§10.1.44ipsorum etiam qui rectum dicendi genus sequi volunt, alii pressa demum et tenuia et quae minimum ab usu cotidiano recedant, sana et vere Attica putant; quosdam elatior ingenii vis et magis concitata et plena spiritus capit; sunt etiam lenis et nitidi et compositi generis non pauci amatores.
Even among those who wish to follow the correct style of speaking, some think that only those styles which are concise, simple, and depart as little as possible from everyday usage are healthy and truly Attic; some are captivated by a loftier force of intellect, more excited and full of spirit; there are also not a few lovers of a gentle, polished, and well-ordered style.
de qua differentia disseram diligentius, cum de genere dicendi quaerendum erit.
Of this difference I shall treat more carefully when we must inquire into the styles of speaking.
interim summatim, quid et a qua lectione petere possint, qui confirmare facultatem dicendi volent, attingam.
In the meantime, I shall touch briefly upon what benefits and from what reading those who wish to strengthen their capacity for speaking can obtain them.
paucos enim qui sunt eminentissimi excerpere in animo est.
For my intention is to select only a few of the most eminent.
§10.1.45facile est autem studiosis, qui sint his simillimi, iudicare; ne quisquam queratur omissos forte quos ipse valde probet.
Moreover, it is easy for diligent students to judge who are most similar to these; let no one complain that some whom he himself highly approves of have perhaps been omitted.
fateor enim plures legendos esse quam qui a me nominabuntur.
For I confess that more authors ought to be read than those who will be named by me.
sed nunc genera ipsa lectionum, quae praecipue convenire intendentibus ut oratores fiant, existimem, persequar.
But now I shall pursue the genres of reading themselves, which I should judge to be especially suitable for those intending to become orators.
§10.1.46igitur, ut Aratus ab Iove incipiendum putat, ita nos rite coepturi ab Homero uidemur.
Therefore, just as Aratus thinks we must begin with Jupiter, so we seem rightly about to begin with Homer.
hic enim, quemadmodum ex Oceano dicit ipse omnium amnium fontiumque cursus initium capere, omnibus eloquentiae partibus exemplum et ortum dedit.
For he, just as he himself says that the course of all rivers and fountains takes its beginning from the Ocean, has given both model and origin to all parts of eloquence.
hunc nemo in magnis rebus sublimitate, in parvis proprietate superaverit.
No one could surpass him in sublimity in great matters, or in propriety in small ones.
idem laetus ac pressus, iucundus et gravis, tum copia tum brevitate mirabilis, nec poetica modo sed oratoria virtute eminentissimus.
He is at once exuberant and concise, pleasant and grave, admirable both for abundance and brevity, and most eminent not only in poetic but also in oratorical virtue.
§10.1.47nam ut de laudibus, exhortationibus, consolationibus taceam, nonne vel nonus liber, quo missa ad Achillem legatio continetur, vel in primo inter duces illa contentio vel dictae in secundo sententiae omnes litium ac consiliorum explicant artes?
For to say nothing of praises, exhortations, and consolations, does not either the ninth book, in which the embassy sent to Achilles is contained, or in the first book that dispute among the leaders, or all the opinions delivered in the second, unfold all the arts of lawsuits and deliberations?
§10.1.48adfectus quidem vel illos mites vel hos concitatos, nemo erit tam indoctus, qui non in sua potestate hunc auctorem habuisse fateatur.
As for the passions, whether those gentle ones or these excited ones, no one will be so unlearned as not to confess that this author had them under his own control.
age vero, non utriusque operis sui ingressu in paucissimis versibus legem prooemiorum non dico servavit sed constituit? nam benevolum auditorem invocatione dearum, quas praesidere vatibus creditum est, et intentum proposita rerum magnitudine et docilem summa celeriter comprehensa facit.
Come now, in the beginning of both his works, within a very few lines, did he not—I do not say observe—but actually establish the law of prooemia? For he makes the hearer well-disposed by the invocation of the goddesses who are believed to preside over poets, attentive by proposing the greatness of the subjects, and docile by rapidly presenting a summary.
§10.1.49narrare vero quis brevius quam qui mortem nuntiat Patrocli, quis significantius potest quam qui Curetum Aetolorumque proelium exponit? iam similitudines, amplificationes, exempla, digressus, signa rerum et argumenta ceteraque genera probandi ac refutandi sunt ita multa, ut etiam qui de artibus scripserunt plurimi harum rerum testimonium ab hoc poeta petant.
Indeed, who can narrate more briefly than he who announces the death of Patroclus, who more significantly than he who explains the battle of the Curetes and the Aetolians? Furthermore, the comparisons, amplifications, examples, digressions, signs of things and arguments, and all other kinds of proving and refuting are so numerous, that even most of those who have written on the arts seek testimony for these matters from this poet.
§10.1.50nam epilogus quidem quis unquam poterit illis Priami rogantis Achillem precibus aequari? quid? in verbis, sententiis, figuris, dispositione totius operis nonne humani ingenii modum excedit? ut magni sit virtutes eius non aemulatione, quod fieri non potest, sed intellectu sequi.
For what epilogue will ever be able to be equaled to those prayers of Priam begging Achilles? What? In words, thoughts, figures, and the arrangement of the whole work, does he not exceed the measure of human intellect? So that it is a mark of a great mind to follow his virtues, not by rivalry, which is impossible, but by understanding.
§10.1.51verum hic omnes sine dubio et in omni genere eloquentiae procul a se reliquit, epicos tamen praecipue, videlicet quia clarissima in materia simili comparatio est.
But he has undoubtedly left everyone far behind in every kind of eloquence, and yet epic poets especially, obviously because comparison is clearest in a similar material.
§10.1.52raro assurgit Hesiodus, magnaque pars eius in nominibus est occupata; tamen utiles circa praecepta sententiae levitasque verborum et compositionis probabilis, daturque ei palma in illo medio genere dicendi.
Hesiod rarely rises high, and a great part of his work is occupied with names; yet his maxims concerning precepts are useful, and his smoothness of words and composition is commendable, and the palm is given to him in that middle style of speaking.
§10.1.53contra in Antimacho vis et gravitas et minime vulgare eloquendi genus habet laudem.
On the contrary, in Antimachus, force, gravity, and a style of speaking by no means common receive praise.
sed quamvis ei secundas fere grammaticorum consensus deferat, et adfectibus et iucunditate et dispositione et omnino arte deficitur, ut plane manifesto appareat, quanto sit aliud proximum esse aliud secundum.
But although the consensus of grammarians yields the second place to him, he is deficient in passions, pleasantness, arrangement, and in art altogether, so that it appears quite clearly how different it is to be next and to be second.