Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, ed. Harold Edgeworth Butler, 9.4

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[1] de compositione non equidem post M. Tullium scribere auderem (cui nescio an ulla pars operis huius sit magis elaborata), nisi et eiusdem aetatis homines scriptis ad ipsum etiam litteris reprehendere id collocandi genus ausi fuissent, et post eum plures multa ad eandem rem pertinentia memoriae tradidissent.

[2] itaque accedam ut plerisque Ciceroni atque ut iis ero, quae indubitata sunt, brevior, ut quibusdam paulum fortasse dissentiam. nam etiam cum iudicium meum ostendero, suum tamen legentibus relinquam.

[3] neque ignoro quosdam esse, qui curam omnem compositionis excludant, atque illum horridum sermonem, ut forte fluxerit, modo magis naturalem, modo etiam magis virilem esse contendant. qui si id demum naturale esse dicunt, quod natura primum ortum est et quale ante cultum fuit, tota haec ars orandi subvertitur.

[4] neque enim locuti sunt ad hanc regulam et diligentiam primi homines, nec prooemiis praeparare, docere expositione, argumentis probate, adfectibus commovere scierunt. ergo his omnibus, non sola compositione caruerunt; quorum si fieri nihil melius licebat, ne domibus quidem casas aut vestibus pellium tegmina aut urbibus montes ac silvas mutari oportuit.

[5] quae porro ars statim fuit? quid non cultu mitescit? cur vites coercemus manu? cur eas fodimus? rubos arvis excidimus, terra et hos generat; mansuefacimus animalia, indomita nascuntur. verum id est maxime naturale, quod fieri natura optime patitur.

[6] fortius vero qui incompositum potest esse quam vinctum et bene collocatum? neque , si parvi pedes vim detrahunt rebus, ut Sotadeorum et Galliamborum et quorundam ut oratione simili paene licentia lascivientium, compositionis est iudicandum.

[7] ceterum quanto vehementior fluminum cursus est prono alveo ac nullas moras obiiciente quam inter obstantia saxa fractis aquis ac reluctantibus, tanto, quae connexa est et totis viribus fluit, fragosa atque interrupta melior oratio. cur ergo vires ipsa specie solvi putent, quando res nec ulla sine arte satis valeat et comitetur semper artem decor?

[8] an non eam, quae missa optime est, hastam speciosissime contortam ferri videmus, et arcu dirigentium tela quo certior manus, hoc est habitus ipse formosior? iam ut certamine armorum atque ut omni palaestra quid satis recte cavetur ac petitur, cui non artifex motus et certi quidam pedes adsint?

[9] quare mihi compositione velut amentis quibusdam nervisve intendi et concitari sententiae videntur. ideoque eruditissimo cuique persuasum est, valere eam plurimum non ad delectationem modo sed ad motum quoque animorum,

[10] primum quia nihil intrare potest ut adfectus, quod ut aure velut quodam vestibulo statim offendit; deinde quod natura ducimur ad modos. neque enim aliter eveniret, ut illi quoque organorum soni, quanquam verba non exprimunt, ut alios tamen atque alios motus ducerent auditorem.

[11] in certaminibus sacris non eadem ratione concitant animos ac remittunt, non eosdem modos adhibent, cum bellicum est canendum et cum posito genu supplicandum est; nec idem signorum concentus est procedente ad proelium exercitu, idem receptui carmen.

[12] Pythagoreis certe moris fuit, et cum evigilassent, animos ad lyram excitare, quo essent ad agendum erectiores, et cum somnum peterent, ad eandem prius lenire mentes, ut, si quid fuisset turbidiorum cogitationum, componerent.

[13] quodsi numeris ac modis inest quaedam tacita vis, ut oratione ea vehementissima, quantumque interest sensus idem quibus verbis efferatur, tantum, verba eadem qua compositione vel ut textu iungantur vel ut fine claudantur; nam quaedam et sententiis parva et elocutione modica virtus haec sola commendat.

[14] denique quod cuique visum erit vehementer, dulciter, speciose dictum, solvat et turbet: abierit omnis vis, iucunditas, decor. solvit quaedam sua ut Oratore Cicero: neque me divitiae movent quibus omnis Africanos et Laelios mulli venalicii mercatoresque superarunt. immuta paululum ut sit 'multi superarunt mercatores venaliciique,' et insequentes deinceps periodos; quas si ad illum modum turbes, velut fracta aut transversa tela proieceris.

[15] idem corrigit quae a Graccho composita durius putat. illum decet; nos hac sumus probatione contenti, quod ut scribendo, quae se nobis solutiora obtulerunt, componimus. quid enim attinet eorum exempla quaerere, quae sibi quisque experiri potest? illud notasse satis habeo, quo pulchriora et sensu et elocutione dissolveris, hoc orationem magis deformem fore, quia negligentia collocationis ipsa verborum luce deprehenditur.

[16] itaque ut confiteor, paene ultimam oratoribus artem compositionis, quae quidem ¹ perfecta sit, contigisse, ita illis quoque priscis habitam inter curas, ut quantum adhuc profecerant, puto. neque enim mihi quamlibet magnus auctor Cicero persuaserit, Lysian, Herodotum, Thucydiden parum studiosos eius fuisse. genus fortasse sint secuti non idem,

[17] quod Demosthenes aut Plato, quanquam et ii ipsi inter se dissimiles fuerunt. nam neque illud ut Lysia dicendi textum tenue atque rasum laetioribus numeris corrumpendum erat; perdidisset enim gratiam, quae ut eo maxima est, simplicis atque inadfectati coloris, perdidisset fidem quoque. nam scribebat alis, non ipse dicebat, ut oportuerit esse illa rudibus et incompositis similia; quod ipsum compositio est.

[18] et historiae, quae currere debet ac ferri, minus convenissent insistentes clausulae et debita actionibus respiratio et cludendi inchoandique sententias ratio. in contionibus quidem etiam similiter cadentia quaedam et contraposita deprehendas. in Herodoto vero cum omnia (ut ego quidem sentio) leniter fluunt, tum ipsa διάλεκτος habet eam iucunditatem, ut latentes etiam ut se ² numeros complexa videatur.

[19] sed de propositorum diversitate post paulum. nunc , quae prius iis, qui recte componere volent, discenda sint. est igitur ante omnia oratio alia vincta atque contexta, soluta alia, qualis ut sermone et epistolis, nisi cum aliquid supra naturam suam tractant, ut de philosophia, de re publica, similibus.

[20] quod non eo dico, quia non illud quoque solutum habeat suos quosdam et forsitan difficiliores etiam pedes; neque enim aut hiare semper vocalibus aut destitui temporibus volunt sermo atque epistola; sed non fluunt nec cohaerent nec verba verbis trahunt, ut potius laxiora ut his vincula quam nulla sint.

[21] nonnunquam ut causis quoque minoribus decet eadem simplicitas quae non nullis, sed aliis utitur numeris, dissimulatque eos et tantum communit occultius.

[22] at illa connexa series tres habet formas: incisa quae κόμματα dicuntur, membra quae κῶλα, περίοδον, quae est vel ambitus vel circumductum vel continuatio vel conclusio. in omni porro compositione tria sunt genera necessaria: ordo, iunctura, numerus.

[23] primum igitur de ordine. eius observatio ut verbis est singulis et contextis. singula sunt, quae ἀσύνδετα diximus. in his cavendum, ne decrescat oratio, et fortiori subiungatur aliquid infirmius, ut sacrilege fur, aut latroni petulans. augeri enim debent sententiae et insurgere, ut optime Cicero, tu , inquit, istis faucibus, istis lateribus, ista gladiatoria totius corporis firmitate. aliud enim maius alii supervenit. at si coepisset a toto corpore, non bene ad latera faucesque descenderet. est et alius naturalis ordo, ut viros ac feminas, diem ac noctem, ortum et occasum dicas potius quam retrorsum.

[24] quaedam ordine permutato fiunt supervacua, ut fratres gemini; nam si gemini praecesserint, fratres addere non est necesse. illa nimia quorundam fuit observatio, ut vocabula verbis, verba rursus adverbiis, nomina appositis et pronominibus essent priora; nam fit contra quoque frequenter non indecore.

[25] nec non et illud nimiae superstitionis, uti quaeque sint tempore, ea facere etiam ordine priora, non quin frequenter sit hoc melius, sed quia interim plus valent ante gesta, ideoque levioribus superponenda sunt. verbo sensum cludere multo,

[26] si compositio patiatur, optimum est; ut verbis enim sermonis vis est. si id asperum erit, cedet haec ratio numeris, ut fit apud summos Graecos Latinosque oratores frequentissime. sine dubio erit omne, quod non cludet, hyperbaton, sed ³ ipsum hoc inter tropos vel figuras, quae sunt virtutes, receptum est.

[27] non enim ad pedes verba dimensa sunt, ideoque ex loco transferuntur ut locum, ut iungantur, quo congruunt maxime, sicut ut structura saxorum rudium etiam ipsa enormitas invenit, cui applicari et ut quo possit insistere. felicissimus tamen sermo est, cui et rectus ordo et apta iunctura et cum his numerus opportune cadens contigit. quaedam vero transgressiones et longae sunt nimis,

[28] ut superioribus diximus libris, et interim etiam compositione vitiosae, quae ut hoc ipsum petuntur, ut exultent atque lasciviant, quales illae Maecenatis, sole et aurora rubent plurima. inter se ⁴ sacra movit aqua fraxinos. ne exequias quidem unus inter miserrimos viderem meas. quod inter haec pessimum est, quia ut re tristi ludit compositio.

[29] saepe tamen est vehemens aliquis sensus ut verbo, quod si ut media parte sententiae latet, transire intentionem et obscurari circumiacentibus solet, ut clausula positum adsignatur auditori et infigitur, quale illud est Ciceronis, ut tibi necesse esset ut conspectu populi Romani vomere postridie.

[30] transfer hoc ultimum: minus valebit. nam totius ductus hic est quasi mucro, ut per se foeda vomendi necessitas iam nihil ultra exspectantibus hanc quoque adiiceret deformitatem, ut cibus teneri non posset postridie.

[31] solebat Afer Domitius traiicere ut clausulas verba tantum asperandae compositionis gratia et maxime ut prooemiis, ut pro Cloatilla, gratias agam continuo, et pro Laelia, eis utrisque apud te iudicem periclitatur Laelia. adeo refugit teneram delicatamque modulandi voluptatem, ut currentibus per se numeris quod eos inhiberet obiiceret.

[32] amphiboliam quoque fieri vitiosa locatione verborum, nemo est qui nesciat. haec arbitror, ut ut brevi, de ordine fuisse dicenda; qui si vitiosus est, licet et vincta ⁵ sit et apte cadens oratio, tamen merito incomposita dicatur. iunctura sequitur. est ut verbis, incisis, membris, periodis; omnia namque ista et virtutes et vitia ut complexu habent.

[33] atque , ut ordinem sequar, primum sunt quae imperitis quoque ad reprehensionem notabilia videntur, id est, quae, commissis inter se verbis duobus, ex ultima prioris ac prima sequentis syllaba deforme aliquod nomen efficiunt. tum vocalium concursus; quod cum accidit, hiat et intersistit et quasi laborat oratio. pessime longae, quae easdem inter se litteras committunt, sonabunt. praecipuus tamen erit hiatus earum, quae cavo aut patulo maxime ore efferuntur.

[34] E planior littera est, i angustior est, ideoque obscurius ut his vitium. minus peccabit, qui longis breves subiiciet, et adhuc, qui praeponet longae brevem. minima est ut duabus brevibus offensio. atque cum aliae subiunguntur aliis, proinde asperiores aut leniores ⁶ erunt prout oris habitu simili aut diverso pronuntiabuntur.

[35] non tamen id ut crimen ingens expavescendum est, ac nescio negligentia ut hoc an sollicitudo sit peior. Inhibeat enim necesse est hic metus impetum dicendi et a potioribus avertat. quare ut negligentiae passim ⁷ hoc pati, ita humilitatis ubique perhorrescere, nimiosque non immerito ut hac cura putant omnes Isocraten secutos praecipueque Theopompum.

[36] at Demosthenes et Cicero modice respexerunt ad hanc partem. nam et coeuntes litterae, quae συναλιφαί dicuntur, etiam leviorem faciunt orationem, quam si omnia verba suo fine cludantur, et nonnunquam hiulca etiam decent faciuntque ampliora quaedam: ut pulchra oratione ista iacta te ⁸ cum longae per se et velut opimae syllabae aliquid etiam medii temporis inter vocales, quasi intersistatur, adsumunt.

