Ethos and Pathos from Aristotle to Cicero

384 Pages·1989·20.7 MB·English

by  Jakob Wisse

ETHOS
AND
PATHOS
FROM
ARISTOTLE TO CICERO
JAKOB WISSE
I
ADOLF M. HAKKERT - PUBLISHER - AMSTERDAM
1989

ETHOS
AND
PATHOS
FROM
ARISTOTLE TO CICERO
... making unfulfillable promises.
For who can bear to be forgotten?
(David Bowie, 'Ricochet')
LS.B.N. 90-256-0963-2
vii
Preface
This book is about an aspect of the history of ancient rhetoric, and its foeus is
on two of the central texts from the period, Aristotle's Rhetaric and Cicero's De
aratare. Since it has become dear to me that subjects and texts like these are
also of interest to those working in speech departinents and related fields, I have '
tried to make it accessible also to non.:classicists. To this end, I have added trans
lations to nearly all quotations of ancient texts, relegating them to an appendix
only in the two sections where they wou1d be cumbersome. Only one part of one
section (§ 72, p. 224-229) was impoSSIble to adapt for others than dassicists,
since it is based on philologica1 analysis. Transcription of Greek words has not
always been possible: the words TiOQ'i (ethos) and 'TraOo'i (pathas) are occasionally
used.
H some c1assicists will find a number of remarks superfluous, however, this is
probably not entirely due to my effort to reach the non-specialist. The vast amount
of literature about the Rhetaric and De oratare shows, if anything, that what is
obvious and hardly worth mentioning to some, is unkn.own to or neglected by
others. Therefore, I have chosen to be too explicit rather than obscure. The great
number of relevant publications and the diversity of opinion they show is further
reflected by the great number of footnotes. These fulfil their natural function of
unburdening, not that of burdening the text: some may choose to neglect them
and, as E.R. Dodds has put it, to 'practise the art of skipping' .
Although I have made use of much of the existing literature, I have by far
not used all, since that would have meant postponing publication for another forty
years or so. About the books I have used, I should perhaps say that, unfortunately,
James M. May's Trials 0/ Character arrived too late for me to study it more
than superficially.
The book is a considerably rewritten and enlarged version of my Dutch MA thesis,
which was written under the auspices of the De ara/are project of Professors
AD. Leeman and H. Pinkster. This thesis, originally planned to be finished before
Christmas 1985, was completed in the autumn of 1986. Not having learnt much
from ~is, I had hoped to write the bookin the foUr months preceding March
1988. In that month, having only reached chapter 3, I was appointed by the
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), to work on a commentary
on and an analysis of Cicero's synthesis of rhetorie and philosophy in the third
book of De aratore, also part of the larger De aratare project. Hence, the greatest
part of this book had to be written in the evenings and weekends; but working
on a related subject has been a great advantage. The prolonged work on this
viü
book bas also been profitable because, in tbe meantime, tbe tbird volume of tbe
Leeman-Pinkster commentary bas been completed and publisbed, whlcb has en
abled me to add some points to what I bad already written. Wbere tbis has been
the case, I have indicated tbis in a footnote; but I have also recorded where I
disagree with their analyses.
During all these viclSsitudes, .P rofessor AD. Leeman bas been an unfailing
source of encouragement and inspiration. Details need not be added. Suffice it to
say that even the disagreements just mentioned have been committed to this paper
with bis encouragement,· and that all wbo know bis work will (I hope) recognize
my enormous debt to him.
So many otherS bave belped me also, that I can only mention my greatest debts
of thanks. Dr. Daan den Hengst has read through the s~mi-final version and sug
gested numerous improvements, particularly regarding the clarity of the argument
During my wode, it appeared that Dr. Antoine Braet of Leiden University was
working on a related article about the Rhetoric, and he has kindly provided me
