1

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

FOUNDKD

JlV

.TAMKS

I.OEtJ,

r,L.D.

EDITED BY
tT. E. PA(;E, f.n.,

tE. CAPPS,
L. A.

POST,

AD

rH.i).,
L.ii.D.

C.

tW.

LL.i).

E. H.

i.iTT.i).

H. D.

WARMINGTON,

ROUSE,

litt.d.

m.a., f.r.hist.soc.

IIERENNIUM LIBRI

IV

DE RATIONE DICEXDI
[M.

TULLI CICERONIS AD HERENNItJM

LIBRI

\'I]

[CICEPiOl

AD

C.

HERENNIUM

DE KATIONE DICENDI
(RHETORICA AD HERENNIUM)
WITH

A.\

ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

HARRY CAPLAN
CORNELL UNIVERSITY

LONDON"

WILLIAM HEINEMAXX LTD

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

MCMLXIV

First printed 1954

Reprinted 1964

Printed in Great Britain

CONTENTS

......
......
.......

PAQK

IxTRonucTioM

vii

Bibliography

xli

Analysis

xlv

Text and Translation

Book

Book

II

Book

III

155

Book IV

227

57

Index
Index of Greek

Words

....

413
429

INTRODUCTION
The Greek

art of rhetoric was first naturalized at

the time of the younger Scipio, and Latin
treatises on the subject were in circulation from the
time of the Gracchi. But the books by Cato, Antonius, and the other Roman writers have not come
down to us, and it is from the second decade of the
first century B.C.
that we have, in the treatise
addressed to Gaius Herennius, the oldest Latin Art
preserved entire. Like Cicero's incomplete De
Inveniione, which belongs close to it in time, this work
reflects Hellenistic rhetorical teaching.
Our author,
however, gives us a Greek art in Latin dress, combining a Roman spirit with Greek doctrine.
It is a
technical manual, systematic and formal in arrangement its exposition is bald, but in greatest part
clear and precise.
Indeed the writer's specific aims
are to achieve clarity and conciseness, and to complete
the exposition of his subject with reasonable speed.
He seeks clarity through the use of Roman terms, and
of specially selected examples he seeks conciseness
by keeping practical needs always in view, by scrupulously avoiding irrelevant matter, and by presenting
methods and principles, not a host of particular
illustrations of a given point.'
The fact that the treatise appeared, from Jerome's

Rome

in

"

See Schanz, ed. 1909,

p. 466.
vii

INTRODUCTION
time on, as a work by Cicero " gave it a prestige which
enjoyed for over a thousand years. Because of its
position in the MSS. following De Inventione it was in
the twelfth century called Rhetorica Secunda perhaps
because of a belief that Cicero wrote the treatise to
it

replace his juvenile De Inventione, it was later called

Rhetorica Novafi But Cicero never refers to any work
of his which might be identified with our treatise
the disparaging reference in De Oratore 1. 2. 5 to
those " crude and incomplete " essays of his youth is
obviously to the two books De Inventione. The picture we draw of our author does not fit the early
Cicero, and his doctrines in many crucial instances, as
will be seen later, are in sharp contrast with those of
De Inventione. Furthermore, the thought and style
of the work are unworthy of the mature Cicero.
Finally Quintilian ^ (who often cites De Inventione),^
" The uncritical editor who, before Jerome's time, made
this ascription may also have been responsible for the division
He may have thought the unof the work into six books.

titled work Cicero's because of its resemblance to De Inventione,

and may have interpreted the inchoaia ac rudia of De Oratore
1. 2. 5 as referring to two distinct works.
An interesting

interpolation, based on the belief in Ciceronian authorship,

[Tulli^is] heres meu-s
in the MSS. at 1. xii. 20
[Terentiae] uxori meae.
* For hke parallel designations oi
literary works
the
Middle Ages, see E. R. Curtius, Europdische Liieratur und
lateinisches Mittelalter, Bern, 1948, p. 161.
It is argued, for example, that if Quintilian at 4. 5. 3,
where he considers the view that the propositions in a Partition should not exceed three (cf. the like principle for the
Enumeration in our treatise, 1. x. 17), or at 3. 6. 45, where
he deals with the three Types of Issue (c/. our treatise, 1. x. 18),
had known that these were identical with, or akin to, Ciceronian
notions, he would not have kept silent on the point.
Usually under the title Libri Rhetorici.

appears

**

INTRODUCTION
and similarly Gellius," Marius Victorinus, Servius,
and Cassiodorus show no acquaintance with any
Ciceronian work of this nature. Although the belief
Ciceronian authorship has still not entirely disappeared, all the recent editors agree that the
in

erroneous.
doubt that the treatise was worthy of
Ciceronian authorship was Lorenzo Valla (middle
Then Raphael Regius in 1491 positively
saec. xv).
divorced the work from Cicero's name. The question
of authorship has occupied the attention of scholars
at intervals ever since, but has never been settled to
the satisfaction of all. It is wisest, I believe, to
ascribe the work to an unknown author, although
a good many reputable scholars have made out a
case, at first glance attractive, for assigning it to a
rhetorician named Cornificius.^ These rely on citations in Quintilian which correspond with passages in
Book 4 of our treatise. Cornificius is mentioned,
and always with disapproval, in the following places
In 5. 10. 2 Quintilian, discussing arguments, criticizes
Cornificius for calling a Conclusion from Incompatibles
contrarium
contrarium appears in our treatise as a
attribution

The

is

to

first

figure (of diction).

In

9. 2.

27 Quintilian

tells

us that oratio libera

which he would allow to be called a figure only

if it is

" Gellius, 13. 6. 4, says that he has been unable to discover

whether the term barbarismus was used before the Augustan
age; c/. our treatise, 4. xii. 17.
* The first to ascribe the work with assurance to Cornificius
was Petrus Victorius in 1582 Regius had vacillated, assigning
;

variously to Cornificius, Verginius Flavus, and Timolaiis.

Recent scholars who have upheld the theory of Comifician
authorship
are Johannes Tolkiehn, Jahresb. des jjhilol.
Vereins zu Berlin 45 (1919). 73, and Wilhelm Kroll, Gloita
22 (1934). 24, and Philologus 89 (1934). 63.
it

ix

INTRODUCTION

simulated and artfully designed is by Cornificius

licentia is the term used by our author
called licentia
(4. xxxvi. 48) for a figure which, in one form, fulfils
Quintilian's requirements.
In 9. 3. 69-71 Quintilian, dealing with adnominatio, gives three examples of flat punning to be avoided,
not imitated; Cornificius, he says, calls this wordplay tradiLctio. Two of these examples are used by
our author, one to illustrate traductio (4. xiv. 21),
but the other to illustrate adnominatio (4. xxi. 29).
To meet this real difficulty, the advocates of Cornifician authorship maintain that adnominatio and
traductio are brought together by Quintilian because
they are indeed kindred figures, but these scholars
are forced also to blame Quintilian for casual excerpting at this point, or for drawing upon his memory
charge hard to prove against so careful a w^orkman.
In 9. 3. 91 Quintilian criticizes Cornificius and
Rutilius for regarding^mie'o, which is no figure at all,
as a figure of diction definitio, somewhat differently
characterized, appears as a figure of diction in our
;

treatise (4. xxv. 35).

In 9. 3. 98 Quintilian tells us that Cornificius lists

ten figures of diction of which the first five must be
regarded as figures of thought: interrogatio (cf.
4.

XV.

xxiii.

ratiocinatio

22),

transitio

33),

xxvii. 37),

and the other

sententia (4.
{ariiculus

(4.

(4.

xvi.

xxvi.
five as

23),

subiectio

(4.

occultatio

(4.

not figures at

all:

35),

24), memhrum (4. xix. 26), articuli

xix. 26), inierpretaiio (4. xxviii. 38),
xxx. 41)."
These all appear in our

xvii.

= 4.

conclusio (4.

treatise, in the places indicated in parentheses.

Georg Thiele, Gott. gel Anz., 1892 (2). 725 F., compares
the order of the figures in this passage with that which they

INTRODUCTION
Quintilian mentions Cornificius in two other places.
3. 1. 21, sketching the history of writers on
rhetoric, he says : " Cornificius wrote a great deal
{non pauca) on the same subject (rhetoric), Stertinius
something, and the elder Gallio a little. But the
predecessors of Gallio, Celsus and Laenas,* and in our
own day \'erginius,<^ Pliny ,<^ and Tutilius wrote with
greater care.
And even today there are distinguished authors. ..." To this passage may be
In

joined 9. 3. 89, where Cornificius appears in a list

of authors who devoted whole books {non partem
operis
sed propria libros) to the discussion of
figures " Caecilius, Dionysius,^ Rutilius,/ Cornificius,
Visellius, and a number of others, although there are
living authors whose glory will match theirs." ^
.

follow in our treatise, and sees in the comparison an argument

for Cornifician authorship
Curtius Koehler, De Rhdoricis ad
Herennium, Berlin, 1909, pp. 8 ff., presents the refutation.
" Long survived the elder Seneca, who died c. a.d. 39.
* Both A. Cornelius Celsus and Popilius Laenas fl. under
Tiberius.
* Verginius Flaxnis fl. under Xero.
;

'

The Elder (a.d. 23 '4-79).

Both Caecilius and Dionysius fl. under Augustus.
P. Rutilius Lupus fl. in the late Augustan period,

^ In five other places Quintilian gives examples which,

with greater or less completeness, appear also in our treatise
9. 3. 31 (romplezio, 4. xiv. 20); 9. 3. 56 (gradatio, 4. xxv. 34);
two examples in 9. 3. 72 (adnominatio, 4. xxii. 30 and 4.xxi. 29),
the wording of one differing slightly, that of the other a great
deal, from that in our treatise; 9. 3. 85 {avriii^TaBoXTj
commutaiio, 4. xxviii. 39); 9. 3. 88 (duhitatio, 4. xxix. 40).
None of these examples is assigned by Quintilian to Cornificius
or to any other author whether they appeared in Cornificius'
book and were from there borrowed by Quintilian we cannot
know. Some or all of these examples may have been common
to a number of manuals.
The well-known remark attributed
to Socrates (" I do not live to eat, but eat to live "), which
:

xi

INTRODUCTION
An

examination of these passages, especially

in

their context, leads us to several conclusions.

First,
Cornificius lived after the time of Cicero and near

In 3. 1. 8 ff.
(but before) Quintilian's own day.
Quintilian is obviously preserving a chronological
Cornificius appears after Cicero (rather than
order
immediately after Antonius) and before the writers
Again, in 9. 3. 91 and 9. 3. 98-9
aetatis nostrae.
Cornificius, Caecilius, and Rutilius are mentioned
Finally, in 9. 3. 89
following discussions of Cicero.
Cornificius is listed with writers of the Augustan
age, and we assume that he was contemporary with
them or flourished soon after them.<* It would seem
preposterous to place a writer of Marian times in this
:

group.

We further conclude that Cornificius was the

author of a special book on figures,^ and that this is
Quintilian uses as an example in 9.
Greek source.

3. 85,

he

may have found

in a

" The eflPorts that have been made to identify Cornificius

with any one of that name who lived at this time have come to
nought. Nor have the many scholars who have ascribed our
treatise to a Cornificius, and so sought to identify him with an
earlier bearer of that name, agreed in their identification.
C. L. Kayser's choice, the Q. Cornificius who with Cicero
was candidate for the consulship in 64 B.C. was favoured for a

time.
* It is likely that this work did not contain a section on
tropes.
Quintilian (8. 6. 1 ff.) never cites Cornificius on this
subject, nor refers to any of the several resemblances, in rules
and examples, that exist between his treatment and our
author's.
In large part, however, his treatment differs
from our author's. If Cornificius had discussed tropes, it is
perhaps safe to assume that passages from his book would have
been excerpted by Quintilian. Again, in 9. 1. 2 Quintilian
mentions Proculus as among the writers who call tropes
"figures"; our author, too, attaches the tropes to the
xii

INTRODUCTION
the source from which Quintilian makes his citations

Book 9.
work in the

Tliat Cornificius

in

produced additional

" the phrase

however, does not permit us
to be certain whether this was in the form of a complete Art of rhetoric,* or of several works on single

field

non pmtca in

3.

of rhetoric

i.

is

possible

21,

parts of the subject.

figures in this way (4. xxxi. 42), but Quintilian does not name
Cornificius along with Proculus,
The separation of tropes from figures was first made, we
think, in the Augustan age.
If Cornificius dealt only with
figures, that fact, too, might be evidence for placing him at a
time not earlier than that period.
" Marx, however, believes that Cornificius WTote only the
special work on figures.
* Thiele [Gott. gel. Anz.) and
believe that it was
such a complete Art of rhetoric. Thiele identifies it with our
treatise; the special book on figures was a portion (= Bk. 4)
of this Art.
{Blatter, pp. 409 AT.) argues as follows
The division, in the MSS., of Book 4 (which is especially large)
into three books indicates that we have in our treatise a contamination of Cornificius' complete Art and his special work
on figures. The " Art " extends to 4. xiii. 18, at the end of
which there is a lacuna; 4. i. 1 to 4. xiii. 18 corresponds to
" Book iv " of the MSS. The special book on figures also
perhaps included two books; " Book v," dealing with figures
of diction, extends from 4. xiii. 19 to 4. xxxiv. 46, and
" Book vi," treating figures of thought, extends from 4. xxxv.
47 to the end. In the union a portion of the complete Art of
rhetoric was lost a short exposition of the two types of
figures, and the beginning of their treatment.
That Cornificius' attitude towards the use of one's own examples diflfered

Ammon

Ammon

the two works Ammon thinks is not significant. But

hypothesis is not acceptable, since the division into
four books follows from the author's own words; the lacuna
at 4. xiii. 18 is brief (only a transition is indicated) neither are
the first three books of \miform length; and the author's
special interest in ornatus justifies the length of Book 4, which
in any event may as it stands lay claim to unity.
in

Ammon's

xiii

INTRODUCTION
Cornificius, then, lived in a later period than our
author, and so cannot have written the Rheforica ad
Herennium. The book by Cornificius which Quintilian cites is not the Rhetorica ad Herennium, and
there is no evidence that Quintilian knew or made
use of our treatise.^ The agreements between
Cornificius' work and our author's we explain by
assuming a common source,'' and we should remember, too, that some of the matter, especially
some of the examples, shared by both can be classed
among the commonplaces of the subject.
have no
Who, finally, was the real author?
evidence to determine that question, and so must
assign the work to an auctor incertus.^

We

Further arguments (see Koehler) rest frankly on the

For example, Quintilian often refers
e sUentio.
to Cicero's De Jnventione but never mentions the agreements
" Cornificius." Again, in 9. 2. 54
and
between that work
he lists four terms used for the figure Aposiopesis, but not the
term used by our author {praecisio, 4. xxx. 41); this silence
leads some to question whether, had he known our treatise,
he would not in such cases as this have referred to the terms
our author employs. Or again, in 9. 3. 99 rjdoTToua and
"

orgumentum

from Rutilius among

figures suppleSince Cornificius

in other authors.
has just been mentioned, it is inferred that his book lacked
these figures; but they appear in our treatise as notatio
Or again, in 3. 6. 45,
(4. 1. 63) and effictio (4. xlix. 62).
XapaKTr]piofi6s are cited

mentary to those found

where Verginius Flavus is referred to as favouring the Antonian

Types of Issue (r/. our treatise 1. x. 18),
but as I should remind the reader,
Cornificius is not mentioned
the advocates of Cornifician authorship believe that Quintilian
was not interested in the first three books of our work, or in
4. i. 1-xii. 18, because on the subjects there treated he had
classification of the

recourse to better material elsewhere.

* TeuflFel-KroU and others, however, beheve that Cornificius

probably used our treatise directly.

" Other attributions, none of them seriously pressed to-day,
have in the course of time since the fifteenth century been made

INTRODUCTION
The

original title

of the author.

is

as

unknown

Marx, on the

to us as the

name

basis of the introductory

remarks in 15ook 1, suggests, with plausibility, that

this might have been J)e Rafione Dicendi, which was
also the title of Antonius' treatise on rhetoric.
Our author dedicates his work to Gaius Herennius
we know several Herennii of this period, but no one
'^

the addressee.
Marx,
influenced by the apparent fact that the work remained unnoticed for five hundred years, believed
that it was intended only for private use, and not for
publication, but this hypothesis does not receive
universal acceptance.
As we have said, the treatise is altogether Greek in
doctrine.
The Rhodian'' rhetor who represents its
original source sought to bind rhetoric to philosophy,
and the book as it stands is a synthesis of various
teachings pre-Aristotelian (Isocratean and " Anaximenean "), Aristotelian and Peripatetic, Stoic,
Hermagorean, and possibly Epicurean. Hellenistic
theorists selected from ail schools what they needed,
and indeed some of the precepts were by then a
identifiable

definitely

vvith

common

possession.*^

We

must remark,

too, in our

to
Verginius Flavus (time of Xeroj, Timolaijs (time of
Aurelian), M. Tulliiis Tiro and M. Tullius Laurea (freedmen
of Cicero), the rhetor Junius Gallio (friend of the elder Seneca),
M. Antonius Gnipho and L. Aelius Stilo (teachers of Cicero),
M. T. Cicero (son of the great orator), L. Ateius Praetextatus
(d. after 29 B.C.), and Papirius Fabianus (time of Tiberius).
" They were of plebeian stock, and were allied to the family
:

of Marius.

Many Romans came

to Rhodes, a great centre of rhetorical

Apollonius Molo visited Rome. The
notes indicate a number of echoes of Rhodian life and thought.
" [Isocratean theory and
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. iii. 8
Aristotelian theorv] were fused into one bv their successors."
*

studies,

and

in 87 B.C.

'^

INTRODUCTION
author's case the thoroughly practical motives to
which he constantly gives expression. The notes in
the present volume attempt in many instances to
indicate the ties by which he is bound to the traditions

of different schools. To illustrate briefly, and almost

at random: the threefold purpose of the Direct
Opening is pre- Aristotelian doctrine the concept of
the officia oratoris is Aristotelian; the "virtues"
the detailed
of Style go back to Theophrastus
treatment of Delivery belongs probably to postTheophrastan theory; the discussion of Solecism
and Barbarism shows a debt to Stoicism ; the definition of rhetoric is Hermagorean, and so too, though in
modified form, is our author's status system indeed
every art which had a status system w as beholden to
Hermagoras the opposition to amphibolies may be
and in the case of some principles the
Epicurean
Sophists and Plato play an originating or participating
;

role.

The precepts are often illustrated by excellent

examples, many of them allusions to the recent and
the contemporary political scene, especially the Marsic and Marian Wars, and many bringing back to life
the older Roman eloquence. Of the older Latin
orators, our author shows special admiration for
Gains Gracchus and Crassus (4. i. 2, 4. ii. 2), but he
tells us that Cato, Tiberius Gracchus, Laelius, Scipio,
Porcina, and Antonius also commonly serve as
models in the field of style. Poets and historians,
too, may be models (4. v. 7); he has praise for
Ennius and Pacuvius (4. iv. 7), but he does not
Interdependence
earlier periods.

xvi

is

often hard to trace definitely even in the

INTRODUCTION
hesitate to use these poets and Plautus
and the
historian Coelius Antipater in illustration of faults of
argumentation or of style. Examples of figures of
speech (whose sources he does not name) are drawn
from Greek authors as well the speeches of Demosthenes (especially De Corona) and Aeschines are
special favourites, but sayings originated by Homer,
Simonides, Pythagoras, Isocrates, Socrates, Theophrastus, Aristarchus, Apollonius o fjLaXaKog, and
others also appear, as do references to Greek
mythology. The author's experience and mastery
<*

of Greek literature, however, do not seem to have

been great this Greek lore was transmitted to him
from the schools.
The schools emphasized declamation and the study
of models, and the treatise is in this respect an image
of school practice.
Declamatory exercises the
author again and again stresses the importance of
exercise ^
are represented in the form of progymnasmaia of various types (including training in
epideictic), of deliberative questions (deliberaiiones,
suasoriae), and of judicial cases {causae, control ersiae).
The deliberative questions are all taken from events
of Roman history, none of them antedating the war
with Hannibal.*^ Of the judicial cases drawn from
Roman history, almost all date from the end of the
Jugurthine War to the end of the Nlarian War
a
number are also Greek in origin, and occasionally are
;

"

And probably

also Accius

see 2. xxvi. 42.

But never a word about declaiming in Greek; cf. on the

other hand the custom followed by Cicero {Brutus 90. 310).
* For events connected with the Hannibalic
war Coelius
*

Antipater may have served as a source, for the subsequent

period the orators, and perhaps also Cato's Origines; see

Bochmann.
xvii

INTRODUCTION
Our author doubtfit Roman conditions.
used collections of declamations current in his

altered to
less

day.
treatise is rather comheir to two structural
schemes the pre-Aristotelian, based on the partes
of the discourse {^lopia Xoyov), and the Peripatetic,
based on the five oflicia (epya) of rhetoric. In his

The organization of the

The author is

plicated.'*

which held the forediscussion of judicial oratory

in Hellenistic rhetoric, and claims most of
both schemes are fused, " in order to
his attention
make the subject easier to understand " (1. iii. 4),
and with interesting results. The partes are treated
under Invention, and not, as in the Peripatetic
system, under Disposition. Disposition, which is

ground

therefore narrow in scope and rather sterile, becomes

an adjunct of Invention ^ (3. ix. 16), and is treated
directly after it, where in the Peripatetic structure
we should expect a discussion of Style. The Types of
Issue are subjoined to Proof, which is one of the partes,
and not as in Aristotle a primary and central function
of the whole art. The discussion of the deliberative
and epideictic kinds, on the other hand, is more in
hne with the Peripatetic method: in both cases

See Karl Barwick, Hermes 57 (1922). Iff.; Thiele,

Quaestiones, pp. 96 ff. ; loannes Radtke, Observationes crit.
in Cornifici libros de arte rhetorica, Koenigsberg, 1892, pp. 22 ff.
Friedrich Solmsen, Amer. Journ. Philol. 62 (1941). 35-50, 169190.
^ The
conflation results in certain inconsistencies; see,
e.g.j the reference to Invention at 1. x. 16, and the note on
Certain other inconsistencies in the order are,
3. X. 17.
however, not the result of conflation the author at times in
his treatment transposes his original order of topics {e.g., in
;

1.

xiv. 24

xviii

and

2. xvi.

23

and c/.

1.

xiv. 24

ff.

with

2. xiv.

21

ff.).

INTRODUCTION
Invention receives first consideration, and then comes
the Development of the cause based on the parts of the
discourse.

Each book has a Preface and a Conclusion, which,

by brief summaries and transitions characteristic of
lecture or text-book style, serve to tie the parts
together, and to keep the plan of the work clear in
the reader's mind.
The first two books deal with Invention in judicial
Invention in deliberative and epideictic
causes ;

discussed much more briefly in a part of

Disposition is also accorded little space for
the reasons set forth above. But the treatment of
Delivery, Memory, and Style is of special interest

speaking

Book

is

3.

and importance.

The doctrine of Delivery had been developed in

post-Aristotelian times, and our author is familiar
with books on the subject. He is dissatisfied with
these and wishes to treat the subject with greater
care and completeness than had characterized the
work of his predecessors (3. xi. 19). In the section
which he devotes to Deliver}^ two observations will
present themselves to the modern student of public
speaking.
The rules are for the most part prescriptive
the speaker is told precisely what use of voice,
pause, and gesture he ought consciously to make in a
And secondly, the doctrine
variety of situations.
represents a salutary reaction against Asianism
piercing exclamations and the continual use of the
full voice are more than once reprehended (3. xii.
21 ff.), and the speaker is more than once warned
against imitating the delivery of the stage-actor
;

(3. xiv. 24,

The

XV. 26).

section on

Memory

is

our oldest surviving]

xix

INTRODUCTION
treatment of the subj ect. Based on visual images and
" backgrounds," the mnemotechnical system which it
presents exerted an influence traceable to modern
Here too the author refers to previous
times.
writers on the subject in order to combat their theory
he specifies that these are Greek, but he does not
mention any of them by name.
In Book 4 we have the oldest systematic treatment of Style in Latin, indeed the oldest extant
;

It offers,
inquiry into the subject after Aristotle.
furthermore, the oldest extant division of the kinds
of Style into three, and the oldest extant formal study
of figures. Our author gives more space to Style
than to any other of the departments of rhetoric, and
much more to ornatus which is limited to the figures
than to the other aspects of Style. The exceptionally large enumeration of figures is of course
more in accord with Isocratean than with Aristotelian
doctrine
our author, together with the younger
Gorgias (through the translation by Rutilius), provides us with an important source for our knowledge
of Hellenistic theory in this field. The treatment of
the figures is not always bald and jejune, despite
Occasionally our author writes
their formal array.
good literary criticism read for example the advice,
anti-Asian in character, which he gives on the use
of the Gorgianic figures (4. xxi. 32). He is often
sensitive to the effect which a figure of speech, wellHe never advocates
used, can work upon the hearer.
the tricky cunning which would have justified the

scorn that Longinus {De Sublim., ch. 17) expressed for

the " petty figures {(Txr]iJLdrLa) of the rhetorical craftsman." His counsel is for moderation and the consideration of propriety in the use of Apostrophe

XX

INTRODUCriON
XV.

(4.

22),

Maxims

(4.

xvii.

25),

Onomatopoeia (4. xxxi.

xxxiv. 45), and Comparison (4.

xxvii. 38),
(4.

author
(see 4.

is

not always at ease

vii.

10,

and

also

4.

among
x.

15

Disjunction
42),
xlviii.

(4.

Metaphor
The
61).

technical terms

and

4.

xi.

16),

of these had yet become stable in Latin.

Inasmuch as a like difficulty attends the translation of
his terms into English, I have thought it my duty to
readers to use the terms most familiar to them
accordingly in rendering the names for the figures I
have, abandoning strict consistency, used the English
derivatives of the author's terms wherever possible, or
the accepted English equivalents, and have employed
terms of Greek origin where their use was indicated.
number of questions concerning the treatise are
How old was the author when
vigorously debated.
Is the treatise nothing but
the work was composed ?
the notes of lectures delivered by his Latin teacher ?
Does our author favour the populares ? What is
his philosophical bias, if any ?
And most baffling,
what relation does the treatise bear to Cicero's De
since not

all

hiveniione

Whereas in the nineteenth century it was customary to praise our author for " manly independence
of thought," it is now, especially since Marx' work*^
appeared, common to make him out an uncritical
and very young man, or a boy, who copied down,
virtually word for word, the lectures of his Latin
teacher, and worked these up ^^ith only slight
additions, mostly represented by the Introductions
and Conclusions to the several Books. The style does
show puerilities, and signs of immaturity are sought
and found here and there in the thought. But not
*

See

p. xxxvii.

xxi

INTRODUCTION
everything labelled as puerile by some critics justifies
the label, and in some degree the charge would have
The confusion between
to be shared by the teacher.
student and teacher arises necessarily from the theory
that we have here only a student's notebook."
Actually our author seems old enough to have spent
i.
1) time in philosophical studies,^
older enough than his kinsman Herennius to have
composed the book for his use, and to encourage him
2. xxxi. 50; 3. xxxiv. 40; 4. Ivi.
in industry (1. i. 1
69), young enough still to practise with him (3. i. 1
he
4. Ivi. 69), and to make plans for the future

{co7isuevimtis, 1.

expects to write on Grammar (4. xii. 17), on

Military Science and State Administration (3. ii. 3),
on Memory (3. xvi. 28), and (if encouraged) against
the dialecticians (2. xi. 16). We have no reason to
believe that when he speaks of the pressure of private
affairs (1. i. 1) and the demands of his occupations
(1. xvii. 27) he is merely following a literary convention or indulging in rhetorical fiction. He charges
Greek writers with childish argumentation in respect
to the use of examples (4. iii. 4), warns against
puerilities in the use of Isocolon and Paronomasia
(4. XX. 27, xxiii. 32), and finds recourse to amphiHis apologies for slow
boUes silly (2. xi. 16).
progress and references to the magnitude of his task
and the care he has devoted to it (e.g., 1. xvii. 27;
2. xxxi. 50) are inconsistent with the picture of one
who is merely working over dictated material. He
" Such

Cf. Quintilian, 3. 6. 59, on Cicero, De Inv. :

faults as [this collection of school-notes] has are assignable to
his teacher."
" Which he thinks conduce more to the good life than does
the study of rhetoric ; he is not a professional rhetorician.

ivnioDrcTi()>j
to have taken pains in assembling his
material {conquisite conscrlpsimus, 1. xxxi. 50, and

professes

studiose collegimus, 4.

Ivi.

09),

and

this

seems to imply

the use of sources, although we cannot know how

wide this use or how comprehensive his study of them
may have been.
Lecture notes doubtless form the core of the
treatise, but the author probably made use of other
sources as well, and worked the matter over with
some degree of independence. Some of the very
incongruities that we find in the treatise may derive
precisely from this weaving together of material
drawn from a number of places. Dependence on his
teacher is explicit only in connection with a disputed
point, on the number of Types of Issue " (1. x. 18).
go too far if we assume that the precepts all
belong to the teacher and very little more than the
Introductions and Conclusions to the author. And
one wonders how the teacher would have regarded
the release of his own work, even if only for private
use, as the work of his pupil.
Does our author favour the Popular party ? It is
believed that his teacher may have belonged to the
school of L. Plotius Gallus and the rhetores Laiini.
These teachers of public speaking, whose identity
and innovations remain obscure to us, apparently as a
matter of principle taught their subject in Latin,
rigidly suppressing the Greek language
they prob-

We

"

"\Mio the teacher [noster doctor) here referred to

was we

do not know.
" See Schanz, ed. 1909,
Quintilian, 1. Pr. 7, regrets
p. 470.
that two books of lecture notes, taken down by pupils, and by
them published under his name, but without his consent, are
in circulation.
Marx, of course, maintains that our treatise
was never int-ended for circulation.

INTRODUCTION
ably were Marian in sympathy and had as students
only the sons of the populares.^ Our author can
indeed in his examples praise or sympathize with the
Gracchi, Saturninus, Drusus, and Sulpicius (2. xxviii.
45; 4. xxii. 31; 4. Iv. 68; 4. xv. 22), and advise
us to bring our adversaries into contempt by revealing
their high birth (1. v. 8), but he can likewise accuse
Gaius Gracchus of promoting panics (4. xxviii. 38),
praise Caepio's attack on Saturninus as patriotic
conduct (1. xii. 21 ; 2. xii. 17), warn Saturninus
against the excesses of the popular mob (4. liv. 67),
attribute the future revival of prosperity to the
Conservatives (4. xxxiv. 45), and regard their
slaughter as a disaster (4. viii. 12). The themes of
the causae are variously Popular and Conservative in
spirit, and we must infer that our author took his
material where he found it and used it to suit his
primary purpose technical instruction in the art of
If he really belonged to the Popular party,
rhetoric.
then he still must have believed in giving the Conservative cause a hearing.
Nor again should our author's attitude to the
Greeks be represented as an antagonism approaching
hatred.
True, he deliberately takes most of his
historical exempla from Roman history, repeatedly
finds fault with the methods of Greek rhetoricians
(1. i. 1; 3. xxiii. 38; 4. i. 1), and suppresses the
names of Greek writers whose examples he uses in
Book 4. But he also omits the names of Roman
authors whose examples he uses in that Book.
Furthermore, he professes to know Greek books,
occasionally uses Greek technical terms and other

" See Marx, Proleg., pp. 141 ff., and Aubrey Gwynn, Roman
Education from Cicero to Quintilian, Oxford 1926, pp. 58-69.

xxiv

INTRODUCTION
Greek words, and

praises the Greeks for their invention of the art of rhetoric (4. vii. 10).
A few traces of Epicureanism in the work have
given rise to the notion that our author was an
adherent of that school of philosophy. A maxim of
]'!.picurus, in altered form, is quoted without attribution (t. xvii. 24)
in another example, religion and
the fear of death are listed among the motives that
impel men to crime (2. xxi. 34) and the dialecticians
are censured for their love of ambiguities (2. xi. 16).
But, as the notes in the present volume illustrate, the
examples are drawn from the literature of various
philosophical schools
a condition one would expect,
inasmuch as manuals of rhetoric reflecting diverse
schools were then extant, and these manuals may well
have had much material in common.
But the most vexing problem and, as Norden ^
says, one of the most interesting in the history of
Roman literature concerns the relations between
our treatise and De Inventione.^ We are not even
sure of the respective dates of composition. The
reference in De Oratare 1. 2. 5 to the " essays
which slipped out of the notebooks of my boyhood,
does not enable us to fix
or rather of my youth "
upon a particular year for the composition of De
Invetiiione but internal evidence points to c. 91 B.C.
By this we mean only that the work contains no
reference to any event that took place during or
after the Marsic War.'^
Cicero may, of course, have
;

'^

"

Gercke-Xorden, Einhitung in die Allertumsivissenschaft,

Leipzig-Berlin, 1910,
^

1.

471.

Relevant passages of De Inventione have been indicated

in the notes.
=

**

59 and 3.
See Marx, Proleg., pp. 76 ff.

C/. Quintilian, 3. 6.

1.

20.

XXV

INTRODUCTION
worked the material into its final form later. When
he published the book remains uncertain; allowing
even for the possibility that in the passage above
Cicero understated his years with ironic intent, we
not suppose a date much after 86 b.c. Likewise
on internal evidence we assign our treatise to c.
86-82 B.C. The reference in 1. xv. 25 to the death of
Sulpicius, which took place in the year 88, supplies
us with a terminus post quern for the composition of
Book 1. 4. liv. 68 contains a reference to Marius'
seventh consulship, which he held in the year 86.
And since nothing in the work mirrors the conditions
which obtained in the state under Sulla for instance,
the first illustration in 4. xxxv. 47 reflects a jury
system still comprising both senators and equites
we may set the year 82 as the terminus ante quern. But
our
again these dates regard only the contents
author could have collected his examples by the
year 82 and have composed the treatise later not
much later, probably, for he is eager to complete the

may

work and send it to Herennius. It seems then

though not certain, that De Inventione was
composed before our treatise.
Agreements are so frequent that obviously there
Some precepts
is a close tie between the two works.
are set forth in virtually the same language, and
some of the illustrations are identical. This is not the
place to enumerate these likenesses, nor the differences,^ which are even more striking; the treatises

likely,

In 3. i. 1 it is implied that separate books were sent to

Herennius.
* See Marx, Proleg., pp. 129 ff.
Our author differs from
Cicero in the method of presenting his material, in organizamany technical terms;
for
example,
in
tion, and in spirit;
in the doctrine of Proof, of the Types of Issue, of the sources
<*

xxvi

INTRODUCTION
have been coniparod in several studies, but the last
word on the subject has not yet been said. I may
here only review recent opinion,*^ No one now
On the
believes that our author used De Inveniione.
other hand, the belief that Cicero used the Rhetorica
but since it is
ad Herejinium still finds adherents
probable that Cicero's work antedates our treatise,
we hesitate to accept this notion. Other critics
postulate a common source. That both authors had a
;

Greek original in common is not acceptable, for

would be unbelievable that two independent translators should have rendered their text in precisely the
furthermore, the illustrations from
same words
Roman writers shared by both make such a solution
single
it

impossible.*
Or did both

make

direct use of the same Latin

popular, and takes two fonns
both had the same Latin teacher, the
differences being explained by the assumption that
they heard this teacher at different times our
author later, and when the teacher had changed his
mind on a number of points and that Cicero used

source ?
(1) that

This view

is

Law;

number oi genera causarum; in his emphasis

judicial kind of discourse as against Cicero's full
treatment of all three kinds; in his much briefer discussion
in his less accurate quotations ; iu the more
of many topics
limited scope of his historical references (Cicero uses events in
Roman history that antedate Hannibal); in his thoroughly
our author is to the
Latin spirit Marx' analogA- is telling
togata as Cicero, who is much more learned in Greek literature,
of

in the

upon the

is

to the paUiata.
" I have not seen M. Medved,

libri rhetorici

Das Verhdltnis von Ciceros

zum Auctor ad Herennium, unpublished Vienna

dissertation, 19-40.
* See William Ramsay in Smith's Diet, of Greek and
Biography and Mythology (London, 1880), 1, 727.

Roman

INTRODUCTION
other sources in addition
(2) that both used the
same Latin manual,* our author only this manual, and
without many changes except for certain transand abridgements, some omission of
positions
examples, and slight additions (e.g., the Introductions
and Conclusions) and Cicero with greater alteraand that Cicero further used Hermagoras.*'
tions
Marx, on the other hand, finds that the contrast
between the two works is too sharp to permit a
theory either of direct dependence or of a single
immediate common source, whether teacher or
manual ; he posits two Latin teachers, and behind
these, two Rhodian masters who advocated opposing
doctrines, our author inheriting the older theory and
Cicero a fuller and more recent system.
Without accepting Marx' thesis that the treatise is
for I would assign
entirely a set of lecture notes
more of the work to the author than Marx allows
believe that something like his hypothesis is required.
The differences between the two works seem to rule
the likeout a single immediate common source
nesses we may best refer to the use by both authors
(or by their teachers) of Latin treatises like the De
Ratione Dicendi of Antonius.'^ We cannot appraise the
;

<*

" In Be Inv. 2. ii. 4 he professes an eclectic method of excerpting from his sources.
^ This second view is that of Herbolzheimer.
Whether directly or through an intermediate source;
the point is debated.
^ Most now believe that the influence of Antonius' book
(r/. Cicero, Brutus 44. 163, De Oratore 1. 21. 94, Quintilian,
3. 1. 19) is apparent in our treatise; see Kroehnert, pp. 23 ff.
(but he thinks that Antonius was our author's Latin teacher),
Marx, Proleg., p. 131, and Koehler, pp. 35-8, but also Weber,
Antonius' book appeared
pp. 22 fif., and Thiele, QuaesL, p. 94,
sometime before 91 B.C.
<^

xxviii

INTRODUCTION
influence of these older Latin arts of rhetoric which
are lost to us, but it may well have been considerable.
difficulty when we compare the two
explaining the following coincidence.
In
vi. 9 our author distinguishes three occasions
1.
(iempora) for the use of the Subtle Approach, and in
1. ix. 16 maintains that this is his own innovation;
in De Inventione 1. xvii. 23, however, a like threefold
classification occurs, but instead of occasions we have
" motives " (causae).
Again diverse explanations are
offered, but in the end we are, I beheve, forced either
to accept Marx' view that the classification is of
Greek origin or to take the author's words at their
Marx finds the context here thoroughly
face value.
Greek, even though we do not know any specific
Greek source for the threefold classification, and
hurls the charge of fraud and impudence at our
author the principle, he is sure, originated with the
Rhodian rhetor whose doctrines our author followed,
and Cicero in his turn received it from his own teacher
Some of those who, like Marx,
in a modified form.
consider our treatise merely lecture notes, and yet
wish to absolve the writer of the charge of fraud,
make the point that he may not have known that
his teacher had borrowed the precept from a Greek
source but the notion that the author did not know
Greek well enough for his purposes would require
Schanz and others believe that Cicero
proof.
borrowed the principle from our treatise, but that
hypothesis would be more acceptable if we could be
certain that the Rhetorica ad Herennium was actually
published and available to Cicero before his publication of De Inventione.
As a matter of fact, the
precept appears in a somewhat different setting in De

Our main

works

is

in

INTRODUCTION
Inventione, where its use is confined to the admirabile
kind of cause. Our author doubtless depends on a
Greek source for his general treatment of the
doctrine of the Subtle Approach. Yet he always
writes with practical motives, and on this particular
point specifically says that his purpose is to provide a
sure and lucid theory.
When, therefore, he claims
as an innovation the slight distinction between
tempora and causae, we find him guilty, not of fraud,
but of the exaggerated self-esteem which is also
elsewhere characteristic of him."
The chief basis of Marx' charge of deceit is provided by the Introduction to Book 4, considered in
relation to the examples used in that Book.
This
Proem, organized and developed like a ckria ^ according to the rules of the classroom, is rather graceful and
in language, too, it is smoother than the
learned
purely technical parts of the treatise
and its con;

are Greek in character.

Marx and others
contend that it did not belong in this place originally,
but was in its main outlines taken from a Greek
source, inserted here, and made over to seem a Latin
product.
In this Preface our author presents a long
argument against a theory, which he labels as Greek,
of using borrowed examples, and promises to give
only those of his own creation (except in the case of
faulty ones).
But the execution does not fulfil the
promise, for he then proceeds actually to use borrowed
tents

" He has not been moved to write by hope of gain or glory,

" as others have been " (1. i. 1); " no one else " has written
with sufficient care on Delivery (3. xi. 19)
he " alone, in
contrast with all other writers," has distinguished three
occasions for the use of the Subtle Approach (1. ix. 16); cf.
also 1. vi. 10, 3. vii. 14, 3. xxiv. 40, and 4. Ivi. 69.
^ See the figure, Refining, 4. xlii. 54 S.
;

INTRODUCTION
examples, and without naming his sources, many of
which are Greek. The author (or rather his teacher)
thus got into trouble when, having used a Greek art
which employed borrowed examples, he tried to
adjust to it the contrary precepts of another Greek
author who created his own examples. This is the
person, say his critics, who in 1. i. 1 accuses Greek
writers of futile self-assertion.
According to another interpretation, which is
intended to save the honour of both student and
teacher, the young student here put down the notes
of a lecture once delivered by his teacher, thinking
this to be an appropriate place, but being no master
of Greek, he was unaware that his teacher had in the
rest of what comprises his Book 4 taken so many

examples from Greek sources.

It seems best, however, to grant the author some
degree of literary individuality, and to regard his
claim to the use of his " own " examples as at least
an honest one. The notion that he did not know
Greek well enough for his purpose is gratuitous. To
be sure, one cannot deny the contradiction between
promise and fulfilment, nor assign to the author more
than a relatively small share in the fashioning of the
Proem, the Greek origin of which is obvious. But he
made good use of this Proem, which as it stands
coheres well enough N\ith the text that follows it
he would naturally use material that he had heard or
read, perhaps not always knowing where he had
picked it up ^ and what is most likely, he may have
;

Crassus in Cicero, De Oratore 1. 34. 154, tells how in his

practice declamations, trying to choose diction different from
that of the poetic passage by Ennius or speech by Gracchus
on which he was practising, he would discover that the best
words had already been used by his author.
*

xxxi
b

INTRODUCTION
considered his free translation of the Greek examples
and alteration of the Latin a large enough task to
He
justify his feeling that they were now his own.
sometimes adroit in transposing the original
is
examples and adjusting them to Roman conditions.
The claim to originality becomes then a pardonable,
or at least an understandable, exaggeration, rather
than evidence of misrepresentation.
Since the treatise stands near the beginnings of
Latin prose, ^ its style has been the subject of close
study. The faults have received special attention,
especially those resulting from the author's quest for
variety and for refinements in forms and constructions
example, abundantia, artificially balanced
for
clauses, the love of synonyms, of word-play, hyperbata, and asyndeta, the inflated language of the
Conclusions to each Book, and other extravagances
of rhetorical style also the awkward transitions and
the author's tendency merely to reiterate, under the
guise of remarks concluding the treatment of a
Further pecuprecept, what he has already said.
liarities are the arbitrary use of pronouns, the omission
of subjects of verbs in the infinitive, the mixture of
present and future in the sequence of tenses, the
frequent employment of the first person future
active indicative, of substantives in -io, of the ut
construction, and of the indicative in indirect
ne
The dry style of the precepts usually
questions.
contrasts with the lively and smooth style of the
**

* See, e.g., in 4. xxix. 40, how the example of the figure

Indecision from Demosthenes, De Corona 20, receives a Roman
character.
Of extant complete prose works only Cato's De Agri Culluru
*

is

older.

xxxii

INTRODUCTION
examples. Although the style is in general not
highly developed nor fluent, and there are several
passages of which the meaning is obscure, our author
in greatest part achieves, as I have said, his aim of
clarity.
It would not he fair to class his treatise
with the crude textbooks (lihri agrestes) disparaged
The language is up to a
in De Oratore 2. 3. 10.
point " plebeian " and there are puerilities, but some
of the qualities thus designated are rather to be
assigned to what we may call the schoolmaster's
manner and to the nature of technical, textbook
style.
Some of the irregularities perhaps also derive
from the author's desire to make haste and to be
brief, and from the process of translation
here and
there the language betrays a Greek origin.
Our author is fond of periods formed with rhvthmic
clausulae.
It is another echo of the school practice
of his time that the dichoree, favourite of Asianic
style, plays the chief role,*' but other cadences are also
frequent.
In the examples illustrating the three
types of style in Book 4, rhythms are chosen with a
fair degree of taste so as to correspond to the
character of the different tv-pes.
may say that the style is within limits archaic,
and sometimes reminiscent of Roman comedy yet
today it is no longer set in such sharp contrast as
formerly to Ciceronian style.
Kroll ^ looks upon it
as having been formed on the same principles as those
of the Roman orators whom Cicero regarded as his
own forerunners.
In the present century it has been customary to
underv'alue the treatise because of its shortcomings
;

We

See notes on 4. viii.

aiotta, 22 (1934). 24

12, 4. xix. 26,

ff.

and

4. xxxii. 44.

INTRODUCTION
which in large part are those inherent in the nature of
a textbook even as its virtues were often exaggerated in the nineteenth century, when more than
one critic {e.g., Chaignet) held the work up as
superior to Quintilian's Traiiiing of an Orator. Regarded from a historical point of view, the treatise
presents no strikingly novel system for us, however, it
has literary importance because it is our only complete
representative of the system it teaches. We may
further readily admit that the work lacks the larger
philosophical insight of Aristotle's Rhetoric, but that
is not to deny its excellence as a practical treatise of
the kind doubtless used by Roman orators. It is,
moreover, itself not without usefulness for the
modern student of the art.
ought now to redress
the balance, to recognize that, though Greek in origin
and inspiration, it marks a significant stage in Roman
rhetorical theory, to assign due value especially to
Book 4, and to bear in mind that the work exerted a
beneficent influence for hundreds of years. One of
the distinguished modern students of rhetoric,
Spengel, called it " a book more precious than gold."

We

Later History
Interpreting a subscriptio in MS. H, Marx assumed
that the book first came to light in Africa in the
middle of the fourth century and was soon thereafter
brought to Lombardy.** Therefore the first references to it appear late in Jerome (in works written
in the years a.d. 395 and 402), Rufinus (late fifth

See Proleg., pp. 1 ff. Not all believe that the work could
lain so long in oblivion
some think that it was used by
Comificius (see p. xiv, note h, and p. xv above).
*

have

INTRODUCTION
century), Grillius

" (late fifth

century), and Priscian

MSS. of the M class were

Servatus Lupus, as we learn from a letter

(early sixth century).

known

to

he wrote in 829 or 830, and indeed our oldest extant

MSS., which belong to that class, date from the ninth
and tenth centuries. Later the treatise was much
used, abstracted, annotated, and interpolated
it
shared favour with Cicero's De Inientione, which, as
against modern taste, seems to have been preferred
The great number of MSS. of the
to his De Oratore.
Ad Ileremiium we have more than a hundred is in
itself an index of its popularity.
Complete commentaries began to appear as early, perhaps?, as the twelfth
century, translations as early as the thirteenth. The
full story, however, of the influence which the treatise
enjoyed in education and in the poetry and prose of
the Middle Ages and Renaissance has yet to be
;

worked

out.

Translations

The MSS. containing mediaeval

translations of the

have not yet been adequately studied

several versions in Western vernaculars doubtless
remain to be brought to light. We may, however,
mention the compendium in Italian that is associated
^^ith the names of both Guidotto da Bologna and Bono
Giamboni {Fiore di rettorica or Rettorica miova di Tullio),
which in its original form was composed before 126G,
and the French rendering (of both our treatise and
Cicero's De hiventione) made by Jean d'Antioche de
Harens in 1282. Enrique de Villena translated the
work into Castilian in 1427. And the Greek version
treatise

"

See Josef Martin, Grillius

der Rhetorik;

Paderbom

Ein Beifrag zur

1927, p. 156

(48'.

Geschichte

15).

XXXV

INTRODUCTION
Memory in Book 3 (reprinted in
maior, pp. 54-59) has been assigned, without strong evidence in either case, to Maximus
Planiides (early saec. 14) or Theodore Gaza (saec. 15).
The following translations belong to modern

of the section on

Marx,

ed.

times
French

Jacob, Paris 1652, 1670 (Les

Oeuvres de Ciceron, tr. by Pierre du

Paul

Ryer et al., vol.

N. Demeunier,

J.

1).

Paris 1783 {Oeuvres de

Ciceron, trad, nouvelle, vol. 1).

J. B.

Levee, Paris 1816 {Oeuvres Com-

pletes

de

Ciceron,

trad,

en

Frangais,

vol. 1).

J. V. LeClerc, Paris 1821, 1827 {Oeuvres

Completes de Ciceron, vol. 1, Pt. 2,

2nd
L.

and

later eds.
Paris 1826
Latine-Frangaise,

ed.),

Delcasso,
theque

Panckoucke,

vol. 1),

and

(in

Bihlio-

C.
later eds.
ed.

Thibaut, Paris 1881 {Oeuvres Completes

de Ciceron, ed. J. M. N. D. Nisard,
vol. 1).

Henri Bornecque, Paris [1932].

German Christian Walz, Stuttgart 1842 (in
Homische Prosaiker in neuen Uber:

setzungen 22. 3354-3532).

Karl Kuchtner, Munich 1911.

So far as the present translator knows, the treatise

has not hitherto been completely translated into
English; a rendering by Ray Nadeau of Book 1,
based on Kayser's edition of 1854, appears in Speech
Monographs 16 (1949). 57-68.

INTRODUCTION
Editions

was issued in \'enice in 147U by

Nicolaus Jenson, under the editorship of Omnibonus

The

ediiio princeps

At

twenty-eight other editions

with comFor the long list of editions that followed
mentaries.
until the year 1834 the reader may be referred to
J. C. Orelli's Oyiomasticon TulUanum in the OrelliLeonicenus.

appeared

least

in the fifteenth century, several

Baiter edition of Cicero's Works (Zurich 1836), vol.

Of the nineteenth6, pp. 197, 215, 218, and 223.
century editions that appeared thereafter, we must
list C. L. Kayser's separate edition, Leipzig (Teubner)
1854, and his Tauchnitz edition (among Cicero's
Works), Leipzig 186U
G. F. Friedrich's edition,
Leipzig (Teubner) 1884 and especially the excellent
editio maior by Friedrich Marx, Leipzig (Teubner)
This last, together with Marx' ediiio minor,
1894.
Leipzig (Teubner) 1923, forms the basis of the text
used by the present translator, who acknowledges
also the profit derived from the critical notes in both
editions and from the Prolegomena and Index in the
editio maior
a debt which will be obvious in many
Marx' work represents a great advance in
places.
the study of our treatise, and on it all students, even
when they reject his conclusions on certain points,
;

now base

their investigations.

The Text
The text depends on two groups of MSS.

an older
group, M(utili), whose archetype contained lacunae
and corruptions, and a younger, E(xpleti). The
are filled out in E in part from another
lacunae in

xxxvii

INTRODUCTION
The Expleti derive from an archetype of
perhaps the twelfth century
for that recension
three aids were used a MS. of class M, a lost integer,^
and the recensionist's
own conjectures and
emendations.
In a number of places the text cannot be restored
with certainty. At times the readings of M, especially when the text is corrupt and cannot otherwise
be filled out, must give way to those of E. Neither
nor E can be followed alone throughout, and often
the decision between the two is hard to make. As
Marx says, each reading must be examined in
accordance with the editor's conception of the
author's habits of writing.
To be sure E, which
contains many conjectures made in the Middle
Ages, must be used with caution, but even Marx,
an editor of praiseworthy conservatism, adopts many
I have found it advisable to follow
of its readings.
in a number of cases where Marx followed E, but most
of my changes from Marx have favoured E. The
text in the present edition rests on that of Marx,
editio minor
an apparatus is supplied only for those
places where I deviate from the text of that edition.
In the apparatus Mx stands for Marx, ed. minor,
1923 Mx ed. mat. for his edition of 1894.
Marx constructed his text on the basis of the
tradition.

following

MSS.

" A MS. of a fourth or fifth century edition of five works of

Cicero (including our treatise) was found again in the twelfth
century, and was used in forming the archetype of E. The
Laudensis, discovered in Lodi by Landriani in 1421, and
again lost some four years later without any copies of our
treatise having been made from it, stems from this old edition

of Cicero's works.

INTRODUCTION
M(utili)

H
P

B
C

lacking Bk.

I,

chaps. 1-5

Herbipolitanus (saec. 9/10)

Parisinus 7714 (9)
Bernensis (9/10)
Corbeiensis (or Leninopolitanus) (9/10)
Parisinus 7231 (12)
consensus of H P B C 11

E(xpleti)

b
1

d
V

Bambergensis (12/13)
Leidensis (12)

Darmstadiensis (12/13)
Vossianus (12/13)
Parisinus 7696 (12)
consensus of b 1 d

The reader

referred to Marx, ed. maior, pp. 10 ff..

ed. minor, for a description of
the MSS. The stemma that appears on the next
page is taken from p. xxiv of the ed, minor.
The spelHng in the present text differs in a number
of places from that of Marx' editions.
As some
critics have charged, Marx at times went out of his
way to set up archaic or unusual spellings (some of
is

and the Preface to the

which he formed from corruptelae). My changes

not as a rule noted in the apparatus have, I believe,
sound support in the MSS. and in several instances
which are noted I have felt that the MSS. should
not be allowed to determine forms regarded as
incorrect.
A completely uniform orthography, for
example in the assimilation of prepositions, has not
been sought.

xxxix

INTRODUCTION
Archetype

Integer

Mutilus

Filled out

and corrected
by achola

Filled

out from

integer

0th cent-

Mutilus

filled

out

from integer

/fK

In closing this Introduction, 1 wish to express the

I owe to a number of friends at Cornell
University for generous assistance. To Professor
Ernst Levy of the University of Washington I am
indebted for his kindness in answering several
questions on Roman Law.

thanks

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Georg Amnion,

rev. of Marx, ed. maior, Blatter filr

das Bayer. Gymn.-Schubvesen 33 (1897). 4:07- U 5.
Georg Ammon, rev. of Marx, ed. minor, Bursians
Jahresbericht 204 (1925). 10-16.
Otto Angermann, De Aristotele rhetorum auctore,
Leipzig, 1904.
Karl Aulitzkv, " Apsines rrepl iXeou," Wiener Studien
39 (1917). 26-49.
C. Bione, / piu antichi traitati di arte retorica in lingua
latina, Pisa, 1910.

H. E. Bochmann, De Cornijici auctoris ad Herennium

qui vacatur rerum Romanarum scieniia, Zwickau,
1875.
J.

Brzoska,

art.

" Cornificius,"

in

P.-\V.

4.

1605-

1623.
Georg Golla, Spracklicke Beohachtungen zum auctor ad
Here7inium, Breslau, 1935.
Georg Herbolzheimer, " Ciceros rhetorici libri und
die Lehrschrift des Auctor ad Herennium."
Philologus 81 (1926). 391-426.

Carolus Hoffmann,

De

Cornijici rhetoricorum

verborum transposiiionibus

ad Herennium

libris,

in

Munich,

1879.

Curtius Koehler,

De

rhetoricis

ad Herennium, Berlin,

1909.

Rudolfus Kroehnert, De
Koenigsberg, 1873.

rhetoricis

ad Herennium,

diss.

xli

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kroll, " Die Entvvicklung der lateinischen
Sprache," Glotta 22 (1934). 24-27.
Wilhelm Kroll, " Cornificianum," Melanges Bidez 2.
555-561, Brussels, 1934.
Wilhelm Kroll, " Der Text des Cornificius," Philologus
89 (1934). 63-84.
Wilhelm Kroll, " Rhetorica V," Philologus 90 (1935).
206-215.
Wilhelm Kroll, " Rhetorik," in P.-W., Suppl. VII
(1940). 1039-1138.
Friedrich Marx, Prolegomena in ecliiio maior.
Claus Peters, De rationibus inter artem rhetoricam quarti

Wilhelm

primi saeculi intercedentibus Kiel, 1907.

rev. of Marx, ed. minor, Berl.
Philol. Wochensckrift 44 (1924). 1181-1186.
Schanz-Hosius, Geschichte der romischen Liter atur,
Part 1, pp. 586-90, Munich, 1927; Martin
Schanz, ed. 1909, Part 1, pp. 466-473.
Eduard Stroebel, " Cornificiana," Blatter fir das
Bayer. Gymn.-Schdwesen 38 (1902). 71-83.
Eduard Stroebel, Tulliana, Munich, 1908.
W. S, Teuffel, Geschichte der romischen Literatur, 6th
ed., Berlin, 1916, 1. 305-309 (revised by Wilhelm
et

Robert Philippson,

Kroll).

Georg Thiele,

Quaestio7ies de Cornifici
artibus rheioricis, Greifswald, 1889.

Georg Thiele,

rev.

of Marx,

ed.

et

Ciceronis

maior, Gottingische

gelehrte Anzeigen 1895 (2). 717-735.

Georg Thiele, Hermagoras, Strassburg, 1893.

Philippus Thielmann,
leguntur apud
libris,

De

sermonis proprietatibus quae

et in primis Ciceronis

Cornificium
Strassburg, 1879.

Heinrich Weber, tiber die Quellen der Rhetorica ad

Herennium des Corjiijicius, Zurich, 1886.
xlii

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Richard Wcidiier, Ciceros I'erhaltnis cur griechischen
und romischen Schulrheiorik seiner Zeit, Erlangen,
1925.
Julius Werner, Zur Frage nach

dem Verfasser der

Ilerenniusrheiorik, Bielitz, 1906.

References in the Notes to the following works,

and to a number of those in the Bibliography above,
appear in abbreviated form
:

Halm

Carolus Halm,
Leipzig, 1863.

Rhetores

Mommsen

Latini

Minores,

Theodor Mommsen, Romisches

Leipzig, 1899.
Otto
A. Otto, Die Sprichivorter
Leipzig, 1890.

Straf-

reckt,
:

P.-W.

Pauly - Wissowa

der

Kroll,

der Rijmer,

Real - Encyclopddie

Altertumsnissenschaft, Stuttgart.

classischen

1894

ff.

Otto Ribbeck, Scaenicae Romanorum Poesis

vol. 1
Tragicorum Fragmenta, 3rd
Leipzig, 1897
vol. 2
Comicorum Fragmenta,

Ribbeck

Frag7)ie/ita,

ed.,

3rd ed., Leipzig, 1898.

Sav.

Zeitschr.

mar, 1880

Savigny-Stifiung fur
Romanisiische Abieilung, Wei-

Zeitschrift,

Rechtsgeschichte

ff.

Schmalz-Hofmann J. H. Schmalz and J. B. Hofmann. Syntax und Siilistik, in Stolz-Schmalz, Lat.

Grammatik, 5th ed., Munich, 1928 (revised by
Manu Leumann and J. B. Hofmann).
:

Leonardus Spengel, Rhetores Graeci, vols. 2

Leipzig, 1854 and 1856.
Spengel-Hammer
L. Spengel and C. Hammer,
Spengel

and

3,

Rhetores Graeci, vol.

1,

Part

2,

Leipzig, 1894.
xliii

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vahlen lohannes Vahlen, Ennianae Poesis Reliquiae,
2nd ed., Leipzig, 1903.
Volkmann: Richard Volkmann, Die Rhetorik der
Griechen und Romer, 2nd ed., Leipzig, 1885.
Walz Christianus Walz, Rhetores Graeci, Stuttgart,
Tubingen, London, and Paris, 1832-6. 9 vols.
Warmington E. H. Warmington, Remains of Old
Latin, Cambridge, Mass., and London, 1935-8.
:

xliv

vols.,

Loeb

Classical Library.

ANALYSIS
Book

In a short Preface the author dedicates the

treatise to Herennius, disclaims the intention of
treating material irrelevant to the art of rhetoric, and
stresses the need to apply in practice the rules he will
set forth.
(2) The task of the public speaker is to
discuss capably those matters which law and custom
have fixed for the uses of citizenship, and to secure
as far as possible the agreement of his hearers.
The kinds of causes are three (a) Epideictic, (6) Deliberative, and (c) Judicial.
(3) The speaker should
be competent in (a) Invention, (6) Arrangement,
(c) Style, (d) Memory, and (e) Delivery, and the
means of acquiring these kinds of competence are
{a) Theory, (b) Imitation, and (c) Practice.
three
(4) In showing how to adapt the discourse to the
theory of the speaker's function, the author gives
primary consideration to Invention as used in each
of the parts of a discourse in a Judicial cause
(a)
Introduction, (6) Statement of Facts, (c) Division,
(d) Proof, (e) Refutation, and
(f) Conclusion. Each
part of the discourse is defined before receiving
(1)

special treatment in detail.

(5) To make an appropriate Introduction we must
consider whether the cause is (a) honourable, (6) discreditable, (c) of doubtful creditableness, or (cT) petty.
(6) The nature of the cause thus viewed from a
moral standpoint determines whether the Introduction shall take the form of (a) a Direct Opening, or

xlv

ANALYSIS
a Subtle Approach.
(7) Since the aim of the
Introduction is to make the hearer (a) attentive,
receptive, and (c) well-disposed, the means
(6)
whereby these states can be brought about is next
discussed, (8) extended consideration being given to
the four methods of making the hearer well-disposed
by discussing (a) our own person, (6) our adversaries,
(c) our hearers, and {d) the facts themselves. (9) The
Subtle Approach is reserved for three occasions
(a) when the cause is discreditable, (6) when the
hearer has been won over, or (c) wearied, by the
previous speakers of the opposition
and (9-10) the
topics to be used in each of these situations are subjoined.
(11) The Subtle Approach differs from the
Direct Opening in achieving its results less obviously.
Various kinds of Faulty Introductions are next listed.
(12-13) There are three kinds of Statement of
Facts
(a) narrative directed towards victory in
causes in which a decision is to be rendered (6) Incidental Narrative, introduced to gain credit, incriminate the opponent, or the like
(c) narrative used in
practice exercises, whether based on {a) the exposition of facts, which presents three forms
(a) legen(6)

dary narrative, (jS) historical, and (y) realistic, or based

on (b) persons, which emphasizes diverse traits of
character and reversal of fortune. (14) The Statein an actual cause should have three

ment of Facts
qualities

(14-16)
(17)

(a) brevity, (6) clarity,

and

(c)

plausibility;

how these may be achieved is next explained.

The Division sets forth what points we and

our opponents agree upon, and what points remain

contested, and then makes use of the Distribution,
subheads under which are (a) the Enumeration, and
(b) the Exposition, of the points we intend to discuss,
xlvi

ANALYSIS
(18-25) We next pass to Proof and Refutation, the
most important divisions of the discourse. In order
to develop these we must know the Types of Issue
presented by the cause. These types are three, and
can be charted as follows
1. Conjectural
(question of fact)
I

(For scheme, see Analysis

of

Book

Legal

2,

(question concerns interpretation of a text)

II)

(a)

Letter and Spirit

(b)

Conflicting Statutes

(c)

Ambiguity

(d) Definition

3.

(e)

Transference

(/)

Reasoning from Analogy

Juridical

wrong of act

(act admitted, but right or

is in

question)

Absolute

Assumptive

(defence contends that

act in and of itself

(defence draws on extraneous

considerations)

is

right)

(a)

Acknowledgement of Charge
1

Exculpation
(a) Ignorance
()3) Accident
(y)
(6)

Necessity

Shifting of the Responsibility to

Some

other

Person
(c)

Plea for Mercy

Some Circumstance
(Enactment)

Shifting of the Question of Guilt

{d)

Comparison with Alternative

Act
xlvii

ANALYSIS
(26)

Before explaining

how

causes representing

Types of Issue should be developed, our

author discusses the Justifying Motive of the defence,
and the Central Point of the accusation, from the
meeting of which in juridical and legal causes arises
these

the Point to Adjudicate; (27) in a conjectural cause

the Point to Adjudicate is established rather from
the meeting of the Accusation and the Denial.

Book

II

(1) Like Book I, this Book will be devoted to the

most difficult kind of cause, the Judicial, and to the
most important and difficult of the speaker's tasks,
Invention.
(2) Three subjects now demand attention under Proof and Refutation, (a) how to apply
the means of invention to each Type or Subtype of
Issue, and (6) what sort of epicheiremes to seek or
avoid
(c) under the divisions of the discourse, the
Conclusion. The most important and difficult of the
Types of Issue, the Conjectural, will be studied
first.
(3-12) After the contents appropriate to the
Statement of Facts of both prosecutor and defendant's counsel have been set forth, the scheme of the
:

Conjectural Issue is shown to include six divisions,

which can be charted as follows
1.

Probability

(of defendant's guilt)

!

(a)

Motive

(6)

Manner

of Life
xlviii

2.

Comparison

(no one else likely

to be guilty)

ANALYSIS
3. Signs
(pointing to guilt)

Presumptive Proof

4.

(a)
(6)
(c)

{d)
(c)
if)

Place
Point of Time
Duration of Time
Occasion
Hope of Success
Ho|)e of Escaping Detec-

(a)

Preceding the crime

(6)

Contemporaneous with

(c)

the crime
Following the crime

tion
5.

Subsequent Behaviour

6.

Confirmatory Proof

Special
topics

Common

topics

(a)

For and against

(6)

For and against

testimony
given under

(c)

For and against

presumptive

(d)

For and against

rumours

witnesses

torture

proof

Under the above

both

prosecutor

rubrics the topics to be used

and

defendant's

counsel

by
are

indicated.

(13-18) We now turn to the procedure to be

followed in the various types of Legal Issue, rules for
both sides being supplied to meet the situation in
which (a) the intention of the framer appears to be at
(b) two
variance with the letter of the text (13-14)
statutes conflict (15)
(c) a text is regarded as
ambiguous (16) (d) we must define a legal offence
in order to decide whether an admitted act comes
within the definition (17) (e) the procedural principle
;

xlii^

ANx\LYSlS
of Transference is involved (18) or it is argued, by
analogy with other laws, that (y) a matter not
provided for by any special law comes within the
spirit of other existing laws (18).
(19-20) The Juridical Issue: In developing an
Absolute Juridical cause, we must first know whether
the act was in accord with the Law, which derives
from six sources (a) The Law of Nature, (b) Statute
Law, (c) Legal Custom, (d) Previous Judgements,
(e) Equity, (f) Agreement; each is defined and
illustrated,
(21-22) The development of the Subtypes of an Assumptive Juridical cause is discussed
(a) Comparison with the
in the following order:
Alternative to show that the admitted act was less
evil
(c)
(6) Shifting of the Question of Guilt (22)
Acknowledgement of the Charge (23-25)
and
(d) Rejection of the Responsibility (26).
(27) Having shown what arguments to use in a
judicial cause, the author now studies the artistic
Development of an argument. The five parts of a
complete argument are (28-30) defined and illustrated: (a) the Proposition, (6) the Reason, (c) the
Proof of the Reason, (d) the Embellishment, (e) the
Resume, provision being made for situations in which
not all the five parts are to be used.
(31) He
next investigates defective arguments, illustrating
(32-46) faults for each of the parts, and treating
(46), under Embellishment, (a) similes, (/3) examples,
(y) amplifications, and (d) previous judgements.
(47) The Conclusion of a speech is tripartite, including (a) the Summing Up (6) the Amplification,
which draws commonplaces from ten formulae, and
(c) the Appeal to Pity.
;

ANALYSIS
Book

III

(1) will deal with Deliberative and Epideictic

causes, and, of the departments of rhetoric, with
Arrangement, Delivery, and Memory.
(2)

Deliberative speech concerns a choice

among

two or more courses of action the question may be

examined either on its own account or on account of
;

a motive extraneous to the question itself. (3) The

aim in a deliberative speech is Advantage, to be

studied in accordance with the following topics

ANALYSIS
(10) Epideictic,
deals with
1. External
Circumstances

(a)
(6)

Descent
Education

(e)

Wealth
Kinds of power
Titles to fame

(/)

Citizenship

(g)

Friendships

(c)

(d)

(11)

As

for the

including

and

praise

Physical
Attributes

Qualities of

3.

2.

censure,

Character

(a)

AgiHty

(a)

Wisdom

(b)

Strength

(6)

Justice

(c)

Beauty

(c)

Courage

{d)

Health

{d)

Temperance

Development of an

epideictic dis-

course, the Introduction is drawn from (a) our own

person, (6) the person we are discussing, (c) the person
of our hearers, or (d) the subject-matter itself.
(11-13) The topics for the Introduction are indicated,
as also for (13) the Statement of facts, the Division,

(13-15) the Proof and Refutation, and (15) the

Conclusion. Epideictic, though seldom employed by
itself independently in actual life, is yet worth our
careful attention.
(16) Having finished with Invention, we turn to
Arrangement, which is of two kinds (a) that arising
from the principles of rhetoric: (a) for the whole
and (6) that
speech, (j3) for individual arguments
accommodated to particular circumstances (17).
(18) An appropriate Arrangement in Proof and
Refutation would be to place: (a) the strongest
arguments at the beginning and the end of the
:

(6) arguments of medium force, and weak

arguments, in the middle.

pleading,

(19-20) Delivery, a faculty especially useful to the

speaker, presents the following scheme
;

In

ANALYSIS
Delivery

'
I

Physical

Voice Quality
(a)

(6) Stability
(c)

(21-22)

Flexibility (23-24)

Conversational

1.

Movement

Volume

2.

Tone

3. Tone of
Amplification

Tone of
Debate

(a) Dic^nified

(a)

Sustained

(a)

Hortatory

Explicative
(c) Narrative
(d) Facetious

(6)

Broken

(b)

Pathetic

(6)

(24-25) Rules for the use of the voice in situations

representing each of these eight subdivisions are
offered, and (26-27) rules for bodily movement
appropriate to each.
(28-29) The two kinds of Memory, natural and
The artiartificial, should supplement each other.
images.
ficial memory includes backgrounds and
(30-32) To memorize a large number of items, we
must have a large number of backgrounds, in a
regular series, in a deserted region, clearly distinguishable, of moderate size and brightness, and at
(33) Images should be
internals of about thirty feet.
of both subject-matter and words (33-34) the author
(35-37) To acquire images
illustrates both kinds.
;

enough to awaken recollection we must

establish striking likenesses; and then in order to

strong

revive the images, often and rapidly rehearse the

(38-39) The author objects
original backgrounds.
for a number of reasons to listing images that
correspond to a great many words, yet (39-40)
regards the memorization of words as helpful in
Hii

ANALYSIS
strengthening the ability to memorize subjectmatter, which is of practical use. (40) Essential in
developing the memory is constant exercise.

Book IV
In a Preface (I-IO) the author justifies the method
will follow of using his own examples in illustration
of the Principles of Style. The Greek writers whom
he opposes believe in drawing examples from the
orators and poets, on the following grounds
(a) It
would be immodest to create one's own examples.
(6) Since examples serve the purpose of testimony,
they should, like testimony, be drawn from writers
of highest esteem. The prestige of the ancients
excites the ambition to imitate their excellence,
(c) It is proof of technical skill to select appropriate
examples and to list these under the proper rubrics.
The author will refute these arguments as follows
why does
(a) The argument on modesty is childish
not modesty keep these writers from writing anything
at all? They are open rather to the charge of
impudence, for extracting from the labour of authors
(b) Examples do not conpraise for themselves,
firm or bear witness, but merely clarify the nature
of a statement. Further, testimony must accord
with the proposition, but the performance of these
rhetoricians does not accord with their proposal.
In writing a treatise they propose to teach to others
what they have invented, but really show us what
others have invented, (c) The choice from among
many examples is not difficult, even for those who
the facile chooser will not
lack the highest art
necessarily write with skill himself.

he

liv

ANALYSIS
Furthermore, these writers are not only at fault in
borrowing examples, but make an even greater
mistake in borrowing from a great number of sources.
If they must borrow examples at all, the selection
should be made from one author alone, for (a) they
might choose whom they would to supply examples
for all cases, one on whose authority they could rely
all qualities can exist in
(6) if a student believes that
one man, he will be encouraged to strive for a

masterv of them all.

Finally, the author will show that examples should
not be borrowed at all: (a) an example cited by a
writer on an art should be proof of his own skill in
that art; (6) an example of one's own creation,
draughted expressly to conform to the principle it is
intended to clarify, makes for better understanding

on the student's

part.

of Style will consider (a) the kinds to

faultless oratorical style will confine itself,
the qualities style should always have.

The study
which
and (6)

The kinds of Style are three: (a) Grand,

Middle, and (c) Simple. Each is described and
then illustrated by a passage. (15-16) Adjoining
each of these styles is a defective style (a) adjoining
the Grand is the Swollen; (/3) adjoining the Middle
the Simple is
is the Slack or Drifting; (y) adjoining
and then
described
is
each
Again
Meagre.
the
(11-1 4)

(6)

by a passage.
Qualities of appropriate

illustrated

(a)

Taste (17)

and finished Style

ANALYSIS
(6)

Composition

Artistic

Hiatus
Excessive
Excessive
Excessive
Excessive
(c)

(18),

avoiding

Alliteration

Transplacement

Homoeoptoton
Hyperbaton

Distinction (18), residing in

A. Figures of Diction

Epanaphora

(i)

(19)
2. Antistrophe (19)
1.

3.

Interlacement (20)

4.

Transplacement (20-21),

5.

including Antanaklasis
Antithesis (21)

6.

Apostrophe (22)

7.

Interrogation (22)

8.

Reasoning by Question
and Answer (23-24)

9.

Maxim

(c)

(d)

Lengthening letter
Shortening letter

(e)

Adding

contracting letter
(b) The reverse

(/)

Ig)
{h)

(24-25),

Simple, and with an

10.

reason
In double form, Mith
without
a
or
reason

Reasoning by Contraries

(25-26)
11. Colon or Clause (26)
12.

Comma

13!

Period (27)
(a)
(b)
(c)

or Phrase (26)

In a Maxim
In a Contrast
In a Conclusion

14. Isocolon (27-28)

15. Homoeoptoton (28)
16.
17.
Ivi

Homoeoteleuton (28)
Paronomasia (29-32)

or

letters

Omitting letters
Transposing letters
Changing letters

Resemblance

less

close

accompanymg
(6)

close

Thinning

(ii)

(a)

Resemblance

{a)

(iii)

Depending on Polyptoton

18.

19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.

Hypophora

(33-34),

in-

cluding reference to
speaker's own person
Climax (34-35)
Definition (35)
Transition (35)
Correction (36)
Paralipsis (37)
Disjunction (37)

Conjunction (38)
Adjunction (38)
Reduplication (38)

Synonymy

or Interpreta-

tion (38)
29. Reciprocal Change (39)
30. Surrender (39)

ANALYSIS
31. Indecision (40)
'A2.

41.

Elimination (40-41)

Asyndeton (41)
34. AponioptMis (41)
35. Conclusion (41)

Hyperbole

Tropes
36.

37.
38.

(6)

With comparison

42.

Svnecdoche

equiva-

Greater for lesser

(b)

(Lesser for greater]

(c)

Invention for
ventor
[Inventor for
vention]

in-

Instrument

for

(444.5)

Whole understood

sub-

(43),

(a)

{e)

From

lence
(^) From superiority

stituting

(d)

used

Indei)endently

(a)

Onomatopoeia (42)
Antonomasia (42)

Metonymy

(44),

(a)

.'{:{.

"^

{h)i
j

in-

from part
Part from whole
Plural from singular

Singular

frijr

plural

43. Catachresis (45)

44. Metaphor (45)

possessor
(/)

Cause for

1.

Transposition

Distribution (47)
Frankness of Speech (4850),
(a)

To avoid obscenity

(d)

For magnifying
For minifying
For embellishing

(/)

B. Figures of

2.

(c)

(e)

By Anastrophe

(b) B}'

For vividness
For brevity

45. Allegory (46), in

39. Periphrasis (43)

40. Hyperbaton (44)
(a)

(6)

(a)

effect

Effect for cause

(h) Container for content
(i) Content
for
container
{g)

handled with

Pungency,
gated by

mitipraise,

Comparison

(b)

Argument

(c)

Contrast

Thought
4.

Vivid Description (51)

5.

Division (52)

6.

Accumulation (52-53)
(a)

Aiming

(b)

Aiming at proof

or
(6)
3.

Pretence

Understatement

form of

(a)

at
impressiveness,
sharpness, or in-

crimination
(50)

Ivii

ANALYSIS
7.

Refining (54-58):
(i)

By

changes

pose
(d)

in

Delivery

Treatment

Form

11.

of

Dialogue

Form

of
Arousal

By

descanting on
theme, treatment
bemg in seven
parts

(a)

Simple

(6)

nouncement
Reason
Second
Expres-

(c)

(e)

8.

in

new

form
Contrary
Comparison

(/)

Example

ig)

Conclusion

Dwelling

on

the

Point

9.

Antithesis (58)
Comparison (59-61)
(a)

In

form of Contrast (purpose

embellishment)

(6)

In form of Negation (purpose

:

proof)

An

Beauty

(6)
(c)

Clarity
Verisimilitude

{d)

Vividness

(i)

(ii)

For praise
For censure, to excite
(a)

Hatred

{b)

Envy

(c)

Contempt

Portrayal (63)
14. Character Delineation
(63-65)
15. Dialogue (65), including
the Hypothetical
13.

16.

Personification (66)

17.

Emphasis

(67),

through

(6)

Hyperbole
Ambiguity

(c)

Logical

{d)

sequence
Aposiopesis

(e)

Analogy

Con-

18. Conciseness (68)

19. Ocular
Demonstration

(68-69).

epilogue (69) enjoins Herennius to exercise

and summarizes the contents of the

diligently,
treatise.
Iviii

(a)

(a)

(58)
10.

Exemplification (62), for

12. Simile (62)

Pro-

sion
(d)

De-

Parallel
(purpose: vividness)

(c)

(p)

of

tailed

(6)

(a)

(purclarity)

In form

Words

(a)

(ii)

Abridged

(c)

with

repetition,

AD HEREXNIUM
OX THE THEORY OF PUBLIC
SPEAKING
BO(_)K

TULLI CICERONIS]

[M.

AD

C.

HERENNIUM

DE RATIONS DICENDI
LIBER PRIMUS
I.

Etsi

negotiis

familiaribus

inpediti

vix

satis

otium studio suppeditare possumus, et id ipsum quod

datur otii libentius in philosophia consumere consuevimus, tamen tua nos, Gai Herenni, voluntas
commovit ut de ratione dicendi conscriberemus, ne
aut tua causa noluisse aut fugisse nos laborem
putares.
Et eo studiosius hoc negotium suscepimus,
quod te non sine causa velle cognoscere rhetoricam
intellegebamus non enim in se parum fructus habet
copia dicendi et commoditas orationis, si recta intellegentia et definita animi moderatione gubernetur.
Quas ob res ilia quae Graeci scriptores inanis
adrogantiae causa sibi adsumpserunt reliquimus.
Nam illi, ne parum multa scisse viderentur, ea conquisierunt quae nihil adtinebant, ut ars difficilior
cognitu putaretur nos autem ea quae videbantur ad
;

" The beginning of Book 4 further sets forth the author's

attitude to the Greek writers on rhetoric (who these are
For his
specifically is uncertain); c/. also 3. xxiii. 38.
attitude to philosophical studies see the end of Book 4.

[MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO]

TO GAIUS HERENNIUS
ON THE THEORY OF PUBLIC
SPEAKING
BOOK

I. Mv private affairs keep me so busy that I can

hardly find enough leisure to devote to study, and
the little that is vouchsafed to me I have usually
preferred to spend on philosophy. Yet your desire,
Gains Hercnnius, has spurred me to compose a work
on the Theory of Public Speaking, lest you should
suppose that in a matter which concerns you I either
lacked the will or shirked the labour.
And I have
undertaken this project the more gladly because I
knew that you had good grounds in wishing to learn
rhetoric, for it is true that copiousness and facility in
expression bear abundant fruit, if controlled by
proper knowledge and a strict discipline of the mind.
That is why I have omitted to treat those topics
which, for the sake of futile self-assertion, Greek
writers have adopted.
For they, from fear of
appearing to know too little, have gone in quest of
notions irrelevant to the art, in order that the art
might seem more difficult to understand. I, on the
other hand, have treated those topics which seemed

[CICERO]
rationem dicendi pertinere sumpsimus. Non enim
spe quaestus aut gloria commoti venimus ad scribendiim quemadmodum ceteri, sed ut indiistria nostra
Nunc, ne nimium
tuae morem geramus voluntati.
longa sumatur oratio, de re dicere incipiemiis, si te
unum illud monuerimus, artem sine adsiduitate
dicendi non multum iuvare, ut intellegas banc
rationem praeceptionis ad exercitationern adcomniodari oportere.
II. Oratoris officium est de iis rebus posse dicere
quae res ad usum civilem moribus et legibus constitutae sunt, cum adsensione auditorum quoad eius

Tria genera sunt causarum quae

debet orator: demonstrativum, delibera-

poterit.

fieri

recipere

Demonstrativum est quod tritivum, iudiciale.

buitur in alicuius certae personae laudem vel vituperationem. Deliberativum est in consultationc,
quod habet in se suasionem et dissuasionem.
Iudiciale est

quod

habet

quod positum
accusationem

est in controversia, et

aut

petitionem

cum

defensione.

Nunc quas res oratorem habere oporteat docebimus, deinde quo modo has causas tractari conveniat
ostendemus.

"

Apparently text-books on public speaking sold well; see

Theodor Birt/Ehein. Mus. 72 (1917/18). 311-16.

* The
definition is that of Hermagoras, to

whom

the

of the perfect orator is to redev ttoXltlkov

See Sextus
,rJTrifia SiaTideaOai, Kara to evSexo^cvov ttciutikw?.
Empiricus, Adv. Rhet. 62, ed. Fabricius, 2. 150.
Cf. Cicero,

function (epyov)

De

Inv.

1.

V. 6.

The scheme is
iinSeiKTiKov, ovfi^ouAevriKov, SinaviKov.
The
Aristotelian iRhel. 1. 3 1358b) but in essence older.
^

AD HKRENNIUM,

I.

i.

ii.

I have
pertinent to the theory of pubHc speaking.
not been moved by hope of gain or desire for glorj',
as the rest have been, in undertaking to write, but
have done so in order that, by my painstaking work,
To avoid proHxity, I shall
I may gratify your wish.
now begin my discussion of the subject, as soon as I
have given you this one injunction: Theory without continuous practice in speaking is of little avail
from this you may understand that the precepts of

theorv here offered ought to be applied in practice.

II. The task of the public speaker is to discuss
capably those matters which law and custom have
fixed for the uses of citizenship, and to secure as far
There
as possible the agreement of his hearers.^
are three kinds ^ of causes which the speaker must
treat

The
Epideictic, Deliberative, and Judicial.*^
is devoted to the praise or censure of
The deliberative consists
particular person.

epideictic kind

some

in the discussion of policy and embraces persuasion

and dissuasion.^ The judicial is based on legal con-

troversy, and comprises criminal prosecution or

and defence./

civil

suit,

Now I shall explain what faculties the speaker

should possess, and then show the proper means of
treating these causes.?'
author's emphasis in the first two books, on the judicial kind,
The
characteristically Hellenistic {e.g., Hermagorean).
is
better tradition indicates that originally rhetoric was concerned with tlie judicial kind, and was later extended to the
other two fields. For a studv of the three genera see D. A. G.
Cf. Cicero, De Jnv.
Hinks, Class. Quarterly 30 (1936). 170-6
1.

V. 7.
-nporpoTrq

and dTTorpom].
KOT-qyopia, 8ik7), aTToXoyia.

"

2.

ii.

2 below.

[CICERO]
Oportet igitur esse in oratore inventionem, diselocutionem, memoriam, pronuntiapositionem,
tionem. Inventio est excogitatio rerum verarum
aut veri similium quae causam probabilem reddant.
Dispositio est ordo et distributio rerum, quae
demonstrat quid quibus locis sit conlocandum.
Elocutio est idoneorum verborum et sententiarum
ad inventionem adcommodatio. Memoria est firma
animi rerum et verborum et dispositionis perceptio.
Pronuntiatio est vocis, vultus, gestus moderatio cum
venustate.
Haec omnia tribus rebus adsequi poterimus arte,
Ars est praeceptio, quae
imitatione, exercitatione.
:

"

evpcais, rd^is or

fxvT^fiT],

vTTOKpLoi's.

ocKovofiLa, Xe^is or ipixrjvela

The

or

<f>pdaLS,

pFc- Aristoteliaii rhetoric, represented

the Rhet. ad Alexandrum, treated the first three

(without classifying them); Aristotle would add Delivery
lR]ieL 3. 1, 1403 b), and his pupil Theophrastus did so (see
note on 3. xi. 19 below). When precisely in the Hellenistic
period Memory was added as a fifth division by the Rhodian
These faculties
or the Pergamene school, we do not know.
{res; see also 1. ii. 3) are referred to in 2. i. 1 below (c/.
epya rov p-qTopo?).
1. iii. 4) as the speaker's /?ic/z'ow5 {officia
Quintilian, 3. 3. 11 ff., considers them as departments or constituent elements of the art {'partes rhetorices) rather than as
so also here at 3. i. 1, 3. viii. 15, 3. xvi. 28,
opera {= officia)
and Cicero, De Int. 1. vii. 9. epyov is an Aristotelian concept
(o/. the definition of rhetoric in Khet. 1. 1-2, 1355b), and AristoOur author
tle was the first to classify the (major) functions.
here gives the usual order of the divisions; so also Cicero, De
Diogenes Laertius, 7. 43, presents the
Oratore 1. 31. 142.
Invention, Style {(f)paai^). Arrangement, and
Stoic scheme
A goodly number of rhetorical systems were
Delivery.
actually based on these epya {e.g., in most part Cicero's and
others were based on the divisions of the disQuintilian's)
course {pLopia Xoyov). See K. Barwick, Hermes 57 (1922). 1 E.
Friedrich Solmsen, Ainer. Journ. Philol. 62 (1941). 35-50,
169-90. Our author conflates the two schemes he has in-

by

AD UKRENNIUM,

I.

ii.

The speaker, then, should possess tlie faculties of

Invention, Arranfrement, Style, Memory, and DeInvention is the devising of matter, true
livery."
or plausible, that would make the case convincing.^
Arrangement is the ordering and distribution of the
matter, making clear the place to which each thing
Style is the adaptation of suitable
is to be assigned.

Memory

words and sentences to the matter devised.

the firm retention in the mind of the matter, words,

and arrangement. Delivery is the graceful regulation of voice, countenance, and gesture.
All these faculties we can acquire by three means
Theory, Imitation, and Practice.^ By theory is meant

is

herited;

see especially

1.

ii.

3-iii.

4,

2.

i.

1-ii.

2,

and the

Introduction to the present volume, p. xviii.

The concept goes back at least as far as Plato {e.g.,
Phat'.hus 236 A); see Aristotle, Rhel. 1. 2 (1355b), on finding
^

artistic proofs.

(also TratSei'a, iTnarrjfjLTj, fxddrjais, ftcientia, doctrina),

yvyivaaia (also aoK-qais, /xeAcTT/, i^veipia, avvrideia, deThe usual triad, Nature (4>vaLs, natura, ingenium,
clamaiio).
facultas). Theory, and Practice, can be traced back to

Tc'xvTj

fiLH-qai.?,

Protagoras. Plato [Phaedras 269 D), and Isocrates (e.g., Antid.

187; Adv. Soph. 14-18, where Imitation is also included). Cf.
also Aristotle in Diogenes Laertius 5. 18; Cicero, />e Inv. 1.
De Oratore \.A. 14; Dionysius Halic. in S\Tianus.
2.
i.
Tacitus, Dialog, de
Scholia IJermog., ed. Rabe, 1. 4-5;
Orator., ch. 33; Plutarch, De Uheris educ. 4 (2 A); and see
Paul Shorey, Trans. Am. Philol. Assn. 40 (1909). 185-201.
Imitation is' presumed to have been emphasized in the Pergamene school of rhetors under Stoic influence. Quintihan,
as a fourth
3. 5. 1, tells us that it was classed by some writers
On Imitation
element, which he yet subordinates to Theory.
Dionysius
Oratore 2. 21. 89 ff.
cf. Antonius in Cicero, De
Halic, De Imitat. {Opuscula 2. 197-217, ed. Usener-RaderEduard Stemplinger, Das
macher); Quintihan, 10. 1. 20 ff.
Plagiat in der Griech. Lit., Leipzig and BerUn, 1912, pp. 81 ff.
Kroll, "Rhetorik", coll. 1113 ff. Paulus Otto, Quaestiones
selectae ad libellum qui est nepl vtpov? spectantes, diss. Kiel, 1906,
;

[CICERO]
dat certain viam rationemque dicendi. Imitatio est
qua impellimur, cum diligent! ratione, ut aliquorum
Exercitatio est
similes in dicendo valeamus esse.
adsiduus usus consuetudoque dicendi.
Quoniam ergo demonstratum est quas causas oratorem recipere quasque res habere conveniat, nunc
quemadmodum possit oratio ad rationem oratoris
officii

adcommodari dicendum

videtur.

Inventio in sex partes orationis consumitur:

exordium, narrationem, divisionem, confirmain
tionem, confutationem, conclusionem. Exordium est
principium orationis, per quod animus auditoris conNarratio est rerum gesstituitur ad audiendum.
tarum aut proinde ut gestarum expositio. Divisio
est per quam aperimus quid conveniat, quid in controversia sit, et per quam exponimus quibus de rebus
simus acturi. Confirmatio est nostrorum argumentorum expositio cum adseveratione. Confutatio
III.

G. C. Fiske, Lucilius and Horace, Madison, 1920,

D' Alton, Roman Literary Theory and Criticism,
Richard
London, New York, and Toronto, 1931, pp. 426 ff
"
Literary Criticism and the Concept of Imitation
McKeon,
esp.
in Antiquity," Mod. Philol. 34, 1 (1936). 1-35, and
pp.
Tlieory and Practice in
D. L. Clark, " Imitation
26 ff.
Roman Rhetoric," Quart. Journ. Speech 37, 1 (1951). 11-22.
''
Exercise " refers to the proqymnasmata, of which our
treatise and Cicero's De Inv. show the first traces in Latin
rhetoric, and to the " suasoriae " {deliberationes) and '" controSee also 4.
versiae " {causae) in which the treatise abounds.
The divorce between praeexercitamenta
xliv. 58 (Refining).
and exercitationes belongs to the Augustan period.
" The author's treatment of the parts of a discourse differs
from that of Aristotle, who, in Rhet. 3. 13 (1414 a) ff., disProem, Statement of Facts, Proof, and Concusses them
clusion with all three kinds of oratory in view, not only the
Note that Invention is applied
judicial, under Arrangement.
pp. 6-19;
ch.

J. F.

AD

HKKI'.NXIUM.

I.

ii.

,s

ni.

a set of rules that provide a definite method and

system of speaking. Imitation stimulates us to attain,
in accordance \\ ith a studied method, the effectiveness
Practice is assiduous
of certain models in speaking.
exercise and experience in speaking.
Since, then, I have shown what causes the speaker
should treat and what kinds of competence he should
possess, it seems that I now need to indicate how the
speech can be adapted to the theory of the speaker's
function.
4

Invention is used for the six parts of a disStatement of Facts,

the Introduction,
The
Division, Proof, Refutation, and Conclusion.**
Introduction is the beginning of the discourse, and
by it the hearer's mind is prepared ^ for attention.
The Narration or Statement of Facts sets forth the
events that have occurred or might have occurred.*^
By means of the Division we make clear what matters
are agreed upon and what are contested, and announce what points we intend to take up. Proof is
the presentation of our arguments, together with
Refutation is the destruction
their corroboration.'^
III.

course

concretely to the parts of the discourse; in 1. xi. IS fif. l>elow

Cf. Cicero,
the Issues are subjoined to Proof and Refutation.
The Stoic scheme included Proem,
De Inc. 1. xiv. 19.
Statement of Facts, Replies to Opponents, and Conclusion
(Diogenes Laertius 7. 43 j.
The concept is Tsocratean. Cf. Rhet.
TTapaoKevd^eraL.
ad .4?ej-., ch. 29 (1436a); Dionysius Halic, De Lij.t. 17; Anon.
Seg. .5 and 9 (Spengel-Hammer 1 [2]. 353-4; Rufus 4 (Spengel>

Hammer

Anon., in Rabe, Proleg. Sylloge,

p. 62.
Greek
definition is translated directly from a
Rabe,
(ed.
Progymn.
2
p. 4),
original;
see Hermogenes,
Syrianus, Scholia Hermog. (ed. Rabe 2. 170), Theon 4 (Spengel
2. 78).
Cf. Cicero, De Jnv. 1. xix. 27.
" Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxiv. 34.
<=

1 [2].

399)

This

[CICERO]
est contrariorum

locorum

dissolutio.

Conclusio est

artificiosus orationis terminus.

Nunc quoniam una cum

oratoris

officiis,

quo

res

cognitu facilior esset, product! sumus ut de orationis

partibus loqueremur et eas ad inventionis rationem
adcommodaremus, de exordio primum dicendum
videtur.
5

Causa posita, quo commodius exordiri possimus

genus causae est considerandum. Genera causarum
sunt quattuor: honestum, turpe, dubium, humile.
Honestum causae genus putatur cum aut id defendimus quod ab omnibus defendendum videtur, aut
oppugnabimus quod ab omnibus videtur oppugnari

debere, ut pro viro forti, contra parricidam. Turpe

genus intellegitur cum aut honesta res oppugnatur
aut defenditur turpis. Dubium genus est cum habet
in se causa et honestatis et turpitudinis partem.
Humile genus est cum contempta res adfertur.
6
IV. Cum haec ita sint, conveniet exordiorum
rationem ad causae genus adcommodari. Exordiorum duo sunt genera: principium, quod Graece

" CJ. Cicero,

De

Inv.

1. xlii.

78 (reprehensio).

TTpoXoyos, probably.
' IvSo^ov, Trapdboiov, aix^iho^ov, dho^ov, the o-)(riy^a.Ta imodeaeoiv, later sometimes called figurae materiarum or conlroversiarum. The classification is on a moral basis. These genera
^

causarum are not

to be confused with the three genera causaMost rhetoricians [e.g., Cicero.

2 above.
treated also a fifth kind, ohscurum [hva7tapaKo\ovdr]Tov), and some included six kinds (see Quintilian,
The division into four axvf^ara is Hermagorean
4. 1. 40).
(c/. Augustine, De Rhet. 1. 17 &., in Halm, pp. 147 ft".), and

rum treated in 1. ii.

De Inv. 1. XV. 20)

lO

AD

1II:RENNIUM,

I.

in. 4-iv. 6

of our adversaries' argtmients." Tlie Conclusion is

the end of the discourse, formed in accordance with
the principles of the art.
Alono: with the speaker's functions, in order to
make the subject easier to understand, I have been
led also to discuss the parts of a discourse, and to
adapt these to the theory of Invention. It seems,
then, that I must at this juncture first discuss the
Introduction.*

Given the cause,

in

order to be able to

make

more appropriate Introduction, we must consider

what kind of cause it is. The kinds of causes are
four: honourable, discreditable, doubtful, and petty
.<^

regarded as of the honourable kind when

we either defend what seems to deserve defence by
all men, or attack what all men seem in duty bound
for example, when we defend a hero, or
to attack
prosecute a parricide. A cause is understood to be
of the discreditable kind when something honourable
is under attack or when something discreditable is
being defended. A cause is of the doubtful kind
when it is partly honourable and partly discreditable.
A cause is of the petty kind when the matter brought
up is considered unimportant.
IV. In view of these considerations, it will be in
point to apply tlie theory of Introductions to the
kind of cause. 7 here are two kinds of Introduction
the Direct Opening, in Greek called the Prooitnion,^
cause

is

here our author conflates Hermasrorean doctrine with the

pre- Aristotelian doctrine of the Proem
see Georg Thiele,
Hermagoras, Strassburg, 1893, pp. 113-121.
TTpooiixiov, ""Prelude"; see Aristotle, ^Ae^ 3. 14 (1414b),
Quintilian, 4. 1. 2 ff.. Anon. Seg. 4, in Spengel-Hammer
1 (2). 352-3.
Cf. Cicero. De Inv. 1. xv. 20.
;

'^

[CICERO]
appellatur, et insinuatio, quae ephodos ^
Principium est cum statim auditoris
animum nobis idoneum reddimus ad audiendum.
Id ita sumitur ut adtentos, ut dociles, ut benivolos
auditores habere possimus. Si genus causae dubium
habebimus, a benivolentia principium constituemus,
ne quid ilia turpitudinis pars nobis obesse possit.
Sin humile genus erit causae, faciemus adtentos.
Sin turpe causae genus erit, insinuatione utendum
est, de qua posterius dicemus, nisi quid nacti erimus
qua re adversaries criminando benivolentiam captare
possimus. Sin honestum genus causae erit, licebit
recte vel uti vel non uti principio.
Si uti volemus,
aut id oportebit ostendere qua re causa sit honesta,
aut breviter quibus de rebus simus dicturi exponere.
Sin principio uti nolemus, ab lege, ab scriptura, aut
ab aliquo nostrae causae adiumento principium capere
oportebit.

prooemium

nominatur.

Quoniam igitur docilem, benivolum, adtentum

auditorem habere volumus, quo modo quidque effici
Dociles auditores habere poteripossit aperiemus.
mus, si summam causae breviter exponemus et si
*

prohemium MSS. Mx.

epodos

MSS. Mx.

" ^^oBos.
The term is used in Oxyr. Pap. 3. 27, in a rhetorical treatise of perhaps the beginning of the fourth century B.C.

In Isaeus

3,

Dionvsius Halic. comments on Isaeus' use of

Cf. also Anon., in Rabe, Proleg. Syll., p. 206, and

Anon., Proleg. Invent., in Walz 7 (1). 54.
' The hearer is to be rendered TrpoaeKriKos, cvfiadi^s, evvovs.
The doctrine is pre- AristoCf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xvi. 22-3.
telian ; see, e.g., Rhet. ad Alex., ch. 29 (1436a), and Epist.
Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 14 (1415a),
Socrat. 30. 4 on Isocrates.
(f)o8oi.

Cicero, Part. Oral.

includes Receptiveness under Attention.
ut amice, ut
8. 28, gives three aims for the Direct Opening
:

12

AD HERENNIUM,

I.

6-7

iv.

and the Subtle Approach, called the Ephodos.'* The

Direct Opening straightway prepares the hearer to
attend

to

our speech.

Its

purpose

is

to

enable

are attentive, receptive, and

If our cause is of the doubtful kind,
well-disposed.''
we shall build the Direct Opening upon goodwill, so
that the discreditable part of the cause cannot be
If our cause is of the petty kind,
prejudicial to us.

us to have hearers

who

If our cause
shall make our hearers attentive.
of the discreditable kind, unless we have hit upon
a means of capturing goodwill by attacking our
adversaries, we must use the Subtle Approach,

we

is

which

shall

discuss

later.^

And

finally,

if

our

of the honourable kind, it will be correct

either to use the Direct Opening or not to use it.<*
If we wish to use it, we must show why the cause is
honourable, or else briefly announce what matters
we are going to discuss. But if we do not wish to use
the Direct Opening, we must begin our speech
\nth a law, a written document, or some argument

cause

is

supporting our cause.

Since, then, we wish to have our hearer receptive,
well-disposed, and attentive, I shall disclose how each
We can have receptive
state can be brought about.
hearers if we briefly summarise the cause and make
intdlegenter, ut attente audiamur.
Attention in present-day rhetoric,

importance of
A. Winans, Public

For the
J.

cf.

Speaking, New York, 1917, p. 194: "Persuasion is the

process of inducing others to give fair, favourable, or undivided
attention to propositions."
'

1. vi.

9ff.

" If there is no pread Ahx., ch. 29 (1437b)

judice against ourselves or our speech or our subject, we shall
set forth our Proposition immediately at the beginning,
appealing for attention and a benevolent hearing afterwards."
<*

Cf. Ehet.

13

[CICERO]
adtentos eos faciemiis

nam

docilis est qui

adtente

Adtentos habebimus, si pollicebimur

nos de rebus magnis, novis, inusitatis verba facturos,
aut de iis quae ad rem publicam pertineant, aut ad
eos ipsos qui audient, aut ad deorum immortalium
et
religionem
et si rogabimus ut adtente audiant
si numero exponemus res quibus de rebus dicturi
sumus. Benivolos auditores facere quattuor modis
possumus
ab nostra, ab adversariorum nostrorum,
ab auditorum persona, et ab rebus ipsis.
V. Ab nostra persona benivolentiam contrahemus
si
nostrum officium sine adrogantia laudabimus,
atque in rem publicam quales fuerimus, aut in
parentes, aut in amicos, aut in eos qui audiunt
.^ aliquid
referemus, dum haec
aperiemus et si
omnia ad earn ipsam rem qua de agitur sint adcommodata
item si nostra incommoda proferemus,
inopiam, solitudinem, calaniitatem, et si orabimus
ut nobis sint auxilio, et simul ostendemus nos in aliis
audire.

vult

noluisse

spem habere.

Ab

adversariorum persona benivolentia captabitur si eos in odium, in invidiam, in contemptionem

adducemus. In odium rapiemus si quid eorum
spurce, superbe, perfidiose, crudeliter, confidenter,
*

Mx

to fill the

stiggests

aperiemus et

si

and ffteen additional words

lacuna.

" So
Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 14 (1415a), and Anon. Seg. 7
(Spengel-Hanimer 1 [2]. 353-4) eV tov avrov or tov Xiyovro^,
K TOV ivavTiov or avriSiKov, e/c twv aKpoarwv or Si/ca^dvTwv, e/c
Twv npayf.idroyv. Cf. also Cicero, De Inv. 1. xvi. 22. Here
as throughout the first two books the author is dealing with
:

judicial oratory.
TTados, here assigned to the Introduction, also has a place
Thus the
the Conclusion; see 2. xxx. 48-xxxi. 50 below.

"

in

AD HKRENNIUM,

7-v. 8

for the receptive hearer

willing to listen attentively.

tive

iv.

is one who
have attenhearers by promising to discuss important, new,

them attentive
is

I.

We

shall

and unusual matters, or such as appertain to the

commonwealth, or to the hearers themselves, or to
the worship of the immortal gods
by bidding them
listen attentively
and by enumerating the points
we are going to discuss. We can by four methods
make our hearers well-disposed by discussing our
;

person of our adversaries, that of

our hearers, and the facts themselves."
V. From the discussion of our own person we shall
secure good>\'ill by praising our services without
arrogance and revealing also our past conduct toward
the republic, or toward our parents, friends, or the
audience, and by making some reference to
provided that all such references are pertinent to the
matter in question
likewise by setting forth our
disabilities, need, loneliness, and misfortune,^ and
pleading for our hearers' aid, and at the same time
showing that we have been unwilling to place our
o>\'n

pei*son, the

hope

in

anyone

else.

From the discussion of the person of our adversaries we shall secure goodwill by bringing them into
hatred, unpopularity, or contempt.*^

We

shall force

hatred upon them by adducing some base, highhanded, treacherous, cruel, impudent, malicious, or
author accords with the early Greek rhetoric based on the
divisions of the discourse.
Nowhere does he make a profound
analytical study of the emotions such as we find in Aristotle,
Bhet., Bk, II. In Anon. Seg. 6 (Spengel-Hammer 1 [2]. 353 are
list-ed five emotions of the hearer which play a part in the
j

function of the Proem

pity, anger, fear, hate, and desire.
' e^dpa or ^laos, (f>d6to;, opyT].
:

15

[CICERO]
malitiose, flagitiose factum proferemus.

In invidiam
vim, si potentiam, si factionem, divitias,
incontinentiam, nobilitatem, clientelas, hospitium,
sodalitatem, adfinitates adversariorum proferemus,
et his adiumentis magis quam veritati eos confidere
aperiemus. In contemptionem adducemus si inertiam, ignaviam, desidiam, luxuriam adversariorum
proferemus.
Ab auditorum persona benivolentia colligitur si
res eorum fortiter, sapienter, mansuete, magnifice

trahemus

si

iudicatas proferemus

quae

iudieii

expectatio

et

si

quae de

iis

existimatio,

aperiemus.

sit

Ab rebus ipsis benivolum efficiemus auditorem si

nostram causam laudando extollemus, adversariorum
per contemptionem deprimemus.
VI. Deinceps de insinuatione aperiendum est.
Tria sunt tempora quibus principio uti non possumus,
quae diligenter sunt consideranda aut cum turpem
causam habemus, hoc est, cum ipsa res animum
auditoris a nobis alienat
aut cum animus auditoris
persuasus esse videtur ab iis qui ante contra dixerunt
aut cum defessus est eos audiendo qui ante dixerunt.
Si causa turpitudinem habebit, exordiri poterimus
his rationibus
hominem, non rem,^ spectari oportere
non placere nobis ipsis quae facta dicantur ab adver:

hominem non rem Thieh rem non hominem hominem

E rem hominem PCMx rem non hominem HP^ II.

non rem

In Cicero, De Inv. 1. xvii. 23, the Subtle Approach is

used in the admirabile genus causae. The three
causae of Cicero correspond to the " occasions " classified by
our author. Anon. Seg. 21 F. (Spengel-Hammer 1 [2]. 357 &.)
gives four occasions on which the Prooemion should be dispensed with, and discusses the view that it must always be
"

epecifically

used.

i6

AD HERENNIUM,

I.

v.

8-vi. 9

act of theirs.
We shall make our adunpopular by scttin*^ forth their violent
behaviour, their dominance, factiousness, wealth, lack

shameful
versaries

of self-restraint, hi<^h birth, clients, hospitality, club

allegiance,

alliances, and by making

more upon these supports than

or marriage

clear that they rely

upon the truth. We shall bring our adversaries into

contempt by presenting their idleness, cowardice,
sloth, and luxurious habits.

From the

discussion of the person of our hearers

secured if we set forth the courage,
wisdom, humanity, and nobility of past judgements

goodwill

is

they have rendered, and if we reveal what esteem

they enjoy and with what interest their decision is
awaited.

