Abstract
In the Institutio Oratoria of Quintilian we find a presentation of a theory of the virtues of eloquence: purity of language (latinitas), clarity (perspicuitas), appropriateness (aptum) and ornament (ornatus). All of them were originated by earlier Greek philosophers Aristotle and Theophrastus. Later this theory was taken on and elaborated by Roman rhetoricians – Cicero and Quintilian. Aristotle in his Rhetoric explicitly identified three of the four virtues (clarity, appropriateness and correctness). Theophrastus created a theory of four virtues of eloquence (correctness, clarity, appropriateness and ornament). His system was adopted by most of others. Dionysius, however, developed the most complex system of virtues. He presented a theory of virtues, which were divided into necessary (purity of language, appropriateness, lucidity and brevity) and accessory ones. The accessory virtues were further subdivided into another three groups. Rhetorica ad Herennium offered a three fold system: elegantia (including both correctness and clarity), compositio (similar to appropriateness) and diginitas (similar to ornament). Basically, in almost all aspects being closer to Cicero (who continues the tradition of Theophrastus), Quintilian is more focused on his theory of eloquence. He discusses the virtues of eloquence very widely and deeply, step by step, drawing a number of examples and including the educational process of an orator. Above all, although the theory of four virtues of Quintilian has been influenced by Ciceron, to some extent in general it does not claim originality and plays a paramount role in modern rhetorics, stylistic and pedagogy.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
-
Literatūra,
Содержание сборников научных трудов
,
Literatūra: Vol. 51 No. 2 (2009): Russian Literature
-
Literatūra,
Baltistika Brno universitete / Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės studijų seminarai Vilniaus Universitete / VU Lietuvių literatūros katedros veiklos kronika (2006–2007 metai) / KU Literatūros katedros kronika (2006) / VDU, Humanitarinių mokslų fakultetas
,
Literatūra: Vol. 49 No. 1 (2007): Lithuanian Literature
-
Vaiva Vasiliauskaitė,
Under the Skies of Olympus: Three Types of Divine Landscapes in the Homeric Hymns
,
Literatūra: Vol. 65 No. 3 (2023): Literatūra
-
Mindaugas Kvietkauskas,
Žemininkai Literary Movement in Vilnius: Relationship with the Space of a Multinational City
,
Literatūra: Vol. 65 No. 1 (2023): Literatūra
-
Literatūra 2013 2013 55 (1) tomas,
Information for Authors
,
Literatūra: Vol. 55 No. 1 (2013): Lithuanian Literature
-
Literatūra,
Содержание сборников научных трудов: Literatūra. Rusistica Vilnensis за 2008–2009 гг.
,
Literatūra: Vol. 52 No. 2 (2010): Russian Literature
-
Aistė Kučinskienė,
In Search of “Cultural Saints”
,
Literatūra: Vol. 64 No. 1 (2022): Literatūra
-
Literatūra 2012 2012 54 (1) tomas,
Informacija autoriams
,
Literatūra: Vol. 54 No. 1 (2012): Lithuanian Literature
-
Rūta Šlapkauskaitė,
Author Guidelines and Bibliographic Data
,
Literatūra: Vol. 62 No. 2 (2020): Rusistica Vilnensis
-
Neringa Klišienė,
The Short Dramatic Form in the Works of Kostas Ostrauskas and Juozas Erlickas
,
Literatūra: Vol. 65 No. 1 (2023): Literatūra