Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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| 2395 |
Nec putet quisquam hoc , quanquam est simile illi ex argumentis loco , quo maiora ex minoribus colliguntur , idem esse . Illic enim probatio petitur , hic amplificatio ; sicut in Oppianico non id agitur hac comparatione , ut ille male fecerit sed ut peius . Est tamen quanquam diversarum rerum quaedam vicinia . Repetam itaque hic quoque idem quo sum illic usus exemplum , sed non in eundem usum .
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I would not, however, have anyone think that this method is identical with that used in argument, where the greater is inferred from the less, although there is a certain resemblance between the two. For in the latter case we are aiming at proof, in the former at amplification; for example, in the passage just cited about Oppianicus, the object of the comparison is not to show that his action was a crime, but that it was even worse than another crime. There is, however, a certain affinity between the two methods, and I will therefore repeata passage which I quoted there, although my present purpose is different. |
| 2396 |
Nam hoc mihi ostendendum est , augendi gratia non tota modo totis , sed etiam partes partibus comparari : sicut hoc loco , An vero vir amplissimus P . Scipio , pontifex maximus , Ti . Gracchum mediocriter labefactantem statum rei publicae privatus interfecit : Catilinam orbem terrae caede atque incendio vastare cupientem nos consules perferemus ?
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For what I have now to demonstrate is that when amplification is our purpose we compare not merely whole with whole, but part with part, as in the following passage: " Did that illustrious citizen, the pontifex maximus, Publius Scipio, acting merely in his private capacity, kill Tiberius Gracchus when he introduced but slight changes for the worse that did not seriously impair the constitution of the state, and shall we as consuls suffer Catiline to live, whose aim was to lay waste the whole world with fire and sword? " |
| 2397 |
Hic et Catilina Graccho et status rei publicae orbi terrarum et mediocris labefactatio caedi et incendiis et vastationi et privatus consulibus comparatur ; quae si quis dilatare velit , plenos singula locos habent .
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Here Catiline is compared to Gracchus, the constitution of the state to the whole world, a slight change for the worse to fire and sword and desolation, and a private citizen to the consuls, all comparisons affording ample opportunity for further individual expansion, if anyone should desire so to do. |
| 2398 |
Quas dixi per ratiocinationem fieri amplificationes , viderimus an satis proprio verbo significaverim . Nec sum in hoc sollicitus , dum res ipsa volentibus discere appareat . Hoc sum tamen secutus , quod haec amplificatio alibi posita est alibi valet ; ut aliud crescat aliud augetur , inde ad id , quod extolli volumus , ratione ducitur .
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With regard to the amplificalion produced by reasoning, we must consider whether reasoning quite expresses my meaning. I am not a stickler for exact terminology, provided the sense is clear to any serious student. My motive in using this term was, however, this, that this form of amplification produces its effect at a point other than that where it is actually introduced. One thing is magnified in order to effect a corresponding augmentation elsewhere, and it is by reasoning that our hearers are then led on from the first point to the second which we desire to emplasise. |
| 2399 |
Obiecturus Antonio Cicero merum et vomitum , Tu , inquit , istis faucibus , istis lateribus , ista gladiatoria totius corporis firmitate .Quid fauces et latera ad ebrietatem ? Minime sunt otiosa ; nam respicientes ad haec possumus aestimare , quantum ille vini in Hippiae nuptiis exhauserit , quod ferre et concoquere non posset illa corporis gladiatoria firmitate . Ergo , si ex alio colligitur aliud , nec improprium nec inusitatum nomen est ratiocinationis , ut quod ex eadem causa inter status quoque habeamus .
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Cicero, when he is about to reproach Antony with his drunkenness and vomiting, says, " You with such a throat, such flanks, such burly strength in every limb of your prize-fighter's body, " etc. What have his throat and flanks to do with his drunkenness? The reference is far from pointless: for by looking at them we are enabled to estimate the quantity of the wine which he drank at Hippias' wedding, and was unable to carry or digest in spite of the fact that his bodily strength was worthy of a prizefighter. Accordingly if, in such a case, one thing is inferred from another, the term reasoning is neither improper nor extraordinary, since it has been applied on similar grounds to one of the bases. So, again, |
| 2400 |
Sic et ex insequentibus amplificatio ducitur , siquidem tanta vis fuit vini erumpentis , ut non casum adferret aut voluntatem sed necessitatem , ubi minime deceret , vomendi , et cibus non recens , ut accidere interim solet , redderetur , sed usque in posterum diem redundaret .
