That, he says, which offends the ear, will not
easily gain admission to the mind.
easily gain admission to the mind.
Tacitus
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?
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?
