Book 9
2.58
As regards the figures produced by omission, they rely for their charm in the main on conciseness and novelty. There is one of these which I mentioned in the last book VII. vi. 21. with reference to synecdoche, and postponed discussing until such time as I came to deal with figures: it occurs when the word omitted may be clearly gathered from the context: an example may be found in Caelius' denunciation of Antony: stupere gaudio Graecus: The Greek was struck dumb with joy. for we must clearly supply coepit. Or take the following passage from a letter of Cicero Lost. No talk except of you. What better? Then Fla virus says, 'Couriers to-morrow,' and I scribbled these lines at his house during dinner. to Brutus: Serno nullus scilicet nisi de te: quid enim potius? turn Flavius, cras, inquit, tabellarii, et ego ibidem has inter cenum exaravi.
2.59
Of a similar kind, at any rate in my opinion, are those passages in which words are decently omitted to spare our modesty. You—while the goats looked goatish-we know who, And in what chapel—(but the kind Nymphs laughed). Ecl. iii. 8. Some regard this as an aposiopesis, but wrongly.
2.60
For in aposiopesis it is either uncertain or at least requires an explanation of some length to show what is suppressed, whereas in the present case only one word, and that of an obvious character, is missing. If this, then, is an aposiopesis, all omissions will have a claim to the title.