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amplification results from subsequent events, since the violence with which the wine burst from him was such that the vomiting was not accidental nor voluntary, but a matter of necessity, at a moment when it was specially unseemly, while the food was not recently swallowed, as is sometimes the case, but the residue of the revel of the preceding day. |
| 2401 |
Idem hoc praestant , quae antecesserunt . Nam cum Aeolus a lunone rogatus " cavum conversa cuspide montem Impulit in latus , ac venti velut agmine facto ( ... lost text ... ) ruunt , " apparet , quanta sit futura tempestas .
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On the other hand, amplification may equally result from antecedent circumstances; for example, when Juno made her request to Aeolus, the latter ""Turned his spear and smote The mountain's caverned side, and forth the winds Rushed in a throng,"" whereby the poet shows what a mighty tempest will ensue. |
| 2402 |
Quid ? cum res atrocissimas quasque in summam ipsi extulimus invidiam elevamus consulto , quo graviora videantur quae secutura sunt , ut a Cicerone factum est , cum illa diceret , Levia sunt haec in hoc reo . Metum virgarum nauarchus nobilissimae ciuitatis pretio redemit : humanum est . Alias , ne securi feriretur , pecuniam dedi : usitatam est .
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Again, when we have depicted some horrible circumstance in such colours as to raise the detestation of our audience to its height, we then proceed to make light of them in order that what is to follow may seem still more horrible: consider the following passage from Cicero: " These are but trivial offences for so great a criminal. The captain of a warship from a famous city bought off' his threatened scourging for a price: a humane concession! Another paid down a sum of money to save his head from the axe: |
| 2403 |
Nonne usus est ratiocinatione , qua colligerent audientes , quantum illud esset quod inferebatur , cui comparata haec viderentur humana atque usitata ? Sic quoque solet ex alio aliud augeri : ut cum Hannibalis bellicis laudibus ampliatur virtus Scipionis , et fortitudinem Gallorum Germanorumque miramur , quo sit maior C . Caesaris gloria .
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a perfectly ordinary circumstance! " Does not the orator employ a process of reasoning to enable the audience to infer how great the implied crime must be when such actions were but humane and ordinary in comparison? So, again, one thing may be magnified by allusion to another: the valour of Scipio is magnified by extolling the fame of Hannibal as a general, and we are asked to marvel at the courage of the Germans and the Gauls in order to enhance the glory of Gaius Caesar. |
| 2404 |
Illud quoque est ex relatione ad aliquid , quod non eius rei gratia dictum videtur , amplificationis genus . Non putant indignum Troiani principes , Graios Troianosque propter Helenae speciem tot mala tanto temporis spatio sustinere : quaenam igitur illa forma credenda est ? Non enim hoc dicit Paris , qui rapuit , non aliquis iuvenis aut unus e vulgo , sed senes et prudentissimi et Priamo assidentes .
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There is a similar form of amplification which is effected by reference to something which appears to have been said with quite another purpose in view. The chiefs of Troy think it no discredit that Trojan and Greek should endure so many woes for so many years all for the sake of Helen's beauty. How wondrous, then, must her beauty have been! For it is not Paris, her ravisher, that says this; it is not some youth or one of the common herd; no, it is the elders, the wisest of their folk, the counsellors of Priam. |
| 2405 |
Verum et ipse rex decennii bello exhaustus , amissis tot liberis , imminente summo discrimine , cui faciem illam , ex qua tot lacrimarum origo fluxisset , invisam atque abominandam esse oportebat , et audit haec et eam filiam appellans iuxta se locat et excusat etiam atque sibi esse malorum causam negat .
