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QUINTILIAN

INSTITUTIO ORATORIA

BOOKS -II

Translated

«/

H. E. BUTLER

QUINTILIANUS, Marcus Fabius (0.35- c.9$ AD) of Calagurris in Spain was brought up at Rome, but was in Spain from 6 1 to 68, when with the new-made emperor Galba he returned to Rome. There he became head of the most impor- tant school of Oratory, and sometimes pleaded in the law-courts. The emperor Vespasian (69—79) made him a 'Professor of Latin Rhetoric' until he retired to compose a lost work on why eloquence had declined, and the extant Institutio Oratoria 'Training of an Orator' (in twelve books). He was also teacher to the em- peror Domitian's two grand-nephews.

Quintilian had been taught by the famous Seneca and Domitius of Nimes. He greatly admired the long dead orator Cicero, whom he saw as a model for orators of his own age. His Institutio propounds for an orator a training in character and oratory from birth. He presents us with interesting and important views on general education, deals in detail with all oratorical composi- tion and the devices of rhetoric, and outlines the ideal orator. His review of the past literature of Greece and Rome is famous and makes him a good literary critic. The whole work is composed in a dignified yet pleasant style, and his judge- ments are fair and gentle.

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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB EDITED BY

G. P. GOOLD

PREVIOUS EDITORS T. E. PAGE E. CAPPS

W. H. D. ROUSE L. A. POST

E. H. WARMINGTON

QUINTILIAN I

LCL 124

QUINTILIAN

INSTITUTIO ORATORIA BOOKS I-III

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

H. E. BUTLER

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS LONDON, ENGLAND

First published 1920 Reprinted 19,3,3, 195.3, 1958, 196.3, 1969, 1980, 1989, 1996

ISBN 0-674-99138-9

Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Ltd,

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on acid-free paper. Bound by Hunter i~ Foulis Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE INTRODUCTION VJi

BIBLIOGRAPHY xi

LETTER TO HIS PUBLISHER. TRYPHO 2

BOOK I 4

Preface. — Ch. 1: Elementary Education. — Ch. 2: The merits of public and private education com- pared.— Ch. 3 : General reflections on the capacity and treatment of pupils. — Ch. 4: Grammar.— Ch. 5 : Correctness ; barbarisms ; pronunciation : the aspirate ; accents ; solecisms ; words, foreign, compound, metaphorical, new, etc. — Ch. 6 : Lan- guage ; analogy ; etymology ; old words ; au- thority ; usage. — Ch. 7 : Orthography ; difference between spelling and pronunciation. — Ch. 8 : Read ing ; authors to be read ; methods of teaching value of history. — Ch. 9 : Composition. — Ch. 10 Other studies necessary to rhetoric; music, geo metry, astronomy. — Ch. 11 : Instruction to be derived from the stage ; delivery ; gesture ; reci- tation ; gymnastic. — Ch. 12 : Boys capable of study- ing a number of subjects at once.

BOOK II 203

Ch. 1 : Rhetoric not begun early enough ; relations between rhetor and grammaticus. — Ch. 2 : Choice of a teacher ; mutual duties of teacher and pupil. — Ch. 3 : Necessity of avoiding inferior teachers. — Ch. 4 : Elementary rhetorical exorcises ; narratives ; proof and refutation ; panegyric and denunciation ; commonplaces ; theses ; reasons ; preparations for pleadings ; praise and blame of particular laws ; fic- titious declamations. — Ch. 5 : Assistance to be given to pupils. — Ch. 6 : Declamation. — Ch. 7 : Ortho-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

graphy. — Ch. 8 : Different methods required for different pupils. — Ch. 9 : Pupils to regard teachers as in loco parentis. — Ch. 10 : Themes for declamation ; criticism of existing practice. — Ch. 11: Criticism of those who think instruction in rhetoric unneces- sary ; necessity of thoroughness of method. — Ch. 12 : Merits and defects of untrained speakers. — Ch. 13 : No rigid rules possible ; necessity of adaptability ; value of rules. — Ch. 14: The term rhetoric or oratory ; heads under which it is to be considered. Ch. 15: What is oratory? Various definitions; Quintilian's definition. — Ch. 16: Oratory denounced by some because of its capacity for harm ; its excellences and value. — Ch. 17 : Oratory an art ; critics of this view ; critics of its morality ; re- lation to truth. — Ch. 18 : Arts or sciences of three kinds ; rhetoric a practical art or science, though partaking of the nature of theoretic and productive arts. — Ch. 19 : Nature and art. — Ch. 20 : Is rhetoric a virtue ? — Ch. 21 : The subject of rhetoric ; Quintilian's view ; criticism thereof ; relation between oratory and philosophy ; range of the orator's knowledge.

BOOK in 369

Ch. 1 : Apology for dryness and detail of the more technical portion of the work ; writers on rhe- toric ; Greeks ; Romans. — Ch. 2 : Origin of oratory. — Ch. 3 : Divisions of the art ; their order ; their nature. — Ch. 4 : Are there three sorts of oratory or more? Various views. — Ch. 5: Distinction between things and words ; questions ; definition of a cause. — Ch. 6 : The status or basis of a cause ; a highly technical chapter. — Ch. 7 : Panegyric. — Ch. 8 : Deliberative oratory. — Ch. 9 : Forensic oratory ; the parts of a forensic speech. — Ch. 10 : A cause may turn on one controversial point or more ; nature of the cause to be first determined. — Ch. 11: Next points to be determined; the question, the mode of defence, the point for decision, the foundation of the case ; various views.

INTRODUCTION

LIFE OF QUINTILIAN

MARCUS FABIUS QUINTILIANUS was, like Seneca, of Spanish origin, being born about 35 A.D. at Cala- gurris. His father was a rhetorician of some note who practised with success at Rome. It is not sur- prising therefore to find that the young Quintilian was sent to Rome for his education. Among his teachers were the famous grammaticus Remmius Palaemon, and the no less distinguished rhetorician Domitius Afer. On completing his education he seems to have returned to his native land to teach rhetoric there, for we next hear of him as being brought to Rome in 68 A.D. by Galba, then governor of Hispania Tarraconensis. At Rome he met with great success as a teacher and was the first rhetor- ician to set up a genuine public school and to receive a salary from the State. He continued to teach for twenty years and had among his pupils the younger Pliny and the two sons of Domitilla, the sister of Domitian. He was also a successful pleader in the courts as we gather from more than one passage in his works. Late in life he married and had two sons. But both wife and children predeceased him.

vii

INTRODUCTION

He died full of honour, the possessor of wide lands and consular rank. The date of his death is un- known, but it was before 100 A.D. He left behind him a treatise " On the causes of the decadence of Roman oratory" (De causis corruplae eloquentiae}, the present work, and a speech in defence of a certain Naevius Arpinianus, who was accused of murdering his wife. These are the only works known to have been actually published by him, though others of his speeches had been taken down in shorthand and circulated against his will, while an excess of zeal on the part of his pupils resulted in the unauthorised publication of two series of lecture notes. The present work alone survives. The declamations which have come down to us under his name are spurious. Of his character the Instil utio Oratorio, gives us the pleasantest impression. Humane, kindly and of a deeply affectionate nature, gifted with a robust common sense and sound literary judgment, he may well have been the ideal school- master. The fulsome references to Domitian are the only blemishes which mar this otherwise pleasing impression. And even here we must remember his great debt to the Flavian house and the genuine difficulty for a man in his position of avoiding the official style in speaking of the emperor.

As a stylist, though he is often difficult owing to compression and the epigrammatic turn which he gives his phrases, he is never affected or extravagant. He is still under the influence of the sound traditions viii

INTRODUCTION

of the Ciceronian age, and his Latin is silver-gilt rather than silver. His Institutio Oratorio,, despite the fact that much of it is highly technical, has still much that is of interest to-day, even for those who care little for the history of rhetoric. Notably in the first book his precepts as regards education have lasting value : they may not be strikingly original, but they are sound, humane and admirably put. In the more technical portions of his work he is unequal ; the reader feels that he cares but little about the minute pedantries of rhetorical technique, and that he lacks method in his presentation of the varying views held by his predecessors. But once he is free of such minor details and touches on themes of real practical interest, he is a changed man. He is at times really eloquent, and always vigorous and sound, while throughout the whole work he keeps the same high ideal unswervingly before him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

EDITIONS

Ed. princeps, Campano, Rome, 1470. Gronov, Leyden, 1665. Gibson, Oxford, 1693. Obrecht, Strassburg, 1698. Burmann, Leyden, 1720. Capperonnier, Paris, 1725. Gesner, Gottingen, 1738.

Spalding, Leipzig, 1798-1816, with supplementary volume of notes by Zumpt, 1829, and another by Bonnell, 1834.

TEXTS

Zumpt, Leipzig, 1831.

Bonnell, Teubner texts, 1854.

Halm, Leipzig, 1868.

Meister, Leipzig, 1886-7.

Radermacher, Teubner texts, 1907 (Bks. 1-6). Second edition by V. Buchheit, 2 vols., 1959.

D. M. Gaunt, M. Fabii Quintiliani Institutio Oratoria. Selections with commentary and summaries of the intervening material. London, W. Heinemann. 1952.

EDITIONS OF SINGLE BOOKS

Bk. 1, Fierville, Paris, 1890; F. Colson, Cambridge, 1924.

Bk. 10, Peterson, Oxford, 1891.

Bk. 10 and 12, Frieze, New York; Bk. 12, R. G. Austin, Oxford, 1948.

Of the above the commentary of Spalding and the texts of Halm, Meister and Radermacher are by far the most im- portant. Peterson's edition of Bk. 10 contains an admirable introduction dealing with the life of Quintilian, his gifts as a critic, his style and language and the MSS.

xi

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In connection with the history of rhetorical theory and practice at Rome, the following works are of special importance : —

Cicero, de Oratore (Ed. Wilkins, Oxford, 1892). Cicero, Orator (Ed. Sandys, Cambridge, 1889). Cicero, Brutus (Ed. Kellogg, Boston, 1889). Tacitus, Dialogus de claris oratoribus (Ed. Peterson, Ox- ford, 1893).

For the history of Latin rhetoric and education the following works may be consulted : —

Norden, Die Antike Knnstprosa, Leipzig, 1898.

Volkmann, Die Rhetorik der Griechen und Ro'mer, Leipzig, 1885.

Marquardt, Das Privatleben der Ro'mer, pp. 80-126, ed. 2, Leipzig, 1886.

Wilkins, Roman Education, Cambridge, 1905.

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF QUINTILIAN

Guthrie, London, 1805.

Watson, in Bohn's series, reprinted 1903.

THE MANUSCRIPTS

The MSS. of the Institutio Oratorio, fall into three groups : —

(1) The Codex Ambrosianus (E153), an eleventh-century MS. now at Milan. Chs. ix. iv. 135 to xn. xi. 22 are missing.

(2) The Codex Bernensis (351) of the 10th century. The Codex Bambergensis (M. 4, 14) of the 10th century. The Codex Nostradamensis (Paris, Lat. 1S527) of the

10th (?) century.

This group has the following lacunae : I. to i. 7 ; v. xiv. 12 to vin. iii. 64 ; vm. vi. 17 to 67 ; ix. iii. 2 to x. i. Iu7 ; xi. i. 71 to ii. 23 ; xn. x. 43 to end. The gaps are to be supplied from the Codex Bambergensis, in which they have been filled in by a later hand from a MIS. resembling the Ambrosianus.

(3) A number of late MSS of the 15th century of the usual type.

• •

XII

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Occasional assistance may be obtained from the Ars Iihttorica of Julius Victor (Halm, fihct. Lat. minores, II. pp. 373 sqq.), which is based on Quintilian and often tran- scribes whole passages : the Rhetorical treatise attributed to Cassiodorus (Halm, op. cit. p. 501) is also sometimes useful.

The text in this volume is that of Halm, with a few slight alterations in reading, and a considerable number in punctu- ation. The first family is indicated by A in critical notes, the second by B. \Yhere particular MSS. are mentioned they are indicated by their name

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ADDENDUM (1980)

Critical edition: ed. M. Winterbottom (OCT), 2 vols, Oxford 1970.

Editions with commentary: Book I, by F. H. Colson, Cam- bridge 1924

Book III, by Joachim Adamietz, Munich 1966

Book XII, by R. G. Austin, Oxford 19542.

Studies: Jean Cousin, Etudes sur Quintilien, Paris 1936.

G. M. A. Grube, The Greek and Roman Critics, London 1965

George Kennedy, Quintilian, New York 1969

M. Winterbottom, Problems in Quintilian (BICS Suppl. 25), London 1970

Lexicon: E. Bonnell, Leipzig 1834 (repr. 1963: vol. 6 of G. L. Spalding's edition).

Survey: Jean Cousin, 'Quintilien 1935-1959,' Lustrum 1

(1963) 289-331

SIGLA

A = Codex Ambrosianus I, llth century.

B = Agreement of Codex Bernensis, Bambergensis and Nostradamensis, 10th century.

G = Codex Bambergensis in those passages where gaps have been supplied by a later 11th-century hand.

QUINTILIAN

BOOK I

M. FABIUS QUINTILIANUS TRYPHONI SUO

SALUTEM

EFFLAOITASTI cotidiano convicio, ut libros, quos ad Marcelluni meum de Institutione oratoria scripseram iam emittere inciperern. Nam ipse eos nondum opinabar satis maturuisse, quibus componendis, ut scis, paulo plus quam biennium tot alioqui negotiis districtus impendi ; quod tempus non tarn stilo quam inquisition! instituti operis prope infiniti et legendis

2 auctoribus, qui sunt innumerabiles, datum est. Usus deinde Horatii consilio, qui in arte poeticasuadet, ne praecipitetur editio nonumque prcmatur in annum, dabam iis otium, ut, refrigerate inventionis amore, diligentius repetitos tanquam lector perpenderem.

3 Sed si tanto opere efflagitantur quam tu adfirrnas, permittamus vela ventis et oram solventibus bene precemur. Multum autem in tua quoque fide ac diligentia positum est, ut in man us hominum quam emendatissimi veniant.

MARCUS FAB1US QUINTILIANUS TO HIS FRIEND TRYPHO, GREETING

You have daily importuned me with the request that I should at length take steps to publish the book on the Education of an Orator which I dedicated to my friend Marcellus. For my own view was that it was not yet ripe for publication. As you know I have spent little more than two years on its compo- sition, during which time moreover I have been dis- tracted by a multitude of other affairs. These two years have been devoted not so much to actual writing as to the research demanded by a task to which practically no limits can be set and to the reading of innumerable authors. Further, following the pre- 2 cept of Horace who in his Art of Poetry deprecates hasty publication and urges the would-be author

" To withhold His work till nine long years have passed away,"

I proposed to give them time, in order that the ardour of creation might cool and that I might revise them with all the consideration of a dispas- sionate reader. But if there is such a demand for 3 their publication as you assert, why then let us spread our canvas to the gale and offer up a fervent prayer to heaven as wre put out to sea. But re- member I rely on your loyal care to see that they reach the public in as correct a form as possible.

M. FABII QUINTILIANI INSTITUTIONS ORATORIAE

LIBER I

PROOEMIUM

POST impetratam studiis meis quietem, quae per viginti annos erudiendis iuvenibus impenderam, cum a me quidam familiariter postularent, ut aliquid de ratione dicendi componerem, diu sum equidem reluc- tatus, quod auctores utriusque linguae clarissimos non ignorabam multa, quae ad hoc opus pertinerent,

2 diligentissime scripta posteris reliquisse. Sed qua ego ex causa faciliorem mihi veniam meae depre- cationis arbitrabar fore, hac accendebantur illi magis, quod inter diversas opiniones priorum et quasdam etiam inter se contrarias difficilis esset electio ; ut mihi si non inveniendi nova at certe iudicandi de veteribus iniungcre laborem non iniuste viderentur.

3 Quamvis autem non tarn me vinceret praestandi,

THE INSTITUTIO ORATORIA OF QUINTILIAN

BOOK I

PREFACE

HAVING at length, after twenty years devoted to the training of the young, obtained leisure for study, I was asked by certain of my friends to write something on the art of speaking. For a long time I resisted their entreaties, since I was well aware that some of the most distinguished Greek and Roman writers had bequeathed to posterity a number of works dealing with this subject, to the composition of which they had devoted the utmost care. This seemed to me to be an admirable excuse for my re- fusal, but served merely to increase their enthusiasm. They urged that previous writers on the subject had expressed different and at times contradictory opinions, between which it was very difficult to choose. They thought therefore that they were justified in imposing on me the task, if not of discovering original views, at least of passing definite judgment on those expressed by my predecessors. I was moved to comply not so much because I felt confidence that I was equal to the task, as

QUINT1LIAN

quod exigebatur, fiducia quam negandi verecundia, latius se tamen aperiente materia plus quam impone- batur oneris sponte suscepi, simul ut pleniore obse- quio demererer amantissimos mei, simul ne vulgarem viam ingressus alienis demum vestigiis insisterem.

4 Namceteri fere, qui artem orandi litteris tradiderunt, ita sunt exorsi, quasi perfectis omni alio genere doctrinae summam in eloquentia rnanum imponer- ent, sive contemnentes tanquam parva, quae prius discimus, studia, sive non ad suum pertinere officium opinati, quando divisae professionum vices essent, seu, quod proximum vero, nullam ingenii sperantes gratiam circa res etiamsi necessarias procul tamen ab ostentatione positas ; ut operura fastigia spectantur,

5 latent fundamenta. Ego, cum existimem nihil arti oratoriae alienum, sine quo fieri non posse oratorem fatendum est, nee ad ullius rei summam nisi praece- dentibus initiis perveniri, ad minora ilia, sed quae si negligas, non sit maioribus locus, demittere me non recusabo ; nee aliter, quam si mihi tradatur educan- dus orator, studia eius formare ab infantia incipiam.

6

BOOK I. PR. 3-5

because I had a certain compunction about refusing. The subject proved more extensive than I had first imagined ; but finally I volunteered to shoulder a task which was on a far larger scale than that which I was originally asked to undertake. I wished on the one hand to oblige my very good friends beyond their requests, and on the other to avoid the beaten track and the necessity of treading where others had gone before. For almost all others who have 4 written on the art of oratory have started with the assumption that their readers were perfect in all other branches of education and that their own task was merely to put the finishing touches to their rhetorical training ; this is due to the fact that they either despised the preliminary stages of education or thought that they were not their concern, since the duties of the different branches of education are distinct one from another, or else, and this is nearer the truth, because they had no hope of making a remunerative display of their talent in dealing with subjects, which, although necessary, are far from being showy : just as in architecture it is the superstructure and not the foundations which attracts the eye. I on the other hand hold that the 5 art of oratory includes all that is essential for the training of an orator, and that it is impossible to reach the summit in any subject unless we have first passed through all the elementary stages. I shall not there- fore refuse to stoop to the consideration of those minor details, neglect of which may result in there being no opportunity for more important things, and propose to mould the studies of my orator from in- fancy, on the assumption that his whole education has been entrusted to my charge. This work 1 dedicate G

QUINTILIAN

6 Quod opus, Marcelle Victori, tibi dicamus ; quem, cum amicissimum nobis turn eximio litterarum amore flagrantem, non propter haec modo (quamquam sint magna) dignissimum hoc mutuae inter nos caritatis pignore iudicabamus ; sed quod erudiendo Getae tuo, cuius prima aetas manifestum iam ingenii lumen ostendit, non inutiles fore libri videbantur, quos ab ipsis dicendi velut incunabulis, per omnes, quae modo aliquid oratori futuro conferant, artis ad sum-

7 mam eius opens perducere destinabamus ; atque eo magis, quod duo iam sub nomine meo libri fereban- tur artis rhetoricae neque editi a me neque in hoc comparati. Namque alterum sermonem per biduum habitum pueri, quibus id praestabatur, exceperant ; alterum pluribus sane diebus, quantum notando con- sequi potuerant, interceptum boni iuvenes, sed nimium amantes mei, temerario editionis honore

8 vulgaverant. Quare in his quoque libris erunt eadem aliqua, multa mutata, plurima adiecta, omnia vero compositiora et, quantum nos poterimus, elaborata.

9 Oratorem autem instituimus ilium perfectum, qui esse nisi vir bonus non potest ; ideoque non dicendi

modo eximiam in eo facultatem sed omnes animi 8

BOOK I. PR. 6-9

to you, Marcellus Victorius. You have been the truest of friends to me and you have shown a passionate enthusiasm for literature. But good as these reasons are, they are not the only reasons that lead me to regard you as especially worthy of such a pledge of our mutual affection. There is also the consideration that this book should prove of service in the education of your son Geta, who, young though he is, already shows clear promise of real talent. It has been my design to lead my reader from the very cradle of speech through all the stages of education which can be of any service to our budding orator till we have reached the very summit of the art. I 7 have been all the more desirous of so doing because two books on the art of rhetoric are at present circulating under my name, although never published by me or composed for such a purpose. One is a two days' lecture which was taken down by the boys who were my audience. The other consists of such notes as my good pupils succeeded in taking down from a course of lectures on a somewhat more extensive scale : I appreciate their kindness, but they showed an excess of enthusiasm and a certain lack of discretion in doing my utterances the honoui of publication. Consequently in the present work 8 although some passages remain the same, you will find many alterations and still more additions, while the whole theme will be treated with greater system and with as great perfection as lies within my power.

