7. But the crown of all our study and the
highest reward of our long labours is the power of
improvisation. The man who fails to acquire this
had better, in my opinion, abandon the task of
advocacy and devote his powers of writing to other
branches of literature. For it is scarcely decent for
an honourable man to promise assistance to the
public at large which he may be unable to provide in
the most serious emergencies, or to attempt to enter
a harbour which his ship cannot hope to make save
when sailing before a gentle breeze.
[
2]
For there are
countless occasions when the sudden necessity may be
imposed upon him of speaking without preparation
before the magistrates or in a trial which comes on
unexpectedly. And if any such sudden emergency
befalls, I will not say any innocent citizen, but some
one of the orator's friends or connexions, is he to
stand tongue-tied and, in answer to those who seek
salvation in his eloquence and are doomed, unless
they secure assistance, to ask for delay of proceedings and time for silent and secluded study, till such
moment as he can piece together the words that fail
him, commit them to memory and prepare his voice
and lungs for the effort?
[
3]
What theory of the duties
of an orator is there which permits him to ignore
such sudden issues? What will happen when he
has to reply to his opponent? For often the expected arguments to which we have written a reply
fail us and the whole aspect of the case undergoes
[p. 135]
a sudden change; consequently the variation to
which cases are liable makes it as necessary for us
to change our methods as it is for a pilot to change
his course before the oncoming storm.
[
4]
Again, what
use is much writing, assiduous reading and long
years of study, if the difficulty is to remain as great
as it was in the beginning? The man who is always
faced with the same labour can only confess that his
past labour has been spent in vain. I do not ask
him to prefer to speak extempore, but merely that
lie should be able to do so. And this capacity is
best acquired by the following method.
[
5]
In the first place, we must note the direction which
the argument is likely to take, since we cannot run
our race unless we know the goal and the course.
It is not enough to know what are the parts
1 into
which forensic pleadings are divided or the principles determining the order of the various questions,
important though these points are. We must realise
what should come first, second, and so on, in the
several parts; for these points are so closely linked
together by the very nature of things that they
cannot be separated, nor their order changed, without giving rise to confusion.
[
6]
The orator, who speaks
methodically, will above all take the actual sequence
of the various points as his guide, and it is for this
reason that even but moderately trained speakers
find it easiest to keep the natural order in the
statement of facts. Secondly, the orator must know
what to look for in each portion of his case: he
must not beat about the bush or allow himself to be
thrown off the track by thoughts which suggest
themselves from irrelevant quarters, or produce a
speech which is a confused mass of incongruities,
[p. 137]
owing to his habit of leaping this way and that, and
never sticking to any one point.
[
7]
Finally, he must
confine himself to certain definite bounds, and for
this
division is absolutely necessary. When to the
best of his ability he has dealt fully with all the
points which he has advanced, he will know that he
has reached his goal.
The precepts just given are dependent on theory.
Those to which I now come depend on individual
study. We must acquire a store of the best words
and phrases on lines that I have already laid down,
while our style must be formed by continuous and
conscientious practice in writing, so that even our
improvisations may reproduce the tone of our writing,
and after writing much, we must give ourselves
frequent practice in speaking.
[
8]
For facility is mainly
the result of habit and exercise and, if it be
lost only for a brief time, the result will be
not merely that we fall short of the requisite
rapidity, but that our lips will become clogged
and slow to open. For although we need to
possess a certain natural nimbleness of mind to
enable us, while we are saying what the instant
demands, to build up what is to follow and to
secure that there will always be some thought formed
and conceived in advance ready to serve our voice,
none the less,
[
9]
it is scarcely possible either for natural
gifts or for methodic art to enable the mind to
grapple simultaneously with such manifold duties,
and to be equal at one and the same time to the
tasks of invention, arrangement, and style, together
with what we are uttering at the moment, what we
have got to say next and what we have to look to
still further on, not to mention the fact that it
[p. 139]
is necessary all the time to give close attention to
voice, delivery and gesture.
[
10]
For our mental activities
must range far ahead and pursue the ideas which
are still in front, and in proportion as the speaker
pays out what he has in hand, he must make advances
to himself from his reserve funds, in order that, until
we reach our conclusion, our mind's eye may urge
its gaze forward, keeping time with our advance:
otherwise we shall halt and stumble, and pour forth
short and broken phrases, like persons who can only
gasp out what they have to say.
[
11]
There is, therefore, a certain mechanical knack,
which the Greeks call
ἄλογος τριβή, which enables
the hand to go on scribbling, while the eye takes
in whole lines at once as it reads, observes the intonations and the stops, and sees what is coming
before the reader has articulated to himself what
precedes. It is a similar knack which makes possible
those miraculous tricks which we see jugglers and
masters of sleight of hand perform upon the stage,
in such a manner that the spectator can scarcely
help believing that the objects which they throw
into the air come to hand of their own accord, and
run where they are bidden.
