[3]
Again, what would
eloquence do if deprived of the artifices of amplification and its opposite? of which the first requires the
gift of signifying more than we say, that is emphasis,
together with exaggeration and overstatement of the
truth, while the latter requires the power to diminish
and palliate. What scope is there for the stronger
emotions if the orator is not allowed to give free rein
[p. 377]
to his speech, to flame out in anger, to reproach, to
wish or execrate? Or for the milder emotions without the assistance of commendation, conciliation and
humour?
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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