During all this formality, what kind of an
audience
has the orator to
invigorate his faculties?
invigorate his faculties?
Tacitus
I proceed to another advantage of the ancient forum; I mean
the form of proceeding and the rules of practice observed in those
days. Our modern custom is, I grant, more conducive to truth and
justice; but that of former times gave to eloquence a free career,
and, by consequence, greater weight and splendour. The advocate was
not, as now, confined to a few hours [a]; he might adjourn as often as
it suited his convenience; he might expatiate, as his genius prompted
him: and the number of days, like that of the several patrons, was
unlimited. Pompey was the first who circumscribed the genius of men
within narrower limits [b]. In his third consulship he gave a check to
eloquence, and, as it were, bridled its spirit, but still left all
causes to be tried according to law in the forum, and before the
prætors. The importance of the business, which was decided in that
court of justice, will be evident, if we compare it with the
transactions before the centumvirs [c], who at present have cognizance
of all matters whatever. We have not so much as one oration of Cicero
or Cæsar, of Brutus, Cælius, or Calvus, or any other person famous for
his eloquence, which was delivered before the last-mentioned
jurisdiction, excepting only the speeches of Asinius Pollio [d] for
the heirs of Urbinia. But those speeches were delivered about the
middle of the reign of Augustus, when, after a long peace with foreign
nations, and a profound tranquillity at home, that wise and politic
prince had conquered all opposition, and not only triumphed over party
and faction, but subdued eloquence itself.
XXXIX. What I am going to say will appear, perhaps, too minute; it may
border on the ridiculous, and excite your mirth: with all my heart; I
will hazard it for that very reason. The dress now in use at the bar
has an air of meanness: the speaker is confined in a close robe [a],
and loses all the grace of action. The very courts of judicature are
another objection; all causes are heard, at present, in little narrow
rooms, where spirit and strenuous exertion are unnecessary. The
orator, like a generous steed, requires liberty and ample space:
before a scanty tribunal his spirit droops, and the dullness of the
scene damps the powers of genius. Add to this, we pay no attention to
style; and indeed how should we? No time is allowed for the beauties
of composition: the judge calls upon you to begin, and you must obey,
liable, at the same time, to frequent interruptions, while documents
are read, and witnesses examined.
During all this formality, what kind of an audience has the orator to
invigorate his faculties? Two or three stragglers drop in by chance,
and to them the whole business seems to be transacted in solitude. But
the orator requires a different scene. He delights in clamour, tumult,
and bursts of applause. Eloquence must have her theatre, as was the
case in ancient times, when the forum was crowded with the first men
in Rome; when a numerous train of clients pressed forward with eager
expectation; when the people, in their several tribes; when
ambassadors from the colonies, and a great part of Italy; attended to
hear the debate; in short, when all Rome was interested in the event.
We know that in the cases of Cornelius, Scaurus, Milo, Bestia, and
Vatinius, the concourse was so great, that those several causes were
tried before the whole body of the people. A scene so vast and
magnificent was enough to inflame the most languid orator. The
speeches delivered upon those occasions are in every body's hands,
and, by their intrinsic excellence, we of this day estimate the genius
of the respective authors.
XL. If we now consider the frequent assemblies of the people, and the
right of prosecuting the most eminent men in the state; if we reflect
on the glory that sprung from the declared hostility of the most
illustrious characters; if we recollect, that even Scipio, Sylla, and
Pompey, were not sheltered from the storms of eloquence, what a number
of causes shall we see conspiring to rouse the spirit of the ancient
forum! The malignity of the human heart, always adverse to superior
characters, encouraged the orator to persist. The very players, by
sarcastic allusions to men in power, gratified the public ear, and, by
consequence, sharpened the wit and acrimony of the bold declaimer.
