Institutio Oratoria

Quintilian

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria, Volume 1-4. Butler, Harold Edgeworth, translator. Cambridge, Mass; London: Harvard University Press, William Heinemann Ltd., 1920-1922.

With regard to dress, there is no special garb peculiar to the orator, but his dress comes more under the public eye than that of other men. It should, therefore, be distinguished and manly, as, indeed, it ought to be with all men of position. For

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excessive care with regard to the cut of the toga, [*]( In putting on the toga, it was thrown first over the left shoulder, so that about 6 feet hung in front and about 12 behind. This longer portion was then carried round under the right arm and then diagonally across the chest (like a balleus, or belt) and over the left shoulder again. A fold of this portion hanging in front formed the sinus. The original feet hanging in front from the left shoulder now hung below the rest. A portion was pulled up from above and Allowed to hang over the edge of that portion of the toga which Quintilian compares to a balleus. This was known as the umbo, and is described by Quintilian as pars quae ultima imponitur. He recommends that a considerable portion should be thus pulled up and allowed to hang fairly low in front over the edge of the balteus, that the weight of the hanging portion might balance the remainder of the original 6 feet of toga hanging from the left shoulder, keep it in place and prevent it from slipping lack into its original position. The toga was very nearly semicircular in shape, which explains Quintilian's statement that it should be round. For further details see Companion to Latin Studies, Camb. Univ. Press, p. 191. ) the style of the shoes, or the arrangement of the hair, is just as reprehensible as excessive carelessness. There are also details of dress which are altered to some extent by successive changes in fashion. The ancients, for example, wore no folds, and their successors wore them very short.

Consequently it follows that in view of the fact that their arms were, like those of the Greeks, covered by the garment, they must have employed a different form of gesture in the exordium from that which is now in use. However, I am speaking of our own day. The speaker who has not the right to wear the broad stripe, [*](Worn by senators.) will wear his girdle in such a way that the front edges of the tunic fall a little below his knees, while the edges in rear reach to the middle of his hams. For only women draw them lower and only centurions higher.

If we wear the purple stripe, it requires but little care to see that it fills becomingly; negligence in this respect sometimes excites criticism. Among those who wear the broad stripe, it is the fashion to let it hang somewhat lower than in garments that are retained by the girdle. The toga itself should, in my opinion, be round, and cut to fit, otherwise there are a number of ways in which it may be unshapely. Its front edge should by preference reach to the middle of the shin, while tie back should be higher in proposition as the girdle is higher

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behind than in front.