§11.3.13sed ne vox quidem exilis actionem habere optimam potest.
But not even a slender voice can have the best delivery.
bona enim firmaque, ut volumus, uti licet; mala vel imbecilla et inhibet multa, ut insurgere et exclamare, et aliqua cogit, ut intermittere et deflectere et rasas faces ac latus fatigatum deformi cantico reficere.
For we may use a good and firm voice as we wish; a bad or weak one both prevents many things, such as rising and exclaiming, and forces some things, such as intermitting and deflecting and restoring the scraped throat and fatigued side with a deformed chant.
sed nos de eo nunc loquamur, cui non frustra praecipitur.
But let us now speak of him for whom instruction is not in vain.
§11.3.14cum sit autem omnis actio, ut dixi, in duas divisa partes, vocem gestumque, quorum alter oculos, altera aures movet, per quos duos sensus omnis ad animum penetrat adfectus, prius est de voce dicere, cui etiam gestus accommodatur.
But since all action, as I have said, is divided into two parts, voice and gesture, of which the one moves the eyes, the other the ears, through which two senses all emotion penetrates to the mind, it is prior to speak of the voice, to which also gesture is accommodated.
in ea prima observatio est, qualem habeas; secunda, quomodo utaris.
In this, the first observation is what kind of voice you have; the second, how you use it.
natura vocis spectatur quantitate et qualitate.
The nature of the voice is viewed by quantity and quality.
§11.3.15quantitas simplicior; in summa enim grandis aut exigua est, sed inter has extremitates mediae sunt species, et ab ima ad summam ac retro sunt multi gradus.
Quantity is simpler; for on the whole it is large or small, but between these extremities there are middle species, and from the lowest to the highest and back there are many degrees.
qualitas magis varia.
Quality is more various.
nam est et candida et fusca, et plena et exilis, et lenis et aspera, et contracta et fusa, et dura et flexibilis, et clara et obtusa.
For it is both clear and dusky, full and slender, smooth and rough, contracted and diffused, hard and flexible, sharp and obtuse.
spiritus etiam longior breviorque.
The breath also is longer or shorter.
§11.3.16nec causas, cur quidque eorum accidat, persequi proposito operi necessarium est: eorumne sit differentia, in quibus aura illa concipitur, an eorum, per quae velut organa meat; ipsi propria natura, an prout movetur; lateris pectorisve firmitas an capitis etiam plus adiuvet.
Nor is it necessary for the proposed work to pursue the causes why each of these occurs: whether there be a difference of those organs in which that air is conceived, or of those through which it passes as through instruments; whether it is of its own proper nature, or according as it is moved; whether the strength of the side or chest, or also of the head, assists more.
nam opus est omnibus sicut non oris modo suavitate, sed narium quoque, per quas quod superest vocis egeritur.
For there is need of all things, just as not only of the sweetness of the mouth, but also of the nostrils, through which what remains of the voice is discharged.
dulcis esse tamen debet non exprobrans sonus.
Yet the sound ought to be sweet, not offensive.
§11.3.17utendi voce multiplex ratio.
There is a manifold method of using the voice.
nam praeter illam differentiam, quae est tripertita, acutae, gravis, flexae, tum intentis, tum remissis, tum elatis, tum inferioribus modis opus est, spatiis quoque lentioribus aut citatioribus.
For besides that difference which is threefold—acute, grave, circumflex—there is need at one time of tense, at another of relaxed, at another of high, at another of lower keys, and also of slower or quicker tempos.
§11.3.18sed his ipsis media interiacent multa, et ut facies, quanquam ex paucissimis constat, infinitam habet differentiam, ita vox, etsi paucas, quae nominari possint, continet species, propria cuique est, et non haec minus auribus quam oculis illa dinoscitur.
But between these very things many middle ones lie, and as the face, though it consists of very few features, has an infinite variation, so the voice, although it contains few species that can be named, is peculiar to each person, and the former is no less distinguished by the ears than the latter by the eyes.
§11.3.19augentur autem sicut omnium, ita vocis quoque bona cura, negligentia minuuntur.
Moreover, the good qualities of the voice, like those of all things, are increased by care and diminished by negligence.
sed cura non eadem oratoribus quae phonascis convenit; tamen multa sunt utrisque communia, firmitas corporis, ne ad spadonum et mulierum et aegrorum exilitatem vox nostra tenuetur; quod ambulatio, unctio, veneris abstinentia, facilis ciborum digestio, id est frugalitas, praestat.
But the same care is not suitable for orators as for voice trainers; yet many things are common to both, such as the strength of the body, lest our voice be thinned to the slenderness of eunuchs, women, and sick persons; which walking, anointing, abstinence from venery, and easy digestion of food, that is, temperance, provide.
§11.3.20praeterea ut sint fauces integrae, id est molles ac leves, quarum vitio et frangitur et obscuratur et exasperatur et scinditur vox.
Besides, that the throat be sound, that is, soft and smooth, by the defect of which the voice is broken, obscured, roughened, and split.
nam ut tibiae eodem spiritu accepto alium clausis, alium apertis foraminibus, alium non satis purgatae, alium quassae sonum reddunt, ita fauces tumentes strangulant vocem, obtusae obscurant, rasae exasperant, convulsae fractis sunt organis similes.
For as flutes, receiving the same breath, return one sound with closed holes, another with open, another when not sufficiently cleaned, another when cracked, so a swollen throat strangles the voice, an obtuse one obscures it, a scraped one roughens it, and a convulsed one is like broken instruments.
§11.3.21finditur etiam spiritus obiectu aliquo sicut lapillo tenues aquae, quarum cursus etiamsi ultra paulum coit, aliquid tamen cavi relinquit post id ipsum quod offenderat.
Breath is also split by some obstacle, just as shallow waters by a pebble, the course of which, although it unites a little further on, yet leaves something of a hollow behind the very thing it struck.
humor quoque vocem ut nimius impedit, ita consumptus destituit.
Moisture also, as when too much it impedes the voice, so when consumed it deserts it.
nam fatigatio, ut corpora, non ad praesens modo tempus, sed etiam in futurum adficit.
For fatigue, like bodies, affects not only for the present time but also for the future.
§11.3.22sed ut communiter et phonascis et oratoribus necessaria est exercitatio, qua omnia convalescent, ita curae non idem genus est.
But as exercise, by which all things grow strong, is commonly necessary both to voice trainers and to orators, so there is not the same kind of care.
nam neque certa tempora ad spatiandum dari possunt tot civilibus officiis occupato, nec praeparare ab imis sonis vocem ad summos nec semper a contentione condere licet, cum pluribus iudiciis saepe dicendum sit.
For neither can certain times for walking be given to one occupied with so many civil duties, nor is it permitted to prepare the voice from the lowest sounds to the highest, nor always to lower it after a strain, since one must often speak in several trials.