§10.3.12nec promptum est dicere, utros peccare validius putem, quibus omnia sua placent an quibus nihil.
Nor is it easy to say which of the two I think err more grievously: those whom all their own things please, or those whom nothing pleases.
accidit enim etiam ingeniosis adolescentibus frequenter, ut labore consumantur et in silentium usque descendant nimia bene dicendi cupiditate.
For it frequently happens even to talented young men that they are consumed by labor and sink even into silence from too great a desire to speak well.
qua de re memini narrasse mihi Iulium Secundum illum, aequalem meum atque a me, ut notum est, familiariter amatum, mirae facundiae virum, infinitae tamen curae, quid esset sibi a patruo suo dictum. §10.3.13is fuit Iulius Florus, in eloquentia Galliarum, quoniam ibi demum exercuit eam, princeps, alioqui inter paucos disertus et dignus ilia propinquitate.
Regarding which matter, I remember that Julius Secundus, my contemporary and, as is well known, familiarly loved by me—a man of wonderful eloquence, yet of infinite care—related to me what had been said to him by his uncle. This was Julius Florus, the leader in eloquence of the Gallic provinces, since he ultimately practiced it there, otherwise eloquent among a few and worthy of that relationship.
is cum Secundum, scholae adhuc operatum, tristem forte vidisset, interrogavit, quae causa frontis tam adductae. §10.3.14nec dissimulavit adolescens, tertium iam diem esse, quod omni labore materiae ad scribendum destinatae non inveniret exordium; quo sibi non praesens tantum dolor, sed etiam desperatio in posterum fieret.
When he by chance saw Secundus, who was still devoted to the school, looking sad, he asked what was the cause of so contracted a brow. Nor did the young man conceal it, saying that it was now the third day that, despite all his labor, he could not find an introduction for the material destined for writing; by which not only present pain but also despair for the future was produced for him.
tum Florus arridens, numquid tu, inquit, melius dicere vis quam potes? §10.3.15ita se res habet.
Then Florus, smiling, said: "Do you wish to speak better than you can?" So the matter stands.
curandum est ut quam optime dicamus; dicendum tamen pro facultate.
We must take care to speak as well as possible; yet we must speak according to our capacity.
ad profectum enim opus est studio non indignatione.
For progress requires study, not indignation.
ut possimus autem scribere etiam plura et celerius, non exercitatio modo praestabit, in qua sine dubio multum est, sed etiam ratio; si non resupini spectantesque tectum et cogitationem murmure agitantes exspectaverimus quid obveniat; sed quid res poscat, quid personam deceat, quod sit tempus, qui iudicis animus intuiti, humano quodam modo ad scribendum accesserimus.
But that we may be able to write even more and more quickly, not only exercise will provide, in which there is undoubtedly much, but also method (ratio); if we do not, lying on our backs and looking at the ceiling, and stirring up thought with a murmur, wait for what may turn up; but having observed what the matter demands, what becomes the character, what the time is, what the mind of the judge is, we approach writing in a human manner.
sic nobis et initia et quae sequuntur natura ipsa praescribit. §10.3.16certa sunt enim pleraque et, nisi coniueamus, in oculos incurrunt; ideoque nec indocti nec rustici diu quaerunt, unde incipiant; quo pudendum est magis, si difficultatem facit doctrina.
Thus nature itself prescribes to us both beginnings and what follows. For most things are certain and, unless we close our eyes, run into our sight; and therefore neither the unlearned nor the rustic seek long whence they should begin; wherefore it is the more shameful if learning makes a difficulty.
non ergo semper putemus optimum esse quod latet; immutescamus alioqui, si nihil dicendum videatur, nisi quod non invenimus. §10.3.17diversum est huic eorum vitium, qui primo decurrere per materiam stilo quam velocissimo volunt et sequentes calorem atque impetum ex tempore scribunt; hanc silvam vocant.
