[4]
But as
perfection cannot be attained without starting at
the very beginning, the points which come first in
time will, as our training proceeds, become of quite
trivial importance. Now we have reached a stage in
our enquiry where we are no longer considering the
preliminary training of our orator; for I think the
instructions already given should suffice for that;
they are in any case as good as I could make them.
Our present task is to consider how our athlete who
has learnt all the technique of his art from his
trainer, is to be prepared by actual practice for the
contests in which he will have to engage. Consequently, we must assume that our student has
learned how to conceive and dispose his subject
matter and understands how to choose and arrange
his words, and must proceed to instruct him how to
make the best and readiest use of the knowledge
which he has acquired.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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