Readings for Sept. 23

What I found interesting about Boethius was his take on the five parts of rhetoric. Now that we are getting later into the history of rhetoric and a lot of it is no longer original, I thought it was interesting that he could break down rhetoric even more. According to Boethius, rhetoric has five parts: invention, disposition, style, memory, and delivery. Which he then amazes me again and break it down even more into species. However, he states this: "Now if rhetoric is completely present in each of its species, then all these parts must be present in each of its species. Therefore they all must be used in in treating any public business when the issues are clearly assigned to one of the above mentioned species of rhetoric. It makes no difference whether the matter is treated in a judicial manner, in a deliberative manner, or in a demonstrative manner; invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery must all be present." (RT, pg. 489)

I like his idea behind this because it is stating that all these parts must be present for it to be successful. I believe that rhetoric can be successful in the same ways that Aristotle and Cicero mentioned, however, I like Boethius because he seems to stick to his word. I also like his addition it to it by saying a tool must be required to help gain that success. Boethius says "That tool is the oration, which is sometimes a civil nature, sometimes its not. (...) When that kind of oration treats an issue of civil importance, it moves forward without a break in continuity: when it does not deal with matters of public concern, it is developed through questions and answers." (RT, pg. 489) This is also very interesting.

Bringing in the public to a debate or discussion always turns it into a popularity contest instead of choosing it for the right reasons. By not allowing the public to express themselves, the people discussing the issue are discussing for themselves, not for the concern that their decision will make them unpopular. Public belief is a huge part in rhetoric, and I believe that people will always have some concern about what other people think about them.