Additional biographical information about Quintilian, from Theral Mackey of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The Greek schools, especially that of Isocrates, greatly influenced the Romans. Rhetoric came to Rome in a BIG way--especially educationally.
Additional biographical information about Quintilian, from Theral Mackey of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Q. was the most famous Roman rhetorical theorist after Cicero. His primary work: Institutio Oratoria (Education of an Orator).
Twelve books (we have them all) treating the five canons in detail.
Also a thorough treatment of the educational process.
Popularized Cato's maxim noting that the ideal of education is "The Good Man Speaking Well."
Primary elements of the educational treatise: Holder of the first endowed chair of rhetoric in Rome.
The difficulty of Q's relationship to the Emperor Domitian:
Domitian was one of the most corrupt of the late Republic period. He named Q. chief educator of the land, an honor which seemed to tame Q. and give him political reason to remove himself from real criticism of the corrupt state. So on one hand we have his call for the good man speaking well, while on the other we have the reality of his working, docile and perhaps as a sycophant, for an evil and corrupt ruler. Many critics trouble over the contradiction. However, his text coming at the end of the Greco-Roman period and summarizing the best standards of Rhetorical education has garnered great praise. Fragments were used by Jerome and Augustine to specify ideals for the Christian educational period; when the complete text was rediscovered in Renaissance Italy, it was used as a model for education thereafter for hundreds of years.
Q. taught that rhetoric was an amoral activity, but that the only proper way to engage in it was as a noble person doing well. Writing these lofty sentiments must have been something of a risk in the environment in which he found himself; even so, one would think that he might have done more to extricate himself from the compromising position, or perhaps he might have brought more pressure on the Emperor. As is, the despot even exiled the two grand nephews left to Q's care.
1) The good man speaking well: Speech must treat that which is just and honorable, or is to be opposed. A man must
a) be free from all vice
b) be a lover of wisdom
c) a sincere believer in his cause
d) a servant of the state and its people.
Not only is the goal the good man speaking well, but the evil man cannot be an effective speaker.
1) he is so pernicious that the audience will probably reject him. Second, evil men are so bound up in their greed, the necessary planning for their evil deeds, and worry over being caught and punished, that they do not have the needed time to devote to the art of worthy persuasion, so will fail in the end. Oratory is in the main concerned with the treatment of what is just and honourable. Further, who will be better at pursuing such matters of justice: the good man of course. "There is one point at any rate which no one can question, namely, that the aim of every speech is to convince the judge that the case which it puts forward is true and honourable." Further, the good man will more often be able to do this well. "On the other hand bad men, in their contempt for public opinion and their ignorance of what is right, sometimes drop their mask unawares, and are impudent in the statement of their case and shameless in their assertions. Further, in their attempt to achieve the impossible they display an unseemly persistency and unavailing energy. For in lawsuits no less than in the ordinary paths of life, they cherish depraved expectations. But it often happens that even when they tell the truth they fail to win belief, and the mere fact that such a man is its advocate is regarded as an indication of the badness of the case." The sincerity of the good man will shine through toward evermore virtuous leadership. Therefore, let the young aspire to goodness as early and often as is possible. Even the old should continue to strive for virtue and eloquence, "for nature does not forbid the attainment of either." "At any rate let us banish from our hearts the delusion that eloquence, the fairest of all things, can be combined with vice. The power of speaking is even to be accounted an evil when it is found in evil men; for it makes its possessors yet worse than they were before." "The orator must above all things devote his attention to the formation of moral character and must acquire a complete knowledge of all that is just and honourable." There are too many distractions in daily life which turn orators away from their full ability to prepare for speaking. Both distractions to the moral spirit and the intellectual pursuit of the truth. Arguing on both sides of the question is essential so that the good man can lead others toward the good. To that end, the orator may even lie, if it leads toward the just cause. (Don't get too serious about this--look at Plato, even he misrepresented Socrates, Gorgias, himself, and others, for effect.) What is Q. looking to develop?: "a man who to extraordinary natural gifts has added a thorough mastery of all the fairest branches of knowledge, a man sent by heaven to be the blessings of mankind, one to whom all history can find no parallel, uniquely perfect in every detail and utterly noble alike in thought and speech. How small a portion of all these abilities will be required for the defense of the innocent, the repression of crime or the support of truth against falsehood?" This man will also give great counsel when making laws, and will lead the people into right battle."
