Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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| 2319 |
Aerumnosum quid opus est ? tanquam parum sit , si dicatur quid horridum . Reor tolerabile , autumo tragicum , prolem dicere inusitatum est , prosapiam insulsum . Quid multa ? totus prope mutatus est sermo .
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What need have we of acrumnosum? It is surely enough to call a thing horridum. Reor may be tolerated, autumo smacks of tragedy, proles has become a rarity, while prosapia stamps the man who uses it as lacking taste. Need I say more Almost the whole language has changed. |
| 2320 |
Quaedam tamen adhuc vetera vetustate ipsa gratius nitent , quaedam et necessario interim sumuntur , ut nuncupare et fari ; multa alia etiam audentius inseri possunt sed ita demum , si non appareat adfectatio , in quam mirifice Vergilius : " Corinthiorum amator iste verborum ,
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But there are still some old words that are endeared to us by their antique sheen, while there are others that we cannot avoid using occasionally, such, for example, as nuncupare and fari: there are yet others which it requires some daring to use, but which may still be employed so long as we avoid all appearance of that affectation which Virgil has derided so cleverly: " Britain's Thucydides, |
| 2321 |
Thucydides Britannus , Atticae febris , Tau Gallicum , al , min , et sil ut male elisit ; Ita omnia ista verba miscuit fratri . " Cimber hic fuit ,
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whose mad Attic brain Loved word-amalgams like Corinthian bronze, First made a horrid blend of words from Gaul, Tau, al, min, sil and God knows how much else, Then mixed them in a potion for his brother!" This was a certain Cimber who killed his brother, |
| 2322 |
a quo fratrem necatum hoc Ciceronis dicto notatum est , Germanum Cimber occidit . Nec minus noto Sallustius epigrammate incessitur : " Et verba antiqui multum furate Catonis Crispe , Iugurthinae conditor historiae . "
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a fact which Cicero recorded in the words, "Cimber has killed his brother German." The epigram against Sallust is scarcely less well known: "Crispus, you, too, Jugurtha's fall who told, And filched such store of words from Cato old." |
| 2323 |
odiosa cura ; nam et cuilibet facilis et hoc pessima , quod eius studiosus non verba rebus aptabit , sed res extrinsecus arcesset , quibus haec verba conveniant . Fingere , ut primo libro dixi , Graecis magis concessum est , qui sonis etiam quibusdam et adfectibus non dubitaverunt nomina aptare , non alia libertate quam qua illi primi homines rebus appellationes dederunt .
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It is a tiresome kind of affectation; any one can practise it, and it is made all the worse by the fact that the man who catches the infection will not choose his words to suit his facts, but will drag in irrelevant facts to provide an opportunity for the use of such words. The coining of new words is, as I stated in the first book, more permissible in Greek, for the Greeks did not hesitate to coin nouns to represent certain sounds and emotions, and in truth they were taking no greater liberty than was taken by the first men when they gave names to things. |
| 2324 |
Nostri autem in iungendo aut in derivando paulum aliquid ausi vix in hoc satis recipiuntur . Nam memini iuvenis admodum inter Pomponium ac Senecam etiam praefationibus esse tractatum , an gradus eliminat in tragoedia dici oportuisset . At veteres ne expectorat quidem timuerunt ; et sane eiusdem notae est exanimat .
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Our own writers have ventured on a few attempts at composition and derivation, but have not met with much success. I remember in my young days there was a dispute between Pomponius and Seneca which even found its way into the prefaces of their works, as to whether gradus eliminate was a phrase which ought to have been allowed in tragedy. But the ancients had no hesitation about using even expectorate and, after all, it presents exactly the same formation as exanimat. |
| 2325 |
At tractu et declinatione talia sunt , qualia apud Ciceronem beatitas et beatitudo ; quae dura quidem sentit esse , verumtamen usu putat posse molliri . Nec a verbis modo , sed a nominibus quoque derivata sunt quaedam , ut a Cicerone Sullaturit ab Asinio Fimbriatum et Figulatum .
