he says, "my labours have been in vain! Alas for my blighted hopes! Alas for my baffled purpose! " Appeals to pity should, however, always be brief, and there is good reason for the saying that nothing dries so quickly as tears. |
| 1754 |
Nam cum etiam veros dolores mitiget tempus , citius evanescat necesse est illa , quam dicendo effinximus , imago ; ira qua si moramur , lacrimis fatigatur auditor et requiescit et ab illo , quem ceperat , impetu ad rationem redit .
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Time assuages even genuine grief, and it is therefore inevitable that the semblance of grief portrayed in our speech should vanish yet more rapidly. And if we spend too much time over such portrayal our hearer grows weary of his tears, takes a breathing space, and returns once more to the rational attitude from which lie has been distracted by the impulse of the moment. |
| 1755 |
Non patiamur igitur frigescere hoc opus , et adfectum , cum ad summum perduxerimus , relinquamus nec speremus fore ut aliena quisquam diu ploret . Ideoque cum ira aliis tum maxime ira hac parte debet crescere oratio , quia , quidquid non adiicit prioribus , etiam detrahere videtur , et facile deficit adfectus qui descendit .
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We must not, therefore, allow the effect which we have produced to fall flat, and must consequently abandon our appeal to the emotion just when that emotion is at its height, nor must we expect anyone to weep for long over another's ills. For this reason our eloquence ought to be pitched higher in this portion of our speech than in any other, since, wherever it fails to add something to what has preceded, it seems even to diminish its previous effect, while a diminuendo is merely a step towards the rapid disappearance of the emotion. |
| 1756 |
Non solum autem dicendo sed etiam faciendo quaedam lacrimas mouemus , unde et producere ipsos , qui periclitentur , squalidos atque deformes et liberos eorum ac parentes institutum , et ab accusatoribus cruentum gladium ostendi et lecta e vulneribus ossa et vestes sanguine perfusas videmus , et vulnera resolvi , verberata corpora nudari .
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Actions as well as words may be employed to move the court to tears. Hence the custom of bringing accused persons into court wearing squalid and unkempt attire, and of introducing their children and parents, and it is with this in view that we see blood-stained swords, fragments of bone taken from the wound, and garments spotted with blood, displayed by the accusers, wounds stripped of their dressings, and scourged bodies bared to view. |
| 1757 |
Quarum rerum ingens plerumque vis est velut ira rem praesentem animos hominum ducentium , ut populum Romanum egit ira furorem praetexta C . Caesaris praelata ira funere cruenta . Sciebat interfectum eum , corpus denique ipsum impositum lecto erat , at vestis tamen illa sanguine madens ita repraesentavit imaginem sceleris , ut non occisus esse Caesar sed tum maxime occidi videretur .
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The impression produced by such exhibitions is generally enormous, since they seem to bring the spectators face to face with the cruel facts. For example, the sight of the bloodstains on the purple-bordered toga of Gaius Caesar, which was carried at the head of his funeral procession, aroused the Roman people to fury. They knew that he had been killed; they had even seen his body stretched upon the bier: but his garment, still wet with his blood, brought such a vivid image of the crime before their minds, that Caesar seemed not to have been murdered, but to be being murdered before their very eyes. |
| 1758 |
Sed non ideo probaverim , quod factum et lego et ipse aliquando vidi , depictam ira tabula sipariove imaginem rei , cuius atrocitate iudex erat commovendus . Quae enim est actoris infantia , qui mutam illam effigiem magis quam orationem pro se putet locuturam ?
