§2.10.1in his primis operibus, quae non ipsa parva sunt sed maiorum quasi membra atque partes, bene instituto atque exercitato iam fere tempus appetet aggrediendi suasorias iudicialesque materias; quarum antequam viam ingredior, pauca mihi de ipsa ratione declamandi dicenda sunt, quae quidem ut ex omnibus novissime inventa ita multo est utilissima.
For one who has been well instructed and trained in these first tasks (which are not in themselves small, but are as it were members and parts of greater ones), the time will now almost be at hand to approach deliberative and judicial subjects; before I enter upon the path of which, I must say a few things about the system of declamation itself, which, just as it was the most recently invented of all, is by far the most useful.
§2.10.2nam et cuncta illa, de quibus diximus, in se fere continet, et veritati proximam imaginem reddit, ideoque ita est celebrata, ut plerisque videretur ad formandam eloquentiam vel sola sufficere.
For it both contains in itself almost all those things of which we have spoken, and renders an image very close to reality, and was therefore so celebrated that it seemed to most people to be sufficient by itself alone for forming eloquence.
neque enim virtus ulla perpetuae duntaxat orationis reperiri potest, quae non sit cum hac dicendi meditatione communis.
Nor indeed can any virtue of continuous speech be found which is not common to this exercise of speaking.
§2.10.3eo quidem res ista culpa docentium reccidit, ut inter praecipuas quae corrumperent eloquentiam causas licentia atque inscitia declamantium fuerit.
Indeed, through the fault of teachers, that practice has fallen to such a point that among the chief causes which corrupted eloquence was the license and ignorance of those who declaim.
sed eo, quod natura bonum est, bene uti licet.
But it is permitted to make good use of that which is good by nature.
§2.10.4sint ergo et ipsae materiae, quae fingentur, quam simillimae veritatis, et declamatio, in quantum maxime potest, imitetur eas actiones, in quarum exercitationem reperta est.
Therefore, let the very subjects which are imagined be as similar to truth as possible, and let declamation, as much as it can, imitate those actual pleadings for the practice of which it was invented.
§2.10.5nam magos et pestilentiam et responsa et saeviores tragicis novercas aliaque magis adhuc fabulosa frustra inter sponsiones et interdicta quaeremus.
For we shall seek in vain for magicians, pestilence, oracles, stepmothers more cruel than those in tragedy, and other things still more fabulous, among recognizances and interdicts.
quid ergo? nunquam haec supra fidem et poetica, ut vere dixerim, themata iuvenibus tractare permittamus, ut exspatientur et gaudeant materia et quasi in corpus eant?
What then? Shall we never permit young men to treat these themes that are beyond belief and, to speak truly, poetic, so that they may range at large and rejoice in their subject and, as it were, grow into a full body?
§2.10.6erit optimum; sed certe sint grandia et tumida, non stulta etiam et acrioribus oculis intuenti ridicula: ut, si iam cedendum est, impleat se declamator aliquando, dum sciat, ut quadrupedes, cum viridi pabulo distentae sunt, sanguinis detractione curantur et sic ad cibos viribus conservandis idoneos redeunt, ita sibi quoque tenuandas adipes, et quidquid humoris corrupti contraxerit, emittendum, si esse sanus ac robustus volet.
It will be best; but let them certainly be grand and swelling, not also foolish and ridiculous to anyone looking with sharper eyes: so that, if concession must now be made, the declaimer may at some time fill himself, provided he knows that, just as quadrupeds, when they are distended with green fodder, are cured by blood-letting and thus return to food suitable for preserving their strength, so he also must reduce his fat, and whatever corrupt humor he has contracted must be emitted, if he wishes to be healthy and robust.
alioqui tumor ille inanis primo cuiusque veri operis conatu deprehendetur.
Otherwise, that empty swelling will be detected at the first attempt of any real work.
§2.10.7totum autem declamandi opus qui diversum omni modo a forensibus causis existimant, ii profecto ne rationem quidem, qua ista exercitatio inventa sit, pervident.
But those who think that the whole work of declaiming is in every way different from forensic cases, indeed do not even perceive the reason for which that exercise was invented.
§2.10.8nam si foro non praeparat, aut scenicae ostentationi aut furiosae vociferationi simillimum est.
