[51]
There is another serious fault into which pleaders
fall: the anxious over-elaboration of points. Such
a procedure makes his case suspect to the judges,
while frequently arguments which, if stated without
more ado, would have removed all doubt, lose their
force owing to the delay caused by the elaborate
preparations made for their introduction, due to the
tact that the advocate thinks that they require
additional support. Our orator must therefore adopt
a confident manner, and should always speak as if he
thought his case admirable. This quality, like all
other good qualities, is particularly evident in Cicero.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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