"He made it his ftudy to difcover truth, through "the veils of falfhood and impofture with which hu"man lufts cover it. "Are fuch truths learnt at court, in the army, "under the helmet, and the coat of mail? 66 "You think then, that anxiety, and the moft "deadly forrows, are not to be hid under royal "robes; or that a kingdom is an univerfal remedy "against all evils? Methinks I ftill fee that flower falling." Speaking of the death of an infant prince. When all things fubmitted to Lewis, and we believed the miraculous times were returning, "when walls fell down at the found of trumpets; "the whole nation caft their eyes on the queen, and "thought they faw the thunder, which demolished fo many cities, fly from her oratory. 66 W With a calm and ferene afpect, he (Lewis "XIV.) formed those thunderbolts which were heard "throughout the world, and thofe which still re"main to be hurled.". * Pour comble de profperité, "The wretch, more profp'rous ftill, "Fancies his children are converfing with him, "And, flush'd with joy, fmile o'er the flowing bowls." Before I conclude this article, 1 muft obferve in. general, that figures ought to be applied with great difcernment t Mafcar. u Boffuet. w Peliffon. x Racine. y Una in re maxime utilis, ut quotidiani & femper eciem modo formati fermonis faftidium levet, & nos à vulgari dicendi genere defendat. Quo fi quis parce, & cum res pofcet, utetur, velut afperfo quodam condimento, jucundior erit. At bui niinium affe&averat, ipfam difcernment and prudence. They are like feafoning to an oration; they raise the ftyle, make us quit the vulgar and common way of speaking, prevent the diftafte which a tiresome uniformity would occafion; but then they must be employed fparingly, and with difcretion; for, if they are used too often, they lofe the grace of variety, in which their principal merit confists; and the more they fhine, the more they dif- ' guft and tire, from a vicious affectation, which thews they are not natural, but far-fetched with too much care, and, as it were, forced in. It is not neceffary to obferve, that fome figures are so common and trivial, they have loft all their beauty, especially when they are too long: Miferum eft exturbari fortunis omnibus: miferius eft injuria. Acerbum eft.... acerbius. Calamitofum eft. . . . calamitofius. Funeftum eft. . . funeftius. Indignum eft... indignius. Lucturfum eft... luctuofius. Horribile eft. borribilius. The auditor anticipiates the anfwer, and is tired of this burden of a fong always in the fame ftrain. The fame may be obferved of the other figure, which is ftill more tedious: a Qui funt qui foedera Sæpe ruperunt? Carthaginienfes. Qui funt qui in Italia crudele bellum gefferunt? Carthaginienfes. Qui funt, &c. I ARTICLE the SIXTH. Of oratorial Precautions. Here give that name to a certain care which the orator must take not to offend the delicacy of those before or of whom he is fpeaking; and the ftudied illam gratiam varietatis amittet.. omnibus latebris extractas con Nam & fecretæ & extra vulgarem geftafque declarant. Quintil. 1.9' ufum pofitæ, ideoque magis nobiles, ut novitate autem excitant, ita copia fatiant: nec fe obvias fuiffe dicenti, fed conquifitas,, & ex c. 3. I 3 z Pro Quint. n. 95. and and artful turns which he employs to exprefs fome things that would otherwife appear harfh and offenfive. I call this oratorial precautions, because it contains an art and addrefs, certainly effential to rhetoric, and for that reafon deferves the attention of youth. Some examples will render the thing more ovious. Chryfogonus, Sylla's freedman, was in such credit with his master, who was then absolute in the commonwealth, that no lawyer durft plead against him in behalf of Rofcius. Cicero only, though very young, had the courage to undertake fo delicate a caufe. b He is very careful, throughout the whole fpeech, to obferve in feveral places, that Sylla was a ftranger to all the villainies of his freedman; that great industry had been used to conceal them from him; that those who could have informed him of them were denied all access to him; that, on the whole, it was not furprifing, that Sylla, who alone had the care of re-establishing and governing the commonwealth, fhould not know or neglect feveral things, fince a great many escaped the knowledge and attention of Jupiter himfelf in the government of the universe. It is very obvious, that fuch precautions were abfolutely neceffary. Cicero, in his pleading, called Divinatio in Verrem, is obliged to fhew, that he is fitter to plead against Verres than Cecilius. Such a caufe was to be managed with great addrefs and conduct, to avoid giving offence for felf-praise is always odious, especially when it turns on wit and eloquence. After Cicero had proved, that Cecilius had none of the qualifications neceffary for a caufe of fo much importance, he is far from afcribing them to himself: fo gross a vanity would have fet every body against him. He fays only, that he had laboured all his life to acquire them; and b Pro Rofc. n. 21, 22, 25. 