§2.14.1rhetoricen in Latinum transferentes tum oratoriam, tum oratricem nominaverunt.
Those who translate 'rhetorice' into Latin have named it sometimes 'oratoria', sometimes 'oratrix'.
quos equidem non fraudaverim debita laude, quod copiam Romani sermonis augere temptarint.
I would certainly not defraud them of their deserved praise, because they attempted to increase the richness of the Roman tongue.
sed non omnia nos ducentes ex Graeco sequuntur sicut ne illos quidem, quotiens utique suis verbis signare nostra voluerunt.
But not all things follow us who derive words from Greek, just as indeed not even those followed them, whenever they wished to designate our things in their own words.
§2.14.2et haec interpretatio non minus dura est quam illa Plauti essentia atque queentia, sed ne propria quidem; nam oratoria sic effertur ut elocutoria, oratrix ut elocutrix; illa autem de qua loquimur rhetorice talis est qualis eloquentia, nec dubie apud Graecos quoque duplicem intellectum habet.
And this translation is no less harsh than those famous words of Plautus, 'essentia' and 'queentia', and indeed not even proper; for 'oratoria' is pronounced like 'elocutoria', and 'oratrix' like 'elocutrix'; but that 'rhetorice' of which we speak is of such a kind as 'eloquentia', and undoubtedly has a double meaning among the Greeks as well.
§2.14.3namque uno modo fit appositum ars rhetorica ut navis piratica, altero nomen rei, qualis est philosophia, amicitia.
For in one way it becomes an adjective, as in 'ars rhetorica' like 'navis piratica', and in another way the name of a thing, of such a kind as 'philosophia' or 'amicitia'.
nos ipsam nunc volumus significare substantiam ut grammatice litteratura est, non litteratrix quemadmodum oratrix, nec litteratoria quemadmodum oratoria; verum id in rhetorice non fit.
We now wish to signify the substance itself, as 'grammatice' is 'litteratura', not 'litteratrix' in the manner of 'oratrix', nor 'litteratoria' in the manner of 'oratoria'; but this does not happen in the case of 'rhetorice'.
§2.14.4ne pugnemus igitur, cum praesertim plurimis alioqui Graecis sit utendum.
Let us not fight therefore, especially since we must use very many Greek words anyway.
nam certe et philosophos et musicos et geometras dicam, nec vim adferam nominibus his indecora in Latinum sermonem mutatione.
For I shall certainly say 'philosophers', 'musicians', and 'geometers', nor shall I do violence to these names by an unseemly alteration into the Latin tongue.
denique cum M. Tullius etiam in ipsis librorum, quos hac de re primum scripserat, titulis Graeco nomine utatur, profecto non est verendum, ne temere videamur oratori maximo de nomine artis suae credidisse.
Finally, since Marcus Tullius even in the titles of the very books which he had first written on this subject uses a Greek name, surely there is no need to fear lest we should seem to have rashly believed the greatest orator concerning the name of his own art.
§2.14.5igitur rhetorice (iam enim sine metu cavillationis utemur hac appellatione) sic, ut opinor, optime dividetur, ut de arte, de artifice, de opere dicamus.
Therefore 'rhetorice' (for now we shall use this appellation without fear of cavil) will be best divided, in my opinion, in this way: that we speak of the art, of the artist, and of the work.
ars erit, quae disciplina percipi debet; ea est bene dicendi scientia.
The art will be that which ought to be acquired by study; it is the science of speaking well.
artifex est, qui percepit hanc artem, id est, orator, cuius est summa bene dicere; opus, quod efficitur ab artifice, id est, bona oratio.
The artist is he who has acquired this art, that is, the orator, whose highest aim is to speak well; the work is that which is produced by the artist, that is, a good speech.
haec omnia rursus diducuntur in species; sed illa sequentia suo loco, nunc quae de prima parte tractanda sunt, ordiar.
All these things are again divided into species; but those subsequent matters will be treated in their proper place, and now I shall begin with what must be treated concerning the first part.