_Attico genere dicendi se gaudere dicunt; atqui utinam
imitarentur
nec
ossa solum, sed etiam et sanguinem.
ossa solum, sed etiam et sanguinem.
Tacitus
lib.
xii.
cap.
1.
Section XIX.
[a] Cassius Severus lived in the latter end of the reign of Augustus,
and through a considerable part of that of Tiberius. He was an orator,
according to Quintilian, who, if read with due caution, might serve as
a model worthy of imitation. It is to be regretted, that to the many
excellent qualities of his style he did not add more weight, more
strength and dignity, and thereby give colour and a body to his
sentiments. With those requisites, he would have ranked with the most
eminent orators. To his excellent genius he united keen reflection,
great energy, and a peculiar urbanity, which gave a secret charm to
his speeches. But the warmth of his temper hurried him on; he listened
more to his passions than to his judgement; he possessed a vein of
wit, but he mingled with it too much acrimony; and wit, when it misses
its aim, feels the mortification and the ridicule which usually attend
disappointed malice. _Multa, si cum judicio legatur, dabit imitatione
digna CASSIUS SEVERUS, qui, si cæteris virtutibus colorem et
gravitatem orationis adjecisset, ponendus inter præcipuos foret, Nam
et ingenii plurimum est in eo, et acerbitas mira, et urbanitas, et vis
summa; sed plus stomacho quàm consilio dedit; præterea ut amari sales,
ita frequenter amaritudo ipsa ridicula est. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. We read
in Suetonius (_Life of Octavius_, s. 56), that Cassius had the
hardiness to institute a prosecution for the crime of poisoning
against Asprenas Nonius, who was, at the time, linked in the closest
friendship with Augustus. Not content with accusations against the
first men in Rome, he chose to vent his malevolence in lampoons and
defamatory libels, against the most distinguished of both sexes. It
was this that provoked Horace to declare war against Cassius, in an
ode (lib, v. ode 6), which begins, _Quid immerentes hospites vexas,
canis_. See an account of his malevolent spirit, _Annals_, b, i. s.
72. He was at length condemned for his indiscriminate abuse, and
banished by Augustus to the isle of Crete. But his satirical rage was
not to be controlled. He continued in exile to discharge his
malignity, till, at last, at the end of ten years, the senate took
cognizance of his guilt, and Tiberius ordered him to be removed from
Crete to the Rock of Seriphos, where he languished in old age and
misery. See _Annals_, b. iv. s. 21. The period of ancient oratory
ended about the time when Cassius began his career. He was the first
of the new school.
[b] These two rhetoricians flourished in the time of Augustus.
Apollodorus, we are told by Quintilian (b. iii. chap. 1), was the
preceptor of Augustus. He taught in opposition to Theodorus Gadareus,
who read lectures at Rhodes, and was attended by Tiberius during his
retreat in that island. The two contending masters were the founders
of opposite sects, called the _Apollodorean_ and _Theodorian_. But
true eloquence, which knows no laws but those of nature and good
sense, gained nothing by party divisions. Literature was distracted by
new doctrines; rhetoric became a trick in the hands of sophists, and
all sound oratory disappeared. Hermagoras, Quintilian says, in the
chapter already cited, was the disciple of Theodorus.
Section XX.
[a] Doctor Middleton says, "Of the seven excellent orations, which now
remain on the subject of VERRES, the first two only were spoken; the
one called, _The Divination_; the other, _The first Action_, which is
nothing more than a general preface to the whole cause. The other five
were published afterwards, as they were prepared and intended to be
spoken, if Verres had made a regular defence: for as this was the only
cause in which Cicero had yet been engaged, or ever designed to be
engaged, as _an accuser_, so he was willing to leave those orations as
a specimen of his abilities in that way, and the _pattern of a just
and diligent impeachment of a great and corrupt magistrate. " Life of
Cicero_, vol. i. p. 86, 4to edit.
[b] The Digest enumerates a multitude of rules concerning _exceptions_
to persons, things, the form of the action, the niceties of pleading,
and, as the phrase is, motions in arrest of judgement. _Formula_, was
the set of words necessary to be used in the pleadings. See the
_Digest_, lib. xliv. tit. 1. _De Exceptionibus, Præscriptionibus, et
Præjudiciis_. See also Cujacius, _observat. _ xxiii.
[c] The oration for Marcus Tullius is highly praised by Macrobius, but
is not to be found in Cicero's works. The oration for Aulus Cæcina is
still extant. The cause was about the right of succession to a private
estate, which depended on a subtle point of law, arising from the
interpretation of the prætor's interdict. It shews Cicero's exact
knowledge and skill in the civil law, and that his public character
and employment gave no interruption to his usual diligence in pleading
causes. Middleton's _Life of Cicero_, vol. i. p. 116, 4to edit.
[d] Roscius, in the last period of the republic, was the comedian,
whom all Rome admired for his talents. The great esteemed and loved
him for his morals. Æsop, the tragedian, was his contemporary. Horace,
in the epistle to Augustus, has mentioned them both with their proper
and distinctive qualities.
----Ea cum reprehendere coner
Quæ GRAVIS ÆSOPUS, quæ DOCTUS ROSCIUS egit.
A certain measured gravity of elocution being requisite in tragedy,
that quality is assigned to the former, and the latter is called
DOCTUS, because he was a complete master of his art; so truly learned
in the principles of his profession, that he possessed, in a wonderful
degree, the secret charm that gave inimitable graces to his voice and
action. Quintilian, in a few words, has given a commentary on the
passage in Horace. Grief, he says, is expressed by slow and deliberate
accents; for that reason, Æsop spoke with gravity; Roscius with
quickness; the former being a tragedian, the latter a comedian. _Plus
autem affectus habent lentiora; ideoque Roscius citatior, Æsopus
gravior fuit, quod ille comœdias, his tragœdias egit. _ Lib. xi. cap.
1. Cicero was the great friend and patron of Roscius. An elegant
oration in his behalf is still extant. The cause was this: One FANNIUS
had made over to Roscius a young slave, to be formed by him to the
stage, on condition of a partnership in the profits which the slave
should acquire by acting. The slave was afterwards killed. Roscius
prosecuted the murderer for damages, and obtained, by composition, a
little farm, worth about eight hundred pounds, for his particular
share. FANNIUS also sued separately, and was supposed to have gained
as much; but, pretending to have recovered nothing, he sued ROSCIUS
for the moiety of what he had received. One cannot but observe, says
Dr. Middleton, from Cicero's pleading, the wonderful esteem and
reputation in which Roscius then flourished. Has Roscius, says he,
defrauded his partner? Can such a stain stick upon such a man; a man
who, I speak it with confidence, has more integrity than skill, more
veracity than experience? a man whom the people of Rome know to be a
better citizen than he is an actor; and, while he makes the first
figure on the stage for his art, is worthy of a seat in the senate for
his virtue. _Quem populus Romanus meliorem virum quam histrionem esse
arbitratur; qui ita dignissimus est scená propter artificium, ut
dignissimus sit curiá propter abstinentiam. Pro Roscio Comœdo_, s. 17
In another place, Cicero says, he was such an artist, as to seem the
only one fit to appear on the stage; yet such a man, as to seem the
only one who should not come upon it at all. _Cum artifex ejusmodi
sit, ut solus dignus videatur esse qui in scená spectetur; tum vir
ejusmodi est, ut solus dignus videatur, qui eo non accedat. Pro Publ.
