Quintilian, The Institutes of Oratory
Wiki has a splendid summary of Cicero's De Oratore or on the Formation of the Ideal Orator, a book of great import to the history of rhetoric and one we didn't have time to read. Skimming this overview before reading Quintilian might be worthwhile as it is in Cicero's shadow that Quintilian writes. It is worth pointing out that whereas Cicero lived when Rome was a republic and died on the losing side in its defense, Quintilian was born into the Empire. There was no longer any widespread need for deliberative oratory but still plenty of work for lawyers. Like Cicero, Quintilian ascended to the rank of consul, but by Quintilian's time, this rank seems to have become largely a gift bestowed by the Emperor rather than a prize seized by political savvy.
[The goal of The Institutes of Oratory is the formation of the ideal or consummate orator, a task he inherits from Cicero who inherited it from Isocrates. The orator is an expert in state-craft not just speech-craft, speeches being necessary but insufficient. One needs to be able to think and question and know as well as persuade others without being mislead by others or misleading one's self. One must be a good person and to that end one's teachers must be good people, skilled but also compassionate, astute, and wise. Quintilian differs from his predecessors in that he deals with education from the beginning of a child's life rather from late adolescence.]
BOOK 1
8 As regards his paedagogi, I would urge that they should have had a thorough education, or if they have not, that they should be aware of the fact. There are none worse than those, who as soon as they have progressed beyond a knowledge of the alphabet delude themselves into the belief that they are the possessors of real knowledge. For they disdain to stoop to the drudgery of teaching, and conceiving that they have acquired a certain title to authority — a frequent source of vanity in such persons — become imperious or even brutal in instilling a thorough dose of their their own folly.
12 I prefer that a boy should begin with Greek, because Latin, being in general use, will be picked up by him whether we will or no; while the fact that Latin learning is derived from Greek is a further reason for his being first instructed in the p27 latter.
If anyone refuses to be guided by [the rules I am laying down], then the fault will lie not with the method, but with the individual. [self-sealing argument]
They should start with Greek but not persist so long they they start to sound like Greeks.
Some hold that boys should not be taught to read till they are seven years old, that being the earliest age at which they can derive profit from instruction and endure the strain of learning ...Why, again, since children are capable of moral training, should they not be capable of literary education?
Still those who disagree with me seem in taking the line to spare the teacher rather than the pupil.
the elements of literary training are solely a question of memory, which not only exists even in small children, but is specially retentive at that age.
20 Above all things we must take care that the child, who is not yet old enough to love his studies, does not come to hate them ... His studies must be made an amusement. ... he must be questioned and praised and taught to rejoice when he has done well; sometimes too, when he refuses instruction, it should be given to some other to excite his envy, at times also he must be engaged in competition
and should be allowed to believe himself successful more often than not.
30 As regards syllables, no short cut is possible: they must all be learnt, and there is no good in putting off learning the most difficult; this is the general practice, but the sole result is bad spelling. [phonics!]
33 Reading must therefore first be sure, then connected, while it must be kept slow for a considerable time, until practice brings speed unaccompanied by error.
36 For memory is most necessary to an orator, as I shall point out in its proper place, and there is nothing like practice for strengthening and developing it.
Chapter 2
[private tutoring or public school?]1 But the time has come for the boy to grow up little by little, to leave the nursery and tackle his studies in good earnest. This therefore is the place to discuss the question as to whether it is better to have him educated privately at home or hand him over to some large school and those whom I may call public instructors.
3 If it were proved that schools, while advantageous to study, are prejudicial to morality, I should give my vote for virtuous living in preference to even supreme excellence of speaking. But in my opinion the two are inseparable. I hold that no one can be a true orator unless he is also a good man and, even if he could be, I would not have it so. I will therefore deal with this point first.
18 It is above all things necessary that our future orator, who will have to live in the utmost publicity and in the broad daylight of public life, should become accustomed from his childhood to move in society without fear and habituated to a life far removed from that of the pale student, the solitary and recluse. His mind requires constant stimulus and excitement, whereas retirement such as has just been mentioned induces languor and the mind becomes mildewed like things that are left in the dark, or else flies to the opposite extreme and becomes puffed up with empty conceit; for he who has no standard of comparison by which to judge his own powers will necessarily rate them too high.
[student-centered education, learning styles?] 28 You must consider how much a child's mind is capable of receiving: the things which are beyond their grasp will not enter their minds, which have not opened out sufficiently to take them in.
