Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
18 Oct 2005 07:12 PDT
roye-ga,
There are a few concise overvies of De Oratore available:
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Primary%20Texts/Cicero-DeOratore.htm
...Of Cicero's rhetorical treatises De Oratore, "On the Orator," was
the most sophisticated treatment of rhetorical doctrines, surpassing
his youthful De Inventione, which was more consistent with the
rudimentary and systematic rhetoric, Rhetorica ad Herennium, that for
so long was attributed to him. All of these are vital texts in
establishing ancient Roman rhetorical doctrine, but De Oratore
problematized the issues at the base of rhetoric by embodying them in
dialogue form.
http://wac.colostate.edu/books/lauer_invention/history.pdf
Historical Review: Issues in Rhetorical Invention
...In Cicero's mature discussion of rhetoric, De Oratore, Crassus and
Antonius (the two major discussants in the text) treated invention
more subtly. Although both of them downplayed their own reliance on
inventional strategies in favor of their natural abilities, in a number of
places the conversation revealed their knowledge of status and the topics.
Both showed familiarity with the three types of issues: conjecture
(fact), definition, and quality. Crassus referred to the commonplaces
for each type of discourse...and bemoaned the fact that philosophers
had usurped the common topics. Antonius compared the commonplaces
to letters in a word, immediately occurring to us and useful
only to the experienced person..., holding that if the commonplaces
were fixed in the memory and mind, nothing would escape
the orator (131). In his discussion of the topics, he mentioned a selection
of common topics such as definition, resemblance and difference,
cause and effect, greater and lesser...
...In De Oratore, Crassus and Antonius discussed the relative merits of
talent, art, imitation, and practice in the development of the ideal orator.
Crassus referred to rhetoric as an art of how men of skill have performed,
one that gives coherence to widely scattered practices...
He held that art is the offspring of eloquence and that it made talented
orators even better. Crassus agreed that there is a single art teachable
to all but that different users of the art must adapt it. He gave priority,
however, to natural ability, the talent to be swift in invention, copious
in exposition, and steadfast in recollection...
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Are these the sort of links you're looking for?
pafalafa-ga
