' The second hour of the morning, Miawering to our eight o'clock.
' The same tbat was conaul with Coins MiuiuB. when the; obuiaed, in oonjunotion, the famous victory orerthe CimtrL ' Ha waa tho brothor of QuiatuB Catulus, l)y the raotbert aide, and about twenty years bis junior. Their mother'B name was Popilia. MUndt. Bee c. II. He waa remarkable far wit, but hia oratcF; is aaid to have wanted nerve. Bnit. n. 48. Cicero with great propriety mafcea tiulpicius sit with CraasuB, and Cotta walk vith Antomus; for Sul- piciuB wished to reaeinbla Craasaa in hie atjle of oratory; Cotta pre- ferred tlia maimer of Antaoiufl, Bnitua, c. 55.
,CTEB OF TEH ORATOR.
trouble by our viBit." IV. Crasaua replied, " Whatever object had brought you hither, I should rejoice to see at my house men for whom I have ao much affection aud frieudship; but yet, (to aay the truth,) I had rather it had been any other object than that ivhich you mention. For I, (to speak as I Jliink,) waa uoTer less Batisfied with myself than yesterday; though this happened more through my own good nature than any other fault of mine; for, while I complied with the request of these youths, I forgot that 1 was an old man, and did that which I had never done even when young; I spoko ou subjects that depended on a cei*tain degree of learning. But it has happened very fortunately for me, that as my part is finished, you have come to hear Antonius." " For my part, Crassua," returned Gsesar, " I am indeed desirous to hear you in that kind of fuller and continuous discussion, yet so that, if I cannot have that happiness, I can be contented ■with your ordinary conversatioa. I will therefore endeavour that neither my friend Sulpicius, nor Cotta, may seem to have more influence with j'ou than myself; and wiU certainly entreat you to show some of your good nature even to Catulns and me. But if you aro not so inclined, I will not press you, nor causa you, while you are afraid of appearing impertinent yourself, to think me impertinent." " Indeed, Offisar," replied Crassus, " I have always thought of all Latin words there was the greatest significance in that which you have just used; for he whom we call impertinent, seems to me to bear an appellation derived from not being pertinent; and that appellation, according to our mode of speaking, is of very Kitensive raeaubig; tor whoever either does not discern what occasion requires, or talks too much, or is ostentatious ot himself, or is foigetful either of the dignity or convenience of those in whose presence he is, or is in any respect awkward or presuming, ia called impertinent. With this fiiult that moat learned nation of the Greeks abounds; and, conse- quently, because tiio Greeks do not feel the influence of this evil, they have not ev,en found a name for tho foible; far though you make the most diligent inquiiy, you will not find out how the Greeks designate an impeHinent person. But of oil their other impertinences, which are innumerable, I do not know whether there be any greater than their custom of raising the most subtile disputatious on the moat difficult or I I I ohatobk; oh, tumaoeBsary pomts, in ■whatever place, and before whatever persons they think proper. This we were compelled to do by theBe youths yesterday, though against our wOl, and though we at first declined."
