,,the ,,training ,,of ,a ,,public       
,,speaker  ,,by ,,grenville ,,kleiser   
,formerly ,instructor in ,public        
,speaking at ,yale ,divinity    ,school1
 ,yale ,university4 ,author of ,how to  
,speak       in ,public1 ,great         
,speeches and ,how to ,make       ,them1
 ,complete ,guide to ,public ,speaking1 
,how to ,build ,mental ,power1          
,talks on ,talking1 etc41 etc4          
,illustration3 ,publisher's logo  ,,funk
  ,,wagnalls ,,company  ,,new ,,york    
,,and ,,london  #aibj   ,,copyright1    
#aibj1 ,,by  ,,grenville ,,kleiser      
,printed in the ,united ,states of      
,america  ,published1 ,february1 #aibj  
,copyright ,under the ,articles of the  
,copyright ,convention of the           
,pan-,american ,republics and the       
,united ,states1 ,august #aa1 #aiaj     
,,preface   ,the power of eloquence to  
move and persuade men is universally    
recognized4 ,to-day the public speaker  
plays a vital part in the solution of   
every great question and problem4       

,oratory1 in the true sense1 is not a   
lost art1 but a potent means of         
imparting information1 instruction1 and 
persuasion4  ,eloquence is still the    
appropriate organ of the highest        
personal energy4 ,as one has well said1 
,the orator is not compelled to wait    
through long and weary years to reap the
 reward of his labors4 ,his triumphs are
 instantaneous4  ,and again1 ,to stand  
up before a vast assembly composed of   
men of the most various callings1 views1
 passions1 and prejudices1 and mold them
 at will2 to play upon their hearts and 
minds as a master upon the keys of a    
piano2 to convince their understandings 
by the logic1 and to thrill their       
feelings by the art of the orator2 to   
see every eye watching his face1 and    
every ear intent on the words that drop 
from his lips2 to see indifference      
changed to breathless interest1 and     
aversion to rapturous enthusiasm2 to    
hear thunders of applause at the close  
of every period2 to see the whole       

assembly animated by the feelings which 
in him are burning and struggling for   
utterance2 and to think that all this is
 the creation of the moment1 and has    
sprung instantaneously from his fiery   
brain and the inspiration imparted to it
 by the circumstances of the            
hour2--this1 perhaps1 is the greatest   
triumph of which the human mind is      
capable1 and that in which its divinity 
is most signally revealed4  ,the aims   
and purposes of speaking to-day have    
radically changed from former times4    
,deliberative bodies1 composed of busy  
men1 meet now to discuss and dispose of 
grave and weighty business4 ,there is   
little necessity nor scope for          
eloquence4 ,time is too valuable to     
permit of prolonged speaking4 ,men are  
tacitly expected to get to the point1   
and to be reasonably brief in what they 
have to say4  ,under these circumstances
 certain extravagant types of old-time  
oratory would be ineffectual to-day4    
,the stentorian and dramatic tones1 with

 hand inserted in the breast of the     
coat1 with exaggerated facial           
expression1 and studied posture1 would  
make a speaker to-day an object of      
ridicule4  ,this applies equally to     
speech in the law court1 pulpit1 on the 
lecture platform1 and in other          
departments of public address4 ,the     
implicit demand everywhere is that the  
speaker should say what he has to say   
naturally1 simply1 and concisely4  ,this
 does not mean1 however1 that he must   
confine himself to plain statement of   
fact1 with no manifestation of feeling  
or earnestness4 ,men are still          
influenced and persuaded by impassioned 
speech4 ,there is nothing incompatible  
between deep feeling and clear-cut      
speech4 ,a man having profound          
convictions upon any subject of         
importance will always speak on it with 
fervor and sincerity4  ,the widespread  
interest in the subject of public       
speaking has suggested this adaptation  
of ,quintilian's celebrated work on the 

education of the orator4 ,this work has 
long been regarded as one of the most   
valuable treatises ever written on      
oratory1 but in its original form it is 
ponderous and inaccessible to the       
average reader4 ,in the present abridged
 and modernized form it may be read and 
studied with benefit by earnest students
 of the art of public speaking4  ,a     
brief account of ,quintilian says3      
,quintilianus1 ,m4 ,fabius1 was born at 
,calagurris1 in ,spain1 ,a4 ,d4 #dj4 ,he
 completed his education at ,rome1 and  
began to practise at the bar about #fh4 
,but he was chiefly distinguished as a  
teacher of eloquence1 bearing away the  
palm in his department from all his     
rivals1 and associating his name1 even  
to a proverb1 with preeminence in the   
art4 ,by ,domitian he was invested with 
the insignia and title of consul1 and   
is1 moreover1 celebrated as the first   
public instructor who1 in virtue of the 
endowment by ,vespasian1 received a     
regular salary from the imperial        

exchequer4 ,he is supposed to have died 
about #aah4 ,the great work of          
,quintilian is a complete system of     
rhetoric1 in twelve books1 entitled ,de 
,institutione ,oratoria ,libre ,,xii1 or
 sometimes ,institutiones ,oratoriae1   
dedicated to his friend ,marcellus      
,victorius1 himself a celebrated orator1
 and a favorite at ,court4 ,this        
production bears throughout the impress 
of a clear1 sound judgment1 keen        
discrimination1 and pure taste1 improved
 by extensive reading1 deep reflection1 
and long practise4  ,the text used for  
this condensation is from the version of
 ,j4 ,patsall1 ,a4,m41 ,london1 #aggd1  
according to the ,paris edition by      
,professor ,rollin4 ,many parts of the  
original work have been re-written or   
abridged1 while several chapters have   
been entirely omitted4                  
,,grenville ,,kleiser4 ,new ,york ,city1
 ,august1 #aiai4     ,,contents         
,,page ,,rhetoric ,,and ,,eloquence     
#ae  ,,the ,,exordium ,,or              

,,introduction        #dc  ,,the        
,,narration                       #fg   
,,division ,,and ,,argument             
#he  ,,the ,,peroration                 
#ii  ,,passion ,,and ,,persuasion       
#aai  ,,the ,,study ,,of ,,words        
#acc  ,,elegance ,,and ,,grace          
#ade  ,,composition ,,and ,,style       
#agc  ,,copiousness ,,of ,,words        
#aig  ,,knowledge ,,and                 
,,self-,,confidence      #bbi           
,,conclusion                            
#bdg     ,,rhetoric ,,and ,,eloquence   
,,what ,,rhetoric ,,is  ,rhetoric has   
been commonly defined as ,the power of  
persuading4 ,this opinion originated    
with ,isocrates1 if the work ascribed to
 him be really his2 not that he intended
 to dishonor his profession1 tho he     
gives us a generous idea of rhetoric by 
calling it the workmanship of           
persuasion4 ,we find almost the same    
thing in the ,gorgias of ,plato1 but    
this is the opinion of that rhetorician1
 and not of ,plato4 ,cicero has written 

in many places that the duty of an      
orator is to speak in a manner proper to
 persuade2 and in his books of rhetoric1
 of which undoubtedly he does not       
approve himself1 he makes the end of    
eloquence to consist in persuasion4     
,but does not money likewise persuade8  
,is not credit1 the authority of the    
speaker1 the dignity of a respectable   
person1 attended with the same effect8  
,even without speaking a word1 the      
remembrance of past services1 the       
appearance of distress1 a beautiful     
aspect1 make deep impressions on minds  
and are decisive in their favor4  ,did  
,antonius1 pleading the cause of ,m4    
,aquilius1 trust to the force of his    
reasons when he abruptly tore open his  
garment and exposed to view the         
honorable wounds he received fighting   
for his country8 ,this act of his forced
 streams of tears from the eyes of the  
,roman people1 who1 not able to resist  
so moving a spectacle1 acquitted the    
criminal4 ,sergius ,galba escaped the   

severity of the laws by appearing in    
court with his own little children1 and 
the son of ,gallus ,sulpitius1 in his   
arms4 ,the sight of so many wretched    
objects melted the judges into          
compassion4 ,this we find equally       
attested by some of our historians and  
by a speech of ,cato4 ,what shall ,i say
 of the example of ,phryne1 whose beauty
 was of more service in her cause than  
all the eloquence of ,hyperides2 for tho
 his pleading was admirable in her      
defense1 yet perceiving it to be without
 effect1 by suddenly laying open her    
tunic he disclosed the naked beauty of  
her bosom1 and made the judges sensible 
that she had as many charms for them as 
for others4 ,now1 if all these instances
 persuade1 persuasion1 then1 can not be 
the end of rhetoric4  ,some1 therefore1 
have seemed to themselves rather more   
exact who1 in the main of the same way  
of thinking1 define rhetoric as the     
,power of persuading by speaking4 ,it is
 to this that ,gorgias1 in the book     

above cited1 is at last reduced by      
,socrates4 ,theodectes does not much    
differ from them1 if the work ascribed  
to him be his1 or ,aristotle's4 ,in this
 book the end of rhetoric is supposed to
 be ,the leading of men wherever one    
pleases by the faculty of speaking4 ,but
 this definition is not sufficiently    
comprehensive4 ,many others besides the 
orator persuade by their words and lead 
minds in whatever direction they please4
  ,some1 therefore1 as ,aristotle1      
setting aside the consideration of the  
end1 have defined rhetoric to be ,the   
power of inventing whatever is          
persuasive in a discourse4 ,this        
definition is equally as faulty as that 
just mentioned1 and is likewise         
defective in another respect1 as        
including only invention1 which1        
separate from elocution1 can not        
constitute a speech4  ,it appears from  
,plato's ,gorgias that he was far from  
regarding rhetoric as an art of ill     
tendency1 but that1 rather it is1 or    

ought to be1 if we were to conceive an  
adequate idea of it inseparable from    
virtue4 ,this he explains more clearly  
in his ,phaedrus1 where he says that    
,the art can never be perfect without an
 exact knowledge and strict observance  
of justice4 ,i join him in this opinion1
 and if these were not his real         
sentiments1 would he have written an    
apology for ,socrates and the eulogium  
of those brave citizens who lost their  
lives in the defense of their country8  
,this is certainly acting the part of an
 orator1 and if in any respect he       
attacks the profession1 it is on account
 of those who make ill use of eloquence4
 ,socrates1 animated with the same      
spirit1 thought it unworthy of him to   
pronounce the speech ,lysias had        
composed for his defense1 it being the  
custom of the orators of those times to 
write speeches for arraigned criminals1 
which the latter pronounced in their own
 defense2 thus eluding the law that     
prohibited pleading for another4 ,plato1

 likewise1 in his ,phaedrus1 condemns   
the masters that separated rhetoric from
 justice1 and preferred probabilities to
 truth4  ,such are the definitions of   
rhetoric which have been principally set
 forth4 ,to go through all of them is   
not my purpose1 nor do ,i think it      
possible1 as most writers on arts have  
shown a perverse dislike for defining   
things as others do or in the same terms
 as those who wrote before them4 ,i am  
far from being influenced by a like     
spirit of ambition1 and far from        
flattering myself with the glory of     
invention1 and ,i shall rest content    
with that which seems most rational1    
that rhetoric is properly defined as    
,the science of speaking well4 ,having  
found what is best1 it is useless to    
seek further4  ,accepting this          
definition1 therefore1 it will be no    
difficult matter to ascertain its end1  
for if it be ,the science of speaking   
well1 then to speak well will be the end
 it proposes to itself4   ,,the ,,use   

,,of ,,rhetoric  ,the next question is  
on the utility of rhetoric1 and from    
this point of view some direct the      
bitterest invectives against it1 and    
what is very unbecoming1 exert the force
 of eloquence against eloquence1 saying 
that by it the wicked are freed from    
punishment1 and the innocent opprest by 
its artifices2 that it perverts good    
counsel1 and enforces bad2 that it      
foments troubles and seditions in       
,states2 that it arms nations against   
each other1 and makes them              
irreconcilable enemies2 and that its    
power is never more manifest than when  
error and lies triumph over truth4      
,comic poets reproach ,socrates with    
teaching how to make a bad cause good1  
and ,plato represents ,lysias and       
,gorgias boasting the same thing4 ,to   
these may be added several examples of  
,greeks and ,romans1 and a long list of 
orators whose eloquence was not only the
 ruin of private persons1 but even      
destructive to whole cities and         

republics2 and for this reason it was   
that eloquence was banished from ,sparta
 and so restricted at ,athens that the  
orator was not allowed to make appeal to
 the passions4  ,granting all this as   
sound argument1 we must draw this       
necessary inference1 that neither       
generals of armies1 nor magistrates1 nor
 medicine1 nor philosophy1 will be of   
any use4 ,flaminius1 an imprudent       
general1 lost one of our armies4 ,the   
,gracchi ,saturninus1 and ,glaucia1 to  
raise themselves to dignity1 put ,rome  
into an uproar4 ,physicians often       
administer poisons1 and among           
philosophers some have been found guilty
 of the most enormous crimes4 ,let us   
not eat of the meats with which our     
tables are spread1 for meats frequently 
have caused disease4 ,let us never go   
into houses2 they may fall and crush us 
to death4 ,let not our soldiers be armed
 with swords2 a robber may use the same 
weapon against us4 ,in short1 who does  
not know that the most necessary things 

in life1 as air1 fire1 water1 nay1 even 
the celestial bodies1 are sometimes very
 injurious to our well-being8  ,but how 
many examples can be quoted in our      
favor8 ,did not ,appius the ,blind1 by  
the force of his eloquence dissuade the 
,senate from making a shameful peace    
with ,pyrrhus8 ,did not ,cicero's divine
 eloquence appear more popular than the 
,agrarian law he attacked8 ,did it not  
disconcert the audacious measures of    
,cataline8 ,and did not he1 even in his 
civil capacity1 obtain by it honors that
 are conferred on only the most         
illustrious conquerors8 ,is it not the  
orator who strengthens the soldier's    
drooping courage1 who animates him      
amidst the greatest dangers1 and        
inspires him to choose a glorious death 
rather than a life of infamy8  ,the     
example of the ,romans1 among whom      
eloquence always has been held in the   
greatest veneration1 shall have a higher
 place in my regard than that of the    
,spartans and ,athenians4 ,it is not to 

be supposed that the founders of cities 
could have made a united people of a    
vagabond multitude without the charms of
 persuasive words1 nor that law-givers1 
without extraordinary talent for        
speaking1 could have forced men to bend 
their necks to the yoke of the laws4    
,even the precepts of moral life1 tho   
engraved on our hearts by the finger of 
nature1 are more efficacious to inspire 
our hearts with love for them when their
 beauty is displayed by the ornaments of
 eloquent speech4 ,tho the arms of      
eloquence may harm and benefit equally1 
we must not1 therefore1 look on that as 
bad which may be put to a good use4     
,doubts of this kind may well be        
entertained by such as make the force   
persuasion the end of eloquence1 but we 
who constitute it ,the science of       
speaking well1 resolved to acknowledge  
none but the good man an orator1 must   
naturally judge that its advantage is   
very considerable4  ,certainly1 the     
gracious ,author of all beings and      

,maker of the world1 has distinguished  
us from the animals in no respect more  
than by the gift of speech4 ,they       
surpass us in bulk1 in strength1 in the 
supporting of toil1 in speed1 and stand 
less in need of outside help4 ,guided by
 nature only1 they learn sooner to walk1
 to seek for their food1 and to swim    
over rivers4 ,they have on their bodies 
sufficient covering to guard them       
against cold2 all of them have their    
natural weapons of defense2 their food  
lies1 in a manner1 on all sides of them2
 and we1 indigent beings6 to what       
anxieties are we put in securing these  
things8 ,but ,god1 a beneficent parent1 
gave us reason for our portion1 a gift  
which makes us partakers of a life of   
immortality4 ,but this reason would be  
of little use to us1 and we would be    
greatly perplexed to make it known1     
unless we could express by words our    
thoughts4 ,this is what animals lack1   
more than thought and understanding1 of 
which it can not be said they are       

entirely destitute4 ,for to make        
themselves secure and commodious lodges1
 to interweave their nests with such    
art1 to rear their young with such care1
 to teach them to shift for themselves  
when grown up1 to hoard provisions for  
the winter1 to produce such inimitable  
works as wax and honey1 are instances   
perhaps of a glimmering of reason2 but  
because destitute of speech1 all the    
extraordinary things they do can not    
distinguish them from the brute part of 
creation4 ,let us consider dumb persons3
 how does the heavenly soul1 which takes
 form in their bodies1 operate in them8 
,we perceive1 indeed1 that its help is  
but weak1 and its action but languid4   
,,the ,,value ,,of ,,the ,,gift ,,of    
,,speech  ,if1 then1 the beneficent     
,creator of the world has not imparted  
to us a greater blessing than the gift  
of speech1 what can we esteem more      
deserving of our labor and improvement1 
and what object is more worthy of our   
ambition than that of raising ourselves 

above other men by the same means by    
which they raise themselves above       
beasts1 so much the more as no labor is 
attended with a more abundant harvest of
 glory8 ,to be convinced of this we need
 only consider by what degrees eloquence
 has been brought to the perfection in  
which we now see it1 and how far it     
might still be perfected4 ,for1 not to  
mention the advantage and pleasure a    
good man reaps from defending his       
friends1 governing the ,senate by his   
counsels1 seeing himself the oracle of  
the people1 and master of armies1 what  
can be more noble than by the faculty of
 speaking and thinking1 which is common 
to all men1 to erect for himself such a 
standard of praise and glory as to seem 
to the minds of men not so much to      
discourse and speak1 but1 like          
,pericles1 to make his words thunder and
 lightning4   ,,the ,,art ,,of          
,,speaking  ,there would be no end were 
,i to expatiate to the limit of my      
inclination on the subject of the gift  

of speech and its utility4 ,i shall     
pass1 therefore1 to the following       
question1 ,whether rhetoric be an art8  
,those who wrote rules for eloquence    
doubted so little its being so1 that    
they prefixt no other title to their    
books than ,the art of speaking4 ,cicero
 says that what we call rhetoric is only
 an artificial eloquence4 ,if this were 
an opinion peculiar to orators1 it might
 be thought that they intended it as a  
mark of dignity attached to their       
studies1 but most philosophers1 stoics  
as well as peripatetics1 concur in this 
opinion4 ,i must confess ,i had some    
doubt about discussing this matter1 lest
 ,i might seem diffident of its truth2  
for who can be so devoid of sense and   
knowledge as to find art in             
architecture1 in weaving1 in pottery1   
and imagine that rhetoric1 the          
excellence of which we have already     
shown1 could arrive at its present state
 of grandeur and perfection without the 
direction of art8 ,i am persuaded that  

those of the contrary opinion were so   
more for the sake of exercising their   
wit on the singularity of the subject   
than from any real conviction4   ,,is   
,,eloquence ,a ,,gift ,,of ,,nature8    
,some maintain that rhetoric is a gift  
of nature1 yet admit that it may be     
helped by exercise4 ,antonius1 in       
,cicero's books of the ,orator1 calls it
 a sort of observation and not an art4  
,but this opinion is not there asserted 
as truth1 but only to keep up the       
character of ,antonius1 who was a       
connoisseur at concealing art4 ,lysias  
seems to be of the same opinion1 which  
he defends by saying that the most      
simple and ignorant people possess a    
kind of rhetoric when they speak for    
themselves4 ,they find something like an
 exordium1 they make a narration1 they  
prove1 refute1 and their prayers and    
entreaties have the force of a          
peroration4 ,lysias and his adherents   
proceed afterward to vain subtleties4   
,that which is the effect of art1 say   

they1 could not have existed before art4
 ,in all times men have known how to    
speak for themselves and against others1
 but masters of rhetoric have been only 
of a late date1 first known about the   
time of ,tisias and ,corax2 therefore   
oratorical speech was prior to art1     
consequently it could not be the result 
of art1 and therefore1 rhetoric is not  
an art4 ,we shall not endeavor to       
enquire into the time when rhetoric     
began to be taught1 but this we may say1
 that it is certain ,homer makes mention
 not only of ,phoenix1 who was a master1
 skilled in both speaking and fighting1 
but also of many other orators4 ,we may 
observe likewise from ,homer1 that all  
the parts of a discourse are found in   
the speech of the three captains deputed
 to ,achilles1 that several young men   
dispute for the prize of eloquence1 and 
that among other ornaments of sculpture 
on the buckler of ,achilles1 ,vulcan did
 not forget law-causes and the pleaders 
of them4  ,it will be sufficient1       

however1 to answer that ,everything     
perfected by art has its source in      
nature4 ,if it were not so1 we should   
exclude medicine from the catalog of    
arts1 the discovery of which was owing  
to observations made on things conducive
 or harmful to public health1 and in the
 opinion of some it is wholly grounded  
on experiments4 ,before it was reduced  
to an art1 tents and bandages were      
applied to wounds1 rest and abstinence  
cured fever2 not that the reason of all 
this was then known1 but the nature of  
the ailment indicated such curative     
methods and forced men to this regimen4 
,in like manner architecture can not be 
an art1 the first men having built their
 cottages without its direction4 ,music 
must undergo the same charge1 as every  
nation has its own peculiarities in     
dancing and singing4 ,now1 if by        
rhetoric be meant any kind of speech1 ,i
 must own it prior to art2 but if not   
everyone who speaks is an orator1 and if
 in the primitive ages of the world men 

did not speak orator-like1 the orator1  
consequently1 must have been made so by 
art1 and therefore could not exist      
before it4   ,,rhetoric ,,and           
,,misrepresentation  ,the next objection
 is not one so much in reality as it is 
a mere cavil2 that ,art never assents to
 false opinions1 because it can not be  
constituted as such without precepts1   
which are always true2 but rhetoric     
assents to what is false1 therefore it  
is not an art4 ,i admit that sometimes  
rhetoric says false things instead of   
true1 but it does not follow that it    
assents to what is false4 ,there is a   
wide difference between assenting to a  
falsehood1 and making others assent to  
it4 ,so it is that a general of an army 
often has recourse to stratagems4 ,when 
,hannibal perceived himself to be       
blocked up by ,fabius1 he ordered       
faggots of brush-wood to be fastened    
about the horns of some oxen1 and fire  
being set to the faggots1 had the cattle
 driven up the mountains in the night1  

in order to make the enemy believe he   
was about to decamp4 ,but this was only 
a false alarm1 for he himself very well 
knew what his scheme was4 ,when         
,theopompus the ,spartan1 by changing   
clothes with his wife1 made his escape  
out of prison1 the deception was not    
imposed upon himself1 but upon his      
guards4 ,thus1 when an orator speaks    
falsehood instead of truth1 he knows    
what he is about2 he does not yield to  
it himself1 his intention being to      
deceive others4 ,when ,cicero boasted   
that he threw darkness on the minds of  
the judges1 in the cause of ,cluentius1 
could it be said that he himself was    
unacquainted with all the intricacies of
 his method of confusing their          
understanding of the facts8 ,or shall a 
painter who so disposes his objects that
 some seem to project from the canvas1  
others to sink in1 be supposed not to   
know that they are all drawn on a plain 
surface8   ,,the ,,object ,,of ,a       
,,speech  ,it is again objected that    