[37] qua de re utar Ciceronis potissimum verbis. habet , inquit, ille tanquam hiatus et concursus vocalium molle quiddam, et quod indicet non ingratam negligentiam de re hominis magis quam de verbis laborantis. ceterum consonantes quoque, earumque praecipue quae sunt asperiores, ut commissura verborum rixantur, ut si s ultima cum x proxima confligat, quarum tristior etiam, si binae collidantur, stridor est, ut ars studiorum.

[38] quae fuit causa et Servio, ut dixit, ⁹ subtrahendae s litterae, quotiens ultima esset aliaque consonante susciperetur; quod reprehendit Luranius, Messala defendit. nam neque Lucilium putat uti eadem ultima, cum dicit Aeserninus fuit et dignus locoque, et Cicero ut Oratore plures antiquorum tradit sic locutos.

[39] inde belligerare, pomeridiem, et illa Censori Catonis diee hanc, aeque m littera in e mollita. quae in veteribus libris reperta mutare imperiti solent, et dum librariorum insectari volunt inscientiam, suam confitentur.

[40] atqui eadem illa littera, quotiens ultima est et vocalem verbi sequentis ita contingit, ut ut eam transire possit, etiamsi scribitur, tamen parum exprimitur, ut multum ille et quantum erat, adeo ut paene cuiusdam novae litterae sonum reddat. neque enim eximitur, sed obscuratur et tantum ut hoc aliqua inter duas vocales velut nota est, ne ipsae coeant.

[41] videndum etiam, ne syllabae verbi prioris ultimae et primae sequentis sint eaedem; quod ¹⁰ ne quis praecipi miretur, Ciceroni ut epistolis excidit, res mihi invisae ¹¹ visae sunt, Brute, et ut carmine,

O fortunatam natam me Consule Romam.

Etiam monosyllaba,

[42] si plura sunt, male continuabuntur, quia necesse est compositio multis clausulis concisa subsultet. ideoque etiam brevium verborum ac nominum vitanda continuatio et ex diverso quoque longorum; adfert enim quandam dicendi tarditatem. ilia quoque vitia sunt eiusdem loci, si cadentia similiter et similiter desinentia et eodem mode declinata multa iunguntur.

[43] ne verba quidem verbis aut nomina nominibus similiaque his continuari decet, cum virtutes etiam ipsae taedium pariant nisi gratia varietatis adiutae.

[44] membrorum incisorumque iunctura non ea modo est observanda quae verborum, quanquam et ut his extrema ac prima coeunt, sed plurimum refert compositionis, quae quibus anteponas. nam et vomens frustis esculentis gremium suum et totum tribunal implevit ¹² et contra (nam frequentius utar iisdem diversarum quoque rerum exemplis, quo sint magis familiaria) saxa atque solitudines voci respondent, bestiae saepe immanes cantu flectuntur atque consistent magis insurgebat, si verteretur; nam plus est saxa quam bestias commoveri, vicit tamen compositionis decor. sed transeamus ad numeros.

[45] omnis structura ac dimensio et copulatio vocum constat aut numeris (numeros ῥυθμούς accipi volo) aut μέτροις, id est dimensione quadam. quod , etiamsi constat utrumque pedibus, habet tamen non simplicem differentiam.

[46] nam primum ¹³ numeri spatio temporum constant, metra etiam ordine, ideoque alterum esse quantitatis videtur, alterum qualitatis. ῥυθμὸς est aut par ut dactylicus,

[47] una enim syllaba longa par est duabus ¹⁴ brevibus (est quidem vis eadem et aliis pedibus, sed nomen illud tenet; longam esse duorum temporum, brevem unius, etiam pueri sciunt) aut sescuplex ut paeonicus: is est ex longa et tribus brevibus, aut ex tribus brevibus ¹⁵ et longa, vel alio quoquo modo ut tempora tria ad duo relata sescuplum faciant; aut duplex, ut iambus (nam est ex brevi et longa) quique est ei contrarius.

[48] sunt hi et metrici pedes, sed hoc interest, quod rhythmo indifferens, dactylicusne ille priores habeat breves an sequentes; tempus enim solum metitur, ut a sublatione ad positionem idem spatii sit. proinde alia dimensio est versuum; pro dactylico poni non poterit anapaestus aut spondeus, nec paean eadem ratione brevibus incipiet ac desinet.

[49] neque solum alium pro alio pedem metrorum ratio non recipit, sed ne dactylum quidem aut forte spondeum alterum pro altero. itaque si quinque continuos dactylos, ut sunt ut illo

panditur interea domus omnipotentis Olympi

confundas, solveris versum.

[50] sunt et illa discrimina, quod rhythmis libera spatia, metris finita sunt, et his certae clausulae, illi, quomodo coeperant, currunt usque ad μεταβολήν, id est transitum ad aliud rhythmi genus, et quod metrum ut verbis modo, rhythmos etiam ut corporis motu est.

[51] inania quoque tempora rhythmi facilius accipient, quanquam haec et ut metris accidunt. maior tamen illic licentia est, ubi tempora etiam animo¹⁶ metiuntur et pedum et digitorum ictu, et intervalla signant quibusdam notis atque aestimant, quot breves illud spatium habeat; inde τετράσημοι, πεντάσημοι deinceps longiores fiunt percussiones; nam σημεῖον tempus est unum.

[52] in compositione orationis certior et magis omnibus aperta servari debet dimensio. est igitur ut pedibus et metricis quidem pedibus, qui ¹⁷ adeo reperiuntur ut oratione, ut ut ea frequenter non sentientibus nobis omnium generum excidant versus; et contra nihil non, quod est prosa scriptum, redigi possit ut quaedam versiculorum genera vel ut membra, sicut ¹⁸ ut molestos incidimus grammaticos,

[53] quorum fuerunt, qui velut ¹⁹ lyricorum quorundam carmina ut varias mensuras coegerunt. at Cicero frequentissime dicit totum hoc constare numeris, ideoque reprehenditur a quibusdam, tanquam orationem ad rhythmos adliget.

[54] nam sunt numeri rhythmi, ut et ipse constituit, et secuti eum Vergilius, cum dicit

numeros memini, si verba tenerem,

et Horatius

numerisque fertur

lege solutis.

[55] invadunt ergo hanc inter ceteras vocem: neque enim Demosthenis fulmina tantopere vibratura dicit, nisi numeris contorta ferrentur. in quo si hoc sentit rhythmis contorta, dissentio. nam rhythmi, ut dixi, neque finem habent certum nec ullam ut contextu varietatem, sed qua coeperunt sublatione ac positione, ad finem usque decurrunt; oratio non descendet ad crepitum digitorum et pedum.

[56] quod²⁰ Cicero optime videt ac testatur frequenter se quod numerosum sit quaerere, ut magis non ἀπάλαιστοι. quod esset inscitum atque agreste, quam ἔνρυθμον, quod poeticum est, esse compositionem velit; sicut etiam quos palaestritas esse nolumus, tamen esse nolumus eos qui dicuntur ἀπάλαιστοι.

[57] verum ea quae efficitur e pedibus apta ²¹ conclusio nomen aliquod desiderat. quid sit igitur potius quam numerus, sed oratorius numerus, ut enthymema rhetoricus syllogismus? ego certe, ne ut calumniam cadam, qua ne M. quidem Tullius caruit, posco hoc mihi, ut, cum de compositionis dixero numero ²² et ubicunque iam dixi,oratorium dicere intelligar.

[58] collocatio autem verba iam probata et electa et velut adsignata sibi debet connectere; nam vel dure inter se commissa potiora sunt inutilibus. tamen et eligere quaedam, dum ex iis quae idem significent atque idem valeant, permiserim, et adiicere dum non otiosa, et detrahere dum non necessaria, et figuris mutare casus atque numeros, quorum varietas frequenter gratia compositionis adscita etiam suo nomine solet esse iucunda.

[59] etiam ubi aliud ratio, aliud consuetudo poscet, utrum volet, sumat compositio, vitavisse vel vitasse, deprehendere vel deprendere. coitus etiam syllabarum non negabo, et quidquid sententiis aut elocutioni non nocebit. praecipuum tamen ut hoc opus est,

[60] scire quod quoque loco verborum maxime quadret. atque is optime componet, qui hoc non ²³ solum componendi gratia facit. ratio vero pedum ut oratione est multo quam ut versu difficilior: primum quod versus paucis continetur, oratio longiores habet saepe circuitus; deinde quod versus semper similis sibi est et una ratione decurrit, orationis compositio, nisi varia est, et offendet similitudine et ut adfectatione deprehenditur.

[61] et ut omni quidem corpore totoque (ut ita dixerim) tractu numerus insertus est; neque enim loqui possumus nisi syllabis brevibus ac longis, ex quibus pedes fiunt. magis tamen et desideratur ut clausulis et apparet, primum quia sensus omnis habet suum finem poscitque naturale intervallum, quo a sequentis initio dividatur, deinde quod aures continuam vocem secutae ductaeque velut prono decurrentis orationis flumine tum magis iudicant, cum ille impetus stetit et intuendi tempus dedit.

[62] non igitur durum sit neque abruptum, quo animi velut respirant ac reficiuntur. haec est sedes orationis, hoc auditor exspectat, hic laus omnis declamantium. ²⁴ Proximam clausulis diligentiam postulant initia; nam et ut haec intentus auditor est.

[63] sed eorum facilior ratio est, non enim cohaerent aliis nec ²⁵ praecedentibus serviunt; exordium sumunt cum clausula cum praecedentibus cohaereat: quamlibet sit enim composita ipsa, ²⁶ gratiam perdet, si ad eam rupta via venerimus. namque eo fit, ut, cum ²⁷ Demosthenis seuera videatur compositio, τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις; et illa (quae ab uno, quod sciam, Bruto minus probatur, ceteris placet) κἂν μήπω βάλλῃ μηδὲ τοξεύῃ,

[64] Ciceronem carpant ut his, familiaris coeperat esse balneatori, et non minus dura archipiratae. nam balneatori et archipiratae idem finis est qui πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις et qui μηδὲ τοξεύῃ sed priora sunt severiora. est ut eo quoque nonnihil,

[65] quod hic singulis verbis bini pedes continentur, quod etiam ut carminibus est praemolle; nec solum ubi quinae, ut ut his, syllabae nectuntur, fortissima Tyndaridarum, sed etiam quaternae, cum versus cluditur Appennino et armamentis et Orione .

[66] quare hoc quoque vitandum est, ne plurium syllabarum verbis utamur ut fine. mediis quoque non ea modo cura sit, ut inter se cohaereant, sed ne pigra, ne longa sint, ne, quod nunc maxime vitium est, brevium contextu resultent ac sonum reddant paene puerilium crepitaculorum. nam ut initia clausulaeque plurimum momenti habent,

[67] quotiens incipit sensus aut desinit, sic ut mediis quoque sunt quidam conatus iique leviter insistunt. currentium pes, etiamsi non moratur, tamen vestigium facit. itaque non modo membra atque incisa bene incipere atque cludi decet, sed etiam ut iis, quae non dubie contexta sunt nec respiratione utuntur, illi velut occulti gradus sint. ²⁸

[68] quis enim dubitet, unum sensum ut hoc et unum spiritum esse? animaduerti , iudices, omnem accusatoris orationem ut duas divisam esse partes; tamen et duo prima verba et tria proxima et deinceps duo rursus ac tria suos quasi numeros habent et spiritum sustinemus, sicut apud rhythmicos aestimantur.

[69] hae particulae prout sunt graves, acres, lentae, celeres, remissae, exultantes, proinde id, quod ex illis conficitur, aut severum aut luxuriosum aut quadratum aut solutum erit.

[70] quaedam etiam clausulae sunt claudae atque pendentes, si relinquantur, sed sequentibus suscipi ac sustineri solent, eoque facto vitium, quod erat ut fine, continuatione emendatur. ²⁹ non vult populus Romanus obsoletis criminibus accusari Verrem durum, si desinas; sed cum sit ³⁰ continuatum iis quae sequuntur, quanquam natura ipsa divisa sunt, nova postulat, inaudita desiderat, salvus est cursus.

[71] ut adeas, tantum dabis male cluderet, nam et interim versus pars ultima est; excipit ut cibum vestitumque introferre liceat, tantum; praeceps adhuc firmatur ac sustinetur ultimo nemo recusabat.

[72] versum ut oratione fieri multo foedissimum est totum, sed etiam ut parte deforme, utique si pars posterior ut clausula deprehendatur aut rursus prior ut ingressu. namque idem contra saepe etiam decet, quia et claudit interim optime prima pars versus, dum intra paucas syllabas, praecipue senarii atque octonarii.

