There is no room to think that Cicero used it in a
worse sense, since we find him in a letter to Atticus declaring, that
the oratorical style of Brutus was, in language as well as sentiment,
elegant to a degree that nothing could surpass.
worse sense, since we find him in a letter to Atticus declaring, that
the oratorical style of Brutus was, in language as well as sentiment,
elegant to a degree that nothing could surpass.
Tacitus
But did he think Brutus
disjointed, loose and negligent--_otiosum atque disjunctum_? That he
often thought him disjointed is not improbable. Brutus was a close
thinker, and he aimed at the precision and brevity of Attic eloquence.
The sententious speaker is, of course, full and concise. He has no
studied transitions, above the minute care of artful connections. To
discard the copulatives for the sake of energy was a rule laid down by
the best ancient critics. Cicero has observed that an oration may be
said to be disjointed, when the copulatives are omitted, and strokes
of sentiment follow one another in quick succession. _Dissolutio sive
disjunctio est, quæ conjunctionibus e medio sublatis, partibus
separatis effertur, hoc modo: Gere morem parenti; pare cognatis;
obsequere amicis; obtempera legibus. Ad Herennium_, lib. iv. s. 41.
In this manner, Brutus might appear disjointed, and that figure, often
repeated, might grow into a fault. But how is the word OTIOSUS to be
understood? If it means a neglect of connectives, it may, perhaps,
apply to Brutus.
There is no room to think that Cicero used it in a
worse sense, since we find him in a letter to Atticus declaring, that
the oratorical style of Brutus was, in language as well as sentiment,
elegant to a degree that nothing could surpass. _Est enim oratio ejus
scripta elegantissimè, sententiis et verbis, ut nihil possit ultra. _ A
grave philosopher, like Brutus, might reject the graces of transition
and regular connection, and, for that reason, might be thought
negligent and abrupt. This disjointed style, which the French call
_style coupé_, was the manner cultivated by Seneca, for which Caligula
pronounced him, sand without lime; _arenam sine calce_. Sueton. _Life
of Calig. _ s. 53. We know from Quintilian, that a spirit of emulation,
and even jealousy, subsisted between the eminent orators of Cicero's
time; that he himself was so far from ascribing perfection to
Demosthenes, that he used to say, he often found him napping; that
Brutus and Calvus sat in judgement on Cicero, and did not wish to
conceal their objections; and that the two Pollios were so far from
being satisfied with Cicero's style and manner, that their criticisms
were little short of declared hostility. _Quamquam neque ipsi Ciceroni
Demosthenes videatur satis esse perfectus, quem dormitare interdum
dicit; nec Cicero Bruto Calvoque, qui certè compositionem illius etiam
apud ipsum reprehendunt; ne Asinio utrique, qui vitia orationis ejus
etiam inimicè pluribus locis insequuntur. _ Quintil. lib. xii. cap. 1.
Section XIX.
disjointed, loose and negligent--_otiosum atque disjunctum_? That he
often thought him disjointed is not improbable. Brutus was a close
thinker, and he aimed at the precision and brevity of Attic eloquence.
The sententious speaker is, of course, full and concise. He has no
studied transitions, above the minute care of artful connections. To
discard the copulatives for the sake of energy was a rule laid down by
the best ancient critics. Cicero has observed that an oration may be
said to be disjointed, when the copulatives are omitted, and strokes
of sentiment follow one another in quick succession. _Dissolutio sive
disjunctio est, quæ conjunctionibus e medio sublatis, partibus
separatis effertur, hoc modo: Gere morem parenti; pare cognatis;
obsequere amicis; obtempera legibus. Ad Herennium_, lib. iv. s. 41.
In this manner, Brutus might appear disjointed, and that figure, often
repeated, might grow into a fault. But how is the word OTIOSUS to be
understood? If it means a neglect of connectives, it may, perhaps,
apply to Brutus.
There is no room to think that Cicero used it in a
worse sense, since we find him in a letter to Atticus declaring, that
the oratorical style of Brutus was, in language as well as sentiment,
elegant to a degree that nothing could surpass. _Est enim oratio ejus
scripta elegantissimè, sententiis et verbis, ut nihil possit ultra. _ A
grave philosopher, like Brutus, might reject the graces of transition
and regular connection, and, for that reason, might be thought
negligent and abrupt. This disjointed style, which the French call
_style coupé_, was the manner cultivated by Seneca, for which Caligula
pronounced him, sand without lime; _arenam sine calce_. Sueton. _Life
of Calig. _ s. 53. We know from Quintilian, that a spirit of emulation,
and even jealousy, subsisted between the eminent orators of Cicero's
time; that he himself was so far from ascribing perfection to
Demosthenes, that he used to say, he often found him napping; that
Brutus and Calvus sat in judgement on Cicero, and did not wish to
conceal their objections; and that the two Pollios were so far from
being satisfied with Cicero's style and manner, that their criticisms
were little short of declared hostility. _Quamquam neque ipsi Ciceroni
Demosthenes videatur satis esse perfectus, quem dormitare interdum
dicit; nec Cicero Bruto Calvoque, qui certè compositionem illius etiam
apud ipsum reprehendunt; ne Asinio utrique, qui vitia orationis ejus
etiam inimicè pluribus locis insequuntur. _ Quintil. lib. xii. cap. 1.
Section XIX.