,every art proposes to itself an end2   
but rhetoric has no end1 or does not put
 into execution the end it proposes to  
itself4 ,this is false1 as is shown from
 what already has been said concerning  
the end of rhetoric and in what it      
consists4 ,the orator will never fail to
 obtain this end1 for he always will    
speak well4 ,this objection1 therefore1 
can affect only those who make          
persuasion the end of rhetoric2 but our 
orator1 and our definition of art1 are  
not restricted to events4 ,an orator1   
indeed1 strives to gain his cause2 but  
suppose he loses it1 as long as he has  
pleaded well he fulfils the injunctions 
of his art4 ,a pilot desires to come    
safe into port1 but if a storm sweeps   
away his ship1 is he1 on that account1 a
 less experienced pilot8 ,his keeping   
constantly to the helm is sufficient    
proof that he was not neglecting his    
duty4 ,a physician tries to cure a sick 
person1 but if his remedies are hindered
 in their operation by either the       

violence of the disease1 the            
intemperance of the patient1 or some    
unforeseen accident1 he is not to be    
blamed1 because he has satisfied all the
 directions of his art4 ,so it is with  
the orator1 whose end is to speak well2 
for it is in the act1 and not in the    
effect1 that art consists1 as ,i shall  
soon make clear4 ,therefore1 it is false
 to say that ,art knows when it has     
obtained its end1 but rhetoric knows    
nothing of the matter1 as if an orator  
could be ignorant of his speaking well  
and to the purpose4  ,but it is said1   
further1 that rhetoric1 contrary to the 
custom of all other arts1 adopts vice1  
because it countenances falsehood and   
moves the passions4 ,neither of these   
are bad practises1 and consequently not 
vicious1 when grounded on substantial   
reasons4 ,to disguise truth is sometimes
 allowable even in the sage1 and if a   
judge can not be brought to do justice  
except by means of the passions1 the    
orator must necessarily have recourse to

 them4 ,very often the judges appointed 
to decide are ignorant1 and there is    
necessity for changing their wrongly    
conceived opinions1 to keep them from   
error4 ,should there be a bench1 a      
tribunal1 an assembly of wise and       
learned judges whose hearts are         
inaccessible to hatred1 envy1 hope1     
fear1 prejudice1 and the impositions of 
false witnesses1 there would be little  
occasion for the exertions of eloquence 
and all that might seem requisite would 
be only to amuse the ear with the       
harmony of cadence4 ,but if the orator  
has to deal with light1 inconstant1     
prejudiced1 and corrupt judges1 and if  
many embarrassments must be removed in  
order to throw light upon truth1 then   
artful stratagem must fight the battle1 
and set all its engines to work1 for he 
who is beaten out of the straight road  
can not get into it again except by     
another turnabout4   ,,eloquence        
,,acquired ,,by ,,study ,,and ,,practise
  ,these are the principal objections   

which have been made against rhetoric4  
,there are others of less moment but    
derived from the same source4 ,that     
rhetoric is an art is thus briefly      
demonstrated4 ,if art1 as ,cleanthes    
thinks1 is a power which prepares a way 
and establishes an order1 can it be     
doubted that we must keep to a certain  
way and a certain order for speaking    
well8 ,and if1 according to the most    
generally accepted opinion1 we ought to 
call art1 everything which by a         
combination of agreeing and co-exercised
 principles conducts to a useful end1   
have we not already shown that nothing  
of all this is lacking in rhetoric8 ,has
 it not1 likewise1 the two constituent  
parts of other arts1 theory and         
practise8 ,again1 if dialect be an art1 
as it is granted1 for the same reason2  
so is rhetoric an art1 the chief        
difference lying not so much in the     
genus as in the species4 ,but we must   
not forget this observation1 that art   
must be where a thing is done according 

to rule1 and not at random2 and art must
 be where he who has learned succeeds   
better than he who has not learned4 ,but
 in matter of eloquence not only will   
the ignorant person be surpassed by the 
learned1 but also the learned by the    
more learned2 otherwise we should not   
have so many rules nor so many excellent
 masters4 ,this ought to be acknowledged
 by all1 but more especially by us who  
do not separate eloquence from the man  
of integrity4     ,,the ,,exordium ,,or 
,,introduction   ,the exordium1 or      
introduction1 is that part of the       
discourse which is pronounced before the
 subject is entered upon4 ,as musicians 
make a prelude for obtaining silence and
 attention before they play their       
selections1 so orators1 before they     
begin their cause1 have specified by the
 same application that which they say by
 way of preface for securing for        
themselves a kindly feeling in the      
listeners4   ,,the ,,purpose ,,of ,,the 
,,introduction  ,the reason for an      

exordium is to dispose the auditors to  
be favorable to us in the other parts of
 the discourse4 ,this1 as most authors  
agree1 is accomplished by making them   
friendly1 attentive1 and receptive1 tho 
due regard should be paid to these three
 particulars throughout the whole of a  
speech4  ,sometimes the exordium is     
applicable to the pleader of the cause1 
who1 tho he ought to speak very little  
of himself1 and always modestly1 will   
find it of vast consequence to create a 
good opinion of himself and to make     
himself thought to be an honest man4 ,so
 it is he will be regarded not so much  
as a zealous advocate1 as a faithful and
 irreproachable witness4 ,his motives   
for pleading must1 therefore1 appear to 
proceed not from tie of kindred1 or     
friendship1 but principally from a      
desire to promote the public good1 if   
such motive can be urged1 or any other  
important consideration4 ,this conduct  
will befit plaintiffs in a much greater 
degree1 that they may seem to have      

brought their action for just and       
weighty reasons1 or were even compelled 
to do it from necessity4  ,as nothing   
else gives so great a sanction to the   
authority of the speaker as to be free  
from all suspicion of avarice1 hatred1  
and ambition1 so1 also1 there is a sort 
of tacit recommendation of ourselves if 
we profess our weak state and inability 
for contending with the superior genius 
and talents of the advocate of the other
 side4 ,we are naturally disposed to    
favor the weak and opprest1 and a       
conscientious judge hears an orator     
willingly whom he presumes not to be    
capable of making him swerve from his   
fixt purpose of doing justice4 ,hence   
the care of the ancients for concealing 
their talents4   ,,ideas ,,to ,,avoid   
,,and ,,to ,,include  ,all contemptuous1
 spiteful1 haughty1 calumniating        
expressions must be avoided and not so  
much as even insinuated to the          
defamation of any particular person or  
rank1 much less against those to whom an

 affront would alienate the minds of the
 judges4 ,to be so imprudent as to      
attack judges themselves1 not openly1   
but in any indirect manner1 would be    
most unwise4  ,the advocate for the     
other side may likewise furnish         
sufficient matter for an exordium4      
,sometimes honorable mention may be made
 of him1 as when we pretend to be in    
dread of his interest and eloquence in  
order to make them suspected by the     
judges1 and sometimes by casting odium  
on him1 altho this must be done very    
seldom4 ,i rather think1 from the       
authority of the best authors1 that     
whatever affects the orator1 affects    
also the cause he patronizes1 as it is  
natural for a judge to give more credit 
to those whom he more willingly hears4  
,we shall procure the favor of the judge
 not so much by praising him1 which     
ought to be done with moderation1 and is
 common to both sides1 but rather by    
making his praise fitting1 and          
connecting it with the interest of our  

cause4 ,thus1 in speaking for a person  
of consequence1 we may lay some stress  
on the judge's own dignity2 for one of  
mean condition1 on his justice2 for the 
unhappy1 on his mercy2 for the injured1 
on his severity4   ,,studying ,,your    
,,hearers  ,it also would not be amiss  
to become acquainted1 if possible1 with 
his character4 ,for1 according as his   
temper is1 harsh or mild1 pleasant or   
grave1 severe or easy1 the cause should 
be made to incline toward the side which
 corresponds with his disposition1 or to
 admit some mitigation or softening     
where it runs counter to it4  ,it may   
happen sometimes1 too1 that the judge is
 our enemy1 or the opponent's friend4   
,this is a circumstance requiring the   
circumspection of both parties1 yet ,i  
think the favored advocate should behave
 with great caution1 for a judge of a   
biased disposition will sometimes choose
 to pass sentence against his friends1  
or in favor of those to whom he bears   
enmity1 that he may not appear to act   

with injustice4   ,,arousing ,,emotions 
,judges have also their private opinions
 and prejudices1 which we must either   
strengthen or weaken1 according as we   
see necessary4 ,fear1 too1 sometimes    
must be removed1 as ,cicero1 in his     
defense of ,milo1 endeavors to assure   
the judges that ,pompey's army1 drawn up
 about the ,forum1 is for their         
protection2 and sometimes there will be 
an occasion to intimidate them1 as the  
same orator does in one of his pleadings
 against ,verres4  ,there are two ways  
of proceeding in this last case1 the    
first plausible1 and frequently used1 as
 when it is hinted to them that the     
,roman people might entertain an ill    
opinion of them1 or that there might be 
an appeal from their judgment2 the other
 desperate1 and not so much used1 as    
when threatened with prosecution        
themselves if they suffer themselves to 
be corrupted4 ,this is a hazardous      
point1 and is conducted with more safety
 to the orator when in a large assembly 

where corrupt judges are restrained by  
fear1 and the upright have the majority4
 ,but ,i would never counsel this before
 a single judge1 unless every other     
resource was wanting4 ,if necessity     
requires it1 ,i can not say that it is  
the business of the art of oratory to   
give directions in the matter1 any more 
than to lodge an appeal1 tho that1 too1 
is often of service1 or to cite the     
judge in justice before he passes       
sentence1 for to threaten1 denounce1 or 
indict may be done by any one else as   
well as the orator4  ,if the cause      
itself should furnish sufficient reason 
for gaining the good will of the judge1 
out of this whatever is most specious   
and favorable may be inserted in the    
exordium4 ,it will be unnecessary to    
enumerate all the favorable             
circumstances in causes1 they being     
easily known from the state of facts2   
besides1 no exact enumeration can take  
place on account of the great diversity 
of law-suits4 ,it is the cause itself1  

therefore1 that must teach us to find   
and improve these circumstances2 and1 in
 like manner1 with a circumstance that  
may make against us the cause will      
inform us how it may either be made     
entirely void1 or at least invalidated4 
,from the cause compassion also         
sometimes arises1 whether we have       
already suffered or are likely to suffer
 anything grievous4 ,for ,i am not of   
the opinion of those who to distinguish 
the exordium from the peroration1 will  
have the one to speak of what is past   
and the other of what is to come4 ,they 
are sufficiently distinguished without  
this discrimination4 ,in the exordium   
the orator ought to be more reserved1   
and ought only to throw out some hints  
of the sentiments of compassion he      
designs to excite in the minds of the   
judges2 whereas in the peroration he may
 pour out all the passions1 introduce   
persons speaking1 and make the dead to  
come forth1 as it were1 out of their    
graves1 and recommend to the judges the 

care of their dearest pledges4 ,all     
these particulars are seldom executed in
 the exordium4 ,but the manner just     
pointed out1 it will be very proper to  
observe in it1 and to wear down all     
impressions to the contrary made by the 
opposite side1 that as our situation    
will be deplorable if we should be      
defeated in our expectations1 so1 on the
 other hand1 the behavior of our        
opponent would be insolent and haughty4 
,,material ,,for ,,the ,,introduction   
,besides persons and causes1 the        
exordium likewise is sometimes taken    
from their adjuncts1 that is1 from      
things relating to the cause and        
persons4 ,to persons are applicable not 
only the pledges above mentioned1 but   
affinities1 friendships1 sometimes      
cities and whole countries are also     
likely to suffer by the person's        
misfortunes4  ,theophrastus adds another
 kind of exordium1 taken from the       
pleading of the orator who speaks first4
 ,such seems to be that of ,demosthenes 

for ,ctesiphon1 in which he requests the
 judges to please permit him to reply as
 he thinks suitable rather than to      
follow the rules prescribed by the      
accuser4  ,as the confidence observable 
in some orators may easily pass for     
arrogance1 there are certain ways of    
behavior which1 tho common1 will please1
 and therefore ought not to be          
neglected1 to prevent their being used  
by the opposing side3 these are wishing1
 warding off suspicion1 supplicating1   
and making a show of trouble and        
anxiety4  ,the judge's attention is     
secured by inducing him to believe that 
the matter under debate is new1         
important1 extraordinary1 or of a       
heinous nature1 or that it equally      
interests him and the public4 ,then his 
mind is to be roused and agitated by    
hope1 fear1 remonstrance1 entreaty1 and 
even by flattery1 if it is thought that 
will be of any use4 ,another way of     
procuring attention may be to promise   
that we shall take up but little of     

their time1 as we shall confine         
ourselves to the subject4  ,from what   
has been said1 it appears that different
 causes require to be governed by       
different rules2 and five kinds of      
causes are generally specified1 which   
are said to be1 either honest1 base1    
doubtful1 extraordinary1 or obscure4    
,some add shameful1 as a sixth kind1    
which others include in base or         
extraordinary4 ,by extraordinary is     
understood that which is contrary to the
 opinion of men4 ,in a doubtful cause   
the judge should be made favorable2 in  
an obscure1 docile2 in a base1          
attentive4 ,an honest cause is          
sufficient of itself to procure favor4  
,extraordinary and base causes lack     
remedies4   ,,two ,,types ,,of          
,,introductions  ,some1 therefore1      
specify two kinds of exordiums1 one a   
beginning1 the other an insinuation4 ,in
 the first the judges are requested     
openly to give their good will and      
attention2 but as this can not take     

place in the base kind of cause1 the    
insinuation must steal in upon their    
minds1 especially when the cause does   
not seem to appear with a sufficiently  
honest aspect1 either because the thing 
itself is wicked1 or is a measure not   
approved by the public4 ,there are many 
instances of causes of unseemly         
appearance1 as when general odium is    
incurred by opposing a patriot2 and a   
like hostility ensues from acting       
against a father1 a wretched old man1   
the blind1 or the orphan4  ,this may be 
a general rule for the purpose1 ,to     
touch but slightly on the things that   
work against us1 and to insist chiefly  
on those which are for our advantage4   
,if the cause can not be so well        
maintained1 let us have recourse to the 
goodness of the person1 and if the      
person is not condemnable1 let us ground
 our support on the cause4 ,if nothing  
occurs to help us out1 let us see what  
may hurt the opponent4 ,for1 since to   
obtain more favor is a thing to be      

wished1 so the next step to it is to    
incur less hatred4  ,in things that can 
not be denied1 we must endeavor to show 
that they are greatly short of what they
 are reported to be1 or that they have  
been done with a different intention1 or
 that they do not in any wise belong to 
the present question1 or that repentance
 will make sufficient amends for them1  
or that they have already received a    
proportionate punishment4 ,herein1      
therefore1 it will be better and more   
suitable for an advocate to act than for
 the person himself2 because when       
pleading for another he can praise      
without the imputation of arrogance1 and
 sometimes can even reprove with        
advantage4  ,insinuation seems to be not
 less necessary when the opponent's     
action has pre-possest the minds of the 
judges1 or when they have been fatigued 
by the tediousness of the pleading4 ,the
 first may be got the better of by      
promising substantial proofs on our     
side1 and by refuting those of the      

opponent4 ,the second1 by giving hopes  
of being brief1 and by having recourse  
to the means prescribed for making the  
judge attentive4 ,in the latter case1   
too1 some seasonable pleasantry1 or     
anything witty to freshen the mind will 
have a good effect4 ,it will not be     
amiss1 likewise1 to remove any seeming  
obstruction4 ,as ,cicero says of        
himself1 he is not unaware that some    
will find it strange that he1 who for so
 many years had defended such a number  
of people1 and had given no offense to  
anyone1 should undertake to accuse      
,verres4 ,afterward he shows that if1 on
 the one hand1 he accuses ,verres1      
still1 on the other1 he defends the     
allies of the ,roman people4   ,,how    
,,to ,,select ,,the ,,right ,,beginning 
,the orator should consider what the    
subject is upon which he is to speak1   
before whom1 for whom1 against whom1 at 
what time1 in what place1 under what    
conditions1 what the public think of it1
 what the judges may think of it before 

they hear him1 and what he himself has  
to desire1 and what to apprehend4       
,whoever makes these reflections will   
know where he should naturally begin4   
,but now orators call exordium anything 
with which they begin1 and consider it  
of advantage to make the beginning with 
some brilliant thought4 ,undoubtedly    
many things are taken into the exordium 
which are drawn from other parts of the 
cause or at least are common to them1   
but nothing in either respect is better 
said than that which can not be said so 
well elsewhere4   ,,the ,,value ,,of    
,,naturalness  ,there are many very     
engaging things in an exordium which is 
framed from the opponent's pleading1 and
 this is because it does not seem to    
favor of the closet1 but is produced on 
the spot and comes from the very thing4 
,by its easy1 natural turn1 it enhances 
the reputation of genius4 ,its air of   
simplicity1 the judge not being on his  
guard against it1 begets belief1 and tho
 the discourse in all other parts be    

elaborate and written with great        
accuracy1 it will for the most part seem
 an extempore oration1 the exordium     
evidently appearing to have nothing     
premeditated4  ,but nothing else will so
 well suit an exordium as modesty in the
 countenance1 voice1 thoughts1 and      
composition1 so that even in an         
uncontrovertible kind of cause1 too     
great confidence ought not to display   
itself4 ,security is always odious in a 
pleader1 and a judge who is sensible of 
his authority tacitly demands respect4  
,an orator must likewise be exceedingly 
careful to keep himself from being      
suspected1 particularly in that regard2 
therefore1 not the least show of study  
should be made1 because all his art will
 seem exerted against the judge1 and not
 to show this is the greatest perfection
 of art4 ,this rule has been recommended
 by all authors1 and undoubtedly with   
good reason1 but sometimes is altered by
 circumstances1 because in certain      
causes the judges themselves require    

studied discourses1 and fancy themselves
 thought mean of unless accuracy appears
 in thought and expression4 ,it is of no
 significance to instruct them2 they    
must be pleased4 ,it is indeed difficult
 to find a medium in this respect1 but  
the orator may so temper his manner as  
to speak with justness1 and not with too
 great a show of art4   ,,the ,,need    
,,of ,,simplicity ,,of ,,expression     
,another rule inculcated by the ancients
 is not to admit into the exordium any  
strange word1 too bold a metaphor1 an   
obsolete expression1 or a poetical turn4
 ,as yet we are not favorably received  
by the auditors1 their attention is not 
entirely held1 but when once they       
conceive an esteem and are warmly       
inclined toward us1 then is the time to 
hazard this liberty1 especially when we 
enter upon parts the natural fertility  
of which does not allow the liberty of  
expression to be noticed amidst the     
luster spread about it4  ,the style of  
the exordium ought not to be like that  

of the argument proper and the          
narration1 neither ought it to be finely
 spun out1 or harmonized into periodical
 cadences1 but1 rather1 it should be    
simple and natural1 promising neither   
too much by words nor countenance4 ,a   
modest action1 also1 devoid of the least
 suspicion of ostentation1 will better  
insinuate itself into the mind of the   
auditor4 ,but these ought to be         
regulated according to the sentiments we
 would have the judges imbibe from us4  
,it must be remembered1 however1 that   
nowhere is less allowance made than here
 for failing in memory or appearing     
destitute of the power of articulating  
many words together4 ,an ill-pronounced 
exordium may well be compared to a      
visage full of scars1 and certainly he  
must be a bad pilot who puts his ship in
 danger of sinking1 as he is going out  
of port4  ,in regard to the length of   
the exordium1 it ought to be            
proportionate to the nature of the      
cause4 ,simple causes admit of a shorter

 exordium2 the complex1 doubtful1 and   
odious1 require a longer exordium4 ,some
 writers have prescribed four points as 
laws for all exordiums1--which is       
ridiculous4 ,an immoderate length should
 be equally avoided1 lest it appear1 as 
some monsters1 bigger in the head than  
in the rest of the body1 and create     
disgust where it ought only to prepare4 
,,tying ,,up ,,the ,,introduction  ,as  
often as we use an exordium1 whether we 
pass next to the narration1 or          
immediately to the proofs1 we ought     
always to preserve a connection between 
what follows and what goes before4 ,to  
proceed from one part to another1 by    
some ingenious thought which disguises  
the transition1 and to seek applause    
from such a studied exertion of wit1 is 
quite of a piece with the cold and      
childish affectation of our declaimers4 
,if a long and intricate narration must 
follow1 the judge ought naturally to be 
prepared for it4 ,this ,cicero often    
does1 as in this passage3 ,i must       

proceed pretty high to clear up this    
matter to you1 which ,i hope1 gentlemen1
 you will not be displeased at1 because 
its origin being known will make you    
thoroughly acquainted with the          
particulars proceeding from it4         
,,the ,,narration   ,there are causes so
 short as to require rather to be       
proposed than told4 ,it is sometimes the
 case with two contending sides1 either 
that they have no exposition to make1 or
 that agreeing on the fact1 they contest
 only the right4 ,sometimes one of the  
contending parties1 most commonly the   
plaintiff1 need only propose the matter1
 as most to his advantage1 and then it  
will be enough for him to say3 ,i ask   
for a certain sum of money due to me    
according to agreement2 ,i ask for what 
was bequeathed to me by will4 ,it is the
 defendant's business to show that he   
has no right to such a debt or legacy4  
,on other occasions it is enough1 and   
more advisable1 for the plaintiff to    
point out merely the fact3 ,i say that  

