Institutio Oratoria |
Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
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| 2737 |
Altera est per detractionem figura , de qua modo dictum , cui coniunctiones eximuntur . Tertia , quae dicitur ἐπεζευγμένον in qua unum ad verbum plures sententiae referuntur , quarum unaquaeque desideraret illud , si sola poneretur . Id accidit aut praeposito verbo , ad quod reliqua respiciant : Vicit pudorem libido , timorem audacia , rationem amentia ; aut illato , quo plura cluduntur : Neque enim is es , Catilina , ut te aut pudor unquam a turpitudine aut metus a periculo aut ratio a furore revocaverit .
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Another figure produced by omission is that of which I have just spoken, when the connecting particles are omitted. A third is the figure known as ἐπεζευγμένον in which a number of clauses are all completed by the same verb, which would be required by each singly if they stood alone. In such cases the verb to which the rest of the sentence refers may come first, as in the following instance: Vicit pudorem lilido, timiorem audacia, rationem amentia. Or it may come last, closing a number of clauses, as in the following: Neque enim is es, Catilina, ut te aut pudor unquam a turpitudine ant meites a periculo aut ratio a furore revocaverit. |
| 2738 |
Medium quoque potest esse , quod et prioribus et sequentibus sufficiat . iungit autem et diversos sexus , ut cum marem feminamque filios dicimus , et singularia pluralibus miscet .
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The verb may even be placed in the middle so as to serve both what precedes and what follows. The same figure may join different sexes, as for example when we speak of a male and female child under the comprehensive term of "sons" ; or it may interchange singular and plural. |
| 2739 |
Sed haec adeo sunt vulgaria , ut sibi artem figurarum adserere non possint . Illud plane figura est , qua diversa sermonis forma coniungitur : " Sociis tunc , arma capessant , Edico , et dira bellum cum genie gerendum . " Quamvis enim pars bello posterior participio insistat , utrique convenit illud edico .Non utique detractionis gratia factam coniunctionem συνοικείωσιν vocant , quae duas res diversas colligat : " Tam deest avaro , quod habet , quam quod non habet . " Huic diversam volunt esse distinctionem ,
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But these devices are so common that they can scarcely lay claim to involve the art essential to figures. On the other hand it is quite obviously figure, when two different constructions are combined as in the following case: "Sociis tunc arma capessant Edico et dira bellum cum gene gerendumn." (I bid my comrades straight to seize their arms And war be waged against a savage race.) For although the portion of the sentence following bellum ends with a participle, both clauses of the sentence are correctly governed by edico. Another form of connexion, which does not necessarily involve omission, is called συνοικείωσις, because it connects two different things, for example: "The miser lacks That which he has no less than what he has not." |
| 2740 |
cui dant nomen παραδιαστολήν qua similia discernuntur : Cum te pro astuto sapientem appelles , pro confidente , fortem , pro illiberali diligentem . Quod totum pendet ex finitione , ideoque an figura sit dubito . Cui contraria est ea , qua fit ex vicino transitus ad diversa ut similia : Brevis esse laboro , obscurus fio , et quae sequuntur .
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To this figure is opposed distinction, which they call παραδιαστολή, by which we distinguish between similar things, as in this sentence: " When you call yourself wise instead of astute, brave instead of rash, economical instead of mean. " But this is entirely dependent on definition, and therefore I have my doubts whether it can be called a figure. Its opposite occurs when we pass at a bound from one thing to something different, as though from like to like; for example: "I labour to be brief, I turn obscure," with what follows. |
| 2741 |
Tertium est genus figurarum , quod aut similitudine aliqua vocum aut paribus aut contrariis convertit in se aures et animos excitat . Hinc est παρονομασία , quae dicitur adnominatio . Ea non uno modo fieri solet : ex vicinia ( quadam praedicti nominis ducta casibus declinat , ut Domitius Afer pro Cloatilla , Mulier omnium rerum imperita , in omnibus rebus infelix ;
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There is a third class of figures which attracts the ear of the audience and excites their attention by some resemblance, equality or contrast of words. To this class belongs paronomasia, which we call adnominatio. This may be effected in different ways. It may depend on the resemblance of one word to another which has preceded, although the words are in different cases. Take the following passage from Domitius Afer's defence of Cloatilla: Mulier omnium rerum imiperita, in omnnibus rebus infelix. |
| 2742 |
et cum verbo idem verbum plus significans subiungitur : Quando homo hostis , homo . Quibus exemplis sum in aliud usus , sed in uno ἔμφασις est geminatio . παρονομασίᾳ contrarium est , quod eodem verbo quasi falsum arguitur : Quae lex privatis hominibus esse lex non uidebatur .
