Quintilian on Rhetoric

How Does Quintilian's Definition Compare to other Ancients We've Studied?

Plato:

Defines rhetoric as a philosophy rather than an art, an unncessary tool. He's much more concerned with truth than Quintilian.

Aristotle:

Believes that rhetoric is "finding the available means of persuasion." Quintilian takes issue with this, because he feels that Artistole isn't accounting for the fact that anyone, even "harlots, flatterers, and seducers," can persuade.

Isocrates:

Quintilian suggests that many feel that oratory is the "power of persuading," and this idea has its origins in the works of Isocrates. Quintilian, on the other hand, points out that there are other methods of persuasion, such as money. He also sees the symbolic importance of such things as "looks" and images (as he discusses in Book XI).

Quintilian's definition:

To Quintilian, rhetoric is "the good man speaking well." (He seems to use the terms "rhetoric" and "oratory" interchangeably, placing much more stress in Book II on the latter term.) He divides it into 3 components: the art, the artist (artificer), and the work. Quintilian explains that:

• Art=The knowledge of speaking well.
• Artist (Artificer)=Has acquired the art of rhetoric. It is "his business to speak well."
• Work=That which the artificer achieves; that is, "good speaking."

Quintilian and Cicero

Quintilian's views are similar to Cicero's in that he believes in the following:

• The speaker must have a high moral character.
• It helps if the speaker has knowledge of a broad range of subjects, and it is imperative that he knows the subject on which he speaks in-depth.
• He stresses the importance of the ethical appeal (auctoritas).
• Arrangement depends of the speech depends on the occasion.
• He sees the importance of the Greeks as sources--even though they do receive their share of criticism!.

The works of both Quintilian and Cicero dominated the teaching of rhetoric in English schools during the 16th-18th centuries. Even though Quintilian habitually praises and quotes Cicero in Institutio, he also revises his views quite a bit (such as Cicero's defintion of rhetoric as "speak[ing] in a way adapted to persuade" [Bizzell 319]). Quintilian also differs from Cicero in terms of his choice of written rhetoric (Cicero clings to the Platonic dialogues, whereas Quintilian addresses his audience directly), and Quintilian is clearly more concerned with the teaching of rhetoric than Cicero is.