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Still I would not for this reason go so far as to approve a practice of which I have read, and which indeed I have occasionally witnessed, of bringing into court a picture of the crime painted on wood or canvas, that the judge might be stirred to fury by the horror of the sight. For the pleader who prefers a voiceless picture to speak for him in place of his own eloquence must be singularly incompetent. |
| 1759 |
At sordes et squalorem et propinquorum quoque similem habitum scio profuisse , et magnum ad salutem momentum preces attulisse . Quare et obsecratio illa iudicum per carissima pignora , utique si et reo sint liberi , coniux , parentes , utilis erit ;
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On the other hand, I know that the wearing of mourning and the presentation of an unkempt appearance, and the introduction of relatives similarly arrayed, has proved of value, and that entreaties have been of great service to save the accused from condemnation. The practice therefore of appealing to the judges by all that is near and dear to them will be of great service to the accused, especially if he, too, has children, a wife and parents. |
| 1760 |
et deorum etiam invocatio velut ex bona conscientia profecta videri solet ; stratum denique iacere et genua complecti , nisi si tamen persona nos et anteacta vita et rei condicio prohibebit ; quaedam enim tam fortiter tuenda quam facta sunt . Verum sic habenda est auctoritatis ratio , ne sit invisa securitas .
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Invocation of the gods, again, usually gives the impression that the speaker is conscious of the justice of his cause, while it may produce a good effect if the accused throws himself on the ground and embraces the knees of the judges, unless his character, his past life and station prohibit a resort to this device: for there are some acts which require to be defended with no less boldness than was required for their commission. But we must take care not to carry matters with too high a hand, for fear of creating a bad impression by an appearance of over-confidence. |
| 1761 |
Fuit quondam inter haec omnia potentissimum , quo L . Murenam Cicero accusantibus clarissimis viris eripuisse praecipue videtur , persuasitque nihil esse ad praesentem rerum statum utilius quam pridie Kalendas Ianuarias ingredi consulatum . Quod genus nostris temporibus totum paene sublatum est , cum omnia curae tutelaeque unius innixa periclitari nullo iudicii exitu possint .
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The most effective of all such methods was in times past that by which more than anything else Cicero is considered to have saved Lucius Murena from the attacks of his accusers, who were men of the greatest distinction. For he persuaded the court that nothing was more necessary in view of the critical position of affairs than that Murena should assume the consulship on the thirty-first of December. This form of appeal is now, however, almost entirely obsolete, since the safety of the state is to-day dependent on the watchful care of a single ruler, and cannot conceivably be imperilled by the result of a trial. |
| 1762 |
De accusatoribus et reis sum locutus , quia ira periculis maxime versatur adfectus . Sed privatae quoque causae utrumque habent perorationis genus , et illud quod est ex enumeratione probationum , et hoc quod ex lacrimis , si aut statu periclitari aut opinione litigator videtur . Nam ira parvis quidem litibus has tragoedias movere tale est , quasi si personam Herculis et coturnos aptare infantibus velis .
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I have spoken of accusers and accused because it is in situations involving danger that the emotional appeal is most serviceable. But private cases also admit of both kinds of peroration, namely, that which consists in the recapitulation of the proofs and that which takes the form of an appeal for pity, the latter being employed when the position or reputation of the litigant seems to be in danger. For to embark on such tragic methods in trivial cases would be like putting the mask and buskins of Hercules on a small child. |
| 1763 |
Ne illud quidem indignum est admonitione , ingens ira epilogis meo iudicio verti discrimen , quomodo se dicenti , qui excitatur , accommodet . Nam et imperitia et rusticitas et rigor et deformitas adferunt interim frigus , diligenterque sunt haec actori providenda .
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It is also worth while pointing out that, in my opinion, the manner in which the client whose sorrows we parade before the court conforms his behaviour to the methods of his advocate is of the utmost importance. For sometimes our appeal falls flat owing to the ignorance, rusticity, indifference or uncouthness of our client, and it is consequently most important that the advocate should take all necessary precautions in this connexion. |
| 1764 |
Equidem repugnantes eos patrono et nihil vultu commotos et intempestive renidentes et facto aliquo vel ipso vultu risum etiam moventes saepe vidi ; praecipue vero cum aliqua velut scenice fiunt , alio cadunt .
