Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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1901 |
Superest genus decipiendi opinionem aut dicta aliter intellegendi , quae sunt in omni hac materia vel venustissima . Inopinatum et a lacessente poni solet , quale est , quod refert Cicero , Quid huic abest nisi res et virus ? aut illud Afri , Homo in agendis causis optime vestitus ; et in occurrendo , ut Cicero , audita falsa Vatinii morte , cum obvium libertum eius interrogasset , " Rectene omnia ? " dicenti , " Recte , " Mortuus est ? "
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There remains the prettiest of all forms of humour, namely the jest which depends for success on deceiving anticipations or taking another's words in a sense other than he intended. The unexpected element may be employed by the attacking party, as in the example cited by Cicero, "What does this man lack save wealth and—virtue?" or in the remark of Afer, "For pleading causes he is most admirably—dressed." Or it may be employed to meet a statement made by another, as it was by Cicero on hearing a false report of Vatinius' death: he had met one of the latter's freedmen and asked him, "Is all well?" The freedman answered, "All is well." To which Cicero replied, "Is he dead, then?" |
1902 |
inquit . Plurimus autem circa simulationem et dissimulationem risus est , quae sunt vicina et prope eadem ; sed simulatio est certam opinionem animi sui imitantis , dissimulatio aliena se parum intelligere fingentis . Simulavit Afer , cum in causa subinde dicentibus Celsinam de re cognovisse , quae erat potens femina : Quis est , inquit , iste ? Celsinam enim videri sibi virum finxit .
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But the loudest laughter of all is produced by simulation and dissimulation, proceedings which differ but little and are almost identical; but whereas simulation implies the pretence of having a certain opinion of one's own, dissimulation consists in feigning that one does not understand someone else's meaning. Afer employed simulation, when his opponents in a certain case kept saying that Celsina (who was an influential lady) knew all about the facts, and he, pretending to believe that she was a man, said, "Who is he?" |
1903 |
Dissimulavit Cicero , cum Sex . Annalis testis reum laesisset , et instaret identidem accusator ei , Dic , M . Tulli , numquid potes de Sex . Annali ? versus enim dicere coepit de libro Ennii annali sexto : " Quis potis ingentis causas evolvere belli ? "
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Cicero on the other hand employed dissimulation when Sextus Annalis gave evidence damaging to the client whom lie was defending, and the accuser kept pressing him with the question, "Tell me, Marcus Tullius, what have you to say about Sextus Annalis?" To which he replied by beginning to recite the Sixth book of the Annals of Ennius, which commences with the line, "Who may the causes vast of war unfold?" This kind of jest finds its most frequent opportunity in ambiguity, |
1904 |
Cui sine dubio frequentissimam dat occasionem ambiguitas : ut Cascellio , qui consultatori dicenti , " Navem lividere volo , " Perdes , " inquit . Sed averti intellectus et aliter solet , cum ab asperioribus ad leniora deflectitur : ut qui interrogatus , quid sentiret de eo , qui in adulterio deprehensus esset , Tardum fuisse respondit .
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as for example, when Cascellius, on being consulted by a client who said, "I wish to divide my ship," replied, "You will lose it then." But there are also other ways of distorting the meaning; we may for instance give a serious statement a comparatively trivial sense, like the man who, when asked what he thought of a man who had been caught in the act of adultery, replied that he had been too slow in his movements. |
1905 |
Ei confine est , quod dicitur per suspicionem : quale illud apud Ciceronem querenti , quod uxor sua ex fico sese suspendisset , Rogo , des mihi surculum ex illa arbore , ut inseram ; intelligitur enim quod non dicitur .
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Of a similar nature are jests whose point lies in insinuation. Such was the reply which Cicero quotes as given to the man who complained that his wife had hung herself on a fig-tree. "I wish," said someone, "you would give me a slip of that tree to plant." For there the meaning is obvious, though it is not expressed in so many words. |
1906 |
Et hercule omnis salse dicendi ratio in eo est , ut aliter quam est rectum verumque dicatur : quod fit totum fingendis aut nostris aut alienis persuasionibus aut dicendo quod fieri non potest .
