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The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The
Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence, by Cornelius Tacitus

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org


Title: A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence
The Works Of Cornelius Tacitus, Volume 8 (of 8); With An Essay On
His Life And Genius, Notes, Supplements


Author: Cornelius Tacitus

Release Date: February 11, 2005 [EBook #15017]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONCERNING ORATORY ***




Produced by Ted Garvin, Tom Martin and the PG Online Distributed
Proofreading Team






THE WORKS OF CORNELIUS TACITUS;

WITH

AN ESSAY ON HIS LIFE AND GENIUS,
NOTES, SUPPLEMENTS, &c.

BY
ARTHUR MURPHY, ESQ.


Præcipuum munus annalium reor, ne virtutes sileantur, utque pravis
dictis factisque ex posteritate et infamiâ metus sit.
TACITUS, Annales, iii. s. 65.


A NEW EDITION,
WITH THE AUTHOR'S LAST CORRECTIONS.

IN EIGHT VOLUMES.

VOL. VIII.


LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE; F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON; J. WALKER;
R. LEA; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; CADELL AND DAVIES; J.
MAWMAN; J. MURRAY; J. RICHARDSON; R. BALDWIN; AND J. FAULDER.

1811.




A DIALOGUE CONCERNING ORATORY,

OR THE CAUSES OF CORRUPT ELOQUENCE.

VOL. VIII.




CONTENTS.


I. General introduction, with the reasons for writing an account of
the following discourse.

II. The persons engaged in the dialogue; at first, Curiatius Maternus,
Julius Secundus, and Marcus Aper.

III. Secundus endeavours to dissuade Maternus from thinking any more
of dramatic composition.

IV. Maternus gives his reasons for persisting.

V. Aper condemns his resolution, and, in point of utility, real
happiness, fame and dignity, contends that the oratorical profession
is preferable to the poetical.

VIII. He cites the example of Eprius Marcellus and Crispus Vibius, who
raised themselves by their eloquence to the highest honours.

IX. Poetical fame brings with it no advantage.

X. He exhorts Maternus to relinquish the muses, and devote his whole
to eloquence and the business of the bar.

XI. Maternus defends his favourite studies; the pleasures arising from
poetry are in their nature innocent and sublime; the fame is extensive
and immortal. The poet enjoys the most delightful intercourse with his
friends, whereas the life of the public orator is a state of warfare
and anxiety.

XIV. Vipstanius Messala enters the room. He finds his friends engaged
in a controversy, and being an admirer of ancient eloquence, he
advises Aper to adopt the model of the ancients in preference to the
plan of the modern rhetoricians.

XV. Hence a difference of opinion concerning the merit of the ancients
and the moderns. Messala, Secundus, and Maternus, profess themselves
admirers of the oratory that flourished in the time of the republic.
Aper launches out against the ancients, and gives the preference to
the advocates of his own time. He desires to know who are to be
accounted ancients.

XVIII. Eloquence has various modes, all changing with the conjuncture
of the times. But it is the nature of men to praise the past, and
censure the present. The period when Cassius Severus flourished, is
stated to be the point of time at which men cease to be ancients;
Cassius with good reason deviated from the ancient manner.

XX. Defects of ancient eloquence: the modern style more refined and
elegant.

XXI. The character of Calvus, Cælius, Cæsar and Brutus, and also of
Asinius Pollio, and Messala Corvinus.

XXII. The praise and censure of Cicero.

XXIII. The true rhetorical art consists in blending the virtues of
ancient oratory with the beauties of the modern style.

XXIV. Maternus observes that there can be no dispute about the
superior reputation of the ancient orators: he therefore calls upon
Messala to take that point for granted, and proceed to an enquiry into
the causes that produced so great an alteration.

XXV. After some observations on the eloquence of Calvus, Asinius
Pollio, Cæsar, Cicero, and others, Messala praises Gracchus and Lucius
Crassus, but censures Mæcenas, Gallio, and Cassius Severus.

XXVII. Maternus reminds Messala of the true point in question; Messala
proceeds to assign the causes which occasioned the decay of eloquence,
such as the dissipation of the young men, the inattention of their
parents, the ignorance of rhetorical professors, and the total neglect
of ancient discipline.

XXXIV. He proceeds to explain the plan of study, and the institutions,
customs, and various arts, by which orators were formed in the time of
the republic.

XXXV. The defects and vices in the new system of education. In this
part of the dialogue, the sequel of Messala's discourse is lost, with
the whole of what was said by Secundus, and the beginning of Maternus:
the supplement goes on from this place, distinguished by inverted
commas [transcriber's note: not used], and the sections marked with
numerical figures.

1. Messala describes the presumption of the young advocates on their
first appearance at the bar; their want of legal knowledge, and the
absurd habits which they contracted in the schools of the
rhetoricians.

