A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence by Cornelius Tacitus

C >> Cornelius Tacitus >> A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence

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Section XXXVII.

[a] For an account of Mucianus, see section 7, note c [transcriber's
note: reference does not match]; also _the History_, b. ii. s. 5.
Suetonius relates that Vespasian, having undertaken to restore three
thousand brazen plates, which had perished in the conflagration of the
capital (see the _Hist. of Tacitus_, b. iii. s. 71), ordered a
diligent search to be made for copies, and thereby furnished the
government with a collection of curious and ancient records,
containing the decrees of the senate, acts of the commons, and
treaties of alliance, almost from the building of the city. Suetonius,
_Life of Vespasian_, s. 8. This, with the addition of speeches and
letters composed by men of eminence, was, most probably, the
collection published by Mucianus. We may be sure that it contained a
fund of information, and curious materials for history; but the whole
is unfortunately lost.

[b] The person intended in this place must not be confounded with
Lucius Crassus, the orator celebrated by Cicero in the Dialogue DE
ORATORE. What is here said, relates to Marcus Crassus, who was joined
in the triumvirate with Pompey and Caesar; a man famous for his riches,
his avarice, and his misfortunes. While Caesar was engaged in Gaul, and
Pompey in Spain, Crassus invaded Asia, where, in a battle with the
Parthians, his whole army was cut to pieces. He himself was in danger
of being taken prisoner, but he fell by the sword of the enemy. His
head was cut off, and carried to Orodes, the Parthian king, who
ordered liquid gold to be infused into his mouth, that he, who
thirsted for gold, might be glutted with it after his death. _Caput
ejus recisum ad regem reportatum, ludibrio fuit, neque indigno. Aurum
enim liquidum in rictum oris infusum est, ut cujus animus arserat auri
cupiditate, ejus etiam mortuum et exangue corpus auro uteretur._
Florus, lib. iii. cap. 11. Cicero says, that with slender talents, and
a small stock of learning, he was able for some years, by his
assiduity and interest, to maintain his rank in the list of eminent
orators. _Mediocriter a doctrina instructus, angustius etiam a natura,
labore et industria, et quod adhibebat ad obtinendas causas curam
etiam, et gratiam, in principibus patronis aliquot annos fuit. In
hujus oratione sermo Latinus erat, verba non abjecta, res compositae
diligenter; nullus flos tamen, neque lumen ullum: animi magna, vocis
parva contentio; omnia fere ut similiter, atque uno modo dicerentur._
Cicero, _De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 233.

[c] Lentulus succeeded more by his action than by real ability. With a
quick and animated countenance, he was not a man of penetration;
though fluent in speech, he had no command of words. His voice was
sweet and melodious; his action graceful; and with those advantages he
was able to conceal all other defects. _Cneius autem Lentulus multo
majorem opinionem dicendi actione faciebat, quam quanta in eo facultas
erat; qui cum esset nec peracutus (quamquam et ex facie et ex vultu
videbatur) nec abundans verbis, etsi fallebat in eo ipso; sed voce
suavi et canora calebat in agendo, ut ea, quae deerant, non
desiderarentur._ Cicero, _De Claris Oratoribus_, s. 234. Metellus,
Lucullus, and Curio, are mentioned by Cicero in the same work. Curio
was a senator of great spirit and popularity. He exerted himself with
zeal and ardour for the legal constitution and the liberties of his
country against the ambition of Julius Caesar, but afterwards sold
himself to that artful politician, and favoured his designs. The
calamities that followed are by the best historians laid to his
charge. Lucan says of him,

Audax venali comitatur Curio lingua;
Vox quondam populi, libertatemque tueri
Ausus, et armatos plebi miscere potentes.
Lib. i. ver. 269.

And again,

Momentumque fuit mutatus Curio rerum,
Gallorum captus spoliis, et Caesaris auro.
PHARSALIA, lib. iv. ver. 819.

