§12.10.41sicut athletarum corpora, etiamsi validiora fiant exercitatione et lege quadam ciborum, non tamen esse naturalia atque ab illa specie, quae sit concessa hominibus, abhorrere.
Just as they think that the bodies of athletes, even if they become stronger by exercise and a certain law of food, are nevertheless not natural and depart from that appearance which has been granted to humans.
quid enim, inquiunt, attinet circuitu res ostendere et translationibus, id est aut pluribus aut alienis verbis, cum sua cuique sint adsignata nomina?
For what, they say, is the use of showing things by circumlocution and metaphors, that is, either by more words or by words not belonging to them, when their own names are assigned to each?
§12.10.42denique antiquissimum quemque maxime secundum naturam dixisse contendunt: mox poetis similiores exstitisse, etiamsi parcius, simili tamen ratione, falsa et impropria virtutes ducentes.
Finally, they contend that the most ancient writers spoke most according to nature; and that soon after they became more like poets, even if more sparingly, yet in a similar manner, regarding false and improper expressions as virtues.
qua in disputatione nonnihil veri est, ideoque non tam procul, quam fit a quibusdam, recedendum a propriis atque communibus.
In which dispute there is some truth, and therefore we must not recede so far from proper and common words as is done by some.
§12.10.43si quis tamen, ut in loco dixi compositionis, ad necessaria, quibus nihil minus est, aliquid melius adiecerit, non erit hac calumnia reprehendendus.
Yet if anyone, as I said in the section on composition, adds something better to the necessary things, than which nothing can be less, he must not be blamed by this calumny.
nam mihi aliam quandam videtur habere naturam sermo vulgaris, aliam viri eloquentis oratio; cui si res modo indicare satis esset, nihil ultra verborum proprietatem elaboraret; sed cum debeat delectare, movere, in plurimas animum audientis species impellere, utetur his quoque adiutoriis, quae sunt ab eadem nobis concessa natura.
For to me, everyday speech seems to have one kind of nature, and the speech of an eloquent man another; for whom, if it were enough merely to indicate things, he would labor nothing beyond the appropriateness of words; but since he ought to please, to move, and to drive the mind of the hearer into very many emotional states, he will also use these aids which have been granted to us by the same nature.
§12.10.44nam et lacertos exercitatione constringere et augere vires et colorem trahere naturale est.
For both to tighten the muscles by exercise, to increase strength, and to acquire color is natural.
ideoque in omnibus gentibus alius alio facundior habetur et eloquendo dulcis magis (quod si non eveniret, omnes pares essent); at idem homines aliter de re alia loquuntur et servant personarum discrimina.
And therefore in all nations one is held more eloquent than another and sweeter in speaking (which if it did not happen, all would be equal); but these same men speak otherwise about one thing and otherwise about another, and preserve the distinctions of characters.
ita, quo quisque plus efficit dicendo, hoc magis secundum naturam eloquentiae dicit.
Thus, the more effect each one produces by speaking, the more he speaks according to the nature of eloquence.
§12.10.45quapropter ne illis quidem nimium repugno, qui dandum putant nonnihil etiam temporibus atque auribus nitidius aliquid atque adfectius postulantibus.
Wherefore I do not too much oppose even those who think that some concession must be made to the times and to ears that demand something more polished and more emotional.
itaque non solum ad priores Catone Gracchisque, sed ne ad hos quidem ipsos oratorem adligandum puto.
Therefore, I think that the orator must not be bound only to those prior to Cato and the Gracchi, nor even to these themselves.
atque id fecisse M. Tullium video, ut cum plurimum utilitati, tum partem quandam delectationi daret; cum et suam se rem agere diceret, ageret autem maxime litigatoris.
And I see that Marcus Tullius did this, so that while he gave the most to utility, he also gave a certain part to pleasure; since he said he was doing his own business, and yet was doing most of all the business of the litigant.
§12.10.46nam hoc ipso proderat, quod placet.
For by this very thing he was useful, because he pleased.
ad cuius voluptates nihil equidem quod addi possit invenio, nisi ut sensus nos quidem dicamus plures.
To whose pleasures I indeed find nothing that can be added, except that we should say more thoughts.
neque enim non fieri potest salva tractatione causae et dicendi auctoritate, si non crebra hac lumina et continua fuerint et invicem offecerint.
For indeed, it is not impossible, with the preservation of the handling of the case and the authority of speaking, if only these frequent lights are not continuous and do not obstruct one another.
sed me hactenus cedentem nemo insequatur ultra.
But let no one pursue me further when I concede this far.
§12.10.47do tempori, ne hirta toga sit, non ut serica; ne intonsum caput, non ut in gradus atque anulos comptum, cum eo quod, si non ad luxuriam ac libidinem referas, eadem speciosiora quoque sint, quae honestiora.
I yield to the times so far that the toga should not be rough, but not so far that it should be of silk; that the head should not be unshorn, but not so far that the hair should be combed into tiers and ringlets, with the condition that, if you do not refer it to luxury and lust, those same things are also more beautiful which are more respectable.
§12.10.48ceterum hoc, quod vulgo sententias vocamus, quod veteribus praecipueque Graecis in usu non fuit (apud Ciceronem enim invenio), dum rem contineant et copia non redundent et ad victoriam spectent, quis utile neget? feriunt animum et uno ictu frequenter impellunt et ipsa brevitate magis haerent et delectatione persuadent.
For the rest, as for this which we commonly call sententiae (epigrams), which was not in use among the ancients and especially the Greeks (for I find it in Cicero), as long as they contain the matter and do not overflow with abundance and look to victory, who would deny that they are useful? They strike the mind and frequently impel it with a single blow, and stick more by their very brevity, and persuade by pleasure.
§12.10.49at sunt qui haec excitatiora lumina, etiamsi dicere permittant, a componendis tamen orationibus excludenda arbitrentur.
But there are some who think that these more excited lights, even if they permit them in speaking, ought nevertheless to be excluded from composing speeches.
quocirca mihi ne Hic quidem locus intactus est omittendus; nam plurimi eruditorum aliam esse dicendi rationem, aliam scribendi putaverunt; ideoque in agendo clarissimos quosdam nihil posteritati mansurisque mox litteris reliquisse, ut Periclem, ut Demaden; rursus alios ad componendum optimos actionibus idoneos non fuisse, ut Isocraten;
Wherefore this point also must not be left untouched by me; for very many of the learned have thought that the method of speaking is one thing, and that of writing is another; and that therefore some most famous in action have left nothing to posterity and to letters that would soon remain, such as Pericles and Demades; while others, excellent for composing, were not fit for actions, such as Isocrates;