My aim, then, is the education of the perfect 9 orator. The first essential for such an one is that he should be a good man, and consequently we demand of him not merely the possession of exceptional

QUINTILIAN

10 virtutes exigimus. Neque enim hoc concesserim, rationem rectae honestaeque vitae (ut quidam pu- taverunt) ad philosophos relegandam, cum vir ille vere civilis et publicarum privatarumque rerum administrationi accommodatus, qui regere consiliis urbes, fundare legibus, emendare iudiciis possit,

11 non alius sit profecto quam orator. Quare, tametsi me fateor usurum quibusdam, quae philosophorum libris continentur, tamen ea iure vereque conten- derim esse operis nostri proprieque ad artem

12 oratoriam pertinere. An, si frequentissime de iustitia, fortitudine, temperantia ceterisque simili- bus disserendum est, adeo ut vix ulla possit causa reperiri in quam non aliqua ex his incidat quaestio, eaque omnia inventione atque elocutione sunt ex- plicanda, dubitabitur, ubicunque vis ingenii et copia dicendi postulatur, ibi partes oratoris esse prae-

13 cipuas? Fueruntque haec, ut Cicero apertissime colligit, quemadmodum iuncta natura sic officio quoque copulata, ut iidem sapientes atque elo- quentes haberentur. Scidit deinde se studium, atque inertia factum est, ut artes esse plures vide- rentur. Nam ut primum lingua esse coepit in quaestu institutumque eloquentiae bonis male uti, curam

1 de Or. in. 15. 10

BOOK I. PR. 9-13

gifts of speech, but of all the excellences of character as well. For I will not admit that the principles of 10 upright and honourable living should, as some have held, be regarded as the peculiar concern of philo- sophy. The man who can really play his part as a citizen and is capable of meeting the demands both of public and private business, the man who can guide a state by his counsels, give it a firm basis by his legislation and purge its vices by his decisions as a judge, is assuredly no other than the orator of our quest. Wherefore, although I admit I shall make 11 use of certain of the principles laid down in philo- sophical textbooks, I would insist that such principles have a just claim to form part of the subject-matter of this work and do actually belong to the art of oratory. I shall frequently be compelled to speak of 1. such virtues as courage, justice, self-control; in fact scarcely a case comes up in which some one of these virtues is not involved ; every one of them requires illustration and consequently makes a demand on the imagination and eloquence of the pleader. I ask you then, can there be any doubt that, wherever imaginative power and amplitude of diction are re- quired, the orator has a specially important part to play? These two branches of knowledge w.ere, as 13 Cicero has clearly shown,1 so closely united, not merely in theory but in practice, that the same men were regarded as uniting the qualifications of orator and philosopher. Subsequently this single branch of study split up into its component parts, and thanks to the indolence of its professors was re- garded as consisting of several distinct subjects. As soon as speaking became a means of livelihood and the practice of making an evil use of the

1 1

QU1NTILIAN

14 morum, qui diserti habebantur, reliquerunt. Ea vero destituta infirmioribus ingeniis velut praedae fuit. Inde quidam, contempto bene dicendi labore, ad formandos animos statuendasque vitae leges regress! partem quidem potiorem, si dividi posset, retinuerunt ; nomen tamen sibi insolentissimum arrogaverunt, ut soli studiosi sapientiae vocarentur, quod neque summi imperatores neque in consiliis rerum maximarum ac totius administratione rei publicae clarissime versati sibi unquarn vindicare sunt ausi. Facere enim optima quam promittere

15 maluerunt. Ac veterum quidem sapientiae professo- rum multos et honesta praecepisse et, ut praece- perint, etiam vixisse, facile coiicesserim ; nostris vero temporibus sub hoc nomine maxima in pler- isque vitia latuerunt. Non enim virtute ac studiis, ut haberentur philosophi, laborabant, sed vultum et tristitiam et dissentientem a ceteris habitum pes-

16 simis moribus praetendebant. Haec autem, quae velut propria philosophiae asseruntur, passim trac- tamus omnes. Quis enim non de iusto, aequo ac bono, modo non et vir pessimus, loquitur? quis non etiam rusticorum aliqua de causis naturalibus quaerit ? nam verborum proprietas ac differentia omnibus, qui sermonem curae habent, debet esse

12

BOOK I. PR. 13-16

blessings of eloquence came into vogue, those who had a reputation for eloquence ceased to study moral philosophy, and ethics, thus abandoned by the 14 orators, became the prey of weaker intellects. As a consequence certain persons, disdaining the toil of learning to speak well, returned to the task of forming character and establishing rules of life and kept to themselves what is, if we must make a division, the better part of philosophy, but pre- sumptuously laid claim to the sole possession of the title of philosopher, a distinction which neither the greatest generals nor the most famous statesmen and administrators have ever dared to claim for them- selves. For they preferred the performance to the promise of great deeds. I am ready to admit that 15 many of the old philosophers inculcated the most ex- cellent principles and practised what they preached. But in our own day the name of philosopher has too often been the mask for the worst vices. For their attempt has not been to win the name of philosopher by virtue and the earnest search for wisdom ; instead they have sought to disguise the depravity of their characters by the assumption of a stern and austere mien accompanied by the wearing of a garb differing from that of their fellow men. Now as a matter of fact we all of us frequently 16 handle those themes which philosophy claims for its own. Who, short of being an utter villain, does not speak of justice, equity and virtue ? Who (and even common country-folk are no exception) does not make some inquiry into the causes of natural phe- nomena ? As for the special uses and distinctions of words, they should be a subject of study common to all who give any thought to the meaning of language.

13

QUINTILIAN

17 communis. Sed ea et sciet optime et eloquetur orator ; qui si fuisset aliquando perfectus, non a philosophorum scholis virtutis praecepta peterentur. Nunc necesse est ad eos aliquando auctores re- currere, qui desertarn, ut dixi, partem oratoriae artis, meliorem praesertim, occupaverunt, et velut nostrum reposcere ; non ut nos illorum utamur inventis, sed

18 ut illos alienis usos esse doceamus. Sit igitur orator vir tails, qualis vere sapiens appellari possit ; nee moribus inodo perfectus (nam id mea quidem opinione, quanquam sunt qui dissentiant, satis non est) sed etiam scientia et omni facultate dicendi,

19 qualis fortasse nemo adhuc fuerit ; sed non ideo minus nobis ad summa tendendum est ; quod fece- runt plerique veterum, qui, etsi nondum quemquam sapientem repertum putabant, praecepta tamen

20 sapientiae tradiderunt. Nam est eerte aliquid con- summata eloquentia, neque ad earn pervenire natura humani ingenii prohibet. Quod si non contingat, altius tamen ibunt, qui ad summa nitentur,, quam qui, praesumpta desperatione quo velint evadendi, protinus circa ima substiterint.

21 Quo magis impetranda erit venia, si ne minora quidem ilia, verum operi, quod instituimus, ne- cessaria praeteribo. Nam liber primus ea, quae sunt

BOOK I. PR. 1 6-2 1

But it is surely the orator who will have the greatest 17 mastery of all such departments of knowledge and the greatest power to express it in words. Arid if ever lie had reached perfection, there would be no need to go to the schools of philosophy for the precepts of virtue. As things stand, it is occasionally necessary to have recourse to those authors who have, as I said above, usurped the better part of the art of oratory after its desertion by the orators and to demand back what is ours by right, not with a view to appropriating their discoveries, but to show them that they have appropriated what in truth belonged to others. Let our ideal orator then be such as to is have a genuine title to the name of philosopher : it is not sufficient that he should be blameless in point of character (for I cannot agree with those who hold this opinion) : he must also be a thorough master of the science and the art of speaking, to an extent that perhaps no orator has yet attained. Still we iy must none the less follow the ideal, as was done by not a few of the ancients, who, though they refused to admit that the perfect sage had yet been found, none the less handed down precepts of wisdom for the use of posterity. Perfect eloquence is assuredly 20 a reality, which is not beyond the reach of human intellect. Even if we fail to reach it, those whose aspirations are highest, will attain to greater heights than those who abandon themselves to premature despair of ever reaching the goal and halt at the very foot of the ascent.

I have therefore all the juster claim to indulgence, 21 if I refuse to pass by those minor details which are none the less essential to my task. My first book will be concerned with the education preliminary to

15

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ante officium rhetoris, continebit. Secundo prima apud rhetorem elementa et quae de ipsa rhetorices

22 substantia quaeruntur tractabimus. Quinque de- inceps invention! (nam huic et dispositio subiun- gitur), quattuor elocutioni, in cuius partem memoria ac pronuntiatio veniunt, dabuntur. Unus accedet, in quo nobis orator ipse informandus est, ubi,1 qui mores eius, quae in suscipiendis, discendis, agendis causis ratio, quod eloquentiae genus, quis agendi debeat esse finis, quae post finem studia, quantum

23 nostra valebit infirmitas, disseremus. His omnibus admiscebitur, ut quisque locus postulabit, docendi ratio, quae non eorum modo scientia, quibus solis quidam nomen artis dederunt, studiosos instruat et (ut sic dixerim) ius ipsum rhetorices interpretetur, sed alere facundiam, vires augere eloquentiae possit.

24 Nam plerumque nudae illae artes nimia subtilitatis adfectatione frangunt atque concidunt quidquid est in oratione generosius, et omnem sucum ingenii bibunt et ossa detegunt : quae ut esse et adstringi nervis suis debent, sic corpore operienda sunt.

25 Ideoque nos non particulam illam, sicut plerique, sed quidquid utile ad instituendum oratorem puta- bamus, in hos duodecim libros contulimus breviter

1 ubi . . . disseremus, Spalding : ut. . . disseramus, J\1SS. 16

BOOK I. PR.

21-2

the duties of the teacher of rhetoric. Mj-o the edu- deal with the rudiments of the schools u^ to say and with problems connected with the esse book rhetoric itself. The next five will be

with Invention, in which I include Arrangemum_ 2g The four following will be assigned to Eloquence*. under which head I include Memory and Delivery. Finally there will be one book in which our com-

*

plete orator will be delineated ; as far as my feeble powers permit, I shall discuss his character, the rules which should guide him in undertaking, studying and pleading cases, the style of his elo- quence, the time at which he should cease to plead cases and the studies to which he should devote himself after such cessation. In the course of these 23 discussions I shall deal in its proper place with the method of teaching by which students will acquire not merely a knowledge of those things to which the name of art is restricted by certain theorists, and will not only come to understand the laws of rhetoric, but will acquire that which will increase their powers of speech and nourish their eloquence. For as a rule the result of the dry text- 24 books on the art of rhetoric is that by straining after excessive subtlety they impair and cripple all the nobler elements of style, exhaust the life- blood of the imagination and leave but the bare bones, which, while it is right and necessary that they should exist and be bound each to each by their respective ligaments, require a covering of flesh as well. I shall therefore avoid the precedent set 25 by the majority and shall not restrict myself to this narrow conception of my theme, but shall include in my twelve books a brief demonstration of everything

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omnia demonstraturi. Nam si quantum de quaque re dici potest persequamur, finis operis non repe- rietur.

26 Illud tamen in primis testandum est, nihil prae- cepta atque artes valere nisi adiuvante natura. Quapropter ei, cui deerit ingenium, non magis haec scripta sint quam de agrorum cultu sterilibus terris.

27 Sunt et alia ingenita cuique adiumenta, vox, latus patiens laboris, valetudo, constantia, decor; quae si modica obtigerunt, possunt ratione ampliari, sed nonnunquam ita desunt, ut bona etiam ingenii studiique corrumpant ; sicut et haec ipsa sine doctore perito, studio pertinaci, scribendi, legendi, dicendi multa et continua exercitatione per se nihil prosunt.

I. Igitur nato filio pater spem de illo primum quam optimam capiat, ita diligentior a principiis fiet. Falsa enim est querela, paucissimis hominibus vim percipiendi, quae tradantur, esse concessam, plerosque vero laborem ac tempora tarditate ingenii perdere. Nam contra plures reperias et faciles in excogitando et ad discendum promptos. Qm'ppe id est homini naturale ; ac sicut aves ad volatum, equi ad cursum, ad saevitiam ferae gignuntur ; ita 18

BOOK I. PR. 25-1. i

which may seem likely to contribute to the edu- cation of an orator. For if I were to attempt to say all that might be said on each subject, the book would never be finished.

There is however one point which I must em- 26 phasise before I begin, which is this. Without natural gifts technical rules are useless. Conse- quently the student who is devoid of talent will derive no more profit from this work than barren soil from a treatise on agriculture. There are, it is 27 true, other natural aids, such as the possession of a good voice and robust lungs, sound health, powers of endurance and grace, and if these are possessed only to a moderate extent, they may be improved by methodical training. In some cases, however, these gifts are lacking to such an extent that their absence is fatal to all such advantages as talent and study can confer, while, similarly, they are of no profit in themselves unless cultivated by skilful teaching, per- sistent study and continuous and extensive practice in writing, reading and speaking.

I. I would, therefore, have a father conceive the highest hopes of his son from the moment of his birth. If he does so, he will be more careful about the groundwork of his education. For there is absolutely no foundation for the complaint that but few men have the power to take in the knowledge that is imparted to them, and that the majority are so slow of understanding that education is a waste of time and labour. On the contrary you will find that most are quick to reason and ready to learn. Reasoning comes as naturally to man as flying to birds, speed to horses and ferocity to beasts of prey :

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nobis propria est mentis agitatio atque sollertia,

2 unde origo animi caelestis creditur. Hebetes vero et indociles non magis secundum naturam homines eduntur quam prodigiosa corpora et monstris in- signia, sed hi pauci admodum fuerunt. Argu- mentum quod in pueris elucet spes plurimorum, quae cum emoritur aetate, manifestum est, non naturam defecisse sed curam. Praestat tamen in-

3 genio alius alium. Concede ; sed plus efficiet aut minus ; nemo reperitur, qui sit studio nihil con- secutus. Hoc qui perviderit, protinus ut erit parens factus, acrem quam maxime curam spei futuri ora- toris impendat.

4 Ante omnia ne sit vitiosus sermo nutricibus, quas si fieri posset sapientes Chrysippus optavit, certe quantum res pateretur optimas eligi voluit. Et morum quidem in his haud dubie prior ratio est,

5 recte tamen etiam loquantur. Has primum audiet puer, harum verba effingere imitando conabitur. Et natura tenacissimi sumus eorum, quae rudibus animis percepimus ; ut sapor, quo nova imbuas, durat, nee lanarum colores, quibus simplex ille candor mutatus est, elui possunt. Et haec ipsa magis pertinaciter haerent, quo deteriora sunt. Nam bona facile mu- tantur in peius ; num quando in bonum verteris

20

BOOK I. i. 1-5

our minds are endowed by nature with such activity and sagacity that the soul is believed to proceed from heaven. Those who are dull and unteachable 2 are as abnormal as prodigious births and monstrosi- ties, and are but few in number. A proof of what I say is to be found in the fact that boys commonly show promise of many accomplishments, and when such promise dies away as they grow up, this is plainly due not to the failure of natural gifts, but to lack of the requisite care. But, it will be urged, there are degrees of talent. Undoubtedly, I reply, 3 and there will be a corresponding variation in actual accomplishment: but that there are any who gain nothing from education, I absolutely deny. The man who shares this conviction, must, as soon as he becomes a father, devote the utmost care to foster- ing the promise shown by the son whom he destines to become an orator.

Above all see that the child's nurse speaks 4 correctly. The ideal, according to Chrysippus, would be that she should be a philosopher : failing that he desired that the best should be chosen, as far as possible. No doubt the most important point is that they should be of good character : but they should speak correctly as well. It is the nurse that 6 the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate. And we are by nature most tenacious of childish impressions, just as the flavour first absorbed by vessels when new persists, and the colour imparted by dyes to the primitive whiteness of wool is indelible. Further it is the worst impressions that are most durable. For, while what is good readily deteriorates, you will never turn vice

21

QUINTILIAN

vitia ? Non assuescat ergo, ne dura in fans quidem est, sermoni qui dediscendus sit.

6 In parentibus vero quam plurimum esse erudi- tionis optaverim, nee de patribus tantum loquor. Nam Gracchorum eloquentiae multura contulisse ac- cepimus Corneliam matrem, cuius doctissimus sermo in posteros quoque est epistolis traditus : et Laelia C. filia reddidisse in loquendo paternam elegantiam dicitur, et Hortensiae Q. filiae oratio apud Trium- viros habita legitur non tantum in sexus honorem.

7 Nee tamen ii, quibus discere ipsis non contigit, minorem curam docendi liberos habeant ; sed sint pvopter hoc ipsum ad cetera magis diligentes.

8 De pueris, inter quos educabitur ille huic spei destinatus, idem quod de nutricibus dictum sit. De paedagogis hoc amplius, ut aut sint eruditi plene, quam primam esse curam velim, aut se non esse eruditos sciant. Nihil est peius iis, qui paulum aliquid ultra primas litteras progressi falsam sibi scientiae persuasionem induerunt. Nam et cedere praecipiendi partibus indignantur et velut iure quodam potestatis, quo fere hoc hominum genus intumescit, imperiosi atque interim saevientes stul-

1 There is no translation for paedagogus, the slave-tutor. "Tutor," "guardian," "governor," and similar terms are all misleading. He had the general supervision of the boy, escorted him to school and elsewhere, and saw that he did not get into mischief, but did not, as a rule, direct his studies.

22

BOOK I. i. 5-8

into virtue. Do not therefore allow the boy to become accustomed even in infancy to a style of speech which he will subsequently have to unlearn.

As regards parents, I should like to see them as 6 highly educated as possible, and I do not restrict this remark to fathers alone. We are told that the eloquence of the Gracchi owed much to their mother Cornelia, whose letters even to-day testify to the cultivation of her style. Laelia, the daughter of Gaius Laelius, is said to have reproduced the elegance of her father's language in her own speech, while the oration delivered before the triumvirs by Hortensia, the daughter of Quintus Hortensius, is still read and not merely as a compliment to her sex. And even those who have not had the fortune to 7 receive a good education should not for that reason devote less care to their son's education ; but should on the contrary show all the greater diligence in other matters where they can be of service to their children.

As regards the boys in whose company our budding 8 orator is to be brought up, I would repeat what I have said about nurses. As regards his paedagogi,1 I would urge that they should have had a thorough education, or if they have not, that they should be aware of the fact. There are none worse than those, who as soon as they have progressed beyond a knowledge of the alphabet delude themselves into the belief that they are the possessors of real knowledge. For they disdain to stoop to the drudgery of teaching, and conceiving that they have acquired a certain title to authority — a frequent source of vanity in such persons — become imperious or even brutal in instilling a thorough dose of their

23

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9 titiam suam perdocent. Nee minus error eorum nocet moribus ; siquidem Leonides Alexandri paeda- gogus, ut a Babylonio Diogene traditur, quibusdam eum vitiis imbuit, quae robustum quoque et iam maximum regem ab ilia institutione puerili sunt persecuta.

10 Si cui multa videor exigere, cogitet oratorem institui, rem arduam, etiam cum ei formando nihil defuerit ; praeterea plura ac difficiliora superesse. Nam et studio perpetuo et praestantissimis praecep-

11 toribus et plurimis disciplinis opus est. Quapropter praecipienda sunt optima ; quae si quis gravabitur, non rationi defuerint sed homini. Si tamen non continget, quales maxime velim mitrices, pueros, paedagogos habere, at unus certe sit assiduus lo- quendi non imperitus, qui, si qua erunt ab his praesente alumno dicta vitiose, corrigat protinus nee insidere illi sinat ; dum tamen intelligatur, id, quod prius dixi, bonum esse, hoc remedium.

12 A sermone Graeco puerum incipere malo, quia Latinum, qui pluribus in usu est, vel nobis nolen- tibus perbibet, simul quia disciplinis quoque Graecis

prius instituendus est, unde et nostrae fluxerunt. 24

BOOK I. i. 8-12

own folly. Their misconduct is no less prejudicial 9 to morals. We are, for instance, told by Diogenes of Babylon, that Leonides, Alexander's paedagogus, infected his pupil with certain faults, which as a result of his education as a boy clung to him even in his maturer years when he had become the greatest of kings.

If any of my readers regards me as somewhat 10 exacting in my demands, I would ask him to reflect that it is no easy task to create an orator, even though his education be carried out under the most favourable circumstances, and that further and greater difficulties are still before us. For con- tinuous application, the very best of teachers and a variety of exercises are necessary. Therefore the 11 rules which we lay down for the education of our pupil must be of the best. If anyone refuses to be guided by them, the fault will lie not with the method, but with the individual. Still if it should prove impossible to secure the ideal nurse, the ideal companions, or the ideal paedagogus, I wrould insist that there should be one person af any rate attached to the boy who has some knowledge of speaking and who will, if any incorrect expression should be used by nurse or paedagogus in the presence of the child under their charge, at once correct the error and prevent its becoming a habit. But it must be clearly understood that this is only a remedy, and that the ideal course is that indicated above.

I prefer that a boy should begin with Greek, 12 because Latin, being in general use, will be picked up by him whether we will or no ; while the fact that Latin learning is derived from Greek is a further reason for his being first instructed in the

25

QUINTILIAN

13 Non tamen hoc adeo superstitiose fieri velim, ut diu tantum Graece loquatur aut discat, sicut plerisque moris est. Hoc enim accidunt et oris plurima vitia in peregrinum sonum corrupt! et sermonis ; cui cum Graecae figurae assidua consuetudine haeserunt, in diversa quoque loquendi ratione pertinacissime

14 durant. Non longe itaque Latina subsequi debent et cito pariter ire. Ita fiet, nt, cum aequali cura linguam utramque tueri coeperimus, neutra alteri official.

15 Quidam litteris instituendos, qui minores septem annis essent, non putaverunt, quod ilia primum aetas et intellectum disciplinarum capere et laborem pati posset. In qua sententia Hesiodum esse plurimi tradunt qui ante grammaticum Aristophanen fuer- unt ; nam is primus vTroOr/Kas, in quo libro scriptum

16 hoc invenitur, negavit esse huius poetae. Sed alii quoque auctores, inter quos Eratosthenes, idem praeceperunt. Melius autem, qui nullum tempus vacare cura volunt, ut Chrysippus. Nam is, quamvis nutricibus triennium dederit, tamen ab illis quoque iam formandam quam optimis institutis mentem

17 infantium iudicat. Cur autem non pertineat ad litteras aetas, quae ad mores iam pertinet ? Neque ignore, toto illo, de quo loquor, tempore vix tantum effici, quantum conferre unus postea possit annus ;

1 Admonitions, a lost didactic poem. Aristophanes of Byzantium, 257-180 B.C., the famous Alexandrian critic.

26

BOOK I. i. 13-17

latter. I do not however desire that this principle 13 should be so superstitiously observed that he should for long speak and learn only Greek, as is done in the majority of cases. Such a course gives rise to many faults of language and accent ; the latter tends to acquire a foreign intonation, while the former through force of habit becomes impregnated with Greek idioms, which persist with extreme obstinacy even when we are speaking another tongue. The 14 study of Latin ought therefore to follow at no great distance and in a short time proceed side by side with Greek. The result will be that, as soon as we begin to give equal attention to both languages, neither will prove a hindrance to the other.

Some hold that boys should not be taught to 15 read till they are seven years old, that being the earliest age at which they can derive profit from instruction and endure the strain of learning. Most of them attribute this view to Hesiod, at least such as lived before the time of Aristophanes the gram- marian, who was the first to deny that the Hy- polhecae,1 in which this opinion is expressed, was the work of that poet. But other authorities, among 16 them Eratosthenes, give the same advice. Those however who hold that a child's mind should not be allowed to lie fallow for a moment are wiser. Chrysippus, for instance, though he gives the nurses a three years' reign, still holds the formation of the child's mind 011 the best principles to be a part of their duties. Why, again, since children are 17 capable of moral training, should they not be capable of literary education? I am well aware that during the whole period of which I am speaking we can expect scarcely the same amount of progress

27

QUINTILIAN

sed tamen mihi, qui dissenserunt, videntur non tarn discentibus in hac parte quam docentibus pepercisse.

18 Quid melius alioqui facient, ex quo loqui poterunt? Faciant enim aliquid necesse est. Aut cur hoc, quantulumcunque est, usque ad septern annos lucrum fastidiamus ? Nam certe quamlibet parvura sit, quod contulerit aetas prior, maiora tamen aliqua discet puer ipso illo anno, quo minora didicisset.

19 Hoc per singulos prorogatum in summam proficit, et quantum in infantia praesumptum est temporis, adolescentiae adquiritur. Idem etiam de sequen- tibus annis praeceptum sit, ne, quod cuique dis- cendum est, sero discere incipiat. Non ergo per- damus primum statim tempus, atque eo minus, quod initia litterarum sola memoria constant, quae non modo iam est in parvis sed turn etiam tenacissima est.

20 Nee sum adeo aetatum imprudens, ut instandum protinus teneris acerbe putem exigendamque plane operam. Nam id in primis cavere oportebit, ne studia, qui amare nondum potest, oderit et amari- tudinem semel perceptam etiam ultra rudes annos reformidet. Lusus hie sit ; et rogetur et laudetur et numquam non fecisse se gaudeat, aliquando ipso nolente doceatur alius, cui invideat; contendat

28

BOOK I. i. 17-20

that one year will effect afterwards. Still those who disagree with me seem in taking this line to spare the teacher rather than the pupil. What better is occupation can a child have so soon as he is able to speak ? And he must be kept occupied somehow or other. Or why should we despise the profit to be derived before the age of seven, small though it be ? For though the knowledge absorbed in the previous years may be but little, yet the boy will be learning something more advanced during that year, in which he would otherwise have been occupied with some- thing more elementary. Such progress each sue- 19 cessive year increases the total, and the time gained during childhood is clear profit to the period of youth. Further as regards the years which follow I must emphasise the importance of learning what has to be learnt in good time. Let us not therefore waste the earliest years : there is all the less excuse for this, since the elements of literary training are solely a question of memory, which not only exists even in small children, but is specially retentive at that age.

