“If they see a just and deserving person, everyone immediately falls silent, stops and pricks up their ears. And he guides souls with words and brings peace to their hearts. Virgil, Aeneid.
Demosthenes.
The first requirement that communication experts set for achieving quality communication is learning to speak as the foundation of every communication and as the most important and successful way of communicating among people. Speaking in this domain goes beyond the framework of means of understanding and primarily becomes a means of fulfilling certain interests. Communication science, namely, is closely linked to the needs of modern mass communication, public relations, negotiating, lobbying, journalism, advertising, radio, and television. It arises from primarily materialistic motives, more precisely from the need to convince people of something, which stems from a constant and insatiable need for power.
Pnyx, a rocky hill located one and a half kilometers southwest of the Acropolis, from which there was a view of Agora, the commercial and social part of the city. Since 507 BC.” Here is where the Athenian Assembly, ekklesia, used to meet, and the stone platform served as a speaking platform. The one presiding over the assembly would ceremoniously open each discussion by calling out, “Who wants to speak?” This is where all the major Athenian political battles took place; Pericles, Aristides, and Alcibiades spoke from this spot, and Demosthenes delivered his Philippics – speeches against Philip of Macedon.
Although communication studies have roots in modern social sciences such as psychology, linguistics, and sociology, the origins of this young discipline can be traced back to ancient rhetoric and philosophy.
Rhetoric, or the art of public speaking, just like philosophy, has lost the prestige it once had. Nowadays, it is commonly understood as beautiful but empty words; empty rhetoric, as stated in the well-known Klaić’s Dictionary of Foreign Words.
However, from ancient Greece to the end of the 19th century, rhetoric – alongside grammar and dialectic – was a central part of Western education, and addressing the need for training public speakers and writers to engage audiences through arguments. In the 20th century, and still today, rhetoric has been neglected, and the importance of oratory has been generally reduced; reading pre-written speeches has become a regular mode of communication in situations where important messages need to be conveyed to both the people and the social elite. Thus, the fundamental usefulness and application of rhetoric – its power to stir the soul of man and thereby establish deeper connections among people – has been barbarically cast aside.
Sources of Rhetoric
We cannot reliably assert when rhetoric, the art of beautiful and proper verbal expression, was born… as the most beautiful gift that immortal gods could give to humans, according to the words of Quintilian, the great Roman teacher of oratory.
Preserved records of Egypt, Sumeria, prehistoric civilizations of ancient America, ancient Indian heroic epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, etc., contain magnificent examples of dialogue, conversations, and debates on various My mother taught me deep speeches of great heroes and wise men, from whom virtue of oratory was expected as the crown and confirmation of their moral qualities and values. However, rhetoric emerged in its modern form in ancient Greece, so we owe our knowledge of the technique and art of speaking to the ancient Greeks. Eloquence and debating were also their form of entertainment. In that time, spoken word had priority, greater power, and weight compared to written word.
We can find the first brilliant examples of Greek oratory skills in Homer’s heroes Achilles, Hector, and Odysseus. With the rise of democratic polis, oratory became a medium through which political and judicial decisions were made, and through which philosophical ideas were developed and spread. Thus, from the 5th century BC, teachers emerged who traveled from city to city, giving lessons in various fields, from philosophy and natural sciences to linguistics, but the main content of their teachings was rhetoric. These public educators, called sophists, whose Knowledge was spreading more in breadth than in depth. It was those who popularized the knowledge of that time and adjusted it to the needs of training young people for public and political life and gaining reputation. The most famous sophists and skilled rhetoricians were Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias, Prodicus, etc. Later on, they gained a bad reputation because they taught how to make a weaker argument stronger through rhetorical skill and cleverness in order to outsmart opponents. Moreover, they went so far as to claim that there is no difference between truth and falsehood, and that the only thing that matters is the skill of persuasion. Because of this, Plato criticized them because they did not strive to explore and advocate what is good, beautiful, and just, but rather taught how to manipulate the ignorant masses and convince them of something regardless of the true state of affairs.
Socrates
In order for rhetoric to be a true art, it should be founded on truth, because otherwise it is nothing more than an illusion of knowledge and wisdom. A speaker who is capable of speaking well and beautifully, but his speech is not grounded in truth, is only playing with words and is not a true rhetorician. has integrity and unity and is adapted to the topic and listeners, it is necessary to be a philosopher. Plato emphasizes that for the art of rhetoric, knowledge of dialectic, i.e. the skill of debating, is crucial, in which opinions are presented, analyzed, and evaluated, leading to general concepts that express the essence of things. Socrates, on the other hand, compares dialectic to washing gold-bearing sand, the result of which are precious golden grains of lasting value.
Aristotle, Plato’s student, emphasizes the connection between dialectic, which asks questions and seeks answers, and rhetoric, which must be able to explain these questions and answers well to a diverse audience. For Aristotle, rhetoric is knowledge of how to behave in order to demonstrate persuasiveness in what we advocate in life. He also compares rhetoric to medicine, where the main goal of the physician is not simply to cure the patient but to lead them to a better way of life and thus healing. He also criticizes the sophists for not being interested in the essence of things but rather for their Their assumed or imagined intention takes priority, regardless of the truth.
