[483] He had none of the external graces of an orator.

His countenance was heavy, his figure mean and somewhat deformed, and his gestures uncouth.
Yet he was heard with respect.

For, such as his mind was, it had been assiduously cultivated.

His youth had been studious; and to the last he continued to love books and the society of men of genius and learning.
Indeed he aspired to the character of a wit and a poet, and occasionally employed hours which should have been very differently spent in composing verses more execrable than the bellman's.

[484] His time however was not always so absurdly wasted.