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Of the coining of words by expansion and inflexion we have examples, such as the Ciceronian beatitas and beatitudo, forms which he feels to be somewhat harsh, though he thinks they may be softened by use. Derivatives may even be fashioned from proper names, quite apart from ordinary words, witness Sullaturit in Cicero and Fimbriatus and Figulatus in Asinius. |
| 2326 |
Multa ex Graeco format nova ac plurima a Verginio Flavo , quorum dura quaedam admodum videntur , ut queens et essentia ; quae cur tantopere aspernemur nihil video , nisi quod iniqui iudices adversus nos sumus ideoque paupertate sermonis laboramus . Quaedam tamen perdurant .
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Many new words have been coined in imitation of the Greeks, more especially by Verginius Flavus, some of which, such as queens and essentia, are regarded as unduly harsh. But I see no reason why we should treat them with such contempt, except, perhaps, that we are highly self-critical and suffer in consequence from the poverty of our language. Some new formations do, however, succeed in establishing themselves. |
| 2327 |
Nam et quae vetera nunc sunt , fuerunt olim nova , et quaedam sunt in usu perquam recentia , ut Messala primus reatum , munerarium Augustus primus dixerunt . Piraticam quoque ut musicam et fabricam dici adhuc vetabant mei praeceptores . Favorem et urbanum Cicero nova credit . Nam et in epistola ad Brutum Eum , inquit , amorem et eum , ut hoc verbo utar , fauorem in consilium advocabo .
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For words which now are old, once were new, and there are some words in use which are of quite recent origin, such as reatus, invented by Messala, and munerarius, invented by Augustus. So, too, my own teachers still persisted in banning the use of words, such as piratica, musica and fabrica, while Cicero regards favor and urbanus as but newly introduced into the language. For in a letter to Brutus he says, eum amorer et eum, ut hoc verbo utar, favored in consilium advocabo, |
| 2328 |
Et ad Appium Pulchrum , Te , hominem non solum sapientem verum etiam , ut nunc loquimur , urbanum . Idem putat a Terentio primum dictum esse obsequium , Caecilius a Sisenna albente caelo . Cervicem videtur Hortensius primus dixisse , nam veteres pluraliter appellabant . Audendum itaque ; neque enim accedo Celso , qui ab oratore verba fingi vetat . Nam ,
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while to Appius Pulcher he writes, le hominem non solum sapientem, verum etiam, ut nunc loquimur, urbanum. He also thinks that Terence was the first to use the word obsequium, while Caecilius asserts that Sisenna was the first to use the phrase albente caelo. Hortensius seems to have been the first to use cervix in the singular, since the ancients confined themselves to the plural. We must not then be cowards, for I cannot agree with Celsus when he forbids orators to coin new words. |
| 2329 |
cum sint eorum alia ( ut dicit Cicero ) nativa , id est , quae significata sunt primo sensu , alia reperta , quae ex his facta sunt , ut iam nobis ponere alia , quam quae illi rudes homines primique fecerunt , fas non sit , at derivare , flectere , coniungere , quod natis postea concessum est ,
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For some words, as Cicero says, are native, that is to say, are used in their original meaning, while others are derivative, that is to say, formed from the native. Granted then that we are not justified in coining entirely new words having no resemblance to the words invented by primitive man, I must still ask at what date we were first forbidden to form derivatives and to modify and compound words, processes which were undoubtedly permitted to later generations of mankind. If, however, |
| 2330 |
quando desiit licere ? Sed , si quid periculosius finxisse videbimur , quibusdam remediis praemuniendum O . est : Ut ita dicam , Si licet dicere , Quodam modo , Permittite mihi sic uti . Quod idem etiam in iis , quae licentius translata erunt , proderit , nihilque non tuto dici potest , in quo non falli iudicium nostrum sollicitudine ipsa manifestum erit . Qua de re Graecum illud elegantissimum est , quo praecipitur προεπιπλήσσειν τῇ ὑπερβολῇ .