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Indeed the essence of all wit lies in the distortion of the true and natural meaning of words: a perfect instance of this is when we misrepresent our own or another's opinions or assert some impossibility. |
1907 |
Alienam finxit Iuba , qui querenti , quod ab equo suo esset aspersus , Quid ? Tu , inquit , me Hippocentaurum putas ? suam C . Cassius , qui militi sine gladio decurrenti , Heus , commilito , pugno bene uteris , inquit . Et Galba de piscibus , qui cum pridie ex parte adesi et versati postera die appositi essent , Festinemus , alii subcenant , inquit . Tertium illud Cicero , ut dixi , adversus Curium ; fieri enim certe non poterat ut , cum declamaret , natus non esset .
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Juba misrepresented another man's opinion, when he replied to one who complained of being bespattered by his horse, "What, do you think I am a Centaur?" Gaius Cassius misrepresented his own, when he said to a soldier whom he saw hurrying into battle without his sword, "Shew yourself a handy man with your fists, comrade." So too did Galba, when served with some fish that had been partially eaten the day before and had been placed on the table with the uneaten sides turned uppermost: "We must lose no time," he said, "for there are people under the table at work on the other side." Lastly there is the jibe that Cicero made against Curius, which I have already cited; for it was clearly impossible that he should be still unborn at a time when he was already declaiming. |
1908 |
Est et illa ex ironia fictio , qua usus est C . Caesar . Nam cum testis diceret a reo femina sua ferro petita , et esset facilis reprehensio , cur illam potissimum partem corporis vulnerare voluisset : Quid enim faceret , inquit ,
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There is also a form of misrepresentation which has its basis in irony, of which a saying of Gaius Caesar will provide an example. A witness asserted that the accused attempted to wound him in the thighs, and although it would have been easy to ask him why he attacked that portion of his body above all others, he merely remarked, "What else could he have done, when you had a helmet and breastplate?" |
1909 |
cum tu galeam et loricam haberes ?Vel optima est simulatio contra simulantem , qualis illa Domitii Afri fuit : vetus habebat testamentum , et unus ex amicis recentioribus , sperans aliquid ex mutatione tabularum , falsam fabulam intulerat , consulens eum , an primipilari seni iam testato rursus suaderet ordinare suprema iudicia . Noli , inquit , facere ; offendis illum .
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Best of all is it when pretence is met by pretence, as was done in the following instance by Domitius Afer. He had made his will long ago, and one of his more recent friends, in the hopes of securing a legacy if he could persuade him to change it, produced a fictitious story and asked him whether he should advise a senior centurion who, being an old man, had already made his will to revise it; to which Afer replied, "Don't do it: you will offend him." |
1910 |
Iucundissima sunt autem ex his omnibus lenia et , ut sic dixerim , boni stomachi : ut Afer idem ingrato litigatori conspectum eius in foro vitanti per nomenclatorem missum ad eum , Amas me , inquit , quod te non vidi ?Et dispensatori , qui , cum reliqua non responderent , dicebat subinde , " Non comedi ; pane et aqua vivo , " Passer , redde quod debes . " Quae ὑπὸ τὸ ἦθος vocant .
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But the most agreeable of all jests are those which are good humoured and easily digested. Take another example from Afer. Noting that an ungrateful client avoided him in the forum, he sent his servant to him to say, "I hope you are obliged to me for not having seen you." Again when his steward, being unable to account for certain sums of money, kept saying, "I have not eaten it: I live on bread and water," he replied, "Master sparrow, pay what you owe." Such jests the Greeks style ὑπὸ τὸ ἦθος or adapted to character. |
1911 |
Est gratus iocus , qui minus exprobrat quam potest , ut idem dicenti candidate , Semper domum tuam colui , cum posset palam negare , Credo , inquit , et verum est .Interim de se dicere ridiculum et quod in alium si absentem diceretur urbanum non erat , quoniam ipsi palam exprobratur ,
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It is a pleasant form of jest to reproach a person with less than would be possible, as Afer did when, in answer to a candidate who said, "I have always shown my respect for your family," he replied, although he might easily have denied the statement, "You are right, it is quite true." Sometimes it may be a good joke to speak of oneself, while one may often raise a laugh by reproaching a person to his face with things that it would have been merely bad-mannered to bring up against him behind his back. |
1912 |
movet risum : quale Augusti est , cum ab eo miles nescio quid improbe peteret et veniret contra Marcianus , quem suspicabatur et ipsum aliquid iniuste rogaturum : Non magis , inquit , faciam , commilito , quod petis , quam quod Marcianus a me petiturus est .
