>i.
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
(S)
FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB, LL.D.
EDITED BY , t^
E. H. WARMINGTON, m.a., f.e.hist.soo.
PREVIOUS EDITORS
tT. E. PAGE, C.H., LiTT.D. tE. CAPPS, ph.d., ll.d.
tW. H. D. ROUSE, litt.d. L. A. POST, l.h.d.
CICERO
III
DE ORATORE I, II
348
CICERO
IN TWENTY-EIGHT VOLUMES
III
DE ORATORE
IN TWO VOLUMES
I
BOOKS I, II
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
E. W. SUTTON, B.C.L., M.A.
FORMBKLY EXHIBITIONKR OF TRINITY COLLEaE, OXFORD
COMPLETED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION, BY
H. RACKHAM, M.A.
FBLLOW OF OHRIST'S OOLLBQE, OAMBRIDaE
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
MCMLXVII
pfi
PritUed in Oreat Brilain
(3^
CONTENTS
PAGl
Preface vii
Introduction ix
LlST OF ClCER0's WORKS XXV
Text and Translation —
Book I 2
— Book II 196
Appendix 480
PREFACE
Thougb his name does not appear on the title-page,
any merit discoverable in the translation of De
Oratore, Book I is largely due to my friend Mr.
Charles Stuttaford, sometime of Amersham Hall
School. Originally entrusted with the execution of
both these volumes, he had done much preliminary
work on the text and translation of Book I, when
reasons of health compelled him to rehnquish his
task. I most gratefully acknowledge my heavy
indebtedness to his labours.
E. W. S.
25th February 1939
The late Mr. E. W. Sutton left at his death only
the MS. and proof of his translation of De Oratore,
Book I, and three-quarters of Book II, at various
stages of correction. I have completed the volume.
An index will be found in Volume Two, which
contains De Oratore, Book III, De Fato, Paradoxa
Stoicorum, and De Partitione Oraioria.
H. R.
January 1949
vii
INTRODUCTION
Date and Purpose of the Work
The circumstances in which Cicero wrote his essay
On the Orator and the object that he had in view can
be inferred from the following three passages in his
letters :
Ad Atticum iv. 13. 2 (November 55 b.c). De Jibris
oratoriis factum est a me diligenter : diu multumque in
manibus fuerunt.
Ad Fam. i. 9. 23 (September 54 b.c). Scripsi etiam —
nam ab orationibus diiungo me referoque ad mansuetiores
Musas, quae me nunc maxime sicut iam a prima adu-
lescentia delectarunt — scripsi igitur Aristotelio more,
quemadmodum quidem volui, tres libros in disputatione
ac dialogo de oratore, quos arbitror Lentulo tuo non fore
inutiles ; abhorrent enim a communibus praeceptis atque
omnium antiquorum, et Aristoteliam et Isocratiam,
rationem oratoriam complectuntur.
Ad Atticum xiii. 19. 4 (45 b.c). Sunt etiam de oratore
nostri tres (libri), mihi vehementer probati. In eis quoque
eae personae sunt ut mihi tacendum fuerit, Crassus enim
loquitur, Antonius, Catulus senex, C. lulius frater Catuli,
Cotta, Sulpicius. Puero me hic sermo inducitur, ut nullae
esse possent partes meae. Quae autem his temporibus
[i.e. 45 B.c] scripsi Aristotelium morem habent, in quo
sermo ita inducitur ceterorum ut penes ipsum sit princi-
patus.
We thus lean>4h|it Cicero finished the book in the
early winter oi 55 B.c.,.when he had been working on <^
rv
INTRODUCTION
it for some time ; and we infer that he published it
soon afterwards, since in the following September
he promises to send a copy to his friend Lentulus for
the use of his son. He remarks to Lentulus that he
has now almost entirely given up composing speeches,
and has returned to his youthful love, the humane
letters.
He had indeed for some time lived entirely with-
drawn from public life, where even previously he had
lost all power of influencing the course of afFairs. In
63 B.c. the oligarchical party had been glad to make
use of his legal and oratorical talents in the suppres-
sion of the conspiracy of Catiline ; but they were not
willing to make any sacrifices in order to repay him
for his services, and in 58 b.c. they allowed Clodius
to procure his banishment in punishment for the
alleged illegality of his procedure in the Catilinarian
affair. A year later Pompeius, finding Clodius more
dangerous, again required Cicero's assistance, and
procured his recall from exile. He was warmly wel-
comed back by the pubHc, but he was no longer of
any political importance, although he still appeared
in the law-courts, where he delivered some consider-
able speeches. In 55 b.c. however, when the im-
perium of the triumvirs was prolonged for five
years, he withdrew from the courts as well as from
the senate, and devoted his leisure to study, the first
fruits being the present treatise.
Of its merits he himself took a high view ; the
tone in which he wites of it to Atticus (in the third
extract above) is very different from the apologetic
way in which ten years later he spoke about his philo-
sophical works : these he referred to as d7r6ypa(}>a,
mere transcripts from Greek originals, that cost him
INTRODUCTION
little labour. The present work is indeed worthy
of the greatest of Roman orators, who regards ora-
tory as of supreme practical importance in the guid-
ance of affairs, and who resolves, while his mindis still
vigorous and powerful, to devote his enforced leisure
to placing on record the fruits of his experience, for
the instruction of future statesmen.
- The treatise is composed in the form of a conversa-
tion, though its method is very different from that
of the dialogues of Plato. In those the conversational
form is employed to convey the feeling of corporate
research into complicated abstract questions, pro-
gressing towards the truth but not attaining it with
sufficient certainty and completeness to justify its
being expounded dogmatically ; the positive results,
so far as any can be ehcited, are merely tentative.
In Cicero's dialogues on the contrary the facts in
respect to the matter under consideration are re-
garded as already ascertained ; doctrines are ex-
pounded as dogmatic truths, the dialogue form being
adopted as a vivid method of exhibiting the many-
sided nature of the subject and the departments into
which a systematic treatment of it falls. If differing
opinions about it are introduced, the parts of them
that are valid are accepted and put together in a
single system.
> In the second of the passages quoted above Cicero
^escribes the work as written * in the Aristotehan
\manner.' Its manner is extremely unhke jthat of
the works oF Arfstotle that have cottie 3own to us,
which are rigidly scientific expositions, in jjlaces
hardly more than outlines and enumerations of
arguments, and which have been conjectured to be
the Master's actual notes for his lectures. We^now
xi
INTRODUCTION
however that Aristotle also wrote dialogues, in which
he published his doctrines in a more popular form,
but all of them have now been lost." It is this group
of Aristotle's works the method of which, disputatio et
dialogus, Cicero claims to have adopted in the present
treatise, as a vehicle by which to convey the oratorical
\system of Aristotle himself and that of IsOcrates.
1 Some difficulty has been felt to be raised by the third
passage quoted, which is ten years later in date ; in
it Cicero contrasts De Oratore with his later philo-
sophical dialogues, on the ground that in the former
he is not himself one of the party, the scene being
laid in the time of his boyhood, whereas in the latter
he follows the Aristotehan plan of assigning the
principal part in the discussion to himself (a feature
in Aristotle's dialogues of which we have no other
evidence, but which we must accept on Cicero's
authority). But in point of fact there is no dis-
crepancy. The comparison with Aristotle in the
latter passage relates to the assignment of the parts :
that in the former refers to the dialogue form. Also
it must be noticed that in the former passage Cicero
claims to have adopted the Aristotehan method ' at
all events as far as I thought fit ' : this qualification
may well hint at the difFerence from Aristotle con-
sisting in the author's taking no part in the dialogue
himself.
SCENE AND DaTE OF THE DiALOQUE
Details are given by the author in the intro-
ductory passages at the beginning of each of the
" The recently recovered Athenian Constitution does not
fall exactly into either class ; it is not a dialogue, but a
straightforward exposition in a fully finished form.
v^
INTRODUCTION
three Books ; they will be found in the outline
below, pp. XV, xix, xxi.
Persons of the Dialooue
LJ^icinius Crassus was born in 140 b.c, and was
therefofefor^y^inFyears old at the date when the
discussion is supposed to take place, September 91 b.c.
He died only a few days after that date. He was
a leading figure among the moderate and judicious
optimates, though it is true that he gave his name to
an unwise law checking the movement to strengthen
Rome by extending the citizenship to the Latins.
He passed through the cursus honorum, becoming
consul in 95 b.c. He was the mostiUiistrisius^Roman
orator before Cicerorandj^HerrXicerowas a boy he
act^T^^Tus^Tutof in rhetoric. Ih" the^^present dia-
logue he is the moiitHpiece of Cicero's own opinions.
M. Antonius, the grandfather of the triumvir, was
Crassus's senior by three years.** As praetor 103 b.c.
he put down piracy in Cilicia and was awarded a
triumph. Six years later he was a vigorous censor.
Four years after the supposed date of the dialogue
he fell a victim to Marius, whose minions murdered
him when at supper at a friend's house.
In coUoquy with these two great orators Cicero
introduces two of the most distinguished of their
younger foUowers.
P. Sulpicius Rufus was now thirty-three years old.
He was one^FtHe^chief hopes of the optimate party,
being a moderate conservative and foUowing Drusus
in his movement for limited reform. Later however
he swung over to Marius and the extremists, and
when (ten years after the date of the dialogue) SuUa
' Cic. Brutua 161 triennio.
■^"
INTRODUCTION
made himself master of Rome, he with Marius was
proscribed, and soon after murdered.
C. Aurelius Cotta, a young man of less vigorous
character, of the "sarile age as Sulpicius, attached
himself in a similar manner to Antonius. He also
belonged to the party of conservative reform, but
unhke Sulpicius he remained a moderate and never
joined the extreme reformers. Sulla therefore
allowed him to return from exile in 82 b.c. and resume
his career. He rose to be consul in 75 b.c, and died
the next year, after achieving some minor miUtary
successes as proconsul in Gaul.
^ / 5" These four characters take part in the whole of
^Cj. <T;he dialogue. Q. Mucius Q. F. Scaevola the Augur
figures in Book I only. He was nearly or quite
seventy years old at the time, having been consul
117 B.c. He was a learned lawyer, and an adherent
of the Stoic philosophy, being a member of the
Hellenizing ' Scipionic circle.' In extreme old age
he refused to figure as an adherent of SuUa. Cicero
tells Atticus {ad Att. iv. 16. 3) that he thought it suit-
able to his character and interests to introduce him
at the beginning of the discussion, but due to his
years to spare him the rcxi^oAoyia of the later part.
He is represented as displaying great legal know-
ledge and experience of the world ; he somewhat
disparages the value of rhetoric, and questions the
need of a wide Uterary and philosophic education
for an orator.
■ — Books II and III introduce two others, Q^^Lutatius
Catulus and his half-brother C. Juhus Caes^^^trabo
Vopiscus. Catulus first appears in history as col-
leagiie of Marius in the consulship, 102 b.c. In the
next year as proconsul he failed to check the Cim-
xiv
INTRODUCTION
brians from invading Gallia Transpadana, but with
Marius defeated them at Vercellae : according to
Plutarch the greater part of the credit was due
to Catulus. They celebrated a triumph together.
Fourteen years later on Marius's return to Rome he
made Catulus one of his victims : * moriatur ' was
his instruction. Catulus was an officer and gentle-
man of spotless integrity ; he also had considerable
Uterary gifts.
Vopiscus early won a position at the bar, and was
aedile in the year after the date of the dialogue.
He too fell a victim to Marius.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
Book I (§§ 1-23) Introduction : (§§ 1-5) Cicero sub-
stitutes this essay for his earUer writings on rhetoric,
in order to satisfy his brother Quintus's desire for
a discussion of the functions of the orator, and to
justify his own view that the orator requires a vdde
liberal education. (§§ 6-15) Great orators are rare,
not owing to dearth of abiUty, but because of the
difficulty of the art, and in spite of its attractions.
(§§ 16-23) It calls for wide knowledge, command of
language, psychological insight, wit and humour, a
good deUvery and a good memory — even if we only
aim at the eloquence requisite for pubUc Ufe, and
consider it not theoreticaUy but in the Ught of
practical experience.
(§§ 24-29) Scene of the dialogue. The treatise gives
an account of a discussion held. in September 91 b.c.
at the Tusculan viUa of Anjf6niufe, t)etween him and
Cra«sus"^"*a minor share being taken by Scaevola,
Sulpicius and Cotta. The discussion was as foUows :
XV
INTRODUCTION
(§§ 30-95) Oratory, its nature and range.
(§§ 30-34) Crassus praises oratory as of primary
importance to society and the state : the orator's
position is eminent, gratifying and powerful for
good ; he excels in the very gift wherein man is
superior to animals, * discourse of reason.'
(§§ 35-44) Scaevola objects that Crassus Overrates
the political influence of orators and exaggerates the
range of their powers : they are often incapable of
dealing with questions of law, philosophy and science.
Their proper sphere is the law-courts and political
debates.
(§§ 45-57) Crassus replies that this is indeed the
Greek view, but it puts the function of oratory too
low. Yet even if thus limited to politics it calls for
wide knowledge, and on the other hand men of
science and philosophers borrow style from oratory,
although style is not as essential for them as a com-
mand of matter is essential for the orator, especially
in order to control the emotions of the audience.
(§§ 58-68) Eloquence does not itself bestow political
knowledge, but the orator must be well versed in
pohtical and also moral science. (§§ 69-73) In power
of expression and range of subject he compares with
the poet; and his style will reveal whether he has
had a wide education.
(§§ 74-79) Scaevola repeats that such a range of
knowledge is beyond the reach of most orators.
Crassus disclaims it himself, but maintains it as the
ideal.
(§§ 80-95) Antonius thinks that so much knowledge
is unattainable in a practical career, and also likely
to form a style too abstract to be useful. He reports
a debate at Athens between a Stoic, Menedemus,
xvi
INTRODUCTION
who disparaged rhetoric altogether, and an Academic,
Charmadas, who held that it should be based on
philosophy, giving examples ; Charmadas denied
any science of rhetoric, saying that oratory depends
merely on natural aptitude and practice, and has
to go to philosophy for matter. Antonius says that
he has never heard real eloquence, though it may
be a possibihty.
(§§ 96-112) Crassus is urged to expound his views
more fully, and with reluctance consents to do so.
(§§ 102-109) He asks, is there an art " of rhetoric ?
This is a question rather for a Greek. But when
pressed he says that there is none, in the strict sense,
although if one reduces the results of observation and
experience to a system one may produce a sort of
art. He is urged to give the results of his own
experience.
(§§ 113-262) The requirements of the orator.
(§§ 113-128) Natural gifts are essential for high
success, although the ideal is hard to attain. Antonius
agrees : orators are more exposed to criticism than
even actors. (§§ 129-136) Crassus concurs, as every
defect is noticed at once. He praises the natural
gifts of Sulpicius and the zeal of Cotta ; they only
need training, so he will describe his own method.
(§§ 137-147) He began by taking the school course
in rhetoric, treating (1) the purpose of oratory, (2)
the classification of subjects, (3) the determination
of the point at issue, (4) the three kinds of oratory,
forensic, dehberative and panegyric ; (5) its five
divisions, invention, arrangement, style, memory
" It must be remembered that ars means a systematio
treatment of a subject and conveys the sense that we attach
rather to the word ' science.' Cf. Book II, § 30.
xvii
INTRODUCTION
and delivery ; (6) the division of a speech into the
proper parts ; (7) rules of diction. Such a system
though useful has not in fact been the guide of the
ablest orators. Practice is all-important ; it includes
(§§ 148-159) speaking on cases taken from real
iLfe, occasionally impromptu ; writing compositions,
for training both in style and in matter ; making
paraphrases of poetry, especially Greek poetry, and
prose, from memory ; training voice and gesture ;
memoria technica ; speaking in pubhc ; critical reading
of literature ; debating pro and contra ; study of
history, law and politics ; coUecting notes. Wide
knowledge is essential. The true orator possesses
dignity and force (160-204).
(§§ 205-209) Sulpicius asks for further detail, and
Antonius consents to give his own views. (§§ 209-218)
He challenges Crassus's definition : an orator must
be able to speak agreeably and convincingly on public
questions, but does not require wide general culture :
that is a matter belonging to some other art. (§§ 219-
233) In order to work on the emotions he needs
shrewdness, experience and knowledge of the world,
but not philosophy — some effective hnes of pleading
might be disapproved of by philosophers. (§§ 234-
239) Wide knowledge of law is also unnecessary : it
is eloquence that wins cases, and on hard points of
law even the experts disagree. (§§ 240-250) Nor is
law an easy or attractive study. A general acquaint-
ance with its principles is all that a busy man can or
need attain ; details should be got up for the occasion.
(§§ 251-262) Similarly voice-control, history, antiquities
must be studied to some extent, but not so far as to
encroach on the time needed for practice in speaking
— practice is the important tliing.
xviii
INTRODUCTION
(§§ 263-265) Crassus hints that Antonius has only
been displaying his skill in refutation, and requests
him to set out his own view of the matter in the next
day's debate.
— ' Book II (§§1-11) Introduction : Crassus and
Antonius were not unlearned, as is usually supposed ;
such eloquence as theirs must have been based on
wide study. The dialogue following will constitute
a treatise on rhetoric based on more practical experi-
ence than that possessed by previous authors.
(§§ 12-27) The second day's debate. Catulus and
Caesar arrive, and after some conversation about the
employment of leisure, Antonius begins to state his
own case. (§§ 28-38) He says that oratory cannot be
^made into a science, but some rules for speakers can
) be derived from observation and experience ; oratory
\covers all good speaking and all subjects. (§§ 39-73)
He proceeds to consider the proper sphere of rhetoric.
Demonstratipn^needs no special_rules ; nor does
history^he gives a survey orthe chief Greek his-
torians. The rhetoricians formulate no rules for
writing history, nor for the other forms of literature
that require eloquence. The same is true of the
discussion of abstract subjects, for which no rules of
style are needed. Any student who has mastered
the more difficult problems will need no directions as
to the easier ones. Forensic oratory is really the
most difficult kind of oratory.
\ )) (§§ 74-89) Catulus tells a story illustrating the
^ Muselessness of theory without practical experience.
Antonius criticizes some superfluous or misleading
rules of rhetoric. The first requisite is natural endow-
ment, as the instance of Sulpicius shows. (§§ 90-98)
There must be constant practice, largely in writing,
xix
INTRODUCTION
a good model being chosen to copy — the Greek schools
of oratory are enumerated. But men of originality
can dispense with a model. (§§ 99-113) To master
first of all the facts of the case will at once make clear
the point at issue, which will be either one of fact or
of nature or of definition. (§§ 114-151) The facts are
estabhshed by evidence or by argument. The hand-
ling of these methods needs practice. Antonius
ofFers to treat of the invention of arguments, but on
request consents to deal with the method of stating
them. The case should be considered under some
general proposition (locus) ; it is a mistake to labour
the distinction between general propositions and
particular instances, since the vast majority of
cases can all be brought under a few general heads.
The sources of arguments for deahng with these
should be famiUar by nature, theory and particularly
study.
(§§ 152-161) Catulus says that this agrees largely
with Aristotle. He develops the Roman attitude
to philosophy. Antonius holds that the Stoic system
is of no use to the orator, but he praises the acuteness
of Aristotle and the dialectic of Carneades.
(§§ 162-177) The doctrine of ' topics '— but for
this purpose attention and natural acumen, together
with care for variety, will nearly suffice. (§§ 178-184)
It is important to win the favour of the audience ;
modes of doing this. (§§ 185-216) It is also important
to inspire them with suitable emotions ; these the
speaker must himself feel — instances from Antonius's
own career. But in some cases to excite emotion
is a mistake ; and when done it must be done in the
proper manner, and without exaggeration or hurry,
and interspersed with conciliatory passages. Argu-
INTRODUCTION
ments must be met by argument, and appeals to
emotion by exciting the opposite emotion.
(§§ 217-234) Caesar discusses wit. It is of two
kinds ; it cannot be taught ; its efFectiveness illus-
trated from speeches of Crassus ; rules for its
criticism. (§§ 235-247) The laughable — its nature ;
its origin the unseemly, treated in a neat style ;
where apphcable and where not ; (a) wit of form and
(6) wit of matter — illustrations of the latter. (§§ 248-
263) (a) Seven kinds of verbal wit, defined and illus-
trated. (§§ 264-290) (6) Nine kinds of wit of thought,
subdivided and illustrated. (§§ 291-332) Antonius
resumes from § 216, and discusses his own and his
//opponent's case. Arrangement : put your strongest
s^argument at the beginning or at the end. Rules for
the various parts of a speech. (§§ 333-340) Speeches
of advice derive effect from the character of the
speaker and his political experience ; errors to avoid.
(§§ 341-349) Panegyric, Greek masters of ; praise
should be given to the subject's character as displayed
in his attitude towards circumstances ; compare him
with illustrious examples.
(§§ 350-367) Antonius sketches a memoria iechnicaf
originating from observations made by Simonides.
■The debate is adjourned to the afternoon.
Book III (§§ 1-10) Death of Crassus soon after
he had deUvered an important speech. Fate of the
other characters in this dialogue.
(§§ 17-24) The discussion resumed : Crassus begins
his exposition of style. Style is not really separable
from matter. (§§ 25-37) Our senses differ, but each
gives pleasure ; and the same is the case with works
of art. Similarly various styles of oratory are all
admirable.
xxi
INTRODUCTION
(§§ 38-52) The first requisite is pure and clear
diction. (§§ 53-96) Ornate style, its true conception
and proper compass. (§§ 56-73) The relation of
eloquence to philosophy, especially in the post-
Socratic schools. (§§ 97-148) Embellishment should
be produced by continuous grace, avoiding extra-
vagance, studying light and shade, and based on
general culture. (§§ 149-208) Detailed theory of the
omate style : choice of words ; their combination,
in point of order and rhythm ; figures of speech.
(§§ 208-227) Oratory must be adapted to the occa-
sion. Delivery (actio), including gesture and voice.
Conclusion : Hortensius complimented.
Editions
De Oratore was first printed at Subiaco about 1465,
(in fact it was the very first book printed in Italy) and
three other Italian editions followed in fifteen years.
All subsequent editions have been supplanted by
that of A. S. Wilkins, Oxford, 1892, the earhest con-
taining a commentary in Enghsh. Its introduction
is a mine of information on the text and contents of
the book and the earlier history of rhetoric in Greece
and Rome.
Text
The present edition has been printed from the text
of V. Betolaud, Paris, no date. A few corrections
have been introduced from the text and notes of
Wilkins, and a few variants are noted at the foot
of the page.
For an exhaustive account of the mss. the student
xxii
INTRODUCTION
can refer to Wilkins. It may be noted here that the
accepted text is based on two primary mss. of the
ninth century and one of the tenth, which clearly
come from a single not very much older copy. Though
fuU of obvious errors in copying, they are free from
dehberate corrections ; all three however are muti-
lated, and they leave considerable gaps in the text
unattested. The same is the case with a more
numerous second set, of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, which are manifestly based on one or other
of the above or on their common source, A third set,
all of a later date, give a complete text ; but they
do not show the same amount of agreement as the
two earlier groups, and also their value is even more
reduced by the probabihty that they have been
largely corrupted by conjectural emendation.
XXUI
LIST OF CICEROS WORKS
SHOWING THEIR DIVISION INTO
VOLUMES IN THIS
EDITION
VOLUME
A. Rhetorical Treatises. 5 Volumes
I. [Cicero], Rhetorica ad Herennimn
II. De Inventione
De Optiino Genere Oratorum
Topica
III. De Oratore, Books I-II
IV. De Oratore, Book III
De Fato
Paradoxa Stoicorum
De Partitione Oratoria
V. Brutus
Orator
XXV
LIST OF CICERCS WORKS
VOLUME
B. OrATIONS. 10 VOLUMES
VI. Pro Quinctio
Pro Roscio Amerino
Pro Roscio Comoedo
De Lege Agraria Contra RuUum I-III
VII. The Verrine Orations I ;
In Q. Caecilium
In C. Verrem Actio I
In C. Verrem Actio II, Books I-II
VIII. The Verrine Orations II :
In C. Verrem Actio II, Books III-V
IX. De Imperio Cn. Pompei (Pro Lege Manilia)
Pro Caecina
Pro Cluentio
Pro Rabirio Perduellionis Reo
X. In Catilinam I-IV
Pro Murena
Pro SuUa
Pro Flacco
XI. Pro Archia
Post Reditum in Senatu
Post Reditum ad Quirites
LIST OF CICERCS WORKS
VOLOME
De Domo Sua
De Haruspicum Responsis
Pro Cn. Plancio
XII ProSestio
In Vatinium
XIII. Pro CaeUo
De Provinciis Consularibus
Pro Balbo
XIV. Pro Milone
In Pisonem
Pro Scauro
Pro Fonteio
Pro Rabirio Postumo
Pro Marcello
Pro Ligario
Pro Rege Deiotaro
XV. Philippics I-XIV
C. Philosophical Treatises. 6 Volumes
XVI. De Re Publica
De Legibus
XVII. De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum
xxvii
LIST OF CICERO'S WORKS
VOLUME
XVIII. Tusculan Disputations
XIX. De Natura Deorum
Academica I and II
XX. Cato Maior de Senectute
Laelius de Amicitia
De Divinatione
XXI. De Officiis
D. LeTTERS. 7 VOLUMES
XXII. Letters to Atticus, Books I-VI
XXIII. Letters to Atticus, Books VII-XI
XXIV. Letters to Atticus, Books XII-XVI
XXV. Letters to His Friends, Books I-VI
XXVI. Letters to His Friends, Books VII-XII
XXVII. Letters to His Friends, Books XIII-XVI
XXVIII. Letters to His Brother Quintus
Letters to Brutus
Commentariolum Petitionis
Epistula ad Octavianum
xxviii
DE ORATORE
BOOKS I, II
M. TULLI CICERONIS
AD QUINTUM FRATREM
DIALOGI TRES
DE ORATORE
DIALOGUS SEU LIBER PRIMUS
1 I. Cogitanti mihi saepenumero, et memoria vetera
repetenti, perbeati fuisse, Quinte frater, illi videri
solent, qui in optima republica, cum et honoribus, et
rerum gestarum gloria florerent, eum vitae cursxmi
tenere potuerunt, ut vel in negotio sine periculo, vel
in otio cum dignitate esse possent. Ac fuit quidem,
cum mihi quoque initium requiescendi, atque ani-
mum ad utriusque nostrum praeclara studia re-
ferendi, fore iustum et prope ab omnibus con-
cessum arbitrarer, si infinitus forensium rerum
labor, et ambitionis occupatio, decursu honorum,
2 etiam aetatis flexu, constitisset. Quam spem cogi-
tationum et consiliorum meorum, cum graves com-
munium temporum, tum varii nostri casus fefellerunt.
*• The metaphors are borrowed from the Circus. Decurau
honorum = decursis honoribus : Cicero had been successively
augur, quaestor, aedile, praetor, consul and proconsul.
8
MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
ON
THE MAKING OF AN ORATOR
IN THREE BOOKS
ADDRESSED TO HIS BROTHER QUINTUS
BOOK THE FIRST
1 I. When, as often happens, brother Quintus, I introduo-
think over and recall the days of old, those men tion. The
always seem to me to have been singularly happy cumstances.
who, with the State at her best, and while enjoying
high distinctions and the fame of their achievements,
were able to maintain such a course of life that they
could either engage in activity that involved no risk
or enjoy a dignified repose. And time was when I
used to imagine that I too should become entitled,
with wellnigh universal approval, to some oppor-
tunity of leisure and of again directing my mind to
the sublime pursuits beloved of us both, when once,
the career of office complete and life too taking the
turn towards its close," the endless toil of pubHc speak-
ing and the business of canvassing should have come
2 to a standstill. The hopes so born of my thoughts
and plans have been cheated, ahke by the disastrous
times of public peril and by my manifold personal
CICERO
Nam qui locus quietis et tranquillitatis plenis-
simus fore videbatur, in eo maximae moles molestia-
rum, et turbulentissimae tempestates exstiterunt.
Neque vero nobis cupientibus atque exoptantibus
fructus otii datus est ad eas artes, quibus a
pueris dediti fuimus, celebrandas, inter nosque
3 recolendas. Nam prima aetate incidimus in ipsam
perturbationem disciplinae veteris ; et consulatu
devenimus in medium rerum omnium certamen
atque discrimen ; et hoc tempus omne post consula-
tum obiecimus eis fluctibus, qui, per nos a communi
peste depulsi, in nosmet ipsos redundarunt. Sed
tamen in his vel asperitatibus rerum, vel angustiis
temporis, obsequar studiis nostris ; et, quantum mihi
vel fraus inimicorum, vel causae amicorum, vel
respublica tribuet otii, ad scribendum potissimum
4 conferam. Tibi vero, frater, neque hortanti deero,
neque roganti, nam neque auctoritate quisquam
apud me plus valere te potest, neque voluntate.
II. Ac mihi repetenda est veteris cuiusdam
memoriae non sane satis explicata recordatio, sed,
ut arbitror, apta ad id, quod requiris, ut cognoscas
quae viri omnium eloquentissimi clarissimique sen-
6 serint de omni ratione dicendi. Vis enim, ut mihi
saepe dixisti, quoniam quae pueris aut adolescentulis
nobis ex commentariolis nostris inchoata ac rudia
exciderunt, vix hac aetate digna, et hoc usu, quem
" Cicero was about eightecn years old at the outbreak of
the civll strife between Marius and Sulla.
' The reference is to the juvenile De InventioM of Cicero,
in two books.
DE ORATORE, I. i. 2— ii. 5
misfortunes. For the time of life which promised
to be fullest of quiet and peace proved to be that
during which the greatest volume of vexations and the
most turbulent tempests arose. And notwithstand-
ing my desire, and indeed my profound longing, no
enjoyment of leisure was granted me, for the cultiva-
tion and renewed pursuit, in your company, of those
arts to which from boyhood you and I have been
3 devoted. For in my early years" I came just upon
the days when the old order was overthrown ; then
by my consulship I was drawn into the midst of
a universal struggle and crisis, and my whole time
ever since that consulship I have spent in stemming
those billows which, stayed by my efForts from ruining
the nation, rolled in a flood upon myself. But none
the less, though events are thus harassing and my
time so restricted, I will hearken to the call of our
studies, and every moment of leisure allowed me by
the perfidy of my enemies, the advocacy of my friends
and my political duties, I vdll dedicate first and fore-
4 most to writing. And when you, brother, exhort
and request me, I will not fail you, for no man's
authority or wish can have greater weight with me
than yours.
II. And now I must bring back to mind the recol- Educationof
lection of an old story, not, I admit, as clear in detail *^® »»tor.
as it might be, but, to my thinking, suited to what
you ask ; so that you may learn what men renowned
above all others for eloquence have thought about
5 the whole subject of oratory, For it is your wish, as
you have often told me, that — since the unfinished
and crude essays,^ which shpped out of the notebooks
of my boyhood, or rather of my youth, are hardly
worthy of my present time of Ufe and of my experi-
5
CICERO
ex causis, quas diximus, tot tantisque consecuti
sumus, aliquid eisdem de rebus politius a nobis per-
fectiusque proferri : solesque nonnunquam hac de re
a me in disputationibus nostris dissentire, quod ego
prudentissimorum hominum artibus eloquentiam
contineri statuam ; tu autem illam ab elegantia
doctrinae segregandam putes, et in quodam ingenii
atque exercitationis genere ponendam.
6 Ac mihi quidem saepenumero in summos homines,
ac summis ingeniis praeditos intuenti, quaerendum
esse visiun est, quid esset, cur plures in omnibus
artibus, quam in dicendo admirabiles exstitissent.
Nam, quocumque te animo et cogitatione converteris,
permultos excellentes in quoque genere videbis, non
7 mediocrium artiimi, sed prope maximarum. Quis
enim est, qui, si clarorimi hominum scientiam rerum
gestarum vel utilitate vel magnitudine metiri velit,
non anteponat oratori imperatorem ? Quis autem
dubitet, quin belli duces praestantissimos ex hac una
civitate paene innmnerabiles, in dicendo autem ex-
8 cellentes vix paucos proferre possimus ? lam vero,
consilio ac sapientia qui regere ac gubernare rem-
publicam possent, multi nostra, plures patrum me-
moria, atque etiam maiorum exstiterunt, cum boni
perdiu nulli, vix autem singulis aetatibus singuli
6
orators —
rare.
DE ORATORE, I. ii. 5-8
ence gained from the numerous and grave causes in
which I have been engaged — I should pubhsh some-
thing more polished and complete on these same
topics ; and generally you disagree with me, in our
occasional discussions of this subject, because I hold
that eloquence is dependent upon the trained skill
of highly educated men, while you consider that it
must be separated from the refinements of learning
and made to depend on a sort of natural talent and
on practice.
And for my own part, when, as has often happened, Great
I have been contemplating men of the highest emin- °™^
ence and endowed with the highest abilities, it has
seemed to me to be a matter for inquiry, why it was
that more of them should have gained outstanding
renown in all other pursuits, than have done so in
oratory. For in whatever direction you turn your
mind and thoughts, you will find very many excelling
in every kind, not merely of ordinary arts, but of such
7 as are aknost the greatest. Who, for instance, in
seeking to measure the understanding possessed by
illustrious men, whether by the usefulness or the
grandeur of their achievements, would not place the
general above the orator ? Yet who could doubt
that, from this country alone, we could cite almost
innumerable examples of leaders in war of the
greatest distinction, but of men excelhng in oratory
8 a mere handful ? Nay further, among the men who
by their counsel and wisdom could control and direct
the hehn of state, many have stood out in our o^vn
day, and still more in the history of our fathers and
even of our remoter ancestors, and yet through
lengthy ages no good orator is to be found, and in
each successive generation hardly a single tolerable
7
CICERO
tolerabiles oratores invenirentur. Ac, ne quis forte
cum aliis studiis, quae reconditis in artibus, atque in
quadam varietate litterarum versentur, magis hanc
dicendi rationem, quam cum imperatoris laude, aut
cum boni senatoris prudentia comparandam putet,
convertat animmn ad ea ipsa artium genera, circum-
spiciatque, qui in eis floruerint, quamque multi : sic
facillime, quanta oratorum sit semperque fuerit
paucitas, iudicabit.
9 III. Neque enim te fugit, artium omnium lauda-
tarum procreatricem quamdam, et quasi parentem
eam, quam <^iXo(ro<^iav Graeci vocant, ab hominibus
doctissimis iudicari ; in qua difficile est enumerare,
quot viri, quanta scientia, quantaque in suis studiis
varietate et copia fuerint, qui non una aliqua in
re separatim elaborarint, sed omnia, quaecumque
possent, vel scientiae pervestigatione, vel disserendi
10 ratione, comprehenderint. Quis ignorat, ei, qui
mathematici vocantur, quanta in obscuritate rerum,
et quam recondita in arte, et multiplici subtihque
versentur ? quo tamen in genere ita multi perfecti
homines exstiterunt, ut nemo fere studuisse ei
scientiae vehementius videatur, quin, quod voluerit,
consecutus sit. Quis musicis, quis huic studio htte-
rarum, quod profitentur ei, qui granunatici vocantur,
penitus se dedidit, quin omnem illarum artium paene
infinitam vim et materiam scientiae cogitatione
comprehenderit ?
11 Vere mihi hoc videor esse dicturus, ex omnibus eis,
8
DE ORATORE, I. ii. 8— iii. 11
one. And that no one may think that other pursuits,
which have to do with abstruse branches of study,
and what I may call the varied field of learning,
should be compared with this art of oratory, rather
than the merits of a commander or the wisdom of
a statesman-hke senator, let him turn his attention
to these very kinds of art, and look around to see
who, and how many, have been distinguished therein ;
in this way he will most readily judge how scarce
orators are now, and ever have been.
9 III. For indeed you cannot fail to remember that Bminencein
the most learned men hold what the Greeks call rare.^'*^^
* philosophy ' to be the creator and mother, as it
were, of all the reputable arts, and yet in this
field of philosophy it is difficult to count how many
men there have been, eminent for their learning and
for the variety and extent of their studies, men whose
efforts were devoted, not to one separate branch of
study, but who have mastered everything they could •
whether by scientific investigation or by the methods
10 of dialectic. Who does not know, as regards the
so-called mathematicians, what very obscure sub-
jects, and how abstruse, manifold, and exact an art
they are engaged in ? Yet in this pursuit so many
men have displayed outstanding excellence, that
hardly one seems to have worked in real earnest at
this branch of knowledge without attaining the object
of his desire. Who has devoted himself wholly to
the cult of the Muses, or to this study of literature,
which is professed by those who are known as men of
letters, without bringing within the compass of his
knowledge and observation the almost boundless
range and subject-matter of those arts ?
11 I think I shall be right in affirming this, that out of
B 9
CICERO
qui in harum artium studiis liberalissimis sint doctri-
nisque versati,minimam copiam poetarum et oratorum
egregiorum exstitisse, atque in hoc ipso numero, in
quo perraro exoritur aliquis excellens, si diligenter, et
ex nostrorum, et ex Graecorum copia comparare voles,
multo tamen pauciores oratores, quam poetae boni
12 reperientur. Quod hoc etiam mirabilius debet videri,
quia ceterarum artium studia fere reconditis atque
abditis e fontibus hauriuntur ; dicendi autem omnis
ratio in medio posita, conmiuni quodam in usu, atque
in hominum more et sermone versatur : ut in ceteris
id maxime excellat, quod longissime sit ab imperi-
torum intellegentia sensuque disiunctum, in dicendo
autem vitium vel maximum sit a vulgari genere
orationis, atque a consuetudine communis sensus
abhorrere.
13 IV. Ac ne illud quidem vere dici potest, aut plures
ceteris artibus inservire, aut maiore delectatione,
aut spe uberiore, aut praemiis ad perdiscendum
ampUoribus commoveri. Atque ut omittam Grae-
ciam, quae semper eloquentiae princeps esse voluit,
atque illas omnium doctrinarum inventrices Athenas,
in quibus simima dicendi vis et inventa est et per-
fecta : in hac ipsa civitate profecto nulla unquam
vehementius, quam eloquentiae studia viguerunt.
14 Nam posteaquam, imperio omnium gentium con-
stituto, diuturnitas pacis otium confirmavit, nemo
fere laudis cupidus adolescens non sibi ad dicendum
" The traditional reading omits the words et oratorum, but
their insertion seems necessary to the sense, and is supported
by O. Hense, Hamecker, Wilkins and Stangl.
10
DE ORATORE, I. iii. 11— iv. 14
all those who have been engaged in the infinitely
copious studies and learning pertaining to these arts,
the smallest number of distinguished men is found
among poets and orators " ; and even in this small
number — within which a man of excellence very
rarely emerges — if you will make a careful compari-
son of our own national supply and that of Greece,
far fewer good orators will be found even than
12 good poets. And this should seem even more mar-
vellous because the subjects of the other arts are
derived as a rule from hidden and remote sources,
while the whole art of oratory hes open to the
view, and is concerned in some measure with the
common practice, custom, and speech of mankind,
so that, whereas in all other arts that is most
excellent which is farthest removed from the under-
standing and mental capacity of the untrained, in
oratory the very cardinal sin is to depart from the
language of everyday hfe, and the usage approved
by the sense of the community.
13 IV. And yet it cannot truly be said either that oratory an
more men devote themselves to the other arts, or ^**™^*'^^ ,.
that those who do so are stimulated to close study study.
by greater pleasure, higher hopes, or more splendid
rewards. In fact, to say nothing of Greece, which
has ever claimed the leading part in eloquence, and
of Athens, that discoverer of all learning, where
the supreme power of oratory was both invented
and perfected, in this city of our own assuredly no
studies have ever had a more vigorous hfe than
those having to do with the art of speaking.
14 For as soon as our world-empire had been estab-
hshed, and an enduring peace had assured us leisure,
there was hardly a youth, athirst for fame, who did
11
CICERO
studio omni enitendum putavit. Ac primo quidem
totius rationis ignari, qui neque exercitationis ullam
viam, neque aliquod praeceptum artis esse arbitra-
rentur, tantum, quantum ingenio et cogitatione
poterant, consequebantur. Post autem, auditis
oratoribus Graecis, cognitisque eorum litteris, ad-
hibitisque doctoribus, incredibili quodam nostri
15 homines dicendi studio flagraverunt. Excitabat eos
magnitudo et varietas, multitudoque in omni genere
causarum, ut ad eam doctrinam, quam suo quisque
studio assecutus esset, adiungeretur usus frequens,
qui omnium magistrorum praecepta superaret. Erant
autem huic studio maxima, quae nunc quoque sunt,
exposita praemia, vel ad gratiam, vel ad opes, vel
ad dignitatem. Ingenia vero (ut multis rebus possu-
mus iudicare) nostronmi hominum multum ceteris
16 hominibus omnium gentium praestiterunt. Quibus
de causis, quis non iure miretur, ex omni memoria
aetatum, temporum, civitatum, tam exiguum orato-
rum numerum inveniri ?
Sed nimirum maius est hoc quiddam, quam ho-
mines opinantur, et pluribus ex artibus studiisque
collectum.
V. Quis enim aliud, in maxima discentium multi-
tudine, summa magistrorum copia, praestantissimis
hominum ingeniis, infinita causarum varietate, am-
plissimis eloquentiae propositis praemiis, esse causae
putet, nisi rei quamdam incredibilem magnitudinem,
17 ac difficultatem ? Est enim et scientia comprehen-
13
DE ORATORE, I. iv. 14— v. 17
not deem it his duty to strive with might and main
after eloquence. At first indeed, in their complete
ignorance of method, since they thought there was no
definite course of training or any rules of art, they
used to attain what skill they could by means of their
natural abiUty and of reflection. But later, having
heard the Greek orators, gained acquaintance with
their literature and called in Greek teachers, our
people were fired with a really incredible enthusi-
1.5 asm for eloquence. The importance, variety, and
frequency of current suits of all sorts aroused them
so effectually, that, to the learning which each man
had acquired by his own efforts, plenty of practice was
added, as being better than the maxims of all the
masters. In those days too, as at present, the prizes
open to this study were supreme, in the way of
popularity, wealth, and reputation ahke. As for
ability again — there are many things to show it —
our fellow-countrymen have far excelled the men of
16 every other race. And considering all this, who
would not rightly marvel that, in all the long record
of ages, times, and states, so small a number of
orators is to be found ?
But the truth is that this oratory is a greater thing,
and has its sources in more arts and branches of study,
than people suppose.
V. For,where the number of students is verygreat, its wide
the supply of masters of the very best, the quahty of thrstudent'-
natural ability outstanding, the variety of issues un-
hmited, the prizes open to eloquence exceedingly
splendid, what else could anyone think to be the cause,
unless it be the really incredible vastness and diffi-
17 culty of the subject ? To begin with, a knowledge of
very many matters must be grasped, without which
13
CICERO
denda rerum plurimarum, sine qua verborum volu-
bilitas inanis atque irridenda est ; et ipsa oratio
conformanda, non solum electione, sed etiam con-
structione verborum ; et omnes animorum motus,
quos hominum generi rerum natura tribuit, penitus
pernoscendi ; quod omnis vis ratioque dicendi in
eorum, qui audiunt, mentibus, aut sedandis, aut
excitandis expromenda est. Accedat eodem oportet
lepos quidam facetiaeque, et eruditio libero digna,
celeritasque et brevitas et respondendi, et laces-
sendi, subtili venustate, atque urbanitate coniuncta.
18 Tenenda praeterea est omnis antiquitas, exemplo-
rumque vis ; neque legum, aut iuris civilis scientia
neglegenda est. Nam quid ego de actione ipsa plura
dicam ? quae motu corporis, quae gestu, quae vultu,
quae vocis conformatione ac varietate moderanda
est ; quae sola per se ipsa quanta sit, histrionum
levis ars et scena declarat : in qua cum omnes in
oris, et vocis, et motus moderatione elaborent, quis
ignorat, quam pauci sint, fuerintque, quos animo
aequo spectare possimus ? Quid dicam de thesauro
rerum omnium, memoria ? quae nisi custos inventis
cogitatisque rebus et verbis adhibeatur, intellegimus,
omnia, etiam si praeclarissima fuerint in oratore,
peritura.
19 Quam ob rem mirari desinamus, quae causa sit
eloquentium paucitatis, cum ex eis rebus universis
eloquentia constet, quibus in singulis elaborare per-
14
DE ORATORE, I. v. 17-19
oratory is but an empty and ridiculous swirl of ver-
biage : and the distinctive style has to be formed, not
only by the choice of words, but also by the arrange-
ment of the same ; and all the mental emotions, with
which nature has endowed the human race, are to be
intimately understood, because it is in calming or kin-
dhng the feehngs of the audience that the full power
and science of oratory are to be brought into play. To
this there should be added a certain humour, flashes
of wit, the culture befitting a gentleman, and readi-
ness and terseness ahke in repelhng and in deUvering
the attack, the whole being combined with a dehcate
18 charm and urbanity. Further, the complete history
of the past and a store of precedents must be retained
in the memory, nor may a knowledge of statute law
and our national law in general be omitted. And
why should I go on to describe the speaker's dehvery ?
That needs to be controlled by bodily carriage,
gesture, play of features and changing intonation of
voice ; and how important that is wholly by itself,
the actor's trivial art and the stage proclaim ; for
there, although all are labouring to regulate the
expression, the voice, and the movements of the
body, everyone knows how few actors there are, or
ever have been, whom we could bear to watch !
What need to speak of that universal treasure-house
the memory ? Unless this faculty be placed in charge
of the ideas and phrases which have been thought out
and well weighed, even though as conceived by the
orator they were of the highest excellence, we know
that they will all be wasted.
19 Let us therefore cease to wonder what may be the
cause of the rarity of orators, since oratory is the
result of a whole number of things, in any one of which
15
CICERO
magnum est ; hortemurque potius liberos nostros,
ceterosque, quorum gloria nobis et dignitas cara est,
ut animo rei magnitudinem complectantur, neque eis
aut praeceptis, aut magistris, aut exercitationibus,
quibus utuntur omnes, sed aliis quibusdam, se id,
quod expetunt, consequi posse confidant.
20 VI. Ac, mea quidem sententia, nemo poterit esse
omni laude cumulatus orator, nisi erit omnium rerum
magnarum atque artium scientiam consecutus.
Etenim ex rerum cognitione efflorescat et redundet
oportet oratio ; quae, nisi subest res ab oratore
percepta et cognita, inanem quamdam habet elocu-
21 tionem, et paene puerilem. Neque vero ego hoc
tantum oneris imponam nostris praesertim oratoribus,
in hac tanta occupatione urbis ac vitae, nihil ut eis
putem Hcere nescire : quanquam vis oratoris pro-
fessioque ipsa bene dicendi, hoc suscipere ac poUiceri
videtur, ut omni de re, quaecumque sit proposita, ab
22 eo ornate copioseque dicatur. Sed quia non dubito,
quin hoc plerisque immensum infinitumque videatur,
et quod Graecos homines non solum ingenio et
doctrina, sed etiam otio studioque abundantes,
partitionem quamdam artium fecisse video, neque in
universo genere singulos elaborasse, sed seposuisse
a ceteris dictionibus eam partem dicendi, quae in
forensibus disceptationibus iudiciorum, aut deUbera-
16
DE ORATORE, I. v. 19— vi. 22
to succeed is a great achievement, and let us rather
exhort our children, and the others whose fame and
repute are dear to us, to form a true understanding
of the greatness of their task, and not to beheve that
they can gain their coveted object by rehance on the
rules or teachers or methods of practice employed by
everybody, but to rest assured that they can do this
by the help of certain other means.
20 VI. And indeed in my opinion, no man can be an even if oniy
orator complete in all points of merit, who has not prlcti^t/"'^
attained a knowledge of all important subjects and ptirposes, as
arts. For it is from knowledge that oratory must ^ °™ '
derive its beauty and fullness, and unless there is such
knowledge, well-grasped and comprehended by the
speaker, there must be something empty and ahnost
21 childish in the utterance. Not that I am going to
lay so heavy a burden upon orators — least of all upon
our own, amid all the distractions of hfe in Rome —
as to hold that there is nothing of which it is per-
missible for them to be ignorant, although the
significance of the term " orator," and the mere act
of professing eloquence, seem to undertake and to
promise that every subject whatsoever, proposed to
an orator, will be treated by him with both distinc-
22 tion and knowledge. But being assured that to most
men this appears a vast and indeed hmitless enter-
prise, and perceiving that the Greeks, men not only
abounding in genius and learning, but also amply
endowed with leisure and the love of study, have
aheady made a sort of division of the arts, — nor did
every student of theirs work over the whole field
by himself, but they separated from other uses of
speech that portion of oratory which is concerned
with the public discussions of the law-courts and of
17
CICERO
tionum versaretur, et id unum genus oratorireliquisse ;
non complectar in his libris amplius, quam quod huic
generi, re quaesita et multum disputata, summorum
23 hominum prope consensu est tributum ; repetamque,
non ab incunabulis nostrae veteris puerilisque
doctrinae quemdam ordinem praeceptorum, sed ea,
quae quondam accepi in nostrorum hominum elo-
quentissimorum et omni dignitate principum, dis-
putatione esse versata. Non quod illa contemnam,
quae Graeci, dicendi artifices et doctores, reliquerunt;
sed, cum illa pateant in promptuque sint omnibus,
neque ea interpretatione mea aut ornatius explicari,
aut planius exprimi possint, dabis hanc veniam, mi
frater, ut opinor, ut eorum, quibus summa dicendi
laus a nostris hominibus concessa est, auctoritatem
Graecis anteponam.
24 VII. Cum igitur vehementius inveheretur in
causam principum consul Philippus, Drusique tri-
bunatus, pro Senatus auctoritate susceptus, infringi
iam debilitarique videretur ; dici mihi memini,
ludorum Romanorum diebus, L. Crassum, quasi
coUigendi sui causa, se in Tusculaniun contulisse ;
venisse eodem, socer eius qui fuerat, Q. Mucius
dicebatur, et M. Antonius, homo et consiliorum in
republica socius, et summa cum Crasso familiaritate
26 coniunctus. Exierant autem cum ipso Crasso adole-
" For Philippus and Drusus see Index, and for the other
names referred to in this chapter see Introduction.
18
DE ORATORE, I. vi. 22— vii. 25
debate, and left that branch only to the orator — I
shall not include in this work more than has been
assigned to this type of oratory by the all but unani-
mous judgement of the most eminent men, after
23 investigation and long argument of the matter ; nor Diaiogno
shall I recall, from the cradle of our boyish learn- pS^fOT"^
ing of days gone by, a long string of precepts, the present
but I shall repeat the things I heard of as once ^*^ ■'*"
handled in a discussion between men who were the
most eloquent of our nation, and of the highest rank
in distinction of every kind. Not that I despise what
the Greek craftsmen and teachers of oratory have
left us ; but that is open to the view and ready to the
hand of every man, nor could it be more happily
set forth or more clearly expounded by any inter-
pretations of my own, so that you will forgive me,
brother mine, I do beheve, if I prefer to Greek in-
struction the authoritative judgement of those to
whom the highest honours in eloquence have been
awarded by our own fellow-countrymen.
24 VII. I remember then being told how, at the time Date, Bceno,
when Philippus," though consul, was furiously assail- ^^^ persons.
ing the policy of the leading men, and the tribune-
ship of Drusus, undertaken in support of the
power of the Senate, had begun to show symptoms
of shock and weakness, Lucius Crassus, on the plea
of recruiting his energies, betook himself during
the days of the Roman Games to his seat at
Tusculum, whither (as the story went) there came
Quintus Mucius, once his father-in-law, and Marcus
Antonius, a partner in the poUtical designs of
Crassus, and a man united with him in the closest
25 intimacy. There had also gone out of town, in the
company of Crassus, two young men who were very
19
CICERO
scentes duo, Drusi maxime familiares, et in quibus
magnam tum spem maiores natu dignitatis suae
collocarant, C. Cotta, qui tum tribunatum plebis
petebat, et P. Sulpicius, qui deinceps eum magistra-
26 tum petiturus putabatur. Hi primo die de tempori-
bus illis, deque universa republica, quam ob causam
venerant, multum inter se usque ad extremum
tempus diei collocuti sunt. Quo quidem in sermone
multa divinitus a tribus illis consularibus Cotta
deplorata et commemorata narrabat ; ut nihil in-
cidisset postea civitati mali, quod non impendere illi
27 tanto ante vidissent ; eo autem omni sermone con-
fecto, tantam in Crasso humanitatem fuisse, ut, cum
lauti accubuissent, toUeretur omnis illa superioris
tristitia sermonis ; eaque esset in homine iucunditas,
et tantus in iocando lepos, ut dies inter eos Curiae
fuisse videretur, convivium Tusculani.
28 Postero autem die, cum illi maiores natu satis
quiessent, et in ambulationem ventum esset : dicebat
tum Scaevolam, duobus spatiis tribusve factis, dixisse :
Cur non imitamur, Crasse, Socratem lUum, qui est
in Phaedro Platonis ? Nam me haec tua platanus
admonuit, quae non minus ad opacandum hunc locum
patulis est difFusa ramis, quam illa, cuius umbram
secutus est Socrates, quae mihi videtur non tam
" Phaedrus 229 a, 230 b.
DE ORATORE, I. vii. 25-28
great friends of Drusus, and in whom the older
generation at that time reposed high hopes of their
maintaining the traditions of their order : they were
Gaius Cotta, just then seeking the tribuneship of the
commons, and PubHus Sulpicius, who was thought
hkely to become a candidate for that magistracy in
26 succession to him. This party, on the first day and
up to a very late hour, held long debate together,
concerning the crisis and the state of pohtics gener-
ally, which in fact had been the occasion of their
meeting. And Cotta recounted many things which
were spoken of in that discussion with deep regret by
the three speakers of consular rank, in such inspired
fashion that (in his words) no evil had since befallen
the community which those men, so long before, had
27 not seen to be hanging over it ; but (he would add)
when the colloquy was completely finished, so ex-
quisite was the urbanity displayed by Crassus, that,
as soon as they had bathed and settled down to table,
the melancholy turn taken by the earher discussion
was wholly banished, and such was the man's pleasant-
ness and so great the charm of his humour that it
seemed as though a day in the Senate-house was
closing with supper at Tusculum.
28 Then Cotta went on to say how on the morrow, when
those older men had rested sufficiently and everyone
had come into the garden-walk, Scaevola, after taking
two or three turns, observed, " Crassus, why do we
not imitate Socrates as he appears in the Phaedrus
of Plato ? For your plane-tree has suggested this
comparison to my mind, casting as it does, with its
spreading branches, as deep a shade over this spot,
as that one cast whose shelter Socrates sought*» —
which to me seems to owe its eminence less to ' the
21
CICERO
* ipsa acula/ quae describitur, quam Platonis oratione
crevisse : et, quod ille durissimis pedibus fecit, ut se
abiceret in herbam, atque ita illa, quae philosophi
divinitus ferunt esse dicta, loqueretur, id meis pedibus
29 certe concedi est aequius. Tum Crassum : Immo
vero commodius etiam ; pulvinosque poposcisse, et
omnes in eis sedibus, quae erant sub platano, con-
sedisse dicebat.
VIII. Ibi, ut ex pristino sermone relaxarentur
animi omnium, solebat Cotta narrare, Crassum ser-
30 monem quemdam de studio dicendi intulisse. Qui
cum ita esset exorsus, non sibi cohortandum Sul-
picium et Cottam, sed magis utrumque coUaudandum
videri, quod tantam iam essent facultatem adepti,
ut non aequaUbus suis solum anteponerentur, sed
cum maioribus natu compararentur. Neque vero
mihi quidquam, inquit, praestabiHus videtur, quam
posse dicendo tenere hominum coetus, mentes
allicere, voluntates impellere quo velit ; unde autem
velit, deducere. Haec una res in omni hbero populo,
maximeque in pacatis tranquillisque civitatibus,
praecipue semper floruit, semperque dominata est.
31 Quid enim est aut tam admirabile, quam ex infinita
multitudine hominum exsistere unum, qui id, quod
omnibus natura sit datum, vel solus, vel cum paucis
facere possit ? Aut tam iucundum cognitu atque
auditu, quam sapientibus sententiis gravibusque
verbis ornata oratio et poHta ? Aut tam potens,
22
DE ORATORE, I. vii. 28— viii. 31
little rivulet ' described by Plato than to the language
of his dialogue — and what Socrates did, whose feet
were thoroughly hardened, when he threw himself
down on the grass and so began the talk which philo-
sophers say was divine, — such ease surely may more
29 reasonably be conceded to my own feet." " Nay,"
answered Crassus, " but we will make things more
comfortable still," whereupon, according to Cotta, he
called for cushions, and they all sat down together
on the benches that were under the plane-tree.
VIII. In that place, as Cotta was fond of relating, xiiesfa: the
Crassus introduced a conversation on the pursuit of o7or°Ito^°to
oratory, with a view to reheving all minds from the society and
30 discourse of the day before. He began by saying *''^ ^***®*
that Sulpicius and Cotta seemed not to need exhorta-
tion from him but rather commendation, seeing that
thus early they had acquired such skill as not merely
to be ranked above their equals in age, but to be com-
parable with their elders. " Moreover," he con-
tinued, " there is to my mind no more excellent thing
than the power, by means of oratory, to get a hold
on assemblies of men, win their good will, direct their
inclinations wherever the speaker wishes, or divert
them from whatever he wishes. In every free nation,
and most of all in communities which have attained
the enjoyment of peace and tranquiUity, this one art
has always flourished above the rest and ever reigned
31 supreme. For what is so marvellous as that, out of
the innumerable company of mankind, a single being
should arise, who either alone or with a few others
can make effective a faculty bestowed by nature
upon every man ? Or what so pleasing to the under-
standing and the ear as a speech adorned and polished
with wise reflections and dignified language ? Or
23
CICERO
tamque magnificum, quam populi motus, iudicum
religiones, Senatus gravitatem, unius oratione con-
32 verti ? Quid tam porro regium, tam liberale, tam
munificum, quam opem ferre supplicibus, excitare
afilictos, dare salutem, liberare periculis, retinere
homines in civitate ? Quid autem tam necessarium,
quam tenere semper arma, quibus vel tectus ipse
esse possis, vel provocare improbos,^ vel te ulcisci
lacessitus ?
Age vero, ne semper forum, subsellia, rostra,
Curiamque meditere, quid esse potest in otio aut
iucundius, aut magis proprium humanitatis, quam
sermo facetus ac nuUa in re rudis ? Hoc enim uno
praestamus vel maxime feris, quod coUoquimur inter
nos, et quod exprimere dicendo sensa possumus.
33 Quam ob rem quis hoc non iure miretur, summeque
in eo elaborandum esse arbitretur, ut, quo uno
homines maxime bestiis praestent, in hoc hominibus
ipsis antecellat ? Ut vero iam ad illa summa venia-
mus ; quae vis aHa potuit aut dispersos homines unum
in locum congregare, aut a fera agrestique vita ad
hunc humanum cultum civilemque deducere, aut,
iam constitutis civitatibus, leges, iudicia, iura de-
34 scribere ? Ac, ne plura, quae sunt paene innumera-
* improbos is the reading of Friedrich /or the unintelligibU
integros o/ the better usa,
24
DE ORATORE, I. viii. 31-34
what achievement so mighty and glorious as that the
impulses of the crowd, the consciences of the judges,
the austerity of the Senate, should sufFer transforma-
32 tion through the eloquence of one man ? What
function again is so kingly, so worthy of the free, so
generous, as to bring help to the supphant, to raise
up those that are cast down, to bestow security, to
set free from peril, to maintain men in their civil
rights ? What too is so indispensable as to have
always in your grasp weapons wherewith you can
defend yourself, or challenge the wicked man, or
when provoked take your revenge ?
" Nay more (not to have you for ever contemplating
public afFairs, the bench, the platform, and the Senate-
house), what in hours of ease can be a pleasanter thing
or one more characteristic of culture, than discourse
that is graceful and nowhere uninstructed ? For the
one point in which we have our very greatest advan-
tage over the brute creation is that we hold converse
one with another, and can reproduce our thought in
33 word. Who therefore would not rightly admire this
faculty, and deem it his duty to exert himself to the
utmost in this field, that by so doing he may surpass
men themselves in that particular respect wherein
chiefly men are superior to animals ? To come, how-
ever, at length to the highest achievements of elo-
quence, what other power could have been strong
enough either to gather scattered humanity into one
place, or to lead it out of its brutish existence in the
wilderness up to our present condition of civilization
as men and as citizens, or, after the establishment of
social coramunities, to give shape to laws, tribunals,
34 and civic rights ? And not to pursue any further
instances — wellnigh countless as they are — I will
25
CICERO
bilia, consecter, comprehendam brevi ; sic enim
statuo, perfecti oratoris moderatione et sapientia non
solimi ipsius dignitatem, sed et privatorum pluri-
morum, et universae reipublicae salutem maxime
contineri. Quam ob rem pergite, ut facitis, adole-
scentes, atque in id studium, in quo estis, in-
cumbite, ut et vobis honori, et amicis utilitati, et
reipublicae emolumento esse possitis.
35 IX. Tum Scaevola comiter, ut solebat : Cetera,
inquit, assentior Crasso, ne aut de C. Laelii, soceri
mei, aut de huius, generi, aut arte, aut gloria de-
traham ; sed illa duo, Crasse, vereor, ut tibi possim
concedere : unum, quod ab oratoribus civitates et
ab initio constitutas et saepe conservatas esse dixisti ;
alterum, quod, remoto foro, concione, iudiciis, Senatu,
statuisti, oratorem in omni genere sermonis et hu-
36 manitatis esse perfectum. Quis enim tibi hoc con-
cesserit, aut initio genus hominum in montibus ac
silvis dissipatum, non prudentium consiliis com-
pulsum potius, quam disertorum oratione delinitum,
se oppidis moenibusque sepsisse, aut vero rehquas
utilitates, aut in constituendis, aut in conservandis
civitatibus, non a sapientibus et fortibus viris, sed
37 a disertis, et ornate dicentibus esse constitutas ? An
vero tibi Romulus ille aut pastores et convenas con-
26
DE ORATORE, I. viii. 34— ix. 37
conclude the whole matter in a few words, for my
assertion is this : that the wise control of the com-
plete orator is that which chiefly upholds not only
his own dignity, but the safety of countless in-
dividuals and of the entire State. Go forward
therefore, my young friends, in your present course,
and bend your energies to that study which engages
you, that so it may be in your power to become a
glory to yourselves, a source of service to your
friends, and profitable members of the Republic."
35 IX. Thereupon Scaevola observed, in his courteous Thesis chai-
way, " On his other points I am in agreement with th°e^achiivl.
Crassus (that I may not disparage the art or the ment of
renown of my father-in-law Gaius Laehus, or of my q^estioned ^
son-in-law here), but the two following, Crassus, I am
afraid I cannot grant you : first your statement that
the oratorswere they who in the beginning established
social communities, and who not seldom have pre-
served the same intact, secondly your pronouncement
that, even if we take no account of the forum, of
popular assembhes, of the courts of justice, or of the
Senate-house, the orator is still complete over the
36 whole range of speech and culture. For who is going
to grant you, that in shutting themselves up in walled
cities, human beings, who had been scattered origin-
ally over mountain and forest, were not so much con-
vinced by the reasoning of the wise as snared by the
speeches of the eloquent, or again that the other
beneficial arrangements involved in the establishment
or the preservation of States were not shaped by the
wise and valiant but by men of eloquence and fine
37 diction ? Or do you perhaps think that it was by
eloquence, and not rather by good counsel and
singular wisdom, that the great Romulus gathered
27
CICERO
gregasse, aut Sabinorum connubia coniunxisse, aut
finitimorum vim repressisse eloquentia videtur, non
consilio et sapientia singulari ? Quid enim ? in Numa
Pompilio, quid ? in Ser. Tullio, quid ? in ceteris regibus,
quorum multa sunt eximia ad constituendam rem-
publicam, rium quod eloquentiae vestigium apparet ?
Quid ? exactis regibus (tametsi ipsam exactionem
mente, non lingua, perfectam L. Bruti esse cernimus),
sed deinceps omnia, nonne plena consiliorum, inania
38 verborum videmus ? Ego vero si velim et nostrae
civitatis exemplis uti, et aliarum, plura proferre
possim detrimenta publicis rebus, quam adiumenta,
per homines eloquentissimos importata : sed, ut
reliqua praetermittam, omnium mihi videor, exceptis,
Crasse, vobis duobus, eloquentissimos audisse Tib.
et C. Sempronios, quorum pater, homo prudens et
gravis, haudquaquam eloquens, et saepe aUas, et
maxime censor, saluti reipublicae fuit. Atque is non
accurata quadam orationis copia, sed nutu atque verbo
libertinos in urbanas tribus transtulit ; quod nisi
fecisset, rempubHcam, quam nunc vix tenemus,
iamdiu nullam haberemus. At vero eius fiUi diserti,
et omnibus vel naturae, vel doctrinae praesidiis
ad dicendum parati, cum civitatem vel paterno
consilio, vel avitis armis florentissimam accepissent,
" Ti. Sempronius Gracchus, censor 169 b.c, enforced an
existing rule. Freedmen not owning land worth at least
30,000 HS. were limited to the four city tribes. The restric-
tion was removed, probably in 304, but was restored in 220.
28
DE ORATORE, I. ix. 37-38
together his shepherds and refugees, or brought
about marriages with the Sabines, or curbed the
might of the neighbouring tribes ? Is there a trace
of eloquence to be discerned in Numa PompiUus ?
Is there a trace in Servius Tulhus ? Or in the other
kings who have contributed so much that is excellent
to the building-up of the State ? Then even after
the kings had been driven forth (and we note that
such expulsion had itself been accomphshed by the
mind of Lucius Brutus and not by his tongue), do we
not see how all that foUowed was full of planning
38 and empty of talking ? For my part, indeed, should
I care to use examples from our own and other
communities, I could cite more instances of damage
done, than of aid given to the cause of the State
by men of first-rate eloquence, but putting all else
aside, of all men to whom I have hstened except
you two, Crassus, it seems to me that the most
eloquent were Tiberius and Gaius Sempronius, whose
father, a man of discretion and character, but no
speaker whatever, was many a time and most particu-
larly when Censor the salvation of the common-
wealth. Yet it was not any studied flow of speech,
but a nod and a word of his that transferred the
freedmen into the city tribes * ; and had he not done
so, we should long ago have lost the constitution
which, as it is, we preserve only with difficulty. His
sons, on the other hand, who were accompHshed
speakers and equipped for oratory with every ad-
vantage of nature or training, after they had taken
over a State that was flourishing exceedingly be-
cause of their father's counsels and their ancestors'
miUtary achievements, wrecked the commonwealth
by the use of this eloquence to which, according
29
CICERO
ista praeclara gubernatrice, ut ais, civitatum, elo-
quentia, rempublicam dissipaverunt.
39 X, Quid ? leges veteres, moresque maiorum ;
quid ? auspicia, quibus et ego, et tu, Crasse, cum
magna reipublicae salute praesumus ; quid ? re-
ligiones et caerimoniae ; quid ? haec iura civilia,
quae iampridem in nostra familia sine uUa eloquentiae
laude versantur ; num aut inventa sunt, aut cognita,
40 aut omnino ab oratorum genere tractata ? Equidem
et Ser. Galbam, memoria teneo, divinum hominem
in dicendo, et M. Aemilium Porcinam, et C. ipsmn
Carbonem, quem tu adolescentulus perculisti, ig-
narum legum, haesitantem in maiorum institutis,
rudem in iure civili ; et haec aetas nostra, praeter te,
Crasse, qui tuo magis studio, quam proprio munere
aliquo disertorum, ius a nobis civile didicisti, quod
interdum pudeat, iuris ignara est.
41 Quod vero in extrema oratione, quasi tuo iure
sumpsisti, oratorem in omnis sermonis disputatione
copiosissime posse versari, id, nisi hic in tuo regno
essemus, non tulissem, multisque praeessem, qui aut
interdicto tecum contenderent, aut te ex iure manu
consertum vocarent, quod in alienas possessiones tam
temere irruisses.
42 Agerent enim tecum lege primum Pythagorei
omnes, atque Democritici, ceterique in iure physici
" See Appendix p. 480. * See Appendix p. 480»
* See Appendix p. 480.
so
DE ORATORE, I. ix. 38— x. 42
to you, civil communities still look for their chief
guidance.
39 X. " What of our ancient ordinances and the cus- (2)otiier
toms of our forefathers ? What of augury, over which cl^izltlon
you and I, Crassus, preside, greatly to the welfare ™°5?i™;
of the RepubUc ? What of our religious rites and ^°
ceremonies ? What of those rules of private law,
which have long made their home in our family,
though we have no reputation for eloquence ? Were
these things contrived or investigated or in any way
40 taken in hand by the tribe of orators ? Indeed I
remember that Servius Galba, a man who spoke as a
god, and Marcus AemiUus Porcina and Gaius Carbo
himself, whom you crushed in your early manhood,
were all of them ignorant of the statutes, all at a
complete loss among the institutions of our ancestors,
all uninstructed in the law of the Romans ; and
except yourself, Crassus, who rather from your own
love of study, than because to do so was any pecuhar
duty of the eloquent, have learned the Roman system
from our family, this generation of ours is unversed
in law to a degree that sometimes makes one blush.
41 " But as for the claim you made at the close of your (3) the oniy
speech, and made as though in your own right — that oratory
whatever the topic under discussion, the orator could the law
deal with it in complete fuUness — this, had we not pariiament.
been here in your own domain, I would not have borne
with, and I should be at the head of a multitude who
would either fight you by injunction," or summon you
to make joint seizure by rule of court,'' for so wantonly
making forcible entry upon other people's possessions.
42 " For, to begin with, all the disciples of Pythagoras
and Democritus would bring statutory process "
against you, and the rest of the phvsicists would assert
31
CICERO
vindicarent, omati homines in dicendo et graves,
quibuscum tibi iusto sacramento contendere non
liceret. Urgerent praeterea philosophorum greges,
iam ab illo fonte et capite Socrate ; nihil te de bonis
rebus in vita, nihil de malis, nihil de animi per-
motionibus, nihil de hominum moribus, nihil de
ratione vitae didicisse, nihil omnino quaesisse, nihil
scire convincerent ; et, cum universi in te impetum
fecissent, tum singulae familiae Utem tibi intenderent.
43 Instaret Academia, quae, quidquid dixisses, id te
ipsum negare cogeret. Stoici vero nostri disputa-
tionum suarum atque interrogationum laqueis te
irretitum tenerent. Peripatetici autem etiam haec
ipsa, quae propria oratorum putas esse adiumenta,
atque ornamenta dicendi, ab se peti vincerent
oportere ; ac non solum mehora, sed etiam multo
plura Aristotelem Theophrastumque de his rebus,
quam omnes dicendi magistros, scripsisse ostenderent.
44 Missos facio mathematicos, grammaticos, musicos,
quorum artibus vestra ista dicendi vis ne minima
quidem societate contingitur. Quam ob rem ista
tanta, tamque multa profitenda, Crasse, non censeo.
Satis id est magnum, quod potes praestare, ut in
iudiciis ea causa, quamcumque tu dicis, melior et
probabilior esse videatur ; ut in concionibus et
sententiis dicendis ad persuadendum tua plurimum
valeat oratio ; denique ut prudentibus diserte stultis
" See Appendix p. 480.
8«
DE ORATORE, I. x. 42-44
their claims in court, elegant and impressive speakers
with whom you could not strive and save your stake.'*
Besides this, schools of philosophers, back to great
Socrates their fountain-head, would beset you : they
would demonstrate that you have learned nothing
concerning the good in Hfe, or of the evil, nothing as
to the emotions of the mind or of human conduct,
nothing of the true theory of hving, that you have
made no research at all and are wholly without under-
standing respecting these things ; and after this
general assault upon you each sect would launch its
43 particular action against you in detail. The Academy
would be at your heels, compelHng you to deny in
terms your own allegation, whatever it might have
been. Then our own friends the Stoics would hold
you entangled in the toils of their wranghngs and
questionings. The Peripatetics again would prove
that it is to them that men should resort for even
those very aids and trappings of eloquence which you
deem to be the special aids of orators, and would show
you that on these subjects of yours Aristotle and
Theophrastus wrote not only better but also much
more than all the teachers of rhetoric put together.
44 I say nothing of the mathematicians, men of letters
or devotees of the Muses, with whose arts this
rhetorical faculty of yours is not in the remotest
degree alhed. And so, Crassus, I do not think you
shouldmake professions so extensiveand so numerous.
What you are able to guarantee is a thing great
enough, namely, that in the courts whatever case you
present should appear to be the better and more
plausible, that in assemblies and in the Senate your
oratory should have most weight in carrying the vote,
and lastly, that to the intelhgent you should seem to
33
CICERO
etiam vere dicere videaris. Hoc amplius si quid
poteris, non id mihi videbitur orator, sed Crassus sua
quadam propria, non communi oratorum facultate,
posse.
45 XI. Tum ille : Non sum, inquit, nescius, Scaevola,
ista inter Graecos dici et disceptari solere. Audivi
enim summos homines, cum quaestor ex Macedonia
venissem Athenas, florente Academia, ut temporibus
illis ferebatur, quod eam Charmadas, et Chtomachus,
et Aeschines obtinebant. Erat etiam Metrodorus,
qui cum illis una ipsum illum Carneadem diligentius
audierat, hominem omnium in dicendo, ut ferebant,
acerrimum et copiosissimum. Vigebat auditor Pan-
aetii illius tui Mnesarchus ; et Peripatetici Critolai
46 Diodorus. Multi erant praeterea clari in philosophia
et nobiles, a quibus omnibus una paene voce repelli
oratorem a gubernaculis civitatum, excludi ab omni
doctrina rerumque maiorum scientia, ac tantum in
iudicia et conciunculas, tanquam in aliquod pistri-
47 num, detrudi et compingi videbam. Sed ego neque
illis assentiebar, neque harum disputationum in-
ventori et principi longe omnium in dicendo gravis-
simo et eloquentissimo, Platoni, cuius tum Athenis
cum Charmada diligentius legi Gorgiam : quo in
libro in hoc maxime admirabar Platonem, quod mihi
84,
DE ORATORE, I. x. 44— xi. 47
speak eloquently and to the ignorant truthfuUy as
well. If you can achieve anything more than this,
therein you will seem to me not an orator but a
Crassus, who is making use of some talent that is
pecuharly his own and not common to orators in
general."
45 XI. Then Crassus rephed, " I know very well, Scae- Repiy to
vola, that these views of yours are often put forward funct^i"^*j,
and discussed among the Greeks. For I hstened to oratoiy
their most eminent men, on my arrival in Athens ^quf^s*^
as a quaestor from Macedonia, at a time when science,
the Academy was at its best, as was then asserted, requires
with Charmadas, Chtomachus and Aeschines to up- «'yie.
hold it. There was also Metrodorus, who, together
with the others, had been a really dihgent disciple
of the illustrious Carneades himself, a speaker who,
for spirited and copious oratory, surpassed, it was
said, all other men. Mnesarchus too was in his
prime, a pupil of your great Panaetius, and Diodorus,
46 who studied under Critolaus the Peripatetic. There
were many others besides, of distinguished fame as
philosophers, by all of whom, with one voice as it
were, I perceived that the orator was driven from
the helm of State, shut out from all learning and
knowledge of more important things, and thrust
down and locked up exclusively in law-courts and
petty httle assembhes, as if in a pounding-mill.
47 But I was neither in agreement with these men, nor
with the author and originator of such discussions,
who spoke with far more weight and eloquence than
all of them — I mean Plato — whose Gorgias I read
with close attention under Charmadas during those
days at Athens, and what impressed me most deeply
about Plato in that book was, that it was when making
35
CICERO
in oratoribus irridendis ipse esse orator summus vide-
batur. Verbi enim controversia iamdiu torquet
Graeculos homines, contentionis cupidiores quam
48 veritatis. Nam si quis hunc statuit esse oratorem,
qui tantummodo in iure, aut in iudiciis possit, aut
apud populum, aut in senatu copiose loqui, tamen
huic ipsi multa tribuat et concedat necesse est, neque
enim sine multa pertractatione omnium rerum
publicarum, neque sine legum, morum, iuris scientia,
neque natura hominum incognita, ac moribus, in his
ipsis rebus satis callide versari et perite potest. Qui
autem haec cognoverit, sine quibus ne illa quidem
minima in causis quisquam recte tueri potest, quid
huic abesse poterit de maximarum rerum scientia ?
Sin oratoris nihil vis esse, nisi composite, ornate,
copiose eloqui : quaero, id ipsum qui possit assequi
sine ea scientia, quam ei non conceditis ? Dicendi
enim virtus, nisi ei, qui dicit, ea, de quibus dicit,
49 percepta sint, exstare non potest. Quam ob rem, si
ornate locutus est, sicut fertur, et mihi videtur,
physicus ille Democritus : materies illa fuit physici,
de qua dixit ; ornatus vero ipse verborum, oratoris
putandus est. Et, si Plato de rebus a civiUbus con-
troversiis remotissimis divinitus est locutus, quod ego
concedo ; si item Aristoteles, si Theophrastus, si
36
DE ORATORE, I. xi. 47-49
fun of orators that he himself seemed to me to be
the consummate orator. In fact controversy about a
word has long tormented those Greeklings, fonder as
48 they are of argument than of truth, For, if anyone
lays it down that an orator is a man whose sole power
is that of speaking copiously before the Praetor or
at a trial, or in the pubhc assembly or the Senate-
house, none the less even to an orator thus Umited
such critic must grant and allow a number of attri-
butes, inasmuch as without extensive handUng of all
pubhc business, without a mastery of ordinances,
customs and general law, without a knowledge of
human nature and character, he cannot engage, with
the requisite cleverness and skill, even in these re-
stricted activities. But to a man who has learned
these things, without which no one can properly
ensure even those primary essentials of advocacy,
can there be anything lacking that belongs to the
knowledge of the highest matters ? If, on the other
hand, you would narrow the idea of oratory to nothing
but the speaking in ordered fashion, gracefuUy and
copiously, how, I ask, could your orator attain even
so much, if he were to lack that knowledge whereof
you people deny him the possession ? For excellence in
speaking cannot be made manifest unless the speaker
fuUy comprehends the matter he speaks about.
49 It foUows that, if the famous natural philosopher
Democritus spoke with elegance, as he is reported
and appears to me to have spoken, those notable
subjects of his discourse belonged to the natural
philosopher, but his actual elegance of diction must be
put down to the orator. And if Plato spoke with the
voice of a god of things very far away from pohtical
debate, as I allow that he did, if again Aristotle and
87
CICERO
Carneades in rebus eis, de quibus disputaverunt,
eloquentes, et in dicendo suaves, atque ornati
fuerunt : sint hae res, de quibus disputant, in aliis
quibusdam studiis ; oratio quidem ipsa propria est
huius unius rationis, de qua loquimur et quaerimus.
50 Etenim videmus, eisdem de rebus ieiune quosdam et
exiliter, ut eum, quem acutissimum ferunt, Chrys-
ippum, disputavisse, neque ob eam rem philosophiae
non satisfecisse, quod non habuerit hanc dicendi ex
arte ahena facultatem.
XII. Quid ergo interest ? aut qui discernes eorum,
quos nominavi, ubertatem in dicendo et copiam ab
eorum exihtate, qui hac dicendi varietate et elegantia
non utuntur ? Unum erit profecto, quod ei, qui bene
dicunt, afferant proprium : compositam orationem,
et ornatam, et artificio quodam et expohtione dis-
tinctam. Haec autem oratio, si res non subest ab
oratore percepta et cognita, aut nulla sit necesse est,
61 aut omnium irrisione ludatur. Quid est enim tam
furiosum, quam verborimi, vel optimorum atque
ornatissimorum, sonitus inanis, nulla subiecta sen-
tentia, nec scientia ? Quidquid erit igitur qua-
cumque ex arte, quocumque de genere, id orator, si,
tanquam cHentis causam, didicerit, dicet melius et
ornatius, quam ille ipse eius rei inventor atque artifex.
62 Nam si quis erit, qui hoc dicat, esse quasdam ora-
88
DE ORATORE, I. xi. 49— xii. 52
Theophrastus and Carneades, on the themes which
they treated, were eloquent and displayed charm of
style and Uterary form, then, granting that the topics
of their discourse may be found in certain other fields
of research, yet their actual style is the pecuhar pro-
duct of this pursuit which we are now discussing and
50 investigating, and of no other, For we see that
sundry authorities dealt with these same subjects
in spiritless and feeble fashion, Chrysippus for in-
stance, reputed as he is to have been the most acute
of disputants, and not to have failed to meet the
requirements of philosophy just because he had not
acquired this gift of eloquence from an aUen art.
XII. " What then is the difference, or by what
means will youdiscriminate between the rich and copi-
ous diction of those speakers whom I have mentioned,
and the feebleness of such as do not adopt this variety
and elegance of language ? The sole distinction will
surely be that the good speakers bring, as their
peculiar possession, a style that is harmonious, grace-
ful, and marked by a certain artistry and pohsh. Yet
this style, if the underlying subject-matter be not
comprehended and mastered by the speaker, must
inevitably be of no account or even become the sport
61 of universal derision. For what so efFectually pro-
claims the madman as the hollow thundering of words
— be they never so choice and resplendent — which
have no thought or knowledge behind them ? There-
fore whatever the theme, from whatever art or what-
ever branch of knowledge it be taken, the orator, just
as if he had got up the case for a client, will state it
better and more gracefully than the actual discoverer
62 and the speciahst. For if anyone is going to affirm
that there are certain ideas and subjects which speci-
S9
CICERO
torum proprias sententias atque causas, et certarum
rerum forensibus cancellis circumscriptam scientiam :
fatebor equidem in his magis assidue versari hanc
nostram dictionem ; sed tamen in his ipsis rebus
permulta sunt, quae isti magistri, qui rhetorici vocan-
63 tur, nec tradunt, nec tenent. Quis enim nescit,
maximam vim exsistere oratoris in hominum men-
tibus vel ad iram, aut ad odium, aut ad dolorem
incitandis, vel ab hisce eisdem permotionibus ad
lenitatem misericordiamque revocandis ? Quare, nisi
qui naturas hominum, vimque omnem humanitatis,
causasque eas, quibus mentes aut incitantur, aut
reflectuntur, penitus perspexerit, dicendo, quod
54 volet, perficere non poterit. Atqui totus hic locus
philosophorum proprius videtur ; neque orator, me
auctore, unquam repugnabit : sed, cimi illis cogni-
tionem rerum concesserit, quod in ea solum ilH
voluerint elaborare ; tractationem orationis, quae
sine illa scientia nulla est, sibi assumet. Hoc enim
est proprium oratoris, quod saepe iam dixi, oratio
gravis, et ornata, et hominum sensibus ac mentibus
accommodata.
65 XIII. Quibus de rebus Aristotelem et Theo-
phrastum scripsisse fateor : sed vide, ne hoc, Scae-
vola, totum sit a me ; nam ego, quae sunt oratori cum
ilUs communia, non mutuor ab ilUs ; isti, quae de his
rebus disputant, oratorum esse concedunt, itaque
40
DE ORATORE, I. xii. 52— xiii. 55
ally belong to orators, and certain matters whereof
the knowledge is railed-off behind the barriers of
the Courts, while I will admit that these oratorical
activities of ours are exercised within this area with
less intermission than elsewhere, nevertheless among
these very topics there are points in abundance which
even the so-called professors of rhetoric neither teach
63 nor understand. Who indeed does not know that the
orator's virtue is pre-eminently manifested either in
rousing men's hearts to anger, hatred, or indignation,
or in recaUing them from these same passions to mild-
ness and mercy ? Wherefore the speaker will not be
able to achieve what he wants by his words, unless
he has gained profound insight into the characters of
men, and the whole range of human nature, and
those motives whereby our souls are spurred on or
54 turned back. And all this is considered to be the
special province of philosophers, nor will the orator, if
he take my advice, resist their claim ; but when he
has granted their knowledge of these things, since
they have devoted all their labour to that alone, still
he will assert his own claim to the oratorical treat-
ment of them, which without that knowledge of theirs
is nothing at all. For this is the essential concern of
the orator, as I have often said before, — a style that
is dignified and graceful and in conformity with the
general modes of thought and judgement.
55 XIII. " And while I acknowledge that Aristotle and Rtefcoric la
Theophrastus have written about all these things, ^ ^*''®"'*®'
yet consider, Scaevola, whether it is not wholly in
my favour, that, whereas I do not borrow from them
the things that they share with the orator, they on
their part grant that their discussions on these sub-
jects are the orator's own, and accordingly they
r 41
CICERO
ceteros libros artis isti suae nomine, hos Rhetoricos
C6 et inscribunt, et appellant. Etenim cum illi in
dicendo inciderint loci (quod persaepe evenit), ut
de diis immortalibus, de pietate, de concordia, de
amicitia, de communi civium, de hominum, de gen-
tium iure, de aequitate, de temperantia, de magni-
tudine animi, de omni virtutis genere sit dicendum,
clamabunt, credo, omnia gymnasia, atque omnes
philosophorum scholae, sua haec esse omnia propria ;
nihil omnino ad oratorem pertinere. Quibus ego,
ut de his rebus omnibus in angulis, consumendi
otii causa, disserant, cum concessero, illud tamen
oratori tribuam et dabo, ut eadem, de quibus illi
tenui quodam exsanguique sermone disputant, hic
57 cum omni gravitate et iucunditate explicet. Haec
ego cum ipsis philosophis tum Athenis disserebam,
cogebat enim me M. Marcellus hic noster, qui nunc
aedilis curulis est ; et profecto, nisi ludos nunc
faceret, huic nostro sermoni interesset ; ac iam tvun
erat adolescentulus his studiis mirifice deditus.
68 lam vero de legibus instituendis, de bello, de pace,
de sociis, de vectigahbus, de iure civiU generatim
in ordines aetatesque descripto, dicant vel Graeci,
si volunt, Lycurgum, aut Solonem (quanquam illos
quidem censemus in numero eloquentium reponendos)
scisse melius, quam Hyperidem, aut Demosthenem,
perfectos iam homines in dicendo, et perpolitos ;
" The ' curule ' aediles were distinguished from the aediles
plebis by their right to use the aella curulis and the toga
praetexta.
42
DE ORATORE, I. xiii. 55-58
entitle and designate all their other treatises by
some name taken from their distinctive art, but these
66 particular books as dealing with Rhetoric. And in-
deed when, while a man is speaking — as often happens
— such commonplaces have cropped up as demand
some mention of the immortal gods, of dutifulness,
harmony, or friendship, of the rights shared by citi-
zens, by men in general, and by nations, of fair-deal-
ing, moderation or greatness of soul, or virtue of any
and every kind, all the academies and schools of
philosophy will, I do beheve, raise the cry that all
these matters are their exclusive province, and in no
way whatever the concem of the orator. But when
I have allowed that they may debate these subjects
in their holes and corners, to pass an idle hour, it is
to the orator none the less that I shall entrust and
assign the task of developing with complete charm
and cogency the same themes which they discuss in a
67 sort of thin and bloodless style. These points I used
to argue at Athens ynth. the philosophers in person,
under pressure from our friend Marcus Marcellus,
who is now Aedile of the Chair," and assuredly, if he
were not at this moment producing the Games, would
be taking part in our present colloquy ; indeed even
in those days of his early youth his devotion to these
studies was marvellous.
68 " But now as regards the institution of laws, as Exposition
regards war and peace, allies and public dues, and ^^**^*^^
the legal rights assigned to classes of citizens accord- knowiedge
ing to variations of rank and age, let the Greeks say, ^^^ ^*^^®*
if they please, that Lycurgus and Solon (although I
hold that they should be rated as eloquent) were
better informed than Hyperides or Demosthenes,
who were really accomplished and highly pohshed
4S
CICERO
vel nostri decemviros, qui Duodecim Tabulas per-
scripserunt, quos necesse est fuisse prudentes, ante-
ponant in hoc genere et Ser. Galbae, et socero tuo
C. Laelio, quos constat dicendi gloria praestitisse.
59 Nunquam enim negabo, esse quasdam artes proprias
eorum, qui in his cognoscendis atque tractandis
studium suum omne posuerunt ; sed oratorem
plenum atque perfectum esse eum dicam, qui de
omnibus rebus possit varie copioseque dicere.
XIV. Etenim saepe in eis causis, quas omnes pro-
prias esse oratorum confitentur, est aliquid, quod non
ex usu forensi, quem solum oratoribus conceditis, sed
ex obscuriore aliqua scientia sit promendum atque
60 sumendum. Quaero enim, num possit aut contra
irnperatorem, aut pro imperatore dici sine rei mili-
taris usu, aut saepe etiam sine regionum terrestrium
aut maritimarum scientia ; num apud populum de
legibus iubendis, aut vetandis ; num in Senatu de
omni reipubhcae genere dici sine summa rerum
civilium cognitione, et prudentia ; num admoveri
possit oratio ad sensus animorum atque motus vel
inflammandos, vel etiam exstinguendos (quod unum
in oratore dominatur), sine diligentissima pervestiga-
tione earum omnium rationum, quae de naturis hu-
mani generis ac moribus a philosophis explicantur.
61 Atque haud scio, an minus hoc vobis sim proba-
44
DE ORATORE, I. xiii. 58— xiv. 61
orators ; or let our own folk prefer in this regard
the Ten Commissioners — who wrote out the Twelve
Tables and were necessarily men of practical wisdom
— to Servius Galba and your father-in-law Gaius
LaeHus, whose outstanding renown for eloquence is
69 estabhshed. For never will I say that there are not
certain arts belonging exclusively to those who have
employed all their energies in the mastery and exer-
cise thereof, but my assertion will be that the com-
plete and finished orator is he who on any matter
whatever can speak with fullness and variety.
XIV. " Indeed in handUng those causes which xhe orator
everybody acknowledges to be within the exclusive ^^^ ^^^"^
sphere of oratory, there is not seldom something to
be brought forth and employed, not from practice in
public speaking — the only thing you allow the orator
— but from some more abstruse branch of knowledge.
60 I ask, for instance, whether an advocate can either
assail or defend a commander-in-chief without ex-
perience of the art of war, or sometimes too without
knowledge of the various regions of land or sea ?
Whether he can address the popular assembly in
favour of the passing or rejection of legislative pro-
posals, or the Senate concerning any of the depart-
ments of State administration, if he lack consummate
knowledge — practical as well as theoretical — of
political science ? Whether a speech can be directed
to inflaming or even repressing feeUng and passion
— a faculty of the first importance to the orator —
unless the speaker has made a most careful search
into all those theories respecting the natural char-
acters and the habits of conduct of mankind, which
are unfolded by the philosophers ?
61 " And I rather think I shaU come short of convincing
45
CICERO
turus ; equidem non dubitabo, quod sentio, dicere :
physica ista ipsa, et mathematica, et quae paulo ante
ceterarum artium propria posuisti, scientiae sunt
eorum, qui illa profitentur, illustrare autem ora-
tione si quis istas ipsas artes velit, ad oratoris ei
62 confugiendum est facultatem. Neque enim, si Phi-
lonem illimi architectum, qui Atheniensibus arma-
mentarium fecit, constat, perdiserte populo rationem
operis sui reddidisse, existimandum est, architecti
potius artificio disertum, quam oratoris, fuisse. Nec,
si huic M. Antonio pro Hermodoro fuisset de navalium
opere dicendum, non, cum ab illo causam didicisset,
ipse ornate de alieno artificio copioseque dixisset.
Neque vero Asclepiades is, quo nos medico amicoque
usi sumus, tum, cum eloquentia vincebat ceteros
medicos, in eo ipso, quod ornate dicebat, medicinae
63 facultate utebatur, non eloquentiae. Atque illud
est probabilius, neque tamen verum, quod Socrates
dicere solebat, omnes in eo, quod scirent, satis esse
eloquentes ; illud verius, neque quemquam in eo
disertiun esse posse, quod nesciat ; neque, si id
optime sciat, ignarusque sit faciundae ac pohendae
orationis, diserte id ipsum posse, de quo sciat, dicere.
64 XV. Quam ob rem, si quis universam et propriam
oratoris vim definire complectique vult, is orator erit,
mea sententia, hoc tam gravi dignus nomine, qui,
46
DE ORATORE, I. xiv. 61— xv. 64
you on my next point — at all events I will not hesitate science and
to speak my mind : your natural science itself, your phWosophy
mathematics, and other studies which just now you to oratory
reckoned as belonging peculiarly to the rest of the ^°^ ^^^'^* •
arts, do indeed pertain to the knowledge of their
professors, yet if anyone should wish by speaking to
put these same arts in their fuU Hght, it is to oratorical
62 skill that he must run for help. If, again, it is estab-
lished that Philo, that master-builder who constructed
an arsenal for the Athenians, described the plan of
his work very eloquently to the people, his eloquence
must be ascribed not to his architectural, but rather
to his oratorical ability. So too, if Marcus Antonius
here had had to speak on behalf of Hermodorus upon
the construction of dockyards, having got up his case
from his client, he would then have discoursed grace-
fully and copiously of an art to which he was not a
stranger. Asclepiades also, he with whom we have
been famiUar both as physician and as friend, at the
time when he was surpassing the rest of his profession
in eloquence, was exhibiting, in such graceful speak-
63 ing, the skill of an orator, not that of a physician. In
fact that favourite assertion of Socrates — that every
man was eloquent enough upon a subject that he
knew — has in it some plausibiHty but no truth : it
is nearer the truth to say that neither can anyone be
eloquent upon a subject that is unknown to him, nor,
if he knows it perfectly and yet does not know how
to shape and pohsh his style, can he speak fluently
even upon that which he does know.
64 XV. " Accordingly, should anyone wish to define in xhe orator
a comprehensive manner the complete and special ?*° ^et up
meaning of the word, he will be an orator, in my caiities, but
opinion worthy of so dignified a title, who, whatever ^® ™*"* ^
47
CICERO
quaecumque res inciderit, quae sit dictione expli-
canda, prudenter, et composite, et ornate, et me-
moriter dicat, cum quadam etiam actionis dignitate.
65 Sin cuipiam nimis infinitum videtur quod ita posui,
' quacumque de re,' licet hinc, quantum cuique vi-
debitur, circumcidat atque amputet : tamen illud te-
nebo, si, quae ceteris in artibus aut studiis sita sunt,
orator ignoret, tantumque ea teneat, quae sint in
disceptationibus, atque in usu forensi ; tamen his de
rebus ipsis si sit ei dicendum, cum cognoverit ab eis,
qui tenent, quae sint in quaque re, multo oratorem
melius, quam ipsos illos, quorum eae sunt artes, esse
gg dicturum. Ita si de re militari dicendum huic erit
Sulpicio, quaeret a C. Mario affini nostro, et, cum
acceperit, ita pronuntiabit, ut ipsi C. Mario paene
hic melius, quam ipse, illa scire videatur ; sin de iure
civili, tecum communicabit, teque hominem pru-
dentissimum et peritissimum in eis ipsis rebus, quas
g7 abs te didicerit, dicendi arte superabit. Sin quae
res inciderit, in qua de natura, de vitiis hominum,
de cupiditatibus, de modo, de continentia, de dolore,
de morte dicendum sit ; forsitan, si ei sit visum (etsi
haec quidem nosse debet orator), cum Sex. Pompeio,
erudito homine in philosophia, communicarit ; hoc
profecto efficiet, ut, quamcumque rem a quoque
48
DE ORATORE, I. xv. 64-67
the topic that crops up to be unfolded in discourse, vorsed in
will speak thereon with knowledge, method, charm ^nd morai
and retentive memory,combiningwith these qualifica- science.