Quinctio_, s. 78. What Cicero has said in his pleadings might be
thought oratorical, introduced merely to serve the cause, if we did
not find the comedian praised with equal warmth in the dialogue DE
ORATORE. It is there said of Roscius, that every thing he did was
perfect in the kind, and executed with consummate grace, with a secret
charm, that touched, affected, and delighted the whole audience:
insomuch, that when a man excelled in any other profession, it was
grown into a proverb to call him, THE ROSCIUS OF HIS ART. _Videtisne,
quam nihil ab eo nisi perfectè, nihil nisi cum summâ venustate fiat?
nihil, nisi ita ut deceat, et uti omnes moveat, atque delectet? Itaque
hoc jam diu est consecutus, ut in quo quisque artificio excelleret, is
in suo genere Roscius diceretur. _ _De Orat. _ lib. i. s. 130. After so
much honourable testimony, one cannot but wonder why the DOCTUS
ROSCIUS of Horace is mentioned in this Dialogue with an air of
disparagement. It may be, that APER, the speaker in this passage, was
determined to degrade the orators of antiquity; and the comedian was,
therefore, to expect no quarter. Dacier, in his notes on the Epistle
to Augustus, observes that Roscius wrote a book, in which he undertook
to prove to Cicero, that in all the stores of eloquence there were not
so many different expressions for one and the same thing, as in the
dramatic art there were modes of action, and casts of countenance, to
mark the sentiment, and convey it to the mind with its due degree of
emotion. It is to be lamented that such a book has not come down to
us. It would, perhaps, be more valuable than the best treatise of
rhetoric.
Ambivius Turpio acted in most of Terence's plays, and seems to have
been a manager of the theatre. Cicero, in the treatise _De Senectute_,
says: He, who sat near him in the first rows, received the greatest
pleasure; but still, those, who were at the further end of the
theatre, were delighted with him. _Turpione Ambivio magis delectatur,
qui in primâ caveâ spectat; delectatur tamen etiam qui in ultimâ. _
[e] ACCIUS and PACUVIUS flourished at Rome about the middle of the
sixth century from the foundation of the city. Accius, according to
Horace, was held to be a poet of a sublime genius, and Pacuvius (who
lived to be ninety years old) was respected for his age and profound
learning.
Ambigitur quoties uter utro sit prior, aufert
PACUVIUS docti famam senis, ACCIUS alti.
EPIST. AD AUG. ver. 56.
Velleius Paterculus says, that ACCIUS was thought equal to the best
writers of the Greek tragedy. He had not, indeed, the diligent touches
of the polishing hand, which we see in the poets of Athens, but he had
more spirit and vigour. _Accius usque in Græcorum comparationem
erectus. In illis limæ in hoc penè plus videri fuisse sanguinis. _ He
is often quoted by Cicero in his book _De Naturâ Deorum_. But after
all, it is from the great critic, who gives the best account of the
Roman poets, orators, and historians, that we are to take the genuine
character of ACCIUS and PACUVIUS, since their works are lost in the
general mass of ancient literature. They were both excellent tragic
poets: elevation of sentiment, grandeur of expression, and dignity of
character, stamped a value on their productions; and yet, we must not
expect to find the grace and elegance of genuine composition. To give
the finishing hand to their works was not their practice: the defect,
however, is not to be imputed to them; it was the vice of the age.
Force and dignity are the characteristics of ACCIUS; while the
critics, who wish to be thought deep and profound, admire PACUVIUS for
his extensive learning. _Tragœdiæ scriptores Accius atque Pacuvius,
clarissimi sententiarum verborumque pondere, et auctoritate
personarum. Cæterum nitor, et summa in excolendis operibus manus,
magis videri potest temporibus, quam ipsis defuisse. Virium tamen
Accio plus tribuitur; Pacuvium videri doctiorem, qui esse docti
affectant, volunt. _ Quintil. lib. x. cap. 1. It was the fashion in
Horace's time to prefer the writers of the old school to the new race
that gave so much lustre to the Augustan age. In opposition to such
erroneous criticism, the poet pronounces a decided judgement, which
seems to be confirmed by the opinion of Quintilian.
Si quædam nimis antiquè, si pleraque durè
Dicere credit eos, ignavè multa fatetur,
Et sapit, et mecum facit, et Jove judicat æquo.
EPIST. AD AUGUST. ver. 66.
But that sometimes their style uncouth appears,
And their harsh numbers rudely hurt our ears;
Or that full flatly flows the languid line,
He, who owns this, has Jove's assent and mine.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
[f] Lucan was nephew to Seneca, and a poet of great celebrity. He was
born, in the reign of Caligula, at Corduba in Spain. His superior
genius made Nero his mortal enemy. He was put to death by that inhuman
emperor, A. U. C. 818, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. See the
_Annals_, b. xv. s. 70. As a writer, Quintilian says, that he
possessed an ardent genius, impetuous, rapid, and remarkable for the
vigour of his sentiments: but he chooses to class him with the
orators, rather than the poets. _Lucanus ardens, et concitatus, et
sententiis clarissimus; et, ut dicam quod sentio, magis oratoribus
quam poetis annumerandus. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. Scaliger, on the other
hand, contends that Lucan was a true poet, and that the critics do but
trifle, when they object that he wrote history, not an epic poem.
STRADA in his Prolusions, has given, among other imitations, a
narrative in Lucan's manner; and, though he thinks that poet has not
the skill of Virgil, he places him on the summit of Parnassus,
managing his Pegasus with difficulty, often in danger of falling from
the ridge of a precipice, yet delighting his reader with the pleasure
of seeing him escape. This is the true character of Lucan. The love of
liberty was his ruling passion. It is but justice to add, that his
sentiments, when free from _antithesis_ and the _Ovidian_ manner, are
not excelled by any poet of antiquity. From him, as well as from
Virgil and Horace, the orator is required to cull such passages as
will help to enrich his discourse; and the practice is recommended by
Quintilian, who observes, that Cicero, Asinius Pollio, and others,
frequently cited verses from Ennius, Accius, Pacuvius, and Terence, in
order to grace their speeches with polite literature, and enliven the
imagination of their hearers. By those poetic insertions, the ear is
relieved from the harsh monotony of the forum; and the poets, cited
occasionally, serve by their authority to establish the proposition
advanced by the speaker. _Nam præcipue quidem apud Ciceronem,
frequenter tamen apud Asinium etiam, et cæteros, qui sunt proximi,
vidimus ENNII, ACCII, PACUVII, TERENTII et aliorum inseri versus,
summâ non eruditionis modò gratiâ, sed etiam jucunditatis; cum
poeticis voluptatibus aures a forensi asperitate respirent, quibus
accedit non mediocris utilitas, cum sententiis eorum, velut quibusdam
testimoniis, quæ proposuere confirmant. _ Quintil. lib. i. cap. 8.
Section XXI.