2) That Cicero was best in theory and practice deplores philosophers, period, for their separation, lack of impact on the state, bad manners, and general inadequacy: philosophy--a matter of interiority--can be easily simulated, while eloquence--a matter of exteriority--cannot.
End of oratory is persuasion, not display. Rhetors, politicians and philosophers alike must participate in movement toward right civic action. Deplores the separation of rhetoric and philosophy, in that he holds that all philosophy belongs to the domain of rhetoric as Philosophy is bound to the laws of expression. Orators must seek out the philosophers to discover that which is right. Q. held a firm conviction that paideia is an issue of conforming to the culture and education of the ruling class--to that which civilizes. Those who chose not to enter, who busy themselves with idle speculation and sceptical retreat, do not help the state or its features. "no one will achieve sufficient skill even in speaking, unless he makes a thorough study of all the workings of nature and forms his character on the precepts of philosophy and the dictates of reason." "all that is said concerning equity, justice, truth and the good, and their opposites, forms part of the studies of an orator, and that the philosophers, when they exert their powers of speaking to defend these virtues, are using the weapons of rhetoric, not their own. But he also confesses that the knowledge of these subjects must be sought from the philosophers for the reason that, in his opinion, philosophy has more effective possession of them. And it is for the same reason that Cicero in several of his books and letters proclaims that eloquence has its fountain-head in the most secret springs of wisdom, and that consequently for a considerable time the instructors of morals and of eloquence were identical. Accordingly this exhortation of mine must not be taken to mean that I wish the orator to be a philosopher, since there is no other way of life that is further removed from the duties of a statesman and the tasks of an orator." He says that philosophers fail to serve in meaningful civic service; yet that too many orators have failed to adequately study wisdom; such that the orator must seek out the philosopher in order to establish the "right." Philosophy may be counterfeited, eloquence never. All questions for eloquence deal with issues of ethics--equity and virtue. In addition to the study of philosophy, one should add the study of history, especially of the political history of great civilizations. The orator must also study civics: civil law and religion, the practices of his time, in order to prepare to do proper speaking. The advocate should prepare his own case rather than relying on too much aid from others. The "set" speech that has been prepared by others will find the orator unable to deal with changes in the argumentative forms, esp. in debate for which the unprepared speaker will be in a particularly bad position. The advocate must carefully study the law and the judicial interpretations that got us there, for it is in the wording of the opinions of precedent that one will find solutions to the matters at hand. The interpretive role of the advocate is important here. Dialectic is important for examining issues and for knowing the truth, but is not as important in courtroom/legislative argument since the point there is to persuade not merely instruct. Knowing how to do the "throws" does not guarantee that one will know how to wrestle! Philosophy may be counterfeited, eloquence never.
3) that education must start from infancy with the right kind of home life and continue throughout life. The child's nurse has such a tremendous influence that even she should use grammatical forms
4) plain (for teaching) grand (for stirring emotions) middle (for delighting) styles
5) Memoria: association of words with mental images that may be remembered against some familiar background. Perhaps associating words and topics with familiar physical objects and places. a. Imagine a place with which you are very familiar.. b. Associate each part of the speech with a location or object within that familiar space Through practice and industry, one learns to memorize speeches. Learn them piecemeal (learn each part as well as you learn the whole), mark difficult sections to key special care/treatment throughout, practice aloud, test frequently by repeating difficult passages, use an artistic sequence of organization so that you can easily recover from "slippage."
6) Delivery: nature should be augmented with nurture so that vocal delivery can be easy, powerful, fine, flexible, firm, sweet, well sustained, clear , pure, and one that cuts through the air and penetrates the ear. Q. also contributed theory as to facial expressions and gesture--he was the first to join voice and actio!! He outlines the effective use of the head motion, facial expression, arms and hands, affirmative gestures such as stomping the feet and striking the side, use of the fingers. Proposed that speakers begin calmly and work up passion as they go.
7) STATUS as the most important single consideration. Q. innovated stasis, making fact, definition, quality, and venue into the rough equivalent of why, where, when in what manner, and by what means (cause, place, time, manner, means). Stress on legal analysis of these issues from the point of view of the defendant. Why study, and advocate, both sides of the issue (in fact, sometimes even defending it in court): "But the nature of virtue is revealed by vice, its opposite, justice becomes yet more manifest from the contemplation of injustice, and there are many other things that are proved by their contraries." Further, there are many times and reasons when a man must defend justice by using whatever means available in the art.
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