Chapter 3
1 [student-centered education]The skilful teacher will make it his first care, as soon as a boy is entrusted to him, to ascertain his ability and character. The surest indication in a child is his power of memory. The characteristics of a good memory are twofold: it must be quick to take in and faithful to retain impressions of what it receives. The indication of next importance is the power of imitation: for this is a sign that the child is teachable: but he must imitate merely what is taught, and must not, for example, mimic someone's gait or bearing or defects.
3 My ideal pupil will absorb instruction with ease and will even ask some questions; but he will follow rather than anticipate his teacher. Precocious intellects rarely produce sound fruit.
8 Still, all our pupils will require some relaxation ... because study depends on the good will of the student, a quality that cannot be secured by compulsion.
10 I approve of play in the young; it is a sign of a lively disposition; nor will you ever lead me to believe that a boy who is gloomy and in a continual state of depression is ever likely to show alertness of mind in his work
BOOK 2
[mission creep] 2 For the rhetorician considers that his duty is merely to declaim and give instruction in the theory and practice of declamation and confines his activities to deliberative and judicial themes, regarding all others as beneath the dignity of his profession; while the teacher of literature is not satisfied to take what is left him (and we owe him a debt of gratitude for this), but even presumes to handle declamations in character and deliberative themes,1 tasks which impose the very heaviest burden on the speaker.
7 A further point into which we must enquire concerns the age at which a boy may be considered sufficiently advanced to profit by the instructions of the rhetorician. In this connexion we must consider not the boy's actual age, but the progress he has made in his studies.
8 if the rhetorician does not refuse to undertake the first duties of his task, his instruction will be required from the moment the boy begins to compose narratives and his first attempts at passages of praise or denunciation.
10 What is there in those exercises of which I have just spoken that does not involve matters which are the special concern of rhetoric and further are typical of actual legal cases? Have we not to narrate facts in the law-courts? Indeed I am not sure that this is not the most important department of rhetoric in actual practice. 11 Are not eulogy and denunciation frequently introduced in the course of the contests of the courts? Are not common-places frequently inserted in the very heart of lawsuits, whether, like those which we find in the works of Cicero, they are directed against vice, or, like those published by Quintus Hortensius, deal with questions of general interest such as "whether small points of argument should carry weight," or are employed to defend or impugn the credibility of witnesses?
Chapter 2
1 Our first task must be to enquire whether the teacher is of good character. [lead by example. An answer to Plato? That the sophist must first teach virtue or provide it if not present when the student arrives? As opposed to the instrumentalist view]
8 He should declaim daily himself and, what is more, without stint, that his class may take his utterances home with them. For however many models for imitation he may p215 give them from the authors they are reading, it will still be found that fuller nourishment is provided by the living voice, as we call it, more especially when it proceeds from the teacher himself, who, if his pupils are rightly instructed, should be the object of their affection and respect. And it is scarcely possible to say how much more readily we imitate those whom we like.
Chapter 3
[Should Full Professors teach FYC?] 6 I regard the p221 teacher who is unwilling to attend to such details as being unworthy of the name of teacher: and as for the question of capacity, I maintain that it is the most capable man who, given the will, is able to do this with most efficiency. For in the first place it is a reasonable inference that a man blest with abnormal powers of eloquence will have made careful note of the various steps by which eloquence is attained, 6 and in the second place the reasoning faculty, which is specially developed in learned men, is all-important in teaching, while finally no one is eminent in the greater things of his art if he be lacking in the lesser.
7 "Yes" it may be answered "but surely you do not deny that there is a type of eloquence that is too great to be comprehended by undeveloped boys?" Of course there is. But this eloquent teacher whom they fling in my face must be a sensible man with a good knowledge of teaching and must be prepared to stoop to his pupil's level, just as a rapid walker, if walking with a small child, will give him his hand and lessen his own speed and avoid advancing at a pace beyond the powers of his little companion.
Chapter 4
1 I shall now proceed to indicate what I think should be the first subjects in which the rhetorician should give instruction, and shall postpone for a time our consideration of the art of rhetoric in the narrow sense in which that term is popularly used. [types of fiction]
8 We must, therefore, take especial care, above all where boys are concerned, to avoid a dry teacher, even as we avoid a dry and arid soil for plants that are still young and tender.... while they are content that their work should be devoid of faults they fall into the fault of being devoid of merit.
