Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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| 2509 |
Hyperbaton quoque , id est verbi transgressionem , quoniam frequenter ratio compositionis et decor poscit , non immerito inter virtutes habemus . Fit enim frequentissime aspera et dura et dissoluta et hians oratio , si ad necessitatem ordinis sui verba redigantur et , ut quodque oritur , ita proximis , etiamsi vinciri non potest , adligetur .
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Again, hyperbaton, that is, the transposition of a word, is often demanded by the structure of the sentence and the claims of elegance, and is consequently counted among the ornaments of style. For our language would often be harsh, rough, limp or disjointed, if the words were always arranged in their natural order and attached each to each just as they occur, despite the fact that there is no real bond of union. Consequently some words require to be postponed, others to be anticipated, each being set in its appropriate place. |
| 2510 |
Differenda igitur quaedam et praesumenda , atque ut id structuris lapidum impolitorum loco , quo convenit , quodque ponendum . Non enim recidere ea nec polire possumus , quo coagmentata se magis iungant , sed utendum iis , qualia sunt , eligendaeque sedes .
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For we are like those who build a wall of unhewn stone: we cannot hew or polish our words in order to make them fit more compactly, and so we must take them as they are and choose suitable positions for them. |
| 2511 |
Nec aliud potest sermonem facere numerosum quam opportuna ordinis per mutatio ; neque alio ceris Platonis inventa sunt quattuor illa verba , quibus id illo pulcherrimo operum id Piraeeum se descendisse significat , plurimis modis scripta ,
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Further, it is impossible to make our prose rhythmical except by artistic alterations in the order of words, and the reason why those four words in which Plato in the noblest of his works states that he had gone down to the Piraeus were found written in a number of different orders upon his wax tablets, was simply that he desired to make the rhythm as perfect as possible. |
| 2512 |
quam quod eum quoque maxime numerosum facere experiretur . Verum id cum id duobus verbis fit , ἀναστροφὴ dicitur , reversio quaedam : qualia sunt vulgo , mecum , secum , apud oratores et historicos quibus de rebus .At cum decoris gratia traiicitur longius verbum , proprie hyperbati tenet nomen : Animaduerti , iudices , omnem accusatoris orationem in duas diuisam esse partes . Nam in duas partes divisam esse rectum erat , sed durum et incomptum .
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When, however, the transposition is confined to two words only, it is called anastrophe, that is, a reversal of order. This occurs in everyday speech in mecum and secure, while in orators and historians we meet with it in the phrase quibus de rebus. It is the transposition of a word to some distance from its original place, in order to secure an ornamental effect, that is strictly called hyperbaton: the following passage will provide an example: animadverti, indices, omnem accusatoris orationenm in duas divisam esse partes. ( "I noted, gentlemen, that the speech of the accuser was divided into two parts." ) In this case the strictly correct order would be in duas partes divisam esse, but this would have been harsh and ugly. |
| 2513 |
Poetae quidem etiam verborum divisione faciunt transgressionem : Hyperboreo septem subiecta trioni , quod oratio nequaquam recipiet . Atqui est propter quod dici tropus possit , quia componendus est e duobus intellectus .
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The poets even go so far as to secure this effect by the division of words, as in the line: " Hyperboreo septem subiecta trioni ( "Under the Hyperborean Wain" ), " a licence wholly inadmissible in oratory. Still there is good reason for calling such a transposition a trope, since the meaning is not complete until the two words have been put together. |
| 2514 |
Alioqui , ubi nihil ex significatione mutatum est et structura sola variatur , figura potius verborum dici potest , sicut multi existimarunt . Longis autem hyperbatis et confusis quae vitia accidunt , suo loco diximus . Hyperbolen audacioris ornatus summo loco posui . Est haec decens veri superiectio ; virtus eius ex diverso par augendi atque minuendi ; fit pluribus modis .