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Or the same word may be repeated with greater meaning, as quando homo, hostis homno. But although I have used these examples to illustrate something quite different, one of them involves both emphasis and reiteration. The opposite of parononasia occurs when one word is proved to be false by repetition; for instance, "This law did not seem to be a law to private individuals." Akin to this is that syled ἀντανάκλασις, |
| 2743 |
Cui confinis est ἀντανάκλασις eiusdem verbi contraria significatio . Cum Proculeius > quereretur de filio , quod is mortem suam expectaret , et ille dixisset , se vero non exspectare : Immo , inquit , rogo exspectes .Non ex eodem sed ex vicino diversum accipitur , cum supplicio adficiendum dicas , quem supplicatione dignum iudicaris .
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where the same word is used in two different meanings. When Proculeius reproached his son with waiting for his death, and the son replied that he was not waiting for it, the former retorted, Well then, I ask you to wait for it. Sometimes such difference in meaning is obtained not by using the same word, but one like it, as for example by saying that a man whom you think dignus supplicatione (worthy of supplication) is supplicio adficiendus. |
| 2744 |
Aliter quoque voces aut eaedem diversa in significatione ponuntur aut productione tantum vel correptione mutatae ; quod etiam in iocis frigidum equidem tradi inter praecepta miror , eorumque exempla vitandi potius quam imitandi gratia pono :
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There are also other ways in which the same words may be used in different senses or altered by the lengthening or shortening of a syllable: this is a poor trick even when employed in jest, and I am surprised that it should be included in the text-books: the instances which I quote are therefore given as examples for avoidance, not for imitation. Here they are: |
| 2745 |
Amari iucundum est , si curetur , ne quid insist amari . Avium dulcedo ad avium ducit ; et apud Ovidium ludentem : " Cur ego non dicam , Furia , te furiam ? " Cornificius hanc traductionem vocat ,
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Amari iucundum est, si curetur ne quid insit amari, and Avium dulcedo ad avium ducit; and again this jest from Ovid, "Cur ego non dicam, Furia, te furiam?" Cornificius calls this traductio, |
| 2746 |
videlicet alterius intellectus ad alterum . Sed elegantius , quod est positum in distinguenda rei proprietate : Hanc rei publicae pestem paulisper reprimi , non in perpetuum comprimi posse . Sed quae praepositionibus in contrarium mutantur : Non emissus ex urbe , sed immissius in urbem esse videatur . Melius atque acrius , quod cum figura iucundum est tum etiam sensu valet : Emit morte immortalitatem .
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that is the transference of the meaning of one word to another. It has, however, greater elegance when it is employed to distinguish the exact meanings of things, as in the following example: "This curse to the state could be repressed for a time, but not suppressed for ever;" the same is true when the meaning of verbs is reversed by a change in the preposition with which they are compounded: for example, Non emissus ex urbe, sed immissus in urbem esse videatur. The effect is better still and more emphatic when our pleasure is derived both from the figurative form and the excellence of the sense, as in the following instance: emit morte immortalitatem. |
| 2747 |
Illa leviora : Non Pisonum sed pistorum et Ex oratore arator . Pessimum vero : Ne patres conscripti videantur circumscripti ; — Raro evenit sed vehementer venit . Sed contingit , ut aliqui sensus vehemens et acer venustatem aliquam non eadem ex voce non dissona accipiat .
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A more trivial effect is produced by the following: Non Pisonum, sed pistorum, and Ex oratore arator, while phrases such as Ne patres conscripti videantur circumscripti, or raro evenit, sed vehenenter venit, are the worst of all. It does, however, sometimes happen that a bold and vigorous conception may derive a certain charm from the contrast between two words not dissimilar in sound. |
| 2748 |
Sed cur me prohibeat pudor uti domestico exemplo ? Pater meus contra eum , qui se legationi immoriturum dixerat , deinde vix paucis diebus insumptis re infecta redierat , Non exigo , ut inmoriaris legationi ; immorare . Nam et valet sensus ipse et in verbis tantum distantibus iucunde consonat vox , praesertim non captata , sed velut oblata , cum altero suo sit usus , alterum ab adversario acceperit .
