CHAPTER I.

How to acquire a command of Diction.

De copia verborum.

I:1 I. Sed haec eloquendi praecepta, sicut cognitioni sunt necessaria, ita non satis ad vim dicendi valent, nisi illis firma 12 quaedam facilitas, quae apud Graecos ἕξις nominatur; accesserit; ad quam scribendo plus an legendo an dicendo conferatur, solere quaeri scio. Quod esset diligentius nobis examinandum, si qualibet earum rerum possemus una esse contenti:

§ 1. haec eloquendi praecepta. The reference is generally to the theoretical part of the work, which has just been completed, but specially to the two books immediately preceding, in which Quintilian deals with _elocutio_ (φράσις, ‘style’). In Books III-VII he has treated of _inventio_ (including _dispositio_); and the transition to Books VIII and IX is marked in the words ‘a dispositione ad elocutionis praecepta labor’ vii. §17 ad fin. He passes now to the exercises necessary for practice: quo genere exercitationis ad certamina praeparandus sit (sc. orator) (§4.)

sicut ... ita = μὲν ... δὲ. So _quemadmodum ... sic_ 5 §17: cp. §14 below. More commonly ut ... ita: §§4, 15, 62, 72, 74: 3 §§28, 31. Frequent in Livy: e.g. xxi. 35, 10 pleraque Alpium ab Italia sicut breviora ita arrectiora sunt: cp. 39, 7.

cognitioni: so most edd. except Halm and Hild (see Crit. Notes). The word denotes ‘theoretical knowledge,’ and is set over against _vis dicendi_: for a similar opposition between theory and practice (scientia ... exercitatio) see Tac. Dial. 33. The reading may be supported by a reference to qui sciet §2, qui ... sciet ... perceperit §4. Cp. viii. pr. §1 Quam (rationem inveniendi et inventa disponendi) ut ... penitus cognoscere ad summam scientiae necessarium est ita, &c.: ib. §28, qui rationem loquendi primum cognoverit ... deinde haec omnia exercitatione plurima roborarit. In ii. 18, 1 _cognitio_ is used to distinguish θεωρητική from πρακτική and ποιητική. Cp. too iii. 1, 3 ut ... adliceremus ... iuventutem ad cognitionem eorum quae necessaria studiis arbitrabamur.—The reading _cogitatio_ would have to be understood in a wider sense than it has in ch. 6, or in 3 §19: Hild takes it of ‘toute la préparation oratoire qui précède le discours proprement dit.’

vim dicendi: ‘true eloquence,’ as in §8 vim orandi, 2 §16 vim dicendi atque inventionis non adsequuntur: 6 §2 vim cogitandi: xii. 1, 33 vis ac facultas dicendi expugnat ipsam veritatem. Cp. viii. pr. 30 praeparata dicendi vis: xii. 10, 64. Bonn. Lex., p. 233.—The _vis_ of a thing is its essence, that which makes it what it is: Cic. de Am. §15 id in quo est omnis vis amicitiae. So with the genitive of a gerund it gives the idea contained in the infinitive when used as a noun: cp. de Fin. v. §76 percipiendi vis (i.e. τὸ αἰσθάνεσθαι) ita definitur a Stoicis: ibid. ii. §17 Zenonis est ... hoc Stoici: omnem vim loquendi (πᾶν τὸ φθέγγεσθαι) in duas tributam esse partes. See Nägelsbach, Lat. Stil., (8th ed.) p. 45: and cp. ratio collocandi 3 §5, pronuntiandi ratio 1 §17: ratio delendi 3 §31.

non satis ... valent, nisi, &c. For the necessity of practice in addition to theory cp. 5 §19: also i. pr. §§18, 23, 27: ii. 13, 15: vii. 10, 14-15: Cic. de Orat. i. §§109-110: Dion. Hal. de Comp. Verb. 26 ad fin. οὐ γὰρ αὐτάρκη τὰ παραγγέλματα τῶν τεχνῶν ἐστὶ ... δίχα μελέτης τε καὶ γυμνασίας.

firma quaedam facilitas, a ‘sure readiness’: cp. §44 qui confirmare facultatem 12 dicendi volent: §59 dum adsequimur illam firmam, ut dixi, facilitatem: 2 §12: 7 §18 sq.: xii, 9, 21 vires facilitatis.

ἕξις: §59 and 5 §1. Pliny, Ep. ii. 3, 4 (of Isaeus) ad tantam ἕξιν studio et exercitatione pervenit. See Schäfer on Dion. de Comp. i. p. 7.—In the sphere of morals the ἕξις is the fixed tendency that results from repeated acts: ἐκ τῶν ὁμοίων ἐνεργειῶν αἱ ἕξεις γίνονται Eth. Nic. ii. 1, 1103a, 31.—Prof. Mayor compares Cicero’s use of _habitus constans_, de Inv. i. §36: ii. §30.

scribendo ... legendo ... dicendo: i. pr. §27 haec ipsa (natural gifts) sine doctore perito, studio pertinaci, scribendi, legendi, dicendi multa et continua exercitatione per se nihil prosunt. So §2 eloquentia ... stilo ... lectionis. Reading is covered by chs. i ii: chs. iii-v treat of writing; and ch. vii. of extemporary declamation.

conferatur: frequent in this sense in Quint. (cp. συμφέρειν): (1) with ad, as here, i. 8, 7: ii. 19, 1: vii. 1, 41: xii. 1, 1 and passim: (2) with in, 7 §26: (3) with dat., §§27, 63, 71, 95: i. 1, 6, &c. Bonn. Lex., p. 155.

solere quaeri (ζητεῖσθαι): the subject is treated, e.g., by Crassus in Cic. de Orat. i. chs. 33-34. For _quaeri_ cp. i. 4, 26: ib. 12 §1 (quaeri solet): x. 5, 13.

qualibet ... una: v. 10, 117, quamdiu quilibet unus superfuerit. In reverse order i. 12, 7 una res quaelibet: xii. 1, 44 unum ex iis quodlibet. The collocation does not occur in Cicero.

