I BRCTUS; OH, LXXT. " But I heartily wish," said Brutus, " that yon would gi™ IIS your opiniou of those ointora who are still living; or, if you are determined to say nothing of the rest, there ore two at least, (that is, Cteaar and Maroelltia, whom I haTe often heard you speak of with the highest approbation,) nhose character would give me as much eutertaimneot as any of those you have already specified." " But why,"j answered I, " should you espect tiial I should give yon opinion of memrho are as well known to yourself aa to m '■ Marcellus, indeed," replied he, " I am very well acquaint with; but as to Ctesar, I know little of Aim. For I havB heard the former very often; but by the time I was able to judge for myself, the lattw had set out for hia province."
'' But what," said I, " think you of him whom you have heard 80 oftenJ " "What else can I think," replied he, "but that you will soon have an orator, who will very nearly resemble 3^urselfl " " If that is the case," answered I, " pray think of him as favourably as you can." " I do," said he; " for lie pleaaea me very highly; and not without reason. He is absolutely master of his profession, and, neglecting every other, hu applied himself solely to this,- and, for that purpose, haa persevered in the rigorous task of composing a daily essay in writing. Hia words are well chosen; hia language is full and copious; and everything he says receives an additioaol ornament from the graceful tone of his voice, and the dignity of his action. In short, ho is so complete an orator, that there is no quality I know of) in wliich I can think him deficient. But he is still more to he admired, for being able, in these unhappy times, (which are marked with a distress that, by some cruel fiitality, has overwhelmed us all,) to console himself, as opportunity offers, with the consciousness of his own integrity, and by the frequent renewal of his litoraty pursuits. I saw him lately at Mityleae; and then (as I hare already hinted) I saw him a thorough Toan. For though I had before discovered in him a strong resemblance of yourself, the likeness was much improved after he was enriched by the instructions of your learned and very intimate friend Cratippus." " Though I acknowledge," said I, " that I have listened with pleasure to your eulogies on a. very worthy man, for whom I have the warmest esteem, they have led me insensibly to the recollection of our common miseries, which our present conversatiou was intended to suspend.
RBMABKB ON EMIKBNT ORilOIiS.
But I would ■williugly hear wliat is Atticus's opiiiiou of Ctesar."
LXXII. "Upon my word," replied Atticus, "you arc wonderfully conaistent with, jour plan, to say nothing yQur~ self ai the living; and indeed, if you wei-e to deal with tliem, as you already hava with the dead, aud say i^omethiDg of every paltry fellow that occurs to your memory, you woidd piaguo us witb Auironii and Staieni without end. But though jou might poaaihly have it in view not to encumber yourself ■with euch a numerous ciowd of insignificant wretches; or perhaps, to avoid giving any one room to complain that he was either unnoticed, or not extolled according to his imagiuary merit; yet, certainly, you. might have said soioething of Cffisar; especially, as your opinion of Aw abilities ia well known to everybody, and his concerning youn is very far ■ from being a secret. But, however," said he, {addressing himself to Brutus,) '' I really think of CBBsar, aud everybody elEO says the same of this accurate master in the art of speaking, that he has the purest and the most elegant command of the Eoman language ofall the orators that have yet appeared; and that not merely by domestic habit, aa we have lately heard it observed of the families of the Lajlii aud the Mucii, (though even here, I believe, this might partly have been the case,) but he chiefly acquired and brought it to its present perfection, by a studious application to the most intricate and refined branches of hterature, and by a careful and constant attention to the purity of his style. But that ke, who, involved as ho was in a perpetual hurry of business, could dedicate to you, my Cicero, a laboured treatise on the art of speaiiog correctly; that he, who, in the first book of it, laid it down as an axiom, that an accurate choice of words is the foundation of eloquence; and who baa bestowed," -said he, (addressing himself again to Bnitua,) " the highest encomiums on this friend of ours, who yet chooses to leave Ciesar's character to »je;— that he should be a perfect master of the language of pohte conversation, is a circumstance which is almost too obvious to be mentioned. I said, the highest encomiums," pursued Attious, " because he says in so many words, when he addresses himself to Cicero, 'If others have faeatowed all their time and attention to acquire a habit of expressmg themselves with ease and correctness, how much is the name and dignity of the Roman people indebted to you, who are the highest pattern, aud BEOTua; OB, indeed tLe first inventor of tiiat rich fertility of 1 which distinguishes your performances.'"