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I have often seen clients whose behaviour was wholly out of keeping with the line adopted by their counsel, since their expression showed not the slightest emotion, while they displayed a most unseasonable cheerfulness and even aroused laughter by their looks or actions; such incongruity is especially frequent when the appeal is of a theatrical character. |
| 1765 |
Transtulit aliquando patronus puellam , quae soror esse adversarii dicebatur ( nam de hoc lis erat ) , ira adversa subsellia , tanquam ira gremio fratris relicturus , at is a nobis praemonitus discesserat . Tum ille , alioqui vir facundus , inopinatae rei casu obmutuit et infantem suam frigidissime reportavit .
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On one occasion an advocate produced a girl alleged to be the sister of the opposing party (for it was on this point that the dispute turned) and led her across to the benches occupied by his opponents as though to leave her in the arms of her brother: I however had given tile brother timely warning and he had left his seat. The advocate, although as a rule an eloquent speaker, was struck dumb by the unexpected turn of events and took his little girl back again in the tamest possible manner. |
| 1766 |
Alius imaginem mariti pro rea proferre magni putavit , et ea saepius risum fecit . Nam et ii , quorum officium erat ut traderent eam , ignari , qui esset epilogus , quotiens respexisset patronus , offerebant palam , et prolata novissime deformitate ipsa ( nam senis cadaveri cera erat infusa ) praeteritam quoque orationis gratiam perdidit .
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There was another advocate who was defending a woman who thought to secure a great effect by producing the portrait of her husband, but sent the court into repeated peals of laughter. For the persons entrusted with the duty of handing in the portrait had no idea of the nature of a peroration and displayed it whenever the advocate looked their way, and when at last it was produced at the proper moment it destroyed all the good effect of his previous eloquence by its hideousness, for it was a wax cast taken from an old man's corpse. |
| 1767 |
Nec ignotum , quid Glyconi , cui Spiridion fuit cognomen , accident . Huic puer , quem is productum quid fleret interrogabat , a paedagogo se vellicari respondit . Sed nihil illa circa Caepasios Ciceronis fabula efficacius ad pericula epilogorum .
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We are also familiar with the story of what happened to Glycon, nicknamed Spiridion. He asked a boy whom he produced in court why he was crying; to which the boy replied, that his paedagogus was pinching him. But the most effective warning as to the perils which beset the peroration is the story told by Cicero about the Caepasii. |
| 1768 |
Omnia tamen haec tolerabilia iis , quibus actionem mutare facile est ; at , qui a stilo non recedunt , aut conticescunt ad hos casus aut frequentissime falsa dicunt . Inde est enim , Tendit ad genua vestra supplices manus , et Haeret ira complexu liberorum miser , et Revocat ecce me , etiamsi nihil horum is , de quo dicitur , faciat .
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But all these perils may be boldly faced by those who have no difficulty in changing their line of pleading. Those however who cannot get away from what they have written, are reduced to silence by such emergencies or else led into making false statements, as for instance if an advocate should say, "He stretches out suppliant hands to embrace your knees," or "The unhappy man is locked in the embrace of his children," or "See he recalls me to the point," although the person in question is doing none of these things. |
| 1769 |
Ex scholis haec vitia , ira quibus omnia libere fingimus et impune , quia pro facto est quidquid voluimus ; non admittit hoc idem veritas , egregieque Cassius dicenti adolescentulo : Quid me torvo vultu intueris , Severe ? Non mehercule , inquit , faciebam , sed si sic scripsisti , ecce ! et quam potuit truculentissime eum aspexit .
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Such faults are due to the practice of the schools, where we are free to feign what we will with impunity, because we are at liberty to invent facts. But this is impossible when we are confronted with realities, and it was an excellent remark that Cassius made to a young orator who said, "Why do you look so fiercely at me, Severus?" To which he replied, "I was doing nothing of the kind, but if it is in your manuscript, here you are!" And he fixed his eyes on him with the most ferocious scowl that he could muster. |
| 1770 |
Illud praecipue monendum , ne quis nisi summis ingenii viribus ad movendas lacrimas aggredi audeat ; nam ut est longe vehementissimus hic , cum invaluit , adfectus , ita , si nihil efficit , tepet ;
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There is one point which it is specially important to remember, that we should never attempt to move our audience to tears without drawing on all the resources of our eloquence. For while this form of emotional appeal is the most effective of all, when successful, its failure results in anti-climax, and if the pleader is a feeble speaker he would have been wiser to leave the pathos of the situation to the imagination of the judges. |
| 1771 |
quem melius infirmus actor tacitis iudicum cogitationibus reliquisset . Nam et vultus et vox et ipsa illa excitati rei facies ludibrio etiam plerumque sunt hominibus , quos non permoverunt . Quare metiatur ac diligenter aestimet vires suas actor et quantum onus subiturus sit intelligat ; nihil habet ista res medium , sed aut lacrimas meretur aut risum .