I:2 verum ita sunt inter se conexa et indiscreta omnia ut, si quid ex his defuerit, frustra sit in ceteris laboratum. Nam neque solida atque robusta fuerit umquam eloquentia nisi multo stilo vires acceperit, et citra lectionis exemplum labor ille carens rectore fluitabit; et qui sciet quae quoque sint modo dicenda, 13 nisi tamen in procinctu paratamque ad omnes casus habuerit eloquentiam, velut clausis thesauris incubabit.

§ 2. conexa et indiscreta. _Et_ is intensive: ‘so closely, nay, inseparably connected.’ So i. 2, 3: iuncta ista atque indiscreta sunt. _Indiscretus_ in this sense occurs Tac. Hist. iv. 52 and often in Pliny: not in Cicero. For the use of the perf. part. pass. instead of a verbal adj., cp. Sall. Iug. 43, §5 invictus: ib. 2 §3 incorruptus: 76 §1 infectum: Livy ii. 1, 4 inviolatum: ib. 55 §3 contemptius (‘more contemptible’). So intactus, inaccessus, &c.

neque ... et = οὔτε ... τε, as 3 §23: 4 §3: 5 §22.

solida ... robusta ... vires. Hild notes that the figure is taken from a living organism which gathers strength from the nourishment supplied to it: cp. §§19, 31, &c. Tac. Dial. 21: oratio autem sicut corpus hominis ea demum pulchra est in qua non eminent venae nec ossa numerantur, sed temperatus ac bonus sanguis implet membra et exsurgit toris ipsosque nervos rubor tegit et decor commendat: cp. 23.

multo stilo: ‘by much practice in writing.’ Cic. de Orat. i. §150 Stilus optimus et praestantissimus dicendi effector ac magister (where see Wilkins’ note). Quintilian returns to this subject below 3 §1 sq.: cp. 6 §§1 and 3: 7 §§4 and 7.

citra lectionis exemplum: ‘without the models which reading supplies.’ _Citra_ is common in this sense (for _sine_, sometimes _praeter_) in Quint. (Bonn. Lex. p. 127) and other post-Aug. writers. So 7 §7 citra divisionem: xii. 6, 4 plusque, si separes, usus sine doctrina quam citra usum doctrina valet. Cp. Ov. Trist. v. 8, 23 peccavi citra scelus (‘short of’): Plin. Ep. ii. 1, 4 citra dolorem tamen.

labor ille, sc. scribendi.

fluitabit, like a vessel drifting about without a pilot (carens rectore). The writing will want method, and the definiteness of aim which models would impose. So vii. pr. §2 sic oratio carens hac virtute (sc. ordine) tumultuetur necesse est et sine rectore fluitet nec cohaereat sibi, multa repetat, multa transeat, velut nocte in ignotis locis errans, nec initio nec fine proposito casum potius quam consilium sequatur: cp. xii. 2 §20.

quae quoque sint modo. This is the 13 reading of the oldest MSS. (see Crit. Notes), and was adopted by Halm: cp. §8 quod quoque loco sit aptissimum: 7 §5 quid quoque loco primum sit, and §6 quid quoque loco quaerant. So iv. 2, 33 quid quoque loco prosit. _Quae_ covers _inventio_: while _quoque modo_ may be taken of the exhaustive discussion of the various departments of _elocutio_ which has just been concluded.—Meister has returned to Spalding’s _quo quaeque sint modo_, probably from a doubt whether Halm (followed by Mayor) is right in explaining _quae quoque_ as = _quae et quomodo_, ‘what is to be said and how’; ‘copulae enim _que_ in coniunctione talium membrorum relativorum inter se discretorum non aptus est locus,’ Osann, i. p. 14. But _quoque_ may very well be the abl. of _quisque_, though Cicero seems to avoid such a collocation, unless there is a prep. to make the construction clear: e.g. pro Sulla §73 quae ex quoque ordine multitudo: pro Domo §33 qui de quaque re constituti iudices sint: Har. Resp. §24 quae de quoque deo ... tradita sunt. Cp. in Cat. iii. §10 tabellas quae a quoque dicebantur datae. Even in the exactly parallel passage Sall. Cat. 23, 4 quae quoque modo audierat ... narravit (where Mommsen suggests _quoquo_), it is possible to understand _quoque_ of the various methods Fulvia had employed to get information from Curius. So quid ubique, ib. 21, 1.

tamen: see Crit. Notes.