LXXIII. " Indeed," eaid Brutus, " I think he has e your merit iu a very friendly and a very magnificent stjla; for yon are not only the highest pattern, and even the /rd I inventor of all our fertility of language^ which alone is piBiM I enough to contont a,uy reoHonable man, but you hsve added fresli honourB to the name and dignity of the Roman people; for the very escellence in which we had hitherto been conquered by the vanquished Greeks, has now been either wrested from their hands, or equally shared, at least, between ua and them. So that I prefer this honourable testimony of Ctesar, I will not say to the pubhc thankBgiving which was decreed for your own. military services, but to the triumphs of many heroes." " Very true," replied I, "provided this honourable testimony was really the Toioe of Cffisar's judgment, and not of bis friendship; for ke certainly has added more to tiie dignity of the Eoman people, whoever he may be, (if indeed any such man has yet existed,) who has not only exemplified and enlarged, but first produced this rich fertility of expression, than the dou^ty warriors who have stormed a few paltry castles of the Ligurians, which have furnished us, yon kno*, with many repeated triumphs. In reality, if we can subnit to bear the truth, it may be asserted (to say uothisg of ihets godlike plans, which, supported by the wisdom of our genersH have frequently eaved the sinking state both abroad and at home) that an orator is justly entitled to the preferenoe to any commander in a petty war. But the general, jim will Bay, is the more serviceable man to tiie public. Nobody deniBB it: and yet (for I am not afraid of provoking jwir censure, in a conversation which leaves each of us at liberty to say what he thinks) I had rather be the author of tlie single oration of Craasus, in defence of Ourius, than be honoured with two Ligurian triumphs. Tou will, perhaps reply, that the storming a castle of the Ligurians was a thing of more consequence to the state, than that the claim af Curius should be ably supported. This I own to be tme.
But it was also of more consequence to the Athenians, that their houses should be securely roofed, than to have their city graced with a most beautiful statue of Minerva: and yet, notwithstanding tbia, I would much rather have been a "hidias, than the most skilful joiner in Athens. In the BMINIIHT OBATORB.
present case, therefore, we aro not to consider a man'e uaeftilnesB, but the strength of his abilities; especially as the number of painters acd Btatuaries who have excelled in their profession, ia Tery small; whereas there can never be any ■want of joiners and mechanical labourera. LXXIV. But proceed, my Attiens, with Ctesar; and oblige ua with the remainder of hia character." " We see then," said he, " from what bus juat been mentioned, that a pure and coiTeot style is the groundwork, and the very basis and foundation, upon ■which an orator must build his other accomplish men ts; though it is true, that those who had hitherto possessed it, derived it more from early habit, than from any principles of art. It ia needless to refer you to the instances of LieliuB and Scipio; for a purity of language, as well as of mannere, ■waa the oharaoteristic of the age they lived in. It could not, indeed, be applied to every one; for their two contemporaries, Cwciliua and Pacuvius, spoke very incorrectly; but yet people in general who had not resided out of the city nor been corrupted by any domestic barbarJBma, Bpoke the Eoman language with purity. Time, however, as well at Rome B8 in Greece, soon altered matters for the worse; for this city (as had formerly been the case at Athens) waa resorted to by a crowd of adventurera from different parts, who spoke very corruptly; which showa the necewity of reforming our language, and reducing it to a certain standard, which shall not be liable to vary like the capricious laws of custom. Though we ■were then very young, ■we can easily remember Titua riamininus, who was joint-conaul with Quintus Metellus; he " ■was supposed to apeak his native language with corrcctnoae, but was a man of no literature. As to Catuius, he was far indeed froaa being destitute c'. learning, as you have already observed; but his reputed purity of diction waa ohiefiy ©■wing to the aweetueaa of hia voice and the delicacy of his accent. Cotta, who, by his broad pronunciation, lost all resemblance of the elegant tone of the Greeks, and affected a harsh and matic utterance, quite opposite to that of Catulos, acquired the same reputation of correctness, by pursuing a wild and unfrequented path. But gisenna, who had the ambition to think of reforming our phraaeology, could cot be lashed out of his whimsical and new-fangled tuma of eiprCBsion, by ail the raillery of Caius EuMua." " What do you refer to 1" aaid Brutus; " and who was the Cains Rustus you ore I vpoi P BPII.