I am not however so blind to differences of age 20 as to think that the very young should be forced on prematurely or given real work to do. Above all things we must take care that the child, who is not yet old enough to love his studies, does not come to hate them and dread the bitterness which he has once tasted, even when the years of infancy are left behind. His studies must be made an amuse- ment : he must be questioned and praised and taught to rejoice when he has done well ; sometimes too, when he refuses instruction, it should be given to some other to excite his envy, at times also he

29

QUINTILIAN

interim et saepius vincere se putet ; praemiis etiam, quae capit ilia aetas, evocetur.

21 Parva docemus oratorem instituendum professi, sed est sua etiam studiis infantia ; et ut corporum mox fortissimorum educatio a lacte cunisque initium ducit, ita futurus eloquentissimus edidit aliquando vagitum et loqui primum incerta voce temptavit et haesit circa formas litterarum. Nee si quid

22 discere satis non est, ideo nee necesse est. Quodsi nemo reprehendit patrem, qui haec non negligenda in suo filio putet, cur improbetur, si quis ea, quae domi suae recte faceret, in publicum promit ? Atque eo magis, quod minora etiam facilius minores percipiunt, et ut corpora ad quosdam membrorum flexus formari nisi tenera non possunt, sic animos

23 quoque ad pleraque duriores robur ipsum facit. An Philippus Macedonum rex Alexandro filio suo prima litterarum elementa tradi ab Aristotele, summo eius aetatis philosopho, voluisset, aut ille suscepisset hoc officium, si non studiorum initia et a perfectissimo quoque optime tractari et pertinere ad summam

30

BOOK I. i. 20-23

must be engaged in competition and should be allowed to believe himself successful more often than not, while he should be encouraged to do his best by such rewards as may appeal to his tender years.

These instructions may seem but trivialities in 21 view of the fact that I am professing to describe the education of an orator. But studies, like men, have their infancy, and as the training of the body which is destined to grow to the fulness of strength begins while the child is in his cradle and at his mother's breast, so even the man who is destined to rise to the heights of eloquence was once a squalling babe, tried to speak in stammering accents and was puzzled by the shapes of letters. Nor does the fact that capacity for learning is inadequate, prove that it is not necessary to learn anything. No 22 one blames a father because he thinks that such details should on no account be neglected in the case of his own son. Why then should he be crit- icised who sets down for the benefit of the public what he would be right to put into practice in his own house ? There is this further reason why he should not be blamed. Small children are better adapted for taking in small things, and just as the body can only be trained to certain flexions of the limbs while it is young and supple, so the acquisition of strength makes the mind offer greater resistance to the acquisition of most subjects of knowledge. Would Philip of Macedon have wished that his son 23 Alexander should be taught the rudiments of letters by Aristotle, the greatest philosopher of that age, or would the latter have undertaken the task, if he had not thought that even the earliest instruction is best given by the most perfect teacher and has real

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24 credidisset? Fingamus igitur Alexandrum dari nobis impositum gremio, dignum tanta cura in- fantem (quanquam suus cuique dignus est) : pu- deatne me in ipsis statim elementis etiara brevia docendi monstrare compendia?

Neque enim mihi illud saltern placet, quod fieri in plurimis video, ut litterarum nomina et contextum

25 prius quam formas parvuli discant. Obstat hoc agnitioni earum non intendentibus mox animum ad ipsos ductus, dum antecedentem memoriam se- quuntur. Quae causa est praecipientibus, ut etiam, cum satis adfixisse eas pueris recto illo quo primum scribi solent contextu videntur, retro agant rursus et varia permutatione turbent, donee litteras qui in- stituuntur facie norint non ordine. Quapropter optime sicut hominum pariter et habitus et nomina

26 edocebuntur. Sed quod in litteris obest, in syllabis non nocebit. Non excludo autem, id quod est in- ventum l irritandae ad discendum infantiae gratia eburneas etiam litterarum formas in lusum offerre ; vel si quid aliud, quo magis ilia aetas gaudeat, inveniri potest, quod tractare, intueri, nominare iucundum sit.

27 Cum vero iam ductus sequi coeperit, non inutile erit eas tabellae quam optime insculpi, ut per illos

1 inventum, Hcindorf : notura, MSS. 32

BOOK I. i. 23-27

reference to the whole of education ? Let us assume 24 therefore that Alexander has been confided to our charge and that the infant placed in our lap deserves no less attention than he — though for that matter every man's child deserves equal attention. Would you be ashamed even in teaching him the alphabet to point out some brief rules for his education ?

At any rate I am not satisfied with the course (which I note is usually adopted) of teaching small children the names and order of the letters before their shapes. Such a practice makes them slow 25 to recognise the letters, since they do not pay attention to their actual shape, preferring to be guided by what they have already learned by rote. It is for this reason that teachers, when they think they have sufficiently familiarised their young pupils with the letters written in their usual order, reverse that order or rearrange it in every kind of combination, until they learn to know the letters from their appearance and not from the order in which they occur. It will be best therefore for children to begin by learning their appearance and names just as they do with men. The method, however, to which we have objected in 26 teaching the alphabet, is unobjectionable when applied to syllables. 1 quite approve on the other hand of a practice which has been devised to stimulate children to learn by giving them ivory letters to play with, as I do of anything else that may be discovered to delight the very young, the sight, handling and naming of which is a pleasure.

As soon as the child has begun to know the 27 shapes of the various letters, it will be no bad thing to have them cut as accurately as possible upon a

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QUINTILIAN

velut sulcos ducatur stilus. Nam neque errabit, quemadmodum in ceris (continebitur enim utrinque marginibus neque extra praescriptum egredi poterit) et celerius ac saepius sequendo certa vestigia fir- mabit articulos, neque egebit adiutorio manum suam

28 manu superimposita regentis. Non est aliena res, quae fere ab honestis negligi solet, cura bene ac velociter scribendi. Nam cum sit in studiis prae- cipuum, quoque solo verus ille profectus et altis radicibus nixus paretur, scribere ipsum, tardior stilus cogitationem moratur, rudis et confusus intellectu caret; unde sequitur alter dictandi, quae trans-

29 ferenda sunt, labor. Quare cum semper et ubique turn praecipue in epistolis secretis et familiaribus delectabit ne hoc quidem neglectum reliquisse.

30 Syllabis nullum compendium est; perdiscendae omnes nee, ut fit plerumque, difficillima quaeque earum differenda, ut in nominibus scribendis depre-

31 hendantur. Quin immo ne primae quidem memoriae temere credendum ; repetere et diu inculcare fuerit utilius, et in lectione quoque non properare ad con- tinuandam earn vel accelerandanr, nisi cum inoffensa atque indubitata litterarum inter se coniunctio suppeditare sine ulla cogitandi saltern mora poterit.

34

BOOK I. i. 27-31

board, so that the pen may be guided along the grooves. Thus mistakes such as occur with wax tablets will be rendered impossible ; for the pen will be confined between the edges of the letters and will be prevented from going astray. Further by increasing the frequency and speed with which they follow these fixed outlines we shall give steadi- ness to the fingers, and there will be no need to guide the child's hand with our own. The art of 28 writing well and quickly is not unimportant for our purpose, though it is generally disregarded by persons of quality. Writing is of the utmost importance in the study which we have under consideration and by its means alone can true and deeply rooted proficiency be obtained. But a sluggish pen delays our thoughts, while an unformed and illiterate hand cannot be deciphered, a circumstance which ne- cessitates another wearisome task, namely the dic- tation of what we have written to a copyist. We shall 29 therefore at all times and in all places, and above all when we are writing private letters to our friends, find a gratification in the thought that we have not neglected even this accomplishment.

As regards syllables, no short cut is possible : they 30 must all be learnt, and there is no good in putting off learning the most difficult ; this is the general practice, but the sole result is bad spelling. Further 31 we must beware of placing a blind confidence in a child's memory. It is better to repeat syllables and impress them on the memory and, when he is reading, not to press him to read continuously or with greater speed, unless indeed the clear and obvious sequence of letters can suggest itself without its being necessary for the child to stop to think.

35

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Tune ipsis syllabis verba complecti et his sermonem

32 connectere incipiat. Incredibile est, quantum morae lectioni festinatione adiiciatur. Hinc enim accidit dubitatio, intermissio, repetitio plus quam possunt audentibus, deinde, cum errarunt, etiam iis quae iam

33 sciunt diffidentibus. Certa sit ergo in primis lectio, deinde coniuncta et diu lentior, donee exercitatione

34 contingat emendata velocitas. Nam prospicere in dextrum (quod omnes praecipiunt) et providere, non rationis modo sed usus quoque est ; quoniam se- quentia intuenti priora dicenda sunt, et, quod diffi- cillimum est, dividenda intentio animi, ut aliud voce aliud oculis agatur. Illud non poenitebit curasse, cum scribere nomina puer (quemadmodum moris est) coeperit, ne hanc operam in vocabulis

35 vulgaribus et forte occurrentibus perdat. Protinus enim potest interpretationem linguae secretions, quas Graeci yA.ujcro-as vocant, dum aliud agitur, ediscere et inter prima elementa consequi rem postea proprium tempus desideraturam. Et quoniam circa res adhuc tenues moramur, ii quoque versus, qui ad imitationem scribendi proponentur, non otiosas velim sententias habeant sed honestum ali-

36 quid monentes. Prosequitur haec memoria in senectutem et impressa animo rudi usque ad mores proficiet. Etiam dicta clarorum virorum et electos

36

BOOK I. i. 31-36

The syllables once learnt, let him begin to construct words with them and sentences with the words. You will hardly believe how much reading is delayed 32 by undue haste. If the child attempts more than his powers allow, the inevitable result is hesitation, interruption and repetition, and the mistakes which he makes merely lead him to lose confidence in what he already knows. Reading must therefore first be 33 sure, then connected, while it must be kept slow for a considerable time, until practice brings speed unaccompanied by error. For to look to the right, 34 which is regularly taught, and to look ahead de- pends not so much on precept as on practice ; since it is necessary to keep the eyes on what follows while reading out what precedes, with the result- ing difficulty that the attention of the mind must be divided, the eyes and voice being differently en- gaged. It will be found worth while, when the boy begins to write out words in accordance with the usual practice, to see that he does not waste his labour in writing out common words of everyday occurrence. He can readily learn the explanations 35 or glosses, as the Greeks call them, of the more obscure words by the way and, while he is still en- gaged on the first rudiments, acquire what would otherwise demand special time to be devoted to it. And as we are still discussing minor details, I would urge that the lines, which he is set to copy, should not express thoughts of no significance, but convey some sound moral lesson. He will remember such 36 aphorisms even when he is an old man, and the im- pression made upon his unformed mind will contribute to the formation of his character. He may also be entertained by learning the sayings of famous men

37

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ex poetis maxime (namque eorum cognitio parvis gratior est) locos ediscere inter lusum licet. Nam et maxime necessaria est oratori (sicut suo loco dicam) memoria, et ea praecipue firmatur atque alitur exercitatione, et in his, de quibus mine loquimur, aetatibus, quae nihildum ipsae generare ex se queunt, prope sola est, quae iuvari cura do- 37 centium possit. Non alienum fuerit exigere ab his aetatibus, quo sit absolutius os et expressior sermo, ut nomina quaedam versusque adfectatae difficultatis ex pluribus et asperrime coeuntibus inter se syllabis catenates et velut confragosos quain citatissime volvant ; ^a\ivol Graece vocantur. Res modica dictu, qua tamen omissa multa linguae vitia, nisi primis eximuntur annis, inemendabili in posterum pravitate durantur.

II. Sed nobis iam paulatim adcrescere puer et exire de gremio et discere serio incipiat. Hoc igitur potissimum loco tractanda quaestio est, utiliusne sit domi atque intra privates parietes studentem continere an frequentiae scholarum et velut public-is 2 praeceptoribus tradere. Quod quidem cum iis, a quibus clarissimarum civitatium mores sunt instituti, turn eminentissimis auctoribus video placuisse. Non est tamen dissimulandum, esse nonnullos, qui ab hoc prope publico more privata quadam persuasione dissentiant. Hi duas praecipue rationes sequi vi- dentur : unam, quod moribus magis consulant fu- giendo turbam hominum eius aetatis, quae sit ad

38

BOOK I. i. 36-11. 2

and above all selections from the poets, poetry being more attractive to children. For memory is most ne- cessary to an orator, as I shall point out in its proper place, and there is nothing like practice for strength- ening and developing it. And at the tender age of which we are now speaking, when originality is impossible, memory is almost the only faculty which can be developed by the teacher. It will be worth 37 while, by way of improving the child's pronunciation and distinctness of utterance, to make him rattle off a selection of names and lines of studied difficulty: they should be formed of a number of syllables which go ill together and should be harsh and rugged in sound : the Greeks call them " gags." This sounds a trifling matter, but its omission will result in numerous faults of pronunciation, which, unless removed in early years, will become a perverse and incurable habit and persist through life.

II. But the time has come for the boy to grow up little by little, to leave the nursery and tackle his studies in good earnest. This therefore is the place to discuss the question as to whether it is better to have him educated privately at home or hand him over to some large school and those whom I may call public instructors. The latter course has, I 2 know, won the approval of most eminent authorities and of those who have formed the national character of the most famous states. It would, however, be folly to shut our eyes to the fact that there are some who disagree with this preference for public education owing to a certain prejudice in favour of private tuition. These persons seem to be guided in the main by two principles. In the interests of morality they would avoid the society of a number of human

39

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vitia maxima prona, unde causas turpium factorum saepe extitisse utinam falso iactaretur ; alteram, quod, quisquis futurus est ille praeceptor, liberalius tempora sua impensurus uni videtur, quam si eadem

3 in plures partiatur. Prior causa prorsus gravis. Nam si studiis quidem scholas prodesse, moribus autem nocere constaret, potior mihi ratio vivendi honeste quam vel optima dicendi videretur. Sed mea quidem sententia iuncta ista atque indiscreta sunt. Neque enim esse oratorem nisi bonum virum iudico, et fieri etiamsi potest nolo. De hac re igitur prius.

4 Corrumpi mores in scholis putant ; nam et cor- rumpuntur interim, sed domi quoque, et sunt multa eius rei exempla tarn hercule quam conservatae sanctissime utrobique opinionis. Natura cuiusque totum curaque distat. Da mentem ad peiora fa- cilein, da negligentiam formandi custodiendique in aetate prima pudoris : non minorem flagitiis occa- sionem secreta praebuerint. Nam et potest turpis esse domesticus ille praeceptor, nee tutior inter servos malos quam ingenues parum modestos con-

5 versatio est. At si bona ipsius indoles, si non caeca ac sopita parentum socordia est, et praeceptorem eligere sanctissimum quemque (cuius rei praecipua

40

BOOK I. ii. 2-5

beings at an age that is specially liable to acquire serious faults : I only wish I could deny the truth of the view that such education has often been the cause of the most discreditable actions. Secondly they hold that whoever is to be the boy's teacher, he will devote his time more generously to one pupil than if he has to divide it among several. The first 3 reason certainly deserves serious consideration. If it were proved that schools, while advantageous to study, are prejudicial to morality, I should give my vote for virtuous living in preference to even supreme excellence of speaking. But in my opinion the two are inseparable. I hold that no one can be a true orator unless he is also a good man and, even if he could be, I would not have it so. I will therefore deal with this point first.

It is held that schools corrupt the morals. It is 4 true that this is sometimes the case. But morals may be corrupted at home as well. There are numerous instances of both, as there are also of the preservation of a good reputation under either circumstance. The nature of the individual boy and the care devoted to his education make all the difference. Given a natural bent toward evil or negligence in developing and watching over modest behaviour in early years, privacy will provide equal opportunity for sin. The teacher employed at home may be of bad character, and there is just as much danger in associating with bad slaves as there is with immodest companions of good birth. On the 5 other hand if the natural bent be towards virtue, and parents are not afflicted with a blind and torpid indifference, it is possible to choose a teacher of the highest character (and those who are wise will make

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prudentibus cura est) et disciplinary quae maxima severa fuerit, licet, et nihilominus amicum gravem virum aut fidelem libertum lateri filii sui adiungere, cuius assiduus comitatus etiam illos meliores faciat, qui timebantur.

6 Facile erat huius metus remedium. Utinam liberorum nostrorum mores non ipsi perderemus. Infantiam statim deliciis solvimus. Mollis ilia educatio, quam indulgentiam vocamus, nervos omnes mentis et corporis frangit. Quid non adultus con- cupiscet, qui in purpuris repit? Nondum prima verba exprimit, iam coccum intelligit, iam con- chylium poscit Ante palatum eorum quam os

7 instituimus. In lecticis crescunt ; si terram at- tigerint, e manibus utrinque sustinentium pendent. Gaudemus, si quid licentius dixerint: verba ne Alexandrinis quidem permittenda deliciis risu et osculo excipimus. Nee mirum : nos docuimus, ex

8 nobis audiunt. Nostras arnicas, nostros concubinos vident, omne convivium obscenis canticis strepit, pudenda dictu spectantur. Fit ex his consuetudo, inde natura. Discunt haec miseri, antequam sciant vitia esse ; inde soluti ac fluentes non accipiunt ex scholis mala ista sed in scholas adferunt.

9 Verum in studiis magis vacabit unus uni. Ante omnia nihil prohibet esse ilium nescio quern unum

42

BOOK I. ii. 5-9

this their first object), to adopt a method of edu- cation of the strictest kind and at the same time to attach some respectable man or faithful freed man to their son as his friend and guardian, that his un- failing companionship may improve the character even of those who gave rise to apprehension.

Yet how easy were the remedy for such fears. 6 Would that we did not too often ruin our children's character ourselves ! We spoil them from the cradle. That soft upbringing, which we call kind- ness, saps all the sinews both of mind and body. If the child crawls on purple, what will he not desire when he comes to manhood ? Before he can talk he can distinguish scarlet and cries for the very best brand of purple. We train their palates before we teach their lips to speak. They grow up in litters : 7 if they set foot to earth, they are supported by the hands of attendants on either side. We rejoice if they say something over-free, and words which we should not tolerate from the lips even of an Alexan- drian page are greeted with laughter and a kiss. We have no right to be surprised. It was we that taught them : they hear us use such words, they see 8 our mistresses and minions ; every dinner party is loud with foul songs, and things are presented to their eyes of which we should blush to speak. Hence springs habit, and habit in time becomes second nature. The poor children learn these things before they know them to be wrong. They become luxurious and effeminate, and far from acquiring such vices at schools, introduce them themselves.

I now turn to the objection that one master can 9 give more attention to one pupil. In the first place there is nothing to prevent the principle of " one

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etiam cum eo, qui in scholis eruditur. Sed etiamsi iungi utrumque non posset, lumen tamen illud conventus honestissimi tenebris ac solitudini praetu- lissem. Nam optimus quisque praeceptor frequentia

10 gaudet ac maiore se theatre dignum putat. At fere minores ex conscientia suae infirmitatis haerere singulis et officio fungi quodammodo paedagogorum non indignantur.

11 Sed praestat alicui vel gratia vel pecunia vel amicitia, ut doctissimum atque incomparabilem magistrum domi habeat : num tamen ille totum in uno diem consumpturus est? aut potest esse ulla tarn perpetua discentis intentio, quae non ut visus oculorum obtutu continuo fatigetur ? cum praesertim multo plus secreti temporis studia

12 desiderent. Neque enim scribenti, ediscenti, cogi- tanti praeceptor adsistit, quorum aliquid agenti- bus cuiuscunque interventus impedimento est. Lectio quoque non omnis nee semper praeeunte vel interpretante eget. Quando enim tot auc- torum notitia contingeret? Modicum ergo tempus est, quo in totum diem velut opus ordinetur, ideoque per plures ire possunt etiam quae singulis

13 tradenda sunt. Pleraque vero hanc condicionem habent, ut eadem voce ad omnes simul perferantur. Taceo de partitionibus et declamationibus rhetorum,

44

BOOK I. 11. 9-13

teacher, one boy " being combined with school education. And even if such a combination should prove impossible, I should still prefer the broad daylight of a respectable school to the solitude and obscurity of a private education. For all the best teachers pride themselves on having a large number of pupils and think themselves worthy of a bigger audience. On the other hand in the case of in- 10 ferior teachers a consciousness of their own defects not seldom reconciles them to being attached to a single pupil and playing the part — for it amounts to little more — of a mere paedagogus,

But let us assume that influence, money or friend- 11 ship succeed in securing a paragon of learning to teach the boy at home. Will he be able to devote the whole day to one pupil ? Or can we demand such continuous attention on the part of the learner ? The mind is as easily tired as the eye, if given no relaxation. Moreover by far the larger proportion of the learner's time ought to be devoted to private study. The teacher does not stand over him while 12 he is writing or thinking or learning by heart. While he is so occupied the intervention of anyone, be he who he may, is a hindrance. Further, not all read- ing requires to be first read aloud or interpreted by a master. If it did, how would the boy ever become acquainted with all the authors required of him ? A small time only is required to give purpose and direction to the day's work, and consequently individual instruction can be given to more than one pupil. There are moreover a large number of 13 subjects in which it is desirable that instruction should be given to all the pupils simultaneously. I say nothing of the analyses and declamations of

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quibus certe quantuscunque numerus adhibeatur,

14 tamen unusquisque tot inn feret. Non enim vox ilia praeceptoris ut cena minus pluribus sufficit, sed ut sol universis idem lucis calorisque largitur. Gram- maticus quoque si de loquendi ratione disserat, si quaestiones explicet, historias exponat, poemata

15 enarret, tot ilia discent quot audient. At enim emendationi praelectionique numerus obstat. Sit incommodum, (nam quid fere undique placet ?) mox illud comparabimus commodis.

Nee ego tamen eo mitti puerum volo, ubi negli- gatur. Sed neque praeceptor bonus maiore se turba, quam ut sustinere earn possit, oneraverit ; et in primis ea habenda cura est, ut is omni modo fiat nobis familiariter amicus, nee officium in docendo spectet

16 sed adfectum. Ita nunquam erimus in turba. Nee sane quisquam litteris saltern leviter imbutus eum, in quo studium ingeniumque perspexerit, non in suam quoque gloriam peculiariter fovebit. Sed ut fugiendae sint magnae scholae (cui ne ipsi quidem rei adsentior, si ad aliquem merito concurritur), non tamen hoc eo valet, ut fugiendae sint ornnino scholae. Aliud est enim vitare eas, aliud eligere.

17 Et si refutavimus quae contra dicuntur, iam

46

BOOK I. n. 13-17

the professors of rhetoric : in such cases there is no limit to the number of the audience, as each in- dividual pupil will in any case receive full value. The voice of a lecturer is not like a dinner which 14 will only suffice for a limited number ; it is like the sun which distributes the same quantity of light and heat to all of us. So too with the teacher of literature. Whether he speak of style or expound disputed passages, explain stories or paraphrase poems, everyone who hears him will profit by his teaching. But, it will be urged, a large class is 15 unsuitable for the correction of faults or for explana- tion. It may be inconvenient : one cannot hope for absolute perfection ; but 1 shall shortly contrast the inconvenience with the obvious advantages.