,horatius killed his sister4 ,this      
simple proposition makes known the whole
 crime1 but the details and the cause of
 the fact will suit better the          
defendant4 ,let it be supposed1 on the  
other hand1 that the fact can not be    
denied or excused2 then the defendant1  
instead of narrating1 will best abide by
 the question of right4 ,some one is    
accused of sacrilege for stealing the   
money of a private person out of a      
temple4 ,the pleader of the cause had   
better confess the fact than give an    
account of it4 ,we do not deny that this
 money was taken out of the temple4 ,it 
was the money of a private person1 and  
not set apart for any religious use4    
,but the plaintiff calumniates us by an 
action for sacrilege4 ,it is1 therefore1
 your business1 gentlemen1 to decide    
whether it can properly be specified as 
sacrilege4   ,,the ,,two ,,kinds ,,of   
,,narration  ,there are two kinds of    
narration in judicial matters1 the one  
for the cause1 the other for things     

belonging to it4 ,i have not killed that
 man4 ,this needs no narration4 ,i admit
 it does not2 but there may be a        
narration1 and even somewhat long1      
concerning the probable causes of       
innocence in the accused1 as his former 
integrity of life1 the opponent's       
motives for endangering the life of a   
guiltless person1 and other             
circumstances arguing the incredibility 
of the accusation4 ,the accuser does not
 merely say1 ,you have committed that   
murder1 but shows reasons to evince its 
credibility2 as1 in tragedies1 when     
,teucer imputes the death of ,ajax to   
,ulysses1 he says that ,he was found in 
a lonely place1 near the dead body of   
his enemy1 with his sword all bloody4   
,ulysses1 in answer1 not only denies the
 crime1 but protests there was no enmity
 between him and ,ajax1 and that they   
never contended but for glory4 ,then he 
relates how he came into that solitary  
place1 how he found ,ajax dead1 and that
 it was ,ajax's own sword he drew out of

 his wound4 ,to these are subjoined     
proofs1 but the proofs1 too1 are not    
without narration1 the plaintiff        
alleging1 ,you were in the place where  
your enemy was found killed4 ,i was not1
 says the defendant1 and he tells where 
he was4   ,,how ,,to ,,make ,,the       
,,conclusion  ,the end of the narration 
is rather more for persuading than      
informing4 ,when1 therefore1 the judges 
might not require information1 yet1 if  
we consider it advisable to draw them   
over to our way of thinking1 we may     
relate the matter with certain          
precautions1 as1 that tho they have     
knowledge of the affair in general1     
still would it not be amiss if they     
chose to examine into every particular  
fact as it happened4 ,sometimes we may  
diversify the exposition with a variety 
of figures and turns2 as1 ,you remember2
 ,perhaps it would be unnecessary to    
insist any longer on this point2 ,but   
why should ,i speak further when you are
 so well acquainted with the matter4  ,a

 subject of frequent discussion is to   
know whether the narration ought        
immediately to follow the exordium4     
,they who think it should1 seem to have 
some reason on their side1 for as the   
design of the exordium is to dispose the
 judges to hear us with all the good    
will1 docility1 and attention1 we wish1 
and as arguments can have no effect     
without previous knowledge of the cause1
 it follows naturally that they should  
have this knowledge as soon as it can   
conveniently be given to them4          
,,purposes ,,of ,,the ,,narration  ,if  
the narration be entirely for us1 we may
 content ourselves with those three     
parts1 whereby the judge is made the    
more easily to understand1 remember1 and
 believe4 ,but let none think of finding
 fault if ,i require the narration which
 is entirely for us1 to be probable tho 
true1 for many things are true but      
scarcely credible1 as1 on the contrary1 
many things are false tho frequently    
probable4 ,we ought1 therefore1 to be   

careful that the judge should believe as
 much what we pretend as the truth we   
say1 by preserving in both a probability
 to be credited4  ,those three qualities
 of the narration belong in like manner 
to all other parts of the discourse1 for
 obscurity must be avoided throughout1  
and we must everywhere keep within      
certain bounds1 and all that is said    
must be probable2 but a strict          
observance of these particulars ought to
 be kept more especially in that part   
wherein the judge receives his first    
information1 for if there it should     
happen that he either does not          
understand1 remember1 or believe1 our   
labor in all other parts will be to no  
purpose4   ,,the ,,qualities ,,needed   
,,for ,,success  ,the narration will be 
clear and intelligible if1 first1 it be 
exprest in proper and significant words1
 which have nothing mean and low1       
nothing far-fetched1 and nothing        
uncommon4 ,second1 if it distinguishes  
exactly things1 persons1 times1 places1 

causes2 all of which should be          
accompanied with a suitable delivery1   
that the judge may retain the more      
easily what is said4  ,this is a quality
 neglected by most of our orators1 who1 
charmed by the applause of a rabble     
brought together by chance1 or even     
bribed to applaud with admiration every 
word and period1 can neither endure the 
attentive silence of a judicious        
audience1 nor seem to themselves to be  
eloquent unless they make everything    
ring about them with tumultuous clamor4 
,to explain simply the fact1 appears to 
them too low1 and common1 and too much  
within the reach of the illiterate1 but 
,i fancy that what they despise as easy 
is not so much because of inclination as
 because of inability to effect it4 ,for
 the more experience we have1 the more  
we find that nothing else is so         
difficult as to speak in such a manner  
that all who have heard us may think    
they could acquit themselves equally as 
well4 ,the reason for the contrary      

notion is that what is so said is       
considered as merely true and not as    
fine and beautiful4 ,but will not the   
orator express himself in the most      
perfect manner1 when he seems to speak  
truth8 ,now1 indeed1 the narration is   
laid out as a champion-ground for       
eloquence to display itself in2 the     
voice1 the gesture1 the thoughts1 the   
expression1 are all worked up to a pitch
 of extravagance1 and what is monstrous1
 the action is applauded1 and yet the   
cause is far from being understood4 ,but
 we shall forego further reflections on 
this misguided notion1 lest we offend   
more by reproving faults1 than gratify  
by giving advice4  ,the narration will  
have its due brevity if we begin by     
explaining the affair from the point    
where it is of concern to the judge2    
next1 if we say nothing foreign to the  
cause2 and last1 if we avoid all        
superfluities1 yet without curtailing   
anything that may give insight into the 
cause or be to its advantage4 ,there is 

a certain brevity of parts1 however1    
which makes a long whole3 ,i came to the
 harbor1 ,i saw a ship ready for        
sailing1 ,i asked the price for         
passengers1 ,i agreed as to what ,i     
should give1 ,i went aboard1 we weighed 
anchor1 we cleared the coast1 and sailed
 on briskly4 ,none of these             
circumstances could be exprest in fewer 
words1 but it is sufficient to say1 ,i  
sailed from the port4 ,and as often as  
the end of a thing sufficiently denotes 
what went before1 we may rest satisfied 
with it as facilitating the             
understanding of all other              
circumstances4  ,but often when striving
 to be short1 we become obscure1 a fault
 equally to be avoided1 therefore it is 
better that the narration should have a 
little too much1 than that it should    
lack enough4 ,what is redundant1        
disgusts2 what is necessary is cut down 
with danger4 ,i would not have this rule
 restricted to what is barely sufficient
 for pronouncing judgment on1 because   

the narration may be concise1 yet not1  
on that account1 be without ornament4   
,in such cases it would appear as coming
 from an illiterate person4 ,pleasure1  
indeed1 has a secret charm2 and the     
things which please seem less tedious4  
,a pleasant and smooth road1 tho it be  
longer1 fatigues less than a rugged and 
disagreeable short cut4 ,i am not so    
fond of conciseness as not to make room 
for brightening a narration with proper 
embellishments4 ,if quite homely and    
curtailed on all sides1 it will be not  
so much a narration as a poor huddling  
up of things together4   ,,getting      
,,your ,,statements ,,accepted  ,the    
best way to make the narration probable 
is to first consult with ourselves on   
whatever is agreeable to nature1 that   
nothing may be said contrary to it2     
next1 to find causes and reasons for    
facts1 not for all1 but for those       
belonging to the question2 and last1 to 
have characters answerable to the       
alleged facts which we would have       

believed2 as1 if one were guilty of     
theft1 we should represent him as a     
miser2 of adultery1 as addicted to      
impure lusts2 of manslaughter1 as hot   
and rash4 ,the contrary takes place in  
defense1 and the facts must agree with  
time1 place1 and the like4  ,sometimes a
 cause may be prepared by a proposition1
 and afterward narrated4 ,all           
circumstances are unfavorable to three  
sons who have conspired against their   
father's life4 ,they cast lots who shall
 strike the blow4 ,he on whom the lot   
falls1 enters his father's bed-chamber  
at night1 with a poniard1 but has not   
courage to put the design into          
execution4 ,the second and the third do 
the same4 ,the father wakes4 ,all       
confess their wicked purpose1 and by    
virtue of a law made and provided for   
such case1 they are to be disinherited4 
,but should the father1 who has already 
made a partition of his estate in their 
favor1 plead their cause1 he may proceed
 thus3 ,children are accused of         

parricide1 whose father is still alive1 
and they are sued in consequence of a   
law that is not properly applicable to  
their case4 ,i need not here give an    
account of a transaction that is foreign
 to the point of law in question4 ,but  
if you require a confession of my guilt1
 ,i have been a hard father to them1 and
 rather too much occupied in hoarding up
 the income of my estate1 which would   
have been better spent in necessaries   
for them4 ,afterward he may say that    
they did not form this plan by          
themselves1 that they were instigated to
 it by others who had more indulgent    
parents1 that the result clearly showed 
they were not capable of so unnatural an
 action1 that there was no necessity for
 binding themselves by oath if in       
reality they could have had such an     
inclination1 nor of casting lots if each
 did not want to avoid the perpetration 
of such a crime4 ,all these             
circumstances1 such as they are1 will be
 favorably received1 softened in some   

measure by the short defense of the     
previous propositions4   ,,the ,,order  
,,of ,,the ,,narration  ,i am not of the
 opinion of those who think that the    
facts ought always to be related in the 
same order in which they happened4 ,that
 manner of narration is best which is of
 most advantage to the cause1 and it    
may1 not improperly1 call in the aid of 
a diversity of figures4 ,sometimes we   
may pretend that a thing has been       
overlooked1 so that it may be better    
exprest elsewhere than it would be in   
its own order and place2 assuring the   
judges at the same time that we shall   
resume the proper order1 but that the   
cause in this way will be better        
understood4 ,sometimes1 after explaining
 the whole affair1 we may subjoin the   
antecedent causes4 ,and thus it is that 
the art of defense1 not circumscribed by
 any one invariable rule1 must be       
adapted to the nature and circumstances 
of the cause4  ,it will not be amiss to 
intimate that nothing enhances so much  

the credibility of a narration as the   
authority of him who makes it1 and this 
authority it is our duty to acquire1    
above all1 by an irreproachable life1   
and next1 by the manner of enforcing it4
 ,the more grave and serious it is1 the 
more weight it will have4 ,here all     
suspicion of cunning and artifice       
should1 therefore1 be particularly      
avoided1 for the judges1 ever           
distrustful1 are here principally on    
their guard1 and1 likewise1 nothing     
should seem a pure fiction1 or the work 
of study1 which all might rather be     
believed to proceed from the cause than 
the orator4 ,but this we can not endure1
 and we think our art lost unless it is 
seen2 whereas it ceases to be art if it 
is seen4     ,,division ,,and ,,argument
   ,some are of the opinion that        
division should always be used1 as by it
 the cause will be more clear and the   
judge more attentive and more easily    
taught when he knows of what we speak to
 him and of what we intend afterward to 

speak4 ,others think this is attended   
with danger to the orator1 either by his
 sometimes forgetting what he has       
promised1 or by something else occurring
 to the judge or auditor1 which he did  
not think of in the division4 ,i can not
 well imagine how this may happen1      
unless with one who is either destitute 
of sense or rash enough to plead without
 preparation4 ,in any other respect1    
nothing else can set a subject in so    
clear a light as just division4 ,it is a
 means to which we are directed by the  
guidance of nature1 because keeping in  
sight the heads on which we propose to  
speak1 is the greatest help the memory  
can have4   ,,the ,,mistake ,,of ,,too  
,,many ,,divisions  ,but if division    
should seem requisite1 ,i am not        
inclined to assent to the notion of     
those who would have it extend to more  
than three parts4 ,indeed1 when the     
parts are too many1 they escape the     
judge's memory and distract his         
attention2 but a cause is not           

scrupulously to be tied down to this    
number1 as it may require more4         
,,disadvantages ,,of ,,divisions  ,there
 are reasons for not always using       
division1 the principal reason being    
that most things are better received    
when seemingly of extempore invention   
and not suggestive of study1 but arising
 in the pleading from the nature of the 
thing itself4 ,whence such figures are  
not unpleasing as1 ,i had almost        
forgotten to say2 ,it escaped my memory 
to acquaint you2 and ,you have given me 
a good hint4 ,for if the proofs should  
be proposed without something of a      
reputation of this kind1 they would     
lose1 in the sequel1 all the graces of  
novelty4  ,the distinguishing of        
questions1 and the discussing of them1  
should be equally avoided4 ,but the     
listeners' passions ought to be excited1
 and their attention diverted from its  
former bias1 for it is the orator's     
business not so much to instruct as to  
enforce his eloquence by emotion1 to    

which nothing can be more contrary than 
minute and scrupulously exact division  
of a discourse into parts4   ,,when     
,,the ,,division ,,is ,,desirable  ,if  
many things are to be avoided or        
refuted1 the division will be both      
useful and pleasing1 causing everything 
to appear in the order in which it is to
 be said4 ,but if we defend a single    
crime by various ways1 division will be 
superfluous1 as1 ,i shall make it clear 
that the person ,i defend is not such as
 to make it seem probable that he could 
be guilty of murder2 it shall also be   
shown that he had no motives to induce  
him to do it2 and lastly1 that he was   
across the sea when this murder took    
place4 ,whatever is cited and argued    
before the third point must seem quite  
unnecessary1 for the judge is in haste  
to have you come to that which is of    
most consequence1 and the patient1 will 
tacitly call upon you to acquit yourself
 of your promise1 or1 if he has much    
business to dispatch1 or his dignity    

puts him above your trifling1 or he is  
of a peevish humor1 he will oblige you  
to speak to the purpose1 and perhaps do 
so in disrespectful terms4   ,,pitfalls 
,,in ,,argument  ,many doubt the        
desirability of this kind of defense3   
,if ,i had killed him1 ,i should have   
done well2 but ,i did not kill him4     
,where is the occasion1 say they1 for   
the first proposition if the second be  
true8 ,they run counter to each other1  
and whoever advances both1 will be      
credited in neither4 ,this is partly    
true1 for if the last proposition be    
unquestionable1 it is the only one that 
should be used4 ,but if we are          
apprehensive of anything in the         
stronger1 we may use both4 ,on these    
occasions persons seem to be differently
 affected2 one will believe the fact1   
and exculpate the right2 another will   
condemn the right1 and perhaps not      
credit the fact4 ,so1 one dart may be   
enough for an unerring hand to hit the  
mark1 but chance and many darts must    

effect the same result for an uncertain 
aim4 ,cicero clears up this matter in   
his defense of ,milo4 ,he first shows   
,clodius to be the aggressor1 and then1 
by a superabundance of right1 adds that 
tho he might not be the aggressor1 it   
was brave and glorious in ,milo to have 
delivered ,rome of so bad a citizen4    
,tho division may not always be         
necessary1 yet when properly used it    
gives great light and beauty to a       
discourse4 ,this it effects not only by 
adding more perspicuity to what is said1
 but also by refreshing the minds of the
 hearers by a view of each part         
circumscribed within its bounds2 just so
 milestones ease in some measure the    
fatigue of travelers1 it being a        
pleasure to know the extent of the labor
 they have undergone1 and to know what  
remains encourages them to persevere1 as
 a thing does not necessarily seem long 
when there is a certainty of coming to  
the end4   ,,essentials ,,of ,,good     
,,argument  ,every division1 therefore1 

when it may be employed to advantage1   
ought to be first clear and             
intelligible1 for what is worse than    
being obscure in a thing1 the use of    
which is to guard against obscurity in  
other things8 ,second1 it ought to be   
short1 and not encumbered with any      
superfluous word1 because we do not     
enter upon the subject matter1 but only 
point it out4  ,if proofs be strong and 
cogent1 they should be proposed and     
insisted on separately2 if weak1 it will
 be best to collect them into a body4   
,in the first case1 being persuasive by 
themselves1 it would be improper to     
obscure them by the confusion of others3
 they should appear in their due light4 
,in the second case1 being naturally    
weak1 they should be made to support    
each other4 ,if1 therefore1 they are not
 greatly effective in point of quality1 
they may be in that of number1 all of   
them having a tendency to prove the same
 thing2 as1 if one were accused of      
killing another for the sake of         

inheriting his fortune3 ,you did expect 
an inheritance1 and it was something    
very considerable2 you were poor1 and   
your creditors troubled you more than   
ever2 you also offended him who had     
appointed you his heir1 and you know    
that he intended to alter his will4     
,these proofs taken separately are of   
little moment1 and common2 but          
collectively their shock is felt1 not as
 a peal of thunder1 but as a shower of  
hail4  ,the judge's memory1 however1 is 
not always to be loaded with the        
arguments we may invent4 ,they will     
create disgust1 and beget distrust in   
him1 as he can not think such arguments 
to be powerful enough which we ourselves
 do not think sufficient4 ,but to go on 
arguing and proving1 in the case of     
self-evident things1 would be a piece of
 folly not unlike that of bringing a    
candle to light us when the sun is in   
its greatest splendor4  ,to these some  
add proofs which they call moral1 drawn 
from the milder passions2 and the most  

powerful1 in the opinion of ,aristotle1 
are such as arise from the person of him
 who speaks1 if he be a man of real     
integrity4 ,this is a primary           
consideration2 and a secondary one1     
remote1 indeed1 yet following1 will be  
the probable notion entertained of his  
irreproachable life4   ,,the ,,best     
,,order ,,of ,,the ,,argument  ,it has  
been a matter of debate1 also1 whether  
the strongest proofs should have place  
in the beginning1 to make an immediate  
impression on the hearers1 or at the    
end1 to make the impression lasting with
 them1 or to distribute them1 partly in 
the beginning and partly at the end1    
placing the weaker in the middle1 or to 
begin with the weakest and proceed to   
the strongest4 ,for my part ,i think    
this should depend on the nature and    
exigencies of the cause1 yet with this  
reservation1 that the discourse might   
not dwindle from the powerful into what 
is nugatory and frivolous4  ,let the    
young orator1 for whose instruction ,i  

make these remarks1 accustom himself as 
much as possible to copy nature and     
truth4 ,as in schools he often engages  
in sham battles1 in imitation of the    
contests of the bar1 let him even then  
have an eye to victory1 and learn to    
strike home1 dealing moral blows and    
putting himself on his defense as if    
really in earnest4 ,it is the master's  
business to require this duty1 and to   
commend it according as it is well      
executed4 ,for if they love praise to   
the degree of seeking it in their       
faults1 which does them much harm1 they 
will desire it more passionately when   
they know it to be the reward of real   
merit4 ,the misfortune now is that they 
commonly pass over necessary things in  
silence1 considering what is for the    
good of the cause as of little or no    
account if it be not conducive to the   
embellishment of the discourse4         
,,the ,,peroration   ,the peroration1   
called by some the completion1 by others
 the conclusion1 of a discourse1 is of  