' peoi BBVTUS ', OB, speaking of)* "He was a noted prosecutor," replied ] '■ some years ago. When thU man lind supported a ' " nieat agiunfit one Cuius Batiliua, Siaenua, who mu for the defendant, told lum, that several parts of bia a sation were tpitaliecd,^ LXXV. My lord*, cried.~ to the judges, / thall be craeUy over-reached, nrUtu ] ffioe nte jtour attistance. HU charge overpowers my c prekeation; and I am afraid he has tomt uji/aii WJuO, in tie name of heaven, « BP1TATICAI.1 / kaom lie meaning of sfit, or seinix; &u<4 •rid AnCAL, at the end of it, abtolutelif putxlea i rhole bench laughed xetj heartily at the singular oddity of | espression; my old (riend, however, was still of opiuion, tiiat to speak, correctly, was to speak difiurentlj from otiffl people.
" But Csesar, who was guided by the principles of art, a corrected the imperfectious cf a vicioua custom, by adopt' tbc rules and improvements of a good one, as be found tl occasionally displayed in the course of polite conversatioD. Accordingly, to tbe purest elegance of expres^on, (which is equally necessary to every well-bred citiaen, as to au orator,) he hns added all the various ornaments of elocution; so that he seems to exhibit the finest painting in the most advantageous point of view. As he has such eitraordiuary mem even in the tenor of bis language, I must confess that there is no person I know of, to whom he should yield tbe preferonce. Besides, his manner of speaking, both as to his vutco and gesture, is splendid and noble, without tbe least appearance of artifice or affectation; and there is a dignity i very presence, which bespeaks a great and elevated m " Indeed," said Brutus, " his orations please me highly j I have had the satisfitction to read several of them. Ho i likewise written some commentaries, or short memoic^fl his own transactions." " And such," said I, " as merit jp highest approbation; for they are plain, correct, and g and divested of all the ornaments of language, si (if I may be aUowed the expression) in a kind of i But while ho pretended only to furuiah the loose materials, for such as might be inclined to compose a regular historji ' In tli9 origiQfll ipulalifica, worthy to to Bpit upon. It ijjpMTa, the oonHBiion, to have been a word whunaicaflj deriveij bj (hs IT of it frum tpata, Gpittite.
EBMAHKS OS he may, psrhaps, havo gratified the vanity of a few literary frmeun; but he has certaialy prevented all eensiblo men from attempting any improvement on bis plan. For, in history, nothing ia more pleasing than a correct and elegant brevity of espresaion. With your leave, however, it is iiigh time to return to those oratora who have quitted the stage of life.
JjXXVI. " Caius Siciniua, then, who was a grandson of the censor Quintua Pompey, by one of his daughters, died after his advancement to the qu^storship. He was a speaker of some merit and reputation, which he derived from the ^atem of Hermagoros; who, though ho furnished bnt Uttle assistance for acquiring an ornamental style, gave many useful precepts to expedite and improve the invention of an orator. For in this system we Lave a collection of fixed and determinate mlea for public speaking; which are delivered indeed without any show or parade, (and I might have added, in a trivial and homely form,) but yet are so plain and methodical, that it is almost impossible to mistake the road. By keeping close to these, and always digesting bis subject before he ventured to speak upon it, (to which we may add, that he had a tolerable fluency of expression,) he so far succeeded, without any other assistance, as to be ranked among the pleaders of the day. As to Caius ViseUius Varro, who ■ -was my cousin, aud a contemporary of Sicinius, he was a man of great learning. He died while he was a member of the court of inquests, into which he had been admitted after the expiration of his tedileship. The public, I confess, had not the same opinion of his abilities that 1 have: for he never passed aa a man of sterling eloquence aoaong the people. His speech was eacessively quick