[a] There is in this place a blunder of the copyists, which almost
makes the sentence unintelligible. The translator, without entering
into minute controversies, has, upon all such occasions, adopted what
appeared, from the context, to be the most probable sense. It remains,
therefore, to enquire, who were the several orators here enumerated.
CANUTIUS may be the person mentioned by Suetonius _De Claris
Rhetoribus_. Cicero says of ARRIUS, that he was a striking proof of
what consequence it was at Rome to be useful to others, and always
ready to be subservient to their honour, or to ward off danger. For,
by that assiduity, Arrius raised himself from a low beginning to
wealth and honours, and was even ranked in the number of orators,
though void of learning, and without genius, or abilities. _Loco
infimo natus, et honores, et pecuniam, et gratiam consecutus, etiam in
patronorum, sine doctrinâ, sine ingenio, aliquem numerum pervenerat.
De Claris Orat. _ s. 243. FURNIUS may be supposed, not without
probability, to be the person with whom Cicero corresponded. _Epist.
ad Familiares_, lib. x. ep. 25, 26. With regard to Terrianus we are
left in the dark. The commentators offer various conjectures; but
conjecture is often a specious amusement; the ingenious folly of men,
who take pains to bewilder themselves, and reason only to shew their
useless learning.
[b] The puny orators are said to be in an infirmary, like sickly men,
who were nothing but skin and bone. These, says Cicero, were admirers
of the Attic manner; but it were to be wished that they had the
wholesome blood, not merely the bones, of their favourite declaimers.
_Attico genere dicendi se gaudere dicunt; atqui utinam imitarentur nec
ossa solum, sed etiam et sanguinem. _ Cicero _De Claris Oratoribus_.
[c] What is here said of Calvus is not confirmed by the judgement of
Quintilian. See s. xvii. note [c]. His orations, which were extant at
the time of this Dialogue, are now totally lost.
[d] For Quintilian's opinion of Cælius, see s. xvii. note [c].
[e] Here again Quintilian, that candid and able judge, has given a
different opinion. See s. xvii. note [b]. It may be proper to add the
testimony of Velleius Paterculus. Cæsar, he says, had an elevation of
soul, that towered above humanity, and was almost incredible; the
rapid progress of his wars, his firmness in the hour of danger, and
the grandeur of his vast conceptions, bore a near affinity to
Alexander, but to Alexander neither drunk, nor mad with passion.
_Animo super humanam et naturam, et fidem evectus, celeritate
bellandi, patientiâ periculorum, magnitudine cogitationum; magno illi
Alexandro, sed sobrio neque iracundo, simillimus. Vel. Patercul. _ lib.
ii. s. 41. Even Cicero tells us, that, of all the eminent orators, he
was the person who spoke the Latin language in the greatest purity,
and arrived at that consummate perfection by study, by diligent
application, and his thorough knowledge of all polite literature.
_Illum omnium ferè oratorum Latinè loqui elegantissimè: ut esset
perfecta illa benè loquendi laus, multis litteris, et iis quidem
reconditis et exquisitis, summoque studio et diligentiâ est
consecutus. _ _De Claris Orat. _ s. 252.
[f] Cæsar's speech for Decius the Samnite, and all his other
productions (except the Commentaries), are totally lost.
[g] This speech of Brutus is also lost with his other works. Cicero
says, he heard him plead the cause of Dejotarus with great elegance,
and a flow of harmonious periods. _Causam Dejotari, fidelissimi atque
optimi regis, ornatissimè et copiosissimè a Bruto me audisse defensam.
De Claris Orat. _ s. 21. He tells us in another place, that Cæsar
observed of Brutus, that whatever he desired, he desired with ardour;
and therefore, in the cause of Dejotarus, he exerted himself with
warmth, with vehemence, and great freedom of language. _Quidquid vult,
valdè vult; ideoque, cum pro rege Dejotaro dixerit, valdè vehementer
eum visum, et liberè dicere. Ad Attic. _ lib. xiv. ep. 1. The same
Dejotarus was afterwards defended by Cicero before Cæsar himself. See
the Oration _pro Rege Dejotaro_.
[h] See what is said of Asinius Pollio, s. xii. note [e].
[i] Pliny the younger has the same metaphorical allusions, which we
here find in the Dialogue. Speaking of the difference between the
oratorial and historical style; the latter, he says, may be content
with the bones, the muscles, and the nerves; the former must have the
prominence of the flesh, the brawny vigour, and the flowing mane.
_Habent quidem oratio et historia multa communia, sed plura diversa in
his ipsis, quæ communia videntur. Narrat sane illa, narrat hæc, sed
aliter. Huic pleraque humilia, et sordida, et ex medio petita: illi
omnia recondita, splendida, excelsa conveniunt. Hanc sæpius ossa,
musculi, nervi; illam tori quidam, et quasi jubæ decent. _ Lib. v. ep.
8.
[k] Messala Corvinus has been often mentioned. See for him s. xii.
note [e].
Section XXII.
[a] The words _sententia_ and _sensus_ were technical terms with the
critics of antiquity. Quintilian gives the distinct meaning of each,
with his usual precision. According to the established usage, the
word _sensus_ signified our ideas or conceptions, as they rise in the
mind: by _sententia_ was intended, a proposition, in the close of a
period, so expressed, as to dart a sudden brilliancy, for that reason
called _lumen orationis_. He says, these artificial ornaments, which
the ancients used but sparingly, were the constant practice of the
modern orators. _Consuetudo jam tenuit, ut mente concepta_, SENSUS
_vocaremus; lumina autem, præcipuèque in clausulis posita_,
SENTENTIAS. _Quæ minus crebra apud antiquos, nostris temporibus modo
carent. _ Lib. viii. cap. 5. These luminous sentences, Quintilian says,
may be called the eyes of an oration; but eyes are not to be placed in
every part, lest the other members should lose their function. _Ego
vero hæc lumina orationis velut oculos quosdam esse eloquentiæ credo:
sed neque oculos esse toto corpore velim, ne cætera membra suum
officium perdant. _ Lib. viii, cap. 5. As Cowley says,
Jewels at nose and lips but ill appear;
Rather than all things, wit let none be there.
[b] In order to form a good style, the sentence should always be
closed with variety, strength, and harmony. The ancient rhetoricians
held this to be so essentially requisite, that Quintilian has given it
a full discussion. That, he says, which offends the ear, will not
easily gain admission to the mind. Words should be fitted to their
places, so that they may aptly coalesce with one another. In building,
the most ill shapen stones may be conveniently fixed; and in like
manner, a good style must have proper words in proper places, all
arranged in order, and closing the sentence with grace and harmony.
_Nihil intrare potest in affectum, quod in aure, velut quodam
vestibulo, statim offendit. Non enim ad pedes verba dimensa sunt;
ideoque ex loco transferuntur in locum, ut jungantur quo congruunt
maximè; sicut in structurâ saxorum rudium etiam ipsa enormitas invenit
cui applicari, et in quo possit insistere. Felicissimus tamen sermo
est, cui et rectus ordo, et apta junctura, et cum his numerus
opportunè cadens contingit. _ Quintil. lib. ix. cap. 4.