Still I do not wish a boy to be sent where he will be neglected. But a good teacher will not burden himself with a larger number of pupils than he can manage, and it is further of the very first im- portance that he should be on friendly and intimate terms with us and make his teaching not a duty but a labour of love. Then there will never be any question of being swamped by the number of our fellow-learners. Moreover any teacher who has 16 the least tincture of literary culture will devote special attention to any boy who shows signs of industry and talent; for such a pupil will redound to his own credit. But even if large schools are to be avoided, a proposition from which I must dissent if the size be due to the excellence of the teacher, it does not follow that all schools are to be avoided. It is one thing to avoid them, another to select the best.

Having refuted these objections, let me now 17

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18 explicemus, quid ipsi sequamur. Ante omnia futurus orator, cui in maxima celebritate et in media rei publicae luce vivendum est, adsuescat iam a tenero non reformidare homines neque ilia solitaria et velut umbratica vita pallescere. Excitanda mens et adtollenda semper est, quae in eiusmodi secretis aut languescit et quendam velut in opaco situm ducit, aut contra tumescit inani persuasione ; necesse est enim nimium tribuat sibi, qui se nemini com-

19 parat. Deinde cum proferenda sunt studia, caligat in sole et omnia nova offendit, ut qui solus didicerit

20 quod inter multos faciendum ebt. Mitto amicitias, quae ad senectutem usque firmissime durant religiosa quadam necessitudine imbutae. Neque enim est sanctius sacris iisdem quam studiis initiari. Sensum ipsum, qui communis dicitur, ubi discet, cum se a congressu, qui non hominibus solum sed mutis

21 quoque animalibus naturalis est, segregarit ? Adde quod domi ea sola discere potest, quae ipsi praeci- pientur, in schola etiam quae aliis. Audiet multa cotidie probari, multa corrigi ; proderit alicuius obiurgata desidia, proderit laudata industria, ex-

22 citabitur laude aemulatio, turpe ducet cedere pari,

48

BOOK I. ii. 17-22

explain my own views. It is above all things ne- 18 cessary that our future orator, who will have to live in the utmost publicity and in the broad daylight of public life, should become accustomed from his childhood to move in societv without fear and

•/

habituated to a life far removed from that of the pale student, the solitary and recluse. His mind requires constant stimulus and excitement, whereas retirement such as has just been mentioned induces languor and the mind becomes mildewed like things that are left in the dark, or else flies to the opposite extreme and becomes puffed up with empty conceit ; for he who has no standard of comparison by which to judge his own powers will necessarily rate them too high. Again when the fruits of his study have 19 to be displayed to the public gaze, our recluse is blinded by the sun's glare, and finds everything new and unfamiliar, for though he has learnt what is re- quired to be done in public, his learning is but the theory of a hermit. I say nothing of friendships 20 which endure unbroken to old age having acquired the binding force of a sacred duty : for initiation in the same studies has all the sanctity of initiation in the same mysteries of religion. And where shall he acquire that instinct which we call common feeling, if he secludes himself from that intercourse

c* *

which is natural not merely to mankind but even to dumb animals? Further, at home he can only learn 21 what is taught to himself, while at school he will learn what is taught others as well. He will hear many merits praised and many faults corrected every day : he will derive equal profit from hearing the indolence of a comrade rebuked or his industry commended. Such praise will incite him to emu- 22

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pulchrum superasse maiores. Accendunt oinnia haec animoSj et licet ipsa vitium sit ambitio, frequen-

23 ter tamen causa virtutum est. Non inutilem scio servatum esse a praeceptoribus meis morem, qui, cum pueros in classes distribuerant, ordinem dicendi secundum vires ingenii dabant ; et ita superiore loco quisque declamabat, ut praecedere profectu videbatur.

24 Huius rei iudicia praebebantur ; ea nobis ingens palma, ducere vero classem multo pulcherrimum. Nee de hoc semel decretum erat ; tricesimus dies reddebat victo certaminis potestatem. Ita nee superior successu curam remittebat et dolor victum

25 ad depellendam ignominiam concitabat. Id nobis acriores ad studia dicendi faces subdidisse quara ex- hortationem docentium, paedagogoram custodiam,, vota parentunij quantum animi mei coniectura colli-

26 gere possum, contenderim. Sed sicut firmiores in lit- teris profectus alit aemulatio, ita incipientibus atque adhuc teneris condiscipulorum quam praeceptoris iucundior hoc ipso quod facilior imitatio est. Vix enim se prima elementa ad spem tollere effingendae, quam summam putant, eloquentiae audebunt ; prox- ima amplectentur magis, ut vites arboribus applicitae inferiores prius apprehendendo ramos in cacumina

50

BOOK I. i 22-26

lation, he will think it a disgrace to be outdone by his contemporaries and a distinction to surpass his seniors. All such incentives provide a valuable stimulus, and though ambition may be a fault in itself, it is often the mother of virtues. I remember 23 that my own masters had a practice which was not without advantages. Having distributed the boys in classes, they made the order in which they were to speak depend on their ability, so that the boy who had made most progress in his studies had the privilege of declaiming first. The performances 24 on these occasions wrere criticised. To win com- mendation was a tremendous honour, but the prize most eagerly coveted was to be the leader of the class. Such a position was not permanent. Once a month the defeated competitors were given a fresh opportunity of competing for the prize. Conse- quently success did not lead the victor to relax his efforts, while the vexation caused by defeat served as an incentive to wipe out the disgrace. I will 25 venture to assert that to the best of my memory this practice did more to kindle our oratorical am- bitions than all the exhortations of our instructors, the watchfulness of our paedagogi and the prayers of our parents. Further while emulation promotes 26 progress in the more advanced pupils, beginners who are still of tender years derive greater pleasure from imitating their comrades than their masters, just because it is easier. For children still in the ele- mentary stages of education can scarce dare hope to reach that complete eloquence which they under- stand to be their o;oal : their ambition will not soar

O

so high, but they will imitate the vine which has to grasp the lower branches of the tree on which it is

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27 evadunt. Quod acleo verum est, ut ipsius etiam magistri, si tamen anibitiosis utilia praeferet, hoc opus sit, cum adliuc rudia tractabit ingenia, non statim onerare infirmitatem discentium, sed tem- perare vires suas et ad intellectum audientis

28 descendere. Nam ut vascula oris angusti super- fusam humoris copiam respuunt, sensim autem influentibus vel etiam instillatis complentur, sic animi puerorum quantum excipere possint videndum est. Nam maiora intellectu velut parum apertos

29 ad percipiendum animos non subibunt. Utile igitur habere, quos imitari primum, mox vincere velis. Ita paulatim et superiorum spes erit. His adiicio, prae- ceptores ipsos non idem mentis ac spiritus in di- cendo posse concipere singulis tantum praesentibus quod ilia celebritate audientium instinctos.

30 Maxima enim pars eloquentiae constat anirno. Hunc adfici, hunc concipere imagines rerum et trans- formari quodammodo ad naturam eorum, de quibus loquimur, necesse est. Is porro, quo generosior celsiorque est, hoc maioribus velut organis com- movetur ; ideoque et laude crescit et impetu augetur

31 et aliquid magnum agere gaudet. Est quaedam tacita dedignatio, vim dicendi tantis comparatam

52

BOOK I. ii. 26-31

trained before it can reach the topmost boughs. So 27 true is this that it is the master's duty as well, if he is engaged on the task of training unformed minds and prefers practical utility to a more ambitious programme, not to burden his pupils at once with tasks to which their strength is unequal, but to curb his energies and refrain from talking over the heads of his audience. Vessels with narrow mouths will 28 not receive liquids if too much be poured into them at a time, but are easily filled if the liquid is ad- mitted in a gentle stream or, it may be, drop by drop ; similarly you must consider how much a child's mind is capable of receiving : the things which are beyond their grasp will not enter their minds, which have not opened out sufficiently to take them in. It is a good thing therefore that a 29 boy should have companions whom he will desire first to imitate and then to surpass : thus he will be led to aspire to higher achievement. I would add that the instructors themselves cannot develop the same intelligence and energy before a single listener as they can when inspired by the presence of a numerous audience.

For eloquence depends in the main on the state 30 of the mind, which must be moved, conceive images and adapt itself to suit the nature of the subject which is the theme of speech. Further the loftier and the more elevated the mind, the more powerful will be the forces which move it : consequently praise gives it growth and effort increase, and the thought that it is doing something great fills it with joy. The duty of stooping to expend that power of 31 speaking which has been acquired at the cost of such effort upon an audience of one gives rise to a silent

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laboribus ad unum auditorem demittere : pudet supra modum sermonis attolli. Et sane concipita quis mente vel declamantis habitum vel orantis vocem, incessum, proimntiationem, ilium denique animi et corporis motum, sudorem, ut alia prae- teream, et fatigationem, audiente uno : nonne quiddam pati furori simile videatur ? Non esset in rebus humanis eloquentia, si tanturn cum singulis loqueremur.

III. Tradito sibi puero docendi peritus ingenium eius in primis naturamque perspiciet. Ingenii signum in parvis praecipuum memoria est. Eius duplex virtus, facile percipere et fideliter continere. Proxi- mum imitatio ; nam id quoque est docilis naturae, sic tamen, ut ea quae discit effingat, non habitum forte et ingressum et si quid in peius notabile est.

2 Non dabit mi hi spem bonae indolis, qui hoc imi- tandi studio petet, ut rideatur. Nam probus quoque in primis erit ille vere ingeniosus ; alioqui non peius duxerim tardi esse ingenii quam mali. Probus autem ab illo segni et iacente plurimum aberit.

3 Hie meus quae tradentur non difficulter accipiet, quaedam etiam interrogabit, sequetur tamen magis quam praecurret. Illud ingeniorum velut praecox genus non temere unquam pervenit ad frugem.

4 Hi sunt, qui parva facile faciunt et audacia provecti,

54

BOOK I. ii. 31-111. 4

feeling of disdain, and the teacher is ashamed to raise his voice above the ordinary conversational level. Imagine the air of a declaimer, or the voice of an orator, his gait, his delivery, the movements of his body, the emotions of his mind, and, to go no further, the fatigue of his exertions, all for the sake of one listener ! Would he not seem little less than a lunatic? No, there would be no such thing as eloquence, if we spoke only with one person at a time.

III. The skilful teacher will make it his first care, as soon as a boy is entrusted to him, to ascertain his ability and character. The surest indication in a child is his power of memory. The character- istics of a good memory are twofold : it must be quick to take in and faithful to retain impressions of what it receives. The indication of next im- portance is the power of imitation : for this is a sign that the child is teachable : but he must imitate

o

merely what he is taught, and must not, for example, mimic someone's gait or bearing or de- fects. For I have no hope that a child will turn out well who loves imitation merely for the purpose of raising a laugh. He who is really gifted will also above all else be good. For the rest, I regard slowness of intellect as preferable to actual bad- ness. But a good boy will be quite unlike the dullard and the sloth. My ideal pupil will absorb instruction with ease and will even ask some questions ; but he will follow rather than anticipate his teacher. Precocious intellects rarely produce sound fruit. By the precocious I mean those who perform small tasks with ease and, thus emboldened, proceed to display all their little accomplishments

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quidquid illud possunt, statim ostendunt. Possunt autem id demum, quod in proximo est ; verba continuant, haec vultu interrito, nulla tardati verecundia proferunt. Non multum praestant sed

5 cito. Non subest vera vis nee penitus immissis radicibus nititur ; ut, quae summo solo sparsa sunt semina, celerius se effundunt, et imitatae spicas herbulae inanibus aristis ante messem flavescunt. Placent haec annis comparata ; deinde stat pro- fectus, admiratio decrescit.

6 Haec cum animadverterit, perspiciat deinceps, quonam modo tractaridus sit discentis animus. Sunt quidam, nisi institeris, remissi, quidam imperia in- dignantur, quosdam continet metus, quosdam de- bilitat, alios continuatio extundit, in aliis plus im-

7 petus facit. Mihi ille detur puer, quern laus excitet, quern gloria iuvet, qui victus fleat. Hie erit alendus ambitu, hunc mordebit obiurgatio, hunc honor excitabit, in hoc desidiam nunquam verebor.

8 Danda est tamen omnibus aliqua remissio ; non solum quia nulla res est, quae perferre possit con- tinuum laborem, atque ea quoque, quae sensu et anima carent, ut servare vim suam possint, velut quiete alterna retenduntur ; sed quod studium dis-

9 cendi voluntate, quae cogi non potest, constat. Itaque

56

BOOK I. in. 4-9

without being asked : but their accomplishments are only of the most obvious kind : they string words to- gether and trot them out boldly and undeterred by the slightest sense of modesty. Their actual achieve- ment is small, but what they can do they perform with ease. They have no real power and what they have 5 is but of shallow growth : it is as when we cast seed on the surface of the soil : it springs up too rapidly, the blade apes the loaded ear, and yellows ere harvest time, but bears no grain. Such tricks please us when we contrast them with the per- former's age, but progress soon stops and our ad- miration withers away.

Such indications once noted, the teacher must next 6 consider what treatment is to be applied to the mind of his pupil. There are some boys who are slack, unless pressed on ; others again are impatient of control : some are amenable to fear, while others are paralysed by it : in some cases the mind requires continued application to form it, in others this result is best obtained by rapid concentration. Give me the boy who is spurred on by praise, delighted by success and ready to weep over failure. Such an 7 one must be encouraged by appeals to his ambition ; rebuke will bite him to the quick ; honour will be a spur, and there is no fear of his proving indolent.

Still, all our pupils will require some relaxation, 8 not merely because there is nothing in this world that can stand continued strain and even unthinking and inanimate objects are unable to maintain their strength, unless given intervals of rest, but because study depends on the good will of the student, a quality that cannot be secured by compulsion. Consequently if restored and refreshed by a holiday 9

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et virium plus adferunt ad discendum renovati ac recentes et acriorem animum, qui fere necessitatibus

10 repugnat. Nee me offenderit lusus in pueris ; est et hoc signum alacritatis ; neque ilium tristem semperque demissum sperare possim erectae circa studia mentis fore, cum in hoc quoque maxime

1 1 naturali aetatibus illis impetu iaceat. Modus tamen sit remissionibus, ne aut odium studiorum faciant negatae aut otii consuetudinem nimiae. Sunt etiam nonnulli acuendis puerorum ingeniis non inutiles lusus,, cum positis invicem cuiusque generis

12 quaestiunculis aemulantur. Mores quoque se inter ludendum simplicius detegunt ; modo nulla videatur aetas tarn infirma, quae non protinus quid rectum pravumque sit discat, turn vel maxime formanda, cum simulandi nescia est et praecipientibus facillime cedit. Frangas enim citius quam corrigas, quae in

13 pravum induruerunt. Protinus ergo, ne quid cupide, ne quid improbe, ne quid impotenter faciat, mo- nendus est puer ; habendumque in animo semper illud Vergilianum :

Adeo in teneris consuescere multum est.

Caedi vero discentes, quamlibet et receptum sit et Chrysippus non improbet, minime velim. Primum,

14 quia deforme atque servile est et certe, (quod con-

BOOK I. in. 9-14

they will bring greater energy to their learning and approach their work with greater spirit of a kind that will not submit to be driven. 1 approve of play 10 in the young ; it is a sign of a lively disposition ; nor will you ever lead me to believe that a boy who is gloomy and in a continual state of depression is ever likely to show alertness of mind in his work, lacking as he does the impulse most natural to boys of his age. Such relaxation must not however be un- 1 1 limited : otherwise the refusal to give a holiday will make boys hate their work, while excessive indul- gence will accustom them to idleness. There are moreover certain games which have an educational value for boys, as for instance when they compete in posing each other with all kinds of questions which they ask turn and turn about. Games 12 too reveal character in the most natural way, at least that is so if the teacher will bear in mind that there is no child so young as to be unable to learn to distinguish between right and wrong, and that the character is best moulded, when it is still guiltless of deceit and most susceptible to instruc- tion : for once a bad habit has become engrained, it is easier to break than bend. There must be no 13 delay, then, in warning a boy that his actions must be unselfish, honest, self-controlled, and we must never forget the words of Virgil,

" So strong is custom formed in early years." 1

1 disapprove of flogging, although it is the regular custom and meets with the acquiescence of Chry- sippus, because in the first place it is a disgraceful form of punishment and fit only for slaves, and is in 14

1 Georg. ii. 272.

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venitj si aetatem mutes), iniuria est ; deinde, quod, si cui tarn est mens illiberalis, ut obiurgatione non corrigatur, is etiam ad plagas ut pessima quaeque mancipia durabitur : postremo, quod ne opus erit quidem hac castigatione, si assiduus studiorum

15 exactor astiterit. Nunc fere negligentia paeda- gogorum sic emendari videtur, ut pueri non facere, quae recta sunt, cogantur sed cur non fecerint puniantur. Denique cum parvulum verberibus coegeris, quid iuveni facias, cui nee adhiberi potest

16 hie metus et maiora discenda sunt ? Adde, quod multa vapulantibus dictu deformia et mox vere- cundiae futura saepe dolore vel metu acciderunt, qui pudor frangit animum et abiicit atque ipsius

17 lucis fugam et taedium dictat. lam si minor in eligendis custodum vel praeceptorum moribus fuit cura, pudet dicere, in quae probra nefandi homines isto caedendi Jure abutantur, quam det aliis quoque nonnunquam occasionem hie miserorum metus. Non morabor in parte hac ; nimium est quod intelligitur. Quare hoc dixisse satis est ; in aetatem infirmam et iniuriae obnoxiam nemini debet nimium licere.

18 Nunc quibus instituendus sit artibus, qui sic forma- bitur, ut fieri possit orator, et quae in quaque aetate inchoanda, dicere ingrediar.

IV. Primus in eo, qui scribendi legendique

60

BOOK I. in. i4-iv. i

any case an insult, as you will realise if you imagine its infliction at a later age. Secondly if a boy is so insensible to instruction that reproof is useless, he will, like the worst type of slave, merely become hardened to blows. Finally there will be absolutely no need of such punishment if the master is a thorough disciplinarian. As it is, we try to make amends for If> the negligence of the boy's paedagogus, not by forcing him to do what is right, but by punishing him for not doing what is right. And though you may compel a child with blows, what are you to do with him when he is a young man no longer amenable to such threats and confronted with tasks of far greater difficulty? Moreover when children iG are beaten, pain or fear frequently have results of which it is not pleasant to speak and which are likely subsequently to be a source of shame, a shame which unnerves and depresses the mind and leads the child to shun and loathe the light. Further if in- 17 adequate care is taken in the choices of respectable governors and instructors, I blush to mention the shameful abuse which scoundrels sometimes make of their right to administer corporal punishment or the opportunity not infrequently offered to others by the fear thus caused in the victims. I will not linger on this subject ; it is more than enough if I have made my meaning clear. I will content myself with saying that children are helpless and easily victimised, and that therefore no one should be given unlimited power over them. I will now proceed to 18 describe the subjects in which the boy must be trained, if he is to become an orator, and to indicate the age at which each should be commenced.

IV. As soon as the boy has learned to read and

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adeptus erit facultatem, grammatici est locus. Nee refert, de Graeco an de Latino loquar, quanquam

2 Graecum esse priorem placet. Utrique eadem via est. Haec igitur professio, cum brevissime in duas partes dividatur, recte loquendi scientiam et poe- tarum enarrationem, plus habet in recessu quam

3 fronte promittit. Nam et scribendi ratio con- iuncta cum loquendo est, et enarrationem praecedit emendata lectio, et mixtum his omnibus iudicium est ; quo quidem ita severe sunt usi veteres gram- matici, ut non versus modo censoria quadam virgula notare et libros, qui falso viderentur inscripti, tan- quam subditos summovere familia permiserint sibi, sed auctores alios in ordinem redegerint, alios

4 omnino exemerint numero. Nee poetas legisse satis est : excutiendum omne scriptorum genus non propter historias modo sed verba, quae fre- quenter ius ab auctoribus sumunt. Turn neque citra musicen grammatice potest esse perfecta, cum ei de metris rhythmisque dicendum sit, nee, si rationem siderum ignoret, poetas intelligat, qui (ut alia omittam) totiens ortu occasuque signorum in declarandis temporibus utantur ; nee ignara philo- sophiae, cum propter plurimos in omnibus fere carminibus locos ex intima naturalium quaestionum subtilitate repetitos, turn vel propter Empedoclea in Graecis, Varronem ac Lucretium in Latinis, qui

1 grammaticus is the teacher of literature and languages ; at times it is necessary to restrict its meaning to "grammar."

62

BOOK I. iv. 1-4

write without difficulty, it is the turn for the teacher1 of literature. My words apply equally to Greek and Latin masters, though I prefer that a start should be made with a Greek : in either case the method 2 is the same. This profession may be most briefly considered under two heads, the art of speaking correctly and the interpretation of the poets ; but there is more beneath the surface than meets the eye. For the art of writing is combined with that of 3 speaking, and correct reading precedes interpre- tation, while in each of these cases criticism has its work to perform. The old school of teachers indeed carried their criticism so far that they were not content with obelising lines or rejecting books whose titles they regarded as spurious, as though they were expelling a supposititious child from the family circle, but also drew up a canon of authors, from which some were omitted altogether. Nor is it 4 sufficient to have read the poets only ; every kind of writer must be carefully studied, not merely for the subject matter, but for the vocabulary ; for words often acquire authority from their use by a particular author. Nor can such training be regarded as com- plete if it stop short of music, for the teacher of literature has to speak of metre and rhythm : nor again if he be ignorant of astronomy, can he under- stand the poets ; for they, to mention no further points, frequently give their indications of time by reference to the rising and setting of the stars. Ignorance of

o o o

philosophy is an equal drawback, since there are numerous passages in almost every poem based on the most intricate questions of natural philosophy, while among the Greeks we have Empedocles and among our own poets Varro and Lucretius, all of

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5 praecepta sapientiae versibus tradiderunt. Elo- quentia quoque non mediocri est opus, ut de una- quaque earum, quas demonstravimus, rerum dicat proprie et copiose. Quo minus sunt ferendi, qui hanc artern ut tenuem atque ieiunam cavillantur, quae nisi oratoris futuri fundamenta fideliter iecit, quidquid superstruxeris, corruet ; iiecessaria pueris, iucunda senibus, dulcis secretorum comes et quae vel sola in omni studiorum genere plus habeat operis quam ostentationis.

6 Ne quis igitur tanquam parva fastidiat gramma- tices elementa, non quia magnae sit operae con- sonantes a vocalibus discernere ipsasque eas in semivocalium numerum mutarumque partiri, sed quia interiora velut sacri huius adeuntibus apparebit multa rerum subtilitas, quae non modo acuere in- genia puerilia sed exercere altissimam quoque

7 eruditicnem ac scientiam possit. An cuiuslibet auris est exigere litterarum sonos? non hercule magis quam nervorum. At grammatici saltern omnes in hanc descendent rerum tenuitatem, desintne aliquae nobis necessariae litterarum, non cum Graeca scribimus (turn enim ab iisdem duas

8 mutuamur) sed propriae, in Latinis, ut in his seruus et uulgus Aeolicum digammon desideratur, et

1 Y and Z. 64

BOOK I. iv 4-8

whom have expounded their philosophies in verse. No small powers of eloquence also are required to 5 enable the teacher to speak appropriately and fluently on the various points which have just been mentioned. For this reason those who criticise the art of teaching literature as trivial and lacking in substance put themselves out of court. Unless the foundations of oratory are well and truly laid by the teaching of literature, the superstructure will collapse. The study of literature is a necessity for boys and the delight of old age, the sweet com- panion of our privacy and the sole branch of study which has more solid substance than display.