in procinctu: ‘ready for battle.’ So xii. 9, 21 quem armatum semper ac velut in procinctu stantem non magis umquam in causis oratio quam in rebus cotidianis ac domesticis sermo deficiet. Similarly in 7 §24 promptum hoc et in expedito positum. Examples of the proper use of the phrase occur Tac. Hist. iii. 2: Ovid Pont. i. 8, 10: Gell. i. 11: Plin. Nat. Hist. vi. 22. Quintilian expresses a similar idea by another of his military metaphors, viii pr. 15: eloqui enim hoc est omnia quae mente conceperis promere atque ad audientes perferre; sine quo supervacua sunt priora et similia gladio condito atque intra vaginam suam haerenti: cp. vi. 4, 8. For the explanation of the phrase _procingo_, ‘I gird up’ see Mayor’s note on Cic. de N. D. ii. 3 §9: “_in procinctu_ is used of an army in readiness for battle, Milton’s ‘war in procinct’ (P. L. vi. 19): cp. Festus, pp. 43 and 225 procincta classis dicebatur cum exercitus cinctus erat Gabino cinctu confestim pugnaturus. Vetustius enim fuit multitudinem hominum, quam navium, classem appellari, also p. 249 procincta toga Romani olim ad pugnam ire soliti. The _cinctus Gabinus_ was a particular way of wearing the _toga_, so as to use part of it as a girdle, tying it in a knot in front. Servius (Aen. vii. 612) says the ancient Latins, before they were acquainted with the use of defensive armour, praecinctis togis bellabant, unde etiam milites _in procinctu_ esse dicuntur.” For the figurative use cp. Sen. de Benef. i. 1, 4 severitatem abditam clementiam in procinctu habeo: [Quint.] Decl. 3, 1 neque in militiam gravissimo asperrimoque bello ita venit, ut nesciret sibi mortem in procinctu habendam.

paratam: 5 §12: Cic. ad Fam. vi. 21, 1 ad omnem eventum paratus sum.

velut cl. thes. incubabit. Unless he adds practice to his theoretical knowledge, all he knows will be as useless as a miser’s hoard. The phrase is a reminiscence of Verg. Georg. ii. 507 condit opes alius, defossoque incubat auro: cp. Aen. vi. 610 aut qui divitiis soli incubuere repertis. Martial, xii. 53, 3-4 largiris nihil incubasque gazae, ut magnus draco. Mayor quotes Ecclus. 20, 30 Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is hoarded up, what profit is in them both?

I:3 Non autem 14 ut quidquid praecipue necessarium est, sic ad efficiendum oratorem maximi protinus erit momenti. Nam certe, cum sit in eloquendo positum oratoris officium, dicere ante omnia est, atque hinc initium eius artis fuisse manifestum est: proximum deinde imitatio, novissimum scribendi quoque diligentia.

§ 3. The argument here requires elucidation. Quint. has said (§§1, 2) that for the _firma facilitas_ or ἕξις which must be superadded to theory, writing, reading and speaking are all essential. He now goes on to state that it does not follow that what is theoretically most indispensable (cp. cognitioni necessaria §1 above) is for the practical training of the orator of greatest consequence. The most essential element is of course that of speech (_dicere_)—followed by imitation and writing. But perfection of speech can only be attained, like other forms of perfection, by starting from first beginnings (principia), which become relatively unimportant (minima) as things progress. This is not however the place for dealing with the methods of preliminary training in rhetoric: our student has done his theory, and we must now show him how to apply it to practice. Cp. Analysis, p. 1.

14 ut quidquid. Properly _quisquis_ is an indefinite relative: in this usage it has the same force as _quisque_ (Roby, 2283, 2285). It may have been an archaism which became colloquial. Madvig (on de Fin. v. §24) shows that undoubted instances occur in Plautus, Terence, Cato (de R. R. 57: uti quidquid operis facient), Lucretius (with whom it is especially common: e.g. ruit qua quidquid fluctibus obstat, i. 289, where see Munro), Cicero (Tusc. v. 98), and in the Agrarian Law (utei quicquid quoieique ante h. l. r. licuit, ita &c. Mommsen C.I.L. 1 n. 200 v. 27). Cp. vii. 2, 35. So too Corn. ad. Herenn. ii. §47, where the MSS. almost without exception give _quidquid_ (quicquid) for _quicque_. For the spelling here, cp. i. 7, 6 frigidiora his alia, ut ‘quidquid’ c quartam haberet, ne interrogare bis videremur.

ad efficiendum oratorem: i. 10, 2.

protinus, of logical consequence, as frequently _continuo_ in Cicero: generally with a negative, or a question implying a negative answer. For the form of the sentence cp. viii. 2, 4 non tamen quidquid non erit proprium protinus et improprii vitio laborabit: and §42 below, sed non quidquid ad aliquam partem scientiae pertinet protinus ad faciendam φράσιν ... accommodatum. So 3 §22 (§§5 and 18 are different): ii. 21, 10: v. 10, 102 and 119: vii. 4, 38.

nam certe. This leads up to the next sentence, beginning _sed ut_.

in eloquendo: cp. viii. pr. 15 (quoted on in procinctu, §2 above): Cic. Or. §61 sed iam illius perfecti oratoris et summae eloquentiae species exprimenda est; quem hoc uno (sc. in eloquendo) excellere cetera in eo latere indicat nomen ipsum. Non enim inventor aut compositor aut actor qui haec complexus est omnia, sed et Graece ab eloquendo ῥήτωρ et Latine eloquens dictus est. Ceterarum enim rerum quae sunt in oratore partem aliquam sibi quisque vindicat; dicendi autem, id est eloquendi, maxima vis soli huic conceditur. Cp. de Orat. ii. §38.

ante omnia est. Becher vindicates the traditional reading by comparing ii. 15, 12 atqui non multum ab hoc fine abest Apollodorus dicens iudicialis orationis primum et _super omnia esse persuadere_ iudici et sententiam eius _ducere_ in id quod velit. So too iii. 8, 56 an _pro Caesare fuerit occidi_ Pompeium?—See Crit. Notes. For _ante omnia_ cp. Introd. p. lii.

hinc ... fuisse: cp. viii. 2, 7 proprie tamen unde initium est: vi. pr. §10 ut prorsus posset hinc esse tanti fulminis metus.

proximum: cp. i. 3, 1 proximum imitatio. As is evident from ch. ii, _imitatio_ here includes not _lectio_ only but _auditio_ as well: §8 optima legendo atque audiendo. It was in this sense that Dion. Hal. entitled his work περὶ μιμήσεως: see Usener, Praef. pp. 1-4: and cp. Cic. de Orat. i. §14 sq. and §149 sq.

