Your boss's "friendly reminder" on reply-all, CC'ing the whole team. Everyone saw it.

What's your move? Answer drops tomorrow. Check back then.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Rhetoricians of History No. 8: Quintilian of Rome. First state-paid rhetoric teacher, twelve volumes on raising an orator, and he did it under Domitian. — The Medieval Rhetor #rhetoricafterrome

What most people write vs. what a rhetorician writes. Save this one.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Cicero said reason alone was not enough. You needed right reason: the wisdom to know when and how to use cleverness. Quintilian agreed: the perfect orator "cannot exist unless he is a good man."
Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights
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Arm Yourself No. 5: FAUSTIAN BARGAIN — the deal with the devil. How much of yourself will you sign away for power?

My rhetoric trading cards: spot them in the wild, win the argument.

Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights
#rhetoric #historyofrhetoric #rhetoricafterrome

Aethelwis remembers when truth and virtue were deeply linked.

— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome

Demosthenes invented the philippic in 351 BCE. Aunt Carol perfected it in the family group chat.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Friday night was great. Sunday he texts: "We should do this again sometime!" Then silence. Monday, nothing. Tuesday, nothing.

What's your move? Answer drops tomorrow — check back then.

— The Medieval Rhetor

#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Rhetoric autopsy: an HOA violation letter, dissected. Three moves, all named.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

What most people write vs. what a rhetorician writes. Save this one.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Heresy was never discovered. It was voted in. At Nicaea in 325, the winning bishops named the losers, and the emperor enforced the label.

Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights.
#rhetoric #historyofrhetoric #rhetoricafterrome

Arm Yourself No. 4: PARONOMASIA — the pun as argument. Schmitt's 'Hawks vs. Hawkeyes' wordplay: the pun carries the charge.

My rhetoric trading cards: spot them in the wild, win the argument.

Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights
#rhetoric #historyofrhetoric #rhetoricafterrome

"Just asking questions" was old when Euthydemus did it in the Athenian marketplace. It’s a trick.

— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Cato the Elder invented the broken record in 150 BCE. Dave from accounting perfected it.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

What most people write vs. what a rhetorician writes. Save this one.
— The Medieval Rhetor
#rhetoricafterrome #everydayrhetoric

Rhetoricians of History: Plato (c. 428–348 BCE). Founder of the Academy, and the man who called rhetoric flattery in the Gorgias, then imagined a true art of persuasion in the Phaedrus. He distrusted the Sophists' game, then played it better than all of them.
— The Medieval Rhetor #rhetoricafterrome

The Athenian courtroom looked democratic. In 451 BCE citizenship was narrowed, only citizens could sue, and the top 1% owned a third of all wealth. The law served the rich. Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights.
#rhetoric #historyofrhetoric #rhetoricafterrome

Arm Yourself No. 3: APPEAL TO CONSEQUENCES — believe it because it would be nice if true. Pascal's Wager: prudent math, not evidence.

My rhetoric trading cards: spot them in the wild, win the argument.

Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights
#rhetoric #historyofrhetoric #rhetoricafterrome

For a thousand years persuasion lived in the speaker: Athenian logic, Roman character. Then the book took over. From Athens to Anglo-Saxon England, ethos moved from person to text to institution.
Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights
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Arm Yourself No. 2: EUNOIA — goodwill toward the audience. Kushner negotiates peace while his portfolio grows with the war. Goodwill: not shown.

My rhetoric trading cards: spot them in the wild, win the argument.

Historical Rhetoric for Modern Fights
#rhetoric #historyofrhetoric #rhetoricafterrome