65 tions a certain distinction of bearing. If however
someone considers my expression ' whatever the
topic ' to be altogether too extensive, he may clip
and prune it to his individual taste, but to this much
I shall hold fast — though the orator be ignorant of
what is to be found in all the other arts and branches
of study, and know only what is dealt with in debate
and the practice of pubhc-speaking ; none the less,
if he should have to discourse even on these other
subjects, then after learning the technicalities of each
from those who know the same, the orator will speak
about them far better than even the men who are
66 masters of these arts. For example, should our
friend Sulpicius here have to speak upon the art of
war, he will inquire of our relative Gaius Marius, and
when he has received his teachings, will dehver him-
self in such fashion as to seem even to Gaius Marius
to be almost better informed on the subject than
Gaius Marius himself ; while if his topic is to be the
law of private rights, he will consult yourself and,
notwithstanding your consummate learning and
skill in these very things which you have taught him,
67 he will surpass you in the art of exposition. If again
some matter should confront him wherein he must
speak of human nature, human vices or the passions,
of moderation or self-control, of sorrow or death, then
perhaps if he thinks fit — although an orator must have
knowledge of such things — he will have taken counsel
with Sextus Pompeius, a man accomphshed in moral
science ; so much he will assuredly achieve, that
whatever his subject and whoever his instructor, on
49
CICERO
cognorit, de ea multo dicat ornatius, quam ille ipse,
"^ unde cognorit. Sed si me audierit, quoniam philo-
sophia in tres partes est tributa, in naturae obscuri-
tatem, in disserendi subtilitatem, in vitam atque
mores ; duo illa relinquamus, idque largiamur in-
ertiae nostrae : tertium vero, quod semper oratoris
fuit, nisi tenebimus, nihil oratori, in quo magnus esse
69 possit, rehnquemus. Quare hic locus de vita et
moribus totus est oratori perdiscendus : cetera si non
didicerit, tamen poterit, si quando opus erit, ornare
dicendo, si modo erunt ad eum delata, et tradita.
XVI. Etenim si constat inter doctos, hominem
ignarum astrologiae, Aratum omatissimis atque op-
timis versibus, de coelo stellisque dixisse ; si de rebus
rusticis hominem ab agro remotissimum, Nicandrum
Colophonium, poetica quadam facultate, non rustica,
scripsisse praeclare : quid est, cur non orator de
rebus eis eloquentissime dicat, quas ad certam
70 causam tempusque cognorit ? Est enim finitimus
oratori poeta, numeris astrictior paulo, verborum
autem Hcentia Uberior, multis vero ornandi generibus
socius, ac paene par ; in hoc quidem certe prope
idem, nuUis ut terminis circumscribat aut definiat
50
DE ORATORE, I. xv. 67— xvi. 70
that subject he will express himself far more graee-
68 fully than his master himself. Nevertheless, if he
will listen to me, since philosophy is divided into
three branches, which respectively deal with the
mysteries of nature, with the subtleties of dialectic,
and with human hfe and conduct, let us quit claim
to the first two, by way of concession to our indolence,
but unless we keep our hold on the third, which has
ever been the orator's province, we shall leave the
69 orator no sphere wherein to attain greatness. For
which reason this division of philosophy, concerned
with human Ufe and manners, must all of it be
mastered by the orator ; as for the other matters,
even though he has not studied them, he will still be
able, whenever the necessity arises, to beautify them
by his eloquence, if only they are brought to his
notice and described to him.
XVI. " Indeed if it is agreed in learned circles that The orator,
a man who knew no astronomy — Aratus to wit — has pggt ^gg^g
sung of the heavenly spaces and the stars in verse of ^T'^^^..
consummate finish and excellence, and that another
who was a complete stranger to country Hfe, Nicander
of Colophon, has written with distinction on rural
affairs, using something of a poet's skill and not that
of a farmer, what reason is there why an orator
should not discourse most eloquently conceming
those subjects which he has conned for a specific
70 argument and occasion ? The truth is that the poet
is a very near kinsman of the orator, rather more
heavily fettered as regards rh^rthm, but with ampler
freedom in his choice of words, while in the use of
many sorts of ornament he is his ally and ahnost his
counterpart ; in one respect at all events something
like identity exists, since he sets no boundaries or
51
CICERO
ius suum, quo minus ei liceat eadem illa facultate et
71 copia vagari, qiia velit. Namque quod illud, Scae-
vola, negasti te fuisse laturum, nisi in meo regno
esses, quod in omni genere sermonis, in omni parte
humanitatis dixerim oratorem perfectum esse debere,
nunquam mehercule hoc dicerem, si eum, quem fin-
.72 go, me ipsum esse arbitrarer. Sed, ut solebat C. Lu-
cilius saepe dicere, homo tibi subiratus, mihi propter
eam ipsam causam minus, quam volebat, familiaris,
sed tamen et doctus, et perurbanus, sic sentio, nemi-
nem esse in oratorum numero habendum, qui non
sit omnibus eis artibus, quae sunt Ubero dignae, per-
politus ; quibus ipsis, si in dicendo non utimur,
tamen apparet atque exstat, utrum simus earum
73 rudes, an didicerimus. Ut, qui pila ludunt, non
utuntur in ipsa lusione artificio proprio palaestrae,
sed indicat ipse motus, didicerintne palaestram, an
nesciant ; et qui aliquid fingunt, et si tum pictura
nihil utuntur, tamen, utrum sciant pingere, an
nesciant, non obscurum est : sic in orationibus hisce
ipsis iudiciorum, concionum, Senatus, etiamsi proprie
ceterae non adhibentur artes, tamen facile declaratur,
utrvun is, qui dicat, tantummodo in hoc declamatorio
52
DE ORATORE, I. xvi. 70-73
limits to his claims, such as would prevent him
from ranging whither he will with the same free-
71 dom and hcence as the other. For with regard
to your remark, Scaevola, that, had you not been
in my domain, you would not have endured my
assertion that the orator must be accompHshed
in every kind of discourse and in every depart-
ment of culture, I should certainly never have
made that assertion, did I consider myself to be
72 the man I am endeavouring to portray. But, as
was often said by Gaius Lucihus — who was not
altogether pleased with you, and for that very reason
less intimate with myself than he wished, but for ali
that an instructed critic and thorough gentleman of
the city — my opinion is this, that no one should be
numbered with the orators who is not accompHshed
in all those arts that befit the well-bred ; for though
we do not actually parade these in our discourse, it
is none the less made clear to demonstration whether
we are strangers to them or have learned to know
73 them. Just as ball-players do not in their game
itself employ the characteristic dexterity of the
gymnasium, and yet their very movements show
whether they have had such training or know nothing
of that art ; and, just as, in the case of those who are
portraying anything, even though at the moment
they are making no use of the painter's art, there is
none the less no difficulty in seeing whether or not
they know how to paint ; even so is it with these
same speeches in the Courts, the popular assembly
and the Senate-house — granting that the other arts
may not be specially brought into play, still it is made
easily discernible whether the speaker has merely
floundered about in this declamatory business or
53
CICERO
sit opere iactatus, an ad dicendum omnibus ingenuis
artibus instructus accesserit.
74 XVII. Tum ridens Scaevola : Non luctabor, inquit,
tecum, Crasse, amplius. Id enim ipsum, quod contra
me locutus es, artificio quodam es consecutus, ut et
mihi, quae ego vellem non esse oratoris, concederes ;
et ea ipsa, nescio quomodo, rursus detorqueres, atque
75 oratori propria traderes. Haec, cum ego praetor
Rhodum venissem, et cum summo illo doctore istius
disciplinae Apollonio, ea, quae a Panaetio acceperam,
contulissem : irrisit ille quidem, ut solebat, philoso-
phiam, atque contempsit, multaque non tam graviter
dixit, quam facete, tua autem fuit oratio eiusmodi,
non ut uUam artem doctrinamve contemneres, sed
ut omnes comites ac ministras oratoris esse diceres.
76 Quas ego, si quis sit unus complexus omnes, idemque
si ad eas facultatem istam ornatissimae orationis
adiunxerit ; non possum dicere, eum non egregium
quemdam hominem atque admirandum fore, sed is,
si quis esset, aut si etiam unquam fuisset, aut vero
si esse posset, tu esses unus profecto ; qui et meo
iudicio, et omnium, vix ullam ceteris oratoribus
77 (pace horum dixerim) laudem reliquisti. Verum si
tibi ipsi nihil deest, quod in forensibus rebus, civi-
libusque versetur, quin scias, neque eam tamen
scientiam, quam adiungis oratori, complexus es ;
54
DE ORATORE, I. xvi. 73— xvii. 77
whether, before approaching his task of oratory,
he has been trained in all the hberal arts."
74 XVII. At this point Scaevola smiUngly declared : The
" Crassus, I will strive with you no longer. For, in chalienged*
this very speech you have made against me, you have
by some trick so managed matters as both to grant
me what I said did not belong to the orator, and then
somehow or another to wrest away these things again
and hand them over to the orator as his absolute
75 property. And as regards these subjects, when on
my arrival in Rhodes as praetor I discussed with
Apollonius, that supreme master of this science of
rhetoric, the things that I had learned from Panaetius,
he as usual jeered at philosophy and expressed con-
tempt for it and talked at large in a vein more grace-
ful than serious ; whereas your argument has been
of such a kind that you not only refrained from
despising any of the arts or sciences, but described
them all as the attendants and handmaids of oratory.
76 And for my own part, if ever any one man should have
mastered all of them, and that same man should have
united with them this added power of perfectly grace-
ful expression, I cannot deny that he would be a
remarkable kind of man and worthy of admiration ;
but if such a one there should be, or indeed ever
has been, or really ever could be, assuredly you
would be that one man, who both in my opinion and
in that of everyone else, have left all other orators —
if they will pardon my saying so — almost without
77 glory. But if you yourself, while lacking nothing of
the knowledge that has to do with law-court speak-
ing and pohtics, have nevertheless not mastered
the further learning which you associate with
the orator, let us see whether you may not be
55
CICERO
videamus, ne plus ei tribuas, quam res et veritas ipsa
concedat.
78 Hic Crassus : Memento, inquit, me non de mea,
sed de oratoris facultate dixisse. Quid enim nos aut
didicimus, aut scire potuimus, qui ante ad agendum,
quam ad cognoscendum venimus ; quos in foro, quos
in ambitione, quos in republica, quos in amicorum
negotiis, res ipsa ante confecit, quam possemus aliquid
79 de rebus tantis suspicari ? Quod si tibi tantum in
nobis videtur esse, quibus etiamsi ingenium, ut tu
putas, non maxime defuit, doctrina certe, et otium,
et hercule etiam studium illud discendi acerrimum
defuit : quid censes, si ad alicuius ingenium vel
maius illa, quae ego non attigi, accesserint .'' qualem
illum, et quantum oratorem futurum ?
80 XVIII. Tum Antonius : Probas mihi, inquit, ista,
Crasse, quae dicis ; nec dubito, quin multo locupletior
in dicendo futurus sit, si quis omnium rerum atque
81 artium rationem naturamque comprehenderit. Sed
primum id difficile est factu, praesertim in hac nostra
vita, nostrisque occupationibus ; deinde illud etiam
verendum est, ne abstrahamur ab hac exercitatione,
et consuetudine dicendi populari, et forensi. Aliud
enim mihi quoddam genus orationis esse videtur
eorum hominum, de quibus paulo ante dixisti, quamvis
illi ornate et graviter, aut de natura rerum, aut de
humanis rebus loquantur : nitidum quoddam genus
56
DE ORATORE, I. xvii. 77— xviii. 81
attributing to him more than the real facts of the
case allow."
78 Here Crassus interposed : " Remember that I have but
not been speaking of my own skill, but of that of fg ^ ""l^gai,
an orator. For what have men Uke myself either
learned or had any chance of knowing, who entered
upon practice before ever we reached the study of
theory, whom our professional activities in pubhc
speaking, in the pursuit of ofRce, in pohtics, and
about the afFairs of our friends, wore out ere we
could form any conception of the importance of these
79 other matters ? But if you find such excellence in
me who, if perhaps — as you hold — I have not been
completely wanting in abihty, have assuredly been
wanting in learning and leisure and (to tell the truth)
in the requisite enthusiasm for instruction as well,
what think you would be the quaUty and stature of
an orator in whom all that I have not attained should
be combined with abihty such asmy own or greater ? "
80 XVIII. Thereupon Antonius observed : " Crassus, This ideai
to my mind you establish your case, and I do not chaUenged
doubt that, if a man has grasped the principles and as un-
nature of every subject and of every art, he will in and^un^^
consequence be far better equipped as a speaker. attainabie.
81 But in the first place such knowledge is hard to win,
especially in the life we lead, and amid the engage-
ments that are ours, and then again there is the
danger of our being led away from our traditional
practice of speaking in a style acceptable to the
commonalty and suited to advocacy. For it seems
to me that the eloquence of these men, to whom you
referred just now, is of an entirely difFerent kind,
albeit they speak gracefully and cogently, either upon
natural philosophy or upon the affairs of mankind :
57
CICERO
est verborum et laetum, sed palaestrae magis et olei,
82 quam huius civilis turbae ac fori, Namque egomet,
qui sero, ac leviter Graecas litteras attigissem, tamen
cum pro consule in Ciliciam proficiscens Athenas
venissem, complures tum ibi dies sum propter navi-
gandi difficultatem commoratus : sed, cum quotidie
mecum haberem homines doctissimos, eos fere ipsos,
qui abs te modo sunt nominati, cumque hoc, nescio
quomodo, apud eos increbruisset, me in causis ma-
ioribus, sicuti te, solere versari, pro se quisque ut
poterat, de officio et ratione oratoris disputabat.
83 Horum alii, sicut iste ipse Mnesarchus, hos, quos
nos oratores vocaremus, nihil esse dicebat, nisi
quosdam operarios, lingua celeri et exercitata ;
oratorem autem, nisi qui sapiens esset, esse neminem ;
atque ipsam eloquentiam, quod ex bene dicendi
scientia constaret, unam quamdam esse virtutem, et
qui unam virtutem haberet, omnes habere, easque
esse inter se aequales et pares : ita, qui esset
eloquens, eum virtutes omnes habere, atque esse
sapientem. Sed haec erat spinosa quaedam et exilis
oratio, longeque a nostris sensibus abhorrebat.
84 Charmadas vero multo uberius eisdem de rebus
loquebatur : non quo aperiret sententiam suam ; hic
enim mos erat patrius Academiae, adversari semper
omnibus in disputando ; sed cum maxime tamen
hoc significabat, eos, qui rhetores nominarentur, et
" Mnesarchus represents the Stoics, whose fundamental
doctrine of the unity and coequality of all virtues implies
that the philosopher alone can be an orator.
58
DE ORATORE, I. xviii. 81-84
theirs is a polishedand flowery sort of diction,redolent
rather of the training-school and its suppHng-oil
82 than of our poHtical hurly-burly and of the Bar. For
— when I think of it — although it was late in hfe and
only hghtly that I came into touch with Greek htera-
ture, still, when on my journey to Cihcia as proconsul
I reached Athens, I tarried there for several days by
reason of the difficulty in putting to sea : at any rate,
as I had about me daily the most learned men, pretty
nearly the same as those whom you have lately men-
tioned, a rumour having somehow spread among
them that I, just hke yourself, was usually engaged
in the more important causes, every one of them in
his turn contributed what he could to a discussion
on the function and method of an orator.
83 " Some of them were for maintaining, as did your
authority Mnesarchus" himself, that those whom we
called orators were nothing but a sort of artisans with
ready and practised tongues, whereas no one was an
orator save the wise man only, and that eloquence
itself, being, as it was, the science of speaking well,
was one type of virtue, and he who possessed a single
virtue possessed all of them, and the virtues were of
the same rank and equal one with another, from which
it followed that the man of eloquence had every
virtue and was a wise man. But this was a thorny
and dry sort of language, and entirely out of harmony
84 with anything we thought. Charmadas, however,
would speak far more copiously upon the same topics,
not that heintended thereby to reveal his ownopinion,
— it being an accepted tradition of the Academy
always and against all comers to be of the opposition
in debate — just then, however, he was pointing out
that those who were styled rhetoricians and pro-
59
CICERO
qui dicendi praecepta traderent, nihil plane tenere,
neque posse quemquam facultatem assequi dicendi,
nisi qui philosophorum inventa didicisset.
85 XIX. Disputabant contra diserti homines, Atheni-
enses, et in repubhca causisque versati, in quis erat
etiam is, qui nuper Romae fuit, Menedemus, hospes
meus ; qui cum diceret esse quamdam prudentiam,
quae versaretur in perspiciendis rationibus constituen-
darum et regendarum rerum pubhcarum, excitabatur
homo promptus atque omni abundans doctrina, et
quadam incredibili varietate rerum et copia. Omnes
enim partes ilUus ipsius prudentiae petendas esse a
philosophia dicebat, neque ea, quae statuerentur in
repubhca de diis immortaUbus, de disciplina iuven-
tutis, de iustitia, de patientia, de temperantia, de
modo rerum omnium, ceteraque, sine quibus civitates
aut esse, aut bene moratae esse non possent, usquam
86 in eorum inveniri UbelUs. Quod si tantam vim rerum
maximarum arte sua rhetorici iUi doctores complecte-
rentur, quaerebat, cur de prooemiis, et de epilogis, et
de huiusmodi nugis (sic enim appellabat) referti
essent eorum Ubri ; de civitatibus instituendis, de
scribendis legibus, de aequitate, de iustitia, de fide,
de frangendis cupiditatibus, de conformandis ho-
minum moribus, Uttera in eorum Ubris nuUa inveni-
87 retur .'' Ipsa vero praecepta sic iUudere solebat, ut
ostenderet, non modo eos ilUus expertes esse pru-
■ Charmadas of the Academy,
60
DE ORATORE, I. xviii. 84— xix. 87
pounded rules of eloquence, had no clear compre-
hension of anything, and that no man could attain
skill in speaking unless he had studied the discoveries
of the philosophers.
85 XIX. " Certain Athenians, accomplished speakers Reportof
and experienced in politics and at the Bar, argued on ^^^^^^}
the other side, among them too being that Mene- is therea
demus, who was lately in Rome as my guest ; and thetodc"^
when he asserted that there was a special sort of or does
wisdom, which had to do with investigating the prin- depe^nd on
ciples of founding and governing pohtical communities, aptitude
this roused up a man of quick temper " and full to over- practicet
flowing of learning of every kind and a really in-
credible diversity and multiplicity of facts. For he
proceeded to inform us that every part of this same
wisdom had to be sought from philosophy, nor were
those institutions in a State which dealt with the im-
mortal gods, the training of youth, justice, endurance,
self-control, or moderation in all things, or the other
principles without which States could not exist or at
any rate be well-conditioned, to be met with any-
86 where in the paltry treatises of rhetoricians, Where-
as, if those teachers of rhetoric embraced within their
art so vast a multitude of the noblest themes, how
was it, he inquired, that their books were stuffed full
of maxims relating to prefaces, perorations and similar
trumpery — for so did he describe them — while con-
cerning the organization of States, or the drafting of
laws, or on the topics of fair-deahng, justice, loyalty,
or the subduing of the passions or the building of
human character, not a syllable was to be found in
87 their pages ? But as for their actual rules he would
scofF at them by showing that not only were their
authors devoid of that wisdom which they arrogated
61
CICERO
dentiae, quam sibi adsciscerent, sed ne hanc quidem
ipsam dicendi rationem ac viam nosse. Caput enim
esse arbitrabatur oratoris, ut et ipsis, apud quos
ageret, talis, qualem se ipse optaret, videretur ; id
fieri vitae dignitate, de qua nihil rhetorici isti doctores
in praeceptis suis reliquissent : et uti eorum, qui
audirent, sic afficerentur animi, ut eos affici vellet
orator ; quod item fieri nullo modo posse, nisi
cognosceret is, qui diceret, quot modis hominum
mentes, et quibus rebus, et quo genere orationis in
quamque partem moverentur ; haec autem esse
penitus in media philosophia retrusa atque abdita ;
quae isti rhetores ne primoribus quidem labris at-
88 tigissent. Ea Menedemus exemplis magis, quam
argvunentis, conabatur refellere : memoriter enim
multa ex orationibus Demosthenis praeclare scripta
pronuntians, docebat, illum in animis vel iudicum,
vel popuh, in omnem partem dicendo permovendis,
non fuisse ignarum, quibus ea rebus consequeretur,
quae negaret ille sine philosophia quemquam scire
posse.
89 XX. Huic ille respondebat, non se negare, Demo-
sthenem summam prudentiam summamque vim
habuisse dicendi ; sed sive ille hoc ingenio potuisset,
sive, id quod constaret, Platonis studiosus audiendi
fuisset ; non, quid ille potuisset, sed quid isti
62
DE ORATORE, I. xix. 87— xx. 89
to themselves, but they were ignorant even of the
true principles and methods of eloquence. For he
was of opinion that the main object of the orator was
that he should both appear himself, to those before
whom he was pleading, to be such a man as he would
desire to seem (an end to be attained by a reputable
mode of Ufe, as to which those teachers of rhetoric
had left no hint among their instructions), and that
the hearts of his hearers should be touched in such
fashion as the orator would have them touched (an-
other purpose only to be achieved by a speaker who
had investigated all the ways wherein, and all the
allurements and kind of diction whereby, the judge-
ment of men might be inclined to this side or to that) ;
but according to him such knowledge lay thrust away
and buried deep in the very heart of philosophy, and
those rhetoricians had not so much as tasted it with the
88 tip of the tongue. These assertions Menedemus would
strive to disprove by quoting instances rather than by
arguments, for, while reciting from his ready recoUec-
tion many magnificent passages from the speeches of
Demosthenes, he would demonstrate how that orator,
when by his eloquence he was compelling the passions
of the judges or of the people to take any direction
he chose, knew well enough by what means to attain
results which Charmadas would say that no one could
compass without the aid of philosophy.
89 XX. " To this Charmadas replied that he did not
deny to Demosthenes the possession of consummate
wisdom and the highest power of eloquence, but
whether Demosthenes owed this ability to natural
talent or, as was generally agreed, had been a
devoted disciple of Plato, the present question was
not what Demosthenes could do, but what those
63
CICERO
90 docerent, esse quaerendum. Saepe etiam in eam
partem ferebatur oratione, ut omnino disputaret,
nullam artem esse dicendi : idque cum argumentis
docuerat, quod ita nati essemus, ut et blandiri, et
suppliciter insinuare eis, a quibus esset petendum,
et adversarios minaciter terrere possemus, et rem
gestam exponere, et id, quod intenderemus, con-
firmare, et id, quod contra diceretur, refellere, et ad
extremum deprecari aliquid, et conqueri ; quibus in
rebus omnis oratorum versaretur facultas ; et quod
consuetudo exercitatioque et intellegendi prudentiam
acueret, et eloquendi celeritatem incitaret : tum
91 etiam exemplorum copia nitebatur. Nam primum,
quasi dedita opera, neminem scriptorem artis ne
mediocriter quidem disertum fuisse dicebat, cum
repeteret usque a Corace nescio quo, et Tisia, quos
artis illius inventores et principes fuisse constaret ;
eloquentissimos autem homines, qui ista nec didi-
cissent, nec omnino scire curassent, innumerabiles
quosdam nominabat ; in quibus etiam (sive ille
irridens, sive quod ita putaret, atque ita audisset),
me in illo numero, qui illa non didicissem, et tamen
(ut ipse dicebat) possem aliquid in dicendo, profere-
bat. Quorum illi alterum facile assentiebar, nihil
me didicisse ; in altero autem me illudi ab eo, aut
' For Corax and Tisias see Index. By using the words
nescio quo Antonius affects ignorance of literary hibtory.
64
DE ORATORE, I. xx. 90-91
90 rhetoricians were teaching. More than once too he
was carried so far away by his discourse as to argue
that there was no such thing as an art of eloquence ;
and after showing this by arguments — because, as
he said, we were born with an aptitude ahke for
coaxing and unctuously steahng into favour with
those from whom a boon had to be sought, and for
daunting our antagonists by threats, for setting forth
how a deed was done, and estabHshing our own
charges and disproving the allegations of the other
side, and for making, in the closing words of a
speech, some use of protest and lamentation (in
which operations he declared that every resource of
the orator was brought into play), and because habit
and practice sharpened the edge of discernment and
quickened the fluency of dehvery, then he would also
91 support his case by an abundance of instances. For
in the first place (he would say) not a single writer on
rhetoric — it looked as if of set purpose — had been
even moderately eloquent, and he searched all the
way back to the days of one Corax <* and a certain
Tisias who, he stated, were acknowledged to have
been the founders and first practitioners of this
art, while on the other hand he would cite a
countless host of very eloquent men who had never
learned these rules or been at all anxious to make
their acquaintance ; and among these — whether in
jest or because he thought so and had even so heard
— he went on to mention me in the hst, as one who
had never studied those matters and yet (according
to him) had some ability in oratory. To one of these
points of his — that I had never learned anything — I
readily agreed, but as to the other I considered that
he was either making game of me or was even himself
65
CICERO
92 etiam ipsum errare arbitrabar. Artem vero negabat
esse ullam, nisi quae cognitis, penitusque perspectis,
et in uniun exitum spectantibus, et nunquam
fallentibus rebus contineretur ; haec autem omnia,
quae tractarentur ab oratoribus, dubia esse et
incerta ; cum et dicerentur ab eis, qui ea omnia
non plane tenerent, et audirentur ab eis, quibus non
scientia esset tradenda, sed exigui temporis aut falsa,
93 aut certe obscura opinio. Quid multa ? sic mihi
tum persuadere videbatur, neque artificium ullum
esse dicendi, neque quemquam posse, nisi qui illa,
quae a doctissimis hominibus in philosophia dice-
rentur, cognosset, aut caUide aut copiose dicere. In
quibus dicere Charmadas solebat, ingenium tuum,
Crasse, vehementer admirans, me sibi perfacilem in
audiendo, te perpugnacem in disputando esse visum.
94 XXI. Tumque ego, hac eadem opinione adductus,
scripsi etiam illud quodam in hbello, qui me im-
prudente et invito excidit, et pervenit in manus
hominum, disertos me cognosse nonnuUos, eloquen-
tem adhuc neminem : quod eum statuebam disertum,
qui posset satis acute, atque dilucide, apud mediocres
homines ex communi quadam opinione dicere ; elo-
quentem vero, qui mirabiUus et magnificentius augere
posset atque ornare, quae veUet, omnesque omnium
rerum, quae ad dicendum pertinerent, fontes animo
ac memoria contineret. Id si est difficile nobis, qui
66
DE ORATORE, I. xx. 92— xxi. 94,
92 mistaken. He said, however, that there was no
' art ' which did not consist in the knowledge and
clear perception of facts, all tending to a single con-
clusion and incapable of misleading ; but everything
with which orators dealt was doubtful and uncertain,
since all the talking was done by men who had no real
grasp of their subject, and all the hstening by hearers
who were not to have knowledge conveyed to them,
but some short-Uved opinion that was either untrue
93 or at least not clear. In a word, he then looked hke
persuading me that no craft of oratory existed, and
that no one could speak with address or copiously
unless he had mastered the philosophical teachings
of the most learned men. And in these discussions
Charmadas was wont to speak with warm admiration
of your talents, Crassus, explaining that he found in
me a very ready Ustener, in yourself a most doughty
antagonist.
94 XXI. " And so, won over by these same views, I Reai
actually wrote down in a little pamphlet — which u^qowiT
slipped abroad without my knowledge or consent and
got into the hands of the pubhc — the statement that
I had known sundry accomphshed speakers, but no
one so far who was eloquent, inasmuch as I held any-
one to be an accompHshed speaker who could deUver
his thought with the necessary point and clearness
before an everyday audience, and in accord with what
I might call the mental outlook of the average human
being, whereas I allowed the possession of eloquence
to that man only who was able, in a style more
admirable and more splendid, to amphfy and adom
any subject he chose, and whose mind and memory
encompassed all the sources of everything that con-
cerned oratory. If this is a hard matter for ourselves,
67
CICERO
ante quam ad discendum ingressi sumus, obruimur
ambitione et foro ; sit tamen in re positum atque
95 natura. Ego enim, quantum auguror coniectura,
quantaque ingenia in nostris hominibus esse video,
non despero fore aliquem aliquando, qui et studio
acriore, quam nos sumus atque fuimus, et otio ac
facultate discendi maiore ac maturiore, et labore
atque industria superiore, cum se ad audiendum,
legendum, scribendumque dediderit, exsistat talis
orator, qualem quaerimus ; qui iure non solum
disertus, sed etiam eloquens dici possit : qui tamen,
mea sententia, aut hic est iam Crassus, aut, si quis
pari fuerit ingenio pluraque quam hic et audierit
et lectitarit et scripserit, paulum huic aliquid poterit
addere.
96 Hoc loco Sulpicius : Insperanti mihi, inquit, et
Cottae, sed valde optanti utrique nostrum, cecidit,
ut in istum sermonem, Crasse, delaberemini. Nobis
enim huc venientibus iucundum satis fore videbatur,
si, cum vos de rebus aUis loqueremini, tamen nos
aliquid ex sermone vestro memoria dignum excipere
possemus : ut vero penitus in eam ipsam totius huius
vel studii, vel artificii, vel facultatis disputationem
paene intimam perveniretis, vix optandum nobis
97 videbatur. Ego enim, qui ab ineunte aetate in-
census essem studio utriusque vestrum, Crassi vero
68
DE ORATORE, I. xxi. 94^97
because, before we have entered on the required study,
we are overwhelmed by the hunt for office and the
business of the Bar, none the less let it be accepted
95 as attainable in fact and in the nature of things. For
personally, so far as I can form a prediction, and
judging from the vast supply of talent which I see
existent among our fellow-citizens, I do not despair
of its coming to pass that some day some one, keener
in study than we are or ever have been, endowed with
ampler leisure and earlier opportunity for learning,
and exhibiting closer apphcation and more intensive
industry, who shall have given himself up to hstening,
reading and writing, will stand forth as an orator such
as we are seeking, who may rightly be called not
merely accomphshed but actually eloquent ; and
after all, to my mind either Crassus is such a man
ah'eady, or, should some one of equal natural abihty
have heard, read and written more than Crassus, he
will only be able to improve to some slight extent
upon him."
96 At this point, " We never looked for it," ex- Crassus
claimed Sulpicius, " but it has fallen out, Crassus, coMents^to
just as both I and Cotta earnestly hoped, I mean that gi^e his
you two should shp into this particular conversation.
For on our way hither we were thinking that it would
be dehghtful enough if, while you and Antonius were
talking about anything else, we might still manage
to catch from your discourse something worth remem-
bering ; but that you should enter at large upon so
real and wellnigh exhaustive a discussion of this
whole matter — be it practice, art or natural talent — •
97 seemed to us a thing we could hardly hope for. The
fact is that I, who from my earhest manhood was
aglow with enthusiasm for you both, and a positive
69
CICERO
etiam amore, cum ab eo nusquam discederem,
verbum ex eo nunquam elicere potui de vi ac ratione
dicendi, cum et per memet ipsum egissem, et per
Drusum saepe tentassem : quo in genere tu, Antoni,
(vere loquar) nunquam mihi percunctanti, aut quae-
renti aliquid, defuisti, et persaepe me, quae soleres
98 In dicendo observare, docuisti. Nunc quoniam
uterque vestrum patefecit earum rerum ipsarum
aditum, quas quaerimus, et quoniam princeps Crassus
eius sermonis ordiendi fuit, date nobis hanc veniam,
ut ea, quae sentitis de omni genere dicendi, subtiliter
persequamini. Quod quidem si erit a vobis impetra-
tum, magnam habebo, Crasse, huic palaestrae et
Tusculano tuo gratiam, et longe Academiae illi ac
Lycio tuum hoc suburbanum gymnasium ante-
ponam.
99 XXII. Tum ille : Immo vero, inquit, Sulpici, roge-
mus Antonium, qui et potest facere id, quod requiris,
et consuevit, ut te audio dicere. Nam me quidem
fateor semper a genere hoc toto sermonis refugisse,
et tibi cupienti atque instanti saepissime negasse, ut
tute paulo ante dixisti. Quod ego non superbia,
neque inhumanitate faciebam, neque quo tuo studio
rectissimo atque optimo non obsequi vellem, prae-
sertim cum te unum ex omnibus ad dicendum
maxime natum, aptumque cognossem, sed mehercule
70
DE ORATORE, I. xxi. 97— xxii. 99
devotion to Crassus — seeing that on no occasion did
I leave his side — could never get a word out of him
respecting the nature and theory of eloquence,
although I pleaded in person, besides making fre-
quent trial of him through the agency of Drusus,
whereas on this subject you, Antonius, — and what I
shall say is true — have never failed me at all in my
probings or interrogatories, and have many a time
explained to me what rules you were wont to
98 observe in practical oratory. Now then that each
of you has opened up a way of reaching these
very objects of our quest, and since it was Crassus
who led ofF in this discussion, grant us the favour
of recounting with exactness of detail, your re-
spective opinions upon every branch of oratory.
If we do win this boon from you both, I shall be
deeply grateful, Crassus, to this school in your
Tusculan villa, and shall rank these semi-rural
training-quarters of yours far above the illustrious
Academy and the Lyceum."
99 XXII. Thereupon the other rejoined, " Nay,
Sulpicius, but let us rather ask Antonius, who both
has the abihty to do what you demand, and, as I
understand you to say, has been in the habit of so
doing. For as for me, you yourself have just told us
how I have invariably run away from all discussions
of this sort, and time and again have refused com-
pliance with your desire and indeed your importunity,
This I used to do, not from arrogance or churlishness,
nor because I was unwiUing to gratify your entirely
legitimate and admirable keenness — the more so as
I had recognized that you were above all other men
eminently endowed by nature and adapted for oratory
— but in solemn truth it was from want of familiarity
71
CICERO
istius disputationis insolentia, atque earum rerum,
quae quasi in arte traduntur, inscitia.
100 Tum Cotta : Quoniam id, quod difficillimum
nobis videbatur, ut omnino de his rebus, Crasse,
loquerere, assecuti sumus ; de reliquo iam nostra
culpa fuerit, si te, nisi omnia, quae percunctati
101 erimus, explicaris, dimiserimus. De his, credo,
rebus, inquit Crassus, ut in cretionibus scribi solet,
QuiBUS sciAM, POTEROQUE. Tum illc : Namque quod
tu non poteris, aut nescies, quis nostrum tam im-
pudens est, qui se scire aut posse postulet ? lam
vero, ista conditione, dum mihi liceat negare posse,
quod non potero, et fateri nescire quod nesciam, licet,
inquit Crassus, vestro arbitratu percunctemini.
102 Atque, inquit Sulpicius, hoc primum ex te, de quo
modo Antonius exposuit, quid sentias, quaerimus :
existimesne artem aliquam esse dicendi ? Quid ?
mihi nunc vos, inquit Crassus, tanquam aUcui Grae-
culo otioso et loquaci, et fortasse docto atque erudito,
quaestiunculam, de qua meo arbitratu loquar,
ponitis ? Quando enim me ista curasse aut cogitasse
arbitramini, et non semper irrisisse potius eorum
hominum impudentiam, qui cum in schola assedis-
sent, ex magna hominum frequentia dicere iuberent,
103 S) quis quid quaereret ? Quod primum ferunt
Leontinum fecisse Gorgiam : qui permagnum quid-
" For the use of the diminutive to indicate the contempt
felt at Rome for the degenerate Greek of the day c/. §§ 47,
221, and Juvenal iii. 78 Graeculus esurieru.
72
DE ORATORE, I. xxii. 99-103
with arguments of that kind, and awkwardness in
handling those theories set forth in what claims to be
an art."
30 Cotta then observed, " Since we have secured what
seemed most difficult — that you, Crassus, should say
anything at all about these matters — as for what
remains, it will now be our own fault if we let you go
without explaining to us all that we have been in-
31 quiring about." " Limiting the inquiry, I imagine,"
answered Crassus, " to those subjects which, as the
phrase goes in accepting an inheritance, are within
my knowledge and power." " By all means," re-
turned Cotta, " for what is beyond your own power
or knowledge, who among us is so shameless as to
claim to be within his own ? " " In that case,"
rephed Crassus, " provided that I may disclaim
powers which I do not possess, and admit ignorance
of what I do not know, — put what questions to me
32 you please." ' Well then," said Sulpicius, " what is there a
we ask you to tell us first is your opinion of the view rhetoricf
Antonius advanced just now — whether you hold that
there is any such thing as an ' art ' of oratory ? "
" How now ? " exclaimed Crassus, " Do you think
I am some idle talkative Greekhng," who is also
perhaps full of learning and erudition, that you
propound me a petty question on which to talk as I
will ? For when was it, think you, that I troubled
myself about these matters or reflected upon them,
and did not rather always laugh to scorn the effrontery
of those persons who, from their chairs in the schools,
would call upon any man in the crowded assemblage
to propound any question that he might have to put ?
03 It is related that Gorgias of Leontini was the author
of this practice, who was thought to be undertaking
n 73
CICERO
dam suscipere ac profiteri videbatur, cum se ad
omnia, de quibus quisque audire vellet, esse paratum
denuntiaret. Postea vero vulgo hoc facere coeperunt,
hodieque faciunt ; ut nuUa sit res, neque tanta, neque
tam improvisa, neque tam nova, de qua se non omnia,
104 quae dici possunt, profiteantur esse dicturos. Quod
si te, Cotta, arbitrarer, aut te, Sulpici, de eis rebus
audire velle, adduxissem huc Graecum aUquem, qui
vos istiusmodi disputationibus delectaret : quod ne
nunc quidem difficile factu est. Est enim apud
M. Pisonem, adolescentem iam huic studio deditum,
summo hominem ingenio, nostrique cupidissimum,
Peripateticus Staseas, homo nobis sane familiaris,
et, ut inter homines peritos constare video, in illo
suo genere omnium princeps.
105 XXIII. Quem tu, inquit, mihi, Mucius, Staseam,
quem Peripateticum narras ? Gerendus est tibi mos
adolescentibus, Crasse : qui non Graeci ahcuius quoti-
dianam loquacitatem sine usu, neque ex scholis
cantilenam requirunt, sed ex homine omnium sapien-
tissimo atque eloquentissimo, atque ex eo, qui non in
Ubellis, sed in maximis causis, et in hoc domicilio
imperii et gloriae, sit consilio hnguaque princeps ;
cuius vestigia persequi cupiunt, eius sententiam sci-
106 scitantur. Equidem te cum in dicendo semper
putavi deum, tum vero tibi nunquam eloquentiae
maiorem tribui laudem, quam humanitatis : qua
nunc te uti vel maxime decet, neque defugere eam
74
DE ORATORE, I. xxii. 103— xxiii. 106
and professing something very magnificent when he
advertised himself as ready for any topic whatever
on which anyone might have a fancy to hear him.
Later, however, they began to do this everywhere,
and are doing it to this day, with the result of there
being no theme so vast, so unforeseen, or so novel,
that they do not claim to be prepared to say about it
104 all that there is to be said. But had I supposed that
you, Cotta, or you, Sulpicius, wished to Usten to any-
thing of the kind, I would have brought some Greek
or other here to amuse you with discussions of that
sort ; and even now this can easily be managed. For
staying with Marcus Piso (a young man, but already
given up to this pursuit, possessing talent of the highest
order and deeply devoted to myself) there is Staseas
the Peripatetic, a man whom I know well enough, and
who, as I understand to be agreed among experts, is
quite supreme in that department of his."
105 XXIII. " Staseas ! what Staseas ? what Peripatetic
are you talking to me about ? " said Mucius. " It is
for you, Crassus, to comply with the wishes of young
men, who do not want the everyday chatter of some
unpractised Greek,or old sing-songs outof the schools,
but something from the wisest and most eloquent
man in the world, and one who, not in the pages of
pamphlets, but in the most momentous causes, and
that too in this seat of imperial power and splendour,
holds the first place for judgement and eloquence ;
they are anxious to learn the opinion of the man whose
106 footsteps they long to follow. Moreover, just as I have
always accounted you the ideal orator, even so I have
never ascribed to you higher praise for eloquence
than for kindUness, which quality it becomes you on
the present occasion to exercise to the very utmost,
75
CICERO
disputationem, ad quam te duo excellentis ingenii
adolescentes cupiunt accedere.
107 Ego vero, inquit, istis obsequi studeo, neque
gravabor breviter meo more, quid quaque de re
sentiam, dicere. Ac primum illud — quoniam auctori-
tatem tuam neglegere, Scaevola, fas mihi esse non
puto — respondeo, mihi dicendi aut nullam artem, aut
pertenuem videri, sed omnem esse contentionem
inter homines doctos in verbi controversia positam.
108 Nam si ars ita definitur, ut paulo ante exposuit
Antonius, ex rebus penitus perspectis planeque cog-
nitis, atque ab opinionis arbitrio seiunctis, scientiaque
comprehensis, non mihi videtur ars oratoris esse
uUa. Sunt enim varia, et ad vulgarem popularemque
sensum accommodata omnia genera huius forensis
109 nostrae dictionis. Sin autem ea, quae observata sunt
in usu ac ratione dicendi, haec ab hominibus callidis
ac peritis animadversa ac notata, verbis designata,
generibus illustrata, partibus distributa sunt — id quod
fieri potuisse video — : non intellego, quam ob rem
non, si minus illa subtili definitione, at hac vulgari
opinione, ars esse videatur. Sed sive est ars, sive
artis quaedam simihtudo, non est quidem ea negle-
genda ; verum intellegendum est, alia quaedam ad
consequendam eloquentiam esse maiora.
76
DE ORATORE, I. xxiii. 106-109
and not to run away from the discussion into which
two young men of eminent ability are desirous of
your entering."
107 " For my part," answered the other, "I amNo, thereis
anxious to humour your friends, and I shall make no •„ thrstrict
difficulty about saying, in my brief fashion, what I sense,but
think upon each point. And to that first question — gan tonfs^h
since I do not think it dutiful, Scaevola, for me to a system of
disregard your claims — I answer, ' I think there is ™^®*'
either no art of speaking at all or a very thin
one,' all the quarrelling in learned circles being
108 really based upon a dispute about a word. For if, as
Antonius just now explained, an art is defined as
consisting in things thoroughly examined and clearly
apprehended, and which are also outside the control
of mere opinion, and within the grasp of exact
knowledge, then to me there seems to be no such
thing as an art of oratory. For all the kinds of
language we ourselves use in public speaking are
changeable matter, and adapted to the general
109 understanding of the crowd. If however the actual
things noticed in the practice and conduct of speaking
have been heeded and recorded by men of sldll
and experience, if they have been defined in terms,
illuminated by classification, and distributed under
subdivisions — and I see that it has been possible to
do this — I do not understand why this should not be
regarded as an art, perhaps not in that precise sense
of the term, but at any rate according to the other
and popular estimate. But whether this be an art,
or only something hke an art, assuredly it is not to
be disdained ; we must however understand that
certain other qualifications are of greater conse-
quence for the attainment of eloquence."
77
CICERO
110 XXIV. Tum Antonius vehementer se assentire
Crasso dixit, quod neque ita amplecteretur artem ut
ei solerent qui omnem vim dicendi in arte ponerent,
neque rursum eam totam, sicut plerique philosophi
facerent, repudiaret. Sed existimo, inquit, gratum
te his, Crasse, facturum, si ista exposueris, quae putas
ad dicendum plus, quam ipsam artem, posse prodesse.
111 Dicam equidem, quoniam institui, petamque a
vobis, inquit, ne has meas ineptias efferatis : quan-
quam moderabor ipse, ne, ut quidam magister atque
artifex, sed quasi unus e togatorum numero, atque
ex forensi usu homo mediocris, neque omnino rudis,
videar, non ipse aliquid a me prompsisse, sed fortuito
112 in sermonem vestrum incidisse. Equidem, cum
peterem magistratum, solebam in prensando dimit-
tere a me Scaevolam, cum ei ita dicerem, me velle
esse ineptum : id erat petere blandius ; quod nisi
inepte fieret, bene non posset fieri. Hunc autem esse
unum hominem ex omnibus, quo praesente ego inep-
tus esse minime vellem : quem quidem nunc mearum
ineptiarum testem et spectatorem fortuna constituit.
Nam quid est ineptius, quam de dicendo dicere, cum
ipsum dicere nunquam sit non ineptum, nisi cum est
necessarium ?
113 Perge vero, Crasse, inquit Mucius. Istam enim
culpam, quam vereris, ego praestabo.
" Ineptus, generally equivalent to ' unhappy ' or ' incon-
gruous,' is here used loosely as meaning ' silly,' Crassus felt
that his talking about oratory was as silly a business as was
shaking hands with everybody when canvassing.
78
DE ORATORE, I. xxiv. 110-113
110 XXIV. Thereupon Antonius observed that he Ch^ssus
heartily agreed with Crassus, in that he was neither ff^hfs^own*^
wedded to Art with the devotion of those for whom expenence.
the whole virtue of oratory resided in an art, nor on
the other hand did he put her away altogether, as
didmost of the philosophers. " But I think, Crassus,"
he continued, " that you will be doing these two a
favour, if you will set forth those things which in your
opinion may be more profitable to oratory than even
Art herself."
111 " I will certainly name them," replied Crassus,
" as I have once begun, beseeching you however
not to publish abroad these trifles of mine ; although
I too will restrain myself, so as not to seem a sort of
master and professional, volunteering some observa-
tions of my own, but just one of all the many Roman
citizens, a man modestly quaUfied through experience
of public afFairs, and not altogether untrained, who
112 has stumbled by chance upon your discussion. The
truth is that, when in quest of an office, I used in
canvassing to send Scaevola away from me, explaining
to him that I proposed to be silly," that is, to make
myself winsome in my wooing, and this required
some siUiness if it was to be well done, whereas our
friend here was of all men the one in whose presence
I was least willing to appear silly. Yet he it is whom
on the present occasion Fate has appointed to be an
eye-witness and observer of my silliness. For what
is sillier than to talk about talking, since talking
in itself is ever a silly business, except when it is
indispensable ? "
113 " Proceed none the less, Crassus," said Mucius,
" for I will take upon myself that reproach you are
dreading."
79
CICERO
XXV. Sic igitur, inquit Crassus, sentio naturam
primum, atque ingenium ad dicendum vim afFerre
maximam ; neque vero istis, de quibus paulo ante
dixit Antonius scriptoribus artis, rationem dicendi et
viam, sed naturam defuisse. Nam et animi atque
ingenii celeres quidam motus esse debent, qui et ad
excogitandum acuti, et ad explicandum ornandumque
114 sint uberes, et ad memoriam firmi atque diuturni. Et
si quis est, qui haec putet arte accipi posse, quod
falsum est — praeclare enim se res habeat, si haec
accendi, aut commoveri arte possint : inseri quidem,
et donari ab arte non possunt omnia ; sunt enim illa
dona naturae — : quid de illis dicet, quae certe cum
ipso homine nascuntur ? hnguae solutio, vocis sonus,
latera, vires, conformatio quaedam et figura totius
115 oris et corporis ? Neque haec ita dico, ut ars ahquid
limare non possit — neque enim ignoro, et quae bona
sint, fieri meUora posse doctrina, et quae non optima,
ahquo modo acui tamen et corrigi posse — sed sunt
quidam aut ita Hngua haesitantes, aut ita voce absoni,
aut ita vultu, motuque corporis vasti atque agrestes,
ut, etiamsi ingeniis atque arte valeant, tamen in
oratorum numerum venire non possint. Sunt autem
quidam ita in eisdem rebus habiles, ita naturae
muneribus ornati, ut non nati, sed ab aliquo deo
ficti esse videantur.
116 Magnum quoddam est onus atque munus, sus-
80
DE ORATORE, I. xxv. 113-116
XXV. " This then is my opinion," resumed Crassus, The require-
"that in the first place natural talent is the chief ^^^^^^ P"^"
contributor to the virtue of oratory ; and indeed in naturai gifts
those writers on the art, of whom Antonius spoke essential;
just now, it was not the principles and method of
oratory that were wanting, but inborn capacity.
For certain Hvely activities of the intelligence and
the talents ahke should be present, such as to be
at once swift in invention, copious in exposition
and embelHshment, and steadfast and enduring in
114 recollection ; and if there be anyone disposed to
think that these powers can be derived from art, a
false behef — for it would be a glorious state of things
if art could even kindle or waken them into Hfe ;
engrafted and bestowed by art of a certainty they
cannot be, for they are all the gifts of nature, —
what will he say of those other attributes which
undoubtedly are innate in the man himself : the
ready tongue, the ringing tones, strong lungs, vigour,
suitable build and shape of the face and body as
115 a whole ? And, in saying this, I do not mean that
art cannot in some cases give pohsh, — for well I
know that good abihties may through instruction
become better, and that such as are not of the best
can nevertheless be, in some measure, quickened and
amended — , but there are some men either so tongue-
tied, or so discordant in tone, or so wild and boorish
in feature and gesture, that, even though sound in
talent and in art, they yet cannot enter the ranks
of the orators. While others there are, so apt in
these same respects, so completely furnished with
the bounty of nature, as to seem of more than human
birth, and to have been shaped by some divinity.
116 " Great indeed are the burden and the task that
81
CICERO
cipere, atque profiteri, se esse, omnibus silentibus,
unum maximis de rebus, magno in conventu homi-
num, audiendum. Adest enim fere nemo, quin
acutius atque acrius vitia in dicente, quam recta
videat : ita, quidquid est, in quo ofFenditur, id etiam
117 illa, quae laudanda sunt, obruit. Neque haec in eam
sententiam disputo, ut homines adolescentes, si quid
naturale forte non habeant, omnino a dicendi studio
deterream. Quis enim non videt, C. Coelio, aequali
meo, magno honori fuisse, homini novo, illam ipsam,
quamcumque assequi poterit, in dicendo medio-
critatem .'' Quis vestrum aequalem, Q. Varium,
vastum hominem atque foedum, non intellegit illa
ipsa facultate, quamcumque habet, magnam esse in
civitate gratiam consecutum ?
118 XXVI. Sed quia de oratore quaerimus, fingendus
est nobis oratione nostra, detractis omnibus vitiis,
orator, atque omni laude cumulatus. Neque enim,
si multitudo litium, si varietas causarum, si haec
turba et barbaria forensis dat locum vel vitiosissimis
oratoribus, Idcirco nos hoc, quod quaerimus, omit-
temus. Itaque in eis artibus, in quibus non utiHtas
quaeritur necessaria, sed animi libera quaedam ob-
lectatio, quam diUgenter, et quam prope fastidiose
iudicamus ! NuUae enim lites, neque controversiae
8S
DE ORATORE, I. xxv. 116— xxvi. 118
he undertakes, who puts himself forward, when all
are silent, as the one man to be heard concerning
the weightiest matters, before a vast assembly of
his fellows. For there is hardly a soul present but
will turn a keener and more penetrating eye upon
defects in the speaker than upon his good points.
Thus any blunder that may be committed ecUpses
117 even those other things that are praiseworthy. Not
that I am pressing these considerations with the idea
of frightening young men away altogether from the
pursuit of oratory, should they possibly lack some
natural endowment. For who does not observe that
Gaius Coelius, a man of my own time and of new
family , reached high renown as the result of that very
modest degree of eloquence which — such as it was —
he had succeeded in attaining .'' Who again does not
know that Quintus Varius, your own contemporary,
a man of wild and repellent aspect, has attained great
popularity in public life, through whatever practical
ability of that kind he has possessed ?
118 XXVI. " But since it is ' The Orator ' we are though the
seeking, we have to picture to ourselves in our dis- {jarf to
course an orator from whom every blemish has been attain.
taken away, and one who moreover is rich in every
merit. For even though the multipUcity of litigation,
the diversity of issues, and the rabble of rusticity
thronging our public places, give opportunity even
to the most faulty speakers, we shall not for that
reason lose sight of this our objective. In those arts
then, in which we are looking, not for any necessary
utility, but some method of freely bringing deUght
to the intellect, how critical — I had ahnost said how
disdainful — are our judgements ! For there are no
lawsuits or contentions to compel mankind to sit
83
CICERO
sunt, quae cogant homines, sicut in foro non bonos
119 oratores, item in theatro actores malos perpeti. Est
igitur oratori diligenter providendum, non uti illis
satisfaciat, quibus necesse est ; sed ut eis admirabilis
esse videatur, quibus libere liceat iudicare. Ac, si
quaeritis, plane, quid sentiam, enuntiabo apud ho-
mines familiarissimos, quod adhuc semper tacui, et
tacendum putavi, Mihi etiam, quique optime dicunt,
quique id facillime atque ornatissime facere possunt,
tamen, nisi timide ad dicendum accedunt, et in ex-
ordienda oratione perturbantur, paene impudentes
120 videntur : tametsi id accidere non potest. Ut enim
quisque optime dicit, ita maxime dicendi difficul-
tatem, variosque eventus orationis, exspectationem-
que hominum pertimescit. Qui vero nihil potest
dignum re, dignum nomine oratoris, dignum homi-
num auribus efficere atque edere, is mihi, etiamsi
commovetur in dicendo, tamen impudens videtur.
Non enim pudendo, sed non faciendo id quod non
121 decet, impudentiae nomen efFugere debemus. Quem
vero non pudet — id quod in plerisque video — , hunc
ego non reprehensione solum,sed etiam poenadignum
puto. Equidem et in vobis animadvertere soleo, et
in me ipso saepissime experior, ut exalbescam in
principiis dicendi, et tota mente, atque omnibus
artubus contremiscam ; adolescentulus vero sic initio
84
DE ORATORE, I. xxvi. 118-121
through bad acting on the stage, as they would bear
119 with indifFerent oratory in Court. Therefore our
orator must carefully see to it, that he not only
contents those whom it is necessary to satisfy, but
is wonderful as well in the eyes of such as have the
right to judge freely. And now, if you would know
it, among my most famihar friends I will publish in
simple language what I think, on which I have
hitherto always kept silence and deemed silence
fitting. In my view, even the best orators, those
who can speak with the utmost ease and elegance,
unless they are diffident in approaching a discourse
and diffident in beginning it, seem to border on the
shameless, although that can never come to pass.
120 For the better the orator, the more profoundly is
he frightened of the difficulty of speaking, and of
the doubtful fate of a speech, and of the anticipa-
tions of an audience. On the other hand, the
man who can do nothing in composition and
deUvery that is worthy of the occasion, worthy
of the name of an orator, or of the ear of the
hstener, still seems to me to be without shame,
be he never so agitated in his speaking ; for it is
not by feehng shame at what is unbecoming, but
in not doing it, that we must escape the reproach
121 of shamelessness. While as for him who is un-
ashamed — as I see is the case with most speakers, —
I hold him deserving not merely of reprimand,
but of punishment as well. Assuredly, just as I
generally perceive it to happen to yourselves, so
I very often prove it in my own experience, that I
turn pale at the outset of a speech, and quake in
every Umb and in aU my soul ; in fact, as a very
young man, I once so utterly lost heart in opening
85
CICERO
accusationis exanimatus sum, ut hoc summum bene-
ficium Q. Maximo debuerim, quod continuo consilium
dimiserit, simul ac me fractum ac debilitatum metu
viderit.
122 Hic omnes assensi, significare inter sese, et coUoqui
coeperunt. Fuit enim mirificus quidam in Crasso
pudor, qui tamen non modo non obesset eius orationi,
sed etiam probitatis commendatione prodesset.
XXVII. Tum Antonius : Saepe, ut dicis, inquit,
animadvertijCrasse, et te,et ceteros summos oratores,
quanquam tibi par, mea sententia, nemo unquam fuit,
123 in dicendi exordio permoveri. Cuius quidem rei
cum causam quaererem, quidnam esset cur, ut in
quoque oratore plurimum esset, ita maxime is perti-
mesceret, has causas inveniebam duas : unam, quod
intellegerent ei, quos usus ac natura docuisset, non-
nunquam summis oratoribus non satis ex sententia
eventum dicendi procedere ; ita non iniuria, quoties-
cumque dicerent, id, quod aliquando posset accidere,
124 ne tvun accideret, timere. Altera est haec, de qua
queri saepe soleo : ceterarum homines artium spec-
tati et probati, si quando aliquid minus bene fecerunt,
quam solent, aut noluisse,aut valetudine impediti non
potuisse consequi, id quod scirent, putantur : ' No-
luit,' inquiunt, * hodie agere Roscius ' ; aut, ' Crudior
8a
DE ORATORE, I. xxvi. 121— xxvii. 124
an indictment, that I had to thank Quintus Maximus
for doing me the supreme service of promptly
adjourning the hearing, the moment he saw that I
was broken-down and unnerved by fear."
122 At this point the whole company began to nod
approval one to another, and to talk together. For
there was a marvellous kind of modesty about
Crassus, though this was so far from being any
disadvantage to his oratory, as positively to help it,
by bearing witness to his integrity.
XXVII. Presently Antonius observed : " I have Orators
often noticed, Crassus, that, as you say, both you jgniln^^t/^^^
and the other orators of the first rank — although in than actor»
my opinion no one has ever been your peer — are
deeply disturbed when you are beginning a speech.
123 Now on investigating the reason of this — how it
was that, the greater an orator's capacity, the
more profoundly nervous he was — I discovered
this twofold explanation : first, that those who had
learned from experience and knowledge of human
nature understood that, even with the most emi-
nent orators, the fate of a speech was sometimes
not sufficiently in accordance with their wish ; where-
fore, as often as they spoke, they were justifiably
fearful, lest what could possibly happen sometime
124 should actually happen then. Secondly there is
something of which I often have to complain, that,
whenever tried and approved exponents of the
other arts have done some work with less than their
wonted success, their inability to perform what they
knew how to perform is explained by their being out
of the humour or hindered by indisposition (people
say, ' Roscius was not in the mood for acting to-day,*
or ' He was a Uttle out of sorts ') ; whereas, if it
87
CICERO
fuit ' ; oratoris peccatum, si quod est animadversum,
125 stultitiae peccatum videtur. Stultitia autem excusa-
tionem non habet : quia nemo videtur, aut quia
crudus fuerit, aut quod ita maluerit, stultus fuisse.
Quo etiam gravius iudicium in dicendo subimus.
Quoties enim dicimus, toties de nobis iudicatur : et,
qui semel in gestu peccavit, non continuo existimatur
nescire gestum ; cuius autem in dicendo aliquid
reprehensum est, aut aeterna in eo, aut certe diuturna
valet opinio tarditatis.
126 XXVIII. IUud vero, quod a te dictum est, esse
permulta, quae orator nisi a natura haberet, non
multum a magistro adiuvaretur : valde tibi assentior,
inque eo vel maxime probavi summum illum doc-
torem, Alabandensem Apollonium, qui, cum mer-
cede doceret, tamen non patiebatur, eos, quos
iudicabat non posse oratores evadere, operam apud
sese perdere, dimittebatque ; et ad quam quemque
artem putabat esse aptum, ad eam impellere atque
127 hortari solebat. Satis est enim ceteris artificiis per-
cipiendis, tantummodo similem esse hominis ; et id,
quod tradatur, vel etiam inculcetur, si quis forte sit
tardior, posse percipere animo, et memoria custodire.
Non quaeritur mobiUtas linguae, non celeritas verbo-
rum, non denique ea, quae nobis non possumus fin-
128 S^^^' facies, vultus, sonus. In oratore autem acumen
dialecticorum, sententiae philosophorum, verba prope
88
DE ORATORE, I. xxvii. 124— xxviii. 128
is an orator's shortcoming that is being criticized
25 the same is thought due to stupidity. But stupidity
finds no apology, since no man's stupidity is set down
to his having been ' out of sorts ' or ' that way
incUned.' And so in oratory we confront a sterner
judgement. For judgement is passing upon us as
often as we speak ; moreover one mistake in act-
ing does not instantly convict a player of ignorance
of acting, but an orator, censured on some point
of speaking, is under an established suspicion of
duUness once for all, or at any rate for many a
day.
26 XXVIII. " Now as for that remark of yours that Varietyof
there were very many quahfications which an orator pected''^"^
must derive from nature, or he would not be greatly theorator
aided by tuition, I thoroughly agree with you ; and
in this respect I most particularly approved of that
very eminent instructor Apollonius of Alabanda,
who, though teaching for hire, would not for all that
sufFer such pupils as, in his judgement, could never
turn out to be orators, to waste their labour with him,
but would send them on their ways, and urge and
exhort them to pursue those arts for which he
[27 thought them respectively fitted, It is enough, in-
deed, for acquiring all other crafts, just to be a man
like other men, and able to apprehend mentally and
to preserve in the memory what is taught, or even
crammed into the learner, should he chance to be
dull beyond the ordinary. No readiness of tongue
is needed, no fluency of language, in short none
of those things — natural state of looks, expression,
and voice — which we cannot mould for ourselves.
128 But in an orator we must demand the subtlety of
the logician, the thoughts of the philosopher, a
89
CICERO
poetarum, memoria iurisconsultorum, vox tragoe-
dorum, gestus paene summorum actorum est re-
quirendus. Quam ob rem nihil in hominum genere
rarius perfecto oratore inveniri potest. Quae enim
singularum rerum artifices singula si mediocriter
adepti sunt, probantur, ea, nisi omnia siunma sunt
in oratore, probari non possunt.
129 Tum Crassus : Atqui vide, inquit, in artificio per-
quam tenui et levi, quanto plus adhibeatur dili-
gentiae, quam in hac re, quam constat esse maximam.
Saepe enim soleo audire Roscium, cum ita dicat, se
adhuc reperire discipulum, quem quidem probaret,
potuisse neminem : non quo non essent quidam pro-
babiles, sed quia, si aliquid modo esset vitii, id ferre
ipse non posset. Nihil est enim tam insigne, nec tam
ad diuturnitatem memoriae stabile, quam id, in quo
130 aliquid ofFenderis. Itaque ut ad hanc similitudinem
huius histrionis oratoriam laudem dirigamus, vide-
tisne, quam nihil ab eo, nisi perfecte, nihil nisi cum
summa venustate fiat, nihil nisi ita, ut deceat, et uti
omnes moveat atque delectet ? Itaque hoc iamdiu
est consecutus, ut, in quo quisque artificio excelleret,
is in suo genere Roscius diceretur. Hanc ego absolu-
tionem perfectionemque in oratore desiderans, a qua
ipse longe absum, facio impudenter : mihi enim volo
ignosci, ceteris ipse non ignosco. Nam qui non potest,
qui vitiose facit, quem denique non decet, hunc — ut
90
DE ORATORE, I. xxviii. 128-130
diction almost poetic, a lawyer's memory, a trage-
dian's voice, and the bearing almost of the consum-
mate actor, Accordingly no rarer thing than a
finished orator can be discovered among the sons of
men. For attributes which are commended when
acquired one apiece, and that in but modest degree,
by other craftsmen in their respective vocations,
cannot win approval when embodied in an orator,
unless in him they are all assembled in perfection."
129 " And yet observe," said Crassus at this point, Defectsar»
" how much more care is exercised in an extremelv "°*'''=®"^ **
mean and trivial crait than m this art, which is
admittedly the greatest. For again and again do
I hear Roscius declaring that so far he has never
succeeded in finding a single pupil of whom he really
approved ; not that there were not some who were
acceptable, but because, if there was any blemish
whatever in them, he himself could not endure it.
For nothing stands out so conspicuously, or remains
so firmly fixed in the memory, as something in which
130 you have blundered. And so, to take this com-
parison with this player as our standard of an orator's
merit, do you not see how he does nothing other-
wise than perfectly, nothing without consummate
charm, nothing save in the manner befitting the
occasion, and so as to move and enchant everybody ?
Accordingly he has long ago brought it about that,
in whatsoever craft a man excelled, the same was
called a Roscius in his own line. For myself, in
demanding in an orator this absolute perfection,
from which I myself am far removed, I am behaving
shamelessly, since I want forgiveness for myself, but
I do not forgive the others. For the man who is
without ability, who makes mistakes, whose claim —
91
CICERO
ApoUonius iubebat — ad id, quod facere possit, detru-
dendum puto.
131 XXIX. Num tu igitur, inquit Sulpicius, me, aut
hunc Cottam, ius civile, aut rem militarem iubes
discere ? Nam quis ad ista summa atque in omni
genere perfecta, potest pervenire ? Tum ille : Ego
vero, inquit, quod in vobis egregiam quamdam
ac praeclaram indolem ad dicendum esse cognovi,
idcirco haec exposui omnia ; nec magis ad eos deter-
rendos, qui non possent, quam ad vos, qui possetis,
exacuendos accommodavi orationem meam ; et
quanquam in utroque vestrum summum esse in-
genium studiumque perspexi, tamen haec, quae sunt
in specie posita, de quibus plura fortasse dixi, quam
132 solent Graeci dicere, in te, Sulpici, divina sunt. Ego
enim neminem, nec motu corporis, neque ipso habitu
atque forma aptiorem, nec voce pleniorem, aut sua-
viorem mihi videor audisse ; quae quibus a natura
minora data sunt, tamen illud assequi possunt, ut eis,
quae habeant, modice et scienter utantur, et ut ne
dedeceat. Id enim est maxime vitandum, et de hoc
uno minime est facile praecipere, non mihi modo, qui
sicut unus paterfamihas his de rebus loquor, sed etiam
ipsi iUi Roscio ; quem saepe audio dicere, caput esse
artis, decere : quod tamen unum id esse, quod tradi
133 arte non possit. Sed, si placet, sermonem alio trans-
DE ORATORE, I. xxviii. 130— xxix. 133
in a word — does him discredit, should in my judge-
ment, as Apollonius directed, be thrust down to such
work as he can perform."
131 XXIX. " Would you then," said Sulpicius, " direct xhenaturai
Cotta here, or myself, to be studying the common law sJ[*pj°fu3
or the soldier's art ? For who can attain to that and Cotta :
sublime and universal perfection which you demand ? "
And the other answered : " For my part, it is
precisely because I recognized in you two a really
remarkable and indeed splendid genius for oratory,
that I have set forth all these considerations, while
to stimulate you men of ability no less than
to discourage the inefficient is the object of my
discourse ; and although I have noted in both of
you talent and industry of the highest order, still
as regards these advantages which depend upon the
outer man, concerning which I have perhaps said
more than the Greeks are wont to do, as manifested
1.32 in yourself, Sulpicius, they are divine. For never, I
think, did I listen to a speaker better qualified in
respect of gesture, and by his very bearing and
presence, or to one with a voice more resonant and
pleasing ; while those on whom these gifts have been
bestowed by nature in smaller measure, can none the
less acquire the power to use what they have with
propriety and discernment, and so as to show no lack
of good taste. For lack of that is above all else to be
avoided, and as to this particular failing it is especially
difficult to lay down rules, difficult not only for me, who
talk of these matters hke papa laying down the law,
but even for the great Roscius himself ; whom I often
hear affirming that the chief thing in art is to observe
good taste, though how to do this is the one thing
133 that cannot be taught by art. But, by your leave,
93
CICERO
feramus, et nostro more aliquando, non rhetorico,
loquamur.
Minime vero, inquit Cotta : nunc enim te iam
exoremus necesse est, quoniam retines nos in hoc
studio, nec ad aliam dimittis artem, ut nobis explices,
quidquid est istud, quod tu in dicendo potes ; neque
enim sumus nimis avidi : ista tua mediocri eloquentia
contenti sumus, idque ex te quaerimus — ut ne plus
nos assequamur, quam quantulum tu in dicendo as-
secutus es — , quoniam, quae a natura expetenda sunt,
ea dicis non nimis deesse nobis, quid praeterea esse
assumendum putes.
134 XXX. Tum Crassus arridens : Quid censes, inquit,
Cotta, nisi studium, et ardorem quemdam amoris .''
sine quo cum in vita nihil quidquam egregium,
tum certe hoc, quod tu expetis, nemo unquam as-
sequetur. Neque vero vos ad eam rem video esse
cohortandos ; quos, cum mihi quoque sitis molesti,
135 nimis etiam flagrare intellego cupiditate. Sed pro-
fecto studia nihil prosunt perveniendi aliquo, nisi
illud, quod eo, quo intendas, ferat deducatque,
cognoris. Quare, quoniam mihi levius quoddam onus
imponitis, neque ex me de oratoris arte, sed de hac
mea, quantulacumque est, facultate quaeritis, ex-
ponam vobis quamdam, non aut perreconditam, aut
valde difficilem, aut magnificam, aut gravem ra-
tionem consuetudinis meae, qua quondam solitus sum
94
DE ORATORE, I. xxix. 133— xxx. 135
let us shift our conversation to other subjects, and
chat at last in our own fashion, and not as
rhetoricians."
" On no account whatever," returned Cotta :
" for since you keep us in this pursuit and do not
send us away to some other art, we must now further
beseech you to explain to us your own power in
oratory, however much you make it out to be ; — for
we are not too greedy : we are quite content with
what you call your ' ordinary eloquence ' — and (so
as not to outstrip that small degree of skill you have
attained as a speaker), since you tell us that the
qualities to be sought from nature are not excessively
deficient in ourselves, the thing we ynsh to know from
you is what further requisite you consider should be
acquired."
134 XXX. Crassus smiled at this and replied : " What their need
else do you suppose, Cotta, but enthusiasm and some- °^ trammg
thing hke the passion of love ? without which no man
will ever attain anything in Ufe that is out of the
common, least of all this success which you covet.
Not that I look upon you two as needing incitement
in that direction, perceiving as I do, from the trouble
you are giving even to myself, that you are aflame
135 with only too fervent a desire. Yet assuredly
endeavours to reach any goal avail nothing unless
you have learned what it is which leads you to the
end at which you aim. And so, since the burden you
lay upon me is a Ughter one, and you are not examin-
ing me in the art of oratory, but as to this abiUty of
my own, however insignificant it is, I will explain
to you my habitual method, nothing particularly
mysterious or exceedingly difficult, nothing grand
or imposing, just the plan I used to follow in bygone
95
CICERO
uti, cum mihi in isto studio versari adolescenti
licebat.
136 Tum Sulpicius : O diem, Cotta, nobis, inquit, op-
tatum ! quod enim neque precibus unquam, nec
insidiando, nec speculando assequi potui, ut, quid
Crassus ageret, meditandi aut dicendi causa, non
modo videre mihi, sed ex eius scriptore et lectore
Diphilo suspicari liceret ; id spero nos esse adeptos,
omniaque iam ex ipso, quae diu cupimus, cognituros.
137 XXXI. Tum Crassus : Atqui arbitror, Sulpici, cum
audieris, non tam te haec admiraturum, quae dixero,
quam existimaturum, tum, cum ea audire cupiebas,
causam cur cuperes, non fuisse. Nihil enim dicam
reconditum, nihil exspectatione vestra dignum, nihil
aut inauditum vobis, aut cuiquam novum. Nam
principio illud, quod est homine ingenuo Hberali-
terque educato dignum, non negabo me ista omnium
138 communia et contrita praecepta didicisse : primum
oratoris officium esse, dicere ad persuadendum ac-
commodate ; deinde, esse omnem orationem aut de
infinitae rei quaestione, sine designatione personarum
et temporum, aut de re certis in personis ac tem-
139 poribus locata ; in utraque autem re quidquid in
controversiam veniat, in eo quaeri solere, aut fac-
tumne sit, aut, si est factum, quale sit, aut etiam quo
nomine vocetur, aut, quod nonnulH addunt, rectene
140 factum esse videatur ; exsistere autem controversias
96
DE ORATORE, I. xxx. 135— xxxi. 139
times, when I was a young man, with liberty to busy
myself in that pursuit of yours."
At these words Sulpicius exclaimed : " Cotta,
behold our longed-for day ! For the thing that by
entreaties, or lying in wait, or spying, I could never
secure, — I mean a chance of observing what Crassus
was doing for the purposes of training or rehearsal,
I do not say at first-hand, but at least by getting
some hint from Diphilus, his secretary and reader, —
this I hope you and I have gained, and we are now
to learn from his own Hps everything that we have
long been desiring."
XXXI. " And yet I think, Sulpicius," continued The school
Crassus, " that after hearing them you will be less rhetoric.
hkely to wonder at my observations than to decide
that, when you were longing to hear them, there
was no ground for your longing. For I shall tell
no mystery, nothing worthy of your waiting,
nothing that you have not heard already, or that is
new to anyone. For to begin with, in regard to
what befits a free-born man of hberal education, I
will not deny that I learned those commonplace and
well-worn maxims of teachers in general : first, that
the duty of an orator is to speak in a style fitted to
convince ; next, that every speech has to do either
with the investigation of a general question, wherein
no persons or occasions are indicated, or with a
problem that is concerned with specific individuals
and times ; moreover that in both cases, whatever
the subject for debate, it is usual for inquiry to be
made in respect thereof, either whether a deed was
done or, if it was done, what is its character, or
again by what name is it known or, as some add,
whether it appears to have been done lawfully ;
97
CICERO
etiam ex scripti interpretatione, in quo aut ambigue
quid sit scriptum, aut contrarie, aut ita, ut a sententia
scriptum dissideat : his autem omnibus partibus
141 subiecta quaedam esse argumenta propria. Sed
causarum, quae sint a communi quaestione seiunctae,
partim in iudiciis versari, partim in deliberationibus ;
esse etiam genus tertium, quod in laudandis aut
vituperandis hominibus poneretur ; certosque esse
locos, quibus in iudiciis uteremur, in quibus aequitas
quaereretur ; alios in deliberationibus, qui omnes ad
utilitatem dirigerentur eorum, quibus consilium dare-
mus : alios item in laudationibus, in quibus ad per-
142 sonarum dignitatem omnia referrentur. Cumque
esset omnis oratoris vis ac facultas in quinque partes
distributa ; ut deberet reperire primum, quid diceret;
deinde inventa non solum ordine, sed etiam momento
quodam atque iudicio dispensare atque componere ;
tum ea denique vestire atque ornare oratione ; post
memoria saepire ; ad extremum agere cum dignitate
143 ac venustate : etiam illa cognoram, et acceperam,
antequam de re diceremus, initio conciliandos eorum
esse animos, qui audirent ; deinde rem demonstran-
dam ; postea controversiam constituendam ; tum id,
quod nos intenderemus, confirmandum ; post, quae
contra dicerentur, refellenda ; extrema autem ora-
tione, ea, quae pro nobis essent, amplificanda et
augenda ; quaeque essent pro adversariis, infirmanda
atque frangenda.
" These loci communes are the *stock' arguments and
general reflexions referred to in § 56 supra.
DE ORATORE, I. xxxi. 140-143
140 further that contentions also arise out of the con-
struction of a document, wherein there is some
ambiguity or contradiction, or something is so
expressed that the written word is at variance with
the intention ; and again that to all these kinds
certain modes of proof are assigned as appropriate.
141 Again I heard that, of such questions as are distinct
from general issues, some have their place in courts
of justice, others in deliberations ; while there was
yet a third kind, which had to do with the extolUng
or reviling of particular persons ; and that there were
prescribed commonplaces " which we were to employ
in the law-courts where equity was our aim ; others
for use in dehberations, all of which were arranged
for the benefit of those to whom we might be giving
counsel ; and others again in panegyric, wherein
the sole consideration was the greatness of the
142 individuals concerned. And, since all the activity
and ability of an orator falls into five divisions, I
learned that he must first hit upon what to say ;
then manage and marshal his discoveries, not merely
in orderly fashion, but with a discriminating eye for
the exact weight as it were of each argument ; next
go on to array them in the adornments of style ; after
that keep them guarded in his memory ; and in the
143 end deliver them with effect and charm : I had also
been taught that, before speaking on the issue, we
must first secure the goodwill of our audience ; that
next we must state our case ; afterwards define the
dispute ; then establish our own allegations ; sub-
sequently disprove those. of the other side ; and in
our peroration expand and reinforce all that was
in our favour, while we weakened and demolished
whatever went to support our opponents.
99
CICERO
144 XXXII. Audieram etiam, quae de orationis ipsius
ornamentis traderentur : in qua praecipitur primum,
ut pure et latine loquamur ; deinde ut plane et
dilucide ; tum ut ornate ; post ad rerum dignitatem
apte et quasi decore : singularumque rerum prae-
145 cepta cognoram. Quin etiam, quae maxime propria
essent naturae, tamen his ipsis artem adhiberi vide-
ram : nam de actione et de memoria quaedam brevia,
sed magna cum exercitatione praecepta gustaram.
In his enim fere rebus omnis istorum artificum doc-
trina versatur, quam ego si nihil dicam adiuvare,
mentiar. Habet enim quaedam quasi ad commonen-
dum oratorem, quo quidque referat, et quo intuens,
ab eo, quodcumque sibi proposuerit, minus aberret.
146 Verum ego hanc vim intellego esse in praeceptis
omnibus, non ut ea secuti oratores, eloquentiae
laudem sint adepti, sed, quae sua sponte homines
eloquentes facerent, ea quosdam observasse atque
collegisse ; sic esse non eloquentiam ex artificio, sed
artificium ex eloquentia natum : quod tamen, ut
ante dixi, non eiicio : est enim, etiamsi minus neces-
sarium ad bene dicendum, tamen ad cognoscendum
J47 non ilUberale. Et exercitatio quaedam suscipienda
vobis est : quanquam vos quidem iampridem estis in
cursu ; sed eis, qui ingrediuntur in stadium, quique
ea, quae agenda sunt in foro, tanquam in acie, pos-
sunt etiam nunc exercitatione quasi ludicra prae-
discere ac meditari.
100
DE ORATORE, I. xxxii. 144-147
144 XXXII. "I had listened also to the traditional Raies of
precepts tor the embellishment of discourse itself :
that we must speak, in the first place, pure and
correct Latin, secondly with simple lucidity, thirdly
with elegance, lastly in a manner befitting the
dignity of our topics and with a certain grace ; and
on these several points I had learnt particular
145 maxims. Moreover I had seen art called in to aid
even those qualities which are peculiarly the endow-
ment of nature : for example, concerning deUvery
and the memory, I had taken a taste of certain rules
which, though concise, involved much practice.
" For it is matters like these that employ nearly Practice
all the learning of your professors ; and if I were essentiai.
to call this learning useless, I should be lying.
For in fact it contains certain reminders, as it were,
for the orator, as to the standard he must apply on
each occasion, and must keep in mind, if he is not
to wander from whatever course he has set himself.
146 But to my thinking the virtue in all the rules is, not
that orators by follovidng them have won a reputation
for eloquence, but that certain persons have noted
and collected the doings of men who were naturally
eloquent : thus eloquence is not the ofFspring of the
art, but the art of eloquence : even so, as I said before,
I do not reject art, for though perhaps hardly essential
to right speaking, still it is no ignoble help towards
147 right knowledge. There is also a certain practical
training that you must undergo — though indeed you
two are already in full career, — I mean it is for those
who are at the start of their race, and can even thus
early learn beforehand and practise, by a training
Uke that for the games, what will have to be done in
the fighting-line, so to speak, of the Courts."
101
CICERO
148 Hanc ipsam, inquit Sulpicius, nosse volumus :
attamen ista, quae abs te breviter de arte decursa
sunt, audire cupimus, quanquam sunt nobis quoque
non inaudita. Verum illa mox : nunc, de ipsa exerci-
tatione quid sentias, quaerimus.
149 XXXIII. Equidem probo ista, Crassus inquit,
quae vos facere soletis, ut, causa aliqua posita con-
simili causarum earum, quae in forum deferuntur,
dicatis quam maxime ad veritatem accommodate.
Sed plerique in hoc vocem modo, neque eam scienter,
et vires exercent suas, et linguae celeritatem incitant,
verborumque frequentia delectantur. In quo fallit
eos, quod audierunt, dicendo homines, ut dicant,
150 efficere solere. Vere enim etiam illud dicitur, per-
verse dicere, homines, perverse dicendo, facillime
consequi. Quam ob rem in istis ipsis exercitationibus,
etsi utile est, etiam subito saepe dicere, tamen illud
utilius, sumpto spatio ad cogitandum, paratius atque
accuratius dicere. Caput autem est, quod, ut vere
dicam,minime facimus — est enim magni laboris,quem
plerique fugimus — , quam plurimum scribere. Stilus
optimus et praestantissimus dicendi effector ac ma-
gister : neque iniuria. Nam si subitam et fortuitam
orationem commentatio et cogitatio facile vincit ;
hanc ipsam profecto assidua ac diligens scriptura
151 superabit. Omnes enim, sive artis sunt loci, sive
ingenii cuiusdam atque prudentiae, qui modo insunt
in ea re, de qua scribimus, anquirentibus nobis,
103
DE ORATORE, I. xxxii. 148— xxxiii. 151
148 " This training," said Sulpicius, " is the very thing
we wish to understand : and none the less we are
longing to hear you on those precepts of the art over
which you have briefly run, although those too are
not unknown to us. But of them presently ; for the
moment we want your opinion on the training itself."
149 XXXIII. " I certainly approve," replied Crassus, Ruiesfor
" of what you yourselves are in the habit of doing, l^^^^^
when you propound some case, closely resembling
such as are brought into Court, and argue it in a
fashion adapted as nearly as possible to real Ufe.
Most students however, in so doing, merely exercise
their voices (and that in the wrong way), and their
physical strength, and whip up their rate of utterance,
and revel in a flood of verbiage. This mistake is due
to their having heard it said that it is by speaking
150 that men as a rule become speakers. But that other
adage is just as true, — that by speaking badly men
very easily succeed in becoming bad speakers. This
is why, in those exercises of your own, though there
is a value in plenty of extempore speaking, it is still
more serviceable to take time for consideration, and
to speak better prepared and more carefully. But
the chief thing is what, to tell the truth, we do least
(for it needs great pains which most of us shirk), —
to write as much as possible. The pen is the best and
most eminent author and teacher of eloquence, and
rightly so. For if an extempore and casual speech is
easily beaten by one prepared and thought-out, this
latter in turn will assuredly be surpassed by what has
161 been ^vritten with care and diligence. The truth is
that all the commonplaces, whether furnished by art
or by individual talent and wisdom, at any rate such
as appertain to the subject of our writing, appear
103
CICERO
omnique acie ingenii contemplantibus ostendunt se
et occurrunt ; omnesque sententiae, verbaque omnia,
quae sunt cuiusque generis maxime illustria, sub
acumen stili subeant et succedant necesse est ; tum
ipsa collocatio conformatioque verborum perficitur in
scribendo, non poetico, sed quodam oratorio numero
et modo.
162 Haec sunt, quae clamores et admirationes in bonis
oratoribus efficiunt ; neque ea quisquam, nisi diu
multumque scriptitarit, etiamsi vehementissime se in
his subitis dictionibus exercuerit, consequetur ; et
qui a scribendi consuetudine ad dicendum venit, hanc
afFert facultatem, ut, etiam subito si dicat, tamen illa,
quae dicantur, similia scriptorum esse videantur ;
atque etiam, si quando in dicendo scriptum attulerit
aliquid, cum ab eo discesserit, reliqua similis oratio
153 consequetur. Ut concitato navigio, cum remiges
inhibuerunt, retinet tamen ipsa navis motum et cur-
sum suum, intermisso impetu pulsuque remorum :
sic in oratione perpetua, cum scripta deficiunt,
parem tamen obtinet oratio reliqua cursum, scrip-
torum similitudine et vi concitata.
154 XXXIV. In quotidianis autem commentationibus
equidem mihi adolescentulus proponere solebam
illam exercitationem maxime, qua C. Carbonem,
nostrum illum inimicum, sohtum esse uti sciebam, ut
aut versibus propositis quam maxime gravibus, aut
104
DE ORATORE, I. xxxiii. 151— xxxiv. 154
and rush forward as we are searching out and
surveying the matter with all our natural acute-
ness ; and all the thoughts and expressions, which
are the most brilliant in their several kinds, must
needs flow up in succession to the point of our pen ;
then too the actual marshalling and arrangement
of words is made perfect in the course of writing, in
a rhythm and measure proper to oratory as distinct
from poetry.
152 " These are the things which in good orators pro-
duce applause and admiration ; and no man will
attain these except by long and large practice in
writing, however ardently he may have trained
himself in those ofF-hand declamations ; he too
who approaches oratory by way of long practice in
writing, brings this advantage to his task, that even
if he is extemporizing, whatever he may say bears a
likeness to the written word ; and moreover if ever,
during a speech, he has introduced a written note,
the rest of his discourse, when he turns away from
153 tJie writing, will proceed in unchanging style. Just
as when a boat is moving at high speed, if the crew
rest upon their oars, the craft iherself still keeps her
way and her run, though the driving force of the
oars has ceased, so in an unbroken discourse, when
written notes are exhausted, the rest of the speech
still maintains a like progress, under the impulse
given by the similarity and energy of the written
word.
164 XXXIV. " For my part, in the daily exercises of
youth, I used chiefly to set myself that task which
I knew Gaius Carbo, my old enemy, was wont to
practise : this was to set myself some poetry, the
most impressive to be found, or to read as much of
E 105
CICERO
oratione aliqua lecta ad eum finem, quem memoria
possem comprehendere, eam rem ipsam, quam legis-
sem, verbis aliis quam maxime possem lectis, pro-
nuntiarem. Sed post animadverti, hoc esse in hoc
vitii, quod ea verba, quae maxime cuiusque rei pro-
pria, quaeque essent ornatissima atque optima,
occupasset aut Ennius, si ad eius versus me exer-
cerem, aut Gracchus, si eius orationem mihi forte
proposuissem. Ita, si eisdem verbis uterer, nihil
prodesse ; si aliis, etiam obesse, cum minus idoneis
155 uti consuescerem. Postea mihi placuit, eoque sum
usus adolescens, ut summorum oratorum graecas
orationes explicarem. Quibus lectis hoc assequebar,
ut, cum ea, quae legerem graece, latine redderem,
non solum optimis verbis uterer, et tamen usitatis,
sed etiam exprimerem quaedam verba imitando, quae
nova nostris essent, dummodo essent idonea.
156 lam vocis, et spiritus, et totius corporis, et ipsius
Unguae motus et exercitationes, non tam artis in-
digent, quam laboris ; quibus in rebus habenda est
ratio diligenter, quos imitemur, quorum similes veli-
mus esse. Intuendi nobis sunt non solum oratores,
sed etiam actores, ne mala consuetudine ad aliquam
257 deformitatem pravitatemque veniamus. Exercenda
est etiam memoria, ediscendis ad verbum quam
plurimis et nostris scriptis, et alienis. Atque in ea
exercitatione non sane mihi disphcet adhibere, si
consueris, etiam istam locorum simulacrorumque
" The speeches of C. Gracchus (see Index) were studied
as models in the rhetorical schools of the Empire.
' Crassus is speaking of some system of mnemonics, such
as Antonius discusses in Book II, ixxxvi.-lxjucviii.
106
DE ORATORE, I. xxxiv. 154-157
some speech as I could keep in my memory, and then
to declaim upon the actual subject-matter of my
reading, choosing as far as possible different words.
But later I noticed this defect in my method,
that those words which best befitted each subject,
and were the most elegant and in fact the best, had
been already seized upon by Ennius, if it was on
his poetry that I was practising, or by Gracchus," if
I chanced to have set myself a speech of his. Thus
I saw that to employ the same expressions profited
me nothing, while to employ others was a positive
hindrance, in that I was forming the habit of using
155 the less appropriate. Afterwards I resolved, — and
this practice I followed when somewhat older, — to
translate freely Greek speeches of the most eminent
orators. The result of reading these was that, in
rendering into Latin what I had read in Greek,
I not only found myself using the best words — and
yet quite famiUar ones — but also coining by analogy
certain words such as would be new to our people,
provided only they were appropriate.
156 " To proceed, the control and training of voice,
breathing, gestures and the tongue itself, call for
exertion rather than art ; and in these matters we
must carefully consider whom we are to take as
patterns, whom we should wish to be like. We have
to study actors as well as orators, that bad practice
may not lead us into some inelegant or ugly habit.
157 The memory too must be trained by carefully
learning by heart as many pieces as possible both
from our Latin writers and the foreigner. Moreover
in this work I do not altogether dislike the use as
well, if you are accustomed to it, of that system of
associating commonplaces with symbols * which is
107
CICERO
rationem, quae in arte traditur. Educenda deinde
dictio est ex hac domestica exercitatione et umbratili
medium in agmen, in pulverem, in clamorem, in
castra, atque in aciem forensem ; subeundus usus
omnium, et periclitandae vires ingenii ; et illa com-
mentatio inclusa in veritatis lucem proferenda est.
158 Legendi etiam poetae, cognoscenda historia, omnium
bonarum artium scriptores ac doctores et legendi, et
pervolutandi, et exercitationis causa laudandi, inter-
pretandi, corrigendi, vituperandi, refellendi ; dis-
putandumque de omni re in contrarias partes, et,
quidquid erit in quaque re, quod probabile videri
159 possit, eliciendum atque dicendum ; perdiscendum
ius civile, cognoscendae leges, percipienda om-
nis antiquitas, senatoria consuetudo, disciplina rei-
publicae, iura sociorum, foedera, pactiones, causa
imperii cognoscenda est : libandus est etiam ex
omni genere urbanitatis facetiarum quidam lepos ;
quo, tanquam sale, perspergatur omnis oratio.
EfFudi vobis omnia, quae sentiebam, quae fortasse,
quemcumque patremfamilias arripuissetis ex aliquo
circulo, eadem vobis percunctantibus respondisset.
160 XXXV. Haec cum Crassus dixisset, silentium est
consecutum. Sed quanquam satis eis, qui aderant,
ad id, quod erat propositum, dictum videbatur, tamen
sentiebant celerius esse multo, quam ipsi vellent, ab
eo peroratum. Tum Scaevola : Quid est, Cotta ?
inquit, quid tacetis ? Nihilne vobis in mentem venit,
quod praeterea a Crasso requiratis ?
108
DE ORATORE, I. xxxiv. 157— xxxv. 160
taught in the profession. Then at last must our
Oratory be conducted out of this sheltered training-
ground at home, right into action, into the dust and
uproar, into the camp and the fighting-line of public
debate ; she must face putting everything to the
proof and test the strength of her talent, and her
secluded preparation must be brought forth into the
158 daylight of reality. We must also read the poets,
acquaint ourselves with histories, study and peruse
the masters and authors in every excellent art, and
by way of practice praise, expound, emend, criticize
and confute them ; we must argue every question on
both sides, and bring out on every topic whatever
159 points can be deemed plausible ; besides this we
must become learned in the common law and familiar
with the statutes, and must contemplate all the olden
time, and investigate the ways of the senate, political
philosophy, the rights of allies, the treaties and
conventions, and the policy of empire ; and lastly
we have to cull, from all the forms of pleasantry,
a certain charm of humour, with which to give a
sprinkle of salt, as it were, to all of our discourse.
" Well, I have poured out for you all my ideas, and
perhaps any chance patriarch, upon whom you had
fastened at some party or other, would have given
the same replies to your interrogatories."
160 XXXV. When Crassus had finished these observa- Further
tions, a general silence ensued. But though the re^ested.
company held that he had said enough on the topic
propounded to him, yet they felt that he had ended
far more speedily than they could have wished. Then
Scaevola inquired, " Well, Cotta, why are you two
silent ? Does nothing come to mind on which you
would like to question Crassus further ? "
109
CICERO
161 Immo id mehercule, inquit, ipsum attendo. Tantus
enim cursus verborum fuit, et sic evolavit oratio, ut
eius vim atque incitationem aspexerim, vestigia
ingressumque vix viderim ; et tanquam in aliquam
locupletem ac refertam domum venerim, non ex-
plicata veste, neque proposito argento, neque tabulis
et signis propalam collocatis, sed his omnibus mul-
tis magnificisque rebus constructis ac reconditis : sic
modo in oratione Crassi divitias atque ornamenta eius
ingenii per quaedam involucra atque integumenta
perspexi ; sed ea cum contemplari cuperem, vix
aspiciendi potestas fuit. Ita neque hoc possum
dicere, me omnino ignorare, quid possideat, neque
plane nosse, ac vidisse.
162 Quin tu igitur facis idem, inquit Scaevola, quod
faceres, si in aliquam domum, plenam ornamentorum,
villamve venisses ? Si ea seposita, ut dicis, essent, tu
valde spectandi cupidus esses ; non dubitares rogare
dominum, ut proferri iuberet, praesertim si esses
familiaris. Simihter nunc petes a Crasso, ut eam
copiam omamentorum suorum, quam constructam
uno in loco, quasi per transennam praetereuntes
strictim aspeximus, in lucem proferat, et suo quid-
que in loco collocet ?
163 Ego vero, inquit Cotta, a te peto, Scaevola — me
enim, et hunc Sulpicium impedit pudor ab homine
omnium gravissimo, qui genus huiusmodi disputa-
tionis semper contempserit, haec, quae isti forsitan
110
DE ORATORE, I. xxxv. 161-16S
161 " In truth," replied the other, " that is just what
I am considering. For so great was the speed of
his words, and so swiftly ^vinged his discourse that,
while reahzing its rushing energy, I could hardly
foUow the traces of its advance ; and just as though I
had entered some richly stored mansion, wherein the
draperies were not unrolled, nor the plate set forth,
nor the pictures and statuary displayed to view, but
all these many and splendid things were piled to-
gether and hidden away : even so just now, during
this discourse of Crassus, I discerned the wealth and
magnificence of his talent as through some wTappings
and coverings, but though I was longing to scrutinize
them, I had hardly the chance of a peep. And so I
cannot say either that I know nothing at all of the
extent of his possessions, or that I know and have
seen them clearly."
162 " Why not do then," said Scaevola, " as you would
do, if you had come to some mansion or country-
house that was full of objects of art ? If these were
laid aside, as you describe, and you had a strong
desire to behold them, you would not hesitate to ask
the master of the house to order them to be brought
out, especially if you were his familiar friend. So
too now will you beg Crassus to bring out into the
dayhght that abundance of his treasures, of which,
piled together in one place, we in passing have caught
just a gHmpse, as through a lattice, and also to set up
every piece in its proper position ? "
163 " Nay," rephed Cotta, " I beg you, Scaevola, to
do so (for modesty hinders myself and Sulpicius here
from asking the most eminent of men, and one who
has always despised this kind of debate, about things
which to him may well seem the elementary con-
111
CICERO
puerorum elementa videantur, exquirere — : sed tu
hoc nobis da, Scaevola, et perfice, ut Crassus haec,
quae coarctavit, et peranguste refersit in oratione
sua, dilatet nobis atque explicet.
164 Ego mehercule, inquit Mucius, antea vestra
magis hoc causa volebam, quam mea : neque enim
tantopere hanc a Crasso disputationem desiderabam,
quantopere eius in causis oratione delector. Nunc
vero, Crasse, mea quoque etiam causa rogo, ut,
quoniam tantum habemus otii, quantum iamdiu nobis
non contigit, ne graveris exaedificare id opus, quod
instituisti. Formam enim totius negotii opinione
maiorem melioremque video ; quam vehementer
probo.
165 XXXVI. Enimvero, inquit Crassus, mirari satis
non queo, etiam te haec, Scaevola, desiderare, quae
neque ego teneo, uti ei qui docent ; neque sunt eius
generis, ut, si optime tenerem, digna essent ista
sapientia ac tuis auribus. Ain' tu ? inquit ille. Si
de istis communibus et pervagatis vix huic aetati
audiendum putas, etiamne illa neglegere possumus,
quae tu oratori cognoscenda esse dixisti, de naturis
hominum, de moribus, de rationibus eis, quibus
hominum mentes et incitarentur et reprimerentur,
de historia, de antiquitate, de administratione rei-
pubhcae, denique de nostro ipso iure civiU .'' Hanc
enim ego omnem scientiam, et copiam rerum in
tua prudentia sciebam inesse ; in oratoris vero
11£
DE ORATORE, I. xxxv. 163— xxxvi. 165
cerns of schoolboys) : but do us this favour yourself,
Scaevola, and persuade Crassus to enlarge upon and
develop for us everything that in his discourse he
has compressed and stufFed into the narrowest of
spaces."
164 " Truly for my part," said Mucius, " at first it was
more for your sake than my own that I desired this :
for my anxiety to hear this discourse from Crassus
was not commensurate with the delight aiforded me
by his speeches in Court. But now, Crassus, for my
own sake as well I ask you, since we are enjoying
leisure more ample than has been allotted to us
for a long time, not to find it a trouble to complete
the structure you have begun. For I perceive the
design of the undertaking as a whole to be better
and more comprehensive than I looked for ; and one
of which I heartily approve."
