[35]
Further, the more unattractive the natural
appearance of anything, the more does it require
to be seasoned by charm of style: moreover, an argument is often less suspect when thus disguised, and
the charm with which it is expressed makes it all the
more convincing to our audience. Unless indeed we
think that Cicero was in error when he introduced
phrases such as the following into an argumentative
passage: “The laws are silent in the midst of arms,”
and “A sword is sometimes placed in our hands by
the laws themselves.” However, we must be careful
to observe a happy mean in the employment of such
embellishments, so that they may prove a real ornament and not a hindrance.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1921.
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