Need I observe to you, that in all I have said, I have not been
speaking of that temperate faculty [a] which delights in quiet times,
supported by its own integrity, and the virtues of moderation? I speak
of popular eloquence, the genuine offspring of that licentiousness, to
which fools and ill-designing men have given the name of liberty: I
speak of bold and turbulent oratory, that inflamer of the people, and
constant companion of sedition; that fierce incendiary, that knows no
compliance, and scorns to temporize; busy, rash, and arrogant, but, in
quiet and well regulated governments, utterly unknown. Who ever heard
of an orator at Crete or Lacedæmon? In those states a system of
rigorous discipline was established by the first principles of the
constitution.
the form of proceeding and the rules of practice observed in those
days. Our modern custom is, I grant, more conducive to truth and
justice; but that of former times gave to eloquence a free career,
and, by consequence, greater weight and splendour. The advocate was
not, as now, confined to a few hours [a]; he might adjourn as often as
it suited his convenience; he might expatiate, as his genius prompted
him: and the number of days, like that of the several patrons, was
unlimited. Pompey was the first who circumscribed the genius of men
within narrower limits [b]. In his third consulship he gave a check to
eloquence, and, as it were, bridled its spirit, but still left all
causes to be tried according to law in the forum, and before the
prætors. The importance of the business, which was decided in that
court of justice, will be evident, if we compare it with the
transactions before the centumvirs [c], who at present have cognizance
of all matters whatever. We have not so much as one oration of Cicero
or Cæsar, of Brutus, Cælius, or Calvus, or any other person famous for
his eloquence, which was delivered before the last-mentioned
jurisdiction, excepting only the speeches of Asinius Pollio [d] for
the heirs of Urbinia. But those speeches were delivered about the
middle of the reign of Augustus, when, after a long peace with foreign
nations, and a profound tranquillity at home, that wise and politic
prince had conquered all opposition, and not only triumphed over party
and faction, but subdued eloquence itself.
XXXIX. What I am going to say will appear, perhaps, too minute; it may
border on the ridiculous, and excite your mirth: with all my heart; I
will hazard it for that very reason. The dress now in use at the bar
has an air of meanness: the speaker is confined in a close robe [a],
and loses all the grace of action. The very courts of judicature are
another objection; all causes are heard, at present, in little narrow
rooms, where spirit and strenuous exertion are unnecessary. The
orator, like a generous steed, requires liberty and ample space:
before a scanty tribunal his spirit droops, and the dullness of the
scene damps the powers of genius. Add to this, we pay no attention to
style; and indeed how should we? No time is allowed for the beauties
of composition: the judge calls upon you to begin, and you must obey,
liable, at the same time, to frequent interruptions, while documents
are read, and witnesses examined.
During all this formality, what kind of an audience has the orator to
invigorate his faculties? Two or three stragglers drop in by chance,
and to them the whole business seems to be transacted in solitude. But
the orator requires a different scene. He delights in clamour, tumult,
and bursts of applause. Eloquence must have her theatre, as was the
case in ancient times, when the forum was crowded with the first men
in Rome; when a numerous train of clients pressed forward with eager
expectation; when the people, in their several tribes; when
ambassadors from the colonies, and a great part of Italy; attended to
hear the debate; in short, when all Rome was interested in the event.
We know that in the cases of Cornelius, Scaurus, Milo, Bestia, and
Vatinius, the concourse was so great, that those several causes were
tried before the whole body of the people. A scene so vast and
magnificent was enough to inflame the most languid orator. The
speeches delivered upon those occasions are in every body's hands,
and, by their intrinsic excellence, we of this day estimate the genius
of the respective authors.
XL. If we now consider the frequent assemblies of the people, and the
right of prosecuting the most eminent men in the state; if we reflect
on the glory that sprung from the declared hostility of the most
illustrious characters; if we recollect, that even Scipio, Sylla, and
Pompey, were not sheltered from the storms of eloquence, what a number
of causes shall we see conspiring to rouse the spirit of the ancient
forum! The malignity of the human heart, always adverse to superior
characters, encouraged the orator to persist. The very players, by
sarcastic allusions to men in power, gratified the public ear, and, by
consequence, sharpened the wit and acrimony of the bold declaimer.
Need I observe to you, that in all I have said, I have not been
speaking of that temperate faculty [a] which delights in quiet times,
supported by its own integrity, and the virtues of moderation? I speak
of popular eloquence, the genuine offspring of that licentiousness, to
which fools and ill-designing men have given the name of liberty: I
speak of bold and turbulent oratory, that inflamer of the people, and
constant companion of sedition; that fierce incendiary, that knows no
compliance, and scorns to temporize; busy, rash, and arrogant, but, in
quiet and well regulated governments, utterly unknown. Who ever heard
of an orator at Crete or Lacedæmon? In those states a system of
rigorous discipline was established by the first principles of the
constitution.
