Sed ut propositi fides in personis illustribus exhibeatur, C. Gracchus, eloquentiae quam consilii felicioris adulescens, quoniam flagrantissimo ingenio, cum optime rem publicam tueri posset, perturbare impie maluit, quotiens apud populum contionatus est, servum post se musicae artis peritum habuit, qui occulte eburnea fistula pronuntiationis eius modos formabat, aut nimis remissos excitando aut plus iusto concitatos revocando, quia ipsum calor atque impetus actionis attentum huiusce temperamenti aestimatorem esse non patiebatur.
But to verify my statement in illustrious personages, C. Gracchus, a young man happier in his eloquence than in his aims (for with his shining talent he could have been a splendid defender of the commonwealth but preferred to be an impious revolutionary), whenever he spoke before the public, had a slave skilled in the art of music stationed behind him. With an ivory pipe the man secretly shaped Gracchus elocution. When the rhythm was too relaxed, he would heighten it, when over-agitated, he would tone it down; for the heat and impetus of his discourse did not let the speaker be himself an attentive judge of this balance
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