The orator having distinguished himself by these perfections of
eloquence at the bar, in counsels, in the assemblies of the people, in
the senate, and in all the duties of a good citizen, ought to think,
likewise, of making an end worthy of an honest man and the sanctity of
his ministry: not that during the course of his life he ought to cease
being of service to society, or that, endowed with such integrity of
mind and such talent of eloquence, he can continue too long in the
exercise of so noble an employment; but because it is fitting that he
should guard against degrading his character, by doing anything which
may fall short of what he has already done. The orator is indebted for
what he is, not only to knowledge, which increases with his years, but
to his voice, lungs, and strength of body; and when the latter are
impaired by years, or debilitated by infirmities, it is to be feared
that something might be lacking in this great man, either from his
stopping short through fatigue, and out of breath at every effort, or by
not making himself sufficiently heard, or, lastly, by expecting, and not
finding, him to be what he formerly was.
When the orator does sound a retreat, no less ample fruits of study will
attend on him. He either will write the history of his time for the
instruction of posterity, or he will explain the law to those who came
to ask his advice, or he will write a treatise on eloquence, or that
worthy mouth of his will employ itself in inculcating the finest moral
precepts. As was customary with the ancients, well-disposed youth will
frequent his house, consulting him as an oracle on the true manner of
speaking. As the parent of eloquence will he form them, and as an old
experienced pilot will he give them an account of shores, and harbors,
and what are the presages of storms, and what may be required for
working the ship in contrary or favorable winds. To all this will he be
induced not only by a duty of humanity common to mankind, but also by a
certain pleasure in it; for no one would be glad to see an art going
into decay, in which he himself excelled, and what is more laudable than
to teach others that in which one is perfectly skilled?
For all I know, the happiest time in an orator's life is when he has
retired from the world to devote himself to rest; and, remote from envy,
and remote from strife, he looks back on his reputation, as from a
harbor of safety; and while still living has a sense of that veneration
which commonly awaits only the dead; thus anticipating the pleasure of
the noble impression posterity will conceive of him. I am conscious that
to the extent of my poor ability, whatever I knew before, and whatever I
could collect for the service of this work, I have candidly and
ingenuously made a communication of, for the instruction of those who
might be willing to reap any advantage from it: and it is enough for an
honest man to have taught what he knows.
To be good men, which is the first and most important thing, consists
chiefly in the will, and whoever has a sincere desire to be a man of
integrity, will easily learn the arts that teach virtue; and these arts
are not involved in so many perplexities, neither are they of such
great number, as not to be learned by a few years' application. The
ordering of an upright and happy life is attainable by an easy and
compendious method, when inclination is not lacking. Nature begot us
with the best dispositions, and it is so easy to the well-inclined to
learn that which is good, that we can not help being surprized, on
making a due estimate of things, how there can be so many bad persons in
the world. For, as water is naturally a proper element for fish, dry
land for quadrupeds, and air for birds, so indeed it ought to be more
easy to live according to the prescript of nature than to infringe her
laws.
As to the rest, tho we might measure our age, not by the space of more
advanced years, but by the time of youth, we should find that we had
quite years enough for learning, all things being made shorter by
order, method, and the manner of application. To bring the matter home
to our oratorical studies, of what significance is the custom which I
see kept up by many, of declaiming so many years in schools, and of
expending so much labor on imaginary subjects, when in a moderate time
the rules of eloquence may be learned, and pursuant to their directions,
a real image framed of the contests at the bar? By this I do not mean to
hint in the least that exercises for speaking should ever be
discontinued, but rather that none should grow old in any one particular
exercise for that purpose, for we may require the knowledge of many
sciences, and learn the precepts of morality, and exercise ourselves in
such causes as are agitated at the bar, even while we continue in the
state of scholars. And indeed the art of oratory is such as need not
require many years for learning it. Each of the arts I have mentioned
may be abridged into few books, there being no occasion to consider them
so minutely and so much in detail. Practise remains, which soon makes us
well skilled in them. Knowledge of things is increasing daily, and yet
books are not so many; it is necessary to read in order to acquire this
knowledge, of which either examples as to the things themselves may be
met with in history, or the eloquent expression of them may be found in
orators. It is also necessary that we should read the opinions of
philosophers and lawyers, with some other things deserving of notice.