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On the other hand, when the transposition makes no alteration in the sense, and merely produces a variation in the structure, it is rather to be called a verbal figure, as indeed many authorities have held. Of the faults resulting from long or confused hyperbata have spoken in the appropriate place. I have kept hyperbole to the last, on the ground of its boldness. It means an elegant straining of the truth, and may be employed indifferently for exaggeration or attenuation. It can be used in various ways. |
| 2515 |
Aut enim plus facto dicimus , ut Vomens frustis esculentis gremium suum et totum tribunal implevit , et " Geminique minantur | caelum scopuli ; " aut res per similitudinem attollimus , " Credas innare revulsas Cycladas ; "
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We may say more than the actual facts, as when Cicero says, "He vomited and filled his lap and the whole tribunal with fragments of food, or when Virgil speaks of "win rocks that threaten heaven." Again, we may exalt our theme by the use of simile, as in the phrase: "Thou wouldst have deemed That Cyclad isles uprooted swam the deep." |
| 2516 |
aut per comparationem , ut Fulminis ocior alis ; aut signis quasi quibusdam , " Illa vel intactae segetis per summa volaret Gramina nec teneras cursu laesisset aristas ; " vel translatione , ut ipsum illud volaret .
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Or we may produce the same result by introducing a comparison, as in the phrase: "Swifter than the levin's wings;" or by the use of indications, as in the lines: "She would fly Even o'er the tops of the unsickled corn, Nor as she ran would bruise the tender ears." Or we may employ a metaphor, as the verb to fly is employed in the passage just quoted. |
| 2517 |
Crescit interim hyperbole alia insuper addita , ut Cicero id Antonium dicet , Quae Charybdis tam vorax ? Charybdin dico ? quae si fuit , fuit animal unum : Oceanus , medias fidius , vix videtur tot res , tam dissipatas , tam distantibus id locis positas , tam cito absorbere potuisse .
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Sometimes, again, one hyperbole may be heightened by the addition of another, as when Cicero in denouncing Antony says: " What Charybdis was ever so voracious? Charybdis, do I say? Nay, if Charybdis ever existed, she was but a single monster. By heaven, even Ocean's self, methinks, could scarce have engulfed so many things, so widely scattered in such distant places, in such a twinkling of the eye. " |
| 2518 |
Exquisitam vero figuram huius rei deprehendisse apud principem Lyricorum Pindarum videor id libro , quem inscripsit ὕμνους .Is namque Herculis impetum adversus Meropas , qui id insula Coo dicuntur habitasse , non igni nec ventis nec mari , sed fulmini dicit similem fuisse , ut illa minora , hoc par esset .
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I think, too, that I am right in saying that I noted a brilliant example of the same kind in the Hymns of Pindar, the prince of lyric poets. For when he describes the onslaught made by Hercules upon the Meropes, the legendary inhabitants of the island of Cos, he speaks of the hero as like not to fire, winds or sea, but to the thunderbolt, making the latter the only true equivalent of his speed and power, the former being treated as quite inadequate. |
| 2519 |
Quod imitatus Cicero illa composuit id Verrem Versabatur id Sicilia longo intervallo alter non Dionysius ille nec Phalaris ( tulit enim illa quondam insula multos et crudeles tyrannos ) , sed quoddam novum monstrum ex vetere illa immanitate , quae id isdem versata locis dicitur . Non enim Charybdin tam infestam neque Scyllam nauibus quam istum id eodem freto fuisse arbitror .
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Cicero has imitated his method in the following passage from the Verrines: " After long lapse of years the Sicilians saw dwelling in their midst, not a second Dionysius or Phalaris (for that island has produced many a cruel tyrant in years gone by), but a new monster with all the old ferocity once familiar to those regions. For, to my thinking, neither Scylla nor Charybdis were ever such foes as he to the ships that sailed those same narrow seas. " |
| 2520 |
Nec pauciora sunt genera minuendi : " Vix ossibus haerent , " et quod Cicero id quodam ioculari libello , " Fundum Vetto vocat , quem possit mittere funda ; Ni tamen exciderit , qua cava funda patet . " Sed huius quoque rei servetur mensura quaedam . Quamvis est enim omnis hyperbole ultra fidem , non tamen esse debet ultra modum , nec alia via magis id κακοζηλίαν itur .