V. " The Greeks, however, Craasua," rejoiced Catulus, " who were eminent and Ulustrioua in their respective states, as you ar^ and aa we all desire to be, in our own republic, bore no resemblance to those Greeks who force themselves on our ears; yet they did not in their leisure avoid this kind of dis- course and disputation. And if they seem to you, as they ought to seem, impertinent, who have no regard to times, places, or persons, does this place, I pray, seem il] adapted to our purpose, in which the very portico where we are valking, and this field of exercise, and the seats in so many directions, revive in some degree the remembrance of the Greek gymnasia and disputations f Or is the time unsea- sonable, during so much leisure as is seldom afforded us, and is now afforded at a season when it is most desirable 1 Or ara the company uusuited to this kind of discussion, when ne are all of suoh a. character as to think that life is nothing without these studies l" " I contemplate all these things," aid Crassus, " in a quite different hght; for I think that even the Greeks themselves originally contrived their palcestne, and seats, and porticoes, for exercise and amusement, not for dis- putation; ance their gymnasia were invented many generations before the philosophers began to prate in them; and at this very day, when the philosophers occupy all the gymnasia, their audience would still rather hear the discus than a phi- losopher; and as soon aa it begins to sound, they all desert the philosopher in the middle of his discourse, though dis- cussing matters of the utmost weight and consequence, to anoint themselves for eiercise; thus preferring the lightest amusement to what the philosophers represent to be of the utmost utiUty. As to the leisure which you say we have, I agree with you; but the enjoyment of leisure is not exertion of mind, but relaxation. VI. I have often heard from my &ther-in-law, in coQveraation, that his £ither-in-law Ltelius was almost always accustomed to go into the country with Scipio, and that they used to grow incredibly boyish again when they had escaped out of town, as if from a prison, into &o open fields. I scarcely dare to say it of such emineid ■3 ON THE CHAitACTEK OP THE ORATOR. 227 perHonB, yet SctevoJa is in the habit of relating that they used to gather Ehelle and pebbles at Caieta and Laurentum, and to descend to every sort of pastime and amusement For such is the case, that as we see birds form and build Heats for the sake of procreation and their own convenience, and, when they have completed any part, fly abroad ia freedom, dis- engaged from their toils, in order to alleviate their anxiety; 80 our minds, wearied with legal busineas and the labours of the city, exult and long to flutter about, as it were, relieved from care and Bolicitude. In what I said to Scrovoia, there- fore, in pleading for Curius,' I said only what I thonghtu ' For if,' said I, ' Sosevola, no will shall be properly made but what is of your writing, all of ub citizens will come to you with our tablets, and you alone shall write all our wills; but then,' continued I, ' when will yon attend to public buainess 1 when to that of your friends! when to yonr own? when, in. a word, will you do nothing V adding, ' for he does not seem to me to be a free man, who does not sometimes do nothing;' of which opinion, CatuluH, I Still continue; and, when I come hither, the mere privilege of doing nothing, and of being &irly idle, delights me. As to the third remark which you added, that you are of such a disposition as to think life insipid without these studies, that observation not only does not encourage me to any discussion, hut even deters me from it. For as Caius Luciliits, a man of great learning and wit, nsed to say, that what he wrote he would neither wish to have read by the most illiterate persons, nor by those of the greatest learning, since the one sort understood nothing, and the other perhaps more than himself; to which piapose be also wrote, / do not tare to read Fergkis ^ (for he was, as we know, about the mcst learned of all oiir countrymen); but I wish io read Zarlioi Decimua (with whom we were also acquainted, a man of worth and of some learning, but nothing to Persius)^ Eo 1, if I am now to diecuaa these studies of ours, should not wish to do so before peasants, but much less before you; for I had rather that my talk sbotdd not be understood than be oeoBored."
' In the speecli which he made on behalf of Cnrius, on the oocaaida Bimljaned in bc»l: i c. 39. Promt.
' A. leBrned orator, who wrote in tha tima of the Graochi. and who. is mentioDEd b; Cicero, Brut. c. 26. Proiul. Of Dedmus Lfeliun nothing is known. EUtndt.