91. moleftiffima, n. 36. 110. 127. e Fortaffe dices: Quid? Ergo hæc in te funt omnia? Utinam quidem effent! veruntamen ut esse poffent, magno ftudio mihi à pueritia eft elaboratum, n. 40. that, that, if he was not able to fucceed, notwithstanding his great pains and induftry, it is not furprifing, that Cecilius, who never had any idea of this noble profeffion, should be abfolutely incapable of it. When he pleaded for Flaccus, he was to invalidate the teftimony of feveral Greeks, who had fworn against his client. To do this the more effectually, he attempts to depreciate the nation itself, as not overfcrupulous in matters of veracity and fincerity. He does not begin abruptly with so harfh a charge. At firft, he fets apart, as it were, a real number of worthy perfons, who are far from being carried away with the blind paffion of fome of their countrymen. He afterwards gives great encomiums to the whole nation, highly magnifying their genius, abilities, politeness, their tafte for arts, and their marvellous talent for eloquence; but he adds, that the Greeks never piqued themselves upon being exact or fincere in giving evidence: Veruntamen hoc dico de toto genere Græcorum: tribuo illis literas: do multarum artium difciplinam; non adimo fermonis leporem, ingeniorum acumen, dicendi copiam; denique etiam, fi qua fibi alia fumant, non repugno; teftimoniorum religionem & fidem nunquam ifa natio coluit, totiufque hujufce rei quæ fit vis, quæ au&oritas, quod pondus, ignorant. We know Cicero excelled chiefly in moving the paffions, and that he often drew tears from the eyes of his auditors, by the foft and affecting difcourfe he put into the mouths of his clients, in the conclusion of his pleadings. The greatnefs of foul and noble pride, upon which Milo valued himself, deprived his advocate of fo powerful a resource. & But Cicero of fervice to had the art of making even his courage wards gaining the favour of the judges; and he himfelf affumed the character of a petitioner, which he could not give to his client. f Pro Flacco, n. 9. g Ergo & ille captavit ex illa ceffit. præftantia animi favorem, & in locum lacrymarum ejus ipfe fucQuint. 1. 6. c. 1. I 4 The The inviolable refpect which children owe to their parents, even when they treat them with rigour and injustice, makes fome conjunctures very difficult, in which they are obliged to speak against their parents; and it is on thefe occafions that true rhetoric furnishes turns, and artful ftrokes, which give to paternal authority whatever is its due, without lofing any of the advantages of the caufe. It must then be inculcated, that nothing but indifpenfable neceffity can force, from the mouths of children, complaints which their hearts would fupprefs; and that, even through thofe complaints, not only a fund of refpect may be discovered, but one of love and tenderness alfo. A fine example of this precept may be seen in the pleading for Cluentius, whom his mother treated with unheard-of cruelty. * The rule I have now touched upon regards every inferior, who has any juft pretenfions againft a fuperior, whom he ought to refpect and honour. There are fome occafions where intereft or decency will not permit us to explain ourselves in exprefs terms, but-in which we would, at the fame time, infinuate to the judge fome things we dare not speak openly. A fon, for example, cannot gain his fuit without discovering a crime of which his father is guilty. The things themselves, fays Quintilian, muft lead the judge infenfibly to guess at what the parties are unwilling to declare; that, every other motive being laid afide, he may be forced, as it were, to fee the only one which remains; and which the respect for a father h Hoc illis commune remedium eft: fi in tota actione æqualiter ap. pareat, non honor modo, fed etiam caritas præterea caufa fit nobis jafta fic dicendi ; neque id moderate tantum facimus, fed etiam neceffario. Quint. 1. 11. c. 1. i N. 12. & 17. k In quo per quandam fufpicinem, quod non dicimos, accipi volumus. Quint. 1, 9. c. 2. cæ 1 Res ipfæ perducant judicem ad fufpicionem & amoliamur tera, ut hoc folum fuperfit : in quo multum etiam affectus juvant, & interrupta filentio dictio, & cunctationes. Sic enim fiet, ut judex quærat illud nefcio quid, quod ipfe fortaffe non crederet, fi audiret : & ei, quod a fe inventum exiftimat, credat. Ibid. hinders |