§9.4.116ergo quem ut poemate locum habet versificatio, eum ut oratione compositio.
Therefore, the place that versification holds in poetry, composition holds in prose.
optime autem de illa iudicant aures, quae plena sentiunt et parum expleta desiderant et fragosis offenduntur et levibus mulcentur et contortis excitantur et stabilia probant, clauda deprehendunt, redundantia ac nimia fastidiunt.
But the ears judge best of this; they feel what is full, desire what is not quite filled, are offended by the harsh, soothed by the smooth, excited by the complex, approve of the stable, detect the halting, and loathe the redundant and excessive.
ideoque docti rationem componendi intelligunt, etiam indocti voluptatem.
And therefore the learned understand the theory of composition, and even the unlearned feel its pleasure.
§9.4.117quaedam vero tradi arte non possunt.
Certain things, however, cannot be taught by art.
mutandus est casus, si durius is, quo coeperamus, feratur.
The case must be changed if the one with which we began is carried too harshly.
num, ut quem transeamus ex quo, praecipi potest? figura laboranti compositioni variata saepe succurrit.
Can it be prescribed from which case to which we should transition? A varied figure often comes to the aid of a struggling composition.
quae? cum orationis, tum etiam sententiae? num praescriptum eius rei ullum est? occasionibus utendum et cum re praesenti deliberandum est.
Which one? Both of speech and of thought? Is there any prescription for this matter? One must make use of opportunities and deliberate according to the present case.
§9.4.118iam vero spatia ipsa, quae ut hac quidem parte plurimum valent, quod possunt nisi aurium habere iudicium? cur alia paucioribus verbis satis plena vel nimium, alia pluribus brevia et abscisa sunt? cur ut circumductionibus, etiam cum sensus finitus est, aliquid tamen loci vacare videatur?
Now indeed, the intervals themselves, which have the greatest power in this part, what can they have except the judgment of the ears? Why are some sentences sufficiently full, or even too much so, with fewer words, while others with more words are short and abrupt? Why, in periods, even when the sense is finished, does some space still seem to be vacant?
§9.4.119neminem vestrum ignorare arbitror, iudices, hunc per hosce dies sermonem vulgi atque hanc opinionem populi Romani fuisse. cur hosce potius quam hos? neque enim erat asperum.
"I think, judges, that none of you is ignorant that during these days this has been the talk of the common people and this the opinion of the Roman people." Why 'hosce' rather than 'hos'? For the latter was not harsh either.
rationem fortasse non reddam, sentiam tamen esse melius.
Perhaps I cannot give the reason, yet I feel that it is better.
cur non satis sit, sermonem vulgi fuisse, (compositio enim patiebatur) ignorabo; sed ut audio hoc, animus accipit plenum sine hac geminatione non esse.
Why it is not enough to say 'sermonem vulgi fuisse' (for the composition allowed it), I do not know; but when I hear this, my mind accepts that without this doubling it is not full.
§9.4.120ad sensum igitur referenda sunt.
They must therefore be referred to the senses.
et si qui non satis forte, quid seuerum, quid iucundum sit, intelligent, facient quidem natura duce melius quam arte; sed naturae ipsi ars inerit.
And if anyone does not quite understand what is severe and what is pleasant, they will indeed do better under the guidance of nature than by art; yet art itself will be inherent in nature.
illud prorsus oratoris, §9.4.121scire ubi quoque genere compositionis sit utendum.
This is entirely the business of the orator: to know where and what kind of composition is to be used.
ea duplex observatio est: altera, quae ad pedes refertur; altera, quae ad comprehensiones, quae efficiuntur ex pedibus.
This observation is twofold: one, which refers to the feet; the other, which refers to the periods, which are made of the feet.
ac de his prius.
And of these first.
§9.4.122diximus igitur esse incisa, membra, circuitus.
We have said, then, that there are incisa, membra, and periods.
incisum (quantum mea fert opinio) erit sensus non expleto numero conclusus, plerisque pars membri.
An incisum (in my opinion) will be a thought concluded without its rhythm being fully filled out, and to most people it is a part of a membrum.
tale est enim, quo Cicero utitur: domus tibi deerat? at habebas.
For such is that which Cicero uses: "Did you lack a house? But you had one.
pecunia superabat? at egebas. fiunt autem etiam singulis verbis incisa; diximus, testes dare volumus; incisum est diximus.
Did money overflow? But you were in need." Indeed, incisa are made even of single words: "We have spoken, we wish to present witnesses"; the incisum is 'We have spoken'.
§9.4.123membrum autem est sensus numeris conclusus, sed a toto corpore abruptus et per se nihil efficiens.
A membrum, however, is a thought concluded with rhythm, but severed from the whole body and by itself achieving nothing.
O callidos homines perfectum est, sed remotum a ceteris vim non habet, ut per se manus et pes et caput: et O rem excogitatam.
"O cunning men!" is complete, but removed from the rest it has no power, just as a hand, a foot, or a head by itself; and "O devised thing!".
quando ergo incipit corpus esse? cum venit extrema conclusio: quem, quaeso, nostrum fefellit, id vos ita esse facturos? quam Cicero brevissimam putat.
When, then, does it begin to be a body? When the final conclusion comes: "Which of us, I ask, did it escape that you would act in this way?", which Cicero considers the shortest period.
itaque fere incisa et membra mutila sunt et conclusionem utique desiderant.
Therefore, incisa and membra are generally mutilated and certainly require a conclusion.
§9.4.124periodo plurima nomina dat Cicero, ambitum, circuitum, comprehensionem, continuationem, circumscriptionem.
Cicero gives many names to the period: ambitus, circuitus, comprehensio, continuatio, circumscriptio.
genera eius duo sunt, alterum simplex, cum sensus unus longiore ambitu circumducitur, alterum, quod constat membris et incisis, quae plures sensus habent: aderat ianitor carceris, carnifex praetoris, reliqua. habet periodus membra minimum duo.
There are two kinds of it: one simple, when a single thought is drawn out in a longer circuit; the other, which consists of membra and incisa, which have several thoughts: "There was present the keeper of the prison, the executioner of the praetor, and the rest." A period has at least two membra.
§9.4.125medius numerus videntur quattuor, sed recipit frequenter et plura.
The average number seems to be four, but it frequently admits more.
modus eius a Cicerone aut quattuor senariis versibus aut ipsius spiritus modo terminatur.
Its limit is defined by Cicero either by four senarii verses or by the measure of the breath itself.
praestare debet ut sensum concludat; sit aperta, ut intelligi possit, non immodica, ut memoria contineri.
It must guarantee to conclude the sense; it should be clear, so that it can be understood, not excessive, so that it can be held in memory.
membrum longius iusto tardum; brevius instabile est.
A membrum longer than is proper is slow; one that is shorter is unstable.
§9.4.126ubicunque acriter erit, instanter, pugnaciter dicendum,membratim caesimque dicemus, nam hoc ut oratione plurimum valet; adeoque rebus accommodanda compositio, ut asperis asperos etiam numeros adhiberi oporteat et cum dicente aeque audientem inhorrescere.
Wherever we must speak sharply, urgently, or pugnaciously, we shall speak in membra and incisa, for this has the greatest power in prose; and composition must be so adapted to things that even harsh rhythms ought to be applied to harsh matters, and the hearer should shudder equally with the speaker.