Institutio Oratoria (Quintilian)

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	Institutio Oratoria Author: Quintilian	Translator: Harold Edgeworth Butler
3611	Certe cum in basilica Iulia diceret primo tribunal , quattuor autem iudicia , ut moris est , cogerentur , atque omnia clamoribus fremerent , et auditum eum et intellectum et , quod agentibus ceteris contumeliosissimum fuit , laudatum quoque ex quattuor tribunalibus memini . Sed hoc votum est et rara felicitas ; quae si non adsit , sane sufficiat ab iis , quibus quis dicit , audiri . Talis esse debet orator , haec scire .	At any rate I remember that, when he was speaking in the Basilica Julia before the first tribunal, and the four panels of judges were assembled as usual and the whole building was full of noise, he could still be heard and understood and applauded from all four tribunals at once, a fact which was not complimentary to the other pleaders. But gifts like these are such as all may pray for and few are happy enough to attain. And if we cannot achieve such fortune, we must even be content to be heard by the court which we are addressing. Such then should the orator be, and such are the things which he should know.
3612	Agendi autem initium sine dubio secundum vires cuiusque sumendum est . Neque ego annos definiam , cum Demosthenen puerum admodum actiones pupillares habuisse manifestum sit , Calvus , Caesar , Pollio multum ante quaestoriam omnes aetatem gravissima iudicia susceperint , praetextatos egisse quosdam sit traditum , Caesar Augustus duodecim natus annos aviam pro rostris laudaverit .	The age at which the orator should begin to plead will of course depend on the development of his strength. I shall not specify it further, since it is clear that Demosthenes pleaded against his guardians while he was still a mere boy, Calvus, Caesar and Pollio all undertook cases of the first importance before they were old enough to be qualified for the quaestorship, others are said to have pleaded while still wearing the garb of boyhood, and Augustus Caesar delivered a funeral oration over his grandmother from the public rostra when he was only twelve years old.
3613	Modus mihi videtur quidam tenendus , ut neque praepropere destringatur immatura frons et , quidquid est illud adhuc acerbum , proferatur ; nam inde et contemptus operis innascitur et fundamenta iaciuntur impudentiae et , quod est ubicunque perniciosissimum , praevenit vires fiducia .	In my opinion we should aim at a happy mean. The unripe brow of boyhood should not be prematurely robbed of its ingenuous air nor should the young speaker's powers be brought before the public while yet unformed, since such a practice leads to a contempt for study, lays the foundations of impudence and induces a fault which is pernicious in all departments of life, namely, a self-confidence that is not justified by the speaker's resources.
3614	Nec rursus differendum est tirocinium in senectutem ; nam cotidie metus crescit , maiusque fit semper quod ausuri sumus et , dum deliberamus quando incipiendum sit , incipere iam serum est . Quare fructum studiorum viridem et adhuc dulcem promi decet , dum et veniae spes est et paratus favor et audere non dedecet et , si quid desit operi , supplet aetas , et , si qua sunt dicta iuveniliter , pro indole accipiuntur :	On the other hand, it is undesirable to postpone the apprenticeship of the bar till old age: for the fear of appearing in public grows daily and the magnitude of the task on which we must venture continually increases and we waste time deliberating when we should begin, till we find it is too late to begin at all. Consequently it is desirable that the fruit of our studies should be brought before the public eye while it is still fresh and sweet, while it may hope for indulgence and be secure of a kindly disposition in the audience, while boldness is not unbecoming and youth compensates for all defects and boyish extravagance is regarded as a sign of natural vigour.