The elementary stages of the teaching of litera- 6 ture must not therefore be despised as trivial. It is of course an easy task to point out the difference between vowels and consonants, and to subdivide the latter into semivowels and mutes. But as the pupil gradually approaches the inner shrine of the sacred place, he will come to realise the intricacy of the sub- ject, an intricacy calculated not merely to sharpen the wits of a boy, but to exercise even the most profound knowledge and erudition. It is not every ear that 7 can appreciate the correct sound of the different letters. It is fully as hard as to distinguish the different notes in music. But all teachers of litera- ture will condescend to such minutiae : they will discuss for instance whether certain necessary letters are absent from the alphabet, not indeed when we are writing Greek words (for then we borrow two letters l from them), but in the case of genuine Latin words : for example in words such as 8 seruus and uidgus we feel the lack of the Aeolic digamma ; there is also a sound intermediate between

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medius est quidam V et I litterae sonus ; non enim sic optimum dicimus ut opimum, et in here neque E 9 plane neque I auditur ; an rursus aliae redundent, praeter notam aspirationis, (quae si necessaria est, etiam contrariam sibi poscit) ut K, quae et ipsa quoruiidam nominum nota est, et Q, cuius similis effectu specieque, nisi quod paulum a nostris obli- quatur, Coppa apud Graecos nunc tantum in numero manet, et nostrarum ultima, qua tarn carere po-

10 tuimus quam <// non quaerimus ? Atque etiam in ipsis vocalibus grammatici est videre, an aliquas pro consonantibus usus acceperit, quia iam sicut etiam scribitur et uos ut tuos.1 At quae ut vocales iun- guntur aut unam longam faciunt, ut veteres scrip- serunt qui geminatione earum velut apice utebantur, autduas; nisi quis putat etiam ex tribus vocalibus syllabam fieri, si non aliquae officio consonantium

11 fungantur. Quaeret hoc etiam, quomodo duabus demum vocalibus in se ipsas coeundi natura sit, cum consonantium nulla nisi alteram f ran gat. Atqui littera I sibi insidit, coniicit enim est ab illo tacit, et VT, quomodo nunc scribitur uulgus et scruus. Sciat etiam Ciceroni placuisse aiio Maiiamque geminata I scribere ; quod si est, etiam iungetur ut consonans.

1 etiam . . . uos . . . tuos, Ritschl : tarn . . . quos . . . cos, MSS.

1 K — Kaeso, Kalendae/Kartliago, Kaput, Kalumnia, etc. The <?-sound cau be expressed by c. Koppa (^) as a numeral ^90.

66

BOOK I. iv. 8-u

u and i} for we do not pronounce optimum as we do opi- mum, while in here the sound is neither exactly e or i. Again there is the question whether certain letters 9 are not superfluous, not to mention the mark of the aspirate, to which, if it is required at all, there should be a corresponding symbol to indicate the opposite : for instance /-, which is also used as an abbreviation for certain nouns, and q, which, though slanted slightly more by us, resembles both in sound and shape the Greek koppa, now used by the Greeks solely as a numerical sign 1 : there is also x, the last letter of our own alphabet, which we could dispense with as easily as with psi. Again the teacher of 10 literature will have to determine whether certain vowels have not been consonantalised. For instance iam and etiam are both spelt with an i, uos and tuos both with a u. Vowels, however, when joined as vowels, either make one long vowel (compare the obsolete method of indicating a long vowel by doubling it as the equivalent of the circumflex), or a diphthong, though some hold that even three vowels can form a single syllable ; this however is only possible if one or more assume the role of consonants. He will also inquire why it is that 11 there are two vowels which may be repeated, while a consonant can only be followed and modified by a different consonant.2 But z can follow i (for coniicit is derived from tacit 3) : so too does u, wit- ness the modern spelling of seruus and uulgus. He should also know that Cicero preferred to write aiio and Maiiam with a double z ; in that case one

2 The two vowels are i and u. A consonant cannot be duplicated within one syllable.

3 The derivation is mentioned to show that two z's, not one, are found in the second syllable of coniicit.

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QUINTILIAN

12 Quare discat puer, quid in litteris proprium, quid commune, quae cum quibus cognatio ; nee miretur, cur ex scamno fiat scabillum aut a pinno (quod est acutum) securis utrinque habens aciem bipennis ; ne illorum sequatur errorem, qui, quia a pennis duabus hoc esse nomen existimant, pennas avium dici volunt.

13 Neque has modo noverit mutationes, quas ad- ferunt declinatio aut praepositio, ut secat secuif, cadit excidit, caedit excidit, calcal exculcat (et fit a lavando lotus et inde rursus inlotus et mille talia), sed quae rectis quoque casibus aetate transierunt. Nam ut Valesii Fusil in Valerias Fu?*iosque venerunt : ita arbos, labos, vapos etiam et clamos ac loses fuerunt.

14 Atque haec ipsa S littera ab his nominibus exclusa in quibusdam ipsa alteri successit, nam mertare atque pultare dicebant, quin fordeum faedosque pro as- piratione F velut simili littera utentes ; nam contra Graeci aspirare F ut <£ solent, ut pro Fundanio Cicero testem, qui primam eius litteram dicere non

15 possit, irridet. Sed B quoque in locum aliarum dedimus aliquando, unde Burrus et Bruges et Belena. Nee non eadem fecit ex duello bellum, unde Duelios

16 quidam dicere Belios ausi. Quid stlocum stlitesque ? Quid T litterae cum D quaedam cognatio ? Quare

1 i.e. of lar<s. a For mersare and pulsare. * i.e. Pyrrus, Phryges, Helena.

68

BOOK I. iv. 12-16

of them is consonantalised. A boy therefore must 12 learn both the peculiarities and the common charac- teristics of letters and must know how they are related to each other. Nor must he be surprised that scabillum is formed from scamnus or that a double-edged axe should be called bipen?iis from pinrius, " sharp" : for I would not have him fall into the same error as those who, supposing this word to be derived from bis and pennae, think that it is a metaphor from the wings of birds.

He must not be content with knowing only those 13 changes introduced by conjugation and prefixes, such as secat secuit, cadit excldit, caedit excidit, calcat exculcat, to which might be added lotus from lauare and again inlotus with a thousand others. He must learn as well the changes that time has brought about even in nominatives. For just as names like Valesius and Fusius have become Valerius and Furius, so arbos, labos, vapos and even clamos and lases l were the original forms. And this same letter s, 14 which has disappeared from these words, has itself in some cases taken the place of another letter. For our ancestors used to say mertare and puttare.* They also said fordeum and faedi, using f instead of the aspirate as being a kindred letter. For the Greeks unlike us aspirate f like their own phi, as Cicero bears witness in the pro Fundanio, where he laughs at a witness who is unable to pronounce the first letter of that name. In some cases again we have substi- 15 tuted b for other letters, as with Burrus, Bruges, and Belena.3 The same letter too has turned duellum into helium, and as a result some have ventured to call the Duelii Belli. What of stlocus and stliies* 16 What of the connexion between t and d, a connexion

69

QUINTILIAN

minus mirum, si in vetustis operibus urbis nostrae et celebribus tempi is legantur Alexanter et Cassanlra. Quid O atque V permutatae invicem, ut Hccoba et notrix, Culcides et Pulixena scriberentur, ac, ne in Graecis id tantum notetur, dederont ac probaveront ? Sic 'OSuoxreu's, quern 'YAuoWo. fecerant Aeolis, ad

17 Ulixen deductus est. Quid? non E quoque I loco fuit? Menerva et lebcr et magesler et Diove Victore non Diovi Victori ? Sed mihi locum signare satis est, non enim doceo, sed admoneo docturos. Inde in syllabas cura transibit, de quibus in orthographia pauca adnotabo.

Turn videbit, ad quern hoc pertinet, quot et quae partes orationis ; quanquam de numero parum

18 convenit. Veteres enim, quorum fuerunt Aristoteles quoque atque Theodectes, verba niodo et nomina et convinctiones tradiderunt ; videlicet quod in verbis vim sermonis, in nominibus materiam (quia alterum est quod loquimur, alterum de quo loquimur), in convinctionibus autem complexus eorum esse iudi- caverunt : quas coniunctiones a plerisque dici scio,, sed haec videtur ex 0wSeV/xa> magis propria trans-

19 latio. Paulatim a philosophis ac maxime Stoicis auctus est numerus, ac primum convinctionibus articuli adiecti, post praepositiones, nominibus ap-

70

BOOK I. iv. 16-19

which makes it less surprising that on some of the older buildings of Rome and certain famous temples \ve should find the names Alexanier and Cassantra ? What again of the interchange of o and u, of which examples may be found in Hecoba, notrix, Culcides and Pulixena, or to take purely Latin words dederont and probaueront ? So too Odysseus, which the Aeolian dialect turned into Ulysseus, has been transformed by us into Ulixes. Similarly e in 17 certain cases held the place that is now occupied by i, as in Menerua, leber, magester, and Dioue victore in place of Dioui viclori. It is sufficient for me to give a mere indication as regards these points, for I am not teaching, but merely advising those who have got to teach. The next subject to which atten- tion must be given is that of syllables, of which I will speak briefly, when I come to deal with orthography. Following this the teacher concerned will note the number and nature of the parts of speech, although there is some dispute as to their number. Earlier writers, among them Aristotle himself and 18 Theodectes, hold that there are but three, verbs, nouns and convinctions. Their view was that the force of language resided in the verbs, and the matter in the nouns (for the one is what we speak, the other that which we speak about), while the duty of the convinctions was to provide a link between the nouns and the verbs. I know that conjunction is the term in general use. But convinclion seems to me to be the more accurate translation of the Greek o-wSecr/xoV Gradually the number was 19 increased by the philosophers, more especially by the Stoics : articles were first added to the convinc- tions, then prepositions : to nouns appellations were

QUINTILIAN

pellatio, deinde pronomen, deinde mixtum verbo participium, ipsis verbis adverbia. Xoster sermo articulos non desiderat, ideoque in alias partes

20 orationis sparguntur. Sed accedit superioribus inter- iectio. Alii tamen ex idoneis dumtaxat auctoribus octo partes secuti stint ut Aristarchus et aetate nostra Palaemon, qui vocabulum sive appellationem nomini subiecerunt tanquam speciem eius. At ii, qui aliud nomen aliud vocabulum faciunt, novem. Nihilominus fuerunt, qui ipsum adhuc vocabulum ab appellatione deducerent,, ut esset vocabulum corpus visu tactuque manifestum^ damns, lectus, appellatio, cui vel alterum deesset vel utrumque, ventus, caelum, deus, virtus. Adiiciebant et assevera- tionem ut eheu, et tractationem ut fascialim ; quae

21 mihi non approbantur. \'ocabulum an appellatio dicenda sit —poa-qyopia. et subiicienda nomini necne, quia parvi refert, liberum opinaturis relinquo.

22 Nomina declinare et verba in primis pueri sciant, neque enim aliter pervenire ad intellectum sequen- tium possunt ; quod etiam monere supervacuum eratj nisi ambitiosa festinatione plerique a posteri- oribus inciperent et, dum ostentare discipulos circa

] Generally interpreted collective : but see Colson, Class. Quart, x. 1, p. 17 ; fa-sciatim = in bundles (from fastis).

72

BOOK I. iv. 19-22

added, then the pronoun and finally the participle, which holds a middle position between the verb and the noun. To the verb itself was added the adverb. Our own language dispenses with the articles, which are therefore distributed among the

' O

other parts of speech. But interjections must be 20 added to those already mentioned. Others how- ever follow good authority in asserting that there are eight parts of speech. Among these I may mention Aristarchus and in our own day Palaemon, who classified the vocable or appellation as a species of the genus noun. Those on the other hand who distinguish between the noun and the vocable, make nine parts of speech. But yet again there are some who differentiate between the vocable and the appellation, saying that the vocable indicates concrete objects which can be seen and touched, such as a " house " or " bed," while an appellation is something imperceptible either to sight or touch or to both, such as the "wind/' "heaven," or "virtue." They added also the asseveration, such as "alas' and the derivative1 such asfasdatim. But of these classifica- tions I do not approve. Whether we should trans- 21 late -rrpocrriyopia. by vocable or appellation, and whether it should be regarded as a species of noun, I leave to the decision of such as desire to express their opinion : it is a matter of no importance.

Bovs should begin bv learning to decline nouns 22

* J O

and conjugate verbs : otherwise they will never be able to understand the next subject of study. This admonition would be superfluous but for the fact that most teachers, misled by a desire to show rapid progress, begin with what should really come at the end: their passion for displaying their pupils' talents

73

QUINTILIAN

23 speciosiora malunt, compendio morarentur. Atqui si quis et didicerit satis et (quod non minus deesse interim solet) voluerit docere quae didicit, non erit contentus traders in nominibus tria genera et quae

24 sunt duobus omnibusve communia. Nee statim diligeiitem putabo, qui promiscua, quae t-rriKoiva. dicuntur, ostenderit, in quibus sexus uterque per alterum apparet ; aut quae feminina positione mares aut neutrali feminas significant, qualia sunt Murena

25 et Gly cerium. Scrutabitur ille praeceptor acer atque subtilis origines nominum, quae ex habitu corporis Rufos Longos(\ue. fecerunt ; ubi erit aliud secretius, Sullae, Burn, Galbae, Plauti, Pansae, 8cauri taliaque ; et ex casu nascentium ; hie Agrippa et Opiter et Cordus et Postumus erunt ; et ex iis, quae post natos eveniunt, unde Vopiscus. lam Cotlae, Scipiones,

26 Laenates, Serani sunt ex variis causis. Gentes quo- que ac loca et alia multa reperias inter nominum causas. In servis iam intercidit illud genus, quod ducebatur a domino, unde Marcipores Publiporesque. Quaerat etiam, sitne apud Graecos vis quaedam

1 Sulla = ? spindleshanks (surula). Burrus = red. Galba = caterpillar. Plautua = flat-footed. Pansa = splay-footed. Scaurus = with swollen ankles. Agrippa = born feet fore- most. Opiter = one whose father died while his grandfather still lived. Cordus = late-born. Postumus = last-born, or born after the father's death. Vopiscus = a twin born alive

74

BOOK I. iv. 22-26

in connexion with the more imposing aspects of their work serves but to delay progress and their short cut to knowledge merely lengthens the journey. And yet a teacher who has acquired 23 sufficient knowledge himself and is ready to teach what he has learned — and such readiness is all too rare — will not be content with stating that nouns have three genders or with mentioning those which are common to two or all three together. Nor 24 again shall I be in a hurry to regard it as a proof of real diligence,, if he points out that there are irregu- lar nouns of the kind called epicene by the Greeks, in which one gender implies both, or which in spite of being feminine or neuter in form indicate males or females respectively, as for instance Muraena and Glycerium A really keen and intelligent teacher 25 will inquire into the origin of names derived from physical characteristics, such as Kufns or Longus, whenever their meaning is obscure, as in the case of 8ulla, Burrus, Galba, Plautus, Pansa, Scaurus and the like ; of names derived from accidents of birth such as Agrippa, Opiter, Cordus and Postumus, and again of names given after birth such as Vopiscus. Then there are names such as Cotta, Scipio, Laenas or Seranus,1 which originated in various ways. It will also be found 26

^7 J

that names are frequently derived from races, places and many other causes. Further there are obsolete slave-names such as Marcipor or Publipor* derived from the names of their owners. The teacher must also inquire whether there is not room for a sixth

after the premature birth and death of the other. Scipio = staff. Laenas from laena (cloak). Seranus = the sower. Cotta uncertain.

2 i.e. Marcipuer, Pullipuer.

75

QUINTILIAN

sexti casus et apud nos quoque septimi. Nam cum dico hasta percussi, non utor ablativi natura ; nee, si

27 idem Graece dicam, dativi. Sed in verbis quoque quis est adeo imperitus, ut ignoret genera et qualitates et personas et numeros ? Litterarii paene ista sunt ludi et trivialis scientiae. lam quosdam ilia turbabunt, quae declinationibus non tenentur. Nam et quaedam participia an verba an appellationes sint, dubitari potest, quia aliud alio loco valent, ut

28 lectum et sapiens et quaedam verba appellationibus similia, ut fraudator, nutritor. lam itur in antiquam silvam nonne propriae cuiusdam rationis est? nam quod initium eius invenias ? cui simile fletur. Acci- pimus aliter, ut panditur interea domus ornnipotentis Olympij aliter ut totis usque adeo turbatur agris. Est etiam quidam tertius modus, ut urbs habitatur, unde

29 et campus curritur, mare Jiavigatur. Pransus quoque ac potus diversum valet quam indicat. Quid ? quod multa verba non totum declinationis ordinem ferunt? Quaedam etiam mutantur ut fero in praeterito, quaedam tertiae demum personae figura dicuntur ut

1 lectum maybe ace. of lectus, "bed," or supine or past part. pass, of legere, " to read " ; sapiens may be pres. part, of sapere, " to know," or an adj. = " wise " ; jraudator and nutritor are 2nd and 3rd pers. sing. fut. imper. pass, of fraudo and tnitrio.

2 Aen. vi. 179: "They go into the ancient wood."

76

BOOK I. iv. 26-29

case in Greek and a seventh in Latin. For when I say "wounded by a spear/' the case is not a true ablative in Latin nor a true dative in Greek. Again 27 if we turn to verbs, who is so ill-educated as not to be familiar with their various kinds and qualities, their different persons and numbers. Such sub- jects belong to the elementary school and the rudiments of knowledge. Some, however, will find points undetermined by inflexion somewhat perplexing. For there are certain participles, about which there may be doubts as to whether they are really nouns or verbs, since their meaning varies with their use, as for example lectum and sapiens, while there are other verbs which resemble nouns, 28 such Rsjraifdalor and nutritor.1 Again itur in antiqitam silvam2 is a peculiar usage. For there is no subject to serve as a starting point : fletur is a similar example. The passive may be used in different ways as for instance in

panditur interea domus omnipote?itis Olympi 3 and in

'toils usque adeo turbatur agris.*

Yet a third usage is found in urbs habitatur, whence we get phrases such as campus curritur and mare navi- gatur. Pransus and potus5 have a meaning which does 29 not correspond to their form. And what of those verbs which are only partially conjugated? Some (as for instance fero) even suffer an entire change in the perfect. Others are used only in the third

3 Acn. x. 1 : "Meanwhile the house of almighty Olj'mpus is opened."

4 Ed. i. 11 : " There is such confusion in all the fields."

6 "Having dined," "having drunk." Active in sense, passive in form.

77

QUINTILIAN

licet, pigct, quaedam simile quiddam patiuntur vocabulis quae in adverbium transcunt ? Nam ut noctu et diu ita dictu facluque. Sunt enim haec quoque verba participialia quidem, non tamen qualia dido facto<\u.e.

V. lam cum omnis oratio tris liabeat virtutes, ut emendata, ut dilucida, ut ornata sit (quia dicere apte, quod est praecipuum, plerique ornatui subii- ciunt), totidem vitia, quae sunt supra dictis con- traria, emendate loquendi regulam, quae gram-

2 malices prior pars est^ examinel. Haec exi^itur verbis aut singulis aut pluribus. Verba nunc ge- neraliter accipi volo, nam duplex eorurn intellectus est ; alter, qui omnia per quae sermo iiectitur significat, ut apud Horatium : verbaque provisam rein non invita scqiicnlur ; alter, in quo est una pars orationis, lego, scribo. Quam vitantes ambigu-itatem quidam dicere maluerunl voces, locutiones, dictiones.

3 Singula sunt aut nostra aut peregrina, aut simplicia aut composita, aul propria aut translata, aut usitata aut ncta.

Uni verbo vitium saepius quam virtus inest. Licet enim dicamus aliquod proprium, speciosum, sublime : nihil tamen horum nisi in complexu lo- quendi serieque contingit ; laudamus enim verba

4 rebus bene accommodata. Sola est, quae notari

78

BOOK I. iv. 29-v. 4

person, such as licet and pi get, while some resemble nouns tending to acquire an adverbial meaning ; for \ve say dictu and fact ul as we say noclu and din, since these words are participial though quite different from dicto and facto.

V. Style has three kinds of excellence, correct- ness, lucidity and elegance (for many include the all-important quality of appropriateness under the heading of elegance). Its faults are likewise three- fold, namely the opposites of these excellences. The teacher of literature therefore must study the rules for correctness of speech, these constituting the first part of his art. The observance of these rules 2 is concerned with either one or more words. I must now be understood to use verbinn in its most general sense. It has of course two meanings ; the one covers all the parts of which language is composed, as in the line of Horace :

"Once supply the thought,

And words will follow swift as soon as sought ' ;2

o

the other restricts it to a part of speech such as lego and scribo. To avoid this ambiguity, some authorities prefer the terms voces, locutiojies, dictiones. Individual words will either be native or imported, 3 simple or compound, literal or metaphorical, in current use or newly-coined.

A single word is more likely to be faulty than to possess any intrinsic merit. For though we may speak of a word as appropriate, distinguished or sublime, it can possess none of these properties save in relation to connected and consecutive speech ; since when we praise words, we do so because they suit the matter. There is only one excellence that 4

1 Supines. a Ars Poetica, 311.

79

QUINTILIAN

possit velut vocalitas, quae eu^iorta dicitur ; cuius in eo delectus est, ut inter duo, quae idem signi- ficant ac tantundem valent, quod melius sonet malis.

5 Prima barbarismi ac soloecismi foeditas absit. Sed qtiia interim excusantur haec vitia aut consuetudine aut auctoritate aut vetustate aut denique vicinitate virtutum (nam saepe a figuris ea separare difficile est), ne qua tarn lubrica observatio fallat, acriter se in illud tenue discrimen grammaticus intendat, de quo nos latius ibi loquemur, ubi de figuris orationis

6 tractandum erit. Interim vitium, quod fit in sin- gulis verbis, sit barbarismus. Occurrat mihi forsan nliquis, quid hie promisso tanti operis dignum ? aut quis hoc nescit, alios barbarismos scribendo fieri alios loquendo ; — quia, quod male scribitur, male etiam dici necesse est ; quae vitiose dixeris, non utique et scripto peccant — illud prius adiectione, detractione, immutatione, transmutationCj hoc se- cundum divisione, complexione, aspiratione, sono

7 contineri ? Sed ut parva sint haec, pueri docentur adhuc, et grammaticos officii sui commonemus. Ex quibus si quis erit plane impolitus et vestibulum modo artis huius ingressus, intra haec, quae pro-

1 cp. § 10. 80

BOOK I. v. 4-7

can be isolated for consideration, namely euphony, the Greek term for our uocalitas : that is to say that, when we are confronted with making a choice between two exact synonyms, we must select that which sounds best.

