[28]
But even though we cannot hope to surpass
the great, it is still a high honour to follow in their
footsteps. Did Pollio and Messala, who began to
plead when Cicero held the citadel of eloquence,
fail to obtain sufficient honour in their lifetime or
to hand down a fair name to posterity? The arts
which have been developed to the highest pitch
of excellence would deserve but ill of mankind if
that which was best had also been the last of its
line.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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