3615	ut totus ille Ciceronis pro Sexto Roscio locus : Quid enim tam commune quam spiritus vivis , terra mortuis , mare fluctuantibus , litus eiectis ? Quae cum sex et viginti natus annos summis audientium clamoribus dixerit , defervisse tempore et annis liquata iam senior idem fatetur . Et hercule quantumlibet secreta studia contulerint , est tamen proprius quidam fori profectus , alia lux , alia veri discriminis facies , plusque , si separes , usus sine doctrina quam citra usum doctrina valet .	Take for example the whole of the well-known passage from Cicero's defence of Sextus Roscius: " For what is more common than the air to the living, than the earth to the dead, than the sea to mariners or the shore to shipwrecked men? " etc. This passage was delivered at the age of twenty-six amid loud applause from the audience, but in later years he acknowledges that the ferment of youth has died down and his style been clarified with age. And, indeed, however much private study may contribute to success, there is still a peculiar proficiency that the courts alone can give: for there the atmosphere is changed and the reality of the peril puts a different complexion on things, while, if it is impossible to combine the two, practice without theory is more useful than theory without practice. Consequently,
3616	Ideoque nonnulli senes in schola facti stupent novitate , cum in iudicia venerunt , et omnia suis exercitationibus similia desiderant . At illic et iudex tacet et adversarius obstrepit et nihil temere dictum perit et , si quid tibi ipse sumas , probandum est , et laboratam congestamque dierum ac noctium studio actionem aqua deficit , et omisso magna semper flandi tumore in quibusdam causis loquendum est ; quod illi diserti minime sciunt .	some who have grown old in the schools lose their heads when confronted by the novelty of the law courts and wish that it were possible to reproduce all the conditions under which they delivered their exercises. But there sits the judge in silence, their opponent bellows at them, no rash utterance passes unnoticed and all assumptions must be proved, the clock cuts short the speech that has been laboriously pieced together at the cost of hours of study both by day and night, and there are certain cases which require simplicity of language and the abandonment of the perpetual bombast of the schools, a fact which these fluent fellows completely fail to realise.
3617	Itaque nonnullos reperias , qui sibi eloquentiores videantur , quam ut causas agant . Ceterum illum , quem iuvenem tenerisque adhuc viribus nitentem in forum deduximus , et incipere quam maxime facili ac favorabili causa velim , ferarum ut catuli molliore praeda saginantur , et non utique ab hoc initio continuare operam et ingenio adhuc alendo callum inducere , sed iam scientem , quid sit pugna , et in quam rem studendum sit , refici atque renovari .	And so you will find some persons who regard themselves as too eloquent to speak in the courts. On the other hand, the man, whom we conducted to the forum while still young and in the charm of immaturity, should begin with as easy and favourable a case as may be (just as the cubs of wild beasts are brought up to start with on softer forms of prey), and should not proceed straight from this commencement to plead case after case without a break, or cause his talents to set and harden while they still require nourishment; on the contrary, as soon as he has come to realise the nature of the conflicts in which he will have to engage and the object to which his studies should be directed, he should take an interval of rest and refreshment. Thus,
3618	Sic et tirocinii metum , dum facilius est audere , transient , nec audendi facilitate usque ad contemptum operis adduxerit . Usus est hac ratione M . Tullius , et cum iam clarum meruisset inter patronos , qui tum erant , nomen , in Asiam navigavit seque et aliis sine dubio eloquentiae ac sapientiae magistris , sed praecipue tamen Apollonio Moloni , quem Romae quoque audierat , Rhodi rursus formandum ac velut recoquendum dedit . Tum dignum operae pretium venit , cum inter se congruunt praecepta et experimenta .	at an age to which boldness is still natural, he will find it easy to get over the timidity which invariably accompanies the period of apprenticeship, and will not, on the other hand, carry his boldness so far as to lead him to despise the difficulties of his task. This was the method employed by Cicero: for when he had already won a distinguished position at the bar of his day, he took ship to Asia and there studied under a number of professors of philosophy and rhetoric, but above all under Apollonius Molon, whose lectures he had attended at Rome and to whom he now at Rhodes entrusted the refashioning and recasting of his style. It is only when theory and practice are brought into a perfect harmony that the orator reaps the reward of all his study.
3619	Cum satis in omni certamine virium fecerit , prima ei cura in suscipiendis causis erit ; in quibus defendere quidem reos profecto quam facere vir bonus malet , non tamen ita nomen ipsum accusatoris horrebit , ut nullo neque publico neque privato duci possit officio , ut aliquem ad reddendam rationem vitae vocet . Nam et leges ipsae nihil valeant , nisi actoris idonea voce munitae ; et si poenas scelerum expetere fas non est , prope est ut scelera ipsa permissa sint , et licentiam malis dari certe contra bonos est .	When our orator has developed his strength to such a pitch that it is equal to every kind of confact in which he may be called upon to bear his part, his first consideration should be to exercise care in the choice of the cases which he proposes to undertake. A good man will undoubtedly prefer defence to prosecution, but he will not have such a rooted objection to the task of accuser as to disregard his duty towards the state or towards individuals and refuse to call any man to render an account of his way of life. For the laws themselves would be powerless without the assistance of advocates equal to the task of supporting them; and to regard it as a sin to demand the punishment of crime is almost equivalent to the sanctioning of crime, while it is certainly contrary to the interest of the good to give the wicked free leave to work their will.