I:4 Sed ut perveniri ad summa nisi ex principiis non potest, ita procedente iam opere minima incipiunt esse quae prima sunt. Verum nos non quo modo sit instituendus orator hoc loco dicimus, 15 (nam id quidem aut satis aut certe uti potuimus dictum est), sed athleta, qui omnes iam perdidicerit a praeceptore numeros, quo genere exercitationis ad certamina praeparandus sit. Igitur eum qui res invenire et disponere sciet, verba quoque et eligendi et collocandi rationem perceperit, instruamus qua ratione quod didicerit facere quam optime, quam facillime possit.

§ 4. sed ut perveniri, &c. 7 §18. Cp. i. pr. §§4-5 contemnentes tamquam parva quae prius discimus studia ... ego cum existimem nihil arti oratoriae alienum sine quo fieri non posse oratorem fatendum est, nec ad ullius rei summam nisi praecedentibus initiis perveniri ad minora illa ... demittere me non recusabo.

procedente iam opere: here of the progress of the orator’s training.

minima in importance: _prima_ in point of time. Krüger says that _dicere_ alone is meant, being the _initium artis_ above; but it seems better to understand Quint. to be indicating here that the order of importance does not correspond with the order of development as stated above, viz. (1) the faculty of speech, (2) reading (included under _imitatio_) and (3) writing. These are to be taken first as the subsidiary beginnings (principia) from which we attain to the ultimate object: but as things progress they will become relatively unimportant (_minima_), and their 15 place will be taken by systematic training in speaking or declamation, an exercise which is always essential to success and can therefore never be left off (7 §24).

aut ... aut in the sense of si minus satis, at certe uti potuimus: cp. xii. 11, 21.

athleta: a metaphor abruptly introduced: cp. §33: 3 §7: 4 §4: 7 §§1 and 23. The orator is often compared to an athlete, gladiator, soldier, &c.: see on §33 non athletarum toris sed militum lacertis, and Introd. p. lvi. Cp. §§29, 31, 79: 3 §3: 5 §§15, 17. Cic. de Orat. i. §73 ut qui pila ludunt ... sic in orationibus: iii. §83: Or. §§14, 42, 228-9. Tac. Dial. 34 ferro non rudibus dimicantes: cp. end of 37.

numeros: here of rhythmical movements, ‘movements according to rule, “passes” in fencing, “throws” in wrestling,’ &c.—Mayor. The use of the word in this sense is probably founded on the analogy between rhythm (for which see ix. 4, 45) and graceful motion: ix. 4, 8 in omni palaestra quid satis recte cavetur ac petitur cui non artifex motus et certi quidam pedes adsint? Cp. xii. 2, 12: ut palaestrici doctores illos quos numeros vocant non idcirco discentibus tradunt, ut iis omnibus ii qui didicerint in ipso luctandi certamine utantur ... sed ut subsit copia illa ex qua unum aut alterum cuius se occasio dederit efficiant: ii. 8, 13 sicut ille ... exercendi corpora peritus non ... nexus modo atque in iis certos aliquos docebit, sed omnia quae sunt eius certaminis. Sen. de Benef. vii. 1 §4 magnus luctator est non qui omnes numeros nexusque perdidicit. So Iuv. vi. 249 of the lady in the arena, omnes implet numeros: cp. Tac. Dial. 32 per omnes eloquentiae numeros isse. That this use is based on the notion of rhythm may be seen from a comparison of these exx. with Hor. Ep. ii. 2, 144 verae numerosque modosque ediscere vitae. For the wider meaning of _numeri_, in which it is used of that which is complete and perfect in all its parts, v. on §70.

igitur. As to whether the position of _igitur_ at the beginning of a sentence is to be considered an instance of _transmutatio_ (like ‘quoque ego,’ ‘enim hoc voluit’) Quintilian says (i. 5, 39) there is a doubt: ‘quia maximos auctores in diversa fuisse opinione video, cum apud alios sit etiam frequens, apud alios numquam reperiatur.’ Numerous instances from his own work are given in Bonn. Lex., p. 394. In Tacitus, _igitur_ always stands first except in the following passages: Dial. 8, 29: 10, 37: 20, 21: Agr. 16, 12: Germ. 45, 22: Hist. iv. 15, 15: Ann. i. 47, 5 (Gerber and Greef). In Cicero it is very rarely found first: de Leg. Agr. ii. 72: pro Milone §48: Phil. ii. §94: de Fin. i. §61: de Nat. Deor. i. §80.