and rapid, and consequently indistinct; for, in fact, it was embarrassed and obscured by the celerity of its course; and yet, after all, you will scarcely find a man who had a better choice of words, or a richer vein of seotiment. He had besides, & complete f^nd of polite literature, and a thorough kuowlec^e of the principles of jimsprudence, which be learned from his fixther Aculeo. To proceed in our account of the dead, the nest that presents himself is Lucius Torquatua, whom you will not so readily proaounoe a proficieut in the art of speaking (though he was by no means deatituto of elocution), us what is called hy the Greeks, o politkal adept. He had a plentiful stock of I BEtJTUS; OB, learning, not indeed of tbe common sort, but of a d abstruse and curious nature; bo had likewise an adminble memory, and a very sensible and elegaut turn of expresuoii; all whicb qualities derived on additional grace from the dignity of bis deportment, tmd tbe integrity of his mannoB. I was also highly pleased with the style of his contemportty TriariuB, which eitpreased to perfeotion the character of a worthy old gentleman, who bad beea thoroughly polished hj the retincments of literature. What a venerable seveii^ was there in bis look! what forcible solemnity in his language I aud how thoughtful and deliberate every word be spoke!" At the mention of Torquatus and Triarius, for ei of whom he had tbe most aSectionate veneration, " It filh my heart with anguish," said Brutus, " (to omit a thousand other circumstances,) when 1 reflect, as I cannot help doing, on your mentioning the names of these worthy men, that your long-respected authority was insufficient to procure an acoommodation of our differences, Tbe republic would not otherwise have been deprived of these, and many other excellent citizens." "Not a word more," said I, " on this melancholy subject, which can only aggravate our sorrow; for OS the remembrance of what is fjready past is painfiil enough, the prospect of what is yet to come is still more afflicting. Let us, therefore, drop our unavailing complaints, and (agreeably to our plan) confine our attention to tbe forensic merifa of our deceased friends.
LXXVII. " Among those, then, who lost their lives in this unhappy war, was Marcus ^ibnlus, who, though not a professed orator, was a very accurate writer, and a. solid and experienced advocate; and Appiua Claudius, your father-inlaw, and my colleague and intimate acquaintance, who was not only a bard student, and a man of learning, biit a practised orator, a skilful augurist and civilian, and a thorou^ adept in the Koman liistory. As to Lucius Somitius, he was totally unacquainted with any rules of art; but be spoke bis native language with parity, and had a great freedom of address. We had likewise the two Lentuli, men of consular dignity; one of whom, (I mean Publiiis,) the avenger of mj wrougs, and tbe author of my restoration, derived all liB powers and accompliabments from the assistance of art, ani not from the bounty of nature; but he had such a great and Boblo disposition, that he claimed aU tbe honours of the most BEMAKES OS EMINENT OBATOBa h the utmoBt ■ itulus) was aa H nuch, perhaps, ^ illuEitrioiiB citizens, and supported them with dignity of character. The other (Lucius Lentulus) \ animaited speaker, for it would be sayiug too much, ] to call him an orator; but, imhappilj, be had an utter averaon to the trouble of thinking. His voice was sonorous; and iiis language, though not absolutely hareh and forbidding, was warm and vigorous, and carried in it a kind of terror. In a judicial trial, you would probably have wished for a more agreeable and a keener advocate; but in a debate on matters of government, yoa would have thought his abUitiea BufBcient. Even Titus Postumius had Buch powers of utterance aa were not to be despised; but in political matters, he spoke with the same unbridled ardour he fought with; ia siort, he was much too warm; though it must ho owned he possessed an extensive knowledge of the laws and constitution of his country."
