§2.8.1virtus praeceptoris haberi solet nec immerito diligenter in iis, quos erudiendos susceperit, notare discrimina ingeniorum et, quo quemque natura maxime ferat, scire.
It is usually, and not undeservedly, regarded as a merit of a teacher to mark diligently the differences of talents in those whom he has undertaken to instruct, and to know where nature especially carries each of them.
nam est in hoc incredibilis quaedam varietas nec pauciores animorum paene quam corporum formae.
For there is in this a certain incredible variety, and there are almost no fewer forms of minds than of bodies.
§2.8.2quod intelligi etiam ex ipsis oratoribus potest, qui tantum inter se distant genere dicendi, ut nemo sit alteri similis, quamvis plurimi se ad eorum quos probabant imitationem composuerint.
This can be understood even from the orators themselves, who differ so much from one another in their style of speaking that no one is like another, although very many adapted themselves to the imitation of those whom they approved.
§2.8.3utile deinde plerisque visum est ita quemque instituere, ut propria naturae bona doctrina foverent et in id potissimum ingenia, quo tenderent, adiuvarentur; ut si quis palaestrae peritus, cum in aliquod plenum pueris gymnasium venerit, expertus eorum omni modo corpus animumque discernat, cui quisque certamini praeparandus sit, §2.8.4ita praeceptorem eloquentiae, cum sagaciter fuerit intuitus, cuius ingenium presso limatoque genere dicendi, cuius acri, gravi, dulci, aspero, nitido, urbano maxime gaudeat, ita se commodaturum singulis, ut in eo, quo quisque eminet, provehatur;
Next, it has seemed useful to most people to instruct each person in such a way as to nourish the natural good qualities with instruction and to assist the talents chiefly in that direction toward which they tend; just as if someone skilled in gymnastics, having come into a gymnasium full of boys, should, after testing their body and mind in every way, discern for which contest each one ought to be prepared, so the teacher of eloquence, when he has sagaciously observed whose talent especially delights in a concise and polished style of speaking, and whose in a sharp, grave, sweet, harsh, brilliant, or polite style, will so adapt himself to each individual that he may be advanced in that in which he excels; because nature, assisted by care, grows stronger, and he who is led into a different direction can neither accomplish enough in those things for which he is less fit, and makes weaker those things for which he seems to have been born by abandoning them.
§2.8.5quod et adiuta cura natura magis evalescat, et qui in diversa ducatur neque in iis, quibus minus aptus est, satis possit efficere et ea, in quae natus videtur, deserendo faciat infirmiora. §2.8.6quod mihi (libera enim vel contra receptas persuasiones rationem sequenti sententia est) in parte verum videtur.
This seems to me (for my opinion is free, following reason even against received persuasions) only partly true.
nam proprietates ingeniorum dispicere prorsus necessarium est.
For it is altogether necessary to discern the properties of talents.
§2.8.7in his quoque certum studiorum facere delectum nemo dissuaserit.
In these too no one would discourage making a certain choice of studies.
namque erit alius historiae magis idoneus, alius compositus ad carmen, alius utilis studio iuris, ut nonnulli rus fortasse mittendi.
For one will be more suitable for history, another composed for poetry, another useful for the study of law, and some perhaps ought to be sent to the countryside.
sic discernet haec dicendi magister, quomodo palaestricus ille cursorem faciet aut pugilem aut luctatorem aliudve quid ex iis, quae sunt sacrorum certaminum.
Thus the master of speaking will discern these things, just as that gymnastics teacher will make a runner, or a boxer, or a wrestler, or something else from those which belong to the sacred contests.
§2.8.8verum ei, qui foro destinabitur, non in unam partem aliquam sed in omnia, quae sunt eius operis, etiam si qua difficiliora discenti videbuntur, elaborandum est.
But for him who is destined for the forum, he must labor not in some one part alone, but in all things which belong to that work, even if some seem more difficult to the learner.
nam et omnino supervacua erat doctrina, si natura sufficeret.
For instruction would be entirely superfluous if nature were sufficient.
§2.8.9an si quis ingenio corruptus ac tumidus, ut plerique sunt, incident, in hoc eum ire patiemur? aridum atque ieiunum non alemus et quasi vestiemus? nam si quaedam detrahere necessarium est, cur non sit adiicere concessum?
