28. leaving to the historian the exact handling of every particular, and again having no strength to fill in the outlines of our abridgement.
29. For as the masterbuilder of a new house must care for the whole structure, and again he that undertakes to decorate and paint it must seek out the things fit for the adorning thereof; even so I think it is also with us.
30. To occupy the ground, and to indulge in long discussions, and to be curious in particulars, becomes the first author of the history:
31. but to strive after brevity of expression, and to avoid a laboured fulness in the treatment, is to be granted to him that would bring a writing into a new form.