§4.1.56nec minus diligenter ne suspecti simus illa parte vitandum est, propter quod minime ostentari debet in principiis cura, quia videtur ars omnis dicentis contra iudicem adhiberi.
Nor must we avoid less diligently in that part making ourselves suspected, because of which care ought to be least displayed in the introduction, because all art of the speaker seems to be employed against the judge.
§4.1.57sed ipsum istud evitare summae artis est.
But to avoid this very thing is a matter of the highest art.
nam id sine dubio ab omnibus et quidem optime praeceptum est, verum aliquatenus temporum condicione mutatur, quia iam quibusdam in iudiciis maximeque capitalibus aut apud centumviros ipsi iudices exigunt sollicitas et accuratas actiones, contemnique se, nisi in dicendo etiam diligentia appareat, credunt, nec doceri tantum sed etiam delectari volunt.
For this is undoubtedly prescribed by all and indeed in the best way, but it is changed to some extent by the condition of the times, because now in certain trials, and especially capital ones, or before the centumviri, the judges themselves demand anxious and accurate pleadings, and they believe themselves despised unless diligence also appears in speaking, and they wish not only to be instructed but also to be pleased.
§4.1.58et est difficilis huius rei moderatio, quae tamen temperari ita potest, ut videamur accurate non callide dicere.
And the moderation of this matter is difficult, which nevertheless can be tempered in such a way that we may seem to speak accurately, not craftily.
illud ex praeceptis veteribus manet, ne quod insoles verbum, ne audacius translatum, ne aut ab obsoleta vetustate aut poetica licentia sumptum in principio deprehendatur.
That remains from the ancient precepts, lest any unfamiliar word, or a bolder metaphor, or one taken from obsolete antiquity or poetic license, be detected in the beginning.
§4.1.59nondum enim recepti sumus, et custodit nos recens audientium intentio; magis conciliatis animis et iam calentibus haec libertas feretur, maximeque cum in locos fuerimus ingressi, quorum naturalis ubertas licentiam verbi notari circumfuso nitore non patitur.
For we have not yet been received, and the fresh attention of the listeners guards us; this liberty will be borne when minds are more won over and already warm, and especially when we have entered upon those loci whose natural abundance does not allow the license of the word to be noticed because of the surrounding brilliance.
§4.1.60nec argumentis autem nec locis nec narrationi similis esse in prooemio debet oratio, neque tamen deducta semper atque circumlita, sed saepe simplici atque illaboratae similis, nec verbis vultuque nimia promittens.
Moreover, the speech in the introduction ought to be similar neither to arguments, nor to loci, nor to narration; yet it should not be always elaborate and painted, but often similar to a simple and unlabored one, not promising too much in words and expression.
dissimulata enim et, ut Graeci dicunt, ἀνεπίφαντος actio melius saepe surrepit.
For a disguised and, as the Greeks say, anepiphantos pleading often creeps in better.
sed haec, prout formari animum iudicum expediet.
But these things must be done according as it is expedient for the mind of the judges to be formed.
§4.1.61turbari memoria vel continuandi verba facultate destitui nusquam turpius, cum vitiosum prooemium possit videri cicatricosa facies, et pessimus certe gubernator qui navem, dum portu egreditur, impegit.
To be confused in memory or to be deprived of the power of continuing words is nowhere more disgraceful, since a faulty introduction can seem like a scarred face, and certainly he is the worst helmsman who runs his ship aground while leaving port.
§4.1.62modus autem principii pro causa.
But the measure of the introduction is according to the case.
nam breve simplices, longius perplexae suspectaeque et infames desiderant.
For simple cases require a short one, while complex, suspected, and infamous ones require a longer one.
ridendi vero, qui velut legem prooemiis omnibus dederunt, ut intra quattuor sensus terminarentur.
Those are indeed to be laughed at who gave as a law, as it were, for all introductions that they should be terminated within four sentences.
nec minus evitanda est immodica eius longitudo, ne in caput excrevisse videatur et quo praeparare debet fatiget.
Nor must its immoderate length be avoided less, lest it should seem to have grown into a head, and fatigue the person whom it ought to prepare.
§4.1.63sermonem a persona iudicis aversum, quae ἀποστροφή dicitur, quidam in totum a prooemio summouent, nonnulla quidem in hanc persuasionem ratione ducti.
Speech turned away from the person of the judge, which is called apostrophe, some remove entirely from the introduction, being led by some reason indeed to this belief.
nam prorsus esse hoc magis secundum naturam confitendum est, ut eos alloquamur potissimum, quos conciliare nobis studemus.
For it must be confessed that this is altogether more according to nature, that we should address those most of all whom we study to win over to us.
§4.1.64interim tamen et est prooemio necessarius sensus aliquis, et hic acrior fit atque vehementior ad personam derectus alterius.
Sometimes, however, some thought is also necessary for the introduction, and this becomes sharper and more vehement when directed to the person of another.
quod si accidat. quo iure aut qua tanta superstitione prohibeamur dare per hanc figuram sententiae vires?
If this should happen, by what right or by what great superstition should we be forbidden to give strength to the thought through this figure?
§4.1.65neque enim istud scriptores artium, quia non liceat, sed quia non putent utile, vetant.
For the writers on the art do not forbid that because it is not allowed, but because they do not think it useful.
ita si vincet utilitas, propter eandem causam facere debebimus propter quam vetamur.
Thus, if utility wins, we must do for the same cause that for which we are forbidden.
§4.1.66et Demosthenes autem ad Aeschinen orationem in prooemio convertit, et M. Tullius, cum pro aliis quibusdam, ad quos ei visum est, tum pro Ligario ad Tuberonem; §4.1.67nam erat multo futura languidior, si esset aliter figurata.
And Demosthenes indeed turned his speech in the introduction to Aeschines, and Marcus Tullius, as well as in certain other cases to whom it seemed fit to him, so especially for Ligarius to Tubero; for it would have been much flatter if it had been figured otherwise.
quod facilius cognoscet, si quis totam illam partem vehementissimam, cuius haec forma est, habes igitur, Tubero, quod est accusatori maxime optandum, et cetera convertat ad iudicem; tum enim vere aversa videatur oratio et languescat vis omnis, dicentibus nobis habet igitur Tubero, quod est accusatori maxime optandum. illo enim modo pressit atque institit,
Which anyone will more easily understand if he should turn that whole most vehement part, of which this is the form: "You have therefore, Tubero, what is most to be wished by an accuser," and the rest, to the judge; for then the speech would seem truly averted and all its force would languish, when we say: "Tubero has therefore what is most to be wished by an accuser." For in that former way he pressed and pursued him, in this way he would only have indicated it.
§4.1.68hoc tantum indicasset. quod idem in Demosthene, si flexum illi mutaveris, accidit.
The same thing happens in Demosthenes, if you change that turn for him.
quid? non Sallustius derecto ad Ciceronem, in quem ipsum dicebat, usus est principio, et quidem protinus? graviter et iniquo animo maledicta tua paterer, Marce Tulli, sicut Cicero fecerat in Catilinam:
What? Did not Sallust use an introduction directed straight to Cicero, against whom himself he was speaking, and indeed immediately? "I should bear your insults heavily and with an uneasy mind, Marcus Tullius," just as Cicero had done against Catiline.