[d] Demosthenes, when not more than seven years old, lost his father,
and was left under the care of three guardians, who thought an orphan
lawful prey, and did not scruple to embezzle his effects. In the mean
time Demosthenes pursued a plan of education, without the aid or
advice of his tutors. He became the scholar of Isocrates, and he was
the hearer of Plato. Under those masters his progress was such, that
at the age of seventeen he was able to conduct a suit against his
guardians. The young orator succeeded so well in that prelude to his
future fame, that the plunderers of the orphan's portion were
condemned to refund a large sum. It is said that Demosthenes,
afterwards, released the whole or the greatest part.

Section XXXVIII.

[a] The rule for allowing a limited space of time for the hearing of
causes, the extent of which could not be known, began, as Pliny the
younger informs us, under the emperors, and was fully established for
the reasons which he gives. The custom, he says, of allowing two
water-glasses (_i.e. two hour-glasses_) or only one, and sometimes
half a one, prevailed, because the advocates grew tired before the
business was explained, and the judges were ready to decide before
they understood the question. Pliny, with some indignation, asks, Are
we wiser than our ancestors? are the laws more just at present? Our
ancestors allowed many hours, many days, and many adjournments, in
every cause; and for my part, as often as I sit in judgement, I allow
as much time as the advocate requires; for would it not be rashness to
guess what space of time is necessary in a cause which has not been
opened? But some unnecessary things may be said; and is it not better,
that what is unnecessary should be spoken, than that what is necessary
should be omitted? And who can tell what is necessary, till he has
heard? Patience in a judge ought to be considered as one of the chief
branches of his duty, as it certainly is of justice. See Plin. b. vi.
ep. 2. In England, there is no danger of arbitrary rules, to gratify
the impatience of the court, or to stifle justice. The province of
juries, since the late declaratory act in the case of libels, is now
better understood; and every judge is taught, that a cause is tried
_before him_, not BY HIM. It is his to expound the law, and wait, with
temper, for the verdict of those whom the constitution has intrusted.

[b] Pompey's third consulship was A.U.C. 702; before Christ, 52. He
was at first sole consul, and in six or seven months Metellus Scipio
became his colleague.

[c] The centumviri, as mentioned s. vii. note [c], were a body of men
composed of three out of every tribe, for the decision of such matters
as the praetors referred to their judgement. The nature of the several
causes, that came before that judicature, may be seen in the first book
DE ORATORE.

[d] The question in this cause before the centumviri was, whether
Clusinius Figulus, the son of Urbinia, fled from his post in battle,
and, being taken prisoner, remained in captivity during a length of
time, till he made his escape into Italy; or, as was contended by
Asinius Pollio, whether the defendant did not serve under two masters,
who practised physic, and, being discharged by them, voluntarily sell
himself as a slave? See Quintilian, lib. vii. cap. 2.

Section XXXIX.

[a] The advocates, at that time, wore a tight cloak, or mantle, like
that which the Romans used on a journey. Cicero, in his oration for
Milo, argues that he who wore that inconvenient dress, was not likely
to have formed a design against the life of any man. _Apparet uter
esset insidiator; uter nihil cogitaret mali: cum alter veheretur in
rheda, penulatus, una sederet uxor. Quid horum non impeditissimum?
Vestitus? an vehiculum? an comes?_ A travelling-cloak could give
neither grace nor dignity to an orator at the bar. The business was
transacted in a kind of chat with the judges: what room for eloquence,
and that commanding action which springs from the emotions of the
soul, and inflames every breast with kindred passions? The cold
inanimate orator is described, by Quintilian, speaking with his hand
under his robe; _manum intra pallium continens._ Section XL.

[a] Maternus is now drawing to a conclusion, and, therefore, calls to
mind the proposition with which he set out; viz. that the flame of
oratory is kept alive by fresh materials, and always blazes forth in
times of danger and public commotion. The unimpassioned style, which
suited the _areopagus_ of Athens, or the courts of Rome, where the
advocate spoke by an hour-glass, does not deserve the name of genuine
eloquence. The orations of Cicero for Marcellus, Ligarius, and king
Dejotarus, were spoken before Caesar, when he was master of the Roman
world. In those speeches, what have we to admire, except delicacy of
sentiment, and elegance of diction? How different from the _torrent,
tempest, and whirlwind of passion_, that roused, inflamed, and
commanded the senate, and the people, against Catiline and Marc
Antony!