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Nay, even the king himself, worn out by a ten years' war, which had cost him the loss of so many of his sons, and threatened to lay his kingdom in the dust, the man who, above all, should have loathed and detested her beauty, the source of all those tears, hears these words, calls her his daughter, and places her by his side, excuses her guilt, and denies that she is the cause of his sorrows. |
| 2406 |
Nec mihi videtur in Symposio Plato , cum Alcibiadem confitentem de se , quid a Socrate pati voluerit , narrat , ut illum culparet , haec tradidisse , sed ut Socratis invictam continentiam ostenderet , quae corrumpi speciosissimi hominis tam obvia voluntate non posset .
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Again, when Plato in the Symposium makes Alcibiades confess how he had wished Socrates to treat him, he does not, I think, record these facts with a view to blaming Aleibiades, but rather to show the unconquerable self-control of Socrates, which would not yield even to the charms which the greatest beauty of his day so frankly placed at his disposal. |
| 2407 |
Quin ex instrumento quoque heroum illorum magnitudo aestimanda nobis datur . Huc pertinet clipeus Aiacis et Pelias Achillis . Qua virtute egregie est usus in Cyclope Vergilius . Nam quod illud corpus mente concipiam , cuius " Trunca manum pinus regit ? " Quid ?
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We are even given the means of realising the extraordinary stature of the heroes of old by the description of their weapons, such as the shield of Ajax and the spear-shaft of Achilles hewn in the forests of Pelion. Virgil also has made admirable use of this device in his description of the Cyclops. For what an image it gives us of the bulk of that body " Whose hand was propped by a branchless trunk of pine. " So, too, what a giant must Demoleos have been, |
| 2408 |
cum vix loricam duo multiplicem connixi humeris ferunt , quantus Demoleos , qui indutus ea " cursu palantes Troas agebat ? " Quid ? M . Tullius de M . Antonii luxuria tantum fingere saltem potuisset , quantum ostendit dicendo , Conchyliatis Cn . Pompeii peristromatis servorum in cellis stratos lectos videres ? Conchyliata peristromata et Cn . Pompeii terunt servi in cellis : nihil dici potest ultra , et necesse est tamen infinito plus in domino cogitare .
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Whose "corselet manifold Scarce two men on their shoulders could uphold" And yet the hero buckled it upon him and "Drave the scattering Trojans at full speed." And again, Cicero could hardly even have conceived of such luxury in Antony himself as he describes when he says, " You might see beds in the chambers of his slaves strewn with the purple coverlets that had once been Pompey's own. " Slaves are using purple coverlets in their chambers, aye, and coverlets that had once been Pompey's! No more, surely, can be said than this, and yet it leaves us to infer how infinitely greater was the luxury of their master. |
| 2409 |
Est hoc simile illi , quod ἔμφασις dicitur ; sed illa ex verbo , hoc ex re coniecturam facit tantoque plus valet , quanto res ipsa verbis est firmior . Potest adscribi amplificationi congeries quoque verborum ac sententiarum idem significantium . Nam , etiamsi non per gradus ascendant , tamen velut acervo quodam adlevantur :
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This form of amplification is near akin to emphasis: but emphasis derives its effect from the actual words, while in this case the effect is produced by inference from the facts, and is consequently far more impressive, inasmuch as facts are more impressive than words. Accumulation of words and sentences identical in meaning may also be regarded under the head of amplification. For although the climax is not in this case reached by a series of steps, it is none the less attained by the piling up of words. Take the following example: |
| 2410 |
Quid enim tuus ille , Tubero , destrictus in acie Pharsalica gladius agebat ? cuius latus ille mucro petebat ? qui sensus erat armorum tuorum ? quae tua mens , oculi , manus , ardor animi ? quid cupiebas ? quid optabas ? Simile est hoc figurae , quam συναθροισμόν vocant ; sed illic plurium rerum est congeries , hic unius multiplicatio . Haec etiam crescere solet verbis omnibus altius atque altius insurgentibus : Aderat ianitor carceris , carnifex praetoris , mors terrorque sociorum et civim Romanorum , victor Sextius .
