§9.3.1verborum vero figurae et mutatae sunt semper et, utcunque valuit consuetudo, mutantur.
But figures of words have always changed and, as custom has prevailed, continue to change.
itaque, si antiquum sermonem nostro comparemus, paene iam quidquid loquimur figura est, ut hac re invidere, non ut veteres et Cicero praecipue, hanc rem, et incumbere illi, non in illum, et plenum vino non vini, et huic non hunc adulari iam dicitur et mille alia; utinamque non peiora vincant.
Therefore, if we compare ancient speech with our own, almost everything we say is now a figure, as when we now say "to envy this thing" using the ablative (hac re invidere), and not, as the ancients and especially Cicero did, using the accusative (hanc rem), and "to lean upon that" with the dative (incumbere illi), not with the accusative (in illum), and "full of wine" with the ablative (plenum vino), not with the genitive (vini), and "to flatter this man" with the dative (huic), not with the accusative (hunc) and a thousand other things; and I wish the worse did not prevail.
§9.3.2verum schemata λέξεως duorum sunt generum: alterum loquendi rationem vocant, alterum maxime collocatione exquisitum est.
But schemata of words are of two kinds: one they call the grammatical rule of speaking, the other is highly polished by collocation.
quorum tametsi utrumque convenit orationi, tamen possis illud grammaticum hoc rhetoricum magis dicere.
Although both of these are suitable for speech, yet you might call the former more grammatical and the latter more rhetorical.
prius fit iisdem generibus quibus vitia.
The former arises from the same classes as grammatical faults do.
esset enim orationis schema vitium, si non peteretur, sed accideret.
For a figure of speech would be a fault if it were not sought after, but happened by accident.
§9.3.3verum auctoritate, vetustate, consuetudine plerumque defenditur, saepe etiam ratione quadam.
But it is defended for the most part by authority, antiquity, custom, and often even by a certain reason.
ideoque, cum sit a simplici rectoque loquendi genere deflexa, virtus est, si habet probabile aliquid, quod sequatur.
And therefore, since it is deflected from the simple and direct way of speaking, it is a virtue if it has something plausible to follow.
una tamen in re maxime utilis, ut cotidiani ac semper eodem modo formati sermonis fastidium levet et nos a vulgari dicendi genere defendat.
It is, however, most useful in one respect: to relieve the boredom of everyday speech which is always formed in the same manner, and to protect us from a common way of speaking.
§9.3.4quodsi quis parce et, cum res poscet, utetur; velut asperso quodam condimento iucundior erit; at qui nimium adfectaverit, ipsam illam gratiam varietatis amittet.
And if anyone uses it sparingly and when the matter demands, it will be more pleasant, like a sprinkled seasoning; but he who affects it too much will lose that very grace of variety.
quanquam sunt quaedam figurae ita receptae, ut paene iam hoc ipsum nomen effugerint; quae etiamsi fuerint crebriores, consuetas aures minus ferient.
Yet there are some figures so widely accepted that they have now almost escaped this very name; and these, even if they are more frequent, will strike customary ears less.
§9.3.5nam secretae et extra vulgarem usum positae ideoque magis notabiles, ut novitate aurem excitant, ita copia satiant, et se non obvias fuisse dicenti sed conquisitas et ex omnibus latebris extractas congestasque declarant.
For those which are hidden and placed outside common use, and therefore more noticeable, just as they excite the ear by novelty, so they satisfy to satiety when in abundance, and declare themselves not to have been obvious to the speaker but searched for, dragged out of all hiding places, and piled up.
§9.3.6fiunt ergo et circa genus figurae in nominibus; nam et oculis capti talpae et timidi dammae dicuntur a Vergilio; sed subest ratio, quia sexus uterque altero significatur, tamque mares esse talpas dammasque quam feminas certum est; et in verbis, ut fabricatus est gladium et inimicum poenitus es.
Figures are therefore made also concerning gender in nouns; for "blind moles" and "fearful deer" are called feminine in gender by Virgil, though with masculine modifiers; but there is a reason underneath, because each sex is signified by one form, and it is certain that there are male moles and deer as well as female; and in verbs, as "he fashioned a sword" (fabricatus est gladium) and "you punished an enemy" (inimicum poenitus es).
§9.3.7quod mirum minus est, quia in natura verborum est et quae facimus patiendi modo saepe dicere, ut arbitror, suspicor, et contra faciendi quae patimur, ut vapulo; ideoque frequens permutatio est et pleraque utroque modo efferuntur: luxuriatur, luxuriat; fluctuatur, fluctuat; adsentior, adsentio.
Which is less surprising, because it is in the nature of verbs often to say what we do in a passive form, such as "I judge" (arbitror), "I suspect" (suspicol), and on the contrary, what we suffer in an active form, such as "I am beaten" (vapulo); and therefore there is frequent permutation and most are expressed in both ways: "he runs riot" (luxuriatur, luxuriat); "he wavers" (fluctuatur, fluctuat); "I agree" (adsentior, adsentio).
§9.3.8est figura et in numero, vel cum singulari pluralis subiungitur, gladio pugnacissima gens Romani (gens enim ex multis), vel ex diverso,
"
"
qui non risere parentes,
nec deus hunc mensa dea nec dignata cubili est; "
"
Ex illis enim, qui non risere, hic quem non dignata.
There is also a figure in number, either when a plural is subjoined to a singular, as "the Romans, a most warlike nation with the sword" (gladio pugnacissima gens Romani) (for "nation" is made of many), or on the contrary, "those who did not smile upon their parents, neither did a god deign him worthy of his table, nor a goddess of her bed;" For out of those who did not smile, this one is he whom she did not deign worthy.
§9.3.9* satura est
"
sed nostrum istud vivere triste
aspexi,
"
cum infinito verbo sit usus pro appellatione; nostram enim vitam vult intelligi.
In satire there is: "but I beheld that sad living of ours," since he has used an infinitive verb instead of a noun; for he wants "our life" to be understood.
utimur et verbo pro participio,
"
magnum dat ferre talentum,
"
tanquam ferendum, et participio pro verbo, volo datum.
We also use a verb instead of a participle, "he gives a great talent to bear," as if it were "to be borne" (ferendum), and a participle for a verb, "I want it given" (volo datum).
§9.3.10interim etiam dubitari potest, cui vitio simile sit schema: ut in hoc
"
virus est vitium fugere:
"
aut enim partes orationis mutat ex illo virtus est fuga vitiorum, aut casus ex illo virtutis est vilium fugere; multo tamen hoc utroque excitatius.
Sometimes it can even be doubted to which fault a figure is similar, as in this: "to flee vice is virtue;" for either it changes parts of speech from "the flight of vices is virtue" (virtus est fuga vitiorum), or cases from "to flee vice is of virtue" (virtutis est vitium fugere); yet this is much more spirited than either.
iunguntur interim schemata: Sthenelus sciens pugnae; est enim scitus Sthenelus pugnandi.
Sometimes figures are combined: "Sthenelus knowing of the fight" (Sthenelus sciens pugnae); for it is "Sthenelus skilled in fighting" (scitus Sthenelus pugnandi).
§9.3.11transferuntur et tempora: Timarchides negat esse ei periculum a securi, (praesens enim pro praeterito positum est) et status:
"
hoc Ithacus velit; "
et, ne morer, per omnia genera per quae fit soloecismus.
Tenses are also transferred: "Timarchides denies that there is danger to him from the axe" (where the present tense is placed for the past) and moods: "this the Ithacan would wish;" and, not to delay, through all the classes through which a solecism is committed.