Roman Rhetoric200BC-300AD

• Borrowing, Practicing, Teaching

• Three Leading Characters– Cicero “The Greatest Roman Orator (106-

43BC)– Quintilian “The Greatest RomanTeacher”(35-

100AD)– Longinus “On the Subline”(213-273AD)

Cicero

Cicero

• Many Sources

• De Inventione “Married Wisdom and Eloquence”

• Thought Aristotle's notion of ethos developed in the speech only was inadequate. What do you think?

Cicero’s 5 Rhetorical Canon

• Borrowed? Or?

• The Canon (used in teaching)– Inventio– Dispositio– Elocutio– Pronuntiatio– Memoria

The Systems

• Stasis and Topics• Stasis--a stopping point (power of naming)

– Fact--is it?– Definition--what is it?– Value--good or bad?– Action--do?

• Topics--common places (buildings, books, movies)

Cicero’s De Oratore

• Three purposes of speech– To teach– To delight– To persuade

• Humor

Marcus Fabius Quintilian

• The Good Man Speaking Well

• Parts of a speech– Exordium-introduction– Narratio--facts– Confirmatio--proof– Confutatio-refutation– Peroratio-conclusion

Longinus

• On the Sublime

• Style--more than mere adornment

• The power of aesthetics

Dan on the Romans

• The power of rhetorical education

• Building on those who preceded (Matt)

• Order

• Rhetoric has limits? (Foss)

• The power of naming and speaking first

Stasis or Naming Continued

• Contingency issues--when certainty is impossible thus the probable

• Experience--the movie “Contact”

• Copernicus and Einstein

• The Wine Class

• Our Emotions