This rule, that the exordium must be simple and modeft, is not general, either for profe or poetry. There are fome harangues whofe fubjects allow and even require the orator to begin in a noble and grand manner; and the most fublime exordium fuits the ode perfectly, though it might be very fhocking in other poems. M. de la Mothe affigns a very good reafon for this difference, with regard to poefy, in the preface to his odes. The reafon is, fays he, that an epic poem << being a work of great length, it would be danger65 ous to begin in fuch a ftrain, as it would be difficult "to fupport or continue; whereas the ode being com"prehended within narrow limits, we can run no rifque, though we warm the reader in the begin"ning; for he will have no time to cool by the length of the piece. In like manner, a man who is "to run a long race, fhould be very sparing of himfelf at first, leaft he fhould wafte his ftrength too "foon; and on the contrary, he who had not far to go might increase his natural swiftness by his first "effort, and thereby finifh his courfe with the more "rapidity.' V. Youth cannot be made too fenfible of the character of fimplicity, which runs through the writings of the ancients. We must accustom them to ftudy nature in all things; and often repeat to them, that the best eloquence is that which is the moft natural, and leaft far fetched. That whercof we are now treating confifts in a certain fimplicity, and an elegance which is extremely pleafing, for no other reafon, but its not ftudying to please. The Grecians gave it a very expreffive and fignificant name api. *Apeλng intimates a plain kind of life, frugal, modest, and decent; devoid of luxury or pomp; that is in want of nothing, and at the fame time has nothing fuperfluous; and is pretty near what Horace calls fimplex muditiis, an elegant fimplicity. ત d Ipfa illa péλea fimplex & qualis etiam in fœmanis amitur, ornaffectata habet quendam purum, natum. Quintil. lib. 8. c. 3. VI. The D 2 с VI. The relation of Canius's adventure is of this kind; it is in the third Book of Tully's Offices; the whole of which I fhall here repeat with the translation. Canius, eques Romanus nec infacetus, & fatis literatus, cum fe Syracufas, otiandi, ut ipfe dicere folebat, non negotiandi caufa, contuliffet; dictitabat fe hortulos aliquos velle emere, quo invitare amicos, & ubi fe obletare fine interpellatoribus poffet. How elegant are thefe words, nec infacetus, fatis literatus! The French verfion of M. du Bois gives the fenfe very well, but it is not fo concife nor lively. There is a beauty in this kind of play of words, otiandi, negotiandi, and in the diminutives, dictitabit, hortulos, which can never be tranflated into another language. f Quod cum percrebuiffet, Pythius ei quidam, qui argentariam facerat Syracufis, dixit venales quidem fe hortos non habere, fed licere uti Canio, fi vellet, ut fuis; & fimul ad cœnam hominem in hortos invitavit in pofterum diem. Cum ille promififfet, tam Pythius, qui effet, ut argentarius, apud omnes ordines gratiofus, pifcatores ad fe convocavit, & ab his petivit, ut ante fuos bortulos poftridie pifcarentur, dixitque quid eos facere vellet. The whole beauty of this paragraph confifts in these few words: Pythius qui effet, ut argentarius, apud omnes ordines gratiofus. It is not fo well expressed in the French, which does not fufficiently fhew, that his money gave him great credit among all ranks of people. The words hominem ivitavit, are much more • When C. Canius, a Roman knight, a facetious and fenfible man, and of fome learning, went to Syracufe, not about business, but to do nothing, as he used to fay; he gave notice, that he would be glad to purchase a countryhoufe near the city, where he might divert himself fometimes with his friends without the importunity of vifitors. f The report of this fpreading over all the city, a certain banker at Syracufe, called Pythius, told him he had indeed a countryhoufe, but not to fell: that Canius might make use of it as his own, and intreated him to dine with him at it next day. Canius promifing he would, the banker, whofe occupation made him acceptable to all forts of people, fent for fome fishermen, and defired them to fish before his houfe the day following; giving them fome other directions pcoper for his defign. elegant elegant than if the word illum had been fubftituted in their place. & Ad cœnum tempore venit Canius. Opipare a Pythio apparatum convivium. Cymbarum ante oculos mul tituda. Pro fe quifque quod ceperat, afferebat: ante pedes Pythii pifces abjiciebantur. The concife ftile, in which the verbs are fuppreffed, is very graceful. We fhould make our youth obferve, that this is a beauty which can feldom be expreffed in our language. There is, in my opinion, in the words, ante pedes Pythii pifces abjiciebantur, a fine image of people, who were in a hurry to throw down a great quantity of fish at Pythius's feet. I know not the translator's reafon for fubftituting another thought instead of it, which is not in the Latin. Tum Canius: Quæfo, inquit, quid eft hoc, Pythii? Tantumne picium, tantumne cymbarum? Et ille : Quid mirum, inquit? Hoc loci eft, Syracufis quidquid eft fifcium: hic aquatio: hac villa ifti carere non poffunt. Incenufs Canius cupiditate, contendit a Pytbio ut venderet. Gravate ille primo. Quid multa? Impetrat: emit homo cupidus & locuples tanti, quanti Pythius voluit,& emit inftru&tos: nomina