[b] For the account of Cicero's death by Velleius Paterculus, see s.
xvii. note [e]. Juvenal ascribes the murder of the great Roman orator
to the second Philippic against Antony.

----Ridenda poemata malo,
Quam te conspicuae divina Philippica famae,
Volveris a prima quae proxima.
SAT. x. ver. 124.

I rather would be Maevius, thrash for rhymes
Like his, the scorn and scandal of the times,
Than the _Philippic_, fatally divine,
Which is inscrib'd the second, should be mine.
DRYDEN'S JUVENAL.

What Cicero says of Antonius, the celebrated orator, may be applied to
himself: That head, which defended the commonwealth, was shewn from
that very rostrum, where the heads of so many Roman citizens had been
saved by his eloquence. _In his ipsis rostris, in quibus ille
rempublicam constantissime consul defenderat, positum caput illud
fuit, a quo erant multorum civium capita servata._ Cicero _De
Oratore_, lib. iii. s. 10.

Section XLII.

[a] The urbanity with which the Dialogue is conducted, and the perfect
harmony with which the speakers take leave of each other, cannot but
leave a pleasing impression on the mind of every reader of taste. It
has some resemblance to the conclusion of Cicero's Dialogue DE NATURA
DEORUM. In both tracts, we have a specimen of the politeness with
which the ancients managed a conversation on the most interesting
subjects, and by the graces of style brought the way of instructing by
dialogue into fashion. A modern writer, whose poetical genius cannot
be too much admired, chooses to call it a _frippery way of writing_.
He advises his countrymen to abandon it altogether; and this for a
notable reason: because the Rev. Dr. Hurd (now Bishop of Worcester)
has shewn the true use of it. That the dialogues of that amiable
writer have an intrinsic value, cannot be denied: they contain a fund
of reflection; they allure by the elegance of the style, and they
bring us into company with men whom we wish to hear, to know, and to
admire. While we have such conversation-pieces, not to mention others
of the same stamp, both ancient and modern, the public taste, it may
be presumed, will not easily be tutored to reject a mode of
composition, in which the pleasing and useful are so happily blended.
The present Dialogue, it is true, cannot be proved, beyond a
controversy, to be the work of Tacitus; but it is also true, that it
cannot, with equal probability, be ascribed to any other writer. It
has been retained in almost every edition of Tacitus; and, for that
reason, claims a place in a translation which professes to give all
the works of so fine a writer.

CONCLUSION.

The Author of these volumes has now gone through the difficult task
of translating Tacitus, with the superadded labour of supplements to
give continuity to the narrative, and notes to illustrate such
passages as seemed to want explanation; but he cannot lay down his
pen, without taking the liberty of addressing a few words to the
reader. As what he has to offer relates chiefly to himself, it shall
be very short. He has dedicated many years of his life to this
undertaking; and though, during the whole time, he had the pleasure
and the honour of being acquainted with many gentlemen of taste and
learning, he had no opportunity of appealing to their opinion, or
guiding himself by their advice. Amidst the hurry of life, and the
various pursuits in which all are engaged, how could he hope that any
one would be at leisure to attend to the doubts, the difficulties, and
minute niceties, which must inevitably occur in a writer of so
peculiar a genius as Tacitus? He was unwilling to be a troublesome
visitor, and, by consequence, has been obliged, throughout the whole
of his work, to trust to his own judgement, such as it is. He spared
no pains to do all the justice in his power to one of the greatest
writers of antiquity; but whether he has toiled with fruitless
industry, or has in any degree succeeded, must be left to the
judgement of others.

He is now at the end of his labours, and ready, after the example of
Montesquieu, to cry out with the voyager in Virgil, _Italiam!
Italian!_ But whether he is to land on a peaceful shore; whether the
men who delight in a wreck, are to rush upon him with hostile pens,
which in their hands are pitch-forks; whether his cargo is to be
condemned, and he himself to be wounded, maimed, and lacerated; a
little time will discover. Such critics will act as their nature
prompts them. Should they _cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war_,
it may be said,

Quod genus hoc hominum, quaeve hunc tam barbara morem
Permittit patria? Hospitio prohibemur arenae;
Bella cient, primaque vetant consistere terra.