From the discussion of the facts themselves we shall

render the hearer well-disposed by extolling our own
cause with praise and by contemptuously disparaging that of our adversaries.
\'I. Now I must explain the Subtle Approach.
There are three occasions t)n which we cannot use
the Direct Opening, and these we must consider
carefully
(1) when our cause is discreditable, that is,
when the subject itself alienates the hearer from
us; (2) when the hearer has apparently been won
over by the previous speakers of the opposition (3)
or when the hearer has become wearied by listening
to the previous speakers.
If the cause has a discreditable character,'' we can
make our Introduction with the following points
that the agent, not the action, ought to be considered
that we ourselves are displeased with the acts which
our opponents say have been committed, and that
"^

CJ. Cicero,

De

Inv.

1.

xvii. 24.

17

[CICERO]
sariis,

et esse indigna aut nefaria.

Deinde cum diu

rem auxerimus, nihil simile a nobis factum ostendemus aut aliquorum iudicium de simili causa aut
de eadem aut de minore aut de maiore proferemus,
;

10

deinde ad nostram causam pedetemptim accedemus

Item si negabimus
et similitudinem conferemus.
nos de adversariis aut de aliqua re dicturos, et tamen
occulte dicemus interiectione verborum.
Si persuasus auditor, si ^ oratio adversariorum
neque enim non facile
fecerit fidem auditoribus
scire poterimus, quoniam non sumus nescii quibus
rebus fides fieri soleat ergo si fidem factam putabimus, his nos rebus insinuabimus ad causam de eo
quod adversarii firmissimum sibi adiumentum
ab
putarint primum nos dicturos pollicebimur
adversarii dicto exordiemur, et ab eo maxime quod
nuperrime dixerit; dubitatione utemur quid
ille
potissimum dicamus aut cui loco primum respon-

deamus, cum admiratione.

erunt audiendo, ab aliqua re quae risum
ab apologo, fabula veri simili, imitatione depravata, inversione, ambiguo, suspicione,
inrisione, stultitia, exsuperatione, collectione, litSi defessi

movere

possit,

si

fuerit id est

si

PJMx.

De Inv. 1. xvii. 25.

xxix, 40 below.
<*
Note that humour enters the rhetorical system under the
Introduction.
Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 14 (1415a), also discusses
the place of laughter in the Proem. This classification of
eighteen means of provoking laughter must have })een a recent
accession to rhetorical theory ; cf. the summary in Cicero, De
Oratore 2. 61. 248 fip.
On wit and humour in ancient rhetoric,
see E. Arndt, De ridicvli doctrina rhetorica, Bonn, 1904;
i8

Cf. Cicero,

See

4.

AD hkrp:nnium,

i.

vi.

9-10

Next, when we
these are iirnvorthy, yes, heinous.
have for a time enlarged upon this idea, we shall
show that nothing of the kind has been committed by
Or we shall set forth the judgement rendered
us.
by others in an analogous eause, whether that cause
be of equal, or less, or greater importance then we
shall gradually approach our own cause and establish
;

the analogy. The same result is achieved if we deny

an intention to discuss our opponents or some extraneous matter and yet, by subtly inserting the words,*

do
10

so.

the hearers have been convinced,'' if our

opponent's speech has gained their credence and
this will not be hard for us to know, since we are
well aw are of the means by which belief is ordinarily
effected if, then, we think belief has been effected,
we shall make our Subtle Approach to the cause by
the following means the point which our adversaries
have regarded as their strongest support we shall
promise to discuss first we shall begin with a statement made by the opponent, and particularly with
that which he has made last; and we shall use
Indecision,^ along with an exclamation of astonishment: " What had I best say? " or "To what point
If

"

reply
If the hearers have been fatigued by listening,
we shall open with something that may provoke
laughter^ a fable, a plausible fiction, a caricature,
an ironical inversion of the meaning of a word, an
ambiguity, innuendo, banter, a naivety, an exaggera-

shall

I first

.'

Rhetorical Theories of the Laugh

and Wilhelm KroU in P.-W., art.
Cf. also Wilhelm Siiss, ^'eue Jahrb.

Marv A. Grant, The Ancient

able]

Madison,

1924;

" Rhetorik," coll. 1076-7.

23 (1920). 28-45.

19

[CICERO]
terarum mutatione, praeter expectationem, similitudine, novitate, historia, versu, ab alicuius interpellatione aut adrisione
si promiserimus aliter ac
;

parati fuerhnus nos esse dicturos ; nos non eodem

modo ut ceteri soleant verba facturos quid alii
soleant, quid nos facturi simus ^ breviter exponemus.
;

VII. Inter insinuationem et principium hoc inPrincipium eiusmodi debet esse ut statim
apertis rationibus quibus praescripsimus aut benivolum aut adtentum aut docilem faciamus auditorem
at insinuatio eiusmodi debet esse ut occulte, per dissimulationem, eadem ilia omnia conficiamus, ut ad
eandem commoditatem in dicendi opera venire
possimus. Verum hae tres ^ utilitates tametsi in
tota oratione sunt conparandae, hoc est, ut auditores
sese perpetuo nobis adtentos, dociles, benivolos
praebeant, tamen id per exordium causae maxime
terest.

conparandum est.
Nunc, ne quando

vitioso exordio utamur, quae vitia

vitanda sint docebo. Exordienda causa servandum
est ut lenis sit sermo et usitata verborum consuetudo,
ut non apparata videatur oratio esse. Vitiosum
exordium est quod in plures causas potest adcommodari, quod vulgare dicitur.
Item vitiosum est quo
nihilo minus adversarius potest uti, quod commune
'

simus E: sumus MdMx.

hae tres P^B^CHE Mx ed.mai.: haec res

M:

haec tres

Mx.

"

Of the adversary's arguments, perhaps.

irapa TrpoaSoKiav.

Anon., Froleg.
Xadpaiois 8i' irepwv Xoycov.
7(1). 54. 14-16, gives the same precept.

Waiz
20

Invent.,

in

AD HKRRNNIUM,

I.

vi.

lo

vii.

ii

tion, a recapitulation," a pun, an unexpected turn,**

a comparison, a novel tale, a historical anecdote,
a verse, or a challenge or a smile of approbation
Or we shall promise to
directed at some one.
speak otherwise than as we have prepared, and not
to talk as others usually do; we shall briefly explain
what the other speakers do and what we intend

to do.

VII. Between the Subtle Approach and the Direct

Opening there is the following difference. The
Direct Opening should be such that by the straightforward methods I have prescribed we immediately

make

the hearer well-disposed or attentive or receptive whereas the Subtle Approach should be such
that we effect all these results covertly, through
dissimulation,*^ and so can arrive at the same vantagepoint in the task of speaking. But though this
that the hearers constantly
three-fold advantage
show themselves attentive, receptive, and welldisposed to us is to be secured throughout the
discourse, it must in the main be won by the Intro;

duction to the cause.

Now, for fear that we may at some time use a faulty
Introduction, I shall show what faults must be
In the Introduction of a cause we must
avoided.
make sure that our style is temperate and that the
words are in current use,*^ so that the discourse seems
unprepared. An Introduction is faulty if it can be
applied as well to a number of causes * that is called
Again, an Introduction which
a banal Introduction.
the adversary can use no less well is faulty, and that
;

Anon. Seg.
same point.
''

'

Cf. Cicero,

19

De

(Spengel- Hammer
Inv.

1. xviii.

l[2j.

3.56)

makes

the

26.

21

[CICERO]
illud quo adversarius ex contrario
Item vitiosum est quod nimium apparatis verbis ^ conpositum est, aut nimium longum est;
et quod non ex ipsa causa natum videatur ut proprie
cohaereat cum narratione et quod neque benivolum
neque docilem neque adtentum facit auditorem,
VIII. De exordio satis erit dictum; deinceps ad
narrationem transeamus. Narrationum tria sunt
genera. Unum est cum exponimus rem gestam et
unum quidque trahimus ad utilitatem nostram
vincendi causa, quod pertinet ad eas causas de quibus
iudicium futurum est. Alterum genus est narrationis, quod intercurrit nonnumquam aut fidei aut

item

appellatur;
poterit uti.

12

tionis
civili

Tertium genus est id quod a causa

remotum est, in quo tamen exerceri convenit,
causa.

quo commodius
13

aut alicuius appara-

aut transitionis

criminationis

illas

superiores narrationes in causis

Eius narrationis duo sunt genera

unum quod in negotiis, alterum quod in personis
positum est.
Id quod in negotiorum expositione positum est tres
habet partes: fabulam, historiam, argumentum.
tractare possipaus.

Fabula est quae neque veras neque

veri

similes

continet res, ut eae sunt quae tragoediis traditae

*

verbis

" hiTjyqais.

hir^yqaeLS

hia^oXrj.

**

Incidental

who

ed.

mai.

Cf. Cicero, De Inv.

KpiTuiv XeyojxcvaL

1.

M Mx omit.
xix. 27.

im

9. 2. 107,

E Mx

Narrative

[TrapahLrjyriaLs)',

cf.

and Anon. Seg. 61 (Spengel- Hammer

distinguishes

it

from Digression

Quintilian,
364-5).

1 [2].

(jTapeK^acris).

AD HERENNIUM,

I.

vii.

u-viii.

13

That Introduction,
called a common Introduction.
again, is faulty which the opponent can turn to his
own use against you. Ami again that is faulty which
has been composed in too laboured a style, or is too
long and that which does not appear to have grown
out of the cause itself in such a way as to have an
intimate connection with the Statement of Facts and,
finally, that which fails to make the hearer welldisposed or receptive or attentive.
Concerning the Introduction I have said
enough next let me turn to the Narration or Statement of Facts. There are three types of Statement
of Facts." It is one type when we set forth the facts
and turn everv detail to our advantage so as to win the
victory, and this kind appertains to the causes on
which a decision is to be rendered.^ There is a
second type which often enters into a speech as a
means of winning belief or incriminating our adversary or effecting a transition or setting the stage for
something.^ The third type* is not used in a cause
is

Vm.

'^

actually pleaded in court, yet affords us convenient

practice / for handling the first two types more
advantageously in actual causes. Of such narratives
there are two kinds one based on the facts, the other
on the persons.?
The kind of narrative based on the exposition of
:

the facts presents three forms

and

realistic.

The legendary

legendary, historical,
tale comprises events

neither true nor probable, like those transmitted by

'

8t7/y^ai9 Kad^ iaxrras.

The reference is to the progymnastnata {praeexercilamenta). Narratio provided the first exercises imposed by
the rhetor; see Quintilian, 2. 4. 1, and Jean Cousin, Etudes
8ur Quintilien, Paris, 1936, 1. 113.
' According to tA rrpdyfiaTa or rd rrpoawTra.
f

23

[CICKRO]
sunt.

Historia est gesta res, sed ab aetatis iiostrae

memoria remota. Argumentiim est ficta res quae

tamen fieri potuit, velut argumenta comoediarum.
Illud genus narrationis quod in personis positum
est debet habere sermonis festivitatem, animorum
dissimilitudinem, gravitatem lenitatem, spem metum,
suspicionem desiderium, dissimulationem misericordiam, rerum varietates, fortunae commutationem,
insperatum incommodum, subitam laetitiam, iucundum exitum renim. Verum haec in exercendo transigentur; illud quod ad veritatem pertinet quomodo
tractari conveniat aperiemus.
ut
14
IX. Tres res convenit habere narrationem
brevis, ut dilucida, ut veri similis sit; quae quoniam
quemadmodum faciamus
fieri
oportere scimus,
:

cognoscendum

est.

Rem

breviter narrare poterimus si inde incipiemus

et si non ab ultimo
narrare unde necesse erit
initio repetere volemus ; et si summatim, non parti;

" fxv9os,
but see Cousin, op. cil., \. 113, note 4. Cf.
" The poet's function is to
Aristotle, Poetics 9 (1451a)
describe, not the things that actually have happened, but
the kind of things that might well happen that are possible
But
in the sense of being either probable or inevitable."
it is doubtless the miraculous element in tragedies that is here
in mind ; see the example oifahula in Cicero, De Inv. 1 xix. 27.
:

loTopia.

'
Cf. argumentum (Presumptive Proof)
rrXdafxa.
and argumentatio (argument) in 2. ii. 2 below.
<*

Cf. the figure

notntio (Character

in 2.

Delineation), 4.

ii.

1.

3,

63

below.

Cf. Cicero, Episl. ad Fam. 5. 12. 4, on writuig history:

" For nothing is so suited to the delight of the reader as
are shifting circumstances and the vicissitudes of fortune.
Concerning our author's doctrine of narratio as reflecting
Hellenistic ideas on historiography and story writing, see

24

AD

lll-Rl'ANirM,

I.

VIII.

i3-i\.

14

tragedies." Tlie historical narrative is an account of

exploits actually performed, but removed in time
from the recollection of our age.* Realistic narrative

recounts imaginarv events, which yet could have

occurred, like the plots of comedies.*^
A narrative based on the persons should present a
lively stvle and diverse traits of character.^^ such as
austerity and gentleness, hope and fear, distrust and
desire, hypocrisy and compassion, and the vicissitudes
of life, such as reversal of fortune,'^ unexpected
disaster,

sudden joy, and

happy outcome.

But

it is

types will be worked

How we should handle that type of Statement
out./
of Facts which belongs in actual causes I am about to
in practice exercises that these

explain.
14

IX.

qualities

we know
how

learn

We

of Facts should have three

brevity, clarity, and plausibility.^ Since
that these qualities are essential, we must

Statement

to achieve them.

be able to make the Statement of Facts

we begin it at the place at which we need to
begin if we do not try to recount from the remotest
beo-innino'
if our Statement of Facts is summary and
brief

shall

if
;

00-

undererzcUdnngen, Leipzig,
R. Reitzensteiii, Hellenist ische
1906, pp. 84 IF., and for further interpretations of these
sections dealing with narrntio (and of Cicero, De Inv. 1. xix. 27),

Karl Barwick, Hermes 63, 3 (1928). 261-87, and Friedrich

Pfister, Hermes 68, 4 (1933). 4.37-60.
f The narratio is developed {trartalio = i^cpyacta) in the
progymnas/nata.
" avvTOfLLa,
The precept is Isoaa^T^veia, TndavoTrjS.
cratean (see Quintilian, 4. 2. 31-2) or even older (see Octave
Navarre, Essai sur la rhetorique grecque avant Arisfoie, Paris,
1900, p. 246). Aristotle, Bhei. 3. 16 (1416 b), scorns the
injunction of brevity in favour of the '' proper mean." Cf.
Cicero, De Inv. 1. xx. 28.

25

[CICERO]
culatim narrabimus ; et si non ad extremum, sed
usque eo quo opus erit persequemur; et si transitionibus nullis uteinur, et si non deerrabimus ab eo
exitus rerum ita
facta sint sciri ^

quod coeperimus exponere et si

ponemus ut ante quoque quae
;

quod genus, si
ex provincia redisse, profectum quoque in
provinciam intellegatur. Et omnino non modo id
quod obest, sed etiam id quod neque obest neque
adiuvat satius est praeterire. Et ne bis aut saepius
idem dicamus cavendum est; etiam ne quid novissime quod diximus deinceps dicamus, hoc modo
possint, tametsi nos reticuerimus

dicam

me

Athenis Megaram vesperi advenit Simo

Ubi advenit Megaram, insidias fecit virgini
Insidias

Rem

15

gestum

postquam

fecit,

dilucide narrabimus
erit

ita

vim
si

in loco adtulit.

ut quicquid

primum exponenms,

et

primum

rerum ac

temporum ordinem conservabimus

ut gestae res
erunt, aut ut potuisse geri videbuntur ; hie erit considerandum ne quid perturbate, ne quid contorte, ne

quid nove dicamus, ne quam in aliam rem transeamus,

ne ab ultimo repetamus, ne longe persequamur, ne
et si
quid quod ad rem pertineat praetereamus
sequemur ea quae de brevitate praecepta sunt, nam
quo brevior, dilucidior et cognitu fj^cilior narratio fiet.
;

sciri

P^BCE

scire

HP^Mx.

Presented Ke<pa\aL(xiha><; not /Ltept/coij.

Doxapatres (eleventh century), in Walz 2. 230, gives the
same example it is doubtless Greek in origin.
" The author of these iambic trimeters and the name of the
comedy from which they come are both unknown. C/.
Plautus, Miles Gloriosus 439
quae heri Athenis Ephesum
adveni vesperi.
"

26

AD

HKllF.NNIUM,

I.

ix.

14-15

not detailed " it' we carry it forward, not to the

furthermost point, but to the point to which we need
if we use no digressions and do not wander
to go
from the account we have undertaken to set forth
and if we present the outcome in such a way that the
facts that have preceded can also be known, although
we have not spoken of them. For example, if I
should say that I have returned from the province, it
would also be understood that I had gone to the
province.^ And in general it is better to pass by not
only that which weakens the cause but also that
which neither weakens nor helps it. Furthermore,
we must guard against saying a thing more than
once, and certainly against repeating immediately
what we have said already, as in the following
" Simo came from Athens to Megara in the evening
when he came to Megara, he laid a trap for the
maiden: after laying the trap he ravished her then
and there."
Our Statement of Facts will be clear ^ if we set
forth the facts in the precise order in which they
occurred, observing their actual or probable sequence
and chronology. Here we must see that our language
is not confused,*^ involved, or unfamiliar, that we do
not shift to another subject, that we do not trace the
aifair back to its remotest beginning, nor carry it too
far forward, and that we do not omit anything pertinent.
And our Statement of Facts will be clear
if we follow the precepts on brevity that I have
laid down,/ for the shorter the Statement of Facts,
the clearer will it be and the easier to follow.
;

'^

<*

Cf. Cicero,

v7rpj3aTcDs",

^In

1. ix.

De Inv. 1. xx. 29.

in inverted order.

14 above.

27

[CICERO]
16

V^eri

similis narratio erit

natura postulat dicemus

ut mos, ut opinio, ut

si
si

spatia

temporum,

per-

locorum
opportunitates constabunt, ne refelli possit aut temporis parum fuisse, aut causam nullam, aut locum
idoneum non fuisse, aut homines ipsos facere aut pati
non potuisse. Si vera res erit, nihilominus haec
omnia narrando conservanda sunt, nam saepe Veritas,

sonarum

nisi

haec servata

erunt

consiliorum

dignitates.

ficta,

rationes,

fidem non potest facere; sin

sint,

De

eo magis erunt conservanda.

iis

rebus caute confingendum est quibus in rebus tabulae

aut alicuius firma auctoritas videbitur interfuisse.
Adhuc quae dicta sunt arbitror mihi constare cum

de insinuationibus
nova excogitavimus, quod earn soli nos praeter
ceteros in tria tempora divisimus, ut plane certam
viam et perspicuam rationem exordiorum haberemus.
X. Nunc, quod reliquum est quoniam de rerum
inventione disputandum est, in quo singulare consumitur oratoris artificium dabimus operam ut

ceteris artis scriptoribus, nisi quia

nihilominus

quam

industrie

quaesisse videamur

si ^

rei

utilitas

postulabit

prius

pauca de divisione

mai.

lacuna before

causarum dixerimus.
^

videamur

si

MSS.

Mx

ed.

si

Mx.

C/. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxi. 29-30.

See note on 1. vi. 9 above. Our author's doctrine of the
Subtle Approach is Greek in origin, although we know no
That Cicero
specific Greek source for the three occasions.
in De Inv. presents a like classification makes our aiithor's

28

AD HKRKNNIUM,
16

I.

ix.

i6-a.

i6

Our Statement of I'acts will have plausibility if it

answers the requirements of the usual, the expeeted,
and the natural if account is strictly kept of the length
of time, the standing of the persons involved, the
motives in the planning, and the advantages offered
by the scene of action, so as to obviate the argument
in refutation that the time was too short, or that there
was no motive, or that the place was unsuitable, or
that the persons themselves could not have acted or
been treated so. If the matter is true, all these precautions must none the less be observed in the Statement of Facts, for often the truth cannot gain
credence otherwise. And if the matter is fictitious,
these measures will have to be observed all the more
Fabrication must be circumspect in
scrupulously.
those matters in which official documents or some
person's unimpeachable guaranty will prove to have
played a role.
In what I have thus far said I believe that I agree
with the other writers on the art of rhetoric except
for the innovations I have devised on Introductions
by the Subtle Approach. I alone,** in contrast with
the rest, have distinguished three occasions for the
Subtle Approach, so as to provide us with a thoroughly
sure method and a lucid theory of Introductions.
X. Now as to the rest, since I must discuss the
finding of arguments, a matter that makes unique
demands upon the art of the speaker, I shall endeavour to exhibit an industry in research such as
the importance of the subject demands as soon as
1 have prefixed a few remarks on the Division of
**

the cause.
claim difficult to explain
volume, pp. xxix-xxx.

see the Introduction to the present

29

[CICERO]
Causarum

17

Primum

divisio

duas partes distributa

in

perorata narratione

nobis conveniat

cum

debemus

adversai'iis,

si

ea quae

sunt nobis convenient, quid in controversia

hoc modo
convenit mihi
sit,

" Interfectam esse ab Oreste

cum

adversariis.

est.

aperire quid
utilia

relictum

matrem

lure fecerit et licue-

ritne facere, id est in controversia."

Item e con" Agamemnonem esse a Clytemestra occisum

trario

cum id ita sit, me ulcisci parentem

negant oportuisse."
Deinde, cum iioc fecerimus, distributione uti
debemus. Ea dividitur in duas partes
enumerationem et expositionem. Enumeratione utemur cum
dicemus numero quot de rebus dicturi sum us. Earn
plus quam trium partium numero esse non oportet
nam et periculosum est ne quando plus minusve
confitentur

dicamus, et suspicionem adfert auditori meditationis

et artificii,
est

cum

quae

res fidem abrogat orationi.

res quibus

Expositio

de rebus dicturi sumus exponimus

breviter et absolute.

"

perorata narratione E
per narrationem
Mx.
controversia d
controversiis the other MSS. Mx.

" Outlining of the case," the Analysis.

combination of npocKdeais and

1.

xxii. 31-xxiii. 33, partiiio.

fiepLOfios.

npoKaTaaKevq, a
In Cicero, De Inv.

Cf. the figure divisio, 4. xl. 52

below.
*

Martianus Capella,

5.

556,

makes the same point

for the

partitio.

and
1.

30

theme of the rhetoricians; cf. also 1. xv. 25

26 below, Cicero, De Inv. 1. xiii. 18-xiv. 19,
Quintilian,
xxii. 31,
3. 11. 4 ff., 3. 5. 11, 7. 4. 8.

"

favourite

1.

xvi.

AD HRRENNIUM,
17

I.

x.

17

The Division "ofthe cause falls into two parts. When

the Statement of Facts has been hroiir^^ht to an end,
we ought first to make clear what we and our opponents agree upon, if there is agreement on the points
useful to us,** and what remains contested, as follows
" Orestes killed his mother ^ on that I agree with
my opponents. But did he have the right to-commit
the deed, and was he justified in committing it ? That
" They admit that
Likewise in reply
is in dispute."
Agamemnon was killed by Clytemnestra yet despite
this they say that I ought not to have avenged my
;

father."
this, we should use the
The Distribution has two parts the

Then, when we have done

Distribution.

'^

Enumeration * and the Exposition./ We shall be

using the Enumeration when we tell by number how

many points we are going to discuss. The number

ought not to exceed three for otherwise, besides the
danger that we may at some time include in the
speech more or fewer points than we enumerated ,? it
instils in the hearer the suspicion of premeditation
and artifice,'' and this robs the speech of conviction.
The Exposition consists in setting forth, briefly and
;

completely, the points

**

we intend

Cf. the figure distributio, 4.

Broken Tone of Debate,

3. xiii.

to discuss.

xxxv. 47, and

23 below.

disirihulio, the

Cf. the enumeratio (Summing Up) of 2. xxx. 47 below.

Quintilian, 4. 5. 24, praises Hortensius for the great pains he
took with his Partitions, " although Cicero often lightly
mocks him for counting his points on his fingers."
^ CKdeais.
Cf. the exposido (Proposition of an argument)
in 2. XX. 32, and note on 2. xviii. 28 below.
" His memor}- was so
' Cf. Cicero, Brutus 60. 217 on Curio
altogether wanting that at times when he had announced three
points he would add a fourth or miss the third."
* See note on 4. vii. 10 below.
*

31

[CICERO]
18

Nunc ad confirmationem

et confutationem transespes vincendi ratioque persuadendi

posita est in confirmatione et in confutatione.
Nam
cum adiumenta nostra exposuerimus contrariaque
dissolverimus, absolute nimirum munus oratorium
confecerimus. XI. Utrumque igitur facere poteconstitutionem causae cognoverimus.
rimus, ^i
Causarum constitutiones alii quattuor fecerunt
noster doctor tres putavit esse, non ut de illorum
quicquam detraheret inventione, sed ut ostenderet id
quod oportuisset simpliciter ac singulari modo docere
illos distribuisse dupliciter et bipertito.
Constitutio
est prima deprecatio defensoris cum accusatoris insimulatione coniuncta. Constitutiones itaque, ut

amus.

"

Tota

TTLOTis, h-araaKevrj K(f>aXaLcov.

In the Rhef. ad Alex., ch. 7 (1428 a), Refutaconsidered as one of seven subheads under Proof; see
alsoch. 13 (1431 a).
* I follow the practice, perhaps begun by Thomas Wilson,
Arte of Rhetor ique (first ed. 1553), ed. G. H. Mair, Oxford,
1910, p. 89, of translating constitutio (or status [= OTaats], the
term used by Cicero, except in De Inv., and by most other
rhetoricians) as " Issue."
The constitutio (= avaTams, most
probably; see S. F. Bonner, Class. Rev. 61 [1947]. 84-6) is
the conjoining of two conflicting statements, thus forming the
centre of the argument and determining the character of the
case; for a study of the meaning of status and of consiitutio
see A. 0. L. Dieter, Speech Monographs 17, 4 (1950). 345-69.
Our author makes use of the status system only for judicial
oratory, the examples being drawn from both criminal and
civil
causes.
Adumbrated in pre-AristoteUan rhetoric
(where it was close to Attic procedure), as well as in Aristotle's
*

tion

dvaoKcv-^.
is

Rhetoric, it was developed principally by Hermagoras.

Stoic
and Aristotelian dialectic exerted an influence in its evolution.
The terminology and Roman examples show that our author
assimilated the Greek theory. His system differs considerably from that of Hermagoras; see Kroehnert, pp. 21 ff
.

32

AD

HI'.IM'A'ML'M.

I.

x.

i8 xi.

i8

Now let me pass to Prcjot" aiul Kefutatioii.'' The

entire liope of victory and the entire nietliod of persuasion rest on proof and refutation, for when we
have submitted our arguments and destroyed those
of the opposition, we have, of course, completely fidfilled the speaker's function.
XI. We shall, then.be
enabled to do both if we know the Type of Issue
which the cause presents. Others make these Types
My teacher * thought that there
of Issue four.'^
were three, not intending thereby to subtract any of
the types they had discovered, but to demonstrate
that one type which they should have taught as
single and uncompounded they had divided into tw(i
distinct and separate types.
The Issue is determined
by the joining of the primary plea of the defence
with the charge of the plaintiff". The Types of Issue
'^

Hermann

Netzker,

Ilenrutguru.s,

Cicero,

Cornificiu.^

quae,

docuerint tie " siatibus,'" Kiel diss., 1879, and " Die constitnlio
legilima des Cornificius," Xe/<e
Jalirhucher
133 (18S6;.
4il-16; Heinrich Weber, Ueher 'lie Quellen der Rhel. ad Her.
des Cornificius, Zurich diss., 1880;
Thiele, Hermagoras;
Walter Jaeneke, De slaiuum doctrina ah Hermogene tradita,
Leipzig, 1904; Clans Peters, De ralioniljus inter arlem rheloricam quart i p.t primi saendi intercedentihvt, Kiel diss..
Kroll in P.-W., art. " Rhetorik," coll. 1090-.5.
1907, pp. 10 ff.
;

in De Inv. 1. viii. 10 f. differs from that

Most critics see our
of our author.
Cf. Quiiitilian, 3. (i. 1 It".
author as a follower of Marcus Antonius in his system of
status cf. Quintilian, 3. (3. 4o ff. (note that legalis, not legitimus
is the term used for the " Legal " Issue by the foliov/ers of
Antonius), and Kroehnert, loc. cit. Modern students of
Roman Law for the most part think that from the juristic
point of view, as against the rhetorical, the status system was
over-intricate and impractical; see note on 2. xiii. 19 below.
Hermagoras taught four Types of Issue
see note on
Transference, 1. xi. 19, below.
' See Introduction,
pp. xxi ff., esp. p. xxiii.

Cicero's

system

"^

33

[CICERO]
ante

diximus,

tres

sunt:

coniecturalis,

legitima,

iuridicalis.

Coniecturalis est

modo

Aiax

cum de

in silva,

facto controversia est, hoc

postquam

resciit

quae

fecisset

per insaniam, gladio incubuit. Ulixes intervenit,

occisum conspicatur, corpore telum cruentum educit.
Teucer intervenit, fratrem occisum, inimicum fratris
cum gladio cruento videt. Capitis arcessit. Hie
De facto erit controconiectura verum quaeritur.
versia
ex eo constitutio causae coniecturalis
nominatur.
Legitima est constitutio cum in scripto aut e
;

19

scripto aliquid controversiae nascitur.

partes sex

in

leges,

Ea

dividitur

scriptum et sententiam, contrarias

ambiguum, definitionem, translationem,

ratio-

cinationem.

Ex scripto et sententia controversia nascitur cum

videtur scriptoris voluntas cum scripto ipso dissentire,
si lex sit quae iubeat cos qui propter
hoc modo
tempestatem navem reliquerint omnia perdere, eorum
navem ceteraque esse, si navis conservata sit, qui
remanserunt in navi. Magnitudine tempestatis
omnes perterriti navem reliquerunt, in scapham
:

"

For the

aroxaafios.

spelling iuridicalis see Stroebel, Tulliana, p. 20.

Of. Cicero, De Inv. 1. viii. 11.

See the progi/mnasma in 2. xviii. 28-xix. 30 below.

Resenting the award of the arms of Achilles to Ulysses, Ajax
goes mad and slaughters a flock of sheep, thinking them his
enemies. Cf. Hermogenes, De Stat. ? (ed. Rabe, pp. 49 and
A man is discovered burying in a lonely place the body
54)
of a person recently slain, and is charged with murder;
Fortunatianus 1. 6 (Halm, p. 85) and 1. 8 (Halm, p. 87).
^

oTaoLs vofiiK-q.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xiii. 17.
ardaLS Kara pr^rov koL Sidvoiav.
Cf. the sententia {M.a.xim)
of 4. xvii. 24 below.
^
*

34

AD HEllENNIUM,
are then, as
Lefjal,

and

I.

18-19

xi.

have said above, three

Conjectural,

Juridical.**

The Issue is Conjectural * when the controversy

concerns a question of fact, as follows
In the forest
Ajax, after realizing what in his madness he had done,
fell on his sword.
Ulysses appears, perceives that
Ajax is dead, draws the bloody weapon from the
corpse. Teucer appears, sees his brother dead, and
his brother's enemy with bloody sword in hand. He
accuses Ulysses of a capital crime. Here the truth
The controversy will conis sought by conjecture.
cern the fact.c And that is why the Issue in the
cause is called Conjectural.
19
The Issue is Legal ^ when some controversy turns
upon the letter of a text or arises from an implication
therein.
A Legal Issue is divided into six subtypes
Letter and Spirit/ Conflicting Laws,/ Ambiguity
Definition,'
Transference,' and
Reasoning from
Analogy. J
A controversy from Letter and Spirit arises when
the framer's intention appears to be at variance with
the letter of the text, as follows
Suppose a law
which decrees that whoever have abandoned their
ship in a storm shall lose all rights of title, and that
their ship, if saved, and cargo as well, belong to those
who have remained on board. Terrified by the
storm's violence, all deserted the ship and took to the
:

jJ'

avTivofjiia.
*
*

opog.
fieTdXrjtpi;.

Procedural in nature.

CL

translatio criminis,

and the figure translatio, 4. xxxiv. 4o below.

Hermagoras was the first to enter this among the Types of
Issue; see Cicero, De Inv. 1. xi. 16, and Quintilian, 3. 6. 60.
xiv.

1.

24,

avXXoyiOfMos.

35

[CICERO]
conscenderunt

praeter unum aegrotum

morbum

exire et fugere

navis in

portum incolumis delata

Navem

possedit.

petit

Ex

ille

est

propter

is

Casu et fortuitu

potuit.
;

illam aegrotus

Haec

cuius fuerat.

con-

ex scripto et sententia.

stitutio legitima est

20

non

contrariis legibus controversia constat

cum

alia

quippiam

fieri,

hoc

lex iubet aut permittit, alia vetat

modo: Lex

eum

vetat

qui de pecuniis repetundis

contione orationem habere

damnatus

sit in

lex iubet

augurem

altera

demortui locum qui petat

in

in

nominare. Augur quidam damnatus de

pecuniis repetundis in demortui locum nominavit
Constitutio legitima ex contrapetitur ab eo multa.
contione

riis

legibus.

Ex ambiguo

XII.

controversia nascitur

cum

scrip-

hoc modo
Paterfamilias cum filium heredem faceret, testamento
vasa argentea uxori legavit " Heres mens uxori meae
XXX pondo vasorum argenteorum dato, quae ^

tum

duas aut plures sententias

significat,

Post mortem eius vasa pretiosa et caelata

magnifice petit mulier. Filius se quae ^ ipse vellet in
XXX pondo ei debere dicit. Constitutio est legitima
volet."

ex ambiguo.
^

scriptum

HP^ Mx
-

"

De
100

quae
quae

BCE

res

res

BCE Mx ed. inai.

BCE Mx ed. mai.

This controversia
Stat. 2 (ed.
f.),

On

unam

una sententia

and

Rabe,

Cicero,

De

is

sententiam scripta scriptum

scripta scriptum 11.

qua
qua

HP H Mx.
HP U Mx.

of Greek origin

p. 41),

Inv. 2.

Fortunatianus
li.

c/.
1.

Hermogenes,
26 (Halm, pp.

153.

the importance of this type of rhetorical discussion

for juristic theory see note on 2. xiii. 19 below.
*

36

AD HKRENNIUM,

I.

\i.

19 xii. 20

except one sick man wlio, ou account of his

By
could not leave the ship and escape.
sheer chance the ship was driven safely to harbour.
The invalid has come into possession of the ship, and
the former owner claims it." Here is a Legal Issue
based on Letter and Spirit.''
boat

all

illness,

Controversy results from Conflicting Laws when one

law orders or permits a deed while another forbids it,
as follows
A law forbids one who has been convicted
of extortion to speak before the Assembly.^ Another
law commands the augur to designate in the Assembly
the candidate for the place of a deceased augur.
A certain augur convicted of extortion has designated
A
the candidate for the place of a deceased augur.
penalty is demanded of him.* Here is a Legal Issue
established from Conflicting Laws.
XII. A controversy is created by Ambiguity when
a text presents two or more meanings, as follows
The father of a family, when making his son his heir,
:

bequeathed

silver vessels to his wife

wife thirty pounds' weight of
such as shall be selected '." After
silver vessels,
his death the widow asks for some precious vessels of
magnificent relief-work. The son contends that he
owes her thirty pounds' weight of vessels " such as
Here is a Legal Issue
shall be selected " hy himJ

in his
" Let

will

my

heir give

my

'

established from Ambiguity.

* Doubtless the law of C.
Servilius Glaucia de pecuniis
repetundis (111 B.C.).
The law of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus de sacerdotiis,
passed in 104 B.C. and repealed by Sulla in (?) 81 B.C., is here
indicated.
' When specifically the case came up
we do not know;
Marx, Proleg., p. 108, conjectures c. 100 B.C.
f
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xl. 116; Lucilius 16. 552-3.
**

37

[CICERO]

cum

Definitione causa constat

21

in controversia est

quo nomine factum appelletur.^ Ea est huiusmodi

Cum Lucius Saturninus legem frumentariam de
semissibus et trientibus laturus esset, Q. Caepio, qui
id temporis quaestor urbanus erat, docuit
senatum aerarium pati non posse largitionem tantam.

per

Senatus decrevit, si cam legem ad populum ferat,

adversus rem publicam videri ea facere. Saturninus
Collegae intercedere, ille nihilominus
ferre coepit.
detulit.
Caepio, ut ilium, contra intercedentibus collegis, adversus rem publicam vidit ferre,
cum viris bonis impetum facit, pontes disturbat, cistas
deicit, inpedimento est quo setius feratur. Arcessitur
Caepio maiestatis. Constitutio legitima ex defini-

sitellam

Vocabulum enim definitur ipsum cum quaeritur quid sit minuere maiestatem.
22
Ex translatione controversia nascitur cum aut
tione.

tempus differendum aut accusatorem mutandum aut

mutandos reus dicit. Hac parte constitu-

Jiidices
^

PB

Mx

ed. mai.
inpelletur
appelletur BCE
conpelletur Mx.
{in marg.) 11
:

inpelleretur

At the Comitia over these the voters passed in single

to the saepta in the Campus Martins to deposit their votes.
^ Probably in his second tribunate in 100 B.C., L. Appuleius Saturninus proposed his law fixing the fee for grain at
five-sixths of an as (for a moditis); the lex Sempronia frumentaria of 123 had set the price at alnjost eight times that
amount. It is uncertain whether the bill passed. Caepio
was in 99 B.C. charged with treason, but was acquitted. Cf.
2. xii. 17 (the supposed defence by Caepio), and for Saturninus
This Q. Servilius Caepio was the
4. xxii. 31 and 4. liv. 67.
son of the Q. Servilius Caepio referred to in 1. xiv. 24 below.
" Literally,
what constitutes " impairing the sovereign
majesty " of the state. Cf. 2. xii. 17 and 4. xxv. 35 below.
The crimen maiestatis minutae was invented probably in
103 B.C. ; the Lex Appuleia de maiestate attempted to define
"

file

38

AD IIKRENNIUM,

I.

mi. 21-22

A cause rests on Definition when the name by

which an act should be called is in controversy. The
followincr is an example
When Lucius Saturninus
was about to introduce the grain law concerninfr the
five-sixths as, Quintus Caepio, who was city quaestor
during that time, explained to the Senate that the
treasury could not endure so great a largess. The
Senate decreed that if Saturninus should propose that
law before the people he would appear to be doing so
against the common weal. Saturninus proceeded
with his motion.
His colleagues interposed a veto
nevertheless he brought the lot-urn down for the
vote. Caepio, when he sees Saturninus presenting his
motion against the public welfare despite his colleagues' veto, attacks him with the assistance of some
Conservatives, destroys the bridges,'* throws down
the ballot boxes, and blocks further action on the
motion. Caepio is brought to trial for treason.''
The Issue is Legal, and is established from Definition,
for we are defining the actual term when we investigate what constitutes treason.^
22
A controversy is based on Transference when the
defendant maintains that there must be a postponement of time or a change of plaintiff or judges.*^ This
21

See

Hugh

the

oflfence.

Cf.

Antonius on the

De

Orafore

2. 25.

107

Last, Cambr. Anc. History 9. 160-L

Xorbanus (95 B.C.) in Cicero,

trial of
ff.,

2. 39.

164.

Anglo-American procedure has no specific analogue to

the term translatio as here defined, nor indeed was this status
See Theodor Schwalsuited to Roman juristic procedure.
**

bach, Zeitschr. der Savigny-Stiftung fur Rechtsgeschichte,

Romanist. Abt., 2 (1881). 209-32;
Moriz \Massak, Der
Ursprung der romischen Einrede (Festschr. Leopold Pfaff),
Vienna, 1910, pp. 12 fF. and Artur Steinwenter, Sav. Zeitschr.
65 (1947). 69-120, esp. p. 81, and pp. 104-5. Note also raro
venit in indicium below.
;

39

[CICERO]
Graeci in iudiciis, nos in iure plerumque utimur.
Si
In iudiciis tamen nonnihil utimur, ut hoc modo
quis peculatus accusatur quod vasa argentea publica
de loco privato dicatur sustulisse, possit dicere, cum
definitione sit usus quid sit furtum, quid peculatus,
secum furti agi, non peculatus oportere. Haec
partitio legitimae constitutionis his de causis raro
venit in indicium, quod in privata actione praetoriae
exceptiones sunt et causa cadit qui egit nisi habuit
actionem, et in publicis quaestionibus cavetur legibus
ut ante, si reo commodum sit, indicium de accusatore
fiat utrum illi liceat accusare necnc.
23
XIII. Ex ratiocinatione controversia constat cum
res sine propria lege venit in indicium, quae tamen ab
Ea est
aliis legibus similitudine quadam aucupatur.
tionis

huiusmodi: Lex: "Si furiosus existet, adgnatum

gentiliumque in eo pecuniaque eius potestas esto."
Et lex " Qui parentem necasse iudicatus erit, ut is
:

" The Komans in the preliminary proceedings before the

magistrate, where the issue is defined the Greeks in the actual
trial before the judge.
* Despite the alteration, the source of this coniroversia may
" It often
originally have been Aristotle, Rket. 1. 13 (1374 a)
theft, but not that the
happens that a man may admit
act was sacrilege (on the ground that the thing stolen was
not the property of a god)." Cf. Cicero, De Iin\ 1. viii. 11
Quintihan, 3. 6. 41 and 5. 10. 39; Hermogenes, De Stat. 2
(ed. Rabe, p. 37) and 4 (ed. Rabc, p. 62) ; Sopater, in Walz
On
also Rabe, Proleg. SylL, pp. 218, 253, and 336.
8. 102-5
peculatus publiais see Mommsen, pp. 764 ff.
"
Cf. Vietorinus, in Halm, p. 276.
These counterpleas accepted by the praetor allege new
although the defendant accepts the
states of fact or of law
inientio in the plaintiff's formula, he urges the praetor to
permit the insertion of an exceptio in the formula. See
;

40

AD HKRENNIUM,

I.

xii.

22 xui. 23

subtype of Issue the Greeks use

in the proceedings
generally before the magistrate's
tribunal.**
We do, however, make some use of it in
judicial proceedings.
For example, if some one is
accused of embezzlement, alleged to have removed
silver vessels belonging to the state from a private
place, he can say, when he has defined theft and
embezzlement, that in his case the action ought to
be one for theft and not embezzlement.* This subtype of Legal Issue rarely presents itself in judicial
proceedings for the following reasons
in a private
action there are counterpleas accepted by the
praetor,'^ and the plaintiff's case fails unless he has had
a cause of action
in public investigations the laws
provide that, if it suits the defendant, a decision is
first passed on whether the plaintiff is. or is not, permitted to make the charge.
23
XIII. The controversy is based on Analogy when a
matter that arises for adjudication lacks a specifically
applicable law, but an analogy is sought from other
existing laws on the basis of a certain similarity to
the matter in question.
For example, a law reads
" If a man is raving mad, authority over his person
and property shall belong to his agnates, or to the
members of his gens." ^ Another law reads: " He
who has been convicted of murdering his parent shall

before judges,

we

'^

A. H. J. Greenidge, The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Tiiw,

Oxford, 1901, pp. 178-181, 229-235; E. Rabel, Sav. Zeitschr.
32 (1911). 413-23; Leopold Wenger, Inslitutes of the Rorvan
Law of Civil Procedure, tr. 0. H. Fisk, New York, 1940, pp.
155 ff. Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. viii. 10 and 2. xix. 57-xx. 61.
Cicero in De Inv. (2. xix. 57) and our author supply the first
references to the exceptio in extant literature.
See Friedrich

von Velsen, Sav.

'

Zeitschr. 21 (1900). 104-5.

5. 7 a.

Twelve Tables

[CICERO]
obvolutus et obligatus corio devehatur in profluentem." Et lex: "Paterfamilias uti super familia
pecuniave sua legaverit, ita ius esto." Et lex: " Si
paterfamilias intestate moritur, familia pecuniaque
Malleolus
eius adgnatum gentiliumque ^ esto."
iudicatus est matrem necasse.
Ei damnato statim
folliculo lupino os obvolutum est et soleae ligneae
in carcerem ductus est.
Qui defendebant eum tabulas in carcerem adferunt,
testamentum ipso praesente conscribunt, testes recte
adfuerunt
de illo supplicium sumitur. li qui

in pedibus inductae sunt

heredes erant testamento hereditatem adeunt.

Frater minor Malleoli, qui eum oppugnaverat in eius
periculo, suam vocat hereditatem lege adgnationis.
Hie certa lex in rem nulla adfertur, et tamen multae
adferuntur, ex quibus ratiocinatio nascitur quare
potuerit aut non potuerit iure testamentum facere.
Constitutio legitima ex ratiocinatione.

Cuiusmodi partes essent legitimae constitutionis

ostendimus nunc de iuridicali constitutione dicamus.
24
XIV. luridicalis constitutio est cum factum convenit, sed iure an iniuria factum sit quaeritur.
Eius
;

constitutionis partes

duae sunt, quarum una absoluta,

altera adsumptiva nominatur.

^

gentiliumque d

et gentilium

gentilium AI

Mx.

" Marx (ProZegr., p, 107; see also R. Reitzenstein, Gnomon

5 [1929]. 605-6) affirms, and Mommsen (p. 643, note 6)
denies, the genuineness of this law
it is omitted in Cicero,
De Inv. 2. 1. 148.
* Twelve Tables 5. 3.
' Cf. Twelve Tables 5. 4-5.
;

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. I. 149, and on this (ritualistic) form

of punishment Mommsen, pp. 921-3; Alfred Pernice, Sav.
Zeitschr. 17 (1896). 210 ff. ; Max Radin, Journ. Rom. Studies
10 (1920). 119-30; Rudolf Diill, Atti del Congr. Internaz. di
*

42

AD HKRENNIUM,

I.

xiii.

2.s-mv. 24

be completely wrapped and bound in a leather

sack and thrown into a running stream." " Another
law " As the head of a family has directed regarding
his household or his property, so shall the law hold
good." * Another law " If the head of a family dies
intestate, his household and property shall belong
to his agnates, or to the members of his gens.''
Malleolus was convicted of matricide. Immediately
after he had received sentence, his head was wrapped
" ^ were
in a bag of wolf's hide, the " wooden shoes
put upon his feet, and he was led away to prison.
His defenders bring tablets into the jail, write his
The
will in his presence, witnesses duly attending.
penalty is exacted of him. His testamentary heirs
Malleolus' younger
enter upon their inheritance.
brother, who had been one of the accusers in his
trial, claims his inheritance by the law of agnation.
Here no one specific law is adduced, and yet many
laws are adduced, which form the basis for a reasoning
by analogy to prove that Malleolus had or had not the
It is a Legal Issue established
right to make a will.
:

*=

from Analogy.
I have explained the types of Legal Issue.

Now

me

discuss the Juridical Issue.

XIV. An Issue is Juridical when there is agree24
ment on the act, but the right or wrong of the act is
let

Of this Issue there are two subtypes,

one called Absolute/ the other Assumptive.
in question.

According
Diritto Rom. (Roma), Pavia, 1935, 2. 363-408.
to Livy, Periochae 68, Malleolus was the first (101 B.C.) to
suffer this

punishment.

ardms

SiATowoAoyt/cTj.

69
f KaT

xxiii.
'

Cf.

Cicero,

De

Inv.

1.

xi.

15,

2.

ff.

avTiXrupLV.

Kar^ avrWcaiv,

43

[CICERO]
Absoluta est cum id ipsum quod factum est, ut
aliud nihil foris adsumatur, recte factum esse dicemus,
eiusmodi

Mimus

quidam

nominatim

Accium

Cum eo Accius
scaena.
iniuriarum agit.
Hie nihil aliud defendit nisi licere
nominari eum cuius nomine scripta dentur agenda.
Adsumptiva pars est cum per se defensio infirma
est, adsumpta extraria re conprobatur. Adsumptivae
partes sunt quattuor: concessio, remotio criminis,
translatio criminis, conparatio.
Concessio est cum reus postulat ignosci. Ea
dividitur in purgationem et deprecationem. Purgatio
Ea dividitur
est cum consulto negat se reus fecisse.
poetam

in

conpellavit

in

inprudentiam, fortunam, necessitatem

fortunam,

ut Caepio ad tribunos plebis de exercitus amissione

inprudentiam, ut ille qui de eo servo qui dominum
occiderat supplicium sumpsit, cui frater esset, ante-

eam dicemus eius

dicemus eiusmodi / 3Ix ed. vuii.
dicemus ea eiusmodi (huiusmodi C) est BCd
dicemus ea est huiusmodi 6 eam rem dicemiis eiusmodi 3Ix.
^

modi 31

"

The mime was condemned;

see 2.

xiii.

19 below.

This

origin
c/. Hermogenes, De
type of coniroversia is Greek
Stat. 11, ed Rabe, pp. 88-9 (but belonging to the subtype of
Legal Issue based on Analogy; see 1. .?iii. 23 above), and
See also Sulpitius Victor 39, in
Sopater, in Walz 8. 383-4.

Halm,
*

p. 337.

avyyvdifXTj.

AD IIKRENNIUM,
It

I.

xiv.

24

an Absolute Issue when we contend

is

tliat

the

act in and of itself, without our drawing on any

Tor example,
extraneous considerations, was rii^ht.
a certain mime abused the poet Accius by name on
the stage. Accius sues him on the ground of injuries.
The plaver makes no defence except to maintain that

was permissible to name a person under whose name

dramatic works were given to be performed on the
it

stage.**

The

Assumptive when the defence, in itself

by drawing on extraneous
The Assumptive subtypes are four:

Issue

is

insufficient, is established

matter.

Acknowledgement of the Charge.^ Rejection of the

Responsibilitv,'^ Shifting of the Question of
Comparison with the Alternative Course.^

Guilt,<^

The Acknowledgement / is the defendant's plea for

pardon. The Acknowledgement includes the ExculThe Exculpation
pation 9 and the Plea for Mercy,
is the defendant's denial that he acted with intent.*
Under Plea of Exculpation are three subheads
accident, as
Ignorance,^ Accident.^ and Necessity
in the case of Caepio ^" before the tribunes of the plebs
on the loss of his army ignorance, as in the case of
the man who, before opening the tablets of the will
by the tenns of which his brother's slave had been
f^

'

'

avdyKT],

/Sia.

In 105 B.C., Q. Servilius Caepio, through his failure to

cooperate with his colleague Mallius, brought upon the army
a disastrous defeat at Arausio at the hands of the Cimbri,
Teutones, and their allies. Caepio's proconsular imperium
was abrogated, and by the motion of the trihunus plebis, L.
Cassius Longinus, he lost senatorial rank (104 B.C.). Cicero,
Brutvs 35, 135, says of Caepio that the fortunes of war were
*"

imputed to him as a crime.

45

[CICERO]

quam

tabulas testamenti aperuit,

cum

is

servus testa-

mento manu missus esset necessitudinem, ut ille

qui ad diem commeatus non venit quod flumina vias
;

Deprecatio est cum et peccasse se et

interclusissent.
consulto fecisse confitetur, et tamen postulat ut sui
misereantur. Hoc in iudicio fere non potest usu
venire, nisi quando pro eo dicimus cuius multa recte
facta extant, hoc modo in loco communi per
" Quodsi hoc fecisset,
amplificationem iniciemus
tamen ei pro pristinis beneficiis ignosci conveniret
verum nihil postulat ignosci." Ergo in iudicium non
venit, at in senatum, ad imperatorem et in consilium
talis causa potest venire.
25
XV. Ex translatione criminis causa constat cum
fecisse nos non negamus, sed aliorum peccatis coactos
fecisse dicimus;
ut Orestes cum se defendit in
matrem conferens crimen.
Ex remotione criminis causa constat cum a nobis
non crimen, sed culpam ipsam amovemus, et vel in
hominem transferimus vel in rem quampiam conferimus. In hominem transfertur, ut si accusetur is qui
Publium Sulpicium se fateatur occidisse, et id iussu
consulum defendat et eos dicat non modo imperasse,

" Manumitted, the slave was answerable for his crime to

the courts, and not subject to domestic punishment. The
controversia is doubtless Greek in origin.
Cf. Quintilian,
7. 4. 14.

The

controversia

presented in

is

De

is

Greek in origin; the

Inv.

2.

xxxi.

96.

Cf.

like situation
Quintilian, 7.

4. 14.

De Inv. 2. xxxiv. 104.

The court was obliged to render a verdict strictly on the
law, and could not lessen the punishment. See also Quintilian, 5. 13. 5 and 7, 4. 17 ff.
*

**

46

Cf. Cicero,

AD HKRENNIUM,

I.

xiv.

24-xv. 25

manumitted, exacted punishment of the slave

for

havin<r slain his master; " necessity, as in the case of

the soldier who overstayed his leave because the
It is a Plea for Mercy
floods had blocked the roads.''
when the defendant confesses the crime and pre-

In the courts
meditation, yet begs for compassion.
this is rarely practicable,'' except when we speak in
defence of one w hose good deeds are numerous and
for example, interposing as a commonplace
notable
<^

" Even if he had done this, it

be appropriate to pardon him in view of
his past services; but he does not at all beg for
pardon." Such a cause, then, is not admissible in
the courts, but is admissible before the Senate, or

amplification

in

would

25

still

a general, or a council.^
X\. A cause rests on the Shifting of the Question
of Guilt when we do not deny our act but plead that
we were driven to it by the crimes of others, as in
the case of Orestes when he defended himself by
diverting the issue of guilt from himself to his

mother./
A cause rests on the Rejection of the Responsibility
when we repudiate, not the act charged, but the
responsibility, and either transfer it to another
person or attribute it to some circumstance. An
example of the transference of responsibility to
if an accusation should be brought
another person
against the confessed slayer of Publius Sulpicius, and
he should defend his act by invoking an order of the
consuls, declaring that they not only commanded the
:

'

Especially that of a magistrate;

and note

5,

and Wenger,

Procedure, p. 32.
f C/. 1. X. 17 above,

c/.

Institutes of the

and

1.

Mommsen, pp. 149 f.

Roman Law of Civil

xvi. 26 below.

47

[CICERO]
sed rationem quoque ostendisse quare id facere liceret.
In rem confertur, ut si quis ex testamento quod
facere iussus sit ex plebis scito vetetur.
Ex conparatione causa constat cum dicimus
necesse fuisse alterutrum facere, et id quod fecerimus
Ea causa huiusmodi est C.
satius fuisse facere.
Popilius, cum a Gallis obsideretur neque fugere ullo
modo posset, venit cum hostium dueibus in conlocutionem ita discessit ut inpedimenta relinqueret,
exercitum educeret. Satius esse duxit amittere inpedimenta quam exercitum. Exercitum eduxit,
inpedimenta reliquit. Arcessitur maiestatis.
XVI. Quae constitutiones et quae constitutionum
Nunc quo modo eas et
partes sint videor ostendisse.
qua via tractari conveniat demonstrandum est, si
prius aperuerimus quid oporteat ab ambobus in causa
:

destinari

quo

ratio

omnis totius orationis conferatur.

P. Sulpicius Rufus was among those proscribed by Sulla

88 B.C. Pursued by Sulla's horsemen, he took refuge in a
villa at Laurentum, where he was betrayed bj' a slave and
The
murdered. His head was exhibited on the rostra.
slave was set free by Sulla's orders and then hurled down the
" [SulTarpeian Rock. C/. Appian, Bell. Civil. 1. 7. 60
picius and others] had been voted enemies of Rome, and
anyone who came upon them had been authorized to kill
them with impunity or to bring them before the consuls
[Cornelius Sulla and Quintus Pompeius]." Velleius Pateroulus, 2. 19, says that Sulpicius and his followers were declared
exiles by formal decree {lege lata).
It was forbidden to bury
Sulpicius' body see 4. xxii. 31 below.
If this controversia was
not merely a school exercise, and the murderer was actually
called to account, that may have been in the year 87, when
Sulpicius' party again came into power.
See the notes on
4. xiv. 20, xxiv. 33, xxviii. 38, xxxiv. 45, lii. 65, and also
"

in

2. xxviii. 45.
*
According to the
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxiv. 72.
historians, after L. Cassius Longinus in the war against the

48

AD IIKRKNNIUM.
nUo

act but

<ave

1.

reason uliy

\v.

it

25-\vi. 25

was lawful."

An

a person
should be forbidden by a plebiscite to do what a will
has directed him to do.
A cause rests on Comparison with the Alternative
Course when we declare that it was necessary for us
to do one or the other of the two things, and that
This cause is of the
the one we did was the better.
Gains Popilius, hemmed in by the
following sort
Gauls, and quite unable to escape, entered into a
parley with the enemy's chiefs. He came away witli
consent to lead his army out on condition that he
abandon his baggage. He considered it better to
lose his baggage than his army. He led out his army
and left the baggage behind. He is charged with

example

ot"

attrihut ion to a circumstance

if

treason.

**

XVI. I believe that I have made clear what the

Types of Issue are and what are their subdivisions.
Now I must illustrate the proper ways and means of
treating these, first indicating what both sides in a
cause ought to fix upon as the point to which the
complete economv of the entire speech should be
directed.

Cimbri and their allies fell (in 107 B.C.) at the hands of the
Tigurini in Gaul, C. Popilius Laenas, legate, made a pact:
the Roman survivors would, in return for hostages and half
The Roman band went
of their possessions, leave in safety.
under the yoke of the Tigurini. No mention is here made of
the hostages nor of passing under the yoke, nor does the
amount of the baggage agree precisely with that in the
The charge of treason was made in 106
historical accounts.
by the tribune C. Caelius Caldus a fragment of the defence
appears in 4. xxiv. 34 below. Popilius went into exile, but
perhaps after a later trial under Saturninus' law of treason of
103 B.C.
;

49

[CICERO]
26

Constitutione igitur reperta statim quaerenda ratio

Ratio est quae caiisam facit et continet defensionem, hoc modo ut docendi causa in hac potissimum causa consistamus
Orestes confitetur se
occidisse matrem
nisi adtulerit facti rationem, perverterit defensionem.
Ergo adfert earn, quae nisi
" Ilia enim,"
intercederet, ne causa quidem esset.
inquit, " patrem meum occiderat."
Ergo, ut ostendi,
ratio ea est quae continet defensionem, sine qua ne
parva quidem dubitatio potest remorari damnationem.
Inventa ratione firmamentum quaerendum est, id
est, quod continet accusationem, quod adfertur contra
rationem defensionis de qua ante dictum est. Id
constituetur hoc modo: Cum usus fuerit Orestes
" lure occidi, ilia enim patrem
ratione hoc pacto
meum occiderat," utetur accusator firmamento, hoc
modo "At non abs te occidi neque indamnatam
poenas pendere oportuit."
Ex ratione defensionis et ex firmamento accusationis iudicii quaestio nascatur oportet, quam ^ nos
est.

quam

BC bl Mx ed. rnai.

tarn

HP

Ratio TO avvdxov, firmamentum

misconstrued fir mame7itum in De Inv.
*

earn

ro

Mx

quod d

Cicero

airiov.

Part.
Orat. 29. 103, Quintilian, 3. 11. 19, Volkmann, pp. 100-108,
Thiele, Hermagoras, pp. 67-78, Jaeneke, De statuum doctrina
ah Hermogene tradita, p. 111.
1.

xiv. 19;

cf.

Cf. 1. X. 17 and 1. xv. 25 above.

Cf. in Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 23 (1397ab), the third of the 28
topoi from which to draw enthymemes, the topos from corre" And if ' well or justly is true of the person
lative terms
*

'

'

'

'

to whom a thing is done, you may argue that it is true of the

doer.
But here the argument may be fallacious; for,
granting that the man deserved what he got, it does not

AD HKRENNIUM,
Immediately upon

we must seek the

findinf^

the

I.

xvi.

26

Type of

Issue, then,

which
determines the action and comprises the defence.
Thus Orestes (for the sake of clarity, to adhere to
tliis particular action) confesses that he slew his
mother. Unless he has advanced a Justifying Motive
He
for the act, he will have ruined his defence.
were it not interposed,
therefore advances one
there would not even be an action. " For she," says
he, " had slain my father." ^ Thus, as I have shown,
the Justifying Motive is what comprises the defence
without it not even the slightest doubt could exist
which would delay his condemnation.
Upon finding the Motive advanced in Justification
we must seek the Central Point " of the Accusation,
that is, that which comprises the accusation and is
presented in opposition to the Justifying Motive of
the defence which I have discussed above. This will
When Orestes has used
be established as follows
"I had the right to kill my
the Justifying Motive
mother,, for she had slain my father," the prosecutor
" Yes, but not by your
will use his Central Point
hand ought she to have been killed or punished
without a trial." ^
From the Justifying Motive of the defence and the
Central Point of the Accusation must arise the
Question for Decision, which we call the Point to
Justifyinnr Motive."

It is this

follow that he deserved it from you " (tr. Lane Cooper),

and in 2. 24 (1401b), the fallacy of omission illustrated by the
argument in Theodectes' Orestes. For the argument as used
in other Greek tragedies, c/. Tyndareiis in Euripides, Orestes
" My daughter, dying, paid her debt to justice, but
538-9
that she died at his hand was not meet," and Castor, addressing Orestes in Electra 1244 : " Your mother now has but jus:

tice,

but your deed

is

not just."

5^

[CICERO]
iudicationem, Graeci crinomenon appellant. Ea
constituetur ex coniunctione firmamenti et rationis,^
hoc modo: Cum dicat Orestes se patris ulciscendi
matrem occidisse, rectumne fuerit sine iudicio a
filio Clytemestram occidi ?
Ergo hac ratione iudicationem reperire convenit
reperta iudicatione
omnem rationem totius orationis eo conferri
;

oportebit.
27

XVII. In omnibus constitutionibus

constitutionum hac via iudicationes

partibus
reperientur,
praeterquam in coniecturali constitutione ; in ea nee
ratio qua re fecerit quaeritur, fecisse enim negatur,
nee firmamentum exquiritur, quoniam non subest
ratio.
Quare ex intentione et infitiatione iudicatio
" Occidisti
constituitur,
hoc modo:
Intentio :
Aiacem ; " Infitiatio
"Non occidi;" Iudicatio:
" Occideritne ? "
Ratio omnis utriusque orationis,
et

ut ante dictum est, ad banc iudicationem conferenda

est.
Si plures erunt constitutiones aut partes constitutionum, iudicationes quoque plures erunt in una
causa, sed et omnes simili ratione reperientur.
Sedulo dedimus operam ut breviter et dilucide
quibus de rebus adhuc dicendum fuit diceremus.
Nunc quoniam satis huius voluminis magnitudo
crevit, commodius est in altero libro de ceteris rebus
deinceps exponere, ne qua propter multitudinem
litterarum possit animum tuum defatigatio retardare.
Si qua tardius haec quam studes absolventur, cum
^

rationis defensione

" Kpivo^ievov,
'
'

52

Cf. Cicero,
KaTa^aCTts.

MSS. Mx.

Hermagorean doctrine.
De Inv. 1. xiv. 19.

AD HKRRNNIUM

I.

xvi.

26-xvii. 27

Adjudicate and the Greeks the krinomenon.'^ That

will be established from the meeting of the prosecutor's Central Point and the defendant's Justifying
When Orestes says that he
Motive, as follows
:

avenge his father, was it right for

Clytemnestra to be slain by her son without a trial ?
This, then, is the proper method of finding the Point
Once the Point to Adjudicate is
to Adjudicate.
found, the complete economy of the entire speech
ought to be directed to it.
XVII. The Points to Adjudicate will be found in
this way in all Types of Issue and their subdivisions,
except the conjectural.* Here the Justifying Motive
killed his

mother

to

is not in question, for the act is denied,

the Central Point of the Accusation sought,
Therefor no Justifying Motive has been advanced.
fore the Point to Adjudicate is established from the
AccusaAccusation and the Denial,'^ as follows
"You killed Ajax." Denial: "I did not."
tion
The Point to Adjudicate: Did he kill him? The
complete economy of both speeches must, as I have
said above, be directed to this Point to Adjudicate.
If there are several Types of Issue or their subdivisions in one cause, there will also be several
Points to Adjudicate, but all these, too, will be

for the act

nor

is

<^

determined by a like method.

I have taken great pains to discuss briefly and
clearly the matters that have had to be treated up to
this

point.

Now,

since

this

Book has grown

to

be more convenient in turn to

expound other matters in a second Book, so that the
great amount of material may not tire you and
If I dispatch these matters
slacken your attention.
too slowly for your eagerness, you will have to
sufficient length,

it

will

53

[CICERO]
rerum magnitudini turn nostris quoqiie occupationibus
adsignare debebis. Verumtamen maturabimus, et
quod negotio deminutum fuerit exaequabimus industria, ut pro tuo in nos officio et ^ nostro in te studio
munus hoc adcumulatissime tuae largiamur voluntati.
^

54

et bd:

in

CI

Mx omit.

AD HERENNIUM,

I.

xvii.

27

attribute that to the magnitude of the subject and

also to the demands of my other occupations.
Yet I
shall make speed, and compensate by diligence for
the time taken up by my affairs, to the end that, by
this gift, in token of your courtesy towards me and
my own interest in you, I may grant your desire in
most bountiful measure.

55

BOOK

il

LIBER SECUNDUS
1

I. In primo libro, Herenni, breviter exposiiimus

quas causes recipere oratorem oporteret et in
quibus officiis artis elaborare conveniret et ea officia
qua ratione facillime consequi posset. Verum quod
neque de omnibus rebus simul did poterat et de
maximis rebus primum scribendum fuit quo cetera
tibi faciliora cognitu viderentur, ita nobis placitum
est ut ea quae difficillima essent potissimum con-

scriberemus.

Causarum tria genera sunt

demonstrativum,
deliberativum, iudiciale.
Multo difficillimum iudiciale est
ergo id primum absolvimus hoc et priore
libro.
De oratoris officiis quinque inventio et prima
et difficillima est.
Ea quoque nobis erit hoc libro
propemodum absoluta parvae partes eius in tertium
:

volumen transferentur.

De

sex

cepimus

partibus
in

primo

orationis
libro

primum

locuti

scribere

in-

sumus de exordio,

divisione, nee pluribus verbis quam

necesse fuit nee minus dilucide quam te velle existimabamus deinde coniuncte de confirmatione et confutatione dicendum fuit.
Quare genera constitutionum
et earum partes aperuimus
ex quo simul ostende-

narratione,

1.

ii.

2.

ii.

3.

"

1.

Cicero,

" 3.

58

De

Inv.

1-viii. 15.

i.

1. iii.

4-x. 18.

1. vii.

princeps

omnium

partium.

BOOK
I.

II

In the prcccdiiif^ Book, Ilerennius,

briefly set

forth the causes with which the speaker must deal,**

and also the functions of his art to which he may

well devote his pains, and the means by which he can

most easily fulfil these functions.* But since it was
impossible to treat all the topics at once, and I had

primarily to discuss the most important of them in

order that the rest might prove easier for you to
understand, I therefore decided to write first upon
those that are the most difficult.
Epideictic,
There are three kinds of causes
By far the most difficult
Deliberative, and Judicial.
that is why, in the present Book, and
is the judicial
in the preceding Book, I have disposed of this kind
Of the five tasks of the speaker Invention
first of all.
That
is the most important ^ and the most difficult.
topic too I shall virtually have disposed of in the
small details will be postponed to
present Book
:

Book

III.'^

I first

undertook to discuss the

six parts

of a dis-

In the preceding Book I spoke about the

course.
Introduction, the Statement of Facts, and the
Division,^ at no greater length than was necessary nor
with less clarity than' I judged you desired. I had
next to discuss Proof and Refutation, conjointly.
Hence I expounded the different Types of Issue and
their subdivisions,/

and

this at the

/ 1. X.

same time showed

18- XV. 25.

59

[CICERO]
batur quomodo constitutionem et partem constitucausa posita reperiri oporteret. Deinde
docuimus iudicationem quemadmodum quaeri conveniret;
qua inventa curandum ut omnis ratio
Postea admonuitotius orationis ad earn conferatur.
mus esse causas conplures in quas plures constitutiones aut partes constitutionum adcommodarentur.
II. Reliquum videbatur esse ut ostenderemus quae
ratio posset inventiones ad unam quamque constitutionem aut partem constitutionis adcommodare, et
item quales argumentationes, quas Graeci epichiremata ^ appellant, sequi, quales vitari oporteret
quorum utrumque pertinet ad confirmationem et ad
confutationem. Deinde ad extremum docuimus
cuiusmodi conclusionibus orationum uti oporteat,
qui locus erat extremus de sex partibus orationis.
Primum ergo quaeremus quemadmodum quamque
tionis

causam tractare conveniat,

prima quaeque difficillima

et

nimirum eam quae

potissimum considerabimus.^
In causa coniecturali narratio accusatoris suspiciones interiectas et dispersas habere debet, ut nihil
actum, nihil dictum, nusquam ventum aut abitum,
Defensoris
nihil denique factum sine causa putetur.
narratio simplicem et dilucidam expositionem debet
habere, cum adtenuatione suspicionis.
^

is

epicheremata MSS. Mr.

considerabimus 1
corisideremus

6o

HPB 11

Mx.

xvi. 2o-xvii. 27.

1. xvii. 27.

"

1.

Implied in

"

The scheme of organization under Proof and Refutation

{a) the Types of Issue (1. x. 18 to end of Bk, 1
Invention applied to the Types of Issue (2. ii. 3-xvii. 26);

as follows

(b)

est

AD HKRKNNIUM,
how

II.

..

u.

t,

Type

of Issue and its subdivision are to be

^ivcn cause. Then I explained how the
Point to Adjudicate is properly sought; this found,
we must see that the complete economy of the entire
speech is directed to it.** After that I remarked that
there are not a few causes ^ to which several Types of
tlie

found

in a

Issue or their subdivisions are applicable.

II. It remained for me, as it seemed, to show by
what method we can adapt the means of invention to
each type of issue or its subdivision,^ and likewise
what sort of technical arguments (which the Greeks

call epicheiremata) ^ one ought to seek ^ or avoid /

both of these departments belong to Proof and Refutation.
Then finally I have explained what kind of
Conclusions to speeches one ought to employ ? the
Conclusion was the last of the six parts of a discourse.
First, then, I shall investigate how we should handle
causes representing each Type of Issue, and of
course shall give primary consideration to that type
Nvhich is the most important and most difiicult,
In a Conjectural cause the prosecutor's Statement
of Facts should contain, intermingled and interspersed
in it, material inciting suspicion of the defendant, so
that no act, no word, no coming or going, in short
nothing that he has done may be tht)ught to lack a
motiye. The Statement of Facts of the defendant's
counsel should contain a simple and clear account,
;

and should

also

weaken

suspicion.

the tractatio of the arguments devised

27-xxix. 46).

(c)

by Invention

(2. xviii.

f 2.

27-xix. 30.
XX. 31-xxix. 46.

'

XXX. 47-xxxi. 50.

'

2. xviii.

2.

61

[CICERO]
Huius constitutionis

ratio in sex partes est distri-

buta: probabile, conlationem, signum, argumentum,

consecutionem, approbationem. Horum unum quod-

que quid

valeat aperiemus.

Probabile est per quod probatur expedisse peccare,

hominem numquam

et ab simili turpitudine

afuisse.

Id dividitur in causam et in vitam.

Causa

est

modorum

ea quae induxit ad maleficium com-

spe

aut

incommodorum

vitatione,

cum

num quod commodum malefieio appetierit,

num honorem, num pecuniam, num dominationem
num aliquam cupiditatem aut amoris aut eiusmodi
libidinis voluerit explere, aut num quod incommodum
quaeritur

vitarit:

4 III.

Hie

inimicitias,

accusator

infamiam, dolorem, supplicium.

spe

in

commodi cupiditatem

ostendet adversarii, in vitatione incommodi formi-

dinem augebit. Defensor autem negabit fuisse

causam si poterit, aut eam vehementer extenuabit;
deinde iniquum esse dicet omnes ad quos aliquid
emolumenti ex aliqua re pervenerit in suspicionem
maleficii devocari.
^

quodq(ue) quid B^CE

quid quid

quidq(ue) 5^
quidquid quid

quodq(ue)
quodque quod P^
quidqu P^
quid quod II
:

Mx.

^
and dywyTJ (see Anon. Seg. 182, in Spengel-Hammer
1 [2]. 384).
The Rhet. ad Alex., eh. 7 (1428 ab), divides the
Probable into natural feelings {<l>vaLs), habit (eOos), and love
* lKOS.
"

ama

of gain (/cepSo?). Cicero, De Inv. 2. v. 16 ft'., derives all conjecture from consideration of the motive, the person, and the

62

AD HERRNNIUM,

II.

ii.

3 in. 4

The scheme of the Conjectural

Issue includes six

Probability, Comparison, Sign, Presump-

divisions:
tive Proof,

Proof.

Subsequent Behaviour, and Confirmatory

shall explain

the meaning of each of these

terms.

Through Probability one proves that the crime

was profitable to the defendant, and that he has never
'*

abstained from this kind of foul practice.

heads under Probability are Motive and

The subManner of

Life.^

The Motive ^ is what led the defendant to commit

the crime, through the hope it gave him of winning
advantages or avoiding disadvantages.*^ The question
is
Did he seek some benefit from the crime honour,
money, or power? Did he wish to satisfy some
passion love or a like overpowering desire ? Or did
he seek to avoid some disadvantage enmities, ill
4 repute, pain, or punishment?
III. Here the prosecutor, if the hope of gaining an advantage is in
question, will disclose his opponent's passion if the
avoidance of a disadvantage is in question, he will
enlarge upon his opponent's fear. The defendant's
counsel, on the other hand, will, if possible, deny
that there was a motive, or will at least vigorously
belittle its importance
then he will say that it is
unfair to bring under suspicion of wrongdoing everv
one to whom some profit has come from an act.

act, distinguishing in motive passion ( itnpulsio) and premeditation (ratiocinaiio).

Quintilian, 7. 2. 7 ff., treats conjecture

from the point of view of the act and the author

(his identity,

his intention [animus^).

'

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. v. 17-viii. 28.

in Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 23 (1399b

^ CJ.

Inducements and Deterrents;

and

30

ff.),

see note

the topos of
2. xxi. 34

on

below.

63

[CICERO]
Deinde

Primum

vita hominis ex ante factis spectabitur.

considerabit accusator niim qiiando simile

quid fecerit.

Si id

non

reperiet, quaeret

num quando

et in eo debebit esse
venerit in similem suspicionem
occupatus ut ad earn causam peccati quam paulo
ante exposuerit vita hominis possit adcommodari, hoc
modo si dicet pecuniae causa fecisse, ostendat eum
ita
semper avarum fuisse, si honoris, ambitiosum
poterit animi vitium cum causa peccati conglutinare.
Si non poterit par vitium cum causa reperire, reperiat
dispar.
Si non poterit avarum demonstrare, demonstret corruptorem pertidiosum, si quo modo poterit
denique aliquo aut quam phu'imis vitiis contaminare
deinde qui illud fecerit tarn nequiter eundem hunc
Si vehetarn perperam fecisse non esse mirandum.
menter castus et ^ integer ^ existimabitur adversarius, dicet facta, non famam spectari oportere
se planum facilium ante occultasse sua flagitia
turum ab eo maleficium non abesse. Defensor
primum demonstrabit vitam integram, si poterit; id
si non poterit, confugiet ad inprudentiam, stultitiam,
quibus de rebus
adulescentiam, vim, persuasionem
vituperatio eorum quae extra id crimen erunt
non debeat adsignari. Sin vehementer hominis
;

et P-'6

integer

Cf. Cicero,

Cf. Cicero,

life
'^

'

64

De
De

Quintilian, 7.

(/

other

MS8.

M8S.

Mx

Mx omit.

brackets.

Inv. 2. x. 32.
Inv. 2. x. 33.
2. 34, discusses charges based on the past

of the defendant.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv.

2. x.

33 and

2. x. 34.
2. si.

35.

2. xvi. 50.

AD IIKRKNNIUM,
5

II.

iii.

Next the defriulant's Manner of Life will be examined in the light of his ])revious eonduct. First the
prosecutor will consider whether the accused has ever
committed a similar offence.'* If he does not find any,
he will seek to learn whether the accused has ever incurred the suspicion of any similar guilt; and it will
devolve upon him to make every effort to relate the

manner of

life to the motive which he has

For example, if the prosecutor contends that the motive for the crime was money, let him
show that the defendant has always been covetous
if the motive was public honour, ambitious; he will
thus be able to link the flaw in the defendant's
If he cancharacter with the motive for the crime.
not find a flaw consistent with the motive, let him
find one that is not.
If he cannot show that the
defendant is covetous,* let him show that he is a
treacherous seducer
in short, if he possibly can, let
him brand the defendant with the stigma of some one
fault, or indeed, of as many faults as possible.'^ Then,
he will say, it is no wonder that the man who in
that other instance acted so basely should have acted

defendant's

just exposed.

If the adversar}'^
enjoys a high reputation for purity and integrity, the
prosecutor will say that deeds, not reputation, ought
to be considered
that the defendant has previously
concealed his misdeeds,^ and he will make it plain
that the defendant is not guiltless of misbehaviour.
The defendant's counsel will first show his client's
upright life/ if he can
if he cannot, he will have
recourse to thoughtlessness, folly, youth, force, or
censure
undue influence.
On these matters
ought not to be imposed for conduct extraneous to
the present charge.
If the speaker is seriously

so criminally in this instance too.<^

65

[CICERO]
turpitudine inpedietur et infainia, prius dabit operam
ut falsos rumores dissipates esse dicat de innocente,
et utetur loco communi rumoribus credi non oportere.
Sin nihil eorum fieri potest, utatur extrema defensione dicat non se de moribus eius apud censores, sed
de criminibus adversariorum apud iudices dicere.
IV. Conlatio est cum accusator id quod adversarium fecisse criminatur alii nemini nisi reo bono
fuisse demonstrat, aut alium nemineni potuisse perficere nisi adversarium, aut eum ipsum aliis rationibus
aut non potuisse aut non aeque commode potuisse,
aut eum fugisse alias rationes commodiores propter
cupiditatem.
Hoc loco defensor demonstret oportet
aut aliis quoque bono fuisse, aut alios quoque id quod
ipse insimuletur facere potuisse.
Signum est per quod ostenditur idonea perficiendi
facultas esse quaesita.
Id dividitur in partes sex
locum, tempus, spatium, occasionem, spem per:

ficiendi,

spem

celandi.
quaeritur, Celebris

an desertus, semper
desertus an tum cum id factum sit, fuerit in eo loco
solitudo, sacer an profanus, publicus an privatus
fuerit
cuiusmodi loci adtingant
num qui est
passus perspectus, exauditus esse possit.
Horum

Locus

" C/. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xi. 37.

In Gellius, 14. 2. 8, a man
against whom the claim of a sum of money was made pleads
that the case concerns a claim before a private judge, and
not a question of morals before the censors.
* CJ. Cicero, De Inv. 2. vii. 24.
' aijfielov.
Different from the usual signum of the rhetoricians ; see Rhet. ad Alex., chaps. 7 (1428a), 12 (1430b-1431a),
and 14 (1431ab), Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 2 (1357ab) ; Cicero, De Inv.
also Kroll, Philologvs
1. XXX. 48, and Quintilian, 5. 9. 1 ft".
"I might
89 (1934). 334-341. Cf. Cicero, Pro Caelio 22. 53
;

66

AD HKRKNNIUM,

II.

in.

iv.

handicapped by the man's baseness and notoriety, he

will first take care to say that false rumours have
been spread about an innocent man, and will use the
commonplace that rumours ouglit not to be believed.
If none of these pleas is practicable, let him use the
let him say that he is not
last resource of defence
discussing the man's morals before censors, but the
charges of his opponents before jurors."
6
IV. Comparison * is used when the prosecutor
shows that the act charged by him against his
adversary has benefited no one but the defendant
or that no one but his adversary could have committed
or that his adversary could not have committed it,
it
;

or at least not so easily, by other means

or that,
blinded by passion, his adversary failed to see any
easier means.
To meet this point the defendant's
counsel ought to show that the crime benefited others
as well, or that others as well could have done what is
imputed to his client.
By Signs one shows that the accused sought an
opportunity favourable to success. Sign ^ has six
divisions
the Place, the Point of Time, the Duration
of Time, the Occasion, the Hope of Success, the
Hope of Escaping Detection.
7
The Place is examined as follows Was it frequented or deserted, always a lonely place, or
deserted then at the moment of the crime ? A sacred
place or profane, public or private ? What sort of
places are adjacent?
Could the victim have been
seen or heard ? I should willingly describe in detail
;

my speech search every lurking-place of suspicion. No

motive, no place, no opportunity, no accomplice, no hope of
succeeding in the crime, no hope of escaping detection, no
means at all, no trace of heinous guilt will be found."
in

67

[CICERO]
quid reo, quid accusatori conveniat perscribere non
gravaremur, iiisi facile quivis causa posita posset
Initia enim inventionis ab arte debent
iudicare.
cetera facile conparabit exercitatio.
proficisci
Tempus ita quaeritur quid anni, qua hora noctu
an interdiu et qua die, qua noctis hora factum esse
dicatur, et cur eiusmodi temporibus.
;

Spatium ita considerabitur satisne longum fuerit

ad earn rem transigendam, scieritne satis ad id pernam parvi refert satis
ficiendum spatii futurum
spatii fuisse ad id perficiendum si id ante sciri et
ratione provideri non potuit.
Occasio quaeritur, idoneane fuerit ad rem adoriendam, an alia melior quae aut praeterita sit aut non
:

expectata.
si

Spes perficiendi ecqua fuerit spectabitur hoc modo

quae supra dicta sunt signa concurrent, si praeterea

vires, pecunia, consilium, scientia,

apparatio videbitur esse, ex altera parte inbecillitas,
inopia, stultitia, inprudentia, inapparatio demonstrabitur fuisse ; qua re scire poterit ^ utrum diffidendum

ex altera parte

an confidendum fuerit.
Spes celandi quae fuerit quaeritur ex
arbitris, adiutoribus, liberis
^

poterit

consciis,

aut servis aut utrisque.

potuerit

E Mx.

" For the genitive form die, see W. M. Lindsay, The Latin
Language, Oxford, 1894, pp. 382-3 Neue-Wagener, Formenlehre der lutein. Sprache (3rd ed., Leipzig, 1902), 1. 573-4;
Kuhner-Holzweissig, Ausfuhrliche Grammatik der lutein.
Sprache (2nd ed., Hannover, 1912), 1. 405-6.
*
Cf. Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 5 (1383a): "We feel confidence
there are means of aid either numerous means or
it
great, or both numerous and great."
;

68

AD

HEllF.NNIUM,

II.

iv.

which of these points is serviceable to the defence, and

which to the prosecution, were it not that any one
would in a given cause find this easy to determine.
For of Invention it is only the first principles which
ought to originate in theory all the rest will readily
be supplied by practice.
;

The Point of Time is examined as follows In what

season of the year, in what part of the day whether
at what hour of the day
at night or in the daytime
or night, is the act alleged to have been committed,
and why at such a time ?
The Duration of Time will be considered in the
following fashion
Was it long enough to carry this
act through, and did the defendant know that there
would be enough time to accomplish it ? For it is
only of slight importance that he had enough time to
carry out the crime if he could not in advance have
known or have forecast that that would be so.
The Occasion is examined as follows
Was it
favourable for the undertaking, or was there a
better occasion which was either let pass or not
awaited ?
Whether there was any Hope of Success will be investigated as follows
Do the above-mentioned signs
coincide ? Especially, do power, money, good judgement, foreknowledge, and preparedness appear on
one side, and is it proved that on the other there were
weakness, need, stupidity, lack of foresight, and
unpreparedness ? Hereby one will know^ whether
the defendant should have had confidence in his
:

**

success or not.

What Hope

there was of Escaping Detection

from confidants, eye-witnesses,
accomplices, freemen or slaves or both.^

seek to learn

we
or

69

[CICERO]
8

V.

Argumentum

est per

quod

res coarguitur cer-

tioribus argumentis et niagis firma suspicione.

dividitur

in

tempora

tria

praeteritum,

Id

instans,

consequens.
In praeterito tempore oportet considerare ubi
fuerit, ubi visus sit, quicum visus sit, num quid
appararit, num quern eonvenerit, num quid dixerit,
num quid habuerit de consciis, de adiutoribus, de
adiumentis num quo in loco praeter consuetudinem
fuerit aut alieno tempore.
In instanti tempore
quaeretur num visus sit cum faciebat, num qui
strepitus, clamor, crepitus exauditus, aut denique
num quid aliquo sensu perceptum sit, aspectu, auditu,
tactu, odoratu, gustatu
nam quivis horum sensus
potest conflare suspicionem.
In consequenti tempore
spectabitur num quid re transacta relictum sit quod
indicet aut factum esse maleficium aut ab quo factum
;

Factum esse, hoc modo si tumore et livore

decoloratum corpus est mortui, significat eum veneno
necatum. A quo factum sit, hoc modo si telum, si
vestimentum, si quid eiusmodi relictum aut si
sit.

" Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xiii, 43.

Argumentum is virtually
equivalent to the ar]fiLov (fallible sign) of the Rhet. ad Alex.
(eh. 12, 1430b).
The tradition thus antedates Aristotle and
persisted against his theory of orjixeiov, which joined with
ciKos (the probable proposition) in forming the material of
the enthymeme (E. M. Cope, An Introd. to Aristoile^s Rhetoric,
London and Cambridge, 1867, pp. 160 ff.). The communes
loci dealing with the TrepiaTdaeis are akin to the Aristotelian
kind of topoi, but are not specifically Aristotelian, They
belong in the Hermagorean system of Issues, but the specific
division of a-qixeXa into three periods goes back to pre-ArisNeocles
totelian rhetorical theory {Rhet. ad Alex., I.e.).
(first or second Christian century) in Anon. Seg. 153 (SpengelHammer 1 [2]. 379) divides probabilities, signs, and examples

AD HKRKNNIUM,
8

II.

v.

V. Through Presumptive Proof guilt is demonstrated by means of indications that increase certainty
and strengthen suspicion. It falls into three periods :
preceding the crime, contemporaneous with the
crime, following the crime.**
In respect to the period preceding the crime, one
ought to consider where the defendant was, where he
was seen, with whom seen, whether he made some
preparation, met any one, said anything, or showed
any sign of having confidants, accomplices, or
means of assistance whether he was in a place, or
there at a time, at variance with his custom.
In
respect to the period contemporaneous with the crime,
we shall seek to learn whether he was seen in the
act whether some noise, outcry, or crash was heard ;
;

whether anything was perceived by one

of the senses
sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste.
For any type of sense-experience can arouse suspicion.
In respect to the period following the crime, one will
seek to discover whether after the act was completed
there was left behind anything indicating that a
crime was committed, or by whom it was committed.
Indicating that it was committed
for example, if
the body of the deceased is swollen and black and blue
that the man was killed by poison.
it signifies
Indicating by whom it was committed: for example,
if a weapon, or clothing, or something of the kind was
left behind, or a footprint of the accused was disor, in short,

into three types according to the same chronological scheme,

" as cloud indicating storm, smoke fire, and blood murder."
'LrjUela and eiVdra were used by the Attic orators as early as
Antiphon, and by Thucydides; see Friedrich Solmsen, Die
Entwkklung der arislofelischen Logik iind Rheiorik (Neue
Philol. Untersuch. 4), Berlin, 1929, pp. 26-7, and Antiphonatudien (Neue Philol. Untersuch. 8), Berlin, 1931, pp. 50 ff.

7J

[CICERO]
vestigium rei repertum fuerit si cruor in vestimentis
si in eo loco conprehensus aut visus, transacto negotio,
quo in loco res gesta dicitur.
Consecutio est cum quaeritur quae signa nocentis
Accusator dicet,
et innocentis consequi soleant.
si poterit, adversarium, cum ad eum ventum sit,
erubuisse, expalluisse, titubasse, inconstanter locutum
;

quae signa
esse, concidisse, pollicitum esse aliquid
Si
reus horum nihil fecerit,
conscientiae sint.
accusator dicet eum usque adeo praemeditatum
fuisse quid sibi esset usu venturum ut confidentissime
quae signa confidentiae,
resisteret, responderet ^
non innocentiae sint. Defensor, si pertimuerit,
magnitudine periculi, non conscientia peccati se
commotum esse dicet; si non pertimuerit, fretum
innocentia negabit esse commotum.
VI. Approbatio est qua utimur ad extremum
confirmata suspicione. Ea habet locos proprios
atque communes. Proprii sunt ii quibus nisi accusaComtor nemo potest uti, et ii quibus nisi defensor.
munes sunt qui alia in causa ab reo, alia ab accusatore
In causa coniecturali proprius locus
tractantur.
;

responderet 3Jx brackets.

sympt07n. different, (ed. Kiihn, 7. 43), " the

"
which some physicians call iTnyevvTjfia
(after-symptom); Chrysippus, fragm. 125, ed. Alfred Gercke,
nar
Jahrhucher fur Class. Philol, Suppl. 14 (1885), 738
"

De

Cf. Galen,

symptom

(CTu/xTrraj/ia)

eTTaKoXovOrj^d rt Kal avix7TTio[xa.

''

Defensor

last sentence

it meant reus.
Cf. also the
in 2. iv. 6, and in 2. xiv. 22
Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxviii. 83 and 86, and 2.
Wenger, Institutes of the Roman Law of Civil

here used as if
under Comparison
is

XV. 22, end

xxix. 88; and
Procedure, p. 91, note 44.
2.

AD HKRKNNIUM,

H.

v.

8-vi. 9

or if,
if there was blood on his clothes
deed was done, he was caught or seen in
the spot where the crime is alleged to have been

covered

after the

perpetrated.

For

Subsequent

Behaviour

we

investigate

the

signs which usually attend guilt or innocence." The

prosecutor will, if possible, say that his adversary,
when come upon, blushed, paled, faltered, spoke
unccrtainlv, collapsed, or made some offer signs of a

guilty conscience.

If the accused has

done none of

these things, the prosecutor will say his adversarv'

had even so far in advance calculated what would

actuallv happen to him that he stood his ground and

signs of
replied with the greatest self-assurance
audacity, and not of innocence. The defendant's
counsel, if his client has shown fear, will say that he
was moved,'' not by a guilty conscience, but by the
if his client has not shown
magnitude of his peril
fear, counsel will say that he was unmoved because he
relied on his innocence.
9
VI. Confirmatory Proofs is what we employ finally,
when suspicion has been established. It has special
and common topics.'^ The special topics are those
which only the prosecution, or those which only the
defence, can use. The common topics are those
which are used now by the defence, and now by the
In a conjectural
prosecution, depending on the case.
;

ad Alex., ch. 36 (1442b).

'

^e^alcoais in Rhet.

The treatment of commonplaces goes back

to Protagoras

and Gorgias

(Cicero, Brutus 12. 46-7, Quintilian, 3. 1. 12).

On the topoi of Aristotle see Cope, An Introd. to Aristotle's
Rhetoric, pp. 124-131.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xv. 48, who
makes a twofold classification of the matters ampUfied
doubtful and certain; Quintilian, 5. 12. 15-16; and note on
2.

rxx. 47 below.

73

[CICERO]

cum dicit malorum misereri non

cum auget peccati atrocitatem. Defensoris proprius locus est cum misericordiam captat et
cum accusatorem calumniari criminatur. Communes loci sunt cum accusatoris tum defensoris abs
accusatoris

est

oportere, et

contra testes
abs quaestionibus, contra
quaestiones
ab argumentis, contra argumenta ab

testibus,

rumoribus, contra rumores.

A testibus dicemus secundum auctoritatem et

vitam testium et constantiam testimoniorum. Contra
testes secundum ^ vitae turpitudinem, testimoniorum
inconstantiam si aut fieri non potuisse dicemus aut
non factum esse quod dicant, aut scire illos non
Haec et
potuisse, aut cupide dicere et argumentari.
ad inprobationem et ad interrogationem testium
:

pertinebunt.
10

VII.

quaestionibus

bimus maiores

dicemus cum demonstra-

cruciatu voluisse quaeri, et

summo

cogi ut quicquid sciant dicant

^

causa tormentis et

veri inveniendi

lacuna;

secundum

dolore homines

et praeterea con-

inserted by Schuetz.

" For a, ab meaning on the side of cf. 2. xxvii. 43

and see Sehmalz-Hofmann, p. 523.
* The non-technical means of persuasion (TriWei?

{ab reo),
drexvoi),

those that are not inherent in the art, that are not supplied by
our own efiforts. See Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 2 (1355b) and 1. 15
laws, witnesses, contracts, evidence
(1375a), who lists five
given under torture, and the oath. The theorv is pre-Aristotelian; cf. Ehet. ad Alex., chaps. 7 (1428a) and 14 (1431b)
the
on the supplementary proofs {irrldeToi maTeig)
ff.,
speaker's own opinion, witnesses, admissions under torture,
and oaths. The employment of these proofs long antedated
:

74

AD IIERRNNIUM,

II.

vi.

9-vii.

10

cause the prosecutor uses a special topic when he

says that wicked men ought not to be pitied, and
expatiates upon the atrocity of the crime. The defendant's counsel uses a special topic when he tries to
win pity, and charges the prosecutor with slander.
These topics are common to both prosecution and
defence
to speak for or against witnesses, for or
against the testimony given under torture, for or
against presumptive proof, and for or against rumours.**
In favour of witnesses ^ we shall speak under the
heads
(a) authority and manner of life of the
witnesses, and (6) the consistency of their evidence.
(a) their base
Against witnesses, under the heads
manner of living (6) the contradictory character of
their testimony
(c) if we contend that what they
allege to have happened either could not have
happened or did not happen, or that they could not
have known it, or that it is partiality which inspires
their words and inferences.
These topics will appertain both to the discrediting and to the examination
of witnesses.
10
VII.
shall speak in favour of the testimony
given under torture when we show that it was in
order to discover the truth that our ancestors wished
investigations to make use of torture and the rack,
and that men are compelled by violent pain to tell
:

We

'^

all

they know.

argumentation

Moreover, such reasoning

in the law-courts;

into being its first function

existing " proofs.
^

will

have

when argumentation came

was to interpret these " already

fidprvpes.

^daavoL.

To be

distinguished

from

iudicii

quaestio

Torture was administered under the direction

of the court, but not in the presence of the jury. The
torture of free men was not legal.
(1.

xvi. 26).

75

[CICERO]
erit disputatio si quae dicta erunt
argumentando isdem viis quibus omnis coniectura
tractatur trahemus ad veri similem suspicionem;
idemque hoc in testimoniis facere oportebit. Contra

firmatior haec

quaestiones hoc

modo dicemus:

primum maiores
cum

voluisse certis in rebus interponi quaestiones

quae vere dicerentur

pronuntiarentur

loco quid positum

quae

sciri,

refelli
sit,

et

si

videri aut vestigiis probari

posset;

percipi

falso in quaestione

possent, hoc

modo

quo

in

quid esset simile quod

aut aliquo simili signo

deinde dolori credi non oportere,

quod alius alio recentior sit in dolore, quod ingeniosior

ad eminiscendum, quod denique saepe scire aut
suspicari possit quid quaesitor velit audire quod cum
dixerit, intellegat sibi finem doloris futurum.
Haec
disputatio conprobabitur si refellemus quae in
;

quaestionibus erunt dicta probabili argumentatione

idque partibus coniecturae quas ante exposuimus

facere oportebit.

Ab

11

argumentis et signis et ceteris

augetur suspicio dicere hoc

modo

quibus

locis

convenit

Cum

multa concurrant argumenta et signa quae inter se

consentiant, rem perspicuam, non suspiciosam videri
oportere.
Item plus oportere signis et argumentis
credi quam testibus, haec enim eo modo exponi quo
^

lac.

aut vestigiis probari suggested by Mx.

2.

76

ii.

3-v.

8.

AD HERENNIUM,
the greater force

if

we

II.

vii.

lo-ii

give the confessions elicited

under torture an appearance of plausibility by the

same argumentative procedure as is used in treating
any question of fact. And this, too, we shall have to do
with the evidence of witnesses. Against the testimony
given under torture we shall speak as follows In the
first place, our ancestors wished inquisitions to be
introduced only in connection with unambiguous
matters, when the true statement in the inquisition
could be recognized and the false reply refuted
for example, if thev sought to learn in what place
some object was put, or if there was in question
something like that which could be seen, or be
verified by means of footprints, or be perceived by
some like sign. We then shall say that pain ought
not to be relied upon, because one person is less
exhausted by pain, or more resourceful in fabrication,
than another, and also because it is often possible to
know or divine what the presiding justice wishes to
hear, and the witness knows that when he has said
Such reasoning ^vill
this his pain will be at an end.
find favour, if, by a plausible argument, we refute
the statements made in the testimony given under
torture; and to accomplish this we should use the
divisions under the Conjectural Issue which I have
:

set forth above.**

11

In favour of presumptive proof, signs, and the other

means of increasing suspicion it is advantageous to
\Mien there is a concurrence of
speak as follows
:

many

circumstantial indications and signs that agree

with one another, the result ought to appear as clear
fact, not surmise.
Again, signs and presumptive
proof deserve more credence than witnesses, for these
first are presented precisely as they occurred in
77

[CICERO]

modo

re vera sint gesta, testes corrumpi posse vel

pretio vel gratia vel

argumenta

metu

vel simultate.

et signa et ceteras suspiciones

Contra
dicemus

si demonstrabimus nullam rem esse quam

non suspicionibus quivis possit criminari
deinde
unam quamque suspicionem extenuabimus et dabimus operam ut ostendamus nihilo magis in nos eam
indignum
quam in alium quempiam convenire

hoc modo

facinus esse sine testibus coniecturam et suspicionem

firmamenti
12

satis

habere.

rumoribus dicemus si negabimus temere

famam nasci solere quin subsit aliquid et si dicemus
causam non fuisse quare quispiam confingeret et
VIII.

eminisceretur

et praeterea,

si

ceteri falsi soleant

argumentabimur hunc esse verum. Contra

rumores dicemus primum si docebimus multos esse
falsos rumores, et exemplis utemur de quibus falsa
fama fuerit; et aut iniquos nostros aut homines
natura malivolos et maledicos confinxisse dicemus
et aliquam aut fictam fabulam in adversarios adferemus quam dicamus omnibus in ore esse, aut
verum rumorem proferemus qui illis aliquid turpitudinis adferat, neque tamen ei rumori nos fidem
habere dicemus, ideo quod quivis unus homo possit
quamvis turpem de quolibet rumorem proferre et
confictam fabulam dissipare. Verumtamen si rumor
vehementer probabilis esse videbitur, argumentando
famae fidem poterimus abrogare.
esse,

For the same sentiment c/. Anon. Seg. 189, in Spengel1 (2). 386; Hermogenes, De Stat. 3 (ed. Rabe, pp.
The speaker who
45-6); also Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 15 (1376 a)
"

Hammer

78

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

vii.

ii-viii.

12

reality, whereas witnesses can be corrupted by

bribery, or partiality, or intimidation, or animosity."
Against presumptive proof, signs, and the other provocatives of suspicion we shall speak in the following
fashion
we shall show that nothing is safe from
attack by suspicion, and then we shall weaken each
and every reason for suspicion and try to show that it
applies to us no more than to any one else
it is a
shameful outrage to consider suspicion and conjecture, in the absence of witnesses, as sufficiently
corroborative.
12
\'III.
shall speak in favour of rumours by saying that a report is not wont to be created recklessly
and without some foundation, and that there was no
reason for anybody wholly to invent and fabricate
one ; and, moreover, if other rumours usually are
lies, we shall prove by argument that this one is
true.
shall speak against rumours if we first
show that many rumours are false, and cite examples
of false report
if we say that the rumours were
the invention of our enemies or of other men mahcious
and slanderous by nature and if we either present
some story invented against our adversaries which
we declare to be in every mouth, or produce a true
report carrying some disgrace to them, and say we
yet have no faith in it for the reason that any person
at all can produce and spread any disgraceful rumour
or fiction about any other person.
If, nevertheless, a
rumour seems highly plausible, we can destroy its
authority by logical argument.
:

We

We

lacks witnesses on his side will argue " that probabilities

cannot be bribed to mislead the court, and are never convicted

of false witness."

79

[CICERO]

Quod

et difficillima tractatu est constitutio coniec-

turalis et in veris causis saepissime

tractanda

est,

eo

omnes eius partes perscrutati sumus, ut ne

parvula quidem titubatione aiit offensatione inpedire-

diligentius

mur,

si

ad banc rationem praeceptionis adsiduitatem

adcommodassemus. Nunc ad legitimae

exercitationis

constitutionis partes transeamus.

13

Cum

voluntas scriptoris cum scripto dissidere

a scripto dicemus, his locis utemur:
secundum narrationem primum scriptoris conlaudatione, deinde scripti recitatione, deinde percontatione
scirentne idonee adversarii id scriptum fuisse in lege
aut testamento aut stipulatione aut quolibet scripto
quod ad cam rem pertinebit deinde conlatione quid
scriptum sit, quid adversarii se fecisse dicant
quid
iudicem sequi conveniat, utrum id quod diligenter
perscriptum sit, an id quod acute sit excogitatum
deinde ea sententia quae ab adversariis sit excogitata
et scripto adtributa contemnetur et infirmabitur.
Deinde quaeretur quid periculi fuerit si id voluisset
adscribere, aut num non potuerit perscribi.
Deinde
a nobis sententia reperietur et causa proferetur quare
IX.

videbitur,

si

quod scripserit et demonstrabitur

scriptum illud esse dilucide, breviter, commode, perid scriptor senserit

cum ratione certa. Deinde exempla proferentur quae res, cum ab adversariis sententia et
voluntas adferretur, ab scripto potius iudicatae sint.
Deinde ostendetur quam periculosum sit ab scripto
recedere.
Locus communis est contra eum qui, cum
fecte,

" dXrjdiva TTpdyfiara (Longinus, in Spenge I -Hammer 1 [2].

195. 18), as distinguished from school exercises; c/. 4. xliv. 58.
* C/. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xliii. 125.

8o

AD IIKRENNIUM,

II.

vin.

12-ix.

13

Hecaiisc the Conjectural K'^ue is the hardest to

treat and in actual causes " needs to be treated most
often,

have the more carefully examined all its

we may not be hindered by

divisions, in order that

even the slightest hesitation or blunder, if only we

have applied these precepts of theory in a^ssiduous
practice.
Now let me turn to the subtypes of Legal
Issue.
13

IX. When the intention of the framer appears at

variance with the letter of a text, speaking in support
of the letter * we shall employ the following topics
first, after the Statement of Facts, a eulogy of the
framer and then the reading aloud of the text next
the questioning of our adversaries
Are they duly
aware that this text was in a law, will, contract, or any
other document involved in the cause ? then a comparison of the text with the admitted act of our
adversaries
Which should the judge follow
document carefully draughted, or an interpretation
cunningly invented r After that the interpretation
devised and given to the text by our adversaries
will be disparaged and weakened.
Then the question
will be raised
What risk would the writer have run
by adding an entry of that kind had he really intended
it, or was it impossible to write it out in full r
Then
we shall ascertain the writer's intention and present
the reason why he had in mind what he wrote, and
show that that text is clear, concise, apt, complete,
and planned with precision. Thereupon we shall cite
examples of judgements rendered in favour of the
text, although adversaries raised the issue of spirit
and intention. Finally, we shall show the danger of
departing from the letter of the text. The commonplace here is that against one who, though confessing
;

'

81

[CICERO]
fateatur se contra

mento perscriptum
14

quod legibus sanctum aut testasit fecisse, tamen facti quaerat

defensionem.
X. Ab sententia

sic dicemus
primum laudabimus
commoditatem atque brevitatem, quod
tantum scripserit quod necesse fuerit illud quod sine
scripto intellegi potuerit non necessario scribendum
putarit.
Deinde dicemus calumniatoris esse officium
:

scriptoris

verba

et

litteras

neglegere

sequi,

voluntatem.

Deinde id quod scriptum sit aut non posse fieri aut

non lege, non more, non natura, non aequo et bono
posse fieri, quae omnia noluisse scriptorem quam
rectissime fieri nemo dicet
at ea quae a nobis facta
sint iustissime facta.
Deinde contrariam sententiam
aut nullam esse aut stultam aut iniustam aut non
posse fieri aut non constare cum superioribus et in;

cum iure communi aut cum

communibus aut cum rebus iudicatis
dissentire.
Deinde exemplorum a voluntate et contra
scriptum iudicatorum enumeratione, deinde legum
ferioribus sententiis aut
aliis

legibus

aut stipulationum breviter exscriptarum in quibus

[People
Cf. Cicero, Pro Caecina 23. 65
that they have equity on their side say that] " a pettifogger follows the letter; a good juror defends the will arid
intention of the framer."
* The departments of Law, considered in 2. xiii.
19-20
below.
* KOLvov SiKaiov, the " unwritten statutes of heaven that stand
fast for ever " (dypaTna Kdo(f)aXrj dewv p-d/xt/na) of Sophocles,
Antig. 454-5.
(Sophocles apparently echoes an argument
used by Pericles in an actual case see Lysias, Adv. Andoc. 10).
" By universal law I mean
Cf. Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 10 (1368b)
all the unwritten principles that are supposed to be acknow
" For indeed there
ledged by all mankind "; 1. 13 (1373b)
is, as all men to some extent divine, a natural and universal
"

who

a/cptjSoSiVatof.

feel

82

AD HERKN'NIUM,

14

II.

i.\.

jt,-x.

