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Quintilian · Institutes of Oratory §2.19.1-2.19.3

The Roles of Nature and Learning in Eloquence

Passage 64 of 366 · Latin

Summary

Addressing whether nature or learning contributes more to eloquence, the author argues that while nature prevails in mediocre cases, learning is superior in consummate speakers, illustrating this with the metaphors of soil cultivation and sculpture.

§2.19.1scio, quaeri etiam, naturane plus ad eloquentiam conferat an doctrina.
I know it is also asked whether nature or learning contributes more to eloquence.
quod ad propositum quidem operis nostri nihil pertinet (neque enim consummatus orator nisi ex utroque fieri potest), plurimum tamen referre arbitror, quam esse in hoc loco quaestionem velimus.
This indeed has nothing to do with the purpose of our work (for a consummate orator cannot be formed except from both), yet I think it is of the greatest importance what we wish this question to be in this place.
§2.19.2nam si parti utrilibet omnino alteram detrahas, natura etiam sine doctrina multum valebit, doctrina nulla esse sine natura poterit.
For if you should altogether take away the one from either part, nature even without learning will be of great avail, while learning cannot exist at all without nature.
sin ex pari coeant, in mediocribus quidem utrisque maius adhuc credam naturae esse momentum, consummatos autem plus doctrinae debere quam naturae putabo; sicut terrae nullam fertilitatem habenti nihil optimus agricola profuerit, e terra uberi utile aliquid etiam nullo colente nascetur, at in solo fecundo plus cultor quam ipsa per se bonitas soli efficiet.
But if they meet on equal terms, I shall believe that in mediocre cases of both, the greater weight still belongs to nature, but I shall think that consummate orators owe more to learning than to nature; just as the best husbandman will be of no use to land that has no fertility, and from rich soil something useful will grow even with no one cultivating it, but in a fertile soil the cultivator will effect more than the goodness of the soil itself by itself.
§2.19.3et, si Praxiteles signum aliquod ex molari lapide conatus esset exsculpere, Parium marmor mallem rude; at si illud idem artifex expolisset, plus in manibus fuisset quam in marmore.
And, if Praxiteles had attempted to carve some statue out of a millstone, I should have preferred Parian marble unshaped; but if the artist had polished that same marble, there would have been more in his hands than in the marble.
denique natura materia doctrinae est; haec fingit, illa fingitur.
In short, nature is the material of learning; the latter shapes, the former is shaped.
nihil ars sine materia, materiae etiam sine arte pretium est, ars summa materia optima melior.
Art is nothing without material, while material has value even without art, yet the highest art is better than the best material.

Notes

  1. §2.19.1referre — Infinitive of the impersonal verb *refert* (it matters, it is of importance). Here it takes the indirect question clause *quam esse in hoc loco quaestionem velimus* as its subject. *plurimum* is used adverbially as 'of the greatest importance.'
  2. §2.19.1quam esse in hoc loco quaestionem velimus — A construction where *velimus* (present subjunctive of *volo*) governs an accusative with infinitive (*acc. + inf.*). *quam quaestionem* (what kind of question) serves as the subject accusative of the infinitive *esse*.
  3. §2.19.2parti utrilibet — Dative feminine singular of the pronominal adjective *uterlibet* (whichever of the two). It is used with the verb *detrahas* (take away) to express a privative function (dative of separation).
  4. §2.19.3mallem — First-person singular imperfect subjunctive of *malo* (to prefer). It acts as the apodosis to the condition *conatus esset* (pluperfect subjunctive), expressing a continuous attitude in a past counterfactual condition ('I should have preferred').
  5. §2.19.3haec fingit, illa fingitur — In accordance with demonstrative pronoun usage, the nearer referent (*haec*) points to the immediately preceding *doctrinae* (learning), while the remoter (*illa*) points to *natura* (nature). 'The former (learning) shapes, the latter (nature) is shaped.'

Cite this passage

Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory §2.19.1-2.19.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi1002.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.19.1-2.19.3

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