Of Meditation.
De Cogitatione.
VI:1
VI. Proxima stilo cogitatio est, quae et ipsa vires ab hoc accipit et
est inter scribendi laborem extemporalemque fortunam media quaedam et
nescio an usus frequentissimi. Nam scribere non ubique nec semper
possumus, cogitationi temporis ac loci plurimum est. Haec paucis admodum
horis magnas etiam causas complectitur; haec, quotiens intermissus est
somnus, ipsis noctis tenebris adiuvatur; haec inter medios rerum actus
aliquid invenit vacui nec otium patitur.
§ 1.
stilo: see on 1 §2.
cogitatio, ‘premeditation’: cp. _commentatio_
(‘preparation’) and _meditatio_. So ii. 6, 3: and below, 7 §8. Cic. de Orat. ii. §103 ita adsequor ut
alio tempore cogitem quid dicam et alio dicam ... sed certe eidem illi
melius aliquanto dicerent si aliud sumendum sibi tempus ad cogitandum
aliud ad dicendum putarent: cp. id. i. §150 etsi utile est etiam subito
saepe dicere, tamen illud utilius sumpto spatio ad cogitandum paratius
atque adcuratius dicere ... nam si subitam et fortuitam orationem
commentatio et cogitatio facile vincit, hanc ipsam profecto adsidua ac
diligens scriptura superabit. Cp. Brutus §253.
et ipsa: ‘likewise,’ i.e. as well as the _facultas ex
tempore dicendi_, which, as stated in 3 §§1-4, derives its strength mainly from the
pen. See on 1 §31.
extemporalemque fortunam: ‘the chances of improvisation,’
which depends so much on the inspiration of the moment (fortunam opp. to
laborem): = ‘fortunam quam ex tempore dicentes experimur’ (Krüger). Cp.
§§5, 6: and 7 §13 successum
extemporalem.
media quaedam: cp. xi. 2, 3 memoria ... quasi media quaedam
manus.
nescio an: see on 1 §65.
somnus: cp. 3 §25.
rerum actus, as inter ipsas actiones xii. 3, 2, ‘in the midst
of legal proceedings,’ and so rather more special than _actum rei_
1 §31, where see note.
Cp. esp. Plin. Ep. ix. 25, 3 Nunc me rerum actus modice sed tamen
distringit: and Suet. Aug. 32 triginta amplius dies ... actis rerum
accommodavit. In xi. 1, 47 actus is again quite general: in ceteris
actibus vitae.
otium: ‘inactivity.’ A good advocate will be able to
think out a speech even while a trial is going on.
VI:2
Neque vero rerum ordinem modo, quod ipsum satis erat, intra se ipsa
disponit, sed verba etiam
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copulat totamque ita contexit orationem ut ei nihil praeter manum desit;
nam memoriae quoque plerumque inhaeret fidelius quod nulla scribendi
securitate laxatur.
Sed ne ad hanc quidem vim cogitandi perveniri potest aut subito aut
cito.
§ 2.
satis erat: see on 5 §7 fas
erat.
intra se ipsa, ‘by itself’: there is no need for any recourse
to writing. This is
168
quite parallel to such expressions as ‘virtus per se ipsa placet,’ and
‘medici ipsi se curare non possunt,’ where the tendency is to keep
_ipse_ in the nominative so as to emphasise the subject. Cp. 5 §2: 3 §30.
scribendi securitate. Cp. the story of Theuth and Thamus,
Phaedrus 274 sq., esp. 275 A τοῦτο γὰρ τῶν μαθόντων λήθην μὲν ἐν ψυχαῖς παρέξει, μνήμης
ἀμελετησίᾳ, κ.τ.λ.: xi. 2, 9 quamquam invenio apud Platonem
obstare memoriae usum litterarum: videlicet quod illa quae scriptis
reposuimus velut custodire desinimus, et ipsa securitate dimittimus.
Reliance on written memoranda, he says, may in the end make the mind
incapable of retaining by a special effort what can be at any time
recalled by a glance at the paper.
vim cogitandi: see on vim dicendi 1 §1. For the thought cp. 3 §9.
VI:3
Nam primum facienda multo stilo forma est, quae nos etiam cogitantes
sequatur: tum adsumendus usus paulatim, ut pauca primum complectamur
animo, quae reddi fideliter possint: mox per incrementa tam modica ut
onerari se labor ille non sentiat augenda vis et exercitatione multa
continenda est, quae quidem maxima ex parte memoria constat. Ideoque
aliqua mihi in illum locum differenda sunt.
§ 3.
forma, a pattern, model, or ideal: we must ‘form our style’ by
constant writing, and attain to the ease described in 3 §9 verba respondebunt, compositio sequetur,
cuncta denique ut in familia bene instituta in officio erunt. For
_facere formam_ cp. 3 §28
_faciendus usus_.
onerari: the labour is not perceptibly increased. So xi. 2,
41, of exercising the memory, turn cotidie adicere (decet) singulos
versus, quorum accessio labori sensum incrementi non adferat.
in illum locum: memory is treated in xi. 2.
VI:4
Eo tandem pervenit ut is cui non refragetur ingenium acri studio adiutus
tantum consequatur ut ei tam quae cogitarit quam quae scripserit atque
edidicerit in dicendo fidem servent. Cicero certe Graecorum Metrodorum
Scepsium et Empylum Rhodium nostrorumque Hortensium tradidit quae
cogitaverant ad verbum in agendo rettulisse.
§ 4.
pervenit, sc. vis, just as in 7 §19 facilitas extemporalis is generally
supplied.
ei ... fidem servent: ‘keep their faith with him,’ i.e. are as
much at his command when he comes to speak as, &c.
certe: see Introd. p.
li.