3620	Quare neque sociorum querelas nec amici vel propinqui necem nec erupturas in rem publicam conspirationes inultas patietur orator , non poenae nocentium cupidus , sed emendandi vitia corrigendique mores . Nam qui ratione traduci ad meliora non possunt , solo metu continentur .	Therefore, our orator will not suffer the complaints of our allies, the death of friends or kinsmen, or conspiracies that threaten the common weal to go unavenged, while his conduct will be governed not by a passion to secure the punishment of the guilty, but by the desire to correct vice and reform morals. For fear is the only means of restraining those who cannot be led to better ways by the voice of reason.
3621	Itaque ut accusatoriam vitam vivere et ad deferendos reos praemio duci proximum latrocinio est , ita pestem intestinam propulsare cum propugnatoribus patriae comparandum . Ideoque principes in re publica viri non detrectaverunt hanc officii partem , creditique sunt etiam clari iuvenes obsidem rei publicae dare malorum civium accusationem , quia nec odisse improbos nec simultates provocare nisi ex fiducia bonae mentis videbantur ;	Consequently, while to devote one's life to the task of accusation, and to be tempted by the hope of reward to bring the guilty to trial is little better than making one's living by highway robbery, none the less to rid one's country of the pests that gnaw its vitals is conduct worthy of comparison with that of heroes, who champion their country's cause in the field of battle. For this reason men who were leaders of the state have not refused to undertake this portion of an orator's duty, and even young men of high rank have been regarded as giving their country a pledge of their devotion by accusing bad citizens, since it was thought that their hatred of evil and their readiness to incur enmity were proofs of their confidence in their own rectitude.
3622	idque cum ab Hortensio , Lucullis , Sulpicio , Cicerone , Caesare , plurimis aliis , tum ab utroque Catone factum est , quorum alter appellatus est sapiens , alter nisi creditur fuisse , vix scio , cui reliquerit huius nominis locum . Neque defendet omnis orator idem , portumque illum eloquentiae suae salutarem non etiam piratis patefaciet duceturque in advocationem maxime causa .	Such action was taken by Hortensius, the Luculli, Sulpicius, Cicero, Caesar and many others, among them both the Catos, of whom one was actually called the Wise, while if the other is not regarded as wise, I do not know of any that can claim the title after him. On the other hand, this same orator of ours will not defend all and sundry: that haven of safety which his eloquence provides will never be opened to pirates as it is to others, and he will be led to undertake cases mainly by consideration of their nature.
3623	Quoniam tamen omnes , qui non improbe litigabunt , quorum certe bona pars est , sustinere non potest unus , aliquid et commendantium personis dabit et ipsorum qui iudicio decernent , ut optimi cuiusque voluntate moveatur ; namque hos et amicissimos habebit vir bonus .	However, since one man cannot undertake the cases of all litigants who are not, as many undoubtedly are, dishonest, he will be influenced to some extent by the character of the persons who recommend clients to his protection and also by the character of the litigants themselves, and will allow himself to be moved by the wishes of all virtuous men; for a good man will naturally have such for his most intimate friends.
3624	Summovendum vero est utrumque ambitus genus vel potentibus contra humiles venditandi operam suam vel illud etiam iactantius minores utique contra dignitatem attollendi . Non enim fortuna causas vel iustas vel improbas facit . Neque vero pudor obstet , quo minus susceptam , cum melior videretur , litem cognita inter discendum iniquitate dimittat , cum prius litigatori dixerit verum .	But he must put away from him two kinds of pretentious display, the one consisting in the officious proffering of his services to the powerful against those of meaner position, and the other, which is even more obtrusive, in deliberately supporting inferiors against those of high degree. For a case is not rendered either just or the reverse by the social position of the parties engaged. Nor, again, will a sense of shame deter him from throwing over a case which he has undertaken in the belief that it had justice on its side, but which his study of the facts has shown to be unjust, although before doing so he should give his client his true opinion on the case.
