6 I pass now to the pleasure
derived from the orator’s eloquence. Its delights are enjoyed not for a single
moment, but almost on every day and at every hour. To the mind of an educated
gentleman, naturally fitted for worthy enjoyments, what can be more delightful
than to see his house always thronged and crowded by gatherings of the most
eminent men, and to know that the honour is paid not to his wealth, his
childlessness, or his possession of some office, but to himself? Nay, more; the
childless, the rich, and the powerful often go to one who is both young and
poor, in order to intrust him with difficulties affecting themselves or their
friends. Can there be any pleasure from boundless wealth and vast power equal
to that of seeing men in years, and even in old age, men backed by the
influence of the whole world, readily confessing, amid the utmost affluence of
every kind, that they do not possess that which is the best of all? Again, look
at the respectable citizens who escort the pleader to and from the court. Look
at his appearance in public, and the respect shown him before the judges. What
a delight it must be to rise and stand amid the hushed crowd, with every eye on
him alone, the people assembling and gathering round him in a circle, and
taking from the orator any emotion he has himself assumed. I am now reckoning
the notorious joys of an orator, those which are open to the sight even of the
uneducated; the more secret, known only to the advocate himself, are yet greater.
If he produces a careful and well-prepared speech, there is a solidity and
steadfastness in his satisfaction, just as there is in his style; if, again, he
offers his audience, not without some tremblings at heart, the result of a
fresh and sudden effort, his very anxiety enhances the joy of success, and
ministers to his pleasure. In fact, audacity at the moment, and rashness
itself, have quite a peculiar sweetness. As with the earth, so with genius.
Though time must be bestowed on the sowing and cultivation of some plants, yet
those which grow spontaneously are the more pleasing.
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