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I do not know that there is any reason why modesty should prevent me from illustrating this point from my own family. My father, in the course of a declamation against a man who had said he would die on his embassy and then returned after a few days' absence without accomplishing anything, said, non exigo ut immoriaris legationi: immorare. For the sense is forcible and the sound of the two words, which are so very different in meaning, is pleasant, more especially since the assonance is not far fetched, but presents itself quite naturally, one word being of the speaker's own selection, while the other is supplied by his opponent. |
| 2749 |
Magnae veteribus curae fuit gratiam dicendi et paribus et contrariis acquirere . Gorgias in hoc immodicus , copiosus aetate utique prima Isocrates fuit . Delectatus est his etiam M . Tullius , verum et modum adhibuit non ingratae , nisi copia redundet , voluptati et rem alioqui leuem sententiarum pondere implevit . Nam per se frigida et inanis adfectatio , cum in acres incidit sensus , innatam gratiam videtur habere non arcessitam .
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The old orators were at great pains to achieve elegance in the use of words similar or opposite in sound. Gorgias carried the practice to an extravagant pitch, while Isocrates, at any rate in his early days, was much addicted to it. Even Cicero delighted in it, but showed some restraint in the employment of a device which is not unattractive save when carried to excess, and, further, by the weight of his thought lent dignity to what would otherwise have been mere trivialities. For in itself this artifice is a flat and foolish affectation, but when it goes hand in hand with vigour of thought, it gives the impression of natural charm, which the speaker has not had to go far to find. |
| 2750 |
Similium fere quadruplex ratio est . Nam est primum , quotiens verbum verbo aut non dissimile valde quaeritur , ut " Puppesque tuae pubesque tuorum ; " et Sic in hac calamitosa fama quasi in aliqua perniciosissima flamma , et Non enim tam spes laudanda quam res est , aut certe par et extremis syllabis consonans : Non verbis , sed armis .
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There are some four different forms of play upon verbal resemblances. The first occurs when we select some word which is not very unlike another, as in the line of Virgil "vuppesque tuae pubesque tuorum," or, sic in hac calamitosa fama quasi in aliqua perniciosissim flamma, and non enim tarn spes laudanda quam res est. Or at any rate the words selected will be of equal length and will have similar terminations, as in non verbis, sed armis. |
| 2751 |
Sed hoc quoque , quotiens in sententias acres incidit , pulchrum est : Quantum possis , in eo semper experire , it prosis . Hoc est πάρισον , ut plerisque placuit . Theo Stoicus πάρισον existimat , quod sit e membris non dissimilibus .
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A good effect may also be produced by an artifice such as the following, so long as the thought which it expresses be vigorous: quantum possis, in eo semper experire ut prosis. The name commonly applied to this is πάροσον though the Stoic Theon thinks that in cases of πάρισον the correspondence between the clauses must be exact. |
| 2752 |
Secundum , ut clausula similiter cadat , syllabis iisdem in ultimam partem collatis : ὁμοιοτέλευτον vocant similem duarum sententiarum vel plurium finem : Non modo ad salutem eius exstinguendam , sed etiam gloriam per tales viros infingendam . Ex quibus fere fiunt , non tamen ut semper utique ultimis consonent , quae τρίκωλα dicuntur : Vicit pudorem libido , timorem audacia , rationem amentia . Sed in quaternas quoque ac plures haec ratio ire sententias potest . Fit etiam singulis verbis : Hecuba hoc dolet , pudet , piget ; et Abiit , excessit , erupit , evasit .
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The second form occurs when clauses conclude alike, the same syllables being placed at the end of each; this correspondence in the ending of two or more sentences is called homoeoteleuton. Here is an example: Non modo ad salutem eius exstinguendam sed etiam gloriam per tales viros infringendam. This figure is usually, though not invariably, found in the groups of three clauses, styled τρίκωλα, of which the following may be cited as an illustration: vicit pudorem libido, timorem audacia, rationed amentia. But the device may be applied to four clauses or more. The effect may even be produced by single words; for example, Hecuba hoc dolet, pudet, piget, or abiit, excessit, erupit, evasit. |
| 2753 |
Tertium est , quod in eosdem casus cadit , ὁμοιόπτωτον dicitur . Sed neque , quod finem habet similem , utique in eundem venit finem ὁμοιόπτωτον , quia ὁμοιόπτωτον est tantum casu simile , etiamsi dissimilia sint quae declinentur ; nec tantum in fine deprehenditur , sed respondentibus vel primis inter se vel mediis vel extremis vel etiam permutatis his , ut media primis et summa mediis accommodentur , et quocunque modo accommodari potest .
