Institutio Oratoria - Limitations

Limitations

Several limitations have been pointed out in Quintilian’s work. Among them is the injunction that he was too immersed in the culture of rhetoric. Because of his position and his profession, it was impossible for him to view rhetoric from the outside. Therefore, it would have been difficult for him to entertain any doubts about its value. This helps explain his ideal orator as a morally good man—-rhetoric to Quintilian was in itself inherently good. It may also shed some light on his view of philosophy; he “considered rhetoric to be the basis of all education, viewed philosophy as a challenge to its supremacy” (Dominik, 53). He believed that an orator should read philosophy, but only because philosophy had usurped some of the functions of oratory in the first place.

Another limitation of Quintilian is that he is inevitably a victim of his own educational tradition. As mentioned above, he lived in a time of flowery, ornate language. Therefore, although he obviously prefers natural language and attempts to interject some simplicity into the way language is taught, to a certain degree he is forced to accept the unnatural language of his time, simply because of the force of current fashion.

Finally, some have called into question the idea of the ideal orator. The education so dictated in Institutio Oratoria was designed to create a person who had never existed, and probably never would. Quintilian seemed willfully unconscious of the changes since the days of great Ciceronian oratory. To what end would this perfect orator be created, if there was no place for him?

Read more about this topic:  Institutio Oratoria

Famous quotes containing the word limitations:

    The motion picture made in Hollywood, if it is to create art at all, must do so within such strangling limitations of subject and treatment that it is a blind wonder it ever achieves any distinction beyond the purely mechanical slickness of a glass and chromium bathroom.
    Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)

    Growing up means letting go of the dearest megalomaniacal dreams of our childhood. Growing up means knowing they can’t be fulfilled. Growing up means gaining the wisdom and skills to get what we want within the limitations imposed by reality—a reality which consists of diminished powers, restricted freedoms and, with the people we love, imperfect connections.
    Judith Viorst (20th century)

    Much of what contrives to create critical moments in parenting stems from a fundamental misunderstanding as to what the child is capable of at any given age. If a parent misjudges a child’s limitations as well as his own abilities, the potential exists for unreasonable expectations, frustration, disappointment and an unrealistic belief that what the child really needs is to be punished.
    Lawrence Balter (20th century)