and embellished, nor wholly inelegant; and his voice, I REMARKS ON BMISENT ORATORS.
gesture, and every part of bis action, was withont any grace; but in inventing and digesting his ideas, he had a won- derful accuracy, such as no man. I over saw either poaaeased or exerted in a more eminent degree; and yet, somehow, he displayed it" rather with the air of a qnibhier, than of au orator. Though he had acquired some reputation in public causes, he appeared to most advantage and was most courted and employed in private ones, LXVIII. " CaiuB Piso, who comes next in order, bad scarcely any esertion, but he was a speaker who adopted a very familiar style; and though, in feet, he was far from being slow of invention, he had more penetratiun in his look and appearance than he really possessed. His contemporary, Marcus Glabrio, though carefiilly instructed by his grandfather Sosevola, was prevented from distinguishing himself by his natural indolence and want of attention. Lucius Torquatus, on the contrary, had an elegant turn of espression, and a dear comprehension, and was perfectly polite and well-bred in his whole manner. But Cnajus Pompeiua, my coeval, a man who was bom to excel ia everything, would have acquired a more distinguished reputation for his eloquence, if he had not been diverted from the pursuit of it by the more daazling charms of military feme. His language was naturally bold and elevated, and he was always master of his subject; and as to his powers of enunciation, his voice was sonorous and manly, and his geatm-e noble and full of dignity, Decimua Silanua, another of my contemporaries, and your father-in- law, waa not a man of much application, but he bad a very oompetent share of discernment and elocution. Quintus Poaipeius, the aoa of Aulus, who had the title of BiHiynicui, and was about two years older than myself, was, to my own knowledge, remarkably fond of tbe study of eloquence, had an uncommon atock of learning, and waa a man of indefatigable industry and perseverance; for he waa connected with Marcus Piso and me, not only as an intimate acquaintance, but as an asaooiate in our studies and private exercises. His elocution was but ill recommended by his action; for though the former was sufGciently copious and difiiisive, there was nothing graceful in the latter. His contemporary, Publiua Autronius, had a veiy clear and strong voice; but he waa diatingtUBhed by no other accomplishment. Ludua Ootavius Beatinus died in his youth, while he waa in full practice; but BRCTD3; OR, mded tlie rostra with more nsstinuice than abjJiljr. s Staienus, who chftnged his name into ^lius by a tdnil I of self-adoption, nas a warm, an abusive, and indeed a furiooB qieaker; which was so agreeable to the taste of niauj, that he would hare risen to some rank in tlie state, if it had not been for a crime of which he was clearly convicted, and &r which he afterwards Buffered.
LXIX. " At the same time were the two brothers Cains and Luciua Csepaatus, who, though men of an obscure tinuil; and little previous consequence, were yet, by mere dint U application, suddenly promoted to the qutestorBhip, with no othea- recommendation than a provincial and unpolished kind of oratory. That I may not Reem wilfully to omit any dft- daimer, 1 must also notice Caius CoBOonius Calidianus, wbti without any disoerament, amused the people with a rapicU^ of language (if such It might be called) which be attended with a perpetual hurry of action, and a most violent exertioD of his voice. Of much the same cast ivas Quintus Amus, who may be considered as a second-hand MarcuB Cranne. He is a striking proof of what couaequence it is in such a city as ours to devote oneself to the interests of the maajT; and to be aa active as possible in promoting their Ktfety, w their honour. For by these means, though of the lowest parentage, having raised himself to oifioes of rank, and to ooneiderable wealth and inSuence, he likewise acquired tlw reputaUon of a tolerable patron, without either learning or abilities. But as inexperienced champions, who, &om a pas- sionate desire to distinguish themselves in the circus, can bear the blows of their opponents vrithout shrinking, are often overpowered by the heat of the sun, when it is increased by the reflection of the sand; so A<, who had hitherto supported even the sharpest encounters with good success, could not stand the severity of that year of judicial eonteet, wliiull blazed upon bim like a summer's sun," ^ " Upon my word," cried Atticus, "you are now treatii _ with the vety dregs of oratory, and you have entertainB4j| in this manner for some time; but I did not offer to iatas TUpt yon. because I never dreamed you would have descended 80 low aa to mention the Staieni and AtUronii /" " As I have been speaking of the dead, you will not imagine, I suppose," _ jaid I, " that I have dono it to court their fiivonr; bub)^ reuing the order of histoiy, I was necessarily led by d to a period of time which iaila wi thin the compass of ^onledge. But I wish it to be noticed, tliat after ing all who ever ventured to speak in public, wo find biit few (very few iudeeii!) whose names are worth recording; and not many who had even the repute of being oratoi's. Lot UB, howerer, return to our subjeot.