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In the third form the correspondence is produced by the use of similar cases; it is known as ὁμοιόπτωτον But this name, though it implies a certain similarity, does not necessarily involve identity in termination, since it means no more than similarity of case, irrespective of the fact that words may be differently declined, and does not always occur at the end of a sentence; the correspondence may occur at the beginning, middle or end of clauses, or may be varied so that the middle of one clause corresponds with the beginning of another and the end with the middle: in fact, any arrangement of correspondences is permissible. |
| 2754 |
Neque enim semper paribus syllabis constat , ut est apud Afrum , Amisso nuper infelicis aulae si non praesidio inter pericula tamen solacio inter adversa .Eius fere videntur optima , in quibus initia sententiarum et fines , consentiunt , ut hic praesidio solacio , pericula adversa , paene ut similia sint verbis et paribus cadant et eodem modo desinant .
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Nor need the words which correspond consist of the same number of syllables. For example, we find the following sentence in Domitius Afer: Amisso nuper infelicis aulae, si non praesidio inter pericula, tamen solacio inter adversa. The best form of this figure is that in which the beginnings and ends of the clauses correspond (as in this case praesidio corresponds with solacio and pericula with adversa ), in such a way that there is a close resemblance between the words, while cadence and termination are virtually identical. |
| 2755 |
Etiam ut sint , quod est quartum , membris aequalibus , quod ἰσόκωλον dicitur : Si , quantum in agro locisque desertis audacia potest , tantum in foro atque iudiciis impudentia valeret ἰσόκωλον est et ὁμοιόπτωτον habet ; non minus nunc in causa cederet Aulus Caecina Sexti Aebutii impudentiae , quam tum in vi facienda cessit audaciae , ἰσόκωλον , ὁμοιόπτωτον , ὁμοιοτέλευτον .Accedit et ex illa figura gratia , qua nomina dixi mutatis casibus repeti : Non minus cederet quam cessit . At hoc ὁμοιοτέλευτον et παρονομασία est : Neminem alteri posse dare in matrimonium , nisi penes quem sit patrimonium .
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It is also desirable that the clauses should be of equal length, although as a matter of fact this forms the fourth figure of this class, and is known as ἰσόκωλον The following will serve as an example, being both ἰσόκωλον and ὁμοιόπτωτον: Si, quantum in agro locisque desertis audacia potest, tantum in foro atque iudiciis impudentia valeret; continuing, it combines ἰσόκωλον, ὁμοιόπτωτον, and ὁμοιοτέλευτον. :—non minus nunc in causa cederet Aulus Caecina Sexti Aebutii imnpudentiae, quam turn in vi facienda cessit audaciae. This passage derives an additional elegance from the figure which I mentioned above as consisting in the repetition of words with an alteration of case, tense, mood, etc., to be found in this instance in the words non minus cederet quam cessit. The following, on the other hand, combines homoeoteleuton and paronomasia: Neminem alteri posse dare in matrinonium, nisi penes quem sit patrimonium. |
| 2756 |
Contrapositum autem vel , ut quidam vocant , contentio ( ἀντίθετον dicitur ) non uno fit modo . Nam et fit , si singula singulis opponuntur , ut in eo quod modo dixi , Uicit pudorem libido , timorem audacia , et bina binis : Non nostri ingenii , vestri auxilii est , et sententiae sententiis : Dominetur in contionibus , iaceat in iudiciis .
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Antithesis, which Roman writers call either contrapositum or contentio, may be effected in more than one way. Single words may be contrasted with single, as in the passage recently quoted, Vicit pudorem libido, timorem audacia, or the contrast may be between pairs of words, as in non nostri ingenii, vestri auxilii est, or sentence may be contrasted with sentence, as in dominetur in contionibus, iaceat in iudiciis. |
| 2757 |
Cui commodissime subiungitur et ea species , quam distinctionem diximus : Odit populus Romanus privatam luxuriam , publicam magnificentiam diligit ; et , quae sunt simili casu , dissimili sententia in ultimo locata : Ut quod in tempore mali fuit , nihil obsit , quod in causa boni fuit , prosit .
