Source edition
Aristotle. Aristotelis Ars Rhetorica. Ross, William David, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press,1959 (printing).
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
"Rhetoric" is a systematic treatise that explores the art of persuasive speech. The work defines rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic and identifies three modes of technical persuasion: the character of the speaker (ethos), the emotional state of the hearer (pathos), and the argument itself (logos). Book 1 categorizes oratory into three genres—deliberative, forensic, and epideictic—and examines their respective goals, underlying concepts like goodness and justice, and the use of rhetorical syllogisms (enthymemes) and examples. Book 2 provides a detailed analysis of human emotions and character types according to age and fortune, while cataloging various logical topics (topoi) for constructing arguments and refutations. Finally, Book 3 focuses on style, discussing clarity, appropriate metaphors, and prose rhythm, as well as the effective arrangement of a speech from introduction to epilogue. Through these sections, the work presents a comprehensive guide to persuasion rooted in a deep understanding of human nature and logical reasoning.
Contents
98 chunks
Cited by book.chapter.section
- §1.1.1-1.1.10
- §1.1.11-1.1.14
- §1.2.1-1.2.7
- §1.2.8-1.2.12
- §1.2.13-1.2.18
- §1.2.19-1.2.22
- §1.3.1-1.3.9
- §1.4.1-1.4.8
- §1.4.9-1.4.13
- §1.5.1-1.5.8
- §1.5.9-1.5.18
- §1.6.1-1.6.16
- §1.6.17-1.6.30
- §1.7.1-1.7.13
- §1.7.14-1.7.28
- §1.7.29-1.7.41
- §1.8.1-1.8.7
- §1.9.1-1.9.17
- §1.9.18-1.9.31
- §1.9.32-1.9.41
- §1.10.1-1.10.9
- §1.10.10-1.10.19
- §1.11.1-1.11.8
- §1.11.9-1.11.18
- §1.11.19-1.11.29
- §1.12.1-1.12.14
- §1.12.15-1.12.35
- §1.13.1-1.13.9
- §1.13.10-1.13.19
- §1.14.1-1.14.7
- §1.15.1-1.15.14
- §1.15.15-1.15.25
- §1.15.26-1.15.33
- §2.1.1-2.1.9
- §2.2.1-2.2.10
- §2.2.11-2.2.27
- §2.3.1-2.3.17
- §2.4.1-2.4.18
- §2.4.19-2.4.32
- §2.5.1-2.5.13
- §2.5.14-2.5.22
- §2.6.1-2.6.16
- §2.6.17-2.6.27
- §2.7.1-2.7.6
- §2.8.1-2.8.16
- §2.9.1-2.9.8
- §2.9.9-2.9.16
- §2.10.1-2.10.11
- §2.11.1-2.11.7
- §2.12.1-2.12.16
- §2.13.1-2.13.16
- §2.14.1-2.14.4
- §2.15.1-2.15.3
- §2.16.1-2.16.4
- §2.17.1-2.17.6
- §2.18.1-2.18.5
- §2.19.1-2.19.16
- §2.19.17-2.19.27
- §2.20.1-2.20.9
- §2.21.1-2.21.8
- §2.21.9-2.21.16
- §2.22.1-2.22.8
- §2.22.9-2.22.17
- §2.23.1-2.23.5
- §2.23.6-2.23.11
- §2.23.12-2.23.16
- §2.23.17-2.23.22
- §2.23.23-2.23.30
- §2.24.1-2.24.5
- §2.24.6-2.24.11
- §2.25.1-2.25.14
- §2.26.1-2.26.5
- §3.1.1-3.1.10
- §3.2.1-3.2.9
- §3.2.10-3.2.15
- §3.3.1-3.3.4
- §3.4.1-3.4.4
- §3.5.1-3.5.7
- §3.6.1-3.6.7
- §3.7.1-3.7.11
- §3.8.1-3.8.7
- §3.9.1-3.9.6
- §3.9.7-3.9.10
- §3.10.1-3.10.6
- §3.10.7
- §3.11.1-3.11.7
- §3.11.8-3.11.16
- §3.12.1-3.12.6
- §3.13.1-3.13.5
- §3.14.1-3.14.6
- §3.14.7-3.14.12
- §3.15.1-3.15.10
- §3.16.1-3.16.7
- §3.16.8-3.16.11
- §3.17.1-3.17.10
- §3.17.11-3.17.17
- §3.18.1-3.18.7
- §3.19.1-3.19.6