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" What was that sword of yours doing, Tubero, the sword you drew on the field of Pharsalus? Against whose body did you aim its point? What meant those arms you bore? Whither were your thoughts, your eyes, your hand, your fiery courage directed on that day? What passion, what desires were yours? " This passage recalls the figure styled συναθροισμός by the Greeks, but in that figure it is a number of different things that are accumulated, whereas in this passage all the accumulated details have but one reference. The heightening of effect may also be produced by making the words rise to a climax. " There stood the porter of the prison, the praetor's executioner, the death and terror of the citizens and allies of Rome, the lictor Sextius. " |
| 2411 |
Eadem fere est ratio minuendi . Nam totidem sunt ascendentibus quot descendentibus gradus . Ideoque uno ero exemplo contentus eius loci , quo Cicero de oratione Rulli haec dicit : Pauci tamen qui proximi adstiterant , nescio quid illum de lege agraria voluisse dicere suspicabantur . Quod si ad intellectum referas , minutio est , si ad obscuritatem , incrementum .
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Attenuation is effected by the same method, since there are as many degrees of descent as ascent. I shall therefore content myself with quoting but one example, namely, the words used by Cicero to describe the speech of Rullus: " A few, however, who stood nearest to him suspected that he had intended to say something about the agrarian law. " This passage may be regarded as providing an example of attenuation or of augmentation, according as we consider its literal meaning or fix our attention on the obscurity attributed to Rullus. |
| 2412 |
Scio posse videri quibusdam speciem amplificationis hyperbolen quoque , nam et haec in utramque partem valet ; sed quia excedit hoc nomen in tropos , differenda est . Quos continuo subiungerem , nisi esset a ceteris separata ratio dicendi , . Demus ergo breviter hoc desiderio iam paene publico , ne omittamus eum , quem plerique praecipuum ac paene solum putant orationis ornatum .
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I know that some may perhaps regard hyperbole as a species of amplification, since hyperbole can be employed to create an effect in either direction. But as the name is also applied to one of the tropes, I must postpone its consideration for the present. I would proceed to the immediate discussion of this subject but for the fact that others have given separate treatment to this form of artifice, [which employs words not in their literal, but in a metaphorical sense ]. I shall therefore at this point indulge a desire now almost universal, and discuss a form of ornament which many regard as the chief, nay, almost the sole adornment of oratory. |
| 2413 |
Sententiam veteres , quod animo sensissent , vocaverunt . Id cum est apud oratores frequentissimum , tum etiam in usu cotidiano quasdam reliquias habet ; nam et iuraturi ex animo nostri sententia et gratulantes ex sententia dicimus . Non raro tamen et sic locuti sunt , ut sensa sua dicerent ; nam sensus corporis videbantur .
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V. When the ancients used the word sententia, they meant a feeling, or opinion. The word is frequently used in this sense by orators, and traces of this meaning are still found even in the speech of every day. For when we are going to take an oath we use the phrase ex animi nostri sententia (in accordance with what we hold is the solemn truth), and when we offer congratulations, we say that we do so ex sententia (with all our heart). The ancients, indeed, often expressed the same meaning by saying that they uttered their sensa; for they regarded senses as referring merely to the senses of the body. |
| 2414 |
Sed consuetudo iam tenuit , ut mente concepta sensus vocaremus , lumina autem praecipueque in clausulis posita sententias ; quae minus celebratae apud antiquos nostris temporibus modo carent . Ideoque mihi et de generibus earum et de usu arbitror pauca dicenda . Antiquissimae sunt ,
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But modern usage applies sensus to concepts of the mind, while sentcntia is applied to striking reflexions such as are more especially introduced at the close of our periods, a practice rare in earlier days, but carried even to excess in our own. Accordingly, I think that I ought to say something of the various forms which such reflexions may tale and the manner in which they should be used. |
| 2415 |
quae proprie , quamvis omnibus idem nomen sit , sententiae vocantur , quas Graeci excedit , B : excidit , A . γνώμας appellant ; utrumque autem nomen ex eo acceperunt , quod similes sunt consiliis aut decretis . Est autem haec vox universalis , quae etiam citra complexum causae possit esse laudabilis , interim ad rem tantum relata , ut Nihil est tam populare quam bonitas , interim ad personam , quale est Afri Domitii , princeps , Qui vult omnia scire , necesse habet multa ignoscere .
