Institutio Oratoria (Quintilian)

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	Institutio Oratoria Author: Quintilian	Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
229	Sed meminerimus non per omnia duci analogiae posse rationem , cum et sibi ipsa plurimis in locis repugnet . Quaedam sine dubio conantur eruditi defendere , ut , cum deprehensum est , lepus et lupus similia positione quantum casibus numerisque dissentiant : ista respondent non esse paria , quia lepus epicoenon sit , lupus masculinum ; quanquam Varro in eo libro , quo initia Romanae urbis enarrat , lupum feminam dicit Ennium Pictoremque Fabium secutus .	But we must remember that analogy cannot be universally applied, as it is often inconsistent with itself. It is true indeed that scholars have attempted to justify certain apparent anomalies: for example, when it is noted to what an extent lepus and lupus, which resemble each other closely in the nominative, differ in the plural and in the other cases, they reply that they are not true parallels, since lepus is epicene, while lupus is masculine, although Varro in the book in which he narrates the origins of Rome, writes lupus femina, following the precedent of Ennius and Fabius Pictor.
230	Illi autem iidem , cum interrogantur , cur aper apri et pater patris faciat , illud nomen positum , hoc ad aliquid esse contendunt . Praeterea quoniam utrumque a Graeco ductum sit , ad eam rationem recurrunt , ut πατρός patris ,	The same scholars, however, when asked why aper became apri in the genitive, but pater patris, asserted that aper was an absolute, pater a relative noun. Further since both words derive from the Greek, they took refuge in the fact that πατρός provides a parallel to patris and κάπρου to apri.
231	κάπρου apri faciat . Illa tamen quomodo effugient , ut , nomina quamvis feminina singulari nominativo us litteris finita nunquam genitivo casu ris syllaba terminentur , faciat tamen Venus Veneris ? item cum es litteris finita per varios exeant genitivos , nunquam tamen eadem ris syllaba terminatos , Ceres cogat dici Cereris ?	But how will they evade the difficulty that feminine nouns whose nominative singular ends in -us never make the genitive end in -ris, and yet the genitive of Venus is Veneris: again nouns ending in -es have various genitive terminations, but never end in -ris, but yet we have no choice but to make the genitive of Ceres Cereris?
232	Quid vero ? quod tota positionis eiusdem in diversos flexus eunt ? cum Alba faciat Albanos et Albensis , volo volui et volavi . Nam praeterito quidem tempore varie formari verba prima persona o littera terminata , ipsa analogia confiteatur ; siquidem facit cado cecidi , spondeo spopondi , pingo pinxi , lego legi , pono posui , frango fregi , laudo laudavi .	Again what of those words which, although identical in the form of the nominative or present indicative, develop the utmost variety in their inflections. Thus from Alba we get both Albanus and Albensis, from volo both volui and volavi. Analogy itself admits that verbs whose present indicative ends in -o have a great variety of perfect formations, as for instance cado cecidi, spondeo spopondi, pingo pinxi, lego legi, pono posui, fiango fregi, laudo laudavi.
233	Non enim , cum primum fingerentur homines , analogia demissa caelo formam loquendi dedit , sed inventa est postquam loquebantur , et notatum in sermone quid quomodo caderet . Itaque non ratione nititur sed exemplo , nec lex est loquendi sed observatio , ut ipsam analogiam nulla res alia fecerit quam consuetudo .	For analogy was not sent down from heaven at the creation of mankind to frame the rules of language, but was discovered after they began to speak and to note the terminations of words used in speech. It is therefore based not on reason but on example, nor is it a law of language, but rather a practice which is observed, being in fact the offspring of usage.
234	Inhaerent tamen ei quidam molestissima diligentiae perversitate , ut audaciter potius dicant quam audacter , licet omnes oratores aliud sequantur , et emicavit non emicuit et conire non coire . His permittamus et audivisse et sciuisse et tribunale et faciliter dicere ; frugalis quoque sit apud illos non fugi , nam quo alio modo fiet frugalitas ?	Some scholars, however, are so perverse and obstinate in their passion for analogy, that they say audaciter in preference to audacter, the form preferred by all orators, and emicavit for emicuit, and conire for coire. We may permit them to say audivisse, scivisse, tribunale and faciliter, nor will we deprive them of frugalis as an alternative for frugi:
235	Iidem centum milia nummum et fidem Deum ostendant duplices quoque soloecismos esse , quando et casum mutant et numerum ; nesciebamus enim ac non consuetudini et decori serviebamus , sicut in plurimis , quae M . Tullius in Oratore divine ut omnia exequitur .	for from what else can frugalitas be formed? They may also be allowed to point out that phrases such as centum milia nummum and fidem deum involve a double solecism, since they change both case and number. Of course we were in blank ignorance of the fact and were not simply conforming to usage and the demands of elegance, as in the numerous cases, with which Cicero deals magnificently, as always, in his Orator.
