Sextus Empiricus Against the Rhetoricians

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

THE REV. R. G. BURY, LITT.D. J!'ORMERLY SCHOLAR OF TRINITY OOLLlIGlI, OA1lBRIDGIII

IN FOUR VOLUMES

IV

AGAINST THE PROFESSORS

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON

WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD MCMLXXI

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188

BOOK II

AGAINST THE RHETORICIANS

FOLLOWING on 'our discussion of the Art of Grammar' 1 we shall speak of the art of Rhetoric,-in itself a more manly art, and one which is for the most part tested in the Assembly and the Law-courts. But since. the notion of a thing holds of it equally whether it he existent or non-existent, and it is impossible to investigate either of these states without having grasped beforehand what the object of investigation is, come and let us consider first what Rhetoric is by comparing the most notable accounts of it given by the philosophers. ,

Now Plato in the Gorgias,a using his method of de- 2 flnition, seems to set forth a compQsite definition of Rhetoric such" as this,-" Rhetoric is the creator of p,ersuasion by means of words, having its efficacy in the words themselves, and being persuasive, not instructive "; and he added the phrase " by means of

,words" probably because there are many things which effect persuasion in men without speech, such ~s w~alth ~nd glory and pleasure and beauty. Thus 3 the el~ers ,of the folk (in the poet Homer), although ' exl1austed by war and wholly estranged from Helen as ,the: cause of the?, woes, are yet persuaded by her

" '" ' , • Of. Gorg.458 A.

~8,9

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

190

AGAINST THE PROFESSORS, II. 3-6

b.eauty, and at her approach they address one anothel in this wise,G-

Cause for anger is none that the Trojans and well-greav'd Achaeans

Suffer for many a year sad woes for a woman so beauteous.

Phryne too, as they SILY, when Hypereides was plead- 4 ing for her and she was on the point of being condemned, tore asunder her garments and with her breasts bare flung herself at the feet of the judges, and becau~e of her beauty had more power to persuade her Judges than the rhetoric of her advocate. The same, too, holds good of money and pleasure and glory; for we shall find each one of these so persuasive as often to make men overstep some of the moral duties. It was not without reason, then, that Plato, having regard to the persuasion they induce, declared that rhetoric is "the creator of persuasion," not by any means you choose but .. by means of words." It is not, however, always rhetoric when 5 there is persuasion by words (for the art of medicine also and arts similar to it persuade by speech), but onl! if it is an art which has its efficacy dependent mamly on words alone, and that not like the rest, -since geometry, too, and arithmetic and every art classed as theoretical depends for its efficacy mainly

, on wor~s,-but whenever, in addition, it employs persua~lOn not i~ order to instruct, like geometry, but to mduce belief; for that is the special mark of rhetoric . . But Xenocrates, the disciple of Plato, and the 6

$toic philosophers asserted that rhetoric is .. the sCience of good speech"; though Xenocrates took the word" science" in one sense,--i.e. in the old way,

• Hom. n. iii. 156 f •. 191

~ !

-SEXTUS EMPIRICUS AGAINST THE PROFESSORS, II. 6-9

as a synonym for" art,"-whereas the' Stoics too~ it in another, as meariing .. the .holding firm app:re'hensions," which is inherent only in the Sage. But" both parties assume that .. speech" differs in se:nse from dialectical discussion, since speaking which is concise and consists in giving and receiving an account is the task of dialectic, but to speak on' Ii 7 given subject at length and with detailed exposition is the special characteristic of rhetoric. Hence, Zeno of Citium, when asked what is the difference between dialectic and rhetoric, clenched his fist and then opened it out and said, .. This,"-comparing the compact and short character of dialectic to the clenching, and suggesting the breadth of the rhetorical style by the opening and extension of his fingers.a

, In the first of his books on The Art of Rhetoric 8 Aristotle describes rhetoric more simply as " the art '. of speech." And when it is obj ected against him that the art of Medicine also is the art of medical speech, some say by way of defence that the medical art directs its speech to another end, such as health, whereas rhetoric is precisely the art of words alone. And Aristotle puts forward other definitions also, 9 which it is unnecessary for us to mention as we are not primarily discussing the description of rhetoric, but only in 'so far as it enables us to' perceive its speci;11 character with a view to the refutation we propose to take in hand. And a beginning of this may be made ,at once from the concepts already stated. For since those who offer a concept of rhetoric assert that it is an art, or a science, of speech, or productive of speech and. persuasion, holding fast

• " J ;' • • • - - ~ .' '

• OJ. Cicero, d8 Fin. ii. 6, Orat. 82. 198

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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1940


to these three descriptions we shall endeavour to show its unreality.

Now every art is .. a system composed. of co- 10 ~xercised apprehensions directed to an end useful for life" a; but, as we shall establish, rhetoric is not a system of apprehensions; therefore rhetoric does not exist. For of things false there are no appre- 11 hensions, but what are said to be the rules of rhetoric are false, being such as these,-" The judges must be misled by persuasion in this way," " One must excite anger or pity," " One must plead the cause of the adulterer or temple-robber,"-rules which declare the duty of thus misleading the judges and exciting anger or pity; but these are· not true and consequently are not apprehensible. So there are no apprehensions of them; whence it follows that neither does rhetoric exist.-As, then, we would not 12 say that burgling is an art which advises-" This is the way one ought to burgle a house," or thieving an art which instructs us that" This is the right way to steal anq to cut purses" (for these things are false, and neither duties nor rules), so we must not suppose that rhetoric has any technical foundation when it is based on such shaky injunctions. And in fact Critolaiis the Peripatetic, and Plato long before him, in consideration of this, condemned rhetoric as being a base artifice rather than an art.-Moreover, since 13 every art has an end which is either stable and fixed, like philosophy and grammar, or holds good for the most part, like medicine and piloting, rhetoric too,

a OJ. P.H. iii. 188 for this Stoic definition.