165 XXXVI. " Well to be sure," said Crassus, " I instances of
cannot feel surprised enough, Scaevola, that you ™fe°g^°°*
too should ask for these things, which I do not under- knowiedge.
stand as do those who teach them, and which are not
of such a nature that, even if I understood them
perfectly, they would be worthy of your wisdom and
your ear." " You don't say so ! " answered the
other. " Even if you think these everyday and
hackneyed maxims hardly deserving of the attention
of a man of my years, can we for all that neglect the
truths which, you have told us, the orator must know,
concerning varieties of human nature, ethics, the
methods of kindUng and calming the minds of men,
history, ancient times, the government of the State,
and lastly our own science of common law ? For I
knew that all this knowledge and this multitude of
things were to be found in your wisdom ; but I had
113
CICERO
instrumento tam lautam supellectilem nunquam
videram.
166 Potes igitur, inquit Crassus — ut alia omittam
innumerabilia et immensa, et ad ipsum tuum ius
civile veniam — , oratores putare eos, quos multas
horas exspectavit, cum in campum properaret, et
ridens et stomachans Scaevola, cum Hypsaeus ma-
xima voce, plurimis verbis, a M. Crasso praetore
contenderet, ut ei, quem defendebat, causa cadere
hceret, Cn. autem Octavius, homo consularis, non
minus longa oratione recusaret, ne adversarius causa
caderet, ac ne is, pro quo ipse diceret, turpi tutelae
iudicio, atque omni molestia, stultitia adversarii,
167 hberaretur ? Ego vero istos, inquit — memini enim
mihi narrare Mucium — , non modo oratoris nomine,
sed ne foro quidem dignos putarim. Atqui non de-
fuit illis patronis, inquit Crassus, eloquentia, neque
dicendi ratio aut copia, sed iuris civilis prudentia :
quod alter plus, lege agendo, petebat, quam quan-
tum lex in Duodecim Tabuhs permiserat ; quod cum
impetrasset, causa caderet : alter iniqumn putabat
plus secum agi, quam quod erat in actione ; neque
intellegebat, si ita esset actum, litem adversarium
perditurum.
168 XXXVII. Quid ? his paucis diebus, nonne, nobis
114
DE ORATORE, I. xxxvi. 165— xxxvii. 168
never observed furniture so sumptuous in the outfit
of an orator."
166 " Can you then," said Crassus " (to pass over
other matters innumerable and of vast importance,
and come to your favourite common law itself), can
you consider those men to be orators, for whom
Scaevola, half laughing and half enraged, waited
many hours, though in a hurry to start for the
Playing Field, while Hypsaeus, at the top of his voice
and with most exuberant verbosity, was strugghng
to procure from Marcus Crassus the praetor the
non-suiting of the party for whom he himself was
appearing, and Gnaeus Octavius, though a man of
consular rank, was objecting, in a speech every bit
as long, to having his opponent cast in his suit, and
his own chent reheved, by the folly of the other side,
from a degrading verdict of dishonest guardianship
167 and from all trouble whatever ? " " No," returned
Scaevola, " as for such men (for I remember having
the story from Mucius), I should not hold them fit
even to appear in Court, much less to bear the title of
orators." " And yet," Crassus went on, " it was not
eloquence, or the art of speaking, or copiousness that
was wanting in those counsel, but knowledge of the
common law : for the one was claiming, by action
on the statute, more than the provision in the
Twelve Tables permitted and, had he carried his
point, his action must fail : the other thought it
unjust that the claim against him should be for more
than the amount in suit ; not obperving that, if the
issue had been defined in that way, his opponent
would lose his case.
168 XXXVII. " Again, within these last few days,
when we were sitting as assessors on the Bench of
115
CICERO
in tribunali Q. Pompeii, praetoris urbani, familiaris
nostri, sedentibus, homo ex numero disertorum pos-
tulabat, ut illi, unde peteretur, vetus atque usitata
exceptio daretur, Cuius pecuniae dies fuisset ? quod
petitoris causa comparatum esse, non intellegebat :
ut, si ille infitiator probasset iudici ante petitam esse
pecuniam quam esset coepta deberi, petitor, rursus
cum peteret, ne exceptione excluderetur, quod ea res
169 iN lUDiciUM antea venisset. Quid ergo hoc fieri
turpius, aut dici potest, quam eum, qui hanc per-
sonam susceperit, ut amicorum controversias causas-
que tueatur, laborantibus succurrat, aegris medeatur,
afflictos excitet, hunc in minimis tenuissimisque rebus
ita labi, ut aliis miserandus, aliis irridendus esse
videatur ?
170 Equidem propinquum nostrum, P. Crassum, illum
Divitem, cum multis ahis rebus elegantem hominem
et ornatum, tum praecipue in hoc efFerendum et
laudandum puto, quod, cum P. Scaevola frater
esset, sohtus est ei persaepe dicere, neque illum in
iure civili satis illi arti facere posse, nisi dicendi
copiam assumpsisset — quod quidem hic, qui mecum
consul fuit, filius eius, est consecutus — ; neque se
ante causas amicorum tractare atque agere coepisse,
quam ius civile didicisset.
171 Quid vero ille M. Cato ? Nonne et eloquentia
tanta fuit, quantam illa tempora, atque illa aetas in
hac civitate ferre maximam potuit, et iuris civilis
• 95 B.c.
116
DE ORATORE, I. xxxvii. 168-171
our friend Quintus Pompeius, the City praetor, did
not one of our accomplished advocates apply, on
behalf of the defendant in an action of debt, for the
insertion of the ancient and familiar restriction, ' As
regards such moneys as have already accrued due,' not
understanding that this clause had been ordained
for the benefit of a plaintifF, to the end that, if a
repudiating defendant should satisfy the judge that
money had been claimed before it had become
payable, the plaintifF should not be barred, on
bringing a fresh action, by the special plea * That this
169 matter has already been litigated ' ? Can anything
then more unseemly be done or suggested than this,
that the very man who has undertaken the part of
the champion of the quarrels and interests of his
friends, of their helper in trouble, the healer of their
sufferings, and their upholder when they have fallen,
should blunder so grossly in the most trifling and
insignificant technicalities, as to arouse the pity of
some, and the ridicule of others ?
170 " Assuredly I think that our relative Publius
Crassus, surnamed Dives, while in many other ways
a man of taste and accomphshment, was particularly
to be extolled and eulogized for this that, being the
brother of Publius Scaevola, he used continually to
tell him that in common law he could never do justice
to his art, without acquiring as well a copious diction
(advice certainly followed by this son of his, who was
my colleague in the consulship "), and that he himself
had learned the common law, before he began to
handle and conduct the causes of his friends.
171 " And what of the eminent Marcus Cato ? Did he
not combine eloquence as grand as those times and
that epoch could produce in this State, with an un-
117
CICERO
omnium peritissimus ? Verecundius hac de re iam-
dudum loquor, quod adest vir in dicendo summus,
quem ego unum oratorem maxime admiror ; sed
172 tamen idem hoc semper ius civile contempsit. Verum,
quoniam sententiae atque opinionis meae voluistis
esse participes, nihil occultabo ; et, quoad potero,
vobis exponam quid de quaque re sentiam.
XXXVIII. Antonii incredibilis quaedam, et prope
singularis et divina vis ingenii videtur, etiamsi hac
scientia iuris nudata sit, posse se facile ceteris armis
prudentiae tueri atque defendere. Quam ob rem hic
nobis sit exceptus ; ceteros vero non dubitabo pri-
mum inertiae condemnare sententia mea, post etiam
173 impudentiae. Nam volitare in foro, haerere in iure
ac praetorum tribunalibus, iudicia privata magnariun
rerum obire, in quibus saepe non de facto, sed de
aequitate ac iure certetur, iactare se in causis
centumvirahbus, in quibus usucapionum, tutelarum,
gentilitatum, agnationum, alluvionum, circumluvi-
onum, nexorum, mancipiorum, parietum, luminum,
stillicidiorum, testamentorum ruptorum aut ratorum,
ceterarumque rerum innumerabilium iura versentur,
cum omnino, quid suum, quid alienum, quare deni-
que civis aut peregrinus, servus aut liber quispiam sit,
ignoret, insignis est impudentiae.
" A bench of iudges appointed yearly for civil suits,
especially those relating to inheritance.
118
DE ORATORE, I. xxxvii. 171— xxxviii. 173
equalled knowledge of the common law ? It is with
some diffidence that I have been so long discussing
this topic, when we have with us the greatest of
speakers, a man whom I admire above all others as
an unique orator, but who nevertheless has always
172 despised this common law. Since however you have
sought to be partakers of my view and my judgement,
I will suppress nothing but, so far as lies in my power,
will lay before you what I think upon every point.
XXXVIII. " In Antonius what I may call aoniygenius
marvellous and almost unrivalled and godhke power can dispensa
j, . .1 1 ° . /. , . with study.
oi genius seems, even without the protection oi tnis
legal knowledge, to be able easily to guard and
defend itself with the rest of the armoury of
practical wisdom. Let him then be left out of our
indictment but, as for the rest, I shall not hesitate
to give my vote for a verdict of ' Guilty,' first of
173 laziness and secondly of effrontery as well. For to
flit around the Courts, to loiter about the Bench and
judgement-seats of the praetors, to engage in civil
proceedings involving weighty interests, in which
the dispute is often not as to facts but as to equity
and law, to vaunt oneself in cases before the Hundred
Commissioners,'* where are debated the rights con-
cerning long user, guardianship, clanship, relation-
ship through males, alluvial accessions, the formation
of islands, obligations, sales, party-walls, ancient
lights, rain-drip from the eaves, the revocation or
establishment of wills, and all those other matters
innumerable, when a man is wholly ignorant as to
what is his own and what another's, and even of the
essential difference between citizen and foreigner,
or between bond and free, this is the mark of no
ordinary effrontery.
119
CICERO
174 Illa vero deridenda arrogantia est, in minoribus
navigiis rudem esse se confiteri ; quinqueremes, aut
etiam maiores, gubernare didicisse. Tu mihi cum
in circulo decipiare adversarii stipulatiuncula, et
cum obsignes tabellas clientis tui, quibus in tabellis
id sit scriptum, quo ille capiatur ; ego tibi uUam
causam maiorem committendam putem? Citius
hercule is, qui duorum scalmorum naviculam in portu
everterit, in Euxino ponto Argonautarum navem
175 gubernarit ! Quid, si ne parvae quidem causae sunt,
sed saepe maximae, In quibus certatur de iure civili ;
quod tandem os est illius patroni, qui ad eas causas
sine ulla scientia iuris audet accedere ? Quae potuit
igitur esse causa maior, quam ilUus miUtis, de cuius
morte cum domum falsus ab exercitu nuntius venis-
set, et pater eius, re credita, testamentum mutasset,
et, quem ei visum esset, fecisset heredem, essetque
ipse mortuus : res delata est ad centmnviros, cum
miles domum revenisset, egissetque lege in heredi-
tatem paternam, testamento exheres filius ? Nempe
in ea causa quaesitum est de iure civili, possetne
paternorum bonorum exheres esse fihus, quem pater
testamento neque heredem, neque exheredem
scripsisset nominatim.
176 XXXIX. Quid ? qua de re inter Marcellos et
Claudios patricios centumviri iudicarunt, cum Mar-
120
DE ORATORE, I. xxxviii. 174— xxxix. 176
174 " Derision surely befits his presumption, who owns
himself a raw hand in managing smaller barks, while
claiming to have learned the piloting of five-banked
galleys or vessels larger still. When I see you
trapped in a private conference by a quibble of your
opponent's, and seahng up your client's deed, such
deed containing the words by which he is defeated,
can I think that any case of real importance ought to
be entrusted to you ? Sooner, I vow, shall he who
has upset a pair-oared skifF in harbour navigate the
175 ship of the Argonauts upon the Euxine Sea ! Suppose
however that the cases are not even trifling, but
often of the greatest moment, involving a dispute
about the common law : what cheek, I ask you,
has that advocate who, without any legal knowledge,
ventures to undertake the conduct of these pro-
ceedings ? What case, for example, could be more
important than that of the well-knovra soldier, of
whose death false news had arrived home from the
army, and whose father, beUeving the tale, had
altered his will, and instituted an heir of his own
choosing, and then died himself : the matter came
before the Hundred Commissioners, upon the soldier
returning home and starting an action on the
statute for the recovery of his paternal inheritance,
as a son disinherited by will ? Certainly in this case
the issue was one of common law, that is to say,
whether or not a son could be disinherited in respect
of his father's estate, when such father in his will had
neither instituted him heir jior disinherited him by
name.
176 XXXIX. " What again of the dispute between Need of
the Marcellans and the patrician Claudians, deter- p™^e*^°by
mined by the Hundred Commissioners, the Marcellans instances.
121
CICERO
celli ab liberti filio stirpe, Claudii patricii eiusdem
hominis hereditatem, gente ad se rediisse dicerent ;
nonne in ea causa fuit oratoribus de toto stirpis ac
177 gentilitatis iure dicendum ? Quid ? quod item in
centumvirali iudicio certatum esse accepimus, qui
Romam in exsilium venisset, cui Romae exsulare ius
esset, si se ad aliquem quasi patronum appHcuisset,
intestatoque esset mortuus : nonne in ea causa ius
applicationis, obscurum sane et ignotum, patefactum
178 in iudicio atque illustratum est a patrono ? Quid ?
nuper, cum ego C. Sergii Oratae contra hunc nos-
trum Antonium iudicio privato causam defenderem ;
nonne omnis nostra in iure versata defensio est ?
Cum enim Marius Gratidianus aedes Oratae ven-
didisset, neque, servire quamdam earum aedium
partem, in mancipii lege dixisset ; defendebamus,
quidquid fuisset incommodi in mancipio, id si vendi-
tor scisset, neque declarasset, praestare debere.
179 Quo quidem in genere familiaris noster M. Buc-
culeius, homo neque meo iudicio stultus, et suo valde
sapiens, et a iuris studio non abhorrens, simiH in re
quodam modo nuper erravit. Nam cum aedes L.
Fufio venderet, in mancipio lumina, uti tum essent,
ita recepit. Fufius autem, simul atque aedificari
coeptum est in quadam parte urbis quae modo ex
illis aedibus conspici posset, egit statim cimi Buc-
" For this point of law see Appendix p. 480.
' Some ambiguity in the conveyancing terms used by
Bucculeius in reserving his ' ancient lights ' enabled Fufius
to interpret the reservation as a grant ot an absolute right to
light.
122
DE ORATORE, I. xxxix. 176-179
alleging that an inheritance had devolved on them
from a freedman's son by lineal descent, while the
patrician Claudians claimed it as theirs by reverter
through clanship ; did not both counsel in that case
have to discuss the entire law of lineal descent and
177 of clanship ? And what of that other contention
which we have heard was raised in the Court of the
Hundred Commissioners, where a foreigner had come
into exile at Rome, having a legal right to dwell
there, provided that he had attached himself to
someone as a kind of protector, and such foreigner
had died intestate : in that case was not the law of
vassalage, a truly mysterious and unfamiUar thing,
178 revealed and elucidated by counsel in Court ? Then
too, when recently I appeared, in a civil action, on
behalf of Gaius Sergius Orata, with our friend here
Antonius on the other side, was not our defence
concerned solely with matter of law ? For Marius
Gratidianus had sold a house to Orata, without
stating in the conditions of sale that a certain part
of the building was subject to an easement, and we
were urging that the vendor must allow compensa-
tion for any defect in the property sold, if he had
known of its existence and had not disclosed it.<*
179 " In that kind ctf action too our friend Marcus
Bucculeius, no fool in my opinion, and mightily wise
in his own, and a man with no distaste for legal
studies, somehow went wrong lately on a similar
point. For, on the sale of a house to Lucius Fufius,
he made a reservation in his conveyance of all rights
to hght ' as then enjoyed.''' Fufius however, the
moment that any building began in some part of the
city of which as much as a glimpse could be caught
from that house of his, immediately launched an
123
CICERO
culeio, quod, cuicumque particulae coeli officeretur,
quamvis esset procul, mutari lumina putabat.
180 Quid vero ? clarissima M'. Curii causa Marcique
Coponii nuper apud centumviros, quo concursu
hominum, qua exspectatione defensa est ! cum
Q. Scaevola, aequalis et collega meus, homo omnium
et disciplina iuris civihs eruditissimus, et ingenio pru-
dentiaque acutissimus, et oratione maxime Umatus
atque subtilis, atque, ut ego soleo dicere, iuris peri-
torum eloquentissimus, eloquentium iuris peritis-
simus, ex scripto testamentorum iura defenderet,
negaretque, nisi postumus et natus, et, antequam in
suam tutelam venisset, mortuus esset, heredem eum
esse posse, qui esset secundum postumum, et natum,
et mortuum, heres institutus : ego autem defen-
derem, hac eum tum mente fuisse, qui testamentura
fecisset, ut, si filius non esset, qui in tutelam veniret,
M'. Curius esset heres. Num destitit uterque no-
strum in ea causa, in auctoritatibus, in exemphs, in
testamentorum formuhs, hoc est, in medio iure civiU,
versari ?
181 XL. Omitto iam plura exempla causarum ampHs-
simarum, quae sunt innumerabiUa : capitis nostri
saepe potest accidere ut causae versentur in iure.
Etenim sic C. Mancinum, nobiUssimum atque opti-
mum virum, ac consularem, cum eum propter in-
vidiam Numantini foederis pater patratus ex S. C.
• See Book II, §§ 140, 221.
* See Appendix p. 480. « In 137 b.c.
^ One of the twenty fetiales appointed (patratus) with
patria potestas over citizens whom he was delegated to hand
over to the enemy.
124
DE ORATORE, I. xxxix. 179— xl. 181
action against Bucculeius, because he conceived that
his rights to light were afFected, if any scrap of his
view was blocked, however far away.
IgO " Finally, remember the conduct of the famous
case " of Manius Curius against Marcus Coponius, not
long ago before the Hundred Commissioners — the
crowd that coUected, the anticipations aroused !
There was Quintus Scaevola, my contemporary
and colleague, of all men the most learned in the
science of the common law, the most sagacious by
talent and experience, the most highly polished and
exquisite in diction, and indeed, as I always say,
among lawyers the best orator, among orators the
best lawyei : he was arguing the rights of the case
on the hteral terms of the will, and contending that
the person who had been nominated heir in the
second grade, as substitute for a posthumous son,
who should be born and die, could never inherit,
unless such posthumous son had in fact been born
and died before becoming his own master ^ : on the
other side I was afRrming the true intention of the
testator to have been that Manius Curius should be
heir in the event of no son coming of age. In these
proceedings were not both of us unceasingly occupied
with decisions, with precedents, with forms of wills,
with questions, in fact, of common law all around us ?
18] XL. " I pass over yet further examples of most
important cases, countless as they are : it may Cases
often happen that actions involving our civil rights dtizeiMhip.
turn upon points of law. For in truth such was
the experience of Gaius Mancinus, a man of the
highest rank and character and a past consul, who
under a decree of the Senate had been deUvered up "
to the Numantines by the Priestly Envoy,"^ for con-
125
CICERO
Numantinis dedidisset, eumque illi non recepissent,
posteaque Mancinus domum revenisset, neque in
senatum introire dubitasset ; P. Rutilius, M. filius,
tribunus plebis, de senatu iussit educi, quod eum
civem negaret esse ; quia memoria sic esset proditum,
quem pater suus, aut populus vendidisset, aut pater
patratus dedidisset, ei nullum esse postliminium.
182 Quam possumus reperire ex omnibus rebus civilibus
causam contentionemque maiorem, quam de ordine,
de civitate, de libertate, de capite hominis consularis ;
praesertim cum haec non in crimine aliquo, quod
ille posset infitiari, sed in civili iure consisteret ?
Similique in genere, inferiore ordine, si quis apud
nos servisset ex populo foederato, seseque liberasset,
ac postea domum revenisset ; quaesitum est apud
maiores nostros, num is ad suos postliminio rediisset,
183 et amisisset hanc civitatem. Quid ? de libertate, quo
iudicium gravius esse nullum potest, nonne ex iure
civili potest esse contentio, cum quaeritur, is, qui
domini voluntate census sit, continuone, an ubi lus-
trum conditum, liber sit ? Quid, quod usu, memoria
patrum, venit, ut paterfamihas, qui ex Hispania
Romam venisset, cum uxorem praegnantem in pro-
vincia reliquisset, Romaeque alteram duxisset, neque
" ' Return behind one's threshold,' return home and re-
sumption of former status and privileges,
* The lustrum was the sacrifujc of purification, which con-
126
DE ORATORE, I. xl. 181-183
cluding an unpopular treaty with their nation, and
whose surrender they had refused to accept, where-
upon he returned home and unhesitatingly came
into the Senate-house : Publius Rutilius, son of
Marcus and tribune of the commons, ordered him
to be removed, affirming that he was no citizen,
in view of the traditional rule that a man sold by
his father or by the people, or dehvered up by the
Priestly Envoy, had no right of restoration.*
" What judicial controversy can we discover, with-
182 in the whole range of public hfe, more important
than one touching the rank, state-membership, free-
dom and entire civil rights of a past consul, especially
as this issue did not depend upon some accusation of
fact, which the defendant might be able to disprove,
but upon a point of common law ? And in a simi-
lar case, afFecting humbler folk, if a member of an
allied people, after being a slave in Rome, had ac-
quired his freedom and subsequently retumed home ;
it was a moot point with our forefathers whether by
process of restoration he had not reverted to his
former nationaUty and lost his Roman citizenship.
183 Then as to freedom, the most serious issue there
can be, may not controversy arise out of the
common law, on the question whether a slave, en-
rolled with his master's consent on the censor's Ust,
is to date his enfranchisement from that moment,
or from completion of the lustrum ? * And what of
a case that reaUy happened, within our fathers'
recoUection, of the head of a family coming from
Spain to Rome, and leaving in the province his wife
with child : at Rome he married another wife,
cluded the proceedings of the census and brought the new re-
gister of citizens into operation for the ensuing five years.
127
CICERO
nuntium priori remisisset, mortuusque esset intestato,
et ex utraque filius natus esset ; mediocrisne res
in controversiam adducta est, cum quaereretur de
duobus civium capitibus, et de puero, qui ex pos-
teriore natus erat, et de eius matre ? Quae, si iudi-
caretur, certis quibusdam verbis, non novis nuptiis,
fieri cum superiore divortium, in concubinae locum
duceretur.
184 Haec igitur, et horum similia iura suae civitatis
ignorantem, erectum et celsum, alacri et prompto ore
ac vultu, huc atque illuc intuentem, vagari magna
cum caterva toto foro, praesidium clientibus, atque
opem amicis, et prope cunctis civibus lucem ingenii
et consilii sui porrigentem atque tendentem, nonne in
primis flagitiosum putandum est ?
185 XLI. Et quoniam de impudentia dixi, castigemus
etiam segnitiem hominum atque inertiam. Nam si
esset ista cognitio iuris magna ac difficilis, tamen
utilitatis magnitudo deberet homines ad suscipiendum
discendi laborem impellere. Sed, o dii immortales !
non dicerem hoc, audiente Scaevola, nisi ipse dicere
soleret, nullius artis faciliorem sibi cognitionem videri.
186 Quod quidem certis de causis a plerisque aliter existi-
matur : primum, quia veteres ilh, qui huic scientiae
praefuerunt, obtinendae atque augendae potentiae
suae causa, pervulgari artem suam noluerunt, deinde,
posteaquam est editum, expositis a Cn. Flavio pri-
mum actionibus, nulH fuerunt, qui illa artificiose
128
DE ORATORE, I. xl. 183— xli. 186
without having sent notice of divoree to the first,
and afterwards died intestate, when each woman had
borne a son ; was it but an ordinary dispute that
thereupon arose, involving as it did the civil rights
of two citizens, the boy born of the second consort,
and his mother ? She, if it were held that the first
wife could be divorced only by using some specific
formula, and not by marrying again, would be
regarded as being in the position of a concubine.
184 " Accordingly, that a man, ignorant of these and
similar laws of his own community, should roam with
a large following from court to court, haughtily and
with head upraised, eager and assured in mien and
countenance, directing his gaze hither and thither,
and holding out and tendering protection to clients,
aid to friends, and the illumination of his talent and
advice to wellnigh every citizen, is not all this to be
considered something supremely scandalous ?
185 XLI. " And since I have spoken of the effrontery Lawnota
of men, let us go on to chastise their slackness and ^?lfiflly
lazmess. ror even ii this legal study were a matter study,
of great difficulty, yet its great utility should urge men
to undergo the toil of learning. But, by Heaven, I
should not say this with Scaevola listening, were he
not himself in the habit of affirming that he thinks
186 no art easier of attainment. As to this indeed most
people, for definite reasons, think otherwise : first be-
cause those men of old time who presided over this
study, in their anxiety to maintain and increase their
own authority, would not have their art made common
property, and secondly, after the law had been
published, and the forms of pleading first set forth
by Gnaeus Flavius, there were none able to distribute
these matters into their kinds and arrange them
129
CICERO
digesta generatim componerent. Nihil est enim,
quod ad artem redigi possit, nisi ille prius, qui illa
tenet, quorum artem instituere vult, habeat illam
scientiam, ut ex eis rebus, quarum ars nondum sit,
187 artem efficere possit. Hoc video, dum breviter
voluerim dicere, dictum a me esse paulo obscurius ;
sed experiar, et dicam, si potero, planius.
XLII. Omnia fere, quae sunt conclusa nunc artibus,
dispersa et dissipata quondam fuerunt : ut in musicis,
numeri, et voces, et modi ; in geometria, lineamenta,
formae, intervalla, magnitudines ; in astrologia, caeli
conversio, ortus, obitus motusque siderum ; in gram-
maticis, poetarum pertractatio, historiarum cognitio,
verborum interpretatio, pronuntiandi quidam sonus ;
in hac denique ipsa ratione dicendi, excogitare, or-
nare, disponere, meminisse, agere ; ignota quondam
188 omnibus, et difFusa late videbantur. Adhibita est
igitur ars quaedam extrinsecus ex alio genere quo-
dam, quod sibi totum philosophi assumunt, quae rem
dissolutam divulsamque conglutinaret, et ratione
quadam constringeret. Sit ergo in iure civiU finis
hic, legitimae atque usitatae in rebus causisque ci-
Igg vium aequabilitatis conservatio. Tum sunt notanda
genera, et ad certum numerum paucitatemque re-
vocanda. Genus autem est id, quod sui similes
communione quadam, specie autem difFerentes, duas
aut plures complectitur partes. Partes autem sunt,
ISO
DE ORATORE, I. xli. 186— xlii. 189
artistically. For nothing can be reduced to an art
unless the man who has mastered the subject, of
which he would organize an art, already possesses
the special knowledge requisite to enable him, out
of particulars not yet embodied in an art, to con-
187 struct one. I see that, in my desire to be brief, I
have spoken a httle obscurely, but I will try to
express myself, if I can, in clearer terms.
XLII. " Nearly all elements, now forming the con- xhe nature
tent of arts, were once without order or correla- of.i^gai
tion : in music, for example, rhythms, sounds and
measures ; in geometry, Hnes, figures, dimensions
and magnitudes ; in astronomy, the revolution of
the sky , the rising, setting and movement of heavenly
bodies ; in Uterature, the study of poets, the learning
of histories, the explanation of words and proper
intonation in speaking them ; and lastly in this very
theory of oratory, invention, style, arrangement,
memory and dehvery, once seemed to all men things
unknown and widely separate one from another.
188 And so a certain art was called in from outside,
derived from another definite sphere, which philo-
sophers arrogate wholly to themselves, in order that
it might give coherence to things so far disconnected
and sundered, and bind them in some sort of scheme.
Let the goal then of the common law be defined as
the preservation, in the concerns and disputes of
citizens, of an impartiaHty founded on statute and
189 custom. We must next designate the general
classes of cases, restricting these to a smaH fixed
number. Now a general class is that which em-
braces two or more species, resembHng one another
in some common property while difFering in some
pecuHarity. And species are subdivisions, ranged
131
CICERO
quae generibus eis, ex quibus emanant, subiciuntur ;
omniaque, quae sunt vel generum vel partiumnomina,
definitionibus, quam vim habeant, est exprimendum.
Est enim definitio, earum rerum, quae sunt eius rei
propriae, quam definire volumus, brevis et circum-
scripta quaedam explicatio.
190 Hisce ergo rebus exempla adiungerem, nisi, apud
quos haec habetur oratio, cernerem : nunc com-
plectar quod proposui, brevi. Si enim aut mihi facere
licuerit, quod iamdiu cogito, aut aUus quispiam, aut,
me impedito, occuparit, aut mortuo efFecerit, ut
primum omne ius civile in genera digerat, quae per-
pauca sunt ; deinde eorum generum quasi quaedam
membra dispertiat ; tum propriam cuiusque vim
definitione declaret ; perfectam artem iuris civilis
habebitis, magis magnam atque uberem, quam dif-
191 ficilem atque obscuram. Atque interea tamen, dum
haec, quae dispersa sunt, coguntur, vel passim licet
carpentem, et coUigentem undique, repleri iusta iuris
civilis scientia.
XLIII. Nonne videtis, equitem Romanum, ho-
minem acutissimo omnium ingenio, sed minime
ceteris artibus eruditum, C. Aculeonem, qui mecum
vlvit, semperque vixit, ita tenere ius civile, ut ei,
cum ab hoc discesseritis, nemo de eis, qui peritissimi
192 sunt, anteponatur ,'' Omnia enim sunt posita ante
oculos, collocata in usu quotidiano, in congressione
hominum atque in foro ; neque ita multis Htteris aut
132
DE ORATORE, I. xlii. 189— xliii. 192
under those general classes from which they spring ;
while all names, whether of general classes or species,
iq^ must be so defined as to show the significance of
each. A definition of course I may describe as a
concise and accurate statement of the attributes
belonging to the thing we would define.
" I would therefore append illustrations to what I Projectfor
have said, were I not mindful of the quahty of the * ^"^®**-'*®-
hearers of this discourse : as it is, I will briefly
summarize my plan. For if I am permitted to do
what I have long been projecting, or if someone
else anticipates me, preoccupied as I am, or does
the work when I am dead, first dividing the entire
common law into its general classes, which are very
few, and next distributing what I may call the sub-
divisions of those classes, and after that making plain
by definition the proper significance of each, then
you will have a complete art of the common law,
magnificent and copious but neither inaccessible nor
191 mysterious. And yet in the meantime, while these
disconnected materials are being assembled, a man
may, by culhng even at random and gathering from
every quarter, become filled with a tolerable know-
ledge of the common law.
XLIII. " Do you not notice that Gaius Aculeo, Sources
Roman knight, a man of the keenest intelUgence, *^*' *"
but of slender accomplishment in any other art,
who dwells and has always dwelt with me, is so
complete a master of the common law, that if you
except our friend here, not one of the most learned
192 is to be placed before him .'' The reason is that all
its materials He open to view, having their setting
in everyday custom, in the intercourse of men, and
in pubUc scenes : and they are not enclosed in so
133
CICERO
voluminibus magnis continentur : eadem enim sunt
elata primum a pluribus ; deinde, paucis verbis com-
mutatis, etiam ab eisdem scriptoribus, scripta sunt
193 saepius. Accedit vero, quo facilius percipi cognosci-
que ius civile possit (quod minime plerique arbi-
trantur), mira quaedam in cognoscendo suavitas et
delectatio. Nam, sive quem haec Aeliana studia
delectant ; plurima est, et in omni iure civili, et in
pontificum libris, et in Duodecim Tabulis, antiquitatis
effigies, quod et verborum prisca vetustas cognoscitur,
et actionum genera quaedam maiorum consuetu-
dinem vitamque declarant : sive quis civilem scien-
tiam contempletur, quam Scaevola non putat oratoris
esse propriam, sed cuiusdam ex alio genere pru-
dentiae ; totam hanc, descriptis omnibus civitatis
utihtatibus ac partibus, Duodecim Tabuhs contineri
videbit ; sive quem ista praepotens et gloriosa philo-
sophia delectat, dicam audacius, hosce habebit fontes
omnium disputationum suarum, qui iure civili et legi-
194 bus continentur. Ex his enim et dignitatem maxime
expetendam videmus, cum verus, iustus, atque ho-
nestus labor honoribus, praemiis, splendore decora-
tur ; vitia autem hominum, atque fraudes, damnis,
ignominiis, vinculis, verberibus, exsiliis, morte mul-
tantur; et docemur non infinitis, concertationum-
que plenis disputationibus, sed auctoritate, nutuque
legum, domitas habere libidines, coercere omnes
" Philosophia means here moral philosophy or ethics.
1S4,
DE ORATORE, I. xliii. 192-194
very many records or in books so very big : for
identical matters were originally published by
numerous authors, and afterwards, with slight
variations in terms, were set down time and again
193 even by the same wTiters. Another help in faciU-
tating the learning and understanding of the common
law (though most people hardly credit this), is the
peculiarly wonderful charm and dehght of that study.
For if these pursuits associated with Aelius attract
a man, he has throughout the common law, and in
the priestly books and the Twelve Tables, a complete
picture of the olden time, since a primitive antiquity
of language can be studied there, and certain forms
of pleading reveal the manners and the way of Ufe
of our forerunners ; if he is studying political science,
which Scaevola does not regard as the business of
an orator, but of someone belonging to a different
department of learning, he will find the whole of
this subject dependent upon the Twelve Tables,
wherein are described all the interests and the
entire organization of the State ; if he is a lover of
your most mighty and arrogant philosophy "• — I shall
speak rather boldly — , he will have here the sources
of all his discussions, since these sources derive frora
194 common law and statutes. For from these we both
see that merit is above all else to be coveted,
since true, fitting and reputable exertion wins the
adornment of high office, rewards and honour,
while the misdeeds and knaveries of mankind are
visited with fines, degradation, chains, scourgings,
banishment and death ; and we learn too, not by
debates without end and fuU of recriminations, but
by the authoritative decision of the laws, to have
our passions in subjection, bridle every lust, hold
135
CICERO
cupiditates, nostra tueri, ab alienis mentes, oculos,
manus abstinere.
195 XLIV. Fremant omnes licet ; dicam quod sentio :
bibliothecas mehercule omnium philosophorum unus
mihi videtur Duodecim Tabularum hbellus, si quis
legum fontes et capita viderit,et auctoritatis pondere,
196 et utihtatis ubertate superare. Ac, si nos, id quod
maxime debet, nostra patria delectat ; cuius rei
tanta est vis, ac tanta natura, ut ' Ithacam illam in
asperrimis saxuhs, tanquam nidulum, affixam,' sapi-
entissimus vir immortahtati anteponeret ; quo amore
tandem inflammati esse debemus in eiusmodi patriam,
quae una in omnibus terris domus est virtutis, imperii,
dignitatis ! Cuius primum nobis mens, mos, disciphna,
nota esse debet ; vel quia est patria, parens omnium
nostrum, vel quia tanta sapientia fuisse in iure con-
stituendo putanda est, quanta fuit in his tantis
opibus imperii comparandis.
197 Percipietis etiam illam ex cognitione iuris laetitiam
et voluptatem, quod, quantum praestiterint nostri
maiores prudentia ceteris gentibus, tum facilHme
intehegetis, si cum illorum Lycurgo, et Dracone, et
Solone nostras leges conferre volueritis. Incredibile
est enim, quam sit omne ius civile, praeter hoc
nostrum, inconditum, ac paene ridiculum : de quo
multa soleo in sermonibus quotidianis dicere,
cum hominum nostrorum prudentiam ceteris homini-
bus, et maxime Graecis, antepono. His ego de
causis dixeram, Scaevola, eis, qui perfecti oratores
" For Calypso's offer of immortality to Odysseus see Od.
V. 135 ; for the hero's nostalgia, Od. 1. SS-59, v. 151-158, and
ix. 27-28.
136
DE ORATORE, I. xliii. 194— xliv. 197
what we have, and keep our thoughts, eyes and
hands from what is our neighbour's.
195 XLIV. " Though the whole world grumble, I will
speak my mind : it seems to me, I solemnly declare,
that, if anyone looks to the origins and sources of
the laws, the small manual of the Twelve Tables by
itself surpasses the hbraries of all the philosophers,
in weight of authority and wealth of usefulness ahke.
196 And if our own native land is our joy, as to the
uttermost it ought to be, — a sentiment of such
strength and quality that a hero of consummate
prudence gave preference over immortahty'' to
' that Ithaca of his, lodged hke a tiny nest upon the
roughest of small crags,' — with love how ardent must
we surely be fired for a country such as ours, standing
alone among all lands as the home of excellence,
imperial power and good report ! It is her spirit,
customs and constitution that we are bound first to
learn, both because she is the motherland of all of
us, and because we must needs hold that wisdom as
perfect went to the estabUshment of her laws, as
to the acquisition of the vast might of her empire.
197 " You will win from legal studies this further joy interestand
and dehght, that you will most readily understand H^^^'^^ °'
how far our ancestors surpassed in practical wisdom studies.
the men of other nations, if you will compare our
ovm laws with those of Lycurgus, Draco and Solon,
among the foreigners. For it is incredible how
disordered, and wellnigh absurd, is all national law
other than our own ; on which subject it is my habit
to say a great deal in everyday talk, when upholding
the wisdom of our own folk against that of all others,
the Greeks in particular. On these grounds, Scae-
vola, did I declare a knowledge of the common law
- 137
CICERO
esse vellent, iuris civilis cognitionem esse neces-
sariam.
198 XLV. lam vero ipsa per sese quantum afferat eis,
qui ei praesunt, honoris, gratiae, dignitatis, quis
ignorat ? Itaque, non, ut apud Graecos infimi ho-
mines, mercedula adducti, ministros se praebent in
iudiciis oratoribus, ei, qui apud illos Trpayixa-iKol
vocantur, sic in nostra civitate ; contra amphssimus
quisque et clarissimus vir ; ut ille, qui propter hanc
iuris civihs scientiam sic appellatus a summo poeta
est,
Egregie cordatus homo, catus Aeliu' Sextus,
multique praeterea, qui, cum ingenio sibi auctore
dignitatem reperissent, perfecerunt, ut in respon-
dendo iure, auctoritate plus etiam, quam ipso ingenio,
valerent.
199 Senectuti vero celebrandae et ornandae quod
honestius potest esse perfugium, quam iuris inter-
pretatio .'' Equidem mihi hoc subsidium iam ab
adolescentia comparavi, non solum ad causarum usum
forensium, sed etiam ad decus atque ornamentum
senectutis ; ut, cum me vires (quod fere iam tem-
pus adventat) deficere coepissent, ista ab sohtudine
domum meam vindicarem. Quid est enim prae-
clarius, quam honoribus et reipubhcae muneribus
perfunctum senem posse suo iure dicere idem, quod
apud Ennium dicat ille Pythius ApoUo, se esse eum,
" Similar practitioners appeared at Rome under the
Empire, but in Cicero's time the great advocates got their
law from the most eminent jurists.
' i.e. Ennius, Ann. x. 326, Remaint of Old Latin (L.C.L.),
L 120, 121.
138
DE ORATORE, I. xliv. 197— xlv. 199
to be indispensable to such as sought to become
complete orators.
198 XLV. " Who again does not know how much pre-
ferment, credit and authority this study of itself
secures for its leaders ? Thus, while among the
Greeks the humblest persons, ' attorneys ' * as they
are called in that country, are induced for a mere
pittance to profFer their assistance to advocates in
Court, in our own comjnunity, on the contrary, all
the most honourable and illustrious men have done
this work, he for example who, for his knowledge of
this common law, was described by the greatest of
poets ^ as follows :
Notably wise and shrewd among men there was Aelius Sextus,
and many besides him who, after gaining eminence
on the strength of their talent, brought it about
that, in advising on law, their strength lay less
even in their unaided talent than in their reputa-
tion.
199 " Then too, for giving to old age companionship
and grace, what worthier resource can there be than
the interpretation of law ? For my part, even from
earliest manhood, I laid up for myself this provision,
not only with a view to my actual practice in the
Courts, but also to be the glory and distinction of my
age, to the end that, when my bodily powers should
have begun to fail (a time already almost upon me),
I might preserve my home from loneliness at the last.
For what is there grander than for an old man, who
has discharged the high offices and functions of the
State, to be able to say as of right, with the great
Pythian ApoUo in Ennius," that he is the one from
« In Eummides, ibid. 270, 271.
139
CICERO
unde sibi, si non ' populi et reges/ at omnes sui
cives consilium expetant,
Suarum rerum incerti ; quos ego mea ope ex
Incertis certos, compotesque consili
Dimitto, ut ne res temere tractent turbidas.
200 Est enim sine dubio domus iurisconsulti totius
oraculum civitatis. Testis est huiusce Q. Mucii ianua
et vestibulum, quod in eius infirmissima valetudine,
affectaque iam aetate, maxima quotidie frequentia
civium, ac summorum hominum splendore celebratur.
201 XLVI. lam vero illa non longam orationem de-
siderant, quam ob rem existimem publica quoque
iura, quae sunt propria civitatis atque imperii, tum
monumenta rerum gestarum, et vetustatis exempla,
oratori nota esse debere. Nam ut in rerum priva-
tarum causis atque iudiciis depromenda saepe oratio
est ex iure civili, et idcirco, ut ante diximus, oratori
iuris civiHs scientia necessaria est : sic in causis pub-
licis iudiciorum, concionum, Senatus, omnis haec et
antiquitatis memoria, et publici iuris auctoritas,
et regendae reipublicae ratio ac scientia, tanquam
aliqua materies, eis oratoribus, qui versantur in re-
pubUca, subiecta esse debent.
202 Non enim causidicum nescio quem, neque pro-
clamatorem, aut rabulam, hoc sermone nostro con-
quirimus, sed eum virum, qui primum sit eius artis
antistes, cuius cum ipsa natura magnam homini
facultatem daret, tamen dedisse deus putabatur ; ut
et ipsum, quod erat hominis proprium, non partum
140
DE ORATORE, I. xlv. 199-~-xlvi. 202
whom all his fellow-citizens at any rate, if not ' the
peoples and the kings,' seek counsel for themselves,
Men doubtful of their good, whom by my help,
Their doubts dispelled, confirmed in their designs,
I send away, no troubled track to thread.
For the house of a great lawyer is assuredly
the oracular seat of the whole community. This is
attested by the gateway and forecourt of our friend
here, Quintus Mucius, thronged as they are daily,
notvdthstanding his very poor health and now ad-
vanced age, by a huge concourse of citizens, among
whom are personages of the highest distinction.
XLVI. " Moreover no long discussion is needed The orator
to explain why I think that the orator must also feanfing.
be acquainted with pubUc law, which is exclusively
concerned with the State and Empire, and also the
records of past events and the precedents of antiquity.
For as, in cases and proceedings relating to private
interests, his language must often be borrowed from
common law, so that, as we have said already, a
knowledge of common law is indispensable to the
orator ; just so, in pubUc causes, ahke in the law-
courts, in popular assembUes and in the Senate, all
this story of old times, the precedents of pubUc law,
and the method and science of State administration
should be material, as it were, at the disposal of those
orators who occupy themselves ynth politics.
" For in this talk of ours we are not seeking some
pettifogger, declaimer or ranter, but that man who,
to begin with, is high-priest of that art which, though
unaided nature bestowed on mankind a great capacity
for it, was yet deemed to have been the gift of a
divinity, so that a property pecuUar to humanity
might seem no ofFspring of ourselves, but to be
141
CICERO
per nos, sed divinitus ad nos delatum videretur ;
deinde, qui possit, non tam caduceo, quam nomine
oratoris ornatus, incolumis, vel inter hostium tela,
versari ; tum, qui scelus fraudemque nocentis possit
dicendo subicere odio civium, supplicioque con-
stringere ; idemque ingenii praesidio innocentiam
iudiciorum poena liberare ; idemque languentem
labentemque populum aut ad decus excitare, aut ab
errore deducere, aut inflammare in improbos, aut
incitatum in bonos, mitigare ; qui denique, quem-
cumque in animis hominum motum res et causa
postulet, eum dicendo vel excitare possit, vel sedare.
203 Hanc vim si quis existimat, aut ab eis, qui de dicendi
ratione scripserunt, expositam esse, aut a me posse
exponi tam brevi, vehementer errat ; neque solum
inscientiam meam, sed ne rerum quidem magni-
tudinem perspicit. Equidem vobis, quoniam ita
voluistis, fontes, unde hauriretis, atque itinera ipsa,
ita putavi esse demonstranda, non ut ipse dux essem
- — quod et infinitum est, et non necessarium — sed
ut commonstrarem tantum viam, et, ut fieri solet,
digitum ad fontes intenderem.
204 XLVII. Mihi vero, inquit Mucius, satis superque
abs te videtur istorum studiis, si modo sunt studiosi,
esse factum. Nam, ut Socratem illum soHtum aiunt
dicere, perfectum sibi opus esse, si quis satis esset
concitatus cohortatione sua ad studium cognoscendae
142
DE ORATORE, I. xlvi. 202— xlvii. 204
sent down upon us from heaven ; who secondly can
abide unharmed even on the field of battle, through
the respect felt for his title of orator rather than
any heraldic staff; who furthermore can by his
eloquence expose to the indignation of fellow-
citizens, and restrain by punishment, the crimes
and iniquities of the guilty ; who also, by the shield
of his talent, can dehver innocence from legal
penalties ; who again can either inspire a lukewarm
and erring nation to a sense of the fitting, or lead
them away from their blundering, or kindle their
wrath against the wicked, or soothe them when they
are excited against good men ; who lastly can by his
eloquence either arouse or calm, within the souls of
men, whatever passion the circumstances and occasion
may demand.
203 " If any man imagines that this power has been
explained by the writers on the theory of speaking,
or that I can explain it in so short a span, he is very
greatly mistaken, not even perceiving the vastness
of the subject, much less my own ignorance. For
myself indeed, as such was your wish, I have thought
fit to reveal to you the springs from which to drink,
and the approaches to them, not as one seeking
to be myself your guide (an endless and superfluous
task), but just indicating the road, and, in the usual
2Q4 way, pointing with my finger to the fountains."
XLVII. " To me indeed," observed Mucius, " you Acknow-
seem to have done enough and to spare for the requeTt^for'
enthusiasms of your friends, if only they are real further
enthusiasts. For, just as great Socrates is said to * ^'°**
have been fond of describing his work as accomplished,
once some man had been so far stimulated by his
encouragement as to pursue the knowledge and
143
CICERO
percipiendaeque virtutis — quibus enim id persuasum
esset, ut nihil mallent se esse, quam bonos viros, eis
reliquam facilem esse doctrinam — : sic ego intellego,
si in haec, quae patefecit oratione sua Crassus, in-
trare volueritis ; facillime vos ad ea, quae cupitis,
perventuros ab hoc aditu, ianuaque patefacta.
205 Nobis vero, inquit Sulpicius, ista sunt pergrata
perque iucunda : sed pauca etiam requirimus, in-
primisque ea, quae valde breviter a te, Crasse, de
ipsa arte percursa sunt, cum illa te et non con-
temnere, et didicisse confiterere. Ea si paulo latius
dixeris, expleris omnem exspectationem diuturni
desiderii nostri. Nam nunc, quibus studendum rebus
esset, accepimus, quod ipsum est tamen magnum ;
sed vias earum rerum rationemque cupimus cog-
noscere.
206 Quid si, inquit Crassus, quoniam ego, quo faciHus
vos apud me tenerem, vestrae potius obsecutus sum
voluntati, quam aut consuetudini, aut naturae meae,
petimus ab Antonio, ut ea, quae continet, neque
adhuc protuht, ex quibus unum libellum sibi excidisse
iamdudum questus est, exphcet nobis, et illa dicendi
mysteria enuntiet .'' Ut videtur, inquit Sulpicius.
Nam Antonio dicente, etiam quid tu intellegas, sen-
207 tiemus. Peto igitur, inquit Crassus, a te, quoniam id
nobis, Antoni, hominibus id aetatis, oneris ab horum
adolescentium studiis imponitur, ut exponas, quid eis
de rebus, quas a te quaeri vides, sentias.
U4>
DE ORATORE, I, xlvii. 204-207
apprehension of excellence (since further instruction
came easily to such as had been persuaded to set
the attainment of virtue above all else), so I see that,
if you two will consent to enter upon these courses
revealed by Crassus in what he says, you will most
readily reach the end of your desires by this Way
and through this Door which he has opened."
205 " We," added Sulpicius, " are indeed most grateful
for your statement and highly delighted with it,
but we ask for a little more, and especially for those
particulars concerning the art itself, which you,
Crassus, ran over very briefly, though owning that,
so far from despising, you had even learned them.
If you will state these rather more at large, you will
satisfy every hope of our continual longing. For so
far we have heard what objects we must pursue,
which anyhow is a great thing in itself ; but we are
yearning to know the methods and the theory of
these studies."
£06 " Well," said Crassus, " since, to keep you with
me more easily, I have followed your wishes rather
than my own practice or natural bent, what if we
ask Antonius to unfold to us all that he is keeping
to himself and has not yet pubhshed abroad, of
which he complained just now that a single httle
book had already shpped out of his hands, and
to disclose those secrets of oratory ? " " As you
please," replied Sulpicius. " For from the Ups of
Antonius we shall be learning your own views also."
207 " I ask you then, Antonius," went on Crassus, " as
this burden is laid upon people of our years by the
eagerness of these young men, to express your
sentiments upon these matters which you see are
required of you."
145
CICERO
XLVIII. Deprehensum equidem me, inquit
Antonius, plane video atque sentio, non solum quod
ea requiruntur a me, quorum sum ignarus atque
insolens, sed quia, quod in causis valde fugere soleo,
ne tibi, Crasse, succedam, id me nunc isti vitare non
208 sinunt. Verum hoc ingrediar ad ea, quae vultis,
audacius, quod idem mihi spero usu esse venturum
in hac disputatione, quod in dicendo solet, ut nulla
exspectetur ornata oratio. Neque enim sum de arte
dicturus, quam nunquam didici, sed de mea con-
suetudine ; ipsaque illa, quae in commentarium
meum rettuli, sunt eiusmodi, non aliqua mihi doctrina
tradita, sed in rerum usu causisque tractata : quae
si vobis, hominibus eruditissimis, non probabuntur,
vestram iniquitatem accusatote, qui ex me ea quae-
sieritis, quae ego nescirem ; meam facilitatem lauda-
tote, cum vobis, non meo iudicio, sed vestro studio
inductus, non gravate respondero.
209 Tum Crassus : Perge modo, inquit, Antoni. Nul-
lum est enim periculum, ne quid tu eloquare, nisi
ita prudenter, ut neminem nostrum poeniteat ad
hunc te sermonem impulisse.
Ego vero, inquit, pergam : et id faciam, quod in
principio fieri in omnibus disputationibus oportere
censeo : ut, quid illud sit, de quo disputetur, ex-
planetur, ne vagari et errare cogatur oratio, si ei,
qui inter se dissenserint, non idem esse illud, quo
de agitur, intellegant.
146
DE ORATORE, I. xlviii. 207-209
XLVIII. " For my part," answered Antonius, " I viewsof
see and feel myself in evident straits, not only in ^°ned from
being questioned as to things beyond my knowledge his experi-
and experience, but also because this time your ^°^'
friends do not let me shirk a situation from which
in Court I always do my best to run away, I mean
208 that of speaking next after yourself, Crassus. But
I shall the more courageously approach this under-
taking of your choice, in that I hope for the same
fortune in this discussion which generally befalls
my speeches, namely, that no elegance of diction
will be expected of me. For I am not going to
speak of an art which I never learned, but of my own
practice ; and those very commonplaces, which I
have set dovm in my note-book, are no traditions
taught to me by some one or other, but such as have
been used in actual afFairs and at the Bar : and if
they do not commend themselves to men of your
consummate accomplishment, pray blame your own
unfairness in seeking to learn of me things I did not
know ; and extol my good nature in answering you
with a good grace, won over by your enthusiasm,
not my own discretion."
209 " Just go on, Antonius," retumed Crassus. " For
there is no danger of your delivering yourself without
such practical wisdom that not a man of us will
repent of having urged you on to this discussion."
" Yes, I will go on," said the other : " and I will
do what I think should be the first thing done in
every debate, which is that the subject for discussion
should be clearly ascertained, so that a discourse may
not have to ramble and lose itself, if perhaps the
disputants do not understand the issue in one and
the same sense.
147
CICERO
210 Nam, si forte quaereretur, quae esset ars impera-
toris, constituendum putarem principio, quis esset
imperator : qui cum esset constitutus administrator
quidam belli gerendi, tum adiungeremus de exercitu,
de castris, de agminibus, de signorum collationibus,
de oppidorum oppugnationibus, de commeatu, de
insidiis faciendis atque vitandis, de reliquis rebus,
quae essent propriae belli administrandi ; quarum
qui essent animo et scientia compotes, eos esse im-
peratores dicerem ; utererque exemplis Africanorum
et Maximorum ; Epaminondam atque Hannibalem,
atque eius generis homines nominarem.
211 Sin autem quaereremus quis esset is, qui ad rem-
publicam moderandam usum, et scientiam, et studium
suum contulisset, definirem hoc modo : Qui, quibus
rebus utiUtas reipublicae pararetur augereturque,
teneret, eisque uteretur ; hunc reipublicae rectorem,
et consilii publici auctorem esse habendum ; praedi-
caremque P. Lentulum, principem illum, et Tib.
Gracchum patrem, et Q. Metellum, et P. Africanum,
et C. Laelium, et innumerabiles ahos cum ex nostra
212 civitate, tum ex ceteris. Sin autem quaereretur,
quisnam iurisconsultus vere nominaretur ; eum dice-
rem, qui legum, et consuetudinis eius, qua privati
in civitate uterentur, et ad respondendum, et ad
agendum, et ad cavendum, peritus esset ; et ex eo
genere Sext. Aehum, M'. Manilium, P. Mucium
nominarem.
XLIX. Atque, ut iam ad leviora artium studia
148
DE ORATORE, I. xlviii. 210— xlix. 212
210 " For, if the question chanced to be as to the nature The orator,
of the generars art, I should think it proper to settle so^dier^the
at the outset, who is a general : and, having defined statesman
him as a man in charge of the conduct of war, we phiiosopher
should then add some particulars of troops, encamp- !* * speciai.
ment, marching formation, close fighting, invest-
ment of towns, food-supply, laying and avoidance
of ambuscades, and all else pertaining to the manage-
ment of warfare ; and those men who are intellectu-
ally and theoretically masters of these subjects I
should call generals, citing as examples men like
Scipio and Fabius Maximus, and making mention of
Epaminondas and Hannibal and persons of that type.
211 " But if we were inquiring who is he that has
devoted his experience, knowledge and enthusiasm
to the guidance of the State, I should define him
thus : ' Whoever knows and uses everything by
which the advantage of a State is secured and
developed, is the man to be deemed the helmsman
of the State, and the originator of national policy,'
and I should tell of Publius Lentulus that illustrious
leader, of Tiberius Gracchus the elder, Quintus
Metellus, Publius Africanus, Gaius LaeUus, and
countless others, some from our own community
212 and some from abroad. If again the question were,
who is rightly described as learned in the law, I should
say it is the man who is an expert in the statuteis,
and in the customary law observed by individuals
as members of the community, and who is quaUfied
to advise, direct the course of a lawsuit, and safe-
guard a client, and in this class I should refer to
Sextus Aelius, Manius Manilius and Pubhus Mucius.
XLIX. " And, to come now to the pursuits of
the more trivial arts, if the devotee of music, the
149
CICERO
veniam, si musicus, si grammaticus, si poeta quae-
ratur, possim similiter explicare, quid eorum quisque
profiteatur, et quo non amplius ab quoque sit postu-
landum. Philosophi denique ipsius, qui de sua vi ac
sapientia unus omnia paene profitetur, est tamen
quaedam descriptio, ut is, qui studeat omnium rerum
divinarum atque humanarum vim, naturam causasque
nosse, et omnem bene vivendi rationem tenere et
213 persequi, nomine hoc appelletur. Oratorem autem,
quoniam de eo quaerimus, equidem non facio eum-
dem, quem Crassus ; qui mihi visus est omnem
omnium rerum atque artium scientiam comprehen-
dere uno oratoris officio ac nomine : atque eura puto
esse, qui verbis ad audiendum iucundis, et sententiis
ad probandum accommodatis uti possit in causis
forensibus atque communibus. Hunc ego appello
oratorem, eumque esse praeterea instructum voce,
et actione, et lepore quodam volo.
214 Crassus vero mihi noster visus est oratoris facul-
tatem non illius artis terminis, sed ingenii sui finibus,
immensis paene, describere. Nam et civitatum re-
gendarum oratori gubemacula sententia sua tradidit :
in quo per mihi mirum visum est, Scaevola, te hoc
ilU concedere ; cum saepissime tibi Senatus, brevi-
ter impohteque dicenti, maximis sit de rebus assensus.
M. vero Scaurus, quem non longe, ruri, apud se esse
audio, vir regendae reipubhcae scientissimus, si
150
DE ORATORE, I. xlix. 212-214
philologist, or the poet should be under examina-
tion, I could explain in Uke fashion their several
claims, and the most that ought to be required of
each. Lastly, of the philosopher himself, who by
virtue of his special faculty and wisdom stands alone
in claiming something like omniscience, there is
after all a kind of definition, to the effect that he
who strives to know the significance, nature and
causes of everything divine or human, and to master
and follow out as a whole the theory of right hving,
213 is to be thus denominated. But the orator, since
it is he whom we are studying, I myself do not
picture as Crassus did, who I thought included,
under the single vocation and title of orator, omni-
science in every topic and every art : in fact I take
him to be a man who can use language agreeable
to the ear, and arguments suited to convince, in
law-court disputes and in debates of public business.
Such a man I call an orator, and would have him
endowed besides with intonation, delivery and a
certain charm.
214 ' Now our friend Crassus seemed to me to delimit Crassus^s
the range of the orator, not by the bounds of the art ^^^^0 wlda,
concerned, but by the wellnigh infinite extent of
his own talent. For by his verdict he even handed
over to the orator the helm of statesmanship ; and
I thought it passing strange, Scaevola, that you
should grant him this point, when times without
number the Senate has agreed with you on matters
of extreme gravity, though your speech has been
short and without ornament. Indeed if Marcus
Scaurus, who I am told is at his country-house not
far away, one of the highest authorities on states-
manship, had happened to hear that the influence
151
CICERO
audierit, hanc auctoritatem gravitatis et consilii sui
vindicari a te, Crasse, quod eam oratoris propriam
esse dicas : iam, credo, huc veniat, et hanc loquaci-
tatem nostram vultu ipso aspectuque conterreat :
qui, quanquam est in dicendo minime contemnendus,
prudentia tamen rerum magnarum magis, quam
215 dicendi arte, nititur. Neque vero, si quis utrumque
potest, aut ille consihi publici auctor, ac senator
bonus, ob eam ipsam causam orator est ; aut hic
disertus atque eloquens, si est idem in procuratione
civitatis egregius, illam scientiam dicendi copia est
consecutus. Multum inter se distant istae facultates,
longeque sunt diversae atque seiunctae ; neque ea-
dem ratione ac via M. Cato, P. Africanus, Q. Me-
tellus, C. Laehus, qui omnes eloquentes fuerunt,
orationem suam et reipublicae dignitatem exoma-
bant.
216 L. Neque enim est interdictum aut a rerum natura,
aut a lege aliqua atque more, ut singuhs hominibus
ne ampUus, quam singulas artes, nosse Uceat. Quare
non, etsi eloquentissimus Athenis Pericles, idemque
in ea civitate plurimos annos princeps consilii publici
fuit, idcirco eiusdem hominis atque artis utraque
facultas existimanda est ; nec, si P. Crassus idem fuit
eloquens, et iuris peritus, ob eam causam inest in
217 facultate dicendi iuris civilis scientia. Nam si quis-
que, ut in aliqua arte et facultate exceUens, aUam
quoque artem sibi assumpserit, ita perficiet, ut, quod
praeterea sciet, id eius, in quo exceUet, pars quaedam
15S
DE ORATORE, I. xlix. 214— 1. 217
natural to his own worth and wisdom was being
claimed by yourself, Crassus, as the right of an
orator, he would, I do beUeve, instantly proceed
hither and thoroughly frighten us chatterers by the
mere look on his face : for, though no mean speaker,
he yet reUes rather on his knowledge of higher
215 poHtics than on the art of oratory. Then too, if a
man is capable in both ways, such as the originator
of national policy who is also a good senator, he is
not just for that reason an orator ; nor did the
accomplished orator, who happens also to be out-
standing in pubUc administration, attain that special
knowledge through his fluency in speaking. There
is a vast difference between these gifts, and far apart
are they sundered ; nor was it by any uniform theory
and method that Marcus Cato, PubUus Africanus,
Quintus MeteUus and Gaius LaeUus, orators aU,
gave briUiance to their own style and to the reputa-
tion of their community.
216 L- " For neither the nature of things, nor any wide
statute or custom, requires any one man to refrain cuiture not
from learning more than one art. And so, although LbieToTthe
Pericles was the most eloquent man at Athens, and ^'^^^'
also for very many years the leader of national
poUcy in that community, it is not therefore to
be supposed that these two accompUshments pertain
to one and the same man or art ; nor, because
PubUus Crassus combined eloquence with legal
learning, does it foUow that knowledge of common
217 law is impUed in oratorical abiUty. For if every-
one who, while outstanding in some art and capacity,
has embraced another art as well, is thereby to
create the beUef that such subsidiary knowledge
is a specific part of that wherein he excels, we may
153
CICERO
esse videatur : licet ista ratione dicamus, pila bene,
et Duodecim Scriptis ludere, proprium esse iuris
civilis, quoniam utrumque eorum P. Mucius optime
fecerit ; eademque ratione dicantur, et quos (^vo-tKoi-s
Graeci nominant, eidem poetae, quoniam Empedocles
physicus egregium poema fecerit. At hoc ne philo-
sophi quidem ipsi, qui omnia, sicut propria, sua esse,
atque a se possideri volunt, dicere audent, geo-
metriam, aut musicam, philosophi esse, quia Plato-
nem omnes in illis artibus praestantissimum fuisse
fateantur.
218 Ac, si iam placet omnes artes oratori subiungere,
tolerabihus est, sic potius dicere, ut, quoniam dicendi
facultas non debeat esse ieiuna atque nuda, sed
aspersa atque distincta multarum rerum iucunda
quadam varietate, sit boni oratoris multa auribus
accepisse, multa vidisse, multa animo et cogitatione^
multa etiam legendo percurrisse ; neque ea, ut sua,
possedisse ; sed, ut aliena, hbasse. Fateor enim,
calUdum quemdam hunc, et nulla in re tironem ac
rudem, nec peregrinum atque hospitem in agendo
esse debere.
219 LI. Neque vero istis tragoediis tuis, quibus uti
philosophi maxime solent, Crasse, perturbor, quod
ita dixisti, neminem posse eorum mentes, qui audi-
rent, aut inflanamare dicendo, aut inflammatas restin-
guere, cum eo maxime vis oratoris magnitudoque
cernatur, nisi qui rerum omnium naturam, mores
" In Cicero's time, and much later, pila was no definite
game, but a series of gymnastic exercises for the promotion
of bodily suppleness and health.
Duodecim scripta involved dice-throwing, and the use of
difFerently coloured counters on a special board, divided into
spaces by 12 slanting lines.
154
DE ORATORE, I. 1. 217— li. 219
on the same principle assert that to play well at ball
or Twelve-Lines * is a pecuharity of common lawyers,
since PubUus Mucius did both things to perfection ;
and by the same Une of argument those also whom
the Greeks call * natural philosophers ' may be
pronounced to be poets into the bargain, seeing that
Empedocles, a natural philosopher, has composed
a notable poem. But in reaUty even the moral
philosophers themselves, who would have all things
for their own, in right of dominion and in fact of
possession as well, do not venture to claim that either
geometry or the pursuit of music belongs to the
moral philosopher, merely because Plato is admitted
on all hands to have been pre-eminent in those arts.
" And, if for once we decide to place all the arts in
subjection to the orator, our case may more accept-
ably be stated in this way, that, since abiUty to
speak ought not to starve and go naked, but to
be besprinkled and adorned with a kind of charming
variety in many details, it is the part of a good orator
to have heard and seen much, and to have run over
much in thought and reflection, as well as in his
reading, not acquiring all this as his own possession,
but tasting what belongs to others. For I agree
that he ought to be a shrewd sort of man, and
nowhere an untrained recruit, and no stranger or
sojourner in his sphere of action.
LI. " Nor again, Crassus, am I greatly troubled by To inflnence
those histrionics of yours, the favourite medium of he^ife^ds*'^°*
philosophers, setting forth that by the spoken word knowiedge
no man can kindle the feeUngs of his hearers, or °^*^®*°ri<i;
quench them when kindled (though it is in this that
the orator's virtue and range are chiefly discerned),
unless he has gazed into the depths of the nature of
155
CICERO
hominum atque rationes penitus perspexerit : in quo
philosophia sit oratori necessario percipienda ; quo in
studio hominum quoque ingeniosissimorum otiosis-
simorumque totas aetates videmus esse contritas.
Quorum ego copiam magnitudinemque cognitionis
atque artis non modo non contemno, sed etiam vehe-
menter admiror : nobis tamen, qui in hoc populo
foroque versamur, satis est, ea de moribus hominum
et scire, et dicere, quae non abhorrent ab hominum
moribus.
220 Quis enim unquam orator magnus, et gravis, cum
iratum adversario iudicem facere vellet, haesitavit ob
eam causam, quod nesciret, quid esset iracundia,
fervorne mentis, an cupiditas puniendi doloris ? Quis,
cum ceteros animorum motus aut iudicibus, aut
populo dicendo miscere atque agitare vellet, ea dixit,
quae a philosophis dici solent ? Qui partim omnino
motus negant in animis ullos esse debere, quique eos
in iudicum mentibus concitent, scelus eos nefarium
facere ; partim, qui tolerabiliores volunt esse, et ad
veritatem vitae propius accedere, permediocres ac
potius leves motus debere esse dicunt.
221 Orator autem omnia haec, quae putantur in com-
muni vitae consuetudine, mala, ac molesta, et
fugienda, multo maiora et acerbiora verbis facit ;
itemque ea, quae vulgo expetenda atque optabiUa
videntur, dicendo amplificat atque ornat : neque vult
ita sapiens inter stultos videri, uti, qui audiant, aut
" Wilkins's argument for reading motibus animorum for
moribus hominum is unconvincing.
* Cf. Aristotle, Rhet. II. ii. 2 ; and Cicero, Tusc. Disp.
iv. 9. 21 and 10. 24.
156
DE ORATORE, I. li. 219-221
everything, including human characters and motives :
in which connexion the orator must needs make
philosophy his own ; and in this pursuit we see that
whole Uves of most talented and leisured persons
have been consumed. The copiousness of their
learning and the wide range of their art I am so far
from despising that in fact I ardently admire these :
yet for ourselves, busied in the public Ufe of this
community, it is enough to know and give expression
to such things concerning human characters** as are
not alien to human character.
220 " For what grand and impressive speaker, trying to
make an arbitrator angry with his opponent, was
ever at a loss merely through not knowing whether
wrath is a vehement heat of the mind, or a strong
desire to avenge pain .'' ^ Who, in seeking by his
word to confound and stir up the other feelings in
the minds of a tribunal or popular assembly, has
uttered the hackneyed sayings of the philosophers ?
Of whom some deny to the feelings any rightful
place at all within the mind, regarding it as an
infamous crime to awaken such in the hearts of a
tribunal, while others, pretending to some tolerance
and a closer approach to the facts of Hfe, assert that
the feelings should be exceedingly temperate, or
rather of only trivial force.
221 " The orator however by his words greatly magni-
fies and exaggerates the grievousness of such things
as in everyday life are thought evils and troubles to
be shunned, while he enlarges upon and beautifies
by his eloquence whatever is commonly deemed
delectable and worthy to be desired : and he does
not wish to appear so completely a sage among fools,
as to have his hearers either regarding him as a
157
CICERO
illum ineptum et Graeculum putent ; aut, etiamsi
valde probent ingenium oratoris, sapientiam ad-
222 mirentur, se esse stultos moleste ferant : sed ita
peragrat per animos hominum, ita sensus mentesque
pertractat, ut non desideret philosophorum descrip-
tiones, neque exquirat oratione, summum illud
bonum in animone sit, an in corpore ; virtute an
voluptate definiatur ; an haec inter se iungi copulari-
que possint ; an vero, ut quibusdam visum, nihil
certum sciri, nihil plane cognosci et percipi possit.
Quarum rerum fateor magnam multiplicemque esse
discipUnam, et multas, copiosas variasque rationes ;
sed aliud quiddam, longe aliud, Crasse, quaerimus.
223 Acuto homine nobis opus est, et natura usuque
callido, qui sagaciter pervestiget, quid sui cives, eique
homines, quibus aliquid dicendo persuadere velit,
cogitent, sentiant, opinentur, exspectent.
LII. Teneat oportet venas cuiusque generis, aeta-
tis, ordinis, et eorum, apud quos ahquid aget, aut erit
224 acturus, mentes sensusque degustet ; philosophorum
autem hbros reservet sibi ad huiuscemodi Tusculani
requiem atque otium, ne, si quando ei dicendum erit
de iustitia et fide, mutuetur a Platone ; qui, cum
haec exprimenda verbis arbitraretur, novam quam-
dam finxit in libris civitatem : usque eo illa, quae
dicenda de iustitia putabat, a vitae consuetudine et
225 a civitatum moribus abhorrebant. Quod si ea pro-
158
DE ORATORE, I. li. 221— lii. 225
clumsy Greekling, or for all their approval of the
orator's talent and astonishment at his wisdom, yet
222 taking it ill that they themselves are foolish : but
in such way does he range over men's souls, and
explore their feelings and thoughts, that he needs
no philosophers' definitions, and does not inquire in
his discourse whether ' the supreme good ' is sub-
jective or objective, whether it is to be defined as
virtue or pleasure, or whether these two can be
wedded together, or, to be sure, whether, as some
have thought, nothing can be known for certain,
nothing clearly understood and apprehended. On
these questions I admit that the teaching is abund-
ant and manifold, and the theories numerous, copious
and varied ; but we, Crassus, are looking for some-
223 thing difFerent, and widely different. We require a
man of sharpness, ingenious by nature and experience
alike, who with keen scent will track down the
thoughts, feelings, beliefs and hopes of his fellow-
citizens and of any men whom on any issue he would
fain win over by his word.
LII. " He ought to feel the pulses of every class, hedoegnot
time of life, and degree, and to taste the thoughts p^^jJJ^ophy.
and feelings of those before whom he is pleading or
224 intending to plead any cause ; but his philosophical
books he should keep back for a restful holiday, such
as this one of ours at Tusculum, so as not to borrow
from Plato, if ever he has to speak of justice and
righteousness ; for Plato, when he thought fit to put
these things into writing, depicted in his pages an
unknown sort of republic, so completely in contrast
with everyday life and the customs of human com-
munities were his considered statements concerning
225 justice. But if his ideas were approved in real
159
CICERO
barentur in populis atque in civitatibus, quis tibi,
Crasse, concessisset, clarissimo viro, et amplissimo
principi civitatis, ut illa diceres in maxima concione
tuorum civium, quae dixisti ? * Eripite nos ex miseriis,
eripite nos ex faucibus eorum, quorum crudelitas
nostro sanguine non potest expleri ; nolite sinere nos
cuiquam servire, nisi vobis universis, quibus et pos-
sumus et debemus.' Omitto ' miserias,' in quibus,
ut illi aiunt, vir fortis esse non potest ; omitto
' fauces,' ex quibus te eripi vis, ne iudicio iniquo
exsorbeatur sanguis tuus ; quod sapienti negant
accidere posse ; ' servire ' vero non modo te, sed
universum Senatum, cuius tum causam agebas, ausus
es dicere ?
226 Potestne virtus, Crasse, servire, istis auctoribus,
quorum tu praecepta oratoris facultate complecteris ?
Quae et semper, et sola libera est, quaeque, etiamsi
corpora capta sint armis, aut constricta vinculis,
tamen suum ius, atque omnium rerum impunitam
libertatem tenere debeat. Quae vero addidisti, non
modo Senatum servire ' posse ' populo, sed etiam
' debere,' quis hoc philosophus tam mollis, tam
languidus, tam enervatus, tam omnia ad voluptatem
corporis doloremque referens, probare posset, Sena-
tum servire populo, cui populus ipse moderandi et
regendi sui potestatem, quasi quasdam habenas,
tradidisset ?
160
DE ORATORE, I. lii. 225-226
nations and States, who would have allowed you,
Crassus, for all your high reputation, and all your
splendour as a pohtical leader, to expres^ yourself
as you did before a densely crowded assembly ot
your fellow-citizens ? ' Dehver us out of our woes,
dehver us out of the jaws of those whose ferocity
cannot get its fill of our blood ; sufFer us not to be
in bondage to any, save to yourselves as a nation,
whose slaves we can and ought to be.' I pass over
* woes,' in which, according to the philosophers,
the brave can never become involved ; I pass over
' jaws,' out of which you desire to be dehvered, for
fear of your blood being sucked out of you by an un-
just judgement, a thing which they say cannot befall
the wise ; but ' slavery,' did you dare to say that not
yourself only, but the entire Senate, whose interests
you were that day upholding, could be slaves ?
226 " Can Virtue be a slave, Crassus, according to those
authorities of yours, whose maxims you include
within the range of the orator's knowledge ? She
who for ever and alone is free, and who, though the
body be made prisoner of war or bound with chains,
ought still to hold fast to her own rights and un-
restricted freedom in all things ! And as for your
further pronouncement, that the Senate not only
' can ' but actually * ought to ' be the slaves of
the nation, could any philosopher be so unmanly,
spiritless and weak, so resolved to make physical
pleasure and pain the standard of everything, as
to approve of this suggestion that the Senate is in
bondage to the nation, when it is to the Senate that
the nation itself has committed the power of con-
troUing and guiding it, as some driver might hand
over his reins ?
161
CICERO
227 LIII. Itaque haec cum a te divinitus ego dicta
arbitrarer, P. Rutilius Rufus, homo doctus, et philo-
sophiae deditus, non modo parum commode, sed
etiam turpiter et flagitiose dicta esse dicebat. Idem-
que Servium Galbam, quem hominem probe com-
meminisse se aiebat, pergraviter reprehendere
solebat, quod is, L. Scribonio quaestionem in eum
ferente, populi misericordiam concitasset, cum
M. Cato, Galbae gravis atque acer inimicus, aspere
apud populum Romanum et vehementer esset locu-
tus, quam orationem in Originibus suis exposuit ipse.
228 Reprehendebat igitur Galbam RutiUus, quod is
C. Sulpicii GalU, propinqui sui, Quintum pupillum
fiUum ipse paene in humeros suos extuUsset, qui
patris clarissimi recordatione et memoria fletum
populo moveret, et duos fiUos suos parvos tutelae
populi commendasset, ac se, tanquam in procinctu
testamentum faceret, sine Ubra atque tabuUs, popu-
lum Romanum tutorem instituere dixisset illorum
orbitati. Itaque cum et invidia et odio popuU tum
Galba premeretur, his quoque eum tragoediis Ubera-
tum ferebat ; quod item apud Catonem scriptum
esse video, ' nisi pueris et lacrimis usus esset, poenas
eum daturum fuisse.' Haec RutiUus valde vitupera-
bat, et huic humiUtati, dicebat vel exsiUum fuisse,
229 ^^^ mortem anteponendam. Neque vero hoc solum
162
DE ORATORE, I. liii. 227-229
227 LIII. " Andso,althoughIpersonal]ythoughtthese indeed
words of yours inspired, Publius Rutilius Rufus, a P^'i°f°phy
f 1 • 11 1 1.1 1 1 migntdis-
man oi learning and devoted to philosophy, used approve of
to say they were not only wanting in diseretion, but i^veHnes^of"
positively unseemly and disgraceful. He it was who pieading.
used also to censure very severely Servius Galba,
whom he claimed to remember well, for having
worked upon the compassion of the assembly, when
Lucius Scribonius was moving for his prosecution,
after Marcus Cato, a troublesome and bitter foe to
Galba, had harangued the Roman people in a rough
and violent strain : this speech Cato hiraself has
recorded in his Early History.
228 " As I was saying, Rutilius used to find fault with
Galba, for having almost hoisted on to his shoulders,
v/ith his own hands, his ward Quintus, the son of
his near relative Gaius Sulpicius Gallus, so that his
appearance might set the assembly a-weeping, by
recalling the memory of his most illustrious father ;
and for having committed two small sons of his own
to the guardianship of the nation ; and for having
proclaimed, like a soldier making his will under arms,
without scales or tablets, that he appointed the
Roman people to be their guardians in their father-
less plight. The result, according to Rutilius, was
that Galba, though at that time weighed down by
popular ill-will and hatred, actually secured an
acquittal by means of these histrionics, and I also
find the incident recorded in Cato's book, with the
comment that ' but for his employment of boys and
blubbering, the accused would have got his deserts.'
These methods Rutilius used roundly to condemn,
affirming that banishment or death itself was better
229 than such abjectness. Nor was this mere talk on
163
CICERO
dixit, sed ipse et sensit, et fecit. Nam cum esset
ille vir exemplum, ut scitis, innocentiae, cumque
illo nemo neque integrior esset in civltate, neque
sanctior, non modo supplex iudicibus esse noluit, sed
ne ornatius quidem, aut liberius causam dici suam,
quam simplex ratio veritatis ferebat. Paulum huic
Cottae tribuit partium, disertissimo adolescenti,
sororis suae filio. Dixit item causam illam quadam
ex parte Q. Mucius, more suo, nuUo apparatu, pure
et dilucide.
230 Quod si tu tunc, Crasse, dixisses, qui subsidium
oratori ex illis disputationibus quibus philosophi
utuntur, ad dicendi copiam petendum esse paulo
ante dicebas ; et, si tibi pro P. Rutilio non philo-
sophorum more, sed tuo licuisset dicere : quamvis
scelerati illi fuissent, sicuti fuerunt, pestiferi cives,
supplicioque digni ; tamen omnem eorum impor-
tunitatem ex intimis mentibus evellisset vis orationis
tuae. Nunc talis vir amissus est, dum causa ita
dicitur, ut si in illa commentitia Platonis civitate res
ageretur. Nemo ingemuit, nemo inclamavit patro-
norum, nihil cuiquam doluit, nemo est questus, nemo
rempublicam imploravit, nemo supphcavit. Quid
multa ? pedem nemo in illo iudicio supplosit, credo,
ne Stoicis renuntiaretur.
231 LIV. Imitatus est homo Romanus et consularis
veterem illum Socratem, qui, cum omnium sapientis-
simus esset sanctissimeque vixisset, ita in iudicio
164
DE ORATORE, I. liii. 229— liv. 231
his part, but he meant what he said, and acted upon
it himself. For though, as you know, that great
man was a pattern of righteousness, and there was
no more honourable and blameless individual in the
community, he dechned not only to crave mercy of
his judges, but also to be defended more eloquently
or elaborately than the plain truth of the matter
permitted. To Cotta here, though a highly accom-
plished young man and his sister's son, he allotted
but a fragment of his case. Quintus Mucius too
argued a part of it in his own way, with no trappings,
his diction simple and crystal-clear.
230 " But had you spoken that day, Crassus, — you who
were saying just now that the orator must have
recourse to the ordinary debates of the philosophers
for the material of his speeches, — and had you been
allowed to plead for Pubhus Rutihus, in no philo-
sophic style but in your own, then, even though
those judges had been, — as they were — , accursed
and pernicious men deserving of death, the power of
your eloquence would none the less have rent away
all savagery from the bottom of their hearts. As
matters stand, a man of such quality has been lost,
through his case being conducted as if the trial had
been taking place in that ideal repubhc of Plato.
None of his counsel groaned or shrieked, none was
pained at anything, or made any complaint, or
invoked the State, or humbled himself. In a word,
not one of them stamped a foot during those pro-
ceedings, for fear, no doubt, of being reported to the
Stoics.
231 LIV. " Thus did a Roman of consular rank foUow Theinstance
the example of great Socrates of old who, as he of Socrates.
was the wisest of all men, and had lived the most
165
CICERO
capitis pro se ipse dixit, ut non supplex aut reus, sed
magister, aut dominus videretur esse iudicum. Quin
etiam, cum ei scriptam orationem disertissimus
orator Lysias attulisset, quam, si ei videretur, edis-
ceret, ut ea pro se in iudicio uteretur, non invitus
legit, et commode scriptam esse dixit : ' Sed,' inquit,
' ut, si mihi calceos Sicyonios attulisses, non uterer,
quamvis essent habiles et apti ad pedem, quia non
essent viriles ; sic illam orationem disertam sibi et
oratoriam videri, fortem et virilem non videri.' Ergo
ille quoque damnatus est ; neque solum primis sen-
tentiis, quibus tantum statuebant iudices, damnarent,
an absolverent, sed etiam iUis, quas itenmi legibus
232 ferre debebant. Erat enim Athenis, reo damnato,
si fraus capitahs non esset, quasi poenae aestimatio ;
et sententia cum iudicibus daretur, interrogabatur
reus, quam quasi aestimationem commeruisse se
maxime confiteretur. Quod cum interrogatus So-
crates esset, respondit, sese meruisse, ut amplissimis
honoribus et praemiis decoraretur, et ei victus quoti-
dianus in Prytaneo pubhce praeberetur ; qui honos
233 apud Graecos maximus habetur. Cuius responso
sic iudices exarserunt, ut capitis hominem innocen-
tissimum condemnarent. Qui quidem si absolutus
esset ; quod mehercule, etiamsi nihil ad nos pertinet,
tamen propter eius ingenii magnitudinem vellem i
quonam modo istos philosophos ferre possemus, qui
166
DE ORATORE, I. liv. 231-233
blameless of lives, defended himself in person, when
indicted on a capital charge, in such fashion as
to seem no submissive prisoner, but the teacher or
domestic superior of his judges. Indeed on Lysias,
a most accomphshed orator, bringing him a written
speech, to be committed to memory, if he thought
proper, for use in his defence at his trial, he read
it not unwillingly, and said it was aptly phrased :
' But,' quoth he, ' just as, if you had brought me a
pair of Sicyonian half-boots, were they never so easy
and well-fitting, I should reject them as womanish,
even so I think your speech is skilful oratory but
not the utterance of a brave man.' And so he too
was condemned, not only at the first count, when the
tribunal merely determined the issue of conviction
or acquittal, but also on the further vote which they
232 were bound by law to give. For at Athens, on a
defendant being convicted of an offence carrying no
fixed penalty, something like an appraisement of
hability was made and, when the judges' vote was
being taken, the accused was asked what was the
highest assessment, as it were, that he owned to
having thoroughly merited. When this question
was put to Socrates he replied that he had earned
the distinction of the most splendid preferments and
rewards, with provision for him, at the public expense,
of daily sustenance in the Hall of the Presidents, this
being rated among the Greeks as the highest of
233 honours. His answer so incensed the tribunal that
they condemned a perfectly blameless man to death.
Had he indeed been acquitted, as I devoutly wish he
had been, — not that it is any business of ours — but
for the sake of his vast genius, how could we ever
endure your philosophers, who even as it is, with
167
CICERO
nunc, cum ille damnatus est, nullam aliam ob cul-
pam, nisi propter dicendi inscientiam, tamen a se
oportere dicunt peti praecepta dicendi ? Quibuscum
ego non pugno, utrum sit melius, aut verius : tantum
dico, et aliud illud esse, atque hoc, et hoc sine illo
summum esse posse.
234 LV. Nam quod ius civile, Crasse, tam vehementer
amplexus es, video, quid egeris. Tum, cum dicebas,
videbam. Primum Scaevolae te dedisti, quem omnes
amare meritissimo pro eius eximia suavitate de-
bemus : cuius artem cum indotatam esse et incom-
ptam videres, verborum eam dote locupletasti et
ornasti. Deinde quod in ea tu plus operae laborisque
consumpseras, cum eius studii tibi et hortator et
magister esset domi, veritus es, nisi istam artem
oratione exaggerasses, ne operam perdidisses.
235 Sed ego ne cum ista quidem arte pugno. Sit sane
tanta, quantam tu illam esse vis. Etenim sine con-
troversia et magna est, et late patet, et ad multos
pertinet, et summo in honore semper fuit, et claris-
simi cives ei studio etiam hodie praesunt. Sed vide,
Crasse, ne, dum novo et alieno ornatu velis ornare
iuris civilis scientiam, suo quoque eam concesso et
23g tradito spolies atque denudes. Nam, si ita diceres,
qui iurisconsultus esset, esse eum oratorem, itemque
qui esset orator, iuris eimidem esse consultum : prae-
168
DE ORATORE, I. liv. 233— Iv. 236
their Master condemned solely for the ofFence of
inexperience in oratory, yet tell us that it is from
themselves that the rules of eloquence ought to be
sought ? For my part I have no quarrel with them
as to which of these faculties is the better or more
real ; I simply say that theirs and ours are two
distinct things, and that consummate eloquence can
exist quite apart from philosophy.
234 LV. " For I see now, Crassus, the purpose of your Nordoesthe
so ardent afFection for the common law. Indeed I ^^^know^
saw it as you were speaking. First you did service ledgeof law.
to Scaevola, whom we are all most justly bound to
love for his exceeding great courtesy : seeing his
Art to be portionless and unadorned, you have en-
riched and decorated her with the dower of diction.
Secondly, having squandered upon her too much
work and labour, since you had at home an encourager
and instructor in that pursuit, you were afraid that,
unless you glorified that Art of yours by eloquence,
you would have lost your labour.
235 " But I myself have no quarrel with this art of yours
either. By all means let it be of such consequence
as you would have it be. For indisputably it is a
noble art, extending far and wide and touching
the concerns of many, while it has ever been held
in the highest repute, and even now the most illus-
trious citizens are the leaders in that field. But see
to it, Crassus, that, in your desire to deck out the
science of common law in new-fangled and foreign
apparel, you do not at the same time despoil and strip
her of what has been confirmed to her and made her
236 own. For if you were to put it in this way, that the
man learned in the law is an orator, and likewise the
orator is one learned in the law, you would be setting
o 169
CICERO
claras duas artes constitueres, atque inter se pares, et
eiusdem socias dignitatis. Nunc vero, iurisconsultum
sine hac eloquentia, de qua quaerimus, fateris esse
posse, fuisseque plurimos ; oratorem negas, nisi illam
scientiam assumpserit, esse posse. Ita est tibi iuris-
consultus ipse per se nihil, nisi leguleius quidam
cautus et acutus, praeco actionum, cantor formula-
rum, auceps syllabarum ; sed quia saepe utitur orator
subsidio iuris in causis, idcirco istam iuris scientiam
eloquentiae, tanquam ancillulam pedisequamque,
adiunxisti.
237 LVI. Quod vero impudentiam admiratus es eorum
patrononmi, qui aut, cum parva nescirent, magna
profiterentur, aut ea, quae maxima essent in iure
civili, tractare auderent in causis, cum ea nescirent,
nunquamque didicissent ; utriusque rei facilis est et
prompta defensio. Nam neque illud est mirandum,
qui, quibus verbis coemptio fiat, nesciat, eumdem eius
muheris, quae coemptionem fecerit, causam posse de-
fendere ; nec si parvi navigii et magni eadem est in
gubernando scientia, idcirco qui, quibus verbis erctum
cieri oporteat, nesciat, idem herciscundae famihae
238 causam agere non possit. Nam, quod maximas cen-
tumvirales causas in iure positas protulisti : quae
tandem earum causa fuit, quae ab homine eloquenti,
iuris imperito, non ornatissime potuerit dici ? Quibus
170
DE ORATORE, I. Iv. 236— Ivi. 238
up two glorious arts, on an equality with each other,
and partners in one grandeur. But as it is you
admit that a man may be learned in the law without
possessing this eloquence which we are investigating,
and that many such have appeared ; while you deny
the possibility of the existence of an orator who has
not acquired that legal knowledge as well. So by
your account the learned lawyer, in and by himself,
is nothing but a circumspect and sharp kind of petti-
fogger, a crier of legal actions, a chanter of legal
formulas, a trapper of syllables ; but, because the
orator in Court often employs the aid of the law, you
have therefore associated your legal knowledge with
Eloquence, as a Uttle maid to follow at her heels.
237 LVI. " But as for your wondering at the shameless- indeedoftei
ness of those counsel who either made great pro- uncertain'
fessions, though ignorant of small details, or dared
to handle in Court the highest topics of common law,
though they knew nothing about them, and had
never studied them, there is a simple and obvious
excuse in each case. For there is nothing marvellous
in a man, who is ignorant of the formaUties of
marriage by purchase, being none the less able to
conduct the case of a woman married in that manner ;
nor, because the same kind of skill is exercised in
steering a Uttle craft as a large vessel, does it
foUow that he, who does not know the technical
phrases required for the division of an inheritance,
cannot conduct a suit for the partition of an estate.
238 Why ! to take your own citations of most important
proceedings before the Hundred Commissioners,
which turned upon questions of law, which of those
cases, pray, could not have been most handsomely
argued by a man of eloquence unversed in law ?
171
CICERO
quidem in causis omnibus, sicut in ipsa M*. Curii, quae
abs te nuper est dicta, et in C. Hostilii Mancini con-
troversia, atque in eo puero, qui ex altera natus erat
uxore, non remisso nuntio superiori, fuit inter peritis-
239 simos homines summa de iure dissensio. Quaero
igitur, quid adiuverit oratorem in his causis iuris
scientia, cum hic iurisconsultus superior fuerit dis-
cessurus, qui esset non suo artificio, sed alieno, hoc
est, non iuris scientia, sed eloquentia, sustentatus.
Equidem hoc saepe audivi, cum aedilitatem P.
Crassus peteret, eumque maior natu, etiam consularis,
Ser. Galba assectaretur, quod Crassi filiam Gaio filio
suo despondisset, accessisse ad Crassum consulendi
causa quemdam rusticanum : qui cum Crassum sedu-
xisset, atque ad eum rettulisset, responsumque ab eo
verum magis, quam ad suam rem accommodatum abs-
tulisset ; ut eum tristem Galba vidit, nomine appel-
lavit, quaesivitque, qua de re ad Crassum rettulisset.
240 Ex quo ut audivit, commotumque ut vidit hominem,
' Suspenso,' inquit, * animo et occupato Crassum tibi
respondisse video ' : deinde ipsum Crassum manu pre-
hendit, et, * Heus tu,' inquit, ' quid tibi in mentem
venit ita respondere .'' ' Tum ille fidenter, homo peritis-
simus, confirmare, ita se rem habere, ut respondisset ;
nec dubium esse posse. Galba autem alludens varie,
et copiose, multas similitudines afFerre, multaque pro
172
DE ORATORE, I. Ivi. 2S8-240
Indeed in all those suits, as in that very one of
Manius Curius, recently conducted by yourself, and
in the dispute over Gaius Hostilius Mancinus, and
again in the matter of the boy born of the second
wife, before her predecessor had received notice of
divorce, dissent as to the law was complete in the
239 most learned circles. I ask then, of what service and then it
was legal knowledge to an advocate in those cases, thft*wiM!''*
when that learned lawyer was bound to come ofF
victorious, who had been upheld, not by his own
dexterity but by a stranger's, that is to say, not by
legal knowledge but by eloquence ?
" Often too have I heard how, when Publius Crassus
was a candidate for the aedileship, and Servius Galba,
his senior and a past consul, was in attendance upon
him, having arranged a marriage between his son
Gaius and the daughter of Crassus, a certain country-
man approached Crassus to obtain his opinion : he
took Crassus apart and laid the facts before him, but
brought away from him advice that was more correct
than conformable to his interest ; whereupon Galba,
noting his chagrin, accosted him by name, inquiring
what the question was on which he had consulted
240 Crassus. Having heard the cHent's tale and ob-
serving his agitation, ' I see,' said he, * that Crassus
was preoccupied and distracted when he advised
you ' : he then seized Crassus himself by the hand
and asked, ' How now, what ever entered your
head to suggest such an opinion ? ' Upon this the
other, with the assurance of profound knowledge,
repeated that the position was as he had advised
and the point unarguable. Galba however, sportively
and with varied and manifold illustrations, brought
forward a number of analogies, and urged many
173
CICERO
aequitate contra ius dicere ; atque illum, cum dis-
serendo par esse non posset — quanquam fuit Crassus
in numero disertorum, sed par Galbae nullo modo — ,
ad auctores confugisse, et id, quod ipse diceret, et in
P. Mucii, fratris sui, libris, et in Sext. Aelii commen-
tariis scriptum protulisse, ac tamen concessisse,
Galbae disputationem sibi probabilem et prope veram
videri.
241 LVII. Attamen, quae causae sunt eiusmodi, ut de
earum iure dubium esse non possit, omnino in iudi-
cium vocari non solent. Num quis eo testamento,
quod paterfamilias ante fecit, quam ei filius natus
esset, hereditatem petit ? Nemo ; quia constat, ag-
nascendo rumpi testamentum. Ergo in hoc genere
iuris iudicia nulla sunt. Licet igitur impune oratori
omnem hanc partem iuris incontroversi ignorare,
242 quae pars sine dubio multo maxima est : in eo autem
iure, quod ambigitur inter peritissimos, non est dif-
ficile oratori, eius partis, quamcumque defendat,
auctorem aliquem invenire ; a quo cum amentatas
hastas acceperit, ipse eas oratoris lacertis viribusque
torquebit. Nisi vero — bona venia huius optimi viri
dixerim, Scaevolae — tu Hbelhs aut praeceptis soceri
tui, causam M'. Curii defendisti. Nonne arripuisti
patrocinium aequitatis et defensionem testamen-
torum, ac voluntatis mortuorum .'*
243 Ac mea quidem sententia — frequens enim te audivi,
atque adfui — multo maiorem partem sententiarum sale
" These were javelins with a slinging-strap to help the
thrower.
174
DE ORATORE, I. Ivi. 240— Ivii. 243
considerations in favour of equity as against rigid
law, and it is related that Crassus, being no match
for him in discussion — though ranked among the
accomplished, Crassus came nowhere near Galba — ,
took refuge in authorities, and pointed out his own
statement both in the works of his brother Publius
Mucius, and in the text-book of Sextus Aelius, yet
after all admitted that Galba's argument seemed to
him persuasive, and very near the truth.
241 LVII. " And yet those cases which are such that
the law involved in them is beyond dispute, do not
as a rule come to a hearing at all. Does anyone
claim an inheritance under a will made by the head
of a household before the birth of a son of his ? No
one ; since it is settled law that the will is revoked by
such subsequent birth. Thus there are no judicial
decisions on this branch of the law. And so the
orator may safely disregard all this region of un-
questionable law, being as it certainly is by far the
242 larger portion of the science : while, as for the law
which is unsettled in the most learned circles, it is
easy enough for him to find some authority in favour
of whichever side he is supporting, and, having
obtained a supply of thonged shafts " from him, he
himself will hurl these with all the might of an
orator's arm. Unless indeed (let me say this by
the kind indulgence of our excellent friend here
Scaevola) it was by means of the works and maxims
of your father-in-law that you argued the case for
Manius Curius ? Did you not rather snatch at the
chance of protecting righteousness and upholding
last wills and the intentions of dead men ?
243 " And in my opinion, at any rate, — for I often heard
you and was at your elbow — , it was by your wit and
175
CICERO
tuo, et lepore, et politissimis facetiis pellexisti, cum
et illud nimium acumen illuderes, et admirarere in-
genium Scaevolae, qui excogitasset, nasci prius opor-
tere, quam emori ; cumque multa colligeres, et ex
legibus et ex senatusconsultis, et ex vita ac sermone
communi, non modo acute, sed etiam ridicule ac
facete, ubi si verba, non rem sequeremur, confici nil
posset. Itaque hilaritatis plenum iudicium ac laeti-
tiae fuit : in quo quid tibi iuris civilis exercitatio
profuerit, non intellego ; dicendi vis egregia, summa
festivitate et venustate coniuncta, profuit.
244 Ipse ille Mucius, paterni iuris defensor, et quasi
patrimonii propugnator sui, quid in illa causa, cum
contra te diceret, attulit, quod de iure civili deprom-
ptum videretur ? quam legem recitavit ? quid pate-
fecit dicendo, quod fuisset imperitis occultius ?
Nempe eius omnis oratio versata est in eo, ut scriptum
plurimum valere oportere defenderet. At in hoc
genere pueri apud magistros exercentur omnes,
cum in eiusmodi causis alias scriptum, ahas aequi-
tatem defendere docentur.