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The methods of hyperbole by attenuation are the same in number. Compare the Virgilian "Scarce cling they to their bones," or the lines from a humorous work of Cicero's, "Fundum Vetto vocat quem possit mittere funda; Ni tamen exciderit, qua cava funda patet. " Vetto gives the name of farm to an estate which might easily be hurled from a sling, though it might well fall through the hole in the hollow sling, so small is it. " But even here a certain proportion must be observed. For although every hyperbole involves the incredible, it must not go too far in this direction, which provides the easiest road to extravagant affectation. |
| 2521 |
Piget referre plurima hinc orta vitia , cum praesertim minime sint ignota et obscura . Monere satis est mentiri hyperbolen nec ita , ut mendacio fallere velit . Quo magis intuendum est , quousque deceat extollere quod nobis non creditur . Pervenit haec res frequentissime ad risum ; qui si captatus est , urbanitatis , sin aliter , stultitiae nomen assequitur .
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I shrink from recording the faults to which the lack of this sense of proportion has given rise, more especially as they are so well known and obvious. It is enough to say that hyperbole lies, though without any intention to deceive. We must therefore be all the more careful to consider how far we may go in exaggerating facts which our audience may refuse to believe. Again, hyperbole will often cause a laugh. If that was what the orator desired, we may give him credit for wit; otherwise we can only call him a fool. |
| 2522 |
Est autem id usu vulgo quoque et inter ineruditos et apud rusticos , videlicet quia natura est omnibus augendi res vel minuendi cupiditas insita , nec quisquam vero contentus est . Sed ignoscitur , quia non adfirmamus .
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Hyperbole is employed even by peasants and uneducated persons, for the good reason that everybody has an innate passion for exaggeration or attenuation of actual facts, and no one is ever contented with the simple truth. But such disregard of truth is pardonable, for it does not involve the definite assertion of the thing that is not. Hyperbole is, moreover, a virtue, |
| 2523 |
Tum est hyperbole virtus , cum res ipsa , de qua loquendum est , naturalem modum excessit . Conceditur enim amplius dicere , quia dici , quantum est , non potest , meliusque ultra quam citra stat oratio . Sed de hoc satis , quia eundem locum plenius id eo libro , quo causas corruptae eloquentiae reddebamus , tractavimus .
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when the subject on which we have to speak is abnormal. For we are allowed to amplify, when the magnitude of the facts passes all words, and in such circumstances our language will be more effective if it goes beyond the truth than if it falls short of it. However, I have said enough on this topic, since I have already dealt with it in my work on the causes of the decline of oratory. |
| 2524 |
Liber IX Cum sit proximo libro de tropis dictum , sequitur pertinens ad figuras , quae σχήματα Graece vocantur , locus ipsa rei natura coniunctus superiori .
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Book IX In my last book I spoke of tropes. I now come to figures, called σχήματα in Greek, a topic which is naturally and closely connected with the preceding. |
| 2525 |
Nam plerique has tropos esse existimauerunt , quia , sive ex hoc duxerint nomen , quod sint formati quodam modo , sive ex eo , quod vertant orationem , unde et motus dicuntur , fatendum erit esse utrumque eorum etiam in figuris , usus quoque est idem : nam et vim rebus adiiciunt et gratiam praestant . Nec desunt qui tropis figurarum nomen imponant , quorum est C . Artorius Proculus .