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Although all the different forms are included under the same name, the oldest type of sententia, and that in which the term is most correctly applied, is the aphorism, called γνώμη by the Greeks. Both the Greek and the Latin names are derived from the fact that such utterances resemble the decrees or resolutions of public bodies. The term, however, is of wide application (indeed, such reflexions may be deserving of praise even when they have no reference to any special context), and is used in various ways. Sometimes it refers merely to things, as in the sentence: " There is nothing that wins the affections of the people more than goodness of heart. " Occasionally, again, they may have a personal reference, as in the following utterance of Domitius Afer: "The prince who would know all, must needs ignore much." |
| 2416 |
Hanc quidam partem enthymematis , quidam initium aut clausulam epichirematis esse dixerunt ; et est aliquando , non tamen semper . Illud verius esse eam aliquando simplicem , ut ea , quae supra dixi , aliquando ratione subiecta : Nam in omni certamine , qui opulentior est , etiamsi accipit iniuriam , tamen , quia plus potest , facere videtur ; nonnumquam duplicem : " Obsequium amicos , veritas odium parit . "
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Some have called this form of reflexion a part of the enthymeme, others the major premise or conclusion of the epichireme, as it sometimes, though not invariably, is. More correct is the statement that at times it is simple, as in the example just quoted, while at other times a reason for the statement may be added, such as the following: " For in every struggle, the stronger seems not to suffer wrong, even when this is actually the case, but to inflict it, simply in virtue of his superior power. " Sometimes, again, it may be double, as in the statement that "Complaisance wins us friends, truth enmity." |
| 2417 |
sunt etiam , qui decem genera fecerint , sed eo modo , quo fieri vel plura possunt , per interrogationem , per comparationem , infitiationem , similitudinem , admirationem , et cetera huiusmodi ; per omnes enim figuras tractari potest . Illud notabile ex diversis : " Mors misera non est , aditus ad mortem est miser . " Ac rectae quidem sunt tales :
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There are some even who classify them under ten heads, though the principle on which they make this division is such that it would justify a still larger number: they class them as based on interrogation, comparison, denial, similarity, admiration, and the like, for they can be treated under every kind of figure. A striking type is that which is produced by opposition: "Death is not bitter, but the approach to death." Others are cast in a form of a direct statement, |
| 2418 |
" Tam deest avaro , quod habet , quam quod non habet . " Sed maiorem vim accipiunt et mutatione figurae , ut " Usque adeone mori miserum est ? " acrius hoc enim quam per se , Mors misera non est . Et translatione a communi ad proprium ; nam , cum sit rectum , Nocere facile est , prodesse difficile , vehementius apud Ovidium Medea dicit , " Servare potui ; perdere an possim , rogas ? " Vertit ad personam Cicero :
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such as "The miser lacks That which he has no less than what he has not. " But they acquire greater force by a change in the figure employed, as in the following: "Is it so bitter, then, to die?" For this is more vigorous than the simple statement, "Death is not bitter." A similar effect may be produced by transference of' the statement from the general to the particular. For example, although the direct statement would be, "To hurt is easy, but to do good is hard." Ovid gives this reflexion increased force when lie makes Medea say, "I had the power to save, and ask you then If I have power to ruin?" |
| 2419 |
Nihil habet , Caesar , nec fortuna tua maius quam ut possis , nec natura melius quam ut velis servare quam plurimos . Ita , quae erant rerum , propria fecit hominis . In hoc genere custodiendum est et id , quod ubique , ne crebrae sint , ne palam falsae ( quales frequenter ab iis dicuntur , qui haec καθολικὰ vocant , et , quidquid pro causa videtur , quasi indubitatum pronuntiant ) , et ne passim et a quocunque dicantur .
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Cicero again gives the general statement a personal turn when he says: " Caesar, the splendour of your present fortune confers on you nothing greater than the power and nothing better than the will to save as many of your fellow-citizens as possible. " For here he attributes to Caesar what was really attributable to the circumstances of his power. In this class of reflexion we must be careful, as always, not to employ them too frequently, nor at random, nor place them in the mouth of every kind of person, while we must make certain that they are not untrue, as is so often the case with those speakers who style them reflexions of universal application and recklessly employ whatever seems to support their case as though its truth were beyond question. |
| 2420 |
Magis enim decet eos , in quibus est auctoritas , ut rei pondus etiam persona confirmet . Quis enim ferat puerum aut adolescentulum aut etiam ignobilem , si iudicet in dicendo et quodammodo praecipiat ?
