§1.12.10et patientior est laboris natura pueris quam iuvenibus.
And the nature of children is more enduring of labor than that of youths.
videlicet, ut corpora infantium nec casus, quo in terram totiens deferuntur, tam graviter adfligit nec illa per manus et genua reptatio nec post breve tempus continui lusus et totius diei discursus, quia pondus illis abest nec sese ipsi gravant: sic animi quoque, credo, quia minore conatu moventur nec suo nisu studiis insistunt, sed formandos se tantummodo praestant, non similiter fatigantur.
Just as indeed the bodies of infants are not so severely afflicted by falls, by which they are so often brought down to the ground, nor by that crawling on hands and knees, nor after a short time by continuous play and running about the whole day, because they have no weight of body and do not weigh themselves down; so also minds, I believe, because they are moved with less effort and do not apply themselves to studies with their own strain, but merely present themselves to be formed, are not fatigued in the same way.
§1.12.11praeterea secundum aliam aetatis illius facilitatem velut simplicius docentes sequuntur nec quae iam egerint metiuntur.
Furthermore, in accordance with another facility of that age, they follow those who teach them as it were more simple-heartedly, and do not measure what they have already done.
abest illis adhuc etiam laboris iudicium.
They still lack even the judgment of labor.
porro, ut frequenter experti sumus, minus adficit sensus fatigatio quam cogitatio.
Moreover, as we have frequently experienced, bodily fatigue affects the senses less than mental reflection.
§1.12.12sed ne temporis quidem unquam plus erit, quia his aetatibus omnis in audiendo profectus est.
But there will never be more time either, because in these ages all progress lies in listening.
cum ad stilum secedet, cum generabit ipse aliquid atque componet, tum inchoare haec studia vel non vacabit vel non libebit.
When he retires to use the pen, when he himself generates and composes something, then there will either be no leisure or no inclination to begin these studies.
§1.12.13ergo cum grammaticus totum occupare diem non possit nec debeat, ne discentis animum taedio avertat, quibus potius studiis haec temporum velut subsiciva donabimus?
Therefore, since the grammarian cannot and ought not to occupy the whole day, lest he turn away the learner's mind by weariness, to what studies shall we rather give these as it were leftover portions of time?
§1.12.14nam nec ego consumi studentem in his artibus volo, nec moduletur aut musicis notis cantica excipiat, nec utique ad minutissima usque geometriae opera descendat, non comoedum in pronuntiando nec saltatorem in gestu facio; quae si omnia exigerem, suppeditabat tamen tempus.
For neither do I wish a student to be consumed in these arts, nor that he should modulate or write down songs with musical notes, nor by any means that he should descend to the most minute details of geometry, nor do I make him a comic actor in pronunciation nor a dancer in gesture; yet even if I did demand all these things, time would still be sufficient.
longa est enim, quae discit, aetas, et ego non de tardis ingeniis loquor.
For the age which is learning is long, and I am not speaking of dull intellects.
§1.12.15denique cur in his omnibus, quae discenda oratori futuro puto, eminuit Plato? qui non contentus disciplinis, quas praestare poterant Athenae, non Pythagoreorum, ad quos in Italiam navigaverat, Aegypti quoque sacerdotes adiit atque eorum arcana perdidicit.
Finally, why did Plato excel in all these things which I think must be learned by the future orator? He, not content with the disciplines which Athens could afford, nor with those of the Pythagoreans, to whom he had sailed in Italy, also went to the priests of Egypt and learned their secrets thoroughly.
§1.12.16difficultatis patrocinia praeteximus segnitiae.
We put forward defenses of difficulty as a pretext for laziness.
neque enim nobis operis amor est, nec, quia sit honesta ac rerum pulcherrima eloquentia, petitur ipsa, sed ad venalem usum et sordidum lucrum accingimur.
For we have no love of labor, nor is eloquence sought for itself because it is noble and the most beautiful of things, but we gird ourselves for a venal use and sordid gain.
§1.12.17dicant sine his in foro multi et adquirant, dum sit locupletior aliquis sordidae mercis negotiator et plus voci suae debeat praeco.
Let many speak in the forum without these and acquire wealth, as long as some merchant of sordid goods is richer and a public crier owes more to his voice.
nec velim quidem lectorem dari mihi quid studia referant computaturum.
Nor indeed should I wish a reader to be given to me who will calculate what studies bring in.
§1.12.18qui vero imaginem ipsam eloquentiae divina quadam mente conceperit, quique illam (ut ait non ignobilis tragicus) reginam rerum orationem ponet ante oculos, fructumque non ex stipe advocationum sed ex animo suo et contemplatione ac scientia petet perpetuum illum nec fortunae subiectum, facile persuadebit sibi, ut tempora, quae spectaculis, campo, tesseris, otiosis denique sermonibus, ne dicam somno et conviviorum mora conteruntur, geometrae potius ac musico impendat, quanto plus delectationis habiturus quam ex illis ineruditis voluptatibus.
But he who has conceived the very image of eloquence with a certain divine mind, and who will place before his eyes that queen of things, speech (as a not unknown tragic poet says), and will seek fruit not from the pittance of advocacies, but from his own mind and contemplation and knowledge, that fruit which is perpetual and not subject to fortune, will easily persuade himself to spend the times which are wasted on spectacles, the Campus, dice, and finally idle conversations, not to mention sleep and the delay of banquets, rather on the geometrician and the musician, considering how much more pleasure he is about to have than from those uncultivated delights.
§1.12.19dedit enim hoc providentia hominibus munus, ut honesta magis iuvarent.
For providence gave this gift to men, that honorable things should please more.
sed nos haec ipsa dulcedo longius duxit.
But this very sweetness has led us too far.
hactenus ergo de studiis, quibus, antequam maiora capiat, puer instituendus est; proximus liber velut novum sumet exordium et ad rhetoris officia transibit.
Let this suffice, then, concerning the studies in which a boy must be instructed before he receives greater things; the next book will take as it were a new beginning and pass to the duties of the rhetorician.