[73] in Africa fuisse initium senarii est, primum pro Q. Ligario caput claudit; esse uideatur, iam nimis frequens, octonarium inchoat; talia sunt Demosthenis, πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις et πᾶσιν ὑμῖν, et totum paene principium. et ultima versuum initio conveniunt orationis:

[74] etsi vereor, iudices, et animadverti , iudices. sed initia initiis non convenient, ut T. Livius hexametri exordio coepit: facturusne operae pretium sim (nam ita edidit, estque melius, quam quo modo emendatur),

[75] nec clausulae clausulis, ut Cicero, quo me vertam, nescio, qui trimetri finis est. trimetrum et senarium ³¹ promiscue dicere licet, sex enim pedes, tres percussiones habet. peius cludit finis hexametri, ut Brutus ut epistolis: neque illi malunt habere tutores aut defensores, quoniam causam ³² sciunt placuisse Catoni.

[76] illi minus sunt notabiles, quia hoc genus sermoni proximum est. itaque et versus hi fere excidunt, quos Brutus ipso componendi durius studio saepissime facit, non raro Asinius, sed etiam Cicero nonnunquam, ut ut principio statim orationis ut Lucium Pisonem: pro di immortales, qui hic nunc illuxit dies?

[77] non minore autem cura vitandum est quidquid est ἔνρυθμον, quale apud Sallustium, falso queritur de natura sua. quamvis enim vincta sit, tamen soluta videri debet oratio. atqui Plato, diligentissimus compositionis, ut Timaeo prima statim parte vitare ista non potuit.

[78] nam et initium hexametri statim invenias, et Anacreontion protinus colon efficias, et si velis trimetron, et quod duobus pedibus et parte πενθημιμερές a Graecis dicitur, et haec omnia ut tribus versibus; ³³ et Thucydidi ὑπὲρ ἥμισυ κᾶρες ἐφάνησαν ex mollissimo rhythmorum genere excidit.

[79] sed quia omnem compositionem ³⁴ oratoriam constare pedibus ³⁵ dixi, aliqua de his quoque; quorum nomina quia varia traduntur, constituendum est, quo quemque appellemus. equidem Ciceronem sequar, (nam is eminentissimos Graecorum est secutus) excepto quod pes mihi tris syllabas non videtur excedere, quanquam ille paeane dochmioque, quorum prior ut quattuor, secundus ut quinque excurrit, utatur.

[80] nec tamen ipse dissimulat, quibusdam numeros videri non pedes; neque immerito; quidquid est enim supra tris syllabas, id est ex pluribus pedibus. ergo cum constent quattuor pedes binis, octo ternis, spondeum longis duabus, pyrrhichium, quem alii pariambum vocant, brevibus, iambum brevi longaque, huic contrarium e longa et brevi choreum, non ut alii trochaeum nominemus.

[81] ex iis vero, qui ternas syllabas habent, dactylum longa duabusque brevibus, huic temporibus parem, sed retro actum appellari constat anapaeston. media inter longas brevis faciet amphimacrum, sed frequentius eius nomen est creticus; longa inter breves, amphibrachyn huic contrarium.

[82] duabus³⁶ longis brevem sequentibus bacchius, totidem longis brevem ³⁷ praecedentibus palimbacchius erit. tres breves trochaeum, quem tribrachyn dici volunt, qui choreo trochaei nomen imponunt; totidem longae molosson efficient.

[83] horum pedum nullus non ut orationem venit, sed quo quique sunt temporibus pleniores longisque syllabis magis stabiles, hoc graviorem faciunt orationem, breves celerem ac mobilem. utrumque locis utile; nam et illud, ubi opus est velocitate, tardum et segne, et hoc, ubi pondus exigitur, praeceps ac resultans merito damnetur.

[84] sit ut hoc quoque aliquid fortasse momenti, quod et longis longiores et brevibus sunt breviores syllabae, ut, quamvis neque plus duobus temporibus neque uno minus habere videantur, ideoque ut metris omnes breves longaeque inter se ipsae ³⁸ sint pares, lateat tamen nescio quid quod ³⁹ supersit aut desit. nam versuum propria condicio est, ideoque ut his quaedam etiam communes.

[85] veritas vero quia patitur aeque brevem esse vel longam vocalem, cum est sola, quam cum eam consonantes una pluresve praecedunt, certe ut dimensione pedum syllaba, quae est brevis, insequente alia vel longa ⁴⁰ vel brevi, quae tamen duas primas consonantes habeat, fit longa, ut

agrestem tenui musam:

nam A brevis,

[86] gres brevis, faciet tamen longam priorem; dat igitur illi aliquid ex suo tempore. quo modo, nisi habet plus quam quae brevissima, qualis ipsa esset detractis consonantibus? nunc unum tempus accommodat priori et unum accipit a sequente; ita duae natura breves positione sunt temporum quattuor.

[87] miror autem ut hac opinione doctissimos homines fuisse, ut alios pedes ita eligerent aliosque damnarent, quasi ullus esset, quem non sit necesse ut oratione deprehendi. licet igitur paeana sequatur Ephorus, inventum a Thrasymacho, probatum ab Aristotele, dactylumque ut temperatos brevibus ac longis, fugiat spondeum et ⁴¹ trochaeum,

[88] alterius tarditate nimia, ⁴² alterius celeritate damnata, herous, qui est idem dactylus, Aristoteli amplior, iambus humilior ⁴³ videatur, trochaeum ut nimis currentem damnet eique cordacis nomen imponat, eademque dicant Theodectes ac Theophrastus, similia post eos Halicarnasseus Dionysius:

[89] irrumpent etiam ad invitos, nec semper illis heroo aut paeane suo, quem, quia versum raro facit, maxime laudant, uti licebit. ut sint tamen allis alii crebriores, non verba facient, quae neque augeri nec minui nec sicuti toni ⁴⁴ modulatione produci aut corripi possint, sed transmutatio et collocatio.

[90] plerique enim ex commissuris eorum vel divisione fiunt pedes; quo fit ut iisdem verbis alii atque alii versus fiant, ut memini quendam non ignobilem poetam talem exarasse: ⁴⁵

astra tenet caelum, mare classes, area messem.

hic retrorsum fit sotadeus; itemque e sotadeo retro trimetros:

caput exeruit mobile pinus repetita.

[91] miscendi ergo sunt, curandumque, ut sint plures qui placent, et circumfusi bonis deteriores lateant. nec vero ut litteris syllabisque natura mutatur, sed refert, quae cum quaque optime coeat. plurimum igitur auctoritatis, ut dixi, et ponderis habent longae, celeritatis breves; quae si miscentur quibusdam longis, currunt, si continuantur, exultant.

[92] acres , quae ex brevibus ad longas insurgunt; leniores, quae a longis ut breves descendunt. optime incipitur a longis, recte aliquando a brevibus, ut novum crimen; lenius a duabus, ut animadverti indices; sed hoc pro Cluentio recte, quia initium eius partitioni simile est, quae celeritate gaudet.

[93] clausula quoque e longis firmissima est; sed venit et ut breves, quamvis habeatur indifferens ultima. neque enim ego ignoro, ut fine pro longa accipi brevem, quia videtur aliquid vacantis temporis ex eo, quod insequitur, accedere; aures tamen consulens meas, intelligo multum referre, verene longa sit, quae cludit, an pro longa. neque enim tam plenum est dicere incipientem timere, quam illud ausus est confiteri.

[94] atqui si nihil refert, brevis an longa sit ultima, idem pes erit; verum nescio quo modo sedebit hoc, illud subsistet. quo moti quidam longae ultimae tria tempora dederunt, ut illud tempus, quod brevis ex loco ⁴⁶ accipit, huic quoque accederet. nec solum refert, quis pes claudat, sed claudentem ⁴⁷ quis antecedat. retrorsum autem neque plus tribus,

[95] iique, si non ternas syllabas habebunt, repetendi erunt (absit enim ⁴⁸ poetica observatio), neque minus duobus; alioqui pes erit, non numerus. potest tamen vel unus esse dichoreus, si unus est, qui constat e duobus choreis.

[96] itemque paean, qui est ex choreo et pyrrhichio, quem aptum initiis putant, vel contra, qui est e tribus brevibus et longa, cui clausulam adsignant; de quibus fere duobus scriptores huius artis loquantur. alii omnes, ut ⁴⁹ quocunque sit loco longa, ⁵⁰ temporum quod ad rationem pertinet,paeanas appellant.

[97] est et dochmius, qui fit ex bacchio et iambo vel ex iambo et cretico, stabilis ut clausulis et severus. spondeus quoque, quo plurimum est Demosthenes usus, non eodem modo semper se ⁵¹ habet. optime praecedet eum creticus, ut ut hoc, de qua ego nihil dicam, nisi depellendi criminis causa. non nihil ⁵² est, quod supra dixi multum referre, unone verbo sint duo pedes comprehensi an uterque liber. Sic enim fit forte criminis casa; molle archipiratae , mollius, si tribrachys praecedat, facilitates, temeritates.

[98] est enim quoddam ipsa divisione verborum latens tempus, ut ut pentametri medio spondeo, qui nisi alterius verbi fine, alterius initio constat, versum non efficit. potest , etiamsi minus bene, praeponi anapaestos: muliere non solum nobili, verum etiam nota. cum anapaestus et creticus,

[99] iambus quoque, qui est utroque syllaba minor (praecedet enim tres longas brevis), sed et spondeus iambo recte praeponitur: iisdem ut⁵³ armis fui. cum spondeus, et bacchius, sic enim fiet ultimus dochmius:

[100] in armis fui. ex iis quae supra probavi apparet molosson quoque clausulae convenire, dum habeat ex quocunque pede ante se brevem: illud scimus ubicunque sunt, esse pro nobis.

[101] minus gravis erit spondeus, praecedentibus palimbacchio et pyrrhichio, ut iudicii Iuniani, ⁵⁴ et adhuc peius priore paeane, ut Brute, dubitavi; nisi potius hoc esse volumus dactylum et bacchium. Duo spondei non fere se iungi patiuntur, quae ut versu quoque notabilis ⁵⁵ clausula est, nisi cum id fieri potest ex tribus quasi membris: cur de perfugis nostris copias comparat is contra nos? una syllaba, duabus, una.

[102] ne dactylus quidem spondeo bene praeponitur, quia finem versus damnamus ut fine orationis. bacchius et claudit et sibi iungitur: uenenum timeres; vel choreum et spondeum ante se amat: ut venenum timeres. contrarius quoque qui est, cludet, nisi si ultimam syllabam longam esse volumus, optimeque habebit ante se molosson: civis Romanus sum; aut bacchium, quod hic potest, nos possemus.

[103] sed verius erit claudere choreum praecedente spondeo, nam hic potius est numerus, nos possemus et Romanus sum. claudet et dichoreus, id est idem pes sibi ipse iungetur, quo Asiani sunt usi plurimum; cuius exemplum Cicero ponit, patris dictum sapiens temeritas filii comprobauit.

[104] accipiet ante se choreus et pyrrhichium: omnes prope cives virtute, gloria, dignitate superabat. cludet et dactylus, nisi eum observatio ultimae creticum facit: muliercula nixus ut litore. habebit ante se bene creticum et iambum, spondeum male, peius choreum.

[105] cludit amphibrachys: Q. Ligarium ut Africa fuisse, si non eum malumus esse bacchium. non optimus est trochaeus, si ulla est ultima brevis, quod certe sit necesse est; alioqui quomodo claudet, qui placet plerisque, dichoreus? illa observatione ex trochaeo fit anapaestus.

[106] idem trochaeus praecedente longa fit paean, quale est Si potero et dixit hoc Cicero, obstat inuidia. sed hum initiis dederunt. cludet et pyrrhichius choreo praecedente, nam sic paean est. sed omnes hi, qui ut breves excidunt, minus erunt stabiles, nec alibi fere satis apti, quam ubi cursus orationis exigitur et clausulis non intersistitur. creticus et initiis optimus:

[107] quod precatus a diis immortalibus sum, et clausulis: in conspectu populi Romani vomere postridie. apparet vero, quam bene eum praecedant vel anapaestos vel ille, qui videtur fini aptior, paean. sed et se ipse sequitur: servare quam plurimos. sic melius quam choreo praecedente, quis non turpe duceret? si ultima brevis pro longa sit; sed fingamus sic, non turpe duceres.

[108] sed hic est illud inane, quod dixi: paulum enim morae damus inter ultimum ac proximum verbum et turpe illud intervallo quodam producimus; alioqui sit exultantissimum et trimetri finis: quis non turpe duceret? sicut illud ore excipere liceret, si iungas, lascivi carminis est; sed interpunctis quibusdam et tribus quasi initiis fit plenum auctoritatis.

