§9.4.23primum igitur de ordine.
First, then, concerning order.
eius observatio ut verbis est singulis et contextis.
Its observation applies both to single words and to connected ones.
singula sunt, quae ἀσύνδετα diximus.
Single words are those which we have called *asyndeta*.
in his cavendum, ne decrescat oratio, et fortiori subiungatur aliquid infirmius, ut sacrilege fur, aut latroni petulans. augeri enim debent sententiae et insurgere, ut optime Cicero, tu, inquit, istis faucibus, istis lateribus, ista gladiatoria totius corporis firmitate. aliud enim maius alii supervenit.
In these, care must be taken lest the speech should decrease, and something weaker be subjoined to something stronger, as 'a sacrilegious man and a thief,' or 'a robber and a petulant man.' For thoughts ought to increase and rise, as Cicero most excellently says: 'you, with those throat-muscles, those lungs, that gladiatorial strength of your whole body.' For one larger thing comes upon another.
at si coepisset a toto corpore, non bene ad latera faucesque descenderet.
But if he had begun with the whole body, he would not have descended well to the lungs and the throat.
est et alius naturalis ordo, ut viros ac feminas, diem ac noctem, ortum et occasum dicas potius quam retrorsum.
There is also another natural order, such as to say men and women, day and night, rising and setting, rather than the reverse.
§9.4.24quaedam ordine permutato fiunt supervacua, ut fratres gemini; nam si gemini praecesserint, fratres addere non est necesse. illa nimia quorundam fuit observatio, ut vocabula verbis, verba rursus adverbiis, nomina appositis et pronominibus essent priora; nam fit contra quoque frequenter non indecore.
Certain things become superfluous when the order is changed, as 'twin brothers'; for if 'twins' comes first, it is not necessary to add 'brothers.' There was too excessive an observation among some, that nouns should be prior to verbs, verbs again to adverbs, and nouns to epithets and pronouns; for the contrary also is frequently done not unbecomingly.
§9.4.25nec non et illud nimiae superstitionis, uti quaeque sint tempore, ea facere etiam ordine priora, non quin frequenter sit hoc melius, sed quia interim plus valent ante gesta, ideoque levioribus superponenda sunt.
And it is also a matter of too much superstition to make those things which are prior in time prior also in order; not because this is not frequently better, but because sometimes the things done before are of greater weight, and therefore ought to be placed after lighter things.
verbo sensum cludere multo, §9.4.26si compositio patiatur, optimum est; ut verbis enim sermonis vis est.
To close the sense with a verb is by far the best, if the composition allows it; for the force of speech is in verbs.
si id asperum erit, cedet haec ratio numeris, ut fit apud summos Graecos Latinosque oratores frequentissime.
If that should be harsh, this rule will yield to rhythms, as is most frequently done among the greatest Greek and Latin orators.
sine dubio erit omne, quod non cludet, hyperbaton, sed ipsum hoc inter tropos vel figuras, quae sunt virtutes, receptum est.
Without doubt, everything that does not close the sentence will be a hyperbaton, but this very thing is received among tropes or figures, which are virtues.
§9.4.27non enim ad pedes verba dimensa sunt, ideoque ex loco transferuntur ut locum, ut iungantur, quo congruunt maxime, sicut ut structura saxorum rudium etiam ipsa enormitas invenit, cui applicari et ut quo possit insistere.
For words are not measured out to feet, and therefore they are transferred from one place to another so that they may be joined where they agree most, just as in the structure of rough stones their very irregularity finds what it can be applied to and where it can rest.
felicissimus tamen sermo est, cui et rectus ordo et apta iunctura et cum his numerus opportune cadens contigit.
Yet that speech is most fortunate which happens to have both correct order, apt connection, and with these a rhythm falling opportunely.
quaedam vero transgressiones et longae sunt nimis, §9.4.28ut superioribus diximus libris, et interim etiam compositione vitiosae, quae ut hoc ipsum petuntur, ut exultent atque lasciviant, quales illae Maecenatis, sole et aurora rubent plurima. inter se sacra movit aqua fraxinos. ne exequias quidem unus inter miserrimos viderem meas. quod inter haec pessimum est, quia ut re tristi ludit compositio.
But indeed some transpositions are too long, as we have said in the preceding books, and sometimes even faulty in composition, which are sought for this very purpose, that they may caper and wanton, such as those of Maecenas: 'sole et aurora rubent plurima.' 'inter se sacra movit aqua fraxinos.' 'ne exequias quidem unus inter miserrimos viderem meas.' What is worst among these, is because the composition plays with a sad subject.
§9.4.29saepe tamen est vehemens aliquis sensus ut verbo, quod si ut media parte sententiae latet, transire intentionem et obscurari circumiacentibus solet, ut clausula positum adsignatur auditori et infigitur, quale illud est Ciceronis, ut tibi necesse esset ut conspectu populi Romani vomere postridie. §9.4.30transfer hoc ultimum: minus valebit.
Yet often some thought is vehement in a word, which, if it lies hidden in the middle of a sentence, is accustomed to escape attention and be obscured by the surrounding words, but when placed at the end of a clause, is assigned and fixed in the mind of the hearer, such as that of Cicero: 'that it was necessary for you to vomit in the sight of the Roman people the next day.' Move this last word: it will have less force.
nam totius ductus hic est quasi mucro, ut per se foeda vomendi necessitas iam nihil ultra exspectantibus hanc quoque adiiceret deformitatem, ut cibus teneri non posset postridie. §9.4.31solebat Afer Domitius traiicere ut clausulas verba tantum asperandae compositionis gratia et maxime ut prooemiis, ut pro Cloatilla, gratias agam continuo, et pro Laelia, eis utrisque apud te iudicem periclitatur Laelia. adeo refugit teneram delicatamque modulandi voluptatem, ut currentibus per se numeris quod eos inhiberet obiiceret.
For this is, as it were, the point of the whole passage, so that the necessity of vomiting, foul in itself, should add this deformity also to those who now expected nothing further, that food could not be retained 'the next day.' Domitius Afer was accustomed to transpose words only at the end of clauses for the sake of making the composition harsher, and especially in introductions, as in *For Cloatilla*: 'gratias agam continuo,' and *For Laelia*: 'eis utrisque apud te iudicem periclitatur Laelia.' He so shunned the tender and delicate pleasure of modulation, that he would object something to block the rhythms which ran smoothly of themselves.
§9.4.32amphiboliam quoque fieri vitiosa locatione verborum, nemo est qui nesciat.
There is no one who does not know that ambiguity also arises from the faulty placement of words.
haec arbitror, ut ut brevi, de ordine fuisse dicenda; qui si vitiosus est, licet et vincta sit et apte cadens oratio, tamen merito incomposita dicatur.
These things, I think, were to be said briefly concerning order; which, if it is faulty, even though the speech is connected and falls aptly, may yet deservedly be called uncomposed.
iunctura sequitur.
Connection follows.
est ut verbis, incisis, membris, periodis; omnia namque ista et virtutes et vitia ut complexu habent.
It exists in words, incisa, membra, and periods; for all these have both virtues and vices in their embrace.