[2] Genus hoc sermonum, positum in hominum veterum auctoritate, et eorum illustrium, plus nescio quo pacto videtur habere gravitatis. Itaque ipse mea legens, sic afficior interdum, ut Catonem, non me loqui existímem. Cic. De Amic. c. 1.
[3] Omnem sermonem tribuimus non Tithono, ut Aristo Chius; parum enim esset auctoritatis in fabulâ. De Senect. c. 1.
[4] See the Dialogue intituled, Πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα, ΠΡΟΜΗΘΕΥΣ εἶ ἐν λόγοις.
[5] Ἔπαιζεν ἅμα σπουδάζων· Xen. Mem. l. i. c. 3.
[6] Γέλωτα κωμικὸν ὑπὸ σεμνότητι φιλοσόφῳ. Προμηθ. c. 7.
[7] Difficillimam illam societatem Gravitatis cum Humanitate. Leg. l. iii. c. 1.
[8] Ἐτολμήσαμεν ἡμεῖς τὰ οὕτως ἔχοντα ϖρὸς ἄλληλα ξυναγαγεῖν καὶ ξυναρμόσαι, οὐ ϖάνυ ϖειθόμενα, οὐδὲ εὐμαρῶς ἀνεχόμενα τὴν κοινωνίαν. Προμηθ. c. 7.
[9] Προμηθ. c. 7. to the end. Δὶς κατηγορούμενος. c. 33. and Ζεῦξις.
[10] ——quo in genere orationis utrumque Oratorem cognoveramus, id ipsum sumus in eorum sermone adumbrare conati. De Orat. iii. 4.
[11] A curious passage, or two, in his Letters to Atticus, will serve to illustrate this observation. The academic questions were drawn up, and finished, when a doubt occurred to him, whether he should not change one of the speakers in that Dialogue, and, instead of Varro, introduce Brutus; who would suit his purpose, he said, just as well, because his philosophic principles were the same with those of Varro—si addubitas, says he to Atticus, ad Brutum transeamus. Est enim is quoque Antiochius. l. xiii. 25. Was this a change to be easily made, if it were necessary, in this kind of writing, to suit the style and manner of expression to the character of the speakers? Yet, hear how negligently he treats this matter—Opinor igitur consideremus, etsi nomina jam facta sunt. Sed VEL INDUCI, VEL MUTARI POSSUNT. l. xiii. 14.—In other words, provided the cast of the several parts was the same, the language of the Dialogue would require no alteration. It was indifferent, in this respect, who were the speakers.