In the first place barbarisms and solecisms must not 6 be allowed to intrude their offensive presence. These blemishes are however pardoned at times, because we have become accustomed to them or because they have age or authority in their favour or are near akin to positive excellences, since it is often difficult to dis- tinguish such blemishes from figures of speech.1 The teacher therefore, that such slippery customers may not elude detection, must seek to acquire a delicate discrimination; but of this I will speak later when I come to discuss figures of speech. For the present 6 I will define barbaris?n as an offence occurring in connexion with single words. Some of my readers may object that such a topic is beneath the dignity of so ambitious a work. But who does not know that some barbarisms occur in writing, others in speaking ? For although what is incorrect in writing will also be incorrect in speech, the converse is not necessarily true, inasmuch as mistakes in

*•

writing are caused by addition or omission, substitu- tion or transposition, while mistakes in speaking are due to separation or combination of syllables, to aspiration or other errors of sound. Trivial as these 7 points may seem, our bovs are still at school and I am reminding their instructors of their duty. And if one of our teachers is lacking in education and has done no more than set foot in the outer courts of his art, he will have to confine himself to the rules published in the elementary text-books : the

81

QUINTILIAN

fitentium commentariolis vulgata sunt, consistet, doctiores multa adiicient, vel hoc primum, quod

8 barbarismum pluribus modis accipimus. Unum gente, quale est, si quis Afrum vel Hispanum Latinae oration! nomen inserat, ut ferrum, quo rotae vinciimtur, dici solet cant us, quanquam eo tanquam recepto utitur Persius ; sicut Catullus ploxenum circa Padum invenit, et in oratione La- bieni (sive ilia Cornelii Galli est) in Pollionem casamo adsectator e Gallia ductuin est; nam inas- trucam, quod Sardum est, irridens Cicero ex in-

9 dustria dixit. Alterum genus barbarismi accipimus, quod fit animi natura, ut is, a quo insolenter quid aut minaciter aut crudeliter dictum sit, barbare

10 locutus existimatur. Tertium est illud vitium barba- rismi, cuius exempla vulgo sunt plurima, sibi etiam quisque fingere potest, ut verbo, cui libebit, adiiciat litteram syllabamve vel detrahat, aut aliam pro alia

11 aut eandem alio quam rectum est loco ponat. Sed quidam fere in iactationem eruditionis sumere ilia ex poetis solent et auctores quos praelegunt criminan- tur. Scire autem debet puer, haec apud scriptores carminum aut venia digna aut etiam laude duci,

12 potiusque ilia docendi erunt minus vulgata. Nam duos in uno nomine faciebat barbarismos Tinga Placentinus (si reprehendenti Hortensio credimus) preculam pro pergula dicens, et immutatione cum c pro g uteretur, et transmutatione cum r prae- poneret e antecedent!. At in eiusdem vitii gemina-

BOOK I. v. 7-12

more learned teacher on the other hand will be in a position to go much further : first of all, for example, he will point out that there are many different kinds of barbarism. One kind is due to race, such as the 8 insertion of a Spanish or African term ; for instance the iron tire of a wheel is called cantus,1 though Persius uses it as established in the Latin language ;

^j ^> *

Catullus picked up ploxenum2 (a box) in the valley of the Po, while the author of the in Pollionem, be he Labienus or Cornelius Gallus, imported casamo from Gaul in the sense of "follower." As for mastruca? which is Sardinian fora "rough coat," it is introduced by Cicero merely as an object of deri- sion. Another kind of barbarism proceeds from the 9 speaker's temper : for instance, we regard it as bar- barous if a speaker use cruel or brutal language. A third and very common kind, of which anyone 10 may fashion examples for himself, consists in the addition or omission of a letter or syllable, or in the substitution of one for another or in placing one where it has no right to be. Some teachers however, 11 to display their learning, are in the habit of picking out examples of barbarism from the poets and attack- ing the authors whom they are expounding for using such words. A boy should however realize that in poets such peculiarities are pardonable or even praiseworthy, and should therefore be taught less common instances. For Tinga of Placentia, if 12 we may believe Hortensius who takes him to task for it, committed two barbarisms in one word by saying precula for pergula : that is to say he substituted c for g, and transposed r and e. On the other hand

1 Pers. v. 71. Usually, though wrongly, spelt oanthus.

2 Cat. xcvii. 6. * In Or. pro Scauro.

QUINTILIAN

tione Meltoeoque Fufetioeo T dicens Ennius poetico

13 iure defenditur. Sed in prosa quoque est quaedam iam recepta immutatio. Nam Cicero Canopitarum exercitum dicit, ipsi Canobon vocant ; et Trasu- mennum pro Tarsumenno multi auctores, etiamsi est in eo transmutatio, vindicaverunt. Similiter alia; nam sive est adsentior, Sisenna dixit adsentio mul- tique et hunc et analogian secuti, sive illud verum

14 est, haec quoque pars consensu defenditur. At ille pexus pinguisque doctor aut illic detractionem aut hie adiectionem putabit. Quid quod quaedam, quae singula procul dubio vitiosa sunt, iuncta sine repre-

15 hensione dicuntur ? Nam et dua et ire [et pondo\ diversorum generum sunt barbarismi ; at duapondo et trepondo usque ad nostram aetatem ab omnibus

16 dictum est, et recte dici Messala confirmat. Ab- surdum forsitan videatur dicere, barbarismum, quod est unius vcrbi vitium, fieri per numeros aut genera sicut soloecismum : scala tamen et scopa contraque hordea et mulsd, licet litterarum mutationem, detrac- tionem^ adiectionem habeant, non alio vitiosa sunt, quam quod pluralia singulariter et singularia plu-

1 Mettoeoque Fufetioeo, Skutsch : mettioeo et furetioeo, At the other M&S. giving similar corruptions.

1 Tlie barbarism lies in the use of the old Greek termina- tion -oeo in the genitive.

a Two and three pounds in weight.

84

BOOK I. v. 12-16

when Ennius writes Mettoeoque Fufetioeo,1 where the barbarism is twice repeated,, he is defended on the plea of poetic licence. Substitution is however 1H sometimes admitted even in prose, as for instance when Cicero speaks of the army of Canopus which is locally styled Canobus, while the number of authors who have been guilty of transposition in writing Trasumennus for Tarsumcnmis has succeeded in stan- dardising the error. Similar instances may be quoted. If adsentior be regarded as the correct form, we must remember that Sisenna said adsentio, and that many have followed him on the ground of analogy : on the other hand, if adsentio is the correct form, we must remember that adsentior has the support of current usage. And yet our fat fool, the fashionable 14 schoolmaster, will regard one of these forms as an example of omission or the other as an instance of addition. Again there are words which when used separately are undoubtedly incorrect, but when used in conjunction excite no unfavourable comment. For instance dua and ire are barbarisms 15 and differ in gender, but the words duapondo and trepondo 2 have persisted in common parlance down to our own day, and Messala shows that the practice is correct. It may perhaps seem absurd to 16 say that a barbarism, which is an error in a single word, may be made, like a solecism, by errors in connexion with number or gender. But take on the one hand scala (stairs) and scopa (which literally means a twig, but is used in the sense of broom) and on the other hand hordea (barley) and mulsa (mead) : here we have substitution, omission and addition of letters, but the blemish consists in the former case merely in the use of singular for plural,

85

QUINTILIAN

raliter effenmtur ; et gladia qui dixerunt, genere

17 exciderunt. Sed hoc quoque notare contentus sum, ne arti culpa quorundam pervicacium perplexae videar et ipse quaestionem addidisse.

Plus exigunt subtilitatis quae accidunt in dicendo vitia, quia exempla eorum tradi scripto non possunt, nisi cum in versus inciderunt, ut divisio Europai Asidi, et ei contrarium vitium, quod crvvaipeo-iv et crvvaXoLffrrjv Graeci vocant, nos complexionem di- camus, qualis est apud P. Varronem turn le flagrant'

18 dcicctum fidmme Phaethon. Nam si esset prosa oratio, easdem litteras enuntiare veris syllabis licebat. Praeterea quae fiunt spatio, sive cum svl- laba correpta producitur, ut Ilaliam faio profugns, sen longa corripitur, ut unius ob noxam et furias, extra carmen non depreliendas ; sed nee in carmine

19 vitia dicenda sunt. Ilia vero nonnisi aure exi- guntur, quae fiunt per sonos ; quanquam per aspira- tionem, sive adiicitur vitiose sive detrahitur, apud nos potest quaeri an in scripto sit vitium^ si h littera est, non nota. Cuius quidem ratio mutata

20 cum temporibus est saepius. Parcissime ea veteres usi etiam in vocalibus,, cum acdos z'/ro.vque dicebant ; diu deinde servatum, ne consonaiitibus aspirarent,

1 Tlie archaic genitive as used by epic poets.

1 Phaithon for Phaethon. ' Aen. i. 6. * Aen. i. 45.

86

BOOK I. v. 16-20

in the latter of plural for singular. Those on the other hand who have used the word gladia are guilty of a mistake in gender. I merely mention these as 17 instances : I do not wish anyone to think that I have added a fresh problem to a subject into which the obstinacy of pedants has already introduced confusion.

The faults which arise in the course of actual speaking require greater penetration on the part of the critic, since it is impossible to cite examples from writing, except in cases where they occur in poetry, as when the diphthong is divided into two syllables in Europai and Asiai l ; or when the opposite fault occurs, called synaeresis or synaloephe by the Greeks and comple.no by ourselves : as an example I may quote the line of Publius Varro :

turn te flagranti deieclum fulmine Phaet/ion.2

If this were prose, it would be possible to give 1£ the letters their true syllabic value. I may mention as further anomalies peculiar to poetry the lengthen- ing of a short syllable as in Italiam fato proj'ugus,3 or the shortening of a long such as unius ob noxam et furias ; 4 but in poetry we cannot label these as actual faults. Errors in sound on the other hand 19 can be detected by the ear alone ; although in Latin, as regards the addition or omission of the aspirate, the question may be raised whether this is an error when it occurs in writing ; for there is some doubt whether A is a letter or merely a breathing, practice having frequently varied in different ages. Older 20 authors used it but rarely even before vowels, saying aedus or irtus, while its conjunction with consonants was for a long time avoided, as in words such as

87

QUINTILIAN

ut in Graecis et in triumpis ; erupit brevi tempore nimius usus, ut ckoronae, chenturiones, praechones adhuc quibusdam in inscriptionibus maneant, qua

21 de re Catulli nobile epigramma est. Inde durat ad nos usque rehemenlcr et comprehendcre et inihi, nammehe quoque pro me apud antiques Iragoediarum praecipue scriptores in veteribus libris invenimus.

22 Adhuc difficilior observatio est per tenores (quos quidem ab antiquis dictos lonores comperi videlicet declinato a Graecis verbo, qui TOJ/OVS dicunt), vel accentus, quas Graeci Trpoo-woYas vacant, cum acuta et gravis alia pro alia ponuntur, ut in hoc Camillus,

23 si acuitur prima : aut gravis pro flexa, ut Cethegus, et hie prima acuta (nara sic media mutatur) ; aut flexa pro gravl, ut Appi l circumducta sequenti, quam ex duabus syllabis in unam cogentes et deinde

24 flectentes dupliciter peccant. Sed id saepius in Graecis nominibus accidit, ut Atrei, quern nobis iuvenibus doctissimi senes acuta prima dicere sole- bant, ut necessario secunda gravis esset, item Nerei TVraque. Haec de accentibus tradita.

1 aut Appi, Spalding : aut apice, A : ut, B.

1 Cat. Ixxxi.

2 The Roman accent was a stress, while the Greek was a pitch accent, though by the Christian era tending to change into stress. Roman grammarians borrow the Greek termin- ology and speak of accents in terms of pitch. The explana- tion of this is probably that the Roman stress accent was

88

BOOK I. v. 20-24

Graccus or triumpus. Then for a short time it broke out into excessive use, witness such spelling as chorona, chenturia or praecho, which may still be read in certain inscriptions : the well-known epigram of Catullus l will be remembered in this connexion. The spellings 2) vehementer, comprehendere and mihi have lasted to our own day : and among early writers, especially of tragedy, we actually find mehe for me in the older MSS.

It is still more difficult to detect errors of tenor or 22 tone (I note that old writers spell the word tonor, as derived from the Greek roVos), or of accent, styled prosody by the Greeks, such as the substitution of the acute accent for the grave or the grave for the acute : such an example would be the placing of the acute accent on the first syllable of Camillas, or the 23 substitution of the grave for the circumflex in Cetkegus, an error which results in the alteration of the quantity of the middle syllable, since it means making the first syllable acute ; or again the sub-

O mt

stitution of the circumflex for the grave on the second syllable of Appi, where the contraction of two syllables into one circumflexed syllable involves a double error. This, however, occurs far more fre- 24 quently in Greek words such as Atrei, which in our young days was pronounced by the most learned of our elders with an acute accent on the first syllable, necessitating a grave accent on the second ; the same remark applies to Nerei and Terei. Such has been the tradition as regards accents.2

-to

accompanied by an elevation of the pitch. Here the acute accent certainly implies stress ; the grave implies a drop in pitch and the absence of stress. The circumflex means that the voice rises slightly and then falls slightly, but implies stress. See Lindsay, Latin Language, pp. 148-153.

89

QUINTILIAN

25 Ceterum scio iarn quosdam erudites, nonnullos etiam grammaticos sic docere ac loqui, ut propter quaedam vocum discrimina verbum interim acuto

26 sono finiant, ut in illis quae circum lillara, circum piscosos scopulos, ne, si gravem posuerint secundam, circus dici videatur non circuitus. Itemque cum quale interrogantes gravi_, comparantes acuto tenore concludunt ; quod tamen in adverbiis fere solis ac pronominibus vindicant, in ceteris veterem legem

27 sequuntur. Mihi videtur condicionem mutare, quod his locis verba coniungimus. ?^am cum dico circum litora, tanquam unum enuntio dissimulata distinc- tione, itaque tanquam in una voce una est acuta,, quod idem accidit in illo Troiae qui primus ab oris.

28 Evenit, ut metri quoque condicio mutet accentum, ut Pecudes pictaeque volucres ; nam volucres media acuta legaro, quia., etsi natura brevis, tamen posi- tione longa &st, ne faciat iambum, quern non recipit

29 versus herous. Separata vero haec a praecepto non recedent, aut si consuetude vicerit, vetus lex

1 Aen. iv. 254.

2 i.e. that circum is the ace. of circus, and not the adverb indicating circuit.

3 A en. i. 1 : qui coalesces with primus, ab with oris. * Georg. iii. 243.

90

BOOK I. v. 25-29

Still I am well aware that certain learned men 25 and some professed teachers of literature, to ensure that certain words may be kept distinct, sometimes place an acute accent on the last syllable, both when they are teaching and in ordinary speech : as, for instance, in the following passage :

quae circum litora, circum piscosos scop ul os,1

where they make the last syllable of circum acute on 26 the ground that, if that syllable were given the grave accent, it might be thought that they meant circus not circuilus." Similarly when quale is interrogative, they give the final syllable a grave accent, but when using it in a comparison, make it acute. This practice, however, they restrict almost entirely to adverbs and pronouns ; in other cases they follow the old usage. Personally I think that in such phrases 27 as these the circumstances are almost entirely altered by the fact that we join two words together. For when I say circum litora I pronounce the phrase as one word, concealing the fact that it is composed of two, consequently it contains but one acute accent, as though it were a single wrord. The same thing occurs in the phrase Troiae qui primus ab oris? It 28 sometimes happens that the accent is altered by the metre as in pecudes pictaeque volucres 4 ; for I shall read volucres with the acute on the middle syllable, because, although that syllable is short by nature, it is long by position : else the last two syllables would form an iambus, which its position in the hexameter does not allow. But these same words, 29 if separated, will form no exception to the rule : or if the custom under discussion prevails, the old law

QUINTILIAN

sermonis abolebitur ; cuius difficilior apud Graecos observatio est, quia plura illis loquendi genera, quas SiaA.€KTous vacant, et quod alia vitiosum interim alia rectum est ; apud nos vero brevissima ratio.

30 Namque in omni voce acuta intra numerum trium syllabarum continetur, sive eae sunt in verbo solae sive ultimae, et in iis aut proxima extremae aut ab ea tertia. Trium porro, de quibus loquor, media longa aut acuta aut flexa erit ; eodem loco brevis utique gravem habebit sonum, ideoque positam ante

31 se id est ab ultima tertiam acuet. Est autem in omni voce utique acuta sed nunquam plus una nee unquam ultima ideoque in dissyllabis prior. Praeterea nunquam in eadem flexa et acuta, quoniam est in flexa et acuta, itaque neutra claudet vocem Latinam. Ea vero, quae sunt syllabae unius, erunt acuta aut flexa, ne sit aliqua

32 vox sine acuta. Et ilia per sonos accidunt, quae demonstrari scripto non possunt, vitia oris et linguae : tojraKt(r/xovs et /Xa/x^Sa/ctcr^xoi'? et icr^i or^ras et TrAaraacr/xovs feliciores fingendis nominibus Graeci vocant, sicut KotA.oo-ro/u'av, cum vox quasi in recessu

33 oris auditur. Sunt etiam proprii quidam et inen- arrabiles soni, quibus nonnunquam nationes reprehen- dimus. Remotis igitur omnibus, de quibus supra

1 lotacism = doubling the i sound, e.g. Troiia for Troia ; lambdacism = doubling the I.

92

BOOK I. v. 29-33

of the language will disappear. (This law is more difficult for the Greeks to observe, because they have several dialects, as they call them, and what is wrong in one may be right in another.) But with us

O mf O /

the rule is simplicity itself. For in every word 30 the acute accent is restricted to three syllables, whether these be the only syllables in the word or the three last, and will fall either on the penultimate or the antepenultimate. The middle of the three syllables of which I speak will be acute or circum- flexed, if long, while if it be short, it will have a grave accent and the acute will be thrown back to the preceding syllable, that is to say the ante- penultimate. Every word has an acute accent, but 31 never more than one. Further the acute never falls on the last syllable and therefore in dissyllabic words marks the first syllable. Moreover the acute accent and the circumflex are never found in one and the same word, since the circumflex itself contains an acute accent. Neither the circumflex nor the acute, therefore, will ever be found in the last syllable of a Latin word, with this exception, that monosyllables must either be acute or circumflexed ; otherwise we should find words without an acute accent at all. There are also faults of sound, which we cannot repro- 32 duce in writing, as they spring from defects of the voice and tongue. The Greeks who are happier in inventing names than we are call them iotacisms, lambdacisms,1 lo-^oT^Te? (attenuations) and TrAareia- o7/.of (broadenings) ; they also use the term KoiXoo-ro/xta, when the voice seems to proceed from the depths of the mouth. There are also certain peculiar and 33 indescribable sounds for which we sometimes take whole nations to fault. To sum up then, if all the faults of which we have just spoken be avoided,

93

QUINTILIAN

dixi, vitiis erit ilia quae vocatur op^oeVeta, id est emendata cum suavitate vocum explanatio : nam sic accipi potest recta.

34 Cetera vitia omnia ex pluribus vocibus sunt, quorum est soloecismus, quanquam circa hoc quoque disputatum est. Nam etiam qui complexu orationis accidere eum confitentur, quia tamen unius emencla- tione verbi corrigi possit, in verbo esse vitium non in

35 sermone contendunt ; cum, sive amarae cortids seu medio corlice per genus facit soloecismum (quorum neutrum quidem reprehendo, cum sit utriusque Ver- gilius auctor ; sed fingamus utrumlibet non recte dictum), mutatio vocis alterius, in qua vitium erat, rectam loquendi rationem sit redditura, ut aman cortids fiat vel media cortice. Quod manifestae calumniae est ; neutrum enim vitiosum est separa- tum, sed compositione peccatur, quae iam sermonis

36 est. Illud eruditius quaeritur, an in singulis quoque verbis possit fieri soloecismus, uti si unum quis ad se vocans dicat vcnite, aut si phi res a se dimittens ita loquatur abi aut discede. Nee non cum responsum ab interrogante dissentit, ut si dicenti Quern video ? ita occurras Ego. In gestu etiam nonnulli putant idem vitium inesse, cum aliud voce aliud nutu vel

37 manu demonstratur. Huic opinioni neque omnino

1 Ed. vi. G2. 3 Gcorg. ii. 74.

94

BOOK I. v. 33-37

we shall be in possession of the Greek op that is to say, an exact and pleasing articulation ; for that is what we mean when we speak of correct pronunciation.

All other faults in speaking are concerned with 34 more words than one ; among this class of faults is the solecism, although there have been controversies about this as well. For even those who acknowledge that it occurs in connected speech, argue that, since it can be corrected by the alteration of one word, the fault lies in the word and not in the phrase or sentence. For example whether amarae corticis l or 35 medio cortice2 contains a solecism in gender (and personally I object to neither, as Vergil is the author of both ; however, for the sake of argument let us assume that one of the two is incorrect), still whichever phrase is incorrect, it can be set right by the alteration of the word in which the fault lies : that is to say we can emend either to amari corticis or media cortice. But it is obvious that these critics misrepresent the case. For neither word is faulty in itself ; the error arises from its association with another word. The fault therefore lies in the phrase. Those who raise the question as to whether 36 a solecism can arise in a single word show greater intelligence. Is it for instance a solecism if a man

O

when calling a single person to him says uenite, or in dismissing several persons says obi or discede ? Or again if the answer does not correspond to the question : suppose, for example, when someone said to you " Whom do I see ? ", you were to reply " I." Some too think it a solecism if the spoken word is contradicted by the motion of hand or head. I do 37 not entirely concur with this view nor yet do I

95

QUINTILIAN

accedo neque plane dissentio. Nam id fateor accidere voce una non tamen aliter, quam si sit aliquid, quod vim alterius vocis obtineat, ad quod vox ilia referatur, ut soloeci.smus ex complexu fiat eorurn, quibus res si^riificantur et voluntas osten-

38 ditur. Atque ut omnein effu^iam cavillationem, sit aliquando in uno verbo nunquam in solo verbo. Per quot autem et per quas accidat species,, non satis convenit. Qui plenissime, quadripertitam volunt esse rationern nee aliam quam barbarism!,, ut fiat adiectione nam enim, de susum, in Alexandriam ;

39 detractione ambulo r'unn, Acpyplo venio, ne hoc fecit ; transmutatione, qua ordo turbatur, (juoque ego, enim hoc voluit, autem non hadn't. Kx quo rr':riere an sit i'jitur initio sermonis po-Jturn, dubitari potest; quia maxirnos auctores in diversa fuiv-.f: opinione video, cum apud alios sit etiam frequens, apud alios

40 nunquarn rc-periatur. Haec tria genera quidam deducunt a soloecismo, et adiectionis vitiurn TrAeova. v/j.ov, detractionis lAAeii//i^ iriversionis avacrrpotjnjv vocant, quae si in spe<-if-rn solo<-<-i mi cadat, v7rfpfia.T(jv

i\ quoque eodem appellari rnodo p'<sse. Jrnmutatio sirie controversia est, curn aliud j)ro alio j>onitur. Id per omnes orationis [;artes deprehendimus^ frf- queritissime in verbo; quia plurirna huic accidurit ;

1 i.e. nam cannot \>". co \\>\<-A with enim; de V;eing a pre- po'-;ition cannot r/ovorn an :i']-.-<;fb ("from above"); in is not required with Alexandriam, which is the name of a

96

BOOK I. v. 37-41 \vhollv dissent. 1 admit that a solecism may occur

* »

in a single word, but with this proviso : there must be something else equivalent to another word, to which the word, in which the error lies, can be referred, so that the solecism arises from the faulty connexion of those symbols by which facts are ex- pressed and purpose indicated. To avoid all sus- 3S picion of quibbling, I will say that a solecism may occur in one word, but never in a word in isolation. There is, however, some controversy as to the number and nature of the different kinds of solecism. Those who have dealt with the subject most fully make a fourfold division, identical with that which is made in the case of barbarisms : solecisms are brought about by addition, for instance in phrases such as nam enim, de susitm, in Alexandnam ; by 39 omission, in phrases such as ambulo viam, Ae^npio venio, or ne hoc fecit : and by transposition as in qitoqne ego, enim hoc voluit, aulcm non habuit.1 L'mler this last head comes the question whether igitur can be placed first in a sentence : for I note that authors of the first rank disagree on this point, some of them frequently placing it in that position, others never. Some distinguish these three classes of 40 error from the solecism, styling addition a pleonasm, omission an ellipse., and transposition anastrophe: and they assert that if anastrophe is a solecism, hi/perbaton mMit also be so called. About substitution, that is 41

t? *

when one word is used instead of another, there is no dispute. It is an error which we may detect in connexion with all the parts of speech, but most frequently in the verb, because it has greater variety

town. Quoque, enim and autcrn cannot come first in a sentence Ambulo per viam, ab Aegypto venio, nc hoc quidem fecit would be the correct Latin.