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Such reflexions are best suited to those speakers whose authority is such that their character itself will lend weight to their words. For who would tolerate a boy, or a youth, or even a man of low birth who presumed to speak with all the authority of a judge and to thrust his precepts down our throats? |
| 2421 |
Enthymema quoque est omne quod mente concepimus ; proprie tamen dicitur , quae est sententia ex contrariis , propterea quod eminere inter ceteras videtur , ut Homerus poeta , urbs Roma . De hoc in argumentis satis dictum est . Non semper autem ad probationem adhibetur sed aliquando ad ornatum :
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The term enthymeme may be applied to any concept of the mind, but in its strict sense means a reflexion drawn from contraries. Consequently, it has a supremacy among reflexions which we may compare to that of Homer among poets and Rome among cities. |
| 2422 |
Quorum igitur impunitas , Caesar , tuae clementiae laus est , eorum te ipsorum ad crudelitatem acuet oratio ? Non quia sit ratio dissimilis , sed quia iam per alia , ut id iniustum appareret , effectum erat ;
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I have already said enough on this topic in dealing with arguments. But the use of the enthymeme is not confined to proof, it may sometimes be employed for the purpose of ornament, as in the following instance: " Caesar, shall the language of those whom it is your glory to have spared goad you to imitate their own cruelty? " Cicero's motive in saying this is not that it introduces any fresh reason for clemency, but because he has already demonstrated by other arguments how unjust such conduct would be, |
| 2423 |
et addita in clausula est epiphonematis modo non tam probatio quam extrema quasi insultatio . Est enim epiphonema rei narratae vel probatae summa acclamatio : " Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem ! " Facere enim probus adolescens periculose quam perpeti turpiter maluit .
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while he adds it at the period's close as an epiphonema, not by way of proof, but as a crowning insult to his opponents. For an epiphonema is an exclamation attached to the close of a statement or a proof by way of climax. Here are two examples: "Such toil it was to found the Roman race!" and " The virtuous youth preferred to risk his life by slaying him to suffering such dishonour. " |
| 2424 |
Est et , quod appellatur a novis noema qua voce omnis intellectus accipi potest ; sed hoc nomine donarunt ea quae non dicunt , uerum intelligi volunt : ut in eum , quem saepius a ludo redemerat soror , agentem cum ea talionis , quod ei pollicem dormienti recidisset , Eras dignus , ut haberes integram manum , sic enim auditur ut depugnares .
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There is also what our modern rhetoricians call the noema, a term which may be taken to mean every kind of conception, but is employed by them in the special sense of things which they wish to be understood, though they are not actually said, as in the declamation where the sister defends herself against the brother whom she had often bought out from the gladiatorial school, when he brought an action against her demanding the infliction of a similar mutilation because she had cut off his thumb while he slept: "You deserved," she cries, "to have all your fingers," meaning thereby, "You deserved to be a gladiator all your days." |
| 2425 |
Vocatur aliquid et clausula ; quae , si est quod conclusionem dicimus , et recta et quibusdam in partibus necessaria est : Quare prius de vestro facto fateamini necesse est , quam Ligarii culpam ullam reprehendatis . Sed nunc aliud volunt , ut omnis locus , omnis sensus in fine sermonis feriat aurem .
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There is also what is called a clausula. If this merely means a conclusion, it is a perfectly correct and sometimes a necessary device, as in the following case: " You must, therefore, first confess your own offence before you accuse Ligarius of anything. " But to-day something more is meant, for our rhetoricians want every passage, every sentence to strike the ear by an impressive close. |
| 2426 |
Turpe autem ac prope nefas ducunt , respirare ullo loco , qui acclamationem non petierit . Inde minuti corruptique sensiculi et extra rem petiti ; neque enim possunt tam multae bonae sententiae esse , quam necesse est multae sint clausulae .
