Extracts from St. 7. Chryfoftom against Oaths 293 III. The beauty of the Scripture does not arise from the words, but the things 323 342 VIII. Characters The Song of Mofes, after his passage through the Red Sea 347 349 The Song of Mofes, explained according to the rules Mofes's Song of Rhetoric Occafion and fubject of the Song Explication of the Song 354 355 ibid. (1) BOOK III. Of RHETORIC. T a HOUGH nature and genius are the principal foundations of eloquence, and fometimes fuffice alone for success in it, we cannot however deny, but that precepts and art may be of great service to an orator, whether he ufes them as guides to fupply him with certain Rules for distinguishing the good from the bad, or for improving and bringing to perfection the advantages he has received from nature. b These precepts, founded on the principles of good fense and right reason, are only the judicious obfervations of learned men on the difcourfes of the best orators, which were afterwards reduced into form, and united under certain heads; whence it was faid, that eloquence was not the offspring of art, but art of eloquence. From hence it is eafy to conceive, that rhetoric without the ftudy of good authors is lifeless and barren, and that examples in this, as in all other things, are infinitely more efficacious than precepts; and indeed the rhetorician feems only to point out the path Ego in his præceptis hanc vim & hanc utilitatem effe arbitror, non ut ad reperiendum quid dicamus arte ducamur, fed ut ea que natura, quæ ftodio, quæ exercitatione confequimur, aut recta effe confidamus, aut prava intelligamus; cùm, quo referenda fint, didicerimus. Cic. 2. de orat. n. 232. Ego hanc vim intelligo effe Vol. II. B in præceptis omnibus, non ut ea fecuti oratores eloquentiæ laudem fint adepti; fed, quæ fua fponte homines eloquentes facerent, ea quofdam obfervaffe, atque id egiffe. Sic effe non eloquentiam ex artificio, fed artificium ex eloquentia natum. 1. de orat. n. 146. In omnibus ferè minùs valent præcepta quam experimenta. Quint. 1. 2. c. 5. at at a distance which youth are to follow; whilft the orator takes them by the hand, and leads them into it. As the end then proposed in the class of rhetoric, is to teach them to apply the rules, and imitate the models or examples fet before them; all the care of masters with regard to eloquence is reduced to these three heads; precepts, the ftudying of authors, and compofition. Quintilian tells us, the second of thofe articles was entirely neglected in his time; and that the rhetoricians bestowed all their ftudy on the other two. To fay nothing here of the fpecies of compofition, then in vogue, called Declamation, and which was one of the principal caufes of the corruption of eloquence; they entered into a long train of precepts, and into knotty, and very often frivolous queftions; which is the reafon, that even Quintilian's rhetoric, though fo excellent in other refpects, appears vaftly tedious in feveral places: he had too just a taste, not to observe, that the reading of authors is one of the most effential parts of rhetoric, and moft capable of forming the minds of youth. Yet, however good his inclination might be, it was impoffible for him to ftem the torrent; and he was obliged, in fpite of all his endeavours, to conform in public, to a cuftom, that prevailed univerfally; but followed, in private, that method which he judged the beft. This method is now generally received in the univerfity of Paris, and did not gain ground there but by degrees. I fhall dwell chiefly on that part, which relates to the ftudy and explanation of authors, after having treated tranfiently of the other two, which it may be faid to include in fome measure. • Cæterùm, fentientibus jam tudo aliter docendi fecerat legem, tum optima, duæ res impedimen- &c. Quint. 1. 2. c. 5. to fuerunt: quòd & longa confue СНАР. |