masters to assist him; yet it is noble, as Cicero says, to have a place
in the second, or third, rank. He who can not rival the glory of
Achilles in military exploits, shall not therefore have a mean opinion
of the praise due to Ajax, or Diomedes, and he who can not approach
Homer, need not despise the fame of Tyrteus. If men were to yield to the
thought of imagining none capable of exceeding such eminent persons as
went before them, then they even who are deemed excellent would not have
been so. Vergil would not have excelled Lucretius and Macer; nor Cicero,
Crassus and Hortensius; and no one for the future would pretend to any
advantage over his predecessor.

Tho the hope of surpassing these great men be but faint, yet it is an
honor to follow them. Have Pollio and Messala, who began to appear at
the bar when Cicero was already possest of the empire of eloquence,
acquired little dignity in their life-time, and left but a small degree
of glory for the remembrance of posterity? True it is that arts brought
to perfection would deserve very ill of human affairs if afterward they
could not at least be kept to the same standard.

THE REWARDS OF ELOQUENCE

Add to this that a moderate share of eloquence is attended with no small
advantage, and if measured by the fruits gathered from it, will almost
be on a par with that which is perfect. It would be no difficult matter
to show from many ancient or modern examples that no other profession
acquires for men, greater honors, wealth, friendship, present and future
glory, were it not degrading to the honor of letters to divert the mind
from the contemplation of the most noble object, the study and
possession of which is such a source of contentment, and fix it on the
less momentous rewards it may have, not unlike those who say they do not
so much seek virtue as the pleasure resulting from it.

Let us therefore with all the zealous impulses of our heart endeavor to
attain the very majesty of eloquence, than which the immortal gods have
not imparted anything better to mankind, and without which all would be
mute in nature, and destitute of the splendor of a perfect glory and
future remembrance. Let us likewise always make continued progress
toward perfection, and by so doing we shall either reach the height, or
at least shall see many beneath us.

This is all, as far as in me lies, I could contribute to the promoting
and perfecting of the art of eloquence; the knowledge of wh