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Next to this another form may appropriately be placed, namely that which we have styled distinction and of which the following is an example: Odit populus Romanus privaiam luxuriam, publicam magoificentiam diligit. The same is true of the figure by which words of similar termination, but of different meaning are placed at the end of corresponding clauses, as in ut quod in tempore mali fuit, nihil obsit, quod in causa boni fruit, prosit. |
| 2758 |
Nec semper contrapositum subiungitur , ut in hoc , Est igitur , haec iudices , non scripta sed nata lex , verum , sicut Cicero dicit , de singulis rebus propositis refertur ad singula , ut in eo quod sequitur , Quam non didicimus , accepimus , legimus , verum ex natura ipsa arripuimus , hausimus , expressimus .
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Nor is the contrasted phrase always placed immediately after that to which it is opposed, as it is in the following instance: est igitur haec, indices, non scripta, sed nala lex: but, as Cicero says, we may have correspondence between subsequent particulars and others previously mentioned, as in the passage which immediately follows that just quoted: quam non didicimus, accepimus, leginmus, verum ex natura ipsa arrptluimus, hauusimus, epressimus. |
| 2759 |
Nec semper , quod adversum est , contra ponitur , quale est apud Rutilium , Nobis primis dii immortales fruges dederunt ; nos , quod soli accepimus , in omnes terras distribuimus .
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Again the contrast is not always expressed antithetically, as is shown by the following passage from Rutilius: nobis primis dii immortales fruges dedelunt, nos, quod soli accepimus, in omnes terras distribuimus. |
| 2760 |
Fit etiam adsumpta illa figura , qua verba declinata repetuntur , quod ἀντιμεταβολή dicitur : Non , ut edam , vivo , sed , ut vivam , edo . Et quod apud Ciceronem conversum ita est , ut , cum mutationem casus habeat , etiam similiter desinat : Ut et sine invidia culpa plectatur et sine culpa invidia ponatur .
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Antithesis may also be effected by employing that figure, known as ἀντιμεταβολή by which words are repeated in different cases, tenses, moods, etc., as for instance when we say, non ut edam, vivo, sed ut vivam, edo (I do not live to eat, but eat to live). There is an instance of this in Cicero, where he has managed, while changing the case, to secure similarity of termination: ut et sine inridia culpa plectatur et sine culpa invidia ponatur. |
| 2761 |
Et eodem cluditur verbo : ut quod dicit de se . Roscio , Etenim , cum artifex eiusmodi est , ut solus videatur dignus qui in scena , spectetur , tum vir eiusmodi est , ut solus dignus esse videatur , qui eo non accedat . Est et in nominibus ex diverso collocatis sua gratia : Si consul Antonius , Brutus hostis ; si conservator rei publicae Brutus , hostis Antonius .
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Again the clauses may end with the same word, as when Cicero says of Sextus Roscius: etenim cum artifex eiusmodi est ut solus videatur dignus qui in scena spectetur, turn vir eiusmodi est ut solus dignus esse videatur qui eo non accedat. There is also a special elegance which may be secured by placing names in antithesis, as in the following instance, Si consul Antonius, Brutus hostis; si conservator rei publicae Brutus, hostis Antonius. |
| 2762 |
Olim plura de figuris quam necesse erat , et adhuc erunt , qui putent esse figuram : Incredibile est , ( quod dico , sed verum ; ἀνθυποφοράν vocant ; et Aliquis hoc semel tulit , nemo bis , ego ter , διέξοδον et Longius evectus sum sed redeo ad propositum , ἄφοδον .
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I have already said more than was necessary on the subject of figures. But there will still be some who think that the following (which they call ἀνθυποφορὰ is a figure: Incredibile est, quod dico, sed verum: they say the same of Aliquis hoc semel tubit, neno bis, ego ter (which they style διέξοδος ), and of Longius evects sum, sed redeo ad propositumr, which they call ἄφοδος. |
| 2763 |
Quaedam verborum figurae paulum figuris sententiarum declinantur , ut dubitatio . Nam cum est in re , priori parti adsignanda est , cum in verbo , sequenti ; Sive me malitiam sive stultitiam dicere oportet .
