“And thus the life and habits of my son
  And my designs respecting his career,
  And what I wish your course towards both to be,
  Will be quite plain to you.”

And accordingly, as he has proposed in his original arrangement, he proceeds to relate, first the life of his son—­

  “For when, O Sosia, he became a man,
  He was allow’d more liberty”

Then comes his own design—­

  “And now I take great care”

After that, what he wishes Sosia to do; that he put last in his original arrangement he now mentions last—­

  “And now the part is yours” ...

As, therefore, in this instance, he came first to the portion which he had mentioned first, and so, when he had discussed them all, made an end of speaking, we too ought to advance to each separate portion of our subject, and when we had finished every part, to sum up.  Now it appears desirable to proceed in regular order to lay down some precepts concerning the confirmation of our arguments, as the regular order of the subject requires.

XXIV Confirmation is that by means of which our speech proceeding in argument adds belief, and authority, and corroboration to our cause.  As to this part there are certain fixed rules which will be divided among each separate class of causes.  But it appeals to be not an inconvenient course to disentangle what is not unlike a wood, or a vast promiscuous miss of materials all jumbled together, and after that to point out how it may be suitable to corroborate each separate kind of cause, after we have drawn all our principles of argumentation from this source.  All statements are confirmed by some argument or other, either by that which is derived from persons, or by that which is deduced from circumstances.  Now we consider that these different things belong to persons, a name, nature, a way of life, fortune, custom, affection, pursuits, intentions, actions, accidents, orations.  A name is that which is given to each separate person, so that each is called by his own proper and fixed appellation.  To define nature itself is difficult, but to enumerate those parts of it which we require for the laying down of these precepts is more easy.

And these refer partly to that portion of things which is divine, and partly to that which is mortal.  Now of things which are mortal one part is classed among the race of men, and one among the race of brutes:  and the race of men is distinguished by sex, whether they be male or female and with respect to their nation, and country, and kindred, and age, with respect to their nation, whether a man be a Greek or a barbarian; with respect to their country, whether a man be an Athenian or a Lacedaemonian; with respect to their kindred, from what ancestors a man is descended, and who are his relations; with respect to his age, whether he is a boy, or a youth, or a full grown man, or an old man.  Besides these things, those advantages