Section XXIII.
[a] The remark in this place alludes to a passage in the oration
against PISO, where we find a frivolous stroke of false wit. Cicero
reproaches Piso for his dissolute manners, and his scandalous
debauchery. Who, he says, in all that time, saw you sober? Who beheld
you doing any one thing, worthy of a liberal mind? Did you once appear
in public? The house of your colleague resounded with songs and
minstrels: he himself danced naked in the midst of his wanton company;
and while he _wheeled_ about with alacrity in the _circular motion_ of
the dance, he never once thought of THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. _Quis te
illis diebus sobrium, quis agentem aliquid, quod esset libero dignum?
Quis denique in publico vidit? Cum collegæ tui domus cantu et cymbalis
personaret; cumque ipse nudus in convivio saltaret, in quo ne tum
quidem, cum illum suum_ SALTATORIUM VERSARET ORBEM, FORTUNÆ ROTAM
_pertimescebat. Oratio in Pisonem_, prima pars, s. 22. Delph. edit.
vol. iii.
[b] The passage here alluded to, presents us with a double pun. The
word _Verres_ is the name of a man, and also signifies a _boar pig_,
as we read in Horace, _Verris obliquum meditantis ictum_. Lib. iii.
ode 22. The word _jus_ is likewise of twofold meaning, importing _law_
and _sauce_, or broth; _tepidumque ligurierit jus_. Lib. i. sat. 3. The
objection to Cicero is, that playing on both the words, and taking
advantage of their ambiguous meaning, he says it could not be matter
of wonder that the _Verrian jus_ was such bad HOG-SOUP. The wit (if it
deserves that name) is mean enough; but, in justice to Cicero, it
should be remembered, that he himself calls it frigid, and says, that
the men, who in their anger could be so very facetious, as to blame
the priest who did not sacrifice such a hog (_Verres_), were idle and
ridiculous. He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke. _Hinc illi homines erant, qui etiam ridiculi
inveniebantur ex dolore: quorum alii, ut audistis, negabant mirandum
esse_, JUS _tam nequam esse_ VERRINUM: _alii etiam frigidiores erant;
sed quia stomachabantur, ridiculi videbantur esse, cum_ SACERDOTEM
_execrabantur, qui_ VERREM _tam nequam reliquisset, Quæ ego non
commemorarem (neque enim perfacetè dicta, neque porro hac severitate
digna sunt) nisi vos id vellem recordari, istius nequitiam et
iniquitatem tum in ore vulgi, atque communibus proverbiis esse
versatam. In Verrem_, lib. i. pars tertia, s. 121.
[c] Quintilian acknowledges that the words _esse videatur (it seems to
be)_ occur frequently in Cicero's Orations. He adds, that he knew
several, who fancied that they had performed wonders, when they placed
that phrase in the close of a sentence. _Noveram quosdam, qui se
pulchrè expressisse genus illud cælestis hujus in dicendo viri sibi
viderentur, si in clausulâ posuissent esse videatur. _ Quintil. lib. x.
cap. 2.
[d] The species of composition, called satire, was altogether of Roman
growth. Lucilius had the honour of being the inventor; and he
succeeded so well, that even in Quintilian's time, his admirers
preferred him not only to the writers who followed in the same way,
but to all poets of every denomination. _Lucilius quosdam ita deditos
sibi adhuc habet imitatores, ut eum non ejusdem modo operis, sed
omnibus poetis præferre non dubitent. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. The great
critic, however, pronounces judgement in favour of Horace, who, he
says, is more terse and pure; a more acute observer of life, and
qualified by nature to touch the ridicule of the manners with the
nicest hand. _Multo est tersior, ac purus magis Horatius, et ad
notandos hominum mores præcipuus. _
[e] Lucretius is not without his partisans at this hour. Many of the
French critics speak of him with rapture; and, in England, Dr. Wharton
of Winchester seems to be at the head of his admirers. He does not
scruple to say that Lucretius had more spirit, fire, and energy, more
of the _vivida vis animi_, than any of the Roman poets. It is neither
safe nor desirable to differ from so fine a genius as Dr. Wharton. The
passages which he has quoted from his favourite poet, shew great taste
in the selection. It should be remembered, however, that Quintilian
does not treat Lucretius with the same passionate fondness. He places
Virgil next to Homer; and the rest, he says, of the Roman poets
follow at a great distance. MACER and LUCRETIUS deserve to be read:
they have handled their respective subjects with taste and elegance;
but Macer has no elevation, and Lucretius is not easily understood.
_Cæteri omnes longe sequuntur. Nam MACER et LUCRETIUS legendi quidem;
elegantes in suâ quisque materiâ, sed alter humilis, alter
difficilis. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. Statius, the poet, who flourished in the
reign of Domitian, knew the value of Lucretius, and, in one line,
seems to have given his true character; _et docti furor arduus
Lucreti_; but had he been to decide between him and Virgil, it is
probable, that he would say to Lucretius, as he did to himself,
----Nec tu divinam Æneida tenta,
Sed longe sequere, et vestigia semper adora.
THEBAIDOS lib. xii. ver. 816.
[f] Aufidius Bassus and Servilius Nonianus were writers of history.
Bassus, according to Quintilian, deserved great commendation,
particularly in his History of the German war. In some of his other
works he fell short of himself. Servilius Nonianus was known to
Quintilian, and, in that critic's judgement, was an author of
considerable merit, sententious in his manner, but more diffuse than
becomes the historic character. See Quintilian, lib. x. cap. 1. The
death of SERVILIUS, an eminent orator and historian, is mentioned by
Tacitus in the _Annals_, b. xiv. s. 19; but the additional name of
NONIANUS is omitted. The passage, however, is supposed to relate to
the person commended by Quintilian. He died in the reign of Nero,
A. U. C. 812; of the Christian æra 59.
[g] Varro was universally allowed to be the most learned of the
Romans. He wrote on several subjects with profound erudition.
Quintilian says, he was completely master of the Latin language, and
thoroughly conversant in the antiquities of Greece and Rome. His works
will enlarge our sphere of knowledge, but can add nothing to
eloquence. _Peritissimus linguæ Latinæ, et omnis antiquitatis, et
rerum Græcarum, nostrarumque; plus tamen scientiæ collaturus, quam
eloquentiæ. _ Lib. x. cap. 1.
Sisenna, we are told by Cicero, was a man of learning, well skilled in
the Roman language, acquainted with the laws and constitution of his
country, and possessed of no small share of wit; but eloquence was not
his element, and his practice in the forum was inconsiderable. See _De
Claris Oratoribus_, s. 228. In a subsequent part of the same work,
Cicero says, that Sisenna was of opinion, that to use uncommon words
was the perfection of style. To prove this he relates a pleasant
anecdote. One Caius Rufus carried on a prosecution. Sisenna appeared
for the defendant; and, to express his contempt of his adversary, said
that many parts of the charge deserved to be spit upon. For this
purpose he coined so strange a word, that the prosecutor implored the
protection of the judges. I do not, said he, understand Sisenna; I am
circumvented; I fear that some snare is laid for me. What does he mean
by _sputatilica? _ I know that _sputa_ is spittle: but what is
_tilica? _ The court laughed at the oddity of a word so strangely
compounded.