Q2 F SE ORATORS; Indeed, Catulua," rejoined Ctesnr, " I think I hiTO idready gained some profit' by coming hither; for tlieae iea.Bons for decliuiag a discussion have been to me a very agrcoahle discussion. But w!iy do we delay Antonius, whose part is, I hear, to give a dissertation upon eloquence in general, and for whom Cotta and Sulpicius have been some time waiting!" " But I," interposed Crassus, "will neither allow Autonius to speak a word, nor will I utter a syllable myself, unless I first obtain one favour from you." "What ia itJ" said Catulua. "That you spend the day here." Then, while Catulua hesitated, hecause he had promised to go to his brother's house, " I," said Julius, " will answer for both. We will do bo; and you would detain me even in case you were not to say a single word." Here Catulus smiled, and said, " My hesitation then is brought to an end; for I had left no orders at home, and he, at whose house I was to have been, has thus readily engaged ns to you, without waiting for my asseot." They then all turned their eyes upon Antonius, who cried out, " Be attentive, I say, be attentivo, for you shall hear a man from the schools, a. mau from the professor's chair, deeply versed in Greek learning;° and I shall on this account apeak witlk the greater coiifidenm, that Catulus is added to tbo Budiouce, to whom not only we of the Latin tongue, but even the Greeks themselves, are wont to allow refinement and elegance in the Greek language. Bat since the whole process of speaking, whether it be an art or a business, can be of no avail without the addition of assurance, I ' will teach you, my scholars, that which I have not learned myself, what I think of everi/ kind of speakiagj' When they all laughed, [" It is a matter that seems to me," proceeded he, " to depend very greatly ou talent, but only moderately on art; for art lies in things which are known; but all the pleading of an orator depends not on knowledge, but on opinion; for we both address ourselves to those who are ignorant, and speak of what we do not know ourselves; aud consequently our hearers think aud judge differently at dif- ferent times couoeming the same subjects, and wo often take contrary aidesj not only so that Crassus sometimes speaks against me, or I against Crassus, when one of us must of > Natdtie ojnram / that ia, bme mUocAm. Enieati.
* Ironiodlf epolun.
ON TEE CHAnAOTEB OF THE ORATOB.
; "but even that each of tib, at i diSerent opinions on the same question; when more than one of those opinions cannot pos- sibly be right. I will speak, therefore, as on a subject which is of a character to defend foisehcod, which rarely amvea at knowledge,^ and which ia ready to take advantage of the opiniouB and even errors of mankind, if you think that there is still reason why yon should listen to me."
VIII. "Wo think, indeed, that there ia very great reason," said Catulua, " and the more bo, as you seem resolved to use no ostentation; for you have commenced, not botietfully, hut rather, as yon think, with truth, than with any ianciful notion of the dignity of your Bubject." " As I have acknow- ledged then," continued Antonius, "that it ia not one of the greateat of arts, so I allow, at the same time, that certain artful directions may he given for moving tlie feelings and gaining the favour of mankind. If any one thinks proper to say that the knowledge how to do this is a great art, I shall not contradict him; for as many speakers speak upon causes in the forum widiout due consideration or method, while others, from study, or a certain degree of practice, do their busiaeas with more address, there is no doubt, that if any one sets himself to observe what is the cause why some speak better than others, be may discover that cause; and, consequently, he who shall extend such observation over the ■whole field of eloquence, will find in it, if not an art abso- lutely, yet something resembling an art. And T could wiah, that as I seem to see matters as they occur in the forum, and in pleadings, so I could now set them before you just as they are conducted 1 " But I must consider my own powers. I now assert only that of which I am convinced, that ialthough oratoiy is not an art. no excellence is superior to that of a consummate oratoEj For to say nothing of the advantages of eloquence, which has the highest influence in every well-ordered and free state, there is such delight attendant on the very power of eloquent speaking, that nothing more pleasing can be re- ceived into the ears or understanding of man. What music ' Quo: ad tcUntiam tion srepe jiervcniat, ElUadt eneloseB theee wotda in briicketa aa spnriouB, re^rBn^Dg tbem as n glasa on the preceding phrase that lias crept into the test. Tbeir abeecce is desirable.
