An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric

An anthology of primary texts in translation, An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric offers an overview of the social, cultural, and intellectual factors that influenced the development and growth of rhetoric during the classical period.

• Uses primary source material to analyze rhetoric from the Sophists through St. Augustine
  
• Provides an in-depth introduction to the period, as well as introductions to each author and each selection
  
• Includes study guides to help students develop multiple perspectives on the material, stimulate critical thinking, and provide starting points for dialogue
  
• Highlights include Gorgias's Palamedes, Antiphon's Truth, Isocrates' Helen, and Plato's Protagoras
  
• Each selection is followed by suggested writing topics and a short list of suggested additional readings.

Acknowledgments xii

Introduction 1

Part I: Classical Greek Rhetoric 7

1 Introduction to Greek Rhetoric 9

2 Female Voices 37

3 The Sophists 51

4 Plato on Philosophy and Rhetoric 108

5 Aristotle and the Systemization of Rhetoric 222

Part II: Classical Roman Rhetoric 271

6 Introduction to Roman Rhetoric and Oratory 273

7 Cicero and the Latinization of Greek Rhetoric 316

8 Horace and the Revival of Poetry 376

9 Quintilian the Educator 392

10 The End of the Classical Period: Libanius and Augustine 416

References 527

Sources 536

Index 539

Plates appear between pp. 276 and 277

JAMES D. WILLIAMS is Professor of Rhetoric & Linguistics and a former Director of the Writing Program at Soka University. He is the author of many books, including The Teacher's Grammar Book (2e, 2005) and Visions and Revisions: Continuity and Change in Rhetoric and Composition (2002).

"At last a text that allows students to study the primary texts of classical rhetoric situated in their historical and social context. Williams selects judiciously among foundational texts and also offers rich introductory essays that make clear the historical, intellectual, and cultural setting in which the study of rhetoric took root." DAVID ZAREFSKY, Northwestern University

"An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric offers a scholarly alternative for students of classical rhetoric which is both accessible and engaging." BETH BENNETT, University of Alabama

An anthology of primary texts in translation, An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric offers an overview of the social, cultural, and intellectual factors that influenced the development and growth of rhetoric during the classical period.

Featuring classical rhetoric from the Sophists through St. Augustine, Williams provides an in-depth introduction to the period, as well as introductions to each author and each selection. Examples of rhetoric are interspersed between captivating, thoughtprovoking explanations and analyses that give new context and meaning to these ancient texts. Each selection includes study questions to enable students to develop multiple perspectives on the material, stimulate critical thinking, and provide starting points for dialogue. "At last a text that allows students to study the primary texts of classical rhetoric situated in their historical and social context. Williams selects judiciously among foundational texts and also offers rich introductory essays that make clear the historical, intellectual, and cultural setting in which the study of rhetoric took root."
—David Zarefsky, Northwestern University

"An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric offers a scholarly alternative for students of classical rhetoric which is both accessible and engaging."
—Beth Bennett, University of Alabama