For if it does not prepare for the forum, it is most similar either to theatrical display or to frantic vociferation.
quid enim attinet iudicem praeparare, qui nullus est; narrare, quod omnes sciant falsum; probationes adhibere causae, de qua nemo sit pronuntiaturus? et haec quidem otiosa tantum;
For what does it concern to prepare a judge who is non-existent; to narrate what all know to be false; to bring proofs for a case on which no one is going to pronounce judgment?
adfici vero et ira vel luctu permovere, cuius est ludibrii, nisi quibusdam pugnae simulacris ad verum discrimen aciemque iustam consuescimus?
And these things indeed are only idle; but to be affected and to move to anger or grief, what a mockery it is, unless we accustom ourselves by certain images of battle to the real conflict and the regular line of battle?
§2.10.9nihil ergo inter forense genus dicendi atque hoc declamatorium intererit? si profectus gratia dicimus, nihil.
Will there then be no difference between the forensic genre of speaking and this declamatory one? If we speak for the sake of improvement, none.
utinamque adiici ad consuetudinem posset, ut nominibus uteremur, et perplexae magis et longioris aliquando actus controversiae fingerentur, et verba in usu cotidiano posita minus timeremus, et iocos inserere moris esset; quae nos, quamlibet per alia in scholis exercitati simus, tirones in foro inveniunt.
And would that it could be added to the custom that we should use names, and that controversies of more complex and sometimes longer action should be devised, and that we should less fear words placed in daily use, and that it were the custom to insert jests; which things, however much we may be trained in other respects in the schools, find us recruits when we enter the forum.
§2.10.10si vero in ostentationem comparetur declamatio, sane paulum aliquid inclinare ad voluptatem audientium debemus.
But if declamation is prepared for display, we must indeed incline somewhat to the pleasure of the hearers.
§2.10.11nam et in iis actionibus, quae in aliqua sine dubio veritate versantur, sed sunt ad popularem aptatae delectationem, quales legimus panegyricos, totumque hoc demonstrativum genus, permittitur adhibere plus cultus omnemque artem, quae latere plerumque in iudiciis debet, non confiteri modo sed ostentare etiam hominibus in hoc advocatis.
For even in those pleadings which are undoubtedly employed about some truth, but are adapted to popular delight, such as the panegyrics we read, and all this demonstrative genre, it is permitted to employ more ornament, and not only to confess but even to display before men summoned for this purpose all the art which ought usually to be concealed in trials.
§2.10.12quare declamatio, quoniam est iudiciorum consiliorumque imago, similis esse debet veritati; quoniam autem aliquid in se habet ἐπιδεικτικόν nonnihil sibi nitoris assumere.
Therefore declamation, since it is an image of trials and counsels, ought to be similar to truth; but since it has something of the epideictic in itself, it should assume not a little splendor.
§2.10.13quod faciunt actores comici, qui neque ita prorsus, ut nos vulgo loquimur, pronuntiant, quod esset sine arte, neque procul tamen a natura recedunt, quo vitio periret imitatio; sed morem communis huius sermonis decore quodam scenico exornant.
This is what comic actors do, who neither pronounce exactly as we speak in common (which would be without art), nor yet depart far from nature (by which fault imitation would perish); but they adorn the custom of this common speech with a certain scenic grace.
§2.10.14sic quoque aliqua nos incommoda ex iis, quas finxerimus, materiis consequentur, in eo praecipue, quod multa in iis relinquuntur incerta, quae sumimus ut videtur, aetates, facultates, liberi, parentes, urbium ipsarum vires, iura, mores, alia his similia; §2.10.15quin aliquando etiam argumentum ex ipsis positionum vitiis ducimus.
In this way also, some inconveniences will follow us from those subjects which we have imagined, chiefly in this, that many things in them are left uncertain, which we assume as seems fit: ages, means, children, parents, the strength of the cities themselves, laws, customs, and other things similar to these; nay, sometimes we even derive an argument from the very defects of the positions.
sed haec suo quaeque loco.
But each of these in its own place.
quamvis enim omne propositum operis a nobis destinati eo spectet, ut orator instituatur, tamen, ne quid studiosi requirant, etiam si quid erit, quod ad scholas proprie pertineat, in transitu non omittemus.
For although the whole purpose of the work designed by us looks to this, that an orator may be trained, yet, lest the studious should require anything, even if there is anything which properly belongs to the schools, we shall not omit it in passing.