LXX. " Titus Torquatua, theu, the son of Titus, was a TTian of learning, (which he first acquired in the school of Molo in Rhodes,) and of a tree and easy elocution which he received from nature. If ho had lived to a proper age, he ■would havo been chosen consul, without any solicitation; but he had more ability for speaking, than inclination; so that, in fact, he did not do justice to the aj-t he professed; and yet he was never wanting to his duty, either in the pri- vate causes of bis friends and dexKudents, or in his senatorial capacity.- My townsmau, too, Marcus Pontidius, pleaded a number of private causes. He hod a rapidity of expression, and a tolerable quickness of comprehension; but he was very warm, and indeed rather too choleric and irascible; so that lie often wrangled, not only with his antagonist, but {vihax. appears very strange) with the judge himaeif, whom it was rather his business to sooth and gratify. Marcus Messala, who waa something younger than myself, was far fioni being a poor and abject pleader, and yet he was not a very ele- gant one. He was judicious, penetrating, and wary, very exact in digesting and methodizing his subject, and a man of uncommon diligence and application, and of very extensive practice. As to the two Metelli, (Celer and Nopos,) these also had a moderate share of employment at the bar; but being destitute neither of learning nor abilities, they chiefly applied themselves (and with some sut^cess) to debates of a more popular kind. But Cufeus Lentulus Marcellinus, who was never reckoned a bad speaker, was esteemed a very eloquent one in his consulship. He wanted neither sentiment nor expression; his voice was sweet and sonorous; and he had a sufficient stock of humour. Caius Memniius, the son of Lucius, was a perfect adept in the learning of the Greeks; for he had an insuperable disgust to the literature of the Bomans. He was a neat and pobshed speaker, and had a sweet and harmo- nious turn of expression; but as he was equally averse to every laborious effort either of the mind or the tongue, his eloquence declined in proportion as he lessened his application.''
I BRCTUS; OH, LXXT. " But I heartily wish," said Brutus, " that yon would gi™ IIS your opiniou of those ointora who are still living; or, if you are determined to say nothing of the rest, there ore two at least, (that is, Cteaar and Maroelltia, whom I haTe often heard you speak of with the highest approba- tion,) nhose character would give me as much eutertaimneot as any of those you have already specified." " But why,"j answered I, " should you espect tiial I should give yon opinion of memrho are as well known to yourself aa to m '■ Marcellus, indeed," replied he, " I am very well acquaint with; but as to Ctesar, I know little of Aim. For I havB heard the former very often; but by the time I was able to judge for myself, the lattw had set out for hia province." '' But what," said I, " think you of him whom you have heard 80 oftenJ " "What else can I think," replied he, "but that you will soon have an orator, who will very nearly resemble 3^ur- selfl " " If that is the case," answered I, " pray think of him as favourably as you can." " I do," said he; " for lie pleaaea me very highly; and not without reason. He is absolutely master of his profession, and, neglecting every other, hu applied himself solely to this,- and, for that purpose, haa persevered in the rigorous task of composing a daily essay in writing. Hia words are well chosen; hia language is full and copious; and everything he says receives an additioaol ornament from the graceful tone of his voice, and the dignity of his action. In short, ho is so complete an orator, that there is no quality I know of) in wliich I can think him defi- cient. But he is still more to he admired, for being able, in these unhappy times, (which are marked with a distress that, by some cruel fiitality, has overwhelmed us all,) to console himself, as opportunity offers, with the consciousness of his own integrity, and by the frequent renewal of his litoraty pursuits. I saw him lately at Mityleae; and then (as I hare already hinted) I saw him a thorough Toan. For though I had before discovered in him a strong resemblance of your- self, the likeness was much improved after he was enriched by the instructions of your learned and very intimate friend Cratippus." " Though I acknowledge," said I, " that I have listened with pleasure to your eulogies on a. very worthy man, for whom I have the warmest esteem, they have led me insensibly to the recollection of our common miseries, which our present conversatiou was intended to suspend.
RBMABKB ON EMIKBNT ORilOIiS.
But I would ■williugly hear wliat is Atticus's opiiiiou of Ctesar."