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195

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SEXTUSEMPIRICUS AGAINST'THE PROFESSORS, II. 13-19

if it is an art, will have to profess one, o~. other of these. But it has not an end which is always stable 14 (for it does not always avoid being worsted by the opponents, and sometimes the rhetor proposes one end but finds the resultant end to be different); nor 15 does it attain its end for the most part, since every 'rhetor, when his own experiences are compared, turns out to have been often defeated rather than victorious, because the opponent constantly rebuts his arguments. Rhetoric, therefore, is not an art.-Also, if 16 it is possible to become an orator without being acquainted with the art of rhetoric, there will be no art of rhetoric. But it is possible to make a speech quite successfully and well without having studied rhetoric, as we have been told in the case of Demades a; for though he was a boatman, it is agreed that he became a very fine orator; and besides him there are numerous, other instances. Hence, rhetoric is not an art.-Moreover, if we do not believe that these men 17 were such as we have described and that they attained to oratory by experience and by practice, yet still we may see many in our daily life who speak admirably in the law-courts and assemblies though they have no knowledge of the technical rules of, rhetoric. And conversely, if those who have studied 18 closely and worked hard at the technique of rhetorical speech are incapable of making a speech at the lawcourts and assembly, one must deny that rhetoric is ~ technical method. But in fact, as all the world knows, our lecturers, though they have studied the technology of rhetoric to the utmost point, are seen to be more mute than fishes in open court. Thus none 19

• Of • .Adv. (ham. 295.

197

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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are orators by reason of art. Hence one may well laugh at them when, in defending themselves against this confutation, they assert that just as whetstones are not made to cut but by sharpening the knife enable it to cut, so also they themselves are incapable of making speeches through want of practice, yet they enable other men to do so by helping them to improve by means of art. For our fine gentlemen failed to notice the lack of similarity in this comparison, in that the whetstone is not of a nature to implant its own -quality in the iron, whereas they profess, as their primary task, to convey to their neighbour the art which they themselves possess. "

And Critolaiis and the men of the Academy, 20 including Cleitomachus and Charmidas,a are wont to argue like this,-that the cities do not expel the arts knowing them to be extremely useful for life, just as we do not expel skilled domestics from our houses or cowmen from our herds, but all men in every quarter have hunted down rhetoric as most inimical; for example, the Cretan lawgiver forbade those who prided themselves on their oratory to land on his island, and the Spartan Lycurgus, having become an 21 admirer of Thales the Cretan, introduced the same law for the Spartans; and for this reason, many years later, the Ephors punished on his return a young man who had studied rhetoric abroad, alleging as the cause of his condemnation that he practised a deceitful mode of speaking in order to lead Sparta astray. And the Spartans themselves continued to loathe rhetoric and to employ speech which is simple and short. Hence, too, the man whom they had elected 22

• Both disciples of Carneades; of. vol. i. p. xxxiii.

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by vote as ambassador to Tissaphernes in order to oppose the Athenians, while the Athenians were making long and complicated harangues, drew two lines on the ground with his staff, the one straight and short, the other long and crooked, and said "Choose, 0 king, whichever of these two you please," with a riddling reference in the long and crooked line to the claptraps of rhetoric, and in the Une that was at once both short and straight to simple -. and concise straightforwardness of speech; and to' 23 secure this they aim at speech void of superfluity not 'only amongst their own people but also amongst foreigners. And when the Chian ambassador made a request for the export of grain, they sent him. ,away out of their assembly empty-handed because ,; he made his request at great length; but when a~other man was sent who was more concise (for the Chians were hard pressed by necessity), they granted his request; for he held up before them an empty sack a and said, " This needs barley-meal." All the same, they censured this man, too, as a chatterbox; for the showing of the empty sack sufficiently indicated the petition of the Chians. Hence, the tragic 24 poet Ion was moved to say about them,-

The battlements of Sparta are not words; But when the War-god strikes its host afresh, The head doth plan and rule, the hand perform,-

meaning that they are excellent in planning and detest rhetoric. Consequently, if the cities do not expel the arts but have expelled rhetoric, rhetoric will not be one of the arts. For to reverse the argument and allege 25 J;hat some of the Greek cities have also banished philosophers is stupid. For, firstly, they will not be able t9

" '. ...! , ,"

• OJ. Herod. iii. 46. 201

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cp0{3Ep6S V TOt:S aVT,3lKo,S, a7TaTTJnKOV TE Ka~ YOTJTa TvyxavEw Ka~ XE'pluTO'S EVTE(}pa!L!LEvov 7TpaY!Lau" !Lo'XEla,s TE Ka~ KAo7Tat:s Ka~ TatS' 7TP6S

\ .... , , " ........ TOVS YOVE'S axap'UT,a,s, HS TO 7TpaY!LanKWS TaVTa

293,EAEYXEW aTE 3Et:, Ka~ 7TaAW Em(}OAOVV, EXEW 3E Ex(}pOVS 7ToMovs Ka~ !Lt:UOS 7Tp6S 7TaVTas, TOVS !LEV an aVTTJ3tK~(}TJUaV, TOVS 3e El36Tas an TOV -!L,u(}wUa!LEVOV EUTt, Ka~ 8 aAAOVS 3'E(}TJKE, TO{jTl~ ka~ aUTovs -7T07"€ 7TAE{OV' A~!La7"1i 3EAEau(}E~S,

202


furnish evidence for this, as do those who have come to the opposite conclusion in the case of rhetoric; and secondly, if indeed some of the cities did expel philosophy, they did not expel it all without exception but certain sects such as the Epicurean, as teaching pleasure, and the Socratic, as slighting the Divinity. But the cities mentioned above did not reject one sort of rhetoric and admit another but shunned it all without exception.