" Upon my word," cried Atticus, " if the persons you have mentioned were still living, I should be apt to imagine that you were endeavouring to solicit their iavour. For you introduce everybody who bad the courage to stand up and speak his mind; so that I almost begin to wonder how Marcus Serviliua has escaped your notice." LXXVIII. " I am, indeed, very sensible," replied I, "that there have been many who never spoke in pubho, that were much better qualified for the task, than those orators I have taken the pains to enumerate;^ but I have, at least, answered one purpose by it, which is to show you, that in this populous city we have not had very many who had the resolution to speak at all; and that even among these, there have been few who were entitled to our applause. I camaot, therefore, ni^leot to take some notice of those worthy knights, and my intimate friends, very lately deceased, Publius Cominius Spoletinus, against whom I pleaded in defence of Caius Cornelius, and who was a methodical, spirited, and ready speaker; and Tiberius Aceius, of Pisaurum, to whom I replied in behalf of Aulus CIuentiuB, and who was an accurate, and a tolerably copious advocate: he was also well instructed in the precepts of Herm^oras, which, though of little service to embellish and enrich our elocution, furnish a variety of argument^ which, like the weapons of the hght infantry, may bo readily ndanaged, and are adapted to every subject of debate. I must ' TluB WS£ prababl; iatended oe an indirect oampUineiit to Attioa' BBDTCS; OB, add, that I never knew a mnn of greater industry and application, Ab to Caiua Piao, my aon-iu-law, it ia scarcely possible to mention any one who was blessed with o, finer capacity. He was constantly employed either in public epeaking, sod private declamatory exercises, or, at least, in writing and thinking: and, conaequeatly, he raade such a rapid progreffi, that he rather seemed to £y than to run. He bad an el^ont choice of eipreasion, and tbo structure of his periods was perfectly neat and harmouioua; he had an astonishing Tariety and strength of ailment, and a lively and agreeable turn of thought; and his gesture was naturally so graceful, that it appeared to have been formed (which it really ■was not) by t&B nicest rules of art. I am rather fearful, indeed, that I should be thought to have been prompted by my affection for him to have given him a greater character than he deserved; but this is so iar from being the case, that I might justly have ascribed to liim many qualities of a different and more valuable nature; for in continence, social ardour, and every other kicd of virtue, there was scarcely any of his contemporaries who was worthy to be compared with him.
LXXIX " Marcas Cadiua too must not pass unnoticed, not with stimding the unhappy change, either of hia fortune or disposition, which marked tbe latter part of his life. As long as ho was directed by my influence, he behaved himself so well as a tribune of the people, that no man supported the interests of the senate, and cf all the good and virtuous, in opposition to the factious and unruly madness of a set of abandoned citizens, with more firmness than he did; a part in which he was enabled to exert himself to great advantage, by the force and dignity of his language, and his lively, humour and polite address. He spoke several harangues in a very sensible style, and three spirited invectives, which originated from our political disputes; and hia dcfenuve speeches, though not equal to the former, were yet tolerably good, and had a degree of merit which was far fi-om being contemptible. After be had been advanced to the Eedileship, by the hearty approbation of all the better sort of citizens, m he had lost my company (for I was then abroad in Cilicia) h9 likewise lost himself; and entirelyaunk his credit, by imitating the conduct of those very men, whom he had before 80 successfully opposed. But Marcus Calidius has a more particular claim to our notice for the singularity of hia character; EBMAHK8 ON EMINENT OBATOBB.
wKicb cannot bo properly bo said to iiavo entitled him to a place among our other orators, as to distinguish him from the whole fraternity; for ia him we beheld the moat lujcommon and the moat delicate sentiments, arrayed in the softest and finest language imaginable. Nothing could he eo easy as the turn and compass of his periods; nothing so ductile J nothing more pliablo and obsequious to his will; bo that he Lad a greater command of words than any orator whatever. In short, the flow of his language was so pure and limpid, that nothing could be clearer; and so free, that it ■vras never clogged or obstructed. Every word was exactly in the place where it should be, and disposed (as Luciliua expresses it) with ns much nicety -as in a curious piece of mosaic work. We may add, that he had not a single expression which was either harsh, unnatural, abject, or iar-fetched; and yet he was so far from confining himself to the plain and ordinary mode of speafciug, that he abounded greatly in the metaphor, — but such metaphors as did not appear to usurp a post that belonged to another, but only to occupy their own.
These delicacies were displayed, not in a loose and eSeminate style, but in such a one as waa strictly nujnerotis, without either appearing to he so, or running on with a dull uniformity of sound. He was likewise master of the Tarioua omamouts of ]ang;uage and thought which the Greeks call Agures, whereby he enlivened and embellished his style as with BO many forensic deoorations. We may add that he readily discovered, upon all occasions, what was the real point of debate, and where the stress of the argument lay; and that his method of ranging his ideas was extremely artful, his action gentlemanly, and his whole manner very engaging and very aensible. LXXX. Ia short, if to speak agreeably ia the chief merit of an orator, you will find no one who waa better qualified than Calidius.