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There are some figures of speech which differ little from figures of thought, as for example that of hesitation. For when we hesitate over a thing, it belongs to the former class, whereas when we hesitate over a word, it must be assigned to the latter, as for instance if we say, "I do not know whether to call this wickedness or folly." |
| 2764 |
Item correctionis eadem ratio est ; nam quod illic dubitat , hic emendat . Etiam in personae fictione accidere quidam idem putaverunt , ut in verbis esset haec figura : Crudelitatis mater est avaritia , et apud Sallustium in Ciceronem O Romule Arpinas , et apud Menandrum Oedipus Thriasius . Haec omnia copiosius sunt exsecuti , qui non ut partem operis transcurrerunt , sed proprie libros huic operi dedicaverunt , sicut Caecilius , Dionysius , Rutilius , Cornificius , Visellius aliique non pauci ; sed non minor erit eorum , qui vivunt , gloria .
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The same consideration applies to correction. For correction emends, where hesitation expresses a doubt. Some have even held that it applies to personification as well; they think, for example, that Avarice is the mother of cruelly, Sallust's O Romulus of Arpinum in his speech against Cicero, and the Thriasian Oedipus of Menander are figures of speech. All these points have been discussed in full detail by those who have not given this subject merely incidental treatment as a portion of a larger theme, but have devoted whole books to the discussion of the topic: I allude to writers such as Caecilius, Dionysius, Rutilius, Cornificius, Visellius and not a few others, although there are living authors who will be no less famous than they. |
| 2765 |
Ut fateor autem verborum quoque figuras posse plures reperiri a quibusdam , ita iis , quae ab auctoribus claris traduntur , meliores non adsentior . Nam in primis M . Tullius multas in tertio De Oratore libro posuit , quas in Oratore postea scripto transeundo videtur ipse damnasse ; quarum pars est , quae sententiarum potius quam uerborum sit : ut imminutio , improvisum , imago , sibi ipsi responsio , digressio , permissio , contrarium ( hoc enim puto , quod dicitur ἐναντιότης ) , sumpta ex adverso probatio .
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Now though I am ready to admit that more figures of speech may perhaps be discovered by certain writers, I cannot agree that such figures are better than those which have been laid down by high authorities. Above all I would point out that Cicero has included a number of figures in the third book of the de Oratore, which in his later work, the Orator, he has omitted, thereby seeming to indicate that he condemned them. Some of these are figures of thought rather than of speech, such as meiosis, the introduction of the unexpected, imagery, answering our own questions, digression, permission, arguments drawn from opposites (for I suppose that by contrarium he means what is elsewhere styled ἐναντιότης ), and proof borrowed from an opponent. There are some again which are not figures at all, |
| 2766 |
Quaedam omnino non sunt figurae , sicut ordo , dinumeratio , circumscriptio , sive hoc nomine significatur comprehensa breviter sententia sive finitio ; nam et hoc Cornificius atque Rutilius schema λέξεως putant . Verborum autem concinna transgressio , id est hyperbaton , quod Caecilius quoque putat schema , a nobis est inter tropos posita .
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such as arrangement, distinction by headings, and circumscription, whether this latter term be intended to signify the concise expression of thought or definition, which is actually regarded by Cornificius and Rutilius as a figure of speech. With regard to the elegant transposition of words, that is, hyperbaton, which Caecilius also thinks is a figure, I have included it among tropes. As for mutation |
| 2767 |
Sed mutatio , si ea est , quam Rutilius ἀλλοίωσιν vocat , dissimilitudinem ostendit horminum , rerum , factorum ; quae si latius fiat , figura non est , si angustius , in ἀντίθετον cadet ; si vero haec appellatio significat ὑπαλλαγήν , satis de ea dictum est .
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of the kind which Rutilius calls ἀλλοίωσις its function is to point out the differences between men, things and deeds: if it is used on an extended scale, it is not a figure, if on a narrower scale, it is mere antithesis, while if it is intended to mean hypallage, enough has already been said on the subject. |
| 2768 |
Quod vero schema est ad propositum subiecta ratio , quod Rutilius αἰτιολογίαν vocat ? nam de illo dubitari possit , an schema sit distributis subiecta ratio , quod apud eundem primo loco positum est .
