bounds of truth: the case being really as he describes it. For we had only
an Odyssey in Latin, which resembled one of the rough and unfinished
statues of Daedalus; and some dramatic pieces of Livius, which will
scarcely bear a second reading. This Livius exhibited his first
performance at Rome in the Consulship of M. Tuditanus, and C. Clodius the
son of Caecus, the year before Ennius was born, and, according to the
account of my friend Atticus, (whom I choose to follow) the five hundred
and fourteenth from the building of the city. But historians are not
agreed about the date of the year. Attius informs us that Livius was taken
prisoner at Tarentum by Quintus Maximus in his fifth Consulship, about
thirty years after he is said by Atticus, and our ancient annals, to have
introduced the drama. He adds that he exhibited his first dramatic piece
about eleven years after, in the Consulship of C. Cornelius and Q.
Minucius, at the public games which Salinator had vowed to the Goddess of
Youth for his victory over the Senones. But in this, Attius was so far
mistaken, that Ennius, when the persons above-mentioned were Consuls, was
forty years old: so that if Livius was of the same age, as in this case he
would have been, the first dramatic author we had must have been younger
than Plautus and Naevius, who had exhibited a great number of plays before
the time he specifies. If these remarks, my Brutus, appear unsuitable to
the subject before us, you must throw the whole blame upon Atticus, who
has inspired me with a strange curiosity to enquire into the age of
illustrious men, and the respective times of their appearance."--"On the
contrary," said Brutus, "I am highly pleased that you have carried your
attention so far; and I think your remarks well adapted to the curious
task you have undertaken, the giving us a history of the different classes
of Orators in their proper order."--"You understand me right," said I;
"and I heartily wish those venerable Odes were still extant, which Cato
informs us in his Antiquities, used to be sung by every guest in his turn
at the homely feasts of our ancestors, many ages before, to commemorate
the feats of their heroes. But the _Punic war_ of that antiquated Poet,
whom Ennius so proudly ranks among the _Fauns and rustic Bards_, affords
me as exquisite a pleasure as the finest statue that was ever formed by
Myron. Ennius, I allow, was a more finished writer: but if he had really
undervalued the other, as he pretends to do, he would scarcely have
omitted such a bloody war as the first _Punic_, when he attempted
professedly to describe all the wars of the Republic. Nay he himself
assigns the reason.
"Others" (said he) "that cruel war have sung:"
Very true, and they have sung it with great order and precision, though
not, indeed, in such elegant strains as yourself. This you ought to have
acknowledged, as you must certainly be conscious that you have borrowed
many ornaments from Naevius; or if you refuse to own it, I shall tell you
plainly that you have _pilfered_ them.
"Cotemporary with the Cato above-mentioned (though somewhat older) were C.
Flaminius, C. Varro, Q. Maximus, Q. Metellus, P. Lentulus, and P. Crassus
who was joint Consul with the elder Africanus. This Scipio, we are told,
was not destitute of the powers of Elocution: but his son, who adopted the
younger Scipio (the son of Paulus Aemilius) would have stood foremost in
the list of Orators, if he had possessed a firmer constitution. This is
evident from a few Speeches, and a Greek History of his, which are very
agreeably written. In the same class we may place Sextus Aelius, who was
the best lawyer of his time, and a ready speaker. A little after these,
was C. Sulpicius Gallus, who was better acquainted with the Grecian
literature than all the rest of the nobility, and was reckoned a graceful
Orator, being equally distinguished, in every other respect, by the
superior elegance of his taste; for a more copious and splendid way of
speaking began now to prevail. When this Sulpicius, in quality of Praetor,
was celebrating the public shews in honour of Apollo, died the Poet
Ennius, in the Consulship of Q. Marcius and Cn. Servilius, after
exhibiting his Tragedy of _Thyestes_. At the same time lived Tiberius
Gracchus, the son of Publius, who was twice Consul and Censor: a Greek
Oration of his to the Rhodians is still extant, and he bore the character
of a worthy citizen, and an eloquent Speaker. We are likewise told that P.
Scipio Nasica, surnamed The Darling of the People, and who also had the
honor to be twice chosen Consul and Censor, was esteemed an able Orator:
To him we may add L. Lentulus, who was joint Consul with C. Figulus;--Q.
