Greek Rhetoric Before Aristotle: Octave Navarre

The study of Greek rhetoric begins in Syracuse with the Sophists, men who argued only out of a love of eloquence and who gave little thought to truth and philosophy. In Athens and elsewhere in Greece, however, their teachings were turned by others to the search for justice by means of legal rhetoric. Development of the art of persuasion in politics and philosophy followed, and then bloomed in the times of Pericles and Socrates.

Navarre's skillful, comprehensive narration of the unfolding uses and intentions of speech and argument in ancient Greece will be welcomed by both the scholar and the inquiring reader.