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Of this kind was the remark made by Augustus, when a soldier was making some unreasonable request and Marcianus, whom he suspected of intending to make some no less unfair request, turned up at the same moment: " I will no more grant your request, comrade, than I will that which Marcianus is just going to make. " |
1913 |
Adiuvant urbanitatem et versus commode positi , seu toti ut sunt ( quod adeo facile est , ut Ovidius ex tetrastichon Macri carmine librum in malos poetas composuerit ) , quod fit gratius , si qua etiam ambiguitate conditur : ut Cicero in Lartium , hominem callidum et versutum , cum is in quadam causa suspectus esset ,
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Apt quotation of verse may add to the effect of wit. The lines may be quoted in their entirety without alteration, which is so easy a task that Ovid composed an entire book against bad poets out of lines taken from the quatrains of Macer. Such a procedure is rendered specially attractive if it be seasoned by a spice of ambiguity, as in the line which Cicero quoted against Lartius, a shrewd and cunning fellow who was suspected of unfair dealing in a certain case, "Had not Ulysses Lartius intervened." Or the words may be slightly altered, as in the line quoted against the senator who, |
1914 |
Nisi si qua Ulixes intervasit Lartius ; seu verbis ex parte mutatis , ut in eum qui , cum antea stultissimus esset habitus , post acceptam hereditatem primus sententiam rogabatur , Hereditas est , queam vocant sapientiam , pro illo , felicitas est ; seu ficti notis versibus similes , quae παρῳδία dicitur .
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although he had always in previous times been regarded as an utter fool, was, after inheriting an estate, asked to speak first on a motion— "What men call wisdom is a legacy," where legacy is substituted for the original faculty. Or again we may invent verses resembling well known lines, a trick styled parody by the Greeks. A neat application of proverbs may also be effective, |
1915 |
Et proverbia opportune aptata : ut homini nequam lapso et , ut allevaretur , roganti , Tollat te qui non novit . Ex historia etiam ducere urbanitatem eruditum est : ut Cicero fecit , cum ei testem in iudicio Verris roganti dixisset Hortensius , " Non intelligo haec aenigmata . " Atqui debes , inquit , cum Sphingem domi habeas ; " acceperat autem ille a Verre Sphingem aeneam magnae pecuniae .
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as when one man replied to another, a worthless fellow, who had fallen down and asked to be helped to his feet, "Let someone pick you up who does not know you." Or we may shew our culture by drawing on legend for a jest, as Cicero did in the trial of Verres, when Hortensius said to him as he was examining a witness, "I do not understand these riddles. "You ought to, then," said Cicero, "as you have got the Sphinx at home." Hortensius had received a bronze Sphinx of great value as a present from Verres. |
1916 |
Subabsurda illa constant stulti simulatione ; quae , nisi fingantur , stulta sunt : ut , qui mirantibus , quod humile candelabrum emisset , Pransorium erit , inquit . Sed illa similia absurdis sunt acria , quae tanquam sine ratione dicta feruntur : ut servus Dolabellae , cum interrogaretur an dominus eius auctionem proposuisset , Domum , inquit , vendidit . Deprehensi interim pudorem suum ridiculo aliquo explicant :
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Effects of mild absurdity are produced by the simulation of folly and would, indeed, themselves, be foolish were they not fictitious. Take as an example the remark of the man who, when people wondered why he had bought a stumpy candlestick, said, "It will do for lunch." There are also sayings closely resembling absurdities which derive great point from their sheer irrelevance, like the reply of Dolabella's slave, who, on being asked whether his master had advertised a sale of his property, answered, "He has sold his house." Sometimes you may get out of a tight comer by giving a humorous explanation of your embarrassment, |
1917 |
ut , qui testem dicentem se a reo vulneratum interrogaverat an cicatricem haberet , cum ille ingentem in femine ostendisset , Latus , inquit , oportuit .Contumeliis quoque uti belle datur : ut Hispo obiicienti atrociora crimina accusatori , Me ex te metiris , inquit . Et Fulvius Propinquus legato interroganti an in tabulis , quas proferebat , chirographus esset , Et verus , inquit , domine .