[109] nec ego, cum praecedentes pedes posui, legem dedi ne alii essent, sed quid fere accideret et quid ut praesentia videretur optimum, ostendi. non⁵⁶ quidem optime est sibi iunctus anapaestos, ut qui sit pentametri finis, vel rhythmos qui nomen ab eo traxit: nam ubi libido dominatur, innocentiae leve praesidium est; nam synaloephe facit, ut duae ultimae syllabae pro una sonent.

[110] melior fiet praecedente spondeo vel bacchio, ut si idem mutes leave innocentiae praesidium est. non me capit (ut a magnis viris dissentiam) paean, qui est ex tribus brevibus et longa. nam est et ipse una plus brevi anapaestos facilitas et agilitas. quid⁵⁷ ita placuerit is, non video, nisi quod illum fere probaverunt, quibus loquendi magis quam orandi studium fuit.

[111] nam et ante se brevibus gaudet pyrrhichio vel choreo, mea facilitas, nostra facilitas; ac praecedente spondeo tamen plane finis est trimetri, cum sit per se quoque. ei contrarius principiis merito laudatur, nam et primam stabilem et tres celeres habet. tamen hoc quoque meliores alios puto.

[112] totus vero hic locus non ideo tractatur a nobis, ut oratio, quae ferri debet ac fluere, dimetiendis pedibus ac perpendendis syllabis consenescat; nam id cum miseri,

[113] tum ut minimis occupati est, neque enim, qui se totum ut hac cura consumpserit, potioribus vacabit, si quidem relicto rerum pondere ac nitore contempto tesserulas, ut ait Lucilius, struet et vermiculate inter se lexis committet. nonne ergo refrigeretur sic calor et impetus pereat, ut equorum cursum delicati minutis passibus frangunt?

[114] quasi vero numeri ⁵⁸ non sint ut compositione deprehensi, sicut poema nemo dubitaverit impetu ⁵⁹ quodam initio fusum et aurium mensura et similiter decurrentium spatiorum observatione esse generatum, mox ut eo repertos pedes. satis igitur ut hoc nos componet multa scribendi exercitatio, ut ex tempore etiam similia fundamus.

[115] neque vero tam sint intuendi pedes quam universa comprehensio, ut versum facientes totum illum decursum non sex vel quinque partes, ex quibus constat versus, aspiciunt. ante enim carmen ortum est quam observatio carminis, ideoque illud Fauni vatesque canebant.

[116] ergo quem ut poemate locum habet versificatio, eum ut oratione compositio. optime autem de illa iudicant aures, quae plena sentiunt et parum expleta desiderant et fragosis offenduntur et levibus mulcentur et contortis excitantur et stabilia probant, clauda deprehendunt, redundantia ac nimia fastidiunt. ideoque docti rationem componendi intelligunt, etiam indocti voluptatem.

[117] quaedam vero tradi arte non possunt. mutandus est casus, si durius is, quo coeperamus, feratur. num , ut quem transeamus ex quo, praecipi potest? figura laboranti compositioni variata saepe succurrit. quae ? cum orationis, tum etiam sententiae? num praescriptum eius rei ullum est? occasionibus utendum et cum re praesenti deliberandum est.

[118] iam⁶⁰ vero spatia ipsa, quae ut hac quidem parte plurimum valent, quod possunt nisi aurium habere iudicium? cur alia paucioribus verbis satis plena vel nimium, alia pluribus brevia et abscisa sunt? cur ut circumductionibus, etiam cum sensus finitus est, aliquid tamen loci vacare videatur?

[119] neminem vestrum ignorare arbitror, iudices, hunc per hosce dies sermonem vulgi atque hanc opinionem populi Romani fuisse. cur hosce potius quam hos? neque enim erat asperum. rationem fortasse non reddam, sentiam tamen ⁶¹ esse melius. cur non satis sit, sermonem vulgi fuisse, (compositio enim patiebatur) ignorabo; sed ut audio hoc, animus accipit plenum sine hac geminatione non esse.

[120] ad sensum igitur referenda sunt. et si qui non ⁶² satis forte, quid seuerum, quid iucundum sit, intelligent, facient quidem natura duce melius quam arte; sed naturae ipsi ars inerit. illud prorsus oratoris,

[121] scire ubi quoque genere compositionis sit utendum. ea duplex observatio est: altera, quae ad pedes refertur; altera, quae ad comprehensiones, quae efficiuntur ex pedibus. ac de his prius.

[122] diximus igitur esse incisa, membra, circuitus. incisum (quantum mea fert opinio) erit sensus non expleto numero conclusus, plerisque pars membri. tale est enim, quo Cicero utitur: domus tibi deerat? at habebas. pecunia superabat? at egebas. fiunt autem etiam singulis verbis incisa; diximus , testes dare volumus; incisum est diximus.

[123] membrum autem est sensus numeris ⁶³ conclusus, sed a toto corpore abruptus et per se nihil efficiens. O callidos homines perfectum est, sed remotum a ceteris vim non habet, ut per se manus et pes et caput: et O rem excogitatam. quando ergo incipit corpus esse? cum venit extrema conclusio: quem , quaeso, nostrum fefellit, id vos ita esse facturos? quam Cicero brevissimam putat. itaque fere incisa et membra mutila ⁶⁴ sunt et conclusionem utique desiderant.

[124] periodo plurima nomina dat Cicero, ambitum, circuitum, comprehensionem, continuationem, circumscriptionem. genera eius duo sunt, alterum simplex, cum sensus unus longiore ambitu circumducitur, alterum, quod constat membris et incisis, quae plures sensus habent: aderat ianitor carceris, carnifex praetoris, reliqua. habet periodus membra minimum duo.

[125] medius numerus videntur quattuor, sed recipit frequenter et plura. modus eius a Cicerone aut quattuor senariis versibus aut ipsius spiritus modo terminatur. praestare debet ut sensum concludat; sit aperta, ut intelligi possit, non immodica, ut memoria contineri. membrum longius iusto tardum; brevius instabile est.

[126] ubicunque acriter erit, instanter, pugnaciter dicendum,membratim caesimque dicemus, nam hoc ut oratione plurimum valet; adeoque rebus accommodanda compositio, ut asperis asperos etiam numeros adhiberi oporteat et cum dicente aeque audientem inhorrescere.

[127] membratim plerumque narrabimus, aut ipsas periodos maioribus intervallis et velut laxioribus nodis resolvemus, exceptis quae non docendi gratia, sed ornandi narrantur, ut ut Verrem Proserpinae raptus. haec enim lenis et fluens contextus decet.

[128] periodos apta prooemiis maiorum causarum, ubi sollicitudine, commendatione, miseratione res eget, item communibus locis et ut omni amplificatione; sed poscitur ⁶⁵ tum austera, si accuses, tum fusa, si laudes. multum et ut epilogis pollet.

[129] totum autem hoc adhibendum est, quod sit amplius compositionis genus, cum iudex non solum rem tenet, sed etiam captus est oratione et se credit actori et voluptate iam ducitur. historia non tam finitos numeros quam orbem quendam contextumque desiderat. namque omnia eius membra connexa sunt et, quoniam lubrica est, hac atque illac ⁶⁶ fluit, ut homines, qui manibus invicem apprehensis gradum firmant, continent et continentur.

[130] demonstrativum genus omne fusiores habet liberioresque numeros; iudiciale et contionale, ut materia varium est, sic etiam ipsa collocatione verborum. ubi iam nobis pars ex duabus, quas modo fecimus, secunda tractanda est. nam quis dubitat alia lenius, alia concitatius, alia sublimius, alia pugnacius, alia ornatius, alia gracilius esse dicenda;

[131] gravibus, sublimibus, ornatis longas magis syllabas convenire? ita ut lenia spatium, sublimia et ornata claritatem quoque vocalium poscant; his contraria magis gaudere ⁶⁷ brevibus, argumenta, partitiones, iocos et quidquid est sermoni magis simile.

[132] itaque componemus prooemium varie atque ut sensus eius postulabit. neque enim accesserim Celso, qui unam quandam huic parti formam dedit, et optimam compositionem esse prooemii, ut est apud Asinium, dixit, si , Caesar, ex omnibus mortalibus, qui sunt ac fuerunt, posset huic causae disceptator legi, non quisquam te potius optandus nobis fuit.

[133] non quia negem hoc bene esse compositum, sed quia legem hanc esse componendi ut omnibus principiis recusem. nam iudicis animus varie praeparatur: tum miserabiles esse volumus, tum modesti tum acres, tum graves, tum blandi, tum flectere, tum ad diligentiam hortari. haec ut sunt diversa natura, ita dissimilem componendi quoque rationem desiderant. an similibus Cicero usus est numeris ut exordio pro Milone, pro Cluentio, pro Ligario?

[134] narratio fere tardiores atque, ut sic dixerim, modestiores desiderat pedes ex omnibus maxime mixtos. nam et verbis, ut saepius pressa est, ita interim insurgit; sed docere et infigere animis res semper cupit, quod minime festinantium opus est. ac mihi videtur tota narratio constare longioribus membris, brevioribus periodis.

[135] argumenta acria et citata pedibus quoque ad hanc naturam commodatis utentur, non tamen ⁶⁸ ita ut trochaeis quoque celeria quidem, sed sine viribus sint, verum iis, qui sint brevibus longisque mixti, non tamen plures longas quam breves habent. ⁶⁹

[136] illa sublimia spatiosas clarasque voces habentia ⁷⁰ amant amplitudinem dactyli quoque ac paeanis, etiamsi maiore ex parte syllabis brevibus, temporibus tamen satis pleni. aspera contra iambis maxime concitantur, non solum quod sunt e duabus modo syllabis eoque frequentiorem quasi pulsum habent, quae res lenitati contraria est, sed etiam quod omnibus pedibus insurgunt et e brevibus ut longas nituntur et crescunt, ideoque meliores choreis, qui ab longis ut breves cadunt.

[137] summissa , qualia ut epilogis sunt, lentas et ipsa, sed minus exclamantes exigunt. vult esse Celsus aliquam et superiorem ⁷¹ compositionem, quam equidem si scirem, non docerem; sed sit necesse est tarda et supina, verum nisi ex verbis atque sententiis. per se si id quaeritur, satis odiosa esse non poterit.

[138] denique , ut semel finiam, sic fere componendum quomodo pronuntiandum erit. an non ut prooemiis plerumque summissi, (nisi cum ut accusatione concitandus est iudex aut aliqua indignatione complendus) ut narratione pleni atque expressi, ut argumentis citati atque ipso etiam motu celeres sumus, ut locis ac descriptionibus fusi ac fluentes, ut epilogis plerumque deiecti et infracti?

[139] atqui corporis quoque motui sunt ⁷² sua quaedam tempora et ad signandos ⁷³ pedes non minus saltationi quam modulationibus adhibetur musica ratio numerorum. quid ? non vox et gestus accommodatur naturae ipsarum, de quibus dicimus, rerum? quo minus id mirere ut pedibus orationis, cum debeant sublimia ingredi, lenia duci, acria currere, delicata fluere. itaque tragoediae,

[140] ubi necesse est, adfectamus etiam tumorem ex spondeis atque iambis quibus ⁷⁴ maxime continetur:

en impero Argis, sceptra mi liquit Pelops.

At ille comicus aeque senarius, quem trochaicum vocant, pluribus trochaeis, qui trochaei ⁷⁵ ab aliis dicuntur, pyrrhichiisque decurrit;

[141] sed quantum accipit celeritatis, tantum gravitatis amittit:

quid igitur faciam? non eam ne nunc quidem

Aspera vero et maledica, ut dixi, etiam ut carmine iambis grassantur:

quis hoc potest videre, quis potest pati,

nisi impudicus et vorax et aleo?

In universum autem,

[142] si sit necesse, duram potius atque asperam compositionem malim esse quam effeminatam et enervem, qualis apud multos et cotidie magis lascivissimis syntonorum modis saltat. ac ne tam bona quidem ulla erit, ut debeat esse continua et ut eosdem semper pedes ire.

[143] nam et versificandi genus est unam legem omnibus sermonibus dare; et id cum manifestae adfectationis est (cuius rei maxime cavenda suspicio est), tum etiam taedium ex similitudine ac satietatem creat; quoque est dulcius, magis perdit amittit que ⁷⁶ et fidem et adfectus motusque omnes, qui est ut hac cura deprehensus. nec potest ei credere aut propter eum dolere et irasci iudex, cui putat hoc vacare.