In addition to what has been said, if rhetoric is an 26 art at all, it will be of use either to its possessor or to the cities, like the rest of the arts; but it is not of use either to its possessor or to the cities, as we shall establish; therefore it is not an art. Now to its possessor it is not useful, since, firstly, 27 he is compelled-whether he wishes or not-to spend his time at the assemblies and record offices, and to consort with knavish and double-dealing slanderers by going down to the same places as they; and, secondly, he has to be very sparing of modesty, lest he should seem to the more unscrupulous to be a contemptible fellow; and he lias to speak out boldly 28 and thrust his audacity before him like a spear, so as to be terrible in the eyes of his opponents, and to be a cheat and a juggler and reared up amidst the worst kinds of conduct,-adulteries and thefts and acts of ingratitude towards parents,-so as to expose them~ when necessary, in a practical way, or again to becloud them; he must also have many enemies and 29 hatred towards them aB,-some because they have . suffered retaliation, others because they are aware that it is the habit of one who has been hiring, when enticed by a larger fee, to treat themselves in the same way that he has treated others. Besides all 30

20B

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

3o.Sta81}O'Et, p.Eio. 'ToD Sto. ?TaV'TOS a:yc.twtavKa2 , ~"".J. ' • , <:" <:' , .?TEtpa'TOV 'TpO?TOV O'TE P.EV 'f'EVyEW O'TE OE otWKEW,

'WO"TE KO?TOVP.EVOV vVK'TWP Ka2 p.E8' ~p.Epav{)1TO 'TWV

?TpaYfl-a'Ta EXOV'TWV 0XAe'i:0'8at, fl-EO"TOV SE EXEW 'TOV . Q' fj' '<:'" ~ , , t'tOV PT)VWV 'TE Kat oaKpvwv, Kat 'TWWV fl-EV EtS

·SEO'fl-W'T1}ptOV 'TWWV SE E?T2 'Tvfl-?TaVOV C1.?TaYOfl-EvwV. " ..... \" . , Q\ Q \ ~ C ,

:WO"TE 'TCfJ fl-EV EXOV'Tt E?Ttt'llat''Y}S 'Y} P'Y}'TOptK'Y}. 31 ' K' , '<:" ~ ,\ " '-I. ,\ • at fl-'Y}v OVOE 'Tats ?TOIlEO'W EO"TW W'f'Elltfl-OS' Ot

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O'wp.a'TOS EKcp8apmos rfo8ElpE'Tat/ OV'TW VOfl-WV

. &'vatpE8mwv Ka2 ai ?TOAE£S StOAAVV'Tat. ?Tapo " • 8 \' '0 .J.' " ~ , ~ Kat 0_ EOIlOYOS p'f'EVS 'TO avaYKawv av'TWV

{)1Tocpatvwv cp'Y}0'2v

~V XPOVOS ~vtKa CPW'TES 0'?T' o'AA1}AWV f1lov Elxov <:' ~ , <:'E"" .J.~ O'apkooaK'Y}, kpEtO'O'WV 0 'TOV 'Y}'T'TOva 'f'W'Ta

Sat~EV-

32 p'7J'8€VbS 'Yap €7TtU'Ta'TOvvros v6jLov EKacrros (V XEp0'2 'TO StKatOV ElXE, Ka2 WS

'8' <') '8 ' , ,~ ~ tX VO't fl-EV Kat 'Y}PO't Kat OtWVOtS ?TE'TE'Y}VOtS . , E?Tt'TE'Tpa?T'Tat

. eu(J€tv &.A~7};\.OVS', E7TE! au 8lK'Y} EaT" ~E'r' av.rots-.-

AGAINST THE ,PROFESSORS; II. 30-33

this, he must' be engaged continually in cont~sts and, like a pirate, now be fleeing and now pursuing, so that he is wearied and worried night and day by_ those in trouble, and has his life filled with tears and lamentations, as some are led away to prison and others to the whipping-post. Thus rhetoric is injurious to its possessor.

Furthermore, it is not useful to cities either. For 31 the laws are what bind cities together, and as the soul perishes when the body has perished, so the cities are destroyed when the laws are abolished . Hence, the theologian Orpheus a hints at their necessity when he says,-

, There was a time when every man liv'd by devouring his fellow

Cannibal-wise, and the stronger man did feast on the weaker,

(for when no law was in control each man maintained 32 his right by force of hand, even as it is permitted to

Fishes and beasts of the wild and the winged ravens and . vultures, Each to devour the other, for justice exists not among

them),b

until God in his pity for their misery sent to them lawbearing goddesses, and men admired these for the way they stopped the lawless cannibalism more than for the way they civiliZed life by means of the fruits of the earth. Hence, too, the shrewd Persians have a 33 law that on the death oftheir king they must practise lawlessness for the next five days, not in order to be in, a state of misery but in order to learn by experience

G Of. Ad,v. ~h'Y8.. i. 15. t ·Of. Hesiod, Op~D. 275 f.

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

I KQ.T/I.'jIera& cj. Bekk.; Ka'Ta.'jI£a8a& HSS., Bekk.

6

AGAINST THE PROFESSORS; II. 33-38

how great an evil lawlessness is, inflicting, as it does. murders and rapine and things which are, if possible. worse,so that they may become more trusty guardians of their kings. But rhetoric was brought to the front 34 in opposition to the laws. A very strong proof of this is the fact that amongst the barbarians, amongst whom there is either no rhetoric at all or very little, the laws remain unmoved, whereas amongst those who cultivate rhetoric they are altered daily, as is the case with the Athenians, as Plato, the poet of the 35 Old Comedy, aflirms.a For he says that if a man has been absent abroad for three months he no longer recognizes the city, but on his return (like walkers by night) he goes past the' walls, as foreign couriers might do, since so far as regards the laws it is not the same city. And that rhetoric is against the laws is 36 already plain from the statements they make in their mal-artful arts. For at one time they advise us to attend to the ordinance and words of the lawgiver as being clear and needing no explanation, at another time they turn round and advise us to follow neither the' ordinance nor the words but the intention; for 37 he who proposes to punish the man who holds an iron instrument over anyone does not propose to punish the man who holds it over him in any and every way, (as, for example, one might hold a ring), or of whatever form if may be (a needle, for instance), but, if we inquire closely as to his intention" it is his desire to take vengeance on the man who has dared to commit murder. And sometimes they bid us cut 38 out bits as we read the laws, and construct a different sense from what remains. Often, too, they make distinctions in ambiguous phrases and, support the

.. ,of. Mei~eke,aom. Gr. 8 P,' 692. !!l07

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

UICE:Va.'OVTE:S 'TO U'1]ftaw6ftE:vov, lCa2 aAAa ftvpla wpos ava7po'1i7Jv 'TWV v6ftwv 7TOtOVUW. 80E:v lCa2 & BV,a.VTtOS M'Twp EpwTTJ8E:2s 7TWS & Bv'aVTlwv