two kinds1 and regards either the       
matters discust in it or the moving of  
the passions4  ,the repetition of the   
matter and the collecting it together1  
which is called by the ,greeks          
recapitulation1 and by some of the      
,latins enumeration1 serves for         
refreshing the judge's memory1 for      
placing the whole cause in one direct   
point of view1 and for enforcing in a   
body many proofs which1 separately1 made
 less impression4 ,it would seem that   
this repetition ought to be very short1 
and the ,greek term sufficiently denotes
 that we ought to run over only the     
principal heads1 for if we are long in  
doing it1 it will not be an enumeration 
that we make1 but1 as it were1 a second 
discourse4 ,the points which may seem to
 require this enumeration1 however1     
ought to be pronounced with some        
emphasis1 and enlivened with opposite   
thoughts1 and diversified by figures1   
otherwise nothing will be more          
disagreeable than a mere cursory        

repetition1 which would seem to show    
distrust of the judge's memory4         
,,rules ,,for ,,the ,,peroration  ,this 
seems to be the only kind of peroration 
allowed by most of the ,athenians and by
 almost all the philosophers who left   
anything written on the art of oratory4 
,the ,athenians1 ,i suppose1 were of    
that opinion because it was customary at
 ,athens to silence1 by the public      
crier1 any orator who should attempt to 
move the passions4 ,i am less surprized 
at this opinion among philosophers1     
every perturbation of the mind being    
considered by them as vicious2 nor did  
it seem to them compatible with sound   
morality to divert the judge from truth1
 nor agreeable to the idea of an honest 
man to have recourse to any sinister    
stratagem4 ,yet moving the passions will
 be acknowledged necessary when truth   
and justice can not be otherwise        
obtained and when public good is        
concerned in the decision4 ,all agree   
that recapitulation may also be employed

 to advantage in other parts of the     
pleading1 if the cause is complicated   
and requires many arguments to defend   
it1 and1 on the other hand1 it will     
admit of no doubt that many causes are  
so short and simple as to have no       
occasion in any part of them for        
recapitulation4 ,the above rules for the
 peroration apply equally to the accuser
 and to the defendant's advocate4       
,they1 likewise1 use nearly the same    
passions1 but the accuser more seldom   
and more sparingly1 and the defendant   
oftener and with greater emotions2 for  
it is the business of the former to stir
 up aversion1 indignation1 and other    
similar passions in the minds of the    
judges1 and of the latter to bend their 
hearts to compassion4 ,yet the accuser  
is sometimes not without tears1 in      
deploring the distress of those in whose
 behalf he sues for satisfaction1 and   
the defendant sometimes complains with  
great vehemence of the persecution      
raised against him by the calumnies and 

conspiracy of his enemies4 ,it would be 
best1 therefore1 to distinguish and     
discuss separately the different        
passions excited on the parts of the    
plaintiff and defendant1 which are most 
commonly1 as ,i have said1 very like    
what takes place in the exordium1 but   
are treated in a freer and fuller manner
 in the peroration4   ,,purposes ,,of   
,,the ,,peroration  ,the favor of the   
judges toward us is more sparingly sued 
for in the beginning1 it being then     
sufficient to gain their attention1 as  
the whole discourse remains in which to 
make further impressions4 ,but in the   
peroration we must strive to bring the  
judge into that disposition of the mind 
which it is necessary for us that he    
should retain when he comes to pass     
judgment4 ,the peroration being         
finished1 we can say no more1 nor can   
anything be reserved for another place4 
,both of the contending sides1          
therefore1 try to conciliate the judge1 
to make him unfavorable to the opponent1

 to rouse and occasionally allay his    
passions2 and both may find their method
 of procedure in this short rule1 which 
is1 to keep in view the whole stress of 
the cause1 and finding what it contains 
that is favorable1 odious1 or           
deplorable1 in reality or in            
probability1 to say those things which  
would make the greatest impression on   
themselves if they sat as judges4  ,i   
have already mentioned in the rules for 
the exordium how the accuser might      
conciliate the judges4 ,yet some things1
 which it was enough to point out there1
 should be wrought to a fulness in the  
peroration1 especially if the pleading  
be against some one universally hated1  
and a common disturber1 and if the      
condemnation of the culprit should      
redound as much to the honor of the     
judges as his acquittal to their shame4 
,thus ,calvus spoke admirably against   
,vatinius3  ,you know1 good sirs1 that  
,vatinius is guilty1 and no one is      
unaware that you know it4 ,cicero1 in   

the same way1 informs the judges that if
 anything is capable of reestablishing  
the reputation of their judgment1 it    
must be the condemnation of ,verres4 ,if
 it be proper to intimidate the judges1 
as ,cicero likewise does1 against       
,verres1 this is done with better effect
 in the peroration than in the exordium4
 ,i have already explained my sentiments
 on this point4   ,,how ,,to ,,arouse   
,,emotions  ,in short1 when it is       
requisite to excite envy1 hatred1 or    
indignation there is greater scope for  
doing this to advantage in the          
peroration than elsewhere4 ,the interest
 in the accused may naturally excite the
 judge's envy1 the infamy of his crimes 
may draw upon him his hatred1 the little
 respect he shows him may rouse his     
indignation4 ,if he is stubborn1        
haughty1 presumptuous1 let him be       
painted in all the glaring colors that  
aggravate such vicious temper1 and these
 manifested not only from his words and 
deeds1 but from face1 manner1 and dress4

 ,i remember1 on my first coming to the 
bar1 a shrewd remark of the accuser of  
,cossutianus ,capito4 ,he pleaded in    
,greek before the ,emperor1 but the     
meaning of his words was3 ,might it not 
be said that this man disdains even to  
respect ,caesar4  ,the accuser has      
recourse frequently to the arousing of  
compassion1 either by setting forth the 
distrest state of him for whom he hopes 
to find redress1 or by describing the   
desolation and ruin into which his      
children and relations are likely       
thereby to be involved4 ,he may1 too1   
move the judges by holding out to them a
 prospect of what may happen hereafter  
if injuries and violence remain         
unpunished1 the consequence of which    
will be that either his client must     
abandon his dwelling and the care of his
 effects1 or must resolve to endure     
patiently all the injustice his enemy   
may try to do him4  ,the accuser more   
frequently will endeavor to caution the 
judge against the pity with which the   

defendant intends to inspire him1 and he
 will stimulate him1 in as great a      
degree as he can1 to judge according to 
his conscience4 ,here1 too1 will be the 
place to anticipate whatever it is      
thought the opponent may do or say1 for 
it makes the judges more circumspect    
regarding the sacredness of their oath1 
and by it the answer to the pleading may
 lose the indulgence which it is        
expected to receive1 together with the  
charm of novelty in all the particulars 
which the accuser has already cleared   
up4 ,the judges1 besides1 may be        
informed of the answer they should make 
to those who might threaten to have     
their sentence reversed2 and this is    
another kind of recapitulation4  ,the   
persons concerned are very proper       
objects for affecting the mind of the   
judge1 for the judge does not seem to   
himself to hear so much the orator      
weeping over others' misfortunes1 as he 
imagines his ears are smitten with the  
feelings and voice of the distrest4     

,even their dumb appearance might be a  
sufficiently moving language to draw    
tears1 and as their wretchedness would  
appear in lively colors if they were to 
speak it themselves1 so proportionately 
it must be thought to have a powerful   
effect when exprest1 as it were1 from   
their own mouths4 ,just so1 in          
theatrical representations1 the same    
voice1 and the same emphatic            
pronunciation1 become very interesting  
under the masks used for personating    
different characters4 ,with a like view 
,cicero1 tho he gives not the voice of a
 suppliant to ,milo1 but1 on the        
contrary1 commends his unshaken         
constancy1 yet does he adapt to him     
words and complaints not unworthy of a  
man of spirit3 ,o my labors1 to no      
purpose undertaken6 ,deceiving hopes6   
,useless projects6  ,this exciting of   
pity1 however1 should never be long1 it 
being said1 not without reason1 that    
nothing dries up so soon as tears4 ,if  
time can mitigate the pangs of real     

grief1 of course the counterfeit grief  
assumed in speaking must sooner vanish2 
so that if we dally1 the auditor finding
 himself overcharged with mournful      
thoughts1 tries to resume his           
tranquility1 and thus ridding himself of
 the emotion that overpowered him1 soon 
returns to the exercise of cool reason4 
,we must1 therefore1 never allow this   
kind of emotion to become languid1 but  
when we have wound up the passions to   
their greatest height1 we must instantly
 drop the subject1 and not expect that  
any one will long bewail another's      
mishap4 ,therefore1 as in other parts1  
the discourse should be well supported1 
and rather rise1 so here particularly it
 should grow to its full vigor1 because 
that which makes no addition to what has
 already been said seems to diminish it1
 and a passion soon evaporates that once
 begins to subside4  ,tears are excited 
not only by words but by doing certain  
things1 whence it is not unusual to     
present the very persons who are in     

danger of condemnation1 in a garb       
suitable to their distress1 together    
with their children and relations4      
,accusers1 too1 make it a custom to show
 a bloody sword1 fractured bones picked 
out of wounds1 and garments drenched in 
blood4 ,sometime1 likewise1 they unbind 
wounds to show their condition1 and     
strip bodies naked to show the stripes  
they have received4 ,these acts are     
commonly of mighty efficacy1 as fully   
revealing the reality of the occurrence4
 ,thus it was that ,caesar's robe1      
bloody all over1 exposed in the ,forum1 
drove the people of ,rome into an excess
 of madness4 ,it was well known that he 
was assassinated2 his body also lay in  
state1 until his funeral should take    
place2 yet that garment1 still dripping 
with blood1 formed so graphic a picture 
of the horrible murder that it seemed to
 them to have been perpetrated that very
 instant4  ,it will not be amiss to hint
 that the success of the peroration     
depends much on the manner of the       

parties in conforming themselves to the 
emotions and action of their advocates4 
,stupidity1 rusticity1 and a want of    
sensibility and attention1 as it is     
said1 throw cold water on a cause       
against which the orator can not be too 
well provided4 ,i have1 indeed1 often   
seen them act quite contrary to their   
advocate's instructions4 ,not the least 
show of concern could be observed in    
their countenance4 ,they laughed        
foolishly and without reason1 and made  
others laugh by some ridiculous         
gesticulation or grimace1 especially    
when the heat of a debate exhibited     
anything akin to theatrical action4  ,an
 orator of slender ability will acquit  
himself better if he allows the judges  
by themselves to feel the compassion    
with which his subject may naturally    
inspire them1 especially since the      
appearance1 and voice1 and studied air  
of the advocate's countenance are often 
ridiculed by such as are not affected by
 them4 ,let the orator make an exact    

estimate of his powers1 therefore1 and  
be conscious of the burden he           
undertakes4 ,here there is no middle    
state2 he must either make his hearers  
weep1 or expect to be laughed at4  ,it  
should not be imagined1 as some have    
thought1 that all exciting of the       
passions1 all sentimental emotions1     
ought to be confined to the exordium and
 peroration4 ,in them they are most     
frequent1 yet other parts admit them    
likewise1 but in a shorter compass1 as  
their greatest stress should be reserved
 for the end4 ,for here1 if anywhere1   
the orator may be allowed to open all   
the streams of eloquence4 ,if we have   
executed all other parts to advantage1  
here we take possession of the minds of 
the judges1 and having escaped all      
rocks1 may expand all our sails for a   
favorable gale2 and as amplification    
makes a great part of the peroration1 we
 then may raise and embellish our style 
with the choicest expressions and       
brightest thoughts4 ,and1 indeed1 the   

conclusion of a speech should bear some 
resemblance to that of tragedy and      
comedy1 wherein the actor courts the    
spectator's applause4 ,in other parts   
the passions may be touched upon1 as    
they naturally rise out of the subject1 
and no horrible or sorrowful thing      
should be set forth without accompanying
 it with a suitable sentiment4 ,when the
 debate may be on the quality of a      
thing1 it is properly subjoined to the  
proofs of each thing brought out4 ,when 
we plead a cause complicated with a     
variety of circumstances1 then it will  
be necessary to use many perorations1 as
 it were2 as ,cicero does against       
,verres1 lending his tears occasionally 
to ,philodamus1 to the masters of ships1
 to the crucified ,roman citizens1 and  
to many others4     ,,passion ,,and     
,,persuasion   ,it may well be imagined 
that nothing else is so important in the
 whole art of oratory as the proper use 
of the passions4 ,a slender genius1     
aided by learning or experience1 may be 

sufficient to manage certain parts to   
some advantage1 yet ,i think they are   
fit only for instructing the judges1 and
 as masters and models for those who    
take no concern beyond passing for good 
speakers4 ,but to possess the secret of 
forcibly carrying away the judges1 of   
moving them1 as we please1 to a certain 
disposition of mind1 of inflaming them  
with anger1 of softening them to pity1  
so as to draw tears from them1 all this 
is rare1 tho by it the orator is made   
most distinguished and by it eloquence  
gains empire over hearts4 ,the cause    
itself is naturally productive of       
arguments1 and the better share         
generally falls to the lot of the more  
rightful side of the question1 so that  
whichever side wins by dint of argument1
 may think that so far they did not lack
 an advocate4 ,but when violence is to  
be used to influence the minds of the   
judges1 when they are to be turned from 
coolly reflecting on the truth that     
works against us1 then comes the true   

exercise of the orator's powers2 and    
this is what the contending parties can 
not inform us of1 nor is it contained in
 the state of their cases4 ,proofs1 it  
is true1 make the judges presume that   
our cause is the better1 but passion    
makes them wish it to be such1 and as   
they wish it1 they are not far from     
believing it to be so4 ,for as soon as  
they begin to absorb from us our        
passions of anger1 favor1 hatred1 or    
pity1 they make the affair their own4   
,as lovers can not be competent judges  
of beauty1 because love blinds them1 so 
here a judge attentive to the tumultuous
 working of a passion1 loses sight of   
the way by which he should proceed to   
inquire after the truth4 ,the impetuous 
torrent sweeps him away1 and he is borne
 down in the current4 ,the effect of    
arguments and witnesses is not known    
until judgment has been passed1 but the 
judge who has been affected by the      
orator1 still sitting and hearing1      
declares his real sentiments4 ,has not  

he who is seen to melt into tears1      
already pronounced sentence8 ,such1     
then1 is the power of moving the        
passions1 to which the orator ought to  
direct all his efforts1 this being his  
principal work and labor1 since without 
it all other resources are naked1       
hungry1 weak1 and unpleasing4 ,the      
passions are the very life and soul of  
persuasion4   ,,qualities ,,needed ,,in 
,,the ,,orator  ,what we require in the 
orator is1 in general1 a character of   
goodness1 not only mild and pleasing1   
but humane1 insinuating1 amiable1 and   
charming to the hearer2 and its greatest
 perfection will be if all1 as          
influenced by it1 shall seem to flow    
from the nature of things and persons1  
that so the morals of the orator may    
shine forth from his discourse and be   
known in their genuine colors4 ,this    
character of goodness should invariably 
be maintained by those whom a mutual tie
 ought to bind in strict union1 whenever
 it may happen that they suffer anything

 from each other1 or pardon1 or make    
satisfaction1 or admonish1 or reprimand1
 but far from betraying any real anger  
or hatred4  ,a sentiment very powerful  
for exciting hatred may arise when an   
act of submission to our opponents is   
understood as a silent reproach of their
 insolence4 ,our willingness to yield   
must indeed show them to be             
insupportable and troublesome1 and it   
commonly happens that they who have     
desire for railing1 and are too free and
 hot in their invectives1 do not imagine
 that the jealousy they create is of far
 greater prejudice to them than the     
malice of their speech4  ,all this      
presupposes that the orator himself     
ought to be a good and humane man4 ,the 
virtues which he commends1 if he        
possibly can1 in his client1 he should  
possess1 or be supposed to possess1     
himself4 ,in this way will he be of     
singular advantage to the cause he      
undertakes1 the good opinion he has     
created of himself being a prejudice in 

its favor4 ,for if while he speaks he   
appears to be a bad man1 he must in     
consequence plead ill1 because what he  
says will be thought repugnant to       
justice4 ,the style and manner suitable 
on these occasions ought1 therefore1 to 
be sweet and insinuating1 never hot and 
imperious1 never hazarded in too        
elevated a strain4 ,it will be          
sufficient to speak in a proper1        
pleasing1 and probable way4  ,the       
orator's business in regard to the      
passions should be not only to paint    
atrocious and lamentable things as they 
are1 but even to make those seem        
grievous which are considered tolerable1
 as when we say that an injurious word  
is less pardonable than a blow1 and that
 death is preferable to dishonor4 ,for  
the powers of eloquence do not consist  
so much in forcing the judge into       
sentiments which the nature of the      
matter itself may be sufficient to      
inspire him with1 as they do in         
producing and creating1 as it were1 the 

same sentiments when the subject may    
seem not to admit them4 ,this is the    
vehemence of oratorical ability which   
knows how to equal and even to surpass  
the enormity and indignity of the facts 
it exposes1 a quality of singular       
consequence to the orator1 and one in   
which ,demosthenes excelled all others4 
,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,moving ,,the      
,,passions  ,the great secret for moving
 the passions is to be moved ourselves1 
for the imitation of grief1 anger1      
indignation1 will often be ridiculous if
 conforming to only our words and       
countenance1 while our heart at the same
 time is estranged from them4 ,what     
other reason makes the afflicted exclaim
 in so eloquent a manner during the     
first transports of their grief8 ,and   
how1 otherwise1 do the most ignorant    
speak eloquently in anger1 unless it be 
from this force and these mental        
feelings8  ,in such passions1 therefore1
 which we would represent as true copies
 of real ones1 let us be ourselves like 

those who unfeignedly suffer1 and let   
our speech proceed from such a          
disposition of mind as that in which we 
would have the judge be4 ,will he grieve
 who hears me speak with an             
expressionless face and air of          
indifference8 ,will he be angry when ,i1
 who am to excite him to anger1 remain  
cool and sedate8 ,will he shed tears    
when ,i plead unconcerned8 ,all this is 
attempting impossibilities4 ,nothing    
warms nor moistens but that which is    
endued with the quality of heat or      
moisture1 nor does anything give to     
another a color it has not itself4 ,the 
principal consideration1 then1 must be  
that we1 ourselves1 retain the          
impression of which we would have the   
judges susceptible1 and be ourselves    
affected before we endeavor to affect   
others4   ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,mental   
,,imagery  ,but how shall we be         
affected1 the emotions or passions being
 not at our command8 ,this may be done  
by what we may call visions1 whereby the

 images of things absent are so         
represented to the mind that we seem to 
see them with our eyes and have them    
present before us4 ,whoever can work up 
his imagination to an intuitive view of 
this kind1 will be very successful in   
moving the passions4  ,if ,i deplore the
 fate of a man who has been             
assassinated1 may ,i not paint in my    
mind a lively picture of all that       
probably happened on the occasion8      
,shall not the assassin appear to rush  
forth suddenly from his lurking place8  
,shall not the other appear seized with 
horror8 ,shall he not cry out1 beg for  
his life1 or fly to save it8 ,shall ,i  
not see the assassin dealing the deadly 
blow1 and the defenseless wretch falling
 dead at his feet8 ,shall ,i not picture
 vividly in my mind the blood gushing   
from his wounds1 his ghastly face1 his  
groans1 and the last gasp he fetches8   
,when there is occasion for moving to   
compassion1 we should believe and1      
indeed1 be persuaded that the distress  

and misfortunes of which we speak have  
happened to ourselves4 ,let us place    
ourselves in the very position of those 
for whom we feel sorrow on account of   
their having suffered such grievous and 
unmerited treatment4 ,let us plead their
 cause1 not as if it were another's1 but
 taking to ourselves1 for a short time1 
their whole grief4 ,in this way we shall
 speak as if the case were our own4 ,i  
have seen comedians who1 when they have 
just appeared in a mournful character1  
often make their exit with tears in     
their eyes4 ,if1 then1 the expression   
given to imaginary passions can affect  
so powerfully1 what should not orators  
do1 whose inner feelings ought to       
sympathize with their manner of         
speaking1 which can not happen unless   
they are truly affected by the danger to
 which their clients are exposed4       
,,rules ,,for ,,practise  ,in the       
declamatory exercises of schools it     
would be expedient1 likewise1 to move   
the passions and imagine the scene as a 

real one in life1 and it is the more    
important as there the part is performed
 rather of a pleader against some       
person1 than an advocate for some       
person4 ,we represent a person who has  
lost his children1 or has been          
shipwrecked1 or is in danger of losing  
his life1 but of what significance is it
 to personate such characters1 unless we
 also assume their real sentiments4     
,this nature1 and these properties of   
the passions1 ,i thought it incumbent on
 me not to conceal from the reader1 for 
,i1 myself1 such as ,i am1 or have been 
7for ,i flatter myself that ,i have     
acquired some reputation at the bar71   
have often been so affected that not    
only tears1 but even paleness1 and      
grief1 not unlike that which is real1   
have betrayed my emotions4     ,,the    
,,study ,,of ,,words   ,what now follows
 requires special labor and care1 the   
purpose being to treat of elocution1    
which in the opinion of all orators is  
the most difficult part of our work1 for