This, they may say, is anticipating complaint; but, in the worst that
can happen, it is the only complaint this writer will ever make, and
the only answer they will ever receive from his pen.

It is from a very different quarter that the translator of Tacitus
waits for solid criticism. The men, as Pliny observes, who read with
malignity, are not the only judges. _Neque enim soli judicant, qui
maligne legunt._ The scholar will see defects, but he will pronounce
with temper: he will know the difficulty, and, in some cases, perhaps
the impossibility, of giving in our language the sentiments of Tacitus
with the precision and energy of the original; and, upon the whole, he
will acknowledge that an attempt to make a considerable addition to
English literature, carries with it a plea of some merit. While the
French could boast of having many valuable translations of Tacitus,
and their most eminent authors were still exerting themselves, with
emulation, to improve upon their predecessors, the present writer saw,
with regret, that this country had not so much as one translation
which could be read, without disgust, by any person acquainted with
the idiom and structure of our language. To supply the deficiency has
been the ambition of the translator. He persevered with ardour; but,
his work being finished, ardour subsides, and doubt and anxiety take
their turn. Whatever the event may be, the conscious pleasure of
having employed his time in a fair endeavour will remain with him.
For the rest, he submits his labours to the public; and, at that
tribunal, neither flushed with hope, nor depressed by fear, he is
prepared, with due acquiescence, to receive a decision, which, from
his own experience on former occasions, he has reason to persuade
himself will be founded in truth and candour.

GEOGRAPHICAL TABLE:

OR,

INDEX OF THE NAMES OF PLACES, RIVERS, &c. MENTIONED IN THESE VOLUMES.

A.

ACHAIA, often taken for part of Peloponnesus, but in Tacitus generally
for all Greece.

ACTIUM, a promontory of Epirus, now called the _Cape of Tigolo_,
famous for the victory of Augustus over M. Antony.

ADDUA, a river rising in the country of the _Grisons_, and in its
course separating Milan from the territory of the Venetians, till it
falls into the Po, about six miles to the west of Cremona. It is now
called the _Adda_.

ADIABENE, a district of Assyria, so called from the river Adiaba;
_Adiabeni_, the people.

ADRANA, now the _Eder_; a river that flows near _Waldeck_, in the
landgravate of _Hesse_, and discharges itself into the _Weser_.

ADRIATIC, now the gulf of Venice.

ADRUMETUM, a Phoenician colony in Africa, about seventeen miles from
Leptis Minor.

AEDUI, a people of Ancient Gaul, near what is now called _Autun_, in
Lower Burgundy.

AEGEAE, a maritime town of Cilicia; now _Aias Kala_.

AEGEAN SEA, a part of the Mediterranean which lies between Greece and
Asia Minor; now the _Archipelago_.

AEGIUM, a city of Greece, in the Peloponnesus; now the _Morea_.

AENUS, a river rising in the country of the _Grisons_, and running
thence into the Danube.

AEQUI, a people of Ancient Latium.

AFRICA generally means in Tacitus that part which was made a
proconsular province, of which Carthage was the capital; now the
territory of _Tunis_.

AGRIPPINENSIS COLONIA, so called from Agrippina, the daughter of
Germanicus, mother of Nero, and afterwards wife of the emperor
Claudius. This place is now called _Cologne_, situate on the Rhine.

ALBA, a town of Latium, in Italy, the residence of the Alban kings;
destroyed by Tullus Hostilius.

ALBANIA, a country of Asia, bounded on the west by Iberia, on the east
by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Armenia, and on the north by Mount
Caucasus.

ALBINGANUM; now _Albinga_, to the west of the territory of Genoa, at
the mouth of the river _Cente_.

ALBIS, now the _Elbe_; a river that rises in the confines of
_Silesia_, and, after a wide circuit, falls into the German sea below
_Hamburgh_.