39 €XE:t v6ftos E:X7TE:V "ws Eyc1 8EAW." lCa8a yap ot ifnJc/>o7Ta'iICTa, Tas 'TWV 8E:WJLEVWV .oif;E:ts St' d~vXE:lplav ICM7T'Tovuw, OVTWS 01 P~TOPE:S· Sta 7Tavovpylav 'TdS 'TWV StlCauTwv Stavolas aftaVpWUaVTE:S

...... I \ , \ ./, '.J.. I \ 40 Tep voftep UVYICI\E:7TTOVUt Tas 'l'TJ'I'0vs. 'TO yE: ft7Jv ~ , ,I. -I.. ' 1'e;, ,e;"",\ 'TWV 7TapavoftWV 'l'TJ'I'tuftaTwv noos OVOE:tS E:TOl\ftTJUE:

'-I.. ' '\'\'''''' '~-I..' ypa'l'Ew al\l\ TJ Ot PTJTOpE:S. 'TOV yovv ypa'l'EVTa lCa'Ta KTTJUtc/>WVTOS IlTJftOU8EVT]S 7ToMa {3owv lCa2 'TE:paTE:v6ftE:VOS 7JP7TaUE:V. 88E:V lCa2 & AluXlVT]s u '''0 ",.J..'''' \~ , lCalCov E: os 'l'TJuw E:tS 'Ta otlCaUTTJpta 7Tap-fjA8E:v' & ft~V yap lCarljyopos a7ToAoYE:'iTat, <> S€" '" ' , -I.. ' A • e;,' e;, , .. yiEVyWV TTJv ypa'l'TJv lCaTTJyopE:t, Ot OE: otlCaU'Tat WV

\ ,\ , \ I .'mn,./..,,/.......' I ftTJ nut ICpt'Tat, 7TEpt 'TOVTWV 'I"I'I'0'l'opE:tV avaYlCa-41 ,0llTa,." aM' E:l lCaTa TWV v6ftwv EU'T2v TJ PTJTO

PtlC~, 7TpOS Tip ft~ XPTJUtftEVE:lV 1"t lCa2 {3Aa{3Epa Ka8EU'TTJICE:V. 00 ft~V aM' OoS€ 01 STJftaYWYOVVTE:S « , '" 8 A A''\ R ' PTJTOpES E:7T aya ep TWV 7TOI\EWV 7Tpo/"awovuw, ~'\'\' " '\' "-I.. ''\ '" al\1\ OV I\oyov E:xn 'l'apftaIC07TWI\TJS 7TpOS taTpov,

42 TOVTOV <> STJftaywyos 7TPOS TOV 7TOAtTtIC6v. lCalCoStSauICME'i yap TOVS 7ToMovs Ta lCE:xaptuftEva '\ I , e;, R '\ A " 'I: __ '\ '\ A , AEyWV, . lCat ota/"ol\atS av'TOVS E:r;;;aI\I\OTptOt 7TpOS TOVS aptU'TOvs. >'6yep ft€V yap lCa2 Tip SOICE:W tJ7T€P 'TOV 1C0~Vfi UVftc/>EPOV'TOS vmuxvE'iTat 7Ta.VTa 7TOt~UE:W,

A e;,' ~'\ 8 ' " ,e;,' • A ,J.,J, 'Tats OE: al\TJ E:tatS a7T OVOEVOS vy~ovs TP0'l"IV . 'r " .... I 8 " , A '7TOpt.",ETat, E:OtlCO'TWS 'TatS TtT atS, at fttlCpOV TOV IpWfttufta'TOS 'TO'S 7TatSlots· StSOvuat TO 8AOV lCaTa-. , 7TWOVUW. .

43 ':: To~aiha JL& oOv lCa2 'To'is 'AlCa3TJfta"i1C0"is Eli lCaTaSpOftfjs ftEPE:t MYE:Ta~ 7TE:p2 PTJ'TOptlCfjS, WU'TE: 208


signification which suits themselves; and they do ihousands of other things which, tend to the upsetting of the laws. Hence also, the Byzantine orator, when asked "How goes the Byzantians' law? ", replied" AsI choose." - For just as jugglers deceive 39 the eyes of the beholders by their sleight of hand, so the orators by their low cunning blind the minds of the judges to the law and so steal away the votes. More- 40 over, no one exceptthe orators has dared to publish decrees of a kind contrary to the laws. Yet Demos,,: thenes by his loud shouting and talking marvels snatched away the law which indicted Ctesiphon. lIence Aeschines says G_" An evil custom has entered the law-courst; for the accuser defends himself, while the defendant acts as accuser, and the jurors are obliged to cast their votes concerning matters of which they are not judges." But if 4~ rhetoric is against the laws, it is not only of no use but actually harmful.-Furthermore, even the demagogic orators do not come forward for the good of the cities, but the demagogue bears to the statesman the relation which the druggist bears to the physician. For 42 he depraves the crowd by his doctrines, using flattering words, and sets them against the better class by his slanders. By word and in seeming he promises tQ do everything for the public benefit, but in reality he provides nourishment from no wholesome source, like nurses who offer the babes a morsel of the pap and then swallow the whole themselves.

Such, then, are the arguments used by the men of 43 the Academy II concerning rhetoric, by way of run-

a .of. Aeschin • .A.a,." • .ote8iph~, 198~ b .of. § 20. 209

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

" ~" I ~ 1\ " , ,I. 1\ Et p'TJT€ Tip EXOVT& p'TJTE TO~S 1TEl\as EUTW W't'EI\~p,OS,

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p,au~ xpwVTa~' cfJs' YdP 0 TOV 1TaTEpa T.,)1TTWV \ ,~, \ , I

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8 \ \ ... " r.... '''' l' t' t'l €, p'TJ TOWVTOV OVK€n. 01TOWS yap av 71 0 PTJTWp,