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For look and voice and even the expression on the face of the accused to which the attention of the court is drawn will generally awaken laughter where they fail to awaken compassion. Therefore the pleader must measure and make a careful estimate of his powers, and must have a just comprehension of the difficulty of the task which he contemplates. For there is no halfway house in such matters between tears and laughter. |
| 1772 |
Non autem commovere tantum miserationem sed etiam discutere epilogi est proprium cum oratione continua , quae motos lacrimis iudices ad iustitiam reducat , tum etiam quibusdam urbane dictis , quale est Date puero panem , ne ploret ; et corpulento litigatori , cuius adversarius , item puer , circa iudices erat ab advocato latus : Quid faciam ? ego te baiulare non possum .
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The task of the peroration is not however confined to exciting pity in the judges: it may also be required to dispel the pity which they feel, either by a set speech designed to recall them from their tears to a consideration of the justice of the case, or by a few witticisms such as, "Give the boy some bread to stop him crying," or the remark made by counsel to a corpulent client, whose opponent, a mere child, had been carried round the court by his advocate, "What am I to do? I can't carry you!" |
| 1773 |
Sed haec tamen non debent esse mimica Itaque nec illum probaverim , quanquam inter clarissimos sui temporis oratores fuit , qui pueris ira epilogum productis talos iecit ira medium , quos illi diripere coeperunt ; namque haec ipsa discriminis sui ignorantia potuit esse miserabilis ;
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Such jests should not however descend to buffoonery. Consequently I cannot give my approval to the orator, although he was one of the most distinguished speakers of his day, who, when his opponent brought in some children to enhance the effect of his peroration, threw some dice among them, with the result that they began to scramble for them. For their childish ignorance of the perils with which they were threatened might in itself have awakened compassion. |
| 1774 |
neque illum , qui , cum esset cruentus gladius ab accusatore prolatus , quo is hominem probabat occisum , subito ex subselliis ut territus fugit et , capite ex parte velato cum ad agendum ex turba prospexisset , interrogavit , an iam ille cum gladio recessisset . Fecit enim risum , sed ridiculus fuit .
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For the same reason I cannot commend the advocate who, when his opponent the accuser produced a bloodstained sword in court, fled suddenly from the benches as though in an agony of terror, and then, when his turn came to plead, peeped out of the crowd with his head half covered by his robe and asked whether the man with the sword had gone away. For though he caused a laugh, he made himself ridiculous. |
| 1775 |
Discutiendae tamen oratione eiusmodi scenae , egregieque Cicero , qui contra imaginem Saturnini pro Rabirio graviter et contra iuvenem , cuius subinde vulnus ira iudicio resolvebatur , pro Vareno multa dixit urbane .
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Still, theatrical effects of the kind we are discussing can be dispelled by the power of eloquence. Cicero provides most admirable examples of the way in which this may be done both in the pro Rabirio where he attacks the production in court of the portrait of Saturninus in the most dignified language, and in the pro Vareno where he launches a number of witticisms against a youth whose wound had been unbound at intervals in the course of the trial. |
| 1776 |
Sunt et illi leniores epilogi , quibus adversario satisfacimus , si forte sit eius persona talis , ut illi debeatur reverentia , aut cum amice aliquid commonemus et ad concordiam hortamur . Quod est genus egregie tractatum a Passieno , cum Domitiae uxoris suae pecuniaria lite adversus fratrem eius Ahenobarbum ageret ; nam , cum de necessitudine multa dixisset , de fortuna quoque , qua uterque abundabat , adiecit : Nihil vobis minus deest , quam de quo contenditis .