Section XIX.
[a] Cassius Severus lived in the latter end of the reign of Augustus,
and through a considerable part of that of Tiberius. He was an orator,
according to Quintilian, who, if read with due caution, might serve as
a model worthy of imitation. It is to be regretted, that to the many
excellent qualities of his style he did not add more weight, more
strength and dignity, and thereby give colour and a body to his
sentiments. With those requisites, he would have ranked with the most
eminent orators. To his excellent genius he united keen reflection,
great energy, and a peculiar urbanity, which gave a secret charm to
his speeches. But the warmth of his temper hurried him on; he listened
more to his passions than to his judgement; he possessed a vein of
wit, but he mingled with it too much acrimony; and wit, when it misses
its aim, feels the mortification and the ridicule which usually attend
disappointed malice. _Multa, si cum judicio legatur, dabit imitatione
digna CASSIUS SEVERUS, qui, si cæteris virtutibus colorem et
gravitatem orationis adjecisset, ponendus inter præcipuos foret, Nam
et ingenii plurimum est in eo, et acerbitas mira, et urbanitas, et vis
summa; sed plus stomacho quàm consilio dedit; præterea ut amari sales,
ita frequenter amaritudo ipsa ridicula est. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. We read
in Suetonius (_Life of Octavius_, s. 56), that Cassius had the
hardiness to institute a prosecution for the crime of poisoning
against Asprenas Nonius, who was, at the time, linked in the closest
friendship with Augustus. Not content with accusations against the
first men in Rome, he chose to vent his malevolence in lampoons and
defamatory libels, against the most distinguished of both sexes. It
was this that provoked Horace to declare war against Cassius, in an
ode (lib, v. ode 6), which begins, _Quid immerentes hospites vexas,
canis_. See an account of his malevolent spirit, _Annals_, b, i. s.
72. He was at length condemned for his indiscriminate abuse, and
banished by Augustus to the isle of Crete. But his satirical rage was
not to be controlled. He continued in exile to discharge his
malignity, till, at last, at the end of ten years, the senate took
cognizance of his guilt, and Tiberius ordered him to be removed from
Crete to the Rock of Seriphos, where he languished in old age and
misery. See _Annals_, b. iv. s. 21. The period of ancient oratory
ended about the time when Cassius began his career. He was the first
of the new school.
[b] These two rhetoricians flourished in the time of Augustus.
Apollodorus, we are told by Quintilian (b. iii. chap. 1), was the
preceptor of Augustus. He taught in opposition to Theodorus Gadareus,
who read lectures at Rhodes, and was attended by Tiberius during his
retreat in that island. The two contending masters were the founders
of opposite sects, called the _Apollodorean_ and _Theodorian_. But
true eloquence, which knows no laws but those of nature and good
sense, gained nothing by party divisions. Literature was distracted by
new doctrines; rhetoric became a trick in the hands of sophists, and
all sound oratory disappeared. Hermagoras, Quintilian says, in the
chapter already cited, was the disciple of Theodorus.
Section XX.
[a] Doctor Middleton says, "Of the seven excellent orations, which now
remain on the subject of VERRES, the first two only were spoken; the
one called, _The Divination_; the other, _The first Action_, which is
nothing more than a general preface to the whole cause. The other five
were published afterwards, as they were prepared and intended to be
spoken, if Verres had made a regular defence: for as this was the only
cause in which Cicero had yet been engaged, or ever designed to be
engaged, as _an accuser_, so he was willing to leave those orations as
a specimen of his abilities in that way, and the _pattern of a just
and diligent impeachment of a great and corrupt magistrate. " Life of
Cicero_, vol. i. p. 86, 4to edit.
[b] The Digest enumerates a multitude of rules concerning _exceptions_
to persons, things, the form of the action, the niceties of pleading,
and, as the phrase is, motions in arrest of judgement. _Formula_, was
the set of words necessary to be used in the pleadings. See the
_Digest_, lib. xliv. tit. 1. _De Exceptionibus, Præscriptionibus, et
Præjudiciis_. See also Cujacius, _observat. _ xxiii.
[c] The oration for Marcus Tullius is highly praised by Macrobius, but
is not to be found in Cicero's works. The oration for Aulus Cæcina is
still extant. The cause was about the right of succession to a private
estate, which depended on a subtle point of law, arising from the
interpretation of the prætor's interdict. It shews Cicero's exact
knowledge and skill in the civil law, and that his public character
and employment gave no interruption to his usual diligence in pleading
causes. Middleton's _Life of Cicero_, vol. i. p. 116, 4to edit.
[d] Roscius, in the last period of the republic, was the comedian,
whom all Rome admired for his talents. The great esteemed and loved
him for his morals. Æsop, the tragedian, was his contemporary. Horace,
in the epistle to Augustus, has mentioned them both with their proper
and distinctive qualities.
----Ea cum reprehendere coner
Quæ GRAVIS ÆSOPUS, quæ DOCTUS ROSCIUS egit.
A certain measured gravity of elocution being requisite in tragedy,
that quality is assigned to the former, and the latter is called
DOCTUS, because he was a complete master of his art; so truly learned
in the principles of his profession, that he possessed, in a wonderful
degree, the secret charm that gave inimitable graces to his voice and
action. Quintilian, in a few words, has given a commentary on the
passage in Horace. Grief, he says, is expressed by slow and deliberate
accents; for that reason, Æsop spoke with gravity; Roscius with
quickness; the former being a tragedian, the latter a comedian. _Plus
autem affectus habent lentiora; ideoque Roscius citatior, Æsopus
gravior fuit, quod ille comœdias, his tragœdias egit. _ Lib. xi. cap.
1. Cicero was the great friend and patron of Roscius. An elegant
oration in his behalf is still extant. The cause was this: One FANNIUS
had made over to Roscius a young slave, to be formed by him to the
stage, on condition of a partnership in the profits which the slave
should acquire by acting. The slave was afterwards killed. Roscius
prosecuted the murderer for damages, and obtained, by composition, a
little farm, worth about eight hundred pounds, for his particular
share. FANNIUS also sued separately, and was supposed to have gained
as much; but, pretending to have recovered nothing, he sued ROSCIUS
for the moiety of what he had received. One cannot but observe, says
Dr. Middleton, from Cicero's pleading, the wonderful esteem and
reputation in which Roscius then flourished. Has Roscius, says he,
defrauded his partner? Can such a stain stick upon such a man; a man
who, I speak it with confidence, has more integrity than skill, more
veracity than experience? a man whom the people of Rome know to be a
better citizen than he is an actor; and, while he makes the first
figure on the stage for his art, is worthy of a seat in the senate for
his virtue. _Quem populus Romanus meliorem virum quam histrionem esse
arbitratur; qui ita dignissimus est scená propter artificium, ut
dignissimus sit curiá propter abstinentiam. Pro Roscio Comœdo_, s. 17
In another place, Cicero says, he was such an artist, as to seem the
only one fit to appear on the stage; yet such a man, as to seem the
only one who should not come upon it at all. _Cum artifex ejusmodi
sit, ut solus dignus videatur esse qui in scená spectetur; tum vir
ejusmodi est, ut solus dignus videatur, qui eo non accedat. Pro Publ.
