CHAPTER II.
In preparing for every well-ordered Banquet the servants are wont to take the proper bread, and see that it is clean from all blemish; wherefore I, who in the present writing stand in servant's place, intend firstly to remove two spots from this exposition which at my repast stands in the place of bread.
The one is, that it appears to be unlawful for any one to speak of himself; the other, that it seems to be unreasonable to speak too deeply when giving explanations.

Let the knife of my judgment pare away from the present treatise the unlawful and the unreasonable.

One does not permit any Rhetorician to speak of himself without a necessary cause.

And from this is the man removed, because he can speak of no one without praise or blame of those of whom he speaks; which two causes commonly induce a man to speak of himself.

And in order to remove a doubt which here arises, I say that it is worse for any one to blame than to praise himself, although neither may have to be done.