Lord; and mankind will fee that without confidering the unworthinefs of the ambaffador, you refpected nothing in him but the power of the Mafter who fent him. For it is not only in the name of the inhabitants of Antioch that I appear in this place, I am come from the fovereign Lord of men and angels to declare to you, that if you pardon men their faults, the heavenly Father will pardon yours. Call to mind, great Prince, that tremendous day, when you will appear before the King of Kings, to give an account of your actions. You are going to pronounce your own fentence. Other ambaffadors ufe to difplay magnificent presents before the Princes to whom they were fent: as for me, I offer nothing to your Majefty but the holy book of the Gofpels; and I dare exhort you to imitate your Mafter, who does good every day to those who infult him. He at length concludes his difcourfe, by affuring the Emperor, that if he refufed that unfortunate city the pardon fhe fued for, he would never return to it, nor ever confider that city as his country, which the mildest Prince upon earth looks upon with indignation, and could not prevail with himself to pardon. Theodofius was not able to refift the force of this fpeech. He could fcarce fupprefs his tears, and diffembling the emotion he was in, as much as poffible, he spoke these words to the Patriarch: If Jefus Chrift, God as he is, was willing to pardon the men who cru. cified him, ought I to make any difficulty to pardon my fubjects who have offended me, I who am but a mortal man like them, and a fervant of the fame Mafter? Upon this Flavian proftrated himself, wifhing him all the profperity he deferved for this noble action. And as that prelate expreffed a defire of paffing the feaft of Eafter at Conftantinople: Go, father, fays Theodofius, embracing him, and do not delay one moment the confolation which your people will receive by your return, and the affurances you will give of the pardon I grant them. I know they are ftill grieved and afraid. Go then, and carry the pardon of their crime for the feaft of Eafter. Pray that God may blefs my arms, and be affured, that after this war I will go in perfon and comfort the city of Antioch. The holy prelate fet out immediately; and to haften the joy of the citizens, he dispatched a more expeditious courier than himself, who freed the city from it's uneafinefs and alarms. I once more beg pardon for the length of this kind of digreffion. I imagined, that the extract of this eloquent homily might be as useful to youth, as any paffage in profane authors. There would be room for many reflections, especially on two characters, which though feemingly incompatible are united, however, in Flavian's oration; the humility and proftrate fubmiffion of a fuppliant, with the magnificence and greatness of a bishop, but which are fo modified, that they mutually fupport each other. We at firft behold the bifhop trembling, intreating, and, as it were, lying down at the Emperor's feet. But after wards, towards the end of the difcourfe, he appears invefted with all the fplendor and majefty of the Lord, whose minifter he is. He commands, he threatens, he intimidates; but ftill humble in his elevation. But I will content myself with the reflection which arifes naturally from the fubject that gave me occafion to relate this ftory. In my opinion thefe two difcourfes of Flavian and Theodofius may be propofed as an excellent model in this fpecies of mild and tender paffions. I do not pretend thereby to exclude the ftrong and violent ones with which they are fometimes blended; but, if I am not miftaken, the former are predominant. VOL. II. K SECTION OF THE ELOQUENCE .OF The Bar. HE rules I have hitherto given upon eloquence, being for the moft part borrowed from Cicero and Quintilian, who applied themselves chiefly in forming orators for the bar, might be fufficient for fuch young gentlemen as are defigned for that honourable profeffion. I thought however that I was obliged to add some more particular reflections, which may serve them as guides, to point out to them the paths they are to follow. I fhall firft examine what models must be propofed to form the ftile fuitable to the bar, and will afterwards fpeak of the means which youth may employ, to prepare themfelves for pleading. And I fhall conclude with collecting fome of Quintilian's finest observations upon the manners and character of pleaders. ********************** ARTICLE FIRST. Of the model of Eloquence proper for the Bar. AD we the harangue and pleadings of the great number of able orators, who for fome years have made the French bar fo famous, and of those who ftill appear at it with fo much luftre, we should be able to find in them certain rules and perfect models of eloquence. But the few performances we have of this kind oblige us to have recourfe to the fource itself; and to fearch in Athens and Rome for those things which the modefty of our orators (perhaps exceffive in this respect) does not permit us to find at home. Demofthenes and Cicero, by the confent of all ages and of all the learned, have