Quintilian: The First Critic of Fox News

When Institutes of Oratory was compiled, there was no mass media, no freedom of speech, no instant access to information, and little to no choice of where one could obtain the word on current events. To become knowledgeable on a topic would have required great effort, and to find reliable sources have required even more. Thus we don't think of this time as having been one of great general knowledge and awareness of the general population--we think of that time as being now. We pride ourselves on our ability as a society to quickly, almost instantaneously, transmit information in what we deem to be a reliable manner. What's more, we consider ourselves to have a choice about where we obtain our knowledge, and have the skills and wherewithal needed to do this.

What's hilarious is that chapter 12 of book II essentially proposes a thesis as to why people watch FOX News. Fox news is the perfect example of a source of information that is absolutely not eloquent, is not a master of its subject, but rather is loud and full of energy that's not backed up with good rhetoric.

"[An ignorant speaker] appears to judges of bad taste the dryness of questions and arguments, and seek nothing else but matter in which they may please the ears of the court with senseless gratifications."

 FoX News does itself no pretend to be a legitimate source of news--they classify themselves as and "Entertainment" show in most guidebooks. And yet, people listen to what they say, feel empowered by what they say, quote the things they say, and believe what they say. And if you asked one of these followers of the Church of FOX, they would not tell you the enjoy the entertainment and the drama opponents of the program, they would tell you that they are hearing from the likes of Bill O'Reily the unfiltered, holy truth.

Thus the text was spot on when he said that ignorant speakers and easily give the appearance of being eloquent ones, can even seem to have more energy and prowess. "They howl on every occasion and bellow out everything with uplifted hand." They dramatize what they say, disguising the legitimacy of the facts in the quality of what is really just a performance.

Obviously, it would be entirely possible to a rue that this is total crap, and that FOX News is not as bad as I just made it out to be. Fair enough. But I find it amazing that points on oratory made far over a millennium ago still hold incredible truth, that we find Quintillian's "gladiators" of rhetoric in our lives all of the time.