Many aspects of Greek culture found extremely fertile ground in Rome, including rhetoric. The Roman senator and philosopher Cicero, the greatest Roman speaker, elevated rhetoric to great heights. He also left an example of the power and influence of spoken words in the decisive moments of Rome’s history, exposing the conspiracy of Catiline. As an exceptional and prolific writer, he left us a legacy of discussions on rhetoric, the most famous of which are De Oratore (On Oratory), Brutus, and Orator. The speaker Antonius praises the strength and beauty of good speech in the book De Oratore: No verse sounds more beautiful than well-crafted speech, no song is composed more solidly than with rich language; no actor provides us with greater satisfaction through their imitation of truth than a speaker does through their defense…
Another great Roman speaker, Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (35-95 AD), says the following about the power of oratory: It can sway the people when it is… he became flaccid, shake, and restrain when it is unruly; with his ability, rhetoric can put an end to human corruption and save moral purity and impeccability. Quintilian worked as a professor of rhetoric in Rome for about twenty years and became famous during his lifetime. He is the author of the masterpiece “Institutio oratoria” (Education of an Orator), in which he promotes the ideal of a speaker – a person with a strong moral character and broad general education. The foundation of the education of a speaker emphasizes the importance of reading, listening, researching, debating, and deep thinking about everything related to the content and essence of human life. The speaker is necessarily in a position to evoke certain emotions in the listeners, and in order to be credible, he must sincerely feel those emotions himself. Quintilian considers the sense of humor a precious gift for a speaker, which, he says, cannot be learned because it is a matter of natural talent. He emphasizes that moderation is extremely important when using humor and avoiding obscenity, which is again in line with. The basic ideas of Roman culture, contained in the concept of urbanitas, imply a conscious effort towards self-control for the common good and coexistence. However, the most important aspect is the moral formation of the future speaker, based on the belief that a person has a noble and immortal soul. Therefore, it is the fundamental duty and responsibility of people to preserve this ideal, regardless of any temptations.
Practice of Rhetoric
Every speech consists of two basic components: logic and aesthetics, or content and form, or more precisely: “what is said” and “how it is said.” The art of speech implies thorough knowledge of the subject matter. The task of the speaker is to reconcile the external form of speech with its internal, logical content. The modern stereotype of rhetoric as “empty talk” actually reflects the separation of rhetorical form from content, where eloquence and the beauty of style prevail over content, as was already the case in ancient Greece, and we witness the same phenomenon today.
To prepare a speech, one must have a clear understanding of the subject matter and carefully consider the logical structure of arguments. At the same time, the speaker must pay attention to the aesthetic elements such as the choice of words, sentence structure, and figurative language. The goal is to create a harmonious combination of content and form, where the message is effectively conveyed.
However, it should be noted that rhetoric is not about manipulation or empty rhetoric, but rather about the art of persuasion based on knowledge, reasoning, and ethical principles. In this sense, a skilled speaker is one who can present their arguments in a convincing and captivating way, while also remaining truthful and respectful towards their audience.
In conclusion, the practice of rhetoric combines the intellectual and aesthetic aspects of speech, emphasizing the importance of both content and form. It is a skill that aims to communicate effectively, influence people’s thoughts and actions, and ultimately contribute to the common good and coexistence. It is important not to neglect some fundamental facts about communication that are confirmed by historical experience, and contemporary research on human behavior is increasingly rediscovering this traditional knowledge. So, if we want to motivate people, it is not enough to just inform them, but we need to also interest them in the topic. According to St. Augustine, in order to achieve this, there must be a burning desire within us to ignite others. Genuine honesty, expressed through body language and an attitude of respect towards the listeners, is more persuasive than mere flattery and bias. The human psyche is the driving force behind an individual, and it is not triggered by things themselves, but by the perception we have of those things, considering external and internal stimuli. Therefore, the success of a speech is not determined by what we say, but by how deeply we reach the inner selves of people. Quintilian states that only a good person can be a good speaker. Self-control enables the speaker to remain composed and not lose sight of what they want to say and why, i.e., their goals. His speech and who and how they listen to it.
Rhetoric today
The recent revival of interest in rhetoric is only a consequence of metastasized consumerism, behind which are more or less hidden or open aspirations for power and material wealth at any cost.
Modern science has determined and widely promoted an important fact about human behavior, motivation, and persuasion, namely, that it depends much more on emotions than on the mind and intelligence. The most esteemed experts in the modern world of alienated politics and large corporations of global capitalism have been educated precisely in the skill and knowledge of promoting desires and fears, as well as artificial needs for endless pleasure and luxury, which are related to consumption and possession of things. In short, these people know our vulnerabilities and skillfully manipulate them, keeping our consciousness and attention focused on trivialities, fascination with the transient and illusory.
However, true rhetoric must have a purpose. In the process of articulation, one must have the key to unlocking the door of the soul… Greek heroes used their speeches to inspire people, with the inherent authenticity of their own example. Athenian leaders such as Themistocles and Pericles had a profound influence on their fellow citizens through their oratorical skills during dramatic times of war, becoming unparalleled cultural and political role models of our time. Later on, great speakers like Demosthenes and Cicero validated the value of human speech and the power of words, defending with their lives the fundamental ideals of freedom and justice—enduring values that never diminish in importance and relevance in humanity’s constant pursuit of happiness and a good, dignified life.
However, it was Socrates who gave the noblest expression to rhetoric. Through his living words, he awakened souls from slumber, exposing false knowledge and self-deception, and encouraging sober, critical thinking, self-examination, and self-discovery. His speeches were not intended to amaze or deceive. His rhetoric was a means to and to restore the shaken morality in ancient Athens, a means of encouraging the search for an answer to the fundamental and acute question: how should one live?
Socrates’ and Plato’s demand that rhetoric must not be devoid of the aspiration for the good, the beautiful, and the just, as it is otherwise in constant danger of turning into a form of deceit and illusion, is more relevant than ever today.