14

that he has violated the mandates of a statute or

the directions of a will, yet seeks to defend his act.
X. In favour of the intention we shall speak as
follows
first we shall praise the framer for deft
conciseness in having written only what was necessary
he did not think it necessary to write what could be
understood without a text. Next we shall say that
to follow the words literally and to neglect the
intention is the method of a pettifogger." Then,
we shall contend, the letter either cannot be
carried out, or at least not without violation of
Statute Law, Legal Custom, the Law of Nature, or
Equity * all these, as no one will deny, the writer
wished to be most strictly observed
but on the
contrary, what we have done is absolutely just.
Further, the interpretation of our adversaries is
either no interpretation, or is unreasonable, unjust,
impracticable, or inconsistent with past or subsequent interpretations, or is in disagreement with
or with other generally binding
the common law
rules of law or with previous decisions.
Next we
shall cite instances of decisions rendered in favour of
the intention and contrary to the letter, and then
:

<^

notion of right and wrong, binding on them even if they

have no mutual intercourse or covenant"; 1. 15 (137oa);
" It is clear that if the written law is adverse to our case, he
[the speaker] must appeal to the universal law, and to the
principles of equity as representing a higher order of justice.
[He must say] that [the judge's obhgation to decide] according to my best judgement means that the judge will not be
guided simph" and solely by the letter of the statute " (tr.
Lane Cooper); Cope, An Introd. to Aristotle's Rhetoric, pp.
239-44. Cf. also the Stoic Chrysippus in Diogenes Laertius
" The common law, the right reason pervading all
7. 88
things; " and Cicero, De Offic. 3. 17. 69.
'

'

83

[CICERO]
intellegatur scriptorum voluntas et recitatione utemur et ^ expositione. Locus communis contra eum
qui scriptum recitet et scriptoris voluntatem non
interpretetur.
15
Cum duae leges inter se discrepant ,2 videndum est
primum num quae obrogatio aut derogatio sit, deinde
utrum leges ita dissentiant ut altera iubeat, altera
vetet, an ita ut altera cogat, altera permittat. Infirma
enim erit eius defensio qui negabit se fecisse quod
cogeretur, cum altera lex permitteret ; plus enim
Item ilia defensio tenuis
valet sanctio permissione.
est, cum ostenditur id factum esse quod ea lex
sanciat cui legi obrogatum aut derogatum sit, id quod
posteriore lege sanctum sit esse neglectum.
Cum
haec erunt considerata, statim nostrae legis exposi-

utemur. Deinde
voluntatem et cam
trahemus ad nostrae causae commodum. Dein de
iuridicali
absoluta sumemus rationem iuris
et
quaeremus partes iuris utrocum faciant de qua parte
tione,

conlaudatione

recitatione,

contrariae

enodabimus

legis

iuridicalis posterius disseremus.

16

XI. Si ambiguum esse scriptum putabitur, quod in

duas aut plures sententias trahi possit, hoc modo
tractandum est primum sitne ambiguum quaerendumst; deinde quomodo scriptum esset si id quod
:

adversarii

interpretantur

et

fieri

est

fieri

voluisset

recitatione

'

Icbc.

discrepant

84

scriptor

deinde id quod nos interpretemur

posse et honeste, recte, lege, more, natura,

ostendendum

utemur

et sugg.

discrepent other

See

2. xiii.

19-20.

Mx.

MS8. Mx.

AD HERKNNIUM,

15

II.

x.

14-xi.

16

read and explain laws or contracts which had been

written down in concise form and yet in which the
intention of the framer is understood.
The commonplace here is that against one who reads a text and
does not interpret the writer's intention.
When two laws conflict, we must first see whether
they have been superseded or restricted, and then
whether their disagreement is such that one commands
and the other prohibits, or one compels and the other
allows.
It will be a weak defence indeed for a
person to say that he failed to do what one law
ordained, because another law made it optional
for
obligation is more binding than mere permission.
So
also it is a meagre defence for a person to show
that he has observed the obligation of a law which
has been superseded or restricted, without heeding
the obligation of the later law. After these considerations we shall at once pass to the exposition, reading,
and warm recommendation of the law favourable to
us.
Then we shall elucidate the intention of the
opposing law and appropriate it for the advantage of
our cause. Finally, we shall take over the theory of
Law from the Absolute Juridical Issue, and examine
with which side the departments of Law hold
this
subtype of a Juridical Issue I shall discuss later.
XI. If a text is regarded as ambiguous, because it
can be interpreted in two or more meanings, the
treatment is as follows
first we must examine
whether it is indeed ambiguous then we must show
how it would have been written if the writer had
wished it to have the meaning which our adversaries
give to it next, that our interpretation is practicable,
and practicable in conformity with the Honourable
and the Right, with Statute Law, Legal Custom,
;

16

85

[CICERO]
bono

et aequo fieri posse; quod adversarii interpretentur ex eontrario

nee esse ambigue scriptum
cum intellegatur utra sententia vera sit. Sunt qui
;

arbitrentur ad banc causam tractandam vehementer

pertinere cognitionem amphiboliarum earn quae ab
dialecticis proferatur.
Nos vero arbitramur non
modo nuUo adiumento esse, sed potius maximo inpedi-

mento. Omnes enim illi amphibolias aucupantur,

eas etiam quae ex altera parte sententiam nullam
possunt interpretari. Itaque et alieni sermonis
molesti interpellatores, et scripti cum odiosi tum
obscuri interpretes sunt
et dum caute et expedite
loqui volunt, infantissimi reperiuntur.
Ita dum
;

in dicendo ne quid ambiguum dicant,

nomen suum pronuntiare non possunt. Verum horum
pueriles opiniones rectissimis rationibus, cum voles,

metuunt

17

refellemus.
In praesentiarum hoc intercedere non
alienum fuit, ut huius infantiae garrulam disciplinam
contemneremus.
XII. Cum definitione utemur, primum adferemus
brevem vocabuli definitionem, hoc modo ** Maiestatem is minuit qui ea toUit ex quibus rebus civitatis
amplitudo constat. Quae sunt ea, Q. Caepio?
:

Honesta res and rectum are defined in 3. ii. 3 below, the

departments of Law in 2. xiii. 19-20 below.
Isocrates, Panath. 26-28, on the so-called eristic discussions " which our young men take greater pleasure in than
they ought," holds them unsuitable for grown men. In
Cicero, De Oratore 2. 26. Ill, Antonius blames the rhetoricians
for not knowing ambiguities as well as the dialecticians
understood them (see also Orator 32. 115), whereas Dionysius
Halic, De Composit. Verb., ch. 4, says that treatises such as
those of Chrysippus dealing, among others, with ambiguous
propositions offer no benefit to civil oratory, at least with
The contempt for
respect to charm and beauty of style.
**

*"

86

AD HEREXNIUM,

II.

i6-xii.

xi.

17

Law of Nature, or E(}uity; of our adversaries'

interpretation the opposite is true
and the text is
not ambiguous since one well understands which is
the true sense.
There are some who think that for
the development of this kind of cause a knowledge
of amphibolies as taught by the dialecticians is highly
useful.
I, however, believe that this knowledge is
of no help at all, and is, I may even say, a most
serious hindrance.
In fact these writers are on the
lookout for all amphibolies, even for such as yield
no sense at all in one of the two interpretations.
Accordingly, when some one else speaks, they are
his annoying hecklers, and when he writes, they are
his boring and also misty interpreters.
And when
they themselves speak, wishing to do so cautiously
and deftly, they prove to be utterly inarticulate.
Thus, in their fear to utter some ambiguity while
speaking, they cannot even pronounce their own
names. Indeed I shall refute the childish opinions
of these writers by the most straightforward proofs
whenever you wish. For the present it has not been
out of place to make this protest, in order to express
my contempt for the wordy learning of this school of
inarticulateness.^
XII. When we deal with the Issue of Definition,
\vc shall first briefly define the term in question, as
follows:
impairs the sovereign majesty of
the state who destroys the elements constituting its
dignity.
What are these, Quintus Caepio ? The
the

"He

is Epicurean; cf. Diogenes Laertiiis 10. 31

"Diathe Epicureans reject as superfluous "; Cicero, De Fin.
"
1. 7. 22, on Epicurus
He does not show how to detect
ambiguities"; ibid., 2. 6. 18. Chrysippus maintained that
every word is by nature ambiguous, while Diodorus Cronus
asserted that no word is ambiguous (GelUus 11. 12).

dialectic

lectic

87

[CICERO]
SufFragia populi et magistratus consilium.^
Nempe
igitur tu et populum suffragio et magistratum consilio
privasti cum pontes disturbasti."
Item ex con" Maiestatem is minuit qui amplitudinem
trario
:

civitatis

prohibui
libidini

detrimento
detrimento

malorum

adficit.
;

restiti,

Ego non

adfeci,

sed

aerarium enim conservavi,

maiestatem omnem interire

Primum igitur vocabuli sententia

breviter et ad utilitatem adcommodate causae
describitur;
deinde factum nostrum cum verbi
descriptione coniungetur deinde contrariae descripnon passus sum."

tionis ratio refelletur,

turpis

aut

iniuriosa

si

aut falsa erit aut

id

quod

ex

aut
partibus

inutilis

iuris

iuridicali absoluta, de qua iam loquemur.

Quaeritur in translationibus primum num aliquis
eius rei actionem, petitionem, aut persecutionem
habeat, num alio tempore, num alia lege, num alio
quaerente. Haec legibus et moribus, aequo et bono
reperientur de quibus dicetur in iuridicali absoluta.
In causa ratiocinali primum quaeretur ecquid in
rebus maioribus aut minoribus aut similibus ^ similiter

sumetur de

18

suffragia populi

magistratus
^

M Mx.

similibus

et magistratus

dissimilibus

consilium

sufFragia

Mx.

Our author here resumes the controversy between

Saturninus and Caepio treated in 1. xii. 21 above.
^ 2. xiii. 19-20 below.
" For the meaning of these terms see Moriz Wlassak, Sai\
Zeitschr. 42 (1921). 408 ff., and Sitzungsb. Akad. der Wissensch.
in Wien {Philos.-liist. Kl.) 202, 3 (1924). 168, note 37; Wenger,
Institutes of the Roman Late of Civil Procedure, p. 259, note 10,
and p. 416. All enforceable rights are exhausted by the
actio refers to the legis actio, petitio comprehends
triad
obligations without regard to the form of the legal procedure,
and persecutio refers probably to rights in general embraced
under prosecution, including such praetorian remedies outside
*

88

AD HKRKNXIUM,

II.

xii.

17-18

and the counsel of" the magisdoubt, then, in demolishing the bridges of
the Comitium, you have deprived the people of their
suffrage and the magistracy of their counselUng."
" He impairs the sovereign
Likewise, in reply
majesty of the state who inflicts damage upon its
I have not inflicted, but rather prevented,
dignity.
damage, for I have saved the Treasury, resisted the
license of wicked men, and kept the majesty of the
Thus the meaning of
state from perishing utterly."
the term is first explained briefly, and adapted to the
advantage of our cause
then we shall connect our
finally,
conduct with the explanation of the term
the principle underlying the contrary definition will
be refuted, as being false, inexpedient, disgraceful,
and here we shall borrow our means
or harmful
from the departments of Law treated under the
Absolute Juridical Issue, which I shall soon discuss.
In causes based on Transference we first examine
whether one has the right to institute an action, claim.
or prosecution ^ in this matter, or whether it should
not rather be instituted at another time, or under
another law, or before another examiner. The
pertinent means will be provided by Statute Law,
Legal Custom, and Equity, which I shall discuss in
connection with the Absolute Juridical Issue.
In a cause based on Analogy ^ we shall first seek
to know whether there exists any like text or decision
on matters of greater, less, or like importance next
suffrage of the people
tracy.

No

^*

**

18

'^

an ordinary lawsuit as interdictu (see Greenidge, The Legal

Procedure of Ckero's Time, pp. 75-8, Wenger, pp. 245 tf.)
and in integrum restiiutiones (see Wenger, pp. 244-5).
2. xiii. 19-20 below.
* Arising from a gap in the law, which is filled by a process
<*

of deduction.

89

[CICERO]
sit;
deinde utrum ea res
qua de agitur an dissimilis deinde
utrum consulto de ea re scriptum non sit, quod
noluerit cavere, an quod satis cautum putarit propter
ceterorum scriptorum similitudinem.
De partibus legitimae constitutionis satis dictum
est
nunc ad iuridicalem revertemur.
XIII. Absoluta iuridicali constitutione utemur cum
ipsam rem quam nos fecisse confitemur iure factam ^
dicemus, sine ulla adsumptione extrariae defensionis.

scriptum aut iudicatum

similis sit ei rei

19

In ea convenit quaeri iurene

causa posita dicere poterimus

ius

constet

partibus

cognoverimus.
natura,

lege,

sit
si

factum.

De

eo

ex quibus partibus

Constat

igitur

consuetudine,

ex

his

iudicato,

aequo et bono, pacto.

1

factam

factum

M Mx.

xiv. 24 above.
Cicero, De Inv. 2. liii. 160 ff.
Johannes Stroux
("
ius summa iniuria," in Festschr. Speiser-Sarasin,
"
Griechische Einfliisse auf die Entwickl.
Leipzig, 1926, and
der rom. Reclitswissensch. gegen Ende der republikan. Zeit,"
in Atti del Congr. Internaz. di diritto Rom. (Roma), Pavia,
1934, 1. 111-132; now both printed as Rom. Rechtsivissensch.
und Rhetor ik, Potsdam, 1949) argues that rhetorical theory
had a substantial influence on Roman jurisprudence (the
sequence being from Greek philosophy to Greek rhetoric,
thence to Roman rhetoric, and finally to Roman juristic
theory and practice), but many students of Roman Law
believe that, though useful for pleading, it was not of real
significance for directing judicial decisions.
Thus the status
system as a whole seems to have had no influence upon the
jurists, with the possible exception of the doctrines of Letter
and Spirit and of Definition (1. xi. 19, 2. ix. 13-x. 14; 1. xii. 21,
"

See

Cf.

1.

Summum

90

AD

IIRRF>NNIUM,

II.

xii.

iS-xiii.

19

whether that matter is in fact like or unlike the

then whether the absence of a
matter in question
text concerning the matter here involved was intentional, because the framer was unwilling to make
any provision, or because he thought that there was
provision enough thanks to the similar provisions in
;

the other legal text^.

On the subdivisions of the Legal Issue I have said
enough now I shall turn back to the Juridical.**
XIII. We shall be dealing with an Absolute
Juridical Issue when, without any recourse to a
defence extraneous to the cause, we contend that the
;

we confess having committed was

Herein it is proper to examine whether
the act was in accord with the Law. We can discuss
this question, once a cause is given, when we know
the departments of which the Law is constituted.
The constituent departments, then, are the following
Nature, Statute, Custom, Previous Judgements,
Equity, and Agreement.*
act itself which

lawful.

2. xii. 17);

r/.,

for example, Quintilian, 7. 6.

method of interpretation

1.

The

rhetori-

rationaUstic and schematic,

the jurist's is casuistic. See A. A. Schiller, Virginia Laiv Rev.
Fritz Schulz, Principles of
27(1941). 733-768, esp. 750 If.
Homan Lmv, Oxford, 1936, pp. 129 ff., and History of Roman
Legal Science, Oxford, 1946, pp. 53 ff., 71 fiF.; J. Himmelschein, " Studien zu der antiken Hermeneutica iuris," in Symholae Friburgens. in honorera Ottonis Lenel, Leipzig, 1935,
pp. 373-424; Artur Steinwenter, "Rhetorik und romischer
Zivilprozess," Sav. Zeitschr. 67 (1947). 69-120 H. F. Jolowicz,
Historical Introduction to the Study of Roman Law, 2nd ed.,
Cambridge, 1952, pp. 576 f. Note, too, that such sources of
Law as the Edict and the responsa prudentium are missing
from our author's list; see Jolowicz, ch. 5. On the philosophical (Stoic) background of our author's theory of Law see
tiiso Kroll. Philologus 90 (1935). 211-215.
cian's

is

[CICERO]
Natura ius est quod cognationis aut pietatis causa
obsen^atur, quo iure parentes a liberis et a parentibus
liberi coluntur.
Lege ius est id quod populi iussu sanctum est quod
genus, ut in ius eas cum voceris.
Consuetudine ius est id quod sine lege aeque ac si
legitimum sit usitatum est; quod genus, id quod
argentario tuleris expensum ab socio eius recte petere
;

possis.

ludicatum est id de quo sententia lata est aut

decretum interpositum. Ea saepe diversa sunt, ut
aliud alio iudici aut praetori aut consuli aut tribuno
;
et fit ut de eadem re saepe alius
M.
aliud decreverit aut iudicarit, quod genus:

plebis placitum sit

Drusus, praetor urbanus, quod cum herede mandati

ageretur iudicium reddidit, Sex. lulius non reddidit.

" (f)vaLs.

In the

Roman

conception ius

civile is

the

Law

which each people forms for itself and is peculiar to its state;
the ius gentium (not the modern law of nations), on the other
hand, is the Law common to all peoples. The latter became
identified with Natural Law, which was originally a Greek
concept. See Gains, Inst. 1. 1, and Elemer Balogh, in Studi
Alfred
in onore di Pietro Bonfante (Milan, 1930), 4. 677-9.
Pernice, Sav. Zeitschr. 22 (1901). 62-3, denying the juristic
value of these " sources of Law," points out that Nature
cannot be a source of positive Law.
Cf. Cicero, De Inn.
2. xxii. 67.

The

as against the others in this

statute is a
Gaius, Inst. 1. 3
command and ordinance of the people." But our author's
definition seems too inclusive ; for example, not every action
On sanctio (consecration)
of a Popular Assembly made Law.
see Mommsen, p. 882, and p. 901, note 5.
Twelve Tables 1. 1.
^ avviqdeia.
Students of Roman jurisprudence deny that
the concept of customary law held by the rhetoricians (to
vo^os.
section, is
**

<=

92

definition,

Roman;

cf.

"A

AD HKRENNIUM.

II.

xni.

19

To the Law of Nature " beloiiir the duties observed

In accordance
because of kinship or family loyalty.
with this kind of Law parents are cherished by their
children,

and children

i)y

their parents.

Statute Law ^ is that kind of Law which is sancfor example, you

tioned by the will of the people
are to appear before the court when summoned to
;

do

so.<=

Legal Custom is that which, in the absence of any

statute, is by usage endowed with the force of statute
law; for example, the money you have deposited
with a banker you may rightly seek from his partner.*
It is a Previous Judgement/ when on the same
question a sentence has been passed or a decree
'^

These are often contradictory, according

one judge, praetor, consul, or tribune of the plebs
has determined differently from another
and it
often happens that on the ver)' same matter one has
decreed or decided differently from another. For
example. Marcus Drusus, city praetor, granted an
action on breach of contract against an heir, whereAgain, Gaius
as Sextus Julius refused to do so.^
interposed.
as

whom it was useful, for tradition is a valid source for argumentation) was as such employed bv the jurists of this period.
Artur StinSee Pemice, Sav. Zeitschr. 22 (1901). 59 ff
wenter, in Studi in onore di Pietro Bonfante, 2.421-40; A. A.
Schiller, Virginia Law Rev. 24 (1938). 268-82; Fritz Schulz,
History of Roman Legal Science, p. 74; C. W. Westrup,
Inirod. to Earhj Roman Law III, 1 (Copenhagen and London,
.

1939). 127

ff.

situations in Roman private law

see Schiller, Virg. Law
described as of customary origin
'

One of only a few

Rev. 24. 275.

^

KKpifMVOV.

"

M. Livius Drusus was praetor urbanus

c.

115

B.C.,

Sextus

Julius Caesar in 123 B.C.

93

{CICERO

Item C. Caelius iudex absolvit iniuriarum eum qui

Lucilium poetam in scaena nominatim laeserat, P.
Mucius eum qui L. Accium poetam nominaverat
20 condemnavit.
Ergo, quia possunt res simili de causa
dissimiliter iudicatae proferri, cum id usu venerit,
iudicem cum iudice, tempus cum tempore, numerum
cum numero iudiciorum conferemus.
Ex aequo et bono ius constat quod ad veritatem et
utilitatem communem videtur pertinere quod genus,
ut maior annis lx et cui morbus causa est cognitorem
det.
Ex eo vel novum ius constitui convenit ex
tempore et ex hominis dignitate.
Ex pacto ius est si quid inter se pepigerunt, si quid
inter quos convenit.
Pacta sunt quae legibus obser" Rem ubi pagunt, orato
vanda sunt, hoc modo
ni pagunt, in comitio aut in foro ante meridiem
causam coicito." Sunt item pacta quae sine legibus
:

C. Caelius (Caldus ?
See P. F. Girard, Melanges de droit
romain [Paris, 1923] 2. 398, note 2), before 103 B.C. The
mimi specialised in broad and coarse humour {iocus illiberalis).
Lucilius used licence in attacking other men {e.g., the poets
Accius and Pacuvius), but resented attacks upon himself.
See R. E. Smith, '" The Law of Libel at Rome," Class.
Quart. 44 (1951). 171-2.
Publius Mucius Scaevola, probably in 136 B.C. See
1. xiv. 24 above.
Corresponds to KaXov Kai hiKaiov, ivieiKes, loov, yet the
Roman term emphasizes the social point of view, implying
more than " fairness." The honum is connected with bona
See Fritz Pringsheim, " Bonum et Aequum," Sav.
fides.
^Zeitschr. 52 (1932). 78-155; Westrup, op. cit., Ill, 1. 21 ff.
The definition is philosophical, and Greek in origin, but the
illustration is from Roman law.
According to Stroux,
*

**

'^

**

"

Summum

ius

summa iniuria," the Aristotelian

Roman Forum through the

equity came to the

doctrine of
Peripatetic

and Academic writers, and thence to the interpretatio iuris,

but most students deny such an influence upon the Roman

94

AD HKRENNIUM,

II.

xiii.

19-20

Caelius, sitting in judgement, acquitted" of tlie

charge of injury the man who had by name attacked
the poet Lucilius on the stage, while Publius Mucius
**

the man who had specifically named the

poet Lucius Accius. Therefore, because different
past judgements can be offered for a like case, we
shall, when this comes to pass, compare the judges,
the circumstances, and the number of decisions.
The Law rests on Equity ^ when it seems to agree
for example, a
with truth and the general welfare
man who is more than sixty years old, and pleads
substitute an attorney for himself.''
illness, shall
Thus according to circumstances and a person's
status virtually a new kind of Law may well be

condemned

<^

established.
It is Law founded on Agreement / if the parties
have made some contract between themselves if
there is some covenant between parties.
There are
agreements which must be observed according to
statutes, as for example: " When parties have conif they do
tract on the matter, party shall plead
not have contract, party shall state outline of cause in
the Comitium or the Forum before midday." ^ There
are also agreements which, independently of statutes,

jurists,

or minimize

(1928). 668-78;

it.

See Ernst

Schiller, Virg.

Law

Lew, Sav. Zeitschr. 48

Rev.^21. 753 flF.; Schulz,

History of Roman Legal Science, pp. 74 f.

' This is the earliest text expressly mentioning substitution
On procedural representation see
in Roman procedure.
Wenger, Institutes of the Roman Law of Civil Procedure, pp.

88

flF.

^ avvaXXayy^a.

Twelve Tables

1.

6-9.

The Comitium adjoined the Forum

on the northwest although the two areas were not separated

by a natural line, each kept its separate identity until the
middle of the second century B.C.
;

95

[CICERO]
ex

observantur

quae

convento,

iure

praestare

dicuntur.

His igitur partibus iniuriam demonstrari, ius conquod in absoluta iuridicali facien-

'firmari convenit, id

dum

videtur.

XIV.

21

Cum

ex conparatione quaeretur utrum satius

quod reus dicat se fecisse, an id quod

fuerit facere id

accusator dicat oportuisse fieri, primum quaeri conveniet utrum fuerit utilius ex contentione, hoc est,
utrum honestius, facilius, conducibilius. Deinde
oportebit quaeri ipsumne oportuerit iudicare utrum
fuerit utilius, an aliorum fuerit utilius statuendi
Deinde interponetur ab accusatore suspipotestas.
cio ex constitutione coniecturali qua re putetur non
ea ratione factum esse quo melius deteriori anteponeretur, sed ^ dolo malo negotium gestum de
aliqua probabili causa.
Ab defensore contra refellatur argumentatio coniecturalis de qua ante dictum
est.
Deinde quaeretur potueritne vitari ne in eum
22 locum veniretur. His sic tractatis accusator utetur loco
communi in eum qui inutile utili praeposuerit cum
Defensor contra
statuendi non habuerit potestatem.
eos qui aequum censeant rem perniciosam utili
praeponi utetur loco communi per conquestionem
et simul quaerat ab accusatoribus, ab iudicibus ipsis,
^

C^

sed bid
sine

sed

in

eo II

Mx

si

in

co P^

sine eo //

si

sine

ine C^.

Our author now turns to the Assumptive Juridical Issue.

xiv. 24 and 1. xv. 25 above, and Cicero's fuller, and
also the
generally clearer, treatment in De Inv. 2. xxiv. 72 ff.
"

C/.

1.

96

Comparison

[similitudo), 4. xlv. 59 below.

Cf. the definition of Advantage, 3. ii. 3 below.

figure

AD HKRKNNIUM,

H.

xiii.

20-xiv. 22

are binding by virtue of the covenant itself; these

are said to obtain at Law.
These, then, are the divisions of Law by means of

which

one

should

demonstrate the injustice or

which we see to be
the end sought in an Absolute Juridical cause.
XIV. When Comparison is used to examine
whether it was better to do that which the defendant
^ays he did, or that which the prosecutor says should
have l)een done, it will be proper first to ascertain
from the conflict which was the more advantageous,
that is, more honourable, practicable, and profitable.''
Next we ought to discover whether the defendant
himself should have decided which was the more
advantageous, or whether the right to determine this
belonged to others. Then the prosecutor, in accordance with the procedure in a conjectural issue, will
establish the justice of an act

21

interpose a suspicion leading to the belief that the

defendant had not by his act intended to prefer the

better to the worse, but had carried out the business
with wilful fraud on some plausible ground. Let the
defendant's counsel, on his side, refute the conjectural

argument referred
22

to above.

Then the question

will

be whether this development could have been prevented from reaching such a pass. These points thus
treated, the prosecutor will use the commonplace
against one who has preferred the disadvantageous
to the advantageous when he lacked the right of

The defendant's counsel, on his part, will

use a commonplace in the form of a complaint against
those who deem it equitable to prefer the ruinous to the
decision.

advantageous and at the same time let him ask the

accusers, and the jurors themselves, what they would
have done had they been in the defendant's place,
;

97

[CICERO]
quid facturi essent si in eo loco fuissent, et tempus,
locum, rem, deliberationem suam ponet ante oculos.
XV. Translatio criminis est cum ab reo facti causa
Primum quaerenin aliorum peccatum transfertur.
dum est iurene in alium crimen transferatur deinde
;

spectandum est aeque magnum sit illud peccatum

quod in alium transferatur atque illud quod reus
deinde, oportueritne in ea re
deinde, oporpeccare in qua alius ante peccarit
deinde, cum factum
tueritne iudicium ante fieri
iudicium non sit de illo crimine quod in alium transferatur, oporteatne de ea re iudicium fieri quae res in
iudicium non devenerit. Locus communis accusatoris
contra eum qui plus censeat vim quam indicia valere
oportere.
Et ab adversariis percontabitur accusator
quid futurum sit si idem ceteri faciant ut de indemsuscepisse dicatur

sumant, quod eos idem fecisse dicant.

Quid si ipse accusator idem facere voluisset ? Defensor
eorum peccati atrocitatem proferet in quos crimen
transferet rem, locum, tempus ante oculos ponet, ut
^
ii qui audient existiment aut non potuisse aut inutile
fuisse rem in iudicium venire.
XVI. Concessio est per quam nobis ignosci posnatis supplicia

23

tulamus.
catipnem.

Ea
1

^ Cf.

1.

dividitur

inutile

CE

XV. 25 above,

in

purgationem et depre-

non

inutile

and

Cicero,

M Mx.

De

Inv.

2.

xxvi. 78

ff.

{relatio criminis).

De

Inv. 2. xxvii. 80 f.
that exploited in tragedy, concerning the
right to take justice into one's own hands.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxviii. 84 f.

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxxi. 94.

"

Cf. Cicero,

"

The problem

<^

98

is

AD HKRRNNIUM.

IF.

xiv.

22-xvi. 23

and he will set before their eyes the time, the place,
the circumstances, and the defendant's deliberations.
X\'. Shifting of the Question of Guilt takes place
when the defendant refers the reason for his act to
First we must
the crime committed by others."
examine whether the Law permits the shifting of the
issue of guilt to another; next we must see whether
the offence which is being imputed to another is as
serious as that with which the defendant is charged
then whether the defendant ought to have transgressed in the same way as another had previously
next, whether a judicial decision ought not to have
been rendered before he committed his act then, in
the absence of a judicial decision on the offence which
is being imputed to another, whether a decision ought
now to be rendered on a matter which has never come
Here the prosecutor's commonplace is
to trial.''
against one who believes that violence ought to prevail over judicial decisions.*^
Furthermore, he will
ask his adversaries what would happen if everyone
else should do the same as they, and should inflict
punishment upon persons who have not been convicted, contending that the adversaries have set the
example. What if the accuser himself had wished
The defendant's counsel will set
to do likewise ?
forth the atrocity of the crime committed by those to
whom he is shifting the issue of guilt he will present
before the eyes of the hearers the circumstances, the
place, and the time so that they may think that it
was either impossible or inexpedient for the matter
;

to

come

to trial.

XVL

Through the Acknowledgement * we plead for

pardon. The Acknowledgement includes the Exculpation and the Plea for Mercy.
99

[CICERO]
Purgatio est

Ea

dividitur

cum
in

consulto a nobis factum negamus.

necessitudinem,

fortunam, inpru-

dentiam, De his partibus primum ostendendum est

deinde ad deprecationem revertendum videtur.
Primum considerandum est num culpa ventum sit in

Deinde quaerendum est quo modo

Deinde is qui in
necessitudinem causam conferet expertusne sit quid
contra facere aut excogitare posset. Deinde num
quae suspiciones ex coniecturali constitutione trahi
possint, quae significent id consulto factum esse
quod necessario cecidisse dicitur. Deinde, si maxime
necessitudo quaepiam fuerit, conveniatne earn satis
idoneam causam putari.
necessitudinem.
vis ilia

24

vitari potuerit ac levari.

Si inprudentia reus se peccasse dicet, primum

quaeretur utrum potuerit nescire an non potuerit;
deinde utrum data sit opera ut sciretur an non;
deinde utrum casu nescierit an culpa. Nam qui se
propter vinum aut amorem aut iracundiam fugisse
rationem dicet, is animi vitio videbitur nescisse, non
inprudentia quare non inprudentia se defendet, sed
culpa contaminabit. Deinde coniecturali constitutione quaeretur utrum scierit an ignoraverit, et
considerabitur satisne inprudentia praesidii debeat
esse cum factum esse constet.
;

CJ. Cicero,
*

Cf. Cicero,

(1427

De
De

lav.
Inv.

2. xxxii.
2.

98

xxxi. 95,

fif.

and Rhet. ad

Alex., ch. 4

a).

"For it is
Cf. Aristotle, Eth. Nic. 3. 3 (1111 a 24)
perhaps a mistake to say that acts committed through anger
:

or desire are involuntary."

AD HKRENNIUM,
The

Kxculjjation

is

II.

our denial

wi. 23-24

wc acted with

tliat

Subheads under Plea of Exculpation are

Necessity, Accident, and Ignorance. These are to be
explained first, and then, as it seems, it will be best
to return to the Plea for Mercy.
One must first
consider whether it was the defendant's fault that
he was brought to this necessity." After that wc
must inquire what means he had to avoid or lighten
this superior force.
Next, did he who offers necessity
as an excuse try to do, or to contrive, what he could
against it } Then, cannot some grounds for suspicion
be drawn from the procedure in a conjectural issue,
which would signify that the deed attributed to
Finally, if there was
necessity was premeditated ?
some extreme necessity, is it proper to deem this a
intent.

sufficient

excuse

the defendant says that he erred through

ignorance,^ the first question will be
Could he or
could he not have been uninformed ? Next, did he
or did he not make an effort to inform himself.'
Then, is his ignorance attributable to accident or to
his own fault
For a person who declares that his
reason fied because of wine or love or anger, will
appear to have lacked comprehension through fault
of character rather than ignorance
he ^^ill therefore not justify himself on the ground of ignorance,
but will taint himself with guilt.^ Finally, by means
of the procedure in a conjectural issue, we shall seek
to discover whether he was or was not informed, and
consider whether ignorance should be sufficient
justification when it is established that the deed was
If

.''

'^

committed.
The Ehel. ad Alex., ch. 7 (1429 a), admits such a defence
as a last resort.
**

101

[CICERO]

Cum

fortunam causa conf'ertur et ea re defensor

eadem omnia videntur
consideranda quae de necessitudine praescripta sunt.
Etenim omnes hae ^ tres partes purgationis inter se
in

reo dicet oportere,

ignosci

finitimae

ut

sunt,

in

omnes eadem

fere

possint

adcommodari.

communes in his causis accusatoris contra

cum peccasse confiteatur, tamen oratione

Loci

eum

qui,

demoretur defensoris de humanitate, miserivoluntatem in omnibus rebus spectari convenire

quae consulto facta non sint, ea fraudi ^
esse non oportere.
XVII. Deprecatione utemur cum fatebimur nos
peccasse, neque id inprudentes aut fortuito aut
iudices

cordia:

necessario fecisse dicemus, et tamen ignosci nobis

postulabimus. Hie ignoscendi ratio quaeritur ex his
locis

si

plura aut maiora officia

quam

maleficia vide-

qua virtus aut nobilitas erit in eo

qui supplicabit
si qua spes erit usui futurum si sine
supplicio discesserit; si ipse ille supplex mansuetus
buntur constare

si

et misericors in potestatibus ostendetur fuisse

si

ea

quae peccavit non odio neque crudelitate, sed officio

et recto studio commotus fecit
si tali de causa aliis
quoque ignotum est
si nihil ab eo periculi nobis
;

E Mx ed. mai.
E an ea

hae

ea fraudi

Cf.

De Inv.
De Inv.

haec p 31x.
fraude
an ea fraudei Mx.

xxxi. 96.
101 f.
For the commonplaces on pity see also 2. xvii. 26 and
especially 2. xxxi. 50 below.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxxv. 106, and Pro Ligario.
*

'

102

Cicero,

Cf. Cicero,

2.

2. xxxiii.

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

wi. 24-\vii. 25

When

the cause of the crime is attributed to

and counsel for the defence maintains that
his client should be pardoned on that ground, it
appears that all the points to be considered are precisely those prescribed above for necessity
for all
these three divisions of Exculpation are so closely
interrelated that virtually the same rules can be
applied to them all.
Commonplaces ^ in these causes are the following
that of the prosecutor against one who confesses
a crime, yet holds the jurors up by prolix speechmaking
for the defence, on humanity and pity,c
that it is the intention which should alwavs be considered, and that unintentional acts ought not to be
regarded as crimes.
XVII.
shall use the Plea for Mercy ^ when we
confess the crime without attributing it to ignorance,
chance, or necessity, and yet beg for pardon. Here
the ground for pardoning is sought in the following
if it seems e\ident that the good deeds of
topics
the suppliant have been more numerous or more
weighty than the bad if he is endowed ^^ith some
virtue, or with good birth
if there is any hope that
he v.i.U be of service in the event that he departs
unpunished
if the suppliant himself is sho\\Ti to
have been gentle and compassionate ^ in power if
in committing his mistakes he was moved not bv
hatred or cruelty, but by a sense of duty and right
endeavour if on a similar ground others also have
been pardoned if, in the event that we acquit him,
no peril from him appears likely to be our lot in
accident,**

We

' For
mansuetus et misericors cf. Sallust, Cat. 54. 2 (on
Caesar), 52. 11 and 52. 27 (Cato), and 34. 1 (Q. Marciiis);
Cicero, Pro Murena 41. 90, Pro Sulla 33. 93.

103

[CICERO]
futurum videbitur

si

eum missum

fecerimus

si

nulla

aut a nostris civibus aut ab aliqua civitate vituperatio

26

ex ea re suscipietur.

communes de humanirerum commutatione. His

Loci

tate, fortuna, misericordia,

omnibus ex contrario utetur is qui contra dicet,

amplificatione et enumeratione peccatorum.
Haec causa iudicialis fieri non potest, ut in libro primo
ostendimus, sed, quod potest vel ad senatum vel ad
consilium venire, non visa est supersedenda.
Cum ab nobis crimen removere volemus, aut in rem
aut in hominem nostri peccati causam conferemus.
locis

cum

Si causa in hominem conferetur, quaerendum erit

primum potueritne tantum quantum reus demonstrabit is in quem causa conferetur; et quone modo aut
honeste aut sine periculo potuerit obsisti si maxime
;

ita sit,

num

ea re concedi reo conveniat quod alieno

inductu fecerit.

Deinde

in

controversiam et edisseretur
causa in

Si

fere et

rem quandam

coniecturalem trahetur

num

consulto factum

conferetur, et haec

sit.

eadem

omnia quae de necessitudine praecepimus

consideranda erunt.
27

XVI II. Quoniam

satis ostendisse

videamur quibus

argumentationibus in uno quoque genere causae

iudicialis uti conveniret,

consequi videtur ut doceamus

1. xiv. 24.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxxiv. 105.
Cicero, De Inv. 2. xxix. 86-xxx. 94, considers also the
situation {remotio rei) in which the defendant denies that the
act he is charged with concerned him or his duty.
Cf. also
Exculpation, 2. xvi. 23 above.

104

AD HKHFAMUM,

II.

xvii.

25

win.

27

if as a result of that aecjuittal no censure

the future
accrue either from our fellow-citizens or from
Comm(^nplaces
on humanity,
26 some other state.
All these
fortune, pity, and the mutability of things.
commonplaces, reversed, will he used bv the adversary, who will also amplify and recount the defenSuch a cause is not admissible
dant's transgressions.
in the courts, as I showed in Book I," but because
it
is
admissible either before the Senate or a
council, I have decided that I should not pass it
;

will

over.

When we

Mish to Reject the Responsibility,

we

throw the blame for our crime either upon some

circumstance or upon another person.'' If upon a
person, we must first examine whether the person
to whom the responsibility is transferred had as
nuich influence as the defendant will represent next,
whether the defendant could somehow have resisted
this influence honourably or safely ^ and, even if the
conditions are in fullest measure such as the defendant represents them to be, whether it is nevertheless
proper to make allowances to him just because he
acted on another's persuasion. Then we shall turn
the controversy into one of fact and examine in
detail whether there was premeditation.
If the
shall

responsibility

is

virtually these

transferred to some circumstance,

same precepts and all those that I

have set forth on Necessity are to be observed.

XVIII. Since I believe that I have fully shown
what arguments are advantageously used in each
type of judicial cause, it seems to follow that I should
'^

'

See the definition of Advantage,

2. xvi. 23 above.

3.

ii.

3 below.

[CICERO]

quemadmodum ipsas argumentationes ornate et

absolute tractare possimus.
Nam fere non difficile
invenire quid sit causae adiumento, difficillimum vero
est ^ inventum expolire et expedite pronuntiare.
Haec enim res facit ut neque diutius quam satis sit in
locis commoremur,
nee eodem identidem
revolvamur, neque inchoatam argumentationem relinquamus, neque incommode ad aliam deinceps
transeamus.
Itaque hac ratione et ipsi meminisse
poterimus quid quoque loco dixerimus, et auditor cum
totius causae tum unius cuiusque argumentationis
distributionem percipere et meminisse poterit.
28
Ergo absolutissima et perfectissima est argumentatio ea quae in quinque partes est distributa:
propositionem, rationem, rationis confirmationem,
exornationem, conplexionem. Propositio est per

isdem

vero est

PB C Ud

est vero b

est

Mx.

Traciatio and inventio supplement each other; Cicero,

"
now see that it is by no means
Oratore 2. 41. 176
enough to find what to say, unless you are able to handle it
inventum tractare) skilfully once found; " c/. also
{id
The tradition is Isocratean; Paneg. 9:
ibid., 2. 27. 120.
" For the deeds of the past are a heritage common to us all,
but the ability to make full use (= xPV^i-^) ^^ them at the
proper time, in each instance to form the right conceptions
about them, and to set these forth in a finished style, is the
special gift of them that know."
Cf. 1. ii. 2, 2. ii. 2, 3. iv. 7,
"

De

We

3. vi. 11.

Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxxvii. 67, divides the deductive argu{argumentatio per ratiocinationem) into propositio,
propositionis approbatio, assumptio, assumptionis approbatio,
and complexio.
While Aristotle in forming arguments constructs the
enthymeme in close analogy with the logical syllogism (e.g.,
Rhet. 1. 2, 1356 b), our author, with the practical speaker in
mind in this meagre treatment, shows little interest in the
*

ment

syllogistic form.

io6

The epicheireme

is

more complicated than

AD HEUENNIUM,

II.

win.

27 28

explain how to develop** these arguments elegantly

and completely. To be sure, it is in general not hard
to devise matter which should serve to support a
cause, but to polish what has been devised and to
Indeed it is
give it a ready delivery is very hard.
this faculty which keeps us from dwelling longer
than necessary on the same topics, from returning
again and again to the same place, abandoning a
chain of argument before it has been completed, and
making an inappropriate transition to the next argument. By the following method, therefore, we can
ourselves remember what we have said in each place,
and the hearer can perceive and remember the
distribution of the parts in the whole cause and also
in each particular argument.
The most complete and perfect argument, then,
is that which is comprised of five parts
the Proposition, the Reason, the Proof of the Reason, the
Embellishment, and the Resume.^ Through the
:

enthymeme (of which it is a later name). Aristotle's

enthymeme (and, later, also Quintilian's [epicheireme] see
the

comprised two premises and conclusion

the epicheireme normally comprised four premises. Aristotle took
the premises for granted
the later rhetoricians thought it
necessary to prove each. The epicheireme may have
developed under Stoic influence. Cicero, De Int. 1. xxxv. 61,
makes it clear that the quinquepartite epicheireme grew out
of Aristotle's syllogism; Theophrastus, following observations of Isocrates, may have been the first to introduce it into
rhetoric.
Cicero's syllogistic form {ratiocinaiio) is logical;
he treats it on a par with Socratic induction. See Cicero,
5.

l4.

6)

De

Int. 1. xxxiv. 57 ff.

Quintilian, 5. 10. 1 ff and 5. 14. 5 fF.
Wilhelm Kroll, Das Epicheirema, in Sitzungsh. Akad. der
Wi-ssen.sch.
in
Wien {Philos.-histor.KL), 216. 2 (1936);
Friedrich Solmsen, Amer. Journ. Philol. 62 (1941). 39 ff.,
169 ff.
It is doubtful whether the epicheireme as here
described was very widely used in actual oratory.
;

107

[CICERO]

quam ostendimus summatim

quid sit quod probari

Ratio est quae causam demonstrat verum
Rationis
esse id quod intendimus, brevi subiectione.
confirm atio est ea quae pluribus argumentis corroborat breviter expositam rationem. Exornatio est
qua utimur rei honestandae et conlocupletandae
Conplexio est
causa, confirmata argumentatione.
quae concludit breviter, colligens partes argumentavolumus.

tionis.

Hisce igitur quinque partibus ut absolutissime

utamur, hoc modo tractabimus argumentationem
XIX. " Causam ostendemus Ulixi fuisse quare
interfecerit Aiacem.
" Inimicum enim acerrimum de medio tollere
volebat, a quo sibi non iniuria summum periculum
metuebat.
" Videbat illo incolumi se incolumem non futurum
sperabat illius morte se salutem sibi conparare;
consueverat, si iure non potuerat, iniuria quavis
inimico exitium machinari, cui rei mors indigna

Palamedis testimonium dat.

nporaais, Xrj^fia, hereafter in

Ergo
Book

et

metus

periculi

2 called expositio

by

our author.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxxviii. 68.
The Proposition. Here begins a progymnasnui [avyKpiais
of persons). The theme was first taken up in 1. xi. 18 above.
*

Thiele, Hermagoras, pp. 159-163, conjectures that the source

of both theme (originally a ottXujv Kpiai? or an Alas of
tragedy) and treatment by five-fold epicheireme is Hermagoras.
Ulysses replies that he did not do the
Cf. Quintilian, 4. 2. 13
deed, and had no quarrel with Ajax, and that their conflict
;

was concerned only with renown.

The Reason.
' Ulysses
hated Palamedes because he had exposed
Ulysses' deceit in feigning madness so as to avoid joining the
<*

io8

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xviii.

28-xix. 28

we set forth summarily what we intend

The Reason, by means of a brief explana-

Proposition"
to prove.

the eausal basis for the

Proposition, establishing the truth of what we are
urging. The Proof of the Reason corroborates, by
means of additional arguments, the briefly presented
tion subjoined, sets forth

Reason. Embellishment we use in order to adorn

and enrich the argument, after the Proof has been

The Resume is a brief conclusion, drawestablished.

ing together the parts of the argument.
Hence, to make the most complete use of these five
we shall develop an argument as follows:*
XIX. " VVe shall show that Ulysses had a motive

parts,

in killing Ajax.*^
" Indeed he wished to rid

himself of his bitterest

enemy, from whom, with good cause, he feared

extreme danger to himself.*^
He saw that, with Ajax alive, his own life would
be unsafe; he hoped by the death of Ajax to secure
his own safety
it was his habit to plan an enemy's
destruction by whatsoever wrongful means, when he
could not by rightful, as the undeserved death of
Palamedes bears witness.* Thus the fear of danger
;

Greek expedition to Troy, and because Ulysses envied his

fame for wisdom. According to another tradition this
hatred arose from the severe reproof Palamedes dealt out to
Ulysses for returning empty-handed from a foraging expedition.
The stories of the vengeance also differ. Ulysses and
Diomedes induced him to descend into a well in order to find
alleged treasure, and then stoned him
or they drowned him
while he was fishing; or with Agamemnon they bribed a
servant of Palamedes to conceal under Palamedes' bed a
forged letter from Priam offering a bribe of gold, accused
Palamedes of treachery, and when the letter (or gold) was
discovered, caused him to be stoned by the Greeks.
;

109

[CICERO]
hortabatur

eum

interimere a quo supplicium vere-

batur, et consuetudo peccandi maleficii suscipiendi

29

removebat dubitationem.
" Omnes enim cum minima peccata cum causa
suscipiunt, tum vero ilia quae multo maxima sunt
maleficia aliquo certo emolumento inducti suscipere
conantur. Si multos induxit in peccatum pecuniae
spes, si conplures scelere se contaminarunt imperii
cupiditate, si multi leve conpendium fraude maxima
commutarunt, cui mirum videbitur istum a maleficio
propter acerrimam formidinem non temperasse ?

Virum

fortissimum, integerrimum, inimicitiarum

persequentissimum, iniuria lacessitum, ira exsuscita-

tum homo

timidus,

nocens,

fidiosus

conscius

sui

peccati,

acerrimum homo perinimicum incolumem esse noluit.

Cui ^

insidiosus voluit interimere

^

hoc mirum videbitur? Nam cum feras

videamus alacres et erectas vadere ut alteri
bestiae noceant, non est incredibile putandum istius
quoque animum ferum, crudelem atque inhumanum
cupide ad inimici perniciem profectum, praesertim
cum in bestiis nullam neque bonam neque malam
rationem videamus, in isto plurimas et pessumas
rationes semper fuisse intellegamus.
30
"Si ergo pollicitus sum me daturum causam qua
inductus Ulixes accesserit ad maleficium, et si
inimicitiarum acerrimam rationem et periculi metum

tandem
bestias

lac; voluit interimere

Mx.
2

Cui

J?

qui i/

Mx.

acerrimum homo perfidiosus

siigg.

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xix.

28-30

encouraged him to slay the man from wliom he

dreaded vengeance, and, in addition, the habit of
wrong-doing robbed him of his scruples at undertaking the evil deed.**
" Now not only do

men have

a motive even in
but certainly they are
attracted by some sure reward when they enter upon
crimes which are by far the most heinous.
If the
hope of gaining money has led many a man to wrongdoing, if from greed for power not a few have tainted
themselves with crime, if numerous men have trafficked
for a paltry profit with arrant deceit, who will find
it strange that Ulysses, when under stress of acute
terror, did not refrain from crime ?
A hero most
brave, most upright, most implacable against his foes,
harassed by a wrong, roused to anger him the
frightened, malevolent, guilt-conscious, guileful man
wished to destroy
the treacherous man did not
their

least

all

peccadillos,

wish his bitter enemy to stay alive. To whom,

pray, will this seem strange ?
For when we see
wild beasts rush eagerly and resolutely to attack
one another, w^e must not think it incredible that
this creature, too
a wild, cruel, inhuman spirit set
out passionately to destroy his enemy
especially
since in beasts we see no reasoning, good or bad,
while he, we know% always had designs, ever so many,
and ever so base.^
" If, then, I have promised to give the motive
which impelled Ulysses to enter upon the crime, and
if I have shown that the reckoning of a bitter enmity
and the fear of danger were the factors, it must

"
"

The Proof of the Reason.

The Embellishment. Quintilian,

exornatio as a part of the epicheireme.

5.

14. 6,

knows of the

[CICERO]
demonstravi,

intercessisse

non

est

dubium

quin

confiteatur causam maleficii fuisse."

Ergo absolutissima est argumentatio ea quae ex
quinque partibus constat, sed ea non semper necesse

Est

est uti.

cum conplexione supersedendum

est,

si

memoria conprehendatur
est cum exornatio praetermittenda est, si parum
locuples ad amplificandum et exornandum res videtiir
res brevis

est,

ut facile

Sin et brevis erit argumentatio et res tenuis

aut humilis, tum et exornatione et conplexione supersedendum est. In omni argumentatione de duabus
partibus postremis haec quam exposui ratio est
habenda. Ergo amplissima est argumentatio quinquemediocris, sublata
pertita ; brevissima est tripertita
aut exornatione aut conplexione, quadripertita.
XX. Duo genera sunt vitiosarum argumentationum unum quod ab adversario reprehendi potest,
alterum quod tametsi
id quod pertinet ad causam
nugatorium est, tamen non indiget reprehensionis.
Quae sint quae reprehensione confutari conveniat,
quae tacite contemni atque vitari sine reprehensione,
esse.

subiecero, intellegere dilucide non

cognitio vitiosarum argumentationum
duplicem utilitatem adferet. Nam et vitare in
argumentatione vitium admonebit et ab aliis non
vitatum commode reprehendere docebit.
Quoniam igitur ostendimus perfectam et plenam
argumentationem ex quinque partibus constare, in

exempla

nisi

poteris.

"
*

Haec

The Resume.
Arrangement

3. ix.

17 below.

accommodated to circumstance,
De Inv. 1. xxxix. 70 ff.

as

in

Cf. Cicero,

Our author omitted to use a transition here. Cicero,

De Inv. 1. xlii. 78 ft'., rightly considers the defective arguments
under Refutation (reprehensio).
'

112

AD HKKKNNILM.

\i\.

II.

^o-.xx. 31

unquestionably be aeknowledged that he had a motive

crime."
An argument comprised of the five parts is, then,
the most complete, but its use is not always necessary.
There is a time when the Resume should be dispensed with if the matter is brief enough to be
for his

'^

readily

embraced

by

memory.

the

There

is

which the ]^mbellishment should be

omitted if the matter proves to be too meagre for
amplification and adornment.
And if the argument
is brief and the matter also slight or in^^ignificant, then
both the Embellishment and the Resume should be
left out.
This rule which I have just set forth is to
be observed for the last two parts in every argument.
The fullest argument, therefore, is fivefold, the
briefest threefold, and the mean fourfold, lacking
either the Kmbellishment or the Resume.
XX. Defective arguments are of two kinds one
can be refuted'' by the adversary, and so belongs to
the cause proper the other, although likewise invalid,
does not need to be refuted. If I do not add examples, you will be unable clearly to distinguish those
arguments which it is proper to refute in rebuttal, and
those which it is proper to ignore in disdainful silence
and to abstain from refuting. This knowledge of
defective arguments will confer a double advantage.
It will warn us to avoid a fault in arguing, and teach
us skilfully to reprehend a fault not avoided by
situation, too. in

**

<^

others.

Since, then, I have shown that a perfect and full

consists of five parts,* let us consider the

argument

Reprehenaio

'

Cf. Cicero,

De

Aucti?.

Inc.

1.

xlii.

79.

"3

[CICERO]
una quaque parte argumentationis quae vitia vitanda
sunt consideremus, ut et ipsi ab his vitiis recedere, et
adversariorum argumentationes hac praeceptione in
omnibus partibus temptare et ab aliqua parte labefactare possimus.
32
Expositio vitiosa est cum ab aliqua aut a maiore
parte ad omnes confertur id quod non necessario est
omnibus adtributum ut si quis hoc modo exponat
" Omnes qui in paupertate sunt malunt maleficio
parare divitias quam officio paupertatem tueri." Si
qui hoc modo exposuerit argumentationem, ut non
curet quaerere qualis ratio aut rationis confirmatio sit,
ipsam facile reprehendemus expositionem cum
ostendemus id quod in aliquo paupere inprobo sit in
omnes pauperes falso et iniuria conferri.
;

33

Item vitiosa expositio est cum id quod raro fit

omnino negatur, hoc modo " Nemo potest uno
aspectu neque praeteriens in amorem incidere."
Nam cum nonnemo devenerit in amorem uno aspectu,
et cum ille neminem dixerit, omnino nihil differt raro
fieri

id

fieri,

dummodo

aliquando

fieri

aut posse

modo

fieri

intellegatur.

XXI. Item vitiosa expositio est cum omnes res

ostendemus nos collegisse et aliquam rem idoneam
praeterimus, hoc modo: ** Quoniam igitur hominem
occisum constat esse, necesse est aut a praedonibus
aut ab inimicis occisum esse aut abs te, quem ille

The

fallacy of False Generalization.

Cf. Cicero, De Inv.
80.
Cicero,
Inv.
xliii.
In
De
1.
80, this observation is assigned
to the speech delivered by C. Scribonius Curio (first of the
three orators of that name, praetor in 121 B.C.) in defence of
Servius Fulvius in a prosecution for incest. According to Cicero,
Brutus 32. 122, the speech was once esteemed a masterpiece.
"

1. xliii.
*

114

AD HERENNIUM,

xx. 31-xxi.

II.

t,^

faults to be avoided in each single part of the argument, so that we may ourselves be able to shun these
faults, and by the following rules test the argument
of our adversaries in all its parts and undermine it in
some one of these.
The Proposition is defective when an assertion
based on some one part or on a majority of individuals,
but not necessarily applicable to all, is referred to all,
" All the poor would
as if one should argue as follows
rather do wrong and acquire riches than do right and
remain poor." If a speaker has presented this sort
of Proposition in an argument, without caring to ask
of what nature the Reason or the Proof of the Reason
:

is to be, we shall easily refute his Proposition by

showing that what is true of one dishonest poor man
is being falsely and unjustlv applied to all the poor.'*

Again, the Proposition is defective when a rare

occurrence is declared to be absolutely impossible, as
follows: " No one can fall in love at a single glance,
or as he is passing by." ^
For inasmuch as some have
fallen in love at first sight, and yet the speaker has
said " no one," it is of no significance whatsoever
that the experience occurs but rarely, provided we
understand that it sometimes does occur, or even only
that it can occur.
XXI. Again, the Proposition is defective when we

submit that we have made a complete enumeration

of the possibilities and pass by some pertinent one,<^
as follows: " Since, then, it is established that the
man was killed, he must have been killed by robbers,
or by enemies, or by you, whom in his will he made
*

Inv.

The
1.

fallacy of
xlv. 84."

Incomplete Disjunction.

Cf. Cicero,

De
115

[CICERO]
heredem testamento ex parte
illoloco visi

faciebat.

Praedones

in

numquam sunt inimicum nullum habebat

;

relinquitur, si neque a praedonibus neque ab inimicis

occisus est, quod alteri non erant, alteros non habein huiuscemodi
bat, ut abs te sit interemptus."
expositione reprehensione utemur si quos praeterquam quos ille conlegerit potuisse suscipere male-

Nam

ficium ostenderimus ; velut in hoc exemplo, cum

dixerit necesse esse aut a praedonibus aut ab inimicis
aut a nobis occisum esse, dicemus potuisse vel a

famiUa vel a coheredibus nostris. Cum hoc modo

illorum conlectionem disturbaverimus, nobis latiorem
locum defendendi reliquerimus. Ergo hoc quoque
vitandum est in expositione, ne quando, cum omnia
videamur,

collegisse

aliquam

idoneam

partem

reliquerimus.
34

Item vitiosa expositio est quae constat ex falsa

enumeratione, si aut cum plura sunt pauciora
" Duae res sunt, iudices, quae
dicamus, hoc modo
omnes ad maleficium impellant luxuries et avaritia."
" Quid amor? " inquiet quispiam, " quid ambitio?
quid religio? quid metus mortis? quid imperii
:

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xlv. 85.

C/. Cato in Livy, 34. 4. 1 ff . :

" Often have you heard me

that the state is suffering from the two
vices, luxury and greed, which have been the curse
and destruction of every great empire; " Cicero, Pro S.
" The city creates luxury
from luxury
Rose. Am. 27. 75
greed inevitably springs, and from greed bursts forth audacity,
"
Longinus, De Svblim.
the source of every crime and wrong;
" For the love of money
and the love of pleasure
.
46. 6
"Well then, I say
Isocrates,
Antid.
217:
us;"
enslave
that every man does everything he does for the sake of
pleasure or gain or glory; " Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 10 (1369 a)
*

complain
opposing

ii6

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xxi.

33-34

part-heir.
In that place robbers have never been
seen.
He had no enemy.
If he was not killed by
robbers, of whom there were none, nor by enemies, of

whom
you."

it remains that he was slain by

refute a Proposition of this type
that others besides those whom the

he had none,

We

shall

by showing
speaker has enumerated could have undertaken the
crime."
Here, for example, when he has said that
the murder must have been committed by robbers, or
by enemies, or by us, we shall say that it could have
been committed by the man's slaves or by our co-heirs.
When we have in this way upset the enumeration
made by our accusers, we have left ourselves wider
room for defence. This then is another mistake
always to be avoided in the Proposition the omission
of some pertinent item when we think that we have
included all.
Again, the Proposition is defective if it is based on a
34
false enumeration and we present fewer possibilities
than there are in reality, as follows " There are two
things, men of the jury, which ever impel men to
crime: luxury and greed." ^ "But what about
love?," some one will say, " ambition.^ superstition,
the fear of death. the passion for power, and, in short,

<^

*'
Thus every act of men is necessarily done from one or
other of seven causes
chance, nature, compulsion, habit,
:

calculation, passion, or desire."

' Aristotle, Polit. 2. 9 (1271 a), declares greed and ambition
to be the commonest motives of crime
c/. also Timon the
" The components of
Misanthrope in Stobaeus, 3. 10. 53
;

evil are greed and the love of glory "

and Horace, Serm.
" Take anyone at all from amid a crowd
1. 4. 25-6
he is
suffering from either greed or some wretched ambition."
;

^
1.

The sentiment

80

ff.,

3.

59

is

Epicurean;

c/.,

for

example, Lucretius

ff.

"7

[CICERO]
?
quid denique alia permulta ? " Item
enumeratio est cum pauciora sunt et plura
" Tres res sunt quae omnes
dicimus, hoc modo
metus, cupiditas, aegritudo""
homines sollicitent

cupiditas
falsa

enim fuerat dixisse metum, cupiditateniy

quoniam aegritudinem cum utraque re coniunctam
Satis

esse necesse est.

expositio est quae nimium

" Omnium malorum
hoc modo
Ea parit immenest mater atque materies.

XXII. Item
longe

stultitia

sas cupiditates.

immoderatae
porro

tia

Ergo

vitiosa

repetitur,

Immensae porro

Hae

sunt.

cupiditates infinitae,
pariunt avaritiam. Avari-

hominem ad quod vis maleficium

avaritia

inducti

adversarii

impellit.

nostri hoc

se

in

Hie id quod extremum dictum

est satis fuit exponere, ne Ennium et ceteros poetas
imitemur, quibus hoc modo loqui concessum est
f

acinus admiserunt."

Utinam ne in nemore Pelio securibus

Caesae accidissent abiegnae ad terram trabes,
Neve inde navis inchoandi exordium
Coepisset quae nunc nominatur nomine
Argo, quia Argivi in ea delecti viri
Vecti petebant pellem inauratam arietis
Colchis, imperio regis Peliae, per

Nam numquam

era errans

dolum

mea domo

efferret

pedem.
^

In Theon 5 (Spengel

hae

haec 31 Mx.

99 and 105) and in Stobaeus, 3. 10. 37,

half 3rd century B.C.) is quoted as
saying that avarice is mother city {iiriTpoiroXis) of all evil in
Diogenes Laertius, 6. 50, the saying is attributed to Diogenes
the Cynic (fourth century B.C.). This sentiment was popular
in the rhetorical schools and philosophical diatribes. Cf. Sallust,

Bion of Borysthenes

2.

(first

ii8

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xvi.

34-xxii. 34

the great multitude of other motives? " Again the

enumeration is false when the possibilities are fewer
than we present, as follows: "There are three
emotions that agitate all men
fear, desire, and
worry." Indeed it had been enough to say fear and
desire, since worry is necessarily conjoined with both.
XXII. Again, the Proposition is defective if it
traces things too far back, as follows: " Stupidity is
the mother and matter of all evils. She gives birth to
boundless desires.
Furthermore, boundless desires
have neither end nor limit. They breed avarice.
Avarice, further, drives men to any crime you \\i.\\.
Thus it is avarice which has led our adversaries to
take this crime upon themselves." Here what
:

was said last was enough for a Proposition, lest we

copy Ennius and the other poets, who are licensed
to speak as follows: " O that in Pelion's woods the
firwood timbers had not fallen to the ground, cut down
by axes, and that therefrom had not commenced
the undertaking to begin the ship which now is named
with the name of Argo, because in it sailed the picked
Argive heroes who were seeking the golden fleece of
the ram from the Colchians, \vith guile, at King Pelias'
command. For then never would my mistress, misled, have set foot away from home." ^
Indeed here
" These [the lust for money and the lust for power]
were, I might say, the source (muteries) of all evils " ; Calpurnius
" A man long happy is substance (materia) for all
Flaccus 8
disasters," and see also Otto, s.v. " avaritia " 5, p. 51.
^ Medea's nurse in the Prologue of Ennius' Medea Exuly
which was a reproduction of Euripides' Medea. Ennius here
observed the sequence of causes more carefully than Euripides
had done; see Schol. in Eurip., Med. 1. 1 ff., ed. Ed. Schwartz,
2. 140 ff.
Cf. acero, De Inv. 1. xlix. 91 ; Quintilian, 5. 10. 83
Ribbeck, 1. 49-50.
Cat. 10

[CICEKO]

Nam

hie satis erat dicere,

id

si

modo quod

satis esset

curarent poetae

Utinam ne era errans mea domo eflferret pedem.

Ergo hac quoque ab ultimo repetitione in expositionibus magnopere supersedendum est. Non enim
reprehensionis

sicut

sua sponte vitiosa

35

aliae conplures indiget, sed ^

est.

quae ad expositionem nonpropter infirmitatem vel

propter vanitatem. Infirma ratio est quae non
necessario ostendit ita esse quemadmodum exposituna

XXIII. Vitiosa

est

ratio est

adcommodata

est, velut

vel

apud Plautum

Amicum

castigare ob

meritam noxiam

Inmune est facinus, verum

Et conducibile.
Haec

expositio est.

in

aetate utile

Videamus quae

ratio adferatur

Nam ego amicum hodie meum

Concastigabo pro commerita noxia.
Ex

eo quod ipse facturus est, non ex eo quod fieri

convenit, utile quid sit ratiocinatur. Vana ratio est
quae ex falsa causa constat, hoc modo: "Amor
fugiendus non est, nam ex eo verissima nascitur
amicitia."
Aut hoc modo: " Philosophia vitanda
^

*
'

Mx

reprehensionis sngg.
reprehensione
BCl sed sicut
Mx.
lac.
indiget sed sugg. 31 x.
sicut

HPUbd

MSS.

" Its faultiness is self-evident.

Cf. Plato, Sophist 252 C:
" They do not need others to refute them, but, as the saying
goes, they have an enemy and adversary who dwells in the
same house with them."

I20

AD HKUKNNIUM,

II.

.vxii.

34-.\xiii.

35

were atlL'(}uatc, if poets had a care for mere

it
adequacy, to say: " Would that my misled mistress
iiad not set foot away from home."
In the Pro|X)sition, then, we must also carefully guard against
this tracing of things back to their remotest origin;
for the Proposition does not, like many others,
need to be refuted, but is on its own account
defective."

XXIII. The Reason

defective

isinappro])riate
or groundless.
It is weak when it does not conclusively demonstrate
the correctness of the Proposition, as in Plautus
" To reprove a friend for a fault that deserves reproof
is a thankless task, but in season useful and profitable."
That is the Proposition. Let us see what
Keason is presented " For today I shall severely
is

to the Proposition because either

'^

reprove

if it

weak

my

reproof."

friend for a fault that much deserves

His reckoning of what is useful is based on

what he himself

is about to do, and not on what it is

proper to do. A Reason is groundless when it rests
on a false supposition, as follows: " One must not
flee from love, for it engenders the truest friendship." ^
Or as follows " One must spurn philosophy, for it
:

* Trininnmus
23-6.
For instance, today.'

translation would be:

here appearing in colloquial
speech, introduces a particular instance of a general statement it is transitional rather than confirmatoiy, and so the
charge that Megaronides uses a false syllogism is imjust.
Cicero, De Im\ 1. 1. 95, is guilty of the same misunderstanding.
See \\. M. Lindsay, Stjntax of Plautvs, Oxford, 1007, p. 100.
"
Cf. Aristotle, /t;/?e/. 2. 24 (1401 b), illustrating, among the
sham enthj^memes, the topos from a sign (a single instance
" For example, one might say that
used to prove the rule)
lovers are of service to their countries, for it was the love of
Harmodius and Aristogeiton which brought about the downfall of the tyrant Hipparchus."
"

proper

Nam,

121

[CICERO]
est, adfert

enim socordiam atque desidiam." Nam

nisi falsae essent, expositiones quoque

hae rationes
36

earum veras esse confiteremur.

Itemque infirma ratio est quae non necessariam
causam adfert expositionis, velut Pacuvius
Fortunam insanam

esse et

caecam

et

brutam per-

hibent philosophi

Saxoque instare in globoso praedicant volubili

Id quo saxum inpulerit Fors, eo cadere Fortunam
autumant.

Caecam ob eam rem

esse iterant, quia nihil cernat

quo sese adplicet

Insanam autem esse

aiunt,

quia atrox, incerta

instabilisque sit

Brutam, quia dignum atque indignum nequeat

internoscere.

Sunt autem alii philosophi qui contra Fortunam

negant
Ullam misera in aetate esse; Temeritatem esse
autumant.
Id magis veri simile esse usus reapse experiundo
edocet
Velut Orestes

modo

fuit

rex,

factust mendicus

modo.
Naufragio nempe re ergo id factum, hau Forte aut
Fortuna obtigit.

Nam

hie Pacuvius infirma ratione utitur cum ait

Nam
verius esse Temeritate quam Fortuna res geri.

" C/. R.
W. Emerson in " The American Scholar "
" Inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without
the heroic mind," For other echoes of the opposition to
philosophy and art see 2. xxvii. 43 and 4. xxxii. 43.

122

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xvni. 35-36

produces inactivity and sloth. ^ If all these Reasons

were not false, we should also be obliged to admit the
"

30

truth of their Propositions.

Again, a Reason is weak if the causal basis which it
submits for the Proposition is not a compelling one.

For example, Pacuvius

"The goddess Fortune is
blind, and stupid, some philosophers maintain.
They declare that she stands upon a revolving globe
of stone ^ whither Chance impels this stone,
thither, they say, does Fortune fall.
She is blind,
they repeat, for that she fails wholly to perceive
whereto she attaches herself. Moreover they declare
that she is mad because she is cruel, uncertain, and
inconstant stupid because she knows not how to tell
worthy from unworthy. But there are other philosophers who, on the contrary, deny that in our
wretched life there is any such thing as Fortune
there is, they say, Blind Accident. That this is
more like the truth, is proved by the actual experience of life
even as Orestes now was king, and
now became a beggar. Surely by the shipwreck of
his property was this brought to pass, and did not
befall by Chance or Fortune."
Pacuvius here uses
a weak Reason when he says that it is truer to ascribe
the guidance of events to Accident rather than to
Fortune, for whichever of these philosophical theories
:

mad,

'^

* C/.
the like portrayal of Fortune in Cebetis Tabula
(probably first Christian century), ch. 7 (ed. Praechter, p. 6),
and Shakespeare, Henry V, 3. 6. 26 ff. also Otto, s.v. '"fortuna " 1, p. 142.
' We do not know to
which play this fragment (from a
prologue, perhaps) is to be assigned.
Ribbeck, 1. 14.5, conjectures Chryses; Marx, and Warmington, 2. 319, Dulorestes;
L. A. Post, Hermiona.
For the genitive form re (last verse)
see p. 68, note a.
;

123

[CICERO]
utraque opinione philosophorum

fieri

potuit ut

is

qui

rex fuisset mendicus factus esset.

37

XXIV. Item

infirma ratio est

ratione adferri, sed

dictum

hoc

est,

avaritia,

idem

modo

cum

videtur pro

quod in expositione
Magno malo est hominibus
dicit

"

quod homines magnis

idcirco

multis

et

incommodis conflictantur propter immensam pecuniae

cupiditatem. "

nem

dicitur

Item infirma
res postulat

Nam

hie aliis verbis

quod dictum
ratio est

causam

idem per

ratio-

est per expositionem.

quae minus idoneam quam

subicit expositionis,

" Utilis est sapientia, propterea

hoc modo:

quod qui sapientes

sunt pietatem colere consuerunt."

Item

" Utile

est amicos veros habere, habeas enim quibuscum

iocari

possis."

universa

Nam

neque

in

huiusmodi rationibus non

extenuata

sed

absoluta,

ratione

expositio confirmatur.

Item infirma

ratio

est

quae

vel

alii

expositioni

eandem
eandem quare bruta

potest adcommodari, ut facit Pacuvius, qui

adfert rationem quare caeca,

Fortuna
38

In

dicatur.^

confirmatione

rationis

multa

et

vitanda

in

nostra et observanda in adversariorum oratione sunt

vitia,

proptereaque diligentius consideranda

quod

adcurata confirmatio rationis totam vehementissime

conprobat argumentationem.
^

124

dicatur

HE

-.

dicitur other

MSS. Mx.

AD HKRF.NNIUM.

II.

xxiii.

36-xxiv. 38

you hold, it could have liappened that one who had

been a king became a beggar.
XX I\'. Again, a Reason is weak when it appears
to be presented as the Reason, but says precisely the
same as was said in the Proposition," as follows " A
:

great evil to mankind is greed, for the reason that

men wrestle with great and many ills on account of
the boundless passion for money." Here the
Reason merely repeats in other words what has been
said in the Proposition.
Again, a Reason is weak if the causal basis which it
submits for the Proposition is inadequate to the
demands of the subject.* as follows " Wisdom is useful because the wise have been in the habit of
cultivating a sense of duty."
Or, " It is useful to
have true friends, for thus you may have persons with
whom you can jest." In Reasons of this kind the
Proposition is supported not by a universal or absolute
reason, but by a feeble one.
Again, the Reason is weak if it can at choice be
applied to another Proposition,^ as in the case of
Pacuvius, who presents the sanle reason for caUing
Fortune blind as for calling her stupid.*^
In the Proof of the Reason, there are many faults
to be avoided in our discourse and also to be watched
for in that of our adversaries.
These must be considered the more carefully because an accurate Proof
of the Reason supplies the most cogent support of the
:

whole argument.
Cf.

I.

Qcero, De Inv. lA. 95.

like the type of fallacy

Very

'

An

vii.
^

in 2. xxiii.

Introduction similarly defective

36 above.
called banal

is

in

11 above.

2. xxiii.

36 above.

12^

[CICERO]
Utuntur

igitur

studiosi

duplici conclusione, hoc

confirmanda

in

ratione

modo

Iniuria abs te adficior indigna, pater

si inprobum esse Cresphontem ^ existimas,
Cur me huic locabas nuptiis ? Sin est probus,

Nam

Cur talem invitam invitum cogis linquere

Quae hoc modo concludentur aut ex

contrario con-

vertentur aut ex simplici parte reprehendentur.

contrario, hoc

Ex

modo

Nulla te indigna, nata, adficio iniuria.

probus est, te locavi sin est inprobus,
Divortio te liberabo incommodis.

Si

Ex simplici parte reprehendetur si ex duplici conclusione alterutra pars diluitur, hoc modo
:

"

Nam

inprobum esse Cresphontem ^ existimas,

huic locabas nuptiis ? " " Duxi probum

si

Cur me

Erravi; post cognovi, et fugio cognitum."

39

XXV. Ergo

reprehensio

huiusmodi

duplex

auctior

superior,

est;

ilia

conclusionis

haec

facilior

posterior ad excogitandum.
^

chresponthem

11

chrespontem

B C Mx

mai.

ed.

chresponthe H
threspontem E
Chresponten Mx,
2 chrespontem
Mx ed. mai. threspontem Id
pontem 6 Chresponten Mx.

tres-

Complexio in Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxix.

on Virgil, Aen. 2. 675. Cf. in Aristotle,
Rhet. 2. 23 (1399 a). No. 14 of the 28 lines of argument from
which to draw enthymemes, the topos of criss-cross consequences; Hermogenes, De Inv. 4. 6 (ed. Rabe, pp. 192-4);
and also the figure Division, 4. xl. 52 below.
" 8iXTjfji^a, SiAT^/i/ittTov.

45,

126

and

in Servius

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xxiv. 38 xxv. 39

Students in the rhetorical schools, therefore, in

Proving the Reason, use a Dilemma, as follows
" You treat me, father, with undeserved wrong.
For
if you think Cresphontes wicked, why did you give
me to him for wife ? But if he is honourable, why do
you force me to leave such a one against his will and
mine?" Such a Dilemma will either be reversed
against the user, or be rebutted in a single term.*
Reversed, as follows " My daughter, I do not treat
you with any undeserved wrong. If he is honourable, I have given him you in marriage
but if he is
wicked, I shall by divorce free you from your ills."
It will be a rebuttal in a single term if one or the other
alternative is confuted, as follows: " You say:
For
if you think Cresphontes wicked, why did you give
me to him for wife ?
I thought him honourable.
I
erred.
Too late I came to know him, and knowing
39 him, I fly from him."
XXV. Thus the rebuttal of
a dilemma of this type is twofold
the first fuller,
the second easier to invent.
:

'

<=

Cf. Cicero,

De

Inv.

our author gives in

1.

2.

he uses an example which

42 to illustrate the vice of

xlv. 83;

xxvi.

inconsistency.
' The verses in this section have been referred either to a
Greek school of rhetoric where exercises were set on the
Cresphontes of Euripides or to Ennius' Cresphontes see Marx,
Proleg., p. 132, and Ribbeck, 1. 33, but also Johannes Tolkiehn,
;

who beheves that

first four verses belong to the Ennian play.
Our author
seems here to have forgotten what precisely constitutes Proof
of the Reason
his
definition
in
2.
xviii.
28 above, and the
cf.
Berl. philol. Wochenschr. 37 (1917). 828-9,

the

illustration in 2. xix. 29.

In the event that the conditions here mirrored are Roman,

the daughter must have remained in the potestas of her father
if he divorced her from her husband without her consent.
This, then, would be an early reference to marriage without

manus.
127

[CICERO]
Item vitiosa conlirmatio est rationis cum ea re quae
plures res significat abutimur pro certo unius rei
" Necesse est, quoniam pallet,
signo, hoc modo
aegrotasse; " aut " Necesse est peperisse, quoniam
Nam haec sua sponte
sustinet puerum infantem."
sin cetera quoque similia
certa signa non habent
concurrunt, nonnihil illiusmodi signa adaugent
:

suspicionem.
Item vitiosum est quando ^ vel in alium vel in eum
ipsum qui dicit id ^ quod in adversarium dicitur ^
potest convenire, hoc modo
" Miseri sunt qui

uxores ducunt."

"

At

tu duxisti

alteram."

Item vitiosum est id quod vulgarem habet defen" Iracundia deductus peccavit
sionem, hoc modo
amore." Huiuscemodi enim
aut
adulescentia
aut
deprecationes si probabuntur, inpune maxima peccata
:

dilabentur.

Item vitiosum est cum id pro certo sumitur, quod

omnes constat, quod etiam nunc in contro-

inter

versia est,^ hoc

modo

tu, dii quibus est potestas motus superum

atque inferum
Pacem inter sese conciliant, conferunt concordiam.

Eho

quando d

3
*

qui

est Cbl
inter

quod

dicit other

P^CE

si

enim

MSS. Mx.

MSS. Mx.

MMx.

Slid: other

Cf. Cicero,

128

other

M Mx omit.

id i/
dicitur d

MSS. Mx omit.
MSS. Mx.

inter other

De Inv.

1. xliii.

81.

AD HERKNNIUM,

II.

xxv. 39

Again, the Proof of the Reason is faulty wlien we

misapply a sign designating a variety of things in such
a way as to indicate specifically a single thing,* as
" Since he is pale, he must have been sick,"
follows
or: " She must have become a mother, since she is
:

holding a baby boy in her arms." ^ These indications do not of themselves offer definite proof, but if
there is concurrence of other like indications, such
signs increase probability not a little.
Again, there is a fault when that which is directed
against the adversary can as well fit some one else
or the speaker himself,'^ as follows: " Wretched are
they who marry wives." " Yet you have married a
second." ^
Again, that is faulty which presents a banal
" He was led into crime by
defence, as follows
anger or youth or love."'^ For if excuses of this
sort are admitted, the greatest crimes will escape
unpunished.
Again it is a fault to assume as certain, on the
ground that " it is universally agreed upon," a thing
which is still in dispute, as follows " Ho Look you,
the gods who guide the movements of the beings that
dwell above and below keep peace among themselves
:

Cf. Aristotle's examples of the infallible kind of sign in

" He is sick, for he has a fever," and
1. 2 (1357 b)

Bhet.

"She has had

2.

27 i70
This

a child, for she has milk"; also Anal. Pr.

a).

"common" argument; c/. Cicero, De Inv.

^nd Quintihan, 5. 13. 29. Faults such as
those treated from here on are described briefly by Quin'

is

xlviii.

1.

the

90,

tilian in o. 13.
1.

34

f.

From

a comedy (?) by an unknown author; yet Ribbeck,

300-1, suspects that the verse may belong to a dispute

between Jason and Medea

'
Cf. 2. xvi. 24 above.

in

Ennius' Medea.

129
F

[CICERO]

Nam
tum

pro suo iure hoc exemplo utentem ThesproEnnius induxit, quasi iam satis certis rationibus

ita
^

ita esse

demonstrasset.

Item vitiosum

40

quod iam quasi sero atque acto

est

negotio dici videtur, hoc

si

venisset, Quirites,

modo

" In

mentem

non commisissem ut

in

mihi

hunc

locum res veniret, nam hoc aut hoc fecissem sed me

tum haec ratio fugit."
Item vitiosum est cum id quod in aperto delicto
positum est tamen aliqua tegitur defensione, hoc
;

modo

Cum

te expetebant

Regno,

reliqui

Summo

omnes

florentissimo

nunc desertum ab omnibus

periclo sola ut restituam paro.

XXVI. Item

vitiosum est quod in aliam partem ac

Id est huiusmodi, ut si quis
potest accipi.
potens ac factiosus in contione dixerit " Satius est
Nam et hoc,
uti regibus quam uti malis legibus."
tametsi rei augendae causa potest sine malitia dici,
tamen propter potentiam eius qui dicit non dicitur

dictum

sit

sine atroci suspicione.

41

Item vitiosum
uti.
1

est falsis aut vulgaribus delinitionibus

Falsae sunt huiusmodi, ut si quis dicat iniuriam

thesprotum

threspontem

(tbespontem

d)

Chres-

pontem Mx.
Probably from the Thyesies of Ennius; see Vahlen, pp.
ccx and 183. Thesprotus is perhaps interceding to reconcile
But if the
the estranged brothers Atreus and Thyestes.
reading Chrespontem (E threspontem) is correct, the verses are
from the Cresphontes of Ennius; see Ribbeck, 1. 34. CJ.
Cicero, De Inv. 1. xux. 91.
*
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xlviii. 90.
'

130

Cf. Cicero,

De

Inv.

1. xlviii.

90.

AD HKIIKNMUM,
and

join in concord."''

wv. 39 vwi.

11.

Thus Thesj)rotus,

41

as l'!,nnius

has presented him, uses this example on his own

authority, as thouf(h he had already demonstrated the
fact by reasons sufficiently conclusive.
40
Again, that is faulty which appears to be pronounced too late, as it were, and after the matter has
been concluded,* as follows: " If it had entered my
mind, fellow-citizens, I should not have been guilty
of allowing the matter to come to such a pass, for I
should have done this or that
but at the time this
thought escaped me."
Again, there is a fault when that which stands
as a manifest transgression is yet cloaked by some
defence,*^ as follows: " When all men were seeking
you out and you had a most prosperous kingdom, I
forsook you; now that all have deserted you, I,
alone, in greatest peril, prepare to restore you."'*
XXVI. Again, that is faulty which can be taken in
another sense than the speaker intended ; * for
example, if some influential demagogue should in a
speech before the Assembly say: "It is better to
submit to kings than to bad laws." In fact, these
words, though they may be uttered by way of
amplification without sinister intent, are nevertheless
because of the speaker's influence sure to breed a
;

terrible suspicion.
41

Again, it is a fault to use false or general definitions;/ false, as if one should say that there is no
**

Assigned to the Medus of Pacuvius

to Aeetes.
' Cicero,

De

Inv.

1. xlvii.

Medea

88, gives a different

is

speaking

treatment of

ambiguity.

The " general definition "

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. Ixix. 91.
represents the same kind of fault as the last type of weak
Reason in 2. xxiv. 37 above.
f

[CICERO]
esse

nullam nisi quae ex pulsatione aut convicio

Vulgares sunt quae nihilominus in aliam

constet.

rem

transferri possunt, ut

"

Quadruenim
nihilo magis

quis dicat

si

plator, ut breviter scribam, capitalis est,^ est

inprobus et pestifer civis." Nam

quadruplatoris quam furis, quam sicarii aut proditoris
adtulit definitionem.

Item vitiosum est pro argument sumere quod in

disquisitione positum est, ut si quis quem furti arguat
et ita dicat eum esse hominem inprobum, avarum,
fraudulentem
furtum fecerit.

Item vitiosum

testimonium esse quod

rei

ei

sibi

controversiam controversia disNon convenit, censores, istum

vobis satis facere quod ait se non potuisse adesse ita
ut iuratus fuerit.^ Quid ? si ad exercitum non
venisset, idemne tribuno militum diceret ? "
Hoc
ideo vitiosum est quia non expedita aut iudicata res,
sed inpedita et in simili controversia posita exempli

solvere, hoc

est

modo

"

loco profertur.
42

Item vitiosum
versia est

Aperte fatur

dictio,

arma

lubet, potiri

Quem

id

ego

si

me
1

de quo

summa

contro-

et quasi transactum sit

modo

relinquitur, hoc

Tali dari

cum

est

parum expeditur
si

intellegas

qualis qui gessit fuit

studeamus Pergamum.
profiteor esse

CE

est
fuerit

other
:

MSS.

fuerat

me est aecum
Mx omit.

frui

E Mx.

See the definition of iniuria in 4. xxv. 35 below.

fallacy of Begging the Question.
Cf. Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 24 (1401 b), illustrating, among the
sham enthymemes, the topos from a " sign "
"Suppose that
**

The

"

132

AD HKRKNNIUM,

II.

xxvi.

41-42

injury except in the form of battery or of insulting

language ** general, like that which can be equally
well applied to something else, as if one should say
" An informer, in short, is worthy of death
for he
is a wicked and dangerous citizen."
The speaker has
offered a definition no more appropriate to an informer
than to a thief, assassin, or traitor.
Again, it is a fault to advance as proof what has
been put in question,* as if one should charge another
with theft, and accordingly declare that he is a
wicked, greedy, and deceitful man and the evidence
for this is that he has stolen from the speaker.*^
Again, it is a fault to refute one disputed point by
another disputed point j'^ as follows " You should not
be satisfied, Censors, when this defendant says that
he was unable to be present as he had sworn he would
be.
I ask, would he have given this same excuse to
the tribune of the soldiers if he had failed to appear
for military duty? "
This is faulty because a matter
not clearly settled or adjudged, but entangled with
difficulties and based on a like point of dispute is cited
;

an example.
Again, a fault is present when a matter about
which there is the sharpest controversy is not clearly
settled and is allowed to pass as though it were agreed
" Plainly speaks the oracle's
upon, as follows
response if you would understand. He commands
that the arms be given to a warrior such as was he
who bore them, should we be zealous to take Pergamum. This warrior I profess to be. It is but fair
as

42

some one

calls Dionysius a thief

because he is a rogue.'
of course, no logical argument here; not every
rogue is a thief, though every thief is a rogue."
Cf. the last fault considered in 2. xxv. 39 above.

There
*

is,

'

[CICERO]
Fraternis armis mihique adiudicarier,
Vel quod propinquus vel quod virtute aemulus.

Item vitiosum

est ipsum sibi in sua oratione discontra atque ante dixerit dicere, hoc
modo: "Qua causa accusem hunc?", turn id
exputando evolvere

sentire

et

Nam si veretur, quid eum accuses qui est probus ?

Sin inverecundum animi ingenium possidet,
Quid autem eum accuses qui id parvi auditum
aestimet ?
XXVII. Non incommoda
disse quare

Nunc ego
43

ratione videtur sibi osten-

non accusaret.
te ab

Item vitiosum

Quid postea ? quid

summo iam detexam

est

quod

dicitur

ait

exordio.

contra

iudicis

voluntatem aut eorum qui audiunt, si aut partes

quibus illi student, aut homines quos illi caros habent
laedantur, aut aliquo eiusmodi vitio laeditur auditoris
voluntas.
est non omnes res confirmare quas
expositions
Item verendum est ne de alia re dicatur, cum alia
de re controversia sit
inque eiusmodi vitio considerandum est ne aut ad rem addatur quid, aut
quippiam de re detrahatur, aut tota causa mutata in

Item vitiosum

pollicitus sis in

Perhaps from the Armorum Indicium of Accius (Warm2. 362) rather than from the play of the same name
by Pacuvius (Marx, Proleg., p. 132); see Tolkiehn, Bed.
Philol. Wochenschr. 37 (1917). 827-8.
Ajax speaks for the
arms of Achilles which Agamemnon, on Athena's advice,
later awarded to Ulysses.
* The fragment is from a tragedy by an unknown author.
The example was a favourite of the rhetoricians. Cf. Cicero,
"

ington,

AD HRRENNIUM,

II.

xxvi. 42-.\xvii. 43

that I liave the use of my cousin's arms and that they

be awarded me, either because I am his kin or, if you
will, because I rival him in valour."
Again, it is a fault to be inconsistent with oneself in
one's own discourse and to contradict what one has
said before, as follows: " On what ground shall I
impeach him ? ", and then to develop this thought by
" For if he has a conscience,
the following reflection
why should you impeach an honourable man ? But
if he has a shameless character, to what avail then
would you impeach one who, when he has heard
the charge, deems it of little account ? " XXVII. He
seems to have provided himself with a sound enough
reason for not making the accusation. What does he
say next ? " Now at last I will finish you off from the
very first thread." ^
43
Again, that is faulty which is said against the convictions of the judge or the audience ^
if the party
to which they are devoted, or men whom they hold
dear, should be attacked, or the sentiments of the
hearer outraged by some fault of this kind.
Again, it is a fault not to prove everything which in
the Proposition you have promised to prove.
Again, one must beware of talking on a different
subject from the one in dispute ^ and in regard to
this kind of fault one must take care not to add anything to, or omit anything from, the subject, and not
to change the question at issue and turn to quite
**

'^

De

Inv. 1. xlv. 83, 1. 1. 93; Victorinus, in Halm, p. 253; C.

Julius Victor, ch. 12, in Halm, p. 414.
'
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xlix. 92, and De Oraiore 2. 75.
304-5.
**
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. 1. 94.
' The
fallacy of Shifting Ground.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv.
I.

1.

94.

[CICERO]
aliam causam derivetur

uti

apud Pacuvium Zethus

cum Amphione, quorum

controversia de musica
inducta disputatione in sapientiae rationem et virtutis
utilitatem consumitur.

Item considerandum

est ne aliud accusatoris crimicontineat, aliud defensoris purgatio purget,

quod saepe consulto multi ab reo faciunt angustiis
causae coacti ; ut si quis, cum accusetur ambitu

natio

magistratum petisse, ab imperatoribus saepe numero

apud exercitum donis militaribus se dicat ^ donatum
esse.
Hoc si diligenter in oratione adversariorum
observaverimus, saepe deprehendemus eos de ea re
quod dicant non habere.
44
Item vitiosum est artem aut scientiam aut studium
quodpiam vituperare propter eorum vitia qui in eo
studio sunt veluti qui rhetoricam vituperant propter
alicuius oratoris vituperandam vitam.
Item vitiosum est ex eo, quia perperam factum
constet esse, putare ostendi a certo homine factum
;

" Mortuum deformatum, tumore

esse, hoc modo
praeditum, corpore decoloratum constat fuisse ergo
veneno necatus est." Deinde si sit usque in eo
:

MSS. faciunt Zethus 3Ix.

donis militaribus se dicat sugg.

Zethus

lac. ;

Mx.

The twins in the Antiopa (as in the Antiope of Euripides)

in a famous debate: the practical Zethus, hostile to
culture, finds fault with Amphion's love of music, and urges
the virile active life of farming, cattle breeding, and war;
the cultivated Amphion praises music and the life of contemplation.
Amphion yields " to his brother's mood " so
far as to still his lyre; see Horace, Epist. 1. 18. 43^.
Cf.
Cicero, De Inv. 1. 1. 94, De Oratore 2. 37. 155, De Re Puhl. 1. 18,
and Callicles in Plato, Gorgias 485 E ff. The separation of
"

engage

musical from philosophical studies represents a

of view.

136

Roman

point

AD HERKNNIUM,

xxvii.

II.

43-44

another; like the case of Zethus and Aniphion in

Pacuvius their controversy, begun on the subject
of music, ends in a disputation on the theory of
wisdom and the utility of virtue.**
Again, care must be taken that the prosecutor's
charge shall not bear on one point, and the Exculpation of the defence on another.
Many speakers on
the side of the defence are often intentionally guilty
of this irrelevance when pressed by the difficulties of
their cause
for example, if a man accused of having
sought a magistracy by bribery should say that in
the army he had often received military- gifts from
generals.
If we carefully watch for this fault in the
speech of our adversaries we shall often detect that
they have nothing to say to the point.
Again, it is a fault to disparage an art or science or
any occupation because of the faults of those engaged
in it,^ as in the case of those who blame rhetoric
because of the blameworthy life of some orator.'^
Again, it is a fault, when you establish that a
crime was committed, to believe you are thereby
proving that it was committed by a specific person, as
" It is established that the corpse was disfollows
figured,
swollen, and discoloured
therefore the man
&
killed by poison."
Then, if the speaker con-

The argument is not ad rem but ad hominem the fallacy

of Ignoring the Question.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. 1. 94.
'"

Let us banish from our hearts

Cf. QuLntilian, 12. 1. 32
the notion that eloquence, the fairest of all things, can combine with vicious character "
Philodemus, RJiet. 2. 270, ed.
'"
Sudhaus
But it is clear to all that many orators are very
able, yet in character thoroughly depraved; " Plato, Gorgias
457 A, and Ludwig Radermacher, Artium Scriptores, Sitzung3ber. Ost-erreich. Akad. (philos.-hist. Klasse) 227, 3 (Vienna,
^*

1951). 45.

137

[CICERO]
venenum datum, vitio
Non enim factumne sit

occupatus, ut multi faciunt,

non mediocri

conflictetur.

quaeritur, sed a quo factum

45

sit.

XXVIII. Item vitiosum est in conparandis rebus

alteram rem efFerre, de re altera mentionem non
facere aut neglegentius disputare;

paretur utrum satius

sit

an non accipere, quae commoda

velit

cum

si

con-

sint in altera re vera

curet enumeret, quae in altera

quae

ut

populum frumentum accipere

incommoda

sint et

depressa praetereat, aut ea quae minima

sint dicat.

Item vitiosum
putare

quod genus,
sit,

est in rebus conparandis necesse

alteram rem vituperare

si

cum alteram laudes

quaeratur utris maior honor habendus

Albensibus an Vestinis Pennensibus, quod

publicae populi
alteros

laedat.

Romani profuerint,
Non enim necesse

et

is

est,

rei

qui dicat
si

alteros

enim potest ut,

cum alteros magis laudaris, aliquam alteris partem
laudis adtribuas, ne cupide depugnasse contra veritatem puteris.
praeponas, alteros vituperare

1
2

"

fieri

putare Lambinus
putari MSS. Mx.
vituperare E
vituperari other 3ISS.
quod P^BCH
ed. mai.
quo
:

Mx

Mx.

M Mx

qui b d.

De Inv. 1. 1. 94. Yet this procedure is not

when followed in the Statement of Facts see De Inv.

Cf. Cicero,

faulty
1.

xxi. 30.

" A deliberative problem; our author has in the

books been emphasizing the judicial kind.

138

first

two

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

xwii. 44-xvvm. 45

many do, on proving that poison was

administered, he will be harassed by a not insignificant fault.
The question is not whether the crime

centrates, as

45

was committed, but who committed it.

XXV'III. Again, it is a fault in making a comparison
to bring out one term and either suppress mention
of the other, or treat it rather cursorily
for example, if in deciding by a comparison whether it is
better for the populace to receive, or not to receive,
wheat, the speaker should on the one hand really take
care to enumerate the benefits, but on the other
should pass over the disadvantages and whatever he
wishes to suppress, or should mention only those
disadvantages which are least serious.''
Again, it is a fault in making a comparison to think
it necessary to disparage one thing when you praise
the other ^ for example, if the question should
arise, who are to be held in greater honour for services
to the Roman republic, the Albensians or the Pinnensian Vestini,^ and the speaker should attack one or
the other. Indeed it is not necessary, if you prefer
one, to disparage the other; for you can manage,
when you have given greater praise to one, to allot
some portion of praise to the other, so that you may
not be thought to have combated the truth under
influence of partiality.
;

<*

Cf. Cicero, Z>e /ny. 1. 1. 94.

^ Most probably for her faithfulness to Rome in the Marsic
war, in which she gallantly withstood a siege. Alba Fucens, a
city of the Aequi on the borders of the Marsi in Central Italy,
was rewarded with the status of municipium
Pinna (or
Penna), at the foot of the Apennines, a chief city of the Vestini,
was also faithful to Rome (although the other Vestini were in
revolt) and endured a hard siege.
'

139

[CICERO]
Item vitiosum est de nomine et vocabulo controversiam struere quam rem consuetude optime potest
iudicare
velut Sulpicius, qui intercesserat ne exules
quibus causam dicere non licuisset reducerentur,
;

idem posterius, immutata voluntate, cum eandem

legem ferret, aliam se ferre ^ dicebat propter nominum
commutationem nam non exules, sed vi eiectos se
;

Proinde quasi id fuisset in contro-

reducere aiebat.

quo illi nomine appellarentur, aut proinde

quasi non omnes quibus aqua et igni interdictum est
versia,

exules appellentur. Verum illi fortasse ignoscimus si

causa fecit
nos tamen intellegamus vitiosum
esse intendere controversiam
propter nominum

cum

mutationem.
46

XXIX. Quoniam exornatio constat ex similibus et

exemplis et amplificationibus et rebus iudicatis et
ceteris rebus quae pertinent ad exaugendam et conlocupletandam argumentationem, quae sint his rebus
vitia consideremus.
^

aliam se ferre TICP^

alios efferre

Mx

aliose ferre

ed.

mai.

aliam sese ferre

alio se ferre

Mx

aliis

ferre B.

" Usage (usus

con^uetudo
the decision (arbitrium), rights
{ius), and standard (norma) of speaking"; Demetrius, De
" Usage, which is our teacher always," and
Elocut. 2. 86
2. 87, in which he makes usage his " standard " [Kavuiv
norma).
^ In 90 B.C., after the outbreak of the Marsic War, the
tribune Q. Varius Hybrida introduced a law on treason
directed against the senatorial leaders; it inquired into the
actions of those who helped or advised the allies to take up
arms against Rome. Sulpicius' law in 88 restored the exiles
who had been condemned without a hearing either by the
Varian Commission or by the court estabUshed under the Lex
" Cf. Horace, Ars Poet. 72 :
avvrj$ia)f in whose hands lie

140

AD HERP:NNIUM,

II.

xxvin. 45-xxix. 46

a fault to build upon a name or appellawhich usage can best decide.** For
example, Sulpicius * had opposed his veto to the
recall of the exiles who had not been permitted to
plead their cause
later he changed his mind, and
proposing the same law, said he was offering a
different proposal, because he had changed the name.
For, he said, he was recalling not " exiles," but
" those ejected by violence "
as though the dispute
concerned the name by which to call those people, or

Again,

it is

tion a dispute

as

though

all

to

whom

water and

fire

have been

forbidden are not called exiles. True,

we perhaps excuse Sulpicius if he had a reason for
doing this.<^ Yet let us understand that it is a fault
to raise a controversy on account of a change in
formally

names.

XXIX. Since FLmbellishment consists of similes,

examples, amplifications, previous judgements, and
the other means which serve to expand and enrich
the argument, let us consider the faults which attach
to these.
Plautia Iitdiciaria of 90/89, but was itself later in the year
repealed by SuUa.
Why Sulpicius had earher vetoed a
proposal to recall the exiles is not clear, for many of these
belonged to his own party. The grounds for the veto were
probably constitutional, and the new form of the proposal
may have been intended to avoid constitutional objections
that the decisions of the courts were being nulhfied ; or
perhaps popular opinion pressed him to change his mind. It
was through the interdiction of fire and water, the symbol of
the community, that the capital sentence was carried into
effect.
See Ernst Levy, Die rorn. Kapitalstrafe, Sitzungsber.
Heidelberg. Akad. (philos.-hist. Klasse) 21, 5 (1930-31). 14 flf.
' The author here seems to
betray bias in favour of the
Popular party
but see the Introduction to the present
volume, pp. xxiii f.
;

141

[CICERO]
Simile vitiosum est quod ex
est nee habet

aliqua parte dissimile

parem rationem conparationis aut

sibi

obest qui adfert.

Exemplum vitiosum est si aut falsum est, ut reprehendatur, aut inprobum, ut non sit imitandum, aut
maius aut minus quam res postulat.
Res iudicata vitiose proferetur si aut dissimili de re
proferetur, aut de ea re qua de controversia non est,
aut inproba, aut eiusmodi ut aut plures aut magis
idoneae res iudicatae ab adversariis proferri possint.
Item vitiosum est id quod adversarii factum esse
confiteantur, de eo argumentari et planum facere
factum esse nam id augeri oportet.
Item vitiosum est id augere quod convenit docere,
hoc modo ut si quis quem arguat hominem occidisse
et, antequam satis idoneas argumentationes adtulerit, augeat peccatum et dicat nihil indignius esse
ipsi

Non enim utrum indignum

occidere.
an non, sed factumne sit quaeritur.
Conplexio vitiosa est quae non quidque quod ^
primum dictum est primum conplectitur, et quae non
breviter concluditur, et quae non ex enumeratione
certum et constans aliquid relinquit, ut intellegatur
quid propositum in argumentatione sit, quid deinde

quam hominem
sit

quod ex

B CIl

id

quod ex

quode

quod de

Mx.

2 non quidque quod CH

non quique quod 6'^ non quod
quique P^iVa; non quod quidque P'^TL Bl quod non quodque
quod quique H.
b
:

'.

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. Ixiv. 82.

Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 25 (1403 a), Quintilian, 5. 13. 24, Anon.
Seg. 187 (Spengel-Hammer 1 [2]. 385), and Apsines, Ars Rhet.
9 (Spengel-Hammer 1 [2]. 283-5) treat the invalidation of
"
6

examples
142

(Auaet? Trapahf-iyyiaTaiv).

AD HEllENNIUM,

II.

xxix. 46

A Simile is defective if it is inexact in any aspect,

and lacks a proper ground for the comparison, or is
prejudicial to him who presents it."
An Example is defective if it is either false, and
hence refutable, or base, and hence not to be imitated,
or if it implies more or less than the matter demands.*
The citing of a Previous Judgement will be faulty ^
if the judgement applies to an unlike matter, or one
not in dispute, or if it is discreditable, or is of such a
kind that previous decisions either in greater number
or of greater appropriateness can be offered by our
adversaries.

Again, it is a fault, when our adversaries admit a

devote an argument to establishing it as a
fact ^ for it should rather be amplified.
Again, it is a fault to amplify what one should
prove " for example, if a man should charge another
with homicide, and before he has presented conclusive arguments, should amplify the crime, avowing
that there is nothing more shameful than homicide.
The question is, in fact, not whether the deed is or
is not shameful, but whether it was committed.
The Resume is defective if it does not include every
point in the exact order in which it has been presented if it does not come to a conclusion briefly \i
and if the summary does not leave something precise
and stable, so as to make clear what the Proposition
fact, to
;

De
De

Inv. 1. xliv. 82.

Inv. 1. xlix. 92.
* Two
functions are difPerentiated, the logical and
emotional
see 2. xxx. 47 ff below.
Cf. Cicero, De Inv.
in Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 24 (1401 b), the iopos (among
1. xlix. 92
the sham enthymemes)
of indignation
the
(Sci'vcdcti?)
speaker amplifies the deed without having proved his case.
f
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxxvii. 67.

C/. Cicero,

**

C/. Cicero,

143

[CICERO]
ratione, quid rationis confirmatione, quid tota argu47

mentatione demonstratum.
XXX. Conclusiones, quae apud Graecos epilog!
nominantur, tripertitae sunt. Nam constant ex
enumeratione, amplificatione, et commiseratione.
in
Quattuor locis uti possumus conclusionibus
:

principio,

secundum narrationem, secundum

simam argumentationem,

firmis-

in conclusione.

per quam colligimus et commonemus quibus de rebus verba fecerimus, breviter,

ut renovetur, non redintegretur oratio
et ordine ut
quicquid erit dictum referemus, ut auditor, si
memoriae mandaverit, ad idem quod ipse meminerit
reducatur.
Item curandum est ne aut ab exordio
aut narratione repetatur orationis enumeratio. Ficta

Enumeratio

est

Isocratic theory of the Conclusion was

to Theodectes (whose rhetorical system was
based on the parts of the discourse) its functions are to stir
the emotions, especially anger and pitj^ to praise or blame,
and to recall what has been said. See Hugo Rabe, Proleg.
SylL, Leipzig, 1931, pp. 32 and 216; Anon. Seg. 208-9, in
Rpengel-Hammer 1 (2). 389; Friedrich Solmsen in Hermes
67 (1932). 144-151. The Rhet. ad Alex., ch. 36 (1444 b1445 a), discusses the part played in Conclusions by the
Summary and the Conciliation of the Audience (including the
Appeal to Pity), together with Discrediting the Opponent.
To Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 19 (1419 b), the Conclusion has four
to conciHate the audience and discredit the
functions
opponent, to magnify and depreciate, to excite the emotions
required by the case, and to review what has been said.
Cicero, De Inv. 1. lii. 98, divides condusio into Summing Up,
Invective {indignatio, Sclvwols), and Appeal to Pitj^ (conquestio)
in Part. Oral. 15. 52 fF. the peroratio is restricted
(doubtless because the work is in the form of an isagogic
dialogue) to two divisions. Amplification and Summing Up,
Invective and Appeal to Pity being subordinate to AmpliAnon. Seg. 203 (Spengel- Hammer 1 [2]. 454) confication.
siders the Conclusion as dealing with either facts (to irpaKTiKov)
"

i-niXoyoi.

also tripartite;

144

The

AD lUlUKNNIUM,

II.

wix. 46-.xxx. 47

was, tlien what has been established by the Reason,

by the Proof of the Reason, and by the argument as
a whole.

XXX.

Conclusions, among the Greeks called epiare tripartite, consisting of the Summing Up,
Amplification, and Appeal to Pity.
can in four
places use a Conclusion
in the Direct Opening,
after the Statement of Facts, after the strongest
argument, and in the Conclusion of the speech.
logoi,^

We

The Summing Up ^ gathers together and recalls

the points we have made briefly, that the speech
may not be repeated in entirety, but that the memory
of it may be refreshed
and we shall reproduce all
the points in the order in which they have been presented, so that the hearer, if he has committed them

memory, is brought back to what he remembers.

Again, we must take care that the Summary should
not be carried back to the Introduction or the Statement of Facts. Otherwise the speech will appear to
to

emotions (t6 nadrjriKov), placing the Summary in the

former class; so also Quintihan, 6. 1. 1.
In Ithct. ad Alez., ch. 20
dvdiivrjois, araK-ec^aAatojcn?.
" When
Cf. Bhet. ad Alex., Ic.
(1433 b), TToAtAAoyta.
Summing Up we shall recapitulate either in the form of a
di\-ision or a recommendation of policy or of a question or of
an enumeration;" Cicero, Fart. Oral. 17. 59: "There are
two occasions for the Summing Up if you mistrust the
memory of those before whom you are pleading whether on
account of the length of time elapsed [since the events you
have been discussing took place] or on account of the length
of your speech, or if, by repeatedly presenting arguments
that strengthen your speech and setting these forth briefly,
" The
your case will have more force; " Quintilian, 6. 1. 1
Summing Up
both refreshes the memory of the index
and at the same time places the whole case before his eyes."
Cf. the enumeratio of 1. x. 17 above, and comphzio, the
Resume of an argument, 2. xviii. 28 above.

or

*"

145

[CICERO]
enim et dedita opera conparata oratio videbitur esse
artificii significandi, ingenii
venditandi, memoriae
ostendendae causa. Quapropter initivim enumerationis sumendum est a divisione.
Dein ^ ordine
breviter exponendae res sunt quae tractatae erunt in
confirmatione et confutatione.
Amplificatio est res quae per locum communem
instigationis auditorum causa sumitur.
Loci communes ex decern praeceptis commodissime sumentur
48

adaugendi criminis causa.