Nobilior, the son of Marcus, who was inclined to the study of literature
by his father's example, and presented Ennius (who had served under his
father in Aetolia) with the freedom of the City, when he founded a colony
in quality of Triumvir: and his colleague, T. Annius Luscus, who is said
to have been tolerably eloquent. We are likewise informed that L. Paulus,
the father of Africanus, defended the character of an eminent citizen in a
public speech; and that Cato, who died in the 83d year of his age, was
then living, and actually pleaded, that very year, against the defendant
Servius Galba, in the open Forum, with great energy and spirit:--he has
left a copy of this Oration behind him. But when Cato was in the decline
of life, a crowd of Orators, all younger than himself, made their
appearance at the same time: For A. Albinus, who wrote a History in Greek,
and shared the Consulship with L. Lucullus, was greatly admired for his
learning and Elocution: and almost equal to him were Servius Fulvius, and
Servius Fabius Pictor, the latter of whom was well acquainted with the
laws of his country, the Belles Lettres, and the History of Antiquity.
Quintus Fabius Labeo was likewise adorned with the same accomplishments.
But Q. Metellus whose four sons attained the consular dignity, was admired
for his Eloquence beyond the rest;--he undertook the defence of L. Cotta,
when he was accused by Africanus,--and composed many other Speeches,
particularly that against Tiberius Gracchus, which we have a full account
of in the Annals of C. Fannius. L. Cotta himself was likewise reckoned a
_veteran_; but C. Laelius, and P. Africanus were allowed by all to be more
finished Speakers: their Orations are still extant, and may serve as
specimens of their respective abilities. But Servius Galba, who was
something older than any of them, was indisputably the best speaker of the
age. He was the first among the Romans who displayed the proper and
distinguishing talents of an Orator, such as, digressing from his subject
to embellish and diversify it,--soothing or alarming the passions,
exhibiting every circumstance in the strongest light,--imploring the
compassion of his audience, and artfully enlarging on those topics, or
general principles of Prudence or Morality, on which the stress of his
argument depended: and yet, I know not how, though he is allowed to have
been the greatest Orator of his time, the Orations he has left are more
lifeless, and have a more antiquated air, than those of Laelius, or
Scipio, or even of Cato himself: in short, the strength and substance of
them has so far evaporated, that we have scarcely any thing of them
remaining but the bare skeletons. In the same manner, though both Laelius
and Scipio are greatly extolled for their abilities; the preference was
given to Laelius as a speaker; and yet his Oration, in defence of the
privileges of the Sacerdotal College, has no greater merit than any one
you may please to fix upon of the numerous speeches of Scipio. Nothing,
indeed, can be sweeter and milder than that of Laelius, nor could any
thing have been urged with greater dignity to support the honour of
religion: but, of the two, Laelius appears to me to be rougher, and more
old-fashioned than Scipio; and, as different Speakers have different
tastes, he had in my mind too strong a relish for antiquity, and was too
fond of using obsolete expressions. But such is the jealousy of mankind,
that they will not allow the same person to be possessed of too many
perfections. For as in military prowess they thought it impossible that
any man could vie with Scipio, though Laelius had not a little
distinguished himself in the war with Viriathus; so for learning,
Eloquence, and wisdom, though each was allowed to be above the reach of
any other competitor, they adjudged the preference to Laelius. Nor was
this only the opinion of the world, but it seems to have been allowed by
mutual consent between themselves: for it was then a general custom, as
candid in this respect as it was fair and just in every other, to give his
due to each. I accordingly remember that P. Rutilius Rufus once told me at
Smyrna, that when he was a young man, the two Consuls P. Scipio and D.
