QUINTILIAN.

BORN ABOUT 35 A.D.- DIED ABOUT 118 A.D.

M. FABIUS QUINTILIANUS was born at Calaguris in Spain about 35 A.D. He spent the early years of his life at Rome in acquiring an education. He revisited Spain in 61 A.D., remaining until 68 A.D., at which time he returned to Rome, where he practiced for a time as advocate, and soon became distinguished as a teacher of eloquence. His career as a teacher extends over a period of twenty years, commencing probably about 69 A.D. He was the first in this profession to receive a regular salary from the royal treasury, and was farther honored by being invested with the insignia and title of Consul.

In the period of his retirement, during the later years of life, he devoted himself chiefly to composing his great work, De Institutione Oratoria, an elaborate treatise in twelve books on the education of the orator, and the only one of his writings now extant. The first book treats of the necessity and influence of early home training; the second discusses the principles of rhetoric; the next five pertain to invention and arrangement; the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh treat of composition, memory, and delivery; while the twelfth, which Quintilian regarded as the most important of all, is devoted to the character of the orator, his style of eloquence, and the principles which should guide his life. The work as a whole is systematic in arrangement, simple in style, and admirably adapted to its purpose. No work of ancient times approaches so nearly to the character of a modern textbook, and none is more worthy of study. Its rich stores of learning, its literary criticisms, its practical hints on general education, and the many choice passages with which the work abounds, all tend to make it of interest to the student. Quintilian not only wrote in pure and elegant Latin, but exerted his utmost influence to preserve the language from the corruptions of style which were fast creeping in, and which characterize the so-called silver age of Roman literature.

Orators. Character.

Oratorem autem instituimus illum perfectum, qui esse nisi vir bonus non potest.

"According to our doctrine, no one can be a perfect orator unless he is a good man.” — Proemium De Inst. Orat. I, 2.

Illud tamen in primis testandum est, nihil praecepta atque artes valere nisi adjuvante natura.

"This I must especially declare, that rules of practice are of no avail without the aid of natural ability." - Proemium, I, 4.

Nihil enim pejus est iis qui, paulum aliquid ultra primas literas progressi, falsam sibi scientiae persuasionem indu

erunt.

"Nothing is more contemptible than those who have but a smattering of learning, and yet indulge the delusion that they are men of knowledge. - De Institutione Oratoria, Lib. I, 2.

Ambition. Virtue.

Licet ipsa vitium sit ambitio, frequenter tamen causa virtutum est.

"Ambition, though a vice in itself, is frequently the source of virtues." Lib. I, 2.

Mihi ille detur puer, juvet, qui victus fleat.

quem laus excitet, quem gloria Hic erit alendus ambitu, hunc mor

debit objurgatio, hunc honor excitabit: in hoc desidiam nunquam verebor.

"Give me the boy whom praise incites, who is encouraged by success, and cries when he suffers defeat. Such a boy will be sustained by ambition, stung by reproof, and animated by approval. Indolence in him is something I shall never fear. — Lib. I, 3.

Discipline. Corporal Punishment.

Coedi discentes, quanquam receptum sit, minime velim, primum quia deforme atque servile est, deinde quod, si cui tam mens est inliberalis, ut objurgatione non corrigatur, is etiam ad plagas, ut pessima quaeque mancipia durabitur.

"I would by no means approve the flogging of pupils -- first, because it is unbecoming and brutal; and next, because if the learner's mind is so ignoble that it cannot be influenced by reproof, he will be, like a worthless slave, insensible even to blows."— Lib. I, 3.

Nam in omnibus fere minus valent praecepta quam experimenta.

"For in nearly every undertaking, experience counts for more than precepts. Lib. II, 5, 5.

Man. Speech.

Deus ille princeps, parens rerum fabricatorque mundi, nullo magis hominem separavit a ceteris, quae quidem mortalia sunt, animalibus, quam dicendi facultate.

"God, that supreme Creator of nature, and Architect of the world, has separated man from other animals by no more distinguishing characteristic than by the power of speech.” —- Lib. II, 17, 2.

Eloquence. Spirit. Mental Power.

Pectus est quod disertos facit et vis mentis.

