Advances in the History of Rhetoric May 2016

Good People Declaiming Well: Quintilian and the Ethics of Ethical Flexibility

Cleve Wiese Worcester State University

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay discusses the relationship between Quintilian’s vision of the ideal orator and his emphasis on declamation. I argue that, for Quintilian, declamation was much more than a useful exercise. Rather, it was a method for training orators to experience the world from a variety of perspectives, something Quintilian considered to be both an essential rhetorical skill and an important quality of the “good man speaking well.” I further argue—taking an exercise from my own first-year writing classes as an example—that contemporary adaptations of ancient rhetorical pedagogy often fail to fully engage with the ethical dimensions of exercises such as declamation. I conclude by calling for a greater consideration of the ethical dimension of ancient rhetorical exercises in our contemporary adaptations of them so that we can truly meet Quintilian on his own ground.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2016-05-03
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2016.1182403
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Topics
classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism first-year composition writing pedagogy
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References (14) · 2 in this index

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  5. Crowley (2009)
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  6. Murphy (2012)
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     ↗
  7. Quintilian (2001)
    The Orator’s Education. 5 vols. Ed. and trans. Donald A. Russell. Loeb Classical Library
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    Controversiae. Trans. Michael Winterbottom. Loeb Classical Library
  9. Woods (2009)
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CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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