 ,m4 ,antonius says that he has seen    
many good speakers1 but none eloquent4  
,he thinks it good enough for a speaker 
to say whatever is necessary on a       
subject1 but only the most eloquent may 
discuss it with grace and elegance4 ,if 
down to the time he lived in1 this      
perfection was not discoverable in any  
orator1 and neither in himself nor in   
,l4 ,crassus1 it is certain that it was 
lacking in them and their predecessors  
only on account of its extreme          
difficulty4 ,cicero says that invention 
and disposition show the man of sense1  
but eloquence the orator4 ,he therefore 
took particular pains about the rules   
for this part1 and that he had reason   
for so doing the very name of eloquence 
sufficiently declares4 ,for to be       
eloquent is nothing else than to be able
 to set forth all the lively images you 
have conceived in your mind1 and to     
convey them to the hearers in the same  
rich coloring1 without which all the    
principles we have laid down are        

useless1 and are like a sword concealed 
and kept sheathed in its scabbard4      
,this1 then1 is what we are principally 
to learn2 this is what we can not attain
 without the help of art2 this ought to 
be the object of our study1 our         
exercise1 our imitation2 this may be    
full employment for our whole life2 by  
this1 one orator excels another2 and    
from this proceeds diversity of style4  
,,the ,,proper ,,value ,,of ,,words  ,it
 should not be inferred from what is    
said here that all our care must be     
about words4 ,on the contrary1 to such  
as would abuse this concession of mine1 
,i declare positively my disapprobation 
of those persons who1 neglecting things1
 the nerves of causes1 consume          
themselves in a frivolous study about   
words4 ,this they do for the sake of    
elegance1 which indeed is a fine quality
 when natural but not when affected4    
,sound bodies1 with a healthy condition 
of blood1 and strong by exercise1       
receive their beauty from the very      

things from which they receive their    
strength4 ,they are fresh-colored1      
active1 and supple1 neither too much nor
 too little in flesh4 ,paint and polish 
them with feminine cosmetics1 and       
admiration ceases2 the very pains taken 
to make them appear more beautiful add  
to the dislike we conceive for them4    
,yet a magnificent1 and suitable1 dress 
adds authority to man2 but an effeminate
 dress1 the garb of luxury and softness1
 lays open the corruption of the heart  
without adding to the ornament of the   
body4 ,in like manner1 translucent and  
flashy elocution weakens the things it  
clothes4 ,i would1 therefore1 recommend 
care about words1 but solicitude about  
things4  ,the choicest expressions are  
for the most part inherent in things1   
and are seen in their own light1 but we 
search after them as if always hiding   
and stealing themselves away from us4   
,thus we never think that what ought to 
be said is at hand2 we fetch it from    
afar1 and force our invention4          

,eloquence requires a more manly temper1
 and if its whole body be sound and     
vigorous1 it is quite regardless of the 
nicety of paring the nails and adjusting
 the hair4   ,,the ,,danger ,,of        
,,verbiage  ,it often happens1 too1 that
 an oration becomes worse by attending  
to these niceties1 because simplicity1  
the language of truth1 is its greatest  
ornament1 and affectation the reverse4  
,the expressions that show care1 and    
would also appear as newly formed1 fine1
 and eloquent1 lose the graces at which 
they aim1 and are far from being        
striking and well received1 because they
 obscure the sense by spreading a sort  
of shadow about it1 or by being too     
crowded they choke it up1 like          
thick-sown grain that must run up too   
spindling4 ,that which may be spoken in 
a plain1 direct manner we express by    
paraphrase2 and we use repetitions where
 to say a thing once is enough2 and what
 is well signified by one word1 we load 
with many1 and most things we choose to 

signify rather by circumlocution than by
 proper and pertinent terms4  ,a proper 
word1 indeed1 now has no charms1 nothing
 appearing to us fine which might have  
been said by another word4 ,we borrow   
metaphors from the whims and conceits of
 the most extravagant poets1 and we     
fancy ourselves exceedingly witty1 when 
others must have a good deal of wit to  
understand us4 ,cicero is explicit in   
his views in this respect4 ,the greatest
 fault a speech can have1 says he1 is   
when it departs from the common way of  
discourse and the custom of common      
sense4 ,but ,cicero would pass for a    
harsh and barbarous author1 compared to 
us1 who make little of whatever nature  
dictates1 who seek not ornaments1 but   
delicacies and refinements1 as if there 
were any beauty in words without an     
agreement with things1 for if we were to
 labor throughout our whole life in     
consulting their propriety1 clearness1  
ornament1 and due placing1 we should    
lose the whole fruit of our studies4    

,,acquiring ,a ,,practical ,,vocabulary 
,yet many are seen to hesitate at single
 words1 even while they invent1 and     
reflect on and measure what they invent4
 ,if this were done designedly to use   
always the best1 this unhappy temper    
would still be detestable1 as it must   
check the course of speaking and        
extinguish the heat of thought by delay 
and diffidence4 ,for the orator is      
wretched1 and1 ,i may say1 poor1 who can
 not patiently lose a word4 ,but he will
 lose none who first has studied a good 
manner of speaking1 and by reading well 
the best authors has furnished himself  
with a copious supply of words and made 
himself expert in the art of placing    
them4 ,much practise will so improve him
 afterward that he always will have them
 at hand and ready for use1 the thought 
fitting in naturally with the proper    
manner of expression4  ,but all this    
requires previous study1 an acquired    
faculty1 and a rich fund of words4 ,for 
solicitude in regard to inventing1      

judging1 and comparing1 should take     
place when we learn1 and not when we    
speak4 ,otherwise they who have not     
sufficiently cultivated their talents   
for speaking will experience the fate of
 those who have made no provision for   
the future4 ,but if a proper stock of   
words is already prepared1 they will    
attend as in duty bound1 not so much in 
the way of answering exigencies as      
always to seem inherent in the thought  
and to follow as a shadow does a body4  
,,how ,,to ,,choose ,,the ,,right       
,,words  ,yet this care should not      
exceed its due bounds1 for when words   
are authorized by use1 are significant1 
elegant1 and aptly placed1 what more    
need we trouble ourselves about8 ,but   
some eternally will find fault1 and     
almost scan every syllable1 who1 even   
when they have found what is best1 seek 
after something that is more ancient1   
remote1 and unexpected1 not             
understanding that the thought must     
suffer in a discourse1 and can have     

nothing of value1 where only the words  
are commendable4 ,let us1 therefore1 pay
 particular regard to elocution1 yet1 at
 the same time be convinced that nothing
 is to be done for the sake of words1   
they having been invented solely for the
 sake of things4 ,the most proper words 
always will be those which are best     
expressive of the ideas in our mind1 and
 which produce in the ideas of the      
judges the effect we desire4 ,such      
undoubtedly will make a speech both     
admirable and pleasing1 but not so      
admirable as are prodigies1 nor pleasing
 by a vicious and unseemly pleasure1 but
 a pleasure reflecting dignity with     
praise4     ,,elegance ,,and ,,grace    
,the orator will recommend himself      
particularly by the embellishments he   
adopts1 securing in other ways the      
approbation of the learned1 and in this 
also the favor of popular applause4     
,not so much with strong as with shining
 armor did ,cicero engage in the cause  
of ,cornelius4 ,his success was not due 

merely to instructing the judges1 and   
speaking in a pure and clear style4     
,these qualities would not have brought 
him the honor of the admiration and     
applause of the ,roman people4 ,it was  
the sublimity1 magnificence1 splendor1  
and dignity of his eloquence that forced
 from them signal demonstrations of     
their amazement4 ,nor would such unusual
 eulogies have been given him if his    
speech had contained nothing            
extraordinary1 nothing but what was     
common4 ,and1 indeed1 ,i believe that   
those present were not completely aware 
of what they were doing1 and that what  
they did was neither spontaneous1 nor   
from an act of judgment1 but that filled
 with a sort of enthusiasm1 and not     
considering the place they were in1 they
 burst forth with unrestrained          
excitement4   ,,the ,,value ,,of        
,,beauty ,,of ,,expression  ,these      
ornaments of speech1 therefore1 may be  
thought to contribute not a little to   
the success of a cause1 for they who    

hear willingly are more attentive and   
more disposed to believe4 ,most commonly
 it is pleasure that wins them over1 and
 sometimes they are seized and carried  
away with admiration4 ,a glittering     
sword strikes the eyes with some terror1
 and thunder would not so shock us if   
its crash only1 and not its lightning1  
was dreaded4 ,therefore ,cicero1 with   
good reason1 says in one of his epistles
 to ,brutus3 ,the eloquence which does  
not excite admiration1 ,i regard as     
nothing4 ,aristotle1 too1 would have us 
endeavor to attain this perfection4     
,but this embellishment1 ,i must again  
and again repeat1 ought to be manly1    
noble1 and modest2 neither inclining to 
effeminate delicacy1 nor assuming a     
color indebted to paint1 but glistening 
with health and spirits4  ,let none of  
those who build up their reputation on a
 corrupt manner of eloquence1 say that  
,i am an enemy to such as speak with    
elegance4 ,i do not deny that it is a   
perfection1 but ,i do not ascribe it to 

them4 ,shall ,i think a piece of ground 
better laid out and improved1 in which  
one shall show me lilies and violets and
 pleasing cascades1 than one where there
 is a full harvest or vines laden with  
grapes8 ,shall ,i esteem a barren       
planetree and shorn myrtles beyond the  
fruitful olive and the elm courting the 
embraces of the vine8 ,the rich may     
pride themselves on these pleasures of  
the eye1 but how little would be their  
value if they had nothing else8  ,but   
shall no beauty1 no symmetry1 be        
observed in the care of fruit trees8    
,undoubtedly there should1 and ,i would 
place them in a certain order1 and keep 
a due distance in planting them4 ,what  
is more beautiful than the quincunx1    
which1 whatever way you look1 retains   
the same direct position8 ,planting them
 out so will also be of service to the  
growth of the trees1 by equally         
attracting the juices of the earth4 ,i  
should lop off the aspiring tops of my  
olive2 it will spread more beautifully  

into a round form1 and will produce     
fruit on more branches4 ,a horse with   
slender flanks is considered handsomer  
than one not framed in that manner1 and 
the same quality also shows that he     
excels in swiftness4 ,an athlete whose  
arms from exercise show a full spring   
and play of the muscles1 is a beautiful 
sight1 and he1 likewise1 is best fitted 
as a combatant4 ,thus the true species  
is never without its utility1 as even a 
meager judgment easily may discern4     
,,developing ,,variety ,,of ,,style     
,but it will be of more importance to   
observe that this decent attire ought to
 be varied according to the nature of   
the subject4 ,to begin with our first   
division1 the same style will not suit  
equally demonstrative1 deliberative1 and
 judicial causes4 ,the first1 calculated
 for ostentation1 aims at nothing but   
the pleasure of the auditory4 ,it1      
therefore1 displays all the riches of   
art1 and exposes to full view all the   
pomp of eloquence2 not acting by        

stratagem1 nor striving for victory1 but
 making praise and glory its sole and   
ultimate end4 ,whatever may be pleasing 
in the thought1 beautiful in the        
expression1 agreeable in the turn1      
magnificent in the metaphor1 elaborate  
in the composition1 the orator will lay 
open for inspection and1 if it were     
possible1 for handling1 as a merchant   
exposes his wares2 for here the success 
wholly regards him and not the cause4   
,but when the serious part of a trial is
 on hand1 and the contest is truly in   
earnest1 care of reputation ought to be 
the orator's last concern4 ,for this    
reason1 when everything in a way is at  
stake1 no one ought to be solicitous    
about words4 ,i do not say that no      
ornaments ought to have place in them1  
but that they should be more modest and 
severe1 less apparent1 and above all    
suited to the subject4 ,for in          
deliberations the senate require        
something more elevated2 the assemblies 
of the people1 something more spirited2 

and at the bar1 public and capital      
causes1 something more accurate4 ,but a 
private deliberation1 and causes of     
trivial consequence1 as the stating of  
accounts and the like1 need little      
beyond the plain and easy manner of     
common discourse4 ,would it not be quite
 shameful to demand in elaborate periods
 the payment of money lent1 or appeal to
 the emotions in speaking of the repairs
 of a gutter or sink8   ,,the ,,choice  
,,of ,,words  ,as the ornament1 as well 
as perspicuity1 of speech consists      
either in single words or in many       
together1 we shall consider what they   
require separately and what in          
conjunction4 ,tho there is good reason  
for saying that perspicuity is best     
suited by proper words1 and ornament by 
metaphorical1 yet we should always know 
that an impropriety is never ornamental4
 ,but as many words very often signify  
the same thing1 and therefore are called
 synonymous1 some of these must be more 
sublime1 more bright1 more agreeable1   

and sweeter and fuller in pronunciation 
than others4 ,as the more clear-sounding
 letters communicate the same quality to
 the syllables they compose1 so the     
words composed of these syllables become
 more sonorous1 and the greater the     
force or sound of the syllables is1 the 
more they fill or charm the ear4 ,what  
the junction of syllables makes1 the    
copulation of words makes also1 a word  
sounding well with one1 which sound     
badly with another4  ,there is a great  
diversity in the use of words4 ,harsh   
words best express things of an         
atrocious nature4 ,in general1 the best 
of simple words are believed to be such 
as sound loudest in exclamation1 or     
sweetest in a pleasing strain4 ,modest  
words will ever be preferred to those   
that must offend a chaste ear1 and no   
polite discourse ever makes allowance   
for a filthy or sordid expression4      
,magnificent1 noble1 and sublime words  
are to be estimated by their congruity  
with the subject2 for what is           

magnificent in one place1 swells into   
bombast in another2 and what is low in a
 grand matter1 may be proper in a humble
 situation4 ,as in a splendid style a   
low word must be very much out of place 
and1 as it were1 a blemish to it1 so a  
sublime and pompous expression is       
unsuited to a subject that is plain and 
familiar1 and therefore must be reputed 
corrupt1 because it raises that which   
ought to find favor through its native  
simplicity4   ,,the ,,manner ,,of       
,,delivery  ,i shall pass now to the    
construction of words1 observing that   
their ornamental use may be considered  
from two points of view2 first1 as it   
regards the elocution we conceive in our
 minds2 second1 the manner of expressing
 it4 ,it is of particular consequence   
that we should be clear as to what ought
 to be amplified or diminished2 whether 
we are to speak with heat or moderation2
 in a florid or austere style2 in a     
copious or concise manner2 in words of  
bitter invective1 or in those showing   

placid and gentle disposition2 with     
magnificence or plainness2 gravity or   
politeness4 ,besides which it is equally
 important to know what metaphors1 what 
figures1 what thoughts1 what manner1    
what disposition1 are best suited for   
effecting our purpose4   ,,faults ,,of  
,,expression ,,to ,,avoid  ,in speaking 
of the ornaments of a discourse1 it may 
not be amiss to touch first upon        
qualities contrary to them1 because the 
principal perfection consists in being  
free from faults4 ,we1 therefore1 must  
not expect ornament that is not         
probable1 in a discourse4 ,cicero calls 
that kind of ornament probable which is 
not more nor less than it ought to be4  
,not that it should not appear neat and 
polished1 for this is a part of         
ornament1 but because too much in       
anything is always a fault4 ,he would   
have authority and weight in words1 and 
thoughts that are sensible1 or          
conformable to the opinions and manners 
of men4 ,these inviolably retained and  

adhered to1 he makes ample allowance for
 whatever else may contribute to        
illustrate a discourse4 ,and thus it is 
that metaphors1 superlatives1 epithets1 
compound1 and synonymous words1 if they 
seem to express the action and fully    
represent things1 seldom fail to please4
  ,we should avoid the fault which makes
 a sentence appear not full enough1 on  
account of something defective1 tho this
 is rather a vice of obscurity than want
 of ornament in speech4 ,but when it is 
done for some particular reason1 then it
 becomes a figure of speech4 ,we should 
likewise be aware of tautology1 which is
 a repetition of the same word or       
thought1 or the use of many similar     
words or thoughts4 ,tho this does not   
seem to have been much guarded against  
by some authors of great note1 it is1   
notwithstanding1 a fault1 and ,cicero   
himself often falls into it4            
,similarity of expression is a still    
greater vice1 because the mind is       
wearied by lack of the graces of        

variety1 and the discourse being all of 
one color1 shows a great deficiency in  
the art of oratory4 ,it1 besides1       
creates loathing1 and at length becomes 
insupportable1 both to the mind and ear1
 through the tedious repetition of the  
same cold thoughts1 figures1 and        
periods4  ,there is another fault1 that 
of being over-nice1 which is caused by  
extreme anxiety to be exact1 but which  
is as far distant from exactness as     
superstition is from true religion4 ,in 
short1 every word that contributes      
neither to perspicuity nor ornament1 may
 be called vicious4  ,a perverse        
affectation is faulty in all respects4  
,all bombast1 and flimsiness1 and       
studied sweetness1 and redundancies1 and
 far-fetched thoughts1 and witticisms1  
fall under the same denomination4 ,thus 
whatever stretches beyond the bounds of 
perfection1 may be called affectation1  
and this happens as often as the genius 
is lacking in judgment1 and suffers     
itself to be deceived by an appearance  

of good4 ,it is the worst of vices in   
matters of eloquence1 for even when     
others are avoided1 this is sought      
after1 and its whole trespass is against
 elocution4 ,there are vices incident to
 things1 which come from being devoid of
 sense1 or from being common1 or        
contrary1 or unnecessary1 and a corrupt 
style consists principally in           
impropriety of words1 in their          
redundancy1 in their obscure import1 in 
a weak composition1 and in a puerile    
hunting after synonymous or equivocal   
words4 ,but every perverse affectation  
is false in consequence of its idea1 tho
 not everything that is false is an     
affectation1 the latter saying a thing  
otherwise than as nature will have it1  
and than it ought to be1 and than is    
sufficient4   ,,use ,,of ,,vivid        
,,description  ,there can not be a      
greater perfection than to express the  
things we speak of in such lively colors
 as to make them seem really to take    
place in our presence4 ,our words are   

lacking in full effect1 they assume not 
that absolute empire they ought to have1
 when they strike only the ear1 and when
 the judge who is to take cognizance of 
the matter is not sensible of its being 
emphatically exprest4  ,one manner of   
representation consists in making out of
 an assemblage of circumstances the     
image we endeavor to exhibit4 ,an       
example of this we have in ,cicero's    
description of a riotous banquet2 he    
being the only one who can furnish us   
with examples of all kinds of ornaments3
 ,i seemed to myself to see some coming 
in1 others going out2 some tottering    
with drunkenness1 others yawning from   
yesterday's carousing4 ,in the midst of 
these was ,gallius1 bedaubed with       
essences1 and crowned with flowers4 ,the
 floor of their apartment was all in a  
muck of dirt1 streaming with wine1 and  
strewed all about with chaplets of faded
 flowers1 and fish-bones4 ,who could    
have seen more had he been present8  ,in
 this manner pity grows upon us from    

hearing of the sacking of a town4       
,undoubtedly he who acquaints us of such
 an event1 comprehends all the incidents
 of so great a calamity1 yet this       
cursory piece of intelligence makes but 
a languid impression upon the mind4 ,but
 if you enter into descriptive pictures 
of all that was included in one word1 as
 it were1 flames will appear spreading  
through houses and temples2 the crash of
 falling houses will be heard2 and one  
confused noise formed out of all        
together4 ,some will be seen striving to
 escape the danger1 but know not where  
to direct their flight2 others embracing
 for the last time their parents and    
relations2 here the dismal shrieks of   
women and piercing cries of children    
fill one with pity2 there the sighs and 
groans of old men1 lamenting their      
unhappy fate for having lived so long as
 to be witnesses of their country's     
desolation4 ,a further addition to these
 scenes of woe is the plunder of all    
things1 sacred as well as profane2 the  

avidity of the soldier prowling after   
and carrying away his prey2 the wretched
 citizens dragged away in chains before 
their haughty conquerors2 mothers       
struggling to keep with them their      
children2 and slaughter still exercising
 its cruelties wherever there is the    
least expectation of booty4 ,tho all    
these details are comprehended in the   
idea of the sacking of a town1 yet it is
 saying less to state merely that the   
town was sacked than to describe its    
destruction in this circumstantial      
manner4  ,such circumstances may be made
 to appear vivid if they retain a       
likeness to truth4 ,they may not have   
happened in reality1 yet1 as they are   
possible1 the descriptive evidence is   
not objectionable4 ,the same evidence   
will arise also from accidents1 as in   
the following examples3                 
444 me horror chills1      ,shudd'ring1 
and fear congeals my curdling blood4    
,,trapp4                444 to their    
bosoms press'd1      ,the frighted      

mothers clasp'd their crying babes4     
,,trapp4   ,this perfection1 the        
greatest1 in my opinion1 a discourse can
 have1 is very easily acquired by only  
considering and following nature4 ,for  
eloquence is a picture of the happenings
 of human life1 every one applying to   
himself what he hears1 by making the    
case in some measure his own1 and the   
mind receives very willingly that with  
which it has become familiar4  ,to throw
 light1 also1 upon things1 similes have 
been invented1 some of which by way of  
proof are inserted among arguments1 and 
others are calculated for expressing the
 images of things1 the point we are here
 explaining4                            
444 ,thence like wolves      ,prowling  
in gloomy shade1 which hunger blind     
,urges along1 while their forsaken      
whelps      ,expect them with dry jaws4 
,,trapp4           444 ,thence with all 
his body's force      ,flings himself   
headlong from the steepy height         
,down to the ocean3 like the bird that  