res invenire. For the five parts of oratory (which are quite distinct from the five parts of an oration) cp. 7 §9: iii. 3, §§1 and 7. They are _inventio_ (treated of in Books iii.-vi.), _dispositio_ (vii.), _elocutio_ (viii.-ix.), _memoria_, _actio_ or _pronuntiatio_ (xi.). Cicero has substantially the same division de Orat. ii. §79, quinque faciunt quasi membra eloquentiae, invenire quod dicas, inventa disponere, deinde ornare verbis, post memoriae mandare, tum ad extremum agere ac pronuntiare: cp. i. §142: and for _inventio_, de Inv. i. §9, inventio est excogitatio rerum verarum aut veri similium quae causam probabilem reddant.—For the antithesis between _res_ and _verba_, cp. §§5 and 6: also §61: 2 §27: 3 §§5, 9: 6 §2: 7 §§9, 22.

sciet. Bonnell calls attention to the use of the fut. in dependent relative sentences as common in manuals of instruction: §§5, 10, 13, 17, 22, 25, 33, 112, &c. _Instruamus_ is virtually future.

eligendi §6: cp. dilectus 3 §5.

collocandi: Cic. de Orat. ii. §307 ordo collocatioque rerum ac locorum: cp. Or. §50: Brut. §139. For both cp. Brut. §140 in verbis et eligendis ... et collocandis: de Part. Or. i. §3. Both are parts of _elocutio_, for which see viii. 1, 1. For _ratio_ with gerund cp. §§17, 54: 2 §1: 3 §§5, 31: and see note on 2 §3.

qua ratione. The recurrence of _ratione_ so soon after _rationem_ need create no difficulty in Quintilian: for similar instances of negligence see on 2 §23. For 16 Kiderlin’s treatment of the whole passage, see Crit. Notes.

optime ... facillime, xii. 10, 77 neque vero omnia ista de quibus locuti sumus orator optime tantum sed etiam facillime faciet.

16

I:5 Non ergo dubium est quin ei velut opes sint quaedam parandae, quibus uti, ubicumque desideratum erit, possit: eae constant copia rerum ac verborum.

§ 5. velut ... quaedam. So §§18, 61: 3 §3: 5 §17: 7 §1, and frequently elsewhere: e.g. xii. 10, 19 velut sata quaedam: iii. 8, 29 veluti quoddam templum. Cicero generally uses _quasi_ or _tanquam quidam_. Indeed Quintilian seems to have a general preference for _velut_ over _quasi_ or _tanquam_ in introducing similes: cp. 7 §6 ducetur ante omnia rerum ipsa serie velut duce: viii. 5, 29 inaequalia tantum et velut confragosa: see Bonn. Lex., s.v.

ubicumque, so §10 below. For a less classical use (as an indefinite) see 7 §28 quidquid loquemur ubicumque.

I:6 Sed res propriae sunt cuiusque causae aut paucis communes, verba in universas paranda; quae si rebus singulis essent singula, minorem curam postularent, nam cuncta sese cum ipsis protinus rebus offerrent. Sed cum sint aliis alia aut magis propria aut magis ornata aut plus efficientia 17 aut melius sonantia, debent esse non solum nota omnia, sed in promptu atque, ut ita dicam, in conspectu, ut, cum se iudicio dicentis ostenderint, facilis ex his optimorum sit electio.

§ 6. sed res ... paranda: an example of the construction so common in Greek and Latin, by which two contrasted clauses are co-ordinated. In English we subordinate the one to the other by using ‘while,’ ‘whereas,’ or some such word. In Greek the use of μὲν makes the antithesis plainer.—Here _res_ = νοήματα: _verba_ = ὀνόματα.

paucis communes. For the _loci communes_, appropriate to several causae, v. Cic. de Inv. ii. §48 argumenta quae transferri in multas causas possunt, and compare the Topica.

cum ipsis protinus rebus. For the order of words cp. §33 historico nonnumquam nitore. Herbst gives the following exx. of an adv. inserted between the adj. and the noun: §§38, 41, 104, 116, 120: 2 §§7, 8: 3 §§2, 31: 5 §7: 7 §§3, 28.—For the thought, cp. Hor. A. P. 311 verbaque provisam rem non invita sequentur: Cic. de Orat. ii. §146 ea (sc. res et sententiae) vi sua verba parient: iii. §125 rerum enim copia verborum copiam gignit. No doubt Quintilian in his teaching also gave due prominence to Cato’s golden rule, ‘rem tene verba sequentur.’

