[8]
“But”
it will be urged “men have proved fluent without
their aid.” Granted, but I am in quest of an orator.
“Their contribution is but small.” Yes, but we shall
never attain completeness, if minor details be
lacking. And it will be agreed that though our
ideal of perfection may dwell on a height that is hard
to gain, it is our duty to teach all we know, that
achievement may at least come somewhat nearer
the goal. But why should our courage fail? The
perfect orator is not contrary to the laws of nature,
and it is cowardly to despair of anything that is
within the bounds of possibility.
[p. 165]
For myself I should be ready to accept the verdict
of antiquity.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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