§11.1.21in epistolis aliquando familiariter apud amicos, nonnunquam in dialogis aliena tamen persona verum de eloquentia sua dicit.
In his letters sometimes familiarly among his friends, and sometimes in his dialogues, though through another's character, he speaks the truth about his own eloquence.
et aperte tamen gloriari nescio an sit magis tolerabile vel ipsa vitii huius simplicitate, quam illa iactatio perversa, si abundans opibus pauperem se neget, nobilis obscurum et potens infirmum et disertus imperitum plane et infantem vocet.
And yet, I know not whether open boasting may be more tolerable, even by the very simplicity of this vice, than that perverse ostentation, if one rich in resources should deny that he is wealthy, or a nobleman call himself obscure, a powerful man weak, and an eloquent man call himself plainly unskilled and speechless.
§11.1.22ambitiosissimum gloriandi genus est etiam deridere.
The most ambitious kind of boasting is even to deride.
ab aliis ergo laudemur; nam ipsos, ut Demosthenes ait, erubescere, etiam cum ab alis laudabimur, decet.
Let us therefore be praised by others; for, as Demosthenes says, it becomes ourselves to blush, even when we are praised by others.
neque hoc dico, non aliquando de rebus a se gestis oratori esse dicendum, sicut eidem Demostheni pro Ctesiphonte; quod tamen ita emendavit, ut necessitatem id faciendi ostenderet invidiamque omnem in eum regereret, qui hoc se coegisset.
Nor do I say this, that an orator must not sometimes speak of his own achievements, as the same Demosthenes did for Ctesiphon; which, however, he so qualified as to show the necessity of doing it, and to cast all the odium back upon him who had compelled him to this.
§11.1.23et M. Tullius saepe dicit de oppressa coniuratione Catilinae; sed modo id virtuti senatus, modo providentiae deorum immortalium adsignat.
And M. Tullius often speaks of the suppression of the conspiracy of Catiline; but sometimes he attributes it to the virtue of the senate, sometimes to the providence of the immortal gods.
plerumque contra inimicos atque obtrectatores plus vindicat sibi.
For the most part, against his enemies and detractors, he claims more for himself.
erant enim illa tuenda, cum obiicerentur.
For those achievements had to be defended when they were cast as a reproach.
§11.1.24in carminibus utinam pepercisset, quae non desierunt carpere maligni:
"
cedant arma togae, concedat laurea linguae; "
et
"
O fortunatam natam me consule Romam; "
et Iovem illum, a quo in concilium deorum advocatur; et Minervam, quae artes eum edocuit; quae sibi ille secutus quaedam Graecorum exempla permiserat.
In his poetry would that he had been more sparing, which the malevolent have not ceased to carp at: cedant arma togae, concedat laurea linguae; and O fortunatam natam me consule Romam; and that Jupiter, by whom he is summoned into the council of the gods; and Minerva, who thoroughly taught him the arts; which things he, having followed certain Greek examples, had allowed to himself.
§11.1.25verum eloquentiae ut indecora iactatio, ita nonnunquam concedenda fiducia est.
But as an unbecoming boasting of eloquence is to be avoided, so sometimes confidence must be allowed.
nam quis reprehendat haec: quid putem? contemptumne me? non video nec in vita nec in gratia nec in rebus gestis nec in hac mea mediocritate ingenii, quid despicere possit Antonius? et paulo post apertius: §11.1.26an decertare mecum voluit contentione dicendi? hoc quidem est beneficium.
For who would blame these words: "What should I think? That I am despised? I see nothing, either in my life, or in my influence, or in my achievements, or in this my mediocrity of talent, which Antonius can despise." And a little after, more openly: "Or did he wish to contend with me in the rivalry of speaking? This indeed is a benefit.
quid enim plenius, quid uberius quam mihi et pro me et contra Antonium dicere? §11.1.27arrogantes et illi, qui se iudicasse de causa nec aliter adfuturos fuisse proponunt.