DE OR&TORH; OR, can be found more Bweet thau the pronunciation of a well- ordered oration 1 What poem more agreeable than the Bkilful structure of prose? What actor has ever given greater plea^ sure in imitating, than an orator gives in supporting, truths What penetrates the mind more keenly than an acute and quick suocesaion of argumentel What is mora admirable than thoughts illumined by brilliancy of eipreHsioa! What nearer to perfection than a speech replete with every variety of matter! for there ia no Buhject susceptible of being treated with elegance and effect, that may not Ml under the province of the orator. IX. It is hia, in giving coimael on important a&irB, to deliver his opinion with clearness and dignity; it is his to rouse a people when they are languid, and to calm them when immoderately excited. By the same power of lariguage, the wickedness of mankind is brought to destruction, and virtue to security. Who can exhort to tirtue mora ardently thau the orator! Who reclaim from vice with greater energy) Who can reprove the bad with more aspe- rity, or praise the good with better gracel Who can break the force of unlawfiil desire by more effective reprehensiont Who can allevinte grief with mora Boothing conaolationl By what other voice, too, than that of the orator, is history, the evidence of time, the light of truth, the life of memory, the directress of life, the herald of antiquity, committed to immortality) For if there be any other art, which professes skill in inventing or selecting words; if any one, besides the orator, is said to form a diaoourse, and to vary and adorn it with certain distinctions, as it were, of words and thoughts; or if any method of argument, or expression of thought, or distribution and arrangement of matter, is taught, except by this one art, let us confess that either that, of which this art makes profession, is foreign, to it, or possessed in common with some other art. But if such method and teaching be confined to this alone, it is not, though professors of other arts may have spoken well, the less on that account the pro- party of this art; but as an orator can speak heat of all men on subjects that belong to other arts, if be makes himself acquainted with them, (as Crassua observed yesterday,) so tho professors of other arts speak more eloquently on their own subjects, if they have acquired any instruction from this art; ibr if any person vei'sed in agriculture has spoken or written) J ^w OS IKE CHAEtACTER OF THE OBATOG. 231 irith eloquence oa rural afiairs, or a physioian, as many have done, on disesBes, or a painter upon painting, bia eloquence is not on that account to be considered as belonging to anj of those arta; although in eloquence, indeed, such is the force of human genius, maoj moa of eveiy class and profession'- attain some proficiency even without instruction; but though you may judge what is peculiar to each art, when you have observed what they severally teach, yet nothing can be more certain than that all other arte can discbarge their duties without eloquence, but that an orator cannot even aoquire his name without it; so that other men, if they are eloquent, borrow something from him; while he, if ho is not supplied from his own storey cannot obtain the power of speaking fitim any other art/U X. CatuluB then said, " Although, Antouius, the course of your remarks ought by no means to Ijo retarded by inter- ruption, yet you will bear with me and grant me pardon; Jhr I cannot help crying out, as he in the Trinummus'' aay^ so ably do you seem to me to have described the powers of the orator, and so copiously to have extolled them, db the eloquent man, indeed, must necessarily do; he must extol eloquence beat of all men; for to praise it be baa to employ the very eloquence wbioh he praises. But proceed, for I agree with you, that to speak eloquently is all your own; and that, if any one does ao on any other art, he employs an accomplishment borrowed from something else, not peculiar to him, or his own." " The night," added Crassus, " has made you polite to us, Antonius, and bumauised you; for in yes- terday's address to us,* you described the orator as a man that can do only one thing, like a walervuin or a porter, as CsBcilius* says; a fellow void of all learning and politeness." "Wiy yesterday," rejoined Antonius, " I had made it my object, if I refuted you, to fake your scholars from you;^ but now, as Catulus and Ccesar make part of tbo audienoe, 1 think I ought not so much to argue against you, aa to ' The reader will observe that the coDBtructiou in the text Is mmlti onadvm genemm atqae nrlium, sa Elleodt oliiervea, referring to Mrtthiffi, > iii. 2, 7. ' Sea b. L c BS.
' The writBT of Comacliea, Viactrt CacUitu gramlate, Tereniiiu arit, Hor.
I wiabeii to refute you jeeteriij, that I might draw ScBToIa and tm from you. Thia is spoken in jeai Prouil.
