§6.3.57acriora igitur sunt et elegantiora, quae trahuntur ex vi rerum.
Therefore, sharper and more elegant are those sayings which are drawn from the nature of things.
in his maxime valet similitudo, si tamen ad aliquid inferius leviusque referatur; quae iam veteres illi iocabantur, qui Lentulum Spintherem et Scipionem Serapionem esse dixerunt.
Among these, similarity is most effective, provided, however, it is referred to something lower and lighter; which those ancients already used to joke about, who said that Lentulus was Spinther and Scipio was Serapion.
sed ea non ab hominibus modo petitur verum etiam ab animalibus, ut nobis pueris Iunius Bassus, homo in primis dicax, asinus albus vocabatur; §6.3.58et Sarmentus Messium Cicirrum equo fero comparavit.
But this similarity is sought not only from men, but also from animals; for instance, when we were boys, Junius Bassus, a particularly witty man, was called "the white ass"; and Sarmentus compared Messius Cicirrus to a wild horse.
ducitur et ab inanimis sicut P. Blaesius Iulium, hominem nigrum et macrum et pandum, fibulam ferream dixit. quod nunc risus petendi genus frequentissimum est.
It is also drawn from inanimate things, just as Publius Blaesius called Julius—a black, thin, and bent man—an "iron buckle." Which kind of seeking laughter is now very frequent.
§6.3.59Adhibetur autem similitudo interim palam, interim inseri solet parabolae; cuius est generis illud Augusti, qui militi libellum timide porrigenti, noli, inquit, tanquam assem elephanto des. §6.3.60sunt quaedam vi similia; unde Vatinius dixit hoc dictum, cum reus, agente in eum Calvo, frontem candido sudario tergeret, idque ipsum accusator in invidiam vocaret, quamvis reus sum, inquit, et panem item candidum edo. §6.3.61adhuc est subtilior illa ex simili translatio, cum, quod in alia re fieri solet, in aliam mutuamur.
Moreover, similarity is applied sometimes openly, sometimes it is wont to be inserted into a comparison; of which kind is that saying of Augustus, who said to a soldier timidly offering him a petition: "Do not offer it as if you were giving a penny to an elephant." There are some things similar in force; whence Vatinius said this saying, when a defendant, while Calvus was prosecuting him, was wiping his forehead with a white handkerchief, and the accuser was turning this very thing into a matter of ill-will, said: "Although I am a defendant, I nevertheless eat white bread." Still more subtle is that metaphor from similarity, when we borrow what is wont to be done in one thing into another.
ea dicatur sane fictio: ut Chrysippus, cum in triumpho Caesaris eborea oppida essent translata, et post dies paucos Fabii Maximi lignea, thecas esse oppidorum Caesaris dixit.
Let this indeed be called "fiction": as when Chrysippus, when ivory towns were carried in Caesar's triumph, and a few days later wooden ones in that of Fabius Maximus, said that they were the "cases" of Caesar's towns.
et Pedo de mirmillone, qui retiarium consequebatur nec feriebat, vivum, inquit, capere vult. §6.3.62iungitur amphiboliae similitudo, ut a Galba, qui pilam negligenter petenti, sic, inquit, petis, tamquam Caesaris candidatus. Nam illud petis ambiguum est, securitas similis Quod hactenus ostendisse satis est.
And Pedo, concerning a mirmillo who was pursuing a retiarius but did not strike him, said: "He wants to take him alive." Similarity is joined to ambiguity, as by Galba, who said to someone seeking the ball carelessly: "You seek it in such a way, as if you were a candidate of Caesar's." For that word "petis" is ambiguous, and the carelessness is similar. Which it is enough to have shown thus far.
§6.3.63ceterum frequentissima aliorum generum cum aliis mixtura est, eaque optima, quae ex pluribus constat.
For the rest, the mixture of different kinds with others is very frequent, and that is best which consists of several.
eadem dissimilium ratio est.
The same principle applies to dissimilar things.
hinc eques Romanus, ad quem in spectaculis bibentem cum misisset Augustus, qui ei diceret, ego si prandere volo, domum eo: Tu enim, inquit, non times, ne locum perdas. §6.3.64ex contrario non una species.
Hence the Roman knight, to whom, when he was drinking during the spectacles, Augustus had sent someone to say to him, "If I want to lunch, I go home," replied: "Yes, for you do not fear that you will lose your seat." From the contrary, there is not only one species.
neque enim eodem modo dixit Augustus praefecto, quem cum ignominia mittebat, subinde interponenti precibus, quid respondebo patri meo? dic, me tibi displicuisse; quo Galba penulam roganti: non possum commodare, domi maneo, cum cenaculum eius perplueret.
For Augustus did not speak in the same way to a prefect whom he was dismissing with ignominy, who repeatedly put in amid his prayers, "What shall I answer to my father?": "Tell him that I displeased you"; with which manner Galba answered someone asking for a cloak: "I cannot lend it, I am staying at home," although his garret was leaking rain.
tertium adhuc illud: (nisi quod, ut ne auctorem ponam, verecundia ipsius facit) libidinosior es quam ullus spado; quo sine dubio et opinio decipitur sed ex contrario.
Still a third is that: (except that modesty prevents me from naming the author) "You are more lustful than any eunuch"; by which, without doubt, expectation is deceived, but from the contrary.
et hoc ex eodem loco est sed nulli priorum simile, quod dixit M. Vestinus, cum ei nuntiatum esset necatum esse, aliquando desinet putere. §6.3.65onerabo librum exemplis similemque iis, qui risus gratia componuntur, efficiam, si persequi voluero singula veterum.
And this is from the same topic but similar to none of the prior ones, which Marcus Vestinus said when it was announced to him that someone had been killed: "At last he will cease to stink." I shall overload the book with examples, and make it similar to those which are compiled for the sake of laughter, if I wish to pursue every single one of the ancients.
ex omnibus argumentorum locis eadem occasio est.
From all topics of arguments, there is the same opportunity.
nam et finitione usus est Augustus de pantomimis duobus, qui alternis gestibus contendebant, cum eorum alterum saltatorem dixit alterum interpellatorem; §6.3.66et partitione Galba, cum paenulam roganti respondit, non pluit, non opus est tibi; si pluit, ipse utar. proinde genere, specie, propriis, differentibus, iugatis, adiunctis, consequentibus, antecedentibus, repugnantibus, causis, effectis, comparatione parium, maiorum, minorum similis materia praebetur; sicut in tropos quoque omnes cadit.
For Augustus used definition concerning two pantomimes who were contending with alternating gestures, when he called one of them a "dancer" and the other an "interrupter"; and Galba used partition, when he replied to one asking for a cloak: "It is not raining, you do not need it; if it rains, I shall use it myself." Accordingly, similar material is provided by genus, species, properties, differences, conjugates, adjuncts, consequents, antecedents, repugnants, causes, effects, and comparison of equals, greaters, and lessers; just as it also falls into all tropes.
§6.3.67an non plurima per hyperbolen dicuntur? quale refert Cicero de homine praelongo, caput eum ad fornicem Fabium offendisse; et quod P. Oppius dixit de genere Lentulorum, cum assidue minores parentibus liberi essent, nascendo interiturum.
Are not very many things said through hyperbole? such as Cicero reports concerning an extremely tall man, that he had struck his head against the Fabian arch; and what Publius Oppius said of the Lentulus family, since the children were continuously smaller than their parents, that it would perish by being born.