Quintilian on the Teaching of Speaking and Writing: Translations from Books One, Two and Ten of the Institutio oratoria

by James J. Murphy (Editor)

Quintilian’s method is based on the interrelationship between speaking, reading, and writing. Murphy lists and defines the main elements that appear in the Institutio oratorio. Each of these elements?Precept, Imitation, Composition Exercises, Declamation, and Sequencing?is further subdivided according to goals and exercises.   The first two books of the Institutio oratorio concern the early education of the orator, with the focus on the interplay between seen-language and heard-language. Book Ten is an adult’s commentary on the instruction of rhetoric. It involves itself primarily with facilitas, the readiness to use language in any situation.  

Genres: Philosophy, Writing, Classics

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Dr. Murphy spent his career studying the history and pedagogy of language use, with scholarly work exploring rhetoricians from the Classical Period, the Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, and on to modernity. His work extended to the pedagogy of teaching rhetoric, writing, and debate, including texts that have been published in numerous editions and multiple languages including Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, and Polish. Before settling at UC Davis in 1965, he taught at St. Mary’s College, Stanford, and Princeton. During his career, he published 75 journal articles and book chapters and edited numerous volumes.
Dr. James J. Murphy, (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1957), Professor Emeritus at UC Davis, passed away in 2021, at the age of 98. He remained alert and intellectually engaged until just a few days before his death. His final publication, The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, which he co-edited, arrived exactly one week before he died.

Reviews

[Hoyden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quintilian cracks me up. He has so many good one-liners and gives such nice, practical advice. Allow me to offer some highlights:

"We must not yield to excuses for idleness; for if we fancy that we must not study except when we are fresh, except when we are in good spirits, except when we are free from all cares, we shall always have some reason for self-indulgence."

"[The teacher] will have to take care, also, that the face of his pupil, while speaking, look straight forward; that his lips be not distorted; that no opening of the mouth immoderately distend his jaws; that his face be not turned up, or his eyes cast down too much, or his head inclined to either side. The face offends in various ways: I have seen many speakers, whose eyebrows were raised at every effort of the voice... while the other, the eye itself was almost concealed... nothing can please which is unbecoming."

[So, in other words, the rules of public speaking are: 1) be attractice; 2) don't be ugly; 3) don't be unattractive ;)]

"Nor do I think that those orators are to be blamed who have devoted some time even to the masters of gymnastic in the palaestra. I do not speak of those by whom part of life is spent rubbing themselves with oil, and the rest in drinking wine, and who have oppressed the powers of the mind by excessive attention to the body. (Such characters I should wish to be as far off as possible from the pupil that I am training.)"

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do I have a crush on Q? Yes, yes I do. He's such an incredible teacher, not just because he's come up with a very specific, rather sensible way of teaching young people, but because you can feel how deeply he cares about them. While this book became the touchstone for all pedagogy for a thousand years and more, it would have been nice if all Western teachers had paid attention to such advice like "don't beat your students" and "let students pursue their several strengths instead of harping on them for their weaknesses." I'm paraphrasing of course, but you get the idea. And looking at his contemporaries, it seemed like everyone respected Q for his work. Murphy's translation is charming, btw.

[Natch · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Quintilian himself would say, "Drink up, as it were, all the blood of thought." Since he basically designed the educational system which persevered in the West until the mid-20th Century the importance of this book cannot be overlooked.

[Christopher Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book I had to a great deal of for school. If you are interested in ancient rhetorical theory, have at it. If not, this book will bore you to tears. I promise.

[Joshua Letchford]

This isn't actually the book I am reading exactly- I found a translation of the entire works on the internet (just google it, I'll find the link someday and put it here too) and so I'm slowly reading that. It's kinda on the backburner though. He's had some interesting thoughts.

Definitely a good read for anyone who wants to understand something of the mindset of the Roman Philosophers/lawyers/scientists that were the Orators. I've only got through a little, and yet he's already discussed the moral ability of man and how you can't be a good Orator without being a good moral man (coming from the position that man's own efforts can make him moral and good).

[Jonathan]

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