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as the man did who asked a witness, who alleged that lie had been wounded by the accused, whether he had any scar to show for it. The witness proceeded to show a huge scar on his thigh, on which lie remarked, "I wish he had wounded you in the side." A happy use may also be made of insult. Hispo, for example, when the accuser charged him with scandalous crimes, replied, "You judge my character by your own" ; while Fulvius Propinquus, when asked by the representative of the emperor whether the documents which he produced were autographs, replied, "Yes, Sir, and the handwriting is genuine, too!" |
1918 |
Has aut accepi species aut inveni frequentissimas , ex quibus ridicula ducerentur ; sed repetam necesse est , infinitas esse tam salse dicendi quam severe , quas praestat persona , locus , tempus , casus denique , qui est maxime varius .
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Such I have either learned from others or discovered from my own experience to be the commonest sources of humour. But I must repeat that the number of ways in which one may speak wittily are of no less infinite variety than those in which one may speak seriously, for they depend on persons, place, time and chances, which are numberless. |
1919 |
Itaque haec , ne omisisse viderer , attigi ; illa autem , quae de usu ipso et modo iocandi complexus sum , audeo confirmare esse plane necessaria . His adiicit Domitius Marsus , qui de urbanitate diligentissime scripsit , quaedam non ridicula , sed cuilibet severissimae orationi convenientia eleganter dicta et proprio quodam lepore iucunda ; quae sunt quidem urbana sed risum tamen non habent .
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I have, therefore, touched on the topics of humour that I may not be taxed with having omitted them; but with regard to my remarks on the actual practice and manner of jesting, I venture to assert that they are absolutely indispensable. To these Domitius Marsus, who wrote an elaborate treatise on Urbanity, adds several types of saying, which are not laughable, but rather elegant sayings with a certain charm and attraction of their own, which are suitable even to speeches of the most serious kind: they are characterized by a certain urbane wit, but not of a kind to raise a laugh. |
1920 |
Neque enim ei de risu sed de urbanitate est opus institutum , quam propriam esse nostrae civitatis et sero sic intelligi coeptam , postquam Urbis appellatione , etiamsi nomen proprium non adiiceretur , Romam tamen accipi sit receptum .
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And as a matter of fact his work was not designed to deal with humour, but with urbane wit, a quality which he regards as peculiar to this city, though it was not till a late period that it was understood in this sense, after the word Urbs had come to be accepted as indicating Rome without the addition of any proper noun. He defines it as follows: |
1921 |
Eamque sic finit : Urbanitas est virtus quaedam in breve dictum coacta et apta ad delectandos mouendosque homines in omnem adfectum animi , maxime idonea ad resistendum vel lacessendum , prout quaeque res aut persona desiderat . Cui si brevitatis exceptionem detraxeris , omnes orationis virtutes complexa sit . Nam si constat rebus et personis , quod in utrisque oporteat dicere perfectae eloquentiae est . Cur autem brevem esse eam voluerit , nescio , cum idem atque
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" Urbanity is a certain quality of language compressed into the limits of a brief saying and adapted to delight and move men to every kind of emotion, but specially suitable to resistance or attack according as the person or circumstances concerned may demand. " But this definition, if we except the quality of brevity, includes all the virtues of oratory. For it is entirely concerned with persons and things to deal with which in appropriate language is nothing more nor less than the task of perfect eloquence. Why he insisted on brevity being essential I do not know, |
1922 |
in eodem libro dicat fuisse in multis narrandi urbanitatem . Paulo post ita finit , Catonis ( ut ait ) opinionem secutus , Urbanus homo erit , cuius multa bene dicta responsaque erunt , et qui in sermonibus , circulis , conviviis , item in contionibus , omni denique loco ridicule commodeque dicet . Risus erunt , quicunque haec faciet orator .
