§11.3.34nam et vocales frequentissime coeunt, et consonantium quaedam insequente vocali dissimulantur.
For both vowels very frequently coalesce, and certain of the consonants are disguised when a vowel follows.
utriusque exemplum posuimus:
"
mullum ille et terris
"
Vitatur etiam duriorum inter se congressus, §11.3.35unde pellexit et collegit, et quae alio loco dicta sunt; ideoque laudatur in Catulo suavis appellatio litterarum.
We have set down an example of both: "mullum ille et terris "The collision of harsher sounds with one another is also avoided, whence "pellexit" and "collegit" are derived, and those things which have been said in another place; and therefore the sweet pronunciation of letters in Catulus is praised.
Secundum est, ut sit oratio distincta, id est, qui dicit, et incipiat ubi oportet et desinat.
The second point is that the speech be distinct, that is, that the speaker both begins where he ought and ends.
observandum etiam, quo loco sustinendus et quasi suspendendus sermo sit, quod Graeci ὑποδιαστολήν vel ὑποστιγμήν vocant, quo deponendus. §11.3.36suspenditur arma virumque cano, quia illud virum ad sequentia pertinet, ut sit virum Troiae qui primus ab oris, et hic iterum.
It must also be observed at what point the speech is to be sustained and as it were suspended, which the Greeks call hypodiastole or hypostigme, and at what point it is to be set down. It is suspended at "arma virumque cano", because that word "virum" belongs to what follows, so that it may be "virum Troiae qui primus ab oris", and here again.
nam etiamsi aliud est, unde venit quam quo venit, non distinguendum tamen, quia utrumque eodem verbo continetur venit. §11.3.37tertio Italiam, quia interiectio est fato profugus et continuum sermonem, qui faciebat Italiam Lavinaque, dividit.
For although the place from which he came is different from that to which he came, they must not be separated, because both are contained in the same verb "venit". Thirdly, at "Italiam", because "fato profugus" is a parenthesis and divides the continuous speech which made "Italiam Lavinaque".
ob eandemque causam quarto profugus, deinde Lavinaque venit litora, ubi iam erit distinctio, quia inde alius incipit sensus.
And for the same reason, fourthly, at "profugus", and then comes "Lavinaque venit litora", where there will now be a division, because from there another sense begins.
sed in ipsis etiam distinctionibus tempus alias brevius, alias longius dabimus; interest enim, sermonem finiant an sensum. §11.3.38itaque illam distinctionem litora protinus altero spiritus initio insequar; cum illuc venero atque altae moenia Romae, deponam et morabor et novum rursus exordium faciam. §11.3.39sunt aliquando et sine respiratione quaedam morae etiam in periodis.
But even in these divisions we shall give sometimes a shorter, sometimes a longer time; for it matters whether they finish the words or the sense. Therefore I shall follow up that division at "litora" immediately with another beginning of breath; when I come to "atque altae moenia Romae", I shall set it down and linger and make a new beginning again. Sometimes there are certain pauses even in periods without taking breath.
ut enim illa in coetu vero populi Romani, negotium publicum gerens, magister equitum, et. , multa membra habent (sensus enim sunt alii atque alii), sed unam circumductionem, ita paulum morandum in his intervallis, non interrumpendus est contextus.
For as those words: "in coetu vero populi Romani, negotium publicum gerens, magister equitum", etc. have many members (for the senses are various and distinct), but form one period, so we must pause a little in these intervals, but the connection must not be broken.
et e contrario spiritum interim recipere sine intellectu morae necesse est, quo loco quasi surripiendus est; alioqui si inscite recipiatur, non minus adferat obscuritatis quam vitiosa distinctio.
And on the contrary, it is sometimes necessary to take breath meanwhile without any perception of a pause, in which place it must be as it were stolen; otherwise, if it is taken unskilfully, it brings no less obscurity than a faulty division.
virtus autem distinguendi fortasse sit parva; sine qua tamen esse nulla alia in agendo potest.
But the virtue of dividing may perhaps be small; yet without it, there can be no other virtue in delivery.
§11.3.40ornata est pronuntiatio, cui suffragatur vox facilis, magna te, beata, flexibilis, firma, dulcis, durabilis, clara, pura, secans aëra et auribus sedens (est enim quaedam ad auditum accommodata non magnitudine, sed proprietate), ad hoc velut tractabilis, utique habens omnes in se qui desiderantur sinus intentionesque et toto, ut aiunt, organo instructa; cui aderit lateris firmitas, spiritus cum spatio pertinax, tum labori non facile cessurus. §11.3.41neque gravissimus autem in musica sonus nec acutissimus orationibus convenit.
Ornate is that delivery which is supported by a voice that is easy, great, rich, flexible, firm, sweet, durable, clear, pure, cutting the air and settling in the ears (for there is a certain voice suited to the hearing not by its volume, but by its peculiar quality), moreover as it were manageable, surely having in itself all the modulations and pitches that are desired, and furnished, as they say, with the whole organ; to which will be present firmness of the side, and a breath that is both persistent with space and not easily yielding to labor. But neither the lowest sound in music nor the highest is suitable for speeches.
nam et hic parum clarus nimiumque plenus nullum adferre animis motum potest, et ille praetenuis et immodicae claritatis, cum est ultra verum, tum neque pronuntiatione flecti neque diutius ferre intentionem potest. §11.3.42nam vox ut nervi, quo remissior, hoc gravior et plenior, quo tensior, hoc tennis et acuta magis est.
For the former, being insufficiently clear and excessively full, can bring no movement to the mind; and the latter, being extremely thin and of immoderate clarity, when it is beyond the truth, can neither be inflected by delivery nor bear tension any longer. For the voice is like strings: the more relaxed, the lower and fuller it is; the more stretched, the thinner and sharper it is.
sic ina vim non habet, summa rumpi periclitatur.
Thus the lowest has no power, the highest runs the risk of breaking.
mediis ergo utendum sonis, hique tum augenda intentione excitandi, tum summittenda sunt temperandi. §11.3.43nam prima est observatio recte pronuntiandi aequalitas, ne sermo subsultet imparibus spatiis ac sonis, miscens longa brevibus, gravia acutis, elata summissis, et inaequalitate horum omnium sicut pedum claudicet; secunda varietas, quod solum est pronuntiatio. §11.3.44ac ne quis pugnare inter se putet aequalitatem et varietatem, cum illi virtuti contrarium vitium sit inaequalitas, huic, quod dicitur μονοείδεια, quasi quidam unus aspectus.
Intermediate sounds must therefore be used, and these must sometimes be raised by increasing the tension, sometimes tempered by lowering it. For the first observation of delivering correctly is evenness, lest the speech leap with unequal intervals and sounds, mixing long with short, low with high, elevated with lowered, and because of the inequality of all these, limp as it were in its feet; the second is variety, which alone is delivery. And lest anyone should think that evenness and variety conflict with each other, since the vice contrary to the former virtue is unevenness, and to the latter, that which is called monoeideia, as it were a certain single aspect.
ars porro variandi cum gratiam praebet ac renovat aures, tum dicentem ipsa laboris mutatione reficit, ut standi, ambulandi,
Furthermore, the art of varying not only bestows grace and refreshes the ears, but also recruits the speaker himself by the very change of labor, just as standing, walking,