§1.2.9verum in studiis magis vacabit unus uni.
But, it is said, in studies one teacher will have more leisure for one student.
ante omnia nihil prohibet esse illum nescio quem unum etiam cum eo, qui in scholis eruditur.
First of all, nothing prevents that "some single teacher" from being also with him who is educated in schools.
sed etiamsi iungi utrumque non posset, lumen tamen illud conventus honestissimi tenebris ac solitudini praetulissem.
But even if both could not be joined, I would nevertheless have preferred that light of a most honorable assembly to darkness and solitude.
nam optimus quisque praeceptor frequentia gaudet ac maiore se theatro dignum putat.
For every best teacher rejoices in a crowd and thinks himself worthy of a larger theatre.
§1.2.10at fere minores ex conscientia suae infirmitatis haerere singulis et officio fungi quodam modo paedagogorum non indignantur.
But inferior teachers, for the most part, from consciousness of their own weakness, do not disdain to cling to single pupils and to perform in some way the duty of pedagogues.
§1.2.11sed praestat alicui vel gratia vel pecunia vel amicitia, ut doctissimum atque incomparabilem magistrum domi habeat: num tamen ille totum in uno diem consumpturus est? aut potest esse ulla tam perpetua discentis intentio, quae non ut visus oculorum obtutu continuo fatigetur? cum praesertim multo plus secreti temporis studia desiderent.
But suppose someone has the advantage, whether by influence, money, or friendship, of having a most learned and incomparable master at home: will that teacher, however, spend the whole day on one student? Or can there be any attention of a learner so continuous that it is not fatigued, just as the sight of the eyes is by a continuous gaze? Especially since studies require much more of private time.
§1.2.12neque enim scribenti, ediscenti, cogitanti praeceptor adsistit, quorum aliquid agentibus cuiuscunque interventus impedimento est.
For the teacher does not stand by one who is writing, learning by heart, or thinking, for anyone's intervention is a hindrance to those who are doing any of these things.
lectio quoque non omnis nec semper praeeunte vel interpretante eget.
Reading, too, not all of it, nor always, needs someone leading the reading or interpreting.
quando enim tot auctorum notitia contingeret? modicum ergo tempus est, quo in totum diem velut opus ordinetur ideoque per plures ire possunt etiam quae singuli tradenda sunt.
For otherwise, when would the knowledge of so many authors be attained? Moderate, therefore, is the time in which, as it were, the work for the whole day is laid out, and therefore even what is to be delivered to individuals can pass through several.
§1.2.13pleraque vero hanc condicionem habent, ut eadem voce ad omnes simul perferantur Taceo de partitionibus et declamationibus rhetorum quibus certe quantuscunque numerus adhibeatur, tamen unusquisque totum feret.
But most things have this condition, that they are conveyed to all at the same time by the same voice. I say nothing of the divisions and declamations of rhetoricians, in which certainly, however great a number may be present, yet each individual will receive the whole.
§1.2.14non enim vox illa praeceptoris ut cena minus pluribus sufficit, sed ut sol universis idem lucis calorisque largitur.
For that voice of the teacher does not, like a dinner, suffice less for more people, but, like the sun, bestows on all the same share of light and heat.
grammaticus quoque si de loquendi ratione disserat, si quaestiones explicet, historias exponat, poemata enarret, tot illa discent quot audient.
A grammarian also, if he should discourse on the rules of speech, if he should explain questions, expound histories, interpret poems, as many will learn those things as will hear him.
§1.2.15at enim emendationi praelectionique numerus obstat.
But, someone will say, numbers are an obstacle to correction and to preparatory reading.
sit incommodum, (nam quid fere undique placet?) mox illud comparabimus commodis.
Let it be an inconvenience—for what is there that pleases in every respect?—presently we shall compare that with the advantages.
nec ego tamen eo mitti puerum volo, ubi negligatur.
Nor do I, however, wish a boy to be sent where he may be neglected.
sed neque praeceptor bonus maiore se turba, quam ut sustinere eam possit, oneraverit; et in primis ea habenda cura est, ut is omni modo fiat nobis familiariter amicus, nec officium in docendo spectet sed adfectum.
But neither will a good teacher burden himself with a larger crowd than he can manage; and in the first place, care must be taken that he should by all means become intimately friendly to us, and look not to duty in teaching, but to affection.
§1.2.16ita nunquam erimus in turba.
Thus we shall never be in a crowd.
nec sane quisquam litteris saltem leviter imbutus eum, in quo studium ingeniumque perspexerit, non in suam quoque gloriam peculiariter fovebit.
Nor indeed will anyone, imbued even slightly with letters, fail to cherish especially, for his own glory as well, him in whom he has perceived study and talent.
et ut fugiendae sint magnae scholae (cui ne ipsi quidem rei adsentior, si ad aliquem merito concurritur), non tamen hoc eo valet, ut fugiendae sint omnino scholae.
And though large schools are to be avoided—a thing to which I do not myself assent, if people deservedly flock to someone—yet this does not go so far as to mean that schools are to be avoided altogether.
aliud est enim vitare eas, aliud eligere.
For it is one thing to avoid them, another to choose them.
§1.2.17et si refutavimus quae contra dicuntur, iam explicemus, quid ipsi sequamur.
And since we have refuted what is said against them, let us now explain what we ourselves follow.
§1.2.18ante omnia futurus orator, cui in maxima celebritate et in media rei publicae luce vivendum est, adsuescat iam a tenero non reformidare homines neque illa solitaria et velut umbratica vita pallescere.
Before all things, the future orator, who must live in the greatest publicity and in the midst of the light of public life, should accustom himself from an early age not to shrink from men, nor to grow pale in that solitary and, as it were, shadowy life.
excitanda mens et adtollenda semper est, quae in eiusmodi secretis aut languescit et quendam velut in opaco situm ducit, aut contra tumescit inani persuasione; necesse est enim nimium tribuat sibi, qui se nemini comparat.
The mind must always be stimulated and elevated, which in such privacy either languishes and contracts a kind of rust, as it were, in the shade, or, on the other hand, swells with empty self-conceit; for he who compares himself to no one must of necessity attribute too much to himself.
§1.2.19deinde cum proferenda sunt studia, caligat in sole et omnia nova offendit, ut qui solus didicerit quod inter multos faciendum est.
Then, when his studies are to be brought forth into public, he is dazed in the sun and stumbles at all new things, like one who has learned alone what must be performed among many.