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There are also milder kinds of peroration in which, if our opponent is of such a character that he deserves to be treated with respect, we strive to ingratiate ourselves with him or give him some friendly warning or urge him to regard us as his friends. This method was admirably employed by Passienus when he pleaded in a suit brought by his wife Domitia against her brother Ahenobarbus for the recovery of a sum of money: he began by making a number of remarks about the relationship of the two parties and then, referring to their wealth, which was in both cases enormous, added, "There is nothing either of you need less than the subject of this dispute." |
| 1777 |
Omnes autem hos adfectus , etiamsi quibusdam videntur ira prooemio atque ira epilogo sedem habere , ira quibus sane sint frequentissimi , tamen aliae quoque partes recipiunt , sed breviores , ut cum ex iis plurima sint reservanda . At hic , si usquam , totos eloquentiae aperire fontes licet .
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All these appeals to emotion, although some hold that they should be confined to the exordium and the peroration, which are, I admit, the places where they are most often used, may be employed in other portions of the speech as well, but more briefly, since most of them must be reserved for the opening or the close. But it is in tile peroration, if anywhere, that we must let loose the whole torrent of our eloquence. |
| 1778 |
Nam et , si bene diximus reliqua , possidebimus iam iudicum animos , et e confragosis atque asperis evecti tota pandere possumus vela , et , cum sit maxima pars epilogi amplificatio , verbis atque sententiis uti licet magnificis et ornatis . Tum est commovendum theatrum . cum ventum est ad ipsum illud , quo veteres tragoediae comoediaeque cluduntur , Plodite .
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For, if we have spoken well in the rest of our speech, we shall now have the judges on our side, and shall be in a position, now that we have emerged from the reefs and shoals, to spread all our canvas, while since the chief task of the peroration consists of amplification, we may legitimately make free use of words and reflexions that are magnificent and ornate. It is at the close of our drama that we must really stir the theatre, when we have reached the place for the phrase with which the old tragedies and comedies used to end, "Friends, give us your applause." |
| 1779 |
In aliis autem partibus tractandus erit adfectus , ut quisque nascetur , nam neque exponi sine hoc res atroces et miserabiles debent ; cum de qualitate alicuius rei quaestio est , probationibus uniuscuiusque rei recte subiungitur .
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In other portions of the speech we must appeal to the emotions as occasion may arise. For it would clearly be wrong to set forth facts calling for horror and pity without any such appeal, while, if the question arises as to the quality of any fact, such an appeal may justifiably be subjoined to the proofs of the fact in question. |
| 1780 |
Ubi vero coniunctam ex pluribus causam agimus , etiam necesse erit uti pluribus quasi epilogis , ut ira Verrem Cicero fecit . Nam et Philodamo et nauarchis et cruci civis Romani et aliis plurimis suas lacrimas dedit .
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When we are pleading a complicated case which is really made up of several cases, it will be necessary to introduce a number of passages resembling perorations, as Cicero does in the Vetrines, where he laments over Philodamus, the ships' captains, the crucifixion of the Roman citizen, and a number of other tragic incidents. |
| 1781 |
Sunt , qui hos μερικοὺς ἐπιλόγους vocent , quo partitam perorationem significant . Mihi non tam partes eius quam species videntur , siquidem et epilogi et perorationis nomina ipsa aperte satis ostendunt , hanc esse consummationem orationis .
