Reflective Tag for Quintilian and Longinus

This was a  very interesting reading that showed two very contrasting ideas of the purpose of rhetoric as well as the best available means of employing the art. We see ties to the Greek basis of rhetoric as well. For example, if Quintilian reflects certain views of Aristotle, then Longinus reflects the views of Gorgias. I found some of the teachings of Quintilian to be overly-dramatic, such as his emphasis on the specific details of outfits that his students must wear. On the other hand, Quintilian had some very utilitarian methods such as using loci not necessarily as a method of pure memorization, but as a means of practice for original thought processes. This is how I was taught debate. It seems to me to be a waste of time and skill to simply memorize speeches when you can learn to adapt and analyze counter-arguments for yourself in a debate.

When contemplating the teachings of Longinus, I found myself classifying the rhetorical author in the same arena as Gorgias. His methods are based upon superfluous speech (which is hardly effective in modern times). Additionally, although it may not alter the effectiveness of the rhetoric, I found Longinus’ methods to be repulsive to a degree as he was not concerned with morals or the betterment of his community, but simply with the power that rhetoric wields.