Brutus, by order of the Senate, tried a capital cause of great
consequence. For several persons of note having been murdered in the Silan
Forest, and the domestics, and some of the sons, of a company of gentlemen
who farmed the taxes of the pitch-manufactory, being charged with the
fact, the Consuls were ordered to try the cause in person. Laelius, he
said, spoke very sensibly and elegantly, as indeed he always did, on the
side of the farmers of the customs. But the Consuls, after hearing both
sides, judging it necessary to refer the matter to a second trial, the
same Laelius, a few days after, pleaded their cause again with more
accuracy, and much better than at first. The affair, however, was once
more put off for a further hearing. Upon this, when his clients attended
Laelius to his own house, and, after thanking him for what he had already
done, earnestly begged him not to be disheartened by the fatigue he had
suffered;--he assured them he had exerted his utmost to defend their
reputation; but frankly added, that he thought their cause would be more
effectually supported by Servius Galba, whose manner of speaking was more
embellished and more spirited than his own. They, accordingly, by the
advice of Laelius, requested Galba to undertake it. To this he consented;
but with the greatest modesty and reluctance, out of respect to the
illustrious advocate he was going to succeed:--and as he had only the next
day to prepare himself, he spent the whole of it in considering and
digesting his cause. When the day of trial was come, Rutilius himself, at
the request of the defendants, went early in the morning to Galba, to give
him notice of it, and conduct him to the court in proper time. But till
word was brought that the Consuls were going to the bench, he confined
himself in his study, where he suffered no one to be admitted; and
continued very busy in dictating to his Amanuenses, several of whom (as
indeed he often used to do) he kept fully employed at once. While he was
thus engaged, being informed that it was high time for him to appear in
court, he left his house with so much life in his eyes, and such an ardent
glow upon his countenance, that you would have thought he had not only
_prepared_ his cause, but actually _carried_ it. Rutilius added, as
another circumstance worth noticing, that his scribes, who attended him to
the bar, appeared excessively fatigued: from whence he thought it probable
that he was equally warm and vigorous in the composition, as in the
delivery of his speeches. But to conclude the story, Galba pleaded his
cause before Laelius himself, and a very numerous and attentive audience,
with such uncommon force and dignity, that every part of his Oration
received the applause of his hearers: and so powerfully did he move the
feelings, and affect the pity of the judges, that his clients were
immediately acquitted of the charge, to the satisfaction of the whole
court.
"As, therefore, the two principal qualities required in an Orator, are to
be neat and clear in stating the nature of his subject, and warm and
forcible in moving the passions; and as he who fires and inflames his
audience, will always effect more than he who can barely inform and amuse
them; we may conjecture from the above narrative, which I was favoured
with by Rutilius, that Laelius was most admired for his elegance, and
Galba for his pathetic force. But this force of his was most remarkably
exerted, when, having in his Praetorship put to death some Lusitanians,
contrary (it was believed) to his previous and express engagement;--T.
Libo the Tribune exasperated the people against him, and preferred a bill
which was to operate against his conduct as a subsequent law. M. Cato (as
I have before mentioned) though extremely old, spoke in support of the
bill with great vehemence; which Speech he inserted in his Book of
_Antiquities_, a few days, or at most only a month or two, before his
death. On this occasion, Galba refusing to plead to the charge, and
submitting his fate to the generosity of the people, recommended his
children to their protection, with tears in his eyes; and particularly his
young ward the son of C. Gallus Sulpicius his deceased friend, whose
orphan state and piercing cries, which were the more regarded for the sake
of his illustrious father, excited their pity in a wonderful manner;--and
thus (as Cato informs us in his History) he escaped the flames which would
otherwise have consumed him, by employing the children to move the
compassion of the people. I likewise find (what may be easily judged from
his Orations still extant) that his prosecutor Libo was a man of some
Eloquence."
As I concluded these remarks with a short pause;--"What can be the
reason," said Brutus, "if there was so much merit in the Oratory of Galba,
that there is no trace of it to be seen in his Orations;--a circumstance
which I have no opportunity to be surprized at in others, who have left
nothing behind them in writing."--"The reasons," said I, "why some have
not wrote any thing, and others not so well as they spoke, are very
different. Some of our Orators have writ nothing through mere indolence,
and because they were loath to add a private fatigue to a public one: for
most of the Orations we are now possessed of were written not before they
were spoken, but some time afterwards. Others did not choose the trouble
of improving themselves; to which nothing more contributes than frequent
writing; and as to perpetuating the fame of their Eloquence, they thought
it unnecessary; supposing that their eminence in that respect was
sufficiently established already, and that it would be rather diminished
than increased by submitting any written specimen of it to the arbitrary
test of criticism. Some also were sensible that they spoke much better
than they were able to write; which is generally the case of those who
have a great genius, but little learning, such as Servius Galba. When he
spoke, he was perhaps so much animated by the force of his abilities, and
the natural warmth and impetuosity of his temper, that his language was
rapid, bold, and striking; but afterwards, when he took up the pen in his
leisure hours, and his passion had sunk into a calm, his Elocution became
dull and languid. This indeed can never happen to those whose only aim is
to be neat and polished; because an Orator may always be master of that
discretion which will enable him both to speak and write in the same
agreeable manner: but no man can revive at pleasure the ardour of his
passions; and when that has once subsided, the fire and pathos of his
language will be extinguished. This is the reason why the calm and easy
spirit of Laelius seems still to breathe in his writings, whereas the
force of Galba is entirely withered and lost.