[144] ideoque interim quaedam quasi solvenda de industria sunt; et quidem illa maximi laboris, ne laborata videantur. sed neque longioribus, quam oportet, hyperbatis compositioni serviamus ne, quae eius rei gratia fecerimus, propter eam fecisse videamur; et certe nullum aptum atque idoneum verbum permutemus gratia levitatis.

[145] neque enim ullum erit tam difficile, quod non commode inseri possit, nisi quod ut evitandis eiusmodi verbis non decorem compositionis quaerimus, sed facilitatem. non tamen mirabor Latinos magis indulsisse compositioni quam Atticos, cum minus ⁷⁷ ut verbis habeant severitatis ⁷⁸ et gratiae;

[146] nec vitium duxerim, si Cicero a Demosthene paulum ut hac parte descivit. Sed quae sit differentia nostri Graecique sermonis, explicabit summus liber. compositio (nam finem imponere egresso destinatum modum volumini festino) debet esse honesta, iucunda, varia.

[147] eius tres partes: ordo, coniunctio, numerus. ratio ut adiectione, detractione, mutatione; usus pro natura rerum, quas dicimus: cura ita magna, ut sentiendi atque eloquendi prior sit; dissimulatio curae praecipua, ut numeri sponte fluxisse, non arcessiti et coacti esse videantur.

Institutio Oratoria. Quintilian. ed. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge, Mass.. 1920-1922.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Perseus

Institutio Oratoria (Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria, Volume 1-4. Butler, Harold Edgeworth, editor. Cambridge, Mass; London: Harvard University Press, William Heinemann Ltd., 1920-1922.)

Translations (1)

Institutio Oratoria Perseus (Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria, Volume 1-4. Butler, Harold Edgeworth, translator. Cambridge, Mass; London: Harvard University Press, William Heinemann Ltd., 1920-1922.) — 9.2 focus

[1] The student who desires to give a wider consideration to figures of thought and speech will, therefore, have a guide to follow, and 1 would not venture to assert that he could have a better. But I would ask him to read these passages of Cicero with reference to my own views on this subject. For I intend to speak only of those figures of thought which depart from the direct method of statement, and I note that a similar procedure has been adopted by a number of learned scholars.

[2] On the other hand, all those embellishments which differ in character from these are none the less virtues whose importance is such that without them all oratory will be little less than unintelligible. For how can the judge be adequately instructed unless lucidity characterise our performance of the following tasks: explanation, proposition, promise of proofs, definition, distinction, exposition of our own opinion, logical conclusion, defence by anticipation, introduction of comparisons or precedents, disposition and distribution, interruption, repression of those who interrupt us, antithesis, exculpation and personal attack?

[3] Again, what would eloquence do if deprived of the artifices of amplification and its opposite? of which the first requires the gift of signifying more than we say, that is emphasis, together with exaggeration and overstatement of the truth, while the latter requires the power to diminish and palliate. What scope is there for the stronger emotions if the orator is not allowed to give free rein to his speech, to flame out in anger, to reproach, to wish or execrate? Or for the milder emotions without the assistance of commendation, conciliation and humour?

[4] What pleasure can an orator hope to produce, or what impression even of the most moderate learning, unless he knows how to fix one point in the minds of the audience by repetition, and another by dwelling on it, how to digress from and return to his theme, to divert the blame from himself and transfer it to another, or to decide what points to omit and what to ignore as negligible? It is qualities such as these that give life and vigour to oratory; without them it lies torpid like a body lacking the breath to stir its limbs.

[5] But more than the mere possession of these qualities is required; they must be deployed, each in their proper place and with such variety that every sound may bewitch the hearer with all the charm of music. But these qualities are as a rule open and direct, manifesting themselves without disguise. They do, however, as I have said, admit of figures, as the instances to which I shall proceed will show.

[6] What is more common than to ask or enquire? For both terms are used indifferently, although the one seems to imply a desire for knowledge, and the other a desire to prove something. But whichever term we use, the thing which they represent admits a variety of figures. We will begin with those which serve to increase the force and cogency of proof to which I assign the first place.

[7] A simple question may be illustrated by the line: ¹

But who are ye and from what shores are come?

On the other hand, a question involves a figure, whenever it is employed not to get information, but to emphasise our point, as in the following examples: ²

What was that sword of yours doing, Tubero, that was drawn on the field of Pharsalus?

and

How long, Catiline, will you abuse our patience?

and

Do you not see that your plots are all laid bare?

with the whole passage that follows.

[8] How much greater is the fire of his words as they stand than if he had said,

You have abused our patience a long time,

and

Your plots are all laid bare.

We may also ask what cannot be denied, as

Was Gaius Fidiculanius Falcula, I ask you, brought to justice?

³ Or we may put a question to which it is difficult to reply, as in the common forms,

How is it possible?

How can that be?

[9] Or we may ask a question with a view to throw odium on the person to whom it is addressed, as in the words placed by Seneca in the mouth of Medea: ⁴

What lands dost bid me seek?

Or our aim may be to excite pity, as is the case with the question asked by Sinon in Virgil: ⁵

Alas, what lands, lie cried,

What seas can now receive me?

Or to embarrass our opponent and to deprive him of the power to feign ignorance of our meaning, as Asinius does in the following sentence:

Do you hear? The will which we impugn is the work of a madman, not of one who lacked natural affection.

In fact questions admit of infinite variety.

[10] They may serve our indignation, as in the line:

Are any left

That still adore Juno's divinity?

Aen. i. 48.

Or they may still express wonder, as in:

To what dost thou not drive the hearts of men,

Accursed greed of gold?

Aen. iii. 56.

Again, at times they may express a sharp command,

[11] as in:

Will they not rush to arms and follow forth

From all the city?

Aen. iv. 592.

Or we may ask ourselves, as in the phrase of Terence,

What, then, shall I do?

⁶

[12] A figure is also involved in a reply, when one question is asked and another is answered, because it suits the respondent's purpose better to do so, or because it aggravates the charge brought against the accused. For example, a witness for the prosecution was asked whether he had been cudgelled by the plaintiff, and replied,

And what is more, I had done him no harm.

Or the purpose may be to elude a charge, a very common form of reply. The advocate says,

I ask if you killed the man?

The accused replies,

He was a robber.

The advocate asks,

Have you occupied the farm?

The accused replies,

It was my own.

[13] Again, the answer may be of such a kind as to make defence precede confession. For example, in the Eclogues⁷ of Virgil, when one shepherd asks:

Did I not see you, villain, snare a goat

Of Damon's?

the other replies:

I vanquished him in song, and should he not

Pay me the prize, my due?

[14] Akin to this kind of answer is the dissimulatory reply, which is employed solely with the purpose of raising a laugh, and has therefore been treated in its appropriate place. ⁸ If it were meant seriously, it would be tantamount to a confession. Further, there is the practice of putting the question and answering it oneself, which may have quite a pleasing effect. Take as an example the following passage from the pro Ligario,⁹ where Cicero says,

Before whom do I say this? Before one who, although he was aware of these facts, yet restored me to my country even before he had seen me.

[15] A different form of fictitious question is to be found in the pro Caelio.

Some one will say, 'Is this your moral discipline? Is this the training you would give young men?'

with the whole passage that follows. Then comes his reply,

Gentlemen, if there were any man with such vigour of mind, with such innate virtue and self-control, etc.

¹⁰ A different method is to ask a question and not to wait for a reply, but to subjoin the reply at once yourself. For example,

Had you no house? Yes, you had one. Had you money and to spare? No, you were in actual want.

¹¹ This is a figure which some call suggestion.

[16] Again, a question may involve comparison, as, for instance,

Which of the two then could more easily assign a reason for his opinion?

¹² There are other forms of question as well, some concise, some developed at greater length, some dealing with one thing only, others with several. Anticipation, or, as the Greeks call it, πρόληψις, whereby we forestall objections, is of extraordinary value in pleading; it is frequently employed in all parts of a speech, but is especially useful in the exordium.

[17] However, it forms a genus in itself, and has several different species. One of these is the defence by anticipation, such as Cicero employs against Quintus Caecilius, ¹³ where he points out that though previously he himself has always appeared for the defence, he is now undertaking a prosecution. Another is a form of confession, such as he introduces in his defence of Rabirius Postumus, ¹⁴ where he admits that he himself regards his client as worthy of censure for lending money to the king. Another takes the form of prediction, as in the phrase,

For I will say without any intention of aggravating the charge.

Again, there is a form of self-correction, such as,

I beg you to pardon me, if I have been carried too far.

And, most frequent of all, there is preparation, whereby we state fully why we are going to do something or have done it.

[18] Anticipation may also be employed to establish the meaning or propriety of words, as in the following case,

Although that was not a punishment, but merely a prevention of crime,

¹⁵ while the same effect may be produced by qualification, as in the following sentence,

Citizens, I say, if I may call them by that name.

¹⁶

[19] Again, hesitation may lend an impression of truth to our statements, when, for example, we pretend to be at a loss, where to begin or end, or to decide what especially requires to be said or not to be said at all. All speeches are full of such instances, but for the present one will be enough.

As for myself, I know not where to turn. Shall I deny that there was a scandalous rumour that the jury had been bribed, etc.?

¹⁷

[20] This device may also be employed to cover the past; for we may equally pretend that we had felt hesitation on the subject. This figure is akin to that known as communication, when we actually take our opponents into consultation, as Domitius Afer does in his defence of Cloatilla.

She is so agitated that she does not know what is permitted to a woman or what becomes a wife. It may be that chance has brought you into contact with the unhappy woman in her helpless plight. What counsel do you give her, you her brother, and you, her father's friends?

[21] Or we may admit the judges to our deliberations, a device which is frequently called into play. We may say,

What do you advise?

or,

I ask you,

or,

What, then, should have been done?

Cato, for example, says,

Come now, if you had been in his place, what else would you have done?

And in another passage,

Imagine this to be a matter which concerns us all, and assume you have been placed in charge of the whole affair.

[22] Sometimes, however, in such forms of communication we may add something unexpected, a device which is in itself a figure, as Cicero does in the Verrines:

What then? What think you? Perhaps you expect to hear of some theft or plunder.

¹⁸ Then, after keeping the minds of the judges in suspense for a considerable time, he adds something much worse. This figure is termed suspension by Celsus. It has two forms.

[23] For we may adopt exactly the opposite procedure to that just mentioned, and after raising expectation of a sequel of the most serious nature, we may drop to something which is of a trivial character, and may even imply no offence at all. But since this does not necessarily involve any form of communication, some have given it the name of paradox or surprise.

[24] I do not agree with those who extend the name of figure to a statement that something has happened unexpectedly to the speaker himself, like the following passage from Pollio:

Gentlemen, I never thought it would come to pass that, when Scaurus was the accused, I should have to entreat you not to allow influence to carry any weight on his behalf.

[25] The figure known as concession springs from practically the same source as communication; it occurs when we leave some things to the judgment of the jury, or even in some cases of our opponents, as when Calvus says to Vatinius,

Summon all your assurance and assert that you have a better claim than Cato to be elected praetor.

[26] The figures best adapted for intensifying emotion consist chiefly in simulation. For we may feign that we are angry, glad, afraid, filled with wonder, grief or indignation, or that we wish something, and so on. Hence we get passages like the following:

I am free, I breathe again,

¹⁹ or,

It is well,

or,

What madness is this?

²⁰ or,

Alas! for these degenerate days!

²¹ or,

Woe is me; for though all my tears are shed my grief still clings to me deep-rooted in my heart,

²² or,

Gape now, wide earth.

Unknown.

To this some give the name of exclamation,

[27] and include it among figures of speech. When, however, such exclamations are genuine, they do not come under the head of our present topic: it is only those which are simulated and artfully designed which can with any certainty be regarded as figures. The same is true of free speech, which Corificius ²³ calls licence, and the Greeks παῤῥησία. For what has less of the figure about it than true freedom? On the other hand, freedom of speech may frequently be made a cloak for flattery.

[28] For when Cicero in his defence for Ligarius says,

After war had begun, Caesar, and was well on its way to a conclusion, I deliberately, of my own free will and under no compulsion, joined the forces of your opponents,

²⁴ he has in his mind something more than a desire to serve the interests of Ligarius, for there is no better way of praising the clemency of the victor.

[29] On the other hand, in the sentence,

What else was our aim, Tubero, than that we might secure the power which he now holds?

²⁵ he succeeds with admirable art in representing the cause of both parties as being good, and in so doing mollifies him whose cause was really bad. A bolder form of figure, which in Cicero's opinion ²⁶ demands greater effort, is impersonation, or προσωποποιΐα This is a device which lends wonderful variety and animation to oratory.