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one of our inventions seems a little risky, we must take certain measures in advance to save it from censure, prefacing it by phrases such as "so to speak, "if I may say so, "in a certain sense," or "if you will allow me to make use of such a word." The same practice may be followed in the case of bold metaphors, and it is not too much to say that almost anything can be said with safety provided we show by the very fact of our anxiety that the word or phrase in question is not due to an error of judgment. The Greeks have a neat saying on this subject, advising us to be the first to blame our own hyperbole. |
| 2331 |
Translata probari nisi in contextu sermonis non possunt . Itaque de singulis verbis satis dictum , quae , ut alio loco ostendi , per se nullam virtutem habent . Sed ne inornata sunt quidem , nisi cum sunt infra rei , de qua loquendum est , dignitatem , excepto si obscena nudis nominibus enuntientur .
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The metaphorical use of words cannot be recommended except in connected discourse. Enough has now been said on the subject of single words, which, as I have pointed out elsewhere, have no intrinsic value of their own. On the other hand, there is no word which is intrinsically ugly unless it be beneath the dignity of the subject on which we have to speak, excepting always such words as are nakedly obscene. |
| 2332 |
Quod viderint , qui non putant esse vitanda , quia nec sit vox ulla natura turpis et , si qua est rei deformitas , alia quoque appellatione quacunque ad intellectum eundem nihilominus perveniat . Ego Romani pudoris more contentus , ut iam respondi talibus , verecundiam silentio vindicabo .
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I would commend this remark to those who do not think it necessary to avoid obscenity on the ground that no word is indecent in itself and that, if a thing is revolting, its unpleasantness will be realised clearly enough by whatever name it is called. Accordingly, I shall content myself with following the good old rules of Roman modesty and, as I have already replied to such persons, shall vindicate the cause of decency by saying no more on this unpleasant subject. |
| 2333 |
Iam hinc igitur ad rationem sermonis coniuncti transeamus . Cuius ornatus in haec duo prima dividitur , quam concipiamus elocutionem , quo modo efferamus . Nam primum est , ut liqueat , augere quid velimus an minuere , concitate dicere an moderate , laete an severe , abundanter an presse , aspere an leniter , magnifice an subtiliter , graviter an urbane . Tum ,
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Let us now pass to consider connected discourse. Its adornment may be effected, primarily, in two ways; that is to say, we must consider first our ideal of style, and secondly how we shall express this ideal in actual words. The first essential is to realise clearly what we wish to enhance or attenuate, to express with vigour or calm, in luxuriant or austere language, at length or with conciseness, with gentleness or asperity, magnificence or subtlety, gravity or wit. |
| 2334 |
quo translationum genere , quibus figuris , qualibus sententiis , quo modo , qua postremo collocatione id , quod intendimus , efficere possimus . Ceterum dicturus , quibus ornetur oratio , prius ea , quae sunt huic contraria laudi , attingam ; nam prima virtus est vitio carere .
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The next essential is to decide by what kind of metaphor, figures, reflexions, methods and arrangement we may best produce the effect which we desire. But, before I discuss ornament, I must first touch upon its opposite, since the first of all virtues is the avoidance of faults. |
| 2335 |
Igitur ante omnia ne speremus ornatam orationem fore , quae probabilis non erit . Probabile autem Cicero id genus dicit , quod non nimis est comptum . Non quia comi expolirique non debeat ( nam et haec ornatus pars est ) sed quia vitium est ubique quod nimium est .
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Therefore we must not expect any speech to be ornate that is not, in the first place, acceptable. An acceptable style is defined by Cicero as one which is not over-elegant: not that our style does not require elegance and polish, which are essential parts of ornament, but that excess is always a vice. |
| 2336 |
Itaque vult esse auctoritatem in verbis , sententias vel graves vel aptas opinionibus hominum ac moribus . His enim salvis , licet assumere ea quibus illustrem fieri orationem putat , delecta , translata , superlata , ad nomen adiuncta , duplicata et idem significantia atque ab ipsa actione atque ab imitatione rerum non abhorrentia .