10 It is worth while too to warn the teacher that undue severity in correcting faults is liable at times to discourage a boy's mind from effort. [The sandwich theory of student feedback]
15 However, to return to the point from which I had digressed. Written narratives should be composed with the utmost care. It is useful at first, when a child has just begun to speak, to make him repeat what he has heard with a view to improving his powers of speech; and for the same purpose, and with good reason, I would make him tell his story from the end back to the beginning or start in the middle and go backwards or forwards, but only so long as he is at his teacher's knee ....Even so when he is beginning to understand the nature of correct and accurate speech, extempore effusions, improvised without waiting for thought to supply the matter or a moment's p233 hesitation before rising to the feet, must not be permitted: they proceed from a passion for display that would do credit to a common mountebank. [anti extemporanaity?]
20 From this our pupil will begin to proceed to more important themes, such as
the praise of famous men and the denunciation of the wicked. Such tasks are profitable in more than one respect. The mind is exercised by the variety and multiplicity of the subject matter, while the character is moulded by the contemplation of virtue and vice.
24 Theses on the other hand are concerned with the comparison of things and involve questions such as "Which is preferable, town or country life?" [a common exit essay question, sometimes beach or mountain]
26 My own teachers used to prepare us for conjectural cases by a form of exercise which was at once useful and attractive: they made us discuss and develop questions such as "Why in Sparta is Venus represented as wearing armour?" ...In these exercises our aim was to discover the intention implied, a question which frequently occurs in controversial declamations. Such themes may perhaps be regarded as a kind of chria or moral essay.
27 [pre-fabricated chunks, press ons rather than woven in the fabric] men ... who have held civil office with no small distinction, have written out passages dealing with such themes, committed them to memory and kept them ready for immediate use, with a view to employing them when occasion arose as a species of ornament to be inserted into their extempore speeches. 28 This practice — for I am not going to postpone expressing my judgment on it — I regard a confession of extreme weakness. . . 30 Also it must be remembered that there is hardly a single commonplace of such universal application that it will fit any actual case, unless some special link is provided to connect it with the subject: otherwise it will seem to have been tacked on to the speech, not interwoven in its texture.
41 Such were the subjects on which the ancients as a rule exercised their powers of speaking, though they called in the assistance of the logicians as well to teach them the theory of argument. For it is generally agreed that the declamation of fictitious themes in imitation of the questions that arise in the lawcourts or deliberative assemblies came into vogue among the Greeks about the time of Demetrius of Phalerum. ...As regards Latin teachers of rhetoric, of whom Plotius was the most famous, Cicero informs us that they came into existence towards the end of the age of Crassus.
Chapter 5
1 I will speak of the theory of declamation a little later. In the mean time, as we are discussing the elementary stages of a rhetorical education, I think I should not fail to point out how greatly the rhetorician will contribute to his pupils' progress, if he imitates the teacher of literature whose duty it is to expound the poets, and gives the pupils whom he has undertaken to train, instruction in the reading of history and still more of the orators.
[close reading outloud -- recitation] 6 It seems to me at once an easier and more profitable method to call for silence and choose some one pupil — and it will be best to select them by turns — to read aloud, in order that they may at the same time learn the correct method of elocution. 7 The case with which the speech selected for reading is concerned should then be explained, for if this is done they will have a clearer understanding of what is to be read. When the reading is commenced, no important point should be allowed to pass unnoticed either as regards the resourcefulness or the style shown in the treatment of the subject.
[a correction for popular taste] 10 It will even at times be of value to read speeches which are corrupt and faulty in style, but still meet with general admiration thanks to the perversity of modern tastes, and to point out how many expressions in them are inappropriate, obscure, high-flown, grovelling, mean, extravagant or effeminate, although they are not merely praised by the majority of critics, but, worse still, praised just because they are bad.
[standard topic of manliness of manners and speech] 12 There are even some who are captivated by the shams of artifice and think that there is more beauty in those who pluck out superfluous hair or use depilatories, who dress their locks by scorching them with the curling iron and glow with a complexion that is not their own, than can ever be conferred by nature pure and simple, so that it really seems as if physical beauty depended entirely on moral hideousness.
21 There are two faults of taste against which boys should be guarded with the utmost care. Firstly no teacher suffering from an excessive admiration of antiquity, should be allowed to cramp their minds by the study of Cato and the Gracchi and other similar authors....Secondly the opposite extreme must be equally avoided: they must not be permitted to fall victims to the pernicious allurements of the precious blooms produced by our modern euphuists, thus acquiring a passion for the luscious sweetness of such authors, whose charm is all the more attractive to boyish intellects because it is so easy of achievement.
