The
Dialogue, for that reason, seems to be improperly ascribed to him: men
who figure so much in the enquiry concerning oratory, would not have
been omitted by the critic who thought their conversation worth
recording.
Dialogue, for that reason, seems to be improperly ascribed to him: men
who figure so much in the enquiry concerning oratory, would not have
been omitted by the critic who thought their conversation worth
recording.
Tacitus
[c] Quintilian makes honourable mention of Julius Secundus, who, if he
had not been prematurely cut off, would have transmitted his name to
posterity among the most celebrated orators. He would have added, and
he was daily doing it, whatever was requisite to complete his
oratorical genius; and all that could be desired, was more vigour in
argument, and more attention to matter and sentiment, than to the
choice of words. But he died too soon, and his fame was, in some
degree, intercepted. He has, notwithstanding, left a considerable
name. His diction was rich and copious; he explained every thing with
grace and elegance; his periods flowed with a suavity that charmed
his audience; his language, when metaphorical, was bold, yet accurate;
and, if he hazarded an unusual phrase, he was justified by the energy
with which his meaning was conveyed. _Julio Secundo, si longior
contigisset ætas, clarissimum profecto nomen oratoris apud posteros
foret. Adjecisset enim, atque adjiciebat, cæteris virtutibus suis,
quod desiderari potest; id est autem, ut esset multo magis pugnax, et
sæpius ad curam rerum ab elocutione respiceret. Cæterum interceptus
quoque magnum sibi vindicat locum. Ea est facundia, tanta in
explicando, quod velit, gratia; tam candidum, et lene, et speciosum
dicendi genus; tanta verborum, etiam quæ assumpta sunt, proprietas;
tanta in quibusdam, ex periculo petitis, significantia. _ Quintil. lib.
x. s. 1. It is remarkable, that Quintilian, in his list of Roman
orators, has neither mentioned Maternus, nor Marcus Aper.
The
Dialogue, for that reason, seems to be improperly ascribed to him: men
who figure so much in the enquiry concerning oratory, would not have
been omitted by the critic who thought their conversation worth
recording.
Section III.
[a] Thyestes was a common and popular subject of ancient tragedy.
Indignatur item privatis, et prope socco
Dignis carminibus narrari coena Thyestæ.
HORAT. ARS POET. ver. 90.
[b] It was the custom of the colonies and municipal towns, to pay
their court to some great orator at Rome, in order to obtain his
patronage, whenever they should have occasion to apply to the senate
for a redress of grievances.
[c] Domitius was another subject of tragedy, taken from the Roman
story. Who he was, does not clearly appear. Brotier thinks it was
Domitius, the avowed enemy of Julius Cæsar, who moved in the senate
for a law to recall that general from the command of the army in Gaul,
and, afterwards, on the breaking out of the civil war, fell bravely
at the battle of Pharsalia. See Suetonius, Life of Nero, section 2.
Such a character might furnish the subject of a tragedy. The Roman
poets were in the habit of enriching their drama with domestic
occurrences, and the practice was applauded by Horace.
Nec minimum meruêre decus, vestigia Græca
Ausi deserere, et celebrare domestica facta.