Quinctio_, s. 78. What Cicero has said in his pleadings might be
thought oratorical, introduced merely to serve the cause, if we did
not find the comedian praised with equal warmth in the dialogue DE
ORATORE. It is there said of Roscius, that every thing he did was
perfect in the kind, and executed with consummate grace, with a secret
charm, that touched, affected, and delighted the whole audience:
insomuch, that when a man excelled in any other profession, it was
grown into a proverb to call him, THE ROSCIUS OF HIS ART. _Videtisne,
quam nihil ab eo nisi perfectè, nihil nisi cum summâ venustate fiat?
nihil, nisi ita ut deceat, et uti omnes moveat, atque delectet? Itaque
hoc jam diu est consecutus, ut in quo quisque artificio excelleret, is
in suo genere Roscius diceretur. _ _De Orat. _ lib. i. s. 130. After so
much honourable testimony, one cannot but wonder why the DOCTUS
ROSCIUS of Horace is mentioned in this Dialogue with an air of
disparagement. It may be, that APER, the speaker in this passage, was
determined to degrade the orators of antiquity; and the comedian was,
therefore, to expect no quarter. Dacier, in his notes on the Epistle
to Augustus, observes that Roscius wrote a book, in which he undertook
to prove to Cicero, that in all the stores of eloquence there were not
so many different expressions for one and the same thing, as in the
dramatic art there were modes of action, and casts of countenance, to
mark the sentiment, and convey it to the mind with its due degree of
emotion. It is to be lamented that such a book has not come down to
us. It would, perhaps, be more valuable than the best treatise of
rhetoric.
Ambivius Turpio acted in most of Terence's plays, and seems to have
been a manager of the theatre. Cicero, in the treatise _De Senectute_,
says: He, who sat near him in the first rows, received the greatest
pleasure; but still, those, who were at the further end of the
theatre, were delighted with him. _Turpione Ambivio magis delectatur,
qui in primâ caveâ spectat; delectatur tamen etiam qui in ultimâ. _
[e] ACCIUS and PACUVIUS flourished at Rome about the middle of the
sixth century from the foundation of the city. Accius, according to
Horace, was held to be a poet of a sublime genius, and Pacuvius (who
lived to be ninety years old) was respected for his age and profound
learning.
Ambigitur quoties uter utro sit prior, aufert
PACUVIUS docti famam senis, ACCIUS alti.
EPIST. AD AUG. ver. 56.
Velleius Paterculus says, that ACCIUS was thought equal to the best
writers of the Greek tragedy. He had not, indeed, the diligent touches
of the polishing hand, which we see in the poets of Athens, but he had
more spirit and vigour. _Accius usque in Græcorum comparationem
erectus. In illis limæ in hoc penè plus videri fuisse sanguinis. _ He
is often quoted by Cicero in his book _De Naturâ Deorum_. But after
all, it is from the great critic, who gives the best account of the
Roman poets, orators, and historians, that we are to take the genuine
character of ACCIUS and PACUVIUS, since their works are lost in the
general mass of ancient literature. They were both excellent tragic
poets: elevation of sentiment, grandeur of expression, and dignity of
character, stamped a value on their productions; and yet, we must not
expect to find the grace and elegance of genuine composition. To give
the finishing hand to their works was not their practice: the defect,
however, is not to be imputed to them; it was the vice of the age.
Force and dignity are the characteristics of ACCIUS; while the
critics, who wish to be thought deep and profound, admire PACUVIUS for
his extensive learning. _Tragœdiæ scriptores Accius atque Pacuvius,
clarissimi sententiarum verborumque pondere, et auctoritate
personarum. Cæterum nitor, et summa in excolendis operibus manus,
magis videri potest temporibus, quam ipsis defuisse. Virium tamen
Accio plus tribuitur; Pacuvium videri doctiorem, qui esse docti
affectant, volunt. _ Quintil. lib. x. cap. 1. It was the fashion in
Horace's time to prefer the writers of the old school to the new race
that gave so much lustre to the Augustan age. In opposition to such
erroneous criticism, the poet pronounces a decided judgement, which
seems to be confirmed by the opinion of Quintilian.
Si quædam nimis antiquè, si pleraque durè
Dicere credit eos, ignavè multa fatetur,
Et sapit, et mecum facit, et Jove judicat æquo.
EPIST. AD AUGUST. ver. 66.
But that sometimes their style uncouth appears,
And their harsh numbers rudely hurt our ears;
Or that full flatly flows the languid line,
He, who owns this, has Jove's assent and mine.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
[f] Lucan was nephew to Seneca, and a poet of great celebrity. He was
born, in the reign of Caligula, at Corduba in Spain. His superior
genius made Nero his mortal enemy. He was put to death by that inhuman
emperor, A. U. C. 818, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. See the
_Annals_, b. xv. s. 70. As a writer, Quintilian says, that he
possessed an ardent genius, impetuous, rapid, and remarkable for the
vigour of his sentiments: but he chooses to class him with the
orators, rather than the poets. _Lucanus ardens, et concitatus, et
sententiis clarissimus; et, ut dicam quod sentio, magis oratoribus
quam poetis annumerandus. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. Scaliger, on the other
hand, contends that Lucan was a true poet, and that the critics do but
trifle, when they object that he wrote history, not an epic poem.
STRADA in his Prolusions, has given, among other imitations, a
narrative in Lucan's manner; and, though he thinks that poet has not
the skill of Virgil, he places him on the summit of Parnassus,
managing his Pegasus with difficulty, often in danger of falling from
the ridge of a precipice, yet delighting his reader with the pleasure
of seeing him escape. This is the true character of Lucan. The love of
liberty was his ruling passion. It is but justice to add, that his
sentiments, when free from _antithesis_ and the _Ovidian_ manner, are
not excelled by any poet of antiquity. From him, as well as from
Virgil and Horace, the orator is required to cull such passages as
will help to enrich his discourse; and the practice is recommended by
Quintilian, who observes, that Cicero, Asinius Pollio, and others,
frequently cited verses from Ennius, Accius, Pacuvius, and Terence, in
order to grace their speeches with polite literature, and enliven the
imagination of their hearers. By those poetic insertions, the ear is
relieved from the harsh monotony of the forum; and the poets, cited
occasionally, serve by their authority to establish the proposition
advanced by the speaker. _Nam præcipue quidem apud Ciceronem,
frequenter tamen apud Asinium etiam, et cæteros, qui sunt proximi,
vidimus ENNII, ACCII, PACUVII, TERENTII et aliorum inseri versus,
summâ non eruditionis modò gratiâ, sed etiam jucunditatis; cum
poeticis voluptatibus aures a forensi asperitate respirent, quibus
accedit non mediocris utilitas, cum sententiis eorum, velut quibusdam
testimoniis, quæ proposuere confirmant. _ Quintil. lib. i. cap. 8.
Section XXI.