[30] By this means we display the inner thoughts of our adversaries as though they were talking with themselves (but we shall only carry conviction if we represent them as uttering what they may reasonably be supposed to have had in their minds); or without sacrifice of credibility we may introduce conversations between ourselves and others, or of others among themselves, and put words of advice, reproach, complaint, praise or pity into the mouths of appropriate persons.

[31] Nay, we are even allowed in this form of speech to bring down the gods from heaven and raise the dead, while cities also and peoples may find a voice. There are some authorities who restrict the term imepersonation to cases where both persons and words are fictitious, and prefer to call imaginary conversations between men by the Greek name of dialogue, which some ²⁷ translate by the Latin semnocinatio.

[32] For my own part, I have included both under the same generally accepted term, since we cannot imagine a speech without we also imagine a person to utter it. But when we lend a voice to things to which nature has denied it, we may soften down the figure in the way illustrated by the following passage:

For if my country, which is far dearer to me than life itself, if all Italy, if the whole commonwealth were to address me thus, 'Marcus Tullius, what dost thou?

²⁸ A bolder figure of the same kind may be illustrated by the following:

Your country, Catiline, pleads with you thus, and though she utters never a word, cries to you, 'For not a few years past no crime has come to pass save through your doing!'

²⁹

[33] It is also convenient at times to pretend that we have before our eyes the images of things, persons or utterances, or to marvel that the same is not the case with our adversaries or the judges; it is with this design that we use phrases such as

It seems to me,

Does it not seem to you?

But such devices make a great demand on our powers of eloquence. For with things which are false and incredible by nature there are but two alternatives: either they will move our hearers with exceptional force because they are beyond the truth, or they will be regarded as empty nothings because they are not the truth.

[34] But we may introduce not only imaginary sayings, but imaginary writings as well, as is done by Asinius in his defence of Liburnia:

Let my mother, who was the object of my love and my delight, who lived for me and gave me life twice in one day ³⁰ (and so on) inherit nought of my property.

This is in itself a figure, and is doubly so whenever, as in the present case, it imitates a document produced by the opposing party.

[35] For a will had been read out by the prosecution, in the following form:

Let Publius Novanius Gallio, to whom as my benefactor I will and owe all that is good, as a testimony to the great affection which he has borne me (then follow other details) be my heir.

In this case the figure borders on parody, a name drawn from songs sung in imitation of others, but employed by an abuse of language to designate imitation in verse or prose.

[36] Again, we often personify the abstract, as Virgil ³¹ does with Fame, or as Xenophon ³² records that Prodicus did with Virtue and Pleasure, or as Ennius does when, in one of his satires, he represents Life and Death contending with one another. We may also introduce some imaginary person without identifying him, as we do in the phrases,

At this point some one will interpose,

or,

Some one will say.

[37] Or speech may be inserted without any mention of the speaker, as in the line: ³³

Here the Dolopian host

Camped, here the fierce Achilles pitched his tent.

This involves a mixture of figures, since to impersonalion we add the figure known as ellipse, which in this case consists in the omission of any indication as to who is speaking. At times impersonation takes the form of narrative. Thus we find indirect speeches in the historians, as at the opening of Livy's first book ³⁴ :

That cities, like other things, spring from the humblest origins, and that those who are helped by their own valour and the favour of heaven subsequently win great power and a great name for themselves.

Apostrophe also,

[38] which consists in the diversion of our address from the judge, is wonderfully stirring, whether we attack our adversary as in the passage,

What was that sword of yours doing, Tubero, in the field of Pharsalus?

³⁵ or turn to make some invocation such as,

For I appeal to you, hills and groves of Alba,

³⁶ or to entreaty that will bring odium on our opponents, as in the cry,

O Porcian and Sempronian laws.

³⁷

[39] But the term apostrophe is also applied to utterances that divert the attention of the hearer from the question before them, as in the following passage:

I swore not with the Greeks

At Aulis to uproot the race of Troy.

Aen. iv. 425. Dido is urging Anna to approach Aeneas and induce Aeneas to postpone his departure. Dido is no enemy from whom he need fly.

There are a number of different figures by which this effect may be produced. We may, for instance, pretend that we expected something different or feared some greater disaster, or that the judges in their ignorance of the facts may regard some point as of more importance than it really is: an example of this latter device is to be found in the exordium to Cicero's defence of Caelius.

[40] With regard to the figure which Cicero ³⁸ calls ocular denonstration, this comes into play when we do not restrict ourselves to mentioning that something was done, but proceed to show how it was done, and do so not merely on broad general lines, but in full detail. In the last book ³⁹ I classified this figure under the head of vivid illustration, while Celsus actually terms it by this name. Others give the name of ὑποτύπωσις to any representation of facts which is made in such vivid language that they appeal to the eye rather than the ear. The following will show what I mean:

He came into the forum on fire with criminal madness: his eyes blazed and cruelty was written in every feature of his countenance.

⁴⁰

[41] Nor is it only past or present actions which we may imagine: we may equally well present a picture of what is likely to happen or might have happened. This is done with extraordinary skill by Cicero in his defence of Milo, ⁴¹ where he shows what Clodius would have done, had he succeeded in securing the praetorship. But this transference of time, which is technically called μετάστασις was more modestly used in vivid description by the old orators. For they would preface it by words such as

Imagine that you see

: take, for example, the words of Cicero ⁴² :

Though you cannot see this with your bodily eyes, you can see it with the mind's eye.

[42] Modern authors, however, more especially the declaimers, are bolder, indeed they show the utmost animation in giving rein to their imagination; witness the following passages from Seneca's treatment of the controversial theme in which a father, guided by one of his sons, finds another son in the act of adultery with his stepmother and kills both culprits.

Lead me, I follow, take this old hand of mine and direct it where you will.

[43] And a little later,

See, he says, what for so long you refused to believe. As for myself, I cannot see, night and thick darkness veil my eyes.

This figure is too dramatic: for the story seems to be acted, not narrated.

[44] Some include the clear and vivid description of places under the same heading, while others call it topography. I have found some who speak of irony as dissimulation, but, in view of the fact that this latter name does not cover the whole range of this figure, I shall follow my general rule and rest content with the Greek term. Irony involving a figure does not differ from the irony which is a trope, as far as its genus is concerned, since in both cases we understand something which is the opposite of what is actually said; on the other hand, a careful consideration of the species of irony will soon reveal the fact that they differ.

[45] In the first place, the trope is franker in its meaning, and, despite the fact that it implies something other than it says, makes no pretence about it. For the context as a rule is perfectly clear, as, for example, in the following passage from the Catilinarian orations. ⁴³

Rejected by him, you migrated to your boon-companion, that excellent gentleman Metellus.

In this case the irony lies in two words, and is therefore a specially concise form of trope.

[46] But in the figurative form of irony the speaker disguises his entire meaning, the disguise being apparent rather than confessed. For in the trope the conflict is purely verbal, while in the figure the meaning, and sometimes the whole aspect of our case, conflicts with the language and the tone of voice adopted; nay, a man's whole life may be coloured with irony, as was the case with Socrates, who was called an ironist because he assumed the role of an ignorant man lost in wonder at the wisdom of others. Thus, as continued metaphor develops into allegory, so a sustained series of tropes develops into this figure.

[47] There are, however, certain kinds of this figure which have no connexion with tropes. In the first place, there is the figure which derives its name from negation and is called by some ἀντίφρασις. Here is an example:

I will not plead against you according to the rigour of the law, I will not press the point which I should perhaps be able to make good

⁴⁴ ; or again,

Why should I mention his decrees, his acts of plunder, his acquisition, whether by cession or by force, of certain inheritances?

⁴⁵ or

I say nothing of the first wrong inflicted by his lust

; or

I do not even propose to produce the evidence given concerning the 600,000 sesterces

;

[48] or

I might say, etc.

⁴⁶ Such kinds of irony may even be sustained at times through whole sections of our argument, as, for instance, where Cicero ⁴⁷ says,

If I were to plead on this point as though there were some real charge to refute, I should speak at greater length.

It is also irony when we assume the tone of command or concession, as in Virgil's ⁴⁸

Go!

Follow the winds to Italy;

[49] or when we concede to our opponents qualities which we are unwilling that they should seem to possess. This is specially effective when we possess these qualities and they do not, as in the following passage, ⁴⁹

Brand me as coward, Drances, since thy sword

Has slain such hosts of Trojans.

A like result is produced by reversing this method when we pretend to own to faults which are not ours or which even recoil upon the heads of our opponents, as for example,

'Twas I that led the Dardan gallant on

To storm the bridal bed of Sparta's queen!

Aen. x. 92. Juno ironically pretends to have brought about the rape of Helen, which was in reality the work of Venus.

[50] Further, this device of saying the opposite of what we desire to imply is not merely restricted to persons, but may be extended to things, witness the whole of the exordium of the pro Ligario and disparaging phrases such as

Forsooth,

ye great gods!

Fit task, I ween, for gods!

Aen. iv,. 379. Dido mocks the excuse of Aeneas that he had received the direct command of heaven to leave Carthage.

[51] Another example is provided by the following passage from the pro Oppio,

What wondrous love! what extraordinary benevolence!

Akin to irony also are the following figures, which have a strong family resemblance: confession of a kind that can do our case no harm, such as the following ⁵⁰ :

You have now, Tubero, the advantage most desired by an accuser: the accused confesses his guilt

; secondly, concession, when we pretend to admit something actually unfavourable to ourselves by way of showing our confidence in our cause, as in the following passage ⁵¹ :

The commander of a ship from a distinguished city paid down a sum of money to rid himself of the fear of a scourging which hung over his head; it shows Verres' humanity

; or again, in the pro Cluentio,⁵² where Cicero is speaking of the prejudice aroused against his client,

Let it prevail in the public assembly, but be silent in the courts of law

; thirdly, agreement, as when Cicero, ⁵³ in the same speech, agrees that the jury was bribed.

[52] This last form of figure becomes more striking when we agree to something which is really likely to tell in our favour; but such an opportunity can only occur through weakness on the part of our opponent Sometimes we may even praise some action of our opponent, as Cicero does in his prosecution of Verres ⁵⁴ when dealing with the charge in connexion with Apollonius of Drepanum:

Nay, it is a real pleasure to me to think that you took something from him, and I say that you never did a juster action in your life.

[53] At times we may exaggerate charges against ourselves which we can easily refute or deny; this device is too common to require any illustration. At other times we may by this same method make the charges brought against us seem incredible just because of their gravity: thus Cicero in his defence of Roscius, ⁵⁵ by the sheer force of his eloquence, exaggerates the horror of parricide, despite the fact that it requires no demonstration.

[54] Aposiopesis, which Cicero ⁵⁶ calls reticentia, Celsus obticentia, and some interruptio, is used to indicate passion or anger, as in the line: ⁵⁷

Whom I—

But better first these billows to assuage.

Or it may serve to give an impression of anxiety or scruple, as in the following: ⁵⁸

Would he have dared to mention this law of which Clodius boasts he was the author, while Milo was alive, I will not say was consul? For as regards all of us—I do not dare to complete the sentence.

There is a similar instance in the exordium of Demosthenes' speech in defence of Ctesiphon. ⁵⁹

[55] Again it may be employed as a means of transition, as, for example, ⁶⁰

Cominius, however— nay, pardon me, gentlemen.

This last instance also involves digression, if indeed digression is to be counted among figures, since some authorities regard it as forming one of the parts of a speech. ⁶¹ For at this point the orator diverges to sing the praises of Gnaeus Pompeius, which he might have done without any recourse to aposiopesis.

[56] For as Cicero ⁶² says, the shorter form of digression may be effected in a number of different ways. The following passages will, however, suffice as examples:

Then Gaius Varenus, that is, the Varenus who was killed by the slaves of Ancharius:—I beg you, gentlemen, to give careful attention to what I am about to say ⁶³ ;

the second is from the pro Milone ⁶⁴ :

Then he turned on me that glance, which it was his wont to assume, when he threatened all the world with every kind of violence.

[57] There is also another kind of figure, which is not aposiopesis, since that involves leaving a sentence unfinished, but consists in bringing our words to a close before the natural point for their conclusion. The following is an example ⁶⁵ :

I am pressing my point too far; the young man appears to be moved

; or ⁶⁶

Why should I say more? you heard the young man tell the story himself.