propria. The general meaning under which all uses of _proprius_ and its cognates may be included is that in which it contrasts with all departures from and innovations on ordinary language. Sometimes it may mean nothing more than ‘suitable,’ ‘appropriate,’ in which sense _proprie_ occurs immediately below, in §9: cp. opportune proprieque 2 §13, and proprie et copiose (dicere) i. 4, 5. This is the meaning with which it is applied to the language of Simonides §64 below,—‘natural’; cp. Cic. de Orat. i. §154, where _verba propria_ occurs alongside of _ornatissima_ and corresponds with _idonea_, introduced shortly afterwards: cp. _id._ iii. §31, where _propria_ is reinforced by _apta_, and _ib._ §49 proprie demonstrantibus (verbis) ea quae significari ac declarari volemus. The use of _proprietas_ in §46 and §121 below may be compared with this: cp. also the first of the meanings assigned to the word in the important passage viii. 2, 1-11: also ix. 2, 18 and xii. 2, 19. The translators here render by ‘suitable’ or ‘significant,’ but the juxtaposition of _ornata_ seems rather to point to the use in which _verba propria_ are the antithesis of _translata_,—direct, literal, and natural, as opposed to figurative: i. 5, 71 propria sunt verba cum id significant in quod primo denominata sunt: translata, cum alium natura intellectum, alium loco praebent. Cp. i. 5, 3: viii. 3, 24: 6, 5, and 48 (where _propria ... ornata_ in the passage above may well be illustrated by the words species ex arcessitis verbis venit et intellectus ex propriis): ix. 1, 4. This is undoubtedly the meaning in which _proprius_ is used in §29 below: also in 5 §8 alia translatis virtus alia propriis. The nearest equivalent in Greek would be οἰκεῖα ὀνόματα, rather than κύρια ὀνόματα, which correspond to ‘usitata verba’ in Quint, (i. 5, 71, and v. 14, 33 verbis quam maxime propriis et ex usu),—though he may have had in mind here, as Mayor suggests, ἔστι γὰρ ἄλλο ἄλλου κυριώτερον, Arist. Rhet. iii. 2, p. 1405 b, 11. (For the distinction between ὄνομα οἰκεῖον and ὄνομα κύριον see Cope on Ar. Rhet. iii. 2 17 §§2 and 6, and Introd. p. 282 note). Many parallels might be cited from Cicero: e.g. de Or. iii. §149 (verbis eis) quae _propria_ sunt et certa quasi vocabula rerum, paene una nata cum rebus ipsis: cp. _ib._ §150: Brutus §274: Or. §80.

ornata: cp. viii. 3, 15 quamquam enim rectissime traditum est perspicuitatem propriis, ornatum translatis verbis magis egere, sciamus nihil ornatum esse quod sit improprium: _ib._ pr. §26 ut propria sint (verba) et dilucida et ornata et apte collocentur, and §31: ii. 5, 9 quod verbum proprium, ornatum, sublime: and especially viii. 1, 1 in singulis (verbis) intuendum est ut sint Latina, perspicua, ornata, ad id quod efficere volumus accommodata.

plus efficientia, ‘more significant’: ix. 4, §123 membrum autem est sensus ... per se nihil efficiens. The adj. _efficax_ occurs only once in Quint. (vi. 1, 41).

melius sonantia. So _vocaliora_ viii. 3, §16 sq.: cp. i. 5, 4 sola est quae notari possit vocalitas, quae εὐφωνία dicitur: cuius in eo dilectus est ut inter duo quae idem significant ac tantundem valent quod melius sonet malis. Cic. de Or. iii. §150 lectis atque illustribus (verbis) utatur, in quibus plenum quiddam et sonans inesse videatur: Or. §163 verba ... legenda sunt potissimum bene sonantia: §149, and §80 (verbum) quod aut optime sonat aut rem maxime explanat (= plus effic.): Part. Or. §17 alia (verba) sonantiora, grandiora, leviora: and §53 gravia, plena, sonantia verba.

non solum ... sed (οὐ μόνον ... ἀλλά), a formula used where the second clause is stronger than or includes and comprehends the first. Cp. §8 below: §46 (nec modo sed): 7 §8 (non modo sed): 3 §20 (non tantum sed): 5 §5 (neque tantum sed): 7 §16 (non tantum sed). Of the numerous exx. in Cicero’s speeches (Merguet, pp. 361-2) none are exceptions to the rule thus stated,—not even the seeming anticlimax of pro Sest. §45 iecissem me potius in profundum ut ceteros conservarem quam illos mei tam cupidos non modo ad certam mortem sed in magnum vitae discrimen adducerem: here _sed_ still introduces the stronger clause, as the sacrifice would be greater if it were made to avert _discrimen_ than if it were made to avert _certa mors_. Becher cps. pro Lege Manil. §66: Div. in Caec. §27.—There is nothing in the distinction which Herbst (followed by Dosson) seeks to set up (on the strength of _sed etiam_ in §13): ‘pro simplici _sed_, ἀλλά, infertur _sed etiam_, ἀλλὰ καί, si utrumque orationis membrum pari vi praeditum est.’ Cp. the following: (a) non solum sed, vi. 2, 13 and 36: non solum sed (or verum) etiam, vii. 10, 17: ii. 2, 14: vii. 5, 3: viii. 3, 64: i. 11, 14. (b) non tantum sed, ix. 3, 28, 78: xi. 1, 7: ii. 17, 2: non tantum sed etiam (or et), xi. 2, 5: viii. 3, 3: ix. 2, 50. (c) non modo sed, pr. §9: x. 1, 46: ii. 17, 3: iv. 5, 6: non modo sed etiam (or quoque), ix. 3, 50: xi. 1, 15: i. 10, 9: ii. 2, 12: vi. 3, 57: ix. 3, 47: i. 1, 34: i. 4, 6: i. 11, 13: ix. 4, 9: x. 1, 10.

in promptu—in readiness, ‘at one’s fingers’ ends,’ as it were: i.e. not only must we be able to recognise them when we see or hear them, but we must always have a stock of them on hand. Cp. ii. 4, 27 ut quidam ... scriptos eos (locos) memoriaeque diligentissime mandatos in promptu habuerint: vii. 10, 14 non respiciendum ad haec sed in promptu habenda: viii. pr. 28 ut semper in promptu sint et ante oculos: xi. 2, 1 exemplorum ... velut quasdam copias quibus abundare quasque in promptu habere debet orator. In ix. 1, 13 we have simplex atque in promptu positus dicendi modus. Cp. Demetrius Cynicus ap. Senec. de Benef. vii. 1 §3: plus prodesse si pauca praecepta sapientiae teneas sed illa in promptu tibi et in usu sint quam si multa quidem didiceris sed illa non habeas ad manum.—In Lucr. ii. 149 and 246 (in promptu manifestumque esse videmus) the phrase rather = in aperto: as often in Cicero, e.g. de Off. i. §§61, 95, 105, 126.

ut ita dicam, in conspectu. So vii. 1, 4 cum haec (themata s. proposita) in conspectu quodammodo collocaveram. Cp. viii. 3, 37 quod idem (‘ut ita dicam’) etiam in iis quae licentius translata erunt proderit.

