10. These elementary stages are in themselves
no small undertaking, but they are merely members
and portions of the greater whole; when therefore
the pupil has been thoroughly instructed and exercised in these departments, the time will as a rule
have come for him to attempt deliberative and
forensic themes. But before I begin to discuss
these, I must say a few words on the theory of
declamation, which is at once the most recent and
most useful of rhetorical exercises.
[
2]
For it includes
practically all the exercises of which we have been
speaking and is in close touch with reality. As a
result it has acquired such a vogue that many think
that it is the sole training necessary to the formation
of an orator, since there is no excellence in a formal
speech which is not also to be found in this type of
rhetorical exercise.
[
3]
On the other hand the actual
practice of declamation has degenerated to such an
extent owing to the fault of our teachers, that it has
come to be one of the chief causes of the corruption
of modern oratory; such is the extravagance and
ignorance of our declaimers. But it is possible to
make a sound use of anything that is naturally sound.
[
4]
The subjects chosen for themes should, therefore, be
as true to life as possible, and the actual declamation
should, as far as may be, be modelled on the pleadings for which it was devised as a training.
[
5]
For we
shall hunt in vain among
sponsions1 and
interdicts
for magicians and plagues and oracles and stepmothers more cruel than any in tragedy, and other
[p. 275]
subjects still more unreal than these.
2 What then?
are we never to permit young men to handle unreal
or, to be more accurate, poetic themes that they may
run riot and exult in their strength and display their
full stature?
[
6]
It were best to prohibit them absolutely.
But at any rate the themes, however swelling and
magnificent, should not be such as to seem foolish
and laughable to the eye of an intelligent observer.
Consequently, if we must make some concession, let
us allow the declaimer to gorge himself occasionally, as long as he realises that his case will be like
that of cattle that have blown themselves out with a
surfeit of green food: they are cured of their disorder
by blood-letting and then put back to food such as
will maintain their strength; similarly the declaimer
must be rid of his superfluous fat, and his corrupt
humours must be discharged, if he wants to be
strong and healthy.
[
7]
Otherwise, the first time he
makes any serious effort, his swollen emptiness will
stand revealed. Those, however, who hold that
declamation has absolutely nothing in common with
pleading in the courts, are clearly quite unaware of
the reasons which gave rise to this type of exercise.
[
8]
For if declamation is not a preparation for the actual
work of the courts, it can only be compared to the
rant of an actor or the raving of a lunatic. For what
is the use of attempting to conciliate a non-existent
judge, or of stating a case which all know to be
false, or of trying to prove a point on which judgment will never be passed? Such waste of effort
is, however, a comparative trifle. But what can be
more ludicrous than to work oneself into a passion
and to attempt to excite the anger or grief of
our hearers, unless we are preparing ourselves by
[p. 277]
such mimic combats for the actual strife and the
pitched battles of the law-courts?
[
9]
Is there then no
difference between our declamations and genuine
forensic oratory? I can only reply, that if we speak
with a desire for improvement, there will be no
difference. [ wish indeed that certain additions
could be made to the existing practice; that we made
use of names, that our fictitious debates dealt with
more complicated cases and sometimes took longer
to deliver, that we were less afraid of words drawn
from everyday speech and that we were in the habit
of seasoning our words with jests. For as regards
all these points, we are mere novices when we come
to actual pleading, however elaborate the training
that the schools have given us on other points.
[
10]
And
even if display is the object of declamation, surely
we ought to unbend a little for the entertainment of
our audience.
[
11]
For even in those speeches which,
although undoubtedly to some extent concerned
with the truth, are designed to charm the multitude (such for instance as panegyrics and the oratory
of display in all its branches), it is permissible to
be more ornate and not merely to disclose all the
resources of our art, which in cases of law should as
a rule be concealed, but actually to flaunt them
before those who have been summoned to hear us.
[
12]
Declamation therefore should resemble the truth,
since it is modelled on forensic and deliberative
oratory. On the other hand it also involves an
element of display, and should in consequence
assume a certain air of elegance.
[
13]
In this connexion
I may cite the practice of comic actors, whose delivery is not exactly that of common speech, since
that would be inartistic, but is on the other hand not
[p. 279]
far removed from the accents of nature, for, if it were,
their mimicry would be a failure: what they do therefore is to exalt the simplicity of ordinary speech
by a touch of stage decoration.
[
14]
So too we shall
have to put up with certain inconveniences arising
from the nature of our fictitious themes; such drawbacks occur more especially in connexion with those
numerous details which are left uncertain and which
we presume to suit our purpose, such as the ages of
our characters, their wealth, their families, or the
strength, laws and manners of the cities where our
scenes are laid, and the like.
[
15]
Sometimes we even
draw arguments from the actual flaws of the assumptions involved by the theme. But each of these
points shall be dealt with in its proper place. For
although the whole purpose of this work is the
formation of an orator, I have no intention of passing
over anything that has a genuine connexion with the
practice of the schools, for fear that students may
complain of the omission.