Primus locus sumitur ab auctoritate, cum commemoramus quantae curae ea res fuerit dis immortalibus aut maioribus nostris, regibus, civitatibus,
nationibus, hominibus sapientissimis, senatui
item
maxime quo modo de his rebus legibus sanctum sit.
Secundus locus est cum consideramus illae res de
quibus criminamur ad quos pertineant
utrum ad
omnes, quod atrocissimum est
an ad superiores,
;

ex

dein P^

CYlbl

tie

31

deinde Omnibonus

Mx

deinde

d.

"

See note on

4. vii.

10 below.

The purpose of Amplification is Setvouai? [indignatio in

Note that
4. XV. 22 and 4. xxxix. 51, iracundia in 3. xiii. 24).
the loci communes (see note on 2. vi. 9 above) are here attached
*

to Amplification {av^riats), which, in turn, is a subhead under

the Conclusion. The theory of Amplification was first formed
for epideictic; Gorgias, Tisias (Plato, Phaedrus 207 A), and
Isocrates gave it prominence.
Cf. Cicero, Part. Oral. 15. 52
" The right place for Amplification is in the Peroration; but
also in the course of the speech there are opportunities to
digress for the sake of amplification, when some point has
been proved or refuted. Amplification is, then, a more
impressive affirmation, so to speak, which by moving the
" Although Amplimind wins belief in speaking; " 8. 27
:

fication has its

146

own proper

place, often in the opening of a

AD HKRKNNIUM,

x.w. 47 48

II.

have been fabricated

and devised with elaborate
pains so as to demonstrate the speaker's skill, advertise his wit, and display his memory.
Therefore the
Summary must take its beginning from the Division.
Then we must in order and briefly set forth the points
treated in the Proof and Refutation.
Amplification is the principle of using Commonplaces to stir ^ the hearers.
To amplify an accusa"^

tion

it

will

be most advantageous to draw common-

places from ten formulae.

(1) The first commonplace^ is taken
rity, when we call to mind of what great

from authoconcern the

matter under discussion has been to the immortal
gods, or to our ancestors, or kings, states, barbarous
nations, sages, the Senate; and again, especially
how sanction has been provided in these matters

by laws.

The second commonplace is used when we

who are affected by these acts on which our
charge rests; whether all men, which is a most
"^

(2)

consider

shocking thing

or our superiors, such as are those

speech, and almost always at the end, yet it is to be used also

in other parts of the discourse, especially when a point has
been proved or refuted." Cicero, De Inv. 1. liii. 100-liv. 105,
gives five additional loci for invective; his No. 12 is like our
authors Xo. 8. There are correspondences between our
author's commonplaces and those listed in Aristotle, Ehef.
1. 14 (1374 b-137.5 a); 0/., e.g., ixovos t] Trpwro^ (our author's
No, 8) TO dxjpLwBeaTepov ahtKiqyuj. (Xo. 7), k vpovoias (Xo, 6),
laoLs (Xo. 5); on correspondences with those in the Rhet. ad
Alex, see Claus Peters, pp. 100-101.
Pet<?rs, and Octave
Xavarre, Essai sur la Rhetor ique Grecque avant Aristote, Paris,
1900, pp. 304 flF., illustrate the use made of several of these
commonplaces by Greek orators. See Walter Plobst, Die
Atixesis, diss. Munich, 1911.

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. liii. 101.

147

[CICERO]
quod genus ii sunt a quibus auctoritatis locus communis sumitur an ad pares, hoc est, in isdem partibus animi, corporis, fortunarum positos
an ad
inferiores, qui his omnibus rebus antecelluntur.
Tertius locus est quo percontamur quid sit eventurum si omnibus idem concedatur, et, ea re neglecta,
ostendemus quid periculorum atque incommodorum
;

consequatur.

Quartus locus est quo demonstratur, si huic sit

permissum, multos alacriores ad maleficium futuros,
quod adhuc expectatio iudicii remoratur.
Quintus locus est cum ostendimus, si semel aliter
iudicatum sit, nullam rem fore quae incommodo
mederi aut erratum iudicum corrigere possit. Quo in
loco non incommodum erit uti ceterarum rerum conparatione, ut ostendamus alias res posse aut vetustate
sedari aut consilio corrigi, huius rei aut leniendae aut
49

corrigendae nullam rem adiumento futuram.

Sextus est locus cum ostendimus et consulto
factum et dicimus voluntario facinori nullam esse
excusationem, inprudentiae iustam deprecationem
paratam.

Septimus locus est quo ostendimus taetrum facinus,

nefarium, tyrannicum esse; quod genus
iniuria mulierum, aut earum rerum aliquid quarum
rerum causa bella suscipiuntur et cum hostibus de
crudele,

vita dimicatur.

Cj. 3. vi. 10 below.

Cj. Cicero, Delnv. 1. liii. 101 and

qui efficitur ex causis in Top. 18. 67.
'
Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. liii. 102;
(1427 a).
^ Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. liii. 102.
*

148

2. xxxii.

100; the locus

Rhet. ad Alex., eh. 4

AD HERENNIUM,

II.

wv. 48 49

from whom the commonplace of authority is taken;

or our peers, those in the same situation as we with
respect to quaUties of character, physical attributes,
and external circumstances " or our inferiors, whom
in all these respects we excel.
we ask
(3) By means of the third commonplace
;

**

what would happen

if

the same indulgence should be

granted to all culprits, and show what perils and

disadvantages would ensue from indifference to this
crime.
(4)

that

By means of the fourth commonplace we show

we indulge this man, many others will be the
*^

if

more

emboldened to commit crimes something

which the anticipation of a judicial sentence has

hitherto checked.
(5) By the fifth

commonplace

'^

we show

that

if

pronounced otherwise than as we

urge, there will be nothing which can remedy the
harm or correct the jurors' error. Here it will be in
point for us to make a comparison with other mistakes,
so as to show that other mistakes can either be
moderated by time or corrected designedly, but that
so far as the present mistake is concerned, nothing
once judgement

is

serve either to alleviate or to amend it.

By means of the sixth commonplace ^ we show
that the act was done with premeditation, and
declare that for an intentional crime there is no
excuse, although a rightful plea of mercy is provided
will

49

(6)

for

an unpremeditated act.
By means of the seventh commonplace

(7)

show that

we

a foul crime, cruel, sacrilegious, and

tyrannical
such a crime as the outraging of women,
or one of those crimes that incite wars and life-anddeath struggles with enemies of the state.
it is

149

[CICERO]
Octavus locus est quo ostendimus non vulgare, sed
singulare esse maleficium, spurcum, nefarium, inusitatum quo maturius et atrocius vindicandum est.
Nonus locus est qui constat ex peccatorum conparatioiie, quasi cum dicemus maius esse maleficium
stuprare ingenuum quam sacrum legere, quod
alterum propter egestatem, alterum propter in;

temperantem superbiam fiat.

Decimus locus est per quem omnia quae in negotio
gerundo acta sunt quaeque rem consequi solent
exputamus acriter et criminose et diligenter, ut agi
res et geri negotium videatur rerum consequentium
enumeratione.
50

XXXI.

Misericordia commovebitur auditoribus

si

si
variam fortunarum commutationem dicemus
ostendemus in quibus commodis fuerimus quibusque
incommodis simus, conparatione si quae nobis futura
sint nisi causam obtinuerimus enumerabimus et
et nos sub eorum
si supplicabimus
ostendemus
quorum misericordiam captabimus potestatem subisi quid nostris parentibus, liberis, ceteris
ciemus
;

necessariis

casurum

sit

propter nostras calamitates

Cf. Cicero, De Inv. 1. liv. 103.

See the example of the grand style, 4.
dvTiTTapa^oXTJ.
viii. 12 below, for a use of this commonplace.
Cf. Quintilian,
"
things are heinous in themselves, such
For
some
2.
21
6.
"
*

as parricide, murder, poisoning, but other things have to be

made to seem heinous; " and Cicero, De Inv, 1. liv. 104.
' iKTVTTOims.
Cf, the figures descriptio, 4. xxxix. 51, and
demonstration 4. Iv. 68 below; Cicero, De Inv. 1. liv. 104.
Cicero's treatment in De Inv, 1, Iv. 106Aeos-, oIktos.
Karl
Ivi. 109 is fuller, listing sixteen loci of conqves'io.
Aulitzky, Wiener Studien 39 (1917). 26-i9, believes that
Cicero and our author here use a common Roman source
which may derive from Apollonius 6 {.laXaKos. That the
*

AD UKRKNNIUM,
(8)

that

II.

xvx. 49-xxxi. 50

By means of the eighth commonplace

it

is

not a

common

"

we show

a unique crime, base,

and therefore must be

l)ut

nefarious, and unheard-of,

the more promj3tly and drastically avenged.
(9) The ninth commonplace consists of a comparison ^ of wrongs, as when we shall say it is a more
heinous crime to debauch a free-born person than to
steal a sacred object, because the one is done from
unbridled licentiousness and the other from need.
(10) By the tenth commonplace we shall examine
sharply, incriminatingly, and precisely, everj-^thing
that took place in the actual execution of the deed
and all the circumstances that usually attend such
an act, so that by the enumeration of the attendant
circumstances the crime may seem to be taking place
and the action to unfold before our eyes.*^
XXXI.
shall stir Pity ^ in our hearers by recalling the vicissitudes of fortune
by comparing the
prosperity we once enjoyed with our present adversity ^ by enumerating and explaining the results
that will follow for us if we lose the case / by
entreating those whose pity we seek to win, and by
submitting ourselves to their mercy
by revealing
what will befall our parents, children, and other
kinsmen through our disgrace,? and at the same time

We

Appeal to Pity belongs

in the Conclusion of a forensic speech

a concept of pre- Aristotelian rhetoric; c/. Rhet. ad Alex.,
ch. 36 (1445 a).
" For nothing is so pitiable
Cf. Cicero, Part. Orat. 17. 57
"
as a man who has become pitiable after having been happv
Aristotle, Poetics, ch. 13 (1452 b-1453 a).
f So also Rhet. ad Alex., ch. 36 (1445 a), and Quintilian,
is

"

6. 1. 19.
"

who

Quintilian, 6. 1. 18, offers similar advice to the accuser

is exciting pity for the man he is seeking to avenge.

151

[CICERO]
aperiemus, et simul ostendemus illorum nos sollicitudine et miseria, non nostris incomniodis dolere
si
de dementia, humanitate, misericordia nostra
qua in alios usi sumus aperiemus si nos semper aut
diu in malis fuisse ostendemus si nostrum fatum aut
fortunam conqueremur si animum nostrum fortem,
patientem incommodorum ostendemus futurum.
;

Commiserationem brevem esse oportet,

nihil

enim

lacrima eitius arescit.

Fere locos obscurissimos totius artificii tractavimus
in hoc libro
quapropter huic volumini modus hie sit.
Reliquas praeceptiones, quoad videbitur, in tertium
librum transferemus. Haec si, ut conquisite conscripsimus, ita tu diligenter et nobiscum et sine nobis
considerabis, et nos industriae fructus ex tua conscientia capiemus, et tute nostram diligentiam laudabis tuaque ^ perceptione laetabere ; tu scientior eris
praeceptorum artificii, nos alacriores ad reliquum
persolvendum. Verum haec futura satis scio, te
enim non ignoro. Nos deinceps ad cetera praecepta
transeamus, ut, quod libentissime faciamus, tuae
rectissimae ^ voluntati morem geramus.
;

152

tuaque P^-CE

rectissimae

Md

tua
:

Mx.

rectissime b

Mx.

AD HKllENNIUM.

IF.

wxi. 50

showing that we grieve not because of our own

but because of their anxiety and misery
by
disclosing the kindness, humanity, and sympathy
we have dispensed to others by showing that we
have ever, or for a long time, been in adverse circumstances
by deploring our fate or bad fortune; by
showing that our heart will be brave and patient of
adversities.
The Appeal to Pity must be brief, for
nothing dries more quickly than a tear."
In the present Book I have treated virtually the
most obscure topics in the whole art of rhetoric therefore this Book must end here.
The remaining rules,
so far as seems best, I shall carry over to Book III.
If
you study the material that I have presented, both
with and without me, with care equal to the pains I
have taken in assembling it, I, on my part, shall reap
the fruit of my labour in your sharing the knowledge
with me, and you, on yours, will praise my diligence
and rejoice in the learning you have acquired. You
will have greater understanding of the precepts of
rhetoric, and I shall be more eager to discharge the
rest of my task.
But that this will be so I know quite
well, for I know you well.
Let me turn at once to the
other rules, so that I may gratify your very proper
wish and this it gives me the greatest pleasure to do.
straits

"

The proverb

is

attributed by Cicero, in

who

De

Inv.

1. ivi.

109,

perhaps to be identified
with Apollonius d /xoAaK-d? (born c. 160 B.C.) rather than with
Apollonius Molon, Cicero's teacher.
Both d ^oAaKo? and Molon
(later) taught at Rhodes.
For a study of the proverb see
G. D. Kellogg, Amer. Journ. Philol. 28 ('l907). 301-10.
to Apollonius the rhetorician,

is

153

BOOK

III

LIBER TERTIUS
1

Ad omnem

I.

iudicialem causam

quemadmodum

inventionem rerum adcommodari satis

abundanter arbitror superioribus libris demonstratum.
Nunc earum rationem rerum inveniendarum quae
pertinebant ad causas deliberativas et demonstrativas
in hunc librum transtulimus, ut omnis inveniendi
conveniret

praeceptio tibi quam primum persolveretur.

Reliquae quattuor partes erant artificii. De
tribus partibus in hoc libro dictum est
dispositione,
pronuntiatione, memoria.
De elocutione, quia plura
dicenda videbantur, in quarto libro conscribere
maluimus, quern, ut arbitror, tibi librum celeriter
absolutum mittemus, ne quid tibi rhetoricae artis
deesse possit. Interea prima quaeque et nobiscum
cum voles, et interdum sine nobis legendo consequere,
ne quid inpediare quin ad banc utilitatem pariter
nobiscum progredi possis. Nunc tu fac adtentum te
praebeas nos proficisci ad instituta pergemus.
II. Deliberationes partim sunt eiusmodi ut quaera2
tur utrum potius faciendum sit, partim eiusmodi ut
quid potissimum faciendum sit consideretur. Utrum
:

3.

2-v. 9, vi. 10-viii. 15.

16-x. 18 below.
3. xi. 19-xv. 27 below.
^ 3. xvi. 28-xxiv. 40 below.
<
Style would ordinarily have
Memory; c/. 1. ii. 3 above.
*

156

ii.

3. ix.

preceded Delivery

and

BOOK

III

I. In the precedin; Books I have, as I believe,

shown amply enough how to apply the Invention of
topics to any judicial cause.
The method of finding
the topics appropriate to deliberative and epideictic

causes I now carr}' over to the present Book,'* in

order that I may as speedily as possible discharge my
task of explaining to you all the rules of Invention.
Four departments of rhetoric are left us to consider.
Three are treated in the present Book:

Arrangement,^ Delivery,*' and Memory.^ Style,

because it seems to require a fuller treatment, I
prefer to discuss in Book IV, which I hope to complete quickly and send to you, so that you may not
lack anything on the art of rhetoric.
Meanwhile you
will learn all the principles I first set forth,/ with me,
when you wish, and at times without me, by reading,
so that you may in no way be kept from equal
progress with me towards the mastery of this useful
art.
It is now for you to give attention, while I
resume progress towards our goal.
II. Deliberative 9 speeches are either of the kind in
which the question concerns a choice between two
courses of action, or of the kind in which a choice
among several is considered. An example of a
f Of judicial oratory, the most difficult and
important
kind; c/. 2. i. 1 above.
" See note on the epideictic kind, 3. vi. 10 below.

[CICERO]
potius, hoc

modo

Kartago toUenda an relinquenda

Quid potissimum, hoc pacto

videatur.

bal consultet,

cum ex

an

remaneat, an

in

Italia

Aegyptum
Item

Italia

ut

si

Hanni-

Kartaginem arcessatur,

domum

redeat,

an in

profectus occupet Alexandriam.

partim

deliberationes

consultandae sunt, ut

si

ipsae

propter

se

deliberet senatus captivos

ab hostibus redimat an non

extraneam causam veniunt

in deliberationem et con-

sultationem, ut

Scipionem ut

si

eum

partim propter aliquam

deliberet senatus solvatne legibus

liceat

ante tempus consulem

fieri

partim et propter se sunt deliberandae et magis

propter extraneam causam veniunt in consultationem,
ut

si

deliberet senatus bello Italico sociis civitatem

Cato the Elder and Publius Scipio Nasica always ended

on no matter what question, the one with
my opinion, Carthage must be destroj^ed," and the other
"
with
In my opinion, Carthage must be spared "
see
Phitarch, 3Iarcus Cato 27 (352), and Appian, Pun. 8(1). 10. 69.
This stiasoria was common among the rhetoricians c/. Cicero,
De Inv. 1. viii. 11 and 1. xii. 17.
* When, in 203 B.C., the Carthaginians were in danger from
Appian, Hann.
Scipio, they summoned Hannibal to Africa.
7. 9. 58, reports Hannibal's fear of the perfidy and ingratitude
of his countrymen. Alexandria, once captured, might have
appeared to him as a safe refuge from the Romans and his
enemies at home. Egypt had been weakened by the war
with Antiochus the Great. The deliberations are not referred to in any historical account that has come down to
us; the source may have been L. Coelius Antipater.
' A suasoria referring to the aftermath of Cannae in
216
Some wished to ransom
B.C., as described in Livy 22. 60
*

their speeches,

" In

flf.

153

AD HEUENNIUM,

HI.

ii.

choice between two courses of action

Does it seem
better to destroy Carthage, or to leave her standini; ?
An example of a choice among several If Hannibal,
when recalled to Carthage from Italy, should deliberate whether to remain in Italy, or return home, or
invade Egypt and seize Alexandria.''
Again, a question under deliberation is sometimes
:

<*

examined on its own account for example, if

Senate should deliberate whether or not to
redeem the captives from the enemy/ Or sometimes
a question becomes one for deliberation and inquiry
on account of some motive extraneous to the question
itself; for example, if the Senate should deliberate
whether to exempt Scipio from the law so as to permit him to become consul while under age.^ And
sometimes a question comes under deliberation on
account and then provokes debate even
its own
more because of an extraneous motive for example,
if in the Italic War the Senate should deliberate
to be

the

the prisoners at public cost

others opposed the disburse-

ment of money by the state, but not ransoming at the

exj)ense of individuals, and would have granted, on surety,
loans from the treasury' to those who needed money.
T.
Manlius Torquatus spoke against the proposal, which failed.
This suasaria was popular -with the rhetoricians; r/. Cicero,
De Oratore 3. 28. 109, De Offic. 1. 13. 40 and 3. 32. 113.
Although Scipio Aemilianus was in fact seeking the
aedileship, and not the consulship, for 147 B.C., he was
exempted from the law requiring a candidate for the consulship to have been praetor (and at least two years previously);
at 36 (or 37) he was also well under the age required (in
Cicero's day 43 years) for holding the consulship.
He was
elected consul in order to deal with Carthage.
Our author's consistent rule is to refer to the younger
Scipio simply as Scipio (see also 4. v. 7, 4. xiii. 19, and 4.
xxxii. 43 below) and to the elder as Africanus (see 4. xv. 22,
*

4.

xx\'. 34,

and

4.

xxxi. 42),

^59

[CICERO]
det an non. In quibus causis rei natura faciei
deliberationem omnis oratio ad ipsam rem adcommodabitur; in quibus extranea causa conficiet
deliberationem, in his ea ipsa causa erit adaugenda
aut deprimenda.
Omnem orationem eorum qui sententiam dicent
finem sibi conveniet utilitatis proponere, ut omnis

eorum ad earn

totius orationis ratio conferatur.

duas partes in civili consultatione dividitutam, honestam.

tur
Tuta est quae conficit instantis aut consequentis
periculi vitationem qualibet ratione.
Haec tribuitur
in vim et dolum, quorum aut alterum separatim aut
utrumque sumemus coniuncte. Vis decernitur per
classes,
arma, tormenta, evocationes
exercitus,
hominum, et alias huiusmodi res. Dolus consumitur
in pecunia, pollicitatione, dissimulatione, maturatione, mentitione, et ceteris rebus de quibus magis
Utilitas in
:

" When
examined on its own account, this question
might, for example, be considered as involving a radical
change in Roman institutions; a motive "extraneous" to
the question itself might be the effect of the measure upon
In 90 B.C., L. Julius
other allies now threatening defection.

Caesar put through his law offering full Roman citizenship

to all corporate communities in Italy that had not revolted
in the next year the lex Plautia-Papiria was passed, granting
citizenship to any individual who (a) belonged to a city of
Italy allied with Rome, and (6) resided permanently in Italy,

and

(c) applied for citizenship within sixty days.

TO av[X(f)pov (and Injury, to ^Xa^epov) in Aristotle, Rhei.
" Thus in an
1. 3 (1358 b).
Cf. Cicero, De Oratore 2. 82. 334
advisory speech there is nothing more desirable than Worth
but Advantage generally gains the upper
(dignitas) . .
*

hand."

i6o

AD HKRRNNIUM,

III.

n.

2-3

wliether or not to grant citizenship to the Allies;."

In causes in which the subject of itself engenders the
deliberation, the entire discourse will be devoted
In those in which an extraneous
to the subject itself.
motive gives rise to the deliberation, it is this motive
which will have to be emphasized or depreciated.
The orator who gives counsel will throughout his
speech properly set up Advantage ^ as his aim,*^ so
that the complete economy of his entire speech may
be directed to it.
Advantage in political deliberation has two aspects
:

Security and Honour.*

To consider Security is to provide some plan or
other for ensuring the avoidance of a present or
imminent danger. Subheads under Security are
Might and Craft, which we shall consider either
Might is determined by
separately or conjointly.
armies, fleets, arms, engines of war, recruiting of
man power, and the like. Craft is exercised by
means of money, promises, dissimulation, accelerated
speed, deception, and the other means, topics which
^

In Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 6 (1362 a), okottos. The

" ends " of the three different branches of
oratory were later called xeAi/ca K<f>dXaLa. Volkmann, pp.
299 fif., discusses the treatment of these by different rhetoricians.
Cf. Cicero, De Inc. 2. li. 150 ff.
TO xpijaifiov, dvayKolov, aKLvhwov.
' TO KoXov.
Aristotle, Bhet. 1. 3 (1358 b), makes Honour
(and Justice) subsidiary to Advantage, but Cicero in De Inv.
li.
sets
forth Honour and Advantage as coordinate
2.
156
aims, and Antonius in De Oratore 2. 82. 335 considers the
'

TcAof.

topics

drawn from the

situation in which Advantage and Honour oppose each other.

The Stoics believed a conflict between Honour and Advantage
Perhaps
to be impossible; see Cicero, De Offic. 3, 2. 9 ff.
because of Stoic influence, Cicero makes Advantage the sole
aim in Part. Orat. 24. 83.

161

[CICERO]
idoneo tempore loquemur si quando de re militari aut
de administratione rei publicae scribere velimus.
Honesta res dividitur in rectum et laudabile.
Rectum est quod cum virtute et officio fit. Id dividitur in prudentiam, iustitiam, fortitudinem, modestiam.
Prudentia est calliditas quae ratione quadam
potest dilectum habere bonorum et malorum.
Dicitur item prudentia scientia cuiusdam artificii
item
appellatur prudentia rerum multarum memoria et
usus conplurium negotiorum.
lustitia est aequitas
;

cuique rei tribuens pro dignitate cuiusque.

Fortitude est rerum magnarum appetitio et rerum

ius uni

humilium contemptio et laboris cum utilitatis ratione

Modestia est in animo continens modera-

perpessio.
tio

cupiditatem.

Prudentiae

III.

partibus

utemur

dicendo

in

si

commoda cum incommodis conferemus, cum alterum

sequi, vitare alterum cohortemur;

"

aut

si

qua

in re

Whether our author ever wrote on these subjects we do

See notes on 3. xvi. 28 and 4. xii. 17 below.
opdov and eVaiverov (Aristotle, Eth. Nic. 2. 7. 11, 1108 a).
To be distinguished from ius (2. xiii. 19).

not know.
^
"

the definition shows that prudentia

oo(f)ia (and ^povqais
partakes of the nature of both), hiKaioavvq, dvBpeia, ao)(f>po<jvv7).
Here rhetoric draws upon philosophy for a catalogue of the
After Plato's example,
virtues
see Plato, Republic 4. 428 ff.
the Stoics treated these as the primary virtues; see e.g., the
Epitome of Didymus in Stobaeus, 2. 7. 5 b 2 (ed. Wachsmuth,
2. 60), and Diogenes Laertius 7. 92.
Cf. also Hippolytus,
Aristotle, Rhet. 1. 9 (1366 b), Usts
Bef. Omn. Haer. 1. 20.
Prudence as well as Wisdom among the elements of Virtue,
and adds Magnificence, Magnanimity, Liberality, and
Gentleness.
See note on 3. vi. 10 below, and KroU, Philologus 90 (1935). 206 fif.
*
CJ. 3. iii. 4 below; Cicero, De Inv. 2. liii. 160, De Nat.
**

Deor.

162

3. 15. 38,

De

Offic. 1. 5. 15,

De

Leg.

1. 6.

19; Ulpian in

AD HKRKNNIUM,
1

shall discuss at a

attempt to

\vrite

III.

n. 3-111. 4

more appropriate time,

if

ever

on the art of war or on state

a(hiiinistration.

The Honourable is divided into the Right and the

Praiseworthy.
The Right ^ is that whicli is done in
accord with \'irtue and Duty. Subheads under the
Right are Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and TemWisdom is intelligence capable, by a
perance.
certain judicious method, of distinguishing good and
likewise the knowledge of an art is called
bad
Wisdom; and again, a well-furnished memory, or
experience in diverse matters, is termed Wisdom.
Justice is equity, giving to each thing what it is
entitled to in proportion to its worth.
Courage is
the reaching for great things and contempt for what
also the endurance of hardship in expectais mean
tion of profit./
Temperance is self-control that
moderates our desires.''
III. We shall be using the topics of Wisdom in our
discourse if we compare advantages and disadvantages,
counselling the pursuit of the one and the avoidance
of the other if we urge a course in a field in which we
**

'^

'^

1. 10.
On this concept (which was Greek
Aristotle, Top. 6. 5 [143 a 16], 6. 7 [145 b 36],
Kth. Mc. 5. 9 [1133 b], Bhet. 1. 9 [1366 b 9], and the Stoic
definition in Stobaeus, lor. cil.) see Leopold Wenger, " Suum

Justinian, Dig.
in origin

Cuique

1.

cf., e.g.,

antiken Urkunden," in Aus der

in

Mittelalttrs

(Grabmann

1415-25, and Felix Senn,

Geistesirelt des
Festschrift),
Miinster,
1935,
1.
la justice et du droit, Paris, 1927,

De

pp. 1-54.

6 and 4. xxv. 35 below, and the definition in

Inv. 2. liv. 163.
" Virtue, when it
Cf. Plutarch, De virl. vior. 2 (441 A)
moderates our desires (imdvixiav Koajxovaa) and defines the
mean and the seasonable in our pleasures, is called
f

Cf. 3.

Cicero,

iii.

De

Temperance."
163

[CICERO]
cohortemur aliquid cuius rei aliquam disciplinam poterimus habere quo modo aut qua quidque ratione fieri
oporteat aut si suadebimus quippiam cuius rei gestae
aut praesentem aut auditam memoriam poterimus
habere qua in re facile id quod velimus exemplo
allato persuadere possumus.
lustitiae partibus utemur si aut innocentium aut
supplicium misereri dicemus oportere si ostendemus
bene merentibus gratiam referre convenire
si
demonstrabimus ulcisci male meritos oportere; si
fidem magnopere censebimus conservandam si leges
et mores civitatis egregie dicemus oportere servari si
societates atque amicitias studiose dicemus coli
convenire
si quod ius in parentes, deos, patriam
natura conparavit, id religiose colendum demonstrabimus si hospitia, clientelas, cognationes, adfinitates
caste colenda esse dicemus
si nee pretio nee gratia
nee periculo nee simultate a via recta ostendemus
deduci oportere
si dicemus in omnibus aequabile
ius statui convenire.
His atque huiusmodi partibus
;

iustitiae

si

faciendam

quam rem
censebimus

contrariis iniustam.

suadendum
5

et

in

contione aut in consilio

iustam

esse

Ita fiet ut

isdem

ostendemus,
locis et ad

ad dissuadendum simus conparati.

Sin fortitudinis retinendae causa faciendum quid

esse dicemus, ostendemus res
^

T]d-q

above.

164

quid d

KoX voixoi,

edi]

Kal

other

magnas

MSS.

vofiifxa.

et celsas sequi

Mx omit.

Cf.

1. 11.

and

2. xii.

19

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

iii.

4-5

have a technical knowledge of the ways and means

whereby each detail should be carried out or if we
recommend some policy in a matter whose history
we can recall either from direct experience or hearsay in this instance we can easily persuade our
hearers to the course we wish by adducing the
;

precedent.

We

shall be using the topics of Justice if we say

we ought to pity innocent persons and supif we show that it is proper to repay the
pliants
if we explain that we
well-deserving with gratitude
if we urge that faith
ought to punish the guilty
ought zealously to be kept if we say that the laws

that

of the state ought especially to be preserved if we contend that alliances and friendships
should scrupulously be honoured; if we make it
clear that the duty imposed by nature toward parents,
gods, and fatherland must be religiously observed
if we maintain that ties of hospitality, clientage,

and customs

'^

and relationship by marriage must inviolably

if we show that neither reward nor
be cherished
favour nor peril nor animosity ought to lead us astray
if we say that in all cases a
from the right path
principle of dealing alike with all should be estab-

kinship,

With these and like topics of Justice we

demonstrate that an action of which we are
sponsors in Assembly or council is just, and by their
contraries we shall demonstrate that an action is
unjust.
As a result we shall be provided with the
same commonplaces for both persuasion and dis-

lished.

shall

suasion.
5

When we invoke as motive for a course of action

steadfastness in Courage, we shall make it clear that
men ought to follow and strive after noble and lofty
165

[CICERO]
et appeti oportere; et item res humiles et indignas
viris fortibus viros ^ fortes propterea contemnere
Item
oportere nee idoneas dignitate sua iudicare.
ab nulla re honesta periculi aut laboris magnitudine

antiquiorem mortem turpitudine

deduci oportere
haberi; nullo dolore cogi ut ab officio recedatur;
quodlibet
nullius pro rei veritate metuere inimicitias
pro patria, parentibus, hospitibus, amicis, iis rebus
quas iustitia colere cogit, adire periculum et quemlibet suscipere laborem.
Modestiae partibus utemur si nimias libidines
honoris, pecuniae, similium rerum vituperabimus
si unam quamque rem certo naturae termino definiemus si quoad cuique satis sit ostendemus, nimium
progredi dissuadebimus, modum uni cuique rei
statuemus.
Huiusmodi partes sunt virtutis amplificandae is
;

<i

suadebimus, adtenuandae ^ si ab his dehortabimur,

Nam
ut haec adtenuentur quae supra demonstravi.
nemo erit qui censeat a virtute recedendum verum
aut res non eiusmodi dicatur esse ut virtutem possimus egregiam experiri, aut in contrariis potius
rebus quam in his virtus constare quae ostendantur.
Item, si quo pacto poterimus, quam is qui contra
dicet iustitiam vocabit, nos demonstrabimus ignaviam
quam
esse et inertiam ac pravam liberalitatem
prudentiam appellant, inept am et garrulam et odiosam scientiam esse dicemus quam ille modestiam
dicet esse, eam nos inertiam et dissolutam neglegentiam esse dicemus; quam ille fortitudinem
;

viros

viros

vel

lac.

followed

by

vel

viros

Mx.
2

i66

adtenuandae

omnibus verbis adtenuandae 31 Mx.

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

iii.

5-6

and that, by the same token, actions base

and unworthy of the brave ought therefore to be
despised by brave men and considered as beneath
their dignity.
Again, from an honourable act no
peril
or toil, however great, should divert us;
death ought to be preferred to disgrace
no pain
should force an abandonment of duty
no man's
enmity should be feared in defence of truth; for
country, for parents, guest-friends, intimates, and
actions,

for the things justice

behoves

us

to

brave

commands
any

peril

us to respect,

it

and endure any

toil.

We shall be using the topics of Temperance if we

censure the inordinate desire for office, money, or the
like
if we restrict each thing to its definite natural
bounds if we show how much is enough in each case,
advise against going too far, and set the due limit to
every matter.
\'irtues of this kind are to be enlarged upon if we
are recommending them, but depreciated if we are
urging that they be disregarded, so that the points
;

which I have made above ^ will be belittled. To be

sure, no one will propose the abandonment of virtue,
but let the speaker say that the affair is not of such
a sort that we can put any extraordinary virtue to the
test
or that the virtue consists rather of qualities
contrary to those here evinced. Again, if it is at all
possible, we shall show that what our opponent calls
justice is cowardice, and sloth, and perverse generosity
what he has called wisdom we shall term
impertinent, babbling, and offensive cleverness what
he declares to be temperance we shall declare to be
inaction and lax indifference
what he has named
;

"

3.

iii.

4-5.

167

[CICERO]

nominarit, earn nos gladiatoriam et inconsideratam

appellabimus temeritatem.
IV. Laudabile est quod conficit honestam et

consequentem commemorationem.
a recto non quod hae
quattuor partes quae subiciuntur sub vocabulum
recti banc honestatis commemorationem dare non
praesentem

et

Hoc nos eo separavimus

soleant, sed

quamquam ex

recto laudabile nascitur,

tamen in dicendo seorsum tractandum est hoc ab

illo.
Neque enim solum laudis causa rectum sequi
convenit, sed si laus consequitur, duplicatur recti
appetendi voluntas. Cum igitur erit demonstratum
rectum esse, laudabile esse demonstrabimus aut ab
ut si qua res honestiori ordini
idoneis hominibus
placeat quae a deteriore ordine inprobetur aut
quibus sociis aut omnibus civibus, exteris nationibus,
posterisque nostris.
Cum huiusmodi divisio sit locorum in consultatione,
breviter aperienda erit totius tractatio causae.
Exordiri licebit vel a principio vel ab insinuatione
Si
vel isdem rationibus quibus in iudiciali causa.
cuius rei narratio incidet, eadem ratione narrari
oportebit.
8
Quoniam in huiusmodi causis finis est utilitas et ea
dividitur in rationem tutam atque honestam, si
utrumque poterimus ostendere, utrumque pollice-

Thucydides, 3. 82, describing the moral effects of the

revolutions in the Hellenic world during the fifth year of the
Peloponnesian war (427-6 B.C.), tells how men changed as
they thought fit the accepted value of words in their relation
" For reckless audacity came to be regarded as the
to things
courage of self-sacrifice for party, cautious delay as fairseeming cowardice, moderation as a screen for unmanliness,
^

i68

AD HKRENNIUM,
courage we

shall

111.

iii.

6-iv. 8

term the reckless temerity of a

gladiator.
7

IV^ The Praiseworthy is what produces an honourable remembrance, at the time of the event and afterwards.
I have separated the Praiseworthy from the
Right, not because the four categories which I list
under the appellative Right usually fail to engender
this honourable remembrance, but because, although
the praiseworthy has its source in the right, we must
nevertheless in speaking treat one apart from the
other.
Indeed we should pursue the right not alone
but if praise accrues, the desire
for the sake of praise
When, therefore,
to strive after the right is doubled.
a thing is shown to be right, we shall show that it is
also praiseworthy, whether in the opinion of qualified
persons (if, for example, something should please a
;

class of men, and be disapproved by

a lower class), or of certain allies, or all our fellow
citizens, or foreign nations, or our descendants.
Such being the division of topics in deliberative
speaking, I must briefly explain how to develop the
cause as a whole.
The Introduction may be made by means of the
Direct Opening or of the Subtle Approach, or by the
same means as in a judicial cause. If there happens
to be a Statement of Facts, the same method will
properly be followed in the narrative.
Since in causes of this kind the end is Advantage,
8
and Advantage is divided into the consideration of
Security and the consideration of Honour, if we can
prove that both ends will be served, we shall promise

more honourable

and sagacity
Cato

" see also

uses the figure

in all things as general lecklessness

in Sallust, Cat. 52. 11.

distinctio (TrapaBiaaToXi^)

Our author here

see note

on

4.

xxv. 35 below.

169

[CICERO]
bimur nos in dicendo demonstraturos esse si alterum
erimus demonstraturi, simpliciter quid dicturi sumus
;

ostendemus.

At

si

nostram rationem tutam esse

dicemus, divisione utemur in vim et consilium.

Nam

quod in docendo rei dilucide ^ magnificandae causa

dolum appellavimus, id in dicendo honestius consilium appellabimus.

Si

rectam esse dicemus,

quadripertita divisione
erunt, tot

rationem nostrae sententiae

omnes partes recti incident,

utemur si non incident, quot

et

exponemus

in dicendo.

Confirmatione et confutatione utemur nostris

locis

quos ante ostendimus confirmandis, contrariis con-

Argumentationis artificiose tractandae

de secundo libro petetur. \^^. Sed si acciderit
consultatione alteri ab tuta ratione, alteri ab

futandis.
ratio

ut in

sit, ut in deliberatione eorum qui a

Poeno circumsessi deliberant quid agant, qui tutam
rationem sequi suadebit his locis utetur Nullam rem

honesta sententia

utiliorem esse incolumitate

virtutibus uti

neminem

posse qui suas rationes in tuto non conlocarit

deos quidem esse auxilio

qui

iis

ne

inconsulto in

se

periculum mittant
honestum nihil oportere existimari quod non salutem pariat. Qui tutae rei praeponet rationem honestam his locis utetur Virtutem
vel dolorem, si is
nullo tempore relinquendam
;

timeatur, vel mortem,

^

dilucide 6

ea formidetur, dedecore et

di\ucida.e7nostother

"

170

si

2. xviii.

MSS. 3Iz

28

ff.

dilucidandae

d.

AD HKKENNIUM,

III.

iv.

v.

if we are
to make this twofold proof in our discourse
going to prove that one of the two will be served, we
shall indicate simply the one thing we intend to
affirm.
If, now, we say tliat our aim is Security, we
shall use its subdivisions. Might and Strategy.
For
that which, in instructing, I have, in order to give
clarity and emphasis, called Craft, we shall in speaking call by the more honourable name of Strategy.
If we say that our counsel aims at the Right, and all
four categories of Right apply, we shall use them all.
If these categories do not all apply, we shall in
speaking set forth as many as do,
Wc shall use Proof and Refutation when we
establish in our favour tlie topics explained above,
and refute the contrary topics. The rules for developing an argument artistically will be found in
;

Book

V. But if it happens that in a deliberation

II."
the counsel of one side is based on the consideration
of security and that of the other on honour, as in the
case of those who, surrounded by Carthaginians,
deliberate on a course of action.^ then the speaker
who advocates security will use the following topics
Nothing is more useful than safety no one can make
use of his virtues if he has not based his plans upon
safety
not even the gods help those who thought;

commit themselves to danger nothing ought

be deemed honourable which does not produce

lessly

to

One who

9 safety.

prefers

the

considerations

of

honour to security will use the following topics

Virtue ought never to be renounced
either pain,
;

if

that

is

feared, or death, if that

is

dreaded,

is

more

saasoria used also by Cicero, in De Inv. 2. Ivii, 171,

concerning the inhabitants of Casiliaum in Campania, after
the heroic defence of 216 B.C. against Hannibal,
"

171

[CICERO]
infamia leviorem esse

eonsecutura

considerare quae

sit

turpitude

at non immortalitatem neque aeternam

incolumitatem consequi, nee esse exploratum

vitato periculo

nullum

virtuti vel ultra

fortitudini

eum

mortem

illo

periculum venturum

proficisci esse

praeclarum

fortunam quoque esse adiumento solere

tute vivere qui honeste vivat, non qui in prae-

sentia incolumis, et
in

in aliud

perpetuum

esse

eum

qui turpiter vivat incolumem

non posse.

Conclusionibus fere similibus in his et in iudicialibus

causis uti solemus, nisi

quam plurima rerum

quod

his

maxime

conducit

ante gestarum exempla pro-

ferre.
10

VI.

Nunc

transeamus.

ad

demonstrativum

Quoniam

haec

causa

genus

causae

dividitur

in

laudem et vituperationem, quibus ex rebus laudem

constituerimus, ex contrariis rebus erit vituperatio
" The proverb was extremely common in Greek and Latin
literature; see Otto, s.v. " fortuna " 9, p. 144.
*
The epideictic kind,
Cf. Cicero, Be Inv. 2. lix. 177-8.

like the deliberative (3. ii. 2-v. 9 above), receives only a

sketchy treatment from our author evidence of the dominant
position which the judicial kind, with its status system,
held in Hellenistic rhetoric. Despite the Epicurean notion
that only epideictic was amenable to rules, the judicial kind
was in fact the easiest to systematize, even as it was by far
the most often employed in Hellenistic times. The Greek
term " epideictic " did not primarily emphasize the speaker's
virtuosity, nor was the Latin equivalent demonstrativum
intended to imply logical demonstration. Whereas in both

172

AD HKRRNNIUM,

HI.

v.

vi.

10

one must
tolerable than disgrace and infamy
consider the shame which will ensue indeed neither
immortality nor a life everlasting is achieved, nor
is it proved that, once this peril is avoided, another
will not be encountered; virtue finds it noble to go
even beyond death fortune, too, hal)itually favours
the brave " not he who is safe in the present, but he
who lives honourably, lives safely whereas he who
lives shamefully cannot be secure for ever.
As a general rule we employ virtually the same
Conclusions in these as in judicial causes, except that
here especially it is useful to present examples from
the past in the greatest possible number.
VI. Let us now turn to the Epideictic kind of cause.''
Since epideictic includes Praise and Censure, the
topics on which praise is founded will, by their conThe
traries, serve us as the bases for censure.
following, then, can be subject to praise: External
;

10

deliberative and judicial causes the speaker seeks to persuade

his hearers to a course of action, in epideictic his primary
purpose is by means of his art to impress his ideas upon them,
without action as a goal. On the scope and purpose of
epideictic, and on the discrepancies between our author's
treatment and that of Aristotle (Rhet. 1. 3, 1358 b), see
D. A. G. Hinks, Class. Quart. 30 (1936). 170-6; cf. also QuintiIn the Stoic scheme
lian, 3. 4. 1 if., and Volkmann, pp. 19 ff.
" encomiastic " was used instead of " epideictic "
see
;

Diogenes Laertius

7.

42.

This term, for which hiadativum

(see Cicero, Par/. Oral. 3. 10, and Quintilian, 3. 3. 14, 3. 4. 12)

would be the Latin equivalent, actually corresponds more

closely to our author's definition of the <jenus than does

demonstrativum.
Doxapatres (Rabe, Proleg. SijlL, pp. 149 fiF.)
argues for the primacy of the deliberative kind, setting the
judicial in the second place, and the epideictic (panegyric)
last; cf. Isocrates, Paneg. 4, Antid. 46 ff., Panath. 271.
See
also Stanley Wilcox, Harvard Studies in Class. Philol. 53
(1942). 121-155.

[CICERO]
Laiis igitur potest esse renim externarum, corporis, animi.
Rerum externarum sunt ea quae casu aut fortuna
secunda aut adversa accidere possunt
genus,

conparata.

educatio, divitiae, potestates, gloriae, ci vitas, amicitiae, et quae huiusmodi sunt et quae his contraria.
Corporis sunt ea quae natura corpori adtribuit commoda aut incommoda
velocitas, vires, dignitas,
valetudo, et quae contraria sunt.
Animi sunt ea quae
consilio et cogitatione nostra constant
prudentia,
iustitia, fortitudo, modestia, et quae contraria sunt.
11 Erit igitur haec confirmatio et confutatio nobis in
huiusmodi causa.
Principium sumitur aut ab nostra, aut ab eius de
quo loquemur, aut ab eorum qui audient persona, aut
:

ab

re.

The

Plato,

and Aristotelian; see, e.g.,

C, Eufhyd. 279, Phihbus 48 E, Laws
Epist. 8. 355 B (c/. also Phaedrus 241 C);

classification is Platonic

Gorgias 477

697 B, 727

ff.,

Aristotle, Eth. Nic. I. 8, 1098 b ("an ancient classification

and one accepted by philosophers "), Magna Moral. 1. 3
(1184 b), Protrepticus (see Oxyrh. Pap. 4. 82 ff.). It also

appears early
(1422

a).

in

see Bhet. ad Alex. 1

in Stobaeus, 2. 7. 14;
Clemens Alex., Paedagogus

rhetorical theory;

Cf. also Areius

Didymus

Diogenes

Laertius 5. 30 ff.
102; Hippolytus, Ref. Omn. Haer. 1. 20; Sextus
Empiricus, Adv. Ethic. 3. 45; Aelius Aristides 45. 17; Cicero,
De Fin. 3. 14. 43, De Inv. 1. liii. 101 and 2. lix. 177, De Oratore
3. 29. 115, Part. Oral. 11. 38, Top. 23. 89; Apsines, Ars Bhet.,
in Spengel- Hammer 1 (2). 312. 7ff. ; and see Claus Peters,
pp. 71-83.
^ Ta kt6s dyadd, rd eVt'/CTTjTa.
;

10.

2.

"

cuyeVeia.

TTaiSeia.

ttXovtos, ;:^p7;^aTa, KTTJ}j.aTa.

^ Sum/Ltet?,

174

bwaOTeia.

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

v..

lo

ii

Circumstances, Physical Attributes, and (Qualities of

Character."
To External Circumstances ^ belong such as can
happen by chance, or by fortune, favourable or
adverse: descent,*^ education,** wealth,*^ kinds of
power,/ titles to fame,^ citizenship,'' friendships,'
and the like, and their contraries. Physical Attributes J are merits or defects bestowed upon the body
by nature: agility,^' strength,' beauty,'" health,'*
and their contraries. Qualities of Character rest
upon our judgement and thought: wisdom, justice,
courage, temperance, and their contraries. Such,
then, in a cause of this kind, will be our Proof and
<>

11

Refutation.

The Introduction?

is

drawn from our own person,

or the person we are discussing, or the person of our

hearers, or from the subject-matter itself.
"

vBo^La,

''

TTarpis, ttoXls, idvo^, TroAtreia.

TlfiTj.

" What
(^I'Aoi.
Cf. Eutychus in Plautus, Mercator 845-6
kept seeking was at home. There I found six companions
life, friendship, native land, gladness, fun, and sport."
'

'
'

"

TToScu/ceia.

la^vs,

ponJLT].

raAAos-.

"

vyUia, V^ia.
" dperat ipvxi]s
properly, Virtues of the Soul.
See note on
3. ii. 3 above.
Our author and Cicero in De Inv. differ from
the Rhet. ad Alex., Aristotle, and Theon in including only the
"primary" virtues; see Georg Reichel, Quaestiones Progymnasm,, diss. Leipzig, 1909, pp. 90 ff.
^ The tractatio is based upon the parts of the discourse,
and thus follows the pre-Aristotelian rhetorical theory.
Note that unlike judicial (see 1. iv. 6) and deliberative
iv. 7) oratory, epideictic lacks the Subtle Approach
(3.

(insinuatio)

175

[CICERO]

Ab nostra, si laudabimus aut officio facere, quod

causa necessitudinis intercedat; aut studio, quod
eiusmodi virtute sit ut omnes commemorare debeant
velle
aut quod rectum sit ^ ex aliorum laude ostendere qualis ipsius animus sit. Si vituperabimus
aut merito facere, quod ita tractati simus ^ aut
studio, quod utile putemus esse ab omnibus unicam
malitiam atque nequitiam cognosci
aut quod
placeat ostendi quod nobis placeat ex aliorum vitu:

peratione.

Ab

eius persona

de quo loquemur,

si

laudabimus

vereri nos ut illius facta verbis consequi possimus

omnes homines illius virtutes praedicare oportere
ipsa facta

omnium laudatorum eloquentiam

anteire.

ea quae videmus contrarie paucis

verbis commutatis dici posse dicemus, ut paulo supra
exempli causa demonstratum est.
Ab auditorum persona, si laudabimus: quoniam
non apud ignotos laudemus, nos monendi causa pauca
dicturos
aut si erunt ignoti, ut talem virum velint
quoniam in eodem virtutis
cognoscere petemus
studio sint apud quos laudemus atque ille qui laudatur
fuerit aut sit, sperare nos facile iis quibus velimus
huius facta
probaturos. Contraria vituperatio
Si vituperabimus,

12

aut quod rectum

sit

Aldus

quod rectum

sit

aut 3ISS.

Mx.
2

simus

own

sumus

Or perhaps

other

MSB. Mx.

" from one's praise of others

what

one's

character is."

" For I notice that the other

*
CJ. Isocrates, Paneg. 13
speakers in their Introductions mollify their audience and
some
make excuses for what they are going to say
saying that it is hard to find words to match the greatness
of the deeds", and Panath. 36; Demosthenes, Phil. 2. 11;
and also 4. viii. 12 and 4. xxxix. 51 below.
:

176

AD HKRENNIUM,

III.

vi.

11-12

From our own person if we speak in j^raise, we

we are doing so from a sense of duty,
:

shall say that

or from goodwill,
because ties of friendship exist
because such is the virtue of the person under
discussion that every one should wish to call it to
mind
or because it is appropriate to show, from
the praise accorded him by others, what his character
If we speak in censure, we shall say that we are
is.**
justified in doing so, because of the treatment we
have suffered or that we are doing so from gof>dwill,
because we think it useful that all men should be
apprised of a wickedness and a worthlessness without
parallel; or because it is pleasing to show by our
censure of others what conduct is pleasing to
;

ourselves.

When we draw our Introduction from the person being discussed if we speak in praise, we shall say that
we fear our inability to match his deeds with words ^
all men ought to proclaim his virtues ; his very deeds
If we speak
transcend the eloquence of all eulogists.
in censure, we shall, as obviously we can by the
change of a few words, and as I have demonstrated
just above, express sentiments to the contrary effect.
When the Introduction is drawn from the person of
:

thehearers: if we speak in praise, we shall say that since

we are not delivering an encomium amongst people
unacquainted with the man, we shall speak but briefly,
or if they do not know him,
to refresh their memories
we shall try to make them desire to know a man of
such excellence since the hearers of our eulogy have
the same zeal for virtue as the subject of the eulogy
had or now has, we hope easily to ^^in the approval
of his deeds from those whose approval we desire.
The opposite, if it is censure we shall say that since
;

177

[CICERO]
quoniam
quod

si

vitare possint

atque

pauca de nequitia eius dicturos

norint,

ignorent, petemus uti gnoscant, uti malitiam

;

quoniam

dissimiles sint qui audiant

qui vituperatur, sperare eos

ille

vitam

illius

vehementer inprobaturos.

Ab

rebus

laudemus;

ipsis

esse

incertos

vereri ne,

cum multa

quid potissimum
dixerimus, plura

praetereamus, et quae similes sententias habebunt

quibus sententiis contraria sumuntur a vituperatione.
13

harum quas ante

VII. Principio tractato aliqua

commemoravimus

ratione, narratio

necessario consequatur;

sed

non

uUa quae

erit

qua incident, cum

si

aliquod factum eius de quo loquemur nobis narrandum

cum

sit

laude aut vituperatione, praeceptio narrandi

de primo

libro repetetur.

Divisione hac utemur

sumus

turi

quove tempore res

quamque

exponemus quas

aut vituperaturi

tute

erit

res lauda-

deinde ut quaeque

gesta ordine dicemus, ut quid

cauteque

egerit

intellegatur.

exponere oportebit animi virtutes aut

vitia

Sed

deinde

commoda aut incommoda corporis aut rerum externarum quomodo ab animo tractata sint ^ demonstrare.
Ordinem
debemus
^

Mx
178

hunc

adhibere

in

demonstranda

tracta sint 11
tractata sint H^P^B C d
sunt tractata I
tractata H.
:

vita

tractata sunt 6

AD HERKNNIUM.

III.

vi.

12

vii.

13

our hearers know tlie man. we shall confine ourselve;

to a few words on the subject of his wortlilessness
but if they do not, we shall try to make them know
him, in order that they may avoid his wickedness
since our hearers are unlike the subject of our
censure, we express the hope that they will vigorously
disapprove his way of life.
When the Introduction is drawn from the subjectmatter itself: we shall say that we do not know what
to praise in particular; we fear that in discussing a
number of things we shall pass by even more and
add whatever will carry like sentiments. The sentiments opposite to these are drawn upon, if we
:

censure.
VII. If the Introduction has been developed in
accordance with any of the methods just mentioned,
there will be no need for a Statement of Facts to
follow it; but if there is occasion for one, when we
must recount with either praise or censure some deed
of the person discussed, the instructions for Stating
the Facts will be found in Book I.'*
The Division we shall make is the following we
shall set forth the things we intend to praise or
censure
then recount the events, observing their
precise sequence and chronology, so that one mav
understand what the person under discussion did and
with what prudence and caution. But it will first
be necessary to set forth his virtues or faults of
character, and then to explain how. such being his
character, he has used the advantages or disadvantages, physical or of external circumstances. The
following is the order we must keep when portraying
a life
:

1. viii.

12-i\. 16.

179

[CICERO]

Ab

sit

excelsiorem fuisse

non

si

Educatio

Deinde

habuisse

praesidium.

si

vituperatione

natura

virtutibus

omnem

per

disciplinis

14

si

bono genere, dedecori maioribus

malo, tamen his ipsis detrimento fuisse.
bene et ^ honeste in bonis
in laude

In vituperatione
fuisse

si

maiorum

in

genus in laude
quibus
bono genere, parem aut
humili genere, ipsum in suis,

rebus

externis

maioribus natus

educatum.^

pueritiam

In

ad corporis commoda:

oportet

transire

dignitas atque forma, laudi fuisse earn,

si sit

non quemadmodum

ceteris

detrimento atque dede-

atque velocitas egregia, honestis haec

exercitationibus et industriis dicemus conparata; si

cori

si

vires

valetudo perpetua, diligentia et temperantia cupidi-

tatum.

In

vituperatione,

commoda, male

natura

tamquam

erunt,

praeter

haec corporis

erunt

si

usum dicemus quae casu

his

quilibet gladiator habuerit

formam omnia

ipsius

temperantia afuisse dicemus.

Deinde revertemur ad extraneas
divitiae

fortiter

inimicitiis

bene et

per

j8o

M omits

omnem

M Mx.

male

culpa et

in-

et in

his

res,

vitia

gerundis

susceperit inimicitias;

fuerit

et

non

quae fuerint considerabimus

an paupertas fuerit, et quae potestates, quae
quae amicitiae, quae inimicitiae, et quid

animi virtutes aut

gloriae,

si

de

qua
lac.

fecerit

cuius

causa

Mx.

puericiam educatum

M Mx.

fide, benivolentia, officio

totius

pueritiae

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

vii.

13-14

Descent in praise
(1) External Circumstances
the ancestors of whom he is sprung
if he is of
illustrious descent, he has been their peer
or
superior; if of humble descent, he has had his
support, not in the virtues of his ancestors, but in his
own. In censure if he is of illustrious descent, he has
been a disgrace to his forebears if of low descent, he
is none the less a dishonour even to these.
Education
in praise
that he was well and honourably
trained in worthy studies throughout his boyhood.
In censure
14
(2) Next we must pass to the Physical Advantages
if by nature he has impressiveness and beauty, these
have served him to his credit, and not, as in the case
of others, to his detriment and shame
if he has
exceptional strength and agility, we shall point out
that these were acquired by worthy and diligent
exercise
if he has continual good health, that was
acquired by care and by control over his passions. In
censure, if the subject has these physical advantages,
we shall declare that he has abused what, like the
meanest gladiator, he has had by chance and nature.
If he lacks them, we shall say that to his own fault
and want of self-control is his lack of every physical
advantage, beauty apart, attributable.
(3) Then we shall return to External Circumstances
and consider his virtues and defects of Character
evinced vdih respect to these
Has he been rich or
poor ? WTiat kinds of power has he wielded ? What
have been his titles to fame ? What his friendships ?
Or what his private feuds, and what act of bravery
has he performed in conducting these feuds ? With
what motive has he entered into feuds? With
what loyalty, goodwill, and sense of duty has he
:

i8i

[CICERO]
in divitiis qualis aut paupertate
gesserit aniicitias
cuiusmodi fuerit quemadmodum habuerit in potestaanimum. Si interierit, cuiusmodi
tibiis gerundis
mors eius fuerit, cuiusmodi res mortem eius sit
consecuta. VIII. Ad omnes autem res in quibus
animus hominis maxime consideratur illae quattuor
ut, si laudeanimi virtutes erunt adcommodandae
mus, aliud iuste, aliud fortiter, aliud modeste, aliud ^
si vituperabimus,
prudenter factum esse dicamus
aliud iniuste, aliud immodeste, aliud ignave, aliud
stulte factum praedicemus.
Perspicuum est iam nimirum ex hac dispositione
quemadmodum sit tractanda tripertita divisio laudis
et vituperationis, si illud etiam adsumpserimus, non
necesse esse nos omnes has partes in laudem aut in
vituperationem transferre, propterea quod saepe ne
incidunt quidem, saepe ita tenuiter incidunt ut non
;

15

^ dictu.
Quapropter eas partes quae
firmissimae videbuntur legere oportebit.
Conclusionibus brevibus utemur, enumeratione ad
in ipsa causa crebras et breves
exitum causae
amplificationes interponemus per locos communes.
Nee hoc genus causae eo quod raro accidit in vita
neque enim id
neglegentius commendandum est
quod potest accidere ut faciendum sit aliquando,
non oportet velle quam adcommodatissime posse
facere
et si separatim haec causa minus saepe

sint necessariae

tractatur, at in iudicialibus et in deliberativis causis

saepe magnae partes versantur laudis aut vitu1
2

;82

MSS. Mx.

If a noble death, evdavaaia.

> I.e.,
rrepl

aliud E
et aliud 31 Mx.
necessaria other
necessariae E

the epideictic.

iyKco^lov Kal ipoyov.

As a progymnasma

it

is

the type

AD HERKNNIUM,

III.

vii.

14-viii.

15

conducted his friendships ? What character of man

has he been in wealth, or in poverty ? What has been
his attitude in the exercise of his prerogatives

If

dead, what sort of death did he die,<* and what

sort of consequences followed upon it?
VIII. In
all circumstances, moreover, in which human character is chiefly studied, those four above-mentioned
virtues of character will have to be applied.
Thus,
if we speak in praise, we shall say that one act was
just, another courageous, another temperate, and
another wise if we speak in censure, we shall declare
that one was unjust, another intemperate, another
cowardly, and another stupid.

he

is

From this arrangement it

how we are to treat the three

is

now no doubt

clear

categories of praise and

censure \Wth the added proviso that we need not use
all three for praise or for censure, because often not
all of them even apply, and often, too, when they do,
the application is so slight that it is unnecessary to
refer to them.
shall therefore need to choose
those categories which seem to provide the greatest

We

force.

Our Conclusions

Summary

will be brief, in the form of a

end of the discourse
in the diswe shall by means of commonplaces

at the

course itself
frequently insert brief amplifications.
Nor should this kind of cause * be the less strongly
recommended just because it presents itself only
seldom in life. Indeed when a task may present
itself, be it only occasionally, the ability to perform it
as skilfully as possible

must seem

desirable.

And

if

only seldom employed by itself independently, still in judicial and deliberative causes
extensive sections are often devoted to praise or
epideictic

is

183

[CICERO]
perationis.

Quare

in

hoc quoque causae genere

nonnihil industriae consumendum putemus.

Nunc, absoluta a nobis difficillima parte rhetoricae,
hoc est inventione perpolita atque ad omne causae
genus ^ adcommodata, tempus est ad ceteras partes
Deinceps igitur de dispositione dicemus.
proficisci.
16
IX. Quoniam dispositio est per quam ilia quae
invenimus in ordinem redigimus ut certo quicquid
loco pronuntietur, videndum est cuiusmodi rationem
Genera disposiin disponendo habere conveniat.
unum ab institutione artis protionum sunt duo
:

fectum, alterum ad casum temporis adcommodatum.

Ex

institutione artis

disponemus cum sequemur

earn praeceptionem quam in primo libro exposuimus,

hoc est ut utamur principio, narratione, divisione,
confirmatione, confutatione, conclusione, et ut hunc

ordinem quemadmodum praeceptum est ante in

dicendo sequamur. Item ex institutione artis non
modo totas causas per orationem, sed singulas quoque
argumentationes disponemus, quemadmodum in libro
secundo docuimus in expositionem, rationem, confirmationem rationis, exornationem, conclusionem.
Haec igitur duplex dispositio est una per orationes,
:

17

atque ad omne causae genus B^C d atque omne causae

genus P^B 11 Mx
adq(ue)
ad que omne causae genus H
omne causae genus P^ atque omne causae ad genus b I.
1

" In the Peripatetic order of the officia oraioris Style

followed Invention in second place, Arrangement being
third; cf. 1. ii. 3 above, and the note on 3. i. 1.
* rants',
Coiax and Tisias were the first to
oiKovofxia.
Sulpitius Victor 14 (Halm,
set up a theory of Arrangement.
the Natural Arrangement
p. 320) distinguishes between
{ordo naturalis) and the Artistic {ordo artificiosus, OLKovo^iia),
the former corresponding to our author's ordo artificiosus
(see 3. ix. 1 7 below), the genus ah institutione artis profectum, and

184

AD HKRENNIUM,

III.

viir.

15-ix.

17

Therefore let us believe that this kind of

cause also must claim some measure of our industry.
Now that I have completed the most difficult part
of rhetoric thoroughly treating Invention and
applying it to every kind of cause it is time to
proceed to the other parts. I shall therefore next "
discuss the Arrangement.
IX. Since it is through the Arrangement ^ that we
set in order the topics we have invented so that there
may be a definite place for each in the delivery,
we must see what kind of method one should follow
in the process of arranging.
The kinds of Arrangement are two one arising from the principles of
rhetoric, the other accommodated to particular
circumstances.
Our Arrangement will be based on the principles
of rhetoric when we observe the instructions that I
have set forth in Book I
to use the Introduction,
Statement of Facts, Division, Proof, Refutation, and
Conclusion, and in speaking to follow the order
enjoined above.
It is likewise on the principles of
the art that we shall be basing our Arrangement, not
only of the whole case throughout the discourse, but
also of the individual arguments, according to Proposition, Reason, Proof of the Reason, Embellishment, and Resume, as I have explained in Book 11.*^
This Arrangement, then, is twofold one for the
whole speech, and the other for the individual
censure.

Iti

<^

17

the latter to our author's genus ad casum temporis adcommodatum. Cf. Quintilian's oeconomica dispositio in 7. 10. 11.
Athanasius (probably fourth Christian century), in Rabe,
Proleg. Sijll., p. 176, distinguishes ra^t? from oiKovofiia on the

same
'

principle.

1. ill. 4.

Conclusio

is

there called complexio.

185

[CICERO]
altera

per

ab

argumentationes,

institutione

artis

profecta.

Est autem

alia

quae,

dispositio,

cum ab

ordine

recedendum est, oratoris iudicio ad tempus

adcommodatur ut si ab narratione dicere incipiamus
artificioso

aut ab aliqua firmissima argumentatione aut

rarum

aliquarum

recitatione

aut

litte-

secuYidum

si

principium confirmatione utamur, deinde narratione

aut si quam eiusmodi permutationem ordinis faciemus; quorum nihil, nisi causa postulat, fieri oportebit.
Nam si vehementer aures auditorum obtunsae

videbuntur

atque animi

multitudine verborum,

defatigati

ab adversariis

commode poterimus

principio

causam aut a narratione

aut aliqua firma argumentatione. Deinde, si commodum erit, quod non semper necesse est, ad prinsupersedere et

cipii

exordiri

sententiam reverti

magnam

X. Si causa nostra

licebit.

videbitur

difficultatem

habere,

ut

nemo

aequo animo principium possit audire, ab narratione

cum inceperimus, ad principii sententiam revertemus.
Si narratio parum probabilis, exordiemur ab aliqua
firma

argumentatione.

His

commutationibus

translationibus saepe uti necesse est

artificiosam

dispositionem

artificiose

cum

et

ipsa res

commutare

cogit.
^

"

On

et

BCE

HPIi

Mz omit.

'
the principle of " anomaly " rather than " analogy,

AD HKRKNNIUM,
arguments

aiul

based

is

III.

i.\.

ly-x.

17

upon the principles of

rhetoric.

But there

is

also

another Arrangement, which,

when we must depart from the order imposed by the

rules of the art, is accommodated to circumstance in
accordance with the speaker's judgement for
example, if we should begin our speech with the
Statement of Facts, or with some very strong argument, or the reading of some documents
or if
straightway after the Introduction we should use
the Proof and then the Statement of Facts or if we
should make some other change of this kind in the
;

But none of these changes ought to be made

except when our cause demands them. For if the
ears of the audience seem to have been deafened
and their attention wearied by the wordiness of our
adversaries, we can advantageously omit the Introduction,^ and begin the speech with either the
Statement of Facts or some strong argument. Then,
if it is advantageous
for it is not always necessar}"
one may recur to the idea intended for the Introduction.
X. If our cause seems to present so great a
difficulty that no one can listen to the Introduction
with patience, we shall begin with the Statement of
Facts and then recur to the idea intended for the
Introduction,
If the Statement of Facts is not quite
plausible, we shall begin with some strong argument.
It is often necessary to employ such changes and
transpositions when the cause itself obliges us to
modify with art the Arrangement prescribed by the
order.

rules of the art.

* But in 1. vi. 10 our author advises us in such circumstances
to use the Subtle Approach, and to open with something that
may provoke laughter,

i37

[CICERO]
18

In confirmatione et confutatione argumentationum

dispositionem ^ huiusmodi convenit habere
firmissimas argumentation es in primis et in postremis causae
mediocres, et neque inutiles
partibus conlocare
:

ad dicendum neque necessarias ad probandum, quae

si

separatim ac singulae dicantur infirmae

sint,

cum

ceteris coniunctae firmae et probabiles fiunt, inter-

Nam

poni oportet.

et statim re narrata expectat

animus auditoris si qua re causa confirmari possit

quapropter continuo firmam aliquam oportet inferre
argumentationem
et reliqua, quoniam nuperrime
dictum facile memoriae mandatur, utile est, cum
dicere desinamus, recentem aliquam relinquere in
animis auditorum bene firmam argumentationem.
;

Haec

tamquam

dispositio locorum,

tum, facillime in dicendo, sicut

instructio mili-

ilia

pugnando,

in

parere poterit victoriam.

19
XI. Pronuntiationem multi maxime utilem oratori
dixerunt esse et ad persuadendum plurimum valere.
Nos quidem unum de quinque rebus plurimum posse
non facile dixerimus egregie ^ magnam esse utilitatem in pronuntiatione audacter confirmaverimus.
;

BC^

dispositionem

dispositiones

HE Mx

disputationes

PCU,
2

egregie 31

"

nee egregie other

MS8. Mx.

Quintilian, 5. 12. 14, calls this the

from

men

297-9

"

And

Homeric

disposition,

he [Nestor] arrayed the horsewith horses and chariots, and behind them the foot//. 4.

first

many and valiant, to be a bulwark of battle. But

the weaklings he drove into the midst." C/. also Longinus,
in Spengel-Hammer 1 (2). 185. 16 f.
* (7/. 1. ii. 3 above.
" But delivery itself has a
"
Cf. Quintilian, 11. 3. 2
marvellously powerful effect in oratory for the nature of the
material we have composed in our minds is not so important
soldiers,

i88

AD IIKRENNIUM,

III.

v.

t8-\i.

19

In tli(* Proof and Refutation of arguments it is

appropriate to adopt an Arrangement of the following
sort
(1) the strongest arguments should be placed at
the beginning and at the end of the pleading
(2)
those of medium force, and also those that are neither
useless to the discourse nor essential to the proof,
which are weak if presented separately and individually, but become strong and plausible when conjoined
with the others, should be placed in the middle.*
For immediately after the facts have been stated the
hearer waits to see whether the cause can by some
means be proved, and that is why we ought straightway to present some strong argument. (3) And
as for the rest, since what has been said last is easily
committed to memory, it is useful, when ceasing to
speak, to leave some very strong argument fresh in
the hearer's mind. This arrangement of topics in
speaking, like the arraying of soldiers in battle, can
readily bring victory.
19
XI. Many have said that the faculty of greatest
use to the speaker and the most valuable for persuasion is Delivery.
For my part, I should not readily
say that any one of the five faculties * is the most
important
that an exceptionally great usefulness
resides in the delivery I should boldly affirm.^
For
18

" Cicero also thinks action

as how we deliver it; " 11. 3. 7
" For
to be the dominant element in oratory; " 11. 3. 5-6
my part I would affirm that a mediocre speech supported by
all the power of delivery will have more force than the best
speech devoid of that power. That is why Demosthenes,
asked what was primary in the whole task of oratory, gave
the palm to delivery, and gave it second and third place as
well. ... So that we may assume that he thought it to be
not merely the first, but the only virtue of oratory " (c/. also
Philodemus, Rhet., ed, Sudhaus, 1. 196; Cicero, Brutus 37.
:

189

[CICERO]

Nam commodae inventiones et concinnae verborum

elocutiones et partium causae artificiosae dispositiones et horum omnium diligens memoria sine pronuntatione non plus quam sine his rebus pronuntiatio
sola valere poterit.
Quare, et quia nemo de ea re
diligenter scripsit nam omnes vix posse putarunt de
voce et vultu et gestu dilucide scribi, cum eae res ad
sensus nostros pertinerent et quia magnopere ea
pars a nobis ad dicendum conparanda est, non
neglegenter videtur tota res consideranda.
Dividitur igitur pronuntiatio in vocis figuram et in
corporis motum.
Figura vocis est ea quae suum
quendam possidet habitum ratione et industria
20 conparatum.
Ea dividitur in tres partes magnitudinem, firmitudinem, mollitudinem. Magnitudinem vocis maxime conparat natura nonnihil auget,
sed maxime conservat adcuratio.^ Firmitudinem

conservat accuratio 3IS. used by Lambinvs

(amplificet b) accuratio (adcuratio 3Ix) bl

servat

HP

cura conservat P'^llB-C^d

Mx

amplificat

ciiratur con-

conservat BC.

142, Orator 17. 56 Plutarch, Vitae Dec. Oral. 845 B ; Longinus,

in Spengel-Hammer 1 (2). 195; Theon 5, in Spengel 2. 104 f.).
;

Our author is probably following Theophrastus Athanasius

(Rabe, Proleg. SylL, p. 177) says that to Theophrastus " the
most important thing for persuasion in rhetoric is delivery."
C/. Philodemus, Rhet., ed. Sudhaus 1. 193 (I use Gomperz'
restoration)
"Of the six, or as some hold, seven parts of
rhetoric, Athenaeus [second century B.C.] said that the most
important is delivery; " Longinus, in Spengel-Hammer 1 (2).
194: " Delivery is of greatest importance for proof." Thrasymachus maintained that delivery is given us by nature, not
;

by art (Quintilian,

3. 3. 4).

* Diogenes Laertius, 5. 48, lists a work on delivery by

Theophrastus. L. Plotius Gallus, friend of Marius, wrote
about Gesture as practised in his day (QuintiHan, 11. 3. 143);
whether this work antedated our treatise we do not know.
Theophrastus was probably the first to make Delivery a

190

AD HERRNNIUM,

III. xi.

19-20

elegant style, the artistie arrangeparts eomprising the case, and the careful
memory of all these will be of no more value without
delivery, than delivery alone and independent of
Therefore, because no one has written carethese.
all have thought it scarcely
fully on this subject
possible for voice, mien, and gesture to be lucidly
described, as appertaining to our sense-experience
and because the mastery of delivery is a very
important requisite for speaking, the whole subject,
as I believe, deserves serious consideration.
Delivery, then, includes Voice Quality and Physical
Movement.'' \'oice Quality ^ has a certain character
It
20 of its own, acquired by method and application.
has three aspects Volume, Stability, and Flexibility.
\'ocal volume is primarily the gift of nature
cultivation ^ augments it somewhat, but chiefly conserves it.
skilful invention,

ment of the

fourth officiitm oratoris (adding to it Invention, Style, and

Arrangement, Aristotle's scheme in the Rhetoric); Aristotle
(see Rhet. 3. 1, 1403 b) did not fully develop the theory of
delivery.
for their
The Stoics followed Theophrastus
scheme see note on 1. ii. 3 above. See also Philodemus on
deliverv, in H. M. Hubbell, The Rhetorica of PhilofJemus,
New Haven, 1920, pp. 300-1.
* The divisions are probably Theophrastan
(77 Kivrjots tov
aojyMTos Kai 6 tovos r-qs <j><jjvrjS)
see Athanasius, in Rabe,
;

177.
Cf. Longinus, in Spengel- Hammer
1 (2). 194
Siddeais aco/iaro? re koi tovov (f>ojvTJg, and Dionysius
Halic, De Demosth. 53
to. vad-q to. Trjg (fnovrj? Kal to. axT^fJUtTa
TOV aco^aro?.
'
Cf. Cicero's study of Voice in De Oratore 3. 56. 21358. 219, 3. 60. 224-61. 227, and Orator 17. 55-18. 60; Quintilian'sin 11. 3. 14-65.
*
Cura comprised methods derived from rhetoric, music,
and acting, but was in part also dietetic and medical in
nature ; see Armin Krumbacher, Die Stimmbildung der Redner
im Altertum his auf die Zeit Quintilians, Paderborn, 1920,
esp. pp. 101-7.

Proleg.

SylL,

p.

IQI

[CICERO]
vocis maxime conparat cura
maxime conservat exercitatio

nonnihil adauget, et
declamationis.^ MoUitudinem vocis, hoc est ut earn torquere in dicendo
nostro commodo possimus, maxime faciet exercitatio
declamationis. Quapropter de magnitudine vocis et
firmitudinis parte, quoniam altera natiira paritur,
altera cura conparatur, nihil nos adtinet commonere
nisi ut ab iis qui non inscii sunt eius artificii ratio
curandae vocis petatur. XII. De ea parte firmitudinis quae conservatur ratione declamationis, et de
mollitudine vocis, quae maxime necessaria est oratori,
quoniam ea quoque moderatione declamationis conparatur, dicendum videtur.

21

Firmam ergo maxime poterimus in dicendo vocem

conservare si quam maxime sedata et depressa voce
Nam laeditur arteria si antequam
principia dicemus.
voce leni permulsa est acri clamore completur. Et
recreatur enim
intervallis longioribus uti convenit
Et in
spiritu vox et arteriae reticendo adquiescunt.
continuo clamore remittere et ad sermonem transire
oportet ; commutationes enim faciunt ut nuUo genere
Et acutas
vocis efFuso in omni voce integri simus.
ictus enim fit
vocis exclamationes vitare debemus
et vulnus arteriae acuta atque adtenuata nimis
adclamatione, et qui splendor est vocis consumitur
uno clamore universus, Et uno spiritu continenter
fauces
multa dicere in extrema convenit oratione
;

declamationis

P^B^E

imitationis 31

Mx.

" Note that these references to declamatio, the earliest in

extant Latin literature, appear in connection with delivery.
probably dva(f)U)vrjaLS.
See S. F. Bonner,
Declamatio
Roman Declamation in the Late Republic and Early Empire,
Liverpool, 1949, p. 20, note 3.
* The phonasci, teachers of singing and declamation.

192

AD HKRENNIUM,
Stability

is

III.

xi.

20

xii. 21

primarily gained by cultivation; declama-

tory exercise augments it somewhat, but chiefly

conserves it. \'ocal flexibility the ability in speaking to vary the intonations of the voice at pleasure
primarily achieved by declamatory exercise.**
is
Thus with regard to vocal volume, and in a degree
also to stability, since one is the gift of nature and
the other is acquired by cultivation, it is pointless to
give any other advice than that the method of cultivating the voice should be sought from those skilled
XII. It seems, however, that I must
in this art.''
discuss stability in the degree that it is conserved
bv a system of declamation, and also vocal flexibility
(this is especially necessary to the speaker), because
it too is acquired by the discipline of declamation.

21

We can, then, in speaking conserve stability

mainly

by using for the Introduction a voice as calm and

composed as possible. For the windpipe is injured if
filled

with a violent outburst of sound before

been soothed by

soft intonations.

And

it

is

it has
appro-

the voice is repriate to use rather long pauses

freshed by respiration and the windpipe is rested by
should also relax from continual use of
silence.

We

voice and pass to the tone of conversation

for, as the result of changes, no one kind of tone is
spent, and we are complete in the entire range.
Again, we ought to avoid piercing exclamations, for a

the

full

shock that wounds the windpipe is produced by

shouting which is excessively sharp and shrill.^ and
the brilliance of the voice is altogether used up by
one outburst. Again, at the end of the speech it is
proper to deliver long periods in one unbroken
'

The Rhodian school opposed the overloud

delivery of the

Asiatic orators.

193

[CICERO]
enim

calefiunt, et arteriae conplentur, et vox,

tractata

varie

est,

reducitur

in

quae

quendam sonum

aequabilem atque constantem. Quani saepe rerum

naturae gratia quaedam iure debetur, velut accidit in
hac re
Nam quae dicimus ad vocem servandam
prodesse, eadem adtinent ad suavitudinem pronuntiationis, ut quod nostrae voci prosit idem voluntati
22 auditoris probetur.
Utile est ad firmitudinem sedata
vox in principio. Quid insuavius quam clamor in
Intervalla
exordio causae ?
vocem confirmant
eadem sententias concinniores divisione reddunt et
auditori spatium cogitandi relinquunt.
Conservat
vocem continui clamoris remissio, et auditorem
!

quidem

varietas

animum

retinet

maxime

cum sermone

delectat,

aut exsuscitat clamore. Acuta

exclamatio vocem vulnerat eadem laedit auditorem,
;

habet enim quiddam inliberale et ad muliebrem potius

vociferationem quam ad virilem dignitatem in dicendo

adcommodatum.

In extrema oratione continens

vox remedio est voci. Quid ? haec eadem nonne
animum vehementissime calefacit auditoris in totius
conclusione causae ? Quoniam igitur eadem vocis
firmitudini et pronuntiationis suavitudini prosunt, de
utraque re simul erit in praesentia dictum de firmitudine quae visa sunt, de suavitudine quae coniuncta
fuerunt cetera suo loco paulo post dicemus.

" CJ. Dionysius Halic, De Composit. Verb., ch, 23, on the

the measure
smooth mode of composition
"It limits
of the period so that a man's full breath will be able to encompass it; " Cicero, Brutus 8. 34.
* Our author repeats the thought of the first sentence of
.

immediately above.
proceeds at once to do so see 3. xiii. 23-xiv. 25. The
detailed rules that follow belong to a rhetoric later than that
of Theophrastus, who apparently did not hand down many
Sect. 21
"

194

He

AD HRRRNNIUM,

III.

xii.

21-22

breath , for then the throat becomes warm, the windpipe is filled, and the voice, which has been used in a
variety of tones, is restored to a kind of uniform and
constant tone. How often must we be duly thankful
Indeed what we declare to be
to nature, as here
beneficial for conserving the voice applies also to
agreeableness of delivery, and, as a result, what
benefits our voice likewise finds favour in the hearer's
taste.
A useful thing for stability is a calm tone in
the Introduction.* WTiat is more disagreeable than
the full voice in the Introduction to a discourse ?
Pauses strengthen the voice. They also render the
thoughts more clear-cut by separating them, and
leave the hearer time to think.
Relaxation from a
continuous full tone conserves the voice, and the
variety gives extreme pleasure to the hearer too,
since now the conversational tone holds the attention
and now the full voice rouses it. Sharp exclamation
injures the voice and likewise jars the hearer, for it
has about it something ignoble, suited rather to
feminine outcry than to manly dignity in speaking.
At the end of the speech a sustained flow is beneficial
And does not this, too, most vigorously
to the voice.
stir the hearer at the Conclusion of the entire discourse ? Since, then, the same means serve the
stability of the voice and agreeableness of delivery,
my present discussion will have dealt with both at
once, offering as it does the observations that have
seemed appropriate on stability, and the related
observations on agreeableness. The rest I shall set
!

forth

somewhat

later, in its

proper place.

<^

precepts of delivery.
See Johannes Stroux, De TheophraMi
virtuiibus dicetidi, Leipzig, 1912, p. 70; Maximilian Schmidt.
Commentatio de Theophrasio rhetore, Halle, 1839, p. 61.

[CICERO]
23

XIII. MoUitudo igitur vocis, quoniam omnis ad

praeceptionem pertinet, diligentius nobis
consideranda est. Earn dividimus in sermonem,
contentionem, amplificationem. Sermo est oratio
remissa et finitima cotidianae locutioni. Contentio est
rhetoris

oratio acris et ad

confirmandum

et

ad confutandum

adcommodata.
iracundiam
auditoris

Amplificatio est oratio quae aut in

inducit, aut ad misericordiam trahit

animum.

Sermo

dividitur in partes quattuor:

dignitatem,

demonstrationem, narrationem, iocationem. Dignitas

est oratio

cum

aliqua gravitate et vocis remissione.

Demonstratio est oratio quae docet remissa voce

quomodo quid fieri potuerit aut non potuerit. Narratio est rerum gestarum aut proinde ut gestarum
expositio.
locatio est oratio quae ex aliqua re risum

pudentem

et liberalem potest conparare.

Contentio

dividitur

in

continuationem

et

in

distributionem. Continuatio est orationis enuntiandae adceleratio clamosa. Distributio est in contentione oratio frequens cum raris et brevibus intervallis, acri vociferatione.

24

Amplificatio dividitur in cohortationem et conCohortatio est oratio quae aliquod

questionem.
" dvifivri.
*

Contentio (evaytovto? Xoyos) represents the impassioned,

vehement address of formal debate, sermo the informal

language of ordinary conversation (Cicero, De Offic. 1. 37. 132
sermo in circulis, disputationibus, congressionibus familiarium
versetur, sequatur etiam convivia).
Our author's treatment
seems to have a Peripatetic cast; see Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 12
(1413 b). Cf. Cicero, I.e. (in De Offic., Bk. 1, he follows the
" Rules for contentio we have
Stoic philosopher Panaetius)
from the rhetoricians. There are none for sermo; yet I do
not know why there cannot be for sermo, too."
:

196

AD HRRRNNIUM,
23

III.

xiii.

23-24

Now

the flexibility of the voice, since it

rules, deserves our
more careful consideration. The aspects of Flexibility are Conversational Tone, Tone of Debate, and
Tone of Amplification. The Tone of Conversation is
The Tone
relaxed," and is closest to daily speech.
of Debate is energetic, and is suited to both
proof and refutation.'' The Tone of Amplification
either rouses the hearer to wrath or moves him to
XIII.

depends entirely on rhetorical

pity.

Conversational tone

comprises

four kinds

the

and the
Facetious. The Dignified, or Serious, Tone of Conversation is marked by some degree of impressiveThe Explicative in a
ness and by vocal restraint.
calm voice explains how something could or could
not have been brought to pass. The Narrative sets
forth events that have occurred or might have
The Facetious can on the basis of some
occurred.'^
circumstance elicit a laugh which is modest and
Dignified,*^ the Explicative, the Narrative,

refined."^

In the Tone of Debate are distinguishable the

Sustained and the Broken. The Sustained is fullvoiced and accelerated delivery. The Broken Tone
of Debate is punctuated repeatedly with short, intermittent pauses, and is vociferated sharply.
24
The Tone of Amplification includes the Hortatory
and the Pathetic. The Hortatory, by amplifying
"
*

Cf. the definition ofdignitas, 4. xiii. 18 below.

The same definition oi narratio as in 1. iii. 4 above.

* The Facetious
belongs naturally to sermo; see note on
The definition recalls the difference {e.g.,
C(mtentio above.
Aristotle, Eth. Nic. 4. 14, 1128) between the wit whose jests
are in good taste (eurpaTrtAo?), and the buffoon (/Soj/xoAoxoi-).

197

[CICERO]
peccatum

amplificans auditorem ad iracundiam

Conquestio est oratio quae incommodorum
amplificatione animum auditoris ad misericordiam
adducit.

perducit.

Quoniam

mollitudo

igitur

vocis

in

tres

partes

divisa est, et eae partes ipsae sunt in octo partes

alias distributae,

harum octo partium quae cuiusque

sit demonstrandum videtur.

idonea pronuntiatio

XIV. Sermo cum est in dignitate, plenis faucibus

quam sedatissima et depressissima voce uti conveniet,

tamen ut ne ab oratoria consuetudine ad tragicam

transeamus. Cum autem est in demonstratione,
voce paululum attenuata, crebris intervallis et
divisionibus oportet uti, ut in ipsa pronuntiatione
eas res quas demonstrabimus inserere atque insecare
videamur in animis auditorum. Cum autem est sermo
in narratione, vocum varietates opus sunt, ut quo
quidque pacto gestum sit ita narrare videamur.^
Strenue quod volumus ostendere factum, celeriuscule
dicemus; at aliud otiose, retardabimus. Deinde
modo acriter, turn clementer, maeste, hilare in
omnes partes commutabimus ut verba item pronuntiationem. Si qua inciderint in narrationem
dicta, rogata, responsa, si quae admirationes de
quibus nos narrabimus, diligenter animum adverita

temus ut omnium personarum sensus atque animos

^

videamur

Id

videatur other

MSS. Mx.

* Amplification and Appeal to Pity are separated in 2, xxx.

47 and 2. xxxi. 50 above; c/. 4. viii. 11 (the Grand Style),
4. xxviii. 38 (Reduplication), 4. liii. 66 (Personification), and
also 4. xxxix. 51 (Vivid Description) below,

198

AD HERENxMUM,
some

fault, incites

Pathetic,

III.

xi II.

24-\iv. 24

the hearer to indignation.

The

by amplifying misfortunes, wins the hearer

over to \nty
Since, then, vocal flexibility is divided into three
tones, and these in turn subdivide into eight others,
it appears that we must explain what
delivery is
appropriate to each of these eight subdivisions.
XIV. (1) For the Dignified Conversational Tone it
will be proper to use the full throat but the calmest
and most subdued voice possible, yet not in such a
fashion that we pass from the practice of the orator
to that of the tragedian.*
(2) For the Explicative Conversational Tone one ought to use a rather
thin-toned voice, and frequent pauses and intermissions, so that we seem by means of the delivery
itself to implant and engrave in the hearer's mind
the points we are making in our explanation.
(3) For the Narrative Conversational Tone varied
intonations are necessary-, so that we seem to recount
everything just as it took place. Our delivery will
be somewhat rapid when we narrate what we wish
to show was done vigorously, and it will be slower
when we narrate something else done in leisurely
fashion.
Then, corresponding to the content of
the words, we shall modify the delivery in all the
kinds of tone, now to sharpness, now to kindness, or
now to sadness, and now to gaiety. If in the
Statement of Facts there occur any declarations,
demands, replies, or exclamations of astonishment
concerning the facts we are narrating, we shall give
careful attention to expressing with the voice the

On the speaker's delivery as against the actor's see

XV. 26 below; Cicero, Orator 25. 86; Quintilian, 11. 3.
57,
181 flf.
*

3.

199

[CICERO]
25 voce

exprimamus.

Sin erit sermo

tremebunda voce, cum parva

leviter
risus,

sine

nimiae

suspicione

ulla

leniter oportebit ab

sermone

iocatione,

in

significatione

cachinnationis

serio torquere verba

ad liberalem iocum.
Cum autem contendere oportebit, quoniam id aut
per continuationem aut per distributionem faciendumst, in continuatione, adaucto mediocriter sono
vocis,^ verbis continuandis vocem quoque iungere ^
oportebit et torquere sonum et celeriter cum clamore
verba conficere, ut vim volubilem orationis vociferatio
consequi possit. In distributione vocis ab imis
faucibus exclamationem quam clarissimam adhibere

quantum

oportet, et

spatii in singulas

sumpserimus, tantum
consumere iubemur.

in

singula

exclamationes

intervalla

spatii

In amplificationibus cum cohortatione utemur voce

adtenuatissima, clamore leni, sono aequabili, commutationibus crebris, maxima celeritate. In conquestione utemur voce depressa, inclinato sono,
crebris intervallis, longis spatiis,

magnis commuta-

tionibus.

XV. De figura vocis satis dictum est nunc de

motu dicendum videtur.
Motus est corporis gestus et vultus moderatio
quaedam quae probabiliora reddit ea quae pronuntiantur. Convenit igitur in vultu pudorem et
;

corporis

20

acrimoniam

CUE Mx ed. mai.

vocis P"^

iungere P^JS^II

"

For the

nee venustatem conspi-

esse, in gestu

fullest

voci

adiungere d

CE Mx

extant treatment of gesture

rhetoric see Quintilian, Bk. 11, ch. 3.

200

M Mx.

augere

rugere

M.

in ancient

AD HKRENNIUM,

III.

xiv.

24-xv. 26

and thoughts of each personage. (4) For

the Facetious Conversational Tone, with a gentle
quiver in the voice, and a slight suggestion of a
smile, but without any trace of immoderate laughter,
one ought to shift one's utterance smoothly from the
Serious Conversational tone to the tone of gentle-

25 feelings

manly

jest.

Since the Tone of Debate is to be expressed either

through the Sustained or the Broken, when the
(5) Sustained Tone of Debate is required, one ought
moderately to increase the vocal volume, and, in
maintaining an uninterrupted flow of words, also to
bring the voice into harmony with them, to inflect
the tone accordingly, and to deliver the words
rapidly in a full voice, so that the voice production
can follow the fluent energy of the speech. (6) For
the Broken Tone of Debate we must with deepest
chest tones produce the clearest possible exclamations, and I advise giving as much time to each pause
as to each exclamation.
For (7) the Hortatory Tone of Amplification we
shall use a very thin-toned voice, moderate loudness,
an even flow of sound, frequent modulations, and the
utmost speed. (8) For the Pathetic Tone of
Amplification we shall use a restrained voice, deep
tone, frequent intermissions, long pauses, and
marked changes.
XV. On Voice Quality enough has been said.
Now it seems best to discuss Physical Movement.
2o
Physical movement consists in a certain control
of gesture and mien which renders what is delivered
more plausible. Accordingly the facial expression
should show modesty and animation, and the gestures
should not be conspicuous for either elegance or
201

[CICERO]
ciendam nee turpitudinem esse, ne aut histriones aut
operarii videamur esse.
Ad easdem igitur partes in
quas vox est distributa motus quoque corporis ratio
videtur esse adcommodanda. Nam si erit sermo
cum dignitate, stantis in vestigio, levi dexterae motu,
loqui

oportebit,

hilaritate,

tristitia,

mediocritate

ad sermonis sententias adcommodata. Sin

erit in demonstratione sermo, paululum corpus a
cervicibus demittemus
nam est hoc datum ut quam
proxime tum vultum admoveamus ad auditores si
quam rem docere eos et vehementer instigare
velimus.
Sin erit in narratione sermo, idem motus
poterit idoneus esse qui paulo ante demonstrabatur in
dignitate.
Sin in iocatione, vultu quandam debebimus hilaritatem significare sine commutatione
vultus

gestus.

Sin contendemus per continuationem, brachio cele-

27

mobili vultu, acri aspectu utemur.

ri,

fiet

Sin contentio

per distributionem, porrectione perceleri brachii,

inambulatione, pedis dexteri rara supplausione,^ acri

et defixo aspectu uti oportet.

Sin

utemur

amplificatione

cohortationem,

per

paulo tardiore et consideratiore gestu conveniet

similibus

rebus

ceteris

continuationem.

Sin

atque

utemur

in

contentione

amplificatione

'
supplausione bl, subplausione F^UB^
subplusione PBMx
subplosione C.

uti,

per
per

supplusione Hd,

"

Here

doubtless

TTpdnov (see note

202

on

is

4. x.

the Theophrastan tradition of to

15 below) yet Athenaeus, 1. 20, says
;

AD HERENXIUM,

III. xv.

26-27

we give the impression that we are

It seems, then, that
either actors or day labourers.
the rules regulating bodily movement ought to
correspond to the several divisions of tone comprising

grossness,** lest

To

(1) For the Dignified Converthe speaker must stay in position

when he speaks, lightly moving his right hand, his
countenance expressing an emotion corresponding
gaiety or sadness
to the sentiments of the subject
or an emotion intermediate.
(2) For the Explicative
Conversational Tone, we shall incline the body
forward a little from the shoulders, since it is natural
to bring the face as close as possible to our hearers
when we wish to prove a point and arouse them
vigorously.
(3) For the Narrative Conversational
Tone, the same physical movement as I have just set
forth for the Dignified will be appropriate,
(-i) For
the Facetious Conversational Tone, we should by our
countenance express a certain gaiety, without

voice.

illustrate

sational Tone,

chanffinjr crestures.
27

(5) For the Sustained Tone of Debate, we shall use

a quick gesture of the arm. a mobile countenance, and
a keen glance.
(6) For the Broken Tone of Debate,
one must extend the arm very quickly, walk up and
down, occasionally stamp the right foot, and adopt a

keen and fixed look.

(7) For the Hortatory Tone of Amplification, it
will be appropriate to use a somewhat slower and
more deliberate gesticulation, but otherwise to
follow

the procedure for the Sustained Tone of

(8) For the Pathetic Tone of Amplification,

Debate.

that Theophrastus gave free play to gestures in his own

also Cicero, De Oratore
delivery.
Cf. 3. xiv. 24 above;
2. 59. 242. 3. 59. 220; QuintiUan, 11. 3. 89; Gellius 1. 5.

203

[CICERO]
conquestionem,

nonnumquam

plangore

feminis

et

capitis

ictu,

sedato et constanti gestu, maesto et

conturbato vultu uti oportebit.

Non sum

quantum susceperim

nescius

motus corporis exprimere verbis

Verum nee hoc confisus sum

commode scribi

conatus sim voces.

posse

fieri

negotii qui

et imitari scriptura

ut de his rebus satis

non posset, hoc quod feci fore

quod hie admonere
voluimus quid oporteret reliqua trademus exercitationi.
Hoc tamen scire oportet, pronuntiationem
bonam id proficere,^ ut res ex animo agi videatur.
XVI. Nunc ad thesaurum inventorum atque ad
omnium partium rhetoricae custodem, memoriam,
posset, nee,

inutile

si

id

putabam,

fieri

propterea
;

28

transeamus.

Memoria utrum habeat quiddam

artificiosi,

omiiis ab natura proficiscatur, aliud dicendi

an

tempus

magis idoneum dabitur. Nunc proinde atque constet

in hac re multum valere artem et praeceptionem, ita
de ea re loquemur. Placet enim nobis esse artificium
^

proficere 31

perficere other

MSS. Mx.

" Slapping the thigh, which,

believed, Cleon [see Plutarch, Nicias 8] was the first to
introduce at Athens, is in common use; it is becoming as a
sign of indignation and also excites the hearer.
Cicero [Brutus
80. 278] misses this in CaUdius." In Lucian, Rhetor. Praeceptor
19, the young learner is satirically encouraged to make use of
this gesture.
* On ancient mnemonics see Helga Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum des Mittelalters (Vienna, Amsterdam,
and Leipzig, 1936), pp. 11-33, and L. A. Post, Class. Weekly

it is

204

C/. Quintilian, 11. 3. 123

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

xv. 27-xvi.

28

one ought to slap one's tliigh * and beat one's head,

and sometimes to use a cahn and uniform gesticulation and a sad and disturbed expression.
I am not unaware how great a task I have undertaken in trying to express physical movements in
words and portray vocal intonations in writing.
True, I was not confident that it was possible to treat
these matters adequately in writing. Yet neither
did I suppose that, if such a treatment were impossible, it would follow that what I have done here
would be useless, for it has been my purpose merely
The rest I shall
to suggest what ought to be done.
leave to practice. This, nevertheless, one must
remember: good delivery ensures that what the
orator is saying seems to come from his heart.
28

XVI. Now let me turn to the treasure-house of the

ideas supplied by Invention, to the guardian of all the
parts of rhetoric, the Memory.*

The question whether memory has some artificial

comes entirely from nature, we shall have
another, more favourable, opportunity to discuss. At
quality, or

I shall accept as proved that in this matter

and method are of great importance, and shall

present
art

treat the subject accordingly.

25 (1932). 105-110;
Notopoulos, Trans.

For

my

part, I

am

on Memory

in oral literature, J. A.
Assn. 69 (1938). 465-493.
The rhetorical interest in memoria appears early, among the
sophists, who valued its uses in the learning of commonOur author's mnemonic
places and for improvisation.
system is the oldest extant. Whether such pictorial methods
were widely used by the orators we do not know, but the
theory persists to this day. See also Longinus, in SpengelHammer 1 (2). 197-206;' Cicero, Z)e Oratore 2. 85. 350-88.
360; and esp. Quintilian's historical and critical treatment,

Am.

Philol.

11. 2. 1-51.

205

[CICERO]
memoriae

quare

placeat

praesentia cuiusmodi

sit

Sunt igitur duae memoriae

Naturalis

artificiosa.

insita est et simul

est ea

quam

est

cum

ostendemus

alias

ea

una naturalis, altera

quae nostris animis

cogitatione nata;

Sed qua

artificiosa

quaedam

confirmat inductio

praeceptionis.

in

ea aperiemus.

et ratio

via in ceteris rebus ingenii

bonitas imitatur saepe doctrinam, ars porro naturae

commoda confirmat et auget, item fit in hac re ut

nonnumquam naturalis memoria, si cui data est
29 egregia, similis sit huic artificiosae, porro
ficiosa

naturae

commoda retineat

Quapropter

doctrinae.

haec

arti-

et amplificet ratione

et naturalis

memoria prae-

sit

egregia, et haec quae

doctrina datur indiget ingenii.

Nee hoc magis aut

ceptione confirmanda est ut

minus

in

hac re

quam

in ceteris artibus

fit,

illis

qui natura

memores sunt

utilis

haec

ut ingenio

Quare

doctrina, praeceptione natura nitescat.

et

erit institutio,

quod tute paulo post poteris intellegere et si illi,

freti ingenio, nostri non indigerent, tamen iusta causa
daretur quare iis qui minus ingenii habent adiumento
velimus esse. Nunc de artificiosa memoria loquemur.
;

Whether our author ever published such an explanation

See notes on 3. ii. 3 and 4. xii. 17.
For the commonplace c/. Isocrates, Adv. Soph. 14 fif.,
Plato, Phaedrus 269 D; Cicero, Pro Archia 7.
Antid. 189 fF.
"

we do not know.
*

15, TiLsc. Disp. 2.

Horace, Ars Poet.

13, Crassus in

De

Oratore

1.

25.

113

F.;

408-11; the comic (?) poet Simylus, in

Stobaeus, 4. 18 a 4; Longinus, De Sublim. 36. 4; QuintiUan,
and for its apphca2. 19. 1 ff., and (on Delivery) 11. 3. 11
fif. ;

206

AD HERENNIUM,

III. xvi.

28-29

satisfied that there is an art of memory

the frrounds
of my belief I shall explain elsewhere.'* For the
present I shall disclose what sort of thing memory is.
There are, then, two kinds of memory
one
natural, and the other the product of art.
The
natural memory is that memory which is imbedded
in our minds, born simultaneously with thought.
The artificial memory is that memory which is
strengthened by a kind of training and system of
discipline.
But just as in everything else the merit
of natural excellence often rivals ac{juired learning,
and art, in its turn, reinforces and develops the
natural advantages,^ so does it happen in this
instance.
The natural memory, if a person is
29 endowed with an exceptional one, is often like this
:

artificial

memory, and

turn, retains

this artificial

memory,

in its

and develops the natural advantages by

method of discipline. Thus the natural memory

must be strengthened by discipline so as to become
a

exceptional, and, on the other hand, this memory

provided by discipline requires natural ability. It
is neither more nor less true in this instance than in
the other arts that science thrives by the aid of innate
ability, and nature by the aid of the rules of art.
The training here offered will therefore also be useful to those who by nature have a good memory,
as you will yourself soon come to understand.*^
But
even if these, relying on their natural talent, did not
need our help, we should still be justified in wishing to
aid the less well-endowed.
Now I shall discuss the
artificial
tion to

memory.

memoria Antonius

in Cicero,

Longinus, in Spengel- Hammer

'
Cf. 3. xxii. 36 below.

Dc

1 (2).

Oratore
204.

2. 88.

360,

and

207

[CICERO]
Constat igitur artificiosa memoria ex locis et ^
Locos appellamus eos qui breviter,
perfecte, insignite aut natura aut manu sunt absoluti,
ut eos facile naturali memoria conprehendere et
amplecti
ut aedes, intercolumnium,
queamus
angulum, fornicem, et alia quae his similia sunt.
Imagines sunt formae quaedam et notae et simulacra
eius rei quam meminisse volumus
quod genus equi,
leonis, aquilae memoriam si volemus habere, imagines
imaginibus.

30

eorum locis certis conlocare oportebit. Nunc cuiusmodi locos invenire et quo pacto reperire et in locis
imagines constituere oporteat ostendemus.

XVII.

Quemadmodum

igitur

qui

litteras

sciunt

possunt id quod dictatur eis scribere, et recitare quod

scripserunt, item qui mnemonica ^ didicerunt possunt
quod audierunt in locis conlocare et ex his memoriter
pronuntiare. Nam loci cerae aut chartae simillimi
sunt, imagines litteris, dispositio et conlocatio
imaginum scripturae, pronuntiatio lectioni. Oportet
igitur, si volumus multa meminisse, multos nos nobis
locos conparare, uti multis locis multas imagines conlocare possimus.
Item putamus oportere ex ordine
hos locos habere, ne quando perturbatione ordinis

E Mx.

ex

qui mnemonica Aldus

qui nemonica
quinimmodica
qui inmodica Hb ; qui immodica 115 Old.

locis

locis et

Mx

" the table of my memory," Shakespeare, Hamlet

For the analogy with wax cf. Socrates in Plato,
Theaet. 191 CD; Cicero, Part. Orat. 6. 26, and in De Oratore
2. 88. 360, Charmadas {fl. 107 B.C.) and Metrodorus (bom c.
150 B.C.); and the seal-ring in Aristotle, De Mem. et Recollect.
" Cf.

1.

5. 98.

208

AD HERKNNIUM,
The
images.

III.

\vi.

29-.\vii.

30

memory includes backgrounds and

By backgrounds I mean such scenes as are

artificial

naturally or artificially set off on a small scale, complete and conspicuous, so that we can grasp and
embrace them easily by the natural memory for
example, a house, an intercolumnar space, a recess, an
arch, or the like.
An image is, as it were, a figure,
mark, or portrait of the object we wish to remember ;
for example, if we wish to recall a horse, a lion, or an
eagle, we must place its image in a definite back30 ground.
Now I shall show what kind of backgrounds
we should invent and how we should discover the
images and set them therein.

XVII. Those who know the letters of the alphabet

can thereby write out what is dictated to them and
read aloud what they have written. Likewise, those
who have learned mnemonics can set in backgrounds
what they have heard, and from these backgrounds
deliver it by memory.
For the backgrounds are very
much like wax tablets " or papyrus, the images like
the letters, the arrangement and disposition of the
images like the script, and the delivery is like the
reading. We should therefore, if we desire to
memorize a large number of items, equip ourselves
with a large number of backgrounds, so that in these
we may set a large number of images. I likewise
think it obligatory to have these backgrounds in a
series, so that we may never by confusion in their
order be prevented from following the images
Theophrastus, De Sens. 51-2, Demomoulded like wax, and
see the interpretation of this passage by Paul Friedlander,
Die platonischen Schriften, Berlin and Leipzig, 1930, p. 448,
note 1.

450 ab. Cf. also,

critus' theory that

in

in vision the air is

209

[CICERO]
inpediamur quo setius quoto quoque loco
vel

libebit,

ab superiore vel ab inferiore parte, imagines

sequi, et ea

quae mandata

XVIII. nam

ut,

si

locis

erunt edere possimus

in ordine stantes notos

viderimus, nihil nostra intersit utrum ab

complures

summo an

ab

imo an ab medio nomina eorum dicere incipiamus,

item in

ex ordine conlocatis eveniet ut in

locis

quamlibebit partem quoque loco

libebit,

commoniti, dicere possimus id quod

imaginibus

mandaQuare placet et ex ordine locos conparare.

quos sumpserimus egregie commeditari

31 verimus.

Locos

locis

oportebit, ut perpetuo nobis haerere possint

nam

imagines, sicuti litterae, delentur ubi nihil utimur;

loci, tamquam cera, remanere debent.
Et ne forte in
numero locorum falli possimus, quintum quemque
placet notari
quod genus si in quinto loco manum
auream conlocemus, si in decimo aliquem notum
cui praenomen sit Decimo, deinde facile erit deinceps ^ similis notas quinto quoque ^ loco conlocare.
XIX. Item commodius est in derelicta quam in celebri
regione locos conparare, propterea quod frequentia et
;

obambulatio hominum conturbat et infirmat ima-

ginum
crorum
natura

solitudo

notas,
figuras.
loci

conservat

integras

simula-

Praeterea dissimiles forma atque

conparandi sunt, ut distincti interlucere

^ quoq(ue)
quoq(ue)
loco I:
loco quoque H
quidq(ue) B
quoquo loco E Mx.
quidq(ue) loco G
2 deinceps PmB'-CE
inceps
Mx.
:

210

quoque

HPB

quoquo

E Mx.

PH:

AD HKRKNNIUM,

III.

wii. 30-xix. 31

proceeding from any background we wisli, whatsoever its place in the series, and wliether we go
forwards or backwards nor from delivering orally
what has been committed to the backgrounds.
X\'III. For example, if we should see a great
number of our acquaintances standing in a certain

order,

it

would not make any difference

we should

31

tell their

to us whether
names beginning with the person

standing at the head of the line or at the foot or in

the middle. So with respect to the backgrounds.
If these have been arranged in order, the result will
be that, reminded by the images, we can repeat orally
what we have committed to the backgrounds, proceeding in either direction from any background we
please.
That is why it also seems best to arrange
the backgrounds in a series.
We shall need to study with special care the backgrounds we have adopted so that they may cling
lastingly in our memory, for the images, like letters,
are effaced when we make no use of them, but the
backgrounds, like wax tablets, should abide. And
that we may by no chance err in the number of
backgrounds, each fifth background should be
marked. For example, if in the fifth we should set a
golden hand, and in the tenth some acquaintance
whose first name is Decimus, it will then be easy to
station like marks in each successive fifth background.
XIX. Again, it xvill be more advantageous to
obtain backgrounds in a deserted than in a populous
region, because the crowding and passing to and fro
of people confuse and weaken the impress of the
images, while solitude keeps their outlines sharp.
Further, backgrounds differing in form and nature
must be secured, so that, thus distinguished, they
211

[CICERO]
possint;

nam

si

qui multa intercolumnia sumpserit,

conturbabitur similitudine ut ignoret quid in quoque

loco conlocarit.