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For many authors have considered figures identical with tropes, because whether it be that the latter derive their name from having a certain form or from the fact that they effect alterations in language (a view which has also led to their being styled motions ), it must be admitted that both these features are found in figures as well. Their employment is also the same. For they add force and charm to our matter. There are some again who call tropes figures, Artorius Proculus among them. |
| 2526 |
Quin adeo similitudo manifesta est , ut ea discernere non sit in promptu . Nam quo modo quaedam in his species plane distant , manente tamen generaliter illa societate , quod utraque res de recta et simplici ratione cum aliqua dicendi virtute deflectitur , ita quaedam perquam tenui limite dividuntur , ut cum ironia tam inter figuras sententiae quam inter tropos reperiatur , περίφρασιν autem et ὑπέρβατον et ὀνοματοποιίαν clari quoque auctores figuras verborum potius quam tropos dixerint . Quo magis signanda est utriusque rei differentia .
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Further the resemblance between the two is so close that it is not easy to distinguish between them. For although certain kinds differ, while retaining a general resemblance (since both involve a departure from the simple and straightforward method of expression coupled with a certain rhetorical excellence), on the other hand some are distinguished by the narrowest possible dividing line: for example, while irony belongs to figures of thought just as much as to tropes, periphrasis, hyperbaton and onomatopoea have been ranked by distinguished authors as figures of speech rather than tropes. |
| 2527 |
Est igitur tropos sermo a naturali et principali significatione translatus ad aliam ornandae orationis gratia , vel , ut plerique grammatici finiunt , dictio ab eo loco , in quo propria est , translata in eum , in quo propria non est ; figura , sicut nomine ipso patet ,conformatio quaedam orationis remota a communi et primum se offerente ratione .
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It is therefore all the more necessary to point out the distinction between the two. The name of trope is applied to the transference of expressions from their natural and principal signification to another, with a view to the embellishment of style or, as the majority of grammarians define it, the transference of words and phrases from the place which is strictly theirs to another to which they do not properly belong. A figure, on the other hand, as is clear from the name itself, is the term employed when we give our language a conformation other than the obvious and ordinary. |
| 2528 |
Quare in tropis ponuntur verba alia pro aliis , ut in μεταφορᾷ , μετωνυμίᾳ , ἀντονομασίᾳ , μεταλήμψει , συνεκδοχῇ , καταχρήσει , ἀλληγορίᾳ , plerumque ὑπερβολῇ ; namque et rebus fit et verbis . Ὀνοματοποιία fictio est nominis ; ergo hoc quoque pro aliis ponitur , quibus usuri fuimus , si illud non fingeremus . Περίφρασις etiamsi frequenter et id ipsum ,
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Therefore the substitution of one word for another is placed among tropes, as for example in the case of metaphor, metonymy, antonomasia, metalepsis, synecdochè, catachresis, allegory and, as a rule, hyperbole, which may, of course, be concerned either with words or things. Onomatopoea is the creation of a word and therefore involves substitution for the words which we should use but for such creation. |
| 2529 |
in cuius locum adsumitur , nomen complecti solet , utitur tamen pluribus pro uno . Ἐπίθετον quoniam plerumque habet antonomasiae partem , coniunctione eius fit tropus . In hyperbato commutatio est ordinis , ideoque multi tropis hoc genus eximunt . Transfert tamen verbum aut partem eius a suo loco in alienum . Horum nihil in figuras cadit .
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Again although periphrasis often includes the actual word whose place it supplies, it still uses a number of words in place of one. The epithet as a rule involves an element of antonomasia and consequently becomes a trope on account of this affinity. Hyperbaton is a change of order and for this reason many exclude it from tropes. None the less it transfers a word or part of a word from its own place to another. |
| 2530 |
Nam et propriis verbis et ordine collocatis figura fieri potest . Quomodo autem ironia alia sit tropi , alia schematos , suo loco reddam . Nomen enim fateor esse commune et scio quam multiplicem habeant quamque scrupulosam disputationem ; sed ea non pertinet ad praesens meum propositum . Nihil enim refert , quomodo appelletur utrumlibet eorum , si quid orationi prosit apparet , nec mutatur vocabulis vis rerum .