3625	Nam et in hoc maximum , si aequi iudices sumus , beneficium est , ut non fallamus vana spe litigantem . Neque est dignus opera patroni , qui non utitur consilio , et certe non convenit ei , quem oratorem esse volumus , iniusta tueri scientem . Nam si ex illis , quas supra diximus , causis falsum tuebitur , erit tamen honestum quod ipse faciet .	For, if we judge aright, there is no greater benefit that we can confer on our clients than this, that we should not cheat them by giving them empty hopes of success. On the other hand, no client that does not take his advocate into his counsel deserves that advocate's assistance, and it is certainly unworthy of our ideal orator that he should wittingly defend injustice. For if he is led to defend what is false by any of the motives which I mentioned above, his own action will still be honourable.
3626	Gratisne ei semper agendum sit , tractari potest . Quod ex prima statim fronte diiudicare imprudentium est . Nam quis ignorat , quin id longe sit honestissimum ac liberalibus disciplinis et illo , quem exigimus , animo dignissimum , non vendere operam nec elevare tanti beneficii auctoritatem , cum pleraque hoc ipso possint videri vilia , quod pretium habent ?	It is an open question whether he should never demand a fee for his services. To decide the question at first sight would be the act of a fool. For we all know that by far the most honourable course, and the one which is most in keeping with a liberal education and that temper of mind which we desiderate, is not to sell our services nor to debase the value of such a boon as eloquence, since there are not a few things which come to be regarded as cheap, merely because they have a price set upon them.
3627	Caecis hoc , ut aiunt , satis clarum est , nec quisquam , qui sufficientia sibi ( modica autem haec sunt ) possidebit , hunc quaestum sine crimine sordium fecerit . At si res familiaris amplius aliquid ad usus necessarios exiget , secundum omnium sapientium leges patietur sibi gratiam referri , cum et Socrati collatum sit ad victum , et Zeno , Cleanthes , Chrysippus mercedes a discipulis acceptaverint .	This much even the blind can see, as the saying is, and no one who is the possessor of sufficient wealth to satisfy his needs (and that does not imply any great opulence) will seek to secure an income by such methods without laying himself open to the charge of meanness. On the other hand, if his domestic circumstances are such as to require some addition to his income to enable him to meet the necessary demands upon his purse, there is not a philosopher who would forbid him to accept this form of recompense for his services, since collections were made even on behalf of Socrates, and Zeno, Cleanthes and Chrysippus took fees from their pupils.
3628	Neque enim video , quae iustior acquirendi ratio quam ex honestissimo labore et ab iis , de quibus optime meruerint , quique , si nihil invicem praestent , indigni fuerint defensione . Quod quidem non iustum modo , sed necessarium etiam est , cum haec ipsa opera tempusque omne alienis negotiis datum facultatem aliter acquirendi recidant .	Nor can I see how we can turn a more honest penny than by performance of the most honourable of tasks and by accepting money from those to whom we have rendered the most signal services and who, if they made no return for what we have done for them, would show themselves undeserving to have been defended by us. Nay, it is not only just, but necessary that this should be so, since the duties of advocacy and the bestowal of every minute of our time on the affairs of others deprive us of all other means of making money.
3629	Sed tum quoque tenendus est modus , ac plurimum refert et a quo accipiat et quantum et quo usque . Paciscendi quidem ille piraticus mos et imponentium periculis pretia procul abominanda negotiatio etiam a mediocriter improbis aberit , cum praesertim bonos homines bonasque causas tuenti non sit metuendus ingratus ; quodsi sit futurus , malo tamen ille peccet .	But we must none the less observe the happy mean, and it makes no small difference from whom we take payment, what payment we demand, and how long we continue to do so. As for the piratical practice of bargaining and the scandalous traffic of those who proportion their fees to the peril in which their would-be client stands, such a procedure will be eschewed even by those who are more than half scoundrels, more especially since the advocate who devotes himself to the defence of good men and worthy causes will have nothing to fear from ingratitude. And even if a client should prove ungrateful, it is better that he should be the sinner and not our orator.
3630	Nihil ergo acquirere volet orator ultra quam satis erit ; ac ne pauper quidem tanquam mercedem accipiet , sed mutua benivolentia utetur , cum sciat se tanto plus praestitisse . Non enim , quia venire hoc beneficium non oportet , oportet perire . Denique ut gratus sit ad eum magis pertinet qui debet .	To conelude, then, the orator will not seek to make more money than is sufficient for his needs, and even if he is poor, he will not regard his payment as a fee, but rather as the expression of the principle that one good turn deserves another, since he will be well aware that he has conferred far more than he receives. For it does not follow that because his services ought not to be sold, they should therefore be unremunerated. Finally, gratitude is primarily the business of the debtor.