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He desires, therefore, that our words should have a certain weight about them, and that our thoughts should be of a serious cast or, at any rate, adapted to the opinions and character of mankind. These points once secured, we may proceed to employ those expressions which he regards as conferring distinction on style, that is to say, specially selected words and phrases, metaphor, hyperbole, appropriate epithets, repetitions, synonyms and all such language as may suit our case and provide an adequate representation of the facts. |
| 2337 |
Sed quoniam vitia prius demonstrare aggressi sumus , ab hoc initium sit , quod κακέμφατον vocatur , sive mala consuetudine in obscenum intellectum sermo detortus est ( ut ductare exercitus et patrare bella , apud Sallustium dicta sancte et antique ridentibus , si dis placet ; quam culpam non scribentium quidem iudico sed legentium ,
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But since my first task is to point out the faults to be avoided, I will begin by calling attention to the fault known as κακέμφατον, a term applied to the employment of language to which perverted usage has given an obscene meaning: take, for example, phrases such as ductare exercitus and patrare bellum, which were employed by Sallust in their old and irreproachable sense, but, I regret to say, cause amusement in certain quarters to-day. This, however, is not, in my opinion, the fault of the writer, but of his readers; |
| 2338 |
tamen vitandam , quatenus verba honesta moribus perdidimus , et vincentibus iam vitiis cedendum est ) sive iunctura deformiter sonat , ut , si cum hominibus notis loqui nos dicimus , nisi hoc ipsum hominibus medium sit , in praefanda videmur incidere , quia ultima prioris syllabae littera , quae exprimi nisi labris coeuntibus non potest , aut intersistere nos indecentissime cogit aut continuata cum insequente in naturam eius corrumpitur .
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still it is one to be avoided, for we have perverted the purity of language by our own corruption, and there is no course left to us but to give ground before the victorious advance of vice. The same term is also applied in the cases where an unfortunate collocation of words produces an obscene suggestion. For example, in the phrase cum hominibus notis loqui, unless hominibus is placed between cum and notis, we shall commit ourselves to a phrase which will require some apology, since the final letter of the first syllable, which cannot be pronounced without closing the lips, will force us either to pause in a most unbecoming manner, or by assimilation to the n which follows will produce a most objectionable suggestion. |
| 2339 |
Aliaeque coniunctiones aliquid simile faciunt , quas persequi libenter est in eo vitio , quod vitandum dicimus , commorantis . Sed divisio quoque adfert eandem iniuriam pudori , ut si intercapedinis nominativo casu quis utatur .
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I might quote other collocations of words which are liable to the same objection, but to discuss them in detail would be to fall into that very fault which I have just said should be avoided. A similar offence against modesty may be caused by the division of words, as, for example, by the use of the nominative of intercapedinis. |
| 2340 |
Nec scripto modo id accidit , sed etiam sensu plerique obscene intelligere , nisi caveris , cupiunt ( ut apud Ovidium Quaeque latent meliora putat ) et ex verbis , quae longissime ab obscenitate absunt , occasionem turpitudinis rapere . Siquidem Celsus κακέμφατον apud Vergilium putat : " Incipiunt agitata tumescere . " Quod si recipias , nihil loqui tutum est .