"We may also reckon in the number of middling Orators, the two brothers L.
and Sp. Mummius, both whose Orations are still in being:--the style of
Lucius is plain and antiquated; but that of Spurius, though equally
unembellished, is more close, and compact; for he was well versed in the
doctrine of the Stoics. The Orations of Sp. Alpinus, their cotemporary,
are very numerous: and we have several by L. and C. Aurelius Oresta, who
were esteemed indifferent Speakers. P. Popilius also was a worthy citizen,
and had a tolerable share of utterance: but his son Caius was really
eloquent. To _these_ we may add C. Tuditanus, who was not only very
polished, and genteel, in his manners and appearance, but had an elegant
turn of expression; and of the same class was M. Octavius, a man of
inflexible constancy in every just and laudable measure; and who, after
being affronted and disgraced in the most public manner, defeated his
rival Tiberius Gracchus by the mere dint of his perseverance. But M.
Aemilius Lepidus, who was surnamed Porcina, and flourished at the same
time as Galba, though he was indeed something younger, was esteemed an
Orator of the first eminence; and really appears, from his Orations which
are still extant, to have been a masterly writer. For he was the first
Speaker, among the Romans, who gave us a specimen of the easy gracefulness
of the Greeks; and who was distinguished by the measured flow of his
language, and a style regularly polished and improved by art. His manner
was carefully studied by C. Carbo and Tib. Gracchus, two accomplished
youths who were nearly of an age: but we must defer their character as
public Speakers, till we have finished our account of their elders. For Q.
Pompeius, according to the style of the time, was no contemptible Orator;
and actually raised himself to the highest honours of the State by his own
personal merit, and without being recommended, as usual, by the quality of
his ancestors. Lucius Cassius too derived his influence, which was very
considerable, not indeed from his _Eloquence_, but from his manly way of
speaking: for it is remarkable that he made himself popular, not, as
others did, by his complaisance and liberality, but by the gloomy rigour
and severity of his manners. His law for collecting the votes of the
people by way of ballot, was strongly opposed by the Tribune M. Antius
Briso, who was supported by M. Lepidus one of the Consuls: and it was
afterwards objected to Africanus, that Briso dropped the opposition by his
advice. At this time the two Scipios were very serviceable to a number of
clients by their superior judgment, and Eloquence; but still more so by
their extensive interest and popularity. But the written speeches of
Pompeius (though it must be owned they have rather an antiquated air)
discover an amazing sagacity, and are very far from being dry and
spiritless. To these we must add P. Crassus, an orator of uncommon merit,
who was qualified for the profession by the united efforts of art and
nature, and enjoyed some other advantages which were almost peculiar to
his family. For he had contracted an affinity with that accomplished
Speaker Servius Galba above-mentioned, by giving his daughter in marriage
to Galba's son; and being likewise himself the son of Mucius, and the
brother of P. Scaevola, he had a fine opportunity at home (which he made
the best use of) to gain a thorough knowledge of the Civil Law. He was a
man of unusual application, and was much beloved by his fellow-citizens;
being constantly employed either in giving his advice, or pleading causes
in the Forum. Cotemporary with the Speakers I have mentioned were the two
C. Fannii, the sons of C. and M. one of whom, (the son of C.) who was
joint Consul with Domitius, has left us an excellent speech against
Gracchus, who proposed the admission of the Latin and Italian allies to
the freedom of Rome."--"Do you really think, then," said Atticus, "that
Fannius was the author of that Oration? For when we were young, there were
different opinions about it. Some asserted it was wrote by C. Persius, a
man of letters, and the same who is so much extolled for his learning by
Lucilius: and others believed it was the joint production of a number of
noblemen, each of whom contributed his best to complete it."--"This I
remember," said I; "but I could never persuade myself to coincide with
either of them. Their suspicion, I believe, was entirely founded on the
character of Fannius, who was only reckoned among the _middling_ Orators;
whereas the speech in question is esteemed the best which the time
afforded. But, on the other hand, it is too much of a piece to have been