245 Et, credo, in illa mihtis causa, si tu aut heredem,
aut mihtem defendisses, ad Hostihanas te actiones,
non ad tuam vim et oratoriam facultatem contuhsses !
" See § 175, supra.
* A work otherwise unknown.
176
DE ORATORE, I. Ivii. 243-245
charm and highly refined pleasantries that you won
the vast majority of your verdicts, vehile you vv^ere
mocking at that over-subtlety of Scaevola's, and
marvelling at his clevemess in having thought out
the proposition that a man must be born before he
can die ; and while, amusingly and with a sense of
humour, as well as shrewdly, you were adducing
numerous examples, gathered from statutes and
senatorial ordinances, and also from everyday life
and conversation, in which our pursuit of the letter
instead of the spirit would lead to no result. And
so the Court was fiUed with gaiety and delight : but
of what avail your practice in the common law was to
you in these proceedings I cannot see ; it was your
surpassing power of eloquence, in union with consum-
mate cheerfulness and grace, that proved of service.
" That very Mucius, upholder of his ancestral
science, and champion, as it were, of his hereditary
rights, — what argument did he introduce in that
case wherein he was opposed to you, which sounded
hke a borrowing from common law ? What statute
did he read over ? What did he reveal in his speech
that would have been too obscure for the uninitiated ?
Surely his entire address was concerned vdth the one
contention that the written word ought to prevail to
the uttermost. Yet it is in this kind of thing that
all students are trained in the schools, when in mock
trials of this kind they are taught to uphold in turn
the written word and true equity.
" I presume too that, in The Soldiers Case,'^ if you
had been counsel for the heir or for the soldier,
you would have betaken yourself to Precedents in
Pleading ^ by Hostilius, and not to the force of your
own ability in oratory ! On the contrary, if you
177
CICERO
Tu vero, vel si testamentum defenderes, sic ageres, ut
omne omnium testamentorum ius in eo iudicio posi-
tum videretur ; vel si causam ageres militis, patrem
eius, ut soles, dicendo a mortuis excitasses ; sta-
tuisses ante oculos ; complexus esset filium, flensque
eum centumviris commendasset ; lapides mehercule
omnes flere ac lamentari coegisset : ut totum illud,
Uti lingua nuncupassit, non in Duodecim Tabulis,
quas tu omnibus bibliothecis anteponis, sed in magi-
stri carmine scriptum videretur.
246 LVIII. Nam quod inertiam accusas adolescentium,
qui istam artem, primum facillimam, non ediscant ;
quae quam sit facihs, ilU viderint, qui eius artis
arrogantia, quasi difficillima sit, ita subnixi ambulant,
deinde etiam tu ipse videris, qui eam artem facilem
esse dicis, quam concedis adhuc artem omnino non
esse, sed aliquando, si quis aliam artem didicerit, ut
hanc artem efficere possit, tum esse illam artem
futuram : deinde, quod sit plena delectationis ; in
quo tibi remittunt omnes istam voluptatem, et ea se
carere patiuntur ; nec quisquam est eorum, qui, si
iam sit ediscendum sibi aliquid, non Teucrum Pacuvii
maht quam Manihanas venahum vendendorum leges
247 ediscere. Tum autem, quod amore patriae censes
" See Remains of Old Latin (L.C.L.), iii. pp. 456-457.
» Jbid. ii. pp. 286 303.
178
DE ORATORE, I. Ivii. 245— Iviii. 247
had been propounding the will, you would have so
managed matters that the entire security of every
will would have seemed to be staked on the issue of
those proceedings ; and, if you had been appearing
for the soldier, you would by your eloquence, in
your usual way, have called up his father from the
shades ; you would have set him in sight of all ; he
would have embraced his son and tearfuUy committed
him to the care of the Hundred Commissioners ; I
pledge my word he would have made every stone
weep and wail, with the result that the whole section
beginning * As the tongue hath proclaimed it ' would
have seemed no part of the Twelve Tables," which
you rate higher than all the Ubraries, but just a piece
of moraUzing doggerel by some professor.
246 LVIII. " For as to your indictment of the young for Qiven a
their laziness, in that they do not commit to memory kno\^edge
that art of yours, its exceeding simpUcity being your ofiaw,
first point, I leave the question of its simpUcity to points can
those who parade about in the haughty assurance D^i°<'J'®<i
imparted by this art, just as though it were ex-
tremely difficult, and do you yourself see to this,
who describe an art as simple which by your own
admission is not yet an art at all, but some day,
should somebody have learned another art, and so
be able to make an art of this one, will then become
an art : secondly you urge its copious deUghts, in
which respect they all resign in your favour this
pleasure of yours, and are content themselves to go
without it, nor is there a man among them who, if
ever he had to learn some work by heart, would not
choose for that purpose the Teucer * of Pacuvius
247 rather than ManiUus's Conditions of Sale. Taking
next your opinion that love of country obUges us
179
CICERO
nos nostrorum maiorum inventa nosse debere : non
vides, veteres leges aut ipsa sua vetustate consenuisse,
aut novis legibus esse sublatas ? Quod vero viros
bonos iure civili fieri putas, quia legibus et praemia
proposita sint virtutibus, et supplicia vitiis : equidem
putabam, virtutem hominibus — si modo tradi ratione
possit — instituendo et persuadendo, non minis, et vi,
ac metu tradi. Nam ipsum quidem illud, etiam sine
cognitione iuris, quam sit bellum, cavere malum,
scire possumus.
248 De me autem ipso, cui uni tu concedis, ut, sine ulla
iuris scientia, tamen causis satisfacere possim, tibl
hoc, Crasse, respondeo, neque me unquam ius civile
didicisse, neque tamen in eis causis, quas in iure pos-
sem defendere, unquam istam scientiam desiderasse.
Ahud est enim, esse artificem cuiusdam generis atque
artis, ahud in communi vita et vulgari hominum con-
249 suetudine nec hebetem, nec rudem. Cui nostrum
non hcet fundos nostros obire, aut res rusticas, vel
fructus causa, vel delectationis, invisere ? Tamen
nemo tam sine ocuhs, tam sine mente vivit, ut,
quid sit sementis ac messis, quid arborum putatio
ac vitium, quo tempore anni, aut quo modo ea
fiant, omnino nesciat. Num igitur, si cui fundus
inspiciendus, aut si mandandum ahquid procuratori
de agricultura, aut imperandum vihico sit, Magonis
Carthaginiensis sunt hbri perdiscendi ? An hac com-
muni inteUegentia contenti esse possumus ? Cur ergo
180
DE ORATORE, I. Iviii. 247-249
to get a knowledge of the devices of our ancestors,
do you not observe that the ancient statutes have
either sunk into the decrepitude of their old age,
or been repealed by modern legislation ? And as
for your behef that men are made good by the
common law, since by its rules prizes are oiFered
to virtue and punishments appointed for vice, I
certainly used to regard virtue as being taught to
mankind (assuming it to be methodically teachable
at all) by training and persuasion, not by threats,
and force and even terror. For thus much, at any
rate, we can learn even without legal study, namely,
how lovely a thing it is to eschew evil.
248 " Now as to myself, to whom alone you allow the
faculty of doing justice to my cases without any
legal knowledge, I give you this answer, Crassus,
that I never learned the common law, and yet never
felt the want of that knowledge in the suits I was
able to argue before the Praetor. For it is one thing
to be a craftsman in a specific subject and art, and
another to be no dullard or raw hand in social Bfe
249 and the general practices of mankind. Which of
us may not survey his estate or go to see his rural
concerns, whether in quest of profit or of amusement ?
Yet no one passes his days so bereft of sight and
sense as to be wholly ignorant of the nature of sowing
and reaping, or of the lopping of trees and pruning
of vines, or of the times of year for doing these things,
or of how they are done. If then some one of us has
occasion to look over his estate, or give some com-
mission to his agent, or order to his bailifF, on details
of husbandry, need he get by heart the volumes of
Mago of Carthage ? Or may we be satisfied with
our own mother-wit ? If so then, especially as we
181
CICERO
non eidem in iure civili, praesertim ciun in causis, et
in negotiis, et in foro conteramur, satis instructi esse
possumus ad hoc duntaxat, ne in nostra patria pere-
250 grini atque advenae esse videamur ? Ac si iam sit
causa aliqua ad nos delata obscurior, difficile, credo,
sit cum hoc Scaevola communicare ; quanquam ipsi
omnia, quorum negotium est, consulta ad nos et
exquisita deferunt. An vero si de re ipsa, si de
finibus, cum in rem praesentem non venimus, si de
tabulis, et perscriptionibus controversia est, contortas
res et saepe difficiles necessario perdiscimus : si leges
nobis, aut si hominum peritorum responsa cogno-
scenda sunt, veremur ne ea, si ab adolescentia iuri
civili minus studuerimus, non queamus cognoscere ?
LIX. Nihilne igitur prodest oratori iuris civilis
scientia ? Non possum negare prodesse uUam scien-
tiam, ei praesertim, cuius eloquentia copia rerum
debeat esse ornata ; sed multa, et magna, et difficilia
sunt ea, quae sunt oratori necessaria, ut eius indu-
striam in plura studia distrahere nolim.
261 Quis neget, opus esse oratori, in hoc oratorio motu
statuque, Roscii gestum et venustatem ? Tamen nemo
suaserit studiosis dicendi adolescentibus, in gestu di-
scendo histrionum more elaborare. Quid est oratori
tam necessarium, quam vox ? Tamen, me auctore,
nemo dicendi studiosus, Graecorimi more tragoe-
189
DE ORATORE, I. Iviii. 249— lix. 251
are worn out with legal and other business and with
public afFairs, why may we not likewise be well
enough equipped in common law, to the extent at
any rate of not seeming to be sojourners and strangers
250 in our own country ? And if some day an excep-
tionally doubtful case were submitted to us, it would
be quite easy, I suppose, to take counsel with Scae-
vola here ; although in fact the parties themselves,
whose affair it is, furnish us with all the professional
opinions and researches. If again the dispute relates
to a question of fact, or to boundaries, without our
having a view of the very spot, or to account-books
and entries, we are obliged to get up comphcated
and often troublesome matters : if we have to master
statutes, or the opinions of the learned in the law,
are we afraid of not being able to do so, just because,
from our youth upwards, our study of the common
law has been inadequate ?
LIX. " Is a knowledge of the common law, then,
useless to an orator ? I cannot assert that any
knowledge is useless, least of all to one whose
eloquence ought to be furnished with material in
plenty ; but the essential needs of an orator are
many and weighty and hard to come by, so that I
would not dissipate his energy over too wide a field
of study.
251 " Who would deny that in his movements and simiiariv
carriage the orator must have the bearing and ^eiivery
, o _ o cloes not re-
elegance oi Koscius ? Yet no one wiil urge young quirespeciai
devotees of eloquence to toil like actors at the study ^^^^^-
of gesture. What is so essential to an orator as
intonation ? Yet no devotee of eloquence will
become, by my advice, a slave to his voice, after
the manner of the Greek tragedians, who both
183
CICERO
dorum, voci serviet, qui et annos complures seden-
tes declamitant, et quotidie, antequam pronuntient,
vocem cubantes sensim excitant, eamdemque, cum
egerunt, sedentes ab acutissimo sono usque ad gravis-
simum sonum recipiunt, et quasi quodam modo
colligunt. Hoc nos si facere velimus, ante condem-
nentur ei, quorum causas receperimus, quam, toties,
quoties perscribitur, paeanem, aut nomionem^
citarimus.
252 Quod si in gestu, qui multum oratorem adiuvat, et
in voce, quae una maxime eloquentiam vel com-
mendat, vel sustinet, elaborare nobis non licet ; ac
tantum in utroque assequi possumus, quantum in hac
acie quotidiani muneris, spatii nobis datur : quanto
minus est ad iuris civilis perdiscendi occupationem
descendendum, quod et summatim percipi sine doc-
trina potest, et hanc habet ab illis rebus dissimilitu-
dinem, quod vox et gestus subito sumi et aliunde
arripi non potest ; iuris utilitas ad quamque causam,
quamvis repente, vel a peritis, vel de Ubris depromi
potest !
263 Itaque illi disertissimi homines ministros habent in
causis iuris peritos, cum ipsi sint peritissimi, et qui,
ut abs te paulo ante dictum est, pragmatici vocantur.
In quo nostri omnino melius multo, quod clarissimo-
rum hominum auctoritate leges et iura tecta esse
voluerunt. Sed tamen non fugisset hoc Graecos
homines, si ita necesse esse arbitrati essent, oratorem
^ nomionem (an invocation of 'AttoAAwv Nd/iios) is the con-
jectural emendation adopted by Kayser, Piderit, and others
for the various corruptions ofthe mss.
" The most eloquent Greek orators.
184
DE ORATORE, I. lix. 251-253
for many a year practise declamation from their
chairs, and every day, before their performance on
the stage, He down and gradually raise the voice,
and later, after playing their parts, take their seats,
and bring it back again from the highest treble
to the lowest bass, and in a way regain control of it.
If we had a fancy to do this, the parties whose cases
we had undertaken would lose their cases, before we
had recited our hymn or chant the regulation number
of times.
252 " But if we are not to work hard either at gesture,
a great help to an orator, or at intonation, that
singular and unrivalled recommendation and prop
of eloquence ; and if in each of these matters we
can attain only such proficiency as corresponds to
the leisure allowed us amid this array of daily duties ;
how much the less must we sink into becoming
engrossed with getting by heart the common law,
of which a general knowledge may be gained even
without instruction, and which bears this unhkeness
to those other things, that intonation and gesture
cannot be acquired all at once and caught up from
extemal sources, while anything in the law that is
of use for a particular case, may be fetched, as
hurriedly as you please, from experts or text-books !
253 "This is why those most accomplished speakers,*
for all their own profound skill, have with them in
Court assistants learned in the law, and these, as you
said a Uttle while ago, are called attorneys. In this
respect our own folk have done infinitely better, by
requiring the statutes and rules of law to be safe-
guarded by the influence of most illustrious men.
But after all, had they thought it necessary, this
idea of training the orator himself in the common
185
CICERO
ipsum erudire in iure civili, non ei pragmaticum
adiutorem dare.
254 LX. Nam quod dicis senectutem a solitudine vin-
dicari iuris civilis scientia : fortasse etiam pecuniae
magnitudine. Sed nos, non quid nobis utile, verum
quid oratori necessarium sit, quaerimus. Quanquam,
quoniam multa ad oratoris similitudinem ab uno
artifice sumimus, solet idem Roscius dicere, se, quo
plus sibi aetatis accederet, eo tardiores tibicinis
modos, et cantus remissiores esse facturum. Quod
si ille, astrictus certa quadam numerorum modera-
tione et pedum, tamen aliquid ad requiem senectutis
excogitat, quanto facilius nos non laxare modos, sed
266 totos mutare possumus ! Neque enim hoc te, Crasse,
fallit, quam multa sint, et quam varia genera dicendi,
et quod haud sciam, an tu primus ostenderis, qui
iamdiu multo dicis remissius et lenius, quam solebas ;
neque minus haec tamen tua gravissimi sermonis
lenitas, quam illa summa vis et contentio probatur :
multique oratores fuerunt, ut illum Scipionem audi-
mus, et Laelium, qui omnia sermone conficerent paulo
intentiore, nunquam, ut Ser. Galba, lateribus, aut
clamore contenderent. Quod si iam hoc facere non
poteris, aut noles : vereris, ne tua domus, talis et viri,
et civis, si a litigiosis hominibus non colatur, a ceteris
deseratur ? Equidem tantum absum ab ista sen-
18d
DE ORATORE, I. lix. 253— Ix. 255
law, instead of giving him an attorney to help him,
would not have failed to occur to the Greeks.
254 LX. " As for your theory that old age is redeemed oidagedoe»
from loneliness by a knowledge of the common law, ^nowildg?
possibly a large fortune will do as much. However oftheiawto
we are not investigating our own advantage, but the ^cupation.
essential needs of the orator. And yet, as we are
taking from a single artist a nimiber of details for
our hkeness of an orator, that same Roscius is fond
of saying, that, the older he grows, the slower he will
make the flute-player's rhythms and the Hghter the
music. Now if he, fettered as he is by a definite
system of measures and metres, is none the less
thinking out some relief for his old age, how much
more easily can we not merely slacken our methods,
265 but change them altogether ! For you cannot fail
to see, Crassus, how many and diverse are the styles
of oratory, a fact which I should ahnost think you
have been the first to make plain, who for a long time
have been speaking in a far lighter and calmer
fashion than was your wont ; though the present
serenity of your very dignified discourse finds as
ready acceptance as did your extreme energy and
passion of old : and there have been many orators
including, we are told, the famous Scipio and Laelius,
who obtained all their results by discourse little
more emphatic than the ordinary, and never strained
their lungs or shouted, as Servius Galba did. But
if some day you should be unable or unwilling to do
even this, are you afraid that the house of such a
man and citizen as yourself will be left desolate by
the rest of the community, just because it may no
longer be the shrine of the Htigious ? Truly I am
so far from agreeing with that view of yours, that I
187
CICERO
tentia, ut non modo non arbitrer subsidium senectutis
in eorum, qui consultum veniant, multitudine esse
ponendum, sed tanquam portum aliquem, exspectem
istam, quam tu times, solitudinem. Subsidium enim
bellissimum existimo esse senectuti, otium.
256 Reliqua vero etiamsi adiuvant, historiam dico, et
prudentiam iuris publici, et antiquitatis iter,^ et ex-
emplorum copiam, si quando opus erit, a viro optimo,
et istis rebus instructissimo, familiari meo, Congo *
mutuabor. Neque repugnabo, quominus — id quod
modo hortatus es — omnia legant, omnia audiant, in
omni recto studio atque humanitate versentur : sed
mehercule non ita multum spatii mihi habere viden-
tur, si modo ea facere et persequi volent, quae a te,
Crasse, praecepta sunt ; qui mihi prope etiam nimis
duras leges imponere visus es huic aetati, sed tamen
ad id, quod cupiunt, adipiscendum prope necessarias.
257 Nam et subitae ad propositas causas exercitationes, et
accuratae, et meditatae commentationes, ac stylus ille
tuus, quem tu vere dixisti perfectorem dicendi esse ac
magistrum, multi sudoris est ; et illa orationis suae
cum scriptis alienis comparatio, et de alieno scripto
subita, vel laudandi, vel vituperandi, vel comprobandi,
vel refellendi causa, disputatio, non mediocris conten-
tionis est, vel ad memoriam, vel ad imitandum.
258 LXI. IUud vero fuit horribile, quod mehercule
vereor, ne maiorem vim ad deterrendum habuerit,
quam ad cohortandum. Voluisti enim in suo genere
^ scita Reid, memoriam Koch.
* Roth ; Longo (Longino edd.).
188
DE ORATORE, I. Ix. 255— Ixi. 258
not only do not think the prop of old age is to be
found in the multitude of those who come to seek
its counsel, but I look for that loneliness which you
dread, as I might for a haven. For I hold that the
finest prop of old age is its leisure.
256 " But the remaining acquirements, — useful as they Generai
are, — I am speaking of history, and a knowledge of gJJ^^gn^
public law, and the ways of the ancients, and a store
of precedents, — I shall borrow, if ever I need them,
from my friend Congus, an excellent man who is
thoroughly versed in these things. And I shall not
object to these young men reading and hstening
to everything, and busying themselves with every
fitting pursuit and with general culture — as you
advised just now — : but, I vow, they do not seem to
me to have so very much time to spare, provided
that they hope to accomplish and follow out all your
bidding, Crassus ; for I thought that the conditions
you imposed were rather too rigorous for their time
of life, though possibly necessary for the attainment
257 of the end of their desire. Indeed the impromptu
exercises on problems set, the elaborate and con-
sidered reflections, and your practice of Avritten
composition, which you justly called the finishing
schoolmaster of eloquence, all demand much toil ;
and that comparison of the student's own disserta-
tion with the writings of others, and the unprepared
estimate of another's work, by way of praise or
disparagement, approval or refutation, involve excep-
tional efForts of memory and of the imitative faculty
as well.
258 LXI. " Then that further claim of yours was terri-
fying, and upon my word I am afraid that its effect
will be to deter rather than encourage. For you
189
CICERO
unumquemque nostrum quasi quemdam esse Ro-
scium ; dixistique, non tam ea, quae recta essent,
probari, quam quae prava sunt fastidiis adhaerescere :
quod ego non tam fastidiose in nobis, quam in hi-
269 strionibus, spectari puto. Itaque nos raucos saepe
attentissime audiri video : tenet enim res ipsa atque
causa : at Aesopum, si paulum irrauserit, explodi. A
quibus enim nihil praeter voluptatem aurium quae-
ritur, in eis ofFenditur, simul atque imminuitur aliquid
de voluptate. In eloquentia autem multa sunt, quae
teneant ; quae si omnia summa non sunt — et pleraque
tamen magna sunt — necesse est, ea ipsa quae sunt,
mirabilia videri.
260 Ergo, ut ad primum illud revertar, sit orator nobis
is, qui, ut Crassus descripsit, accommodate ad per-
suadendum possit dicere. Is autem concludatur in
ea, quae sunt in usu civitatum vulgari ac forensi ;
remotisque ceteris studiis, quamvis ea sint ampla
atque praeclara, in hoc uno opere, ut ita dicam, noctes
et dies urgeatur ; imiteturque illum, cui sine dubio
summa vis dicendi conceditur, Atheniensem Demo-
sthenem, in quo tantum studium fuisse, tantusque
labor dicitur, ut primum impedimenta naturae dih-
gentia industriaque superaret : cumque ita balbus
esset, ut eius ipsius artis, cui studeret, primam lit-
teram non posset dicere, perfecit meditando, ut nemo
" For the great orator's ways of conquering his natural
handicaps see Schaefer's Demosthenea, vol. i. pp. 299-301 ;
Cicero, De Finibus v. 2. S ; PIutarch's Li/e of Demosthenes
(c 11); and Quintilian x. 3. 30.
* Rhetorica.
190
DE ORATORE, I. Ixi. 258-260
would have every man of us be a kind of Roscius in
his own line ; and you said that the approbation
accorded to the good points of a speech is short-
Uved in comparison with the enduring aversion
inspired by its shortcomings, whereas I hold that
the criticism of our oratory is less squeamish than
259 that directed upon actors. This explains why I see
that, even when hoarse, we are often listened to
with rapt attention, since the very fact of our hoarse-
ness and our case grip the audience : while Aesopus,
should he be a little husky, is hissed off the stage.
For, in those arts of which nothing is expected save
the gratification of the ear, offence is given directly
that gratification is at all weakened. But of oratory
the fascinating features are many, and even if all
are not there in perfection — still, most of them are
highly developed — , such as are actually present must
needs be thought marvellous.
260 " And so, to retum to our starting-point, let us take The import.
the orator to be, as Crassus defined him, a man who p^^^f ^
can speak in a way calculated to convince. But let
him be shut up within the sphere of the daily inter-
course and pubUc Ufe of bodies poUtic ; and forsaking
all other pursuits, be they as noble and glorious as
you please, let him press forward night and day
(so to speak) in this single vocation, and do as
the famous Athenian Demosthenes ^ did, whose pre-
eminence in oratory is unhesitatingly admitted, and
whose zeal and exertions are said to have been such
that at the very outset he surmounted natural
drawbacks by diUgent perseverance : and though at
first stuttering so badly as to be unable to pro-
nounce the initial R. of the name of the art of his
devotion,** by practice he made himself accounted as
191
CICERO
261 planius eo locutus putaretur ; deinde, cum spiritus
eius esset angustior, tantum continenda anima in
dicendo est assecutus, ut una continuatione verborum
— ^id quod eius scripta declarant — binae ei conten-
tiones vocis et remissiones continerentur ; qui etiam
— ^ut memoriae proditum est — , coniectis in os calculis,
summa voce versus multos uno spiritu pronuntiare
consuescebat ; neque is consistens in loco, sed in-
ambulans, atque ascensu ingrediens arduo.
262 Hisce ego cohortationibus, Crasse, ad studium et
ad laborem incitandos iuvenes vehementer assentior :
cetera, quae coUegisti ex variis et diversis studiis et
artibus, tametsi ipse es omnia consecutus, tamen ab
oratoris proprio officio atque munere seiuncta esse
arbitror.
LXII. Haec cum Antonius dixisset, sane dubitare
visus est Sulpicius, et Cotta, utrius oratio propius ad
263 veritatem videretur accedere. Tum Crassus : Opera-
rium nobis quemdam, Antoni, oratorem facis ; atque
haud scio, an aliter sentias, et utare tua illa mirifica
ad refellendum consuetudine, qua tibi nemo unquam
praestitit ; cuius quidem ipsius facultatis exercitatio
oratorum propria est, sed iam in philosophorum con-
suetudine versatur, maximeque eorum, qui de omni
re proposita in utramque partem solent copiosissime
264 dicere. Verum ego non solum arbitrabar, his prae-
sertim audientibus, a me informari oportere, quaUs
esse posset is, qui habitaret in subselhis, neque quid-
192
DE ORATORE, I. Ixi. 261— Ixii. 264
261 distinct a speaker as anyone ; later on, though his
breath was rather short, he succeeded so far in
making his breath hold during a speech, that a single
oratorical period — as his writings prove — covered two
risings and two fallings of tone ; moreover — as the tale
goes — ^it was his habit to sHp pebbles into his mouth,
and then declaim a number of verses at the top of
his voice and without drawing breath, and this not
only as he stood still, but while walking about, or
going up a steep slope.
262 " By encouragements of this sort, Crassus, I
thoroughly agree with you that the young should be
spurred on to severe application : all else that you
have brought together from various and dissimilar
pursuits and arts, though you yourself have attained
everything, I nevertheless regard as lying outside
the strict business and function of an orator."
LXII. At the conclusion of these observations of Adjoum-
Antonius, Sulpicius, and Cotta too, appeared to be ^bate^***
in grave doubt as to which of the two speakers'
discourses bore the closer resemblance to the truth.
263 Presently Crassus replied : " Antonius, you are
making our orator something of a mechanic ; and I
rather suspect you are really of a difFerent opinion,
and are gratifying that singular Uking of yours for
contradiction, in which no one has ever outdone you ;
the exercise of this power belongs pecuharly to
orators, though nowadays it is in regular use among
philosophers, and chiefly those who make a practice
of arguing at extreme length either for or against
264 any proposition whatever laid before them. Now
I did not think it my duty, especially before my
present audience, to dehneate only the possible
quality of such a speaker as would live in Court, and
193
CICERO
quam amplius afferret, quam quod causarum neces-
sitas postularet ; sed maius quiddam videbam, ciun
censebam, oratorem, praesertim in nostra republica,
nullius ornamenti expertem esse oportere. Tu autem,
quoniam exiguis quibusdam finibus totum oratoris
munus circumdedisti, hoc facilius nobis expones ea,
quae abs te de officiis praeceptisque oratoris quaesita
sunt : sed, opinor, secundum hunc diem. Satis enim
266 multa a nobis hodie dicta sunt. Nunc et Scaevola,
quoniam in Tusculanum ire constituit, paulum re-
quiescet, dum se calor frangat ; et nos ipsi, quoniam
id temporis est, valetudini demus operam.
Placuit sic omnibus. Tum Scaevola : Sane, inquit,
vellem non constituissem, in Tusculanum me hodie
venturum esse, Laelio ; libenter audirem Antonium.
Et, cum exsurgeret, simul arridens : Neque enim,
inquit, tam mihi molestus fuit, quod ius nostrum civile
pervellit, quam iucundus, quod se id nescire con-
fessus est.
194
DE ORATORE, I. Ixii. 264-265
bring thither nothing more than the needs of his
cases demanded ; but I was envisaging a loftier ideal
when I stated my view that the orator, especially
in our own community, ought to lack nothing in
the way of equipment. You on the other hand,
having enclosed within certain narrow confines the
whole function of an orator, will the more easily
expound to us the result of your investigations into
his duties and rules : but that, I think, must be
another time. For our talk to-day has been long
265 enough. Now too Scaevola, as he has arranged to
go to his Tusculan villa, vdll rest awhile, until the
heat has abated ; and let us ourselves, considering
the time of day, take care of our health."
This suggestion pleased everybody. Then Scae-
vola observed : " I devoutly wish that I had not
arranged with LaeUus to arrive at my Tusculan
villa to-day ; I should Hke to hear Antonius."
And, as he got up, he added with a smile : " For I
was not so much vexed by his tearing our common
law to tatters, as deHghted by his admission that
he knew nothing about it."
195
DE ORATORE
DIALOGUS SEU LIBER SECUNDUS
1 I. Magna nobis pueris, Quinte frater, si memoria
tenes, opinio friit, L. Crassum non plus attigisse doc-
trinae, quam quantum prima illa puerili institutione
potuisset ; M. autem Antonium omnino omnis erudi-
tionis expertem atque ignarum friisse. Erantque
multi qui, quanquam non ita sese rem habere arbi-
trarentur, tamen, quo facilius nos incensos studio
dicendi a doctrina deterrerent, libenter id quod dixi,
de illis oratoribus praedicarent, ut, si homines non
eruditi summam essent prudentiam atque incredi-
bilem eloquentiam consecuti, inanis omnis noster esse
labor, et stultum in nobis erudiendis, patris nostri,
2 optimi ac prudentissimi viri, studium videretur. Quos
tum, ut pueri, refutare domesticis testibus patre et
C. Aculeone propinquo nostro et L. Cicerone patruo
solebamus, quod de Crasso pater, et Aculeo (quocum
erat nostra matertera), quem Crassus dilexit ex
196
THE MAKING OF AN ORATOR
BOOK THE SECOND -^
1 I. When we were boys, brother Quintus, there was, introduc-
if you remember, a widespread behef that Lucius qu^nce of
Crassus had dabbled no further in learning than the Crassus and
early training of a lad of his day allowed, and that based on
Marcus Antonius was absolutely without any educa- ^^JJ^j^"'
tion and ignorant. And there were many who, while
they did not hold this to be the truth of the matter,
none the less hoped the more readily to deter us
eager students in search of eloquence from the ^^
pursuit of learning, and so they did not scruple to <u/^
make such statements about those eminent orators ; ,, % ^^
to the intent that we ourselves, on seeing that men '"4^-,'% ,
who were no scholars had attained the highest degree /
of practical wisdom, and a standard of eloquence %_, -^
passing belief, might come to look upon all our own 'ij^
labour as being but in vain, and to think mere folly ^
the care bestowed upon our education by a man so
excellent and widely experienced as our father.
2 Such sophists we used at that time to confound, in
boyish fashion, by calling witnesses from home,
namely our father, our near kinsman Gaius Aculeo,
and our paternal uncle Lucius Cicero, inasmuch as
our father, and Aculeo, who married our mother's
sister, and was esteemed by Crassus above all other
197
<c
CICERO
omnibus plurimum, et patruus, qui cum Antonio in
Ciliciam profectus una decesserat, multa nobis de
eius studio doctrinaque saepe narravit. Cumque nos
cum consobrinis nostris, Aculeonis filiis, et ea disce-
remus, quae Crasso placerent, et ab his doctoribus,
quibus ille uteretur, erudiremur, etiam illud saepe
intelleximus cum essemus eius domi,^ quod vel pueri
sentire poteramus, illum et Graece sic loqui, nullam
ut nosse aliam linguam videretur, et doctoribus nos-
tris ea ponere in percontando, eaque ipsum omni in
sermone tractare, ut nihil esse ei novum, nihil inau-
3 ditum videretur. De Antonio vero, quanquam saepe
ex humanissimo homine, patruo nostro, acceperamus,
quemadmodum ille vel Athenis vel Rhodi se doctis-
simorum hominum sermonibus dedisset, tamen ipse
adolescentulus, quantum illius ineuntis aetatis meae
patiebatur pudor, multa ex eo saepe quaesivi. Non
erit profecto tibi, quod scribo, hoc novum nam iam
tum ex me audiebas, mihi illum, ex multis variisque
sermonibus, nulUus rei, quae quidem esset in his
artibus, de quibus aliquid existimare possem, rudem
aut ignarum esse visum.
4 Sed fuit hoc in utroque eorum, ut Crassus non tam
existimari vellet non didicisse, quam illa despicere,
* eius domi. The eorrection o/ Piderit and Soro/for th§
inde/enaibU eius modi o/ tht Msa.
198
DE ORATORE, II. i. 2-4
men, and our paternal uncle, who went out to Cilicia
with Antonius, and was with him when he left his
province for home, all severally and often related to
us a great deal about Crassus, his application to
study, and his intellectual attainments. And since,
in the company of our cousins, the sons of Aculeo
and our mother's sister, we were not only studying
such subjects as attracted Crassus, but were also
being instructed by those very teachers whom he
made his friends, we, being as we were at his
home, often perceived, — as even we boys could per-
ceive, — that, besides speaking Greek so perfectly as
to suggest that it was the only tongue he knew,
he propounded such topics to our masters in the
way of inquiry and himself so handled matters in
his discourse, that nothing seemed strange to him,
3 nothing beyond his range of knowledge. But as for
Antonius, although we had frequently understood
from our highly accomplished paternal uncle how, at
Athens and at Rhodes alike, that orator had devoted
"^himself to conversation with the most learned men,
] yet I myself, in early Ufe, went as far as the modesty
natural to my youth permitted, in questioning him
time and again on many subjects. What I am writ-
ing will assuredly be no news to you, for I used to tell
you even then that the result of many conversa-
tions with him on various subjects was to convey to
me the impression that there was nothing — at least in
any studies about which I could form an opinion —
about which he was inexperienced or ignorant.
4 There was nevertheless this point of difference
between the two men, that Crassus did not so much
wish to be thought to have learned nothing, as to
have the reputation of looking down upon learning,
199
CICERO
et nostrorum hominum in omni genere prudentiam
Graecis anteferre ; Antonius autem probabiliorem
hoc populo orationem fore censebat suam, si omnino
didicisse nunquam putaretur. Atque ita se uterque
graviorem fore, si alter contemnere, alter ne nosse
6 quidem Graecos videretur. Quorum consilium quale
fuerit, nihil sane ad hoc tempus ; illud autem est
huius institutae scriptionis ac temporis, neminem
eloquentia, non modo sine dicendi doctrina, sed ne
sine omni quidem sapientia, florere unquam et prae-
stare potuisse.
II. Etenim ceterae fere artes se ipsae per se tuen-
tur singulae ; bene dicere autem, quod est scienter,
et perite, et ornate dicere, non habet definitam
aliquam regionem, cuius terminis septa teneatur.
Omnia, quaecumque in hominum disceptationem ca-
dere possunt, bene sunt ei dicenda, qui hoc se posse
profitetur, aut eloquentiae nomen relinquendum
6 est. Quare equidem et in nostra civitate, et in ipsa
Graecia, quae semper haec summa duxit, multos et
ingeniis, et magna laude dicendi sine summa rerum
omnium scientia fuisse fateor ; talem vero exsistere
eloquentiam, quahs fuerit in Crasso et Antonio, non
cognitis rebus omnibus, quae ad tantam prudentiam
pertinerent, tantamque dicendi copiam, quanta in iUis
7 fuit, non potuisse confirmo. Quo etiam feci liben-
tius, ut eum sermonem, quem illi quondam inter se
200
DE ORATORE, II. i. 4— ii. 7
and of placing the wisdom of our own fellow-country-
men above that of the Greeks in all departments ;
while Antonius held that his speeches would be the
more acceptable to a nation Hke ours, if it were
thought that he had never engaged in study at all.
<^Thus the one expected to grow in influence by being
j thought to hold a poor opinion of the Greeks, and the
I other by seeming never even to have heard of them.
5 What the value of these opinions was, would clearly
not matter now, but it does belong to this treatise
which I have in hand, and to this occasion, to insist
that noman has ever succeeded inachieving splendour
and excellence in oratory, I will not say merely
// without training^ speaking, but withoutjaking all
ll knowTedgelror^sprovince as well.
II. For, while nearly all the other arts can look Oiatory
after themselves, the art of speaking well, that is to ™Jcked%
say, of speaking with knowledge, skill and elegance, leaming.
has no dehmited territory, within whose borders it is
enclosed and confined. All things whatsoever, that
can fall under the discussion of human beings, must
be aptly dealt with by him who professes to have this
power, or he must abandon the name of eloquent.
6 And so on my own part, I admit that, both in our
own country and in Greece itself, which has ever
held these pursuits in the highest esteem, there
have appeared many men of natural parts and great
reputation in oratory, without the futlest universal
knowledge ; yet I maintain that such eloquence as
Crassus and Antonius attained could never have
been realized without a knowledge of every matter '";^
Ithat went to produce that wisdom and that power of '^y^
7 oratory which were manifest in those two. And so ^''^
I was the readier to commit to writing a conversation 7«.
H 201
CICERO
de his rebus habuissent, mandarem litteris, vel ut illa
opinio, quae semper fuisset, toUeretur, alterum non
doctissimum, alterum plane indoctum fuisse ; vel ut
ea, quae existimarem a summis oratoribus de elo-
quentia divinitus esse dicta, custodirem litteris, si
uUo modo assequi complectique potuissem ; vel me-
hercule etiam, ut laudem eorum, iam prope senescen-
tem, quantum ego possem, ab oblivione hominum
8 atque a silentio vindicarem. Nam si ex scriptis
cognosci ipsi suis potuissent, minus hoc fortasse mihi
esse putassem laborandum : sed cum alter non
multum quod quidem exstaret, et id ipsum adole-
scens, alter nihil admodum scripti rehquisset, deberi
hoc a me tantis hominimi ingeniis putavi, ut, cum
etiam nunc vivam illoriun memoriam teneremus, hanc
g immortalem redderem, si possem. Quod hoc etiam
spe aggredior maiore ad probandum, quia non de Ser.
Galbae, aut C. Carbonis eloquentia scribo ahquid, in
quo hceat mihi fingere, si quid veHm, nullius memoria
iam me refellente : sed edo haec eis cognoscenda, qui
eos ipsos, de quibus loquor, saepe audierunt ; ut duos
summos viros eis, qui neutrum illorum viderint,
eonmi, quibus ambo ilU oratores cogniti sint, vivo-
rum et praesentium memoria teste, oommendemus.
S03
DE ORATORE, II. ii. 7-9
they once had on the subject, my purpose being, in
the first place, to dispel that notion, which had
always prevailed, that one of them had no great
learning and the other none at all ; secondly, to
preserve in literary form the sentiments concerning
eloquence which to my thinking were expressed to
perfection by those consummate orators, if in any
way I should have succeeded in recapturing and
representing their pronouncements ; and lastly, I
protest, to rescue, as far as possible, from disuse and
from silence, the reputation of these men which was
8 already beginning to wane. For could their own
writings have made those orators known, perhaps I
should have seen smaller need for this work that
I have undertaken, but as one of them had written
httle (at all events Httle that survived), and had
written that little in early Hfe, while the other had
left nothing whatever in writing, I thought that it
was a tribute due from me to those great intellects,
that while all still held them in Uving memory I
should render that memory immortal, if I could.
9 And my hope is so much the greater that I shall
establish the case which I am approaching, because I
am not treating of the eloquence of Servius Galba or
Gaius Carbo, in which case I should be able to invent
at ple^sure, no one now surviving to contradict me
with his reminiscences, but I am publishing what will
be criticized by those who have often actually listened
to the men of whom I am speaking, in order that I
may recommend an illustrious pair to those who have
never seen either of them, on the testimony of the
recollections of men to whom both those famous
orators were personally known, and who themselves
are living and still among us.
SOS
CICERO
10 III. Nec vero te, carissime frater atque optime,
rhetoricis nunc quibusdam libris, quos tu agrestes
putas, insequor ut erudiam : quid enim tua potest
oratione aut subtilius, aut ornatius esse ? Sed, sive
iudicio, ut soles dicere, sive, ut ille pater eloquentiae
de se Isocrates scripsit ipse, pudore a dicendo et
timiditate ingenua quadam refugisti, sive, ut ipse
iocari soleo, unum putasti satis esse non modo in una
familia rhetorem, sed paene in tota civitate, non
tamen arbitror tibi hos Hbros in eo fore genere, quod
merito, propter eorum, qui de dicendi ratione dis-
putarunt, ieiunitatem bonarum artium, possit illudi.
11 Nihil enim mihi quidem videtur in Crassi et Antonii
sermone esse praeteritum, quod quisquam summis
ingeniis, acerrimis studiis, optima doctrina, maximo
usu cognosci ac percipi potuisse arbitraretur, quod
tu faciUime poteris iudicare, qui prudentiam ratio-
nemque dicendi per te ipsum, usum autem per nos
percipere voluisti. Sed, quo citius hoc, quod susce-
pimus, non mediocre munus conficere possimus, omis-
sa nostra adhortatione, ad eorum, quos proposuimus,
sermonem disputationemque veniamus.
12 Postero igitur die, quam illa erant acta, hora fere
secunda, cum etiam tum in lecto Crassus esset et
apud eum Sulpicius sederet, Antonius autem in-
ambularet cum Cotta in porticu, repente eo Q.
204
DE ORATORE, II. iii. 10-12
10 III. But you are the last man, my dear and The topic
excellent brother, that I should try to instruct by commended.
means of a lot of Ijooks which you think only crude ;
for what can be more exact or graceful than your
own diction ? But whether it be on principle, as you
generally affirm, or from modesty and what I may
call the diffidence of the well-bred, that you have
shrunk from pubHc speaking (as that eminent father
of eloquence, Isocrates, has declared to have been
the case with himself), or whether, as I myself am
wont to say in jesting mood, you thought one
declaimer enough in a family, and wellnigh enough
in an entire community, still I think that you will not
place this essay among that class of writings which
may be a fitting object of ridicule, because of the
sheer want of good learning in those who have
1 1 therein discussed the art of speaking. For to my mind
nothing has been passed over, in the dialogue be-
tween Crassus and Antonius, that anyone would have
thought possible to be known and understood by men
of the highest abiUty, the most eager appUcation, the
profoundest learning, and the most complete experi-
ence, — a point which you will have no trouble in de-
ciding, since you have chosen to master the lore and
principles of oratory by your own study, its practice
by my assistance. But in order the sooner to dis-
charge this important duty that we have undertaken,
let us proceed, without any preamble of mine, to the
'< discourse and arguments of those orators whom we
\ have set before us.
12 On the morrow, then, of that former debate, atxhesecond
about eight in the morning, while Crassus was still in ^ay^s
bed and Sulpicius sitting by his side, and Antonius Arrivai of
strolUng with Cotta in the colonnade, Quintus Catulus and^caesar.
205
CICERO
Catulus senex cum C. lulio fratre venit. Quod ubi
audivit, commotus Crassus surrexit omnesque ad-
mirati maiorem aliquam esse causam eorum adven-
13 tus suspicati sunt. Qui cum inter se, ut ipsorum
usus ferebat, amicissime consalutassent : Quid vos
tandem ? Crassus, num quidnam, inquit, novi ? Nihil
sane, inquit Catulus : etenim vides esse ludos.
Sed (vel tu nos ineptos licet, inquit, vel moles-
tos putes) cum ad me in Tusculanum heri vesperi
venisset Caesar de Tusculano suo, dixit mihi, a se
Scaevolam hinc euntem esse conventum, ex quo
mira quaedam se audisse dicebat ; te, quem ego,
toties omni ratione tentans, ad disputandum ehcere
non potuissem, permulta de eloquentia cum Antonio
disseruisse, et tanquam in schola, prope ad Grae-
14 corum consuetudinem, disputasse. Ita me frater ex-
oravit, ne ipsum quidem a studio audiendi nimis ab-
horrentem, sed mehercule verentem, ne molesti vobis
interveniremus, ut huc secum venirem ; Scaevolam
etenim ita dicere aiebat, bonam partem sermonis in
hunc diem esse dilatam. Hoc si tu cupidius factum
existimas, Caesari attribues ; si familiarius, utrique
nostrum : nos quidem, nisi forte molesti intervenimus,
venisse delectat.
15 IV. Tum Crassus : Equidem, quaecumque causa
vos huc attulisset, laetarer, cum apud me viderem
206
DE ORATORE, II, iii. 12— iv. 15
the elder suddenly arrived at the house, accompanied
by his brother Gaius Juhus. On being informed of
this, Crassus rose in a state of excitement, and general
astonishment prevailed, everyone surmising that the
reason for this visit must be something out of the
13 ordinary. After exchanging very cordial greetings
with one another, as their practice was, Crassus
inquired, " What in the world brings you here ?
Have you any news ? " " None whatever," replied
Catulus ; " you see the Games are on. Think us
impertinent or troublesome, as you please, but the
fact is, that on arriving yesterday evening at my
Tusculan villa from his own, Caesar told me that he
had met Scaevola, who was on his way from this
place, and who related to him a marvellous tale, the
purport of which was that you, whom all my induce-
ments, so often employed, could never draw into a
discussion, had been stating your views on oratory at
large, in debate with Antonius, and reasoning as if
in the schools, and very much in the Greek mode.
14 And this was how my brother's entreaties prevailed
upon me to accompany him hither, — not indeed that
I have any particular aversion to playing the part of
a hstener, but I vow I was afraid that our pushing
in might be troublesome to you — ; for he explained
that, according to Scaevola, a good part of the
discourse stood adjourned until to-day. If you think
this action of ours impertinent curiosity, you will
blame Caesar, if it seems an abuse of friendship, you
will blame the pair of us ; for our part we are charmed
to be here, provided always that our coming in does
not happen to be a nuisance."
16 IV. To which Crassus made answer, " Whatever Generai
occasion had brought you here, I should be deUghted tum[^'^'
207
CICERO
homines mihi carissimos et amicissimos ; sed tamen,
vere dicam, quaevis mallem fuisset, quam ista, quam
dicis. Ego enim ut, quemadmodum sentiam, loquar,
nunquam mihi minus, quam hesterno die, placui ;
magis adeo id facihtate, quam aha ulla culpa mea
contigit, qui, dum obsequor adolescentibus, me senem
esse sum obHtus, fecique id, quod ne adolescens qui-
dem feceram, ut eis de rebus, quae doctrina ahqua
continerentur, disputarem. Sed hoc tamen cecidit
mihi peropportune, quod, transactis iam meis parti-
bus, ad Antonium audiendum venistis.
16 Tum Caesar : Equidem, inquit, Crasse, ita sum
cupidus te in illa longiore ac perpetua disputatione
audiendi, ut, si id mihi minus contingat, vel hoc sim
quotidiano tuo sermone contentus. Itaque experiar
equidem illud, ut ne Sulpicius, familiaris meus, aut
Cotta, plus quam ego apud te valere videantur ; et
te exorabo profecto, ut mihi quoque et Catulo tuae
suavitatis ahquid impertias. Sin tibi id minus Ubebit,
non te urgebo, neque committam, ut, dum vereare, tu
ne sis ineptus, me esse iudices.
17 Tum ille : Ego mehercule, inquit, Caesar, ex
omnibus Latinis verbis huius verbi vim vel maximam
semper putavi. Quem enim nos ' ineptum ' vocamus,
is mihi videtur ab hoc nomen habere ductum, quod
non sit aptus ; idque in sermonis nostri consuetudine
perlate patet ; nam qui aut, tempus quid postulet,
DE ORATORE, II. iv. 15-17
to see at my home men who are among my dearest
and best friends ; yet, to tell the truth, I had rather
it had been any other object than the one you men-
tion. For, to speak my mind, I personally have never
been so dissatisfied with myself as I was yesterday ;
indeed it was just good-nature rather than any fault
of mine when, in humouring the young, I forgot that
I was old, and did a thing which even as a youth I
had never done, in discussing subjects that involved
a certain degree of learning. One circumstance
however has turned out most happily for me, in that
my part is already played out, so Antonius is the
one you have come to hear."
16 " For my part, Crassus," returned Caesar, " while
I am longing to hear you in that fuller and uninter-
rupted style of debate, yet, if that is not to be had,
I could even make shift with your everyday talk.
One thing therefore I shall certainly attempt, which
is to prevent people from supposing that either my
friend Sulpicius or Cotta has more influence with
you than I have, and assuredly I shall implore you
to spare a Httle of your amiability even for Catulus
and myself. If however that suggestion does not
commend itself to you, I shall not press you, nor give
you occasion to deem me tactless, while dreading
any tactlessness on your own part."
17 " Truly, Caesar," rejoined the other, " I have al-
ways thought that, of all the words in the Latin lan
guage, none has so wide a signification as this word
that you have just used. Of course the man whom we
call ' tactless ' seems to me to bear a title derived
from his want of tact, and this is most amply illus-
trated in our ordinary conversation, inasmuch as
whosoever fails to realize the demands of the occa-
209
CICERO
non videt, aut plura loquitur, aut se ostentat, aut
eorum, quibuscum est, vel dignitatis, vel commodi
rationem non habet, aut denique in aliquo genere aut
18 inconcinnus, aut multus est, is ineptus dicitur. Hoc
vitio cumulata est eruditissima illa Graecorum natio :
itaque quod vim huius mali Graeci non vident, ne
nomen quidem ei vitio imposuerunt ; ut enim quae-
ras omnia, quomodo Graeci ineptum appellent, non
reperies. Omnium autem ineptiarum, quae sunt
innumerabiles, haud scio, an nuUa sit maior, quam,
ut illi solent, quocumque in loco, quoscumque inter
homines visum est, de rebus aut difficillimis, aut non
necessariis, argutissime disputare. Hoc nos ab istis
adolescentibus facere inviti et recusantes heri coacti
sumus.
19 V. Tum Catulus : Ne Graeci quidem, inquit,
Crasse, qui in civitatibus suis clari et magni fuerunt,
sicuti tu es, nosque omnes in nostra republica volu-
mus esse, horum Graecorum, qui se inculcant auri-
bus nostris, similes fuerunt, nec in otio sermones
20 huiusmodi, disputationesque fugiebant. Ac si tibi
videntur, qui temporis, qui loci, qui hominum ra-
tionem non habent, inepti, sicut debent videri, num
tandem aut locus hic non idoneus videtur, in quo
porticus haec ipsa, ubi ambulamus, et palaestra, et
tot locis sessiones, gymnasiorum, et Graecorum dis-
putationum memoriam quodam modo commovent ?
Aut num importunum tempus in tanto otio, quod et
" Originally designed for ph^^sical exercise, the gymnatia
had become the scene of lectures on philosophy,
210
DE ORATORE, II. iv. 17— v. 20
sion, or talks too much, or advertises himself, or
ignores the prestige or convenience of those with
whom he has to deal, or, in short, is in any way awk-
18 ward or tedious, is described as ' tactless.' The
Greek nation, with all its learning, abounds in this
fault, and so, as the Greeks do not perceive the
significance of this plague, they have not even
bestowed a name upon the fault in question, for,
search where you may, you will not find out how the
Greeks designate the ' tactless ' man. But, of all the
countless forms assumed by want of tact, I rather
think that the grossest is the Greeks' habit, in any
place and any company they like, of plunging into the
most subtle dialectic concerning subjects that present
extreme difficulty, or at any rate do not call for
discussion. This is what we were obhged to do
yesterday by our young friends here, albeit we
yielded but reluctantly and under protest."
19 V. Thereupon Catulus observed, " But even among phUo-
the Greeks, Crassus, those who were famous and sopiiicai
. 1 . . . . . discussion
great men m their respective commumties, as in our and the
own republic you are, and we all hope to be, were onei8ur&'^'
whoUy unlike these Greeks, who obtrude themselves
upon our hearing ; and yet in their hours of ease they
were not averse to discussion and debate of this kind.
20 And, although you are justified in deeming those
people tactless, who take no heed of seasons, places
orpersons,yet do you really think this scene ill-fitting,
where this very colonnade, in which we are now walk-
ing, this exercise-ground, and these benches placed
at so many points, in some degree awaken memories
of the gymnastic schools " and the discussions of the
Greeks ? Or can it be the season that is ill-chosen,
occurring as it does during a holiday of a length such
211
CICERO
raro datur, et nunc peroptato nobis datum est ?
Aut homines ab hoc genere disputationis aheni, qui
omnes ei sumus, ut sine his studiis vitam nuUam
esse ducamus ?
21 Omnia ista, inquit Crassus, ego alio modo inter-
pretor, qui primum palaestram, et sedes, et porticus
etiam ipsos, Catule, Graecos exercitationis et de-
lectationis causa non disputationis invenisse arbi-
tror. Nam et saeculis multis ante gymnasia inventa
sunt, quam in eis philosophi garrire coeperunt, et
hoc ipso tempore, cum omnia gymnasia philosophi
teneant, tamen eorum auditores discum audire quam
philosophum malunt : qui simul ut increpuit, in
media oratione de maximis rebus et gravissimis dis-
putantem philosophum omnes unctionis causa reHn-
quunt : ita levissimam delectationem gravissimae, ut
22 ipsi ferunt, utilitati anteponunt. Otium autem quod
dicis esse, assentior ; verum otii fructus est, non
contentio animi, sed relaxatio.
VI. Saepe ex socero meo audivi, cum is diceret
socerum suum LaeHum semper fere cum Scipione
soHtum rusticari eosque incredibiHter repuerascere
esse soHtos, cum rus ex urbe, tanquam e vincuHs,
evolavissent. Non audeo dicere de taHbus viris, sed
tamen ita solet narrare Scaevola, conchas eos et
umbiHcos ad Caietam et ad Laurentum legere con-
suesse, et ad omnem animi remissionem ludumque
" Vitam nullam corresponds to the Platonic piov oi ^uxnov
(Apol. 38 a).
* Unctionis causa refers to the wrestler's use of suppling-
oil in preparation for the palaestra.
212
DE ORATORE, II. v. 20— vi. 22
as we seldom enjoy and find especially welcome at the
present time ? Or are we new to debate of this kind,
we being all of us men of such sort as to hold that
Hfe " without these exercises is worth nothing ? "
21 " Everything that you urge," said Crassus, " I look
at in a different hght, since in the first place, Catulus,
it is my behef that even the Greeks themselves
devised their exercise-ground, benches and colon-
nades, for purposes of physical training and enjoy-
ment, not for dialectic. For not only were their
gymnastic schools introduced ages before the philo-
sophers began to chatter therein, but even in the
present day, although the sages may be in occupation
of all the gymnastic schools, yet their audiences
would rather hsten to the discus than to the Master,
and the moment its chnk is heard, they all desert the
lecturer, in the middle of an oration upon the most
subhme and weighty topics, in order to anoint ^ them-
selves for athletic exercise ; so definitely do they
place the most trifling amusement before that which
the philosophers describe as the most sohd advantage.
22 And, as to your saying that it is a hohday, I agree
with you ; but the enjoyment of a hohday is not
mental effort, but relaxation.
VI. " Often have I heard my father-in-law say that
his own father-in-law Laehus almost invariably had
Scipio with him upon his country excursions, and that
the pair of them used to become boys again, in an
astonishing degree, as soon as ever they had flitted
from the prison of town to rural scenes. I am
afraid to say it of personages so august, but Scaevola
is fond of relating how at Caieta and Laurentum it
was their wont to collect mussels and top-shells, and
to condescend to every form of mental recreation and
213
CICERO
23 descendere. Sic enim se res habet : ut, quemad-
modum volucres videmus, procreationis atque utili-
tatis suae causa, fingere et construere nidos, easdem
autem, cum aliquid efFecerint, levandi laboris sui
causa, passim ac libere, solutas opere, volitare ; sic
nostri animi, forensibus negotiis atque urbano opere
defessi, gestiant ac volitare cupiant, vacui cura ac
24 labore. Itaque illud, quod ego in causa Curiana
Scaevolae dixi, non dixi secus ac sentiebam, ' Nam si,'
inquam, ' Scaevola, nuUum erit testamentum recte
factum, nisi quod tu scripseris, omnes ad te cives
cum tabulis veniemus, omnium testamenta tu scribes
unus : quid igitur ? ' inquam : ' quando ages negotium
publicum ? quando amicorum ? quando tuum ? quan-
do denique nihil ages ? ' Tum illud addidi : ' Mihi
enim liber esse non videtur, qui non aliquando nihil
agit.' In qua permaneo, Catule, sententia ; meque,
cum huc veni, hoc ipsum nihil agere et plane cessare
delectat.
26 Nam quod addidisti tertium, vos eos esse, qui vitam
insuavem sine his studiis putaretis, id me non modo
non hortatur ad disputandum, sed etiam deterret.
Nam ut C. Lucilius, homo doctus et perurbanus,
dicere solebat ea quae scriberet neque ab indoctis-
simis se, neque a doctissimis legi velle ; quod alteri
nihil intellegerent, alteri plus fortasse, quam ipse;
S14
DE ORATORE, II. vi. 23-25
23 pastime. For nature is so ordered, that even as we
see the birds fashioning and building their nests, with
a view to raising famiUes and to their own comfort,
but yet, as soon as any part of their task is done, seek-
ing some relief from their toil by flying about at
random in full freedom from work, so in Hke manner
our human minds, when worn out by the business of
the Courts and the work of the City, grow restless and
yearn to go a-roving, in freedom from worry and
24 exertion. And so, in those observations that I ad-
dressed to Scaevola, in the course of my defence of
Curius, I said no more than I thought, when I de-
clared, ' Well, Scaevola, if no will is to be duly made,
unless it be of your drafting, all we citizens will come
to you with our tablets, and you alone shall draw the
wills of us all, but in that event,' I went on,
' when will you conduct afFairs of State ? when those
of your friends ? when your own ? when, in one
word, will you do nothing ? ' And I added also the
proposition, * For to my mind he is no free man, who
is not sometimes doing nothing.' To that view,
Catulus, I still adhere, and it is just this inaction and
utter idleness that charm me on my comings to this
place.
25 " As for the third argument, which you threw in,
that you are men so constituted that you would find
hfe insipid without these pursuits, this consideration,
so far from encouraging me to debate, positively
frightens me away from it. For just as Gaius Lucilius,
himself a learned and highly accomphshed man, was
wont to say that he wished his writings to be read
neither by the most ignorant nor the most learned,
since the former class understood nothing, and the
latter possibly more than he himself did, in which
215
CICERO
de quo etiam scripsit, ' Persium non curo legere '
(hic enim fuit, ut noramus, omnium fere nostrorum
hominum doctissimus), ' Laelium Decumum volo '
(quem cognovimus virum bonum, et non illiteratum,
sed nihil ad Persium) : sic ego, si iam mihi dispu-
tandum sit de his nostris studiis, nolim equidem apud
rusticos, sed multo minus apud vos ; malo enim non
intellegi orationem meam, quam reprehendi.
26 VII. Tum Caesar: Equidem, inquit, Catule, iam
mihi videor navasse operam, quod huc venerim, nam
haec ipsa recusatio disputationis disputatio quaedam
fuit mihi quidem periucunda. Sed cur impedimus
Antonium, cuius audio esse partes, ut de tota elo-
quentia disserat, quemque iamdudum Cotta et Sul-
27 picius exspectant ? Ego vero, inquit Crassus, neque
Antonium verbum facere patiar, et ipse obmutescam,
nisi prius a vobis impetraro — Quidnam ? inquit
Catulus. Ut hic sitis hodie. Tum, cmn ille dubi-
taret, quod ad fratrem promiserat, Ego, inquit luUus,
pro utroque respondeo. Sic faciemus ; atque ista
quidem conditione, vel ut verbum nuUum faceres,
me teneres.
28 Hic Catulus arrisit ; et simul : Praecisa, inquit, mihi
quidem dubitatio est, quoniam neque domi impera-
ram, et hic, apud quem eram futurus, sine mea
sententia tam facile promisit. Tum omnes oculos
» Remains o/ Old Latin (L.C.L.), iii. pp. 202-203.
S16
DE ORATORE, II. vi. 25— vii. 28
connexion he also wrote ** : — ' I don't want Persius to
read me ' (Persius, as we knew him, being about the
most erudite of all our fellow-citizens), and he con-
tinued : — * Laelius Decumus for me ' (which Laelius
we also knew for an excellent man of some learning,
but nothing to Persius) : so too I, if I should now
have to discuss these pursuits of ours, should of
course be sorry to speak before an audience of
clowns, but far more reluctant to do so in this present
company, for I had rather have my discourse mis-
understood than disapproved."
26 VII. ** Truly, Catulus," answered Caesar, " I think Resumption
already that I have bestowed my pains to advantage dly-g^dls^
in coming hither, for to myself at any rate this very cussion.
protest against discussion has been in itself a discus- staterhis
sion of a most agreeable character. But why are we °^'?
delaying Antonius, whose function, I hear, is to treat
of eloquence at large, and for whom Cotta has been
27 a long time waiting, and so has Sulpicius ? " " Nay,"
interposed Crassus, " I will not have Antonius utter
a syllable, and I will myself be dumb, until I have
first obtained a boon from you." " Name it," said
Catulus. " That you spend the day here." Then,
as the other hesitated, because he had promised to go
to his brother's, Julius observed, " I answer for both
of us. We will do as you ask, and on the terms you
ofFer, you would keep me here, even though you
should not contribute a word to the debate."
28 Here Catulus smiled on him and said, " There's an
end of my hesitation anyhow, since I had given no
orders at home, and my brother here, at whose
house I was to have been, has so readily engaged
me, without my having any say in the matter."
At this point all eyes were turned on Antonius,
217
CICERO
in Antonium coniecerunt ; et ille : Audite vero,
audite, inquit. Hominem enim audietis de schola,
atque a magistro et Graecis litteris eruditum ; et eo
quidem loquar confidentius, quod Catulus auditor
accessit, cui non solum nos Latini sermonis, sed etiam
Graeci ipsi solent suae linguae subtilitatem elegan-
29 tiamque concedere. Sed quia tamen hoc totum,
quidquid est, sive artificium, sive studium dicendi,
nisi accessit os, nullum potest esse, docebo vos, dis-
cipuli, quod ipse non didici, quid de omni genere
dicendi sentiam.
30 Hic posteaquam arriserunt, Res mihi videtur esse,
inquit, facultate praeclara, arte mediocris. Ars enim
earmn rerum est, quae sciuntur ; oratoris autem
omnis actio opinionibus, non scientia continetur.
Nam et apud eos dicimus, qui nesciunt, et ea dicimus,
quae nescimus ipsi : itaque et illi alias aliud eisdem de
rebus et sentiunt et iudicant et nos contrarias saepe
causas dicimus, non modo ut Crassus contra me dicat
aliquando, aut ego contra Crassum, cum alterutri
necesse sit falsum dicere, sed etiam ut uterque nos-
trum eadem de re alias aliud defendat, cum plus uno
verum esse non possit. Ut igitur in eiusmodi re,
quae mendacio nixa sit, quae ad scientiam non saepe
perveniat, quae opiniones hominum, et saepe errores
■ Facultate. Similarly Aristotle describes rhetoric as a
BA/afus, not a t^x*^ {Rhet. I. ii. 1).
218
DE ORATORE, II. vii. 28-30
who exclaimed, " Attention, pray ! Attention ! For
you will be listening to a man from the schools,
polished by professorial instruction and the study of
Greek literature ; and I shall speak with all the fuUer
assurance, in that Catulus has joined my audience, he
whose possession of accuracy and taste in the Greek
language is ever acknowledged, not only by us men
of Latin speech, but by the Greeks themselves as
29 well. Seeing however that all this art or vocation of
speaking, whichever it may be, can avail nothing
without the addition of * cheek,' I Mdll teach you,
my disciples, something that I have not learned
myself, to wit, my theory of oratory in all its
branches."
30 When their laughter had subsided, he continued, Oratory not
" Oratory, it seems to me, derives distinction from *^°*®'**'*J
abiUty,** but owes Httle to art. For, while art is con-
cerned with the things that are known, the activity
of the orator has to do with opinion, not knowledge.
For we both address ourselves to the ignorant, and
speak of matters unknown to ourselves, with the
result, that while our hearers form different concep-
tions and judgements at different times, concerning
the selfsame subjects, we on our part often take
opposite sides, not merely in the sense that Crassus
sometimes argues against me, or I against him, when
one or the other of us must of necessity be urging
what is false, but also because we both maintain
different opinions at different times on an identical
issue, in which case only one of such opinions can
possibly be right. I shall therefore speak as one who
is deahng with a subject which is founded upon false-
hood, which seldom attains to demonstration, which
sets its snares to entrap the fancies and often the
219
CICERO
aucupetur, ita dicam, si causam putatis esse, cur
audiatis.
31 VIII. Nos vero et valde quidem, Catulus inquit,
putamus, atque eo magis, quod nuUa mihi ostenta-
tione videris esse usurus. Exorsus es enim non
gloriose ; magis a veritate, ut tu putas, quam a nescio
32 qua dignitate. Ut igitur de ipso genere sum con-
fessus, inquit Antonius, artem esse non maximam, sic
illud affirmo, praecepta posse quaedam dari peracuta
ad pertractandos animos hominum et ad excipiendas
eorum voluntates. Huius rei scientiam si quis volet
magnam quamdam artem esse dicere, non repug-
nabo. Etenim cum plerique temere ac nuUa ratione
causas in foro dicant, nonnuUi autem propter exer-
citationem, aut propter consuetudinem aliquam, cal-
lidius id faciant, non est dubium quin, si quis
animadverterit, quid sit, quare alii melius quam alii
33 dicant, id possit notare. Ergo id qui toto in genere
fecerit, is si non plane artem, at quasi artem quamdam
invenerit.
Atque utinam, ut mihi illa videre videor in foro
atque in causis, item nunc, quemadmodum ea reperi-
rentur, possem vobis exquirere ! Sed de me videro :
mmc hoc propono, quod mihi persuasi, quamvis ars
S20
DE ORATORE, II. vii. 30— viii. 33
delusions of mankind, provided of course that you
think there is any reason for listening to me."
31 VIII. " Assuredly we think so most decidedly," but ruies
said Catulus, " and all the more in that you do not gpelkfng '"'
seem to me to intend the use of any self-advertise- may be
ment. For you have opened in no vaunting fashion, experiencM
starting, as you think, from the actual facts of the
case, rather than from any supposed grandeur of
32 your theme." " Well then," resumed Antonius,
" while I have admitted, on the general question,
that oratory is not the highest form of art, I yet make
this assertion — that some very clever rules may be
( laid down for playing upon men's feelings and making
iprize of their goodwill. If anyone is for claiming
that the knowledge of such devices is an art of real
significance, I am not going to quarrel with him.
For, inasmuch as very many advocates argue their
cases in Court carelessly and without method, while
some others, thanks to training or to a certain amount
of experience, do such work more skilfulty, it is indis-
putable that any man who appUes his mind to finding
out the reason why some speak better than others,
33 may succeed in discerning it. Whence it foUows,
that he who extends his survey over the whole
province of rhetoric, will discover that which, though
not absolutely an art, yet wears the hkeness of
an art.
" And I would that, even as I think I see, with the
mind's eye, the course of proceedings in the Courts,
and at the hearing of aetions, so I could now go
on to bring these before you as they really are !
But of myself hereafter : for the time being I enun-
ciate this proposition, which I have proved to my
own satisfaction, — that, although oratory may not be
221
CICERO
non sit, tamen nihil esse perfecto oratore praeclarius.
Nam, ut usum dicendi omittam, qui in omni pacata et
libera civitate dominatur, tanta oblectatio est in ipsa
facultate dicendi, ut nihil hominum aut auribus, aut
34 mentibus iucundius percipi possit. Qui enim cantus
moderata oratione dulcior inveniri potest ? Quod
carmen artificiosa verborum conclusione aptius ? Qui
actor imitanda, quam orator suscipienda veritate
iucundior ? Quid autem subtiUus, quam acutae cre-
braeque sententiae ? Quid admirabilius, quam res
splendore illustrata verborum ? quid plenius, quam
omni rerum genere cumulata oratio ? Neque uUa
non propria oratoris est res, quae quidem omate dici
graviterque debet.
36 IX. Huius est in dando consilio de maximis re-
bus cum dignitate explicata sententia ; eiusdem et
languentis populi incitatio, et effrenati moderatio.
Eadem facultate et fraus hominum ad perniciem, et
integritas ad salutem vocatur. Quis cohortari ad
virtutem ardentius, quis a vitiis acrius revocare ? Quis
vituperare improbos asperius, quis laudare bonos
ornatius ? Quis cupiditatem vehementius frangere
accusando potest ? Quis maerorem levare mitius
consolando ?
9ZZ
DE ORATORE, II. viii. 33— ix. 35
one of the arts, still there is nothing more splendid
than a eomplete orator. For to pass over the
actual practice of eloquence — that governing force
in every tranquil and free community — , there is
such a charm about the mere power to dehver a set
speech, that no impression more dehghtful than this
can be received by the ear or the intelUgence of man.
34 Can any music be composed that is sweeter than a
well-balanced speech ? Is any poem better rounded
^ than an artistic period in prose ? What actor gives
^Mkeener pleasure by his imitation of real Hfe than
) your orator affords in his conduct of some real case ?
Does anything display more exact precision than a
rapid succession of pointed reflections ? Is there
aught more wonderful than the hghting-up of a topic
by verbal brilhance, or aught richer than a discourse
fumished forth with material of every sort ? And
there is not a subject that is not the orator's own,
provided only that it is one which deserves elegant
and impressive treatment.
35 IX. " It is the part of the orator, when advising on importance
afFairs of supreme importance, to unfold his opinion as au°ubjects
a man having authority : his duty too it is to arouse require
a hstless nation, and to curb its unbridled impetuosity. ^^^°
By one and the same power of eloquence the deceit-
ful among mankind are brought to destruction, and
the righteous to dehverance. Who more passionately / '^
than the orator can encourage to virtuous conduct, or (^4,
more zealously than he reclaim from vici6us"courses ? %,
^ Who can more austerely censurej^e^^icked, orjnore ^S^^c
gracefuUy praise men of worth ? Whose iiivective 'h^
' can more forcibly subdue the power of lawless desire ? "^^^-^/
Whose comfortable words can soothe grief more
tenderly ?
223
CICERO
36 Historia vero testis temporum, lux veritatis, vita
memoriae, magistra vitae, nuntia vetustatis, qua voce
alia, nisi oratoris, immortalitati commendatur ? Nam
si qua est ars alia, quae verborum aut faciendorum
aut legendorum scientiam profiteatur ; aut si quis-
quam dicitur nisi orator formare orationem eamque
variare et distinguere quasi quibusdam verborum
sententiariunque insignibus ; aut si via uUa, nisi ab
hac una arte, traditur, aut argumentorum, aut sen-
tentiarum, aut denique discriptionis atque ordinis,
fateamur aut hoc, quod haec ars profiteatur, ahenum
37 esse aut cum aliqua alia arte esse commune. Sed si
in hac una est ea ratio atque doctrina, non, si qui
aliarum artium bene locuti sunt, eo minus id est
huius unius proprium ; sed, ut orator de eis rebus,
quae ceterarum artium sunt, si modo eas cognovit
(ut heri Crassus dicebat), optime potest dicere, sic
ceterarum artium homines ornatius illa sua dicunt, si
38 quid ab hac arte didicerunt. Neque enim si de rusticis
rebus agricola quispiam, aut etiam, id quod multi,
medicus de morbis, aut de pingendo pictor ahquis
diserte dixerit aut scripserit, idcirco ilHus artis pu-
tanda est eloquentia : in qua quia vis magna est in
" Intignia are the ' purple patches ' of Horace, A.P. 15-16.
224
DE ORATORE, II. ix. 36-38
36 " And as History , which bears witness to the passing
of the ages, sheds hght upon reahty, gives hfe to
recoUection and guidance to human existence, and
brings tidings of ancient days, whose voice, but the
orator's, can entrust her to immortahty ? For if
there be any other art, which pretends to skill in the
coinage and choice of language, or if it be claimed
for anyone but the orator that he gives shape and
variety to a speech, and marks it out with* high
hghts of thought and phrase, or if any method be
taught, except by this single art, for producing proofs
or reflections, or even in the distribution and arrange-
ment of subject-matter, then let us admit that the
skill professed by this art of ours either belongs really
to some other art, or is shared in common with some
37 other. Whereas, if all reasoning and all teaching
really belong to this one art alone, then, even though
professors of other arts have expressed themselves
with success, it does not therefore follow that such
instruction is not the monopoly of this single art;
but (as Crassus was saying yesterday) just as the
orator is best quahfied to discuss the subjects per-
taining to the other arts, assuming always that he
has acquainted himself with them, so the masters
of the other arts expound their own topics with
the better grace, if they have learned something
38 from the art with which we are deahng. For even
though some farmer may have written or spoken
with address upon country matters or perhaps a
medical man upon pathology, as many have done,
or a painter upon painting, it does not therefore
follow that eloquence belongs to the particular
art, the truth being that in the art of speaking, by
reason of the vast energy inherent in human intelli-
225
CICERO
hominum ingeniis, eo multi etiam sine doctrina ali-
quid omnium generum atque artium consequuntur.
Sed, quid cuiusque sit proprium, etsi ex eo iudicari
potest, cum videris, quid quaeque doceat, tamen hoc
certius nihil esse potest, quam quod omnes artes aliae
sine eloquentia suum munus praestare possunt, orator
sine ea nomen obtinere suiun non potest : ut ceteri,
si diserti sint, aliquid ab hoc habeant, hic nisi domes-
ticis se instruxerit copiis, aliunde dicendi copiam
petere non possit.
39 X. Tum Catulus : Etsi, inquit, Antoni, minime
impediendus est interpellatione iste cursus orationis
tuae, patiere tamen, mihique ignosces. * Non enim
possum quin exclamem,' ut ait ille in Trinummo : ita
mihi vim oratoris cum exprimere subtiHter visus es,
tum laudare copiosissime. Quod quidem eloquentem
vel optime facere oportet, ut eloquentiam laudet ;
debet enim ad eam laudandam ipsam illam adhibere,
quam laudat. Sed perge porro : tibi enim assentior,
vestrum esse hoc totum, diserte dicere, idque si quis
in alia arte faciat, eum assumpto ahunde uti bono,
40 non proprio, nec suo. Et Crassus : Nox te, inquit,
nobis, Antoni, expohvit, hominemque reddidit : nam
hesterno sermone, unius cuiusdam operis, ut ait Cae-
cihus, remigem aliquem, aut baiulum, nobis oratorem
• Plautus, Trinummus iii. 2. 79.
226
DE ORATORE, II. ix. 38— x. 40
gence, many a man, whatever his class or his calling,
\ 1 attains some degree of proliciehcy even witKout any
I I regular training. But, although the peciiliar property
oF^Ch art may be determined by noting what it is
which each teaches, there can be nothing more
certain than this, that while all other arts are able
to discharge their functions unaided by eloquence,
the orator cannot even earn his distinctive title
without being eloquent ; so that the rest of the
world, if they be fluent speakers, gain something
from him, while he, unless he has equipped himself
from his own private store, cannot seek his supplies
as a speaker from any other source."
39 X. At this point Catulus interposed, saying,
" Antonius, although that flowing discourse of yours
should never be checked by interruption, still you will
bear with me and forgive me. For, as the man says
in Tke Threepenny Piece, 'I cannot help applauding'**:
so exquisitely, as I think, have you described the
power of the orator, and with such wealth of diction
have you extolled it. And yet, to be sure, a man of
eloquence must needs sing the praises of eloquence
better than all others, since he is bound to bring, to
the performance of his task, that very gift which he
is praising. But pray proceed, for I agree with
you that you have this skill in speaking wholly for
your own, and that any man discoursing with ability
upon any other art does but use an accomplishment
borrowed from elsewhere, and one that is not pecu-
40 har to himself, or even his own. " And Crassus added,
" A night's rest has smoothed and humanized you,
Antonius, from our point of view, for in the course of
. yesterday's discussion you sketched the orator as a
one-talent man, ' Just a galley-slave or porter,' to
227
CICERO
descripseras, inopem quemdam humanitatis atque
inurbanum.
Tum Antonius : Heri enim, inquit, hoc mihi pro-
posueram, ut, si te refellissem, hos a te discipulos
abducerem : nunc, Catulo audiente et Caesare, videor
debere non tam pugnare tecum, quam, quid ipse
41 sentiam, dicere. Sequitur igitur, quoniam nobis est
hic, de quo loquimur, in foro atque in oculis civium
constituendus, ut videamus, quid ei negotii demus,
cuique eum muneri velimus esse praepositum. Nam
Crassus heri, cum vos, Catule et Caesar, non ades-
setis, posuit breviter in artis distributione idem, quod
Graeci plerique posuerunt, neque sane quid ipse
sentiret, sed quid ab illis diceretur, ostendit : duo
prima genera quaestionum esse, in quibus eloquentia
42 versaretur, unum infinitum, alterum certum. In-
finitum mihi videbatur id dicere, in quo aliquid
generatim quaereretur, hoc modo : ' Expetendane
esset eloquentia, expetendine honores ? ' Certum
autem, in quo quid in personis, et in constituta re et
definita quaereretur : cuius modi sunt, quae in foro
atque in civium causis disceptationibusque versantur.
43 Ea mihi videntur aut in Ute oranda, aut in consilio
dando esse posita, nam illud tertium, quod et a Crasso
tactum est, et, ut audio, ille ipse Aristoteles, qui haec
Remains of Old Latin (L.C.L.), i. pp. 558-559.
* Rhet. I. iii. 1.
S28
DE ORATORE, II. x. 40-43
quote Caecilius " ; in faet as a fellow destitute of
breeding and a mere boor."
" I did," returned Antonius, " for yesterday it was
my design, if I should have succeeded in refuting
your arguments, to steal these pupils from you ; but
to-day, with Catulus and Caesar among my hearers,
I think it my duty not so much to fight with you as
41 to enunciate mv own personal views. And so, now Tte proper
1 1 1 • , 1 j . sphere oi
that we are to have this orator, whom we are discuss- rhetoric
ing,brought into Courtand exposed to publicscrutiny,
our next task is to consider what business we shall
assign to him, and what function we would suggest
that he has been appointed to discharge. For
yesterday, Catulus and Caesar, when you were not
here, Crassus made in concise terms, with regard to
the classification of this art, the identical statement
that most of the Greeks have made, and of course
expressed no opinion of his own, but just their affirma-
tions : his proposition being that there are two main
divisions of the questions wherewith eloquence is con-
42 cerned, the one abstract, the other concrete. By
abstract problems I thought he meant those wherein
questions are propounded in general terms, as for
instance, * Is eloquence to be desired ? ' ' Should
public office be sought ? * The concrete class, by
contrast, was composed of such as raise investigations
deahng with individual persons and settled and
defined points, to which kind belong the issues dis-
cussed in Court, and in the judicial proceedings and
43 the disputes between private citizens. The sphere
of such oratory is Hmited, in my view, to the conduct
of litigation and to advising, for that third category,
just barely noticed by Crassus, and included, as I am
told, by Aristotle ^ himself, who has elucidated these
229
CICERO
maxime illustravit, adiunxit, etiamsi opus est, tamen
minus est necessarium. Quidnam ? inquit Catulus ;
an laudationes ? id enim video poni genus tertium.
44 XI. Ita, inquit Antonius, et in eo quidem genere
scio et me, et omnes qui adfuerunt, delectatos esse
vehementer, cum abs te est Popilia, mater vestra,
laudata, cui primum mulieri hunc honorem in nostra
civitate tributum puto. Sed non omnia, quaecumque
loquimur, mihi videntur ad artem et ad praecepta
46 esse revocanda. Ex eis enim fontibus, unde omnia
praecepta dicendi sumuntur, licebit etiam lauda-
tionem ornare, neque illa elementa desiderare, quae
ut nemo tradat, quis est, qui nesciat, quae sint in
homine laudanda ? Positis enim eis rebus, quas
Crassus in illius orationis suae, quam contra collegam
censor habuit, principio dixit, ' Quae natura aut
fortuna darentur hominibus, in eis rebus se vinci posse
animo aequo pati ; quae ipsi sibi homines parare
possent, in eis rebus se pati non posse vinci ' : qui
laudabit quempiam, intelleget, exponenda sibi esse
46 fortunae bona. Ea sunt, generis, pecuniae, propin-
quorum, amicorum, opum, valetudinis,formae, virium,
ingenii, ceterarumque rerum, quae sunt aut corporis,
aut extraneae : si habuerit, bene rebus eis usum ; si
• Laudatio here has its wider sense of any encomiastic
speech delivered in public, not necessarily a funeral oration.
sao
DE ORATORE, II. x. 43— xi. 46
matters as clearly as possible, is serviceable enough,
but not essential in the same degree. ' ' ' * What kind is
that ? " said Catulus. " Do you refer to panegyrics ? "■
for I notice that these are set down as a third variety."
44 XI. " Precisely so," replied Antonius, " and, with Panegyrio
regard to this type of oratory, I know that I myself, n^^^no
and all who were present, were highly delighted speciai,
when your mother Popiha was eulogized in this '
fashion by yourself; she being, I think, the first
woman to whom such honour was ever rendered in
our own community . But to my mind not everything
that we say need be reduced to theory and rule.
45 For from those same sources, whence the rules of
speaking are all derived, we shall also be able to set
off a funeral oration without feeUng the want of those
scholastic rudiments, since, even though no one were
to teach these, is there a man who would not know
the good points of a human being ? In fact, if he
has laid down those axioms enunciated by Crassus in
the opening of that famous speech of his, which he
delivered when censor in opposition to his colleague
in office, when he declared, that while he could cheer-
fully endure inferiority in respect of the gifts be-
stowed on mankind by nature or by chance, he could
not consent to be surpassed in such credit as men
may win for themselves, he who proposes to be the
panegyrist of anyone will understand that he has in
the first place to deal fully with the favours of fortune.
46 These are the advantages of race, wealth, connexions,
friendships, power, good health, beauty, vigour,
talent, and the rest of the attributes that are either
physical or externally imposed : it must be explained
that the person commended made a right use of these
benefits if he possessed them, managed sensibly
231
CICERO
non habuerit, sapienter caruisse ; si amiserit, mode-
rate tulisse ; deinde, quid sapienter is, quem laudet,
quid liberaliter, quid fortiter, quid iuste, quid magni-
fice, quid pie, quid grate, quid humaniter, quid
denique cum ahqua virtute aut fecerit, aut tulerit.
Haec, et quae sunt eius generis, facile videbit, qui
volet laudare ; et qui vituperare, contraria.
47 Cur igitur dubitas, inquit Catulus, facere hoc
tertium genus, quoniam est in ratione rerum ? Non
enim, si est facilius, eo de numero quoque est excer-
pendum. Quia nolo, inquit, omnia, quae cadunt
aliquando in oratorem, quamvis exigua sint, ea sic
tractare, quasi nihil possit dici sine praeceptis suis.
48 Nam et testimonium saepe dicendum est, ac non-
nunquam etiam accuratius, ut mihi etiam necesse fuit
in Sex. Titium, seditiosum civem et turbulentum.
Explicavi in eo testimonio dicendo, omnia consiUa
consulatus mei, quibus ilU tribuno plebis pro repu-
bhca restitissem, quaeque ab eo contra rempubhcam
facta arbitrarer, exposui. Diu retentus sum, multa
audivi, multa respondi. Num igitur placet, cum de
eloquentia praecipias, aUquid etiam de testimoniis
232
DE ORATORE, II. xi. 46-48
without them, if they were denied to him, and bore
the loss with resignation, if they were taken away
from him ; and after that the speaker will marshal
instances of conduct, either active or passive, on the
part of the subject of his praises ; whereby he mani-
fested wisdom, generosity, valour, righteousness,
greatness of soul, sense of duty, gratitude, kindUness
or, in short, any moral excellence you please. These
and similar indications of character the would-be
panegyrist will readily discern, and he who seeks to
disparage will as readily find evidence in rebuttal."
47 " Why then hesitate," interposed Catulus, " to
regard this as a third kind, since its existence is
inherent in the nature of the case ? For the fact of
its being easier of accomplishment is no reason for
ehminating it from the classification." " My reason,"
replied the other, " is that I do not wish to handle all
matters, however petty, that at one time or another
fall under oratorical treatment, upon the footing that
nothing can be mentioned without reference to its
48 own special rules. For instance, evidence has often
to be given, and, upon occasions, with precision even
closer than usual, as I myself was compelled to give
it against Sextus Titius, a factious and troublesome
member of the community. In the course of such
evidence I revealed all the measures whereby, in
defence of the State, I as consul had withstood him in
his character of tribune of the commons, and I laid
bare every proceeding of his that I considered inimical
to the public benefit. I was long obstructed, had to
listen to a great deal, and rephed to many objections.
But do you on that account think it fitting, when
laying down rules of rhetoric, to add any teaching on
how to give evidence, as though this came within the
I 233
CICERO
dicendis, quasi in arte tradere ? Nihil sane, inquit
Catulus, necesse est.
49 XII. Quid ? si quod saepe summis viris accidit
mandata sint exponenda, aut in senatu ab impera-
tore, aut ad imperatorem, aut ad regem, aut ad
populum aliquem a senatu, num quia genere ora-
tionis in eiusmodi causis accuratiore est utendum,
idcirco pars etiam haec causarum numeranda videtur,
aut propriis praeceptis instruenda ? Minime vero,
inquit Catulus : non enim deerit homini diserto in
eiusmodi rebus facultas, ex ceteris rebus et causis
comparata.
60 Ergo item, inquit, illa, quae saepe diserte agenda
sunt, et quae ego paulo ante cum eloquentiam
laudarem dixi oratoris esse, neque habent suum
locum ullum in divisione partium, neque certum
praeceptorum genus, et agenda sunt non minus
diserte, quam quae in lite dicuntur, obiurgatio, co-
hortatio, consolatio : quorum nihil est, quod non
summa dicendi ornamenta desideret ; sed ex artificio
res istae praecepta non quaerunt. Plane, inquit
Catulus, assentior.
51 Age vero, inquit Antonius, qualis oratoris, et
quanti hominis in dicendo, putas esse, historiam
scribere ? Si, ut Graeci scripserunt, summi, inquit
Catulus ; si, ut nostri, nihil opus est oratore : satis
S34
DE ORATORE, II. xi. 48— xii. 51
sphere of the art ? " Catulus answered, " There is
no need whatever to do so."
XII. " And what if (as often happens to the most nordo
exalted personages) messages have to be communi- dispatehes,
cated from a general at a meeting of the Senate, or
conveyed from the Senate to a general or to any
prince or nation ? Because, on occasions of this sort,
a style of diction more elaborate than the ordinary
has to be employed, does it therefore seem to follow
that this type of speaking should be accounted a
distinct department of oratorical activity, or should
be fitted out with its own peculiar rules ? " " Why
of course not," returned Catulus, " since the ability
acquired by a ready speaker, from the treatment
of his other subjects and topics, will not fail him
in situations of that description."
"And so," continued Antonius, " those matters
which often demand fluent expression, and which just
now, in my praise of eloquence, I asserted to be
within the part of the orator, have no special place in
the formal classification of the branches of rhetoric,
nor any particular code of rules, and yet they must
be handled quite as skilfully as arguments at the
Bar : I am speaking of rebuke, encouragement, and
the giving of comfort, each of which topics calls for
the finest graces of diction, while such subjects ask
no directions from theory." " I am in complete
agreement with you," said Catulus.
" Now further," proceeded Antonius, " what class norhistory.
of orator, and how great a master of language is
qualified, in your opinion, to write history ? " " If
he is to write as the Greeks have written," answered
Catulus, " a man of supreme ability is required : if
the standard is to be that of our own fellow-country-
235
CICERO
est, non esse mendacem. Atqui, ne nostros con-
temnas, inquit Antonius, Graeci quoque sic initio
52 scriptitarunt, ut noster Cato, ut Pictor, ut Piso. Erat
enim historia nihil ahud nisi annahum confectio, cuius
rei, memoriaeque pubhcae retinendae causa, ab
initio rerum Romanarum usque ad P. Mucium ponti-
ficem maximum, res omnes singulorum annorum
mandabat htteris pontifex maximus, referebatque in
album, et proponebat tabulam domi, potestas ut
esset populo cognoscendi, hique etiam nunc Annales
63 Maximi nominantur. Hanc simihtudinem scribendi
multi secuti sunt, qui sine uUis ornamentis monu-
menta solum temporum, hominum, locorum ges-
tarumque rerum rehquerunt. Itaque quahs apud
Graecos Pherecydes, Hellanicus, Acusilas fuit, ahique
permulti, tahs noster Cato, et Pictor, et Piso, qui
neque tenent, quibus rebus ornetur oratio — modo
enim huc ista sunt importata, — et, dum intehegatur,
quid dicant, unam dicendi laudem putant esse
54 brevitatem. Paulum se erexit, et addidit historiae
maiorem sonum vocis vir optimus, Crassi famiharis,
Antipater : ceteri non exornatores rerum, sed
tantummodo narratores fuerunt.
XIII. Est, inquit Catulus, ut dicis. Sed iste ipse
Coehus neque distinxit historiam varietate locorum,
neque verborum coUocatione et tractu orationis leni
236
DE ORATORE, II. xii. 51— xiii. 54
men, no orator at all is needed ; it is enough that
the man should not be a Uar." " But nevertheless,"
rejoined Antonius, " (and I say this, that you may
not think lightly of our own folk) the Greeks them-
selves also used to write, in the beginning, just hke
62 our Cato, Pictor and Piso. For history began as a
mere compilation of annals, on whieh account, and
in order to preserve the general traditions, from the
earhest period of the City down to the pontificate of
Publius Mucius, each High Priest used to commit to
writing all the events of his year of office, and record
them on a white surface, and post up the tablet at his
house, that all men might have hberty to acquaint
themselves therewith, and to this day those records
53 are known as the Pontifical Chronicles. A similar
style of writing has been adopted by many who, with-
out any rhetorical ornament, have left behind them
bare records of dates, personaUties, places and events.
In this sense Pherecydes, Hellanicus, Acusilas, and
very many others among the Greeks, correspond to
our own Cato, Pictor and Piso, who do not understand
the adornment of composition — since it is only of
late that decoration of that sort has been brought
into this country — and, so long as their narrative is
understood, regard conciseness as the historian's
54 single merit. Antipater, an admirable man and a
close friend of Crassus, raised his crest a Uttle higher,
and imparted to history a richer tone : the rest did
not embelUsh their facts, but were chroniclers and
nothing more."
XIII. " It is as you say," rejoined Catulus. " But
even your friend CoeUus did not set off his narrative
with any diversity of reflections, or give finish to his
famous work by his marshalUng of words and a
237
CICERO
et aequabili perpolivit illud opus ; sed ut homo neque
doctus, neque maxime aptus ad dicendum, sicut
potuit, dolavit : vicit tamen, ut dicis, superiores.
65 Minime mirum, inquit Antonius, si ista res ad-
huc nostra lingua illustrata non est. Nemo enim
studet eloquentiae nostrorum hominum, nisi ut in
causis atque in foro eluceat ; apud Graecos autem
eloquentissimi homines, remoti a causis forensibus,
cum ad ceteras res illustres, tum ad scribendam
historiam maxime se applicaverunt. Namque et
Herodotum illum, qui princeps genus hoc ornavit, in
causis nihil omnino versatum esse accepimus : atqui
tanta est eloquentia, ut me quidem, quantum ego
Graece scripta intellegere possum, magnopere de-
66 lectet. Et post illum Thucydides omnes dicendi
artificio, mea sententia, facile vicit : qui ita creber
est rerum frequentia, ut verborum prope numerum
sententiarum numero consequatur, ita porro verbis
est aptus et pressus, ut nescias, utrum res oratione,
an verba sententiis illustrentur. Atqui ne hunc qui-
dem, quanquam est in republica versatus, ex numero
accepimus eorum, qui causas dictitarunt : et hos
ipsos Ubros tum scripsisse dicitur, cum a repubhca
remotus, atque, id quod optimo cuique Athenis ac-
57 cidere solitum est, in exsiUum pulsus esset. Hunc
consecutus est Syracusius Phihstus, qui, cum
Dionysii tyranni famiUarissimus esset, otium suum
consumpsit in historia scribenda, maximeque Thucy-
238
DE ORATORE, II. xiii. 54-57
smooth and unvarying flow of style, but he rough-
hewed it as best he could, Uke a man who was no
scholar and had no special turn for rhetoric : never-
theless, as you observe, he excelled his forerunners."
56 " No wonder," returned Antonius, " if this subject Thegreat
has never yet been brilhantly treated in our language. hiXrians
For not one of our own folk seeks after eloquence, reviewed.
save with an eye to its display at the Bar and in
pubhc speaking, whereas in Greece the most eloquent
were strangers to forensic advocacy, and applied
theraselves chiefly to reputable studies in general,
and particularly to writing history. Indeed even of
renowned Herodotus, who first imparted distinction
to such work, we have heard that he was in no way
concerned with lawsuits, and yet his eloquence is
of such quality as to afFord intense pleasure, to
myself at any rate, so far as I can comprehend what
56 is written in Greek. After his day Thucydides, in
my judgement, easily surpassed all others in dexterity
of composition : so abounding is he in fullness of
material that in the number of his ideas he well-
nigh equals the number of his words, and further-
more he is so exact and clear in expression that you
cannot tell whether it be the narrative that gains
illumination from the style, or the diction from the
thought. Yet even of him, though a man of pubHc
afFairs, we are not told that he was numbered among
forensic speakers ; and it is related that when writing
the volumes in question, he was far away from civic
life, having in fact been driven into exile, as generally
57 happened at Athens to anyone of excellence. He
was succeeded by Philistus of Syracuse, who, living
in the closest intimacy with the tyrant Dionysius,
spent his leisure in writing history and, to my
239
CICERO
didem est, sicut mihi videtur, imitatus. Postea vero,
rhetorum ex clarissima quasi officina, duo praestantes
ingenio, Theopompus et Ephorus, ab Isocrate magis-
tro impulsi, se ad historiam contulerunt ; causas
omnino nunquam attigerunt.
58 XIV. Denique etiam a philosophia profectus prin-
ceps Xenophon, Socraticus ille, post ab Aristotele
Calhsthenes, comes Alexandri, scripsit historiam, et
is quidem rhetorico paene more ; ille autem superior
leniore quodam sono est usus, et qui illum impetum
oratoris non habeat, vehemens fortasse minus, sed
aliquanto tamen est, ut mihi quidem videtur, dulcior.
Minimus natu horum omnium Timaeus, quantum
autem iudicare possum, longe eruditissimus, et rerum
copia et sententiarum varietate abundantissimus, et
ipsa compositione verborum non impohtus, magnam
eloquentiam ad scribendum attulit, sed nullum usum
forensem.
69 Haec cum ille dixisset : Quid est, inquit, Catule ?
Caesar ; ubi sunt, qui Antonium Graece negant
scire ? Quot historicos nominavit ! Quam scienter !
quam proprie de unoquoque dixit ! Id mehercule,
inquit Catulus, admirans, illud iam mirari desino,
quod multo magis ante mirabar, hunc, cum haec
nesciret, in dicendo posse tantum. Atqui, Catule,
inquit Antonius, non ego utilitatem ahquam ad di-
• ue. Greece.
fl40
DE ORATORE, II. xiu. 57— xiv. 59
thinking, was above all else an imitator of Thucy-
dides. Afterwards, however, from what I may call
that most famous factory of rhetoricians,** there issued
a pair of outstanding talent in Theopompus and
Ephorus, who betook themselves to history at the
instance of their teacher Isocrates : lawsuits they
never handled at all.
68 XIV. " And at length historians appeared who had
begun as philosophers, first Xenophon, that notable
follower of Socrates, afterwards Callisthenes, Aris-
totle's disciple and Alexander's famihar friend; the
latter approaching the rhetorical in method, while
his predecessor adopted a gentler kind of tone,
lacking the characteristic vigour of oratory and
possibly less animated but, in my view at any rate,
somewhat more pleasing. Timaeus, the latest-born
of all these, but as well as I can judge, by far the
best informed, the most amply endowed in wealth
of material and range of thought, and a man whose
very style had some polish, brought to authorship
abounding eloquence but no experience of public
speaking."
59 When Antonius had finished Caesar exclaimed,
" What now, Catulus ? Where are those who say
Antonius does not know the Greek tongue ? What a
number of historians he has mentioned ! With what
insight and discrimination he has described every
one ! " " Upon my word," returned Catulus, " in
my astonishment at this I marvel no longer at
something which hitherto surprised me far more,
I mean that our friend here, being all unversed in
these matters, could speak so effectively." " And
yet, Catulus," rejoined Antonius," it is not because
I am on the look-out for aids to oratory, but just for
24.1
CICERO
cendum aucupans, horum libros et nonnullos alios,
sed delectationis causa, cum est otium, legere soleo.