[a] There is in this place a blunder of the copyists, which almost
makes the sentence unintelligible. The translator, without entering
into minute controversies, has, upon all such occasions, adopted what
appeared, from the context, to be the most probable sense. It remains,
therefore, to enquire, who were the several orators here enumerated.
CANUTIUS may be the person mentioned by Suetonius _De Claris
Rhetoribus_. Cicero says of ARRIUS, that he was a striking proof of
what consequence it was at Rome to be useful to others, and always
ready to be subservient to their honour, or to ward off danger. For,
by that assiduity, Arrius raised himself from a low beginning to
wealth and honours, and was even ranked in the number of orators,
though void of learning, and without genius, or abilities. _Loco
infimo natus, et honores, et pecuniam, et gratiam consecutus, etiam in
patronorum, sine doctrinâ, sine ingenio, aliquem numerum pervenerat.
De Claris Orat. _ s. 243. FURNIUS may be supposed, not without
probability, to be the person with whom Cicero corresponded. _Epist.
ad Familiares_, lib. x. ep. 25, 26. With regard to Terrianus we are
left in the dark. The commentators offer various conjectures; but
conjecture is often a specious amusement; the ingenious folly of men,
who take pains to bewilder themselves, and reason only to shew their
useless learning.
[b] The puny orators are said to be in an infirmary, like sickly men,
who were nothing but skin and bone. These, says Cicero, were admirers
of the Attic manner; but it were to be wished that they had the
wholesome blood, not merely the bones, of their favourite declaimers.
_Attico genere dicendi se gaudere dicunt; atqui utinam imitarentur nec
ossa solum, sed etiam et sanguinem. _ Cicero _De Claris Oratoribus_.
[c] What is here said of Calvus is not confirmed by the judgement of
Quintilian. See s. xvii. note [c]. His orations, which were extant at
the time of this Dialogue, are now totally lost.
[d] For Quintilian's opinion of Cælius, see s. xvii. note [c].
[e] Here again Quintilian, that candid and able judge, has given a
different opinion. See s. xvii. note [b]. It may be proper to add the
testimony of Velleius Paterculus. Cæsar, he says, had an elevation of
soul, that towered above humanity, and was almost incredible; the
rapid progress of his wars, his firmness in the hour of danger, and
the grandeur of his vast conceptions, bore a near affinity to
Alexander, but to Alexander neither drunk, nor mad with passion.
_Animo super humanam et naturam, et fidem evectus, celeritate
bellandi, patientiâ periculorum, magnitudine cogitationum; magno illi
Alexandro, sed sobrio neque iracundo, simillimus. Vel. Patercul. _ lib.
ii. s. 41. Even Cicero tells us, that, of all the eminent orators, he
was the person who spoke the Latin language in the greatest purity,
and arrived at that consummate perfection by study, by diligent
application, and his thorough knowledge of all polite literature.
_Illum omnium ferè oratorum Latinè loqui elegantissimè: ut esset
perfecta illa benè loquendi laus, multis litteris, et iis quidem
reconditis et exquisitis, summoque studio et diligentiâ est
consecutus. _ _De Claris Orat. _ s. 252.
[f] Cæsar's speech for Decius the Samnite, and all his other
productions (except the Commentaries), are totally lost.
[g] This speech of Brutus is also lost with his other works. Cicero
says, he heard him plead the cause of Dejotarus with great elegance,
and a flow of harmonious periods. _Causam Dejotari, fidelissimi atque
optimi regis, ornatissimè et copiosissimè a Bruto me audisse defensam.
De Claris Orat. _ s. 21. He tells us in another place, that Cæsar
observed of Brutus, that whatever he desired, he desired with ardour;
and therefore, in the cause of Dejotarus, he exerted himself with
warmth, with vehemence, and great freedom of language. _Quidquid vult,
valdè vult; ideoque, cum pro rege Dejotaro dixerit, valdè vehementer
eum visum, et liberè dicere. Ad Attic. _ lib. xiv. ep. 1. The same
Dejotarus was afterwards defended by Cicero before Cæsar himself. See
the Oration _pro Rege Dejotaro_.
[h] See what is said of Asinius Pollio, s. xii. note [e].
[i] Pliny the younger has the same metaphorical allusions, which we
here find in the Dialogue. Speaking of the difference between the
oratorial and historical style; the latter, he says, may be content
with the bones, the muscles, and the nerves; the former must have the
prominence of the flesh, the brawny vigour, and the flowing mane.
_Habent quidem oratio et historia multa communia, sed plura diversa in
his ipsis, quæ communia videntur. Narrat sane illa, narrat hæc, sed
aliter. Huic pleraque humilia, et sordida, et ex medio petita: illi
omnia recondita, splendida, excelsa conveniunt. Hanc sæpius ossa,
musculi, nervi; illam tori quidam, et quasi jubæ decent. _ Lib. v. ep.
8.
[k] Messala Corvinus has been often mentioned. See for him s. xii.
note [e].
Section XXII.
[a] The words _sententia_ and _sensus_ were technical terms with the
critics of antiquity. Quintilian gives the distinct meaning of each,
with his usual precision. According to the established usage, the
word _sensus_ signified our ideas or conceptions, as they rise in the
mind: by _sententia_ was intended, a proposition, in the close of a
period, so expressed, as to dart a sudden brilliancy, for that reason
called _lumen orationis_. He says, these artificial ornaments, which
the ancients used but sparingly, were the constant practice of the
modern orators. _Consuetudo jam tenuit, ut mente concepta_, SENSUS
_vocaremus; lumina autem, præcipuèque in clausulis posita_,
SENTENTIAS. _Quæ minus crebra apud antiquos, nostris temporibus modo
carent. _ Lib. viii. cap. 5. These luminous sentences, Quintilian says,
may be called the eyes of an oration; but eyes are not to be placed in
every part, lest the other members should lose their function. _Ego
vero hæc lumina orationis velut oculos quosdam esse eloquentiæ credo:
sed neque oculos esse toto corpore velim, ne cætera membra suum
officium perdant. _ Lib. viii, cap. 5. As Cowley says,
Jewels at nose and lips but ill appear;
Rather than all things, wit let none be there.
[b] In order to form a good style, the sentence should always be
closed with variety, strength, and harmony. The ancient rhetoricians
held this to be so essentially requisite, that Quintilian has given it
a full discussion. That, he says, which offends the ear, will not
easily gain admission to the mind. Words should be fitted to their
places, so that they may aptly coalesce with one another. In building,
the most ill shapen stones may be conveniently fixed; and in like
manner, a good style must have proper words in proper places, all
arranged in order, and closing the sentence with grace and harmony.
_Nihil intrare potest in affectum, quod in aure, velut quodam
vestibulo, statim offendit. Non enim ad pedes verba dimensa sunt;
ideoque ex loco transferuntur in locum, ut jungantur quo congruunt
maximè; sicut in structurâ saxorum rudium etiam ipsa enormitas invenit
cui applicari, et in quo possit insistere. Felicissimus tamen sermo
est, cui et rectus ordo, et apta junctura, et cum his numerus
opportunè cadens contingit. _ Quintil. lib. ix. cap. 4.
Section XXIII.