Et magnitudine modica

cres locos habere oportet

ampli

vagas

imagines

nam

reddunt,

et medio-

et praeter
et

nimis

modum
angusti

saepe non videntur posse capere imaginum con32 locationem. Tum nee nimis inlustres nee vehementer
obscuros locos habere oportet, ne aut obcaecentur
tenebris imagines aut splendore praefulgeant. Inter-

locorum mediocria placet esse, fere paulo plus

pedum tricenum nam ut aspectus item
cogitatio minus valet sive nimis procul removeris sive
vehementer prope admoveris id quod oportet videri.
valla

aut minus

Sed quamquam facile est ei qui paulo plura noverit

quamvis multos et idoneos locos conparare, tamen si
qui satis idoneos invenire se non putabit, ipse sibi
constituat quam volet multos licebit.
Cogitatio enim
quamvis region em potest amplecti, et in ea situm
loci cuiusdam ad suum arbitrium fabricari et architectari.
Quare licebit, si hac prompta copia contenti
non erimus, nosmet ipsos nobis cogitatione nostra
regionem constituere, et idoneorum locorum com-

modissimam distinctionem conparare.

De locis satis dictum est; nunc ad imaginum
33

rationem transeamus.
XX. Quoniam ergo rerum similes imagines esse
oportet, ex omnibus rebus nosmet nobis similitudines
eligere

debemus.
^

212

quoque Ml

Duplices igitur similitudines esse

:

uno quoque d

quoquo bMx.

AD HERENNIUM,
may be clearly visible for
many intercolumnar spaces,
;

III.

if

xi.v.

31-xx. 33

a person has adopted

their resemblance to

one

confuse him that he will no longer

know what he has set in each background. And
these backgrounds ought to be of moderate size and
medium extent, for when excessively large they
render the images vague, and when too small often
seem incapable of receiving an arrangement of
32 images.
Then the backgrounds ought to be neither
too bright nor too dim, so that the shadows may not
obscure the images nor the lustre make them glitter.
I believe that the intervals between backgrounds
should be of moderate extent, approximately thirty
feet
for, like the external eye, so the inner eye of
thought is less powerful when you have moved the
object of sight too near or too far away.
Although it is easy for a person with a relatively
large experience to equip himself with as many and as
suitable backgrounds as he may desire, even a person
who believes that he finds no store of backgrounds
that are good enough, may succeed in fashioning as
many such as he wishes. For the imagination can
embrace any region whatsoever and in it at will
fashion and construct the setting of some background. Hence, if we are not content with our
ready-made supply of backgrounds, we may in our
imagination create a region for ourselves and obtain
a most serviceable distribution of appropriate

another

will so

backgrounds.

On

the subject of backgrounds enough has been

me now turn to the theory of images.
33
XX. Since, then, images must resemble objects,
we ought ourselves to choose from all objects likenesses for our use.
Hence likenesses are bound to
said

let

213

[CICERO]
debent, unae rerum, alterae verborum. Rerum similitudines exprimuntur cum summatim ipsorum nego-

tiorum

imagines

conparamus

verborum

simili-

tudines constituuntur cum unius cuiusque nominis et

vocabuli memoria imagine notatur.
Rei totius memoriam saepe una nota et imagine
simplici conprehendimus
hoc modo, ut si accusator
dixerit ab reo hominem veneno necatum et hereditatis
causa factum arguerit et eius rei multos dixerit testes
et conscios esse.
Si hoc primum, ut ad defendendum
nobis expeditum sit, meminisse volemus, in primo
;

imaginem conformabimus aegrotum

cubantem faciemus ipsum ilium de quo
agetur, si formam eius detinebimus
si eum non
agnoverimus,^ at aliquem aegrotum non de minimo
loco sumemus, ut cito in mentem venire possit.
Et reum ad lectum eius adstituemus, dextera poculum, sinistra tabulas, medico testiculos arietinos
loco rei totius

in

lecto

34

tenentem. Hoc modo et testium et hereditatis et

veneno necati memoriam habere poterimus. Item
deinceps cetera crimina ex ordine in locis ponemus
et quotienscumque rem meminisse volemus, si for-

marum

dispositione et

imaginum

diligenti notatione

utemur, facile ea quae volemus memoria consequemur.

^

agnoverimus

other

MSS.

Mx omit.

" Thus memoria embraces the speaker's command of his

material as well as of the words.
* According to Macrobius, Sat. 7. 13. 7-8, the anatomists
spoke of a nerve which extends from the heart to the fourth
finger of the left hand (the digitus medicinalis), where it
interlaces into the other nerves of that finger
the finger was
therefore ringed, as with a crown.
Testiculi suggests testes
;

214

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

xx.

33-34

be of two kinds, one of subject-matter,^^ the other of

words.
Likenesses of matter are formed when we
enlist images that present a general view of the
matter with which we are dealing; likenesses of
words are established when the record of each single
noun or appellative is kept by an image.
Often we encompass the record of an entire matter
by one notation, a single image. For example, the
prosecutor has said that the defendant killed a man by
poison, has charged that the motive for the crime was
an inheritance, and declared that there are many
witnesses and accessories to this act. If in order to
facilitate our defence we wish to remember this first
point, we shall in our first background form an image
of the whole matter. We shall picture the man in
question as lying ill in bed, if we know his person.
If we do not know him, we shall yet take some one to
be our invalid, but not a man of the lowest class, so
that he may come to mind at once.
And we shall
place the defendant at the bedside, holding in his
right hand a cup, and in his left tablets, and on the
fourth finger ^ a ram's testicles.
In this way we can
record the man who was poisoned, the inheritance, and
34 the witnesses.
In like fashion we shall set the other
counts of the charge in backgrounds successively,
following their order, and whenever we wish to
remember a point, by properly arranging the patterns
of the backgrounds ^ and carefully imprinting the
images, we shall easily succeed in calling back to mind

what we wish.
(%vitnesses).
Of the scrotum of the ram purses were made;
thus the money used for bribing the witnesses may perhaps
also be suggested.
" At 3. xvi. 29 above farmae is used
to describe the images.

215

[CICERO]
XXI. Cum verborum similitudines imaginibus
exprimere volemus, plus negotii suscipiemus et magis
ingenium nostrum exercebimus. Id nos hoc mode
facere oportebit

lam domum itionem reges Atridae

parant.

Hunc versum meminisse si volemus, conveniet primo ^

loco constituere manus ad caelum tollentem
Domitium cum a Regibus Marciis loris caedatur
hoc erit " lam domum itionem reges " in altero loco
Aesopum et Cimbrum subornari ut ad Iphigeniam ^
in Agamemnonem et Menelaum
hoc erit " Atridae
parant." Hoc modo omnia verba erunt expressa.
Sed haec imaginum conformatio tum valet si
naturalem memoriam exsuscitaverimus hac notatione,
ut versu posito ipsi nobiscum primum transeamus bis
aut ter eum versum, deinde tum imaginibus verba
exprimamus. Hoc modo naturae suppeditabitur
in

doctrina.
firma, ita
praesidii
^

lac.

sugg.
^

Nam

utraque altera separata minus erit

plus in doctrina atque arte
Quod docere non gravaremur, ni

tamen ut multo
sit.

hunc versum meminisse

si

volemus conveniet primo

Mx.

Ephigeniam MSS. Mx.

" An iambic senarius, whether our author's own creation

or from a tragedy by an unknown author (the IpMgenia
mentioned below ? ) is uncertain. Note that here the play is
upon the form of the word, not its meaning, and that no
Quintilian,
special provision is made for the adverb iam.
11.2. 25, doubts the efficacy of symbols to record a series of
"
connected words
I do not mention the fact that some things,
certainly conjunctions, for example, cannot be represented by
:

images."

2l6

AD HERKNNIUM,

III.

xxi.

34

XXI. When we wish to represent by images the

hkenesses of words, we shall be undertaking a greater
task and exercising our ingenuity the more. This
we ought to effect in the following way

lam domum itionem reges Atridae

"

And now

If

home-coming the
of Atreus, are making ready."

we wish

their

to

remember

parant."

kings, the sons

this verse, in

our

first

back-

ground we should put Domitius, raising hands to

heaven while he is lashed by the Marcii Reges *
that will represent "

lam domum itionem reges

"

("And now their home-coming the kings,"); in

the second background, Aesopus and Cimber,<^ being
dressed as for the roles of Agamemnon and Menelaus
"
that will represent " Atridae parant
in Ipkigenia
(" the sons of Atreus, are making ready ").
By this
method all the words will be represented. But such
an arrangement of images succeeds only if we use
our notation to stimulate the natural memory, so
that we first go over a given verse twice or three
times to ourselves and then represent the words by
means of images. In this way art will supplement
For neither by itself will be strong enough,
nature.
though we must note that theory and technique are
much the more reliable. I should not hesitate to

* The scene is doubtless our author's own creation.

Rex
was the name of one of the most distinguished families of the
Marcian gens; the Domitian (of plebeian origin) was likewise

a celebrated gens.
' Clodius
Aesopus (a friend of Cicero) was the greatest
Cimber,
tragic actor of the first half of tlie first century B.C.
mentioned only here, was no doubt also a favourite of the
day. See Otto Ribbeck, Die romische Tragodie im Zeitalter
der Bepuhlik, Leipzig, 1875, pp. 674-6.
;

217

[CICERO]
metueremus ne, cum ab institute nostro
semus, minus commode servaretur haec

recessis-

dilucida

brevitas praeceptionis.

Nunc, quoniam solet accidere ut imagines partim

firmae et acres et ad monendum idoneae sint, partim
inbecillae et infirmae quae vix memoriam possint
excitare, qua de causa utrumque fiat considerandum
est, ut, cognita causa, quas vitemus et quas sequamur
imagines scire possimus.
XXII. Docet igitur nos ipsa natura quid oporteat
fieri.
Nam si quas res in vita videmus parvas, usitatas, cotidianas, meminisse non solemus, propterea
quod nulla nova nee admirabili re commovetur
animus; at si quid videmus aut audimus egregie
turpe, inhonestum, inusitatum, magnum, incredibile,
Itaque
ridiculum, id diu meminisse consuevimus.
quas res ante ora videmus aut audimus obliviscimur
plerumque quae acciderunt in pueritia meminimus
optime saepe nee hoc alia de causa potest accidere
nisi quod usitatae res facile e memoria elabuntur, inSolis
36 signes et novae diutius manent in animo.
exortus, cursus, occasus nemo admiratur propterea
quia cotidie fiunt
at eclipses ^ solis mirantur quia
raro accidunt, et solis eclipses ^ magis mirantur quam
lunae propterea quod hae ^ crebriores sunt. Docet
ergo se natura vulgari et usitata re non exsuscitari,
novitate et insigni quodam negotio commoveri.
Imitetur ars igitur naturam, et quod ea desiderat id

35

mbd Mx

eclipsis
eclipses b

eclypsis

eclipsis 11

Mx

HBCl
:

aeglypsis P.
aeclipsis
eclypsis
I
:

HB

aeglypsis P.
3

hae

P^B Cbd: haec

**

2l8

Cf.

Mx.

Jerome, Apol. adv.

libr.

Rufini

1.

30.

AD HKREXNIUM,

III. xxi.

34-\mi. 36

demonstrate this in detail, did I not fear that, onee

having departed from my plan, I should not so well
preserve the clear conciseness of
35

my

instruction.

Now, since in normal cases some images are

strong and sharp and suitable for awakening recollection, and others so weak and feeble as hardly to
succeed in stimulating memory, we must therefore
consider the cause of these differences, so that, by
knowing the cause, we may know which images to
avoid and which to seek.
XXII. Now nature herself teaches us what we

When we see in everyday life things that

are petty, ordinary, and banal, we generally fail to
should do.

remember them, because the mind is not being stirred

by anything novel or marvellous. But if we see or
hear something exceptionally base, dishonourable,
extraordinary, great, unbelievable, or laughable,
that we are likely to remember a long time. x\ccordingly, things immediate to our eye or ear we commonly forget incidents of our childhood we often
remember best." Nor could this be so for any other
reason than that ordinary things easily slip from the
memory while the striking and novel stay longer in
36 mind.
sunrise, the sun's course, a sunset, are
marvellous to no one because they occur daily.
But solar eclipses are a source of wonder because
they occur seldom, and indeed are more marvellous
than lunar eclipses, because these are more frequent.
Thus nature shows that she is not aroused by the
common, ordinary event, but is moved by a new or
;

" So wondrous v.ould this sight

^
Cf. Lucretius 2. 1037-8
have been. Yet, wearied as all are with satiety of seeing,
how truly no one now deigns to gaze up at the bright quarters
"
of heaven
:

219

[CICERO]
quod ostendit sequatur. Nihil est enim
quod aut natura extremum invenerit aut doctrina
primum sed rerum principia ab ingenio profecta
inveniat,

sunt, exitus disciplina conparantur.

37
Imagines igitur nos in eo genere constituere oportebit quod genus in memoria diutissime potest haerere.

Id accidet si quam maxime notatas similitudines

constituemus
si non multas nee vagas, sed aliquid
si egregiam pulcrituagentes imagines ponemus
dinem aut unicam turpitudinem eis adtribuemus
aliquas exornabimus, ut si coronis aut veste
si
purpurea, quo nobis notatior sit similitudo
aut si
qua re deformabimus, ut si cruentam aut caeno
oblitam aut rubrica delibutam inducamus, quo magis
insignita sit forma, aut ridiculas res aliquas imaginibus
adtribuamus, nam ea res quoque faciet ut facilius
meminisse valeamus. Nam quas res veras facile
meminimus,^ easdem fictas et diligenter notatas
;

meminisse non difficile est. Sed illud facere oporteut identidem primos quosque locos imaginum
renovandarum causa celeriter animo pervagemus.
XXIII. Scio plerosque Graecos qui de memoria
38
scripserunt fecisse ut multorum verborum imagines
bit,

uti
qui ediscere vellent paratas
haberent, ne quid in quaerendo consumerent operae.

conscriberent,

Quorum rationem

aliquot

meminimus P^BCUd

The

idea

is

de causis inprobamus

minus

HP

meminerimus blMx.

a commonplace in a variety of schools of

thought
e.g., Democritus, fragm. 154, in Diels-Kranz, Die
Fragmenie der Vorsokrafiker, 6th ed., 2. 173, and Lucretius
5. 1102, 1354, 1361 ff., 1379; Aristotle, Physica 2. 2(194 a)
:

8 (199 a), Meteor. 4. 3 (381 b), De mundo 5 (396 b,

Theophrastus, De Cans. Plant. 2. 18. 2
1. 153)
Dionysius Halic, /saei^s, ch. 16; Seneca, " pis/. 65, 3 Marcus

and

2.

in Diels-Kranz

220

AD HERENNIUM,
strikin/]^

Let art, then, imitate nature,"

and follow as she directs.

occurrence.

find

what she

For

in invention

36XX111. 38

111. xxir.

desires,

nature is never last, education never

rather the beginnings of things arise from
natural talent, and the ends are reached by discipline.
37
ought, then, to set up images of a kind that can
adhere longest in the memory. And we shall do so if
we establish likenesses as striking as possible if we
set up images that are not many or vague, but doing
something if we assign to them exceptional beauty
or singular ugliness
if we dress some of them with
crowns or purple cloaks, for example, so that the
first;

We

may be more distinct to us or if we somedisfigure them, as by introducing one stained

with blood or soiled with mud or smeared with red
paint, so that its form is more striking, or by assigning
likeness

how

certain comic effects to our images, for that, too, will

ensure our remembering them more readily.

The

things we easily remember when they are real we

likewise remember without difficulty when they are
figments, if they have been carefully delineated.

But

this will be essential

again and again to run
over rapidly in the mind all the original backgrounds
in order to refresh the images.
38
XXIII. I know that most of the Greeks who have
written on the memory ^ have taken the course of
listing images that correspond to a great many words,
so that persons who wished to learn these images by
heart would have them ready without expending
effort on a search for them.
I disapprove of their
method on several grounds. First, among the
Aurelius, Medil. 11. 10; Plotinus, Enn. 5. 8. 1
Cicero,
Orator 18. 58; Quintilian, 8. 3. 71; Dante, Inferno 11. 97 fif.
* Precisely who these predecessors
were we do not know.
;

[CICERO]
verborum innumerabili multitudine
verborum imagines conparare.
Quantulum enim poterunt haec valere, cum ex
infinita verborum copia modo aliud modo aliud nos
verbum meminisse oportebit ? Deinde, cur volumus
ab industria quemquam removere, ut, ne quid ipse
quaerat, nos illi omnia parata quaesita tradamus?
Praeterea, similitudine alia alius magis commovetur.

primum, quod

ridiculumst

in

mille

Nam ut saepe, formam si quam similem cuipiam

dixerimus esse, non omnes habemus adsensores, quod
alii videtur aliud, item fit in imaginibus ut quae nobis
diligenter notata sit, ea parum videatur insignis aliis.
39 Quare sibi quemque suo commodo convenit imagines
conparare. Postremo, praeceptoris est docere quemadmodum quaeri quidque conveniat, et unum aliquod
aut alterum, non omnia quae eius generis erunt
exempli causa subicere, quo res possit esse diluut cum de prooemiis ^ quaerendis disputamus,
rationem damns quaerendi, non mille prooemiorum ^
genera conscribimus, item arbitramur de imaginibus
cidior

fieri

convenire.

verborum memoriam aut

arbitrere, rerum
ipsarum memoria contentus sis, quod et utilior sit et
plus habeat facultatis, admonendus es quare verborum
memoriam non inprobemus. Nam putamus oportere

XXIV. Nunc, ne

nimis difficilem aut

forte

parum utilem

eos qui velint res faciliores sine labore et molestia

facere in rebus difficilioribus esse ante exercitatos.

Nee nos banc verborum memoriam inducimusut versus

^

222
\2

praemiis H.
proemiis C^E
prohemiis PHBC Mx
prohemiorum PIVBC Mx: proemiorum C^E: premiorum H.
:

AD HERENNIUM,

III.

xmii. 3S-XXIV. 39

innumerable multitude of words

collect imaj^es for a thousand.

it

is

ridiculous to

How meagre

is

the

when out of the infinite store of

words we shall need to remember now one, and now
another ? Secondly, why do we wish to rob anybody
of his initiative, so that, to save him from making
any search himself, we deliver to him everything
searched out and ready ? Then again, one person is
more struck by one likeness, and another more by
another. Often in fact when we declare that some
one form resembles another, we fail to receive universal assent, because things seem different to different
persons.
The same is true with respect to images
value these can have,

one that

is

39 inconspicuous

well-defined
to

others.

to

us appears relatively
Ever}'body,
therefore,

should in equipping himself ^^ith images suit his own

convenience.
Finally, it is the instructor's duty to
teach the proper method of search in each case,
and, for the sake of greater clarity, to add in illustration some one or two examples of its kind, but not all.
For instance, when I discuss the search for Introductions, I give a method of search and do not
draught a thousand kinds of Introductions. The
same procedure I believe should be followed with
respect to images.
XXIV. Now, lest you should perchance regard the
memorizing of words either as too difficult or as of
too little use, and so rest content with the memorizing
of matter, as being easier and more useful, I must
ad\"ise you why I do not disapprove of memorizing
words. I believe that they who wish to do easy
things without trouble and toil must pre\iously
have been trained in more difficult things. Nor have
I included memorization of words to enable us to get
223

[CICERO]
meminisse possimus, sed ut hac exercitatione ilia
rerum memoria quae pertinet ad utilitatem confirmetur, ut ab hac difficili consuetudine sine labore ad
Sed cum in
40 illam facultatem transire possimus.

omni

infirma est artis praeceptio sine

adsiduitate exercitationis, tum vero in
mnemonicis ^ minimum valet doctrina, nisi industria,
Quam pluristudio, labore, diligentia conprobatur.
mos locos ut habeas et quam maxime ad praecepta
adcommodatos curare poteris; in imaginibus conNon enim, sicut a
locandis exerceri cotidie convenit.
ceteris studiis abducimur nonnumquam occupatione,
item ab hac re nos potest causa deducere aliqua.
Numquam est enim quin aliquid memoriae tradere
velimus, et tum maxime cum alit|uo maiore negotio
disciplina

summa

Quare, cum sit utile facile meminisse,

non te fallit quod tantopere utile sit quanto labore sit
appetendum; quod poteris existimare utilitate cognita.
Pluribus verbis ad cam te hortari non est sententia,
ne aut tuo studio diffisi aut minus quam res postulat
detinemur.

dixisse videamur.

De quinta parte rhetoricae deinceps dicemus. Tu

primas quasque partes in animo frequenta et, quod
maxime necesse est, exercitatione confirma.
^mnemonicis Aldus
P^CE.

224

ncmonicis

HPUB 3Ix

memoriis

AD HERRNNIUM,

HI. xxiv. 39-40

verse by rote, but rather as an exercise whereby to

strengthen that other kind of memory, the memory
of matter, which is of practical use. Thus we may
without effort pass from this difficult training to ease
In every discipline artistic
40 in that other memory.
theory is of little avail without unremitting exercise,
but especially in mnemonics theory is almost valueunless made good by industry, devotion, toil,
and care. You can make sure that you have as many
backgrounds as possible and that these conform as
much as possible to the rules in placing the images
you should exercise every day. While an engrossing
preoccupation may often distract us from our other
pursuits, from this activity nothing whatever can
Indeed there is never a moment when we
divert us.
do not wish to commit something to memory, and we
wish it most of all when our attention is held by
So, since a ready
business of special importance.
memory is a useful thing, you see clearly with what
great pains we must strive to acquire so useful a
faculty.
Once you know its uses you will be able to
appreciate this advice. To exhort you further in the
matter of memory is not my intention, for I should
appear either to have lacked confidence in your zeal
or to have discussed the subject less fully than it
demands.
You
I shall next discuss the fifth part of rhetoric.
might rehearse in your mind each of the first four
what is especially necessary fortify
divisions, and
vour knowledsre of them with exercise.
less

225

BOOK

IV

LIBER QUARTUS
I. Quoniam in hoc libro, Herenni, de elocutione
conscripsimus, et quibus in rebus opus fuit exemplis
uti, nostris exemplis usi sumus, et id fecimus praeter
consuetudinem Graecorum qui de hac re scripserunt,
necessario faciendum est ut paucis rationem nostri
consilii
demus. Atque hoc necessitudine nos ^
facere, non studio, satis erit signi quod in superioribus
libris nihil neque ante rem neque praeter rem locuti
sumus. Nunc, si pauca quae res postulat dixerimus,
tibi id quod reliquum est artis, ita uti instituimus,
persolvemus. Sed facilius nostram rationem intelleges si prius quid illi dicant cognoveris.
Compluribus de causis putant oportere, cum ipsi
praeceperint quo pacto oporteat ornare elocutionem,
unius cuiusque generis ab oratore aut poeta probato

sumptum ponere exemplum.

necessitudine nos
tudine
Mx.
^

Et primum

nos necessitudine

PBCUd

se

id

necessi-

See note on

*
"

4. v. 7

below.

Cf. the long prefaces to the books of Cicero, De Inv.

The character of this Introduction to Book 4 (only the

argument and some of the illustrations are Roman)

suggests a Greek origin.
It reflects the debates between
Greeks and Greeks on Atticism as against Asianism, or the
old rhetoric, based on the imitation of the ancients (/it/xijat?
rwv dpxalcov), as against the modern (pecoTepiafios). Hermagoras, to w^iose reliance on the ancients Cicero, De Inv.
1. vi. 8, refers, and whom Cicero in his Introduction to that
final

228

BOOK

IV

1. Inasmuch as in the present Book, Herennius, 1

have written about Style, and wherever there was
need of examples, I have used those of my own
making, and in so doing have departed from the
on the subject, I must
practice of the Greek writers
And that I make
in a few words justify my method.
this explanation from necessity, and not from choice,
<*

is sufficiently indicated by the fact that in the preceding Books I have said nothing by way either of
Now, after a few indispenspreface ^ or of digression.
able observations, I shall, as I undertook to do, discharge my task of explaining to you the rest of the
art.
But you will more readily understand my
method when you have learned what the Greeks say.*'
On several grounds they think that, after they have
given their own precepts on how to embellish style,
they must for each kind of embellishment offer an
example drawn from a reputable orator or poet.^
And their first ground is that in doing so they are

work attacks, was doubtless also in the author's mind. See

Paul Wendland, Quaestione-s Rhetoricae, Gottingen, 1914.
As our notes show, in spite of the argument in this Introduction, Book 4 contains numerous examples taken (though
often with considerable changes) from a variety of sources,
both Roman and Greek.
Rhetoric and poetry meet expressly also in 4. i. 2, ii. 3,
The
iii. 5, iv. 7, v. 7, v, 8, xxxii. 43, xxxii. 44, and 2. xxii. 34.
Peripatetic school encouraged the close relationship between
'^

the two,

229

[CICERO]
modestia commotos facere dicunt, propterea quod
videatur esse ostentatio quaedam non satis habere
praecipere de artificio, sed etiam ipsos videri velle
gignere exempla hoc est, inquiunt, ostennon ostendere artem. Quare pudor in primis

artificiose
2

tare se,

ad earn rem inpedimento, ne nos

est

solos probare,

nos amare, alios contemnere et deridere videamur.

Etenim cum possimus ab Ennio sumere aut a Gracco

ponere exemplum, videtur esse adrogantia ilia relinquere, ad sua devenire.
Praeterea, exempla testimoniorum locum obtinent.
Id enim quod admonuerit et leviter fecerit praeceptio
Non igitur
exemplo, sicut testimonio, conprobatur.
ridiculus sit

si

quis in

lite

aut in iudicio domesticis

pugnet ? Ut enim testimonium, sic

exemplum rei confirmandae causa sumitur. Non
ergo oportet hoc nisi a probatissimo sumi, ne quod
aliud confirmare debeat egeat id ipsum confirmationis.
Etenim necesse est aut se omnibus anteponant et
sua maxime probent, aut negent optima esse exempla
quae a probatissimis oratoribus aut poetis sumpta
Si se omnibus anteponant, intolerabili adrosint.
gantia sunt; si quos sibi praeponant et eorum
testimoniis

ne

ne nos PHlbd
nos /.

ne ut nos et

HMx

ne ut nos

PBC

sibi

Cf. Horace, Ars Poei. 444.

Ennius and Gracchus served as models
youth cf. Cicero, De Oratore 1. 34. 154.
* See note on 4. ill. 5 below.
"
*

230

Whether

civil or criminal.

for Crassus in his

AD

IIKR1:NNIUM,

IV.

1.

1-2

prompted by modesty, because it seems a kind of

ostentation not to be content to teach the art, but to
appear desirous themselves of creating examples
"I

That, they say, would be showing

artificially.
themselves off, not showing what the art is. Hence
it is in the first place a sense of shame which keeps us
from following this practice, for we should appear
to be approving of ourselves alone,^ to be prizing
For when
ourselves, scorning and scoffing at others.
we can take an example from Ennius. or offer one
from Gracchus,* it seems presumptuous to neglect
these and to have recourse to our own examples.
In the second place, examples, they say, serve the
for, like the testimony of a
purpose of testimony
\vitness, the example enforces what the precept has
suggested and only to a slight degree effected.
Would not a man be ridiculous, then, if in a trial ^ or
in a domestic procedure ^ he should contest the issue
on the basis of his own personal testimony ? For
an example is used just like testimony to prove a
point; it should properly therefore be taken only
from a writer of highest reputation, lest what ought
to serve as proof of something else should itself
In fact, inventors of examples must
require proof.
either prefer themselves to all others and esteem
their own products most of all, or else deny that the
best examples are those taken from the orators or
poets of highest reputation. If they should set
themselves above all others, they are unbearably conceited
if they
should grant to any others a
superiority over themselves and yet not believe that
;

*=

'

See

In

which the paterfamilias exercises his jurisdiction.

Wenger, Institutes of the Roman Law
16

Mommsen, pp.

fif. ;

of Civil Procedure, pp. 9

f.

231

[CICERO]
exempla suis exemplis non putant praestare, non
possunt dicere quare sibi illos anteponant.
II. Quid ? ipsa auctoritas antiquorum non cum res
probabiliores turn hominum studia ad imitandum
alacriora reddit ?
Immo erigit omnium cupiditates et
acuit industriam cum spes iniecta est posse imitando
Gracci aut Crassi consequi facultatem.
Postremo, hoc ipsum summum est artificium res
varias et dispares in tot poematis et orationibus
sparsas et vage disiectas ita diligenter eligere ut
unum quodque genus exemplorum sub singulos artis
locos subicere possis.
Hoc si industria solum fieri

tamen essemus laudandi cum talem laborem

nunc sine summo artificio non
non fugissemus
potest fieri. Quis est enim qui, non summe cum
tenet artem, possit ea quae iubeat ars de tanta et
posset,

tam

et separare ?
Ceteri,
legunt orationes bonas aut poemata, probant

diffusa scriptura notare

cum

oratores et poetas, neque intellegunt qua re commoti

probent, quod scire non possunt ubi sit nee quid sit nee
quo modo factum sit id quod eos maxime delectet
at is qui et haec omnia intellegit et idonea maxime
eligit et omnia in arte maxime scribenda redigit in
singulas rationes praeceptionis, necesse est eius rei

summus

"

artifex

sit.

Hoc

igitur

ipsum

maximum

Cf. the place of Imitation in our author's theory, as set

1. ii. 3 above, with the position taken in this Preface

forth in

(see esp. 4. iv. 7 and 4. vi. 9 below) against borrowing examples

which should serve as models for imitation.
* The like point, with respect to rhythm, is made by Cicero,

Orator 51. 173.

*

TxviT-qs,

Txvoypa.<f>os.

On

expertness

Cicero, Brt'tns 47. 183, 51. 190, 54. 199

232

criticism see
93. 320, Orator

in

ff.,

AD HKKb^NNlUM,

IV.

i.

2-11. 3

the examples of these others excel their own, they

cannot explain why they concede this superiority.
II. And furthermore, does not the very prestige of
the ancients not only lend greater authority to their
doctrine but also sharpen in men the desire to imitate
them ? Yes, it excites the ambitions and whets the
zeal of all men when the hope is implanted in them
of being able by imitation to attain to the skill of a
Gracchus or a Crassus.
Finally, they say, the highest art resides in this
in your selecting a great diversity of passages widelv
<*

scattered and interspersed among so many poems

and speeches, and doing this with such painstaking
care that you can list examples, each according to its
kind, under the respective topics of the art.
If this
could be accomplished by industry alone, we should
yet deserve praise for not having avoided such a task
but actually, without the highest art it cannot be
done.
For who, unless he has a consummate grasp
of the art of rhetoric, could in so vast and diffuse a
literature mark and distinguish the demands of the
art ?
I<aymen, reading good orations and poems,
approve the orators and poets, but without comprehending what has called forth their approval, because
they cannot know where that which especially delights
them resides,* or what it is, or how it was produced.

But he who understands all this, and selects examples

that are most appropriate, and reduces to individual
principles of instruction everything that especiallv
merits inclusion in his treatise, must needs be a master
artist
in this field.
This. then, is the heisrht of
<^

11. 36, De Opt. Gen. Die.

Halic, De Thuc. 4.

4. 11, />e Offic. 3. 3.

15;

Dionysius

[CICERO]
artificium est

in arte

sua posse et alienis exemplis

uti.

Haec illi cum dicunt, magis nos auctoritate sua

commovent quam veritate disputationis. Illud enim
veremur, ne cui

satis

ad contrariam rationem

sit

probandam quod ab ea

steterint

omnia concedenda esse

antiquitati.

ii et qui inventores
huius artificii fuerint et vetustate iam satis omnibus
probati sint. Quodsi, illorum auctoritate remota,
res omnes volent cum re conparare, intellegent non

Primum

quod ab eis ^ de modestia

videamus ne nimium pueriliter proferatur.
Nam si tacere aut nil scribere modestia est, cur quicquam scribunt aut loquuntur? Sin aliquid suum
scribunt, cur quo setius omnia scribant inpediuntur
modestia ? Quasi si quis ad ^ Olympia cum venerit
cursum et steterit ut mittatur, inpudentes dicat esse
illos qui currere coeperint, ipse intra carcerem stet et
narret aliis quomodo Ladas aut Boiscus Isthmiis ^
III.

igitur,

dicitur

sic isti, cum in artis curriculum descenderunt, illos qui in eo quod est artificii elaborent
aiunt facere immodeste, ipsi aliquem antiquum oratorem aut poetam laudant aut scripturam, sic uti in

cursitarint

Mx ed. mai. ab eis quod blMx.

HPBU Mx omit.
Boiscus Isthmiis conj. Mx
bovis cum sisonius (sisoniis C)

quod ab eis 31
ad P^B^Cbld

boiscum

loris cu sisonis 6
d boyscu sisonis I
Turnebus
Boeotus Sicyonius Kayser

sisoniis

Boiscus Sicyonius
Boius cum Sicyoniis Gronovius.
:

" Of Sparta, a celebrated long-distance runner (c. 450 B.C.),

winner in the Olympic games, whose speed is often referred
to by Roman authors; see P.-W. 12. 380-1.
* Text corrupt.
The runner " Boiscus " (if that reading is
The name (of a Thessalian
correct) is elsewhere unknown.

234

AD HERRNNIUM,
technical

skill

in one's own

IV.

ii.

iii.

treatise to succeed also

borrowed examples
When the Greeks make such assertions, they
influence us more by their prestige than by the truth
For what I really fear is that
of their argument.
some one may consider the view contrary to mine
adequately recommended because its supporters are
the very men who invented this art and are now by
reason of their antiquity quite universally esteemed.
If, however, leaving the prestige of the ancients out
of consideration, they are willing to compare all the
arguments, point for point, they will understand
that we need not yield to antiquity in everything.
III. First, then, let us beware lest the Greeks
offer us too childish an argument in their talk about
modesty. For if modesty consists in saying nothing
or writing nothing, why do they write or speak at
But if they do write something of their own,
all ?
then why does modesty keep them from composing,
themselves, everything they write ? It is as if some
one should come to the Olympic games to run, and
having taken a position for the start, should accuse
of impudence those who have begun the race
should himself stand within the barrier and recount
to others how Ladas " used to run, or Boiscus ^ in the
Isthmian games. 'ITiese Greek rhetoricians do likeWhen they have descended into the racewise.
course of our art, they accuse of immodesty those who
they praise
put in practice the essence of the art
some ancient orator, poet, or literary work, but without themselves daring to come forth into the stadium of
in iisin<^

boxer) occurs in Xenophon, Anab. 5. 8, and (of a Samian) in

Dittenberger, Svll. Inscript. Graec., 3rd ed., Leipzig, 1915,
No. 420.

W.

235

[CICERO]
5

stadium rhetoricae prodire non audeant. Non ausim

dicere, sed tamen vereor ne qua in re laudem mode" Quid
stiae venentur, in ea ipsa re sint inpudentes.

enim

tibi

vis

"

inquiat.

aliquis

**

Artem tuam

novas nobis praeceptiones

eas
ipse confirmare non potes
ab aliis exempla sumis.
Vide ne facias inpudenter qui tuo nomini velis ex
aliorum laboribus libare laudem." Nam si eorum
volumina prenderint antiqui oratores et poetae et
suum quisque de libris sustulerit,^ nihil istis quod
scribis

gignis

suum velint relinquatur.

" At exempla, quoniam testimoniorum

similia sunt,

item

convenit ut testimonia ab hominibus probatissimis sumi."

Primum omnium, exempla ponuntur nee confirmandi neque testificandi causa, sed
^

sustulerit
tuis tulerit

Turnebus

suis

tulerit

C^EMx

suus tulerit

M.

" Cf. Corpus Fahularum Aesopicarum, ed. Hausrath, Fab.

33 (1), about the man who, boasting when away from Rhodes
that he had " beaten the Olympic record " in a jump he had
made at Rhodes, and promising to produce witnesses of his
exploit if his hearers would come to Rhodes, was challenged
to repeat the leap where he was.
* In Horace, Epist. 1. 3. 15 ff., Celsus is advised to be selfreliant, and not to draw upon writers whose works he has used
in the library of the temple of Apollo
" lest, if by chance

some day the

flock of birds

come

to reclaim their feathers,

of his stolen colours excite

the wretched crow stripped

laughter." Cf. the jackdaw in Phaedrus, Fab. Aesop. 1. 3
and Babrius, Mythiamb. Aesop. 72. Philodemus, Ehet., ed.
Sudhaus, 2. 67-8, says that in drawing certain technical
principles from other arts, such as dialectic, the rhetoricians
have " decked themselves out with borrowed plumage." Cf.
also in Lucian, Pseudolog. 5, the sophist's speech, " like Aesop's
jackdaw patched together with borrowed plumes of many
colours."

236

AD HRRENNIUM,

IV.

iii.

4-5

I
should not venture to sav so, yet I
fear that in their very pursuit of praise for modesty
they are impudent. Some one may say to them

5 rhetoric."

Now what

do you mean ? You are writing a

your own you are creating new precepts
for us; you cannot confirm these yourself; so vou
borrow examples from others. Beware of acting
impudently in seeking to extract from the labour of
others praise for your own name."
Indeed, if the
ancient orators and poets should take the books of
these rhetoricians and each remove therefrom what
belongs to himself, the rhetoricians would have
nothing left to claim as their own.*
But," they say, " since examples correspond to
testimony, it is proper that, like testimony, they
should be taken from men of the highest reputation."
First and foremost, examples are set forth, not to
confirm^ or to bear witness, but to clarify,* \Mien I
treatise of

<=

C/. the rule in Theon 8 (Spengel 2. 110. 25) that in epideietic the judgements must be taken from reputable men.
^

**

But

c/.,

just above, eas confirmare,

and

4. xliv. 57,

end,

exemplo conprobatum.

We more readily
(916 b)
bear witness, and examples
furthermore, belief through
"If we lack en(1394 a)
thymemes, we must use examples as logical proofs ... If we
have enthymemes, we must use examples as witnesses,
subsequent and supplementary to the enthymemes.
.
When they follow the enthymemes examples function like
witnesses."
Cf. also the definition and functions of the
figure exemplitm, 4. xHx. 62 below, and note.
On Example
as rhetorical induction see Aristotle, Bhet. 1. 2 (1356 b,
1357 b), and cf. Anal Pr. 2. 24 (68 b ff.); for its place in
Cicero's theory of argumentation, De hiv. 1. xxix. 44 ff., esp.
49, and De Oratore 2. 40. 169. Se further Quintilian, 5. 11. 1 ff.,
and on the exempluin in dehberative speaking 3. v. 9 above.
'
Cf. Aristotle, Problem. 18. 3
believe in facts to which many
and tales are like witnesses
witnesses is easy; " Bhet. 2. 20

"

[CICERO]

Non enim, cum dicimus esse exornationem quae verbi causa constet ex similiter desinentibus verbis, et sumimus hoc exemplum a Crasso
quibus possumus et debemus," testimonium condemonstrandi.

locamus, sed exemplum.

Hoc

interest igitur inter

testimonium et exemplum: exemplo demonstratur

testimonio esse illud
id quod dicimus cuiusmodi sit
6 ita ut nos dicimus confirmatur.
Praeterea oportet
testimonium cum re convenire aliter enim rem non
;

At id quod illi faciunt cum re

potest confirmare.
non convenit. Quid ita ? Quia pollicentur artem
se ^ scribere, exempla proferunt ab iis plerumque qui
artem nescierunt. Turn quis est qui possit id quod
de arte scripserit conprobare, nisi aliquid scribat ex
Contraque faciunt quam polliceri videntur.
arte ?
Nam cum scribere artem instituunt, videntur dicere
cum scribunt,
se excogitasse quod alios doceant
ostendunt nobis alii quid excogitarint.
IV. " At hoc ipsum difficile est," inquiunt, " eligere
de multis." Quid dicitis difficile, utrum laboriosum
an artificiosum ? Laboriosum non statim praeclarum.
Sunt enim multa laboriosa, quae si faciatis, non con;

artem

se

se

artem

se

PB 11

se

artem

HCd

artem

Mx.
" From the celebrated speech delivered before an Assembly
of the people in B.C. 106 by L. Licinius Crassus in support of
the law by which Q. Servilius Caepio sought, on behalf of the
Senate, to wrest the judicial powers from the equites. In
" Deliver
Cicero, De Oratore 1. 52. 225, the passage is fuller
us from our miseries, deliver us from the jaws of those whose
suffer us not to be
cruelty cannot have enough of our blood
slaves to any but yourselves as a whole, whom we both can and
ought to serve." See also Cicero, Paradoxa Stoic. 5. 41. The
see 4. xx. 28 below.
figure of speech is Homoeoteleuton
:

238

AD HERENNIUM,
say there

IV. in. 5-iv. 6

a figure of speech which, for instance,

is

consists of like-ending words, and take this example

quibus possuinus et debemus,^ I am
from Crassus
:

The
setting up, not testimony, but an example.
difference between testimony and example is this
by example we clarify the nature of our statement,
by testimony we establish its truth. Furthermore, the testimony must accord with the proposi-

6 while

tion, for otherwise

it

cannot confirm the proposition.

But the rhetoricians' performance does not accord

with what they propose. How so? In that they
promise to write a treatise of the art, and then
mostly bring forward examples from authors who were
ignorant of the art. Now w ho can give authority to
his writings on the art unless he writes something in
conformity with the art ? * Their performance is at
for when
variance with what they seem to promise
;

they undertake to write the rules of their art, they

appear to say that they have themselves invented
what they are teaching to others, but when they
actually write, they show us what others have
invented.
IV. " But,"

among many

say
is

they,

" this

very

choice

from

What do you mean by

difficult."

That it requires labour? Or that it requires art? The laborious is not necessarily the
There are many things requiring labour
excellent.
which you would not necessarily boast of having
done unless, to be sure, you thought it a glorious

difficult?

" But for a speaker it is a

* C/. Cicero, De Inv. 1. vi. 8
very unimportant thing to speak concerning his art that
Hermagoras has done by far the most important thing is to
speak in conformity with his art and this, as we all see,
Hermagoras was altogether incapable of doing."
:

239

[CICERO]
tinuo gloriemini;

nisi

etiam

manu

vestra

si

fabulas

aut orationes tolas transscripsissetis gloriosum putaSin istud artificiosum egregium dicitis, videte
ne insueti rerum maiorum videamini, si vos parva res

retis.

magna

sicuti

Nam

delectabit.

isto

modo

seligere

quidem nemo potest, sed sine summo artificio

multi.
Quisquis enim audivit de arte paulo plus, in
elocutione praesertim, omnia videre poterit quae ex
rudis

arte dicentur

ut

si

facere

nemo

poterit nisi eruditus.

Ita

Ennii de tragoediis velis sententias eligere aut

de Pacuvianis nuntios, sed quia plane rudis id facere

nemo

poterit,

ineptus

sis,

cum

feceris te litteratissimum putes,

propterea quod id facile faciat quivis

mediocriter litteratus;

item

si,

cum de

orationibus

aut poematis elegeris exempla quae certis signis

artificii

notata sunt, quia rudis id

nemo

facere possit,

quod
multa

artificiosissime te fecisse putes, erres, propterea

isto signo

videmus te nonnihil

scire intellegemus.

Quod

si

scire, aliis signis

artificiosum est intelle-

gere quae sint ex arte scripta, multo est

artificiosius

ipsum scribere ex arte. Qui enim scribit artificiose

ab aliis commode scripta facile intellegere poterit;
qui eliget facile non continuo commode ipse scribet.
Et si est maxime artificiosum, alio tempore utantur

"

Spa/Liara.

12 above.

Cf. fabula in

The task

1.

viii.

13, 1. vi. 10,

and

2. viii.

of copying was usually entrusted to

slaves.
**

Cf. Isocrates,

Ad

Nicocl. 44, on the selection of

from the outstanding poets.

240

maxims

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

iv.

6-7

have transcribed by your own liand whole

or speeches
Or do you say that tliat
kind of thing requires exceptional art ? Then beware
of appearing inexperienced in greater matters, if you
are going to find the same delight in a petty thing
as in a great.
Doubtless no one quite uncultivated
can select in this way yet many who lack the highest
art can.
For any one at all who has heard more than
a little about the art, especially in the field of style,
will be able to discern all the passages composed in
accordance with the rules but the ability to compose
feat to

dramas

**

them only the trained man will possess. It is as if

you should wish to choose maxims from the tragedies
of Ennius,* or messengers' reports from the tragedies
of Pacuvius
if, however, just because no one who
is quite illiterate can do this, you should suppose
that having done it, you are most highly cultivated,
you would be foolish, because any person moderately
well-read could do it easily.
In the same fashion if,
;

having chosen from orations or poems examples

marked by definite tokens of art, you should suppose
that your performance gives proof of superlative art
on the ground that no ignoramus is capable of it,
you would be in error, because by this token that you
offer we see only that you have some knowledge, but
we shall need still other tokens to convince us that
a great deal.
Now if to discern what is
written artistically proves your mastery of the art,
then a far better proof of this mastery is to write
artistically yourself.
For though the artistic writer
will find it easy to discern what has been skilfully
written by others, the facile chooser of examples will
not necessarily write with skill himself. And even
if it is an especial mark of artistic skill, let them

you know

241

[CICERO]
ea facultate, non turn cum parere et ipsi gignere et
Postremo in eo vim artificii consumant, ut ipsi ab aliis potius eligendi quam aliorum
proferre debent.

boni selectores existimentur.

Contra ea quae ab

iis

exemplis uti oportere

separatim

dici possint

V. Dicimus

dicuntur qui dicunt alienis

Nunc quae

dictum.

satis est

consideremus.

eos cum ideo ^ quod alienis

tum magis ^ etiam delinquere quod

igitur

utantur peccare,

a multis exempla sumant. Et de eo quod postea

diximus antea videamus. Si concederem aliena
oportere adsumere exempla, vincerem unius oportere,

primum quod contra hoc

nulla staret illorum ratio,

enim eligerent et probarent quemlibet qui sibi

in omnes res suppeditaret exempla, vel poetam vel
oratorem, cuius auctoritate niterentur. Deinde
interest magni eius qui discere vult utrum omnes
licet

1 cum ideo B^Cbl^

tum ideo PH cum eod: id HPB H
Mx,
2 tum magis P^B^CUE
cum magis HPB Mx.
^ contra hoc Mx ed. mai., all MSS. but H
hoc contra
:

mMxi

hocHK

" For the

Cf, the Preface to the Rhet. ad Alex. (1421 a)
so-called Parian sophists, because they did not themselves
give birth to what they teach, have no love for it, in their
tasteless indifference, and peddle it about for money."
* After the Greek writers have had their say, and have
"
been refuted, our author takes up his own " constructive
case; see 4. i. 1.
^ The theory and practice of presenting examples from a
variety of sources were doubtless Peripatetic ; the rhetoricians
The use
criticized belong perhaps to the second century B.C.
:

242

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

iv.

7-v. 7

employ

this faculty at another time, and not when

they themselves should be conceiving, creating, and
bringing forth." In short, let them devote their
artistic power to this purpose
to win esteem as
worthy themselves to be chosen as models by others,
rather than as good choosers of others who shpuld
serve as models for them.
Against the contentions of those who maintain
that we should use borrowed examples I have said
enough. Now let us see what can be said from my

own

particular point of view.^

V. Accordingly I say that they are not only at fault
in borrowing examples, but make an even greater
mistake in borrowing examples from a great number
of sources.'^ And let us first look at my second point.
Were I granting that we should borrow examples, I
should establish that we ought to select from one
author alone.
In the first place, my opponents would
then have no ground for opposing this procedure,
'^

they might choose and approve whom they would,

poet or orator, to supply them with examples for all
cases, one on whose authority they could rely.^
Secondly, it is a matter of great concern to the
for

of one's

own examples, on

the other hand, goes back to

Wendland, Anuximenes von Lampsakos,
Berlin, 1905, pp. 31 ff.) and was characteristic of the sophists
and of the author of the Rhet. ad Alex. Xote that neither

Corax

(see

Paul

point of view can be regarded as characteristically Greek,

Their theory is set forth in 4. i. 1-ii. 3 above.
' In Cicero, De Oratore 2. 22. 90-3, Antonius discusses
the
imitation of some one good model
Quintilian, in 10. 5. 19,
urges the student to follow this " custom of our ancestors,"
but in 10. 2. 23 advises him not to devote himself entirely to
imitating one particular style.
Seneca, Contr. 1, Praef. 6,
takes a stand against the adoption of a single model, however
eminent.
**

[CICERO]
omnia, an omnia neminem,^ an aliud alium ^ putet
consequi posse. Si enim putabit posse omnia penes

unum

consistere, ipse quoque ad omnium nitetur

facultatem. Si id desperarit, in paucis se exercebit
ipsis enim contentus erit, nee mirum, cum ipse praeceptor artis omnia penes unum reperire non potuerit.
AUatis igitur exemplis a Catone, a Graccis, a Laelio,
a Scipione, Galba, Porcina, Crasso, Antonio, ceteris,
item sumptis aliis a poetis et historiarum scriptoribus,
necesse erit eum qui discet putare ab omnibus omnia,
ab uno pauca vix potuisse sumi. Quare unius alicuius esse similem satis habebit, omnia quae omnes
habuerint solum habere se posse diffidet. Ergo
inutilest ei qui discere vult non putare unum omnia
posse.
Igitur nemo in banc incideret opinionem si
ab uno exempla sumpsissent. Nunc hoc signi est
ipsos artis scriptores non putasse unum potuisse in
omnibus elocutionis partibus enitere, quoniam neque
sua protulerunt neque unius alicuius aut denique
duorum, sed ab omnibus oratoribus et poetis exempla
1 omnes omnia an
omnia neminem I
omnes omnia an
omnia a nemine P^B^C^
aliquem omnia an unum omnia
omnia unum
neminem d omnia nomina an neminem H
neminem b omnium omnia an omnia a nemine PB C IT Mz.
:

{M)

an aliud alium P^C

sed aliud alium

aliud alium

Mx brackets.
On

the eloquence of these orators see the following

M. Porcius Cato {cos. 195 B.C.)
63 S., 293 ff.; Ti. Sempronius Gracchus (tr. pi. 133 B.C.)
103-4, 296; C. Sempronius Gracchus {tr. pi. 123 B.C.) 125-6,
296; C. Laelius {cos. 140 B.C.), P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus
(Africanus Minor, cos. 147, 134 B.C.), and Ser. Sulpicius Galba
M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina {cos.
{cos. 144 B.C.) 82 ff.
137 B.C.) 95-6; M. Antonius {cos. 99 B.C.) and L. Licinius
Crassus {cos. 95 B.C.) 139 ff.
*

sections in Cicero, Bnitus

244

AU HERENNIUM,

IV.

v.

7-8

student whether he should believe that every one can

attain the sum total of qualities, or that no one can,
or that one individual can attain one quality and
another individual another quality. For if the
student believes that all qualities can exist in one
man, he himself will strive for a mastery of them
all.
But if he despairs of this achievement, he will
occupy himself in acquiring a few qualities, and with
these be content.
Nor is this surprising, since the
teacher of the art himself has been unable to find all
the qualities in one author. Thus, when examples
have been drawn from Cato, the Gracchi, LaeUus,
Scipio, Galba, Porcina, Crassus, Antonius," and the
rest, and some as well from the poets and historians,
the learner will necessarily believe that the totality
could have been taken only from them all, and that
barely a few examples could have been taken from
only one.
He will therefore be content with emulating some one author * and distrust his own single
power to possess the sum total of qualities possessed
by all the authors. Now it is disadvantageous for the
student to believe that one person cannot possess
qualities

all

and so

say, no one

would

fall

into

the rhetoricians had drawn examples

from one author alone. Actually, the fact that the
writers on rhetoric have presented neither their own
examples nor those of some single author, or even
two, but have borrowed from all the orators and
poets, is a sign that they themselves have not believed
that any one individual can be brilliant in all the
this opinion if

Who

'^

On

exemplifies only a few virtues.

the popularity of this maxim in different forms see
Otto, s.v. " omnis " 1 and 2, pp. 2545.

245

[CICERO]
Deinde, si quis velit artem demonstrare nihil prodesse ad dicendum, non male utatur

sumpserunt.

hoc adiumento, quod unus

onines artis partes conigitur iuvat eorum

rationem qui omnino non probent artem, id non
ridiculum est ipsum artis scriptorem suo iudicio
sequi

nemo

potuerit.

Quod

conprobare ?
Ergo ab uno sumenda fuisse docuimus exempla, si
semper aliunde sumerentur. VI. Nunc omnino
aliunde sumenda non fuisse sic intellegemus.
Primum omnium, quod ab artis scrip tore adfertur
exemplum id eius artificii debet esse. Ut si quis
purpuram aut aliud quippiam vendens dicat " Sume
a me, sed huius exemplum aliunde rogabo tibi quod
ostendam," sic mercem ipsi qui venditant aliunde
:

exemplum quaeritant aliquod mercis, acervos se

tritici habere, eorum exemplum pugno non

dicunt

habent quod ostendant. Si Triptolemus, cum hominibus 2 semen largiretur,^ ipse ab aliis id hominibus
mutuaretur, aut si Prometheus, cum mortalibus

ignem dividere vellet. ipse a

ambulans carbunculos corrogaret,
^
2
5

M
M

vicinis

cum

testo

ridiculus videretur,

unus CE Mx ed. tnai.

unius
Mx.
hominibus E se hominibus
a se hominibus Mx.
largiretur P^B^IIE
gigneretur
Mx.
:

* Here is reflected the quarrel, in the second century,

between philosophers and rhetoricians concerning education;
see Hans von Arnim, Leben und Werke des Dio von Prusa,
Berlin, 1898, ch. 1, Hubbell, The Rhetorica of Philodemus,
pp. 364-382, Kroll in P.-W., " Rhetorik," coll. 1080-90. For
example, the three Greek philosophers who came as ambassadors from Athens to Rome in 155 B.C. (and wielded
considerable influence there) were all opposed to rhetoric

2^

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

v.

8-vi. 9

branches of style. Moreover, should any one wisli to

show that the art of rhetoric is of no benefit for
speaking, he might well in support employ the argument that no one man has been able to master all the

branches

of rhetoric.

Is

it

rhetorician himself to approve

not

by

ridiculous

for

own judgement
those who utterly

his

what thus supports the theory of

art of rhetoric ?
have, then, shown that if examples were always
to be borrowed, the borrowing should have been from
VI. Now we shall learn from the
9 one author.
following that they should not have been borrowed

condemn the
I

at

all.

Above

all, an example which is cited by a writer on

an art should be proof of his own skill in that art.

It is as if a merchant selling purple or some other

" Buy of me, but I shall
commodity should say
borrow from some one else a sample of this to show
:

you."
for sale
say : "

So do these very people who offer merchandise

go in search of a sample of it elsewhere they
We have piles of wheat," but have not a
;

handful of grain to show as a sample.'' If Triptolemus, when dispensing seed to mankind, had himself borrowed it from other men, or if Prometheus,
wishing to distribute fire amongst mortals, had himself gone about with an urn begging a few coals of
his neighbours, he would have appeared ridiculous.
the Academic Cameades, the Peripatetic Critolaiis, and the
Stoic Diogenes the Babylonian.
" Further, [when Alexander
* C/. Plutarch, Demosth. 23
demanded the surrender of the Athenian leaders,] Demosthenes said
Just as we see merchants selling their stock
of wheat by means of a few grains which they carry about
with them in a bowl as a sample, so by giving us up, you,
"
without knowing it, give yourselves up too, all of you.'
:

'

247

[CICERO]
Isti magistri, omnium dicendi praeceptores, iion
videntur sibi ridicule facere cum id quod aliis pollicentur ab aliis quaerunt ? Si qui se fontes maximos
penitus absconditos aperuisse dicat, et haec sitiens
cum maxime loquatur neque habeat qui sitim sedet,
non rideatur? Isti cum non modo dominos se
fontium, sed se ipsos fontes esse dicant, et omnium
rigare debeant ingenia, non putant fore ridiculum si,
cum id poUiceantur, arescant ipsi siccitate ? Chares
ab Lysippo statuas facere non isto modo didicit, ut
Lysippus caput ostenderet Myronium, brachia
Praxitelis,^ pectus Polycletium, sed omnia coram
magistrum facientem videbat; ceterorum opera vel
sua sponte poterat considerare. Isti credunt eos qui
haec velint discere alia ratione doceri posse commodius.
10
VII. Praeterea ne possunt quidem ea quae sumun-

tur ab

aliis

exempla tam esse ad

1

Praxitelae

ad

P^CE

artem adcommo-

MSS. Mx.

HPB H Mx omit.

" Plato, who from that

" Cf. Longinus, De Siiblim. 13. 3
"
great Homeric spring drew to himself countless side streams
Quintilian, 10. 1. 46, and Dionysius Halic, De Composit. Verb.
24, on Homer, as source of inspiration, representing his own
conception of Ocean {II. 21. 196-7).
In the eyes of Rhodians, Chares, who produced the
Colossus in 280 B.C., would belong in this list of celebrated
Lysippus, his teacher, was a consculptors of Greece.
temporary of Alexander the Great; Myron fl. 460 B.C.;
Polycleitus fl. 450-420 B.C.
Praxiteles was born c. 390 B.C.
Rhetoricians liked to use the graphic arts for comparison in
their theory. Cf., for example, Cicero, De Inv. 2. i. 1 fF.,
Horace, Ars Poet., init. (poem
Brutus 18. 70, Orator 2. 8 fif.
and painting, as in 4. xxviii. 39 below) Quintilian, 12. 10. 1 ff.
Imit.
Dionysius Halic, Be
6 (ed. Usener-Radermacher,
:

**

248

AD

UKRI'.NNIUM,

I\'.

vi.

vii.

10

Do not these schoolmasters, teachers of public speaking to all the world, see that they are acting absurdly
when they seek to borrow the ver^- thing they offer
If any one should say that he has disto bestow?
covered the richest of deeply hidden springs, and tell
of the discovery while suffering extreme thirst and
lacking the wherewithal to slake his thirst, would he
not be a laughingstock ? When these writers declare
that they are not only the masters of the springs,
of eloquence,
but are themselves the wellsprings
and when it is their duty to water the talents of all,
do they not think it will be laughable if, whilst making
the offer to do so, they are themselves parched with
drought ? Not thus did Chares learn from Lysippus
how to make statues.'' Lysippus did not show him a
head by Myron,*' arms by Praxiteles, a chest by
Polycleitus. Rather with his own eyes would Chares
see the master fashioning all the parts the works of
the other sculptors he could if he wished study on his
own initiative. These writers believe that students
of this subject can be better taught by another
**

10

method.
VII. Furthermore, borrowed examples simply cannot be so well adapted to the rules of the art because
2 [1]. 203, and for the method contrary to that in our author's
analogy, fragm. 6a, p. 214); Theon 1, in Spengel 2. 62. 1 flF.
"set the style in reUef, as "with
Cf. also 4. xi. 16 below
Friedrich
colours "
Cousin, Ehcdes sur QuintUien, 1. 658 ff.
Blass, Die griechische Beredsamkeit in dem Zeitraum von
Alexander bis auf Augustus, BerUn, 1865, pp. 222 fF.
E.
Bertrand, De pictura et sculptura apud veteres rhetores, Paris,
Julius Brzoska, De canone decern oratorum Atticorum
1881
Lessing, Laokoon.
quaestiones, Breslau, 1883, pp. 69 flF., 81 ff.
' Cicero,
Brutes 19. 75, likens the pleasurable effect of
Naevius' Bellum Punicum to that yielded by a work of MjTon
cf. also Dionysius Halic, De Thuc. 4.
:

249

[CICERO]
data, propterea quod in dicendo leviter unus quisque
locus plerumque tangitur, ne ars appareat, in praeci-

piendo expresse conscripta ponere oportet exempla

uti in artis formam convenire possint, et post in
dicendo, ne possit ars eminere et ab omnibus videri,
facultate oratoris occultatur.
Ergo etiam ut magis
ars cognoscatur suis exemplis melius est uti.
Postremo haec quoque res nos duxit ad hanc
rationem, quod nomina rerum Graeca quae convertimus, ea remota sunt a consuetudine. Quae enim
res

apud nostros non

erant,

earum rerum nomina non

poterant esse usitata. Ergo haec asperiora primo

videantur necesse est, id quod fiet rei, non nostra
difficultate.

exemplis

Reliquum

scripturae

haec tamen aliena

si

consumetur

in

posuissemus, factum

quod commodi esset in hoc libro id nostrum

quod asperius et inusitatum id proprie
nobis adtribueretur. Ergo hanc quoque incommoditatem fugimus.
His de causis, cum artis inventionem Graecorum
probassemus, exemplorum rationem secuti non
esset ut

non

esset,

" Cf. 1. X. 17, 2. XXX. 47, and 4. xxiii. 32.

The idea is
widespread in ancient rhetoric; c/. Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 2 (1404
" Hence may be inferred the need to disguise the art we
b)
:

employ, so that we give the impression of speaking naturally,

not artificially. Naturalness is persuasive, artifice is the
contrary. People take offence at a speaker who employs
artifice, and think he has designs on them
as if he were
mixing drinks for them; " also 3. 7 (1408 b). See further
Philodemus, Rhet., ed. Sudhaus, 1. 200; Dionysius Halic,
De Lys. 8; Dionysius, Ars Rhet. 8. 16 (ed. Usener-Rader" For art
macher, 2 [1]. 322); Longinus, De Sublim. 22. 1
is perfect when it seems to be nature, and nature is effective
when she contains art hidden within her," 17. 1-2, 38. 3;
Anon. Seg. 94, in Spengel-Hammer 1 (2). 369; Hermogenes,
De Meth. Gravit. 17 (ed. Rabe, p. 433); Philostratus, Vita

250

AD IIEKENNILM,
in

speaking each single topic

1\'.

is

in

vii.

lo

general touched

so that the art may not be obvious.

In
instructing, on the other hand, one must cite examples
that are draughted expressly to conform to the pattern
lightly,

of the art.

It is

afterwards, in speaking, that the

it may not
obtrude and be apparent to all. Thus also to the end
that the art may be better understood is it preferable
to use examples of one's own creation.
Finally, I have been led to this method by another
consideration also * the remoteness from our own
usage of the technical terms I have translated from
the Greek.
For concepts non-existent among us
could not have familiar appellations. The translated
terms, therefore, must seem rather harsh at first
that will be a fault of the subject, not mine.
The
rest of my treatise will be devoted to examples.
If,
however, these which I have here set down had been
borrowed from other sources, the result would have
been that anything apt in this book would not be
mine, but whatever is a little rough or strange would
be assigned to me as my own particular contribution.
So I have escaped this disadvantage also.
On these grounds, although esteeming the Greeks
as the inventors of the art, I have not followed their

orator's skill conceals his art," so that

<^

ApoUon.

8. 6;
Longinus, in Spengel-Haminer 1 (2). 195. 4;
Cicero, De Inv. 1. xviii. 25, 1. lil 98, Brutus 37. 139, De
Oraiore 2. 37. 156, 2. 41. 177, Orator 12. 38, Part. Orat. 6. 19;
Ovid, Metam. 10. 252; Quintilian, 1. 11. 3, 2. 5. 7, 4. 1. 8-9,
4. 1. 54, 4. 1. 56-58, 4. 2. 59, 4. 2. 126-7, 9. 4. 144, 11. 2. 47.
* Posiremo
rationem form a hexameter.
' ovofjuira Te^vt/ca.
Cf. Varro in Cicero, Academ. 1. 6. 24
" Since we are treating unusual subjects you will no doubt
allow me-on occasion to use words unheard-of before, as the
Greeks themselves do, and they have now been treating these
subjects for a long time '" ; Cicero, Orator 51. 211.
.

2>1

[CICERO]
sumus. Nunc tempus
praecepta transeamus.

postulat

ut

ad elocutionis

Bipertita igitur erit nobis elocutionis praeceptio.

Primum dicemus quibus

in

generibus semper ^ omnis

deinde ostendemus

oratoria elocutio debeat esse

quas res semper habere debeat.
;

VIII. Sunt igitur tria genera, quae genera nos

omnis oratio non vitiosa

consumitur: unam gravem, alteram mediocrem,
tertiam extenuatam vocamus. Gravis est quae
constat ex verborum gravium levi et ornata constructione.
Mediocris est quae constat ex humiliore
neque tamen ex infima et pervulgatissima verborum
dignitate.
Adtenuata est quae demissa est usque ad
usitatissimam puri consuetudinem sermonis.
figuras appellamus, in quibus

semper

E Mz

ed.

mai.

eorum semper 31

ferme semper

Mx.
* The three kinds do not occur in every correct discourse,
but the kinds of correct discourse are limited to these three.
* XapaKTTJpes,
Notice the word figura. Our
TrXda^ara.
"
author's term corresponding to English " figure of speech
is ezornaiio (a^^/na), as in 4. xiii. 18 below (Cicero's term,
lumen, is used only in 4. xxiii. 32 below); figura as " figure of
speech " appears first in Quintilian.

ahpov {fjLeyaXoTT penes, Trepirrov), iieaov (fxiKTOv), laxvov (Xitov),

for other terms see W. Schmid, Rliein. Mtis. 49 (1894).
136 ff. Here is the first extant division of the styles into
three.
Cf. especially Cicero, Be Oratore 3. 45. 177, 52. 199,
55. 212, Orator 5. 20 flf., 23. 75 fif. ; Dionys. Halic, De Demosth.
1 ff., and for the doctrine as transferred to Composition
Quintilian,
(ovvOeais), De Composit. Verb., chaps. 21 ff.
To Cicero {Orator
12. 10. 58 ff.; also Varro in Gellius 6. 14.
21. 69 ff.), following a Hellenistic (and doubtless Peripatetic)
concept, each of the styles represents a function of the orator,
the plain (subtile) serving for proof (probare), the middle
(modicum) for delight (delectare), and the vigorous (vehemens)
'

and

252

AD HERENNIUM,
Now

theory of examples.

IV.

vii.

lo-viii.

ii

time to turn to the

it is

principles of Style.
I

teaching of Style into two parts.

shall divide the

First

shall state the kinds to

which oratorical style

should always confine itself," then I shall show what

qualities style should always have.
11
VIII. There are, then, three kinds of style, called
types,* to which discourse,

if faultless, confines itself:

the first we call the Grand; the second, the Middle;
the third, the Simple.*^ The Grand type consists of a
smooth and ornate arrangement of impressive words.'^
The Middle type consists of words of a lower, yet not
of the lowest and most colloquial, class of words. The
Simple type is brought down even to the most
current idiom of standard speech.

for swaying the hearers {fleeter e).

Scholars are not in agreeorigin of the fixed categories; some
assign the doctrine to Theophrastus (see A. Korte, Hermes
64 [1929]. 80, and Wilhelm KroU, Rhein.
62 [1907]. 86 ff.,
Introd. to ed. of Cicero, Orator [Berlin, 1913], p. 4, note 1, and
" Rhetorik," coll. 1074 f.), while others deny this attribution

ment on the ultimate

Mm.

(see G. L.

Hendrickson, Arner. Journ. Philol. 25 [1904]. 125-46

and Stroux, Be Theophrasli virt. die,

Leipzig, 1912, chaps. 1, 7, and 8).
On varying views of the
part plaj-ed by the Peripatetic ethical idea of the mean
(/iCCTOTTy?) in the development of the doctrine see especially
the articles bv Hendrickson and Kroll, and S. F. Bonner in
Class. Philol 33 (1938). 257-266.
Cf. the four types of style
in Demetrius, De Elocut. 36, the twofold division in Cicero,
Brutus 55. 201
and see Fritz Wehrli, " Der erhabene und der
and 26

[1905]. 249-290,

schhchte Stil in der poetisch-rhetorischen Theorie der

Antike," Phyllobolia fur Peter von der Muhll, Basel, 1946,
Quintihan, 12. 10. 66 fF., considers the hmitation to
p. 29.
three styles arbitrary.
*

Echoed below

Antithesis
(xxiii.

32),

(xv.

in connection

21),

(xiii.

19),

Paronomasia
provoking pity), and

(xv.

(xxix. 39
animation).

Surrender

Asyndeton (xxx. 41

with Epanaphora

Interrogation

22),

[CICERO]
In gravi consumetur oratio figura ^ si quae cuiusque
poterunt ornatissima verba reperiri, sive propria
sive extranea, ad ^ unam quamque rem adeommodabuntur, et si graves sententiae quae in amplifieatione
et commiseratione tractantur eligentur, et si exornationes sententiarum aut verborum quae gravitatem
habebunt, de quibus post dicemus, adhibebuntur. In
hoc genere figurae erit hoe exemplum
Nam quis est vestrum, iudices, qui satis idoneam
possit in eum poenam excogitare qui prodere hostibus
rei

patriam cogitarit ? Quod maleficium cum hoc scelere

conparari, quod huic maleficio dignum supplicium
potest inveniri ? In iis qui violassent ingenuum,
matremfamilias constuprassent, vulnerassent aliquem
aut postremo necassent, maxima supplicia maiores
consumpserunt ; huic truculentissimo ac nefario
facinori singularem poenam non reliquerunt.
Atque
in aliis maleficiis ad singulos aut ad paucos ex alieno
peccato iniuria pervenit ; huius sceleris qui sunt
adfines uno consilio universis civibus atrocissimas
calamitates
machinantur.
feros
animos
crudeles cogitationes
derelictos homines ab
humanitate
Quid agere ausi sunt, aut cogitare
possunt ? Quo pacto hostes, revulsis maiorum sepulcris, diiectis moenibus, ovantes inruerent in civitatem
quo modo deum templis spoliatis, optimatibus truci-

consumetur oratio figura B^CHb

consumetur oratio
consumetur oratio figurae genere Mx
figura
consumetur oratio Id.
2 ad Cn
other MSS. Mx omit.
^

figurae

" 4. xiii.
*

this

19

ff.

Cf. Cicero, Verr. 2. 2. 16.

man?

with his lawlessness

254

40

What punishment
?

"

" How shall one deal with

can be found commensurate
:

AD UKRENNIUM,
A

discourse will be

IV.

viii.

ir

12

composed in the Grand style if

most ornate words that
whether literal or figurative

to each idea are applied the

can be found for it,

if impressive thoughts are chosen, such as are used

in

and if we employ
Amplification and Appeal to Pity
figures of thought and figures of diction which have
The following
grandeur these I shall discuss later.
will be an example of this type of style
" Who of you, pray, men of the jury, could devise a
punishment drastic enough for him who has plotted to
betray the fatherland to our enemies ? What offence
can compare with this crime, what punishment can be
found commensurate with this offence ? ^ Upon those
who had done violence to a freeborn youth, outraged
the mother of a family, wounded,*^ or basest crime of
slain a man, our ancestors exhausted the cataall
while for this most
logue of extreme punishments
;

'^

savage and impious villainy they bequeathed no

In other wrongs, indeed, injury
specific penalty.*^
arising from another's crime extends to one individual,
but the participants in this crime
or only to a few
are plotting, with one stroke, the most horrible
catastrophes for the whole body of citizens. O such
men of savage hearts
O such cruel designs O
WTiat
such human beings bereft of human feeling
have they dared to do, what can they now be
planning? They are planning how our enemies,
after uprooting our fathers' graves, and throwing
down our walls, shall with triumphant cr}^ rush into
the city how when they have despoiled the temples
;

On

the criminal law in respect to wounding with intent

to kill, see Mommsen, p. 627.
Cf. the ninth commonplace in 2. xxx. 49 above, the comparison of crimes.
*

**

255

[CICERO]
datis, aliis abreptis in servitutem, matribusfamilias et

ingenuis sub hostilem libidinem subiectis, urbs acer-

bissimo concidat incendio conflagrata;

qui se non

putant id quod voluerint ad exitum perduxisse

nisi

sanctissimae patriae miserandum scelerati viderint

Nequeo

cinerem.

verbis consequi, indices, indigni-

tatem rei
sed neglegentius id fero, quia vos mei
non egetis. Vester enim vos animus amantissimus
;

rei

publicae

omnium
ea

facile

edocet

ut

eum

qui

fortunas

voluerit prodere praecipitem proturbetis ex

civitate,

quam

iste

hostium

spurcissimorum

dominatu nefario voluerit obruere."

This passage (see also 4. xxxvi. 48 and 4. xxxix. 51 below,

2. xxviii. 45 above) is not to be taken (with Mommsen,
p. 972, note 1) as evidence that interdiction was the legal
punishment for treason exacted of a citizen. Note " bequeathed no specific penalty " above in this example, and
see Ernst Levy, Die rom. Kapitalstrafe, Sitzungsber. Heidelberg. Akad. (philos.-hist. Klasse) 21, 5 (1930-31). 20 S.
" The example is of an amplificatio criminis, belonging to
the Conclusion of a speech. For an analysis of this passage,
see Jules Marouzeau, Bev. de Philol. 45 (1921). 155-6, and
Traite de stylistique applique au Latin, Paris, 1935, p. 181
The diction is grandiloquent, but not artificial as in the
passage below illustrating the swollen style. Note the
elegant and learned abstract in -tus [dominatu) for -tio, the
archaic genitive deum, the far-fetched hostilem libidinem (adj.
serving for genitive of noun), the artificial disjunctions {e.g.,
idoneam,
poenam), the periods, the tripartite interjections, the chiasmus in violassent ingenuum, matremfamilias
co7istuprassent, the play on words (hominem humanitate,
excogitate cogitarit), the accumulation of epithets and of
superlatives, the contrasts as in uno consilio, universis civibus,
the variety in the echoes {quo pacto, quo modo), the' peri"

and

256

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

vm.

12

gods, slaughtered the Conservatives and

all others off into slavery, and when they
have subjected matrons and freeborn youths to a
foeman's lust, the city, put to the torch, shall collapse
in the most violent of conflagrations
They do not
think, these scoundrels, that they have fulfilled their
desires to the utmost, unless they have gazed upon
the piteous ashes of our most holy fatherland.
Men
of the jury, I cannot in words do justice to the shamefulness of their act; yet that disquiets me but little,
for you have no need of me.
Indeed your own
hearts, overflo^^^ng ^^^th patriotism, readily tell you
to drive this man, who would have betrayed the
fortunes of all, headlong from this common weal th,''
which he would have buried under the impious
domination of the foulest of enemies." *

of the

dmgged

phrasis in huius scekris q\d sunt adfines, the expressive verbs

{excogitare, constnprassenf, marMinantur, conflagrafa, trucidatis),
and the poetic words (e.g., vwenibus). Figures of speech are

Paronomasia (see 4. xxi. 29 below) in excogitare

cogitarit,
Isocolon (see 4. xx. 27 below) in Qiiod malejicium
conparari, quod huic
inveniri, Apostrophe (see 4. xv. 22
below) in
humanitate. Reasoning b}'
feros animos
Question and Answer (see 4. xvi. 23 below) in Qv.ida^ere, etc.,
and Surrender (see 4. xxix. 39 below) in the last two sentences
of the passage. The passage contains no periods ending with
monos\-lIables ;
the example of the middle style IdcIow
contains a few.
It contains sixteen dichorees (- cr - -) in
the clausulae; the example of the middle style contains
eight, and that of the simple style only one. iSee Friedrich
Blass, Die Bhythmen der asianischen und romischen Kun-stprosa, Leipzig, 1905, pp. 107-9; Konrad Burdach, Schhsischbokmische Briefmu-ster au-s der Wende de-s vierzehnten Jahrhunderts (Vom Mittelalter zur Reformation 5), Berlin, 1926,
and the notes on 4. xix. 26 and 4. xxxii. 44 below.
pp. 106 flF.
Dionysius Halic, De Demosth., ch. 1, chooses Gorgias and
Thucydides as representatives of the grand style.
.

257

[CICERO]
13

IX. In mediocri figura versabitur oratio

si

ut ante dixi, aliquantum demiserimiis neque

haec,

tamen

ad infimum descenderimus, sic

" Quibuscum bellum gerimus, iudices, videtis
cum sociis qui pro nobis pugnare et imperium nostrum
nobiscum simul virtute et industria conservare soliti
sunt. Hi 1 cum se et opes suas et copiam necessario
norunt, tum vero nihilominus propter propinquitatem
et omnium rerum societatem quid omnibus rebus
populus Romanus posset scire et existimare poterant.
Hi 2 cum deliberassent nobiscum bellum gerere,
quaeso, quae res erat qua freti bellum suscipere conarentur, cum multo maximam partem sociorum in
officio manere intellegerent
cum sibi non multitudinem militum, non idoneos imperatores, non pecuniam
publicam praesto esse viderent, non denique uUam
rem quae res pertinet ad bellum administrandum ?
Si cum finitimis de finibus bellum gererent, si totum
certamen in uno proelio positum putarent, tamen
omnibus rebus instructiores et apparatiores venirent
nedum illi imperium orbis terrae, cui imperio omnes
gentes, reges, nationes partim vi, partim voluntate
consenserunt, cum aut armis aut liberalitate a populo
Romano superati essent, ad se transferre tantulis
;

Quaeret aliquis
Quid ? Frenon sua sponte conati sunt ?
Eo quidem
minus facile conarentur, quod illi quemadmodum

viribus conarentur.

'

gellani
isti

'

1
2

Hi
Hi

all

MSS.

all

3ISS. but

but

PB
I:

hii

mil:

4. viii. 11.

258

PB
li

li

Mx.

Mx.

AD HKRENNIUM,
3

IV.

ix.

13

Our

discourse will belong to the Middle type if,

above,'' we have somewhat relaxed our
style, and yet have not descended to the most
ordinary prose, as follows
Men of the jury, you see against whom we are
waging war against allies wlio have been wont to
light in our defence, and together with us to preserve
our empire by their valour and zeal. Not only must
they have known themselves, their resources, and
their manpower, but their nearness to us and their
alliance with us in all affairs enabled them no less to
learn and appraise the power of the Roman people in
every sphere. When they had resolved to fight
against us, on what, I ask you, did they rely in presuming to undertake the war, since they understood
that much the greater part of our allies remained
faithful to duty, and since they saw that they had at
hand no great supply of soldiers, no competent commanders, and no public money in short, none of the
things needful for carrying on the war ? Even if

IX.

as

have said

they were waging war with neighbours on a question

of boundaries, even if in their opinion one battle
would decide the contest, they would yet come to the
task in every way better prepared and equipped than
they are now. It is still less credible that with such
meagre forces they would attempt to usurp that
sovereignty over the whole world which all the
civilized peoples, kings, and barbarous nations have
accepted, in part compelled by force, in part of their
own will, when conquered either by the arms of
Rome or by her generosity. Some one will ask
What of the Fregellans ? Did they not make the
attempt on their own initiative ?
Yes, but these
allies would be less ready to make the attempt
*

'

259

[CICERO]
videbant. Nam rerum inperiti, qui iinius
de rebus ante gestis exempla petere non
possunt, ii per inprudentiam facillime deducuntur in
fraudem at ii qui sciunt quid aliis accident facile ex
aliorum eventis suis rationibus possunt providere.
Nulla igitur re inducti, nulla spe freti arma sustulerunt ? Quis hoc credet, tantam amentiam quemquam tenuisse ut imperium populi Romani temptare
discessent

cuiusque

rei

auderet nullis copiis fretus

necessum
esse
14

Quid aliud

est.

Ergo aliquid fuisse

quod dico potest

nisi id

"

adtenuato figurae genere, id quod ad

infimum et cotidianum sermonem demissum est, hoc
erit exempluni
X. In

"

Nam

ut forte hie in balneas - venit, coepit, postperfusus est, defricari deinde, ubi visum est ut
in alveum descenderet, ecce tibi iste de traverso
adolescens, pueri tui modo me
Heus,' inquit,
pulsarunt; satis facias oportet.' Hie, qui id aetatis
ab ignoto praeter consuetudinem appellatus esset,
erubuit.
Iste clarius eadem et alia dicere coepit.
Hie vix:
Tamen,' inquit, 'sine me considerare.'

quam

'

'

Mx discessissent Ernesti
Mx ed. mai., all A18S. but p

discessent

balneas

descissent MSS.
balineas p Mx.

By destroying Fregellae when, after a long history of

loyalty, she rebelled in 125 B.C., Rome kept her Italian confederacy intact. See 4. xv. 22 and 4. xxvii. 37 below. The
figure here is Hypophora ; see 4. xxiii. 33 below.
* For the maxim (see 4. xvii. 24 below) c/. Terence, Meant.
Tim. 221 ; Publilius Syrus 177 (ed. J. Wight Duff and A. M.
" From another's fault a wise man corrects his own,"
Duff)
60 : " In another's misfortune it is good to descry what to
avoid," and 133; Livy, 22. 39. 10; Tacitus, Annals 4. 33.
:

"

Whether the example

is

an excerpt from a speech actually

delivered, or our author's own creation,

sentiments are such as Q. Varius Hybrida

260

is uncertain.
The
might have uttered

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

ix.

13-x. 14

because they saw how the Fregellans

For inexperienced peoples, unable to find in
history a precedent for every circumstance, are
through imprudence easily led into error; whilst
those who know what has befallen others can easily
from the fortunes of these others draw profit for
Have they, then, in taking up
their own policies.''
arms, been impelled by no motive ? Have they
Who will believe that any one
relied on no hope ?
has been so mad as to dare, with no forces to depend
on, to challenge the sovereignty of the Roman people ?
They must, therefore, have had some motive, and
what else can this be but what I say ? "
X. Of the Simple type of style, which is brought
down to the most ordinary speech of every day, the
following will serve as an example
" Now our friend happened to enter the baths, and,
after washing, was beginning to be rubbed down.
Then, just as he decided to go down into the pool,
Say, young chap,'
suddenly this fellow turned up.
you must
said he, your slaveboys have just beat me
precisely
fared."

^'

'

'

make

it

good.'

The young man grew

red, for at his

age he was not used to being hailed by a stranger.

This creature started to shout the same words, and
more, in a louder voice. With difficulty the youth
replied: 'Well, but let me look into the matter.'
support of his law (90 B.C.) prosecuting those who by
malicious fraud compelled the allies to war against Rome;
confederates at Rome are referred to in the example of the
slack style, 4. xi. 16 below.
The present example belongs to
the ralionis confirmatio of an argument (see 2. xviii. 28 above),
and is not so impassioned as the example of the grand style
above. Dionysius Halic, De iJemosth., ch. 3 ff., chooses
Thrasymachus, Isocrates, and Plato as representatives of the
in

middle

style.

261

[CICERO]
Turn vero

iste

clamare voce

rubores eicere potest

ita

ista

quae perfacile

cuivis

petulans est atque acerba

ne ad solarium quidem, ut mihi videtur, sed pone

scaenam et in eiusmodi locis exercitata. Conturbatus est adolescens
nee mirum, cui etiam nunc
pedagogi lites ad oriculas versarentur inperito huiusmodi conviciorum. Ubi enim iste vidisset scurram
exhausto rubore, qui se putaret nihil habere quod de
existimatione perderet, ut omnia sine famae detri;

ment
15

facere posset?

"

Igitur genera figurarum ex ipsis exemplis intellegi

poterant.
structio

Erant enim et adtenuata verborum conet item alia in gravitate, alia posita

quaedam

in mediocritate.

Est autem cavendum ne,

dum

haec genera con-

sectemur, in finitima et propinqua vitia veniamus.

Nam

gravi figurae, quae laudanda est, propinqua est

* The Sundial, in the Forum, was a much frequented meetingplace for gossip; c/. Cicero, Pro Quinctio 18. 59. The Roman
citizen ordinarily looked dowTi upon actors as beneath his
dignity
they were usually freedmen or slaves. For the
connection between the stage and vice see, e.g., Cicero, In Cat.
;

2. 5. 9.
^

Analysing this example of the adleniiatuin genus (the

" thinness "

refers to lack of adornment and fineness of

texture), Marouzeau, Traite, pp. 181-2 and art. cit., pp. 156-7,
points to the forms of colloquial usage {pedagogi, the diminutive oriculas), idioms like de traver so, coepit with the passive,
the vulgar use of the archaism pone for 2Jost, and of the
indicative potest in a characterizing clause, the expletive use
as in conversation of the ethical dative tibi with ecce, the
frequent use of the demonstrative iste for hie or is, the

262

AD HKRRNNIUM,

IV.

x.

14-15

Right then the fellow cries out in that tone of his

that might well force blushes from any one
this is
how aggressive and harsh it is a tone certainly not
practised in the neighbourhood of the Sundial, I
would say, but backstage, and in places of that kind.**
;

The young man was embarrassed.

And no wonder,
rang with the scoldings of his tutor,
and he was not used to abusive language of this kind.
For where would he have seen a buffoon, with not a
blush left, who thought of himself as having no good
name to lose, so that he could do anything he liked
without damage to his reputation? " ^
Thus the examples themselves are enough to make
clear the types of style.
For one arrangement of
words is of the simple type, another again belongs to
the grand, and another belongs to the middle.
for his ears still

But

in striving to attain these styles,

we must

avoid

For
which is in
a style to be avoided.

falling into faulty styles closely akin to them.'^

instance, bordering on the

itself

praiseworthy, there

Grand
is

style,

accusative of quality in id aetatis, the asyndeton in satisfacias

oportet, and the type of parataxis characteristic of comedy in
ita petulans est
exercitata.
See also J. B. Hofmann,
Lot. Umgangssprache, Heidelberg, 1936, p. 207.
For heus
see ibid., sect. 17; for eicere {= ejferre), sect. 138.
For quod
de existimatione perderet see Schmalz-Hofmann, pp. 526 f.
Note also the brevity of Hie vix. The example is a factual,
not primarily emotional, narratio, which is a division of sermo
see 3. xiii. 23 above.
Dionysius Halic, De Demosth., ch. 2,
chooses Lysias as representative of the simple style.
" TTapaKLfiva
Longinus, De Suhlim.,
afxaprij^aTa.
Cf.
ch. 3, and Horace, Ars Poet. 24-8.
These deviations (napcKpdaeii) are Peripatetic in concept; excess in style is judged
in relation to the mean.
The faulty styles were known to
.

Marcus Varro

(Gellius 6.
114, 186, 236, 302.

1-i);

cf.

also Demetrius,

De

Elocut.

263

[CICERO]
ea quae fugienda; quae recte videbitur appellari si
Nam ita ut corporis bonam
habitudinem tumor imitatur saepe, item gravis
oratio saepe inperitis videtur ea quae turget et
inflata est, cum aut novis aut priscis verbis aut
duriter aliunde translatis aut gravioribus quam res
" Nam qui perpostulat aliquid dicitur, hoc modo
duellionibus venditat patriam non satis subplicii
dederit si praeceps in Neptunias depultus erit lacunas.
Poenite igitur istum qui montis belli fabricatus est,
campos sustulit pacis." In hoc genus plerique cum
declinantur et ab eo quo profecti sunt aberrarunt,
specie gravitatis falluntur nee perspicere possunt
sufflata nominabitur.

orationis
16

tumorem.

XI. Qui in mediocre genus orationis profecti sunt,

si pervenire eo non potuerunt, errantes perveniunt ad
confine genus ^ eius generis, quod appellamus disut hoc
solutum, quod est sine nervis et articulis
modo appellem fluctuans, eo quod fluctuat hue et
;

confine

* olSovv,

confinii

eTTrjpjXvov,

genus

HPB U Mx

vrrep^aXXov,

cfivaoJBeS.

confinium C.

Cf.

Longinus,

" Evil are the swellings (oy/cot), both in the

body and in diction, which are inflated and unreal, and
threaten us with the reverse of our aim " (tr. W. Rhys
Roberts) ; Horace, Ars Poet. 27.
* Thus
violating propriety (to -npiirov).
See notes on
3. XV. 26, 4. xi. 16, 4. xii. 17, and 4. xv. 22, and Introduction,
For a study of the history of this principle, see Max
p. XX.
Pohlenz, NachricMen von der Gesellsch. der Wissensch. zu
Gottingen (Philol-histor. Klasse), 1933, pp. 53-92.
' Marouzeau,
Traife, p. 181,
art. cit., pp. 157-8, and
analyses the learned affectations in spelling, forms, and
construction, all embraced by a tour de force in four lines.
Note the archaic forms subplicii, poenite, and the Lucretian
montis ; the curious depultus, representing the primitive form

De Sublim.

264

3.

AD HEKFA'NirM,

IV.

x.

15-M. 16

To

call this the Swollen ^ style will prove correct.

For just as a swelling often resembles a healthy
condition of the body, so, to those who are inexperienced, turgid and inflated language often
seems majestic when a thought is expressed either
in new or in archaic words, or in clumsy metaphors, or
in diction more impressive than the theme demands,**
" For he who by high treason betrays his
as follows
native land will not have paid a condign penalty
albeit hurtl'd into gulfs Neptunian.
So punish ye
this man, who hath builded mounts of war, destroyed

the plains of peace."

Most of those who fall into
this type, straying from the type they began with,
are misled by the appearance of grandeur and
cannot perceive the tumidity of the stvle.
16
XI. Those setting out to attain the Middle style,
if unsuccessful, stray from the course and arrive at an
adjacent type, which we call the Slack because it is
without sinews ^ and joints accordingly I may call it
the Drifting, since it drifts to and fro, and cannot
'^

<^

participle
the
the ancient deponent fabricari ;
venditare;
perduellionihus, rare example of an
abstract in the plural (the author elsewhere uses maiestas for
the difference between the two crimes see H. F. Jolowicz, Historical Introd. to the Study of Roman Lav:, 2nd ed., Cambridge,

of

the

emphatic

the highly poetic lacunas; the disjunction of

the adjective Neptunia-s for the
genitive of the noun
the learned double metaphor in montis
and campos. These passages illustrating the faulty styles
were doubtless made up by our author, with the examples of
the faultless styles in view.
^ KXeXvfjLvov, Bi.aXeXvfj.4vov.
Cf. Cicero, Orator 68. 228.
' For the analogy
cf. Fortunatianus 3. 9 (Halm, p. 126)
" What style is the reverse of the middle style ?
The lukewarm, slack, and, as I mav call it, sinewless stvle " and Horace,
Ar.3 Poet. 26-7.
1952, p. 327);

Xeptunias and lacunas;

;

265

[CICERO]
nee potest confirmate neque viriliter sese exId est eiusmodi: " Socii nostri cum belligerare nobiscum vellent profecto ratiocinati essent
etiam atque etiam quid possent ^ facere, si quidem
sua sponte facerent et non haberent hinc adiutores
multos, malos homines et audaces. Solent enim diu
cogitare omnes qui magna negotia volunt agere."
Non potest huiusmodi sermo tenere adtentum
auditorem
diffluit enim totus neque
quicquam
eonprehendens perfectis verbis amplectitur.
Qui non possunt in ilia facetissima verborum adtenuatione commode versari veniunt ad aridum et
exsangue genus orationis, quod non alienum est
exile nominari, cuiusmodi est hoc: " Nam istic in
balineis accessit ad hunc.
Postea dicit
Hie tuus
servus me pulsavit.' Postea dicit hie illi:
Considerabo.'
Post ille convicium fecit et magis magisque praesente multis clamavit." Frivolus hie quidem
iam et inliberalis est sermo non enim est adeptus id
quod habet adtenuata figura, puris et eleetis verbis
conpositam orationem.
Omne genus orationis, et grave et mediocre et adtenuatum, dignitate adficiunt exornationes, de quibus
illuc

pedire.

'

'

possent d editors

possint the other

MSS. Mx.

The phrase malos et audaces is used by Sisenna, fragm. 1 10,

Rom. Reliquiae, ed. Hermann Peter, Leipzig, 1914, 1. 291.
" Here " refers to Rome.
" Yes, a man entering upon
* C/. Sophocles, Electra 320
a great enterprise likes to pause."
"

Hist.

^ Analysing this example of the sermo inliberalis, Marouzeau, Traite, pp. 103 and 182, and art. cit., p. 157, calls
attention to the unsyncopated balineis {cf. 4. x. 14 and

266

AD HKRENNIUM,

IV.

xi.

i6

get under way witli resolution and virility. The

following is an example: "Our allies, when they
wished to wage war with us, certainly would have
deliberated again and again on what thev could do,
if they were really acting of their own accord
and did
not have many confederates from here, evil men and
bold."
For they are used to reflecting long, all who
wish to enter upon great enterprises."* Speech
of this kind cannot hold the hearer's attention, for it
is altogether loose, and does not lay
hold of a thought
and encompass it in a well-rounded period.
Those who cannot skilfully employ that elegant
simplicity of diction discussed above, arrive at a dry
and bloodless kind of style which may aptlv be called
the Meagre.-^ The following is an example: " Now
this fellow came up to this lad in the baths.
After
that he says:
Your slavebov here has beat me.'
After that the lad says to him:
I'll think about it.'
Afterwards this fellow called the lad names and
shouted louder and louder, while a lot of people were
Vhere."'^ This language, to be sure, is mean and
trifling, having missed the goal of the Simple
type,
which is speech composed of correct and well-chosen
'

'

words.

Each type of
simple,

gains

style, the grand, the

distinction

from

middle, and the

rhetorical

figures,

4. ]. 63), the reinforced istic (of. iste in the example

of the
simple style above), the violation of the concord of number
in the Old Latin expression prae-sente multis
(see SchmalzHofmann, p. 638; W. M. Lindsay, Syntax of Plautm, Oxford,
1907, p. 4), the adverbial post, the vulgar locution convicium
facere, the abuse of the demonstrative in istic, hunc, hie,
hie,
nil, ilk, the monotonous transitions, the awkward
parataxis
and short sentences, the employment thrice of post or postea,
and the direct style for the short and insignificant reply.

267

[CICERO]
post loquemur

17

quae

si rarae disponentur, distinctam

crebrae conlocabuntur, obliquam ^
reddunt orationem. Sed figuram in dicendo commutare oportet, ut gravem mediocris, mediocrem
excipiat adtenuata, deinde identidem commutentur,
ut facile satietas varietate vitetur.
XII. Quoniam quibus in generibus elocutio versari
debeat dictum est, videamus nunc quas res debeat
;

sicuti coloribus,

si

habere elocutio commoda et perfecta.

admodum

oratori

adcommodata

Quae maxime

est tres res in se

elegantiam, conpositionem, dignidebet habere

tatem.
Elegantia est quae facit ut locus unus quisque
pure et aperte dici videatur. Haec tribuitur in
Latinitatem et ^ explanationem.
:

Latinitas est quae

omni

vitio

remotum.

obliquam

et

sermonem purum
Vitia in

MSS. Mx

PB^CUE

B Mx

conservat, ab

sermone quo minus

is

oblitam Lambinus.
omit.

18 below.
Thus violating propriety; see note on 4. x. 15 above. If
oblitam be the correct reading, then " they produce an overloaded, or overdaubed, style."
Dionysius
Tractatio; see note to 2. xviii. 27 above.
Halic, De Demosth., chaps. 8 ff., thinks that Demosthenes best
blended all three types of style.
The scanty treatment of
avvdeais ovofiaTcov, dp/xovia.
Artistic Composition in 4. xii. 18 below is confined to the
avoidance of faults rather than to constructive theory.
The qualities were chiefly treated by the Peripatetics and
Stoics. The Theophrastan scheme is here modified. The four
quahties in Theophrastus' system were Purity ('EXXrjviafios),
Clarity {aa(f>-qvLa), Appropriateness (to npcTTov), and Ornamentation (KaTaaKVTj), this last embracing Correct Choice
* 4. xiii.

'^

of

Words

(eVAoyi) ovo/xarcov). Artistic

and the Figures {oxw^ra).

268

Thus

Composition

{apixovia),

for our author, elegantia

AD HRRENNIUM,

IV.

xi.

16 xii.

17

which I shall discuss later. Distributed sparingly,

these figures set the style in relief, as with colours;
if packed in close succession, they set the style awry.*
But in speaking we should vary the type of style, so
that the middle succeeds the grand and the simple the
middle, and then again interchange them, and yet
again.
Thus, by means of the variation,*^ satiety is
easily avoided.
XII. Since I have discussed the types to which
style should confine itself, let us now see what
qualities should characterize an appropriate and
finished style.
To be in fullest measure suitable to
the speaker's purpose such a style should have three
qualities
Taste,
Artistic
Composition,'^
and
:

Distinction.*^

Taste makes each and every topic seem to be expressed with purity and perspicuity. The subheads
under Taste are Correct Latinity and Clarity.
It is Correct Latinity / which keeps the language
pure, and free of any fault.
The faults in language
comprises two primary qualities of Theophrastus' scheme
Appropriateness (see note on -4. x. 15 above) is here missing;
the ornamentation residing in the choice of words is left
unconsidered (except for what he says under explanatio, and
his treatment of Metaphor among the figures
see 4. xxxiv. 45
below)
Artistic Composition is a primary quality, and is not
treated as a branch of Ornamentation
finally, Ornamentation, represented by dignitas, is Hmited to the Figures.
See
Stroux, De Theophrasti virt. die, pp. 22-3, 64-7.
Corresponds to 'EXX-qviajjios among the Greek rhetoricians.
Solecism and barbarism were studied chieflv by the Stoics.
Quintilian,
1. 5. 5 ff., 1. 5. 34 flF.
C. X. Smilev, Latinitas
Cf.
and EAAHXIIMOI, Madison, 1906; Hubbell, The Rhetorica
Philodemus,
note
Volkmann,
295,
4;
of
p.
p. 396, note 1;
Alexander Xumenii, De Schemat., in Spengel 3. 9. 25
" Barbarism involves correction of a word, solecism of the
syntax."
;

269

[CICERO]
Latinus sit duo possunt esse
soloecismus et barbarismus. Soloecismus est cum in verbis pluribus
:

consequens verbum superiori ^ non adcommodatur.

Barbarismus est cum verbis aliquid vitiose effertur.^
Haec qua ratione vitare possimus ^ in arte grammatica
dilucide dicemus.
Explanatio est quae reddit apertam et dilucidam
orationem. Ea conparatur duabus rebus, usitatis
verbis et propriis.
Usitata sunt ea quae versantur in
consuetudine cotidiana propria, quae eius rei verba
sunt aut esse possunt qua de loquemur.
Conpositio est verborum constructio quae facit
;

18

omnes partes orationis aequabiliter perpolitas. Ea

conservabitur si fugiemus crebras vocalium concursiones, quae vastam atque hiantem orationem reddunt, ut haec est: " Bacae aeneae amoenissime
inpendebant " et si vitabimus eiusdem litterae
;

"

At

superiori P^B^iJ
superius
Mx,
effertur CE
efferatur HPBYl Mx.
:

possimus

CUE

possumus

HPBMx.

this juncture in the discussion of Style rhetoricians

would refer to grammatical studies; c/. Quintilian, 8. 1. 2;

Martianus Capella, 5. 508. Whether our author ever wrote
a tract on Grammar we do not know; see notes on 3. ii. 3
and 3. xvi. 28 above. This is the earliest mention in extant
of a specific Latin ars grammatica.
The close
connection between grammatical and rhetorical studies is
characteristic of Rhodian education.

literature

"

KOLva

77-77.

^ oiKcla 7rr],

Kvpia 7717.
regular designations of things, literal as against
metaphorical, the designations " which were so to speak born
with the things themselves " (Cicero, De Oratore 3. 37. 149).
^ Hiatus,
avyKpovais ^covrjevrwv.
On this subject cf.
Dionj'sius Halic, De Composit. Verb., ch. 23, and especially
*

270

The

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

17-18

xii.

whicli can mar its Latinity are two

the Solecism
and the Barbarism. A solecism occurs if the concord between a word and one before it in a group of
words is faulty. A barbarism occurs if the verbal
:

expression

is

incorrect.

shall clearly explain in

How to avoid these faults

my tract on Grammar.**

^ renders language plain and intelligible.

achieved by two means, the use of current
terms
and of proper terms.*^ Current terms are
such as are habitually used in everyday speech.
Proper terms are such as are, or can be, the designations specially characteristic of the subject of our

Clarity

It

is

<^

discourse.*
Artistic Composition consists in an arrangement of
words which gives uniform finish to the discourse in
every part. To ensure this virtue we shall avoid
the frequent collision of vowels,/ which makes the
style harsh and gaping, as the following: " Bacae
aeneae amoenissime inpendebant." ^ We shall also

avoid the excessive recurrence of the same letter,^

Demetrius, Dt Elocut. 2. 68 flF., 5. 299, who, while warning
against a jerky style, yet points to the force, music, and
harmony of speech that hiatus can bring. Isocrates and his
followers,

and Demosthenes, avoided

Plato [in his earher dialogues] did

Philodemus, Rhef., ed.
44. 150 fF.
hiatus rather frigid, but sometimes
^ " The copper-coloured berries

Asian in

hiatus, Thucydides and

see Cicero, Orator
Sudhaus, 1. 163, thinks

not;

convenient.

hung most

invitingly "

style.

Alliteration most often Favom.QSQR to the grammarians

Homoeoprophoron to Martianus Capella (5. 514). Alliteration
(as it has been called since early modern times) played a
larger role in Latin than in Greek style
see Schmalz-Hofmann,
pp. 801-3, Marouzeau, Traite, pp. 42-7, and Eduard Wolfflin,
^*

" Zur Allitteration,"

461-4.

Melanges Boissier,

Paris,

1903,

pp.

[CICERO]
nimiam adsiduitatem,

nam

cui vitio versus hie erit exemplo

hie nihil prohibet in vitiis alienis exemplis

uti:

O Tite, tute, Tati, tibi tanta, tyranne, tulisti

et hie eiusdem poetae

quoiquam quicquam quemquam, quemque quisque

conveniat, neget;
et

si

eiusdem verbi adsiduitatem nimiam fugiemus,

eiusmodi

Nam

cuius rationis ratio non extet,

rationi ratio

et

si

non

est fidem

habere

non utemur continenter

verbis,

ei

admodum

similiter cadentibus

hoc modo

Flentes, plorantes, lacrimantes, obtestantes

transiectionem
vitabimus, nisi
et si verborum
quae erit concinna, qua de re posterius loquemur
quo in vitio est Coelius ^ adsiduus, ut haec est " In
priore libro has res ad te scriptas, Luci, misimus,
:

admodum stigg. Mx.

M88. Mx.

lac.

Caelius

" " Thyself to thyself, Titus Tatius the tyrant, thou tookest
from
those terrible troubles" (fragm. 108, tr. Warmington)
Ennius' Annals, Bk. I. See Vahlen p. 18. Cf. Charisius, ed.
Keil,
Lat.
4.
Gramm.
398.
Barwick, p. 370, and Donatus, in
;

20.
* Marx suggests that in the original play this verse might
have been preceded by something like cum debere carnufex.
"[Since the rascal] denies that anyone [owes] anything to

272

AD HRRENNIUM,
and

this

IV. mi.

blemish the follo\ving verse

iS

will illustrate

for at this juncture, in considering faults, nothing

me

forbids

O
And

to use

examples from others

Tite, tute, Tati, tibi tanta, tyranne,

tulisti.'*

of the same poet

this verse

quoiquam quicquam quemquam, quemque quisque

conveniat, neget.^

And

again, v,e shall avoid the excessive repetition of

the same word,<^ as follows

Nam

cuius rationis ratio

non extet,

non

habere

rationi ratio

est fidem

ei

admodum

<*
;

Again, we shall not use a continuous series of words

with like case endings,^ as follows
Flentes, plorantes, lacrimantes, obtestantes.^

Again, we shall avoid the dislocation of words,!^ unless

it is neatly effected
and this I shall discuss later.
Coelius persists in this fault, as the following
" In priore libro has res ad te scriptas,
illustrates

anyone, whoever sues whomever." We do not know from

which play (comedy) of Ennius the verse comes.
* Transplacement.
See 4. xiv. 20 below.
^ " For when the reasonableness of a reason is not evident,
in that reason it is not reasonable to put any faith at all."
These iambic senarii are by Marx, Proleg., p. 118, thought to
be in the style of Ennius.
* Homoeoptoton.
See 4. xx. 28 below.
^ " Bewailing, imploring, weeping, protesting." Spondaic
hexameter, assigned without certitude to Ennius; see Vahlen,
p. 16, Warmington 1, 462.
Cf. Charisius, ed. Barwick, p. 371
Diomedes, in Keil, Gramm. Lat. 1. 447. 16; and Donatus,
in

Keil
"

4.

398. 23.

Hyperbaton.

See

4. xxxii.

44 below.

273

[CICERO]
Item fugere oportet longam verborum
continuationem, quae et auditoris aures et oratoris
spiritum laedit.
His vitiis in conpositione vitatis reliquum operae
consumendum est in dignitate. XIII. Dignitas est
quae reddit ornatam orationem varietate distinguens.
Haec in verborum et in sententiarum exornationes
dividitur.
Verborum exornatio est quae ipsius sermonis insignita continetur perpolitione. Sententiarum exornatio est quae non in verbis, sed in ipsis
rebus quandam habet dignitatem.
Aeli."

*
19

5H

Repetitio est cum continenter ab uno atque eodem

verbo in rebus similibus et diversis principia sumun^

"

Transition missing.

