This Sourcebook is intended for students of liberal arts and great books. It treats such books as primary sources for inquiring into the nature of human speech because they clarify the terms and stakes of perennial questions thinking human beings ask themselves about persuasive speaking. By crystallizing viable claims about the nature of what we confront in politics and society―live claims for us to confront in our own, with the stakes of that confrontation being live as well―they originate a dialectic with one another and with us their readers.

Cicero called rhetoric a liberal art necessary for every citizen of a free republic. In the polities of ancient Greece and Rome, rhetoric was politically potent because oratory was the regular means of political decision. Words were decisive, often a matter of life and death, not merely for individuals but for peoples. In human milieux where human speech is so politically decisive, reflection upon its nature became keen.

The selections of this sourcebook have been arranged in three sequences. The first two sequences comprise philosophical dialogues on the ends of rhetoric. Selections from Plato’s Gorgias, Phaedrus, and Apology examine the rhetorician or teacher of rhetoric, and then Cicero’s De oratore offers us a dialectic among practitioners about its practice. The philosophical dialogues on the art’s intended ends and causative effects provide the theoretical and ethical context for examining its means. These philosophical dialogues are thus propaedeutic to the third sequence, which focusses on the art itself with selections from Aristotle’s treatise On Rhetoric, paired with orations from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War.

About the Author

John Tomarchio is on the teaching faculty at St. John's College, Annapolis, MD.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Edward Bowditch Ltd
Exstowe, Exton, Exeter, EX3 0PP, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Legal entity name: Edward Bowditch Ltd
Legal entity form: Limited company
Business correspondence address: Exstowe, Exton, Exeter, EX3 0PP
Company registration number: 04916632
VAT registration: GB834241546
Authorised representative: Mr. E. Bowditch

Shipping Terms

Orders usually dispatched within two working days. Please note that at this time all domestic United Kingdom orders are sent by trackable UPS courier, we choose not to offer a lower cost alternative.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 14 business days	2 to 3 business days
First item	US$ 13.41	US$ 33.52

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.