§3.7.1ac potissimum incipiam ab ea, quae constat laude ac vituperatione.
And I shall begin by preference with that class which consists of praise and blame.
quod genus videtur Aristoteles atque eum secutus Theophrastus a parte negotiali, hoc est πραγματικῇ removisse totamque ad solos auditores relegasse, et id eius nominis, quod ab ostentatione ducitur, proprium est.
Aristotle, and after him Theophrastus, seem to have removed this genus entirely from the practical part, that is, the pragmatike, and to have relegated it solely to the audience, and this is proper to its name, which is derived from ostentation.
§3.7.2sed mos Romanus etiam negotiis hoc munus inseruit.
But Roman custom has inserted this duty even into practical affairs.
nam et funebres laudationes pendent frequenter ex aliquo publico officio atque ex senatus consulto magistratibus saepe mandantur, et laudare testem vel contra pertinet ad momentum iudiciorum, et ipsis etiam reis dare laudatores licet, et editi in Competitores, in L. Pisonem, in Clodium et Curionem libri vituperationem continent et tamen in Senatu loco sunt habiti sententiae.
For funeral panegyrics frequently depend on some public office and are often entrusted to magistrates by a decree of the senate, and to praise a witness or the contrary belongs to the weight of trials, and even the defendants themselves are allowed to present laudatores, and the published books against Competitors, against L. Piso, and against Clodius and Curio contain vituperation and yet were delivered in the Senate in the place of a formal opinion.
§3.7.3neque infitias eo, quasdam esse ex hoc genere materias ad solam compositas ostentationem, ut laudes deorum virorumque, quos priora tempora tulerunt.
Nor do I deny that some materials of this genus are composed for sole ostentation, such as the praises of gods and of men whom former times produced.
quo solvitur quaestio supra tractata, manifestumque est errare eos, qui nunquam oratorem dicturum nisi de re dubia putaverunt.
By this the question treated above is solved, and it is manifest that those are wrong who thought that an orator would never speak except on a doubtful matter.
§3.7.4an laudes Capitolini Iovis, perpetua sacri certaminis materia, vel dubiae sunt vel non oratorio genere tractantur? ut desiderat autem laus, quae negotiis adhibetur, probationem, sic etiam illa, quae ostentationi componitur, habet interim aliquam speciem probationis; §3.7.5ut qui Romulum Martis filium educatumque a lupa dicat, in argumentum caelestis ortus utatur his, quod abiectus in profluentem non potuerit exstingui, quod omnia sic egerit, ut genitum praeside bellorum deo incredibile non esset, quod ipsum quoque caelo receptum temporis eius homines non dubitaverint.
Are the praises of Capitoline Jupiter, the perpetual material of the sacred contest, either doubtful or not treated in the oratorical genus? But as praise which is applied to practical affairs requires proof, so even that which is composed for ostentation sometimes has some appearance of proof; as one who says that Romulus is the son of Mars and was brought up by a she-wolf would use these facts as an argument for his divine origin: that being thrown into a running stream he could not be destroyed, that he performed all things in such a way that it was not incredible that he was begotten by the god who presides over wars, and that the men of that time did not doubt that he himself was also received into heaven.
§3.7.6quaedam vero etiam in defensionis speciem cadent, ut si in laude Herculis permutatum cum regina Lydiae habitum et imperata, ut traditur, pensa orator excuset.
Some indeed will even fall into the appearance of defence, as if in the praise of Hercules the orator should excuse his dress being exchanged with the queen of Lydia and the tasks, as is handed down, commanded of him.
sed proprium laudis est res amplificare et ornare.
But the proper function of praise is to amplify and adorn matters.
quae materia praecipue quidem in deos et homines cadit, est tamen et aliorum animalium, etiam carentium anima.
This material falls especially indeed upon gods and men, yet it belongs also to other animals, and even to those lacking a soul.
§3.7.7verum in deis generaliter primum maiestatem ipsius eorum naturae venerabimur, deinde proprie vim cuiusque et inventa, quae utile aliquid hominibus attulerint.
But in the case of gods, we shall generally first venerate the majesty of their very nature, and then particularly the power of each and the inventions which have brought something useful to men.
§3.7.8vis ostenditur, ut in Iove regendorum omnium, in Marte belli, in Neptuno maris; inventa, ut artium in Minerva, Mercurio litterarum, medicinae Apolline, Cerere frugum, Libero vini.
Power is shown, as in Jupiter of ruling all things, in Mars of war, in Neptune of the sea; inventions, as of arts in Minerva, of letters in Mercury, of medicine in Apollo, of grain in Ceres, of wine in Liber.
tum si qua ab iis acta vetustas tradidit, commemoranda.
Then, if antiquity has handed down any deeds done by them, they are to be commemorated.
addunt etiam dis honorem parentes, ut si quis sit filius Iovis; addit antiquitas, ut iis, qui sunt ex Chao; progenies quoque, ut Apollo ac Diana Latonae.
Parents also add honor to gods, as if one is the son of Jupiter; antiquity adds it, as to those who are from Chaos; offspring also, as Apollo and Diana to Latona.
§3.7.9laudandum in quibusdam quod geniti immortales, quibusdam quod immortalitatem virtute sint consecuti; quod pietas principis nostri praesentium quoque temporum decus fecit.
In some we must praise that they were born immortal, in others that they attained immortality by virtue; which the piety of our prince has made an honor also of the present times.
magis est varia laus hominum.
The praise of men is more varied.
§3.7.10nam primum dividitur in tempora, quodque ante eos fuit quoque ipsi vixerunt; in iis autem, qui fato sunt functi, etiam quod est insecutum.
For first it is divided into times: that which was before them, and that in which they themselves lived; and in those who have met their fate, also that which followed.
ante hominem patria ac parentes maioresque erunt, quorum duplex tractatus est: aut enim respondisse nobilitati pulchrum erit aut humilius genus illustrasse factis.
Before the man will be his country, parents, and ancestors, of whom there is a double treatment: for either it will be honorable to have responded to nobility, or to have illustrated a lowlier origin by deeds.