LXXII. "Upon my word," replied Atticus, "you arc wonderfully conaistent with, jour plan, to say nothing yQur~ self ai the living; and indeed, if you wei-e to deal with tliem, as you already hava with the dead, aud say i^omethiDg of every paltry fellow that occurs to your memory, you woidd piaguo us witb Auironii and Staieni without end. But though jou might poaaihly have it in view not to encumber yourself ■with euch a numerous ciowd of insignificant wretches; or perhaps, to avoid giving any one room to complain that he was either unnoticed, or not extolled according to his ima- giuary merit; yet, certainly, you. might have said soioething of Cffisar; especially, as your opinion of Aw abilities ia well known to everybody, and his concerning youn is very far ■ from being a secret. But, however," said he, {addressing himself to Brutus,) '' I really think of CBBsar, aud everybody elEO says the same of this accurate master in the art of speak- ing, that he has the purest and the most elegant command of the Eoman language ofall the orators that have yet appeared; and that not merely by domestic habit, aa we have lately heard it observed of the families of the Lajlii aud the Mucii, (though even here, I believe, this might partly have been the case,) but he chiefly acquired and brought it to its present perfection, by a studious application to the most intricate and refined branches of hterature, and by a careful and constant attention to the purity of his style. But that ke, who, involved as ho was in a perpetual hurry of business, could dedicate to you, my Cicero, a laboured treatise on the art of speaiiog correctly; that he, who, in the first book of it, laid it down as an axiom, that an accurate choice of words is the foundation of elo- quence; and who baa bestowed," -said he, (addressing himself again to Bnitua,) " the highest encomiums on this friend of ours, who yet chooses to leave Ciesar's character to »je;— that he should be a perfect master of the language of pohte con- versation, is a circumstance which is almost too obvious to be mentioned. I said, the highest encomiums," pursued Attious, " because he says in so many words, when he addresses himself to Cicero, 'If others have faeatowed all their time and attention to acquire a habit of expressmg themselves with ease and correctness, how much is the name and dignity of the Roman people indebted to you, who are the highest pattern, aud BEOTua; OB, indeed tLe first inventor of tiiat rich fertility of 1 which distinguishes your performances.'"
LXXIII. " Indeed," eaid Brutus, " I think he has e your merit iu a very friendly and a very magnificent stjla; for yon are not only the highest pattern, and even the /rd I inventor of all our fertility of language^ which alone is piBiM I enough to contont a,uy reoHonable man, but you hsve added fresli honourB to the name and dignity of the Roman people; for the very escellence in which we had hitherto been con- quered by the vanquished Greeks, has now been either wrested from their hands, or equally shared, at least, between ua and them. So that I prefer this honourable testimony of Ctesar, I will not say to the pubhc thankBgiving which was decreed for your own. military services, but to the triumphs of many heroes." " Very true," replied I, "provided this honourable testimony was really the Toioe of Cffisar's judgment, and not of bis friendship; for ke certainly has added more to tiie dignity of the Eoman people, whoever he may be, (if indeed any such man has yet existed,) who has not only exemplified and enlarged, but first produced this rich fertility of expres- sion, than the dou^ty warriors who have stormed a few paltry castles of the Ligurians, which have furnished us, yon kno*, with many repeated triumphs. In reality, if we can subnit to bear the truth, it may be asserted (to say uothisg of ihets godlike plans, which, supported by the wisdom of our genersH have frequently eaved the sinking state both abroad and at home) that an orator is justly entitled to the preferenoe to any commander in a petty war. But the general, jim will Bay, is the more serviceable man to tiie public. Nobody deniBB it: and yet (for I am not afraid of provoking jwir censure, in a conversation which leaves each of us at liberty to say what he thinks) I had rather be the author of tlie single oration of Craasus, in defence of Ourius, than be honoured with two Ligurian triumphs. Tou will, perhaps reply, that the storming a castle of the Ligurians was a thing of more consequence to the state, than that the claim af Curius should be ably supported. This I own to be tme. But it was also of more consequence to the Athenians, that their houses should be securely roofed, than to have their city graced with a most beautiful statue of Minerva: and yet, notwithstanding tbia, I would much rather have been a "hidias, than the most skilful joiner in Athens. In the BMINIIHT OBATORB.
