§1.8.1superest lectio, in qua puer ut sciat, ubi suspendere spiritum debeat, quo loco versum distinguere, ubi claudatur sensus, unde incipiat, quando attollenda vel summittenda sit vox, quo quidque flexu, quid lentius, celerius, concitatius, lenius dicendum, demonstrari nisi in opere ipso non potest.
There remains reading, in which, so that a boy may know where he ought to suspend his breath, in what place to divide a verse, where the sense is closed, where it begins, when the voice is to be raised or lowered, with what modulation each thing, what is to be said more slowly, more quickly, more excitedly, or more gently, cannot be demonstrated except in the action itself.
§1.8.2unum est igitur, quod in hac parte praecipiam: ut omnia ista facere possit, intelligat.
There is one thing, therefore, which I would prescribe in this part: that so that he may be able to do all those things, he should understand.
sit autem in primis lectio virilis et cum suavitate quadam gravis et non quidem prosae similis, quia et carmen est et se poetae canere testantur; non tamen in canticum dissoluta nec plasmate (ut nunc a plerisque fit) effeminata; de quo genere optime C. Caesarem praetextatum adhuc accepimus dixisse: si cantas, male cantas; si legis, cantas. §1.8.3nec prosopopoeias, ut quibusdam placet, ad comicum morem pronuntiari velim; esse tamen flexum quendam, quo distinguantur ab iis, in quibus poeta persona sua utetur.
Let the reading, moreover, be above all manly and grave with a certain sweetness, and indeed not like prose, because it is both a song and poets testify that they sing; yet not dissolved into a chant, nor effeminated by artificial modulation (as is now done by most); of which kind we have received that Gaius Caesar, while still a boy wearing the praetexta, said most excellently: "If you are singing, you sing badly; if you are reading, you sing." Nor would I wish that personifications, as pleases some, be pronounced in the comic manner; yet that there should be a certain modulation by which they may be distinguished from those in which the poet uses his own person.
§1.8.4cetera admonitione magna egent, in primis, ut tenerae mentes tracturaeque altius, quidquid rudibus et omnium ignaris insederit, non modo quae diserta sed vel magis quae honesta sunt, discant.
Other things stand in great need of admonition, especially that tender minds, and those which will draw more deeply whatever has settled in them while raw and ignorant of all things, should learn not only what is eloquent but even more what is honorable.
§1.8.5ideoque optime institutum est, ut ab Homero atque Vergilio lectio inciperet, quanquam ad intelligendas eorum virtutes firmiore iudicio opus est; sed huic rei superest tempus, neque enim semel legentur.
And therefore it was most excellently established that reading should begin with Homer and Virgil, although to understand their virtues there is need of a firmer judgment; but for this matter time remains, for they will not be read only once.
interim et sublimitate heroi carminis animus adsurgat et ex magnitudine rerum spiritum ducat et optimis imbuatur.
Meanwhile let the mind both rise with the sublimity of the heroic poem, and draw breath from the magnitude of things, and be imbued with the best.
§1.8.6utiles tragoediae, alunt et lyrici; si tamen in his non auctores modo sed etiam partes operis elegeris, nam et Graeci licenter multa et Horatium nolim in quibusdam interpretari.
Tragedies are useful, and lyric poets also nourish; provided that in these you choose not only authors but also parts of the work, for both the Greeks wrote many things licentiously and I would not wish Horace to be interpreted in certain parts.
elegia vero, utique quae amat, et hendecasyllabi, qui sunt commata Sotadeorum (nam de Sotadeis ne praecipiendum quidem est) amoveantur, si fieri potest, si minus, certe ad firmius aetatis robur reserventur.
But elegy, especially that which loves, and hendecasyllabics, which are fragments of Sotadean verses (for concerning Sotadeans one must not even prescribe), should be removed, if it can be done; if not, at least let them be reserved for a firmer strength of age.
§1.8.7comoediae, quae plurimum conferre ad eloquentiam potest, cum per omnes et personas et adfectus eat, quem usum in pueris putem, paulo post suo loco dicam; nam cum mores in tuto fuerint, inter praecipua legenda erit.
Of comedy, which can contribute very much to eloquence, since it runs through all characters and emotions, what use I think there is in boys, I will say a little later in its own place; for when morals are in safety, it will be among the chief things to be read.
§1.8.8de Menandro loquor, nec tamen excluserim alios.
I speak of Menander, yet I would not exclude others.
nam Latini quoque auctores adferent utilitatis aliquid.
For Latin authors also will bring something of utility.
sed pueris, quae maxime ingenium alant atque animum augeant, praelegenda; ceteris, quae ad eruditionem modo pertinent, longa aetas spatium dabit.
But to boys, those things which most nourish talent and increase the mind should be read beforehand; for the rest, which pertain only to erudition, a long life will give space.
multum autem veteres etiam Latini conferunt, (quanquam plerique plus ingenio quam arte valuerunt) in primis copiam verborum, quorum in tragoediis gravitas, in comoediis elegantia et quidam velut ἀττικισμός inveniri potest.
But the old Latin writers also contribute much (although most of them prevailed more by talent than by art), especially a wealth of words, of which gravity in tragedies, elegance in comedies, and a certain kind of atticism, as it were, can be found.
§1.8.9oeconomia quoque in iis diligentior quam in plerisque novorum erit, qui omnium operum solam virtutem sententias putaverunt.
Economy also in them will be more diligent than in most of the moderns, who have thought sentences to be the sole virtue of all works.
sanctitas certe et, ut sic dicam, virilitas ab iis petenda est, quando nos in omnia deliciarum vitia dicendi quoque ratione defluximus.
Sanctity certainly and, so to speak, manliness must be sought from them, since we have flowed down into all the vices of luxury in our manner of speaking as well.
§1.8.10denique credamus summis oratoribus, qui veterum poemata vel ad fidem causarum vel ad ornamentum eloquentiae adsumunt.
Finally, let us believe the greatest orators, who adopt the poems of the ancients either for the credibility of their causes or for the ornament of eloquence.