60 Quid ergo ? Est, fatebor, aliquid tamen : ut, cum in
sole ambulem, etiamsi aliam ob causam ambulem,
fieri natura tamen, ut colorer : sic, cum istos libros
ad Misenum (nam Romae vix licet) studiosius le-
gerim, sentio illorum tactu orationem meam quasi
colorari. Sed ne latius hoc vobis patere videatur,
haec duntaxat in Graecis intellego, quae ipsi, qui
61 scripserunt, voluerunt vulgo intellegi. In philosophos
vestros si quando incidi, deceptus indicibus hbrorum,
quod sunt fere inscripti de rebus notis et illustribus,
de virtute, de iustitia, de honestate, de voluptate,
verbum prorsus nullum intellego : ita sunt angustis et
concisis disputationibus illigati. Poetas omnino, quasi
alia quadam Hngua locutos, non conor attingere : cum
his me (ut dixi) oblecto, qui res gestas, aut qui ora-
tiones scripserunt suas, aut qui ita loquuntur, ut
videantur voluisse nobis, qui non sumus eruditissimi,
esse famiUares. Sed illuc redeo.
82 XV. Videtisne, quantum munus sit oratoris his-
toria .'' Haud scio, an flumine orationis et varietate
maximum. Neque tamen eam reperio usquam se-
paratim instructam rhetorum praeceptis : sita sunt
enim ante oculos. Nam quis nescit, primam esse
242
DE ORATORE, II. xiv. 59— xv. 62
pleasure, that I make a habit, when I have time, of
reading the works of these authors and a few more.
60 To what purpose then .'' Well, I will own to some
benefit : just as, when walking in the sunshine,
though perhaps taking the stroU for a diflFerent
reason, the natural result is that I get sunburnt,
even so, after perusing those books rather closely
at Misenum (having Httle chance in Rome), I find
that under their influence my discourse takes on
what I may call a new complexion. However, — not
to let you think this claim too extravagant — I under-
stand no more of Greek hterature than its authors
themselves intended to be understood by the multi-
61 tude. Whenever I light upon your philosophers,
cheated by the titles of their books, which commonly
bear headings descriptive of well-known and obvious
subjects, such as virtue, justice, integrity or pleasure,
I do not comprehend a single word, so inextricably
are they entangled in closely reasoned and con-
densed dialectic. Your poets, speaking as they do
an altogether difFerent tongue, I do not attempt to
handle at all : I divert myself (as I said) in the
company of those who have written the story of
events, or speeches deUvered by themselves, or
whose style suggests their wish to be accessible to
us men of no very profound leaming. But I return
to my argument.
62 XV. " Do you see how great a responsibihty the iTie systems
orator has in historical writing ? I rather think that contain no
for fluency and diversity of diction it comes first, Yet ™'jg °^^
nowhere do I find this art supplied with any in- iiistory,
dependent directions from the rhetoricians ; indeed
its rules He open to the view. For who does not
know history's first law to be that an author must
243
CICERO
historiae legem, ne quid falsi dicere audeat ? Deinde
ne quid veri non audeat ? Ne qua suspicio gratiae
63 sit in scribendo ? Ne qua simultatis ? Haec scilicet
fundamenta nota sunt omnibus ; ipsa autem exaedi-
ficatio posita est in rebus et verbis. Rerum ratio
ordinem temporum desiderat, regionum descrip-
tionem ; vult etiam, quoniam in rebus magnis me-
moriaque dignis consilia primum, deinde acta, postea
eventus expectentur, et de consiliis significari quid
scriptor probet, et in rebus gestis declarari, non solum
quid actum aut dictum sit, sed etiam quomodo ; et
cum de eventu dicatur, ut causae explicentur omnes,
vel casus, vel sapientiae, vel temeritatis, hominumque
ipsorum non solum res gestae, sed etiam, qui fama
ac nomine excellant, de cuiusque vita atque natura.
64 Verborum autem ratio et genus orationis fusum atque
tractum, et cum lenitate quadam aequabili profluens,
sine hac iudiciah asperitate, et sine sententiarum
forensium aculeis persequendum est. Harum tot
tantarumque rerum videtisne ulla esse praecepta,
quae in artibus rhetorum reperiantur ?
In eodem silentio multa alia oratorum ofl^cia iacue-
runt, cohortationes, consolationes, praecepta, ad-
monita : quae tractanda sunt omnia disertissime ;
sed locum suum in his artibus, quae traditae sunt,
65 habent nuUum. Atque in hoc genere illa quoque est
24>4>
DE ORATORE, II. xv. 62-65
not dare to tell anything but the truth ? And its
second that he must make bold to tell the whole
truth ? That there must be no suggestion of par-
tiahty anywhere in his writings ? Nor of mahce ?
63 This groundwork of course is famiUar to every one ;
the completed structure however rests upon the
story and the diction. The nature of the subject
needs chronological arrangement and geographical
representation : and since, in reading of important
affairs worth recording, the plans of campaign, the
executive actions and the results are successively
looked for, it calls also, as regards such plans, for
some intimation of what the writer approves, and,
in the narrative of achievement, not only for a state-
ment of what was done or said, but also of the manner
of doing or saying it ; and, in the estimate of conse-
quences, for an exposition of all contributory causes,
whether originating in accident, discretion or fool-
hardiness ; and, as for the individual actors, besides
an account of their exploits, it demands particulars of
the hves and characters of such as are outstanding
64 in renown and dignity. Then again the kind of lan-
guage and type of style to be followed are the easy
and the flowing, which run their course with unvary-
ing current and a certain placidity, avoiding ahke
the rough speech we use in Court and the advocate's
stinging epigrams. Upon all these numerous and
important points, do you observe that any directions
are to be found in the rhetoricians' systems ?
" In a hke silence have languished many other nor for
duties of the orator, those of encouraging, comforting, abstoact
teaching and warning, all worthy of most eloquent topics.
treatment, yet having no place of their own in those
65 systems hitherto propounded. In this region also
245
CICERO
infinita silva, quod oratori plerique, ut etiam Crassus
ostendit, duo genera ad dicendum dederunt : unum,
de certa definitaque causa, quales sunt, quae in
litibus, quae in deliberationibus versantur, addat, si
quis volet, etiam laudationes : alterum, quod appel-
lant omnes fere scriptores, explicat nemo, infinitam
generis, sine tempore, et sine persona, quaestionem.
66 Hoc quid et quantum sit, cum dicunt, intellegere
mihi non videntur. Si enim est oratoris, quaecumque
res infinite posita sit, de ea posse dicere, dicendum
erit ei, quanta sit solis magnitudo, quae forma terrae :
de mathematicis, de musicis rebus non poterit, quin
dicat, hoc onere suscepto, recusare. Denique ei, qui
profitetur esse suum, non solum de eis controversiis,
quae temporibus et personis notatae sunt, hoc est, de
omnibus forensibus, sed etiam de generum infinitis
quaestionibus dicere, nullum potest esse genus
orationis, quod sit exceptum.
67 XVI. Sed si illam quoque partem quaestionum
oratori volumus adiungere vagam, et Uberam, et
late patentem, ut de rebus bonis aut malis, expeten-
dis aut fugiendis, honestis aut turpibus, utilibus aut
inutihbus, de virtute, de iustitia, de continentia, de
prudentia, de magnitudine animi, de hberalitate, de
pietate, de amicitia, de fide, de oflicio, de ceteris
virtutibus contrariisque vitiis, dicendum oratori pute-
mus ; itemque de repubUca, de imperio, de re miU-
tari, de discipUna civitatis, de hominum moribus :
assumamus eam quoque partem, sed ita, ut sit cir-
246
DE ORATORE, II. xv. 65— xvi. 67
there lies a boundless forest of topics : because (as
Crassus too has shown) most writers have assigned
to the orator two kinds of subject to talk upon, the
one concerned with what is specific and determinate,
such as the matters handled in lawsuits and consulta-
tions, — to which he who will may add panegyrics — ;
the other spoken of by nearly every writer, — though
explained by none — , as the abstract sort of inquiry,
66 unrelated to times or persons. When discussing this
kind they do not seem to me to grasp its nature and
range. For if it be an orator's part to be able to
speak on any subject whatever that is laid before him
in general terms, he will have to discuss the size of the
sun and the contour of the earth ; and after under-
taking this duty he will not be able to refuse to
handle mathematics or the cult of the Muses. In a
word, for the man who claims the right to speak, not
only on problems identified with specific times and
persons (that is, on all judicial issues), but also on
propositions of an abstract character, there can be no
sort of debate which he can decUne.
67 XVI. " But if we would connect with the orator Treatment
that indeterminate, unrestricted and far-extending be^ieft to*"
sort of investigation, and so think it his duty to discuss tact.
good and evil, things to be preferred and things to
be shunned, fair repute and infamy, the useful and
the unuseful, besides moral perfection, righteous-
ness, self-control, discretion, greatness of soul,
generosity, loyalty, friendship, good faith, sense of
duty and the rest of the virtues and their corre-
sponding vices, as well as the State, sovereignty,
warUke operations, poUtical science and the ways of
mankind — then let us take up that kind of inquiry
also, but only on condition that it be confined within
247
CICERO
68 cumscripta modicis regionibus. Equidem omnia,
quae pertinent ad usum civium, morem hominum,
quae versantur in consuetudine vitae, in ratione
reipublicae, in hac societate civili, in sensu hominum
communi, in natura, in moribus, comprehendenda
esse oratori puto ; si minus, ut separatim de his rebus
philosophorum more respondeat, at certe, ut in causa
prudenter possit intexere : hisce autem ipsis de rebus
ut ita loquatur, ut ei, qui iura, qui leges, qui civitates
constituerunt, locuti sunt, simphciter et splendide,
sine ulla serie disputationum, et sine ieiuna con-
certatione verborum.
69 Hoc loco, ne qua sit admiratio, si tot tantarumque
rerum nulla a me praecepta ponentur, sic statuo : Ut
in ceteris artibus, cum tradita sint cuiusque artis
difficiUima, rehqua, quia aut faciUora, aut simiha sint,
tradi non necesse esse ; ut in pictura, qui hominis
speciem pingere perdidicerit, posse eum cuiusvis vel
formae, vel aetatis, etiamsi non didicerit, pingere
neque esse periculum, qui leonem aut taurum pingat
egregie, ne idem in multis aliis quadrupedibus facere
non possit (neque est omnino ars ulla, in qua omnia,
quae illa arte effici possunt, a doctore tradantur, sed
qui primarum et certarum rerum genera ipsa di-
dicerunt, reUqua non incommode per se asse-
70 quuntur) : similiter arbitror in hac sive ratione, sive
exercitatione dicendi, qui illam vim adeptus sit, ut
eorum mentes, qui aut de repubUca, aut de ipsis
&4A
DE ORATORE, II. xvi. 68-70
68 reasonable limits. Of course I hold that all things
relating to the intercourse of fellow-citizens and the
ways of mankind, or concerned with everyday life,
the pohtical system, our own corporate society, the
common sentiments of humanity, natural inchnations
and morals must be mastered by the orator ; if not in
the sense that he is to advise on these matters one by
one, as the philosophers do, yet so far at least as to
enable him to weave them skilfully into his discourse,
and moreover to speak of these very things in the
same way as the founders of rules of law, statutes
and civil communities spoke, frankly and lucidly,
with no formal train of argument or barren verbal
controversy,
69 " And here, to prevent any surprise at my omitting
to lay down any regulations on so many highly
important subjects, I make this declaration : ' Just
as in the other arts, when the hardest portions of each
have been taught, the rest, through being either
easier or just hke the former, call for no teaching ;
as in painting, for instance, he who has thoroughly
learned how to paint the semblance of a man, can
without further lessons paint one of any figure or
time of hfe, nor is there any danger that he, who
would paint to admiration a hon or bull, will be
unable to do the hke with many other four-footed
animals (there being no art whatever wherein all its
possibihties require professorial teaching, since those
who have rightly learned the general principles of
fundamental and estabhshed things attain the rest
70 without difficulty and unaided) ; even so I hold that
in this oratory, be it an art or the outcome of
practice, he who has acquired such power as to be
abie to sway at his pleasure the minds of hearers
249
CICERO
rebus, aut de eis, contra quos aut pro quibus dicat,
cum aliqua statuendi potestate audiant, ad suum
arbitrium movere possit, illum de toto illo genere
reliquarum orationum non plus quaesiturum esse,
quid dicat, quam Polyclitum illum cum Herculem
fingebat, quemadmodum pellem aut hydram fingeret,
etiamsi haec nunquam separatim facere didicisset.
71 XVII. Tum Catulus : Praeclare mihi videris,
Antoni, posuisse, inquit, ante oculos, quid discere
oporteret eum, qui orator esset futurus, quid etiam,
si non didicisset, ex eo, quod didicisset, assumeret :
deduxisti enim totum hominem in duo genera solum
causarum ; cetera innumerabilia exercitationi et
simihtudini reHquisti. Sed videto, ne in istis duobus
generibus hydra tibi sit et pelHs, Hercules autem, et
aHa opera maiora, in ilHs rebus, quas praetermittis,
reHnquantur. Non enim mihi minus operis videtur
de universis generibus rerum, quam de singulorum
causis, ac multo etiam maius de natura deorum, quam
72 de hominum Htibus dicere. Non est ita, inquit
Antonius. Dicam enim tibi, Catule, non tam doctus,
quam, id quod est maius, expertus. Omnium cetera-
rum rerum oratio, mihi crede, ludus est homini non
hebeti, neque inexercitato, neque communium Ht-
terarum et poHtioris humanitatis experti. In causa-
rum contentionibus magnum est quoddam opus,
atque haud sciam, an de humanis operibus longe
maximum : in quibus vis oratoris plerumque ab im-
' i.e. concrete and abstract problems.
«60
DE ORATORE, II. xvi. 70— xvii. 72
invested with authority to determine some issue
concerning the State, or questions of fact, or the
parties vi^hom he may be attacking or defending, will
on any other oratorical topic whatever be no more
at a loss for words than famous PolycHtus, when
modelUng his " Hercules," was at a loss how to model
the wild beast's skin or the water-serpent, even
though he had never been taught to fashion these
subjects in isolation.* "
71 XVII. Here Catulus interposed : " Antonius, I Forensic
think you have admirably set before us what the ^^^^^ *®
would-be orator ought to learn, as well as what he difficuit
would absorb from his learning even without inde-
pendent study : for you have restricted the whole
man to just two kinds of subject," leaving the count-
less other matters to practice and analogy. But
please see that you do not include the water-serpent
and wild beast's skin in your two kinds, and leave the
* Hercules ' and other more important work among
the things you pass over. For it seems to me just as
difficult to discuss the abstract types of things as the
concerns of individuals, and even far more difficult to
discuss the nature of the gods than the legal squabbles
72 of men." " Not so," answered Antonius. " For to
you, Catulus, I will speak as one having less learning
than experience, which is the bigger thing. To dis-
course on any other topic, take my word for it, is
but pastime to a man who is no dullard and has had
some training and is not unacquainted with general
literature and a tolerably polite education. But the
battles of the law-courts involve really great difficulty
and, I rather think, by far the most arduous of
human enterprises ; for here ignorant people com-
monlj judge an orator's power by the test of a
251
CICERO
peritis exitu et victoria iudicatur ; ubi adest arma-
tus adversarius, qui sit et feriendus et repellendus ;
ubi saepe is, qui rei dominus futurus est, alienus atque
iratus, aut etiam amicus adversario et inimicus tibi
est ; cum aut docendus is est, aut dedocendus, aut
reprimendus, aut incitandus, aut omni ratione ad
tempus, ad causam oratione moderandus; in quo saepe
benevolentia ad odium, odium autem ad benevolen-
tiam deducendum est ; aut tanquam machinatione
aliqua, tum ad severitatem, tum ad remissionem
animi, tum ad tristitiam, tum ad laetitiam est contor-
quendus. Omnium sententiarum gravitate, omnium
73 verborum ponderibus est utendum. Accedat oportet
actio varia, vehemens, plena animi, plena spiritus,
plena doloris, plena veritatis. In his operibus si quis
illam artem comprehenderit, ut tanquam Phidias
Minervae signum efficere possit, non sane, quemad-
modum ut in chpeo idem artifex minora illa opera
facere discat, laborabit.
74 XVIII. Tum Catulus : Quo ista maiora ac mira-
bihora fecisti, eo me maior exspectatio tenet qui-
busnam rationibus quibusque praeceptis ea tanta vis
comparetur : non quo mea quidem iam intersit — neque
enim aetas id mea desiderat et ahud quoddam genus
dicendi nos secuti sumus, qui nunquam sententias de
manibus iudicum vi quadam orationis extorsimus, ac
potius placatis eorum animis, tantum, quantum ipsi
patiebantur, accepimus — , sed tamen ista tua nuUum
252
DE ORATORE, II. xvii. 72— xviii. 74
triumphant result, and a panoplied antagonist con-
fronts you who must be smitten as well as countered,
and often he who is to adjudge the victory is ill-
disposed and angry or even friendly to the other side
while hostile to yourself, when he has to be convinced
or undeceived, or reined back or spurred on, or
managed by eloquent suggestion of every considera-
tion befitting the occasion or the circumstances (in
which process goodwill has often to be transmuted
into hatred and hatred into goodwill), or he must
be alternately swung round, as though by some
machinery, to hardness and to gentleness of heart, to
melancholy and to gaiety. Every impressive reflec-
73 tion, every weighty word must be employed. There
must be added a dehvery that is free from monotony
and forceful and rich in energy, animation, pathos
and reality. In such labours, if any man shall have
so firmly grasped this art as to be able to produce
a statue of Minerva, in the manner of Phidias,
assuredly he will have no trouble in learning how to
carry out the lesser details, as that same Master did,
upon the shield."
74 XVIII. To this Catulus rejoined : " The greater Theoiy not
and more marvellous you make out these achieve- experience
ments to be, the greater longing possesses me to know uniess in
the methods or instructions whereby so mighty a ^^° '"^®'
power is to be acquired : not indeed that I am now
personally afFected, — for a man of my years is in
no want of it, and my generation pursued a rather
difFerent style of oratory , in that we never wrested our
verdicts from the grasp of the tribunals by any special
force of eloquence, but rather had them presented
to us, after concihating the feeUngs of the members
j ust so far as they themselves would permit, — but none
253
CICERO
ad usum meum, tantum cognoscendi studio adductus,
75 requiro. Nec mihi opus est Graeco aliquo doctore, qui
mihi pervulgata praecepta decantet, cum ipse nun-
quam forum, nunquam ullum iudicium aspexerit :
ut Peripateticus ille dicitur Phormio, cum Hannibal
Carthagine expulsus Ephesum ad Antiochum venisset
exsul, proque eo, quod eius nomen erat magna apud
omnes gloria, invitatus esset ab hospitibus suis, ut eum,
quem dixi, si vellet, audiret ; cumque is se non nolle
dixisset, locutus esse dicitur homo copiosus aliquot
horas de imperatoris officio, et de omni re mihtari.
Tum, cum ceteri, qui illum audierant, vehementer
essent delectati, quaerebant ab Hannibale, quidnam
ipse de illo philosopho iudicaret ; hic Poenus non
optime Graece, sed tamen Hbere respondisse fertur,
multos se deliros senes saepe vidisse, sed qui magis
76 quam Phormio deliraret, vidisse neminem. Neque
mehercule iniuria ; quid enim aut arrogantius, aut
loquacius fieri potuit, quam Hannibali, qui tot annis
de imperio cum populo Romano, omnium gentium
victore, certasset, Graecum hominem, qui nunquam
hostem, nunquam castra vidisset, nunquam denique
minimam partem ullius pubHci muneris attigisset,
praecepta de re militari dare ? Hoc mihi facere
omnes isti, qui de arte dicendi praecipiunt, viden-
tur : quod enim ipsi experti non sunt, id docent ce-
teros. Sed hoc minus fortasse errant, quod non
te, ut Hannibalem, sed pueros, aut adolescentulos
docere conantur.
254.
DE ORATORE, II. xviii. 74-76
the less I am asking for these secrets of yours, not for
my own use but prompted solely by love of knowledge.
75 Nor do I need any Greek professor to chant at me
a series of hackneyed axioms, when he himself never
had a glimpse of a law-court or judicial proceeding,
as the tale goes of Phormio the well-known Peri-
patetic ; for when Hannibal, banished from Carthage,
had come in exile to Antiochus at Ephesus and, inas-
much as his name was highly honoured all the world
over, had been invited by his hosts to hear the
philosopher in question, if he so pleased, and he had
intimated his wilhngness to do so, that wordy in-
dividual is said to have held forth for several hours
upon the functions of a commander-in-chief and
mihtary matters in general. Then, when the other
hsteners, vastly dehghted, asked Hannibal for his
opinion of the eminent teacher, the Carthaginian is
reported to have thereupon rephed, in no very good
Greek, but at any rate candidly, that time and again
he had seen many old madmen but never one madder
76 than Phormio. And upon my word he was right, for
what better example of prating insolence could there
be than for a Greek, who had never seen a foeman or
a camp, or even had the shghtest connexion with any
pubhc employment, to lecture on mihtary matters to
Hannibal, who all those years had been disputing
empire with the Roman people, the conquerors of the
world ? Just so do all those seem to me to behave
\who lay down rulesf^Jhe art of speaking, for they
)are for teaching others a thlngwrEK" which they
themselves are unacquainted. But possibly their
blunder is the less serious, in that they do not try to
instruct yourself, as Phormio did Hannibal, but only
boys or very young men."
255
CICERO
7? XIX. Erras, Catule, inquit Antonius : nam egomet
in multos iam Phormiones incidi. Quis enim est
istorum Graecorum, qui quemquam nostrum quid-
quam intellegere arbitretur ? Ac mihi quidem non
ita molesti sunt ; facile omnes perpetior et perfero.
Nam aut aliquid afFerunt, quod mihi non displiceat,
aut efficiunt, ut me non didicisse minus poeniteat.
Dimitto autem eos non tam contumeUose quam
philosophum illum Hannibal, et eo fortasse plus
habeo etiam negotii ; sed tamen est eorum doctrina,
78 quantum ego iudicare possum, perridicula. Dividunt
enim totam rem in duas partes, in causae contro-
versiam, et in quaestionis. Causam appellant, rem
positam in disceptatione reorum et controversia ;
quaestionem autem, rem positam in infinita dubita-
tione. De causa praecepta dant ; de altera parte
79 dicendi mirum silentium est. Denique quinque
faciunt quasi membra eloquentiae, invenire quid
dicas, inventa disponere, deinde ornare verbis, post
memoriae mandare, tum ad extremum agere ac pro-
nuntiare : rem sane non reconditam. Quis enim hoc
non sua sponte viderit, neminem posse dicere, nisi et
quid diceret, et quibus verbis, et quo ordine diceret,
haberet, et ea meminisset ? Atque haec ego non
reprehendo, sed ante oculos posita esse dico, ut eas
item quatuor, quinque, sexve partes, vel etiam sep-
tem, quoniam aliter ab aliis digeruntur, in quas est
80 ab his omnis oratio distributa. lubent enim exordiri
ita, ut eum, qui audiat, benevolum nobis faciamus, et
256
DE ORATORE, II. xix. 77-80
77 XIX. " You are mistaken, Catulus,'
1/A
ntonius, " for I myself ere now have fallen in witH of rhetoric
-—' T,T_ . T 1 • /> 1 1 superfluous/
many a rnormio. Is tnere in tact a man among those\ or misiead-i
Greeks who would credit one of us with understanding "°^"
anything ? Not that they worry me so much ; I
gladly sufFer and bear with them all. For they either
contribute to my amusement, or contrive to soften
my regret at not having been a student. And I
send them on their ways less contemptuously than
Hannibal sent his philosopher, and for that reason
perhaps I have even more trouble with them ; their
(y)/ theory^jiowever, so farasjMcai^judgeiis^uU
78 luHicrous^^T^OT^^fliey^Hrvid^^^ into
two "IBranches — the discussion of concrete and of
abstract problems. By the concrete they mean a >^-
question in debate and dispute between htigants,!'^ 4- ,
by the abstract something involved in boundlessi %?>
uncertainty. For the treatment of the concretel y,
they lay down rules ; as to the other branch of
vgiloratory their silence is remarkable. After that they
set forth a sort of fivefold division of rhetoric, to ,,
choose what to say, to marshal the chosen material, 5-j^
next to express it elegantly, then to commit it to '
memory, and in the end actually to deUver it —
assuredly no mysterious progress. For who would not
instinctively realize that no one can make a speech
Without having settled what to say, and in what
) terms andsequence,andwithout remembering all this?
And without complaining of this classification I say
it is one that is obvious, as also are those four, five,
six or even seven subdivisions (for different authorities
adopt difFerent analyses) into which these people
3Q distribute every speech. For theybid_us_open^ in d
such a way as to win the goodwilVOTtnelistSaeTand ^,
" ' "^ 257 "^^
CICERO
docilem et attentum, deinde rem narrare et ita, ut
verisimilis narratio sit, ut aperta, ut brevis ; post
autem dividere causam, aut proponere ; nostra con-
firmare argumentis ac rationibus ; deinde contraria
refutare : tum autem alii conclusionem orationis, et
quasi perorationem collocant, alii iubent, antequara
peroretur, ornandi aut augendi causa, digredi deinde
81 concludere ac perorare. Ne haec quidem repre-
hendo : sunt enim concinne distributa ; sed tamen,
id quod necesse fuit hominibus expertibus veritatis,
non perite. Quae enim praecepta principiorum et
narrationum esse voluerunt, ea in totis orationibus
82 sunt conservanda. Nam ego mihi benevolum iudicem
faciUus facere possum cum sum in cursu orationis, quam
cum omnia sunt inaudita ; docilem autem, non cum
polliceor me demonstraturum, sed tum, cum doceo
et explano : attentum vero, tota actione, non prima de-
83 nuntiatione efficere possumus. lam vero narrationem
quod iubent verisimilem esse et apertam, et brevem,
recte nos admonent; quod haec narrationis magis
putant esse propria quam totius orationis, valde mihi
videntur errare : omninoque in hoc omnis est error,
quod existimant, artificium esse hoc quoddam non
dissimile ceterorum, cuiusmodi de ipso iure civili
hestemo die Crassus componi posse dicebat : ut
genera rerum primum exponerentur, in quo vitiura
est, si genus ullura praeterraittatur ; deinde singu-
lorum partes generura, in quo et deesse aUquam
258
DE ORATORE, II. xix. 80-83
make him receptive and attentive ; then in stating
the case t^TlnaKemir statemenrplausible, lucid and
brief ; after that to dissect or define the matter in
hand, estabhshing our own propositions by evidence
and reasonings before disproving those of the other
side : some masters place next the summing-up of
the address and the so-called peroration, while others
, require, before such peroration, a digression for the \ /
i' sake of effect or amplification, to be followed by '«•
gl the summing-up and the close. I find no fault
with even this distribution, for it is neat, though -^
^ unscientific, as was sure to happen with teachers ^"^
unversed in practical advocacy. For the rules which ■ . 't\^
Ithey have^^gaagKf^to^lrestrrct to the openings and \^,?i;J"
Ithe statements of cases ought to be observed in all J*^
^2' speeches. Thus I can more readily win an arbi- \%^
^ trator's goodwill as my address proceeds than before \'<-
%/, a word of it has been heard, and I make him recep-
^ir^ tive, not when I am promising proof, but when I
-ir/am instructing him and making all plain ; moreover
we can secure his attention by qur argument as a/ ">
83 whole, not_by^our ppenin^ allegations. Tfieiragain, S.^^^
in requiring theTtateinenf oF the^ase to be plausible, -^^ *«
lucid and brief, they advise us well ; but, in deeming v «i^
these qualities more appropriate to such statement ^*l
\ j than to the address as a whole, I think they are ■5 "^
V I greatly mistaken ; and undoubtedly their blunder ^\
arises solely from their idea that this oratory is a[| '\/
kind of art, just like the other arts, suclT^^tllrassus '^. , t
r
said yesterday could be constructed on the model of y
the common law itself, so that the general kinds of '^
subject-matter must first be set out, the omission of
any kind being an error, next the particular species
of each kind, wherein too Uttle or too much of any
259
■i
CICERO
partem, et superare, mendosum est ; tum verborum
omnium definitiones, in quibus neque abesse quid-
quam decet neque redundare.
84 XX. Sed hoc si in iure civili, si etiam in parvis aut
mediocribus rebus doctiores assequi possunt, non
idem sentio tanta hac in re, tamque immensa, posse
fieri. Sin autem qvii arbitrantur, deducendi sunt ad
eos, qui haec docent ; omnia iam exphcata et per-
polita assequentur : sunt enim innumerabiles de
his rebus libri, neque abditi neque obscuri. Sed
videant, quid velint : ad ludendumne, an ad pugnan-
dum arma sint sumpturi ; aliud enim pugna et acies,
ahud ludus campusque noster desiderat. Attamen
ars ipsa ludicra armorum et gladiatori et miUti prodest
aliquid ; sed animus acer, et praesens, et acutus idem
atque versutus, invictos viros efficit [non difficilius
arte coniuncta].^
85 Quare ego tibi oratorem sic iam instituam, si
potuero, ut, quid efficere possit, ante perspiciam. Sit
enim mihi tinctus Utteris ; audierit aUquid, legerit,
ista ipsa praecepta acceperit : tentabo quid deceat,
quid voce, quid viribus, quid spiritu, quid Ungua
efficere possit. Si inteUegam posse ad summos per-
venire, non solum hortabor, ut elaboret, sed etiam,
si vir quoque bonus mihi videbitur esse, obsecrabo :
^ Ellendt, Soro/and others reject the words in brackets a$
a copyisCs addition,
260
DE ORATORE, II. xix. 83— xx. 85
species is a fault, and finally the definitions of all
terms, in which nothing ought to be missing and
nothing redundant.
g4 XX. " But, granting that the more learned can itisnatural
attain such orderliness in common law and also in tUat^'*'^
matters of slight or no great importance, I do not matters.
think the same is possible in this subject, with its
vast significance and range. If however some hold
otherwise, they must be brought to the teachers of
these studies ; they will find everything already dis-
played and highly finished ; for there are countless
books on these topics, neither recondite nor hard
to understand. But let them consider what they
want ; whether it be for sport or warfare that they
mean to arm ; for the requirements of a pitched
battle are not those of a sham fight or our own
training-ground. For all that, the management of
arms in mere sport has its value for gladiator and
soldier aUke, though it is the keen and ready in-
telhgence, endowed with sharpness and resource-
fulness, that secures men against defeat, and no less
easily when alHed with art.
85 " And so I shall now begin making an orator for r-
you, if I can, by first discovering the extent of his J^^
capacity. I would have him be a man of some /% ,
S learning, who has done some hstening and some ^. •l/'
I reading, and received those very teachings we have >t V'
mentioned ; I will make trial of what suits him, and o^^/
/ of his powers of intonation, physique, energy and >* . \
fluency. If I find him capable of reacEing the %^
higEest class, I will not merely encourage him to
work out his purpose but will positively implore him
so to do, provided that I also think his character
sound — so much glory to the whole community do
261
CICERO
• tantum ego in excellenti oratore, et eodem viro
bono, pono esse ornamenti universae civitati. Sin
videbitur, cum omnia summa fecerit, tamen ad
mediocres oratores esse venturus, permittam ipsi,
quid velit ; molestus magnopere non ero ; sin plane
abhorrebit, et erit absurdus, ut se contineat, aut ad
86 aliud studium transferat, admonebo. Nam neque is,
qui optime potest, deserendus ullo modo est a co-
hortatione nostra, neque is, qui aliquid potest, deter-
rendus : quod alterum divinitatis mihi cuiusdam
videtur, alterum, vel non facere, quod non optime
possis, vel facere, quod non pessime facias, humani-
tatis. Tertium vero illud, clamare contra quam de-
ceat, et quam possit, hominis est, ut tu, Catule, de
quodam clamatore dixisti, stultitiae suae quam
87 plurimos testes domestico praeconio coUigentis. De
hoc igitur, qui erit talis, ut cohortandus adiuvandus-
que sit, ita loquamur, ut ei tradamus ea duntaxat,
quae nos usus docuit, ut nobis ducibus veniat eo, quo
sine duce ipsi pervenimus, quoniam mehora docere
non possumus,
88 XXI. Atque, ut a famiUari nostro exordiar, hunc
ego, Catule, Sulpicium, primum in causa parvula
adolescentulum audivl : voce et forma, et motu cor-
poris, et rehquis rebus aptis ad hoc munus, de quo
quaerimus ; oratione autem celeri et concitata, quod
erat ingenii, et verbis efFervescentibus, et paulo
nimiiun redundantibus, quod erat aetatis. Non sum
262
DE ORATORE, II. xx. 85— xxi. 88
I see in an outstanding orator who is also a man of
worth. But if he seems likely, after doing his utmost
in every way, to attain only the level of the ordinary
speaker, I will leave him to his own choice and not
worry him much, w^hile, if he prove wholly un-
suitable and out of his element, I will recommend
either self-repression or recourse to some other
86 vocation. For by no means must a man of the
highest capacity be left without our encouragement,
or one of any abihty scared away, since to my mind
the state of the former partakes in a sense of the
godUke, while the other course, that of refraining
from doing what you cannot do perfectly, or doing
what you can do without complete discredit, is
natural to a gentleman. But that third alternative
of bawling, in defiance of propriety and of the
speaker's own Hmitations, marks the man who, as
you, Catulus, observed of a certain bawler, assembles
as many witnesses of his folly as he can, by acting as
87 his own crier. Of him then, who shall be found
deserving of our encouragement and help, let us so
speak as to impart to him merely what practice has
ytaught us, so that under our leadership he may/j^
1 reach that stage at which we ourselves have arrived ^^
without a leader, since better teaching we cannot n^
give.
88 XXI. " And so, Catulus, to begin with our friend instance of
here, I first heard Sulpicius, when he was almost a appropri-
boy, in a petty case : as to intonation, presence, ateiy
bearing and the other essentials he was well fitted *^'' '^* ^
for this function we are investigating, but his dehvery
was rapid and impetuous — the result of his genius — ,
his diction agitated and a Httle too exuberant, as
was natural at his age. I did not underrate him,
263
CICERO
aspernatus ; volo enim se efferat in adolescente
fecunditas : nam sicut facilius, in vitibus, revocantur
ea, quae sese nimium profuderunt, quam, si nihil valet
materies, nova sarmenta cultura excitantur : ita volo
esse in adolescente, unde aliquid amputem ; non
enim potest in eo sucus esse diuturnus, quod nimis
89 celeriter est maturitatem assecutum. Vidi statim
indolem, neque dimisi tempus, et eum sum cohor-
tatus, ut forum sibi ludum putaret esse ad discendum ;
magistrum autem, quem vellet, eligeret ; me quidem
si audiret, L. Crassum ; quod iste arripuit, et ita sese
facturum confirmavit, atque etiam addidit, gratiae
scilicet causa, me quoque sibi magistrum futurum.
Vix annus intercesserat ab hoc sermone cohortationis
meae, cum iste accusavit C. Norbanum, defendente
me. Non est credibile, quid interesse mihi sit visum
inter eum qui tum erat, et qui anno ante fuerat.
Omnino in illud genus eum Crassi magnificum atque
praeclarum natura ipsa ducebat : sed ea non satis
proficere potuisset, nisi eodem studio atque imitatione
intendisset, atque ita dicere consuesset, ut tota mente
Crassum atque omni animo intueretur.
90 XXII. Ergo hoc sit primum in praeceptis meis, ut
demonstremus, quem imitetur atque ita ut, quae
maxime excellant in eo, quem imitabitur, ea dih-
gentissime persequatur. Tum accedat exercitatio,
qua illum, quem delegerit, imitando eflfingat, atque
ita exprimat, non ut multos imitatores saepe cognovi,
qui aut ea, quae faciha sunt, aut etiam illa, quae
insignia ac paene vitiosa, consectantur imitando.
• See § 197 n.
264
DE ORATORE, II. xxi. 88— xxii. 90
being well content that luxuriance should exalt
itself in the youthful, for, as with vines it is easier
to cut back the branches which have shot out too
riotously than to produce new growths by cultivation
from a feeble stock, even so in a young man I want
something to prune, because the sap can never Hve
89 long in anything which has ripened too early. I
instantly perceived his quahty and did not miss the
opportunity, but urged him to regard the law-courts
as his school of instruction, choosing what master he
pleased, but Lucius Crassus if he would take my
advice ; he caught at this suggestion and assured
me that he would follow it, adding, out of politeness
of course, that I too should be his teacher. Scarcely
a year had elapsed, after this advisory talk with me,
when our friend prosecuted Gaius Norbanus,* whom
I was defending. Incredible was the difFerence I
saw between the Sulpicius of that day and of a year
earher. Assuredly Nature herself was leading him
into the grand and glorious style of Crassus, but could
never have made him proficient enough, had he not
pressed forward on that same way by careful imita-
tion, and formed the habit of speaking with every
thought and all his soul fixed in contemplation of
Crassus.
90 XXII. " Let this then be my first counsel, that we Ruiesfor
show the student whom to copy, and to copy in such p™''*^"'^*
a way as to strive with all possible care to attain
the most excellent quahties of his model. Next let
practice be added, whereby in copying he may
reproduce the pattern of his choice and not portray
him as time and again I have known many copyists
do, who in copying hunt after such characteristics
as are easily copied or even abnormal and possibly
K 265
CICERO
91 Nihil est facilius quam amictum imitari alicuius, aut
statum, aut motum. Si vero etiam vitiosi aliquid est,
id sumere et in eo ambitiosum esse non magnum est,
ut ille, qui nunc etiam, amissa voce, furit in republica,
Fufius, nervos in dicendo C. Fimbriae, quos tamen
habuit ille, non assequitur, oris pravitatem et ver-
borum latitudinem imitatur. Sed tamen ille nec
deligere scivit, cuius potissimum similis esset, et in
eo ipso, quem delegerat, imitari etiam vitia voluit.
92 Qui autem ita faciet, ut oportet, primum vigilet
necesse est in deligendo ; deinde, quem probarit, in
eo, quae maxime excellent, ea diligentissime per-
sequatur.
Quid enim causae censetis esse, cur aetates ex-
tulerint singulae singula prope genera dicendi ? Quod
non tam facile in nostris oratoribus possumus iudi-
care, quia scripta, ex quibus iudicium fieri posset, non
multa sane reliquerunt, quam in Graecis ; ex quorum
scriptis, cuiusque aetatis quae dicendi ratio voluntas-
03 que fuerit, intellegi potest. Antiquissimi fere sunt,
quorum quidem scripta constent, Pericles atque
Alcibiades, et eadem aetate Thucydides, subtiles,
acuti, breves, sententiis magis quam verbis abun-
dantes. Consecuti sunt hos Critias, Theramenes,
Lysias : multa Lysiae scripta sunt ; nonnuUa Critiae ;
de Theramene audivimus. Non potuisset accidere
ut unum esset omnium genus, nisi ahquem sibi pro-
ponerent ad imitandum^ : omnes etiam tum re-
tinebant illum Periclis sucum ; sed erant paulo
* non . . . imitandum hic Warmington : ante Consecuti.
266
DE ORATORE, II. xxii. 91-93
91 faulty. For nothing is easier than to imitate a man*s
style of dress, pose or gait. Moreover, if there is
a fault, it is not much trouble to appropriate that
and to copy it ostentatiously, just as that Fufius,
who even now is raving in the political world, though
his voice has gone, fails to attain the energy in
speaking which Gaius Fimbria certainly possessed,
though hitting ofF his uncouth mouthings and broad
pronunciation, For all that, however, he did not
know how to choose the model whom he would most
willingly resemble, and it was positively the faults
92 in his chosen pattern that he elected to copy. But
he who is to proceed aright must first be watchful
in making his choice, and afterwards extremely
careful in striving to attain the most excellent
quahties of the model he has approved.
" Why now is it, do you suppose, that nearly every ^ ^ ^^^
age has produced its own distinctive style of oratory ? schoois of
Of this truth we can judge less easily in the case °^^^y-
of our own orators, since they have left but very
few writings on which a judgement could be based,
than as regards the Greeks, from whose works the
method and tendency of the oratory of every genera-
93 tion may be understood. Quite the earliest, of whom
we have any authentic remains, are Pericles and
Alcibiades, with Thucydides of the same generation,
all of them accurate, pointed, terse and wealthier
in ideas than diction. These were followed by
Critias, Theramenes and Lysias : we possess many
writings of Lysias, of Critias a few ; Theramenes is
but a name to us. Their uniformity of style could
never have come about, had they not kept before
them some single model for imitation : they all still
retained the pecuhar vigour of Pericles, but their
267
CICERO
94 uberiore filo. Ecce tibi exortus est Isocrates, magis-
ter rhetorum^ omnium, cuius e ludo, tanquam ex equo
Troiano, meri principes exierunt ; sed eorum partim
in pompa, partim in acie illustres esse voluerunt.
XXIII. Atque' et illi, Theopompi, Ephori, Philisti,
Naucratae, multique ahi naturis difFerunt, voluntate
autem similes sunt et inter sese et magistri, et ei,
qui se ad causas contulerunt, ut Demosthenes, Hy-
perides, Lycurgus, Aeschines, Dinarchus, aliique com-
plures, etsi inter se pares non fuerunt, tamen omnes
sunt in eodem veritatis imitandae genere versati,
quorum quamdiu mansit imitatio, tamdiu genus illud
95 dicendi studiumque vixit. Posteaquam, exstinctis
his, omnis eorum memoria sensim obscurata est et
evanuit, alia quaedam dicendi molliora ac remissiora
genera viguerunt. Inde Demochares, quem aiunt
sororis fihum fuisse Demosthenis ; tum Phalereus ille
Demetrius, omnium istorum, mea sententia, pohtis-
simus, aliique horum similes exstiterunt. Quae si
volemus usque ad hoc tempus persequi, intellegemus,
ut hodie Alabandensem illum Meneclem, et eius
fratrem Hieroclem, quos ego audivi, tota imitetur
Asia : sic semper fuisse aUquem, cuius se similes
gg plerique esse vellent. Hanc igitur simiUtudinem qui
imitatione assequi volet, cum exercitationibus crebris
atque magnis, tum scribendo maxime persequatur :
quod si hic noster Sulpicius faceret, multo eius oratio
esset pressior ; in qua nunc interdum, ut in herbis
* rhetorum li^id : istorum. ■ Atque Wilkins, : Itaque.
268
DE ORATORE, II. xxii. 94— xxiii. 96
94 texture was a little more luxuriant. Then behold !
there arose Isocrates, the Master of all rhetoricians,
from whose school, as from the Horse of Troy, none
but leaders emerged, but some of them sought glory
in ceremonial, others in action.
XXIII. " And indeed the former sort, men like
Theopompus, Ephorus, Philistus, Naucrates and
many more, while difFering in natural gifts, yet in
spirit resemble one another and their Master too ;
and those who betook themselves to lawsuits, as did
Demosthenes, Hyperides, Lycurgus, Aeschines,
Dinarchus and several others, although of varying
degrees of ability, were none the less all busy with
the same type of imitation of real life, and as long
as the imitation of these persisted, so long did their
95 kind of oratory and course of training endure. After-
wards, when these men were dead and all remem-
brance of them gradually grew dim and then vanished
away, certain other less spirited and lazier styles of
speaking flourished. Then came Demochares, said to
have been the son of Demosthenes' sister, and after
him the distinguished Demetrius of Phalerum, the
most elegant, to my thinking, of all that school, and
others Hke them. And, if we please to trace this
subject down to our own times, we shall find, that just
as to-day all Asia is copying the great Menecles of
Alabanda and his brother Hierocles, both of whom I
have heard, so there has always been some speaker
96 whom the majority would fain resemble. Let him
then, who hopes by imitation to attain this likeness,
carry out his purpose by frequent and large practice,
and if possible, by written composition : if our friend
Sulpicius here were to do so, his diction would be
far more condensed ; at present, as countrymen are
269
CICERO
rustici solent dicere in summa ubertate, inest luxuries
quaedam, quae stylo depascenda est.
97 Hic Sulpicius : Me quidem, inquit, recte mones,
idque mihi gratum est : sed ne te quidem, Antoni,
multum scriptitasse arbitror.
Tum ille: Quasi vero, inquit, non ea praecipiam
aliis, quae mihi ipsi desint : sed tamen ne tabulas
quidem conficere existimor. Verum et in hoc, ex re
familiari mea, et in illo, ex eo, quod dico, quantulum
98 id cumque est, quid faciam, iudicari potest. Atque
esse tamen multos videmus, qui neminem imitentur
et suapte natura, quod velint, sine cuiusquam simili-
tudine consequantur. Quod et in vobis animadverti
recte potest, Caesar et Cotta ; quorum alter inusi-
tatum nostris quidem oratoribus leporem quemdam
et salem, alter acutissimum et subtiUssimum dicendi
genus est consecutus. Neque vero vester aequalis
Curio, patre, mea sententia, vel eloquentissimo
temporibus illis, quemquam mihi magnopere videtur
imitari ; qui tamen verborum gravitate et elegantia
et copia suam quamdam expressit quasi formam,
figuramque dicendi : quod ego maxime potui iudicare
in ea causa, quam ille contra me apud centumviros
pro fratribus Cossis dixit ; in qua nihil ilH defuit, quod
non modo copiosus, sed etiam sapiens orator habere
deberet.
99 XXIV. Verum, ut aliquando ad causas deducamus
illum, quem constituimus, et eas quidem, in quibus
plusculum negotii est, iudiciorum atque Utium —
270
DE ORATORE, II. xxiii. 96— xxiv. 99
wont to say of grass in times of extreme productive-
ness, it occasionally has a certain luxuriance about
it, which should be grazed ofF by the pen."
97 Here Sulpicius interposed, " Truly you give me
good counsel and I thank you for it, but I fancy
that even you, Antonius, have done but Uttle
scribbhng."
To which Antonius made answer, " As though I
could not teach others what I lack myself ; though
certainly I am credited with not even keeping
accounts ! But what httle I can do in this direction But gifted
can be iudffed from my financial situation, and in individuais
, 1 J^ 1 T Ai-TT candispense
98 the other irom wnat 1 say. And mdeed we see withmodeis.
that there are many who copy no man, but gain their
objects by natural aptitude, without resembUng any
model. And the truth of this may be observed in
you two, Caesar and Cotta, for one of you has acquired
a degree of humour and wit unusual in orators, at any
rate in our own, and the other a thoroughly keen
and subtle type of oratory. Curio too, your con-
temporary, whose father I consider quite the most
eloquent of his day, seems to me to copy no one in
particular, though in the dignity, refinement and
copiousness of his language he has given expression
to what may be called his own pecuUar pattern and
type of oratory, of which I could judge to perfection
in that action which he conducted against me before
the Hundred Commissioners, on behalf of the brothers
Cossi ; on that occasion he lacked no qualification
which an orator of insight, not of copiousness alone,
should possess.
99 XXIV. " However, to introduce at last this man Firatmaster
we are portraying to the business of trials and law- factsofcase.
suits, especially such cases as involve rather more
271
CICERO
riserit aliquis fortasse hoc praeceptum ; est enim non
tam acutum, quam necessarium, magisque monitoris
non fatui, quam eruditi magistri — hoc ei primum
praecipiemus, quascumque causas erit tractaturus, ut
100 eas diligenter penitusque cognoscat. Hoc in ludo
non praecipitur : faciles enim causae ad pueros
deferuntur. ' Lex peregrinum vetat in murum
ascendere ; ascendit ; hostes repuht ; accusatur.'
Nihil est negotii eiusmodi causam cognoscere ; recte
igitur nihil de causa discenda praecipiunt : haec
est enim in ludo causarum fere formula. At vero
in foro, tabulae, testimonia, pacta conventa, stipula-
tiones, cognationes, affinitates, decreta, responsa, vita
denique eorum qui in causa versantur, tota cogno-
scenda est : quarum rerum neglegentia plerasque
causas, et maxime privatas (sunt enim multo saepe
101 obscuriores) videmus amitti. Ita nonnulh, dum
operam suam multam existimari volunt, ut toto foro
vohtare et a causa ad causam ire videantvu*, causas
dicimt incognitas. In quo est illa quidem magna
ofFensio, vel neglegentiae, susceptis rebus ; vel per-
fidiae, receptis ; sed etiam iUa maior opinione, quod
nemo potest de ea re, quam non novit, non turpissime
dicere. Ita dum inertiae vituperationem, quae maior
est, contemnunt, assequuntur etiam illam, quam
magis ipsi fugiunt, tarditatis.
102 Equidem soleo dare operam, ut de sua quisque re
272
DE ORATORE, II. xxiv. 99-102
trouble, — someone will perhaps laugh at this axiom,
for it is not so much shrewd as necessary, and
comes from an adviser who is no fool, rather than
from a learned Master — , we shall first instruct
him to get up carefully and thoroughly whatever
100 cases he proposes to conduct. This is no canon
of the schools, for the cases set to the boys are
simple. ' Statute forbids a foreigner to mount the
wall ; a foreigner mounts ; he has driven ofF the
enemy ; he is prosecuted.' It is no trouble to get
up a case hke that, and so they are right in giving
no directions for mastering the case, for this is just
about the type of wording in cases set in the schools.
But in the law-courts documents, evidence, informal
agreements, formal contracts, relationship by blood
or marriage, magisterial orders, opinions of counsel,
and finally the Ufe-history of the parties to the pro-
ceedings, must all be examined ; and we see that
it is generally through neglect of these matters that
cases are lost, particularly such as concern private
rights, for these are often of peculiar difficulty.
101 Thus some practitioners, wishing their business to be
thought large, and themselves to be seen flitting
from lawsuit to lawsuit all round the courts, argue
cases which they have not got up. Herein they incur
very grave reproach, either of carelessness, if their
services are volunteered, or of bad faith, if they are re-
tained ; but that reproach is deemed all the greater,
in that no man can speak, without the direst disgrace,
on a subject which he has not mastered. And so,
while scorning the accusation of laziness, in reality
the more serious, they encounter as well that of dull-
ness, which they themselves more sedulously avoid.
102 " It is my own practice to take care that every client
273
CICERO
me ipse doceat et ut ne quis alius adslt, quo liberius
loquatur, et agere adversarii causam, ut ille agat
suam et, quidquid de sua re cogitarit, in medium
proferat. Itaque cum ille discessit, tres personas unus
sustineo summa animi aequitate, meam, adversarii,
iudicis. Qui locus est talis, ut plus habeat adiumenti
quam incommodi, hunc iudico esse dicendum ; ubi
plus mali quam boni reperio, id totum abiudico atque
103 eicio. Ita assequor, ut alio tempore cogitem, quid
dicam, et aho dicam : quae duo plerique ingenio freti
simul faciunt ; sed certe eidem ilU mehus ahquanto
dicerent, si ahud sumendum sibi tempus ad cogi-
tandum, ahud ad dicendum putarent.
104 Cum rem penitus causamque cognovi, statim
occurrit animo, quae sit causa ambigendi. Nihil est
enim, quod inter homines ambigatur (sive ex crimine
causa constat, ut facinoris, sive ex controversia, ut
hereditatis, sive ex dehberatione, ut behi, sive ex
persona, ut laudis, sive ex disputatione, ut de ratione
vivendi) in quo non, aut quid factum sit, aut fiat,
futurumve sit, quaeratur, aut quale sit, aut quid
vocetur.
106 XXV. Ac nostrae fere causae, quae quidem sunt
criminum, plerumque infitiatione defenduntur. Nam
et de pecuniis repetundis, quae maximae sunt, ne-
ganda fere sunt omnia, et de ambitu raro illud datur,
ut possis hberahtatem atque benignitatem ab ambitu
274
DE ORATORE, II. xxiv. 102— xxv. 105
personally instructs me on his afFairs, and that no one
else shall be present, so that he may speak the more
freely ; and to argue his opponent's case to him, so
that he may argue his own and openly declare
whatever he has thought of his position. Then, when
he has departed, in my own person and with perfect
impartiality I play three characters, myself, my
opponent and the arbitrator. Whatever consideration
is hkely to prove more helpful than embarrassing I
decide to discuss ; wherever I find more harm than
good I entirely reject and discard the topic concerned.
103 In this way I gain the advantage of reflecting first on
what to say and saying it later, two things which most
people, trusting in their talent, do simultaneously,
though those same individuals would certainly speak
rather more successfully, if they thought fit to take
one occasion for reflection and another for speaking.
104 " When I have thoroughly mastered the circum- The issue
stances of a case the issue in doubt comes instantly to ^g ®" ^^g'
my mind. For of all the issues disputed among men, one of three
whether the matter is criminal, as a charge of outrage, ^ ^ '
or a civil proceeding, as one relating to an inheritance,
or a discussion of poUcy, as one touching a war, or of
a personal kind, as a panegyric, or a philosophical
debate, as on the way to live, there is not one of
which the point is not either what has been done, or
what is being done, or going to be done, or as to the
nature or description of something.
105 XXV. "In almost all our cases, in prosecutions at (i) factof
any rate, the usual defence is a plea of not guilty. ^^^^^^ *° '
For, in trials for extortion, the most important class,
nearly every allegation must be denied, and, on a
charge of corrupt practices, lavish generosity can
seldom be distinguished from profuse bribery ; in
275
CICERO
atque largitione seiungere ; de sicariis, de veneficiis,
de peculatu infitiari necesse est. Id est igitur genus
primum causarum in iudiciis ex controversia facti ;
in deliberationibus plerumque ex futuri, raro ex
106 instantis aut acti. Saepe etiam res non sit necne,
sed qualis sit quaeritur ; ut cura L. Opimii causam
defendebat apud populum, audiente me, C. Carbo
consul, nihil de C. Gracchi nece negabat, sed id iure
pro salute patriae factum esse dicebat ; ut eidem
Carboni tribuno plebis alia tum mente rem pubh-
cam capessenti P. Africanus de Ti. Graccho inter-
roganti responderat iure caesum videri. lure autem
omnia defenduntur, quae sunt eius generis, ut aut
oportuerit aut hcuerit aut necesse fuerit aut impru-
107 dentia aut casu facta esse videantur. lam quid
vocetur, quaeritur, cura quo verbo quid appel-
landum sit, contenditur ; ut mihi ipsi cmn hoc
Sulpicio fuit in Norbani causa summa contentio.
Pleraque enim de eis, quae ab isto obiciebantur,
cura confiterer, tamen ab illo maiestatem minutara
negabam, ex quo verbo lege Appuleia tota illa causa
208 pendebat. Atque in hoc genere causarum non nulh'
praecipiunt ut verbum illud, quod causam facit,
breviter uterque definiat, quod mihi quidem per-
quam puerile videri solet. Aha est enim, cum inter
doctos horaines de eis ipsis rebus quae versantur
in artibus disputatur, verborum definitio, ut cum
" See § 197 n.
* In 100 B.C., appointing a connmission to investigate
treasons committed during the Cimbrian war, 1 13 — 101 b.c
276
DE ORATORE, II. xxv. 105-108
cases of assassination, poisoning or misappropriation
a denial is the inevitable plea. Thus in Court the
first class of cases is that of disputed facts ; debate
generally proceeds from something still to come,
106 seldom from anything present or past. Often too (2) it«
the question is not whether something be the °* ^^
fact or not, but what is its nature ; as, when I
heard Gaius Carbo, in his consulship, defending
Lucius Opimius before the people, he denied no de-
tail of the killing of Gaius Gracchus, but urged that
it was justifiable and for the public safety ; or as
when PubHus Africanus made answer to that very
Carbo (by then a tribune of the commons with
changed political views and putting a question as to
Tiberius Gracchus), that * his death appeared to be
justifiable.' Now all acts may be defended as justifi- (3) ita defl.
able which are such that the doing thereof was a ^^^^^'^
duty, or permissible, or necessary, or which are shown
to have been done inadvertently or by accident.
107 Again the question is one of definition, when the
terms in which an act should be described are in dis-
pute, as in the main contention between myself and
our friend Sulpicius at the trial of Norbanus.* For,
while admitting most of our friends indictment, I
still maintained that the defendant was not guilty of
' treason,' since the whole case depended on the con-
struction of this word, by virtue of the Statute of
108 Appuleius.^ And in such proceedings some lay down
a rule that each side shall concisely define the de-
batable term, a proposition which I myself always
think thoroughly childish. For definition of terms is
another thing when controversy arises among special-
ists touching the intimate concerns of the arts, for
instance when inquiry is made as to the essential
877
CICERO
quaeritur, quid sit ars, quid sit lex, quid sit civitas, in
quibus hoc praecipit ratio atque doctrina, ut vis eius
rei quam definias sic exprimatur ut neque absit
109 quicquam neque supersit. Quod quidem in illa causa
neque Sulpicius fecit neque ego facere conatus sum ;
nam quantum uterque nostrum potuit, omni copia
dicendi dilatavit, quid esset maiestatem minuere.
Etenim definitio primum reprehenso verbo uno aut
addito aut dempto saepe extorquetur e manibus ;
deinde genere ipso doctrinam redolet exercitatio-
nemque paene puerilem ; tum et in sensum et in
mentem iudicis intrare non potest, ante enim prae-
terlabitur, quam percepta est.
110 XXVI. Sed in eo genere, in quo quale sit quid,
ambigitur, exsistit etiam ex scripti interpretatione
saepe contentio, in quo nuUa potest esse nisi ex
ambiguo controversia. Nam illud ipsum, quod scrip-
tum a sententia discrepat, genus quoddam habet
ambigui ; quod tum explicatur, cum ea verba, quae
desunt, suggesta sunt, quibus additis defenditur
sententiam scripti perspicuam fuisse. Ex contrariis-
que scriptis si quid ambigitur, non novum genus
nascitur, sed superioris generis causa duplicatur.
Idque aut numquam diiudicari poterit aut ita diiudi-
cabitur, ut referendis praeteritis verbis id scriptum,
quodcumque defendemus, suppleatur. Ita fit, ut
unum genus in eis causis, quae propter scriptum
ambiguntur, reUnquatur, si est scriptum ahquid
ambigue.
111 Ambiguorum autem cum plura genera sunt, quae
278
DE ORATORE, II. xxv. 108— xxvi. 111
nature of an art, a statute or a community, in which
circumstances scientific method ordains that the
significance of whatever you are defining shall be
109 made plain, with no omission or redundance. But in
that case of ours Sulpicius did no such thing nor did
I attempt it, since we both, to the utmost of our
power, enlarged with all our fluency upon the mean-
ing of ' act of treason.' For, in the first place, if the
addition or substraction of a word be seized on, a
definition is often wrung from our grasp, and then too
the very suggestion savours of the schools and a
training little better than elementary, and lastly the
definition cannot reach the understanding and reason
of the arbitrator, as It slips by him before he has
taken it in.
110 XXVI. "But in that kind of cases, wherein the Thesethree
nature of somethinff is in issue, a further contest often issues ex-
Ai ./•! ii_ plamed,
arises out of the construction or a document, when
the only possible dispute comes from an equivocation.
For the mere fact that letter and spirit are at variance
involves something of an equivocation ; and this is
solved directly the missing words are supplied, and,
when these are inserted, it is contended that the
sense of the writing has become plain. And, if un-
certainty arises from passages which contradict one
another, there emerges no new sort of problem, but
a double example of the former kind. And this
will either prove insoluble, or will be so solved, that
by the restoration of the words omitted, whichever
version we are upholding will be completed. It
follows that only one class is left of problems turn-
ing on the writer's language, these arising where
something has been equivocally expressed.
111 " Now, although there are several kinds of equivo-
27<)
CICERO
mihi videntur ei melius nosse, qui dialectici appel-
lantur, hi autem nostri ignorare, qui non minus nosse
debeant, tum illud est frequentissimum in omni
consuetudine vel sermonis vel scripti, cum idcirco
aliquid ambigitur, quod aut verbum aut verba sint
112 praetermissa. Iterum autem peccant, cum genus
hoc causarum, quod in scripti interpretatione versa-
tur, ab illis causis, in quibus, qualis quaeque res sit,
disceptatur, seiungunt ; nusquam enim tam quae-
ritur, quale sit genus ipsum rei quam in scripto, quod
totum a facti controversia separatum est.
113 Ita tria sunt omnino genera, quae in discepta-
tionem et controversiam cadere possunt : quid fiat
factum futurumve sit, aut quale sit, aut quo modo
nominetur. Nam illud quidem, quod quidam Graeci
adiungunt, 'rectene factum sit,' totum in eo est,
'quale sit.'
114 XXVII. Sed iam ad institutum revertar meum.
Cum igitur accepta causa et genere cognito rem
tractare coepi, nihil prius constituo, quam quid sit
illud, quo mihi sit referenda omnis illa oratio, quae sit
propria quaestionis et iudicii. Deinde illa duo dili-
gentissime considero, quorum alterum commenda-
tionem habet nostram aut eorum, quos defendimus,
alterum est accommodatum ad eorum animos, apud
quos dicimus, ad id, quod volumus, commovendos. Ita
omnis ratio dicendi tribus ad persuadendum rebus est
nixa : ut probemus vera esse, quae defendimus ; ut
concihemus eos nobis, qui audiunt ; ut animos eorum,
ad quemcumque causa postulabit motum, vocemus.
116 -^^ probandum autem duplex est oratori subiecta
• «.«. the rhetoricians.
280
DE ORATORE, II. xxvi. 111— xxvii. 116
cation (better understood, I think, by the so-called
logicians, and unknown to these " friends of ours,
who should understand them just as well), yet the
most common, in the whole range of verbal or written
intercourse, is the equivocation due to the omission
112 of a word or words. And they are wrong again in
distinguishing between this sort of cases, con-
cerned with documentary construction, and those
where the nature of something is in debate ; for
never is the precise character of anything so closely
investigated as in the construction of a document,
which has nothing in common with questions of fact.
113 " Then questions of three kinds in all may fall under
debate and dispute — , what is being done, or has been
done or is going to be done, or what is the nature of
something, or what is its right designation .'' For
i that further question, added by sundry Greeks,
whether something was lawfuUy done, is completely
covered by the question of its nature.
114 XXVII. " But to return at length to my own plan. Three
As soon then as I have received my instructions and «bjects .a
classed the case and taken the matter in hand, the
very first thing I determine is that point to which I
must devote all such part of my speech as belongs
peculiarly to the issue and the verdict. Next I con-
template with the utmost care those other two
essentials, the one involving the recommendation of
myself or my clients, the other designed to sway the
115 feelings of the tribunal in the desired direction. Thus
for purposes of persuasion the art of speaking relies
whoUy upon three things : theproof ofourallegations,
the winning of our hearers' favour, and the rousing of
their feehngs to whatever impulse our case may
116 require. For purposes of proof, however, the material
281
CICERO
materies : una rerum earum, quae non exeogitantur
ab oratore, sed in re positae ratione tractantur, ut
tabulae, testimonia, paeta conventa, quaestiones,
leges, senatus consulta, res iudicatae, decreta, re-
sponsa, reliqua, si quae sunt, quae non ab oratore
pariuntur, sed ad oratorem a causa atque a reis
deferuntur ; altera est, quae tota in disputatione et
117 in argumentatione oratoris coUocata est. Ita in
superiore genere de tractandis argumentis, in hoc
autem etiam de inveniendis cogitandum est. Atque
isti quidem, qui docent, cum causas in plura genera
secuerunt, singulis generibus argumentorum copiam
suggerunt. Quod etiamsi ad instituendos adolescen-
tulos magis aptum est, ut, simul ac posita causa sit,
habeant quo se referant, unde statim expedita
possint argumenta depromere, tamen et tardi ingenii
est rivulos consectari, fontis rerum non videre, et
iam aetatis est ususque nostri a capite quod velimus
arcessere et unde omnia manent videre.
118 Et primum genus illud earum rerum, quae ad
oratorem deferuntur, meditatum nobis in perpetuum
ad omnem usum similium rerum esse debebit ; nam et
pro tabulis et contra tabulas et pro testibus et contra
testes et pro quaestionibus et contra quaestiones
et item de ceteris rebus eiusdem generis vel separa-
tim dicere solemus de genere universo vel definite de
singuhs temporibus, hominibus, causis ; quos quidem
locos — vobis hoc, Cotta et Sulpici, dico— multa com-
mentatione atque meditatione paratos atque expe-
282
DE ORATORE, II. xxvii. 116-118
at the orator's disposal is twofold, one kind made up Facts must
of the things which are not thought out by himself, ||g,f|^^
but depend upon the circumstances and are dealt evidenceor
with by rule, for example documents, oral evidence, ^'"S"'"'*'»*-
informal agreements, examinations, statutes, decrees
of the Senate, judicial precedents, magisterial orders,
opinions of counsel, and whatever else is not pro-
duced by the orator, but is suppUed to him by the
case itself or by the parties : the other kind is founded
117 entirely on the orator's reasoned argument. And so, Methods ot
with the former sort, he need only consider the thesl)'"^
handUng of his proofs, but with the latter, the dis- acquired
covery of them as well. And indeed those professors, ^ ® " ^
after distinguishing a larger number of types of cases,
suggest proofs in plenty for each type. But, even if
this plan is better fitted for training the young, to
the end that, directly a case is propounded, they may
have authorities from which they can forthwith
borrow ready-made proofs, yet it is a symptom of
congenital dullness to follow up the tiny rills, but fail
to discern the sources of things : and by this time it
is the privilege of men of our years and experience to
call up what we want from the water's head, and to
discern the springs of every stream.
118 " And, to begin with, that class of things supplied to
the orator we shaU have to study constantly, with a
view to the general use of similar instances ; for in
attacking or defending documents, witnesses or exam-
inations by torture, and also in deaUng with aU other
such subjects, it is our habit to discuss either the whole
class in the abstract, or individual occasions, persons
or circumstances in the concrete : these common-
places (I am speaking to you, Cotta and Sulpicius)
you ought, by dint of large study and practice, to
283
CICERO
119 ditos habere debetis. I^ongum est enim nunc me expli-
care, qua ratione aut confirmare aut infirmare testes,
tabulas, quaestiones oporteat. Haec sunt omnia in«
genii vel mediocris, exercitationis autem maximae ;
artem quidem et praecepta dumtaxat hactenus requi-
120 runt, ut certis dicendi luminibus ornentur. Itemque
illa, quae sunt alterius generis, quae tota ab oratore
pariuntur, excogitationem non habent difficilem ;
explicationem magis illustrem perpohtamque de-
siderant. Itaque cum haec duo nobis quaerenda
sint in causis, primvrai quid, deinde quo modo
dicamus, alterum, quod totum arte tinctum videtur,
tametsi artem requirit, tamen prudentiae est paene
mediocris quid dicendum sit videre ; alterum est, in
quo oratoris vis illa divina virtusque cernitur, ea, quae
dicenda sunt, ornate, copiose varieque dicere.
121 XXVIII. Qua re illam partem superiorem, quoniam
semel ita vobis placuit, non recusabo quo minus
perpoliam atque conficiam — quantum consequar, vos
iudicabitis — quibus ex locis ad eas tres res, quae ad
fidem faciendam solae valent, ducatur oratio, ut
et concihentur animi et doceantur et moveantur.
Haec sunt enim tria. Ea vero quem ad modum illus-
trentur, praesto est, qui omnes docere possit, qui hoc
primus in nostros mores induxit, qui maxime auxit,
122 qui solus efFecit. Namque ego, Catule, — dicam enim
non reverens assentandi suspicionem — neminem esse
oratorem paulo illustriorem arbitror, neque Graecum
neque Latinum, quem aetas nostra tulerit, quem non
et saepe et diligenter audierim. Itaque si quid est in
me — quod iam sperare videor, quoniam quidem vos,
• i.e. inventio, or the discovery of what to say.
284)
DE ORATORE, II. xxvii. 119— xxviii. 122
119 have ready at hand. It would be a long story for me
to unfold just now the right way to corroborate or
weaken witnesses, documents or examinations. All
this demands no great talent but vast practice, and
Art and her maxims only to this extent — that it be
120 illuminated by good and efFective diction. So too
those subjects of the other class, produced entirely
by the orator, are easy enough to think out, but call
for clearer and highly finished exposition. Thus,
while in our cases we have these two objectives, first
what to say, and secondly how to say it, the former,
which seems to be art pure and simple, cannot indeed
dispense with art, though it needs but ordinary skill
to discover what ought to be said ; but it is in the
latter that the orator's godhke power and excellence
are discerned, that is, his delivery of what he has to
say in a style elegant, copious and diversified.
121 XXVIII. " Accordingly , as you have once for all so Mode of
resolved, I shall not object to working out completely arguments
(you will judge of the measure of my success) that etiectiveiy
former ** portion, dealing with those commonplaces crassua.
from which may be drawn a speech such as to attain
those three things which alone can carry conviction ;
I mean the winning over, the instructing and the
stirring of men's minds. For these are the three.
But how to embellish these arguments we have at
hand him who could teach the world, the man who
first made this accomplishment habitual among us,
did most to improve it, and alone has mastered it.
122 For I think, Catulus (and I shall say so without fear
of being suspected of flattery), that I have Hstened
often and attentively to every one of the rather more
brilliant speakers of our day, Greek and Roman alike.
And so, if there be anything in me (as I think I may
285
CICERO
his ingeniis homines, tantum operae mihi ad audien-
dum datis — ex eo est, quod nihil quisquam umquam
me audiente egit orator, quod non in memoria mea
penitus insederit. Atque ego is, qui sum, quantus-
cumque sum ad iudicandum, omnibus auditis oratori-
bus, sine ulla dubitatione sic statuo et iudico, nemi-
nem omnium tot et tanta, quanta sunt in Crasso,
123 habuisse ornamenta dicendi. Quam ob rem, si vos
quoque hoc idem existimatis, non erit, ut opinor,
iniqua partitio, si, cum ego hunc oi-atorem, quem
nunc fingo, ut institui, crearo, aluero, confirmaro,
tradam eum Crasso et vestiendum et ornandum.
124 Tum Crassus : Tu vero, inquit, Antoni, perge, ut
instituisti. Neque enim est boni neque Uberalis
parentis, quem procrearis et eduxeris, eum non et
vestire et ornare, praesertim cum te locupletem
esse negare non possis. Quod enim ornamentum,
quae vis, qui animus, quae dignitas ilU oratori defuit,
qui in causa peroranda non dubitavit excitare reum
consularem et eius diloricare tunicam et iudicibus
cicatrices adversas senis imperatoris ostendere ? Qui
idem, hoc accusante Sulpicio, cum hominem sedi-
tiosum furiosumque defenderet, non dubitavit sedi-
tiones ipsas ornare, ac demonstrare gravissimis verbis
multos saepe impetus populi non iniustos esse, quos
praestare nemo possit ; multas etiam e re publica
seditiones saepe esse factas, ut cum reges essent
exacti, ut cum tribunicia potestas constituta ;
illam Norbani seditionem ex luctu civium et ex
• M'. Aquilius, see § 194 n
» See § 197 n.
286
DE ORATORE, II. xxviii. 122-124
hope there is, now that men of your talents take so
much trouble to hear me), it is because no orator
ever delivered a speech in my hearing which did not
settle deep within my memory. And I, being what
I am, and so far as I am competent to judge, after
hearing all the orators, do unhesitatingly decree and
pronounce as follows, that not one of them all
possessed so many and excellent resources of diction
123 as appear in Crassus. Therefore, if you share this
estimate of mine, it will, I think, be no unfair division
of labour if, having begotten, nurtured and made
strong this orator, whom I am now moulding as I
planned, I hand him over to Crassus, to be clothed
and fitted out."
124 Here Crassus observed : " Nay, Antonius, you go Cnwsus
on with your plan. For it ill becomes a good and A^tonius to
generous father to refuse clothing and equipment to expiain his
the child you have begotten and reared, especially ^hod.
as you cannot plead poverty. For what (id that
advocate lack, in the way of resource, passion, energy
or greatness, who in closing his case did not hesitate
to call forward the defendanf of consular rank, and
tear open his tunic, and display to the tribunal the
scars on the old generars breast ? Who again, in his
defence of a factious and frenzied client, prosecuted
by Sulpicius here, did not hesitate to glorify civil dis-
cord in itself, and to show, in most convincing terms,
that many popular movements are justifiable, and no
one by any possibility answerable for them ; that
moreover civil discord has often been aroused in the
interest of the community, witness the expulsion of
the kings and the establishment of the authority of
tribunes ; that the outbreak of Norbanus,^ arising as
it did from pubHc mourning and indignation against
287
CICERO
Caepionis odio, qui exercitum amiserat, neque re-
125 primi potuisse et iure esse conflatam ? Potuit hic
locus tam anceps, tam inauditus, tam lubricus, tam
novus sine quadam incredibili vi ac facultate dicendi
tractari ? Quid ego de Cn. Mallii, quid de Q. Regis
commiseratione dicam ? Quid de aliis innumerabili-
bus ? in quibus non hoc maxime enituit, quod tibi
omnes dant, acumen quoddam singulare, sed haec
ipsa, quae nunc ad me delegare vis, ea semper in
te eximia et praestantia fuerunt.
126 XXIX. Tum Catulus : Ego vero, inquit, in vobis
hoc maxime admirari soleo, quod, cum inter vos in
dicendo dissimillimi sitis, ita tamen uterque vestrum
dicat, ut ei nihil neque a natura denegatum neque a
doctrina non delatum esse videatur. Qua re, Crasse,
neque tu tua suavitate nos prfvabis, ut, si quid ab
Antonio aut praetermissum aut relictum sit, non
explices ; neque te, Antoni, si quid non dixeris,
existimabimus non potuisse potius quam a Crasso
dici maluisse.
127 Hic Crassus : Quin tu, inquit, Antoni, omittis
ista, quae proposuisti, quae nemo horum desiderat :
quibus ex locis ea, quae dicenda sunt in causis, re-
periantur ; quae quamquam a te novo quodam modo
praeclareque dicuntur, sunt tamen et re faciliora
et praeceptis pervagata. IUa deprome nobis unde
afferas, quae saepissime tractas semperque divini-
tus. Depromam equidem, inquit, et quo facilius
288
DE ORATORE, II. xxviii. 124— xxix. 127
Caepio, who had lost his army, could not have been
125 restrained and was justifiably kindled. Could this
line of argument, so hazardous, startling, treacherous
and unfamiliar, be handled otherwise than by
oratorical power and readiness truly marvellous ?
What shall I say of the lamentation over Gnaeus
Mallius, or of that over Quintus Rex ? What of
countless other cases, wherein the really unequalled
acuteness, universally recognized as yours, was not
the most brilliant feature, but those very qualifica-
tions, which you would now delegate to me, were
consistently displayed in outstanding excellence by
yourself ? "
126 XXIX. " For my part," interposed Catulus, " the
thing about you two which most persistently excites
my wonder is, that while you are utterly different in
style, yet each speaks as though nothing had been
denied him by nature or withheld from him by train-
ing. And so, Crassus, you will not stint us of your
charm to the extent of decUning to expound any thing
passed over or left out by Antonius, nor shall we
suppose, Antonius, that you could have a speaker
more welcome to you than Crassus, to say what you
may have omitted to say."
127 " Not so, Antonius," continued Crassus, " rather
please omit that part of your programme which none
of ourfriends here wants, touching the commonplaces
which supply us with what we have to say in our
cases : although you discuss these things with brilliant
originality, they are for all that really rather easy
and widely current in maxims. Produce for us the
sources of what you so often handle and always in
inspired fashion." " I will certainly produce them,"
replied the other, " and, the more readily to exact
289
CICERO
id a te exigam, quod petam, nihil tibi a me
128 postulanti recusabo. Meae totius orationis et
istius ipsius in dicendo facultatis, quam modo
Crassus in caelum verbis extulit, tres sunt rationes,
ut ante dixi : una conciliandorum hominum, altera
129 docendorum, tertia concitandorum. Harum trium
partium prima lenitatem orationis, secunda acu-
men, tertia vim desiderat. Nam hoc necesse est, ut
is, qui nobis causam adiudicaturus sit, aut inclina-
tione voluntatis propendeat in nos, aut defensionis
argumentis adducatur, aut animi permotione cogatur.
Sed quoniam illa pars, in qua rerum ipsarum expli-
catio ac defensio posita est, videtur omnem huius
generis quasi doctrinam continere, de ea primum
loquemur et pauca dicemus. Pauca enim sunt, quae
usu iam tractata et animo quasi notata habere
videamur.
130 XXX. Ac tibi sapienter monenti, Crasse, libenter
assentiemur, ut singularum causarum defensiones
quas solent magistri pueris tradere, relinquamus,
aperiamus autem capita ea, unde omnis ad omnem et
causam et orationem disputatio ducitur. Neque
enim, quotiens verbum aliquod est scribendum nobis,
totiens eius verbi litterae sunt cogitatione conqui-
rendae ; nec quotiens causa dicenda est, totiens ad
eius causae seposita argumenta revolvi nos oportet,
sed habere certos locos, qui, ut litterae ad verbum
scribendum, sic illi ad causam explicandam statim
131 occurrant. Sed hi loci ei demum oratori prodesse
possunt, qui est versatus in rerum vel usu, quem aetas
290
DE ORATORE, II. xxix. 127— xxx. 131
what I want from you, I will refuse nothing that you
128 demand of me. Under my whole oratorical system
and that very readiness in speaking which Crassus
just now lauded to the skies, lie three principles, as I
said before, first the winning of men's favour, secondly
129 their enlightenment, thirdly their excitement. Of
these three the first calls for gentleness of style, the
second for acuteness, the third for energy. For, of
necessity, the arbitrator who is to decide in our
favour must either lean to our side by natural inclina-
tion, or be won over by the arguments for the defence,
or constrained by stirring his feelings. But as the
portion including the exposition of the actual facts
and the line of defence seems to include the whole
doctrine on this subject, we will speak of that first
and briefly. For there are a few points which I have
perhaps already handled in practice and noted in
my memory.
130 XXX. " And I shall gladly follow your good Bmpioy-
counsel, Crassus, ignoring the lines of defence ?^ommor
proper to particular types of cases, as taught piaces.*
regularly by the professors to the boys, while I
open up the sources from which the whole argument
for every case and speech is derived. For just as,
whenever we have some word to write, we need not
search out its component letters by hard thinking,
so, whenever we have some case to argue, our right
course is not to fall back upon proofs laid away for
that particular type of cases, but to have in readiness
sundry commonplaces which will instantly present
themselves for setting forth the case, as the letters
131 do for writing the word. But these commonplaces
can be useful only to a speaker who is a man of
affairs, qualified by experience, which age assuredly
291
CICERO
denique affert, vel auditione et cogitatione, quae
studio et diligentia praecurrit aetatem. Nam si tu
mihi quamvis eruditum hominem adduxeris, quamvis
acrem et acutum in cogitando, quamvis ad pro-
nuntiandum expeditum, si erit idem in consuetudine
civitatis, in exemplis, in institutis, in moribus ac
voluntatibus civium suorum hospes, non multum ei
loci proderunt illi, ex quibus argumenta promuntur.
Subacto mihi ingenio opus est, ut agro non semel
arato, sed et^ novato et iterato, quo mehores fetus
possit et grandiores edere. Subactio autem est usus,
auditio, lectio, litterae.
132 Ac primum naturam causae videat, quae numquam
latet, factumne sit quaeratur, an quale sit, an quod
nomen habeat ; quo perspecto statim occurrit
naturali quadam prudentia, non his subductionibus,
quas isti docent, quid faciat causam, id est, quo
sublato controversia stare non possit ; deinde quid
veniat in iudicium, quod isti sic iubent quaerere.
' Interfecit Opimius Gracchum. Quid facit causam ?
Quod rei publicae causa, cum ex senatus consulto ad
arma vocasset. Hoc toUe, causa non erit. At id
ipsirni negat contra leges licuisse Decius. Veniet
igitur in iudicium licueritne ex senatus consulto
servandae rei publicae causa.' Perspicua sunt haec
quidem et in volgari prudentia sita ; sed illa quae-
^ et add. Beid ; [novato et] alii.
DE ORATORE, II. xxx. 131-132
brings, or by listening and reflection, which through
careful study outruns age. For bring me a man
as accompUshed, as clear and acute in thinking,
and as ready in delivery as you please ; if, for
all that, he is a stranger to social intercourse,
precedent, tradition, and the manners and dis-
position of his fellow-countrymen, those common-
places from which proofs are derived will avail
him but Httle. I must have talent which has been
cultivated, soil, as it were, not of a single ploughing,
but both broken and given a second ploughing so as
to be capable of bearing better and more abundant
produce. And the cultivation is practice, listening,
reading and written composition.
132 " And let the pupil first discern the nature of a Some
case, never an obscure thing, whether the question '^1^^°^'
relate to the doing of an act, or to its character or aiways
right designation : this once ascertained, the sub- ^^*' *
stance of the case, or that without which the dis-
cussion must collapse, leaps instantly to the mind,
through what I may call native intuition, not through
the reckonings taught by those people ; next he
must determine the issue to be decided, which they
would have him investigate as follows. ' Opimius
killed Gracchus. What is the substance of the
case .'' That he did so in the interest of the com-
munity, after proclaiming a state of war in obedience
to the Senate's decree. Strike out this plea, and
there will be no case. Decius however denies the
legality of the decree itself, as being contrary to
statute. So the issue will be whether the Senates
decree and the salvation of the community justified
the act.' These points are quite clear and within
the compass of ordinary knowledge, but a search is
293
CICERO
renda, quae et ab accusatore et a defensore argu-
menta ad id, quod in iudicium venit, spectantia
debent afFerri.
133 XXXI. Atque hic illud videndum est, in quo sum-
mus est error istorum magistrorum, ad quos liberos
nostros mittimus, non quo hoc quidem ad dicendum
magno opere pertineat, sed tamen ut videatis quam^
sit genus hoc eorum qui sibi eruditi videntur hebes
atque impolitum.* Constituunt enim in partiendis
orationum modis duo genera causarum : unum ap-
pellant, in quo sine personis atque temporibus de
universo genere quaeratur ; alterum, quod personis
certis et temporibus definiatur ; ignari omnes con-
troversias ad universi generis vim et naturam referri.
134 Nam in ea ipsa causa, de qua ante dixi, nihil pertinet
ad oratoris locos Opimii persona, nihil Decii. De
ipso universo genere infinita quaestio est, num
poena videatur esse aflSciendus, qui civem ex senatus
consulto patriae conservandae causa interemerit,
cum id per leges non Uceret. Nulla denique est
causa, in qua id, quod in iudicium venit, reorura
personis ac non generum ipsorum universa dubitatione
135 quaeratur. Quin etiam in eis ipsis, ubi de facto
ambigitur, ceperitne pecunias contra leges P.
Decius, argumenta et criminum et defensionis revo-
centur oportet ad genus et ad naturam universam :
quod sumptuosus, de luxurie, quod aUeni appetens,
de avaritia, quod seditiosus, de turbulentis et mahs
^ quam Piderit : quale.
[hebes atque impolitum] Kayser.
S94
DE ORATORE, II. xxx. 132— xxxi. 135
necessary to discover the proofs, bearing upon the
issue, which are proper to be adduced by the prose-
cution and the defence respectively.
133 XXXI. " And here we must notice the very great Errorof
mistake made by those professors, to whom we ^common?
send our sons ; not indeed that this has much to do piaces ' from
with speaking, but just to let you see how dull and
inelegant is this class of the people who fancy thera- •
selves accompHshed. For in their division of the
diflPerent kinds of speeches they set up two sorts
of cases : one they describe as raising general
questions, not related to individuals or occasions ;
and the other as depending upon specific individuals
and occasions ; not knowing that any debate what-
soever can be brought under the notion and quaUty
134 of the general kind. For, in the very case I
mentioned just now, the personahty of Opimius
or of Decius has nothing to do with the orator*s
commonplaces. There is an abstract question of a
purely general kind, * Is a defendant to be deemed
deserving of punishment, who has slain a fellow-
countryman in obedience to a decree of the Senate,
and for the salvation of his native land, though by
statute such act was unlawful ? ' There is in fact
no case wherein the issue for decision turns on the
personaUties of the parties, and not on the abstract
135 discussion of general conceptions. Indeed, even
where the question is one of pure fact, such as
* Did Publius Decius take moneys unlawfully ? ' the
evidence for prosecution and defence alike must
have reference to general terms and essential
qualities : to convict of extravagance you must
refer to profusion ; of covetousness, to greed ; of
sedition, to turbulent and wicked members of
295
CICERO
civibus, quod a multis arguitur, de genere testium,
contraque, quae pro reo dicentur, omnia necessario a
tempore atque homine ad communes renun et gene-
136 rum summas revolventur. Atque haec forsitan
homini non omnia, quae sunt in natura rerum,
celeriter animo comprehendenti permulta videantur,
quae veniant in iudicium tum, cum de facto quae-
ratur; sed tamen criminum multitudo est et de-
fensionum, non locorum infinita.
137 XXXII. Quae vero, cum de facto non ambigitur,
quaeruntur, qualia sint, ea si ex reis numeres, et
innumerabilia sunt et obscura ; si ex rebus, valde
et modica et illustria. Nam si Mancini causam in uno
Mancino ponimus, quotienscumque is, quem pater
patratus dediderit, receptus non erit, totiens causa
nova nascetur. Sin illa controversia causam facit,
videaturne ei, quem pater patratus dediderit, si is
non sit receptus, postliminium esse, nihil ad artem
dicendi nec ad argumenta defensionis Mancini
138 nomen pertinet. Ac, si quid affert praeterea hominis
aut dignitas aut indignitas, extra quaestionem est et
ea tamen ipsa oratio ad universi generis disputa-
tionem referatur necesse est. Haec ego non eo
consiho disputo, ut homines eruditos redarguam ;
quamquam reprehendendi sunt qui in genere de-
finiendo istas causas describunt in personis et in
139 temporibus positas esse. Nam etsi incurrunt tempora
* See Book I, xL
S96
DE ORATORE, II. xxxi. 135— xxxii. 139
the community ; to prove that the defendants
accusers are many, you must deal with witnesses
in the mass : and conversely all the evidence for
the defence will have to turn away from the
particular occasion and individual to general con-
136 ceptions of circumstances and kinds. And, to a
man who is slow in his intellectual apprehension of
all that there is in Hfe, the issues arising for decision
on questions of fact may perhaps seem very numerous,
but in reaHty it is the charges and the Hnes of
defence, not the commonplaces, which are endless
in their variety.
137 XXXII. But the cases wherein there is no ques- The great
tion of fact, and only the character of an act is in variety of
11. • 11 t . . .n 1 1 cases can be
doubt, are innumerable and mtricate if reckoned brougiit
up by the actors, but very few and clear if reckoned heals.^^^
up by the acts. For, if we confine the decision in
the Case of Majicinus '^ to Mancinus alone, then every
time the surrender of anyone deHvered up by the
Priestly Envoy has been rejected, a fresh debate
wiH begin. But, if the substance of that case is
the problem ' Whether a man deHvered up by the
Priestly Envoy has the right of re-entry if his
surrender is rejected,' then the person of Mancinus
has nothing to do with the art of speaking or the
138 evidence for the defence. Moreover whatever help
a mans worth or his want of it afFords is irrelevant
to the inquiry, and yet that part of the speech also
must be classed as discussion of a general proposi-
tion. I treat these matters not in order to contradict
accompHshed people, though they are to be censured
who, in determining their classification, define such
cases as depending upon specific individuals and
139 occasions. For occasions and individuals do indeed
L 297
CICERO
et personae, tamen intellegendum est, non ex eis, sed
ex genere quaestionis pendere causas. Sed hoc
nihil ad me ; nuUum enim nobis certamen cum istis
esse debet. Tantum satis est intellegi ne hoc quidem
eos consecutos, quod in tanto otio, etiam sine hac
forensi exercitatione, efficere potuerunt, ut genera
rerum discernerent eaque paulo subtilius explicarent.
140 Verum hoc, ut dixi, nihil ad me. Illud ad me ac
multo etiam magis ad vos, Cotta noster et Sulpici :
quo modo nunc se istorum artes habent, pertimes-
cenda est multitudo causarum ; est enim infinita, si
in personis ponitur ; quot homines, tot causae ; sin ad
generum universas quaestiones referuntur, ita modicae
et paucae sunt, ut eas omnes diligentes et memores
et sobrii oratores percursas animo et prope dicam
decantatas habere debeant ; nisi forte existimatis
a M'. Curio causam didicisse L. Crassum et ea re
multa attulisse, quam ob rem postumo non nato
Curium tamen heredem Coponii esse oporteret.
141 Nihil ad copiam argmnentorum neque ad causae vim
ac naturam nomen Coponii aut Curii pertinuit. In
genere erat universo rei negotiique, non in tempore
ac nominibus, omnis quaestio : cum scriptum ita sit
Si mihi JiUus genitur, isque prius moritur, et cetera,
tum mihi ille sit heres, si natus filius non sit,
videaturne is, qui filio mortuo institutus heres sit,
" See Book I, § 180.
DE ORATORE, II. xxxii. 139-141
enter into the inquiry, but it must be understood
that the cases do not depend upon these, but upon
general questions. This however is nothing to me,
for we are not obhged to quarrel with those people.
It is quite enough to make it known that they have
not even succeeded in distinguishing difFerent classes
of things, and in describing them a little more
accurately, as with their unbounded leisure they
could have done, even though they lacked our own
140 public practice. But this, as I said, is nothing to
me. What is important to me, and far more so
to you, friends Cotta and Sulpicius, is that, in
the present stage of those men's attainments, a
multiplicity of cases is greatly to be feared ; for their
variety is endless if they are identified with indi-
viduals ; every man then has his case ; but, if they
are brought under general heads of inquiry, they are
so ordinary and so few that careful and thoughtful
speakers with good memories should be able to
handle them all, after mentally running through
them and all but sing-songing them ; unless you
happen to think that Lucius Crassus got up his brief
from Manius Curius," and for that reason adduced
all those grounds for holding Curius entitled to
succeed as heir to Coponius, though no posthumous
141 son had been born. The identity of Coponius or of
Curius had nothing to do with the wealth of argu-
ment or with the essential character of the case,
The whole inquiry turned upon an abstract question,
founded in the facts of the matter, not in any occasion
or personalities : the words in the will being ' If a
son is horn to me, and such son dies bejhre, etc., then let
So-and-so he my heir,' and no son having in fact been
born, ought that party to inherit who was nominated
299
CICERO
heres esse. Perpetui iuris et universi generis quaestio
non hominum nomina, sed rationem dicendi et argu-
mentorum fontes desiderat.
142 XXXIII. In quo etiam isti nos iuris consulti im-
pediunt a discendoque deterrent. Video enim in
Catonis et in Bruti libris nominatim fere referri quid
alicui de iure viro aut mulieri responderit : credo, ut
putaremus in hominibus, non in re, consultationis aut
dubitationis causam aliquam fuisse ; ut, quod ho-
mines innumerabiles essent, debilitati a iure cog-
noscendo voluntatem discendi simul cum spe per-
discendi abiceremus. Sed haec Crassus aliquando
nobis expediet et exponet discripta generatim ; est
enim, ne forte nescias, heri nobis ille hoc, Catule,
pollicitus se ius civile, quod nunc diflPusum et dis-
sipatmn esset, in certa genera coacturum et ad artem
facilem redacturum.
143 Et quidem, inquit Catulus, haudquaquam id est
difficile Crasso, qui et, quod disci potuit de iure,
didicit et, quod eis, qui eum docuerunt, defuit, ipse
aflFeret, ut, quae sint in iure, vel apte discribere vel
ornate illustrare possit. Ergo ista, inquit Antonius,
tum a Crasso discemus, cum se de turba et a subselliis
144 in otium, ut cogitat, soliumque contulerit. lam id
quidem saepe, inquit Catulus, ex eo audivi, cum
diceret sibi certiun esse a iudiciis causisque discedere ;
SOO
DE ORATORE, II. xxxii. 141— xxxiii. 144
heir in substitution for a deceased son ? An inquiry
depending upon a fixed and general rule of law
needs no men's names, but methodical presentation
and the sources of arguments.
142 XXXIII. " And here again those learned lawyers
embarrass us and frighten us away from more learn-
ing. For I observe that in the treatises of Cato and
Brutus the advice given by counsel to cHents of either
sex is generally set down with the parties named :
I suppose, to make us think that some reason for
seeking advice or for the discussion originated in
the parties and not in the circumstances ; to the
end that, seeing the parties to be innumerable, we
might be discouraged from studying the law, and
might cast away our inchnation to learn at the
same moment as our hope of mastery. But these
matters Crassus will one day disentangle for us and
set forth arranged under heads ; for you must know,
Catulus, that yesterday he promised us that he
would collect under definite heads the common law,
at present dispersed in disorder, and would reduce
it to an easy system."
143 " To be sure," answered Catulus, " that is easy
enough for Crassus, who has learned all there is to
be learned about law, and will personally supply the
deficiencies of his teachers, to make it possible for
liim to arrange fittingly and elucidate elegantly the
contents of the law." " Well then," said Antonius,
" we shall learn those things from Crassus, when
as he is thinking of doing, he has withdrawn from
the hubbub of the Courts to the peace of his
144 armchair." " I have often heard him say so," re-
joined Catulus, " when he has been announcing his
resolve to retire from practice at the Bar, but, as I
301
CICERO
sed, ut ipsi soleo dicere, non licebit ; neque enim ipse
auxilium suum saepe a viris bonis frustra implorari
patietur neque id aequo animo feret civitas, quae si
voce L. Crassi carebit, ornamento quodam sese
spoliatam putabit. Nam hercle, inquit Antonius,
si haec vere a Catulo dicta sunt, tibi mecum in eodem
est pistrino, Crasse, vivendum ; et istam oscitantem
et dormitantem sapientiam Scaevolarum et cete-
145 rorum beatorum otio concedamus. Arrisit hic
Crassus leniter et : Pertexe modo, inquit, Antoni,
quod exorsus es ; me tamen ista oscitans sapientia,
simul atque ad eam confugero, in hbertatem vin-
dicabit.
XXXIV. Huius quidem loci, quem modo sum
exorsus, hic est finis, inquit Antonius ; quoniam
intellegitur non in hominum innumerabilibus per-
sonis neque in infinita temporum varietate, sed in
generum causis atque naturis omnia sita esse, quae in
dubium vocarentur, genera autem esse definita non
solum numero, sed etiam paucitate, ut eam materiem
orationis, quae cuiusque esset generis, studiosi qui
essent dicendi, omnibus locis discriptam, instructam
omatamque comprehenderent rebus dico et senten-
146 tiis. Ea vi sua verba parient, quae semper satis
ornata mihi quidem videri solent, si eius modi sunt, ut
ea res ipsa peperisse videatur. Ac si verum quaeritis,
quod mihi quidem videatur — nihil enim ahud affir-
mare possum nisi sententiam et opinionem meam —
hoc instrumentum causarum et generum universorum
in forum deferre debemus neque, ut quaeque res
delata ad nos erit, tum denique scrutari locos, ex
S02
DE ORATORE, II. xxxui. 144^xxxiv. 146
always tell him, he will not get the chance : for he
himself will seldom sufFer his aid to be begged in
vain by men of worth, nor will the community bear
it, but will think itself robbed of its jewel, as it were,
if it miss the tones of Lucius Crassus." " Upon my
word, Crassus," interposed Antonius, " if Catulus
has been telling the truth, you and I will have to
pass our lives together in the same pounding-mill ;
and we shall let leisure have ( — and welcome too)
that yawning and drowsy philosophizing of men like
145 Scaevola and the others who are lucky." Crassus
laughed quietly at this, observing, " Just weave out
the warp you have begun, Antonius, but that yawn-
ing Philosophy of yours, when once I have found
sanctuary with her, will claim my freedom."