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48 'AAAa fI \ ,t' I \ C " OT' p,€V OV PTJT€OV TTJV pT}TOP'KTJV T€XV7JV,. ilO


ning it down, so that, if it i!) useful neither to its possessor nor to his neighbours, it will not be an art. But in reply to all this some assert that as there are two forms of rhetoric, the one refined and in use among the wise, the other in use among inferior people, the accusation is not made against the refined kind but against that of the baser class. Some of 44 them, too, use illustrations: just.as the pancratiast who beats his father is a father-beater not because of his pancratiastic art but because of his bad morals, so the man who has practised rhetoric and then used it against his country and its laws, does so not because of rhetoric hut because of his own wickedness. But 45 the first group of these apologists fail to notice that, against their will, they have granted the nullity of rhetoric; for since the wise man is never, or at least

. rarely, found, it must follow that the rhetoric in use among the wise is likewise either non-existent or rare. And in reply to the second group one must 46 say that their example is not on a par with the matter now in question, for while athleticism does not suggest the employment of it for mischief, such as fatherbeating, rhetoric declares this to be its main task,how, for instance, we are to make small things great and great things small, or how just things may be made to appear unjust, and the unjust just. And in 47 general, as rhetoric consists of opposite statements, one cannot say that the refined speaker is an orator, but the unrefined no longer an orator. For the orator, of whatever sort he may be, must certainly practise himself in contradictory speeches, and injustice is inherent in contradictions; therefore every orator, being an advocate of injustice, is unjust.

From all this it is plain that we must not call48

211

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS·

212

AGAINST: THE PROFESSORS, II. 48-lH

rhetoric an art; and in the next place let us infer its unreality from the matter with which it deals; The sum of our argument, in fact, has been given already a in our treatise Against the Grammarians, for if rhetoric has to do with speech, but, as we have shown, neither the word is anything nor the speech composed of words, then, as that object whose parts do not exist is non-existent, it will follow that rhetoric also is non-existent. None the less, we must affirm, 49 firstly, that if rhetoric deals with speech it is not necessarilytechnical, but only if the speech be beneficial. For just as in the case of drugs, which differ in quality, some being deadly, others salutary, the skill which busies itself with the deadly ones is neither the art of medicine nor any art at all, whereas that which deals with the salutary drugs is both an art and useful for life, so also in the case of speeches, of which some are beneficial, others harmful, if rhetoric is not concerned with the beneficial but with the harmful, besides not being an art· it will also be a mischievous artifice. And, in fact, we have already established II that it masks itself in most harmful speech; so it is not an art.-Moreover, if sycophancy and mob-courting 50 practise speaking but are not arts, it is evident that rhetoric, when examined, will not be an art by reason of the mere fact that it has gained by practice ability in speaking. But, in fact, sycophancy and mobcourting practise speaking and are not arts; neither, then, is rhetoric an art.-In addition to what has been 51 said, speech is not a property confined to rhetoric but is common to every branch of learning which uses words; . for the art of medicine 0 spe~ks well con-

a Of . .tid'/). Gram. un :If. t Of. §§ 41 If. • OJ. § 8.

21S

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

laVTfjs 8EWPTJf-taTWV Ka~ f-tOVULK~ 1rEP~ f-t0VULKWV. ()L07TEP wS €KaUTTJ TOVTWV OVK ;O"TW EVEKa Tot; MYEW PTJTOPLKf], OlYrWS OV()E 7TEP~ ~S EO"T~V ~. 'f]TTJULS. .

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53 TWV l()lwv E7TLTTJ()EVllaTwv. aVv ()E TOVTOLS Ka~ • . ,,~ \ 'i: \ \

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'i ,u~IJEia. .. (bis) cj.Bekk. 2140


cerning its own principles, and that of music concerning those of music. Hence, as none of these is rhetoric in virtue of its speech, neither is the subject of our inquiry. . And, to speak succinctly, rhetoric does not create 52 good speech. For it does not suggest to us the technical rules for it, as for instance that the man who uses good speech is, firstly, he who does not pervert the language in common use (as we have pointed out in our book Against the Grammarians),a and secondly, he who is securely master of the subject in mind; for if the subjects are not understood, the language wanders off the point, and so, in view of this, we say that every man is a good orator about his own pursuits. Besides this, the person who has carefully 53 considered which of the words are employed according to common usage, and which have their source in (personal) opinion, attributes its due to each. Thus" a bath" is called dv8pf'iOV according to common usage from the fact that it washes av8pas (men)-, but when we say that the rich man is .. blessed," or that death is " an evil," these descriptions have their source in opinion; for that death is one of the evils and wealth one of the goods is non-evident and a matter of opinion. He, too, will make a good use of language 54 who has grasped the reason why we substitute one word for another, whether in order to avoid straightforward speech, when the straightforward word causes offence, or in order to make a thing clear, as when we substitute .. agent" for" cause," or .. indication" for" sigh." Now if, as I said, any tech- 55 nical rules on these matters were observed by the orators, they might possibly have derived from

• Of • .Ad". Gram. 189 11'. 215

SEXTUS EMPIRIC US

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216


rhetoric fine speaking and refined phraseology. But as it is, seeing that they do not touch this subject, or if they touch it it is not because of rhetoric, one must declare that fine speech is not peculiar to rhetoric.Again, language of itself is neither good nor bad. A 56 proof of this is the fact that the same language which offends us when spoken by a cultivated and solemn person does not offend us in the least when spoken by the jester cracking jokes. Hence, when the orator is said to be capable of framing fine speech, it is either for the reason that he frames speech which expresses profitable things, or speech which is a form of good Greek, or speech which indicates objects clearly, concisely and competently. But it is not for the 57 reason that his speech indicates things of profit; for orators know nothing about those things. Nor is it because his speech is a form of good Greek; for this is also shared by those who keep to customary usage and the liberal arts. Nor is it because his speech indicates objects clearly, concisely and competently; on the contrary, in their desire to give out their wellrounded periods and concluding clauses, and not to let vowel collide with vowel, and to avoid similar sentence-endings, they preclude themselves from expounding things at once clearly and concisely. Therefore it does not belong to rhetoric to produce 58 fine phrasing and good speaking. And, this being granted, no one will choose a style such as theirs, and that because, firstly, it does not fit in with the common practice; for none of us talks as do the orators in the law-courts, since he would be jeered at. And they themselves, when they come away