flies      ,low1 skimming o'er the      
surface1 near the sea1      ,around the 
shores1 around the fishy rocks4         
,,trapp4   ,,how ,,to ,,employ ,,similes
 ,,and ,,metaphors  ,we must be         
exceedingly cautious in regard to       
similitudes1 that we do not use such as 
are either obscure or unknown4 ,for that
 which is assumed for the sake of       
illustrating another thing1 ought indeed
 to be clearer than that which it so    
illustrates4  ,in speaking of arguments 
,i mentioned a kind of similitude which1
 as an ornament to a discourse1         
contributes to make it sublime1 florid1 
pleasing1 and admirable4 ,for the more  
far-fetched a similitude is1 the more   
new and unexpected it will appear4 ,some
 may be thought commonplace1 yet will   
avail much for enforcing belief2 as1 ,as
 a piece of ground becomes better and   
more fertile by cultivation1 so does the
 mind by good institutions4 ,as         
physicians prescribe the amputation of a
 limb that manifestly tends to          

mortification1 so would it be necessary 
to cut off all bad citizens1 tho even   
allied to us in blood4 ,here is         
something more sublime3 ,rocks and      
solitudes echo back the melody1 and the 
fiercest beasts are often made more     
gentle1 being astonished by the harmony 
of music4 ,but this kind of similitude  
is often abused by the too great        
liberties our declaimers give           
themselves2 for they use such as are    
false1 and they do not make a just      
application of them to the subjects to  
which they would compare them4  ,in     
every comparison the similitude either  
goes before1 and the thing follows2 or  
the thing goes before1 and the          
similitude follows4 ,but the similitude 
sometimes is free and separate3         
sometimes1 which is best1 it is         
connected with the thing of which it is 
the image1 this connection being made to
 aid and correspond mutually on both    
sides4 ,cicero says in his oration for  
,murena3 ,they who have not a genius for

 playing on the lyre1 may become expert 
at playing on the flute 7a proverbial   
saying among the ,greeks to specify the 
man who can not make himself master of  
the superior sciences73 so among us they
 who can not become orators1 turn to the
 study of the law4 ,in another passage  
of the same oration1 the connected      
comparison is conceived in a sort of    
poetical spirit4 ,as storms are often   
raised by the influence of some         
constellation1 and often suddenly and   
from some hidden cause which can not be 
accounted for1 so the stormy agitations 
we sometimes behold in the assemblies of
 the people are often occasioned by a   
malign influence easily discoverable by 
all2 and often their cause is so obscure
 as to seem merely the effect of chance4
 ,there are other similes1 which are    
very short1 as this1 ,strolling and     
wandering through forests like beasts4  
,and that of ,cicero against ,clodius1  
,from which judgment we have seen him   
escape naked1 like a man from his house 

on fire4 ,such similes constantly occur 
in common discourse4  ,of a similar kind
 is an ornament which not only          
represents things1 but does so in a     
lively and concise manner4 ,undoubtedly 
a conciseness in which nothing is       
lacking1 is deservedly praised2 that    
which says precisely only what is       
necessary1 is less estimable2 but that  
which expresses much in a few words is  
of all the most beautiful4  ,eloquence  
does not think it enough to show of what
 it speaks1 in a clear and evident      
manner2 it uses1 besides1 a variety of  
other expedients for embellishing a     
discourse4 ,thus it is that a simple and
 unaffected style is not without beauty1
 but it is a beauty entirely pure and   
natural1 such as is admired in women4   
,beauty is also annexed to propriety and
 justness of expression1 and this beauty
 is the more elegant as it shows but    
little care4 ,there is an abundance that
 is rich1 an abundance that smiles      
amidst the gaiety of flowers1 and there 

is more than one sort of power1 for     
whatever is complete in its kind can not
 be destitute of its proper strength and
 efficacy4     ,,composition ,,and      
,,style   ,i well know that there are   
some who will not sanction any care in  
composition1 contending that our words  
as they flow by chance1 however uncouth 
they may sound1 are not only more       
natural1 but likewise more manly4 ,if   
what first sprang from nature1 indebted 
in nowise to care and industry1 be only 
what they deem natural1 ,i admit that   
the art of oratory in this respect has  
no pretensions to that quality4 ,for it 
is certain that the first men did not   
speak according to the exactness of the 
rules of composition2 neither were they 
acquainted with the art of preparing by 
an exordium1 informing by a narration1  
proving by arguments1 and moving by     
passions4 ,they were deficient in all   
these particulars1 and not in           
composition only2 and if they were not  
allowed to make any alterations for the 

better1 of course they would not have   
exchanged their cottages for houses1 nor
 their coverings of skins for more      
decent apparel1 nor the mountains and   
forests in which they ranged for the    
abode of cities in which they enjoy the 
comforts of social intercourse4 ,and1   
indeed1 what art do we find coeval with 
the world1 and what is there of which   
the value is not enhanced by            
improvement8 ,why do we restrain the    
luxuriance of our vines8 ,why do we dig 
about them8 ,why do we grub up the      
bramble-bushes in our fields8 ,yet the  
earth produces them4 ,why do we tame    
animals8 ,yet are they born with        
intractable dispositions4 ,rather let us
 say that that is very natural which    
nature permits us to meliorate in her   
handiwork4   ,,the ,,power ,,of         
,,skilful ,,composition  ,how can a     
jumble of uncouth words be more manly   
than a manner of expression which is    
well joined and properly placed8 ,if    
some authors weaken the subjects of     

which they treat1 by straining them into
 certain soft and lascivious measures1  
we must not on that account judge that  
this is the fault of composition4 ,as   
the current of rivers is swifter and    
more impetuous in a free and open       
channel than amidst an obstruction of   
rocks breaking and struggling against   
the flow of their waters1 an oration    
that is properly connected flows with   
its whole might1 and is far preferable  
to one that is craggy and desultory by  
reason of frequent interruptions4 ,why1 
then1 should it be thought that strength
 and beauty are incompatible1 when1 on  
the contrary1 nothing has its just value
 without art1 and embellishment always  
attends on it8 ,do not we observe the   
javelin which has been cleverly whirled 
about1 dart through the air with the    
best effect2 and in managing a bow and  
arrow1 is not the beauty of the attitude
 as much more graceful as the aim is    
more unerring8 ,in feats of arms1 and in
 all the exercises of the palaestra1 is 

not his attitude best calculated for    
defense or offense1 who uses a certain  
art in all his motions1 and keeps to a  
certain position of the feet8           
,composition1 therefore1 in my opinion1 
is to thoughts and words what the       
dexterous management of a bow or string 
may be for directing the aim of missive 
weapons2 and ,i may say that the most   
learned are convinced that it is greatly
 conducive not only to pleasure1 but    
also to making a good impression on     
others4 ,first1 because it is scarcely  
possible that anything should affect the
 heart1 which begins by grating on the  
ear4 ,secondly1 because we are naturally
 affected by harmony1 otherwise the     
sounds of musical instruments1 tho they 
express no words1 would not excite in us
 so great a variety of pleasing         
emotions4 ,in sacred canticles1 some    
airs are for elating the heart into     
raptures1 others to restore the mind to 
its former tranquillity4 ,the sound of a
 trumpet is not the same when it is the 

signal for a general engagement1 and    
when on defeat it implores the          
conqueror's mercy2 neither is it the    
same when an army marches up to give    
battle1 and when it is intent on        
retreating4 ,it was a common practise   
with the ,pythagoric philosophers1 on   
arising in the morning1 to awake their  
minds by an air on the lyre1 in order to
 make them more alert for action2 and   
they had recourse to the same musical   
entertainment for disposing them to     
sleep1 believing it to be a means for   
allaying all tumultuous thoughts which  
might in any way have ruffled them in   
the course of the day4  ,if1 then1 so   
great a power lies in musical strains   
and modulations1 what must it be with   
eloquence1 the music of which is a      
speaking harmony8 ,as much1 indeed1 as  
it is essential for a thought to be     
exprest in suitable words1 it is equally
 necessary for the same words to be     
disposed in proper order by composition1
 that they may flow and end             

harmoniously4 ,some things of little    
consequence in their import1 and        
requiring but a moderate degree of      
elocution1 are commendable only by this 
perfection2 and there are others which  
appear exprest with so much force1      
beauty1 and sweetness1 that if the order
 in which they stand should be changed  
or disturbed1 all force1 beauty1 and    
sweetness would vanish from them4       
,,the ,,essentials ,,of ,,good          
,,composition  ,there are three things  
necessary in every kind of composition1 
and these are order1 correction1 and    
number4   #a4 ,order  ,we shall speak   
first of order1 which applies to words  
considered separately or joined         
together4 ,in regard to the former1 care
 must be taken that there be no decrease
 by adding a weaker word to a stronger1 
as accusing one of sacrilege1 and giving
 him afterward the name of thief2 or    
adding the character of wanton fellow to
 that of a highwayman4 ,the sense ought 
to increase and rise1 which ,cicero     

observes admirably where he says3 ,and  
thou1 with that voice1 those lungs1 and 
that gladiator-like vigor of thy whole  
body4 ,here each succeeding thing is    
stronger than the one before2 but if he 
had begun with the whole body1 he could 
not with propriety have descended to the
 voice and lungs4 ,there is another     
natural order in saying men and women1  
day and night1 east and west4  ,words in
 prose not being measured1 as are the   
feet which compose verse1 they are1     
therefore1 transferred from place to    
place1 that they may be joined where    
they best fit1 as in a building where   
the irregularity1 however great1 of     
rough stones is both suitable and       
proper4 ,the happiest composition       
language can have1 however1 is to keep  
to a natural order1 just connection1 and
 a regularly flowing cadence4           
,sometimes there is something very      
striking about a word4 ,placed in the   
middle of a sentence1 it might pass     
unnoticed1 or be obscured by the other  

words that lie about it1 but when placed
 at the end the auditor can not help    
noting it and retaining it in his mind4 
#b4 ,connection  ,juncture follows1     
which is equally requisite in words1    
articles1 members1 and periods1 all     
these having their beauty and faults1 in
 consequence of their manner of         
connection4 ,it may be a general        
observation that in the placing of      
syllables1 their sound will be harsher  
as they are pronounced with a like or   
different gaping of the mouth4 ,this1   
however1 is not to be dreaded as a      
signal fault1 and ,i know not which is  
worse here1 inattention or too great    
care4 ,too scrupulous fear must damp the
 heat and retard the impetuosity of     
speaking1 while at the same time it     
prevents the mind from attending to     
thoughts which are of greater moment4   
,as1 therefore1 it is carelessness to   
yield to these faults1 so it is meanness
 to be too much afraid of them4   #c4   
,number  ,numbers are nowhere so much   

lacking1 nor so remarkable1 as at the   
end of periods2 first1 because every    
sense has its bounds1 and takes up a    
natural space1 by which it is divided   
from the beginning of what follows3     
next1 because the hearers following the 
flow of words1 and drawn1 as it were1   
down the current of the oration1 are    
then more competent judges1 when that   
impetuosity ceases and gives time for   
reflection4 ,there should not1          
therefore1 be anything harsh nor abrupt 
in that ending1 which seems calculated  
for the respite and recreation of the   
mind and ear4 ,this1 too1 is the        
resting-place of the oration1 this the  
auditor expects1 and here burst forth   
all his effusions of praise4   ,,the    
,,composition ,,of ,,periods  ,the      
beginning of periods demands as much    
care as the closing of them1 for here1  
also1 the auditor is attentive4 ,but it 
is easier to observe numbers in the     
beginning of periods1 as they are not   
depending on1 nor connected with1 what  

went before4 ,but the ending of periods1
 however graceful it may be in          
composition and numbers1 will lose all  
its charm if we proceed to it by a harsh
 and precipitate beginning4  ,as to the 
composition of the middle parts of a    
period1 care must be taken not only of  
their connection with each other1 but   
also that they may not seem slow1 nor   
long1 nor1 what is now a great vice1    
jump and start from being made up of    
many short syllables1 and producing the 
same effect on the ear as the sounds    
from a child's rattle4 ,for as the      
ordering of the beginning and ending is 
of much importance1 as often as the     
sense begins or ends2 so in the middle1 
too1 there is a sort of stress which    
slightly insists2 as the feet of people 
running1 which1 tho they make no stop1  
yet leave a track4 ,it is not only      
necessary to begin and end well the     
several members and articles1 but the   
intermediate space1 tho continued       
without respiration1 ought also to      

retain a sort of composition1 by reason 
of the insensible pauses that serve as  
so many degrees for pronunciation4      
,cicero gives many names to the period1 
calling it a winding about1 a circuit1 a
 comprehension1 continuation1 and       
circumscription4 ,it is of two kinds2   
the one simple when a single thought is 
drawn out into a considerable number of 
words2 the other compound1 consisting of
 members and articles which include     
several thoughts4  ,wherever the orator 
has occasion to conduct himself         
severely1 to press home1 to act boldly  
and resolutely1 he should speak by      
members and articles4 ,this manner has  
vast power and efficacy in an oration4  
,the composition is to adapt itself to  
the nature of things1 therefore1 even   
rough things being conceived in rough   
sounds and numbers1 that the hearer may 
be made to enter into all the passions  
of the speaker4 ,it would be advisable1 
for the most part1 to make the narration
 in members2 or if periods are used1    

they ought to be more loose and less    
elaborate than elsewhere4 ,but ,i except
 such narrations as are calculated more 
for ornament than for giving            
information4   ,,the ,,use ,,of         
,,periods  ,the period is proper for the
 exordiums of greater causes1 where the 
matter requires solicitude1             
commendation1 pity4 ,also in common     
places and in every sort of             
amplification2 but if you accuse1 it    
ought to be close and compact2 if you   
praise1 it should be full1 round1 and   
flowing4 ,it is likewise of good service
 in perorations1 and may be used without
 restriction wherever the composition   
requires to be set off in a somewhat    
grand and noble manner1 and when the    
judge not only has a thorough knowledge 
of the matter before him1 but is also   
captivated with the beauty of the       
discourse and1 trusting to the orator1  
allows himself to be led away by the    
sense of pleasure4  ,history does not so
 much stand in need of a periodical flow

 of words1 as it likes to move around in
 a sort of perpetual circle1 for all its
 members are connected with each other1 
by its slipping and gliding along from  
one subject to the next1 just as men1   
strengthening their pace1 hold and are  
held1 by grasping each other by the     
hand4 ,whatever belongs to the          
demonstrative kind has freer and more   
flowing numbers4 ,the judicial and      
deliberative1 being varied in their     
matter1 occasionally require a different
 form of composition4   ,,fitting       
,,expression ,,to ,,thought  ,who doubts
 that some things are to be exprest in a
 gentle way1 others with more heat1     
others sublimely1 others contentiously1 
and others gravely8 ,feet composed of   
long syllables best suit grave1 sublime1
 and ornamental subjects4 ,the grave    
will take up a longer space in the      
pronunciation1 and the sublime and      
ornamental will demand a clear and      
sonorous expression4 ,feet of short     
syllables are more agreeable in         

arguments1 division1 raillery1 and      
whatever partakes of the nature of      
ordinary conversation4  ,the composition
 of the exordium will differ1 therefore1
 as the subject may require4 ,for the   
mind of the judge is not always the     
same1 so that1 according to the time and
 circumstances1 we must declare our     
mournful plight1 appear modest1 tart1   
grave1 insinuating2 move to mercy and   
exhort to diligence4 ,as the nature of  
these is different1 so their composition
 must be conducted in a different way4  
,let it be in some measure a general    
observation that the composition ought  
to be modeled on the manner of          
pronunciation4 ,in exordiums are we not 
most commonly modest1 except when in a  
cause of accusation we strive to        
irritate the minds of the judges8 ,are  
we not copious and explicit in          
narration2 in arguments animated and    
lively1 even showing animation in our   
actions2 in common places and           
descriptions1 exuberant and lavish of   

ornaments2 and in perorations1 for the  
most part weighed down by distress8 ,of 
the variety which ought to be in a      
discourse1 we may find another parallel 
instance in the motions of the body4    
,with all of them1 do not the           
circumstances regulate their respective 
degrees of slowness and celerity8 ,and  
for dancing as well as singing1 does not
 music use numbers of which the beating 
of the time makes us sensible8 ,as our  
voice and action are indeed expressive  
of our inner feelings in regard to the  
nature of the things of which we speak1 
need we1 then1 be surprized if a like   
conformity ought to be found in the feet
 that enter into the composition of a   
piece of eloquence8 ,ought not sublime  
matters be made to walk in majestic     
solemnity1 the mild to keep in a gentle 
pace1 the brisk and lively to bound with
 rapidity1 and the nice and delicate to 
flow smoothly8   ,,faults ,,in          
,,composition  ,if faults in composition
 be unavoidable1 ,i should rather give  

preference to that which is harsh and   
rough than to that which is nerveless   
and weak1 the results of an affected    
style that many now study1 and which    
constantly corrupts1 more and more1 by a
 wantonness in numbers more becoming a  
dance than the majesty of eloquence4    
,but ,i can not say that any composition
 is good1 however perfect otherwise1    
which constantly presents the same form1
 and continually falls into the same    
feet4 ,a constant observing of similar  
measures and cadences1 is a kind of     
versification1 and all prose in which   
this fault is discoverable1 can have no 
allowance made for it1 by reason of its 
manifest affectation 7the very suspicion
 of which ought to be avoided71 and its 
uniformity1 which1 of course1 must      
fatigue and disgust the mind4 ,this vice
 may have some engaging charms at first 
sight1 but the greater its sweets are1  
the shorter will be their continuance2  
and the orator once detected of any     
anxious concern in this respect1 will   

instantly lose all belief that has been 
placed in him1 and vainly will he strive
 to make on others' minds the           
impressions he expected to make2 for how
 is it to be expected that a judge will 
believe a man1 or permit himself to feel
 grief or anger on account of one whom  
he observes to have attended to nothing 
more than the display of such trifles8  
,some of the connections of smooth      
composition ought1 therefore1 to be     
designedly broken1 and it is no small   
labor to make them appear not labored4  
,let us not be such slaves to the       
placing of words as to study            
transpositions longer than necessary1   
lest what we do in order to please1 may 
displease by being affected4 ,neither   
let a fondness for making the           
composition flow with smoothness1       
prevail on us to set aside a word       
otherwise proper and becoming2 as no    
word1 in reality1 can prove disagreeable
 enough to be wholly excluded1 unless it
 be that in the avoiding of such words  

we consult mere beauty of expression    
rather than the good of composition4    
,to conclude1 composition ought to be   
graceful1 agreeable1 varied4 ,its parts 
are three3 order1 connection1 number4   
,its art consists in adding1            
retrenching1 changing4 ,its qualities   
are according to the nature of the      
things discust4 ,the care in composition
 ought to be great1 but not to take the 
place of care in thinking and speaking4 
,what deserves to be particularly       
attended to is the concealing of the    
care of composition1 that the numbers   
may seem to flow of their own accord1   
and not with the least constraint or    
affectation4     ,,copiousness ,,of     
,,words   ,eloquence will never be solid
 and robust1 unless it collects strength
 and consistence from much writing and  
composing2 and without examples from    
reading1 that labor will go astray for  
lack of a guide2 and tho it be known how
 everything ought to be said1 yet the   
orator who is not possest of a talent   

for speaking1 always ready to exert     
himself on occasion1 will be like a man 
watching over a hidden treasure4  ,our  
orator1 who we suppose is familiar with 
the way of inventing and disposing      
things1 of making a choice of words1 and
 placing them in proper order1 requires 
nothing further than the knowledge of   
the means whereby in the easiest and    
best manner he may execute what he has  
learned4 ,it can not1 then1 be doubted  
that he must acquire a certain stock of 
wealth in order to have it ready for use
 when needed1 and this stock of wealth  
consists of a plentiful supply of things
 and words4   ,,the ,,right ,,word ,,in 
,,the ,,right ,,place  ,things are      
peculiar to each cause1 or common to    
few2 but a provision of words must be   
made indiscriminately for all subjects4 
,if each word were precisely significant
 of each thing1 our perplexity would be 
less1 as then words would immediately   
present themselves with things1 but some
 being more proper than others1 or more 

ornamental1 or more emphatic1 or more   
harmonious1 all ought not only to be    
known but to be kept ready and in sight1
 as it were1 that when they present     
themselves for the orator's selection1  
he easily may make a choice of the best4
  ,i know that some make a practise of  
classing together all synonymous words  
and committing them to memory1 so that  
out of so many at least one may more    
easily come to mind2 and when they have 
used a word1 and shortly after need it  
again1 to avoid repetition they take    
another of the same significance4 ,this 
is of little or no use1 for it is only a
 crowd that is mustered together1 out of
 which the first at hand is taken       
indifferently1 whereas the copiousness  
of language of which ,i speak is to be  
the result of acquisition of judgment in
 the use of words1 with the view of     
attaining the true expressive force of  
eloquence1 and not empty volubility of  
speech4 ,this can be affected only by   
hearing and reading the best things2 and