XXXIV. " This then," resumed Antonius, " is the Necessity
aim of the topic whose warp I opened just now : it equippfd in
beinff understood that all the possible subiects of adyance
debate are not founded on a countless host of human ments—
beings or an endless diversity of occasions, but on by^^idyr
t^rpical cases and characters, and that the types are
not merely limited in number but positively few, I
wished the devotees of eloquence to contemplate the
fabric of speeches of the several kinds, in distribution
under all the headings, and in good order and well
146 furnished, with facts, I mean, and reflections. These
things, by their own natural force, will beget the
words, which I, at any rate, always think well enough
found, if they are such as seem to grow out of the
inherent circumstances. And if you want the truth,
at any rate as I see it (for I can assert only my own
verdict and belief), we ought to bring this stock of
cases and types down to Court with us, and not wait
until we have accepted a brief, before we search the
303
CICERO
quibus argumenta eruamus ; quae quidem omnibus,
qui ea mediocriter modo considerarint, studio adhibito
et usu pertractata esse possunt ; sed tamen animus
referendus est ad ea capita et ad illos, quos saepe
iam appellavi, locos, ex quibus omnia ad omnem
147 orationem inventa ducuntur. Atque hoc totum est
sive artis sive animadversionis sive consuetudinis
nosse regiones, intra quas venere et pervestiges,
quod quaeras. Ubi eum locum omnem cogitatione
saepseris, si modo usu rerum percallueris, nihil te
eflPugiet atque omne, quod erit in re, occurret atque
incidet.
XXXV. Et sic, cum ad inveniendum in dicendo
tria sint : acumen, deinde ratio, quam licet, si volu-
mus, appellemus artem, tertium diligentia, non
possum equidem non ingenio primas concedere, sed
tamen ipsum ingenium diligentia etiam ex tarditate
148 incitat ; diligentia, inquam, quae cum omnibus in
rebus tum in causis defendendis plurimum valet.
Haec praecipue colenda est nobis ; haec semper
adhibenda ; haec nihil est quod non assequatur.
Causa ut penitus, quod initio dixi, nota sit, diligentia
est ; ut adversarium attente audiamus atque ut eius
non solum sententias, sed etiam verba omnia ex-
cipiamus, voltus denique perspiciamus omnes, qui
149 sensus animi plerumque indicant, diligentia est. Id
tamen dissimulanter facere, ne sibi ille aliquid pro-
ficere videatur, prudentia est. Deinde ut in eis locis,
quos proponam paulo post, pervolvatur animus, ut
penitus insinuet in causam, ut sit cura et cogitatione
304
DE ORATORE, II. xxxiv. 146— xxxv. 149
commonplaces, from which to dig out our proofs ;
which indeed can be handled, after no very deep
consideration, by anyone who is helped by study and
practice, but for all that the mind must needs return
to those headings and those commonplaces which I
have often mentioned as such already, from which
every device for every speech whatever is derived.
147 Again, in art, in observation and in practice alike, it
is everything to be famihar with the ground over
which you are to chase and track down your quarry.
When you have mentally encompassed all that area,
if only you are quite hardened to practical dealings,
nothing will escape you, but every detail of an affair
will come up with a rush and fall into your net.
XXXV. " And so, since in oratory three things are
necessary to discovery of arguments, first acuteness,
secondly theory, or art, as we may call it if we Hke,
and thirdly painstaking, I must needs grant pride of
place to talent, though talent itself is roused from
148 lethargy by painstaking, painstaking, I repeat, which
is always valuable, and most of all in fighting a case.
This virtue we must especially cultivate and ever be
caUing it to our aid ; there is nothing that this cannot
attain. By painstaking comes that intimate know-
ledge of a case, to which I alluded at first ; it is pains-
taking to listen with close attention to our opponent,
and so as to catch not only his periods, but his every
word as well, and finally to read all his changes of
countenance, which generally gives the clue to his
149 frame of mind. But to do this unobtrusively, so that
he may not think he has scored a point, is discretion.
Then that the mind should dwell upon those common-
places which I shall set forth presently, that it should
worm itself into the roots of a matter, with its powers
305
CICERO
intentus, diligentia est ; ut his rebus adhibeat tam-
quam lumen aliquod memoriam, ut vocem, ut vires,
160 diligentia est. Inter ingenium quidem et diligentiam
perpaulvun loci reliquum est arti. Ars demonstrat
tantum, ubi quaeras, atque ubi sit illud, quod studeas
invenire ; reliqua sunt in cura, attentione animi,
cogitatione, vigilantia, assiduitate, labore ; com-
plectar uno verbo, quo saepe iam usi sumus, diU-
gentia ; qua una virtute omnes virtutes reliquae
151 continentur. Nam orationis quidem copia videmus
ut abundent philosophi, qui, ut opinor — sed tu haec,
Catule, melius — nulla dant praecepta dicendi nec
idcirco minus, quaecumque res proposita est, susci-
piunt, de qua copiose et abundanter loquantur.
162 XXXVI. Tum Catulus : Est, inquit, ut dicis,
Antoni, ut plerique philosophi nulla tradant praecepta
dicendi et habeant paratum tamen quid de quaque
re dicant. Sed Aristoteles, is, quem ego maxime
admiror, proposuit quosdam locos, ex quibus omnis
argumenti via non modo ad philosophorum dis-
putationem, sed etiam ad hanc, qua in causis
utimur, inveniretur ; a quo quidem homine iam
dudum, Antoni, non aberrat oratio tua, sive tu
simiUtudine iUius divini ingenii in eadem incurris
vestigia sive etiam illa ipsa legisti atque didicisti,
quod quidem magis veri simile videtur. Plus enim
te operae Graecis dedisse rebus video, quam
153 putaramus. Tum ille : Verum, inquit, ex me
" In Topica.
806
DE ORATORE, II. xxxv. 149— xxxvi. 153
of attention and thought at full stretch, is still pains-
taking ; to supplement all this with the toreh of
memory, with intonation and with energy, is pains-
150 taking once more. Indeed between talent and
painstaking there is very little room left for art. Art
merely points out where to search, and the locahty
of what you are anxious to find : all else depends on
carefulness, mental concentration, reflection, watch-
fulness, persistence and hard work ; I shall sum up
these in the single word I have often used already,
painstaking to wit, on which single virtue all other
161 virtues are dependent. For we notice the over-
flowing copiousness of the diction of the philosophers
who, I think (though you, Catulus, are better in-
formed on these points), prescribe no rules for speak-
ing, but none the less undertake to discuss with
overflowing copiousness, whatever subject is laid
before them."
152 XXXVI. Thereupon Catulus remarked, " You are simiiar
right, Antonius, in saying that most philosophers ^^J^^tie.
prescribe no rules for speaking, and yet have some-
thing ready to say about everything. Aristotle,
however, my own most particular admiration, set
forth <» certain commonplaces, among which every line
of argument might be found, not merely for philo-
sophical debate, but also for our own contentions in
the Courts : it is certainly long, Antonius, since your
own style deviated from his principles, whether it be
that through hkeness to that godUke genius you fall
into the same track, or, as seems far more probable,
you too have perused and learned those very maxims.
For I perceive that you have bestowed more pains
163 on Greek Hterature than we had supposed." And
the other answered, " Catulus, I will tell you the
307
CICERO
audies, Catule : semper ego existimavi iucundiorem
et probabiliorem huic populo oratorem fore, qui
primum quam minimam artificii alicuius, deinde
nuUam Graecarum rerimi significationem daret. At-
que ego idem existimavi pecudis esse, non hominis,
cum tantas res Graeci susciperent, profiterentur,
agerent seseque et videndi res obscurissimas et
bene vivendi et copiose dicendi rationem daturos
hominibus pollicerentur, non admovere aurem et,
si palam audire eos non auderes, ne minueres apud
tuos cives auctoritatem tuam, subauscultando tamen
excipere voces eorum et procul quid narrarent at-
tendere. Itaque feci, Catule, et istorum omnium
siunmatim causas et genera ipsa gustavi.
X64 XXXVII. Valde hercule, inquit Catulus, timide
tamquam ad aliquem libidinis scopulum sic tuam
mentem ad philosophiam appulisti, quam haec civitas
aspernata numquam est. Nam et referta quondam
Italia Pythagoreorum fuit tum, cum erat in hac
gente magna illa Graecia ; ex quo etiam quidam
Numam Pompilium, regem nostrum, fuisse Pytha-
goreum ferunt ; qui annis ante permultis fuit quam
ipse Pythagoras ; quo etiam maior vir habendus est,
quod illam sapientiam constituendae civitatis duobus
prope saecuUs ante cognovit, quam eam Graeci natam
esse senserunt. Et certe non tuUt uUos haec civitas
aut gloria clariores aut auctoritate graviores aut
humanitate poUtiores P. Africano, C. LaeUo, L.
Furio, qui secum eruditissimos homines ex Graecia
808
DE ORATORE, II. xxxvi. 153— xxxvii. 154
truth : I always considered that a speaker would be
more pleasing and acceptable to a nation like ours
if he were to show, first, as Uttle trace as possible of
any artifice, and secondly none whatever of things
Greek. And at the same time I considered that,
with the Greelis undertaking, professing and achiev-
ing such marvels, and promising to reveal to mankind
the way to understand the profoundest mysteries, to
Hve rightly and to speak copiously, it would be brutish
and inhuman not to lend an ear, and, though perhaps
not venturing to listen to them openly, for fear of
lessening your influence with your fellow-citizens,
yet to pick up their sayings by eavesdropping, and
keep a look-out from afar for their talk. Accordingly
I did so, Catulus, and took a little taste of the cases
and actual types of all those friends of yours."
164 XXXVII. " Upon my word," said Catulus, " you Roman
are hke a pilot cautiously steering towards a danger- ?o^^"j|^
ous reef, some Sirens' isle, when you direct your phUosophy.
mind to Philosophy, which this country has never
disdained ! For even of old Italy was crowded with
Pythagoreans, in the days when a part of this land
was Great Greece as they called it ; so that some
even claim our King Numa Pompilius as a Pytha-
gorean, though he lived very many years earlier
than Pythagoras himself, for which reason he must be
accounted an even greater man, in that he mastered
the famous science of community-building nearly
two centuries before the Greeks perceived its exist-
ence. And surely this community has produced no
men of more splendid fame, more weighty influence
or more polished manners, than PubHus Africanus,
Gaius Laelius and Lucius Furius, who at all times
and in public had about them most accomphshed
S09
CICERO
166 palam semper habuerunt. Atque ego hoc ex eis
saepe audivi, cum dicerent pergratum Athenienses
et sibi fecisse et multis principibus civitatis, quod,
cum ad senatum legatos de suis maximis rebus
mitterent, tres illius aetatis nobilissimos philosophos
misissent, Cameadem et Critolaum et Diogenem ;
Itaque eos, dum Romae essent, et a se et ab ahis fre-
quenter auditos ; quos tu cum haberes auctores,
Antoni, miror cur philosophiae sicut Zethus ille
156 Pacuvianus prope bellum indixeris. Minime, inquit
Antonius, ac sic decrevi philosophari potius, ut Neo-
ptolemus apud Ennium ' Paucis : nam omnino haud
placet.' Sed tamen haec est mea sententia, quam
videbar exposuisse : ego ista studia non improbo,
moderata modo sint : opinionem istorum studiorimi
et suspicionem artificii apud eos, qui res iudicent,
oratori adversariam esse arbitror, imminuit enim
et oratoris auctoritatem et orationis fidem.
167 XXXVIII. Sed, ut eo revocetur, unde huc de-
clinavit oratio, ex tribus istis clarissimis philosophis,
quos Romam venisse dixisti, videsne Diogenem eum
fuisse, qui diceret artem se tradere bene disserendi
et vera ac falsa diiudicandi, quam verbo Graeco
SiaXfKTtKrjv appellaret ? In hac arte, si modo est
haec ars, nullum est praeceptum, quo modo verum
168 inveniatur, sed tantum est, quo modo iudicetur, Nam
et omne, quod eloquimur sic, ut id aut esse dicamus
aut non esse, et, si simpliciter dictum sit, suscipiunt
• In 155 B.c. The Athenians had pillaged Oropus, on
the Boeotian frontier, and had baen sentenced by umpires
appointed by the Romans to a fine of 500 talents, reduced
to 100 after this embassy,
' See Remains of Old Latin (L.C.L.), ii, pp, 162-163.
" Ibid, i. pp. 368-369, and Aulus Gellius v. 15. 9 and 16, &.
810
DE ORATORE, II. xxxvii. 155— xxxviii. 158
155 personages from Greece. Moreover I have often
heard those notables speak of the vast pleasure
afforded to themselves and many leaders of the State
by the Athenians, in having sent," as envoys to the
Senate on business of supreme importance to Athens,
the three most illustrious philosophers of that day,
Carneades, Critolaus and Diogenes, who accordingly,
during their stay in Rome, frequently had my in-
formants and others for an audience : wlth these
witnesses before you, Antonius, I marvel why, like
that Zethus described by Pacuvius,'' you have all but
156 declared war against Philosophy." " Not at all,"
repHed Antonius, " but rather I have determined
to philosophize, as Neoptolemus says in Ennius, * In
a few things, for I don't want to do so in all ways.' "
For all that, however, my verdict, as I thought I had
made plain, is this : I do not disapprove of such
pursuits, if kept within Umits, though I hold that a
reputation for such pursuits, or any suggestion of
artifice, is Ukely to prejudice an orator with the
judiciary : for it weakens at once the credibiUty of
the orator and the cogency of his oratory.
157 XXXVIII. " But, to recall Oratory to the point at stoic
which this digression started, do you observe that, u°ei*^rfor
of those three most illustrious philosophers, who the orator.
visited Rome as you told us, it was Diogenes who
claimed to be teaching an art of speaking well, and
of distinguishing truth from error, which art he
caUed by the Greek name of dialectic ? This art,
if indeed it be an art, contains no directions for dis-
158 covering truth, but only for testing it. For as to
every proposition that we enunciate with an affirma-
tion of its truth or falsity, if it be affirmed without
quaUfication, the dialecticians undertake to decide
311
CICERO
dialectici, ut iudicent, verumne sit an falsum, et, si
coniuncte sit elatum, et adiuncta sint alia, iudicant,
rectene adiuncta sint et verane summa sit unius
cuiusque rationis, et ad extremum ipsi se compungunt
suis acuminibus et multa quaerendo reperiunt non
modo ea, quae lam non possint ipsi dissolvere, sed
etiam quibus ante exorsa, et potius detexta, prope
1C9 retexantur. Hic nos igitur Stoicus iste nihil adiuvat,
quoniam, quem ad modum inveniam quid dicam, non
docet ; atque idem etiam impedit, quod et multa
reperit, quae negat ullo modo posse dissolvi, et genus
sermonis afFert non liquidum, non fusum ac profluens,
sed exile, aridum, concisum ac minutum, quod si
quis probabit, ita probabit, ut oratori tamen aptum
non esse fateatur. Haec enim nostra oratio multi-
tudinis est auribus accommodanda, ad oblectandos
animos, ad impellendos, ad ea probanda, quae non
aurificis statera, sed populari quadam trutina ex-
aminantur.
160 Qu3. re istam artem totam dimittamus, quae in ex-
cogitandis argumentis muta nimium est, in iudicandis
nimium loquax. Critolaum istum, quem cum Diogene
venisse commemoras, puto plus huic nostro studio pro-
desse potuisse. Erat enim ab isto Aristotele, a cuius
inventis tibi ego videor non longe aberrare. Atque
inter hunc Aristotelem, cuius et illum legi librum, in
quo exposuit dicendi artes omnium superiorum, et
illos, in quibus ipse sua quaedam de eadem arte dixit,
812
DE ORATORE, II. xxxviii. 158-160
whether it be true or false ; and, if again it be stated
hypothetically, with collateral propositions annexed,
then they decide whether these others are properly
annexed, and whether the conclusion drawn from
each and every reasoning is correct : and in the end
they prick themselves with their own barbs, and by
wide investigation discover not only difficulties such
as they themselves can no longer solve, but also
others by which webs already attacked, or rather well-
159 nigh unwound, are tangled up again. In this con-
nexion then that eminent Stoic is of no help to us,
since he does not teach me how to discover what to
say ; and he actually hinders me, by finding many
difficulties which he pronounces quite insoluble, and
by introducing a kind of diction that is not lucid,
copious and flowing, but meagre, spiritless, cramped
and paltry ; and, if any man commends this style, it
will only be with the quahfication that it is unsuitable
to an orator. For this oratory of ours must be adapted
to the ears of the multitude, for charming or urging
their minds to approve of proposals, which are weighed
in no goldsmith's balance, but in what I may call
common scales.
160 " Let us therefore renounce entirely that art which insight of
has too httle to say when proofs are being thought ^nd^^ufty
out, and too much when they are being assessed. inargu-
That Critolaus, whose visit in company with Diogenes cameades.
you recall, might have been more useful, I think, in this
pursuit of ours. For he was a foUower of your Aris-
totle, from whose doctrines you think my own differ
but Uttle. And between this Aristotle (I read also
that book of his, setting forth the rhetorical theories
of all his forerunners, and those other works contain-
ing sundry observations of his own on the same art),
313
CICERO
et hos germanos huius artis magistros hoc mihi visum
est interesse, quod ille eadem acie mentis, qua rerum
omnium vim naturamque viderat, haec quoque
aspexit, quae ad dicendi artem, quam ille despicie-
bat, pertinebant ; illi autem, qui hoc solum colendum
ducebant, habitarunt in hac una ratione tractanda
non eadem prudentia, qua ille, sed usu in hoc uno
161 genere studioque maiore. Carneadi vero vis incre-
dibiUs illa dicendi et varietas perquam esset optanda
nobis, qui nuUam umquam in illis suis disputationibus
rem defendit, quam non probarit, nullam oppugnavit,
quam non everterit. Sed hoc maius est quiddam,
quam ab eis, qui haec tradunt et docent, postulandimi
sit.
162 XXXIX. Ego autem, si quem nunc rudem plane
institui ad dicendum velim, his potius tradam assiduis
uno opere eandem incudem diem noctemque tun-
dentibus, qui omnes tenuissimas particulas atque
omnia minima mansa ut nutrices infantibus pueris in
os inserant. Sin sit is, qui et doctrina mihi HberaHter
institutus et aliquo iam imbutus usu et satis acri
ingenio esse videatur, illuc eum rapiam, ubi non
seclusa ahqua acula teneatur, sed unde universum
flumen erumpat ; qui ilU sedes et quasi domiciHa
omnium argumentorum commonstret et ea breviter
163 illustret verbisque definiat. Quid enim est, in quo
haereat, qui viderit omne, quod sumatur in oratione
Sll
DE ORATORE, II. xxxviii. 160— xxxix. 163
and these true professors of this art, there seeraed
to rae to be this difference, — that he surveyed these
concerns of the art of rhetoric, which he disdained,
with that sarae keen insight, by which he had dis-
cerned the essential nature of all things ; whereas
those others, considering this the only thing worth
cultivating, have dwelt upon the treatment of this
single subject, without his sagacity, but, in this one
instance, with larger practice and closer application.
161 As for Carneades, however, the extraordinary power
and diversity of his oratory would be extreraely to
our Hking ; since, in those debates of his he supported
no contention without proving it, and attacked none
which he did not overthrow. But this is rather raore
than should be asked of the authors and teachers of
these maxims.
162 XXXIX. " For my part, if just now I were to want The
a complete novice trained up to oratory, I should ^^p^g®°'
rather entrust hira to these untiring people, who whichare
hamraer day and night on the sarae anvil at their one either from
and only task, for them to put into his mouth none the case
but the most delicate morsels — everything chewed from
exceedingly small — in the raanner of wet nurses ^itiioii*'
feeding baby-boys. But should he, whora I have
had liberally educated in theory, and who by this
tirae has sorae tincture of practice, show also signs
of sufficient natural acuteness, I will hurry him off
to that source where no sequestered pool is land-
locked, but from it bursts forth a general flood ;
to that teacher who will point out to him the very
homes of all proofs, so to speak, illustrating these
163 briefly and defining thera in terras. For in what
respect could a speaker be at a loss, who has con-
templated everything to be employed in a speech,
315
CICERO
aut ad probandum aut ad refellendum aut ex sua
siuni vi atque natura aut assumi foris ? Ex sua vi,
cum aut res quae sit tota quaeratur, aut pars eius
aut vocabulum quod habeat aut quippiam, rem illam
quod attingat ; extrinsecus autem, cum ea, quae
sunt foris neque inhaerent in rei natura, coUiguntur.
164 Si res tota quaeritur, definitione universa vis ex-
plicanda est, sic : ' si maiestas est amplitudo ac
dignitas civitatis, is eam minuit, qui exercitum hosti-
bus popuU Romani tradidit, non qui eum, qui id
165 fecisset, popuU Romani potestati tradidit.* Sin pars,
partitione, hoc modo : * aut senatui parendum de
salute rei pubUcae fuit aut aUud consiUum insti-
tuendum aut sua sponte faciendum ; aUud con-
siUum, superbum ; suum, arrogans ; utendum igitur
fuit consiUo senatus.' Si ex vocabulo, ut Carbo :
' si consul est, qui consuUt patriae, quid aUud fecit
166 Opimius ? * Sin ab eo, quod rem attingat, plures
sunt argumentorum sedes ac loci, nam et coniuncta
quaeremus et genera et partes generibus subiectas
et simiUtudines et dissimiUtudines et contraria et
consequentia et consentanea et quasi praecurrentia
et repugnantia et causas rerum vestigabimus et ea,
316
DE ORATORE, II. xxxix. 163-166
for purposes of either proof or disproof, or to be
derived from the essential nature of the case, or
adopted from without ? Intrinsic arguments, when
the problem concerns the character of the subject
as a whole, or of part of it, or the name it is to bear,
or anything whatever relating to the subject ; ex-
trinsic arguments, on the other hand, when topics
are assembled from without and are not inherent in
the nature of the case.
164 " If the problem concerns the whole subject, the
general idea of it has to be made plain by definition ;
for example : ' If sovereignty be the grandeur and
glory of the State, it was violated by the man who
dehvered up to the enemy an army of the Roman
People, not by him who delivered the man that did it
165 into the power of the Roman People.' But if only a
part is being dealt with, its nature must be explained
by distribution, as follows : ' The right course, in a
situation afFecting the welfare of the State, was to
obey the Senate, or to set up another advisory body,
or to act on his own initiative : to set up another
body would have been insolence, to follow his own
counsel, arrogance ; therefore he should have taken
the advice of the Senate.' If the argument turns
on a word, remember Carbo's ' If a consuFs duty is to
consult the interests of his native land, what else has
166 Opimius done ? ' If it turns on something corre-
lated with the subject, the proofs come from several
sources or common-places ; for we shall investigate
connected terms, and general heads with their
sub-divisions, and resemblances and differences, and
opposites, and corresponding and concurrent circum-
stances, and so-called antecedents, and contra-
dictories, and we shall track down the causes of
317
CICERO
quae ex causis orta sunt, et maiora, paria, minora
quaeremus.
167 XL. Ex coniunctis sic argumenta ducuntur : ' si
pietati summa tribuenda laus est, debetis moveri,
cum Q. Metellum tam pie lugere videatis.' Ex
genere autem : * si magistratus in populi Romani
potestate esse debent, quid Norbanum accusas, cuius
tribunatus voluntati paruit civitatis ? '
168 Ex parte autem ea, quae est subiecta generi : * si
omnes, qui rei publicae consulunt, cari nobis esse
debent, certe in primis imperatores, quorimi consiliis,
virtute, periculis, retinemus et nostram salutem et
imperii dignitatem.' Ex similitudine autem : ' si
ferae partus suos diligunt, qua nos in liberos nostros
169 indulgentia esse debemus ! ' At ex dissimilitudine :
' si barbarorum est in diem vivere, nostra consilia
sempiternum tempus spectare debent.' Atque
utroque in genere et similitudinis et dissimilitudinis
exempla sunt ex aliorum factis aut dictis aut eventis,
et fictae narrationes saepe ponendae. lam ex con-
trario : ' si Gracchus nefarie, praeclare Opimius.'
170 Ex consequentibus : ' si et ferro interfectus ille et
tu inimicus eius cum gladio cruento comprehensus es
in illo ipso loco et nemo praeter te ibi visus est et
causa nemini et tu semper audax, quid est quod de
facinore dubitare possimus ? * Ex consentaneis et
318
DE ORATORE, II. xxxix. 166— xl. 170
things, and the efFects proceeding from causes, and
investigate things of relatively greater, equal or
lesser significance.
167 XL. ' ' An instance of proof deduced from connected
terms is : ' If the highest praise is due to loyalty,
you should be stirred at the sight of Quintus Metellus
mourning so loyally.' One of deduction from a
general term is : ' If the magistracies ought to be
under the control of the Roman People, why impeach
Norbanus, whose conduct as tribune was subservient
to the will of the community ? *
168 " As a deduction from a subdivision of a general
head take : ' If we are bound to esteem all who make
the interests of the State their care, surely our com-
manders-in-chief stand foremost, by whose strategy,
valour and hazards we preserve both our own security
and the grandeur of our sovereignty.' Then, as a
deduction from resemblance, we have : ' If the wild
beasts cherish their young, what tendemess ought
169 we to bear to our children ! * One from difference, on
the other hand, is : * If it be the mark of uncivilized
folk to live but for the day, our own purposes should
contemplate all time.' And, in cases involving both
resemblance and difference, analogies are found in
the deeds or the words or the fate of other people,
and feigned tales must often be cited. Again, as a
deduction from an opposite, take : ' If Gracchus did
170 wickedly, Opimius did nobly.' And, as one from
corresponding circumstances : ' If he was killed by
a sword, and you, his enemy, were caught on the
very spot with a bloody blade, and none other than
yourself was seen there or had any motive, and you
were ever a man of violence, what doubt could we
feel as to the crime ? ' And, to illustrate deduction
319
CICERO
praecurrentibus et repugnantibus, ut olim Crassus
adolescens : * non si Opimium defendisti, Carbo,
idcirco te isti bonum civem putabunt ; simulasse
te et aliud quid quaesisse perspicuum est, quod
Ti. Gracchi mortem saepe in contionibus deplorasti,
quod P. Africani necis socius fuisti, quod eam legem
in tribunatu tulisti, quod semper a bonis dissedisti.'
171 Ex causis autem rerum sic : ' avaritiam si tollere
vultis, mater eius est tollenda, luxuries.* Ex eis
autem, quae sunt orta de causis : ' si aerarii copiis
et ad belli adiumenta et ad ornamenta pacis utimur,
172 vectigalibus serviamus.' Maiora autem et minora
et paria comparabimus sic : ex maiore : ' si bona
existimatio divitiis praestat et pecunia tantopere
expetitur, quanio gloria magis est expetenda ? ' ex
minore :
Hic parvae consuetudinis
Causa huius mortem tam fert familiariter :
Quid si ipse amasset ? quid hic mihi faciet patri ?
ex pari : 'est eiusdem et eripere et contra rem
publicam largiri pecunias.'
173 Foris autem assumuntur ea, quae non sua vi, sed
extranea sublevantur, ut haec : ' hoc verum est ;
dixit enim Q. Lutatius.' ' Hoc falsum est ; habita
enim quaestio est.' ' Hoc sequi necesse est ; recito
" P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus Minor, who captured
Carthage 146 b.c, died in 129, probably from a stroke, but
the Gracchans were suspected of assassination.
* Apparently extending the use of the ballot.
* From Terence, .^ndria 110-112.
320
DE ORATORE, 11. xl. 170-173
from concurrent circumstances, antecedents and con-
tradictories, we remember Crassus arguing in his
youth : * This tribunal, Carbo, is not going to deem
you a patriotic citizen just because you defended
Opimius : clearly you were only pretending, and
had some other end in view, inasmuch as in your
harangues you frequently lamented the death of
Tiberius Gracchus, and you were a party to the
murder of Publius Africanus," and you brought in
that statute * during your tribuneship, and always dis-
171 agreed with the patriotic' And a deduction from
the causes of things is : ' If you would abolish covet-
ousness, you must abolish its mother, profusion.*
And one from the efFects of causes is : ' If we are
using the funds of the Treasury to aid war and
beautify peace, let us become the slaves of taxa-
172 tion.' And, to show how we shall compare things
of relatively greater, lesser and equal significance,
a deduction from the greater is : ' If good repute is
above riches, and money is so keenly desired, how
far more keenly should fame be desired ? ' For one
from the lesser take :
Just for a slender acquaintance !
So heartfelt his grief at her death !
What had he loved her ? What sorrow
Will he show for his father — for me ? "
For one from the equal we have : ' It is one and the
same man's part to snatch the State's money and
lavish it to her detriment.'
173 Finally, proofs adopted from outside are such as
rest upon no intrinsic force of their own but upon
external authority, instances being : ' This is true,
for Quintus Lutatius said so ' : ' This evidence is
false, for torture has been employed ' : ' This must
321
CICERO
enim tabulas.' De quo genere toto paulo ante
dixi.
174 XLI. Haec, ut brevissime dici potuerunt, ita a me
dicta sunt. Ut enim si aurum cui, quod esset multi-
fariam defossum, commonstrare vellem, satis esse
deberet, si signa et notas ostenderem locorum, quibus
cognitis ipse sibi foderet et id, quod vellet, parvulo
labore, nullo errore, inveniret : sic has ego argumen-
torum novi notas, quae illa mihi quaerenti demon-
strant, ubi sint ; reliqua cura et cogitatione eruuntur.
175 Quod autem argumentorum genus cuique causarmn
generi maxime conveniat, non est artis exquisitae
praescribere, sed est mediocris ingenii iudicare.
Neque enim nunc id agimus, ut artem aliquam
dicendi explicemus, sed ut doctissimis hominibus
usus nostri quasi quaedam monita tradamus. His
igitur locis in mente et cogitatione defixis et in omni
re ad dicendum posita excitatis, nihil erit quod
oratorem effugere possit, non modo in forensibus
disceptationibus, sed omnino in ullo genere dicendi.
176 Si vero assequetur, ut talis videatur, qualem se videri
velit, et animos eorum ita afficiat, apud quos aget,
ut eos, quocumque velit, vel trahere vel rapere
possit, nihil profecto praeterea ad dicendum requiret.
lam illud videmus nequaquam satis esse, reperire
177 quid dicas, nisi id inventum tractare possis. Tractatio
autem varia esse debet, ne aut cognoscat artem qui
audiat aut defatigetur similitudinis satietate. Proponi
322
DE ORATORE, II. xl. 173— xli. 177
inevitably follow, for I am reading from the docu-
ments.' Of all this kind of thing I spoke just now.
174 XLI. " I have sketched these topics as shortly as a brief
possible. For if I wished to reveal to somebody gold *J*n*™®h*
that was hidden here and there in the earth, it should as attention
be enough for me to point out to him some marks wludo^"*^"
and indications of its positions, with which knowledge more than
he could do his own digging, and find what he wanted, ^'^'
with very httle trouble and no chance of mistake :
so I know these indications of proofs, which reveal to
me their whereabouts when I am looking for them ;
all the rest is dug out by dint of oereful consideration,
175 But what type of proofs best befits each type of case
needs not consummate art to dictate, but only
ordinary talent to decide. For our immediate task
is not to display any system of speaking, but to
hand on to highly educated men certain lessons, as
I may call them, learned from our own practice.
Accordingly, with these commonplaces firmly estab-
hshed in his mind and memory, and roused into
activity with every topic proposed for discussion,
nothing will be able to elude the orator, either in
our own contentions at the Bar, or in any depart-
17g ment whatever of speaking. If however he shall
succeed in appearing, to those before whom he is to
plead, to be such a man as he would desire to seem,
and in touching their hearts in such fashion as to be
able to lead or drag them whithersoever he pleases,
he will assuredly be completely furnished for oratory.
" Again, we see that the discovery of what to say is Variety of
whoUy insufficient, unless you can handle it when esIenUaL*
177 found. But the handhng should be diversified, so
that your hearer may neither perceive the art of it,
nor be worn out by too much monotony. You ought
323
CICERO
oportet quid afFeras et id qua re ita sit ostendere ; et
ex eisdem illis locis interdum concludere, relinquere
alias alioque transire ; saepe non proponere ac ratione
ipsa afFerenda quid proponendum fuerit, declarare ;
si cui quid simile dicas, prius ut simile confirmes,
deinde quod agitur, adiungas ; interpuncta argu-
mentorum plerumque occulas, ne quis ea nume-
rare possit, ut re distinguantur, verbis confusa esse
videantur.
178 XLII. Haec properans ut et apud doctos et semi-
doctus ipse percurro, ut aliquando ad illa maiora
veniamus. Nihil est enim in dicendo, Catule, maius,
quam ut faveat oratori is, qui audiet, utque ipse sic
moveatur, ut impetu quodam animi et perturbatione,
magis quam iudicio aut consilio regatur. Plura
enim multo homines iudicant odio aut amore aut
cupiditate aut iracundia aut dolore aut laetitia aut
spe aut timore aut errore aut aliqua permotione
mentis, quam veritate aut praescripto aut iuris norma
179 aliqua aut iudicii formula aut legibus. Qua re,
nisi quid vobis aliud placet, ad illa pergamus.
Pauliun, inquit Catulus, etiam nunc deesse vi-
detur eis rebus, Antoni, quas exposuisti, quod sit
tibi ante explicandum, quam iUuc proficiscare, quo
te dicis intendere. Quidnam ? inquit. Qui ordo
tibi placeat, inquit Catulus, et quae dispositio
324,
DE ORATORE, II. xli. 177— xlii. 179
to formulate your proposition, and give the reasons
for its being what it is ; and from those same
commonplaces you should sometimes draw your con-
elusion, and sometimes abandon them to pass else-
where ; often it is better not to formulate expressly,
but to make it plain, by affirming the underlying
principle, what the formulation would have been ;
if you are putting a parallel case to something, you
should first show how it is like, and then annex the
matter in hand ; as a rule you should conceal the
intervals between successive proofs, to prevent them
from being counted, so that, though separate in fact,
they may seem blended in statement.
178 XLII. " I am running over these things in a hurry, Favour ot
and like a half-trained man who is facing experts, in f^ust be*
order that we may come at last to those more essential secured.
matters, Now nothing in oratory, Catulus, is more
important than to win for the orator the favour of his
hearer, and to have the latter so afFected as to be
swayed by something resembling a mental impulse
or emotion, rather than by judgement or dehberation.
For men decide far more problems by hate, or love,
or lust, or rage, or sorrow, or joy, or hope, or fear, or
illusion, or some other inward emotion, than by
reality, or authority,or any legal standard, or judicial
179 precedent, or statute. And so, unless you think
difFerently, let us proceed to the things I spoke of."
" Even now," returned Catulus, " there seems Arrange-
to be a little something missing, Antonius, from dlgcussed*
your exposition, which you should clear up, before later.
setting out for that region whither you say you
are bound." " Pray what is that ? " asked the
other. " Your view as to the right arrangement
and distribution of proofs," said Catulus, " in which
825
CICERO
argumentorum, in qua tu mihi semper deus videri
soles."
180 Vide quam sim, inquit, deus in isto genere,
Catule: non hercule mihi, nisi admonito, venisset in
mentem ; ut possis existimare me in ea, in quibus
nonnunquam aliquid efficere videor, usu solere in di-
cendo, vel casu potius incurrere. Ac res quidem
ista, quam ego, quia non noram, sic tanquam ignotxmi
hominem praeteribam, tantum potest in dicendo, ut
181 ad vincendum nulla plus possit; sed tamen mihi
videris ante tempus a me rationem ordinis et dis-
ponendarum rerum requisisse. Nam si ego omnem
vim oratoris in argumentis et in re ipsa per se com-
probanda posuissem, tempus esset iam de ordine
argumentorum, et de collocatione aliquid dicere.
Sed cum tria sint a me proposita, de uno dictum,
cum de duobus rehquis dixero, tum erit denique
de disponenda tota oratione quaerendum.
182 XLIII. Valet igitur multum ad vincendum probari
mores et instituta et facta et vitam eorum, qui agent
causas, et eorum, pro quibus, et item improbari
adversariorum, animosque eorum, apud quos agetur,
concihari quam maxime ad benevolentiam, cum erga
oratorem tum erga illum pro quo dicet orator. Con-
ciHantur autem animi dignitate hominis, rebus gestis,
existimatione vitae ; quae facilius ornari possunt, si
modo sunt, quam fingi, si nulla sunt. Sed haec
adiuvant in oratore : lenitas vocis, vultus pudoris
" See the opening of chapter xxxv., supra.
826
DE ORATORE, II. xlii. 179— xliii. 182
connexion your practice always strikes me as ideal."
180 " Observe, Catulus," came the answer, " how far I
am ideal in that kind of thing : upon my word, but
for your suggestion, the notion would never have en-
tered my head : so that you may look upon me as
generally running into those ways, in which now and
then I seem efFective, just in the course of speaking,
or rather by accident. And indeed that factor which,
through failure to recognize it, I was passing by
unnoticed, as I might a human stranger, is second
to none in the making of oratorical success, but,
for all that, I think you have been premature in ask-
ing me for my theory of the arrangement and dis-
181 tribution of topics. For had I based the orator's
essential power solely upon his proofs, and upon his
establishing personally his actual case, it would now
be the time to say a word as to the arrangement and
marshalling of proofs. But since I have assumed
three ** elements in discovery and discussed only one
of them, it will be time to conclude by investigating
the arrangement of a speech as a whole, when I have
first discussed the two elements that remain.
182 XLIII. " A potent factor in success, then, is for the Means of
characters, principles, conduct and course of Ufe, both f^^a^^f^
of those who are to plead cases and of their clients, to audtence.
be approved, and conversely those of their opponents
condemned ; and for the feelings of the tribunal to
be won over, as far as possible, to goodwill towards
the advocate and the advocate's client as well. Now
feelings are won over by a man's merit, achievements
or reputable life, qualifications easier to embellish, if
only they are real, than to fabricate where non-
existent. But attributes useful in an advocate are a
mild tone, a countenance expressive of modesty,
827
CICERO
significatio/ verborum comitas ; si quid persequare
acrius, ut invitus et coactus facere videare. Facili-
tatis, liberalitatis,mansuetudinis,pietatis, grati animi,
non appetentis, non avidi, signa proferri perutile est ;
eaque omnia, quae proborum, demissorum, non acrium,
non pertinacium, non litigiosorum, non acerborum
sunt, valde benevolentiam conciliant abalienantque
ab eis, in quibus haec non sunt ; itaque eadem sunt in
183 adversarios ex contrario conferenda. Sed genus hoc
totum orationis in eis causis excellet, in quibus minus
potest inflammari animus iudicis acri et vehementi
quadam incitatione. Non enim semper fortis oratio
quaeritur, sed saepe placida, summissa, lenis, quae
maxime commendat reos. Reos autem appello non
eos modo, qui arguuntur, sed omnes, quorum de re
184 disceptatur ; sic enimolim loquebantur. Horum igitur
exprimere mores oratione, iustos, integros, religiosos,
timidos, perferentes iniuriarum,mirum quiddam valet ;
et hoc vel in principiis vel in re narranda vel in pero-
randa tantam habet vim, si est suaviter et cum sensu
tractatum, ut saepe plus quam causa valeat. Tantum
autem efficitur sensu quodam ac ratione dicendi, ut
Quasi mores oratoris effingat oratio. Genere enim
quodam sententiarum et genere verborum, adhibita
etiam actione leni facilitatemque significante effici-
tur, ut probi, ut bene morati, ut boni viri esse
videantur.
^ pudor[is signifacatio] Bakius.
S28
DE ORATORE, II. xliii. 182-184
gentle language, and the faculty of seeming to be
dealing reluctantly and under compulsion with some-
thing you are really anxious to prove. It is very help-
ful to display the tokens of good-nature, kindness,
calmness, loyalty and a disposition that is pleasing
and not grasping or covetous, and all the qualities
belonging to men who are upright, unassuming and
not given to haste, stubbornness, strife or harshness,
are powerful in winning goodwill, while the want of
them estranges it from such as do not possess them ;
accordingly the very opposites of these quaUties
183 must be ascribed to our opponents. But all this kind
of advocacy will be best in those cases wherein the
arbitrator's feelings are not hkely to be kindled by
what I may call the ardent and impassioned onset.
For vigorous language is not always wanted, but often
such as is cahn, gentle, mild : this is the kind that most
commends the parties. By ' parties ' I mean not only
persons impeached, but all whose interests are being
determined, for that was how people used the term
184 in the old days. And so to paint their characters
in words, as being upright, stainless, conscientious,
modest and long-suffering under injustice, has a
really wonderful effect ; and this topic, whether in
opening, or in stating the case, or in ^vinding-up, is
so compelUng, when agreeably and feehngly handled,
as often to be worth more than the merits of the
case. Moreover so much is done by good taste
and style in speaking, that the speech seems to
depict the speaker's character. For by means of
particular types of thought and diction, and the
employment besides of a deUvery that is unruffled
and eloquent of good-nature, the speakers are made
to appear upright, well-bred and virtuous men.
M 329
CICERO
185 XLIV. Huic autem est illa dispar adiuncta ratio
orationis, quae alio quodam genere mentes iudicum
permovet, impellitque, ut aut oderint aut diligant
aut invideant aut salvum velint aut metuant aut
sperent aut cupiant aut abhorreant aut laetentur
aut maereant aut misereantur aut punire velint, aut
ad eos motus adducantur, si qui finitimi sunt et pro-
pinqui his^ ac talibus animi perturbationibus.
Atque illud optandum est oratori, ut aliquampermo-
tionem animorum sua sponte ipsi afFerant ad causam
iudices, ad id, quod utiUtas oratoris feret, accommo-
186 datam. Facilius est enim currentem, ut aiunt, incitare
quam commovere languentem. Sin id aut non erit
aut erit obscurius, sicut medico dihgenti, priusquam
conetur aegro adhibere medicinam, non solum morbus
eius, cui mederi volet, sed etiam consuetudo valentis
et natura corporis cognoscenda est.
Sic equidem cum aggredior ancipitem causam et
gravem,adanimos iudicum pertractandos,omni mente
in ea cogitatione curaque versor, ut odorer, quam
sagacissime possim, quid sentiant. quid existiment,
quid exspectent, quid vehnt, quo deduci oratione
187 facillime posse videantur. Si se dant et, ut ante dixi,
sua sponte, quo impellimus, inclinant atque propen-
dent, accipio quod datur et ad id, unde aliquis
flatus ostenditur, vela do. Sin est integer quietusque
iudex, plus est operis ; sunt enim omnia dicendo
^ sunt et propinqui his Ellendt : sunt de propinquis.
830
DE ORATORE, II. xliv. 185-187
186 XLIV. " But closely associated with this is that dis- importance
similar style of speaking which, in quite another way, suitabie '°^
excites and urges the feelings of the tribunal towards emotions in
hatred or love, ill-will or well-wishing, fear or hope, *'^'**®'^*^® •
desire or aversion, joy or sorrow, compassion or the
wish to punish, or by it they are prompted to what-
ever emotions are nearly allied and similar to these
passions of the soul, and to such as these.
" Another desirable thing for the advocate is that
the members of the tribunal, of their own accord,
should carry within them to Court some mental
emotion that is in harmony with what the advocate's
186 interest will suggest. For, as the saying goes, it is
easier to spur the willing horse than to start the lazy
one. But if no such emotion be present, or recogniz-
able, he will be like a careful physician who, before
he attempts to administer a remedy to his patient,
must investigate not only the malady of the man
he wishes to cure, but also his habits when in health,
and his physical constitution.
" This indeed is the reason why, when setting about
a hazardous and important case, in order to explore
the feelings of the tribunal, I engage wholeheartedly
in a consideration so careful, that I scent out with
all possible keenness their thoughts, judgements,
anticipations and wishes, and the direction in which
they seem Ukely to be led away most easily by
187 eloquence. If they surrender to me, and as I said
before, of their own accord lean towards and are
prone to take the course in which I am urging them
on, I accept their bounty and set sail for that quarter
which promises something of a breeze. If however
an arbitrator is neutral and free from predisposition,
my task is harder, since everything has to be called
331
CICERO
excitanda, nihil adiuvante natura. Sed tantam vim
habet illa, quae recte a bono poeta dicta est * flex-
anima atque omnium regina rerum,' oratio, ut non
modo incHnantem excipere aut stantem inclinare,
sed etiam adversantem ac repugnantem ut im-
perator bonus ac fortis capere possit,
188 XLV. Haec sunt illa, quae me ludens Crassus modo
flagitabat, cum a me divinitus tractari solere diceret
et in causa M'. Aquilii, Gaiique Norbani, non nullis-
que aliis quasi praeclare acta laudaret. Quae me-
hercule ego, Crasse, cum a te tractantur in causis,
horrere soleo : tanta vis animi, tantus impetus, tantus
dolor, oculis, vultu, gestu, digito denique isto tuo
significari solet ; tantum est flumen gravissimorum
optimorumque verborum, tam integrae sententiae,
tam verae, tam novae, tam sine pigmentis fucoque
puerili, ut mihi non solum tu incendere iudicem, sed
ipse ardere videaris.
189 Neque fieri potest, ut doleat is, qui audit, ut oderit,
ut invideat, ut pertimescat aliquid, ut ad fletum
misericordiamque deducatur, nisi omnes illi motus,
quos orator adhibere volet iudici, in ipso oratore
impressi esse atque inusti videbuntur. Quodsi
fictus aliquis dolor suscipiendus esset et si in eius
modi genere orationis nihil esset nisi falsum atque
imitatione simulatum, maior ars aliqua forsitan esset
requirenda. Nunc ego, quid tibi, Crasse, quid ceteris
accidat, nescio ; de me autem causa nuUa est, cur
" i.e. Pacuvius, in his tragedy Hermione. See Remains of
Old Latin, ii. pp. 232-233 (L.C.L.).
S32
DE ORATORE, II. xUv. 187— xlv. 189
forth by my speech, with no help from the listener's
character. But so potent is that Eloquence, rightly
styled, by an excellent poet,* ' soulbending sove-
reign of all things,' that she can not only support
the sinking and bend the upstanding, but, like a good
and brave commander, can even make prisoner a
resisting antagonist.
1 XLV. " These are the details for which Crassus was success of
playfully importuning me just now, when he said f^^>^
that I always handled them ideally, and he praised
what he called the brilliant treatment of them in the
cases of Manius Aquilius, Gaius Norbanus and sundry
others. Now I give you my word, Crassus, that I
always tremble when these things are handled by
yourself in Court : such is the mental power, such
the passion, so profound the indignation, ever mani-
fest in your glance, features, gesture, even in that
wagging finger of yours ; so mighty is the flow of
your most impressive and happy diction, so sound,
true and original your sentiments, and so innocent of
colouring-matter or paltry dye, that to me you seem
to be not merely inflaming the arbitrator, but actually
on fire yourself.
I " Moreover it is impossible for the listener to feel Thespeaker
indignation, hatred or ill-will, to be terrified of any- ^i^\\if
thing, or reduced to tears of compassion, unless all feei the
those emotions, which the advocate would inspire in hTwi°hls
the arbitrator, are visibly stamped or rather branded toexcite;
on the advocate himself. Now if some feigned indig-
nation had to be depicted, and that same kind of
oratory aiforded only what was counterfeit and pro-
duced by mimicry, some loftier art would perhaps be
called for. As things stand, Crassus, I do not know
how it may be with yourself or the rest, but in my
333
CICERO
apud homines prudentissimos atque amicissimos men-
tiar : non mehereule unquam apud iudices, aut
dolorem, aut misericordiam aut invidiam aut odium
dicendo excitare volui, quin ipse in commovendis
iudicibus eis ipsis sensibus, ad quos illos adducere
190 vellem, permoverer. Neque est enim facile perficere,
ut irascatur cui tu velis, iudex, si tu ipse id lente ferre
videare ; neque ut oderit eum, quem tu veHs, nisi te
ipsum flagrantem odio ante viderit ; neque ad miseri-
cordiam adducetur, nisi tu ei signa doloris tui verbis,
sententiis, voce, vultu, coUacrimatione denique osten-
deris. Ut enim nulla materies tam facihs ad
exardescendum est, quae nisi admoto igni ignem
concipere possit, sic nuUa mens est tam ad compre-
hendendam vim oratoris parata, quae possit incendi,
nisi ipse inflammatus ad eam et ardens accesserit.
191 XLVI. Ac, ne hoc forte magnum ac mirabile esse
videatur hominem toties irasci, toties dolere, toties
omni motu animi concitari, praesertim in rebus alienis,
magna vis est earum sententiarum atque eorum
locorum, quos agas tractesque dicendo, nihil ut opus
sit simulatione et fallaciis ; ipsa enim natura ora-
tionis eius, quae suscipitur ad ahorum animos per-
movendos, oratorem ipsum magis etiam quam quem-
192 quam eorum, qui audiunt, permovet. Et ne hoc in
causis, in iudiciis, in amicorum pericuHs, in concursu
hominum, in civitate, in foro accidere miremur, cura
834
DE ORATORE, II. xlv. 189— xlvi. 192
own case there is no reason why I should lie to men
of consummate experience, who are also my best
friends : I give you my word that I never tried, by
means of a speech, to arouse either indignation or
compassion, either ill-will or hatred, in the minds of
a tribunal, without being really stirred myself,
as I worked upon their minds, by the very feelings
190 to which I was seeking to prompt them. For it is
not easy to succeed in making an arbitrator angry
with the right party, if you yourself seem to treat
the affair with indifference ; or in making him hate
the right party, unless he first sees you on fire with
hatred yourself ; nor will he be prompted to com-
passion, unless you have shown him the tokens of
your own grief by word, sentiment, tone of voice,
look and even by loud lamentation. For just as
there is no substance so ready to take fire, as to be
capable of generating flame without the application
of a spark, so also there is no mind so ready to absorb
an orator*s influence, as to be inflammable when the
assaihng speaker is not himself aglow with passion.
191 XLVI. " Again, lest haply it should seem a mighty as ho
miracle, for a man so often to be roused to wrath, ^^ij"""^.
indignation and every inward emotion — and that sidering his
too about other people's business — the power ofexISpies.
those reflections and commonplaces, discussed and
handled in a speech, is great enough to dispense
with all make-believe and trickery : for the very
quaUty of the diction, employed to stir the feeUngs
of others, stirs the speaker himself even more deeply
192 than any of his hearers. And, not to have us
astonished at this happening in Utigation, or before
arbitrators, or in the impeachments of our friends,
or among a crowd of people, or in poUtical Ufe, or
S35
CICERO
agituj non solum ingenii nostri existimatio, (nam id
esset levius ; — quanquam, cum professus sis te id
posse facere, quod pauci, ne id quidem neglegendum
est) ; sed alia sunt maiora multo, fides, officium, dili-
gentia, quibus rebus adducti, etiam cum alienis-
193 simos defendimus, tamen eos alienos, si ipsi viri boni
volumus haberi, existimare non possumus. Sed, ut
dixi, ne hoc in nobis mirum esse videatur, quid potest
esse tam fictum quam versus, quam scaena, quam
fabulae ? Tamen in hoc genere saepe ipse vidi, ut
ex persona mihi ardere oculi hominis histrionis vide-
rentur spondaha illa dicentis :
segregare abs te ausu's aut sine illo Salamina ingredi,
neque paternum aspectum es veritus ?
Nunquam illum ' aspectum ' dicebat, quin mihi
Telamon iratus furere luctu filii videretur. Ut idem
inflexa ad miserabilem sonum voce,
quem aetate exacta indigem
liberum lacerasti, orbasti, exstinxti ; neque fratris necis,
neque eius gnati parvi, qui tibi in tutelam est traditus?
flens ac lugens dicere videbatur. Quae si ille
histrio, cotidie cum ageret, tamen agere sine
dolore non poterat, quid Pacuvium putatis in
scribendo leni animo ac remisso fuisse ? Fieri nuUo
194 modo potuit. Saepe enim audivi poetam bonum
neminem — id quod a Democrito et Platone in scriptis
" Tiiese lines are from the Teucer, a tragedy of Paciiviiis.
See Remains of Old Latin, ii. pp. 292-293 (L.C.L.).
836
DE ORATORE, II. xlvi. 192-194
public debate, when not only our talent is under
criticism (no great matter, though even this should
not be overlooked, when you have claimed a pro-
iiciency attained by few), but other and far more
important attributes are on trial, I mean our loyalty,
sense of duty and carefulness, under whose influence,
even when defending complete strangers, we still
cannot regard them as strangers, if we would be
193 accounted good men ourselves. However, as I said,
not to have this seem a marvel among us, what can
be so unreal as poetry, the theatre or stage-plays ?
And yet, in that sort of things, I myself have often
been a spectator when the actor-man's eyes seemed
to me to be blazing behind his mask, as he spoke
those solemn lines,"
Darest thou part from thy brother, or Salamis enter without
him,
Dreading the mien of thy sire not at all ?
Never did he utter that word ' mien,' without my
beholding an infuriated Telamon maddened by grief
for his son. Whenever too he lowered his voice
to a plaintive tone, in the passage,"
Aged and childless,
Didst tear and bereave and didst quench me, forgetting the
death of thy brother,
Forgetting his tiny son, though entrusted to thee as a
guardian ?
I thought I heard sobs of mourning in his voice.
Now if that player, though acting it daily, could
never act that scene without emotion, do you really
think that Pacuvius, when he wrote it, was in a calm
and careless frame of mind ? That could never be.
194 For I have often heard that — as they say Democritus
SS7
CICERO
relictum esse dicunt — sine inflammatione animorum
exsistere posse, et sine quodam afflatu quasi furoris.
XLVII. Qua re nolite existimare me ipsum, qui non
heroum veteres casus fictosque luctus vellem imitari
atque adumbrare dicendo, neque actor essem alienae
personae, sed auctor meae, cum mihi M'. Aquihus
in civitate retinendus esset, quae in illa causa pero-
195 randa fecerim, sine magno dolore fecisse. Quem
enim ego consulem fuisse, imperatorem, ornatum a
Senatu, ovantem in Capitolium ascendisse meminis-
sem, hunc cum afflictum, debilitatum, maerentem, in
summum discrimen adductum viderem, non prius
sum conatus misericordiam ahis commovere, quam
misericordia sum ipse captus. Sensi equidem tum
magnopere moveri iudices, cum excitavi maestum
ac sordidatum senem et cum ista feci, quae tu,
Crasse, laudas, non arte, de qua quid loquar nescio,
sed motu magno animi ac dolore, ut discinderem
196 tunicam, ut cicatrices ostenderem. Ctmi C. Marius
maerorem orationis meae praesens ac sedens multum
lacrimis suis adiuvaret, cumque ego illum crebro
appellans collegam ei suum commendarem atque
ipsum advocatum ad communem imperatorum for-
tunam defendendam invocarem, non fuit haec sine
meis lacrimis, non sine dolore magno miseratio,
omniumque deorum et hominum et civium et
sociorum imploratio ; quibus omnibus verbis, quae a
' Aquilius was consul in 101 b.c. After suppressing the
Servile War in Sicily, he was prosecuted in 98 b.c. for extor-
tion, but successfuUy defended by Antonius (c/. § 188).
" Marius was consul for the fifth time in 101 b.c.
SS8
DE ORATORE, II. xlvi. 194— xlvii. 196
and Plato have left on record — no man can be a good
poet who is not on fire with passion, and inspired by
something very like frenzy.
XLVII. " Do not suppose then that I myself, instance of
though not concerned to portray and reproduce in t^o\t^\n
language the bygone misfortunes and legendary casesof
griefs of heroes, and though presenting my own an*<r* ""
personality and not representing another's, did Norbanus.
without profound emotion the things I did when
closing that famous case," in which my task was to
195 maintain Manius Aquilius in his civic rights. For
here was a man whom I remembered as having been
consul, commander-in-chief, honoured by the Senate,
and mounting in procession to the Capitol ; on seeing
him cast down, crippled, sorrowing and brought to
the risk of all he held dear, I was myself overcome
by compassion before I tried to excite it in others.
Assuredly I felt that the Court was deeply affected
when I called forward my unhappy old client, in his
garb of woe, and when I did those things approved
by yourself, Crassus — not by way of technique, as
to which I know not what to say, but under stress
of deep emotion and indignation — I mean my tear-
19Q ing open his tunic and exposing his scars. While
Gaius Marius, from his seat in court, was strongly
reinforcing, by his weeping, the pathos of my appeal,
and I, repeatedly naming him, was committing his
colleague ^ to his care, and calling upon him to speak
himself in support of the common interests of com-
manders-in-chief, all this lamentation, as well as
my invocation of every god and man, every citizen
and ally, was accompanied by tears and vast in-
dignation on my own part ; had my personal in-
dignation been missing from all the talking I did
339
CICERO
me tum sunt habita, si dolor afuisset meus, non
modo non miserabilis, sed etiam irridenda fuisset
oratio mea. Quam ob rem hoc vos doceo, Sulpici,
bonus ego videlicet atque eruditus magister, ut in
dicendo irasci, ut dolere, ut flere possitis.
197 Quanquam te quidem quid hoc doceam, qui in
accusando sodali et quaestore meo tantum incendium
non oratione solum, sed etiam multo magis vi et dolore
et ardore animi concitaras, ut ego ad id restinguen-
dum vix conarer accedere } Habueras enim tum
omnia in causa superiora : vim, fugam, lapida-
tionem, crudehtatem tribuniciam in Caepionis gravi
miserabilique casu, in iudicium vocabas ; deinde
principem et senatus et civitatis, M. Aemilium, lapide
percussum esse constabat ; vi pulsum ex templo
L. Cottam, et T. Didium, cum intercedere vellent
rogationi, nemo poterat negare.
198 XLVIII. Accedebat, ut haec tu adolescens pro
re pubHca queri summa cum dignitate existimarere ;
ego, homo censorius, vix satis honeste viderer sedi-
tiosum civem et in hominis consularis calamitate
crudelem posse defendere. Erant optimi cives
iudices, bonorum virorum plenum forum, vix ut mihi
tenuis quaedam venia daretur excusationis, quod
tamen eum defenderem, qui mihi quaestor fuisset.
Hic ego quid dicam me artem aUquam adhibuisse ?
» i.e. Gaius Norbanus, who had been Antonius's quaestor
in 103 B.c. (c/. Book II, §§ 89, 107, 124). Q. Servilius
Caepio, as proconsul in Gaul, had been the main cause of
the crushing defeat inflicted upon the Roman army by the
Cimbri at Arausio. Being subsequently prosecuted and
condemned for his treason and embezzlement in Gaul, he
was exiled. Norbanus had been active in the proceedings
against him, and this led to the prosecution of Norbanus
340
DE ORATORE, II. xlvii. 196— xlviii. 198
on that occasion, my address, so far from inspiring
compassion, would positively have deserved ridicule.
And so I am telling you this, Sulpicius, as naturally
such a kindly and accompUshed teacher would do, in
order to help you to be wrathful, indignant and
tearful in your speech-making.
197 " But why indeed should I teach this to you, who,
in prosecuting my comrade and quaestor,*» had
kindled such a blaze, not by eloquence only, but
far more by vehemence, indignation and fiery en-
thusiasm, that I hardly ventured to draw near and
put it out ? For all the advantages in that case had
been yours : you were citing to the Court the violence,
the flight, the stone-throwing and the tribunes*
ruthlessness that marked the disastrous and lament-
able affair of Caepio ; then too it was established
that Marcus Aemilius, chief of Senate and chief of
State, had been struck by a stone, while it was
undeniable that Lucius Cotta and Titus Didius, on
trying to veto a resolution, had been forcibly driven
from sanctuary.
198 XLVIII. " In the result, while you, only a stripling,
were thought to be conducting this pubhc prosecu-
tion with consummate distinction, I, a past censor,
was thought to be acting not quite honourably in bear-
ing to defend a factious citizen, who moreover had
been merciless to a past consul in distress. Citizens
of the best repute formed the tribunal ; men of re-
spectabiUty crowded the Court ; so that I had
difficulty in winning a grudging sort of acceptance
of my plea that at any rate my cHent was my old
quaestor. In these circumstances how can I say
himself by the aristocrats in 95 b.c, when Antonius con-
ducted his defence, as here described.
841
CICERO
Quid fecerim, narrabo ; si placuerit, vos meam de-
fensionem in aliquo artis loco reponetis.
199 Omnium seditionum genera, vitia, pericula collegi,
eamque orationem ex omni rei publicae nostrae tem-
porum varietate repetivi, conclusique ita, ut dicerem,
etsi omnes semper molestae seditiones fuissent, iustas
tamen fuisse non nullas et prope necessarias. Tum
illa, quae modo Crassus commemorabat, egi : neque
reges ex hac civitate exigi, neque tribunos plebis
creari, neque plebiscitis toties consularem potestatem
minui, neque provocationem, patronam illam civitatis
ac vindicem libertatis, populo Romano dari sine no-
bilium dissensione potuisse ; ac, si illae seditiones
saluti huic civitati fuissent, non continuo, si quis
motus populi factus esset, id C. Norbano in nefario
crimine atque in fraude capitali esse ponendum.
Quodsi unquam populo Romano concessum esset,
ut iure concitatus videretur, id quod docebam saepe
esse concessiun, nuUam illa causam iustiorem fuisse.
Tum omnem orationem traduxi et converti in in-
crepandam Caepionis fugam, in deplorandum interi-
timi exercitus : sic et eorum dolorem, qui lugebant
suos, oratione refricabam, et animos equitum Ro-
manorum, apud quos tum iudices causa agebatur, ad
342
DE ORATORE, II. xlviii. 198-199
I used any particular technique .'' What I did I will
relate, if you think fit, you will give my line of
defence some place or other in your system.
199 " I classified all the types of civil discord, their
weaknesses and dangers, and that part of my speech
I derived from all the vicissitudes in the history of
our own community, winding up with the assertion
that civil discords, though always troublesome, had
yet sometimes been justifiable and well-nigh un-
avoidable. Next I discussed the considerations
lately recalled by Crassus ; how that neither the
expulsion of kings from this State, nor the estabUsh-
ment of tribunes of the commons, nor the frequent
restriction of the consuls' power by decrees of the
commons, nor the bestowal upon the Roman People
of the right of appeal, that famous buttress of
the State and defence of freedom, could any of
them have been efFected without aristocratic opposi-
tion ; and that, if those particular civil discords had
been beneficial to our community, the mere fact
of a popular movement having been caused must
not instantly be counted against Gaius Norbanus
for heinous wickedness and indeed a capital ofFence.
That if rightfulness had ever been conceded to an in-
citement of the Roman People to sedition, — a con-
cession which I was showing to have been frequent — ,
there had never been a juster cause than this one.
After that I altered my course and turned ray entire
speech into a denunciation of the running-away of
Caepio and a lament for the destruction of his army :
in this way, besides chafing anew by my words the
sores of people mourning for their own folk, I was
kindling the feelings of the Roman Knights, who
constituted the Court I was addressing, into fresh
343
CICERO
Q. Caepionis odium, a quo erant ipsi propter iudicia
abalienati, renovabam.
200 XLIX. Quod ubi sensi me in possessione iudicii
ac defensionis meae constitisse, quod et populi bene-
volentiam mihi conciliaram, cuius ius etiam cum
seditionis coniunctione defenderam, et iudicum ani-
mos totos vel calamitate civitatis vel luctu ac desiderio
propinquorum vel odio proprio in Caepionem ad
causam nostram converteram, tum admiscere huic
generi orationis vehementi atque atroci genus illud
alterum, de quo ante disputavi, lenitatis et mansue-
tudinis coepi : me pro meo sodali, qui mihi in hberum
loco more maiorum esse deberet, et pro mea omni
fama prope fortunisque decernere ; nihil mihi ad
existimationem turpius, nihil ad dolorem acerbius
accidere posse, quam si is, qui saepe aUenissimis a
me, sed meis tamen civibus, saluti existimarer fuisse,
201 sodaU meo auxiUum ferre non potuissem. Petebam a
iudicibus, ut illud aetati meae, ut honoribus, ut rebus
gestis, si iusto, si pio dolore me esse afFectum viderent,
concederent ; praesertim si in aliis causis intellexis-
sent omnia me semper pro amicorum pericuUs, nihil
unquam pro me ipso deprecatum. Sic in iUa omni
defensione atque causa, quod esse in arte positum
videbatur, ut de lege Appuleia dicerem, ut quid esset
minuere maiestatem expUcarem, perquam breviter
perstrinxi atque attigi. His duabus partibus orationis,
" Caepio in 106 b.c. had proposed to deprive the equites
of their monopoly of the jury functions, and to have the
tribunals composed of senators and equites in equal pro-
portions. » See Book II, § 107 n. 6.
S44
DE ORATORE, II. xlviii. 199— xUx. 201
hatred of Quintus Caepio, from whom they had been
estranged already over the composition of the
criminal Courts."
200 XLIX. " But when I felt I had a firm hold on the
Court and on my line of defence, and I had won the
goodwill of the public, whose claims I had upheld
even when involved with civil discord, and I had
turned all hearts on the tribunal in favour of my
cause, by reason either of the national disaster, or
of yearning grief for kindred, or of private hatred of
Caepio, then I began to blend with this impetuous
and violent type of oratory that other mild and gentle
type, which I have already discussed, pleading that
I was fighting for my comrade, who by ancestral
tradition should stand in a filial relation to myself,
and also (I might say) for my own fair fame and
general welfare ; no happening could more deeply
disgrace my reputation, or cause me more bitter
sorrow, than for it to be thought that I, so often the
saviour of complete strangers to myself, provided
only they were my fellow-citizens, had been unable
201 to aid my own comrade. I begged the Court, should
they see me affected by justifiable and loyal grief,
to excuse this in consideration of my years, official
career and achievements, particularly if, in the
course of other trials, they had observed that I always
made my petitions on behalf of friends in jeopardy,
never for myself. Thus all through that speech for
the defence, and indeed the trial itself, it was in
the fewest possible words that I glanced over and
lightly touched the matters which seemed dependent
upon scientific treatment, I mean my discussion of
the Statute of Appuleius,'' and my exposition of the
nature of treason. By means of these two modes
2i>5
CICERO
quarum altera concitationem habet,alteracommenda-
tionem, quae minime praeceptis artium sunt per-
politae, omnis est a me illa causa tractata, ut et
acerrimus in Caepionis invidia renovanda et in meis
moribus erga meos necessarios declarandis man-
suetissimus viderer. Ita magis afFectis animis iudi-
cum quam doctis, tua, Sulpici, est a nobis tum
accusatio victa.
202 L. Hic Sulpicius : Vere hercle, inquit, Antoni,
ista commemoras ; nam ego nihil unquam vidi, quod
tam e manibus elaberetur, quam mihi tum est elapsa
illa causa. Cum enim, quem ad modum dixisti, tibi
ego non iudicium, sed incendium tradidissem, quod
tuum principium, di immortales, fuit! Qui timor!
Quae dubitatio ! Quanta haesitatio tractusque ver-
borum ! Ut illud initio, quod tibi unum ad ignoscen-
dum homines dabant, tenuisti, te pro homine per-
necessario, quaestore tuo, dicere ! Quam tibi primum
203 munisti ad te audiendum viam ! Ecce autem, cum
te nihil aliud profecisse arbitrarer, nisi ut homines
tibi civem improbum defendenti ignoscendum prop-
ter necessitudinem arbitrarentur, serpere occulte
coepisti, nihildum aliis suspicantibus, me vero iam
pertimescente, ut illam non Norbani seditionem, sed
Popuh Romani iracundiam neque eam iniustam, sed
meritam ac debitam fuisse defenderes. Deinde qui
locus a te praetermissus est in Caepionem ? Ut tu
illa omnia odio, invidia, misericordia miscuisti ! Neque
haec solum in defensione, sed etiam in Scauro ce-
346
DE ORATORE, II. xUx. 201—1. 203
of speech, the one inflammatory, the other eulogistic,
and neither of them much elaborated by rules of art,
I so managed the whole of that case as to seem most
passionate when reviving hatred of Caepio, and
mildest when describing my conduct towards my
own connexions. So, Sulpicius, it was rather by
working upon, than by informing, the minds of the
tribunal, that I beat your prosecution on that
occasion."
202 L. Here Sulpicius observed, " Upon my word, Snipicius
Antonius, your account of those matters is true, for t^stifles to
never did I see anything shp through the fingers in suMeM^hi'
the way that verdict slipped that day through mine. *'^® ^***'
For when (as you told us) I had left you with a con-
flagration rather than a case to dispose of, — ye Gods 1
— what an opening you made ! How nervous, how
irresolute you seemed ! How stammering and halt-
ing was your deUvery ! How you clung at the outset
to the sohtary excuse everyone was making for you
— that you were defending your own famiUar friend
and quaestor ! So, in the first place, did you prepare
203 the way towards getting a hearing ! Then, just as
I was deciding that you had merely succeeded in
making people think intimate relationship a possible
excuse for your defending a wicked citizen, — lo and
behold ! — so far unsuspected by other people, but
already to my own serious alarm, you began to
wriggle imperceptibly into your famous defence, of
no factious Norbanus, but of an incensed Roman
People, whose wrath, you urged, was not wrongful,
but just and well-deserved. After that what point
against Caepio did you miss ? How you leavened
every word with hatred, maUce and pathos ! And
aU this not only in your speech for the defence, but
347
CICERO
terisque meis testibus, quorum testimonia non re-
fellendo, sed ad eundem impetum populi confugiendo
refutasti. Quae cum abs te modo commemora-
204 rentur, equidem nulla praecepta desiderabam ; ipsam
tamen istam demonstrationem defensionum tuarum
abs te ipso commemoratam doctrinam esse non
mediocrem puto.
Atqui, si ita placet, inquit Antonius, trademus
etiam, quae nos sequi in dicendo quaeque maxime
spectare solemus ; docuit enim iam nos longa vita
ususque rerum maximarum, ut quibus rebus animi
hominum moverentur teneremus.
205 LI. Equidem primum considerare soleo, postuletne
causa ; nam neque parvis in rebus adhibendae sunt
hae dicendi faces neque ita animatis hominibus, ut
nihil ad eorum mentes oratione flectendas proficere
possimus, ne aut irrisione aut odio digni putemur, si
aut tragoedias agamus in nugis aut convellere adoria-
206 mur ea, quae non possint commoveri. lam^ quoniam
haec fere maxime sunt in iudicum animis, aut qui-
cumque ilU erunt, apud quos agemus, oratione mo-
lienda, amor, odium, iracundia, invidia, misericordia,
spes, laetitia, timor, molestia, sentimus amorem con-
ciliari, si id videare, quod sit utile ipsis, apud quos
agas, defendere, aut si pro bonis viris aut certe pro
eis, qui iUis boni atque utiles sint, laborare. Namque
haec res amorem magis conciUat, iUa virtutis de-
fensio caritatem ; plusque proficit, si proponitur spes
utiUtatis futurae quam praeteriti beneficii com-
207 memoratio. Enitendum est, ut ostendas in ea re,
' lam. Madvig^s correction for the inappropriate Nam o/
the U88.
" Reading aut si for the *« aut of the mss.
S48
DE ORATORE, II. 1. 203— li. 207
also in your handling of Scaurus and the rest of my
witnesses, whose evidence you rebutted by no dis-
proof, but by fleeing for refuge to that same national
204 outbreak. When just now you were reminding us
of these things, I certainly felt no need of any
maxims, for that actual reproduction, in your own
words, of your methods of defence is to my mind the
most instructive of teaching."
" For all that," answered Antonius, " we will, if Ruiesand
you please, go on to set forth the principles we gener- ^otiOTfar"^
ally adopt in speaking, and the points we chiefly keep oratwry.
in view : for a long career and experience in the most
weighty afFairs have taught us, by this time, to hold
fast to the ways of stirring the feelings of mankind.
205 LI. " My own practice is to begin by reflecting
whether the case calls for such treatment ; for these
rhetorical fireworks should not be used in petty
matters, or with men of such temper that our elo-
quence can achieve nothing in the way of influencing
their minds, unless we would be deemed fit objects
of ridicule, or even of disgust, as indulging in heroics
over trifles, or setting out to uproot the immovable.
206 Now, since the emotions which eloquence has to
excite in the minds of the tribunal, or whatever other
audience we may be addressing, are most commonly
love, hate, wrath, jealousy, compassion, hope, joy,
fear or vexation, we observe that love is won if you
are thought to be upholding the interests of your
audience, or <* to be working for good men, or at any
rate for such as that audience deems good and useful.
For this last impression more readily wins love, and
the protection of the righteous esteem ; and the
holding-out of a hope of advantage to come is more
207 efFective than the recital of past benefit. You must
349
CICERO
quam defendas, aut dignitatem inesse aut utilitatem,
eumque, cui concilies hunc amorem, significes nihil
ad utilitatem suam rettuUsse ac nihil omnino fecisse
causa sua. Invidetur enim commodis hominum ip-
sorum, studiis autem eorum ceteris commodandi
favetur.
208 Videndumque hoc loco est, ne, quos ob benefacta
dihgi volemus, eorum laudem atque gloriam, cui
maxime invideri solet, nimis efFerre videamur. Atque
eisdem his ex locis et in alios odium struere discemus
et a nobis ac nostris demovere ; eademque haec
genera tractanda sunt in iracundia vel excitanda vel
sedanda. Nam si, quod ipsis , qui audiunt, perniciosum
aut inutile sit, id factum augeas, odiimi creatur ;
sin, quod aut in bonos viros aut in eos, in quos minime
quisque debuerit, aut in rem publicam, tum excitatur,
si non tam acerbum odium, tamen aut invidiae aut
209 odii non dissimihs offensio. Item timor incutitur aut
ex ipsorum periculis aut ex communibus : interior
est ille proprius, sed hic quoque communis ad ean-
dem simiUtudinem est perducendus.
LII. Par atque una ratio est spei, laetitiae, moles-
tiae ; sed haud sciam an acerrimus longe sit omniiun
motus invidiae nec minus virium opus sit in ea
comprimenda quam in excitanda. Invident autem
homines maxime paribus aut inferioribus, cum se
reUctos sentiunt, illos autem dolent evolasse ; sed
350
DE ORATORE, II. li. 207— lii. 209
struggle to reveal the presence, in the cause you
are upholding, of some merit or usefulness, and to
make it plain that the man, for whom you are to win
this love, in no respect consulted his own interests
and did nothing at all from personal motives. For
men's private gains breed jealousy, while their zeal
for others' service is applauded.
208 " And here we must be watchful, not to seem to
extol unduly the merits and renown — jealousy's
favourite target — of those whom we would have
beloved for their good works. Then too, from these
same commonplaces, we shall learn as well to in-
stigate hatred of others as to turn it away from our-
selves and our clients : and these same general heads
are to be employed in kindUng and also in assuaging
wrath. For, if you glorify the doing of something
ruinous or unprofitable to your particular audience,
hate is engendered : while, if it be something done
against good men in general, or those to whom the
particular doer should never have done it, or against
the State, no such bitter hate is excited, but a disgust
209 closely resembhng ill-will or hate. Fear again is
struck from either the perils of individuals or those
shared by all : that of private origin goes deeper,
but universal fear ako is to be traced to a similar
source.
LII. " The treatment of hope, joy and vexation Prevaience
is similar to this, and identical in each case, but I »' J«aiousy
rather think that the emotion of jealousy is by far
the fiercest of all, and needs as much energy for its
repression as for its stimulation. Now people are
especially jealous of their equals, or of those once
beneath them, when they feel themselves left behind
and fret at the others' upward flight ; but jealousy
351
CICERO
etiam superioribus invidetur saepe vehementer et
eo magis, si intolerantius se iactant et aequa-
bilitatem iuris praestantia dignitatis aut fortunae
suae transeunt ; quae si inflammanda sunt, maxime
dicendum est non esse virtute parta, deinde etiam
vitiis atque peccatis, tum, si erunt honestiora atque
graviora, tamen non esse tanta illa merita, quanta
210 insolentia hominis quantumque fastidium. Ad
sedandum autem, magno illa labore, magnis pericuHs
esse parta nec ad suum commodum, sed ad aliorum
esse collata; eumque si quam^ gloriam peperisse
videatur, tamenetsi ea non sit iniqua merces periculi,
tamen ea non delectari totamque abicere atque
deponere ; omninoque perficiendum est, quoniam
plerique sunt invidi maximeque hoc est commune
vitium et pervagatum, invidetur autem praestanti
florentique fortunae, ut haec opinio minuatur et
illa excellens opinione fortuna cum laboribus et
211 miseriis permixta esse videatur. lam misericordia
movetur, si is, qui audit, adduci potest, ut illa,
quae de altero deplorentur, ad suas res revocet,
quas aut tulerit acerbas aut timeat, aut in-
tuens ahum crebro ad se ipsum revertatur. Ita
cum singuli casus humanarum miseriarum graviter
accipiuntur, si dicuntur dolenter, tum affiicta et
prostrata virtus maxime luctuosa est. Et, ut illa
altera pars orationis, quae probitatis commendatione
^ Piderit : collataque suatn.
S5i
DE ORATORE, II. lii. 209-211
of theii betters also is often furious, and all the more
so if these conduct themselves insufferably, and
overstep their rightful claims on the strength of
pre-eminent rank or prosperity ; if these advantages
are to be made fuel for jealousy, it should before all
be pointed out that they were not the fruit of merit ;
next that they even came by vice and wrongdoing,
finally that the man's deserts, though creditable and
impressive enough, are still exceeded by his arro-
210 gance and disdain. To quench jealousy, on the other
hand, it is proper to emphasize the points that those
advantages were the fruit of great exertion and great
risks, and were not turned to his own profit but to
that of other people ; and that, as for any renown
he himself may seem to have won, though no unfair
recompense for his risk, he nevertheless finds no
pleasure therein, but casts it aside and disclaims
it altogether : and we must by all means make sure
(since most people are jealous, and this faiUng is
remarkably general and widespread, while jealousy
is attracted by surpassingly brilhant prosperity) that
the belief in such prosperity shall be weakened, and
that what was supposed to be outstanding prosperity
shall be seen to be thoroughly blended with labour
211 and sorrow. Lastly compassion is awakened if the Appeais to
hearer can be brought to apply to his own adversities, compassioa
whether endured or only apprehended, the lamenta-
tions uttered over someone else, or if, in his con-
templation of another's case, he many a time goes
back to his own experience. Thus, while particular
occasions of human distress are deeply felt, if de-
scribed in moving terms, the dejection and ruin of
the righteous are especially lamentable. And, just
as that other kind of style, which by bearing witness
353
CICERO
boni viri debet speciem tueri, lenis, ut saepe iam
dixi, atque summissa, sic haec, quae suscipitur ab
oratore ad commutandos animos atque omni ratione
flectendos, intenta ac vehemens esse debet.
212 LIII. Sed est quaedam in his duobus generibus,
quorum alterum lene, alterum vehemens esse volu-
mus, difficilis ad distinguendum similitudo, Nam et
ex illa lenitate, qua concihamur eis, qui audiunt,
ad hanc vim acerrimam, qua eosdem excitamus,
influat oportet ahquid, et ex hac vi nonnunquam
animi ahquid inflammandum est ilh lenitati ; neque
est uUa temperatior oratio quam illa, in qua asperitas
contentionis oratoris ipsius humanitate conditur,
remissio autem lenitatis quadam gravitate et con-
tentione firmatur.
213 In utroque autem genere dicendi, et iho, in quo vis
atque contentio quaeritur, et hoc, quod ad vitam et
mores accommodatur, et principia tarda sunt et
exitus tamen spissi et producti esse debent. Nam
neque assihendum statim est ad genus illud orationis ;
abest enim totum a causa, et homines prius ipsum
illud, quod proprium sui iudicii est, audire desiderant;
nec cum in eam rationem ingressus sis, celeriter
214 discedendum est. Non enim, sicut argumentum, simul
atque positum est, arripitur, alterumque et tertium
poscitur, ita misericordiam aut invidiam aut iracun-
diam, simul atque intuleris, possis commovere. Argu-
mentum enim ratio ipsa confirmat, idque, simul atque
854,
DE ORATORE, II. lii. 211— liii. 214
to the speakers integrity is to preserve the semblance
of a man of worth, should be mild and gentle (as
I have repeatedly said already), so this kind, assumed
by the speaker in order to transform men's feelings
or influence them in any desired way, should be
spirited and emotional.
212 LIII. " But these two styles, which we require to condiiatory
be respectively mild and emotional, have something „„^'^4^
in common, making them hard to keep apart. For troatment of
from that mildness, which wins us the goodwill of p^ggagOT.
our hearers, some inflow must reach this fiercest of
passions, wherewith we inflame the same people,
and again, out of this passion some Uttle energy
must often be kindled within that mildness : nor
is any style better blended than that wherein the
harshness of strife is tempered by the personal
urbanity of the advocate, while his easy-going mild-
ness is fortified by some admixture of serious strife,
213 " Now in both styles of speaking, the one demand-
ing passion and strife, and the other adapted to recom-
mendation of the speaker's life and manners, the
opening of a speech is unhurried, and none the less
its closing should also be lingering and long drawn-
out. For you must not bound all of a sudden into
that emotional style, since it is whoUy ahen to the
merits of the case, and people long to hear first just
what is peculiarly within their own cognizance,
while, once you have assumed that style, you must
214 not be in a hurry to change it. For you could not
awaken compassion, jealousy or wrath at the very
instant of your onset, in the way that a proof is
seized upon as soon as propounded, and a second
and third called for. This is because the hearer's
mentality corroborates the proof, and no sooner is
S55
CICERO
emissum est, adhaerescit ; illud autem genus ora-
tionis non cognitionem iudicis, sed magis perturba-
tionem requirit, quam consequi nisi multa et varia
et copiosa oratione, et simili contentione actionis,
215 nemo potest, Quare qui aut breviter aut summisse
dicunt, docere iudicem possunt, commovere non
possunt ; in quo sunt omnia.
lam illud perspicuum est, omnium rerum in con-
trarias partes facultatem ex eisdem suppeditari locis.
Sed argumento resistendum est aut eis, quae com-
probandi eius causa sumuntur, reprehendendis, aut
demonstrando, id, quod concludere illi vehnt, non
effici ex propositis nec esse consequens ; aut, si ita non
refellas, afFerendum est in contrariam partem, quod
216 sit aut gravius aut aeque grave. Illa autem, quae aut
conciliationis causa leniter, aut permotionis vehe-
menter aguntur, contrariis commotionibus auferenda
sunt, ut odio benevolentia, misericordia invidia
tollatur.
LIV. Suavis autem est et vehementer saepe utilis
iocus et facetiae ; quae, etiamsi alia omnia tradi
arte possunt, naturae sunt propria certe neque ullam
artem desiderant. In quibus tu longe ahis mea
sententia, Caesar, excelhs, quo magis mihi etiam
aut testis esse potes nuUam esse artem sahs aut,
si qua est, eam tu potissimum nos docebis.
217 Ego vero, inquit Caesar, omni de re facetius
puto posse ab homine non inurbano, quara de ipsis
facetiis disputari. Itaque cum quosdam Graecos
inscriptos hbros esse vidissem de ridiculis, non-
356
DE ORATORE, II. liii. 214— Uv. 217
it uttered than it is sticking in his memory, whereas
that passionate style searches out an arbitrator's
emotional side rather than his understanding, and
that side can only be reached by diction that is rich,
diversified and copious, with animated delivery to
215 match. Thus concise or quiet speakers may inform
an arbitrator, but cannot excite him, on which
excitement everything depends.
" By this time it is plain that the power to argue Argument
both sides of every question is abundantly furnished argumBnt''^
from the same commonplaces. But your opponents' appeaito'
proof must be countered, either by contradicting the exdtlng the
arguments chosen to estabUsh it, or by showing that contrary.
their desired conclusion is not supported by their
premisses and does not follow therefrom ; or, if you
do not so rebut it, you must adduce on the opposite
216 side some proof of greater or equal cogency. Lastly
appeals, whether mild or passionate, and whether
for winning favour or stirring the feehngs, must be
swept aside by exciting the opposite impressions,
so that goodwill may be done away with by hate,
and compassion by jealousy.
LIV. " Jesting too and shafts of wit are agreeable Empioy-
and often highly efFective : but these, even if all else ™^°'^°^ ''**•
can be taught by art, are assuredly the endowment
of nature and in no need of art. To my mind, Caesar,
you far surpass all others in this field, so that you are
also the better able to bear me witness that no art
of pleasantry exists, or, if any such there be, you will
217 best teach it to us." " For my part," returned wita
Caesar, " I hold that a man with any tincture of °**^^^^8i''5
humour in him can discuss anything in the world kinds.
more wittily than actual witticisms. Thus, on seeing
sundry Greek books entitled Concerning tke Laughahle,
857
CICERO
nullam in spem veneram posse me ex eis aliquid
discere ; inveni autem ridicula et salsa multa Grae-
corum ; nam et Siculi in eo genere et Rhodii et
Byzantii et praeter ceteros Attici excellunt ; sed
qui eius rei rationem quandam conati sunt artemque
tradere, sic insulsi exstiterunt, ut nihil aliud eorum
218 nisi ipsa insulsitas rideatur. Quare mihi quidem
nuUo modo videtur doctrina ista res posse tradi.
Etenim cum duo genera sint facetiarum, alterum
aequabiliter in omni sermone fusum, altermn pera-
cutum et breve, illa a veteribus superior cavillatio,
haec altera dicacitas nominata est. Leve nomen
219 habet utraque res ! quippe leve enim est totum hoc
risum movere. Verum tamen, ut dicis, Antoni, mul-
tum in causis persaepe lepore et facetiis profici vidi.
Sed cum illo in genere perpetuae festivitatis ars non
desideretur (natura enim fingit homines et creat
imitatores et narratores facetos, adiuvante et voltu
et voce et ipso genere sermonis), tum vero in hoc
altero dicacitatis quid habet ars loci, cum ante illud
facete dictum emissum haerere debeat, quam cogitari
220 potuisse videatur ? Quid enim hic meus frater ab
arte adiuvari potuit, cum a Philippo interrogatus
quid latraret, furem se videre respondit ? Quid in
omni oratione Crassus vel apud centumviros contra
Scaevolam vel contra accusatorem Brutum, cum
pro Cn. Planco diceret ? Nam id, quod tu mihi
tribuis, Antoni, Crasso est omnium sententia con-
cedendum. Non enim fere quisquam reperietur
» For Philippus see Index and Book I, § 24, aupra.
' Catulus ' of course is Latin for a little dog.
S58
DE ORATORE, II. liv. 217-220
I entertained the hope of being able to learn some-
thing from them, and did indeed find much in Greek
Ufe that was laughable and pungent, the inhabitants
of Sicily, Rhodes, Byzantium, and particularly Athens
having distinguished themselves in this kind of thing ;
all however who tried to teach anything like a theory
or art of this matter proved themselves so conspicu-
ously silly that their very silliness is the only laugh-
218 able thing about them. That is why I think that
this accomplishment cannot possibly be imparted by
teaching. For, there being two sorts of wit, one
running with even flow all through a speech, while the
other, though incisive, is intermittent, the ancients
called the former ' irony ' and the latter ' raillery.'
219 Each of these has a trivial name, but then of course
all this business of laughter-raising is trivial. For all
that, Antonius, as you remind me, I have very often
seen much done in Court by humour and flashes of
wit. But, while Art is not wanted in that continuous
sort of jocularity (since Nature moulds mankind, and
produces mimics and witty story-tellers, helped by
their features, intonation and individual style of
speaking), what room, pray, is there for Art in railler}'^,
that other sort, wherein the shaft of wit has to be
sped and hit its mark, with no palpable pause for
220 thought ? For what help could my brother here iiiustra-
have got from Art, when PhiUppus " inquired of him, ^^°^^ °* ^^^
' What are you barking at, Master Puppy,' and he
answered, * I see a thief ' ? Or what help could
Crassus have so got, all through his reply to Scaevola
before the Hundred Commissioners, or his defence of
Gnaeus Plancus, when prosecuted by Brutus ? In
fact, Antonius, the tribute you pay me ought, by
unanimous verdict, to be yielded to Crassus. For
359
CICERO
praeter hunc in utroque genere leporis excellens,
et illo quod in perpetuitate sermonis, et hoc quod in
221 celeritate atque dicto est. Nam haec perpetua
contra Scaevolam Curiana defensio tota redundavit
hilaritate quadam et ioco ; dicta illa brevia non
habuit. Parcebat enim adversarii dignitati, in quo
ipse conservabat suam ; quod est hominibus facetis
et dicacibus difficillimimi, habere hominum rationem
et temporum et ea, quae occurrant, cum salsissime
222 dici possint, tenere. Itaque nonnulli ridiculi homines
hoc ipsum non insulse interpretantur dicere ^ Ennium,
flammam a sapiente facihus ore in ardente opprimi,
quam bona dicta teneat ; haec scilicet bona dicta,
quae salsa sint ; nam ea dicta appellantur proprio
iam nomine.
LV. Sed ut in Scaevolam continuit ea Crassus
atque in illo altero genere, in quo nuUi aculei con-
timielianmi inerant, causam illam disputationemque
lusit, sic in Bruto, quem oderat et quem dignum
contumeha iudicabat, utroque genere pugnavit.
223 Quam multa de balneis, quas nuper ille vendiderat,
quam multa de amisso patrimonio dixit ! Atque
illa brevia, cum ille diceret se sine causa sudare,
* minime mirum,' inquit, ' modo enim existi de
balneis.' Innumerabilia talia fuerunt, sed non minus
iucunda illa perpetua. Cum enim Brutus duo lectores
^ Piderit : dicere enim aiunt.
" For the famous 'causa Curiana,' see Book I, § 180,
II, §§ 140 f.
860
DE ORATORE, II. liv. 220— Iv. 223
scarcely a single other speaker is to be found, who is
outstanding in both kinds of humour, the one dis-
played all through a continuous discourse, the other
221 in instantaneous bons-mots. For that continuous
speech, on behalf of Curius " and in reply to Scaevola,
overflowed throughout with unmistakable mirth and
jocularity ; of those sudden shafts it contained none.
For the speaker was sparing his opponent's reputa-
tion, and in so doing was maintaining his own, because
it is a most difficult thing for men given to wdt and
raillery to have regard to personages and occasions,
and to refrain from making observations which sug-
gest themselves, when these could be brought out
222 with most pungent efFect. So true is this that sundry
jesters explain it (shrewdly enough) as being exactly
what Ennius speaks of, when he says that ' it is easier
for a wise man to stifle a flame within his burning
mouth than to keep words of worth to himself,'
* worth ' in this passage of course meaning ' pun-
gency,' for such sayings are now known by a name
of their own.
LV. " But although against Scaevola Crassus sup- sidifui use
pressed those shafts, and in fact romped through his crassus.^
argument and the whole of the trial in that other
mode, which involved no stinging invective, yet when
encountering Brutus, whom he detested and deemed
deserving of invective, he fought in both modes.
223 Howmuch he had to say about the baths then recently
sold by his adversary, and about his wasted heritage !
Those repartees too ! as when Brutus declared him-
self to be sweating all for nothing and the other
retorted * Likely enough, for you are just ousted from
your sweating-room ! ' Such shots were countless,
but his continuous vein was just as pleasing. For
N S61
CICERO
excitasset et alteri de colonia Narbonensi Crassi
orationem legendam dedisset, alteri de lege Servilia,
et cum contraria inter sese de re publica capita con-
tulisset, noster hic facetissime tres patris Bruti de
224 iure civili libellos tribus legendos dedit. Ex libro
primo : ' Forte evenit, ut in Privernati essemus.'
' Brute, testificatur pater se tibi Privernatem fundum
reliquisse.' Deinde ex libro secundo : * In Albano
ERAMus EGO ET Marcus filius.' ' Sapicns videlicet
homo cum primis nostrae civitatis norat hunc gur-
gitem ; metuebat, ne, cum is nihil haberet, nihil esse
ei rehctum putaretur.' Tum ex libro tertio, in quo
finem scribendi fecit — tot enim, ut audivi Scaevolam
dicere, sunt veri Bruti libri — ' In Tiburti forte as-
SEDiMus EGO ET Marcus fihus.' ' Ubi sunt hi fundi,
Brute, quos tibi pater publicis commentariis con-
signatos reliquit ? Quod nisi puberem te, inquit, iam
haberet, quartum librum composuisset et se etiam in
balneis lotum cum filio scriptum reliquisset.'
225 Quis est igitur, qui non fateatur, hoc lepore
atque his facetiis non minus refutatum esse Brutum
quam illis tragoediis, quas egit idem, cum casu in
eadem causa funere efferretur anus lunia ? Pro di
" For a boy of fourteen or more to bathe in his father'8
company was considered indecorous.
862
DE ORATORE, II. Iv. 223-225
after Brutus had summoned a couple of readers, and
handed them a speech of Crassus apiece to recite,
one on the Narbonian settlement and the other on
the Statute of ServiUus, and had himself noted some
inconsistencies in their accounts of afFairs of State,
our friend here most humorously delivered to three
of these people for recital three pamphlets on the
224 common law by Brutus the elder. On an extract
from the first book, * It chanced that we were in the
Privernian district,' his comment was, * Brutus, your
father bears witness that he has bequeathed you an
estate at Privernum.' Next, at the citation from the
second book, ' I and my son Marcus were on the
Alban Hills,' he observed, * See how a man as shrewd
as any in our community had discerned the nature of
this devouring gulf ; he was afraid that, when he had
nothing left, it might be thought that nothing had
been bequeathed to him.' Finally, on the words ' I
and my son Marcus happened to sit down together
on Tiburtine land ' being read out from the third and
concluding book (for I have heard Scaevola say that
the authentic volumes of Brutus are three in num-
ber), Crassus exclaimed, * Where are these estates,
Brutus, which your father registered in his pubhc
memoirs as bequeathed to you ? Why,' he went
on, ' had you not already turned fourteen, he would
have put together a fourth book, leaving it on record
that he had also washed in his son's company at
those baths ! ' "
226 " Who then would deny that this pleasantry and
these witticisms had as much to do with the repulse
of Brutus as those histrionics gone through by our
same friend when, during the same trial, it happened
that the aged Junia was carried forth in funeral pro-
363
CICERO
immortales, quae fait illa, quanta vis 1 quam inex-
spectata ! quam repentina ! cmn coniectis oculis,
gestu omni ei imminenti, summa gravitate et celeri-
tate verborum * Brute, quid sedes ? Quid illam
anum patri nuntiare vis tuo ? quid illis omnibus,
quorum imagines duci vides ? quid maioribus tuis ?
quid L, Bruto, qui hunc populum dominatu regio
liberavit ? Quid te agere ? Cui rei, cui gloriae, cui
virtuti studere ? Patrimonione augendo ? At id non
est nobilitatis, sed fac esse, nihil superest ; Hbi-
226 dines totum dissipaverunt. An iuri civili ? est pater-
num. Sed dicet te, cum aedes venderes, ne in rutis
quidem et caesis soUum tibi paternum recepisse. An
rei militari ? Qui nunquam castra videris ! An elo-
quentiae ? quae nuUa est in te, et, quicquid est vocis
ac linguae, omne in istum turpissimum calumniae
quaestum contulisti ! Tu lucem aspicere audes ? tu
hos intueri ? tu in foro, tu in urbe, tu in civium esse
conspectu ? Tu illam mortuam, tu imagines ipsas non
perhorrescis ? quibus non modo imitandis, sed ne
collocandis quidem tibi locum ullum reliquisti.'
227 LVI. Sed haec tragica atque divina ; faceta autem
et urbana innumerabilia ex una contione meministis.
" In Roman Law minerals already quarried and timber
already felled were deemed to be excepted from the sale of a
farm, unless expressly included.
364,
DE ORATORE, II. Iv. 225— Ivi. 227
cession ? Ha ! ye deathless gods ! what boundless
vigour he displayed ! and how sudden and unlooked-
for it was ! when, with piercing gaze, with menace in
his every motion, in the severest tones, and in a
torrent of words he declaimed : * Brutus, why seated ?