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And it is not merely in writing that this may occur, but you will find, unless you exercise the greatest care, that there are a number of persons who take pleasure in putting an indecent interpretation on words, thinking, as Ovid says: "that whatsoe'er is hid is best of all." Nay, an obscene meaning may be extracted even from words which are as far removed from indecency as possible. Celsus, for example, detects an instance of κακέμφατον in the Virgilian phrase: "incipiunt agitata tumescere;" but if this point of view be accepted, it will be risky to say anything at all. |
| 2341 |
Deformitati proximum est humilitatis vitium , ταπείνωσιν vocant , qua rei magnitudo vel dignitas minuitur : ut Saxea est verruca in summo montis vertice . Cui natura contrarium , sed errore par est , parvis dare excedentia modum nomina , nisi cum ex industria risus inde captatur . Itaque nec parricidam nequam dixeris hominem nec deditum forte meretrici nefarium ; quia alterum parum , alterum nimium est . Proinde quaedam hebes ,
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Next to indecency of expression comes meanness, styled ταπείνωσις, when the grandeur or dignity of anything is diminished by the words used, as in the line: "There is a rocky wart upon the mountain's brow." The opposite fault, which is no less serious, consists in calling small things by extravagant names, though such a practice is permissible when deliberately designed to raise a laugh. Consequently we must not call a parricide a scamp, nor a man who keeps a harlot a villain, since the first epithet is too weak and the second too strong. |
| 2342 |
sordida , ieiuna , tristis , ingrata , vilis oratio est ; quae vitia facillime fient manifesta contrariis virtutibus . Nam primum acuto , secundum nitido , tertium copioso , deinceps hilari , iucundo , accurato diversum est .
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This fault will result in making our language dull, or coarse, jejune, heavy, unpleasing or slovenly, all of which faults are best realised by reference to the virtues which are their opposites, that is, point, polish, richness, liveliness, charm, and finish. |
| 2343 |
Vitari debet et μείωσις , cum sermoni deest aliquid , quo minus plenus sit ; quanquam id obscurae potius quam inornatae orationis est vitium . Sed hoc quoque , cum a prudentibus fit , schema dici solet , sicut ταυτολογία id est eiusdem verbi aut sermonis iteratio . Haec enim ,
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We must also avoid μείωσις a term applied to meagreness and inadequacy of expression, although it is a fault which characterises an obscure style rather than one which lacks ornament. But meiosis may be deliberately employed, and is then called a figure, as also is tautology, which means the repetition of a word or phrase. |
| 2344 |
quanquam non magnopere a summis auctoribus vitata , interim vitium videri potest , in quod saepe incidit etiam Cicero securus tam parvae observationis , sicut hoc loco , Non solum igitur illud iudicium iudicii simile , iudices , non fuit . Interim mutato nomine ἐπανάλημψις dicitur , atque est et ipsum inter schemata ; quorum exempla illo loco quaerenda , quo virtutes erunt .
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The latter, though not avoided with special care even by the best authors, may sometimes be regarded as a fault: it is, in fact, a blemish into which Cicero not infrequently falls through indifference to such minor details: take, for example, the following passage, "Judges, this judgment was not merely unlike a judgment." It is sometimes given another name, ἐπανάληψις, under which appellation it is ranked among figures, of which I shall give examples when I come to the discussion of stylistic virtues. |
| 2345 |
Peior hac ὁμοείδεια , quae nulla varietatis gratia levat taedium atque est tota coloris unius , qua maxime deprehenditur carens arte oratio ; eaque et in sententiis et in figuris et in compositione longe non animis solum sed etiam auribus est ingratissima . Vitanda etiam μακρολογία ,
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A worse fault is ὁμοείδεια, or sameness, a term applied to a style which has no variety to relieve its tedium, and which presents a uniform monotony of hue. This is one of the surest signs of lack of art, and produces a uniquely unpleasing effect, not merely on the mind, but on the ear, on account of its sameness of thought, the uniformity of its figures, and the monotony of its structure. |
| 2346 |
id est longior quam oportet sermo : ut apud T . Livium , Legati non impetrata pace retro domum , unde venerant , abierunt . Sed huic vicina periphrasis virtus habetur . Est et πλεονασμὸς vitium , cum supervacuis verbis oratio oneratur : Ego oculis meis vidi ; sat est enim vidi .