Or if someone corrupt in talent and bombastic, as most are, should present himself, shall we allow him to go in this direction? Shall we not nourish and, as it were, clothe the dry and barren? For if it is necessary to take away certain things, why should it not be permitted to add?
§2.8.10neque ego contra naturam pugno.
Nor do I fight against nature.
non enim deserendum id bonum, si quod ingenitum est, existimo, sed augendum addendumque quod cessat.
For I do not think that that good, if any is inborn, should be abandoned, but that what is lacking should be increased and added.
§2.8.11an vero clarissimus ille praeceptor Isocrates, quem non magis libri bene dixisse quam discipuli bene docuisse testantur, cum de Ephoro atque Theopompo sic iudicaret, ut alteri frenis alteri calcaribus opus esse diceret, aut in illo lentiore tarditatem aut in illo paene praecipiti concitationem adiuvandam docendo existimavit, cum alterum alterius natura miscendum arbitraretur?
Did indeed that most famous teacher Isocrates, to whose excellent speaking his books bear witness no more than his disciples do to his excellent teaching, when he judged of Ephorus and Theopompus in such a way as to say that the one needed reins and the other spurs, think that either tardiness in the slower one or impetuosity in the almost headlong one should be assisted by teaching, when he thought that the nature of the one should be mixed with that of the other?
§2.8.12imbecillis tamen ingeniis sane sic obsequendum sit, ut tantum in id, quo vocat natura, ducantur; ita enim, quod solum possunt, melius efficient.
Weak talents, however, should indeed be complied with in such a way that they are led only into that toward which nature calls; for thus they will better perform that which alone they can do.
si vero liberalior materia contigerit et in qua merito ad spem oratoris simus aggressi, nulla dicendi virtus omittenda est.
But if a more liberal material falls to our lot, and one in which we have deservedly entered upon the hope of an orator, no virtue of speaking is to be omitted.
§2.8.13nam licet sit aliquam in partem pronior, ut necesse est, ceteris tamen non repugnabit, atque ea cura paria faciet iis, in quibus eminebat; sicut ille (ne ab eodem exemplo recedamus) exercendi corpora peritus, non, si docendum pancratiasten susceperit, pugno ferire vel calce tantum aut nexus modo atque in iis certos aliquos docebit, sed omnia quae sunt eius certaminis.
For although he may be more inclined toward one part, as is necessary, yet he will not resist the others, and by that care he will make them equal to those in which he excelled; just as that expert in training bodies (not to depart from the same example), if he has undertaken to teach a pancratiast, will not teach him to strike with the fist or with the heel only, or only the holds and certain of them in these, but all things which belong to that contest.
erit qui ex his aliqua non possit: in id maxime quod poterit incumbet.
There will be some who cannot do some of these; he will apply himself chiefly to what he can do.
§2.8.14nam sunt haec duo vitanda prorsus: unum ne temptes quod effici non possit, alterum ne ab eo, quod quis optime facit, in aliud, ad quod minus est idoneus, transferas.
For these two things are to be avoided entirely: one, lest you attempt what cannot be accomplished; the other, lest you transfer someone from that which he does best to something else for which he is less fit.
at si fuerit qui docebitur ille, quem adolescentes senem vidimus, Nicostratus, omnibus in eo docendi partibus similiter utetur, efficietque illum, qualis hic fuit, luctando pugnandoque, quorum utroque certamine iisdem diebus coronabatur, invictum.
But if he who is to be taught should be such a person as Nicostratus, whom we saw as an old man when we were young, the teacher will use all parts of instruction in him similarly, and will make him, just as he was, invincible in wrestling and boxing, in both of which contests he was crowned on the same days.
§2.8.15et quanto id magis oratoris futuri magistro providendum erit? non enim satis est dicere presse tantum aut subtiliter aut aspere, non magis quam phonasco acutis tantum aut mediis aut gravibus sonis aut horum etiam particulis excellere.
And how much more must the future teacher of an orator provide for this? For it is not enough to speak only concisely, or subtly, or harshly, any more than for a voice trainer to excel only in high, or middle, or low sounds, or even in parts of these.
nam sicut cithara ita oratio perfecta non est, nisi ab imo ad summum omnibus intenta nervis consentiat.
For like the lyre, so perfect eloquence is not complete unless, with all strings tuned from the lowest to the highest, it is in harmony.