“
[30]
Hesitation may be expressed between two alternatives,
our statement may be distributed in groups or we
may correct ourselves, either before or after we have
said something or when we repel some allegation
against ourselves. We may defend ourselves by
anticipation to secure the success of some point
which we propose to make or may transfer the blame
for some action to another. We may confer with
our audience, admitting them as it were into our
deliberations, may describe the life and character
of persons either with or without mention of their
names, a device which is one of the greatest embellishments of oratory and specially adapted to
conciliate the feelings, as also frequently to excite
them.”
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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