Let us not therefore always think that what is hidden is best; otherwise let us fall silent, if nothing seems to be said except what we have not found. Different from this is the fault of those who at first wish to run through the material with the swiftest pen possible, and writing extempore, follow their heat and impulse; this they call a "forest".
repetunt deinde et componunt quae effuderant; sed verba emendantur et numeri, manet in rebus temere congestis quae fuit levitas. §10.3.18protinus ergo adhibere curam rectius erit atque ab initio sic opus ducere, ut caelandum, non ex integro fabricandum sit.
They then return to and arrange what they had poured out; but it is the words and rhythms that are corrected, while the levity that was in the carelessly heaped-up matters remains. Therefore, it will be more correct to apply care immediately and to conduct the work from the beginning in such a way that it is to be carved, not fabricated anew.
aliquando tamen adfectus sequemur, in quibus fere plus calor quam diligentia valet. satis apparet ex eo, quod hanc scribentium negligentiam damno, quid de illis dictandi deliciis sentiam.
Sometimes, however, we shall follow the emotions, in which heat generally avails more than diligence.
§10.3.19nam in stilo quidem quamlibet properato dat aliquam cogitationi moram non consequens celeritatem eius manus; ille cui dictamus urget, atque interim pudet etiam dubitare aut resistere aut mutare quasi conscium infirmitatis nostrae timentes. §10.3.20quo fit, ut non rudia tantum et fortuita, sed impropria interim, dum sola est connectendi sermonis cupiditas, effluant, quae nec scribentium curam nec dicentium impetum consequantur.
It is clear enough from this, that since I condemn this negligence of writers, what I think of those luxuries of dictating. For in writing with one's own hand (stilus), however hurried, the hand, not following the speed of thought, gives some delay to it; but he to whom we dictat presses us, and meanwhile we are ashamed even to hesitate or stop or alter, fearing him as if he were conscious of our weakness. Whence it happens that not only crude and fortuitous things, but sometimes improper ones flow out, while there is only the desire to connect language, which neither follow the care of writers nor the impulse of speakers.
at idem ille, qui excipit, si tardior in scribendo aut incertior in intellegendo velut offensator fuit, inhibetur cursus, atque omnis quae erat concepta mentis intentio mora et interdum iracundia excutitur. §10.3.21tum illa, quae altiorem animi motum sequuntur quaeque ipsa animum quodammodo concitant, quorum est iactare nanum, torquere vultum, frontem et latus interim obiurgare, quaeque Persius notat, cum leviter dicendi genus significat,
"
nec pluteum,
inquit,
caedit nec demorsos sapit unguis,
"
etiam ridicula sunt, nisi cum soli sumus. §10.3.22denique ut semel quod est potentissimum dicam, secretum in dictando perit.
But that same person who takes down the words, if he is slower in writing or more uncertain in understanding, and is as it were a stumbling block, the course is hindered, and all the intention of the mind which had been conceived is shaken out by the delay and sometimes by anger. Then those actions which follow a deeper emotion of the mind and which themselves in some way excite the mind, such as waving the hand, distorting the face, and sometimes beating the forehead and side, and those things which Persius notes when he signifies a light style of writing, "neither," says he, "does he beat the desk, nor does he taste bitten nails," are even ridiculous, except when we are alone. Finally, that I may say at once what is most powerful, privacy perishes in dictation.
atque liberum arbitris locum et quam altissimum silentium scribentibus maxime convenire nemo dubitaverit.
And that a place free from witnesses and the deepest silence are most suitable for writers, no one would doubt.
non tamen protinus audiendi, qui credunt aptissima in hoc nemora silvasque, quod illa caeli libertas locorumque amoenitas sublimem animum et beatiorem spiritum parent.
Yet we must not immediately listen to those who believe that groves and forests are most suitable for this, because that freedom of the sky and pleasantness of places prepare a sublime mind and a happier spirit.