L. Coelius Antipater, after 121 B.C., dedicated his Punic

(in seven books) to L. Aelius Stilo.
In the Preface to

War

Book

I he

necessary

promised that he would use Hyperbaton only when

(Cicero, Orator 69. 230), but he violated this

principle, as here in the Preface to Book II

"In the previous
Book, Lucius Aelius, I dedicated to you the account of these
:

Following a normal word order the sentence would

events."
read
In prior e libra, Luci Aeli, has res scriptas ad te misimiis.
Note also that beginning with the fourth word we have a
complete dactylic hexameter an example of epic influence.
KaraaKvri (sometimes Koofxos), which includes also
gravitas (/xeyoAoTrpeTreia) and suavitas (to lySu') as is made clear
in 4. Ivi. 69 below; see also Cicero, De Inv. 2. xv. 49.
Ornamentation, worked out exclusively by Figures, dominates our
author's theory of Style. The Atticists opposed this kind of
domination see Cicero, Orator 23. 78-24. 79.
^ axqii-o-Ta (see note on 4. viii. 11 above) Xe^ecos and axriy-o.Ta
The distinction, here met for the first time, is best
Siavot'a?.
discussed by Quintilian, 9. 1. 10 S. Fortunatianus, 3. 10
(Halm, pp. 126-7), divides figures of diction into the grammatical [Xt^eiDs) and the rhetorical (Adyou), probably following
:

**

274

AD m.RKNNIUM,

IV.

xii.

i8-.\iii.

19

Luci, misimus, Aeli." One should likewise avoid a

long period, which does violence both to the ear of
the listener and to the breathing of the speaker.
These vices of composition avoided, we must
devote the rest of our efforts to conferring Distinction
upon the style. XIII. To confer distinction upon
style is to render it ornate,^ embellishing it by
variety.
The divisions under Distinction are Figures
of Diction and the Figures of Thought.^ '^It is a
figure of diction if the adornment is comprised in the
fine polish of the language itself.
A figure of thought
derives a certain distinction from the idea, not from
the words.
*
*
*
19

Epanaphora ^ occurs when one and the same word

forms successive beginnings for phrases expressing
a Stoic author. The ancients regarded Gorgias of Leontini
(fifth century B.C.) as the inventor of axqiia-ra.
Our author's
treatment is the oldest extant formal one, yet represents a
period preceding that of complete systematization (that of
Quintilian and Phoebammon).
Tropes are considered at
4. xxxi. 42 below
the figures of thought begin at 4. xxxv. 47.
The ancient rhetoricians diflFer sometimes greatly, sometimes
shghtly, in their definitions of figures, which became excessively
numerous as refinements were made in distinguishing them.
The hne of demarcation between tropes and figures, and that
between figures of thought and figures of diction were often
vague. See Quintilian, Bks. 8 and 9, especially 9. 1. 1 ff
Julius Rufinianus, De Schem. Dian. 1, in Halm, pp. 59-60;
Willy Barczat, De figurarum disciplina atquc auctorihus, diss.
Gottingen, 1904; Hermann Schrader in Hermes 39 (1904).
563-603; Kroll, " Rhetorik," coll. 1108-12; Volkmann, pp.
415 ff., 456 ff.; Cousin, Etudes sur Quintilien, 1. 437-517,
;

and
*

vol. 2.
i7Tava(f)opd.

em^oXrj in Rutilius Lupus,

1.

(Halm,

p. 6), is

the same figure but also allows the use of synonyms instead of
repeating the precise word.

275

[CICERO]
tur,

hoc

modo

" Vobis istuc

adtribuendum

est, vobis

gratia est habenda, vobis ista res erit honori."

Item

Numantiam sustulit, Scipio Kartaginem

delevit, Scipio pacem peperit, Scipio civitatem servavit."
Item: " Tu in forum prodire, tu lucem conspicere, tu in horum conspectum venire conaris?
Audes verbum facere ? audes quicquam ab istis
**

Scipio

petere

audes

supplicium

quod

possis defendere

lare

quid est quod

ius

iurandum

parenti

tibi

reliquisti

manus

deprecari

Quid

est

quid est quod audeas postu-

concedi putes oportere

adtulisti

Non

non amicos prodidisti ? non

non denique in omni dede-

es?" Haec exornatio cum multum

habet tum gravitatis et acrimoniae

core volutatus
venustatis

plurimum
ornandam

videtur esse adhibenda et ad

ad exaugendam orationem.
Conversio est per quam non, ut ante, primum repetimus verbum, sed ad postremum continenter rever" Poenos populus Romanus
timur, hoc modo
iustitia vicit, armis vicit, liberalitate vicit."
Item:
" Ex quo tempore concordia de civitate sublata est,

quare

et

libertas sublata est, fides sublata est, amicitia sublata

est, res publica sublata est."
Item: " C. Laelius

homo novus

erat, ingeniosus erat, doctus erat, bonis

Cf. the epanaphora of tu in the passage from the speech

(Cicero, De Oratore 2. 55. 226) delivered by L. Licinius Crassus

" You dare

pro Planc{i)o against M. Junius Brutus c. 91 B.C.
behold the light of day ? You dare look these people in the
face ?
You dare present yourself in the forum, within the
City, in the plain view of the citizens ?
You do not tremble
:

276

AD HI:RENNIUM,

IV.

XIII.

19

"

To you must
like and diflferent ideas, as follows
go the credit for this, to you are thanks due, to you
Again: " Scipio
will this act of yours bring glory."
razed Numantia, Scipio destroyed Carthage, Scipio
brought peace, Scipio saved the state." Again:
You venture to enter the Forum ? You venture to
face the light ?
You venture to come into the sight
of these men ? Dare you say a word ? Dare you
make a request of them ? Dare you beg off punishWhat can you say in your defence ? What
ment ?
do you dare to demand ? What do you think should
be granted to you ? Have you not violated your oath ?
Have you not betrayed your friends ? Have you
not raised your hand against your father ? Have you
This figure
not, I ask, wallowed in every shame ? "
has not only much charm, but also impressiveness and
vigour in highest degree
I therefore believe that it
ought to be used for both the embellishment and the
:

'^

amplification of style.
In Antistrophe ^ we repeat, not the first word in
successive phrases, as in Epanaphora, but the last,
as follows: " It was by the justice of the Pcoman
people that the Carthaginians were conquered, by its
force of arms that they were conquered, by its
generosity that they were conquered." Again:
Since the time when from our state concord dis-

appeared, liberty disappeared, good faith disappeared, friendship disappeared, the common weal
" Gaius Laelius was a selfdisappeared." Again
made man, a talented man, a learned man, to good
:

in fear of that corpse,

you do not tremble

images [of your ancestors]

"^

avrLarpo<j>Ti.

6-7).

in fear of the

very

"

7n(f>opd in

Rutilius

Lupus

1.

8 (Halm, pp.

Cf. Disjunction, 4. xxvii. 37 below.

277

[CICERO]
ergo in civitate primus
istos ut absolvant te
rogas, ut peierent rogas, ut existimationem neglegant
rogas, ut leges populi Romani tuae libidini largiantur
viris et studiis

Item:

erat."

amicus erat

"Nam cum

rogas."
20

XIV. Conplexio est quae utramque conplectitur

exornationem, ut et conversione et repetitione ^
utamur, quam ante exposuimus, et ut repetatur idem
verbum saepius et crebro ad idem postremum rever" Qui sunt qui foedera saepe
tamur, hoc modo
ruperunt.^
Kartaginienses. Qui sunt qui crudelissime bellum gesserunt? Kartaginienses. Qui sunt
qui Italiam deformaverunt ?
Kartaginienses. Qui
sunt qui sibi postulant ^ ignosci ? Kartaginienses.
Videte ergo quam conveniat eos impetrare." Item:
*'
Quem senatus damnarit, quern populus damnarit,
quem omnium existimatio damnarit, eum vos
:

sententiis vestris absolvatis

"
?

Traductio est quae facit uti, cum idem verbum

crebrius ponatur, non modo non offendat animum,
sed etiam concinniorem orationem reddat, hoc pacto
"Qui nihil habet in vita iucundius vita, is cum
^

ut et conversione et repetitione sugg. Mx.

;
qui postulant E
qui sibi postulent 31 Mx.
lac.

" Who" A free parapiirase of Aesehines, Adv. Cles. 198 :

ever, then, on the question of the penalty asks for your vote,
is asking for the remission of your anger; but whoever in the
first speech asks for your vote, is asking for the surrender of
your oath, is asking for the surrender of the law, is asking for
the surrender of the democratic constitution."
The Greek
original hkewise illustrates Antistrophe.
* oviMTrXoK-q.
Aesehines, Adv. Ctes. 202 : " Against
C'f.

yourself you are calling him, against the laws you are calling
him, against the democratic constitution j'ou are calling

278

AD HKRRNNIUM,

IV. xin.

19x1%. 20

man and so
man." Again: " Is it
acquittal by these men that you are demanding ?
Then it is their perjury that you are demanding, it is
their neglect of their reputation that you are demandmen and good endeavour
he was the

in the state

a friendly

first

it is the surrender of the laws of the Roman

people to your caprice that you are demanding."
XIV. Interlacement * is the union of both figures,
the combined use of Antistrophe and Epanaphora,
which are explained above we repeat both the first
word and the last in a succession of phrases, as follows
"Who are they who have often broken treaties?
The Carthaginians. Who are they who have waged
war with severest cruelty ? The Carthaginians. Who
are they who have marred the face of Italy ? The
Carthaginians. Who are they who now ask for
pardon? The Carthaginians.^ See then how appropriate it is for them to gain their request."
Again:
" One whom the Senate has condemned, one whom
the Roman people has condemned, one whom
universal public opinion has condemned, would you
"
by your votes acquit such a one ?
Transplacement ^ makes it possible for the same
word to be frequently reintroduced, not only without
offence to good taste, but even so as to render the
" One who has
style more elegant, as follows
nothincr in life more desirable than life cannot culti-

ing,

him."

Cf. also the complexio

2. xviii.

28 above.

(Resume of an argument) of

Quintilian, 9. 3. 31, also cites the example, but without

The passage might have come from a

figure.
debate of the sort engaged in by Cato the Elder and Publius
Scipio Xasica
see note on 3. ii. 2 above.
naming the

ttAokt), avTifieTadeais, avyKpiais.

279

[CICERO]
Item: " Eum
homo, numquam tarn

vitam non potest colere."

virtutc

hominem

appellas, qui

fuisset

si

At

erudeliter hominis vitam petisset.

erat iiiimicus.
sibi reperiretur inimicus? "
Item: " Divitias sine divitis esse.
Tu vero virtiitem praefer divitiis ; nam si voles divitias
cum virtute conparare, vix satis idoneae tibi vide-

Ergo inimicum

21

sic ulcisci voluit,

ut ipse

buntur divitiae quae virtutis pedisequae sint."

Ex eodem genere est exornationis cum idem verbum ponitur modo in hac, modo in altera re, hoc
modo " Cu^* eam rem tam studiose curas, quae tibi
multas dabit curas? " Item: " Nam amari iucundum sit,i si curetur ne quid insit amari." Item:
" Veniam ad vos, si mihi senatus det veniam."
In his quattuor generibus exornationum quae adhuc
propositae sunt non inopia verborum fit ut ad idem
verbum redeatur saepius sed inest festivitas, quae
facilius auribus diiudicari quam verbis demonstrari
:

potest.
^ iucundum
umst Mx.

M Mx

sit

ed.

mai.

Alexander Numenii

" Cf.

century),

De

iociindum est

(first

Schemat., in Spengel

iucimd-

half of second Christian

" It is noble to live
37

3.

one but learns how one ought to live."

* This passage may belong to the controversia concerning
the murder of Sulpicius, 1. xv. 25 above. Cf. Euripides,
" You a man, most cowardly even of
Androm. 590-1
cowards ? Where have you any claim to consideration as a
tnan ? " Philemon, fragm. 119, in Kock, Com. Alt. Fragm. 2.
515 " Tell me, have you any right to speak ?
You go prattling
among men as though you were a tnant "
if

'^

avravaKXaai?.

Sta^opa in Rutilius Lupus

1.

12

Akin to Paronomasia, 4. xxi. 29 below.

p. 8).
^ Lit., " To be loved would be pleasant, if only
take care that there

280

is

no bitterness

(Halm,

we should

in that love."

Quin-

AD HKRKNNIUM,

IV. xiv.

20 21

Again: " Vou call fiiin a

vate a virtiKJus life."**
man, who, had he been a man, would never so cruelly
have sought another man's life.'' But he was his
enemy. Did he therefore wish thus to avenge himself upon his enemy, only to prove himself his own
enemy? " Again: " Leave riches to the rich man,
but as for you, to riches prefer virtue, for if you will
but compare riches with virtue, riches will in your
eyes prove scarcely worthy to be the lackeys of
virtue."

To the same type of figure belongs

when the same word is used first

21

occurs

that which
one func-

in

and then in another,<^ as follows: "Why do

you so zealously concern yourself with this matter,
which will cause you much concern ? " Again " To
be dear to you would bring me joy if only I take care
Again:
it shall not in anguish cost me dear." ^
" I would leave this place, should the Senate give me
tion,

leave." ^
In the four kinds of figures which I have thus far
set forth,/ the frequent recourse to the same word
rather there
is not dictated by verbal poverty
inheres in the repetition an elegance which the ear can
distinguish more easily than words can explain.
;

69-70, considers this a flat pun even when used in

and quotes the example as something to be avoided, not

tilian, 9. 3.
jest,

imitated.
'

C/. Lucretius 4. 1133

Lit., " I

permission."

4.4971

ff.

would come to you if the Senate should grant me

Cj. the Pompeian distich, Corp. Inscr. Lat.

Sei quid

Amor

valeat nostei, sei te

hominem

scis,

Commiseresce mei, da veniam ut veniam.

" If you have learned the power of Love, if you know that
vou are human, pity me give me leave to come."
;

f 4. xiii.

19-xiv. 21.

281

[CICERO]
XV. Contentio
conficitur,

cum ex

est

hoc pacto

"

contrariis rebus oratio

Habet adsentatio iucunda

eadem

exitus amarissimos adfert."

Item:
placabilem,
amicis
inexorabilem
praebes."
Item: " In otio tumultuaris, in tumultu
es otiosus; in re frigidissima cales, in ferventissima
friges;
tacito cum opus est, clamas;
ubi loqui
convenit, obmutescis
ades, abesse vis
abes, reverti
cupis ; in pace bellum quaeritas, in bello pacem
desideras
in contione de virtute loqueris, in proelio
prae ignavia tubae sonitum perferre non potes."
Hoc genere si distinguemus orationem, et graves et
principia,

Inimicis

te

ornati poterimus esse.

22

Exclamatio est quae

conficit significationem doloris

aut indignationis alicuius per hominis aut urbis aut

loci aut rei cuiuspiam conpellationem, hoc modo:
" Te nunc adloquor, Africane, cuius mortui quoque
nomen splendori ac decori est civitati. Tui clarissimi
nepotes suo sanguine aluerunt inimicorum crudeli-

" avTtdeat?, dvTideTov, contrapositum (Quintilian, 9. 3. 81).

In Cicero, Part. Oral. 6. 21, a feature of the agreeable {suave)
style.
See 4. xlv. 58 below, and of. contrarium, 4. xviii. 25
below.
*
Cf. the saying assigned to Critias (leading spirit of the
"He who so bears
Thirty Tyrants) in Stobaeus, 3. 14. 2
himself towards his friends that he does everything to oblige
which is a pleasure
renders
hateful
for
the
future
that
them,
for the nonce " ; also Alexis, fragm. 295, in Kock, Com. Att.
" Avoid a pleasure which brings harm in its
Fragm. 2. 402
:

wake."
" You have a hot spirit for
Cf. Sophocles, Antig. 88
" Empedocles
cold business " Horace, Ars Poet. 465
coolly leapt into burning Aetna " ; Alexander Numenii, De
" They bathe the chilled men in
Schemat., in Spengel 3. 36-7
hot springs."
*^

282

AD HKRENNIUM,
XV.

Antithesis

contraries,

'^

occurs

follows

as

\v.

I\'.

21-22

when

the styh- is i)uilt upon

" Flattery
has pleasant

beginnings, but also brings on bitterest endings."''

Again " To enemies you show yourself conciliatory,
Again: " When all is calm,
to friends inexorable."
you are confused when all is in confusion, you are
calm.
In a situation requiring all your coolness, you
are on fire
in one requiring all your ardour, you are
cool.<^
When there is need for you to be silent, you
are uproarious
when you should speak, you grow
mute. Present, you wish to be absent absent, you
are eager to return.*^ In peace, you keep demanding
war in war, you yearn for peace. In the Assembly,
in battle, you cannot for
you talk of valour
cowardice endure the trumpet's sound." Embellishing our style by means of this figure we shall be able
to give it impressiveness and distinction.
22
Apostrophe ^ is the figure which expresses grief or
indignation by means of an address to some man or
" It is you I now
city or place or object, as follows
address, Africanus, whose name even in death means
splendour and glory to the state
It is your famous
grandsons/ who by their own blood have fed the
:

Cf. with our author's last example of Antithesis ^4 n/A. Pa/.

grammarians you are a Platonist; but if
11. 305 : "

Among

asked about the doctrines of Plato, you are again a grammarian."

" At home you long for the
Cf. Horace, Serm. 2. 7. 28
country in the country, fickle man, you extol to heaven the
'^

distant city."
' aTTOGTpo4>rj, K(f>wvr]ai?.
Quintilian, 9. 2. 27, considers as
a figure only that kind of exclamatio which is simulated and
artfully composed, and in 9. 3. 97 assigns exclamatio to the
figures of thought
cf. also 9. 2. 38, 9. 3. 2-4-6, and 4. 1. 63.
^ Cornelia, daughter of the elder Scipio Africanus, was the
mother of the Gracchi.
;

*83

[CICERO]
Item: " Perfidiosae Fregellae, quam

tatem."

vestro

scelere

nuper

Italiam

mentorum

contabuistis,

ut,

inlustravit,

eius

reliquiae

maneant."

insidiatores, latrocinia,
petistis

cuius

nitor

facile

urbis

nunc vix fundaItem: " Bonorum

vitam innocentissimi cuiusque

tantamne ex iniquitate iudiciorum

vestris

calumniis adsumpsistis facultatem ? " Hac exclamatione si loco utemur, raro, et cum rei magnitudo
postulare videbitur, ad quam volemus indignationem

animum

auditoris

adducemus.

Interrogatio non omnis gravis est neque concinna,

sed haec quae, cum enumerata sunt ea quae obsunt
causae adversariorum, confirmat superiorem ora-

tionem, hoc pacto

*'
:

Cum

igitur haec omnia faceres,

utrum animos sociorum ab re
abalienabas, an non ? et utrum

diceres, administrares,

publica removebas et
aliquem exornari oportuit qui istaec prohiberet ac
"

non sineret, an non ?

XVI. Ratiocinatio est per

fieri

23

quam

ipsi

nobis

rationem poscimus quare quidque dicamus, et crebro

" CJ. the passage, often used by rhetoricians, in Aesehines,
" But Thebes, Thebes our neighbour-state,
Adv. Ctes. 133
has in one day been swept from the midst of Hellas." After
M. Fulvius Flaccus' bill granting Roman franchise to the
:

Italian

allies

failed

to

pass,

Fregellae

revolted

and was

destroyed in 125 B.C. See 4. ix. 13 and 4. xxvii. 37.

* Probably
addressed to the public informers {quadruplatores),

consideration of propriety, to Trperrov.

See note on
15 above.
Eogatio in Cicero, De Oratore 3. 53. 203,
epcoTTjixa.
Assigned by Quintilian, 9. 3. 98, to the figures of thought;
see also 9. 2. 7 on the " rhetorical question."
" By these
* C/. Demosthenes, De Corona 71, on Philip
"

4. X.
^

acts

and
284

was

was he

not, committing wrong, breaking treaty,

And was it, or was it not,
violating the terms of peace ?
he, or

AD IIERENNIUM,

1\'.

xv.

22-xvi. 23

cruelty of their enemies."

Again: "Perfidious
Fregellae, how (quickly, because of your crime, you
have wasted away " As a result, of the city whose
brilliance but yesterday irradiated Italy, scarce the
debris of the foundations now remains."
Again:
Plotters against good citizens,* villains, you have
sought the life of every decent man
Have you
assumed such power for your slanders thanks to the
perversions of justice? "
If we use Apostrophe in
its proper place, sparingly, and when the importance
of the subject seems to demand it,<^ we shall instil in
the hearer as much indignation as we desire.
Not all Interrogation'^ is impressive or elegant,
but that Interrogation is, which, when the points
against the adversaries' cause have been summed up,
reinforces the argument that has just been delivered,
as follows
"So when you were doing and saying
and managing all this, were you, or were you not,
alienating and estranging from the republic the
sentiments of our allies ? And was it, or was it not,
needful to employ some one to thwart these designs
of yours and prevent their fulfilment? " *
!

23

XVI. Through the figure, Reasoning by Question

and Answer,/ we ask ourselves the reason for every
right that some man of the Hellenes should come forth to
stop these incursions ? " This passage was a favourite of the
rhetoricians.
It may well be that our author has in mind
Q. Varius Hybrida, speaking on behalf of his law de maiestate
(90 B.C.); see 4. ix. 13 above, and note.
^ amoAoyia, i^eraafMos.
Assigned by Quintilian, 9. 3. 98,
to the figures of thought.
Cf. sibi ipsi responsio in Cicero,
De Oratore 3. 54. 207 and Quintilian, 9. 3. 90, and 4. xxiv. 34
below, with note; also aTr64)nai.^ in Julius Rufinianus 8 (Halm,

40; cf. aTToriaat? [infitiatio] in 1. xvii. 27 above). To be

distinguished from ratiocinatio, the Type of Issue (Reasoning
from Analogy), 1. xi. 19 above.
p.

285

[CICEROJ
nosmet a nobis petimus unius cuiusque propositionis
explanationem. Ea est huiusmodi " Maiores nostri
si quam unius peccati niulierem damnabant, simplici
iudicio multorum maleficiorum convictam putabant.
Quo pacto ? Quam inpudicam iudicarant, ea veneficii quoque damnata existimabatur.
Quid ita ? Quia
necesse est earn, quae suum corpus addixerit turpissimae cupiditati, timere multos. Quosistos? Virum,
parentes, ceteros ad quos videt sui dedecoris infamiam pertinere. Quid postea ? Quos tantopere
timeat, eos necesse est optet necare.^ Quare necesse
est? Quia nulla potest honesta ratio retinere earn
quam magnitudo peccati facit timidam, intemperantia audacem, natura mulieris inconsideratam.
Quid ? veneficii damnatam quid putabant ? Inpudicam quoque necessario. Quare ? Quia nulla facilius
ad id maleficium causa quam turpis amor et intem:

perans libido commovere potuit

tum

cuius mulieris

animus esset corruptus, eius corj^us castum esse non

putaverunt. Quid? in viris idemne hoc observabant? Minime. Quid ita? Quia viros ad unum
quodque maleficium singulae cupiditates impellunt,
mulieris ad omnia maleficia cupiditas una ducit."
Item " Bene maiores hoc conparaverunt, ut nemi:

nem rcgem quem

armis cepissent vita privarent.

Quia quam nobis fortuna facultatem

dedisset iniquum erat in eorum supplicium consumere

Quid

ita

quos eadem fortuna paulo ante in amplissimo statu

^

lac.

optet necare sugg.

"

The same argument

Cf. Quintilian, 5. 11.

Brakman {Mnenios. 52

[1924]. 335).

used in Seneca, Contr. 7. 3 (18). 6.

" Would not an adulteress on
39

is

poisoning be regarded as condemned by the judgement

of Marcus Cato, who said that every adulteress was the same
"
as a poisoner?
trial for

286

AD HKRKNNIUM,

IV. xvi. 23

statement we make, and seek the meaning of each

" When our
successive affirmation, as follows
ancestors condemned a woman for one crime, they
considered that by this single judgement she was con:

victed of many transgressions.

How so? Judged
unchaste, she was also deemed guilty of poisoning."
Why ? Because, having sold her body to the basest
passion, she had to live in fear of many persons. Who
are these ? Her husband, her parents, and the others
involved, as she sees, in the infamy of her dishonour.
And what then ? Those whom she fears so much she
would inevitably wish to destroy. Why inevitably ?

Because no honourable motive can restrain a woman

is terrified by the enormity of her crime, emboldened by her lawlessness, and made heedless by
the nature of her sex. Well now, what did they
think of a woman found guilty of poisoning ? That
she was necessarily also unchaste. \Miy ? Because
no motive could more easily have led her to this crime
than base love and unbridled lust. Furthermore, if a
woman's soul had been corrupted, they did not consider her body chaste.
Now then, did they observe

who

men? Not at
are driven to each
separate crime by a different passion, whereas a
woman is led into all crimes by one sole passion."^
Again: " It is a good principle which our ancestors
established, of not putting to death any king captured
by force of arms.^ Why is this so ? Because it were
unfair to use the advantage vouchsafed to us by
fortune to punish those whom the same fortune had
but recently placed in the highest station. But what
this
all.

same

principle with respect to

And why

This was true,

Jugurtha.

strictly of

Because

e.g.,

men

of Perseus

and Syphax, but not

[CICERO]
Quid quod exercitum contra duxit?
Desino meminisse. Quid ita? Quia viri fortis est
qui
qui de victoria contendant, eos hostes putare
victi sunt, eos homines iudicare, ut possit bellum
Et ille
fortitudo minuere, pacem humanitas augere.
Non profecto tarn
si vicisset, non idem fecisset ?
sapiens fuisset. Cur igitur ei parcis ? Quia talem
24 stultitiam contemnere, non imitari consuevi."
Haec
exornatio ad ^ sermonem vehementer adcommodata
conlocarat.

est,

animum

et

retinet

auditoris

adtentum cum

venustate sermonis tum rationum expectatione.

XVII. Sententia est oratio sumpta de vita quae aut
quid sit aut quid esse oporteat in vita breviter
" Difficile est primum quidque."
ostendit, hoc pacto
:

Item: " Non solet is potissimum ^ virtutes revereri

Item " Liber
qui semper secunda fortuna sit usus."
is
est existimandus qui nulli turpitudini servit."
Item ** Egens aeque est is qui non satis habet, et is
Item '' Optima vivendi
cui satis nihil potest esse."
eam iucundam consuetude
ratio est eligenda;
reddet." Huiusmodi sententiae simplices non sunt
inprobandae, propterea quod habet brevis expositio,
:

rationis nullius indiget,

si

ad

retinet

lac.

all

MSS.

CUE

magnam

delectationem.

HMx omit.
HPB Mx.

but
retineat
:

quidque. Item

Non

solet

is

potissimum svgg. Mx.

* For the sentiment r/. Cicero, De Offic. 1. 11. 35 flf.

Horace, Carm. Saec. 51 f. Virgil, Aeneid 6. 853.
^ yviofiTj.
Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 21 (1394 a-1395 b), offers the
On the virtue of brevity in
classic treatment of maxims.
maxims, see Demetrius, De Elocut. 9. Sententia is excluded
;

from the

288

figures

by Quintilian

(9. 3. 98).

AD IIKRENNIUM,

IV. \vi. 2;,-xvii. 24

of the fact that he has led an army against us

Why? Because it is characteristic

refuse to recall it.
of a brave man to regard rivals for victory as enemies,
but when thev have been vanquished to consider them
as fellow men," in order that his bravery may
avail to put an end to the war, and his humanity to
advance peace. But had that king prevailed, he
would not, would he, have done the same ? No, no
doubt he would have been less wise. Why, then, do
you spare him ? Because it is my habit to scorn, not
24 emulate, such folly."
This figure is exceedingly well
adapted to a conversational style, and both by its
stylistic grace and the anticipation of the reasons,
holds the hearer's attention.
Maxim ^ is a saying drawn from life,
XVII.
which shows concisely either what happens or ought

to

happen

difficult."

in life, for

Again:

example " Every beginning is

"Least in the habit of giving
:

reverence to the virtues is he who has always enjoyed

the favours of fortune." Again: " A free man is
that man to be judged who is a slave to no base
habit." ^
Again " As poor as the man who has not
enough is the man who cannot have enough."
Again: ** Choose the noblest way of living habit will
make it enjoyable."* Simple maxims of this sort
are not to be rejected, because, if no reason is needed,
But
the brevity of the statement has great charm.
:

<*

" All wicked men are

Cf. Cicero, Paradoxa Stoic, o. 35

therefore slaves slaves, I say "; Diogenes Laertius 7. 21;
Philo, Quod Omnis Probus Liber Sit.
''
^ A saying of Epicurus
Nothing is enough to him
who deems enough to be too little " (C. Wotke in
Siudien
Xo.
Wiener
10 [1888]. 197,
68).
' Attributed to Pythagoras (Stobaeus, 3. 1. 29, and Plutarch,
:

'

'

'

De

exilio 8,

602

'

'

'

C).'

289

[CICERO]
Sed illud quoque probandum est genus sententiae
quod confirmatur subiectione rationis, hoc pacto
" Omnes bene vivendi rationes in virtute sunt
conlocandae, propterea quod sola virtus in sua
potestate est, omnia praeterea subiecta sunt sub
"Qui fortunis
fortunae dominationem." Item:
alicuius inducti amicitiam eius secuti sunt, hi, simul

ac fortuna dilapsa est, devolant omnes. Cum enim

quae fuit consuetudinis causa, nihil
superest quare possint in amicitia teneri."
Sunt item sententiae quae dupHciter efferuntur.
Hoc modo sine ratione " Errant qui in prosperis
rebus omnes impetus fortunae se putant fugisse;
sapienter cogitant qui temporibus secundis casus
adversos reformidant." Cum ratione, hoc pacto:
25 " Qui adulescentium peccatis ignosci putant oportere
falluntur, propterea quod aetas ilia non est inpedimento bonis studiis. At ii sapienter faciunt qui
adulescentes maxime castigant, ut quibus virtutibus
omnem tueri vitam possint eas in aetate maturissima
Sententias interponi raro convelint conparare."
venit, ut rei actores, non vivendi praeceptores videamur esse. Cum ita interponentur, multum adferent
ornamenti. Et ^ necesse est animi conprobet eam
recessit ea res

Et Bornecque

lac.

Mx.

Pythagoras in Stobaeus,
Virtue is the strong and stable
God's law
thing; all else is nonsense."
Cf. also 4. xix. 27 below.
^ The experience, for example, of Timon of Athens (the
For the sentiment see Otto, s.v. " amicus,"
Misanthrope).
^

3, 1.

Cf. the Stoic principle assigned to

29

" This

is

and Caesar, Bellum Civ. 3. 104. 1.

aviv alrias or eViAdyot.
For the topic of anticipating evil, see Posidonius in
Galen, De plac. Hipp, et Plat. 4. 7 (Diels, 6th ed., 2. 13-14),

p. 22,
<^

"*

290

AD HKRKXNIUM,

IV. xvir. 24-25

also favour that kind of maxim which is

supported by an accompanying reason, as follows:
'*
AH the rules for noble living should be based on
virtue, because virtue alone is within her own control,
whereas all else is subject to the sway of fortune." "
Again " Those who have cultivated a man's friendship for his wealth one and all fly from him as soon as
his wealth has slipped away.
For when the motive
of their intercourse has disappeared, there is nothing
left which can maintain that friendship." ^
There are also maxims which are presented in
double form. Without a reason,^ as follows " They
who in prosperity think to have escaped all the onslaughts of fortune are mistaken
they who in
favourable times fear a reversal are wise in their forethought."
With a reason,*" as follows " They who
think that the sins of youth deserve indulgence are
deceived, because that time of life does not constitute
a hindrance to sound studious activities.
But they
act wisely who chastise the young with especial
severity in order to inculcate at the age most opportune for it the desire to attain those virtues by
which they can order their whole lives."/ We
should insert maxims only rarely, that we may be
looked upon as pleading the case, not preaching
morals. When so interspersed, they will add much
distinction.
P'urthermore, the hearer, when he

we must

'^

and Plutarch, Ad Apollon. 21

(112 D), together with the lines of Euripides (fragm. 964 D)

Cicero, Tusc. Disp. 3. 14. 29,

they
'

cite.

/xt'

atTta? or (ttlXoyov.

Perhaps a Stoic development of

seyitentia.
^ Cf. the Adelphoe of Terence, in which both theories of
education, in extreme form, are apphed with equally bad

results.

291

[CICERO]
tacitus auditor

cum ad causam

rem certam ex

vita et

videat adcommodari

moribus sumptam.
XVIII. Contrarium est quod ex rebus diversis
duabus alteram breviter et facile contraria ^ con" Nam qui suis rationibus inimicus
firmat, hoc pacto
fuerit semper, eum quomodo alienis rebus amicum
fore speres ? "
Item: " Nam quem in amicitia perfidiosum cognoveris, eum quare putes inimicitias cum
fide gerere posse?
Aut qui privatus intolerabili
superbia fuerit, eum commodum et cognoscentem sui
fore in potestate qui speres, et qui in sermonibus et
conventu amicorum verum dixerit numquam, eum
"
sibi in contionibus a mendacio temperaturum ?
" Quos ex collibus deiecimus, cum his in
Item
campo metuimus dimicare ? Qui cum plures erant,
:

pares nobis esse non poterant, hi, postquam pauciores

metuimus ne sint superiores ? " Hoc exornationis genus breviter et continuatis verbis perfectum
debet esse et ^ cum commodum est auditu propter
brevem et absolutam conclusionem, tum vero vehementer id quod opus est oratori conprobat contraria re, et ex eo quod dubium non est expedit illud

26 sunt,

Cf.

lighted

lac.

et

contraria s^tgg. Mx.

ut followed by a lacuna 31 x.

d edd.

Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 21

"Hearers are de(1395 b)

in expressing as a universal
:

when a speaker succeeds

truth the opinions they hold about particular cases."

* vdvfi7)fia, oxrjfJia k rod ivavTiov.
See Quintilian, 5. 10. 2
" There are some who call a conclusion from consequents an
epicheireme, v/hile you would find that a majority are of
opinion that an enthymeme is a conclusion from incomAnd that is why Cornificius calls it Reasoning by
patibles.
Contraries; " 9. 3. 99
"I shall pass by those authors who
:

292

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xvii. 2s-xwui. 26

perceives that an indisputable principle drawn from

life is being applied to a cause, must give it
his tacit approval.
X\'III. Reasoning by Contraries ^ is the figure
which, of two opposite statements, uses one so as
neatly and directly to prove the other, as follows
" Now how should you expect one who has ever been
hostile to his own interests to be friendly to
another's? "<= Again: " Now why should you think
that one \vho is, as you have learned, a faithless
practical

^*

friend, can be an honourable enemy }

Or how should
you expect a person whose arrogance has been insufferable in private life, to be agreeable and not
forget himself when in power, and one who in
ordinary conversation and among friends has never
spoken the truth, to refrain from lies before public
assemblies? " Again: " Do we fear to fight them on
the level plain when we have hurled them down from
the hills? \Mien they outnumbered us, they were
no match for us now that we outnumber them, do
we fear that they will conquer us?" This figure
ought to be brief, and completed in an unbroken
period.
Furthermore, it is not only agreeable to the
ear on account of its brief and complete rounding-off,
but by means of the contrary statement it also forcibly
proves what the speaker needs to prove and from a
statement which is not open to question it draws a
;

26

have set almost no limit to the invention of technical terms,

and have even assigned to figures what really belongs under
arguments." Cf. the topos a fortiori in Aristotle, Ehet.
23 (1397 b); contentio {avriQerov) in -4. xv. 21 above and
4. xlv. 58 below.
" One who is so base where
Cf. Isocrates, Ad Callim. 56
the interests of others are concerned what would he not
"
dare where his own are concerned?
2.

293

[CICERO]
quod

dubium,^ ut

est

dilui

non possit aut multo

difficillime possit.

XIX. Membrum orationis appellatur res breviter

absoluta sine totius sententiae demonstratione, quae
denuo alio membro orationis excipitur, hoc pacto
" Et inimico proderas."
Id est unum quod appellamus membrum; deinde hoc excipiatur oportet
Ex duobus memaltero: " Et amicum laedebas."
bris haec ^ exornatio potest constare, sed commodissima et absolutissima est quae ex tribus constat,
hoc pacto " Et inimico proderas et amicum laedebas
Item: " Nee rei publicae
et tibi non consulebas."
consuluisti nee amicis profuisti nee inimicis restitisti."
Articulus dicitur cum singula verba intervallis
" Acridistinguuntur ^ caesa oratione, hoc modo
Item:
monia, voce, vultu adversaries perterruisti."
" Inimicos invidia, iniuriis, potentia, perfidia sustu:

in dubio 3Ix.
dubium CE Mx ed. mai. dubio
soils haec
suis haec other M8S. Mx
haec d Rufinus
Lambinus.
' distinguntur d edd.
distinguentur other MSS. Mx.
1

The concept originated in comparison with the

it came into rhetoric from the art of music.
The doctrine of Colon, Comma, and Period is Peripatetic;
"

KcoXov.

human body;
c/.

Aristotle, Bhet. 3. 9 (1409 a

excludes Colon and

du Mesnil,

Comma

BegrifJ der drei

fif.).

Quintilian, 9. 3. 98,

from the list of figures. See A.

Komma,
Kunstformen der Rede
:

Kolon, Periode, nach der Lehre der Alten, in Zum zweihundertjdhrigen Juhilduni des konigl. Friedrichs-Gymnas., Frankfurt
on 0., 1894, pp. 32-121.
^ TpiKOiKov.
Note the dichorees {- yj --) consulebas, and
below, restitisti, per)terrtiisti, sustulisti, conlocavit, ob)esse
possit, contulerunt, domi)nationem (as also those in the example
of Isocolon [compar], 4. xx. 27 below). This cadence was a
Cicero, Orator 63. 215,
favourite of the Asian orators.
:

294

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

xvm.

26-xix. 26

thought which is in question, in such a way that the

inference cannot be refuted, or can be refuted only
with much the greatest difficulty.
XIX. Colon or Clause is the name given to a
sentence member, brief and complete, which does not
express the entire thought, but is in turn supplemented by another colon, as follows: " On the one
hand you were helping your enemy." That is one
so-called colon
it ought then to be supplemented
by a second: " And on the other you were hurting
your friend." This figure can consist of two cola,
but it is neatest and most complete when composed
" You were helping your
of three, as follows
enemy, you were hurting your friend, and you were
not consulting your own best interests."^ Again:
" You have not consulted the welfare of the republic,
nor have you helped your friends, nor have you
resisted your enemies."
when single words
It is called a Comma or Phrase
are set apart by pauses in staccato speech, as follows
" By your vigour, voice, looks you have terrified your
adversaries." Again: "You have destroyed your
enemies by jealousy, injuries, influence, perfidy."
**

*=

" First it is
discusses the dangers resulting from its use
recognized as rhythm, next it cloys, and then when it is seen
Longinus, De Sublim.
to be an easy device it is despised."
41, disapproves of the agitated movement dichorees give to
" For all overrhythmical writing is at once felt to
language
be affected and finical and wholly lacking in passion owing
to the monotony of its superficial polish " (tr. W. Rhys
Roberts). See notes on 4. viii. 12 and 4. xxxii. 44.
Cicero, Orator 62. 211, translates the word literally
KofifjLa.
by incisum; note ca^sa oratione in our author's definition.
" part jointed on."
articulus
Lit.,
Commata, rather
than cola, are required in the forcible style {xapaia-rjp Seivd?),
according to Demetrius, De Elocut. 5. 241.
:

<=

295

[CICERO]
Inter huius generis et illiiis superioris veheillud tardius et rarius venit,
interest
hoc crebrius et celerius pervenit. Itaque in illo
genere ex remotione brachii et contortione dexterae
gladius ad corpus adferri, in hoc autem crebro et
celeri corpus vuhiere consauciari videtur.
27
Continuatio est densa et continens ^ frequentatio
verborum cum absolutione sententiarum. Ea utemur
commodissime tripertito in sententia, in contrario,
" Ei non
In sententia hoc pacto
in conclusione.
multum potest obesse fortuna qui sibi firniius in
In
virtute quam in casu praesidiuin conlocavit."
" Nam si qui spei non multum
contrario hoc modo
conlocarit in casu, quid est quod ei magnopere casus
obesse possit ? " In conclusione hoc pacto ** Quodsi
in eos plurimum fortuna potest qui suas rationes
omnes in casum contulerunt, non sunt omnia committenda fortunae, ne magnam nimis in nos habeat
dominationem." In his tribus generibus ad continuationis vim adeo frequentatio necessaria est, ut infirma
facultas oratoris videatur nisi sententiam et contrarium et conclusionem frequentibus efferat verbis
listi."

mentiam hoc

sed alias quoque nonnumquam non alienum est,

tametsi necesse non est, eloqui res aliquas per

huiusmodi continuationes.
^ densa et continens E
densa et continens Mx.

et

densa

HPB

densa B^CU.

et

this term see

Quintilian, 9. 4. 22.

For other Latin equivalents of

* -nepiohos.

Cicero, Orator 61. 204,

De

Oratore 3. 48. 186

25 above.
24 above. Our author, unlike
other post-AristoteHan rhetoricians, does not say that the
membra,
yet this example seems to
Period is comprised of
contain four the upper limit usually allowed; see, e.g.,
See

ivdvfirjfxa.

"

For the theme

296

4. xviii.

c/. 4.

xvii.

AD IIKRENNIUM,

IV. xix. 26-27

is this difference in onset between the last

and the one preceding the former moves upon
its object more slowly and less often, the latter strikes
more quickly and fre(|uently. Accordingly in the first
figure it seems that the arm draws back and the hand
whirls about to bring the sword to the adversary's
body, while in the second his body is as it were pierced
with quick and repeated thrusts.
A Period " is a close-packed and uninterrupted
group of words embracing a complete thought. We

There
figure

27

it in three places:
in a Maxim, in a
Contrast,* and in a Conclusion.
In a Maxim as
" Fortune cannot much harm him who has
follows
built his support more firmly upon virtue than upon
chance." In a Contrast, as follows " For if a person

shall best use

has not placed much hope in chance, what great harm

can chance do him ? " In a Conclusion, as follows
But if Fortune has her greatest power over those
who have committed all their plans to chance, we
should not entrust our all with her, lest she gain too
great a domination over us."
In these three types
a compact style is so necessaiy for the force of the
period that the orator's power seems inadequate if he
fails to present the Maxim, Contrast, or Conclusion
in a press of words.
But in other cases as well it is
often proper, although not imperative, to express
certain thoughts by means of periods of this sort.
'^

Cicero, Orator 66. 222, and Demetrius, De Elocut. 1. 16, but

also Quintilian, 9. 4. 125.
On the theory of the Period see
esp. Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 9 (1409 a ff.); Demetrius, op. cit., 1.
10 fF., 5. 244, 303; Cicero, Orator 62. 211 fF.; and Josef
Zehetmeier, " Die Periodenlehre des Aristoteles," Philologu3 85
(1930). 192-208, 255-284, 414-436.
Aristotle recognized only
periods of either one or two cola, and in fact the division into
cola was not of primary importance in bis theorj'.

297

[CICERO]
appellatur quod habet in se membra
de quibus ante diximus, quae constent ex

XX. Conpar
orationis,

Hoc non denumerapari fere numero syllabarum.

tione nostra fiet nam id quidem puerile est sed
tantum adferet usus et exercitatio facultatis, ut

animi quodam sensu par membrum superiori referre

" In proelio mortem parens
possimus, hoc modo
oppetebat, domi filius nuptias conparabat; haec
omina 1 gravis casus administrabant." Item: "Alii
fortuna dedit felicitatem, huic industria virtutem
28 conparavit."
In hoc genere saepe fieri potest ut
non plane par numerus sit syllabarum et tamen esse
videatur, si una aut etiam altera syllaba est alterum
brevius, aut si, cum in altero plures sunt, in altero
longior aut longiores, plenior aut pleniores syllabae
erunt, ut longitudo aut plenitudo harum multitudinem alterius adsequatur et exaequet.
Similiter cadens exornatio appellatur cum in eadem
constructione verborum duo aut plura sunt verba
quae similiter isdem casibus efferantur, hoc modo
:

"

Hominem laudem egentem

virtutis, abundantem
Huic omnis in pecunia spes
diligentia
est, a sapientia est animus remotus;
conparat divitias, neglegentia corrumpit animum,
felicitatis

"

Item

"

Mx

omnia MSS.

Sometimes classed as a variety of irdpiaov,

laoKcoXov.
The next three figures
napLawais, parallelism in structure.
(c/. also Alliteration, 4. xii. 18 above) represent napofioLov,
Together with Antiparallelism in sound.
napoiJLOLOiOLs,
thesis (4. XV. 21 above) this and the next three figures comIsocrates exemplifies
prise the so-called Gorgianic figures.
the extensive and effective use of Isocolon.
*

"

298

4. xix. 26.

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xx. 27-28

We

call Isocolon " the figure comprised of cola

XX.
(discussed above) ^ which consist of a virtually equal
number of syllables. To effect the isocolon we shall
not count the syllables for that is surely childish
but experience and practice will bring such a facility
that by a sort of instinct we can produce again a
colon of equal length to the one before it, as follows
" The father was meeting death in battle ; the son
was planning marriage at his home. These omens
wTought grievous disasters." Again: "Another
man's prosperity is the gift of fortune, but this man's
28 good character has been won by hard work."
In
this figure it may often happen that the number of
syllables seems equal without being precisely so ^
as when one colon is shorter than the other by one or
even two syllables, or when one colon contains more
syllables, and the other contains one or more longer or
fuller-sounding syllables, so that the length or fullness of sound of these matches and counterbalances
the greater number of syllables in the other.
The figure called Homoeoptoton ^ occurs when in
the same period two or more words appear in the
same case, and with like terminations, as follows

"

Hominem laudem egentem

felicitatis

"

Again

virtutis,

abundantem

"

Huic omnis in pecunia spes

animus remotus
diligentia

est, a sapientia est

conparat divitias, neglegentia corrumpit
;

animum,

v^

u o

Note the phrase and metrical clausula, esse videatur,

favoured by Cicero. See Tacitus, Dial, de Orator. 23 (ed.
Gudeman, pp. 29 and 247 f.)
Quintilian, 10. 2. 18 and
9. 4. 73; Rufinus, in Halm, pp. 575 and (citing Probus) 583.
<^

^ ofioioTTTojTov.

Am

Cf. 4. xll.

' '
I to praise a
"
lacking in virtue ?

18 above.

man abounding

in

good

luck,

but

299

[CICERO]
tamen, cum

et

ita

vivit,

neminem prae

se ducit

hominem."
Similiter desinens est cum, tametsi casus non
insunt in verbis, tamen similes exitus sunt, hoc pacto
" Turpiter audes facere, nequiter studes dicere
vivis invidiose, delinquis studiose, loqueris odiose."
Item " Audaciter territas, humiliter placas."
Haec duo genera, quorum alterum in exituum,
alterum in casus similitudine versatur, inter se
vehementer conveniunt et ea re qui his bene utuntur
plerumque simul ea conlocant in isdem partibus
orationis.
Id hoc modo facere oportet: " Perditissima ratio est amorem petere, pudorem fugere,
Hie et ea
diligere formam, neglegere famam."
verba quae casus habent ad casus similes, et ilia quae
non habent ad similes exitus veniunt.
:

29

XXI. Adnominatio est cum ad idem verbum et

nomen acceditur commutatione vocum aut litterarum,

* "This
man
wisdom is his

acquires
soul.

riches,

And

yet,

places all his hope in money;

from
withdrawn. Through diligence he
soul

but

through negligence he corrupts his

so, he
counts no one any one

living

Cf.
before himself."
Terence, Andria 20 f.

neclegentiam

diligentiam

in

* o/iotoreAeyTov.
For a study of our author's theory of
Homoeoptoton and Homoeoteleuton see Karl Polheim, Die

Reimprosa, Berlin, 1925, pp. 161 fiF.; on the

influence of the theory, see pp. 463 ff.
Note in the Latin examples of this figure the correspondences in the endings of the verb forms as well as in those
of the adverbs.
"A most depraved principle it is to seek love and to
shun self-respect, to esteem beauty and to slight one's
lateinische
^

**

own good name."

*

300

TTTOiriKO.,

AD HERENNIUNI,
et

tamen, cum

ita

hominem." "
Homoeoteleuton

vivit,

IV.

x.x.

28-\xi. 29

neniinern prae se ducit

occurs when the word endings

are similar, although the words are indeclinable, as
follows: "You dare to act dishonourably, you
strive

to

you live hatefully, vou

speak offensively." Again:
threaten
cringingly
you

despicably

talk

you
you

zealously,

sin

^*

" Blusteringly
appease. "<^

These two figures, of which one depends on like

word endings and the other on like case endings, are

much

of a piece. And that is why those who use

well generally set them together in the same
passage of a discourse. One should effect this in the
" Perditissima ratio est
following way
amorem

very

them

pudorem fugere, diligere formam, neglegere

famam."<^ Here the declinable words ^ close with
petere,

like case endings,

and those lacking cases/ close with

like terminations.
29

XXI. Paronomasia ^ is the figure in which, by

means of a modification of sound, or change of letters,
a close resemblance to a given verb or noun is pro*

am wT a.

* TTapovoyiaaia.
Cicero, Orator 25. 84, warns the speaker
of the Attic plain style against the kind of Paronomasia which
is produced by the change of a letter;
yet cf. De Oralore
2. 63. 256 on Paranomasia in verbal witticisms.
See Eduard
" Das Wortspiel im Lateinischen," Sitzungsb.
Wolftlin,
Bayer. Akad. der Wiss. (philos.-pkilol. und hislor. Cla-sse),
1887 (2), pp. 187-208.
Our author knows four parts of speech proper name, or
noun (nomen, ovo^a;, verb {vertmm, prjyia^, common noun, or
appellative {vocabuhim, rrpooriyopia), conjunction (coniunctio,
avvdea^xos); " noun " would include " adjective," as in No. 7
below.
'

301

[CICERO]
ut ad res dissimiles similia verba adcommodentur.

aut conplexione eiusdem litterae,

sic

"

Hie qui se

magnifice iactat atque ostentat, venit ante

Romam

Et

venit."

ex

Ea

Adtenuatione

multis et variis rationibus conficitur.

contrario;

"Hie

quam
quos

homines alea vincit, eos ferro statim vincit." Pro" Hinc avium
ductione eiusdem litterae, hoc modo
dulcedo ducit ad avium." Brevitate eiusdem lit:

terae:

" Hie, tametsi videtur esse honoris cupidus,

"

tantum tamen curiam diligit quantum Curiam ?

Addendis litteris, hoc pacto " Hie sibi posset temperare, nisi amori mallet obtemperare."
Demendis
nunc litteris, sic
"Si lenones vitasset tamquam
:

leones, vitae tradidisset se."

sic

" Videte, indices,

Transferendis

litteris,

utrum homini navo an vano

Cf. the figure complexio, 4. 14. 20 above.

" That man who carries himself with a lofty bearing and
makes a display of himself was sold as a slave before coming
to Rome;" venit is a contraction of veniit, and precedes
the tenue {venit).
" Those men from whom he wins in dice he straightway
binds in chains; " tenue precedes plenius {vincit
vinciit).
^ " The sweet song of the birds draws us from here into
"

avaToXrj.

'^

Quintilian, 9. 3. 69-71, quotes this pun,

aiivari in 4. xiv. 21 above, as examples to
be avoided, not imitated, being flat even when used in jest;
he marvels that this artifice is included in the textbooks.
Virgil, Oeorg. 2. 328, puns on the same words.
Note in connection with the problem of authorship of our treatise that
the example here used for adnominatio is, according to

pathless places."

and the play upon

called an example of traductio by Cornificius;

20 above.

Quintilian,
cf. 4.

302

xiv.

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxi. 29

duced, so that similar words express dissimilar things.

This is accomplished by many different methods:
(1) by thinning or contracting " the same letter, as
" Hie qui se magnifice iactat atque ostentat,
follows
venit antequam Romam venit "
(2) and by the
" Hie quos homines alea vincit, eos ferro
reverse
statim vincit " ^ (3) by lengthening the same letter,
" Hinc avium dulcedo ducit ad avium "
as follows
" Hie, tametsi
by
shortening
the same letter
(4)
videtur esse honoris cupidus, tantum tamen curiam
diligit quantum Ciiriam ? " ^ (5) by adding letters,
as follows: " Hie sibi posset temperare, nisi amori
mallet obtemperare " / (6) and now by omitting
letters, as follows
"Si lenones vitasset tamquam
leones, vitae tradidisset se";9 (7) by transposing
" Videte, iudices, utrum homini
letters, as follows
:

'

"

Does

this

man, although he seems desirous of public

honour, yet love the Curia [the Senate-house] as much as he

loves Curia ? "
The
group of MSS. reads Curiam meretricem.
On this and the next three types of Paronomasia
c/. in Phoebammon (Spengel 3. 45 fiF.) the four principles
governing the formation of ail figures
lack, superabundance,
transposition, interchange
(evdeia,
TiAeovaa^xo?,
fxeTadeais,
evaXXayq) ; in Quintilian, 1. 5. 6 and 1. o. 38 fi"., the four ways of
committing barbarisms and solecisms, and, in 6. 3. 53, the
poor jests formed by punning in these ways; in Philo, De
aetern. mundi 22. 113, the four ways (Peripatetic doctrine) in

which corruption occurs

(dAAoicuai?)

addition {rrpoadeaLg), subtraction

(^era^eai?), and
transmutation
H. Usener, Sitzungsb. Bayer. Akad. der

transposition

{a<f)aipa.s),
;

and

Wiss. {philos.-philol.-hist. CI), 1892, pp. 628-631.

Cf. also
Cicero, Part. Oral. 6. 19, on the causes of obscurity in words
and periods.
f " This man could rule himself, if only he did not prefer
to submit to love."
" If he had avoided panders as though they were lions,
he would have devoted himself to life " the text is corrupt.
Tertullian, Apol. 50. 12, puns on the same words.
;

[CICERO]
Commutandis, hoc modo

credere malitis."

gere oportet

30

quem

" Deli-

velis diligere."

Hae sunt adnominationes quae in litterarum brevi

commutatione aut productione aut transiectione aut
aliquo huiusmodi genere versantur.
XXII. Sunt
autem aliae quae non habent tarn propinquam in
verbis similitudinem et tamen dissimiles non sunt;
" Quid
quibus de generibus unum est huiusmodi
veniam, qui sim, quem ^ insimulem, cui prosim, quae
:

postulem, brevi cognoscetis."

Nam hie est in quibus-

dam verbis quaedam similitudo non tam perfecta

quam illae superiores, sed tamen adhibenda non" Demus
numquam. Alterum genus huiusmodi
:

operam, Quirites, ne omnino patres conscripti circumscripti

putentur."

Haec adnominatio magis

accedit

ad similitudinem quam superior, sed minus quam

illae superiores,

propterea quod non solum additae,

sed uno tempore demptae quoque litterae sunt.

^

quem House

quare veniam

quem MSS. Mx.

" " See, men of the jury, whether you prefer to trust an
industrious man or a vainglorious one."
" " You ought to choose such a one as you would wish to
love."
A form of the saying attributed to Theophrastus, that
one must not first love and then judge, but first judge and then
love (ou (fjiXovvra Sei Kpiveiv dAAa Kpivavra (/(tAetv) ; see
Plutarch, De fraterno amore 8 (482 B); Rutilius Lupus 1. 6
(Halm, p. 6) Seneca, Epist. 3. 2, De Morihus 48 Cicero, De
Amic. 22. 85; PubUlius Syrus 134 (ed. J. Wight Duff and A.
M. Duff); Stobaeus, 4. 27. 14; Sidonius Apollinaris, Epist.
;

AD lIKRKNNirM.

[V. \\i. 29-\xii. 30

navo an vano credere malitis " " (8) by changiiinr

" Deligere oportet quern velis
letters, as follows
;

dilicrere."

30

These are word-plays which depend on a slight

change or lengthening or transposition of letters, and
the like. XXII. There are others also in which the
words lack so close a resemblance, and yet are not
dissimilar.
Here is an example of one kind of such
word-plays: " Quid veniam, qui sim, quern insimulem, cui prosim, quae postulem, brevi cognoscetis."
For in this example there is a sort of resemblance
among certain words, not so complete, to be sure, as
in the instances above, yet sometimes serviceable.
An example of another kind: " Demus operam,
Quirites, ne omnino patres conscripti circumscripti
putentur."'^ In this paronomasia the resemblance
^

closer than in the preceding, yet

is not so close as
because some letters are added and
some at the same time removed.
is

in those above,

" If you suspect a man, do not

you employ a man, do not suspect him."
' " Why I
come, who I am, whom I accuse, whom I am
helping, what I ask for vou will soon know,"
Cf. Plautus,
5.

11. 1.

In modern form

employ him;

Poen. 992

if

adei atque appella quid velit, quid venerit,

qui sit, quoiatis, unde sit.

"

Go up to him and ask him what he wants, why he has

who he is, of what country, and whence he comes."

come,

" Let us see to it, fellow-citizens, that the Conscript

Fathers be not thought to have been utterly duped." QuintiUan, 9. 3. 72, considers this kind of paronomasia as producing the very worst of trivial effects. Seneca, Sn-a-s. 7. 11,
reproves for bad taste a speaker who punned on scripsit and
proscripsit.
It has been conjectured (see Kroehnert, p. 31)
that Crassus may have uttered these words when speaking
on behalf of the Servilian law see note on 4. iii. 5.
'^

[CICERO]
Tertium genus
31

quod versatur

est

in

easuum com-

mutatione aut unius aut plurium nominum.

Unius

modo "Alexander Macedo summo

labore animum ad virtutem a pueritia confirmavit.
Alexandri virtutes per orbem terrae cum laude et
gloria vulgatae sunt.
Alexandrum omnes maxime
nominis, hoc

metuerunt,^ idem plurimum dilexerunt.

si

Alexandre

Oceanum Macedonum
Hie unum nomen in com-

vita data longior esset, trans

transvolassent sarisae."

mutatione easuum volutatum

Plura nomina
est.
commutatis hoc modo facient adnomina" Tiberium Graccum rem publicam admin-

casibus

tionem

strantem prohibuit indigna nex diutius in eo comsimilis occisio est oblata, quae
amantissimum subito de sinu
Saturninum fide captum malorum

Gaio Gracco

morari.

virum

rei

publicae

civitatis eripuit.

perfidia per

scelus

vita

privavit.

Tuus, o Druse,

sanguis domesticos parietes et vultum parentis aspersit.

Sulpicio, cui paulo ante

^

metuerunt d

omnia concedebant, eum

metuerant

other

MS8. Mx.

PolyptotOn (770AU7TTC0T0V).
Unlike a normal English word order, the Latin permits
the proper noun in each of its cases to be placed at the
beginning of the sentence.
Note that in the two examples the cases are Greek,
lacking the Latin ablative, and that, unlike the disposition in
the second, Roman, example, the cases in the first example
come in a definite order (the accusative preceding the dative).
Alexander's
career
was favourite material with the
"
*

'^

306

AD
31

HKKKNN'lUNr.

IV.

x.xii.

30-31

There is a third form of" ));ir(jMoiiiasia, depending on

In
a change of case in one or more proper nouns.
one noun, as follows " Alexander of Macedon with
consummate toil from boyhood trained his mind to
Alexander's virtues have been broadcast
virtue.
with fame and glory throughout the world. All men
greatly feared Alexander, yet deeply loved him.
:

Had longer life been granted Alexander, the Macedonian lances would have flown across the ocean." ^
Here a single noun has been inflected, undergoing
changes of case. Several different nouns, with
change of case, will produce a paronomasia, as
follows :<^ "An undeserved death by violence prevented Tiberius Gracchus, while guiding the republic,
from abiding longer therein. There befell Gaius
Gracchus a like fate, which of a sudden tore from the
bosom of the state a hero and staunch patriot.
Saturninus, victim of his faith in wicked men, a
treacherous crime deprived of life.
O Drusus,
your blood bespattered the walls of your home,
and your mother's face.*^ They were only now
granting to Sulpicius every concession,* yet soon
rhetoricians.
The common suasoria concerned his deliberation whether, having conquered Asia and India, he should

navigate the ocean (when he had heard the voice say

" Quousque invide f " )
cf. e.g., Seneca, Sua3. 1. 1, Contr.
7. 7. 19, Quintihan, 3. 8. 16.
Irmentraud Haug,
ixrzbunjer Jahrb. filr die Altertumswissenschaft 2 (1947). 113, argues that the reference is to the
bust of Drusus' father.
When
in 88 B.C. the quarrel between populares and
optimatts grew serious, Sulla suspended the iustitium, and
:

army. Then Sulpicius, in control, put through

measures granting the new Italian citizens a fuller share
in political power, and transferring the command in the East

fled to his

his

to Marius.

[CICERO]
brevi spatio non

modo

vivere,

sed

etiam sepeliri

prohibuerunt."
32

Haec

tria

proxima genera exornationum, quorum

alterum in similiter
adnominationibus
positum est, perraro sumenda sunt cum in veritate
dicimus, propterea quod non haec videntur reperiri
posse sine elaboratione et sumptione operae XXIII.
eiusmodi autem studia ad delectationem quam ad
veritatem videntur adcommodatiora. Quare fides et
gravitas et severitas oratoria minuitur his exornationibus frequenter conlocatis, et non modo tollitur
auctoritas dicendi, sed offenditur quoque in eiusmodi
oratione, propterea quod est in his lepos et festivitas,
non dignitas neque pulcritudo. Quare quae sunt
ampla atque pulcra diu placere possunt quae lepida
et concinna cito satietate adficiunt aurium sensum

ununi

in

similiter cadentibus,

desinentibus

verbis,

tertium

in

Quomodo igitur, si crebro his

generibus utemur, puerili videmur elocutione delectari
item, si raro interseremus has exornationes et in
causa tota varie dispergemus, commode luminibus
distinctis inlustrabimus orationem.
fastidiosissimum.

" The sentiments are those of the Marian party.

Ti.
Sempronius Gracchus was clubbed to death by Scipio Nasica
and his followers in 133 b.c. (see 4. Iv. 68 below); C. Sempronius Gracchus was killed in flight after the consul Opimius
and his band had stormed the Aventine, in 121 b.c; L.
Appuleius Saturninus was stoned and torn to pieces by a
mob in the Senate-house, in 100 b.c. M. Livius Drusus was,
according to Velleius Paterculus, 2. 14, stabbed by an assassin
on the death, in 88
in the area before his house, in 91 B.C.
Cicero,
B.C., of P. Sulpicius Rufus see note on 1, xv. 25 above.
De Harusp. Resp. 19. 41 and 20. 43, in which all the above
except Drusus are used as exempla, and Seneca, Octavia
882-9, in which the fates of the Gracchi and Drusus are
;

308

AD HERENNIUM,
they suffered

him

buried."'*

not

IV. xxii. 31-xxiii. 32

to

live,

nor

even to be

These last three figures the first based on like

case inflections, the second on like word endings, and
the third on paronomasia are to be used very
sparingly when we speak in an actual cause, because
their invention seems impossible without labour and
pains.
XXIII. Such endeavours, indeed, seem more
suitable for a speech of entertainment than for use in
an actual cause.
Hence the speaker's credibility,
impressiveness, and seriousness are lessened by
crowding these figures together. Furthermore, apart
from destroying the speaker's authority, such a style
gives offence because these figures have grace and
elegance, but not impressiveness and beauty. Thus
the grand and beautiful can give pleasure for a long
time, but the neat and graceful quickly sate the
hearing, the most fastidious of the senses.<^
If, then,
we crowd these figures together, we shall seem to be
taking delight in a childish style ^ but if we insert
them infrequently and scatter them with variations
throughout the whole discourse, we shall brighten our
**

style agreeably with striking ornaments.

joined, may have used the same source as did our author; c/.
also Seneca, Ad Marc, de Cons. 16. 3 f.
^ These
figures serve epideictic better than judicial or
deliberative oratory.
Cicero warns the speaker of the Attic
plain style against the use of these three figures (and of
Isocolon, Orator 25. 84), but allows them in epideictic
discourse {Orator 12. 38, Part. Orat. 21. 72); Quintilian,
8. 3. 12, also justifies the full use
of ornamentation in
epideictic.
'
Of. Cicero, Orator U. 150, and De Oratore 3. 25. 97 S. ; also
Longinus, De Sublim., ch. 7, and Plutarch, De recta ratione
audiendi 7 (41 E).

[CICERO]
33

cum interrogamus adversaries aut

quid ab illis aut quid contra nos dici
possit ; dein subicimus id quod oportet dici aut non
oportet, aut nobis adiumento futurum sit aut ofFuturum
" Quaero igitur unde
sit idem contrario, hoc modo
Amplum patrimonium
iste tam pecuniosus factus sit.
relictum est ? At patris bona venierunt. Hereditas
aliqua venit ?
Non potest dici, sed etiam a necessariis
omnibus exhereditatus est. Praemium aliquod ex
Subiectio est

quaerimus

ipsi

aut iudicio cepit ? Non modo id non fecit, sed

etiam insuper ipse grandi sponsione victus est.
ErgOj si his rationibus locupletatus non est, sicut
omnes videtis, aut isti domi nascitur aurum aut unde
non est licitum pecunias cepit."
XXIV. Item " Saepe, indices, animum adverti
multos aliqua ex honesta re quam ne inimici quidem
criminari possint sibi praesidium petere.
Quorum
nihil potest adversarius facere.
Nam utrum ad
patris sui ^ virtutem confugiet ?
At eum vos iurati
capite damnastis.
An ad suam vitam revertetur ?
Quam vitam aut ubi honeste tractatam? Nam hie
quidem ante oculos vestros quomodo vixerit scitis
omnes. At cognatos suos enumerabit, quibus vos
conveniat commoveri? At hi quidem nulli sunt.
lite

"

v7Tocf)opd,

sui

c?

eius other 3ISS.

dvdvTTQ(j)opd.

to the figures of thought.

Mx.

Assigned by Quintilian,

The

figure subiectio

is

9. 3.

98,

to be dis-

tinguished from the subiectio of 2. xviii. 28 and 4. xvii. 24.

* Whether by legis actio or by the formula procedure.
See
Wenger, Institutes of the Boman Law of Civil Procedure,
pp. 22 f., 123 &., 132 if.

310

AD IIKRENNIUM,
33

IV. xxiii. 33-xAiv. S3

Hypophora" occurs when we en(}uire of our adverwhat the adversaries can say

saries, or ask ourselves,

what can be said against us then

what ought or ought not to be said that
be favourable to us or, by the same token,

in their favour, or

we

subjoin

which will
be prejudicial to the opposition, as follows: " I ask,
therefore, from what source has the defendant
become so wealthy ? Has an ample patrimony been
left to him ?
But his father's goods were sold. Has
some bequest come to him ? That cannot be urged
on the contrary he has even been disinherited by all
Has he received some award from a civil
his kin.
action, whether in the older or the more recent
form of procedure ? * Not only is that not the case,
but recently he himself lost a huge sum on a wager
at law.^
Therefore, if, as you all see, he has not
gro\\Ti rich by these means, either he has a gold mine
in his home, or he has acquired monies from an illicit
;

source."
" Time and time again,
of the jury, have I observed that numerous
defendants look for support in some honourable deed
which not even their enemies can impeach.
adversary can do no such thing. Will he take refuge
in his father's virtue ?
On the contrary, you have
taken your oath and condemned him to death. Or
%\-ill he turn to his own life ?
What life, and wherein
lived honourably ?
Why, the life that this man has
lived before your eyes is known to all of you.
Or ^^^ll
he enumerate his kinsmen, by whom you should be
moved ? But he has not any. He will produce

XXIV. Another example

men

My

'

The sponsio

in

civil

suit

was an agreement by the

would pay a certain sum

litigants that the loser of the case

of money.

[CICERO]
Amicos proferet?

At nemo

est qui sibi

putet istius amicum nominari." Item:

inimicum, quem nocentem putabas, in

non turpe

"Credo
iudicium

adduxisti ? Non, nam indemnatum necasti.

Leges
quae id facere prohibent veritus ? At ne scriptas
quidem iudicasti. Cum ipse te veteris amicitiae
commonefaceret, commotus es ? At nihilominus, sed
etiam studiosius occidisti. Quid ? cum tibi pueri ad
pedes volutarentur, misericordia motus es? At
eorum patrem crudelissime sepultura quoque prohi-

Multum inest acrimoniae et gravitatis in

hac exornatione, propterea quod cum quaesitum est
quid oporteat, subicitur id non esse factum. Quare
facillime fit ut exaugeatur indignitas negotii.
Ex eodem genere, ut ad nostram quoque personam
referamus subiectionem, sic " Nam quid me facere
convenit cum a tanta Gallorum multitudine circumsederer ? Dimicarem ? At cum parva manu turn
locum quoque inimicissimum habeprodiremus
bamus. Sederem in castris ? At neque subsidium
quod expectarem habebamus, neque erat qui vitam
produceremus. Castra relinquerem? At obsidebamur. Vitam militum neglegerem ? At eos videbar ea accepisse condicione ut eos, quoad possem,
incolumis patriae et parentibus conservarem.
Hostium condicionem repudiarem ? At salus antiquior

34 buisti."

" This example bears a very close resemblance to Demosthenes, Adv. Aristogeit. 1. 76 ff.
* This passage may perhaps belong to the controversia on
the murder of Sulpicius in 1. xv. 25 above.
" which means
Cf., in Quintilian, 9. 2. 106, npoeKOeaLs,
telling what ought to have been done and then what has been
done"; also irpoiKdeoLs (divisio), 1, x. 17 above.
<=

312

AD HERFA'NIUM,

IV. xxiv. 33-34

friends ? But there is no one who does not consider

it disgraceful to be called that fellow's friend."
Again: "Your enemy, whom you consider to be
guilty, you doubtless summoned him to trial ?
No,

you slew him while he was yet unconvicted. Did

you respect the laws which forbid this act ? On the
contrary, you decided that they did not even exist in
the books. When he reminded you of your old
friendship, were you moved ?
No, you killed him
nevertheless, and with even greater eagerness.
And
then when his children grovelled at your feet, were you
moved to pity? No, in your extreme cruelty you
even prevented their father's burial." ^ There is
much vigour and impressiveness in this figure
because, after having posed the question, " What
ought to have been done ? ", we subjoin that that
was not done.<^ Thus it becomes very easy to amplify
for

34

the baseness of the act.

In another form of the same figure we refer the
" Now
hypophora to our own person j*^ as follows
what should I have done when I was surrounded
by so great a force of Gauls ? Fight ? But then our
advance would have been with a small band. Furthermore, we held a most unfavourable position. Remain
in camp ?
But we neither had reinforcements to look
Abandon the
for, nor the where\Wthal to keep alive.
camp ? But we were blocked. Sacrifice the lives of
the soldiers ? But I thought I had accepted them on
the stipulation that so far as possible I should preserve
them unharmed for their fatherland and their
parents.
Reject the enemy's terms ? But the safety
:

^ Cf.

sibi

ipsi

responsio in

Quintilian,

9.

.3.

90,

adjudged a figure of thought rather than of diction

cinaiio, 4. xvi. 23 above.

there
ratio-

[CICERO]
militum quam inpedimentorum." Eiusmodi
consequuntur identidem subiectiones ut ex omnibus
ostendi videatur nihil potius quam quod factum sit ^
faciendum fuisse.
XXV. Gradatio est in qua non ante ad consequens
verbum descenditur quam ad superius ascensum ^
" Nam quae reliqua spes manet
est, hoc modo
est

libertatis,

si

illis

et

quod

quod

libet licet, et

licet

possunt, et quod possunt audent, et quod audent

"
faciunt, et quod faciunt vobis molestum non est?

Item: " Non sensi hoc et non suasi; neque suasi et

non ipse facere statim ^ coepi neque facere coepi et
nonperfeci; neque perfeci et non probavi." Item:
;

Africano virtutem industria, virtus gloriam, gloria

aemulos conparavit." Item: " Imperium Graeciae

fuit penes Athenienses
Atheniensium potiti sunt
Spartiatae
Spartiatas superavere Thebani
Thebanos Macedones vicerunt, qui ad imperium Graeciae
brevi tempore adiunxerunt Asiam bello subactam."
;

MMx ed. Diai.

factum sit
ascensum E
consensum BPB.
1

'

facere statim

escensum

factum

Mz

statim facere

est

-.

factumst 3Ix.

conscensum

PYIBC

facere

P^CHd

E Mx.

speaking; see 1. xv. 25 above.

Also imnXoK-^, ascensus, and catena.
This
figure joins with Epanaphora, Antistrophe, Interlacement,
xiii.
Transplacement, and Antanaklasis (4.
19-xiv. 21 above)
to form a complete theory of Repetition.
" For a like word-play on libet and licet cf. Aquila Romanus
27 (Halm, pp. 30-31) under Paronomasia (see 4. xxi. 29 above);
Cicero, Pro Quinctio 30. 94; Calpurnius Flaccus 16.
Quintilian, 9. 3. 55, and others cite, and our author in this
example imitates, Demosthenes, De Corona 179
"I did not
say this and then fail to make the motion I did not make the
motion and then fail to act as an ambassador I did not act
"

Popilius

/cAi/ia^.

is

"*

AD HKKKNNIUM,

IV. axiv. 34-xAv. 34

of the soldiers has priority over that of the baggage."

result of an accumulation of this kind of hypophora is to make it seem obvious that of all the
possibilities nothing preferable to the thing done
could have been done.
XXV. Climax * is the figure in which the speaker
passes to the fo]\ov,ing word only after advancing by
" Now what
steps to the preceding one, as follows
remnant of the hope of liberty survives, if those men
may do what they please,''' if they can do what they
may, if they dare do what they cari, if they do what
they dare, and if you approve what they do ? " Again
I did not conceive
this without counselling it
I did not counsel it without myself at once undertaking
I did not undertake it without completing it
it
nor
did I complete it without winning approval of it."
" The industry of Africanus brought him
Again
excellence, his excellence glory, his glory rivals."*
" The empire of Greece belonged to the
Again
Athenians the Athenians were overpowered by the
Spartans
the Spartans were overcome by the
Thebans
the Thebans were conquered by the
Macedonians and the Macedonians in a short time
subdued Asia in war and joined her to the empire

'^

The

^*

as an

ambassador and then

fail to persuade the Thebans."

Rosalind in Shakespeare, As You Like It
" For your brother and my sister no sooner met but
5. 2
they looked; no sooner looked but they loved; no sooner
loved but they sighed
no sooner sighed but they asked one
another the reason
no sooner knew the reason but they
sought the remedy
and in these degrees have they made a
pair of stairs to marriage " St. Augustine, Confessions 7. 10
aetema Veritas et vera caritas et cava aeternitas.'; also
Lane Cooper, Sewanee Rev. 32 (1924). 32-43.
' Quintilian, 9. 3. 56, uses the same example, representing
it as from a Latin author.

Cf.

Bom.

10. 14;

3^5

[CICERO]
35

Habet in se quendam leporem superioris cuiusque

crebra repetitio verbi, quae propria est huius exornationis.

Definitio est quae rei alicuius proprias amplectitur

potestates breviter et absolute, hoc modo " Maiestas
rei publicae est in qua continetur dignitas et ampli" Iniuriae sunt quae aut
tudo civitatis." Item
pulsatione corpus aut convicio auris aut aliqua turpi:

tudine vitam cuiuspiam violant." Item: " Non est

ista diligentia, sed avaritia, ideo quod diligentia est
adcurata conservatio suorum, avaritia iniuriosa appeItem: "Non est ista fortitudo,
titio alienorum."
sed temeritas, propterea quod fortitudo est contemptio laboris et periculi cum ratione utilitatis et
conpensatione commodorum, temeritas est cum inconsiderata dolorum perpessione gladiatoria periculorum susceptio." Haec ideo commoda putatur
exornatio quod omnem rei cuiuspiam vim et potestatem ita dilucide proponit et breviter,^ ut neque
pluribus verbis oportuisse dici videatur neque brevius
potuisse dici putetur.
XXVI. Transitio vocatur quae cum ostendit breviter quid dictum sit, proponit item brevi quid con^

breviter

PBClJd

explicat breviter

bl

Mx.

Cf. Definition, the subtype of Legal Issue,

Quintilian, 9. 3. 91,
21, and 2. xii. 17 above.
"
unlike
Cornificius and Rutilius," excludes finitio from the
figures of diction.
The figure goes back to Prodicus' Correct
Use of Terms {SpdoTrjs oi-ofiaTcov) ; see Radermacher, Artium
Scriptores, pp. 67 ff".
* See note on 1. xii. 21 above.
" For iniuria in Roman law, see Mommsen,
pp. 784808;
"

opLOjjLos.

1. xi. 19, 1. xii.

P.

F.

Girard,

385-411.

316

Melanges de

droit roniain

(Paris,

1923), 2.

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxv. 34 xxvi.

y,

35 of

Greece." The constant repetition of the

preceding word, characteristic of this figure,
carries a
certain charm.

Definition
in brief and clear-cut fashion
grasps
the characteristic qualities of a thing,
as followsThe sovereign majesty of the republic is that which
comprises the dignity and grandeur of the
state."*
Again: " By an injury is meant doing violence
to
some one, to his person by assault, or to his
sensibilities by insulting language, or
to his reputation by
some scandal." c Again " That is not economy
on
your part, but greed, because economy is
careful
conservation of one's own goods, and greed is
wrongful covetousness of the goods
of others." Again:
" That act of yours is not
bravery, but recklessness,
because to be brave is to disdain toil and
peril, for a
'^

useful purpose and after weighing the

advantacres,
while to be reckless is to undertake
perils like a
gladiator, suffering pain without taking
thought."'^
Definition is accounted useful for this
reason it sets
forth the full meaning and character
of a thing
:

lucidly

and

so

briefly that to express

it

in

more words

seems superfluous, and to express it in

fewer is
considered impossible.
XXVI. Transition ^ is the name given to the figure
which briefly recalls what has been said, and
likewise
The

two examples

may also illustrate distinctio

" But this
see Quintilian, 9. 3. Q6
depends
wholly on definition, and so I doubt whether
"
it is a figure

and 9. 3. 82.
' A figure
combining the functions of the
"

last

(TrapaScaaroAT;);

'

2.

XXX. 4/ above

enumeratio of

(civa/xvT^m?, dvaKe<f>aXaioj<Jis, TraXiXXoyia)

and
propositio quid sis dicturus in Cicero

propositio (TTpoeKdems

DeOratore

3. 53.

UkB^ols] of

1.

X.

203 and Oralor 40. 137; c/. the expositii

above). CJ. in Anon. Seg. 12 (Spengel-

1/

[CICERO]
sequatur, hoc pacto: " Modo in patriam cuiusmodi
fuerit habetis
nunc in parentes qualis extiterit
" Mea in istum beneficia
considerate."
Item:
cognoscitis
nunc quomodo iste mihi gratiam rettulerit accipite."
Proficit haec aliquantum exornatio
ad duas res nam et quid dixerit commonet, et ad
reliquum conparat auditorem.
36
Correctio est quae tollit id quod dictum est, et pro
eo id quod magis idoneum videtur reponit, hoc pacto
" Quodsi iste suos hospites rogasset, immo innuisset
modo, facile hoc perfici posset." Item " Nam post;

quam isti vicerunt atque adeo victi sunt cam

quomodo victoriam appellem, quae victoribus plus
calamitatis quam boni dederit ? "
Item: " O virtucomes, invidia, quae bonos sequeris plerumque
atque adeo insectaris " Commovetur hoc genere
animus auditoris. Res enim communi verbo elata
tis

levius

tantummodo

oratoris

pronuntiatione.
aliquis,

dicta videtur

correctionem insignior
"

optimum

ab

"

Non

igitur

cum non

est

satius,

si

eiusmodi

ea post ipsius

magis idonea
esset,"

satius

praesertim

initio,

et lectissimum

demonstratura,

cum

fit

dicet

scribas, ad
"
Est

verbum devenire ?
commutatio verbi

rem

esse

ut,

id

erit

cum cam

Insertion of levius suggested by 31 x.

Insertion of insignior suggested by Mx.

Hammer 1 [2]. 354) avavicoais, a means used in the Proem

" we recall the points previously
to induce reeeptiveness

made, and mark out those we intend to discuss," and the

second type of the figure fx^ra^aais in Rutilius Lupus 2. 1
(Halm, pp. 12 f.). Quintilian, 9. 3. 98, without defining
transitio, classes it as a figure of thought; transitus in 9. 2. 61
is

rejected as a figure.

AD HKRENNIUM,

IV. xxvi. 35-36

" You
bricHy sets forth what is to follow next, thus
know how he has just been conduct! nr himself towards
his fatherland
now consider what kind of son he has
:

been

to his parents."

Again

"

My benefactions to

learn how he has

not without value for
two ends it reminds the hearer of what the speaker
has said, and also prepares him for what is to come.
Correction ^ retracts what has been said and replaces it with what seems more suitable, as follows
" But if the defendant had asked his hosts, or rather
had only hinted, this could easily have been accomplished."
Again: " After the men in question had
conquered, or rather had been conquered for how
shall I call that a conquest which has brought more
Again
disaster than benefit to the conquerors ? "
" O Mrtue's companion, Envy, who art wont to
pursue good men, yes, even to persecute them."*'
This figure makes an impression upon the hearer,
for the idea when expressed by an ordinary word
seems rather feebly stated, but after the speaker's
this

defendant you know

requited me."

This

now

fij^ure is

own amendment it is made more striking by means

" Then would
of the more appropriate expression.
it

not be preferable," some one will say, " especially

in WTiting, to resort to the best and choicest word at

the beginning? " Sometimes this is not preferable,

when, as the change of word will serve to show, the

thought is such that in rendering it by an ordinary
Cf. Demosthenes, De Corona 268, and (cited by Anon.
Seg. 12, in illustration of dvavecuai?) Aeschines, Adv. Timarch.
116.^
* Tn8i6p9 0)015, ivavopOojat.?, related to ^eravota.
" Are you preparing to
'
Cf. Horace, Serin. 2. 3. 13
appease envy by forsaking virtue ? " Insector Is the fre:

quentative form of insequor.

[CICERO]
communi verbo appellaris, levius dixisse videaris,
cum ad electius verbum accedas, insigniorem rem
Quodsi continue venisses ad

facias.

nee verbi gratia animadversa

rei

XXVII. Occultatio

37

est

cum

id

verbum, nee

esset.

dicimus nos praeterire

maxime
modo " Nam de pueritia quidem tua,
omnium intemperantiae addixisti, dicerem,

aut non scire aut nolle dicere id quod nunc

dicimus, hoc

quam
si

tu

hoc tempus idoneum putarem

relinquo.
militaris

Et

illud

nunc consulto

praetereo, quod te

tribuni

rei

Deinde quod
L. Labeoni nihil ad hanc rem

infrequentem tradiderunt.

iniuriarum satis

fecisti

Horum

pertinere puto.

de quo iudicium est."

pecunias cepisse

nihil dico

Item

non sum

in

"

revertor ad illud

Non

dico te ab sociis

eo occupatus quod

civi-

domos omnium depeculatus es; furta,

rapinas omnes tuas omitto."
Haec utilis est
exornatio si aut ad rem quam non pertineat aliis
ostendere, quod occulte admonuisse prodest, aut
longum est aut ignobile, aut planum non potest
tates, regna,

fieri,

aut facile potest reprehendi

occulte fecisse suspicionem

ut utilius

quam eiusmodi

sit

intendisse

orationem quae redarguatur.

dvTt'^paai?, praeteritio, and sometimes irapawhich Quintihan, 9. 3. 99, excludes from the figures.
Occultatio is assigned by Quintilian in 9. 3. 98 to the figures of
thought. Cf. praecisio, 4. xxx. 41 below, and Cicero's
reticentia {De Oratore 3. 53. 205, and Orator 40. 138).
* TTapdXcufjLS,

aiioTTrjoLS,

320

AD HERKN'MIM.

IV. x.wi. 30-\\vii. 37

word you seem

to have expressed it rather feebly,

hut having come to a choicer word you make the
But if you had at once
thouglit more strikino;.
arrived at this word, the grace neither of the thought
nor of the word woukl have been noticed.
occurs when we say that we
XX\'II. Paralipsis
are passing by, or do not know, or refuse to say that
which precisely now we are saying, as follows " Your
boyhood, indeed, which you dedicated to intemperance of all kinds, I would discuss, if I thought
this the right time.
But at present I advisedly leave
that aside.
This too I pass by, that the tribunes have
reported you as irregular in military service. Also
that you have given satisfaction to Lucius Labeo for
injuries done him I regard as irrelevant to the
present matter. Of these things I say nothing, but
return to the issue in this trial." ^ Again " I do not
mention that you have taken monies from our allies
I do not concern myself with your having despoiled
the cities, kingdoms, and homes of them all.
I pass
by your thieveries and robberies, all of them." This
figure is useful if employed in a matter which it is not
pertinent to call specifically to the attention of others,
because there is advantage in making only an
indirect reference to it, or because the direct reference
would be tedious or undignified, or cannot be made
clear, or can easily be refuted.
As a result, it is of
greater advantage to create a suspicion by Paralipsis
than to insist directly on a statement that is
"

refutable.

<^

* Speaker, opponent, and Labeo all are unknown.

The
date may perhaps be assigned to the time of the Marsic war,
about 90 B.C. see Friedrich Muenzer, P.-W. 12. 245.
;

<

Cf. Quintilian, 9. 2. 13.

[CICERO]
Disiunctum est cum eorum de quibus dicimus aut
utrumque aut unum quodque certo concluditur verbo,
"

sic:

Populus Romanus Numantiam delevit, Karta-

ginem

sustulit, Corinthum disiecit, Fregellas evertit.

Numantinis vires corporis auxiliatae sunt, nihil
Kartaginiensibus scientia rei militaris adiumento

Nihil

fuit, nihil Corinthiis

nihil Fregellanis

erudita calliditas praesidii

tulit,

morum et sermonis societas opitulata

Item: " Formae dignitas aut morbo deflorescit

aut vetustate extinguitur." Hie utrumque, in
superiore exemplo unam quamque rem certo verbo
est."

concludi videmus.
38

Coniunctio

cum

est

interpositione

verbi

et

superiores partes orationis conprehenduntur et in

feriores,

hoc modo

"

Formae

dignitas aut

morbo

deflorescit aut vetustate."

Adiunctio est cum verbum quo res conprehenditur

non interponimus, sed aut primum aut postremum
" Deflorescit forconlocamus. Primum, hoc pacto
mae dignitas aut morbo aut vetustate." Postremum,
" Aut morbo aut vetustate formae dignitas
sic
:

deflorescit."

Ad festivitatem disiunctio

est apposita, quare rarius

ad brevitatem
ne satietatem pariat;
Hae tres
coniunctio, quare saepius adhibenda est.
exornationes de simplici genere manant.

utemur,

8ilvyixvov.

Qiiintilian, 9. 3. 64, says that devices like

and the two following are so common that they cannot

lay claim to the art which figures involve.
* Only the first sentence of this translation preserves the
Disjunction, which cannot be rendered throughout without
violating normal English word order.
322
this

AD HKRKNNIUM,

x.wii.

I\'.

37-38

Disjunction" is used wlien each of two or more

" By the
clauses ends with a special verb, as follows
:

Roman

people Numantia was destroyed, Carthage

razed, Corinth demolished, Fregellae overthrown. Of
no aid to the Numantines was bodily strength of no
assistance to the Carthaginians was military science
of no help to the Corinthians was polished cleverness
of no avail to the Fregellans w as fellowship
with us in customs and in language."'' Again:
**
With disease physical beauty fades, with age it
dies." In this example we see both clauses, and
in the preceding each several clause ending with a
;

special verb.
38

Conj unction occurs when both the previous and the

succeeding phrases are held together by placing the
verb between them, as follows " Either with disease
physical beauty fades, or with age."
it is Adjunction ^ when the verb holding the sentence together is placed not in the middle, but at the
beginning or the end. At the beginning, as follows
" Fades physical beauty with disease or age."
At the
end, as follows " Either with disease or age physical
^^

beauty fades."
Disjunction is suited to elegant display, and so we
it moderately, that it may not cloy
Conjunction is suited to brevity, and hence is to be used
more frequently. These three figures spring from a
shall use

single type.
" For beauty is spent
*
Cf. Isocrates, Ad Dcrnonkum 6
by time or wasted by disease." The saying was popular
among Greek Patristic writers; see Engelbert Brerup,
Isocratis Opera Omnia, Leipzig, 1906, 1. 95.
:

^ Gvv^vyfXvov.
To be distinguished, of course,
coniuncfio (auvSea^o?), the part of speech (4. xxx. 41).
'

f.TTil,VyyiVOV.

from

[CICERO]
XXVIII. Conduplicatio
tionis aut commiserationis

verborum

hoc

iteratio,

est

cum

ratione amplifica-

eiusdem unius aut plurium

" Tumultus, Gai
modo
:

Gracce, tumultus domesticos et intestinos conparas

"
!

"

Item
Commotus non es, cum tibi pedes mater
" Nunc
amplexaretur, non es commotus ? " Item
audes etiam venire in horum conspectum, proditor
patriae ?
Proditor, inquam, patriae, venire audes in
horum conspectum? " Vehementer auditorem commovet eiusdem redintegratio verbi et vulnus maius
efficit in contrario causae, quasi aliquod telum saepius
perveniat in eandem corporis partem.^
Interpretatio est quae non iterans idem redintegrat
verbum, sed id commutat quod positum est alio
verbo quod idem valeat, hoc modo " Rem publicam
:

radicitus evertisti, civitatem funditus deiecisti." ^

Item: " Patrem nefarie verberasti, parenti manus

scelerate

Necessum

attulisti."

animum commoveri cum

est

gravitas

eius
prioris

qui

audit

dicti

re-

novatur interpretatione verborum.

39

Commutatio
discrepantes
priore

modo

est

ex

corporis

partem

deiecisti

MSS.

edas

"

sententiae
ita

inter

efferuntur

se

ut a

posterior contraria priori proficiscatur, hoc

" Esse oportet ut vivas, non vivere ut edas." ^

first

cum duae

transiectione

//

Mx ed. mai., all

dvaSlnXwais.

example

cf.

partem corporis

Mx ed.

other

mai.
diiecisti 3Ix.
edis
3ISS. but

MSS. Mx.

Mx.

In Quintilian, 9. 3. 28, adiectio. For the

Demosthenes, De Corona 143, a favourite

" War it is that you are bringpassage with the rhetoricians

ing into Attica, Aeschines, an Amphictyonic war."
:

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxviii. 38-39

XXVIII. Reduplication " is the repetition of one or

more words for the purpose of Amplification or Appeal
to Pity, as follows:
"You are promoting riots,
Gaius Gracchus, yes, civil and internal riots."
Again: "You were not moved when his mother
embraced your knees ? You Mere not moved ? " *
Again " You now even dare to come into the sight
:

of these citizens, traitor to the fatherland ? Traitor, I

say, to the fatherland, you dare come into the sight
of these citizens?" The reiteration of the same
word makes a deep impression upon the hearer and
inflicts a major wound upon the opposition
as if a
weapon should repeatedly pierce the same part of the
body.
Synonymy or Interpretation is the figure which
does not duplicate the same word by repeating it,
but replaces the word that has been used by another
" You have overof the same meaning, as follows
turned the republic from its roots
you have
demolished the state from its foundations." Again
" You have impiously beaten your father; you have
criminally laid hands upon your parent." The
hearer cannot but be impressed when the force of the
first
expression is renewed by the explanatory

<^

synonym.
39

Reciprocal Change
occurs when two discrepant
thoughts are so expressed by transposition that the
latter follows from the former although contradictory
" You must eat to live, not Hve to
to it, as follows
<^

'

* This passage may perhaps belong to the controversia on

the murder of Sulpicius in 1. xv. 25 above.
^ avvojvvfiia.
Quintilian, 9. 3. 98, denies that this is a

figure.
**

dvTi/xcTa^oAif.

[CICERO]
Item

"

Ea

re

poemata non

facio,

quia cuiusmodi

volo non possum, cuiusmodi possum nolo."

Item:
" Quae de illo dici possunt non dicuntur, quae dicuntur dici non possunt."
Item: " Poema loquens
Item:
pictura, pictura tacitum poema debet esse."
" Si stultus es, ea re taceas
non tamen si taceas, ea
re stultus es."
Non potest dici quin commode fiat
cum contrariae sententiae relatione verba quoque
convertantur. Plura subiecimus exempla, ut, quoniam difficile est hoc genus exornationis inventu,
dilucidum esset, ut, cum bene esset intellectum,
facilius in dicendo inveniretur.
;

XXIX. Permissio est cum ostendemus in dicendo

nos aliquam rem totam tradere et concedere alicuius
" Quoniam omnibus rebus ereptis
voluntati, sic:
solum mihi superest animus et corpus, haec ipsa, quae
mihi de multis sola relicta sunt, vobis et vestrae
condono potestati. Vos me vestro quo pacto vobis
inpunite
videbitur utamini atque abutamini licebit
dicite atque innuite:
in me quidlibet statuite ;
;

Ascribed to Socrates. See the Stoic C. Musonius Rufus

Christian century) in Stobaeus, 3. 18. 37; Plutarch,
Quomodo adulesc. poet. aud. deb. 4 (21 E); Gellius 19. 2;
Diogenes Laertius 2. 34; Stobaeus,
Athenaeus 4. 158 F.
3. 17. 21 (" Socrates, when asked in what respect he diflfered
replied
Whereas they live in order to
from the rest of men,
eat, I eat in order to live.' "); Macrobius, Sat. 2. 8. 16.
Cf.
also Quintilian, 9. 3. 85; Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 2. 1,
and Strom. 7. 14; Isidore, Etym. 2. 21. 11.
* Porphyrio on Horace, Epist. 2.
1. 257, attributes this
saying to Aristarchus of Samothrace (first half, second
century B.C.), the editor and critic of Homer. Cf. Anth. Pal.
" For I [Lais] do not wish to see myself as I am, and
6. 1
cannot see myself as I used to be."
"

(first

'

326

AD HERKNNIUM,

IV. xxviii. 39-.\xix. 39

Again: " I do not write poems, because I

eat."''
cannot write the sort I wisli, and I do not wish to
write the sort I can," ^ Again: " What can be told
of that man is not being told
what is being told of
him cannot be told." Again " A poem ought to be
a painting that speaks a painting ought to be a silent
poem." ^ Again " If you are a fool, for that reason
you should be silent and yet, although you should be
silent, you are not for that reason a fool."
One cannot deny that the effect is neat when in juxtaposing
contrasted ideas the words also are transposed. In
order to make this figure, which is hard to invent, quite
clear, I have subjoined several examples
so that,
well understood, it may be easier for the speaker to
;

invent.

XXIX. Surrender ^ is used when we indicate in

speaking that we yield and submit the whole matter
to another's will, as follows: " Since only soul and
body remain to me, now that I am deprived of everything else, even these, which alone of many goods are
left me, I deliver up to you and to your power.
You
may use and even abuse me * in your own way as
you think best with impunity make your decision
upon me, whatever it may be speak and give a sign
;

The saying is ascribed to Simonides (sixth century B.C.)

in Plutarch, De glor. Athen. 3 (346 F)
see also Quaest. Conviv.
9. 15 (748 A), Quomodo adulesc. poet. aud. deb. 3 (17 F),
Quomodo adulat. ab amic. internosc. 15 (58 B), De vita et
*

poes. Horn. 216 (ed. Bernardakis, 7. 460).

Cicero,
Cf.
De Leg. 3. 1. 2 "It can truly be said that the magistrate is a
speaking law, the law on the other hand a silent magistrate "
"
Horace, Ars Poet. 361
poem is like a painting "
Anth. Pal. 11. 145
and Lessing, Laokoon, Preface,
:

^ iTTLTpOTTTj.
'

Varro in Priscian (Keil, Gramm. Lat.

upon lUamur and abutamur.

2.

381)

makes a

similar play

327

[CICERO]
parebo."

40

Hoc genus

tametsi

quoque

alias

non-

numquam tractandum est, tamen ad misericordiam

commovendam vehementissime est adcommodatum.
Dubitatio est cum quaerere videatur orator utrum
de duobus potius aut quid de pluribus potissimum
hoc modo " Offuit eo tempore plurimum rei
publicae consulum sive stultitiam sive malitiam
dicere oportet, sive utrumque."
Item: " Tu istuc
ausus es dicere, homo omnium mortalium quonam
"
te digno moribus tuis appellem nomine ?
Expeditio est cum, rationibus conpluribus enumeratis quibus aliqua res confieri
potuerit, ceterae
tolluntur, una relinquitur quam nos intendimus, hoc
modo: " Necesse est, cum constet istum fundum
nostrum fuisse, ostendas te aut vacuum possedisse,
aut usu tuum fecisse, aut emisse, aut hereditati tibi
venisse.
Vacuum, cum ego adessem, possidere non
potuisti
usu tuum etiam nunc fecisse non potes
emptio nulla profertur hereditati tibi me vivo mea
pecunia venire non potuit. Relinquitur ergo ut me
vi de meo fundo deieceris."
Haec exornatio plurimum iuvabit coniecturales argumentationes. Sed
non erit, tamquam in plerisque, ut cum velimus ea
dicat,

-^

41

confieri Stroebel

non

aut

fieri

non 31

aut non

fieri

fieri

C^E

non

aut

confici

fieri

aut

fieri

Mx.

" oLTTopia, BiaTTopTjaLg.

Quintilian, 9. 3. 88, uses virtually
the same example, after making the point that Indecision can
belong to either the figures of thought or the figures of diction.
" Now what helped him
Cf. Demosthenes, De Corona 20
The cowardice, ought I to say, or the stupidity, or
?
both, of the other Greek states."
" Why, you what
*
Cf. Demosthenes, De Corona 22
:

would be the correct name

328

for one to call

you

"

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxix. 39-41

Although this figure is often to be

I <hall obey."
used also in other circumstances, it is especially suited
to provoking pity.
40
Indecision occurs when the speaker seems to ask
which of two or more words he had better use, as
follows
"At that time the republic suffered
exceedingly from ought I to say the folly of the
consuls, or their wickedness, or both."
Again:
" You have dared to say that, you of all men the
by what name worthy of your character shall I call
:

'^

you?

"

occurs when we have enumerated the

ways by which something could have been
brought about, and all are then discarded except
the one on which we are insisting, as follows " Since
it is established that the estate you claim as yours was
mine, you must show that you took possession of it as
vacant land, or made it your property bv right of
prescription, or bought it, or that it came to you by
inheritance.
Since 1 was on the premises, you could
not have taken possession of it as vacant land. Even
by now you cannot have made it vour property by

Elimination

<=

several

No sale is disclosed. Since 1

property could not have come to you by
inheritance.
It remains, then, that you have expelled me by force from my estate." This figure will
furnish the strongest support to conjectural arguments, but unlike most other figures, it is not one

right of prescription.

am

41

alive,

my

Now

called the Method of Residues when used in RefutaQuintilian, 5. 10. 66 if. and 7. 1. 31 fF., considers this
nrgumeniorum genus ex remoiione under Proof and Refutation,
not under the Figures; see also Cicero, De Inv. 1. xxix. 45
{enmneratio), and Quintilian, 9. 3. 99, in note on 4. xviii. 25
above. Cf. in Aristotle, Rhet. 2. 23 (1398 a), the iopos from
'

tion.

logical division (eV Statpe'aeo)?).

329

[CICERO]
possimus uti; nam fere non poterimus, nisi nobis
ipsa negotii natura dabit facultatem.
XXX. Dissolutum est quod, coniunctionibus ver-

borum

medio

hoc modo
obsequere
"

Descende

sublatis, separatis partibus effertur,

"Gere morem

parenti, pare cognatis,

obtempera legibus."
Item:
integram defensionem, noli quicquam

amicis,
in

recusare, da servos in quaestionem, stude verum

invenire."
Hoc genus et acrimoniam habet in se et

vehementissimum est et ad brevitatem adcommodatum.

Praecisio est cum dictis quibus reliquum quod
coeptum est dici relinquitur inchoatum, sic: " Mihi
tecum par certatio non est, ideo quod populus
Romanus me nolo dicere, ne cui forte adrogans
videar; te autem saepe ignominia dignum putavit."
Item: " Tu istuc audes dicere, qui nuper alienae
domi non ausim dicere, ne, cum te digna dicerem,
me indignum quippiam dixisse videar." Hie atrocior

quam diserta explanatio facta est.

Conclusio est quae brevi argumentatione ex iis
quae ante dicta sunt aut facta conficit quid necessario

tacita suspicio

"

davvBerov.

Variously also SiaXvais, solutum, dissolutio.

" Asyndeta
are rightly
but in the controversial style
speakers do indeed use them because of their dramatic effect."
Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 12 (1413 b)
condemned in the literary style,
:

Cf. dissolutum, the slack style (4. xi. 16 above).

^

40

Plutarch, De vita et poes. Horn.

Bernardakis, 7. 355), assigns to Asyndeton the qualities
and emotional emphasis.

The quality of acjioSpoT-qs.

(ed.

of rapidity

" aTTOCTtcijTnjCTt?.
Sometimes clttokottij, obticentia, interruptio
(Quintilian, 9. 2. 54, who here also identifies Cicero's reticentia
with Aposiopesis; see note on occultatio, 4. xxvii. 37 above).
With the first example cf. Demosthenes, De Corona 3, a close

parallel.

330

AD HKRENNIUM,

IV. xxix. 4i-.xxx. 41

which we can use at

will, for in general we can use

only when the very nature of the business gives us
the opportunity.
XXX. Asyndeton is a presentation in separate
parts, conjunctions being suppressed, as follows:
it

" Indulge your father, obey your relatives, gratify

your friends, submit to the laws." Again: " Enter
into a complete defence, make no objection, give
your slaves to be examined, be eager to find the
truth." This figure has animation and great force,
and is suited to concision.
Aposiopesis ^ occurs when something is said and
then the rest of what the speaker had begun to say is
" The contest between you
left unfinished, as follows
and me is unequal because, so far as concerns me.
the Roman people
I am unwilling to say it, lest by
chance some one think me proud. But you the
Roman people has often considered worthy of disgrace." Again:
"You dare to say that, who
recently at another's home
I shouldn't dare tell,
:

'^

saying things becoming to you,

I should seem
say something unbecoming to me." ^ Here a
suspicion, unexpressed, becomes more telling than a
detailed explanation would have been./
Conclusion,^ by means of a brief argument, deduces
the necessary consequences of what has been said or

lest in

to

^ For the commonplace cf. Aeschylus in Aristophanes, Frogs

867; Lysias, Adv. Eratosth. 81 Fronto, ed. Xaber, p. 42.
'
"I hesitate, lest in
Cf. Demosthenes, De Corona 129
saying things becoming to you, I may be thought to have
chosen things to say that are unbecoming to me."
f Demetrius, De Elocut. 253, makes a like observation.
" Like avixTTepacfxa in logic.
Quintilian, 9. 3. 98, denies
that conclusio is a figure. Cf. the conchisio of 1. iii. 4 and the
duplex conclusio of 2. xxiv. 38 above.
;

33^

[CICERO]
consequatur, hoc modo " Quodsi Danais datum erat
oraculum non posse capi Troiam sine Philoctetae
sagittis, hae ^
autem nihil aliud ^ fecerunt nisi
Alexandrum perculerunt, hunc extinguere id nimirum
:

capi fuit Troiam."

XXXI. Restant etiam decem

42

exornationes ver-

non vage dispersimus, sed a

superioribus separavimus, quod omnes in uno genere
sunt positae. Nam earum omnium hoc proprium
est, ut ab usitata verborum potestate recedatur atque
borum, quas

idcirco

aliam rationem

in

cum quadam

venustate oratio

conferatur.

De

quibus exornationibus nominatio est prima,

quae nos admonet ut cuius rei nomen aut non sit aut
satis idoneum non sit, eam nosmet idoneo verbo

nominemus aut

imitationis aut significationis causa

modo, ut maiores " rudere " et

murmurari " et " sibilare " appeilarunt; significandae rei causa, sic: " Postquam iste

imitationis, hoc
" mugire " et "

UE

hae

autem

nihil

haec

nihil

MMx.
CE

aliud

aliquod autem

nihil

aliud

autem

P^BUMx:

HP.

" Philoctetes killed Paris with the bow and arrows of

Heracles, and thus fulfilled the oracle revealed by the Trojan
seer Helenus that only by means of those weapons could
Troy be taken.
^ These ten figures of diction are tropi (rpoTrot, tropes), a
term our author does not use ; c/. Quintilian, 8. 6. 1
trope is an artistic change of a word or phrase from its proper
Tropes were at first, as here, not
signification to another."
separated from figures of thought and diction (axT^juara).
Cicero, Brutus 18. 69, tlls us that the division was of Greek
Even in the time of Quintilian (see 9. 1. 1-9) the line
origin.
of demarcation was not always clear.
* ovo^iaroTToiia.
Cf. Julius Caesar in Gellius, 1. 10. 4:
" Avoid, as you would a rock, an unheard-of and unfamiliar
:

"A

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxx. 41-xxxi. 42

" But if the oracle had predicted to the Danaans that Troy could not be taken
without the arrows of Philoctetes, and these arrows
moreover served only to smite Alexander, then
certainly killing Alexander was the same as taking

done before, as follows

Troy."

XXXI. There remain also ten Figures of Diction,

which I have intentionally not scattered at random,
but have separated from those above, because they
They indeed all have this in
all belong in one class.
common, that the language departs from the ordinary
meaning of the words ^ and is, with a certain grace,
applied in another sense.
Of these figures the first is Onomatopoeia,^ which
suggests to us that we should ourselves designate
with a suitable word, whether for the sake of
imitation or of expressiveness, a thing which either
For
lacks a name ^ or has an inappropriate name.
the sake of imitation, as follows: our ancestors, for
" roar,"
" bellow,"
" murmur,"
example, said
" hiss " for the sake of expressiveness, as follows
;

word." Cicero admits unusual (old-fashioned), new, and

metaphorical words, although recognizing that these are
allowed more freely in poetry than in oratory see De Oratore
3. 38. 152 ff.. Orator 20. 68 and 24. 81, and also the advice
which Horace, Ars Poet. 46 ff. and Epist. 2. 2. 119-121, gives
Quintilian
to poets to use neologisms, but with restraint,
hkewise tolerates neologisms despite the danger in their use,
but does not allow Roman speakers the imitative type of
Onomatopoeia, although this was " held as one of the highest
virtues by the Greeks; " see 1. 5. 71 f., 8. 6. 31 f., 8. 3. 35-37.
"But as for me I think it more
Cf. also Gellius, 11. 7. 1
objectionable and censurable to use words that are new,
unknown, and unheard-of than to use those that are hackneyed
;

and mean."
'^

See note on Metaphor,

4.

xxxiv. 45 below.
ZZ2>

[CICERO]
rem publicam fecit impetum, fragor civitatis in
Hoc genere raro est utendum, sic ut ne
primis."
novi verbi adsiduitas odium pariat
sed si commode
quis eo utatur et raro, non modo non offendet novitate,
in

sed etiam exornat orationem.