ALBIUM INTEMELIUM; now _Vintimiglia_, south-west of the territory of
Genoa, with a port on the Mediterranean, between _Monaco_ and _S.
Remo_.

ALESIA, a town in Celtic Gaul, situate on a hill. It was besieged by
Julius Caesar. See his Commentaries, lib. vii. s. 77.

ALEXANDRIA, a principal city of Egypt, built by Alexander the Great,
on the Mediterranean; famous for the library begun by Ptolemy
Philadelphus, and consisting at last of seven hundred thousand
volumes, till in Caesar's expedition it was destroyed by fire.

ALISO, a fort built by Drusus, the father of Germanicus, in the part
of Germany now called Westphalia, near the city of _Paderborn_.

ALLIA, river of Italy, running into the Tiber, about forty miles from
Rome; famous for the slaughter of the Romans by the Gauls, under
Brennus.

ALLOBROGES, a people of Narbon Gaul, situate between the Rhodanus and
the Lacus Lemanus.

ALPS, a range of high mountains separating Italy from Gaul and
Germany. They are distinguished into different parts, under several
names: such as the _Maritime Alps_, near Genoa; the _Cottian Alps_,
separating Dauphine from Piedmont; the _Graian Alps_, beginning from
Mount Cenis, where the _Cottian_ terminate, and extending to Great St.
Bernard; the _Pennine Alps_, extending from west to east to the
_Rhetian Alps_, the _Alpes Noricae_, and the _Pannonian Alps_, as far
as the springs of the _Kulpe_. Their height in some places is almost
incredible. They are called _Alps_, from _Alpen_, a Celtic term for
high mountains.

ALTINUM, a town in the territory of Venice, on the Adriatic; now in
ruins, except a tower, still retaining the name of _Altino_.

AMANUS, a mountain of Syria, separating it from Cilicia; now called
_Montagna Neros_ by the inhabitants; that is, the watery mountain,
abounding in springs and rivulets.

AMATHUS, a maritime town of Cyprus, consecrated to Venus, with an
ancient temple of Adonis and Venus: it is now called _Limisso_.

AMAZONIA, a country near the river Thermodon, in Pontus.

AMISIA, now the _Ems_; a river of Germany that falls into the German
sea, near Embden.

AMORGOS, an island in the Egean sea, now Amorgo.

AMYDIS, a town near the gulf of that name, on the coast of Latium in
Italy.

ANAGNIA, a town of ancient Latium, now _Anagni_, thirty-six miles to
the east of Rome.

ANCONA, a port town in Italy, situate on the gulf of Venice.

ANDECAVI, now _Anjou_.

ANEMURIUM, a promontory of Cilicia, with a maritime town of the same
name near it. See Pomponius Mela.

ANGRIVARIANS, a German people, situate on the west side of the Weser,
near _Osnaburg_ and _Minden_.

ANSIBARII, a people of Germany.

ANTIOCH, or ANTIOCHIA, the capital of Syria, called _Epidaphne_, to
distinguish it from other cities of the name of Antioch. It is now
called _Antakia_.

ANTIPOLIS, now _Antibes_, on the coast of Provence, about three
leagues to the west of _Nice_.

ANTIUM, a city of the ancient Volsci, situate on the Tuscan Sea; the
birth-place of Nero. Two Fortunes were worshipped there, which
Suetonius calls _Fortunae Antiates_, and Martial, _Sorores Antii_.
Horace's Ode to Fortune is well known--

_O Diva gratum quae regis Antium._

The place is now called _Capo d'Anzo_.

ANTONA, now the _Avon_. See Camden.

AORSI, a people inhabiting near the Palus Maeotis; now the eastern part
of Tartary, between the _Neiper_ and the _Don_.

APAMEA, a city of Phrygia, near the banks of the Maeander; now
_Aphiom-Kara-Hisar_.

APENNINUS, now the _Apennine_, a ridge of mountains running through
the middle of Italy, extremely high, yet short of the _Alps_. Its name
is Celtic, signifying a high mountain.

APHRODISIUM, a town of _Caria_ in Thrace, on the Euxine.