236	Sed Augustus quoque in epistulis ad C . Caesarem scriptis emendat , quod is calidum dicere quam caldum malit , non quia id non sit Latinum sed quia sit odiosum et , ut ipse Graeco verbo significavit ,	Augustus again in his letters to Gaius Caesar corrects him for preferring calidus to caldus, not on the ground that the former is not Latin, but because it is unpleasing and as he himself puts it in Greek περίεργον (affected).
237	περίεργον . Atqui hanc quidam ὀρθοέπειαν solam putant , quam ego minime excludo . Quid enim tam necessarium quam recta locutio ? Immo inhaerendum ei iudico , quoad licet , diu etiam mutantibus repugnandum ; sed abolita atque abrogata retinere insolentiae cuiusdam est et frivolae in parvis iactantiae .	Some hold that this is just a question of ὀρθοέπεια or correctness of speech, a subject to which I am far from being indifferent. For what can be more necessary than that we should speak correctly? Nay, I even think that, as far as possible, we should cling to correct forms and resist all tendencies to change. But to attempt to retain forms long obsolete and extinct is sheer impertinence and ostentatious pedantry.
238	Multum enim litteratus , qui sine aspiratione et producta secunda syllaba salutarit ( avere est enim ) et calefacere dixerit potius , quam quod dicimus , et conservauisse , his adiiciat face et dice et similia . Recta est haec via ;	I would suggest that the ripe scholar, who says "ave" without the aspirate and with a long e (for it comes from avēre and uses calefacere and conservavisse in preference to the usual forms, should also add face, dice and the like to his vocabulary.
239	quis negat ? sed adiacet et mollior et magis trita . Ego tamen non alio magis angor , quam quod obliquis casibus ducti etiam primas sibi positiones non invenire sed mutare permittunt : ut cum ebur et robur , ita dicta ac scripta summis auctoribus , in o litteram secundae syllabae transferunt , quia sit roboris et eboris , sulpur autem et guttur u litteram in genitivo servent ; ideoque iecur etiam et femur controversiam fecerunt .	His way is the right way. Who doubts it? But there is an easier and more frequented path close by. There is, however, nothing which annoys me more than their habit not merely of inferring the nominative from the oblique cases, but of actually altering it. For instance in ebur and robur, the forms regularly used both in writing and speech by the best authors, these gentlemen change their second syllable to o, because their genitives are roboris and eboris, and because sulpur and guttur keep the u in the genitive. So too femur and iecur give rise to similar controversy.
240	Quod non minus est licentiosum , quam si sulpuri et gutturi subiicerent in genitivo litteram o mediam , quia esset eboris et roboris ; sicut Antonius Gnipho , qui robur quidem et ebur atque etiam marmur fatetur esse , verum fieri vult ex his robura , ebura , marmura .	Their proceedings are just as arbitrary as if they were to substitute an o in the genitives of sulpur and guttur on the analogy of eboris and roboris. Thus Antonius Gnipho while admitting robur, ebur and even marmur to be correct, would have their plurals to be ebura, robura and marnura.
241	Quodsi animadverterent litterarum adfinitatem , scirent sic ab eo , quod est robur , roboris fieri , quomodo ab eo , quod est miles limes , militis limitis , index vindex , iudicis vindicis , et quae supra iam attigi .	If they would only pay attention to the affinities existing between letters, they would realize that robur makes its genitive roboris in precisely the same way that limes, miles, iudex and uindex make their genitives militis, limitis, iudicis and uindicis, not to mention other words to which I have already referred.