I:7 Et quae idem significarent solitos _scio_ ediscere, quo facilius et 18 occurreret unum ex pluribus, et, cum essent usi aliquo, si breve intra spatium rursus desideraretur, effugiendae repetitionis gratia sumerent aliud quo idem intellegi posset. Quod cum est puerile et cuiusdam infelicis operae, tum etiam utile parum: turbam tantum modo congregat, ex qua sine discrimine occupet proximum quodque.

§ 7. quae idem significarent: ‘synonyms.’ Cp. i. 5, 4 (quoted above on _melius sonantia_): viii. 3, 16.

solitos sc. quosdam. Cp. §56 audire videor congerentes. See Crit. Notes.

18 occurreret = in mentem veniret: §13: 3 §33.

quo idem intellegi posset. Cp. iii. 11, 27 his plura intelleguntur. See Crit. Notes.

cum ... tum etiam. Cp. cum ... tum praecipue 3 §28: and, for cum ... tum, §§60, 65, 68, 84, 101. Bonn. Lex., s.v. _cum_ p. 195.

cuiusdam. This use of _quidam_ indicates that the word to which it is attached is being employed in some peculiar sense, or else that it comes nearest to the idea in the writer’s mind: cp. §§76, 81.

infelicis operae: of trouble which one gives oneself unnecessarily (cp. 3 §10: 7 §14), with the further idea of unproductiveness, as 2 §8 nostra potissimum tempora damnamus huius infelicitatis: tr. ‘a thankless task.’ Cp. Hor. Sat. i. 1, 90 infelix operam perdas: A. P. 34 infelix operis summa. With viii. pr. §§27-8 Mayor compares Plato Phaedr. 229d ἄλλως τὰ τοιαῦτα χαρίεντα ἡγοῦμαι λίαν δὲ δεινοῦ καὶ ἐπιπόνου καὶ οὐ πάνυ εὐτυχοῦς ἀνδρός.

congregat. The subject here is indefinite, and must be supplied from the context—‘the man who learns by rote.’ Quintilian often omits such words as discipulus, orator, declamator, lector: cp. 2 §24: 7 §4 and 2 §24: §25 est alia exercitatio cogitandi totasque materias vel silentio (dum tamen quasi dicat intra se ipsum) persequendi. So Cic. de Off. i. §101 omnis autem actio vacare debet temeritate et neglegentia nec vero agere quicquam cuius non possit (sc. is qui agit) causam probabilem reddere: _ib._ §121 si natura non feret ut quaedam imitari possit (sc. is qui imitatur): §134: ii. §39: iii. §107: de Amic. §25 quae non volt: §72 quoad ... possit: de Or. ii. §62 audeat.—There is thus no need for Gemoll’s conjecture _congregat actor_.

§§8-15. The preceding sections (§§5-7) form the transition to what he now seeks to prove,—the need for _multa lectio_ and _auditio_. ‘By reading and hearing the best models we learn to choose appropriate words, to arrange and pronounce them rightly; to employ the figures of speech in their proper places.’—Mayor.

I:8 Nobis autem copia cum iudicio paranda est, vim orandi non circulatoriam volubilitatem spectantibus. Id autem consequemur 19 optima legendo atque audiendo; non enim solum nomina ipsa rerum cognoscemus hac cura, sed quod quoque loco sit aptissimum.

§ 8. cum iudicio, §116: 2 §3. Mayor cites Cic. de Or. iii. §150 sed in hoc verborum genere propriorum dilectus est habendus quidem atque is aurium quoque iudicio ponderandus est. The phrase gives the antithesis of _sine discrimine_ above.

vim orandi: see on §1 above, vim dicendi: cp. 5 §6: ii. 16, 9: vi. 2, 2. The words denote ‘true oratory’ as opposed to the ‘fluency of a mountebank’ or charlatan. For the absolute use of _orare_ (common in the Silver Age) see on §16.

circulatoriam volubilitatem: ii. 4, 15 circulatoriae vere iactationis est. The _circulator_ was a strolling mountebank who amused the crowd by his legerdemain: Sen. de Benef. vi. 11, 2. So of quack philosophers, _Id._ Epist. 29 §7 circulatores qui philosophiam honestius neglexissent quam vendunt: 40 §3 sic itaque habe, istam vim dicendi rapidam atque abundantem aptiorem esse circulanti quam agenti in rem magnam ac seriam docentique: 52 §8 eligamus non eos qui verba magna celeritate praecipitant, et communes locos volvunt et in privato circulantur, sed eos qui vita[m] docent.—For _volubilitas_ cp. xi. 3, 52: Cic. de Orat. §17 est enim et scientia comprehendenda rerum plurimarum, sine qua verborum volubilitas inanis atque inridenda est, et ipsa oratio conformanda non solum electione sed etiam constructione verborum: so linguae volubilitas, pro Planc. §62 flumen aliis verborum volubilitasque cordi est: pro Flacc. §48 homo volubilis praecipiti quadam celeritate dicendi. Pliny Ep. v. 20, 4: est plerisque Graecorum ut illi pro copia volubilitas. Juvenal’s sermo promptus et Isaeo torrentior (3, 73-4) indicates the same feature.

id, of the idea contained in the previous sentence (parare copiam cum iudicio): 6 §6: 7 §4.

