§10.1.109nec vero quod in quoque optimum fuit, studio consecutus est tantum; sed plurimas vel potius omnes ex se ipso virtutes extulit immortalis ingenii beatissima ubertas.
Nor indeed did he attain only by study what was best in each; but the most happy abundance of his immortal genius produced from himself most, or rather all, virtues.
non enim pluvias, ut ait Pindarus, aquas colligit, sed vivo gurgite exundat, dono quodam providentiae genitus, in quo totas vires suas eloquentia experiretur.
For he does not collect rain-water, as Pindar says, but overflows with a living spring, born as a certain gift of providence, in whom eloquence might try all its powers.
§10.1.110nam quis docere diligentius, movere vehementius potest? cui tanta unquam iucunditas adfuit? ut ipsa illa quae extorquet impetrare eum credas, et cum transversum vi sua iudicem ferat tamen ille non rapi videatur, sed sequi.
For who can teach more diligently, or move more vehemently? To whom was such great sweetness ever present? So that you would believe he obtains by entreaty those very things which he extorts, and though he carries away the judge by his force, yet the judge seems not to be swept away, but to follow.
§10.1.111iam in omnibus quae dicit tanta auctoritas inest, ut dissentire pudeat, nec advocati studium sed testis aut iudicis adferat fidem, cum interim haec omnia, quae vix singula quisquam intentissima cura consequi posset, fluunt illaborata, et illa, qua nihil pulchrius auditum est, oratio prae se fert tamen felicissimam facilitatem.
Now, in all that he says there is such great authority that one is ashamed to dissent, and he brings the credibility not of an advocate's zeal but of a witness or a judge, while in the meantime all these things, of which scarcely any single one could anyone attain with the most intense care, flow without effort, and that speech, than which nothing more beautiful has been heard, nevertheless displays a most happy facility.
§10.1.112quare non immerito ab hominibus aetatis suae regnare in iudiciis dictus est, apud posteros vero id consecutus, ut Cicero iam non hominis nomen, sed eloquentiae habeatur.
Wherefore not undeservedly was he said by the men of his own age to reign in the courts, and among posterity indeed he achieved this, that Cicero is now held to be not the name of a man, but of eloquence itself.
hunc igitur spectemus, hoc propositum nobis sit exemplum, ille se profecisse sciat, cui Cicero valde placebit.
Him therefore let us look upon, let him be set before us as our example; let him know that he has made progress, to whom Cicero shall be highly pleasing.
§10.1.113multa in Asinio Pollione inventio, summa diligentia, adeo ut quibusdam etiam nimia videatur, et consilii et animi satis; a nitore et iucunditate Ciceronis ita longe abest, ut videri possit saeculo prior.
There is much invention in Asinius Pollio, the greatest diligence, so that to some he even seems excessive, and enough of both judgment and spirit; he is so far distant from the polish and sweetness of Cicero that he might seem a generation earlier.
at Messala nitidus et candidus et quadam modo praeferens in dicendo nobilitatem suam, viribus minor.
But Messala, polished and clear and in some manner showing his nobility in speaking, is inferior in strength.
§10.1.114C. vero Caesar si foro tantum vacasset, non alius ex nostris contra Ciceronem nominaretur.
But indeed, if Gaius Caesar had devoted himself only to the forum, no other of our countrymen would be named against Cicero.
tanta in eo vis est, id acumen, ea concitatio, ut illum eodem animo dixisse, quo bellavit, appareat; exornat tamen haec omnia mira sermonis, cuius proprie studiosus fuit, elegantia.
There is such great force in him, that sharpness, that passion, so that it is apparent that he spoke with the same spirit with which he waged war; yet a wonderful elegance of language, of which he was particularly studious, adorns all these qualities.
§10.1.115multum ingenii in Caelio et praecipue in accusando multa urbanitas, dignusque vir cui et mens melior et vita longior contigisset.
There was much genius in Caelius, and especially in accusing much urbanity, and he was a man worthy to have met with both a better mind and a longer life.
inveni qui Calvum praeferrent omnibus, inveni qui Ciceroni crederent, eum nimia contra se calumnia verum sanguinem perdidisse; sed est et sancta et gravis oratio et castigata et frequenter vehemens quoque.
I have found some who preferred Calvus to all, I have found some who believed Cicero that he, by excessive criticism against himself, had lost his true blood; but his speech is both sacred and solemn, and chastened, and frequently vehement also.
imitator autem est Atticorum, fecitque illi properata mors iniuriam, si quid adiecturus fuit.
But he is an imitator of the Attics, and a premature death did him an injury, if he was going to add anything.
§10.1.116et Servius Sulpicius insignem non inmerito famam tribus orationibus meruit.
And Servius Sulpicius deservedly won distinguished fame by three speeches.
multa, si cum iudicio legatur, dabit imitatione digna Cassius Severus, qui si ceteris virtutibus colorem et gravitatem orationis adiecisset, ponendus inter praecipuos foret.
Cassius Severus will yield many things worthy of imitation, if he is read with judgment; who, if he had added color and gravity of speech to his other virtues, would have been placed among the foremost.
§10.1.117nam et ingenii plurimum est in eo et acerbitas mira, et urbanitas et fervor; sed plus stomacho quam consilio dedit.
For there is both a great deal of genius in him and a wonderful sharpness, and urbanity and fervor; but he gave more to anger than to judgment.
praeterea ut amari sales, ita frequenter amaritudo ipsa ridicule est.
Moreover, as his wit is bitter, so frequently that very bitterness is ridiculous.
§10.1.118sunt alii multi diserti,(quos persequi longum est.
There are many other eloquent men, whom it is tedious to pursue.
eorum quos uiderim Domitius Afer et Iulius Africanus longe praestantissimi.
Of those whom I have seen, Domitius Afer and Julius Africanus are by far the most outstanding.
arte ille et toto genere dicendi praeferendus et quem in numero veterum habere non timeas; hic concitatior, sed in cura verborum nimius et compositione nonnunquam longior et translationibus parum modicus.
The former is to be preferred in art and in his whole style of speaking, and you would not fear to have him in the number of the ancients; the latter is more passionate, but excessive in his care of words, and sometimes longer in composition, and too little moderate in metaphors.
erant clara et nuper ingenia.
There were also distinguished geniuses recently.
§10.1.119nam et Trachalus plerumque sublimis et satis apertus fuit et quem velle optima crederes, auditus tamen maior; nam et vocis, quantam in nullo cognovi, felicitas et pronuntiatio vel scenis suffectura et decor, omnia denique ei, quae sunt extra, superfuerunt; et Vibius Crispus compositus et iucundus et delectationi natus, privatis tamen causis quam publicis melior.
For Trachalus was for the most part sublime and sufficiently clear, and one whom you would believe to wish for the best, yet he was greater when heard; for the happiness of his voice, such as I have known in no other, and a delivery that would suffice even for the stage, and grace, in short, all external things were abundant in him; and Vibius Crispus was composed and pleasant, and born for pleasure, yet better in private cases than in public.