§1.1ἅ μὲν οὖν ἀξια μνήμης τῶν περὶ Δημοσθένους καὶ Κικέρωνος ἱστορουμένων εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀφῖκται γνῶσιν, ταῦτʼ ἐστίν, ἀφεικὼς δὲ τὸ συγκρίνειν τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἕξιν αὐτῶν, ἐκεῖνό μοι δοκῶ μὴ παρήσειν ἄρρητον, ὅτι Δημοσθένην μὲν εἰς τὸ ῥητορικὸν ἐνέτεινε πᾶν ὅσον εἶχεν ἐκ φύσεως ἢ ἀσκήσεως λόγιον, ὑπερβαλλόμενος ἐνάργείᾳ μὲν καὶ δεινότητι τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγώνων καὶ τῶν δικῶν συν συνεξεταζομένους, ὄγκῳ δὲ καὶ μεγαλοπρέπείᾳ τοὺς ἐπιδεικτικούς, ἀκριβείᾳ δὲ καὶ τέχνῃ τοὺς σοφιστάς· §1.2Κικέρων δὲ καὶ πολυμαθὴς καὶ ποικίλος τῇ περὶ τοὺς λόγους σπουδῇ γενόμενος συντάξεις μὲν ἰδίας φιλοσόφους ἀπολέλοιπεν οὐκ ὀλίγας εἰς τὸν Ἀκαδημαϊκὸν τρόπον, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν πρὸς τὰς δίκας καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας γραφομένων λόγων δῆλός ἐστιν ἐμπειρίαν τινὰ γραμμάτων παρεπιδείκνυσθαι βουλόμενος. §1.3ἔστι δὲ τις καὶ τοῦ ἤθους ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἑκατέρου δίοψις.
These, then, are the things worthy of mention among those recorded about Demosthenes and Cicero that have come to our knowledge. But while leaving aside the comparison of their skill in speech, I think I shall not pass over this point in silence: namely, that Demosthenes directed towards the art of rhetoric all the eloquence he possessed by nature or by practice, surpassing in vividness and power those who competed with him in debates and lawsuits, in dignity and majesty the epideictic speakers, and in precision and art the sophists. On the other hand, Cicero, having become both highly learned and versatile in his devotion to speech, has left behind not a few of his own philosophical treatises in the Academic manner; moreover, even through the speeches written for lawsuits and debates, he is clearly desirous of displaying a certain acquaintance with literature. There is also a certain distinction to be seen in the character of each in their speeches.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ Δημοσθενικὸς ἔξω παντὸς ὠραϊσμοῦ καὶ παιδιᾶς εἰς δεινότητα καὶ σπουδὴν συνηγμένος οὐκ ἐλλυχνίων ὄδωδεν, ὥσπερ ὁ Πυθέας ἔσκωπτεν, ἀλλʼ ὐδροποσίας καὶ φροντίδων καὶ τῆς λεγομένης πικρίας τοῦ τρόπου καὶ στυγνότητος, §1.4Κικέρων δὲ πολλαχοὺ τῷ σκωπτικῷ πρὸς τὸ βωμολόχον ἐκφερόμενος καὶ πράγματα σπονδῆς ἄξια γέλωτι καὶ παίδιᾷ κατειρωνευόμενος ἐν ταῖς δίκαις εἰς τὸ χρειῶδες ἠφείδει τοῦ πρέποντος, ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ Καιλίου συνηγορίᾳ μηδὲν ἄτοπον ποιεῖν αὐτὸν ἐν τοσαύτῃ τρνφῇ καὶ πολυτελείᾳ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς χρώμενον· τὸ γὰρ ὧν ἔξεστι μὴ μετέχειν, μανικὸν εἶναι, καὶ ταῦτα ἐν ἡδονῇ τὸ εὔδαιμον τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων φιλοσόφων τιθεμένων. §1.5λέγεται δὲ Κάτωνος Ἠίουρήναν διώκοντος ὐπατεύων ἀπολογείσθαι καὶ πολλὰ διὰ τὸν Κάτωνα κωμωδεὶν τὴν Στωικὴν αἰρεσιν ἐπι ταὶς ἀτοπίαις τῶν παραδόξων λεγομένων δογμάτων γέλωτος δὲ λαμπροὺ κατιόντος ἐκ τῶν περιεστώτων προς τους δικαστάς, ἡσυχῆ διαμειδιάσας ὁ Κάτων προς τοὺς καθήμενους εἰπεὶν
ὠς γελοῖον, ὦ ἀνδρες, ἔχομεν ὕπατον.
For that of Demosthenes, stripped of all embellishment and jest, and concentrated on power and seriousness, smells not of the lamp, as Pytheas used to joke, but of water-drinking, of anxieties, and of what is called the bitterness and sullenness of his disposition. Cicero, on the other hand, was often carried away by his joking into downright buffoonery, and by treating matters worthy of serious concern with laughter and jesting in his lawsuits, he neglected decorum for the sake of utility; as in his defense of Caelius, where he argued that Caelius did nothing strange in enjoying pleasures amidst such luxury and extravagance—for, he said, not to partake of what is permitted is madness, especially when the most distinguished philosophers place happiness in pleasure. It is also said that when Cato was prosecuting Murena, Cicero, who was then consul, defended him, and on Cato's account made much fun of the Stoic sect because of the absurdity of their so-called paradoxes; and when a great laugh arose from the bystanders and reached the judges, Cato, smiling gently, said to those sitting near him: "What a ridiculous consul we have, gentlemen!" Cicero seems also to have been naturally prone to laughter and fond of jesting, and his face presented a smile and serenity; whereas on that of Demosthenes there was always a certain seriousness, and this anxious and thoughtful expression did not easily leave him.
§1.6δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ γέλωτος οἰκεῖος ὁ Κικέρων γεγονέναι καὶ φιλοσκώπτης, τό τε πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ μειδίαμα καὶ γαλήνην παρεῖχε, τῷ δὲ Δημοσθένους ἀεί τις ἐπῆν σπουδή, καὶ τὸ πεφροντικὸς τούτο καὶ σύννουν οὐ ῥᾳδίως ἀπέλειπεν ὅθεν καὶ δύσκολον αὐτὸν οἱ ἐχθροὶ καὶ δύστροπον, ὡς αὐτός φησιν, ἀπεκάλουν.
For this reason, his enemies used to call him, as he himself says, ill-tempered and difficult.