Pronominatio est quae sicuti cognomine quodam
extraneo demonstrat id quod suo nomine non potest
appellari
ut si quis cum loquatur de Graccis, " At
non Africani nepotes," inquiet, " istiusmodi fuerunt."
Item si quis de adversario cum dicat, " Videte nunc,"
inquit, " indices, quemadmodum me Plagioxiphus
Hoc pacto non inornate poterimus,
iste tractarit."
et in laudando et in laedendo, in corpore aut animo
aut extraneis rebus dicere sic uti cognomen quod pro
certo nomine collocemus.
43
XXXII. Denominatio est quae ab rebus propinquis
et finitimis trahit orationem qua possit intellegi res
quae non suo vocabulo sit appellata.
Id aut a
superiore re conficitur,^ ut si quis de Tarpeio loquens
^
aut invento, ut
eum Capitolinum nominet
si quis pro Libero vinum, pro Cerere frugem appellet
^
aut instrumento dominum, ut si quis Mace;

Text corrupt. Id [aut] a superiore re conficitur sugg.

Mx ita ut ventorum (inventor H) conficitur
Id aut ab
id aut ab invento colligitur aut ab
inventore conficitur C
^

inventore conficitur E.
2

treatment of the substitution of inferior res for superior

res is missing.

A treatment of the substitution of inventor /or

missing.
^

inventum

is

" avTovofiaaia.
"

Lit., " flat of

Cf. 3. vi. 10 above.

the blade."

Pro nomine, hence the name

"

^eTcovv/xla.

334

for the figure, Pronominatio.

AD IIKRENNIUM,
" After

IV. xxxi. 42 xxxn. 43

creature attacked the republic, there

first men of the state."
This figure is to be used rarely, lest the frequent
recurrence of the neologism breed aversion
but if it
is used appropriately and sparingly, then the novelty,
far from offending, even gives distinction to the style.
Antonomasia " or Pronomination designates by a
kind of adventitious epithet a thing that cannot be
tliis

was a hullabaloo arnon^ the

by its proper name for example, if some one

" Surely the
speaking of the Gracchi should say
grandsons of Africanus did not behave like this "
or again, if some one speaking of his adversary should
say " See now, men of the jur\% how your Sir Swashbuckler ^ there has treated me." In this way we shall
be able, not without elegance, in praise and in censure,
concerning physical attributes, qualities of character,
or external circumstances,^ to express ourselves by
using a kind of epithet in place of the precise name.**
XXXII. Metonymy is the figure which draws
from an object closely akin or associated an expression
suggesting the object meant, but not called by its
own name. This is accomplished by substituting
the name of the greater thing for that of the lesser,
as if one speaking of the Tarpeian Rock should term it
" the Capitoline ";...;
or by substituting the
name of the thing invented for that of the inventor,
"
as if one should say " wine " for " Liber," " wheat
"
"
"
";/
for
Ceres
or the instrument for the
possessor, as if one should refer to the Macedonians
called

43

Liber and C^res are common metonyms; see Cicero, Dt

3. 42, 167, advising the frequent use of this kind of
figure, and De datura Deorum 2. 23. 60, citing Terence,
Eunuch. 732; Quintilian, 8. 6. 24: "It would be too bold
for the severe style of the forum to tolerate our saying Liber
"
for wine and ' Ceres ' for bread.'
^

Oratore

'

'

'

'

'

335

[CICERO]
dones appellant hoc modo: " Non tarn cito sarisae
Graeciae potitae sunt," aut idem Gallos significans
" nee tain facile ex Italia materis Transalpina depulsa
est "
aut id quod fit ab eo qui facit, ut si quis, cum
bello velit ostendere aliquid quempiam fecisse,
;

dicat
si

"

quod

Mars

facit

istuc te facere necessario coegit "

ab eo quod

fit,

ut

aut
desidiosam artem
et frigus pigrum quia
;

cum

dicimus quia desidiosos facit,

efficit.
Ab eo quod continet id quod contine" Armis Italia non
tur hoc modo denominabitur
potest vinci nee Graecia disciplinis " nam hie, pro
ab eo
Graecis et Italis, quae continent notata sunt
quod continetur id quod continet, ut si quis aurum
aut argentum aut ebur nominet cum divitias velit
pigros

nominare.

Harum omnium denominationum magis

quam in quaerendo difficilis

in praecipiendo divisio

quod plena consuetudo

est non
oratorum sed etiam cotidiani
sermonis huiusmodi denominationum.
Circumitio est oratio rem simplicem adsumpta
circumscribens elocutione, hoc pacto: " Scipionis

inventio est, ideo

modo poetarum

et

providentia Kartaginis opes fregit."

Nam

hie, nisi

ornandi ratio quaedam esset habita, Scipio potuit et

44

Kartago simpliciter appellari.

Transgressio est quae verborum perturbat ordinem
perversione

aut

transiectione.

Perversione,

sic

" This last illustration is used also by the grammarians

Charisius (ed. Barwick, p. 360) and Diomedes (Keil, Gramm.

Lat.

1. 458).
* Quintilian, 8. 6. 24-5, approves the substitution of container
for content, but allows the converse only to poetic practice.

AD HKRHNNIUM,

IV. wxii. 4;,-44

as follows: "Not so quickly did the Lances get

possession of Greece," and likewise, meaning the
Gauls: "nor was the Transalpine Pike so easily
the cause for the effect, as if a
driven from Italy "
speaker, wishing to show that some one has done
something in war, should say " Mars forced you to
do that " or effect for cause, as when we call an art
idle because it produces idleness in people, or speak
of numb cold because cold produces numbness."
Content will be designated by means of container as
" Italy cannot be vanquished in warfare nor
follows
;

Greece

in studies "

for here instead of

Greeks and

them are designated.

be designated by means of content *

Italians the lands that comprise

Container
as if

will

one wishing to give a name to wealth should

gold or silver or ivon.\ It is harder to disall these metonymies in teaching the principle than to find them when searching for them,
for the use of metonymies of this kind is abundant
not only amongst the poets and orators but also in
everyday speech.
Periphrasis ^ is a manner of speech used to express
a simple idea by means of a circumlocution, as follows
" The foresight of Scipio crushed the power of
Carthage." For here, if the speaker had not designed
to embellish the style, he might simply have said
" Scipio " and " Carthage."
44
Hyperbaton^^ upsets the word order by means
either of Anastrophe ^ or Transposition.
By Anascall it

tinguish

'

TTipL(f>paai.s.

When

faulty,

it

is

TrepicraoXoyia (Quintilian,

8.6.61).
^

imip^aTov.

'

dvaaTpo<f>r],

See 4. xii. 18 above.

Reversal of order.

Quintilian, 8. 6. 65,
defines a.vaarpo<^ri as a transposition confined to two words.

337

[CICERO]
" Hoc vobis deos immortales arbitror dedisse virtute
" Instabilis
pro vestra." Transiectione, hoc modo
Omnes invidiose
in istum plurimum fortuna valuit.
eripuit bene vivendi casus facultates."
Huiusmodi
transiectio, quae rem non reddit obscuram, multum
proderit ad continuationes, de quibus ante dictum est
in quibus oportet verba sicuti ad poeticum quendam
extruere numerum, ut perfecte et perpolitissime
:

possint esse absolutae.

XXXIII. Superlatio est oratio superans veritatem
Haec sumitur
alicuius augendi minuendive causa.
separatim aut cum conparatione. Separatim, sic
" Quodsi concordiam retinebimus in civitate, imperii
magnitudinem solis ortu acque occasu metiemur."
" This I deem the immortal gods have vouchsafed to you
reward for j^^our virtue." The strictly correct order would
have been pro vestra virtute virtute pro vestra gives the most
*

in

favoured clausula.
* " Unstable Fortune has exercised her greatest power on
this creature.
All the means of living well Chance has
Here the adjectives are separated
jealously taken from him."
from the nouns they modify fortuna valuit and especially
casus facultates were favoured clausulae (see note next above).
Our author employs the dichoree (- ^ - -) most. See the
study of the cadences in A. W. de Groot, Der antike Prosarhythmus, Groningen and The Hague, 1921, pp. 106-7; in
Henri Bornecque, Les Clausules Metriques Latines, Lille, 1907,
pp. 542 if., 579 f. and in Burdach, Schlesisch-bohmische Briefynuster, pp. 110 ff.; also the notes on 4. viii. 12 and 4. xix. 26,
and the next note here below.
" 4. xix. 27.
The doctrines of rhythm were not taught as
part of the regular curriculum by the Atticizing rhetoricians
our author does not mention
(Cicero, De Oratore 3. 49. 188)
Rhythm under Composition in 4. xii. 18 above, save indirectly
Here, however,
in his reference to concinnity in Hyperbaton.
he is under Asian influence. Cf. Cicero, Orator 69. 229 " We
must not transpose words in an obvious manner for the sake
;

338

AD HERENNIUM,

1\'.

\\\ii. 44-.\.\.\iii. 44

trophe, as follows: "Hoc vobis deos immortales

arbitror dedisse virtute pro vcstra.""
By Transposition, as follows: " Instabilis in istum plurimum
fortuna valuit. Omnes invidiose eripuit bene vivendi
casus facultates." ^ A transposition of this kind,
that does not render the thoufjht obscure, will be
very useful for periods, which I have discussed
above
in these periods we ought to arrange the
words in such a way as to approximate a poetic
rhythm,'^ so that the periods can achieve perfect
fullness and the highest finish.
;

<^

XXXIII. Hyperbole is a manner of speech

exaggerating the truth, whether for the sake of
magnifying or minifying something. This is used
independently, or with comparison. Independently,
" But if we maintain concord in the state,
as follows
we shall measure the empire's vastness by the rising
and the setting of the sun." Hyperbole with com:

of achieving a better cadence or a more flowing rhythm "

Dionysius Halic, De Composit. Verb., ch. 4; and Blass,
Die Rhythmen der a-sian. und rom. Kunstprosa, pp. 33 flF. Our
author in his rhythms represents the transition between Asian
rules and those followed by Cicero; see Bomecque, op. ciL,
On our author's generally ambivalent position with
p. .546.
respect to Asianism, see Burdach, op. cit., pp. 96 ff".
Cicero, Orator 56. 187 f
"It is, then, quite clear that
prose should be tightened up by rhythm, but be free of metre
There are, to be sure, no rhythms other than those used
in poetry";
Crassus in De Oratore 1. 33. 151: " Gopd
''

and good arrangement of words are perfected in

means of a certain rhythm and measure not
poetical,
but oratorical." Thrasymachus of Chalcedon
(fifth century B.C.) was the inventor of prose rhythm, and
collocation

writing by

Isocrates excelled in

its use (Cicero, Orator 52. 17.5).

Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 11 (1413 a), says that the
use of Hyperbole is a juvenile characteristic, betraying
vehemence. CJ. Quuitilian, 8. 6. 67 fiF.
*

vTT^p^oXrj.

339

[CICERO]

Cum conparatione aut a similitudine aut a praestantia

superlatio sumitur.

niveum

aspectu

candorem,

similitudine, sic

"

Corpore

igneum ardorem ad-

sequebatur." A praestantia, hoc modo " Cuius ore

sermo melle dulcior profluebat." Ex eodem genere
" Tantus erat in armis splendor ut solis
est hoc
:

fulgor obscurior

videretur."
res tota parva de parte cognosDe parte totum sic intellecitur aut de toto pars.
gitur: " Non illae te nuptiales tibiae eius matrimonii

cum

Intellectio est

"
?
Nam hie omnis sanctimonia nuptiarum uno signo tibiarum intellegitur. De toto pars,
ut si quis ei qui vestitum aut ornatum sumptuosum
ostentet dicat ** Ostentas mihi divitias et locupletes
45 copias iactas.
Ab uno plura hoc modo intellegentur
" Poeno fuit Hispanus auxilio, fuit immanis ille
Transalpinus in Italia quoque nonnemo sensit idem

commonebant

'

'

togatus." A pluribus unum sic intellegetur " Atrox

calamitas pectora maerore pulsabat itaque anhelans
ex imis pulmonibus prae cura spiritus ducebat." Nam
in superiore ^ plures Hispani et Galli et togati, et hie
unum pectus et unus pulmo intellegitur et erit illic
deminutus numerus festivitatis, hie adauctus gra vi:

ta tis gratia.
1
2

Mx brackets.

obscurior P'^B^ Hid

obscurius [Mb)
superioribus other MSS.
superiore

Mx.

" Cf., for example, Homer, II. 1.

Agamemnon's
104
eyes " were like flashing fire " ; in 10. 437 the horses of Rhesus
are "whiter than snow" (Hyperbole with comparison formed
:

from superiority).
* Homer, //. 1. 249, on Nestor.
On the popularity of this
passage in antiquity see Otto, pp. 242, 216 f.
'

340

avvKho-)(ri.

AD HERENNIUM,
parison

is

superiority.

body was

Trom

as

from

formed

From

either

equivalence,

white as snow,

superiority,

IV. xxxiii. 44-45

as

as

his face

follows:

equivalence
follows:

burned

"From

or

"His

like fire."

**

mouth
Of the same
his

flowed speech sweeter than honey."''

type is the following "So great was his splendour in
arms that the sun's brilliance seemed dim by
comparison,"
Synecdoche ^ occurs when the whole is known from
a small part or a part from the whole. The whole is
understood from a part in the following: " Were not
"
those nuptial flutes reminding you of his marriage?
Here the entire marriage ceremony is suggested by
one sign, the flutes. A part from the whole, as if one
should sav to a person who displays himself in
luxurious garb or adornment: "You display your
:

me and

vaunt your ample treasures." The

be understood from the singular, as
follows: "To the Carthaginian came aid from the
In
Spaniard, and from that fierce Transalpine.
Italy, too, many a wearer of the toga shared the same
sentiment." In the following the singular will be
understood from the plural " Dread disaster smote
his breasts with grief; so, panting, from out his lungs'
very depth he sobbed for anguish." In the first
example more than one Spaniard, Gaul, and Roman
citizen are understood, and in this last only one breast
and one lung.^ In the former the quantity is minified
for the sake of elegance, in the latter exaggerated

45 riches to

plural

will

for the

sake of impressiveness.

In ancient physiology the lungs were considered to be the

right and left halves of a single organ, with the windpipe as
the common outlet; cj., for example, Aristotle, De Pari.
Animal. 3. 6-7 (668 b ff.), Hist. Animal. 2. 17 (507 a 19).
^

[CICERO]
Abusio est quae verbo simili et propinquo pro
certo et proprio abutitur, hoc modo : " Vires hominis
breves sunt ", aut " parva statura ", aut " longum
in homine consilium ", aut " oratio magna ", aut
" uti

pauco sermone." Nam hie facile est intellectu

rerum dissimilium ratione abusionis

finitima verba

esse traducta.
XXXIV. Translatio est cum verbum in quandam
rem transferetur ex alia re, quod propter similitudinem recte videbitur posse transferri. Ea sumitur
rei ante oculos ponendae causa, sic: " Hie Italiam

tumultus

expergefecit terrore subito." Brevitatis

causa, sic: " Recens adventus exercitus extinxit
ObsCenitatis vitandae causa, sic:
subito civitatem."
" Cuius mater cotidianis nuptiis delectetur." Augendi
causa, sic: " Nullius maeror et calamitas istius explere inimicitias et nefariam crudelitatem saturare
potuit."
Minuendi causa, sic " Magno se praedicat
:

auxilio

fuisse

aspiravit."

quia paululum

Ornandi

causa,

in rebus

sic:

"

difficillimis

Aliquando

rei

" KaTaxprjais.
*
fieya Kal XapLvov Ittos rt
Cf. Aristophanes, Birds 465
(" a stalwart and brawny oration," tr. B. B. Rogers).
" fiTa<l)opd.
Cf. Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 2 (1405 a) ff.. Poet.,
eh. 21 ; Demetrius, De Elocut. 2. 78 ff. ; Quintilian, 8. 6. 4 ff.
:

According to Cicero, Orator 27. 92, metaphor is used for the

sake of charm {snavitas) or because of the lack (inopia) of a
proper word; cf. also De Oratore 3. 38. 155. Quintilian,
8. 6. 6, says that we use metaphor from necessity or because
Cf. translatio
it achieves greater expressiveness or beauty.
criminis, 2. xv. 22 above, and translatio, the subtype of Legal
Issue, 1. xii. 22.
**
Quintilian, 8. 6. 8, terms Metaphor a shorter Simile.
" She is married to a husband
*
Cf. Plautus, Cist. 43
every day, indeed she is; " and Demosthenes, De Corona 129,
:

342

AD HRRENNIUM,

IV. xxxiii. 45-xxxiv. 45

the inexact use of a like and

the precise and proper one,
" The power of man is short," or " small
as follows
height," or " the long wisdom in the man," or " a
mighty speech," ^ or " to engage in a slight conversation."
Here it is easy to understand that words
of kindred, but not identical, meaning have been
transferred on the principle of inexact use.
XXXIV. Metaphor occurs when a word applying
to one thing is transferred to another, because the
Catachresis

kindred word

is

in place of

<^

seems to justify this transference. Metaused for the sake of creating a vivid mental
" This insurrection awoke Italy
picture, as follows
with sudden terror "
for the sake of brevity
as
follows: " The recent arrival of an army suddenly
blotted out the state"; for the sake of avoiding
similarity

phor

is

j*^

obscenity, as follows: "Whose mother delights in

daily marriages " * for the sake of magnifying, as
follows: " No one's grief or disaster could have appeased this creature's enmities and glutted his horrible
cruelty";/ for the sake of minifving, as follows:
" He boasts that he was of great help because, when
we were in difficulties, he lightly breathed a favouring
breath " ^ for the sake of embellishment, as
follows: " Some day the prosperity of the republic,
;

" Or how your mother practised

addressing Aeschines
nuptials in open daylight in the outhouse."
^ This may perhaps belong to the controversia concerning
the murder of Sulpieius, 1. xv. 25 above.
" Cf. Cicero, Leg. Agr. 2. 5. 13, on the unintelligible speech
" The keener-witted persons
of the once truculent Rullus
standing in the Assembly suspected that he had meant to saysomething or other about an agi-arian law "
Quintilian,
8. 4. 28, quotes this sentence of Cicero in illustration of ratio
:

mimiendi.

343

[CICERO]
publicae rationes, quae malitia nocentium exaruerunt, virtute optimatium revirescent." Translationem pudentem dicunt esse oportere, ut cum
ratione in consimilem rem transeat, ne sine dilectu
temere et cupide videatur in dissimilem transcurrisse.
46
Permutatio est oratio aliud verbis aliud sententia
demonstrans. Ea dividitur in tres partes: similitudinem, argumentum, eontrarium. Per similitudinem sumitur cum translationes plures frequenter
ponuntur a simili oratione ductae, sic: " Nam cum
canes funguntur officiis luporum, cuinam praesidio
pecuaria credemus ? " Per argumentum tractatur
cum a persona aut loco aut re aliqua similitude
augendi aut minuendi causa ducitur, ut si quis

Drusum Graccum nitorem

obsoletum

dicat.

Ex

contrario ducitur sic, ut si quis hominem prodigum

et luxuriosum inludens parcum et diligentem appellet.
Et in hoc postremo quod ex contrario sumitur,
et in illo primo quod a similitudine ducitur, per

translationem argumento poterimus uti. Per simili" Quid ait hie rex atque Agamemnon
sic
noster, sive, ut crudelitas est, potius Atreus ? "
Ex
contrario, ut si quem impium qui patrem verberarit

tudinem,

nitorem

numitoremque

E Mx.

" Cicero, De Oratore 3. 41. 165, makes the same point; cf.
also Aristotle, Ehet. 3. 2 (1405 a), Cicero, Epist. ad Fam. 16.
17 (Theophrastus' verecunda tralatio), Longinus, De Sublim.
32. 3, Quintilian, 8. 3. 37.
* aAAijyopta.
<
The text is corrupt. With Lindemann (ed. Leipzig, 1828,
The
p. 343) and others I take Graccum as a genitive plural.
pohcy of M. Livius Drusus, tr. pi. in 91 B.C., finds a parallel
in that of C. Gracchus ; see Hugh Last in Cambr. Anc. History

344

AD HKRKNNIUM,

IV. xxviv. 45 46

which by the malice of wicked men has withered

away, will bloom again by the virtue of the Conservatives." They say that a metaphor ought to be
restrained,** so as to be a transition with good reason
to a kindred thing, and not seem an indiscriminate,
reckless, and precipitate leap to an unlike thing.
4G
Allegory " is a manner of speech denoting one thing
by the letter of the words, but another by their
meaning. It assumes three aspects
comparison,
argument, and contrast. It operates through a comparison when a number of metaphors originating in a
:

similarity in the mode of expression are set together,

as follows: " For when dogs act the part of wolves,

to what guardian, pray, are we going to entrust our

herds of cattle? " An Allegory is presented in the
form of argument when a similitude is drawn from
a person or place or object in order to magnify or
minify, as if one should call Drusus a " faded reflection of the Gracchi." ^
An Allegory is drawn from a
contrast ^ if, for example, one should mockingly call a
spendthrift and voluptuary frugal and thrifty.
Both
in this last type, based on a contrast, and in the first
above, drawn from a comparison, we can through the
metaphor make use of argument. In an Allegor\'operating through a comparison, as follows " What
says this king our Agamemnon, or rather, such is
his cruelty, our Atreus ? "
In an Allegory drawn
from a contrast
for example, if we should call
some undutiful man who has beaten his father
:

177-84. With Allegory per argumentum cf, Antonomasia,

xxxi. 42 above.
Cf. Quintilian, 8. 6. 54 ff. {ironia, illusio); Hhet. ad Alex.
ch. 21, 1434 a (elpwvcia); Anon., De Trop., in Walz 8. 722

9.
4.

"*

{dvri(f>paaiS).

345

[CICERO]

Aeneam vocemus, intemperantem

et

adulterum

Hippolytum ^ nominemus.
Haec sunt fere quae dicenda videbantur de
verborum exornationibus. Nunc res ipsa monet ut
deinceps ad sententiarum exornationes transeamus.
47

XXXV. Distributio est cum in plures res aut

personas negotia quaedam certa dispertiuntur, hoc
modo " Qui vestrum, iudices, nomen senatus diligit,
hunc oderit necesse est petulantissime enim semper
iste oppugnavit senatum.
Qui equestrem locum
splendidissimum cupit esse in civitate, is oportet istum
maximas poenas ^ dedisse velit, ne iste sua turpitudine ordini honestissimo maculae atque dedecori sit.
Qui parentes habetis, ostendite istius supplicio vobis
homines impios non placere. Quibus liberi sunt,
:

statuite exemplum quantae poenae sint in civitate

hominibus istiusmodi conparatae." Item: "Senatus
est officium consilio civitatem iuvare
magistratus est
officium opera et diligentia consequi senatus volun;

tatem; populi est officium res optimas et homines

idoneos

Et

maxime

suis sententiis deligere et probare."

" Accusatoris

officium est inferre crimina;

defensoris diluere et propulsare ; testis dicere quae
^

Ippolytum

Mx

PUBCb

yppolitum

ippolitum H.
2 maximas poenas 6 / Mx ed. mai.
maximam poenam Cd.
ipolitum d

ypolitum

maximae poenae

M Mx

Called pius for his devotion to Anchises, his father.

Rejected the advances of his stepmother Phaedra.
biaipeais, fxepia^os.
Cf. the distributio of 1. x. 17, the
distributio (Broken Tone of Debate) of 3. xiii. 23, and the
"
*

"

figure, divisio, in 4. xl. 52.

^ Of Trpdyfxara or of irpoaajTra.
Cf. the distinction in the
third kind oi narratio, 1. viii. 13 above.

AD IIERENNIUM,

IV. xxxiv. 46 xxxv. 47

" Aeneas," or an intemperate and adulterous

" Hippolytus."*

This

is

have thought

necessary
the subject
to turn next to the Figures of

substantially

all I

to say on the Figures of Diction.

itself directs

me

man

it

Now

Thought.
47

XXXV.

Distribution occurs when'certain specified

are assigned among a number of things or
" Whoever of you, men of
persons 5*^ as follows
the jury, loves the good name of the Senate, must
hate this man, for his attacks upon that body have
always been most insolent. Whoever of you wishes
the equestrian order ^ to be most resplendent in the
state, must want this person to have paid the severest
penalty, so that he may not be, through his personal
shame, a stain and disgrace to a most honourable
order.
You who have parents, must prove by your
punishment of this creature that undutiful men do
not find favour with you. You who have children,
must set forth an example to show how great are the
punishments that have been provided in our state
for men of that stamp."
Again, " The Senate's
function is to assist the state with counsel ; the
magistracy's is to execute, by diligent activity, the
Senate's will; the people's to choose and support
by its votes the best measures and the most suitable
men." Again, " The duty of the prosecutor is to
bring the charges
that of the counsel for the
defence to explain them away and rebut them ; that
*"

roles

In accordance with the Lex Plautia ludiciaria of 90/89

both senators and knights (and also some of the plebs)
served as indices in the criminal courts. Sulla restored the
senatorial monopoly in 82,81 B.C.
*

B.C.

347

[CICERO]
sciat aut audierit

horum

quaesitoris est

unum quemque

Quare, L. Cassi,

in officio suo continere.

si

testem praeterquam quod sciat aut audierit argumentari et coniectura prosequi patieris, ius accusatoris cum iure testimonii commiscebis, testis inprobi
cupiditatem confirmabis, reo duplicem defensionem
parabis." Est haec exornatio copiosa, conprehendit
enim brevd multa, et suum cuique tribuens officium
separatim res dividit plures.
48
XXXVI. Licentia est cum apud eos quos aut
vereri aut metuere debemus tamen aliquid pro iure
nostro dicimus, quod eos aut quos ii diligunt aliquo in
errato vere reprehendere videamur, hoc modo:
" Miramini,
Quirites, quod ab omnibus vestrae
rationes deserantur ? quod causam vestram nemo
suscipiat ?
quod se nemo vestri defensorem profiteatur ?
Adtribuite vestrae culpae, desinite mirari.
Quid est enim quare non omnes istam rem fugere ac
Recordamini quos habueritis defenvitare debeant ?
sores
studia eorum vobis ante oculos proponite
deinde exitus omnium considerate. Turn vobis
veniat in mentem, ut vere dicam, neglegentia vestra
sive ignavia potius, illos omnes ante oculos vestros
;

On the admission of hearsay evidence in Roman Law see

L. Strachan-Davidson, Problems of the Roman Criminal
Law, Oxford, 1912, 2. 123 flF. c/. ^. viii. 12 above.
* From the celebrated speech delivered in 113 B.C. (or at
the end of 114) by L. Licinius Crassus in defence of Licinia,
accused with other Vestals of unchastity and condemned.
L. Cassius Longinus Ravilla (whose rule was to insist on the
question of the motive: Cui bono? "for whose advantage
was the crime? ") was the examining magistrate.
" napprjaia, oratio libera.
Quintilian, 9. 2. 27 and 9. 3. 99,
denies that this is a figure.
Cf. Isocrates, De Pace 72 f.
"

J.

348

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxxv. 47-xxxvi. 48

of the witness to say what he knows or has heard "

that of the presiding justice to hold each of these
Therefore, Lucius Cassius, if you allow
to his duty.
a witness to argue and to attack by means of conjecture, passing beyond what he knows or has heard,
you will be confusing the riglits of a prosecutor with
those of a witness, you will be encouraging the
partiality of a dishonest witness, and you will be
ordaining for the defendant that he defend himself
twice." ^ This figure has richness, for it embraces
much in little and, by assigning to each his duty,
;

severally distinguishes a
48

XXXVI.

number

of entities.

Frankness of Speech when, talking

before those to whom we owe reverence or fear, we yet
exercise our right to speak out, because we seem
justified in reprehending them, or persons dear to
them, for some fault. For example " You wonder,
fellow citizens, that every one abandons your inThat no one undertakes your cause ? That
terests ?
no one declares himself your defender ? Blame this
upon yourselves
cease to wonder. Why indeed
should not every one avoid and shun this situation of
your making ? Bethink yourselves of those whom
you have had for defenders set their devotion before
your eyes, and next consider what has become of
them all. Then remember that thanks to your to
speak aright indifference, or cowardice rather, all
these men have been murdered before your eyes, and
It

is

'^

" While hating those who revile you to your hurt as bearing
to the state, you ought to praise those who admonish
you for your benefit, and think them the best of your fellowcitizens, and think that best of all is the man who can
demonstrate most vividly the defects of your practices and

mahce

the misfortunes that arise from them."

349

[CICERO]
trucidatos esse, inimicos eorum vestris sufFragiis in
amplissimum locum pervenisse." Item: " Nam quid
fuit, iudices, quare in sententiis ferendis dubitaveritis
aut istum hominem nefarium ampliaveritis ? Non
apertissimae res erant crimini datae ? non omnes hae
testibus conprobatae? non contra tenuiter et nugatorie responsum ? Hie vos veriti estis, si primo coetu
condemnassetis, ne crudeles existimaremini ?
earn vitatis vituperationem, quae longe a vobis erat
afutura, eam invenistis ut timidi atque ignavi putareMaximis privatis et publicis calamitatibus
mini.
acceptis, cum etiam maiores inpendere videantur,

Dum

Luci noctem, nocte lucem

sedetis et oscitamini.
Aliquid cotidie acerbi atque incommodi
expectatis.
nuntiatur; et iam eum, cuius opera nobis haec
accidunt, vos remoramini diutius et alitis ad rei
publicae perniciem, retinetis quoad potestis in
civitate
49

"
?

XXXVII. Eiusmodi

licentia

si

nimium videbitur

acrimoniae habere, multis mitigationibus lenietur;

nam continuo aliquid huiusmodi licebit inferre
Hie ego virtutem vestram quaero, sapientiam
desidero, veterem consuetudinem requiro," ut quod
erit

"

commotum

licentia id constituatur laude, ut

altera res ab iracundia et molestia removeat, altera

Haec res, sicut in amicitia
res ab errato deterreat.
^

quod

erit

ut quod erat

Mx.

" Whether this passage derives from a speech actually

delivered we do not know.
The sentiments are appropriate
to a tribune of the time of Marius.
* The renewal (ampliatio) of a case followed the verdict
non liquet by the jury, and the president's pronouncement
amplius (cognoscendum). Renewals had to be repeated until

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxxvr. 48 xxxvii. 49

thanks to your own votes their enemies have reached

the highest estate." " Again " Now what was your
motive, men of the jury, in hesitating to pass sentence
on this abominable man, or in allowing him a new
trial } *
Were not the facts charged plain as day ?
Were they not all proved by w itnesses ? Was not the
answer, on the other hand, feeble and trifling? Did
you at this point fear that in condemning him at the
first hearing you would be considered cruel ?
While
avoiding a reproach for cruelty, which you would
have been far from incurring, you have incurred
another reproach you are considered timid and
cowardly. You have met with very great losses,
private and public, and now when even greater losses
seem to impend, you sit and yawn. During the dav
you wait for night, at night you wait for dav. Every
day some troublesome and unpleasant news is
announced yet even now will you temporize longer
with the author of these our ills, and nourish him
for the destruction of the republic
will you keep
"
him in the commonwealth as long as you can }
49
XXXVII. If Frank Speech of this sort seems too
pungent, there will be many means of palliation, for
one may immediately thereafter add something of
" I here appeal to your virtue, I call on
this sort
your wisdom, I bespeak your old habit," so that
praise may quiet the feelings aroused by the frankAs a result, the praise frees the hearer from
ness.
wrath and annoyance, and the frankness deters him
from error. This precaution in speaking, as in
:

the verdict oifecisse videtur or non fecisse videtur was rendered.

The Lex Acilia Repetundarum (123/2 B.C.) provided against
the abuses of this power by juries; it permitted the jury no
more than one renewal in a single case at penalty of a fine.

[CICERO]
item in dicendo, si loco fit, maxime facit ut et illi qui
audient a culpa absint, et nos qui dicimus amici
ipsorum et veritatis esse videamur.
Est autem quoddam genus in dicendo licentiaequod
astutiore ratione conparatur, cum aut ita obiurgamus
eos qui audiunt quomodo ipsi se cupiunt obiurgari, aut
id quod scimus facile omnes audituros dicimus nos
timere quomodo accipiant, sed tamen veritate commoveri ut nihilosetius dicamus. Horum amborum
generum exempla subiciemus prioris, huiusmodi
Nimium, Quirites, animis estis simplicibus et man;

nimium

cuique.
Existimatis
quae vobis poUicitus
sit.
Erratis et falsa spe frustra iam diu detinemini
stultitia vestra, qui quod erat in vestra potestate ab
aliis petere quam ipsi sumere maluistis."
Posterioris

suetis

unum quemque

creditis

uni

eniti ut perficiat

" Mihi cum isto,

exemplum
tamen amicitia, tametsi
vereor quomodo accepturi sitis, tamen dicam, vos me
licentiae

hoc

erit

iudices, fuit amicitia, sed ista

Quid ita ? Quia, ut vobis essem probatus,

qui vos oppugnabat inimicum quam amicum
habere malui."

privastis.

eum

" And I would enjoin upon

" Cf. Plato, Phaedo 91 B
you to be giving only little thought to Socrates, but much
more to the truth " and the saying attributed to Aristotle
by Cervantes
Amicus Plato, sed magis arnica Veritas. (See
James Condamin, Repertoire Alphabetiqve des Citations,
Lyons and Paris, 1926, pp. 26 ff.)
:

* It has been suspected (see Friedrich Ellendt in MeyerDiibner, Orator. Rom. Fragm., 2nd ed., p. 235, and Kroehnert,
p. 30) that this may be a fragment from the speech De legibus
promulgatis delivered (in 122 B.C.) by Gains Gracchus, the
words here being directed against M. Livius Drusus; but
there is no real evidence to substantiate the conjecture.
Rutilius Lupus, 2. 18 (Halm, pp. 20-21), uses as an example
of this figure the following passage from Demosthenes {Fragm.

AD HRRENNIUM.

IV. xxxvii. 49

friendship, if taken at the right place,

is

especially

from error and in

the speakers, as friendly both to the

effective in keepiiifr the hearers

presenting us,
hearers and to the truth.
There is also a certain kind of frankness in speaking
which is achieved by a craftier device, when we
remonstrate with the hearers as they wish us to
remonstrate with them, or when we say " we fear how
the audience may take " something which we know
they all will hear with acceptance, " yet the truth
moves us to say it none the less." " I shall add
examples of both these kinds. Of the former, as
" Fellow citizens, you are of too simple and
follows
gentle a character you have too much confidence in
every one. You think that every one strives to
perform what he has promised you. You are mistaken, and now for a long time you have been kept
back by false and groundless hope, in your fatuity
choosing to seek from others what lay in your power,
rather than take it yourselves." * Of the latter kind
of Frank Speech the following will be an example
" I enjoyed a friendship with this pei*son, men of the
jury, yet of that friendship
although I fear how you
are going to receive what I shall say, I will yet say it
you have deprived me. Why : Because, in order
to win your approval, I have preferred to consider
your assailant as an enemy rather than as a friend."
:

"
Oral. Att., ed. Baiter-Sauppe, fragm. 54, p. 257)
refrain from speaking the truth frankly before
:

But shall I
you ? Xo,

I shall not be silent, because the common welfare

It is by your own doing, men of Athens,
that the stat is in such great peril. For you have failed to
defend yourselves, by recklessly believing every one and by
esteeming as most useful the opinions of those whose counsels
are most cowardly."
I say.

demands speech.

353

[CICERO]
50

Ergo haec exornatio cui licentiae nomen est, sicuti

acridemonstravimus, duplici ratione tractabitur
monia, quae si nimium fuerit aspera, mitigabitur
laude
et adsimulatione, de qua posterius diximus,
quae non indiget mitigationis, propterea quod imitatur licentiam et sua spontest ad animum auditoris
:

adcommodata.
XXXVIII. Deminutio est cum aliquid inesse in
nobis aut in iis quos defendimus aut natura aut
fortuna aut industria dieemus egregium, quod, ne
qua significetur adrogans ostentatio, deminuitur et
adtenuatur oratione, hoc
iure, indices, dico,

me

modo

"

Nam

hoc pro

meo

labore et industria curasse ut

disciplinam militarem non in postremis tenerem."

Hie si quis dixisset " ut optime tenerem," tametsi

Nunc

vere dixisset, tamen adrogans visus esset.

et

ad invidiam vitandam et laudem conparandam satis

" Utrum igitur avaritiae an
dictum est. Item
egestatis ^ accessit ad maleficium ? Avaritiae ? At
largissimus fuit in amicos
quod signum liberalitatis
Egestatis? Huic
est, quae contraria est avaritiae.
quidem pater nolo nimium dicere non tenuissimum
patrimonium reliquit." Hie quoque vitatum est ne
:

"

magnum

" aut "

in nostris aut

maximum

" diceretur.

eorum quos defendemus

modis proferendis observabimus.

^

"

dvTevavTtwais.

lac. after

egestatis

Sometimes

Nam

Hoc

egregiis

igitur

com-

eiusmodi res

Mx.

also fxeiwaLS, Xltottjs.

been conjectured (see EUendt in Meyer-Diibner,

Orator. Rom. Fragm., 2nd ed., p. 256, and Kroehnert, p. 31)
*

354

It has

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xxxvir. 5o-.\x\viii. 50

Thus

this figure called Frankness of Speech will,

have shown, be handled in two ways
with
pungency, which, if too severe, will be mitigated by
and with pretence, discussed above, which
praise
does not require mitigation, because it assumes the
guise of Frank Speech and is of itself agreeable to
the hearer's frame of mind.
XXXVIII. Understatement** occurs when we say
that by nature, fortune, or diligence, we or our
clients possess some exceptional advantage, and, in

as

order to avoid the impression of arrogant display, we

moderate and soften the statement of it, as follows
" This, men of the jury, I have the right to say
that
by labour and diligence I have contrived to be no
laggard in the mastery of military science." If the
speaker had here said " be the best " he might have
spoken the truth, but would have seemed arrogant.
He has now said quite enough both to avoid envy and
Again: " Was it then because of
to secure praise.
avarice or of need that he entered upon the crime ?
Avarice? But he was most generous to his friends,
and that is a sign of generosity, a virtue opposed to

Need ? But his father left him a patrimony

that was I do not wish to exaggerate not the
smallest."*
Here again, calling the patrimony
" large " or " very large " was avoided. This, then, is
the precaution we shall take in setting forth the exceptional advantages
which we or our clients enjoy
enioy.
For
o

avarice.

that this passage may have its source in the speech delivered
by Marcus Antonius, in 98 B.C., in defence of Manius Aquilius,
" Aquilius,
accused of extortion; c/. Cicero, Pro Flacco 98
who had been convicted of extortion on many charges and by
many witnesses." But there is no real evidence for the
:

ascription.

355

[CICERO]
et invidiam contrahunt in vita et odium in oratione si
inconsiderate tractes. Quare quemadmodum ratione
in vivendo fugitur invidia, sic in dicendo consilio
vitatur odium.
XXXIX. Descriptio nominatur quae rerum con51
sequentium continet perspicuam et dilucidam cum
" Quodsi istum,
gravitate expositionem, hoc modo
iudices, vestris sententiis liberaveritis, statim, sicut e
cavea leo emissus aut aliqua taeterrima belua soluta
ex catenis, volitabit et vagabitur in foro, acuens
dentes in unius cuiusque fortunas, in omnes amicos
atque inimicos, notos atque ignotos incursitans, aliorum famam depeculans, aliorum caput oppugnans,
aliorum domum et omnem familiam perfringens, rem
publicam funditus labefactans. Quare, iudices,
liberate omnes formidine
eicite eum de civitate
Nam si istum inpunivobis denique ipsis consulite.
:

tum dimiseritis, in vosmet ipsos, mihi credite, feram et

truculentam bestiam, iudices, immiseritis."
Item " Nam si de hoc, iudices, gravemi sententiam
tuleritis, uno iudicio simul multos iugulaveritis
grandis natu parens, cuius spes senectutis omnis in
huius adulescentia posita est, quare velit in vita
manere non habebit
fiUi
parvi, privati patris
auxiUo, ludibrio et despectui paternis inimicis erunt
tota domus huius indigna concidet calamioppositi
:

Cf. demonstratio (Ocular Demonstration),

68 below, and consequentiutn freqtientatio in Cicero, Part.
The figure is useful for exciting emotions; cf.
Oral. 16. 55.
the tenth commonplace of Amplification in 2. xxx. 49 above.
" haTVTTcoaLs.

4. Iv.

example of Comparison in Aristotle, Bhet. 3. 3

" Androtion said of Idrieus that he was like a cur
let loose from his chain, that flies at you and bites ; so
Idrieus, let loose from his chains, was vicious."
"

Cf. the

(1406 b)

'

'

AD HKRENNIUM,

IV. xxxviii. 50 xxxix. 51

things of this sort, if you liandle them indiscreetly, in

provoke jealousy and in a speech antipathy.
Therefore just as by circumspection we escape
jealousy in life, so by prudence we avoid antipathy
in speaking,
XXXIX. V^ivid Description ^ is the name for the
figure which contains a clear, lucid, and impressive
exposition of the consequences of an act, as follows
" But, men of the jury, if by your votes you free this
defendant, immediately, like a lion released from his
cage, or some foul beast loosed from his chains, he
will slink and prowl about in the forum, sharpening
his teeth to attack every one's property, assaulting
every man, friend and enemy, known to him or unknown, now despoiling a good name, now attacking a
life, now bringing ruin upon a house and its entire
household, shaking the republic from its foundations.
Therefore, men of the jur}', cast him out from the
state, free every one from fear, and finally, think of
yourselves.
For if you release this creature without
punishment, believe me, gentlemen, it is against
yourselves that you will have let loose a wild and
savage beast."
Again: " For if you inflict a heavy penalty upon
the defendant, men of the jury, you will at once by a
single judgement have taken many lives.
His aged
father, who has set the entire hope of his last years on
this young man, will have no reason for wishing to
stay alive.
His small children, deprived of their
father's aid, will be exposed as objects of scorn and
contempt to their father's enemies. His entire
household will collapse under this undeserved
life

**

'^

*
Cf. the second example of Simile, 4. xlix. 62 below, and
the passage of Demosthenes cited in note.

357

[CICERO]
At

tate.

statim sanguinulentam

inimici,

insultabunt in

crudelissima victoria potiti,

palmam
horum

miserias, et superbi a re simul et verbis invenientur." ^

Item : "
neminem vestrum fugit, Quirites,

Nam

urbe capta quae miseriae eonsequi soleant

contra

statim

tulerunt

crudelissime

arma

qui

trucidantur

aetatem et vires laborem ferre

ceteri qui possunt per

rapiuntur in servitutem, qui non possunt vita pri-

eodem tempore domus

vantur; uno denique atque

hostili flagrat ^ incendio, et

quos natura aut voluntas

necessitudine et benivolentia coniunxit distrahuntur

liberi

partim e gremiis diripiuntur parentum, partim

^ iugulantur, partim ante pedes constuprantur.

in sinu

Nemo,
verbis

qui

est

indices,

possit

satis

rem eonsequi

nee efFerre oratione magnitudinem calami-

tatis."

Hoce genere exornationis

cordia potest commoveri,

vel indignatio vel miseri-

cum

res consequentes conprehensae universae perspicua breviter exprimuntur

oratione.
^ invenientur
veniuntur

B^C

HPMx

flagrat

invenietur 11

invehebuntur

P^B^EMx

flagrabit

glabat P^
fragrabat H^.
3 sinu H^P^B^CE
sinu

invehentur

Bbd:

in-

I.
:

flagrabat

H^B 11

fra-

H^PBll

sinum Mx.

The example is Greek in origin ; see the similar example

hiaXvaLs) in Herodian (Walz 8. 603).
Notice
that the speaker addresses the hearers as Quirites at first,
and as indices at the end. For content and diction c/. the
example of the grand style, 4. viii. 12 above. Cf. also in Homer,
//. 9. 591 ff"., Cleopatra's description of the woes that come to
"

(illustrating

AI)

HERENNIUM,

IV. xxxix. 51

calamity.
But his enemies, when once they have
won the bloody palm by this most cruel of victories,
will exult over the miseries of these unfortunates,
and will be found insolent on the score of deeds as
well as of words."
Again: " For none of you, fellow citizens, fails to
see what miseries usually follow upon the capture of a
city.
Those who have borne arms against the victors
are forthwith slain with extreme cruelty.
Of the
rest, those who by reason of youth and strength can
endure hard labour are carried off into slavery, and
those who cannot are deprived of life.
In short, at
one and the same time a house blazes up bv the
enemy's torch, and they whom nature or free choice
has joined in the bonds of kinship or of sympathy are
dragged apart. Of the children, some are torn from
their parents' arms, others murdered on their
parents' bosom, still others violated at their parents'
feet.
No one, men of the jury, can, by words, do
justice to the deed, nor reproduce in language the
magnitude of the disaster." ^
With this kind of figure either indignation or pity
can be aroused, when the consequences of an act,
taken together as a whole, are concisely set forth
in a clear style.

men whose

city

is

captured

"The

warriors are slain, the city

and strangers lead captive the children and

deep-girdled women "
the example of Metathesis from an

is

wasted by

fire,

unknown author

''
in Isidore, Bhet. 21. 34 (Halm, p. 521)
Reyour minds to the spectacle of an unhappy city that has
been stormed, and imagine that you see all the burning, the
kilhng, the plundering, the pillaging, the bodily injury done
the children, the taking captive of the matrons, the slaying
of the old men"; Dio Chrvsostom 32. 89; and Caesar in
:

call

Sallust, Cat, 51. 9.

359

[CICERO]
52

XL. Divisio est quae rem semovens ab re utramque absolvit ratione subiecta, hoc modo " Cur ego
nunc tibi quicquam obiciam ? Si probus es, non
Item:
meruisti; si inprobus, non commovebere." ^
" Quid nunc ego de meis promeritis praedicem ?
Si
:

meministis, obtundam; si obliti estis, cum re nihil

egerim, quid est quod verbis proficere possim?"
Item: " Duae res sunt quae possunt homines ad
turpe conpendium commovere inopia atque avaritia.
Te avarum in fraterna divisione cognovimus inopem
atque egentem nunc videmus. Qui potes igitur
ostendere causam maleficii non fuisse ? " Inter hanc
divisionem et illam quae de partibus orationis tertia
est, de qua in primo libro diximus secundum narrationem, hoc interest ilia dividit per enumerationem
aut per expositionem quibus de rebus in totam
orationem disputatio futura sit; haec se statim
explicat, et brevi duabus aut pluribus partibus
subiciens rationes exornat orationem.
Frequentatio est cum res tota causa dispersae
coguntur in unum locum, quo gravior aut acrior aut
quo tandem
criminosior oratio sit, hoc pacto
abest iste vitio? Quid est cur iudicio velitis eum
liberare? Suae pudicitiae proditor est, insidiator
:

commovebere d

" -npoaaiToSoais,

posita ratio in

De

commovere

"A

other

Distributive Reply.
Oratore 3. 54. 207;

In

MS8. Mx.
distribuiis

sup-

Quintilian, 9. 3. 93,

subiecta ratio is a figure.

The
[duplex conclusio), used in
xxiv. 38 above.
argumentation;
2.
Cf. distributio
(4. XXXV. 47) and ratiocinatio (4. xvi. 23).
Cf. also Trimalchio
on Agamemnon's controversia in Petronius 48: " If the
if it did not, it is
business took place, there is no argument

doubts whether
figure

is

related

distribuiis

to
see

Dilemma

all

nonsense."

360

AD HKRKNNIUM, IW
52

xl.

52

XL. Division
separates the alternatives of a
question and resolves each by means of a reason subjoined, as follows: "Why should I now reproach
you in any way ? If you are an upright man, you
have not deserved reproach
if a wicked man, you
will be unmoved."
Again: "Why should I now
boast of my deserts ? If you remember them, I shall
weary you; if you have forgotten them, I have been
ineffective in action, and therefore what could I effect
by words? " Again: " There are two things which
can urge men to illicit gain
poverty and greed.
That you were greedy in the division with your
brother we know, that you are poor and destitute we
now see. How, therefore, can you show that you had
no motive for the crime? " There is the following
difference between the present kind of Division and
that other which forms the third part of a discourse,
and which I treated in Book I,* next after Statement of Facts the former Division operates through
the Enumeration or Exposition of the topics to be
discussed throughout the whole discourse
whereas
here the Division at once unfolds itself, and by
briefly adding the reasons for the two or more parts,
embellishes the style.
Accumulation ^ occurs w hen the points scattered
throughout the whole cause are collected in one
place so as to make the speech more impressive or
" From what vice,
sharp or accusatory, as follows
**

ask,

is

this

defendant free

What ground have you

for wishing to acquit him of the suit ?

He is the
betrayer of his own self-respect, and the waylayer of
*

1.

X. 17.

Cf. enunieratio in 2. xxx. 47 above,

avvadpoLafxos.
cons^uvimatio in Quintilian, 9. 2. 103.
^

and
361

[CICERO]
cupidus, intemperans, petulans, superbus;
impius in parentes, ingratus in amicos, infestus cognatis
in superiores contumax, in aequos et pares
denique in omnes
fastidiosus, in inferiores crudelis
alienae;

intolerabilis."

53

Eiusdem generis

mum

est

ilia

frequentatio quae pluri-

coniecturalibus causis opitulatur,

cum

suspi-

quae separatim dictae minutae et infirmae

erant, unum in locum coactae rem videntur perspicuam facere, non suspiciosam, hoc pacto " Nolite
igitur, nolite, iudices, ea quae dixi separatim spectare,
sed omnia colligite et conferte in unum.
XLI. "Si et commodum ad istum ex illius morte
et vita hominis est turpissima, animus
veniebat
ciones,

avarissimus, fortunae familiares adtenuatissimae

et

bono nemini praeter istum fuit neque alius

quisquam aeque commode, neque iste aliis commodioribus rationibus facere potuit neque praeteritum
est ab isto quicquam quod opus fuit ad maleficium,
neque factum quod opus non fuit; et cum locus
res ista

idoneus

maxime

quaesitus,

tum

occasio adgrediendi

commoda, tempus adeundi opportunissimum spatium

conficiendi longissimum sumptum est, non sine
;

maxima

occultandi et perficiendi maleficii spe;

praeterea, ante

quam

est in eo loco in

"
*

quo

occisus

homo

is est,

et

iste visus

est occisio facta, solus;

paulo

For the same idea see Cicero, Part. Orat. 11. 40.
The example that follows is a summary of a conjectural

case (with its dependence on the topics of circumstantial

evidence) according to the principles set forth above in
2. ii. 3 ff.

362

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xl. 52 -xu. s3

the self-respect of others; covetous, intemperate

arrogant disloyal to his parents, ungrateful to his friends, troublesome to his kin
insulting
to his betters, disdainful of his ecjuals and mates,
cruel to his inferiors in short he is intolerable to every
one."
Of the same kind is that other Accumulation,
53
which is very useful in conjectural causes, when the
implications, which were petty and weak because expressed separately, are collected in one place and so
seem to make the subject evident and not dubious,*
as follows:* " Do not, therefore, men of the jury,
do not consider singly the things I have said, but join
them all together and combine them into one.
XLI. " If the defendant profited from the victim's
death if also his life is full of dishonour, his heart
most avaricious, and his family fortune very meagre
and if that crime benefited no one but him
and if
no one else could have done the deed with equal skill,
or he himself could not have done it by methods more
apt
if he neglected nothing that was necessary for
the crime, and did nothing that was not necessary
and if he not only sought the most suitable place,
but also a favourable occasion for entering upon the
crime, and the most opportune moment for undertaking it
if he spent the longest period of time
in executing it, and not without the greatest hope
of concealing and completing it; and besides, if,
before the victim was murdered, the defendant was
seen, alone, in the place in which the murder was
committed
if soon afterward, during the very
irascible,

<^

'

and

Cf., in 2, iv. 6

for this
(consilhtm).

above, the prosecutor's use of Comparison,

7. 2. 42-44, on Intention

whole passage Quintilian,

3^3

[CICERO]
post in ipso maleficio vox illius qui occidebatur audita
deinde post occisionem istum multa nocte domum
redisse constat postero die titubanter et inconstanter
de occisione illius locutum haec partim testimoniis,
partim quaestionibus argumentatis omnia conprobantur, et rumore populi, quern ex argumentis natum
necesse est esse verum vestrum, iudices, est his ^
;

unum locum ^

in

conlocatis certam

non suspicionem

sumere scientiam,

Nam unum

aliquid aut
alterum potest in istum casu cecidisse suspiciose ut
omnia inter se a primo ad postremum conveniant,
casu
maleficii adfinem fuisse istum ^ necesse est
non potest fieri." Vehemens haec est exornatio et
in coniecturali constitutione causae ferme semper
necessaria, et in ceteris generibus causarum et in
omni oratione adhibenda nonnumquam.
maleficii.

cum

eodem

loco

manemus

et aliud atque aliud dicere videmur.

Ea

dupliciter

XLII. Expolitio

54

fit

si

aut

est

in

eandem plane dicemus rem, aut de eadem

Eandem rem dicemus non eodem modo

re.

nam id

quidem obtundere auditorem est, non rem expolire

sed commutate. Commutabimus tripliciter: verbis,
pronuntiando, tractando.
Verbis commutabimus cum re semel dicta iterum
aut saepius aliis verbis quae idem valeant eadem res

HP^BE

his

unum locum

ex his IVCMx.
H^,

all other

MS8.

a]dfinem fuisse istum inserted

but

uno loco

Mx.

to fill lac.

Cf. 2. V. 8 above, on Subsequent Behaviour.

All these considerations are discussed above in 2. vi. 9

364

fif.

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xu. 53-xLii. 54

commission of the crime, the voice of the victim was

heard; if it is established that then, after the
murder, the defendant returned home, at dead of
night; that on the next day he spoke of the man's
murder haltingly and inconsistently " if all these
indications are proved, partly by witnesses, and partly
by the confessions upon torture ^ which have been
adduced in confirmation, and by public opinion,
which, born of evidence, must necessarily be true;
then, gentlemen, it is your duty to gather all these
indications into one, and arrive at definite knowledge,
not suspicion, of the crime. To be sure, some one or
two of these things can by chance have happened in
such a way as to throw suspicion upon this defendant
but for everything to coincide from first to last, he
must have been a participant in the crime. This
cannot be the result of chance." This figure has
force, and in a conjectural issue is almost always
in the other types of causes and indeed
essential
in all discourse it is to be used occasionally.
54
XLII. Refining consists in dwelling on the same
topic and yet seeming to say something ever new.
by merely repeating
It is accomplished in two ways
the same idea, or by descanting upon it. We shall
not repeat the same thing precisely for that, to be
sure, would weary the hearer and not refine the idea
but with changes. Our changes will be of three
in the words, in the delivery, and in the
kinds

'^

treatment.

Our changes
the idea once,
=

in

will

be verbal when, having expressed

it once again or oftener in

we repeat

A xP^'--y ^ thought (usually ethical) developed in detail

a favourite type of proaccordance with definite rules
;

gymnasma.

365

[CICERO]
proferetur, hoc modo: " Nullum tantum est periculum quod sapiens pro salute patriae vitandum
arbitretur.
Cum agetur incolumitas perpetua civitatis, qui bonis erit rationibus praeditus profecto
nullum vitae discrimen sibi pro fortunis rei publieae
fugiendum putabit, et erit in ea sententia semper ut

pro patria studiose quamvis in

magnam

descendat

vitae dimicationem."

Pronuntiando commutabimus si cum in sermone,

in acrimonia, tum in alio atque alio genere vocis
atque gestus eadem verbis commutando pronuntiationem quoque vehementius immutarimus. Hoc

tum

neque commodissime scribi potest neque parum est

apertum quare non eget exempli.
55
Tertium genus est commutationis, quod tractando
conficitur, si sententiam traiciemus aut ad sermo;

cinationem aut exsuscitationem.

XLIII. Sermocinatio est de qua planius paulo
post suo loco dicemus, nunc breviter, quod ad banc

rem

satis

sit,

adtingemus

alicuius personae oratio

in
qua constituetur
adcommodata ad dignitatem,

ut, quo facilius res cognosci possit, ne ab

" Sapiens omnia rei
sententia recedamus
Saepe
publieae causa suscipienda pericula putabit.
Non mihi soli, sed etiam
ipse secum loquetur ^
vita,
atque adeo multo potius natus sum patriae

hoc modo,

eadem

'

4.

loquetur

lii.

mP^C

loquet

loquitur

PBUEMx.

65 below.

quaestio infinita (Oeais) ; see Quintilian, 3. 5. 5 ff.

" StaAoyiCT/ioy
"
Cf. Julius Rufinianus 20 (Halm, pp. 43-4)
occurs when someone discusses with himself and ponders
what he is doing or what he thinks ought to be done."
:
"Yet this, too, you ought to
Cf. Plato, Epist. 9. 358
bear in mind that none of us was born for self alone, but our
**

<*

366

AD IIERENNIUM.

IV. xui. 54-\liii. 55

" No peril is so
other, equivalent terms, as follows
great that a wise man would think it ought to be
:

avoided when the safety of the fatherland is at stake.

the lasting security of the state is in question,
the man endowed with good principles will undoubtedly believe that in defence of the fortunes of
the republic he ought to shun no crisis of life, and he
will ever persist in the determination eagerly to enter,
for the fatherland, any combat, however great the

When

peril to life."

Our changes will reside in the delivery if now in the

tone of conversation, now in an energetic tone, and
now in variation after variation of voice and gesture,
repeating the same ideas in different words, we also
change the delivery quite strikingly. This cannot be
described with complete effectiveness, and yet it is
clear enough.
Hence there is no need of illustration.
55
The third kind of change, accomplished in the
treatment, will take place if we transfer the thought
into the form of Dialogue or into the form of Arousal.
XLIII. Dialogue which I shall soon more fully
discuss in its place and shall now touch upon briefly,
as far as may be sufficient for the present purpose
consists in putting in the mouth of some person
language in keeping with his character, as follows
(for the sake of greater clarity, to continue the same
theme as above) " The wise man will think that for
the common weal he ought to undergo every peril.*
Often he will say to himself: ^ Not for self alone was
I born, but also, and much more, for the fatherland.**

'^

'

shared by our country, our parents, and our

" Every one of
Demosthenes, De Corona 205
those men considered himself to have been bom, not to his
father and mother alone, but also to his fatherland."
existence
friends "

is

367

[CICERO]
quae fato debetiir, saluti patriae potissimum solvatur.
Aluit haec me tute atqiie honeste produxit usque ad
hanc aetatem munivit meas rationes bonis legibus,
optimis moribus, honestissimis disciplinis.
Quid est
quod a me satis ei persolvi possit unde haec accepi ?
Exinde ut haec loquetur secum sapiens saepe, in
periculis rei publicae nullum ipse periculum fugiet."
Item mutatur res tractando si traducitur ad exsuscitationem, cum et nos commoti dicere videamur,
" Quis est
et auditoris animum commovemus, sic
tam tenui cogitatione praeditus, cuius animus tantis
angustiis invidiae continetur, qui non hunc hominem
;

'

studiosissime laudet et sapientissimum iudicet, qui

pro salute patriae, pro incolumitate civitatis, pro rei
publicae fortunis quamvis magnum atque atrox
periculum studiose suscipiat et libenter subeat ?
56 Equidem hunc hominem magis cupio satis laudare
quam possum, idemque hoc certo scio vobis omnibus

usu venire."

Eadem

res igitur his tribus in dicendo

commuta-

verbis, pronuntiando, tractando;

bitur rebus:

trac-

tando ^ dupliciter sermocinatione et exsuscitatione.

Sed de eadem re cum dicemus, plurimis utemur
commutationibus. Nam cum rem simpliciter prodeinde
nuntiarimus, rationem poterimus subicere
:

dupliciter

vel

rationibus

sine

vel

cum

pronuntiare; deinde adferre contrarium

tractando
tractando Mx.
1

368

dvdaTaaii.

ME

omit

sed tractando

Cf. 4. xvii. 24.

Cd

'

rationibus

de

quibus

commutabimus

Cf. 4. xviii. 25.

AD HKRKNNIUM,
Above

me

my

IV. xliii. 55-56

which I o\Te to fate,

She has nourished
me. She has in safety and honour reared me even
to this time of life.
She has protected my interests
by good laws, the best of customs, and a most
honourable training. How can I adequately repay
her from whom I have received these blessings ?
According as the wise man often says this to himself,
when the republic is in danger, he on his part will
shun no danger."
Again, the idea is changed in the treatment by
means of a transfer to the form of Arousal,'* when not
only we ourselves seem to speak under emotion, but
all, let

spend

for the salvation of

my

life,

country.

'

" Who is possessed of

also stir the hearer, thus
reasoning power so feeble, whose soul is bound in
such straits of envy, that he would not heap eager

we

praise

upon

man who

this

man and judge him most

wise, a
fatherland, the
prosperity of the

for the salvation of the

security of the state, and the

republic eagerly undertakes and gladly undergoes
56 any danger, no matter how great or terrible ?
For
my part, my desire to praise this man adequately is
greater than my power to do so, and I am sure that
this feeling of inadequacy is shared by all of you."
The theme, then, will be varied in speaking in
these three ways
in the words, in the delivery, in
the treatment. In the treatment we shall vary the
theme by two means by Dialogue and by Arousal.
:

But when we descant upon the same theme, we

Indeed, after
a great many variations.
expressed the theme simply, we can subjoin
the Reason, and then express the theme in another
form, with or without the Reasons ^ next we can
present the Contrary ^ (all this I have discussed under
shall use

(having

369

[CICERO]
omnibus diximus in verborum exornationibus deinde
simile et exemplum
de quo suo loco plura dicemus
XLIV. deinde conclusionem de qua in secundo libro
quae opus fuerunt diximus, demonstrantes argu-

mentationes quemadmodum concludere oporteat

in hoc libro docuimus cuiusmodi esset exornatio verborum cui conclusioni nomen est. Ergo huiusmodi
vehementer ornata poterit esse expolitio, quae
constabit ex frequentibus exornationibus verborum
et sententiarum.

Hoc modo igitur septem partibus tractabitur ut

ab eiusdem sententiae non recedamus exemplo, ut
scire possis quam facile praeceptione rhetoricae res
simplex multiplici ratione tractetur ^
" Sapiens nullum pro re publica periculum vitabit
57
ideo quod saepe, cum pro re publica perire noluerit,
necesse erit cum re publica pereat et quoniam omnia
sunt commoda a patria accepta, nullum incommodum
pro patria grave putandum est.
" Ergo qui fugiunt id periculum quod pro re
:

publica subeundum est stulte faciunt

nam neque
efFugere incommoda possunt et ingrati in civitatem
reperiuntur.
At qui patriae pericula suo periculo
expetunt,^ hi sapient es putandi sunt, cum et eum
quem debent honorem rei publicae reddunt, et pro
;

tractatur other 3ISS.

tractetur

expetunt P^B^CE

" 4. xlv.
*

2.

"

4.

expetant

Mx.

M Mx

expectant B.

59-xlix. 62.

XXX. 47 ff.
XXX. 41.

The tractatio (i^epyaaia) of the chria is freer than that

of the epicheireme in 2. xix. 28 ff.
This is our oldest extant
illustration of a chria.
Cf. the tractatio in Hermogenes,
Progymn. 3 (ed. Rabe, pp. 6-8).
^

370

AD IIKRENNIUM,

IV. xuii. 56 -xliv. 57

then a Comparison and an

I shall say
more in their
finally the Conclusion (the
essential details of which were discussed in Book 11/^
when I showed how one should bring arguments to a
close
in this Book ^ I have explained the nature of
that figure of diction which is called Conclusion). A
Refinement of this sort, which will consist of numerous
figures of diction and of thought, can therefore be
exceedingly ornate.
The following, then, will illustrate a treatment in
seven parts to continue the use of the same theme
for my example, in order that you may know how
easily, by the precepts of rhetoric, a simple idea is
developed in a multiple manner ^
" The wise man will, on the republic's behalf, shun
no peril ,^ because it may often happen that if a man
has been loath to perish for his country it will be
necessary for him to perish with her.
Further, since
it is from our country that we receive all our advantages, no disadvantage incurred on her behalf is to be
regarded as severe./
" I say, then, that they who flee from the peril to be
undergone on behalf of the republic act foolishly ,9
for they cannot avoid the disadvantages, and are
found guilty of ingratitude towards the state.^
" But on the other hand they who, with peril to
themselves, confront the perils of the fatherland, are
to be considered wise, since they render to their
country the homage due her, and prefer to die for
Figures of Diction)

Kxample (about these

place) " XLIV. and
;

I
"
*

The Theme expressed simply (xpeia).

The Reasons (amat).
Expression of the theme in a new form.
The Reasons.

[CICERO]
Etenim
perire malunt quam cum multis.
vehementer est iniquum vitam, quam a natura
acceptam propter patriam conservaris, naturae cum
et cum
cogat reddere, patriae cum roget non dare
possis cum summa virtute et honore pro patria intemultis

et cum
malle per dedecus et ignaviam vivere
pro amicis et parentibus et ceteris necesariis adire
periculum velis, pro re publica, in qua et haec et illud
sanctissimum patriae nomen continetur, nolle in
rire,

discrimen venire.

contemnendus est qui in navigio non

se mavult incolumem, item vituperandus
qui in rei publicae discrimine suae plus quam communi saluti consulit. Navi enim fracta multi inIta uti

navem quam

columes evaserunt

ex naufragio patriae salvus

nemo

potest enatare.
"

Quod mihi bene

videtur Decius intellexisse, qui

immiAmisit vitam, at non perdidit. Re

enim vilissima certam et parva maximam redemit.
Vitam dedit, accepit patriam; amisit animam,
potitus est gloriam, quae cum summa laude prodita
vetustate cotidie magis enitescit.

se devovisse dicitur et pro legionibus in hostes

sisse

medios.

" But since through the days

surrounds us on all sides, it is
not a man's part, certainly not a Roman's, to hesitate to give
to his country the life he owes to nature."
* The argument from the Contrary {in rod ivavriov).
"

Cf. Cicero, Phil. 10. 10. 20

fate

and nights every kind of

The argument by Comparison (c/c Trapa^oXrjs).

The national hero P. Decius Mus, in 295 B.C. at Sentinum
in the war against the Samnites, flung himself upon the
weapons of the enemj', and by this act of devotion brought
victory to the Romans.
The like act was attributed to his
372
*

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xliv. 57

many

of their fellow citizens instead of with them.

is extremely unjust to give back to nature,
when she compels, the life you have received from
nature, and not to give to your country, when she
calls for it, the life you have preserved thanks to your
country
and when you can die for fatherland with
the greatest manliness and honour, to prefer to live in
disgrace and cowardice
and when you are willing to
face danger for friends and parents and your other
kin, to refuse to run the risk for the republic, which
embraces all these and that most holy name of
fatherland as well.''
He who in a voyage prefers his own to his vessel's
security, deserves contempt.
No less blameworthy
is he who in a crisis of the republic consults his own in
preference to the common safety.
For from the
wreck of a ship many of those on board escape unharmed, but from the wreck of the fatherland no one

For

it

can swim to

safety.*^

It is this that, in

who

my

opinion, Decius

<^

well under-

said to have devoted himself to death,

and, in order to save his legions, to have plunged

stood,

is

enemy. He gave up his life,

but did not throw it away for at the cost of a very
cheap good he redeemed a sure good, of a small good
He gave his life, and received his
the greatest good.
country in exchange. He lost his life, and gained
glory, which, transmitted with highest praise, shines
more and more every day as time goes on.'^
into the midst of the

fe-ther

340

in

(who bore the same name) in a battle against the Latins

B.C.
This story was a favourite historical example

(see Exemplification, 4. xlix.

'

62 below) of patriotism.

The argument from Example

testimony of antiquity

(eV TrapaheiyfjidTojy),

and the

{fj-aprvpia tcuv TraXaicov}.

373

[CICERO]
"

Quodsi pro re publica decere accedere periculum

demonstratum est et exemplo conprobatum, ii sapientes sunt existimandi qui nullum pro
salute patriae periculum vitant."
58
In his igitur generibus expolitio versatur de qua
producti sumus ut plura diceremus quod non modo
et ratione

cum causam dicimus adiuvat et exornat

maxime per eam exercemur ad

sed multo

orationem,
elocutionis

facultatem. Quare conveniet extra causam in

exercendo rationes adhibere expolitionis, in dicendo

cum exornabimus argumentationem, qua de re

diximus in libro secundo.
uti

XLV. Commoratio est cum in loco firmissimo quo ^

tota causa continetur manetur diutius et eodem
saepius reditur. Hac uti maxime convenit, et id est
maxime proprium, non enim datur
animum de re firmissima demovendi.
Huic exemplum satis idoneum subici non potuit,

oratoris

boni

auditori potestas

propterea quod hie locus non est a tota causa

separatus sicuti membrum aliquod, sed tamquam
sanguis perfusus est per totum corpus orationis.
^

"
*

quo 3Ix

ed. mai., all

3IS8. but

Conclusion (emAoyoj).
2. xviii. 28, 2. xxx. 47

a quo 3Ix.

ff.
^

Cf. also hiaTpi^rj, as, for

Rhet. 3. 17 (14l'8 a).
'^

aquo

iTTLfiov-q.

example,

in Aristotle,

^ Anon., Schemata Dianoeas, in Halm, p. 72. 7, cites in

illustration of this figure the famous beginning ojf Cicero's
"
first oration against Catiline
long, in heaven's name,
Catiline, will you abuse our patience ?
much longer yet
will that madness of yours make mock of us ?
To what limit
"
will your unbridled audacity vaunt itself?
:

How

How

the

374

The

is the common comparison of a discourse with

body. Cf. ahpov (4. viii. 11 above), la^vo'v (4. x.

basis

human

AD IIKRENNIUM,

IV. xliv. 57-xLv. 58

" But if reason has shown and illustration confirmed that it is fitting to confront danger in defence
of the republic, they are to be esteemed wise who
do not shrink from any peril when the security of
the fatherland is at stake." ^
58
It is of these types, then, that Refining consists.
I have been led to discuss it at rather great length
because it not only gives force and distinction to the
speech when we plead a cause, but it is by far our
most important means of training for skill in style.
It will be advantageous therefore to practise the
principles of Refining in exercises divorced from a
real cause, and in actual pleading to put them to use
in the Embellishment of an argument, which I
discussed in Book II.*
XLV. Dwelling on the Point occurs when one
remains rather long upon, and often returns to, the
strongest topic on which the whole cause rests.
Its
use is particularly advantageous, and is especially
characteristic of the good orator, for no opportunity is
given the hearer to remove his attention from this
strongest topic.
I have been unable to subjoin a
quite appropriate example*^ of the figure, because
this topic is not isolated from the whole cause like
some limb, but like blood ^ is spread through the whole
body of the discourse.
'^

14 above), and esp. sufflata (4. x. 15 above), and dissolutum

{sine nervis et articulis) and exile (4. xi. 16 above); Cicero,
Bruttis 9. 36 and 16. 64, and Orator 23. 76; Horace, Serm.
2.

1.

2;

in Plato,

every discourse

body of

its

is

Phaedrus 264 C, Socrates' principle that

constructed like a living creature, with a

own and

head and

feet,

and

Aristotle, Poet.,

See also La Rue Van Hook, The Metaphorical

Terminology of Greek Rhetoric and Literary Criticism, Chicago
ch. 7 (1450 b).
diss.,

1905, pp. 18

fif.

[CICERO]

quam

Contentio est per

Ea

contraria referentur.

verborum exornationibus, ut ante docuimus,

huiusmodi " Inimicis te placabilem, amicis inexorabilem praebes." In sententiarum, huiusmodi " Vos
huius incommodis lugetis, iste rei publicae calamitate
Vos vestris fortunis diffiditis, iste solus suis
laetatur.
eo magis confidit." Inter haec duo contentionum
genera hoc interest illud ex verbis celeriter relatis
est in

constat; hie sententiae contrariae ex conparatione

referantur oportet.
Similitudo est oratio traducens ad rem quampiam
59
Ea sumitur aut ornandi
aliquid ex re dispari simile.
causa aut probandi aut apertius dicendi aut ante
oculos ponendi. Et quomodo quattuor de causis
sumitur, item quattuor modis dicitur per contrarium,
per negationem, per conlationem, per brevitatem.
:

Ad unam quamque sumendae causam

similitudinis

adcommodabimus singulos modos pronuntiandi.

XLVI. Ornandi causa sumitur per contrarium

sic

enim, quemadmodum in palaestra qui taedas

candentes accipit celerior est in cursu continuo quam
ille qui tradit, item melior imperator novus qui accipit
propterea quod
exercitum quam ille qui decedit
defatigatus cursor integro facem, hie peritus imperator imperito exercitum tradit." Hoc sine simili satis

*'

Non

" 4. XV. 21
The ancient rhetoricians differed widely, some
regarding Antithesis as a figure of diction, others as a figure
see
and
still others as belonging to both classes
thought,
of
Cousin, Etudes sur Quintilien, 2. 46-8.
* TTapa^oXrj.
This figure and the next two form a common
In Cicero, De Inv.
triad in post-Aristotelian rhetoric.
1. XXX. 49, they are divisions of comparabile (= ofioioycjis).
Cf. Metaphor and Allegory, 4. xxxiv. 45, 46 above, among
.

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xlv. sS-xlvf. 59

As I
contraries will meet.
it l^elongs either amon^ the
" You
fif^ures of diction," as in the following exannple
show yourself conciliatory to your enemies, inexorable
Throiifrh

Antitliesis

have explained above,

to your friends "

as in the followinrj

or amonj^ the fi<^ures of tiiou<rht.

example

"
:

While you deplore the

troubles besetting him, this knave rejoices in the

ruin of the state. While you despair of your fortunes,
this knave alone grows all the more confident in his
own." Between these two kinds of Antithesis there
the first consists in a rapid opposiis this difference
in the other opposing thoughts ought
tion of words
to meet in a comparison.
Comparison * is a manner of speech that carries
over an element of Hkeness from one thing to a
This is used to embellish or prove or
different thing.
clarify or vivify. Furthermore, corresponding to these
Contrast,
four aims, it has four forms of presentation
:

Negation. Detailed Parallel, Abridged Comparison.

To each single aim in the use of Comparison we shall
adapt the corresponding form of presentation.
XLVI. In the form of a contrast, in order to em" Unlike what
bellish, Comparison is used as follows
happens in the palaestra, where he who receives the
flaming torch is swifter in the relay race than he who
hands it on, the new general who receives command
of an army is not superior to the general who retires
from its command. For in the one case it is an
exhausted runner who hands the torch to a fresh
athlete, whereas in this it is an experienced commander who hands over the army to an inexperienced." This could have been expressed quite
:

the figures of diction. Comparisons are invented, but drawn

from real life; see note on Exemplification, 4. xlix. 62 below.

[CICERO]
plane et perspicue et probabiliter did potuit, hoc
" Dicitur minus bonos imperatores a melioribus exercitus accipere solere "; sed ornandi causa

modo:

sumptum est, ut orationi quaedam dignitas

conparetur. Dictum autem est per contrariumi.
Nam tum similitude sumitur per contrarium cum ei
rei quam nos probamus aliquam rem negamus esse
similem.
Per negationem dicetur probandi causa hoc modo
" Neque equus indomitus, quamvis bene natura
conpositus sit, idoneus potest esse ad eas utilitates
quae desiderantur ab equo ; neque homo indoctus,
quamvis sit ingeniosus, ad virtutem potest pervenire."
Hoc probabilius factum est quod magis est veri simile
non posse virtutem sine doctrina conparari, quoniam
simile

^
equus quidem indomitus idoneus possit esse.
Ergo sumptum est probandi causa, dictum autem per
id enim perspicuum est de primo
negationem

ne

similitudinis verbo.

60

XLVII. Sumetur

et apertius dicendi causa simile

per brevitatem hoc modo: " In amicitia
gerenda, sicut in certamine currendi, non ita convenit
exerceri ut quoad necesse sit venire possis, sed ut
productus studio et viribus ultra facile procurras."
Nam hoc simile est ut apertius intellegatur mala
ratione facere qui reprehendant eos qui, verbi causa,

dicitur

ne

Md

quidem ne

Mx.

" Such as believed

"
Cf. Xenophon, Memorabilia 4. 1. 3
themselves good by nature and looked down upon learning,
Socrates would teach that the greater the natural endowments, the greater is the need of education, pointing out that
spirited and impetuous thoroughbreds, if they are tamed
:

378

AD

IlEllENNIUM,

IV. xiai. 59-MAii. 60

simply, clearly, and plausibly without the Comparison, as follows: " ITiey say that usually it is
inferior generals who take over the command of
armies from superior." But the Comparison is used
for embellishment, so as to secure a certain distinction
for the style.
It is moreover presented in the form of
a contrast.
For a Comparison in the form of a contrast is used when we deny that something else is
like the thing we are asserting to be true.
In the form of a negation and for the purpose of
" Neither
proof, Comparison will be used as follows
can an untrained horse, however well-built by nature,
be fit for the services desired of a horse, nor can an
uncultivated man, however well-endowed by nature,
attain to virtue." This idea has been rendered
:

more

plausible, for it becomes easier to believe that

virtue cannot be secured without culture, when we

see that not even a horse can be serviceable if

untrained. Thus the Comparison is used for the
purpose of proof, and moreover is presented in the
form of a negation, as is clear from the first word
of the Comparison.
XLVII. A Comparison will be used also for greater
60
clarity
the presentation being in abridged form as
follows
"In maintaining a friendship, as in a footrace, you must train yourself not only so that you
succeed in running as far as is required, but so that,
extending yourself by will and sinew, you easily run
beyond that point." Indeed this Comparison serves
to make more obvious the poor reasoning evinced by
the detractors of those who, for example, are

when young, become

broken

in,

tilian, 5. 11.

useful and excellent horses, but if not

become intractable and worthless;" also Quin-

24

f.

379

[CICERO]
post

mortem amici

quod

liberos eius custodiant

tantum

in cursore

propterea

velocitatis esse oporteat ut

amico tantum benivolentiae

ut ultra quam quod amicus sentire possit procurrat
Dictum autem simile est per breviamicitiae studio.
tatem, non enim ita ut in ceteris rebus res ab re
separata est, sed utraeque res coniuncte et confuse
efferatur ultra finem, in

pronuntiatae.
Ante oculos ponendi negotii causa sumetur similitudo dicetur per conlationem sic: " Uti citharoedus cum prodierit optime vestitus, palla inaurata

indutus/
intexta,

cum chlamyde purpurea variis coloribus

cum corona aurea magnis fulgentibus

et

gemmis inluminata, citharam tenens exornatissimam

auro et ebore distinctam, ipse praeterea forma et
specie sit et statura adposita ad dignitatem, si, cum
magnam populo commorit iis rebus expectationem,
repente, silentio facto, vocem mittat acerbissimam
cum turpissimo corporis motu, quo melius ornatus et
magis fuerit expectatus, eo magis derisus et contemptus eicitur item si quis in excelso loco et in
magnis ac locupletibus copiis conlocatus fortunae
muneribus et naturae commodis omnibus abundabit,
si virtutis et artium quae virtutis magistrae sunt
egebit, quo magis ceteris rebus erit copiosus et inlustris et expectatus, eo vehementius derisus et
contemptus ex omni conventu bonorum eicietur."
Hoc simile exornatione utriusque rei, alterius inertiae
;

iiidutus

P^CE

induitur

inductus

Mx.

See note on Exemplification, 4. xlix. 62 below.

^ The
story of Evangelus of Tarentum at the Pythian
games see Lucian, Adv. Indoctum 8-10. C/. also Socrates in
Xenophon, Memorabilia 1. 7. 2, on the bad flute-player considered in connection with imposture and the life of virtue.
"

380

AD HKllENNIUM,

IV. xlvii. 6o

protectors of a friend's children after his death

for a
runner ought to have enou^rh sjieed to carry him
beyond the ^oal, and a friend so much goodwill that
in the devotion of friendship he may reach even
beyond what his friend is capable of perceiving.
;

The Comparison

is

moreover presented

in

abridged

form, for one term is not detached from the other as

in the other forms, but the two are conjoined and
intermingled in the presentation.

Comparison will be used for vividness, and be set

forth in the form of a detailed parallel," as follows
" Let us imagine a player on the lyre ^ who has
presented himself on the stage, magnificently garbed,
clothed in a gold-embroidered robe, with purple
mantle interlaced in various colours, wearing a golden
crown illumined with large gleaming jewels, and
holding a lyre covered with golden ornaments and set
off with ivory.
Further, he has a personal beauty,
presence, and stature that impose dignity.
If, when
by these means he has roused a great expectation in
the public, he should in the silence he has created
suddenly give utterance to a rasping voice, and this
should be accompanied by a repulsive gesture, he is
the more forcibly thrust off in derision and scorn, the
richer his adornment and the higher the hopes he has
raised.
In the same way, a man of high station,
endowed with great and opulent resources, and
abounding in all the gifts of fortune and the emoluments of nature, if he yet lacks virtue and the arts
that teach virtue, will so much the more forcibly in
derision and scorn be cast from all association with
good men, the richer he is in the other advantages, the
greater his distinction, and the higher the hopes he
has raised." This Comparison, by embellishing both
381

[CICERO]
alterius stultitiae simili ratione conlata, sub aspectus

omnium rem

61

subiecit.
Dictum autem est per conlationem, propterea quod proposita similitudine paria
sunt omnia relata.
XLVIII. In similibus observare oportet diligenter
ut, cum rem adferamus similem cuius rei causa
similitudinem adtulerimus, verba ad similitudinem
habeamus adcommodata. Id est huiusmodi " Ita ut
hirundines aestivo tempore praesto sunt, frigore
pulsae recedunt, ..." Ex eadem similitudine nunc
per translation em verba sumimus " item falsi amici
sereno vitae tempore praesto sunt; simul atque
hiemem fortunae viderunt, devolant omnes." Sed
inventio similium facilis erit si quis sibi omnes res,
animantes et inanimas, mutas et eloquentes, feras et
mansuetas, terrestres, caelestes, maritimas, artificio,
casu, natura conparatas, usitatas atque inusitatas,
frequenter ponere ante oculos poterit, et ex his
aliquam venari similitudinem quae aut ornare aut
docere aut apertiorem rem facere aut ponere ante
oculos possit.
Non enim res tota totae rei necesse est
similis sit, sed id ipsum quod conferetur similitudinem
:

habeat oportet.

XLIX. Exemplum est alicuius facti aut

cum certi auctoris nomine propositio.

62

dicti

praeteriti

Id

" TTapaSciyixa.
Examples
drawn
are
from
history.
Aristotle, Ehet. 2. 20 (1393 a flf.), divides Examples into this
type and also that which is invented (but drawn from real
life), and the latter again into the Comparison (see 4. xlv.
59 above) and the Fable. Cf. EheL ad Alex., oh. 8 (1429 a1430 a), and Quintilian, 5. 11. 1 ff. and 8. 3. 72 S. Examples
are recommended especially in deliberative speaking, 3. v. 9
Demonicum 34, Aristotle, Bhet.
above; cf. Isocrates,

Ad

1.

2.

9 (1368 a) and 3. 17 (1418

xxix. 46 above) and proof

382

a).
[cf.

Both embellishment
3.

iii.

{cf.

4 above) are here

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. xiaii. 6o-\li\. 62

terms, bringing into relation by a nu-thod of parallel

description the one man's ineptitude and the other's
lack of cultivation, has set the subject vividly before
the eyes of all.
Moreover the Comparison is presented in the form of a detailed parallel because,
once the similitude has been set up, all like elements
are related.
61
XL\ III. In Comparisons we must carefully see to
it that when we present the corresponding idea for
the sake of which we have introduced the figure we
use words suited to the likeness. The following is an
" Just as the swallows are with us in
example
summer time, and when driven by the frost retire,
:

..."

Keeping the same comparison, and using

Metaphor, we now say "so false friends are with us in
a peaceful season of our life, and as soon as they have
seen the winter of our fortune, they fly awav, one and
But the invention of Comparisons will be easy
all."
if one can frequently set before one's eyes everything
animate and inanimate, mute and articulate, wild
and tame, of the earth, sky, and sea, wrought by art,
chance, or nature, ordinary or unusual, and can
amongst these hunt out some likeness which is
:

capable of embellishing or proving or clarifying or

vivifying.
The resemblance between the two things
need not apply throughout, but must hold on the
precise point of comparison.
62
XLIX. Exemplification " is the citing of something
done or said in the past, along with the definite
naming of the doer or author. It is used with the
included among the functions of Example by our author.
In 4. iii. 5 above the function is declared to be demonstratio,
see note.
For facti et dicti
not confirmatio or testificatio
in the definition c/. Quintilian's recommendation in 12. 2. 29
;

383

[CICERO]
Ptem

sumitur isdem de causis quibus similitude.

ornatiorem

sumitur

facit

cum

apertiorem,

cum id quod

sit

obscurius magis

cum magis veri

ante oculos ponit, cum exprimit omnia
res prope dicam manu temptari possit.

dilucidum reddit
similem

nullius rei nisi dignitatis causa

facit

probabiliorem,

perspicue ut

Unius cuiusque generis singula subiecissemus exempla, nisi et

exemplum quod genus

esset

in expoli-

tione demonstrassemus et causas sumendi in similitu-

dine aperuissemus.

Quare noluimus neque pauca

quominus intellegeretur, neque

re intellecta plura

scribere.

Imago

est

formae

dine conlatio.
tionis causa.

cum forma cum quadam

Haec sumitur aut

Laudis causa,

sic

tauri

simili."

Vituperationis, ut in

validissimi,

" Iste qui cotidie per

1

esset 31

laudis aut vitupera" Inibat in

impetu

corpore

modo:

similitu-

leonis

proelium
acerrimi

odium adducat, hoc

forum medium tamquam

est

E Mx.

that the speaker know and ponder the noblest things " said
and done " in the past, and the title of Valerius Maximus'
work, Factoruni et Dictorum Memorabiliuvi Libri IX
also
Thucydides' division of his material into Aoyoi and ipya.
See Karl Alewell, tjber das rhetorische irapaBeiy^a, Kiel diss,,
Leipzig, 1913, especially pp. 18 ff.
Marivis Plotins (Keil,
Gramm. Lat. 6. 469) and Apsines, Ars Rhet. 8 (SpengelHammer 1 [2]. 281. 10 fi".) treat four methods of drawing
examples
from the like, the contrary, the greater, the less
c/. 4. xlv. 59 above.
;

384

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. \u\. 62

same motives as a Comparison. It rciulers a thought

more brilliant when used for no other purpose than
clearer, when throwing more light upon
beauty
what was somewhat obscure more plausible, when
giving the thought greater verisimilitude
more
vivid, when expressing everything so lucidly that the
matter can, 1 may almost say, be touched by the
hand. I would have added individual specimens of
;

each type had I not under Refining demonstrated

the nature of Exemplification,'^ and, under Comparison, made clear the motives for its use.**
Therefore I have been unwilling to make my discussion of
it either too brief for it to be understood, or too long
once it is understood.
Simile
is
the comparison of one figure with
another, implying a certain resemblance between
them. This is used either for praise or censure. For
" He entered the combat in body
praise, as follows
like the strongest bull, in impetuosity like the
fiercest lion." ^
For censure, so as to excite hatred,
" That wretch who daily glides through
as follows
'^

"
*
'

57 above.
59 above.
iLKwv.
Puttenham's
4. xliv.

4. xlv.

"

Resemblance

by

Iraagene

or

Pourtrait."
C/. Aristotle, RhfJ. 3. 4 (1406 b ff.).
In postAristotelian rhetoric this appears as a special figure, separate
from similitudo (Comparison), 4. xlv. 59 above, to which it is
yet closely akin; Miniicianus, iJe Epich. 2 (Spengel-Hammer
1 [2]. 342) attributes greater vividness to (Ikwv.
Quintilian,
5. 11. 24, advises that this kind of comparison sliouid be used
less often than the kind which helps to prove our point.
Cf.
Cicero, De Jnv. 1. xxx. 49.
Poh'bius Sard. (Spengel 3. 108)
gives nine figures related to (Ikwv.
" When Homer [cf. //.
Cf. Aristotle, Bhet. 3. 4 (1406 b)
20. 164] says of Achilles,
Like a lion he rushed to meet his
foe,' that is (Iko}v"
<*

'

385

[CICERO]
iubatus draco serpit dentibus adiincis, aspectu
venenato, spiritu rabido, circum inspectans hue et
illuc si quern reperiat eui aliquid mali faueibus
adfiare, ore adtingere, dentibus insecare, lingua
aspergere possit." Ut in invidiam adducat, hoc
modo: " Iste qui divitias suas iactat sicut Gallus e
Phrygia aut hariolus quispiam, depressus et oneratus
iauro, clamat et delirat."
In contemptionem, sic:
Iste qui tamquam coclea abscondens retentat sese
tacitus, cum domo totus ut comedatur ^ aufertur."
63
Effictio est cum exprimitur atque effingitur verbis
corporis cuiuspiam forma quoad satis sit ad intellegendum, hoc modo: " Hunc, indices, dico, rubrum,
brevem, incurvum, canum, subcrispum, caesium, cui
sane magna est in mento cicatrix, si quo modo potest
vobis in memoriam redire."
Habet haec exornatio

cum

utilitatem si quem velis demonstrare,

si breviter et dilucide facta est.

turn

venustatem

L. Notatio est cum alicuius natura certis describitur signis, quae, sicuti notae quae, naturae sunt
^

totus ut comedatur
totus ut comeditur

E Mx

ed. inai.

ut tutus comeditur

Mx.

" ^doKavos 6(f)daXfi6s.

For the example cf. Demosthenes,
" But he moves through the marketAdv. Aristogeit. 1. 52
place like a snake or a scorpion with sting raised, darting here
and there, looking about for someone upon whom to bring
down misfortune or calumny or evil of some kind."
* The Galli derived
their name from a river Gallus in
Phrygia; who drank of it went mad (Ovid, Fasti 4. 366).
The worship of the Phrygian Mother Goddess was characterized by extreme wildness.
XapaKTrjpLOfxos, favoured in comedy; e.g., Terence, Hecyra
" Well, I'll describe him so that you will recognize
439-41
him he is tall, ruddy, curly-headed, heavy-set, blear-eyed,
and has a face like a corpse." Quintilian, 9. 3. 99, excludes
this from the figures.
:

386

AD HKUKNMUM,

1\'.

max. 62-L. 63

the middle of the loriim like a crested serpent, with

curved fangs, j)oisonoiis glance," and fierce panting,
looking about him on this side and that for some one
to smear it
to blast with venom from his throat
with his lips, to drive it in with his teeth, to spatter it
with his tongue." To excite envy, as follows:
" That creature who flaunts his riches, loaded and
weighed down with gold, shouts and raves like a
Phrygian eunuch-priest of Cybele * or like a soothsayer." To excite contempt, as follows: "That
creature, who like a snail silently hides and keeps
himself in his shell, is carried off', he and his house, to
be swallowed whole."
63
Portrayal consists in representing and depicting
in words clearly enough for recognition the bodily
foiTn of some person, as follows: " I mean him, men
of the jury, the ruddy, short, bent man, with white
and rather curly hair, blue-grey eyes, and a huge
scar on his chin, if perhaps you can recall him to
memory." This figure is not only serviceable, if you
should wish to designate some person, but also
graceful, if fashioned with brevity and clarity.
L. Character Delineation ^ consists in describing a
person's character by the definite signs which, like
distinctive marks, are attributes of that character

"

rjdoTToiia.

Morum

ac vitae imiiatio in Cicero,

De

Oratore

Theophrastus, Characters, especially xxni,

developed
the
type;
"Pretentiousness." Theophrastus
Roman comedy favoured it {cf. the narratives in Terence,
Of the
and, for the theme, the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus).
orators Lysias employs Ethopoeia with special skill. rjdoTroUa
may be connected with the simple style (see 4. x. 14 above),
although the example of the figure shows an artificial elegance
which sermo rarely had. Quintilian, 9. 3. 99, excludes
3. 53.

204.

-qdoTTOLia

Cf.

from the

figures.

387

[CICERO]
adtributa; ut si velis non divitem, sed ostentatorem
pecuniosi describere, " Iste," inquies, " iudices, qui se
did divitem putat ^ esse praeclarum, primum nunc
Nonne vobis videtur
videte quo vultu nos intueatur.
Darem vobis libenter quae clientibus ^
dicere
Cum vero
dant, si mihi molesti non essetis ?
sinistra mentum sublevavit, existimat se gemmae
nitore et auri splendore aspectus omnium prae*

'

stringere.

Cum puerum

respicit

hunc unum, quem

ego novi vos non arbitror alio nomine appellat,

At eho tu,' inquit, veni,
deinde alio atque alio.
Sannio, ne quid isti ^ barbari * turbent,' ut ignoti qui
audient unum putent seligi de multis. Ei dicit in
aurem aut ut domi lectuli sternantur, aut ab avunculo
rogetur Aethiops qui ad balneas veniat, aut asturconi
locus ante ostium suum detur, aut aliquod fragile
Deinde exfalsae choragium gloriae conparetur.
Videto ut diligenter
clamat, ut omnes audiant
numeretur, si potest, ante noctem.' Puer, qui iam
'

'

'

bene

naturam

eri

putat

lac.

3 isti
*

norit,

inquit,

oportet.'

CE

'

putabat

darem vobis

B'^E
barbari

si

BCHE

Tu

illo

vis

plures mittas
transnumerari.'

HPBYi Mx.

libenter quae clientibus

hi C.

M Mx

is

'

hodie

s>jigg.

Mx.

barbaris

P Mx

barbaros H.

" This
gesture, used by Palaestrio in Plautus, 3Iiles
Gloriosus 209, is interpreted by Periplecomenus as indicating
thought. CJ. the statue of Polyhymnia, No. 195 in A.
Baumeister, Bilder aus dem griech. und rom. Altertum, Munich,
1889.
^
Cf., in Athenaeus, 6. 230, the bragging beggar who owned
in all only a drachm's weight of silver, and would shout to his
one and only slave but using names as many as the sands in
" Boy
Strombichides
Don't set before us the
number
"
silver we use in winter, but that which we use in summer

388

AD HKKKNNIUM.

IV.

i..

63

example, if you should wish to describe a man who

not actually rich iiut parades as a moneyed man,
you would say " That person there, men of the jury,
who thinks it adnurable that he is called rich, see now
first with what an air he surveys us.
Does he not
seem to you to be saying: 'I'd gladly give you
clients' doles, if you didn't try my patience!
Yes,
once he has propped his chin on his left hand ^ he
thinks that he dazzles the eyes of all with the gleam
of his jewelr}' and the glitter of his gold. When he
turns to his slave boy here, his only one ^ I know
him, and you do not, I think he calls him now by
one name, now by another, and now by a third
Ho
there, you, Sannio,' says he,
come here, see that
these barbarians ^ don't turn things upside down,*
so that unknowing hearers may think he is selecting
one slave from among many. Whispering in the
boy's ear he tells him either to arrange the diningcouches at home, or to ask his uncle for an Ethiop ^
to attend him to the baths, or to station the Asturian
thoroughbred before his front door, or to make ready
some other flimsy stage property which should set
off his vainglor}'.
Then he shouts, that all may
hear
See to it that the money is carefully counted
before nightfall,^ if possible/' The boy, by this
time well knowing his master's character, says
You had better send more slaves over there if you
want the counting done today.'
Go then,' he
for

is

'

'

'

'

'

Unlike Sannio, who was doubtless home-born.

In Theophrastus, Characters 21. 4, the Man of Petty
sees to it that his attendant shall be an Ethiop.''
" Let him only vie in

Cf. Calpurnius Siculus 3. 63 f.

feeding kids in number equal to my bulls as these are* counted
'

"

Ambition "

at nightfall."

[cicp:roi
'

Age,'

Sane.'

inquit,

due tecum Libanum

'

Sosiam.'

et

" Deinde casu veniunt hospites homini, quos iste

dum splendide

peregrinatur invitarat.^

non

recedit.

Bene,' inquit,

'

facitis

vitio

naturae

cum

venitis,

me domum recta abissetis.'

inquiunt illi, si domum novissemus.'

sed rectius fecissetis

'

Ex ea re homo

tamen a

hercule sane conturbatur, sed

Id fecissemus,'

si

ad

'

At istud quidem
Verum ite mecum.'
*

facile

undelibet

fuit

invenire.

" Sequuntur illi.

Sermo interea huius consumitur
quaerit in agris frumenta
omnis in ostentatione
cuiusmodi sint
negat se, quia villae incensae sint,
accedere posse, nee aedificare etiamnunc audere,
'tametsi in Tusculano quidem coepi insanire et in
isdem fundamentis aedificare.'
64
LI. " Dum haec loquitur, venit in aedes quasdam
in quibus sodalicium erat eodem die futurum quo iste
pro notitia domini aedium ^ ingreditur ^ cum hospitihabito.'
Perspicit argentum
bus.
Hie,' inquit,
quod erat expositum, visit triclinium stratum, probat.
Accedit servulus; dicit homini clare dominum iam
Eamus,
venturum, si velit exire.
Itane ? inquit.
frater venit ex Falerno
hospites
ego illi obviam
pergam;
decima venitote.' Hospites
vos hue
illi
discedunt.
Iste se raptim domum suam conicit
decima, quo iusserat, veniunt. Quaerunt hunc,
:

'

'

'

'

Halm

invitarat

domini edium

ingreditur

390

invitat b

P^B^CE

Mx

domnediam
:

in integro

M omits.

domnaedi iam Mx,

HPUB

it

intro

Mx.

AD IIKRENNIUM,

IV.

r..

u.

f>r,

^,4

Very
answers, take with you Libanus and Sosia.'
good, sir.'
" Then by chance come guests, whom the rascal had
By
invited while travelling abroad in splendour.
this event the man is, you may be sure, quite embarrassed, but he still does not desist from his natural
fault.
You do well,' says he, to come, but you
would have done better to go straight to me at my
house.'
That we would have done,' say they, had
we known your house.'
But surely it was easy to
find that out from anyone.
Still, come with me.'
" They follow.
In the meanwhile all his conversaHe asks
How are the
tion is spent in boasting.
crops in the fields ?
He says that because his
villas have been burnt, he cannot go to them, and does
not yet dare rebuild them, although on my Tusculan
estate, to be sure, I have commenced an insane
undertaking to build on the same foundations.'
64
LI. " While saying this he comes to a certain
house in which a banqueting club was to meet on that
very day. As if in fact he knew the owner, the
Here,'
rascal now enters the house with his guests.
says he, is where I live.' He scrutinizes the silver
which had been laid out, inspects the dining-couch
'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

which had been spread, and indicates his approval. A

little slave boy comes up.
He says aloud to the man
would he wish to
that the master is about to arrive
Indeed ? says the man. Let us be off, my
leave ?
friends. My brother has arrived from the Falernian
country. I shall go to meet him. Do come here at four
;

'

'

'

The guests depart. The rascal rushes

posthaste to his own home. They, as he had bidden,
come at four o'clock. They ask for him, discover

o'clock.' ^

"

The dinner hour;

cf.

Martial, Epigr. 4.

8. 7, 7. 51. 11.

[CICEROl
reperiunt domus cuia sit, in diversorium derisi conferunt sese.
" Vident hominem postero die ^ ; narrant, expostuAit iste eos similitudine loci deceptos
lant, accusant.
se ^ contra valetudinem
angiporto toto deerrasse
suam ad noctem multam expectasse. Sannioni puero
negotium dederat ut vasa, vestimenta, pueros rogaservulus non inurbanus satis strenue et concinne
ret
conpararat.^ Iste hospites domum deducit; ait se
aedes maximas cuidam amico ad nuptias commodasse.
Nuntiat puer argentum repeti, pertimuerat enim qui
Apage te,' inquit, aedes commocommodarat.
argentum quoque vult ? Tametsi
davi, familiam dedi
nos Samiis
hospites habeo, tamen utatur licet
;

'

delectabimur.'
" Quid ego quae deinde efficiat narrem?
Eiusmodi est hominis natura ut quae singulis diebus
efficiat gloria atque ostentatione ea vix annuo sermone

enarrare possim."
65

Huiusmodi notationes, quae describunt quod

consentaneum sit unius cuiusque naturae, vehementer habent magnam delectationem, totam enim
naturam cuiuspiam ponunt ante oculos, aut gloriosi,
ut nos exempli causa coeperamus, aut invidi aut
^ postero
die
postera die CE.

other

P-U

MSS.

posteri die

se

conpararat Kayser

comparat

postridie

Mx omit.

PBMx

conpararet

conparat

HP

Mx,

B HE.

the situation in Plautus, Pseud. 960-2.

[Leonida :] " The cups I lent
Cf. Plautus, Asin. 444 fF.

Cf.
*

has he brought them back ? " [Libanus

" Not yet."
" Oh ?
He hasn't ? Give thmgs away,
you wish accommodate a friend with them."

Philodamus

392

:]

if

AD m-.UKNNIUM,
wliose house

it

is,

selves to an inn.
" They see the

IV.

i.i.

64 65

and, Iioodwinked, betake

man

them-

tell him their

and their accusation. He
assures them that they had been deceived by the
similarity of the place and had missed their way by a
whole street;" he had, to the prejudice of his health,
waited for them late into the night. To his boy
Sannio he had given the job of borrowing vessels,
coverings, and servants, and the little slave, not wanting in cleverness, had quite energetically and artfully

story,

make

the next day,

their complaint

The rascal leads his guests to his

says he has accommodated one of his
friends with the loan of his largest mansion for a
wedding. The boy reports that the silver is being
Off with
recalled
for the lender had misgivings.
you,' says our man, * I have obliged him with a
mansion, I have given him my household of slaves.
Does he want the silver,^ too? And yet, although
we shall be content
I have guests, let him use it;
with S ami an.'
" Whv should I tell what he next brings to pass?
Such is the character of the man that what he effects
by empty boasting and showing-off in one day I
could hardly recount if I talked a whole year."
Character Delineations of this kind w hich describe
the qualities proper to each man's nature carry very
great charm, for they set before our eyes a person's
whole character, of the boastful man, as I undertook
to illustrate, or the envious or pompous man, or the
procured

home.

all

these.

He

'

* In this ware metal shapes were imitated.

By no means
the humblest ware, Samian yet represents the inferiority of
earthen vessels as against those of metal. See F. 0. Waage,
Annuity 11 (1937). 46-55.

393

[CICERO]
tumidi aut avari, ambitiosi, amatoris, luxuriosi, furis,
denique cuiusvis studium protrahi
quadruplatoris
potest in medium tali notatione.
LII. Sermocinatio est cum alicui personae sermo
adtribuitur et is exponitur cum ratione dignitatis,
" Cum militibus urbs redundaret et
hoc pacto
omnes timore oppressi domi continerentur, venit
iste cum sago, gladio succinctus, tenens iaculum
III adulescentes hominem simili ornatu subsequuntur.
Ubi est
Inrupit in aedes subito, deinde magna voce
aedium dominus ? Quin mihi
iste beatus,' inquit,
Hie alii omnes stupidi
praesto fuit ? Quid tacetis ?
timore obmutuerunt. Uxor illius infelicissimi cum
Per te,'
maximo fletu ad istius pedes abiecit sese.
inquit, ea quae tibi dulcissima sunt in vita, miserere
nostri, noli extinguere extinctos, fer mansuete fornosce te esse
tunam; nos quoque fuimus beati
Quin ilium mihi datis ac vos auribus
hominem/
meis opplorare desinitis ? Non abibit.'
Illi nuntiatur interea venisse istum et clamore
maximo mortem minari. Quod simul ut audivit,
;

'

'

'

'

'

" SiaAoyoi.
Quintilian, 9. 2. 29 fif., joins this figure and
Personification (next below) as one.
Cf. 4. xliii. 55 above.
*
Cf. Plautus, Rud. 315: "Who had three men with him,
wearing cloaks and swords {chlamydatos cum machaeris).'"
The style is Greek. C/., for example, Euripides, Androm.
892-3
77pds ae rcovSe yovvaTcov otKTeipov rjfxds (" I implore
you by these knees, take pity on me "), and Medea 324;
Sophocles, Oed. Col. 250, and Philoct. 468.
" Take me not captive who am
Cf. Euripides, Ale. 1065
" What feat is it
already captive " ; Sophocles, Antig. 1030
to slay the slain anew ? " ; Ovid, Epist. ex Ponto 4. 16. 51
" What pleasure do you find. Malice, in driving the steel into
"
'^

<*

limbs already dead

" You will achieve

*
Cf. Isocrates, Ad Deinonicum 21
self-control if, when in trouble, you regard the misfortunes of
:

394

AD HKRFA'NIUM,

IV.

65-1,11.

li.