"It is spirit and mental power that makes men eloquent.” — Lih. VII, 7, 2.

Oratory. Habit. Writing. Speaking.

Sed haec eloquendi praecepta, sicut cognitioni sunt necessaria, ita non satis ad vim dicendi valent, nisi illis firma quaedam facilitas, quae apud Graecos eis nominatur, accesserit; ad quam scribendo plus an legendo an dicendo

M

conferatur, solere quaeri scio. Quod esset diligenti nobis examinandum cura, si qualibet earum rerum possemus una esse contenti. Verum ita sunt inter se connexa et indiscreta omnia, ut, si quid ex his defuerit, frustra sit in ceteris laboratum. Nam neque solida atque robusta fuerit unquam eloquentia, nisi multo stilo vires acceperit; et citra lectionis exemplum labor ille carens rectore fluit. Qui autem sciet, quae, quoque sint modo dicenda, nisi tamen in procinctu paratamque ad omnes casus habuerit eloquentiam, velut clausis thesauris incubabit.

These principles of oratory, though necessary to be known, are yet not sufficient to produce oratorical power, unless they be accompanied by a certain substantial readiness, which among the Greeks is called sis, 'habit,' to which I know it is often asked whether more is added by writing, reading, or speaking. This question would require a careful examination, if we could confine ourselves to any one of these subjects. But they are all so inseparably intertwined that if any one be wanting, we labor in vain with others. For oratory will never become substantial and forcible unless it acquire strength from much writing: and without the model afforded by reading, that effort is expended in vain for want of proper direction. On the other hand, he who knows both what to say and how, yet unless he have his eloquence equipped and ready for battle, will merely brood, as it were, over inaccessible treasures." — Lib. X, 1, 1 and 2.

Nec fortuna modo judicii sed etiam ipsorum qui orant periculo afficimur.

"We are interested not only in the event of the cause, but in the perils of those who plead it.' - Lib. X, 1, 16.

Read the Best Authors.

Ac diu nonnisi optimus quisque et qui credentem sibi minime fallat legendus est, sed diligenter ac paene ad

scribendi sollicitudinem.

"For a long time none but the best authors should be read, and those who will be the least misleading to those who trust them; but these should be studied diligently, and almost with the care of transcribing them.”

- Lib. X, 1, 20.

Eminent Exemplars. Imitation. Copying Imperfections. Summi enim sunt, homines tamen, acciditque his, qui, quidquid apud illos repererunt, dicendi legem putant, ut deteriora imitentur, (id enim est facilius) ac se abunde similes putent, si vitia magnorum consequantur.

"They, indeed, are eminent, but still they are men; and it frequently happens to those who think that whatever they find in them is a law of eloquence, that they imitate their imperfections (for this is easier), and fancy they quite resemble great men if they ape their faults.” — Lib. X, 1, 25. The eminent men referred to in this passage are Cicero, Demosthenes, Horace, and Homer, each of whom the author warns us may, as Horace says of Homer, " sometimes nod."

Homer's Literary Style.

Hunc nemo in magnis rebus sublimitate, in parvis proprietate superaverit. Idem laetus ac pressus, jucundus et gravis, tum copia tum brevitate mirabilis, nec poetica modo sed oratoria virtute eminentissimus.

"No one has surpassed him in sublimity on great subjects, or in propriety on small ones. He is both diffuse and concise, pleasing and forcible; admirable at one time for exuberance, at another for brevity: preeminent not only for poetic, but for oratorical excellence." Lib. X, 1, 46. Quintilian's characterization of the literary style of Homer.

Confidence. Success.

Sufficit operi, cui se parem credidit.

“He is equal to the task to which he thought himself equal.” — Lib. X, 1, 55. Said of the poet Aratus, whose style was not ambitious, but who quite sustained the dignity and character of each humble undertaking. Would that the same might always be said of those who enter upon laudable undertakings.

Ennium sicut sacros vetustate lucos adoremus, in quibus grandia et antiqua robora jam non tantam habent speciem quantam religionem.

"We venerate Ennius as we do the groves, sacred with antiquity, in which the stalwart and time-tried oaks affect us not so much by their