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since in the same book he asserts that many speakers have revealed their urbanity in narrative. And a little later he gives the following definition, which is, as he says, based on the views expressed by Cato: " Urbanity is the characteristic of a man who has produced many good sayings and replies, and who, whether in conversation, in social or convivial gatherings, in public speeches, or under any other circumstances, will speak with humour and appropriateness. If any orator do this, he will undoubtedly succeed in making his audience laugh. " |
1923 |
Quas si recipimus finitiones , quidquid bene dicetur , et urbane dicti nomen accipiet . Ceterum illi , qui hoc proposuerat , consentanea fuit illa divisio , ut dictorum urbanorum alia seria , alia iocosa , alia media faceret . Nam est eadem omnium bene dictorum . Verum mihi etiam iocosa quaedam videntur posse in non satis urbana referri .
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But if we accept these definitions, we shall have to allow the title of urbane to anything that is well said. It was natural therefore that the author of this definition should classify such sayings under three heads, serious, humorous and intermediate, since all good sayings may be thus classified. But, in my opinion, there are certain forms of humorous saying that may be regarded as not possessing sufficient urbanity. |
1924 |
Nam meo quidem indicio illa est urbanitas , in qua nihil absonum , nihil agreste , nihil inconditum , nihil peregrinum neque sensu neque verbis neque ore gestuve possit deprehendi ; ut non tam sit in singulis dictis quam in toto colore dicendi , qualis apud Graecos ἀττικισμὸς ille reddens Athenarum proprium saporem .
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For to my thinking urbanity involves the total absence of all that is incongruous, coarse, unpolished and exotic whether in thought, language, voice or gesture, and resides not so much in isolated sayings as in the whole complexion of our language, just as for the Greeks Atticism means that elegance of taste which was peculiar to Athens. |
1925 |
Ne tamen iudicium Marsi , hominis eruditissimi , subtraham , seria partitur in tria genera , honorificum , contumeliosum , medium . Et honorifici ponit exemplum Ciceronis pro Ligario apud Caesarem , Qui nihil soles oblivisci nisi iniurias ;
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However, out of respect to the judgment of Marsus, who was a man of the greatest learning, I will add that he divides serious utterances into three classes, the honorific, the derogatory and the intermediate. As an example of the honorific he quotes the words uttered by Cicero in the pro Ligario with reference to Caesar, "You who forget nothing save injuries." |
1926 |
et contumeliosi , quod Attico scripsit de Pompeio et Caesare , Habeo , quem fugiam ; quem sequar , non habeo ; et medii , quod ἀποφθεγματικόν vocat et est ita , cum dixerit , Nec grave mortem accidere viro forti posse nec inmaturam consulari neque miseram sapienti . Quae omnia sunt optime dicta ; sed cur proprie nomen urbanitatis accipiant , non video .
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The derogatory he illustrates by the words used by Cicero of Pompey and Caesar in a letter to Atticus: "I know whom to avoid, but whom to follow I know not." Finally, he illustrates the intermediate, which he calls apophthegmatic (as it is), by the passage from Cicero's speech against Catiline where he says, " Death can never be grievous to the brave nor premature for one who has been consul nor a calamity to one that is truly wise. " All these are admirable sayings, but what special title they have to be called urbane I do not see. |
1927 |
Quod si non totius , ut mihi videtur , orationis color meretur , sed etiam singulis dictis tribuendum est , illa potius urbana dixerim , quae sunt generis eiusdem , quo ridicula dicuntur et tamen ridicula non sunt , ut de Pollione Asinio seriis iocisque pariter accommodato dictum est esse eum omnium horarum ;
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If it is not merely, as I think, the whole complexion of our oratory that deserves this title, but if it is to be claimed for individual sayings as well, I should give the name only to those sayings that are of the same general character as humorous sayings, without actually being humorous. I will give an illustration of what I mean. It was said of Asinius Pollio, who had equal gifts for being grave or gay, that he was "a man for all hours," |
1928 |
et de actore facile dicente ex tempore , ingenium eum in numerato habere ; etiam Pompeii , quod refert Marsus , in Ciceronem diffidentem partibus , Transi ad Caesarem , me timebis . Erat enim , si de re minore aut alio animo aut denique non ab ipso dictum fuisset , quod posset inter ridicula numerari .
