[6]
It were best to prohibit them absolutely.
But at any rate the themes, however swelling and
magnificent, should not be such as to seem foolish
and laughable to the eye of an intelligent observer.
Consequently, if we must make some concession, let
us allow the declaimer to gorge himself occasionally, as long as he realises that his case will be like
that of cattle that have blown themselves out with a
surfeit of green food: they are cured of their disorder
by blood-letting and then put back to food such as
will maintain their strength; similarly the declaimer
must be rid of his superfluous fat, and his corrupt
humours must be discharged, if he wants to be
strong and healthy.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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