been the most diftinguished for the eloquence of the bar; and confequently their ftile may be proposed to youth, as a model they may fafely imitate. It would be neceffary, for that purpose, to make them well acquainted with it, to be careful in obferving the character, and to make them fenfible of the differences in it; but this cannot cannot be done without reading and examining their works. Thofe of Cicero are in every one's hands, and therefore well enough known. But 'tis not fo with Demofthenes's orations; and in an age fo learned and polite as ours, it must feem aftonishing, that fince Greece has been always confidered as the first and most perfect fchool of eloquence and good tafte, we should be fo carelefs, efpecially with regard to the bar, in confulting the great mafters fhe has given us in that kind; and that in cafe it was not thought neceffary to bestow much time upon their excellent leffons, that we fhould not, at leaft, have the curiofity to take but a curfory view of them; and hear them, as it were, at a diftance, in order to examine ourselves if it be true, that the eloquence of those famous orators is as admirable as it is declared to be; and if it fully answers the reputation they have acquired. In order to enable young people, and those who have not ftudied Greek, to form fome idea of Demofthenes's ftile, I fhall here transcribe several paffages from his orations, which indeed will not be fufficient to exhibit that great orator in the glorious light he ought to be fhewn, nor perhaps to give models of his eloquence in all its kinds; but they will contribute at least to display fome part of him, and his principal characterifticks.. I fhall add to this, fome paffages from the harangue which Æfchines, his competitor and rival, pronounced against him, and borrow M. Tourreil's tranflation; I mean the laft, which is much more laboured, and more correct than the former ones. I fhall however fometimes take the liberty to make a few small alterations, because on one hand, there are a great number of low and trivial expreffions in it, 2 and tamen excipere voces eorum, & procul quid narrarent, attendere. 1. de Orat. n. 153. K Ego idem exiftimavi pecudis effe, non hominis, cùm tantas res Græci fufciperent, profiterentur, agerent. ... non admovere aurem, nec, fi palam audire eos non auderes, ne minueres apud tuos cives auctoritatem tuam, fubaufcultando z Ce que nous demandions tous & à cor & à cri...... Le foin qu'ils ont devous corner aux oreilles.. Si vous continuez à fainé anter and on the other, the ftile is fometimes too fwelling and bombaftica; faults directly contrary to the character of Demofthenes, whofe eloquence was at the fame time very fimple and very magnificent. M. de Maucroy has tranflated fome of his orations. His verfion, though lefs correct in fome paffages, feems to me more agreeable to the genius of the Greek orator. I partly make use of it in the firft extract I here give, which is taken from the first Philippic. anter.... Vous vous comportez au .... a Je ne citerai qu'un endroit, tiré de la troifiéme Philippique. De la il arrive que dans vos affemblées, au bruit flateur d'une alulation continuelle, vous vous endormez tranquillement entre les bras de la volupté mais que dans les conjonctures & dans les évenemens vous courez les derniers périls. Voici le texte de la premiere partie, qui feule fouffre quelque difficulté: 10 μiv ouμβέβηκεν ἐκ τούτου ἐν μὲν ταῖς ἐκκλη σίαις τρυφῶν καὶ κολατεύεσθαι πάντα πρὸς ἡδονὴν ἀκούουσιν. Volfius le traduit ainfi: Unde id confequimini, ut in concionibus faftidiatis, affentationibus deliniti, & omnia, qua voLuptati funt, audiatis. Ce qui eft le véritable fens, & M. de Maucroy l'a fuivi. Vous vous rendez dif ficiles dans vos affemblees : vous voulez y être flatés, & qu'on ne vous tienne que des propos agréables. Cependant cette delicateffe vous a conduits fur le bord du précipice. Ce qui a trompé M. de Tourreil eft le mot ruqar, qui fignifie ordinairement, deliciis abundare, diffluere, in deliciis vivere. Quand il auroit eu ici ce sens, il n'auroit pas falu l'exprimer par ces pompeux: Vous vous endormez tranquillement entre les bras de la volupté: qui joints aux précédens, au bruit flateur d'une adulation continuelle, forment un stile tout oppofe à celui ce Démofthene, dont l'eloquence mâle & auftere ne fouffre point de ces fortes d'ornemens. Mais les délices & la volupté n'étoient point alors le caractére des Athéniens : & d'ail. leurs quel raport pouvoient-elles avor aux affemblées publiques? Au lieu qu'il étoit très naturel que les Athéniens, enflés par les éloges continuels que les orateurs faifoient de leur grande puiffance, de leur mérite fupérieur, des exploits de leurs ancêtres, & ac coutumés depuis lon-tems à de telles flateries, d'un côté fiffent les importans dans leurs affemblées, & y priffent des airs Hers & dédaigneux pour un ennemi qu'ils méprifoient: & de l'autre fuffent venus à ce point de delicateffe de ne pouvoir fouffrir que leurs orateurs leurs diffent la verité. Car je croi qu'ici Tu peut avoir ce double fens. EXTRACTS |