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and of a pleader who was a fluent speaker extempore, that "his ability was all in ready money." Of the same kind, too, was the remark recorded by Marsus as having been made by Pompey to Cicero when the latter expressed distrust of his party: "Go over to Caesar and you will be afraid of me." Had this last remark been uttered on a less serious subject and with less serious purpose, or had it not been uttered by Pompey himself, we might have counted it among examples of humour. |
1929 |
Etiam illud , quod Cicero Caerelliae scripsit reddens rationem , cur illa C . Caesaris tempora tam patienter toleraret , Haec aut animo Catonis ferenda sunt aut Ciceronis stomacho ; stomachus enim ille habet aliquid ioco simile . Haec , quae movebant , dissimulanda mihi non fuerunt ; in quibus ut erraverim , legentes tamen non decepi , indicata et diverse opinione , quam sequi magis probantibus liberum est .
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I may also add the words used by Cicero in a letter to Caerellia to explain why he endured the supremacy of Caesar so patiently: " These ills must either be endured with the courage of Cato or the stomach of Cicero, " for here again the word "stomach" has a spice of humour in it. I felt that I ought not to conceal my feelings on this point. If I am wrong in my views, I shall not, at any rate, lead my readers astray, since I have stated the opposite view as well, which they are at liberty to adopt if they prefer it. |
1930 |
Altercationis praecepta poterant videri tunc inchoanda , cum omnia , quae ad continuam orationem pertinent , peregissem , nam est usus eius ordine ultimus ; sed , cum sit posita in sola inventione neque habere dispositionem possit nec elocutionis ornamenta magnopere desideret aut circa memoriam et pronuntiationem laboret , prius quam secundam quinque partium , hanc quae tota ex prima pendet tractaturus non alieno loco videor ; quam scriptores alii fortasse ideo reliquerunt , quia satis ceteris praeceptis in hanc quoque videbatur esse prospectum .
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IV. With regard to the principles to be observed in forensic debate, it might seem that I should delay such instructions until I had finished dealing with all the details of continuous speaking, since such debates come after the set speeches are done. But since the art of debate turns on invention alone, does not admit of arrangement, has little need for the embellishments of style, and makes no large demand on memory or delivery, I think that it will not be out of place to deal with it here before I proceed to the second of the five parts, since it is entirely dependent on the first. Other writers have omitted to deal with it on the ground perhaps that they thought the subject had been sufficiently covered by their precepts on other topics. |
1931 |
Constat enim ex intentione ac depulsione , de quibus satis traditum est ; quia , quidquid in actione perpetua circa probationes utile est , idem in hac brevi atque concisa prosit necesse est . Neque alia dicuntur in altercatione , sed aliter , aut interrogando aut respondendo . Cuius rei fere omnis observatio in illo testium loco excussa nobis est .
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For debate consists in attack and defence, on which enough has already been said, since whatever is useful in a continuous speech for the purpose of proof must necessarily be of service in this brief and discontinuous form of oratory. For we say the same things in debate, though we say them in a different manner, since debate consists of questions and replies, a topic with which we have dealt fairly exhaustively in connexion with the examination of witnesses. |
1932 |
Tamen quia latius hoc opus aggressi sumus neque perfectus orator sine hac virtute dici potest , paululum impendamus huic quoque peculiaris operae , quae quidem in quibusdam causis ad victoriam vel plurimum valet .
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But since this work is designed on an ample scale and since no one can be called a perfect orator unless he be an expert debater, we must devote a little special attention to this accomplishment as well, which as a matter of fact is not seldom the deciding factor in a forensic victory. |
1933 |
Nam ut in qualitate generali , in qua rectene factum quid an contra sit quaeritur , perpetua dominatur oratio , et quaestionem finitionis actiones plerumque satis explicant et omnia paene , in quibus de facto constat aut coniectura artificiali ratione colligitur , ita in iis causis , quae sunt frequentissimae , quae vel solis extra artem probationibus vel mixtis continentur , asperrima in hac parte dimicatio est , nec alibi dixeris magis mucrone pugnari .