The imitation of other persons' characteristics,

[58] which is styled ἠθοποιί͂α or, as some prefer μίμησις may be counted among the devices which serve to excite the gentler emotions. For it consists mainly in banter, though it may be concerned either with words or deeds. If concerned with the latter, it closely resembles ὑποτύπωσις while the following passage from Terence ⁶⁷ will illustrate it as applied to words:

I didn't see your drift. 'A little girl was stolen from this place; my mother brought her up as her own daughter. She was known as my sister. I want to get her away to restore her to her relations.'

[59] We may, however, imitate our own words and deeds in a similar fashion by relating some act or statement, though in such cases the speaker more frequently does so to assert his point than for the sake of banter, as, for example, in the following, ⁶⁸

I said that they had Quintus Caecilius to conduct the prosecution.

There are other devices also which are agreeable in themselves and serve not a little to commend our case both by the introduction of variety and by their intrinsic naturalness, since by giving our speech an appearance of simplicity and spontaneity they make the judges more ready to accept our statements without suspicion.

[60] Thus we may feign repentance for what we have said, as in the pro Caelio,⁶⁹ where Cicero says,

But why did I introduce so respectable a character?

Or we may use some common phrase, such as,

I didn't mean to say that.

⁷⁰ Or we may pretend that we are searching for what we should say, as in the phrases,

What else is there?

Have I left anything out?

Or we may pretend to discover something suggested by the context, as when Cicero ⁷¹ says,

One more charge, too, of this sort still remains for me to deal with,

One thing suggests another.

[61] Such methods will also provide us with elegant transitions, although transition is not itself to be ranked among figures: for example, Cicero, ⁷² after telling the story of Piso, who ordered a goldsmith to make a ring before him in court, adds, as though this story had suggested it to him,

This ring of Piso's reminds me of something which had entirely slipped my memory. How many gold rings do you think Verres has stripped from the fingers of honourable men?

Or we may affect ignorance on certain points, as in the following passage ⁷³ :

But who was the sculptor who made those statues? Who was he? Thank you for prompting me, you are right; they said it was Polyclitus.

[62] This device may serve for other purposes as well. For there are means of this kind whereby we may achieve an end quite other than that at which we appear to be aiming, as, for example, Cicero does in the passage just quoted. For while he taunts Verres with a morbid passion for acquiring statues and pictures, he succeeds in creating the impression that he personally has no interest in such subjects. So, too, when Demosthenes ⁷⁴ swears by those who fell at Marathon and Salamis, his object is to lessen the odium in which he was involved by the disaster at Chaeronea.

[63] We may further lend charm to our speech by deferring the discussion of some points after just mentioning them, thus depositing them in the safe keeping of the judge's memory and afterwards reclaiming our deposit; or we may employ some figure to enable us to repeat certain points (for repetition is not in itself a figure) or may make especial mention of certain things and vary the aspect of our pleading. For eloquence delights in variety, and just as the eye is more strongly attracted by the sight of a number of different things, so oratory supplies a continuous series of novelties to rivet the attention of the mind.

[64] Emphasis may be numbered among figures also, when some hidden meaning is extracted from some phrase, as in the following passage from Virgil:

Might I not have lived,

From wedlock free, a life without a stain,

Happy as beasts are happy?

Aen. iv. 550.

For although Dido complains of marriage, yet her passionate outburst shows that she regards life without wedlock as no life for man, but for the beasts of the field. A different kind of emphasis is found in Ovid, where Zmyrna confesses to her nurse her passion for her father in the following words:

O mother, happy in thy spouse!

Met. x. 422.

[65] Similar, if not identical with this figure is another, which is much in vogue at the present time. For I must now proceed to the discussion of a class of figure which is of the commonest occurrence and on which I think I shall be expected to make some comment. It is one whereby we excite some suspicion to indicate that our meaning is other than our words would seem to imply; but our meaning is not in this case contrary to that which we express, as is the case in ironq, but rather a hidden meaning which is left to the hearer to discover. As I have already pointed out, ⁷⁵ modern rhetoricians practically restrict the name of figure to this device, from the use of which figured controversial themes derive their name.

[66] This class of figure may be employed under three conditions: first, if it is unsafe to speak openly; secondly, if it is unseemly to speak openly; and thirdly, when it is employed solely with a view to the elegance of what we say, and gives greater pleasure by reason of the novelty and variety thus introduced than if our meaning had been expressed in straightforward language.

[67] The first of the three is of common occurrence in the schools, where we imagine conditions laid down by tyrants on abdication and decrees passed by the senate after a civil war, and it is a capital offence to accuse a person with what is past, what is not expedient in the courts being actually prohibited in the schools. But the conditions governing the employment of figures differ in the two cases. For we may speak against the tyrants in question as openly as we please without loss of effect, provided always that what we say is susceptible of a different interpretation, since it is only danger to ourselves, and not offence to them, that we have to avoid.

[68] And if the danger can be avoided by any ambiguity of expression, tile speaker's cunning will meet with universal approbation. On the other hand, the actual business of the courts has never yet involved such necessity for silence, though at times they require something not unlike it, which is much more embarrassing for the speaker, as, for example, when he is hampered by the existence of powerful personages, whom he must censure if he is to prove his case.

[69] Consequently he must proceed with greater wariness and circumspection; since the actual manner in which offence is given is a matter of indifference, and if a figure is perfectly obvious, it ceases to be a figure. Therefore such devices are absolutely repudiated by some authorities, whether the meaning of the figure be intelligible or not. But it is possible to employ such figuress in moderation, the primary consideration being that they should not be too obvious. And this fault can be avoided, if the figre does not depend on the employment of words of doubtful or double meaning, such, for instance, as the words which occur in the theme of the suspected daughter-in-law: ⁷⁶

I married the wife who pleased my father.

[70] It is important, too, that the figure should not depend on ambiguous collocations of words (a trick which is far more foolish than the last); an example of this is to be found in the controversial theme, where a father, accused of a criminal passion for his unmarried daughter, asks her for the name of her ravisher.

Who dishonoured you?

he says. She replies:

My father, do you not know?

⁷⁷

[71] The facts themselves must be allowed to excite the suspicions of the judge, and we must clear away all other points, leaving nothing save what will suggest the truth. In doing this we shall find emotional appeals, hesitation and words broken by silences most effective. For thus the judge will be led to seek out the secret which he would not perhaps believe if he heard it openly stated, and to believe in that which he thinks he has found out for himself. But however excellent our figures,

[72] they must not be too numerous. For overcrowding will make them obvious, and they will become ineffective without becoming inoffensive, while the fact that we make no open accusation will seem to be due not to modesty, but to lack of confidence in our own cause. In fact, we may sum up the position thus: our figures will have most effect upon the judge when he thinks that we use them with reluctance.

[73] I myself have come across persons whom it was impossible to convince by other means: I have even come across a much rarer thing, namely, a case which could only be proved by recourse to such devices. I was defending a woman who was alleged to have forged her husband's will, and the heirs were stated to have given a bond ⁷⁸ to the husband on his deathbed, which latter assertion was true.

[74] For since the wife could not legally be appointed his heir, this procedure was adopted to enable the property to be transferred to her by a secret conveyance in trust. Now it was easy for me to secure the woman's acquittal, by openly mentioning the existence of the bond; but this would have involved her loss of the inheritance. I had, therefore, to plead in such a way that the judges should understand that the bond had actually been given, but that informers might be unable to avail themselves of any statement of mine to that effect. And I was successful in both my aims. The fear of seeming to boast my own skill would have deterred me from mentioning this case, but for the fact that I wished to demonstrate that there was room for the employment of these figures even in the courts.

[75] Some things, again, which cannot be proved, may, on the other hand, be suggested by the employment of some figure. For at times such hidden shafts will stick, and the fact that they are not noticed will prevent their being drawn out, whereas if the same point were stated openly, it would be denied by our opponents and would have to be proved.

[76] When, however, it is respect for some person that hampers us (which I mentioned as the second condition ⁷⁹ under which such figures may be used), all the greater caution is required because the sense of shame is a stronger deterrent to all good men than fear. In such cases the judge must be impressed with the fact that we are hiding what we know and keeping back the words which our natural impulse to speak out the truth would cause to burst from our lips. For those against whom we are speaking, together with the judges and our audience, would assuredly be all the more incensed by such toying with detraction, if they thought that we were inspired by deliberate malice.

[77] And what difference does it make how we express ourselves, when both the facts and our feelings are clearly understood? And what good shall we do by expressing ourselves thus except to make it clear that we are doing what we ourselves know ought not to be done? And yet in the days when I first began to teach rhetoric, this failing was only too common. For declaimers selected by preference those themes which attracted them by their apparent difficulty, although as a matter of fact they were much easier than many others.

[78] For straightforward eloquence requires the highest gifts to commend itself to the audience, while these circuitous and indirect methods are merely the refuge of weakness, for those who use them are like men who, being unable to escape from their pursuers by speed, do so by doubling, since this method of expression, which is so much affected, is really not far removed from jesting. Indeed it is positively assisted by the tact that the hearer takes pleasure in detecting the speaker's concealed meaning, applauds his own penetration and regards another man's eloquence as a compliment to himself.

[79] Consequently it was not merely in cases where respect for persons prevented direct speaking (a circumstance which as a rule calls for caution rather than figures ) that they would have recourse to figurative methods, but they made room for them even under circumstances where they were useless or morally inadmissible, as for example in a case where a father, who had secretly slain his son whom he suspected of incest with his mother, and was accused of ill-treating his wife, was made to bring indirect insinuations against his wife.

[80] But what could be more discreditable to the accused than that he should have kept such a wife? What could be more damaging than that he who is accused because he appears to have harboured the darkest suspicions against his wife, should by his defence confirm the charge which he is required to refute? If such speakers had only placed themselves in the position of the judges, they would have realised how little disposed they would have been to put up with pleading on such lines, more especially in cases where the most abominable crimes were insinuated against parents.

[81] However, since we have lighted on this topic, let us devote a little more time to considering the practice of the schools. For it is in the schools that the orator is trained, and the methods adopted in pleading ultimately depend on the methods employed in declamation. I must therefore say something of those numerous cases in which figures have been employed which were not merely harsh, but actually contrary to the interests of the case.

A man condemned for attempting to establish himself as tyrant shall be tortured to make him reveal the names of his accomplices. The accuser shall choose what reward he pleases. A certain man has secured the condemnation of his father and demands as his reward that he should not be tortured. The father opposes his choice.

[82] Everyone who pleaded for the father indulged in figurative insinuations against the son, on the assumption that the father would, when tortured, be likely to name him as one of his accomplices. But what could be more foolish? For as soon as the judges grasp their point, they will either refuse to put him to the torture in view of his motive for desiring to be tortured, or will refuse to believe any confession he may make under torture. But, it will be urged,

[83] it is possible that this was his motive. May be. But he should then disguise his motive, in order that he may effect his purpose. But what will it profit us (and by us I mean the declaimers) to have realised this motive, unless we declare it as well? Well, then, if the case were being actually pleaded in the courts, should we have disclosed this secret motive in such a way? Again, if this is not the real motive, the condemned man may have other reasons for opposing his son; he may think that the law should be carried out or be unwilling to accept such a kindness from the hands of his accuser, or (and this is the line on which I personally should insist) he may intend to persist in declaring his innocence even under torture.

[84] Consequently the usual excuse advanced by such declaimers to the effect that the inventor of the theme meant the defence to proceed on these lines, will not always serve their purpose. It is possible that this was not the inventor's wish. However, let us assume that it was. Are we then to speak like fools merely because he thought like a fool? Personally I hold that, even in actual cases, we should often disregard the wishes of the litigant.

[85] Further, in such cases speakers fall into the frequent error of assuming that certain persons say one thing and mean another: this is more especially the case where it is assumed that a man asks permission to die. Take, for example, the following controversial theme.

A man who had shown himself a heroic soldier in the past, on the occasion of a subsequent war demanded exemption from service in accordance with the law, on the ground that he was fifty years of age, but exemption being refused owing to the opposition of his son, he deserted on being compelled to go into the fight. The son, who had borne himself like a hero in the same battle, asks for his father's pardon as a reward. The father opposes his choice.

Yes,

they say,

that is due not to his desire to die, but to bring odium on his son.

For my part,

[86] I laugh at the fears which they manifest on his behalf, as though they were in peril of death themselves, and at the way in which they allow their terror to influence their line of pleading; for they forget how many precedents there are for suicide and how many reasons there may be why a hero turned deserter should wish for death.