65

miser, the climber, the lover, tlie voluptuary, the

the public informer in short, by such delineation any one's ruling passion can be brought into the

thief,

open.
LII. Dialogue consists in assigning to some
person language which as set forth conforms with his
" When the city overflowed
character, for example
with soldiers, and all the citizens, oppressed by
fear, kept themselves at home, this fellow appeared in military cloak, armed with a sword, in his
hand a javelin. Three young men, equipped like
him, follow behind.* Suddenly he bursts into the
house, and in a loud voice shouts
Where is he, the
wealthy owner of this house ? Why has he not
appeared before me ? Why are you silent ?
At
this all are struck dumb with terror.
The wife of the
unhappy man, bursting into tears, throws herself at
this creature's feet, and says
By all that is dearest
to you in life, I pray you, pity us.<^
Destroy not
anew them that are destroyed.^ Use your good
fortune kindly. We too have enjoyed good fortune.
Remember that you are human.' ^
Why do you not
surrender him to me and cease wailing into my ears r
He shall not escape.'
Meanwhile word of this person's arrival and of his
clamorous threats of death is brought to the master
of the house. Immediately upon receipt of these
:

'

'

'

'

others and remind yourself that you are human " the verse
ascribed in Stobaeus, 3. 22. 25, to the poet Hippothoon (or
" Since you are human, remember the common
Hippothoiis)
lot of humanity " (see Xauck, Trag. Graec. Fragm., 2nd ed.
"I
[1889], p. 827);"' Theseus in Sophocles, Oed. Col. 567 f
know well that I am mortal and have no greater share in the
morrow than you do."
;

395

[CICERO]
Gorgia,' pedisequo ^ puerorum,
inquit,
absconde pueros, defende, fac ut incolumis ad
adulescentiam perducas.' Vix haec dixerat cum ecce
audax ? Non vox
Sedes,' inquit,
iste praesto
mea tibi vitam ademit? Exple meas inimicitias et
iracundiam satura tuo sanguine/ lUe cum magno
Verebar,' ^ inquit, ne plane victus essem.
spiritu
Nunc video: iure mecum contendere non vis, ubi
superari turpissimum et superare pulcerrimum est;
Occidar equidem, sed victus non
interficere vis.
Ut in extremo vitae tempore etiam
peribo.'

Heus,'

'

'

'

'

'

eloqueris

sententias

dominari

Numquam
?
Tum

supplicare

vis

ei

quem

mulier

'

vides

Immo

'

sed tu, quaeso,

quidem rogat et supplicat
hunc exet tu per deos,' inquit,
commovere
vicit hie te, vince tu
amplexare. Dominus est
Quin desinis,' inquit, uxor, loqui
nunc animum.'
iste

'

'

me digna non sint ? Tace et quae curanda

sunt cura. Tu cessas mihi vitam, tibi omnem bene
Iste mulierem
Vivendi spem mea morte eripere ?
illi nescio quid incipienti
propulit ab se lamentantem
quae

'

dicere,

gladium

quod dignum

videlicet

illius

virtute

esset,

in latere defixit."

pedisequo Skutsch {Kleine Schriften, Leipzig and Berlin,

pendens equo H: pedens aequo PB II:
p. 119):
pedisseca d
pediseque Lamhinus Mx.
pedissequa Cbl
2 verebar Orelli from a Zurich MS.
verba
verba 31
1

1914,

inetuebam

E Mx.

" yvtoiioXoyels.
^
Cf. in Homer, II. 6, 490, Hector's words to Andromache:
But go thou to thine house and attend to thine own tasks."

396

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

lit.

65

Hark, Gorgias,' he says to the attendant

tidings,
hide them, defend them, see
of his children,
that you bring them up safe to young manhood.'
Hardly had he uttered these words when, behold,
You are still here,
this person appears, and says
Has not my voice frightened you to
rash fool ?
death ? Appease my enmity and sate my wrath
with your blood.' The master, with proud spirit,
Now
replies
I feared I might really be conquered.
You do not wish to contend with me in a trial
I see
at law, where failure brings shame, and success
You wish to kill me. True, I shall be killed,
glory.
Sententious " even at
but I will die unconquered.'
You do not wish to beg your life
the point of death
Then
of me when you see I have you in my power ?
Nay, truly he begs and implores you.
the woman
And do you, in
I plead with you, be moved to pity.
heaven's name, clasp his knees. He has you in his
power. He has prevailed over you, and do you now
Why do you not cease,
prevail over your spirit.'
my wife,' says he, to utter words unworthy of me?
Be silent, and attend to your tasks. ^ And you, why
do you not, once for all, rob me of life, and yourself,
The
by mv death, of every hope of enjoying life ?
intruder thrust the weeping woman from him, and as
the master began to say something or other, worthy,
I am sure, of his manliness, buried the sword in his
'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

side."

"

' Whereas
the example of Character Delineation next
above is in the spirit of comedy, this example is tragic in
nature.
As the notes indicate, it is probably of Greek origin,
Marx,
despite certain of its distinctively Roman features.
Proleg., p. 108, thinks that it may perhaps be referred to the
controversia concerning the murder of Sulpicius, 1. xv. 25

above.

397

[CICERO]
Puto in hoc exemplo datos esse uni cuique sermones ad dignitatem adcommodatos id quod opor;

tet in hoc genere conservare.

Sunt item sermocinationes consequentes, hoc genus

quid putamus illos dicturos si hoc iudicaritis?
Nonne omnes hac utentur oratione ? " deinde
subicere sermonem.
66
LIII. Conformatio est cum aliqua quae non adest
"

Nam

cum res muta aut

eloquens, et forma ei et oratio adtribuitur
ad dignitatem adcommodata aut actio quaedam, hoc
pacto: " Quodsi nunc haec urbs invictissima vocem
Ego ilia plurimis
mittat, non hoc pacto loquatur:
tropaeis ^ ornata, triumphis ditata certissimis, clarissimis locupletata victoriis, nunc vestris seditionibus,
o cives, vexor quam dolis malitiosa Kartago, viribus
probata Numantia, disciplinis erudita Corinthus
labefactare non potuit, cam patimini nunc ab homunItem:
culis deterrimis proteri atque conculcari ? "
" Quodsi nunc Lucius ille Brutus revivescat et hie
ante pedes vestros adsit, is non hac utatur oratione ?
Ego reges eieci vos tyrannos introducitis. Ego
vos partam
libertatem, quae non erat, peperi
Ego capitis mei periculo patriam
servare non vultis.
persona confingitur quasi adsit, aut

informis

fit

'

'

tropeis Pll

Mx

tropheis

P^HBGE.

Representing an absent person as present

strictly within the meaning
of Personification. Cf. Cicero, De Oratore 3. 53. 205 {perQuintilian, 9. 2. 29-37.
See Georg
sonarum ficta inductio)
" TTpoawTTOTToua.

would not today be regarded as

;

Reichel, Quaestiones Progymnasm., diss. Leipzig, 1909, pp.

75-88, on this figure as a progymnasma. Making the dead
speak was sometimes called elBcoXonoiLa. Cf. Cicero, Orator

AD HRRENNIUM,

IV.

lii.

65

liii.

66

think that in this example the language assigned

each person was appropriate to his character
a precaution necessary to maintain in Dialogue.
There are likewise Hypothetical Dialogues, as
" Indeed what do we think those people will
follows
say if you have passed this judgement? Will not
?" And then one
every one say as follows:
must add what they will say.
LIII. Personification ^ consists in representing an
66
absent person as present, or in making a mute thing or
one lacking form articulate, and attributing to it a
definite form and a language or a certain behaviour
" But if this
appropriate to its character, as follows
invincible city should now give utterance to her voice,
would she not speak as follows ? I, city of renown,
who have been adorned with numerous trophies,
enriched \Wth unconditional triumphs, and made
opulent by famous victories, am now vexed, O
I

to

'

citizens,

by your

dissensions.

Her whom Carthage

with her wicked guile, Numantia with her tested

strength, and Corinth with her polished culture,
could not shake, do you now suffer to be trod upon
"
and trampled underfoot by worthless weaklings ?
Again: "But if that great Lucius Brutus should
now come to life again and appear here before you,
I banished kings
would he not use this language ?
you bring in tyrants. I created liberty, which did
not exist what I created you do not wish to preserve.
you, even
I, at peril of my life, freed the fatherland
'

" [The unaffected Attic speaker] will not represent

25. 85
the commonwealth as speaking, or call the dead from the
lower world." Volkmann, p. 490, excludes Personification
from the figures of thought; see also pp. 280 and 312 on its
:

uses.

399

[CICERO]
"
vos liberi sine periculo esse non curatis.'
Haec conformatio licet in plures res, in mutas atque
inanimas transferatur. Proficit plurimum in amplificationis partibus et commiseratione.
67
Significatio est res quae plus in suspicione relinquit
quam positum est in oratione. Ea fit per exsuperationem, ambiguum, consequentiam, abscisionem,
similitudinem.
Per exsuperationem, cum plus est dictum quam
patitur Veritas, augendae suspicionis causa, sic
Hie de tanto patrimonio tam cito testam qui sibi
petat ignem non reliquit."
Per ambiguum, cum verbum potest in duas pluresve
sententias accipi, sed accipitur tamen in cam partem
quam vult is qui dixit ; ut de eo si dicas qui multas
" Prospice tu, qui plurimum
hereditates adierit
liberavi

LIV. Ambigua quemadmodum vitanda

sunt quae obscuram reddunt orationem, item haec
consequenda quae conficiunt huiusmodi significationem. Ea reperientur facile si noverimus et animum adverterimus verborum ancipites aut multiplices
cernis."

potestates.

" Such sentiments as are expressed in these two passages

might have been uttered by tribunes of the plebs in the time
of Marius
see Kroehnert, p. 32.
L. Junius Brutus liberated
Rome from the Taiquins and founded the Roman consulate.
;

*"

See 2.

XXX. 48-xxxi. 50.

Meaning conveyed by implication.

more a trope than a figure. Cf. Quintilian, 8. 3. 83
are two kinds of Emphasis; one means more than
the other often means something it does not say."
'

ix(f>aaL9.

Really
" There
it

says,

See 4. xxxiii. 44 above (superlatio).

This passage is in the spirit of the excerpts, in Cicero, De
Oratore 2. 55. 223-6, from the speech delivered in probably
^

400

AD HERKNNIUM,

67

IV.

mil

66-liv. 67

do not care to be free.' "

Personibe applied to a variety of things,
mute and inanimate. It is most useful in the
divisions under Amplification and in Appeal to Pity.*
Emphasis is the fif^ure which leaves more to be
suspected than has been actually asserted. It is
produced through Hyperbole, Ambiguity, I^ogical
Consequence, Aposiopesis, and Analogy.
The emphasis is produced through Hyperbole
without

peril,

fication

may

<^

'^

when more

said than the truth warrants, so as to

" Out
give greater force to the suspicion, as follows
is

of so great a patrimony, in so short a time, this man

has not laid by even an earthen pitcher wherewith to
seek a fire for himself." ^

The emphasis is produced through Ambiguity/

when a word can be taken in two or more senses, but
yet
for

is taken in that sense which the speaker intends

example, if you should say concerning a man who

has come into many legacies: " Just look out, you,
who look out for yourself so profitably."'^ hlV. p],ven
as we must avoid those ambiguities which render
the style obscure, so must we seek those which
produce an emphasis of this sort. It will be easy to
find them if we know and pay heed to the double and
multiple meanings of words.
91 B.C. by L. Lifinius Crassus on behalf of Cn. Planc(i)us
against M. Junius Brutus, who had squandered his patrimony.
Kroehnert, p. .31, thinks it may come from this speech, but
there is no real evidence for the ascription.
^ Quintilian, 6. 3. 47 flF., considers the play on double
meanings only rarely teUing, unless helped out by the facts.
" The play is upon the double meaning of cernere
to " discern " and, in judicial language, " to enter upon an in" you who know exceedingly well how to
heritance; " thus
enter upon bequests."
:

401

[CICERO]
Per consequentiam significatio fit cum res quae
sequantur aliquam rem dicuntur, ex quibus tota res
relinquitur in suspicione
dicas

"

Quiesce

tu, cuius

ut si salsamentarii filio
pater cubito se emungere ^

solebat."

Per abscisionem, si, cum incipimus aliquid dicere,

deinde praecidamus, et ex eo quod iam diximus satis
" Qui ista forma et aetate
relinquitur suspicionis, sic
nuper alienae domi nolo plura dicere."
Per similitudinem, cum aliqua re simili allata nihil
amplius dicimus, sed ex ea significamus quid sen" Noli, Saturnine, nimium populi
tiamus, hoc modo
:

frequentia fretus esse; inulti iacent Gracci."

Haec exornatio plurimum

dum

et dignitatis

ipsum auditorem
68

sinit

tantummodo
"

modo:

Lemnum

cubito se emungere

"

cubiti

inter-

semugi

E
P

verbis necessariis

praeteriens cepit,

inde Thasi praesidium reliquit, post

CIl3Ix

habet

tacito oratore

suspicari.

Brevitas est res ipsis

expedita, hoc

festivitatis

enim quiddam

urbem Bithynam

cubiti seraugire
cubitis emugi B.

cubitis

emungi

iiraKoXovOrjaiS'

is common, e.g., with reference to the freedman

father of the poet Horace, in Suetonius, De Viris Illustrihus,
Vita Horatii, and to the freedman father of Bion of Borysthenes (first half, third century B.C.), in Diogenes Laertius
4. 46.
Cf. also Plutarch, Quaest. Conviv. 2. 4 (631 D), and,
illustrating oKa>iJ.fxa {contumelia celata), Macrobius, Sat. 7. 3. 6.
' See 4. XXX. 41 above {praecisio).
^ L. Appuleius Saturninus, of praetorian descent, after
being removed from the quaestorship by the Senate, joined
the populares, and thereafter by demagoguery and violence
*

402

The saying

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. liv. 67 6S

Emphasis by Logical Consequence

"

is

produced

when one mentions the

things that follow from

given circumstance, thus leaving the whole matter
distrust
for example, if you should say to the son
a fishmonger: "Quiet, you, whose father used
;

wipe

his

nose with his forearm."

a
in

of
to

The emphasis is produced through Aposiopesis if

we begin to say something and then stop short, and
what we have already said leaves enough to arouse
suspicion, as follows: " He who so handsome and so
'^

young, recently at a stranger's house I am unwilling

to say more."
The emphasis is produced through Analogy, when
we cite some analogue and do not amplify it, but by
its

means intimate what we

"

are thinking, as follows

on the popular

Do not, Saturninus, rely too much

mob unavenged lie the Gracchi."
'^

This

figure

sometimes

possesses

distinction in the highest degree

liveliness

and

indeed it permits
the hearer himself to guess what the speaker has not
mentioned.
68
Conciseness ^ is the expressing of an idea by the
" On
very minimum of essential words, as follows
his way he took Lemnus, then left a garrison at
Thasus, after that destroyed the Bithynian city,
;

fought the Senate until he was, in 100 b.c, declared a public

enemy by that body and slain, the mob participating; see
note on 4. xxii. 31 above. Saturninus was influenced by the
political ideas of C. Gracchus.
On his grain-bill see 1. xii. 21
above.
* ^paxvXoyla.
Also, from another point of view, iniTpoCf. distincte concisa brevitas and percursio in Cicero, De
Oraiore 3. 53. 202.
Quintilian in 9. 3. 99 denies that fipaxvAoyta is a figure, yet in 9. 3. 50 treats it as a form of

XaofjLos.

As3ndeton.

403

[CICERO]
Cium ^

sustulit,

statim

potitur

quondam,

inde

Abydi

re versus

Item

".

in
"

Hellespontum

Modo

consul

deinde primus erat civitatis turn prodeinde hostis et exul est dictus
ficiscitur in Asiam
post imperator, et postremo vii ^ factus est consul."
Habet paucis conprehensa brevitas multarum rerum
expeditionem. Quare adhibenda saepe est, cum aut
res non egent longae orationis aut tempus non sinet
commorari.
LV. Demonstratio est cum ita verbis res exprimitur ut geri negotium et res ante oculos esse videatur.
Id fieri poterit si quae ante et post et in ipsa re facta
is

Bithynam Cium Muenzer

bithinia

bithinnia

bithana /
viminachium 31, Viminacium 3Ix.
2 reversus
Baiter-Kayser
rursiis
C sulsus HPB
pulsus 3Ix.
^ Insertion of vii suggested by Omnibonus and Mx.

" Text and reference are uncertain.

Friedrich Muenzer
(Philologus 89 [1934]. 215-25) believes that the expedition
made in 202-200 b.c. by Philip of Macedon (Rome declared
war in 200) is indicated. Cius was the city on the Propontis
in Bithynia.
The Rhodians were active against Philip;
this passage may come from an actual oration, perhaps
delivered, Muenzer thinks, bv Apollonius Molo or Apollonius
W. Warde Fowler, Class. Rev. 29 (1915). 136-7,
ofiaXaKos.
and Roman Essays and Interpretations, Oxford, 1920, pp.
95-99, thinks the reference is to Lucullus and his fleet in 84
(85) B.C., when he was clearing the Hellespont and Aegean of
the lorces of Mithridates for Sulla. Marx ( Viminachmi),
Rhein. Mus. 47 (1892). 157-9, doubts the possibility of
establishing the reference.
For other conjectures, see A.
von Domaszewski, Jahreshefte der oesterr. archaeol. Inst, in
Wien 5 (1902). 147-9 (Lysimachia, in the Thracian Chersonese,
and Lucullus), and H. Jordan, Hermes 8 (1874). 75-7 (Lysimachia, and Antiochus III after his defeat in 191 B.C. by the
Romans at Thermopylae).
Alexander Numenii, De Schemat. (Spengel 3. 22), cites in

404

AD HERENNIUM,

IV. liv. 68-lv. 68

Cius next, returning to the Hellespont, he forthwith

occupies Abydus." Again: " Just recently consul,
;

next he was first man of the state then he sets out for
Asia next he is declared a public enemy and exiled
after that he is made general-in-chief and finally
consul for the seventh time." * Conciseness expresses
a multitude of things within the limits of but a few
words, and is therefore to be used often, either when
the facts do not require a long discourse or when time
will not permit dwelling upon them.
LV. It is Ocular Demonstration ^ when an event is
so described in words that the business seems to be
enacted and the subject to pass vividly before our
eyes.
This we can effect by including what has
;

of emTpo;^aa^d? Demosthenes, I'hil.

3.
27
has gone to the Hellespont; formerly he marched
against Ambracia; Elis that important city in the Peloponnese he holds; against the Megarians he jplotted lately."
If our author's example does not come from a speech actually
delivered, it may be an imitation of this passage.
* The reference is to Marius
see W. Warde Fowler, Joum.
of Philol. 10 (1882). 197-205, and Boiiian Essays and Interpretations, pp. 91-95.
Marius was consul for the first time in
107 B.C., and for the fifth in 101 ; in 100, during his sixth
consulship, spent at Rome, he was in complete control of the
state
he departed for Asia in voluntary exile in 99
when,
after the contest with Sulla in 88, he was declared a public
enemy by the Senate and exiled, he fled to Africa he returned
to Italy in the middle of 87, and soon thereafter received from
Cinna the proconsular imperium and the fasces; he held the
consulship for the seventh time in January 86 for a few days
until his death.
The career of Marius was a common theme
in the rhetorical schools; cf. Seneca, Contr. 1. 1. 5, Valerius
illustration

"He

Maximus,

6. 9. 14.

evdpyeia.
To Quintilian, 8. 3. 61, 9. 2. 40, evidentia,
repraesentatio, sub oculos subiectio.
Sometimes Hvpotyposis
{xmoTVTT<jiai.s).
Cf. d^scriptio, 4. xxxix. 51
above; Kroll,
'

"Rhetorik,"

coll.

1111

f.

405

[CICERO]
erunt conprehendemus, aut a rebus consequentibus

modo

aut circum instantibus non recedemus,^ hoc

"

Quod

atque

simul

Graccus

prospexit

fluctuare

populum, verentem ne ipse auctoritate senatus commotus sententia desisteret, iubet advocari contionem.
Iste interea scelere et malis cogitationibus redundans
evolat e templo lovis
sudans, oculis ardentibus,
;

cum

erecto capillo, contorta toga,

celerius coepit.

pluribus

idem

facere.

Graccus deos inciperet precari, cursim

populo unus

aliis
'

alii

vides?

Respice, inquam.'

subito

timore perterrita,

crudelitatem,

ire
hie,

isti

Cum

impetum

partibus convolant, atque e

Fuge, fuge,' inquit,

spumans ex ore

excors calce premens, dextera

defringit et hoc alios iubet

faciunt et ex

aliis

praeco faciebat audientiam

quoddam

subsellium

pedem

Illi

Tiberi.

fugere coepit.

scelus, anhelans

contorquet

'

Non

Deinde vaga multitude,

At

iste,

ex infimo pectore

brachium

et

dubitanti

Gracco quid esset neque tamen locum in quo constiterat relinquenti percutit tempus.

delibans
viri

Ille,

nulla voce

insitam virtutem, concidit tacitus.

fortissimi

Iste

miserando sanguine aspersus, quasi

facinus praeclarissimum fecisset circum inspectans,

^

recedemus P'^CHbv

delibans
delabens B

Victorius

"
*

406

recedimus

Mx

HPB

ed. inai.

Mx.

delabans

edens E.

ra TTapcTTOfieva.
ra TtapaKoXovdovvTa,

to.

avu^aivovra.

HPYl

Mx

AD HKIIKNNIUM,

I\'.

68

i.v.

preceded, followed, and accompanied the event itself,

by keeping steadily to its consequences or the
" As soon as
attendant circumstances,'' as follows
(iracchus saw that the people were wavering, in
their fear that he might, by the Senate's decree,
be moved to change his mind, he ordered a convocation of the Assembly.
In the meanwhile, this
or

<*

fellow, filled >\'ith wicked and criminal designs,

bounds out of the temple of Jupiter. In a sweat,
with eyes blazing,'^ hair bristling, toga awry, he begins

men joining him.

asking attention for Gracchus,
this fellow, beside himself, plants his heel on a bench,
breaks otf a leg of it with his right hand, and orders
the others to do like\nse. When Gracchus begins a
prayer to the gods, these creatures in a rush attack
him, coming together from all quarters, and a man
in the crowd shouts
Fly, Tiberius, fly
Don't you
see ? Look behind you, I say
Then the fickle
mob, stricken with sudden fear, take to flight. But
this fellow, frothing crime from his mouth, breathing
forth cruelty from the depth of his lungs, swings his
arm, and, while Gracchus wonders what it means,
but still does not move from the place where he
stood, strikes him on the temple.
Gracchus does not
impair his inborn manliness by a single cry, but falls
without uttering a sound. The assassin, bespattered
with the pitiable blood of the bravest of heroes,
looks about him as if he had done a most admirable
deed, gaily extends his murderous hand to his
to quicken his pace, several other

While the herald

is

'

'

" He [Verres] came into

C/. Cicero, Verr. 2. 5. 62. 161
the Forum burning with criminal fury
his eyes blazed, and
cruelty stood out on every feature of his face; " cited by
Quintilian, 9. 2. 40, and byGellius, 10. 3. 9.
'^

407

[CICKRO]
et hilare sceleratam gratulantibus

manum

porrigens,

templum lovis contulit sese." Haec exornatio

plurimum prodest in amplificanda et commiseranda re
huiusmodi enarrationibus, statuit enim rem totam et

69 in

prope ponit ante oculos.

LVI. Omnes rationes honestandae studiose collegimus elocutionis
in qiiibus, Herenni, si te diligentius exercueris, et gravitatem et dignitatem et
suavitatem habere in dicendo poteris, ut oratorie
plane loquaris, nee ^ niida atque inornata inventio
;

vulgari

sermone

efferatur.

Nunc identidem nosmet ipsi nobis instemus res

enim communis agetur ut frequenter et adsidue

consequamur artis rationem studio et exercitatione

quod alii cum molestia tribus de causis maxime
taciunt: aut si quicum libenter exerceantur non
habent, aut si diffidunt sibi, aut nesciunt quam viam
sequi debeant
quae ab nobis absunt omnes difficultates.
Nam et simul libenter exercemur^ propter
;

amicitiam, cuius initium cognatio fecit,^ cetera philosophiae ratio confirmavit ^ et nobis non diffidimus,
propterea quod aliquantum processimus, et alia sunt
meliora quae multo intentius petimus in vita, ut,
etiamsi non pervenerimus in dicendo quo volumus,
;

ne MSS. Mx.
nee Kroll
exercemur nA' enevceKvaxw

feeit

confirmavit

faeit other

H-PBC Mx

exerceamu ^.

MSS. Mx.

confiimabat

confirmabit other

MSS.

Mx.
* This is a partisan narrative, probably from a controversia,
of the murder of Ti. Gracchus in 133 B.C. by P. CorneUus
Scipio Nasica Serapio and his followers.
On the accounts
that we have in the ancient historians see Friedrich Muenzer,
P.-W. 4. 1503.

408

AD HKRKNNIUM.

iV. iv. 6S

i.vi.

f,q

they congratulate him, and betakes

temple of Jupiter." " 'i'hrough this
kind of narrative Ocular Demonstration is very useful
in amphfying a matter and basing on it an appeal to
pity, for it sets forth the whole incident and virtually
brhigs it before our eyes.
LVI. I have here carefully collected all the
If, Herennius, you
principles of embellishing style.
exercise yourself diligently in these, your speaking
will possess impressiveness,^ distinction, and charm.
As a result you will speak like a true orator, and the
product of your invention will not be bare and
inelegant, nor will it be expressed in commonplace
language.
Now let us again and again jointly insist (for the
matter will concern us both) upon our seeking,
constantly and unremittingly, by study and exercise,
Others find this
to master the theory of the art.*^
they have no one
difficult for three main reasons
with whom it is a pleasure to practise, or they lack
self-confidence, or they do not know the right path
For us none of these difficulties exists.
to follow.
We practise together gladly because of our friendship, which, originating in blood relationship, has in
addition been strengthened by the study of philosophy. We are not without self-confidence, both
because we have made no little progress, and because
there are other and better studies which we pursue
in life more intently, so that even if, in public speaking, we have not reached our goal, we shall miss but
followers

as

G9 himself to the

<=

**

^eyaXoTrpeTTeia.

'

TO

<*

C/.

iJ8u.
1.

1.

above.

409

[CICERO]
parva pars vitae perfectissimae desideretur

et

quam sequamur habemus, propterea quod

libris nihil

viam

in

his

praeteritum est rhetoricae praeceptionis.

Demonstratum

est

enim quomodo

res in

omnibus

generibus causarum invenire oporteat ; dictum est

quo pacto eas disponere conveniat ; traditum est qua

praeceptum est qua

meminisse possemus demonstratum est quibus
Quae ^ si
modis perfecta elocutio conpararetur.

ratione esset pronuntiandum

via

sequimur, acute et cito reperiemus, distincte et

ordinate disponemus, graviter et venuste pronuntiabimus, firme et perpetue meminerimus, ornate et
Ergo ampHus in arte rhetorica
suaviter eloquemur.
nihil
est.
Haec omnia adipiscemur, si rationes
praeceptionis diligentia consequemur exercitationis.
^

410

quae

CE Mx

ed. viai.

qua

M Mx.

AD HERENNIUM,

IV.

i.vi.

69

of the wholly perfect life.*^ And finally, we

the path to follow, because from these books
no principle of rhetoric has been omitted.
Indeed I have shown how in every type of cause one
ought to find ideas. I have told how it is proper to
arrange these. I have disclosed the method of
delivery.
I have taught how we can have a good
memory. I have explained the means by which to
If we follow these principles,
secure a finished style.
our Invention will be keen and prompt, our Arrangement clear and orderly, our Delivery impressive and
graceful, our MemoiT sure and lasting, our Style
In the art of rhetoric, then,
brilliant and charming.
there is no more. All these faculties we shall attain
if we supplement the precepts of theory with diligent

little

know

practice.''

Philodemus,

i?/i/.,

ed.

Sudhaus,

of rhetoric does not conduce to a

*

Dionysius

C/.

250, says that the art

of happiness.

1.

life

HaHc, De Composit.

Verb., ch. 26,

Con-

" Here, Rufus, is my gift to you.

It will be worth
exercise yourself in its
others if only you will
For the rules in textbooks of rhetoric
lessons every day.
cannot by themselves make expert those who are eager to
dispense with study and practice."
clusion

many

'

'

411

INDEX
Except for the writings of Cicero, references in the Introduction and
notes to worka later tbau the lihetorica ad Herennium are not listed in
this Index.
Abridged comparison, 377, .'579-381
abscusio, form of emphasis, 400, 402.
See also praecisio.
absolute, subtype of juridical issue,
43-45, 91-97, 86, 89
abusio, trope, 342

Abydus, 405
Academic doctrine, 94

n.

See also

Plato,
accident, subhead of plea of exculpation, 45, 101-103;
Blind
Accident, 123
Accius, Lucius, 45, 95, xvii n., 134 n.

accumulation,
361-365

tigure

of

thought,

accusation, in conjectural issue, 53

Achilles, 34 n., 134 n., 385 n.
acknowledgement of the charge,

subtype

of assumptive juridical" issue, 45, 99-105

acrimonia, 276, 312, 330, 350, 354,

36G
actio, 88
actor's delivery, 199, 203
adcuratio (curaj, 190, 192

adding letters,
304

in

paronomasia, 302,

adjunction, figure of thought, 323

adnominatio. See paronomasia,
adprobatio, division of coniectural
issue, 62, 72-78
adrisio.
See smile of approbation,
adtenuata (extenuata) figura, 252,

260, 262, 266

advantage. See utilitas.
Aeneas, 347

aequitas,

in

definition

of

justice

162

aequum

n., 284 n., 324

Aesopus, (Clodius), 217
Africa, 32, 158 n.

134

n.,

31,

340

217, 315, 109 u.,

n.

physical
in
attribute,
epideictic, 175, 181
aereement, source of Law, 91, 95-97
Ajax, 35, 53, 109-113, 34 n., 108 n.,
134 n.
Albenslans, 139
Alexander (Paris), 331
Alexander of Macedon, 307, 247 n.
Alexandria, 159
Alexis, 282 n.
allegory, trope, 345-347
Allies, Italian, 161, 259-261, 285
alliteration, excessive, 271-273
ambiguity, means of provoking

laughter

in

subtype of

introduction,
legal

19;

issue, 35, 37,

treatment, 85-87; in emphasis,

fault in argumentation,
401
131
amphibolies, 87
Amphion, 137
amplification, subhead of embellishment, in epicheireme, 113, 141,
143, faulty, 143; in plea for
mercy, 105; subhead of conclusion, 145, 147-151, in epideictic, 183; tone of, aspect of
;

flexibility.

physical

and

197,

199,

201,

in

movement, 203-205

and
255;
personification, 401
purpose of
reduplication. 325; and ocular
demonstration, 409; of virtues
in deliberative speaking, 167
analogy, emphasis through, 401,
of memory and wax, 208
403
n.
and anomaly, 1S6 n. See
also comparison, simile, similigrand

style,

et bonum, source of
82, 86, 90, 94

Aeschines, 278

Agamemnon,
agilitv,

Law,

n.

tudo.
anastrophe, means of hyperbaton.

337-339

INDEX
animus. See character, qualities of.
anomaly. See analogy.
antanaklasis, 280 n.
Antiphon, 71 n.
antistrophe, figure of diction, 277-279
antithesis, figure of diction, 283,
293 n.
figure of thought, 377
;

Antonius,

(Marcus),

xxviii,

245,

xii,

vii,

and notes pp.

33, 38, 39, 86, 207, 243,

xv,

and

refining, 371, 375.

See also epicheireme, proof.

argumentatio. See argument.

argumentum,

= realistic

78, 8, 108, 132, 364, allegory in

form of,344 ad hominem, 137 n.

Aristarchus of Samothrace, 326 n.
Aristophanes, 331 n., 342 n.
Aristotle, xv, xvi, xx, and notes pp.
;

32, 71, 107, 174, 175, 352

Rhet,, xxxiv, and notes pp.

4,

6,7,8,11,12,14,15,18,25,32,
40, 50, 63, 66, 68, 70, 73, 74, 78,
82, 83, 106, 116, 121, 126, 129,
132, 142-144, 147, 160-163,
173, 191, 196, 237, 250, 288,
292-294, 297, 329, 330, 339,
342, 344, 356, 374, 382, 385
Anal. Pr., 129 n., 237 n.
Be Part. Animal., 341 n.
Eth. Nic, notes pp. 100, 163, 174,

197

Meteor., 220 n.
Physica. 220 n.

414

Theophrastus.
armies, subhead of might, 161
arms, subhead of might, 161
arousal, means of refining, 367, 369
arrangement, 7, 157, 185-189, 191,
Homeric, 188 n., in deliberative
speaking,
169-173,
in
epideictic, 175-183;
of an epicheireme, 107-113; of images
in nanemonics, 209, of backart,

grounds, 215
concealing art, 251 and nature,
205, 207, 217,219, 221 an art
called idle, 337. See also theory.
;

articulus, figure of diction, 294-296

Asia, 315, 405
Asianism, xix, xx, xxxiii, and notes
pp. 193, 228, 257, 271, 338.
See also Atticism.
assumptive, subtype of juridical

43-49

Asturian thoroughbred, 389 n.

asyndeton, figure of diction, 331,
403 n.
Ateius Praetextatus, L., xv n.
Athenians, 315
Athens, 27
Atreus, 345
attentive hearers, aim of direct
opening, 13-15
Atticism, notes pp. 228, 274, 301,
309, 338. See also Asianism.
author, aim of, in present treatise,
vi; age, xxi-xxii; attitude to
Popular party, xxiii-xxiv, 141
n., to Greeks, xxiv-xxv, 221225, 229-20I, 2 n., to philosophical studies, 3, 409^11,
2 n. ; philosophical bias, xxv;

dependence on schools, xvxvi; knowledge of grammar,

301 n.
treatment of style,
xx-xxi; his teacher, xxiii n.,
;

Hist. Animal., 341 n.

Magna Moral., 174 n.

De Mem. et Recollect., 208

Protrepticus, 174 n.
Top., 163 n.
De mundo (Ps.-Arist.), 220 n.
See also Peripatetic doctrine,

issue,

narrative,

24; =presumptive proof,

or evidence, 62, 70-72, 74, 76,
22,

375

Poetics, notes pp. 24, 151,

Polit., 117 n.
Problem.^ 237 n.

7.

355

antonomasia, trope, 335

Apollonius 6 /xaAaKo?, 150 n,, 153 n.,
404 n.
Apollonius Molo, xv n., 404 n.
apologus.
See fable.
aposiopesis, figure of diction, 331;
emphasis through, 401, 403
apostrophe, figure of diction, 283-285
Argive heroes, 119
Argo, 119
argument, =epicheireme, 61, 77, 97,
105-113, 371, defective kinds
113-145; in deliberative
of,
speaking, 171-173; in arrangement, 185-189; and eliminain the figure conclution, 329
sion, 331

Aristotle

question of authorship,
vii-xiv; verses possibly made
up by, 127 n., 216 n. See also
Rhetorica ad Herennium.

33;

n.

INDEX
authority, commonplace from, in
amplification, 14 7, speaker's, 309

ayarice dclined, 317

central point of accu.sation, 61, 63

Ceres, 335
See interchallenging some one.
pellatio alicuius.

Backgrounds,

in

mnemonics, 209-

213, 215, 217, 221, 225

banter, means of provoking laughter
iq introduction, 19
barbarism, xvi, 271, ix n., 303 n.
beauty, physical attribute, in epideictic, 175; and age, 323; in
tigures of speech, lasting pleasure from, 309. See also dignitas, festivitas, grace, lepos, suavitas.

See well-disauditores.
posed hearers.
Bion of Borvsthenes, 118 n., 402 n.
boastful man, 389-393
Boiscus, 235
brevitas, figure of thought, 402in st^itement of facts,
404
24- 26 and conjunction, 322 a
purpose of metaphor, 342 form
of comparison, 376, 378-380
broken tone of debate. 197, 201, in
physical movement, 203
Bmtus," Lucius (Junius), 399, 400 n.
Brutus, Marcus (Junius), 276 n.,
benivoli

401 n.
Caelius, Gains, 95
Caepio (Quintus Serrilius), 45, 238 n.

Gaepio, Quintus (Servilius), son of

preceding, 39, 87-89

Caimae, 158

n.

Capitoline Hill, 335

See fabula veri similis.

caricature.

Cameades, 247

n.

C;arthage, 169. 277, 323, 337, 399.

159 n.
Carthaginians.

171, 277, 279, 323,

341, 158 u.
Casilinum, 171 n.
Cassius Longinus, L. (cos. 107 B.C.).
48 n.
Cassius Longinus, L. (trib. pleh.
104 B.C.), 45 n.
Cassius (Longinus Ravilla), L., 348 n.
catachresis, trope, 343
Cato(M. Porcius), vii, 245, and notes

pp. XTii, xxxii, 103, 116, 158.

169, 279, 286
See motive,
causa.
See praise.
censure.

change,

in

arrangement,

187;

in

voice, 193, 199, 201; of gestures, 203; of names, raising a

controversy, 141; of sound or
letters,

301-

paronomasia,

in

307, 19-21; of word, in corthree ways

rection, 319-321;
of, in refining,

365-376;

princi-

ple operating: in the formation

See also
of figures, 303 n.
reciprocal change.
character, qualities of, in epideictic,
163-169, 175, 179, 181-183
of
ligure
character
delineation,

thought, 387-395
Chares, 249
See festivitas, grace, lepos,
suavitas, also beauty, dignitas.

charm.

Charmadas, 208

n.

chria, 365 n.. 369-375, 370 n.

Chrysippus, 72
CiceVo,

M.

n.,

83

Tullius,

n.,

87

viii,

n.

ix,

xii,

xxxviii,
and
ixxvii,
notes pp. 31, 32, 33, 41, 217,
252, 299, 330, 339
De Inc., relation to Rhet. ad Uer.,
xxxiii,

xxv-xxx; vii, viii, xxi, xxxv,

and notes pp. xiv, xv, xxii, 414, 16-18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27,
30, 32-37, 40-44, 46, 48, 50,
58, 62-64, 66, 70, 72, 73.
90, 92, 96, 98. 100, 102, 104,
106-108, 112-li6, 119, 121,

12,
28,
52,
80,

125-131,

135-139,

142-144,

147, 118, 150, 153, 158, 162.

163, 171, 172, 174, 228, 237,
239. 248, 251, 274, 329, 376
De Oratore, viii, xxv, xxxiii,
XXXV, and notes pp. xxviii,
xxxi, 6, 7, 18, 86, 106, 1.36,
159, 160, 161, 174, 191, 203.
205-208, 230, 237, 238, 243,
251, 252, 270, 276, 284, 285,
296, 301, 309, 317, 320, 333,
335, 338, 339. 342, 344, 360,
398, 400, 403
Orator, notes pp. 86, 190, 191,
199, 221, 232, 248, 251-263,
265, 271, 274, 294-297, 301,
309, 317, 320 333, 338, 339,
342, 375, 398

4*5

INDEX
Cicero
Brutus, notes pp. xvii, xxviii. 31,
45, 73, 114, 189, 194, 204, 232,
244, 248, 249, 251, 253, 332.

375
Oral., notes pp. 12, 50,
151, 161, 173, 174,
208, 251, 282, 303, 309, 356, 362
De Opt. Gen. Die, 233 n.
Top., 148 n., 174 n.
Pro Archia, 206 n.
Pro Caecina, 82 u.

Part.

144-146,

Pro Caelio, 66 n.
In Cat., 262 n., 374
Pro Flacco, 355 n.

n.

Academ., 251

n.

n.

De Amicitia, 304 n.
De Fin., 87 ii., 174 n.
De Harusp. Resp., 308 n.
De Leg., 162 n., 327 n.
De Nat. Dear., 162 n., 335 n.
De Officiis, notes pp. 83, 159,
162, 196, 233, 288
Paradoxa Stoic, 238

n.,

289

litterae,

in

parono-

qualRy

of

271-275
subtype of assumptive
juridical issue, 44, 98-104
concinna: transiectio, 272, oratio,
278, interrogatio, 284; quae
concinnae
et,
lepida
308
style, 269,

coucessio,
161,

n.

Cimber, 217

epideictic, 175

Cius, 405
in statement of facts, 25,
27; subhead of taste, 269-271
clause, tigure of diction, 295

claritv,

Cleon, 204 n.
climax, figure of diction, 315-317

Clytemnestra, 31, 51-53

Coelius (Antipater, Lucius), XTii,
273, 158 D,
cognitor, 94
See hortatory tone ol
cohortatio.
amplification.
Colchians, 119
See recapitulation,
collectio.
colon, figure of diction, 295, 299
color, 268

paronomasia.
comparison, figure of thought, 377with alternative
383, 385;
course, subtype of assumptive
juridical issue, 45,49, 97-99; of
commonplace,
crimes,
151
dihyperbole, 339-341;
in

eiusdem

circumitio, trope, 336

citizenship, external circumstance,

416

figure of diction, 295-297

See pity, appeal to.

commiseratio.

commonplaces. See loci.

commoratio, figure of thought, 374
commutatio. See reciprocal change
change of sound or letters, in

masia, 302, 304

composition, artistic,

De Re Publ., 136 n.
Tusc. Disp., 206 n., 291 n.
Epist. ad Fam., 24 n., 344 d.

ill

comma,

vision of conjectural issue, 63,

67; aspect of allegory, 345;
in a chria (refining), 371, 373;
means of provoking laughter
in introduction, 21. See also
analogy, simile, similitudo.
complex io, part of epicheireme,
106, 108, 110, 112, 142-144,
185 n.; figure of diction, 278;

Leg. Agr., 343 n.

Pro Hgario, 102 n.

Pro Murena, 103 n.
Phil., 372 n.
Pro Qui7ictio, 262 n., 314
Pro S. Rose. Am., 116 n.
Pro Sulla, 103 n.
In Verr., 254 n., 407 n.

comedies, plots of, 25

Comitium, 95 u.

elocutiones,
verborum
190,
sententiae, 194
conciseness, tigure of thought, 403-

405
conclusion, part of a discourse, 9,
11, 61, 145, 185, in deliberative
speaking, 173, in epideictic,
183, in arrangement, 185, in
figure of diction,
delivery, 195
331-333; period used in, 297;
duplex
in a chria, 371, 375;
conclusio, in proof of reason,
;

126
See reduplication.
conduplicatio.
See proof.
confirmatio.
conflicting laws, subtype of legal
issue, 35, 37, treatment, 85
conformatio. See personification.
See refutation.
confutatio.
conjectural issue, 35, 53, 61-81, 97,
sumcase
329,
101,
105,
marized, 363-365

INDEX
conjunction, figure of diction, 323;
part of speech, suppressed in
asyndeton, 331
conlatio,
division
of conjectural
issue, 62, 66;
form of comparison, 376, 380-382
conpar. See isocolon.
conquestio, type of tone of ampliflcation, 196, 198, 200, in physical

movement,

202-201;

=com-

See also indignation.

division of conjectural

plaint, 97,

consecutio,

issue, 02, 72

consequence,
logical,
emphasis
through, 401, 403
Conservatives, 39, 257, 345
consilium,
division
68, 171

of

securitv,

under proof and refuta32-52; coniectural, 34,

constitutio,
tion,

60-80, 96, 100,

62,

case

summarized,

104,

328,

362-364

34-42, 80-90; juridical,

42-48, 84, 88, 90-104;
34,
doctrine from juristic point of
view, 33 n.
consuetudo, source of Law, 90, 92.
See custom, legal.
consultatio, 4, 158, 160, 108, 170
contentio, aspect of vocal flexibility,
legal,

196, 200-202 ; figure of diction,

282, 293 n. ; figure of thought,

376

Cornelia, 283 n.
Cornificius, ix-xiv, and note? pp.
xxxiv, 292, 302, 316
correction, figure of diction, 319
cotidiana
locutio, 196, consuetudo,
270; sermo cotidianus, 260,
336.
See also terms, current.
countenance, the, 7, 201, 203, 205
courage, division of the Right, in
deliberative
speaking,
163,
topics,
165-167;
quality of
character, in epideictic, 175,
181-183; defined, 317, characterized, 289, 167-169
craft, subhead of security,
161,
171
Crassus, L. Licinius, 233, 239, 245,
and notes pp. xxxi, 206, 230,
276, 305, 339, 348, 401
Cresphontes, 127, 130 n.
:

crinomenon, 52
Critias, 282 n.
CritolaiJs, 247 n.
Curia (meretrix), 303
Curio, C. Scribonius (praetor 121
B.C.), 114 n.
Curio, C. Scribonius (cos. 76 B.C.),
31 n.

custom,

legal,

source of Law, 83, 85,

and customs,

89, 91, 93; laws

5, 89, 93, 165

Danaans, 333

continuatio.
See period, sustained
tone of debate.
contracting same letter, in paronomasia, 303, 305
contrariae leges. See conflicting laws.
contrarium, figure of diction, 292294
period in, 296
aspect of
allegory, 344; Ln refining, 368,
370, 372; form of comparison,
376, 378
contrast.
See contrarium, reasoning by contraries, contentio.
controversiae, xvii, 8 n., II, 31,
35-37, 39, 41-43, 45-49, 5153, 87-89, 109-113, 281, 313315, 325, 343, 361 n., 395-397,
;

405-409
conversational tone.
See sermo.
conversio, figure of diction. 276-278
Corax, 184 n., 243 n.
Corinth, 323, 399
Corinthians, 323

debate, tone of.

See contentio.
deception, subhead of craft, 161
Decimus, 211

Decius (ilus. P.), 373

declamatio, 192, 7 n. ;
declamatory exercises in treatise, xviixviii

definition, subtype of legal issue, 35,

39, treatment, 87-89; in issue
of transference, 41 ; false or
general,
131-133;
figure
of
diction, 317
deliberative cause, 5, 59, 157-173,

183, 138 n.
delivery, xvi, xix, 7, 189-205, 411,
in refining, 365, 367; speaker's
as against actor's, 199, 203
deminutio, figure of thought, 354

Democritus, 209 n., 220 n.

demonstratio, type of conversational
tone, 196",
in
physical
198,
movement, 202
figure
of
;

417

INDEX
thought, 404-408; function ol
examples, 236-238
demonstrativum genus. See epideictic.

Demosthenes,

xvii,

and notes pp.

189, 247, 268, 271

Be Corona, notes
314, 319,
342, 367

pp. xxxii, 284,

324, 328, 330, 331,

Phil., 405 n.
Fragm., 352 n.
Adv. Aristoqeiton (Ps.-Demosth.),
notes pp. 312,357, 386
denial, in conjectural issue, 53
denominatio, trope, 334-336
deprecatio.
See mercy, plea for.
depultus, 264
descent, external circumstance, in
epideictic, 175

description, vivid, figure of thought,

357-359, 198

n.

detailed parallel, form of comparison,

377, 381-383
dialecticians, 87

dialogue.
See sermocinatio.
dichorees, 257 n., 294 n.
digitus medicinalis, 214 n.
dignitas, type of conversational tone,
196, 198, in physical movement,
202 ; quality of style, 266, 268,
274 fC., 408; purpose of comparison, 378, of exemplification, 384 ; quality of emphasis,
402 ; lacking in certain figures of
diction,
physical,
in
308;
epideictic, 174, 180; of interlocutors, in dialogue, 394, 398
dilemma, in proof of reason, 127

Diodorus Cronus, 87

n.

Diogenes of Babylon, 247 n.

See principium.
direct opening.
discourse and human body, 374 n.
discreditable kind of cause, 11, 13,

17-19
disjunction, figure of diction, 323
dispositio.

See arrangement.

dissimulatio, subhead of craft, 160;

trait of character, 24
dissolutum, type of style, 264-266
figure of diction, 330
distinctio, figure, 169 n., 317 n.
distinction, quality of style, 269,

276 ff. See also dignitas.

distributio, type of tone of debate,
196, 200, in physical move-

418

ment,
of the
cause
106;
348

202

subhead of division

cause, 30

and

figure

of parts in the

each argument,
346-

in

of thought,

distributive reply, 360 n.

division, part of a discourse, 9,
29-31, 59, 147, 185 ; in deliberaspeaking,
169-171;
tive
in
figure of
epideictic, 179-183;

thought, 361
dociles auditores, 12-14
dolus, 160, 170

Domitius, 217

Domitius

Ahenobarbus,

Cn.,

law

of, 37 n.
doubtful kind of cause, 11, 13

drifting style, 265-267

Drusus, Marcus (Livius), 93, 352 n.
Drusus (Marcus Livius), son of
preceding, 307, 345
dubitatio, figure of diction, 18, 328
dubium genus causae, 10, 12
dwelling on the point, figure of

thought, 375

Eating and

living,

325-327

economy

defined, 317
editions of treatise, xxxvii

education,

external

in epideictic, 175,
effictio, figure

circumstance,
181

of thought, 386

Egypt, 159
elegantia, 268-270
elimination, figure of diction, 329-

331
elocutio, 6, 156, 190, 228 flE., 240.
244, 268, 308, 374, 408, 410

eloquence and character, 137 n.

embellishment, part of epicheireme,
107-113, 185, faulty, 141-143;
" figure
exornatio
as
of
speech," 275; and epanaphora,
277, and onomatopoeia, 335, and
refining, 371, 375 and division,
361, aim of comparison, 377379; of images, in mnemonics.
221.
See also figures.
emphasis, figure of thought, 401403
engines of war, subhead of might, 161
Eonius, (Quintus), xvi, 119, 131,
231, 241, and notes pp. xxxi,

119,

273

127,

129,

130,

230,

272.

INDEX
cnutneratio, part of conchision, 144,
146, 182; part of distribution,
30, 360;

false,

in

iiroposition,

174-178,

deictic,

ment,

186,

in

In

arranee-

delivery.

19

J.

See also priiicipium, prooemium.

exomatio. See embellishment.

116-118
epanaphora, figure of diction, 253 n.,
276, 314 n.
See also subtle apcpbodos, 12.

expertuess in criticism, 232 n.

explanatio, subhead of elcgantia,

proach.
cpicheireme, 61, 107-145.

explicative

268-270

See also
argument, proof.
Epicurean doctrine, xv, xri, xiv,

and notes pp.

87, 117, 172, 220,

289
epideictic,

309

59,

5.

157,

173-185,

n.

See also conclusion.

See aequitas, aequum et

epilog!, 144.

equity.

bonum.
Ethiop, 389
See
ethopoeia.

character delinea-

tion.

Euripides, notes pp. 51, 119, 127,

136, 280, 291, 394
Evangelus of Tarentum, 380 n.
exsuperatio,
See
exaggeration.
superlatio.

example, figure of thought, 383refining,

371-373;
in
385,
under embellishment, 141, dehistorical
ex143;
amples, in the conclusion of a
deliberative speech, 173, as a
extopic of wisdom, 165;
amples, of the types of style,
255-267, of faulty composition,
271-275, use of, in rhetorical
texts, 223, 229-253, and testimony, 231, 233, 237, 2.39 f.,
fective,

author's, illustrative of precepts, xvi-xvii

exceptiones praetoriae, 40
exclamatio, figure of diction, 282-

284
exclamation

of

expeditio, figure of diction, 328-330

astonishment,

in

introduction, 19, in statement

See also full
of facts, 199.
voice.

exculpation, subhead under acknowledgement of the charge, 45,

99-103, 137
See practice.
exercise.

tone of conversation,
197, 199, in physical movement,

203
See refining.
part of distribution, 30,
360; part of epicheirome, 184,
108 n., defective, 114-124, 134
exsuperatio, means of provoking
laughter in introduction, 18emphasis through, 400.
20;
See also superlatio.
expolitio.
expositio,

exsuscitatio,
366, 368

means

of

refining,

extenuata figura. See adtenuata.

external circumstances, in epideictic, 173, 181-183
Fable, means of provoking laughter
in introduction, 19;
Aesopic,

236

n.

fabula, legendary narrative, 22-24,

drama, 240;
veri similis,
means of provoking laughter in
introduction, 18
facetious tone of conversation, 197,
201, in physical movement, 203
faculties speaker should possess, 5-7

Falemian country, 391

fallacies

false generalization,

114

incomplete disjunction, 115

begeing the question, 132 ru,
shifting ground, 135 n., ignoring the question, 137 n.
See
also faulty argumentation.
fame, titles to, external circumstance, in epideictic, 175, 181
n.,

n.,

faulty:

introductions, 21-23, argumentation,

113-145,
styles,
263-267,
Latinity,
269-271,
composition, 271-275

8,

in certain figures, 280,

308, 322, 340, 402; "of style in
narrative, 24
fictitious matter, in realistic narrative, 25, in statement of facts,

58, 144, in a deliberative, 168, 170, in an epi-

29, in rumours, 79, in mnemonics, 221. See also fabula.

type of style, 266

exordium, in a judicial speech,
exile,

10-22, 28,

festivitas,

419

INDEX
figurae
190-200;
vocis,
figurae=
simulacrorum, 210
types of style, 252-268
figures: of diction, 275-347, tropes,
333-347; of thought, 347-409;
in author's example of grand
style, 257 n.
firmamentum, 50, 52
firmitudo vocis, 190-194
flattery, 283
fleets, subhead of might, 161
fluctuans, type of style, 264-266
See courage.
fortitude.
fortuna, subhead of plea of exculpacommontion, 44, 100-102;
in definition of
place, 104
external circumstances, 174;
P'ortuna, Fors, and Temeritas,
122
of
figure
of
speech,
frankness
thought, 349-355
Fregellae, 285, 323
Fregellans, 259, 261, 323
thought,
figure
of
frequentatio,
360-364
friendships, external circumstance,
figura

in

165,

epideictic,

379-381,

false,

in

voice,

full

of

181,

284 n.
magistracy,

bill of,

Senate,

and people compared, 347,

of

prosecutor, counsel for defence,

and presiding justice compared,

347-349

Galba (Servius

Sulpicius), 245

Gauls, 313, 337, 341

genera causarum, tria, 4 ; quattuor,

10
gesture, 7, 191, 201-205, in refining,
367. See also countenance.
Gnipho, M. Antonius, xv n.
Gorgias, an attendant, 397
Gorgias of Ijcontini, notes pp. 73,
146, 257, 275, Gorgianic figures,
XX, 298 n.
Gorgias, the younger, XX
Gracchi,

the,

245,

335,

345,

403,

283 n.
Gracchus, Gains, 231, 233, 307, 325,

and notes pp. xxxi, 344, 352,

403
Gracchus, Tiberius, 307, 407, 408 n.

420

201-203

in

7,

411, of gestures,

epanaphora, 277,

reasoning by question and

answer, 289, in tropes, 333, in
portrayal, 387
in

gradatio, figure of diction, 314-316

Grammar, Art of, projected by
author, 271
grand style, 253-257, 263, 267
See grand style,
gravis figura.
gravitas.
gravitas, of delivery, 410, in dignified
tone of conversation, 196, in
in
physical movement, 202;
narrative, 24
in epanaphora,
in
antithesis,
282, in
276,
interrogation, 284, in hypophora, 312, in synecdoche, 340,
in vivid description, 356, in
accumulation, 360 ; lacking in
three figures, 308. See also
;

grand

style.

Greece, 315, 337

Greeks, 3, 11, 41, 53, 61, 145, 221,
229 ff., 235, 251, 337, 147 n.

Hannibal, xvii, 159, 171

physical

health,

193-195,

delivery,

199-201
Fulvius Flaccus, M.,
functions

175,

383

grace, in delivery,

n.

attribute,

in

epi-

181
hearsay evidence, 348 n.
Hellespont, 405
Herenuius, Gaius, xv, xxvi, 3, 59,
229, 409
Hermagoras, xv, xvi, xxviii, and
notes pp. 4, 5, 10, 32, 33, 35,
50, 52, 70, 108, 228, 239
hiatus, 271
Hippolytus, 347
Hippothoon (Hippotholis), 395 n.
deictic, 175,

historia,

means

laughter
in

in

provoking
of
introduction, 20^

22, 24; histori.-;

scriptores, 244
188, 248, 326,

narration,

arum

Homer, notes pp.

340, 358, 396

homoeoprophoron, 271
homoeoptoton, figure

n.

of

diction,

299-301, 309, excessive, 273

homoeoteleuton, figure of diction,
301, 309, 238 n.
honourable, the, subhead of advantage, 85, 161-173, 287, 86 n.;
kind of cause, 11, 13
hope of escaping detection, division
of sign, 67, 69, 363

INDEX
hope of success, dirislon of

sign,

67, 09, 363

hortatory tone of amplification,
197-199,
in
physical
201,
movenaent, 203
humanitas, 102, 101, 152, 254, 288
humile genus causjie, 10, 12

humour,
197

in introduction, 19, 94 n.,

n.
See also laughter,

facetious tone of conversation,

trope,
337-339, ex-

hyperbaton,
cessive,

273-275

339-341, means
of provoking laughter in introduction, 21, emphasis through,
401

hyperbole,

trope,

hypophora, figure of diction, 311-315

hypothetical dialogues, 399

Ignorance, subhead of plea of exculpation, 45, 101 ; consideration in investigating hope of

success, 69, in investigating
manner of life, 65; =lack of

premeditation, 149
imago, figure of thought, 384386; in mnemonics, 208-224.
See simile.
imitation,
means of acquiring
rhetorical faculties, 7, 9, 233,
243 n. ; imitatio depravata
caricature, means of provoking
laughter in introduction, 19;
purpose of onomatopoeia, 333
impressiveness.
See grand style,

gra vitas.

146 n., 143

See also conquestio.
conjectural issue, 52

ailiplification,

144 n.

n.,

inflata oratio, 264

iniuriae, defined, 316

means of provoking
innuendo,
laughter in introduction, 19
See ignorance.
inprudentia.
See banter.
inrisio.
insinuatio.
See subtle approach.
intllectio, trope, 340
intntio, in conjectural issue, 52
interdiction of

256

n.

253

fire

and water, HI,

n,

See exordium, principium, prooemium.

invective.
See indignation.
introduction.

invention, 3-185; 7, 11, 29, 59, 61,

69, 157, 185, 191; of comparisons, 383,411, 106 n.
inversion, ironical, of the meaning
of a word (means of provoking
laughter in introduction), 19
iocatio.
See facetious tone of conversation.
Iphigenia, a drama, 217
Isaeus, 12 n.
figure of diction,
isocolon,
299,

257

n.

and notes pp. 7,

9,12,25,86, 106, 116, 144, 146,

Isocratcs, xv, ii.

173,
293,

176, 206, 240,

298, 323, 339,

261, 271,
348, 382,

394
See constitutio.
issue, type of.
Isthmian games, 235
Italians, 337
Italy, 159, 279, 285, 337, 341, 343
iudicatio.
See point to adjudicate.
iudicatum, source of Law, 92-94,
faulty citing of, 140, 142
ius, =the Law, 82, 84, 88, 90-96;
in

indecision, figure of diction, 19, 329

indignation, purpose of apostrophe,
285, of vivid description, 359,
of the hortatory tone of amplification
Ciracundia),
199, of

infitiatio, in

interlacement, figure of diction, 279

iiiterjieilatio
aliciiius,
means of
provoking laughter in introduction, 20
interpretation, figure of diction, 325
interrogation, figure of diction, 285,

of

definition

164;

justice, 162,
ius civile
n. ;
and

commune, 82;

and iu3 gentium, 92

rectum, 162

n.

Judicial cause, 5-153; 47, 59, 157,

169, 173, 183
Julius Caesar, Lucius, 160 n.
Julius (Caesar), Sextus, 93
juridical issue, 35, 43-49, 85, 89,

91-105
justice, subhead of the Right, 163,
topics, 165, quality of character,
in epideictic, 175, 183
justifying motive, 51, 53

Kinds of causes,
263

n.

5,

173

n.,

175

n.,

judicial
cause,
epideictic).
moral basis, 11

(see

deliberative cause,
classified

on

421

INDEX
Labeo, Lucius, 321
Ladas, 235

LucuUus, 404
lumen, 308

Laelius, Gaius, 245, 277

Latinity, correct, subhead of taste,

Lysias, notes pp. 82, 263, 331, 387

269
laudabile.
See the praiseworthy.
laughter, in introduction, 19-21.
See also humour, facetious tone of
conversation.
law, the " common." See ius.
Law, sources or departments of,

81-91
legendary narrative, 23-25
legal issue, 35-43,

lengthening of the same letter,

paronomasia, 303, 305
lepos, 308, 316

in

Iettr and spirit, subtype of legal

issue, 35-37, treatment, 81-85,

103
See statute law.
Lex Acilia de repetundis, 351 n.
Appuleia de maiestate, 38 n., 49 n.
Domitia de sacerdotiis, 37 n.
Plautia iudiciaria, 140-141 n.,
347 n.
Plautia Papiria, 160 n.
Sempronia frumentana, 38 n.
Servilia iudiciaria, 238 n., 305 n.
Servilia de repetundis, 37 n.
Varia de maiestate, 260 n., 285 n.
See also pp. 35, 37, 39, 41-43.
141, 159; Twelve Tables.
Libanus, a slave, 391
lex.

Liber, 335

thought, 348-354

subhead of probability, in conjectural issue,

63, 65-67, 363, in epideictic,

179-183
litterarum mutatio, in paronomasia,
300, 304, means of provoking
laughter in introduction, 20
loci, in mnemonics, 208-212, 214,
216, 220, 224; communes, 72,
74, 80, 82, 84, 96, 98, 102, 104,
146 fE., 182; of justice, 164;

division

of,

in

deliberative

speaking, 168; ordering of, in

arrangement,
locus =
188
place, division of sign, 28, 6668, 98, 362
love at first sight, 115
;

Lucilius (Gaius), 95, 37 n.

422

n.

Macedonians, 307, 315, 335-337

magnitudo vocis, 190-192
majesty of the state, sovereign,
defined, 39, 87-89, 317, 265 n.
Malleolus, 43
power, recruiting of, subhead
of might, 161

manuscripts of treatise, xxxvii-xl

Marcius Rex, family of, 217

Lemnus, 403

iicentia, figure of
manner of,

Lysimachia, 404
Lysippus, 249

man

85, 89, 91-97

life,

n.

Marius, (Gaius), notes pp. xv, 307,

308, 350, 400, 405
Mars, 337
Marsic War, 159, and notes pp. 139,
140, 321
figure of diction, 289-293,

maxim,

period

in,

297; 240 n.

meagre style, 267

Medea, notes pp. 119, 129, 131
mediocris argumentatio, 113
ocris figura

medi-

see middle style.

Megara, 27

membrum orationis,

figure of diction,

294, 298

memorv, 205-225

xix-xx,

n.,

natural, 205, 207.

157, 411;
217, 219, artificial, 207 ff.
Menelaiis, 217
mentitio, subhead of craft, 160
mercy, plea for, subhead of acknowledgement of the charge, 45.
101, 103-105, 129, 149
metaphor. See translatio.
metonymy, trope, 335-337

Metrodorus, 208 n.
middle style, 253, 259-261, 263, 265
might, subhead of security, 161, 171
mime, a, 45
misericordia.
See pity, appeal to.
Mithridates, 404 n.
mnemonic system, 207-225
modestia. See temperance.
modesty claimed by Greek writers,
231, 235, 237
mollitudo vocis, 190, 192, 196-200
money, consideration in motive,
63, 111, 125, in

69;

hope of success,

subhead

of craft, 161:
topics of temperance, 167; 31], 321, 300 n.

desire for,

among

INDEX
source o/ Law, 82, 84, 88.
Sec also custom, legal,
motive, subhead of probability, in
conjectural issue, 63
raotus corporis, 190, 200-204
Mucius (Scaevola), I'ublius, 95
Myron, 249

moa,

Naevius, 249 n.
naivety,
provoking
means
of
laughter in introduction, 19
narratio, part of a discourse, 8;
kinds of, 22-28, 30, 58, 144,
in a conjectural cause, 60, in a
legal cause, 80, in a deliberative
speech, 168, in epideictic, 178;
in arrangement, 184, 18G; type
of conversational tone, 196,
198-202, 262 u., in physical
movement, 202; and historiography, 24 n.
nature, source of Law, 83, 87, 91,
source of vocal volume,
93
191. Sec also memory, natural;
;

art.

subhead of plea of exculpation, 45, 47, 101

negation,
form of comparison,
377, 379
necessity,

Neptunian

265
Nestor, 188 n., 340 n.
nominatio, trope, 332-334
notatio, figure of thought, 386394; of images in mnemonic
system, 214
novel tale, means of provoking
gulfs,

laughter in introduction, 21

Obscenity,
343

avoided

in

paralipsis, figure of diction, 321

parallelism in structure and sound,

298

n.

paromoeon, 271 n.
paronomasia, figure of diction, 301309, 253 n., 267 n.
parts of a discourse, xviii, 6 n., 9,
59
pathetic tone of amplification, 197,
199, 201, in physical movement,

203-205
Pelias, King, 119
Pel ion's woods, 119

perdueliionibus, 264
Pergamum, 6 n., 133
period, figure of diction, 297, 275,
339, 294 n.
Peripatetic dfx;trine, xv, xviii, and
notes, pp. 6, 94, 156, 184, 196,
229, 242, 247, 252, 263, 268,
See also Aristotle,
294, 303.

Theophrastus.
periphrasis, trope, 337
permissio.
See surrender,
permutatio, trope, 344-346
persecutio, 88
personification, figure of thought,

399-401, 198

n.

persuasion, non-technical means of,

74 n.
perversio, means of hyperbaton,

88
petty kind of cause, 11, 13
petitio,

metaphor,

division of sign,

67,

69,

363
occultatio, figure of diction, 320
figure
ocular demonstration,
thought, 405 -409
Olympic games, 235, 234 n.

of

omitting letters, in paronomasia,

303-305
onomatopoeia, trope, 333-335
opening, direct. See principium.
Orestes, 31, 47, 51, 123
organization
of
xix, 60 n.

137,

painting and poem, 327

Palamcdes, 109
Panaetius, 1 96 n.

336-338

Numantia, 277, 323, 399

Numantines, 323

occasion,

See agreomeiU.

P'ictum.

Pacuviiia, (Manus), 123-125,

241, 94 n., 131 n., 134 n.

treatise,

xviii-

Philemon, 280 n.
Philip V of Macedon, expedition of,
404 n.
Philoctetes, 333
Philodemus, Rhetoric, notes pp.
137,

189,

190,

236,

250,

271,

411
phUosophy, 3, 121-123, 137, 409411; philosophers as against
rhetoricians on education, 246 n.
phrase, figure of diction, 295-297
Phrygian priest, 387
physical

attributes, in epideictic,
physical beauty and
175, 181
age, 323
;

INDEX
physical movement, in delivery, 191,
201-205. See also countenance,
pity,

appeal
clusion,

grand

to,

145,

subhead of con151-153,
and

255;

aim

of reduplication, 325, of surrender,

329, of vivid description, 359,
of
personification,
in
401
plea of exculpation, 103, in
plea for mercy, 103, 105; in
confirmatory proof, 75
aim of
pathetic tone of amplification,
197, 199; and ocular demonstration, 409 ; 25, 313
place, division of sign, 29, 67-69, 363
style,

Plagioxiphus, 334
Plato, xvi, and notes pp. 7, 120,
136, 137, 146, 162, 174, 206,
208, 248, 261, 271, 283, 352,
366, 375
plausibility, of statement of facts,
25,29; plausible fiction, means
of provoking laughtr in introduction, 19
Plautus (T. Maccius), xvii, 121,
and notes pp. 26, 175, 305, 342,
387, 388, 392, 394
player on the lyre, 381
Plotius Gallus, L., xxiii, 190 n.
poetrv, poets, 121, 229 n., 231, 233,
237, 241, 243, 245, 327, 337,
339; poem and painting, 327
point to adjudicate, 51-53, 61
pollicitatio, subhead of craft, 160
Polycleitus, 249
polyptoton, form of paronomasia,

306

n.

Pompeian

distich, 281 n.

Popilius (Laenas), Gaius, 49, 314 n.

Porcina (M. Aemilius Lepidus), 245
portrayal, figure of thought, 387
Posidonius, 290 n.
power, kinds of, external circumstance, in epideictic, 103, 175,

181
practice, means of acquiring rhetorical faculties, 7,
and
9;
theory, 5, 69, 81, 225, 233, 235,
241, 247, 409, 411 ; in declamation, 193;
in delivery, 205;
in isocolon, 299
praecisio, figure of diction, 330.
See also abscisio.
praestantia, superlatio a, 340

424

expectationem, means of
provoking laughter in intro-

praeter

duction, 20

gesture.

praeteritio,

320

n.

praetorian exceptions, 41
praise and censure, in epideictic,

5,

173-185, 65, aim of simile, 385387 the praiseworthy, subhead

of the honourable, 163, 169
Praxiteles, 249
;

Pre-Aristotelian doctrine, xv f ., xviii,

and notes pp. 6, 10, 12, 14, 25,
32, 71, 73, 74, 146, 151, 175, 184,
275.
See also Corax,
206,
Isocrates, Rhetorica ad Alexandrum. Sophists, Tisias.
presumptive proof. See proof.
pretence, in subtle approach, 21, in
frank speech, 353-355. See
also dissimulatio.
previous judgements. See iudicatum.

Priam, 109 n,
principium, xvi, 10-16, 20, 144, in
deliberative speaking, 168, in
epideictic, 174-178, in arrangement, 184-186, in delivery,

See also exordium,

192, 194.
introduction, prooemium.
probability, division of conjectural
issue, 63
Prodicus, 316 n.

progvmnasmata, 23
113,
193,

ff.,
81, 107147-151, 179-183,
365-375, 399-401, and

127,

notes pp.

8,

23,

25,

34,

108,

182, 365, 398

Prometheus, 247
promises, subhead of

craft, 161
pronominatio, trope, 334
See delivery.
prooemium, 12, 222.
See also
principium, exordium.
proof, in judicial causes, 9, 33 ff., 59,

jironuntiatio.

61,

147,

185,

in

deliberative,

171-173, in epideictic, 173175; of the reason, part of epicheireme, 107, 109-111, 115,
127 n., 145, 185, faulty, 125 flE.;
arrangement in, 185^189; presumptive, 63, 71-73, 365 confirmatory, 63, 73-99; function
of comparison, 377, 379, of
tone of debate, 197, of examples
;

in

rhetorical

texts,

231,

237.

See also argument, eplcheireme.

INDKX
proposition, part of epichcircmc (see
eipositio), 107, 109, 185, de115-121, 135; propofective
8itio=artirmation, in reasoning
,

by question and answer, 287

Protagoras, 7 n., 73 n.
See wisdom.
prudentia.
litterarum
See

paronomasia.
See exculpation.
Pythagoras, 289 n., 290 n.

Ratio, part of epicheircme, 106, 108

defenn., faults of, 120-124;
sionis, 51, 53
ratiocinatio, figure of diction, 284288, 257 n. ; subtype of legal
issue, 34, 40, 88-90

See proof.

by contraries, figure ol
diction, 29.3-295; by question
and answer, figure of diction,

reasoning,

recapitulation,

n.

from analogy,

legal issue, 35, 41.

means

of provoking

laughter in introduction, 21.

See also conclusion, resume.
receptive hearers, aim of direct;
opening, 13-15
reciprocal change, figure of diction.

325-327
recklessness defined, 317; 167-169
rectum. See the Right.
redeeming captives, after Cannae

159

337

n.

n.

and

life

of

happiness, 409-411; and jurisprudence, 90 n., 92 n. ; originand graphic

ally judicial, 5 n.
and philosophy,
arts, 248 n.
246 n.; and poetry, 229 n.
rhetorical question, 284 u.
Uhetorica ad Alexandrurn, xv, and
notes pp. 6, 9, 12, 13, 32, 62,
;

70, 73, 74, 100, 101, 144,

145, 147, 151. 174, 175, 242,
243, 345, 382
Uhetorica ad Herennium, as lecture
notes, xxi ff. ; dating of, xxv f.
style of, xxxii f. ; later history
sxxiv f. ; translations of,
of,
XXXV f. ; editions of, xxxvii;
MSS. of, xxxvii-xl ; analysis of
contents.xlv-lviii ; called Rhe-

lorica Kova
ciindu, viii.

Rhodes, 236

189;

f<e-

rhetoric, xv, and notes pp.

6, 150, 153, 193, 270
Rhodians, 248 n., 404 n.
rhythms, doctrine of, xxxiii, 256 n..
338 n., 339 n.
Right, the, subhead of the honourable, 53. 85, 163-169, 171

Roman

people, 139, 259, 261, 277,

279, 323, 331, 341

rumours,

365-375;

Rlielorica

Sec also author.

Rhodian

198 n.
refining, figure of thought,

of invented matter, 107

refutation, defined, 9-11, 33 ff.,
59, 61, of defective arguments,
113 ff. ; in deliberative speak171-173, in epideictic,
ing,

and

n.

Rome, 303, 399

arrangement in,
and tone of debate, 197

329

rhetoric, censured, 137;

reduplication, figure of diction, 325,

175;

of,

66,

23-25

part of epicheireme, 107,

108 n., faults of, 121-125;
proof of the : see proof.

reason,

subtjpe of
89-91

method

j)art of epicheircme, 107

113, faulty, 143-145
reversal of order, in hyperbaton,

r68um4,

Quadruplator, 132, 281 n., 394

quaestio: see question for decision,
torture ; quaestio inflnita, 3GG n.
question for decision, 51

285-289, 257

reprehensio, of defective arguments,

112 ff., 120, 10 n. See alsj
refutation,
residues,

purgatio.

realistic narrative,

See cpanapbora.

repetitio.

mutatio,

pun.

rationis confirmatio.

rejection of responsibility, subtype

of as.sumptivo juridical isaue,
45, 47-49, 105
remotio crimini-s. See rejection o/
responsibility,

in

confirmatory proof, 67,

75, 79, 365

Samian ware, 393

Sannio, a slave, 389, 393
Saturninus, Lucius (Appuleius), 39,
49 n., 88 n., 307, 403
Scipio Aemilianus, P. Cornelius.
169, 245, 277, 337

INDEX
Scipio (Africanus maior), P. Cornelius, 158 n., 159 n., 283, 315,335
Scipio Nasioa (Corculum), P. Cornelius, 158 n., 279 n.

Scipio Nasica Serapio, P. Cornelius,

308 n., 408 n.

scriptum et sententia.

and

See letter

spirit.

security, subhead of advantage, 161,

169, 171, 173, 179, 369
sententia, figure of diction, 288-292,

period
34-36,

296; scriptum et,

treatment, 80-84, in
84-86;

in,

issue
of
ambiguity,
allegory,
in
344;

figurae

sententiarum, 346-408
serious tone of conversation.

See

dignitas.

sermo, aspect of vocal flexibility,

192,
198-200, in
194,
196,
physical movement, 202; cotidianus, 260, 336; inliberalis,
266; vulgaris, 408; uti pauco
sermone, 342.
See also cotidiana.
figure
sermocinatio,
of thought,
394-398, in refining, 366-368
shifting of question of guilt, subtype of assumptive juridical
issue, 45, 47, 99
shortening of the same letter, in

paronomasia, 303
sign,

division of conjectural issue,

63, 67, 69, 77, 79, 363-365

significatio, figure of thought, 400-

402; = expressiveness, aim of

onomatopoeia, 332
simile, figure of thought, 385-387;
faulty, in embellishment, 141,

143.
See also comparison,
similitudo, analogy.
similiter cadens. See homoeoptoton.
similiter
desinens. See
homoeoteleuton.
similitudo, figure of thought, 376382, 384; aspect of allegory,

sources, doctrinal, of treatise,

xv

If.

Spaniards, 341
Spartans, 315
spatium. See time, duration of.
speaker's functions, 5, 9, 11, 33, 59,
and notes pp. 6, 184, 190
speed,
accelerated,
subhead
of
craft, 161
spes celandi, division of sign, 66, 68,
362
spes perficiendi, division of sign,
66, 68, 362
sponsio, 311 n.
statement of facts. See narratio.
status.
See constitutio.
statute law, department of Law,
13, 81, 83, 85, 89, 91, 93, 95,

147

Lucius Aelius, xv n., 275

Stoic doctrine, xv, xvi, and notes pp.
6, 7, 9, 32, 83, 86, 91, 107, 161,
162, 163, 173, 174, 175, 196,
220, 268, 269, 275, 289, 290.
291, 326
strategy, division of security, 171
strength, consideration in hope of
success, 69 ; physical attribute,
in epideictic, 175, 181;
323,
343, 399
See naivety.
stultitia.
(Stilo),

emphasis
344
produced
through, 400, 402; justifying
metaphor, 342 hyperbole with
comparison formed from, 340;
means of provoking laughter in
introduction, 20; similitudines

style, XX, 7, 229-411, 156 n.; qualities

of, 269 ff.;
kinds of, 253 fC.,
faulty, 263-267;
of treatise,

et verborum, in mnemo214-216, 222. See also analogy, comparison, imago, simile.

xxxii f.
beauty and imof,
pressiveness
as
against
grace and elegance, 309

rerum
nics,

426

Simo, 27
Simonides, 327 n.
simple style, 253, 261. 263, 265, 267
Simylus, 206 n.
Sisenna, 266 n.
slack style, 265-267
slapping the thigh, 205
smile of approbation, means of
provoking laughter in introduction, 21
Socrates, notes pp. xi, 107, 208, 326,
375, 378, 380
solecism, xvi, 271, 303 n.
Sophists, xvi, 205 n. Parian, 242 n.
See also Gorgias, Prodicus,
Protagoras.
Sophocles, notes pp. 82, 266, 282,
394, 395
Sosia, a slave, 391

INDEX
suasorlae, xvil, 157-159, 171, 8

138

n.,

307

n..

n.

suavitas, of delivery, 194, of style.

408, 274 n.
subiectio, figure of diction, 310-314
subsequent behaviour, division of
conjectural issue, G3, 73
subtle approach, in introduction,
169, 175 n..
13, 17-21, 29,

187 n.
Rufflata, type of style, 262-264
Sulla, notes pp. 37, 48, 307, 347,
404, 405
Sulpicius (Rufus), P., 47, 141, 307,
and nots pp. 280, 312, 325
343, 397
summing up, part of conclusion,
145, 147, in epideictic, 183.
See also rfeum^, recapitulation,
superioritv, hy])erbole formed from.
341
338-340.
See
trope,
superlatio,
also exsuperatio.
surrender, fipure of diction, 327329, 253 n., 257 n.

See innuendo,
sustained tone of debate, 197, 201,
in physical movement, 203
swollen style, 263-265
synecdoche, trope, 341
suspicio.

synonymy,

figure of diction,

Tarpeian Rock, 48

n.,

taste, quality of style,

Tatius, Titus, 273

325

335
269-271

temperance, subhead of the Right,

deliberative speaking, 163,
quality
of
167;
character, in epideictic, 175,
181, 183
tempus, subhead of sign, 66, 68,
98, 362 ; tria tempora for use of
tria
approach,
subtle
16;
tempora considered in presumptive proof, 70-72
Terence, notes pp. 260, 291, 300,
335, 386, 387
terms: current, subhead of clarity,
271, in introduction, 21, in
simple style, 253, metonymies
and, 337; proper, subhead of
literal,
255;
271,
clarity,
figurative, 255; in grand and
middle styles, 253. See also
cotidiana.
in

topics,

testimony, and examples, 231, 237,

239; 365. See also witnesses;
torture;
proof, presumptive;
rumours.
Teucer, 35
Thasu-s, 403
Thebaas, 315

Theodectes, 144

n.

xvi, and notes pp.

107, 190, 191, 194, 202,
209, 220, 253, 268, 304, 344,
387, 389
theory, means of acquiring rheGreek,
torical faculties, 7-9;
of examples, 253; precept and
See also art;
example, 231.
practice and theory.

Theophrastiis,
6,

Thesprotus, 131
thinning the same letter, in paronomasia, 303-305
Thrasymachus, 261 n., 339 n.
Thucydides, notes pp. 71, 168, 259,
271, 384
time, duration of, division of sign,
67, 69, 363; point of, division
of sign, 67, 69, 363
Timon of Athens, 290 n.
Tisias, 146 n., 184 n.
title of treatise, xv
tone, of amplification, 197-199, in
physical movement, 203-205
conversation,
of
193,
195,
197, 199-201, in physical movement, 203; of debate, 197,
201, in physical movement, 203

See loci.
tormenta, torture, 74; engines of
war, 160
Torquatus, T. Manlius, 159 n.
testimony given under,
torture,
75-77, 365
tractatio, of the three kinds of
causes, 5 ff. of narration, 25 n.;
of the types of issue, 49 ff.,
conjectural, 61-81, 61 n., legal,
81-89, juridical, 91-105;
of
topics.

arguments

in

judicial

causes,

105-153, 106 n., in deliberative,

169-173, in epideictic, 173of a chria, in re185, 175 n.
fining, 365, 367-369, 371-375;
of the types of style, 268 ntraductio.
See transplacement.
tragedy, 98 n., uses legendary tale,
23; tragedian's delivery, 199
;

427

INDEX
transference, subtype of legal issue,
35, 39-41, treatment, 89
transgressio.
See hyperbaton.
transiectio.
See transposition.
transition, figure of diction, 317-

319
translatio, subtype of legal issue,
38-40,
treatment,
34,
88;

= metaphor,

Varius Hybrida, Q., 140 n,, 260 n..

285 n.
verse, means of provoking laughter
in introduction, 21
Vestini, Pinnensian, 139
Viminacium, 404 n.
virtues, in plea for mercy, 103;
" the primary ", in deliberative

342-344,
comparison,

speaking,

trope,

in allegory, 344, in

163-169,

in epideictic, 175 n.,

171-173,
177-183;

criminis,
subtype of
382;
assumptive juridical issue, 44,
46, 98
translation
of
Greek
technical
terms, xxi, 251
transplacement, figure of diction,
279, excessive, 273
transposition, of words, in hyperbaton, 273, 337, 339, in reciprocal change, 325; of letters, in

virtue and riches,

279-281,
and fortune, 289, 291, and
habit, 289, and envy, 319, and
culture, 379
vis, subhead of security, 160, 170;

paronomasia, 303-305
treason. See maiesty of the state.

voice, in definition of delivery, 7,

quality, 191-201, in paronomasia, 301, in refining, 367

37, 39, 43, 45, 49, 93-95,

38, 48, 66, 276,
314, 321, 348, 355, 401

trials,

16, 64, 98,

100

manner

vita.

See

vocal

flexibilitv,

201;

life,

of.

191,

stability,

193,

191-195;

197vol-

ume, 191-193

and notes pp.

Triptolemus, 247
tropes, 333-347, xii n.
Troy, 333
turpe genus causae, 10, 12, 16-18
Tusculan estate, 391
See security.
tuta.
Twelve Tables, notes pp. 41, 42,
92, 95
Ulysses, 35, 109, 111, 134 n.
understatement, figure of thought,
355
unexpected turn. See praeter expectatiohem.
unknown authors possibly drawn
upon, notes pp. 26, 127, 129,
134,

216,

306,

308,

315, 405,

408
utilitas,

ing,

428

aim

in deliberative speak160, 168; communis, in

Wealth, external circumstance,

in

epideictic, 175, 183, means of

exciting envy in introduction,
and virtue, 281, and
17,
friendship,
291.
See
also

money,
well-disposed hearers, aim of direct
opening, 13, 15-17
wisdom, subhead of the Right, in
deliberative speaking, 163-165,
167, quality of character, in
epideictic, 175, 183; wise man
and his country's peril, 367375; 137, 299, 351
witnesses, in confirmatory proof,
75-77,
in
mnemonic
365 ;
system, 216.
See also testi-

mony.
women's motive

in

committing

crime, 287

definition of equity, 94 ; threedirect opening,

fold, of the

Xenophon, 235

20

Zethus, 137

n,,

378

n,,

380

n.

INDEX OF GREEK WORDS

References are to the notes, save for a Rw items (indicated
by a small p.) in the text of the Introduction.
eV ToO dmStVou, 14

dyaOd, ra cktos, 174

dyvoia, 44
dypaTTTa I'OfiLfMa, 82
dyojyT],

62

dbo^oi',

10

din-iOeai^, avrideTou, 282.

dbpov, 252, 374

alrla. &2. 290, 291, 371
aiTioXoyla, 285

amov,

TO,

dvTiTrapa^oXT], 150

dvTLOTaai^, 44

50

aKivSwov, TO, 161

dxTLOTpOl^rj, '211

44
d/cpt/SoStVato?, 82

dvTi(f>paaig ,

320, 345
dvTOvopxiaia, 334

a/couCTta, Ttt,

eV Toiv aKpoaTwv, 14
dATj^tvd TTpdyfiara,

dXXrjyopLa.
dAAoi'ojm?,

330

d7TOK-077T^,

80

dTToAoyia, 5

344
303

328

drropia,

330
283

d-TToaicoTTTjaig,

dfxapTrjfjLara TrapaKeip^va ,

263

d7ToaTpo<f>-q,

dp.(f>L^oXia,

35

dTTorpoTTrj,

dfKf>L8o^ov,

10

aTT-d^aoi?, 52,

dvayK-atov, to, 161

dvaSiVAojat?,

dvdyKT],

324

dvoK-ei^aAaiaiat?, 145,
dvd/in7CTt?, 145,
d;'ai'ea>at9,

317

318, 319

32
dvaCTTOCTtS, 368
dvaaTpo(f)-q, 337
dva<f>ajinr)ais, 192
dvSpe t'a, 162
dvcLpLevr), 196
dvdvTTO(f>opd, 310
dvTavd/cAaoi?, 280
dvTeycATj/Lxa, 44
diTCvai^tajCTts, 354
dvacr/ceuT/,

293

43
KOT* avTiX-qiltiv, 43
avTipLcraPoX-q xi, 325
diTt/ieTa^caif, 279
diTivopLLa, 35
/caT* dvrideaiv,

45

dTTTcora,

dpcTal

317

fpyxT]?,

dppLOvia,

285

301
175

268

daicqaLS, 1

davvherov 330
,

oTe^oi

TTiaTCiS,

74
45

drvxrjp-a, drvxia,
av^-qais,

Tou

146

at^ToiJ,

d(f)aipeais,

14

303

pdaavoi, 75
jSejSatoJOi?,
iSi'a,

73

45

pXa^epov, TO, 160

429

INDEX OF GREEK WORDS

Ppax^Xoyia, 403
^oifioXoxos, 197

elSoiXovoiia,

398

eiKoj, 62, 70, 71

385
345
e/c^eai?, 31, 317
iKXeXvp.vov, 265

eiKcov,

ycvT],

yvcofiT),

iipoiviia,

288

yvfivaaia, 7

CKXoyq ovofidTaiv, 268

SeiVcoai?, 143, 144,
TTjp Setvoj,

146; )(apaK-

295

22

StajSoAT?,

8iaipais,

191,

rovov

eV Siaipeaecos,

346;

329
366;

StdAoyoi,

StaAuCTis,

p.(f)aaLS,

400

269

eVaAAayi^,

303

330, 358
/cara

iiepyaaia, 25, 370

7Tai'CTdv,

402

KoXovdrip.d Ti,

/car'

eVa-

72

275
319
enel^evyfievov, 323
264
eTTrjpfjLevou,
eVi^oA^ 275
TnyevvTip.a, 72
eTTtSetKTi/cdi', 4
eTTiSiopdcoais, 319
eTnLK5, 94
i-nideTOi Trtarei?, 74

TTava(f>opd,

iTav6p6cj)ais,
-aA^i^

Kal

126

SpdfiaTa, 240
Suva/itis, Suvaareia, 174
8vaTTapaKoXov9r)Tov , 10
K-a^' eai-as,

162

7TaKoXovdr]ais,

SUaiov, 94
BiKaioavvrj, 162
SiKrawKOV, 4
SiKi;, 5
biXTjUfia, 8tA'^/i/LtaTOP,

285

($Taafj.6s,

43

KOivdv, 82;

10
292, 296

ivdvyLTiixa.

Toiv St/ca^dvTO)!', 14

Si'/catov

li'Seta,

cr'So^ov,

328
hiaTpi^Tj, 374
StaTUTTtOCTtS, 356
8ia<f>opd, 280
Sic^euy/xeVov, 322
Si^yTjat?, 22, 23
SiavopTjais,

SiKaioAoyt/cjj,

405
303

ivdpycLa,

Siavoia? ax^fiara, 274;

prjTOV Kai Bidvoiav, 34

23

7Tpi iyKCOfilov

Kal ipoyov, 182

175^
62 ; 07]

Kal vop-ifia, 164

l^os,

ip.7TLpia,

eV Tou ivavTiov, 14, 292, 372

394

e^vo?,

150

(vaycovLos Xoyos, 196

265

StaAoyta/id?,

/f

lAeo?,

EAATjvia/xd?, 268,

191

StaAeAu/uevov,

44
150
283

Ttt,

iK<f>u)V7]at.s,

Sia^eats aatfiaros,
(fxOVTjS,

CKOvaia,

KTVTTOiat,g,

174
imXoyos, 144, 290, 291,374
iTTLpLOvy], 374
innrXoKij, 314
eiriKTTjTa, rd,

(TTiarrJtxrj,

inLTpoTT-q,

327

INDEX OF
iTTiTpoxaofio^, 403,

405

Karqyopta, o

211

i7n<j>opa,

pya, 384;

KfpSo^,
it-qropo^,

p.

62

K-iiojais ToiJ au>p.aTo<;

191

314
Koim 7777, 270
>cd/x/xa, 295
KoapLOS, 274
Kpivofievov, 52

KXip.a^,

epfirjveia,

(pwTTifxa, 284
fvyeveia, 174

175

euSo^t'a,

93

KCKplfJLfyOV,

61
tov

eTTix^ip^fJ-O-Ta,

xviii, 4,

WORDS

G11E1:K

V^ia, 175

CTTt

182
12

KpiTwv XeyopLevai, 22
174

evdai'aaia,

KTrjpiaTa,

eu/ia^T/?,

Ku'pia

euvoy?, 12

270

777^,

ictSAov,

294

ivpiais, 6
tirr/xiTT-eAos',

197

*c

12
fX^pa, 15

Tou Aeyoi^o?, 14

Ac'^i?,

4>o8os,

p.eipaKiojhT)';,

6,

Ae'^eoj? ax-qp-ara,

108
252
AlTOTTJ?, 354
Adyot, 384

309

274

Xrip-pa,

274, 409

178^. TO,

^^7? /cat vofioi,

hnoda,

AiTOv,

164

xiv, 387

Adyou

axpfjpaTa,

114.

36G

^t'ai?,

142

Xvats, 113,

d-qpiojhioTipov abttcq^a, 147

fiddrjais, 1

147

taot?,

ccto/ccdAo;',

loov,

p.dpTvpe?,

298

94

laropia, 24

fieiojats,

374

loxvov, 252,

Kadapais, 44

318
303
/xeTaArji/rij, 35
/xeTcivota, 319
p.TdcTTaaig 44
peTa<f>opd, 342
peTojvvpia, 334
piKTOV, 252

p-erddeais,

161

ti
/cai

8i(
oi/caioi',

94
KQVOJV, 140

/caTcATj^ei?,

301

KaTaCTK-euT7,

268,

32
KaTd(f>aois, 52
KardxpT]OLS, 342
Aai'cov,

30, 346

252

p-erd^aaLS,

175
TO,

409

354

/xepiCT/id?,

piiaov,

/coAov,

twv

IxeXerTj, 7

loxvs, 175

K-oAAos',

15
fiaprvpia
373
;

TTaAaicDi',

p.eyaXonpTTeia, 252, 274,

274;

Ke<Aa-

1,
15

pipLTjaig,
/Lilcro?,

Tuiv dpxaioiv,

228

INDEX OF GREEK WORDS

TTapamcoTTTjais,

fiovos

147

irpaJTOS,

T]

/xdpta Xoyov, p. xviii,

320
TrapeK^daets,

263

406

TTapeTTOfieva, rd,

24

fivdos,

22

TrapeKJiaais,

TrdpLOOv, TTapiacooL^,

>28

VOiTpLaiJ.6s,
VOfXLKT],

vofMLfxa,

82

92

vofxos,

Ka.a(f>aM] 6eu>v,

1^4
Kai

17^77

298

TTapovoixaaia, 301

34
aypanra
077 '^at'

298

TTapojxoLov, TTapop.oioiOLS,

iraTpis,
^'d/LlO^,

164

348
175

TTapprjala,

TreploSoS,

296

337
70
nepLTTOv, 252
7TpC(f)paais, 337
Tn^ai^drTj?, 25
Tn'oTi?, 32, 74
nXdop^a, 24; TrAcia/xaTa, 252
TrAeovaCT/Lids', 303
77-AoK-i7, 279
ttAoOtos, 174
TToSwK'eia, 175
ttoAitikov
TrdAt?, Tj-oAtreia, 175
^T^TTJ/Xa, 4
TTepiaaoXoyia,

^qpov, 266

olhovv,

264
264

oiVeia

CTTTj,

oy/coi,

TrepiardaeLS,

270

olKovojxia, 6, 184,

185

OIKTOS, 150

299
ofiOLoreXevrov, 300
opLoioiOL^, 376
OfXOLOTTTOiTOV,

dvd/iara, 251, 268, 301,

ovopuaroTTOiia, 332

316

306

dpy^, 15

TTOXVTTTOITOV ,

opQov, 162

irpdyfxaTa, 23, 346; dXTjdwd,

80; TO TTpaKTLKOv, 144; eV

OpdoTTJS OVO/jLaTCOl',
opiapLOS,

dpos,

316

Toiv TTpayp-drcov, 14

316

35

77pe7rov, rd,

202, 264, 268, 284

TTpoiKdeoLs, 30, 312,

nados, 14;

rd

TTCt^Tj

to vaOrjTLKOVy 145;
rd T'^? (f>iovrjs, 191

TTatSeia, 7,

174

TTttAAtAoyia, 145,

317

77apd irpoahoKiav,.

20

22

TTapdSo^ov, 10
TTapatTTjaLS,

TTapdXenfiis ,

320

vpoadeoLS, 303
vpoacoTTa, 23, 346
Trpdraat?, 108

ret,

406

360

TTpoaCKTLKOS, 12
TTpocrqyopia, 301

TTpOaOiTTOTTOlia,

44

TrapaK^oAou^ouvTa,

10
eV TTpovoias, 44, 147
TTpOOLfJUOV, 11

77-pdAoyos',

TT-poaaTrdSoCTtj,

napa^oX-q, 372, 376

77apdSeiy/xa, 142, 373, 382
7rapa8taaToAi7, 169, 317
TTapaSiTjyT^ai?,

TTpoKaraoKevrj, 30

TTporpoTT-q,

TTTWTLKd,

300

398

317

INnP:X
301

pijfia,

Kara

OV CIRKKK WORDS
aoMipoavit]

pr/Tov Kal Siai-omi

pwfir],

rd^i?, 6, 1.S4, 185

26H

TaTxeii^i',

25, 268, 270

oTjiiilov, GO, 70, 71
aa<f>T]i-ia.

CK-OTTO'?,

161

reXos,

tc/Xikq

rixirq,

402

rex^iT-q^, ri\voY(}d-

232;

(f>o?,

di'd/xara Te;fi'(K-d,

162
OTciais', 32

Tl/Ll^,

175

aroxaofioi, 34

TOl^S

7-^? (fxOl^^,

251

ao<f>ia,

44
108

avyyvojfxr],

ouyK-piat?,

cruAAoyicr/xdj,

ttAo/ct;,

279

3.")

400
4
avfiTTepaofia, 331
au^TrAoxny, 278
avfiTTTojfxa, 72
avfj.^aiyo\-Ta, ra,

vyUia, 175
imep^aXXov, 264

cru^^ouAeirrtKOv,

imep^aroi', 27,
imep^oX-q, 339

405
310

imoTVTTOjaig ,
VTTCX^Opd,

ox'vSta^?, 301, 323

CTi/ve^evy/xti'Ov,

337

imoKptois, 6

100

TO,

avvadpoiafios, 301
CTVvoAAayfia, 95

15
175
<f>pdais, 6
<f>p6vr)aL?, 162
(ftdovos,

323

<f>iXoi,

oukkSo;^, 340
avvexov, to, 50
ovv^^eia, 7, 92, 140
avvdcais ovofxaTcov, 252, 268
avvTOjxia,

191

294
TpOTTOt, 332
Ti')(T7, 45
TpiKCoXoV,

ovyKpovaiS i^yqciToiv, 270

crvfi<f>pov',

KetfxiXaia,

161

101

OKCOflfXa,

162

34

17")

^uCTi?, 7, 62,
c6i;croj8e?,

25

325
32
ai'aToAT7, 302
a4>o8p6n}s, 330
ax^^ara, 252, 268, 274, 275,
avvojiai^ia,

92

264

191

4>ojvri,

aucn-aci?,

332,

10; tou aaoyrnMa k tov iv-

UTTO^eCTetov,

fiaros, 191

avrlov,

292;

a)(T]p.dTia, p.

cai/ia, 175, 191

XX

Seads-,

295

XapaKTTjpiafxos, xiv,
XP^<-o.,

386

365, 371

X'p7?/iaTa,

174

XP'qaifj.ov, TO,

Xpfjoi^.

101

106

433

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Aristotle: Generation of Animals. A. L. Peck.
Aristotle: Metaphysics. H. Tredennick. 2 Vols.
Aristotle: Meteorologica. H. D. P. Lee.
Aristotle: Minor Works. W, S. Hett. On Colours, On
Things Heard, On Physiognomies, On Plants, On Marvellous
Things Heard, Mechanical Problems, On Indivisible Lines,
On Situations and Names of Winds, On Melissus, Xenophanes,

and Gorgias.
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics. H. Rackham.
Aristotle: Oeconomica and Magna Moralia. G. C, Armstrong; (with Metaphysics, Vol.

Aristotle:
Aristotle:

W.

S.

II.).

On the Heavens. W. K. C. Guthrie.

On the Soul. Parva Naturalia. On Breath.

Hett.

On Interpretation, Prior
Categories,
Aristotle:
Analytics. H. P. Cooke and H. Tredennick.
Aristotle: Posterior Analytics, Topics. H. Tredennick
and E.

S. Forster.

On Sophistical Refutations.
On Coming to be and Passing Away, On

Aristotle:

the Cosmos.

E. S.

Forster and D. J. Furley.

Parts of Animals.
Progression of Animaxs. E.

Aristotle:

A. L. Peck;
S. Forster,

Motiqn A^Q

Aristotle: Physics,

Rev. P. Wicksteed and F. M. Comford.

2 Vols.

Poetics

Aristotle:

and

Demetrius on Style.

Longinus.

W. Khys

W. Hamilton

Fyfe;

Roberts.

Aristotle: Politics. H. Rackham.

Aristotle: Problems. W. S. Hett. 2 Vols.
Aristotle: Rhetorica Ad Alexandrum (with Problems.
H. Rackham.
Vol. II.)
Arrian: History of Alexander and Indica. Rev. E, Ilifie
Robson. 2 Vols.
Athenaeus: Deipnosophistae. C. B. Gulick. 7 Vols.
R. J. Deferrari. 4 V^ols.
St, Basil: Letters.
Cajllimachus Fragments. C. A. Trypanis.
Callimachus, Hymns and Epigrams, and Lycophron, A. W.
Mair; Aratus. G. R. Mair.
Clement of Alexandria. Rev. G. \V. Butt^rworth.
Colluthus. Cf. Oppian.
Daphnis and Chloe. Thomley's Translation revised by
S. Gaselee.
J. M. Edmonds; and Parthenius.
Demosthenes I.: Olvnthiacs, Philippics and Minor OraI.-XVII. AND XX. J. H. Vince.
tions.
Demosthenes II.: De Corona and De Falsa Legatione.
Vince
and J. H. Vince.
C. A.
Demosthenes III.: Meidias, Androtion, Aristocrates,
TiMOCRATEs and Aristogeiton, I. and II. J. H. Vince.
Demosthenes IV.-VI.: Private Orations and In Neaeram.
A. T. Murray.
Demosthenes VII Funeral Speech, Erotic Essay, Exordia
and Letters. N. \V. and N. J. DeWitt.
Did Casshjs: Roman History'. E. Gary. 9 Vols.
Dio Chrysostom. J. \V. Cohoon and H. Lamar Crosby. 5 Vols.
DiODORUs SiCTTLUs. 12 Vols. Vols. I. -VI. C. H. Oldfather.
Vols.
Vol. VIII. C. B. Welles.
Vol. VII.
C. L. Sherman.
IX. and X. R. M. Geer, Vol. XI. F. Walton.
Vols.
Diogenes Laeritius. R. D. Hicks. 2
DioNYsiurs OF Halicarnassus: Roman Antiquities. Spelman's translation revised by E. Gary. 7 Vols,
Epictetus. W. a. Oldfather. 2 Vols.
Euripides. A. S. Way. 4 Vols. Verse trans,
Kirsopp Lake and
Ecclesiastical History.
EtTSEBrus:
:

J,

E, L, Oulton.

2 Vols.

Galen: On the Natural Faculties, A. J. Brock.

The Greek Anthology. W. R. Paton. 5 Vols.
Greek Elegy and Iambus with the Anacbeontea.
Edmoilds.

2 Vols,

J.

M.

The Gbkek Bucolic Poets

J.

(Theocritus, Bion, Moschus).

M. Edmonds.

Greek Mathematical Works. Ivor Thomas. 2 Vols.

Hebodes. Cf. Theophrastus Characters.
Herodotus. A. D. Godley. 4 Vols.
Hesiod and The Homeric Hymns. H. G. Evelyn White.
Hippocrates and the Fragments of Heracleitus. W. H.
Jones and E. T. Withington. 4 Vols.
:

S.

Homer: Iliad. A. T. Mmray. 2 Vols.

Homer: Odyssey. A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.
Isaeus. E. W. Forster.
IsocRATEs. George Norlin and LaRue Van Hook. 3 Vols.
St. John Damascene: Barlaam and Ioasaph.
Rev. G. R.
Woodward and Harold Mattingly.
JosEPHUS. 9 Vols. Vols. I.-IV.; H. Thackeray. Vol. V.;
H. Thackeray and R. Marcus. Vols, VI.-VII.; R. Marcus.
Vol. VIII.; R. Marcus and Allen Wikgren. VoK IX. L. H.
Feldiiian,

Julian.

Wilmer Cave Wright.

3 Vols.

LuciAN. 8 Vols. Vols. I.-V. A.M.Harmon. Vol. VI. K.

Kilbum. Vol. VII. M. D. Macleod.
Lycophron. Cf Callimachus.
Lyra Graeca. J. M. Edmonds. 3 Vols.
Lysias. W. R. M. Lamb.
Manetho. W. G. Waddell: Ptolemy: Tetrabiblos. F. E.
Robbins.
Marcus Aurelius. C. R. Haines.
.

Menander. F. G. Allinson.
Minor Attic Orators (Antiphon, Andocides, Lycurgus,
Demades, Dinarchus, Hyperides). K. J. Maidment and
J. O. Burrt.

'

2 Vols.

NoNNOS: DiONYsiACA.

W. H. D.

Rouse. 3 Vols.
Oppian, CoLLUTHus, Tryphiodorus. A. W. Mair.
Papyri. Non-Literary Selections. A. S. Hunt and C. C.
Edgar. 2 Vols. Literary Selections (Poetry). D.L.Page.Parthenius. Cf. Daphnis and Chloe.
Pausanias: Description of Greece. W. H. S. Jones. 4
Vols, and Companion Vol. arranged by R. E. Wycherley.
Philo.
10 Vols.
Vols. I.-V-; F. H. Colson and Rev. G. H.
Whitaker. Vols. VI.-IX.; F. H. Colson. Vol. X. F. H,
Colson and the Rev. J. W. Earp.
Philo two supplementary Vols. (Translation only.) Ralph
Marcus.
Philostratus The Life of Apollonius of Tyana. F. C.
Conybeare. 2 Vols.
.

PHILOBTnATUS: IMAGINES; CaLLISTRATVS

DESCRIPTIONS.

A.

Fairbanks.

PHiLOSTRATrs and Eunapid3 Lives of the Sophists. Wilmer

Cavo Wright.
Pindar. Sir J. E. Sandys,
Plato: Charmidks, ALnniADRS, Hipparchus, The Lovers,
Theages, Minos and Epinomis. W. K. M. Lamb.
Plato: Cratylus, Parmenides, Greater Hippias, Lesser
HiPPiAS. H. N'. Fowler.
Plato: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedbus.
H. N. Fowler.
Plato: Laches, Protagoras, Meno, Euthydemus. \V. R. M.
:

Lamb.
Plato:
Plato:
Plato:
Plato:

Rev. R. G. Bury. 2 Vols.

W. R. M. Lamb,
Lysis, Symposium, Gorgias.
Republic. Paul Shorey. 2 Vols.
Statesman, Philebus. H. N. Fowler; Ion. W. R. M.

Laws.

Lamb.
Plato: Theaetetus and Sophist. H. N. Fowler.
Plato: Timaeus, Critias, Clitopho, Menexenus, Epistulae,
Rev. R. G. Bury.
Plutarch: Moralia. 15 Vols. Vols. I.-V. F. C. Babbitt.
W. C. Helmbold. Vol. VII, P, H. De Lacy and
Vol. VI.
E, L. Minar, Jr., F. H. Sandbach,
Vol. IX.
B, Einarson.
W. C. Helmbold. Vol. X. H. N. Fowler. Vol. XI. L.
Pearson and F. H. Sandbach. Vol. XII. H. Chemiss and
W, C. Helmbold,

Plutarch: The Parallel Lives.

Polybius.
Procopius

B. Perrin.

11 Vols.

W. R.

Paton.
6 Vols.
History of the Wars.

H. B. Dewing.
Ptolemy: Tetrabiblos. Cf, Manetho,
QuiNTUS Smyrnaeus, a, S. Way. Verse trans.
Sextus Empiricus. Rev. R. G. Bury. 4 Vols.
:

7 Vols.

Sophocles. F. Storr. 2 Vols. Verse trans.

Stkabo: Geography. Horace L. Jones. 8 Vols.
Characters. J. M, Edmonds. Herodes,
Theophkastus
A. D. Knox.
etc.
Enquiry into Plants. Sir Arthiir Hort,
Theophrastus
:

Bart.

2 Vols.

Thucydides. C. F. Smith. 4 Vols.

Tryphiodorus. Cf. Oppian.
Xenophon Cyropaedia. Walter Miller. 2 Vols.
Xenophon: Hellexica, Anabasis, Apology, and Symposium.

3 Vols.
C. L. Brownson and O. J. Todd.
Xenophon Memorabilia and Oeconomicus. E. C. Marchant.
Xenophon: Scbipta Minora. E. C. Marchant.
:

IN PREPARATION
Histobia Animauum (Greek). A. L. Peck.
Plotinus (Greek). A. H. Armstrong.
Babrius (Greek) and Phaedkus (Latin). Ben E. Perry.

Aristotle:

DESCRIPTIVE PROSPECTUS ON APPLICATION

London
Cambridge, Mass.

WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

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