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For just as the continuous speech is the predominant weapon in general questions of quality (where the inquiry is as to whether an act was right or wrong), and as a rule is adequate to clear up questions of definition and almost all those in which the facts are ascertained or inferred by conjecture from artificial proof, so on the other hand those cases, which are the most frequent of all and depend on proofs which are either entirely inartificial or of a composite character, give rise to the most violent debates; in fact I should say that there is no occasion when the advocate has to come to closer grips with his adversary. |
1934 |
Nam et firmissima quaeque memoriae iudicis inculcanda sunt et praestandum quidquid in actione promisimus et refellenda mendacia . Nusquam est denique qui cognoscit intentior . Nec immerito quidam quanquam in dicendo mediocres hac tamen altercandi praestantia meruerunt nomen patronorum .
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For all the strongest points of the argument have to be sharply impressed on the memory of the judge, while we have also to make good all the promises we may have made in the course of our speech and to refute the lies of our opponents. There is no point of a trial where the judge's attention is keener. And even mediocre speakers have not without some reason acquired the reputation of being good advocates simply by their excellence in debate. |
1935 |
At quidam litigatoribus suis illum modo ambitiosum declamandi sudorem praestitisse contenti cum turba laudantium destituunt subsellia pugnamque illam decretoriam imperitis ac saepe pullatae turbae relinquunt .
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Some on the other hand think they have done their duty to their clients by an ostentatious and fatiguing display of elaborate declamation and straightway march out of court attended by an applauding crowd and leave the desperate battle of debate to uneducated performers who often are of but humble origin. |
1936 |
Itaque videas alios plerumque iudiciis privatis ad actiones advocari alios ad probationem . Quae si dividenda sunt officia , hoc certe magis necessarium est , pudendumque dictu , si plus litigantibus prosunt minores . In publicis certe iudiciis vox illa praeconis praeter patronos ipsum , qui egerit , citat .
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As a result in private suits you will generally find that different counsel are employed to plead and to prove the case. If the duties of advocacy are to be thus divided, the latter duty must surely be accounted the more important of the two, and it is a disgrace to oratory that inferior advocates should be regarded as adequate to render the greater service to the litigants. In public cases at any rate the actual pleader is cited by the usher as well as the other advocates. |
1937 |
Opus est igitur inprimis ingenio veloci ac mobili , animo praesenti et acri . Non enim cogitandum , sed dicendum statim est et prope sub conatu adversarii manus exigenda . Quare cum in omni parte huiusce officii plurimum facit , totas non diligenter modo sed etiam familiariter nosse causas , tum in altercatione maxime necessarium est , omnium personarum , instrumentorum , temporum , locorum habere notitiam ; alioqui et tacendum erit saepe et aliis subiicientibus ( plerumque autem studio loquendi fatue modo ) accedendum ; quo nonnunquam accidit , ut nostra credulitate aliena stultitia erubescamus .
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For debate the chief requisites are a quick and nimble understanding and a shrewd and ready judgment. For there is no time to think; the advocate must speak at once and return the blow almost before it has been dealt by his opponent. Consequently while it is most important for every portion of the case that the advocate should not merely have given a careful study to the whole case, but that he should have it at his fingers' ends, when he comes to the debate it is absolutely necessary that he should possess a thorough acquaintance with all the persons, instruments and circumstances of time and place involved: otherwise he will often be reduced to silence and forced to give a hurried assent to those who prompt him as to what he should say, suggestions which are often perfectly fatuous owing to excess of zeal on the part of the prompter. As a result it sometimes happens that we are put to the blush by too ready acceptance of the foolish suggestions of another. |
1938 |
Neque tantum cum his ipsis monitoribus clam res erit ; quidam faciunt aperte ut quoque rixentur . Videas enim plerosque ira percitos exclamantes , ut iudex audiat contrarium id esse , quod admoneatur , sciatque ille , qui pronuntiaturus est in causa ,
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Moreover, we have to deal with others beside these prompters who speak for our ear alone. Somego so far as to turn the debate into an open brawl. For you may sometimes see several persons shouting angrily at the judge and telling him that the arguments thus suggested are contrary to the truth, and calling his attention to the fact that some point which is prejudicial to the case has been deliberately passed over in silence. |