3631	Proxima discendae causae ratio , quod est orationis fundamentum . Neque enim quisquam ingenio tam tenui reperietur , qui , cum omnia quae sunt in causa diligenter cognoverit , ad docendum certe iudicem non sufficiat .	We have next to consider how a case should be studied, since such study is the foundation of oratory. There is no one so destitute of all talent as, after making himself thoroughly familiar with all the facts of his case, to be unable at least to communicate those facts to the judge.
3632	Sed eius rei paucissimis cura est . Nam ut taceam de negligentibus , quorum nihil refert , ubi litium cardo vertatur , dum sint quae vel extra causam ex personis aut communi tractatu locorum occasionem clamandi largiantur , aliquos et ambitio pervertit , qui partim tanquam occupati semperque aliud habentes , quod ante agendum sit , pridie ad se venire litigatorem aut eodem matutino iubent , nonnunquam etiam inter ipsa subsellia didicisse se gloriantur ;	But those who devote any serious attention to such study are very few indeed. For, to say nothing of those careless advocates who are quite indifferent as to what the pivot of the whole case may be, provided only there are points which, though irrelevant to the case, will give them the opportunity of declaiming in thunderous tones on the character of persons involved or developing some commonplace, there are some who are so perverted by vanity that, on the oft-repeated pretext that they are occupied by other business, they bid their client come to them on the day preceding the trial or early on the morning of the day itself, and sometimes even boast that they learnt up their case while sitting in court;
3633	partim iactantia ingenii , ut res cito accepisse videantur , tenere se et intelligere prius paene quam audiant mentiti , cum multa et diserte summisque clamoribus , quae neque ad iudicem neque ad litigatorem pertineant , decantaverunt , bene sudantes beneque comitati per forum reducuntur .	while others by way of creating an impression of extraordinary talent, and to make it seem that they arc quick in the uptake, pretend that they have grasped the facts of the case and understand the situation almost before they have heard what it is, and then after chanting out some long and fluent discourse which has nought to do either with the judge or their client, but awakens the clamorous applause of the audience, they are escorted home through the forum, perspiring at every pore and attended by flocks of enthusiastic friends.
3634	Ne illas quidem tulerim delicias eorum , qui doceri amicos suos iubent , quanquam minus mali est , si illi saltem recte discant recteque doceant . Sed quis discet tam bene quam patronus ? Quomodo autem sequester ille et media litium manus et quidam interpres impendet aequo animo laborem in alienas actiones , cum dicturis tanti suae non sint ?	Further, I would not even tolerate the affectation of those who insist that their friends, and not themselves, should be instructed in the facts of the case, though this is a less serious evil, if the friends can be relied upon to learn and supply the facts correctly. But who can give such effective study to the case as the advocate himself? How can the intermediary, the go-between or interpreter, devote himself whole-heartedly to the study of other men's cases, when those who have got to do the actual pleading do not think it worth while to get up their own?
3635	Pessimae vero consuetudinis libellis esse contentum , quos componit aut litigator qui confugit ad patronum , quia liti ipse non sufficit , aut aliquis ex eo genere advocatorum , qui se non posse agere confitentur , deinde faciunt id quod est in agendo difficillimum . Nam qui iudicare , quid dicendum , quid dissimulandum , quid declinandum , mutandum , fingendum etiam sit , potest , cur non sit orator , quando , quod difficilius est , oratorem facit ?	On the other hand, it is a most pernicious practice to rest content with a written statement of the case composed either by the litigant who betakes himself to an advocate because he finds that his own powers are not equal to the conduct of his case, or by some member of that class of legal advisers who admit that they are incapable of pleading, and then proceed to take upon themselves the most difficult of all the tasks that confront the pleader. For if a man is capable of judging what should be said, what concealed, what avoided, altered or even invented, why should he not appear as orator himself, since he performs the far more difficult feat of making an orator?
3636	Hi porro non tantum nocerent , si omnia scriberent uti gesta sunt . Nunc consilium et colores adiiciunt et aliqua peiora veris , quae plerique cum acceperunt , mutare nefas habent et velut themata in scholis posita custodiunt . Deinde deprehenduntur et causam , quam discere ex suis litigatoribus noluerunt , ex adversariis discunt .	Such persons would not, however, do so much harm if they would only put down all the facts as they occurred. But as it is, they add suggestions of their own, put their own construction on the facts and insert inventions which are far more damaging than the unvarnished truth. And then the advocate as a rule, on receiving the document, regards it as a crime to make any alteration, and keeps to it as faithfully as if it were a theme set for declamation in the schools. The sequel is that they are tripped up and have to learn from their opponents the case which they refused to learn from their own clients.