VOL. IV H 217

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SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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218


from their business and the trial, always use another mode of expression towards their companions. And 59 secondly, talking in a studied aud oratorical manner gives offence, as I have said. And one may transfer what has been said already against the Grammarians who rely on analogy,a and affirm that if we wish to speak well we should pay attention to common usage

, rather than to any superfluous art. For the present let us pass on and base our objec- 60

tions on the" end" b of rhetoric. So we must state, once again, that if there is no " end" of rhetoric, rhetoric is nothing, because every technical activity has reference to some end. But, as we shall show, rhetoric has no end; therefore rhetoric is not an art. Now most clever people suppose that the ultimate 61 task of rhetoric is persuasion. For Plato, with an eye to this, has said that it is " the ability to persuade by means of speech," and Xenocrates 0 that it is " the creator of persuasion," and Aristotle d that it is " the ability to discern the credible which is possible." Ariston, also, the friend of Critolalls, declares that the professed aim of rhetoric is persuasion, and its end the securing persuasion. And Hermagoras used to say 62 that the task of the perfect orator is to settle the political question proposed as persuasively as possible. And Athenaeus calls rhetoric a power of speech which aims at the persuasion of the audience; and Isocrates asserts that orators pursue nothing else than the science of persuasion. Hence, we too, 63

G Of • .Ad'/!. Gram. 179 ff. b " End" in the sense of " aim" or " final cause." • But this definition is attributed by Quintilian to 180-

crates; and the definition ascribed to Xenocrates in § 6 is different.

d Of. Arist. Rhet. I. ii. 1. 219

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS AGAINST THE PROFESSORS, II. 63-66

following in their steps, affirm straightaway that the term" credible" (or" probable ") is used in three senses,"-in one sense of that which is plainly true and which, by implanting an impression of truth, draws us on to assent; in another sense of that which is false, but which, by implanting an impression of truth, draws us on to assent (and this the orators are accustomed to call" likely," from the fact that it is like the truth); and in a third sense of that which shares in truth and falsehood alike. The term 64 " credible," then, being used in all these ways, it is proper to ask the orators in respect of whi~h o~ these " credibles" do they suppose that rhetOrIC rums at persuasion, and to which of them do they claim that it addresses itself as an art,-is it to the obviously true, or to the false which is like the true, or to that which contains both together? But it cannot possibly be to 65 the obviously true; for this persuades of itself and draws us to assent, so that persuasion regarding it produced by rhetoric is superfluous. And just as we need no art to be persuaded that " now it is day " or that" now I am talking," these being obvious and self-evident facts, so too there is no need of rhetoric to make us assent to the fact that the murderer taken in the act is a murderer.-And besides, if rhetoric 66 has for its object the obviously true, in so far as it is credible, it will certainly be also concerned with the incredible; for these two are conceived as being relative the one to the other, and for the same reason that he who comprehends "left" necessarily conceives also that of which it is " left," he who discerns the " credible" which is true possesses knowledge also of the" incredible," from the fact of its not being

• OJ • .Ad'/). Log. i. 174.. til

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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of the same character. Since, then, everything true, 67 of whatsoever sort it be, is either credible or incredible, it will follow that rhetoric is concerned with everything true. But from its concern with everything true will follow its concern with everything false as well; since, for the reason that he who can discern the credible will necessarily be able to discern also the incredible, for the same reason he who has knowledge of everything true will also perceive therewith everything of the contrary sort, that is to say, false. And if this is so, rhetoric will be the knowledge of things true and false. But this is certainly not so; hence, rhetoric has not the self-evidently true for its object.-Moreover, it professes 68 to advocate opposite causes, but opposites are not (both) true; therefore rhetoric does not aim at the true.-Nor yet at the false; for no art of the false exists, but it is necessary that rhetoric, if it pursues this, must either not be an art or be an evil technique, besides being confronted again with the same difficulties. For if it is concerned with 69 the credible falsehood, it will certainly know also the incredible. Since, then, every falsehood is either credible or incredible, it will be the knowledge of everything false and therefore also of everything true, so that it does not differ from dialectic; and this is in many ways absurd. If, however, it advo- 70 cates opposites, and opposites are not (both) false,a it will not have the false for its object.-Further, if the "likely" is that which furnishes the most numerous grounds for supposing it to be true, and its opposite, the" improbable," that which furnishes

• i.lf. of contradictory propositions one must be true.

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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few and rare grounds for supposing it to be true, then rhetoric, since it argues both ways, certainly aims at the" likely" no more than at its opposite.-Nor 71 again does it pursue after that which shares in both truth and falsehood; for this implies falsehood. And that an art should employ falsehoods is absurd, besides the fact that-according to our previous demonstration-it becomes in consequence the science of things true and false, which is not the case. But if rhetoric cannot have for its object either the true or the false or that which includes both, and besides these there is no other " credible," then persuasion will not belong to rhetoric.

These, then, are the objections which we deem it 72 proper to use against the Orators, but others" are accustomed to adduce those which shall now be stated, and which anyone who likes will be able to use. They argue thus: Rhetoric either is or is not an art; and ifit is not, let us not seek for its" end" ; but if it is, how can it have an end which is shared by the non-rhetorician? For it is in the power of many to persuade by means of wealth or beauty or glory, as we previously indicated.b-Moreover, often, when 73 the speeches have been made and the judges in consequence persuaded of the facts, the Orators, none the less, wait on in expectation of gaining some further end, and as they wait they entreat. The end of rhetoric, therefore, is not persuasion but, if anything, that which follows after it.Again, rhetorical speech is opposed to persuasion. 74 For, firstly, it is superabundant, and most people are offended by its superabundance; and secondly, 75 speech which lacks clarity is not persuasive, but

G ~.g. Plato (in the Gorgias) and Epicurus. & Of. §§ 2, 5. 225

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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226


the speech of the Orators, which consists of periods and enthymemes, is inferior in clarity. Therefore the speech derived from rhetoric is not persuasive.-Further, the speech which arouses goodwill 76 in the judges is that which is persuasive; but what arouses goodwill is not the rhetorical speech but that which is simple and reflects the ordinary style. For to the style of the Orator all those who detest airs of superiority are opposed. For even if the Or~tor maintains what is just, they imagine that unjust things seem to them just, not because of the real nature of the things but because of the trickery of the orator. But with the common man's speech 77 everyone sympathizes, feeling its weakness, and attributes greater justice to that which is less just because it is maintained by a plain and ordinary person. And for this reason the Athenians, in olden days, were not allowed to have an advocate to support those on trial at the court of the Areopagus, but each man, to the best of his ability, made a speech in his own defence without trickery or verbal jugglery.Moreover, if the Orators believed their own statement 78 that they possess a power of persuasion, they ought not to excite pity or lamentation or indignation, or other feelings of that sort-things which do not persuade at all but pervert the minds of the judges and obscure justice.