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In fact, they think it a disgrace, nay, almost a crime, to pause to breathe except at the end of a passage that is designed to call forth applause. The result is a number of tiny epigrams, affected, irrelevant and disjointed. For there are not enough striking reflexions in the world to provide a close to every period. |
| 2427 |
iam haec magis nova sententiarum genera . Ex inopinato : ut dixit Vibius Crispus in eum , qui , cum loricatus in foro ambularet , praetendebat id se metu facere , Quis tibi sic timere permisit ? Et insigniter Africanus apud Neronem de morte matris , Rogant te , Caesar , Galliae tuae , ut felicitatem tuam fortiter feras . Sunt et alio relata :
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The following forms of reflexion are even more modern. There is the type which depends on surprise for its effect, as, for example, when Vibius Crispus, in denouncing the man who wore a breastplate when strolling in the forum and alleged that he did so because he feared for his life, cried, " Who gave you leave to be such a coward? " Another instance is the striking remark made by Africanus to Nero with reference to the death of Agrippina: "Caesar, your provinces of Gaul entreat you to bear your good fortune with courage." |
| 2428 |
ut Afer Domitius , cum Cloatillam defenderet , cui obiectum crimen , quod virum qui inter rebellantes fuerat sepelisset , remiserat Claudius , in epilogo filios eius adloquens , Matrem tamen , inquit , pueri sepelitote .
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Others are of an allusive type: for example, Domitius Afer, in his defence of Cloatilla, whom Claudius had pardoned when she was accused of having buried her husband, who had been one of the rebels, addressed her sons in his peroration with the words: "Nonetheless, it is your duty, boys, to give your mother burial." Some, again, |
| 2429 |
Et aliunde petita , id est in alium locum ex alio translata . Pro Spatale Crispus , quam qui heredem amator instituerat decessit , cum haberet annos duodeviginti , Hominem divinum , qui sibi indulsit .
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depend on the fact that they are transferred from one context to another Crispus, in his defence of Spatale, whose lover had made her his heir and then proceeded to die at the age of eighteen, remarked: "What a marvellous fellow to gratify his passion thus!" |
| 2430 |
Facit quasdam sententias sola geminatio , qualis est Senecae in eo scripto , quod Nero ad senatum misit occisa matre , cum se periclitatum videri vellet : Salvum me esse adhuc nec credo nec gaudeo . Melior , cum ex contrariis valet : Habeo quem fugiam ; quem sequar non habeo . Quid , quod miser , cum loqui non posset , lacere non poterat ?
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Another type of reflexion may be produced by the doubling of a phrase, as in the letter written by Seneca for Nero to be sent to the senate on the occasion of his mother's death, with a view to creating the impression that he had been in serious danger:— "As yet I cannot believe or rejoice that I am safe." Better, however, is the type which relies for its effect on contrast of opposites, as "I know from whom to fly, but whom to follow I know not;" or, " What of the fact that the poor wretch, though he could not speak, |
| 2431 |
Ea vero fit pulcherrima , cum aliqua comparatione clarescit . Trachalus contra Spatalen : Placet hoc ergo , leges , diligentissimae pudoris custodes , decimas uxoribus dari , quartas meretricibus ?
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could not keep silence? " But to produce the most striking effect this type should be given point by the introduction of a comparison, such as is made by Trachalus in his speech against Spatale, where he says: " Is it your pleasure, then, ye laws, the faithful guardians of chastity, that wives should receive a title and harlots a quarter? " In these instances, however, the reflexion may equally well be good or bad. |
| 2432 |
Sed horum quidem generum et bonae dici possunt et malae . Illae semper vitiosae ut a verbo : Patres conscripti , sic enim incipiendum est mihi , ut memineritis patrum . Peius adhuc , quo magis falsum est et longius petitum , contra eandem sororem gladiatoris , cuius modo feci mentionem , Ad digitum pugnavi .
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On the other hand, there are some which will always be bad, such as those which turn on play upon words, as in the following case: " Conscript fathers, for I must address you thus that you may remember the duty owed to fathers. " Worse still, as being more unreal and far-fetched, is the remark made by the gladiator mentioned above in his prosecution of his sister: "I have fought to the last finger." |