§1.2.20mitto amicitias, quae ad senectutem usque firmissime durant religiosa quadam necessitudine imbutae. neque enim est sanctius sacris iisdem quam studiis initiari.
I pass over friendships, which endure most firmly even to old age, imbued with a certain sacred bond; for it is not more sacred to be initiated into the same rites than into the same studies.
sensum ipsum, qui communis dicitur, ubi discet, cum se a congressu, qui non hominibus solum sed mutis quoque animalibus naturalis est, segregarit?
Where will he learn that very sense, which is called common, when he has segregated himself from assembly, which is natural not only to men but also to mute animals?
§1.2.21adde quod domi ea sola discere potest, quae ipsi praecipientur, in schola etiam quae aliis.
Add that at home he can learn only those things which will be prescribed to himself, but in school also what are prescribed to others.
audiet multa cotidie probari, multa corrigi; proderit alicuius obiurgata desidia, proderit laudata industria, excitabitur laude aemulatio, §1.2.22turpe ducet cedere pari, pulchrum superasse maiores.
He will hear many things approved daily, many things corrected; the rebuked laziness of one will be of benefit, the praised industry of another will be of benefit, emulation will be excited by praise, he will think it shameful to yield to an equal, beautiful to have surpassed his seniors.
accendunt omnia haec animos, et licet ipsa vitium sit ambitio, frequenter tamen causa virtutum est.
All these things inflame minds, and although ambition itself is a vice, yet it is frequently the cause of virtues.
§1.2.23non inutilem scio servatum esse a praeceptoribus meis morem, qui, cum pueros in classes distribuerant, ordinem dicendi secundum vires ingenii dabant; et ita superiore loco quisque declamabat, ut praecedere profectu videbatur.
I know that a custom was preserved by my teachers which was not useless: when they had distributed boys into classes, they gave the order of speaking according to the strength of talent; and thus each one declaimed in a higher place as he seemed to excel in progress.
§1.2.24huius rei iudicia praebebantur; ea nobis ingens palma, ducere vero classem multo pulcherrimum.
Judgments of this matter were offered; that was to us a huge palm, but to lead the class was by far the most beautiful.
nec de hoc semel decretum erat; tricesimus dies reddebat victo certaminis potestatem.
Nor was this decided once for all; the thirtieth day restored to the vanquished the power of the contest.
ita nec superior successu curam remittebat et dolor victum ad depellendam ignominiam concitabat.
Thus neither did the superior relax his care because of success, and pain stimulated the vanquished to dispel the ignominy.
§1.2.25id nobis acriores ad studia dicendi faces subdidisse quam exhortationem docentium, paedagogorum custodiam, vota parentum, quantum animi mei coniectura colligere possum, contenderim.
I would maintain, as far as I can gather by the conjecture of my mind, that this applied sharper torches to our studies of speaking than the exhortation of teachers, the custody of pedagogues, or the prayers of parents.
§1.2.26sed sicut firmiores in litteris profectus alit aemulatio, ita incipientibus atque adhuc teneris condiscipulorum quam praeceptoris iucundior hoc ipso quod facilior imitatio est.
But just as emulation nourishes firmer progress in letters, so for beginners and those still tender, the imitation of classmates is more pleasant than that of the teacher, by this very fact that it is easier.
vix enim se prima elementa ad spem tollere effingendae, quam summam putant, eloquentiae audebunt; proxima amplectentur magis, ut vites arboribus applicitae inferiores prius apprehendendo ramos in cacumina evadunt.
For those in the first elements will scarcely dare to raise themselves to the hope of expressing eloquence, which they think the highest; they will embrace rather what is nearest, just as vines applied to trees, by apprehending lower branches first, escape to the summits of the trees.
§1.2.27quod adeo verum est, ut ipsius etiam magistri, si tamen ambitiosis utilia praeferet, hoc opus sit, cum adhuc rudia tractabit ingenia, non statim onerare infirmitatem discentium, sed temperare vires suas et ad intellectum audientis descendere.
Which is so true, that it is the duty of the master himself also, if only he prefers useful things to ambitious ones, when he treats still rude minds, not immediately to burden the weakness of the learners, but to moderate his own strength and descend to the understanding of the hearer.
§1.2.28nam ut vascula oris angusti superfusam humoris copiam respuunt, sensim autem influentibus vel etiam instillatis complentur, sic animi puerorum quantum excipere possint videndum est.
For as small vessels of a narrow mouth reject a poured abundance of liquid, but are filled by what flows in gradually or is even instilled drop by drop, so we must see how much the minds of boys can receive.
nam maiora intellectu velut parum apertos ad percipiendum animos non subibunt.
For things too great for understanding will not enter minds that are, as it were, not sufficiently open to perceive them.
§1.2.29utile igitur habere, quos imitari primum, mox vincere velis.
It is useful, therefore, to have those whom you would first wish to imitate, and presently to surpass.
ita paulatim et superiorum spes erit.
Thus gradually there will be hope of even higher things.
his adiicio, praeceptores ipsos non idem mentis ac spiritus in dicendo posse concipere singulis tantum praesentibus quod illa celebritate audientium instinctos.
To these I add that teachers themselves cannot conceive the same power of mind and spirit in speaking when only single pupils are present, as when they are inspired by that large crowd of hearers.
§1.2.30maxima enim pars eloquentiae constat animo.
For the greatest part of eloquence consists in the mind.
hunc adfici, hunc concipere imagines rerum et transformari quodammodo ad naturam eorum, de quibus loquimur, necesse est.
This must be affected, this must conceive the images of things, and be transformed in a manner to the nature of those things about which we speak.
is porro, quo generosior celsiorque est, hoc maioribus velut organis commovetur; ideoque et laude crescit et impetu augetur et aliquid magnum agere gaudet.
Moreover, the mind, the more noble and lofty it is, the more it is moved by larger instruments, as it were; and therefore it both grows by praise, and is increased by impulse, and rejoices to do something great.
§1.2.31est quaedam tacita dedignatio, vim dicendi tantis comparatam laboribus ad unum auditorem demittere: pudet supra modum sermonis attolli.
There is a certain silent disdain to lower the power of speaking, acquired with such great labors, to a single hearer; one is ashamed to be elevated above the measure of common talk.
et sane concipiat quis mente vel declamantis habitum vel orantis vocem, incessum, pronuntiationem, illum denique animi et corporis motum, sudorem, ut alia praeteream, et fatigationem, audiente uno: nonne quiddam pati furori simile videatur? non esset in rebus humanis eloquentia, si tantum cum singulis loqueremur.
And indeed, let anyone conceive in mind either the posture of one declaiming, or the voice of one pleading, the gait, the pronunciation, finally that motion of mind and body, the sweat, to pass over other things, and the fatigue, with only one hearer listening: would he not seem to suffer something like madness? Eloquence would not exist in human affairs if we spoke only with individuals.