[
12]
But this knack will
only be of real service if it be preceded by the art
of which we have spoken,
2 so that what is irrational
in itself will nevertheless be founded on reason. For
unless a man speaks in an orderly, ornate and fluent
manner, I refuse to dignify his utterance with the
name of speech, but consider it the merest rant.
[
13]
Nor again shall I ever be induced to admire a continuous flow of random talk, such as I note streams in
torrents even from the lips of women when they
quarrel, although, if a speaker is swept away by
[p. 141]
warmth of feeling and genuine inspiration, it frequently happens that he attains a success from improvisation which would have been beyond the reach of
the most careful preparation.
[
14]
When this occurred, the
old orators, such as Cicero,
3 used to say that some god
had inspired the speaker. But the reason is obvious.
For profound emotion and vivid imagination sweep
on with unbroken force, whereas, if retarded by the
slowness of the pen, they are liable to grow cold and,
it put off for the moment, may never return. Above
all, if we add to these obstacles an unhealthy tendency
to quibble over the choice of words, and check our
advance at each step, the vehemence of our onset
loses its impetus; while even though our choice of
individual words may be of the happiest, the style
will be a mere patchwork with no regular pattern.
[
15]
Consequently those vivid conceptions of which I
spoke
4 and which, as I remarked, are called
φαντασίαι,
together with everything that we intend to say,
the persons and questions involved, and the hopes
and fears to which they give rise, must be kept
clearly before our eyes and admitted to our hearts:
for it is feeling and force of imagination that make
us eloquent. It is for this reason that even the uneducated have no difficulty in finding words to express
their meaning, if only they are stirred by some strong
emotion.
[
16]
Further the attention of the mind must be
directed not to some one thing, but simultaneously to
a number of things in continuous sequence. The
result will be the same as when we cast our eyes
along some straight road and see at once all that is on
and near it, obtaining a view not merely of its end,
but of the whole way there. Dread of the shame
of failure is also a powerful stimulant to oratory,
[p. 143]
and it may be regarded as a matter for wonder that,
whereas when writing we delight in privacy and
shrink from the presence of witnesses, in extempore
pleading a large audience has an encouraging effect,
like that which the sight of the massed standards
has on the soldier.
[
17]
For the sheer necessity of speaking thrusts forward and forces out our labouring
thought, and the desire to win approbation kindles
and fosters our efforts. So true is it that there is
nothing which does not look for some reward, that
eloquence, despite the fact that its activity is in itself
productive of a strong feeling of pleasure, is influenced
by nothing so much as the immediate acquisition of
praise and renown.
[
18]
Nor should any man put such
trust in his native ability as to hope that this power
will present itself to him at the outset of his career
as an orator; for the precepts which I laid down for
premeditation
5 apply to improvisation also; we
must develop it by gradual stages from small beginnings, until we have reached that perfection which
can only be produced and maintained by practice.
[
19]
Moreover, the orator should reach such a pitch of
excellence that, while premeditation may still be the
safer method, it will not necessarily be the better,
since many have acquired the gift of improvisation not
merely in prose, but in verse as well, as, for example,
Antipater of Sidon and Licinius Archias (for whose
powers we have the unquestionable authority of
Cicero
6), not to mention the fact that there are
many, even in our own day, who have done this and
are still doing it. I do not, however, regard this
accomplishment as being particularly valuable in
itself, for it is both unpractical and unnecessary, but
mention it as a useful example to encourage students
[p. 145]
training for the bar, in the hope that they may be
able to acquire this accomplishment.
[
20]
Still our confidence in our power of speaking extempore should
never be so great that we should neglect to devote
a few minutes to the consideration of what we are
going to say. There will but rarely be occasions
when this is impossible, while in the lawsuits of
the courts there is always some time allowed for the
purpose. For no one can plead a cause with the
facts of which be is unacquainted.
[
21]
Some declaimers,
it is true, are led by a perverse ambition to attempt
to speak the moment their theme has been given
them, and even ask for a word with which to start,
an affectation which is in the worst and most
theatrical taste. But eloquence has, in her turn,
nothing but derision for those that insult her thus,
and speakers who wish to seem learned to fools are
merely regarded as fools by the learned.
[
22]
If, however, chance should impose the necessity upon us of
pleading a case at such short notice, we shall require
to develop special mental agility, to give all our
attention to the subject, and to make a temporary
sacrifice of our care for the niceties of language, if
we find it impossible to secure both. On such
occasions a slower delivery and a style of speaking suggestive of a certain indecision and doubt will
secure us time to think, but we must be careful to
do this in such a way as to give the impression of
thought, not of hesitation.