Metrodorus of Scepsis in Mysia, a philosopher of the Academic
school, and a pupil of Carneades. Cic. de Orat. ii. §360 vidi enim ego
summos homines et divina prope memoria, Athenis Charmadam, in Asia, quem
vivere hodie aiunt, Scepsium Metrodorum, quorum uterque tamquam litteris
in cera, sic se aiebat imaginibus in eis locis quos haberet quae
meminisse vellet perscribere. Cp. Tusc. i. §59.
Empylus is nowhere else mentioned.
Hortensium: Brut. §301 memoria (erat) tanta quantam in nullo
cognovisse me arbitror, ut quae secum commentatus esset ea sine scripto
verbis eisdem redderet quibus cogitavisset: hoc adiumento ille tanto sic
utebatur ut sua et commentata et scripta et nullo referente omnia
adversariorum dicta meminisset. Cp. xi. 2, 24.
ad verbum. Cp. Plin. Ep. ix. 36, 1 cogito ad verbum scribenti
emendantique similis.
VI:5
Sed si forte aliqui inter dicendum offulserit extemporalis color,
169
non superstitiose cogitatis demum est inhaerendum. Neque enim tantum
habent curae ut non sit dandus et fortunae locus, cum saepe etiam
scriptis ea quae subito nata sunt inserantur. Ideoque totum hoc
exercitationis genus ita instituendum est ut et digredi ex eo et redire
in id facile possimus.
§ 5.
si ... aliqui: see on 2 §23.
extemporalis color, a sudden inspiration,
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or ‘happy thought’: the notion of suddenness being contained in
offulserit. _Color_ must carry the idea here of something that
‘sets off’ the subject,—an unpremeditated turn of expression,
embodying a thought which suddenly flashes on the speaker’s mind. In the
Bonnell-Meister edition it is said to denote the particular
_complexion_ given to the style by happy improvisation: but this
seems too wide for what may be only an occasional divergence from the
written word. Krüger takes it as the abstract for ‘id quod habet colorem
extemporalem’ (dictorum ex tempore): a thought or expression which
suddenly occurs, and which has on it the mark of improvisation. Cp.
‘extemporalem fortunam’ §1, and ‘scriptorum
color’ 7 §7, which presents a sort of
antithesis to ‘extemporalis color’: also 1 §§59, 116 with the notes.
superstitiose: i. 1, 13 non tamen hoc adeo superstitiose fieri
velim.
demum: see on 1 §44: Introd. p. li. Traian. ad Plin. Ep. 10, 33
Nobis autem utilitas demum spectanda est.
habent, sc. cogitata. What we premeditate is not so accurately
thought out as to leave no room for extemporary chance (fortuna, cp.
on §1).
scriptis: even in _written_ speeches, on which a greater
degree of _cura_ has been bestowed, sudden inspirations (subito
nata) are often introduced during delivery.
VI:6
Nam ut primum est domo adferre paratam dicendi copiam et certam, ita
refutare temporis munera longe stultissimum est. Quare cogitatio in hoc
praeparetur, ut nos fortuna decipere non possit, adiuvare possit. Id
autem fiet memoriae viribus, ut illa quae complexi animo sumus fluant
secura, non sollicitos et respicientes et una spe suspensos
recordationis non sinant providere: alioqui vel extemporalem temeritatem
malo quam male cohaerentem cogitationem.
§ 6.
domo adferre: ‘bring from the study’; cp. 7 §30 quae domo adferunt: Cicero, Orat. §89
domo adlata quae plerumque sunt frigida.
refutare = repudiare, ‘reject,’ ‘despise,’ the inspirations of
the moment (temporis munera). Cic. Tusc. ii. §55 inprimisque refutetur
ac reiciatur Philocteteus ille clamor: pro Rab. Post. §44 quam ...
bonitatem ... non modo non aspernari ac refutare sed complecti etiam et
augere debetis.
in hoc: see on 5 §11.
decipere: ‘nonplus’ or embarrass us: make us to stumble. The
chance opening must not find us unequipped with well-shaped thoughts: we
must be ready to improve our opportunity.
non ... non sinant. The double negative hampers the clause,
though it is simplified by making _non sinant_ = _prohibeant_.
Krüger compares ix. 3, 72. After the first _non_ the words
_fiet ut illa_ must be repeated, or simply _ut_. Tr. ‘It is by
our powers of memory that we must secure the easy flow of what we have
formulated in thought, instead of letting it keep us from looking ahead
by anxious backward glances and the consciousness of being absolutely
dependent on what we can recall to mind.’ The last phrase describes a
familiar style of oratory, referring as it does to those speakers ‘qui
apprennent par cœur et sont paralysés par la crainte de rester
court.’—Fénelon, quoted by Hild.
extemporalem temeritatem, ‘the rashness of improvisation’: cp.
§1 above. Tac. Dial. §6 Sed extemporalis audaciae atque ipsius
temeritatis vel praecipua iucunditas est.—For alioqui, see Introd.
p. li.
VI:7
Peius enim quaeritur retrorsus, quia, dum illa desideramus, ab aliis
170
avertimur, et ex memoria potius res petimus quam ex materia. Plura sunt
autem, si utrimque quaerendum est, quae inveniri possunt quam quae
inventa sunt.
§ 7.
Peius enim quaeritur retrorsus: ‘we are at a disadvantage in
looking back.’ It would be better to throw over our premeditated ideas
altogether: while we are at a loss for them (illa) we miss others.
170
utrimque, i.e. ex memoria and ex materia: cp. 1 §131 and 5 §20. To the former corresponds chiastically
_quae inventa sunt_, to the latter _quae inveniri
possunt_.