He exerted himself with
zeal and ardour for the legal constitution and the liberties of his
country against the ambition of Julius Cæsar, but afterwards sold
himself to that artful politician, and favoured his designs.
zeal and ardour for the legal constitution and the liberties of his
country against the ambition of Julius Cæsar, but afterwards sold
himself to that artful politician, and favoured his designs.
Tacitus
cap.
11.
Cicero says, that with slender talents, and
a small stock of learning, he was able for some years, by his
assiduity and interest, to maintain his rank in the list of eminent
orators. _Mediocriter a doctrinâ instructus, angustius etiam a naturâ,
labore et industriâ, et quod adhibebat ad obtinendas causas curam
etiam, et gratiam, in principibus patronis aliquot annos fuit. In
hujus oratione sermo Latinus erat, verba non abjecta, res compositæ
diligenter; nullus flos tamen, neque lumen ullum: animi magna, vocis
parva contentio; omnia ferè ut similiter, atque uno modo dicerentur. _
Cicero, _De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 233.
[c] Lentulus succeeded more by his action than by real ability. With a
quick and animated countenance, he was not a man of penetration;
though fluent in speech, he had no command of words. His voice was
sweet and melodious; his action graceful; and with those advantages he
was able to conceal all other defects. _Cneius autem Lentulus multo
majorem opinionem dicendi actione faciebat, quam quanta in eo facultas
erat; qui cum esset nec peracutus (quamquam et ex facie et ex vultu
videbatur) nec abundans verbis, etsi fallebat in eo ipso; sed voce
suavi et canorâ calebat in agendo, ut ea, quæ deerant, non
desiderarentur. _ Cicero, _De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 234. Metellus,
Lucullus, and Curio, are mentioned by Cicero in the same work. Curio
was a senator of great spirit and popularity.
He exerted himself with
zeal and ardour for the legal constitution and the liberties of his
country against the ambition of Julius Cæsar, but afterwards sold
himself to that artful politician, and favoured his designs. The
calamities that followed are by the best historians laid to his
charge. Lucan says of him,
Audax venali comitatur Curio linguâ;
Vox quondam populi, libertatemque tueri
Ausus, et armatos plebi miscere potentes.
Lib. i. ver. 269.
And again,
Moméntumque fuit mutatus Curio rerum,
Gallorum captus spoliis, et Cæsaris auro.
PHARSALIA, lib. iv. ver. 819.
[d] Demosthenes, when not more than seven years old, lost his father,
and was left under the care of three guardians, who thought an orphan
lawful prey, and did not scruple to embezzle his effects. In the mean
time Demosthenes pursued a plan of education, without the aid or
advice of his tutors. He became the scholar of Isocrates, and he was
the hearer of Plato. Under those masters his progress was such, that
at the age of seventeen he was able to conduct a suit against his
guardians.
a small stock of learning, he was able for some years, by his
assiduity and interest, to maintain his rank in the list of eminent
orators. _Mediocriter a doctrinâ instructus, angustius etiam a naturâ,
labore et industriâ, et quod adhibebat ad obtinendas causas curam
etiam, et gratiam, in principibus patronis aliquot annos fuit. In
hujus oratione sermo Latinus erat, verba non abjecta, res compositæ
diligenter; nullus flos tamen, neque lumen ullum: animi magna, vocis
parva contentio; omnia ferè ut similiter, atque uno modo dicerentur. _
Cicero, _De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 233.
[c] Lentulus succeeded more by his action than by real ability. With a
quick and animated countenance, he was not a man of penetration;
though fluent in speech, he had no command of words. His voice was
sweet and melodious; his action graceful; and with those advantages he
was able to conceal all other defects. _Cneius autem Lentulus multo
majorem opinionem dicendi actione faciebat, quam quanta in eo facultas
erat; qui cum esset nec peracutus (quamquam et ex facie et ex vultu
videbatur) nec abundans verbis, etsi fallebat in eo ipso; sed voce
suavi et canorâ calebat in agendo, ut ea, quæ deerant, non
desiderarentur. _ Cicero, _De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 234. Metellus,
Lucullus, and Curio, are mentioned by Cicero in the same work. Curio
was a senator of great spirit and popularity.
He exerted himself with
zeal and ardour for the legal constitution and the liberties of his
country against the ambition of Julius Cæsar, but afterwards sold
himself to that artful politician, and favoured his designs. The
calamities that followed are by the best historians laid to his
charge. Lucan says of him,
Audax venali comitatur Curio linguâ;
Vox quondam populi, libertatemque tueri
Ausus, et armatos plebi miscere potentes.
Lib. i. ver. 269.
And again,
Moméntumque fuit mutatus Curio rerum,
Gallorum captus spoliis, et Cæsaris auro.
PHARSALIA, lib. iv. ver. 819.
[d] Demosthenes, when not more than seven years old, lost his father,
and was left under the care of three guardians, who thought an orphan
lawful prey, and did not scruple to embezzle his effects. In the mean
time Demosthenes pursued a plan of education, without the aid or
advice of his tutors. He became the scholar of Isocrates, and he was
the hearer of Plato. Under those masters his progress was such, that
at the age of seventeen he was able to conduct a suit against his
guardians.