242	Quid vero quod , ut dicebam , similes positiones in longe diversas figures per obliquos casus exeunt , ut virgo Iuno , lusus lusus , cuspis puppis et mille alia ? cum illud etiam accidat , ut quaedam pluraliter non dicantur , quaedam contra singulari numero , quaedam casibus careant , quaedam a primis statim positionibus tota mutentur , ut Iuppiter .	Do not nouns which are similar in the nominative show, as I have already observed, quite different terminations in the oblique eases? Compare uirgo and Iuno, lusus and fusus, caspis and puppis and a thousand others. Again some nouns are not used in the plural, while others are not used in the singular, some are indeclinable, while others, like Jupiter, in the oblique cases entirely abandon the form of the nominative.
243	Quod verbis etiam accidit ut illi fero , cuius praeteritum perfectum et ulterius non invenitur . Nec plurimum refert , nulla haec an praedura sint . Nam quid progenies genitivo singulari , quid plurali spes faciet ? Quomodo autem quire et ruere vel in praeterita patiendi modo vel in participia transibunt ?	The same is true of verbs: for instance fero disappears in the perfect and subsequent tenses. Nor does it matter greatly whether such forms are nonexistent or too harsh to use. For what is the genitive singular of progenies or the genitive plural of spes? Or how will quire and ruere form a perfect passive or passive participles.
244	Quid de aliis dicam , cum senatus senati an senatus faciat , incertum sit ? Quare mihi non invenuste dici videtur , aliud esse Latine aliud grammatice loqui . Ac de analogia nimium .	Why should I mention other words when it is even doubtful whether the genitive of senatus is senati or senatus? In view of what I have said, it seems to me that the remark, that it is one thing to speak Latin and another to speak grammar, was far from unhappy. So much for analogy, of which I have said more than enough.
245	Etymologia , quae verborum originem inquirit , a Cicerone dicta est notatio , quia nomen eius apud Aristotelem invenitur σύμβολον , quod est nota ; nam verbum ex verbo ductum , id est veriloquium , ipse Cicero , qui finxit , reformidat . Sunt qui vim potius intuiti originationem vocent .	Etymology inquires into the origin of words, and was called notation by Cicero, on the ground that the term used by Aristotle is σύμβολον, which may be translated by nota. A literal rendering of ἐτυμολογία would be ueriloquium, a form which even Cicero, its inventor, shrinks from using. Some again, with an eye to the meaning of the word, call it origination. Etymology is sometimes of the utmost use, whenever the word under discussion needs interpretation.
246	Haec habet aliquando usum necessarium , quotiens interpretatione res , de qua quaeritur , eget , ut M . Caelius se esse hominem frugi vult probare , non quia abstinens sit ( nam id ne ementiri quidem poterat ) , sed quia utilis multis , id est fructuosus , unde sit ducta frugalitas . Ideoque in definitionibus assignatur etymologiae locus .	For instance Marcus Caelius wishes to prove that he is homo frugi, not because he is abstemious (for he could not even pretend to be that), but because he is useful to many, that is fructuosus, from which frugalitas is derived. Consequently we find room for etymology when we are concerned with definitions.
247	Nonnunquam etiam barbara ab emendatis conatur discernere , ut cum , Triquetram dici Siciliam an Triquedram , meridiem an medidiem oporteat quaeritur ,	Sometimes again this science attempts to distinguish between correct forms and barbarisms, as for instance when we are discussing whether we should call Sicily Triquetra or Triquedra, or say meridies or medidies, not to mention other words which depend on current usage.
248	aliaque quae consuetudini serviunt . Continet autem in se multam eruditionem , sive ex Graecis orta tractemus , quae sunt plurima , praecipueque Aeolica ratione ( cui est sermo noster simillimus ) declinata , sive ex historiarum veterum notitia nomina hominum , locorum , gentium , urbium requiramus , unde Bruti , Publicolae , Pythici ? cur Latium , Italia , Beneventum ? quae Capitolium et collem Quirinalem et Argiletum appellandi ratio ?	Such a science demands profound erudition, whether we are dealing with the large number of words which are derived from the Greek, more especially those inflected according to the practice of the Aeolic dialect, the form of Greek which most nearly resembles Latin; or are using ancient historians as a basis for inquiry into the origin of names of men, places, nations and cities. For instance what is the origin of names such as Brutus, Publicola, or Pythicus? Why do we speak of Latium, Italia or Beneventum? What is the reason for employing such names as Capitolium, collis Quirinalis or Argietum?
