Cicero, Brutus 121:
“Who is more fertile in the art of speech than Plato? The philosophers say that, if Jupiter could speak Greek, he would speak just like Plato. Who is more vigorous than Aristotle, sweeter than Theophrastus? Demosthenes is said to have read Plato over and over with ardent zeal, to have heard him too. That is clear enough from the selection and the magnificence of his words. He even says this about himself in some letter or other – but his style seems too combative when applied to philosophy, as theirs seems a bit too mild when applied to the court.”
Quis enim uberior in dicendo Platone? Iovem sic [ut] aiunt philosophi, si Graece loquatur, loqui. quis Aristotele nervosior, Theophrasto dulcior? lectitavisse Platonem studiose, audivisse etiam Demosthenes dicitur—idque apparet ex genere et granditate verborum; dicit etiam in quadam epistula hoc ipse de sese —, sed et huius oratio in philosophiam translata pugnacior, ut ita dicam, videtur et illorum in iudicia pacatior.