APOLLONIDIA, a city of Lydia.

APULIA, a territory of Italy, along the gulf of Venice; now
_Capitanate, Otranto_, &c.

AQUILEIA, a large city of the Veneti, and formerly a Roman colony,
near the river _Natiso_, which runs into the gulf of Venice.

AQUINUM, a town of the Ancient Latins; now _Aquino_, but almost in
ruins.

AQUITANIA, a division of Ancient Gaul, bounded by the _Garumna_ (now
_Garonne_), by the Pyrenees, and the ocean.

ARABIA, an extensive country of Asia, reaching from Egypt to Chaldea.
It is divided into three parts, _Arabia Petraea_, _Deserta_, and
_Felix_.

ARAR, or ARARIS, a river of Gaul; now the _Saone_.

ARAXES, a river of Mesopotamia, which runs from north to south, and
falls into the Euphrates.

ARBELA, a city of Assyria, famous for the battle between Alexander and
Darius.

ARCADIA, an inland district in the heart of Peloponnesus; mountainous,
and only fit for pasture; therefore celebrated by bucolic or pastoral
poets.

ARDEN, _Arduenna_, in Tacitus; the forest of Arden.

ARENACUM, an ancient town in the island of Batavia; now _Arnheim_, in
Guelderland.

ARICIA, a town of Latium in Italy, at the foot of Mons Albanus, about
a hundred and sixty stadia from Rome. The grove, called _Aricinum
Nemus_, was in the vicinity.

ARII, a people of Asia.

ARIMINUM, a town of Umbria, at the mouth of the river Ariminus, on the
gulf of Venice.

ARMENIA, a kingdom of Asia, having Albania and Iberia to the north,
and Mount Taurus and Mesopotamia to the south: divided into the
GREATER, which extends astward to the Caspian Sea; and the LESSER, to
the west of the GREATER, and separated from it by the Euphrates; now
called _Turcomania_.

ARNUS, a river of Tuscany, which visits Florence in its course, and
falls into the sea near Pisa.

ARSANIAS, a river of the GREATER ARMENIA, running between Tigranocerta
and Artaxata, and falling into the Euphrates.

ARTAXATA, the capital of Armenia, situate on the river Araxes.

ARVERNI, a people of Ancient Gaul, inhabiting near the Loire; their
chief city _Arvernum_ now _Clermont_, the capital of _Auvergne_.

ASCALON, an ancient city of the Philistines, situate on the
Mediterranean; now _Scalona_.

ASCIBURGIUM, a citadel on the Rhine, where the Romans stationed a camp
and a garrison.

ATESTE, a town in the territory of Venice, situate to the south of
Patavium.

ATRIA, a town of the Veneti, on the river Tartarus, between the Padus
and the Athesis, now the _Adige_.

AUGUSTA TAURINORUM, a town of the Taurini, at the foot of the Alps;
now _Turin_, the capital of _Piedmont_.

AUGUSTODUNUM, the capital of the AEdui; now _Autun_, in the duchy of
Burgundy. It took its name from Augustus Caesar.

AURIA, an ancient town of Spain; now _Orense_, in Galicia.

AUZEA, a strong castle in Mauritania.

AVENTICUM, the capital of the Helvetii; by the Germans called
_Wiflisburg_, by the French _Avenches_.

B.

BACTRIANI, a people inhabiting a part of Asia, to the south of the
river _Oxus_, which rains from east to west into the Caspian Sea.

BAIAE, a village of Campania, between the promontory of Misenum and
Puteoli (now _Pozzuolo_), nine miles to the west of Naples.

BALEARES, a cluster of islands in the Mediterranean, of which
_Majorca_ and _Minorca_ are the chief.

BASTARNI, a people of Germany, who led a wandering life in the vast
regions between the Vistula and the Pontic sea.

BATAVIA, an island formed by two branches of the Rhine and the German
sea. See Annals, book ii. s. 6; and Manners of the Germans, s. 29.
note a.

BATAVODURUM, a town in the island of Batavia; now, as some of the
commentators say, _Wyk-te-Duurstede_.

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