For what is fuller, what is richer than for me to speak both for myself and against Antonius?" Arrogant also are those who declare that they have already judged of the case, and that they would not otherwise have appeared to defend it.
nam et inviti iudices audiunt praesumentem partes suas, nec hoc oratori contingere inter aduersarios quod Pythagorae inter discipulos potest ipse dixit.
For the judges listen with reluctance to one who forestalls their own office, nor can that "he himself said it," which was valid for Pythagoras among his disciples, happen to an orator among his adversaries.
sed istud magis minusve vitiosum est pro personis dicentium.
But that practice is more or less faulty according to the persons of those who speak.
§11.1.28defenditur enim aliquatenus aetate, dignitate, auctoritate; quae tamen vix in ullo tanta fuerint, ut non hoc adfirmationis genus temperandum sit aliqua moderatione sicut omnia, in quibus patronus argumentum ex se ipso pete.
For it is defended to some extent by age, dignity, and authority; which, however, would scarcely be so great in anyone that this kind of assertion should not be tempered with some moderation, as are all things in which an advocate seeks an argument from himself.
quid fuisset tumidius, si accipiendum criminis loco negasset Cicero equitis Romani esse filium, se defendente? at ille fecit hoc etiam fauorabile coniungendo cum iudicibus dignitatem suam: equitis autem Romani esse filium, criminis loco poni ab accusatoribus, neque vobis iudicantibus oportuit neque defendentibus nobis. §11.1.29impudens, tumultuosa, iracunda actio omnibus indecora, sed ut quisque aetate, dignitate, usu praecedit, magis in ea reprehendendus.
What would have been more tumid, if Cicero, while defending, had denied that it was to be accepted as a charge that a man was the son of a Roman knight? But he made this even favorable by joining his own dignity with that of the judges: "But that to be the son of a Roman knight should be put as a charge by the accusers, was neither proper while you are judging, nor while we are defending." An impudent, turbulent, and angry delivery is unbecoming to all, but as anyone excels in age, dignity, and experience, the more he is to be blamed in it.
videas autem rixatores quosdam neque iudicum reverentia neque agendi more ac modo contineri, quo ipso mentis habitu manifestum sit, tam in suscipiendis quam in agendis causis nihil pensi habere.
But you may see certain brawlers constrained neither by respect for the judges, nor by the custom and manner of pleading; by which very habit of mind it is manifest that, both in undertaking and in pleading cases, they have no regard for decency.
§11.1.30profert enim mores plerumque oratio et animi secret detegit.
For style for the most part reveals character, and detects the secrets of the mind.
nec sine causa Graeci prodiderunt, ut vivat, quemque etiam dicere.
Nor without reason did the Greeks hand down that as a man lives, so also does he speak.
humiliora illa vitia: summissa adulatio, adfectata scurrilitas, in rebus ac verbis parum modestis ac pudicis vilis pudor, in omni negotio neglecta auctoritas; quae fere accidunt iis, qui nimium aut blandi esse aut ridiculi volunt.
Those meaner vices are: submissive flattery, affected buffoonery, a cheap shame in matters and words lacking modesty and chastity, and a neglected authority in every business; which generally happen to those who wish to be either too complimentary or too ridiculous.
§11.1.31ipsum etiam eloquentiae genus alios aliud decet.
Even the very kind of eloquence becomes different people differently.
nam neque tam plenum et erectum et audax et praecultum senibus convenerit quam pressum et mite et limatum et quale intelligi vult Cicero, cum dicit, orationem suam coepisse canescere; sicut vestibus quoque non purpura coccoque fulgentibus illa aetas satis apta sit.
For a style so full, elevated, bold, and highly adorned will not suit old men so well as one that is close, gentle, and polished, and such as Cicero wishes to be understood when he says that his own oratory had begun to grow gray; just as for that age, too, clothes not shining with purple and scarlet are sufficiently fit.