§1.11.1dandum aliquid comoedo quoque, dum eatenus, qua pronuntiandi scientiam futurus orator desiderat.
Something must be given to the comic actor also, but only so far as the future orator requires the knowledge of delivery.
non enim puerum, quem in hoc instituimus, aut femineae vocis exilitate frangi volo aut seniliter tremere.
For I do not wish the boy whom we are training for this purpose to be weakened by a feminine thinness of voice or to tremble like an old man.
§1.11.2nec vitia ebrietatis effingat neque servili vernilitate imbuatur nec amoris, avaritiae, metus discat adfectum; quae neque oratori sunt necessaria et mentem, praecipue in aetate prima teneram adhuc et rudem, inficiunt.
Nor should he mimic the vices of drunkenness or be imbued with servile scurrility, nor learn the affection of love, avarice, or fear; which things are not necessary for an orator and infect the mind, especially in early age when it is still tender and unformed.
§1.11.3nam frequens imitatio transit in mores.
For frequent imitation passes into character.
ne gestus quidem omnis ac motus a comoedis petendus est.
Not even every gesture and movement is to be sought from comic actors.
quanquam enim utrumque eorum ad quendam modum praestare debet orator, plurimum tamen aberit a scenico, nec vultu nec manu nec excursionibus nimius.
For although the orator ought to exhibit both of them to a certain degree, yet he will be very far removed from the theatrical performer, and will not be excessive in expression, hand movement, or pacing.
nam si qua in his ars est dicentium, ea prima est, ne ars esse videatur.
For if there is any art of speakers in these matters, the first art is that it should not seem to be art.
§1.11.4quod est igitur huius doctoris officium? in primis vitia si qua sunt oris emendet, ut expressa sint verba, ut suis quaeque litterae sonis enuntientur.
What then is the duty of this teacher? First of all, let him correct any defects of utterance, so that the words are distinct and each letter is pronounced with its own proper sound.
quarundam enim vel exilitate vel pinguitudine nimia laboramus, quasdam velut acriores parum efficimus et aliis non dissimilibus sed quasi hebetioribus permutamus.
For we labor under either too much thinness or too much fullness in certain letters, and we make some of them insufficiently sharp and exchange them for others which are not dissimilar but, as it were, duller.
§1.11.5quippe et Rho litterae, qua Demosthenes quoque laboravit, Labda succedit (quarum vis est apud nos quoque); et cum c ac similiter g non evaluerunt, in t ac d molliuntur.
For instance, Lambda takes the place of the letter Rho, under which Demosthenes also labored (the force of which letters exists among us also); and when 'c' and likewise 'g' are not fully sounded, they are softened into 't' and 'd'.
§1.11.6ne illas quidem circa s litteram delicias hic magister feret, nec verba in faucibus patietur audiri nec oris inanitate resonare nec, quod minime sermoni puro conveniat, simplicem vocis naturam pleniore quodam sono circumliniri, quod Graeci καταπεπλασμένον dicunt.
This master will not tolerate even those affectations regarding the letter 's', nor will he permit words to be heard in the throat or to resound in the emptiness of the mouth, nor, what would least suit pure speech, that the natural simplicity of the voice be coated over with a fuller sound, which the Greeks call "katapeplasmenon".
§1.11.7sic appellatur cantus tibiarum, quae praeclusis quibus clarescunt foraminibus, recto modo exitu graviorem spiritum reddunt.
Thus is named the playing of flutes, which, when the holes through which they sound clear are closed, return a deeper breath through the direct outlet.
§1.11.8curabit etiam, ne extremae syllabae intercidant, ut par sibi sermo sit, ut, quotiens exclamandum erit, lateris conatus sit ille non capitis, ut gestus ad vocem, vultus ad gestum accommodetur.
He will also take care that the final syllables are not lost, that the speech is even with itself, that whenever a shout is necessary, the effort comes from the side and not from the head, and that gesture is adapted to the voice and expression to the gesture.
§1.11.9observandum erit etiam, ut recta sit facies dicentis, ne labra distorqueantur, ne immodicus hiatus rictum discindat, ne supinus vultus, ne deiecti in terram oculi, ne inclinata utrolibet cervix.
It must also be observed that the speaker's face be straight, that the lips be not distorted, that an excessive opening do not tear wide the mouth, that the countenance be not upturned, nor the eyes cast down to the ground, nor the neck inclined to either side.
nam frons pluribus generibus peccat.
For the forehead offends in many ways.
§1.11.10vidi multos, quorum supercilia ad singulos vocis conatus adlevarentur, aliorum constricta, aliorum etiam dissidentia, cum alterum in verticem tenderent, altero paene oculus ipse premeretur.
I have seen many whose eyebrows were raised at every effort of the voice, of others knit together, of others even in disagreement, while they stretched one toward the crown of the head, and by the other the eye itself was almost pressed down.
§1.11.11infinitum autem, ut mox dicemus, in his quoque rebus momentum est; et nihil potest placere quod non decet.
But, as we shall say presently, there is infinite importance in these matters also; and nothing can please which is not becoming.