What news would you have that venerable dame
carry to your sire ? to all those whose busts you
behold borne along ? to your ancestors ? to Lucius
Brutus, who freed this community from the tyranny
of the kings ? What shall she tell them you are
doing ? What affairs, what glorious deeds, what
worthy ends are you busied with ? Is it increas-
ing your heritage ? That is no occupation for the
nobly-born, but — assuming it were so — you have
nothing left to increase ; sensuality has squandered
226 every shilling. Are you cultivating the common law,
your father's field ? Why, Junia will report that,
on selling-up your home, you did not even reserve
his arm-chair for yourself, along with the quarried
minerals and felled timber ! " Are you foUowing a
military career ? You, who will never set eyes on
a camp ! Are you a devotee of eloquence ? There
is no spark of it about you, and any power you had
of intonation or language you applied to making
money by the foulest perversion of justice ! Dare
you behold the Hght of day ? Or look upon this
assembly ? Or show yourself in Court, or within the
City, or before the eyes of your fellow-citizens ? Do
not you tremble exceedingly at the spectacle of that
dead lady ? and of those same busts, you who have ^ _
left yourself no room even for setting them up, much
less for emulating their originals ? '
227 LVI. " All this however was in the grand and
inspired style, but you also recall a host of sparkling
265
CICERO
Nec enim contentio maior unquam fuit, nec apud
populum gravior oratio, quam huius contra collegam
in censura nuper, neque lepore et festivitate
conditior.
Quare tibi, Antoni, utrumque assentior, et multum
facetias in dicendo prodesse saepe, et eas arte nullo
modo posse tradi. IUud quidem admiror, te nobis in
eo genere tribuisse tantum, et non huius rei quoque
palmam, ut ceterarum, Crasso detulisse.
228 Tum Antonius : Ego vero ita fecissem, inquit, nisi
interdum in hoc Crasso paulum inviderem : nam esse
quamvis facetum atque salsum, non nimis est per se
ipsum invidendum ; sed, cum omnium sit venus-
tissimus et urbanissimus, omnium gravissimum et
severissimum et esse, et videri, quod isti contigit uni,
id mihi vix ferendum videbatur.
229 Hic cum arrisisset ipse Crassus, Attamen, inquit
Antonius, cum artem esse facetiarum, luli, ullam
negares, aperuisti quiddam, quod praecipiendum
videretur. Haberi enim dixisti rationem oportere
hominum, rei, temporis, ne quid iocus de gravitate
decerperet ; quod quidem in primis a Crasso obser-
vari solet. Sed hoc praeceptum praetermittendarum
est facetiarum, cum eis nihil opus sit ; nos autem
quomodo utamur, cum opus sit, quaerimus, ut in
adversarium, et maxime, si eius stultitia poterit
agitari, in testem stultum, cupidum, levem, si facile
■ i.e. Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.
366
DE ORATORE, II. Ivi. 227-229
witticisms from a single harangue. For never was
there a more spirited effort, or a speech more effec-
tive with the public, than that of our friend here, not
long since, against his colleague " in the censorship,
or one better tempered with charm and gaiety.
" And so, Antonius, I grant both your points, first
the great and frequent utility of witticisms in oratory ,
secondly the absolute impossibiUty of learning these
from art. One thing certainly surprises me, and
that is your ascribing so much success in this sphere
to myself, instead of awarding the prize for this, as
for all eke, to Crassus."
" I should certainly have done so," answered
Antonius, " were I not now and then a little envious
of Crassus in this connexion ; for merely to be as
witty and shrewd as you please need not excite un-
measured envy, but that the most attractive and
polished of all speakers should at the same time be
obviously the most impressive and austere, as has
been the lot of our friend alone, — this did seem
rather more than I could bear."
Even Crassus smiled at this, and Antonius went
on, " However, Julius, though you denied the exist-
ence of any art of pleasantry, you did just start some-
thing that seemed worth teaching. For you said
that regard ought to be paid to personages, topics
and occasions, so that the jest should not detract
from dignity ; Crassus of course always observes this
principle as strictly as anyone. But it is a rule for
the omission of uncalled-for witticisms, whereas we
seek to know how to employ witticisms when wanted,
— against an enemy, for instance, and most of all, if
his stupidity can be ruffled, against a stupid, biased
or unreliable witness, when people seem inclined to
367
CICERO
230 homines audituri videbuntur. Omnino probabiliora
sunt, quae lacessiti dicimus, quam quae priores, nam
et ingenii celeritas maior est, quae apparet in respon-
dendo, et humanitatis est responsio, Videmur enim
quieturi fuisse, nisi essemus lacessiti, ut in ista ipsa
contione nihil fere dictum est ab hoc, quod quidem
facetius dictum videretur, quod non provocatus
responderit. Erat autem tanta gravitas in Domitio,
tanta auctoritas, ut, quod esset ab eo obiectum,
lepore magis elevandum, quam contentione frangen-
dum videretur.
231 LVII. Tum Sulpicius : Quid igitur ? inquit, pa-
tiemur Caesarem, qui, quanquam Crasso facetias
concedit, tamen multo in eo studio magis ipse ela-
borat, non exphcare nobis totum genus hoc iocandi,
quale sit, et unde ducatur ; praesertim cum tantam
vim et utihtatem salis et urbanitatis esse fateatur ?
Quid si, inquit lulius, assentior Antonio dicenti,
232 nullam esse artem saUs ? Hic cum Sulpicius re-
ticuisset : Quasi vero, inquit Crassus, horum ip-
sorum, de quibus Antonius iamdiu loquitur, ars ulla
sit : observatio quaedam est, ut ipse dixit, earum
rerum, quae in dicendo valent ; quae si eloquentes
facere posset, quis esset non eloquens ? Quis enim
haec non vel facile, vel certe ahquo modo posset
ediscere ? Sed ego in his praeceptis hanc vim et hanc
utihtatem esse arbitror, non ut ad reperiendum, quid
dicamus, arte ducamur, sed ut ea quae natura, quae
studio, quae exercitatione consequimur, aut recta esse
confidamus aut prava intellegamus, cum, quo re-
S68
DE ORATORE, II. Ivi. 230— Ivii. 232
230 give him a ready hearing. The things we say when
exasperated are altogether more persuasive than
those we say in our first attack, as greater quick-
ness of device is shown in retort, and to retort is
human. For we give the impression that we should
have remained quiet, had we not been exasperated,
just as, in that identical harangue, our friend here
said scarcely anything we thought particularly witty,
which was not said by way of retort to a challenge.
Yet there was such an air of worth and distinction
about Domitius, that it seemed more fitting to make
hght of his charges by pleasantry than to shatter
them by force."
231 LVII. " How now ? " interposed Sulpicius, " shall Practicai
we permit Caesar, who, though yielding precedence Judglng''
in wit to Crassus, yet toils far harder in that field «ritticisms.
himself, to deny us a complete exposition of this type
of jesting, its nature and its sources, particularly as
he recognizes such power and value in pleasantry and
humour ? " " But suppose," said Julius, " I agree
with Antonius that no art of pleasantry exists ? "
232 Sulpicius remaining silent, Crassus observed, " An
art of these things which Antonius has been dis-
cussing all this time ! a practice indeed there is, as
he himself told us, of observing sundry conventions
serviceable to speakers, but, if this practice could
impart eloquence, who would fail to be eloquent ?
For who could not master these conventions, either
readily or at any rate in some measure ? However
I hold the virtue and benefit of these maxims to lie
in this : we do not discover what to say by artificial
devices, but, after we have learned a true standard of
comparison, they assure us of the soundness, or
reveal to us the weakness, of whatever resources we
S69
CICERO
233 ferenda sint, didicerimus. Quare, Caesar, ego quo-
que a te hoc peto, ut, si tibi videtur, disputes de hoc
toto iocandi genere, quid sentias, ne qua forte dicendi
pars, quoniam ita voluistis, in hoc tali coetu, atque in
tam accurato sermone praeterita esse videatur. Ego
vero, inquit ille, quoniam coUectam a conviva, Crasse,
exigis, non committam, ut, si defugerim, tibi causam
aliquam dem recusandi, quanquam soleo saepe mirari
eorum impudentiam, qui agunt in scena gestimi,
spectante Roscio ; quis enim sese commovere potest,
cuius ille vitia non videat ? Sic ego nunc, Crasso
audiente, primum loquar de facetiis, et docebo sus,
ut aiunt, oratorem eum, quem cum Catulus nuper
234 audisset, ' foenum alios aiebat esse oportere.' Tum
ille : locabatur, inquit, Catulus, praesertim cum
ita dicat ipse, ut ambrosia alendus esse videatur.
Verum te, Caesar, audiamus, ut ad Antonii reliqua
redeamus. Et Antonius : Perpauca quidem mihi
restant, inquit ; sed tamen, defessus iam labore
atque itinere disputationis meae, requiescam in
Caesaris sermone quasi in aliquo peropportuno de-
versorio.
LVIII. Atqui, inquit lulius, non nimis Uberale
hospitium meum dices : nam te in viam, simul ac
235 perpaulum gustaris, extrudam et eiciam. Ac, ne
diutius vos demorer, de omni isto genere, quid sen-
tiam, perbreviter exponam. De risu quinque sunt,
" Caesar refers to his forthcoming talk as if it were his
contribution to a feast.
* See Book I, lix.-lxi.
* Said to have tendered advice to the Goddess of Wisdom.
Compare the English proverb as to a grandcliild giving its
ancestress liints on egg-sucking.
•* As seeming but brute beasts in comparison with Crassus.
870
DE ORATORE, II. Ivii. 233— Iviii. 235
233 attain by native talent, study or practice. And so,
Caesar, I too beg you, if you think proper, to discuss
fuUy this type of jesting, and to state your views,
lest haply one branch of oratory should be thought
to have been passed over, with your approval, in
such a company as this, and in a conversation so
carefully elaborated." " Assuredly, Crassus," re-
plied Caesar, " seeing that you are coUecting a
boon companion's ' shot,' " I will not run away
and so give you any occasion for complaint, although
I am generally amazed at the shamelessness of those
who strut the stage under the very eye of Roscius ^ ;
for what man can so much as stir without that artist
noticing his weak points .'' Just so I, with Crassus
in my audience, am now going to discuss witticisms
for the first time and, in emulation of the proverbial
hog," to instruct that orator of whom, after re-
cently hearing him, Catulus declared that * all
234 others ought to be fed on hay.'"** " Catulus was
speakingin jest," returned Crassus, " and the more
plainly so in that his own style seems to entitle
him to heavenly sustenance. But let us hear you,
Caesar, and come back afterwards to what Antonius
has still in hand." " In fact I have very few things
left to say," observed Antonius, " but in any case
I am already worn-out by my long and toilsome
debate, and shall repose, while Caesar is talking, as
though in a most convenient roadside inn."
LVIII. " Well then," said Julius, " you will not xiie
call my hospitality unduly generous, for I shall thrust ia»ghabie;
you forth and cast you out upon the road, directly
236 you have taken the tiniest taste of it. And now,
to delay you no longer, I will very concisely state
my views on that subject of yours in general. As
371
CICERO
quae quaerantur : unum, quid sit ; alterum, unde
sit ; tertium sitne oratoris, velle risum movere ;
quartum, quatenus ; quintum, quae sint genera
ridiculi.
Atque illud primum, quid sit ipse risus, quo pacto
concitetur, ubi sit, quomodo exsistat, atque ita re-
pente erumpat, ut eum cupientes tenere nequeamus,
et quomodo simul latera, os, venas, vultum, oculos
occupet, viderit Democritus : neque enim ad hunc
sermonem hoc pertinet ; et, si pertineret, nescire me
tamen id non puderet quod ne ilU quidem scirent, qui
pollicerentur.
236 Locus autem, et regio quasi ridicuU (nam id pro-
xime quaeritur) turpitudine et deformitate quadam
continetur : haec enim ridentur vel sola, vel maxime,
quae notant et designant turpitudinem ahquam non
turpiter.
Est autem, ut ad illud tertium veniam, est plane
oratoris movere risum ; vel quod ipsa hilaritas bene-
volentiam conciliat ei, per quem excitata est ; vel
quod admirantur omnes acumen uno saepe in verbo
positum maxime respondentis, nonnunquam etiam
lacessentis ; vel quod frangit adversarium, quod
impedit, quod elevat, quod deterret, quod refutat :
vel quod ipsum oratorem poHtum esse hominem
significat, quod eruditum, quod urbanum, maximeque
quod tristitiam ac severitatem mitigat et relaxat,
" An eminent Greek physicist of the 5th century b.c. ;
known as ' the laughing philosopher.'
372
236
DE ORATORE, II. Iviii. 235-236
regards laughter there are five matters for considera-
tion : first, its nature ; second, its source ; third,
whether willingness to produce it becomes an orator ;
fourth, the Umits of his licence ; fifth, the classification
of things laughable.
" Now the first of these topics, the essential nature (i) it»
of laughter, the way it is occasioned, where it is "^ture;
seated, and how it comes into being, and bursts out
so unexpectedly that, strive as we may, we cannot
restrain it, and how at the same instant it takes
possession of the lungs, voice, pulse, countenance
and eyes, — all this I leave to Democritus « : for it
does not concern the present conversation, and, even
if it did, I should still not be ashamed to show ignor-
ance of something which even its professed expositors
do not understand.
" Then the field or province, so to speak, of the (2) its
laughable (this being our next problem), is restricted province;
to that which may be described as unseemly or ugly ;
for the chief, if not the only, objects of laughter are
those sayings which remark upon and point out
something unseemly in no unseemly manner.
" And again, to come to our third topic, it clearly (3) ita
becomes an orator to raise laughter, and this on rhetoricai
various grounds ; for instance, merriment naturally ateneMT
wins goodvdll for its author ; and everyone admires
acuteness, which is often concentrated in a single
word, uttered generally in repelUng, though some-
times in delivering an attack ; and it shatters or
obstructs or makes light of an opponent, or alarms
or repulses him ; and it shows the orator himself
to be a man of finish, accomplishment and taste ;
and, best of all, it reheves duUness and tones down
austerity, and, by a jest or a laugh, often dispels dis-
873
CICERO
odiosasque res saepe, quas argumentis dilui non
facile est, ioco risuque dissolvit.
237 Quatenus autem sint ridicula tractanda oratori,
perquam diligenter videndum est, id quod in quarto
loco quaerendi posueramus. Nam nec insignis im-
probitas, et scelere iuncta, nec rursus miseria insignis
agitata ridetur : facinorosos enim maiore quadam vi
quam ridiculi vulnerari volunt ; miseros illudi nolunt
nisi se forte iactant. Parcendum est autem maxime
caritati hominum, ne temere in eos dicas qui
diliguntur.
238 LIX. Haec igitur adhibenda est primum in iocando
moderatio. Itaque ea facillime luduntur, quae neque
odio magno, neque misericordia maxima digna sunt.
Quam ob rem materies omnis ridiculorum est in istis
vitiis quae sunt in vita hominimi neque carorum
neque calamitosorum, neque eorum qui ob facinus
ad supplicium rapiendi videntur ; eaque belle agi-
239 tata ridentur. Est etiam deformitatis et corporis
vitiorum satis bella materies ad iocandum ; sed
quaerimus idem, quod in ceteris rebus maxime quae-
rendum est, quatenus. In quo non modo illud prae-
cipitur, ne quid insulse, sed etiam, si quid perridicule
possis, vitandum est oratori utrumque, ne aut scurrilis
iocus sit, aut mimicus. Quae cuiusmodi sint, facilius
iam intellegemus, cum ad ipsa ridiculorum genera
venerimus.
374
DE ORATORE, II. Iviii. 236— lix. 239
tasteful suggestions not easily weakened by reason-
ings.
237 " But the limits within which things laughable are (4) limitsof
to be handled by the orator, that fourth question ^*'^^^®*
we put to ourselves, is one calling for most careful
consideration. For neither outstanding wickedness,
such as involves crime, nor, on the other hand, out-
standing wretchedness is assailed by ridicule, for the
pubUc would have the villainous hurt by a weapon
rather more formidable than ridicule ; while they
dishke mockery of the wretched, except perhaps if
these bear themselves arrogantly. And you must
be especially tender of popular esteem, so that you
do not inconsiderately speak ill of the well-beloved.
238 LIX. " Such then is the restraint that, above all (5) ita
else, must be practised in jesting. Thus the things cuL^sm^ed
most easily ridiculed are those which call for neither
strong disgust nor the deepest sympathy. This is
why all laughing-matters are found among those
blemishes noticeable in the conduct of people who
are neither objects of general esteem nor yet full of
misery, and not apparently merely fit to be hurried off
to execution for their crimes ; and these blemishes,
239 if deftly handled, raise laughter. In ughness too
and in physical blemishes there is good enough matter
for jesting, but here as elsewhere the hmits of Hcence
are the main question. As to this, not only is there
a rule excluding remarks made in bad taste, but also,
even though you could say something with highly
comical effect, an orator must avoid each of two
dangers : he must not let his jesting become
buffoonery or mere mimicking, We shall more
readily understand examples of each kind when we
come to the actual classification of things laughable.
875
CICERO
Duo enim sunt genera facetiarum, quorum alterum
240 re tractatur, alterum dicto. Re, si quando quid, tan-
quam aliqua fabella narratur ; ut olim tu, Crasse, in
Memmium, ' comedisse eum lacertum Largi,' cum
esset cum eo Tarracinae de amicula rixatus : salsa,
at tamen a te ipso ficta tota narratio. Addidisti clau-
sulam, tota Tarracina tum omnibus in parietibus
inscriptas fuisse litteras, LLL, MM ; cum quaereres
id quid esset, senem tibi quendam oppidanum dixisse
' Lacerat Lacertum Largi Mordax Memmius.'
241 Perspicitis, hoc genus quam sit facetum, quam ele-
gans, quam oratorium, sive habeas vere, quod narrare
possis, quod tamen est mendaciunculis aspergen-
dum, sive fingas. Est autem haec huius generis
virtus, ut ita facta demonstres, ut mores eius, de quo
narres, ut sermo, ut vultus omnes exprimantur, ut eis
242 qui audiunt, tum geri illa fierique videantur. In re
est item ridiculum, quod ex quadam depravata imita-
tione sumi solet ; ut idem Crassus : ' Per tuam
nobilitatem, per vestram familiam.' Quid aliud fuit,
in quo contio rideret, nisi illa vultus et vocis imi-
tatio ? ' Per tuas statuas ' vero cum dixit, et extento
bracchio paululum etiam de gestu addidit, vehemen-
tius risimus, Ex hoc genere est illa Rosciana imitatio
senis : * Tibi ego, Antipho, has sero,' inquit. Seniimi
" Gaius Memmius, a turbulent tribune of 1 1 1 b.c, against
whose ferocious character this jest of Crassus seems to be
levelled.
' This merriment may have been excited by an attack of
Crassus upon Domitius Ahenobarbus, who was possibly
disliked for his excessive family pride.
S76
DE ORATORE, II. lix. 239-242
" For there are two types of wit, one employed upon wit of
240 facts, the other upon words. Upon facts, whenever ^ft^^^fom;
any tale is told, some anecdote for instance, just as thefomer
you, Crassus, alleged one day, in a speech against anMdote"^
Memmius," that Memmius ' had made a mouthful and can-
of Largus's arm,* when brawling with him at Tarra-
cina over a lady-love ; it was a spicy story, but every
word of your own fabrication, You wound up by
relating that the letters M.M.L.L.L. were inscribed
on every wall in Tarracina, and that some ancient in-
habitant answered, when you asked what they meant,
241 * Mordacious Memmius lacerates Largus's limb.' You
see plainly how graceful, choice and well befitting an
orator is a jest of this sort, whether you have some
truth you can relate, — which for all that may be
sprinkled with fibs, — or whether you are only fabri-
cating. Now the beauty of such jesting is, that you
state your incidents in such a way, that the character,
the manner of speaking and all the facial expressions
of the hero of your tale, are so presented that those
incidents seem to your audience to take place and
to be transacted concurrently with your description
242 of them. Another sort of jest depending on facts,
is that which is generally derived from what may be
called vulgarized mimicry, as when on another occa-
aion, Crassus was adjuring an adversary in the words,
' By your rank, by your lineage ! ' What else had the
assembly to laugh at in this than that mimicry of
facial expression and intonation ? But when he went
on to say, ' By your statuary,' and lent a touch of
action to the word by stretching out his arm, we
laughed quite consumedly.* To this class belongs
Roscius's famous representation of an old man, when
he quavers out, * For you, son Antipho, I*m planting
377
CICERO
est, cum audio. Atqui ita est totum hoc ipso genere
ridiculum, ut cautissime tractandum sit. Mimorum
est enim ethologorum, si nimia est imitatio, sicut
obscenitas. Orator surripiat oportet imitationem
ut is qui audiet, cogitet plura, quam videat ; praestet
idem ingenuitatem et ruborem suum, verborum
turpitudine et rerum obscenitate vitanda.
243 LX. Ergo haec duo genera sunt eius ridiculi, quod
in re positum est ; quae sunt propria perpetuarum
facetiarum, in quibus describuntur hominum mores,
et ita effinguntur, ut aut re narrata aUqua, quales
sint, intellegantur, aut, imitatione brevi iniecta, in
aliquo insigni ad irridendum vitio reperiantur.
244 In dicto autem ridiculum est id, quod verbi, aut
sententiae quodam acumine movetur. Sed ut in illo
superiore genere vel narrationis, vel imitationis,
vitanda est mimorum ethologorum similitudo, sic in
hoc scurrihs oratori dicacitas magnopere fugienda est.
Qui igitur distinguemus a Crasso, a Catulo, a ceteris
famiharem vestrum, Granium, aut Vargulam, amicum
meum ? Non mehercule in mentem mihi quidem
venit : sunt enim dicaces ; Granio quidem nemo
dicacior. Hoc, opinor, primum, ne, quotienscumque
245 potuerit dictum dici, necesse habeamus dicere. Pu-
sillus testis processit. ' Licet,' inquit, ' rogare ? '
" From a lost play.
378
DE ORATORE, II. lix. 242— Ix. 245
these.' * I think I am listening to testy Eld personi-
fied. However this particular kind of laughing-
matter is all sueh as to need extreme circumspection
in the handUng of it. For if the caricature is too
extravagant, it becomes the work of bufFoons in
pantomime, as also does grossness. It behoves the
orator to borrow merely a suspicion of mimicry, so
that his hearer may imagine more than meets his
eye ; he must also testify to his own well-bred
modesty, by avoiding all unseemly language and
ofFensive gestures.
243 LX. " These then are the two kinds of the jesting The latter,
that is founded on facts ; and they are appropriate ^ be useT'
to continuous irony, wherein the characters of indi- sparingiy,
viduals are sketched and so portrayed, that either
through the relation of some anecdote their real
natures are understood, or, by the infusion of a trifle
of mimicry, they are found out in some fault suffi-
ciently marked to be laughed at.
244 " As regards words, however, the laughter is
awakened by something pointed in a phrase or re-
flection. But just as, with the former kind, both in
narrative and in mimicry, all hkeness to buffoons in
pantomime is to be avoided, so in this latter case the
orator must scrupulously shun all bufFoonish raillery.
How then shall we distinguish from Crassus, from
Catulus, and from the others, your famihar acquaint-
ance Granius, or my own friend Vargula ? Upon my
word, I have never considered this matter, for all of
them are witty, none indeed more so than Granius.
The first point to make, I think, is that we should
not feel bound to utter a witticism every time an
245 occasion offers. A very small witness once came
forward. ' May I examine him ? ' said Phihppus.
379
CICERO
Philippus. Tum quaesitor properans : * Modo bre-
viter.' Hic ille : ' Non accusabis ; perpusillum
rogabo.' Ridicule. Sed sedebat iudex L. Aurifex,
brevior ipse, quam testis etiam : omnis est risus in
iudicem conversus : visum est totum scurrile ridi-
culum. Ergo haec quae cadere possunt in quos nolis,
quamvis sint bella, sunt tamen ipso genere scurriUa.
246 Ut iste, qui se vult dicacem, et mehercule est, Appius,
sed nonnunquam in hoc vitium scurrile delabitur.
* Cenabo,' inquit, ' apud te,' huic lusco, famihari
meo, C. Sextio ; ' uni enim locum esse video.' Est
hoc scurrile, et quod sine causa lacessivit ; et tamen
id dixit quod in omnis luscos conveniret ; ea, quia
meditata putantur esse, minus ridentur. Illud
egregium Sextii, et ex tempore : ' Manus lava,'
inquit, ' et cena.'
247 Temporis igitur ratio, et ipsius dicacitatis mode-
ratio et temperantia et raritas dictorum distinguet
oratorem a scurra, et quod nos cum causa dicimus,
non ut ridicuH videamur, sed ut proficiamus aUquid,
ilH totum diem et sine causa. Quid enim est Vargula
assecutus, cum eum candidatus A. Sempronius cum
Marco suo fratre complexus esset : ' Puer, abige
muscas ? ' Risum quaesivit, qui est, mea sententia,
vel tenuissimus ingenii fructus. Tempus igitur di-
" Apparently a reflection upon the seif-invited guest's
probity. Compare the English legal maxim : ' He that
cometh to Equity must come with clean hands,'
* Musca was a cognomen of the gens Sempronia, and is
also Latin for various winged insects. Vargula seems to
have intended a subtle comparison between humming and
biting insects and cliattering and irritating canvassers.
380
DE ORATORE, II. Ix. 245-^247
The president of the Court, who was in a hurry,
answered, ' Only if you are short.' * You will not
complain,* returned Philippus, * for I shall be just
as short as that man is.' Quite comical ; but there
on the tribunal sat Lucius Aurifex, and he was even
tinier than the witness : all the laughter was directed
against Lucius, and the joke seemed merely buf-
foonish. And so those shafts which may hght upon
unintended victims, however featly they may be
winged, are none the less essentially those of a
2il6 buffoon. For instance, that Appius, who tries to be
witty, and egad ! succeeds, though occasionally slip-
ping into this faihng of buffoonery, said to my one-
eyed friend here, Gaius Sextius, ' I will sup with
you, for I see you have room for another one.' This
is the joke of a buffoon, for he attacked unprovoked,
and even so only said what would apply to every
one-eyed individual. Jokes of that sort, as they
seem to be thought out in advance, win but little
laughter. The retort of Sextius was brilliant and
spontaneous : ' Wash your hands,' says he, ' before
supper.'"
247 " Regard then to occasions, control and restraint of
our actual raillery, and economy in bon-mots, wiil
distinguish an orator from a buffoon, as also will the
fact that we people speak with good reason, not just
to be thought funny, but to gain some benefit, while
those others are jesting from morning to night, and
without any reason at all. Thus, when Aulus Sem-
pronius was on canvassing bent, along with Marcus
his brother, and embraced Vargula, what good did
it do Vargula to shout ' Boy, drive away these
buzzers ? ' ^ His object was to get a laugh — to my
mind the very poorest return for cleverness. The
381
CICERO
cendi prudentia et gravitate moderabimur : quarum
utinam artem aliquam haberemus ! sed domina na-
tura est.
248 LXI. Nunc exponamus genera ipsa summatim,
quae risum maxime moveant. Haec igitur sit prima
partitio, quod facete dicatur, id alias in re habere
alias in verbo facetias : maxime autem homines
delectari, si quando risus coniuncte re verboque
moveatur. Sed hoc mementote, quoscumque locos
attingam, unde ridicula ducantur, ex eisdem locis fere
etiam graves sententias posse duci. Tantum interest,
quod gravitas honestis in rebus severe, iocus in tur-
piculis et quasi deformibus ponitur, velut eisdem
verbis et laudare frugi servum possumus, et, si est
nequam, iocari. Ridiculum est illud Neronianum
vetus in furaci servo, * Solum esse, cui domi nihil sit
nec obsignatum, nec occlusum ' : quod idem in bono
249 servo dici solet, sed hoc eisdem etiam verbis. Ex
eisdem autem locis nascuntur omnia. Nam quod Sp.
Carvilio graviter claudicanti ex vulnere ob rem-
publicam accepto, et ob eam causam verecundanti in
publicum prodire, mater dixit, ' Quin prodis, mi
Spuri ? quotienscumque gradum facies, totiens tibi
tuarum virtutum veniet in mentem ' : praeclarum et
grave est. Quod Calvino Glaucia claudicanti, ' Ubi
est vetus illud : num claudicat ? at hic clodicat,'
hoc ridiculum est ; et utrumque ex eo, quod in
" Clodicare, plebeian and rustic form of elaudicare, au
being vulgarly pronounced o.
382
DE ORATORE, II. Ix. 247— Ixi. 249
right occasion therefore for speaking out we shall
fix by our own wisdom and discretion : would that
we had some theory of the use of these qualities !
though intuition is the sovereign directress.
248 LXI. " Now let us summarize the essential natures ciassiflca-
of the chief sources of laughter. Let our first dis- verbai
tinction, then, be this, that a witty saying has its witticisms.
point sometimes in facts, sometimes in words, though
people are most particularly amused whenever
laughter is excited by the union of the two. But
remember this, that whatever subjects I may touch
upon, as being sources of laughing-matters, may
equally well, as a rule, be sources of serious thoughts. .
The only difference is that seriousness is bestowed
austerely and upon things of good repute, jesting
upon what is a trifle unseemly, or, so to speak, un-
couth ; for example, we can, in identical terms, praise
a careful servant, and make fun of one who is good-
for-nothing. There is humour in that old remark
of Nero's about a thievish servant, ' that he was
the only member of the household against whom
nothing was sealed up or locked away,' a description
frequently applied to a trusty servant also, and that
249 too word for word. In fact all kinds of remarks are
derived from identical sources. For his mother's
words to Spurius Carvihus, who was sadly lame from
a wound received on national service, and for that
reason shy of walking abroad, ' No no, my Spurius,
go out ! and let every step you take remind you
of your gallantry,' are noble and dignified. But
what Glaucia said to Calvinus, who was hmping,
Where is that old saying — Can he be hobbUng ?
Nay, but he is wobbling,'" is merely absurd. Yet
both observations were derived from what the con-
383
CICERO
claudicatione animadverti potuit, est ductum. ' Quid
hoc Naevio ignavius ? ' severe Scipio. At in male
olentem, * Video me a te circumveniri,' subridicule
Philippus. At utrumque genus continet verbi ad
litteram immutati similitudo.
250 Ex ambiguo dicta vel argutissima putantur, sed
non semper in ioco, saepe etiam in gravitate versan-
tur. Africano illi superiori, coronam sibi in convivio
ad caput accommodanti, cum ea saepius rumperetur,
P. Licinius Varus, ' Noli mirari,' inquit, ' si non con-
venit : caput enim magnum est ' : laudabile et
honestum. At ex eodem genere est : * Calvus satis
est, quod dicit parum.' Ne multa : nullum genus
est ioci, quo non ex eodem severa et gravia sumantur.
251 Atque hoc etiam animadvertendum est, non esse
omnia ridicula faceta. Quid enim potest esse tam
ridiculum, quam sannio est ? Sed ore, vultu, imi-
tandis moribus, voce, denique corpore ridetur ipso.
Salsum hunc possum dicere, atque ita, non ut eius-
modi oratorem esse velim, sed ut mimum.
LXII. Quare primum genus hoc, quod risum vel
maxime movet, non est nostrum : morosum, super-
stitiosum, suspiciosum, gloriosum, stultum ; naturae
ridentur ipsae : quas personas agitare solemus, non
" Professor Wilkins and others would sharpen the pun
upon this name by substituting the less common form
Navius.
■" This alleged joke seems to require the coinage of a
word hircumveniri, hircus being Latin not only for " goat,"
but also for the very rank odour characteristic of that animal.
" Caput is Latin for (1) a human cranium, (2) the Head
of e.ff. a body politic.
<* Baldness may be natural or metaphorical : the exact
point of this pleasantry seems to have eluded the com-
mentators.
384
DE ORATORE, II. Ixi. 249— Ixii. 251
templation of lameness might suggest. Scipio's pun,
* Is there an idler knave than this Naevius ? ' ", was
intended foi austerity. But there was a spark of
humour in the remark of PhiUppus to a malodorous
individual, * I perceive that you are stinking me
out.' ^ Yet both kinds of pun Ue in the verbal echo
that survives the change in a letter.
250 " Bons-mots prompted by an equivocation are (i) The
deemed the very wittiest, though not always con- *™^'^°"^ '
cerned with jesting, but often even with what is im-
portant. What PubUus Licinius Varus said to the great
Africanus the elder, when he was adjusting a garland
to his head at a banquet, and it tore again and again,
was praiseworthy and creditable : ' Don't be aston-
ished,' said he, ' if it does not fit, for it is on a Head
of vast capacity.' " Yet from the same category
comes, ' He is bald enough, seeing that he is bald
in diction.'** So, to bore you no further, there is
no source of laughing-matters from which austere
and serious thoughts are not also to be derived.
251 " There is also this to be noted, that all is not
witty that is laughable. For can there be anything
so droU as a pantaloon } Yet it is for his face, his
grimaces, his mimicry of mannerisms, his intonation,
and in fact his general bearing, that he is laughed
at. Humorous I am able to caU him, but humorous
for a low comedian, and not in the sense in which I
would have an orator humorous.
LXII. " Accordingly this kind of wit, though rais-
ing as much laughter as any, is not at aU our kind :
it caricatures peevishness, fanaticism, mistrust, pom-
posity and folly, characters which are laughed at for
their own sakes, masks which we do not put on, but
385
CICERO
252 sustinere. Alterum genus est in imitatione admodum
ridiculum, sed nobis furtim tantum uti licet, si quando,
et cursim ; aliter enim minime est liberale. Tertium,
oris depravatio, non digna nobis. Quartum, obsce-
nitas, non solum non foro digna, sed vix convivio
liberorum. Detractis igitur tot rebus ex hoc oratorio
loco facetiae reliquae sunt, quae aut in re, ut ante
divisi, positae videntur esse aut in verbo. Nam quod,
quibuscumque verbis dixeris, facetum tamen est, re
continetur ; quod mutatis verbis salem amittit, in
verbis habet leporem omnem.
253 Ambigua sunt in primis acuta atque in verbo posita,
non in re ; sed non saepe magnum risiun movent,
magisque ut belle et litterate dicta laudantur : ut in
illum Titium, qui, cum studiose pila luderet, et idem
signa sacra noctu frangere putaretur, gregalesque,
cum in Campum non venisset, requirerent, excusa-
vit Vespa Terentius, quod eum * bracchium fregisse,'
diceret ; ut illud Africani, quod est apud Lucihum :
Quid Decius ? Nuculam an confixum vis facere ? inquit.
Ut tuus amicus, Crasse, Granius, ' non esse sex-
264 tantis.' Et si quaeritis, is, qui appellatur dicax, hoc
" Was it his own or a holy statue's ?
* The commentators are at fault here, for want of the
Lucilian context.
• Was he worth less or far more ?
SS6
DE ORATORE, II. Ixi. 252-254
252 attack. Another kind, quite comical, consists in
mimicry, but this we may employ only by stealth, if
at all, and but momentarily, as fuller use of it does
not befit the well-bred. A third kind is grimacing,
which is beneath our dignity. A fourth is indecency,
not only degrading to a pubUc speaker, but hardly
sufFerable at a gentlemen's dinner-party. When all
these modes, then, are withheld from this branch
of oratory, the residue of wit depends apparently
either on the facts or on the language, in accordance
with the distinction I have already drawn. For the
joke which still remains witty, in whatever words it
is couched, has its germ in the facts ; that which
loses its pungency, as soon as it is difFerently worded,
-^owes all its humour to the language.
235- " The play upon equivocal words is particularly
clever, and depends on language, not on facts ; but
it seldom raises any considerable laughter, being
chiefly praised as evidence of elegant scholarship :
take, for example, that hit at the notorious Titius,
who was devoted to ball-play and also under sus-
picion of mutilating the holy statues by night :
when his associates missed him, as he had not come
to the Playing Fields, Vespa Terentius apologized
for his absence on the plea, * He has broken an
arm ' <» : or again, take the words of Africanus,
preserved in LuciUus,
" What of Decius? Do you wish to have Nucula spitted?"
said he. * !
Or you, Crassus, may take what your friend Granius
254 said, ' The man is not worth a farthing.'*' And, if
you wish to know, the jester who deals in so-called
* raillery ' will chiefly shine in this kind of thing,
387
CICERO
genere maxime excellet, sed risus movent alia
maiores. Ambiguum per se ipsum probatur id qui-
dem, ut ante dixi, vel maxime ; ingeniosi enim
videtur vim verbi in aliud atque ceteri accipiant,
posse ducere ; sed admirationem magis quam risum
movet, nisi si quando incidit in aliud genus ridiculi.
265 LXIII. Quae genera percurram equidem. Sed
scitis esse notissimum ridiculi genus, cum aliud
exspectamus, aliud dicitur. Hic nobismet ipsis
noster error risum movet. Quod si admixtum est
etiam ambiguum, fit salsius : ut apud Novium videtur
esse misericors ille, qui iudicatum duci videns, per-
contatur ita : * quanti addictus ? ' ' Mille nummum.'
Si addidisset tantummodo : * Ducas licet ' ; esset
illud genus ridiculi praeter exspectationem, sed quia
addidit : * Nihil addo, ducas licet,' addito ambiguo,
altero genere ridiculi, fuit, ut mihi quidem videtur,
salsissimus. Hoc tum est venustissimum, cum in
altercatione arripitur ab adversario verbum, et ex eo,
ut a Catulo in Philippum, in eum ipsum aliquid, qui
266 lacessivit, infligitur. Sed cum plura sint ambigui
genera, de quibus est doctrina quaedam subtilior,
attendere et aucupari verba oportebit : in quo, ut ea
" The piquant equivocation must lurk in ' nihil addo,'
which may mean, ' I say no more,' or (at an auction) ' I bid
no more.'
* See the anecdote related gupra, Book II, liv.
388
DE ORATORE, II. Ixii. 254— Ixiii. 256
though other kinds raise louder laughter. Indeed
the play upon words wins really vast applause on its
own merits, as I said before, for the power to divert
the force of a word into a sense quite different from
that in which other folk understand it, seems to
indicate a man of talent ; yet the jest arouses wonder
rather than laughter, except when it also falls within
some other category of the laughable.
255 LXIII. " These categories I will certainly run over. (2) The
You know already, however, that the most familiar "^^^^^p^
of these is exemplified when we are expecting to SoKiav);
hear a particular phrase, and something different is
uttered. In this case our own mistake even makes us
laugh ourselves. But, if there be also an admixture
of equivocation, the jest is rendered more pungent :
as, in that play of Novius, the man is apparently
moved by compassion when, on seeing a condemned
debtor taken away, he earnestly inquires the amount
of the judgement. He is told, ' A thousand sesterces.*
Had he then gone on to say merely, ' You may take
him away,' his rejoinder would have belonged to the
unexpected kind, but what he actually said was, * No
advance from me ; you may take him away,' whereby
he brought in an element of equivocation, a different
category of the laughable, the result, in my opinion
at any rate, being piquancy in perfection." This
playing on words is most dehghtful when, during a
wrangle, a word is snatched from an antagonist and
used to hurl a shaft at the assailant himself, as was
256 done by Catulus against Philippus.'' But since
equivocation is of numerous kinds, and the teaching
as to these is somewhat abstruse, we shall have to
be watchful and lie in wait for the words : in this
way, while avoiding the feebler retorts (for we must
389
CICERO
quae sint frigidiora, vitemus (etenim cavendum est,
ne arcessitum dictum putetur), permulta tamen acute
dicemus.
Alterum genus est, quod habet parvam verbi im-
mutationem, quod in littera positum Graeci vocant
Trapovoixaa-iav, ut ' Nobiliorem, mobiliorem ' Cato ;
aut, ut idem, cum cuidam dixisset : ' Eamus deam-
bulatum ' : et ille : ' Quid opus fuit de ? ' ' Immo
vero,' inquit, ' quid opus fuit te ? ' aut eiusdem re-
sponsio illa : ' Si tu et adversus et aversus impudicus
267 es.' Etiam interpretatio nominis habet acumen,
cum ad ridiculum convertas, quam ob rem ita quis
vocetur ; ut ego nuper Nummium divisorem, ut
Neoptolemum ad Troiam, sic illum in Campo Martio
nomen invenisse. Atque haec omnia verbo con-
tinentur.
LXIV. Saepe etiam versus facete interponitur, vel
ut est, vel paululum immutatus, aut ahqua pars
versus, ut Statius Scauro stomachanti : ex quo sunt
nonnuUi, qui tuam legem de civitate natam, Crasse,
dicant :
St, tacete, quid hoc clamoris ? quibus nec mater, nec pater,
Tanta confiaentia ? auferte istam enim superbiam.
Nam in Caelio sane etiam ad causam utile fuit tuum
illud, Antoni, cum ille a se pecuniam profectam
" Fulvius Nobilior, consul in 189 b.c. Cato was evidently
attributing to him a certain instability of character.
* Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, received the name of Neoptole-
mus, as being ' a new-comer to the (Trojan) war.' Caesar
facetiously derives the name ' Nummius ' from the coins
(nummi) which its bearer had distributed, in the course of
his duties as bribery agent at elections,
" During the consulship of Crassus and Q. Mucius
Scaevola in 95 b.c. the Lex Licinia Mucia d4 '^edigundis
390
DE ORATORE, II. Ixiii. 256— Ixiv. 257
see to it that our bon-mot be not thought forced),
we shall still find ourselves delivering very many a
pointed remark.
" Another category, which uses a slight change in (3) piay
spelling, the Greeks call ' assonance,' when the o^ameTf'
variation is in a letter or two ; for example, one
surnamed ' the Noble ' <» was referred to by Cato as
' the Mobile,' or again Cato said to a certain man,
' Let us go for a deambulation,' and, on the other
asking, ' What need of the " de — ? ",' Cato rejoined,
' Nay, rather, what need of thee ? ' or take that other
answer of the same Cato's, ' Whether you turn hither
257 or thither, you are filthy.' There is point also in the
explanation of a name, when you make fun of the
reason for a man being called as he is, as I said
the other day of Nummius, the voters' paymaster,
that he had found a name in the Election Field,* as
Neoptolemus had done at Troy. Now all such jests
hinge upon a word.
LXIV. " Often too a verse, or some part of one, is (4) quota-
wittily introduced, either just as it stands or very ^e^ses^or
slightly varied, as when Statius quoted to an angry proverbs ;
Scaurus that passage from which, Crassus, some people
would have it that your own Nationality Act "
originated : —
Hist ! Silence ! Why this din ? Not overbold
Should be the parentless ! Have done with pride !
Doubtless, too, in the affair of Caelius, that jest of
yours, Antonius, helped your cause, when he gave
evidence of having parted with money and, as he
civibus was passed, apparently to prevent the asurpation of
Roman civic rights by Latins and Italians. The lines cited
seem to impute illegitimacy to the person or persons to
whom they were addressed.
S91
CICERO
diceret testis et haberet filium delicatiorem, abeunte
iam illo,
Sentin senem esse tactum triginta minis ?
258 In hoc genus coniciuntur proverbia, ut illud Sci-
pionis, cum Asellus omnes provincias stipendia
merentem se peragrasse gloriaretur, ' Agas asellum,'
et cetera. Quare ea quoque, quoniam mutatis verbis
non possunt retinere eandem venustatem, non in re,
sed in verbis posita ducantur.
259 Est etiam in verbo positum non insulsum genus ex
eo, cum ad verbum, non ad sententiam rem accipere
videare : ex quo uno genere totus est Tutor, mimus
vetus, oppido ridiculus. Sed abeo a mimis ; tantum
genus huius ridiculi insigni ahqua et nota re notari
volo. Est autem ex hoc genere illud, quod tu, Crasse,
nuper ei, qui te rogasset, num tibi molestus esset
futurus, si ad te bene ante lucem venisset : ' Tu
vero,' inquisti, * molestus non eris.' ' lubebis igitur
te,' inquit, ' suscitari ? ' Et tu : ' Certe negaram te
260 molestum futurum.' Ex eodem hoc vetus illud est,
quod aiunt Maluginensem illum Scipionem, cum
ex centuria sua renuntiaret Acidinum consulem
praecoque dixisset, ' Dic de L. Manho ' ; ' Virum
<» Antonius being prosecuted by Duronius on a charge of
corrupt practices, Caelius perhaps testified that he supplied
funds through his profligate son for use in bribery on behalf
of Antonius, whose defence may have insinuated that the
son obtained this money by a false pretence, and converted
it to his own use.
* Asellus is Latin for a Httle ass. The innuendo may be
that the boasted travels of Ti. Claudius Asellus were solely
attributable to compulsory military activity. The complete
saw is plausibly said to have been Agas asellum ; cursum
nnn docebitur.
392
DE ORATORE, II. Ixiv. 257-260
had a rather voluptuous son, you remarked, on his
leaving the witness-box,
Seest thou the ancient, tapped for thirty pounds ? "
268 " Old saws fall into this category, that for instance
appHed by Scipio, when Asellus was bragging that
his miUtary service had taken him all over every
province ; whereupon Scipio quoted ' You may
drive the ass's colt,' and the rest of it.'' It foUows
moreover that such jests, since they must lose their
charm directly the terms of expression are varied,
should be regarded as depending on language, not
on facts.
269 " There is another kind of joke, depending upon (5) words
language and quite humorous, which proceeds from ifteraiiy;
your seeming to understand an expression hterally,
and not in the sense intended : The Guardian,
an ancient and exceedingly droll farce, was entirely
made up of this sort of thing. But no more of farces ;
I merely wish this type of laughing-matter to be
illustrated by some prominent and familiar example.
This too is the origin, Crassus, of your recent reply
to the person who had asked you whether he
would be a nuisance to you, if he were to visit you
well before dayhght : ' No,' you answered, ' you
will not be a nuisance.' Upon this he said, ' Then
you will give orders to call you ? ' And you re-
joined, ' Surely I said you would not be a nuisance.'
260 From this same source comes that old pleasantry
attributed to the famous Scipio Maluginensis, when
announcing the vote of his own division to be for
Acidinus as consul ; upon the crier demanding,
' What of Lucius Manhus ? ' Scipio repHed, ' I take
CICERO
bonum/ inquit, * egregiumque civem esse arbitror.'
Ridicule etiam illud L. Nasica censori Catoni, cum
ille : * Ex tui animi sententia tu uxorem habes ? '
* Non hercule,' inquit, * ex mei animi sententia.*
Haec aut frigida sunt, aut tum salsa, cum aliud
est exspectatum. Natura enim nos, ut ante dixi,
noster delectat error : ex quo, cum quasi decepti
sumus exspectatione, ridemus.
261 LXV. In verbis etiam illa sunt, quae aut ex im-
mutata oratione ducuntur, aut ex unius verbi trans-
latione, aut ex inversione verborum. Ex immuta-
tione, ut olim, Rusca cum legem ferret annalem,
dissuasor M. Servilius : ' Dic mihi,' inquit, * M. Pinari,
num, si contra te dixero, mihi male dicturus es, ut
262 ceteris fecisti ? ' ' Ut sementem feceris, ita metes,'
inquit. Ex translatione autem, ut, cum Scipio ille
maior Corinthiis statuam poUicentibus eo loco, ubi
aliorum essent imperatorum, * turmales ' dixit ' dis-
plicere.' Invertuntur autem verba, ut, Crassus apud
M. Perpernam iudicem pro Aculeone cum diceret,
aderat contra Aculeonem Gratidiano L. Aelius
Lamia, deformis, ut nostis ; qui cum interpellaret
" At the consular elections in the Comitia Centuriata,
voting being by centuries, the choice of each century was
reported to the presiding consul by its own spokesman.
Scipio, acting as one of these spokesmen, thought it humorous
wilfully to mistake the official question, as to his century'8
decision on the candidature of L. Manlius Acidinus, for an
inquiry into his own personal opinion of the candidate.
* Bachelors were assessable to a special tax. It is relatcd
S94
DE ORATORE, II. Ixiv. 260— Ixv. 262
him for an honest man and a capital fellow-citizen.' *
Laughable again was the response of Lucius Nasica
to the interrogatory of Cato the censor, * On your
conscience, are you satisfied that you are a married
man ? ' ' Married for certain,' returned Nasica, ' but
verily not to my entire satisfaction ! ' * Such jokes
may fall flat, being humorous only when some
difFerent answer was expected. For, as I said before,
our own mistake naturally diverts us, so that, when
balked, as it were, of what we expected, we fall to
laughing.
261 LXV. " Jests dependent upon language further (6) aiiegory
include such as are derived from allegory, from the I^o^p.^"'"'
figurative use of a single word, or from the ironical
inversion of verbal meanings. Allegory as a source
was illustrated by Rusca long ago, in moving his
Limit of Age Bill," when Marcus Servilius, an
opponent of the measure, said to him, ' Tell me,
Marcus Pinarius, if I speak against you, are you
going to revile me as you have done the others ? *
262 Rusca's reply was, * You shall reap your sowing.*
Figurative use of one word occurred, for example,
when great Scipio the elder told the Corinthians,
who were promising him a statue among those of
the other commanders-in-chief, that ' he had no
liking for statues in troops.* And meanings were
ironically inverted when Crassus was representing
Aculeo before Marcus Perperna as arbitrator, and
Lucius AeUus Lamia, a cripple as you know, was for
Gratidianus against Aculeo, and kept on interrupting
that an unappreciative censor requited this untimely
pleasantry with temporary disfranchisement of the joker.
' Designed to fix a minimum age for candidates for any
political office.
395
CICERO
odiose : ' Audiamus,' inquit, * pulchellum puerura,'
Crassus. Cum esset arrisum, ' Non potui mihi,'
inquit Lamia, * formam ipse fingere ; ingenium potui.'
Tum hic, ' Audiamus,' inquit, ' disertum.' Multo
etiam arrisum est vehementius.
Sunt etiam illa venusta, ut in gravibus sententiis,
sic in facetiis. Dixi enim dudum, materiam aliam esse
ioci, aham severitatis ; gravium autem et iocorum
263 unam esse rationem. Ornant igitur in primis orati-
onem verba relata contrarie, quod idem genus saepe
est etiam facetum, ut Servius ille Galba, cum iudices
L. Scribonio tribuno plebis ferret familiares suos, et
dixisset Libo, ' Quando tandem, Galba, de triclinio
tuo exibis ? ' ' Cum tu,' inquit, ' de cubiculo aheno.'
A quo genere ne illud quidem plurimum distat, quod
Glaucia Metello, * Villam in Tiburte habes, cortem in
Palatio.'
264 LXVL Ac verboriun quidem genera, quae essent
faceta, dixisse me puto ; rerum plura sunt, eaque
magis, ut dixi ante, ridentur ; in quibus est narratio,
res sane difficilis ; exprimenda enim sunt et ponenda
ante oculos ea quae videantur et verisimilia, quod est
proprium narrationis, et quae sint, quod ridiculi pro-
• See Book II, Ixi., supra.
• Although authority is scanty, it seems that, in certain
criminal proceedings, the defendant had the right to propose
a number of his judges, limited by a sufficient right of
challenge and exclusion on the part of the prosecution.
' Libo w£is his intending prosecutor on a charge of mis-
government.
** Libo evidently had a reputation for gallantry, in the
unenviable sense.
• The two properties would normally adjoin each other.
Glaucia seems to refiect upon the manners and morals of
896
DE ORATORE, II. Ixv. 262— Ixvi. 264
vexatiously, until Crassus said, ' Let us hear the Uttle
beauty.' When the laughter at this had subsided,
Lamia retorted, ' I could not mould my own bodily
shape ; my talents I could.' Thereupon Crassus
remarked, ' Let us hear the eloquent speaker.'
At this the laughter was far more uproarious.
" Such jests are delightful, whether the underlying (T) anti-
thought be grave or gay. For I said before ° that, ^ressl^ns^
though the fields of jesting and austerity Ue wide
apart, yet the methods of seriousness and jesting
263 are identical. So the opposition of verbal contra-
dictories is one of the chief embelUshments of diction,
and this same device is often witty as well, as was
shown by the well-known Servius Galba, when he
was tendering to Lucius Scribonius, tribune of the
commons, a Ust of his own cronies to serve on the
tribunal,^ and Libo " had commented, ' Galba,
whenever wiU you go outside your own dining-
room ? ' ' As soon as ever you come away from
other people's bedrooms ' was the reply.'' To this
kind of pleasantry Glaucia's words to Metellus bear
some resemblance : * You have your country-house
at Tibur, your cattle-pen on the Palatine.' *
264 LXVI. " And now I think I have had my say re- Wittiness
garding the types of pleasantry which depend upon (S"!»**^''
language. Those dependent upon facts are more 246 ff.) :
numerous, and provoke heartier laughter, as I said wTeties,
before ; they include narrative, a really difficult sub- especiaiiy—
ject. For it must describe, and present to the mind's
eye, such things as bear the semblance of truth, this
being the peculiar function of narrative, and such
also as are a trifle unseemly, this being the pecuUar
the clients and hangers-on who thronged the town-house of
Metellus.
397
CICERO
prium est, subturpia : cuius exemplum, ut brevis-
simum, sit sane illud, quod ante posui, Crassi de
Memmio. Et ad hoc genus ascribamus etiam nar-
265 rationes apologorum ; trahitur etiam aUquid ex
historia, ut, cum Sex. Titius se Cassandram esse
diceret, ' Multos,' inquit Antonius, ' possum tuos
Aiaces Oileos nominare.'
Est etiam ex similitudine, quae aut collationem
habet aut tanquam imaginem : collationem, ut ille
Gallus olim testis in Pisonem, cum innumerabilem
Magio praefecto pecuniam dixisset datam, idque
Scaurus tenuitate Magii redargueret : * Erras,'
inquit, ' Scaure ; ego enim Magium non conservasse
dico, sed tanquam nudus nuces legeret, in ventre
abstulisse ' ; ut ille M. Cicero senex, huius viri
optimi, nostri familiaris, pater, nostros homines
similes esse Syrorum venalium : ut quisque optime
Graece sciret, ita esse nequissimum.
266 Valde autem ridentur etiam imagines, quae fere in
deformitatem, aut in aliquod vitium corporis du-
cuntur cum simihtudine turpioris : ut meum illud in
Helvium Manciam ' lam ostendam cuiusmodi sis ' ;
cum ille ' Ostende, quaeso,' demonstravi digito
pictum Gallum in Mariano scuto Cimbrico sub Novis,
" See Book II, lix., supra,
* He meant that his prophecies of public disasters at Rome
had met with no more credit than those of Cassandra, King
Priam's daughter, at Troy, though they had proved as con-
sistently true. After the fall of Troy the prophetess was
outraged by this Ajax. I follow Conington on Aeneid i. 46
in treating Oileos as a Greek genitive sing^lar, not an accusa-
tive plural.
' The allegation is that the money has been squandered
in self-indulgence, after being received by Magius on behalf
of Piso, who is on trial for extortion.
898
DE ORATORE, II. Ixvi. 264-266
function of joking ; as the shortest possible example
of this you may very well take Crassus's tale about
Memmius," which I cited before. To this class we
265 may also refer the stories in the fables. Material is
derived too from history, as when Sextus Titius was
describing himself as a Cassandra,'' and Antonius
commented, ' I can name many who played Ajax,
the son of Oileus, to your Cassandra.'
" Another source of such pleasantry is resemblance, comparison,
involving either comparison or something Uke por-
traiture. Comparison is illustrated by that Gallus,
who once upon a time gave evidence against Piso
that Piso's heutenant Magius had received vast sums
of money, which testimony Scaurus was for con-
tradicting by proving the straitened circumstances of
Magius, whereupon Gallus observed, * You are
missing the point, Scaurus, for I do not assert that
Magius still has this fund, but that he has tucked it
away in his paunch, like a naked man who goes
nutting.' " To take another instance, the eminent
Marcus Cicero the elder, father of the best man of
our time, our own friend, said that our contemporaries
were hke the Syrian slave-market : ' the better know-
ledge they had of Greeks, the more worthless were
their respective characters.'
266 " Caricatures also provoke loud laughter : as a rule caricature,
they are levelled against ughness or some physical
defect, and involve comparison with something a little
unseemly ; an example was that remark of mine to
Helvius Mancia, ' I will now show what manner of
man you are,' to which he answered, ' Pray show
me,' whereupon I pointed out with my finger a Gaul
depicted on the Cimbrian shield of Marius,** which
* A shield captured by Marius in the Gallic War, 101 b.c.
S99
CICERO
distortum, eiecta lingua, buccis fluentibus ; risus est
commotus : nihil tam Manciae simile visum est ; ut
cum Tito Pinario mentum in dicendo intorquenti
* tum ut diceret, si quid vellet, si nucem fregisset.'
267 Etiam illa quae minuendi aut augendi causa ad
incredibilem admirationem efFeruntur : velut tu,
Crasse, in concione, ' ita sibi ipsum magnum videri
Memmium ut in forum descendens caput ad for-
nicem Fabii demitteret.' Ex quo genere etiam
illud est quod Scipio apud Numantiam, cum
stomacharetur cum C. Metello, dixisse dicitur,
' si quintum pareret mater eius, asinum fuisse
parituram.'
268 Arguta est etiam significatio cum parva re et
saepe verbo res obscura et latens illustratur : ut,
cum C. Fabricio P. Cornehus, homo, ut existima-
batur, avarus et furax, sed egregie fortis, et bonus
imperator, gratias ageret quod se homo inimicus
consulem fecisset, bello praesertim magno et gravi :
' Nihil est quo mihi gratias agas,' inquit, ' si malui
compilari quam venire ' ; ut Asello Africanus, obi-
" Standing on the north-eastern side of the Forum.
* The triumphal arch commemorating the success of
Fabius over the Allobroges was the loftiest so far erected in
Rome.
' Her four sons, of whom Gaius was the youngest,
apparently exhibited, in order of seniority, a diminuendo of
inteUigence.
^ Famous opponent of Pyrrhus and eminent type of the
old Roman morality.
• Better an extortionate magistrate than an incompetent
400
DE ORATORE, II. Ixvl. 266-268
hung below the New Shops,* with the body twisted,
the tongue protruding and the cheeks baggy : this
raised laughter, for nothing so like Mancia was ever
seen. Another instance was my telling Titus
Pinarius, who kept twisting his chin when he was
speaking, that the time for his observations, if he
wished to say anything, would come when he had
finished cracking his nut.
267 ' ' Then again there are those intentional understate- under- " ■
ments or overstatements which are exaggerated to ^ta^^sment,
a degree of the astonishing that passes belief, such
as your own assertion, Crassus, made in a speech
before a public assembly, that Memmius thought
himself so exalted an individual that, on his way
down into the Market Place, he lowered his head in
order to pass under the Arch of Fabius.* To this
category also belongs the taunt said to have been
uttered by Scipio at Numantia, when he was in a rage
with Gaius Metellus, that ' if the mother of Metellus
should bear a fifth time, she would be found to have
borne an ass.'"
268 ' ' And a clever hint may be dropped when some hard
and unintelligible saying is illuminated by some small
detail, often by a word, as when Publius Cornelius,
regarded as a covetous and dishonest man, but con-
spicuously brave and a competent military com-
mander, thanked Gaius Fabricius ** for having (though
no friend of his) procured his election as consul, and
that too in the course of an important and trouble-
some war. ' No need to thank me,' replied the
other, ' for choosing to be plundered rather than sold
into bondage.' « Compare with this the retort of
general, who would probably lead his followers to defeat,
capture and the ancient fate of prisoners of war.
401
CICERO
cienti lustrum illud infelix, ' Noli,' inquit, ' mirari ; is
enim qui te ex aerariis exemit lustrum condidit et
taurum immolavit.' [Tanta suspicio est ut religione
civitatem obstrinxisse videatur Mummius quod
Asellum ignominia levarit.]
269 LXVII. Urbana etiam dissimulatio est, cum alia
dicuntur ac sentias, non illo genere de quo ante dixi,
cum contraria dicas, ut Lamiae Crassus, sed cum
toto genere orationis severe ludas, cum aliter sen-
tias ac loquare : ut noster Scaevola Septumuleio illi
Anagnino, cui pro C. Gracchi capite erat aurum
repensum, roganti ut se in Asiam praefectum duceret,
* Quid tibi vis,' inquit, ' insane ? tanta malorum est
multitudo civium ut tibi ego hoc confirmem, si Romae
manseris, te paucis annis ad maximas pecunias esse
270 venturum.' In hoc genere Fannius in Annahbus suis
Africanum hunc AemiUanum dicit fuisse egregium et
Graeco eum verbo appellat eipoiva ; sed, uti ferunt
qui melius haec norunt, Socratem opinor in hac ironia
dissimulantiaque longe lepore et humanitate omnibus
praestitisse. Genus est perelegans et cum gravitate
salsum, cumque oratoriis dictionibus tum urbanis
271 sermonibus accommodatum. Et hercule omnia haec
quae a me de facetiis disputantur non maiora foren-
sium actionum quam omnium sermonum condimenta
• Africanus, as censor, in reciting the valedictory prayers
at the census, had taken a serious liberty with the ritual text.
• Africanus, as censor, had degraded Asellus to the class
of voteless taxpayers, but his colleague Mummius had refused
his necessary concurrence, and had thereby restored the
status quo of Asellus. Africanus suggests that this action of
Mummius left a taint upon the community.
• The bracketed passage is commonly regarded as a gloss.
' See Book II, Ixv., supra.
402
DE ORATORE, II. Ixvi. 268— Ixvii. 271
Africanus, when Asellus taxed him with that unfor-
tunate purification of his." ' Do not be surprised/
said Africanus, * for he who delivered you from dis-
franchisement completed the purification by sacrifi-
cing the bull.' * [So strong is mistrust that Mummius
is thought to have laid the community under a re-
hgious obligation by having relieved Asellus from
degradation.] "
269 LXVII. " Irony too gives pleasure, when your words irony,
differ from your thoughts, not in the way of which I
spoke earlier, when you assert exactly the contradic-
tory, as Crassus did to Lamia,"* but when the whole
tenor of your speech shows you to be solemnly jesting,
what you think difFering continuously from what you
say ; as our friend Scaevola observed to the notorious
Septumuleius of Anagnia (to whom its weight in gold
had been paid for the head of Gaius Gracchus), when
he prayed to be taken into Asia as his lieutenant,
' Madman,' said Scaevola, * what would you have ?
There is such a host of wicked citizens in Rome that
I guarantee you, if you remain there, the attainment,
270 within a few years, of enormous wealth.' Fannius in
his ' Chronicles ' records that Africanus (the one
named Aemilianus) was outstanding in this kind of
thing, and describes him by the Greek word * dis-
sembler,' but, upon the evidence of those who know
these subjects better than I do, my opinion is that
Socrates far surpassed all others for accomplished wit
in this strain of irony or assumed simphcity. This is
a choice variety of humour and blended with aus-
terity, and suited to public speaking as well as to
271 the conversation of gentlemen. And I vow that all
this discourse of mine concerning types of pleasantry
is as excellent sauce for general talk as for legal
403
CICERO
sunt. Nam sicut quod apud Catonem est — qui multa
rettulit, ex quibus a me exempli causa multa ponun-
tur — per mihi scitum videtur, C. Publicium solitum
dicere, * P. Mummium cuivis tempori hominem esse.'
Sic profecto res se habet nuUum ut sit vitae tempus
in quo non deceat leporem humanitatemque versari.
Sed redeo ad cetera.
272 Est huic finitimum dissimulationi cum honesto
verbo vitiosa res appellatur : ut cum Africanus
censor tribu movebat eum centurionem qui in Pauli
pugna non adfuerat, cum ille se custodiae causa
diceret in castris remansisse quaereretque cur ab eo
notaretur, ' Non amo,' inquit, * nimium diligentes.'
273 Acutum etiam illud est cum ex alterius oratione
aliud excipias atque ille vult ; ut Salinatori Maximus
cum Tarento amisso arcem tamen Livius retinuis-
set multaque ex ea proelia praeclara fecisset, cum
ahquot post annos Maximus id oppidum recepisset,
rogaretque eum SaUnator ut meminisset opera sua se
Tarentum recepisse ; 'Quidni,' inquit, ' meminerim .?
nunquam ego recepissem nisi tu perdidisses.'
274 Sunt etiam illa subabsurda, sed eo ipso nomine
saepe ridicula, non solum mimis perapposita, sed
etiam quodammodo nobis :
" The victory over Perseus at Pydna in 168 b.c.
* Quintus Fabius Maximus.
' Marcus Livius Salinator, this cognomen being probably
a mistake of Cicero's for Macatus.
404)
DE ORATORE, II. Ixvii. 271-274
advocacy. For that phrase of Cato, who has re-
corded many such, several of which I cite in illustra-
tion, seems to me thoroughly fine, where he says
that Gaius Publicius was fond of describing Publius
Mummius as ' a man for any occasion whatever.'
So certain is it, in the present connexion, that there
is no occasion in life on which accomplished wit may
not fittingly be displayed. But I return to what
remains for my notice.
272 " A jest very closely resembles this ironical type
when something disgraceful is called by an honour-
able epithet, as happened when Africanus as censor
removed from his tribe that centurion who failed to
appear at the battle <* fought under Paulus, though
the defaulter pleaded that he had stayed in camp on
guard, and sought to know why he was degraded by
the censor : ' I am no lover of the over-cautious,' was
273 the answer of Africanus. There is point too in taking
some part of another's words in a sense differing from
that which he intended, as Maximus * did with
Salinator " when, after the loss of Tarentum, Livius
had nevertheless held the citadel, and made a number
of brilliant sallies from it, and Fabius, several years
later, recaptured the town itself, whereupon Livius
begged him to remember that the recapture of
Tarentum had been due to his own achievement.
' To be sure, I shall remember that,'rejoined Fabius.
' I could never have recaptured the place had you not
lost it.'
274 " Then there are jokes which are somewhat absurd, arcicai
but for that very reason often comical, and which '^"^'
are appropriate not only to actors in farce, but
ako in some degree to us orators : examples of
these are :
405
CICERO
. . . Homo fatuus
Postquam rem habere coepit est emortuus.
Et
. . . Quid est tibi
Ista mulier ? — Uxor. — Similis me dius fidius.
Et
Quamdiu ad aquas fuit, nunquam est emortuus.
LXVIII. Genus hoc levius, et, ut dixi, mimicum,
sed habet nonnunquam aliquld etiam apud nos loci,
ut vel non stultus quasi stulte cum sale dicat aliquid :
ut tibi, Antoni, Mancia, cum audisset te censorem a
M. Duronio de ambitu postulatum, ' Aliquando,'
275 inquit, * tibi tuum negotium agere licebit.' Valde
haec ridentur, et hercule omnia, quae a prudentibus
[quasi] per dissimulationem [non intellegendi] sub-
absurde salseque dicuntur. Ex quo genere est etiam
non videri intellegere quod intellegas ; ut Pontidius,
' Qualem existimas qui in adulterio deprehenditur ? '
— ' Tardum.' Ut ego, qui in delectu, Metello,
cum excusationem oculorum a me non acciperet et
276 dixisset, ' Tu igitur nihil vides ? ' — ' Ego vero,' in-
quam, ' a porta Esquilina video villam tuam.' Ut
illud Nasicae, qui cum ad poetam Ennium venisset
eique ab ostio quaerenti Ennium ancilla dixisset
" Apparently a warning that luxury and avarice are likely
to engender disease.
* The innuendo seems to be, * If you two are not married,
you ought to be.'
* Perhaps a hint to ' let well alone.' Compare the epitaph
to be read sixty years ago in a Devon churchyard :
' Here lies I and my two daughters,
AU through drinking the Cheltenham waters ;
If we'd have stuck to Epsom salts,
We'd never have come to these here vaults.*
406
DE ORATORE, II. Ixvii. 274— Ixviii. 276
The silly man,
As soon as he was growing rich he died."
Or
And what to thee
Is yonder dame ? — My wife ! — Like one, Faith help me '. *
Also
As long as at the waters he remained,
He never died."
LXVIII. " A jest of this sort is rather trivial, and, assumed
as I said, fit for farces, but now and then even we si™P"c'ty,
orators find room for one of them, with the result that
even a man who is no fool says something in the
manner of a fool, but not without humour, as Mancia
did to yourself, Antonius, on hearing that you were
being prosecuted by Marcus Duronius for corrupt
practices during your censorship ; ' At last,' said he,
* you will be able to attend to business of your own.*
275 These jokes provoke hearty laughter, and so most as-
suredly does everything that is said ironically by the
wise,and somewhat absurdly,but notwithout humour.
Another jest from this class is pretending not to
understand what you understand perfectly, as when
Pontidius, being asked his opinion of the man who is
taken in adultery, repHed : ' He is a slowcoach,' or as
when, at a muster of troops, Metellus rejected the
excuse I pleaded of weak eyesight, and said to me,
276 ' Can you then see nothing ? ', and I repHed * On the
contrary, I can see your country-mansion from the
Esquiline Gate.'** Another instance was that re-
joinder of Nasica's : he had called upon the poet
Ennius and, when he inquired for him at his front-
' Said to be a reflection on the ostentatious size and
splendour of the mansion.
407
CICERO
domi non esse, Nasica sensit illam domini iussu
dixisse et illum intus esse ; paucis post diebus cum
ad Nasicam venisset Ennius et eum a ianua quaereret,
exclamat Nasica se domi non esse ; tum Ennius :
' Quid ? ego non cognosco vocem,' inquit, * tuam ? '
Hic Nasica : * Homo es impudens. Ego cum te
quaererem, ancillae tuae credidi te domi non esse ;
tu mihi non credis ipsi ? '
277 Est bellum illud quoque ex quo is qui dixit irride-
tur in eo ipso genere quo dixit : ut, cum Q. Opimius
consularis, qui adolescentulus male audisset, festivo
homini Egilio, qui videretur mollior nec esset, dixis-
set, ' Quid tu, Egiha mea ? quando ad me venis cum
tua colu et lana ? ' — * Non pol,' inquit, ' audeo, nam
me ad famosas vetuit mater accedere.'
278 LXIX. Salsa sunt etiam quae habent suspicionem
ridicuH absconditam, quo in genere est SicuU illud,
cui cum famiharis quidam quereretur quod diceret
uxorem suam suspendisse se de ficu, ' amabo te,*
inquit, ' da mihi ex ista arbore quos seram surculos.'
In eodem genere est quod Catulus dixit cuidam
oratori malo : qui cum in epilogo misericordiam se
movisse putaret, postquam assedit, rogavit hunc
videreturne misericordiam movisse ; * ac magnam qui-
408
DE ORATORE, II. Ixviii. 276— Ixix. 278
door, had been told by the housemaid that her master
was not at home, which reply Nasica perceived to
have been given by the master's order, he being in
fact in the house. A few days later Ennius called at
Nasica's, and asked for him at the entrance, where-
upon Nasica called out that he was not at home.
' What ? ', cries Ennius, ' Do I not know your voice ? *
To which Nasica rejoined, * You are a shameless
fellow ; when I asked for you, I believed your maid
when she said you were not at home ; do you not
believe me when I tell you the same thing at first
hand ? '
277 " It is dehghtful too when a jester is requited in the
identical vein in which he himself bantered, as when
Quintus Opimius, a past consul, but of bad repute in
his early manhood, said to a wit named Egilius, who
looked rather effeminate but was not so in fact, ' Well
now, my dear Egilia, when are you coming to visit me
with your distaff and wool ? ' ' Really I dare not
come,' replied the other, ' for mother told me never
to go near women of ill fame.'
278 LXIX. " Other witticisms are those that suggest hinted
a joke that is not quite on the surface ; to this group '"''^*®'^'»
belongs the quip of the Sicilian to whom a friend
was lamenting because, as he told him, his wife had
hanged herself from a fig-tree, and who replied,
* Do please let me have some cuttings from that
tree of yours to plant.' In the same group is the
remark made by Catulus to a poor speaker who,
after resuming his seat with the impression that his
concluding remarks had aroused the audience's pity,
inquired of Catulus whether he thought he had
been successful in arousing pity ; ' Oh yes, and
plenty of it,' was the reply, * for I can't imagine
409
CICERO
dem,' inquit, 'neminem enim puto esse tam durum
279 cui non oratio tua miseranda visa sit.' Me quidem
hercule valde illa movent stomachosa et quasi sub-
morosa ridicula — non cum a moroso dicuntur ; tum
enim non sal sed natura ridetur ; in quo, ut mihi
videtvu:, persalsum illud est apud Novium :
• Quid ploras, pater ? '
* Mirum ni cantem ! condemnatus sum.'
Huic generi quasi contrarium est ridiculi genus
patientis ac lenti, ut, cum Cato percussus esset ab
eo qui arcam ferebat, cum ille diceret, ' Cave ! *
280 rogavit numquid aliud ferret praeter arcam. Est
etiam stultitiae salsa reprehensio, ut ille Siculus,
cui praetor Scipio patronum causae dabat hospitem
suum, hominem nobilem, sed admodum stultum :
* Quaeso,' inquit, ' praetor, adversario meo da istum
patronum, deinde mihi neminem dederis.' Movent
illa etiam quae coniectura explanantur longe aliter
atque sunt sed acute atque concinne : ut, cum
Scaurus accusaret Rutilium ambitus cum ipse con-
sul esset factus, ille repulsam tulisset, et in eius
tabulis ostenderet htteras A. F. P. R. idque diceret
esse ' AcTUM fide P. Rutilii,' Rutihus autem ' Ante
FACTUM, posT RELATUM,' C. Canius cqucs Romanus,
cum Rufo adesset, exclamavit^ neutrum ilUs htteris
* Rackham : exclamat.
" No Scipio is known to us to have been praetor in Sicily.
* Apparently the presiding magistrate assigned such
assistance to a litigant who was a provincial and presumably
ignorant o£ Roman law.
410
DE ORATORE, II. Ixix. 278-280
anybody could be so hard-hearted as not to have
279 thought your speech a pitiable performance.' For
my own part I vow I am also much amused by those
pettish and rather ill-tempered jests — but not when
they are spoken by an ill-tempered person, for then
it is not his wit but his character that we laugh at ;
and this point to my mind is very neatly put in the
Unes in Novius :
* Sire, why dost thou lament ? '
* 'Twere strange did I not sing, who am under sentence ! *
A kind of jest that is just the opposite of this is the
tolerant and gentle sort — for example, Cato's when
he had been jostled by a man carrying a box, who
said ' Look out,' and he asked ' What, are you carry-
280 ing something else beside that box ? ' There is also
a neat way of reproving folly, for instance the remark
of the Sicilian to whom Scipio " when praetor was
assigning as counsel in a law-suit his host, a person
of position but rather stupid : ' Pray, Mr. Praetor,
assign that gentleman as counsel ^ to my opponent,
and then I will not ask you to assign any counsel to
me.' Also efFective are conjectural explanations of
a document that are completely at variance with
the real meaning but are cleverly and wittily put :
as for instance, in the prosecution of Rutilius by
Scaurus on the charge of corrupt practices in the
election to the consulship which Scaurus himself had
won and Rutilius had lost, when Scaurus called atten-
tion to the entry A.F.P.R. in Rutilius's election
accounts, and said that they stood for ' Acting for
Pubilius Rutilius,' whereas Rutilius said they meant
* AUocated formerly, posted up recently,' Sir Gaius
Canius, who appeared for Rufus, called out that both
411
CICERO
declarari ; ' Quid ergo ? ' inquit Scaurus ; ' Ae-
milius fecit, plectitur Rutilius.*
281 LXX. Ridentur etiam discrepantia. ' Quid huic
abest nisi res et virtus ? ' Bella etiam est familiaris
reprehensio quasi errantis ; ut cum obiurgavit
Albium Granius quod, cum eius tabuhs quiddam ab
Albucio probatum videretur, et valde absoluto Scae-
vola gauderet neque intellegeret contra suas tabulas
282 esse iudicatum. Huic similis est etiam admonitio in
consiho dando familiaris, ut, cum patrono malo
cum vocem in dicendo obtudisset suadebat Granius
ut mulsum frigidum biberet simul ac domum re-
disset, * Perdam,' inquit, ' vocem, si id fecero ' ;
283 ' Melius est,' inquit, ' quam reum.' Bellum etiam
est cum quid cuique sit consentaneum dicitur ; ut,
cum Scaurus nonnuUam haberet invidiam ex eo quod
Phrygionis Pompei locupletis hominis bona sine
testamento possederat, sederetque advocatus reo
Bestiae, cum funus quoddam duceretur, accusator
C. Memmius ; ' Vide,' inquit, ' Scaure, mortuus
284 rapitur, si potes esse possessor.' Sed ex his omnibus
nihil magis ridetur quam quod est praeter exspecta-
tionem, cuius innumerabilia sunt exempla, vel Appii
maioris illius, qui in senatu cum ageretur de agris
" Probably the grandfather of Cicero's enemy P. Clodius.
412
DE ORATORE, II. Ixix. 280— Ixx. 284
these interpretations of the initials were wrong.
* What do they mean then ? ' said Scaurus. * Aemilius
filched. Punish Rutilius.'
281 LXX. " A laugh is also scored by sentences that do unexpected
not hang together : ' What does this gentleman lack *"™^'
— except cash and character ? ' Another pretty turn
is a friendly criticism of an impHed mistake, as when
Granius reproved Albius because, when Albucius was
held to have proved a statement on the evidence
of Albius's accounts, Albius was not only much de-
lighted by Scaevola's acquittal but actually failed to
see that a verdict had been given against his own
282 accounts. Also similar to this is giving a friendly
hint by way of advice : for instance, when Granius
was recommending an incompetent advocate who in
the course of a speech had talked himself hoarse to
have a drink of chilled wine and honey as soon as he
got home, he answered ' If I do that, I shall ruin my
voice,' and Granius retorted ' Better ruin your voice
283 than ruin your client.' It is also a neat turn to point
out what goes with anybody's individual character-
istics ; as for instance, when Scaurus was somewhat
under a cloud for having taken possession of the
estate of a wealthy person named Pompeius Phrygio
who had died intestate, and was appearing in court
as an assessor on behalf of a defendant named Bestia,
a funeral happened to pass by, and Gaius Memmius
who was for the prosecution said, ' Look, Scaurus,
there's a dead man being bundled out of the way — if
284 only you can get possession.' But of all these devices
nothing causes more amusement than an unexpected
turn, of which there are countless instances — for
example, the remark of old Appius senior,** who
when there was a debate in the Senate about the
413
CICERO
publicis et de lege Thoria et premeretur Lucilius
ab eis qui a pecore eius depasci agros publicos
dicerent, ' Non est/ inquit, ' Lucilii pecus illud ;
erratis ' — defendere Lucilium videbatur — ' ego
285 liberum puto esse : qua libet pascitur.' Placet
etiam mihi illud Scipionis illius qui Tib. Gracchura
perculit : cum ei M. Flaccus multis probris obiectis
P. Mucium iudicem tulisset, ' Eiero,' inquit, ' iniquus
est ' ; cum esset admurmuratum, ' Ah,* inquit,
* P. C, non ego mihi illum iniquum eiero, verum
omnibus.' Ab hoc vero Crasso nihil facetius : cum
laesisset testis Silus Pisonem quod se in eum audisse
dixisset, ' Potest fieri,' inquit, ' Sile, ut is unde te
audisse dicis, iratus dixerit.' Annuit Silus. ' Potest
etiam, ut tu non recte intellexeris.' Id quoque toto
capite annuit, ut se Crasso daret. ' Potest etiam
fieri,' inquit, ' ut omnino, quod te audisse dicis, nun-
quam audieris.' Hoc ita praeter exspectationem
accidit ut testem omnium risus obrueret. Huius
generis est plenus Novius, cuius iocus est familiaris
' Sapiens si algebis, tremes.' Et aha permulta.
286 LXXI. Saepe etiam facete concedas adversario id
" Presumably the poet, c/. § 25.
414
DE ORATORE, II. Ixx. 284— Ixxi. 286
lands in public ownership and the Lex Thoria, and
LuciUus " was being attacked by raembers who asserted
that his herd was being grazed on the lands in ques-
tion, said ' No, that herd does not belong to Lucilius ;
you are making a mistake ' — this sounded as if he
were speaking in Lucilius's defence — ' My own view
is that it is a herd that's got free — it grazes freely
285 where it pleases.' I also like the remark of the
Scipio who made away with Tiberius Gracchus :
when Marcus Flaccus after a great many damaging
objections had been made had carried Publius Mucius
as a member of the jury, Scipio said ' I challenge
him on oath : he is prejudiced ! ' ; at this there was
a murmur, but Scipio continued, * Ah, gentlemen,
I don't challenge him as prejudiced against myself,
but as prejudiced against everybody.' From this
point of view however nothing could be wittier than
the remark of Crassus : serious damage had been
done to the case of a certain Piso by a witness named
Silus, who had said that he had heard something
against him ; ' It may be the case, Silus,' said Crassus,
' that the person whose remark you say you heard
was speaking in anger.' Silus nodded assent. ' It
is also possible that you misunderstood him.' To
this also Silus nodded very emphatic assent, so
putting himself into Crassus's hands. ' It is also
possible,' he continued, ' that what you say you
heard, you never really heard at all.' This was so
entirely unexpected a turn that the witness was
overwhelmed by a burst of laughter from the whole
court. Novius is full of quips of this sort : everyone
knows his jape, ' Even a philosopher like you, if he is
cold, will shiver,' and a great many more.
286 LXXI. " Also you may often humorously yield to personai
^l^ retorts.
CICERO
ipsum quod tibi ille detrahit : ut C. Laelius, cum ei
quidam malo genere natus diceret indignum esse suis
maioribus, ' At hercule,* inquit, ' tu tuis dignus.'
Saepe etiam sententiose ridicula dicuntur, ut M.
Cincius, quo die legem de donis et muneribus tulit,
cum C. Cento prodisset et satis contumeliose
* Quid fers, Cinciole ? ' quaesisset, ' Ut emas,' in-
287 quit, ' Gai, si uti velis.' Saepe etiam salse quae fieri
non possunt optantur : ut M. Lepidus, cum ceteris
in campo exercentibus in herba ipse recubisset :
' Vellem hoc esset,' inquit, ' laborare.' Salsum est
etiam quaerentibus et quasi percontantibus, lente
respondere quod nolint : ut censor Lepidus cum
M. Antistio Pyrgensi equum ademisset, amicique
cum vociferarentur et quaererent quid ille patri suo
responderet cur ademptum sibi equum diceret cum
optimus colonus, parcissimus, modestissimus, frugaUs-
simus esset : ' Me istorum,' inquit, ' nihil credere.'
288 CoUiguntur a Graecis alia nonnulla, exsecrationes,
admirationes, minationes, sed haec ipsa nimis mihi
videor in multa genera descripsisse ; nam illa quae
verbi ratione et vi continentur certa fere ac definita
sunt quae plerumque, ut ante dixi, laudari magis
289 quam rideri solent ; haec autem quae sunt in re ipsa
" The praenomen, like a Christian name, has a note of
familiarity which might be compHmentary, but here is con-
temptuous, and is a retort to the diminutive Cinciole, which
also has a touch of contempt, as has the question Quidfers?
which suggests ' What do you offer for sale ? ' ' §254.
416
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxi. 286-289
you» opponent the very point that he is trying to
make against you : for instance Gaius Laelius, when
some low-born person told him he was not worthy of
his ancestors, retorted ' But you are worthy of yours,
I swear you are ! ' Also jests at the other's expense
are often expressed in an epigrammatic form : for
instance, on the day when Marcus Cincius carried a
bill deahng ynth. gifts and presentations, Gaius Cento
came forward and asked in a rather insulting manner,
' What are you putting forward, my good Cincius ? '
And Cincius replied ' That if you want to use a thing,
287 Gaius," you should pay for it ! ' Also it is often
witty to wish for things that are impossible : as, for
instance, when Marcus Lepidus was sprawHng on the
grass himself while everybody else was doing exer-
cises in the field, he said ' I wish that hard work
were what I am doing.' Also when people ask you
something and keep on repeating the question it is
witty gently to give the very reply they don't want :
for example when the censor Lepidus had taken a
horse from Marcus Antistius of Pyrgi and Antistius's
friends made an outcry and kept asking him what
answer he should give his father to explain why his
horse had been taken away from him, a first-class
farmer, and an extremely economical and moderate
and thrifty person, he said his answer would be ' I
288 don't accept any of that ! ' The Greeks include some
other varieties, execration, astonishment, threats,
but I feel I have overdone my classification of these
witticisms already ; for the notions contained in the
meaning and force of a word are usually clear and
definite, and most of them, as I said before,'' usually
289 excite more applause than ridicule ; whereas the
points comprised in the actual fact and meaning,
417
CICERO
et sententia partibus sunt innumerabilia, generibus
pauca ; exspectationibus enim decipiendis et naturis
aliorum irridendis [ipsorum ridicule indicandis]^ et
similitudine turpioris et dissimulatione et subabsurda
dicendo et stulta reprehendendo risus moventur, ita-
que imbuendus est is qui iocose volet dicere quasi
natura quadam apta ad haec genera et moribus, ut
ad cuiusque modi genus ridicuh vultus etiam accom-
modetur ; qui quidem quo severior est et tristior, ut
in te, Crasse, hoc illa quae dicuntur salsiora videri
solent.
290 Sed iam tu, Antoni, qui hoc deversorio sermonis mei
libenter acquieturum te esse dixisti, tanquam in
Pomptinum deverteris, neque amoenum neque salu-
brem locum, censeo ut satis diu te putes requiesse et
iter reliquum conficere pergas.
Ego vero, atque hilare quidem a te acceptus,
inquit, et cum doctior per te, tum etiam audacior
factus iam ad iocandum ; non enim vereor ne quis
me in isto genere leviorem iam putet, quoniam qui-
dem tu Fabricios mihi auctores, et Africanos, Maxi-
291 mos, Catones, Lepidos protulisti. Sed habetis ea
quae vultis ex me audire, de quibus quidem accura-
tius dicendum et cogitandum fuit : nam cetera
faciUora sunt, atque ex eis quae dicta sunt reliqua
1 tecl. Wilkin».
418
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxi. 289-291
though falling into innumerable divisions, only be-
long to a few main classes ; what excites laughter
is disappointing expectations and ridicuhng other
people's characters and imitating a baser person
and dissembhng and saying things that are rather
silly and criticizing points that are fooHsh, and con-
sequently a person who wants to speak humorously
must be equipped with a disposition and character
that is suited to artifices of this kind, so that even his
expression of countenance may be adapted to each
kind of variety of the ridiculous ; and indeed the
sterner and gloomier a man's expression is, as in
your case, Crassus, the more humorous as a rule his
remarks are considered.
290 " Well, Antonius, you said you would be glad of a
rest at this house of entertainment, which is what
my discourse is,~but you must imagine the resort you
have visited to be in the Pomptine marshes, not a
very agreeable or very salubrious locahty, so I advise
you to decide that you have had a sufficient rest and
to push on to complete the remainder of your
journey."
" Yes, I will, and that after being amusingly enter- Antonius
tained by you, and having, thanks to you, become (^^^§^216)
not only a better scholar but also a more reckless as to
jester ; for now Tm not afraid of anybody thinking hebegins
me too frivolous in that Une, inasmuch as you have ^^*V^^
suppUed me with such authorities as Fabricius, and points of
291 also Africanus, Maximus, Cato and Lepidus. But case^and his
now you have got the points you wanted to hear opponents'.
from me, points which did in fact require more careful
statement and consideration, inasmuch as all the
others are easier, and the points that remain aU
spring directly out of those that have been put.
419
CICERO
nascuntur omnia. LXXII. Ego enim cum ad causam
sum aggressus atque omnia eogitando quoad facere
potui persecutus, cum et argumenta causae et eos
locos quibus animi iudicum conciliantur et illos quibus
permoventur vidi atque cognovi, tum constituo quid
habeat causa quaeque boni, quid mali ; nulla enim
fere potest res in dicendi disceptationem aut contro-
versiam vocari quae non habeat utrumque, sed
292 quantum habeat id refert ; mea autem ratio in
dicendo haec esse solet, ut boni quod habeat id
amplectar, exornem, exaggerem, ibi commorer, ibi
habitem, ibi haeream, a malo autem vitioque causae
ita recedam non ut me id fugere appareat sed ut
totum bono illo ornando et augendo dissimulatum
obruatur ; et, si causa est in argumentis, firmissima
quaeque maxime tueor, sive plura sunt sive aUquod
unum ; sin autem in conciliatione aut in permotione
causa est, ad eam me potissimum partem quae
maxime movere animos hominum potest confero.
293 Summa denique huius generis haec est, ut si in
refellendo adversario firmior esse oratio quam in
confirmandis nostris rebus potest, omnia in illum
tela conferam, sin nostra probari facilius quam illa
redargui possunt, abducere animos a contraria de-
294 fensione et ad nostram coner^ deducere. Duo denique
illa quae facillima videntur, quoniam quae difficiliora
^ Rackham : conor.
420
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxii. 291-294
LXXII. For my part when I am launched on a case
and have to the best of my ability passed all the facts
under consideration, having discerned and ascer-
tained the arguments that belong to the case and
also the topics calculated to win the favour of the
court and those adapted to arouse its emotions, I
then decide what are the good and what the bad
points in the case of each of the parties, as it is almost
impossible for any matter to be brought under dis-
cussion or dispute which does not contain both — the
thing that matters is horv much of them it contains ;
292 but my own method in a speech usually is to take
the good points of my case and elaborate these, em-
bellishing and enlarging and Hngering and dwelhng
on and sticking to them, while any bad part or weak-
ness in my case I leave on one side, not in such a
manner as to give the appearance of running away
from it but so as to disguise it and entirely cover it
up by embellishing and amplifying the good point
referred to ; and if the case is one that turns on
arguments, I maintain all the strongest among them
in the fullest measure, whether they are several or
only one, or if it is a matter of winning favour or
arousing feeling, I concentrate particularly on the
part of the case that is most capable of influencing
293 men's minds. In short, the chief thing in a case of
this kind is, if my speech can be stronger in refuting
our opponent than in proving our own points, for me
to concentrate all my shafts upon him, but if on the
contrary our points can be more easily proved than
his can be refuted, to aim at drawing ofF their atten-
tion from our opponent's defence and directing it to
294 our own. Finally there are two lines that appear
extremely easy — as the more difficult ones are beyond
421
CICERO
sunt non possum, mihi pro meo iure sumo : unum ut
molesto aut difRcili argumento aut loco nonnunquam
omnino nihil respondeam, quod forsitan aliquis iure
irriserit — quis enim est qui id facere non possit ?
sed tamen ego de mea nunc, non de aliorum facultate
disputo, confiteorque me si quae premat res vehe-
mentius ita cedere solere ut non modo non abiecto,
sed ne reiecto quidem scuto fugere videar, sed ad-
hibere quamdam in dicendo speciem atque pompam
et pugnae similem fugam ; consistere vero in meo
praesidio sic ut non fugiendi hostis sed capiendi loci
295 causa cessisse videar ; alterum est illud quod ego
maxime oratori cavendum et providendum puto
quodque me soUicitare summe solet : non tam ut
prosim causis elaborare soleo quam ut ne quid
obsim ; non quin enitendum sit in utroque, sed
tamen multo est turpius oratori nocuisse videri causae
quam non profuisse. LXXIII. Sed quid hoc loco vos
inter vos, Catule ? An haec ut sunt contemnenda
contemnitis ?
Minime, inquit ille, sed Caesar de isto ipso quiddam
velle dicere videbatur.
422
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxii. 294— Ixxiii. 295
my power — which I adopt as being entitled to do so :
one is that, when I encounter a troublesome or diffi-
cult argument or topic, occasionally I make no reply
to it at all : a method on which somebody will per-
haps justly pour ridicule — for who is there who would
not be capable of adopting it ? but all the same it is
my own capacity and not that of other people which
I am now discussing, and I frankly confess that I
make it a practice, if some matter presses rather too
forcibly upon me, to retire, but in such a manner as
not to look as if I were running away even with my
shield slung behind my back, much less after throw-
ing it away, but to exhibit a certain seemHness and
dignity in my delivery, and to execute a retreat
that looks Uke a fight ; and when I come to a halt
to stand on my guard in such a manner as to appear
to have given ground for the sake of taking up a
certain position, not for the sake of escaping the
95 enemy ; the other Une is one which I for my part
think a speaker should only adopt with very great
caution and preparation, and which regularly causes
me an extreme amount of trouble : my practice is
not to devote my efforts to further the advancement
of my cases but to avoid doing them any damage ;
not but what it is proper to use every efFort in
achieving both, but it is much more damaging to a
speaker's reputation to be deemed to have done harm
to his case than not to be thought to have advanced
it. LXXIII. But what are you whispering among
yourselves at this point, Catulus ? Do you despise
these things as they deserve to be despised ? "
" By no means," he said, " but we thought that
Caesar wanted to say something on just the point
you are treating."
42S
CICERO
Me vero libente, inquit Antonius, dixerit sive
refellendi causa sive quaerendi.
296 Tum lulius : Ego mehercule, inquit, Antoni,
semper is fui qui de te oratore sic praedicarem, unum
te in dicendo mihi videri tectissimum, propriumque
hoc esse laudis tuae, nihil a te unquam esse dictum
quod obesset ei pro quo diceres ; idque memoria
teneo, cum mihi sermo cum hoc ipso Crasso multis
audientibus esset institutus Crassusque plurimis
verbis eloquentiam laudaret tuam, dixisse me cum
ceteris tuis laudibus hanc esse vel maximam, quod
non solum quod opus esset diceres sed etiam
297 quod non opus esset non diceres : tum illum mihi
respondere memini, cetera in te summe esse lau-
danda, illud vero improbi esse hominis et perfidiosi,
dicere quod alienum esset et noceret ei pro quo quis-
que diceret ; quare non sibi eum disertum qui id non
faceret videri sed improbum, qui faceret. Nunc, si
tibi videtur, Antoni, demonstres velim quare tu hoc
ita magnum putes, nihil in causa mali facere, ut nihil
tibi in oratore maius esse videatur.
298 LXXIV. Dicam equidem, Caesar, inquit, quid
intellegam, sed et tu, et vos omnes hoc, inquit,
mementote, non me de perfecti oratoris divinitate
quadam loqui sed de exercitationis et consuetudinis
meae mediocritate. Crassi quidem responsum excel-
424
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxiii. 295— Ixxiv. 298
" Oh, as for me," said Antonius, " I should be de-
lighted for him to speak, whether with the object
of refuting me or of asking me a question."
296 " For my own part, Antonius," rejoined Julius, " I
declare I have always taken the Une of maintaining,
in regard to your powers as a speaker, that in my
view you were quite exceptionally guarded in your
utterances, and that it was your special distinction
that nothing had ever fallen from you that would
damage the cUent you were defending ; and I clearly
remember that when I was engaged in a debate with
Crassus here, before a large audience, and Crassus
extolled your eloquence at great length, what I said
was that together with all your other claims to dis-
tinction the greatest one was that you not only said
the proper thing but also avoided saying what was
297 not the proper thing ; and thereupon I remember
Crassus rejoining that while all your other quaUties
were most deserving of praise, to say something
untoward and damaging to one's cUent showed com-
plete lack of principle and of loyalty, and consequently
he did not consider a man to be a good speaker if
he did not do so but an unprincipled person if he did.