249	Iam illa minora , in quibus maxime studiosi eius rei fatigantur , qui verba paulum declinata varie et multipliciter ad veritatem reducunt aut correptis aut porrectis , aut adiectis aut detractis , aut permutatis litteris syllabisve . Inde pravis ingeniis ad foedissima usque ludibria labuntur . Sit enim Consul a consulendo vel a iudicando ; nam et hoc consulere veteres vocaverunt , unde adhuc remanet illud rogat boni consulas , id est bonum iudices .	I now turn to minor points concerning which enthusiasts for etymology give themselves an infinity of trouble, restoring to their true form words which have become slightly altered: the methods which they employ are varied and manifold: they shorten them or lengthen them, add, remove, or interchange letters and syllables as the case may be. As a result perverseness of judgment leads to the most hideous absurdities. I am ready to admit that consul may be derived from consulere in the sense of consulting or judging; for the ancients used consulere in the latter sense, and it still survives in the phrase rogat boni consulas, that is bonum iudices, "judge fit."
250	Senatui nomen dederit aetas ( nam iidem Patres sunt ) , et rex rector et alia plurima indubitata ; nec abnuerim tegulae regulaeque et similium his rationem . iam sit et classis a calando et lepus levipes et vulpes volipes :	Again senatus may well be derived from old age (for the senators are called "the fathers" ): I concur in the derivations assigned to rex rector to say nothing of many other words where there can be no doubt, and do not refuse to accept those suggested for tegula, regula and the like: let classis be from calare (call out, summon), lepus be a contraction of levipes and vulpes of volipes.
251	etiamne a contrariis aliqua sinemus trahi , ut lucus , quia umbra opacus parum luceat , et ludus , quia sit longissime a lusu , et Ditis , quia minime dives ? etiamne hominem appellari , quia sit humo natus ( quasi vero non omnibus animalibus eadem origo , aut illi primi mortales ante nomen imposuerint terrae quam sibi ) , et verba ab aere verberato ?	But are we also to admit the derivation of certain words from their opposites, and accept lucus a non lucendo, since a grove is dark with shade, ludus in the sense of school as being so called because it is quite the reverse of "play" and Dis, Ditis from diues, because Pluto is far from being rich? Are we to assent to the view that homo is derived from humus, because man sprang from the earth, as though all other living things had not the same origin or as if primitive man gave the earth a name before giving one to himself? Or again can verbum be derived from aer verheratus, "beaten air" ?
252	Pergamus : sic perveniemus eo usque , ut stella luminis stilla credatur , cuius etymologiae auctorem clarum sane in litteris nominari in ea parte , qua a me reprehenditur , inhumanum est .	Let us go a little further and we shall find that stella is believed to be still luminis "a drop of light," a derivation whose author is so famous in literature that it would be unkind to mention his name in connexion with a point where he comes in for censure.
253	Qui vero talia libris complexi sunt , nomina sua ipsi inscripserunt ; ingenioseque visus est Gavius caelibes dicere veluti caelites , quod onere gravissimo vacent , idque Graeco argumento iuvit , ἠϊθέους enim eadem de causa dici affirmat . Nec ei cedit Modestus inventione , nam , quia Caelo Saturnus genitalia absciderit , hoc nomine appellatos , qui uxore careant , ait ; Aelius pituitam , quia petat vitam .	But those who collected such derivations in book form, put their names on the title page; and Gavius thought himself a perfect genius when he identified caelibes, "bachelors," with caelites, "gods," on the ground that they are free from a heavy load of care, and supported this opinion by a Greek analogy: for he asserted that ἠΐθεοι "young men," had a precisely similar origin. Modestus is not his inferior in inventive power: for he asserts that caelibes, that is to say unmarried men, are so called because Saturn cut off the genital organs of Caelus. Aelius asserts that pituita, "phlegm," is so called quia petat uitam, because it attacks life.