2. Eloquence totally ruined by the preceptors. Messala concludes with
desiring Secundus and Maternus to assign the reasons which have
occurred to them.

4. Secundus gives his opinion. The change of government produced a new
mode of eloquence. The orators under the emperors endeavoured to be
ingenious rather than natural. Seneca the first who introduced a false
taste, which still prevailed in the reign of Vespasian.

8. Licinius Largus taught the advocates of his time the disgraceful
art of hiring applauders by profession. This was the bane of all true
oratory, and, for that reason, Maternus was right in renouncing the
forum altogether.

10. Maternus acknowledges that he was disgusted by the shameful
practices that prevailed at the bar, and therefore resolved to devote
the rest of his time to poetry and the muses.

11. An apology for the rhetoricians. The praise of Quintilian. True
eloquence died with Cicero.

13. The loss of liberty was the ruin of genuine oratory. Demosthenes
flourished under a free government. The original goes on from this
place to the end of the dialogue.

XXXVI. Eloquence flourishes most in times of public tumult. The crimes
of turbulent citizens supply the orator with his best materials.

XXXVII. In the time of the republic, oratorical talents were necessary
qualifications, and without them no man was deemed worthy of being
advanced to the magistracy.

XXXVIII. The Roman orators were not confined in point of time; they
might extend their speeches to what length they thought proper, and
could even adjourn. Pompey abridged the liberty of speech, and limited
the time.

XXXIX. The very dress of the advocates under the emperors was
prejudicial to eloquence.

XL. True eloquence springs from the vices of men, and never was known
to exist under a calm and settled government.

XLI. Eloquence changes with the times. Every age has its own peculiar
advantages, and invidious comparisons are unnecessary.

XLII. Conclusion of the dialogue.


The time of this dialogue was the sixth of Vespasian's reign.

Year of Rome--Of Christ Consuls.

828 75 Vespasian, 6th time; Titus his son,
4th time.




A DIALOGUE CONCERNING ORATORY, OR THE CAUSES OF CORRUPT ELOQUENCE.


I. You have often enquired of me, my good friend, Justus Fabius [a],
how and from what causes it has proceeded, that while ancient times
display a race of great and splendid orators, the present age,
dispirited, and without any claim to the praise of eloquence, has
scarcely retained the name of an orator. By that appellation we now
distinguish none but those who flourished in a former period. To the
eminent of the present day, we give the title of speakers, pleaders,
advocates, patrons, in short, every thing but orators.

The enquiry is in its nature delicate; tending, if we are not able to
contend with antiquity, to impeach our genius, and if we are not
willing, to arraign our judgement. An answer to so nice a question is
more than I should venture to undertake, were I to rely altogether
upon myself: but it happens, that I am able to state the sentiments of
men distinguished by their eloquence, such as it is in modern times;
having, in the early part of my life, been present at their
conversation on the very subject now before us. What I have to offer,
will not be the result of my own thinking: it is the work of memory
only; a mere recital of what fell from the most celebrated orators of
their time: a set of men, who thought with subtilty, and expressed
themselves with energy and precision; each, in his turn, assigning
different but probable causes, at times insisting on the same, and, in
the course of the debate, maintaining his own proper character, and
the peculiar cast of his mind. What they said upon the occasion, I
shall relate, as nearly as may be, in the style and manner of the
several speakers, observing always the regular course and order of the
controversy. For a controversy it certainly was, where the speakers of
the present age did not want an advocate, who supported their cause
with zeal, and, after treating antiquity with sufficient freedom, and
even derision, assigned the palm of eloquence to the practisers of
modern times.


II. Curiatius Maternus [a] gave a public reading of his tragedy of
Cato. On the following day a report prevailed, that the piece had
given umbrage to the men in power. The author, it was said, had
laboured to display his favourite character in the brightest colours;
anxious for the fame of his hero, but regardless of himself. This soon
became the topic of public conversation. Maternus received a visit
from Marcus Aper [b] and Julius Secundus [c], both men of genius, and
the first ornaments of the forum. I was, at that time, a constant
attendant on those eminent men. I heard them, not only in their scenes
of public business, but, feeling an inclination to the same studies, I
followed them with all the ardour of youthful emulation. I was
admitted to their private parties; I heard their debates, and the
amusement of their social hours: I treasured up their wit, and their
sentiments on the various topics which they had discussed in
conversation. Respected as they were, it must, however, be
acknowledged that they did not escape the malignity of criticism. It
was objected to Secundus, that he had no command of words, no flow of
language; and to Aper, that he was indebted for his fame, not to art
or literature, but to the natural powers of a vigorous understanding.
The truth is, the style of the former was remarkable for its purity;
concise, yet free and copious; and the latter was sufficiently versed
in all branches of general erudition. It might be said of him, that he
despised literature, not that he wanted it. He thought, perhaps, that,
by scorning the aid of letters, and by drawing altogether from his own
fund, his fame would stand on a more solid foundation.


