Attic Nights, Vol. II

For he who speaks thus: 'If you do this, you will be said to have done it eagerly,' speaks of a matter gathered and connected by the logic of some meaning; but he who speaks thus: 'If you do it eagerly, you will be said to have done it eagerly,' says nothing much different than if he were to say: 'If you do it eagerly, you will do it eagerly.' 10 "These things I have," he said, "admonished, not to attach fault to C. Gracchus—may the gods grant me a better mind! For if any fault or error can be said to exist in a man of such strong eloquence, both his authority has exhausted it and antiquity has consumed it—but that you might take care not to be easily blinded by some modulated sound of running eloquence, and that you might first weigh the force of the matters themselves and the power of the words. If a grave, whole, and sincere thought is spoken, then, if it seems right, you might applaud the very steps and gestures of the speech; but if cold, light, and futile meanings are enclosed in words placed aptly and numerously, you should believe it to be no different than when actors imitate men of notable deformity and ridiculous appearance, and make gestures."

XIV

A sober and most beautiful response by King Romulus regarding the use of wine.

1 L. Piso Frugi used the simplest sweetness of both matter and speech in his first book of annals, when he was writing about the life and diet of King Romulus. The words he wrote are these original: "fr. 8 P.": Fragment 8 in Peter's collection: "They say that this same Romulus, when invited to dinner, did not drink much there, because he had business the next day. They said to him: 'Romulus, if all men did that, wine would be cheaper.' To them he replied: 'On the contrary, it would be dear, if each man drank as much as he wished; for I drank as much as I wished.'"