But to possess this gift, our orator will require all the resources of nature, learning and industrious study. Therefore let no man hope that he can acquire eloquence merely by the labour of others. He must burn the midnight oil, persevere to the end and grow pale with study: he must form his own powers, his own experience, his own methods: he must not require to hunt for his weapons, but must have them ready for immediate use, as though they were born with him and not derived from the instruction of others.
The road may be pointed out, but our speed must be our own. Art has done enough in publishing the resources of eloquence, it is for us to know how to use them.
And it is not enough merely to arrange the various parts: each several part has its own internal economy, according to which one thought will come first, another second, another third, while we must struggle not merely to place these thoughts in their proper order, but to link them together and give them such cohesion that there will be no trace of any suture: they must form a body, not a congeries of limbs.
This end will be attained if we note what best suits each position, and
take care that the words which we place together are such as will not
clash, but will mutually harmonise. Thus different facts will not seem
like perfect strangers thrust into uncongenial company from distant
places, but will be united with what precedes and follows by an intimate
bond of union, with the result that our
THE observations contained in the preceding five books approximately cover the method of invention and the arrangement of the material thus provided. It is absolutely necessary to acquire a thorough knowledge of this method in all its details, if we desire to become accomplished orators, but a simpler and briefer course of instruction is more suitable for beginners.
For they tend either to be deterred from study by the difficulties of so detailed and complicated a course, or lose heart at having to attempt tasks of such difficulty just at the very period when their minds need special nourishment and a more attractive form of diet, or think that when they have learned this much and no more, they are fully equipped for the tasks of eloquence, or finally, regarding themselves as fettered by certain fixed laws of oratory, shrink from making any effort on their own initiative.
Consequently, it has been held that those who have exercised the
greatest care in writing text-books of rhetoric have been the furthest
removed from genuine eloquence. Still, it is absolutely necessary to
point out to beginners the road which they should follow, though this
road must be smooth and easy not merely to enter, but to indicate.
Consequently, our skilful instructor should select all
Later, as they acquire strength in speaking, their learning will grow in proportion. To begin with, they may be allowed to think that there is no other road than that on which we have set their feet, and it may be left to time to teach them what is actually the best. It is true that writers on rhetoric have, by the pertinacity with which they have defended their opinions, made the principles of the science which they profess somewhat complicated; but these principles are in reality neither obscure nor hard to understand.
Consequently, if we regard the treatment of the art as a whole, it is harder to decide what we should teach than to teach it, once the decision has been made. Above all, in the two departments which I have mentioned, the necessary rules are but few in number, and if the pupil gives them ready acceptance, he will find that the path to further accomplishment presents no difficulty.
I have, it is true, already expended much labour on this portion of my
task; for I desired to make it clear that rhetoric is the science of
speaking well, that it is useful, and further, that it is an art and a
virtue. I wished also to show that its subject matter consists of
everything on which an orator may be called to speak, and is, as a rule,
to be found in three classes of oratory, demonstrative, deliberative,
and forensic; that every speech is composed of matter and words, and
that as regards matter we must
I attempted to show that the duty of the orator is composed of instructing, moving and delighting his hearers, statement of facts and argument falling under the head of instruction, while emotional appeals are concerned with moving the audience and, although they may be employed throughout the case, are most effective at the beginning and end. As to the element of charm, I pointed out that, though it may reside both in facts and words, its special sphere is that of style.
I observed that there are two kinds of questions, the one indefinite,
the other definite, and involving the consideration of persons and
circumstances of time and place; further, that whatever our subject
matter, there are three questions which we must ask, is it? what is it? and of what kind is
it? To this I added that demonstrative oratory consists of
praise and denunciation, and that in this connexion we must consider not
merely the acts actually performed by the person of whom we were
speaking, but what happened after his death. This task I showed to be
concerned solely with what is honourable or expedient.
I remarked that in deliberative oratory there is a third department as
well which depends on conjecture, for we have to consider whether the
subject of deliberation is possible or likely to happen. At this point I
emphasised the importance of considering who it is that is speaking,
before whom he is speaking, and what he says. As regards forensic cases,
I demonstrated that some turn on one point of dispute, others on
several, and basis; that every defence rests on denial, which
is of two kinds, since we may either deny that the act was committed or
that its nature was that alleged, while it further consists of
justification and technical pleas to show that the action cannot stand.
I proceeded to show that questions must turn either on something written
or something done: in the latter case we have to consider the truth of
the facts together with their special character and quality; in the
former we consider the meaning or the intention of the words, with
reference to which we usually examine the nature of all cases, criminal
or civil, which fall under the heads of the letter and intention, the syllogism, ambiguity or contrary lairs.
I went on to point out that in all forensic cases the speech consists of
five parts, the exordium designed to conciliate
the audience, the statement of facts designed to
instruct him, the proof which confirms our own
propositions, the refutation which overthrows the
arguments of our opponents, and the peroration
which either refreshes the memory of our hearers or plays upon their
emotions.
I then dealt with the sources of arguments and emotion, and indicated
the means by which the judges should be excited, placated, or amused.
Finally I demonstrated the method of division. But I would ask that the
student who is really desirous of learning should believe that there are
also a variety of subjects with regard to which nature itself should
provide much of the requisite knowledge without any assistance from
formal teaching, so that the precepts of which I have spoken may be
regarded not so much as
The points which follow require greater care and industry. For I have
now to discuss the theory of style, a subject which, as all orators
agree, presents the greatest difficulty. For Marcus Antonius, whom I
mentioned above, states that lie has seen many good, but no really
eloquent speakers, and holds that, while to be a good speaker it is
sufficient to say what is necessary, only the really eloquent speaker
can do this in ornate and appropriate language. de Or.
And if this excellence was to be found in no orator up to his own day,
and not even in himself or Lucius Crassus, we may regard it as certain
that the reason why they and their predecessors lacked this gift was its
extreme difficulty of acquisition. Again, Cicero Or. xiv. 44;
That he was justified in so doing is shown clearly by the actual name of
the art of which I am speaking. For the verb eloqui means the production and communication to the audience
of all that the speaker has conceived in his mind, and without this
power all the preliminary accomplishments of oratory are as useless as a
sword that is kept permanently concealed within its sheath.
Therefore it is on this that teachers of rhetoric concentrate their
attention, since it cannot possibly be acquired without the assistance
of the rules of artit is this which is the chief object of our study,
the goal of all