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None of these can be called figures. For a figure does not necessarily involve any alteration either of the order or the strict sense of words. As regards irony, I shall show elsewhere how in some of its forms it is a trope, in others a figure. For I admit that the name is common to both and am aware of the complicated and minute discussions to which it has given rise. They, however, have no bearing on my present task. For it makes no difference by which name either is called, so long as its stylistic value is apparent, since the meaning of things is not altered by a change of name. For just as men remain the same, |
| 2531 |
Et sicut homines , si aliud acceperunt quam quod habuerant nomen , iidem sunt tamen , ita haec , de quibus loquimur , sive tropi sive figurae dicuntur , idem efficient ; non enim nominibus prosunt , sed effectibus ; ut statum coniecturalem an infitialem an facti an de substantia nominemus , nihil interest , dum idem quaeri sciamus .
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even though they adopt a new name, so these artifices will produce exactly the same effect, whether they are styled tropes or figures, since their values lie not in their names, but in their effect. Similarly it makes no difference whether we call a basis conjectural or negative, or concerned with fact or substance, provided always that we know that the subject of enquiry is the same. |
| 2532 |
Optimum ergo in his sequi maxime recepta et rem ipsam , quocunque appellabitur modo , intelligere . Illud tamen notandum , coire frequenter in eadem sententia et tropon et figuram . Tam enim translatis verbis quam propriis figuratur oratio .
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It is best therefore in dealing with these topics to adopt the generally accepted terms and to understand the actual thing, by whatever name it is called. But we must note the fact that trope and figure are often combined in the expression of the same thought, since figures are introduced just as much by the metaphorical as by the literal use of words. |
| 2533 |
Est autem non mediocris inter auctores dissensio , et quae vis nominis eius et quot genera et quae quamque multae sint species . Quare primum intuendum est , quid accipere debeamus figuram . Nam duobus modis dicitur : uno qualiscunque forma sententiae , sicut in corporibus , quibus , quoquo modo sunt composita , utique habitus est aliquis ;
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There is, however, a considerable difference of opinion among authors as to the meaning of the name, the number of genera and the nature and number of the species into which figures may be divided. The first point for consideration is, therefore, what is meant by a figure. For the term is used in two senses. In the first it is applied to any form in which thought is expressed, just as it is to bodies which, whatever their composition, must have some shape. |
| 2534 |
altero , quo proprie schema dicitur , in sensu vel sermone aliqua a vulgari et simplici specie cum ratione mutatio , sicut nos sedemus , incumbimus , respicimus . Itaque cum in eosdem casus aut tempora aut numeros aut etiam pedes continuo quis aut certe nimium frequenter incurrit , praecipere solemus variandas figuras esse vitandae similitudinis gratia .
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In the second and special sense, in which it is called a schema, it means a rational change in meaning or language from the ordinary and simple form, that is to say, a change analogous to that involved by sitting, lying down on something or looking back. Consequently when a student tends to continuous or at any rate excessive use of the same cases, tenses, rhythms or even feet, we are in the habit of instructing him to vary his figures with a view to the avoidance of monotony. |
| 2535 |
In quo ita loquimur , tanquam omnis sermo habeat figuram , itemque eadem figura dicitur cursitare qua lectitare , id est eadem ratione declinari . Quare illo intellectu priore et communi nihil non figuratum est . Quo si contenti sumus , non immerito Apollodorus , si tradenti Caecilio credimus , incomprehensibilia partis huius praecepta existimavit .
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In so doing we speak as if every kind of language possessed a figure: for example cursitare and lectitare are said to have the same figure, that is to say, they are identical in formation. Therefore in the first and common sense of the word everything is expressed by figures. If we are content with this view, there is good reason for the opinion expressed by Apollodorus (if we may trust the statement of Caecilius on this point) to the effect that he found the rules laid down in this connexion quite incomprehensible. |
| 2536 |
Sed si habitus quidam et quasi gestus sic appellandi sunt , id demum hoc loco accipi schema oportebit , quod sit a simplici atque in promptu posito dicendi modo poetice vel oratorie mutatum . Sic enim verum erit , aliam esse orationem ἀσχημάτιστον id est carentem figuris , quod vitium non inter minima est , aliam ἐσχηματισμένην , id est figuratam .
