Ideals

While I agree with Quintillians opinions on rhetoric, I think they are only opinions and not facts, as he tries to convey them. He asserts what rhetoric should be while claiming that if rhetoric is ever faulty, it isn't rhetoric anymore. He gives many qualifications for rhetoric and disagrees with the definition "rhetoric is the art of persuading" because "such an art may be attained by one who is far from being a good man" (385).
But when he finally defines for himself it's simply "oratory is the art of speaking well" (389). It is assumed that "speaking well" includes not speaking deceitfully or ignorantly, but someone deceitful and ignorant is perfectly capable of rhetoric, even good and artful rhetoric because knowledge can only go so far as the possessor's interpretation of it. It has been a trend in our readings that knowledge is equated with good and that ignorance is equated with bad, but I believe the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. Everyone is ignorant to most things because ultimate knowledge is obviously impossible and so someone who is "knowledgeable" is only learned in areas that are thought to be important and that is extremely relative to place and time. So to speak, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and that brings examples like Hitler, Communism, and even slavery in many cases.

His views on education are also highly idealistic. He offers solutions to education today, the biggest criticism of which is the mold that students are all forced into and judged by. Everyone who complains about the fact that students aren't treated as individuals with specific talents never has an applicable solution. Quintillian offers wonderful standards for teachers and education, but they can only be achieved in a 10 to 1 student to teacher ratio or less."To distinguish peculiarities of talent is absolutely necessary; and to make choice of particular studies to suit them is what no man would discountenance" (378) is absolutely true, but never happens in schools today because it can't be done in the average public school classroom size of 20 (nces.ed.gov/fastfacts).

Quintillians ideas are profound, but I wish more realistic solutions were presented for the issues he discusses.