Introduction

Rhetoric served a valuable role in Roman society, hence why it was an important element in the Roman education system. Rhetoric increased ones’ verbal skills to exude characteristics of refinement and wisdom.  Thus, an individual well versed in rhetoric would have the ability to handle topics that were important to Roman citizens, deal with discourse in political debates, and effectively partake in trials. Through such usage, rhetoric also served as a method that one could enlist to gain success in the political sphere.

In this chapter, there are two Roman rhetoricians that will be focused on. Cicero and Quintilian. Cicero lived from 106-43 BCE, and is regarded as the most prominent orator and rhetorical theorist of Rome. The other, Quintilian, who lived from 35-100 CE, is distinct for being the most famous and effective teacher of rhetoric. So great were they, that their methods of rhetoric were taught by Europeans until the time of the American Revolution.

Roman Republic

Rome was a Republic initially. It had elected executives, a senate, and popular assemblies. Those who owned land or were members of the military or a powerful family, had the access to vote and hold power.

The Value of Rhetoric in Roman Society

The Roman Republic encompassed many groups of people across vast distances. By the use of shared methods of rhetoric amongst these groups, it allowed for communication to be conducted that played an important role to maintain unity amongst them under the governing Roman Rule. Rhetoric was an access for people to formulate reason, effectively share ideas, and through this they could bring about changes and action together.

While power in Rome typically belonged to men who belonged to influential families, Roman citizens still served important roles.  Politicians would speak to groups of ordinary citizens and seek to gain their approval. To do so, politicians would ally themselves with the popular interests of the citizens. This exchange between politicians and the ordinary citizen contributed towards policies.

In the Senate, it was a governing body that was considered to be advice-giving rather than legislative, and was composed of men who could influence domestic and foreign policy. These men were wealthy and held strong power, as they could object to a policy and halt its progress through the government. This is where rhetoric plays a role. Members needed to be able to persuasively speak to each other and on policies to push them through or knock them down. If one advisor is objecting, and the rest seek the policy to continue, then that one advisor needs to be convinced on why such a policy must go through. If an advisor seeks to promote a policy, then they need the ability to persuasively convince about 600 other members to agree with them.

Roman Republic to Roman Empire

Over time the Roman Republic transitioned to the Roman Empire, which governed under a monarchy system.

Cicero

Cicero was the most famous and important politician in Rome. He belonged to the Senate. Unlike the other Senate members, Cicero was not from an influential family, but he held such talent in rhetoric and intellect that we rose to political prominence without requiring family connections. His style of writing was so highly regarded that he is called the Master of Latin prose. Two famous works by Cicero are De Inventione and Rhetorica ad Herennium, opened up rhetoric instruction to larger audiences. In De Inventione, themes of wisdom and eloquence in rhetoric are explored. Cicero believed a good rhetorician needed to study philosophy, ethics, the understanding of a good government and encompass reason and personal virtue. For Cicero, rhetoric and wisdom needed to be married, as rhetoric was allocated as a method of civilizing a society.

“The state receives many benefits, provided only it is accompanied by wisdom, the guide of all human affairs.” ~ Cicero

The Canons of Rhetoric

In De Inventione, Cicero shared five canons to oratory:

1. Invention
2. Arrangement
3. Expression
4. Memory
5. Delivery

These five canons were used in teaching the composition of a speech, the layout order of said speech, and required one to think about the goal of the speech.

The first canon, Invention, dealt with discerning valid arguments. For example, a prosecutor in a court of law will need to put up arguments to prosecute a defendant.In Invention, the prosecution needs to discern what arguments are appropriate in this case. If they are prosecuting a murder case, most likely they will not put up arguments over if chunky peanut butter is superior to creamy peanut butter. Such an argument is not valid in this scenario.

The section canon, Arrangement, deals with the order in which one would list their arguments. Typically, if there is a list of arguments to be made, an orator or writer will save their best argument for last in their speech/writing. This is because an audience is more likely to remember the last thing said, rather than the first.

The third canon, Expression, deals with choosing the appropriate language to communicate their arguments.  This could be choosing to use medical terms in a medical journal, rather than layman terms. An example would be how laymen typically use the term stomach to refer to the region of their body where their belly button is located. However, medically, this region of the body is the abdomen, and the stomach is only one organ out of others located in this region. Depending on one’s audience, the terminology used shifts as it holds different meanings to different people.

The fourth canon, Memory, deals with memorizing one’s arguments. The speech should be photographed into one’s noggin (noggin – layman term for head).

The fifth canon, Delivery, deals with the manner in which an argument/speech is said. Tone of voice, when to take a pause, the speed in which to speak, which words to give emphasis on falls under Delivery. Gestures of the orator, their posture, facial expressions is also a form of Delivery.

The Stasis System

Cicero also wrote about a stasis system for judicial orators. The stasis dealt with one needing to think about areas of conflict in a judicial matter. There are four points of stasis:

1. Fact
2. Definition
3. Quality
4. Procedure

Number one, Fact, deals with what happened.

Number two, Definition, deals with determining the name of the fact. An example, someone dies at the hand of another individual. Definition, would it be classified as murder or manslaughter?

Number three, Quality, deals with the severity of an act. Was the killing premeditated or something triggered an impulsive act?

Number four, Procedure, deals with going about handling this matter. For example, does this matter belong in a County Court or the Supreme Court?

Quintilian

For Quintilian, rhetoric is the art form of a good citizen with verbal skills. Rhetoric was to be used to benefit Rome. A Mayor should use rhetoric to benefit their city, and not to benefit their special interests only. Quintilian dealt with the idea of definite and indefinite questions.

Definite questions are about a particular person, a fact, locations, and times. An example, is New Jersey located in the United States?

Indefinite questions are speculative. Example: Did Mary die before her Assumption into Heaven?

Bases

Like Cicero, Quintilian also wrote about handling judicial cases. He proposed three bases:

1. Existence – Deals with what happened? What took place?
2. Definition – What is the classification of what took place? Again if someone was killed, was it murder or manslaughter?
3. Quality – How severe was the act? Did this individual steal $5 out of a tip jar or stole $100,000 from a bank?

Proof

There are different proofs in a judicial case. Someone sharing their eyewitness testimony of an individual being robbed, is proof. If a population has a general agreement on something, that is admissible. Bringing up a defendant’s mental health history and how it contributed to a potential situation, is proof, as generally it is accepted that mental illness can affect a person’s decision making capabilities. Laws and contracts are a form of proof. Example, someone signing a paper that is designated as being a contract, holds legal power. Any admissions are also a form of proof. An example, when someone is pulled over in their vehicle and a police officer asks, “Have you had any drinks tonight,” and the individual responds, “Just two beers,”  that is a form of proof.