3637	Liberum igitur demus ante omnia iis , quorum negotium erit , tempus ac locum , exhortemurque ultro , ut omnia quamlibet verbose et unde volent repetita ex tempore exponant . Non enim tam obest audire supervacua quam ignorare necessaria .	We should therefore above all allow the parties concerned ample time for an interview in a place free from interruption, and should even exhort them to set forth on the spot all the facts in as many words as they may choose to use and allowing them to go as far back as they please. For it is less of a drawback to listen to a number of irrelevant facts than to be left in ignorance of essentials. Moreover,
3638	Frequenter autem et vulnus et remedium in iis orator inveniet , quae litigatori in neutram partem habere momentum videbantur . Nec tanta sit acturo memoriae fiducia , ut subscribere audita pigeat . Nec semel audisse sit satis ; cogendus eadem iterum ac saepius dicere litigator , non solum quia effugere aliqua prima expositione potuerunt , praesertim hominem ( quod saepe evenit ) imperitum , sed etiam ut sciamus an eadem dicat .	the orator will often detect both the evil and its remedy in facts which the litigant regarded as devoid of all importance, one way or the other. Further, the advocate who has got to plead the case should not put such excessive confidence in his powers of memory as to disdain to jot down what he has heard. Nor should one hearing be regarded as sufficient. The litigant should be made to repeat his statements at least once, not merely because certain points may have escaped him on the occasion of his first statement, as is extremely likely to happen if, as is often the case, he is a man of no education, but also that we may note whether he sticks to what he originally said.
3639	Plurimi enim mentiuntur et , tanquam non doceant causam , sed agant , non ut cum patrono sed ut cum iudice loquuntur . Quapropter nunquam satis credendum est , sed agitandus omnibus modis et turbandus et evocandus .	For a large number of clients lie, and hold forth, not as if they were instructing their advocate in the facts of the case, but as if they were pleading with a judge. Consequently we must never be too ready to believe them, but must test them in every way, try to confuse them and draw them out.
3640	Nam ut medicis non apparentia modo vitia curanda sunt sed etiam invenienda quae latent , saepe ipsis ea , qui sanandi sunt , occulentibus , ita advocatus plura quam ostenduntur aspiciat . Nam cum satis in audiendo patientiae impenderit , in aliam rursus ei personam transeundum est , agendusque adversarius , proponendum quidquid omnino excogitari contra potest , quidquid recipit in eiusmodi disceptatione natura . Interrogandus quam infestissime ac premendus .	For just as doctors have to do more than treat the ailments which meet the eye, and need also to discover those which he hid, since their patients often conceal the truth, so the advocate must look out for more points than his client discloses to him. After he considers that he has given a sufficiently patient hearing to the latter's statements, he must assume another character and adopt the rôle of his opponent, urging every conceivable objection that a discussion of the kind which we are considering may permit.
3641	Nam dum omnia quaerimus , aliquando ad verum , ubi minime exspectavimus , pervenimus . In summa optimus est in discendo patronus incredulus . Promittit enim litigator omnia , testem populum , paratissimas consignationes , ipsum denique adversarium quaedam non negaturum .	The client must be subjected to a hosthe cross-examination and given no peace: for by enquiring into everything, we shall sometimes come upon the truth where we least expect it. In fact, the advocate who is most successful in getting up his case is he who is incredulous. For the client promises everything: the people, he says, will bear witness to the truth of what he says, he can produce documentary evidence at a moment's notice and there are some points which he says his opponent
3642	Ideoque opus est intueri omne litis instrumentum ; quod videre non est satis , perlegendum erit . Nam frequentissime aut non sunt omnino , quae promittebantur , aut minus continent aut cum alio aliquo nocituro permixta sunt aut nimia sunt et fidem hoc ipso detractura quod non habent modum .	will not deny. It is therefore necessary to look into every document connected with the case, and where the mere sight of them is not sufficient, they must be read through. For very frequently they are either not at all what the client alleged them to be, or contain less, or are mixed up with elements that may damage our case, or prove more than is required and are likely to detract from their credibility just because they are so extravagant.