254	Sed cui non post Varronem sit venia , qui agrum , quia in eo agatur aliquid , et graculos , quia gregatim volent , dictos Ciceroni persuadere voluit ( ad eum enim scribit ) , cum alterum ex Graeco sit manifestum duci , alterum ex vocibus avium ?	But we may pardon anyone after the example set by Varro. For he tried to persuade Cicero, to whom he dedicated his work, that a field was called eager because something is done in it ( agitur ), and jackdaws graculos because they fly in flocks (gregatim ), in spite of the obvious fact that the first word is derived from the Greek, the latter from the cry of the bird in question.
255	Sed hoc tanti fuit vertere , ut merula , quia sola volat , quasi mera volans nominaretur . Quidam non dubitaverunt etymologine subiicere omnem nominis causam : ut ex habitu , quemadmodum dixi , Longos et Rufos , ex sono strepere , murmurare ; etiam derivata , ut a uelocitate dicitur velox , et composita pluraque his similia , quae sine dubio aliunde originem ducunt , sed arte non egent , cuius in hoc opere non est usus nisi in dubiis .	But Varro had such a passion for derivations that he derived the name merula "a blackbird" from mera uolans on the ground that it flies alone! Some scholars do not hesitate to have recourse to etymology for the origin of every word, deriving names such as Rufus or Longus from the appearance of their possessor, verbs such as strepere or murmurare from the sounds which they represent, and even extending this practice to certain derivatives, making uelox for instance find its origin in uelocitas, as well as to compounds and the like: now although such words doubtless have an origin, no special science is required to detect it, since it is only doubtful cases that demand the intervention of the etymologist.
256	Verba a vetustate repetita non solum magnos assertores habent sed etiam adferunt orationi maiestatem aliquam non sine delectatione ; nam et auctoritatem antiquitatis habent et , quia intermissa sunt , gratiam novitati similem parant .	Archaic words not only enjoy the patronage of distinguished authors, but also give style a certain majesty and charm. For they have the authority of age behind them, and for the very reason that they have fallen into desuetude, produce an attractive effect not unlike that of novelty.
257	Sed opus est modo , ut neque crebra sint haec neque manifesta , quia nihil est odiosius adfectatione , nec utique ab ultimis et iam oblitteratis repetita temporibus , qualia sunt topper et antegerio et exanclare et prosapia et Saliorum carmina vix sacerdotibus suis satis intellecta .	But such words must be used sparingly and must not thrust themselves upon our notice, since there is nothing more tiresome than affectation, nor above all must they be drawn from remote and forgotten ages: I refer to words such as topper, "quite," antegerio, "exceedingly," exanclare, "to exhaust," prosapia, "a race" and the language of the Salian Hymns now scarcely understood by its own priests.
258	Sed illa mutari vetat religio et consecratis utendum est ; oratio vero , cuius summa virtus est perspicuitas , quam sit vitiosa , si egeat interprete ? Ergo , ut novorum optima erunt maxime vetera , ita veterum maxime nova .	Religion, it is true, forbids us to alter the words of these hymns and we must treat them as sacred things. But what a faulty thing is speech, whose prime virtue is clearness, if it requires an interpreter to make its meaning plain! Consequently in the case of old words the best will be those that are newest, just as in the case of new words the best will be the oldest.
259	Similis circa auctoritatem ratio . Nam etiamsi potest videri nihil peccare , qui utitur iis verbis , quae summi auctores tradiderunt , multum tamen refert non solum , quid dixerint , sed etiam quid persuaserint . Neque enim tuburchinabundum et lurchinabundum iam in nobis quisquam ferat , licet Cato sit auctor , nec hos lodices , quanquam id Pollioni placet , nec gladiola , atqui Messala dixit , nec parricidatum , quod in Caelio vix tolerabile videtur , nec collos mihi Calvus persuaserit ; quae nec ipsi iam dicerent .	The same arguments apply to authority. For although the use of words transmitted to us by the best authors may seem to preclude the possibility of error, it is important to notice not merely what they said, but what words they succeeded in sanctioning. For no one to-day would introduce words such as tuburchinabunidus, "voracious," or lurchinabundus, "guzzling," although they have the authority of Cato; nor make lodices, "blankets," masculine, though Pollio preferred that gender; nor say gladiola, "small swords," though Messala used this plural, nor parricidatus for parricide, a form which can scarcely be tolerated even in Caelius, nor will Calvus persuade me to speak of collos, "necks." Indeed, were these authors alive to-day, they would never use such words. Usage remains to be discussed.
