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The Rhetorica ad Herennium (Rhetoric: For Heren- The Rhetorica ad Herennium suggests that in a standard
nius), formerly attributed to Cicero but of unknown au- format for argument (widely followed today in any ve
thorship, is the oldest surviving Latin book on rhetoric, part essay) there were six steps.
dating from the late 80s BCE,[1] and is still used today
as a textbook on the structure and uses of rhetoric and
Exordium, in which the writer uses relevant generpersuasion.
alities, anecdotes, quotes, or analogies to capture attention and then connects them to the specic topic.
Overview
Its discussion of elocutio (style) is the oldest surviving systematic treatment of Latin style, and many of the examThe Rhetorica ad Herennium divides oral rhetoric into
ples are of contemporary Roman events. This new style,
three styles. Each style has traits that make it most efwhich owered in the century following this works writfective for specic purposes in oration.
ing, promoted revolutionary advances in Roman literature and oratory. However, according to some analysts,
Grand, this style uses intricate arrangement of
teaching oratory in Latin was inherently controversial becomplex language. The diction used is formal and
cause oratory was seen as a political tool, which had to
impressive. The purpose of this style is to move an
be kept in the hands of the Greek-speaking upper class.[2]
audience, either emotionally or to perform some acThe Rhetorica ad Herennium can be seen as part of a libtion.
eral populist movement, carried forward by those, like
L. Plotius Gallus, who was the rst to open a school of
Middle, this style uses more relaxed language than
rhetoric at Rome conducted entirely in Latin. He opened
the Grand style but not quite at the level of casual
the school in 93 BCE.[3] The work contains the rst
conversation. It avoids using colloquialisms but is
known description of the method of loci, a mnemonic
not overly formal. The Middle styles purpose is to
technique. Ad Herennium also provides the rst complete
please or entertain an audience.
treatment of memoria (memorization of speeches).[4]
Simple, this style uses ordinary speech common to
According to the work, there are three types of causes
everyday conversation. It uses colloquialisms and
that a speaker would address:
informal language. This style is best suited for instruction and explanation.
Demonstrativum, where there is praise or condemnation of a particular person
brought him excellence, his excellence glory, his glory rivals). Denition is the concise statement of a person or
objects characteristic traits, transition restates a previous statement to set up the presentation of a new one,
and correction is the deliberate retraction of a statement
in order to replace it with a more tting one. Paralipsis
is best used as an indirect reference in a debate, it occurs when a speaker pretends to be passing or ignorant of
points that are not relevant, when he is actually addressing
them as points relevant to the discussion.
3
but similar word in place of the proper one (example: The
power of man is short). The author denes metaphor as
the application of one object to another due to some indirect similarity, and allegory as the implication of multiple meanings to a phrase beyond the actual letter of the
words used.
The Figures of Thought include: Distribution, which
assigns specic roles to a number of objects or people in
order to identify their place in the structure of the argument, and frankness of speech, in which the speaker exercises his right to speak freely despite the presence of superiors. Understatement occurs when a speaker downplays a particular advantage he might have over someone
in order to avoid appearing arrogant. Vivid description
describes the consequences of something with impressive
and elaborate detail. Division separates all the possible
causes of something, and then resolves them with reasoning that is connected. Accumulation is the connection of
all the points made throughout an argument at the end of a
speech, adding emphasis to the conclusion. Dwelling on
the point is the continuous repetition of the same point,
while rening disguises dwelling on the same topic by
continuously saying the same thing in new ways. Dialogue is used as a gure of thought when the speaker
puts words in the mouth of his opponent for the sake of
rhetorical conversation to illustrate his point. Comparisons point out similar traits in dierent people or objects, while exemplication is the citing of something
done in the past along with the name of the person or thing
that did it. Portrayal identies a person with a physical
description rather than their name, while character delineation identies a person with noticeable elements of
their character or personality. Both of these gures allow
the speaker to draw particular attentions to specic traits
of that person. Personication assigns an inanimate object or an absent person traits to help the audience understand its character. Emphasis leaves more to be suspected about a topic than what is actually said, while conciseness is the precise expression of a thought using the
least amount of language possible. Ocular demonstration is similar to vivid description, though the emphasis
is on the visual elements of the scene described.[5]
See also
Rhetorical operations
Five paragraph essay
Cicero, De Inventione
Rhetorica ad Alexandrum
Notes
E/Roman/Texts/Rhetorica_ad_Herennium/1*.html''.
Missing or empty |title= (help);
[2] J. Carcopino. Daily Life in Ancient Rome.
[3] Roman rhetoric : an overview. societasviaromana.net.
Retrieved 28 July 2015.
[4] Douglas Boin/Karl Galinsky. Rhetorica ad Herennium
Passages on Memory. utexas.edu. Retrieved 28 July
2015.
[5] Ad C. Herennium de ratione dicendi (Rhetorica ad
Herennium)". Internet Archive. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
5 References
Rhetorica ad Herennium (Friedrich Marx, ed. Prolegomena in editio maior .), Tuebner, Leipzig, 1923.
Golla, Georg. Sprachliche Beobachtungen zum auctor ad Herennium, Breslau, 1935.
Kroll, Wilhelm. Die Entwicklung der lateinischen
Sprache, Glotta 22 (1934). 24-27.
Kroll, Wilhelm. Der Text des Cornicius, Philologus
89 (1934). 63-84
Tolkiehn, Johannes. Jahresbuch des philologischen
Vereins zu Berlin 45 (1919)
6 External links
Rhetorica ad Herennium on Internet Archive. Latin
text with English translation by Harry Caplan. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 1954.
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