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Again what sort of a figure is this addition of a reason, for what is advanced, which Rutilius calls αἰτιολογία ? It may also be doubted whether the assignment of a reason for each distinct statement, with which Rutilius opens his discussion of figures, is really a figure. |
| 2769 |
προσαπόδοσιν dicit , quae , ut maxime , servetur sane in pluribus propositis , quia aut singulis statim ratio subiiciatur , ut est apud C . Antonium , Sed neque accusatorem eum metuo , quod sum innocens ; neque competitorem vereor , quod sum Antonius ; neque consulem spero , quod est Cicero ;
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He calls it προσαπόδοσις and states that strictly it applies to a number of propositions, since the reason is either attached to each proposition separately, as in the following passage from Gaius Antonius: " But I do not fear him as an accuser, for I am innocent; I do not dread him as a rival candidate, for I am Antonius; I do not expect to see him consul, for he is Cicero " ; |
| 2770 |
aut positis duobus vel tribus eodem ordine singulis continua reddatur , quale apud Brutum de dictatura Cn . Pompeii , Praestat enim nemini imperare quam alicui servire ; sine illo enim vivere honeste licet , cum hoc vivendi nulla condicio est .
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or, after two or three propositions have been stated, the reasons for them may be given continuously in the same order, as for example in the words that Brutus uses of Gnaeus Pompeius: " For it is better to rule no man than to be the slave to any man: since one may live with honour without ruling, whereas life is no life for the slave. " |
| 2771 |
Sed et uni rei multiplex ratio subiungitur , ut apud Vergilium , " Sire inde occultas vires et pabula terrae Pinguia concipiunt , sive illis omne per ignem Excoquitur vitium —et totus locus ; Seu plures calor ille vias ,—Seu durat magis . " Relationem quid accipi velit , non liquet mihi .
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But a number of reasons may also be assigned for one statement, as in the lines of Virgil: " Whether that earth there from some hidden strength And fattening food derives, or that the tire Bakes every blemish out, etc. Or that the heat unlocks new passages. . . . Or that it hardens more, etc." As to what Cicero means by reference, |
| 2772 |
Nam si ἀνάκλασιν aut ἐπάνοδον dicit , de omnibus locuti sumus . Sed quidquid id est , neque hoc neque superiora in Oratore repetit . Sola est in eo libro posita pariter inter figuras uerborum exclamatio , quam sententiae potius puto ( adfectus enim est ) , de ceteris omnibus consentio .
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I am in the dark: if he means ἀνάκλασις or ἐπάνοδος or ἀντιμεταβολή, I have already discussed them. But whatever its meaning may be, he does not mention it in the Orator any more than the other terms I have just mentioned. The only figure of speech mentioned in that work, which I should prefer to regard as a figure of thought owing to its emotional character, is exclamation. I agree with him about all the rest. To these Caecilius adds periphrasis, |
| 2773 |
Adiicit his Caecilius περίφρασιν , de qua dixi ; Cornificius interrogationem , ratiocinationem , subiectionem , transitionem , occultationem , praeterea sententiam , membrum , articulos , interpretationem , conclusionem . Quorum priora alterius generis sunt schemata , sequentia schemata omnino non sunt .
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of which I have already spoken,5 while Cornificius adds interrogation, reasoning, suggestion, transition, concealment, and further, sentence, clause, isolated words, interpretation and conclusion. Of these the first (down to and including concealment) are figures of thought, while the remainder are not figures at all. |
| 2774 |
Item Rutilius praeter ea , quae apud alios quoque sunt , παρομολογίαν , ἀναγκαῖον , ἠθοποιίαν , δικαιολογίαν , πρόλημψιν , χαρακτηρισμόν , βραχυλογίαν , παρασιώπησιν , παῤῥησίαν de quibus idem dico . Nam eos quidem auctores , qui nullum prope tinem fecerunt exquirendis nominibus , praeteribo , qui etiam , quae sunt argumentorum , figuris ascripserunt . Ego illud de iis etiam , quae vere sunt ,
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Rutilius also in addition to the figures found in other authors adds, παρομολογία ἀναγκαῖον ἠθοποιΐα δικαιολογία, πρόληψις, χαρακτηρισμός βραχυλογία, παρασιώπησις παῤῥησία of which I say the same. I will pass by those authors who set no limit to their craze for inventing technical terms and even include among figures what really comes under the head of arguments. |