97

QUINTILIAN

ideoque in eo fiunt soloecismi per genera, tempora, personas, modos, sive cui status eos dici sen qualitates placet, vel sex vel, ut alii volunt, octo ; — nam toti- dem vitiorum erunt formae, in quot species eorum quidque, de quibus supra dictum est, diviseris—

42 praeterea numeros, in quibus nos singularem ac pluralem habemus Graeci et SIHKOJ/. Quanquain fuerunt, qui nobis quoque adiicerent dualem scripsere, legere ; quod evitandae asperitatis gratia mollitum est, ut apud veteres pro male mereris, male merere. Ideoque quod vocant dualem, in illo solo genere con- sistit, cum apud Graecos et in verbi tota fere ratione et in nominibus deprehendatur, et sic quoque raris-

43 simus eius sit usus, apud nostrorum vero nerninem haec observatio reperiatur, quin e contrario dcvenere locos et conticuere omnes et consedere duces aperte nos doceant, nihil horum ad duos pertinere ; dixere quoque, quamquam id Antonius Rufus ex diverse ponit exemplum, de pluribus patronis praeco pro-

44 nuntiet. Quid ? non Livius circa initia statim primi libri, Tenuere, inquit, arcem Sabini ? et mox, in adversum RomaJii subiere ? Sed quern potius ego quam M. Tullium sequar ? qui in Oratore, Non

1 Aen. i. 369 : "They came to the places." a Acn. ii. 1 : " All were silent."

3 Ovid, Met. xiii. 1 : " The chiefs sat them down."

4 Dixere, "they have spoken," was said when the advo- cates had finished their pleading.

98

BOOK I. v. 41-44

than any other : consequently in connexion with the verb we get solecisms of gender, tense, person and mood (or "states" or "qualities" if you prefer either of these terms), be these types of error six in number, as some assert, or eight as is insisted by others (for the number of the forms of solecism will depend on the number of subdivisions which you assign to the parts of speech of which we have just spoken). Further there are solecisms of number ; now Latin 42 has two numbers, singular and plural, while Greek possesses a third, namely the dual. There have however been some who have given us a dual as well in words such as scripsere and Icgere, in which as a matter of fact the final syllable has been softened to avoid harshness, just as in old writers we find male merere for male mereris. Consequently what they assert to be a dual is concerned solely with this one class of termination, whereas in Greek it is found throughout the whole structure of the verb and in nouns as well, though even then it is but rarely used. But we find not a trace of such a 43 usage in any Latin author. On the contrary phrases such as devenere locos,1 con lieu ere omnes,2 and consedere duces b clearly prove that they have no- thing to do with the dual. Moreover dixeref al- though Antonius Kufus cites it as proof to the contrary, is often used by the usher in the courts to denote more than two advocates. Again, does not 44 Livy near the beginning of his first book write leniiere arcem Sabini 5 and later in adversum JRomani subiere ? But I can produce still better authority. For Cicero in his Orator says, " I have no objection

6 Liv. i. xii.: "The Sabines held the citadel." "The Romans marched up the slope against them."

99

QUINTILIAN

reprehcndo, inquit, scripsere ; scripserunt esse verius

45 sentio. Similiter in vocabulis et nominibus fit soloe- cismus genere, numero, proprie autem casibus, quidquid horum alteri succedet. Huic parti subiun- gatur licet per comparationes et superlationes, itemque in quibus patrium pro possessive dicitur vel

46 contra. Nam vitium, quod fit per quantitatem lit magnum peculioliim, erunt qui soloecismum putent quia pro nomine integro positum sit deminutum. Ego dubito, an id improprium potius appellem, sig- nificatione enim deerrat ; soloecismi porro vitium non

47 est in sensu sed in complexu. In participio per genus et casum, ut in vocabulo, per tempora, ut in verbo, per numerum, ut in utroque, peccatur. Pro- nomen quoque genus, numerum, casus habet, quae

48 omnia recipiunt huiusmodi errorem. Fiunt soloe- cismi et quidem plurimi per partes orationis ; sed id tradere satis non est, ne ita demmn vitium esse credat puer, si pro alia ponatur alia, ut verbum, ubi nomen esse debuerit, vel adverbium, ubi pronomen,

49 et similia. Nam sunt quaedam cognata, ut dicunt, id est eiusdem generis, in quibus, qui alia specie quam oportet utetur, non minus quam ipso genere

60 permutato deliquerit. Nam et an et ant coniunc- tiones sunt, male tamen interroges, hie aut ille sit;

1 Oral, xlvii. 157.

2 Lit. " A great little fortune."

8 e.g. intus for intro, the genus being adverbs of place.

100

BOOK I. v. 44-50

to the form scripsere, though I regard scripserunt as the more correct." l Similarly in vocables and 45 nouns solecisms occur in connexion with gender, number and more especially case, by substitution of one for another. To these may be added solecisms in the u?,e of comparatives and superlatives, or the employment of patronymics instead of possessives and vice versa. As for solecisms connected 46 with expressions of quantity, there are some who will regard phrases such as magnum peculiolum2 as a solecism, because the diminutive is used instead of the ordinary noun, which implies no diminution. I think I should call it a misuse of the diminutive rather than a solecism ; for it is an error of sense, whereas solecisms are not errors of sense, but rather faulty combinations of words. As regards participles, 47 solecisms occur in case and gender as with nouns, in tense as with verbs, and in number as in both. The pronoun admits of solecisms in gender, number and case. Solecisms also occur with great fre- 48 quency in connexion with parts of speech : but a bare statement on this point is not sufficient, as it may lead a boy to think that such error consists only in the substitution of one part of speech for another, as for instance if a verb is placed where we require a noun, or an adverb takes the place of a pronoun and so on. For there are 49 some nouns which are cognate, that is to say of the same genus, and he who uses the wrong species 3 in connexion with one of these will be guilty of the same offence as if he were to change the genus. Thus an and aid are conjunctions, but it would be 50 bad Latin to say in a question hie aut ille sit*; ne and

4 For hie an illc sit ?

101

QUINTILIAN

et ne ac non adverbia ; qui tamen dicat pro illo " ne feceris" " non feceris" in idem incidat vitium, quia alterum negandi est alterum vetandi. Hoc amplius intro et intus loci adverbia, eo tamen intus et intro

51 sum soloecismi sunt. Eadem in diversitate prono- minum, interiectionum, praepositionum accident; est etiam soloecismus in oratione comprehensionis unius sequentium ac priorum inter se inconveniens

52 positio. Quaedam tamen et faciem soloecismi habent et dici vitiosa non possunt, ut Iragocdia Thyesles et ludi Floralia ac Megalensia, quanquam haec sequenti tempore interciderunt nunquam aliter a veteribus dicta. Schemata igitur nominabuntur, frequentiora quidem apud poetas sed oratoribus

53 quoque permissa. Verum schema fere habebit aliquam rationem, ut docebimus eo, quern paulo ante promisimus, loco. Sed id quoque, quod schema vocatur, si ab aliquo per imprudentiam

54 factum erit, soloecismi vitio non carebit. In eadem specie sunt sed schemate carent, ut supra dixi, nomina feminina, quibus mares utuntur, et neutralia, quibus feminae. Hactenus de soloecismo. Neque enim artem grammaticam componere aggressi sumus, sed cum in ordinem incurreret, inhonoratam transire noluimus.

55 Hoc amplius, ut institutum ordinem sequar, verba

1 The meaning of this passage is uncertain, but the solecism in question is probably an anacoluthon.

IO2

BOOK I. v. 50-55

non are adverbs : but he who says non feceris in lieu of ne feceris, is guilty of a similar mistake, since one negative denies, while the other forbids. Further intro and intus are adverbs of place, but eo intus and i7itro sum are solecisms. Similar errors may be 51 committed in connexion with the various kinds of pronouns, interjections and prepositions. It is also a solecism l if there is a disagreement between what precedes and what follows within the limits of a single clause. Some phrases have all the appearance 52 of a solecism and yet cannot be called faulty ; take for instance phrases such as tragoedia Thyestes or ludi Floralia and Mcgalensia2: although these are never found in later times, they are the rule in ancient writers. We will therefore style them figures and, though their use is more frequent in poets, will not deny their employment even to orators. Figures however will generally have some justification, 53 as I shall show in a later portion of this work, which I promised you a little while back.3 I must how- ever point out that a figure, if used unwittingly, will be a solecism. In the same class, though they 54 cannot be called ficnires. come errors such as the use

O

of masculine names with a female termination and feminine names with a neuter termination. I have said enough about solecisms ; for I did not set out to write a treatise on grammar, but was unwilling to slight the science by passing it by without salutation, when it met me in the course of my journey.

I therefore resume the path which I prescribed 55 for myself and point out that words are either

2 Where strict grammar would require tragoedia Thyestis, ludi Florales, Megalenses. The normal usage would be simply to say Thyestes, Floralia, Megalensia.

3 i. iv. 24. The promise is fulfilled in Book IX.

103

QUINTILIAN

aut Latina aut peregrina sunt. Peregrina porro ex omnibus prope dixerira gentibus ut homines, ut in-

56 stituta etiam multa venerunt. Taceo de Tuscis et Sabinis et Praenestinis quoque ; nam ut eorum ser- mone utentem Vettium Lucilius insectatur, quemad- modum Pollio reprehendit in Livio Patavinitatem,

57 licet omnia Italica pro Romanis habeam. Plurima Gallica evaluerunt ut raeda ac petorritum, quorum altero tamen Cicero altero Horatius utitur. Et tnappam circo quoque usitatum nomen Poeni sibi vin- dicant, et gurdos, quos pro stolidis accipit vulgus, ex

58 Hispania duxisse originem audivi. Sed haec divisio mea ad Graecum sermonem praecipue pertinet, nam et maxima ex parte Romanus inde conversus est et confessis quoque Graecis utimur verbis, ubi nostra desunt, sicut illi a nobis nonnunquam mutuantur. Inde ilia quaestio exoritur, an eadem ratione per

59 casus duci externa qua nostra conveniat. Ac si reperias grammaticum veterum amatorem, neget quidquam ex Latina ratione mutandurn, quia, cum sit apud nos casus ablativus, quern illi non habent, parum conveniat uno casu nostro quinque Graecis

60 uti ; quin etiam laudet virtutem eorum, qui poten- tiorem facere linguam Latinam studebant, nee alienis egere institutis fatebantur. Inde Castorcm media syllaba producta pronuntiarunt, quia hoc omnibus nostris nominibus accidebat, quorum prima

104

BOOK I. v. 55-60

native or foreign. Foreign words, like our population and our institutions, have come to us from practically every nation upon earth. I pass by words of Tuscan, 56 Sabine and Praenestine origin ; for though Lucilius attacks Vettius for using them, and Pollio reproves Livy for his lapses into the dialect of Padua, I may be allowed to regard all such words as of native origin. Many Gallic words have become current coin, such 57 as raeda (chariot) and pctorritum (four-wheeled wao-on) of which Cicero uses the former and Horace

C™1 /

the latter. Mappa (napkin) again, a word familiar in connexion with the circus, is claimed by the Carthaginians, while I have heard that gurdus, which is colloquially used in the sense of "stupid," is derived from Spain. But this distinction between 58 native and foreign words has reference chiefly to Greek. For Latin is largely derived from that language, and we use words which are admittedly

o ~ ^ *

Greek to express things for which we have no Latin equivalent. Similiarly they at times borrow words from us. In this connexion the problem arises whether foreign words should be declined according

O *-*

to their language or our own. If you come across 59

O O •

an archaistic grammarian, he will insist on absolute

o

conformity to Latin practice, because, since we have an ablative and the Greeks have not, it would be absurd in declining a word to use rive Greek cases and one Latin. He will also praise the 60 patriotism of those who aimed at strengthening the Latin language and asserted that we had no need of foreign practices. They, therefore, pronounced Castorem with the second syllable long to bring it into conformity with all those Latin nouns which have the same termination in the nominative as

QUINTILIAN

positio in easdem quas Castor litteras exit ; et ut Palaemo ac Telamo et Plato (nam sic eum Cicero quoque appellat) dicerentur, retinuerunt, quia Latin um, quod o et n litteris finiretur, non reperie-

61 bant. Ne in a quidem atque s litteras exire temere masculina Graeca nomina recto casu patiebantur, ideoque et apud Caelium legimus Pelia cincinnatus et apud Messalam bene fecit Euthia et apud Ciceronem Hermagora, ne miremur, quod ab antiquorum pleris-

62 que Aenea ut Anchisa sit dictus. Nam si ut Maecenas, Sufenas, Asprenas dicerentur, genitive casu non e littera, sed lis syllaba terminarentur. Inde Olympo et tyranno acutam syllabam mediam dederunt, quia duabus longis insequentibus primam brevem acui

63 noster sermo non patitur. Sic genitivus Ulixi et A chilli fecit, sic alia plurima. Nunc recentiores instituerunt Graecis nominibus Graecas declinationes potius dare, quod tamen ipsum non semper fieri potest. Mihi autem placet Latinam rationem sequi, quousque patitur decor. Neque enim iam Calyp- sonem dixerim ut lunonem, quanquam secutus antiquos

64 C. Caesar utitur hac ratione declinandi. Sed auctoritatem consuetudo superavit. In ceteris, quae poterunt utroque modo non indecenter efferri, qui Graecam figuram sequi malet^ non Latine quidem sed tamen citra reprehensionem loquetur.

65 Simplices voces prima positione id est natura sua

106

BOOK I. v. 60-65

Castor. They also insisted on the forms Palaemo, Telamo, and Plato (the last being adopted by Cicero), because they could not find any Latin nouns ending in -on. They were reluctant even to permit 61 masculine Greek nouns to end in -as in the nomin- ative case, and consequently in Caelius \ve find Pdia cincinnatus and in Messala bene fecit Euthia, and in Cicero Hermagora.1 So we need not be surprised that the majority of early writers said Aenea and Anchisa. For, it was urged, if such words are spelt 62 like Maecenas, Sufenas and Asprenas, the genitive should terminate in -tis not in -e. On the same principle they placed an acute accent on the middle syllable of Olympus and tyrannus, because Latin does not allow an acute accent on the first syllable if it is short and is followed by two long syllables. So too Q'3 we get the Latinised genitives Ulixi and Achilli to- gether with many other analogous forms. More recent scholars have instituted the practice of giving Greek nouns their Greek declension, although this is not always possible. Personally I prefer to follow the Latin method, so far as grace of diction will permit. For I should not like to say Cahjpsonem on the analogy of lunonem, although Gaius Caesar in deference to antiquity does adopt this way of declining it. Current practice has however prevailed over his authority. In 64 other words which can be declined in either way without impropriety, those who prefer it can employ the Greek form : they will not be speaking Latin, but will not on the other hand deserve censure.

Simple words are what they are in the nomin- 65 ative, that is, their essential nature. Compound

1 This form does not actually occur in Cicero, MSS. evidently wrongly giving Hermagoras.

107

QUINTILIAN

constant, compositae aut praepositionibus subiun- guntur ut innocens (dura ne pugnantibus inter se duabus, quale est imperterrilus ; alioqui possunt aliquando continuari duae ut incompositus, reconditus et quo Cicero utitur subabsurduni), aut e duobus quasi

66 corporibus coalescunt, ut maleficus. Nam ex tribus nostrae utique linguae non concesserim ; quamvis capsis Cicero dicat compositum esse ex cape si vis, et inveniantur qui Lupercalia aeque tres partes orationis

67 esse contendant, quasi lucre per caprum ; nam Soli- taurilia iam persuasum est esse Suovetaurilia, et sane ita se habet sacrum, quale apud Homerum quoque est. Sed haec non tarn ex tribus quam ex particulis trium coeunt. Ceterum etiam ex praepositione et duobus vocabulis dure videtur struxisse Pacuvius

68 Nerei repandirostrum, incurvicervicum pecus. lun- guntur autem aut ex duobus Latinis integris ut superfuif svbterfugi (quanquam ex integris an com- posita sint quaeritur), aut ex integro et corrupto ut

1 Quintilian regards the negative in as a preposition. His objection to imperterritus (which is used by Vergil) seems to lie in the fact that while inierritus is a natural way of expressing " unterrified," it is unreasonable to negative per- territus, which means " thoroughly terrified." The presence of the intensifying per conflicts with the force of the negative in. 2 Orat. xlv. 154.

3 As in Od. xi. 130. The word means sacrifices of a pig, sheep and bull. 108

BOOK I. v. 65-68

words are formed by the prefix of a preposition as in innocens, though care must be taken that two conflicting prepositions are not prefixed as in imperteriitus1 : if this be avoided they may in certain cases have a double prefix as in incompositus or reconditus or the Ciceronian subabsurdum. They may also be formed by what I might term the com- bination of two independent units, as in male/icus. For I will not admit that the combination of three 66 is possible at any rate in Latin, although Cicero asserts that capsis 2 is compounded of cape si vis, and there are to be found scholars who contend that Lupercalia likewise is a compound of three parts of speech, namely lucre per caprum. As for Solitaurilia 67 it is by now universally believed to stand for Suovetaurilia, a derivation which corresponds to the actual sacrifice, which has its counterpart in Homer3 as well. But these compounds are formed not so much from three words as from the fragments of three. On the other hand Pacuvius seems to have formed compounds of a preposition and two vocables (i.e. nouns) as in

Nerei repandirostrum incurvicervicum pecus :

"The flock Of Nereus snout-uplifted, neck-inarched " :

the effect is unpleasing. Compounds are however 68 formed from two complete Latin words, as for in- stance super fui and subterfugi ; though in this case there is some question as to whether the words from which they are formed are complete.4 They may also be formed of one complete and one incomplete

4 i.e. if both elements are complete in themselves is the word a true compound ?

109

QUINTILIAN

malevolttSj aut ex corrupto et integro ut noctivagus, aut ex duobus corruptis ut pedisecus, aut ex nostro et peregrino ut bidinium, aut contra ut epilogium et Anticato, aliquando et ex duobus peregrinis ut epi- rac'diiim. Nam cum sit praepositio Graeca, raeda Gallicum : neque Graecus tamcn neque Callus utitur composite ; Romani suum ex alieno utroque fecerunt. 59 Frequenter autem praepositiones quoque compositio ista corrumpit : inde abstulit, aufugit, amisit, cum praepositio sit ab sola ; et coil, cum sit praepositio

70 con ; sic ignavi et erepublica et similia. Sed res tota magis Graecos decet, nobis minus succedit, nee id fieri natura puto, sed alienis favemus ; ideoque cum Kvprai'x^o. mirati simus, incurvicervicum vix a risu defendimus.

71 Propria sunt verba, cum id significant, in quod primo denominata sunt ; translata, cum alium natura intellectum alium loco praebent. Usitatis tutius utimur, nova non sine quodam periculo fingimus. Nam si recepta sunt, modicam laudem adferimt

72 orationi, repudiata etiam in iocos exeunt. Audeu- dum tamen ; namque, ut Cicero ait, etiam quae primo dura visa sunt, usu molliuntur. Sed minime nobis concessa est ovo/j-aro-oua ', quis enim ferat, si

1 Sometimes \vritten as one word.

2 de Nat. dcorum, I. xxxiv. 95.

I IO

BOOK I. v. 68-72

word, as in the case of malevolus, or of one incom- plete and one complete, such as noctivagus, or of

two incomplete words as in pedisecus (footman), or from one Latin and one foreign word as in biclinium (a dining-couch for two), or in the reverse order as in epitogium (an upper garment) or Anticato, and sometimes even from two foreign words as in epiraedium (a thong attaching the horse to the raeda). For in this last case the preposition is Greek, while raeda is Gallic, while the compound is employed neither by Greek nor Gaul, but has been appro- priated by Rome from the two foreign tongues. In 69 the case of prepositions they are frequently changed by the act of compounding: as a result we get abslulit, aufiigit, amisit, though the preposition is ab, and coil, though the preposition is con. The same is true of ignauus and erepublica.1 But compounds are 70 better suited to Greek than to Latin, though I do not think that this is due to the nature of our language : the reason rather is that we have a preference for foreign goods, and therefore receive Kvpravx^v with applause, whereas we can scarce defend incurvicervicus from derisive laughter.

Words are proper when they bear their original 71 meaning ; metaphorical, when they are used in a sense different from their natural meaning. Current words are safest to use : there is a spice of danger in coining new. For if they are adopted, our style wins but small "-lorv from them ; while if they are

•> »

rejected, they become a subject for jest. Still we 72 must make the venture; for as Cicero2 says, use softens even these words which at first seemed harsh. On the other hand the power of onomatopoeia is denied us. Who would tolerate an attempt to imitate

in

QUINTILIAN

quid simile illis merito laudatis Aty£« /?io? et crt^ev 6(f>0a\[j.6$ fingere audeamus? Nam ne balare quidem aut hinnire fortiter diceremus, nisi iudicio vetustatis niterentur.

VI. Est etiam sua loquentibus observatio, sua scribentibus. Sermo constat ratione vel vetustate, auctoritate, consuetudine. Rationem praestat prae- cipue analogia, nonnunquam et etymologia. Vetera maiestas quaedam et, ut sic dixerim, religio com-

2 mendat. Auctoritas ab oratoribus vel historicis peti solet ; nam poetas metri necessitas excusat, nisi si quando nihil impediente in utroque modulatione pedum alterum malunt, qualia sunt, imo de stirpe rccisum, et aeriae quo congessere palumbes et silice in nuda et similia ; cum summorum in eloquentia virorum indicium pro ratione, et velut error honestus

3 est magnos duces sequentibus. Consuetudo vero certissima loquendi magistra, utendumque plane serrnone ut nummo, cui publica forma est. Omnia tameii haec exigunt acre iudiciurn, analogia praeci- pue, quam proxime ex Graeco transferentes in

4 Latinum proportionem vocaverunt. Eius haec vis est, ut id quod dubium est ad aliquid simile, de quo non quaeritur, referat et incerta certis probet. Quod efficitur duplici via : comparatione similium in extremis maxima syllabis, propter quod ea quae

1 Homer, II. iv. 125. J Od. ix. 394.

8 Aen. xii. 208 : "cut away from the lowest root." Eel. iii. 69: " where airy doves have made their nest." Eel. i. 15: " on the naked rock." Stirps, palumbes and silex are usually masculine.

112

BOOK 1. v. 72-vi. 4

phrases like the much praised Aiy£e /^.o's,1 " the bow twanged," and cri£ej/ 6<f>8a\/ji6<;,z " the eye hissed " ? We should even feel some qualms about using balare "to baa," and hinmre, " to whinny/' if we had not the sanction of antiquity to support us.