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If, on the other hand, the name is to be applied to certain attitudes, or I might say gestures of language, we must interpret schema in the sense of that which is poetically or rhetorically altered from the simple and obvious method of expression. It will then be true to distinguish between the style which is devoid of figures (or ἀσχημάτιστος ) and that which is adorned with figures (or ἐσχηματισμένη, ). |
| 2537 |
Verum id ipsum anguste Zoilus terminavit , qui id solum putaverit schema , quo aliud simulatur dici quam dicitur , quod sane vulgo quoque sic accipi scio ; unde et figuratae controversiae quaedam , de quibus post paulo dicam , vocantur . Ergo figura sit arte aliqua novata forma dicendi . Genus eius unum quidam putaverunt ,
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But Zoilus narrowed down the definition, since he restricted the term schema to cases when the speaker pretends to say something other than that which he actually does say. 1 know that this view meets with common acceptance: it is, in fact, for this reason that we speak of figured controversial themes, of which I shall shortly speak. We shall then take a figure to mean a form of expression to which a new aspect is given by art. |
| 2538 |
in hoc ipso diversas opiniones secuti . Nam hi , quia verborum mutatio sensus quoque verteret , omnes figuras in verbis esse dixerunt ; illi , quia verba rebus accommodarentur , omnes in sensibus . Quarum utraque manifesta cavillatio est .
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Some writers have held that there is only one kind of figure, although they differ as regards the reasons which lead them to adopt this view. For some of them, on the ground that a change of words causes a corresponding change in the sense, assert that all figures are concerned with words, while others hold that figures are concerned solely with the sense, on the ground that words are adapted to things. Both these views are obviously quibbling. |
| 2539 |
Nam ut eadem dici solent aliter , manetque sensus elocutione mutata , et figura sententiae plures habere verborum figuras potest . Illa est enim posita in concipienda cogitatione haec in enuntianda ; sed frequentissime coeunt , ut in hoc Iam iam , Dolabella , neque me tui neque tuorum liberum . Nam oratio a iudice aversa in sententia , iam iam et liberum in verbis sunt schemata . Inter plurimos enim ,
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For the same things are often put in different ways and the sense remains unaltered though the words are changed, while a figure of thought may include several figures of speech. For the former lies in the conception, the latter in the expression of our thought. The two are frequently combined, however, as in the following passage: "Now, Dolabella, [I have no pity] either for you or for your children" : for the device by which he turns from the judges to Dolabella is a figure of thought, while iam iam ( "now" ) and liberum ( "your children" ) are figures of speech. |
| 2540 |
quod sciam , consensus est duas eius esse partes , διανοίας , id est mentis vel sensus vel sententiarum , nam his omnibus modis dictum est , et λέξεως id est verborum vel dictionis vel elocutionis vel sermonis vel orationis ; nam et variatur et nihil refert .
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It is, however, to the best of my knowledge, generally agreed by the majority of authors that there are two classes of figure, namely figures of thought, that is of the mind, feeling or conceptions, since all these terms are used, and figures of speech, that is of words, diction, expression, language or style: the name by which they are known varies, but mere terminology is a matter of indifference. Cornelius Celsus, |
| 2541 |
Cornelius tamen Celsus adiicit verbis et sententiis figuras colorum , nimia profecto novitatis cupiditate ductus . Nam quis ignorasse eruditum alioqui virum credat , colores et sententias sensus esse ? Quare sicut omnem orationem ita figuras quoque versari necesse est in sensu et in verbis .
