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6. Having dealt with writing, the next point
which claims our attention is premeditation, which
itself derives force from the practice of writing and
forms an intermediate stage between the labours of
the pen and the more precarious fortunes of improvisation; indeed I am not sure that it is not more
frequently of use than either. For there are places
and occasions where writing is impossible, while both
are available in abundance for premeditation. For
[p. 129]
but a few hours' thought will suffice to cover all the
points even of cases of importance; if we wake at
night, the very darkness will assist us, while even in
the midst of legal proceedings our mind will find
some vacant space for meditation, and will refuse to
remain inactive.
[2]
Again, this practice will not merely
secure the proper arrangement of our matter without
any recourse to writing, which in itself is no small
achievement, but will also set the words which we
are going to use in their proper order, and bring the
general texture of our speech to such a stage of
completion that nothing further is required beyond
the finishing touches. And as a rule the memory is
more retentive of thoughts when the attention has
not been relaxed by the fancied security which
results from committing them to writing.
But the concentration which this requires cannot
be attained in a moment or even quickly.
[3]
For, in
the first place, we must write much before we can
form that ideal of style which must always be
present to our minds even when engaged in premeditation. Secondly, we must gradually acquire
the habit of thought: to begin with, we shall content ourselves with covering but a few details, which
our minds are capable of reproducing with accuracy;
then by advances so gradual that our labour is not
sensibly increased we must develop our powers and
confirm them by frequent practice, a task in which
the most important part is played by the memory.
[4]
For this reason I must postpone some of my remarks
to the portion of this work reserved for the treatment of that topic.1 At length, however, our powers
will have developed so far that the man who is not
hampered by lack of natural ability will by dint of
[p. 131]
persistent study be enabled, when it comes to speaking, to rely no less on what he has thought out than
what he has written out and learnt by heart. At
any rate, Cicero records that Metrodorus of Scepsis,2
Empylus of Rhodes,3 and our own Hortensius4 were
able to reproduce what they had thought out word
for word when it came to actual pleading.
[5]
If, however, some brilliant improvisation should
occur to us while speaking, we must not cling superstitiously to our premeditated scheme. For premeditation is not so accurate as to leave no room
for happy inspiration: even when writing we often
insert thoughts which occur to us on the spur of the
moment. Consequently this form of preparation
must be conceived on such lines that we shall find
no difficulty either in departing from it or returning
to it at will.
[6]
For, although it is essential to bring
with us into court a supply of eloquence which has
been prepared in advance in the study and on which
we can confidently rely, there is no greater folly
than the rejection of the gifts of the moment.
Therefore our premeditation should be such that
fortune may never be able to fool us, but may, on
the contrary, be able to assist us. This end will be
obtained by developing the power of memory so
that our conceptions may flow from us without fear
of disaster, and that we may be enabled to look
ahead without anxious backward glances or the
feeling that we are absolutely dependent on what
we can call to mind. Otherwise I prefer the rashness of improvisation to the coherence given by
premeditation.
[7]
For such backward glances place us
at a disadvantage, because our search for our premeditated ideas makes us miss others, and we draw
[p. 133]
our matter from our memory rather than from the
subject on which we are speaking. And even if we
are to rely on our memory and our subject alike,
there are more things that may be discovered than
ever yet have been.
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