with the text of the fortbcoming English version. Moreover, be has given valuable
comments on my Dutch thesis. Parts of my text were read and commented upon
by Dr. Nico van der Ben and by Professor Harm Pinkster. The latter has also
sbown great kindness and flexJ.oility in allowing me to use bis printer to produce
the final, camera-readyversion. Professor W.W. Fortenbaugh ofRutgers University
has been so kind as to send me a copy of bis fortbcoming article 'Ocero's
Knowledge ... ', and to allow me to use and eite it as I saw fit
My mother, M. van der Horst, being a native speaker of English, has helped
me with the language. We went through the many problems I had encountered in
a number of long, but fruitful and pleasant evening sessions. Michlel Bootsman
kindly agreed to take the photographs for the cover, and ended up designing it.
Nancy l.aan has discussed a number of problems with me, often helping me to
impose some order on chaotic thoughts. Also, the book would still have been
unfinished but· for her willingness to take upon her, during the last months, house
hold tasks normally shared, wbile at the same time pursuing her own work and
research. My other debts to her. are numerous, but this is not the place to record
them.
Needless to say, the remaining eITors are my own.
J.W.
Amsterdam
Autumn 1989
ix
CONfENTS
ABBREVIATIONS xili
1. INTRODUCI10N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
1.1 General introduction 1
1.2 The concepts of ethos and pathos 4
2. ARlSTOTI.E'S RHETORIC. . . . . . .......... 9
2.1 UnitY and consistency: principles and problems 9
2.2 Characteristic features of the Rhetoric; the pisteis 13
2.3 Ethos: Rhetoric 2, 1,5-7 29
2.4 The function of chapters'2,12-17 36
2.5 The reception of Aristotle's concepts 43
2.6 Ethos and 1jao~: some modem terms arid interpretations 60
Z.7Pathos 65
2.8Summary 74
3. SCHOOL RHETORIC BEfWEEN ARlSTOn..E AND DCERO . . 77
3.1 Introduction: the different types of handbooks Tl
3.2 The absence of ethos and pathos 80
3.3 The nature of the contamination 83
3.4 Date of the contamination; handbooks in Cicero's time 88
35 The extant handbooks, stasis theory and ethos and pathos 93
.3.6 The patronus-cIiens problem 100
3.7 Summary 103
4. DCERO'S SOURCES I: ARlSTOn..E AND DE ORATORE ...... .105
4.1 Preliminaries 105
4.2 Small scale parallels 112
4.3 Structural parallels I: the pisteis 127
4.4 Structural parallels II; Cicero's Topica 133
45 Aristotle in De ora/ore 145
4.6 The availabiIity of the Rhetoric 152
4.7 Faustus' library: taking a waIk in Cumae? 158
4.8 Summary and preliminary conclusions 162
x
5. CICERO'S SOURCES ll:
THE PROVENANCE OF TIIE ARlSTOTEUAN MA1ERIAL . 164
5.1 The Academy: the problem 164
5.2 The Academy and rhetoric 167
5.3 The Academy: conclusions 174
5.4 The younger Peripatos 175
5.5 Theophrastus 180
5.6 Other sources 183
5.7 Conclusions 187
6. THE ROLE OF THEPISTEIS IN DE ORATORE 190
6.1 Introduction 190
6.2 The difference from and attitude towards the handbooks 192
6.3 The pisteis in the structure of De oratore 199
6.4 Disposition and the pisteis 205
6.5 The pisteis and the three styles from Orator 212
6.6 Summary 221
7. ETHOS IN DE ORATORE 222
7.1 Introduction; the problems 222
7.2 The patronus-cliens problem; the structure of 2,182-184 224
7.3 The concept of ethos inDe ora/ore 233
7.4 Ethos versus pathos; the difference -between Aristotle and Cicero 236
7.5 The nature of the difference between Aristotle and Cicero 245
7.6 Summary 249
8. PATHOS IN DE ORATORE 250
8.1 Introduction 250
8.2 Probing the disposition of the judges: 2, 186-187 252
8.3lpse ardere: 2,189-196 257
8.4 Norbanus 269
8.5 The precepts for the individual emotions: 2,205-211a 282
8.6 Moral questions on the use of pathos 297
8.7 Summary 298
9. DE ORATORE 2,211-216; TIIE PIACE OF HUMOUR 301
9.1 De oratore 2,211b-216a 301
9.2 The connection with the passage on humour 305
10. EPILOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
xi
APPENDICES
1. Aristotle, Rheton"c 2,12,1-2 (1388b31-1389al) 321
2. On some non-existent handbook types 323
3. Translations for §§ 4.2 and 43 328
4. The catalogues and the form of the Rhetoric 333
5. De oratore 2,206-208: amor, odium, iracundia 336
BffiUOGRAPHY 341
INDICES 349