 it is only by giving it our attention  
that we shall know not only the         
appellations of things1 but what is     
fittest for every place4   ,,the ,,value
 ,,of ,,hearing ,,speakers  ,with some  
eloquent compositions we may derive more
 profit by reading them1 but with some  
others1 more by hearing them pronounced4
 ,the speaker keeps awake all our       
senses1 and inspires us by the fire that
 animates him4 ,we are struck1 not by   
the image and exterior of things1 but by
 the things themselves4 ,all is life and
 motion1 and with solicitude for his    
success1 we favorably receive all he    
says1 its appeal to us lying in the     
charm of novelty4 ,together with the    
orator1 we find ourselves deeply        
interested in the issue of the trial and
 the safety of the parties whose defense
 he has undertaken4 ,besides these we   
find that other things affect us3 a fine
 voice1 a graceful action corresponding 
with what is said1 and a manner of      
pronunciation1 which perhaps is the most

 powerful ornament of eloquence2 in     
short1 everything conducted and managed 
in the way that is most fitting4   ,,the
 ,,advantages ,,of ,,reading  ,in       
reading1 our judgment goes upon surer   
ground1 because often our good wishes   
for the speaker1 or the applause        
bestowed on him1 surprizes us into      
approbation4 ,we are ashamed to differ  
in opinion from others1 and by a sort of
 secret bashfulness are kept from       
believing ourselves more intelligent    
than they are2 tho indeed we are aware1 
at the same time1 that the taste of the 
greater number is vicious1 and that     
sycophants1 even persons hired to       
applaud1 praise things which can not    
please us2 as1 on the other hand1 it    
also happens that a bad taste can have  
no relish for the best things4 ,reading 
is attended1 besides1 with the advantage
 of being free1 and not escaping us by  
the rapidity which accompanies action2  
and we may go over the same things      
often1 should we doubt their accuracy1  

or wish to fix them in our memories4    
,repeating and reviewing will1          
therefore1 be highly necessary2 for as  
meats are chewed before they descend    
into the stomach1 in order to facilitate
 their digestion1 so reading is fittest 
for being laid up in the memory1 that it
 may be an object of imitation when it  
is no longer in a crude state but has   
been softened and elaborated by long    
meditation4   ,,how ,,to ,,read ,,most  
,,profitably  ,none1 however1 but the   
best authors1 and such as we are least  
liable to be deceived in1 demand this   
care1 which should be diligent and      
extended even almost to the point of    
taking the pains to transcribe them4    
,nor ought judgment to be passed on the 
whole from examining a part1 but after  
the book has been fully perused1 it     
should have a second reading2 especially
 should this be done with an oration1   
the perfections of which are often      
designedly kept concealed4 ,the orator1 
indeed1 often prepares1 dissembles1 lies

 in wait1 and says things in the first  
part of the pleading which he avails    
himself of in the last part4 ,they may1 
therefore1 be less pleasing in their    
place1 while we still remain ignorant of
 the purpose for their being said4 ,for 
this reason1 after a due consideration  
of particulars1 it would not be amiss to
 re-read the whole4   ,,what ,,to ,,read
  ,theophrastus says that the reading of
 poetry is of vast service to the       
orator4 ,many1 and with good reason1 are
 of the same opinion1 as from the poets 
may be derived sprightliness in thought1
 sublimity in expression1 force and     
variety in sentiment1 propriety and     
decorum in character1 together with that
 diversion for cheering and freshening  
minds which have been for any time      
harassed by the drudgery of the bar4    
,let it be remembered1 however1 that    
poets are not in all things to be       
imitated by the orator1 neither in the  
liberty of words1 nor license of        
figures4 ,the whole of that study is    

calculated for ostentation4 ,its sole   
aim is pleasure1 and it invariably      
pursues it1 by fictions of not only what
 is false1 but of some things that are  
incredible4 ,it is sure1 also1 of       
meeting with partizans to espouse its   
cause1 because1 since it is bound down  
to a certain necessity of feet it can   
not always use proper words1 and being  
driven out of the straight road1 must   
turn into byways of speaking1 and be    
compelled to change some words1 and to  
lengthen1 shorten1 transpose and divide 
them4 ,as for orators1 they must stand  
their ground completely armed in the    
order of battle1 and having to fight for
 matters of the highest consequence1    
must think of nothing but gaining the   
victory4  ,still would ,i not have their
 armor appear squalid and covered with  
rust1 but retain rather a brightness    
that dismays1 such as of polished steel1
 striking both the mind and eyes with   
awe1 and not the splendor of gold and   
silver1 a weak safeguard1 indeed1 and   

rather dangerous to the bearer4         
,history1 likewise1 by its mild and     
grateful sap may afford kind nutriment  
to an oratorical composition4 ,yet the  
orator should so read history as to be  
convinced that most of its perfections  
ought to be avoided by him4 ,it nearly  
borders upon poetry1 and may be held as 
a poem1 unrestrained by the laws of     
verse4 ,its object is to narrate1 and   
not to prove1 and its whole business    
neither intends action nor contention1  
but to transmit facts to posterity1 and 
enhance the reputation of its author4   
,in the reading of history there is     
another benefit1 and indeed the         
greatest1 but one not relative to the   
present subject4 ,this proceeds from the
 knowledge of things and examples1 which
 the orator ought to be well versed in1 
so that not all his testimonies may be  
from the parties1 but many of them may  
be taken from antiquity1 with which1    
through history1 he will be well        
acquainted2 these testimonies being the 

more powerful1 as they are exempt from  
suspicion of prejudice and partiality4  
,i shall venture to say that there are  
few which have stood the test of time1  
that may not be read with some profit by
 the judicious4 ,cicero himself         
confesses that he received great help   
from old authors1 who were1 indeed1 very
 ingenious but were deficient in art4   
,before ,i speak of the respective merit
 of authors1 ,i must make1 in a few     
words1 some general reflections on the  
diversity of taste in regard to matters 
of eloquence4 ,some think that the      
ancients deserve to be read1 believing  
that they alone have distinguished      
themselves by natural eloquence and that
 strength of language so becoming men4  
,others are captivated with the flowery 
profusion of the orators of the present 
age1 with their delicate turns1 and with
 all the blandishments they skilfully   
invent to charm the ears of an ignorant 
multitude4 ,some choose to follow the   
plain and direct way of speaking4       

,others take to be sound and truly      
,attic whatever is close1 neat1 and     
departs but little from ordinary        
conversation4 ,some are delighted with a
 more elevated1 more impetuous1 and more
 fiery force of genius4 ,others1 and not
 a few1 like a smooth1 elegant1 and     
polite manner4 ,i shall speak of this   
difference in taste more fully when ,i  
come to examine the style which may seem
 most proper for the orator4            
,,qualities ,,of ,,classic ,,writers    
,homer  ,we may begin properly with     
,homer4  ,he it is who gave birth to1   
and set the example for all parts of    
eloquence1 in the same way1 as he       
himself says1 as the course of rivers   
and springs of fountains owe their      
origin to the ocean4 ,no one1 in great  
subjects1 has excelled him in elevation2
 nor in small subjects1 in propriety4   
,he is florid and close1 grave and      
agreeable1 admirable for his concise as 
well as for his copious manner1 and is  
not only eminent for poetical1 but      

likewise oratorical1 abilities4         
,a,eschylus  ,a,eschylus is the one who 
gave birth to tragedy4 ,he is sublime1  
and grave1 and often pompous to a fault4
 ,but his plots are mostly ill-contrived
 and as ill-conducted4 ,for which reason
 the ,athenians permitted the poets who 
came after him to correct his pieces and
 fit them for the stage1 and in this way
 many of these poets received the honor 
of being crowned4   ,sophocles and      
,euripides  ,sophocles and ,euripides   
brought tragedy to greater perfection2  
but the difference in their manner has  
occasioned dispute among the learned as 
to their relative poetic merits4 ,for my
 part1 ,i shall leave the matter        
undecided1 as having nothing to do with 
my present purpose4 ,it must be confest1
 nevertheless1 that the study of        
,euripedes will be of much greater value
 to those who are preparing themselves  
for the bar2 for besides the fact that  
his style comes nearer the oratorical   
style1 he likewise abounds in fine      

thoughts1 and in philosophic maxims is  
almost on an equality with philosophers1
 and in his dialog may be compared with 
the best speakers at the bar4 ,he is    
wonderful1 again1 for his masterly      
strokes in moving the passions1 and more
 especially in exciting sympathy4       
,thucydides and ,herodotus  ,there have 
been many famous writers of history1 but
 all agree in giving the preference to  
two1 whose perfections1 tho different1  
have received an almost equal degree of 
praise4 ,thucydides is close1 concise1  
and ever pressing on4 ,herodotus is     
sweet1 natural1 and copious4 ,one is    
remarkable for his animated expression  
of the more impetuous passions1 the     
other for gentle persuasion in the      
milder3 the former succeeds in harangues
 and has more force2 the other surpasses
 in speeches of familiar intercourse1   
and gives more pleasure4   ,demosthenes 
,a numerous band of orators follows1 for
 ,athens produced ten of them1          
contemporary with one another4          

,demosthenes was by far the chief of    
them1 and in a manner held to be the    
only model for eloquence2 so great is   
his force2 so closely together are all  
things interwoven in his discourse1 and 
attended with a certain self-command2 so
 great is his accuracy1 he never        
adopting any idle expression2 and so    
just his precision that nothing lacking1
 nothing redundant1 can be found in him4
 ,a,eschines is more full1 more         
diffusive1 and appears the more grand1  
as he has more breadth4 ,he has more    
flesh1 but not so many sinews4   ,lysias
 and ,isocrates  ,lysias1 older than    
these1 is subtle and elegant1 and if it 
is enough for the orator to instruct1   
none could be found more perfect than he
 is4 ,there is nothing idle1 nothing    
far-fetched in him2 yet is he more like 
a clear brook than a great river4       
,isocrates1 in a different kind of      
eloquence1 is fine and polished1 and    
better adapted for engaging in a mock   
than a real battle4 ,he was attentive to

 all the beauties of discourse1 and had 
his reasons for it1 having intended his 
eloquence for schools and not for       
contentions at the bar4 ,his invention  
was easy1 he was very fond of graces and
 embellishments1 and so nice was he in  
his composition that his extreme care is
 not without reprehension4   ,plato     
,among philosophers1 by whom ,cicero    
confesses he has been furnished with    
many resourceful aids to eloquence1 who 
doubts that ,plato is the chief1 whether
 we consider the acuteness of his       
dissertations1 or his divine ,homerical 
faculty of elocution8 ,he soars high    
above prose1 and even common poetry1    
which is poetry only because comprised  
in a certain number of feet2 and he     
seems to me not so much endowed with the
 wit of a man1 as inspired by a sort of 
,delphic oracle4   ,xenophon  ,what     
shall ,i say of ,xenophon's unaffected  
agreeableness1 so unattainable by any   
imitation that the ,graces themselves   
seem to have composed his language8 ,the

 testimony of the ancient comedy        
concerning ,pericles1 is very justly    
applicable to him1 ,that the ,goddess of
 ,persuasion had seated herself on his  
lips4   ,aristotle and ,theophrastus    
,and what shall ,i say of the elegance  
of the other disciples of ,socrates8    
,what of ,aristotle8 ,i am at a loss to 
know what most to admire in him1 his    
vast and profound erudition1 or the     
great number of his writings1 or his    
pleasing style and manner1 or the       
inventions and penetration of his wit1  
or the variety of his works4 ,and as to 
,theophrastus1 his elocution has        
something so noble and so divine that it
 may be said that from these qualities  
came his name4   ,vergil  ,in regard to 
our ,roman authors1 we can not more     
happily begin than with ,vergil1 who of 
all their poets and ours in the epic    
style1 is without any doubt the one who 
comes nearest to ,homer4 ,tho obliged to
 give way to ,homer's heavenly and      
immortal genius1 yet in ,vergil are to  

be found a greater exactness and care1  
it being incumbent on him to take more  
pains2 so that what we lose on the side 
of eminence of qualities1 we perhaps    
gain on that of justness and equability4
   ,cicero  ,i proceed to our orators1  
who likewise may put ,roman eloquence   
upon a par with the ,grecian4 ,cicero ,i
 would strenuously oppose against any of
 them1 tho conscious of the quarrel ,i  
should bring upon myself by comparing   
him with ,demosthenes in a time so      
critical as this2 especially as my      
subject does not oblige me to it1       
neither is it of any consequence1 when  
it is my real opinion that ,demosthenes 
ought to be particularly read1 or1      
rather1 committed to memory4  ,i must   
say1 notwithstanding1 that ,i judge them
 to be alike in most of the great       
qualities they possest2 alike in design1
 disposition1 manner of dividing1 of    
preparing minds1 of proving1 in short in
 everything belonging to invention4 ,in 
elocution there is some difference4 ,the

 one is more compact1 the other more    
copious2 the one closes in with his     
opponent1 the other allows him more     
ground to fight in2 the one is always   
subtle and keen in argument1 the other  
is perhaps less so1 but often has more  
weight2 from the one nothing can be     
retrenched1 neither can anything be     
added to the other2 the one has more    
study1 the other more nature4  ,still   
ought we to yield1 if for no other      
reason than because ,demosthenes lived  
before ,cicero1 and because the ,roman  
orator1 however great1 is indebted for a
 large part of his merit to the         
,athenian4 ,for it seems to me that     
,cicero1 having bent all his thoughts on
 the ,greeks1 toward forming himself on 
their model1 had at length made         
constituents of his character the force 
of ,demosthenes1 the abundance of       
,plato1 and the sweetness of ,isocrates4
 ,nor did he only1 by his application1  
extract what was best in these great    
originals1 but by the happy fruitfulness

 of his immortal genius he himself      
produced the greater part1 or rather    
all1 of these same perfections4 ,and to 
make use of an expression of ,pindar1 he
 does not collect the water from rains  
to remedy a natural dryness1 but flows  
continually1 himself1 from a source of  
living waters1 and seems to have existed
 by a peculiar gift of ,providence1 that
 in him eloquence might make trial of   
her whole strength and her most powerful
 exertions4  ,for who can instruct with 
more exactness1 and move with more      
vehemence8 ,what orator ever possest so 
pleasing a manner that the very things  
he forcibly wrests from you1 you fancy  
you grant him2 and when by his violence 
he carries away the judge1 yet does the 
judge seem to himself to obey his own   
volition1 and not to be swept away by   
that of another8 ,besides1 in all he    
says there is so much authority and     
weight that you are ashamed to differ   
from him in opinion2 and it is not the  
zeal of an advocate you find in him1 but

 rather the faith and sincerity of a    
witness or judge4 ,and what1 at the same
 time1 is more admirable1 all these     
qualities1 any one of which could not be
 attained by another without infinite   
pains1 seem to be his naturally2 so that
 his discourses1 the most charming1 the 
most harmonious1 which possibly can be  
heard1 retain1 notwithstanding1 so great
 an air of happy ease that they seem to 
have cost him nothing4  ,with good      
reason1 therefore1 is he said by his    
contemporaries to reign at the bar1 and 
he has so far gained the good graces of 
posterity that ,cicero is now less the  
name of a man than the name of eloquence
 itself4 ,let us then keep him in view1 
let him be our model1 and let that      
orator think he has made considerable   
progress who has once conceived a love  
and taste for ,cicero4   ,caesar  ,if   
,caesar had made the bar his principal  
occupation1 no other of our orators     
could better have disputed the prize of 
eloquence with ,cicero4 ,so great is his

 force1 so sharp his wit1 so active his 
fire1 that it plainly appears he spoke  
with as much spirit as he fought4 ,a    
wonderful elegance and purity of        
language1 which he made his particular  
study1 were a further embellishment of  
all these talents for eloquence4        
,philosophers  ,it remains only to speak
 of those who have written on subjects  
of philosophy4 ,hitherto we have had but
 few of this kind4 ,cicero1 as in all   
other respects1 so also in this1 was a  
worthy rival of ,plato4 ,brutus has     
written some excellent treatises1 the   
merit of which is far superior to that  
of his orations4 ,he supports admirably 
well the weight of his matter1 and seems
 to feel what he says4 ,cornelius       
,celsus1 in the manner of the ,skeptics1
 has written a good many tracts1 which  
are not without elegance and            
perspicuity4 ,plancus1 among the        
,stoics1 may be read with profit1 for   
the sake of becoming acquainted with the
 things he discusses4 ,catius1 an       

,epicurean1 has some levity in his way1 
but in the main is not an unpleasing    
author4   ,seneca  ,i have designedly   
omitted speaking hitherto of            
,seneca1--who was proficient in all     
kinds of eloquence1--on account of the  
false opinion people entertained that ,i
 not only condemned his writings1 but   
also personally hated him4 ,i drew this 
aspersion upon myself by my endeavor to 
bring over eloquence to a more austere  
taste1 which had been corrupted and     
enervated by very many softnesses and   
delicacies4 ,then ,seneca was almost the
 only author young people read with     
pleasure4 ,i did not strive to exclude  
him absolutely1 but could not bear that 
he should be preferred to others much   
better1 whom he took all possible pains 
to cry down1 because he was conscious   
that he had taken to a different manner 
from their way of writing1 and he could 
not otherwise expect to please people   
who had a taste for these others4 ,it   
was ,seneca's lot1 however1 to be more  

loved than imitated1 and his partizans  
run as wide from him as he himself had  
fallen from the ancients4 ,yet it were  
to be wished that they had proved       
themselves like1 or had come near1 him4 
,but they were fond of nothing in him   
but his faults1 and every one strove to 
copy them if he could4 ,then priding    
themselves on speaking like ,seneca1 of 
course they could not avoid bringing him
 into disgrace4  ,his perfections1      
however1 were many and great4 ,his wit  
was easy and fruitful1 his erudition    
considerable1 his knowledge             
extensive--in which last point he       
sometimes was led into mistakes1        
probably by those whom he had charged to
 make researches for him4 ,there is     
hardly a branch of study on which he has
 not written something2 for we have his 
orations1 his poems1 epistles1 and      
dialogs4 ,in philosophic matters he was 
not so accurate1 but was admirable for  
his invectives against vice4  ,he has   
many bright thoughts1 and many things   

are well worth reading in him for       
improvement of the moral character2 but 
his elocution is1 for the most part1    
corrupt1 and the more dangerous because 
its vices are of a sweet and alluring   
nature4 ,one could wish he had written  
with his own genius and another's       
judgment4 ,for if he had rejected some  
things1 if he had less studiously       
affected some engaging beauties1 if he  
had not been overfond of all his        
productions1 if he had not weakened the 
importance of his matter by frivolous   
thoughts1 he would have been honored by 
the approbation of the learned rather   
than by the love of striplings4         
,however1 such as he is1 he may be read 
when the taste is formed and            
strengthened by a more austere kind of  
eloquence1 if for no other reason than  
because he can exercise judgment on both
 sides4 ,for1 as ,i have said1 many     
things in him are worthy of praise1     
worthy even of admiration if a proper   
choice had been made1 which ,i wish he  

had made himself1 as indeed that nature 
is deserving of an inclination to       
embrace what is better1 which has       
ability to effect anything to which it  
inclines4     ,,knowledge ,,and         
,,self-,,confidence   ,knowledge of the 
civil law will1 likewise1 be necessary  
for the orator whom we have described1  
and together with it knowledge of the   
customs and religion of the commonwealth
 of which he may take charge1 for how   
shall he be able to give counsel in     
public and private deliberations if     
ignorant of the many things which happen
 together particularly to the           
establishment of the ,state8 ,and must  
he not falsely aver himself to be the   
patron of the causes he undertakes1 if  
obliged to borrow from another what is  
of greatest consequence in these causes1
 in some measure like those who repeat  
the writings of poets8 ,and how will he 
accomplish what he has so undertaken if 
the things which he requires the judge  
to believe1 he shall speak on the faith 

of another1 and if he1 the reputed      
helper of his clients1 shall himself    
stand in need of the help of another8   
,,thorough ,,information ,,indispensable
  ,but we will suppose him not reduced  
to this inconvenience1 having studied   
his cause sufficiently at home1 and     
having thoroughly informed himself of   
all that he has thought proper to lay   
before the judges3 yet what shall become
 of him when unforeseen questions arise1
 which often are suddenly started on the
 back of pleadings8 ,will he not with   
great unseemliness look about him8 ,will
 he not ask the lower class of advocates
 how he shall behave8 ,can he be        
accurate in comprehending the things    
then whispered to him1 when he is to    
speak on them instantly8 ,can he        
strongly affirm1 or speak ingenuously   
for his clients8 ,grant that he may in  
his pleadings1 but what shall be his    
fate in altercation1 when he must have  
his answer ready and he has no time for 
receiving information8 ,and what if a   

person learned in the law is not        
assisting8 ,what if one who knows little
 of the matter tells him something that 
is wrong8 ,and this is the greatest     
mischief in ignorance1 to believe such a
 monitor intelligent4  ,now1 as we      
suppose the orator to be a particularly 
learned and honest man1 when he has made
 sufficient study of that which         
naturally is best1 it will give him     
little trouble if a lawyer dissents from
 him in opinion1 since even they are    
admitted to be of different opinions    
among themselves4 ,but if he desires to 
know their sentiments on any point of   
law1 he need only read a little1 which  
is the least laborious part of study4   
,if many men who despaired of acquiring 
the necessary talents for speaking in   
public1 have engaged in the study of    
law1 with how much more ease will the   
orator effect this1 which may be learned
 by those who from their own confession 
could not be orators8  ,m4 ,cato was as 
much distinguished by his great         

eloquence as by his great learning in   
the law4 ,scaevola and ,servius         
,sulpitius1 both eminent lawyers1 were  
also very eloquent4 ,cicero not only in 
pleading never appeared at a loss in    
knowledge of the law1 but also began to 
write some tracts on it4 ,from all these
 examples it appears that an orator may 
not less attend to the teaching than the
 learning of it4   ,,the ,,manner ,,of  
,,the ,,speaker  ,i would not have him  
who is to speak rise unconcerned1 show  
no change of color1 and betray no sense 
of danger1--if they do not happen       
naturally1 they ought at least to be    
pretended4 ,but this sense should       
proceed from solicitude for performing  
well our duty1 not from a motive of     
fear2 and we may decently betray        
emotion1 but not faint away4 ,the best  
remedy1 therefore1 for bashfulness1 is a
 modest assurance1 and however weak the 
forehead may be1 it ought to be lifted  
up1 and well it may by conscious merit4 
,,the ,,need ,,of ,,good ,,delivery     