[87] But it would be waste of time to expatiate on one controversial theme. I would lay it down as a general rule that an orator should never put forward a plea that is tantamount to collusion, and I cannot imagine a lawsuit arising in which both parties have the same design, nor conceive that any man who wishes to live could be such a fool as to put forward an absurd plea for death, when he might refrain from pleading for it at all. ⁸⁰ I do not, however,

[88] deny that there are controversial themes of this kind where figures may legitimately be employed, as, for example, the following:

A man was accused of unnatural murder on the ground that he had killed his brother, and it seemed probable that he would be condemned. His father gave evidence in his defence, stating that the murder had been committed on his orders. The son was acquitted, but disinherited by the father.

For in this case he does not pardon his son entirely, but cannot openly withdraw the evidence that he gave in the first trial, and while he does not inflict any worse penalty than disinheritance, he does not shrink from that. Further, the employment of the figure tells more heavily against the father than is fair and less against the son. ⁸¹

[89] But, while no one ever speaks against the view which he wishes to prevail, he may wish something of greater importance than what he actually says. Thus the disinherited son who asks his father to take back another son whom he had exposed, and who had been brought up by himself, on payment for his maintenance, while he may prefer that he himself should be reinstated, may all the same be perfectly sincere in his demand on behalf of his brother. Again, a kind of tacit hint may be employed, which,

[90] while demanding the utmost rigour of the law from the judges, suggests a loophole for clemency, not openly, for that would imply a pledge on our part, but by giving a plausible suspicion of our meaning. This device is employed in a number of controversial themes, among them the following.

A ravisher, unless within thirty days he secure pardon both from his own father and the father of the ravished girl, shall be put to death. A man who has succeeded in securing pardon from the father of the girl, but not from his own, accuses the latter of madness.

[91] Here if the father pledges himself to pardon him, the dispute falls to the ground. If, on the other hand, he holds out no hope of pardon, though he will not necessarily be regarded as mad, he will certainly give the impression of cruelty and will prejudice the judge against him. Latro therefore showed admirable skill when he made the son say,

You will kill me then?

and the father reply,

Yes, if I can.

⁸² The elder Gallio treats the theme with greater tenderness, as was natural to a man of his disposition. He makes the father say,

Be firm, my heart, be firm. Yesterday you were made of sterner stuff.

[92] Akin to this are those figures of which the Greeks are so fond, by means of which they give gentle expression to unpleasing facts. Themistocles, for example, is believed to have urged the Athenians to commit their city to the protection of heaven, because to urge them to abandon it would have been too brutal an expression. Again the statesman ⁸³ who advised that certain golden images of Victory should be melted down as a contribution to the war funds, modified his words by saying that they should make a proper use of their victories. But all such devices which consist in saying one thing, while intending something else to be understood, have a strong resemblance to allegory.

[93] It has also been asked how figures may best be met. Some hold that they should always be exposed by the antagonist, just as hidden ulcers are laid open by the surgeon. It is true that this is often the right course, being the only means of refuting the charges which have been brought against us, and this is more especially the case when the question turns on the very point at which the figures are directed. But when the figures are merely employed as vehicles of abuse, it will sometimes even be wisest to show that we have a clear conscience by ignoring them.

[94] Nay, even if too many figures have been used to permit us to take such a course, we may ask our opponents, if they have any confidence in the righteousness of their cause, to give frank and open expression to the charges which they have attempted to suggest by indirect hints, or at any rate to refrain from asking the judges not merely to understand, but even to believe things which they themselves are afraid to state in so many words.

[95] It may even at times be found useful to pretend to misunderstand them; for which we may compare the well known story of the man who, when his opponent cried,

Swear by the ashes of your father,

⁸⁴ replied that he was ready to do so, whereupon the judge accepted the proposal, much to the indignation of the advocate, who protested that this would make the use of figures absolutely impossible; we may therefore lay it down as a general rule that such figures should only be used with the utmost caution.

[96] There remains the third class of figure designed merely to enhance the elegance of our style, for which reason Cicero expresses the opinion that such figures are independent of the subject in dispute. As an illustration I may quote the figure which he uses in his speech ⁸⁵ against Clodius:

By these means he, being familiar with all our holy rites, thought that he might easily succeed in appeasing the gods.

[97] Irony also is frequently employed in this connexion. But by far the most artistic device is to indicate one thing by allusion to another; take the case where a rival candidate speaks against an ex-tyrant who had abdicated on condition of his receiving an amnesty ⁸⁶ :

I am not permitted to speak against you. Do you speak against me, as you may. But a little while ago I wished to kill you.

[98] Another common device is to introduce an oath, like the speaker who, in defending a disinherited man, cried,

So may I die leaving a son to be my heir.

⁸⁷ But this is not a figure which is much to be recommended, for as a rule the introduction of an oath, unless it is absolutely necessary, is scarcely becoming to a self-respecting man. Seneca made a neat comment to this effect when he said that oaths were for the witness and not for the advocate. Again, the advocate who drags in an oath merely for the sake of some trivial rhetorical effect, does not deserve much credit, unless he can do this with the masterly effect achieved by Demosthenes, which I mentioned above. ⁸⁸

[99] But by far the most trivial form of figure is that which turns on a single word, although we find such a figure directed against Clodia by Cicero ⁸⁹ :

Especially when everybody thought her the friend of all men rather than the enemy of any.

[100] I note that comparison is also regarded as a figure, although at times it is a form of proof, ⁹⁰ and at others the whole case may turn upon it, ⁹¹ while its form may be illustrated by the following passage from the pro Murena:⁹²

You pass wakeful nights that you may be able to reply to your clients; he that he and his army may arrive betimes at their destination. You are roused by cockcrow, he by the bugle's reveille,

and so on.

[101] I am not sure, however, whether it is so much a figure of thought as of speech. For the only difference lies in the fact that universals are not contrasted with universals, but particulars with particulars. Celsus, however, and that careful writer Visellius regard it as a figure of thought, while Rutilius Lupus regards it as belonging to both, and calls it antithesis.

[102] To the figures placed by Cicero among the ornaments of thought Rutilius (following the views of Gorgias, a contemporary, whose four books he transferred to his own work, and who is not to be confused with Georgias of Leontini) and Celsus (who follows Rutilius) would add a number of others, such as:

[103] concentration, which the Greek calls διαλλαγή⁹³ a term employed when a number of different arguments are used to establish one point: consequence, which Gorgias calls ἐπακολούθησις and which I have already discussed under the head of argument ⁹⁴ : inference, which Gorgias terms συλλογισμός threats, that is, κατάπληξις exhortation, or παραινετικόν But all of these are perfectly straightforward methods of speaking, unless combined with some one of the figures which I have discussed above.

[104] Besides these, Celsus considers the following to be figures: exclusion, asseveration, refusal, ⁹⁵ excitement of the judge, the use of proverbs, the employment of quotations from poetry, jests, invidious remarks or invocation to intensify a charge (which is identical with δείνωσις ) flattery, pardon, disdain, admonition, apology, entreaty and rebuke.

[105] He even includes partition, proposition, division and affinity between two separate things, by which latter he means that two things apparently different signify the same: for example, not only the man who murders another by administering a deadly draught is to be regarded as a poisoner, but also the man who deprives another of his wits by giving him some drug, a point which depends on definition.

[106] To these Rutilius or Gorgias add ἀναγκαῖον that is, the representation of the necessity of a thing, ἀνάμνησις or reminding, ἀνθυποφορά that is, replying to anticipated objections, ἀντίῤῥησις or refutation, παραύξησις or amplification, προέκθεσις which means pointing out what ought to have been done, and then what actually has been done, ἐναντιότης, or arguments from opposites ⁹⁶ (whence we get enthymemes styled κατ᾽ ἐναντίωσιν ), and even μετάληψις, which Hermagoras considers a basis.⁹⁷ Visellius, although he makes the number of figures but small, includes among them the enthymeme, which he calls commentum, and the epicheireme, which he calls ratio.⁹⁸ This view is also partially accepted by Celsus, who is in doubt whether consequence is not to be identified with the epicheireme.

[107] Visellius also adds general reflexions to the list. I find others who would add to these διασκευή⁹⁹ or enhancement, ἀπαγόρευσις or prohibition, and παραδιήγησις or incidental narrative. But though these are not figures, there may be others which have slipped my notice, or are yet to be invented: still, they will be of the same nature as those of which I have spoken above.

Notes on the current edition

Institutio Oratoria

1. quae quildem, Spalding : qua de, AG.

2. ut se numeros, Obrecht : innumeros, AG.

3. sed, Spaldig: et, A: est, G.

4. se added by Halm .

5. vincta sit et, Obrecht : vincat ac sit, AG.

6. aut leniores added by Christ.

7. passim, Christ : pars, MSS.

8. oratione ista iacta te, Halm : oratione acta oratio iactate, G: oratione acta oratio actate, A.

9. dixit, Lachmann: dixi, MSS.

10. syllabae quod, Halm : syllaba verba prioris ultima et prima sequentes idē (id, ÷ G ), nec quod, AG.

11. invisae added by Regius.

12. something has obviously been lost. Halm suggests

recte se habet, cum maius sit quod tribunal implevit,

see transl.

13. primum, Christ : plurimum, AG.

14. longa and duabus, added by Halm following Rollin.

15. aut ex tribus brevibus, added by Halm.

16. Bracketed by Christ.

17. qui added by Halm.

18. sicut, Spalding : sint at (ad, G ), AG.

19. quorum an early correction of quam, MSS. velut added by Burmann.

20. et pedum. quod , Christ : et quae, AG.

21. apta, Spalding :aqua, AG.

22. de compositionis. . numero, Halm : pro composito numero, MSS. (nunerum, A. ).

23. non added by Rollin.

24. declamrantium, Halm : deelamat, AG.

25. nec, Regius : sed, MSS.

26. the text gives Halm's suggested correction of AG sumunt cum ea quamlibet sit enim composita.

27. namque eo fit ut cum, Halm , Spalding: nam quo cum fit ut, AG.

28. velut, Halm : vel, MSS.: sint added by Halm.

29. emendatur, Meister : mnendat, AG.

30. sit, Halm : est, MSS.

31. senarium, added by Christ.

32. quoniam causam sciunt, Halm : quam consciunt, G: quamquam sciunt, A: quam constituunt, codd. monac . Argeator.

33. versibus, Daniel : verbis, MSS.

34. compositionem, added by Spalding.

35. pedibus, added by ed. camp .

36. amphibrachyn duabus, Spalding : brachios huic (hinc, G) ausis, AG.

37. sequentibus brevem, added by L. Valla.

38. ipsae, Spaldinig: obsessae, AG.

39. quid quod, Spalding : quidquid, AG.

40. vel longs, added by Christ.

41. spondeum et, added by ed. camp .

42. nimia, Ialm: etenim, AG.

43. humilior, P. Victorius, Pithoeus: humanior, MSS.

44. toni, added by Christ.

45. talem exarasse, Halm : tatelarasse, G: taliter lusisse, A. (iter lus by corrector ).

46. loco, Spalding : longo, AG.

47. quis pes claudat sed claudentem quis, Halm : quis claudatem quis, G: quis claudat et quis, A.

48. absit enim, Christ : sit tam, AG.

49. ut, Halm : ut, MSS.

50. longa, added by Halm.

51. non eodem modo se, Halm neodem per se, AG.

52. causa non nihil, Halm : causam nihil, AG.

53. Bracketed by Regius.

54. praecedentibus et, G: praecedenti A. I have added palimbacchio.

55. notabilis, early edd.: nobis, AG.

56. non, added by Spalding.

57. quid, Halm : quidquid, AG.

58. numeri non, Regius : fecerint, MSS.

59. impetu, Halm : peritu, AG.

60. est iam, Halm : etiam, MSS.

61. seutiam tanien, Halm: sontentiai, A (?) G: sent am, later MSS.

62. Et si qui non, Halm : necquis, AG.

63. I numneris, Regiues: membris, AG.

64. mutila, Christ : mixta, MSS.: multa, Diomedes.

65. poscitur, Regius : poscit, A. : possit, G.

66. atque illac added by Spalding.

67. gaudere, Spalding : laudere, AG.

68. non tamen, ed. ven : nondum, MSS.

69. hahent, Halm : habentia, G.

70. habentia, Christ : habent, MSS.

71. superbiorem. Salding: superiorem, G.

72. motti sunt Spalding : riotus, G.

73. signandos, Ham: signos, G.

74. quihus, added by Spalding.

75. trochaeis . . trochaei, Spalding : choreis. . trochaei, MSS.

76. amittit que, Regius : atque, MSS.

77. cum minus. . G. Meyer: quouminus, G: quamvis, quamvis minus, later MSS.

78. severitatis, Spalding : veitatis, G: varietatis, Regius .

Quintilian Institutio Oratoria 9.4

ed. Harold Edgeworth Butler

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