§9.1.19ut vero natura prius est concipere animo res quam enuntiare, ita de iis figuris ante est loquendum, quae ad mentem pertinent; quarum quidem utilitas cum magna, tum multiplex, in nullo non orationis opere vel clarissime lucet.
But just as by nature it is prior to conceive things in the mind than to express them, so we must first speak of those figures which pertain to the mind; the utility of which is indeed both great and manifold, and shines most clearly in every work of speech.
nam etsi minime videtur pertinere ad probationem, qua figura quidque dicatur, facit tamen credibilia quae dicimus et in animos iudicum, qua non observatur, irrepit.
For although the figure in which each thing is said seems to pertain very little to proof, yet it makes what we say credible and creeps into the minds of the judges by a way that is not observed.
§9.1.20namque ut in armorum certamine adversos ictus et rectas ac simplices manus cum videre, tum etiam cavere ac propulsare facile est, aversae tectaeque minus sunt observabiles, et aliud ostendisse quam petas artis est, sic oratio, quae astu caret, pondere modo et impulsu proeliatur; simulanti variantique conatus in latera atque in terga incurrere datur et arma avocare et velut nutu fallere.
For just as in a contest of arms it is easy both to see and even to guard against and ward off frontal blows and straight, simple thrusts, whereas turned and covered blows are less observable, and it is a matter of art to show one thing when you aim at another, so speech which lacks craft fights only with weight and force; but to him who feigns and varies his attempts it is allowed to rush in upon the flanks and the back, to divert weapons, and to deceive as if with a nod.
§9.1.21iam vero adfectus nihil magis ducit.
Furthermore, nothing moves the emotions more.
nam si frons, oculi, manus multum ad motum animorum valent, quanto plus orationis ipsius vultus ad id, quod efficere intendimus, compositus? plurimum tamen ad commendationem facit, sive in conciliandis agentis moribus sive ad promerendum actioni favorem sive ad levandum varietate fastidium sive ad quaedam vel decentius indicanda vel tutius.
For if the brow, the eyes, and the hands have great power to move minds, how much more does the very face of speech, composed for that which we intend to effect? Yet it does the most for commendation, whether in winning over the character of the speaker, or in earning favor for the pleading, or in relieving weariness by variety, or in indicating certain things either more decently or more safely.
§9.1.22sed antequam, quae cuique rei figura conveniat, ostendo, dicendum est nequaquam eas esse tam multas quam sint a quibusdam constitutae.
But before I show what figure suits each matter, it must be said that they are by no means so numerous as they have been established by some.
neque enim me movent nomina illa, quae fingere utique Graecis promptissimum est.
For those names do not move me, which indeed it is most prompt for the Greeks to invent.
§9.1.23ante omnia igitur illi, qui totidem figuras putant quot adfectus, repudiandi, non quia adfectus non sit quaedam qualitas mentis, sed quia figura, quam non communiter, sed proprie nominamus, non sit simplex rei cuiuscunque enuntiatio.
Before all things, therefore, those who think there are as many figures as there are emotions must be rejected, not because an emotion is not a certain quality of the mind, but because a figure, which we name not commonly but properly, is not a simple expression of any matter whatsoever.
quapropter in dicendo irasci, dolere, misereri, timere, confidere, contemnere non sunt figurae, non magis quam suadere, minari, rogare, excusare.
Wherefore, in speaking, to be angry, to grieve, to pity, to fear, to trust, to despise are not figures, no more than to persuade, to threaten, to ask, to excuse.
§9.1.24sed fallit parum diligenter intuentes, quod inveniunt in omnibus his locis figuras et earum exempla ex orationibus excerpunt.
But it deceives those who look into it with too little diligence, because they find figures in all these places and extract examples of them from speeches.
neque enim pars ulla dicendi est, quae non recipere eas possit.
For there is no part of speaking which cannot admit them.
sed aliud est admittere figuram, aliud figuram esse.
But it is one thing to admit a figure, another to be a figure.
neque enim verebor explicandae rei gratia frequentiorem eiusdem nominis repetitionem.
Nor indeed shall I fear, for the sake of explaining the matter, a more frequent repetition of the same name.
§9.1.25quare dabunt mihi aliquam in irascente, deprecante, miserante figuram, scio; sed non ideo irasci, misereri, deprecari figura erit.
Wherefore they will show me some figure in one who is angry, entreating, or pitying, I know; but not on that account will being angry, pitying, or entreating be a figure.
Cicero quidem omnia orationis lumina in hunc locum congerit, mediam quandam, ut arbitror, secutus viam: ut neque omnis sermo schema iudicaretur neque ea sola, quae haberent aliquam remotam ab usu communi fictionem, sed quae essent clarissima et ad movendum auditorem valerent plurimum; quem duobus ab eo libris tractatum locum ad litteras subieci, ne fraudarem legentes iudicio maximi auctoris.
Cicero indeed heaps all the lights of speech into this place, having followed, as I think, a certain middle way: so that neither all language should be judged a schema, nor those alone which have some fiction remote from common use, but those which are most clear and avail most to move the hearer; which passage, treated by him in two books, I have subjoined literally, lest I should deprive readers of the judgment of the greatest author.
§9.1.26in tertio de Oratore ita scriptum est: in perpetua autem oratione, cum et coniunctionis levitatem et numerorum, quam dixi, rationem tenuerimus, tum est quasi luminibus distinguenda et frequentanda omnis oratio sententiarum atque verborum.
In the third book of De Oratore it is written thus: "But in continuous speech, when we have maintained both the smoothness of connection and the measure of numbers which I spoke of, then all speech must be distinguished and crowded, as it were, with the lights of thoughts and words.
§9.1.27nam et commoratio una in re permultum movet et illustris explanation rerumque, quasi gerantur, sub aspectum paene subiectio, quae et in exponenda re plurimum valet et ad illustrandum id quod exponitur et ad amplificandum, ut iis qui audient illud quod augebimus, quantum efficere oratio poterit, tantum esse videatur;
For both dwelling upon one matter moves very much, and a clear explanation and placing of things almost before our eyes, as if they were going on, which is of greatest avail both in exposing a matter and in illustrating what is exposed and in amplifying it, so that what we exaggerate may appear to those who hear to be as great as the power of speech can make it;"