§10.5.1proximum est, ut dicamus, quae praecipue scribenda sint ἕξιν parantibus.
Next, we must speak of what should especially be written by those who are acquiring facility.
non est huius quidem operis, ut explicemus quae sint materiae, quae prima aut secunda aut deinceps tractanda sint (nam id factum est etiam primo libro, quo puerorum, et secundo, quo iam robustorum studiis ordinem dedimus) sed de quo nunc agitur, unde copia ac facilitas maxime veniat.
It is not indeed the task of this work to explain what materials should be treated first or second or in order (for that was already done in the first book, where we gave order to the studies of boys, and in the second, to those of the more advanced), but what is now under discussion is from where abundance and ease especially come.
§10.5.2vertere Graeca in Latinum veteres nostri oratores optimum iudicabant.
Our ancient orators judged that translating Greek into Latin was the best thing.
id se L. Crassus in illis Ciceronis de Oratore libris dicit factitasse.
Lucius Crassus says in those books of Cicero "On the Orator" that he used to do this frequently.
id Cicero sua ipse persona frequentissime praecipit, quin etiam libros Platonis atque Xenophontis edidit hoc genere translatos.
Cicero himself in his own person very often recommends this; indeed, he even published books of Plato and Xenophon translated in this manner.
id Messalae placuit, multaeque sunt ab eo scriptae ad hunc modum orationes, adeo ut etiam cum illa Hyperidis pro Phryne difficillima Romanis subtilitate contenderet.
This pleased Messala, and many speeches were written by him after this fashion, so much so that he even competed with that speech of Hyperides for Phryne, which has a subtlety very difficult for Romans.
§10.5.3et manifesta est exercitationis huiusce ratio.
And the reason for this exercise is manifest.
nam et rerum copia Graeci auctores abundant et plurimum artis in eloquentiam intulerunt, et hos transferentibus verbis uti optimis licet, omnibus enim utimur nostris.
For the Greek authors both abound in the richness of subject matter and have brought the greatest amount of art into eloquence, and those who translate them are allowed to use the best words, for we use all our own.
figuras vero, quibus maxime ornatur oratio, multas ac varias excogitandi etiam necessitas quaedam est, quia plerumque a Graecis Romana dissentiunt.
There is also a certain necessity of devising many and various figures, with which speech is especially adorned, because Roman style mostly differs from Greek.
§10.5.4sed et illa ex Latinis conversio multum et ipsa contulerit.
But even that paraphrase of Latin writings will itself also contribute much.
ac de carminibus quidem neminem credo dubitare, quo solo genere exercitationis dicitur usus esse Sulpicius.
And as for poems indeed, I believe no one doubts, which was the only kind of exercise Sulpicius is said to have used.
nam et sublimis spiritus attollere orationem potest, et verba poetica libertate audaciora non praesumunt eadem proprie dicendi facultatem.
For both a sublime spirit can elevate style, and words made bolder by poetic liberty do not forestall the power of expressing the same things in proper terms.
sed et ipsis sententiis adiicere licet oratorium robur et omissa supplere, effusa substringere.
But we may also add oratorical strength to the thoughts themselves, and supply what was omitted, and compress what was diffuse.
§10.5.5neque ego paraphrasim esse interpretationem tantum volo, sed circa eosdem sensus certamen atque aemulationem.
Nor do I wish paraphrase to be a mere translation, but a contest and rivalry around the same meanings.
ideoque ab illis dissentio, qui vertere orationes Latinas vetant, quia optimis occupatis, quidquid aliter dixerimus, necesse sit esse deterius.
And therefore I disagree with those who forbid paraphrasing Latin speeches on the ground that, since the best expressions are already occupied, whatever we say differently must necessarily be worse.
nam neque semper est desperandum, aliquid illis, quae dicta sunt, melius posse reperiri; neque adeo ieiunam ac pauperem natura eloquentiam fecit, ut una de re bene dici nisi semel non possit.
For we must not always despair that something better than what has been said can be found; nor has nature made eloquence so dry and poor that there cannot be more than one good way of speaking on a single subject.
§10.5.6nisi forte histrionum multa circa voces easdem variare gestus potest, orandi minor vis, ut dicatur aliquid, post quod in eadem materia nihil dicendum sit.