At this point, Antonius, if agreeable to you, I should
Uke you to explain for what reason you put so high
a value on this avoidance of doing any damage to
one's case that you think it to be a speaker's most
important quaUfication . ' '
298 LXXIV. " I will teU you what my own view is,
Caesar," he said, " but I must request you and all
the rest of the company to bear in mind that I am
not speaking of the inspired genius of a consummate
orator but of the moderate level attained by practice
and habituation in my own case. The answer given
p 425
CICERO
lentis cuiusdam est ingeni ac singularis ; cui quidem
portenti simile esse visum est posse aliquem inveniri
oratorem qui aliquid mali faceret dicendo obessetque
299 ei quem defenderet ; facit enim de se coniecturam,
cuius tanta vis ingeni est ut neminem nisi consulto
putet quod contra se ipsum sit dicere ; sed ego non
de praestanti quadam et eximia sed prope de vulgari
et communi vi nunc disputo, Ita apud Graecos
fertur incredibili quadam magnitudine consili atque
ingeni Atheniensis ille fuisse Themistocles ; ad quem
quidam doctus homo atque in primis eruditus ac-
cessisse dicitur eique artem memoriae, quae tum
primum proferebatur, pollicitus esse se traditurum ;
cum ille quaesisset quidnam illa ars efficere posset,
dixisse illum doctorem ut omnia meminisset ; et
ei Themistoclem respondisse gratius sibi illum esse
facturum si se oblivisci quae vellet quam si
300 meminisse docuisset. Videsne quae vis in homine
acerrimi ingeni, quam potens et quanta mens fuerit ?
qui ita responderit ut intellegere possemus nihil ex
illius animo quod semel esset infusum unquam
effluere potuisse, cum quidem ei fuerit optabilius
oblivisci posse potius quod meminisse noUet quam
quod semel audisset vidissetve meminisse. Sed
neque propter hoc Themistocli responsum memoriae
nobis opera danda non est neque illa mea cautio et
4.26
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxiv. 298-300
by Crassus is of course the verdict of a quite out-
standing and unrivalled intellect — of course he deems
it miraculous that any speaker could be found whose
oratory would actually damage and prejudice the
299 case of his cHent. This is because he judges from
himself, being a person of such a strong intellect
that he cannot imagine anybody saying anything to
his o\vn detriment, unless he did so on purpose. But
I am not at the moment talking about some out-
standing and exceptional ability but about ordinary
average capacity. For instance, we are told that the
famous Athenian Themistocles was endowed with
wisdom and genius on a scale quite surpassing belief ,
and it is said that a certain learned and highly accom-
pUshed person went to him and ofFered to impart to
him the science of mnemonics, which was then being
introduced for the first time ; and that when Themis-
tocles asked what precise result that science was
capable of achieving, the professor asserted that it
would enable him to remember everything ; and
Themistocles replied that he would be doing him a
greater kindness if he taught him to forget what he
300 wanted than if he taught him to remember. Do
you observe what mental force and penetration the
man possessed, what power and range of intellect ?
inasmuch as his answer brings home to us that
nothing that had once been introduced into his mind
had ever been able to pass out of it, inasmuch as he
would rather have been able to forget something that
he did not wish to remember than to remember
everything that he had once heard or seen. But this
reply of Themistocles must not cause us to neglect
the training of the memory, and the exceptional
intellectual powers of Crassus must not make us
427
CICERO
timiditas in causis propter praestantem prudentiam
Crassi neglegenda est ; uterque enim istorum non
mihi attulit aliquam sed suam significavit faculta-
301 tem. Etenim permulta sunt in causis in omni parte
orationis circumspicienda ne quid ofFendas, ne quo
irruas : saepe aliqui testis aut non laedit aut minus
laedit nisi lacessatur; orat reus, urgent advocati ut
invehamur, ut maledicamus, denique ut interroge-
mus : non moveor, non obtempero, non satisfacio —
neque tamen ullam assequor laudem, homines enim
imperiti facilius quod stulte dixeris reprehendere
302 quam quod sapienter tacueris laudare possunt. Hic
quantum fit maU si iratum, si non stultum, si non
levem testem laeseris ! Habet enim et voluntatem
nocendi in iracundia et vim in ingenio et pondus in
vita. Nec, si hoc Crassus non committit, ideo non
multi et saepe committunt ; quo quidem mihi turpius
videri nihil solet quam quod ex oratoris dicto aliquo
aut responso aut rogato sermo ille sequitur : ' Oc-
cidit.' * Adversariumne ? ' * Immo vero,' aiunt, * se
303 et eum quem defendit.' LXXV. Hoc Crassus non
putat nisi perfidia accidere posse, ego autem saepis-
sime video in causis aUquid mah facere homines
minime malos. Quid, illud quod supra dixi, solere
me cedere, et, ut planius dicam, fugere ea quae
428
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxiv. 300— Ixxv. 303
ignore the caution and nervousness in pleading a
case that I assigned to myself ; for neither Themis-
tocles nor Crassus attributed any competence to me,
301 but indicated competence of their own, The fact is Precaution
that in actions at law there are a great many precau- ^^aging
tions that you have to take in every part of your one's own
speech so as not to make a sHp and run your head '^^^'
against some obstacle : frequently a witness does no
damage, or less damage, if he is not challenged ; the
defendant implores us and his supporters urge us to
attack him, to abuse him, and finally to cross-examine
him, but I pay no attention, I won't give way to them
or obhge them — though all the same I do not get
any praise for this, as ill-informed persons are more
capable of criticizing one*s fooHsh assertions than
302 one's wise omissions. In this department, how much
harm is done if you fall foul of a witness who has lost
his temper, and is no fool, and a person of considera-
tion ! His anger suppHes him with the wish to injure
you, his abiUty with the power to do so, and his past
record with influence. And even if Crassus does not
make this mistake, it does not follow that it is not
made by many people and frequently ; and for my
part I always think nothing more disgraceful than
when some statement or reply or question made by
a speaker is foUowed by the remark ' He's done for
it ! ' ' Done for his opponent ? ' * Oh no,' they say,
303 * done for himself and his client.' LXXV. Crassus
holds the view that this can only happen through
treachery, but I myself quite often see definite harm
done in law-suits by persons who are not in the least
malicious. Come, in regard to what I said previously,
that I make a practice of giving way on, or to put
it more plainly running away from, points that tell
429
CICERO
valde causam meam premerent, cum id non faciunt
alii versanturque in hostium castris ac sua praesidia
dimittunt, mediocriteme causis nocent cum aut
adversariorum adiumenta confirmant aut ea quae
304 sanare nequeunt exulcerant ? Quid, cum personarum
quas defendunt rationem non habent, si quae sunt in
eis invidiosa non mitigant extenuando sed laudando
et efFerendo invidiosiora faciunt, quantum est in eo
tandem mali ? Quid, si in homines caros iudicibusque
iucundos sine ulla praemunitione orationis acerbius
et contumeliosius invehare, nonne a te iudices
305 abalienes ? Quid, si quae vitia aut incommoda
sunt in aliquo iudice uno aut pluribus, ea tu in
adversariis exprobrando non intellegas te in iudices
invehi, mediocrene peccatum est ? Quid, si cum
pro altero dicas, Htem tuam facias aut laesus
efferare iracundia, causam relinquas, nihilne noceas ?
In quo ego non quo Hbenter male audiam sed quia
causam non hbenter reUnquo nimium patiens et
lentus existimor ; ut cum te ipsum, Sulpici, obiur-
gabam quod ministratorem peteres, non adversarium ;
ex quo etiam illud assequor, ut si quis mihi maledicat
306 petulans aut plane insanus esse videatur. In ipsis
autem argumentis si quid posueris aut aperte falsum
aut ei quod dixeris dicturusve sis contrarium aut
430
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxv. 303-306
heavily against my case : well, when other people
do not do this, and roam about inside the enemy's
camp and disband their own forces, is the damage
they do to their cases inconsiderable — when they
either strengthen their opponents' supports or aggra-
304 vate sores which they are unable to heal .? Come,
when they take no account of the characters of the
people they are defending, if they do not mitigate
any unpopular traits in them by minimizing their
importance but increase their unpopularity by prais-
ing and parading them, how much harm pray is there
in this ? Come, if without any preparatory forti-
fication of your position you deliver a rather bitter
and insulting attack on persons held in esteem and
popular with the court, do you not set the bench
305 against you ? Come, if you taunt your opponents
with vices or faiUngs that are present in one or in
several of the judges without reahzing that you are
delivering an attack on the bench, is it a trifling
mistake that you have committed ? Come, if when
speaking on behalf of a client you make yourself
morally responsible, or when provoked lose your
temper and let yourself go, losing sight of your case,
are you not doing any harm ? This is a matter in
which I myself am considered too tolerant and gentle,
not because I Uke being abused but because I do not
like abandoning my case — for instance, when I
taunted you yourself, Sulpicius, for attacking your
assistant and not your opponent ; and this method
also secures me the result that if somebody abuses
me, he appears to be making a wanton attack, or
306 else to be quite ofF his head. Then if your actual
arguraents include something that is obviously un-
true, or inconsistent with what you have said or are
431
CICERO
genere ipso remotum ab usu iudiciorum ac foro,
nihilne noceas ? Quid multa ? Omnis cura mea
solet in hoc versari semper — dicam enim saepius —
si possim, ut boni efficiam aliquid dicendo, sin id
minus, ut certe ne quid mali.
307 LXXVI, Itaque nunc illuc redeo, Catule, in quo
tu me paulo ante laudabas, ad ordinem collocationem-
que rerum ac locorum ; cuius ratio est duplex,
altera quam afFert natura causarum, altera quae
oratorum iudicio et prudentia comparatur : nam ut
aliquid ante rem dicamus, deinde ut rem exponamus,
post ut eam probemus nostris praesidiis^ confirmandis,
contrariis refutandis, deinde ut concludamus atque
308 ita peroremus, hoc dicendi natura ipsa praescribit ; ut
vero statuamus ea quae probandi et docendi causa
dicenda sunt quemadmodum componamus, id est vel
maxime proprium oratoris prudentiae. Multa enim
occurrunt argumenta, multa, quae in dicendo pro-
futura videantur ; sed eorum partim ita levia sunt
ut contemnenda sint, partim, etiam si quid habent
adiumenti, sunt nonnunquam eiusmodi ut insit in eis
aliquid viti, neque tanti sit illud quod prodesse
309 videatur ut cum ahquo malo coniungatur ; quae
autem utilia sunt atque firma, si ea tamen, ut saepe
fit, valde multa sunt, ea quae ex eis aut levissima
* [praesidiis] Vassis.
432
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxv. 306— Ixxvi. 309
going to say, or intrinsically out of keeping with the
practice of the courts and with public hfe, would you
be doing no harm ? In short, the whole of my efforts
are always regularly devoted to this — for I will go
on repeating it — if possible to do some good by speak-
ing, or if that is not possible, at all events not to
do any harm.
307 LXXVI. " Accordingly I now return to the point Arr»iig«.
in respect of which, Catulus, you were praising me ™®°*'
just now, the question of the order and arrangement
of one's facts and topics. In respect of this there are
two rules of procedure, one arising from the nature
of the cases and the other contributed by the discre-
tion and the wisdom of the speakers : for to make
some prefatory remarks, then to set out our case,
afterwards to prove it by estabhshing our own points
with arguments in their favour and refuting our
adversary's points, then to wind up our case and so
to come to our conclusion — this is the procedure
308 enjoined by the very nature of oratory ; but to decide
how to arrange the statements that have to be made
for the purpose of estabhshing and explaining our
case — that is in the highest degree a task for pro-
fessional skill. For many arguments occur to us, and
many considerations that appear hkely to be of use
to us in speaking ; but some of these are so un-
important as not to deserve notice, and some, even
if they ofFer some amount of assistance, are occasion-
ally of such a nature that they contain some flaw and
that the amount of assistance they seem to provide
is not of such value as to be used in conjunction with
309 a definitely detrimental point ; while if nevertheless,
as frequently happens, there are numerous advan-
tages and strong arguments, in my judgement those
433
CICERO
sunt aut aliis gravioribus consimilia, secerni arbitror
oportere atque ex oratione removeri : equidem
cum colligo argumenta causarum, non tam ea
310 numerare soleo quam expendere. LXXVII. Et
quoniam, quod saepe iam dixi, tribus rebus homines
ad nostram sententiam perducimus, aut docendo aut
conciliando aut permovendo, una ex tribus his rebus
res prae nobis est ferenda, ut nihil aliud nisi docere
velle videamur, reliquae duae, sicuti sanguis in
corporibus, sic illae in perpetuis orationibus fusae
esse debebunt. Nam et principia et ceterae partes
orationis, de quibus paulo post pauca dicemus,
habere hanc vim magnopere debent, ut ad eorum
mentes apud quos agetur movendas pertinere
311 possint ; sed his partibus orationis quae, et si nihil
docent argumentando, persuadendo tamen et com-
movendo proficiunt plurimum, quanquam maxime
proprius est locus et in exordiendo et in perorando,
digredi tamen ab eo quod proposueris atque agas
permovendorum animorum causa saepe utile est ;
312 itaque vel re narrata et exposita saepe datur ad
commovendos animos digrediendi locus, vel argu-
mentis nostris confirmatis vel contrariis refutatis vel
utroque loco vel omnibus, si habet eam causa
dignitatem atque copiam, recte id fieri potest ;
eaeque causae sunt ad augendum et ad ornandum
• §§ 326, 333.
434)
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxvi. 309— Ixxvii. 312
among them that are the least weighty or that closely
resemble others that are weightier ought to be dis-
carded and left out of the speech : in my own case
when I am collecting arguments for my cases I make
it my practice not so much to count them as to weigh
310 them. LXXVII. And because (as I have repeatedly
said already) there are three methods of bringing
people to hold our opinion, instruction or persuasion
or appeal to their emotions, one of these three
methods we must openly display, so as to appear to
wish solely to impart instruction, whereas the two re-
maining methods should be interfused throughout the
whole of the structure of our speeches like the blood
in our bodies. For as for the exordium and the other
divisions of a speech, about which we shall make a
few remarks a Uttle later," it is essential that they
should have the power of being able to exert this
311 influence in stirring the minds of the audience ; but piaces for
in regard to the portions of a speech that in spite of g^^onV'
proving no point by means of argument, nevertheless
have a very great effect in persuading and arousing
emotion, although the most appropriate place for
them is in the introduction and the conclusion, never-
theless it is often useful to digress from the subject
one has put forward and is deaUng with, for the pur-
312 pose of arousing emotion ; and accordingly very
often either a place is given to a digression devoted to
exciting emotion after we have related the facts and
stated our case, or this can rightly be done after we
have established our own arguments or refuted those
of our opponents, or in both places, or in aU the parts
of the speech, if the case is one of this importance and
extent ; and the cases that are the weightiest and
fuUest for ampUfication and embelUshment are those
435
CICERO
gravissimae atque plenissimae quae plurimos exitus
dant ad eiusmodi digressionem, ut eis locis uti liceat
quibus animorum impetus eorum qui audiunt aut
313 impellantur aut reflectantur. Atque etiam in illo
reprehendo eos qui quae minime firma sunt ea
prima collocant ; in quo illos quoque errare arbitror
quijsi quando — id quod mihi nunquam placuit — plures
adhibent patronos, ut in quoque eorum minimum
putant esse, ita eum primum volunt dicere : res enim
hoc postulat, ut eorum exspectationi qui audiunt
quam celerrime succurratur ; cui si initio satisfactum
non sit, multo plus sit in reliqua causa laborandum,
male enim se res habet quae non statim ut dici
314 coepta est mehor fieri videtur. Ergo ut in oratore
optimus quisque, sic in oratione firmissimum quod-
que sit primum, dum illud tamen in utroque tene-
atur, ut ea quae excellent serventur etiam ad
perorandum si quae erunt mediocria — nam vitiosis
nusquam esse oportet locum — ^in mediam turbam
315 atque in gregem coniciantur. Hisce omnibus rebus
consideratis tum denique id quod primum est dicen-
dum postremum soleo cogitare, quo utar exordio ;
nam si quando id primum invenire volui, nuUum mihi
occurrit nisi aut exile aut nugatorium aut vulgare
aut commune. LXXVIII. Principia autem dicendi
semper cum accurata et acuta et instructa sententiis,
436
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxvii. 312— Ixxviii. 315
that give the greatest number of openings for a
digression of this kind, so allowing the employment
of the topics which either stimulate or curb the
313 emotions of the audience. And in regard to arrange- strongest
ment I also censure the people who place their ^^iuM
weakest points first ; and I think a mistake is also come flrst j
made in this respect by those who on occasions when
they have several supporters to bring forward — a
thing which I have never approved of doing — ask the
particular one among them whom they think least
influential to speak first ; for the situation demands
that the anticipation of the audience should be grati-
fied as quickly as possible, and if it is not satisfied at
the start, a great deal more work has to be put in
during the remainder of the proceedings, for a case
is in a bad way which does not seem to become
314 stronger as soon as it begins to be stated. Con-
sequently as in the choice of speaker the best man
on each occasion should come first, so in arrangement
of the speech the strongest point should come first,
provided nevertheless that in both cases the rule be
kept to reserve one's outstanding resources to the
actual peroration, while collecting into a general
medley in the middle any points of moderate import-
ance — bad points must not be given a place any-
315 where. Well, not till I have attended to all these tactfui
matters, then finally my practice is to consider last t°on°^'^'^
of all the thing that has to come first in the speech —
what introduction to employ : for whenever I have
chosen to begin by ascertaining this, nothing has
occurred to me that was not either bald or trifling or
hackneyed or undistinctive. LXXVIII. But one's
opening remarks, though they should always be care-
fully framed and pointed and epigrammatic and
437
CICERO
apta verbis, tum vero causarum propria esse debent ;
prima est enim quasi cognitio et commendatio ora-
tionis in principio, quaeque continuo eum qui audit
316 permulcere atque allicere debet. In quo admirari
soleo non equidem istos qui nullam huic rei operam
dederunt, sed hominem in primis disertum atque
eruditum, PhiHppum, qui ita solet surgere ad dicen-
dum ut quod primum verbum habiturus sit nesciat ; et
ait idem, cum brachium concalefecerit, tum se solere
pugnare ; neque attendit eos ipsos unde hoc simile
ducat primas illas hastas ita iactare leniter ut et
venustati vel maxime serviant et rehquis viribus suis
317 consulant. Neque est dubium quin exordium di-
cendi vehemens et pugnax non saepe esse debeat, sed
si in ipso illo gladiatorio vitae certamine quo ferro
decemitur tamen ante congressum multa fiunt quae
non ad vulnus sed ad speciem valere videatur, quanto
hoc magis in oratione est spectandum, in qua non vis
potius quam delectatio postulatur ! Nihil est denique
in natura rerum omnium quod se universum pro-
fundat et* totum repente evolvat — sic omnia quae
fiunt quaeque aguntur acerrime lenioribus principiis
318 natura ipsa praetexuit. Haec autem in dicendo non
extrinsecus ahcunde quaerenda sed ex ipsis visceribus
causae sumenda sunt ; idcirco tota causa pertemptata
* Kayaer : et quod.
458
DE ORATORE, 11. Ixxviii. 315-318
suitably expressed, must at the same time be appro-
priate to the case in hand ; for the opening passage
contains the first impression and the introduction of
the speech, and this ought to charm and attract the
316 hearer straight away. This is a point in respect of
which I am constantly surprised, not indeed at people
who have given no attention to oratory, but at Philip,
a person of outstanding and accompUshed eloquence,
whose habit it is to get up to make a speech without
knowing what is to be the first word he will utter ;
what he says about it is that his way is to warm up
his biceps first and then start fighting — not observing
that even the professionals from whom he derives
this metaphor when throwing the spear deliver their
first throws gently, so as to make their movements
as graceful as possible and also to economize the re-
317 mainder of their strength. Nor is there any doubt
that the opening passage of a speech ought not as a
rule to be of a forcible, fighting character ; but if in
an actual fight to the death between gladiators, where
the decision is made by the steel, nevertheless before
closing a number of strokes are made that seem not
to be intended to inflict a wound but to be done for
the sake of appearance, how much more proper is it
for this to be taken into consideration in making a
speech, where what is asked for is not so much force
as entertainment ! In conclusion, nothing exists in
the physical universe that emerges as a whole and
develops completely all in a moment : so true is it
that all processes and actions of extreme rapidity
have been provided by Nature herself with more
318 gentle commencements. But the opening passage in
a speech must not be drawn from some outside source
but from the very heart of the case ; consequently
439
CICERO
atque perspecta, locis omnibus inventis atque instructis
319 considerandum est quo principio sit utendum. Sic ut^
facile reperientur — sumentur enim ex eis rebus quae
erunt uberrimae vel in argumentis vel in eis partibus
ad quas dixi digredi saepe oportere — ita momenti
aliquid afFerent, cum erunt paene ex intima defen-
sione deprompta et apparebit ea non modo non esse
communia nec in alias causas posse transferri sed
penitus ex ea causa quae tiun* agatur effloruisse.
320 LXXIX. Omne autem principium aut rei totius
quae agetur significationem habere debebit aut
aditum ad causam et communitionem aut quoddam
ornamentum et dignitatem ; sed oportet, ut aedibus
ac templis vestibula et aditus, sic causis principia pro
portione rerum praeponere ; itaque in parvis atque
infrequentibus causis ab ipsa re est exordiri saepe
321 commodius ; sed cum erit utendum principio, quod
plerumque erit, aut ex reo aut ex adversario aut ex
re aut ex eis apud quos agetur sententias duci licebit.
Ex reo — ^reos appello quorum res est — quae signifi-
cent bonvun virum, quae liberalem, quae calamitosum,
^ Warmington : et. • tum otn. edd.
440
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxviii. 318— Ixxix. 321
our case must first be thoroughly considered and ex-
amined as a whole, and all our topics thought out
and arranged, before we consider what opening to
319 employ. In this way just as openings will be easily
discovered — for they will be taken from the subjects
that will prove most fertile either in the argumenta-
tive passages or in the digressions upon which I said
we must frequently enter — , so also they will con-
tribute an element of movement, as they will be
taken from almost the most essential part of the
defence, and it will be felt not merely that they are
not generahties and capable of being transferred into
another case, but that they are essentially the natural
outcome of the case under consideration. LXXIX.
320 Every introduction will have to contain either a
statement of the whole of the matter that is to be
put forward, or an approach to the case and a prepara-
tion of the ground, or eke to possess some element
of ornament and dignity ; but the opening passage
put at the beginning of a case should be in due propor-
tion to the importance of the facts, just as a forecourt
or an entrance should be properly proportioned to
the mansion or temple to which it belongs ; and
consequently in petty cases and ones not attracting
much attention it is often more suitable to start
321 straight away with the actual charge ; whereas when
it is proper to employ a formal opening, as will mostly
be the case, it will be possible to draw subjects either
from one's client or from one's opponent or from the
charge or from the members of the court before
whom it is to be brought. Points drawn from one's
client — by clients I mean the persons concerned in
the matter — are considerations showing him to be a
man of high character, a gentleman, a victim of mis-
441
CICERO
quae misericordia dignum, quae valeant contra falsam
criminationem ; ex adversario eisdem ex locis fere
322 contraria ; ex re, si crudelis, si nefanda, si praeter
opinionem, si immerito, si misera, si ingrata, si in-
digna, si nova, si quae restitui sanarique non possit ;
ex eis autem apud quos agetur, ut benevolos beneque
existimantes efficiamus, quod agendo efficitur melius
quam rogando. Est id quidem in totam orationem
confundendum nec minime in extremam ; sed tamen
323 multa principia ex eo genere gignuntur. Nam et
attentum monent Graeci ut principio faciamus iu-
dicem et docilem, quae sunt utilia, sed non prin-
cipii magis propria quam reliquarum partium ;
faciliora etiam in principiis, quod et attenti tum
maxime sunt cum omnia exspectant et dociles magis
in initiis esse possunt ; illustriora enim sunt quae
in principiis quam quae in mediis causis dicuntur aut
324 arguendo aut refellendo. Maximam autem copiam
principiorum ad iudicem aut alliciendum aut inci-
tandum ex eis locis trahemus qui ad motus animorum
conficiendos inerunt in causa, quos tamen totos
explicare in principio non oportebit, sed tantum
impelli iudicem primo leviter, ut iam inclinato re-
325 liqua incumbat oratio. LXXX. Connexum autem
442
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxix. 321— Ixxx. 325
fortune deserving of compassion, and any facts that
will tell against a false charge ; from one's opponent,
more or less the contrary assertions derived from the
322 same topics ; from the matter charged, in case it
is cruel or outrageous or improbable or undeserved
or pitiable or showing ingratitude or unworthy or un-
precedented or not admitting of compensation or
remedy ; from the members of the court, considera-
tions designed to make them favourable and well-
disposed towards us, which is better achieved by
developing our case than by making a request for
goodwill. Conciliation of the audience must indeed
permeate the whole of the speech, and especially the
peroration, but nevertheless this class of considera-
tion does supply a great many modes of opening.
323 For the Greeks advise us to use the opening passage narration of
for securing the attention of the judge and making gtanoes*
him receptive, and these are valuable things, though
they do not belong more to the introduction than to
the other parts of a speech ; moreover they are easier
in the introduction, because the audience are most
attentive when they have the whole of the speech to
look forward to, and also they are more receptive at
the start, for statements made at the beginning,
whether aimed at proof or at refutation, stand out
clearer than those made in the middle of a case.
324 But we shall derive our greatest supply of openings
designed either to concihate or to stimulate the judge
from topics contained in the case that are calculated
to produce emotions, though it will not be proper to
develop these fuUy at the start, but only to give a
sHght preliminary impulsion to the judge, so that the
remainder of our speech may find him already biassed
325 in our direction. LXXX. But the opening passage
443
CICERO
ita sit principium consequenti orationi ut non tam-
quam citharoedi prooemium affictum aliquid sed co-
haerens cum omni corpore membrum esse videatur.
Nam non nulli, cum illud meditati ediderunt,
sic ad reliqua transeunt ut audientiam fieri sibi non
velle videantur. Atque eiusmodi illa prolusio debet
esse, non ut Samnitium, qui vibrant hastas ante pug-
nam quibus in pugnando nihil utuntur, sed ut ipsis
sententiis quibus proluserint vel pugnare possint.
326 Narrare vero rem quod breviter iubent, si brevitas
appellanda est cum verbum nuUum redundat, brevis
est L. Crassi oratio ; sin tum est brevitas cum
tantum verborum est quantum necesse est, aliquando
id opus est, sed saepe obest vel maxime in narrando,
non solum quod obscuritatem afFert sed etiam quod
eam virtutem quae narrationis est maxima, ut
iucunda et ad persuadendum accommodata sit, tolht.
Videant illa
nam is postquam excessit ex ephebis . . •
327 quam longa est narratio ! Mores adolescentis ipsius
et servilis percontatio, mors Chrysidis, vultus et
forma et lamentatio sororis, reliqua pervarie iucun-
deque narrantur. Quodsi hanc brevitatem quae-
sisset :
" Terence, Andria 51.
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxx. 325-327
should be so closely connected with the speech that
follows as to appear to be not an appendage, like
the prelude to a piece of music, but an integral
part of the whole structure. For some musicians
play their prelude after due practice, but pass on
to the remainder of the work in such a manner
as to seem not really to want to be listened to.
Also the preliminary passage must not be hke the
skirmishing of Samnite gladiators, who before a fight
brandish their spears which they are not going to
make any use of in the actual encounter, but must
be of such a character as to enable the combatants
to employ in the real encounter the very ideas which
they have made play with in the introduction.
326 " As for their rule that the narration of the case
must be brief, if the term brevity may be used to
denote the absence of a single word that is superfluous,
Lucius Crassus's style has brevity ; but if brevity
means employing only the absolutely essential mini-
mum of words, this is required occasionally, but often
it is actually very detrimental in stating the facts of
the case, not only because it causes obscurity but
also because it does away with a quality that is
the greatest merit in narrative, that of entertaining
and convincing. Let people consider the passage
beginning
For ever since the day he came of age . . ."
327 what a long story it is ! The young man's own
character, the slave's inquiry, the death of Chrysis,
her sister's face and figure and her mourning, and all
the rest of it — all agreeably narrated in every variety
of style ! Whereas if he had really sought for brevity
in this style :
U5
CICERO
EfFertur, imus, ad sepulcrum venimus,
In ignem imposita est,
fere^ decem versiculis totum conficere potuisset;
quamquam hoc ipsum ' efFertur, imus ' concisum est
ita ut non brevitati servitum sit sed magis venustati.
328 Quodsi nihil fuisset nisi * in ignem imposita est,'
tamen res tota cognosei facile potuisset ; sed et
festivitatem habet narratio distincta personis et
interpuncta sermonibus, et est et probabilius quod
gestum esse dicas cum quemadmodum actum sit
exponas, et multo apertius ad intellegendum est si
constituitur aliquando ac non ista brevitate percur-
329 ritur. Apertam enim narrationem tam esse oportet
quam cetera, sed hoc magis in hac elaborandum est,
quod et difficilius est non esse obsciu-um in re nar-
randa quam aut in principio aut in argumentando
aut in perorando, et maiore etiam periculo haec
pars orationis obscura est quam ceterae, vel quia,
si quo alio in loco est dictum quid obscurius, tantum
id perit quod ita dictum est, narratio obscura totam
occaecat orationem, vel quod alia possis, semel si
obscurius dixeris, dicere alio loco planius, narrationis
unus est in causa locus. Erit autem perspicua
narratio si verbis usitatis, si ordine temporum ser-
330 vato, si non interrupte narrabitur. LXXXI. Sed
quando utendum sit aut non sit narratione, id est
* fere om. codd. opt.
" Terence, Andria 117.
446
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxx. 327— Ixxxi. 330
The funeral — we start, we reach the tomb,
The corpse is placed upon the pyre — "
he could have completed the whole affair in a matter
of ten verses ! although the actual phrase ' The
funeral — we start,' though very concise, neverthe-
less achieves not brevity but rather grace of style.
328 Supposing it had merely run ' She was placed on the
p^rre,' the whole of the facts could have been easily
understood nevertheless ; but the narrative gains
Hvehness when it brings in several characters and is
broken up with speeches, and also one's statement
of what took place is both more convincing when one
explains how it was done and much clearer to under-
stand if occasionally a halt is called and the story
329 does not run right on with that curt brevity. The
narrative ought to be as clear as all the other parts of
the speech, but more pains must be taken to achieve
clarity in this part because in narrating the facts of
the case it is more difficult to avoid obscurity than in
either the introduction or the proof or the peroration,
and also obscurity is even more dangerous in this part
of a speech than in the others, either because an ob-
scure expression in any other place only causes the
point obscurely expressed to be lost, but obscurity in
the narrative blacks out the entire speech, or else
because, whereas with other points if you have ex-
pressed them rather obscurely at one time you can
express them more clearly in another place, there is
only one place in a case for the narration. But clear-
ness in the narration will be attained if it employs
ordinary language, and if it keeps to the chrono-
logical order of events and is not broken by digres-
330 sions. LXXXI. But when to use and when not to
use narrative is a matter for consideration : narra-
447
CICERO
consilii ; neque enim si nota res est nec dubium quid
gestum sit narrare oportet nec si adversarius nar-
ravit, nisi si refellemus; ac si quando erit narran-
dum, nec illa quae suspicionem et crimen efficient
contraque nos erunt acriter persequemur et quic-
quid potuerit detrahemus, ne illud quod Crassus,
si quando fiat, perfidia, non stultitia fieri putat, ut
causae noceamus accidat. Nam ad summam totius
causae pertinet, caute an contra demonstrata res
sit, quod omnis orationis reliquae fons est narratio.
331 Sequitur ut causa ponatur, in quo videndum est
quid in controversiam veniat ; tum suggerenda sunt
firmamenta causae coniuncte et infirmandis con-
trariis et tuis confirmandis. Namque una in causis
ratio quaedam est eius orationis quae ad probandam
argumentationem valet, ea autem et confirmationem
et reprehensionem quaerit ; sed quia neque repre-
hendi quae contra dicuntur possunt nisi tua con-
firmes, neque haec confirmari nisi illa reprehendas,
idcirco haec et natura et utilitate et tractatione con-
332 iuncta sunt. Omnia autem concludenda sunt ple-
rumque vel^ rebus augendis vel inflammando iudice
vel mitigando ; omniaque cum superioribus orationis
^ vel add. Reid.
448
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxi. 330-332
tive should not be employed if the facts are known
and there is no doubt what occurred, nor yet if
they have been narrated by our opponent, unless
we are going to refute his account of them ; and
on occasions when narrative is necessary we shall
not lay very great stress on points that will cause
suspicion and occasion accusation, and will tell
against us, and we shall minimize anything that
might have had this efFect, for fear lest it may result
in our injuring our own case — a thing which if it ever
does occur is in Crassus's opinion invariably due to
treachery and not to folly. For it touches the main
issue of the whole suit whether the case has been set
out with circumspection or the opposite, because the
narrative is the fountain head from which the whole
remainder of the speech flows.
331 " Next comes the statement of the case, a section in ruies for
which the precise point at issue must be envisaged ; g^^^^Moof
and then the case must be supported by proofs, ofcaseand
which is effected by conjointly demolishing your °°''° "^'°'''
opponent's arguments and establishing your own.
For in cases at law the pleading that serves to prove
the line adopted may be said to have only a single
principle, though it aims at both proof and refutation ;
but inasmuch as it is neither possible to refute state-
ments made against you unless you prove your own,
nor to prove your own statements without refuting
your opponent's, it follows that these proceedings are
connected together not only by nature but also in
respect of their value for your case and the method
332 of handling them. But all these arguments must as
a rule be rounded ofF either by enlarging on your
points or by arousing the feelings of the judge or
calming them down ; and all of them both in the
449
CICERO
locis tum maxime extremo ad mentes iudicum quam
maxime permovendas et ad utilitatem nostram vo-
candas conferenda sunt.
333 Neque sane iam causa videtur esse cur secerna-
mus ea praecepta quae de suasionibus tradenda
sunt aut laudationibus, sunt enim pleraque com-
munia ; sed tamen suadere aliquid aut dissuadere
gravissimae mihi personae videtur esse, nam et sapi-
entis est consilium explicare suum de maximis rebus
et honesti et diserti, ut mente providere, auctoritate
probare, oratione persuadere possis. LXXXII. At-
que haec in senatu minore apparatu agenda sunt ;
sapiens enim est consilium multisque aliis dicendi
relinquendus locus, vitanda etiam ingeni ostenta-
334 tionis suspicio : contio capit omnem vim orationis et
gravitatem, varietatemque desiderat. Ergo in sua-
dendo nihil est optabiHus quam dignitas ; nam qui
utilitatem petit, non quid maxime velit suasor sed
quid interdum magis sequatur videt. Nemo est
enim, praesertim in tam clara civitate, quin putet
expetendam maxime dignitatem, sed vincit utilitas
plerumque cum subest ille timor ea neglecta ne
335 dignitatem quidem posse retineri. Controversia
autem est inter hominum sententias aut in illo, utrum
sit utilius, aut etiam cum id convenit certatur
450
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxi. 332— Ixxxii. 335
earlier parts of the speech and most of all at the
end must be direeted towards influencing the minds
of the judges as much as possible and attracting them
in the direction of our advantage.
333 " Again, there seems to be no reason why we should Advisory
keep separate the rules that are to be imparted on speoches on
the subject of advisory speeches or of panegyrics, as atrairs:
they are for the most part common to both ; but
nevertheless to give advice for or against a course of
action does seem to me to be a task for a person of
the greatest weight of character, for to expound one's
advice on matters of high importance calls for both
wisdom and ability and eloquence, to enable one to
make an intelligent forecast, give an authoritative
proof and employ persuasive eloquence. LXXXII.
And these ends can be achieved with less apparatus
in the Senate, as that is a wise deliberative body, and
one should leave room for many others to speak,
beside avoiding any suspicion of a display of talent,
334 whereas a public meeting permits of the full employ-
ment of powerful and weighty oratory, and requires
variety. Consequently in an advisory speech nothing
is more desirable than dignity ; for a man who
demands mere expediency does not see his advisers
main purpose but only his more immediate aim for
the time being. For there is nobody, especially in
a famous state like ours, who does not think that
moral worth is the highest object of ambition, but for
the most part expediency vidns the day when there
is a covert fear lest if expediency be neglected worth
335 will also have to be abandoned. But difFerences of
opinion arise either on the question which of two
alternatives is more expedient, or even supposing
there is agreement about this, it is disputed whether
4,51
CICERO
utrum honestati potius an utilitati consulendum sit ;
quae quia pugnare inter se saepe videntur, qui utili-
tatem defendet enumerabit commoda pacis, opum,
potentiae, vectigalium, praesidi militum, ceterarum
rerum quarum fructum utilitate metimur, itemque
incommoda contrariorum : qui ad dignitatem im-
pellet, maiorum exempla quae erant vel cum peri-
culo gloriosa coUiget, posteritatis immortalem me-
moriam augebit, utilitatem ex laude nasci defendet
336 semperque eam cum dignitate esse coniunctam. Sed
quid fieri possit aut non possit quidque etiam sit
necesse aut non sit in utraque re maxime est quae-
rendum ; inciditur enim omnis iam deliberatio si
intellegitur non posse fieri aut si necessitas afFertur,
et qui id docuit non videntibus aliis, is plurimum
337 vidit. Ad consilium autem de republica dandum
caput est nosse rempublicam, ad dicendum vero
probabiliter nosse mores civitatis, qui quia crebro
mutantur, genus quoque orationis est saepe mutan-
dum ; et quamquam una fere vis est eloquentiae,
tamen quia summa dignitas est populi, gravissima
causa rei publicae, maximi motus multitudinis, genus
quoque dicendi grandius quoddam et illustrius esse
adhibendum videtur ; maximaque pars orationis ad-
movenda est ad animorum motus non numquam aut
* Aristotle, Rhet. I. iv. 2.
452
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxii. 335-337
the chief consideration should be integrity or expedi-
ency ; and as these two considerations often seem to
conflict, the champion of expediency will reel ofF a
list of the advantages of peace and wealth and power
and revenue and mihtary strength and all the other
things whose value we measure by expediency, and
also the disadvantages of their opposites, whereas
one who urges us on the path of moral worth will
collect examples of our ancestors' achievements that
were glorious even though involving danger, and will
magnify the value of an undying memory with pos-
terity and maintain that glory engenders advantage
336 and moral worth is invariably Hnked with it. But
in both departments it is of the greatest importance
to inquire what is possible and what is impossible
of achievement, and also what is inevitable or the
reverse ; for all debate is at once cut short by the
reahzation that a thing is impossible or if it is proved
to be inevitable, and the philosopher " who taught
this truth, which others did not discern, showed the
337 greatest insight. But the chief essential for giving
counsel on affairs of state is a knowledge of the con-
stitution of the state, whereas the thing that is essen-
tial for persuasive speaking is a knowledge of the
national character ; and as this frequently alters, it
is often necessary also to alter the style of speaking
employed ; and although the fundamental nature of
eloquence practically does not vary, nevertheless in
view of the exalted dignity of the nation, the supreme
importance of pohtics, and the violent passions of
the crowd, it would seem that an oratorical style of
more than average grandeur and brilhance is re-
quired ; and the greatest part of a speech must occa-
sionally be directed to arousing the emotions of the
453
CICERO
cohortatione aut commemoratione aliqua aut in spem
aut in metum aut ad cupiditatem aut ad gloriam
concitandos, saepe etiam a temeritate, iracundia, spe,
iniuria, invidia, crudelitate revocandos. LXXXIII.
338 Fit autem ut, quia maxima quasi oratoris scaena
videatur contionis esse, natura ipsa ad ornatius
dicendi genus excitemur ; habet enim multitudo
vim quandam talem ut, quemadmodum tibicen sine
tibiis canere, sic orator sine multitudine audiente
339 eloquens esse non possit. Et cum sint populares
multi variique lapsus, vitanda est acclamatio adversa
populi, quae aut orationis peccato aliquo excitatur si
aspere, si arroganter, si turpiter, si sordide, si quo
animi vitio dictum esse aliquid videtur, aut hominum
offensione vel invidia, quae aut iusta est aut ex
criminatione atque fama, aut res si displicet, aut si
est in aliquo motu suae cupiditatis aut metus mul-
titudo. His quattuor causis totidem medicinae op-
ponuntur : tum obiurgatio, si est auctoritas ; tum
admonitio, quasi lenior obiurgatio ; tum promissio si
audierint probaturos ; tum deprecatio, quod est
340 infirmum sed nonnunquam utile. Nullo autem loco
plus facetiae prosunt et celeritas et breve ahquod
dictum nec sine dignitate et cum lepore ; nihil
enim tam facile quam multitudo a tristitia et saepe
ab acerbitate commode et breviter et acute et hilare
dicto deducitur.
454
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxii. 337— Ixxxiii. 340
audience, by means of exhortation or of some form of
reminder, to either hope or fear or desire or ambition,
and often also to calling them back from rashness,
anger or hope and from injustice, envy or cruelty.
338 LXXXIII. But as the orator's chief stage seems the styie
to be the platform at a public meeting, it naturally for^^buc^
results that we are stimulated to employ the more speaking.
ornate kind of oratory ; for the effect produced by
numbers is of such a kind that a speaker can no
more be eloquent without a large audience than a
339 flute-player can perform without a flute. And as
there are a number of different ways of falHng foul
of the public, one must be careful not to arouse the
disapproving outcries of the people, who are aroused
either by some error in the speech, if a remark is
thought to be harsh or arrogant or base or mean or
to show some fault of character, or by personal
annoyance or disUke that is either deserved or arises
from slander and rumour, or if the subject is un-
popular, or if the pubUc is in a state of excitement
arising out of some desire or alarm that it feels.
These four causes of unpopularity can be met by
as many remedies : sometimes by reproof, if one
possesses authority, sometimes by admonition, which
may be caUed a gentle form of reproof, sometimes
by promising that if they wiU hear us out they wiU
agree with us, and sometime, by apology, which is
not a strong Une to take, but is sometimes useful.
340 And in no other place is there more to be gained by
using facetious turns and a rapid style and epigram-
matic remarks expressed in a dignified and attractive
way ; for nothing is so easy as to divert a crowd from
gloominess and often from bitter feeUng by means of
a neat and terse and pointed and amusing phrase.
455
CICERO
LXXXIV. Exposui fere ut potui vobis in utroque
genere causarum quae sequi solerem, quae fugere,
quae spectare quaque omnino in causis ratione ver-
341 sari. Nec illud tertium laudationum genus est
difficile quod ego initio quasi a praeceptis nostris
secreveram ; sed et quia multa sunt orationum
genera et graviora et maioris copiae de quibus nemo
fere praeciperet, et quod nos laudationibus non ita
multum uti soleremus, totum hunc segregabam
locum. Ipsi enim Graeci magis legendi et delecta-
tionis aut hominis alicuius ornandi quam utilitatis
huius forensis causa laudationes scriptitaverunt ;
quorum sunt libri quibus Themistocles, Aristides,
Agesilaus, Epaminondas, Philippus, Alexander ahi-
que laudantur ; nostrae laudationes quibus in foro
utimur aut testimonii brevitatem habent nudam
atque inornatam aut scribuntur ad funebrem con-
tionem, quae ad orationis laudera minime accom-
modata est. Sed tamen, quoniam est utendum
aliquando, nonnunquam etiam scribendum, velut
Q. Tuberoni Africanum avunculum laudanti scripsit
C. Laehus vel ut nosmet ipsi omandi causa Grae-
corum more si quos velimus laudare possimus, sit a
342 nobis quoque tractatus hic locus. Perspicuum est
456
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxiv. 340-842
LXXXIV. " I have practically completed giving
you an account, to the best of my ability, of the rules
that I am accustomed to follow, and the faults which
I try to avoid and the objects which I have in view in
both kinds of cases, and generally of the method that
341 I adopt in law-suits. Nor is there any difficulty about PanegTrios.
the third class, consisting of panegyrics, which I had
excluded from our set of instructions at the outset.
But there are a great many kinds of oratory that are
both more dignified and wider in scope, which virtu-
ally nobody lays down rules about, and also we
Romans do not much practise the custom of
panegyrics, so consequently I put this department
entirely on one side. For the Greeks themselves
have constantly thrown ofF masses of panegyrics,
designed more for reading and for entertainment, or
for giving a laudatory account of some person, than
for the practical purposes of public life with which
we are now concemed : there are Greek books con-
taining panegyrics of Themistocles, Aristides, Agesi-
laus, Epaminondas, Philip, Alexander and others ;
whereas our Roman commendatory speeches that we
make in the forum have either the bare and un-
adorned brevity of evidence to a person's character
or are written to be delivered as a funeral speech,
which is by no means a suitable occasion for parading
one's distinction in rhetoric. But nevertheless, as
laudatory speeches must be delivered occasionally
and sometimes even written out, either as Gaius
LaeUus wrote a panegyric for Quintus Tubero to
deliver on his uncle Africanus, or in order that we
ourselves may be able if we wish to praise certain
persons in an honorific speech in the Greek manner,
342 let us also treat of this topic. Well then, it is clear
Q 457
CICERO
igitur alia esse in homine optanda, alia laudanda ;
genus, forma, vires, opes, divitiae, cetera quae for-
tuna^ dat aut extrinsecus aut corpori, non habent in
se veram laudem, quae deberi virtuti uni putatur ;
sed tamen quod ipsa virtus in earum rerum usu ac
moderatione maxime cernitur, tractanda in lauda-
tionibus etiam haec sunt naturae et fortunae bona,
in quibus est summa laus non extulisse se in
potestate, non fuisse insolentem in pecunia, non se
praetulisse aliis propter abundantiam fortunae, ut
opes et copiae non superbiae videantur ac Ubidini
sed bonitati ac moderationi facultatem et materiam
343 dedisse. Virtus autem, quae est per se ipsa lauda-
bilis et sine qua nihil laudari potest, tamen habet
plures partes, quarum alia est alia ad laudationem
aptior. Sunt enim aliae virtutes quae videntur in
moribus hominum et quadam comitate ac beneficentia
positae, aliae quae in ingeni aUqua facultate aut
animi magnitudine ac robore ; nam clementia, ius-
titia, benignitas, fides, fortitudo in periculis com-
344 munibus iucunda est auditu in laudationibus, omnes
enim hae virtutes non tam ipsis qui eas habent quam
generi hominum fructuosae putantur : sapientia et
magnitudo animi qua omnes res humanae tenues ac
pro nihilo putantur et in excogitando vis quaedam
ingeni et ipsa eloquentia admirationis habent non
minus, iucunditatis minus ; ipsos enim magis viden-
tur quos laudamus quam illos apud quos laudamus
* Wilkint : ceteraque quae aut cetera quaeque.
458
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxiv. S42-344
that the qualities that are desirable in a person are
not the same as those that are praiseworthy : family,
good looks, bodily strength, resources, riches and
the rest of the external or personal gifts of fortune
do not in themselves contain any true ground for
praise, which is held to be due to virtue alone ; but
nevertheless, as it is in the employment and wise
management of these that virtue itself is very largely
discerned, a panegyric must also treat of these goods
of nature and of fortune in which the highest praise
is not to have been pufFed up in office or insolent
in wealth, or to have put oneself in front of others
because of fortune's bounty — so that wealth and
riches may seem to have provided opportunity and
occasion not for pride and licence but for beneficence
343 and temperance. But virtue, which is praiseworthy
in itself and is a necessary element in anything that
can be praised, nevertheless contains several divisions,
one of which is more fit to be praised than another.
For there are some virtues that are manifested as
qualities of people's behaviour and by a sort of kind-
ness and beneficence, while others consist in intel-
lectual abiUty or in highmindedness and strength of
character ; inasmuch as mercy, justice, kindness,
fidehty, courage in common dangers are acceptable
344 topics in a panegyric, since all these virtues are
thought to be beneficial not so much to their
possessors as to the human race in general, whereas
wisdom, and magnanimity that counts all human
fortunes slight and worthless, and strength and
originahty of intellect, and eloquence itself are not
less admired it is true but give less pleasure, because
they seem to grace and to safeguard the subjects of
our panegyrics themselves rather than the persons
459
CICERO
ornare ac tueri. Sed tamen in laudando iungenda
sunt etiam haec genera virtutum, ferunt enim aures
hominum cum illa quae iucunda et grata, tiun
etiam illa quae mirabilia sunt in virtute laudari.
345 LXXXV. Et quoniam singularum virtutum sunt
certa quaedam officia ac munera et sua cuique virtuti
laus propria debetur, erit explicandum in laude iusti-
tiae quid cum fide, quid cum aequabilitate, quid
cum eiusmodi aliquo officio is qui laudabitur fecerit,
itemque in ceteris res gestae ad cuiusque virtutis
346 genus et vim et nomen accommodabuntur. Gratis-
sima autem laus eorum factorum habetur quae sus-
cepta videntur a viris fortibus sine emolumento ac
praemio ; quae vero etiam cum labore ac periculo
ipsorum, haec habent uberrimam copiam ad laudan-
dum, quod et dici omatissime possunt et audiri
facillime ; ea enim denique virtus esse videtur
praestantis viri quae est fructuosa aliis, ipsi aut
laboriosa aut periculosa aut certe gratuita. Magna
etiam illa laus et admirabilis videri solet tulisse casus
sapienter adversos, non fractum esse fortuna, re-
847 tinuisse in rebus asperis dignitatem ; neque tamen
illa non ornant, habiti honores, decreta virtutis
praemia, res gestae iudiciis hominum comprobatae ;
in quibus etiam felicitatem ipsam deorum immor-
460
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxiv. 344— Ixxxv. 347
before whom they are delivered. But nevertheless
virtues of these kinds also should be introduced in
a panegyric, since an audience will accept the be-
stowal of praise on the aspects of virtue that call for
admiration as well as on those that give pleasure
and gratification,
345 LXXXV. " And since particular virtues have their
own definite duties and functions and each virtue has
an appropriate form of commendation that is due to
it, in giving praise for justice it will be necessary to
recite actions of the subject of our panegyric that
exhibited fidelity and fairness, and any right con-
duct of that nature ; and similarly under the other
heads our account of his actions will be fitted in to
each successive class and meaning and designation of
346 virtue. But the most welcome praise is that be-
stowed on deeds that appear to have been performed
by brave men without profit or reward ; while those
that also involve toil and personal danger supply
very fertile topics for panegyric, because they admit
of being narrated in a most eloquent style and of
obtaining the readiest reception from the audience ;
for it is virtue that is profitable to others, and either
toilsome or dangerous or at all events not profitable
to its possessor, that is deemed to mark a man of
outstanding merit. Also it is customarily recognized
as a great and admirable distinction to have borne
adversity wisely, not to have been crushed by mis-
fortune, and not to have lost dignity in a difficult
347 situation ; and distinction is also conferred by offices
fiUed, rewards of merit bestowed, and achievements
honoured by the judgement of mankind ; in these
matters moreover it is proper to a panegyric to
attribute what is merely good fortune to the verdict
4G1
CICERO
talium iudicio tribui laudationis est. Sumendae
autem res erunt aut magnitudine praestabiles aut
novitate primae aut genere ipso singulares ; neque
enim parvae neque usitatae neque vulgares admira-
348 tione aut omnino laude dignae videri solent. Est
etiam cum ceteris praestantibus viris comparatio in
laudatione praeclara. De quo genere libitum est
mihi paulo plura quam ostenderam dicere, non tam
propter usum forensem, qui est a me omni hoc ser-
mone tractatus, quam ut hoc videretis, si laudationes
essent in oratoris officio, quod nemo negat, oratori
virtutum omnium cognitionem sine qua laudatio
349 effici non possit esse necessariam. lam vituperandi
praecepta contrariis ex vitiis sumenda esse perspicuum
est ; simul est illud ante oculos, nec bonum virum
proprie et copiose laudari sine virtutum nec impro-
bum notari ac vituperari sine vitiorum cognitione
satis insignite atque aspere posse. Atque his locis et
laudandi et vituperandi saepe nobis est utendum in
omni genere causarum.
350 Habetis, de inveniendis rebus disponendisque quid
sentiam ; adiungam etiam de memoria, ut labore
Crassum levem neque ei quidquam ahud de quo
disserat relinquam nisi ea quibus haec exomentur.
LXXXVI. Perge vero, inquit Crassus, libenter
462
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxv. 347— Ixxxvi. 350
of divine wisdom. And one must select achieve-
ments that are of outstanding importance or unpre-
cedented or unparalleled in their actual character ;
for small achievements or those that are not unusual
or out of the ordinary are not as a rule felt to be speci-
348 ally admirable or to deserve praise at all. Moreover
a splendid hne to take in a paneygric is to compare
the subject with all other men of high distinction.
And the spirit has moved me to enlarge rather more
fuUy on this class of topic than I had promised to do,
not so much for the purpose of its employment in the
courts, which has been my subject in the whole of
this discourse, as to bring home to you the fact that
if the functions of a speaker include the delivery of
panegyrics, which nobody denies, a speaker is bound
to possess, as an indispensable means for the con-
struction of a panegyric, a knowledge of all the virtues.
349 Then, it is clear that the rules for assigning blame
have to be developed out of the vices that are the
opposites of these virtues ; at the same time it is
obvious that it is impossible either to praise a good
man appropriately and fully without a knowledge of
the virtues or to brand and blame a wicked man in a
sufficiently impressive and crushing manner without a
knowledge of the vices. And these topics of praise
and blame we shall frequently have occasion to em-
ploy in every class of law-suit.
360 " I have given you my view in regard to the dis-
covery and the arrangement of topics ; I will also add
something on the subject of memory, in order to
lighten the task of Crassus and to leave him nothing
eke to discuss except the method of elaborating
these subjects."
LXXXVI. " Oh, pray continue," said Crassus, " I
463
CICERO
enim te cognitum iam artificem aliquandoque evolu-
tum illis integumentis dissimulationis tuae nudatum-
que perspicio ; et quod mihi nihil aut quod non
multum relinquis, percommode facis, estque mihi
gratum.
351 lam istuc quantum tibi ego reliquerim, inquit
Antonius, erit in tua potestate : si enim vere me^
agere volueris, omnia tibi rehnquo ; sin dissimulare,
tu quemadmodum his satisfacias videris. Sed, ut ad
rem redeam, non sum tanto ego, inquit, ingenio
quanto Themistocles fuit, ut obUvionis artem quam
memoriae malim ; gratiamque habeo Simonidi ilU
Cio quem primum ferunt artem memoriae protulisse.
352 Dicunt enim cum cenaret Crannone in Thessaha
Simonides apud Scopam fortunatum hominem et
nobilem cecinissetque id carmen quod in eum scrip-
sisset, in quo multa ornandi causa poetarum more in
Castorem scripta et Pollucem fuissent, nimis illum
sordide Simonidi dixisse se dimidium eius ei quod
pactus esset pro illo carmine daturum : reliquum a
suis Tyndaridis quos aeque laudasset peteret si ei
353 videretur. Paulo post esse ferunt nuntiatum Simo-
nidi ut prodiret : iuvenes stare ad ianuam duos
quosdam qui eum magnopere evocarent ; surrexisse
iUum, prodisse, vidisse neminem ; hoc interim spatio
conclave iUud ubi epularetur Scopas concidisse ; ea
ruina ipsum cum cognatis oppressum suis interusse ;
* me add. Rackham.
• See § 299.
464.
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxvi. 350-353
am delighted to see you at last known as a master of
the theory, finally unmasked and stripped of the veil
of your pretended ignorance ; and it is extremely
obliging of you to leave Uttle or nothing to me, and I
am grateful for it."
351 " Oh, as for that," said Antony, " the amount I Memory;
shall have left to you will be for you to decide ; if you S^;
want complete candour, what I leave to you is the the pigeon-
whole subject, but if you want me to keep up the pre- niethod.
tence, it is for you to consider how you may satisfy
our friends here. But to return to the subject," he
continued," I am notmyself as clever asThemistocIes"
was, so as to prefer the science of forgetting to that
of remembering ; and I am grateful to the famous
Simonides of Ceos, who is said to have first invented
352 the science of mnemonics. There is a story that
Simonides was dining at the house of a wealthy noble-
man named Scopas at Crannon in Thessaly, and
chanted a lyric poem which he had composed in
honour of his host, in which he followed the custom of
the poets by including for decorative purposes a long
passage referring to Castor and PoIIux ; whereupon
Scopas with excessive meanness told him he would
pay him half the fee agreed on for the poem, and if
he liked he might apply for the balance to his sons
of Tyndaraus, as they had gone halves in the pane-
353 gyric. The story runs that a Uttle later a message
was brought to Simonides to go outside, as two young
men were standing at the door who earnestly re-
quested him to come out ; so he rose from his seat
and went out, and could not see anybody ; but in the
interval of his absence the roof of the hall where
Scopas was giving the banquet fell in, crushing Scopas
himself and his relations underneath the ruins and
465
CICERO
quos cum humare vellent sui neque possent obtritos
internoscere ullo modo, Simonides dicitur ex eo quod
meminisset quo eorum loco quisque cubuisset de-
monstrator uniuscuiusque sepeliendi fuisse ; hac tum
re admonitus invenisse fertur ordinem esse maxime
354 qui memoriae lumen afFerret. Itaque eis qui hanc
partem ingeni exercerent locos esse capiendos et ea
quae memoria tenere vellent effingenda animo atque
in eis locis collocanda : sic fore ut ordinem rerum
locorum ordo conservaret, res autem ipsas rerum
effigies notaret, atque ut locis pro cera, simulacris pro
355 litteris uteremur. LXXXVII. Qui sit autem oratori
memoriae fructus, quanta utilitas, quanta vis, quid
me attinet dicere ? tenere quae didiceris in acci-
pienda causa, quae ipse cogitaris ? omnes fixas esse
in animo sententias ? omnem descriptum verborum
apparatum ? ita audire vel eum unde discas vel eum
cui respondendum sit ut illi non infundere in aures
tuas orationem sed in animo videantur inscribere ?
Itaque soli qui memoria vigent sciunt quid et quate-
nus et quomodo dicturi sint, quid responderint, quid
supersit : eidemque multa ex aliis causis aliquando a
466
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxvi. 353— Ixxxvii. 355
killing them ; and when their friends wanted to
bury them but were altogether unable to know
them apart as they had been completely crushed,
the story goes that Simonides was enabled by his
recollection of the place in which each of them had
been reclining at table to identify them for separate
interment ; and that this circumstance suggested to
him the discovery of the truth that the best aid to
clearness of memory consists in orderly arrangement.
354 He inferred that persons desiring to train this faculty
must select localities and form mental images of the
facts they vdsh to remember and store those images
in the localities, vdth the result that the arrangement
of the localities will preserve the order of the facts,
and the images of the facts will designate the facts
themselves, and we shall employ the localities and
images respectively as a wax writing tablet and the
355 letters written on it. LXXXVII. But what business
is it of mine to specify the value to a speaker and
the usefulness and effectiveness of memory ? of re-
taining the information given you when you were
briefed and the opinions you yourself have formed ?
of having all your ideas firmly planted in your
mind and all your resources of vocabulary neatly
arranged ? of giving such close attention to the
instructions of your client and to the speech of the
opponent you have to answer that they may seem
not just to pour what they say into your ears but to
imprint it on your mind ? Consequently only people
with a powerful memory know what they are going to
say and for how long they are going to speak and in
what style, what points they have already answered
and what still remains ; and they also can remember
from other cases many arguments which they have
467
CICERO
366 se acta, multa ab aliis audita meminerunt. Quare
confiteor equidem huius boni naturam esse principem,
sicut earum rerum de quibus ante locutus sum
omnium : sed haec ars tota dicendi, sive artis imago
quaedam et similitudo est, habet hanc vim, non ut
totum ahquid cuius in ingeniis nostris pars nuUa sit
pariat et procreet, verum ut ea quae sunt orta iam in
357 nobis et procreata educet atque confirmet ; verum-
tamen neque tam acri memoria fere quisquam est ut
non dispositis notatisque rebus ordinem verborum
omnium aut sententiarum complectatur neque vero
tam hebeti ut nihil hac consuetudine et exercitatione
adiuvetur. Vidit enim hoc prudenter sive Simonides
sive ahus quis invenit, ea maxime animis effingi
nostris quae essent a sensu tradita atque impressa ;
acerrimum autem ex omnibus nostris sensibus esse
sensimi videndi ; quare faciUime animo teneri posse
ea quae perciperentur auribus aut cogitatione si
etiam commendatione oculorum animis traderentur ;
ut res caecas et ab aspectus iudicio remotas con-
formatio quaedam et imago et figura ita notaret ut
ea quae cogitando complecti vix possemus intuendo
358 quasi teneremus. His autem formis atque corpori-
bus, sicut omnibus quae sub aspectum veniunt sede^
opus est, etenim corpus intellegi sine loco non potest.
Quare (ne in re nota et pervulgata multus et insolens
* v.l. veniunt admonetur memoria nostra atque exer-
citatur sede.
* After ' view ' some inferior mss. insert ' serve to prompt
and stimulate our memory.'
468
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxvii. 355-358
previously advanced and many which they have
356 heard from other people. And consequently for
my own part I confess that the chief source of this
endowment, as of all the things I have spoken of
before, is nature ; but the efficacy of the whole
of this science, or perhaps I should say pseudo-
science, of rhetoric, is not that it wholly originates
and engenders something no part of which is already
present in our minds, but that it fosters and
strengthens things that have already sprung to birth
357 within us ; though nevertheless hardly anybody
exists who has so keen a memory that he can retain
the order of all the words or sentences without having
arranged and noted his facts, nor yet is anybody so
dull-witted that habitual practice in this will not give
him some assistance. It has been sagaciously dis-
cerned by Simonides or else discovered by some
other person, that the most complete pictures are
formed in our minds of the things that have been
cpnveyed to them and imprinted on them by the
senses, but that the keenest of all our senses is the
sense of sight, and that consequently perceptions
received by the ears or by reflexion can be most
easily retained in the mind if they are also conveyed
to our minds by the mediation of the eyes, with the
result tliat things not seen and not lying in the field
of visual discernment are earmarked by a sort of out-
Une and image and shape so that we keep hold of as
it were by an act of sight things that we can scarcely
358 embrace by an act of thought. But these forms and
bodies, Uke all the things that come under our view *»
require an abode, inasmuch as a material object
without a locality is inconceivable. Consequently (in
order that I may not be proUx and tedious on a sub-
469
CICERO
sim) locis est utendum multis, illustribus, explicatis,
modicis intervallis ; imaginibus autem agentibus,
acribus, insignitis, quae occurrere celeriterque per-
cutere animum possint ; quam facultatem et exer-
citatio dabit, ex qua consuetudo gignitur, et similium
verborum conversa et immutata casibus aut traducta
ex parte ad genus notatio et unius verbi imagine
totius sententiae informatio pictoris cuiusdam summi
ratione et modo formarum varietate locos distin-
359 guentis. LXXXVIII. Sed verborum memoria, quae
minus est nobis necessaria, maiore imaginum varie-
tate distinguitur ; multa enim sunt verba quae quasi
articuli connectunt membra orationis quae formari
similitudine nulla possunt ; eorum fingendae nobis
sunt imagines quibus semper utamur ; rerum me-
moria propria est oratoris ; eam singulis personis bene
positis notare possumus ut sententias imaginibus,
360 ordinem locis comprehendamus. Neque verum est
quod ab inertibus dicitur, opprimi memoriam imagi-
num pondere et obscurari etiam id quod per se
natura tenere potuisset ; vidi enim ego summos
homines et divina prope memoria, Athenis Char-
madam, in Asia, quem vivere hodie aiunt, Scepsium
Metrodorum, quorum uterque tanquam htteris in
cera sic se aiebat imaginibus in eis locis quos haberet
quae meminisse vellet perscribere. Quare hac
" The phrase denotes what we call ' perspective.'
* Cato's rule was Rem tene, verba sequentur.
' Prepositions and conjunctions are specially meant
470
DE ORATORE, 11. Ixxxvii. S58— Ixxxviii. 360
ject that is well known and familiar) one must employ
a large number of localities which must be clear and
defined and at moderate intervals apart, and image&.
that are effective and sharply outHned and distinctive,
with the capacity of encountering and speedily pene-
trating the mind ; the ability to use these will be
supplied by practice, which engenders habit, and by
marking off similar words with an inversion and altera-
tion of their cases or a transference from species to
genus, and by representing a whole concept by the
image of a single word, on the system and method
of a consummate painter distinguishing the positions
of objects by modifying their shapes.** LXXXVIII.
359 But a memory for words, which for us is less essential,*
is given distinctness by a greater variety of images ;
for there are many words '^ which serve as joints
connecting the Hmbs of the sentence, and these
cannot be formed by any use of simile — of these we
have to model images for constant employment ; but
a memory for things is the special property of the
orator — this we can imprint on our minds by a skilful
arrangement of the several masks that represent
them, so that we may grasp ideas by means of images
360 and their order by means of locaUties. Nor is it true,
as unscientific people assert, that memory is crushed
beneath a weight of images and even what might
have been retained by nature unassisted is obscured ;
for I have myself met eminent people with almost
superhuman powers of memory, Charmadas at Athens
and Metrodorus of Scepsis in Asia, who is said to be
still Uving, each of whom used to say that he wrote
down things he wanted to remember in certain ' locaU-
ties ' in his possession by means of images, just as if
he were inscribing letters on wax. It follows that
471
CICERO
exercitatione non eruenda memoria est si est nuUa
naturalis, sed certe si latet evocanda est.
361 Habetis sermonem bene longum hominis utinam
non impudentis ! Illud quidem certe, non nimis vere-
cundi, qui quidem cum te, Catule, tum etiam
L. Crasso audiente de dicendi ratione tam multa di-
xerim ; nam istorum aetas minus me fortasse movere
debuit. Sed mihi ignoscetis profecto, si modo quae
causa me ad hanc insolitam mihi loquacitatem im-
pulerit acceperitis.
362 LXXXIX. Nos vero, inquit Catulus, etenim pro
me hoc et pro meo fratre respondeo, non modo tibi
ignoscimus sed te dihgimus magnamque tibi habe-
mus gratiam ; et cum humanitatem et facilitatem
agnoscimus tuam, tum admiramur istam scientiam et
copiam. Equidem etiam hoc me assecutum puto,
quod magno sum levatus errore et illa admiratione
Uberatus quod multis cum ahis semper admirari
solebam unde esset illa tanta tua in causis divinitas ;
nec enim te ista attigisse arbitrabar quae diligen-
tissime cognosse et undique collegisse usuque doctum
partim correxisse video, partim comprobasse ; neque
363 eo minus eloquentiam tuam et multo magis virtutem
"8 59
472
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxviii. 360— Ixxxix. 363
this practice cannot be used to draw out the memory
If no memory has been given to us by nature, but it
can undoubtedly summon it to come forth if it is
in hiding.
361 " There is a fairly long lecture for you from a person Conciusion :
whom I hope you will not think conceited ! Though ^o^^pH-
not over-modest I am sure you must think me, for mentedand
having discoursed at such length on the theory of to^g^iwak on
rhetoric before an audience including not only you, ornaments
Catulus, but also Lucius Crassus — for no doubt I was oebate '
right in not troubling so much about hearers of the ^■'aft^**
age of our friends here. But I am sure you will for- noon.
give me if only I explain to you the motive that has
urged me on to a talkativeness for me unusual."
362 LXXXIX. " Oh, as for us," said Catulus, " inas-
much as I am making this answer for myself and for
my brother, not only do we forgive you but we hold
you in high esteem and are extremely grateful to
you ; and we recognize your courtesy and kindness,
and also are fiUed with admiration for the knowledge
and the fluency that you have displayed. For my
ovm part I feel I have scored the further advantage
that I have been cured of a great mistake and have
been set free from the wonder that I spoke of," as to
a matter that has always been a constant puzzle to
me and many others as well, — where you obtained
the mastery, amounting to genius, which you display
in law-suits ; in fact I used to imagine that you had
never embarked on the subjects that you have been
dealing with, to which I now see that you have given
the most diligent study, collecting them from all
sources and employing the teaching of experience
363 partly to correct and partly to confirm them ; nor do
I feel less admiration for your eloquence, and much
473
CICERO
et diligentiam admiror et simul gaudeo iudicium
animi mei comprobari quod semper statui neminem
sapientiae laudem et eloquentiae sine summo studio
et labore et doctrina consequi posse. Sed tamen
quidnam est quod dixisti fore ut tibi ignosceremus
si cognossemus quae te causa in sermonem impu-
lisset ? Quae est enim alia causa nisi quod nobis et
horum adolescentium studio, qui te attentissime
audierunt, morem gerere voluisti ?
364 Tum ille : Adimere, inquit, omnem recusationem
Crasso volui quem ego paulo ante sentiebam^ vel
pudentius vel invitius, nolo enim dicere de tam suavi
homine fastidiosius, ad hoc genus sermonis accedere.
Quid enim poterit dicere ? Consularem se esse
hominem et censorium ? Eadem nostra causa est.
An aetatem afferet ? Quadriennio minor est. An se
haec nescire ? Quae ego sero, quae cursim arripui,
quae subsicivis operis, ut aiunt, iste a puero, summo
studio, summis doctoribus. Nihil dicam de ingenio,
cui par nemo fuit ; etenim me dicentem qui audiret,
nemo unquam tam sui despiciens fuit quin speraret
aut mehus aut eodem modo se posse dicere : Crasso
dicente nemo tam arrogans, qui simiUter se unquam
dicturum esse confideret. Quam ob rem ne frustra
hi tales viri venerint, te aHquando, Crasse, audiamus.
^ Kayser: sciebam.
" Actually three, see p. xiii n. a; but 140 b.c. would be
spoken of as the /ouW/i year after 143.
474
DE ORATORE, II. Ixxxix. 363-364
more admiration for your energy and industry, and
at the same time I rejoice in the confirmation of my
own conviction, which I have always held, that no
one can achieve high distinction for wisdom and
eloquence without a very great amount of zeal
and industry and study. But all the same, what
exactly did you mean by saying that we should
forgive you if we knew the motive that had led you
to deliver a discourse ? What other motive can it
be except a desire to obhge us and to satisfy the
interest of these young people, who have given you
a most attentive hearing ? "
364 " Oh," he replied, " I wanted to deprive Crassus
of all excuse for crying ofF, having noticed a httle
earher that he was too modest, or too reluctant — for
in regard to such an agreeable person I will not say
too fastidious — about entering on this kind of debate.
For what will he be able to say ? That he is a person
who has held the offices of consul and of censor ? We
can make the same plea. Or will he adduce his age ?
He is four" years our junior. Or that he does not
know these subjects ? Why, I took them up late and
casually and as an occupation for odd moments, as
the phrase is, whereas our friend has studied them
from boyhood with the greatest industry and under
the best masters. I will say nothing about his ability,
which nobody has ever rivalled : in fact whereas no
one who has heard me speaking has ever held so low
an opinion of himself as not to hope he was capable of
speaking better, or at all events as well, when Crassus
speaks nobody was ever so conceited as to beheve
that he would ever speak as well. Therefore, so that
these distinguished gentlemen may not have come
here to no purpose, let us at last, Crassus, hear you."
475
CICERO
865 XC. Tum ille : Ut ita ista esse concedam, inquit,
Antoni, quae sunt longe secus, quid mihi tandem
hodie aut cuiquam homini quod dici possit reliquisti ?
Dicam enim vere, amicissimi homines, quod sentio :
saepe ego doctos homines, quid dico saepe ? immo
nonnunquam, saepe enim qui potui, qui puer in
forum venerim neque inde unquam diutius quam
quaestor abfuerim ? sed tamen audivi, ut heri dice-
bam, et Athenis cum essem doctissimos viros et in
Asia istum ipsum Scepsium Metrodorum cum de
his ipsis rebus disputaret ; neque vero mihi quisquam
copiosius unquam visus est neque subtilius in hoc
genere dicendi quam iste hodie esse versatus : quod
si esset ahter et aliquid intellegerem ab Antonio prae-
termissum, non essem tam inurbanus et paene in-
humanus ut in eo gravarer quod vos cupere sentirem.
366 Tum Sulpicius : An ergo, inquit, obUtus es, Crasse,
Antonium ita partitum esse tecum ut ipse instru-
mentum oratoris exponeret, tibi eius distinctionem
atque ornatum relinqueret ?
Hic ille : Primum quis Antonio permisit, inquit,
ut et partes faceret et utram vellet prior ipse
sumeret? Deinde, si ego recte intellexi cum valde
hbenter audirem, mihi coniuncte est visus de utraque
re dicere.
IUe vero, inquit Cotta, ornamenta orationis non
476
DE ORATORE, 11. xc. 365-366
365 XC. " Granted, Antonius," rejoined Crassus, " that
I allow something to be the case which is in reaUty
quite otherwise, what pray have you to-day left to
me, or to anybody, that can possibly be said ? For,
my very good friends, I will give you my true opinion :
I have heard learned persons often — why do I say
' often ' ? rather let me say ' occasionally,' for how
could I possibly have heard them often, having gone
to the bar as I did while a mere lad, and having never
had a longer absence from it than my period of office
as quaestor ? but be that as it may, I have, as I
was saying yesterday, heard very learned men, both
when I was at Athens, and in Asia your Metrodorus
of Scepsis himself, discussing these very subjects ;
but nevertheless I have never thought that anybody
discoursed with greater fuUness or with greater
penetration in this class of debate than our friend
here to-day ; and even if this were not the case, and
if I detected some point that Antonius had passed
over, I should not be so uncivil and I may say so
inhuman as to make a difficulty about what I feel to
be your strong desire."
366 " Have you then forgotten, Crassus," rejoined
Sulpicius, " the apportionment arranged with you by
Antonius, for him to expound the speaker's stock-in-
trade himself while he left its elaboration and embel
Ushment to you ? "
Hereupon, " In the first place," said Crassus,
" who gave Antonius leave to divide the subject up
into shares and himself to have the first choice ?
And next, if I understood him rightly, listening as I
was with great pleasure, he seemed to me to be
discussing both the two subjects conjointly."
" As a matter of fact," said Cotta, " he did not
477
CICERO
attigit neque eam laudem ex qua eloquentia nomen
suum invenit.
Verba igitur, inquit Crassus, mihi reliquit An-
tonius, rem ipse sumpsit.
367 Tum Caesar : Si quod difficilius est id tibi reliquit,
est nobis, inquit, causa cur te audire cupiamus : sin
quod facilius, tibi causa non est cur recuses.
Et Catulus : Quid quod dixisti, inquit, Crasse, si
hodie apud te maneremus te morem nobis esse
gesturum, nihilne ad fidem tuam putas pertinere ?
Tum Cotta ridens : Possem tibi, inquit, Crasse,
concedere ; sed vide ne quid Catulus attulerit re-
Ugionis : hoc opus censorium est, id autem com-
mittere vide^ quam homini censorio conveniat.
Agite vero, inquit,* ut vultis. Sed nunc quidem,
quoniam est id temporis, surgendum censeo et re-
quiescendum : post meridiem, si ita vobis est com-
modum, loquemur ahquid, nisi forte in crastinum
differre mavultis.
Omnes se vel statim vel si ipse post meridiem
mallet, quam primum tamen audire velle dixerunt.
* Reid: vides. ■ v.l. ille inquit.
478
DE ORATORE, II. xc. 366-367
touch on the embellishment of oratory, nor the
accomplishment from which eloquence has derived
its name."
" If that is so," said Crassus, " Antony left the
words to me and took the matter for himself."
367 " If he left you the harder part," interposed Caesar,
" we have good reason for wanting to hear you, and
if the part he left you is the easier one, you have no
reason for refusing."
And Catulus said, " What about your promise,
Crassus, that if we stayed on at your house to-day
you would gratify our wish ? Don't you think you
are bound in honour to do so ? "
" I might possibly give way to you, Crassus," re-
joined Cotta with a smile, " but mind we don't have
Catulus introducing a point of moral obUgation ; this
is a job for a censor's attention, but mind how it can
be proper for a former censor to commit it."
" Oh well," said Crassus, " do as you please. But
now, seeing what the time is, I move that the house
do adjourn for a rest ; and if it is agreeable to you we
will say something in the afternoon, unless perhaps
you would prefer to postpone it till to-morrow."
They all said they wanted to hear him at once, or
at all events, if he Mmself preferred the afternoon, as
early as possible.
479
APPENDIX
Book I, § 41 (p. 30). qui aut interdicto . . . temere irruisse».
In legal disputes as to possession the interdictum was a pre-
Jiminary order of the praetor intended to secure for one of
the litigants interim possession of the disputed property, so
as to make him defendant in the subsequent real action and
cast the burden of proof upon the other as plaintilF. Con-
sertio manus was the stage in the real action at which the
f)arties simulated the physical struggle of lawless times, by
aying hands together upon the property and making claim
and counterclaim to the ownership. In the case of land this
formality took place out of court.
Book I, § 42 (pp. 30-32). Agerent enim tecum lege . . . non
liceret. Legis actiones, of five types, were the remedies at
the earliest stage of developed Roman legal procedure : they
involved a rigid and elaborate ritual, in which the sHghtest
slip was fatal to the blunderer's case. Sacramentum was
one of these types, involving a pecuniary deposit by each
litigant. The winner of the action recovered his sacramen-
tum, while the loser's was forfeited to the State.
Book I, § 178 (p. 122). defendehamus . . . praestare debere.
By this time Roman Law had apparently evolved the rule
that a vendor of immovable property warrants the purchaser
against all such material defects in his title as he does not
disclose. The English rule is the same.
Book I, § 180 (p. 124). antequam in suam tutelam venisset.
A boy emerged from guardianship at the age of fourteen.
In this famous causa Guriana a testator had left his estate
to his expected posthumous child, with a gift over to Curius
in the event of such child dying under age. After all no
child was born. Was the condition of death under aee
fulfilled by the default of birth ? Crassus successfuUy
maintained the affirmative, and Curius took under the wilL
Printtd in Great Britain by R. & R. Clakk, Limitbd, Edinburgk
(848)
THE LOEB CLASSICAL
LIBRARY
VOLUMES ALREADY PUBLISHED
LATIN AUTHORS
Ammiakus Mahcellinus. J. C. Rolfe. 3 Vols.
Apuleius : The Golden Ass (Metamorphoses). W. Adling-
ton (1566). Revised by S. Gaselee.
St. Augustine : Citt of God. 7 Vols. Vol. I. G. E.
McCracken. Vol. II. W. M. Green. Vol. III. D. Wie-
sen. Vol. IV. P. Levine. Vol. V. E. M. Sanford and
W. M. Green. Vol. VI. W. C. Greene.
St. Augustine, Confessions or. W. Watts (1631). 2 Vols.
St. Augustine : Select Letters. J. H. Baxter.
AusoNius. H. G. Evelyn White. 2 Vols,
Bede. J. E. King. 2 Vols.
Boethius : Tracts and De Consolatione Philosophiae.
Rev. H. F. Stewart and E. K. Rand.
Caesab : Alexandhian, Afhican and Sfanish Wahs. A. G.
Way.
Caesah : CmL Wahs. A. G. Peskett.
Caesah : Gallic Wah. H. J. Edwards.
Cato and Varro : De Re Rustica. H. B. Ash and W. D.
Hooper.
Catullus. F. W. Cornish : Tibullus. J. B. Postgate ; and
Pehvigilium Venehis. J. W. Mackail.
Celsus : De Medicina. W. G. Spencer. 3 Vols.
CiCERo : Bhutus and Ohator. G. L. Hendrickson and
H. M. Hubbell.
CicEHO : De Finibus. H. Rackham.
CiCEHo : De Inventione, etc. H. M. Hubbell.
CiCEHo : De Natura Deohum and Academica. H. Rackham.
CicEHo : De Officiis. Walter Miller.
CicEHO : De Oratohe, etc. 2 Vols. Vol. I : De Ohatore,
Bookslandll. E. W. Sutton and H. Rackham. Vol. II :
De Oratore, Book III ; De Fato ; Paradoxa Stoi-
COHUM ; De Partitione Ohatoria. H. Rackham.
CiCERO : De Republica, De Legibus, Somnium Scipionis.
Clinton W. Keyes.
1
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
ClCERO : De SeNECTUTE, De AmICITIA, De DrVlNATIONE.
W. A. Falconer.
CiCERo : In Catilinam, Pro Muhena, Pho Sulla, Pho
Flacco. Louis E. Lord.
CicERo : Lettehs to Atticus. E. O. Winstedt. 3 Vols.
CicEHO : Lettehs to his Friends. W. Glynn Williams.
3 Vols.
CiCEHo : Philippics. W. C. A. Ker.
CiCERO : Pho Archia, Post Reditum, De Domo, De Ha-
RUSPicuM Responsis, Pho Plancio. N. H. Watts.
CicEHo : Pro Caecina, Pho Lege Manilia, Pro Cluentio,
Pho Rabihio. H. Grose Hodge.
CiCEHo : Pro Caelio, De Phovinciis Consulabibus, Pbo
Balbo. R. Gardner.
CicEHo : Pho Milone, In Pisonem, Pbo Scaubo, Pbo
Fonteio, Pro Rabihio Postumo, Pho Mahcello, Pbo
LiGAHio, Pro Rege Deiotaho. N. H. Watts.
CiCEHO : Pho Quinctio, Pro Roscio Amerino, Pro Roscio
CoMOEDo, CoNTRA RuLLUM. J. H. Freese.
CiCEHo : Pho Sestio, In VATiNimj. R. Gardner.
[CiCERo] : Rhetorica ad Hehennium. H. Caplan.
CicEHO : TuscuLAN DispuTATioNS. J. E. King.
CicEBo : Verrine Ohations. L. H. G. Greenwood. 2 Vok.
Claudian. M. Platnauer. 2 Vols.
CoLUMELLA : De Re Rustica, De Abbohibus. H. B. Ash,
E. S. Forster, E. Heifner. 3 Vols.
CuHTius, Q. : HiSTORY OF Alexandeh. J. C. Rolfe. 2
Vols,
Flohus. E. S. Forster ; and Cohnelius Nepos. J. C. Rolfe.
Fbontinus : Stratagems and Aqueducts. C. E. Bennett
and M. B. McEIwain.
Fhonto : CoRRESPONDENCE. C. R. Haines. 2 Vols.
Gellius. J. C. Rolfe. 3 Vols.
HoRACE : Odes and Epodes. C. E. Bennett.
HoBACE : Satires, Epistles, Ars Poetica. H. R. Fairclough.
Jerome : Select Lettehs. F. A. Wright.
Juvenal and Pehsius. G. G. Ramsay.
Lnry. B. O. Foster, F. G. Moore, Evan T. Sage, A. C.
Schlesinger and R. M. Geer (General Index). 14 Vols.
LucAN. J. D. DufF.
LucHETius. W. H. D. Rouse.
Martial. W. C. A. Ker. 2 Vols.
MiNOR Latin Poets : from Publilius Syhus to Rutilius
Namatianus, including Gbattius, Calpuhnius Siculus,
2
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
Nemksianus, Avianus, with " Aetna," " Phoenix " and
other poems. J. Wight Duff and Arnold M. Duff.
OviD : The Aht of Love and otheh Poems. J. H. Mozley.
OviD : Fasti. Sir James G. Frazer.
OviD : Hehoides and Amohes. Grant Showerman.
OviD : Metamorphoses. F. J. Miller. 2 Vols.
OviD : Thistia and Ex Ponto. A. L. Wheeler.
Pethonius. M. Heseltine : Seneca : Apocolocyntosis.
W. H. D. Rouse.
Phaedrus and Babhius (Greek). B. E. Perry.
Plautus. Paul Nixon. 5 Vols.
Pliny : Lettehs. Melmoth's translation revised by
W. M. L. Hutchinson. 2 Vols.
Pliny : Natuhal Histohy. 10 Vols. Vols. I-V and IX.
H. Rackham. Vols. VI-VIII. W. H. S. Jones. Vol. X.
D. E. Eichholz.
Phopehtius. H. E. Butler.
Phudentius. H. J. Thomson. 2 Vols.
QuiNTiLiAN. H. E. Butler. 4 Vols.
Remains of Old Latin. E. H. Warmington. 4 Vols.
Vol. I (Ennius and Caecilius). Vol. II (Livius, Naevius,
Pacuvius, Accius). Vol. III (Lucilius, Laws of the XII
Tables). Vol. IV (Archaic Inscriptions).
Sallust. J. C. Rolfe.
ScHiPTOHES HisTOHiAE AuGusTAE. D. Magic. 3 Vols.
Seneca : Apocolocyntosis. C/. Pethonius.
Seneca : Epistulae Mohales. R. M. Gummere. 3 Vols.
Seneca : MoHAL Essays. J. W. Basore. 3 Vols.
Seneca : Tragedies. F. J. Miller. 2 Vols.
SiDONius : PoEMs AND Letters. W. B. AndersoH. 2 Vols.
SiLius Italicus. J. D. Duff. 2 Vols.
Statius. J. H. Mozley. 2 Vols.
SuETONius. J. C. Rolfe. 2 Vols.
Tacitus ; DiALOGus. Sir Wm. Peterson ; and Aghicola
AND Germania. Maurice Hutton.
Tacitus : HiSTOHiEs AND Annals. C. H. Moore and J.
Jackson. 4 Vols.
Tehence. John Sargeaunt. 2 Vols.
Tehtullian : Apologia and De Spectaculis. T. R. Glover ;
MiNucius Felix. G. H. Rendall.
Valerius Flaccus. J. H. Mozley.
Vahho : De Lingua Latina. R. G. Kent. 2 Vols.
Velleius Patehculus and Res Gestae Divi Augosti.
F. W. Shipley.
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
ViBGii-. H, R. Fairclough. 2 Vols.
ViTHuvius : De Ahchitectuha. F. Granger. 2 Vols.
OREEK AUTHORS
AcHiLLEs Tatius. S. Gaselce.
Aelian : On the Natuhe of Animals. A. F. Scholfield.
S Vols.
Aeneas Tacticus, Asclepiodotus and Onasandeh. The
IUinois Greek Club.
Aeschines. C. D. Adams.
Aeschylus. H. Weir Smyth. 2 Vols.
Alciphron, Aelian and Fhilostratus : Letters. A. R.
Benner and F. H. Fobes.
Apollodorus. Sir James G. Frazer. 2 Vols.
Apollonius Rhodius. R. C. Seaton.
The Apostolic Fathehs. Kirsopp Lake. 2 Vols.
Appian'8 Roman History. Horace White. 4 Vols.
Ahatus. Gf. Callimachus.
Aristophanes. Benjamin Bickley Rogers. 3 Vols. Verse
trans.
Ahistotle : Aht of Rhetohic. J. H. Freese.
Ahistotle : Athenian Constitution, Eudemian Ethics,
Virtues and Vices. H. Rackham.
Aristotle : The Cateoohies. On Intehpretation. H. P.
Cooke ; Phior Analytics. H. Tredennick.
Aristotle : Generation of Animals. A. L. Peck.
Aristotle: Historia Animalium. A. L. Peck. 3 Vols. Vol. I.
Ahistotle : Metaphysics. H. Tredennick. 2 Vols.
Ahistotle : Meteohologica. H. D. P. Lee.
Ahistotle : Minor Wohks. W. S. Hett " On Colours,"
" On Things Heard," " Physiognomics," " On Plants,"
" On Marvellous Things Heard," ' Mechanical Problems,"
" On Indivisible Lines," " Situations and Names of
Winds," " On Melissus, Xenophanes, and Gorgias."
Ahistotle : Nicomachean Ethics. H. Rackham.
Ahistotle : Oeconomica and Magna Moralia. G. C.
Armstrong. (With Metaphysics, Vol. II.)
Ahistotle : On the Heavens. W. K. C. Guthrie.
Aristotle : On the Soul, Parva Natuhalia. On Bheath.
W. S. Hett
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
Ahistotle : Pahts of Animals. A. L. Peck ; Motion and
Phoghession of Animals. E. S. Forster.
Ahistotle : Physics. Rev. P. Wicksteed and F. M. Corn-
ford. 2 Vols.
Abistotle : Poetics ; Longinus on the Sublime. W.
Hamilton Fyfe ; Demethius on Style. W. Rhys Roberts.
Ahistotle : Politics. H. Rackham.
Ahistotle : Postehioh Analytics. H. Tredennick ; Topics.
E. S. Forster.
Ahistotle : Phoblems. W. S. Hett. 2 Vols.
Ahistotle : Rhetohica ad Alexandhum. H. Rackham.
(With Problems, Vol. H.)
Ahistotle : Sophistical Refutations. Comeng-to-be and
Passing-away. E. S. Forster ; On the Cosmos. D. J. Fur-
ley.
Ahhian : HiSTORY OF Alexandeb and Indica. Rev. E.
IliffeRobson. 2 Vols.
Athenaeus : Deipnosophistae. C. B. Gulick. 7 Vols.
Babhius and Phaedbus (Latin). B. E. Perry.
St. Basil : Lettebs. R. J. Deferrari. 4 Vols.
Callimachus : Fbagments. C. A. Trypanis.
Callimachus : Hymns and Epigbams, and Lycophbon.
A. W. Mair ; Abatus. G. R. Mair.
Clement of Alexandhia. Rev. G. W. Butterworth.
Colluthus. Cf. Oppian.
Daphnis and Chloe. Cf. Longus.
Demosthenes I ; Olynthiacs, Philippics and Minob
Ohations : I-XVII AND XX. J. H. Vince.
Demosthenes II : De Cobona and De Falsa Legatione,
C. A . Vince and J. H. Vince.
Demosthenes III : Meidias, Andbotion, Abistocbates,
Timocbates, Abistogeiton. J. H. Vince.
Demosthenes IV-VI : Pbivate Obations and In Neaebam.
A. T. Murray.
Demosthenes VII : Funebal Speech, Ehotic Essay,
Exohdia and Lettebs. N. W. and N. J. DeWitt.
Dio Cassius : Roman Histohy. E. Cary. 9 Vols.
Dio Chhysostom. 5 Vols. Vols. I and II. J. W. Cohoon.
Vol. III. J. W. Cohoon and H. Lamar Crosby. Vols. IV
and V. H. Lamar Crosby.
DiODOBUs SicuLus. 12 Vols. Vols. I-VI. C. H. Oldfathcr.
Vol. VII. C. L. Sherman. Vol. VIII. C. B. Welles. Vols.
IX and X. Russel M. Geer. Vols. XI and XII. F. R.
Walton. General Index. Russel M. Geer.
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
DioGENES Laehtius. R. D. Hicks. 2 Vols,
DiONYSius OF Halicarnassus : RoMAN Antiquities. Spel-
man's translation revised by E. Cary. 7 Vols.
Epictetus. W. A. Oldfather. 2 Vols.
EuRipiDES. A. S. Way. 4 Vols. Verse trans.
EusEBius : EccLESiASTiCAL HisTORY. Kirsopp Lake and
J. E. L. Oulton. 2 Vols.
Galen : On the Natuhal Faculties. A. J. Brock.
The Gheek Anthology. W. R. Paton. 5 Vols.
The Gheek Bucolic Poets (Theochitus, Bion, Moschus).
J. M. Edmonds.
Greek Elegy and Iambus with the Anacbeontea. J. M.
Edmonds. 2 Vols.
Gheek Mathematical Wohks. Ivor Thomas. 2 Vols.
Herodes. Cf. Theophhastus : Chahacters.
Herodotus. A. D. Godley. 4 Vols.
Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns. H. G. Evelyn White.
Hippochates and the Fragments of Hehacleitus. W. H. S.
Jones and E. T. Withington. 4 Vols.
Homeh : Iliad. A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.
HoMER : Odyssey. A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.
IsAEUS. E. S. Forster.
IsocRATES. George Norlin and LaRue Van Hook. 3 Vols.
St. John Damascene : Bahlaam and Ioasaph. Rev. G. R.
Woodward, Harold Mattingly and D. M. Lang.
Josephus. 9 Vols. Vols. I-IV. H. St. J. Thackeray. Vol.
V. H. St. J. Thackeray and Ralph Marcus. Vols. VI
and VII. Ralph Marcus. Vol. VIII. Ralph Marcus and
AUen Wikgren. Vol. IX. L. H. Feldman.
JuLiAN. Wilmer Cave Wright. 3 Vols.
LoNGUs : Daphnis and Chloe. Thornley'8 translation re-
vised by J. M. Edmonds ; and Pahthenius. S. Gaselee.
LuciAN. 8 Vols. Vols. I-V. A. M. Harmon. Vol. VI. K.
Kilburn. Vols. VII and VIII. M. D. Macleod.
Lycophhon. C/. Callimachus.
Lyha Ghaeca. J. M. Edmonds. 3 Vols.
Lysias. W. R. M. Lamb.
Manetho. W. G. Waddell; Ptolemy : Tethabiblos. F. E.
Robbins.
Mabcus Auhelius. C. R. Haines.
Menandeh. F. G. AUinson.
Minoh Attic Ohatohs. 2 Vols. K. J. Maidment and
J. O. Burtt
NoMNOs : DioNYSLACA. W. H. D. Rouse. 3 Vols.
6
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
Oppian, Colluthus, Thyphiodohus. A. W. Mair.
Papyhi. Non-Litehahy Selections. A. S. Hunt and C. C.
Edgar. 2 Vols. Litehahy Selections (Poetry). D. L.
Page.
Pahthenius. Cf. LONGUS.
Pausanias : Deschiption op Gheece. W. H. S. Jones. 5
Vols. and Companion Vol. arranged by R. E. Wycherley.
Philo. 10 Vols. Vols. I-V. F. H. Colson and Rev. G. H.
Whitaker. Vols. VI-X. F. H. Colson. General Index.
Rev. J. W. Earp.
Two Supplementary Vols. Translation only from an
Armenian Text. Ralph Marcus.
Philosthatus : The Life of Apollonius or Tyana. F. C.
Conybeare. 2 Vols.
Philosthatus : Imaoines ; Callisthatus : Deschiptions.
A. Fairbanks.
PhILOSTHATUS AND EuNAPIUS : LlVES OF THE SoPHISTS.
Wilmer Cave Wright.
PiNDAH. Sir J. E. Sandys.
Plato : Chabmides, Alcibiades, Hippahchus, The Lovehs,
Theages, Minos and Epinomis. W. R. M. Lamb.
Plato : Chatylus, Pahmenides, Gheateh Hippias, Lesseh
HippiAS. H. N. Fowler.
Plato : Euthyphho, Apology, Cbito, Phaedo, Phaedhus.
H. N. Fowler.
Plato : Laches, Photaooras, Meno, Euthydemus.
W. R. M. Lamb.
Plato : Laws. Rev. R. G. Bury. 2 Vols.
Plato : Lysis, Symposium, Gohgias. W. R. M. Lamb.
Plato : Republic. Paul Shorey. 2 Vols,
Plato : Statesman, Philebus. H. N. Fowler ; Ion.
W. R. M. Lamb.
Plato : Theaetetus and Sophist. H. N. Fowler.
Plato : TiMAEus, Cbitias, Clitopho, Menexenus, Epi-
STULAE. Rev. R. G. Bury.
Plotinus. A. H. Armstrong. 6 Vols. Vols. I-II.
Plutahch : MoHALiA. 15 Vols. Vols. I-V. F. C. Babbitt.
Vol. VI. W. C. Helmbold. Vol. VII. P. H. De Lacy and
B. Einarson. Vol. IX. E. L. Minar, Jr., F. H. Sandbach,
W. C. Helmbold. Vol. X. H. N. Fowler. Vol. XI. L.
Pearson, F. H. Sandbach. Vol. XII. H. Cherniss, W. C.
Helmbold. Vol. XIV. P. H. De Lacy and B. Einarson.
Plutahch : The Pahallel Lives. B. Perrin. 11 Vols.
PoLYBnjB. W. R. Paton. 6 Vols.
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
Phocopius : Histohy of the Wahs. H. B. Dewing. 7 Vols.
Ptolemy : Tethabiblos. Cf. Manetho.
QuiNTus Smyhnaeus. A. S. Way. Verse trans.
Sextus Empihicus. Rev. R. G. Bury. 4 Vols.
SoPHocLEs. F. Storr. 2 Vols. Verse trans.
Sthabo : Geoohaphy. Horace L. Jones. 8 Vols.
Theophhastus : Chahactehs. J. M. Edmonds ; Hehodes
etc. A. D. Knox.
Theophhastus : Enquihy into Plants. Sir Arthur Hort.
2 Vols.
Thucydides. C. F. Smith. 4 Vols.
Thyphiodohus. Cf. Oppian.
Xenophon : Anabasis. C. L. Brownson.
Xenophon : Cyhopaedia. Walter Miller. 2 Vols.
Xenophon : Hellenica. C. L. Brownson. 2 Vols.
Xenophon : Memohabilia and Oeconomicus. E. C. Mar-
chant. Symposium and Apology. O. J Todd.
Xenophon : Schipta Minoha. E. C. Marchant and G. W.
Bowersock.
VOLUMES IN PREPARATION
GREEK AUTHORS
Ahistides : Ohations. C. A. Behr.
Hebodianus. C. R. Whittaker.
Libanius : Selected Wohks. A. F. Norman.
MusAEus : Heho and Leandeh. T. Gelzer and C. H.
Whitman.
Theophhastus : De Causis Plantahum. G. K. K. Link and
B. Einarson.
LATIN AUTHORS
Asconius : Commentahies on Ciceho'3 Ohations. G. W
Bowersock.
Benedict : The Rule. P. Me^rvaert
Justin-Thoous. R. Moss.
Manilius. G. P. Gould.
PuNY : Lettehs. B. Radice.
DESCRIPTIVB IROSPECTUS ON APPLICATION
LONDON CAMBRIDGE, MAS3.
WILLIAM HKINEMANN LTD HARVARD UNIV. PRKS3
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11