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We must also avoid macrology, that is, the employment of more words than are necessary, as, for instance, in the sentence of Livy, "The ambassadors, having failed to obtain peace, went back home, whence they had come." On the other hand, periphrasis, which is akin to this blemish, is regarded as a virtue. Another fault is pleonasm, when we overload our style with a superfluity of words, as in the phrase, "I saw it with my eyes," where "I saw it" would have been sufficient. |
| 2347 |
Emendavit hoc etiam urbane in Hirtio Cicero , cui sapasim cum declamans filium a matre decem mensibus in utero latum esse dixisset , Quid ? aliae , inquit , in perula solent ferre ?Nonnunquam tamen illud genus , cuius exemplum priore loco posui , adfirmationis gratia adhibetur : " Vocemque his auribus hausi . "
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Cicero passed a witty comment on a fault of this kind in a declamation of Hirtius when he said that a child had been carried for ten months in his mother's womb. "Oh," he said, "I suppose other women carry them in their bags." Sometimes, however, the form of pleonasm, of which I have just given an example, may have a pleasing effect when employed for the sake of emphasis, as in the Virgilian phrase : "With mine own ears his voice I heard." But whenever the addition is not deliberate, |
| 2348 |
At vitium erit , quotiens otiosum fuerit et supererit , non cum adiicietur . Est etiam , quae περιεργία vocatur , supervacua , ut sic dixerim , operositas , ut a diligenti curiosus et a religion superstitio distat . Atque , ut semel finiam , verbum omne , quod neque intellectum adiuvat neque ornatum , vitiosum dici potest .
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but merely tame and redundant, it must be regarded as a fault. There is also a fault entitled περιεργία, which I may perhaps translate by superfluous elaboration, which differs from its corresponding virtue much as fussiness differs from industry, and superstition from religion. Finally, every word which neither helps the sense nor the style may be regarded as faulty. |
| 2349 |
κακόζηλον id est mala adfectatio , per omne dicendi genus peccat . Nam et tumida et pusilla et praedulcia et abundantia et arcessita et exultantia sub idem nomen cadunt . Denique κακόζηλον vocatur , quidquid est ultra virtutem , quotiens ingenium iudicio caret et specie boni fallitur , omnium in eloquentia vitiorum pessimum . Nam cetera parum vitantur , hoc petitur .
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Cacozelia, or perverse affectation, is a fault in every kind of style: for it includes all that is turgid, trivial, luscious, redundant, far-fetched or extravagant, while the same name is also applied to virtues carried to excess, when the mind loses its critical sense and is misled by the false appearance of beauty, the worst of all offences against style, since other faults are due to carelessness, but this is deliberate. |
| 2350 |
Est autem totum in elocutione . Nam rerum vitia sunt stultum , commune , contrarium , supervacuum ; corrupta oratio in verbis maxime impropriis , redundantibus , comprehensione obscura compositione fracta , vocum similium aut ambiguarum puerili captatione consistit .
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This form of affectation, however, affects style alone. For the employment of arguments which might equally well be advanced by the other side, or are foolish, inconsistent or superfluous, are all faults of matter, whereas corruption of style is revealed in the employment of improper or redundant words, in obscurity of meaning, effeminacy of rhythm, or in the childish search for similar or ambiguous expressions. |
| 2351 |
Est autem omne κακόζηλον utique falsum , etiamsi non omne falsum κακόζηλον est enim quod dicitur aliter , quam se natura habet et quam oportet et quam sat est . Totidem autem generibus corrumpitur oratio quot ornatur . Sed de hac parte et in alio nobis opere plenius dictum est et in hoc saepe tractatur et adhuc spargetur omnibus locis . Loquentes enim de ornatu subinde , quae sint vitanda similia virtutibus vitia , dicemus .