Thus it has been shown that the .. end" of rhetoric cannot be persuasion; and some say that 79 its end is not this but the discovery of appropriate words; others, that it is to implant in the judges an opinion about the facts such as the speakers wish; others, that it is the advantageous; and some that it is victory. In reply to the first of 80

227

l

SEXTlTS E~.fPIRICUS

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• Of. P.H. ii. 14 ff., Adv. Log. i. 29 ff.

228

AGAINST THE PROFESSORS, II. SO-SG

these we must say that if rhetoric professes to discover words pertinent to the assumptions, it professes to speak either true or possible words. But not such as are true; for they must possess a standard and criterion (J for distinguishing the true. and the false, and that they do not possess; nor yet such as it is possible to speak; for not knowing the true words, neither will they know those which it is possible to speak. Therefore it does not belong to 81 rhetoric to discover words which are pertinent and possible.-Again, rhetoric is nothing else than the discovery of appropriate words; accordingly, he who states this "end" is virtually stating that rhetoric is the end of rhetoric.-Also, that for the sake of 82 which the orator declares that he does everything will be his end; but the orator does not do everything for the sake of the appropriate arguments, but for the sake of that which follows after the arguments; the former, then, will not be his end.-Moreover, the 83 end which the orator needs to attain is that which the private person who hired him also needs; but the private person is not eager to attain the discovery of appropriate words, but something else; this latter, then, and not the discovery of appropriate words, will be the end.-Furthermore, neither will the end be 84 the implanting in the judges such an opinion regarding the case as the speakers desire; for this does not differ from persuasion, since he that has persuaded has implanted in the judges such an opinion regarding the case as he himself desires. But we have shown b

that persuasion is not the end of rhetoric; neither, then, is implanting an opinion.-Nor, again, is " the 85

advantageous," as some have assumed c; for that

• Of. §§ 78 if. • Of. § 79. 229

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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230


which is the end of a part will not be the end of the whole' but the Orators say that "the advantageous'" is the end of the deliberative ~art of rhetoric; therefore it is not the end of rhetonc as a whole.-Also, that which is the common end of all Art will not be the end of rhetoric alone; but "the advantageous" is t~e ~nd of all art ~ our experience' therefore there IS no end peculiar to

, h ". t " rhetoric.-It remains, then, to say t at VIC ory 86 is its end; but this again is impossible. For he who often fails to attain the end of the Art of Grammar will not be a grammarian, and he who often fails to attain the end of the Art of Music will not be a mUSICIan. So also he who fails often to attain the end of the Art of Rhetoric will not be an orator. But 87 the orator is more often loser than victor, and the more so the more capable he is, as those who have an unjust case join in flocking to him. T~erefore t~e orator is not an orator.-Also, he who faIls to attaIn the end of rhetoric will not be praised; but we some-

d£ d "'t " times praise an orator when e eate; VIC ory, then, is not the end of rhetoric.

Consequently, if rhetoric ha.s neither a subject- 88 matter a which it treats techmcally nor an end to which it is directed,b rhetoric will not exi~t; but, as we have established, it has neither subject-matter nor end; therefore rhetoric does not exist.

One may also raise difficulties for the~ based on 89 the parts of rhetoric. The parts ofrhetonc, they say, are " the juridical, the deliberative and ~he laudatory," and of these" the juridical" has Justice for its end, "the deliberative "has the advantageous,

a Of.§§ 48 if. • Of. §§ 60 if.

I .1 .. a .. op~a"t" cj. Bekk.; ~a .. o~O'",,, lISS., Bekk. 281

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS AGAINST THE PROFESSORS, II. 89-94

and" the laudatory" has the noble. But this is at once open to doubt. For if the juridical purpose is 90 one thing, and the deliberative another, and the laudatory something different, certainly the end of the juridical will not also be the end of the deliberative, and the end of the latter will not be that of the laudatory, and vice versa. Since, then, the end of the deliberative is the advantageous, this will not be the end of the juridical. But the end of the juridical is the just; therefore the just is not advantageous.-And again, just as these parts differ, 91 so also the ends will differ; and therefore, inasmuch as the end of the laudatory is the noble and that of the juridical the just, it is possible for the noble not to be just and the just not to be noble; which is absurd.-Moreover, if persuasion is the end of rhetoric 92 as a whole, but the just of the juridical part, and the advantageous of the deliberative, and the noble of the laudatory, then certainly the just is not persuasive, nor is-the advantageous, nor the noble; and this conflicts with the notion that rhetoric aims wholly at persuasion.

Furthermore, in the case of the juridical part, 93 rhetoric will draw the jurors towards its end either by just speeches only or by unjust as well as by just speeches. But if it is by just speeches only, it will be virtue; but what aims at the persuasion of the crowd is not virtue, for it contains much that is rash and misleading; it is not, therefore, of a nature to lead the hearers to its end by just speeches only.-Moreover, if it always pursues justice, no 94 contrary argument will be forthcoming, and when

288

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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there exists no contrary speech neither will rhetoric exist, so that on this showing, too, it will not use just speeches only.-Nor, again, will it use unjust speeches, for if so it will be unjust, and as the contrary speech is again non-existent, it will be non-existent. It remains, then, to say that it proceeds by means of both. But this is far more absurd than the former suppositions; for it will be at once virtue and vice, which is a thing impossible. One must, then, deny that there is a juridical part of rhetoric which has justice for its end.

