M. CORNELIUS FRONTO
the whole word-population, so to speak, just as in war, when a legion has to be enrolled, we not only collect the volunteers but also search out the skulkers of military age, so when there is need of word-reinforcements, we must not only make use of the voluntary recruits that offer themselves, but fetch out the skulkers and hunt them up for service.
3. At this point too, as I think, we must seek skilfully to find out the methods by which words are sought for, that we may not wait gaping open-mouthed till such time as a word shall fall of itself upon our tongues like a god-send[1] from heaven; but that we should know their haunts and their coverts, so that, when we have need of choice words, we may follow them up along a beaten track rather than have no path to help us forward.
4. You must therefore scout over definite ground . . . . . . . . First of all a speaker must be on his guard against coining a new word like debased bronze, so that each several word may be both known by its age and delight by its freshness . . . . fortresses of words . . . . assembly-places of words . . . . . . . . Of obligations[2] the
- ↑ The palladium was a supposed image of Pallas that fell from the sky at Troy and was carried off by the Greeks.
- ↑ In this mutilated passage Fronto is speaking of sapentia and eloquentia in connexion with a classification of human functions The officia, or essential functions of man are, he says, of two genera, and can be classified under three heads (rationes or species). The distinction of the two genera is not given in what we have. The three classes are (1) that of existence, that a man must exist and perform certain munera, e.g. eat, in order to live; (2) of quality, he must be such and such and have such and such habits and idiosyncrasies; (3) of objective or result, the two previous officia enabling him to discharge the third. This third class is concerned wholly with negotia, work done, and is self-contained. Under this comes sapientia. Since a man must live before he can be wise, a munus, like eating, is an officium of the wise man, though it has no direct connexion with his negotium, which is wisdom. Eating belongs to specis prima, which is common to all men, but wisdom to species tertia. The pursuit of eloquence comes under species secunda, whioh varies with every man.