1 I 1 DB ouatore; ob, declare what I myself think. It follows then, that, as tho orator of whom we speak is to be placed in the forum, and iu the view of the public, we must iwnaider what employ- ment we are to give him, aod to what duties we should wish him to he appointed. For CrasauB^ yesterday, when you, C&tutua and Ccesor, were not present, made, iu a few words, the same statement, in regard to the diTision of the art, thnt jnoat of the Greeks have made; not espressing what he himself thought, but what was ssiA by them; that there ore two principal sorts of questions about which eloquence is employed; one indefinite, the other definite. He seemed to me to call that indefinite ia which the subject of inquiry is general, aa, Whtt/ter eloquaice is desii-ahle; wlietker honoTtra shotdd be souglU; and that definite iu. 'which there is an inquiry with respect to particular persons, or any settled and defined point; of which sort ate the questions agitated in the fomm, and in the causes and disputes of private citizens. These appear to me to consist either in judicial pleadings, op. in giving counsel; for that third kind, which was noticed hy CrasEus, and which, I hear, Aristotle^ himself who has fully illustrated these subjeots, added, is, though it be useful, less necessary." "What kind do you meanJ" said Catulus; "is it panegyriol for I observe that that is introduced aa a third kind." XI. "It ia so," says Antonius; "and as to this kind of oratory, I know that I myself, and all who were present, were extremely delighted when your mother Popilia^ was honoured with a panegyric by you; the first woman, I think, to whom such honour was ever paid in tliin city. But it does not seem to me that all subjects on which we speak are to be included iu art, and made subject to rules; for &om those fountains, whence all the ornaments of speech are drawn, we may also take the ornaments of panegyric, without requiring elementary instruotiona; for who ia ignorant, though no one teach him, what qualities are to be com- mended in any person) For if we but look to those thing! which Crassus has mentioned, iu the beginning of the speech which he dehvered when censor in opposition to his col- league,* T/iai in those things which are bestowed on viankind h}/ naiure or fortune, he could contentedly allow hivuelf to ba THE CHARACTER OF THE OKATOH. 233 excelled; hut that in whatever tnen could proaire for (A«n- xelvet, he could not suffer hijtuelf to be excelled, fce who would procouace the panegyrio of any person, will uiiEerstand that he must expatiate on the blcBsinga of fortune; and these are advaatagea of birth, wealth, relationship, friends, resources, health, beauty, atrength, talent, and eudi other qualities as are either personal, or dependent on circumstances; and, if he possessed these, be must show that he made a proper use of them; if not, that he managed wisely without them; if he lost them, that he bore the loss with resignation; he must then state what he whom he praises did or suffered with wisdom, or with liberahty, or with fortitude, or with justice, or with honour, or with piety, or with gratitude, or with humanity, or, in a word, under the inSueuce of any virtue. These particulars, and whatever others are of simiW kind, he will easily observe who is inclined to praise any person; and he who is inclined to blame him the contrary. ''\ " Why then do you hesitate," said Catulus, "to make this a thiid kind, since it is so in the nature of things! for if it is more easy than others, it is not, on that account, to be excluded from the nucnljur." " ISecause I am unwilling," replied Antonius, "to treat of all that fiJls under the province of an oratoi*, as if nothing, however small it may be, could be uttered without regard to stated ndes. Evidence, for in- stance, is often to be given, and sometimes with great exoet- ness, as I was obhged to give mine against Sestus Titius,' a Bpditioua and tiurbuJent member of the commonwealth; when, in delivering my evidence, I explained all the proceedings of my consulate, in which 1, on behalf of the commonwealth, opposed him as tribune of the people, and eiposed all that I thought lie had done contrary to the interest of the state; I was detained long, I listened to much, I answered many objections; but would you therefore wish, when you give precepts on eloquence, to add any instructions oa giving evidence as a portion of the art of oratory? " XII. "ThereiSiindeed," said Catulus, "uonccessity." "Or if (as often happens to the greatest men) communicationB ore to bo delivered, either ia the senate irom a commander in ' A tribnne of the people, i.u.a 865, whom Antonius opposod abont the Agrarian law. Ue ia meotioaed also in c CQ, and appean to be tba same tbat ia aaid to have played vigorously at ball, iL 62, ilL 2a. Ellendt. See alao Cic. Brut, c 02.
I 1 DE obatobh; OB,