[a] The remark in this place alludes to a passage in the oration
against PISO, where we find a frivolous stroke of false wit. Cicero
reproaches Piso for his dissolute manners, and his scandalous
debauchery. Who, he says, in all that time, saw you sober? Who beheld
you doing any one thing, worthy of a liberal mind? Did you once appear
in public? The house of your colleague resounded with songs and
minstrels: he himself danced naked in the midst of his wanton company;
and while he _wheeled_ about with alacrity in the _circular motion_ of
the dance, he never once thought of THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. _Quis te
illis diebus sobrium, quis agentem aliquid, quod esset libero dignum?
Quis denique in publico vidit? Cum collegæ tui domus cantu et cymbalis
personaret; cumque ipse nudus in convivio saltaret, in quo ne tum
quidem, cum illum suum_ SALTATORIUM VERSARET ORBEM, FORTUNÆ ROTAM
_pertimescebat. Oratio in Pisonem_, prima pars, s. 22. Delph. edit.
vol. iii.
[b] The passage here alluded to, presents us with a double pun. The
word _Verres_ is the name of a man, and also signifies a _boar pig_,
as we read in Horace, _Verris obliquum meditantis ictum_. Lib. iii.
ode 22. The word _jus_ is likewise of twofold meaning, importing _law_
and _sauce_, or broth; _tepidumque ligurierit jus_. Lib. i. sat. 3. The
objection to Cicero is, that playing on both the words, and taking
advantage of their ambiguous meaning, he says it could not be matter
of wonder that the _Verrian jus_ was such bad HOG-SOUP. The wit (if it
deserves that name) is mean enough; but, in justice to Cicero, it
should be remembered, that he himself calls it frigid, and says, that
the men, who in their anger could be so very facetious, as to blame
the priest who did not sacrifice such a hog (_Verres_), were idle and
ridiculous. He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke. _Hinc illi homines erant, qui etiam ridiculi
inveniebantur ex dolore: quorum alii, ut audistis, negabant mirandum
esse_, JUS _tam nequam esse_ VERRINUM: _alii etiam frigidiores erant;
sed quia stomachabantur, ridiculi videbantur esse, cum_ SACERDOTEM
_execrabantur, qui_ VERREM _tam nequam reliquisset, Quæ ego non
commemorarem (neque enim perfacetè dicta, neque porro hac severitate
digna sunt) nisi vos id vellem recordari, istius nequitiam et
iniquitatem tum in ore vulgi, atque communibus proverbiis esse
versatam. In Verrem_, lib. i. pars tertia, s. 121.
[c] Quintilian acknowledges that the words _esse videatur (it seems to
be)_ occur frequently in Cicero's Orations. He adds, that he knew
several, who fancied that they had performed wonders, when they placed
that phrase in the close of a sentence. _Noveram quosdam, qui se
pulchrè expressisse genus illud cælestis hujus in dicendo viri sibi
viderentur, si in clausulâ posuissent esse videatur. _ Quintil. lib. x.
cap. 2.
[d] The species of composition, called satire, was altogether of Roman
growth. Lucilius had the honour of being the inventor; and he
succeeded so well, that even in Quintilian's time, his admirers
preferred him not only to the writers who followed in the same way,
but to all poets of every denomination. _Lucilius quosdam ita deditos
sibi adhuc habet imitatores, ut eum non ejusdem modo operis, sed
omnibus poetis præferre non dubitent. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. The great
critic, however, pronounces judgement in favour of Horace, who, he
says, is more terse and pure; a more acute observer of life, and
qualified by nature to touch the ridicule of the manners with the
nicest hand. _Multo est tersior, ac purus magis Horatius, et ad
notandos hominum mores præcipuus. _
[e] Lucretius is not without his partisans at this hour. Many of the
French critics speak of him with rapture; and, in England, Dr. Wharton
of Winchester seems to be at the head of his admirers. He does not
scruple to say that Lucretius had more spirit, fire, and energy, more
of the _vivida vis animi_, than any of the Roman poets. It is neither
safe nor desirable to differ from so fine a genius as Dr. Wharton. The
passages which he has quoted from his favourite poet, shew great taste
in the selection. It should be remembered, however, that Quintilian
does not treat Lucretius with the same passionate fondness. He places
Virgil next to Homer; and the rest, he says, of the Roman poets
follow at a great distance. MACER and LUCRETIUS deserve to be read:
they have handled their respective subjects with taste and elegance;
but Macer has no elevation, and Lucretius is not easily understood.
_Cæteri omnes longe sequuntur. Nam MACER et LUCRETIUS legendi quidem;
elegantes in suâ quisque materiâ, sed alter humilis, alter
difficilis. _ Lib. x. cap. 1. Statius, the poet, who flourished in the
reign of Domitian, knew the value of Lucretius, and, in one line,
seems to have given his true character; _et docti furor arduus
Lucreti_; but had he been to decide between him and Virgil, it is
probable, that he would say to Lucretius, as he did to himself,
----Nec tu divinam Æneida tenta,
Sed longe sequere, et vestigia semper adora.
THEBAIDOS lib. xii. ver. 816.
[f] Aufidius Bassus and Servilius Nonianus were writers of history.
Bassus, according to Quintilian, deserved great commendation,
particularly in his History of the German war. In some of his other
works he fell short of himself. Servilius Nonianus was known to
Quintilian, and, in that critic's judgement, was an author of
considerable merit, sententious in his manner, but more diffuse than
becomes the historic character. See Quintilian, lib. x. cap. 1. The
death of SERVILIUS, an eminent orator and historian, is mentioned by
Tacitus in the _Annals_, b. xiv. s. 19; but the additional name of
NONIANUS is omitted. The passage, however, is supposed to relate to
the person commended by Quintilian. He died in the reign of Nero,
A. U. C. 812; of the Christian æra 59.
[g] Varro was universally allowed to be the most learned of the
Romans. He wrote on several subjects with profound erudition.
Quintilian says, he was completely master of the Latin language, and
thoroughly conversant in the antiquities of Greece and Rome. His works
will enlarge our sphere of knowledge, but can add nothing to
eloquence. _Peritissimus linguæ Latinæ, et omnis antiquitatis, et
rerum Græcarum, nostrarumque; plus tamen scientiæ collaturus, quam
eloquentiæ. _ Lib. x. cap. 1.
Sisenna, we are told by Cicero, was a man of learning, well skilled in
the Roman language, acquainted with the laws and constitution of his
country, and possessed of no small share of wit; but eloquence was not
his element, and his practice in the forum was inconsiderable. See _De
Claris Oratoribus_, s. 228. In a subsequent part of the same work,
Cicero says, that Sisenna was of opinion, that to use uncommon words
was the perfection of style. To prove this he relates a pleasant
anecdote. One Caius Rufus carried on a prosecution. Sisenna appeared
for the defendant; and, to express his contempt of his adversary, said
that many parts of the charge deserved to be spit upon. For this
purpose he coined so strange a word, that the prosecutor implored the
protection of the judges. I do not, said he, understand Sisenna; I am
circumvented; I fear that some snare is laid for me. What does he mean
by _sputatilica? _ I know that _sputa_ is spittle: but what is
_tilica? _ The court laughed at the oddity of a word so strangely
compounded.