facit: negotium conficit. Nothing can be finer than this. But these two words, homo cupidus & locuples, are uncommonly elegant. They include the two motives which determined Canius to buy this little houfe at fo high a price; which is, that he had a great inclination to 8 Canius came at the time appointed, He found a magnificent entertainment, and the fea covered with fishermens boats, who, one after another, brought Pythius a great quantity of fish, as if they had juft taken them in his prefence. where there is any fish, and where fishermen can even get waters and all these people cannot fubfift in any other place. i Behold Canius enamoured with the house; he preffes Pythius to feil it him: Pythius feems very unwilling; is mightily courted; but confent at lait. Canius being a man of wealth and pleasure, buys the house, giving Pythius whatever he afked for it, together with the furniture. The contract is figned; and the affair ended, D. 3 b Canius being very much fur prifed at the fight: What, fays he to Pythius, is there fuch a quantity of fish, and fuch a number of fishing-boats here every day! Every day, answered Pythius, This is the only place about Syracuse, poffefs poffefs it, and was very rich. The tranflator has not taken the true fenfe of the firft word, Canius, a man of wealth and pleasure; which does not express homo cupidus *. Invitat Canius poftridie familiares fuos: venit ipfe mature. Scalmum nullum vidit. Quærit ex proximo vicino, num feria quædam pifcatorem effent, quod eos nullos viderit. Nulla, quod fciam, inqui ille: fed hic pifcari nuli folent. Itaque beri mirabar quid accidiffet. Stomachari Canius. Sed quid faceret? Nodum enim Aquilius, collega & familiaris meus, protulerat de dolo malo formulas: in quibus ipfis, cum ex eo quæreretur quid effet dolus malus, refpondebat, cum effet aliud fimulatum, aliud actum. Though we should suppress certain turns, a certain number of ideas and expreffions in this narrative, ftill the foundation will be the fame, and none of the neceffary circumftances will be omitted; but then it will be divested of all its beauty and delicacy, that is, of every thing that adorns narration. 1 VII. I cannot forbear relating in this place, a ftory which Pliny the naturalift has left us, where we may fee, in a fingle word, the meaning and energy of that plain and natural embellishment of which we are now fpeaking. A flave, who had got out of the state of captivity, having purchased a fmall field, cultivated it with fo much care, that it became the most fertile in the whole country; which drew on him the jearage. But what could he do? For my collegue and friend Aquilius had not yet established the laws against deceit and treachery: What is called deceit then, fays the fame Aquilius, is when we give a man room to expect one thing and do another. * Canius intreats his friends to come to fee him the day ollowing at his new habitation he repairs thither himself very early in the morning but fees neither fishermen nor fishing-boats. He asks a neighbour whether the fishermen were making holiday, feeing none of them there. Not that know of, replies the neighbour; for there never is any fishing in this place, and I was yesterday furprized to fee fo many fishing boats. Upon this, Canius began to fall into a great 1 Caret cæteris lenociniis expofitio & nifi commeadetur hac venuftate, jaceat neceffe eft. Quin. 1. 4. c. 2. Plin. l. 18. c. 6. loufy loufy of all his neighbours, who charged him with employing magic and charms, to make his own field fo furprisingly fruitful, and theirs barren. Upon this, he was cited to appear before the people of Rome. He appeared accordingly on the day appointed for his trial. Every body knows that the affembly of the people was held in the Forum, which was the public place of juftice. He brought his daughter with him, who, fays the hiftorian from whom this is borrowed, was a sturdy country wench, very laborious, well fed and cloathed. He had brought all his ruftic inftruments, which were in a very good condition; fome very heavy mattocks, a ftrong plough, and his oxen, which were large and fat. Then, turning to the judges, Thefe, fays he, are my charms, and the magic I use in cultivating my land. I cannot, fays he, fet before you my toil, my watchings and my labour by day and night. . . .He was unanimoufly acquitted. There is no perfon but must be fenfibly touched upon the bare reading of this, with the beauty of that anfwer; Thefe, O Romans, are my charms! But in what then does that beauty confift? Is there any extraordinary thought in those few words; any fhining expreffion, bold metaphor, or fublime figure? There is nothing of all this. It is only the natural and honeft fimplicity of the answer drawn from nature itself, that pleafes and charms. If we substitute the wittiest and most florid phrases than can be conceived, in the room of those few plain and homely words, we should deprive the peafant's anfwer of all its beauty. Thus, according to the fame Pliny, Nero, who, from an ill tafte, preferred what was brilliant to fimplicity, spoiled one of the fineft ftatues of Lyfippus, by ordering it to be gilt, because it was made of brafs. But it was afterwards found necessary to take off the gilding (it having spoil Inftrumentum rufticum omne in forum attulit, & ad duxit filiam validam, atque (ut ait Pifo) bene curatum ac veftitam, ferramenta egregie fata, graves ligones, vo- ed |