In addition to what has been said, if the orator 95 proposes to explain to the judges what is just by the juridical part of rhetoric, the justice which he explains is either evident of itself and agreed or it is disputable. But they will not say that it is evident; for about this no rhetorical speech is composed, since it is undisputed. It remains, then, to say that it is dis- 96 putable. But this again is open to doubt. For those who argue on opposite sides are so far from settling the dispute that they even intensify it by their contradictions and befog the minds of the judges. And there is evidence for this in the story commonly told about Corax. a A young man seized with a desire for rhetoric 97 went to him and promised that he would pay him the fee he would charge, if he should win his first case. And when the compact was made, and the youth was now displaying sufficient skill, Corax demanded his fee, but the other said co No." Both then repaired to the court and had the case tried; and then, it is said, Corax first used an argument of this kind,-

a Noted Sicilian rhetorician, eire. 460 B.C. The same story is told of Protagoras by Diog. Laert. ix. 56.

285

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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286


that whether he won the case or lost it he ought to receive the fee; if he won, because he had won, and if he lost, in accordance with the terms of the compact; for his opponent had agreed to pay him the fee if he won his first case, so that if he did win it he was thereby bound to discharge the debt. And after 98 the judges had applauded him for speaking justly the young man in turn began his speech and used the same argument, altering nothing: "Whether I win;" he says, " or whether I am beaten, I am not bound to pay Corax the fee; if I win, because I have won; and if I lose, in accordance with the terms of the compact; for I promised to pay the fee if I shou~~ win ~y first case, but if I should lose I shall not pay. The Judges 99 then, thrown into a state of suspense and perplexity owing to the equipollence of the rhetorical arguments, drove them both out of the court, crying " A bad egg from a bad crow! " a

To save a long account we may say that the argu- 100 ment concerning "the deliberative" part will be similar to that concerning the juridical. As to the "laudatory," or eulogistic, part, besides being subject to the same doubts, it is also lacking in method. For 101 since not all men wish to be eulogized, nor on the same grounds, he who is going to eulogize well must know the disposition of the person who is being eulogized; but not every emotion in one man is perceptible by another. Moreover, the Orators have not furnished us with any method whereby we may know when and whom we ought to eulogize; it is impossible, therefore, to eulogize properly by means of rhetoric.-Also, the orator will eulogize on account 102 .

a A play on the name Corax, which is the Greek for " carrion-crow" (or" daw "). Of. the Latin saying" mali com malum ovum."

287

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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~88 .. OJ. the encomiastic BuairiB of Isocrates.


of things that are not good but seem so, or else on account of things which are really good. But he does not do so either on account of things which are not good,-for then he is further corrupting the persons eulogized,-or on account of those which are; for of these he is ignorant, since even for philosophers they are non-apprehensible owing to the unsettled controversy about them. Therefore the Orator is not able to eulogize anyone.-Also, those who do not know 103 on what account one should eulogize are unable to eulogize; but the Orators do not know on what account one ought to eulogize, as we shall demonstrate; hence they will not be able to eulogize. For they assert that one should eulogize on the ground of birth and beauty and wealth and abundance of children, and the like; and conversely one should blame on the ground of low birth and ugliness and poverty. But this is silly; for we ought to attract 104 praise and blame from things inherent in ourselves, but noble birth and good fortune and beauty and abundance of children and things of that sort are not inherent in ourselves, so that we should not be praised on account of them ; for, to be sure, if we are to praise unconditionally noble birth and abundance of children and everything of that kind, we must praise those slayers of guests, Busiris a and Amycus and Antaeus, because they were sons of Poseidon, and also praise Niobe because she abounded in children. Conversely, if ugliness and penury are to 105 be blamed, Odysseus is to be blamed because he took the form of a beggar b when

He entered the foemen's city,

and Perseus, the son of Zeus, is to be blamed because • Of. Hom. Od. iv. 94.41£.

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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he walked through waterless Libya with a wallet hung round him, and Heracles because he took with him on his labours a lion's skin and a club.

To speak briefly, then, let it be granted that these 106 are the parts of rhetoric. But since the fact that the just is just and that the advantageous is advantageous and that the noble is noble is established by proof, and proof is nothing, neither will rhetoric, which is composed of these parts, be anything. That proof is nothing is shown more precisely in our Notes on Scepticism," and we shall now establish it more by way of a note or reminder. If speech is nothing, 107 neither does proof exist, being a kind of speech; but speech is nothing, as we have established,b because it subsists neither in utterance nor in incorporeallekta ; therefore proof does not exist.-Further, if it exists it 108 is either evident or non-evident. C But it is not evident; for it contains something non-evident, and because of this is disputable, as everything in dispute is non-evident. It remains then to say that it is non- 109 evident. But if so, it will be perceived either of itself or after proof. But it is not perceptible of itself (for it is non-evident, and the non-evident, if perceived of itself, is not to be trusted), nor after proof, because of the regress ad infinitum; therefore no proof exists.Further, as generic proof d does not exist, no specific 110 proof will exist, just as if " animal" does not exist neither does " man " exist; but generic proof does not exist, as we shall establish; so no other, specific, proof will exist. For since it is non-evident, as we previously argued, it must be confirmed by some-

a OJ. P.H. ii. 134 if., Ad'/). Log. ii. 299 if. t OJ. Ad'/). Gram. 135 if.

• OJ. P.H. ii. 174 182. d Of. P.R. ii. 172

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

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thing. By what then? Either by a generic or by a specific proof. Not by a specific, since the existence 111 of the generic is as yet unconfirmed; nor yet by a generic; for that is the matter in dispute. So then, no generic proof exists. From this it follows that neither does the specific proof exist.-And besides, if the generic proof has premisses and a conclusion it is not generic, and if it does not it will not prove anything, and what is much worse, it will not even prove its own existence.-Also, the proof which confirms 112 the proof is· either questioned or unquestioned. But, for the reasons stated above, it will not be unquestioned, and if questioned it must be proved by another proof, and this again by another, and so on ad infinitum. Therefore no proof exists.

So, now that we have refuted the main doctrines 113 of Rhetoric, let us make a fresh start and deal with the objections to be raised against the Geometers and the Arithmeticians.

Sextus Empiricus Against the Rhetoricians

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