§10.1.21saepe enim praeparat, dissimulat, insidiatur orator, eaque in prima parte actionis dicit, quae sunt in summa profutura.
For the orator often prepares, dissimulates, and lays snares, and says those things in the first part of his pleading which are going to be of use in the end.
itaque suo loco minus placent, adhuc nobis quare dicta sint ignorantibus, ideoque erunt cognitis omnibus repetenda.
And so, they please less in their own place, since we are as yet ignorant of why they were said, and therefore they will have to be repeated when all has been understood.
§10.1.22illud vero utilissimum nosse eas causas, quarum orationes in manus sumpserimus et, quotiens continget, utrimque habitas legere actiones: ut Demosthenis atque Aeschinis inter se contrarias, et Servii Sulpicii atque Messalae, quorum alter pro Aufidia, contra dixit alter, et Pollionis et Cassii reo Asprenate aliasque plurimas.
But it is indeed most useful to know those causes whose speeches we have taken into our hands and, as often as opportunity permits, to read the pleadings delivered on both sides: such as the opposing speeches of Demosthenes and Aeschines, and those of Servius Sulpicius and Messala, of whom the one spoke for Aufidia and the other against her, and those of Pollio and Cassius when Asprenas was the accused, and very many others.
§10.1.23quin etiam si minus pares uidebuntur aliquae, tamen ad cognoscendam litium quaestionem recte requirentur, ut contra Ciceronis orationes Tuberonis in Ligarium et Hortensii pro Verre.
Furthermore, even if some of them seem unequal, they will still be rightly sought after for understanding the question of the lawsuits, such as, against the speeches of Cicero, that of Tubero against Ligarius and that of Hortensius for Verres.
quin etiam, easdem causas ut quisque egerit utile erit scire.
Moreover, it will be useful to know how each handled the same causes.
Nam de domo Ciceronis dixit Calidius, et pro Milone orationem Brutus exercitationis gratia scripsit, etiamsi egisse eum Cornelius Celsus falso existimat; et Pollio et Messala defenderunt eosdem, et nobis pueris insignes pro Voluseno Catulo Domitii Afri, Crispi Passieni, Decimi Laelii orationes ferebantur.
For Calidius spoke about Cicero’s house, and Brutus wrote a speech for Milo for the sake of practice, even though Cornelius Celsus falsely thinks that he delivered it; and Pollio and Messala defended the same persons, and when we were boys, the famous speeches of Domitius Afer, Crispus Passienus, and Decimus Laelius for Volusenus Catulus were in circulation.
§10.1.24neque id statim legenti persuasum sit omnia quae optimi auctores dixerint utique esse perfecta.
Nor should the reader be immediately persuaded of this: that everything which the best authors have said is by all means perfect.
nam et labuntur aliquando et oneri cedunt et indulgent ingeniorum suorum voluptati, nec semper intendunt animum; nonnunquam fatigantur, cum Ciceroni dormitare interim Demosthenes, Horatio vero etiam Homerus ipse videatur.
For they too sometimes slip, yield to their burden, and indulge in the pleasure of their own talents, nor do they always direct their mind; sometimes they are fatigued, since to Cicero Demosthenes seems at times to nod, and to Horace even Homer himself.
§10.1.25summi enim sunt, homines tamen, acciditque his qui, quidquid apud illos reppererunt, dicendi legem putant, ut deteriora imitentur, (id enim est facilius) ac se abunde similes putent, si vitia magnorum consequantur.
For they are supreme, yet they are human, and it happens to those who think that whatever they find in them is a law of speaking, that they imitate the worse features (for that is easier) and think themselves abundantly similar if they attain the faults of great men.
§10.1.26modesto tamen et circumspecto iudicio de tantis viris pronuntiandum est, ne, quod plerisque accidit, damnent quae non intelligunt.
Nevertheless, we must pass judgment on such great men with modest and circumspect discretion, lest, as happens to most, they condemn what they do not understand.
ac si necesse est in alteram errare partem: omnia eorum legentibus placere quam multa displicere maluerim.
And if it is necessary to err on one side or the other, I would prefer that everything of theirs please readers rather than that many things displease them.
§10.1.27plurimum dicit oratori conferre Theophrastus lectionem poetarum, multique eius iudicium sequuntur; neque immerito.
Theophrastus says that the reading of poets contributes very much to the orator, and many follow his judgment; and not without reason.
namque ab his in rebus spiritus et in verbis sublimitas et in adfectibus motus omnis et in personis decor petitur, praecipueque velut attrita cotidiano actu forensi ingenia optime rerum talium blanditia reparantur.
For from them is sought inspiration in subject matter, sublimity in words, every movement in feelings, and decorum in characters, and especially minds that are, as it were, worn down by daily forensic activity are best restored by the charm of such things.
ideoque in hac lectione Cicero requiescendum putat.
And therefore Cicero thinks that we should find relaxation in this reading.
§10.1.28meminerimus tamen, non per omnia poetas esse oratori sequendos nec libertate verborum nec licentia figurarum; genus ostentationi comparatum et praeter id, quod solam petit voluptatem eamque etiam fingendo non falsa modo sed etiam quaedam incredibilia sectatur, §10.1.29patrocinio quoque aliquo iuvari, quod alligata ad certam pedum necessitatem non semper uti propriis possit, sed depulsa recta via necessario ad eloquendi quaedam deverticula confugiat, nec mutare quaedam modo verba, sed extendere, corripere, convertere, dividere cogatur; nos vero armatos stare in acie et summis de rebus decernere et ad victoriam niti.
Let us remember, however, that poets are not to be followed by the orator in all things, neither in the freedom of their words nor in the license of their figures; since their genre is designed for display, and besides the fact that it seeks pleasure alone and pursues this even by inventing not only false things but also certain incredible things, it is also aided by a certain excuse, because, bound to the strict necessity of meters, it cannot always use the proper terms, but, driven from the straight path, must of necessity flee to certain bypasses of expression, and is forced not only to change certain words, but to lengthen, shorten, transpose, and divide them; whereas we stand armed in the line of battle, fight for the highest matters, and strive for victory.
§10.1.30neque ergo arma squalere situ ac rubigine velim, sed fulgorem inesse qui terreat, qualis est ferri, quo mens simul visusque praestringitur, non qualis auri argentique, imbellis et potius habenti periculosus.
Therefore, I would not wish our arms to be squalid with neglect and rust, but rather that there be in them a luster that terrifies, such as that of iron, by which the mind and the sight are simultaneously dazzled, not such as that of gold and silver, which is warlike-less and rather dangerous to the owner.
§10.1.31historia quoque alere oratorem quodam uberi iucundoque suco potest; verum et ipsa sic est legenda, ut sciamus, plerasque eius virtutes oratori esse vitandas.
History also can nourish the orator with a certain rich and pleasant sap; but it must itself be read in such a way that we know that most of its virtues are to be avoided by the orator.
est enim proxima poetis et quodammodo carmen solutum, et scribitur ad narrandum non ad probandum, totumque opus non ad actum rei pugnamque praesentem, sed ad memoriam posteritatis et ingenii famam componitur; ideoque et verbis remotioribus et liberioribus figuris narrandi taedium evitat.
For it is very close to the poets and is in a way a free-flowing poem, and is written for telling, not for proving, and the whole work is composed not for practical action and the present battle, but for the memory of posterity and the fame of talent; and therefore, it avoids the tedium of narrative with more remote words and freer figures.