[
23]
This precaution may be
employed while we are clearing harbour, if the wind
drive us forward before all our tackle is ready.
Afterwards, as we proceed upon our course, we shall
trim our sails, arrange our ropes, and pray that
the breeze may fill our sails. Such a procedure is
[p. 147]
preferable to yielding ourselves to an empty torrent
of words, that the storm may sweep us where it will.
[
24]
But it requires no less careful study to maintain
than to acquire this facility. Theory once mastered
is not forgotten, and the pen loses but little of its
speed by disuse: but this promptitude and readiness
for action can be maintained by practice only. The
best form of exercise is to speak daily before an
audience of several persons, who should, as far as
possible, be selected from those whose judgement
and good opinion we value, since it is rare for anyone to be sufficiently critical of himself. It is even
better to speak alone than not at all.
[
25]
There is yet
another method of exercising this faculty: it consists
in going over our subjects in their entirety in silent
thought, although we must all the time formulate
the words to ourselves: such practice is possible at
any moment or place that finds us unoccupied, and
is, in some respects, more useful than that which I
have just mentioned;
[
26]
for we are more careful about
our composition than when we are actually speaking
and in momentary fear of interrupting the continuous
flow of our language. On the other hand, the first
method is more valuable for certain purposes, as it
gives strength to our voice, fluency to our tongue
and vigour to our gesture; and the latter, as I have
already remarked,
7 in itself excites the orator and
spurs him on, as he waves his hand or stamps his
foot: he is, in fact, like the lion, that is said to lash
himself to fury with his tail. But we must study
always and everywhere.
[
27]
For there is scarce a single
day in our lives that is so full of occupations that we
may not, at some moment or other, snatch a few
precious minutes, as Cicero
8 records that Brutus was
[p. 149]
wont to do, either for writing or reading or speaking;
Gaius Carbo,
9 for example, was in the habit of indulging in such exercises even in his tent.
[
28]
I must also
mention the precept (which again has the approval
of Cicero
10) that we should never be careless about
our language. Whatever we say, under whatever
circumstances, should be perfect in its way. As regards writing, this is certainly never more necessary
than when we have frequently to speak extempore.
For it maintains the solidity of our speech and gives
depth to superficial facility. We may compare the
practice of husbandmen who cut away the uppermost
roots of their vines, which run close to the surface of
the soil, that the taproots may strike deeper and gain
in strength.
[
29]
Indeed I am not sure that, if we practise both with care and assiduity, mutual profit will
not result, and writing will give us greater precision
of speech, while speaking will make us write with
greater facility. We must write, therefore, whenever possible; if we cannot write, we must meditate:
if both are out of the question, we must still speak in
such a manner that we shall not seem to be taken
unawares nor our client to be left in the lurch.
[
30]
It is, however, a common practice with those who
have many cases to plead to write out the most
necessary portions, more especially the beginnings of
their speeches, to cover the remainder of that which
they are able to prepare by careful premeditation
and to trust to improvisation in emergency, a practice regularly adopted by Cicero, as is clear from his
note-books. But the notes of other orators are also
in circulation; some have been discovered by
chance, just as they were jotted down previous to a
speech, while others have been edited in book form,
[p. 151]
as in the case of the speeches delivered in the courts
by Servius Sulpicius, of whose works only three
speeches survive. These memoranda, however, of
which I am speaking are so carefully drawn up that
they seem to me to have been composed by himself
for the benefit of posterity.
[
31]
But Cicero's notes were
originally intended merely to meet the requirements
of the moment, and were afterwards collected
11 by
Tiro. In making this apology I do not mean to
imply that I disapprove of them, but merely wish
to make them more worthy of admiration. And in
this connexion I must state that I admit the use of
brief memoranda and note-books, which may even be
held in the hand and referred to from time to time.
[
32]
But I disapprove of the advice given by Laenas, that
we should set down in our note-books, duly tabulated under the appropriate headings, summaries of
what we propose to say, even in cases where we
have already written it out in full. For reliance on
such notes as these makes us careless in learning
what we have written and mutilates and deforms our
style. For my own part I think that we should
never write out anything which we do not intend to
commit to memory. For if we do, our thoughts will
run back to what we have elaborated in writing and
will not permit us to try the fortune of the moment.
[
33]
Consequently, the mind will waver in doubt between
the two alternatives, having forgotten what was
committed to writing and being unable to think of
anything fresh to say. However, as the topic of
memory will be discussed in the next book, I will
not introduce it here, as there are other points
which require to be dealt with first.