VI. There are special rules which must be ob- served both by speakers and writers. Language is based on reason, antiquity, authority and usage. Reason finds its chief support in analogy and some- times in etymology. As for antiquity, it is commen- ded to us by the possession of a certain majesty, I might almost say sanctity. Authority as a rule we 2 derive from orators and historians. For poets, owing to the necessities of metre, are allowed a certain licence except in cases where they deliberately choose one of two expressions, when both are metri- cally possible, as for instance in imo de stirpe red sum and aeriae quo congessere palumbes or silice in nuda a and the like. The judgment of a supreme orator is placed on the same level as reason, and even error brings no disgrace, if it result from treading in the footsteps of such distinguished guides. Usage 3 however is the surest pilot in speaking, and we should treat language as currency minted with the public stamp. But in all these cases we have need of a critical judgment, especially as regards analogy (a Greek term for which a Latin equivalent has been found in proportion}. The essence of analogy 4 is the testing of all subjects of doubt by the applica- tion of some standard of comparison about which there is no question, the proof that is to say of the uncertain by reference to the certain. This can be done in two different ways : by comparing similar words, paying special attention to their final syllables

QUINTILIAN

Runt e singulis negantur debere rationem, et demi-

5 nutione. Comparatio in nominibus aut genus deprehendit aut declinationem ; genus, ut si quae- ra,tur}ifunis masculinum sit an femininum, simile illi sit panis ; declinationem, ut si veniat in dubium, hac domu dicendum sit an hac domo et domuum an

6 domorum : similia sint [domus] anus, mamis. Demi- nutio genus modo detegit, et, ne ab eodem exemplo recedam, funem masculinum esse funiculus ostendit.

7 Eadem in verbis quoque ratio comparationis, ut, si quis antiques secutus fervere brevi media syllaba dicat, deprehendatur vitiose loqui, quod omnia, quae e et o litteris fatendi modo terminantur, eadem, si infinitis e litteram media syllaba acceperunt, utique productam habent : prandeo pendeo spondeo, prandere

8 pendere spondere. At quae o solam habent, dummodo per eandem litteram in infinito exeant, brevia fiunt : lego dico curro, legere dicere currere ; etiamsi est apud Lucilium Fervit aqua et fervet, fervit niuic, fervet ad

9 annum. Sed, pace dicere hominis eruditissimi liceat, si fervit putat illi simile currit et legit, fervo dicetur ut lego et curro, quod nobis inauditum est. Sed non est haec vera comparatio ; nam fervit est illi simile

1 sc. because two monosyllables, unless identical, cannot have the same £n%l syllable. 2 In Book IX.

114

BOOK I. vi. 4-9

(hence monosyllables are asserted to lie outside the domain of analogy1} and by the study of diminutives. Comparison of nouns will reveal either their gender 5 or their declension : in the first case, supposing the question is raised as to whether Junis be masculine or feminine, panis will. supply a standard of compari- son : in the second case, supposing we are in doubt as to whether we should say hac dornu or hac domo, dommim or domorum, the standard of comparison will be found in words such as anus or manus. Diminutives 6 merely reveal the gender : for instance, to return to a word previously used as an illustration, fitniculus proves that funis is masculine. The same standard 7 may be applied in the case of verbs. For instance if it should be asserted that the middle syllable of fervere is short, we can prove this to be an error, because all verbs which in the indicative terminate in -eoy make the middle syllable of the infinitive long, if that syllable contain an e : take as examples such verbs as prandeo3pendeo, spondeo with infinitives prandere, pendcre, spondere. Those verbs, however, 8 which terminate in -o alone, if they form the infini- tive in e, have the e short ; compare lego, dico, curro, with the infinitives, legere, diccre, currere. I admit that in Lucilius we find—

fervit aqua et fervet : fervit nuncfervet ad annum. 2

" The water boils and boil it will ; it boils and for a year will boil."

But with all due respect to so learned a man, if he regards fervit as on the same footing as currit and Legit, we shall say fervo as we say lego and curro : 9 but such a form has never yet come to my ears. But this is not a true comparison : for fervit re-

"5

QUINTILIAN

servit, quam proportionem sequenti dicere necesse est

10 fervire ut servire. Prima quoque aliquando positio ex obliquis invenitur, ut memoria repeto convictos a me, qui reprehenderant, quod hoc verbo usus essem, pepigi ; nam id quidem dixisse summos auctores con- fitebantur, rationem tamen negabant permittere, quia prima positio paciscor, cum haberet naturam patiendi, faceret tempore praeterito pactus sum.

11 Nos praeter auctoritatem oratorum atque histori- corum analogia quoque dictum hoc tuebamur. Nam cum legeremus in XII tabulis ni ita pacunt, invenie- bamus simile huic cadunt, inde prima positio, etiamsi vetustate exoleverat, apparebat paco ut cado, unde

12 non erat dubium sic pepigi nos dicere ut cecidi. Sed meminerimus non per omnia duci analogiae posse rationem, cum et sibi ipsa plurimis in locis repugnet. Quaedam sine dubio conantur eruditi defendere, ut, cum deprehensum est, lepns et lupus similia positione quantum casibus numerisque dissentiant : ista re- spondent non esse paria, quia lepus epicoenon sit, lupus masculinum ; quanquam Varro in eo libro, quo initia Romanae urbis enarrat, lupum feminam dicit

13 Ennium Pictoremque Fabium secutus. Illi autem iidem, cum interrogantur, cur aper apri et pater patris faciat, illud nomen positum, hoc ad aliquid esse contendunt. Praeterea quoniam utrumque a Graeco

116

BOOK I. vi. 9-13

sembles servit, and on this analogy we should say fervire like servire. It is also possible in certain 10 cases to discover the present indicative of a verb from the study of its other tenses. I remember, for in- stance, refuting certain scholars who criticised me for using the word pepigi : for, although they admitted that it had been used by some of the best authors, they asserted that it was an irrational form because the present indicative paciscor, being passive in form, made pactus sum as its perfect. I in addition 1 1 to quoting the authority of orators and historians maintained that I was also supported by analogy. For when I found ni ita pacunt in the Twelve Tables, I noted that cadunt provided a parallel : it was clear therefore that the present indicative, though now obsolete, was paco on the analogy of cado, and it was further obvious that we say pepigi for just the same reason that we say cecidi. But we must 12 remember that analogy cannot be universally applied, as it is often inconsistent with itself. It is true indeed that scholars have attempted to justify certain apparent anomalies : for example, when it is noted to what an extent lepus and lupus, which resemble each other closely in the nominative, differ in the plural and in the other cases, they reply that they are not true parallels, since lepus is epicene, while lupus is masculine, although Varro in the book in which he narrates the origins of Rome, writes lupus femina, following the precedent of Ennius and Fabius Pictor. The same scholars, however, when 13 asked why aper became apri in the genitive, but pater patris, asserted that aper was an absolute, pater a relative noun. Further since both words derive from the Greek, they took refuge in the fact

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ductum sit, ad earn rationem recurrunt, ut Trarpo?

14 patris, Ka-rrpov apri faciat. Ilia tamen quomodo effugient, ut, nomina quamvis feminina singular! nominativo us litteris finita nunquam genitivo casu ris syllaba terminentur, faciat tamen Venus Veneris ? item cum es litteris finita per varies exeant genitives, nunquam tamen eadem ris syllaba terminates, Ceres

15 cogat dici Cereris ? Quid vero ? quod tota positionis eiusdem in diversos flexus eunt? cum Alba faciat Albanos et Albenses, volo volui et volavi. Nam prae- terito quidem tempore varie formari verba prima persona o littera terminata, ipsa analogia confiteatur ; siquidem facit cado cecidi, spondeo spopondi, pin go pinxi,

16 lego legi, pono posui, frango fregi, laudo laudavi. Non enim, cum primum fingerentur homines, analogia demissa caelo formam loquendi dedit, sed inventa est postquam loquebantur, et notatum in sermone quid quomodo caderet. Itaque non ratione nititur sed exemplo, nee lex est loquendi sed observatio, ut ipsamanalogiamnulla res alia feceritquam consuetude.

17 Inhaerent tamen ei quidam molestissima diligentiae perversitate, ut audaciter potius dicant quam audader, licet omnes oratores aliud sequantur, et emicavit non emicuit et conire non coire. His permittamus et audhisse et scivisse et trilmnale et faciliter dicere ; frugnlis quoque sit apud illos nonjrugi. nam quo alio

18 modo fiet frugalifas? lidem centum milia minimum et tid em Deum ostendant duplices quoque soloecismos

1 i.e. minimum and deum should, strictly speaking, be accus. singular.

118

BOOK I. vi. 13-18

that TraTpds provides a parallel to patris and to apri. But how will they evade the difficulty 14 that feminine nouns whose nominative singular ends in -us never make the genitive end in -ris, and yet the genitive of Venus is Vcneris : again nouns ending in -es have various genitive ter- minations, but never end in -ris, but yet we have no choice but to make the genitive of Ceres Cereris? Again what of those words which, although identi- 15 cal in the form of the nominative or present indica- tive, develop the utmost variety in their inflections. Thus from Alba we get both Albanus and Albensis, from volo both volui and volavi. Analogy itself admits that verbs whose present indicative ends in -o have a great variety of perfect formations, as for instance cado cecidi, spondco spopondi, pingo pinxi, lego legi, pono posui,frangofregi} laudo laudavi. For 16 analogy was not sent down from heaven at the creation of mankind to frame the rules of language, but was discovered after they began to speak and to note the terminations of words used in speech. It is therefore based not on reason but on example, nor is it a law of language, but rather a practice which is observed, being in fact the offspring of usage. Some scholars, however, are so perverse and 17 obstinate in their passion for analogy, that they say audaciter in preference to audacter,, the form preferred by all orators, and emicaiit for emicuit, and conire for coire. We may permit them to say audivisse, scivisse, tribunale and faclliter, nor will we deprive them of frugally as an alternative for frugl : for from what else can frngalitas be formed? They may 18 also be allowed to point out that phrases such as centum milia nummum and Jidem deum l involve a

119

QUINTILIAN

esse, quando et casum mutant et numerum ; nescie- bamus enim ac non consuetudini et decori servie- bamus, sicut in plurimis, quae M. Tullius in Oratore

19 divine ut omnia exequitur. Sed Augustus quoque in epistulis ad C. Caesarem scriptis emendat, quod is caUduni dicere quam caldum malit, non quia id non sit Latinum sed quia sit odiosum et, ut ipse Graeco

20 verbo significavit, Trept'epyor. Atqui hanc quidam opOoeTreiav solam putant, quam ego minima excludo. Quid enim tarn necessarium quam recta locutio? Immo inhaerendum ei iudico, quoad licet, diu etiam mutantibus repugnandum ; sed abolita atque abrogata retinere insolentiae cuiusdam est et frivolae in parvis

21 iactantiae. Multum enim litteratus, qui sine aspira- tione et producta secunda syllaba salutarit (avere est enim) et calefacere dixerit potius, quam quod dicimus, et conservavisse, his adiiciat face et dice et similia.

22 Recta est liaec via; quis negat ? sed adiacet et mollior et magis trita. Ego tamen non alio magis angor, quam quod obliquis casibus ducti etiam primas sibi positiones non invenire sed mutare permittunt : ut cum ebur et robur, ita dicta ac scripta summis auctoribus, in o litteram secundae svllabae trans-

' v

ferunt, quia sit roboris et eboris, sulpur autem et guttur u litteram in genitive servent ; ideoque iecur

23 etiam et femur controversiam fecerunt. Quod non

1 xlvi. 155.

8 For hact, calfacere, conservasse.

120

BOOK I. vi. 18-23

double solecism, since they change both case and number. Of course we were in blank ignorance of the fact and were not simply conforming to usage and the demands of elegance, as in the numerous cases, with which Cicero deals magnificently, as always, in his Orator.1 Augustus again in his letters 19 to (.laius Caesar corrects him for preferring calidus to caldns, riot on the ground that the former is not Latin, but because it is unpleasing and as he himself puts it in Greek Treptepyov (affected). Some hold 20 that this is just a question of op#oeVeta or correctness of speech, a subject to which I am far from being indifferent. For what can be more necessary than

•/

that we should speak correctly ? Nay, I even think that, as far as possible, we should cling to correct forms and resist all tendencies to change. But to attempt to retain forms long obsolete and extinct is sheer impertinence and ostentatious pedantry. I would suggest that the ripe scholar, who says "ave" 21 without the aspirate and with a long e (for it comes from arere), and uses calefacere and conservavisse in preference to the usual forms,2 should also add face, dice and the like to his vocabulary. His way is the 22 right way. Who doubts it ? But there is an easier and more frequented path close by. There is, however, nothing which annoys me more than their habit not merely of inferring the nominative from the oblique cases, but of actually altering it. For instance in ebur and robur, the forms regularly used both in writing and speech by the best authors, these gentlemen change their second syllable to o, because their genitives are roboris and eboris, and be- cause sulpur and gidtur keep the u in the genitive. So too femur and iecur give rise to similar controversy.

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minus est licentiosum, quam si sulpuri et gutturi subiicerent in genitive litteram o mediam, quia esset ebons et roboris ; sicut Antonius Gnipho, qui robur quidem et ebur atque etiarn marmur faletur esse, verum fieri vult ex liis robnra, ebur a, marmur a.

24 Quodsi animadverterent litterarum adfinitatem, scirent sic ab eo, quod est robur, roboris fieri, quo- modo ab eo, quod est miles limes, militis limitis, index vindex, iudicis lindicis, et quae supra iam attigi.

25 Quid vero quod, ut dicebam, similes positiones in longe diversas figuras per obliquos casus exeunt, ut virgo luno, fusus lusus, cuspis puppis et mille alia ? cum illud etiam accidat, ut quaedam pluraliter non dicantur, quaedam contra singular! numero, quaedam casibus careant, quaedam a primis; statim positionibus

26 tota mutentur, ut luppiter. Quod verbis etiam accidit ut illi fero, cuius praeteritum perfectum et ulterius non invenitur. Nee plurimum refert, nulla haec an praedura sint. Nam quid progenies genitivo singular], quid plurali spes faciet ? Quomodo autem quire et mere vel in praeterita patiendi modo vel in

27 participia transibunt? Quid de aliis dicam, cum senatus senati an senaius facial, incertum sit ? Quare mihi non invenuste dici videtur, aliud esse Latine aliud grammatice loqui. Ac de analogia nimium.

28 Etvmologia, quae verborum originem inquirit, a

122

BOOK I. vi. 23-28

Their proceedings are just as arbitrary as if they 23 were to substitute an o in the genitives of sulpur and gutlur on the analogy of eboris and roboris. Thus Antonius Gnipho while admitting robur, ebur and even marmur to be correct, would have their plurals to be ebura, robura and mannura. If they 24 would only pay attention to the affinities existing between letters, they would realize that robur makes its genitive roboris in precisely the same way that Limes, miles, index and uindcx make their genitives militis, limitis, iudicis and uindicis, not to mention other words to which I have already referred. Do not nouns 25

•/

which are similar in the nominative show, as I have already observed, quite different terminations in the oblique cases ? Compare uirgo and Juno, lusus and fusns, cu&pis and puppis and a thousand others. Again some nouns are not used in the plural, while others are not used in the singular, some are inde- clinable, while others, like Jupiter, in the oblique cases entirely abandon the form of the nominative. 26 The same is true of verbs : for instance fero dis-

t/

appears in the perfect and subsequent tenses. Nor does it matter greatly whether such forms are non- existent or too harsh to use. For what is the geni- tive singular of progenies or the genitive plural ofspes? Or how will quire and mere form a perfect passive or passive participles. Why should I mention other 27 words when it is even doubtful whether the genitive of senatus is senati or senatus ? In view of what I have said, it seems to me that the remark, that it is one thing to speak Latin and another to speak grammar, was far from unhappy. So much for analogy, of which I have said more than enough. Etymology inquires into the origin of words, and 28

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Cicerone dicta est notatio, quia nomen eius apud Aristotelem invenitur avfiftoXov, quod est nota ; nam verbum ex verbo ductum, id est veriloquium, ipse Cicero, qui finxit, reformidat. Sunt qui vim potius

29 intuiti originationem vocent. Haec habet aliquando usum necessarium, quotiens interpretatione res, de qua quaeritur, eget, ut M. Caelius se esse hominem frugi vult probare, non quia abstinens sit (nam id ne ementiri quidem poterat), sed quia utilis multis, id est fructuosus, unde sit ducta frugalitas. Ideoque in definitionibus assignatur etymologiae

30 locus. Nonnunquam etiam barbara ab emendatis conatur discernere, ut cum, Triqnelram dici Sicilian! an Triquedram, meridiem an medidiem oporteat quae-

31 ritur, aliaque quae consuetudini serviunt. Continet autem in se multam eruditionem, sive ex Graecis orta tractemus, quae sunt plurima, praecipueque Aeolica ratione (cui est sermo noster simillimus) declinata, sive ex historiarum veterum notitia nomina hominum, locorum, gentium, urbium requiramus, unde Bruti, Publicolae, Pythici ? cur Latiinn, Italia, Beneventum? quae Capitolium et collem Quirinalem et Argiletum appellandi ratio?

32 lam ilia minora, in quibus maxime studiosi eius

1 Top. viii. 35. ! ircpi c-p/z. 2.

8 For derivations see Index of Names at end.

124

BOOK I. vi. 28-32

was called notation by Cicero,1 on the ground that the term used by Aristotle2 is cru/xftoAov, which may be translated by nota. A literal rendering of eYu//oA.oyia would be ueritoquium, a form which even Cicero, its inventor, shrinks from using. Some again, with an eye to the meaning of the word, call it origination. Etymology is sometimes of the utmost use, when- 29 ever the word under discussion needs interpretation. For instance Marcus Caelius wishes to prove that he is homo frugi, not because he is abstemious (for he could not even pretend to be that), but because he is useful to many, that is frucluosus, from which frugalitas is derived. Consequently we find room for etymology when we are concerned with de- finitions. Sometimes again this science attempts to 30 distinguish between correct forms and barbarisms, as for instance when we are discussing whether we should call Sicily Triquetra or Triqutdra, or say meridies or medidies, not to mention other words which depend on current usage. Such a science 31 demands profound erudition, whether we are deal- ing with the large number of words which are

O O

derived from the Greek, more especially those inflected according to the practice of the Aeolic dialect, the form of Greek which most nearly resembles Latin ; or are using ancient historians as a basis for inquiry into the origin of names of men, places, nations and cities. For instance what is the origin of names such as Brutus, Publicola, or Pythicus ? Why do we speak of Latium, Italia or Beneventum ? What is the reason for employing such names as Capitolium, collis Quirmalis or Argiletum ? 3

1 now turn to minor points concerning which 32 enthusiasts for etymology give themselves an

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rei fatigantur, qui verba paulum declinata varie et multipliciter ad veritatem reducunt aut correptis aut porrectis, aut adiectis aut detractis, aut permutatis litteris syllabisve. Inde pravis ingeniis ad foedissima usque ludibria labuntur. Sit enim Consul a consu- lendo vel a iudicando ; nam et hoc consulere veteres vocaverunt, unde adhuc remanet illud rogat boni

33 consulas, id est bonum iudices. Senatui nomen dederit aetas (nam iidem Patres sunt), et rex rector et alia plurima indubitata ; nee abnuerim tcgulae regulaeque et similium his rationem. lam sit et classis a calando et lepus levipes et vu/pes volipes :

34 etiamne a contrariis aliqua sinemus trahi, ut Incus, quia umbra opacus parum luceat, et ludus, quia sit longissime a lusu^ et Ditis, quia minime dives'? etiamne hominem appellari, quia sit humo natus (quasi vero non omnibus animalibus eadem origo, aut illi primi mortales ante nomen imposuerint terrae quam

35 sibi), et verba ab acre verberato ? Pergamus : sic perveniemus eo usque, ut stella luminis stilla credatur,

126

BOOK I. vi. 32-35

infinity of trouble, restoring to their true form words which have become slightly altered : the methods which they employ are varied and manifold : they shorten them or lengthen them, add, remove, or interchange letters and syllables as the case may be. As a result perverseness of judgment leads to the most hideous absurdities. I am ready to admit that consul may be derived from considere in the sense of consulting or judging; for the ancients used con- sulere in the latter sense, and it still survives in the phrase rogal boni consulas, that is honum indices, "judge fit." Again senatus may well be derived from old 33 age (for the senators are called "the fathers"): I concur in the derivations assigned to rex rector to say nothing of many other words where there can be no doubt, and do not refuse to accept those suggested for tegula, regula and the like : let classis be from calare (call out, summon), lepus be a con- traction of levipes and vulpes of volipes. But are we 34 also to admit the derivation of certain words from their opposites, and accept lucus a non lucendo, since a grove is dark with shade, Indus in the sense of school as being so called because it is quite the reverse of " play " and Dis, Ditis from diues, because Pluto is far from being rich ? Are we to assent to the view that homo is derived from humus, because man sprang from the earth, as though all other living things had not the same origin or as if primitive man gave the earth a name before giving one to himself? Or again can verbum be derived from aer verberatus, "beaten air"? Let us go a 35 little further and we shall find that stella is believed to be still a luminis "a drop of light," a derivation whose author is so famous in literature that it would

127

QUINT1LIAN

cuius etymologiae auctorem clarum sane in litteris nominari in ea parte, qua a me reprehenditur, inhu-

36 manum est. Qui vero talia libris complex! sunt, nomina sua ipsi inscripserunt ; ingenioseque visus est Gavius caelibes dicere veluti caelites, quod onere gravissimo vacent, idque Graeco argumento iuvit, ffiOeovs enim eadem de causa dici arlirmat. Nee ei cedit Modestus inventione, nam, quia Caelo Saturnus genitalia absciderit, hoc nomine appellatos, qui uxore careant, ait ; Aelius pituitam, quia pelat vilam.

37 Sed cui non post Varronem sit venia, qui agrum, quia in eo agatur aliquid, et graculos, quia gregalim volent, dictos Ciceroni persuadere voluit (ad eum enim scribit), cum alterum ex Graeco sit manifestum duci,

38 alterum ex vocibus avium ? Sed hoc tanti fuit vertere, ut merula, quia sola volat, quasi mera volans nominaretur. Quidam non dubitaverunt etymologiae subiicere omnem nominis causam : ut ex habitu^ quemadmodum dixi^ Longos et Rufos, ex sono strepere, murmurare ; etiam derivata, ut a velocilate dicitur velox, et composita pluraque his similia, quae sine dubio aliunde origin em ducunt, sed arte non

1 de Lingua Lat. \. 34 and 76.

2 The above makes Quintilian derive velox from velocitas, as Varro (L.L. viii. 15) derives prudens from prudentia. Those who regard this as incredible must with Colson transpose ut . . . velox to follow Rufos making Velox a cog- nomen, or with Meister read velo for velocitate, or velo citato (Colson).

128

BOOK I. vi. 35-38

be unkind to mention his name in connexion with a point where he comes in for censure. But those 36 who collected such derivations in book form, put their names on the title page ; and Gavius thought himself a perfect genius when he identified caelibes, "bachelors/' with caelites, "gods/' on the ground that they are free from a heavy load of care, and supported this opinion by a Greek analogy: for he asserted that ^Weoi, " young men/' had a precisely similar origin. Modestus is not his inferior in inventive power : for he asserts that caelibes, that is to say unmarried men, are so called because Saturn cut off the genital organs of Caelus. Aelius asserts that pituita, "phlegm/' is so called quia petal mtam, because it attacks life. But we may pardon anyone 37 after the example set by Varro.1 For he tried to persuade Cicero, to whom he dedicated his work, that a field was called agcr because something is done in it (agitur}, and jackdaws graculos because they fly in flocks (gregafini), in spite of the obvious fact that the first word is derived from the Greek, the latter from the cry of the bird in question. But Varro had such a passion for derivations that he 38 derived the name merula "a blackbird' from mera uolans on the ground that it flies alone ! Some scholars do not hesitate to have recourse to etymology for the origin of every word, deriving names such as Rufus or Longus from the appearance of their possessor, verbs such as strepere or munnurare from the sounds which they represent, and even ex- tending this practice to certain derivatives, making uelox for instance find its origin in uelocitas,2 as well as to compounds and the like : now although such words doubtless have an origin, no special science