§2.4.1hinc iam, quas primas in docendo partes rhetorum putem, tradere incipiam, dilata parumper illa quae sola vulgo vocatur arte rhetorica.
From here now, postponing for a little while those things which alone are commonly called the rhetorical art, I shall begin to deliver what I think to be the first roles of rhetoricians in teaching.
ac mihi opportunus maxime videtur ingressus ab eo, cuius aliquid simile apud grammaticos puer didicerit.
And indeed, the most suitable entry seems to me to be from that which the boy has learned something similar to with grammarians.
§2.4.2et quia narrationum, excepta qua in causis utimur, tres accepimus species, fabulam, quae versatur in tragoediis atque carminibus, non a veritate modo sed etiam a forma veritatis remota; argumentum, quod falsum sed vero simile comoediae fingunt; historiam, in qua est gestae rei expositio; grammaticis autem poeticas dedimus: §2.4.3apud rhetorem initium sit historica, tanto robustior quanto verior.
And since we have accepted three species of narratives, excepting that which we use in lawsuits: the fable, which is treated in tragedies and poems, and is remote not only from truth but also from the form of truth; the argument, which is a false but truth-like fiction of comedies; and history, in which there is the exposition of facts; and we have assigned the poetic ones to the grammarians: let the beginning with the rhetorician be the historical narrative, which is the more robust the truer it is.
sed narrandi quidem quae nobis optima ratio videatur, tum demonstrabimus, cum de iudiciali parte dicemus.
But indeed, what we think to be the best method of narrating, we shall demonstrate when we speak of the judicial department.
interim admonere illud satis est, ut sit ea neque arida prorsus atque ieiuna, (nam quid opus erat tantum studiis laboris impendere, si res nudas atque inornatas indicare satis videretur?) neque rursus sinuosa et arcessitis descriptionibus, in quas plerique imitatione poeticae licentiae ducuntur, lasciviat.
In the meantime, it is enough to advise that it should neither be utterly dry and barren (for what need was there to bestow so much labor on studies if it seemed enough to state bare and unadorned facts?) nor, on the other hand, should it run wild, being winding and with far-fetched descriptions, into which most are led by the imitation of poetic license.
§2.4.4vitium utrumque, peius tamen illud, quod ex inopia quam quod ex copia venit.
Both are faults, yet that one is worse which comes from poverty than that which comes from abundance.
nam in pueris oratio perfecta nec exigi nec sperari potest; melior autem indoles laeta generosique conatus et vel plura iusto concipiens interim spiritus.
For in boys a perfect style can neither be demanded nor expected; but a better natural talent is a cheerful one, full of noble endeavor and a spirit conceiving sometimes even more than is proper.
§2.4.5nec unquam me in his discentis annis offendat, si quid superfuerit.
Nor let it ever offend me in these years of the learner if there is anything superfluous.
quin ipsis quoque doctoribus hoc esse curae velim, ut teneras adhuc mentes more nutricum mollius alant et satiari velut quodam iucundioris disciplinae lacte patiantur.
Indeed, I would wish this also to be a care to the teachers themselves: that they nourish minds that are still tender more gently, after the manner of nurses, and suffer them to be filled, as it were, with the milk of a more pleasant discipline.
§2.4.6erit illud plenius interim corpus, quod mox adulta aetas astringat.
That body will be for a time more full, which soon adult age will tighten.
hinc spes roboris.
From this is the hope of strength.
maciem namque et infirmitatem in posterum minari solet protinus omnibus membris expressus infans.
For an infant whose limbs are all immediately outlined is wont to threaten thinness and weakness for the future.
audeat haec aetas plura et inveniat et inventis gaudeat, sint licet illa non satis sicca interim ac severa.
Let this age dare more and invent and rejoice in its inventions, even though those things may be for a time not sufficiently dry and austere.
facile remedium est ubertati; §2.4.7sterilia nullo labore vincuntur.
The remedy for abundance is easy; sterile things are overcome by no labor.
ilia mihi in pueris natura minimum spei dederit, in qua ingenium iudicio praesumitur.
That nature in boys would give me the least hope in which the intellect is anticipated by judgment.
materiam esse primum volo vel abundantiorem atque ultra quam oporteat fusam.
I wish the material first to be even more abundant and poured out beyond what is proper.
multum inde decoquent anni, multum ratio limabit, aliquid velut usu ipso deteretur, sit modo unde excidi possit et quod exsculpi; erit autem, si non ab initio tenuem nimium laminam duxerimus et quam caelatura altior rumpat.
From there the years will boil down much, reason will polish much, something will be worn away as if by use itself, provided only there be that from which something can be cut out and what can be sculpted; but there will be, if we do not draw from the beginning too thin a plate, and one which a deeper engraving would break.
§2.4.8quod me de his aetatibus sentire minus mirabitur, qui apud Ciceronem legerit: volo enim se efferat in adolescente fecunditas. quapropter in primis evitandus et in pueris praecipue magister aridus, non minus quam teneris adhuc plantis siccum et sine humore ullo solum.
He will wonder the less at my feeling this way about these ages, who has read in Cicero: "For I wish abundance to display itself in a youth." Wherefore, a dry master is in the first place to be avoided, and especially for boys, no less than a dry soil without any moisture for plants that are still tender.
§2.4.9inde fiunt humiles statim et velut terram spectantes, qui nihil supra cotidianum sermonem attollere audeant.
From this they become immediately lowly and, as it were, looking at the earth, who dare raise nothing above everyday speech.
macies illis pro sanitate et iudicii loco infirmitas est, et dum satis putant vitio carere, in id ipsum incidunt vitium, quod virtutibus carent.
Thinness is to them for health, and weakness in place of judgment; and while they think it is enough to be free from vice, they fall into that very vice, that they are free from virtues.
quare mihi ne maturitas quidem ipsa festinet, nec musta in lacu statim austera sint; sic et annos ferent et vetustate proficient.
Wherefore, to me, let not maturity itself hasten, nor let the must in the vat be immediately harsh; so they will both bear the years and improve with age.
§2.4.10ne illud quidem quod admoneamus indignum est, ingenia puerorum nimia interim emendationis severitate deficere; nam et desperant et dolent et novissime oderunt et, quod maxime nocet, dum omnia timent, nihil conantur.
Nor indeed is that unworthy of our advice, that the talents of boys sometimes fail under too much severity of correction; for they both despair and grieve and, lastly, hate, and, what hurts most, while they fear everything, they attempt nothing.