3643	Denique linum ruptum aut turbatam ceram aut sine agnitore signa frequenter invenies ; quae , nisi domi excusseris , in foro inopinata decipient , plusque nocebunt destituta quam non promissa nocuissent . Multa etiam , quae litigator nihil ad causam pertinere crediderit , patronus eruet , modo per omnes , quos tradidimus , argumentorum locos eat .	Further, it will often be found that the thread is broken or the seal tampered with or the signatures unsupported by witnesses. And unless you discover such facts at home, they will take you by surprise in court and trip you up, doing you more harm by forcing you to abandon them than they would have done had they never been promised you. There are also a number of points which the client regards as irrelevant to his case, which the advocate will be able to elicit, provided he go carefully through all the "dwelling places" of argument which I have already described.
3644	Quos ut circumspectare in agendo et attentare singulos minime convenit , propter quas diximus causas , ita in discendo rimari necessarium est , quae personae , quae tempora et loca , instituta , instrumenta , cetera , ex quibus non tantum illud , quod est artificiale probationis genus , colligi possit , sed qui metuendi testes , quomodo sint refellendi . Nam plurimum refert , invidia reus an odio an contemptu laboret , quorum fere pars prima superiores , proxima pares , tertia humiliores premit .	Now though, for reasons already mentioned, it is most undesirable that he should hunt for and try every single one of those, while actually engaged in pleading his case, it is most necessary in the preliminary study of the case to leave no stone unturned to discover the character of the persons involved, the circumstances of time and place, the customs and documents concerned, and the rest, from which we may not merely deduce the proofs known as artificial, but may also discover which witnesses are most to be feared and the best method of refuting them. For it makes a great difference whether it be envy, hatred or contempt that forms the chief obstacle to the success of the defence, since of these obstacles the first tells most against superiors, the second against equals, and the third against those of low degree.
3645	Sic causam perscrutatus , propositis ante oculos omnibus quae prosint noceantve , tertiam deinceps personam induat iudicis , fingatque apud se agi causam , et , quod ipsum movisset de eadem re pronuntiaturum , id potentissimum , apud quemcunque agetur , existimet . Sic eum raro fallet eventus , aut culpa iudicis erit .	Having thus given a thorough examination to the case and clearly envisaged all those points which will tell for or against his client, the orator must then place himself in the position of a third person, namely, the judge, and imagine that the case is being pleaded before himself, and assume that the point which would have carried most weight with himself, had he been trying the case, is likely to have the greatest influence with the actual judge. Thus he will rarely be deceived as to the result of the trial, or, if he is, it will be the fault of the judge.
3646	Quae sint in agendo servanda , toto fere opere exsecuti sumus ; pauca tamen propria huius loci , quae non tam dicendi arte quam officiis agentis continentur , attingam . Ante omnia ne , quod plerisque accidit , ab utilitate eum causae praesentis cupido laudis abducat .	As regards the points to be observed in the actual pleading, I have dealt with these in every portion of this work, but there still remain a few on which I must touch as being specially appropriate to the present place, since they are concerned not so much with the art of speaking as with the duties of the advocate. Above all it is important that he should never, like so many, be led by a desire to win applause to neglect the interest of the actual case.
3647	Nam ut gerentibus bella non semper exercitus per plana et amoena ducendus est , sed adeundi plerumque asperi colles , expugnandae civitates quamlibet praecisis impositae rupibus aut operum mole difficiles , ita oratio gaudebit quidem occasione laetius decurrendi et aequo congressa campo totas vires populariter explicabit ;	It is not always the duty of generals in the field to lead their armies through flat and smiling country: it will often be necessary to cross rugged mountain ranges, to storm cities placed on inaccessible cliffs or rendered difficult of access by elaborate fortifications. Similarly oratory will always be glad of the opportunity of manœuvring in all its freedom and delighting the spectator by the deployment of its full strength for conflict in the open field;
3648	at si iuris anfractus aut eruendae veritatis latebras adire cogetur , non obequitabit nec illis vibrantibus concitatisque sententiis velut missilibus utetur , sed operibus et cuniculis et insidiis et occultis artibus rem geret .	but if it is forced to enter the tortuous defiles of the law, or dark places whence the truth has to be dragged forth, it will not go prancing in front of the enemy's lines nor launch its shafts of quivering and passionate epigram of the fashion that is now so popular, but will wage war by means of sap and mine and ambush and all the tactics of secrecy.