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Further, it always involves insincerity, even though all insincerity does not imply affectation. For it consists in saying something in an unnatural or unbecoming or superfluous manner. Style may, however, be corrupted in precisely the same number of ways that it may be adorned. But I have discussed this subject at greater length in another work, and have frequently called attention to it in this, while I shall have occasion to mention it continually in the remaining books. For in dealing with ornament, I shall occasionally speak of faults which have to be avoided, but which are hard to distinguish from virtues. |
| 2352 |
Sunt inornata et haec : quod male dispositum est , id ἀνοικονόμητον , quod male figuratum , id ἀσχημάτιστον quod male collocatum , id κακοσύνθετον vocant . Sed de dispositione diximus ; de figuris et compositione dicemus . Σαρδισμὸς quoque appellatur quaedam mixta ex varia ratione linguarum oratio , ut si Atticis Dorica , Ionica , Aeolica etiam dicta confundas . Cui simile vitium est apud nos ,
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To these blemishes may be added faulty arrangement or ἀνοικονόμητον, the faulty use of figures or ἀσχημάτιστον, and the faulty collocation of words or κακοσύνθετον. But, as I have already discussed arrangement, I will confine myself to the consideration of figures and structure. There is also a fault known as Σαρδισμὸς, which consists in the indiscriminate use of several different dialects, as, for instance, would result from mixing Doric, Ionic, and even Aeolic words with Attic. |
| 2353 |
si quis sublimia humilibus , vetera novis , poetica vulgaribus misceat . Id enim tale monstrum , quale Horatius in prima parte libri de arte poetica fingit : " Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam iungere si velit , " et cetera ex diversis naturis subiiciat .
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A similar fault is found amongst ourselves, consisting in the indiscriminate mixture of grand words with mean, old with new, and poetic with colloquial, the result being a monstrous medley like that described by Horace in the opening portion of his Ars poetica, "If a painter choose To place a man's head on a horse's neck," and, be proceeds to say, should add other limbs from different animals. |
| 2354 |
Ornatum est , quod perspicuo ac probabili plus est . Eius primi sunt gradus in eo quod velis concipiendo et exprimendo , tertius , qui haec nitidiora faciat , quod proprie dixeris cultum . Itaque ἐνάργειαν cuius in praeceptis narrationis feci mentionem , quia plus est evidentia vel , ut alii dicunt , repraesentatio quam perspicuitas , et illud patet , hoc se quodam modo ostendit , inter ornamenta ponamus .
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The ornate is something that goes beyond what is merely lucid and acceptable. It consists firstly in forming a clear conception of what we wish to say, secondly in giving this adequate expression, and thirdly in lending it additional brilliance, a process which may correctly be termed embellishment. Consequently we must place among ornaments that ἐνάργεια which I mentioned in the rules which I laid down for the statement of facts, because vivid illustration, or, as some prefer to call it, representation, is something more than mere clearness, since the latter merely lets itself be seen, whereas the former thrusts itself upon our notice. |
| 2355 |
Magna virtus est res de quibus loquimur dare atque , ut cerni videantur , enuntiare . Non enim satis efficit neque , ut debet , plene dominatur oratio , si usque ad aures valet atque ea sibi iudex , de quibus cognoscit , narrari credit , non exprimi et oculis mentis ostendi .
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It is a great gift to be able to set forth the facts on which we are speaking clearly and vividly. For oratory fails of its full effect, and does not assert itself as it should, if its appeal is merely to the hearing, and if the judge merely feels that the facts on which he has to give his decision are being narrated to him, and not displayed in their living truth to the eyes of the mind. |
| 2356 |
Sed quoniam pluribus modis accipi solet non equidem in omnes eam particulas secabo , quarum ambitiose a quibusdam numerus augetur , sed maxime necessarias attingam . Est igitur unum genus , quo tota rerum imago quodammodo verbis depingitur : " Constitit in digitos extemplo arrectus uterque " et cetera , quae nobis illam pugilum congredientium faciem ita ostendunt , ut non clarior futura fuerit spectantibus .
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But since different views have been held with regard to this art of representation, I shall not attempt to divide it into all its different departments, whose number is ostentatiously multiplied by certain writers, but shall content myself with touching on those which appear to me to be absolutely necessary. There is, then, to begin with, one form of vividness which consists in giving an actual word-picture of a scene, as in the passage beginning, " Forthwith each hero tiptoe stood erect. " Other details follow which give us such a picture of the two boxers confronting each other for the fight, that it could not have been clearer had we been actual spectators. |