BOOK XI
Chapter 1
After acquiring the power of writing and thinking, as described in the precede and book, and also of pleading extempore, if occasion demand, our next task will be to ensure that appropriateness of speech, which Cicero shows to be the fourth department of style, and which is, in my opinion, highly necessary. 2 For since the ornaments of style are varied and manifold and suited for different purposes, they will, unless adapted to the matter and the persons concerned, not merely fail to give our style distinction, but will even destroy its effect and produce an effect quite the reverse of that which our matter should produce. For what profit is it that our words should be Latin, significant and graceful, and be further embellished with elaborate figures and rhythms, unless all these qualities are in harmony with the views to which we seek to lead the judge and mould his opinions?
3 What use is it if we employ a lofty tone in cases of great moment, a cheerful tone when our matter calls for sadness, a gentle tone when it demands vehemence ...
4 This topic is discussed by Cicero in the third book of the de Oratore,2 and, although he touches on it but lightly, he really covers the whole subject when he says, "One single style of oratory is not suited to every case, nor to every audience, nor every speaker, nor every occasion." And he says the same at scarcely greater length in the Orator.
[appropriate = expedient and becoming] 8 Too much insistence cannot be laid upon the point that no one can be said to speak appropriately who has not considered not merely what it is expedient, but also what it is becoming to say.
15 In the first place, then, all kinds of boasting are a mistake, above all, it is an error for an orator to praise his own eloquence, and, further, not merely wearies, but in the majority of cases disgusts the audience....25 But while it is unseemly to make a boast of one's eloquence, it is, however, at times permissible to express confidence in it.
29 An impudent, disorderly, or angry tone is always unseemly, no matter who it be that assumes it; and it becomes all the more reprehensible in proportion to the age, rank, and experience of the speaker. But we are familiar with the sight of certain brawling advocates who are restrained neither by respect for the court nor by the recognised methods and manners of pleading.
31 Again, different kinds of eloquence suit different speakers. For example, a full, haughty, bold and florid style would be less becoming to an old man than that restrained, mild and precise style to which Cicero refers,
39 But even in these cases in which we appear as advocates, differences of character require careful observation. For we introduce fictitious personages and speak through other's lips, and we must therefore allot the appropriate character to those to whom we lend a voice.
46 Again, circumstances of time and place demand special consideration.
58 [in dire situations] emotion should colour his whole speech, so that it may be felt not merely that he is speaking, but that he is speaking the truth.
84 More arduous difficulties confront us when we have to deal with a complaint of some shameful act which as rape, more especially when this is of an unnatural kind. I do not refer to cases when the victim himself is speaking. For what should he do but groan and weep and curse his existence, so that the judge will understand his grief rather than hear it articulately expressed? But the victim's advocate will have to exhibit similar emotions, since the p207 admission of such wrongs cause more shame to the sufferer than the criminal.
91 To these remarks I would add that all extravagance of any kind is indecorous, and consequently statements which are in sufficient harmony with the facts will none the less lose all their grace unless they are modified by a certain restraint.
BOOK XII
Marcus Tullius Cicero, ... is content to speak merely of the kind of speech to be employed by the perfect orator. But my temerity is such that I shall essay to form my orator's character and to teach him his duties.
Chapter 1
1 The orator then, whom I am concerned to form, shall be the orator as defined by Marcus Cato, "a good man, skilled in speaking."2 But above all he must possess the quality which Cato places first and which is in the very nature of things the greatest and most important, that is, he must be a good man. ... 3 For I do not merely assert that the ideal orator should be a good man, but I affirm that no man can be an orator unless he is a good man. [Rhetoric the hard way of Hercules]
8 Well then, I ask you, is not simplicity of life essential if we are to be able to endure the toil entailed by study? What can we hope to get from lust or luxury?
[I hear an echo of Isocrates here who said that if a person conceives a desire to be persuasive they must be careful of their reputation because the good are more persuasive than the bad] 12 The good man will without doubt more often say what is true and honourable. 12 But even supposing that his duty should, as I shall show may sometimes happen, lead him to make statements which are false, his words are still certain to carry greater weight with his audience.
23 However, let us fly in the face of nature and assume that a bad man has been discovered who is endowed with the highest eloquence. I shall none the less deny that he is an orator.
35 the schemes of his adversaries should be no less well known to the orator than those of the enemy to a commander in the field. [orator should be a good, but not an innocent, man]
39 And there is clearly far more justification for lying when it is a question of diverting an assassin from his victim or deceiving an enemy to save our country. Consequently a practice which is at times reprehensible even in slaves, may on other occasions be praiseworthy even in a wise man.