Book 8
3.6
such as The miser lacks That which he has no less than what he has not. Publil. Syr. Sent. 486. But they acquire greater force by a change in the figure employed, as in the following: Is it so bitter, then, to die? Aen. xii. 646. For this is more vigorous than the simple statement, Death is not bitter. A similar effect may be produced by transference of' the statement from the general to the particular. For example, although the direct statement would be, To hurt is easy, but to do good is hard. Ovid In his lost tragedy, the Medea. gives this reflexion increased force when lie makes Medea say, I had the power to save, and ask you then If I have power to ruin?
3.7
Cicero ' Pro Lig. xii. 38. again gives the general statement a personal turn when he says: Caesar, the splendour of your present fortune confers on you nothing greater than the power and nothing better than the will to save as many of your fellow-citizens as possible. For here he attributes to Caesar what was really attributable to the circumstances of his power. In this class of reflexion we must be careful, as always, not to employ them too frequently, nor at random, nor place them in the mouth of every kind of person, while we must make certain that they are not untrue, as is so often the case with those speakers who style them reflexions of universal application and recklessly employ whatever seems to support their case as though its truth were beyond question.
