Eloquence.  The oftener she is obliged, if I may so express it, to take the field, the more frequent the engagement, in which she gives and receives alternate wounds, and the more formidable her adversary; the more she rises in pomp and grandeur, and returns from the warfare of the forum crowned with unfading laurels.  He, who encounters danger, is ever sure to win the suffrages of mankind.  For such is the nature of the human mind, that, in general, we choose a state of security for ourselves, but never fail to gaze with admiration on the man, whom we see, in the conflict of parties, facing his adversaries, and surmounting difficulties.

XXXVIII.  I proceed to another advantage of the ancient forum; I mean the form of proceeding and the rules of practice observed in those days.  Our modern custom is, I grant, more conducive to truth and justice; but that of former times gave to eloquence a free career, and, by consequence, greater weight and splendour.  The advocate was not, as now, confined to a few hours [a]; he might adjourn as often as it suited his convenience; he might expatiate, as his genius prompted him:  and the number of days, like that of the several patrons, was unlimited.  Pompey was the first who circumscribed the genius of men within narrower limits [b].  In his third consulship he gave a check to eloquence, and, as it were, bridled its spirit, but still left all causes to be tried according to law in the forum, and before the praetors.  The importance of the business, which was decided in that court of justice, will be evident, if we compare it with the transactions before the centumvirs [c], who at present have cognizance of all matters whatever.  We have not so much as one oration of Cicero or Caesar, of Brutus, Caelius, or Calvus, or any other person famous for his eloquence, which was delivered before the last-mentioned jurisdiction, excepting only the speeches of Asinius Pollio [d] for the heirs of Urbinia.  But those speeches were delivered about the middle of the reign of Augustus, when, after a long peace with foreign nations, and a profound tranquillity at home, that wise and politic prince had conquered all opposition, and not only triumphed over party and faction, but subdued eloquence itself.

XXXIX.  What I am going to say will appear, perhaps, too minute; it may border on the ridiculous, and excite your mirth:  with all my heart; I will hazard it for that very reason.  The dress now in use at the bar has an air of meanness:  the speaker is confined in a close robe [a], and loses all the grace of action.  The very courts of judicature are another objection; all causes are heard, at present, in little narrow rooms, where spirit and strenuous exertion are unnecessary.  The orator, like a generous steed, requires liberty and ample space:  before a scanty tribunal his spirit droops, and the dullness of the scene damps the powers of genius.  Add to this, we pay no attention to style; and indeed how should we?  No time is allowed for the beauties of composition:  the judge calls upon you to begin, and you must obey, liable, at the same time, to frequent interruptions, while documents are read, and witnesses examined.