19 non enim. Herbst cites §109 and 5 §8 to show that in this form the negative is either attached to a single word, or is meant to be more emphatic: so Cic. Orat. §§47, 101. On the other hand _neque enim_ has less emphasis: §105: 2 §1: 3 §§10, 23: 4 §1: 6 §5: 7 §§5, 18, 19, 27. For _enim ... enim ... nam_ he compares 3 §2 and, in Greek, Xen. Anab. iii. 2, 32: v. 6, 4.

quod quoque. See Crit. Notes.

I:9 Omnibus enim fere verbis praeter pauca, quae sunt parum verecunda, in oratione locus est. Nam scriptores quidem iamborum veterisque comoediae etiam in illis saepe laudantur, sed nobis nostrum opus intueri sat est. Omnia verba, exceptis de quibus dixi, sunt alicubi optima; nam et humilibus interim et vulgaribus est opus, et quae nitidiore in parte videntur 20 sordida, ubi res poscit, proprie dicuntur.

§ 9. parum verecunda. These expressions are characterised in the same indirect way i. 2, 7 verba ne Alexandrinis quidem permittenda deliciis. Cp. viii. 3, 38 excepto si obscena nudis nominibus enuntientur: _ib._ 2 §1 obscena vitabimus. Cic. ad Fam. ix. 22.

nam is here slightly elliptical (cp. §83), introducing a confirmation of the statement contained in the words _praeter pauca quae sunt parum verecunda_: ‘I make exceptions, for though even these may be admired in ἰαμβογράφοι (Archilochus §59, Hipponax, &c.), and in the old Comedy, we must look to our own department.’ The sentence might have run,—nam, etiamsi scriptores quidem, &c. etiam in illis saepe laudantur, nobis nostrum opus intueri sat est. This seems better than, with Mayor, to press _in oratione_: ‘_in oratione_ I say, for even these may be admired, &c.’

scriptores iamborum: §59 Horace imitated Archilochus in some of his Epodes: these are ‘parum verecunda.’ Mayor refers also to the Priapeia. The _vetus comoedia_ (_antiqua_ in §65) is often associated with ἰαμβογράφοι: §§59, 65, 96. Hor. Sat. i. 4, 1 sq.: ii. 3, 12.

in illis ... laudantur. In such expressions _in_ with the abl. denotes the range or scope within which the action of the verb takes place. Nägelsb. p. 491. Cic. Qu. fr. ii. 6, 5 Pompeius noster in amicitia P. Lentuli vituperatur. Cp. §§54, 63, 64: v. 12, 22 ut ad peiora iuvenes laude ducuntur ita laudari in bonis malent.

nostrum opus: not ‘our proper work, the education of an orator’ (Hild); but ‘what we have to do with here,’ our ‘department’ or ‘branch.’ It thus = opus dicendi Cic. Brut. §214, or oratorium _ib._ §200. In the Silver Age _opus_ (like _genus_) is often used to denote a special branch. Herbst cites §§31, 35, 64, 69, 70, 72, 74, 93, 96, 123; 2 §21. Cp. Introd. p. xliv.

intueri: v. 13, 31 dum locum praesentem non totam causam intuentur. Cp. 2 §§2, 26: 7 §16.

exceptis ... dixi: sc. _iis_ (parum verecundis). Cp. §104 circumcisis quae dixisse ei nocuerat.

humilibus ... vulgaribus. So xi. 1, 6 humile et cotidianum sermonis genus. _Humilia verba_ (ταπεινά ὀνόματα) are opposed to _grandia_, _elata verba_. By Cicero _abiectus_ is often used to indicate a still lower depth: Brut. §227 verbis non ille quidem ornatis utebatur, sed tamen non abiectis. Mayor cites De Orat. iii. §177 non enim sunt alia sermonis, alia contentionis verba, neque ex alio genere ad usum cotidianum, alio ad scenam pompamque sumuntur; sed ea nos cum iacentia sustulimus e medio sicut mollissimam ceram ad nostrum arbitrium formamus et fingimus. Hor. A. P. 229 ne ... migret in obscuras humili sermone tabernas.

interim for _interdum_, as often in Quintilian, Seneca, and Pliny: cp. §24: 3 §§7, 19, 20, 32, 33 (where we have interim ... interim for modo ... modo): 7 §31. See Introd. p. li.

nitidiore ... sordida. There is the same antithesis at viii. 3. 49. Cp. Cic. Brut. §238 non valde nitens non plane horrida oratio. See note on §79: and cp. §§33, 44, 83, 97, 98, 113, 124. Sulp. Vict. inst. or. 15 in Halm rhet. lat. p. 321, 3 adhibendus est nitor ... ut scilicet verba non sordida et vulgaria et de trivio, quod dicitur, sumpta sint, sed electa de libris et hausta de liquido fonte doctrinae.— 20 For _sordida_ cp. Sen. Ep. 100 (of Fabianus) nihil invenies sordidum ... verba ... splendida ... quamvis sumantur e medio. Quint. ii. 5, 10: viii. 2, 1.

proprie: v. on §6 propria. Cp. 5 §4 verba poetica libertate audaciora non praesumunt eadem proprie dicendi facultatem: