Marcus Tullius Cicero (3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a roman statesman, orator, orator, orator, jurist and philosopher. His elegant Latin style contributed to the development of Latin literature, which in turn influenced education in Rome and later in Europe. DeOratore is Cicero's leading work on education, published in 55 BC. In this book, he talks about the knowledge and character that an orator must possess. This article is signed by the author of The Getaway Day, thanks.
1. The purpose and value of education in late ancient Rome
For a long time, traditional education in Rome has been aimed at training peasant soldiers. By the late republican period, because oratory had become a tool for political activity and national leadership, many who had studied eloquence had ascended to the positions of elders and high-ranking officials. As a result, the purpose of education gradually shifted from training peasants-soldiers to training orators. Cicero's ideas about the purpose of education reflected this shift and represented the general view of the educated people of Rome at the time. Cicero believed that the purpose of education was to train orators, politicians, because only good orators could become true politicians, so education in eloquence was an indispensable preparation for Roman social life. Based on this view, Cicero not only devoted his life to the development of the theory and technique of eloquence, but he himself became consul of the Roman Republic from a commoner through his outstanding eloquence.
Specifically, the orators Cicero was trying to train were essentially politicians. Such a statesman is neither entirely a practical politician cultivated by the Roman tradition nor a "philosophical king" to be trained by Plato, but a statesman who is proficient in eloquence and philosophy, well-educated, and capable of practical work, similar to the orator that Isocrates wanted to cultivate. Thus, eloquence and philosophy are merely compulsory subjects for politicians, and mastery of eloquence and philosophy is a means rather than an end.
Aware of the differences in understanding between Rome and Greece, Sirocé emphasized that philosophy and eloquence were not opposing disciplines, and that philosophy and eloquence were the knowledge and talents necessary for those of insight who intended to play an active role in the world. Knowledge is useless without the ability to express it; but without the material of knowledge, eloquence is ineffective, and the true orator himself is a philosopher, who is not only philosophically aware of everything of value to life, but also capable of making his philosophy more powerful in influencing practical affairs by a "vivid and powerful, elipelling" discussion of the problems of public concern. He said: "In the time of discussion, give them topics and ask them to talk about immortal gods, devout faith, kinship, friendship, the common rights of their civic partners, or those rights of humanity as a whole, about the laws of the nation, about justice, moderation, magnanimity, about the virtues of good deeds." I think all the schools and schools of philosophy say out loud that these topics are exactly what they care about, and have nothing to do with the orators. "But when I give the philosophers the freedom to discuss these topics in private, in order to consume their leisure, I also assign tasks to the orator, who discusses the same subject in bland, lifeless, boring terms, while the orator speaks vividly and eloquently." [4] It is clear that the orator-politician whom Cicero was trying to train was in fact a well-rounded man created by the Roman educational tradition and Greek education.
Cicero was not an idealist full of fantasies, but rather pragmatic. He argued that the value of education lies in practicality, and that schools should therefore be trained for the real world in which the child lived, so that the educated person would become a well-educated person in the urban way, a person whose government needs it, a person who has mastered his vocational skills. The purpose of students' learning is not only to improve their intelligence, but more importantly, to effectively apply what they have learned to public and private life, to serve society and individuals.
2. On the quality of the orator and the content of his education
Cicero elaborated on the good qualities that an orator should possess and suggested that for an orator to possess these qualities, he must receive a good education and rigorous training.
First of all, the orator should have the innate talent to become an orator, such as intellectual quick reaction, agile eloquence, crisp tone, well-proportioned posture, and other inherent qualities in human nature. Without the natural talents mentioned above, it is difficult to become a true orator. But talent is not enough, to become a true orator must also rely on the cultivation of the day after tomorrow. The role of education is to make these gifted talents better through rigorous training.
Second, the orator should have a broad and solid intellectual base and ethical character. Cicero believes that to be a successful orator, one should not be just a behind-the-scenes compromiser with a lot of tricks and debating skills, but must have a broad and solid knowledge base. Only then can he make the right decisions in the handling of litigation cases, articulate his position in public, in court, on the podium, in the Senate, and guide others to make wise judgments. He emphasized: "The art of eloquence is a more sublime thing, a combination of far more sciences and scholarship than one might think." "The knowledge of a great deal of things is very necessary for the art of eloquence, and without profound knowledge, even eloquent eloquence is empty and absurd..." [5] Therefore, "it seems to me that no one who has not acquired knowledge of all important disciplines and arts cannot become a complete orator with all the merits." [6] Based on this view, Cicero argued that orators should receive a generalist education, and that their curriculum should include grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, astronomy, music, physics, history, law, and philosophy in addition to eloquence.
In addition, knowledge of politics, economics, science, population psychology and social customs should be known. In Cicero's view, eloquence is beautiful and full of knowledge in various disciplines, otherwise eloquence is nothing more than empty, stupid, ridiculous, rhetorical nonsense. And the study of all subject knowledge must be subordinated to the general purpose of cultivating true orators, such as the study of philosophy because speeches and debates are often exposed to philosophical propositions, and if a person does not carefully study the theories of human nature and behavior revealed by philosophers, his speeches cannot infuriate the public or suppress the feelings and emotions of the public; the study of history is to provide historical precedents to strengthen arguments and obtain good debate effects; the study of politics is to make correct judgments on a certain legislative proposal. To speak in favor of or against the legislative proposal at public conventions to guide the public to make informed choices; to study law for senior executive and judge careers.
In particular, Cicero attaches great importance to legal education. He believed that legal knowledge was very important in the life and civilization of the Romans, and it was also indispensable in the education of orators. "People will have fun and gratification in studying law," he said. "Knowledge of Schivora's civil law is indispensable for becoming an accomplished orator." [7] Under Cicero's guidance and influence, Roman law was gradually systematized and theorized from a fully practical profession taught by apprenticeship to a scientific discipline. In Cicero's time, the capital, Rome, became a center of further legal studies, and many Greeks went to law schools. Cicero was also a strong advocate of the study and study of history. He pointed out that history is the witness of the times, the light of truth, the living memory, the guide to life. Those who dare to state the whole truth, without partiality, without personal grievances, and have a vivid history, are educational to the reader. Thus, a true orator "is to memorize the whole history and precedent of the past".[8] However, a true orator must possess good moral character in addition to the above knowledge. He should serve the citizens faithfully and impartially, without selfish distractions, and become the most outstanding man of his time. To this end, it is necessary to carry out education and training from birth, so that he can live in a traditional environment, gradually learn to deal with the relationship between people with norms such as sympathy, benevolence, and comity, and form a clear and just sense of moral and social responsibility. Only in this way can he contribute the knowledge he has mastered and better serve the public.
Third, the orator should be linguistically literate. Cicero believes that as a true orator, it is not enough to have only general natural and social knowledge, but also to have a special cultivation in language, because the composition of words and sentences and the stylistic structure of the entire speech determine the level of speech. He said: "In speech, it is not only the choice of words and sentences, but also the careful consideration of the structure of sentences..."[9] Distinguishing between lectures with rich content and rich language and boring and vocabulary-poor speeches, "that is, superb speeches have a beautiful and elegant style, and have unique skills and luster in rhetoric"[10]. In Cicero's view, the language literacy that an orator should possess includes having to speak pure and accurate Latin, expressing his thoughts clearly and concisely, being understandable, beautiful and vivid, and being able to make arguments close to the subject. For this reason, the orator must be cultivated by the higher art of oratory and study rhetoric in order to attain the highest attainment of the art of speech. He believed that studying rhetoric was rome's most prestigious form of higher education, acceptable only to a few of the top. Cicero himself was a model of the excellent orator of his time, and he promoted the development of Latin literature with a pure and beautiful Latin style, which had a profound impact on the education of Rome and later Europe.
Finally, the orator should have an elegant demeanor and demeanor. Cicero believes that the posture, gestures, facial expressions, and changing tone of the body during speech will have a huge effect on the effect of speech. Thus, an accomplished orator is also a cultured man who, in his speeches, "speaks gently and wittily, and is quick, concise, and courteous in answering questions and refuting the other." [11] In addition, a true orator should also understand the mental state and thoughts and feelings of the audience, so that his speech can impress the audience. In his speech, he said, "it must be clearly understood that nature gives the listener thoughts and emotions, and that the power and art of the speech are calmed or excited by the dynamics and art of the speech..."[12] and thus make oneself "perfect, completely intoxicating, and well-behaved, in order to impress the hearts of the people and to fascinate everyone".[13] To do this, it also takes a lot of effort and a lot of practice to achieve it.
3. On the method of cultivating orators
Cicero believes that there are three main forms of methods for training orators:
The first is to equip the orator with a wide range of knowledge through extensive reading. Cicero believed that teachers should have students recite a large number of literary works, and at the same time teach memorization, so that students can truly grasp a lot of knowledge, which is very important for the growth of an orator.
The second is to enable the orator to acquire keen thinking, judgment and witty expression through long-term writing, thereby improving the "eloquent ability". Cicero pointed out that a good speech should be well-structured, well-proportioned, and full of rhythm, which requires efforts in writing the speech, through persistent practice to achieve, therefore, to become an orator must spend a lot of energy, perseverance to practice writing, but also do their best to observe things, experience life, and learn from practice, only in this way, can become a talented orator, widely praised.
The third is to improve the eloquent theory and skills of orators through a lot of practical training. Cicero emphasizes that experience is the best teacher. He said: "On top of the knowledge that each person has acquired through his own efforts is added a great deal of practical experience, which is more useful than all the proverbs of the masters." Cicero believes that the most commonly used practical training is speech practice and mock trials. Speech exercises are to first determine a topic to be given in the pulpit, so that students can think carefully about the topic, be fully prepared, give a speech or debate as close as possible to the truth, and learn eloquence in practice. Mock trials involve students practicing what they have to do in court beforehand and going to the courtroom to watch it. There, students can both see the orator's oratorical posture and learn the skills of eloquence, so the courtroom is the ideal place to combine eloquent theory and practice, and the best classroom to acquire these knowledge and skills. On the basis of the above exercises, "Eloquence must go out of the greenhouse-like practice ground of the family, toward practical action, toward the hustle and bustle of the earth, to the battlefield of military camps and public debate..." [14]
concentrate:
[1] Cicero: Selected Readings of The Original Works of Western Philosophy, compiled by the Department of Philosophy and the Department of History of Foreign Philosophy, Peking University, Vol. 1, Commercial Press, 1982, p. 188. [2] [4] Boyd et al., A History of Western Education, People's Education Publishing House, 1985, pp. 65, 70---7l. [3] [6] [8][12] [13] [14] [15] Selected Writings on Education in Kun Ti Liang, selected translation by Ren Sino-Indian, People's Education Publishing House, 1989 edition, pp. 191---192, 193, 225, 192, 232, 183. [5] [7] [9] [11] Keberley' Historical Materials on Foreign Education, translated by the Department of Education, Central China Normal University, 1991, pp. 42, 30, 42, 42-43.