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Some call these μερικοὶ ἐπίλογοι, by which they mean a peroration distributed among different portions of a speech. I should regard them rather as species than as parts of the peroration, since the terms epilogue and peroration both clearly indicate that they form the conclusion of a speech. |
| 1782 |
Quamvis autem pars haec iudicialium causarum summe praecipueque constet adfectibus , et aliqua de iis necessario dixerim , non tamen potui ac ne debui quidem istum locum in unam speciem concludere . Quare adhuc opus superest , cum ad obtinenda quae volumus potentissimum , tum supra dictis multo difficilius , movendi iudicum animos atque in eum quem volumus habitum formandi et velut transfigurandi . Qua de re pauca ,
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II. The peroration is the most important part of forensic pleading, and in the main consists of appeals to the emotions, concerning which I have consequently been forced to say something. But I have not yet been able to give the topic specific consideration as a whole, nor should I have been justified in doing so. We have still, therefore, to discuss a task which forms tile most powerful means of obtaining what we desire, and is also more difficult than any of those which we have previously considered, namely that of stirring the emotions of the judges, and of moulding and transforming them to the attitude which we desire. |
| 1783 |
quae postulabat materia , sic attigi , ut magis quid oporteret fieri quam quo id modo consequi possemus , ostenderem . Nunc altius omnis rei repetenda ratio est . Nam et per totam , ut diximus , causam locus est adfectibus . et eorum non simplex natura nec in transitu tractanda , quo nihil adferre maius vis orandi potest .
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The few remarks which I have already made on this subject were only such as were essential to my theme, while my purpose was rather to show what ought to be done than to set forth the manner in which we can secure our aim. I must now review the whole subject in a more exhaustive fashion. There is scope for an appeal to the emotions, as I have already said,1 in every portion of a speech. Moreover these emotions present great variety, and demand more than cursory treatment, since it is in their handling that the power of oratory shews itself at its highest. Even a slight and limited talent may, |
| 1784 |
Nam cetera forsitan tenuis quoque et angusta ingenii vena , si modo vel doctrina vel usu sit adiuta , generare atque ad frugem aliquam perducere queat ; certe sunt semperque fuerunt non parum multi , qui satis perite , quae essent probationibus utilia , reperirent ; quos equidem non contemno , sed hactenus utiles credo , ne quid per eos iudici sit ignotum , atque ( ut dicam , quod sentio ) dignos , a quibus causam diserti docerentur . Qui vero iudicem rapere et , in quem vellet habitum animi , posset perducere , quo dicente flendum irascendumve esset , rarus fuit .
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with the assistance of practice or learning, perhaps succeed in giving life to other departments of oratory, and in developing them to a serviceable extent. At any rate there are, and have always been, a considerable number of pleaders capable of discovering arguments adequate to prove their points. I am far from despising such, but I consider that their utility is restricted to providing the judge with such facts as it is necessary for him to know, and, to be quite frank, I regard them merely as suitable persons to instruct pleaders of real eloquence in the facts of a case. But few indeed are those orators who can sweep the judge with them, lead him to adopt that attitude of mind which they desire, and compel him to weep with them or share their anger. |
| 1785 |
Atqui hoc est quod dominetur in iudiciis , haec eloquentia regnat . Namque argumenta plerumque nascuntur ex causa , et pro meliore parte plura sunt semper , ut , qui per haec vicit , tantum non defuisse sibi advocatum sciat .
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And yet it is this emotional power that dominates the court, it is this form of eloquence that is the queen of all. For as a rule arguments arise out of the case itself, and the better cause has always the larger number to support it, so that the party who wills by means of them will have no further satisfaction than that of knowing that his advocate did not fail him. |
| 1786 |
Ubi vero animis iudicum vis adferenda est et ab ipsa veri contemplatione abducenda mens , ibi proprium oratoris opus est . Hoc non docet litigator , hoc causarum libellis non continetur . Probationes enim efficiant sane ut causam nostram meliorem esse iudices putent , adfectus praestant ut etiam velint ; sed id quod volunt credunt quoque .
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But the peculiar task of the orator arises when the minds of the judges require force to move them, and their thoughts have actually to be led away from the contemplation of the truth. No instruction from the litigant can secure this, nor can such power be acquired merely by the study of a brief. Proofs, it is true, may induce the judges to regard our case as superior to that of our opponent, but the appeal to the emotions will do more, for it will make them wish our case to be the better. And what they wish, they will also believe. |