,there are natural aids1 as specified   
before1 which are improved by care1 and 
these are the voice1 lungs1 a good      
presence1 and graceful action1 which are
 advantages sometimes so considerable as
 to beget a reputation for wit4 ,our age
 produced orators more copious than     
,trachallus1 but when he spoke he seemed
 to surpass them all1 so great was the  
advantage of his stature1 the           
sprightliness of his glance1 the majesty
 of his aspect1 the beauty of his       
action1 and a voice1 not as ,cicero     
desires it should be1 but almost like   
that of tragedians1 and surpassing all  
the tragedians ,i ever heard4 ,i well   
remember that when he once pleaded in   
the ,julian ,hall before the first bench
 of judges1 and there also1 as usual1   
the four classes of judges were then    
sitting1 and the whole place rang with  
noise1 he was not only heard distinctly 
from the four benches1 but also was     
applauded1 which was a disparagement to 
those who spoke after him4 ,but this is 

the accumulation of what can be wished  
for1 and a happiness hard to be met     
with1 and as it can not fall to every   
one's lot1 let the orator strive at     
least to make himself heard by those    
before whom he speaks4   ,,the ,,test   
,,of ,,an ,,oration  ,above all1 as     
happens to a great many1 let not desire 
for temporary praise keep our orator    
from having an eye to the interest of   
the cause he has undertaken4 ,for as    
generals in waging wars do not always   
march their armies over pleasant plains1
 but often must climb rugged hills1 must
 lay siege to forts and castles raised  
on steep rocks and mountains1 and       
fortified both by nature and by art3 so 
an orator will be pleased with an       
opportunity to make great excursions1   
and when he engages on champion ground1 
he will display all his forces so as to 
make an exceedingly fine appearance2 but
 if under the necessity of unraveling   
the intricacies of some points of law1  
or placing truth in a clear light from  

amidst the obscurity thrown around it1  
he will not then ostentatiously ride    
about1 nor will he use a shower of      
pointed sentences1 as missive weapons2  
but he will carry on his operations by  
frustrating his enemy2 by mines1 by     
ambuscade1 and by stratagem3 all of     
which are not much to be commended while
 they are being used1 but after they    
have been practised4 ,whence those men  
benefit themselves most1 who seem least 
desirous of praise2 for when the        
frivolous parade of eloquence has ceased
 its bursts of thunder among its own    
applauders1 the more potent applause of 
true talents will appear in genuine     
splendor2 the judges will not conceal   
the impressions which have been made on 
them2 the sense of the learned will     
outweigh the opinion of ignorance3 so   
true it is that it is the winding up of 
the discourse1 and the success attending
 it1 that must prove its true merit4    
,,avoiding ,,ostentation  ,it was       
customary with the ancients to hide     

their eloquence2 and ,m4 ,antonius      
advises orators so to do1 in order that 
they may be the more believed1 and that 
their stratagems may be less suspected4 
,but the eloquence of those times could 
well be concealed1 not yet having made  
an accession of so many luminaries as to
 break out through every intervening    
obstacle to the transmission of their   
light4 ,but indeed all art and design   
should be kept concealed1 as most things
 when once1 discovered lose their value4
 ,in what ,i have hitherto spoken of1   
eloquence loves nothing else so much as 
privacy4 ,a choice of words1 weight of  
thought1 elegance of figures1 either do 
not exist1 or they appear4 ,but because 
they appear1 they are not therefore to  
be displayed with ostentation4 ,or if   
one of the two is to be chosen1 let the 
cause rather than the advocate be       
praised2 still the issue will justify   
him1 by his having pleaded excellently a
 very good cause4 ,it is certain that no
 one else pleads so ill as he who       

endeavors to please1 while his cause    
displeases2 because the things by which 
he pleases must necessarily be foreign  
to his subject4  ,the orator ought not  
to be so particular and vain as not to  
undertake the pleading of the smaller   
kind of causes1 as beneath him1 or as if
 a matter of less consequence should in 
any respect lessen the reputation he has
 acquired4 ,duty indeed is a just motive
 for his undertaking them1 and he should
 wish that his friends were never       
engaged in any other kind of suits1     
which in the main are set off with      
sufficient eloquence when he has spoken 
to the purpose4   ,,do ,,not ,,abuse    
,,your ,,opponent  ,some are very       
liberal in abuse of the advocate of the 
opposing party1 but unless he has       
brought it upon himself1 ,i think it is 
acting very ungenerously by him1 in     
consideration of the common duties of   
the profession4 ,add to this that these 
sallies of passion are of no advantage  
whatever to him who pleads1 the opponent

 having1 in his turn1 an equal right to 
abuse2 and they may even be harmful to  
the cause1 because the opponent1 spurred
 on to become a real enemy1 musters     
together all the forces of wit to       
conquer if possible4 ,above all1 that   
modesty is irrecoverably lost which     
procures for the orator so much         
authority and belief1 if once departing 
from the character of a good man1 he    
degenerates into a brawler and barker1  
conforming himself not to the           
disposition of the judge1 but to the    
caprice and resentment of the client4   
,taking liberties of this kind          
frequently leads the orator to hazard   
some rash expressions not less dangerous
 to the cause than to himself4 ,pericles
 was accustomed to wish1 with good      
reason1 that no word might ever enter   
his mind which could give umbrage to the
 people4 ,but the respect he had for the
 people ought in my opinion to be had   
for all1 who may have it in their power 
to do as much hurt2 for the words that  

seemed strong and bold when exprest1 are
 called foolish when they have given    
offense4   ,,thorough ,,preparation     
,,essential  ,as every orator is        
remarkable for his manner1 the care of  
one having been imputed to slowness1 and
 the facility of another to rashness1 it
 may not be amiss to point out here a   
medium4 ,let him come for pleading      
prepared with all possible care1 as it  
must argue not only neglect1 but also a 
wicked and treacherous disposition in   
him1 to plead worse than he can in the  
cause he undertakes1 therefore he should
 not undertake more causes than he is   
well able to handle4  ,he should say    
things1 studied and written1 in as great
 a degree as the subject can bear1 and1 
as ,demosthenes says1 deeply engraven1  
if it were possible1 on his memory1 and 
as perfect as may be4 ,this may be done 
at the first pleading of a cause1 and   
when in public judgments a cause is     
adjourned for some time before it comes 
to a rehearsing4 ,but when a direct     

reply is to be made1 due preparations   
are impracticable2 and even they who are
 not so ready find what they have       
written to be rather a prejudice to them
 if anything unexpectedly is brought    
forward2 for it is with reluctance that 
they part with what they have prepared1 
and keeping it in mind during the whole 
pleading1 they are forced to continually
 wonder if anything can be taken from it
 to be included in what they are obliged
 to speak extempore4 ,and tho this may  
be done1 there will still be a lack of  
connection1 and the incoherence will be 
discoverable from the different coloring
 and inequality of style4 ,thus there is
 neither an uninterrupted fluency in    
what they say extempore1 nor a          
connection between it and what they     
recite from memory1 for which reason one
 must be a hindrance to the other1 for  
the written matter will always bring to 
it the attention of the mind1 and       
scarcely ever follow it4 ,therefore in  
these actions1 as country-laboring men  

say1 we must stand firmly on our legs4  
,for1 as every cause consists of proving
 and refuting1 whatever regards the     
first may be written1 and whatever it is
 certain the opponent will answer1 as   
sometimes it is certain what he will1   
may be refuted with equal care and      
study4  ,knowing the cause well is one  
essential point for being prepared in   
other respects1 and listening           
attentively to all the opponent states1 
is another4 ,still we may previously    
think of many particular incidents and  
prepare the mind for all emergencies1   
this being of special advantage in      
speaking1 the thought being thereby the 
more easily transmitted and transferred4
  ,but when in answering or otherwise   
there may be necessity for extempore    
speaking1 the orator will never find    
himself at a loss and disconcerted1 who 
has been prepared by discipline1 and    
study1 and exercise1 with the powers of 
facility1 and who1 as always under arms 
and ready for engaging1 will no more    

lack a sufficient flow of speech in the 
pleading of causes than he does in      
conversation on daily and domestic      
occurrences2 neither will he ever1 for  
lack of coming duly prepared1 decline   
burdening himself with a cause1 if he   
has time to learn the state of it1 for  
with anything else he always will be    
well acquainted4     ,,conclusion   ,the
 orator having distinguished himself by 
these perfections of eloquence at the   
bar1 in counsels1 in the assemblies of  
the people1 in the senate1 and in all   
the duties of a good citizen1 ought to  
think1 likewise1 of making an end worthy
 of an honest man and the sanctity of   
his ministry3 not that during the course
 of his life he ought to cease being of 
service to society1 or that1 endowed    
with such integrity of mind and such    
talent of eloquence1 he can continue too
 long in the exercise of so noble an    
employment2 but because it is fitting   
that he should guard against degrading  
his character1 by doing anything which  

may fall short of what he has already   
done4 ,the orator is indebted for what  
he is1 not only to knowledge1 which     
increases with his years1 but to his    
voice1 lungs1 and strength of body2 and 
when the latter are impaired by years1  
or debilitated by infirmities1 it is to 
be feared that something might be       
lacking in this great man1 either from  
his stopping short through fatigue1 and 
out of breath at every effort1 or by not
 making himself sufficiently heard1 or1 
lastly1 by expecting1 and not finding1  
him to be what he formerly was4  ,when  
the orator does sound a retreat1 no less
 ample fruits of study will attend on   
him4 ,he either will write the history  
of his time for the instruction of      
posterity1 or he will explain the law to
 those who came to ask his advice1 or he
 will write a treatise on eloquence1 or 
that worthy mouth of his will employ    
itself in inculcating the finest moral  
precepts4 ,as was customary with the    
ancients1 well-disposed youth will      

frequent his house1 consulting him as an
 oracle on the true manner of speaking4 
,as the parent of eloquence will he form
 them1 and as an old experienced pilot  
will he give them an account of shores1 
and harbors1 and what are the presages  
of storms1 and what may be required for 
working the ship in contrary or         
favorable winds4 ,to all this will he be
 induced not only by a duty of humanity 
common to mankind1 but also by a certain
 pleasure in it2 for no one would be    
glad to see an art going into decay1 in 
which he himself excelled1 and what is  
more laudable than to teach others that 
in which one is perfectly skilled8  ,for
 all ,i know1 the happiest time in an   
orator's life is when he has retired    
from the world to devote himself to     
rest2 and1 remote from envy1 and remote 
from strife1 he looks back on his       
reputation1 as from a harbor of safety2 
and while still living has a sense of   
that veneration which commonly awaits   
only the dead2 thus anticipating the    

pleasure of the noble impression        
posterity will conceive of him4 ,i am   
conscious that to the extent of my poor 
ability1 whatever ,i knew before1 and   
whatever ,i could collect for the       
service of this work1 ,i have candidly  
and ingenuously made a communication of1
 for the instruction of those who might 
be willing to reap any advantage from   
it3 and it is enough for an honest man  
to have taught what he knows4  ,to be   
good men1 which is the first and most   
important thing1 consists chiefly in the
 will1 and whoever has a sincere desire 
to be a man of integrity1 will easily   
learn the arts that teach virtue2 and   
these arts are not involved in so many  
perplexities1 neither are they of such  
great number1 as not to be learned by a 
few years' application4 ,the ordering of
 an upright and happy life is attainable
 by an easy and compendious method1 when
 inclination is not lacking4 ,nature    
begot us with the best dispositions1 and
 it is so easy to the well-inclined to  

learn that which is good1 that we can   
not help being surprized1 on making a   
due estimate of things1 how there can be
 so many bad persons in the world4 ,for1
 as water is naturally a proper element 
for fish1 dry land for quadrupeds1 and  
air for birds1 so indeed it ought to be 
more easy to live according to the      
prescript of nature than to infringe her
 laws4  ,as to the rest1 tho we might   
measure our age1 not by the space of    
more advanced years1 but by the time of 
youth1 we should find that we had quite 
years enough for learning1 all things   
being made shorter by order1 method1 and
 the manner of application4 ,to bring   
the matter home to our oratorical       
studies1 of what significance is the    
custom which ,i see kept up by many1 of 
declaiming so many years in schools1 and
 of expending so much labor on imaginary
 subjects1 when in a moderate time the  
rules of eloquence may be learned1 and  
pursuant to their directions1 a real    
image framed of the contests at the bar8

 ,by this ,i do not mean to hint in the 
least that exercises for speaking should
 ever be discontinued1 but rather that  
none should grow old in any one         
particular exercise for that purpose1   
for we may require the knowledge of many
 sciences1 and learn the precepts of    
morality1 and exercise ourselves in such
 causes as are agitated at the bar1 even
 while we continue in the state of      
scholars4 ,and indeed the art of oratory
 is such as need not require many years 
for learning it4 ,each of the arts ,i   
have mentioned may be abridged into few 
books1 there being no occasion to       
consider them so minutely and so much in
 detail4 ,practise remains1 which soon  
makes us well skilled in them4          
,knowledge of things is increasing      
daily1 and yet books are not so many2 it
 is necessary to read in order to       
acquire this knowledge1 of which either 
examples as to the things themselves may
 be met with in history1 or the eloquent
 expression of them may be found in     

orators4 ,it is also necessary that we  
should read the opinions of philosophers
 and lawyers1 with some other things    
deserving of notice4   ,,taking ,,time  
,,for ,,study  ,all this indeed may be  
compassed1 but we ourselves are the     
cause of our not having time enough4    
,how small a portion of it do we allot  
to our studies6 ,a good part of it is   
spent in frivolous compliments and      
paying and returning visits1 a good part
 of it is taken up in the telling of    
idle stories1 a good part at the public 
spectacles1 and a good part in the      
pleasures of the table4 ,add to these   
our great variety of amusements1 and    
that extravagant indulgence we bestow   
upon our bodies4 ,one time we must go on
 a course of travels1 another time we   
wish recreation amidst the pleasures of 
rural life1 and another time we are full
 of painful solicitude regarding the    
state of our fortune1 calculating and   
balancing our loss and gain2 and        
together with these1 how often do we    

give ourselves up to the intoxication of
 wine1 and in what a multiplicity of    
voluptuousness does our profligate mind 
suffer itself to be immersed8 ,should   
there be an interval for study amidst   
these avocations1 can it be said to be  
proper8 ,but were we to devote all this 
idle or ill-spent time to study1 should 
we not find life long enough and time   
more than enough for becoming learned8  
,this is evident by only computing the  
time of the day1 besides the advantages 
of the night1 of which a good part is   
more than sufficient for sleep4 ,but we 
now preposterously compute not the years
 we have studied1 but the years we have 
lived4 ,tho geometricians and           
grammarians1 and the professors of other
 arts1 spent all their lives1 however   
long1 in treating and discussing their  
respective arts1 does it thence follow  
that we must have as many lives as there
 are things to be learned8 ,but they did
 not extend the learning of them to old 
age1 being content with learning them   

only1 and they spent so many years not  
so much in their study as in their      
practise4  ,now1 tho one should despair 
of reaching to the height of perfection1
 a groundless hope even in a person of  
genius1 health1 talent1 and with masters
 to assist him2 yet it is noble1 as     
,cicero says1 to have a place in the    
second1 or third1 rank4 ,he who can not 
rival the glory of ,achilles in military
 exploits1 shall not therefore have a   
mean opinion of the praise due to ,ajax1
 or ,diomedes1 and he who can not       
approach ,homer1 need not despise the   
fame of ,tyrteus4 ,if men were to yield 
to the thought of imagining none capable
 of exceeding such eminent persons as   
went before them1 then they even who are
 deemed excellent would not have been   
so4 ,vergil would not have excelled     
,lucretius and ,macer2 nor ,cicero1     
,crassus and ,hortensius2 and no one for
 the future would pretend to any        
advantage over his predecessor4  ,tho   
the hope of surpassing these great men  

be but faint1 yet it is an honor to     
follow them4 ,have ,pollio and ,messala1
 who began to appear at the bar when    
,cicero was already possest of the      
empire of eloquence1 acquired little    
dignity in their life-time1 and left but
 a small degree of glory for the        
remembrance of posterity8 ,true it is   
that arts brought to perfection would   
deserve very ill of human affairs if    
afterward they could not at least be    
kept to the same standard4   ,,the      
,,rewards ,,of ,,eloquence  ,add to this
 that a moderate share of eloquence is  
attended with no small advantage1 and if
 measured by the fruits gathered from   
it1 will almost be on a par with that   
which is perfect4 ,it would be no       
difficult matter to show from many      
ancient or modern examples that no other
 profession acquires for men1 greater   
honors1 wealth1 friendship1 present and 
future glory1 were it not degrading to  
the honor of letters to divert the mind 
from the contemplation of the most noble

 object1 the study and possession of    
which is such a source of contentment1  
and fix it on the less momentous rewards
 it may have1 not unlike those who say  
they do not so much seek virtue as the  
pleasure resulting from it4  ,let us    
therefore with all the zealous impulses 
of our heart endeavor to attain the very
 majesty of eloquence1 than which the   
immortal gods have not imparted anything
 better to mankind1 and without which   
all would be mute in nature1 and        
destitute of the splendor of a perfect  
glory and future remembrance4 ,let us   
likewise always make continued progress 
toward perfection1 and by so doing we   
shall either reach the height1 or at    
least shall see many beneath us4  ,this 
is all1 as far as in me lies1 ,i could  
contribute to the promoting and         
perfecting of the art of eloquence2 the 
knowledge of which1 if it does not prove
 of any great advantage to studious     
youth1 will1 at least1 what ,i more     
heartily wish for1 give them a more     

ardent desire for doing well4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,,advertisements         99       99    
99       99       99  ,how to ,read and 
,declaim  ,a ,,course ,,of ,,instruction
 ,,in ,,reading ,,and ,,declamation     
,,having ,,as ,,its ,,prime ,,object    
,,the ,,cultivation ,,of ,,taste ,,and  
,,refinement  ,by ,,grenville ,,kleiser 
,formerly ,instructor in ,public        
,speaking at ,yale ,divinity ,school2   
,author of ,how to ,speak in ,public1   
etc4   ,this eminently practical book is
 divided into five parts3  ,,part       
,,one--,preparatory ,course3 ,twenty    
,lessons on ,naturalness1 ,distinctness1
 ,vivacity1 ,confidence1 ,simplicity1   
,deliberateness1 and kindred topics4    
,,part ,,two--,advance ,course3 ,twenty 
,lessons on ,thought ,values1 ,thought  
,directions1 ,persuasion1 ,power1       
,climax1 etc41 etc4  ,,part             
,,three--,articulation and              
,pronunciation4  ,,part ,,four--,gesture
 and ,facial ,expression4  ,,part       

,,five--,the most up-to-date and popular
 prose and poetic selections anywhere to
 be found4  ,it is a book to beget      
intelligent reading1 so as to develop in
 the student mental alertness1 poise1   
and self-confidence4  #abmo1 ,cloth4    
#a4ej1 net2 by mail1 #a4fe  ,,funk      
,,wagnalls ,,company1 ,publishers  ,,new
 ,,york and ,,london         99       99
       99       99       99  ,kleiser's 
,complete ,guide to ,public ,speaking   
,by ,,grenville ,,kleiser  ,famous      
,author of many ,practical ,books and   
,courses   ,the only extensive1         
comprehensive1 encyclopedic work of its 
kind ever issued4 ,how to speak1 develop
 vocabulary1 write1 train memory1       
gesture1 etc4 ,the best advice by the   
world's great authorities upon every    
phase of ,public ,speaking4        ,of  
,great ,worth to the ,public ,speaker   
,i consider it a compendium of          
particularly valuable information to    
all men who are called upon to address  
public      audiences4--,josephus       

,daniels1 ,secretary of the ,navy4      
,full of the best sort of               
instruction4--,evening ,sun1 ,new ,york4
       ,a ,storehouse of ,practical     
,information       ,in that one volume  
is stored an amazing amount of practical
      information of success-winning    
sort4--,hudson ,maxim4   ,royal #hvo1   
,cloth1 over #gjj ,pages1 #e4jj net4    
,full ,flexible ,leather1 #g4jj net2    
carriage #bd ,cents ,extra  ,,funk      
,,wagnalls ,,company1 ,publishers  ,,new
 ,,york and ,,london         99       99
       99       99       99