260	Superest igitur consuetudo ; nam fuerit paene ridiculum malle sermonem , quo locuti sint homines , quam quo loquantur . Et sane quid est aliud vetus sermo quam vetus loquendi consuetudo ? Sed huic ipsi necessarium est iudicium , constituendumque in primis id ipsum quid sit , quod consuetudinem vocemus .	For it would be almost laughable to prefer the language of the past to that of the present day, and what is ancient speech but ancient usage of speaking? But even here the critical faculty is necessary, and we must make up our minds what we mean by usage.
261	Quae si ex eo , quod plures faciunt , nomen accipiat , periculosissimum dabit praeceptum , non orationi modo sed ( quod maius est ) vitae . Unde enim tantum boni , ut pluribus quae recta sunt placeant ? Igitur ut velli et comam in gradus frangere et in balneis perpotare , quamlibet haec invaserint civitatem , non erit consuetudo , quia nihil horum caret reprehensione ; at lavamur et tondemur et convivimus ex consuetudine : sic in loquendo , non si quid vitiose multis insederit , pro regula sermonis accipiendum erit .	If it be defined merely as the practice of the majority, we shall have a very dangerous rule affecting not merely style but life as well, a far more serious matter. For where is so much good to be found that what is right should please the majority? The practices of depilation, of dressing the hair in tiers, or of drinking to excess at the baths, although they may have thrust their way into society, cannot claim the support of usage, since there is something to blame in all of them (although we have usage on our side when we bathe or have our hair cut or take our meals together). So too in speech we must not accept as a rule of language words and phrases that have become a vicious habit with a number of persons.
262	Nam , ut transeam , quemadmodum vulgo imperiti loquantur , tota saepe theatra et omnem circi turbam exclamasse barbare scimus . Ergo consuetudinem sermonis vocabo consensum eruditorum , sicut vivendi consensum bonorum .	To say nothing of the language of the uneducated, we are all of us well aware that whole theatres and the entire crowd of spectators will often commit barbarisms in the cries which they utter as one man. I will therefore define usage in speech as the agreed practice of educated men, just as where our way of life is concerned I should define it as the agreed practice of all good men.
263	Nunc , quoniam diximus , quae sit loquendi regula , dicendum , quae scribentibus custodienda , quod Graeci ὀρθογραφίαν vocant ; hoc nos recte scribendi scientiam nominemus . Cuius ars non in hoc posita est , ut noverimus , quibus quaeque syllaba litteris constet ( nam id quidem infra grammatici officium est ) , sed totam , ut mea fert opinio , subtilitatem in dubiis habet .	Having stated the rules which we must follow in speaking, I will now proceed to lay down the rules which must be observed when we write. Such rules are called orthography by the Greeks; let us style it the science of writing correctly. This science does not consist merely in the knowledge of the letters composing each syllable (such a study is beneath the dignity of a teacher of grammar), but, in my opinion, develops all its subtlety in connexion with doubtful points.
264	Ut longis syllabis omnibus apponere apicem ineptissimum est , quia plurimae natura ipsa verbi quod scribitur patent , sed interim necessarium , cum eadem littera alium atque alium intellectum , prout correpta vel producta est , facit ; ut malus arborem significat an hominem non bonum apice distinguitur ,	For instance, while it is absurd to place a circumflex over all long syllables since the quantity of most syllables is obvious from the very nature of the word which is written, it is all the same occasionally necessary, since the same letter involves a different meaning according as it is long or short. For example we determine whether mains is to mean an "apple tree" or a "bad man" by the use of the circumflex;
265	palus aliud priore syllaba longa aliud sequenti significat , et cum eadem littera nominativo casu brevis , ablativo longa est , utrum sequamur , plerumque hac nota monendi sumus .	palus means a "stake," if the first syllable is long, a "marsh," if it be short; again when the same letter is short in the nominative and long in the ablative, we generally require the circumflex to make it clear which quantity to understand.
266	Similiter putaverunt illa quoque servanda discrimina , ut ex praepositionem , si verbum sequeretur specto , adiecta secundae syllabae s littera , si pecto , remota scriberemus .	Similarly it has been held that we should observe distinctions such as the following: if the preposition ex is compounded with specto, there will be an s in the second syllable, while there will be no s if it is compounded with pecto.