§8.pr.12his argumentandi et adficiendi locos et quibus generibus concitari, placari, resolvi iudices oporteret, adiecimus.
To these we added the loci of arguing and of touching the feelings, and by what means the judges ought to be excited, appeased, and won over.
accessit ratio divisionis.
The method of division was also added.
credere modo qui discet velit materiam quandam variam esse, et in qua multa etiam sine doctrina praestare debeat per se ipsa natura, ut haec de quibus dixi non tam inventa a praeceptoribus quam cum fierent observata esse videantur.
Let him who learns only be willing to believe that the subject matter is varied, and in which nature itself of its own accord ought to supply many things even without instruction, so that these things of which I have spoken may seem not so much discovered by teachers as observed while they were being done.
§8.pr.13plus exigunt laboris et curae quae sequuntur.
What follows demands more labor and care.
hinc enim iam elocutionis rationem tractabimus, partem operis, ut inter omnes oratores convenit, difficillimam.
For from this point we shall treat the theory of style, a part of the work which, as is agreed among all orators, is the most difficult.
nam et M. Antonius, cuius supra mentionem habuimus, cum a se disertos visos esse multos ait, eloquentem neminem: diserto satis putat dicere quae oporteat, ornate autem dicere proprium esse eloquentissimi.
For M. Antonius also, of whom we made mention above, when he says that many fluent speakers had been seen by him, but no eloquent one, thinks that it is enough for a fluent man to say what is necessary, but to speak ornately is the characteristic of the most eloquent.
§8.pr.14quae virtus si usque ad eum in nullo reperta est, ac ne in ipso quidem aut L. Crasso, certum est et in his et in prioribus eam desideratam, quia difficillima fuit.
If this virtue was found in no one up to him, and not even in himself or in L. Crassus, it is certain that it was lacking both in them and in their predecessors, because it was extremely difficult.
et Marcus Tullius inventionem quidem ac dispositionem prudentis hominis putat, §8.pr.15eloquentiam oratoris, ideoque praecipue circa praecepta partis huius laboravit.
And Marcus Tullius thinks that invention and arrangement are the part of a wise man, eloquence the part of an orator, and therefore he labored especially around the rules of this part.
quod eum merito fecisse etiam ipso rei, de qua loquimur, nomine palam declaratur.
That he did this with good reason is clearly shown even by the very name of the subject of which we speak.
eloqui enim est omnia, quae mente conceperis, promere atque ad audientes perferre; sine quo supervacua sunt priora et similia gladio condito atque intra vaginam suam haerenti.
For to express is to bring forth and convey to the hearers all things which you have conceived in the mind; without which the former things are useless and like a sheathed sword sticking within its scabbard.
§8.pr.16hoc itaque maxime docetur, hoc nullus nisi arte adsequi potest, hic studium plurimum adhibendum, hoc exercitatio petit, hoc imitatio, hic omnis aetas consumitur, hoc maxime orator oratore praestantior, hoc genera ipsa dicendi alia alia potiora.
This therefore is taught most of all, this no one can attain except by art, here the greatest study must be applied, this exercise demands, this imitation, here a whole lifetime is spent, by this especially is one orator superior to another, by this some styles of speaking are better than others.
§8.pr.17neque enim Asiani aut quocunque alio genere corrupti res non viderunt aut eas non collocaverunt neque, quos aridos vocamus, stulti aut in causis caeci fuerunt; sed his iudicium in eloquendo ac modus, illis vires defuerunt, ut appareat in hoc et vitium et virtutem esse dicendi.
For neither did the Asiatics, or those corrupted by any other style, fail to see the facts or fail to arrange them, nor were those whom we call dry foolish or blind in their cases; but the former lacked judgment in expression and restraint, while the latter lacked vigor, so that it appears that both the vice and the virtue of speaking exist in this.
§8.pr.18non ideo tamen sola est agenda cura verborum.
However, we must not on that account care for words alone.
occurram enim necesse est et, velut in vestibulo protinus apprehensuris hanc confessionem meam, resistam iis qui, omissa rerum (qui nervi sunt in causis) diligentia, quodam inani circa voces studio senescunt, idque faciunt gratia decoris, qui est in dicendo mea quidem opinione pulcherrimus, sed cum sequitur non cum adfectatur.
For I must run to meet and resist those who, as if ready to seize upon this admission of mine on the very threshold, neglect care for things (which are the sinews in cases) and grow old in a certain empty study about words, and they do this for the sake of ornament, which in speaking is in my opinion most beautiful, but when it follows naturally, not when it is affected.
§8.pr.19corpora sana et integri sanguinis et exercitatione firmata ex iisdem his speciem accipiunt ex quibus vires, namque et colorata et adstricta et lacertis expressa sunt; at eadem si quis volsa atque fucata muliebriter comat, foedissima sint ipso formae labore.
Healthy bodies of sound blood and strengthened by exercise receive their beauty from these very same things from which they receive their strength; for they are both ruddy, firm, and defined by muscles; but if someone should deck them out effeminately, plucked and painted, they would be most foul by the very effort to make them beautiful.
§8.pr.20et cultus concessus atque magnificus addit hominibus, ut Graeco versu testatum est, auctoritatem; at muliebris et luxuriosus non corpus exornat, sed detegit mentem.
And a dress that is allowable and magnificent adds authority to men, as is attested by a Greek verse; but an effeminate and luxurious one does not adorn the body, but exposes the mind.
similiter illa translucida et versicolor quorundam elocutio res ipsas effeminat, quae illo verborum habitu vestiantur.
Similarly, that translucent and multicolored style of some emasculates the very things which are clothed in that garb of words.
curam ergo verborum, rerum volo esse sollicitudinem.
I wish, therefore, that there be care for words, but solicitude for things.
§8.pr.21nam plerumque optima rebus cohaerent et cernuntur suo lumine; at nos quaerimus illa, tanquam lateant semper seque subducant.
For generally the best things cling to the subject matter and are seen by their own light; but we search for them as if they were always hidden and withdrawing themselves.
ita nunquam putamus circa id esse de quo dicendum est, sed ex aliis locis petimus et inventis vim adferimus.
Thus we never think that they are around that of which we must speak, but we seek them from other places and offer violence to our discoveries.
§8.pr.22maiore animo aggredienda eloquentia est, quae si toto corpore valet, ungues polire et capillum reponere non existimabit ad curam suam pertinere.
Eloquence must be approached with a greater spirit, and if she is strong in her whole body, she will not think that to polish the nails and adjust the hair belongs to her care.
sed evenit plerumque ut in hac diligentia deterior etiam fiat oratio, primum,
But it generally happens that in this fastidiousness the speech becomes even worse; firstly,