In the first place, then, all kinds of boasting are a mistake, above all, it is an error for an orator to praise his own eloquence, and, further, not merely wearies, but in the majority of cases disgusts the audience.
[15]
When, however, we are speaking of our
own affairs or those of others, we must distinguish
between the expedient and the becoming, while
recognising that the majority of the points which
we have to consider will fall under neither head.
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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