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however, to figures of thought and speech would add those produced by "glosses" ; but he has merely been led astray by an excessive passion for novelty. For who can suppose that so learned a man was ignorant of the fact that "glosses" and "reflexions" both come under the heading of thought? We may therefore conclude that, like language itself, figures are necessarily concerned with thought and with words. |
| 2542 |
Ut vero natura prius est concipere animo res quam enuntiare , ita de iis figuris ante est loquendum , quae ad mentem pertinent ; quarum quidem utilitas cum magna , tum multiplex , in nullo non orationis opere vel clarissime lucet . Nam etsi minime videtur pertinere ad probationem , qua figura quidque dicatur , facit tamen credibilia quae dicimus et in animos iudicum , qua non observatur , irrepit .
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As, however, in the natural course of things we conceive ideas before we express them, I must take figures of thought first. Their utility is at once great and manifold, and is revealed with the utmost clearness in every product of oratory. For although it may seem that proof is infinitesimally affected by the figures employed, none the less those same figures lend credibility to our arguments and steal their way secretly into the minds of the judges. |
| 2543 |
Namque ut in armorum certamine adversos ictus et rectas ac simplices manus cum videre , tum etiam cavere ac propulsare facile est , aversae tectaeque minus sunt observabiles , et aliud ostendisse quam petas artis est , sic oratio , quae astu caret , pondere modo et impulsu proeliatur ; simulanti variantique conatus in latera atque in terga incurrere datur et arma avocare et velut nutu fallere .
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For just as in sword-play it is easy to see, parry, and ward off' direct blows and simple and straightforward thrusts, while side-strokes and feints are less easy to observe and the task of the skilful swordsman is to give the impression that his design is quite other than it actually is, even so the oratory in which there is no guile fights by sheer weight and impetus alone; on the other hand, the fighter who feints and varies his assault is able to attack flank or back as he will, to lure his opponent's weapons from their guard and to outwit him by a slight inclination of the body. Further, |
| 2544 |
Iam vero adfectus nihil magis ducit . Nam si frons , oculi , manus multum ad motum animorum valent , quanto plus orationis ipsius vultus ad id , quod efficere intendimus , compositus ? Plurimum tamen ad commendationem facit , sive in conciliandis agentis moribus sive ad promerendum actioni favorem sive ad levandum varietate fastidium sive ad quaedam vel decentius indicanda vel tutius .
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there is no more effective method of exciting the emotions than an apt use of figures. For if the expression of brow, eyes and hands has a powerful effect in stirring the passions, how much more effective must be the aspect of our style itself when composed to produce the result at which we aim? But, above all, figures serve to commend what we say to those that hear us, whether we seek to win approval for our character as pleaders, or to win favour for the cause which we plead, to relieve monotony by variation of our language, or to indicate our meaning in the safest or most seemly way. |
| 2545 |
Sed antequam , quae cuique rei figura conveniat , ostendo , dicendum est nequaquam eas esse tam multas quam sint a quibusdam constitutae . Neque enim me movent nomina illa , quae fingere utique Graecis promptissimum est .
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But before I proceed to demonstrate what figures best suit the different circumstances, I must point out that their number is far from being as great as some authorities make out. For I am not in the least disturbed by the various names which the Greeks more especially are so fond of inventing. First of all, then, |
| 2546 |
Ante omnia igitur illi , qui totidem figuras putant quot adfectus , repudiandi , non quia adfectus non sit quaedam qualitas mentis , sed quia figura , quam non communiter , sed proprie nominamus , non sit simplex rei cuiuscunque enuntiatio . Quapropter in dicendo irasci , dolere , misereri , timere , confidere , contemnere non sunt figurae , non magis quam suadere , minari , rogare , excusare .
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I must repudiate the views of those who hold that there are as many types of figure as there are kinds of emotion, on the ground, not that emotions are not qualities of the mind, but that a figure, in its strict, not its general sense, is not simply the expression of anything you choose to select. Consequently the expression in words of anger, grief, pity, fear, confidence or contempt is not a figure, any more than persuasion, threats, entreaty or excuse. |