present case, therefore, we aro not to consider a man'e uaeftil- nesB, but the strength of his abilities; especially as the number of painters acd Btatuaries who have excelled in their profession, ia Tery small; whereas there can never be any ■want of joiners and mechanical labourera. LXXIV. But proceed, my Attiens, with Ctesar; and oblige ua with the remainder of hia character." " We see then," said he, " from what bus juat been mentioned, that a pure and coiTeot style is the groundwork, and the very basis and foundation, upon ■which an orator must build his other accomplish men ts; though it is true, that those who had hitherto possessed it, derived it more from early habit, than from any principles of art. It ia needless to refer you to the instances of LieliuB and Scipio; for a purity of language, as well as of mannere, ■waa the oharaoteristic of the age they lived in. It could not, indeed, be applied to every one; for their two contemporaries, Cwciliua and Pacuvius, spoke very incorrectly; but yet people in general who had not resided out of the city nor been cor- rupted by any domestic barbarJBma, Bpoke the Eoman lan- guage with purity. Time, however, as well at Rome B8 in Greece, soon altered matters for the worse; for this city (as had formerly been the case at Athens) waa resorted to by a crowd of adventurera from different parts, who spoke very corruptly; which showa the necewity of reforming our lan- guage, and reducing it to a certain standard, which shall not be liable to vary like the capricious laws of custom. Though we ■were then very young, ■we can easily remember Titua riamininus, who was joint-conaul with Quintus Metellus; he " ■was supposed to apeak his native language with corrcctnoae, but was a man of no literature. As to Catuius, he was far indeed froaa being destitute c'. learning, as you have already observed; but his reputed purity of diction waa ohiefiy ©■wing to the aweetueaa of hia voice and the delicacy of his accent. Cotta, who, by his broad pronunciation, lost all resemblance of the elegant tone of the Greeks, and affected a harsh and matic utterance, quite opposite to that of Catulos, acquired the same reputation of correctness, by pursuing a wild and unfrequented path. But gisenna, who had the ambition to think of reforming our phraaeology, could cot be lashed out of his whimsical and new-fangled tuma of eiprCB- sion, by ail the raillery of Caius EuMua." " What do you refer to 1" aaid Brutus; " and who was the Cains Rustus you ore I vpoi P BPII.
' peoi BBVTUS ', OB, speaking of)* "He was a noted prosecutor," replied ] '■ some years ago. When thU man lind supported a ' " nieat agiunfit one Cuius Batiliua, Siaenua, who mu for the defendant, told lum, that several parts of bia a sation were tpitaliecd,^ LXXV. My lord*, cried.~ to the judges, / thall be craeUy over-reached, nrUtu ] ffioe nte jtour attistance. HU charge overpowers my c prekeation; and I am afraid he has tomt uji/aii WJuO, in tie name of heaven, « BP1TATICAI.1 / kaom lie meaning of sfit, or seinix; &u<4 •rid AnCAL, at the end of it, abtolutelif putxlea i rhole bench laughed xetj heartily at the singular oddity of | espression; my old (riend, however, was still of opiuion, tiiat to speak, correctly, was to speak difiurentlj from otiffl people.
" But Csesar, who was guided by the principles of art, a corrected the imperfectious cf a vicioua custom, by adopt' tbc rules and improvements of a good one, as be found tl occasionally displayed in the course of polite conversatioD. Accordingly, to tbe purest elegance of expres^on, (which is equally necessary to every well-bred citiaen, as to au orator,) he hns added all the various ornaments of elocution; so that he seems to exhibit the finest painting in the most advan- tageous point of view. As he has such eitraordiuary mem even in the tenor of bis language, I must confess that there is no person I know of, to whom he should yield tbe prefer- once. Besides, his manner of speaking, both as to his vutco and gesture, is splendid and noble, without tbe least appear- ance of artifice or affectation; and there is a dignity i very presence, which bespeaks a great and elevated m " Indeed," said Brutus, " his orations please me highly j I have had the satisfitction to read several of them. Ho i likewise written some commentaries, or short memoic^fl his own transactions." " And such," said I, " as merit jp highest approbation; for they are plain, correct, and g and divested of all the ornaments of language, si (if I may be aUowed the expression) in a kind of i But while ho pretended only to furuiah the loose materials, for such as might be inclined to compose a regular historji ' In tli9 origiQfll ipulalifica, worthy to to Bpit upon. It ijjpMTa, the oonHBiion, to have been a word whunaicaflj deriveij bj (hs IT of it frum tpata, Gpittite.
EBMAHKS OS he may, psrhaps, havo gratified the vanity of a few literary frmeun; but he has certaialy prevented all eensiblo men from attempting any improvement on bis plan. For, in his- tory, nothing ia more pleasing than a correct and elegant brevity of espresaion. With your leave, however, it is iiigh time to return to those oratora who have quitted the stage of life.