III. We went together to pay our visit to Maternus. Upon entering his
study, we found him with the tragedy, which he had read on the
preceding day, lying before him. Secundus began: And are you then so
little affected by the censure of malignant critics, as to persist in
cherishing a tragedy which has given so much offence? Perhaps you are
revising the piece, and, after retrenching certain passages, intend to
send your Cato into the world, I will not say improved, but certainly
less obnoxious. There lies the poem, said Maternus; you may, if you
think proper, peruse it with all its imperfections on its head. If
Cato has omitted any thing, Thyestes [a], at my next reading, shall
atone for all deficiencies. I have formed the fable of a tragedy on
that subject: the plan is warm in my imagination, and, that I may give
my whole time to it, I now am eager to dispatch an edition of Cato.
Marcus Aper interposed: And are you, indeed, so enamoured of your
dramatic muse, as to renounce your oratorical character, and the
honours of your profession, in order to sacrifice your time, I think
it was lately to Medea, and now to Thyestes? Your friends, in the mean
time, expect your patronage; the colonies [b] invoke your aid, and the
municipal cities invite you to the bar. And surely the weight of so
many causes may be deemed sufficient, without this new solicitude
imposed upon you by Domitius [c] or Cato. And must you thus waste all
your time, amusing yourself for ever with scenes of fictitious
distress, and still labouring to add to the fables of Greece the
incidents and characters of the Roman story?


IV. The sharpness of that reproof, replied Maternus, would, perhaps,
have disconcerted me, if, by frequent repetition, it had not lost its
sting. To differ on this subject is grown familiar to us both. Poetry,
it seems, is to expect no quarter: you wage an incessant war against
the followers of that pleasing art; and I, who am charged with
deserting my clients, have yet every day the cause of poetry to
defend. But we have now a fair opportunity, and I embrace it with
pleasure, since we have a person present, of ability to decide between
us; a judge, who will either lay me under an injunction to write no
more verses, or, as I rather hope, encourage me, by his authority, to
renounce for ever the dry employment of forensic causes (in which I
have had my share of drudgery), that I may, for the future, be at
leisure to cultivate the sublime and sacred eloquence of the tragic
muse.


V. Secundus desired to be heard: I am aware, he said, that Aper may
refuse me as an umpire. Before he states his objections, let me follow
the example of all fair and upright judges, who, in particular cases,
when they feel a partiality for one of the contending parties, desire
to be excused from hearing the cause. The friendship and habitual
intercourse, which I have ever cultivated with Saleius Bassus [a],
that excellent man, and no less excellent poet, are well known: and
let me add, if poetry is to be arraigned, I know no client that can
offer such handsome bribes.

My business, replied Aper, is not with Saleius Bassus: let him, and
all of his description, who, without talents for the bar, devote their
time to the muses, pursue their favourite amusement without
interruption. But Maternus must not think to escape in the crowd. I
single him out from the rest, and since we are now before a competent
judge, I call upon him to answer, how it happens, that a man of his
talents, formed by nature to reach the heights of manly eloquence, can
think of renouncing a profession, which not only serves to multiply
friendships, but to support them with reputation: a profession, which
enables us to conciliate the esteem of foreign nations, and (if we
regard our own interest) lays open the road to the first honours of
the state; a profession, which, besides the celebrity that it gives
within the walls of Rome, spreads an illustrious name throughout this
wide extent of the empire.

If it be wisdom to make the ornament and happiness of life the end and
aim of our actions, what can be more advisable than to embrace an art,
by which we are enabled to protect our friends; to defend the cause of
strangers; and succour the distressed? Nor is this all: the eminent
orator is a terror to his enemies: envy and malice tremble, while they
hate him. Secure in his own strength, he knows how to ward off every
danger. His own genius is his protection; a perpetual guard, that
watches him; an invincible power, that shields him from his enemies.

In the calm seasons of life, the true use of oratory consists in the
assistance which it affords to our fellow-citizens. We then behold the
triumph of eloquence. Have we reason to be alarmed for ourselves, the
sword and breast-plate are not a better defence in the heat of battle.
It is at once a buckler to cover yourself [b] and a weapon to brandish
against your enemy. Armed with this, you may appear with courage
before the tribunals of justice, in the senate, and even in the
presence of the prince. We lately saw [c] Eprius Marcellus arraigned
before the fathers: in that moment, when the minds of the whole
assembly were inflamed against him, what had he to oppose to the
vehemence of his enemies, but that nervous eloquence which he
possessed in so eminent a degree? Collected in himself, and looking
terror to his enemies, he was more than a match for Helvidius Priscus;
a man, no doubt, of consummate wisdom, but without that flow of
eloquence, which springs from practice, and that skill in argument,
which is necessary to manage a public debate. Such is the advantage of
oratory: to enlarge upon it were superfluous.