Unless perhaps, while the talent of actors can vary many gestures around the same words, the power of oratory is so much less that, when something is once said, nothing more should be said on the same subject.
sed esto neque melius quod invenimus esse neque par: §10.5.7est certe proximis locus.
But let it be that what we find is neither better nor equal: there is certainly a place for the next best.
an vero ipsi non bis ac saepius de eadem re dicimus et quidem continuas nonnunquam sententias? nisi forte contendere nobiscum possumus, cum aliis non possumus.
Or do we not ourselves speak twice and more often on the same subject, and indeed sometimes in continuous sentences? Unless perhaps we can compete with ourselves, but cannot with others.
nam si uno genere bene diceretur, fas erat existimari praeclusam nobis a prioribus viam; nunc vero innumerabiles sunt modi plurimaeque eodem viae ducunt.
For if there were only one way of speaking well, it would be right to think that the path was closed to us by our predecessors; but now indeed the ways are innumerable, and very many lead to the same destination.
§10.5.8sua brevitati gratia, sua copiae, alia translatis virtus alia propriis, hoc oratio recta illud figura declinata commendat.
Brevity has its own charm, abundance its own; metaphor has one virtue, proper terms another; straightforward speech commends this, and speech turned by figures commends that.
ipsa denique utilissima est exercitationi difficultas.
Finally, the very difficulty is most useful for exercise.
quid, quod auctores maximi sic diligentius cognoscuntur? non enim scripta lectione secura transcurrimus, sed tractamus singula et necessario introspicimus et, quantum virtutis habeant, vel hoc ipso cognoscimus, quod imitari non possumus.
What of the fact that the greatest authors are thus more diligently understood? For we do not run through their writings with careless reading, but we handle each point and necessarily look into them, and we learn how much virtue they have even by this very fact, that we cannot imitate them.
§10.5.9nec aliena tantum transferre sed etiam nostra pluribus modis tractare proderit, ut ex industria sumamus sententias quasdam easque versemus quam numerosissime, velut eadem cera aliae aliaeque formae duci solent.
And it will be useful not only to translate foreign writings but also to handle our own in several ways, so that we may deliberately take certain thoughts and turn them into as many forms as possible, just as from the same wax different shapes are accustomed to be drawn.
§10.5.10plurimum autem parari facultatis existimo ex simplicissima quaque materia.
But I think that the greatest facility is acquired from the simplest materials.
nam illa multiplici personarum, causarum, temporum, locorum, dictorum, factorum diversitate facile delitescet infirmitas, tot se undique rebus, ex quibus aliquam apprehendas, offerentibus.
For in that manifold diversity of persons, causes, times, places, sayings, and deeds, weakness will easily lie hidden, since so many things present themselves from all sides, from which you may grasp one.
§10.5.11illud virtutis indicium est fundere quae natura contracta sunt, augere parva, varietatem similibus, voluptatem expositis dare et bene dicere multa de paucis.
It is a proof of power to expand what is by nature contracted, to amplify small things, to give variety to similar things, to give pleasure to common things, and to speak well on many points from few.
in hoc optime facient infinitae quaestiones, quas vocari θέσεις diximus, quibus Cicero iam princeps in re publica exerceri solebat.
For this purpose, those indefinite questions, which we said are called theses, will do best, in which Cicero, even when already a leader in the state, used to exercise himself.
§10.5.12his confinis est destructio et confirmatio sententiarum.
Confined to these is the destruction and confirmation of sentences.
nam cum sit sententia decretum quoddam atque praeceptum, quod de re idem de iudicio rei quaeri potest.
For since a sentence is a certain decree and precept, the same question can be asked about the judgment of a thing as about the thing itself.
tum loci communes, quos etiam scriptos ab oratoribus scimus.
Then there are commonplaces, which we know were even written by orators.
nam qui haec recta tantum et in nullos flexus recedentia copiose tractaverit, utique in illis plures excursus recipientibus magis abundabit eritque in omnes causas paratus.
For he who has copiously handled these straightforward matters that do not recede into any turnings will certainly abound more in those actual causes that admit of more excursions, and will be prepared for all cases.
omnes enim generalibus quaestionibus constant.
For all cases consist of general questions.