Institutio Oratoria

Quintilian

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria, Volume 1-4. Butler, Harold Edgeworth, translator. Cambridge, Mass; London: Harvard University Press, William Heinemann Ltd., 1920-1922.

The treatment of the theme of cruelty to a wife is not unlike that of the theme of disinheritance; for both demand a certain moderation on the part of the accuser. Cases concerned with lunacy arise either out of what has been done or out of something which may or may not be done in the future.

In the former case the pleader is free to attack as he will, but must none the less do so in such a manner that, while denouncing the act, he will yet express pity for the father on the ground that he has erred by reason of his infirmity. On the other hand, in the latter case, where the act has not

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yet taken place and there is nothing to prevent the father changing his purpose, he must begin by a prolonged attempt to induce him to change his mind, and then, and only then, complain that it is madness and not depravity of character that prevents him from listening to the voice of reason; and the more he praises his past character, the easier will it be to prove the change which it has undergone owing to the inroads of the disease.

The accused, wherever possible, must assume a temperate tone in his defence, for the reason that as a rule anger and excitement are near akin to madness. All these cases have this much in common, that the accused does not always defend his act, but often pleads excuse and asks for pardon. For these are domestic quarrels, in which the fact that the offence is an isolated case, due to error and of a less serious character than alleged, will sometimes suffice to secure an acquittal.

There are, however, a number of other controversial themes involving quality, as, for example, cases of assault. In these, although at times the accused denies that he committed the assault, the pleading as a rule is concerned with fact and intention.