the mingled composition of many: for the flow of the periods, and the turn
of the language, are perfectly similar, throughout the whole of it.--and
as to _Persius_, if _he_ had composed it for Fannius to pronounce,
Gracchus would certainly have taken some notice of it in his reply;
because Fannius rallies Gracchus pretty severely, in one part of it, for
employing Menelaus of Marathon, and several others, to manufacture his
speeches. We may add that Fannius himself was no contemptible Orator: for
he pleaded a number of causes, and his Tribuneship, which was chiefly
conducted under the management and direction of P. Africanus, was very far
from being an idle one. But the other C. Fannius, (the son of M.) and son-
in-law of C. Laelius, was of a rougher cast, both in his temper, and
manner of speaking. By the advice of his father-in-law, (of whom, by the
bye, he was not remarkably fond, because he had not voted for his
admission into the college of augurs, but gave the preference to his
younger son-in-law Q. Scaevola; though Laelius genteely excused himself,
by saying that the preference was not given to the youngest son, but to
his wife the eldest daughter,) by his advice, I say, he attended the
lectures of Panaetius. His abilities as a Speaker may be easily
conjectured from his History, which is neither destitute of elegance, nor
a perfect model of composition. As to his brother Mucius the augur,
whenever he was called upon to defend himself, he always pleaded his own
cause; as, for instance, in the action which was brought against him for
bribery by T. Albucius. But he was never ranked among the Orators; his
chief merit being a critical knowledge of the Civil Law, and an uncommon
accuracy of judgment. L. Caelius Antipater likewise (as you may see by his
works) was an elegant and a handsome writer for the time he lived in; he
was also an excellent Lawyer, and taught the principles of jurisprudence
to many others, particularly to L. Crassus. As to Caius Carbo and T.
Gracchus, I wish they had been as well inclined to maintain peace and good
order in the State, as they were qualified to support it by their
Eloquence: their glory would then have been out-rivaled by no one. But the
latter, for his turbulent Tribuneship, which he entered upon with a heart
full of resentment against the great and good, on account of the odium he
had brought upon himself by the treaty of Numantia, was slain by the hands
of the Republic: and the other, being impeached of a seditious affectation
of popularity, rescued himself from the severity of the judges by a
voluntary death. That both of them were excellent Speakers, is very plain
from the general testimony of their cotemporaries: for as to their
Speeches now extant, though I allow them to be very artful and judicious,
they are certainly defective in Elocution. Gracchus had the advantage of
being carefully instructed by his mother Cornelia from his very childhood,
and his mind was enriched with all the stores of Grecian literature: for
he was constantly attended by the ablest masters from Greece, and
particularly, in his youth, by Diophanes of Mitylene, who was the most
eloquent Grecian of his age: but though he was a man of uncommon genius,
he had but a short time to improve and display it. As to Carbo, his whole
life was spent in trials, and forensic debates. He is said by very
sensible men who heard him, and, among others, by our friend L. Gellius
who lived in his family in the time of his Consulship, to have been a
sonorous, a fluent, and a spirited Speaker, and likewise, upon occasion,
very pathetic, very engaging, and excessively humorous: Gellius used to
add, that he applied himself very closely to his studies, and bestowed
much of his time in writing and private declamation. He was, therefore,
esteemed the best pleader of his time; for no sooner had he began to
distinguish himself in the Forum, but the depravity of the age gave birth
to a number of law-suits; and it was first found necessary, in the time of
his youth, to settle the form of public trials, which had never been done
before. We accordingly find that L. Piso, then a Tribune of the people,
was the first who proposed a law against bribery; which he did when
Censorinus and Manilius were Consuls. This Piso too was a professed
pleader, and the proposer and opposer of a great number of laws: he left
some Orations behind him, which are now lost, and a Book of Annals very
indifferently written. But in the public trials, in which Carbo was
concerned, the assistance of an able advocate had become more necessary
than ever, in consequence of the law for voting by ballots, which was
proposed and carried by L. Cassius, in the Consulship of Lepidus and
Mancinus.